Independent Associations Championship 12 [IC]

[Almuzahara]

QF cutoff. Will you be joining Squidroidia and Silver Beach, or heading home?

---

IAC12: Quarterfinals
Muralos

Sannyamathland 0 - 6 Omerica
Komcatt Arena Urbego, Urbego, Muralos

Tequilo 3 - 0 HUElavia
City Stadium of Havenurbo, Havenurbo

Semifinal Match in Muralos

Omerica vs. Tequilo
Urbego Zemlinsky National Stadium, Urbego

The semifinal match will take place on Thursday, April 8, with the same cut-off time (22:00 - 23:00 Mountain Standard Time).

[TJUN-ia]

By Peter Davis

Final: TJUN-ia 1-2 Silver Beach (Podolov 23'/J. Rosenstein 28', Lachman 67')

Pain. Again.

Just as you think things will be different this time, Silver Beach gives us a taste of our own medicine and we come crashing down once again.

With some of the big names falling around us, some thought that this could've been our time to claim our first ever glory

But, in our first ever match outside the Moonlight, the Silver Beach swallowed us whole.

The Co-Manager Era begins the same way LI was introduced to us all: a run to the Quarters.

Whether or not the Beach can claim the crown like New Lusitania before it remains to be seen, but that isn't the point.

The point is this: Margaret just doesn't like us in this world apparently.

TJUN-ia can't win anything to save its life.

See you at WC88 for another Play-off defeat!

---

SCHEDULE (Group D, Matches in Almuzahara)
MD1: vs Montana Verde (Pot 5) - Moonlight Coliseum, Kuritibah W 3-0 (1st)
MD2: vs Squidroidia (Pot 1) - Moonlight Coliseum, Kuritibah D 2-2 (1st)
MD3: vs Sajnur (Pot 3) - Moonlight Coliseum, Kuritibah W 4-0 (T-1st)
MD4: vs Srednjaci (Pot 6) - Moonlight Coliseum, Kuritibah W 4-1 (1st/OFFICIALLY QUALIFIED)
MD5: vs Kriegiersien (Pot 4) - Moonlight Coliseum, Kuritibah W 3-1 (1st/4W-1D-0L/+12GD)
---------------------------------------------------------
Ro16: vs Space (Pot 2) - Moonlight Coliseum, Kuritibah W 2-1
QF: vs Silver Beach (Pot 3) - Alfira International, Alfira L 1-2

[Silver Beach]

Silver Beach manager Otsile Kgotso

\

The 42 year old Banijan was pacing the sideline of this IAC 12 Quarterfinal. What a moment for him to finally make a name for himself, after being in the coaching game for many years, essentially in obscurity. Kgotso took the opportunity, essentially, at a whim. After Josiah Buba had upset people and earned Silver Beach a regional title, aka the 7 Nations Cup, he left for a better club job. And once again, Silver Beach would look in Banija's direction. And once again, they were able to nab their man- Kgotso.

Kgotso had never coached professionally before. He had strictly been in the college game. He had a long, professional career in Banija's regional leagues, playing for 13 years and retiring at age 35. He then coached junior college soccer for two years, before making the jump to a big-time program in Banija- the Islamic University of Busoga. And Kgotso was successful there. He got the men's soccer team to two national championship games in his five years at the helm. And while he never won a national championship, he had enough consistent success that he was able to get notice.

The Silverian job is not the most coveted one. And at this time, it could be fairly dangerous. Silver Beach was small. They weren't poor, but they weren't rich either. And they were non-WCC. And then, right now, Silver Beach was rife with expectation. Having stunned Sonnel and earning the regional title, there was expectation to do something at the IACs. Get to the knockouts? Beat a WCC team? But the same fundamentals are still there. But maybe Silver Beach has reached their golden generation. And if Kgotso could be at the helm for an improbable run at the IACs... Well, he could leverage that into a professional job at home, couldn't he?

The theory was being tested. Silver Beach did well in the groups- winning 3 and losing 2 was enough to earn 9 points, good for second in the group and a spot in the group stages. Highlighted, by a win over their Sonnelian rival, Almuzahara. Then, a stunning upset over the Squornshelan Remnant States in the Round of 16. Off to the round of 8. A nice run, but surely, it would end there, right? IT started out fine. Both teams getting forward, neither taking their chances. But when Podolov leapt backwards and launched a bicycle kick towards the corner on a cross from Joe Green to make it 1-0 in favor of the Jaguars, Kgotso was simply shaking his head at the stunning goal. 1-0 to the favorites, in spectacular fashion.

"Keep it up team!" He clapped his hands as the Silverian fan section was silent. So much belief- he had never seen this many Silver Beach fans at a game. So many had bought last second tickets, he was seeing Silverian jerseys everywhere on the streets, as the fanbase followed the squad across Almuzahara. It wouldn't take long for the team to equalize. Just 5 minutes later, Jonathan Rosenstein struck the ball, low and hard on the ground, past the keeper and into the back of the net, Kgotso was leaping up on the sideline as the bench all raced to the corner to celebrate with Rosenstein. "F$@& YES!" Kgotso screamed as he clapped. Nobody could hear him, but he didn't care. "We've got a game on our hands folks."

Kgotso encouraged the team to continue getting forward. And both teams did. Raphael Yaremka made some huge saves. He made a save from point blank range just before halftime on Joe Green, when he had a free header from six yards away and somehow did not score. We had a number of chances as well. Rosenstein, in particular, had a chance in the 54th minute, one on one with the goalkeeper, but the man between the sticks made the save. But fast forward to the 67th. A great overhead through ball from Robero to Lachmann, who is racing with the defender. She gets the ball on her right foot, turns, and blasts home with her left, past the defender and the goalie.

The goalkeeper only watched. A masterful piece of control- truly, a wonder strike. "HOLY SH*@!" Kgotso yelled as the Silverian bench cleared again. He hugged his assistant coaches. But he was the coach. As the fans went crazy for their first lead of the night, his mind immediately went to coaching. Planning to hold onto the lead. He turned, and looked at his bench. Everyone celebrating, but the coach needed to hold his lead. "Lazarus! Emmanuel! And...." He looked up and down the bench. "Ixaka. All three of you. Get off the bench." A few minutes later, all three subs used at once. And it worked- the fresh legs allowed them to hold enough possession, and counter just effectively enough, to hold off the Jaguars.

Kgotso pumped his fist as the final whistle blew. The craziest of possibilities- a second knockout stage win with Silver Beach. They were playing with house money at this point. And if the slipper still fit- well, anything could happen against Squidroidia in a few days, right?

[Tequilo]

---

RED RADIO A-GO-GO
ITS JUST THE SAME OLD SHOW

---

Part 6/6: Fluid Time Render Works, Granite Spit, Wight

There are migrant workers from Tequilo all over the known multiverse, and in many of the sixteen corners of the as-yet unknown multiverse, each with their little state-issued red radios. Leopoldo 'Leo' Panicucci - you would be right in thinking he sounds more like a Tamarindian; his father is from that magical rainforest country so he has dual nationality - had to apply directly to the Department of International Contact for his customised red A-Go-Go Plutonium Edition set: environmental conditions at his place of work mean the average A-Go-Go set would probably implode if he tried to tune in to the Tequilo World Service, and take half the known multiverse with it.

An apprentice Bio-Chemical Temporal Flow Plumber from the Universidad de Socrates in Tapalupé city, Leo was still learning his trade in fluid time rendition - it would take a lifetime and a bit more to know everything he needed to know to become a Master Plumber - and was enjoying his dream job placement doing work experience at one of the few known natural fluid time springs in the multiverse, deep underground at Granite Spit, in Old Wight - that's the one that doesn't actually exist in known reality, where a sentient bubble universe called Búa (among other things) does the recruitment and manages transportation to the Uncertain Dimensions. As you can imagine, for a neuro-typical genius like Leo from the Wide Enness Ocean, all this metaphysics is quite a dislocation, and the red radio is vital for keeping him at least partially sane. As he does some complex quality assurance calculus on the current batch of fluid time being loaded into tanks ready for export to Bonesea, he enjoys the commentary coming live from Muralos where his motherland, Tequilo, are battling into the semi-finals of the IAC with a convincing win over HUElavia. He has to correct some quite exotic maths calculations after getting over-excited when Alexandro Calvoecheaga puts Los Pitxileros in front early on.

Perhaps the one place in the known multiverse where the red radio has a bit of trouble with reception is sixty-four kilometres under Granite Spit where the pure liquid mineral-time bubbles up from it's temporal well. Don't ask me what's down there in the well or where it goes - Búa only knows. But it is a highly unstable semi-reality, and even though the special edition red radio is proofed from superdense collapse by a sheet of plutonium-245 wrapping around it's microdot black hole, you are still liable to get interference in the signal and it has been reported that sometimes the Tequilo World Service is quite unreachable, replaced by the praxonomic broadcasts from Wight itself. You know what I mean by that of course, having read all of the material published about Wight back in the days when they messed about with other realities and briefly appeared in the [NS] dimension to win a World Cup? A little reminder, you say? Well then, without going too deep into the mechanics of it, you'll recall the Praxonomograph - a device not unlike the little red radio, although several orders of magnitude more complex in it's manufacture, that the Wightlings use to tune into the prayers offered up by devout followers of all the religions of the multiverse to their various gods, goddesses, makers, unmakers, imagineers, flying spaghetti monsters and dudes; supplications and invocations for favours and good will and reciprocal lightning strikes... and so on. To the devout atheists of Wight, these broadcasts are like the greatest comedy shows in all the dimensions, and it is a tremendous amusement and entertainment to intercept the prayers of the devoted, to see what it is they wish for this week. And sometimes, when you are too close to the fluid time spring at the bottom of Granite Spit, you find the Tequilo World Service is interrupted by Nigel, a Seventh Day Adventist from Welwyn Garden City in England, Planet Earth, in the 98th Parallel dimension, who wishes to beg forgiveness from his Lord for thinking lustful thoughts about Sadie behind the counter at the Post Office in Smithsonian Street.

"No-one can deny her postage stamps are the stickiest in all Hertfordshire," says Nigel, apologetically, right over the top of the moment when Mani Quita hits the back of the net for Tequilo (thus doubling their lead in the IAC quarter-final) - much to listerner Leo Panicucci's frustration.

SEMI ON
TEQUILO 3-0 HUELAVIA HT: 2-0

Location: @ City Stadium, Havenurbo, Muralos
Attendance: 17,499 locals, 9 bitterly disappointed HUElavios and the Ultra-Mariachi Band (8 sombreros + dog)
Scorers: Alexandro Calvoecheaga 5' Mani Quita 27' Ochoa Abril 79'
Assists: José Tavia 5' Alexandro Calvoecheaga 27' Ixtub Tün 79'
Booked: Ostando Bertendona | Giuseppe D'Aquila, Mathieu Guilbert
Sent-Off: -
Tequilo Line-Up: (4-1-3-2) Oscar Bienvenida | Ostando Bertendona, José Tavia, Diogo Junco, Ochoa Abril | Ixtub Tün | Jaïr Iscla, Niño Pinto, Tsttnauayui | Mani Quita (sub: Macedoni Altés 62' - subbed: Çenturion 85'), Alexandro Calvoecheaga (sub: Pedro Rôa 88')
Player of the Match: Ochoa Abril (Tequilo)

---

HUELLUVA VICTORY (YES WE HAVE USED THAT BEFORE)
...we used it when Juan Manuél Botín took the national team reserves to Sarzonia around the time of the last Cup of Harmony, and led the Agave-Blues to the Mike Sarzo Memorial Trophy title with victory in the final over HUElavia; and we're not ashamed to use it again. (1) It's a decent pun that stands the test of time (2) we beat HUElavia again. They are rapidly developing a reputation for the Nearly Team of this tournament - one of the best sides never to win the championship and here in Havenurbo frustrated again by a fine performance from Juan Manuel's charges. Captain and keeper Oscar Bienvenida made his record-equalling 80th appearance for the national team knowing that to break the record he would need a win in this game to ensure a semi-final place at least, and he did it by breaking another record for a national team goalkeeper - the first time an individual keeper has kept four consecutive clean sheets - notwithstanding backup Abas Juanarena conceded three in three games in the interval while Oscar was recoving from injury. Despite that Abas performed perfectly well but the team were clearly glad to have their captain back to guide them through this tough fixture. And it was another experienced head who got the team off to the perfect start with vice-captain Alexandro Calvoecheaga settling any early nerves when he got on the end of a José Tavia long diagonal in the fifth minute, chested down superbly and struck a sublime half-volley past Ana Ramos to stun Los Amarillos - a shock from which they never really recovered. Alexandro turned supplier for the second close to the half hour mark when he played a neat reverse pass through to the exciting young Mani Quita, who slotted home to really put HUElavia on the back foot. While Los Pitxileros threatened to overrun their deflated hosts before half time, a killer third would not come, and HUElavia improved after the break to threaten a recovery. The third goal was always going to be critical and when it finally came, defender Ochoa Abril killed the game with his first international goal, heading in a corner from Ixtub Tün to confirm passage into the final four and a chance for keeper Oscar Bienvenida to pass Tlacolotl's 80 caps with his 81st and probably 82nd appearances.

The tough games keep coming - after defeating one of the hosts and one of the fancied teams in the last two rounds, now it is one of the hot favourites and former title holders barring the way to the final in the shape of Omerica. With two-time winners and reigning title holders Poafmersia stunned by Squidroidia, there is a feeling this title is up for grabs by any of the four still standing, and Los Pitxileros will need a stand-out performance against The Incorrigibles to stay in the running. Coach Juan Manuel is able to name an unchanged starting line-up for the semi-final, although he lost sub Macedoni Altés to injury late in the quarterfinal tie; Macedoni joins four others in being ruled out with injury, among whom there is still no sign of key defender Tol Chicote making a timely recovery - Diogo Junco continues to stand in and so far at least, has done so with impressive performances in the centre-half position.

---

TEQUILO STAT SUMMARY
Competition goals: Alexandro Calvoecheaga (4) Jaïr Iscla, Mani Quita (3) Niño Pinto, Çenturion (2) Ixtub Tün, Tol Chicote, Macedoni Altés, Ochoa Abril (1)
Competition assists: Alexandro Calvoecheaga, Pedro Rôa (3) Niño Pinto, Ixtub Tün (2) Jaïr Iscla, Tsttnauayui, Diogo Junco, Mani Quita, José Tavia (1)
Competition PoMs: Alexandro Calvoecheaga, Emmanuel París, Tsttnauayui, Niño Pinto, Mani Quita, Jaïr Iscla, Ochoa Abril (1)
Competition cards: Milan Lucio (1 red, 1 yellow) Ostando Bertendona (2 yellows) Tsttnauayui, Urbano Noboa, Tol Chicote, Oscar Bienvenida, Abas Juanarena, Jose Tavia (1 yellow)

---

Confirmed Line-Up for TEQUILO vs. Omerica
@ Urbego Zemlinsky National Stadium, Urbego, Muralos (capacity 35,829)
(4-1-3-2)
Oscar Bienvenida | Ostando Bertendona, José Tavia, Diogo Junco, Ochoa Abril | Ixtub Tün | Jaïr Iscla, Niño Pinto, Tsttnauayui | Mani Quita, Alexandro Calvoecheaga

Unavailable: Lorenzo Pero, Macedoni Altés, Tol Chicote, Jatsu Cañaverri & Milan Lucio (injured)

[HUElavia]

The End of an Era

Tequillo 3-0 HUElavia
(Calvoecheaga 5', Quita 27', Abril 79')
(City Stadium, Havenurbo)

Once again, another IAC ends in a difficult defeat for HUElavia. While it is not the terrible feeling of losing in another Final, a difficult defeat in the Quarter-Finals is a terrible end to this promising campaign. While HUElavia played well at moment, they were just outplayed by Tequillo, where goals by Calvoecheaga, Quita, and Abril went past the hands of Ramos, where this was a difficult match for her. With the elimination, changes have arrived.

Once the team arrived in Curumba, the HFA announced the sacking of Coach Rafael Salgado Lacerda, for the failure of not winning the IAC. The other reason being the fact that, according to a surprising report from HUElavian Sports Press, this was the last IAC with this current core could compete in, meaning there is the expectation of new players coming in for the upcoming World Cup 88 Qualifiers that HUElavia is officially in.

The next day over, the HFA announced the hiring of Leonardo Conavacio, aged 57, as the new head coach of the HUElavian National Football Team. Notably, he comes from the nation of Quebec and Shingoryeo, a nation that HUElavia has great relations with, making him the first ever foreign manager for the team. As a report also noted, the HFA had decided to select him should Coach Salgado Lacerda did not win the tournament, as was the case. Also, it was announced that his wife, Claire Hanson-Conavacio, was hired as one of the physiotherapists.

A few days later, the president of the HUElavian Football Association announced his resignation, meaning a snap election will be held for the new position as President of the HFA. The candidates are expected to be announced in the near future and it is expected to be a quick election among the 38 states of HUElavia, with each state's team making a vote.

Not to mention, tension is high in HUElavia with the upcoming Presidential Election, where President Sihui Michi is facing an uphill battle with the fluctuating crime rates, as well as murder rates that have the HUElavian people gripped with fear and anxiety. Despite her improvements in the economy, and environment, the Tax Cut Act of 2085 and the slashing of the Welfare Budget is having its severe effects on the HUElavian Society, and is becoming more and more unpopular by the day.

What began 16 years ago in Recuecn, where Barsland defeated HUElavia 3-1, leading to the 3-0 hammering against Monglechabagd sparked the start of the Golden Generation in HUElavian Football has come to an end. Now, new players are expected to come on the team, marking a new era for the team.

For now, all we can do is proceed forward and restart, waiting for a new day.

Here's to a better future ahead.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Sannyamathland]

Sports Times

A Bittersweet Ending

The players heartbroken after suffering a humiliating defeat

Sannyamathland:0-6:Omerica
Sannyamathland's dream journey in the IAC came to an abrupt end, as they were thrashed by a mighty Omerican side. This defeat means that the Lions are officially out of the IAC. Not much can be said about this match as it was the national team's second worst defeat in their history. The Lions were completely outclassed by their opponents, and the team officially went into panic mode after conceding the third goal. Beckett of Omerica scored a hat-trick, while Magalhães, Christian Marts and Jamal Ahmad scored one each. The match started on a positive note for the Lions, who looked rather determined to secure a place in the Semi Finals. The supporters too flocked in large numbers and the stadium was completely packed. Throught the entire first half, the fans shouted their lungs out for the Lions, although they had already conceded 2 goals by then. Beckett opened the scoring for Omerica in the 23rd minute with a header, which was followed by a dazzling bicycle kick goal from Marts in the 36th minute. No further goals were scored in the first half. The second half began on a disastrous note for Mount and company, as they conceded back to back goals within just 7 minutes. The fans had become dead silent by then. But the Omericans mercilessly continued their assault, and Beckett completed his hat-trick with a long yard shot in the 84th minute, which also was the last goal of the match. Such a result has proved how unpredictable football can be, and we could have said with certainty that Kramnik would surely lose his job as the head coach only if he did not lead the Lions to the Quarter finals. The SFA finds itself in a complex situation as the Lions have recently created history by qualifying for the Semi-Finals. But the national team coach has an explanation for such a performance, "This shows that inspite of our great performances, we are still not ready enough to face big teams in the international stage." he said at the post match interview "The boys played well throughout the entire tournament and I can not blame them for today's debacle. They are human beigns after all." However the match was also marred by controversy as 5 Omerican supporters were beaten up by almost 20 Sannyamathland supporters at the end of the match. The police have begun an investigation into the matter.

[Squidroidia]

Heads Up High - Binsakula

Adam Johnson thought that he wouldn't do it again.

Days removed from the fever pitch against New Lusitania, an upset only rivaled by Silver Beach's shocking dispatch of the Squornshelan Remnant States, the rematch that was pulled from under the rugs of the Red Panijas and the Inklings a couple short years ago (Thanks, Megistos) was back on the menu. Poafmersia, the reigning back to back IAC champions, underdogs of their own back in Taeshan and Ethane for the World Cup, hadn't faced the Inklings since their loss to Squidroidia back in IAC X. A lot could change in 4 years, from managers to star players to even the grass the ball is kicked on. That was a group stage encounter, one Squidroidia would ultimately need in their run to the Semi-Finals in Omerica. Both teams had gone through much different fates since then. Quarter-Finals for Poafmersia in World Cup 87? An embarrassing group stage exit, a "national tragedy" by the tabloids, was what Squidroidia went through in the accompanying Cup of Harmony. The loss of the coach that beat Poafmersia all those years ago, the loss of a national identity... While the Poafmers celebrated a run they themselves didn't expect to happen, especially with all the top talent in such an event as the World Cup.

It was inevitable that Poafmersia would fall back to reality eventually. They scraped through their IAC 12 group, overcoming a North Alezia team that gave it their all after being beaten 8-0 by the Red Panijas in their opening game, and had to go through Reçueçn on their way here. Nobody can be perfect for so long without giving something up, just ask those who wrote the stories of tournaments long ago. They will tell you about the legacies of teams that dominated their eras but fell right back down before they could ever score 3 in a row - Think the Valanora team of World Cup 44, Cassadaigua in World Cup 52, Southern Northland in World Cup 57, when they lost out to Krytenia before Aguazul won 3 in a row... Audioslavia in World Cup 65, Osarius in World Cup 72, the Unified Sunrise Islands in World Cup 77, Vilita in World Cup 83... Countless more in the regionals, in the Cup of Harmony and in other tournaments. 3 in a row is a task not many teams could do. Someone would have to fall any day now.

Today was Poafmersia's day to fall.

Adam Johnson, mastermind of Barunia's run during IAC 1, fired Squidroidia back to the Semi-Finals. A complacent Poafmersia team was enough for the Inklings to break through. All the lady wrote for the scorers was Shiba Tetsuo '42, the Squidbreak attacking mid breaking through the Poafmersian defense and firing the only strike of the game to put Squidroidia in front and Poafmersia in a rare position - The back seat. The Poafmersian attack, Handris still on the front foot, tried all they could to break even. Shots left and right either blazed past the posts and crossbar or fell right in Shingen's hands to stop. Every second, every minute, Johnson was feeling nervous. This can't be deja vu, he thought... A second IAC Semi-Final in his career!?

The whistle blew at the end of the match, and all he could hear was screaming from the Squidroidians. The defending champions, the Red Panijas, had their call answered by the Inklings of Squidroidia... And Poafmersia, like New Lusitania before them, were heading home unexpectedly. The reign of Red Panijan dominance was over. Most Squidroidian fans, like they were 2 IACs ago, couldn't understand what they were saying. They were heading back to the Semi-Finals, 2 games away from lifting the Independents Cup. Revenge for that disastrously atrocious Megistos game. Back where they belonged.

---

Glass Slippers - Al-Fayit

The Inklings would touch down in the capital of Almuzahara, days away from their Semi-Final clash, met with a sea of blue smoke. Al-Fayit was more relaxed with non-Almuzaharans in its streets, so chances were that the Semi-Final at the Said Benhaddou National Arena would be a festival of its own before the Final which Adam Johnson so wanted to reach after the Schottia loss all those years ago, back when he was with Barunia and when the IAC was born in the Boreal Islands. There was no Schottia, no familiar green, no run of absolute dominance that spanned for 3 cycles, but there were 2 shades of blue. There had to be 2 shades of blue smoke in the air.

The familiar blue smoke of Squidroidia and the darker blue smoke of the Hebrew Republic.

Silver Beach, the best team in Sonnel, the unofficial Unofficial World Champions, were in their first ever IAC Semi-Finals. A Cinderella run that had the Silverians dancing with Reçueçn, slaying the Squornshelan Remnant States and now ending the Moonlight paradise TJUN-ia had this tournament. The only thing standing in their way between themselves and a historic final was a veteran of the Semi-Finals, someone who could take off the glass slippers if he so pleased. Adam Johnson and his Inklings. He would have to test the Hebrew Republic, and the Hebrew Republic had to test him.

Was anybody expecting this Semi-Final before the tournament even began? Squidroidia were in the conversation a bit here and there, but absolutely nobody had Silver Beach marked down for a surprising last 4 run. They were a Pot 3 team, and in a tournament where only the top 2 teams in a group made the last 16, the Silverians were, at most, expected to go to the knockouts and then go one and done. They were in the Semi-Finals now for crying out loud! 90 minutes away from walking next to a trophy that they shouldn't have gotten this close to seeing in the first place. The clock, unpredictable as ever, could strike midnight at any moment.

Amidst all the smoke and cheering from the Squidroidians and Silverians alike, they both knew only one of them would play in the Final, either staying in Al-Fayit or making the journey to Muralos for the final showdown. Nothing was for certain. They are both here, both with equal shots to win the trophy, as Omerica or Tequilo would await them on the other side. Glass slippers of Silver Beach or the squids of Squidroidia, it wasn't sure who would make the trip. They were just happy they could go and train to prepare for such a moment.

---

Team Talk - Al-Fayit

The Squidroidia Inklings, fresh off of a warm-up session at the stadium, arrived back at their locker room at the Said Benhaddou National Arena. Adam Johnson knew he only had around 5 minutes to jab some energy into this squad, a squad of hope and ambition after knocking out 2 heavyweights and favorites for the title, before them and the Silverians took to the pitch. He has been here before - Interim coach after Joric Ruskin's retirement, Johnson guided a team which included the likes of captain Paul Bainbridge, Cloudsdale Flyer Kassandra Berry and a couple of West Bay Mariners which he coached while coaching club football. Together the Suns shone all the way to the Semi-Finals. Only a brick wall could stop them. Its name was Sir Lionel Mah and his Schottia national team.

That was 11 editions ago. 22 to you and me. Squidroidia back then was Inkhalla. Takemoto Shingen was 11, finding his way through the Inkhallen youth systems. Sho Itō hadn't been born yet. The whole nation was different, the whole of sport was different back then. Johnson had only just seemingly broke a curse back then. He went to the Final of Cup of Harmony 69, made it to the World Cup knockouts twice... But silverware still alluded him. Silverware still alluded Squidroidia. There was a link, a bond between him and his national team that, with enough luck, could take him to the promised land and see Shingen raise that trophy.

"Semi-Final, Semi-Final... A couple of you were here before in IAC X over in Omerica. Top of the group, past an underachieving Port Ember, the surprise of the tournament in Woryand... Only for a HUElavian bullet to stop you." Johnson seemed to have his knowledge of Squidroidian football in tact, even though all he knew were 2 IACs, 2 World Cup qualification campaigns as well as 2 sides of the same Cup of Harmony coin - The good and the ugly. "I was here before. IAC 1, Boreal Islands. Top of the group, past Prusy Krolewskie and blasted through Flardania... Only for a Schottian bullet to stop me and my Suns. It's almost like deja vu."

Johnson sat down and looked at his team, the team looking at him. It was 4 years to the day since the team's first Semi-Final appearance. They could all remember the dagger Ayuka Hamada of HUElavia gave to put the game to bed, to end their Cinderella run before beating Tequilo for third place.

"I wasn't an underdog back then. I had the best team in the Independents before the tournament began. Back in IAC X, however, you were the underdog. You aren't the underdog anymore. You are in my players shoes now, you know how good you really are. You KNOW you can reach the Final. You KNOW you can see the trophy in sight. You KNOW that YOU CAN WIN."

Johnson was just an interim coach back when the first IAC happened, and he would later get the job full time after his run in this very tournament. Those were his first few games in the Barunia job. This tournament was the first time he got to manage Squidroidia, and what do you know? He makes the Semi-Finals.

"But the other team... They're the underdogs. Silver Beach have been the Cinderellas of this tournament for a REASON! The glass slipper still fits, it's been fitting since they made the knockouts. They believe that they can win against us, they believe they can make the Final as the underdogs, no, THEY BELIEVE THEY CAN WIN THE TOURNAMENT! So when, do you think, the clock will strike midnight for them?"

The locker room was silent. It was almost like they could sense what Johnson was about to say.

"...No answer. I believe the clock will strike midnight as soon as the final whistle blows! They might be the underdog like you were, but you know from experience that underdogs don't last forever. The Silverians can't win forever! You know it, you know that someone has to win, and you can do it! Believe in yourself, believe that you are HUElavia! Believe that you can pull through and reach the Final!"

Johnson got up, knowing that time was running out. He knew the team had to be out in a jiffy to play the game, to take on the underdogs. For Squidroidia aren't the underdogs anymore. They are the goliaths facing the davids of the Hebrew Republic. They knew they were favorites, but with the run Silver Beach had, anything was possible. The slipper could still fit.

"...So let's prove the slipper doesn't fit, Inklings."

The team would get out of the locker room, ready to take on the Silverians, a trip to the Final on the line.

[Squornshelous]

Scions, Chapter 5
Chapter 1, Chapter 1.5, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

Tyra longed for the day she'd be allowed out of protective custody. They'd moved her from Poronaysk down south to the capital, Urbego. From what little she'd been able to see out car windows, it was clearly a much larger city, nestled into the valley between two rugged mountain ridges draped in forest. She was thoroughly sick of only being able to see things through glass. Sick of eating room service and whatever takeout they chose to bring her. There was a small restaurant across the street from her building with La Krokodilo emblazoned on its awning. She wasn't sure what is was they were making each morning, but the smell was amazing. She was determined that it would be the first stop she made once she was allowed out. The last time she'd been able to speak to anyone with any authority, they'd repeated that she'd be set loose soon, but they wouldn't commit themselves to any time frame. Apparently they needed more time to be sure that no Imperial agents had remained behind when the football team and its attendant staff had left the country after their second-round defeat.

It had been a strange experience, watching the match. The crowd was overwhelmingly in support of Omerica. Event the commentators, despite a general air of professional impartiality, seemed to prefer the Incorrigibles. Tyra found herself torn. Despite knowing that many of them would have totally rejected her because of her actions, it was hard to simply move on from her former friends and teammates. She was certainly glad that the Imperium would not have the benefit of a deep tournament run to distract from the strife at home, but it was still hard watching the team's faces. Several were in tears by the time it was over, with little sympathy to be had from either the spectators or their opponents. Tyra wished she could have talked to them again. Put an arm around their shoulders. It had been a good thing there wasn't any alcohol in the apartment afterward. She'd essentially been alone for two weeks now, first a Prisoner of the Ministry of Security, now in Muralosian Custody. It was really starting to wear on her. She was supposed to get some sort of update from the police tomorrow. She really hoped it would be the last.

Across the room from where she sat by the window, reading a guide to Urbego for the fourth time, the phone rang. She looked at it for a moment before getting up. It rarely rang at all, let alone when she wasn't expecting it to. She set the travel guide down on the windowsill and slowly crossed the room to look at the phone. The number shown on the screen wasn't the familiar one the police used. Judging by the length, it wasn't even a Muralosian number. She didn't recognize the country code at the beginning though. Gingerly she reach out and took hold of the handset. Paused. Lifted it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Tyra Volam?" the voice on the other end asked. It was a woman's voice, though low pitched, and somehow familiar. The notion that she'd heard that voice before drifted around her head, looking for something to connect with.

"Yes?" Who is calling me here?

"You're a hard woman to reach Tyra. I've been hoping for a chance to talk to you."

"Who are you?"

"Right, sorry. Tyra, this is Lyyti Vang. Do you have some time to talk?"



I want to thank everyone who's read and reacted to this storyline, most especially Muralos. Without their friendly collaboration and supportive comments, this RP series would have been very different, and nowhere near as good.
The SFA would (in character) likely submit either Lucia Krupin or Tove Anker as a potential representative for the "Teams of the Tournament" match after the final. Purely OOC, I would like to submit Tyra Volam (naturally) as an option. If Tyra were invited in any capacity, any other SQU player would decline to participate.
I don't think I'll be making any wrap up post for the SRS, so I'll go ahead and make a note here that they would nominate Lyzolda Petrov for the Team of the Tournament.

[Omerica]

(OOC Note: As was brought to their attention by telegram, none of Sannyamathland’s chosen goalscorers were selected to start the match in my previous RP line-up box. Fernand and Fournier have been replaced with Beckett and Magalhães, while Marts and Ahmad feature as substitutes. All other details are canonical.)

---

blogdefootball.co.or
All the football news that’s fit to print!

---

IAC 12: Introducing the semifinalists of the twelfth Independent Associations Championship
By Sydney King

The Independent Associations Championship in Almuzahara and Muralos has been unique in a number of respects. Already a rarity in having two host nations—only the second and third editions had previously been co-hosted—, the host selection process featured three bids going to vote, a first in the brief history of the tournament, and a fourth bid that was withdrawn before any others had even been presented. On the field, the football has also featured a number of significant firsts.

Teams won matches by eight goals for the first time and one team won a knockout game by an unprecedented six-goal margin. New Lusitania fell before the quarterfinals for the first time since their debut, two-time defending champions Poafmersia crashed out before the semifinals for the first time since their debut and—for the first time ever—none of the four semifinalist teams featured at this stage at the last Championship. For the first time since the Incorrigibles’ title win in Drawkland, Huelavia will not be playing in the title match and for the first time in Championship history, none of Huelavia, Drawkland or Schottia will be contesting the grand final.

So here are the four blue-clad teams that will be competing for the two spots in the grand final, along with political and sport analysts Four Hundred One’s analysis of the odds each team has to succeed Poafmersia as Independent Associations Champions.

Squidroidia
Two of the semifinalists at this Championship have appeared at this stage once before and both of them accomplished this on their IAC début. The Inklings made their first appearance at the tenth edition in Omerica and won over supporters in the home crowd with their unexpected third-place finish. But after a strong first cycle, they fell backwards last time out, leading to the Squidroidia FA sacking Ryūzaki Mito post-Cup of Harmony elimination and bringing Barunian Adam Johnson in as a replacement.

Expectations for Johnson were high and he certainly had the credentials to back them up, having guided his home country to the semifinals at the very first edition of the tournament—these being the days before Barunia defected to AOCAF. Things started off well enough with a victories over Kriegiersien and Srednjaci and a draw against TJUN-ia, but an unexpected draw against Montaña Verde on matchday four threw their progression into doubt as they headed to Marrakaybu. Luckily for Squidroidia supporters and Johnson’s scalp, the Inklings got the victory they needed and progressed to the knockouts as Group D runners-up.

That set the Inklings up for the most challenging gauntlet of all: two fixtures against two former Independent Associations Champions. The Inklings were able to despatch IAC-11 bronze medallists New Lusitania in Alfira, condemning the former champions to their worst-ever IAC campaign and setting up a quarterfinal clash against titleholders Poafmersia. Once again, it only took one goal for Squidroidia to claim yet another scalp and avenge their much-rued defeat to Megistos in Havynwilde.

On the numbers from Four Hundred One, Squidroidia are the most likely champions, but it must be pointed out that it’s more likely than not that they will slip in one of their final two games. Squidroidia would be favourites to win the title no matter who they faced in the grand final, but a game against the most likely winners on the Muralos side would be a virtual coin flip. We reckon they will get through their semifinal, only to fall at the last hurdle.
Probability of winning the semifinal: 78.3% | Probability of winning the grand final: 43.0% | Predicted finish: Runners-up

Silver Beach
Most editions of the Independent Associations Championship have at least one semifinalist that leaves you scratching your head; Veldgouwen, Bojikstan, the Alpine Union, North Prarie, Kavagrad (twice!), Port Ember, Squidroidia and Megistos have now been joined by Silver Beach in that category. You would be forgiven for not knowing who they are, given that they do not play in the World Cup, but they notably hold the Sonnelian championship and are self-proclaimed “unofficial Unofficial World Champions”.

Silver Beach got to the knockout stage thanks in no small part to the group draw, as they were placed in one of the two “groups of life”, namely Group A. Despite losing to Britonisea in the opening game, Silver Beach defeated Bunkaiia, Almuzahara and Murphtannia on the bounce to secure a place in the knockout stage with a game to spare. Silver Beach did lose against Reçueçn on the final matchday and thus lost out on top spot on head-to-head, but that only set them up on one of the easier paths to the quarterfinals.

Even then, staring down Anne-Sophie Groothuis’s Squornshelan Remnant States was a tall order, yet Silver Beach rose to the challenge and narrowly condemned the SRS to yet another cycle of asking “what if”. It was at this time that Silverian press dubbed their team the Cinderella of the Championship and the nation’s head of state asked “What the hell is going on?”. After decades of disappointment, they were through to a quarterfinal against one of the outside challengers for the title TJUN-ia. Once against, the underdogs pulled off the unthinkable and did it in tried-and-true comeback fashion.

By the Four Hundred One numbers, a Silver Beach grand final appearance would be one of the greatest shocks in Championship history, surpassing the stunning appearances of Omerica in Zoloroni, Huelavia in Reçueçn or even Veldgouwen in Saint Bernadine. They’re highly unlikely to win their semifinal, but will almost certainly be more interested in winning bronze medals than the losers of the Muralos semifinal. As such, we expect them to head back to Sonnel having won third place.
Probability of winning the semifinal: 21.7% | Probability of winning the grand final: 5.9% | Predicted finish: Third place

Omerica
The Incorrigibles are the semifinalists with the longest standing in the IAC, having been represented in some form at each of the last ten Championships and fielding a senior side in nine of them. Yet it has been far from smooth sailing for Omerica, as the team struggled immensely on its first three outings before experiencing a brief golden age and falling back into mediocrity. The second mediocre era of the Incorrigibles was also marred by the amateur hour farce that got Omerica disqualified from the last edition, which in any of the proper regionals would have tanked Omerica’s co-efficient for up to a decade, if not more.

Yet the Championship is a different beast altogether and two strong World Cup qualifying performances under the stewardship of Alexis Stephanidis were enough to keep Omerica in pot two for the draw. Aside from a completely unexpected 8–0 win over Central Shaneville setting a new record for the most lopsided victory in Incorrigibles history, the group stage was a boring affair for the team and each of Omerica’s matches was ultimately won by the higher-ranked side. Fortunately, Al Wadiya and Central Shaneville lent the Incorrigibles a hand by taking points off Huelavia, allowing Omerica to win Group G and avoid a booby-trap-laden knockout draw.

But if the group stage was characterised by the expected, the knockout stage was a severe case of mood whiplash. The emotive case of Tyra Volam coloured the team’s last sixteen clash with débutantes Squornshelous, though the spectators were more incensed than the players, who took the time after the match to console their disappointed opposition. Then the quarterfinal against Sannyamathland ended in the single most lopsided knockout win in Championship history half-thanks to Jessie Beckett’s hat trick, a result that came in spite of Alphonse Fontaine and Adélaïde Argyris being forced off through injury. For all the talk of karma coming back to bite the Incorrigibles in the butt, it has yet to happen.

Despite what the unexpected thrashing of Sannyamathland would suggest, the numbers produced by Four Hundred One most definitely overstate Omerica’s chances of advancing, especially considering that Fontaine has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament and Omerica medical lead Tahira Bousaid has yet to clear Argyris for the semifinal. In these circumstances, a semifinal loss followed by a consolation match only perfunctorily attended by the Incorrigibles is by far the most likely outcome.
Probability of winning the semifinal: 40.8% | Probability of winning the grand final: 18.2% | Predicted finish: Fourth place

Tequilo
The other team to reach the semifinals on their Championship début—and also in Omerica, to boot—is the last, but most certainly not least, of the semifinalists. The only team who will be forced to change for the semifinals, Tequilo are represented at the Championship by an under-23 side as always. Nevertheless, that self-imposed handicap has never held back Los Pitxileros, as they have yet to fall before the quarterfinals at the Championship.

Despite being drawn into the “group of death” against Trolleborg, Abanhfleft and Sannyamathland, Los Pitxileros rarely looked threatened in the group stage and won Group F at a canter. They started off with a convincing win over the Revolutionaries—one which probably fatally deflated the Fleftic campaign—and followed up with another smashing of Garbelia. The goalscoring machine was temporarily shut down by Trolleborg, who held Los Pitxileros to a scoreless draw, but resumed in full force for the rest of the group stage. By the end, Tequilo had scored fourteen and conceded just two, finishing four points clear of unexpected runners-up Sannyamathland.

As a result, Tequilo moved on to face hosts Muralos in the last sixteen and experienced their first true scare of the campaign. In a result hailed by Muralosian media as excellent, Tequilo just barely squeaked through having trailed at halftime. With six players unavailable for the quarterfinals, the game against four-time runners-up Huelavia could have easily been written off for Juan Manuel Botín’s side, but a thin veneer of farce follows Tequilo around wherever they may go: Los Amarillos looked truly helpless for the first time in a long time, crushed 3–0 by the unforgiving Tequiloa goalscoring machine.

It’s all to form, as Los Pitxileros have long been branded as a side on the verge of breaking out. Tequilo’s time to shine must eventually come and there is no better time than right now for them: Four Hundred One pin Tequilo as the favourites to advance and have them as very narrow underdogs at worst and overwhelming favourites at best in the grand final. Their greatest challenge in the coming days will not be Omerica or Squidroidia, but their own piling injury situation.
Probability of winning the semifinal: 59.2% | Probability of winning the grand final: 32.9% | Predicted finish: Champions ◇

---

Other Football News:
• IAC 12: Omerica medical keep Adélaïde Argyris under observation, but officially rules her out of the semifinal
• IAC 12: Muralosian authorities open an investigation into the assault of five Omerica supporters in Urbego
• Rumour Mill: The Federation may be ready to put confederation of convenience plans on ice, pending FFI reform

---

Uniting Omerican sport fans across the United Republics — blogdefootball: a proud member of the Gryphon Pride network

---

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

---

Sannyamathland 0–6 Omerica
Independent Associations Championship 12 knockout stage — Quarterfinals
Komcatt Arena, Urbego, Muralos
Omerica goalscorer(s): Jessie Beckett 23’, 49’, 84’; Thom Magalhães 36’; Christian Marts 52’; Jamal Ahmad 63’
Omerica lineup (4–3–3): Valentine Augustin (captain); Alphonse Notley, Frédérique Marquetti, Raphaël Martin, Sacha Sepulveda; Alphonse Fontaine, Fearchar Mac Cléirich, Thom Magalhães; Jessie Beckett, Alexis Chrysanthos, Adélaïde Argyris

Omerica v Tequilo
Independent Associations Championship 12 knockout stage — Semifinals
Urbego Zemlinsky National Stadium, Urbego, Muralos
Omerica lineup (4–3–3): Valentine Augustin (captain); Alphonse Notley, Frédérique Marquetti, Raphaël Martin, Sacha Sepulveda; Maxime Fournier, Fearchar Mac Cléirich, Thom Magalhães; Jessie Beckett, Alexis Chrysanthos, Jamal Ahmad
Substitutes: Antoine Vicario, Alexandra McGuire; Anna Charles, Jacques Laurent, Justin Thyme, Felix Zanetti; Paige Boyce, Christian Marts; Jean-François Fernand, Malcolm Beauchesne
Injured: Alphonse Fontaine, Adélaïde Argyris

---

[Muralos]

Cut-off for the semifinal match between Squidroidia and Silver Beach. It's just the two of you playing in Almuzahara now...

Squidroidia 3 - 2 Silver Beach
Said Benhaddou National Arena, Al-Fayit, Almuzahara

[Almuzahara]

Semifinal cutoff. Two of the world's elite go head to head...what will make the difference?

---

IAC12: Semifinals
Muralos

Omerica 1 - 2 Tequilo
Urbego Zemlinsky National Stadium, Urbego

IAC 12 3PPO
Silver Beach vs. Omerica
Stadium of the Revival, Althuwar, Almuzahara

IAC12 FINAL
Squidroidia vs. Tequilo
Komcatt Arena Urbego, Urbego, Muralos

The 3PPO will take place on Friday, April 9, at Muralos' standard cutoff time (15:00 - 16:00 Hawaiian Standard Time). The final will take place on Saturday, April 10, at Almuzahara's standard cutoff time (22:00-23:00 Mountain Standard Time).

[Omerica]

@ThomasDaviesSFRD Major “participation trophy” energy from the Omerica dressing room. (1/5)

@ThomasDaviesSFRD The team staff and 12 of the 23 players will head home to prep for WC qualifying according to reports. (2/5)

@ThomasDaviesSFRD 11 players reportedly drew straws to “play” the 3rd-place game v Silver Beach; McGuire has been designated player-manager. (3/5)

@ThomasDaviesSFRD The URSF are expected to confirm they will not award caps for the match or include it in their records. (4/5)

@ThomasDaviesSFRD And in the unlikely event Omerica win, the URSF have asked for the medal ceremony to be scrapped. (5/5)

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

---

Omerica 1–2 Tequilo
Independent Associations Championship 12 knockout stage — Quarterfinals
Komcatt Arena, Urbego, Muralos
Omerica goalscorer(s): Jessie Beckett 90’+1
Omerica lineup (4–3–3): Valentine Augustin (captain); Alphonse Notley, Frédérique Marquetti, Raphaël Martin, Sacha Sepulveda; Maxime Fournier, Fearchar Mac Cléirich, Thom Magalhães; Jessie Beckett, Alexis Chrysanthos, Jamal Ahmad

— End of the Independent Associations Championship 12 knockout stage —

---

[Muralos]

Cut-off for the IAC-12's third place playoff! You might be wondering, what's the point of having 3rd place in this tournament along with 1st and 2nd? Well, I would say it's because all good things come in threes.

Silver Beach 0 - 4 Omerica
Stadium of the Revival, Althuwar, Almuzahara

[Tequilo]

---

RED RADIO A-GO-GO
ITS JUST THE SAME OLD SHOW

---

Part 6+1/6: Tingle Vein Colliery, an Umber Gold opencast coal mine, location undisclosed, Nephara

There are migrant workers from Tequilo all over the known multiverse, and in many of the sixteen corners of the as-yet unknown multiverse, each with their little state-issued red radio. Itinerant miner Brassëblixa Rôa, known to his work mates as Brasso, has been digging deep holes all over the multiverse for years, and though he's forgotten what Tequilo looks like (he's quite unfamiliar with daylight, too) thanks to his radio he certainly hasn't forgotten the sound of his home country.

Through the miracle of the UMF receiver in the little red radio, Brasso wouldn't have a problem listening to the Tequilo World Service even down in the depths of a 6km deep mine, let alone up here in the open grey air of the great big filthy hole they rather quaintly call Tingle Vein; but in Nephara of course, like most of the modern civilised world, Health & Safety regulation wouldn't permit such distractions when operating dangerous machinery like the drilling rig Brasso is paid pretty decent guilder to operate for Umber Gold. "It's elfin safey gawn mad!" says fellow miner Wolfie Sutton, who's already on his third final written warning for dangerous unsupervised self-initiative errors largely because, well, he doesn't much believe in regulation. Brasso, Wolfie and the rest of the crew are just come off shift and are in the group shower, giving each other a good soap down from the omnipresent blackness that gets under even the best workwear. Brasso has fired up his little red radio and if you think he also doesn't have a care for Elfin Safey, you'd be wrong - as one of the best rig operators in the multiverse he gets an awful lot of money to not make self-initiative errors; and besides, the A-Go-Go radio is entirely showerproof thanks to the liquid repellent nano-coating casing. But he is a little annoyed that he missed the first half of Tequilo's IAC semi-final in which Ochoa Abril put Los Pitxileros one up against the run of play, and he would really like it if Wolfie could shut up for forty five minutes so he could listen to the second half in peace.

As I've previously mentioned, though there is only one red radio (or at least only one that works) there are variants produced by the A-Go-Go Company of Sezalco of course - the matt-green military-issue combat zone version, for example, or the Plutonium Edition for the more... radioactive... occupations, such as bottling fluid time in Wight or beach-combing on Anywhere Atoll. One of the most popular of recent times is the smaller, even brighter version, which comes with a sticker pack of the most popular cartoon characters of the day so that the younger generation can customise their personal radios to their own tastes. Introduced to get migrating children more involved in the broadcast culture of their home country, it has half a dozen presets tuned to various young-person friendly channels including Shillingodeon and the Tequilo Little World Service. Many of us recall fondly both the joy of the radio and the hobby of trading unused stickers to find the ones we really want, or to update when the company release a new set of stickers for the beloved childrens radio set, the Junior A-Go-Go. Happy days.

"Well it's hardly the World Cup, is it?" says Wolfie Sutton, a little defensively, at once deflecting from interrupting Brasso's listening of the IAC semi-final victory, and at the same time reminding the Tequiloan, as the miners at Tingle Vein Colliery constantly did, at every opportunity, that until you've won a World Cup (or two) you're not really worth tuning in for.

FIIIIIIIIIIIIII-NALO...OH.OH.OH!!!
OMERICA 1-2 TEQUILO HT: 0-1

Location: @ Komcatt Arena, Urbego, Muralos
Attendance: 29,127 locals, 9,702 Omericans of whom 9,695 left for the airport after 82', and the Ultra-Mariachi Band (8 sombreros + dog)
Scorers: Jessie Beckett 90'+1 | Ochoa Abril 18' Alexandro Calvoecheaga 82'
Assists: Alexis Chrysanthos 90'+1 | Alexandro Calvoecheaga 18' Pedro Rôa 82'
Booked: Fearchar Mac Cléirich, Sacha Sepulveda | Çenturion
Sent-Off: -
Tequilo Line-Up: (4-1-3-2) Oscar Bienvenida | Ostando Bertendona, José Tavia, Diogo Junco (sub: Mó Reverté 83'), Ochoa Abril | Ixtub Tün | Jaïr Iscla, Niño Pinto (sub: Çenturion 79'), Tsttnauayui | Mani Quita (sub: Pedro Rôa 62'), Alexandro Calvoecheaga
Player of the Match: Ostando Bertendona (Tequilo)

---

LOS PITXILEROS BATTLE TO THE END
At the sharp end of the competition coach Juan Manuel Botín would predict nothing less than hard-fought games against high quality opponents, and as expected this proved to be the toughest game yet against a former champion who, though they themselves put Tequilo up as favourites in the pre-match press briefings, were surely the favourites for the competition at this stage, and only messing with our heads when they said we could win this. But the coach did not fall into the trap that has so often tripped up the Agave-Blues in the past, in believing their own press and getting complacent on the field. Having guided junior and reserve national teams into finals, the soon-to-be full national team head coach Juan Manuel kept his, and his players, feet firmly on the ground to navigate a passage to the IAC final against a fine Omerican side who proved, even at two down and past the full ninety minutes, that they would not give up. (Rumour has it they were very keen to give up in the dressing room afterward, voting to fly home and not bother with the bronze medal match - although in the end, and congratulations to them, they did find a way to rouse themselves one last time and take the third place finish). Jessie Beckett struck a goal in the 91st minute, with three minutes of added time still to play, to cut Tequilo's lead in half and make those final minutes excrutiating to watch back home, as the Agave-Blues threatened to undo all the good work in a spectacularly good shift up to that point. In an end to end match, things could not have been much tighter - Ochoa Abril's second goal in consecutive matches the difference at half time but by the narrowest of margins; Omerica could point to four or five guilded-edge chances that ought to have produced something for them - and the second half was much a repeat, with commentators sure right to the 82nd minute that this game could still go either way. Alexandro Calvoecheaga's strike, to put Tequilo two up with minutes to spare, looked like it had settled the match, but Jessie Beckett had other ideas and this one went right to the wire.

A third final for coach Juan Manuel is the first major final for Tequilo, a welcome boost after the chaos of the last IAC and the subsequent World Cup campaign, and will pit Los Pitxileros against the team that closed their first tournament out in IAC-X, when a promising Tequilo side made a surprise run to the semi-final, before being beaten by eventual winners Poafmersia and then coming up against Squidroidia in the Third Place Play-off: on that occasion, the Inklings dispatched the deflated Agave-Blues into fourth place. The defensive pair of Ostando Bertendona and José Tavia will appear again as they did that time four years ago (Tequilo-time) as the only players still standing from that squad - Tol Chicote, Çenturion and Milan Lucio also featured in that game but all three are on the injury list for the final. But coach Juan Manuel can name an almost unchanged side from a fine semi-final win, with only striker Mani Quita dropped to the bench and Pedro Rôa selected in his place in the starting line-up.

---

TEQUILO STAT SUMMARY
Competition goals: Alexandro Calvoecheaga (5) Jaïr Iscla, Mani Quita (3) Niño Pinto, Çenturion, Ochoa Abril (2) Ixtub Tün, Tol Chicote, Macedoni Altés (1)
Competition assists: Alexandro Calvoecheaga, Pedro Rôa (4) Niño Pinto, Ixtub Tün (2) Jaïr Iscla, Tsttnauayui, Diogo Junco, Mani Quita, José Tavia (1)
Competition PoMs: Alexandro Calvoecheaga, Emmanuel París, Tsttnauayui, Niño Pinto, Mani Quita, Jaïr Iscla, Ochoa Abril, Ostando Bertendona (1)
Competition cards: Milan Lucio (1 red, 1 yellow) Ostando Bertendona (2 yellows) Tsttnauayui, Urbano Noboa, Tol Chicote, Oscar Bienvenida, Abas Juanarena, Jose Tavia, Çenturion (1 yellow)

---

Confirmed Line-Up
Squidroidia vs. TEQUILO
@ Komcatt Arena Urbego, Urbego, Muralos (capacity 38,838)
(4-1-3-2)
Oscar Bienvenida (C) | Ostando Bertendona, José Tavia, Diogo Junco, Ochoa Abril | Ixtub Tün | Jaïr Iscla, Niño Pinto, Tsttnauayui | Pedro Rôa, Alexandro Calvoecheaga (VC)

Unavailable: Çenturion, Macedoni Altés, Tol Chicote, Jatsu Cañaverri & Milan Lucio (injured)

[Squidroidia]

The Night Before the Final - Urbego, Muralos

Twas the night before the Final, and all through Urbego, the Inklings of Squidroidia had their eyelids not let go.
Twenty-four hours before the trophy was to be lifted, no players and managers in beds were being shifted.
The Komcatt Arena loomed through the city, the modernity of the foundations it was on being pretty.
The place for the Final of the 12th IAC, in the land of Muralos was the place to be.

Takemoto Shingen, captain for his country, was looming through the glass-restricted balcony.
The moonlight shining down on the streets echoed like the waves from a beat.
Kaede Akiyama, number 2 between the sticks, stood right beside him, trying to make his pick.
Between Stanton Town who want his services, or stay in Starlight, where his purpose is.

Yoichi Shigeko and Florianne Meeuwessen, leftbacks from rivals within the city bends.
They were together for their country, like branches connected to a tree.
Ryou Minami, who was stuck in Tioguldos, made his way back home for Squidroidian team number dos.
He was now belonging to Calamari County, defending the League of Victors and its bounty.

The starters on defense, belonging to big clubs all the same, had Muto Toki of Vilitan League fame.
Nobody, however, did know where he was, as the season was in its middle when the deadline was done.
Tomatsu Kane, 30 years of age, was not the one to be subject to a blame.
But a defense is a defense, and when it was held together, the back four were a threat stuck like a bird's feathers.

Center of the park was where Shiba Tetsuo was, the only goal in the game against Poafmersia he was.
Waiting in anticipation of his chance to take the field again, to be one step closer to his name written in pen.
Jun, Brooks and Colbert, 2 Inklings, one man, were stuck on the bench for a game once again.
For the former named Jo, this was likely his last game, at least before the World Cup comes back not for his name.

And then there was the attacking duo of the show, 2 men named Makino Hideo and Sho Itō.
The former was playing for Villa in Murphtannia, the other in Audioslavia for Shamrock's spotlight, not in Xanneria.
For the whole tournament Itō was out of position, but the left winger turned striker had a decent condition.
But for a man like Makino Hideo, he was a hero, if it wasn't for him New Lusitania would probably win 1-0.
No beating Poafmersia, no smattering of Silver Beach, no waiting in the hotel with the trophy in reach.

And then there he was, the manager Adam Johnson, in his second ever final as a manager, formerly of the Suns.
The last time he was in the final game was Cup of Harmony 69, where the Qads of Qasden made the chance of a victory nigh.
That was until the penalty shootout, in which the Qads would rise, and Johnson has never been closer in his entire life.
Until now, of course, the final a day away, where he would grab his suit and tie for his life's second biggest day.

So as the players get ready for their final time, at the Independents Championship before the World Cup lied...
The voices in their heads let out a sound, not a sight...

Happy Final Day to all, and to all a good night.

---

The Final - Urbego

The Final - Urbego

The Komcatt Arena Urbego, just under 39,000 people in all, was packed to the brim with fans. They came not just from Muralos, but from the participating nations of the Final - Squidroidia and, as fate would have it, Tequilo. To think that the Inklings came so close to not making the trip here, to think that they could have spent the night watching the final after playing in Althuwar for the 3rd place game. To think that if it wasn't for Katsuyoshi stepping up late after Itō came to the bench, Silver Beach would have their locker room. To think that Adam Johnson would have to go back to the 3rd place game 22 years since Barunia got bronze with him back in the Boreal Islands... Everything would have been much more different.

This was Squidroidia's first ever final. The nation's biggest game since arguably the IAC X Semi-Final against HUElavia. The Inklings had never been this close to a major trophy. HUElavia denied them in IAC X and later IFC 2. The Baptism of Fire was quelled by a Tiog penalty. Northwest Kalactin got their Cup of Harmony hopes not so harmonious. Megistos, angered by the "Free Republics'' jokes, dumped them out of Havynwilde. The Cup of Harmony disaster a year later. And now, just over a year since Mito got fired and the search began for his successor, Squidroidia were 90 minutes away from winning their first piece of silverware, something that could cause the nation to have a restless week.

Practically everyone, from Urbego to Al-Fayit to Inkopolis to Tapalupé and everywhere in between, they were all watching. Many an Inkling only could think about the fans back home. It was a national holiday in Squidroidia, all the shops were closed bar the pubs and cafes, the Squidroidians all either at home, with their mates at the pub or watching as a nation. The soldiers watching on from the Takanori Army Base, the entire town of Northport gathering near town hall to watch the game, the Calamari County crowds outside County Stadium, and of course, Inkopolis Plaza. Hundreds of thousands, if not a million, fans packed the space, flags waving, flares going off, chants buzzing through the air. The national broadcaster SBN had gone all out for this day, scheduling their entire day around the Final. SBN 1 basically became SBN Sport that day, with IAC centric programming and all, and with 2 hours to go the pregame coverage began.

Adam Johnson's Squidroidia team were entering a revival, waking up from the disastrous Cup of Harmony run that sacked Mito just a year ago. The Barunian, veteran manager of his national team, gave his soul, his shining star of a soul to get this team back on track after losing 3 straight tournament games up in Cassadaigua. It, so far, has worked - They're here in their first ever Final, having beaten the likes of New Lusitania, Poafmersia and Silver Beach in the knockout stage. They were heavy favorites by the Omericans who cheered them on 4 years ago heading into the last 4, and were looking like they were still favorites now.

The team on the other side of the tunnel, the Agave-Blues of Tequilo, have battled through adversity just to get here. 2 years ago in Havynwilde they were forced to deal with a speech-impediment virus that wiped out a good fraction of the squad they sent. Even then, they pressed on and even though they didn't get as far as they hoped, they still showed a decent game. Now they have a new crisis on their hands, an injury crisis that has handicapped a chunk of the IAC squad and has forced them to bring out substitutes even in crucial games. But they are here now, playing in their first IAC Final (But not their first final overall, as they have finished second in the U-18 World Cup before), ready to better their 4th place finish after losing to... Squidroidia 4 years ago.

But if there was anything about this Inkling team as they finished their warmups and got in the locker room before the closing ceremony began, they weren't ones to be counted out. They beat New Lusitania in the Round of 16. Poafmersia in the Quarter-Finals. Held back an underdog Silver Beach in the Semi-Finals. They thought they could go all the way. They knew they can go all the way. Ninety minutes of some of the most tense action this national team, this squad of heroes, had ever been though, bar Itō's Champions League final for Shamrock against the Euran titans Directus. They could end up on the other side as a nation that thought to themselves "What could have been", or they could party into the morning with the title that Megistos denied them two years ago. Takemoto wasn't ready to think about celebrations yet. Neither did anybody on the team. They had business to do for one final game this tournament.

They still had football to play.

---

In the locker room, Adam Johnson took the floor.

"So then, welcome to the Final. Welcome to Muralos. Welcome to the promised land. 720 minutes of football, 16 goals scored, 6 goals conceded, the joy of beating New Lusitania, the agony of one last game against Sajnur, the tension against Silver Beach... It's all culminated in the final game of the tournament. You are, if you perform against Tequilo, 90 minutes away from your first international triumph. You are that tantalizingly close to the trophy. You are going to walk with Los Pitxileros alongside you, the Independents Cup greeting both of you... But by no means is this the time to be complacent.

"Truth be told... I've been here before. In the fiery land of Ethane for the Cup of Harmony 69 final. My Barunia Suns had to face the Qads of Qasden to get that trophy. Like you, Sho Itō, we came very close to the pinnacle, at least within that tournament. Past regulation, tied. Extra time, tied. Only the shootout separated us... We got the short end of the stick. Qasden lifted the trophy aloft. I had to settle for second.

"That was 2 decades ago. Hard to believe it then, hard to believe it now, but that was when some of you players weren't even playing senior football at the level you are now. Heck, some of you were just babies back then! That was back in the days of Inkhalla, several years before whatever you call these robot idols destroyed your former home... That was before Takanori rebuilt it. That was before your first international against Sharktail. Before IAC X, before BoF 73, before the Cups of Harmony and World Cup qualification campaigns you've been though. If you asked your 10 year old self that you would eventually be in the final of the Independent Associations Championship, they would have thought it was a fantasy...

"It isn't anymore. This is reality. You are going to walk though the tunnel to play Tequilo, you are going to be met face to face with nearly 39,000 fans and millions more watching around the world, your countrymen and countrywomen watching on at home, and you will say to yourself, 'Is this all I got? Is this the farthest I can go? Is this the best I can be?' And you are going to say to yourself, 'NO! The title is so close! I have to push forward, no matter if we're 1-0 down or 5-0 down! It is still in reach!"

"That is what I want to see from you when the national anthem plays, when the ball is first kicked... On every throw-in, free kick, goal kick, cross, pass, penalty, shot... You can be better than you thought you could be when we arrived in Kurtitibah! You can etch your name in the history books tonight! You can be the Independent Associations Champions! I believe in you! You can be legends for your country!

"...Because heroes are remembered...

"...But legends never die. Go out there and WIN THE IAC!"

---

Legends Never Die - Urbego

"Today is the biggest day in the history of the Squidroidian national team - And in fact, the biggest day in the history of the Agave-Blues! Tonight, when all is set and done within the confines of the Komcatt Arena Urbego, a new name will be written on the Independents Cup and a new champion will be crowned. Welcome to Muralos, welcome to destiny, welcome to the 12th Independent Associations Championship Final."

The familiar voice of Takanaki Osa lit up screens throughout the nation back home, but the commentator in the booth was nervous as ever. It was the first Squidroidian national team final he had ever covered - He had covered numerous club finals as well as World Cup finals and a couple of other stuff here and there, but never a final involving his country's prideful national team. He could see the flags bunched up by the staff, the yellow and blue flags of Tequilo and Squidroidia respectively, knowing that they would spring out when the national teams would come out.

"Four years ago these teams dueled each other for the first time at the IAC, that was when they were fighting for the third place medals. Squidroidia got the better of the two sides then but now it's completely different. Adam Johnson has reached his second ever final in his national team career, having done it before at Cup of Harmony 69 when his Barunia Suns were just edged out by Qasden on penalties. Tonight, going into just his 9th game with this Inklings side, he has a chance to lift the Independents Cup and get rid of the demons that haunted him since losing to Schottia in the Semi-Finals in the first installment of the tournament."

The broadcast cuts to a shot of the Komkatt Arena Urbego, the Squidroidian fans sitting on seemingly pins and needles as the trophy gleamed in the distance, etched with the names of those who won before - Schottia, Bonesea, Free Republics, Mercedini, Drawkland, Omerica, Reçueçn, New Lusitania, Poafmersia... And a blank spot next to "IAC 12", which was going to be etched with the name of a tenth country. Then it goes over to the Ultra-Mariachi Band of Tequilo, 8 sombreros and dog in tow, standing in front of a sea of Agave-Blues supporters.

"On the other side is Los Pitxileros, the Agave-Blues, and even though they usually send an Under-23s team to this tournament, Tequilo has not been a pushover this time. They topped their group with only a draw to Trolleborg as their worst result, and cruised through the knockouts. They denied a 7th game for Drawkland, they denied HUElavia an appearance in a 4th consecutive Final, they deprived Omerica of a third Final appearance! They have reached their first Final as a team, and with the caliber of teams they have faced, they are battle tested and will not go down without a fight tonight."

The two sides were lined up inside the tunnel. Squidroidia were on the left hand side, while Tequilo were on the right hand side. Tequilo were rocking their Natty Kit home strip, agave-blue shirts and shorts with white socks, while Squidroidia had their home kit as well, although it was a bit of a kit clash with the Mako Designs white with blue stripes. They could hear the music play from inside here, Takemoto Shingen and Oscar Bienvenida leading their nations as captains of their national teams. Up and down the line of players for both sides was an emotion of nervousness - Most of these players haven't played in a final this big in their lives, apart from one or two here and there. The crowd in the stadium was just waiting for the players to come out.

Legends never die...
When the world is calling you...
Can you hear them screaming out your name?
Legends never die...
They become a part of you...
Every time you bleed for reaching greatness...
Relentless you survive...

The flags of Squidroidia and Tequilo were uncoiled from either side of the pitch of the Komcatt Arena Urbego, the blue and yellow of each flag respectively present as the trophy stands there between the playing surface and the tunnel, shining through like the sun that Johnson could know. Was it his country cheering him on again? Was it... A sign? That he was going to shine through and be the Barunian who could say "Once a groomsmaid, now a groom?" It was too early to tell.

They never lose hope, when everything's cold and the fighting's near...
It's deep in their bones, they'll run into smoke when the fire is fierce...
Oh pick yourself up, cuz legends never die!

Shingen and Bienvenida would march through the tunnel as the music picked up, flames rising and falling for effect as both players saw the light. The trophy, the crowd, the pitch. It all blinded them with a sense of destiny. This was his time to shine, Shingen thought, the same may be running through Bienvenida's mind as they went past the trophy, followed by his players and Shingen's own. Each one of them got a glimpse of the trophy before taking their spots behind their respective flags, waving through like the winds that took them here.

When the world is calling you!
Can you hear them screaming out your name?
Legends never die!
They become a part of you!
Every time you bleed for reaching greatness!
Legends never die!

They're written down in eternity...
But you'll never see the price it costs...
The scars collected all of their lives...
When everything's lost, they pick up their hearts and avenge defeat...
Before it all starts, they suffer through harm just to touch a dream...!
Oh pick yourself up, cuz legends never die!

The harm of the Apocalypse touched through all the players of the national team... The insanity caused by noises they couldn't stop for months, ringing through and causing harm throughout the former land of Inkhalla. They lived through every day of the storm, knowing that it might be their last... But they survived. They survived the storm and got back to their lives. These players who lined up used the experiences from those months to help them through football, even if the nation handicapped them from time to time. The scars they showed of the struggle to survive carried them here... Past Sajnur to seal a spot in the knockouts, through New Lusitania, defeating the back to back champions Poafmersia, and beating the Cinderella story of the tournament in Silver Beach. If it wasn't for their willingness to survive, they wouldn't be here.

When the world is callin' out your name...
Begging you to fight...
Pick yourself up once more...
Pick yourself up, cuz legends never die!

The determination this national team went through even before arriving in Almuzahara was a spirit. A spirit that refused to die even if one wrong mistake would cause it to die. Throughout these weeks back in Almuzahara they scratched and clawed through seemingly impossible tasks just to reach here! Just to reach Urbego! And here it was - The crowds, the ceremonious presentation, the dream they wanted... Playing in the god damn IAC Final. Destiny awaited those who were patient.

The national anthems, with players on both sides fighting through the lyrics about to head into war, would play... After that, the flags were coiled back up and headed through the tunnel. It was time for football. 90 minutes separated these 2 teams and the title they had to fight just to see. Ninety minutes would separate the victorious from the remorseful. 2 45 minute halves, ball being passed up and down the pitch, a few shots here and a few shots there, a couple of goals... And eventually the trophy was going to be lifted. By who? Both teams didn't know.

But that trophy was going to be lifted anyways. Whoever got their hands on it would be decided here and now. No more time to tempt fate. No more time to think "What if"... It was time.

The whole world was watching.
Waiting.
Begging for the tournament to end with a victor on either side.
The biggest game in their entire lives had arrived...
And with a kick of the ball, it mercifully began.

[Omerica]

@ThomasDaviesSFRD Silver Beach score four own goals against completely disinterested opposition in protest of Omerica’s “disrespect” (1/3)

@ThomasDaviesSFRD The URSF will collect the medals at a later date and sell them for scrap, donating the proceeds to their Football For All initiative (2/3)

@ThomasDaviesSFRD The URSF have predictably called for 3rd place playoffs to be abolished entirely, calling them “disrespectful to the knockout concept” (3/3)

@AlexisStephanidis The Omerican people take deep offence to the statements of the Tequiloa press which gloat over their victory and our failure

@AlexisStephanidis “Third place” is not a victory, it is a condemnation

[Almuzahara]

Finals cutoff. The eyes of the world are watching, the pressure greater than any other match...you won't want to drop the game.

---

IAC12: Final
Muralos

Squidroidia 1 - 3 Tequilo
Komcatt Arena Urbego, Urbego, Muralos

Congratulations to Tequilo on winning the twelfth Independents Associations Championship! Commiserations to Squidroidia for coming up just short.

On behalf of both myself and Muralos, thank you to everyone who participated in this edition of the IAC! It was an honor to host such a great tournament, especially since this was the most active IAC yet, and I hope to see you all back for the thirteenth edition.

[Tequilo]

OOC: My thanks to the hosts for a seamless and enjoyable competition, and commiserations to Squidroidia, along with all the RPers who made this a very respectable tournament indeed, which I am genuinely delighted to have won.

NO INKLING
SQUIDROIDIA 1-3 TEQUILO HT: 0-1

Location: @ Komcatt Arena, Urbego, Muralos
Attendance: 3,093 locals, 19,419 decapodiformes with three broken hearts each, 7 grumbling Omericans who should probably just go home already and the Ultra-Mariachi Band (8 sombreros + dog, 16,310 backing singers)
Scorers: Sho Itō 60' (pen) | Tsttnauayui 19' Pedro Rôa 81' 88'
Assists: - | Pedro Rôa 19' Tsttnauayui 81' José Tavia 88'
Booked: Ohashi Kiichi | Jaïr Iscla, Pedro Rôa
Sent-Off: -
Tequilo Line-Up: (4-1-3-2) Oscar Bienvenida | Ostando Bertendona, José Tavia, Diogo Junco (sub: Mó Reverté 73'), Ochoa Abril | Ixtub Tün (sub: Mani Quita 73', subbed: Lorenzo Pero 86') | Jaïr Iscla, Niño Pinto, Tsttnauayui | Pedro Rôa, Alexandro Calvoecheaga
Player of the Match: Tsttnauayui (Tequilo)

---

CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD! (WELL, MOST OF IT ANYWAY)
OK A BIT OF IT THEN

Los Pitxileros finally got their hands on a proper piece of silverware (with the greatest of respect to Mike Sarzo) as team capitan and record caps holder Oscar Bienvenida mounted the steps at the Komcatt Arena to lift the Independent Associations Championship trophy at the end of a thrilling match in Urbego. Coach Juan Manuel Botín, who had guided the under-18 team to two consecutive medal finishes and won that Mike Sarzo Memorial Trophy with the national team reserves, continued his remarkable track record by guiding this young team to the non-regional international title that over-excited sports hacks in Tequilo insist is the second biggest prize after the World Cup. The rest of us agree that it's a fine title to have if not exactly the world heavyweight belt; Tequilo join Audioslavia, Nephara and Nova Anglicana as champions of the four main post-World Cup competitions and head into the next cycle on the high of having banished that nearly-team label - on the way to this victory dispatching a three-time finalist, a host nation, a one-time champion and, in the final, the rising power of Squidroidia, who will undoubtedly go on to great things with this talented team of theirs. But today belonged to the Agave-Blues; Oscar Bienvenida, in his last IAC under Tequilo's self-imposed age restriction rules, led the celebrations after another fine tournament for him personally, where he set two records - for most caps (82) and most consecutive clean sheets for a NT keeper (4). He probably would have won Tequilo's player of the tournament award, the Pythagoras Citation, were it not for missing those three games mid-tournament to injury. Receiving that honour, and fully deserved, was double player-of-the-match winner Tsttnauayui, who fittingly controlled this final with his pace, vision and precision to earn that second PoM award, scoring the opener here and providing an assist for the outstanding Pedro Rôa.

With an assist and the two vital late goals to secure the title, Pedro was almost joint player of the match himself, and it must've been a near impossible task to separate Pedro and Tsttnauayui in the final judgment, the pair of them combining fantastically throughout to give the Inklings all sorts of problems up front in what was actually a very tightly contested affair. Sho Itō's penalty equaliser on the hour mark was no more that the team in white deserved for their part in a good technical match full of intent and purpose on both sides. As with the semi-final, this was a game that really could have gone either way right up to the last few minutes, but what coach Juan Manuel's team have shown in this tournament above all else is a discipline and belief that doesn't ebb; those two late goals from Pedro to win a famous first trophy were a perfect demonstration of sticking to task, retaining focus, and giving everything from minute one to the last blow of the whistle.

Next up: the World Cup. Los Pitxileros will head into the qualification cycle well organised, with the chaos well behind them and a trophy to give them a little confidence that this might be the time for that first qualification. Juan Manuel Botín will demand hard work and in return, he offers an inspiring start to his own national team career; Ostando Bertendona, Ochoa Abril, Jaïr Iscla, Çenturion and Tsttnauayui have all been with him from the beginning, featuring in their debut third-place finish in the 11th Under-18 World Cup; each was outstanding in this tournament and all of them will feel they are still only just getting started - where they will finish, we can only dream.

---

TEQUILO STAT SUMMARY
Pythagoras Citation: Tsttnauayui (1 goal, 2 assists, 2 PoMs, average rating 8.3)
Golden Boot: Alexandro Calvoecheaga (5 goals)

Competition goals: Alexandro Calvoecheaga (5) Jaïr Iscla, Mani Quita (3) Niño Pinto, Çenturion, Ochoa Abril, Pedro Rôa (2) Ixtub Tün, Tol Chicote, Macedoni Altés, Tsttnauayui (1)
Competition assists: Pedro Rôa (5) Alexandro Calvoecheaga (4) Niño Pinto, Ixtub Tün, Tsttnauayui, José Tavia (2) Jaïr Iscla, Diogo Junco, Mani Quita (1)
Competition PoMs: Tsttnauayui (2) Alexandro Calvoecheaga, Emmanuel París, Niño Pinto, Mani Quita, Jaïr Iscla, Ochoa Abril, Ostando Bertendona (1)
Competition cards: Milan Lucio (1 red, 1 yellow) Ostando Bertendona (2 yellows) Tsttnauayui, Urbano Noboa, Tol Chicote, Oscar Bienvenida, Abas Juanarena, Jose Tavia, Çenturion, Jaïr Iscla, Pedro Rôa (1 yellow)

[Muralos]

The IAC12 co-hosts are proud to announce the two Teams of the Tournament, one representing the players who competed in Almuzahara and one representing the players who competed in Muralos.

The Team of the Tournament exhibition match will take place Sunday, April 11th in Komcatt Arena Urbego, Urbego, Muralos– the same stadium that held the IAC12 final just yesterday. Please stay tuned for the match fixtures!

Team Almuzahara

Coaches: Otsile Kgotso (Silver Beach), David Seems (TJUN-ia), and Li Xiu Ying (TJUN-ia)
The IAC12 was Kgotso’s big break as manager for the Silver Beach national team, and his role in Silver Beach’s success deserves much commendation.
In addition, TJUN-ian co-managers David Seems and Li Xiu Ying worked together to command one of the IAC12's most balanced sides. Their expertise will be important for coordinating this team of talent.

Goalkeeper: Takemoto Shingen (Squidroidia)
Shingen was keeper for a squad that reached their first international football final, beating scoring threats New Lusitania and the Algarves and Poafmersia along the way. Against both of these teams– the two highest-scoring teams in the IAC group stage– Shingen kept clean sheets.

Defenders: Avigdor Levitansky (Silver Beach), Mohammad Kallah (TJUN-ia), Tomatsu Kane (Squidroidia)
Three anchors from three solid squads are represented on defense.

Midfielders: Dargis Walshor (Poafmersia), Imran Kazada (North Alezia), Shiba Tetsuo (Squidroidia), Orin Set (Silver Beach)
Walshor provided important ball movement and one assist for a dominant Poafmersia side. Kazada contributed greatly to North Alezia’s squad, giving North Alezian fans hope in spite of their early defeat by reigning champions Poafmersia. Tetsuo’s assist to Squidroidia’s Hideo made all the difference in their round-of-16 match against New Lusitania, and so did his single goal against Poafmersia in the quarterfinals. Set’s captaining was invaluable to Silver Beach’s Cinderella run to the semifinals– the run that made the nation's president ask "What the hell is going on?"

Forwards: Lyzolda Petrov (Squornshelan Remnant States), André Silveira (New Lusitania and the Algarves), Vladimir Podolov (TJUN-ia)
Petrov was the top scorer for her side, scoring two goals against Poafmersia in the latter’s only group stage defeat. Silveira was an incredible scorer for New Lusitania and the Algarves, with five of the team’s 21 to his name. Podolov was key to TJUN-ia's run to the quarterfinals, and scored an incredible bicycle kick goal in TJUN-ia's fateful quarterfinal match against Silver Beach.

Substitutes: Raphael Yaremka (GK, Silver Beach), Ilyas Youssef (DF, Almuzahara), Ruben Vinagrete (DF, New Lusitania and the Algarves), Emanuele Cutrona (DF, Reçueçn), Iuri Takala (MF, Squornshelan Remnant States), Gisiik Moonar (MF, Poafmersia), Kepo Ulawaya (ST, TJUN-ia)

Team Muralos

Coaches: Saad Kaykali (Adab), Kim Higden (Picksall Islands)
Kaykali, an icon of Adabian football since their IAC debut, crafted a fan favorite and one of the most formidable offenses of the tournament, and earns recognition for his role in Adab’s comeback despite a group stage exit. Former Zwangzug goalkeeper Higden, whose Picksall Islands belied their defensive nature to become the only nation to score on Tequilo in the group stage, will offer logistical and linguistic support.

Goalkeeper: Oscar Bienvenida (Tequilo)
Bienvenida, the indomitable captain of the Agave-Blues, anchored a rock-solid defense en route to becoming the first Pixtilero to break the eighty-cap mark for Tequilo.

Defenders: Sacha Sepulveda (Omerica), Ochoa Abril (Tequilo), Craig Bakker (Drawkland)
Sepulveda, vice-captain of the Incorrigibles, provided invaluable steel for her team’s semifinals run. Abril scored a critical goal in the semifinals and was generally one of Tequilo’s standout players in their title run. Defender-turned-author Bakker was both a lockdown defender and an underrated scoring threat for the Group H winners.

Midfielders: Niño Pinto (Tequilo), Tyra Volam (Squornshelous), Ixtub Tün (Tequilo), Galina Shchedrina (Muralos)
Pinto’s dynamism and playmaking made him a key part of Tequilo’s high-scoring attack, although he is very much not a wide midfielder. Lucia Krupin and Tove Anker may have been more impressive on the field (all other invitations sent to Squornshelan players were rejected), but Volam’s defiance of the Squornshelan government, and her subsequent imprisonment and escape, made her one of the defining stories of the tournament. Tün did a little bit of everything, scoring and assisting twice while holding down the fort from his favored defensive midfield position. Shchedrina starred for a Muralos side that made the Round of 16 and threatened to eliminate eventual champions Tequilo on their home ground.

Forwards: Marc Navarro (HUElavia), Tsttnauayui (Tequilo), Jessie Beckett (Omerica)
Navarro’s last-gasp penalty sent HUElavia past Drawkland into the quarterfinals after a strong group stage for the captain. Tsttnauayui earned the Pythagoras Citation for champions Tequilo with an electrifying style of play that arguably made the difference against Squidroidia in the final. Alexis Chrysanthos may have scored more overall, but Beckett’s contributions to Omerica’s six-goal dismantling of Sannyamathland in the quarterfinals, and her clutch late goal against Tequilo in the semifinals, make her place here well-deserved.

Substitutes: Valentine Augustin (GK, Omerica), Ostando Bertendona (DF, Tequilo), Manuel Mendieta (DF, HUElavia), Stephan Chubukov (MF, Sannyamathland), Morten Troll (MF, Trolleborg), Trinidad Kleist (MF, Abanhfleft), Alexandro Calvoecheaga (ST, Tequilo), Alexis Chrysanthos (ST, Omerica)

[Muralos]

The score for the Teams of the Tournament exhibition match is in!

Team Almuzahara 1 - 2 Team Muralos
Thanks to Tumbra for scorinating this match.

I hope that all of you enjoyed competing in this edition of the IAC! It was certainly a lot of fun and an honor for me to host it with Almuzahara. Thank you for your amazing participation and for supporting Almuzahara and me as co-hosts!