Copa Rushmori XXXV - Everything Thread

by **Eura** » Wed Jul 29, 2020 6:29 pm

efa.eur/news

EURAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

EFA announces new national team kit deal with Aer

The Euran Football Association is pleased to announce the adoption of a new kit by the Euran national football team after signing an exclusive deal with Aer Sportswear. It marks the first kit deal by the EFA since the end of our long association with Audioslavian company Kirola.

The Kirola Era

Kirola began designing and manufacturing kits for the EFA three decades ago after the Audioslavian company signed an exclusive deal for an initial five years which would be extended several times. Over that period Eura have worn three Kirola designs. The first, the classic minimalist "66" design, was worn by Eura for only a short period but has become synonymous with the image of Euran football.

This design first gained global attention as it was worn by Lee Sharp in his final campaign at the 65th World Cup, including its use in an iconic victory over Kirola's home nation by the Eurans. They then wore it again as they won the 66th World Cup in that memorable 4-2 victory over Polar Islandstates, establishing the "66" design in Euran sporting folklore and ensuring it would be worn by fans for generations to come:

Image: The “66” kit in all its glory. Note the iconic minimalist design and the classic Euran flag logo.

Image: The “66” kit on an official commemorative poster released for the 66th World Cup final, contrasted with the similarly famous Polarian “Tern” kit.

Image: An official 66th World Cup trading card depicts Euran legend Lee Sharp wearing the away version of the “66” kit during the 65th World Cup campaign. Note the black and white façade makes the gold collar appear darker than the primary blue of the shirt.

This was followed by the "Champions" design which marked a slight departure in style towards softer colours and bolder features and text, plus the new post-66th World Cup logo of the Euran national team, making it the most radically new of the three Kirola kits. It would be used from the 67th World Cup campaign until its most famous run out during Eura’s 72nd and 73rd World Cup campaigns, as Eura were first defeated and then later victorious over Rushmore rivals Pasarga:

Image: The “Champions” kit. Note the differences in design from the “66” design – the new Euran national team logo, bolder font for text and numbers, thicker gold trim and slightly softer and lighter primary colours. Nevertheless the design retained the same continuity of Kirola’s interpretation of the Euran style.

Finally Kirola produced the third design, the “Double” kit, adopted after Eura won the 73rd World Cup. An evolution of the "Champions" design with the trim removed from the front of the shirt, an updated logo and a change in text and number font, this kit has been worn by Eura ever since its release, a period of fifteen years. It’s that long period of service that makes it the most produced version of the Euran national team kit in history.

There was some criticism of the EFA for not updating the kit during that period, but positive feedback that we’ve received from fans and players alike shows this to be an inspired design with great longevity. Sadly the Euran team have been unable to add a third star to the chest during its production run, but this kit has seen three stars of another kind earned; while wearing this kit, the Euran national team broke its Copa Rushmori duck at the first attempt at the 23rd Copa, before going on to wear it in its victorious 27th and 34th Copa Rushmori campaigns.

Image: The “Double” design. A brash and bold spin on the “Champions” kit which has gone on to be the longest lasting of Kirola’s kits.

Following the end of the 85th World Cup, the EFA confirmed that following discussions with Kirola prior to the tournament, it would not be renewing Kirola’s long lasting relationship with the Euran national team.

New beginnings with Aer Sportswear

To mark the beginning of the 35th Copa Rushmori, the EFA started planning for the next chapter in the national team’s future brand well in advance. A year beforehand an invitation was circulated to a select few famous kit design companies and firms in Eura. They were being invited to bid for the first post-Kirola kit contract with the EFA and in the end the most competitive bid came from Aer Sportwear.

Aer Sportswear is a Grearish and formerly Gloriaxan sportswear company of international renown. Owned by the Aer family, the company submitted an enthusiastic bid for designing the new Euran kits which emphasised their admiration for Euran football and respect for the iconic design legacy of the Kirola-EFA partnership. Aer set out an ambitious vision of a refreshed Euran national team brand which would be the focal point of the company’s return to the international stage as part of the rebuilding of the nation of The Grearish Union.

The EFA were hugely impressed by this bid and, following a final review by the Ministry of Sport, accepted it and agreed a contract. After six months of conceptual work and planning, design, testing, marketing work and an initial production run, the EFA is proud to present the first Aer Sportswear Euran national team kit:

Aer’s kit, which the EFA will market as the “Trio” kit, combines traditional aspects of the Euran football brand, the legacy of the Kirola designs, and Aer’s own creative touch. The traditions of Euran football are all there – the minimalist style, the gold trim, and the use of red for the home kit, continuing the long tradition of Eura wearing “Royal Red” at home and “Federal Blue” away in tribute to the national team’s royal origins.

Kirola’s influence is best represented by continuing to use their iconic Euran national team logo, featuring a beautiful stylised “EURA” text with the depiction of Eura’s pre-Endemian War borders and two gold stars for each World Cup trophy won. Future kits may revisit this aspect if the national flag changes, which the EFA is being kept informed on at all times by the Ministry of Sport. The new kit also retains the designer logo placement of the Kirola kits, and brings back a font resembling the “66” style, which served as the main inspiration for Aer among the three Kirola kits.

Then there is Aer’s own take on the Euran style. Their sock design is a departure from the previous style of having gold trim running down the sides, or a less bold form of hoop than the magnificent gold knee rolls that now dominate, along with “EURA” imprints at shin height. Aer have also opted to abandon the area shading of the Kirola kits and adopted very thin, subtle pinstripes instead. Most importantly of all Aer have designed Eura’s first ever third kit. Previously considered unnecessary by the EFA, this beautiful gold and blue kit will give our national team more flexibility in the unpredictable world of international football.

EFA Chairman Robert Conran had this to say about Aer’s spectacular new kit:

“We were of course saddened to bring to a close a long chapter of our history with Kirola. But while change can be daunting, it also brings opportunity, and after a decade and a half since the last redesign of Eura’s kit, there’s no better time for change than now. I think I speak for the whole of the Euran Football Association, the players and staff of the national team, the loyal fans and the country when I say that Aer Sportswear have blown us all away with their excellent work. I for one cannot wait to see our fine men and women march out in the “Trio” kit and do their country proud.”

The “Trio” kit debut and availability for consumers

Unfortunately an unavoidable delay to run final testing at the EFA’s sports science facilities meant the “Trio” kit was not ready for use by the national team for the start of the 35th Copa Rushmori. However, the kit is now available and is being tried on for the first time by top internationals such as Moira Woakes, Kevin Belgrave and Brian Bond just as this statement is being published. You can see their reaction to the new kit LIVE on our EurTube channel at www.eurtube.eur/channels/EFATube. Eura will play in this new kit for the first time in their final group stage game against Mavinet.

Replica kits will go on sale on the EFA website and with official partners around kick off time for the Mavinet game. In anticipation of the huge demand we expect, we will only be selling one kit per customer at first. Aer have ensured that millions of replica kits are ready for purchase in stores and online but customers should be aware that initial stocks will not last – so get a kit while you can! If you are unable to buy a replica kit right away, you can pre-order from the next stock intake on the EFA website or with any partner stores and brands.

by **Astograth** » Wed Jul 29, 2020 9:33 pm

Garikoitz Abaria blew over the top of his steaming mug, and immediately recoiled upon setting it to his lips. Still scalding hot. Across the table, his mother drank her tea with no issue, eyes fixed on the TV. Astograth were playing The Askari Union in the Copa Rushmori, down in Echegoyan, and putting on a sorry display. Twenty minutes in, the match was scoreless while Olibondeka very much needed a win. Commentators Matei Oroztizaga and Lekubegi Guerrikaechebarria drowned out the sound of the crowd in Silanes Park, but they seemed none too pleased. Abaria should know - he'd been playing for Echegoyan FC, hearing it from those same fans, for the last four years.

"Your tea's going to get cold," his mother warned him.

"Good," he replied, but dared go for another sip. It still burned.

It was nice to visit home, at least in theory. Abaria hailed from Kala, capital of Bakartirla, the smallest of the country's provinces at just 150 thousand people. It was a small, craggy island out in the Modraine Sea, near the waters of Mytanija and Princess Béatrice Isle. Its location was highly strategic for Astograth, providing possession of valuable oil fields in the Modraine and securing the nation's access to the wider ocean. On the mainland, the joke was that everyone on the island worked for the government. Abaria's mother was indeed a state-employed teacher, but he only ever found the 'joke' ignorant. Petromok, the state oil & gas company, barely hired locals and used the island's services as little as possible; likewise the Navy. In this age of long-distance container ships, the port was no longer a major stop on the shipping routes from the Goose Coast to the Oygruppen, and had little activity. Fishing, lately tourism and yes, state bureacracy, were the only significant sources of employment.

Hardship made a hard people, and the weather matched them. Gray skies and rain were the default, but worse was the wind. On days like today it whistled and screamed over Bakartirla, taking the feet out from under people, flinging pebbles like hail, driving the sea into the cliffs. The islands's trees grew twisted, whole groves of smooth grey trunks permanently bent in the same direction. Along the street, the sides of buildings featured railings of tough hempen rope, which visitors would puzzle over until they got their first real taste of the local weather.

Today, the gusts had been hitting Kala since noon. The double-pane windows shook and rattled, but it hardly registered for Abaria and his mother. On the TV, the camera focused on an unreadable Vaudrail, then a slow-mo shot of Ugaitz Leskerre dispossesing Laguna Santutxu.

"He got the ball. It's all ball," complained Guerrikaechebarria.

"The ball and her leg too, man. Come on," said Abaria out loud, and turned to his mother. "These commentators..."

"Too biased!" she agreed.

"You've got to take off the shirt if you're going to comment these. Even if it's Astograthian TV."

Ravanna Ballarin was readying to take the free-kick when the windows shook loudly, and the screen went blue.

SATELLITE SIGNAL LOST. SIGNAL ACQUISITION IN PROCESS. PLEASE WAIT.

They both groaned, and Abaria stood up to check on the decoder.

"No, it must be the dish. The wind," said his mother. "You've got to get up there."

Abaria sighed, and went looking for the tools.

"We can go to the neighbours if-"

"No, I'll fix it, mum. Don't worry." He flung open the toolbox. "You don't know what kind of screw it has, do you?"

"I don't recall, no."

Abaria grabbed a handful of flat and cross-headed screwdrivers in different sizes, and held them up. "Well, got to be one of these".

He opened the front door and had to make an effort to get it closed against the wind. Stepping through the small front garden, he made his way through to the side of the house and the thin steel stairs built into the wall. The railings were humid and slippery, but Abaria patted them down with the sleeve of his woolen sweater and climbed. From the hill that he'd grown up in, the roof gave a good view over the bay and the rest of the city. Rows and rows of small, single-floor houses, much like this one, all sided with local rot-resistant wood and painted bright colours. Abaria was making good money at Echegoyan, some 300k diru a year after taxes - enough to get his mother a nice place elsewhere in Kala, or settle her somewhere else entirely. She'd refused. She could retire to a nice place on the Iturributan coast, he'd told her, be somewhere sunny like Soloandia, or even in Echegoyan if she wanted to be close. No, she'd said. She liked her house, her job, her island, and he needn't be spending that money on her. Fair enough.

Besides the howls of the wind, Kala looked and felt very still, punctuated only with the muted oohs and aahs of the neighbours reacting to the match. He'd know if there was a goal, at least.

The satellite dish was loose and swivelling. Which way was it supposed to go? Abaria looked over to the other houses, all with their dishes pointing the same way, and tried to align his in the same direction. His hands felt around trying to find the loose screw. The dishes were aimed up and inland, where Abaria could see the shape of Sovereignty Stadium - the smallest ground to feature in the Astograthian First Division. Home of Bakartirla Buccaneers. His home. The place he'd seen his first match and taken his first steps as a professional, under the steely gaze of manager Ilazki Altzibararechuluaga. Nicknamed 'Aurpegia Ilazkiko', which was a triple pun on his name ('moon'), his round bearded face, and ilazki's separate meaning of 'hairy', the Moon-faced Madman was a god on this island. He'd taken the Buccaneers from second-tier obscurity to national prominence in the top flight, putting up a brave fight against teams that dwarfed them in history and budget. To get that far with a squad made up mostly of local talent was incredible, and Abaria had been one of those players until Echegoyan paid a nice sum for him to move to the mainland, aged just 20. His dream was to make the national team, the first man from Bakartirla to do so, but for now he was stuck fixing his mother's satellite dish so he could watch the others play. He was nearly done when his mother shouted out from below that it was re-connecting.

Abaria was stepping back into the house when he heard the call of 'GOOOOOOOOOOOOL', and ran to the TV. He was about to shout it himself when he saw the strange kits and looked at the scoreline: EFL 1-0 SWE.

"Sorry, I switched over to have a look. Astograth's is scoreless still."

Abaria shrugged. "Thirty minutes? We've got time still. Time and luck."

He picked up his tea, took a sip and burned his tongue.

by **Astograth** » Wed Jul 29, 2020 9:34 pm

COPA RUSHMORI XXXV
Matchday 5

Group A
Nethertopia 0–1 Savojarna
Yuezhou 0–1 Crystalline Caverns

Group A                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Savojarna              4   4  0  0   10   3  +7   12 Q
2 Crystalline Caverns    4   1  2  1    1   1   0    5 Q
3 Yuezhou                4   1  1  2    6   7  −1    4 ?
4 Olastor                4   1  1  2    3   7  −4    4
5 Nethertopia            4   0  2  2    0   2  −2    2

Group B
Pedestrian States 2–5 Pasarga
Ostralo 1–2 Taeshan

Group B                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pasarga                4   4  0  0   13   3 +10   12 Q
2 Taeshan                4   2  0  2    4   4   0    6 Q
3 Plane of Possibility   4   2  0  2   10   9  +1    6 Q
4 Pedestrian States      4   1  1  2    6  11  −5    4
5 Ostralo                4   0  1  3    5  11  −6    1

Group C
Mavinet 0–3 Eura
Ancharmunn 2–2 Oberour Ar Moro

Group C                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eura                   4   4  0  0   16   4 +12   12 Q
2 Pridnestrovia          4   1  2  1    4   4   0    5 Q
3 Mavinet                4   1  1  2    5   7  −2    4 ?
4 Oberour Ar Moro        4   0  3  1    6  10  −4    3
5 Ancharmunn             4   0  2  2    4  10  −6    2

Next matchday’s simple writing prompt: Scandal. Are there any ongoing scandals surrounding your national team? Past ones? Any players staying out past hours? Not showing up for training? Fallings out among teammates, or with the manager? Officials embezzling funds? The media making mountains out of molehills?

The four best third-placed teams will qualify for the Round of 16. Savojarna will carry out and post the knockout draw with their scorination.

by **Kalosia** » Wed Jul 29, 2020 9:44 pm

A selection of today's headlines from one of Kalosia's leading newspapers, La Gažetë di Monterë:

KOPA RUŠMORI
Kasanu saves the day
AREKSË, ASTOGRAT — After having lost to Valladares and Rea San Vegas respectively, the Crescents have won the match against the Darmeni All Greens 1—0. The match had been tense from the beginning, with both sides giving their all and many attempted goals saved. With no goals scored in the first half, some had began to fear that the match would end with penalties. However, at the 78th minute, our very own Klaudiu Kasanu scored, to the amusement of the Darmeni fans in the arena, and to the roaring cheers of Kalosians watching across the nation.

Despite this victory, the journey is far from over. While Darmen has now plunged to last in the Group F standings, Kalosia is still second last. It is an uphill battle from here — a miracle will be needed to get the Crescents where they need to be to qualify to the second stage of the tournament. [READ MORE]

Worst result ever! Devastating blow for Sierra Elena at WorldVision
SAN KRISTOFORU, ËĽALTË — A massive shock spread across the nation as Kalosia came 30th out of 42 competing songs at the 83rd WorldVision Song Contest. This is Kalosia's worst result in WorldVision history, having competed for over 60 editions and holding the record for having the most participations in the contest more than any country. Although Sierra Elena's song #OBSESSED was an early favourite, it became apparent that critics and bookmakers alike were less than impressed when it came to the live rehearsals, and at the end of the day the diva managed to earn 21 points from the juries and another 50 from the televote, walking away with a grand total of 71 points.

Antahbrantahstan won the contest with a whopping 232 points, beating runners-up North Alezia with a 24-point lead. While Kalosia came 30th, the results of other Rushmori nations across the board varied, with Ertzei Kishim barely breaking the top 10, Saviera topping the right side (lower half) of the scoreboard, and Electrum Diplomatic Offices at 32nd place, 10 points short of beating Kalosia. [READ MORE]

OPINION COLUMN
Want to encourage economic growth? Give us the full Copa Rushmori experience
by TBA
To be revealed next matchday again sorry — stay tuned!

by **Savojarna** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 12:20 am

This is the final Savojar group stage cutoff! Good luck to all contestants still vying for knockout spots...

Group D
Southwest Eastnorth 3–1 Astograth
Graintfjall 0–1 Eastfield Lodge

  Group D                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Southwest Eastnorth                4   2  1  1   10   7  +3    7 Q
2 Graintfjall                        4   2  1  1    3   2  +1    7 Q
3 Eastfield Lodge                    4   2  0  2    3   4  −1    6
4 The Askari Union                   4   1  1  2    5   6  −1    4
5 Astograth                          4   1  1  2    2   4  −2    4

Group E
Logria 1–2 Nephara
Kalactanian Rushmore Territories 0–1 Cassadaigua

  Group E                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Cassadaigua                        4   4  0  0   11   2  +9   12 Q
2 Nephara                            4   3  0  1   12   7  +5    9 Q
3 Logria                             4   1  1  2    3   4  −1    4
4 Kalactanian Rushmore Territories   4   0  2  2    2   9  −7    2
5 Falkyr                             4   0  1  3    2   8  −6    1

Group F
Kalosia 0–2 Sargossa
Rea San Vegas 0–2 Darmen

  Group F                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sargossa                           4   3  0  1   10   2  +8    9 Q
2 Valladares                         4   3  0  1   10   6  +4    9 Q
3 Darmen                             4   2  0  2    4   4   0    6
4 Rea San Vegas                      4   1  0  3    1   8  −7    3
5 Kalosia                            4   1  0  3    2   7  −5    3

Instead of a writing prompt, here are the tables and seedings for knockouts:

Seeding of first placed teams:

1 Eura                   4   4  0  0   16   4 +12   12
2 Pasarga                4   4  0  0   13   3 +10   12
3 Cassadaigua            4   4  0  0   11   2  +9   12
4 Savojarna              4   4  0  0   10   3  +7   12
5 Sargossa               4   3  0  1   10   2  +8    9
6 Southwest Eastnorth    4   2  1  1   10   7  +3    7

This puts Eura, Savojarna and Sargossa onto the left side of the bracket, and Pasarga, Cassadaigua and Southwest Eastnorth onto the right side. As the lowest-ranked first placed teams, Sargossa and Southwest Eastnorth will face a second-placed team; the other four group winners face third-placed teams. Second-placed teams from groups A, B, and F are seeded as R1 to R3 and will be placed on the right side of the bracket in order to avoid group stage rematches. The opposite holds true for groups C, D and E.

Seeding of second-placed teams:

L1 Nephara                4   3  0  1   12   7  +5    9
L2 Graintfjall            4   2  1  1    3   2  +1    7
L3 Pridnestrovia          4   1  2  1    4   4   0    5

R1 Valladares             4   3  0  1   10   6  +4    9
R2 Taeshan                4   2  0  2    4   4   0    6
R3 Crystalline Caverns    4   1  2  1    1   1   0    5

Seeding of the third-placed teams:

Plane of Possibility   4   2  0  2   10   9  +1    6
Darmen                 4   2  0  2    4   4   0    6
Eastfield Lodge        4   2  0  2    3   4  −1    6
Yuezhou                4   1  1  2    6   7  −1    4
---------------------------------------------------
Logria                 4   1  1  2    3   4  −1    4*
Mavinet                4   1  1  2    5   7  −2    4

* Yuezhou were placed ahead of Logria on account of drawing of lots (OOC: RP bonus).

Third-placed teams were seeded into the bracket with the intent of avoiding group rematches before the semifinals. This left us with three possible seedings, among which we have chosen the one where the top seed (Eura) play the lowest possible seed (Yuezhou).

Octofinal pairings:
Eura vs. Yuezhou at Nationalstadion Carl Gustaf Bjurman, Sjoedrhavn
Valladares vs. Taeshan at Stadion Patrik Suhonen, Virkaja
Savojarna vs. Eastfield Lodge at Stadion Traktorov, St. Andrei
Sargossa vs. Pridnestrovia at Stadion General Erik Harden, Thorsborg
Pasarga vs. Darmen at Silanes Park, Echegoyan
Nephara vs. Graintfjall at Castle Hill, Gesterlake
Cassadaigua vs. Plane of Possibility at The Enclave, Antiguoko
Southwest Eastnorth vs. Crystalline Caverns at Goyaingerua Stadium, Arexa

Games IC'ly scheduled in Savojarna (left side of the bracket) will be scored by Astograth; games scheduled IC'ly in Astograth (right side of the bracket) will be scored by Savojarna.

by **Sargossa** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 1:36 pm

A banner. That is all it was. A flag bearing the colours of a martyred family who had never even set foot on the island. A large rectangle of cloth knocked up by a small group who thought it could perhaps prove to be a symbol of some form of defiance against the injustices that were wrought upon them. How right they were.

The Sargossan Archipelago had been a relatively sedate outpost of the mighty Spanish empire. The population, drawn by the romance of a new frontier or the slightly less romantic gold lust lived peacefully, content with their lot. The indigenous Guaraní peoples were much less content with their new neighbours but that did not matter so much. But when Spanish eyes, distracted by the sheer effort of keeping together an empire on which the sun never set, turned away from Sargossa the local feeling slowly started to change. The city of Cordova on the main island of Sargosso had been the seat of power for the Empire’s local representative, the Viceroy of the Sargossan Islands. But with the disappearance of Spanish influence the Viceroy suddenly became the centre of absolute power across the Archipelago. Sure enough, absolute power did what absolute power does best.

For a time all seemed well. The Sargossan Islands, now known as Sargossa thanks to one of the Viceroy’s earliest decrees as absolute ruler, continued in much the same vein as they had when the imperial flag flew above its cities. But slowly, inexorably, the corruption spread. The ruling family grew, as did the cronies and entourages that haunted their court in Cordova. Their malign influence was felt across Sargosso but it was when those tendrils reached the other islands that the populace started to take notice. Local landowners and gentry, who had husbanded their lands for decades were suddenly displaced by Viceregal decree and replaced with courtiers who only sought to line their own pockets. Taxes were levied, the people were bled dry, resentment seethed below the surface. Questions were asked in clandestine meetings. Why should the other islands cow down to Sargosso and its ruling elite?

Then came the spark. The Candia family had grown rich from gold found on the western island of Inca. They became powerful and popular. Two things that caused the nascent nation’s ruler great jealousy. So he took both away. Sensing the danger the Candia family took ship for distant Europe, but they were intercepted. The head of the family was forced to watch as the ship that carried his wife and children was sunk by a Sargossan frigate before he was taken in chains to Cordova and publicly garrotted. He was proclaimed as a traitor to the people. The people didn’t agree. The Candia name became a rallying cry for a population that could bare no more. That cry was heard loudest on Cormino.

On Cormino the population chaffed under the rule of a cadre of the Viceregency’s favourites, whose will was enforced with brutal efficiency by the Viceroy’s army. Tensions boiled, all they needed was a symbol. The names of those who created the large banner in the red and white of the Candia’s family colours have long been lost to the mists of time. But that banner was taken to the hilltop town of Descara, a town that could be seen for hundreds of miles in the flatlands of the Vale of Fusco. It was taken by an armed mob that stormed the town and flew the banner from its highest point, the church at the very summit. There it stayed as a beacon for those that would no longer stay placid. Hundreds gathered. Then thousands. Word spread across Cormino like a wildfire and the people rose up. Under their red and white flag they rose up and took the fight to their oppressors. The wildfire burnt bright but it burnt quickly. Smaller insurrections on the other islands were snuffed out, allowing the Viceroy’s generals to focus all their attention upon Cormino. The rebels were rolled ever backwards, until their last stand beneath the very banner that had lit the spark.

by **Graintfjall** » Fri Jul 31, 2020 4:05 am

Article posted on the optimistic fan blog, www.GlassHalfFull.græ

Græntfjall’s defensive tactics the key to their success

two

Comments:

28. steinaux_steinnfinnur

Article posted on the pessimistic fan blog, www.GlassHalfFullOfPiss.græ

Græntfjall’s defensive tactics will ensure their failure

badly

Comments:

47. gunzlach_gunnar

by **Trans-Dniesters** » Fri Jul 31, 2020 11:00 am

ПРИДНЕСТРОВСКАЯ ЦЕНТРАЛЬНАЯ НОВОСТИ АГЕНЦИЯ • PRIDNISTROWISCHE ZENTRALE NACHRICHTENAGENTUR • AGENȚIA CENTRALĂ DE ȘTIRI TRANSNISTREANĂ • PRIDINYESTER MERKEZI HABER AJANSI • PRIDNESTROVIAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY

PRIDNESTROVIA ADVANCES TO ROUND OF 16 OF COPA RUSHMORI XXXV BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEETH
By Gustav Tyumenov

Fans of the Pridnestrovian men's national football team cheer for their team as the Red Army clashed against Eura in the group stage of the 35th Copa Rushmori.

AREXA, TWIN CITIES, ASTOGRATH - The men's football team of the Democratic People's Republic of the United Socialist States of Pridnestrovia, despite a lackluster performance at the group stage which would have seen them eliminated from the competition at any other time, have qualified for the Round of 16 of the 35th Copa Rushmori being held in Astograth and Savojarna. Pridnestrovia moves on into the playoffs of the 35th Copa Rushmori as the second-best team in Group C despite having only a measly record of 1 win, 2 draws, and 1 loss, a total of 5 points against their name. The Red Army were seven points adrift from group leaders and defending Copa Rushmori winners Eura and had literally no chance to change their fate by their own hands since Pridnestrovia were the ones assigned to the bye day on the final day of the group stage. Pridnestrovia had to rely on Eura maintaining their perfect record in the group stage and defeat Mavinet, the closest threat to Pridnestrovia's second place position. A defeat to Eura in the previous matchday took Pridnestrovia's fate entirely out of their hands, but by some strange miracle or twist of fate the Red Army has managed to hold on and qualify for the Round of 16 of the 35th Copa Rushmori.

Despite grabbing a win on the first day of the tournament against Mavinet, Pridnestrovia was unable to capitalize on any momentum that could have been gathered by that particular result and therefore stalled their advance through two straight draws against Ancharmunn and Oberour Ar Moro, leaving the Red Army without much steam when time came for the standout clash against Eura. Any hope of Pridnestrovia snatching the top spot in the group was already gone by then; this match was very much about securing second place from any potential usurpers from below.

The plan fell apart almost right at the start. Eura came out swinging, and Pridnestrovia could do nothing except absorb the blows and hope that there wouldn't be too much damage inflicted. That also turned out to be nothing more than a pipe dream, for as early as the third minute the defending Copa Rushmori champions had already found the back of the net through Damion Bowman, who pounced first on Ferdinand Abbing's save of a Brian Bond attempt. The shocked and dumbstruck look on the face of Werner Ceausescu captured by a perfectly placed cameraman speaks volumes about the reaction of the Pridnestrovian Republic as a whole with regards to how quickly their team conceded the first goal of the game. Yes, Eura are the defending champions of Rushmore, but Ceausescu, Abbing, Timur Shalyapin and the rest of the team certainly would have expected that they could hold out for longer than three minutes.

A picture worth a thousand words: Werner Ceausescu's reaction to Damion Bowman's opening goal sums up the sentiment of the whole Pridnestrovian Republic.

Things would sadly not get any better for the man who has brought footballing glory to the Pridnestrovian Republic. During their defense of a corner kick in the 18th minute, Moira Woakes was somehow able to not only find a gap in between four defending players with an average height of 5 feet 10 inches but also jump highest above them all to plant a perfect bullet header into Ferdinand Abbing's near post. Not even the customary arm raised in protest for a possible offside player from the sentinel of the Dinamo Bender and Pridnestrovian goals could salvage what little dignity and respect the Red Army's defense had as only a brief visit to the video assistant referee was needed to show that Woakes was clearly onside and that Pridnestrovia had no hope of getting this goal chalked off. Desperate times, desperate measures, as they say.

Then things got worse. Straight from the kickoff Eura mounted the pressure on Pridnestrovia yet again. Surely they must have sensed that there was blood in the water and struck while they still held the upper hand. Eura took the ball into the Pridnestrovian third straight away and then Vincent Robshaw, normally the man who makes the plays happen for the Eurans, decided that he was going to pass the ball into the back of the net. And that was exactly what he did. Ferdinand Abbing looked ready to throw in the towel even before the ball had crossed the line. Conversely, Fyodor Ekstatov did not look very excited that he might be called into action by Werner Ceausescu.

Thankfully Pridnestrovia managed to pull themselves together and regroup, but it could be said that this was already too little too late. It is incredibly hard to come back from a three-goal deficit, especially when the team that scored them had their own point to prove. Simply put, Pridnestrovia had messed up their chance to secure second place. They had thrown away the chance to decide their fate for themselves and would have to rely on other teams also succumbing to Eura to even have a chance of making it through. And though Pridnestrovia were able to score two goals near the end and make this game appear closer than it actually was, it was nothing but a futile effort.

It would appear that Pridnestrovia are now quite thankful to Mavinet, because it was Mavinet that Pridnestrovia defeated on the opening day of the tournament and gave the Red Army three vital points to their name, and it was also Mavinet that lost to Eura on the final matchday and secured Pridnestrovia's passage to the next round as a second-place team as opposed to hoping against hope that they might be one of the four best third-place teams. Pridnestrovia are set to face Southwest Eastnorth in Astograth, and while the road through the Copa Rushmori has been rough this time around, there is still hope that the Red Army can make the most out of this situation.

█        EURA 3 - 2 PRIDNESTROVIA
  BOWMAN (3')       SHALYAPIN (73')
 WOAKES (18')       ZHDANOV (84')
ROBSHAW (20')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Eura: 55%
Pridnestrovia: 45%
Shots
Eura: 11 (9 on target)
Pridnestrovia: 7 (3 on target)
Corners
Eura: 12
Pridnestrovia: 5
Fouls
Eura: 13
Pridnestrovia: 27

by **Southwest Eastnorth** » Fri Jul 31, 2020 11:30 am

A Beer Shower of many different colors!
Article takes excerpts from - swensport.swe/national_football_team.html

ASTOGRATH - A flight coming out of Auberlin flew into to Astograth. The flight was a cargo flight. A typical flight that the rugged and semi-remote Auberlin sees a lot, in both take-offs and landings. There was one special cargo in the belly of the flying freighter. Beer destined for the the stadium that would be nessicary on the case that Southwest Eastnorth. A win would give the Fronteirsmen/Pioneers a chance to win the group and play in the knock out stages, granted this would be heavily dependent on Graintfjall and Eastfield lodge. The team has already defied expectations but a win would make it oh so sweeter. They had to deal with host Astograth though. Asto had only a few year prior come out of an isolationist period and so international footballing was a bit underdeveloped at the time of this tournament, but that wouldn't stop the team from. This was full winner takes all game as the winner would score 7 points and likely finish second in the group. This is unless Graintfjall loses to EFL, EFL is on a winning streak of one having defeated the Frontiersmen/Pioneers with a 2-1 victory a few days earlier. EFL has been struggling as of late in international footballing, but they seem to be peaking at the right time for the Copa Rushmori.

It became rather clear right away Asto was struggling. While they were able to keep the ball out of the goal it was obvious they couldn't keep the Sweenic players out of their own side of the field. Ball control was a huge issue as the team couldn't get out of their own way. the thundering trio of Houton, Austin and Borune, the trio of strikers who have been given the nickname of "The Law Firm" by fans looked stout and contentiously harassed the Astograthians, when finally Leigh Borune got a deep pass from his brother Ryan, and got one past Gentza Bedigax.

Next up in line was a super dangerous and controversial dive lead by the midfielder from Gerrad Kattenberg. "Kid 77" took a sharpe dive at the Astograthian Azeari Duarte. While Kattenberg did go after the ball, the young defender took a dive at an awkward angle and Duarte had no time to react and tripped over Kattenberg. When he got off the pitch play had continued, which was a shock given the end result of most of those plays are a yellow card and especially if the player who got tackled came up out of the grass looking like the flag of the Esportvian nation Burgburgh. This infuriated the crowd and the players in Astograthian Green. (well ok this one game was the "let's bring out the third uniforms" game where they wore blue but still you get the point.) Of course there would be a yellow card and it would actually be a red card on Southwest Eastnorth, the incensed Asto's starting playing more physical with the SWENNICs as they despised to no call and nose injury on one of their beloved teammates, let's be fair though no one without cause would feel differently. the tough physical play and the small pile of broken glass coming from presumably overpriced beer bottles getting flung into the field just outside the lines of play, showed the state that the players and fans from Astograth were under. This disgust at the lazy refereeing eventually saw a shoving match between reserve midfielder Jessica Ryan who had been substituted in near the beginning of the game, and Astograthian Indartsu Lekea who was much taller than the diminutive 5'5'' Ryan, saw Jessica throw a punch at Indartsu and draw a Penalty kick from Yasone Urdanibia, who would get what turned into the lone goal for the Astograthians.

In turn the game got really physical, lots of attempts at diving to take advantage of the lax referee, and other physical bumping saw the Frontiersmen/Pioneers take advantage of the loose playing conditions, Houton got his goal of the match and we got our first goal of a midfielder when Kevin Elder got one from 20 yards deep that sailed by Bedigax in the 88th minute, as it was apparent they had given up. Now there should have been injury time, but alas the glass bottle problem hinted at earlier saw it only get worse. The fans were getting more and more aggressive by the minute and more and more bottles flew down toward the field. While we don't know if any fans from Southwest Eastnorth were injured at this game we can only assume by the law of averages that there were some fights between opposing fans, well let you know more.

But with no injury time teams, coaches and refs were sent into the lockers and about that time the shipment of Beer. While it was the common SWENNIC beer of Brudale Genuine Draft, it was a good choice for cheep beer that would get sprayed all over the place. It was reveled that Graintfjall had loss 1-0 to EFL and SWEN had become the miraculous group champions!

The reward for SWEN? A fight against Pridnestrovia, a second place team in group C a group dominated by the powerful Eura team. More interesting is the match up of teams we would face in the second round if we win, Plane of Possibility and Cassadiagua will face of in Astograth PoP was by far the strongest third place team while Cass won a gauntlet of group E that included Nephara (somehow), Falkyr, and a failed Kalactin colony. Worthy opponents for the SWE, especially given the recent anti-PoP blog that came out last week.

Southwest Eastnorth - 3
L Bourne' 28'
Houton 64'
K Elder 88'

Astograth - 1
Urdanibia 49' (PK)'

by **Savojarna** » Fri Jul 31, 2020 1:48 pm

SavojarSports.sj - inside reports from all Savojarna
What can we learn from Savojarna’s second string?

By Jaukka Halanen
With group victory secured after a 4-0 victory over Olastor, Mikaela Rangren decided to play it safe and avoid any risk for injuries among her team by resting almost the entire first string of the squad. Out of the starting XI from the first match against Yuezhou, only four men remained, and even goalkeeper Iiro Pakanen was given a break in favour of CASK final man Thomas Larsen. This gave room to some more recent call-ups, such as 24 year old Simon Jacobsen finally graduating into his role as Perttu Karjanen’s designated heir or Paddi Gren following up on his strong CASK showings. It also meant that some of the players usually locked behind Savojarna’s star wingers got to shine, as Steinar Aarsoy and Markus Mellin got their first starts of the tournament. The fact that Savojarna still ground out a solid 0-1 against a highly defensive side in Nethertopia shows us the depth of the squad, and can be a positive sign looking forward.

The match began a bit patchy, courtesy of the lack of playtime - especially playtime together - of what is essentially the Savojar reserves, as well as Nethertopia’s defensive stance. The first real big chance occurred a quarter of an hour into the game, as Gren found a lob over the defence with the quick Jacobsen chasing after it. Although the positioning of Nethertopia’s defence was excellent, they struggle with speed, and Tielbeeke’s last resort was a little tug on the Savojar’s jersey that unbalanced him to avoid a 1v1 with Vreman, but also led to a yellow for the Nethertopian. Although the danger was cleared, it only lasted four minutes before Mellin cut inside between ten Bos and Storm van Gravesande, before dancing around the latter and playing a clinical lateral pass that Jacobsen converted from short range for what would prove to be the lone goal of the game.

It seemed as if the goal had reassured the young Savojars, who now pushed ahead more confidently and looked more stable at the back, with Trent Ullqvist, in one of his first Northlights starts, taking on the role of commanding sweeper at the back line. Marking Nethertopian captain van Bamberg tightly, and preventing any balls from reaching his foot or clearing any attempt of the Nethertopian to carry the ball into the box himself, he stepped up to a difficult task immediately. In the second half, Forsberg was also rested, giving some play to veteran Linne Kjaer, which entirely shut down the attempts to create anything for Nethertopia. In the offence, the depth of Savojarna also became apparent, as did the tactical depth of Rangren as she pulled off a convincing Paddi Gren not for a defensive player, but for a second striker in Nweke, leading to a more solid stance in midfield and a bigger chance for counter goals.

The change almost led to another goal late in the game, as Aarsoy played a long diagonal ball onto Jacobsen, who passed through the defence onto Nweke. But the flat shot of the half-Banijan striker was not a good goal, as he had started a little bit early and been caught offside by a clever move by the Nethertopian back line. Rangren’s team could afford to sit back, using Nurkanen as a more defensive right midfielder, an experiment that worked surprisingly well. This showed again the tactical depths Savojarna have at their disposal.

This depth will be needed as the Savojars are about to enter the knockout stage. As one of the four perfect group winners, they are getting a third-placed team, but drew the top seed among the third-placeds, Eastfield Lodge. The Eastfielders are a team that Savojarna have last played in the last Copa, where they hosted; Savojarna won that game narrowly.This time in St. Andrei, stakes will be a lot higher. A victory would lead to a quarterfinal against the winner of Sargossa and Pridnestrovia, both of which we have played (and beaten) in our Copa 34 run. We don’t want to make predictions from there onwards, but all possible options for the semifinal would be spectacular.

Nethertopia 0-1 Savojarna (0-1)

GOAL: 19’ Jacobsen 0-1 (Mellin).
YELLOW CARDS: 15’ Tielbeeke, 58’ Thorvaldsson, 67’ Schopman (all foul).
RED CARDS: none.
REMARKS: 26’ Aarsoy hit post, 79’ goal Savojarna (Nweke) disallowed for offside. Thorvaldsson (SVJ) misses next match.

SAVOJARNA: Larsen - Thorvaldsson, Forsberg (53’ Kjaer), Ullqvist, Skov - Gren (67’ Nweke), Andersson, Maersk - Aarsoy, Jacobsen, Mellin (80’ Nurkanen).
NETHERTOPIA: Vreman - Ten Bos, Storm van Gravesande, Gro-om, Tielbeeke (80’ Maat), Orgelo (68’ Eisink) - Schopman (74’ Boerkamp), Wanrooij, Sicke - Verlinden, van Bamberg.

by **Savojarna** » Fri Jul 31, 2020 2:03 pm

OOC HOST ANNOUNCEMENT: I have made a mistake in the draw. Crystalline Caverns and Pridnestrovia were switched around in their octofinal matchup. The correct matchups would be Sargossa vs. Pridnestrovia and Southwest Eastnorth vs Crystalline Caverns. This mistake results in a possible group rematch in the quarterfinals. After consulting with Asto, we decided to correct the mistake and push back the schedule by one day to accommodate RP changes. Should anyone already have RP'd the faulty draw and not want to/be able to change it, we will give full RP bonus as if the mistake had not happened.

by **Valladares** » Fri Jul 31, 2020 7:56 pm

Constitutional Court ruling: Angostura statehood legal, City of Columbus federalized

The former Valladar capital, until now part of the Mountbatten state and recently struck by intercommunity turmoil, has become the thirteenth state of the Valladar Union.

METROPOLIS (VAP) — With five votes for and two votes against, the Constitutional Court of Valladares has ruled that the process of secession of the eastern half of the Mountbatten state, passed into law by the Royal Parliament of Valladares in a controversial joint session of its two chambers held before its dissolution by Kings Marcus and Cyrus, was legal, therefore confirming the validity of what became known as the Law of Secession as well as statehood for the 52 municipalities to the east of the Aguablanca river, which will secede from the Mountbatten state to form the new Angostura state with immediate effect. However, the Constitutional Court also accepted the proposal of federalization of the city of Columbus put forward by the Kings, with which the proposed capital city for the Angostura state will ultimately not be part of the new state, but will become another state in its own right by Royal Proclamation.

According to the Constitutional Court ruling, "no defects of form or substance were found in the text, nor in the procedure that led to its approval. The project also had popular support, which although narrow, proved to be the majority". Although the Constitutional guarantor entity acknowledged the existence of some flawed events, those were not deemed as facts affecting the legality of the law: "Although questionable facts were presented during the previous process that may or may not have influenced the approval of the project in the Royal Parliament, in the inquiries and discussions thereon no strong correlation was found with a possible fraud, vice or change in conditions, and in the opinion of this entity, such facts should be investigated as disciplinary offenses of such entity, and under the methods provided for such situation".

The ruling also greenlit the proclamation of the former Valladar capital, Columbus, as a federal subject of its own. Despite Article 13 of the Law of Secession provided for the realization of a referendum in Columbus to decide on the future status of the city, this provision was not followed by the Constitutional Court, which decided to follow the advice of the Kings and grant the city statehood. The decision, according to the proposal submitted by the Kings, "is aimed at healing the rifts opened by the circumstances surrounding the project that became the Law of Secession, from its genesis to its aftermath, as well as promoting peaceful coexistence between the language communities of the city, which was harmed by the events subsequent to the Law's passing". According to some analysts, the federalization of Columbus is a move intended to meet the separatist desires of its Hispanic population while not alienating the city's Anglophone population by placing it in an overwhelming Hispanic federal subject. In addition to this, this proposed new status of the city is expected to pave the way for the installation of some federal institutions in the city in the mid-term, such as the Supreme Court of Valladares and the Royal Ministry of Culture, which would be interested in a move out of the District of Metropolis.

With the existence of the Angostura state upheld by this ruling, as well as the proclamation of the city of Columbus as a new state of the United Kingdom of Valladares, the Valladar sovereigns have thirty days to appoint Royal Delegates for those new territories according to the provisions of the Law of Secession, who will be in charge of overseeing the establishment of the institutions of those new states as well as calling elections for State Constituent Assemblies. The city of Los Chorros, which was initially designated as the provisional capital of the new state pending a final decision on the status of the municipality of Columbus, was confirmed as the permanent capital and seat of government of Angostura. Prime Minister Florent Philippe announced that the Royal Government led by him would respect and abide by the decision made by the Constitutional Court, as stated in his inauguration speech at the Royal Parliament last week, and confirmed that he would be travelling to Columbus once a Royal Delegate for the city was appointed in order to oversee the transfer of civilian authority from the Royal Government to the aforementioned royal representative.

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by **Darmen** » Fri Jul 31, 2020 11:01 pm

House of Magistrates Votes to Declare Darmeni Throne Extinct
Won't Yet Endorse Republicanism

SCOTT CITY - By a vote of 83-1, the House of Magistrates voted yesterday to declare the dormant Darmeni throne extinct following the death of its final claimant, Maxwell Romanov. The House of Magistrates, in a statement released to the public following its meeting, cited the lack of any viable candidate to take up the mantle of Darmeni royalism.

"The House was unable to come to any consensus on naming a successor to the Darmeni throne," said the statement. "After many Dukes and a Duchesses led Darmen and its citizens for 927 years, the Darmeni throne will lay vacant forevermore."

Although spokespersons for both the House of Magistrates and the Royalist Party failed to confirm the rumors, there are some observers who believe that at least one of the 84 members of the House of Magistrates led an effort to see an invitation extended to the Valladar co-monarchs to lay claim to the now extinct throne. The suspected attempt to see the Valladar kings Marcus and Cyrus installed as the claimants to the Darmeni throne clearly failed however, as the overwhelming majority of House members appear to have supported giving up monarchism and accepting the Republic.

Just as well too, as there is no telling what might have happened had an invitation been sent and the possibility of such an invitation flaring up tensions between Darmen and Valladares could certainly have been high.

With no claimant to the throne to champion, the Royalist Party has now lost its main impetus for existence. The Royalist Party acknowledged this, stating in a press release this morning, "The Party's Executive Council and Parliamentary Caucus will meet together on Saturday to discuss the path forward."

Although implicitly indicated by the result of yesterday's vote, both the House of Magistrates and the Royalist Party have so far avoided explicitly stating any support for republicanism. However, at least one member of the Royalist Party's Executive Council, who spoke anonymously, has stated that it is the only way forward.

"What other options exist? For many years we have said, 'God, Duke, Country.' But now, we'll be reduced to saying 'God and Country.' And frankly, I think that's enough, really."

DFA Suspends Juanito Stafford for Remainder of Copa
Social Media Post Deemed "Unacceptable"

The DFA called this post from Stafford, "Unacceptable."

ECHEGOYAN, ASTOGRATH - National team midfielder Juanito Stafford has been suspended from the team for the remainder of the Copa Rushmori following comments on social media in support of the Valladar co-kings, Marcus and Cyrus, making claims to the now extinct Darmeni throne. The 29 year old is of mixed Darmeni-Valladar ethnicity and plays football for Rogerton Valladar CF, a club which draws almost all of its support from Darmen's Valladar community.

In its statement announcing Stafford's suspension, the Darmeni Football Association stated, "Although players are permitted to express their personal political views, the DFA Code of Conduct clearly states that comments which may lead to a significant amount of controversy are not permissible. The national team and its players are called to be representatives for all of Darmeni society, regardless of national origin, ethnicity or any other factor and statements made for the purpose of causing controversy do not conform to that calling. Whether intended or not, Stafford's post caused a great deal of controversy and is therefore unacceptable. He has been suspended from playing for the national team for the remainder of the Copa Rushmori."

Stafford defended his social media posting, saying, "My post was a humorous attempt to point out the ridiculousness of the tensions that exist between Darmen and Valladares and between Darmenis and Valladars." Following his post, #TrueDukes became a popular trending subject online, with many online users greatly offended while others laughed along.

The DFA has not accepted Stafford's explanation, turning down his appeal of the suspension and ordering him to return home to Darmen as soon as possible. "The delicate relationship between Darmen and Valladares must be guarded at all times, but especially now when a new page in relations appears possible. The current state of affairs leaves little room for poor attempts at humor."

His absence from the team for the remainder of the tournament will mean that Aquila Freud will be included in the starting eleven for the remainder of the tournament. Stafford was scoreless and lacked any assists to his name through four matches, while Freud has come off the bench twice for a combined forty minutes of play. Although scoreless, the 26 year old Sleepy Hollow winger has had a number of shots be perilously close to going in.

by **Taeshan** » Sat Aug 01, 2020 6:33 pm

"Valladares up next what are your thoughts?"

"Uh well I don't think we have played them in a while. 4 total matches all time I believe is the stat. Definitely not one of the Rushmore opponents we see a lot. Nice to see a match against them. They're a historic power, recently came back into prominence. They beat us in Volleyball so...maybe we can get our revenge here."

"How do you see the recent influx of Valladar players into Taeshan?"

"I'm sure it shows the relative strength of the league, it used to be Taes would hope to go to Valladares, and Valladar players scoffed at coming here. There is definitely a sea-change when it comes to the TPL, and that can only be a good thing for the league."

"Eura is likely if you win this game, possible 19th meeting between the sides, what do you think of that possibility?"

"I won't think of it until after this game. We have a Valladares match, and it could be our last. We need to win that before even thinking of beyond. If we can't beat the Pedestrian States, who is to say we can even compete with Valladares?"

"You guys rather backed yourself into a corner, but came out on top, what does this say about your squad?"

"Well they like an exciting last Group Stage match. The only game in the recent years in a Group Stage the last game didn't matter was when I scored in the last kick of the game in World Cup 83, and then we were out. Heck even in 84 we weren't guaranteed to advance with 6 points going into the final day. We did what we had to do."

"What do you have to do to advance past Valladares?"

"Score more goals than they do."

"Well obviously, but besides that?"

"We could win every game moving forward 1-0, and I would be fine with that. Florian needs to be on his game, Wilhelm needs to find his shooting boots, and for the love of god if the defense could hit somebody isntead of letting them in on goal that would really make me smile."

by **Pasarga** » Sat Aug 01, 2020 7:38 pm

Darmen against Pasarga, it is the oft forgotten rivalry of Rushmori and of the Wanderers, most likely due to the Wanderers near one sided dominance of the engagements. If one to ask our Darmeni opposition the teams that dog their nightmares and seem to be the stumbling block at many of their attempts to crack into the elite of the region, there would be few who would not answer Pasarga. The two sides will renew their acquaintances in the first knockout round here in the thirty-fifth edition of the Copa Rushmori, a very interesting development after the Wanderers were able to go through their group with a perfect record. Darmen is a reasonably strong squad for the side to be facing here in the first knockout round and Darmen will no doubt be looking to try and exercise some of their past demons of our squad when the Wanderers are in theory in a bit of a downswing of fortune. In their eyes, this may be the very best opportunity to try and get one up on the Wanderers and exact a small measure of revenge for many of their previous failures against our side.

The Darmen situation is not the only one that raises a few eyebrows for the Wanderers faithful as the bracket was revealed, despite having the second best record in the group stage, only behind the juggernaut of Eura, the Wanderers have what is perhaps the most difficult path towards the Copa Rushmori Final that they could have had. In a potential path to the Final of this tournament, the Wanderers would have to play Darmen, then they would most likely have to play against Nephara in the next round. Yes, one of the two other teams besides the Wanderers themselves and Eura to have lifted the World Cup title and are traditionally one of the best teams in all of the footballing world. However that is not all, if by some sort of miraculous run of form that the Wanderers would have to then most likely face off against the last of the World Cup Champions in this Copa Rushmori, Cassadaigua. Such a route to the Final is enough to raise quite a few eyebrows about the difficulty and how a team that performed so well in the group stage would be tasked with such a route to their goals of the tournament.

While scandal is not the word on the lips of the fans, it might be on their minds, much as how it might have been on their minds for a few years after Alexander Jager turned his back on the club that developed his talent. When Jager was a teenager and had graduated from the CA Paulinthal academy, it was highly suspected that he would do the natural thing and sign on with the senior team and become their next great talent. Yet he surprised everyone instead when he decided to reject the senior contract from his hometown club and instead opted to sign with Dwile of Apox. When the Apox league collapsed in on itself, he was then presented the opportunity to once more make himself a national hero and return back to the dual islands, but instead opted to sign with Revolutionaires in Eura. It is perhaps these turn of events why the fans have never truly been on Jager's side, with the constant doubts and belittling of his achievements when the Wanderers are failing to live up to their expectations. It is perhaps too late for him to become that national hero on the club level, bringing the Copa back to the dual islands might restore a bit of grace for him among the fans before he is forced into international retirement.

Here we are then, against a Darmen squad that finished second in their group with two wins from four as well as two losses. WIth four goals for and four goals conceded, it is clear that the Darmen attack is not exactly the most prolific but breaking them down is not going to be very easy either. The Wanderers attack is something special and given what the side has already done to the defensive masterminds of Taeshan, the squad will have to be quite optimistic about their chances of unscrewing the Darmen defensive wall to great effect. The speed of Júlia Müller and the sheer skill of Jager should be formidable enough to break down through the staunch Darmeni defensive outfit. The defense had a bit of a shakeup with the Pedestian States managing to find a way to break them down twice, making it two of the only thee goals the squad conceded in the group stage. If it was a mere blip in form or if it s a signal of the team becoming unglued at the most inopportune times is one of the most concerning questions going into the knockouts. A blip should mean that even with their difficult path, the Wanderers would have to feel confident about their chances, while the latter could be a sign that the squad has not learned the lessons sorely taught the last few years.

by **Plane of Possibility** » Sat Aug 01, 2020 9:04 pm

Field of Dreams
Plane of Possibility

Hope Lamont was lying in the field of grass at the Field of Dreams. They had been in the Plane of Possibility for over a week now through this Copa Rushmori; there didn't seem to be any signs of going back to their realms from The Worldbuilder. None of them had any idea as to what was going on regarding going back home - The Worldbuilder had never held them before. The arcane users among them had gotten together to brainstorm, and their best theory was that the contract of what held them to this Plane had changed.

She missed home. There was no guarantee that time wasn't passing in their home planes anymore, and she was someone who was needed back home. What indeed was going on?

Then, she noticed out of the corner of her eye a spectre appearing. Was it a ghost? No, not really - well, it wasn't a normal ghost. It was in the shape of a raven, yet not quite solid - it was translucent, for sure.

The ghost-raven fluttered, or shimmered, or moved - to her shoulder, and in its beak was a scroll, physical and bound in cords and a seal. She took the scroll from the bird, and it simply vanished.

Taking care to not break the cords, she removed the seal with as little damage as possible. The papers smelled musty, as if they were really old; the ink was jet black, and the writing was not in a language that she could read. Was it... Infernal?

She looked around the Field and noticed that one of the Tieflings were nearby. She motioned to them, and Sorrow Song took the parchment.

"Ah," he stated, reading the document solemnly, "This... Makes more sense."

"What does it say?" inquired Hope, "Anything regarding our particular situation?"

"Yes," answered Song, his eyes meeting hers, "Rather clearly. We are stuck here until the end of the tournament. The Worldbuilder has decided that sending us home between matches isn't the best to maintain cohesion. From now on, we will be staying here for the duration of each tournament that we are entered in."

"Does it say anything about how time passes at our home plane?" her voice was very quiet, as if she was afraid of an answer.

"Apparently, time is passing, yet very slowly. If we are in this plane for seven days, it'll be seven hours back home. The most The Worldbuilder is hoping of holding us is for two months; that would be just over sixty hours."

"Better than one-to-one," replied Hope.

Sorrow Song nodded, and then spoke up one more time.

"There is one last thing, Ms. Lamont," he said, a twinkle of hope in her eye.

"What is it?" inquired Hope, taking the bait.

"If we ever place in a tournament - top three places - The Worldbuilder has decreed they will never call us down again."

"Really? Are you certain?" asked Hope.

"It is stated as plain as day. And The Worldbuilder isn't a being that can lie or contradict itself. Yes, I am absolutely positive," was the answer.

With a nod, the two of them separated and ran off, Sorrow Song to tell the rest of the Tieflings and Hope to tell the other three.

If they somehow won their next two matches plus one more (whether it be the Semifinal or the Third Place Match), they'd be left alone.

Which meant that there was hope... for Hope.

by **Astograth** » Sat Aug 01, 2020 10:13 pm

COPA RUSHMORI XXXV

Round of 16 (Octofinals) - Savojarna half

Eura 1–0 Yuezhou

Valladares 1–0 Taeshan

Savojarna 4–0 Eastfield Lodge

Sargossa 3–1 Pridnestrovia

Quarterfinal matchups:
Eura vs. Valladares
Savojarna vs. Sargossa

by **Nephara** » Sat Aug 01, 2020 11:32 pm

Nephara 2 - 1 Falkyr
(4-4-2) 1 - Mercator; 18 - Rostock, 5 - Thorn (c), 6 - Brosch, 3 - Muscadin (19 - Katarec 61'); 13 - Saroszi, 4 - Shone (15 - Kastriot 74'), 21 - Moxham, 11 - Deventer (16 - Caracole 82'); 9 - Bastable, 14 - Tzorvas
Goals: Deventer 36', Bastable 50'

Logria 1 - 2 Nephara
(4-4-2) 1 - Mercator; 2 - Stride (18 - Rostock 65'), 5 - Thorn (c), 6 - Brosch, 19 - Katarec; 7 - Kuepper, 4 - Shone (15 - Kastriot 79'), 8 - Cromwell, 16 - Caracole; 14 - Tzorvas, 23 - Lovelace
Goals: Katarec 15', Lovelace 63'

Extracts from the Book of Thorn.

Played badly; won. Played badly; won. We got the job done and we're moving on.
It doesn't pay to care too much about what happens against the Falkyrs of the world. And their new manager bounce. They held firm, scored first even, and that was on me. Grahn got behind me, I let a ball bounce that shouldn't, she hooked it past Mercator with what I'm told was a clever little heel-flick. Fuck's sake, she plays for Cranequin.
Well, whatever. Morena and Kurtis put it to rights and I didn't even want to think about it, so this late little scribble is what you get. Beating Logria by the same scoreline wasn't much of a salve.

The one thing that rankles is this: the best team in the group has been Cassadaigua. Table doesn't lie. Wouldn't go as far as to say something isn't quite right yet, but...
Well, we better not fuck it up against the next opponents. It'll be my hundredth cap.

--

[One page is devoted entirely to sketches of a mediocre but capable standard. A romantic portrait of Ilyana Brosch sighing, an angry scribble of assistant manager Ivy Herrick hitting a male footballer (likely Metzger, perhaps Lovelace) with a steel chair and a dinosaur with laser-eyes vie for attention.]

--

THE NEW LADS:

ALEXANDRA MARKGRAF
Can't stop talking, won't stop talking. She's got a lot of stories, and a lot of jokes about the supps* from her time out in the sticks there. She's a good time, and if you're third-choice goalkeeper, you better at least be a good time. Think she's already got an eye on Rasmus, but it seems one-sided.

RASMUS CARACOLE
Says fuck-all. Maybe he's anxious or maybe he's just like this. Northeast coasters are wired strange like that.

LINDE ROSTOCK
It's good to have another ironside** on the team. She's got a good intensity to her. Trains hard as anything. She wants Stride's place, not that she'll get it - she's unlucky to be in basically the same generation. But she is a gun. Always down in the gym, too, punching shit.

[Another sketch takes up the middle of a page, this time of a giant snake swallowing a skyscraper whole. The final entry is scrunched awkwardly in the negative space in the bottom-right; the writing steadily shrinks as it goes on.]

LOTHAIRE CROMWELL
Last because I honestly forgot he was new. That's how comfortable and cocksure he is. He's loose. Lots of jokes. Very easy to be around. Which is handy; the lad's a proper talent. Works hard, too. He'll make his own century, little doubt of that.

* Short for supplicants, in reference to the Brenecian monarchy both historic and revived. Along with 'kneelers', 'Stuhlbettler', 'beggars', 'neeshes', 'farmers', 'scum', 'pikers', 'wheatmen', 'serfs', 'fishbacks', 'selkies', 'vowels', 'kelp-eaters', 'sheep-shaggers', 'sloggers', 'lambs' and 'damps', serves as a derisive mild slur for Brenecians. By contrast, Brenecians only have the one common slur for Nepharim; 'shags', which manages to be both catchier and have a double meaning in reference to the cormorant and to Nepharan promiscuity.

** People from the province of Barossia, chiefly the cities of Stahlburg, Iron and Covenant, renowned for their stubbornness and the massive chips on their shoulder.

by **Savojarna** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 2:07 am

And with this, the first knockout round of the Copa Rushmori 35 comes to a close!

COPA RUSHMORI XXXV

Round of 16 (Octofinals) - Astograth half

Pasarga 3–3 Darmen (4–3 AET)

Nephara 2–1 Graintfjall

Cassadaigua 2–2 Plane of Possibility (4–2 AET)

Southwest Eastnorth 2–2 Crystalline Caverns (2–2 AET) (4–3 pen.)

Quarterfinal matchups:
Pasarga vs. Nephara
Cassadaigua vs. Southwest Eastnorth

by **Valladares** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 10:22 pm

My experience in Valladares
By Jessica Curran, Valladar national team manager

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog! In the short time I have been living this challenge at the front of one of the most traditional and reputed national football teams in Rushmore and the multiverse, I had never been able to express my feelings about this new stage of my life, so in this entry I'm going to tell you all about what I have lived so far as the manager of the Valladar national football team and what I'm hoping for the future with this amazing team!

When I found out that the Valladar Football Association were looking for a new manager for their senior team, I realized this could very well be the chance of my lifetime. After hanging up my boots and bidding farewell to a successful career on the pitch, I spent some time preparing myself to lead a team from another zone of the field, and had some important learning experiences coaching the Cassadaigua youth teams and as assistant of the Baker Park national team, which gave me some previous knowledge on what managing a senior team is. Therefore I felt confident enough to throw my name into the contest and sent my CV to the VFA's offices. I'm not going to deny that I felt a bit nervous that my bid would be a long shot, and that should I was selected (as ultimately happened) I would have to face a lot of criticism from the fans of a country where this sport is mostly dominated by men, for whom having a woman managing their NT would be something hard to digest at the very beginning. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome and reception I had in Metropolis upon my arrival and the messages of encouragement and support I received from Valladar fans on social media. One of the reasons I had to come here was trying to break some existing paradigms regarding the role of women in the sport in this nation, and it looks like something on that front is changing for the better. Which is good.

From what I had the chance to see from Valladares during the most recent World Cup qualifying campaign, where they were drawn in the same group as my previous employees Baker Park, that team showed glimpses of their traditional offensive provess on field but lacked quite some spark and battling spirit. Whenever they conceded, it seemed like they psychically started to crumble down to pieces, unable to stage a strong reaction which ended up costing them valuable points against teams they should have beaten such as Sharktail and Twicetagria. Their performance certainly improved at the Cup of Harmony but was still not enough to take them too far in the competition as some defensive mistakes did not leave entirely. With the team coming off two competitions in which they scored a lot but also conceded a lot, something definitely had to be done in the defensive zone! I am a coach who prefers a strong defense and relies on defensive play a lot, but changing the traditional style of play of Valladar players would have been too harsh and shocking at the very beginning, so I had to look for a way to compromise. Another thing I wanted to work with was generational change: this team is getting more veteran as the years pass and it was time to refresh it with younger blood. That's why I decided to bring players such as Lucien Chamoun, Daniel Brown, Alexis Durmisi, and Valentin Germain to the team. They're young, hard-working, bring up new ideas with them, and best of all, they were impressive the previous year with their respective clubs, so why not?

The first matches of this Copa campaign gave us the chance to show our fans the fruits of our hard work and preparation previous to the competition, and while victories against Kalosia and Rea San Vegas would not say much about the level of this team, they served their purpose to reassure us that we were on the right path. Good wins against teams in development to lift the team's morale ahead of the crucial games against the group's top seeds. The third match against Darmen was the real thermometer to find out the true level of this team, and what a good match it was: 3-1 victory with guys such as Thibault Benezet and Ronald Mickel in quite good form, and considerable defensive improvement in spite of the goal conceded against the Darmenis. The last match of the group ended with Sargossa beating us by a 4-1 score and bringing us back to Earth to some extent. The defeat didn't hurt too much since we ended up punching our ticket to the next stage of the competition before having our bye day, and eventually qualified as group runners-up. Next up, an exhausting cross-continental journey to Savojarna for our Round of 16 match against Taeshan was waiting for us. It turned up to be a war of attrition, as we tried to not wear ourselves too much while the Taeshanis resorted to their traditional defensive play. Eventually a setpiece became the key to open that padlock, with Alexis Durmisi sending the ball to the back of the net with 5 minutes to go, saving us from a tiring extra time and sending us through to the quarterfinals after 90 demanding minutes. Fortunately before the match against Taeshan, we had the chance to enjoy a recharging layover in Metropolis, with lots of fans at the airport showing us their support ahead of the decisive knockouts, which I'm totally sure reinvigorated the guys.

So here we are, putting Valladares back into the group of best eight teams in Rushmore and preparing for another clash of titans against Eura with the aims set on going another step up in the ladder, and keep fueling the dreams of a third regional crown. I've heard that Valladares has not had much luck when facing Eura at such a stage in several tournaments, but we are working to make things have a different outcome this time and finally make the balance tilt on our side. I am feeling very comfortable working with you and I am really happy to see things are going smoothly so far, but rest assured that I as well as the rest of the Valladar NT still have got a lot to give. Keep going with the wonderful support on the stands, guys! ¡Adelante, Valladares!

Valladares 1-0 Taeshan
(Durmisi 85')

Valladares: Gaviria - Marrugo, Delgado, Rueda - Rojas, O'Brien, Mickel, Padilla - Baume, Alexandre, Benezet
Subbed Out: Alexandre 57', Padilla 68', Benezet 79'
Subbed In: Pearson 57', Durmisi 68', Germain 79'
Unused Subs: Dussan, Brown, Matheus, Démont, Castillo, Malicki, Lachlant, Valdivia, Chamoun
Manager: Jessica Curran (Cassadaigua)

by **Savojarna** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 4:55 am

SavojarSports.sj - inside reports from all Savojarna
Savojarna break down Eastfield Lodge; meet Sargossa again

By Jaukka Halanen
If there were one image to tie to this Copa Rushmori forever in my mind, it would be the view of tens of thousands of Savojar fans lining the street when the team arrives. This has been the case in Sjoedrhavn and Thorsborg, where the team has been coming from their main base in the Johanslän fields. But it had been at its highest so far in St. Andrei, where the team has relocated to a hotel in the North of the city, only fifteen minutes away from the stadium. After fans had gotten wind of the location, the team’s path to Virov had been lined with fans clad in blue and white, and on the roads of the Virov district the team bus had slowed down to near walking speed, dragging a cloud of supporters behind it and making for an incredibly powerful show of Savojar solidarity. Their show of unity would continue in the stadium, where the international audience must have gotten chills by the around fifty-thousand Savojars singing the International and seamlessly carrying over into a rendition of Mytanarska for the first five minutes of the match.

The solidarity had clearly carried over to the pitch, where Savojarna didn’t come out all guns blazing like some expected, but played a calm and collected game. They waited patiently for their chance to open up, and eventually they got their chance as a pass was intercepted by Maersk. The captain immediately switched to the forward gear and launched a long diagonal ball for Voynov, who exploited the space behind Eastfield Lodge’s wingbacks for a run to the box, but could only hit the post. It was the first shot on goal eleven minutes into the game, and it enticed the Savojar fans to cheer louder. The Eastfielders struggled hard, as their formation locked perfectly into Savojarna’s, the advanced Savojar fullbacks covering the wingers and Forsberg nearly man-marking Murray up front. This left Eastfield Lodge without any open passing lanes, and unable to threaten Pakanen.

Savojarna, on the other hand, could use their strong base to regularly launch dangerous attacks. Following on Voynov’s post shot, two more good chances were missed as Lundell shot wide from eighteen metres and a cross by Voynov was intercepted by the Eastfielder goalkeeper. However, before the half hour, they would find success as Jashkin was sent deep on a counter and drew out a centre-back, winning the 1v1 and finding a cross to the middle. Although the cross was deflected, Jotansson could use it, converting with an awkward jumping volley at the second post to send the stadium into overdrive. Now being up one-nil on home soil in a game they had controlled thus far, Savojarna showed no intention of letting up.

The Northlights led the game into half time, only conceding one truly dangerous chance when a corner wasn’t sufficiently cleared and landed on the feet of Murray, who couldn’t beat Pakanen from short range as the Jinja City keeper showed a beautiful reflex to deflect the ball with his right shin. On the other side, Savojarna were biding their time, getting two more shots off but unable to convert either as Jotansson was denied by the keeper and Maersk’s long-range attempt went high. At half time, there was faint optimism going around the stadium, beginning the second half in a trademark display of white and blue smoke and a wave of flags as the teams entered.

A wave also seemed to have swept Eastfield Lodge as play resumed, with first Jotansson failing to get the ball past Persson and then Forsberg missing his header off the following corner by about thirty centimetres. Then, on the third attack, Savojarna struck gold as Lundell was trying to get into a 1v1, but was brought down by a defender for a free kick from a central position 24 metres from the goal. Voynov put down the ball and found the perfect angle, twisting it around the wall to dip right next to the left post, impossible to reach for the keeper. With Savojarna up two-nil and the game under control, the Northlights relented pressure and tried to counter. Rangren’s changes further supported this, with Ullqvist replacing the more offensive Polina Zirkova and Jacobsen replacing the slower and more hulking Jotansson to introduce more defensive stability as well as some extra speed on the counter-attack.

The counters did indeed start to come in the final twenty minutes, when Eastfield Lodge started to open at the back. Savojarna kept their composure and got a massive chance as Jacobsen got a free run at the goal, but was whistled back for offside as Jashkin’s pass was a tiny bit too late. Then, five minutes later, Andersson managed to snipe a ball off the foot of Accardi and sent Maersk off with the ball, who found Lundell. Three versus three was the name of the game as Voynov and Jacobsen joined the run, with Jashkin supporting behind the three. A short moment of doubt in the central defence of Eastfield Lodge spelled death, as Lundell was given some space twenty metres out and shot the ball to the top right side for the decisive 3-0. Gasps could be heard as Ullqvist almost conceded a penalty, but profited from the Eastfielder striker trying to go for goal rather than fall at the contact, and the referee deciding against a penalty in a borderline decision. A late goal by Jacobsen off an overlap by Skov topped up the score to 4-0, the clearest victory in the octofinals by a margin.

This leaves a strong Northlights team still undefeated in the Copa Rushmori, standing at five victories out of five games. They will now travel to Pawlograd to meet Sargossa in a rematch of the two’s Copa 34 quarterfinal, which Savojarna won thanks to a late goal by Mikhail Jashkin. In Thorsborg, a banger between Eura and Valladares will decide the winner’s next opponent. Valladares are the clear outsider in this clash as Eura have reached this spot with the best group stage of the tournament, but a 1-0 against Yuezhou that was closer than expected may give the Valladars hope. A Savojarna - Eura semifinal would mark the fourth time in five Copa editions that these countries meet in a knockout game, with the record being currently 2-1 in Eura’s favour; WCC games tilt this balance stronger in Eura’s favour. Valladares, on the other hand, have been a somewhat regular opponent (often with the better end for the Valladars) in Savojarna’s early days, but haven’t met recently and never played Savojarna in a knockout game.

On the other side of the bracket, Pasarga’s match against Nephara could as well be a final. The matchup was a surprise born out of Nephara’s loss to Cassadaigua on their first-round duel, and made Pasarga’s path to the finals surprisingly difficult for the number two seed coming out of group stages. Savojarna can sing a song about the difficulty of having to deal with unexpected hardship - their group victory in Copa 32 was rewarded with knockout games against Cassadaigua and Eura, resulting in a quarterfinal exit. This draw also means we can be almost sure not to see Nephara, one of the most popular countries among Savojar football fans thanks to their presence in the SFS, play on our soil. Finally, Cassadaigua are vying for a spot to play the Cormorants once more in the semifinal if they beat Southwest Eastnorth, the quarterfinal with the biggest favourite on paper. However, SWEN have been unfavoured for much of their run, and have so far not been bothered.

Savojarna 4-0 Eastfield Lodge (1-0)
Stadion Traktorov, St. Andrei (56’000 spectators/sold out)

Goals: 24’ Jotansson 1-0 (Jashkin). 51’ Voynov 2-0. 74’ Lundell 3-0 (Maersk). 87’ Jacobsen 4-0 (Skov).
Yellow cards:
Red cards: none
Remarks: 11’ Voynov hits post. Savojarna without Thorvaldsson (suspended).

Savojarna: Pakanen - Pedersen, Forsberg, Zirkova (58’ Ullqvist), Skov - Voynov (78’ Aarsoy), Andersson, Maersk, Jashkin - Lundell - Jotansson (66’ Jacobsen).

by **Southwest Eastnorth** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 10:38 am

Contruction Boom in Southwest Eastnorth?
Article takes excerpts from - swensport.swe/national_football_team.html

SOUTHWEST EASTNORTH - One of the benefits of being a surprise winner in the Copa Rushmori, is the part of the game where the domestic side reaps secondary benefits. There has been a huge boom in football/soccer stadiums in the last 5 years as the Southwest Eastnorth team surges into the round of 8 lets look at some of the beauties that decorate the landscape of Swennic football.

Tipoli Stadium (22,000)
Named for domestic coaching ledgended and current national team coach Umberto Tipoli, this stadium is thought of as one of the best stadiums in the nation. Using the old bowl style, this stadium is home to the popular White Sock United team. Tipoli did a lot of playing and coaching with the team and thats what lead to him being a stop gap manager for this first cycle.

First Coast Stadium (31,000)
Home of Auberlin Federal FC, last seasons champions, First Coast stadium is located a mere mile or so from the location where the first SWENNIC settlers laid foot on the lands. This place also submitted a bid for the CdC, but the much larger Valladeres stadium won out in the end.

The Reynolds FInancial Oval (25,000)
Another well presented bowl is the new Reynolds Financial Oval for Mount Moustakis' new team, A beautiful 25k seater this is one of the fancier of the popular bowls in SWEN

ISON Stadium (27,500)
The ISON Stadium is a bit more unique looking compaired to some of the other stadiums in the nation. Home of the lowly Virginia United, the stadium has seen a lot just in the last season

Capital Athletic Complex (20,000)
The last of the five stadiums we'll look at today is the one from Virginia thats called Capital Athletic complex. Part of the original design of the prebuilt city of Virginia, the Capital AC As it is called is one of the premier stadiums in SWEN even with its small capcity, Virginia City plays here and they were slightly better than Virginia United.

There are rumors swelling around in Southwest Eastnorth about a possible Copa Rushmori XXVI hosting gig. With the Ro8 game being the impetus for possible additional stadium constructions. Coach Tipoli has said he would support new Stadiums and could see several areas such as Auberlan and Virginia City as places to put them. The Round of 8 game will take place versus the noted Matriarchy of Cassadaigua, this comes on the heels of a shoot out 4-3 Penelty Kick victory over a mildly infuriating Cyrstallene Caverns. In the end though Van Austin got the PK kick that decided it and the Caverns player Brodie Wavers missed and it was a win and advancement for the Frontiersmen/Pioneers. Again next up is a tough Cassadaigua team that could prove hard for the Frontiers as they are looking to continue this miracle run

by **Eura** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 6:30 pm

emplor.eur/main/sport/football
DISCIPLINED EURA MEET EXPECTATIONS IN EARLY STAGES OF COPA
After winning five from five Michael Brandon knows biggest challenges lie ahead
Report by our Euran international team correspondent Isabel Haynes

Defeat against Nephara in the World Cup 85 quarter finals was not a pleasant experience for Eura. It was, sadly, a familiar one, and so the long World Cup drought continues. There’s no such drought to speak of in the Copa Rushmori where Eura won the last tournament on penalties against Savojarna, a nerve-racking way to endure victory after super results from open play all tournament. Seeking to defend that title, manager Michael Brandon set out to start this tournament in a positive way after an awkward media performance in the build-up, and has gone on to achieve a strong start with a convincing group stage performance and an assured win over Yuezhou in the Round of Sixteen.

On arrival in Savojarna Eura’s Nepharim coach, 56, addressed the media in a confident tone. “It’s not been the longest prep period we’ve had but it will do. These lads are good to go and if we play to the level of ability most of you rightly expect of the Euran national team, the results will follow, and I’m in this business for results.” He was less forthcoming about some of the differences to this side from the one that took home the trophy last time. “Not today, no, not today” was the response journalists got as he took the unusual step of not answering follow up questions at the standard start-of-tournament presser. EBC Sport called it a “polite and yet firm snub” – we call it a manager getting agitated under light pressure.

Behaviour like this was unusual and concerning given Brandon’s history and brand of being a composed character. Instead, other outlets and ourselves pondered between one another his selection choices and were forced to speculate on the rationales behind them. Few could seriously argue Dean Steele does not deserve a call up over Harvey Blake but surely Jack Menard would be the more radical choice needed? Why is Scott Coles is still holding the armband at 35, let alone playing, when Rowland should be captain? Why did it take so long to make Vincent Robshaw a first teamer? Are Blessed and Tomlinson international class? Questions circled and only silence came back. As the first game approached, an uneasy atmosphere was gathering over the Euran national team.

Eura 5–1 Ancharmunn @ Pohjoiskaivaa (46,000, Hovikkära)
Patterson 53, Rowland 59, Bond 68, Sutton 74, Fletcher 77 – Bucanero 24

A game against Ancharmunn to start the group stage was an opportunity for a trip down memory lane. The returning Charmunnry are known for their football in Eura largely because of Eamon Power. The former Ancharmunn international, Revolutionaries player and Gold League Defender of the Season was looking on from the executive seating with a satisfied grin at the idea of the return of his country to international football. The 58 year old Charmunnry became a manager on retirement and is currently unattached, but has managed in Eura for many years. He and thousands of countrymen were no doubt proud to be back at the Copa.

Few challenges could have been more daunting than facing Eura first on their return, especially because those thousands of fans were outnumbered by the Euran supporters in vast numbers at the packed Pohjoiskaivaa. Ancharmunn overcame the intimidating atmosphere and task ahead of them by keeping it simple. No heroics, defend in depth, and get to half time unscathed; which they did well to the immense frustration of the Euran players and in spite of losing three players to injury. Of twelve first half Euran shots, only three were on target, and all were kept out by Floyd Leyland in the Ancharmunn goal. The bigger reason they were frustrated though was that where Eura had not converted many chances, Ancharmunn had converted their only effort on goal.

Juanito Bucanero is a technically gifted midfielder who may well have earned himself a good contract in a high flying league with what was a sensational first goal in this new era of Charmunnry football. A sublime run from the middle of the pitch deep into Eura’s half ended with a delightful rainbow flick to throw off Roberts and Steele, followed by a precise chip over Belgrave to score. There was nothing but joy for Ancharmunn then as they reached half time with an improbable 1-0 lead leaving Eura in dire need of a reset. Brandon reacted strongly to this sloppy forty five minutes by switching to a 4-3-3, bringing off ineffectual rotation starters Freddie Wright and Harry Humpheys for John Fletcher and Henry Patterson. Bowman, Bond and Fletcher now lead the line in front of Rowland, Robshaw and Patterson. Moira Woakes, out with a minor foot injury, looked on with woe.

Brandon’s changes appeared to have worked as Eura dominated the opening minutes of the second half when a bizarre episode interrupted the game. There was a complete power failure in the Pohjoiskaivaa just as Eura were in on goal. Minutes passed without explanation or a solution and boos rang around the ground, along with some more light-hearted chants at the expense of the reputation of Savojar infrastructure (if you want to intellectualise “you don’t know what you’re doing”, that is). Many teams in Eura’s position might have lost their head in these circumstances. After the lengthy delay finally came to an end with the lights coming back on, they were given every opportunity to go postal when the referee prevented Eura from resuming their attack.

The resulting drop ball went Eura’s way and gave them the chance to immediately change the tone of the evening. Rowland had the ball and picked out Patterson who, with his first touches of the ball, curled the ball into the top right hand corner from 20 yards. Eurans everywhere exhaled and Brandon nodded with approval. Rowland then got involved herself, driving past Constantine Tynesman like she wasn’t there. The Bastion midfielder could have passed to Bond or Fletcher in goalscoring positions to her right. Instead she took it upon herself to place a shot through a group of three defenders. It all happened too quickly for Leyland to prevent the ball nestling in the back of the net.

Fifty minutes of good work by Ancharmunn had been undone in five. Eura had them on the run and the gap in quality became more apparent as time went on. Bond made it three with a poorly hit shot that just about found enough power to make it in. He did much better in creating the fourth, tying two Ancharmunn defenders in knots on the right flank before cutting the ball back for Tommy Sutton. Sutton, who had replaced Bowman minutes earlier, controlled the ball neatly with his left foot and then finished with his right. The game was already over but John Fletcher wanted to make it five and did so in the most devastating fashion, meeting a Robshaw cross with an unstoppable volley from close range to bring the score to 5-1.

Oberour Ar Moro 1–5 Eura @ Stadion Patrik Suhonen (52,000, Virkaja)
Bele 48 – Bond 17, 19, 55 (pen), Woakes 26, Robshaw 62

Victory in Hovikkära had set Eura on the right course. However, their second match would be against Oberour Ar Moro, the group’s second seeds. A win here would put Eura in a commanding position to win the group and a loss would give their opponents an amazing opportunity to top it themselves. Their manager Matthieu Augier has an ultra-attacking philosophy by default and there was no chance he would abandon it for this must-win fixture. In the first few minutes they were positive in getting forward repeatedly and creating chances that tested the mettle of Belgrave and his defence. The Eurans were up to the job of seeing off this spell of attacks on their own goal and so stalemate ensued.

The decisive factor in this game would be whether a similar pattern emerged at the other end. It did not. Unlike in the first half or so of the Ancharmunn game, Eura took advantage of poor quality defending and, once they had got through the first ten minutes of Oberour Ar Moro wearing themselves out, scored three quick goals. Bond got two of them – a tidy finish down to the right of the keeper followed by a well-placed header. Moira Woakes was back from injury and reminded us all of her quality with the third goal, dribbling past Gwion du Bourc-la-Reyne with such speed that he practically fell on his back trying to track her run. Woakes and her newly healed foot gave Laurens Desainctvictori no chance with the finish.

Eura’s opponents did manage to get a goal back early in the second half. Taran Bele finally got the timing on one of his runs spot on and beat Steele and Roberts to an incisive Eneour Pique-Pain ball, before slipping it through Belgrave’s legs and in. The goal proved to be nothing other than a consolation as Eura regained their three goal advantage and soon took a 5-1 lead. Bond was felled badly by Marzhin Petit who was lucky to stay on the pitch. Eura’s most potent goal scorer stepped up and slotted home the penalty to complete his hat-trick and was withdrawn to rest in favour of Fletcher. Fletcher then headed a corner across goal for Robshaw to head in the fifth.

Eura 3–2 Pridnestrovia @ Stadion Patrik Suhonen (52,000, Virkaja)
Bowman 3, Woakes 18, Robshaw 20 – Shalyapin 73, Zhdanov 84

Pridnestrovia came to their game against Eura in desperate need of a result after an underwhelming start to the tournament. Eura were much more at ease following two consecutive wins and ten goals scored in the space of three halves of football. This showed on the pitch; Eura had the kick off and moved the ball about with great fluidity and confidence, whereas the Pridnestrovians sank back towards their own goal in seconds, planning to try and grab a draw rather than expose themselves to a potential thrashing. The strategy was blown away within three minutes when Bowman tapped home a rebounded Bond strike after Ferdinand Abbing had saved (but failed to catch) the shot.

Devastating was the most appropriate word to use for the effect this had on Pridnestrovian morale. Eura could not rest on their laurels however and they set out to take further advantage of this early blow. Bond, Woakes, Griffiths and Bowman peppered the Pridnestrovian goal with more efforts before an 18th minute corner produced the second goal. Rhys Griffiths curled in an in swinging effort from the left which the disorganised Pridnestrovian defence failed to get under. Woakes got there instead and rose high to score with her head. She’s not exactly well known for her aerial ability which made the goal all the more precious for Eura, and all the more poor for Pridnestrovia to concede.

From kick-off the deflated opposition then gifted Eura possession and practically became spectators as Eura walked in a third. A swift passing move cut the Pridnestrovian defence to ribbons and brought the ball to the feet of Robshaw. The Northern Union midfielder had a variety of options available to him at the edge of the box. He chose the most delicate and risky, almost passing the ball with the inside of his right foot, past the goalkeeper and into the bottom left hand corner. Eura led 3-0 and stamped their authority on the game for most of its remaining time. It was only in the final twenty minutes that lapses of concentration allowed Pridnestrovia back into the game with two avoidable goals. Fortunately there wasn’t enough time left for it to affect the result.

Mavinet 0–3 Eura @ Pohjoiskaivaa (46,000, Hovikkära)
Fletcher 42, Sutton 72, Ashton 87

Qualification for the Round of Sixteen was now secure which meant that Eura could afford to rotate the team against Mavinet. The Water Buffaloes are a relatively new feature of the international football scene but they’ve looked the part so far and presented a real danger to Eura’s second team, many of whom have a lot to prove to get into the usual starting eleven. Disciplined is the way we’ve chosen to describe Eura’s performances so far and this one fitted that description exactly. From Bull in goal to Fletcher and Sutton up front Eura kept their passing simple, drained the opposition of energy and brought the game firmly under Euran control. Fletcher then thumped home a convincing finish to give them a welcome lead just before half time.

Mavinet were more threatening after the break and had their best chances to equalise in and around the 50th minute. A free kick into the box was headed away weakly by Burns, leading to the ball falling to an ideal position for Vo Thanh Hai to score from 10 yards. He did manage to connect and get a shot away but there was no power on it and Bull had no issue making the save. Not long afterwards Mavinet were back in possession and on the attack. This time Lam Tri Thong went for the finish and Bull got down well to tip the ball wide before intercepting the following corner easily. There was no doubt that he now looked far better in the Euran goalkeepers shirt than he ever has before. At the other end Sutton and Ashton made sure of the result with second and third goals.

Eura 1–0 Yuezhou @ Nationalstadion Carl Gustaf Bjurman (76,800, Sjoedrhavn)
Griffiths 60

Facing Eura in the first knock out game were the Red Dragons of Yuezhou. As bottom seeds in Group A they had outdone expectations in the groups only to be “rewarded” with a draw against Eura. Even so, for sixty minutes, they held firm. Eura played at a lower tempo than in their group games and sat deeper, as they sought to lure their defensively minded opponents out of their comfort zone. Yuezhou didn’t take the bait and kept their shape well, pressing Eura in the midfield when they did try to come forward and keeping Woakes, Bowman and Griffiths contained behind Bond. After a dull first half produced no goals and Brandon no doubt started to wonder if Eura were going with the wrong strategy, the Eurans upped the ante, pressing high up the pitch and playing in a narrower version of their formation.

Brandon’s change in strategy did not bear fruit at first. In fact it was counterproductive as it gave Yuezhou to attempt to play their preferred counter-attacking style against Eura’s high line. After offering little to no goalscoring threat for the entirety of the first half Yuezhou had several decent chances, though they were all squandered, the best falling to Chen Xiwei. Their cleanly struck effort from a narrow angle swerved perilously away from Belgrave and brought an excellent save from the Directus keeper, who turned the ball away from the far corner at full stretch. Yuezhou expended most of their available attacking energies on these critical opportunities and their failure to take advantage of Eura’s only shaky period of the game proved costly.

As the clock struck the hour it was Griffiths that would score what would prove to be the winning goal. It wasn’t a cracker by any means. A Euran free kick was indecisively cleared to the left flank where Bowman went to cross the ball, then left it for Burns as part of an unorthodox dummy. Kang Enlai misread the move and clattered into Bowman as he tried to change course. The referee waved play on, and Burns ran into the space exposed by Enlai, using it to take his time in plotting a course to goal. He decided it was too tight an angle to shoot from and opted instead for a cross across the edge of the six yard box. The cross was good and zipped across goal, the large crowd in Sjoedrhavn holding its breath as it did so.

Three defenders, Bond and Woakes all stretched for the ball and missed leaving Griffiths as the last man. He had waited at the back post and met the ball with his right foot, and almost blew it by skewing the shot high and to the right. However, he was so close to goal that the ball clipped the underside of the bar and went in regardless. Once Eura had a goal the game became stale again. Yuezhou were determined to get an equaliser and yet lacked the quality to force it upon the Eurans. They worked hard to create a couple more half chances, only for these to be dealt with handily by Belgrave. Eura opted to defend their lead for the remaining time rather than seek to put the game to bed any further. This was a risk, and not usually what Eura would do in these situations. It worked either way and Eura were able to celebrate a hard fought win.

by **Astograth** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:00 pm

COPA RUSHMORI XXXV

Quarterfinals - Savojarna half

Eura 3–3 Valladares (3–3 AET) (1–4 pen.)

Savojarna 1–0 Sargossa

Semifinal matchup:
Valladares vs. Savojarna

by **Pasarga** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 10:10 pm

It had been a back and forth affair from the onset, with the Darmeni squad landing the first punch of a goal just eight minutes into the match before the Wanderers pegged them back on the twenty-first with a blast from Jager that was as well placed as it was hit with power. Darmen fought back well and managed to get their lead back just before the halftime whistle, giving them the more merry of the spirits as the two teams headed into the locker rooms. It was speculated that Meriadoc Griffiths had a row at the team, blasting them for thinking ahead to their potential quarterfinal fixture rather than focusing in on the task ahead of them, something they had been far too content in doing with the previous managerial staff. That row apparently woke the team up as not even four minutes into the second half, Mária Vöröss curled in a lofted effort from just inside the area. Darmen however would take the kick off from the restart and undress the Wanderers' midfield and defense en route to their third goal, with Griffiths very visibly upset with the teams' lack of focus upon the restart.

As furious as the manager might have been with the teams lack of focus, they have to be happy with the fight back that this version of the squad has, something that was lacking two years prior. Two years ago, the side probably would have merely thought it was not their day after going behind three times in the match and just folded up shop and waited out the final whistle. This team though, this team has that spark to keep fighting, to surge through all of the challenges that are thrown its way, to get back up after being shoved to the ground. Darmen was not prepared for such resilience, likely thinking that they had at long last gotten one over on their rivals, yet it was not to be. In the eighty-second minute, wall that Darmen had put up to try and keep the Wanderers' attack at bay finally gave out and the free flowing attack of the vantablack clad surged forward into the Darmen area. Gersten had found Jager in the box and the striker had met the cross with a half volley, but it was punched away by the Darmen keeper. That punch landed at the feet of Szalyk Földessy who moved the ball to his stronger foot and blasted home an amazing equalizer, sending the sides into extra time.

Darmen was clearly mentally deflated after coming so close to finally beating the Wanderers in normal time and were having to hold on for their dear lives as wave after wave of the Wanderers' attack crashed down upon their area. It seemed that the goal had energized the Pasargan side, as their legs did not seem heavy in the extra half hour. And with ten minutes before the sides would have to contest a dreaded penalty shootout, a winner would come for the Wanderers. As with most good things with this side, it was generated by Gersten out on the wing, niftly dribbling his way around the defender trying to mark him and racing down the sideline. Jager was being double teamed in the middle and Müller had been substituted out after having a poor shooting night, so the winger decided to cut inside. That brought one of the defenders marking Jager closer to Gersten and he quickly drilled the ball to Jager, who subtly backheeled it to the top of the area and Földessy once more drilled home an effort, the shot skimming just above the ground and into the back of the net. It is efforts like that that Ibini FC of Valanora will be hoping to see plenty of, with the midfielder having signed on for them during the window after having a magnificent group stage performance.

Now comes the rematch, the dreaded match against Nephara that has caused so much consternation with the team, the fans, and even the media in the dual islands. All that frustration is just wasted energy though, as the side has to play each and every match that is put before them, no amount of whining about the path being difficult or unfair is going to change that. Unlike the rest of the sides in Astograth, Nephara did not have to play an extra half hour in the first knockout round, meeting the expectation of victory against Graintfjall in normal time, though they perhaps would have preferred more than a single goal margin of victory. Yet being able to get done in ninety minutes what the rest of the victors in the Astograth side needed a hundred twenty (or even penalties) to accomplish means they will have a leg up on not just the Wanderers but also whoever emerges from the other quarterfinal, should they find their way past our side. It is not a fair match, it could be a Final in most other editions, but it is what the Wanderers have before them. And as the Audioslavs have so eloquently put recently in their video series, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Now comes the first of those bouts...

Copa Rushmori XXXV - Everything Thread

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