Independents Cup 15- EVERYTHING THREAD

by **PotatoFarmers** » Sun Mar 27, 2022 9:58 am

Adab 2-2 Poafmersia
Goalscorers: Mitchel Rosales 17'; Leontiy Seet 69'
Lineup (4-3-3): Nicole Potts (c); Mitchel Rosales, Diamond Byan, Ali Berger, Mac Rojas; Leonara Hall, Michael Jackson, Valentin Gotti; Janelle Frederick, Jordan Huerta, Leontiy Seet
Substitutes: Natalia Abbott (Rosales 50'); Magreta Rym (Jackson 74'); Tessa Bjarnesen (Frederick 86')

Poafmersia 6–2 New Zhengguo
Goalscorers: Jordan Huerta 6', 71' (assisted by Leontiy Seet); Janelle Frederick 27' (assisted by Leonara Hall), 58', 89' (assisted by Hall); Magreta Rym 42' (assisted by Valentin Gotti)
Lineup (4-3-3): Nicole Potts (c); Mac Rojas, Diamond Byan, Ali Berger, Zak Kaloyanov; Leonara Hall, Magreta Rym, Valentin Gotti; Janelle Frederick, Jordan Huerta, Leontiy Seet
Substitutes: Kelefe Hans (Berger 65'); Liina Williamson (Huerta 82')

Gyoric 2–4 Poafmersia
Goalscorers: Jordan Huerta 17', 45+1' (assisted by Leontiy Seet), 67' (assisted by Janelle Frederick), 83' (assisted by Magreta Rym)
Lineup (4-3-3): Nicole Potts (c); Mac Rojas, Huangdi MacRae, Ali Berger, Natalia Abbott; Michael Jackson, Min Berg, Magreta Rym; Janelle Frederick, Jordan Huerta, Leontiy Seet
Susbtitutes: Kelefe Hans (MacRae 59'); Shirou Amatore (Potts 71'); Tessa Bjarnesen (Frederick 83')

The 15th edition of the IAC serves as a perfect milestone for the Red Panjias. A time to reflect and rethink about the nation's football history, and look at the new generation of players that are up and rising. The 7th time the nation plays at the Championship, and the 2nd time IAC games are being held in Poafmersia - with the Red Panjias playing all 5 home games in front of the home crowd, here in Fiskadaha City, at the Libira National Stadium.

Many fans remember how the Red Panjias started out their journey in international football. A dominant battle in the 71st edition of the Baptism of Fire, losing only to Trolleborg in the semifinals on their way to 3rd place. Then, a solid finish in a tough qualification group at the qualifiers for the 84th World Cup. That was also the cycle which kickstarted Poafmersia's dominance in the IAC - 4th place, followed by 2 titles in the subsequent 2 editions. What many termed as the "first golden generation" of Poafmersia - featuring some of the best players the nation has ever seen in its history. Shakira Handris, Joel Haodao, Gisiik Moonar, Sandi Jaliaha, Danzik Hoboson - they formed the backbone of a team that caught the multiverse by surprise, and made the name for Poafmersia on the footballing stage. In particular, the nation's record at their first 3 IACs was absolutely gorgeous - just 2 defeats. The first team to defend the IAC title was therefore born.

The Libira National Stadium should be no stranger to any Independent nation. Many know just how ridiculous the fortress actually is, with the fans in Libira cheering their team on like it is no tomorrow. The fans are an absolutely solid bunch - they are absolutely supportive of the team, even through the darkest days, which is basically recent history. The last IAC was the nadir of the national team's heroics, however, with the team falling out in the group stage - a surprise given the team's capabilities. But with the recent two qualifiers ending in disappointment for a team, resulting in calls for an earlier-than-expected rebuild by bringing in younger talents, and restarting the team's U18/U21 capabilities.

This new team was a surprise in the first 3 games. Since the Tuft-Dufour-Innocenti (IDT) front 3 retired after the Cup of Harmony quarterfinals exit, Jordan Huerta has taken the lead in scoring goals, and did the team a solid by netting 6 in the first 3 games. A quad against newcomers Gyoric, as well as a brace against New Zhengguo was definitely a solid response to critics who felt he was "incapable" of replacing any of the IDT front 3. Not only that, 25 years old Leontiy Seet also translated his good form for FC United onto the international stage, bagging a goal against defending champions Adab on Matchday 1, and producing an assist each in the other 2 games. In defence, Red Devils defender Kelefe Hans had solid cameos off the bench, that head coach Adnan Suliaha confirmed that he should get his first start over the next 2 group stage games. Magreta Rym fared well in his first 2 IAC appearances, producing a goal and an assist in 2 games. There are more players who have showcased some potential, including the Dury FC duo of Liina Williamson and Bolívar Tamura, as well as Huangdi MacRae who stepped up to be a flexible partner alongside either Ali Berger or Diamond Byan. This squad wasn't as young as earlier Red Panjias teams, but it was a fresh change that really reaped rewards, having scored 12 goals in 3 games, and with the team aiming to join the round of 16 alongside defending champions Adab unbeaten.

by **Togonistan** » Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:46 pm

Opinion: The state of Togonistani football

Luca Faleta is leading Togonistan as the team captain in IAC 15.

In light of Togonistan's participation in the 15th Independents Cup, we were contacted by Bennet Van Dien, who wished to give his opinion on the state of Togonistani football. Tgsports hereby publishes his opinion in an unedited form.

The Yellow Warriors. Yellow Tribe. Thundercats. All these fancy nicknames given to Togonistani national team throughout the years. I still remember the first time I pulled on a yellow shirt and strolled to the pitch to defend the glory of my mighty homeland. Being merely 22 years old, seeing the crowd on the stadium chanting our names was an amazing feeling. Despite the nation, as well as the team still being in it's infancy, I was determined to do the best I can for my home nation in the world of football.

Years passed, the sport gained more and more popularity. Big stadiums and facilities were built in the outskirts of Tushlark. Iasona Esera, President of Togonistan National Football Association back then, proudly slammed fist to his chest and told everyone how football is THE national sport of Togonistan and how the work being done today will be something that millions of Togonistanis can be proud of for generations to come. Promises of bringing Togonistan to the World Cup. Promises of investing into youth football. Promises of building out a fully functioning football pyramid of domestic championships. Promises. Promises followed by more promises.

The harsh reality is, after all these years, TNFA has failed to deliver on most of these promises. Football inside the borders of Togonistan is very much alive. Stadiums are packed with fans almost every weekend, to support their local clubs. Football culture is very much alive. However, when we look outside of the borders, the situation has been, to put it mildly, pornographic. Togonistan's first appearance in a major international tournament came in the 3rd edition of Global Cup of Soccer, the competition that was, according to TNFA, meant to be a stepping stone for the national team. We made it to quarterfinals, which was regarded by TNFA as kind of a big deal. Following that result, Togonistan made it's eventual debut in the 81st World Cup, where we got kicked out in the group stages. Expectedly, however, the brighter days were yet to come, right?

What followed instead was a long hiatus for the national team, with no appearances in any major tournaments whatsoever. TNFA were shrugging their shoulders, speaking of lack of funding and bringing up all sorts of other excuses. Excuses, excuses and more excuses. That's what the initial promises got replaced with. That feeling of standing proud and competing for your country faded over time in players, myself included. The national team slowly faded into being nothing but a formality on paper, unless we count the small number of friendly matches played against our regional neighbours. Where did it all go wrong?

Perhaps it was the organizing inside TNFA, or lack of it thereof. Domestic club football is a beautiful thing, it really is. However, in a nation like Togonistan, it's just not a viable way of making it to the world stage. Inside Togonistan Premier League, there have been a grand total of TWO clubs that, supposedly, should be considered full-time professionals. By now, one of them has gone bankrupt and the other is struggling in debt. Football inside Togonistan is the playground for amateurs. You simply do not build a competitive team with Sunday players.

TNFA needs to pick their act up and start sending the national team to more tournaments. Togonistan's next World Cup appearance came in the 88th edition, 7(!) editions later. Sure, the team actually managed to play better than last time and made it to headlines by winning their first five matches in a row during qualifying stages. However, that performance once again never saw a sequel, with the team being absent from the next two editions.

With the way TNFA functions, they give out the vibe of an infant who does something only if they feel like it. Constantly participating in international tournaments is key to building success, as well as giving players the much-needed experience from outside of their home leagues. I was surprised when I saw Togonistan in the list of participants for the current edition of Independents Cup, as following the fiasco of recent years, I had lost any hope for TNFA. Not that the appearance in tournament is going to bring much of it back, but it's still good to see at least some light at the end of the tunnel. Looking at the roster, it's nice to see some younger blood in there, as well as the tiny number of players who have gone to build their career overseas receiving calls to the national team. I can only hope that this time, TNFA is not going to stop there and will actually pick their act up and keep sending the team to more tournaments this year (such as the 91st World Cup, before anything). It is of vital importance to the public image of the team, the fans and, most importantly, the players seeking to build long and successful careers in football. Otherwise, TNFA will remain to be nothing but a constructor of half-baked attempts and broken dreams.

Bennet Van Dien is a professional footballer currently playing for AFK Perman-Ziga in Liga Prima, the top tier league in Kassegrochia. Playing as central midfielder, Van Dien was formerly part of Togonistan National Football Team, part of Togonistan's squad in the 81st World Cup as well as a 5-time Togonistan Premier League Champion with Tushlark Superstars.

READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS:
IAC15: Togonistan fights out a 1-1 draw against Drawkland.
Toma Maiava: We're looking into a change of strategy for the upcoming matches.
Analysis: Will Togonistan be able to climb out from the bottom of their group?

by **Trolleborg** » Sun Mar 27, 2022 3:07 pm

Greetings, compatriots!
It's TTV. We will inform you, our dear sports fans, about the latest news from the life of our beloved national football team. As we expected, the AI that responsible for 3D match broadcasting was found lacking resources, as often happened in similar cases when teams had to cover the matches of teams fielding heterogeneous lineups or unusual creatures, performing in specific uniforms or special conditions. And this time he also gave up, unable to understand the appearance on the field of the stadium named after December 1st of a crowd of knights in armor.

This is how came to visit us the team of Belnegau, principality where our football players and fans went last year to the IAC-14 and got a truly unforgettable experience - not necessarily pleasant, since still a difficult life and difficult conditions in which the population of this state exists can produce a very specific impression - but definitely unforgettable.

Guests perform in football matches in their traditional combat attire, which includes metal elements in abundance, including sharp spurs, so our head coach had to solve not a very simple puzzle of how to deal with them satisfactory. It is quite difficult to engage in single combats with such opponents, but their mobility is slightly limited, and this determined the composition for the linuep - Morten Trogil mainly delegated to the field, fast and agile players who know how to handle the ball at speed and are capable of sudden maneuvers, and added to them some strong powerful guys. So, after almost a two-year break, Tom Gulbranden appeared at the field, being entrusted with a one of two forward positions. The team had the daunting task of protecting themselves and their opponents from possible injuries, and so for this game, the leg guards were custom-made from materials commonly used for bullet protection, which made it possible to avoid terrible injuries when colliding with iron-clad opponents and, moreover, collision with such material did not cause significant damage to them. Only eleven knights arrived in Trolleborg, with no replacement if anything happened, so although it’s hard to imagine how a football player dressed in a regular uniform could harm a knight clad in armor, you need to think about it too. In the end, a fall for any reason in such armor can also cause injury.

The match proceeded rather peculiarly, because the guests' players were very unusual, and it took a lot of time to somehow adapt to their style of play and its features. Although they have seen everything, from crystal wolves to cobblestones, our players could not cope with their nerves for quite some time. But still, shortly before the break, Troll managed to rob one of the knights in the center of the field, and managed, before two more ran into him, to make an excellent long pass on the distance of about thirty meters, and there Tom Gulbranden jumped, on the penalty line, it seems, approximately to a height of stadium and with one precise nod of the head sent the ball straight into the far upper corner. His calculation turned out to be correct, the goalkeeper, clad in armor, could not reach the ball by a just a few centimeters.

Our team started the second half not very confidently, and soon they were almost punished for it: after a mighty shot, which was delivered by Leopold von Mühlenfurt with his iron-clad leg, our goal was saved only by the post. Good thing she's not alive. But Kasper Wolters is, and he spent about five minutes until he came to his senses after taking on himself another shot from one of the knights a few minutes after this episode. For some time, our players were rescued by speed and maneuver, until in the middle of the half, Gulbranden used his might in the best possible way - after a cross from the flank, he soared into the air, but instead of the direct shot expected from him, he sent the ball along the line to Torben Kranforde, who came to the spot as fast as he can, and that all that remained to do is not to miss the goal, which, to the relief of our fans, he did.

In the remaining time, the knights managed to deliver serious problems to our defense, but thanks to skill, courage (and, probably, leg shields), the players from Trolleborg were able to defend the goal. Finally – we do not know for how long – our team managed to get a positive ratio of victories and defeats in the matches held at home as the hosts of the tournament. So, dear viewers, we will express moderate joy, and, with bated breath, we look forward to the next game.

by **Sajnur** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 6:27 am

IAC 15: How Things Stand

The 15th edition of the Independent Associations Cup has visited the various parts of the multiverse through three matchdays, to the excitement and cheers of billions of fans in dozens of countries. This particular tournament has an unusual progression in that out of the eight groups of six, the top team goes directly to a Round of 16 while second and third in each group goes to a preliminary knockout round to fill the other eight spots. Here's how things stand for the teams hoping to finish top three in their groups.

Group Hosts
Top Seeds
Qualified at least to Round of 24
Cannot top group

Group A

#                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Poafmersia                      3   2  1  0   12   6  +6    7
2 Adab                            3   2  1  0    5   2  +3    7
3 Octapolis                       3   2  0  1    5   5   0    6
4 New Zhengguo                    3   1  0  2    4   7  −3    3
5 Saterun                         3   1  0  2    6   5  +1    3
6 Gyoric                          3   0  0  3    3  10  −7    0

Hosts and two time winners Poafmersia lead the group on goal difference over top seed and defending champions Adab, and it is likely they who will battle it out for top spot. Octapolis runs close behind and in good position to reach the knockouts, but if they want a bye they'll need to upset Poafmersia and hope Adab stumble. It's all but over for Gyoric as they're six points behind Octapolis and have already lost to them and seven behind the leaders, so even if they beat New Zhengguo and Adab they can only get to the Wild Card round if New Zhengguo beats Octapolis and Gyoric beats both of them in a three way head to head on goal difference. Saterun are in dire straits too, with one win and matches against both leaders remaining. New Zhengguo look like they're in a bad position, but their losses to Poafmersia and Adab are out of the way and they just need to beat Gyoric and Octapolis to take a guaranteed third.

Group B

#                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eshialand                       3   2  1  0    7   5  +2    7
2 Trolleborg                      3   2  0  1    6   1  +5    6
3 Tjorl                           3   1  1  1    6   4  +2    4
4 Belnegau                        3   1  1  1    3   2  +1    4
5 East Slavona                    3   0  3  0    4   4   0    3
6 Magnecia                        3   0  0  3    0  10 −10    0

Eshialand are in the drivers seat in this group, having already beaten Trolleborg. They only need to sweep aside IAC 14 hosts Belnegau and basement dwellers Magnecia to take top spot and a Round of 16 slot. Trolleborg are still on for a knockout stage appearance, but Tjorl and East Slavona won't promise to be easy opponents, particularly not with the latter drawing Eshialand. East Slavona's need to get something against the top seed does put them in a tricky position for top three, though. Sure they drew against Eshialand, but they also drew Tjorl and Belnegau. Not that those two are doing any better. Tjorl also have Trolleborg, Belnegau have Eshialand, and they'll be ending their group stage against each other, while East Slavona at least have a match against Magnecia to pad the stats. Magnecia are somehow still in it, even as they're quickly looking like the worst team in the competition.

Group C

#                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 HUElavia                        3   3  0  0    7   1  +6    9
2 The 14 Stars                    3   2  0  1    5   4  +1    6
3 Freeport Isles                  3   2  0  1    7   5  +2    6
4 Abanhfleft                      3   1  0  2    8   6  +2    3
5 Sudilia                         3   1  0  2    7  12  −5    3
6 The Republic of Dansen          3   0  0  3    4  10  −6    0

HUElavia, as the country types out its name, are hosts, top seeds, and leaders of Group C. Having made five of the last seven IAC finals, this is not a surprise. What is a surprise is Abanhfleft sitting fourth, having lost to The 14 Stars and also fallen behind Freeport Isles. Don't be fooled by this though. Freeport Isles' wins have been against fellow unranked teams Sudilia and the Republic of Dansen, and they still have Abanhfleft and Huelavia to play, and Abanhfleft's other fixture is against Dansen. This group is one to watch.

Group D

#                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Squidroidia                     3   3  0  0    7   1  +6    9
2 Forbidden Territories           3   3  0  0    7   3  +4    9
3 StrayaRoos Barrier Islands      3   1  0  2    4   7  −3    3
4 Omerica                         3   1  0  2    2   3  −1    3
5 Muralos                         3   1  0  2    2   3  −1    3
6 Quintessence of Dust            3   0  0  3    3   8  −5    0

In this group, home advantage beats high ranking. Omerica are the highest seeds in Group D, but have already lost to both hosts, including an unranked Strayaroos Barrier Islands, and SBI lost to fellow unranked Forbidden Territories. Granted, the Forbidden Territories are three from three having also beaten Muralos and Quintessence of Dust, and are in a straight fight with Squidroidia, who they play next, for top spot. Quintessence of Dust sit bottom and are yet to play Omerica so their chances are looking grim.

Group E

#                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 TJUN-ia                         3   3  0  0    9   5  +4    9
2 Britonisea                      3   1  1  1    2   2   0    4
3 Macbon                          3   1  1  1    7   8  −1    4
4 Valkyriah                       3   1  0  2    5   6  −1    3
5 Sannyamathland                  3   1  0  2    8   8   0    3
6 Hebitaka                        3   1  0  2    1   3  −2    3

It's another group for the hosts as they sit one and two, but Britonisea's second place is incredibly fragile as they're only ahead of Macbon on goal difference and bottom team Hebitaka by a point, and are yet to play TJUNia. Macbon are also yet to play TJUNia, making them equally vulnerable. Sannyamathland are the second seeds in this group, but they're sitting fifth and have already lost to both Britonisea and Macbon, meaning unlike Valkyria and Hebitaka two wins doesn't guarantee them passage out of the group. TJUN-ia are sitting pretty, needing only a point to take a spot in the Round of 16, but for the rest it's a bitter slogfest.

Group F

#                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kriegiersien                    3   3  0  0   12   3  +9    9
2 Sajnur                          3   2  1  0    6   4  +2    7
3 Reginalida                      3   0  3  0    2   2   0    3
4 Space                           3   0  2  1    5   6  −1    2
5 United Adaikes                  3   0  1  2    8  11  −3    1
6 Football Tiger                  3   0  1  2    2   9  −7    1

It's Sajnur's group! Go Sajnur! And we're not even doing that badly! We have seven points in three games, doing most of what we had to do to progress to the knockout stages. For once our fate is entirely in our hands. Beat Space and Kriegiersien, and we go top of Group F and straight to the Round of 16. Lose both, however, and we run the risk of elimination altogether, For once it's a long shot if we enter that position, but that draw against Reginalida could sting fatally. Kriegiersien, nearly bare buttocks and all, are the top seeds of Group F and top of the group itself. Indeed, along with Indusse they're the only team to have twelve goals and three wins, having dispatched United Adaikes and Football Tiger 4-2 and 6-0 respectively before beating Space 2-1. Reginalida are the third unbeaten team in the group, and with three draws they sit third in the group, unlike East Slavona in Group B. Having drawn both us and Space, they're in a good position to progress to the Round of 16 even if they lose to Kriegiersien, though they'll need to be wary of a Space team looking to improve on what for them are poor results, and that draw to Football Tiger, while not entirely unexpected, will still be sorely disappointing after getting two valuable points in their first two games. Go Sajnur!

Group G

#                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Almuzahara                      3   2  0  1    4   3  +1    6
2 Kencana                         3   1  1  1    3   3   0    4
3 Hopal                           3   1  1  1    4   6  −2    4
4 Sixty-ninE X                    3   1  1  1    4   2  +2    4
5 Drawkland                       3   1  1  1    6   6   0    4
6 Togonistan                      3   0  2  1    1   2  −1    2

This one is just a tangled mess. Almuzahara top the group having avoided the cluster of drawn matches and beaten Kencana and Togonistan, but a 3-2 loss to Drawkland on opening day means they still have to watch their backs. Good thing for them, though, Drawkland have played both unranked teams, Hopal and Togonistan, and left those fixtures with a grand total of one point. Yikes. We watched these guys win IAC 6, and now they're playing like us! 69X and Kencana aren't exactly powerhouses, but they're in with about as much of a shot as Drawkland on these numbers. Even Togonistan is technically capable of finishing on top.

Group H

#                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Indusse                         3   3  0  0   12   4  +8    9
2 Picksail Islands                3   2  1  0    2   0  +2    7
3 Kyzhurkistan                    3   1  0  2    6   7  −1    3
4 Juvencus                        3   1  0  2    2   8  −6    3
5 Garifunya                       3   0  2  1    4   5  −1    2
6 Montana Verde                   3   0  1  2    4   6  −2    1

Indusse are romping this group. Sure, they've conceded one more goal than Kriegiersien, but you can blame a 6-3 barnstormer with Kyzhurkistan for that. If you want proof of their IAC winning credential, look no further than their 4-0 thrashing of Juvencus. The IAC ranks this team #1 for a reason. Their main enemy at this point isn't the opposing team, but complacency. They're well on track not only to topping Group H, but to going deep into the knockout stages. They're already guaranteed at least a spot in the Wild Card round. To secure 1st, though, they need to get at least two points against Picksail Islands and Montana Verde. The latter are in poor form, having already lost to the Picksail Islands and a stuttering Juvencus, but are still dangerous second seeds. Those Picksail Islands? They're yet to concede a single goal. Indusse have the strike force, but they'll be up against a formidable defence that's fighting for unexpected glory. Fellow group hosts Montana Verde, meanwhile, are in the doldrums but still well in contention, just two points behind third place Kyzhurkistan. Juvencus also have significant pedigree in this tournament, but will need to parley their 2-1 win over Montana Verde into a run of good results if their humiliations at the hands of Kyzhurkistan and Indusse are to be avenged.

by **Eshialand** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 7:07 am

Floating Above
Eshialand 3-2 Tjorl
Eshialand 3-3 East Slavona

Three matches in, and the Owls top their group... but what does that even mean here?

Their 2-1-0 record is certainly enviable, and basically nobody can deny that... but failing to beat East Slavona can be taken as a sign of weakness that this team, in their attempt to win it all, truly cannot afford. This is supposed to be the cycle where they at least get to the semifinals, if not the finals, and here they are drawing against unranked teams again! Is this the performance of an IAC-winning team? Is this what it is?

Some fans are beginning to lose hope after the draw. They figured that Eshialand's early success must've been short-lived, and that things were only going to get worse from here, with the Owls' next match being the time-travelling Pot 3 wild-cards Belnegau. Others, however, don't see this as a failure. Weird sh*t happens, and the Owls were just off their game, in these fans' eyes. These are the True Believers, the ones who saw Eshialand's start in their BoF and still thought "yeah, they can win that", the ones who saw Eshialand draw Legalese at the start of the last Cup of Harmony and said "no problem, they'll still make the playoffs", the ones who, even when the Owls blew it against the United States of Great America in the last IAC, said that "yeah, this is a quarterfinals team." These fans, while they may not be the easiest to believe at times, have unfailing hope in their team, and their team usually delivers. These fans are a reminder that all may not be lost, and that everything is in fact fine.

Then again, they also said that there was no way Eshialand would miss the group stage in IAC 13, and they were proven dead wrong then. Please still take what they say with a pound of salt.

by **Tjorl** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 9:38 am

NS-verse Tjorl Lore

Tjorl's Primary Online Sports Commmunity

De Frostkjemper grabs their first extraregional victory
By Nicolina Dahlin

People all around the country simultaneously celebrated as the final whistle sounded, as Tjorl snatched their first extraregional victory with a win over Magnecia, 3-0. Asurblau Afoln superstar Nikolaj Eriksen continued to show his class in this tournament, as his curler of a free kick sailed past Magnecia's goalkeeper and into the back of the net. A few minutes later, Eriksen's partner-in-crime Kevin Olssen joined the fun as he coolly chipped the ball over the keeper for Tjorl's second goal. De Frostkjemper continued to pile on the pressure, as they unleashed shot after shot. Both teams went into the locker rooms at halftime with contrasting performances up to the point. Erich Karjalainen put the cherry on top as a good cross from Elisabet Kruse gave a prime opportunity for Karjalainen to head the ball into the net. After some good defending and smart offense, Tjorl finally sealed a much-needed win. This pushed Tjorl into third place in a tight Group B, with Belnegau and East Slavona right beside them in a race to the knockout spots.

Next, De Frostkjemper will face yet another tough challenge as they go up against World #2 Trolleborg. Tjorl will try hard in keeping their heads above water in a tense Group B.

Comments
- velvetia
SWEET! can't easily describe how happy i am

- Margritte L.
Oh wow, definitely enjoyed that one.

- totanic84
can't get complacent but a won does feel pretty good
REPLIES ⤵
- ilovecereal
@totanic84 win*
- totanic84
@ilovecereal yeah yeah, grammar n*zi, it was just a typo

by **Adab** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 9:40 am

KickTheBall.com
Bringing you the latest news and rumors in football, in Adab and abroad

Monday, June 21, 2038 / 18 Jumada al-Awwal 1460 / 18 Sivan 5798
New Zhengguo 0-1 Adab
Barzani (90’+2)

NEWS | IAC
By: Sargon al-Basri

Kaykali: Adab “unimpressive” against sturdy New Zhengguo

Adab manager Saad Kaykali was not pleased with what he saw his team’s “unimpressive performance” against an unexpectedly tough New Zhengguo side in their IAC Group A meeting, declaring that he would “demand more from the players” going forward.

Nadje Barzani saved the day with her volley goal in the 92nd minute off a Rebekah Yissakar cross but it was otherwise a miserable game for the Adabians, with Kaykali and assistant manager Rashid Abbas spending large portions of the match barking orders from the dugout and ruing missed opportunities.

Adab’s troubles started right from kickoff, as the New Zhengguo underdogs went on the attack and surged forward almost immediately. It was only the athletic goalkeeping of Satchit Chandrasekar and the skillful defense of Shania Enmerkar which kept the Adabians in the match throughout the first half, with the latter’s deft movement and vision crucially blocking a series of New Zhengguo passes at a time when Adab’s defense was already being put under strain by the opponents’ high-pressing game.

When the Adabians did manage to counterattack, they more often than not squandered their opportunities. Enlilbani Yargab found an open goal in the 27th minute only to blast the ball well wide off the mark. Kastiliasu Akaptaha sashayed past New Zhengguo’s midfield in the 39th minute to deliver a cross to Rebekah Yissakar inside the box, who – apparently not clearly seeing the ball sailing to her – ran too far ahead of the ball, allowing opposing defenders to move forward and retake the ball. And the midfield under Emma Arthur and Naram-Sin Samanu lost the ball all too often, interrupting the flow of attack.

Adab’s fortunes began to turn around in the second half, the team emerging from the half-time break with veteran midfielder Shamsuiluna Zambiya and young attacking sensation Nadje Barzani in place of Samanu and Yargab. The substitutions proved to be the correct call, with Adab gradually reasserting themselves in the midfield as the match wore on. Barzani proved an inspiring presence at the front but squandered yet another golden chance for a goal in the 65th minute, when she applied too much power to her free kick and sent the ball brushing the upper crossbar.

Nevertheless the Adabians were now attacking with greater consistency and backing New Zhengguo in to their own half, even if in the end they were unable to finish. As the match entered added time, both sides appeared resigned to a goalless draw – something of a success for the Adabians considering their subpar first half and largely dreadful finishing – but then came Barzani’s goal and with it the three points, allowing them to maintain second place in the group with seven points and two matches remaining in the group stage.

But the team’s overall performance had left a sour taste in Kaykali’s mouth.

“We certainly improved in the second half, but we could have improved even more,” Kaykali said. “The missed chances and the pressure from the opponents in the first half particularly troubled me.

“Credit to New Zhengguo, they played very well today. It took us almost until the last minute to overcome them. They should be proud of how they conducted themselves on the pitch today.

“As for ourselves, we can only look to ourselves, see what went wrong, and take our lessons.”

Adab lineup for IAC 15 MD4 (June 25, 2038, vs. Saterun)

Starting lineup: Chandrasekar, Altun, Enmerkar (VC), Issou, Sharkalisharri, Arthur, Samanu, Orlev, Akaptaha, Yissakar, Yargab (C)

Substitutes: Shulgi, al-Tikriti, Akshak, Thomas, al-Muntar, Emmita, Uhwan, Zambiya, al-Kufa, Barzani

by **Drawkland** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 12:40 pm

E X P E D I T I O N . . .

Jack Hoy, Leo Cross, Katie Madison, and Allison Summer were all in a bit of heat. As soon as they started running, a small contingent of tavern workers and city guards chased after them. Thankfully, due to all our heroes here being professional athletes, their speed and stamina was enough to easily outpace the pursuers. Even the clearly drunk Katie and Allison were at a good pace. They suddenly realized the issue facing them as they weaved their way to the outskirts of town: the city gate.

"Dammit!" Jack cursed as the gate came into view. "How are we gonna get out of here? They're gonna corner us at the gate!"

"We can't break through the gate, it's too thick." Leo huffed and pointed to the side of the gate. "There's a door into one of the towers. We'll run inside and hop off the wall from the top. This outer wall isn't that tall."

"What's happening?" puffed Katie. The effects of dehydration were clearly starting to get to her.

"Just follow our lead!" Jack yelled back. "How are we gonna get past those guards, Leo?"

Leo said nothing, but he turned to Jack and gave him a weird look.

"Oh, right." Jack nodded in understanding.

There were two guards standing at the base of the inside of the gate. They clearly weren't prepared for this, as it seemed four large cloaked figures were running straight towards them, being chased by some tavern employees and guards from the city center. One of the guards was standing in the center of the road, right behind the gate, while the other was in the doorway of the small tower connected to the gatehouse.

"Hey!" the guard at the gate yelled out, hoping it would slow down the figures barreling towards him. He expected them to slow down, or pull out weapons, or something ... but they simply came at him at full speed. Just as he got his hand down to try and draw his sword, Jack came at him, twisted his hips a bit to put the guard off balance, and delivered a wicked stiff arm that sent the guard straight to the dirt.

Meanwhile, the guard standing in the tower doorway just saw a mountain of a man careen towards him at full speed and not stop. Leo tucked his shoulder and laid the guard out like he was an opposing quarterback. The blow shoved the guard backwards into the tower staircase. His helmeted head clanged against the stone wall, knocking him out cold.

"Come on!" Leo yelled to the others, and he booked it up the twisting tower steps. Jack corralled the two girls through the doorway, before going in himself and closing the door behind him to buy them a few extra seconds.

Leo got to the top of the tower and found another guard. This one, hearing the coming commotion, was ready for confrontation, and had his sword drawn already. Leo paused, slightly crouching in a ready position, and as soon as the guard reared back to swing his sword, Leo leapt forward and grabbed the man by his shoulders, stopping him instantly. This poor medieval guard was now in the same position as a professional offensive linemen, going against a man who'd won 4 Defensive Player of the Year awards in Drawkland, but without any of the training. Predictably, the guard was shoved straight off the side of the tower and landed with a thud on the ground below.

"That's one for the highlight reel!" Jack exclaimed as he rushed up the stairs and saw the exchange.

"Let's get out of here." Leo pointed to a gap in the wall crenellation. "I'll down here, and you help the girls down."

"I'm too dizzy for this!" Allison exclaimed, wobbling a bit. By now the people chasing them had nearly gotten to the gatehouse.

"We don't have time to debate this." Leo clambered over the wall, and dropped down into the darkness below. "Send them down!" he yelled once he recovered from the jump.

"Alright, you're up first," Jack grabbed Allison by the hand, drew her to the crenel, and hoisted her through the gap. Leo caught her at the bottom without much trouble, and Jack repeated the process with Katie, despite the protests.

Suddenly, a couple guards busted out of the tower onto the battlements where Jack was still standing. They had their swords drawn and starting pacing directly towards Jack, forcing him to stumble backwards and away from where the others had hopped off the wall.

"Stay back!" Jack yelled suddenly, panicking and trying to buy himself some time. He started backtracking further along the wall.

"You're not gonna get away that easily," one of the guards said curtly, not stopping.

"I am a master of the fantastical and the magical arts!" Jack roared, suddenly. He waved his arms around like some martial arts fighter or cartoon wizard, and bared his teeth. "Stay back, or I'll turn you both into frogs!"

"What the fuck is a frog?" One guard turned to the other, a little confused.

"I guess you don't have those around here!" Jack said in the cheesiest-sounding wizard voice he could manage. He was still backtracking, and noticed he was coming to another gap in the battlements in a few more steps. "It's a terrifying creature from my homeland! It would be a horrible curse to be turned into one!"

"Cease this buffoonery!" A guard commanded, stepping closer. "You'll be sent straight to the stocks for this."

"No need!" Jack stopped suddenly, setting his feet. "For my next trick, I will ... disappear!" As soon as he said it, he jumped to the side, hurdling over the battlements and tumbling towards the ground outside the walls. He hit the ground hard but rolled forward, and quickly pulled himself back up. Leo and the two Drawk Corps girls had already gotten a head start running, Jack could just barely see them in the darkness of the plain ahead.

There was a commotion on top of the wall, as more guards gathered and yelled at each other to figure out the next move.

"Catch you later, losers!" Jack yelled through cupped hands, and gave them a rude gesture with his finger. He then felt an arrow whizz by his head and stick in the ground a couple feet away.

"Point taken. Time to go!" Jack said to himself, and he took off into the inky night, leaving the city behind.

Though the escape from the city had been a somewhat successful venture, it would not be as exciting back at camp. The foursome crept through the brush and arrived in camp with little noise, but Jaxon was waiting for them. The embers of the fire were almost gone, but there were still enough to create a low eerie glow in the center of the campsite. They could just barely see Jaxon sitting there with his arms crossed.

"Where's Riley?" Jack asked, wanting to get the first word in.

"Asleep. As you should be," Jaxon inclined his head to Jack and Leo, "and as should I. You two are the only ones who should be awake right now." Jaxon looked at Katie and Allison with the same mannerism as a father that just caught his daughters sneaking out of the house.

"Hey, we were just trying to get them back. Mission accomplished!" Jack insisted, gesturing to the two girls.

"That 'mission' shouldn't have been necessary in the first place. All three of you are lousy watchmen. Now, go get some rest. You clearly need it now."

"Yes sir," Leo said simply. He grabbed Jack's arm before he could say anything, and led him back to their tent.

"Did you just call him sir?" Jack scoffed at Leo. "He's just a guy, not the damn Drawkionel."

"He's much older and more experienced than us, and he's the authority figure here. Do you not call your coach sir?" Leo asked rhetorically as he opened the door to their tent.

"No, it's the other way around. They call me sir, because they know I'm the only reason their team wins games."

"You're the most annoying person in this universe."

Back in the center of camp, Jaxon stared down Katie and Allison, debating what to do next. The two girls had sobered up a lot, having just ran a couple miles, most of that near top speed. They were also extremely thirsty.

"Before you lecture us, could we have some water?" Katie started, sighing a little bit.

"There's some here," Jaxon grabbed a canteen off the ground and lifted it so they could see. "Come take a seat around the fire."

The two Drawk Corps stars sat across the fire pit from Jaxon, both staring at the slowly dissipating glow of the embers.

"The disrespect you've shown tonight is unacceptable." Jaxon began, looking back and forth between Katie and Allison. "I know it hasn't been apparent to you yet, but this is an extremely perilous journey. There's a number of people who've attempted to gain immortality here and not even made it to the maze itself before dying. This isn't an exotic vacation. You need to be avoiding injury and conflict at all costs, to save yourself for the real challenge yet to come."

"This is ridiculous," Katie said. "We were just trying to have a little fun before we have to do this stupid maze thing."

"That 'fun' could've ended with you lost, captured, or worse." Jaxon waved his hands, as if to gesture to the entire world around him. "We aren't in a large-scale renaissance fair. These are actual people who've lived their entire lives here and see you almost as strange creatures from another planet. Here, your status as a star athlete can't get you out of a night in jail. And by the way, they don't follow Drawkian prison standards, and I'm not sure if any places here guarantee rights to a free trial. I hope this serves as a reality check, that you can't just get away with roaming around wherever you please."

"It was just one night, man!" Allison whined, taking a few gulps of water from the canteen.

"One night can be your last night." Jaxon shook his head. "You're not immortal yet. And I know you guys are still relatively young and arguably in your prime years ... but that doesn't make you invincible. Every day is not a guarantee, especially here."

"What's wrong with just having a little fun?" Katie asked sullenly.

"We can have fun together. I would be remiss to deny us any opportunities to enjoy ourselves before plunging into this hellish undertaking." Jaxon closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was remembering something. "But what you did tonight, by sneaking out ... it puts not just you, but all of us, at risk."

All three of the Drawkians were quiet for the next few minutes. The girls mistakenly hoped the lecture was over.

"Why are you here?" Jaxon asked, to neither girl in particular.

The two looked at each other, shrugging.

"Because we want to be," Katie replied simply.

"You're not acting like it." Jaxon rocked forward and slowly stood up. "I'm not sure I believe you."

"I'm just here to help Katie," Allison said quickly. "She's my best friend and I couldn't let her go without me."

"That's a reason." Jaxon nodded to Allison. "Not the only person here with the same idea, in fact."

"I'm here because it's my destiny." Katie looked up at Jaxon defiantly. "I am Katie from the Madison family. I'm the greatest star Drawkland soccer has ever seen, from the most accomplished sporting family in the universe. It's only right that I would break the shackles of mortality and prove the Madison family dominance forever."

"What are you talking about?" Jaxon crouched back down, looking directly at Katie. Allison turned her head to look at Katie, also taken by surprise.

"You wouldn't understand." Katie flicked her hand dismissively. "Your last name may be Madison, but you're not like me. You're not from The Madison Family. We were drilled from birth that we were destined for greatness, and we proved it. Daniel, Gerald, me, Roger, Jazmin ... even Will. We were all forged into something greater than what we could've been. It became our destiny to create a legacy in sport and in history that could never be erased. It took generations of hard work to make this happen. By attaining immortality I will vindicate all that work my ancestors did to create this."

Both Jaxon and Allison were dumbfounded. This was both the strangest and most eloquent thing Katie had ever said. She never talked like this, not to the media, not to her teammates, not to her friends.

"That's why I have to do this." Katie folded her arms. "You think Nicole and Cam deserve to become undying? They're nobodies, from nowhere. They're subpar athletes who should be retired already. It would be such a waste for them to achieve this while I stay the same. I had to come here with them."

Jaxon sighed, sitting back down on the ground. He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Eventually he found some words to say.

"I'm not one to judge or decide what is or isn't right." He looked directly into Katie's eyes, and she returned the glare. "But something like this ... that's the wrong reason. The maze eats people like that without a second thought. To pass this gauntlet requires both skill and heart, and while you're clearly fortified for the former, you've got none of the latter."

"You just don't understand, and that's okay." Katie broke eye contact, looking around the campsite. "Nobody understands. It's why I don't talk about it."

Once again, Jaxon opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't make the words come out. The rest of the watch would commence in silence, before three went to wake up Nicole and her friends for the next watch. The long night would continue without incident, but Katie's words weighed heavily on Jaxon for reasons he couldn't say.

by **HUElavia** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 5:21 pm

Golden Time!

Chanca's late victory over Abanhfleft puts HUElavia a foot into the knockouts!

HUElavia 1-0 Abanhfleft
(Chanca 90+1')
(Estadio Nacional, Curumba, HUElavia)

XI at Freeport Isles:
1 Lettmann, 4 Vargas, 2 Lavezzi, 3 Higashi, 5 Mitarte, 6 Font, 8 Brousseau, 10 Navarro-Hamada, 7 Honda (C), 11 Chanca, 9 Nascimento
Away Alternative Uniform will be worn

Matchday 3 arrived and the second genuine test of the team arrived: Abanhfleft. A team that HUElavia has had history in facing throughout different competitions, including the IAC, met once again. This time around, HUElavia was hitting on all cylinders, getting victories in convincing manner, while Abanhfleft was struggling in the Group Stage. Now, both teams were taking on each other, with one endzone being given to Abanhfleft, but the other 75% of the Estadio Nacional (100,000) in Curumba was draped in Yellow, Blue, Green and White, with HUElavians selling out the stadium in full force. The A-Team came out to play once again, with the Home Uniform being worn for the match. The crowd roared in cheer at the teams entering the pitch, the anthems were played, the coin was tossed and the ball rolled to start one of the appetizing matches of the Group Stage.

Given the history of these two, Abanhfleft was playing defensively, not wanting to allow HUElavia to get a chance on the ball. Any ball in the final third of the field would be dispossessed hard, but clean by the back four. In the few times that Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos would get a chance on goal, Churchill would make grabs and saves to prevent the ball from going into the goal. There were moments where McGinnis, Rusev, or Liner would break through the HUElavian backline, but Lettmann would make saves and prevent the ball from going into the goal. At the half, it was scoreless, with fans wanting more, as well as the coaches of Conavacio and Wurzmann.

The second half continued being the same, with both teams trying to attack, only for the defense to make blocks to prevent attacks from coming through. Throughout the half, HUElavia made their substitutions having Lopes, Mayordomo, and Regnard come on in exchange for Nascimento, Font, and Larrangoz respectively. When it looked like it was going to be a scoreless draw, in the 90+1st minute, a Mayordomo was being covered by Baum, where he sent a cross into the box, where the ball was won by Chanca over Ereve (in for Walrath), who chested it down and blasted it at point-blank past Churchill into the goal to make it 1-0. The crowd erupted and was jumping in joy to make the stadium rumble, while Chanca was mobbed by her teammates and the bench for the winning goal. Shortly after, the match ended and HUElavia had a foot into the knockouts.

With the victory, HUElavia leads Group C with 9 Points (3-0-0) and just need a victory over Freeport Isles to guarantee 1st Place in Group C and a direct spot into the Round-of-16. HUElavia will play with the A-Team in hopes of finishing off the debutants and clinching their spot. The team continues to train and study film, as they look to give it their best in front of the home crowd at Estadio Nacional. Here's to hoping we get a favorable result.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

by **HUElavia** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 5:32 pm

Participants, we're at a critical point in the Group Stage. Some of you will be advancing to a further round, some of you will be eliminated.
Regardless, the important thing is that your team has tried their best.

Time to get a result.

Welcome to Matchday 4.

Group A
Adab 0–1 Saterun
Poafmersia 4–3 Octapolis
New Zhengguo 1–1 Gyoric

  Group A                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Poafmersia                      4   3  1  0   16   9  +7   10
2 Adab                            4   2  1  1    5   3  +2    7
3 Octapolis                       4   2  0  2    8   9  −1    6
4 Saterun                         4   2  0  2    7   5  +2    6
5 New Zhengguo                    4   1  1  2    5   8  −3    4
6 Gyoric                          4   0  1  3    4  11  −7    1

Group B
Belnegau 3–2 Eshialand
Magnecia 1–2 East Slavona
Trolleborg 2–0 Tjorl

  Group B                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Trolleborg                      4   3  0  1    8   1  +7    9
2 Belnegau                        4   2  1  1    6   4  +2    7
3 Eshialand                       4   2  1  1    9   8  +1    7
4 East Slavona                    4   1  3  0    6   5  +1    6
5 Tjorl                           4   1  1  2    6   6   0    4
6 Magnecia                        4   0  0  4    1  12 −11    0

Group C
The Republic of Dansen 4–4 Abanhfleft
Freeport Isles 1–5 HUElavia
Sudilia 1–3 The 14 Stars

  Group C                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 HUElavia                        4   4  0  0   12   2 +10   12
2 The 14 Stars                    4   3  0  1    8   5  +3    9
3 Freeport Isles                  4   2  0  2    8  10  −2    6
4 Abanhfleft                      4   1  1  2   12  10  +2    4
5 Sudilia                         4   1  0  3    8  15  −7    3
6 The Republic of Dansen          4   0  1  3    8  14  −6    1

Group D
Quintessence of Dust 2–1 Omerica
Forbidden Territories 0–1 Squidroidia
Muralos 1–3 StrayaRoos Barrier Islands

  Group D                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Squidroidia                     4   4  0  0    8   1  +7   12
2 Forbidden Territories           4   3  0  1    7   4  +3    9
3 StrayaRoos Barrier Islands      4   2  0  2    7   8  −1    6
4 Omerica                         4   1  0  3    3   5  −2    3
5 Muralos                         4   1  0  3    3   6  −3    3
6 Quintessence of Dust            4   1  0  3    5   9  −4    3

Group E
Sannyamathland 2–0 Valkyriah
Britonisea 0–3 TJUN-ia
Macbon 4–0 Hebitaka

  Group E                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 TJUN-ia                         4   4  0  0   12   5  +7   12
2 Macbon                          4   2  1  1   11   8  +3    7
3 Sannyamathland                  4   2  0  2   10   8  +2    6
4 Britonisea                      4   1  1  2    2   5  −3    4
5 Valkyriah                       4   1  0  3    5   8  −3    3
6 Hebitaka                        4   1  0  3    1   7  −6    3

Group F
Kriegiersien 1–0 Reginalida
United Adaikes 5–5 Football Tiger
Space 3–4 Sajnur

  Group F                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kriegiersien                    4   4  0  0   13   3 +10   12
2 Sajnur                          4   3  1  0   10   7  +3   10
3 Reginalida                      4   0  3  1    2   3  −1    3
4 United Adaikes                  4   0  2  2   13  16  −3    2
5 Space                           4   0  2  2    8  10  −2    2
6 Football Tiger                  4   0  2  2    7  14  −7    2

Group G
Drawkland 6–2 Sixty-ninE X
Almuzahara 4–2 Hopal
Togonistan 1–0 Kencana

  Group G                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Almuzahara                      4   3  0  1    8   5  +3    9
2 Drawkland                       4   2  1  1   12   8  +4    7
3 Togonistan                      4   1  2  1    2   2   0    5
4 Kencana                         4   1  1  2    3   4  −1    4
5 Sixty-ninE X                    4   1  1  2    6   8  −2    4
6 Hopal                           4   1  1  2    6  10  −4    4

Group H
Kyzhurkistan 1–2 Garifunya
Juvencus 0–1 Picksail Islands
Indusse 2–0 Montana Verde

  Group H                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Indusse                         4   4  0  0   14   4 +10   12
2 Picksail Islands                4   3  1  0    3   0  +3   10
3 Garifunya                       4   1  2  1    6   6   0    5
4 Kyzhurkistan                    4   1  0  3    7   9  −2    3
5 Juvencus                        4   1  0  3    2   9  −7    3
6 Montana Verde                   4   0  1  3    4   8  −4    1

Blue: Team is Qualified for the Round-of-16
Green: Team is Qualified or guaranteed at least qualification for Round-of-24/Wild Card.
Red: Team is Eliminated from IAC 15

by **Kriegiersien** » Tue Mar 29, 2022 5:18 am

IAC XV

Kriegiersien 1–0 Reginalida

Against Reginalida is was the expected difficult match. The pressing style of the Kriegiersien team had its problems with the Reginalida defense and there was frustration at half-time. Despite much more ball possession the team had only few clear chances.
“Coach Becker found the right words to calm us down again, but I think the most important factor was that we had a lucky goal directly after the restart”, said Captain Viktor ‘Dashi’ Vorontsov-Dashkov.
Following one of the Trademarked curved headers of the Captain after a corner, the ball found his ball comical bouncing around to Cheung, who scored his tenth goal.
He still wasn’t satisfied after the match, wasting three other chances after that, in a match that always seemed to go the other way if a counter of Reginalida had come through.

There will now be a final match between Sajnur and Kriegiersien for the direct spot to the round of 16, while all other teams in Group F, Reginalida, United Adaike, Football Tiger(s) and Space are fighting for a spot in the round of 24.

“We now have our big final of the group stage against Sajnur for the first place in the group. I am confident that we can manage that, if we don't surrender our control and are patient”, said Coach Becker.

A draw would be enough to be first, but Xian Cheung didn’t want to hear that.
“We will blast them!”

by **Football Tiger** » Tue Mar 29, 2022 7:22 am

Another draw for the team, the team history so far as this is the first tournament for them to participate 0-2-2 the players and fans are still working hard to claim there first ever win in history

by **Squidroidia** » Tue Mar 29, 2022 2:52 pm

The Inkopolis Times

POLITICS

A TALE OF 2 CAPITALS

Splatsville announced to become "Legislative Capital" of Squidroidia, Parliament Building plans revealed

In what may very well be his last act as Leader of Squidroidia, Higa Takanori has announced plans to turn the planned megacity of Splatsville, in the middle of the country, into the nation's "Legislative Capital" when work on the new Squidroidian Parliament Building completes in 6 years time. This comes on the heels of overpopulation issues within Inkopolis and a need for a new major city to relieve the pressure from the national capital.

In a meeting of the Squidroidian Parliament, the 100-member council that acts as Squidroidia's main legislative body with some oversight by Takanori himself, the Leader since the nation's founding in 2017 revealed plans for a brand new, 1.2 billion Yen Parliament Building to be built in the very heart of Splatsville, the new planned megacity which first opened up to residents just 3 years ago to little to no fanfare as part of a "soft opening". Splatsville alone is expected to have a maximum capacity 1.5 times that of Inkopolis, the current national capital, which plays host to 4 million people while only really having a 3 million maximum capacity. As part of this announcement, residents of Inkopolis would be given a subsidy to relocate to Splatsville, a very dense and walkable city, between now and the city's official opening once the new home of Parliament is completed.

"When this building is complete... Squidroidia will once again position itself on the cutting edge of innovation and civilizational necessities with a state of the art place for drafting and approving the laws of the land," Takanori said while a render of the new building was behind him. "A new capital of free reigning politics in the heart of the country is just what the people wanted over the past few years, and this will help relieve the dense urban metropolis of Inkopolis from most of its woes that have been building up over the years."

Once the Parliament Building is complete, the status of Inkopolis the city will change from "National Capital" to "Executive and Judicial Capital", seeing that both the Leader's House and the Squidroidian Supreme Court are currently stationed within the city. The procedure for getting bills passed in Parliament from Splatsville to Inkopolis has not been revealed, nor will it be revealed for the next couple of years.

With Takanori's health deteriorating quickly, it is expected for him to resign from his post and officially allow elections for the next Squidroidian Leader, potentially with the role being renamed to President upon his or her election. This would be the first time that the highest office in the country would be democratically elected, as Takanori hasn't allowed elections for anything above Parliament since the country was founded. But as his iron grip has loosened, more and more powers have been given back to the people, and this may be the final step from transitioning the country from a dictatorship to a democracy.

The Inkopolis Parliament is made up of 100 Members of Parliament, or MPs, each representing an equal share of the national population by city and town. Each MP can have unlimited terms but each term lasts only 3 years between parliamentary elections. While most MPs are independent and vote and caucus their own way, owing to no real role of Prime Minister within the country, a handful of regional parties, most notably the light-left Inkopolis Metro Party, have a couple seats in parliament and only focus on getting seats within their own cities. The only real nationwide party, the middle to far right United Front of Squidroidia, led by Tatsuya Kamiya, has only had one seat in Parliament throughout its history, and currently has none.

Around the Dominion
INKLINGS: Squidroidia guaranteed Round of 16 berth with win over Forbidden Territories
SPORTS: Super League most likely only sending 1 team to CL from 2028 following "disastrous" ChC group stage for Starlight
INKOPOLIS: Foot traffic at all time high in city, will increase for Squidroidia's Round of 16 tie
BUSINESS: Mako Designs funding round exceeds expectations
IAC 15: Matchday 4 Recap: Poafmersia squeak past Octapolis, HUElavia, TJUN-ia in Round of 16

by **TJUN-ia** » Wed Mar 30, 2022 2:23 am

By Peter Davis

After another close game against Valkyriah, of all nations, the Jaguars of TJUN-ia were 3-0 and certainly feeling like they needed to...try and find a complete performance in front of the National Stadium. Sure, wins were wins and all that pizzaz, but this team knew that it needed to be more convincing in their results if they wanted to build confidence in time for the World Cup. David Seems and Li Xiu Ying knew that was important too, so this crunch game in TJUN-ia City against fellow hosts Britonisea was all about 1 thing and 1 thing only - making a statement.

If a statement was something that felt routine, then this game was that - routine. Britonisea had their chances, of course, but they never seemed to threaten David N'kude's hopes for a 2nd clean sheet as a starter. Things felt comfortable through, with not much pressure applied by the opposition and room for days to play our way, and for a new unit trying to find their feet in the big shoes they have to fill, that was certainly a godsend. It meant that focus was directed towards crafting a goal or two - or three, as it would turn out. Of course, the Andrews-Carter connection was still going strong and both of them ended up on the goal sheet today, both in the first half and both celebrated with each other - a dynamite duo we can all get behind. But what about our third? Well, that would certainly be a tearjerker. Max van Oosterend, son of U21 boss Philip, was brought on and he would manage to get his first-ever goal for the Jaguars before the end...the support they received from both the crowd and from his teammates induced tears from the midfielder. That would be the final moment of this 3-0 win...and with that, our spot in the IAC15 playoffs was confirmed.

There's a big battle behind to join us in the playoff party - we shall play 2nd-placed Macbon. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group E, all matches at National Stadium, TJUN-ia City, TJUN-ia)
MD1: vs Hebitaka (46) W 2-0 (1st)
MD2: vs Sannyamathland (10) W 4-3 (1st)
MD3: vs Valkyriah (UR) W 3-2 (1st)
MD4: vs Britonisea (28)
MD5: vs Macbon (UR)

by **HUElavia** » Wed Mar 30, 2022 6:21 am

The Party Continues!

HUElavia demolishes Freeport Isles in a romp to qualify directly into the Round-of-16!

Freeport Isles 1-5 HUElavia
(REDACTED 63' | Navarro-Hamada 8', Honda 22' (P), 51', Nascimento 70', Duarte 90')
(Estadio Nacional, Curumba, HUElavia)

XI vs Sudilia:
13 Petit, 15 Regnard (C), 18 Ardance, 16 Pillpe, 12 Larrangoz, 19 Mayordomo, 14 Noffke, 22 Duarte, 17 Yom, 20 Lopes, 21 Balderas
Home Alternative Uniform will be worn

Matchday 4 arrived and HUElavia was enjoying a massive momentum in the team. Coming off with a win against their most difficult opponent in the Group Stage in Abanhfleft gave motivation and confidence in the team entering their next game against Freeport Isles. While having a decent tournament so far, Freeport Isles were looking to make a name for themselves in their big return to the IAC. With a direct spot to the Round-of-16 on the line, Coach Conavacio opted to use the A-Team once again, with the Away Alternative Uniform being worn. In a sold out crowd at Estadio Nacional (100,000) in Curumba, the teams came out to great fanfare, with the fans singing the respective anthems, the coin toss was done, and the ball rolled to continue with Matchday 4.

HUElavia was on the attack, playing swiftly and passing the ball around to send Freeport Isles everywhere trying to defend. The opening goal came in the 8th minute, when Font was on the ball, where she passed it to Brousseau, who in turn gave a cross into the box, where Navarro-Hamada won the ball from REDACTED, chested the ball down and blasted it past a diving REDACTED into the goal to make it 0-1. The crowd erupted, jumping around and cheering passionately to make the stadium rumble, while Navarro-Hamada ran to the corner flag to do a dance with his teammates as they hugged and hi-fived him for the goal. In the 22nd minute, Chanca was on the ball trying to get a shot in, when REDACTED stuck a leg out and tripped her up in the box, where the referee did not hesitate to point to the spot, which Honda stepped up and sent REDACTED the wrong way, as the ball went into the top right corner of the goal, making it 0-2. The crowd cheered and applauded, while Honda was hugged and given pats by her teammates for the goal. Despite some chances by Freeport Isles, the back four did their part to prevent any goal from coming in and at the half, it was 0-2, with the team and crowd feeling very comfortable in the match.

The second half saw HUElavia pick up where they left off, and continued applying pressure to Freeport Isles, making them get nervous and make mistakes in their final third of the pitch. In the 51st minute Navarro-Hamada was on the ball, being covered by REDACTED, when he gave a pass back towards Font, where she saw Honda making a run, which she passed to her, and Honda gave a low, curving one-time shot past the reach of REDACTED to roll into the goal, making it 0-3. The crowd jumped up once more, cheering and jumping to celebrate the goal, while Honda went to do a dance at the corner flag with her teammates coming to mob her in celebration. In the 63rd minute, a shot by REDACTED was blocked by Lavezzi to go out for a corner, where a corner kick by REDACTED went into the box, where REDACTED won the header from Larragoz and headed the ball past the fingertips of Lettmann into the goal, making it 1-3. REDACTED got the ball and ran to center circle, while the Freeport Isles supporters were cheering and applauding for getting a goal back. HUElavia did not give up and did not want to allow a comeback, putting more and more pressure, now with the substitutions of Duarte and Balderas in for Brousseau and Chanca respectively. In the 70th minute, Balderas was on the ball, covered by REDACTED, where he gave a nutmeg to cross into the box, where Nascimento was left all alone and headed the ball into the goal, making it 1-4. The crowd jumped once more, with Nascimento and Balderas celebrating with a dance and pose while their teammates came to celebrate with them. With the result just about clear, HUElavia eased in intensity, but in the 90th minute, a pass by Lopes (in for Nascimento) reached Duarte, who was played onside by REDACTED, to go one-on-one with REDACTED, giving a shimmy past the goalie and slide the ball into the empty goal, making it 1-5. The crowd jumped up once more, cheering and applauding while Duarte celebrated with her teammates in hugs and hi-fives. Shortly after, the match ended and HUElavia secured 1st Place in Group C, with great smiles and relief from the team.

With the victory, HUElavia win Group C with a game in hand with 12 Points (4-0-0), since they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over The 14 Stars who has 9 Points (3-0-1), who is currently in 2nd Place and with a qualification to the Round-of-24. Freeport Isles sits in 3rd Place with 6 Points (2-0-2), while Abanhfleft is in 4th Place with 4 Points (1-1-2). Sudilia is in 5th place with 3 Points (1-0-3), still with options to advance, while the Republic of Dansen are in 6th Place, eliminated with 1 Point (0-1-3). HUElavia will host Sudilia next, where the Sudilians will travel to Curumba, where Conavacio has opted to use the B-Team with Petit in goal and Regnard as the Captain. The Home Alternative Uniform will be worn, meaning HUElavia will have worn all five versions of the uniform in this Group Stage. The team continues to train hard and study film, but are content with their qualification and know the real test comes in less than a week when they will find out who they get drawn against in the Round-of-16. The crowds continue to pack the stadium and the fans are loving the performance so far, with watch parties celebrating the goals and victories all throughout the country. Here's to hoping we get a strong finish from this final match.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

by **Adab** » Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:51 am

Tuesday, June 21, 2038
Adab 0-1 Saterun

A Dance with Football
Snapshots of the lives of the people involved in Adabian football and those associated with them
For a full list of chapters click here. To read all the chapters in one go click here
For an (incomplete) list of major/prominent characters in this story click here and scroll down to the ‘Football’ section

Chapter 60: Landing, Part 3

November 11, 2036
Adab City International Airport, Adab City

“Holy fuck,” Enlilbani Yargab mumbled to himself, security guards around him as he led the national team contingent through the long hallway of the airport terminal and a fresh ray of sunlight greeted him at the end of the path. He turned his head around, motioning towards the light at the end of the hallway as those behind him surged forward to see what the ruckus was all about. “Boss,” he suddenly raised his voice towards Saad Kaykali. “You should see this!”

Some three steps behind Eni, Saad – of course – had already seen everything Eni had seen. The exit from the terminal, the air and the light bursting through the wide open door to greet them, and the throngs of people just beyond the exit. “What in the name of God…” he muttered under his breath, trailing off at the sight of the large crowd gathering on the other side of the door, their noise, their shouts and shrieks growing louder as the team approached the exit. Then he felt the gentle tap of a guard next to him, and around him everyone was now walking faster.

“Sir,” the guard said, leaning to Saad as everyone was rapidly picking up speed in their steps, “we need to get to the bus as soon as possible.” Saad looked around, almost in disbelief, watching – among others – Shania Enmerkar and Taymour Frangieh to his right now verging on a sprint while the guards were full-on running. To his left another guard had come forward out of nowhere, almost yelling into his walkie-talkie, “Where the fuck is the bus?! Have they blocked the road too?!” Everyone was suddenly in a hurry to get out of the airport, and the noise was becoming increasingly overwhelming. Saad could see Inimabakesh Thulus in front and to his right, looking all around but otherwise keeping to himself. Emma Arthur and Alulim Sinmuballit were side by side but Saad hadn’t seen them say a word to each other ever since they got off the plane. Eni was leading the way and Ephraim Orlev rushed forward to him, whispering something in his ear.

And everything the crowd was shouting had been lost in the whole cacophony. “We love you Emma and Alu!” “Araqasdah out!” “Love is love!” “We want Thulus!” “We want Kaykali!” “Save our football!” “Fuck the monarchy!” “Allahu Akbar!” “Viva la revolucion!” There were of course the journalists with their constant, annoying camera flashes, some of them already in front of the crowd, some trying to break through, each and every single one of them shouting questions that could not even be heard anyway. There were policemen and airport security all around, some standing firm in front of the masses to prevent them surging towards the terminal, some rushing to remove a guy who had been standing nearby by himself to a mixture of boos and, surprisingly, cheers from the crowd, the cheers probably coming from those who found themselves annoyed, like more than a few members of the arriving contingent, by his obnoxiously loud and off-tune playing of the vuvuzela he had gotten from God knew where.

By the time they emerged from the exit into the world outside they were almost running, their ears almost numb and deaf from all the shouting and cheering and shrieking and vuvuzela-blowing. The horizon was filled to the brim by the masses, police and airport security yelling and motioning at them to stand back as they led the team to the bus that was waiting for them just out there. But it was the only the bus that was waiting for them; there was also a limousine which would take Frangieh, Enmerkar, Tansu Altun, Rebekah Yissakar, Yargab, Sinmuballit, and Arthur to the AFA headquarters. The plotters were going to the nemesis’ den. As for the rest, there were instructions to send them to a hotel in the city for now “for their own safety” to wait out the storm.

As the crowd cheered on and chanted a slew of profanities directed at Naram-Sin, the AFA, the monarchy, the Privy Council, and the country in general, the team split up. The plotters were led to the limousine, while the rest were rapidly herded into the bus, everyone eager to just get the hell out of there. But as they were closing the bus door, the cries of the masses still clearly heard even inside, Saad jumped off his seat and scrambled for the door. “Wait, wait, I should go with them!”

“Boss, wait, where are you going?!” Orlev too rose from his seat, although he did not follow his boss to the exit.

“I must go meet Naram-Sin,” Saad said, forcing the door back open, jumping off the bus, and rushing for the limo behind.

“Saad!” Inimabakesh Thulus, the older co-assistant manager of the team, called out from the back of the bus, but by this time Saad was already out of the bus. Ini, of course, was very much part of the plot but was careful to keep it quiet from everyone else outside the plot.

As the bus started to roll forward, honking and honking as members of the crowd threatened to block the road, Naram-Sin Samanu turned on the TV hanging above the aisle, having taken the remote from the dashboard as he boarded the bus. They were immediately greeted by the hardened, slightly zoomed-in face of Amarutu Tabira. He was the socialist politician who, a few months ago, had gotten himself on the headlines for being thrown out of a Privy Council meeting after apparently threatening violence against religious councillors who had denounced Emma and Alu’s interfaith relationship and declaring that “the masses” would overthrow the government. Now, at a hastily-called press conference crowded with fellow activists and enraged supporters, he was angrier than ever:

The time has come to say what needs to be said. Arthur and Sinmuballit are but symptoms of the greater problem facing our country. If you are a minority in any way, in religion or ethnicity or anything else, you are a second-class citizen and deserves none of the justice or equality or protection under the law that this country supposedly upholds.

Today we have seen people across the country come down to the streets in support of Arthur and Sinmuballit. But they are not marching solely to support these two people. They are here to demand that this government upholds its end of the bargain. For generations, we and everyone who came before us have submitted ourselves to its protection. For generations we have asked for the government to uphold our common rights as citizens of Adab. That has not happened.

Already in Uruk, in Beirut, Ur, Sharm el-Sheikh, we are hearing reports of police coming out to suppress the brave men and women who are on the march. Sadly, this is no surprise to any of us who are familiar with the long history of institutional oppression in this nation and the inclinations of ignorant, bigoted members of the elite and the majority who seek to have this country to themselves. We are but lapdogs; if we stay quiet and play nice they will ignore us. If we dare to bark even a little, they will remove us.

Arthur and Sinmuballit are in the news and they deserve credit for bringing this issue to the forefront. But they are only two people. Across this country, there are countless people who are ignored, trampled, and discriminated against because they dare to have a different faith, a different creed, a different skin color, even a different political and moral belief. Yet the Imperial Palace, the Privy Council, and the government, who claim to be our protectors, have done nothing. They have done nothing but go on holidays and live off the riches which we have worked so hard to produce. Has the Emperor ever been to a slum? Has he ever struggled to pay rent? But, again, this is no surprise. This is the way it has been for decades.

I tell you now, the rainbow nation is a scam. If you are not Sumero-Arab or Muslim, you are second-class! If you are poor, you are nothing but a bum and a leech and have no place in this country! If you are a woman, you are weak! If you call out the corruption and the fat cats in the government and call for equal rights and healthcare and protection under the law, you are a ‘socialist’ and a ‘communist’! If they dare to go against a celebrity like Arthur, what hope is there for the rest of us?

The eyes of the nation are now on Naram-Sin Araqasdah and the AFA. But they are only the football association. We must not let the Imperial Palace and the government off. We have put ourselves under their protection, paid our taxes, and for that we have been on the receiving end of a century of discrimination.

I tell you now, the time has come. The time has come for reckoning. The time has come to demand our rights to their fullest. The time has come to hold this nation accountable. Ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām!*

*”The people want to bring down the regime”

Adab lineup for IAC 15 MD5 (June 25, 2038 vs. Gyoric)

Starting lineup: Chandrasekar, Altun, Enmerkar (VC), Issou, Sharkalisharri, Arthur, Samanu, Orlev, Akaptaha, Yissakar, Yargab (C)

Substitutes: Shulgi, al-Tikriti, Akshak, Thomas, al-Muntar, Emmita, Uhwan, Zambiya, al-Kufa, Barzani

by **Eshialand** » Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:59 am

Almost Broken
Belnegau 3-2 Eshialand

Losing to Belnegau was... suffice it to say, not good. It took the Owls from being all but assured a Round of 16 slot to being in danger of missing the playoffs entirely. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail...

Okay, maybe not literally a horseshoe nail, though that would be a metaphor befitting of the Belnegau squad's native time period... apart from the fact that it doesn't apply to this match at all. Something was just amiss, that was it. No tragedy, no unraveling, no nails, nothing. Just something being off.

The good news about this defeat is that all was very much not lost. Eshialand's final group stage match would be against basement-dwelling Magnecia, a team that hadn't even managed a single point so far, a team who by all means was an absolutely free win if they didn't muff things up, and if they got that win, nothing would stop them from hitting the Round of 16. All that mattered was making sure they didn't bottle it, making sure that they finished with that 3-1-1 record that they deserved, and going to the playoffs. Once they were there, they could wipe away any of the pain that the group stage inflicted. All they had to do was clutch it out in the end...

by **Tjorl** » Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:44 am

NS-verse Tjorl Lore

Tjorl's Primary Online Sports Commmunity

Tjorl defeated by Trolleborg, has work to do against Belnegau
By Nicolina Dahlin

De Frostkjemper could do nothing against World #2 Trolleborg as the Trolls dominated every aspect of the game. It immediately seemed like Tjorl were going to have a tough time when Trolleborg's Torben Kranforde scored in the fifth minute. While the Trolls didn't generate another goal for the rest of the half, they certainly generated some prime opportunities, giving Tjorlish goalkeeper Stefan Johanssen a lot of work to do. Halftime did not do any good for Tjorl, as their opponents continued to make the game a rough affair. After some trying, the Trolls' Torstein Halst scored an absolute screamer to double Trolleborg's lead. De Frostkjemper did not recover from the 2-goal deficit. The painful loss put them in fifth with one matchday to go in Group B. In order to have a chance of progressing to the next round, Tjorl will need to win their next game against Belnegau, and hope of a Trolleborg victory against East Slavona. Belnegau are not going to be easy opponents, as shown with a classy 3-2 win against Eshialand.

Will De Frostkjemper pull off a miracle and advance to the knockouts, or will they have to return home for now?

Comments
- velvetia
hm, idk how likely we are to advance, but i feel that it's quite slim

- Aleks K.
Oh well, it was a good run. RIP Tjorlish IAC 15 campaign.

- kozania3
i have a feeling we might advance, but hopefully i dont jinx it

by **Zwangzug** » Wed Mar 30, 2022 2:22 pm

The Arlington Moon-Tribune

Some days you are healthy and physically upbeat and ready to enjoy spectator sports. This is a phrasebook for the other days.

Būdēnikiho bunōndi yipdō! Don't scratch your itches!

Ofpobo kābin vāvdak. My head hurts, a little.

Pākēko yemak efdo. My nose is running. [Editor's note: the context of when these verbs take first-person versus third-person conjugation can be subtle. In the previous example, the subject is "I;" in this one, it's "my nose."]

Ēnhākod Vaēpada kē Fwinēnē. Vaēpada caught sickness from Fwinēnē.

Dobonō dam mehebūko Vaēpada! We hope that Vaēpada recovers!

Dūnokod Hefid bū mobyākod. Hefid ran until she got a stitch in her side.

Gifyaēbād yegev efdo. I burned the roof of my mouth. [The verb gifyaē- is normally used with "to pick one's nails." In this case, when no one is really doing the "picking" of the roof, we see the rare -bā- conjugation.]

Wondadē gōpun himnako vūkon. Your leg is bruised because of the table.

Pōēyako kāmokab bum ignēdipdi. The doctor holds two syringes.

Pinpūko nivaku fevodi efdo daduko. My stupid meatsack is always breaking down!! [The use of "fevodi," the plural of "skin," rather than "hōmun" for "body" suggests that the speaker is slightly more likely to practice an indigenous religion, but they could just be really fed up with their stupid janky meatsack.]

(Waukan 71)

by **HUElavia** » Wed Mar 30, 2022 2:55 pm

We've finally made the end of the Group Stage.

For some of you, you're already qualified into a further phase of the tournament.
For some of you, you're still with options towards making the knockouts.
And for some of you, you are already eliminated.

Regardless of your situation, it's no excuse to slack off.
You got to focus and go for the three points!

Welcome to Matchday 5.

Group A
Gyoric 2–5 Adab
Octapolis 1–0 New Zhengguo
Saterun 3–5 Poafmersia

  Group A                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Poafmersia                      5   4  1  0   21  12  +9   13
2 Adab                            5   3  1  1   10   5  +5   10
3 Octapolis                       5   3  0  2    9   9   0    9
4 Saterun                         5   2  0  3   10  10   0    6
5 New Zhengguo                    5   1  1  3    5   9  −4    4
6 Gyoric                          5   0  1  4    6  16 −10    1

Group B
Tjorl 1–0 Belnegau
East Slavona 0–0 Trolleborg
Eshialand 5–1 Magnecia

  Group B                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eshialand                       5   3  1  1   14   9  +5   10
2 Trolleborg                      5   3  1  1    8   1  +7   10
3 Tjorl                           5   2  1  2    7   6  +1    7
4 East Slavona                    5   1  4  0    6   5  +1    7
5 Belnegau                        5   2  1  2    6   5  +1    7
6 Magnecia                        5   0  0  5    2  17 −15    0

Group C
The 14 Stars 1–2 The Republic of Dansen
HUElavia 2–1 Sudilia
Abanhfleft 3–4 Freeport Isles

  Group C                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 HUElavia                        5   5  0  0   14   3 +11   15
2 The 14 Stars                    5   3  0  2    9   7  +2    9
3 Freeport Isles                  5   3  0  2   12  13  −1    9
4 Abanhfleft                      5   1  1  3   15  14  +1    4
5 The Republic of Dansen          5   1  1  3   10  15  −5    4
6 Sudilia                         5   1  0  4    9  17  −8    3

Group D
StrayaRoos Barrier Islands 5–4 Quintessence of Dust
Squidroidia 3–2 Muralos
Omerica 1–0 Forbidden Territories

  Group D                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Squidroidia                     5   5  0  0   11   3  +8   15
2 Forbidden Territories           5   3  0  2    7   5  +2    9
3 StrayaRoos Barrier Islands      5   3  0  2   12  12   0    9
4 Omerica                         5   2  0  3    4   5  −1    6
5 Muralos                         5   1  0  4    5   9  −4    3
6 Quintessence of Dust            5   1  0  4    9  14  −5    3

Group E
Hebitaka 3–4 Sannyamathland
TJUN-ia 3–1 Macbon
Valkyriah 1–0 Britonisea

  Group E                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 TJUN-ia                         5   5  0  0   15   6  +9   15
2 Sannyamathland                  5   3  0  2   14  11  +3    9
3 Macbon                          5   2  1  2   12  11  +1    7
4 Valkyriah                       5   2  0  3    6   8  −2    6
5 Britonisea                      5   1  1  3    2   6  −4    4
6 Hebitaka                        5   1  0  4    4  11  −7    3

Group F
Sajnur 2–5 Kriegiersien
Football Tiger 2–3 Space
Reginalida 0–2 United Adaikes

  Group F                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kriegiersien                    5   5  0  0   18   5 +13   15
2 Sajnur                          5   3  1  1   12  12   0   10
3 United Adaikes                  5   1  2  2   15  16  −1    5
4 Space                           5   1  2  2   11  12  −1    5
5 Reginalida                      5   0  3  2    2   5  −3    3
6 Football Tiger                  5   0  2  3    9  17  −8    2

Group G
Kencana 1–3 Drawkland
Hopal 0–1 Togonistan
Sixty-ninE X 0–2 Almuzahara

  Group G                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Almuzahara                      5   4  0  1   10   5  +5   12
2 Drawkland                       5   3  1  1   15   9  +6   10
3 Togonistan                      5   2  2  1    3   2  +1    8
4 Kencana                         5   1  1  3    4   7  −3    4
5 Sixty-ninE X                    5   1  1  3    6  10  −4    4
6 Hopal                           5   1  1  3    6  11  −5    4

Group H
Montana Verde 1–0 Kyzhurkistan
Picksail Islands 1–3 Indusse
Garifunya 2–2 Juvencus

  Group H                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Indusse                         5   5  0  0   17   5 +12   15
2 Picksail Islands                5   3  1  1    4   3  +1   10
3 Garifunya                       5   1  3  1    8   8   0    6
4 Juvencus                        5   1  1  3    4  11  −7    4
5 Montana Verde                   5   1  1  3    5   8  −3    4
6 Kyzhurkistan                    5   1  0  4    7  10  −3    3

Blue: Team has Qualified for the Round-of-16
Green: Team has Qualified for the Round-of-24/Wild Card

Team Seeding
(Decision of seeding: Points, Goal Difference, Goals Scored, Goals Against, RP Bonus)

Group Winners-
1. Kriegiersien                    5   5  0  0   18   5 +13   15
2. Indusse                         5   5  0  0   17   5 +12   15
3. HUElavia                        5   5  0  0   14   3 +11   15
4. TJUN-ia                         5   5  0  0   15   6  +9   15
5. Squidroidia                     5   5  0  0   11   3  +8   15
6. Poafmersia                      5   4  1  0   21  12  +9   13
7. Almuzahara                      5   4  0  1   10   5  +5   12
8. Eshialand                       5   3  1  1   14   9  +5   10
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Runners Up-
9. Trolleborg                       5   3  1  1    8   1  +7   10
10. Drawkland                       5   3  1  1   15   9  +6   10
11. Adab                            5   3  1  1   10   5  +5   10
12. Picksail Islands                5   3  1  1    4   3  +1   10
13. Sajnur                          5   3  1  1   12  12   0   10
14. Sannyamathland                  5   3  0  2   14  11  +3    9
15. The 14 Stars                    5   3  0  2    9   7  +2    9
16. Forbidden Territories           5   3  0  2    7   5  +2    9
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Third Place-
17. StrayaRoos Barrier Islands      5   3  0  2   12  12   0    9
18. Octapolis                       5   3  0  2    9   9   0    9
19. Freeport Isles                  5   3  0  2   12  13  −1    9
20. Togonistan                      5   2  2  1    3   2  +1    8
21. Macbon                          5   2  1  2   12  11  +1    7
22. Tjorl                           5   2  1  2    7   6  +1    7
23. Garifunya                       5   1  3  1    8   8   0    6
24. United Adaikes                  5   1  2  2   15  16  −1    5

Round-of-24/Wild Card Matches:

Trolleborg vs United Adaikes
Aditya Varma Kulashekara International Stadium, Hind City, Indusse

Drawkland vs Garifunya
1st December Stadium, Trolleborg City, Trolleborg

Adab vs Tjorl
National Stadium, TJUN-ia City, TJUN-ia

Picksail Islands vs Macbon
Kanyo Pitch, Kayo, Drawkland

Sajnur vs Togonistan
Libira National Stadium, Fiskadaha City, Poafmersia

Sannyamathland vs Freeport Isles
Stadium Strata, Telm City, Britonisea

The 14 Stars vs Octapolis
New Thraproy Sports Complex Main Stadium, Adaik's C'ntral, United Adaikes

Forbidden Territories vs StrayaRoos Barrier Islands
Estadio Nacional, Curumba, HUElavia

by **Saterun** » Wed Mar 30, 2022 2:58 pm

Group Stage Review

Game 1: New Zhengguo 2-0 Saterun
The Adam Antwerp Stadium was sold out. Opening day was here. The Saterun National Team took to the field, followed by cheers abound. This was it. Time to prove they deserved a spot here. Unfortunately, it didn't go quite as planned. Early on, it was obvious that Saterun found capitalizing on chances hard. Possession was lost numerous times in the middle, and Ralf Abiatti was slower than usual. The Claws were hanging by threads as New Zhengguo pushed harder. In the 35", they almost scored, only for Saveli Holst to clear it off the line. When halftime came, the situation wasn't looking good. Even though it was 0-0, the gaffer knew that his side's time was limited. Once they got back out on the pitch, it was concretely shown. Within 10", New Zhengguo had scored. 1 down. Yousafali knew he had to make changes. Unfortunately, they didn't work. New Zhengguo crossed the ball in, and Timothy Shannon only barely knocked it away. Saterun's team was still recovering from that near-goal when the corner was launched in. A New Zhengguo player headed it easily and just like that, it was 2-0. In the 78th minute. At full time, Yousafali just stood there. He even refused to speak with the press, except for one single comment: "Next time we are winning."

Game 2: Saterun 4-0 Gyoric
Abbas Yousafali's big words hung in the air for Saterun's next match. As the players took up positions, a lineup change stood out clearly. Substitute goalkeeper Rahul Markovic was wearing the #1 today. As the game progressed, a few lesser-obvious changes also showed themselves. The Claws were passing quicker and moving into space. And it payed off. Thiago Esparza scored the first Saterun goal of the tournament in the 13", hammering in a shot from just outside the penalty area. 10 minutes later, Kaka Sarabola was brought down in the area. Yellow was shown. After a bit of debate, Kaka strode up to take it. He ran up and... nudged the ball to the side. Where Thiago was waiting. The goalkeeper was been sent completely left, and all Thiago had to do was slot it in the bottom right. Of course, being Thiago, he chipped it instead, but a goal's a goal. The team was rejuvenated when they went into the dressing room. The fans were really getting into it now. At the 55th minute, a handball was called on Gyoric 27 yards out. There was no debate about who would take this one. Glenn Lundquist stepped up confidently. From 27 yards out, most players would lob it into the box. Not Glenn. He launched it into the top left corner, wheeling away in celebration afterwards. The final goal of the game was in the 88th minute, by Thiago Esparza, completing his hat-trick. Yousafali was in a noticeably better mood when he left the stadium that night.

by **Trolleborg** » Wed Mar 30, 2022 3:06 pm

Greetings, compatriots!
It’s TTV from the 1st December Stadium. Our lads just ended game against Tjorl team, brave newcomers of the world football.

The opponents resisted, it must be noted, stubbornly, and did not quit playing until the very final whistle. The forward of the guests team, who had the ball at that moment, ran another thirty meters, and only then returned back to his comrades, because he had so much strength and readiness to give them for the victories of his native country.

Fortunately, our players were in good shape this evening, otherwise the game could have ended much less pleasantly. Already in the fifth minute, Cranford opened the scoring: having caught the opponents in their first attack, Valgren, who was in this match put to organize the game in the center of the field, made a long pass forward, Berglund has with the ball, but correctly assessed the situation, and, not being able to accelerate, passed the ball to the already running Kranforde, who approached the goal and delivered an imperfect but accurate shot

One could hope that our players would develop success immediately, but this has not been achieved for a long time, the defenders of the visiting team fought like lions, tried to move the ball to our goal at every opportunity, and goalkeeper of Tjorl team played brilliantly at the last line. Only towards the end of the game, our team managed to score the second goal: Kranforde, finding himself in a situation that was not particularly favorable for an attack, decided nevertheless to break through, made a rather insidious shot. The goalkeeper parried the ball, but he suddenly bounced past the defenders into the center of the penalty area. Where Halst caught him, it seems, he himself was surprised at such a gift, and began to work to hit. The whole stadium jumped to its feet, wondering if it would make it in time - but he did, and the hearts of the fans became calmer.

So right now our team on the first place in the group – but this not guaranteed anything at all
Things will be decided at the last matchday

by **Drawkland** » Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:16 pm

E X P E D I T I O N . . .

The next morning, the rest of the group would rise and wake for the new day. The remainder of the long night had gone pretty much according to plan, the watches switched without incident, and nobody near the campsite in the small forest clearing. Katie and Allison woke up with some pounding headaches, but at least the longer night had allowed them to get a full night's sleep even with their adventure the night before.

Jaxon had told the Grid Corps boys to keep their escapades of the previous night a secret. Something like that was unlikely to go over well with the other members. Surely it wouldn't come back to bite them, but the coming part of their journey was already enough of a stressor. Especially for Nicole, who felt most responsible for this entire mess. Jaxon especially didn't want her to freak out.

"So, what do you think?" Nicole asked Jaxon, consulting her notebook as the rest of the group finished packing up camp. "Should we stop at this city next to us and pick up some supplies?"

"Eh, I don't know about that." Jaxon tried his hardest to avoid glancing at Katie or Allison. "There's another town further down that I think we should spend the night in, and we only have enough time to explore one city if we're going to travel all that way."

"Last night I thought you said you wanted to look through this city today since it's larger, and more likely to have more supplies." Nicole looked back down at her notebook.

"I've changed my mind." Jaxon looked at the notebook as well, pointing on the sketched map. "I believe the next city on this main road is a little smaller and less likely to have prying eyes."

"If you say so." Nicole sighed and put the book back on her bag. "Let's just get the group moving then."

By then the group of eleven had just finished stuffing supplied into their bags and pulling on their timely cloaks. Somebody remarked on the whole situation feeling like getting into costume.

Regardless, they all set out, staying off the main path and taking a longer route around the town. Nicole was still confused as to why they weren't just cutting through the place, but Jaxon made enough excuses to set her mind relatively at ease.

After three day's worth of talking among themselves, each member of the group found themselves branching out and having conversations with someone new. The previous days, everybody seemed content to talk among their little sub-cliques of friends they had before this adventure. Today was just a little bit different.

Inevitably, Jack Hoy and Leo Cross ended up walking next to Katie Madison and Allison Summer. They were towards the back of the group, lagging behind a little. Nobody could really hear their conversation, not that anybody would be snooping on it anyway.

"So ... you guys feeling alright?" Jack asked, with a little hint of humor in his voice.

"My migraine's gone away, so I think I'm doing better now." Allison rubbed her forehead for effect.

"I just had a tiny little headache that was gone before we'd even left camp. I'm fine." Katie tried her best to seem stoic about it.

"You're visibly walking with a slight limp," Leo pointed out. "Did you tweak an ankle last night?"

"No!" Katie replied quickly. "I'm just a little stiff because I wasn't expecting to have to full sprint for over a mile last night."

"What did you expect, after not paying your tab?" Jack jabbed Katie in the ribs. "Did you even have money?"

"There was this guy there that said he'd pay for our drinks!" Allison insisted. "We didn't expect to be abruptly pulled out of the place."

"Were you expecting him to pay for your apparently large tab and then leave without him?" Leo asked.

"Not necessarily. We had several plans in place." Katie avoided eye contact with any of them.

"Risky plans, it seems," Jack pointed out. "You're lucky we came to the rescue. You could be stuck in some creepy local guy's house right now if it weren't for our heroic deeds."

"You're the only person I know who's ego is somehow bigger than mine," Katie scoffed.

"I think he's right," Allison muttered to herself. "We could've gotten into serious trouble."

"That's the spirit!" Jack heard the offhand comment. "And because I like you two so much, I won't even charge you with a life debt this time. Next time I save your ass though, you're going to have to return the favor."

"Lovely," Katie rolled her eyes. The four athletes continued to walk together though, and a few minutes later they launched into some more pleasant conversations.

Meanwhile, Sarah Arrowsword had found her way to the side of her half-brother, Andrew, and his boyfriend Liam. The brother and sister had grown into a bit of an awkward sibling relationship. They had barely even known of each other's existence, much less met, for the first two decades of each other's lives. With Drawkland really starting to bloom in the NS Sports realm, Sarah had been spending more time in Ceni, and eventually met Andrew by chance on a train in Ceni (or more the other way around, Andrew recognized her first).

This came right before Drawkland and Ceni were awarded hosting rights to World Cup 79, and as a publicity move to celebrate the successful bid and eventual hosting, Andrew was invited by his absentee father and half-sister to tour the land of half his ancestors, which he had never been to before. There was some tension between the half-siblings and their aloof but supposedly well-meaning father, but eventually they got past the awkwardness at the beginning of the trip. Once it was over and Andrew headed back to Ceni, they had molded a real sort of sibling bond.

Sarah and Andrew had met a couple times afterwards in Ceni, but the business of being a high-level athlete takes up a lot of time. This trip was the first time the two had spent more than a day together in years.

"You know, it's funny." Andrew chuckled a bit and motioned at the strange scenery of TiSoFaH's wastelands. "When I went to Drawkland and looked through all these museums, all the stuff still sounded like myth or fantasy. Even though it was presented as fact, it still had the feeling of a children's novel. Meeting Iarocav in person was one thing, but for the most part he just seemed like a normal government leader, even with all the things he talked about."

"You should meet Ellzidan sometime," Sarah laughed. "She takes all the slight eccentricity of Iarocav and it's amped to 11."

"Speaking of Iarocav," Andrew cracked a mischievous grin as he suddenly remembered something from their trip years ago, "Did you ever do anything about that crush on Iarocav you had?"

"W-what?" Sarah puffed. "I don't know what you're talking about. When was that a thing?"

"Oh, I'm not sure ..." Andrew rubbed his chin in mock wistfulness. "I seem to remember glistening eyes, a little bit of drooling-"

"Not true!" Sarah shoved Andrew to stop him midsentence. "You've just been spending too much time in the sun. Your brain is melting."

"Okay, fine, I'll stop teasing." Andrew laughed a little bit, and gave Liam a little squeeze on the hand. "Anyway, what I meant to say earlier was, it's still so surreal to be here. I thought the culture shock was bad the first time I went to Drawkland, but this is something else entirely. Drawkland's still almost mythical, but this-"

"-is like it's amped to 11?" Sarah asked, giving a bit of a smile.

"Yeah, that." Andrew stopped talking for a few minutes, and the trio walked silently alongside the rest of the group.

"Did we make the right decision, doing this?" Andrew asked to nobody in particular.

"What do you mean?" Liam asked, giving a concerned look.

"This is all just ... so strange." Andrew continued to look out at the dusty landscape. "It's weird to think that we could be something other than mortal. This is real life, not some fairy tale. Even worse, it's weird to think that these could be some of our last days. Oh, was this all a mistake?"

"No, come on, you're fine." Sarah put her hand on Andrew's shoulder to comfort him. "You have a good heart, Andrew. And I assume you do as well, Liam, since Andrew is so fond of you. Seriously, I don't know what exactly is in store for us, but I know that you have the ability and the will to do this. We all do."

"This felt so last-minute, really." Andrew said, calming down a little bit. "I don't think we did enough planning. We should've thought this through more before doing all this." He looked back to Liam, who met his gaze with a sympathetic look.

"Listen. I wasn't planning or expecting you guys to come along. The fact that you learned about this at all is a drunken mistake on my part." Sarah looked down to make eye contact with Andrew. "Believe me, though. When you said you wanted to do this Quest, I could've told you no. It would've been easy to leave you out of the plans and let you just live the rest of your life as normal. But when you asked to come along with me, I got this feeling. If you really wanted to do this, you could do it."

"Do you believe in destiny?" Andrew asked.

"I don't know what I believe in. I'm just here to help my friends." Sarah looked back at Andrew. "And my family."

Once again, the actual travel between cities was pretty uneventful. Once they'd gotten a sufficient distance from last night's city, they came back on the main road. They'd crossed paths with a few local traders and travelers, a few carts and weird-looking horses they had to walk around. Overall they had no interactions with the locals, who seemed content to mind their own business.

It wasn't yet evening, but it was getting late in the afternoon when the group could see a small town in the distance. It was on the edge of a scraggly, brown forest, which started to stretch into the horizon. For the entirety of the journey, the group had been walking alongside a long mountain range, but staying out near the foothills.

"Tonight, we'll spend the night in town." Jaxon pointed at the approaching settlement. "After this, we'll be straying off the beaten path. Last chance to sleep in a somewhat comfy bed. Tomorrow, we'll be hiking into that ugly-looking forest."

As they approached the edge of the town, which had minimal wooden walls around the outside, Jaxon turned and stopped the group, beckoning them to come closer.

"Alright, we'll need to split up to get some more supplies. Just like the town before us, but this time it'll be more like making business transaction than looting abandoned stores." Jaxon reached into his bag and pulled out a small sack of coins.

"I found this in the abandoned town. I'm sure a couple of you guys found some yourselves, whatever." Jaxon started doling out a few of the coins to every person in the group.

"What are we supposed to get?" Jack asked, rubbing the precious metal between his fingers.

"Let's see, we'll need a little more food, some extra clothes, and somebody to find a place for all of us to sleep. Also, if you feel lacking in the defense department, weaponry, armor, whatever ... this is your last chance to get some. Split into groups yourself, and let's get going. We can meet at the city center, say, when the sun gets around the horizon?"

"We can get the clothes," Andrew said quickly, looking at Liam.

"I'll go with you guys," Sarah walked back over to her half-brother.

"We'll grab the grub." Jack pointed at Katie and Allison. "You interested?"

"Fine," Katie begrudgingly accepted.

"How about we go with your cousin to find a place to stay the night?" Nicole asked Cam, pointing at Leo and Riley.

"Sounds good," Cam and Leo said at the same time.

With that, the new little groups huddled among themselves and started wandering into town, trying to not look too out of place.

"I guess that leaves me on my own." Jaxon chuckled as the last group started off.

"Wait!" Cam said, hearing Jaxon and turning to look at him. "I could go with you real quick."

"But-" Nicole started to protest. She barely knew the two Grid Corps stars, and Cam was her only pseudo-connection to them.

"You'll be fine! They're cool!" Cam insisted, and she trotted over to Jaxon's side. Nicole scrunched her face in disdain and rolled her eyes, but she relented and started walking with the two guys.

"You seem eager," Jaxon cocked an eyebrow at Cam and smiled.

"Well, I just don't want you to be alone." Cam not-so-inconspicuously avoided eye contact. "Just like we said in the meeting before we set out. Buddy system and all that. Nobody sets out by themselves."

"Fair enough," Jaxon shrugged and started walking into town.

"So, if everybody else is gathering the materials, what should we do?" Cam asked, catching up to Jaxon.

"I don't know. I think I'll just wander through the market area and see if anything catches my eye."

"Are you about to go window shopping in an authentic medieval village?" Cam asked, incredulous.

"Well, I see it like this." Jaxon pulled out his bag of local coins. "Once we leave this town, this becomes useless dead weight. It would be better to find something neat or useful than to let this go to waste. Plus, it's not every day you're in TiSoFaH. Trust me, if you leave here alive, you're not going to want to come back any time soon."

"Of course, of course," Cam nodded along. The pair walked down the avenue, seeing Liam and the Arrowswords walking into some sort of cobbler's shop. "When was the last time you've traveled to this world? Just curious."

"I've only been here once before." Jaxon's smile slowly transitioned to a bit of a grimace. "The way that trip ended ... it wasn't very good. You know the story. Well, most of it, anyway."

"Only most of it?" Cam narrowed her eyes. "I thought you guys had told us everything about your experiences here."

"Trust me, there's a whole other side to the story you don't know. I really don't want to bring it up, though."

"I've heard all about the horrors, physical and psychological, you all experienced. What could be worse than that hellish stuff?"

"Here, I'll make you a deal." Jaxon turned to Cam. "You make it out of this thing alive, I'll tell you everything. The whole truth, and nothing but. You gotta promise you make it out of the maze alive, though. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" Cam gave a mocking salute, then noticed that Jaxon had extended his hand for a shake. She obliged, but a little bit of anxiety had started to set in on her soul. Jaxon seemed to pick up on this. When he saw a shop with some tapestries and other weaves out front, Jaxon turned towards it and pulled Cam along with him.

"Where are we going?" Cam asked.

"I just want to check out this little weaving place. Some of these tapestries look cool. And who knows, maybe it's made of some weird material unknown to our planet."

"Didn't you just say you want to limit dead weight? This stuff won't help us in the maze, will it?"

"Maybe not," Jaxon shrugged. "But again, this is stuff you can't find anywhere else. Real period pieces, too."

There was nobody inside the little shop when they first walked in, but there were noises coming from deeper inside the building. It wasn't empty, but they were alone for a moment to peruse the wares without interruption.

"Nothing's catching my eye," Jaxon sighed. "I guess this place is a bust."

"Yeah, I agree." Cam said, starting to walk towards the door. She stopped suddenly, looking at a rack with small scarves. They were single colors, with various simple seals stitched in the middle. "Wait, look at this!"

"What is it?" Jaxon came up and looked over Cam's shoulder.

"Look, it's a lightning bolt." Cam held up the scarf. "And it's purple. It's just like a Jaffro Storm fan scarf, but old-timey!"

"Oh yeah, that's your team." Jaxon recalled the many pictures of Cam playing in purple and gold. "What are the odds of that? The right color and a bolt insignia, to boot."

"I dunno!" Cam sighed, and put the scarf back on the rack. "We should leave it be, though. It'd be a waste of space."

"No way," Jaxon started pulling out his sack of coins. "You'll regret it so much if you don't get this thing. It's just too cool of a coincidence."

"You don't have to do that," Cam blushed, putting her hand on top of the scarf so Jaxon couldn't get it.

"It's my money, anyway. I'm gonna buy it and give it to you." Jaxon grabbed Cam's wrist and lifted her hand so he could grab the scarf with his other hand.

"Seriously, Jaxon, don't!" Cam gave him a light shove to the chest.

"You can't stop me from buying this," Jaxon started, and suddenly the owner walked out of the back room and came to the counter.

"Can I help ye?" The woman asked, with some sewing needles clutched in one hand.

"Yes, please. I would like to purchase this scarf." Jaxon brought the long weave of fabric over, and dropped his bag of coins on the small counter, despite Cam's quiet protests. A minute later, he was walking out of the place with the scarf neatly folded in his hands.

"Here you go!" Jaxon held the scarf out for Cam to take.

"You're so stupid." Cam kept her arms folded for a second, but she eventually relented and took it from his hands.

"You can keep it if your pack if you don't want to wear it. It won't take up much room." Jaxon smiled. "It'll probably be harder to lose it that way, too."

"I think I'll do that later." Cam unfolded the scarf and wrapped it around her neck. "How do I look?"

"Really good." Jaxon couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Thank you," Cam said quietly as they walked back towards the little town square.

"Don't mention it."

The sun sank lower in the sky, and the group of eleven met accordingly in the little town square. There weren't many people there, but there were enough that they didn't stand out that much.

"Alright, we picked up some more dried meats and flatbreads." Jack patted a burlap sack which seemed to be brimming with food. "And we got a wheel of what I'm assuming is cheese, and pray isn't filled with a bacteria that will instantly kill me."

"We got a couple extra boots in case anybody wants to change before we go in to the maze." Liam had them tucked under his arm. "Also a few extra cloaks and tunics and trousers, just in case."

"And a ridiculous hat, apparently?" Nicole pointed out the wide-brimmed, almost cowboy-like hat on Andrew's head.

"Hey, I like this hat!" Andrew protested. "Plus, it'll keep the sun out of my eyes."

"If you say so," Nicole chuckled, then dangled a couple keys from her fingers. "The only place I could find with available rooms only had three left, so we're going to have to cram a little bit. Some people will have to sleep on the floor in their sleeping bags."

"Better than nothing." Jaxon poked at Cam's pack. "We picked up a couple cheap knives in case anybody still needs one. Looks like everything was taken care of, and with no incidents. That's what I like to see."

"Let's get to that inn." Nicole beckoned the others to follow her. "We have some big days ahead of us."

by **Kriegiersien** » Thu Mar 31, 2022 5:31 am

IAC XV

Sajnur 2–5 Kriegiersien

Finally a match again were both teams couldn’t defend. After Cheung started the goal reign in the 24th minute it was Daniel Werner only 4 minutes later in the 28th who scored the second goal.
When Cheung headed a corner in with brute force he made his second goal in the 49 minute and the game seemed to be decided, but Sajnur came back. After the 2-3 the match got really exciting and suddenly Kriegiersien came under pressure. And got the chance to test something they didn’t had to do for a long time:
Counterattack.
In the 80th minute Cheung got his third goal and, when Sajnur had to open up even more, giving Cheung the chance to score in another one-on-one with the goalkeeper in minute 88.

“In the end the result is a bit too high and our defense is still not very consistent. But we have Cheung”, said a smiling coach Schweizer.

Now Kriegiersien is number one in the ranking (for seeding) in front of Indusse, who beat them in the match for third place last time in a stunning 6-2 and host HUElavia on third place.

While the next opponent is played out in the Round of 24, the team can relax before the tournament really starts.

by **Adab** » Fri Apr 01, 2022 9:18 am

Saturday, June 25, 2038
Gyoric 2-5 Adab
Adab scorers: Yargab (17’, 29’), Arthur (40’), Akaptaha (70’, 85’)

A Dance with Football
Snapshots of the lives of the people involved in Adabian football and those associated with them
For a full list of chapters click here. To read all the chapters in one go click here
For an (incomplete) list of major/prominent characters in this story click here and scroll down to the ‘Football’ section

Chapter 61: Jump Into the Fire

November 11, 2036
Adab City

They called him a firebrand. An extremist. A stirrer of chaos. A far-left. They put him down, ignored him, called him every name under the sun. But Amarutu “Ama” Tabira believed he was only trying to do what was right, to bring justice and equality to the people he had seen suffer for so long. In that sense he was no different from countless politicians and activists who walked the path before him. And he wasn’t even that far-left; he was a democratic socialist. But then again, if you’re a democratic socialist in Adab, you might as well identify as communist.

And while he had no love for the government as it existed right now, he wasn’t calling for the abolition of the monarchy, despite what his detractors might claim. A reform of the government, with an expanded legislature and the Emperor reduced to a powerless figure would be enough for him. As much as he would like to see the Emperor gone, a large segment of the population was still behind him. For now a powerless constitutional monarchy would do.

The country had seen its fair share of social, ethnic, and religious tensions, but Ama never thought the moment would come when he could, maybe, realize his dreams of freeing the minorities and the downtrodden of the country from imperial shackles. He and his ilk had always been a minority in the Privy Council. No revolution was forthcoming and working in the corridors of power had not been very effective.

Enter Emma Arthur and Alulim Sinmuballit. Not the first interreligious couple in the country’s history, nor would they be the last, but their very public relationship and behavior had ignited passion on both sides of the debate, inspiring many interfaith couples to come out despite peer and family pressure, enraging many more who feared the fraying of the “social contract” that had held the country’s disparate groups together, and awoken people up to discrimination in this nation. If even celebrities were oppressed, what hope was there for the common people?

He calmly eyed the latest journalist with a question, and when he was done asking the answer was quick to come. “You asked me if the government is really oppressing us,” Ama began, cameras flashing in his eyes. “Well, I’ll tell you what everyone already knows. Arthur and Sinmuballit are only scapegoats. The government has always looked for a way to reinforce Mesopotamian-Arabic and Muslim superiority. Banning interreligious marriages are only the first step towards further entrenching that irrational superiority in our institutions and showing the pesky minorities their place in our national life.

“I am of Sumerian descent and Muslim, but I cannot stay quiet while my fellow citizens are being oppressed and denied their share in the Adabian promise.

“We are in the right. We are here to bring justice, to end the corruption and discrimination rampant in our country. That is why they are scared. Because when we realize our powers and unite, we are millions and they are nothing.

“Instead of opening dialogue they have brought out the police, because they know no language other than force. But if they want to bring fire upon us, then let us fight fire with fire.”

Then it was the next journalist’s turn. “Jamal Sfeir, The Adab Times. Mr. Tabira, are you calling for the people to commit violence against the police?”

“No,” Ama answered, not skipping a beat, “I am calling for the people to express their will. It is up to the police on how to respond. But know that we will not go away. And they cannot make us go away.”

Faraby City, Faraby

“Are you sure?” Kara Abbas cast a thousand-yard stare at her father, sitting quietly at the corner of the room. “He hasn’t been out of here since… forever. And what if the situation over there gets worse?”

“It’ll be fine, sis. Dad’s going to be fine,” Rashid Abbas tried to reassure his sister, all the while also looking at their father. “I mean, Adab City isn’t that far away, just a few hours by plane. And he’ll get to live in a big, nice house over there, get some fresh air and all the best treatment. And this situation will get better.”

“I’m just scared for him. He’s just… what if the environment there is too much for him?”

“It won’t. It’ll be fine,” Rashid leaned forward to his sister, putting his hands on Kara’s shoulders, gently rubbing them. “There’s me. And Sabiha. And Maria. And we’ll find more staff to look after him 24 hours a day at home if he needs it. It’ll be fine, sis, it’ll be fine. If you can’t go with us, you can still come, like, weekly or monthly. I’ll buy you and Celal the plane tickets. And you can talk with him online every day. We’ll set up the… the Zoom, or whatever it is they’re using now.”

“Please, promise me he’ll be fine.”

Adab lineup for IAC 15 Round of 24 (June 29, 2038, vs. Tjorl)

Starting lineup: Chandrasekar, Altun, Enmerkar (VC), Issou, Sharkalisharri, Arthur, Samanu, Orlev, Akaptaha, Yissakar, Yargab (C)

Substitutes: Shulgi, al-Tikriti, Akshak, Thomas, al-Muntar, Emmita, Uhwan, Zambiya, al-Kufa, Barzani

Independents Cup 15- EVERYTHING THREAD

Expedition, Episode 8

Match report

Boot It!: This Home Game IAC Stuff Is Certainly Fun

Expedition, Episode 9

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