World Cup 86: Roleplay Thread

by **Nephara** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:28 pm

Nephara 2 - 1 Mavinet
(4-4-2) 1 - Mercator; 2 - Stride, 5 - Thorn (c), 6 - Brosch, 3 - Muscadin; 23 - Mrdja (13 - Belgrade 61'), 7 - Kuepper, 4 - Shone (15 - Kastriot 77'), 11 - Deventer; 9 - Bastable, 10 - Lovelace (17 - Basilisk 70')
Goals: Deventer 26', Basilisk 84'

Nephara 4 - 0 Havynwilde
(4-4-2) 1 - Mercator; 18 - Rostock, 5 - Thorn (c, 22 - Lockheed 78'), 6 - Brosch (vc), 19 - Strassman; 7 - Kuepper (13 - Belgrade 66'), 4 - Shone, 21 - Moxham (8 - Cromwell 61'), 11 - Deventer; 17 - Basilisk, 10 - Lovelace
Goals: Basilisk 17', Rostock 36', Moxham 55', Belgrade 80'

Ysabet Belgrade wasn't the kind of person who could ever feel... restrained.
In some senses more than others. She'd lived her entire life in Sabrefell - her parents had contemplated moving after the separation but ultimately stuck around in the city thanks entirely to the Moths' academy. Belgrade was only fourteen, but the academy was still her saving grace.
The Moths were renowned for taking in rough children, difficult cases, from all over the city and, even if they never played a minute of professional football, equipping them to become citizens. There'd been proper mentors there, figures she hadn't found at a school she didn't respect. Big Marko, whose actual role at the club was nebulous but who had so many prison stories and was eager for children to experience that life through him, rather than for themselves. Cathi Argent, her youth coach at the U15s, who would follow up razor-sharp critiques that would shred someone's unearned confidence with a soft, almost tender, "Remember there's a reason you're here." Con Temple, who had broken through as a professional if never quite a Moth himself, who looked hard and taciturn but the one time he'd caught Belgrade skiving off training, just seen her in passing, had winked and kept moving.
Some kids started fights. Others saw the club as a refuge from home. A lot were just broke. Belgrade's main barrier was school. "Not gonna have you be another Szalai," the school liaison muttered once as she'd leafed through Belgrade's records, in reference to the world champion who had, rumour had it, never actually learned to read.
Argent had looked over at Belgrade, a gangly young woman by then, knocking calloused knees together, and flashed a rare smile. "She's got damn near his talent, though. She might go as far."

"Ysa!" snapped Ivy Herrick, Strauss' menacing and faintly piratical assistant. "Fuck's sake! I am not accustomed to repeating myself!"
Belgrade snapped to attention. "Huh? Wha?" she said, intelligently.
"Where were you, girl, hey?"
"Uh." Belgrade stared back. "Trying to figure out if Mavinet's wearing dragons or fish."
Herrick stared at her a good, long time. "Get warm and you'll be on next stoppage."
"Right, boss."
God, couldn't a girl get in a little introspection before her international debut? Belgrade shook her head, irritably, and started to stretch out the kinks.
So she'd broken through at the Moths, more or less staggered through her academic qualifications, and turned out to be really good at football. Herrick had herself promoted her to the national U21s, and been a familiar old-school figure who really did care (probably). And so far, really, Belgrade's career on the pitch was yet to really see friction. She'd managed a smooth glide to the top. This was the next step on the path.
Wait, what was the score?
Oh, shit.
So she might have let the occasion get to her, a little. She was on home soil - as in, her club's home soil - with the familiar serried ranks of green and black, even if they were subtly different shades of bottle green rather than emerald. There had been match tapes of her opponents, which she hadn't paid enough attention to. All she cared about was the guy opposite her was not gonna clip her wings.
The pressure was on, they needed to beat the second-placed team, and they'd called on her!
She wasn't going to let them down.

Her first touches held flashes of promise and danger, and the local commentator pointed these out with some satisfaction. Nephara were missing Chimera Moxham through an accumulation of cautions, and natural forward Traudl Mrdja hadn't quite looked a natural fit as a more withdrawn wide midfielder. It was Mrdja not tracking back which had helped Mavinet to their goal, Quang Khai with a perfectly-weighted ball behind Stride that picked out Tien Linh, who played a deft one-two with Hoang Minh before driving a fine finish across Mercator to level the scores on the brink of half-time.
They hadn't rested on their laurel. Actually, during the start of the second half - even if Belgrade had been spaced out in a reverie through most of it - they'd come out the gates raring to go, and Mercator had been required to bail Nephara out with fine saves against Thanh Hoang and, memorably, Thanh Hai, who had produced one of those horrible looping headers inexorably headed for the top corner that, somehow, the Ulsa goalkeeper had stepped back and twisted and flicked over the net with the aid of an iron wrist.
The Cormorants had beaten out the fires and fought back to the ascendancy, but they needed a cutting edge and Belgrade, matched against a tired Phuoc Long, intended to take advantage.
Mavinet continued to frustrate, but always with a view to striking dangerously on the counter. The Cormorants didn't want to over-extend, particularly when Thai Gia came on up front to stretch the defence with fresh legs. Kuepper tested Hoang Trung sorely with a free kick narrowly tipped over; at the ther end, another crisply perfect pass from Quang Khai played in Tien Linh to unleash a vicious shot into the side netting.
Belgrade was becoming slowly and infuriatingly aware that people were gonna write columns about her saying things like 'looked lively, had some neat touches, 7/10.' On her fucking debut! That couldn't stand.
She knew she had to break. Next time the ball came to her, next time the opportunity came up--
A minute passed.
Then another. Then another, fuck's sake, Rovena, couldn't even send a throw-in her way?
Finally. Kastriot nipped the ball away from captain Quang Khai, who had played heroically but was beginning to tire, and drove a quickfire pass down the right. Belgrade and Phuoc Long raced after it, but the Moths winger had the pace, even as the bastard tried to grab her arm. Lay hands on her? Fuck you! She somehow got an extra dimension of pace, nipped the ball inside, Hung Dung was there, the strikers were arriving in the box, Kuepper hung on the fringe.
Belgrade took it on alone. Cut outside the centre-half and absolutely put her boot through the ball, a clinical pool-cue of a strike that hammered against the inside of the post, past a despairing Hoang Trung, rebounding hard to the point where Latona Basilisk, first in the chase, almost accidentally smashed home.
Belgrade looked slightly underwhelmed. Dream goal on her debut, in front of her home fans at the Farham? Coming on to help them over their toughest rivals thus far?
Oh, well. She guessed it'd do.

NEPHARAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 5
Goalkeepers: 1 - Hesterine Mercator (Ulsa, EUR), 12 - Alexandra Markgraf (Sabrefell Moths), 20 - Aranea Provost (Holdenberg, EUR)
Defenders: 2 - Rovena Stride (AFC Treason), 3 - Vivica Muscadin (Sabrefell Moths), 5 - Roxelana Thorn (Revolutionaries, EUR, c), 6 - Ilyana Brosch (Brinemouth), 18 - Linde Rostock (Stahlburg City), 19 - Bremusa Strassman (Crisisbless), 22 - Gabriel Lockheed (AFC Treason)
Midfielders: 4 - Tawny Shone (Sabrefell Moths), 7 - Marica Kuepper (Jungle Strike, VIL), 8 - Lothaire Cromwell (AFC Treason), 11 - Morena Deventer (Brinemouth), 13 - Ysabet Belgrade (Sabrefell Moths), 15 - Mercurio Kastriot (Crisisbless), 16 - Rasmus Caracole (Coret Hawks), 21 - Chimera Moxham (Crawford City FC, COS)
Forwards: 9 - Kurtis Bastable (Ulsa, EUR), 10 - Konrad Lovelace (Revolutionaries, EUR), 14 - Arista Tzorvas (CA Paulinthal, PAS), 17 - Latona Basilisk (Coret Hawks), 23 - Traudl Mrdja (Vermillion Rage)

SCHEDULE
Nephara 4 - 1 Hwiccemark @ The Iron Hill (Vermillion)
Unimon 3 - 4 Nephara
Nephara 3 - 0 The Minarchist Free State @ Ludd's Hammer (Stahlburg)
Terre Septentrionale 0 - 5 Nephara
Nephara 3 - 2 New Lusitania @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Sharktail 2 - 4 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 1 Mavinet @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Nephara 4 - 0 Havynwilde @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Damukuni vs. Nephara
Hwiccemark vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Unimon @ Phoenix Rise (Corvistone)
The Minarchist Free State vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Terre Septentrionale @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
New Lusitania vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Sharktail @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Mavinet vs. Nephara
Havynwilde vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Damukuni @ The Gauntlet (Treason)

by **Cassadaigua** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:29 pm

Preston Newfeld Scrutiny,
By Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Preston Newfeld, one of the starting midfielders for the national team, exercised his right to peacefully protest prior to the game against Squidroidia, and that has led to some scrutiny. Preston would take a knee as the Cassadagan national anthem played before the game, while in line with all of his teammates. It should be noted that teammate Zack Pierce did not do so. As many Cassadagans are aware, about thirty miles south of New Lakeland, two days before the game, 22-year old Darian Winter, a recent graduate of New Lakeland Business School was shot to death by two female police officers on a report that Winter exposed himself to a jogger while being seated in his vehicle. Winter was ordered out of his car by the police officers who arrived on the scene, and seemed to be complying before he began to reach into his pocket. That is when each of the officers fired a shot, killing Winter. Winter did not have anything in his pocket other than his personal cell phone. The same security camera that caught that action also did not observe any joggers running by the vehicle at any time beforehand, leaving many holes as to what actually happened to lead the police to his vehicle. Preston I. Grant, the President of Male Equality Now (MEN) claimed that the act shows, “that we still have a long way to go in this country before gender equality. A false report was made on Mr. Winter to begin with, and secondly the police that responded to the scene jumped to the conclusion that Mr. Winter was a threat, and certainly did not need to discharge their weapons. There was no attempt to use a taser, and there did not seem to be any threat to either of them” Grant went on to say, “There is a lot that we can be proud of in this country, but this whole thing would not have happened if Mr. Winter was a female. He did not deserve this, as a recent college graduate looking to make his way in the world.” Further aggravating men’s rights activists is the fact that neither officer, Natalie Easley or Becca Landgrove, have been charged in the incident (each are currently suspended with pay). Grant stated that, “It is thoroughly insulting that both of those women have not been charged. I am so happy that the house that this all went down in front of had the security footage and provided it to me, and not the police or the local news.”

Newfeld posted on Spacebook prior to the match that, “We may have made progress in this country towards men’s rights, but it is really terrifying what still happens here. That could have been me, or any other male living in Cassadaigua.” Many in Cassadaigua have spoken against making this a gender issue and have called it an unfortunate incident that could also happen to a woman. Many criticise the fact that Winter began to reach into his pocket at all, pointing out that he may have been reaching for a gun, and that the officers have to respond to the threat in a split second. Queen Cassie II has not made a direct statement on the issue yet, but did call for proper investigative procedures to be put in place. Meanwhile, though, Newfeld used his role on the team prior to the match, taking a knee before the national anthem. It was an interesting moment as Preston took the knee while standing between Meghan Wolcott and Courtney Graham. Wolcott seemed uncomfortable with the situation, perhaps because Zack Pierce, the only other male on the team, was standing, properly, on the other side of her. At the conclusion of the anthem, Wolcott and Newfeld seemed to have some words with one another, as those in the stands really did not fully understand what they had just seen. “It looked weird and hurtful for many reasons,” said blogger Katie Swiegert, “You are playing for the national team in the greatest stadium in the country, and you have to bring this sort of attention to yourself. I’m really ashamed.”

CASE President Taylor Connolly said that, “I will speak to Preston in private. I understand that he is bothered with everything that happened near New Lakeland a couple days ago but we have to put that behind us and focus on the game. I did notice that a couple of his teammates were uncomfortable with it, and we cannot let this sort of thing begin to tear apart the fabric of the team.”

On the field against Squidroidia, you wouldn’t have known that there was anything bothering the team, as they were able to outplay their ambitious opponent. More than likely Squidroidia is elated like a happy sponge about only losing to us by one goal, ok nevermind, no one is ever excited about losing. However, they could take some solace in that they played us better than some other teams have in qualifying thus far. For the Fillies, Meghan Wolcott got the team on the board quickly, in the 14th minute, with Courtney Graham chipping in a goal in the 35th. Cassadaigua was good in the second half as well, but would not be able to find the back of the net again. Emma McKee, in for Newfeld in the 70th, rang one off the crossbar in the 76th.

The Fillies were a lot better against Devonta, getting a solid 5-2 road victory. Kelsey Morgan was given her second start in three games in this match in goal, once again showing that manager Stephanie Sweeney plans to give her a lot of playing time. Some reports have suggested that Tiffany Nelson was battling a stomach bug as well, and that was also part of the reason for this move, as Danielle Cotter, and not Nelson was announced as the substitute keeper who could potentially see action. The Fillies struggled in the early moments of the game, and fell behind 1-0 after twelve minutes, but would erupt for three goals before halftime. Rachel Schanke got two of them, in the 19th and 25th, and Madison McClain added a goal in the 34th. In the second half, Zack Pierce broke out of a mini slump in the 50th to make it 4-1. Devonta cut one from the lead, but this time Emma McKee would not hit the crossbar late in the back, and scored in the 82nd. Cassadaigua battles the Cool Fatties of last place Kulefati to close out the first half.

by **Tequilo** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:52 pm

THE RESTORATION OF GARCÍA de CORCOLES
3/3 Reorientation

Resuscitation | Rehabilitation | Reorientation

“What in the name of wights? … What happened? … Where am I?

Wait a minute, this has a familiar ring to it. What the devil is going on?”

Where he was, was on a rocking chair on the porch-aft of an old, rustic houseboat, lashed to a rickety pier, along which dozens of other houseboats in varying states of disrepair were rocking together against a gentle swell of water all around. Two fishermen in bib waders and sea boots loomed over him, accompanied by a wild grinning blonde man in a viking hat and furs. It was bloody freezing.

“Welcome to Bjarnarey!” said the unhinged Polarian.

“Don’t tell me,” he said, “I’m in the Polar Islandstates?”

One of the fishermen landed a thrashing Bjarn Shark on the pier decking and banged it over the head with a spare wellington boot. He grinned, and his white shining teeth and dead eyes reminded him - funnily enough - of the Bjarn Shark at his feet, only a little less stunned.

“Time for breakfast,” said the smiley fisherman, giving the shark one more blow for good luck, “you’ll be needing something for your constitution.” It was of little comfort.

First Andossa Se Mitrin Vega, then Bears Armed and now Polar Islandstates? Another mythical nation? Was this some kind of a joke?

“You probably think this is some kind of a joke,” said the other smiley fisherman, with eyes that did not smile, “but we are deadly serious here up here in the bloody freezing north. Your training is almost complete, the underverse is done with you now, and Sven here will be taking you back to the Wide Enness Ocean just as soon as you’re packed. Congratulations, you have graduated!”

It was all starting to come back now, as the figuratively rubble-strewn hangover from the blitzkrieg post-grad afterparty started to, if not crumble, at least allow chinks of light - and memory - to pass through the detritus of a chemically battered frontal lobe. Getting his body fixed in Mount Errion Infirmary… getting it tuned and supercharged at the Monster Wrestle Academy in Furness… and then coming to the Polar Islandstates… for ‘reorientation’. Those dead-eyed fishermen, who had been dead-eyed coaches, and dead-eyed doctors… and before that, in Ethane, dead-eyed customsmen who had fished him out of the river after his white-water tumble out of the Appalaxian mountains, shot to pieces and just about drowned. They were wights - actual wights! - from... well, from Wight, he supposed. In Tequilo, they called them Boca y Tranquilo, but to García, eventually, they had introduced themselves as Couth & Ruly, the Narrative Agents. Their job, they explained, was to keep him alive and repair him so that he was fit to play a part in a future narrative involving an uncanny child, his extraordinarily well-haunted family of shapeshifters, sorcerers and all-round mystical meddlers, a religious cult and a football club.

“Am I to return to goalkeeping?” he asked excitedly in the early days of his reorienteering.

“No,” said Messrs. Couth & Ruly, simultaneously.

“Am I going to be the good guy this time, or at least the one that doesn’t get dropped, run-over, set on fire, kidnapped, tortured, shot, drowned and shot again?”

Messrs. Couth & Ruly glanced at one another, and Mister Couth - or was it Mister Ruly? - said “well, that would be a matter of perspective, regarding the quality of your character…”

…and Mister Ruly - or was it Mister Couth? - added “as for injuries various, I should say never fear, The Narrative Committee is fully insured.”

Thus began his preparations in reorienteering in the cold and watery town of Bjarnarey, under the supervision of Messrs. Couth & Ruly, and preposterous local fixer, national hero and all-round good guy Sven Deranger. Mostly reorienteering seemed to be a matter of drinking rum and vodka in copious quantities, arm wrestling, fishing, playing football, recovering from hangovers or seasickness or football injuries, and trying to derive meaning from the elliptical teachings of the Narrative Agents. They seemed fixed on priming him for a future they would not reveal, and it seemed to involve being extremely fit and healthy, being able to laugh at oneself and being some kind of agent in a theatre of operations for which you had minimal briefing and probably, very little actual agency. Most of the lessons seemed to be about either inevitability or absurdity. The day he stopped asking questions or insisting they got to the darned point of it all, was the day they announced his graduation. He got rip-roaring drunk with Sven Deranger and now, after a Bloody Margaret, a fry-up, and a whole bottle of Dagmar’s Recovery Tonic, he was shipping out back to the real world.

The Bonesea Barque powered out of Bjarnarey as the Polarians put their backs into the rowing. García supposed this narrative he was soon to enter would find him somehow, or Sven Deranger would find it for him, now his training was, to quote the Narrative Agents, almost complete. Wait, what? Almost complete?

“Captain Deranger?” asked García of his tall blonde companion at the helm, “they said my training was almost complete. What did they mean by that? Did they tell you?”

“Can you swim, García de Corcoles?” asked the unhinged Polarian.

“No I cannot.”

“Well then,” said Sven, and grabbed him by the collar, flinging him overboard to the sound of the oarsmen cheering.

This RP series was written in fond recollection of absent friends, and looking forward to their return one day - ASMV, Bears Armed and PIS; each with whom I enjoyed some funny collaborations and learned some interesting things.

TAPALUPÉ, Tequilo - So much football, so little time… don’t worry, when you don’t have time for the big read (and we don’t have time for the big write) let the GOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL-a!!! Daily take the strain - all your analysis, in numbers, with our unique and exclusive Copametro…

SIX GOOD POINTS AND PUSHING

Ko-oren may already be out of sight but the Agave Blues took two consecutive away victories to set up a neat clash with the group’s second best, 95X, whom they will hope to overcome on the way to winning a play-off spot in the considerable wake of the Dragonflies. Striker Ecuador has been the standout over the two games with four goals, two in each, with wingers Isidoro Artechevarria and Ricardo Bailén providing the ammunition. Llösë Lea and Nuno Inchasti both made impressive national team debuts in Semarland, although Lea will sit out the next game after two yellow cards in Acadiana saw the Atlás defender get his marching orders in only his second national game, whilst Farve ex-pat Raul Hoyo also won his first cap in Acadiana but found the going a little tough.

VITAL STATISTICS
Semarland 2-4 TEQUILO HT: 2-3

Location: Natunolstadion, Jansberg
Attendance: No home fans + The Ultra-Mariachis (8 sombreros+dog)
Scorers: Semarli#7 10' Semarli#10 14' | Leyton 8' Ecuador 24' 45' Artechevarria 56'
Booked: Semarli#3 | Tlacolotl, Apeiztegui, Vilca Hualla, Noxochinoch
Sent off: -
Tequilo Line-Up: Oscar Bienvenido | Llösë Lea, Haize Apeiztegui (sub: Noxochinoch), Huracan, Huachalla | Ixtub Tün | Isidoro Artechevarria (sub: Vilca Hualla), Nuno Inchasti, Leyton | Tlacolotl, Ecuador
Player of the Match: Isidoro Artechevarria (Tequilo)

Quebecois Acadiana 1-2 TEQUILO HT: 0-1

Location: Some Stadium, Quebecois Acadiana
Attendance: Some Quebecois + The Ultra-Mariachis (8 sombreros+dog)
Scorers: Quebecois#8 83' | Ecuador 34' 81'
Booked: Quebecois#8 | Lea (2)
Sent Off: Lea
Tequilo Line-Up: Oscar Bienvenido | Llösë Lea, Raul Hoyo (sub: Tol Chicote), Huracan, Chicchan (sub: José Tavia) | Ixtub Tün (sub: Tomás Alemán) | Xaime Medal, Nuno Inchasti, Ricardo Bailén | Ito, Ecuador
Player of the Match: Ricardo Bailén (Tequilo)

NEXT UP
TEQUILO vs. 95X

Careful squad management and some good tactical rotations means coach Isaac Martí is in a position to name his full First XI, in theory his strongest side, for the qualification six-pointer at home to Exnoventaycinco. Win that and the Agave-Blues go into the second half of qualifying clear in second place, which would be quite remarkable, if somewhat presumptuous at the time of writing. But Coach Martí has never been afraid of a decisive move and he drops Xaime Medal, who has failed to make an impression in qualifying so far, in place of a more familiar face around the national team, Vilca Hualla. The Índigo Huayna captain has had to rebuild from being stuck in the extra reserve group of players, and it seemed like it might be all over for the young midfielder; but with Isidoro Artechevarria injured and Xaime out of form, the coach has turned to experience for his replacement. Returning to the side from injury comes captain fantastic Mateo Tafalla, whilst Patrick Zambo, Huachalla and Leyton all benefit from being rested last time to come at this with fresh legs. Finally Haize Apeiztegui and top scorer Tlacolotl are also back following their suspensions for accumulated yellow cards.

Confirmed Line-Up for TEQUILO vs. 95X:Oscar Bienvenido | Patrick Zambo, Haize Apeiztegui, Huracan, Huachalla | Ixtub Tün | Vilca Hualla, Mateo Tafalla, Leyton | Tlacolotl, Ecuador

Venue: Estadio Metrópoli, Tapalupé

by **South Newlandia** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:59 pm

Football talk live (on South Newlandia One, between MD8 and 9)

TL: Welcome to another edition of the Football talk, hoping to be as unexplainable as the South Newlandian results! No, I am just kidding, but we have some guests here again! Meet ex-South Newlandian national team player Karl Meyer! And here is South Newlandian baseball player… what? South Newlandian…. Here is Fabio Ventura! (under his breath) who invited that guy? Wrong topic, dude, get it together! What do I do now? (out loud) Give them a round of applause!
FV: This isn’t about the International Baseball Slam?
TL: It seems we might have had a mix-up here. Who cares, now that you are here, we’ll make the best of it.
KM: Reminds me of the time ten years ago when the youth club I played for confused the venues.
FV: What happened then?
KM: We played football on the ice hockey rink for a year. It worked okay, it was worse for the ice hockey team.
TL: Sorry, but we do not have time for that right now.
KM: The story is already over.
TL: Oh, I couldn't have expected that. Anyway, let us dive into the first game: South Newlandia at TJUN-ia, in Tiankong Stadium!
(some highlights from the South Newlandian games are now shown, with commentary by Brandon van Simonson. Of course, this is the live commentary from the games; he isn’t actually present in the studio. Occasionally, someone talks over those highlights. Yes, this again)
BvS: Here come the players! The South Newlandian coach Robert Wolverine has decided to keep the starting formation to himself until now, he even had all the players warming up on the bench in an obvious attempt to confuse the TJUN-ian scouts, and force them to go into the game blind, so let us take a look at who walks out into the stadium now! Here’s Trischuk, of course; captain first, now they will walk in by the number on their jerseys, as always. Here is Roy, that isn’t a surprise. Here is Gurero with the five, that certainly is a surprise! The young defender earning his money in Kohnhead is joining the first eleven, that might’ve been what Wolverine wanted to hide! Here are Mohamed, Wallis and Anderson, 6 through 8, that doesn’t surprise us either. Green missing is new, though, looks like he isn’t perfectly fit just yet. Irving is back with the 11, that’s not news, neither is McMora with the 13. And that is Lancaster here, with the number 19, and that might be the other thing he wanted to hide. And last but not least, McCabe with the 41 and Wright with the 44, two more expected players. How will they line up? This is looking like it might.. No, it’s the diamond again. Wolverine seriously went through that circus to play the formation he always plays? Oh well, maybe that some reverse psychology I don’t understand. The ball is about to roll!
FV: (looking confused) which of these teams is South Newlandia again?
TL: The one in yellow, green and blue. Not the Light Blue with the Orange.
KM: Yeah, we established these kit colours back a few decades ago. Doesn’t the baseball team play in similar colours?
FV: Yeah. We do.
KM: These, meanwhile, were established because…
BvS: (louder than Meyer is, rendering him inaudible) We are underway, and TJUN-ia is starting this with a nice attack here over the right side, but Roy is there. Ball now in possession of South Newlandia, but Mohamed loses it! Ball for David Johnson, he has some space, and a good shot! But Trischuk saves it. Nice work for the South Newlandian captain there.
FV: Do they get a baserunner for that?
TL: No. What even? There aren’t.. This isnt.. There aren’t even bases here!
FV: Oh.
KM: Good work by Roy here, reminds me of how when we still played together in that one game that was in this big country from Atlantian Oceania…
TL: We don’t have time for that right now, I am sorry.
BvS: That’s a foul right there, and the Elephants will receive a free kick from the left side, about from the corner of the penalty box. Wallis lines up to shoot it directly, but that’s a flank instead! Lancaster is there, getting in a good header against the surprised defender, Nicolas Umkala, and it’s a goal! Harold Gylfisson had no chance on this one, and the Elephants are in the lead! The second international goal for Lancaster, after he has scored against Tikariot, really nice!
FV: That’s… like a run?
TL: I… I guess?
FV: Nice, that's good then, right?.
KM: Yes. Really nice header right there, when I used to play upfront on corners, I…
BvS: We are in the middle of the first half, and once again, TJUN-ia has some good initiative here, over the left side this time, going past Wright like its nothing, and Vladimir Podolov gets a good pass in! There is Joe Green, but saved by Trischuk again! Amazing reflex!
FV: Do they get a run now?
TL: No.
BvS: It’s almost half-time here, and the Elephants have gotten a corner. That would usually be Green’s job, but he isn’t here, so Lancaster will try his luck. Here comes the ball, right towards Brandon Irving; the TJUN-ian defense isn’t perfectly organized, it seems; and he gets a header in! Second header of the day, second goal, the Elephants are up by two! That’s an awesome start! Just a few minutes left to play, if they could keep this lead into the half, that’d be great.
KM: That’s why I always say that you have to line up your defense on corners correctly. I for one, have always –
TL: (cutting him off) Lancaster having a great game, doesn’t he?
FV: Who?
KM: Donald Lancaster, he plays for Jecken Newport, he is –
TL: Next scene, please.
BvS: The Elephants are leading against the Jags two to nothing at the half, and naturally, Robert Wolverine has decided against changes at the half here. The same eleven are heading to the field again, and er sure hope it continues on like that.
FV: So, the first half inning is over now.
TL: That’s… not how this works.
KM: It used to work almost like that a few centuries ago…
TL: (looking a bit distressed) Next scene, please.
BvS: Its TJUN-ia again with control over the game here, going over the left side again. Wright looking bad again, and here comes a flank to Kepo Ulawaya, a shot, blocked by Trischuk, bounces right to David Johnson, and its only 1-2 now. And Wolverine reacts, taking Wright out of the game, replacing him with Manuel O’Neill. He will be playing right defender for the first time for the Elephants, so I wonder how that goes.
KM: That reminds me of when I was bounced between LCB and RCB for a while, you always have to stay flexible. A good example from the last century….
FV: Would that have been a double play?
BvS: Another corner for the Elephants here, they seem to work great from corners and free kicks today. Lancaster brings this one in again, and there is Philip Gurero, and goal! The Elephants lead 3-1, what a header, the third of the day! Gurero here with the first goal of his career for the Elephants, the Centre Back doesn’t see the other half all that often, but that was really good!
TL: Yeah, the Elephants suddenly discovered the art of scoring with headers. Really nice!
FV: Is that like bunting?
TL: A great tournament for Gurero so far, I see why Wolverine decided to take the player playing in Kohnhead with him, along with Irving, who also plays there.
KM: Don’t forget Olly Evans, the goalkeeper! He moved to Rockaton, and…
BvS: Here is Prince Carter, in the centre, looking for a dribbling. He easily gets past Mohamed here, and instead of trying against Anderson and Gurero, he looks for a shot! And it’s in, uncatchable for Trischuk, no chance at all. Only 2-3 now, and still ten minutes to play, this isn’t over yet, and the Jags have their own fans in the back now. The Elephants should try to avoid blowing this.
TL: Well, excellent analysis right there, I’m sure they didn’t know that themselves.
FV: Who is in the lead?
KM: South Newlandia is, because we have sc-
FV: Thanks.
BvS: And that’s the game! The Elephants narrowly take down TJUN-ia here, 3-2, in a really close match. This could’ve gone either way, but especially Trischuk and of course Lancaster having excellent days saved the Elephants here. A nice win that sees the Elephants now tied up in second place, with 11 points, just like Tikariot and TJUN-ia.
TL: A very nice match! What did you like most?
KM: The game is actually very comparable to a game I played seven years ago –
TL: Fabio Ventura, what did you think?
FV: Interesting sport, but I missed the base running.
TL: Yeah. That didn’t.. We move on, second game, South Newlandia hosting Union Europae in the Sophie City Bowl.
BvS: Here come the players! The Elephants back with the 4-4-2 diamond, while I don’t really have anything about the other team here. I’ll just roll with it. Anyway, the last game here in the Bowl was a draw with few chances. Let’s hope we don’t have an absolute snooze fest 0-0 draw today, haha!
TL: (under his breath) I want to be paid extra today. (aloud again) Yeah, that’d sure be bad. (he looks like he’s about to cry)
FV: But low scoring games are entertaining, because you can watch the pitchers do well! Speaking of, who is the pitcher here?
TL: (He is now crying)
KM: No one, the pitcher was abolished in South Newlandian football about 150 years ago, 149 to be precise. They did that because…
TL: (trying to cover up his face, failing) Next scene!
BvS: We are here in the seventeenth minute. I might have briefly fallen asleep, but there are no goals yet so it doesn’t look like I missed a lot. Are there any new players on the field? (inaudible in the background) Yeah, Michael Glossman for Irving, Marcus Young with his debut here for McMora, and O’Neill for Wright. It doesn’t look like it helped so far.
KM: From what I’ve read online, he wasn’t the only one to fall asleep. Apperantly, the only game that was similarly boring was the one against the Kytler Peninsulae during the last qualifiers, also against the bottom seed, also at home, where there were also basically no chances, ever. The Mail refused to cover it. But it looks like this one was worse.
BvS: And that’s the game. A scoreless draw, with the South Newlandian attackers failing to do much of anything for 90 minutes. They will have to improve that.
TL: Yeah, that’s true. They are now in fourth place, two points behind second, and the next game will be in Mriin, so no points expected there either We don't have a lineup yet, either.
FV: Will we watch the extra innings too?
KM: The extra innings were abolished a few years after the pitcher, after a rule change that came up with the radical idea of just stopping –
TL: That is a good idea. Tune in next time, or don’t, I am out. We're on South Newlandia One and whatnot, I don’t care.

by **Springmont** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:37 pm

Springmont Football Association (SFA) has announce their Official Partners for 2021-2025. Detail can be found below.

SpringmontAir started service in September, 1998, as a “New Wing” for the aviation industry in Springmont. Since then, we continue to strive for safe operation. SpringmontAir is still a new company. However, we will make a new ingenious business model and continue to provide evermore reasonable fares to exploit new market. Springmont has been choice as Springmont Football Association (SFA) airlines partners.

Corndaglish Motors is the automotive arm of Corndaglish Holding and is involved in the manufacturer, retail, distribution, and assembly of automotive businesses. It has operations in nine markets across the Melayu Archipelago region. Corndaglish Motors was SFA official partners.

Henrixo Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is a Montian multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Hearthbury High of Pieterhound – India. Henrixo Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is involved in manufacture of pharmaceutical products, pharmaceutical substances, multivitamin and intermediates. Henrixo is SFA multivitamin official partners.

Danford Market Ltd. is a Springmont-based retailing company. The Company is engaged in the business of retailing a range of household and consumer products through departmental stores. It operates through approximately 80 such departmental stores located in approximately 40 cities. Its products include apparel and non-apparels. Its non-apparel category includes cosmetics, personal accessories, and leather goods, homewares, electronics, books, and music. The Company, through its Website, Danford e-link, offers international and national brands in men's, women's and kids apparel; gifts and fashion accessories, such as ladies watches, men's watches, artificial jewelry, fine jewelry, handbags, fragrances, men's and women's footwear, home furnishing and decor products. Danford Market was SFA official partners.

Bluethorn Hotel Group is a Springmont-based hotelier and investment holding company. The principal business activities of the Company are those of hotel ownership, management and operation, property development and investment holding. The Company's segments are Hotels, Properties and Others. The Hotels segment primarily includes the operations of the hotels and the shopping galleries of the Company, as well as the provision of hotel management services. The Company also engages in the rental of rooms and shop units, and sale of food and beverage. The Properties segment includes the rental and sale operations on residential properties and commercial units. Bluethorn was SFA hotels official partners.

Zicosoft Technology Pvt. Ltd, formerly known as Zicosoft International, is mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of electronic products in Springmont and abroad. It produces, processes, develops and sells software, instrumentation, and security equipment. The company provides electrical equipment and measuring and imaging instruments, and opto-electronic modules. They also that engages in the development of information industry through business model, technology and product innovation, providing professional IT service with a wide range of technical service, agricultural information, application software development, special financial equipment, integrated solutions to key industries such as finance, government and enterprises, telecommunications, agriculture and manufacturing. Zicosoft was SFA communication solution official partners.

by **Vdara** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:11 pm

Cheers, Son’s Crying

Draws never leave a good taste in the mouth, do they? Well, especially when you’re against one of your main qualification rivals. Timuria’s recent form had left Vdaran fans expecting a decent victory - and yet, they were left sorely disappointed when the score was still 1-1 at the end of the match. Vdara were now being given a chance to redeem themselves against Eura, with both teams in an attempt to remain relevant in the qualification race.

Væñøœrëñbérghüïś, while still faithful in his squad, wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence for this upcoming match. Neither were his players, to be fair.

”Just... do your best out there, guys. We’re up against the top seed of the group, and we’re just coming back from a rubbish-y draw, so don’t be too disappointed if we don’t get a point from this match, alright?”

And now, as always, the live coverage!

”How bad can this match REALLY go? I mean, Eura are the team who lost to bloody Acronius, it’s not like we- oh shit, we’re live? Ahem, hello to you all! It’s going to be another day of football, football, and even more football, because today we’re watching the titans of Eura take on Vdara! Instead of our usual coverage from the VdarArena, we happen to be in Eura! What is Eura, you ask? Well, it’s a place that has managed to win a grand total of TWO World Cups...”

”...and it’s a place which occasionally has its name used for some funny and creative puns - for as we all know, Eura stronk.”

”However, now is not the time to discuss Eura’s previous successes. Vdara are on a good run of form, and should be able to - in theory - give the Eurans a hard time. Nonetheless, let’s move on from that. In fact, let’s talk about the lineups!”

(Here we go, it’s that time again, time to skip to 1:45 - I know you don’t listen to the tune, you don’t need to, I just like it far too much :3)

”Markos Moustakakos is the man between the posts tonight, with the trio of Valentinos Giannakos, David Xeniadis and Nestoras Galanatos all lining up at centreback. In left wing-back, we’ve got Tryfon Vlahiades, with the opposite wing-back spot being taken by Manousos Athanas. Moving further forward, we have Vangelis Mavroglou lining up in central-defensive midfield, with Kimon Karalas and Anargyros Stamatelis taking up the space directly in front of him. Our front men for today’s match are going to be Chirstoforos Lazelis and Andrianos Petras, who’s replacing Nik Cosmidis, as he happens to be injured. That completes our lineups for- wait, is it that time already? Jesus Christ, just cut to the game, CUT TO THE GAME!”

The match report is as follows (albeit shorter than usual, due to some slight tiredness):

1: The match is finally underway, as Vdara take on one of the best sides in the world!

6: It’s an early cross for Eura, and it’ll be Rhys Griffiths to take it. That cross has been whipped in with some amazing accuracy... and it’s bounced off of Giannakos and gone in! That’ll count as an own goal, but credit has to be given for such a wonderful cross from Griffiths!

There were plenty of missed shots, with a mistimed volley from Andrianos Petras being the closest Vdara got to putting the ball into the Euran goal. But then...

41: It’s a free kick to Vdara, the foul was conceded by Steele, and it’ll be taken by Tryfon Vlahiades. Vlahiades takes a few steps back, gets a good run-up towards the ball, and strikes it cleanly... right into the top right corner! Vdara have managed to get back into this game, and in some style! Take a bow, son!

Halftime came and went. Words of praise and wisdom were bestowed upon the players, and they looked as if they understood everything Væñøœrëñbérghüïś was saying. Now, the key word here is ‘looked’, because obviously the players understood fuck all. You’ll see why.

48: Griffiths has intercepted a pass that was meant for Karalas, and he’s definitely in range for a powerful shot if he wants to try it! Griffiths goes for the shot from range... and it’s a goal! Eura take the lead in style, but was there ever any doubt that they would?

54: It’s a free kick for Eura, and it’s just outside the box. Brian Bond looks to be the one taking it, as he lines up his shot. Bond strikes the ball with power... and it’s another goal for Eura! Bond fired that ball just under the leaping Vdaran wall, and it went straight into the bottom left corner! 3-1 to Eura.

59: Bowman is making a lovely run through the Vdaran defenders, who seem to be able to do nothing to stop him. Bowman cuts inside, nutmegs Giannakos... and fires the ball straight past Moustakakos! Eura lead by three goals, and what an embarrassment this is turning out to be for those poor lads on the pitch!

To be fair, the match didn’t really get any better or worse for either side after that goal. The Euran squad just seemed to slow down a little on the scoring front, and the Vdarans just seemed to lose the will to score entirely. Apart from a few more shots that were easily saved by Kevin Belgrave, Vdara looked seriously off-colour.

Following the match, Væñøœrëñbérghüïś seemed deflated. He had expected to lose this match, but not like this. Not by a three-goal margin. Never by a three-goal margin.

”Well, all good things must come to an end at some point, as we all know. We certainly learned that lesson tonight, and to one of the harshest extents that we could have. I can’t say I’m mad at you, lads. I’m just disappointed that we lost by as much as we did. We weren’t even that bad for those last 20 minutes, we just weren’t clinical enough. If anything, we just need to get our heads back in the game for the Pasarga match. Don’t let these losses bring us down - let them create fire within us. Let them motivate us. We may have lost this battle, but there’s still a whole war to fight in these qualifiers, and by god we shall fight like there is no tomorrow! Forza Vdara, forever and always!”

Following the match, the extreme optimism of some Vdaran fans ground to a halt. The fans, who were so used to watching Vdara obliterate teams by three-goal margins, sat in agony as their team got a taste of their own medicine. This loss meant that Vdara tumbled down to third place, and could potentially tumble further if the game against Pasarga has a similar outcome. However, many fans still remain optimistic. Players and staff can rest assured that they’ll still have the backing of their countrymen, no matter what. This loss may have been harsh, but Vdara will bounce back. Vdara ALWAYS bounces back.

by **Terre Septentrionale** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:13 pm

Terre Septentrionale explodes against Hwiccemark

Hwiccemark - After the fiasco that happened in Havynwilde, there were a lot of question marks about Terre Septentrionale. But the team fastly shut their detractors up with a 7-3 win against Hwiccemark. Terre Septentrionale took a 3-0 lead early and at the 29th minute, Hwiccemark scored to make it at 3-1. The Reprezentacja Nordycki attacked at the 36th minute when Wlodzimierz Waclawczyk dribbled with the ball and passed to Tymoteusz Swierczewski who kicks the ball and it's a goal. Hwiccemark scored again at the 42nd minute and the score was 4-2 at the halftime.

Terre Septentrionale attacked at the 61st minute when Tymoteusz Swierczewski passed to Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa who kicks the ball. The ball touches Player's hand and it's a penalty. Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa kicks the penalty and it's a goal! Sandie McCracken also scored at the 66th minute and the score was 6-2 Terre Septentrionale. Hwiccemark reduced the Northmen's lead to 6-3 before Przemyslaw Tkocz scored at the 85th minute and the final score was 7-3 Terre Septentrionale.

BOXSCORE

5th minute: Rodolphe Giroux assisted by Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz
16th minute: Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa assisted by Wlodzimierz Waclawczyk
21st minute: Slawomir Skrzeszewski (corner kick)
29th minute: Player assisted by Player
36th minute: Tymoteusz Swierczewski assisted by Wlodzimierz Waclawczyk
42nd minute: Player assisted by Player
61st minute: Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa (penalty)
66th minute: Sandie McCracken (assisted by Tymoteusz Swierczewski)
78th minute: Player assisted by Player
85th minute: Przemyslaw Tkocz (assisted by Rodolphe Giroux)

YELLOW CARDS

11th minute: Player
32nd minute: Élisabeth Normandin
55th minute: Rodolphe Giroux
61st minute: Player

RED CARDS

None

Terre Septentrionale destroys their opponent again

Podvolovljek, Carniola - Terre Septentrionale is on fire, after a 7-3 win at Hwiccemark, the team was back home to play against Unimon in Podvolovljek and they destroyed them 6-2. Wlodzimierz Waclawczyk put the Nordiques on the board with a goal at the 12th minute but Unimon tied the game 7 minutes later. Terre Septentrionale attacked at the 28th minute but Matthew Martin tripped Zvonimir Kordic just outside the penalty area. He got a yellow card and it was a free kick for the Reprezentacja Nordycki. Roksana Kolodziejczyk took the free kick, she kicks the ball and it's in! Sandrine Fontaine also scored at the 39th minute and the score was 3-1 Terre Septentrionale at the halftime.

At the 54th minute, Élisabeth Normandin intercepted Tom Wood's pass and dribbled with the ball and shot from 25 meters and it's a goal! 4-1 Terre Septentrionale. Unimon reduced the Northmen's lead at the 71st minute but Terre Septentrionale answered two minutes later with a header goal by Zvonimir Kordic. The score was 5-2 Terre Septentrionale. At the 83rd minute, Roksana Kolodziejczyk made a cross to Sandrine Fontaine who shoots and she scores. The final score was 6-2 Terre Septentrionale.

BOXSCORE

12th minute: Wlodzimierz Waclawczyk assisted by Élisabeth Normandin
19th minute: Ricky Duncan assisted by Iol Dawson
28th minute: Roksana Kolodziejczyk (free kick)
39th minute: Sandrine Fontaine assisted by Przemyslaw Tkocz
54th minute: Élisabeth Normandin (unassisted)
71st minute: Josh McIntosh assisted by Tom Wood
73rd minute: Zvonimir Kordic assisted by Sandrine Fontaine
83rd minute: Sandrine Fontaine assisted by Roksana Kolodziejczyk

YELLOW CARDS

22nd minute: Sandrine Fontaine
28th minute: Matthew Martin
59th minute: Kacper Pietrzkiewicz
67th minute: Iol Dawson

RED CARDS

None

3rd place in group 4

With these two wins, Terre Septentrionale is now in 3rd place in group 4 with 14 points in 8 games. Nephara are far away in 1st place and the Nordiques are fighting with Mavinet and New Lusitania for the 2nd place. On matchday 9, Terre Septentrionale will travel to The Minarchist Free State before the two weeks mid-qualification break. Élisabeth Normandin injured herself at the 67th minute and will miss the game against TMFS.

Starting XI vs The Minarchist Free State: Vainqueur - Niedzwiecki - Zubrowska - Brzezanczyk - Jedrzejczyk - Ksiezniakiewicz - Fontaine - Kolodziejczyk - Pajaczkowski - Cwierczakiewiczowa - McCracken

Wlodzimierz Pietruszewski,
Senior writer,
La tribune Septentrionale

by **Twicetagram and JYPe** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:38 pm

Stage 1: Thanks
That phone call was better than he could have asked for. August felt an ease of mind. He knew that someone was there for him, and he was glad.
“Thanks, dude,” were the only words he could muster. Once he was a sailer who went astray, but now that he knew someone was there, he had an anchor to hold on to. He wouldn’t be lost anymore.

Wherever you were
If I could hear you, I would run to you without second thoughts
Back then, back then
August was back in training and kicking it. He felt the same energy as he did as a child: boisterous, happy, and determined.
My young heart was only so playful back then
When I see you smile, I felt something
Cause I never learned any of this
Dargozhov, seeing August smile for the first time in a while, was obviously very happy. Everyone wanted the old August. The old August that was pompous, energetic, and hungry for more.
These typical words
I’m only saying them now
But I hope these typical words will reach you
Thank you, thank you, that’s all I can say
Even all the waiting, the longing
And all of our memories
Augustin could only be so happy. To others, he may be weird for being happy over a small phone call, but to him, it was everything. Someone finally understood him. Someone finally knew him. Thank you was truly the only word he could say for someone who sincerely helped him.
Thank you, thank you, that’s all I can say
Even all the waiting, the longing
And all of our memories
Thank you
It was that same drive of willingness and grit that eventually changed Twicetagria’s destiny. A good run with 2 wins out them in contention for playoffs. Playoffs were a dream or two away, but it was possible. Twicetagria had only one person to thank. Until one match.

Stage 2: Failure
No one really knew what had happened. Everything passed in a blur. But one thing was for sure: whatever energy that Augustin had would soon be diminished.
It was the match against TOTEL. We were drawing with them until the late stages of the game. The opponent’s Defense looked weak in the 89th minute, so Twicetagria sparked a counterattack. Dargozhov to Eli, Eli to David, David to August. It was as usual. Except for the last part. David burst from the left flank and quickly launched a cross into August’s direction. The goalkeeper, being out of position, was in no place to save the ball. It was effectively a free goal and a win. August in’s mind suddenly gushed with thoughts. Some were thought on how he would be received at home: a legend, a patriot, a hero. However, he also had a huge amount of doubt in him. What if he didn’t score. What would be of his dignity? God knows. It seems like the doubt had completely taken over his mind, as his ball went flying over the top bar.
“It was a volley right next to the goal. Have to give August credits for taking that, but you know volleys can be hard to handle. I’m not blaming him, I’m just saying that maybe he could have tried something less risky,” his manager tried to defend him, but the hooligans of Twicetagria were unfazed. Burnt pictures of him were sent around social media circles, and apparently some guy on MeTube was making profits on his parodies of the miss. August’s life had gone from hero to zero. Problem was, he didn’t know where to start.

by **New Lusitania and the Algarves** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 7:01 pm

STL|Serviços de Transmissão Lusitana
Sport | Football|
World Cup 86 Qualifiers

"THAT'S MORE LIKE IT"
Matchdays 7 & 8 Review:
Damukuni 2-3 New Lusitania
New Lusitania 1-0 Hwiccemark (AlgarveArena - Att: 37 962)

At least that's what one of the pundits said following one of the matches. The previous match in Braga had been one which whilst it had boosted some spirits, the fact that the attendance was much lower than usual meant something different in terms of the support the team was facing due to the quality of play leading to some of the undesirable results.
Now in the youthful period of Spring two months later, the Selecção returned with a flyaway to Damukuni. It would be a tough match and it proved itself to be just that. The game started simple enough, with a goal from a returning Daniel Jota on twenty minutes of play. A quick strike coming in from a counter-attack saw the Selecção take the lead with the captain getting the credit for the through-ball assist. The Damukunians would respond quickly though with a great header following a cross from the left-wing meaning that by twenty-five minutes of play, it was 1-1. Just before halftime though the home side took the lead in stunning fashion with a great aerial ball which was controlled with power and shot into the net. This meant some changes at half-time with the peculiar decision for Luis Miguel to come on for Horta relaunching the current idea of the 3-4-3. Into the second half things changed for the better as New Lusitania dove straight back in whilst half of the two teams was still warming up again. Veiga offered the goal to Silveira who gladly took it and didn't waste the opportunity making it all square. This meant that there was roughly thirty-five minutes to work out how to win the game. Although we did see a more confident National Team during this period, Damukuni were holding it pretty well. The goal miraculously came on the eighty-second as Cancela created the opportunity by running down the wing and passing it over to Veiga who tallied in his second goal by curving it into the bottom-left corner as he wheeled away in celebration. An important victory, a vital victory. He had scored the winner, the now Belavista player had won the match for the Selecção. "That's more like it, these are the performances we've known to expect from this man and this team!" Shouted the commentary from the game and most agreed.
Back home in the weekend, New Lusitania travelled South to the AlgarveArena, recently renovated once more and now made to properly fit the 40 000. The team were now fighting to make up for lost points and a victory against Hwiccemark was a definite must. Ricardo Moreira played his first game as Nogueira left the main Call-up after playing reasonably well. A pivotal player in Belavista's recent efforts, the defender was an interesting addition to the squad. As well as him was Duarte Costa who was sent to Elvas from Porto FC on loan for a while to gain experience. Paciência entering for Silveira, Guerra was in for Horta and João Cabral also chipped in for Gama for just this game, making some already question the rotation decision. A mild day would suit the match just fine as the qualifier got underway. The match was surprisingly uneventful and for some seemed to be the equivalent of a Sunday drive or leisurely stroll as no one was pushing the other particularly hard. Cabral seemed to attempt to go forward and prove his worth and the wings seemed to have juice with Guerra on the opposite side. The goal was on the thirty-ninth minute and was scored by Paciência who continued to challenge both forwards for the starting position as he continued to prove scoring consistency. In this particular case, it was the exploitation of a defensive mistake that made it possible for him to sneak in and take the strike with a credited assist by Cabral. The match seemed to move with a brisk pace of chances but allowed for other players being tested when Palhagueira came on for the final thirty minutes, also showing promise with a good chance created but seemingly saved. Overall, one goal was enough and the three points clinched which as far as the fans and Veiga were concerned "was good enough and it's what matters".
At the end of the eighth matchday, New Lusitania jump to fourth position on thirteen, two from the runners-up, Mavinet, who are still nine points from leaders Nephara. The second ranked team overall beat the team sensation 2-1 in the seventh game and later beat Havynwilde 4-0 to keep all the points so far. Mavinet regained confidence against the Minarchists with a 4-1 win, staying ahead of Terre Septentrionale which bested Hwiccemark 2-7 away and Unimon 6-2 at home leading to the latter's slip to fifth. Damukuni recovered following a victory to Sharktail (1-2) away whilst the home side seek to regain form now being joint seventh with the Minarchists. The final game is Unimon which seems to be a fiercely competitive nation with plenty of talent meaning the team will have to play well to break them in the final match of the first round. Hope maintains itself open, particularly now that the Equipa das Quinas find themselves in a better position. It's been a year of ups and downs for the Selecção and Grilo but now that things start to gel well can they make something of it? It remains to be seen...

Goals> Silveira (3), Veiga (2), Jota (2) Paciência (2), Fernando (1), Gama (1)
Assists> Gama (2), Fernando (2), Horta (1), Vinagrete (1), Veiga (1), Luís Miguel (1), João Cabral (1)

----
STL
Official Broadcasters of the World Cup.
Follow the Selecção's road here!
MMXX (in association with FLF)

by **Astograth** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 7:42 pm

Previously

Aire Epherra sat on the bench, fuming. 7 caps, 3 goals. They were still good numbers, but he had to do better still. As it stood, he had one goal less than Arana, who was clearly an inferior striker, and level with Sorrosua, who wasn’t a striker at all. Urdanibia had retired with 23 goals, which made him the join-9th top scorer for Astograth. ‘Just a matter of time,’ his agent kept telling him, but how much time did he have, exactly? He was 31. He’d keep playing for Olibondeka for longer than Urdanibia’s weakling retirement at just 34, of course, but was it still enough?

Yes. Just a matter of time. A matter of time and that Astograth play matches in that time.

Matches at the World Cup, for example, which at the moment they were failing disastrously to do. A scoreless draw at Dragon Stadium in Canalave, unable to score on Valladares. But wait, Epherra had thought at the start of the qualifying campaign, how come we’re playing Valladares if the first seed is already Turori, the second seed is Siovanija and Teusland, and we’re the third seed? There had to be some mistake, except nobody at the live draw ceremony seemed to have caught on – as if the draw itself were merely a sideshow to the antics going on in the hall.

Like any self-respecting top footballer, Epherra had the phone number of his federation’s president, and used it judiciously to sometimes forward some really funny pictures, even if Abasgoitia never returned the favour. On the day of the draw he’d called the president of the FAF while the ceremony was still live, to urge him to intervene and fix the mistake, but the call hadn’t gone through. He got the beeps that signalled a busy signal, except he could see right there on the screen that Abasgoitia was not busy except for arguing with Jeremy Jaffacake. Epherra would file a complaint with Astek the following day and demand they fix his phone.

In the end, the masters of ceremonies from Drawkland and Newmanistan had not made a mistake, Valladares were actually in pot 5. That had felt strange, because Epherra could have sworn they were a mighty team, ranked among the best in the world rather than 98th. The assistant manager, Ibai Kiriano, had carefully explained by drawing parallels to Astograth’s own slow climb out of irrelevance, but no, Epherra was quite sure Valladares were good and had always been good. In fact, he had to look no further than right in front of him, because at Dragon Stadium in Canalave, Astograth were playing out a scoreless draw against Valladares and Epherra sat on the bench, fuming.

Vaudrail had the audacity – the audacity! To not only sideline Epherra for the first time, but have Karazatorre start in his place. Ridiculous. Insulting. The centre-forward is the number 9, and who had number 9? Epherra. This argument had done little to persuade the manager the day before, when the lineup had been announced and confirmed. A more compelling argument was playing out on the pitch, and if they didn’t win this match it would make everyone look bad.

No, this would not stand. Epherra would, though.

The forward jumped off the bench and stormed toward Vaudrail, startling the manager when he noticed a hulking figure just behind him.

“Put me on,” demanded Epherra.

“What? No,” replied Vaudrail, turning back to the match.

Epherra grabbed the Sicoutian by the shoulder and turned him around. “Boss, put. Me. On.”

Vaudrail looked down at the absolute ham now gripping his shoulder, and noticed behind them a broadcast camera with its bright red recording light turned on. “Let me go,” he said sternly. “You’re not coming on, the attack is fine. It’s midfield that’s struggling”.

Epherra loosened his hand, and turned around to meet Kiriano’s cold stare, shepherding him back to the bench. No, he wasn’t sheep to be shepherded. He was the best striker this team had, that this whole country had, and they needed him now!

Tearing off his orange substitute bib, Epherra approached the fourth referee. “Put me on,” he said.

The ref blinked. “OK, where’s your slip?”

“Oh, uh. Lost it. But it’s 9, Epherra, in for 20, Karazatorre.”

“Uh huh”. The referee glanced back at the Astograthian bench, from where Kiriano was already hurrying over. “Sort it out,” he advised, and turned away.

“Wait!” cried Epherra, and did as he had with Vaudrail: vice grip on the shoulder to flip them around. The fourth referee, unlike Astograth’s manager, put on a face like his family had just been murdered.

“DO NOT TOUCH! AN OFFICIAL OF THE WORLD CUP COMMITTEE!” he screamed, prying himself away, and from the pitch the whistle sounded to stop play. Kiriano arrived just then to drag away the forward, but it was too late.

At this point in his career, it was rare for Epherra to do many more things for the very first time. Today he added two: his first red card for the national team, and his first sending off from the bench. 7 caps and 3 goals, baby, and it would stay like that until at least the match after next.

World Cup 81/82/83/84

First half success secret to qualifying
Scott McCrae
The Daily Mail National Soccer Writer

The Commonwealth National Team will close out the first half of World Cup 86 qualifying when they host West Angola at the State Fairgrounds Stadium.

The match will mark the 101st played by Baker Park in WCQ, and should they avoid defeat, will extend an enviable streak; since the 4-3 loss to North Dajao at Hillsborough Stadium on matchday 9 of WCQ 80—the second defeat in the first half of round robin play--the NT have lost only 2 matches in the first half of qualifying over the last 5 tournaments, with Mercedini joining Nephara in that company in this cycle. That makes a current mark of 43-4-6 in those matches, the key result being that Baker Park earn nearly maximum points to build a cushion that carries them through to the Finals.

Further to those stats, a review of the record when comparing BP's participation in official competition (Baptism of Fire, Cup of Harmony, WCQ & World Cup, in addition to regional championships) relative to other nations makes for a surprising revelation. Prior to the beginning of theses qualifiers, the Commonwealth NT had played 236 competitive matches in the NS Era, winning 148, losing 49 and drawing 39; of that number, 169 matches were in the category mentioned above, while the other 67 were international friendlies, two appearances in the Wonder Cup, and the more recent participation in the Mike Sarzo Memorial Cup in Sarzonia.

The split along those lines shows a huge difference in relative success, although there is admittedly a fuzzy distinction in specific cases—a particular squad could have mixed success in warm-up matches before going on to post an impressive record in a subsequent tournament—but even that doesn't diminish the results.

In the WCC/regional competitions, the Commonwealth has won 116, lost 31 and drawn 22, with a total goal differential in those games of +202; when broken down further, in the AOCAF, the record is 31 wins against just 6 defeats & 4 draws, with a GD of +57, while the WCC numbers are 85 victories, 25 losses and 18 ties (+145).

By any objective standard, those are all impressive results given the quality of the competition and the path followed by Baker Park's national teams since the beginning of mixed-gender soccer.
In contrast, the won-loss numbers from the other 67 matches doesn't look as impressive on paper, but they are nothing to be ashamed of; 32 victories and 17 draws against 18 defeats is still a better than 2:1 rate.

A deeper look shows there is depth in the success rate; the Under 18's have amassed a 30-6-3 record in their appearances at the World Championships, while the U21's have struggled more recently at the DiBradini Cup in compiling a .500 record (11-11-9).

by **Saltstead** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:14 pm

ePetitions
Saltstead’s Government and Estates General

Petition
Rename the country of Krytenia “West Saltstead”
Krytenia has become the second-biggest salt mine in Atlantian Oceania after only the original Saltstead. Therefore, we propose that Krytenia rename itself to something more fitting of their salt production. We propose they use the name “West Saltstead”, not to be confused with their old name of “West Starblaydia”.

▼ More details
Saltstead gets its name from old salt mines back in classical times, when salt was a rare and valuable commodity. In modern times, over the course of their history in international football, Krytenians have been reliable sources of salt. So much salt per capita that it outweighs all the salt produced in the rest of Atlantian Oceania (minus Saltstead, of course) combined. Having already been called “West Starblaydia” at one point in their history, I doubt it would be much trouble to them to be renamed “West Saltstead”. After all, we have cake! I bet the Starblaydi cannot offer that.

⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕
This petition currently has 48 907 signatures. It requires 0 more signatures for a response from the Government and 1093 more to be considered for debate in the Estates General.
⁕Sign⁕ ⁕Share⁕

Response of Saltstead’s Government
This response was given 1 day ago
Saltstead’s Government appreciates the Saltsteadish people’s sense of humour, but we unfortunately cannot tell other countries what they ought to call themselves. As Saltsteaders are free to determine what name we call ourselves, Krytenia’s name is an internal matter for the people of Krytenia to decide.

At 50 000 signatures…
This petition will be considered for a debate in the Estates General.
Notify me when a debate is scheduled ▶

Popular ePetitions
Build a space cannon and fire John Rosencrants into the sun ▶
⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕ 110 393 signatures of 50 000 goal

Launch a Royal Commission into Sylestone appliances ▶
⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕ 81 310 signatures of 50 000 goal

Sign a salt mining treaty with the United Provinces of Krytenia ▶
⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕ 69 007 signatures of 50 000 goal

View all active ePetitions ▶

An official website of the Saltsteadish Commonwealth
The Estates General | The Royal Household | Saltstead’s Government | The Courts of Justice | The Constitutional Tribunal

★
The Royal Saltsteadish Football Association
Royal House of Sport, Ashwell
Saltstead : Darmen
World Cup 86 qualifying group stage — Matchday 9
King William VII National Park, Ashwell, Saltstead
Saltstead lineup (4–5–1): Robert-Jan van Daal; Richard Christopħe, Pijr Josefssen, Maxime Crabshaas, Catharine de Vriħt; Natasħa Aħterop, Benni Sħåul, Zacharias van den Slåp, Nicholas Tiberius, Thomas Lions; Haråud Haråudssen

Omerica : Saltstead
International friendly match
Stade Just-Cartier, Charlescourt, Omerica
Saltstead lineup (5–4–1): Marianne Åudershof; Micħäl Aurelius, Jan-Pijr Åudenberg, Serena van Middelkamp, Victoria Rothöüf; Wim Amistad, Constantijn van Bleck, Adelaide de Jong, Mina Ratmaker, Aleksa Pascal; Reinhard Åubreħtssen

by **Recuecn** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:22 pm

Commentator A: The final score of that game, then: Reçueçn five, Eastfield Lodge zero.

Commentator B: What message do you think that sends?

A: Well for starts, it sends a very clear message to the rest of the group. Reçueçn isn't planning to leave anything in question. They're supposedly a defensive side, but just during these qualifiers they've won five-zero, six-zero... they're ready to go out in full force against anyone who comes for their spot in the lead. But more importantly, I think with this win Reçueçn is getting the world's attention. They're saying 'hey, we're more versatile than you think, we can do more than park the bus.'

B: 'Look out, we're coming for you.'

A: Exactly.'This is a new and improved team, we've rewritten the rules.'

B: I think you're definitely right that that's how this win will be seen by others. But do you actually think it's an intentional move on the part of équipe nationale manager Jacques Tremblay to send a message?

A: Absolutely. Look at how they kept pushing hard all the way to the end of the game. That last goal by Adams in the 86th minute when they were already up four-nil. That's not just a tactical change, that's a philosophical shift. Not only did Tremblay come out today and say 'Hey, we don't have to just sit back and defend a one-nil lead all the time', he followed through. The team was on the attack when there was nothing left to gain; why? They were trying to get their point across.

B: People will be asking this—I'm already seeing it on twii.tur—people always say, 'It's rude to rack up so many goals when you're already trampling over the other team.' 'You should stop when you're up by three goals—'

A: I hate that. I'm sorry, I really hate it when people think that it's somehow rude to score goals on your opponent. If anything, Reçueçn is respecting them by continuing to bring their A-game throughout the match. Saying 'well, we're winning, we can see there's nothing you can do about it, we'll go easy on you'—that's rude, in my opinion.

B: So you don't have a problem with it.

A: Absolutely not. Plus, think about who's in this game. On the one hand you have Eastfield Lodge. This is a side with a lot of history. They've been in World Cup qualifiers for longer than some countries have existed. They're not just a new, unranked nation fresh to multiversal football. Beating them means something. Reçueçn came into this game knowing they were playing one of the greats, knowing it was going to be a hard-fought game. And secondly, you have Reçueçn—Reçueçn under Tremblay. This isn't a team that normally scores a lot of goals.

B: No.

A: It's just not. This same team, more or less, has been around for four cycles now, plus a couple cycles back in the 70s, and their strategy's always been consistent. It's important for them to demonstrate that they can play more than one kind of football.

B: There've been rumors going around lately about Tremblay, specifically: that some people say he's getting old, that he's thinking about retiring... you hear those rumors and you think 'Oh, this has got to be his last cycle.'

A: I don't think it is.

B: No, neither do I. But do you think maybe that this is how Tremblay is responding to those rumors? That this is his way of showing that he's still got it?

A: That's an interesting thought. If that was the case, why wouldn't he have done it against HUElavia? If you're trying to prove that you deserve to stay on as national coach, I don't think that beating up on the fourth seed in your qualifying group is the way you do that.

B: Okay, but—

A: I think if Tremblay feels like he needs to prove that he deserves his spot, then he needs to get Reçueçn to the quarterfinals for the first time, or do well in the World Cup. The team's done well the last few World Cups, so that's when people are watching, that's when you should be trying to prove something.

B: Okay, but maybe someone would say the rumors have just come out recently, the game against HUElavia, so he took the first chance to show off a bit, and now maybe he holds onto his cards again until Reçueçn gets to the world cup.

A: That doesn't make sense to me. I mean it's all speculation. In my opinion Tremblay has nothing to prove. Look at what he's done for Reçueçn. Things have only been looking up for them. You don't sack a coach who's winning you all your games. I think Tremblay has his job as long as he wants it, and he knows that.

B: So then why do you think he feels the need to send a message with this game today?

A: People used to look at Reçueçn and say 'Wow, they got lucky.' They just barely squeaked through the playoffs for the 82nd World Cup, they qualified on the last match-day for the 83rd... they've always been the underdog who somehow foes further han you expect. But now they've had time to figure their game out and build on what they started with. So I think that Tremblay is telling people that Reçueçn doesn't need luck anymore. 'You better hope you get lucky this time.'

B: I don't know, that sounds awfully cocky and not very much like Tremblay.

A: How can you say 'cocky' and 'not like Tremblay'—

B: I think maybe he just was looking for an opportunity to practice some new tactics, try some new things. Gerauld hasn't been starting, which is obviously a change that we talked a lot about before the game... but is that related to the tactical shift?

A: At that point it's also fair to ask if there's even been a tactical shift, or if Reçueçn just got lucky a few times this game.

B: You just watched the same game I did, right? Lucky? They were dominant.

A: Okay, so maybe they're just better than before.

B: There's definitely a lot to unpack, and with a manager like Tremblay he's always one step ahead of you. We've got a short ad-break coming up, but don't go anywhere, because we'll be right back with more post-match analysis.

by **Valanora** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:29 pm

The analysis of the paperwork as well as DNA tests that were conducted of Lathwen Raynor had finally come back and much to the Senate's surprise, her documents were authentic and her DNA tests revealed that she was indeed related, albeit distantly, to Tobias Raynor. Most of the chamber had believed the woman to be an upstart who was attempting to seize the throne to one of the most vast and wealthy empires in all of Atlantian Oceania and perhaps even the world. Yet, there was no way able to deny her claims now and it left the entire chamber scrambling, trying to figure out what the right move to progress forward was. There was still a substantial amount of the Senators who believed that they should progress with their initial plan of electing a new Emperor who would gain dynastic control over the throne, regardless of the new developments of a Raynor reemerging to claim the throne. However a majority of the Senators now believed with her identity and claims confirmed that they should begin the coronation process of Lathwen as the new Empress of the Eternal Empire.

While the debate rages in the Senate, Lathwen has been parading around the Empire, letting everyone know who she is and her claim to the throne, getting the populace of the Empire on her side, a security measure in her mind in case the debate landed on a poor side in the Senate chamber. Attending the Marauders match had given her a small glimpse into the potential impact that the masses could have. If an entity as influential and as popular as the Marauders could be held to the sway of the common people, then to their elected officials would be even moreso. With the Senate members beholden the the whims of their constituents, as she continued to tour the Empire and getting to know the people and sway them to support her claim, the more pressure those in the Senate would feel to support her rightful claim to the throne and dissuade them from the delusion of trying to award her family's seat to anyone in the Empire that was not her, or another Raynor if there were any besides her still in the Empire.

A common question she was getting through her tour of the nation was that of her appearance, why did she have different looks to that of the rest of her kin? It was not a question that she had wanted to answer, she knew the why, her father had very delicately explained to her why she stood out even among elves, looking neither like those who had dwelled on the surface nor those who had been banished to the undercities. It was a long forgotten secret that the Raynor family originally had been bred with the drow of the undercity and every few generations there would be a child like her would have elven traits but look neither high elf nor dark elf. For her, it was pale skin and dark hair of the drow but the bright green eyes that were far more common among the high elf kin who resided above ground. Reminding people of that long forgotten fact would likely have a poor reception to the people she was trying to convince to support her claim, with it less than a century since the dark elves had mounted an attack on their high elf kin, even if Tobias Raynor had been the leader of the defenses.

Her claims being substantiated made the front page of the Valanora Times, as well as additional two pages describing the stalemate in the Senate chamber as they had their deliberations on what to do. Her patience would only be stretched so thin before she would confront them and force their hand, for now she was doing her part to win the hearts and minds and quietly encouraging the Senate to make the right choice. Privately, she was noting down all those who were speaking out against her in the Senate, those who wished to strip her of her family's throne and her rights to it. With her familial claim substantiated, she had been contacted by the leader of the Dark Bows, with the assurances that their oath of fealty to the Raynor household was as strong as ever. The leader assured her that if she desired to take back the throne by force, that she would have her family's private army ready to fight for her claim to the throne. It was the ultimate ace up her sleeve if it came to that. It also amused her that she had to share the front page with the Marauders, with the squad apparently having been quite dominant the previous weekend. She supposed that it would take time for her to supplant even their popularity, but that time would come if she had her way...

by **Transvolcanic** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:49 pm

From alive to dead, the Transvolcanic Federation loses 2 in a row
*duting matchdays 7-8, no matches were transmitted in TV due to a problem with the signals that has been lasting since one day later of the win against Freeport, instead, they were all transmitted on WhoTube and Twiche, but without any commentarists
For match 7 Transvolcanic received the number 3 of the world, Vilita, who as expected, defeated Transvolcanic, but not how it was supposed, as it was supposed to be a defeat type G041**6, instead, finished 0-2 and is along with the loss against Macabees the worst in the nation's short sporting history still
Here are the stats:
Transvolcanic:
66': Volodov for Nazenfritz
74': YC-Walter San Marcos
78': YC-Eugéne Nazenfritz
Vilita:
28': YC-Polaox Tureron
47': Polaox Tureron scores
65': Kurii Davasarii scores
Shots:
6-8
On door:
2-5
Yellow Cards:
2-1
Fouls:
5-7
Corners:
1-1
Goals:
0-2
Red Cards: NONE
Pass efficiency:
77%-86%

For match 8 Transvolcanic visited The Sarian, which again, as expected, defeated them but 1-0, even if having fell to 6th place with 10 points, it may be the worst offensive of the group, but is the best defense also
Edit: I have had a full day of school work so I didn't have time for today, in case The Sarian RPs first, I will adjust to what they have RPed and post the same events they want to
Now they will have a hard match against Jeckland, that may be crucial for the team's aspirations, losing is saying definately goodbye to the WC dream, winning lets them alive, drawing is gaining 1 point just for KPB rankings
The signal is expected to get back to the TVs before the match against Jeckland, so right now A. Campuzano has made a press conference, which was shared with WhoTube:
Person 1: So here we have the manager of the team, Campuzano, are these 2 loses a problem?
A. Campuzano: You think not? Of course it is! The team isn't playing good at attack, but is defending correctly, I want both good, so we will need to change plans, we can't obviously let our rivals win like that
Person 2: After losing these 2, are you scared you could be fired?
A. Campuzano: I do not fear I will be sacked, to be a new team to the qualifiers and even to international soccer, we have done good so far in what is a difficult group what I do really feel scared of is we won't make it to the World Cup, now only god may help us to achieve it
Person 3: So the lack of goals is the real problem?
A. Campuzano: Yes it is, defending great is something, but we also need goals, here the one that wins has to score more goals than it's rival, or concede the less if it is the case, we have to work seriously, these last two matches placed us in our site and has woke us from our dream, so we will have to again... Work seriously

Predictions (%) against Jeckland
Transvolcanic 24% - draw 36% - Jeckland 40%

by **Springmont** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:53 pm

Cooperation between business entities and football clubs is no stranger to the football world today. Every season there are definitely big companies that are willing to sponsor and collaborate with football clubs for mutual benefit. This is evidenced by the recent collaboration between Oldspear Brewery and Basilsome Athletic Football Club.

Oldspear Brewery, a Sea-Foods International Ltd. subsidiary, with senior executives from Basilsome Athletic Football Club, announced they will be signing a contract for a sport sponsorship agreement with the football club at Comet Hotel. At the press conference, the company’s Chief Operation Officer, Reagan Hosell said, “the sponsorship is part of our continuous support to the Montian football community and the growth of sport in Springmont.” The sponsorship is worth a total amount of 10 million $T throughout a four-year contract. The first-year budget is 2.5 million $T, followed by 2.5 million $T on second year, third year 3 million $T and 2 million $T for the final year. Each year, Oldspear brewery will too handover distinctive fan club things which are at that point getting to be sold by the club to assist bolster the Basilsome Athletic Football club and the fans. The in-kind support will too proceed all through the rest of the 3 years of sponsorship and is estimated to be 4 million $T. The first phase of the sponsorship will be invested on maintenance work of the club’s playing field. The Oldspear Brewery will guarantee the field is kept up appropriately include the earthwork, fertilizer arrangement, seeding and grass upkeep.

Oldspear beer is one of the most famous brands in Springmont with incredible history and profound heritage around the Montian community. For years, the relationship the brand built with the community and the different community projects to give back to the society is something Oldspear is very proud of. The Liquid-Star project that provides clean water for all living around the brewery, the community School class room expansion, the street development around the brewery and the Youth Business Development Plan to bolster the youth are some of the projects that are helping the brewery to further strength partnership with the community. The first phase of the renovation of the Club’s stadium (Wilford Street which will be renamed as Oldspear Brewery Stadium) has already started this month and is scheduled to be completed within two months.

by **Sarzonia** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:53 pm

Sarzonia aren't where they want to be or where they expected to be as they approached the final match of the first half of qualifying for World Cup 86.

The exploits of the team defined by links to the glory days of the distant past threatened to be obscured by the collection of over-35 players who are now one match away from possibly capturing the inaugural World Cup of Masters as Sarzonia get ready to face Kriegiersien in the final.

However, the current Stars still have a second half of football left to play. They've begun to round into better form and have now won three of their past four matches.

Even though the exception to that match might have been a source of consternation in cycles past, manager Kevin Connelly chose to take a more optimistic approach than usual to the 3-2 defeat away to Farfadillis.

"They're a strong team, so it looks like we play better football against stronger competition," Connelly said. "We need to do a better job of focusing against the teams we should get results against, but we have something to build on."

by **Omerica** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:57 pm

TRENDING IN OMERICA: #STEPHANIDISOUT

SARA [LASTNAME]

@chocofriend
Who the fuck loses to Blampano? Seriously? Absolutely spot on about my prediction.

Sent from my Orange mVI

#StephanidisOut : #Incorrigibles

GEORGE MARTINSSON

@geomartins
- -@chocofriend

What did I tell you? Stephanidis is an absolute choke. The Federation are utterly demented.

#StephanidisOut : #Incorrigibles

JEAN-MARIE ARCHAMBAULT

@j-m_arch
God fucking damn, a qualifier against Valladares and a friendly against Saltstead. Stephanidis will find a way to cock them both up.

#Alexis | #StephanidisOut | #Incorrigibles

THE OFFICIAL THE BEET ✓

@thebeet_OME
The @URSF_an have officially accepted a Cup of Harmony invitation by scoring an own goal against Blampano

#TheBeetSportsbox | #StephanidisOut

United Republican Soccer Federation
6 Jacques la Rouge Road
Port Alexandre, MS 18-A40
UNITED REPUBLICS OF OMERICA
Omerica v Valladares
World Cup 86 qualification — Matchday Nine
Stade de la République, Romainbourg [Centre-Ville]
Omerica lineup (4–3–3): Rowan Greycastle; Darcy Francis – Frédérique Marquetti – Noah Clement – Felix Zanetti; Simone Bonfils (captain) – Fearchar Mac Cléirich – Alphonse Fontaine; Maïa Bustos – Jean-François Fernand – Adélaïde Argyris
Substitutes: Valentine Augustin – Antoine Vicario; Alphonse Notley – Charity Kayode – Raphaël Martin – Lauren Kerry; Thom Magalhães – Soraya Archambault – Red Bolton; Jessie Beckett – Jean-François Fernand – Jamal Ahmad

Omerica v Saltstead
International friendly match
Stade Just-Cartier, Charlescourt [Val-du-Tibère]
Omerica lineup (4–3–3): Rowan Greycastle; Darcy Francis – Frédérique Marquetti – Noah Clement – Felix Zanetti; Simone Bonfils (captain) – Fearchar Mac Cléirich – Alphonse Fontaine; Maïa Bustos – Alexis Chrysanthos – Adélaïde Argyris
Substitutes: Valentine Augustin – Antoine Vicario; Sylvain Aiello – Anna Charles – Justin Thyme – Sacha Sepulveda; Nadiya al-Hashim – Paige Boyce – Maxime Fournier; Rasoul Qadir – Anaïs Guérin – Wesley Sawyer

by **Busoga Islands** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:04 pm

Orange Field in Dukuma, 75th minute

Kamu Jacobs had clearly reached a point of frustration. The team was getting into the last 15 minutes of the match, and once again, they seemed destined for a disappointing 0-0 draw at home. For a squad in cheerleading forms that essentially seemed to play like they were positionless, they were adequately strong in defense. Different culture, Jacobs guessed. Everyone on the team simply must like defending- they all got back, with great enthusiasm, and were always excited to make a play.

It made them a difficult opponent to play against. Of course, it was like FFR with their massive cheerleading squad, but worse- this time, the players were cheerleaders. He could only imagine the headaches he'd get once the Islanders eventually made the return trip to Cheergirls. But this game was getting more frustrating and frustrating by the moment. The Busoga Islands were in Pot 3 for this Qualification campaign- just sitting on the outside, waiting for someone to slip, theoretically, to maybe make the playoffs.

But things were not going their way this game. Kamu Jacobs, in the 25th minute, chipped the ball over the head of the Cheergirls goalkeeper, and Meghan Banks was back in time to slide and make a goal line clearance. And it started one of those annoying cheers from the sideline, where the engaged bench was trying to pump up the visitors in the midst of an otherwise sea of white and red. In the 37th minute, it was Ikshu Amitabh who had an opportunity, one on one with the goalkeeper, but the teenager Katie Golden made a brilliant diving save.

And so was the story of the match. The Islanders would see an opportunity. They'd try and take it. The Cheergirls would stop them. The bench would cheer. The Islander players would slowly getting annoyed. They knew that if they really wanted to take momentum into the halfway point of Qualifying, they'd need to have all three points, as that would ensure some confidence heading into Zoloroni. In the 75th minute, while Cheergirls trainers came on to deal with a player who had a cramp, Jacobs jogged over to the touchline to talk briefly with the manager.

"Bethany." Jacobs said. "This is annoying. We've gotta win this one- we need more firepower up front."

"No, we gotta keep at what we've been doing." The manager replied. "Our plan is working- we simply haven't taken our chances."

"No, we need another striker on the pitch!" He said. "Like you always said, remember the goal, right? WE gotta be aggressive. We gotta stop settling for draws."

"You know what? You're right Kamu." Bethany said. She than scanned down at her bench- and pointed at Cicek Aga. "Aga!" And the midfielder looked up. "You're in the game! You're coming in for Utpal Ishan." And then, even without having a chance to warm up, Aga was running onto the pitch, bringing off Ishan.

Five minutes later, the substitution paid off. Yet another Islander attack, but with Jacobs able to beat a pair of defenders on the dribble, he had the Cheergirls defenders on their heels and panicking. Finally- space to whip in a cross! And Jacobs, with his left foot, sent it across the goal. Too far out for the goalkeeper to come and claim it- Golden had to stay on her line. Just over the head of a leaping Amitabh. But behind Amitabh, was an unmarked midfielder with fresh legs- Cicek Aga. She did not have to jump, the ball was at perfect head level for her. She ran straight into the ball and leaned her head forward to smash it home to the near post.

She did it exactly as taught- head the ball into the ground, and it bounced up. The goalkeeper didn't have a chance, as the ball went down and then quickly skipped up with pace. Over the keeper's sprawling heads, into the goal. Cicek Aga jumped into the first row, celebrating her match winner. Kamu Jacobs simply stood there, yelling at the crowd, pumping them up, and pounding his fist on his heart. What a goal it was.

The mood was high in the Busoga Islands camp. Finally, in the last two games, they had begun to find their groove. Could they keep it going and earn at least a point, away in Zoloroni? They were certainly down in the table, but with all these games left, they were certainly not out of the race yet.

by **Barunia** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:06 pm

The Sun Trophy – Who are the frontrunners?
The Sun Trophy will be awarded this year to the Barunian player who delivers the best performance in the world cup campaign. The winner will receive the trophy and a cheque for 25,000 tildas. In this article, we look at the team’s performances so far to work out who are the contenders for the prize.

8. Bailey McAndrew
The youngster is playing in his first World Cup campaign, but has quickly made a name for himself as a reliable fullback and handy substitute. He’s prepared to fight for the ball, and is a tenacious defender. When he needs it, he’s also got the speed. McAndrew lacks the experience of his colleagues and is rightly not a first team starter, but when he comes on the field the tempo lifts. The lack of game time may hurt his chances of the prize, but for sheer excitement he gets our vote.

7. John Taylor
When he’s hot, he’s hot. The Barunian goalkeeper has pulled off some remarkable saves this campaign, and rightly deserves his place on this list. However, Taylor has been responsible for letting in 8 of the 13 goals scored against Barunia this campaign, which could well go against him.

6. Rachel Cross
Cross is another player who’s lack of game time could hurt her chances for the trophy. There is no doubting her talent, or her contribution. With 1 goal and 3 assists across 5 games (she started 2 times and was subbed in 3 times), Cross has had an impact almost every game. She has become Barrios’ last-ditch ace, called on whenever the team needs a goal late in the game.

5. Sara Moorhouse
Moorhouse can lay claim to a quarter of all Barunia’s goals scored so far this campaign, an outstanding effort from the veteran striker. For the most part, she has been a solid performer when the team needed her, but failure to get on target at some key moments drops her down the list.

4. Travis Adlington
Without a doubt the pick of the defenders this cycle, Adlington has played a crucial role in almost every Barunian win and draw so far. The veteran defender has probably put in more effort and hard yards than any other player on the pitch. A real chance for the trophy, we have him in fourth due to the large number of goals scored against the team.

3. Neville Swan
The Barunian captain has been the force behind much of the attacking drive this campaign. Whenever the team has been looking like they’re lagging, Swan seems to spur them on. A real competitor, Swan could win the trophy for effort alone, but a lack of impact in front of goal may hurt his chances.

2. Emmanuel Carter
Emmanuel George Sanchez Carter. Remember the name, you’re going to be hearing a lot of it. This teenager made his debut this cycle, and what a cycle it’s been. He leads Barunia’s goal scorers with 5 goals, and he’s been turning defences inside out like they were nothing. He’s certainly caught the attention of the nation, and he’ll have made the award committee sit up and take notice. We’ve got him in 2nd spot because he could have scored more, and also because he hasn’t done as much overall as our number one pick, who is….

1. Louise Cartwright
Cartwright has been a real presence on the field during the campaign. Regardless of where the action is, she always seems to be in the thick of it, both in defence and attack. She has been the beginning of multiple attacking runs set up by an effort of hers in midfield, has five assists to her name, and has also notched up a goal. She’s been a box to box player, running back to lend a hand in defence, and has certainly made an impact there, before showing up moments later at the other end on the counter attack. Her on-field impact is second-to-none on this team, and for that reason, she is our favourite to lift the Sun Trophy.

So there we have it, our top 8 Suns players so far this cycle and our favourites to win the Suns Trophy. There is still a long way to go, and we’ll be updating this as the season progresses? Will it change? Will someone else make a case to be on the list? Will our top spot change? Stay tuned.

by **Pasarga** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:10 pm

It has not been the most beautiful or dominant of victories for the Wanderers, but a pair of them in the last international window, coupled with Vdara finally coming back down to the rest of the group, and suddenly the Wanderers' are atop their qualifying group with just a single match left in the first of the qualifying campaign. Among those dirty and close victories is one of the third seed of Timuria, one of the biggest challengers to the Wanderers' hopes of advancing from the group that the team and a lot of different media outlets had pointed out when the groups were drawn a few months ago. Couple that with that magnificent win over the first seeds of Eura in Torgos on the first day of the campaign, and the side has to feel good about how they have performed against the other top seeds in the group. However with all that good comes the bad, the impossible to explain results against Megistos as well as Fujai, the sort of inconsistency that has plagued the Wanderers for near all their history, bar about five campaigns in the late 60s and early 70s, when the side made it to their three straight Final appearances and got that star that adorns their crest.

The ugly but brutally effective work has come from the much maligned backline, who has seen themselves be the scapegoat for the Wanderers' failures for some time now by most of the media and so called experts. However a defensive record of only nine goals conceded through the first eight games has shown that this squad and unit has truly come together from the one that was playing two years ago, with the inspired work of Deli Ács being a shining example for all of the backline to follow. While they are by no means an impenetrable unit, their ability to bend but not break has afforded the rest of the squad the sort of time to come together and get past the defenses that their opponents have been putting up. This was all the most on display in that first match in Torgos against Eura, when the Euran attack broke time and time again on the strength and cohesion of the backline before the attacking talent at the Wanderers' disposal finally found a way past the Euran defenders and secured those vital three points.

I say vital as Eura is second in the group, having recovered from their stumble through the first few matches of the campaign, with their recovery including a massive thumping against Vdara, who had been top of the table going into that match. Eura is now only a single point behind the Wanderers and has to be looking forward to getting the Wanderers back in Eura for a dose of our own medicine, once the second half of the qualifiers begins. Yet that is not the whole story, for it is not just Pasarga and Eura, a pair of Rushmore giants, who are standing at the top of the table and looking down at the rest of the group, but Vdara is still there at the top as well despite their setbacks in the last international weekend. Where Eura is only a point behind our own squad, Vdara is only a single point adrift from Eura, making it a top three who has more or less seperated themselves away from the rest of the group as this first half of the qualifiers draws near to its ending stage, though Megistos, Timuria, and Fujai are all within striking distance if one of the three squads does hit a poor run of form.

This first half of qualifiers still has one match remaining though, one very important match that might set the tone for the way that the group will shake out in the second half of the campaign. Vdara against Pasarga, as the Vdara attack that has been all but unstoppable, unless your name is Eura, against the resurgant Pasargan backline, lead by the Euran based captain and contingent in the back. With all four of the starting defenders plying their trade in the Gold League, they will know how Eurans defend and attack and could pass on that knowledge to the rest of their squad as they seek to emulate their regional rivals against Vdara. With ten players in the pool based in Eura, it will be the sort of tactical knowledge that most of the squad will be accustomed to and they should be able to more easily recognize what Eura did to exploit the Vdara attack to come out as such triumphant winners against a side that seemed like a runaway freight train before the two collided. This is the sort of game where Júlia Müller can prove if she is as talented as those who came before her and can be counted on to lead the team in the high pressure situations. A victory here and the Wanderers can feel relatively good going into the second half of qualifiers, a loss would mean there are still quite a few questioned to be answered for this team to get back to where they want to be and trying to add a second star to their crest.

Answers from last week's Quiz
1) B - Liga de Fuego
2) C - Hellinic Rouge
3) C - 6
4) B - CA Paulinthal
5) D - CA Paulinthal
6) B - SC Sardin
7) C - 12
8) A - Stein-los Turkish
9) C - Isnat'pa
10) C - 3

by **Huayramarca** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:22 pm

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

Rewind.

Part 10., Part 11., Part 12., Part 13., Part 14 A., Part 14 B, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18

Ñucanchi Ñan - Part 19.

Illimani National Park, Huayrasuyo Department. - 11/04/1980 - 6:30 P.M.

Sun’s away, guns away… Things were relatively calm at the Illimani National Park, the Nunavut Mining Cooperative wasn’t capable to begin the mining drills on soil, hence, no real operations as for now. Ñucanchi Ñan was there for some minutes but they left, they robbed the keys that the machinery of said company had to start their engines. Time was earned in their favor, a somewhat decent maneuver margin was earned by them at that point, since the company now had to duplicate another keys from Québec and send them down to Huayramarca, something that would take a couple of days because Huayramarca doesn’t have enough infrastructure for air mailing services. Mina was crumbling down slowly, his authority in Huayramarca was considered, as for now, as weak and useless by pretty much everybody in the nation, Buendía was profiling himself as a great option for elections on the mountainous nation, hence, taking Serranos to power.

The Québécois contractor was on site, inspecting if there were any damages enough to send Ñucanchi Ñan to the tribunals in a rigged judicial process, nothing important aside the keys, they left the place as they found it and the machines as they were before they arrived, no way to go to a trial. Mina arrived to the place, the sun was setting down and moon was appearing, it was a full moon that day, enough to have a nice camping day there, but Mina wasn’t able for that. Heavily armed, a police squad awaited him and new bodyguards joined him, at least five more that would help the original one that he rescued on the road. Mina walked towards the contractor in order to greet him, but he found something at the grass, a sticky note left there by somebody.

Mina picked said note curiously, opened it and read with carefulness: “Mina shall die, long live communism!” Enough evidence to commence a trial against Ñucanchi Ñan in case of need. He called the police commander and gave the note “Proceed when I order you.” Mina laughed and said “Idiots, they think they are capable to beat me, hahaha!” while meeting the contractor, shook hands and said “How’s it?” The contractor was visibly annoyed “Remember that group, Nucancha Na…?” Mina interrupted and said “Fucktards… What they did?” He sighed deeply while the contractor raged “THEY STOLE OUR MACHINERY KEYS?!?!” Mina called again the police officer, he said “Can we just arrest Buendía and the other girl that accompanies him?” The officer said “We can’t, unless… You know how it works, right?” Mina took a cheque and wrote “To the carrier, $100,000 Soles” then gave it to him and said “I know how this works.” The officer smiled and asked a group of people to mobilize to Tulcán in order to capture Buendía.

Meanwhile, Buendía wasn’t even close to Tulcán, he knew that he needed to move away from there and refuge in places that could be a stronghold, even a more solid one than his native city, in order to have a group of people capable to defend him… No better place than an unsuspected one, as Huaraz, in Ayacucho, the place where Amancio Cedeño ruled with iron fist and anti-serrano policies and then was killed in front of Mina. That happenings were enough warning to Mina and the police when they would try to get close to that city, they knew that their lives would be in extreme danger there, hence, thoughts would arise before getting there. Buendía was planning the next big strike, he was conscious that Mina had to leave Huayramarca via force, but not full of money, only wearing the clothes he would be carrying there at the moment of the display of force; Marta, leader of Ñucanchi Ñan was thinking about the resources to be used in order to get rid of the “cockroach” as she referred to Mina, it’d be quite heavily toned, but there wasn’t a soft adjective for her to refer Mina as such, she felt incapable to find one.

Apparently, a guy named Alan, supporter of the movement has a high rank at the Huayramarcan Army, hence, it’d be a nice way to throw Mina out, from where he didn’t expect at all, a completely wise move. Buendía was talking with that guy, they were drinking some premium Huayramarcan coffee from the Cocolia Department, known for having some of the best reserves of the nation, Buendía said “There’s possibility that you might convince a lot of people there?” Allan hesitated a bit “Could be… It’s a bit difficult task, since is basically a coup what we will do, there might be Serranos there and they will, for sure, cooperate with us.” Buendía understood the situation, but was thinking about a multiregional effort to take Mina away from power, then he asked “What about Costeños and Selváticos?” Alan said “Well, there’s a lot of Costeños disgruntled, the Selváticos are always sided with Serranos on that stuff, hence, we would have a decent team built, but there’s going to be some opposition.”

Marta was expecting that the entire army would be involved in that, then, she asked “Why not all Costeños?” Alan politely said “Some of those might have bought the discourse and propaganda irradiated by Mina, hence, there’s going to be opposition, not a sizeable one but one to take care of.” Buendía asked “Any places likely known for supporting Mina.” Allan thought for some seconds while doing a mental list and then depurating some names from it… “Guayaquil mostly, then Machala and even Lima, but smaller than Guayaquil.” Marta said “There’s going to be a need to trap them, perhaps a fake demonstration?” Buendía said “It won’t be that useful, we need to keep them busy somehow.” Alan answered “We could deploy them into trainings, perhaps, we could send them to the San Carlos Islands to train.” The San Carlos Islands is an archipelago located between Huayramarca and Andossa Se Mitrin Vega, reachable in a twelve hours boat trip, enough to keep them busy there and with limited communication.

Buendía nodded, then said “So… San Carlos would be a great idea for us.” Then, let’s do this for once and get rid of this tyrant.” Alan nodded and said that his plan would need some days to get it into work, so, by the 24th of April, the 8th, 160th and 225th Infantry Commands (Guayaquil, Machala, Lima) would leave to Santa Isabel, the capital city of the San Carlos Islands for a special “training against Nuevo Caracas Pirates” It’d be a quite smart idea to put into practice and easy to buy from Mina, since he has to authorize the deploy of the troops into the islands in order to avoid diplomatic issues with Andossa Se Mitrin Vega. ASMV has had several centuries of unknown history and isolation, something that would be useful for the purpose of the plan, since Mina wouldn’t care a lot.

Meanwhile, on Illimani, the contractor showed some documentation to Mina on what the geological analysis had got while inspecting the soil on that place, the contractor was surprised by how much minerals were there: “It’s insane, Huayramarca could be easily a new regional power if this minerals are sold at the right price and invested as it should be.” “Generations of Huayramarcans could have their lives assured.” Mina smiled, that implied that lots of money would be involved in the project, hence, he would assure his life away from Huayramarca when the project finishes. Mina said “Great! Now I’ll deliver the promise I made to this people!” Meanwhile, on heaven, his parents were facepalming and crying how his son turned out to be a completely corrupt person, wishing to do what he wants and taking advantage of the little literacy that Huayramarcans have.

by **The Gothanita Isles** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:23 pm

Previous RP (Poafmersia - Ch 2 Part 8 )
Previous RP (TGI - Ch 2 Part 7b)

RP Series: Getting to the top
Chapter 2: A tale of 2 nations
Part 9: Drawing Blanks

But now we are drawing a blank
Nothing that was said, nothing that was done
Makes any sense, any sense anyway
Cause we thought that we knew what we need to win
But now we are drawing blanks

Eetu Eichel was just really upset after the 2 matches. Really, really upset. He certainly felt that the cause of the team not focusing on offense and retreating backwards was purely because of his input that the team wasn’t really focusing on ensuring clean sheets. Now the strategy really backfired really badly, because the team simply isn’t scoring. Ridiculous.
For The Gothanita Isles, the 2 losses against Blouman Empire and HAIKY was absolutely unexplainable. The team had many chances, but blew them up really badly. The home game against Blouman Empire simply showed how our Yellow Lions were out of breath and were utterly dominated by the opponents throughout the whole 90 minutes. Against HAIKU, it was even worse, because the opponents played with such gusto that was so unexplainable considering HAIKU never won a single game before that. When they scored 2 really late goals, it was certainly the last straw for the coaching team. The 5-man midfield didn’t work out as well as it should, especially against Blouman Empire, where the team’s midfield didn’t look like they outnumbered the opponents there.
It certainly felt really bad for the players and coaches alike. There were fans already shouting for a revamp of the entire system, for the 4 nations to compete separately instead because “the strategies simply don’t work with every team”. However, there was no way the GIFC would just give up like that. The strategy of competing in the IFCF as 1 nation has already started to show some tiny improvements, yet on the international stage, the players are moving backwards? Unexplainable. It really felt like the team had to take the break during qualifying really seriously, trying to understand what works out best for the team. For now, they have to see whether a change in strategy works against Tamgu. Switch to a 4-1-2-1-2? Definitely.

The Gothanita Isles 0

Blouman Empire 2
Luke Cousins 18’, 67’

Starting 11: Thulile Bolkvadze; Jeanette Ross, Den Benjaminson, Adolf Stenger, Charlee Harel; Sardar Chaplin, Remus McQueen; Grigorii McCrory, Ladislava Tyler, Cyneburga London; Abdelkader Kartal
Substitutes: Lola Katona (Kartal 72’); Chloe Brewster (McQueen 83’)

HAIKU 2
Player 60’, 89’

The Gothanita Isles 0

Starting 11: Thulile Bolkvadze; Jeanette Ross, Den Benjaminson, Adolf Stenger, Charlee Harel; Sardar Chaplin, Remus McQueen; Grigorii McCrory, Chloe Brewster, Cyneburga London; Salwah Sadık
Substitutes: Vladan Bloxam (London 55’); Marino Barros (Sadık 69’); Adelia Kelly (London 82’)

by **Farfadillis** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:47 pm

So you're an away fan in Farolera
and you've bought a ticket for the wrong stand...
You poor imbecile
A handy, if surprisingly specific, survival guide

It's happened to everyone. Your team has some Challengers' Cup pre-pre-preliminary round game against a team with “Avenida” in its name. You build up the courage, fly to some nation with ships that sail across Farfadillis' surrounding sea, which will not be named because the writer of this article does not like its name and really wishes he was allowed to change it, and make sure it has a scheduled stop for you to jump onto some fishermen's boat once you're within a few kilometers of Farfadillis, and they take you to Farolera. You think to yourself how lucky you are that flying jellyfish are not a pest in this part of the island and thank your lucky stars your club did not draw Mâ Âlâmëómë because you'd have already bled out at this point.

What matters is that you're here. I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you; you probably shouldn't be. But hey, you're an adventurous soul, and what would tourism be without a little loads and loads of danger. If you speak what other parts of the Multiverse refer to as “Spanish” then you can probably get around well. You'll find that Faroleran, despite forming part of the Farf family of languages, appears to have converged with Spanish considerably despite receiving no influence from it. The Multiverse can be strange like that. Watch out for false friends/cognates, though; you don't want to start a fight here...

You make your way to the stadium, probably surprised that horse carriages are still in widespread use in some places. You take a minute to take in the scenery, which is different if nothing else: run-down buildings with bizarre architecture, which you estimate can't possibly be safe to live in, wild animals populating every corner of the otherwise urbanized Victoria Lago, eagles soaring the sky... surprisingly many of them. Wildfires, burning buildings, burning cows. It's definitely different, and you appreciate it for what it is. Alas, you arrive at the stadium - cause you're here to watch your team hopefully get battered by a superior Faroleran team - and you notice something. You bought tickets for the Tribuna No-Norte (Not-Northern Stand), not the Tribuna Norte (Northern Stand) your team's been assigned. Not entirely your fault; we should really change how we name our stands. But it is what it is, and you're so unlucky that there is an official there to deny you entry to your team's stand.

This won't stop you from watching your beloved team, however, so you head for the stand you bought tickets for. Nervously, you prepare to queue up to enter the stadium while wearing your team's jersey. You notice a lot of people wearing your jersey: you're not the only one to have gone through this chain of events, apparently. You're surrounded by Farolerans, supporters of the opposing team. They don't seem to notice you're not wearing the team's jersey. Some might walk up to you and speak in (probably) incomprehensible Faroleran, then get offended when you answer them with heavy gesticulation and (to them) incomprehensible mumbling. You find out Farves don't make queues, and eventually push your way into the stadium.

Ok, so far so good. But now is when things get dangerous. Nobody may have noticed you're a supporter of the opposing team yet, but this is largely because Farves have little idea about teams as bad as yours. Let's face it, if your team was any good, you'd be in Sabrefell or Cathair, not Farolera. This is where this guide comes in. Here's how you can pretend you're every bit as Faroleran as the lunatics surrounding you! If you need any motivation to continue reading, make sure to watch how your brethren fare when they're found out. Anyway, here goes:

First off, there's some vocabulary that is vital for you to know:

Pinchala! (“Puncture her!”) is what a fan might shout when they want a player from their team to chip the ball over the keeper. Pinchar means “to puncture” and la as a suffix means you do it to “her.“ In this case, that means the ball, because all nouns are gendered in Faroleran. This expression is relevant because if you're a woman, this can also mean some fan is yelling at some other fan to stab you.
Pegale! (“Hit him/her/it!”) is a more general version of the above phenomenon, in which a fan fervently expresses their desire for a player of their team to shoot. Alternatively, it might mean they want the player to commit a foul. Alternatively, they might be telling some other fan to hit you. This one is gender-neutral, so fans of all genders should be watching for this one.
Hacelo mierda! (“Turn him into shit!”; literally “Make him shit!”) is used exclusively to express a desire for a player from one's team to utterly destroy an opponent. This one's also gender-neutral, and it might also mean a fan is yelling at some other fan to “make you shit.”
Partilo al medio (“Break him in half!”) is an expression similar in spirit to hacelo mierda, though marginally less rude.
Tapalo con diario! (“Cover him with newspaper!”) is a sarcastic expression used when an opponent is believed to be exaggerating the impact of a foul committed on them. The expression implies the player is, in fact, dead. Similarly, if you hear someone shout this, it might also mean some other person has been murdered, so you should look to move far away from whoever shouted this.

Now that you know some important vocabulary, there's a little bit of etiquette you should also know. If there's one thing you should take away from this pamphlet - other than that you're an idiot - it is that you should always gesticulate wildly, celebrate every good thing that happens to the Faroleran team and curse the referee at every single opportunity, no matter how obviously correct the call against the Faroleran team has been. You could be a dyed-in-the-wool Faroleran with the thickest accent and you'd still get in trouble if you don't do this. To this end, there's only one phrase you must learn: "Juez hijo de puta!"

Another important thing to know is that you should not, under any circumstances, buy food at the stadium. The average Faroleran has, thanks to natural selection, developed a strong enough digestive system to stomach the food that Faroleran stadiums have to offer. Chances are you're not of Faroleran ancestry, so it'll be the equivalent of eating mildly poisonous food. You won't die, probably, but you'll have to rely on the Faroleran healthcare system for a swift recovery, which might be worse. Also, if you have trouble actually eating the food, which is likely, and somebody notices, they'll notice you're a foreigner.

Finally, if, despite being reckless enough to have made it all the way to a Faroleran-infested footy stand willingly, you're actually fearing for your life now, bear in mind that there's always one final recourse for you: every time a Faroleran talks to you, just shout "Soy turista!" (“I'm a tourist!”). This reduces the chances that you'll get outright killed considerably, but it essentially guarantees that you'll get mugged and, well, you don't want to be left stranded, with nothing on you, anywhere in Farfadillis. But hey, it's better than death. This has happened to people, and they have eventually adapted to life in Farolera. It ain't so bad after you get used to it.

On the reverse, you'll find a compilation of common Faroleran chants, just in case you want a fully-immersive experience. Good luck, and we hope you stay alive!

by **Oberour Ar Moro** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:49 pm

Matthieu Augier wasn't sure how he should feel about World Cup Qualifying thus far. Fifth place in their group, a mere four points behind Equestria and Kelssek? Hard to complain about that.

But there are ways to complain, if you wanted to. Particularly the Oberour Ar Moro match against Sultanate of Oontaz. A two-two draw in a game where they could have made some ground on the two best teams in the group? Maybe that's being picky.

But if a manager isn't going to be picky, what is he doing? And to be picky, he could determine where a weak spot was. Still: Midfield. As always.

Was this his thing? The way he coached? Was his style not working with his players? Oberour midfielders seemed to enjoy charging in and trying to score, but Augier just wants a midfielder to put a pass in to the box. That's tough, but that would improve the offense immeasurably, except for the increased number of shots on goal.

And then there was Iudicael Breut. Augier had not had the nerve to even put him on a roster so far. But he'd watched him play in the Premier Division. In between some bone-headedness, Breut had some impressive moments. Real impressive moments. Slotting in passes. Great vision.

He was surely going to regret it, but he was going to give Iudicael Breut a shot against Indusse, God help him. They'd need it.

World Cup 86: Roleplay Thread

WC-86q RP#3 MD9

Who is online