World Cup 88- Roleplay Thread

[Jeruselem]

Princess Kate the virtual vtuber (aka Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas) in front of a virtual stadium

Hello, this is Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas for Naked News Jeruselem!
You know it's World Cup 88 qualification news once again.
We're nearly to the end of qualification with 17 games played so leaving one game left to play.
Who will be left standing in Group 10? Will Jeruselem and Mercedini rule?

So let's look at Match day 16, the 3rd last qualification round.

Fujai were hosting Talamia who just needed to win, full stop.
Talamia didn't win, managing 1-1 draw with the eliminated host.
So Talamia pretty much eliminated themselves by not winning!

Seguidores de la grasas hosted Istoreya, battle of cellar dwellers.
Seguidores de la grasas scored win number 3 against the 2nd last team 1-0.
Well, they are still trying ...

Mercedini, sitting in 2nd spot, hosted Valladares, being the 2nd highest seed and being also eliminated.
Mercedini won 3-1 to further secure 2nd spot and put more pressure on the other teams.

San Ortelio needed to win, and were the hosts today. But the visitors were ... Siovanija and Teusland, who beat Jeruselem recently.
Siovanija and Teusland have mounted a winning streak and were their next victims, winning 3-0.
Both teams needed to win and San Ortelio were the ones closest to Mercedini, until now.

So left Jeruselem at home, with visiting Bluecliff League.
Jeruselem didn't need to much in the last three games but Bluecliff League proved rather less than difficult to deal with.
The Princesses won 5-2 to keep their lead over Mercedini, and the chasing pack.

Match day 17, pentultimate qualication round.

Valladares at home scored a meaningless 1-0 win over last placed Seguidores de la grasas.
Just 4 wins for Valladares, Seguidores de la grasas has 3.
Both eliminated to the game was meaningless anyway.

Siovanija and Teusland were at home and had to face 2nd placed Mercedini.
Siovanija and Teusland had to win, Mercedini could afford to lose but they needed to win for another reason.
The top seed vs 3rd top seed.
Siovanija and Teusland winning streak came to a screeching HALT, with Mercedini winning 2-0.
This pretty much eliminated Siovanija and Teusland.

Bluecliff League at home, met visitors San Ortelio.
San Ortelio recent loss eliminated them and they managed 0-0 draw confirming their elimination.

Istoreya hosted Talamia who won 1-0 which was too little too late for them away.
Talamia at least can't say they weren't trying.

Leaving Jeruselem at home with Fujai visiting. Jeruselem won 2-0 and they weren't even trying too hard.

To the table!

Seguidores de la grasas still last 10 points.
Istoreya 2nd last on 12 points.
Fujai 3rd last on 13 points. These three will remain in the bottom 3.
Valladares 7th with 18 points
Bluecliff League 6th with 19 points.
San Ortelio slipped back to 5th with 28 points.
Siovanija and Teusland 4th with 29 points.
Talamia moved up to 3rd to 30 points
All these teams are eliminated.

Mercedini cannot top the group, but on 2nd spot with 37 points.
ALL HAIL THE QUEENS! The Princesses rule with 41 points!

Jeruselem HAVE QUALIFIED
Mercedini into the playoffs at worst. They can qualify directly depending on what happens in the last game.

So who has qualified?
Kelssek
The Holy Empire
Valanora
Poafmersia
Audioslavia
Commonwealth of Baker Park
Ko-oren
Newmanistan
Starblaydia
Nephara
Banija
Eura
Turori
Farfadillis

There's a lot of undecided groups, pending on the final game.

But for Jeruselem, IT'S PARTY TIME!
After the last game.

Konpeko Konpeko Konpeko!

[Tumbra]

Kandorith 1-3 Tumbra

Kandorith (4-3-3): 1 - Tamatsuki; 6 - Takayama, 20 - Takai, 4 - Hakimoto, 5 - Ishida; 7 - Matsumoto, 21 - Hamada (17 - Yamada, 75'), 27 - Kaba (9 - Takahashi, 61'); 15 - Fujiwara, 23 - Yoshida; 11 - Honda (16 - Totoro, 90')

Tumbra (4-3-3): 1 - Lennon; 2 - Hughes, 4 - Henderson, 5 - Brown (14 - Ashburn, 61'), 3 - White; 6 - Hicks (15 - Aitken, 70'), 8 - McGrath (16 - Morgan, 45'), 29 - Cole; 7 - Fraser, 9 - Vaughn, 22 - Sheldon

KAN scorers: Yoshida (39')
TMB scorers: Vaughn (54'), Fraser (56'), Cole (60')

Player of the Match: Neil Fraser (TMB)

Tumbra 2-0 Drawkland

Tumbra (4-3-3): 1 - Lennon; 2 - Hughes, 4 - Henderson, 5 - Brown (14 - Ashburn, 66'), 3 - White (19 - Carter, 45'); 6 - Hicks, 8 - McGrath, 29 - Cole; 7 - Fraser (17 - van Heirolf, 73'), 9 - Vaughn, 22 - Sheldon

Drawkland (3-3-4): 7 - Xander; 10 - Keys, 8 - Kingston, 16 - Bakker; 22 - Garnet, 0 - Southers, 2 - Hanson; 17 - Apollo; 11 - Rodney, 1 - Madison, 5 - Hunter

TMB scorers: Hicks (81'), Henderson (90'+3')
DRK scorers: nil

Player of the Match: Harry Henderson (TMB)

SPORT: LIVING ON A PRAYER
KANDORITH 1-3 TUMBRA, TUMBRA 2-0 DRAWKLAND; Joy In Straton And Throughout Nation As Black Eagles Make Up For Past Mistakes With Emphatic Wins; Guaranteed To Go Down To Wire

STRATON - In what has been dubbed the "Miracle on Grass", Tumbra made up the six required points to put them within touching distance of a playoff berth — all against heavily favoured Drawkland and Kandorith sides. The Black Eagles team, which were on the cusp of elimination going into these last three matches, now go into the final day's match against Gyatso-kai. Tumbra has to win and hope that Drawkland lose points against Gyatso-kai; otherwise, Drawkland will squeeze into an already crowded playoff berth which includes the like of Vdara, Trolleborg and Omerica — as well as region-mates South Newlandia and Hampton Island.

Interim manager Peter Gabriel was beside himself after the final whistle at the Drawkland game; afterwards he praised the team and staff for coming through the "extremely difficult run of matches" and coming out with "two wins from two." While adding that "there was still lots to do in the final match, all of [Tumbra] will be proud of the performances the Black Eagles have put in." With one match remaining, and a four-point gap to fourth-placed Kandorith, Tumbra will be guaranteed at least third on the final matchday, even if they fail to progress to the playoffs.

Kandorith 1-3 Tumbra; Three Goals In Six Minutes Moves Tumbra To Striking Distance

Having drawn their previous match goal-less to seventh seeds Garbelia, the mood was reportedly low in the Tumbran camp going into the gauntlet of three crucial matches. Not much was expected against the Lotus Warriors, who had handily beaten Tumbra 4-1 in the return match to begin Tumbra's five-match winless streak; not much was expected from this game, either.

Much of the first half saw Tumbra on the back foot, with Yoburo Yoshida breaking the deadlock with a neat finish past John Lennon; what scant opportunities for the Black Eagles went astray, though Tumbra did have a penalty shout denied when Vaughn went down on the edge of the box near the end of the first half after a brutal tackle by Mori Takayama. A youthful Kandorese squad seemed to be running rings round Tumbra once more; but the key substitution of Craig McGrath for Alan Morgan, who would then play deeper than he normally did, would change the tone and pace of the game.

With two deeper-lying midfielders, Tumbra proved to be adept at turning the flow of the tide; Hicks and Morgan's energy proved to be too much for the Kandorese, whose own midfield trio were placed under more pressure than before. Gabriel's fast press — a Hemmings tactic, adapted for an interim managerial spell — eventually ended up dispossessing Harumi Hamada, beginning the counter as Vaughn began a trademark dribble on the right flank; while the cross would be deflected by goalkeeper Michinori Tamatsuki, and another shot from Phil Cole deflected, Vaughn would be on the receiving end of the second deflection to bury the goal and draw the Tumbrans level.

What followed next was a comeback which has proven to be rather rare on the world stage these days; Neil Fraser would get on the back of a Marcus Sheldon shot which had hit the post and coolly finished from inside the box; while Phil Cole would then head in a Vaughn corner and bound away with leaps of excitement, having just secured a two-goal lead for the Black Eagles. The rest of the match would see Tumbra hold their nerve to keep the Lotus Warriors off; the three points would see Tumbra move up to third, with three games remaining.

Drawkland would win their game against the Juniper Union 3-2, to keep the gap to the playoff spot at four points; the match against Drawkland had now become a must-win game as Kandorith slipped to fourth — and while mathematically still in contention, seeing their hopes slip away.

Tumbra 2-0 Drawkland: Joy, Elation, Tears

Back home for the second seeds, Drawkland would prove another formidable foe; much like the earlier 2-1 loss, the gameplan was to keep the ball close to the ground, where the Drawkians had less of an advantage. Any attempt to play an aerial game would presumably end in a horrid loss, given the Drawkians' sheer height; the game, ultimately, would come down to how well Tumbra could soak up the pressure put onto them by the Drawkians.

In the previous match, Tumbra would collapse after the Drawkians took advantage of the high line employed; today there would be no such repeats, as Gabriel prepared for a long, drawn out battle against the Kick Corps. It worked, for the most part — the established partnership of Henderson and Brown would work in tandem, with Brown letting his experience shine through; the erstwhile defender making a key tackle on striker Nicholas Hunter late on in the first half. While Hunter fell to the ground, the referee ruled in Brown's favour after the consulting VAR; the tackle was shown to be clean.

In a symbolic changing of the guard, Ian Ashburn would come on for Brown after the hour mark, with Brown keen to save his legs for the last game against Gyatso-kai; however, Ashburn would prove to be just as competent as Brown, meaning that the future of Tumbra's defence is in good hands. With such talents as Stephen Kerr, who has proven indispensable in Straton FC's late title charge, at the country's disposal, Tumbra looks set to go from strength to strength in future cycles.

Just after the clock ticked over to the eightieth minute, Vincent Hicks would latch on to a Vaughn cross, bring it down to his feet, and send it sailing past the Drawkian goalkeeper; the 1-0 scoreline would be enough, but would force, if Tumbra and Drawkland were to end the season level on points, a trip down the head-to-head tiebreakers. A search for a second goal, then, would begin; and it would arrive, with yet another corner for the Tumbrans. This corner saw John Lennon abandon his goal to come up for the crucial kick; but it was moot in the end, as 65,000 Tumbrans saw Harry Henderson take the ball to his chest, control it, and boot it past the Drawkian defences to put Tumbra 2-0 up in the dying seconds of the match. The National Stadium erupted in cheers as Henderson sailed away with the decisive goal towards the corner flag; most of his team-mates would follow.

Play would not restart.

Moving Forward

*  Group 1                                   Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts  Last Match
 2 Drawkland                                  17   10   3   4    46   38   +8    33  v Kandorith (H)
 3 Tumbra                                     17    9   5   3    30   24   +6    32  v Gyatso-kai (A)

The Kick Corps decamp to Drawkland for their game against the recently-eliminated Lotus Warriors, who also lost 2-0 to Garbelia; no doubt they will be searching for a win to ease their bruised feelings. Tumbra travels to the Avatarian Republic in Atlantian Oceania to face Gyatso-kai; the previous match was a 1-1 draw.

Tumbra must win their game to ensure progress, and hope that Drawkland lose or draw; should Drawkland lose, a Tumbran draw would also put the Black Eagles through, thanks to Henderson's late goal putting Tumbra ahead according to the tiebreakers. Tumbra's record on the road is 4-2-2, compared to 5-3-1 at home — an overall mixed yet extremely positive record.

Gabriel in his post match conference mentioned he was "incredibly proud" of his team the recovery from the five-match winless streak; and that the "defensive issues faced" had largely been solved. When asked whether he would stay on, or whether he would take on the role permanently, he reacted that it was "extremely rude" to Hemmings, who has spent time away from football due to personal issues; he will return for whichever WCC tournament Tumbra secures a berth for. Gabriel mentioned he would "stay on as assistant manager", while hoping that "Hemmings [would] carry on the good work [Gabriel] set up, defensively."

Hemmings could not be reached for comment — his contract with the TFF runs out after the 30th edition of the Campionato Esportiva, with a lot being placed on his performance there; no doubt, should Hemmings choose not to stay on, or be pushed, a natural successor has been found, despite his reluctance to accept the mantle.

TUMBRAN SQUAD FOR MATCH vs GYATSO-KAI @ STADIUM OF THE REPUBLICS, REPUBLIC CITY, GYATSO-KAI
Starters: 1 - Lennon; 2 - Hughes, 4 - Henderson, 5 - Brown, 3 - White; 6 - Hicks, 8 - McGrath, 29 - Cole; 7 - Fraser, 9 - Vaughn, 22 - Sheldon
Bench: 12 - Addison; 25 - Campbell, 14 - Ashburn, 20 - Paterson, 19 - Carter; 15 - Aitken, 16 - Morgan, 28 - Stansfield, 10 - Herlinger; 17 - van Heirolf, 21 - Cresswood, 11 - Cohen

---

POLITICS: Opinion
Why The Tumbran Football Federation Is Unfit For The Modern Age Of Its Craft

The sight of a giant seaplane in Lakewood Harbour might have shocked many, not used to having such otherworldly sights in their typically idyllic and peaceful harbour. The plane, as it turned out, would contain civilians — but not just any civilians. These civilians were football players, arriving from the Imperium of Squornshelous. Yet, at the same time, they were flanked by officers from the Squornshelan Armed Forces.

The name "Squornshelous" hardly rings a bell in Tumbran foreign policy, which is largely concerned with matters within Esportiva, Rushmore, Atlantian Oceania and the newly christened Anaia region, with a select few nations from other regions also considered close friends, like Omerica and Abanhfleft. Only the most dedicated of foreign policy brains, concerned with issues in the five Pacifics (one original, and one for each of the four cardinal regions) and three Sinker regions (Balder, Osiris and Lazarus) would be familiar with the name. This comes despite the country having had an illustrious history in World Cups of yore, in the days of Liverpool England (before they became Liventia) and an actual Giant Zucchini winning, alongside more familiar names such as Starblaydia and The Holy Empire.

Yet, the Imperium is locked in a bloody civil war with itself. What Squornshelous claims as West Squornshelous is actually a state of dissidents, under the name of the Squornshelous Remnant States. Recent events in their own homeland forced the Squornshelans to have to reschedule their remaining three home games, against Brenecia, Cascadia and Twicetagaria; and from recent events, it transpired that the TFF had offered Trenton Park — home to Lakewood United, and the second biggest stadium in the country — to the Squornshelan team.

Indeed, when news of the regime got out, protests began in Lakewood, but also in front of the TFF headquarters, who have hardly seen a day of peace since the beginning of the World Cup campaign; first with protests against the unequal treatment of women in football, and now the hosting of an authoritarian, downright totalitarian regime; and with rumours that a decision will be handed down regarding TASE v TFF in the upcoming weeks, tension once again threatens to boil over.

Such has been the level of tensions, then, that TFF head Jeremy Bennett has not been seen entering or leaving the TFF HQ; rumours abate that he has either taken to working from home for his own safety, or has been entering the building from other entrances. The TFF itself has remained tight-lipped on the court case; arguments made in the Federal Constitutional Court have also been embargoed from being circulated in the press. It, however, did release a short statement on the hosting of Squornshelan games — stating its belief that sport should continue regardless and outside of the constraints of politics, and that it offering to host Squornshelous was based on a belief that it should finish playing its qualification games. The Imperium so far have drawn 5-5 with Brenecia and won 5-3 against Cascadia in Trenton Park; each of those matches were faced with public protests.

The statement only served to inflame tensions even further, with some on the Tumbran Advocates for Sporting Equality (TASE) calling for the TFF Board's resignation. While originally calling for more representation on the Board, in line with their principles of calling for equality, the message has changed somewhat — some have called the entire TFF board "unsalvageable" from the "deep morass" of corruption, and they should be replaced wholesale. It is not hard to imagine how one arrives at this conclusion — and the Squornshelous Situation may provide the straw that breaks the camel's back.

For it is that the TFF has amassed power so, so much that it has possibly adversely affected other sports wishing to flourish in Tumbra. Cricket, a passion of the southern coast, where temperatures are warmer and the liking for football rather more constrained to the working classes, has been forced to remain on the state level. Gridiron is mainly a passion sport of the universities, with a rogue team competing in the 41st World Bowl; ice hockey came extremely close in the 1990s; yet their bid to go professional, as the Sport of the North, was defeated at the last hurdle. Dark rumours that the TFF swang some votes to "no" as to keep their hold on the sporting scene intact continue to permeate; motor racing nearly suffered a similar fate, but they had someone in the corridors of power to vouch for them.

Has this impacted the progress of sports in Tumbra? Undoubtedly. Will the TFF ever change? It seems not. In a world where sports is increasingly seen as the lifeline that binds the four Sporting Regions together, together with a whole host of others converging under the "Federation of Footballing Independents", the TFF looks increasingly out of place in a world where sentient bears, robots from other planets and others play football on the same pitch; in a similar vein, hermit crabs play lacrosse and marmots play handball. Only allowing men to take the pitch professionally, and hampering the development of other sports, then, in the long run, can only hurt Tumbran sports in the future.

Constant allegations that the TFF itself is a hotbed for corruption and kickbacks blight its reputation; almost seen as a shadow Ministry for Culture, several high-ranking officials have entered Parliament after their terms on the Board, typically as members of the Liberal Party.

The tree of sporting excellence must be refreshed from time to time with the sweat of its athletes; renewal is a constant keyword at all levels of the sport, as humans and non-humans grow and flourish in all levels of sport. It is time, then, for the TFF to be refreshed as well; it has long since been unfit for purpose as merely an administrator of football, and has been left, unchecked, to become the unofficial purveyor of sports in Tumbra — a status it has abused endlessly for the progress of its own ends.

As a new age creeps closer for Tumbran football, a new age must be considered for those running the sport — or, if the rumours are to believed, sports — in Tumbra, too.

[Yue Zhou]

THE BEIYUN COURIER
KANG RUMORS UNSETTLE DRAGONS BEFORE KEY MD18 CLASH
Ying Liang, SPORTS

EQUESTRIA -- After making the knockout rounds of both the Cup of Harmony and the Copa Rushmori, and maneuvering the Dragons into pole position for a playoff spot with just one qualifying match remaining, one might expect Lu Jialan to have a relatively safe grasp over his job. Yet the recent availability of Nangang Royals legend Kang Guilin, and the ensuing rumorpalooza surrounding his potential takeover of the national team post, has apparently "deeply unsettled" Lu and some players on the national team, at what could be a turning point in the team's World Cup Qualification chances. As a result, our reports indicate that Lu is considering leaving after MD18, and the rumors cast a dark cloud over the must-win MD18 clash against Top Two rivals Equestria.

Since replacing the now-fired Yuan Zilai midway through WC87 qualifiers, Lu, the former Beian City and Dynamo Dalian manager, has become known for his tactical pragmatism and problem-solving nous, as well as his willingness to modernize training processes that had remained somewhat static since the late-70s of World Cup qualifiers. And many of the changes he has implemented, as well as his newfound 3-4-2-1 system, have enabled Yuezhou to improve greatly from the disastrous last qualifiers under Yuan. During Lu's first full qualifiers in charge, Yuezhou has notched 31 points, nearly breaking the national record for points per game, and are now on the cusp of a first-ever qualifying playoff, and maybe even a historic first qualification for the Dragons. Key players such as Liu Huiying and Zhu Aiguo have genuinely flourished as well, and all reports from within the national team camp suggest that Lu is popular with a majority of his players.

However, while Lu may have been expecting an extension after his contract expires at the end of the cycle, the recent departure of Kang Guilin from Graintfjall's National Team may be too tempting for the YFA to pass up. Nangang Royals manager for nearly two decades, Kang's appointment to head the Snow Wolves at the beginning of the previous cycle came as a bit of a surprise, although Yueren warmed up to the managerial change with the normalization of relations between Graintfjall and the new United Republics of Yuezhou. Over nearly two full cycles with Graintfjall, Kang was reasonably successful in implementing his counterattacking, modernizing style of play on a team with a reputation as somewhat tactically stolid. However, while a quarterfinals berth in the most recent Cup of Harmony (defeating the Dragons along the way before falling to eventual finalists Eura), Knattspyrnusamband Græntfjalls thought more recent results to be too stagnant, and while minimum expectations were generally met, it was ultimately mutually decided that both parties would move on.

Kang, however, remains a darling of the Nangang political establishment, many of whom are diehard Royals supporters. The team that Kang managed before Graintfjall has become a cultural institution of sorts in the Yue South, which has become more dominant in politics since the conclusion of the Yue Civil War. Additionally, as one of the most celebrated Yue coaches of all time, it's tough to say his appointment wouldn't immediately rejuvenate the team, many of whom look up to him as former Nangang players. However, leaked reports suggesting that the Yue Football Association has already reached out to Kang and offered him a five-year contract with the team have genuinely unsettled Lu Jialan. To add insult to injury, the YFA had suggested when previously refusing to extend Lu a contract extension that the four years he was asking for were too much to commit to any manager.

As a result, Lu is reportedly deeply disappointed with the YFA, and while they will likely be moving on regardless, he has made his displeasure very clear behind the scenes. With players like Liu Huiying and Zhu Aiguo heavily supporting their manager, and making their support clear on social media recently, the Kang rumors have led many players to distrust the YFA. This reflects a major concern with Kang's likely future appointment: that it could come off as Nanhai bias from the YFA, who have so far sought to shed their image as government lapdogs cultivated during the socialist era. But winning heals all wounds as they say, and even if Kang has entered talks with the YFA, it's unlikely that Lu would leave the job if he can lead Yuezhou to a playoff appearance, or better yet, a World Cup.

[Savigliane]

WORLDS AWAY

---

7. ???
307 Rue Saint Laurent, Room 12C
Pitie Commune, Lutetie, Occitania

She wasn't a huge fan of her therapist, a slight, frazzled-looking woman with a hooked nose and thin spectacles. But the therapist was affordable and relatively available whenever some new issue came up, and it was good to get out of the house sometimes anyway. Admittedly, the therapist's office was still in Pitie, so it wasn't too dissimilar to her apartment - poorly lit and dingy, although the office was also confusingly damp for this time of year - but it was still A Different Place, so she did look forwards to the weekly meetings.

"To be honest," the therapist was presently saying, "it's a little disappointing to see this behavior come back. I thought you'd moved past those hallucinations." She was not very good at her job even for the normal clients, so to say she was underequipped to deal with this particular case was an understatement of enormous magnitude.

"This was just so real though," the Savigliana replied. "It wasn't like all the other things I talked about earlier. This one just felt so normal. It was just a football match on the television, but the Blue-and-Reds were back."

"But you said the opponents were a team you'd never seen before," the therapist said pointedly.

"Well, if it was a view into wherever Savigliane are now," she added, persisting despite the therapist's rather unprofessional eye roll, "then surely the other national team wouldn't be a nation I've heard of, right? They looked like a normal football team at least, and I definitely hadn't seen any of the players before."

"We've been over this," replied the therapist. "We have no idea what Savigliane's new reality looks like, if they ever entered one. It could be just like ours, but in a parallel dimension. Or it could be that-"

Her face faded, then flickered back into reality with a commentator's headset- "here's Vatrican, dribbling upfield despite some pressure from Montaña Verde, she runs into a dead end and lays it back to Giraudo, Giraudo harried and he'll go back to the goalkeeper. D'Ambrosio goes long and-"

Then back to the therapist's dull scowl- "in any case, it's just your mind trying to create an ideal reality for Savigliane to inhabit. But it's not real. None of it is-"

back again- "the equalizer! Savigliane have come back from behind with a spectacular Thea Squarciafichi strike!"

She stood up, shocked. She'd never had a vision come back like this before, but while Savigliane was playing a different team, it was clearly the same players for the Swans and different faces on their opponents. Was it just a descent into genuine madness? Or was it real? "I've gotta get another screen," she mumbled, then, stumbling, ran out of what was rapidly becoming a commentary booth.

---

It was pouring outside. It hadn't been too bad on the way there - she'd taken the bus, and had spent very little time in the rain. But in her frenzied run back, there had been no time to wait. Her feet, remembering distant memories of sprinting down the touchline with a ball nestled between them, slapped harshly on the wet pavement as she beelined for anywhere with a television.

She had finally found a small shop with a screen inside, playing a football match - two Occitan teams she didn't particularly care about. She fixated on the screen, feeling neatly-trimmed grass curl into vision around her as the teams flickered into Savigliano red and blue. But something wasn't quite right, it hadn't quite gone all the way over like the television and the therapy session. She heard something faintly in the distance, probably a waiter asking if she wanted a table for one, but she continued to squint at the screen, her homeland flicking in and out of focus.

"Crazy refugee bitch," she heard, so softly and out of mind that she sensed more than heard it. But it was no matter - as long as they didn't kick her out, she was safe. Just as she had tried to last time, she reached a hand out to the screen. Suddenly she felt something pulling back at her, what was in actuality the security staff trying to get her to stop groping at what was a very expensive flat-screen. With a shout and athleticism long-unused, she pulled herself away, trying to leap onto the counter to get a more optimal grasp at it. An arm outstretched, she reached again, and for the briefest of moments made the slightest of contact, her fingertip brushing the #6 on Amara Vatrican's back.

Then she was falling again, through something deep and hard and bottomless, and her last feeling in her reality was one of tremendous peace.

[Eraman]

CHAPTER 11
THE END

I was at Tun's house on the election night. We waited for the election result there that night while once in a while switching to the live broadcast of the match between Eraman and Igratia that happened on the same night.

Although Tun did not contest this time, he still went down to campaign for ENP because he believed that was the only way out for him to save himself from his case. The victory of the opposition will surely land him in jail.

One by one the results were announced. It doesn’t look good for the ENP that has never lost an election since democracy made its way to the country.

That night was very nerve-wracking. Full results were only announced at midnight. In the end, the ENP managed to win the election again with a simple majority but lost in 4 out of 9 state elections.

This is the worst performance of the ENP in the history of Eraman elections which they usually won comfortably.

Before the election, the ENP controlled 2/3 of parliament and 6 of the 7 state governments. Now they are only able to win 60 of the 111 parliamentary seats contested and lost power in 3 more states.

Daula fell. Tun, who before that date was considered always able to defend his home state, finally lost Daula to the opposition.

Aru and Pasir also fell into the hands of the opposition for the first time.

When the full results were announced, Tun ordered everyone to go straight home.

"You bring Suri and everyone back. Don't stop anywhere. I don't want anyone to be injured or worse than that,” Tun's face was serious while ordering me to go home as soon as possible.

I'm worried about Tun's warning. I couldn't sleep that night. I think of course there will be riots everywhere like Anara, Malkan, Haran, and many more where the population is mostly non-Eramanian Malay.

I got the news there were riots in Anara as the opposition who won all the seats in Anara showed dissatisfaction for not being able to capture the administrative center which is also located in Anara.

I turned on the television. I saw sad faces sitting on chairs and accepting defeat. Political commentators discuss how this political tsunami happened and why it will usher in a new era in the Eraman political world.

I woke up in the morning after falling asleep in front of the television. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, made coffee, and turned on the sound on the television that I had silenced last night.

What came out on the television screens was news of the defeat in four states for the ENP but the federal government still belongs to them. I knew all that before I fell asleep.

I was waiting to see who will be the new prime minister.

And finally, a press conference was held at noon. The ENP announced that its deputy president, Rendra Usin will be the new prime minister of Eraman to replace Tun Sengalang Petara.

Only then did I understand what was happening. This is a coup.

Rendra Usin was the former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. The EACC is under the jurisdiction of the Home Ministry. This is a well-planned plot by Rendra to bring down Tun.

Up until today, the public has not heard of the investigation on Tun. A deal has been struck before it was made public.

Tun Sengalang Petara received a knock-out blow by Rendra Usin. Game over. It’s the end of Tun’s political career.

[Barunia]

Breaking News: Barrios Sacked as Suns Coach.
Rafael Barrios has been sacked as coach of the national football team following the team’s recent poor performance in the world cup qualifiers. With just one match left, the Barunia Suns have failed to qualify, sitting 7th in their group with just 19 points. This morning, the NFB formally handed Barrios notice that his services will not be required beyond the next and last game of qualifying. The Sargossan has been in charge of the team since World Cup 85, and in that time has failed to get the team into the tournament proper once. Fans have long been fed up with Barrios, and this cycle calls for his sacking have intensified. The NFB finally conceded after Barunia threw away a strong start to crash to the bottom of the group.

The Sargossan is just the fourth person to coach the Suns, and the second coach to be sacked after his predecessor Adam Johnson. He was also the first foreign coach of the Suns. The NFB have not yet named a successor, but have confirmed that they have opened applications for the position. Applications have been released to the international sports community, indicating Barunia is not done experimenting with foreign coaches just yet. However concerns have been raised about the length of time such an application process may take. Although Cup of Harmony invites have yet to be handed out, the tournament is expected to run concurrently with the World Cup. Should Barunia receive an invite, they will be hard pressed to get a new coach up to speed before the tournament starts.

[Sarzonia]

Woodstock Daily Mail

Mentes fired as Stars manager
Hanifer assumes interim job amid search

From Staff Reports

WOODSTOCK -- Despite Sarzonia closing out its home schedule with a 3-1 victory over Central Shaneville, the Incorporated Football Federation announced it was firing manager Nicola Mentes with one match remaining in World Cup 88 qualifying. Assistant manager Nathan Hanifer, former Sarzonian Under 21 national team manager, will assume the role on an interim basis.

The Stars (4-6-7) have failed to qualify for the World Cup in Mentes' first and only stint as national team manager. Sarzonia returned to World Cup qualifying after declining to send a team to compete for World Cup 87.

"We thank Mr Mentes for his dedication and service to the team; however, we believe the team underperformed and we feel the need for the team to hear a different voice at the top," said Incorporated Football Federation Chairman Zack Wilson. "This isn't a personal reflection on Nicola, but the results haven't been anything near what we'd hoped."

Mentes said he was "disappointed, but not surprised" at the decision to fire him.

"I didn't think Sarzonians liked to fire people," he said. "But that said, we lost points in matches where we should have gotten them and the results speak for themselves. I want to thank the players, the staff, and the administration for taking a chance on me and I wish them well."

Mentes's tenure began promisingly enough when he guided the Stars to a semifinals appearance in AOCAF 61, but the IFF decided to withdraw Sarzonia from World Cup 87 qualifying after Ethane and Taeshan were awarded the World Cup. Wilson and the IFF Board of Governors cited "irregularities" in the Taeshani operation of Quidditch World Cup 10 as reasons for withdrawing. Sarzonia declined to send a team to the 10th World Volleyball Expo after Taeshan announced its intention to host. Sarzonia's ice hockey team also withdrew when Taeshan were announced as World Cup of Hockey 41 hosts.

However, some fans were angered when Mentes announced Paolo Gomes as the starting goalkeeper in favour of Carlton Sandt, the younger brother of World Cup 22 hero Horace Sandt. The decision divided the fan base, and even Gomes suffering a torn ACL and resulting in Sandt returning to the job did nothing to quell the anger among the pro-Sandt camp. None of the players would go on record, but one said on condition of anonymity that he thought Mentes was "predisposed" to start Gomes instead of Sandt and did a "poor fucking job" of communicating his reasons to the players.

"I don't owe you an explanation," he said Mentes told the team and him after announcing the decision.

Hanifer said Gomes was still "a few months away" from football activity, but said Sandt would have been his choice to start.

"Nicola felt Gomes showed better mobility than Sandt and he felt that was important," he said. "I didn't agree with him about his reasoning, but that was his decision and it was my job as an assistant to support him."

Sarzonian women's national team manager Brenda Allison will assume interim assistant manager duties until Sarzonia hires a permanent replacement for Mentes and Hanifer.

Wilson said Hanifer would receive consideration for the full-time managerial role, but added that Allison was "fully committed" to the women's national team. And with the Jenna Raven Cup coming up, Allison would have her hands full with that competition when it starts following the Cup of Harmony.

Wilson added that Sarzonian over-35 national team manager Tyrone Manningham was not under consideration for the managerial role.

"He said no," Wilson said. "I tried to talk him into applying, but he said he wanted no part of the role."

[Eshialand]

Spoiler? I Barely Even Know Her!
Savojarna 4 - 3 Eshialand

This RP will be told from Coach Morgan's perspective.

The conversation on the plane to Savojarna was going to be a hard one indeed, as elimination hit the Owls like a truck. Their usually perky spirits had been absolutely broken, and there seemed to be no fixing them.

"Look, I know it's been hard, but--"
Melissa Carey: "...but there's always next year?"
"Exactly! There's always next year, and we can come back--"
George Habisbrauer: "...better next time?"
"Bingo! We'll never be out forever, because we have--"
Jacob Harran: "...that special kind of never-give-up energy?"
"Okay, that's just getting creepy."
JH: "We've all heard it before. You're just spitting back every single cliché in the book, and it isn't working."
"Then maybe I'll have to convince you to try another way... I'll tell you why your performance really hasn't been that bad."
Sarah Silver: "You can't convince us of something that isn't true. That won't work on us."

"Oh really? I'll give it my best shot then. I remember first getting the call from the king over six months now. He wanted to field a team for the World Cup, and he needed someone to get 23 players in time for the Baptism of Fire, which was only two weeks away at that point.

"I really don't know why he selected me to be the coach instead of someone from a more soccer-inclined nation, I really don't. I honestly didn't think any team I could assemble could be any good at all. I would've been proud of even one point in the Baptism, and even staying together for the World Cup.

"I found you all in my search, and I still wasn't sure how it would go. My hopes were as low as they could possibly be, but when I saw you training for the tournament, for the first time, I actually thought you could make a good team.

"What I still wasn't sure about was my abilities as your coach. I doubted my ability to lead you to anything, to inspire you to greatness, and to keep myself from going crazy.

"In the Baptism, I was shocked beyond belief when you made it to the playoffs, and I really didn't think you'd get out of the quarterfinals, but do you remember what happened instead?"

Dominique LaPlante: "We won?"

"You're dang right you won! You showed the world who you were, and again, I couldn't be prouder of you.

"Now sure, World Cup Qualifying hasn't been the greatest, but you all keep surprising me every single match, for all the right reasons. I'm proud of you, no matter what. Now, how about you show Savojarna who's boss?"

Everybody: "YEAH!"

Savojarna - 4 (Smolov 18', Jashkin 26', Smolov 59', Maersk© 76')
Eshialand - 3 (Carroll 31', Harran 48', Habisbrauer 85')

Oh, well, that wasn't the best... at least George got a goal?

---

"Hello and welcome back to ENN Tournament Report, I'm your host Josh Seametzle. So Matchday 16... let's just get to the matches..."

Lisander 5 - 5 Squornshelan Remnant States
"Once again, SRS draws another match that really shouldn't have been a draw, which doesn't really help their qualifying hopes..."

Hebitaka 0 - 1 The 14 Stars
"I'm not really too sure what I was expecting from that match to be perfectly honest."

Savojarna 4 - 3 Eshialand
"Oh look, we lost again, whoop-de-doo..."

Pluvia and the Saxean Isles 0 - 1 Vilita
"That was pretty easy to see coming..."

Sendhang 0 - 0 Devonta
"And once again, it really is impossible to predict what Sendhang might do next! I see why you all like them so much!"

Atheara 0 - 0 Electrum
"If you're keeping track, that's four clean sheets in a row for Atheara! They're really back!"

"Let's look on the bright side: Eshialand's next match is against Hebitaka, a team that has proven capable of handing us clutch wins in the past. Until then though, I've been Josh Seametzle, and you've been watching Tournament Report."

[Montana Verde]

Montaña Verde – 2 (1)
Dolfo; Castiglione, Arquímedes (74’) (78’), Jairo (65’), Justin (53’); Edgar (31’) (55’ Julia Varela ); Cristo Díaz, Bregmann; Primitivo; Thiago Montilla (68’ Naomí Berrocal (70’)), Osito (12’) (73’ Páez )

Savigliane – 3 (2)
Squarciafichi (27’), Toscani (43’), Bella (85’)

---

Legalidad – 1 (0)
Mandella (90’)

Montaña Verde – 3 (2)
Dolfo; Castiglione (40’ Roberta ), Moreau, Jairo (60’) (90+1’ Tafalla ), Mallén; Valentinha; Emma, Kristjana (25’ Sara Ariadna (47’ pen.) (84’)); Julia Varela; Thiago Montilla (1’), Osito (42’)

Missing their captain and his replacement (Edelberto and Arquímedes, suspended), best player (Justin, injured), key playmaker (Primitivo, injured) and both defensive midfielders (Ana-Ximena and Edgar, injured), and losing right-back Castiglione and midfielder Kristjana to injuries mid-game, the Condors somehow managed to pull off the greatest win in the country’s history. The 3 – 1 victory over Legalidad lifted the spirits of a team that has failed to find their groove this tournament, and gave them just their 4th victory.

The omens were not good, with Primitivo the biggest casualty. The midfielder has emerged as the brightest star of the Condors this campaign, but failed a fitness test along with Justin, the team’s biggest name. With Edgar having picked up a knock against Savigliane, Arquímedes’s red card ruling him out, the only non-forced change was Emma, brought in for Cristo Díaz, but it was still a substantially below-strength side.

Worse, they were coming off a dispiriting home defeat to Savigliane. The inability of the Condors to win at home has been particularly marked this campaign, giving fans in Santa Margarita little to cheer about, and after a bright start with Osito’s early goal giving them the lead, they surrendered to a Thea Squarciafichi thunderbolt, after which Savigliane took the lead and cancelled out Naomí Berrocal’s own equalizer with a late winner.

Julia Varela, given the stiff task of replacing Primitivo, was the architect of the famous win, and the team started brightly to score within 80 seconds through Thiago Montilla. Fantasy turned to genuine hope on the 42 minute mark, with Osito continuing his strong goal scoring form. 2 minutes into the second half the rout was complete as Thiago Montilla won a penalty which Sara Ariadna duly converted to jubilation from the visiting fans. Mandella’s late strike spoiled the impressive Dolfo’s clean sheet but did nothing about the result.

Squad update: Replacements Emma and Valentinha looked strong and will play in the final consolation match against Península Antártica Central. Primitivo and Justin are expected to remain out but Edelberto will return. Roberta and Sara Ariadna can also be expected to feature in what will be one of the most female-heavy teams the Condors have featured (though not heavy-females: Ana-Ximena remains injured).

[Atheara]

How To Keep Up With The Pace

Type: Game Review, Fun Fact
Time: After Matchday 16 and 17

---

Atheara 0 - 0 Electrum
None / None

Deniria 2 - 1 Atheara
Unknown (34' ; 56') / Ivan Yesterov - Rukovic (18')

A draw and a loss, this means we finish 9th. No ups or downs, this was too expected of a result. Deniria can't catch up on points even if we lost to them, and we can't catch up to Eastfield Lodge. But i still gotta ask, how in the twenty four hells are we still losing to Deniria? The shit is rigged against us, we don't have their roster or any national information! The team is playing the unknown at this point! We should also prepare against the spanking against Eastfield Lodge... unless we somehow pull off an upset to end the Qualifiers then i guess this was a decent run.

Not only that, we will be attending the Party hosted by Valentine Z after the WCQ. I should say i would be at home to help prepare to fix the broken studio that Nazer had left me as a memory. But there isn't really much to analyze, eh? I mean the match against Electrum ended in a scoreless draw and we lost to Deniria yet again. Maybe i could scramble something up to keep your attention, but i can't. BUT OH WAIT A MINUTE, YES I CAN! Here is how you pronounce our Groupmates in Athearan! Never told ya, huh?

Valanora - It's funny, because there is no change on how you pronounce "Valanora" in Athearan. The name also fits the bases pf the Athearan Language, so is there anything to say about it?

Abanhfleft - Due to how you normally pronounce it, "Abanhfleft" is spelled out as "Abenflef" which sounds German if you ask me but don't dare you say it. But if you pronounce it as "Abahnfleft" then you say it as "Abahenflef" which still sounds German.

Electrum - In English, the name makes a bit of a sense. But in Athearan, it does not. You spell "Electrum" as "Elekchrum" i think. Hey i am not that good at writing Athearan, so bear with me. This is according to the Professionals.

Mytanija - The only change is the "My" part, so not much. It just transforms from "Mytanija" to "Mitanija" Not much else to say on this one.

Adab - Absolutely no changes on the name. I mean, literally. You write it out as "Adab" and it's going to be fine. Don't worry.

Geektopia - A bit difficult to write this name in Athearan. Basically you have to change almost the entire damn thing. So you have to write "Geektopia" as "Giktowpiya" which sounds and seems like Polish but what else can i say?

The Grearish Union - Oh boy, where do i start? The official name for Grearish is quite long, so i might as well cut it short for everyone to not suffer the pain of writing it. "The Grirish Yuniyon" is how you write it, a bit suspicious on the "Y"'s though.

Eastfield Lodge - Must i keep talking this much? I guess. But to be fair, Eastfield Lodge is no easy name to write properly. You write it out as "Istfilde Loje" which also confuses me sometimes. But i am mixed with Burmese descent so i get a pass.

Deniria - Not much change as well, just the end of it. Change it from "Deniria" to "Deniriya" and you will be good here.

Anyways now is time to prepare the spanking against Eastfield Lodge, so see you all later...

[Starblaydia]

OOC: Meant to post this on the previous matchday, but didn't quite have the time to go through such a nine-goal thriller!

Fëanáro's Got Six Appeal
Starblaydia in the driving seat as records tumble

TIKARIOT CITY, TIKARIOT: Starblaydia made it a nine game unbeaten streak in Qualifying after their victory against Tikariot, thanks to coming out on the sunny side of a spectacular nine-goal thriller just days after putting Gouvanarch to the sword by six goals. The goal fest has seen Ázëwyn Fëanáro's side score their 800th goal of her tenure, as well as increasing the all-time goal difference of the side to above 2,000. Since Matchday ten and Starblaydia's loss to Tikariot in the Stadii Di Bradini, the team in white and purple have won seven and drawn two in an an unbeaten run that has put them firmly in control of Group 11 with three games to go.

The win over Gouvanarch, coming off the back of a 3-3 draw in Wight, was an absolute demolition, something coach Aaron Cole described as "almost the perfect game". Jewel Maddison had already won the game single-handedly with a first half hatrick - one poacher's goal from a corner, one from range and the third from the penalty spot - before Damocles, Sargent and Galdarhim chimed in with goals of their own to complete the route. The crowd at the Starblaydi national stadium was thoroughly entertained by the display, going home with smiles on their faces and songs in their hearts.

The Tikariot game, however, was absolutely breaktaking and left the better part of a hundred thousand people in the stadium, along with billions watching around the world, with a simple thought: Football, bloody hell.

When Starblaydia visited Tikariot for a pre-Qualifying friendly, no-one knew that the two sides would be drawn together almost immediately as two of the favourites to progress from Group 11. The 2-1 victory for Starblaydia was met with a friendly atmosphere, where the pre-game Thunder Clap was one of fun and inclusion, the rhythm of the Raiigar matched to its beat, with intimidation tactics taking a back seat to the exhibition match to mark the first meeting of the two sides. Now, however, the Thunder Clap tradition was intense and overpowering, completely mismatching and drowning out the beat that Jewel Maddison was desperately trying to have her players chant in time to. The eleven players in all-white kits were a very, very small pinprick of white, entirely surrounded by a sea of black shirts, scarves and signs. There was no place for any of the Gang of Four, Starblaydi players who plied their trade in Tikariot, in the starting lineup. This was the strongest side possible, listed from 1 to 11, who immediately knew that they had a job on their hands and a benchmark to beat.

That benchmark, however, was 'a great team'.

The roar from the Thunder Clap was sustained throughout the opening minutes, as what initially seemed like an under strength Snowy Owls team showed their determination and physicality from the outset. Stuart Ekstrom's game plan seemed to be one to disrupt the Starblaydi players and their presumed greater technique, keeping the game tight and play broken. The initial assault was one that the visitors were evidently not prepared for, as within sixty seconds Jardel Connolly flashed a shot across Ruby Narvaez's goalmouth. It would prove to be the only warning shot Starblaydia would get. Ten minutes later, Xasthur Fredriksson outmuscled Claire Stephenson by the corner flag to win the ball, and immediately sent it a low, curling cross that saw Connolly hold off the presence of Vincenzo Bernini to divert the cross and tuck the ball in at the far post, sending the net rippling. The chorus of Tikariotian fans spurred their team on, and less than five minutes later the home side were suddenly 2-0 up. This time Connolly repaid the favour to Fredriksson, holding up the ball in the centre of the area before laying it off to the onrushing Fredriksson, who burst free into the penalty area and smashed the ball into the net, with Narvaez getting a touch but needing stronger wrists to deflect the ball anywhere other than into the net. Starblaydia were absolutely stunned, but if there's one thing that Ázëwyn Fëanáro's side have learned, it's to never give up. Tikariot's rough-and-tumble style was veering close to foul play, and when just two minutes later, Sam Roshanak was brought down on one of his side's few attacking excursions into the opposing half, Jewel Maddison stepped up to marshal the free kick. As she pointed and shouted at her players, gesturing at the wall and yelling at the referee that they weren't the requisite distance away from the kick, Hayden Shepherd played the ball sneakily past the wall for Roshanak to collect, turn and fire home in one fluid movement.

The air suddenly seemed to come out of the stadium as the visiting Starblaydi fans celebrated, a minor scuffle developing as Andreas Sargent tried to grab the ball to take back to the centre circle. The little bit of shoving served to wake the home crowd back up from their shock of letting such a cheekily-worked set piece make it 2-1. The Snowy Owls were still leading the game, however, but there was a very long way to go before this scoreline could be seen out. Starblaydia had pulled one back so much against the run of play in the opening stages that it almost seemed unfair, and was certainly undeserved. The rest of the half was a nervy, back and forth affair as Starblaydia tried to deal with the intense, all-action play from the home side, while never really getting their foot on the ball to set the tempo they wanted. It was a long, tough and end-to-end half an hour before the referee signaled the break, but 2-1 it remained.

For Stuart Ekstrom's team it had been hard work, and a number of them came off breathing heavily, something the stats watchers would note later was that all three Snowy Owls midfielders, Fredriksson and Chitwick were were at the top of the distance covered rankings for the first half. They'd covered a lot of ground to keep Starblaydia at bay, while the team in white and purple had, for the most part, let the ball do the hard yards.

The second half opened much as the first, with Starblaydia content to keep the ball and probe for openings, while the Tikariotian players were on a mission to press, close down and harass Starblaydia's possession at every opportunity. It all proved somewhat too much for the striker leading the first line of defence, however, as goalscorer and provider Jardel Connolly was replaced by the presumed main man in the form of Jesson Morrison as an outlet up front. Almost immediately, however, Ekstrom decided to make a snap-substitution. Young Fraser Chitwick, who had been chasing Andreas Sargent up and down the pitch for an hour, slid in with a tired, clumsy challenge that brought down the Metropola Borotradwide man in a heap of flailing limbs. The referee immediately brandished a yellow card, and Chitwick was hauled off during the break in play, replaced by the usual left back, Jean-Aniel Sirois. Sargent, too, had to come off, limping his way around the outside of the field as one of the Gang of Four, Terry Stamper, came on to replace him.

Stamper's reception for his name being announced was quite different to the friendly match before Qualifying, as the pleasant welcome for a player known locally was replaced by a rather more hostile one for a competitive opponent. He immediately put himself into the mix, though, and as the free kick came in from out wide, it was Stamper who managed to flick it on at the near post, diverting it perfectly into the path of Jewel Maddison, who tapped in at the far post to level the scores at 2-2. The next ten or so minutes could only be described one way: ridiculous.

One Starblaydia had stopped celebrating their equaliser, Tikariot got back to the hard yards. With two fresh players, the new pairs of legs drove hard at the team in white, benefiting from the accurate passes sprayed around by Parris Langley. The Anhedron Wanderers midfielder started to really pull the strings, and his favourite outlet was the young wunderkind Morris Nighthorse. After five minutes, Tikariot had taken the lead for a second time, with Langley's through ball unleashing Nighthorse, who blasted it first time from the edge of the area and managed to find the top corner past the despairing dive of Narvaez to light up the home fans once more. Just two minutes later, however, that joy suddenly turned to disbelief as a great turn by Sam Roshanak left Clement McIlroy for dead, allowing the Farfadillis-based forward to surge down the unprotected left. The move stretched the centre backs, and as Faizullah was dragged wide to cover, there was suddenly space in the middle for Starblaydia's top striker, Lucian Damocles, to wander into and be in the perfect place to receive the low square ball, turning and sidefooting the ball past Merson in goal as Starblaydia equalised for the second time in the match to make it 3-3. The fun and games hadn't stopped there, however, as almost directly from the resulting kick-off, having made just eight passes, Langley again set Nighthorse through, this time directly down the middle of Hoyt and Bernini, and the 20 year old skipped around Narvaez to slot the ball into the empty net. It was 4-3, and the home fans were in raptures.

It didn't last long, however.

Just four minutes later, Starblaydia's never-say-die attitude proved itself once more, as they equalised for a third time. Maddison's fine passing and an Andvar Galdarhim overlap down the outside past the flagging Parris Langley gave Starblaydia the advantage on the overload. The ball was quickly pinged from right to left across the edge of the penalty area, and on the end was Sam Roshanak to fire it back across the face of goal and slam off the inside of the far post straight into the net. The Starblaydi fans went absolutely wild, and at 4-4 with twenty minutes remaining, it felt like a case of 'next goal wins' in the dying moments, but there was still a quarter of the game to play. Langley was subbed off, receiving a warm reception as Vainionpää came on to replace him. The game, which had been in-your-face action for the majority of the last hour and more, suddenly got tense and nervy. Passes were misplaced, tempers flared, and neither team seemed to be able to take the game by the scruff of the neck and put the other to the sword. It was as if all the adrenaline had already been used up by the twenty two on the field, and the crowd, too, were exhausted. Not too tired, though, to try and push their team all the way. The Snowy Owls fans encouraged their players as much as they could, cheering them on in between biting fingernails and starting chants that soon broke down when things got nervous.

It was enough to push their team on in the Starblaydi half, forcing saves from Narvaez and winning corner after corner. As both centre-backs, Coronello and Faizullah, came up to lend their presence to the kicks, the ball was swung in by Vainionpää. Leaping through a sea of bodies, Ruby Narvaez caught the corner firmly in two hands, and before she'd even landed, she knew what was going to happen. With a single step, she whirled her right arm like a windmill and launched the ball forward. It was taken up by Claire Stephenson on the left-hand side, who was totally free to sprint forward. As full-backs came to cover the swift attack, she spotted the movement of Sam Roshanak. Staying barely onside in his own half when the ball was played over the top, Roshanak surged onwards with everything he had left in the tank. Sirois chased after him, right on his heels, but as the Starblaydi forward knocked the ball forwards, he had the upper body strength to hold off the Tikariot City FC defender. The Starblaydi crowd were on their feet, urging their star on, while the home fans could only watch in horror as Roshanak made it to the edge of the area. Just at the moment that Brian Merson committed himself, Roshanak struck with a curling drive that simply flew into the net.

The celebrations were loud enough as if from a home crowd, as an exhausted Roshanak slid on his knees in front of the travelling fans section with a roar, and it was several seconds before any players caught up with him, but he was soon buried under the entire team, substitutes included. There was very little time left, there was very little energy left. There also seemed like very little will left. Starblaydia had come from behind three times, from 2-0 down, to level the game and take the lead, finally, with mere minutes left in the match. As much as the home crowd tried to urge their players on to equalise for themselves, it was obvious the dream was slipping away. It ended 5-4, with elation and disappointment in equal measure.

"If this team manages to achieve what we think they can achieve," said Ázëwyn Fëanáro of her side after the game, "then we can point to tonight and know where it all started. The Dhaencunor Arena is where we've proved we can come back against a great side, and there's no need for us to fear anyone in the world right now."

Next up is the last double header of Qualifiers, as Starblaydia host Lorrana before their final away trip overseas to Pratapgadh. With only two points currently separating them from Kohnhead at the top of the Group 11, it's still perfectly possible for Starblaydia to win both matches and still not have sealed a qualification. Kohnhead will face, however, Darmen and Pratapgadh, so the fate of the group could still yet be decided before the final Matchday. If both teams at the top keep wining, however, the Stadii Di Bradini will host Michael White's Brains in a match to decide who tops the group, and who has to run the gauntlet of the second place finishers, their playoffs and auto-qualifications. With the surge of Starblaydi confidence and Tikariot still snapping at Kohnhead's heels, however, it could be down to Starblaydia to do the Snowy Owls a favour and help lift them to the all-important second spot.

Final score from Dhaencunor Arena, Tikariot City (84,000)
Tikariot 4 - 5 Starblaydia
(Connolly 12, Fredriksson 17, Nighthorse 64 & 67) - (Roshanak 19, 71 & 87, Maddison 59, Damocles 66)

[HUElavia]

The Final Chance

Favorable Results for HUElavia in their and other matches sets up for a final chance to Qualify for the World Cup Playoffs.

Delaclava 2-6 HUElavia
(REDACTED 18', REDACTED 84' | Pujals 10', Togoshi 15', 34', Yamane 50', 80', Di Stefano 77)

HUElavia 2-1 Txakhaxi
(Ezwa 72', Braz-Bittencourt 89' | Sakhakhai 49')
(Cog Stadium, Caghia)

Ko-oren 3-0 HUElavia
(Erisia 30', 48' (P), Odgers 68')
(Stade sur la Baie, Aminey)

HUElavia 4-2 Barunia
(Sol 32', Mantovani-Jardim 42', Navarro 69', Hamada-Navarro 85' | Swan 22', 80')
(Estadio Costeiro, HUEsilia)

Coming into Matchday 14, HUElavia was in contention for the Playoffs, but facing an uphill battle. Down at least 6 points, they needed to see Ko-oren, Vdara, and Frestovenia go through a monumental collapse in order to have a strong chance, all while HUElavia had to win matches. Certainly enough, such was the case. Frestovenia went through a massive collapse, losing 3 of 4 matches, while Vdara also dropped points. HUElavia hit the right points, and got 3 wins out of 4, losing only to Ko-oren, 3-0, in their worst defeat in the qualifiers.

Despite the results, and Ko-oren securing direct qualification, there is still possibilities for Vdara, HUElavia and Frestovenia to make the Playoffs. For starters, HUElavia holds the head-to-head results over Vdara (Split Series, +2 GD for HUElavia in matches) and Frestovenia (HUElavia swept the series). Between Vdara and Frestovenia, they split the series, and will be resolved through their own Goal Differences.

Thus, these are the scenarios for qualification into the Playoffs:

Vdara- Win vs Barunia, Draw vs Barunia AND HUElavia & Frestovenia do not win their matches (Draw or Loss), or Lose vs Barunia AND HUElavia & Frestovenia lose their matches.

HUElavia-- Win vs Aut-Ves-Nat AND Vdara Draw or Lose vs Barunia, Draw vs Aut-Ves-Nat AND Vdara Lose vs Barunia AND Frestovenia Draw or Lose vs ZSeparatists

Frestovenia- Win vs ZSeparatists AND Vdara lose or draw vs Barunia AND HUElavia lose or draw vs Aut-Ves-Nat

Due to the accumulated points, the 2nd Placed team will make the Playoffs, likely as one of the lower seeds. In what has been a brutal campaign filled with surprises and twists and turns, surely enough this will be worth the final matchday, where the winner takes a playoff spot.

HUElavia will wear the Home Uniform with the A-Team playing, with Ramos in goal and Navarro as the captain. The fans will be flocking to Aut-Ves-Nat, possibly taking up 50% of the stadium capacity for the match. It may just be a "home" match for Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos. The Match will be broadcasted Nationally on HBC, with two small boxes on the bottom corner following the scores and time of Vdara vs Barunia and Frestovenia vs ZSeperatists. Occasionally, a table will pop up to show where the teams are in the standings, subject to change based on goals being possibly scored during the matches. The fans hope and pray that HUElavia can pull off this comeback and make it to the Playoffs, after what has been a challenging campaign. The team trains with intensity and determination, wanting to keep the World Cup dream alive for this cycle. Here's to what can be a passionate finale in Group 8.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Busoga Islands]

National team striker Artem Kohut, lining up for an 88th minute penalty against West Zirconia

West Zirconia was in last place in the group entering Matchday 16, but that did not mean they were not going to give the Busoga Islands all sorts of fits in our chase for our first ever World Cup berth. The Islanders struggled to a 0-0 draw against this very West Zirconia squad on Matchday 7, on their home field in Dukuma. While Busoga controlled a lot of possession that game, the Islanders simply did not have the firepower to break down their opponents.

The Islanders, however, would take the game to their hosts in the reverse leg. Alexander Bumba knew that, considering Busoga was in pole position entering this matchday, a win was absolutely necessary. Well, maybe not absolutely- but earning points was the only way that the Islanders would control their own destiny. So he devised a gameplan that reflected this- flying forward early, and then trying to put them on the back foot. West Zirconia's specialty was counter-attacking, however. A dangerous gameplan? Yes. But Bumba knew there was always danger. If he wanted to push this team over the line, he'd have to take those risks.

Kohut had two early opportunities to take the lead. A 5th minute header, too soon in the game, saw Kohut head a contested header well over the goal. And in the 8th minute, he struck wide with his left foot. But the gameplan was working- Islanders players flowing forward, keeping the pressure on the opponents. But West Zirconia's counter-attacking ability soon shined through. An interception by Connor French saw the home side's captain play Mark Heath through behind the defense, and the striker chipped the ball over the head of Mustafa Taal and into the back of the net. 1-0 to the host side.

So although the Busogans had the better run of it so far, it had been West Zirconia who had taken the early lead. But Busoga did not get discouraged. Stuck to the plan, and got two more before halftime. A 30th minute goal from Cicek Aga, and a 43rd minute header from Kasekende Jr. to make the score 2-1, in favor of the Islanders, by halftime. We'd have to scrap through- but surely, a winnable match, even in front of this hostile crowd.

The second half, the Islanders tried to hunker down and defend the 2-1 lead. Goal differential didn't matter- a win was a win. And they mostly did. But all West Zirconia would need was one opportunity, and they got one. A very controversial foul call on Hassan Thiaw, on the edge of the box, saw us give up a 72nd minute penalty. Tom Adamson stepped up to bury the penalty, and that made the score 2-2. Busoga pushed and pushed forward, trying to find a winner. Did not want a draw- wanted a winner.

And that was where Kohut stepped up. A Servet Ornet shot that went right into the arm of defender Andy Newby. A clear yellow. A clear penalty. And who else to take the penalty but Artem Kohut in the 88th minute?

"Artem, you've gotta bury this one." Mohammed Gassama said to him. "You're the best in the business."

"I got this, Mo." Artem said confidently. And a few of his teammates said that to him as the tensions built as the referee checked VAR. As the referee blew his whistle and confirmed the penalty call, the nerves came to him. Behind the goal was the Busogan away fan section. He looked straight at them, as many said their prayers and starting biting their nails and chanting his name. The savior of Busogan football.

As Kohut put the ball down, he stared the goalkeeper in the eyes. The Delaclav/Busogan dual-national had taken quite a journey to get to this point. Finding out he was Busogan. Losing faith in the Delaclava FA to truly ever mount a World Cup run, and filing the paperwork to switch his allegiance. He'd already scored so many goals during Qualifying- but could this be the biggest one yet? As the referee blew his whistle, Kohut ran up. He looked at the corner, put his head down, and smashed his right foot through the ball. He looked up, hoping to hear an explosion of noise in front of him from the visiting fan section.

Instead, he saw his worst nightmare. The ball went wide. It's not that the goalkeeper even got near it- but Kohut went to his left, and he kicked it to the left of the goal. Missed the frame. Kohut hung his head. The score would stay 2-2, the perfect opportunity to make it 3-2, gone. He simply jogged back to the field of play. Still- a tragic moment.

---

The Busoga Chronicle
The Islands #1 News Source!

Four points from two games leaves Busoga with one more chance to clinch top 2 slot


Fans at a sold out Lakiska City Cricket Park

LAKISKA, SOUTH ISLAND- The trip to West Zirconia was always going to be a difficult one. They had successfully befuddled us in the first leg that we played them in, and now we had them in a second leg. WE could not improve upon our performance against them on our own home field, however, as we battled to a 2-2 draw. Artem Kohut had a chance at a winner in the 88th minute, when he took the potential game winner from the penalty spot. He, however, hit wide, and could not give our nation the lead.

Fortunately, we did improve upon our away performance against Ancherion. It was a special atmosphere at Lakiska City Cricket Park. The President in attendance. Standing room only past capacity, 55,000+ crammed into the stadium in the Busogan capitol. We scored twice in the first 10 minutes, as Kohut scored in the 3rd minute, while Mohammed Gassama scored in the 10th minute of the match. That was enough, as we held on for a 2-1 victory. And even then, the scoreline looks closer than the game was- they bent in a free kick in the 6th minute of second half stoppage time, in what was essentially the final kick of the match. It mattered goal differential wise, but not in terms of the scoreboard.

Where does that put us? In second place, with 34 points. Behind Pasarga on goal differential, as the Pot 1 side and, for the first time all campaign, group leaders, have a +16 goal differential, while we have a +14 one. If you would have told me going into the group that Pasarga would lead after 17 matchdays, I would have shrugged and said of course. The journey? A perilous one for the Wanderers. But they control their own destiny, and barring a real shocker on Matchday 18(possible!), they should win the group on Saturday night.

For us, we're in a different spot. We have 34 points. St. Trinians, who hold the tiebreaker on us, have 31 points. Ethane and Ancherion are eliminated. Our final game? A visit to the Freeport Isles. Their final game? A home game against a struggling Grandistania side. Although, of course, that Grandistania side beat St. Trinians on Matchday 9. And thank heavens for that- or else we'd be in real trouble in a 3 way tie right now between us, Pasarga, and St. Trinians.

If Pasarga wins, functionally speaking, they're likely to win the group. And their final opponent is Gatchingerrak Union at home. GGU beat them in the last leg, of course, but they're unlikely to beat Pasarga twice. So between us and St. Trinians. If St. Trinians does what is expected of them and picks apart Grandistania, that leaves us in an interesting spot. If we lose and St. Trinians wins, St. Trinians goes to the playoffs and we go to the Cup of Harmony. If we draw or win, regardless of what happens in the St. Trinians match, we go to the playoffs and they go to the Cup of Harmony.

That's the same country where a riot at the stadium literally saw Sarika Birla take a bullet for her country. It'd be disgraceful if we lost our playoff spot to them on the final day of the season. So plenty of incentive there. And meanwhile- Freeport looks to be ready to be packed with Busogan fans. Rumor has it that Busogan fans are buying tickets on the secondary market in droves. Screw fan segregation- considering the stakes, and how close Freeport is, expect Busogan fans to be everywhere on Saturday night. A red and white takeover. But we're going to need just one more result to stay alive. Can we get that result necessary to make a World Cup Qualifying playoff for the first time since World Cup 83?

Moneyline Odds Guide
Betting Odds- Finish first in World Cup Qualifying Group 16
Pasarga: -150
Busoga Islands: +50
St. Trinians: +1250

Betting Odds- Finish Top 2 in World Cup Qualifying Group 16(whether nation finishes first or second is irrelevant)
Pasarga: -2000
Busoga Islands: -50
St. Trinians: +125

Betting Odds- Nation to finish second in World Cup Qualifying Group 18
Yuezhou: +25
Equestria: +50
New Lusitania: +50
Le Choix: +250

Betting Odds- Nation to win World Cup Qualifying Group 17
Brenecia: -100
Twicetagria: +150

Betting Odds- Nation to finish second in World Cup Qualifying Group 14
South Newlandia: +50
Ranoria: +75
Qasden: +175

[Zwangzug]

When the schedule had been released, lots of fans had booked tickets for the Matchday Eighteen encounter against the fourth seeds. There were people who lived near the Rackham Range for whom it would be a comparative "home game," people who wanted to witness the "Sentients" for themselves, and people who had projected how close the group was likely to be and suspected there would be something important for one or both sides to play for. It was that third group who, in a couple cases, had quickly attempted to exchange their tickets when the time came around.

National team players, of course, had a small supply of tickets to give away to their loved ones for home games. It was in such a favored vantage points, in the middle of the lower deck, where Jesse McWhorter came early, spreading his arm wide in exaggerated tour-guide mode. His father, Jerome, was wearing a replica McWhorter jersey, while his mother, Amythyst, had a black-and-white scarf. Behind them, unhurried, was Samuel.

"Um," said Jesse, awkwardly. He was never at a loss for words when it came to yapping at the referee, but this was different. "Yeah, enjoy the game? I'll meet you at the monorail."

"Hey," said Samuel, which could have been a hey, I have some interesting tactics to suggest against the Mixer or a hey, you better not think you're going to leave me here with Mom and Dad being overprotective.

"You don't have to--" Jesse began. "I mean, I might not even play, I think DiMarini wants to try out--"

"Hey," Samuel repeated, his eyes seeming to circle the seats where early birds were trickling in. "Everyone here probably wishes this was under different circumstances. Yeah?"

"Yeah." Jesse laughed weakly. The Rovers he had met tended to describe Samuel as the team comedian, but it was hard for Jesse to square that with the serious competitor he had known as a kid, whose footsteps had shaken the ground so that it sometimes felt that Jesse had no choice but to follow in them, like it or not. Was this wittiness, or a defense mechanism? Did it matter?

"It could be worse," Samuel pointed out, and in his mouth it was not a cliche. "The fact that you guys are here, that they're using the field for football like they're supposed to. That makes it--" Not "worth it;" "worth it" implied a clear counterfactual, a way of knowing the costs and rewards in every universe. "--okay."

"It doesn't mess with you? Being here?"

"Not yet," said Samuel. "I mean, who knows? Maybe if I'd been able to play, physically, something about being on the field could bring it back."

"Are there others?" Jesse asked. "Who get flashbacks, when they try?"

"If there were I wouldn't tell you," said Samuel. Still loyal to his club, against whatever shenanigans Ephesian might try. "But it could be little things. I mean, I don't think I'm ever going to want to eat Peak'n'Break again, I've had enough of those for one lifetime. Who knows, though? Maybe I wake up craving them in thirty years. Or tomorrow."

Jesse had tried, many times, to wonder what would have happened to him without Samuel's illness. It was one way of staying humble, he supposed, to know that any number of twists and turns could have derailed or rerailed his career. What if the Orling manager had been a jerk? What if Ephesian hadn't gone at that point in the draft? What if McDonagh had given him flak for arguing calls? He couldn't take anything for granted, or even get too angry at little kinds wanting autographs, when he recognized how capricious his career had been.

But sometimes it made him afraid; if seeing Samuel brought low had somehow increased his own desire to buckle down and take things seriously, that he didn't always have to be in his shadow--could he even give voice to the thought? Or did that have to be censored in the name of "respect" for those who had gotten sick, or worse? And if they censored that, where would they stop?

As if he'd been reading Jesse's mind, Samuel went on, "Look, even if it hadn't been for all this, we'd still be bleeping thirteenth. I don't exactly think DiMarini would be rushing to give any of us a call-up, Cereal Cup or no Cereal Cup."

"You don't know that," Jesse said.

"Oh, please. You think Mimmo and Amelie and them would have been tearing up the Champions' League if they were here? We're not world-beaters even with a Narrative on our side, there's no way we'd have been one without one."

"That's not how it works."

"Sure it is," said Samuel, and there was the playful teasing the Rovers had talked about. "Watch any foreign movie."

"No," said Jesse. "They're all full of cheesy political messages anyway."

"You think they'll make a movie about us?" said Samuel.

"What?"

"Not now, not any time soon. But when we're far enough in the past that it'll sell tickets? They totally could make us a movie. I want that McHough to play me, he's handsome."

"He'll be old by then."

"Someone else, then. They'd save on cameras, too, you barely need to go anywhere."

Jesse shook his head. Samuel's sense of humor was an enigma, but it was no darker than any of their compatriots'.

"Sweetheart," said Amythyst, "is that a toilet? You didn't have toilets down by the sidelines, did you? I mean, it might have been more convenient, but--"

"You explain," said Jesse, darting back towards the clubhouse.

"Hey," Samuel repeated, and that was undoubtedly hey, why are you such an annoying little brother. But they wouldn't have had it any other way.

(Blum 68; Niño Pinto 41, Tlacolotl 59, Huracan 83)

[Legalese]

“Let me guess, the tracksuits were too much -- again?”

Myles sat in Lisa’s office in Spetz-Tessah, waiting for the inevitable.

Lisa laughed.

“They’re always too much, but this was different. This was defiant, this was the swagger I was told to expect when you took over five years ago -- your teams would come out and fight hard for every point, and would act the part of taking no prisoners. I just wish it didn’t take a geopolitical crisis for them to finally live up to it.”

“I mean, is it really a geopolitical crisis?” Myles said. “I really don’t know much about this, but I couldn’t admit that to the press.”

“Well, from what I’ve heard from my friends in the government, not really. Our foreign service ties aren’t really much, like I told you after your stunt in Baker Park. Sarzonia seems to be ready to go to war over it in both words and deeds, but it defies me how a country that’s not even on the map can go to war with us -- I mean, did they put up a big invisibility cloak somewhere near Delaclava?”

“Must’ve. We played them in Woodstock.”

“Right. Did you see where it was?”

“Not really. Put on a radio drama about a plucky air charter service -- you know, one of those period pieces back when folks actually relied on something like that to survive -- and fell asleep somewhere between Sagdineo and Woodstock.”

“The flight left from Legalese City.”

“Oh, those were the episode titles. So, what did you want?”

“To talk about the future. You’ve been in charge for two full cycles, and we’re starting to see some success, but it’s been a slow climb.”

“I know, and you’re right -- I was struggling to find the right balance between getting this team motivated and playing like I wanted, but also not going out and getting crushed. I think we’re starting to find that stride, and if we start getting better play that forces these guys to up their club game, we could be in for a run here.”

“I think that says you want me to give you one more cycle.”

Myles didn’t hesitate. “Yes, ma’am.”

Lisa, however, did hesitate. “Let’s see how the Cup of Harmony plays out, if we get in.”

“Well, if we can take points of Taeshan, that might help us, I would hope.”

“Good. Because if we end up welcoming Anaia here for CAFA, we need to be ready, and that’ll be just one more way we get there.”

[Banija]

The Quest for a perfect decade- which nation has qualified for every World Cup in the 80s so far?


Players singing the national anthem

BUSUKUMA, NATIONAL CAPITOL REGION- In our final home game of the World Cup Qualifying campaign, the Kadongo Kamu punched their ticket to the World Cup Finals for the 9th consecutive time, with a routine 4-1 victory over an overmatched last place Shreekaristan side. It is a massive credit what has been built here by the RBSA that this result was neither unexpected nor was it very wildly celebrated. Although Marcus Waters has always said, even when we expect to qualify, that qualification should be celebrated.

"A spot in the World Cup FInals is promised to no man." He told reporters in his post game press conference. "It's a big deal when we qualify for the World Cup. Nephara won the last World Cup, and spent most of their last campaign out of the running. If Eura, who had made 28 in a row, can miss the World Cup, then damnit, everybody can. So kudos to the lads for not taking anything for granted, treating the game with respect, and doing what it takes to qualify directly for the World Cup Finals. It's a big deal. The World Cup is not promised to you."

Another fortunate thing about this is thanks to Banija being unbeaten so far(13 wins, 4 draws, 0 losses), it is likely the team will maintain its top 6 place in the rankings- meaning, Pot 1 for the World Cup Finals. That was a clear goal during Qualifying as well, and it seems as if that objective has been met. Still one more game left, but if the Banijans can put together another win, they are almost assuredly going to be Pot 1 for the Finals. That means avoiding the co-hosts in the group stages, as well as nations like Nephara, Valanora, and The Holy Empire, just to name a few.

Another that is worth mentioning here- we've made every World Cup so far of this World Cup decade. It is an impressive feat, although the decade isn't over. There's still one more World Cup, World Cup 89. But this came into our heads now- but let's write about it. Who are the nations still in contention for 'a perfect decade'? Defined, of course, as playing in all ten World Cups in the same World Cup decade- as opposed to simply ten World Cups in a row. So, of course, 77-86 would not count, only all the World Cups in the 80s would count. We'll make a note about each nation.

Of course, it's a hard task. Two of the champions in the 80s haven't done it(Free Republics & Equestria). Who are the 10 nations on this list?

Nations who played in Every World Cup Finals since World Cup 80?
Starblaydia- Co-hosted World Cup 80, played in World Cup 83 Final. Five time World Cup champion. Only Anaia nation on this list.
Nephara- Has played in the last three World Cup Finals, won World Cup 87. Only Rushmori nation on this list.
Turori- Has played in one World Cup Final. Has gone through qualifying for all 9 appearances thus far in the World Cup Finals.
Farfadillis- Co-hosted World Cup 85, won World Cup 84.
Valanora- Co-hosted World Cup 81. Five time World Cup champion.
Baker Park- World Cup 80 was their first campaign, and their first ever Qualification. A perfect 9/9 all time in Qualifying. Co-hosted World Cup 84.
The Holy Empire- Only nation not from a sporting region on this list. Has gone through qualifying for all 9 appearances thus far in the World Cup Finals.
Vilita- Only nation to win multiple World Cups during this decade(back to back in 81/82). Longest reign as World #1. Has gone through qualifying for all 9 appearances thus far in the World Cup Finals.
Banija- Despite first entering in World Cup 73, has only make World Cups during this decade. Co-hosted World Cups 81 & 83. World Cup 86 Champion.
Brenecia- Champion of World Cup 80. Only Esportiva nation on this list.

Of course, none of these nations are thinking about this right now. A few want to wrap up qualifying for World Cup 88, and the rest will focus on the Finals. But it'll be an intriguing question to answer during World Cup 89- can all 10 of these nations make a perfect decade?

[Squornshelous]

When the Devil Drives, Chapter 8
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7
OOC: Chronologicaly, this takes place around the time of MD14, not that it matters a lot

Tkachov Air Base, along with most of the government and military installations around Vogsphere, was under control of the NewCon-allied military forces and their de facto commander, Colonel Per Arlberg, formerly chief aide to Air Marshall Maxim Vityaz, head of the Imperial Air Forces. The Colonel had made Tkachov his headquarters for the time being, where his presence lent the whole endeavor some badly needed public legitimacy. His staff and command structure was very much ad hoc, and gaining effective control over the various allied military units from different branches of service was a herculean task.

Despite the disorganization, the military's consolidation of control over the airbase meant NewCon operatives there were free to go elsewhere and take up new tasks. Andreas Jalkanen's cell had been tasked with setting up and maintaining a powerful but short range electronic warfare system to keep the base's squadron of ground attack drones planted firmly on the ground. With the drones now under their allies' control, it was probably for the best that they went elsewhere, he thought. In theory, they were all on the same side, but the soldiers seemed to view Andreas and his companions with suspicion. He wasn't sure if it was their intentions the soldiers doubted, or if they were simply mistrustful of anyone not in a uniform. Either way, he was glad they weren't going to linger much longer. Most of them weren't, anyway. Two of their number, Kijsa Naess and Zladko Matkovic were confined to the base medical ward. Kijsa with some superficial shrapnel to the back. It was nothing life threatening, but enough to take the hulking woman out of action for a few weeks. Zlad's injury was quite a bit more embarrassing. Running toward cover in the predawn darkness of the attack, he'd tripped over a stray chunk of concrete and broken his right arm and collarbone in the fall.

That left five of them to climb into the back of a dented truck, seated on benches running down the sides. On one side, was their leader, Viktor Almstedt, a knit cap pulled down low over his shaved head. A small man with a quietly intense manner. Beside Viktor sat Jesper "Fixer" Mogilniy, his right hand and the group's mechanic. Jesper was obsessively checking over an assault rifle he'd appropriated from the base armory. Across from them, Andreas was closest to the truck's cab. He'd scavenged an air force coat from back at the base, tearing off all its insignia. Cradled in his hands was the needlegun that had been his companion since joining NewCon. On his hip sat the oversized Sosunov automatic that he'd nearly experienced the business end of two years ago. To his right, Agnessa "Fingers" Oliynik, their tech specialist, her slim figure hidden in a drab green coat made for someone at least a foot taller than her and 50 kilos heavier. She was, as always, working on her tablet, flicking at the screen with her metal and plastic left hand, scrolling and typing faster than Andreas could follow. When he'd first joined, the shock of hair atop her head had been bleached white, but she'd quit redyeing it, and her natural dark brown had filled in, leaving only the last third or so dangling to her shoulder in white. On the other side of Fingers, Alexandra, "Shura" Kozlov had her trademark leathers and a scoped rifle nearly as long as she was tall.

A tattered fabric cover overhead did very little to keep a misty rain off of them, and they were all soon shivering. They made slow progress, stopping at numerous checkpoints crewed by tired, scowling soldiers who were clearly disappointed with their role in the glorious revolution. After a little over an hour, they arrived at their destination: the Ministry of Security itself. As Viktor had explained in his briefing, organized resistance was confined to the basement bunker, and a few holdouts who had locked themselves on the roof. In the meantime, they needed to recover as much data as possible. The ministry's records could reveal the fates of tens of thousands of missing people, and perhaps some of them could still be rescued. They would also be invaluable to thwart the counter-attacks that were no doubt being planned and put into motion at that very moment. Andreas was nervous. They might also find records that pertained very much to him.

He had not always been the earnest revolutionary he was today, had been for two years. Unbeknownst to any of the others, he had joined their cell under false pretenses, as a double agent of the Ministry of Security. For several months, he'd blended in, reporting on the cell's activities and awaiting orders to betray them. Those orders never came, and in the end it was Andreas who was betrayed, marked for elimination by the ministry. He still wasn't certain why. Maybe they'd somehow realized he was starting to doubt his mission, maybe they simply considered that he knew too much. Either way, it had hammered home a truth that he'd suddenly realized he'd already known. Something was deeply wrong with his country, and he'd been fighting on the wrong side.

For the next two years he'd worked with the cell in and around Santraginus. They'd worked a variety of tasks, but data theft and recovery was a specialty of theirs, thanks to Fingers. That was why NewCon needed them to go to MinSec now. They needed that information. Andreas knew though, that it might spell the end of his time with NewCon, perhaps of his life. It could also mean the end of the only friendships he had. He'd always intended to tell them someday, but on his terms, in a way they'd understand. Not like this.

"Hey listen to this!"

Fingers flicked a finger, projecting the content of her screen into the air amidst them and engaging the speakers. The video she was streaming was of Colonel Arlberg, he was using the national emergency broadcast network, and with NewCon in control of the capital, there was evidently nothing the Imperial regime could do to stop it. They had joined mid-stream it seemed, but it seemed they hadn't missed very much.

"We seek to minimize violence, to minimize the hurt and destruction inflicted on this nation and on our people. But it was necessary to take these steps to finally remove the illegitimate government that has unjustly ruled us for far too long."

"In time, we will have a new government, a civilian government with a constitution, where all are accountable to and equal before the law. For now though, I hope I can speak for the people of Squornshelous when I say that this is not a petty revolt to be easily put down. This is an ending, and a beginning. The Imperium dies today, and the crimes of its leaders will be punished. This is not a military coup, to replace and emperor with a dictator. I do not seek power for myself, but to restore it to the people. To that end, I have a request to make, humbly. I ask that an embassy be arranged between Squornshelous," he paused, "and the Confederacy of Squornshelan Remnant States. We were siblings once, and should be again."

"Finally, I have an important announcement to make. Yesterday evening, resistance at the Imperial Palace bunker was finally overcome. Emperor Sweyn Petrov has been taken into custody by revolutionary forces, along with High Minister Bjarni Riihijarvi. These men will be held for trial for their crimes against the Squornshelan people, and we declare all members of the Council of Ministers who do not surrender themselves to our forces to be fugitives from Squornshelan justice. That is all. Long live the Squornshelan people."

[Audioslavia]

Previous part

The Declaration of Foxchester

Part 1: The Friday

Frederick Winston Clark

“The meeting room at the hotel was named The Peace Room. Shall we say it is an interesting moniker for such a chamber. It is well lit, with a multitude of windows that are individually rather small; the wooden sort that you might heave upwards to take in the morning air in a listed building. The room must be the size of a tennis court, if a little squarer, but has a low ceiling which gives it a rather claustrophobic feel. The tables in the centre are ghastly, however”

Chad

“Big ring-shaped table with a bluish ring of lights above it. It’s early evening though so there’s a warmish golden hue that makes it all feel like a pleasant family cottage. Until the sun begins to set anyway and the dim blue lights make us look like some kind of evil cabal. A ring of chairs around the edge. There’s a gap in the ring where you can get to the centre, and in the centre there’s another small table. Basically imagine a C-shaped table with a circular table in the middle. C-shaped table is about the diameter of, hmm, maybe the width of a living room. The table in the middle is like an average-sized round table. There’s some spare glasses and bottles on it. It’s lower than the ring table so you can still see each other when you’re sitting down.
Everyone sits in order of nationality, so to the right of the gap in the ring there’s Wilbur, and he’s sat next to someone from Cobrio. To his left there’s the gap in the table and then the Vdaran.”

Deep Goat

IT’S THE TABLE FROM DR. STRANGELOVE ONLY WITH A GAP IN IT AND IT’S IN THE ROOM FROM TWELVE ANGRY MEN ONLY BIGGER

Harrison

“Big fuckin table, the diameter of two living rooms. I’m on drinks duty. If someone finishes their drink, I have to top it up. Mainly water and coffee, some whiskies and stuff. You have to take their glass away without them noticing and put a fresh, full one down without them noticing. There’s some spares in the middle you can get to via a gap. Thing is, in this job, at no point should anyone notice you or the fact that their drinks seemingly never end. You’re supposed to leave the room when you’re not busy, but they all keep drinking when they’re not speaking, and there’s so many of them that most are drinking when they’re not talking so… so yeah you don’t leave the room. You just kinda stay there”
“And you hear everything”
“Yeah. You don’t *listen* to what they’re saying, but bits and pieces stick out”
“Did you recognise anyone there. Korra Starblayde, Wilbur Hawes, anything like that?”
“Who’s Wilbur Hawes?”
“First Minister of Audioslavia”
Oh.. shit sorry.
“He’s not someone whose face you’d remember. Or name. Or anything. Don’t worry. Korra Starblayde though?”
“No”
“…No?”
“I mean, the second time yeah, but the first time no”
“What do you mean ‘the first time’?”

Chad

“The second meeting, the Sunday night one, wasn’t initially planned. It happened because of what happened at the NEATO meeting on the Friday. Usually it’s not the *highest* level bods attend NEATO conferences, but we’ve just had elections in so many places and, well, there’s a lot of newly anointed heads of state wanting to get their hands dirty. Wet behind the ears, still pretending they’re going to do half the things in their manifesto. That’s why my boss at the time was there.”
“Wilbur Hawes”
”Indeed. And therefore why I was there myself. There was also Mathieu Lupin, the Osarian first minister, instead of their usual Foreign Sec staff. Dante Quaglia too, Calvetti.. about half the people who ended up signing the Foxchester Declaration on the Sunday. Chromatika sent what appeared to be an argumentative mannequin and.. Well it turns out it was indeed an argumentative mannequin but that’s a story for another time. Not 'all' were newly-appointed leaders, but some were. And it starts with Wilbur. He’d run his election campaign promising to build closer relations to the Anaian nations. The NEATO nations.”
“And this is the old NEATO, right?”
“*An* old NEATO, not the oldest NEATO. NEATO started as an environmental non-gov in Starblaydia. After they disappeared into a financial black hole, their offices and name and even an old trading license that dated back to the first days of AO were taken up by the new version of NEATO - North Eastern Alliance Trade Organization. That was decades ago. Since then they’ve accomplished very little apart from relaxing tariffs on corn and wheat and arguing for free movement of workers but not quite getting it”
“People are treating NEATO as if it’s new”
”This version *is* new. Well the acronym’s been changed now.”
“New Anaian Trade Organization”
”Yeah. There’s an RL States thing called NATO already though, so this is NEATO. Saves them finally removing all the stupidly old signs from the offices”
“It sounds like NEATO isn’t a military organization at all”
“It wasn’t. And then it wasn’t again. Now it’s ‘pretty much’ not a military organization. It doesn’t have a unified army or control over anyone else’s army or anything like that. Likely never will. NEATO having a military wing would be like a civil servant having a security detail”
“It ‘pretty much’ isn’t a military organization?”
“That’s the funny thing. The ‘pretty much’ comes from the magic words. The magic words were spoken”
“I’m sorry what?”

Deep Goat

MAGIC WORDS, MISTER SANCHEZ. DO YOU REMEMBER THE GREAT REMOVE? THE WIGHT INCIDENT?
“Remember it? If it hadn’t happened, I’d never have met my wife”

Chad

“‘Do I remember the Wight Incident’, fucking that’s a good one. I was in Kjeligsted just a few clicks south of Wight when it happened. I almost died. Quit my job and ended up meeting my husband, which is good. And Jeremy Jaffacake. Less good.”
”Well you’ll know the man responsible for it was also responsible for a land reclamation project in Audioslavia, plus some business in the Licentian Isles previously”
“Most people have forgotten about the whole ordeal”
“Audioslavians like to forget about the period of its history before they arrived into Atlantian Oceania, but it wasn’t a brief amount of time at all. If you’re talking about percentages of its total history, Audioslavia hadn’t been in AO for long at all, compared to the other Anaian nations.”
“Wait, what do you mean ‘the man responsible’. Man, singular?”
”Singular. Man.”

Frederick Winston Clark

“Old Shakersson, he called himself. Frightfully dressed. He was wearing blue overalls covered in grease. A white van was parked outside. He rather smelled of burned cigarettes and lavender, but mainly of the forest.”
“He smelled… ‘of the forest’”
”Peculiar man. Anyway, as soon as the magic words were spoken he says he was summoned”
“Magic… magic words? Sorry but go back a bit”

Harrison

”Yeah sorry let’s go back to the start. The start of the end.. Pass me another beer. So it starts with this bald guy. Audioslavian accent. Someone any-further-businesses the meeting which is usually a sign that I get to knock off and have a ciggy soon, but this bald guy pipes up and says pretty much nothing. It’s like he’s reading a script he’d been rehearsing for the weeks before, but the script is just... it's birthday card saccharine shit”
“What did he say?”
”Dunno, wasn’t paying attention”

Chad

”Trust me, it wasn’t what he said, it was the way he said it that caused the reaction. The reaction being… well nobody was particularly impressed. Or even listening at all. The general thrust was ‘closer relations to Anaia’, Anaia at the time being this wishy-washy term that kind of included everyone in the room but also kind of didn’t. Some awfully wet ‘ideal’ that some of the older nations had as this… this far flung future destination where all Anaian nations are ‘as one’. Far flung indeed, right?. It wasn’t usually associated with independence from AO, it was more… it’s more wanky than that. Like that kid in your class at school who says they’re passionate about world peace but in reality they just like instagram.”

Harrison

”It’s like when a company says you’re a family. They don’t know what a family is aside from increased eyes on a photo op. That’s the feeling I got from the bullshit he said. Thing is, everyone else in the room was clearly bored out of their minds listening to him prattle on about unity and family”

Deep Goat

AFTER THE AUDIOSLAVIAN FINALLY FINISHED SPEAKING, THE STARBLAYDI DIPLOMAT REACTED FIRST. HE SUGGESTED THAT THE AUDIOSLAVIAN HAD CONVINCED HIM THAT THEY SHOULD JUST MAKE THEIR OWN REGION WITH BLACKJACK AND HOOKERS. THE AUDIOSLAVIAN DID NOT REALISE HE WAS BEING SARCASTIC AND WELCOMED THE IDEA OF ENCOURAGING THE DEREGULATION OF GAMBLING AND OTHER VICES AMONG THE NATIONS OF A NEW INTER-NATION-STATE PARTNERSHIP, WHATEVER THAT IS. HE DID NOT SEE THE IRONY IN THE THEATRICAL WAY THAT THE OSARIAN PRODUCED HIS LAPTOP COMPUTER AND STARTED WRITING A PRETEND PRESS RELEASE, EVEN THOUGH THE OSARIAN WAS WAGGLING HIS HEAD AS HE TYPED ON THE KEYBOARD AND WAS CLEARLY ONLY PRETENDING TO TYPE, OCCASIONALLY JUST SLAPPING THE PALMS OF HIS HAND UP AND DOWN ON HIS KEYBOARD WHILE SMILING WIDELY AT THE AUDIOSLAVIAN, AND YET THE AUDIOSLAVIAN JUST STARTED SPEAKING SLOWLY AS IF HE WAS DICTATING THE OPENING LINES OF AN INDEPENDENCE DECLARATION. THIS CONTINUED FOR FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THE LEGALITE SPOKE.

Frederick Winston Clark

”I believe it was the Ko-orenite who finally cut in. I mean a joke is a joke but everyone was starting to feel sorry for Wilbur and the Mathieu’s head was starting to get tired from the sheer *energy* of his own sarcastic typing. I mean he was typing on his keyboard with his fists while crossing his eyes and nodding and smiling as widely as he could, it was *so obviously* a joke, and yet Wilbur… Audioslavians are not so bright”
“The Ko-orenite?”
“Abodhiru was his name. Not a name you’d forget in a hurry. He sat forward and said, with a very serious face…”

Harrison

”Why *don’t* we start our own region”
“And who said that?”
”The one that looked like a goat”
“There were Krytenians there, you’ll have to narrow it down”
”Nah it’s from the place where they’re all goats”
“Ibex? Ibixa? Mriin?”
”Yeah one of them.”
“Ibex weren’t part of NEATO”
”Mriin then? Dunno”

Chad

“I was just so embarrassed for Wilbur that I was too busy being thankful that someone had interrupted him at all to figure out exactly *who* had interrupted him. Could have been Starblaydi, maybe Krytenian… honestly it could have been anyone”
“Maybe the Cobre?”
“I’d have noticed if it was the Cobrian”
“Yeah you probably would. So what did they say?”

Deep Goat

WHY DON’T WE JUST START OUR OWN REGION WITH BLACKJACK AND HOOKERS

Chad

“Why don’t we just split from AO?”

Frederick Winston Clark

“Why can an independent region not simply be started, or at least there were words portrayed to that effect. Whatever the sentence was, it caused a white van to appear outside”

Harrison

”Whatever the words were, the guys behind the Audioslavian went pale.”
“Why?”
”They were telling the bald guy they were pretty sure those were the magic words. The ones that had been ‘foretold’, whatever that is”

Deep Goat

YEARS BEFOREHAND, WHEN AUDIOSLAVIA HAD RECLAIMED THEIR LAND, THE INNER GOVERNMENT HAD BEEN TOLD THAT, COME THE TIME, THEY WOULD NEED THE GREAT REMOVERS TO RETURN, AND THAT A SET OF WORDS, IF UTTERED HONESTLY AND SINCERELY BY AN ALLY, WOULD CAUSE THEIR RETURN. THEY WERE THE ‘MAGIC WORDS’. KNOWN BY THE CIVIL SERVICE, NOT BY THE POLITICIANS. BECAUSE POLITICIANS WOULD JUST MESS IT UP

Harrison

”And then this dirty great van turns up and this guy in overalls walks through the door. I mean so much for security. And he’s dragging this box into the room. Oh god the box. He just cuts through to the middle and slings it on the table, knocks over a load of glasses, like I’m definitely not going to knock off early tonight. He says ‘bout time’ and expects people to know who the hell he is. I think he’s my spirit animal?”

Chad

“Knocks over some cups and such, and pulls this cord that makes the box open. What was inside looked remarkably like a dog sighs canon.”
"A what?"
"A dog-sized cannon"
"Oh. OH.

oh"

Deep Goat

OLD SHAKERSSON INFORMS NEATO THAT THE ROCKET SHIP THAT GOES WITH IT IS PARKED OUTSIDE. A MEMBER OF THE PLOUGH ISLANDS DELEGATION LOOKED THROUGH THE WINDOW AND ANNOUNCED THAT, YES, THERE WAS INDEED A SPACE ROCKET IN THE CAR PARK. HE REMARKED THAT IT WAS PARKED NEXT TO A G-PLATE BETA JULIET ‘500’ AND THEN GAVE FAR TOO MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT THE CAR AND NOT NEARLY ENOUGH INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPACE ROCKET

Frederick Winston Clark

“...version of that car, I believe it was built in Bretsaar originally, in Mertagne, before said nation was moved north, that used to be featured in adverts for an old Mertian football team named Blades of Bretsaar, as there was somewhat of a crossover between the ownership of the football club and the ownership of that particular factory, but not the actual company, and so there was a peculiar situation whereby this Mertian football team would be standing next to the latest version of the car - I believe the 500 at that time had slightly pointer air intake inlets whereas the version built to the north in Ostosaide, Ostosaide, the team that once had an octopus on their crest, the version of the car built there used to have smaller air intakes but, crucially for a front-engined three-door at the time, it had this...”

Harrison

”So he says that the thing in the box goes on the rocket, but that you needed some special equipment and some very qualified people to actually do that bit”
“Like some kind of multi-million dollar aeronautics company and a team of rocket scientists, I assume”
”I mean you’d hope so. I wouldn’t fancy figuring it out myself”
“So what *was* it?”

Chad

“He called it an ‘Orbital Ignore Cannon’”
“Oh, I see”
“That’s what we’ve been calling it, yes”

Deep Goat

AN ORBITAL IGNORE CANNON IS THE ULTIMATE DEFENCE AGAINST BORDER DISPUTES. SHOULD ANY AGGRESSION TAKE PLACE, BY ANY SIDE, AT ANY TIME, THE ORBITAL IGNORE CANNON MAY FIRE ACCORDING TO PRESET PARAMETERS, AND THE SITUATION CAN BE IGNORED QUICKLY
“How quickly?”
I HAVEN’T BOTHERED LOOKING UP THE SPEED OF IGNORANCE
“Yeah I don’t really care either”
IT’S PROBABLY PRETTY QUICK
“I reckon it’s quite slow”
WE CAN LOOK IT UP
“Invovles reading though”
YEAH

Chad

“Shakersson says the Anaian nations would be able to leave without it, but not easily. The thing about divorces is sometimes only one side wants it. Or has any idea that it’s coming.

Frederick Winston Clark

“...interestingly the midnight blue version of the 500 was never made with left-hand drive in mind, as up until recently there had been no...”

Harrison

”I mean that was just it. At one point everyone was being sarcastic about seceding and the next, all it took was someone just assuming they were seceding and asking about the technicalities of it for them to go ‘well yeah I guess we’re seceding’. They started describing how they thought the map of Anaia would look, and where its borders with Atlantian Oceania would be. I went away to put the shards of glass I’d just cleared up into the glass bin and, by the time I got back, they were asking where the old man had gone. Like, he just gave them a cannon and left. I mean, great, who wouldn't say fuckaye to a free cannon, but at least have a cup of tea. Basic ferro-ballistic etiquette.”

Chad

“Because NEATO meetings typically *didn’t* contain the main decision-makers in every nation, the people there figured anything they wrote down didn’t necessarily have real, long-lasting, effects on the multiverse. Turns out that was wrong”
“Wait, Chad, you said someone put the cannon on the table.. Didn’t that send drinks flying?”
“It did indeed”
“Did they get cleaned up?”
“Erm… I assume so?”
“By who?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the whole situation got ignored? We saw the cannon in action just once that day, shortly after Shakersson left, telling us we would be needing his services again soon. I don’t know whatever for. All he told us that the reason he was giving us the cannon was that, back during the Wight Incident, the government of Wight had given Audioslavia a present. A ‘we’re sorry we tsunamied you’ present. Only they said they’d sent it into the future.”
“They’d send it later?”
“No. They’d sent it into the future”

Deep Goat

ORBITAL IGNORE CANNONS ARE POWERED BY THE COLLISION OF ROLEPLAYS WITH ANTI-ROLEPLAYS, RESULTING IN THE ANNIHILATION OF A PAST ROLEPLAY, TO BE REPLACED BY *PREVIOUSLY EDITED BY…* INSTANTLY. THIS IS THE COST OF PEACE. AND LIKE PUTTING A SINGLE COIN INTO THE PIGGY-BANK YOU’RE GIVING TO A SMALL CHILD, THE GOVERNMENT OF WIGHT CHARGED THE IGNORE CANNON WITH DOZENS OF SHOTS.
“So *that’s* where all those news reports went”
EVENTUALLY, YES. LIKELY THEY MERELY USED THE POWER GENERATED BY A REMOVAL TO CHARGE THE CANNON. TWO BIRDS, ONE CANNON.
“So how many shots do they have?
ONE CHARGE OF UNROLEPLAY CAN BE USED TO TEMPER MANY CONFLICTS. IT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH HAS TO BE IGNORED AND WHO BY

Frederick Winston Clark

“...of course, some would say the *true* burst of popularity for the latter era ‘500’s came as a result of the use of it as the title of, and music video accompaniment to, new wave shoegaze jazz ensemble CTX’s hit single ‘500’ from the album ‘Planing Macs for Nigel’, but I rather prefer to prefer rather opinioning the mindset of the preference for... ”

Chad

“Yeah the Plough Islands weren’t in NEATO at the time. There’s always an outsider at these meetings though. Someone to propose ideas that the typical members might not have thought of. This time it was Plough Islands. Great time for their first appearance. Naturally they were invited back for the Sunday talks to join the new region which.. surprised them? Pleasantly so, I believe.

Frederick Winston Clark

“...coming back to my point, actually, the Plough Islands had been invited, as I understand it, to work out the transport agreement we’d been emailing one another about for some time. I hadn’t seen it on the minutes, but I was about to keenly bring it up as ‘any other business’ when Mr. Hawes started his speech”
“Cool yeah but going back to the thing we were talking about, I always thought the lower ride-height of SL version was in depressing contrast to the vehicle’s initial raison-d’etre as primarily a functional and affordable city car”
“Precisely! I mean good heavens, what if a sleeping policeman were to loom into one’s view of a morning drive? Why, in the SL version one would run the risk of…”

Deep Goat

”THE O.I.C. WAS TESTED ACCIDENTALLY. BY THE VDARAN”
“There was a Vdaran?”
”THERE’S ALWAYS A VDARAN”.

Harrison

”Oh my *days* the Vdaran! HAH. Oh man, that was the best thing of all”

Chad

“Yes, regrettably, Vdara had also sent someone to the talks. They were keen on opening trade routes to a place called ‘Yermá’. Said they’d made initial contact in a seemingly inexpensive currency-for-services agreement in an unnamed dockside area”

Harrison

”Worst thing about this job is not having the ability to just piss myself laughing at the shit people do and say. So while they’re rabbiting on and on about borders this guy gets bored and he starts complaining about the cannon. Says Shakersson had pointed it straight at him on purpose. Said the cannon was getting ‘wide’ with him. Says it belongs in the sea. Says he’s going to open it up see how it.”
“See how it what?”
“Just ‘see how it’ was as far as he got”

Frederick Winston Clark

“Good lord, yes. ‘I am going to open this up to see how it.’ are the exact words uttered by the gentleman of Vdara’”

Harrison

”Fuckin’ next thing you know there’s this blink of white light and a sound that goes, just, ‘fwomp’. And he gets to the word ‘it’ as he puts his hand on it... ”

Deep Goat

”THE ORBITAL IGNORE CANNON WORKS BY CREATING AN ARTIFICIAL IGNORANCE FIELD AROUND AN ATTACKED PARTY, RENDERING IT FRICTIONLESS WHEN THE ATTACKING PARTY ATTEMPTS TO ENGAGE WITH IT, BOTH METAPHORICALLY BUT ALSO...”

Harrison

”Just fuckin’ <fwip>. His hand slips off it like a hot knife… like a hot knife *around* butter? Basically he goes to touch the machine but his hand ends up gliding past it like it wasn’t there. Like he’d been trying to put it on the table all along but space-time wanted a say in it before he did it. Frictionless.”

Chad

“’The danger of the Orbital Ignore Cannon is through the consequences of a mistake. Say an enemy fires a rocket at an independent Anaia. The rocket would hit its target and then… would glide past it. Slipping through and around buildings like pushing a marble down a chute. The rocket would carry on, confused, until it exploded, harming nobody but, you might imagine, causing an annoyance in the form of a dulled and utterly silent explosion in the middle of their city. A hologram of terror. There is every chance that, if you overshoot, the rocket simply glides through the ignoring lands and hits… well the first thing that doesn’t ignore it, really.”
“Anaia’s defence system could consist entirely of a few well-placed c-shaped tubes”
”Yes, but that’s actually not necessary with the OIC’s secondary power mode.”

Deep Goat

”THE IGNORANCE FIELD CAN BE CREATED AND MAINTAINED USING LITTLE CHARGE, BUT IF IT USES MORE ENERGY IT CAN ENGAGE THE MUCH MORE DANGEROUS I.R.Y.G. MODE”

Chad

“I’m rubber, you’re glue...”

Frederick Winston Clark

“Frightful stuff. I mean the implication must be considered. Should Beta Juliet follow through on its plans for a hot-hatchback version, the mysticism of the 500 series would be all but erased.’”

Harrison

”That was it for that meeting. It was getting late. And thank the lord, too, because I was pretty hungry at that time. ”

Chad

“So the Friday NEATO meeting ended. Each and every nation there agreed to reconvene on the Sunday evening, with as little media footprint as they could, to hash out the details. Or, as most suspected, to put a pin in the idea.”
“But they didn’t”
”But they didn’t”

Harrison

”Caught a glimpse of the Krytenian and the Legalite guy having a natter outside on my way out. The Legalite was saying there had to be a loophole. A way they could get out of things before it was too late. The Legalite said, simply, 'what if we turn the ignore cannon on ourselves. Ignore... ourselves?'. 'It'll drive the conspiracy nuts crazy' replied the Krytenian, 'but they'll never figure it out'. Always wondered if they tried that. I wasn't around if they did"

[Eraman]

_____THE PEOPLE'S NEWS_____
ERAMAN JOURNAL

FRONT PAGE

AUTHOR OF THE END OF TUN DIED IN A HOUSE FIRE

ANARA: The author of the controversial banned book The End of Tun and renowned lawyer, Andika Adi died in a fire at his house in Kaya Park, here at 4:20 pm this afternoon.

Daula Royal Fire Brigade Director, Juni Kinta, said they received an emergency call at 4:20 pm informing of a fire incident in a two-story semi-detached house in Kaya Park. He said 12 members led by an officer from the South Anara Fire and Rescue Station arrived at the scene at 4:45 pm.

"Upon arrival, members and officers found a room on the second floor of the house was on fire. The fire was brought under control a minute later and in the room, the fire brigade found a man unconscious," he said when contacted today.

Juni said the victim was then successfully taken out of the room and was pronounced dead. It is understood that at the time of the incident, Andika was alone in a room upstairs, while his wife and son were in the living room downstairs. The fire brigade is still investigating the cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police when contacted said the case was classified as sudden death due to fire and the body was taken to the Anara Petara Hospital for autopsy. He said the victim is believed to have died due to drowning due to smoke as well as 30 percent burns on the body due to the fire.

"The victim's death was confirmed by a medical officer from the Anara Petara Hospital who examined the victim's body.

[Pemecutan]

CHAPTER I: THE TENSION BUILD UP || CHAPTER II: THE ACCIDENT || CHAPTER III: THE ROAD LIES AHEAD || CHAPTER IV: A LITTLE TOO MUCH
CHAPTER V: THE OTHER SIDE OF YOU || CHAPTER VI: DEFEND WITH YOUR LIFE || CHAPTER VII: A DAY BREAK || CHAPTER VIII: THE RIGHT DECISION

---

---

CHAPTER IX

It is really a great timing for Pemecutan. Their last home match against Squornshelous is held in Tegeh Kori National Stadium, the nation main stadium. The atmosphere on the stadium is very energize. The stadium is pack with the home team fans with some of Squornshelous spectators can be seen seating on their designated side. The euphoria can be felt by everyone. It is their last home match and it is a crucial one. The match is the second to last with their last match will be held in The Sarian soil. The tension rise up for Pemecutan's team players as they want to give their best in their home soil and the fact that they are playing in the national stadium makes them even more nervous.

Coach Pramana is checking out his players readiness. He can see the tension in his players face. Even with their previous 2-0 win against Kannap, the tension is still there. Well, it is a match against one of the better rank team, that's why the tension is much higher.

"Are you ready, guys?" ask Coach Pramana in a calm tone.

"YES, COACH!" shouts all of them. They pull out their energy to erase the tension that have build up within them.

One by one the players comes out from the changing room into the main gate. Coach Pramana approach Pandu Oka Jaya who is still at the back.

"Are you sure about this?" He ask with a worrying tone.

"I'm sure, Coach. 100% sure," say Pandu Oka Jaya firmly.

Coach Pramana just give him a smile and a pat on his shoulder. He is very worry about his player condition. It is his second time to play as starter again after his injury. In the match against Kannap, he was look fatigue after 80 minutes on the field. He can only pray that nothing bad will happen to Pandu. Coach Pramana followed his players who already walks to the main gate. He is accompany by his assistant. There they are waiting until the official give them permission to enter the field as the match will be begin.

MATCH OF THE DAY

Coach Pramana is watching at the sideline as his team is playing on the field. He is quite satisfied with the defense that can block Squornshelous surprise attack. He give instruction to his players for a more defensive style as their opponent is an offensive team. And it can be seen right from the start. They really can make difficult for his team. Fortunately, the defense can still give a great resistance against the attacks. And counter attacks when they got the opportunity. Although a draw is their main goal but if a win is possible, why not.

He is taking a lot of measure and notes on his players performance. He is always do this to give a better approach on his team in the second half. The first half match is quite intense and tight. Fortunately, they can equalize the goal after Squornshelous lead halfway in the first half. The team back to their changing room, waiting for the second half. They have the time to rest themselves. Coach Pramana give a short briefing to them. Not much to be change as they perform very well in the first half. They just need to be more focus and taking care of the defense.

"Are you okay?" ask Bayu Narmada who is seating next to Pandu Oka Jaya.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. I can play 80 minutes last time, right?" assure Pandu.

"I know but your face is a little bit pale," say Narmada in a worry tone.

"Trust me. I'm fine," answer Pandu once again.

"Don't force yourself too much," advice Narmada. Pandu just nodded and give a faint smile.

---

The second half is started and Squornshelous start with a strong attack. Pemecutanian defense is getting a little bit overwhelm with the sudden attack. Luckily, Rama Karyadi and Agus Kusumawijaya is coming to help. The defense is saved. Pemecutan goal line have been attacked several times by the opponent from the start of second half. This situation worrying Coach Pramana. He is afraid that the defense might be broken with the continuous attacks. Pandu Oka Jaya understand this. He team up with Rama Karyadi to drive away the ball from Pemecutan sides. Team up with Agus Kusumawijaya and Bayu Hermawan, they are initiate an attack to Squornshelous. The counter attack is so quick that the opponent is late to response. As Arya Tungga Wijaya is free from the opponent defense, Pandu give an assist to him to be finish with a beautiful goal. 2-1, Pemecutan in lead.

Coach Pramana is quite relieve that they are in lead although only one goal. But the tension arise as Squornshelous is immediately giving their efforts to fight back. Coach Pramana shouts to his team from the sidelines as they are being overwhelm with the numerous attacks. Some of them are nearly break Pemecutan goal. Fortunately, the luck is still on their side. They are also initiate several counter attack to widen their lead. Coach Pramana is also feel the tension as several times the goal is in great danger. He has to thank his defense for their great efforts. Nearing the 70 minutes, Coach Pramana begin to substitute his players mainly the defense. Raka Ekawana is subbing Dwi Putra Kusuma in the Left Back. And Surya Brata Wijaya is replace by Yahya Kusuma. This will freshen up their defense.

A great counter attack is built up again by the players which makes difficult the guest team for a moment. Although it is a failed attempt but they are given a corner shot. Agus Kusumawijaya took the shot. And the ball is soar high into the goal side where players from both sides are in standby mode. The situation is getting out of control. Pemecutanian players aiming the ball to the goal while Squornshelous players try to kick the ball out of their goal. In this hectic situation, Bayu Hermawan suddenly kick the ball to the upper right corner of Squornshelous goal. He is screaming. His teammates are screaming. They are also shock with the surprise goal. Everyone is hugging him. Even Coach Pramana is jumping in happiness. While a look of sad can be seen on Squornshelous players face. There's not much time left and they are 2 goals behind.

When the players are walking to the center field for a starter kick, Pandu Oka Jaya suddenly fall. Coach Praman notice this.

"Are you okay?" ask one of Squornshelous player who is near Pandu.

"I'm fine. Just stepping on something," answer Pandu with a smile. The Squornshelous player is also smiling then walk away.

"What happen?" Arya Tungga Wijaya approach him.

"Nothing. Guess, I'm stepping on something," Pandu reasoned.

"Be careful," say Arya Tungga Wijaya.

---

Euphoria can be felt in and out of Tegeh Kori National Stadium as their team is winning again. The 3-1 score is stayed until the end of the match and the result take Pemecutan up one place to the third spot on their respective Group. A difference 5 points from Twicetagria in the second spot.

"Thank you everyone for you great performance. It's been a very great match," say Coach Pramana thanking his players after they are relaxing in the changing room.

All of them are smiling widely. Happy with the result.

"Thanks to you too, Coach," says Laksamana which followed by a round of applause from the others. They are thanking their coach for his great efforts.

"Okay okay. This is too much," told Coach Pramana wanting they all to stop. The players are laughing at their coach. "So, get your self clean up and then we can go back and relax tonight. You can celebrate but once again, not too much, okay?" advice Coach Pramana.

"Yes, Sir!" shouts all of them in unison.

Coach Pramana just smiling with his players behavior which is can be funny sometimes. He left the changing room and go to his office. While the players are preparing for their shower. And some others are still resting up.

"I'm worried about him," whisper Wisnu Pramana to Laksamana when he see Pandu Oka Jaya walks to the shower stall.

"Me too. He can be stubborn sometimes," comment Laksamana.

"His face is so pale," add Wisnu.

"You guys saw when he fall on the field?" ask Arya.

"Yeah. What was really happen?" Wisnu turn to ask.

"I don't know for sure. He just say that he is stumble on something," explain Arya.

The three of them just exhale hardly. When suddenly....BRUK!!!!

"Someone call the ambulance!" shouts someone from the shower stall.

"What's the matter?" ask Laksamana who is rushing to the stall.

"Pandu fall unconscious," answer Bayu Hermawan, the one who shout for ambulance. He is seating beside Pandu's body who is lying on the floor unconscious. Everyone there become shock with the sudden situation.

"What's going on here?" ask Coach Pramana who has just come after being inform by Wisnu. He see Pandu's body who is lying naked on the floor. His face become worried. The situation in the changing room become so chaotic. The atmosphere change from happiness to sorrow.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

© Sporting Times Weekend 2021
WCQ 88 Honor Roll
by Mindy Cartwright, National Soccer Editor


In a cycle where the competition has somehow gotten ever tougher for qualifying for the 30 spots in the World Cup Finals, it may appear that the chalk has held form with a glance through the 18 groups showing that mainly pot 1 & 2 teams are in the drivers seats.
But a deeper dig into the 180 nations involved in tournament uncovers some of the teams that accepted the challenge but have come up short.

We'll run through some of the overachievers of WCQ 88, using our criteria that we've followed in the past—any nation drawn from pots 4-10 who will or possibly finish at least 3 places higher than their original seeding (the higher we go, we cut the gap to 2 places—on average, finishing in a higher position above an original seed is equivalent to about 75-100 KPB ranks for pots 7-10, and about 35-50 for pots 4-6).

We start with Pot 10, which normally includes those nations entering the WC for the first time that didn't participate in the Baptism of Fire, or nations that formerly had a ranking but have been inactive. In this edition we have a former World Cup winner included, and the largest number of teams that played far above their initial placement. (Number in parentheses is the group)
Adab (4) 5th; Bollonich (6) 6th; Igratia (7) 8th; Txakhaxi (8) 5th; Wight (11) 5th; The Hainan Union (9) 6th; Togonistan (12) 6th; Malandrin (13) 7th

In WCQ 87, no 9th seeds improved a minimum of 3 places; in fact among the two lowest pots, there were only three who made a significant improvement with San Ortelio earning a playoff berth from the 10th pot.
The Licentian Isles (3) 5th; Pratapgadh (11) 6th; Gergary (15) 5th

Pot 8 is normally where the better sides in the current BOF class begin, and these nations flexed their muscle, as has become the norm for those who take advantage of the additional experience.
Talamia (10) 3rd; Srednjaci (13) 5th; St Trinians (16) 3rd; Le Choix (18) 4th

There was only a single 7th seed to over perform last time out, and Ranoria makes the list for the second straight cycle (they were an honorable mention among the 8's last cycle), still in with a shot to finish second in Group 14.
Pluvia & the Saxean Isles (2) 4th; Silvedania (3) 4th; Ranoria (14) 3rd; Hispinas (15) 4th

Tumbra were a Pot 10 side last time that made the honor roll, and here they are again with a possible runner-up finish still in the cards, with Frestovannia not out of the picture either.
Tumbra (1) 3rd; Frestovenia (8) 4th; Pemecutan (17) 3rd

Only one nation to recognize from Pot 5, the third from a volatile Group 13, who still have a chance to gain another place.
Oberour Ar Moro (13) 3rd

Pot 4 is possibly one of the toughest seedings to be assigned in any WCQ draw—just behind the top 50 KPB ranks, holding off the hard charging group in the 75-125 cohort—and here we have a quintet that have either clinched a top two (Flefts & the Princesses) or have a chance to punch their ticket with a result on the final day.
Abanhfleft (4) 2nd; Jeruselem (10) 1st; Kohnhead (11) 2nd; Busoga (16) 2nd; Yuezhou (18) 2nd

Congratulations to all of the honorees, to those nations that performed better than their seeding that didn't make the list, as well as those nations who earned wins and/or draws against nations in the top three pots which were--or will be--highlights in your NT history.

[Indusse]

IFA NEWS NETWORK
We had a Coach, who made us proud.

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After the recent results which has been disappointing to the fans, Joseph Moteudi was sacked by the federation as the coach of the national team. His assistant coach was made the interim coach till a new coach is Appointed. Moteudi still serves as the Senior Advisor to the Indussean Football Federation

Joseph Moteudi

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Born: Shavalier County, Southbay (Aged 65)
Occupation: Professional Footballer, Manager.

Joseph Henry Moteudi, was born in Shavalier County in Southbay as the fourth son of
Treville Henry Moteudi and Clarissa Moteudi. Treville Moteudi was a businessman running a well known Chocolate Industry named as Treville Sweets™. Joseph Moteudi lived all his childhood as a rich kid who could afford a lot of things others couldn't. Treville thought Joseph would help his siblings run the chocolate factory but, at the age of seven Moteudi showed interest in Soccer. Treville didnt get in the way of his son's dreams to be an obstacle. Treville admitted him to the nearest soccer club for training and Mofrifi soon started to be a key player of that club. At the age of 16, he got admitted into Southbay Riveria FC and he played for 32 years for the team as the captain. He was a defender known for his Goalkeeping skills which he used when the team had some difficulties in substitution. At the age of 48, he retired from Southbay Riveria FC and started his managerial career with Dhalopura FC. Later he got called into Southbay Riveria again, this time as the manager. He won three league trophies and made SBRFC the best club in Indusse. The IFA appointed him as the National Team Coach and soon as the Senior Advisor to the Selection Board.

Player Career
Position: Defender
Clubs:
Shavalier County Youth Team (15 caps)
Merrington FC (3 caps)
South Bay Riveria FC B Team (20 caps)
Southbay Riveria FC (156 Caps)
Championships:
Southbay County Cup (5 Times for SCYT)
Liga Prime Division 2 (3 Times for Merrington FC)
Liga Prime (Division 1) (2 Times for SBRFC)

Managerial Career
Favourite Formation: 4-3-3
Clubs:
Dhalopura FC
Southbay Riveria FC

National Teams:
Indussean National Team

Achievements:
Dhalopura FC got promoted from Division 4 to Division 2 and then to Division 1. (5 Trophies for the club in Divisions 2 and 3)

SBRFC became Indusse's best club with 5 Liga Prime Championships and 3 Super Cup Trophies.

The Best Coach of Indussean National Team according to IFA.

Note: Joseph Moteudi is free now, he's ready to manage national teams. If interested contact.

[Nephara]

THE HERALD
QUALIFYING OVERVIEW - CORMORANTS OVERCOME EARLY AWAY JITTERS
Leonora Fischer Football Correspondent

It was only two years ago that Triffid Ramsey hit the ground running as Nephara manager, salvaging a qualifying campaign gone awry. Of course, she would be far better renowned for her success shortly thereafter, in the World Cup. But there was reason to suggest she was a safe pair of hands to guide Nephara smoothly to qualification.

For a while, however, this group hovered in the balance. The Cormorants were flawless at home, but lurched to dropping points in four of their first five away games. These included draws with Sarzonia and Huayramarca, both strong sides who endured disappointing campaigns but were able to raise their games against the World Champions. Unranked Togonistan briefly reached the front of the group in a blistering run of form, the media in Eshialand even opining they'd likely qualify. They fell away, with Hampton Island and Squidroidia ultimately pushing Nephara hardest; it was second-seeds Hampton that beat Nephara in the first leg, while Nephara's six points over Squidroidia were pivotal in securing the group with room to spare.

Seven straight wins - including that home win over Squidroidia - have clinched top spot with a game to spare, but Triffid Ramsey's still far from happy with how it's all played out. "How can I be happy when we drop our heads, concede two soft goals?" she protested to the media after a 7-2 win against Brookstation. 7-2. "Taken in isolation, we technically lost the last half-hour."

But by the other half of the equation, Nephara have scored a staggering 61 goals in qualifying, as many as Farfadillis, and second-most overall. Why was this? Well, in part, it represented genuine firepower; they've put at least three goals past every single team in the second half of qualifying so far. It also, bluntly, represented a cultural difference. Some nations have a belief that you should stop trying after putting three or four unanswered goals past a minnow. The Cormorants want to leave a mark. Preferably a bloody one. And so, fifteen goals in two games against Sonindia and Brookstation; this with the B-listers. It paid off for Pawnbroker and the other Fletcher, who earned places in later squads.

There's been some minor reshuffles in the squad over the past weeks. Most prominently, Fletcher has been supplanted by Fletcher; that's Exene for Thalassa, who after a rocky debut against Brookstation managed to impress Ramsey with later opportunities. Prodigal leftback Radeka Lind has supplanted Muscadin in recent matches, while an injury sustained in the league looks to have ruled luck charm Traudl Mrdja out of the World Cup. Gareth Pawnbroker appears to have got the nod - a very different type of player, a pure behemoth unlike anyone else in the squad.

In summary, then, qualifying may not have been smooth throughout, and there's definite room for improvement - particularly in defence. One would expect to see the side sharpen up against the toughest opposition, and a home fixture against a Hampton Island side battling for a shot at automatic qualification is the ideal warm-up for the main event. In another couple of months, Nephara will enter the World Cup as the standout favourites, with a target on their back the size of a small moon. Triffid Ramsey wouldn't have it any other way.

NEPHARAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT FINALE
Goalkeepers: 1 - Aranea Provost (Spartangrad, EUR), 12 - Raluca Garamond (Sabrefell Athletic), 20 - Fasolt Senninger (AFC Treason)
Defenders: 2 - Rovena Stride (AFC Treason), 3 - Vivica Muscadin (Sabrefell Moths), 5 - Reniira Clevinger (Sabrefell Athletic), 6 - Miska Brabanzon (Sabrefell Moths), 17 - Pristina Soeringer (Stein-los Turkish, PAS), 19 - Besart Sale (AFC Treason), 22 - Radeka Lind (Vermillion Rage)
Midfielders: 4 - Rook Timekeeper (Sabrefell Moths), 7 - Anselm Koerner (1830 Cathair, AUD), 8 - Lothaire Cromwell (AC Izotz Zubia, AUD), 11 - Kendra Considine Ramsey (AFC Treason), 13 - Severine Reed (Raynor City United, VAL), 14 - Thalassa Fletcher (La Nueva Avenida, FFD), 15 - Rashica Horvath (La Nueva Avenida, FFD), 18 - Chantal Kalevi (Stein-los Turkish, PAS)
Forwards: 9 - Bastet North (Jungle Strike, VIL), 10 - Konrad Lovelace (Revolutionaries, EUR), 16 - Danica Marinkovic (Royal Rumiatzi, ASG), 21 - Latona Basilisk (Mâ Âlâmëómë, FFD), 23 - Ruby Gjasula (Bastion, EUR)

SCHEDULE
Nephara 5 - 2 Sarzonia (97) @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Huayramarca (48) 1 - 1 Nephara
Nephara 5 - 0 Sonindia (322) @ Phoenix Rise (Corvistone)
Brookstation (247) 5 - 3 Nephara
Nephara 4 - 1 Central Shaneville (154) @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Squidroidia (76) 0 - 1 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 0 Quakmybush (109) @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Nephara 6 - 2 Togonistan (UR) @ Ludd's Hammer (Stahlburg)
Hampton Island (37) 1 - 0 Nephara
Sarzonia (97) 3 - 3 Nephara
Nephara 3 - 0 Huayramarca (48) @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Sonindia (322) 0 - 8 Nephara
Nephara 7 - 2 Brookstation (247) @ The Iron Hill (Vermillion)
Central Shaneville (154) 1 - 4 Nephara
Nephara 3 - 2 Squidroidia (76) @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Quakmybush (109) 1 - 3 Nephara
Togonistan (UR) 0 - 3 Nephara
Nephara vs. Hampton Island (37) @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)

[Sharktail]

SHARKTAIL POST SPECIAL
THANK YOU EVERYONE

'I stand here the last moment. I hope i will end it well but i can't. I sorry to make this our farewell. There were nothing i can leave you today. I gratefull to everyone here. Thanks, even i cannot finish with a winning memories, i will remember this heartwarming memory.'

From the start until the end, after the final whistle blowed, Gaby cannot help but feel emotional. The last game, the last minutes, the last touch for him in Sharktail uniform. Even it end in defeat, he more than gratefull and emotional with all the applause from everyone. Even from the start, when Poafmersia already leading two goal, everyone try to hide their dissapointment and stand, cheering for Sharktail. Carrol, always relax on the bench as he continues to give instruction and tactical to all Sharktail player. Sharktail get a gift goal in minute 79 from shot by Virman. Whistle blown, 3-1 to Poafmersia.

Both Sharktail and Poafmersia giving a guard of honour to Gaby as he walk in to the field. The announcer repeating his name 3 time. Everyone else know, this will be the last they will hear his name shouted. At the end of the match, once again everyone clapping his hand as Gaby waved at the fans. 'Thank You Captain'. That was the last shout by The Blue Army. The man who has been a key figure for Sharktail, a leader on the field, scoring goal one after another. Keeping Sharktail hope alive, motivate the other teammates.

After the match, Gaby give his final speech to all fans and players.' Thank you for today. I cant helped but feel like crying. From the start i come out to the field, everyone already waiting, cheering. I thank you all to make this great environment. It really feel like homes. Even i will not be here again on this pitch in the future. Poafmersia, they are great opponets, i admit it. I know how good they are. I feel small to receive this much applause from them. It an honour for me. Thank you to all of you also all Poaf fans. For me, i am nothing to compare to you all. You all are more great than me even you are still youngs. To all the management that i worked under or meet in my career, starting from Baptism of Fire 68, then i be in the team for 5 edition of world cup qualifying, start from 81, before we stop a bit, then back in 85,86,87 and this as the last, 88. We have been working together in many tournamnet, Internation Association Football, World Cup Qualification, Baptsim of Fire, Cup of Harmony and ofcourse, the one i will remember, Melayu Archipelago Cup. Starting from BoF 68, i meet a lot people. My teammate keep changing, whether they retired or not being call up again. I not put this situation to show them i was the best here. No, its not. I not the best. I put this as it just the trust that manager believe in me. I will never said i am the best. What you think would happen if i alone bringing ball on the field without all my teammate. Nothing, just waiting to getting beaten up. So i believe, not just me that has to get this great applause. All of the player who played for Sharktail national team no matter in what match, all are great. All are legends. Thank you for your great teamwork, you all help me to be more confident in myself. I dont care whether everyone will have an eyes focussing on me or not, i doing my job and i will fulfill my role to lead this team as far as we can. I hope i can be here for more longer. Sorry to everyone. I know where i am right now. Outside, there are more talented, skillfull and hungry striker to fill this spot. I know they are more good than me now. So, i hope you guys give a good welcome and support to whoever fill this shoes. As the last, i only have a single MAC 6 medal to take home. My record are nothing. Everyone can breaking it. All time top goalscorer, someone will break it in no time. I will not claim that to make me as a greatest footballer of Sharktail. You wait, many will be more greatest than me. Thank you for always smile, laugh, cry with us. Thank you for your support. Even some of you comment harsh, i know you do it because you love this team. For all the next gen player, look at the badge in you uniform. Play with your pride, give it all you can. I not leaving you a legacy, i want you to create it on your own. As for me, MAC cup the only i can, so i hope you will bring it to more upper level. Farewell all.'

Gaby end his speech with a bowdown his head. As Gaby start walking toward the tunnel, everyone keep clapping. They know that this guys will never wearing a blue jersey anymore and come out from this tunnel anymore. Bof 68 vs Krenerous, he make his debut as well scoring his first goal, then he keep appearing in blue uniform, making 125 appearances, score 74 goal and create 17 assist. And today against Poafmersia, he completed his 126 caps, to end his international career. You are always in our heart. Thank you.

Suimede-1

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Sharktail-2
Azaim '49
Haziq '73

X1 vs Suimede:
Maxter(GK) • Harold(John m55) • Fiqal • Hidawi • Irfan •Chandra(Rafdi m83) • Badhri • Azaim • Balang
Gaby(c) • Haziq

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Sharktail-1
Virman '79

X1 vs Poafmersia:
Asra(GK) • Harold • Fiqal • Hidawi • Irfan •Chandra • Badhri(Nik Akif m60) • Azaim • Balang(Rawilson m71)
Gaby(c) • Virman

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Poafmersia-3
Tuft '23
Haodoa '36
Sanchez '71

[Busoga Islands]

The Busoga Chronicle
The Islands #1 News Source!

World Cup Qualifying Final Day- Live Blog


Will we see scenes like the above tonight in Freeport?

FREEPORT ISLES- The Final Day is upon us. And as always, the five matches for Group 16 will be played all at the same time. For this time zone in the Glorious Southwest, that means a nice kickoff time of 6:30 PM local. We all know what's at stake- a draw or a win puts us, at minimum, in the World Cup Qualifying playoffs. A loss leaves us at the mercy of events in the St. Trinians game. And, of course, if a heavily favored Pasarga wins at home, then they in all likelihood will clinch a ticket to the World Cup Finals.

Here are today's matchups. Home team, obviously, listed first.

Freeport Isles v. Busoga Islands
Ethane v. Blouman Empire
Pasarga v. Gatchingerrak Union
St Trinians v. Grandistania
Ancherion v. West Zirconia

We will bring up the live blog for the Final Day. Of course, the Ancherion and Ethane games have nothing to do with us, so we won't have eyes on those two games at all, just final scores. We'll be at the Busoga game here in Freeport, but also live updates on the action in the St. Trinians match, as well as the Pasarga match.

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4:00 PM: Two and a half hours before kickoff, and both teams have arrived at the stadium here in Freeport. No fans have arrived at the stadium, as the gates won't open until 2 hours before the game kicks. There are large numbers of Busogan fans marching through the city- an unusual sight for what is not known to be the rowdiest of fanbases. But success breeds fans, and this is as large as a travelling cohort of Busogan fans that we've ever seen. There are rumors that there will be a massive number of Busogan fans at the stadium with tickets- 30%? 40% of the crowd? Maybe more?

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4:20 PM: In his pre-game press conference, manager Alexander Bumba said that despite the pressure, the team was looking relaxed. "As we should be." He told reporters. "We believe in ourselves, and in our ability to earn the result required. This team has shown the ability throughout qualifying to match up with anybody thrown at us. Our goal is to get to the World Cup, and one more result is required to keep that goal alive. Freeport have a very talented team, bolstered by an elite club side in Freeport United, but success can indeed happen.

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4:35 PM: One hour and 55 minutes until kickoff. The gates have officially opened- fans are starting to enter the stadium. We'll let you know our crowd estimates, but it's a soldout match on a ticketed basis.

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4:52 PM: President Kasekende Sr has tweeted out a good luck message to the team, and a picture of himself in a Busogan soccer jersey alongside the leader of the opposition. Six parliamentarians are in the picture, each one wearing a jersey of one of Busoga's six professional clubs. The message was clear- the whole country was united in support of the national team. Can the national team pull through tonight?

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5:09 PM: The waiting game continues as more fans pile in. Probably around 40% of people are wearing red? Hard to estimate, but hopefully enough travelling fans to give our boys a lot of sound.

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5:37 PM: Less than an hour before kickoff now. Players back on the field, doing stretches. Alexander Bumba is speaking to his Freeport counterpart, and the words that are being exchanged will never be known to us.

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6:15 PM: Just 15 minutes before kickoff. Teams are in the tunnels now, as the pre-game ceremonies are going to begin. You know how it is- anthems and coin toss and what not.

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6:22 PM: The stadium is full, and the Busogan anthem has begun. It is heard very audibly from Busogan fans- not just in the visiting fan section, but all over the stadium. It's a resounding chorus- maybe 40-45% of the fans in the building are Busoga fans? There is a lot of red amongst the blue. While the Freeport official supporters section is of course in full voice, there are Busogan fans mixed and scattered throughout the rest of the stadium. Should be quite a day.

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6:30 PM: The referee looks at his watch. The day is final here. Freeport's #9 stands over the ball, waiting for the referee to blow his whistle to start the game. He blows it- all 5 games in Group 16 kicking off simultaneously. And as Freeport's #9 passes it backward, it is game on. Will this game be our moment of glory? Or our moment of destruction?