AOCAF Cup LXI - Everything Thread

by **Huayramarca** » Fri Aug 07, 2020 8:10 pm

Caicedo: “Don't let me be misunderstood.”

Written by: David Rosel
09/08/1980 - 8:00 P.M.

“You know what, we are a developing nation, don’t ask us too much to do.” Were the sparks of a major rage in press and social media, Omar Caicedo was in a moment of sincerity after the Condors were beaten slenderly by Audioslavia in a match where the Huayramarcan squad seemed to deserve a bit more due to the chances generated in the match, which were more than the ones produced on the disgraceful opener against Equestrian States.

People and press were somehow infuriated, by the fact that Caicedo was showing some conformity or perhaps some signs of being actually unable to held a fight in a decent way according to some, but in reality, those words were the reflect of a reality that struck Huayramarca for the AOCAF Championship opener, having to face two past World Cup winning nations in your first two matches at the regional competition is was a premunition on what was coming to this group of people. No one alive is always an angel, that’s obvious, Caicedo’s intentions got misunderstood severely perhaps by the ignorance of the fanbase who didn’t even knew who were the players of Equestrian States until the broadcaster was announcing their names and species they belong.

This leads us to a statement: Is media killing Caicedo too viciously? I mean, we had to face two strong rivals and the joyous Caicedo vanished, he switched to the more analytical version of him, the one who tries to decipher the game of those teams and allow his pupils to perform decently. Paying the fee of being new into this and having to face two heavyweights at the very beginning, adding up that our players weren’t used to play without other species than humans was something that condemned them to suffer on their first match, it was difficult even for their captain, Ian Mamani, to get into rhythm (if he ever did) after being worried and bound to show his “other side” the one of a careless captain unable to turn off the negative mindset of his squad.

Might sound as an excuse, but you really expect an 18-year-old to have complete control of himself? Do you expect a squad whose age average rounds into 19.1 years-old to have an astounding self-control in a situation like that? Please, don’t let Caicedo be misunderstood, his duty is to be a football manager, not a psychologist during the middle of an international competition. Let’s be fair, developing a squad capable to perform decently in World Cup Qualifiers isn’t something you do from one day to the other, Huayramarca has been luckily enough to not finish dead last on World Cup Qualifiers nor Cup of Harmony, in both, they performed well enough to put into troubles the top seeded sides of both groups, even being some minutes away from pulling an upset and being able to get through the knockout stages of the CoH! Omar Caicedo has shown something that no one would be able to display in the Huayramarcan football society, patience.

How Caicedo has shown patience? Remember that heavily criticized streak of eight winless games at home, he didn’t desperate at any moment, he was calmly enough to accumulate endless annotations that helped him to build a twelve games unbeaten streak that placed Huayramarca into a decent seventh place into it’s WC Qualifying group, fourth at the CoH despite being the bottom seed on them. He also has been capable to introduce football techniques into players that have never competed professionally until this year, the Huayramarcan Football Federation hasn’t been capable to prepare the foundations nor given any sign that would lead to the creation of a “Professional league” let alone an amateur one, everything has been managed so slowly that Caicedo has had to resist and do things that no one expected him to do nor he had an obligation to do, he has been contracted to manage a football team, not to prepare them from zero.

Yesterday night, Huayramarca did a valiant performance against one of the teams into the multiversal elite of football, despite they have been testing some players as one of their media outlets say, they have a competent team, a strong football pyramid, solid enough to produce players at the rhythm and quality they need to keep fighting at the top echelons. Caicedo proved to be a mastermind despite all to stop those highly-skilled players with a group of amateur players, he has also showed us how capable he is after they managed to leave Nephara with a lone 0-1 and forcing them to use their very best at the Metropolitan District and barely getting a 2-2 there, but, which are his techniques to be such a great talent organizer?

Great internal chemistry: Relationships are pretty much the cornerstone of what we are, as humans or other species all around, having somebody that made a group of completely unknown-to-each-other players into a decently working mini society of footballers is well enough to provide some credit. Having some space to be serious, chill and support his players has been vital to build what we know as the Huayramarcan National Team, a bunch of unknown players being able to withstand pretty much anything (except ponies apparently), sometimes he might be mad but he controls his nerves well enough in order to avoid fights, out-of-tone reprimands or any other thing that might create some fatigue or fractures into the team’s chemistry.

A small genius: Being capable to do what he has done with little to no support is worthy to be appraised as a great manager, he has managed to convert bad situations into positive outcomes for him, as he did with Nephara and their ability on sea level, he decided to take things up into the Sierra, a well-known territory for our players that provided substantial earnings when everybody expected to be a total waste of time and a humiliation, also, taking Jeruselem to the Coast and suffocating them at the sultry wet city of Guayaquil helped in what turned to be one of the greatest games for this team, avenging a harsh 0-4 at the road with an unexpected 3-2 that was the last nail into the coffin that had inside the Jeruselemite hopes of returning to the World Cup proper. The common factor of this is how he took advantage of the little amount of resources he had in order to help the Huayramarcan side to get strong results when needed.

Anyways, media only has to worry sometimes, since worry might help them to have some nice incomes for the day, specially with headers such as “Mediocre team!” or “Garbage team!” Let’s be cold-minded for this. Don’t judge me bad either nor Caicedo, we are a couple of careless souls wandering there and expressing ourselves with the rights we’ve been conceded, which I guess, we still retain and should be respected, instead of having a mob on us for being divergent. Although, one should recognize that when things go wrong, managers seem to be bad, perhaps for the moment rather than for the remaining months of the year, something that a lot of my colleagues have done with Omar Caicedo.

Let’s support our team with passion, let’s wave the Huayramarcan bicolor with pride, this is a large process, let’s use our failures as a stepping stone for future success, we have a lot to improve and also a lot to wander around the world we love, the world of football. I’m defending Omar Caicedo till death, because I know that time will prove my point right, don’t let us be misunderstood.

by **Tropicorp** » Fri Aug 07, 2020 11:43 pm

Tropicorp's Techie's came into the LXI AOCAF Competition with optimism that they would be able to not only collect scores of useful data to bring back into the workspace, but also that they could do so while competing for their first AOCAF title. Unfortunately it has been a rough start for Team Tropicorp who have lost a close opener to one of the tournament's favorites, Banija, before dropping to an unexpected defeat on Matchday 2 against Verceola.

While Team Tropicorp were able to hang with the defending Eagle's Cup Champion Banija for the duration of the 90 minutes to kick off the tournament, losing by just a single goal, they crashed hard against Verceola conceding four goals to the team that had entered as the bottom side in Group F.

With two defeats in the opening two matches, Tropicorp occupy their position now at the bottom of Group F and will have a tough climb if they are to survive the group stage to advance to the Knockout Rounds, needing to string together victories against Chromatika, Dogsmouth and the Blouman Empire to get back in contention.

As the Techies fight for their AOCAF lives in Equestria, there is another tournament ongoing with games shared between Tropicorp and Equestria: The 6th Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championships.

Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championships : Group Stage Scores

While Team Tropicorp have always used their participation in the AOCAF as a data collection mission, they actually have a number of decent Basketball players employed at their main campus in Tropicoast and there is even an established employee Intramural League that operates year-round with anywhere between five and nine active teams at any one point. The pride of Tropicorp on the Court however is their All-female teams. While the Maraksas and the Aneta's operate separate teams in the Tropicorp Employee Extracurricular Basketball Activity League (TEEBAL), they join forces when Tropicorp is represented on a regional or international level for such cases as the AOBC.

Tropicorp's Basketball Squad would host half of the AOBC tournament at their own Civic Center in Tropicoast and would take advantage of that Home Court advantage in the Group Stage, winning two of their three matches to advance to the Knockout Round where they will square off against defending AOBC champion 95X.

by **Twicetagram and JYPe** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 12:03 am

OOC: Sorry for the large image sizes.

Home >> Sports >> International

Sports Today: Lieutenants stun Ko-oren; Drakonia Legothria new jersey leaked?

Drakonia Legothria's team logo

by Antonov Vasilyev
Today has been a hectic day for sports, especially football, and we're here to sum everything up for those who didn't catch the news earlier on.

Defending Champions defeated by hero Augustin Vlad.

A closely fought affair saw the Lieutenants shocking the world by defeating the defending AOCAF champions, Ko-oren. A few missed chances was all to see in the first half, as Twicetagria pushed on against an increasingly-pressured Ko-oren defence.
The second half proved less entertaining, as both sides registered only 4 shots in total, with an average 45% pass completion rate.
Out of the 4 shots produced Augustin's goal in the 61st minute. Apollon, as usual, sped through the right flank, beating Hellegeland with a slick Rabonna. Rushing towards the goal, he saw Aug. Vlad. who was free, onside, in front of goal. Passing to the latter, Augustin pipped in the ball into the net.
Jamie Han did well to recover from last time's nightmare by denying the Dragonflies of an equaliser in the 79th minute.

Was Drakonia Legothria's New Jersey Leaked?
Drakonia Legothria's season was abruptedly stopped because of the Baboonian plague. Finishing 7th out of 12 teams, it was a sharp fall from two seasons ago. While nothing has been made to rejuvenate their squad, we do have a sneak peak of their new jersey.

Continuing on their light blue pattern, the jersey seems to be void of any collar, a practice dropped by the new kit manufacturers Lindroff Athletics 3 seasons ago.
What is different though are the two new stripes draped diagonally across the middle. The sleeves have also gone through a change in colour.
The sleeves seem to have taken on a darker shade of blue. This design was last seen 9 seasons ago.
The two stripes in the middle look yellow and Savoy blue. These two colours represent the cot of arms of Thindria, the state in which Legothria is located in.
Whatever it is, the new jersey is a clean breath of life from the boring fully-light blue jerseys we've seen, and we're living for it.

World Cup 81/82/83/84

© Sporting Times Weekend 2020
NT look to extend fast start
by Mindy Cartwright, National Soccer Editor

The Commonwealth National Team sits atop the Group D table at the 61st AOCAF following a pair of routine victories where they put 5 goals on the board in each contest; next up for BP is Krytenia, co-hosts of the last regional tournament (the seventh time they've welcomed the region's soccer teams to their nation, going all the way back to the Inaugural Tournament) who were held to a 3-3 draw by Lochario on matchday 2.

So far the decision to bring a mix of players with few--if any--senior caps to lineup alongside several others who saw some playing time during the last WC Qualifying has paid dividends; those in the squad who are in their second stint playing for Manager Ichi Tuzzio are providing a great deal of guidance to the others who've been away from the NT player pool. In both matches--against Lochario in the opener and the Xannerian A.O. Territories in the most recent contest--the interplay & communication on the pitch for the starting team improved exponentially the longer each game progressed.

The Commonwealth have never faced the Krytenians, but they will not be taken lightly, according to Assistant Manager Friekder Dandalleion, who spoke to the media for the first time ahead of the match.

"Obviously, you do not underestimate any opponent, especially in this tournament where there is so much rivalry between neighbors and sub-regions. They will be confident in their system, play aggressively--which means we must have discipline in our lines--and not think of us as equals, in the same way they do Starblaydia or Audioslavia, so we emphasize to the squad to maintain poise through the match. I would not surprised if the result is a draw, but I would also not be surprised if the result is a convincing win for us."

by **Maccian** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 4:24 pm

Maccian Football Association's Squad For The AOCAF 61

Maccian Lamrejwaffeasosst Gang Ruhr Das AOCAF 61

Brief Team Introduction

Angelo Gelinas has decided to send a 23-man squad consisting of uncapped player to the AOCAF. You would think that he would send in the strongest possible squad for Maccian's debut in the AOCAF, but instead he has used this tournament as an opportunity to further improve on and replace some of the deadwood in the squad ahead of the World Cup 86 Qualifiers. All we can do is see how well this team will perform in this tournament, because this squad is notciably weaker than most teams Maccian has sent to international tournaments. Don't get your hopes up, because this team is likely to be pummeled...

Nickname: The Riflemen

Manager: Angelo Gelinas, Age 48 from Quebec

Angelo Gelinas, in some ways, is the very definition of 'the balanced Quebecois' which, while sounding oxymoron, is plausible by any means. Earlier in his life, he had a very illustrious, well-celebrated career with Avenida Principal in Farfadillis and the Quebecois National Team, where he played a significant role as both their star forward (playing style: complete forward). His highest achievement as a player was his significant role in Quebecois NT's 2 quarterfinal finishes and a 4th place run in the World Cup, as well as making the Champions' Cup final for Avenida Principal.

Since his retirement, Gelinas moved onto a managerial career, where he steadily climbed up the ranks before being named the manager of Montreal Koreana, the most historic and winningest team in Quebec. There, on a club that needed an uptick in form from 3rd-6th finishing range, Gelinas managed to bring back the Koreana with 2 Q-League titles and 2 Coupe du Roi titles before continuing his career abroad with Marinos Metropolis. There, he led the longtime Valladar powerhouse to 2 mediocre league finishes (9th and 6th) in LFV, but have also won a King's Shield (Valladar FA Cup) and had 2 deep runs in the newfound IFCF. After his firing by the Marinos, he hopes to continue his managerial career with Maccian, a national team with high potential and balanced playing style he likes emphasising about.

As a manager, Gelinas is a guy who focuses on a balanced style of play with a typical Quebecois flair the game. With his famed work ethic dating back to his playing days with Avenida Principal, Gelinas expects all his players to be on top of a rigorous training regime and be clean with executions. That said, he's not a disciplinarian himself, and will turn blind eye to his players' off-turf antics, granted they perform well.

Clearly, he is an accomplished manager who has won trophies and so will help this young Maccian side towards future greatness and prosperity. We only have the Supreme Leader to thank, because he is the one who negotiated this deal with Gelinas. Although his rigorous training regime could lead to a lot of injuries considering these are teenagers and young players still early in their careers. ~~But we have no problem with being clean with executions, hell that's why we only hang people!~~ Gelinas has taken our team to a new level with his tactics and will hopefully surprise a few teams.

Style Mod: 2

Kits:

Home Kit

Away Kit

Goalkeeper Kit

OOC: Thanks to Filindostan for creating these kits, if you are in need of new kits please order them here

The Squad:

Formation: 4-3-3

Starting Lineup:

GK: Rousel Masson |Age: 28 || Height: 6'5| Gender: Male

RB: Devin Nénuphar |Age: 26| Height: 5’11| Gender: Male

CB: Loklana Solomon |Age: 21| Height: 6'0| Gender: Female

CB: Oroshi Isojuwa|Age: 24| Height: 6'2| Gender: Male

LB: Luna Agaia |Age: 19| Height: 5'5|Gender: Female

CM: Katie Vast-Skauer |Age: 16| Height: 5'7| Gender: Female

CM: Olivia Zujaierder |Age: 32| Height: 5'11| Gender: Female

CM: Jessie Calinnflores |Age: 21| Height: 5'1| Gender: Female

RW: Hajato Kiri |Age: 31| Height: 6'1| Gender: Male

ST: Jake Sexter |Age: 16| Height: 6'3 | Gender: Male

LW: Tasmin Erika Nieles |Age: 20| Height: 5'8 | Gender: Female

Substitutes:

GK: Alinska Bostic |25 |Height: 6'4| Gender: Male

GK: Klay Broskellis |Age: 30 | Height: 6'3| Gender: Male

RB: Lauren Kalju |Age: 19| Height: 5'7| Gender: Female

CB: Elsa Cory-Jeán Chaser |Age: 20| Height: 5'10| Gender: Female

CB: Olekeod Husjidin |Age: 30| Height: 6'3| Gender: Male

LB: Nivas Konder |Age: 29| Height: 6'0 | Gender: Male

CM: Ten Shi Reynori |Age: 18 | Height: 5'6| Gender: Male

CM: Missi Sorrentingerclausen |Age: 17| Height: 5'3 | Gender: Female

CM: De'Jah O'Sillokuinn |Age: 27| Height: 5'11|Gender: Male

RW: Jane Air |Age: 22| Height: 5'9| Gender: Female

ST: Elva Nallsteinn |Age: 26| Height: 5'7|Gender: Female

LW: Evelina Cardenazhorst |Age: 22| Height: 5'8| Gender: Female

RP Permissions: TG or PM me on Discord if you have any wacky ideas. Notify me of any red cards, injuries, or suspensions. [/quote]

by **Valanora** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 8:11 pm

To bloom life and be free
Stroked from the essence of eternity
Turbulent are the formative echoes
The hammer falls and thunder of iron
Fires blaze high in an everlasting glory
Even as shadow descends upon the horizon
And the rain does come, flowing upon the earth
Deep into the descent does the spark go
A flame that has risen high from its humble beginnings
And now folds back more into the comfort of the cosmos
The breath of eternity returned.

A poem submitted to the Valanora Times for the passing of the Emperor

by **Equestrian States** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 9:16 pm

Match Day 3 Results

Group A
Hapilopper 2–0 Huayramarca
Yesopalitha 2–4 Equestria
Audioslavia 1–1 Demot

  Group A                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Equestria                      3   3  0  0   14   4 +10    9
2 Audioslavia                    3   2  1  0    4   1  +3    7
3 Hapilopper                     3   1  1  1    5   5   0    4
4 Yesopalitha                    3   1  0  2    4   7  −3    3
5 Demot                          3   0  2  1    4   5  −1    2
6 Huayramarca                    3   0  0  3    1  10  −9    0

Group B
Siovanija & Teusland 2–1 Maccian
Freeport 2–2 Busoga Islands
Farfadillis 5–2 Semarland

  Group B                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Farfadillis                    3   3  0  0   14   7  +7    9
2 Busoga Islands                 3   2  1  0    5   3  +2    7
3 Siovanija & Teusland           3   2  0  1    4   3  +1    6
4 Freeport                       3   1  1  1    8   8   0    4
5 Maccian                        3   0  0  3    4   8  −4    0
6 Semarland                      3   0  0  3    4  10  −6    0

Group C
Québec 2–1 Tamgu
Ko-oren 0–1 Starblaydia
Iskandervale 1–0 Twicetagria

  Group C                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Starblaydia                    3   3  0  0    9   3  +6    9
2 Québec                         3   2  0  1    4   3  +1    6
3 Iskandervale                   3   2  0  1    3   2  +1    6
4 Twicetagria                    3   1  0  2    1   2  −1    3
5 Ko-oren                        3   1  0  2    2   2   0    3
6 Tamgu                          3   0  0  3    3  10  −7    0

Group D
Lindmark 4–1 Xannerian A.O.T.
Lochario 5–0 Sultanate of Oontaz
Baker Park 3–1 Krytenia

  Group D                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Baker Park                     3   3  0  0   13   4  +9    9
2 Lochario                       3   1  1  1    9   8  +1    4
3 Krytenia                       3   1  1  1    6   6   0    4
4 Sultanate of Oontaz            3   1  1  1    6   9  −3    4
5 Lindmark                       3   1  0  2    5   6  −1    3
6 Xannerian A.O.T.               3   0  1  2    6  12  −6    1

Group E
Timuria 2–0 Sunbelt Islands
Gyatso-kai 2–3 Euran Oceania Territories
West Pocono 0–4 Mriin

  Group E                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mriin                          3   3  0  0   12   1 +11    9
2 Timuria                        3   2  0  1    5   7  −2    6
3 Euran Oceania Territories      3   2  0  1    8   6  +2    6
4 West Pocono                    3   1  1  1    8  10  −2    4
5 Gyatso-kai                     3   0  1  2    6   9  −3    1
6 Sunbelt Islands                3   0  0  3    4  10  −6    0

Group F
Blouman Empire 1–2 Dogsmouth
Tropicorp 3–6 Chromatika
Banija 5–2 Verceola

  Group F                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Dogsmouth                      3   2  1  0    4   1  +3    7
2 Banija                         3   2  0  1    7   5  +2    6
3 Chromatika                     3   1  2  0    8   5  +3    5
4 Blouman Empire                 3   1  1  1    7   6  +1    4
5 Verceola                       3   1  0  2    8  11  −3    3
6 Tropicorp                      3   0  0  3    6  12  −6    0

Group G
95X 0–1 The Jovannic
Legalese 1–5 Saltstead
Vilita & Turori 0–1 Sarzonia

  Group G                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Vilita & Turori                3   2  0  1    9   3  +6    6
2 Saltstead                      3   2  0  1    8   3  +5    6
3 Sarzonia                       3   1  2  0    8   7  +1    5
4 95X                            3   1  1  1    5   5   0    4
5 The Jovannic                   3   1  0  2    1   5  −4    3
6 Legalese                       3   0  1  2    7  15  −8    1

Group H
Valanora 2–1 Delaclava
Flavovespia 1–4 Qasden
Northwest Kalactin 2–0 O.T. of Sylestone

  Group H                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Valanora                       3   2  1  0    9   7  +2    7
2 Delaclava                      3   2  0  1    5   4  +1    6
3 Flavovespia                    3   1  1  1    4   6  −2    4
4 Qasden                         3   1  0  2    9   8  +1    3
5 Northwest Kalactin             3   1  0  2    3   3   0    3
6 O.T. of Sylestone              3   0  2  1    4   6  −2    2

by **The Jovannic** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 9:46 pm

Having shuffled with different tactics, Gothal Mathee suffered a few losses, but this ultra-defensive formation worked well against 95x...

How about we go with our tika taka strategy?

Thats fine for me.

Ok then, this will be one interesting match.

by **The Authoritarian Republic of Lochario** » Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:02 am

BEAUTIFUL DRAW AND A CRUSHING WIN!

(brought to you by EPIC FOOTBALL DAILY)

Hello lads, this is Jami Korroger and today I can proudly declare that we're not so shite afterall. A fantastic 3:3 draw against Krytenia showed our defensive capabilities and a 5:0 crushing of Sultanate of Oontaz showed our wonderful offensive capabilities. However, up next is Lindmark, which will be a tough nut to beat, I'm telling ya. The display, they've been producing for the last AOCAF games was just breathtaking and I wouldn't be surprised if they'll be showing the same display against us tomorrow. If we beat Lindmark, we can definitely see ourselves in the knockouts, I think.

Alright lads, this was Jami Korroger, see you tomorrow.

by **Flavovespia** » Sun Aug 09, 2020 11:47 am

A game marked down before kick-off as one Flavovespia would certainly have liked to have done well in, they instead suffered one of their worst international performances. Errors were plenty, and barely anyone in yellow could be happy with that performance, as Flavovespia fell to a 1-4 loss over Qasden.

Flavovespia reverted to the 1-11 starters for this game, after the draw last time out. Jonathan Feld and Alexander May returned as starters, after coming off the bench last time out. Other than that, there was little change as the team in yellow and black faced off against the team in blue and red.

It didn’t take long however for Qasden to make most of a bright start. Poor defensive work allowed both a cross to come in without much of a challenge to block it, and their second striker to have a clean sight of goal to shoot at. With a golden opportunity, it was taken well, and David Meehan could do nothing about that, as Qasden opened up the early lead to finally get their tournament on track.

It was a bad start for Flavovespia, who now would have to come from behind, like their opening game. The same was pretty even after the opener, although Qasden always looked more dangerous going forward. For Flavovespia, their best chance at an equaliser came from a Ramon Martin header in the 25th minute, although the defender did enough to prevent him being able to place it with enough force to beat the keeper.

Qasden got the second though just before half time, and unfortunately for Meehan, he has to take most of the blame. Tony Gardner was doing a decent job holding off the main Qasden striker just outside the box. The striker took a shot despite their poor position. However despite going at his near post, David Meehan didn’t make good contact with it, and could only palm it over the goalline, to double the deficit for Flavovespia. 0-2 down just before the break, and the game looked like it had slipped away.

Whatever hopes there were of any sort of comeback were quickly dashed just 5 minutes into the second half. Qasden had the ball moving around in the attacking third of them, with Flavovespia getting bodies back. Their midfielder saw Meehan a bit out of position, and took a shot, aiming it around Alexander May. The curl was right, and Meehan wasn’t able to dive across his goal in time to keep it out, and it was now a 0-3 lead for Qasden.

The fourth came from the spot. A cross was whipped in, and was challenged by a Qasden striker and Alexander May. May got none of the ball as he charged through the back of the Qasden striker. Not initially called, the decision was sent to review, and the referee overturned the verdict to a penalty. Alexander May didn’t help matters further, booked for a combination of the foul and the comments aimed at the Qasden striker. The penalty itself was a so-so hit, but with Meehan going the wrong way, it easily went in the net to make it 0-4.

By this point the result was clear, and for Flavovespia it was a matter of not conceding even more and having a worse result than that 5-0 loss to Chromatika in the previous AOCAF Cup. Qasden were still a goal scoring threat, but a few of their fringe players had been subbed on, their manager keen to bring them on in a game that the final half-hour or so was looking like a formality, an unbelievable comeback notwithstanding.

Flavovespia rarely looked like scoring but they did get on the scoresheet in the end. It was a rare error from Qasden that did it. A wayward back pass to the goalkeeper was played right into the path of Scott Coleman. The goalkeeper had to come out of his box to try and get there, but Coleman had the legs to get the ball first. He gave it a knock beyond the goalkeeper, and finished off with a shot into the open net. Some say there’s no easy international goals, but that goal is an argument against that. Muted celebrations amongst the Flavovespians for a goal that was little more of a consolation.

There was no more to note from the game, as Flavovespia lost 1-4 in a poor performance. Elsewhere in the group the Eternal Empire (Valanora) ran out 2-1 winners over Delaclava, and Northwest Kalactin’s 2-0 win over Overseas Territories of Sylestone got the winners their first points, and ended a decent undefeated run by the Pot 6 side. Flavovespia now have to face the Pot 1 side and Group H leaders the Eternal Empire. A match that’s going to be very tough, and Flavovespia also know a loss likely sees them drop out of the Top 3. Depending on who else wins or draws, it may be Flavovespia enter the final Matchday with only an outside shot of 3rd place.

by **Sarzonia** » Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:26 pm

In sports, a team's emotions can swing wildly from one match to another.

Such was the case for the Sarzonian national football team. One match after a disheartening draw against a low ranking Legalese sidethat put their chances of qualifying in jeopardy and ignited a potential feud between Stars manager Kevin Connelly and Sarzonian attorney general Britton Daniels, the Stars pulled off the improbable result once again, defeating Vilita and Turori 1-0 to put the Stars squarely in knockout round contention.

Connelly was left shaking his head at the dichotomy. Play to a draw against a team he thought his Stars should have beaten easily and then take out a Vilita and Turori side that Sarzonia also defeated during the previous AOCAF group stage.

"I can't figure us out right now," he said. "We played one of our best matches since I became manager and we beat the fifth ranked team in the region in two consecutive group stages."

The fans who angrily greeted Paolo Gomes's start during Sarzonia's 4-4 draw against Legalese were more enthusiastic about seeing Carlton Sandt return to the starting 11. He rewarded the faith in him with a spectacular eight-save performance in one of the least likely clean sheets you will ever see.

Striker Jake Campos scored the only goal after midfielder Brady Reynolds ran over a 56th minute free kick awarded when substitute forward Holly Cambrio was tackled outside the area after a dangerous run.

Instead of trying to play to preserve the lead Campos got for the Stars against the run of play, Connelly decided that the best defence would be a stronger offence, sending forward Mek'hi West on in favour of defender Charlie King in the 68th minute. The remaining defenders braced for the eventual onslaught by a desperate Eel-Cat Things squad that was unexpectedly trailing Sarzonia again.

Sarzonia (1-2-0, five points) are just one point behind second place Saltstead and Vilita and Turori, who are level in first place with six points each. Sarzonia will face unranked The Jovannic before closing out with Saltstead. Three teams from each group make the knockout rounds.

by **Northwest Kalactin** » Sun Aug 09, 2020 1:20 pm

Breaking News-Protestors Storm Fort Ballina
“Welcome to the Breaking News broadcast of KNN4, we are here to bring you guys the latest on the civil unrest across Northwest Kalactin. It is reported that over 6,000 protestors have made their way to Fort Ballina and are damaging the fort currently. We have Johnny King on the scene, Johnny what can you tell us?”

“Well Joe, we are seeing many protestors here try to make their way over the wall of Fort Ballina and do structural damage to the fort. This is by far the most violent protests we have seen so far, the Governor of Ballina has not commented on the current situation, however recently elected Prime Minister Jason Mitchell has stated that he will not tolerate damage done to Government property or hurting those who work for the Government. Ballina is the largest fort in the nation, and houses 3 Army Divisions in it, and it is a vital fort for the nations protection. The most recent clash between protestors and military during the past week happened in Murwelldobah, just 60 miles from here. 14 civilians were arrested in 3 hours in Murwelldobah, and the number of those arrested or hurt is growing. The Kalactanian Police have been standing guard around public places armed with Airsoft Rifles, a very unconventional approach, but it seems to be somewhat working. However, we are still getting large organized protests around the largest buildings, including Police stations and Military Bases. We had a talk with one of the protestors over why they where here in the first place.”

“The reason why I come here to protest is because Jason Mitchell is a horrible man who will screw this country over if he stays in power. The amount of unfairness that will happen in this country will grow hugely, and that is something I will not let happen. I am using my written rights to come out here and protest over something that I do not agree with, and the Government has to respect that. They may not respect the poor people of this nation, but they have to respect their rights.”

“Unfortunately, many of the protestors that come out nowadays are not doing it so much for the rights of the poorer side of the nation, but rather to hurt those that respect the government and are part of it. Many news sources say that Fort Ballina is just the start, and Northwest Kalactin has a long way to go in this battle for equality.”

“Thank you Johnny for that report. As always, this is and updating situation, we hope to bring you more news soon on the latest, for now, thanks for watching KNN4.”

by **The Overseas Territories of Sylestone** » Sun Aug 09, 2020 2:43 pm

Oh well. The miracle run wasn’t expected to last. Someone was going to be a spoilsport and end it. This time it just happened to be Northwest Kalactin. The Pot Four side and the lowest rank we’ve played so far. But hey, it’s only a game and OTS has performed unbelievably well so far.
They held out the ever-pushing Northwest Kalactin attack until the 72nd minute where their opponents just proved too good and scored a goal. Another followed in the 87th minute and Overseas Territories of Sylestone lost 2-0. Their first ever loss.

OTS now stand at the bottom of the Group H table following Qasden’s shock victory against Flavovespia. The Eternal Empire are in first and OTS remain the only side to have taken points off them, a very good achievement. Flavovespia is in third and Qasden and Northwest Kalactin are in fourth and fifth with three points each. While OTS still have a chance, it is a small one and not very likely. A loss will eliminate them for good. However, a win and a draw will be sufficient for them to progress if everything goes their way. But it’s not likely, so don’t expect it, OK?

by **Euran Oceania Territories** » Sun Aug 09, 2020 6:21 pm

EURAN OCEANIA TERRITORIES 1 - 2 TIMURIA
Conway 86

GK - 1. C Ross
RCB - 4. F Law (sub Duffy 45)
CB - 5. K Strong
LCB - 6. J Potts
RWB – 2. M Walsh
LWB – 21. J Hayden
RCM – 8. J Clark (sub Mitchell 90)
LCM – 25. G Richards (sub Chadwick 63)
RAM - 10. J Conway
LAM - 11. K Fuller
ST – 12. G Ramsey

Joel Conway let his head fall into his hands and shut out the world. ‘Fuck sake Conman, that was harder to put wide than score, you cockwomble!’ Marvin Walsh wasn’t much of a poet but swearing? That he could do. He could also put a nice cross into the box, which was maybe why the wingback was so frustrated with Conway, who had confidently strode in to meet it only to glance the easy chance wide. When Conway finally looked up it wasn’t a pleasant sight. His team were running on fumes after eighty minutes of exertion against Timuria for naught, in conditions of absolutely sweltering heat.

They had run many kilometres, completed hundreds of passes, taken eleven shots at goal…and we’re 2-0 down against the Red Wolves, sunk by goals from Zeynel Abidin Birkan and Vatan Ercetin. Skorji Oslograd was practically levitating with righteous anger on the touchline; both goals had been the dictionary definition of soft, the first a free header at a set piece and the second an effort that beat Ross at the near post after both Law and Strong failed to intervene at the decisive moment. The midfield had been able to transition lots of defensive starts out from the back into attacking opportunities, but with no cutting edge, as demonstrated by Conway’s blunder, while Garret Ramsey hadn’t come close to repeating the heroics of his last performance.

Up the other end the Expats were lucky not to go three down when Ross was forced into a tricky double save from Ercetin after Potts had lost the ball near his own box for the third time this match. Conway wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as he saw several substitutes warming up. A lot of this starting line-up were lucky not to face much serious competition. Peter Chadwick was being rested while Hans Cabel and Pierre Louis Le-Tonnelier were injured, but all three of their replacements – Hayden, Richards, Ramsey - had been poor. Tom Duffy and Chadwick had come off the bench this game and been ineffectual. Conway didn’t have that luxury – breathing down his neck were Nolberto Dravon and Amelia Byrne, two of the Territories best prospects.

Dravon and Byrne were faster, had a higher potential ceiling, more exciting, had grown up with the Territories identity and Conway was…well, Conway was just himself. A decent but not quite top class winger who had hit his skill ceiling as a decent option in Nephara’s top flight pretty early, and never got beyond that. So when he saw the pair of youngsters warming up excitedly you can bet that made him nervous. Suddenly the Rozelle winger, still struggling to adapt to this narrower attacking formation, found himself lunging after every ball, desperately looking for something to grab and make his own. The ball found him once more and before he could do anything Ozbek Sarikaya was in to sweep the ball off his feet. A 36 year old! Conway kicked out at the ground in disgust.

Oslograd shook his head and made an animated signal to Dravon who promptly took off his bid. Conway despaired, and quickly despair turned to spite. He gave me the number ten shirt. He told me that was a show of faith. Where’s the faith now? We’re only in our second game! The board almost went up, only for an apparent corner to have been kept in play by another Timurian defender and hoofed up the pitch. It was a stay of execution for Conway at best. He had to do something or he was heading for the bench for a long time. Potts hammered a long ball forward and Duffy was under it, his header down soft and easily scuffed away by Kemal Colak, Ramsey attempted to intercept it in a controlled manner but the ball hit his face and rebounded back forwards, to Conway.

Without taking time to think or pausing to check his position, Conway swung his left boot at the ball out of a lack of ideas rather than bravery or vision. He was immensely fortunate to be able to hit the ball cleanly first time, and watch as it flew 25 yards into the back of the net past a stunned Iskender Nur. Conway couldn’t even celebrate. He stopped for a moment as the Expats fans roared, then shook himself out of a stupor and ran into the net to grab the ball and run it back to the centre circle. Just as he got there, he could see Oslograd out of the corner of his eye. The Expats manager had been doing a little dance to mark another memorable goal for the Territories. Conway didn’t give a shit about that. What he cared about was that Dravon and Byrne were right where they belonged, on that bench - and staying there.

GYATSO-KAI 2 – 3 EURAN OCEANIA TERRITORIES
Chadwick 23, 77, Fuller 52

GK - 1. C Ross
RCB - 4. F Law
CB - 5. K Strong (sub Ford 70)
LCB - 6. J Potts
RWB – 2. M Walsh
LWB – 3. H Cabel (sub Richards 61)
RCM – 8. J Clark (sub Ramsey 61)
LCM - 7. P Chadwick
RAM - 10. J Conway
LAM - 11. K Fuller
ST - 9. P-L Le Tonnelier

The foul that brought down Kasey Fuller caused something close to an international incident. Hashimoto Isamiru had lit the fire by poleaxing the Expats winger with studs up on both boots, a clear and unambiguous straight red with no control as he flew in. Mystifyingly the Bison’s leading centreback disagreed that the tackle had been anything other than a fair minded, gentlemanly conflagration rather than a potentially career ending horror tackle. The ref was having absolutely none of it and eventually Isamiru walked, only after a massive scuffle between the players and coaching staff that had to be calmed down by Skorji Oslograd (of all people!) Or at least that’s what the commentary team thought until they noticed he’d stuck a sign saying “KICK ME” on Isamiru’s back.

Fuller was thankfully able to continue and recovered quickly. He was needed; the Expats had used all their subs and were stuck at 2-2, even though they needed a win. Bison’s forwards Dag’da Skirata and Song Kaoru had equalised either side of half time to cancel out goals by Peter Chadwick and Fuller himself, with the Expats still playing for the win and the Bison’s looking to hold out for the draw or grab all three points on the counter. Walsh then limped off with an injury from a comparatively minor knock to Fuller’s; leaving both sides set to play the remaining quarter of an hour down to ten players. That was called for a foul too and it in a very good position for the Expats.

Peter Chadwick had turned 35 not all that long ago and knew that his remaining time playing for the Territories was limited. Even the saving grace of making his domestic career less hard on the body by moving to EOT’s brand new league from Euraleague had only bought him a couple more years of international football. Despite being rested for most of the Timuria game he was exhausted. His legs creaked and his back ached. Even taking this free kick would take almost all of his willpower. It was a good range for a set piece specialist like himself who focused on technique rather than physicality – just outside the D, slightly to the left, however not so much so that it would be prohibitively difficult to get the ball on target.

The Gyatso-kai wall was especially wide due to the short range of the kick but that wasn’t Chadwick’s concern, as he had no intention of going for pace around either side of the wall. Nor did he plan to roll the ball off for Le-Tonnelier or Conway to put their foot through it. This was going to be his and only his. Zhao Baoli had set out his stall on his left (Chadwick’s right) in the belief that his wall would cover any attempt to go for the far corner. Chadwick wasn’t Brian Bond; he couldn’t use his left foot in this situation to drill the ball into the top left before the keeper could even see it. Either he had to hit that corner perfectly or catch Baoli off balance and beat him on the side he’d chosen to camp in. Chadwick chose the latter.

Oslograd watched from a squatting position in his technical area, his hands running through his silvery hair and then coming back around to cover his eyes. He knew it was safe to open them when a yelp of excitement went up behind him from the bench, followed by a massive wave of noise from the Expats fans occupying the space in the stand behind the goal. Chadwick had quite beautifully lofted the ball into the top right hand corner, a pristine dipping finish, which caught Baoli off guard as he dived slightly too early and actually went under the ball as he jumped left to try and stop it going in. Chadwick marked his strike with only a hand in the air, index finger raised aloft as if to say “I’m still number one”. He couldn’t know how long that would remain true for, but for now at least, Peter Chadwick was the Expat’s hero.

by **Hapilopper** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 1:01 am

Somewhere in Equestria
A day after the locker room brawl
After word got out that the Hapilopper National Football Team had descended into utter chaos in the locker room following a 3-1 defeat to Equestria, Bill Martin walked into the office of the Hapilopper City Herald and was told he had a plane ticket waiting for him. He had been directed to fly to Equestria as soon as possible in order to talk to members of the Hapilopper National Football Team immediately, and that they were willing to go on record to discuss just what in the blue hell was happening.

After an interesting flight to the Equestrian States, Bill was greeted by sports editor Rod Knuckles who informed Bill that while team members were willing to go on record, there was a catch. For starters, they had to be remarkably discreet about it. Stephanie Jones, the beat writer for the HNFT, had gotten wind over an attempt to crack down on any attempts to rebel against Max Greenwell’s leadership at the HFA, and that included members of the football team.

“So if you’re going to interview players or anyone with the HFA, you need to make sure such an interview’s not going to take place where there could be retribution,” Knuckles said. “Some of these players could get thrown off the team for talking. Other players could find themselves being physically attacked or worse. Be discreet and tell nobody what you’re doing. Just say you’re on a vacation or something.”

Bill chuckled. A guy like me flying in to go on vacation, he thought. Right. Like I could afford to do this on my salary.

But if there was anything Bill was good at being, it was being discreet. He had been able to take down more than a few people by being discreet. He could clandestinely interview a few players, go off those audio recordings he had been given, and put out a massive front-page story detailing corruption at the HFA. And for one reason or another, while nobody had said anything of the sort to him, he felt like time was of the essence. If this didn’t come out before Max finished his “investigation,” it is possible someone could be fired unnecessarily. If this didn’t come out before the World Cup qualifiers, the scheme could continue. Players – top players not in on the scheme – could be let go for people who were willing to play ball. So Bill had to act.

And more than a few people were willing to talk.

ERNIE STEVENSON: Oh boy, did he go on record. Ernie said he found out that Rod Hughes, the goalkeeper for the team, had been the ringleader among the players on the team, but kept it under wraps “until the time was right.”

“If I speak at the wrong time, I’ll be accused of all kinds of things. But with different things coming out, and with Max Greenwell bringing out his little bullshit investigation, I had to bring these things out,” Ernie said. “Rod spoke to the point man. The point man would tell Rod what the score needed to be, and he would react in kind by letting some goals go through that shouldn’t have gone through.”

Specifically, Ernie pointed to a match late in World Cup 85 qualifying.

“There was a match between Balqia and us,” Ernie said. “Rod told us before the match that he needed it to be 4-0 for Balqia and certain players would make a sum of money. So there’d be certain times, and if you watch the tape of the match, you’ll see it – Rod just lays down and lets the other team score a few times. So late in the match, I got pissed and fired one in. Because I knew what they were trying to do and I wasn’t going to take it.”

NATE ELLIS: Unfortunately, much of what Nate Ellis said in his interview was unprintable, because of the endless stream of profanities that surrounded his comments. But Nate did say a few things that got Bill thinking.

“There were times where a fellow defenseman or two would get in my way,” Nate said. “I’d look at them afterwards and ask them what the hell they were doing. Either they wouldn’t respond or they’d say something like ‘money talks.’ I knew right then something wasn’t right.”

Nate also admitted to beating the hell out of Rod Hughes in the group shower, and stated the reason he hadn’t been thrown off the team was a threat to let everyone know what had happened.

“Well hell yeah I beat the hell out of him,” Nate said. “So Cooter Harris got to start the match, and did you see how we won? We won because Cooter was at goal and not Rod Hughes. He would have screwed the pooch and completely ruined whatever momentum we had.”

COOTER HARRIS: And Cooter even admitted that. Late in the qualifying campaign, Cooter alleged that if Buddy Martinez had started Cooter in a late game, he would have been fired.

“Max told Buddy that ‘if you start Cooter instead of Rod, you’ll never work in football again and I’ll see to that myself,” Cooter said. “I wanted to start a match to show people that I had gotten over what happened in Manehattan. But they were trying to wreck what we were doing.”

Bill had completed three interviews, and more were to come. But as he was trying to set up time for the next interview, his cell phone rang and went to voicemail.

“Mr. Martin? This is Dominic Probst in Hapilopper City,” the voice on the other end of the line said. “It has come to my attention that you are working on a story about a possible match fixing situation among the Hapilopper national team. Call me at your earliest convenience, because I have a few things to share with you.”

Bill did not recognize the number, and texted Stephanie if she was familiar with the number or with Dominic Probst.

“Uh, he was in charge of the Hapilopper Football Association until he left,” Stephanie said. “Call him. I’ve heard a rumor or two about something he’s doing.”

by **Ko-oren** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 3:28 am

A summer of sports with Leligun Thernasthen

Selpernim 16/Sweltersky 16

Willowbourne
From the highest highs to the lowest lows. The national team is on fire and nobody knows how to douse it. From AOCAF winners, and qualifiers for the World Cup, putting a new generation of players in the spotlight as the Dragonflies finally conquered a piece of silverware on par with that Cup of Harmony of old, and placing Juliasterinthen firmly in the driving seat of the national team for the time being. To... 5th place after three games in the AOCAF. Yes, the alarm bells have sounded before, even during the last World Cup qualifiers. No, nothing is over yet. The difference in results, however, is stunning. A win over Iskandervale by more than one goal (!!) started proceedings exactly as advertised, but a loss to Twicetagria put us back on the ground. These losses happen, and we've never managed to patch those out in our decades of existing. Things have gotten far more dire with the loss against Starblaydia. Not that losing to them is a shame, but we are ranked above them (!!) yet we're staring at a six-point gap between them and us.

I'm not going to ask the same old questions again: are new players placed on the team in a timely fashion, is Juliasterinthen still the right person for the job, etc.

But we can ask ourselves why this keeps happening to us.

The answer is pretty simple, though.

It happens to everyone.

That said, I'm - and I'm sure we all are - done with these results. When I set out on my journey, I did hope to see at least one trophy ceremony. From crashing out the Rugby League World Cup in the round of 16 despite entering the tournament as contenders, to losing in the World Baseball Classic, again, in the Round of 16, despite entering the tournament as outside semifinal candidates, we still have a good team in the World Cup of Hockey (despite the last loss and awful seeding). The AOCAF, though, was the flagship event, as football unifies the nation, bringing all of these fanbases together despite poor results in Ko-oren's (slightly) smaller sports. I can know, I've been in six of our twelve provinces in the last two weeks. The northeast went crazier for the WCOH than for the AOCAF, but even there, the Atlantian Oceanian championship is a massive event that brings a lot of people together.

In fact, we can conclude that our AOCAF stint is over, and we go from champions (and 'unofficial title holders') to group stage exiteers. With two wins, hopefully we finish third, and we could make the Round of 24. If that happens, everything is still possible, but let's not count on it.

That said, I flew from Aevanna to Willowbourne today. Aevanna's small, 1-runway airport is in small contrast to Willowbourne International, with its four runways, 24/7 terminal, and huge service area. Arriving in the small Greenjay aircraft at Willowbourne, I was reminded of all those boring chain stores that I swore to leave when I moved to Ferrovente, but it was oddly nostalgic. The Contactor Cafés, the Pizza Zones, the Tehlegen supermarkets. I won't lie that I had to get used to seeing Pine Grove restaurants as the go-to family restaurant instead of Contactor (where many a birthday and special event were spent), or seeing purple Viola supermarkets instead of green Tehlegens. They're nearly the same thing (to a non-supermarket afficionado like me) but in different colours, and yet it feels like a world apart. That's in the same way as you have to remember to dial 046, 047, or 048 for each Finisterran phone number instead of defaulting to 05 or 01 at the start - 05 for Willowbourne, 01 for the rest of the province. You know you have to do it, and when you think about it, you never mess up, but one unguarded moment and you're calling a hairdresser's in Aubury instead of Ferrovente City Council like you wanted.

My first night here was that Starblaydia loss. Kranendonk slotted a ball into the low near corner, after Jimenez had his attempt denied by Palmgroen, the ball ending up on the back line with Maddison, who tried a direct shot which was kept out by the post, after which Kranendonk could get a foot against it while Palmgroen looked on, helplessly, on the floor at the far post, with Van Schelven and Aelisire too late to launch themselves in the trajectory of the shot. As Kranendonk et al. sped away to celebrate the goal, the iconic image of the ball still lying in the goal, with three players on the floor looking on in disbelief, and a white jersey running away, arms outstretched - accidental Renaissance - formed. Not something we wanted to see, but iconic and exemplary nonetheless. An image that, should Juliasterinthen be fired after this campaign, summarises his reign over the national team despite all of his successes.

I know I'm not in Dutch-speaking territory anymore, but this 1st to 5th campaign reminds me...

Je kunt ook nooit eens even rustig op een voetstuk staan.
Je scoort 2-1 in de finale, men wijst een mooie sokkel aan.

Er is maar 1 ding mooier dan een held, das de mooie held geveld.

by **The Authoritarian Republic of Lochario** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:59 am

GRAND FOOTBALL ANALYSIS WITH JAMI KORROGER!

(Sponsored by the L energy drink)

Hello lads, this is your Scoch lad Jami Korroger and today we have a grand analysis of :

LINDMARK VS LOCHARIO

So, let's start with the basics here, which is the latest match review. Considering, that the Lind mark national team has a pretty equal form, I can honestly say that it's gonna be a tough match and I can only expect some grueling fighting from both of the sides. Thank God, the Gingers got their guts together in the last 2 matches and showed the character to never give up! This can be our only way out!

Alright, enough of my nonsensful talking. Let's connect to Ghiri Nivil now. Ghiri, what do you think is gonna win tonight?

I think, it's gonna be pretty even too. However, unlike you, Jami I don't think, that getting shit together defines the end of the match up. It's not only that! It's also the temper, the pace of the players, enough Substitutes on the bench to keep the maximum strength and of course the manager, who I'd reckon doesn't do very well with the reserves he has and is supposed to do much better than that.

Whadda?..... URGH, he must've missed the whole analysis class! He didn't define the opponent, for frick's sake!

Alright, let's get to our last guest speaker, which is Oldri Kobin, the superstar of the national team back in the 40's. Oldri, who do you think is gonna win tonight?

Sorry, can you repeat that? My hearing aid's turned off!

Oh for freck's sake.... You have a SMART TV, you can rewind the clip and listen to it again! Freckin oldies!

Wait, how do you do that? Oh, wait, I think I got it....

The TV turns off....

Oh buggers! How come we never get any good speakers to speak with for crying out loud!
Whatever, this was Jami Korroger and goodnight!

by **Chromatika** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 7:30 pm

Chromatik City Courier
POLITICS
Candice Elliot, Politics Columnist

Xollie Lubabalo to be Honored by Chromatika
Banijan to be First Foreigner to be Awarded the Checkered Cross

CHROMIA, CHROMATIKA - As Chromatika goes into this new age, it is going to be honoring one of its biggest heroes.

Keri Wyse Aart announced that right before the upcoming match between Banija and Chromatika in Equestria, Xollie Lubabalo, the ambassador who had been part of an incident during the last election where the Checkers Party had attacked her with a rotten egg. In fact, the Premier has decided that Lubabalo will be the first to be awarded the Checkered Cross, the highest honor for a foreigner to be awarded for services rendered to Chromatika.

Lubabalo was instrumental in making sure that Banija's voice was heard and that pressure was felt to make the election be safe. She was there when Aart was sworn in, and has been Banija's ambassador to Chromatika since.

It will be a momentous occasion in Chromia. Here is a woman, not even their own, who did so much to make sure that they'll be free.

And she would be honored and written into the histories forever.

SPORTS
Jordan Lawless, Sports Columnist

AOCAF Matchday 3: Tropicorp 3–6 Chromatika

Goals: Yuan ('11), Marc ('15), Thibodeaux ('47), Arnold ('54), Kuznetsov ('76), Pomeroy ('88)
Starting XI: Tioux; Xiao - de Aea - Ken - Pomeroy; Marc - Armageddon (C) - Croix-Pierre; Kim, M.J.; Yuan - Thibodeaux.
Substitutes: Kuznestov -> Croix-Pierre ('51), Arnold -> Kim, M.J. ('68), Odling -> Ken ('81)
Projected Starting XI vs. Banija: Alexander (C); Chapman - Odling - Torres - Adams; Humphreys - Zuniga - Kuzntestov; Arnold; Rogers - Haggard.

EQUESTRIA - In a show of force, the Chromatik offense finally woke up and scored a barrage of goals - six total - as Chromatika scored a massive win in the AOCAF. It'd been rough going for the strikers, and it was about time that something happened. Six players scored goals from almost every angle, and though Tropicorp did hang around for a half, they fell behind the barrage.

Next up? Banija. A draw would be nice, but eve more important than the match, it will be a chance for Chromatika to thank Banija for the help that Banija had provided during the last election. It's to be an important day for Chromatika, nonetheless.

by **Huayramarca** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 8:06 pm

Shame! Shame! Huayramarca!

Written by: Marta Luna - Disgruntled fan.
12/08/1980 - 8:51 P.M.

Still at the rock bottom of the group, a team completely unable to pull even a decent pass is basically condemned to be the worst team in the entire competition if things continue at this path, Omar Caicedo keeps while the players show lack of will to perform better, this time it was a 0-2 defeat against Hapilopper that has sent the Condors at the bottom with only a lone goal and ten conceded with zero points, being as of now the worst team in the entire competition. For the sake of Inti, what have we done? It's matter of will or we need to come back to our roots, those roots of wildness and appraisal to Margaret and sacrifice more rubber chickens?

The questions surrounding the current performance of the team are multiple, no one is able to find a decent reason on why are they not playing decently enough to get into a normal shape and at least prevent taking a flurry of goals taken back into their designed hotel in Equestria, we aren't able yet to find the face that this team offered us during the World Cup Qualifiers and the Cup of Harmony that gave us some hopes that Huayramarca would, somehow, have a decent team into football that we could enjoy for the future. It might be a long trail, of course, but people are starting to be desperated with the lack of efficiency or at least will to score some goals, Bryan Tello has been walking on the pitch instead of chasing off defenders, pressing them and trying to recover the damn ball and put it into the fucking net! Is that so costly for him? Someone tell him that he has scored 15 goals in 31 matches, he has a somehow decent average of goals, so it's matter to demonstrate his "quality" and help this team to at least earn a draw or a win in order to get out of the rocky and cold bottom of group A.

Me, as I'm sure almost everybody in Huayramarca is pissed about this team, to the point that I'm considering to boycott the Huayramarcan Football Association for the next World Cup Qualifiers, I'm that close to ask people to not waste some Intis in order to see a bunch of malnourished idiots running behind a damn ball, they could take some books and go to study something that might benefit their lives and, of course, their families. It's a known fact that this corrupt Costeño-lead government has been diverting founds to this team, mind you! they are throwing away our taxes in something that hasn't been providing enough results in order to have some value! We, as tax-payers should ask the government to stop waste money into something that doesn't provides benefit for this fucking nation! But, well, Huayramarcans are so dumb that they won't even ask for it.

To end with this rant, I politely ask the Huayramarcan National Team to dissolve, stop wasting your time into something that won't prove to be good for you, stop asking us, the tax-payers for funds into something that has proven to be useless for us, without decent scores and prone to be thrashed once again. You are ashaming us, the people of Huayramarca!

by **Equestrian States** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 9:07 pm

Match Day 4 Results

Group A
Huayramarca 3–3 Demot
Equestria 3–0 Audioslavia
Hapilopper 3–1 Yesopalitha

  Group A                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Equestria                      4   4  0  0   17   4 +13   12
2 Hapilopper                     4   2  1  1    8   6  +2    7
3 Audioslavia                    4   2  1  1    4   4   0    7
4 Demot                          4   0  3  1    7   8  −1    3
5 Yesopalitha                    4   1  0  3    5  10  −5    3
6 Huayramarca                    4   0  1  3    4  13  −9    1

Group B
Maccian 4–4 Semarland
Busoga Islands 2–5 Farfadillis
Siovanija & Teusland 2–1 Freeport

  Group B                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Farfadillis                    4   4  0  0   19   9 +10   12
2 Siovanija & Teusland           4   3  0  1    6   4  +2    9
3 Busoga Islands                 4   2  1  1    7   8  −1    7
4 Freeport                       4   1  1  2    9  10  −1    4
5 Maccian                        4   0  1  3    8  12  −4    1
6 Semarland                      4   0  1  3    8  14  −6    1

Group C
Tamgu 1–0 Twicetagria
Starblaydia 5–2 Iskandervale
Québec 0–1 Ko-oren

  Group C                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Starblaydia                    4   4  0  0   14   5  +9   12
2 Ko-oren                        4   2  0  2    3   2  +1    6
3 Québec                         4   2  0  2    4   4   0    6
4 Iskandervale                   4   2  0  2    5   7  −2    6
5 Tamgu                          4   1  0  3    4  10  −6    3
6 Twicetagria                    4   1  0  3    1   3  −2    3

Group D
Xannerian A.O.T. 2–2 Krytenia
Sultanate of Oontaz 4–5 Baker Park
Lindmark 2–3 Lochario

  Group D                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Baker Park                     4   4  0  0   18   8 +10   12
2 Lochario                       4   2  1  1   12  10  +2    7
3 Krytenia                       4   1  2  1    8   8   0    5
4 Sultanate of Oontaz            4   1  1  2   10  14  −4    4
5 Lindmark                       4   1  0  3    7   9  −2    3
6 Xannerian A.O.T.               4   0  2  2    8  14  −6    2

Group E
Sunbelt Islands 2–5 Mriin
Euran Oceania Territories 0–0 West Pocono
Timuria 1–2 Gyatso-kai

  Group E                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mriin                          4   4  0  0   17   3 +14   12
2 Euran Oceania Territories      4   2  1  1    8   6  +2    7
3 Timuria                        4   2  0  2    6   9  −3    6
4 West Pocono                    4   1  2  1    8  10  −2    5
5 Gyatso-kai                     4   1  1  2    8  10  −2    4
6 Sunbelt Islands                4   0  0  4    6  15  −9    0

Group F
Dogsmouth 3–1 Verceola
Chromatika 1–2 Banija
Blouman Empire 0–2 Tropicorp

  Group F                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Dogsmouth                      4   3  1  0    7   2  +5   10
2 Banija                         4   3  0  1    9   6  +3    9
3 Chromatika                     4   1  2  1    9   7  +2    5
4 Blouman Empire                 4   1  1  2    7   8  −1    4
5 Verceola                       4   1  0  3    9  14  −5    3
6 Tropicorp                      4   1  0  3    8  12  −4    3

Group G
The Jovannic 0–5 Sarzonia
Saltstead 2–5 Vilita & Turori
95X 4–4 Legalese

  Group G                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Vilita & Turori                4   3  0  1   14   5  +9    9
2 Sarzonia                       4   2  2  0   13   7  +6    8
3 Saltstead                      4   2  0  2   10   8  +2    6
4 95X                            4   1  2  1    9   9   0    5
5 The Jovannic                   4   1  0  3    1  10  −9    3
6 Legalese                       4   0  2  2   11  19  −8    2

Group H
Delaclava 0–3 O.T. of Sylestone
Qasden 0–1 Northwest Kalactin
Valanora 3–0 Flavovespia

  Group H                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Valanora                       4   3  1  0   12   7  +5   10
2 Delaclava                      4   2  0  2    5   7  −2    6
3 Northwest Kalactin             4   2  0  2    4   3  +1    6
4 O.T. of Sylestone              4   1  2  1    7   6  +1    5
5 Flavovespia                    4   1  1  2    4   9  −5    4
6 Qasden                         4   1  0  3    9   9   0    3

World Cup 81/82/83/84

© Sporting Times Daily 2020
'B' Team to face Oontaz with debutante in goal
by Mindy Cartwright, National Soccer Editor

Holding a five point cushion over the rest of Group D, the Commonwealth National Team will see a full squad rotation for the match against Oontaz on the fourth of five match days at AOCAF 61.

The FAC have long had a policy of giving match time to all of the players on a roster for a particular tournament, although sometimes this can prove to be difficult, especially when there are occasions that necessitate sticking with the regular starting lineup; the last World Cup Final was an example of the immediate circumstances taking precedence over the desire to reward the efforts of the squad players.

If there is a player on this roster--or in the entire NT setup--who deserves a time to shine, it's Spencer Brockhorst.
He was one of three keepers on the nation's first mixed gender side, the SWC 5 Champions; he started in the Round of 16 match against Humaliwo, earning a 1-0 victory. His next youth team cap came at the The Tar Pit in Char Sara in DBC 44, where he made 8 saves in a 0-0 draw versus Mytanija in the second group stage match.

That has been his entire career in International competition until now. But rather than let the fact he'd fallen off the radar at the FAC affect his play, he went about the business of doing his job at 3rd Division Lewiston Town; the numbers speak for themselves--in the three seasons prior to him earning the number 1 shirt, the club had allowed 70, 71, and 80 goals--as he has helped the club cut nearly a half a goal per game from the defensive ledger: 50, 63, and 58, while the schedule has gone from 38 to 40 matches per season.

Kelsey Vickers was a teammate on both age group squads, and the two have remained close friends through the years due to the geographical proximity of their clubs.
"Spence has been completely unfazed by the fact he's never gotten a callup to the senior team; in the entire time I've known him--going back to when were in the 18's--he has always been super supportive of my opportunities to be in the NT pool. I don't know if I had anything to do with him making the squad for (AOCAF), since I'm always lobbying Tony (Weiss) on Spence's behalf, but I texted him as soon as the team was announced."

by **Ko-oren** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 1:41 am

A summer of sports with Leligun Thernasthen

Selpernim 17/Sweltersky 17

Soirgues
It all looked so nice when I was planning this out, back in Tobtoren (Brightcrest) - that is, late May and most of June. "You know what, I'll have traveled by plane, ferry, bus, and train, I'll try out a different method! I'll have to do one leg, at least, by bicycle!" But back then, I had completely forgotten how hot central Ko-oren can get. Anyhow, I had put my order in at the time, so a bike was waiting for me at Willowbourne East for me to go to Soirgues. It's not a huge distance, definitely doable in about half a day, maybe more, taking the direct route. It's also an interesting leg. Not so much for the sights and the landscape, but definitely for the language part. Willowbourne is Anglophone, and Soirgues is Francophone, with touches of Gehrennan spoken in between. There is (supposedly) no other place where three languages not only border (I mean, that's very common), but trade places so often. From Willowbourne, which already has Francophone and Gehrennan-speaking neighbourhoods of its own, I go via Touroux, where French is the main language, and from there until my destination I can practice my English again, as well as speak my native Gehrennan a bit. Surprisingly, for what's sometimes called our 'national language', I haven't had the opportunity to speak and use Gehrennan as a primary language at all during my travels.

I wasn't as lucky with the weather. Sure, it started out cloudy, but those were broken up by relentless blue skies, and more importantly, a relentless sun. I wanted to take the direct route via Touroux, but once I was there, I opted to go straight east towards river Aminengiu, the longest river of the country, intersecting Idyllwild, Willowbourne, Linieux, and Aminey as it empties out into the Bay. I followed the relative coolness of the river, riding in the shadows of the oaks and cedars lining it, until Soirgues came into view - some two hours too late, but you can't be too sure in these temperatures. The trip also reminded me of how little I exercised since setting out. It has all been sitting in trains, sitting in hotels, sitting in restaurants, and it's been very little walking around. Slightly broken, I hand in my bike at Soirgues station, look around, and realise that the town is a lot smaller than I expected. Soirgues is sprawling, but has maybe five buildings that are over five stories tall. That makes it simultaneously very easy and very difficult to find your way around: it's easy as long as you're headed towards one of those buildings, but difficult if you're in the suburbs trying to make your way to a non-existant reference point. Anyway, I find my hotel - a group of bungalows just outside downtown, of course it is - and make my way to some venue that shows the fifth AOCAF game. This is do-or-die time. If I'm correct, I also asked to meet up with Shurgun, a childhood friend who moved out here sometime during year seven, and we kept contact ever since.

Shurgun takes me on a tour downtown, which is done in about 15 minutes, and I'm impressed with the central square, a block away from Soirgues station, an extremely clean and neat few square metres, surrounded by all kinds of buildings: some built a thousand years ago and some just completed two years back. All look like they come from the past, with nooks and overlooks, and little podiums and platforms to sit in relative peace and quiet, latticework overgrown with ivy to separate the various diners and visitors, cooling them down with its shadow at the same time. If you've never seen traditional buildings meant for public use, it's a little hard to describe. There are few open spaces, and instead there are a lot of semi-seethrough walls and divides, lots of plants, and a lot of small nooks at different heights to discuss matters somewhat privately. It's a bit of a difference from traditional residential buildings, which are tightly packed together, space used as efficiently as possible.

We decide on a the Goliaeth sports café as, and I hate to admit this, the game versus Quebec is already underway. The place is packed, with a pocket of Quebecois sitting in the corner, enjoying some smack talk with some fans in green and blue. As we sit down, Hellegeland misses a howler and Quebec misses the easy shot on goal, Palmgroen barely getting a glove on it but the ball seemed to veer off past the far post anyway. The subsequent corner kick goes nowhere, but the Quebecois get to cheer early, the rest of the café quieting down a bit. We all know what's coming next: Ko-oren dominating possession, not taking risks, but instead Juliasterinthen's XI go on a few adventures. Knowing that a poor result here is the end of our AOCAF campaign, we see Longchambon in possession a lot, with Janoreirinthen overlapping on the left wing, Aelisire, as a chess rook, going up and down the right wing, Vallotton taking position in the half spaces, and even Duchemin gets a lot of touches on the ball. A shot to the left, a few over the cross bar, but at least Ko-oren are getting closer to a goal.

Not to say that the Quebecois had nothing to enjoy, either. There were a few counterattacks making use of Aelisire's double role as a winger on the offensive side, leaving four at the back. Mizuno and Van Schelven drifted a little off-position at times, not ready for the counters, and Palmgroen needed to save a few good attempts. As half time drew nearer, Vallotton had a lucky shot on goal that floated into the far corner, over the goalie, unable to get back in time to save it on the line: 1-0. The Quebecois left a little after half time, saying "That's the thing with your national team, 1-0 up and the game is over," as the Ko-orenites in the room were hoping for those words to be true. In true Dragonfly fashion, Aelisire did not go forward once more, Yokota played the half spaces taking out any passing lanes to the strikers, and Longchambon, Vallotton, and Duchemin were left on an island up front again. Still with the majority of possession, the Dragonflies didn't push for a second goal that badly. There were opportunities for the Green and Blue (moreso than for Quebec at least), but most of them were attempts from too far out to inconvenience the defence. The game dribbled on to the 90th minute, and one thing about our reputation of having a scary defence is that opponents... sometimes... just stop trying to score. This was one such instance. The Quebecois accepted defeat in the final ten minutes, and despite testing Palmgroen from afar a few times, they ignored their normal gameplan and hoped to keep the damage to just the one goal.

With the 1-0 win, Ko-oren move up to second place in the group (from 5th), with all of second-to-sixth place in contention for the Round of 24. We're headed for another anomaly of a stat line, the Dragonflies on the fewest goals allowed in the entire AOCAF, while also being the third-least scoring team. Our final game is against Tamgu, the only unranked team of the group, with just one win (over Twicetagria) and 10 goals conceded in the four games. Should Ko-oren indeed not mess this up (as we saw when we gave Twicetagria their only win of the AOCAF so far), we qualify as the second placed team in the group. Starblaydia, despite coming from pot 2, have strung together four wins to regain the status of AOCAF royalty. This was our opportunity to humiliate one of those teams that have always towered over us, in current ranking and in past successes... and we just couldn't do it.

That said, we were sitting on that nice 4-0-3 record against the Purples. That's 4-0-4 now, but we are still one of few teams to have a non-losing record against them.

by **The Overseas Territories of Sylestone** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 3:15 pm

No way. No fucking way. No matter what, we would not have expected that. Result of a lifetime. That's something you really can't expect. Overseas Territories of Sylestone 3-0 Delaclava. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. OTS are now in fourth on the ladder and might, just might be able to seal second place with a lot of luck. But a lot of luck.

A cricket bat hattrick led the way for OTS, who played a back-and-forth game with Delaclava, the OTS stocky defence keeping the relentless Delaclavan forwards at bay but somehow not being able to break through the weak defence when attacking. Possession remained in Delaclava's hands for the majority of the time, but finally, the Hockey Stick managed to smack one straight to the Cricket Bat who creamed the ball into the goal with a smashing cover drive in the 36th minute.
In the 44th minute, a stray Delaclavan forward managed to break through OTS's defence and in a one-on-one, dribbled the ball past the Soccer Goal to leave a wide-open goal. Instead of just simply dribbling the ball in or even passing it in, he had to go for a big shot... and completely miss. This was the Delaclavan story for the remainder of the day. Penalties were scored in the 54th and 78th minute by the Cricket Bat sent OTS to a commanding 3-0 win. They are now in fourth behind Valanora, who have already sealed first place, Delaclava and Northwest Kalactin, who are on six points each.

What OTS need to qualify:
OTS are left with a task only half in their hands. While they have to perform well against Qasden and a win might be sufficient to seal second place, they still have to rely on results from the other two games to confirm this. A loss and draw will undoubtedly end their miracle run. We shall wait and see what happens, but it will be a thriller.

Predictions:
OTS 1-1 Qasden
This result will our OTS equal on six points with Northwest Kalactin and Delaclava and ultimately end their run. A win was what they really needed. It would also certainly end Qasden’s run.

Valanora 4-0 Northwest Kalactin
Sorry NK, but you honestly can’t expect to beat the Eternal Empire. If this result occurs, then this will put OTS over Northwest Kalactin, keeping OTS’s run for third open.

Flavovespia 2-2 Delaclava
Congrats Delaclava, you’ve made it through. Sorry Flavovespia, you’ll have to be satisfied with fifth.

OVERSEAS TERRITORIES OF SYLESTONE - 3
Cricket Bat ‘36, ‘54, ‘78

DELACLAVA - 0

by **Sarzonia** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 4:00 pm

Jake Campos walked up to Kevin Connelly on the morning of the match between Sarzonia and The Jovannic during group play at AOCAF 61.

"Hey, Coach, I have an idea," he said.

"What's that, Jake?" Connelly didn't hide his feeling of being perplexed. Campos was usually a go with the flow kind of lad in the dressing room. He also was the sort to put his head down and work at getting better. He usually didn't make waves or offer suggestions.

Thus, Campos even saying, "I have an idea" was certainly out of left field. Sarzonia were still riding the high of another upset over regional superpowers Vilita and Turori and their sudden position as contenders to qualify for the Round of 24. Still, Connelly decided to listen to his young striker.

"I think Cayden [Aguirre] and me should sit and let Holly and Mek'hi start against The Jovannic" Campos said. Connelly looked at Campos for a moment and raised an eyebrow.

"It'll keep us fresh and it'll reward Holly and Mek'hi for their hard work." Connelly stared at the wall. He figured the Stars were most likely to play in the Round of 24 as with the group runners up or the third placed side from Group G thsn they were to catch Vilita and Turori. Even though Sarzonia had the victory over Vilita and Turori, they weren't expecting to overtake them for the automatic bid directly into the Round of Sixteen.

Connelly knew Campos and Aguirre were working hard through training and on the pitch. Some rest against a team they expected to defeat handily before facing a team they were fighting for position in the knockouts would be a good idea. Connelly had no doubt that Holly Cambrio would have been a worthy starter as a striker. If Under 18 national team manager Diogo Avarel were managing, she might be a starter.

Mek'hi West was a different matter. He was a great threat as a striker and he was an important voice on the pitch and in the dressing room, but he still hadn't tried playing a full 90 minutes since he tore his ACL nearly three years ago. The longest he played was 59 minutes during a knockout round match that he needed time to recover from.

Connelly thought about it and decided it was worth it. He gathered the team and told them Cambrio and West were starting against The Jovannic.

The move worked. Cambrio scored a hat trick with goals in the 14th, the 27th, and the 62nd minutes while West tallied in the 17th and 38th minutes. Goalkeeper Carlton Sandt was scarcely tested, making two routine saves and Sarzonia won in a 5-0 rout.

The Stars (2-2-0, eight points) were two points clear of their next opponents Saltstead, who were clinging to third at one point clear of 16th ranked 95X. The latter side were facing Vilita and Turori, who are top of the table on nine points with three victories from four matches. Legalese and The Jovannic round out the group stage finales.

Saltstead bring a 2-0-2 record into the match against the Stars, losing 5-2 to the Eel-Cat Things and defeating Legalese 5-1 in their last two matches. They lost 2-1 to 95X and defeated The Jovannic 2-0.

Connelly said he was simply focused on the match against Saltstead.

"We can't worry about what we can't control," he said. "We're going to concentrate on our destiny. A destiny that includes Campos and Aguirre back in the starting 11 against Saltstead.

by **Twicetagram and JYPe** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 12:41 am

AOCAF Cup LXI - Everything Thread

OTS gets handed first loss

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