World Cup LXI (61) RP Thread

[Cyborg Holland]

Mary's guide to surviving the World Cup
A lonely girls struggle in a footballers world: Part 5: Off to the world

I had my head right royally bitten of by Mad Mark at supper. He gave me a quiet earful for missi the game and that "just because you're in plaster and you're doped up on painkillers, doesn't mean you can't ******* do your job!"

I thought this was a bit unfair, considering my brain screwed up beyond relief and I could barely turn on a computer, let alone churn out a 500-word blog post. However, it had to be done or I'd be skinned. But there was no time for writing as I had to pack up my things and catch the next bus back to the airport, where the team would go back to New Amzterdam to play Sarmen, whereas I'd get a separate plane with Joanna Levi (injury for a game) where we would see some sights, try some wacky new foods and otherwise have a lot of fun and get very drunk.

The flight through the Multiverse was only four hours, so we sat, and drank wine, and laughed our heads off, much to the unamusment of the 20-something business man trying to do his emails and sitting to the right of us. By the time we arrived, we were both thoroughly hammered. But I was the master of pretending not to be drunk, so we managed to get through control without took many funny looks from stern looking Conclespian guards, who may or many have not been ponies. I can't remember.

Since me and Jo were massive art junkies, our first destination in Conclespia had to be the Conclespian Exhibition of Arts and Culture, where we checked out some famous artist of the region and otherwise didn't do much. We had lunch in what was described as a "Traditional Conclespian Restaurant", which only seemed to serve fish and soup. And mostly fish soups with various kinds of fish and other underwater delights. Once we'd had our fair share of oysters and beer, we set off again.

Because Jo had to be at the physio in just under two hours, so we just walked around Cohina, the capital of Conclespia, for the time, popping into shops and buying clothes and shoes we'd never see again, but our heads were so diluted that we didn't really know what we were doing. Eventually I bid Jo goodbye and staggered to the bus stop, where I caught a bus to my hotel.

My hotel was on the top 5 floors of a 50-storey block, so I had sweet views of the whole city, and the land beyond. Because I was still hungry after my somewhat unsatisfying lunch, I ordered a cheeseburger and a soda to get my stomach back in shape. It promptly arrived, and I downed it in front of bad foreign TV, but this time it was a sports programme, so it wasn't that bad.

Next time I checked the watch, it was half-past midnight. I'd slept for 11 hours, and my body was now ready for the day. Well only one thing to do...hit the nightlife...

[Rustika]

The Football Hour
SNS, Sports News Station
With your hosts; Scott Smith and Byrne White

"Hey there trusty viewers! For those of you who had been looking forward to the World Cup's 61st tournament we're finally about to begin covering this prestigious competition. Unfortunately we haven't been able to discuss the tournament on air before due to our very busy schedule, and now that the college football cup has drawn to an end we can start analyzing this competition." Byrne waved at the screen behind the desk where the two men were seated as video footage of the Rustik team in their last three matches was played.

"The third match has ended and soon the fourth will be played." The current table for the 18th group flashed on screen, showing everyone that Rustika was fifth in the group rankings ahead of four other teams, Scott continued describing the Rustik team's current situation, "As the underdog in this group stage the Rustik team has done quite well for its self surpassing four other teams." Byrne directed the attention once again to the screen, to view the highlights of the matches that had already been played,

"The first match against Yesopalitha was a close match. Three members of the Rustik national team's starting eleven were also part of this years Under-21 team, which lost to Yesopalitha's team in the first round of knockouts, so for them it was somewhat personal." A clip of the match's only goal came on screen, as one of Yesopalitha's strikers headed the ball into the goal little past the beginning of halftime, "Overall it was an extremely close match, throughout the game both teams got a couple shots at the goal, unfortunately both the Rustik strikers had trouble with their finishing and couldn't score a goal. Though this defeat pales in comparison with Rustika's next match."

"Everyone knew that the end of the match would see Astograth emerge victorious and it seems that this caused a severe case of anxiety for the Rustik team. Losing six to nil was a real wake up call for the Rustik team and it reminded all the fans about how unlikely it is for the team to advance into the knockout stages. It was painfully clear that the defense was fully unprepared to handle the shock and awe offensive that Astograth brought to the table." Scott directed the conversation to a more optimistic topic,

"Fortunately for Rustik fans the team beat Bisim 5-2 which made up for their previous two losses. It was a very exciting game, throughout the first half it was practically back and forth ending on a sour note for the Rustik team with the score 2-1 with Bisim up by one." The video of Rustika's goal came on screen, Rodolfo Veno took a couple steps back to prepare for a free kick. With only a eight or so meters between him and the goal it was a great opportunity, he kicked the ball and it sailed over the heads of the other team's players and just brushed the goalkeepers outstretched fingers flying into the back of the net, "The second half was much more successful, while Bisim was still ahead by one at the beginning of the second half the team pulled through and scored a total of four, thats right four goals! Bringing the score to 5-2, the four goals were divided up among Bonaventura and Grappa, with Alba scoring the first goal of the half, with Bonaventure scoring the next three over a period of twenty-six minutes."

"But enough about the past, with the next match scheduled soon people are asking themselves whether the victor will be Rustika or Fenbar? This particular reporter is putting his money on Rustika. While Fenbar has a higher ranking they're also coming out of a 3 match losing streak while the Rustik team is still going to be positive and pumped after their great match against Bisim. If theres anyone the team should worry about on the Fenbar team it's Ackle this young up and comer has the potential to turn the tide in the upcoming match and the defense will certainly have to keep an eye out for him. Make sure you tune in to watch the match against Fenbar, it's sure to be a great one here on SNS."

[Licentiapacisterra]

Bua’s Court
Wight Spit, Wight

“So, what exactly is there to do here in Wight Bua ??” Alex was up to the court again.

Well, there’s rather a lot to do actually, says Bua. You could watch some quarry football.

“What’s that ??”

Isn’t it obvious ??, chuckles Bua. Football, in a quarry !! With all the associated obstacles.

“I think I’ll pass.” Alex said, with a strange look at the King of Uncertain Dimensions. “Anywhere to get a beer ??”

You could go to the Dead Rock Cafe, says the King. You might see some celebrities there.

“Cool, sounds good to me. I’ll get the guys up.”

---

University Hospital Montfort
Montfort, Licentiapacisterra

Luke Thompson was worried. He had been visiting his former colleague and good friend Nathan Gardiner in hospital for almost a week now, and he hadn’t responded to anything. The picture of Thompson, sat in his vigil at his friend’s bedside, had been all over the front pages. Luke was sick of all the attention being drawn to his friend. He had ranted at a journalist yesterday, after being asked for the fiftieth time how Nathan had survived while the rest of the lads had perished. It included shouting, and rather a lot of cursing.

He had never seen Nathan like this before. Normally, he was bouncing around, full of life. But now, he was in a hospital bed, with various tubes into his body, pumped full of various drugs that confused Luke to no end. The sight of his friend like this left Luke unable to concentrate, and his side had slipped up against Remad, with Thompson unable to find any way to avoid the attack of their opponents. Luckily, he had a bye to pull himself together before the Cyan-and-Gold went to take on lowly United Federation of the World.

Suddenly, he heard a groan from the bed next to him.

“Shitey fuck bollocks wank.” Luke smiled for the first time in days. That definitely sounded like Nate.

“You alright Nath ??” Luke asked, already knowing the answer.

“Well, I’m just fine and dandy, aside of THE SHOOTING FUCKING PAINS RIGHT UP MY FUCKING BODY YOU STUPID ARSEHOLE !!” Luke smiled again. Yep, his friend was on the way to recovery.

“I’m guessing you’re in a bit of pain then.”

“Fuck off.”

Then, both men chuckled.

“So, what did I miss ??” Nathan asked, slightly apprehensive of Luke’s answer.

“We got thrashed by Sargossa. 4-0. No worse than expected. Beat The Icemark 2-1, which the fans were happy about, beating one of the only teams left over from our Baptism. Then we lost 1-0 to Remad.”

“WE FUCKING WHAT ??”

“Exactly.”

“What’s wrong with the lads ??” Luke winced at his friend's comment, quite obviously. “What happened Luke ?? Tell me.”

“Do you remember anything from the flight to New Amzterdam Nath ??”

“No. Why ??”

Luke sighed, ready to deliver the bad news. “The plane crashed, Nath.”

“Holy shit Luke. Where are they ?? The rest of the guys ??”

“They haven’t found them Nath.” Tears started to well up in Luke’s eyes.

“What, they’re gone ?? Skip ?? Jack ?? Al ??” Luke nodded. The two men hugged, and both started to cry, not at all attempting to hide their feelings.

[Farfadillis]

OOC: Some of these players are based on RL players, if you can guess them, TG me, I don't have any prize though....

Farf Future

Farfadillis, a relatively big country, reaching almost 1 billion in population, with a big passion for football, sometimes on this kind of countries, future stars are spotted before they even debut, like Tuzzio, we have an article about him on our archives from before he was 14. Now, we'll bring you a new article about youth future, Farf youth future:

Dieje Fellay:
A very complete forward, he can also play as CAM. He's ambedextrous and is very good at shooting from afar, he's not a very good dribbler, not an excellent playmaker, but he has something differen, a different style. He can play as a poacher, as a CAM who bombards the opponent's goal, as a striker who always seeks that one on one to score, as the winger who sends perfect crosses, he's a really complete striker. He's currently 16 and is playing on Ferdullaele FC's youth team, one of the stars on that team's U-17.

Edisalo Vanica:
Another forward, but different. His finishing is very precise, his headings are almost unstoppable, and he collaborates on defending, he seems to never be tired, and runs during the entire match, he's strong and, even though he only completes 67.3% of all his passes, he's still one of the best players we'll have, he can also play as a right winger, but does not perform the same way as it does as a centerforward. He's currently playing on Danuwa FC's U-15 Youth Team, he's 12.

Varo Ripeira:
A winger, he's a winger who joins the attack always, and runs back to defend on counter attacks, he is the player who runs the most on his category (U-15), and tends to score on important moments, he's good at shooting from afar. He's currently playing for Jordina SCFC's U-15 Youth Team, he's 14.


All of them are playing on their respective categories' Farf national team, with the exeption of Vanica, who playsfor the U-13 instead of the U-15. On MD12 we'll reveal the othe 3 players we've been scouting and everyone who knows about the youth categories' stars know about.

[Scrap Brain Zone]

Eggman's Opinion Corner
Where I say stuff and you listen! Or else

Eggman Empire 2-1 Megadia
??? 18'
X-Prototype 46'
X-Prototype 47'

Unknowns.

I hate unknowns.

If I can't get any data about the team, what am I going to feed my robots with? How are they supposed to play? Argh! I think those lazy countries should be penalized if they can't even bother to list their players to the World Cup committee.

At least I was playing at home, so I could do the usual routine of intimidation.

Those fools. They thought that the utterly silent neighborhood and the five-star hotel meant we were going to be polite with them. Ohohohoho! As soon as they stepped out of the tunnel, they were greeted with a hundred thousand robots filling the stands with red and black, singing insulting songs in their own native language.

...

It didn't work! They scored first! It had to be a spilled ball, didn't it? Our tactical software doesn't deal well with those, we need a firmware update. But I digress. I told Orbot that we needed to clam up until we got enough data for a better strategy. That was up until halftime.

After that, FINALLY we could DO something! Orbot simply decided to concentrate on aerial balls from the wings, crossed by the E-100 units. Bang. Two goals in short order, and then we could clam up and watch as the idiots futilely crashed into the metal frames of our team.

Another day, another dream crushed. I'm liking this football thing so far.

[Western cuba]

Havana Tribute

The #1 Newspaper in Western Cuba

Another Good Performance by Western Cuba

Jorge Ramirez

Luck night during World Cup qualifying, Western Cuba stormed back to reality in a disappointing tie against Romili. The draw is sort of disgraceful in fact, Romili is ranked 300+ in the world and there only real threat is Cerit Suhuio, who cost us dearly last night. While Western Cuba is still on top of the group, the draw kind of slows momentum down and brings us back to reality.

It's awful strange though, it seems like every draw or lose comes to a team that's not very good. Look at the last qualifying stage, we had not much of a problem with Erathore. Who we beat and then tied. But we drew to teams like the Sanian Confederacy, in order for us to qualify we must learn to play our A-game everyday.

And the defense didn't do too much of a bad job yesterday, they just fell flat at the wrong time. Armando Santos once again had a great game and played symbolically in goal. The only problem was a mistake that Esteban Sanchez made during the early minutes of the game. In the thirteenth minute, Sanchez found himself one-on-one with Cerit Suhuio. Sanchez took a bad step, and was completly burned by Cerit. Dribbling the ball a few extra yards, Cerit found a open shot and fired towards goal. The shot was a beautiful one that Armando Santos even had no chance of stopping, not even the best goalie in the world would of stopped it.

But please don't get me started on the offense for this game, Calderon and Moreno found no fluent movement with the ball yesterday. Even Edgardo Mendoza didn't have much of a good game, which rarely happens! And the midfielders provided barely any support, well good support during the game. It was simply a mess on the offensive side until the last fifteen minutes or so in the game.

With seventy-four minutes passed on the clock, the offense finally began to find fluent movement and began to take several shots on goal. By the eighty-first minute, Mendoza had found the back of the net tying the game at one. With several minutes to go, it was only Dodeden Faco that prevented Western Cuba from getting away from three points. The Romini keeper had a great final nine minutes in goal.

Still, Western Cuba should of got the three points no matter what in this game. The reserve team would of been expected to beat Romini. It's jut disappoint that we failed to get three points. But this might be a good thing for Western Cuba. This might be the wake-up call several players on the team need. Obviously Markin has already received it, he's been on the hot seat ever since being eliminated in the Copa Rushmori. Now the players have gotten there wake-up call.

Hopefully, with the wake-up call being given. Western Cuba will thrive in this World Cup qualifying.

[Yesopalitha]

Sparky's Stance

Just as promised, Sir James started all the regulars in the game against Equatorial Sarmen. The players showed a little bit of rust, but that, I suppose, is to be expected. It had been a while since the last game that they played against The Icemark, though they had played a friendly against Bergnovinaia.

The defense looked sharp, as always, with Calhoun blocking all shots, Kevin, Galvin, and Von Helz holding firm. The offense had a bit of a problem getting going, as Ivan and Jane actually looked lost at times, but the captain, HVR, Hilary, saw them through.

What I mean, of course, is the goal scored in the seventy-third minute, with Hilary taking the ball, weaving it through the whole field, and burying in the back of the net. When I asked her about it afterwards, she said, "It was about time that something happened, and I was kind of getting tired of waiting, so I decided to give it a go."

Stated Sir James, "She is the best play-maker ever. Takes smart risks and comes through. We are so blessed to have a player like her in this squad."

Hopefully, readers, the Flames' rust will wear off soon. They play group-leaders Astograth, you know. Even if we lose, you want the game to have been a close one so that there are positive things that the Flames can take from such a loss. As long as it isn't a blowout loss, I presume that it won't be that bad.

You might say I'm being pessimistic, but I really don't see us taking down an Astograth squad, not during this first leg. Maybe during the second? I don't know.

Go, go, Flames!

---

Maharamba in Wight

After he had been lured off of the face of the King of Uncertain Dimensions, Maharamba the demon-child assassin took a deep breath and just decided to wait for the answer. Apparently, the King had been embarrassed enough by not answering his question...

OOC: I have an idea where to take this next. Just not today...

[Taeshan]

There is a certain level of anxiety one feels after a horrible game like that. Sure you didn't lose, you got one point out of it, but you tied a team who doesn't even have any good players, a team whose name takes longer to write out then the check you could have used to pay them off. There is just a certainty about not beating a team like that that makes you unsure about your own abilities, it makes you unsure about your whole group of players. It makes you wonder, why aren't you good enough to have beaten them. It sometimes leads to idiotic changes that can hurt the team in the long run. It makes things tough on you. In the end it's horrible for your team's mojo. And without mojo you ain't got nothing. Your like a bird without wings, a shoe without a sole, a mouth without a trachea. You are an impossibility. You are defeated. Well you just got to get out of that state, and steal your mojo back. There are more games to come, and your biggest test lies upon the horizon. You must do better, prepare. Prepare.

[Kiryu-shi]

from a scrap of paper found floating in a mid-sized ocean between Rushmore and Atlantian Oceania

his foot came crashing down into my gut the roar of the crowd dizzying as i spun into oblivion just
after the start of the match
when the knights came crashing through
and the kiri knew not how to stop them
and sent in hacking legs
running Miles into the ground
and then they lined up, the kiri, only to watch helplessly as i spun past with that foot of rousseau and the roar of the crowd Pitape was rocking the home opener for the 11th best team of the world and before they knew anything they were winning and the kiri
the kiri could not keep up they were outclassed they were desperate those hacking legs too slow to keep
track of me
and only able to interrupt the legs
of those knights clad in white with that red stripe
but all i saw were feet clamoring to be heard each louder than the other as they surged through cutting past those hacking feet
and eventually they got two yellows the kiri they couldn’t keep up and they were already down one and olive and charles both were shown that card after they had missed me once again

and throughout that first part i
was not
touched
by any members of the kiri
save defenders
and just barely did they
save


but then it was a turn in the action perhaps as i was flung across the field and one of them the knights didn’t strike me well and i catapulted sideways through the air before being cushioned by boyle’s head towards the ground and through his desire i find myself being pushed up the field and the knights are running back but
boyle
is faster
and all of a sudden he has room and i cross into that so far elusive box and see the keeper for the first time and he sees me he charges towards me and boyle is hesitant slow barely managing a shot into that keeper and the world slows down as a drift up into the sky a silence falls on the stadium i can see everything it seems but yet who shall strike me next
there are the two the keeper and boyle so recently engaged in combat but now sprawled out on the ground neither of them present enough to follow my flight both too concerned with getting their limbs in order but there is d'Arányi streaking but also Malone and Gardener converging towards me and
d'Arányi gets there first and she is gentle as she escorts me into the goal

and the match dissolves into a series of cagey runs and i fly back and forth up and down the pitch the home crowd stunned maybe but i am at peace both teams are not sharp which means for me it is safe
in the realm protected by the ineptitude of weak contact

and the first half finishes
the failure of the orectic state
incapable of actualizing
and
incapable of letting go

so free


but
that state
ends
in the second half it is as it was in the beginning the knights attacking the other way but attacking nonetheless the attack comes again and again and the cards prevent perhaps the kiri from attacking with those hacking legs again

and open space is created the failure of materialization the kiri fall away the passes coming so quickly that
the knights
easily
with
a series of single touches
send me through between the bars
ruslan victorious

and the crowd roars their pleasure palpable the kiri discouraged their pain
also

and so it is
the match winds towards a conclusion
substitutions are made
the knights seem content
2-1
i would be too

the kiri despondent
more and more
the aura of failure overwhelming
their captain taken out in favor of a younger, more aggressive Rombout,
but that hardly seems to matter

but her again with her quick feet d'Arányi takes me with her and the game should be over but she stumbles through one defender
two
three
no support and then her cleat

i do not spin this time i am hit hard and i fly straight even while the keeper cannot track me and i am enveloped by net it is even and

all of a sudden
tension




both sides battle feverishly numbers go up marking the end runs are made i am knocked helplessly from end to end players are not
where they should be
neither
am i

flying around
this is not what i want

and i am loose
a poor clearance i bounce wildly
from cleat to head to cleat to cleat to a gloved fist to a metal bar to a head to a chest to a knee and then again i float frozen in time
a snapshot shows me static
faces in agonized anticipation

DeCastro takes them out of their misery her streamlined body breaking my momentary silent reverie the kiri pile on around her as i stay in the back of the net

the knights glory fading
the whistle blows
a reversal a surprise the stunned crowd gaping an upset what
will it mean?


kiri for kiryu now in second with only two matches
and with a rested redeya’s chances appearing slim while
the bears struggle and the former champions
just rejoicing to play


hope
seems
to
grow

for now


[ooc notes: I am incorporating dictionary.com’s Word of the Day into my RPs, today’s word is ‘orectic’. Also, as should hopefully be evident, this is written from the ball utilized in the matches of Kiryu-shi, and hopefully accurately represents the writing ability of inanimate objects.

Also, goalscorers for record keeping and RPing purposes: Rousseau 14’, d'Arányi 28’, Ruslan 49’, d'Arányi 82’, DeCastro 90+3’]

[Antoletia]

A tie is a tie. It is a single point. That is still 1 more point than if you had lost the game. I will take a tie, as it at least advances your standing. It provides more for you as you move along in the endless abyss that is life, in the endless trek that is the world cup. It may be just a game, and winning isn't everything, a tie is not as good as a win, but it can help. Basically a tie is helpful as you trek along. Th late goal from Filip Constantinuescu that provided the tie was great. Cool that is awesome. One point, onward ho.

[United Gordonopia]

Previous Entries in "Norm Bates: Tolten's Fire"

Part One
Part Two

"What a day."

That simple phrase was the only thing James could say to himself as he navigated through the dark streets of his decrepit neighborhood, a happy spring in his step. He simply couldn't wait to get home and break the news of everything that had happened to his wife and six-year-old son at the game that day. Not only had his team, now riding on an 18 match win streak, trounced their biggest rivals, Heinman Ball Bearing, but something he had been waiting for for years had finally happened: a professional scout had dared to venture into the dangerous Tolten slums. The only damper on the day was the fact that his family had missed the match, with Norm home sick with the flu.

Perhaps he had been inspired by his first, and perhaps only, opportunity to impress a scout from a Gordonopia Football Association club, but James felt that his performance in the match that evening couldn't have been better. With a hat trick, an assist, and a solid performance deeper into the midfield, he had played to all of his strengths. Hopefully the fact that the man, representing hometown favorite West Tolten, decided to speak with James after the match was a good sign. Hell, he'd even asked for his address and work schedule; if that didn't mean something, James would be stunned.

As he passed the gates to the factory, getting close to home now, James stopped for just a moment. Perhaps today would be a new beginning. Perhaps it would be the day that he accomplished what his father, and his father before him, never could: rise out of the row houses, tenements and factories that had become prisons for those who they kept alive.

Several blocks on, James winced as he saw a man stumble out of a nearby house. The scout had kept James at the stadium long after everyone else had left, but although it was typically not safe to wander the slum's streets at night, James at least knew how to take care of himself. Still, it was never good to have a run-in with the typically inebriated men who frequented that particular building, which was well known as one of the area's few brothels.

As he got closer, James started to get a bit more nervous. The man was visibly drunk, and seemed to be moving slowly towards James. Sporting a well-fit suit, it was obvious that the man was from a much better part of town, but James had learned that that rarely made for a better man. As James started to move to pass, the man tripped over his own feet, bumping into James.

"Hey you damn rat," the man started to yell, using a derision that only served to incite anger in the inhabitants of the slums, "watch where you're going. It's 'cuz of people like me that any of your lot has bread on the table. You ought to show me a bit of respect..."

As the man trailed off, James apologized and tried to push away. It was taking everything he had not to give the man a good knock to the face, but the last thing he wanted was a fight on a day like this. Unfortunately, the man wouldn't have any of it.

"You're going to come barreling into me like that, you'd better be prepared for a good scrap."

The man drunkenly raised his fists, appearing to take aim at James.

"Look, sir, I really don't want any trouble. I'm just going to walk away, and we can forget about all of this."

James' attempt to avoid the fight failed, though, as the man lunged at him. In his intoxicated stupor, though, the man couldn't come close to James, who casually knocked him to the side, and tried to escape in the direction of home.

The man, though, wouldn't have it. "You're just going to be a coward, are you? Like some scared little monkey? What good is a slumrat that won't even fight back?"

To James' total surprise, the man suddenly drew a gun. Wide-eyed, James tried to back away, but the man was slowly advancing towards him.

"Sir, I have a family... what is it you want?"

With a dark look in his eyes, the man responded, "I just wanted a bit of goddamn respect... I guess a rat like you doesn't even know what that means."

For a moment, everything was still. For a short time, it was as if the world had come to a stop, and total silence swept through the neighborhood. The only thing that broke it was the shot.

[Liventia]

Garner celebrates captaincy with goal

Orean, LIVENTIA— Paul Garner celebrated being named the new Liventia captain by firing his side to a 1–0 home win over United Gordonopia.

The 27-year-old, who had not been the favourite to take over as captain, scored with a well-placed shot from ten yards with time running out to seal Liventia's first win of the qualifying campaign.

His strike partner Reece Wilson, who many expected to take the armband from George Bowler on a permanent basis after being named match captain in the team's first two qualifiers, provided the assist with a sterling through ball after seeing Garner beat the offside trap.

Garner, who had said after the 0–0 draw against Turori that he expected Wilson to get the nod for the captaincy, was unavailable for comment after the match as the FAL sent assistant manager Ryan Wilkie to face the press in a move designed to take the heat off manager Dennis Lefevre.

It is understood that Garner was appointed captain by the FAL on the advice of Bowler, to whom Garner had been vice-captain. Bowler was again left out of the starting lineup, though he came on after 60 minutes.

Lefevre, who is thought to have been left out of the decision making process, was known to favour Wilson for the job.

Wilson has now been given the vice-captaincy, and although there are conspiracy theories abound that Lefevre would now attempt to freeze Garner out of the national team setup as he did Bowler in an attempt to get his selected man the captaincy, the FAL have made it clear that that is unlikely to happen.

Lefevre's shaky start as national team manager has left serious doubts in his ability to keep the dressing room together, and a tabloid newspaper quoted an anonymous FAL source as saying Lefevre had two matches to prove his worth or he would find himself out of a job.

"The FAL doesn't mind the compensation fee if it's for the good of the team," the source said. "Lefevre is clearly not winning any fans in the stands nor in the dressing room and if he attempts to leave Bowler or Garner out of his forthcoming squads I think he'll find that he's not welcome within our setup."

However, midfielder Mike Byford, who played under Lefevre at WTFC, played down suggestions of cronyism.

"I don't think the gaffer is that kind of person. He was hard but fair as a club man and maybe that doesn't translate as well to this stage," he said.

Liventia side against United Gordonopia: Ramsden; Daniel, Radcliffe (Bowler 59'), Hodge, Davis; Coburn, Grant, Pichaud-Moulin (Baines 71'), Goodwin; Garner (capt.), Wilson (Rayner 88')
Liventia goalscorer: Garner 86'
Liventia bookings: Davis 61', Grant 30', Pichaud-Moulin 44'

[Beaverriver]

Beaverriver wins against the Wild Isles in World Cup Qualifying
Beaverriver defeats Wild Isles 2-0 after a wild finish as Veteran Jeanie Clee puts two in the back of the net in the last 5 minutes of the game. The Female Striker from Corny Town FFC scored her first goal on a volley from Edwin Robert. Her second goal came ugly as it was a mess infront of the goalkeeper and the ball went passed the line for a second but the referees notice and count it. "I don't know what I just did when I had my lapse and Levi Elias did his job very well of keeping the balls from going in the direction of Danahoe" Lance Hall answered about his defensive lapse in today's game.


Ratings

Jaiver Danahoe
Position:Goalkeeper
Rating: 6
He did enough to keep the clean sheet though no fantastic/game changing saves in this game.

Kurt Anderson
Position: Left back
Rating: 6
Did great this game as he supported the offense quite well. He was rarely caught out of position though he had almost had a hilarious own goal with the ball missing the goal by inches

Lance Hall
Position: Center back
Rating: 5
Not the best game for him but he caught multiple people offsides, one of his weaknesses and he nearly allowed a goal after having a lapse.

Levi Elias
Position: Center back
Rating: 8
He clearly shown that he is the best center back in the country and he covered Hall when he had his lapse, might of saved the game.

Omar French
Position: Right Back
Rating: 2
He seemed like he disappeared offensively and he had Elias and Finni Cover him some times and didn't do a good job marking his guy

Moises Clark
Position: Left Defensive midfielder
Rating: 7
He was all over the field, stopping counter attacks, marking his man getting the ball. He only earned a 7 because he got a yellow card.

Allie Finni
Position: Right Defensive midfielder
Rating: 9
She proves that she can still play with the national team despite being the oldest player on the team. Led the team very well and put in some key interceptions.

Edwin Robert
Position: Left Attacking Midfielder
Rating: 7
He tracked back well to help the defense and had some great crosses including one that got him the assist. The best young player on the team.

Jesus Ochion
Position: Central Attacking Midfielder
Rating: 6
Help contribute to the attack though didn't track back much. One of shots nearly earned him a goal only stopped by a magnificent save from the goalkeeper of Wild Isles

Felix Deher
Position: Left Attacking midfielder
Rating: 8
Contributed multiple great crosses that didn't ended up with her earning the assist.

Jennie Clee
Position: Striker
Rating: 6
She was presented with a bunch scoring opportunities and she two.

---

Beaverriver is in third Place despite the table shows that it is second. Must be Some sort of bugs in the computer to make the tables be off.

Beaverriver also played two matches, ended up drawing both including one that ended 1-1 in Bostopia, the top ranked team in the group. Beaverriver has defied all expectations of being terrible because they're not ranked.

[Geisenfried]

Königseifert Chronicle
^{The capital's finest English-language news source!}

---

Euran-ihilated
^{Geisenfried shows 'vintage' AOCAF form, cedes five goals to World Cup finalists in blowout}

BASTION, EURA -- Pressure continues to mount on current national team manager Andreas Büchner after taking a shutout rout in the latest World Cup qualifying match, this time to the nation of Eura, more commonly known in the sporting world as the FSSO. While some defenders of Büchner's efforts have pointed out all 4 of his worst losses have come to highly ranked and prestigious football teams, the fact remains that under Büchner's leadership, Geisenfried has one draw and four losses with a one-to-fourteen goal ratio, which bodes ill for his continued employment.

Büchner's continued bad luck might have been simply in timing. After giving 5 goals early to the nation of Baltskandio in their preceding match, the Eurans seemed determined to rebound with a more impressive showing back at home, both offensive and defensively, and certainly got what they were looking for. Things started going well very early on for the home team as a wave of offensive pressure at the start of the match finally bore fruit in the ninth minute, when Euran striker Lee Sharp put the ball in the back of the net with a cannon-shot to put Eura ahead one-nil. It was the beginning of a long day for the Geisenfried defense. Meanwhile, after a shoddy showing last game, the Euran defense held steadfast against any Geisen attempts to try and get an early equalizer and soon enough Eura was on the offensive again. While keeper Max Warner managed to turn away a hard shot from Eura's Sam Needle in the twenty-seventh minute, he wouldn't be able to get a hand on Persa Ryans' header on the following corner, and as quick as that, the Golden Eagles were now down two-nothing. The Geisen defense managed to hold serve for the rest of the half, but it was obvious to anyone watching the match that the Eurans held all the advantages.

To Büchner's credit, Geisenfried seemed much more lively at the beginning of the second half than they had for most of the first thanks to a few tactical adjustments. But Euran keeper Daniel Belgrave would not let go of his clean sheet and soon enough the Eurans had accommodated for Geisenfried's changes and put the Golden Eagles on their back heel once more. A bad foul at just past the hour mark outside the Geisenfried box yielded a yellow card for defensive back Asher Bernowitz and a free kick for the Eurans, which James McCroft happily converted into a three-nil lead. By the time the Euran attacking midfielder put in a rebound at the eightieth minute, the game was all but over. A goal for Scott Daley, one of the Eurans' late subs, at the eighty-four minute mark gave the home crowd a cherry on top for a five-nothing blowout.

---

Eura 5-0 Geisenfried
- Sharp (9'), Ryans (27'), McCroft (61'), Thompson (80'), Daley (84')

Group 12:	GP	W	D	L	PT	GF	GA	GDF
Mashiki		 3	3	0	0	 9	 9	 5	 +4
Ko-oren		 2	2	0	0	 6	 5	 2	 +3
Eura		 2	1	1	0	 4	10	 5	 +5
Baltskandio	 3	1	1	1	 4	 8	 7	 +1
Aexalla		 3	1	1	1	 4	 5	 4	 +1
NMS		 3	1	0	2	 3	 2	 4	 -2
Starblaydia	 3	1	0	2	 3	 5	 8	 -3
Geisenfried	 2	0	1	1	 1	 1	 6	 -5
Urbis Tractus	 3	0	0	3	 0	 1	 5	 -4

Next Match - MD4: @ Ko-oren

[Camwood]

Justin Kiplin's cell phone started ringing the moment he landed a foot on the other side of the Jetway. There was no caller I.D., just a number, but Kiplin knew exactly who it was.

"Hello?" Kiplin answered, trying to sound like he wasn't up to no good.

"Justin, how ya doin' dawg?" the other line was very hard to make out, which was ironic because the connection itself was above average, as far Telecate phone service goes.

"Ah, Good, I guess, How are-" Kiplin was cutoff.

"Terrible, thanks for asking, you drew, you bitch, why the hell did you draw?"

"For starters, the team played terrible, our opponents were like ranked-" Kiplin was cutoff once again, this time the other end of the line was twice as harsh.

"I don't give a rat's ass about how the other team was ranked! Why the hell did you let Torress score that equalizer?" This end of the phone was extremely hard to understand, but what was easy to pick up, was the fact that the line was enraged.

"He's a footballer, what do you expect?"

"Why didn't you sub him out?"

"Didn't occur to me."

"See, dawg, you just aren't tryin'. Your done."

"First off, give me one more day, we can't possibly beat Dorian and Sonya, they are twelfth. Secondly, what do you mean, 'I'm done'?"

"I am taking you out, I can get a new manager that'll lose!" The opposite line went dead. Kiplin was perplexed, What do you mean, get a new manager? You're not CAFA. Meanwhile, Kiplin was trying to flag down a taxi to take him to his designated hotel. He finally got one, and got in the back with his overnight bag.

"Athens Inn, please," Kiplin asked pretty politely. Justin Kiplin's eyes enlarged to twice their normal size as a handgun was presented right to his forehead.

"I don't think so." The taxi driver's finger tightened on the trigger, and Kiplin's eyes rolled up, and back into his head, as if he looked up towards the wound between his eyebrows. The driver pushed one button on his walkie talkie and said, "I got 'em boss." The driver didn't even move as security guards rushed towards him. It was just a chuckle, and a "Hey there" as he was swept away from the body of a manager.

---

BREAKING NEWS
JUSTIN KIPLIN FOUND DEAD
Camian National Team Manager killed at New Athens Airport

By: Jules Briere
last updated 10:01 A.M. Wed. August 8, 2012

---

---

NEW ATHENS(DJG) -- Camwood's best, and maybe most beloved association football manager passed away early this morning at the hands of a murderer. Justin Kiplin (pictured above), was 51 years of age, and was at the New Athens International Airport when he was killed in the back of a taxicab.

At roughly 6:00 A.M., Rushmori Island Time, gun fire was heard inside an airport taxicab, at the New Athens International Airport. Security staff at the airport rushed to the vechicle to find the gunman, showing not restraint to being taken into custody, and a body, apparently dead in the rear seats. New Athens Police arrived on the scene five minutes later to assess the situation and begin their investigation.

The suspect, according to the New Athens Police Department (NAPD), has not cooperated during interogations and authorities are unable to find a motive. The suspect identified himself as LeRoy Hopkins, and his weapon was a standard M8 PDS handgun, manufactured by the Calvini Defense International defense business, located in San Pellegrino Romana.

CAFA announced rather quickly after the news surfaced that assistant manager Henry Telison, from the Vanler Dynamo will be the interim manager while CAFA sorts out the situation and begins interviewing to fill the position. CAFA also stated that they expect to have a full time manager in place before the mid-qualifying friendlies break.

It was by all means a tragedy, and a great manager, has come to an unexpected end.

Parts of the article were derived from Les journalistes de la guilde/the Journalists Guild

[Arcadian Islands]

FootballArcadia sat down with the national coach of the Satinbirds, Nial Moro, in an Arcadia city hotel for a quick chat as the team prepared for their next clash against the Harvest Mice.

FootballArcadia: Mr. Moro, thank you for joining us. Firstly, how has your team found the bye?
Nial Moro: All the lads have been working hard during this down time. At first I was concerned it may slow any momentum we built in the historic six-nil win on the second matchday. But, the players have been very professional and stayed focused - I think the extra preparation will do the whole squad a world of good.

FA: Speaking of the 6-0 win over Phoenigetuzstha; a pleasant surprise, surely?
NM: Most certainly. The team had prepared for the toughest match of their rather short careers, in the end the boys did it will ease and style.

FA: What do you say to those critics who have been quick to point out your opponents were basically not there, with only three players showing up to play.
NM: We cannot control what our opponents do; that said I personally find it strange that a team missed a vital game worshipping a religious figure that couldn't even be bothered to intervene in the result on their behalf. I am still proud of the effort the boys put in, and only the score will be remembered by history.

FA: Many foreign news outlets have criticised the Satinbirds in the lead up to qualifying, with many expecting to beat the Arcadian team 'who pose no challenge' twice. What do you say to this?
NM: Nothing. For years now, before I became an Arcadian, I have enjoyed reading the predictions of various rags from many different countries. Predictions always amuse me; they are almost never correct. *laughs* I have always been someone who, whilst not really religious, firmly believes that one should not tempt fate.

FA: How will you approach the next match against the Harvest Mice?
NM: Cautiously. They will be looking to get their campaign back on track with a win against us, but I hope the vocal crowd in Arcadia will act as a twelfth man to help get us a result at the least.

FA: Captain Kensi August will be playing his first international at Brookedale Stadium, in Arcadia. Surely it must be a proud day for the Ni-Kulan star?
NM: I am sure that Brookedale will be packed; I expect a large Ni-Kulan turnout for this match. Kensi is always proud to lead his nation on the football pitch, but this match in front of his family, friends and people may spur him on to reach the next level. We are already seeing the effect of his captaincy on participation rates.

FA: Yes, Ni-Kulan participation in football has risen by over 30% since the appointment of August as captain.
NM: Exactly - this bodes well for the future of Arcadian football and society as a whole. Over the next few years, junior clubs will notice a reasonable increase in Ni-Kulan players, which will eventually make their way into the AIPFL, I think.

FA: After a disappointing Baptism of Fire Forty Eight, the squad looks better prepared for these qualifiers and less distracted. Why is that?
NM: Honestly, what happened on and off the pitch in Iturributa was not acceptable. Focus and commitment have been discussed a lot in team meetings, and the lads are approaching international football as a whole more professionally.

FA: Any advice for your future opponents in qualifying group sixteen?
NM: You have to turn up physically and mentally to beat us.

FA: Thank you Mr Moro.
NM: My pleasure. Thank you for having me.

*heard in background* 'Ted you goat, where is my bloody drink?'
'*inaudible* I didn't *inaudible* Mister Moro'
'You useless dog. I should have you sent back to Leben.'

[Aguazul]

(OOC: I'll be travelling the next few days. It's possible I'll still be able to RP from the road but in case not, I'll be back early next week!)

La Verdad

Close comeback

Playing away in Cosmic Censorship, Aguazul were fortunate to come away with three points after a close game. After a quiet first half, we fell behind early in the second but quickly mounted a comeback before a slow last twenty minutes.

We did take the lead through Juan Mario Pedroso, only to see a host forward tie the game shortly afterwards. Halftime was enlivened by a streaker almost reaching the pitch, presumably to **** the stands. However, the efficient stadium security were able to prevent this from happening.

Then, early in the second half, one of their midfielders came up on the attack and scored an impressive goal. What do you know, once or twice in a blue **** we can fall behind. But things improved shortly after, thanks to a nice set piece from Merlín Salomón that tied the game.

Of course, since Salomón used to play as a winger and went more on the attack for the national team, it's no surprise to see him finishing well. In fact, Aguazul have a strong tradition of central midfielders doing very well on free kicks. Claudio Albornos took plenty both for the national team and the ********** (Zhevassi ZL), and Sergio Bustamante also knew how to score. (Probably no one else at Estudiantes de Íguen knew how; they made ********** FC look attacking!)

But the *** was shining on us and, in particular, Pedroso, who quickly gave us the lead back. They were the first international goals for the forward, whose Blén CA recently qualified for the ***** Cup. With such an excellent performance, it was no wonder that he was named the **** of the game.

[Socialist States Owen]

FSSO wake up defensively as Geisenfried are thrashed
Clint Covey reports from Bastion Arena (Attendance: 96,020)

FSSO - 5
Sharp 9
Ryans 27
McCroft 61
Thompson 80
Daley 84

GEISENFRIED - 0

In Baltskandio the FSSO faltered defensively despite a confident attacking performance, conceding five goals to the five they scored. This time they performed much better; scoring another five goals, and conceding five less in a cruise to victory.

On home soil the home side started strongly and took the lead within the first ten minutes when Lee Sharp rifled a shot past Max Warner. Geisenfried were unable to penetrate a significantly stronger Euran defence than the one that was caught out so often by Baltskandio, and struggled to keep the ball out of their box, let alone their half. Soon before the half hour mark, Sam Needle came very close to doubling FSSO's lead only for his shot to be palmed wide by Warner. Yet the Geisenfried keeper was simply delaying the inevitable'; from the resulting corner, Persa Ryans beat Warner with a bullet header. The FSSO backed down a bit for the rest of the half, seemingly happy to go into the break with a two goal cushion, while the away side seemed distraught that they still had another 45 minutes of bombardment to endure.

Andreas Büchner, Geisenfried's manager, seemed to have got his side going early in the second half as they finally strung together some chances, but in reality Daniel Belgrave didn't have much to do to keep out the occasional hopeful shot. They ran out of steam rather quickly, and by the 61st minute the FSSO had a third goal. James McCroft scored this one, sweeping in a 20 yard free kick after Asher Bernowitz fouled Persa Ryans. Ryans had a hand in four of the five goals in a stunning man of the match performance - his 80th minute shot led to the 4th goal, after it was saved by Warner but fell straight to Steve Thompson for the rebound. Ryans then showed his passing pedigree with an incisive 84th minute pass that found substitute Scott Daley, who was more than happy to thump the ball past the keeper. Geisenfried never really looked in the same league as the FSSO and by the time the match was over, it was clear which side would be challenging for qualification. If the Euran's can keep this up through the rest of qualifying, another World Cup adventure is assured.

Man of the Match: Persa Ryans

Lineup

1. D Belgrave
2. N Feeney
5. M Robertson
4. J Paranaya
3. JA Pizza
7. J McCroft
6. P Ryans
8. S Thompson
11. J Stevenson
10. L Sharp
9. S Needle

Substitutes

13. S Neeson
15. M Humphrey
23. N Kerr
16. K Kane
20. T Riley
14. S Xavier
22. S Daley (On for Sharp 76)

[Qazox]

World Cup 61
ASMV-Valanora

A 1-1 draw against Dark in a downpour at Rockport stadium left Qazox feeling down, like our next poet Hannah Eaton.

Oh woe is you
a game that you drew
a team escaped from defeat
off of Tanner's feet
Dark scored quite quick
some person named rick
our side wailed and cried
but the Dark seemed to be the better side.
no balls could get past
the keeper, whose name is last.
but when Tanner's shot struck
Dark's chances went as did their luck
up next the team will face
Liventia at their home place.
a loss or draw or a shoddy try
will give qazox a problem entering a bye.

[New West Guiana]

"Hmm..not good, not very good at all" Felipe Hernandez said under his breath, "I do not like this one bit thus far we may be only two matches down, but starting off with a 0-1-1 record isn't very good not good enough for me that is"

WG Soccer Director Sarah Willioms sat ideally by as Felipe read through her notes she made during the days game, "Felipe I don't fully understand why, but your team did very poorly against a team with such a low rank. I don't know what to tell the board, even though I am fully confident with the team under your leadership. A two all draw against Phoenixia isn't what you or I might have ecpected."

Felipe looking at the stats made him frown, "I don't like this ethier but there are still fourteen match days left, plus we still have a off day to figure this all out. Look Sarah my goal is by the halfway mark to have at lest five wins and in a very good position in the group."

"Felipe I believe you, but after that showing two years ago in the AOCAF, the fans want more and are expecting the same results. Two years ago just a few weeks after you were hired made people in Wets Guiana believe that you can do it and give hope to kids who want so badly to be good enough to represent their country."

Sarah placing her hand on Felipes shoulder, "The board wants me tell you that if you don't get win at lest seven games or come close to making into the playoff round, that you'll be fired. I was fulling against it, pointing that they gave Temist sixteen years and this is completely un-fair. I'm fighting to overturn this ruling, but I wanted to give you a heads up, that winning is everything this time."

Shocked, stuned is what Felipe feels, "Ok, thanks. I want you to tell them that if I get West Guiana to qualify I'll be expecting an all around pay raise for every one on the team."

Smiling Sarah gets up to leave, "You bet i'll tell them that, so you tomorrow."

"Um..yea, but I know as you do that we can work through this. it may not look good now but we can rebound. It just needs to start against our next opponet. Uh..I forgot who they were, but our first big test will come against Magolana. I think we could win, but after this last game those chances look very dim."

[Equestrian States]

ESPN: Equestrian Sports Programming Network
Equestrians Pummel Bitternea in Record-Breaking Style
By Steve McNotapony

CANTERLOT - Needless to say, this qualifying campaign has already become a road full of ups and downs. In the team’s first match, a friendly against Khytenna, the Equestrian States hammered its lowly opponent 6-1. But over the next two games, the team would fail to put its offense to use, drawing against Euskirribakondara and the New Roman Imperialists while scoring just one goal in the second game. Then, last night, the Equestrian States was able to find its rhythm once more, pounding out a 7-1 win over Bitternea. The score would break the goal-scoring record set by the team’s win in Khytenna.

The Equestrian States started furiously, taking its first shot before the end of the first minute of play. Over the course of the match, the Equestrians would take an incredible 45 shots, 18 of them being on target. Fire Dash was…well, on fire. The team captain beat out the Bitternea defense with ease, and in the fifth minute slammed one by the goalkeeper before they could react to the shot. Seven minutes later, Thuderlane would put the Equestrian States up 2-0 with a marvellous header into the corner of the net.

But Bitternea seemed to rebound temporarily after the second goal, breaking past the Equestrian defense to make it a one goal game in the 18th minute. This would prove to be the first, and last, real offensive surge they could put together for the rest of the match.

Just three minutes after the gap closed, it widened once more on Starlight Sparkle's goal. Taking a corner kick, Apple Jack passed the ball to the midfielder, who proceeded to chip it over the jumping Bitternea defenders into the goal.

Play was restarted again by Bitternea, but they couldn't keep control of the ball and soon the Equestrians were pressing hard once more. Fire Dash would eventually take a 32nd minute breakaway and turn it into another goal, extending an already dominant lead. His sister would prove her own value just before the half, taking a penalty kick and putting the Equestrian States up 5-1.

After the half, Head Coach Twilight Striker would substitute in Lightning Bolt for Fire Dash in an effort to keep the star forward from unnecessarily injuring himself in a game that was already pretty much secured. Starlight Sparkle quickly took control of the ball again, leading the Equestrian team in a fierce attack against a simply pathetic and crumbling Bitternea defense. The reward was a sixth goal for the team, tying the all-time Equestrian record, and allowing Coach Striker to pull Starlight Sparkle for Apple Pie.

As the game wore on, the Equestrians kept up the attack, but didn't try to score quite as hard as they had been earlier in the game. But the ability of the Equestrian States to keep up the pressure in the late game would prove to be a difference-maker. In the 75th-minute, back-up midfielder Lightning Bolt took a cross from Apple Jack and knocked it gracefully into the net, breaking the Equestrian record and causing the fans in attendance to go wild. Though it would be the last goal for the Equestrian States, the team stayed on the offensive, securing a national team record 68% ball possession.

After the game, Coach Twilight Striker wouldn't say much, but complimented the performances of Fire Dash and Starlight Sparkle and told reporters that it really was just another win. "While we broke some of our personal records, the goal differential that we have established will only be useful if we are tied with another team in the standings at the end of this run. We don't plan to be tied with anypony, but we instead aim to best everypony."

Hopefully these words won't come back to bite the coach, as the team will now return home to face predicted-runner-up Cosumar at the Equestria Dome.

Bitternea 1-7 Equestrian States
- Scoring -
Fire Dash (EQS) '5
Thunderlane (EQS) '12
Unknown (BTN) '18
Starlight Sparkle (EQS) '21
Fire Dash (EQS) '32
Rapid Dash (EQS) '44 (pen.)
Starlight Sparkle (EQS) '48
Lightning Bolt (EQS) '75
32% - Possession - 68%
13 - Shots - 45
3 - On Goal - 18
3 - Fouls - 1
0 - Corners - 6
0 - Offside - 5
0 - Yellow Cards - 0
0 - Red Cards - 0

[Polar Islandstates]

"Evenin' Gunnar, the usual?"

"Aye, ta Yannis. Much obliged." answered Gunnar, closing the door of The Auld Creaky behind him and stepping inside.

"Any Seasogs, today?" asked Yannis as he moved to turn off the radio.

Gunnar's stomach made a noise somewhere between anger and begging.

"Erm, no, no thanks Yannis, I believe I'll just stick to Grogg this evening, thanks."

"...WITH A WIN THAT MANY HAVE CLAIMED IS A RETURN TO THE EFFICIENT PERFORMANCES THAT SAW THE TERNS LIFT THE COPA RUSHMORI. SCHWARTZ'S CONSERVATIVE STYLE OF FORMATION WAS COMPLEMENTED WELL WITH SOME ATTRACTIVE FORWARD PLAY FROM THE ELMSVIKUR AND KVITCHENKO, AND VAN SORENSEN'S FIRST HALF CHIP FROM THE EDGE OF THE BOX WAS NO LESS THAN HE DESERVED. LOOKING QUITE HAPPY TO SOAK UP THE PRESSURE FROM THE ANXIOUS HOSTS, IT IS CLEAR THAT SCHWARTZ IS CONFIDENT ENOUGH IN THE TERNS THAT HE DOESN'T FEEL THE NEED TO CHASE GOAL DIFFERENCE AS THE FUTURE TIE-BREAKER IT COULD BE. PERINPANLAND WERE THERE TO BE OPENED UP TIME AND AGAIN, BUT THE EMPHASIS REMAINED ON KEEPING A FIRST CONFIDENCE-BOOSTING CLEAN SHEET OF THE TOURNAMENT, AND JORGEN HAUGE'S SECOND HALF FREE KICK WAS THE ONLY OTHE-..." *click*

"That's better, no?" said Yannis, handing Gunnar his pint.

"Much. I think under Sol we'd have pushed harder and scored a few more, but there were always gaps at the back with Kirkkegaard. I think I'm coming round to Schwartz's way of thinking you know." replied Gunnar, taking a sip of the cold... stuff.

"Yeah? What convinced you?" asked Yannis, going back to cleaning that glass.

"Winning the Copa, mainly."

"Thought as much."

"Say, Yannis?" said Gunnar slowly.

"Mm?"

"There are bits in my Grogg."

"...and?"

"What do you mean, 'and'?"

"That's Grogg. There's always bits in Grogg."

"There is?"

"As far as I'm aware." shrugged Yannis, "Its been like that as long as I can remember being a landlord, anyway. I always assumed that's how its meant to be."

"You sure? That's a pretty nonchalant attitude..." said Gunnar cautiously, suddenly wondering whether maybe Yannis had been polishing the same glass for the past twenty years and just none of the other ones.

"Did somebody say 'Latitude'?" said Larsen, appearing in the doorway all of a sudden.

Gunnar sighed.

"No, Larsen, nobody said Latitude."

"Are you sure? It sounded like 'Latitude'." said Larsen smugly, hopping onto a bar stool.

"Quite sure, thanks." replied Gunnar through lowered eyebrows.

"Hm." pondered Larsen. "Just, I thought perhaps you were discussing how today's match reminded you of the first ever Latitude Cup final."

"Well, we weren't." said Gunnar, turning back to Yannis, "I was just asking Yannis why my Grogg had bit-... wait, what do you mean 'first Latitude Cup match'? It wasn't a bit like the first ever Latitude Cup final."

"It didn't remind you of the first ever Latitude Cup final?" asked Larsen with mock sincerity.

"No." replied Gunnar curtly.

"Oh, it did for me." said Larsen.

"You do surprise me..." grumped Gunnar, taking another sip of Grogg and straining it through his moustache as Larsen pulled out his book and started to recite...



THE DIPLOMAT'S CUP
In 1932, with political tensions between many of the independent island nations just beginning to subside following the series of skirmishes that blotted the landscapes of the 1920s, there were growing movements exploring how best to maintain good feelings between the Valhallan peoples. Regular exhibitions of art and culture began touring the island chain, displaying the best of each nation's wares to the rest of the region, with the literature festivals of Jan Mayen also having their origins in this period of international co-operation.

Another of the ideas that came around in this period, was that of a football tournament for all of the teams in Valhalla. There were national leagues, and there had been invitational tournaments that crossed international boundaries since the very first days of football in the Valhallan region, but there had never been an all-encompassing tournament for all the Valhallan teams. There had been smaller international trophies contested by teams in nearby nations, such as those for the Norscelt islands before they joined, or between the nations that would later become the state of Farosea, but never a trophy that included all teams; professional and amateur, from Kuril to Aleutia, and from Northbrook to Landt Sibir.

The Diplomat's Cup, as it was known at first, was the brain child of Niko Ovcharenko from the Franz Josef FA, and Maarten Stenberger, chairman of the Svalbard FA. Originally conceived as just another small international cup, these two men realised that the scope for the trophy could be far bigger than anything that had ever been attempted before, and so an international campaign was undertaken. The FAs of Landt Sibir and Kuril Arkhipelago originally turned down the application to allow the two men to invite teams under their jurisdiction, but when they saw the enthusiastic uptake from the rest of the region, they bowed to international and internal pressure and allowed their teams to take part.

A CUP IS BORN
Invitations were sent out to over ninety teams in all nations of the Valhallan region, and all responded with an affirmative answer, giving Ovcharenko and Stenberger a logistical nightmare. Eventually, a small compromise was made with the organisation, and the first rounds became regional in their nature, so as to save transportation costs. The latter stages were to be fully international however, and randomly drawn, with the two pioneers of the cup keen to avoid any seeding controversies.

Competitions were held to determine the name of the tournament, eventually won by a Mrs Pernille Omdahl of Aasiaat when she suggested the title of the Latitude Cup. J & F Kolberg, the famed fine jewellers of Jan Mayen, were commissioned to design and create the trophy, and Stadion Bronstad, the old venue in Axel Heiburg used for international matches between Svalbard and Franz Josef, was selected as location of the final. And so the tournament began, regional rounds aside, with exactly the same format that we see in the trophy today - straight knockout, single leg, both the home and away sides splitting the revenues.

A ROARING SUCCESS
Initial concerns over attendances proved unfounded as the trophy kicked off, and players played past fatigue as their clubs found time to slot the international fixtures into their schedules. Even these early stages provided smaller clubs upsetting the larger ones, a much loved feature of the cup we know today, with small town clubs such as Bathurst Cotdelapomais and Krykkjesund Olympic putting out more established clubs like SK Franz Josef City and Melville Celtic. Two of the favourites for the trophy, Jan Mayen White Star and Northbrook Diamonds FK, would meet in the second round, playing out a thrilling 6-4 match that saw White Star progress into the next round. Resolute Storm 1913 FC were also early victims of the unforgiving knockout structure, losing 4-1 to a fledgling East Franz Athletic side that were promptly knocked out in the quarter-finals by Sporting Club Aasiaat 87.

Ultimately there could be only two teams in the final however, and those teams were RSK Longyearbyen Town, the Svalbard league's runners-up, and surprise finalists 1. Lokomotiv Karlstadt, who had a disappointingly mid-table finish in their league that season. With Stadion Bronstad full to bursting as the eager citizens flocked to its terraces, the inaugural Latitude Cup final could begin.

THE FIRST CUP FINAL
The final itself was a relatively low scoring affair considering the tactics du jour, and only two goals settled the match in the end. RSK's legendary frontman Mathias Engebretsen scored the first, a darting shot that flew straight as an arrow past the despairing Karlstadt keeper. Lokomotiv rallied in the second half, cheered on by their fans, and almost had the equalising goal on several occasions but for the heroics of Svalbard's international keeper at the time, Bogdan Kikorov, who put in a performance noted by many broadsheets the next day as "truly inspiring" and "match-winning".

The second goal came in the second half, RSK winger Dino Karatchka getting the better of the Karlstadt defence once more, and crossing the ball for Engebretsen to head home his second of the match, and a goal that prompted early pitch invasion from the delighted RSK fans. Lokomotiv's fans would remain in the stands to polite applaud the RSK side getting their medals, and when the flashbulbs popped around captain Vagn Stougaard lifting the new trophy, there could finally be no doubt over whether the trophy would be a success.

THE LATITUDE CUP
The cup would go on to go from strength to strength in the following seasons, and beaten finalists Lokomotiv would eventually lift the trophy in the 1935 season, beating the plucky amateurs from Krykkjesund Olympic in the final to halt their own attempts to retain the trophy they had won in 1934. Olympic to this day remain the only amateur side to have lifted the trophy. The Latitude Cup soon grew in status as the most exciting cup tournament in the Valhallan region, and behind the national leagues it soon became the trophy that all teams wanted to win the most, turning the national cup competitions into a chance for the reserve and youth team players to gain experience and game time. Through this, the development of strong squads became the norm for the big sides of the era, and we began to see the first dominant sides and big international rivalries. For example, in ten of the first eleven tournaments, Northbrook Diamonds FK were drawn against and knocked out either Jan Mayen White Star or Jan Mayen Engineers at some point in the competition, and so when White Star and Engineers merged in 1958 to become Jan Mayen Islanders, this rivalry with Diamonds was carried over.

FC1. Surtsey Island Gulls in particular were masters of the cup competition, and with fifteen wins to date they remain the most successful club to have played in it, followed by SK Franz Josef City on ten, and Resolute Storm 1913 FC on nine. The now defunct Korsten Hibernia hold the unwanted statistic of being the only team to have never won the title despite reaching the final on four occasions, and poor Ilksporta IK are the only side in the Valhalla region around today to have never proceeded past the second round.

Stadion Bronstad continued to hold the final until it was demolished in 1977, and the final today continues to be played in any one of several neutral venues, selected from the pool when the semi-finalists are confirmed. This situation is expected to continue until the projected completion of the new Nasjonale Stadion in Franz Josef City in 1986.



"...and anyway, are you sure th-... oh, are you finished, Larsen?" asked Gunnar, mid-sentence. "Good show. Very nice, very fascinating."

"Yes, I'm sure," said Yannis impatiently, "I am one hundred percent sure th-... oh no, hang on, that wasn't Grogg after all."

"It wasn't?"

"No, that was water I drained from the dishwasher. Wait, you didn't notice?" asked Yannis.

"To be honest mate, aside from the bits I couldn't taste the difference."

"Hang on," interrupted Larsen, with a statement that miraculously wasn't about football, "if you have a dishwasher Yannis, then how come you're always polishing that glass?"

"I dunno," shrugged Yannis, "I just think it makes me look all, landlord-y, I guess..."

And so, in an event that practically deserved its own page in a book like Larsen & Ryback's, Gunnar raised his eyebrow at Larsen for something that was said by somebody else.

[Blouman Empire]

The Daily Review

Letter Page

Sir,

Reading your article Ancap Super Sub I was surprised to find you reporting on the future match against Gaytso-kai. The game I watched the Empire played against Carmadin resulting in a 3-3 draw. Are you now in the business of predicting the future?

Donald of Noroton, Wedrom


Sir,

I had to check to ensure I wasn't reading the horoscope section after reading on a game that had yet to be played

George of Cranhurst, Promdrania


Sir,

Once again you and your sub editors have failed to ensure that your articles are correct. Your article in yesterday's paper Ancap Super Sub reported that we played Gyatso-kai when in fact we played Carmadin. I thought it was standard practice for journalists to check their facts before writing an article, but based on your general news stories that are full of bias and inaccuracies I am not surprised that you couldn't even get the name of the country right.

Brian of Scorebury, Eastern Bloumany

---

Correction

In Tuesday's edition of The Daily Review we incorrectly reported the Blouman Empire Eagles as playing against Gyatso-kai. We wish to correct this and notify they played Carmadin. All other details within the article are correct

[Zandistan]

COASTAL ZANDAR, ZANDISTAN

“An historic moment in Zandistani history!”
“Opening home game a victory!”
“They make us proud, Zandistan win!”

A sampling of headlines from prominent Zandistani newspapers: The Fortunata Sentinel, the Coastal Zandar Times, the Krumping Bay Post. On the second game of World Cup qualifying, Zandistan hosted their first home game in history, and the soccer-mad fans in Zandistan flocked to the stadium in central Coastal Zandar. It was declared a one-time national holiday as no person could have possibly gone to work that day. Cars were parked on the street as far as twenty blocks from the stadium, so many people were coming to be part of the festivities.

So many, in fact, that one thing was forgotten: how would the Malt side possibly reach the stadium? The subway workers were not at work either, so the team would have to come by road, by bus, but they could not: the roads were clogged in every direction. The match was scheduled late as it was, to start at 9:07 pm, but Malt didn’t make it to the stadium until after 8-o’clock. They persuaded that they had not had enough proper warm up or time to review their tactics, and had the match start pushed back a little over an hour. And therein lied the problem.

Zandistan had again gotten out to an early lead. Tangari fed Radonezh-Muratovich for an early goal, and late in the first half Bellucci dribbled through the midfield and had a long-range strike to the top corner. 2-0 at halftime, it was a sure win for Zandistan, right?

The newspapers went to print right around minute 60 of the match, with Zandistan still leading 2-0. They had to put out their accounts of the brilliant start for Zandistan, two winds in two matches, amazing! No way a team like Malt could come back, could they?

But Malt had impeccable spirit. Continued, repeated attacks, but de la Mega continued to come up huge in net. Nothing could get by him. Nothing until minute 82, when Malt pulled within one. The crowd tensed up, “Will we win this game?”

The editors tried to back up, to reprint their stories about the game, to delay until the game was done. But no dice, as more than half of the copies had been printed already. They could not possibly wait until the game ended and still get the papers out in a timely fashion. They held their breath, just hoping Zandistan could hold on and make it count.

But Johannes Werdenheimer slipped, and was just juked by the Malt striker. One-on-one, and a smart finish tied the game. In stoppage time. A desperate attack late, but Zandistan could not put it away. The whistle blew, and Zandistan had blown their lead, a 2-2 tie to the 310th ranked team in the world.

All around the country, newspaper editors cursed simultaneously. Their newspapers were being transported around the country and they had the wrong stories. They had a sinking feeling they had jinxed it, they were why Zandistan failed to win. A need-to-win match as well, as they faced a top-100 team in their next game, a very likely loss.

Outrage the next day, completely outrageous. The newspapers were criticized, ridiculed. People around the country shocked at the team’s failure, and now their so-called reliable news sources were all failing them. Newspapers around the country lost many subscriptions. The country feared they were losing credibility, and knew they were going to almost guaranteed to lose in their next match. Dismay, the team and country were spiritually crushed, and already their qualifying campaign was tanking. The next match had to be a good one for the people to be righted.

[Pasarga]

"That's a good change of pace after that opening day loss!"

"I'll say, a good offensive showing to after being shutout. Can't believe we were held by Sarrbia, just really mindboggling that."

"Well the lads and lasses rebounded quite well all the same. Seems adversity is not a crippling blow to this team as might have been thought and better to get the bad result out of the way now than when it matters most during the last few matches!"

"Well, provided that all the kinks are out the system now."

"Always a risk that it could be a bad qualifying run, every one has, from Abk to Zandistan, it happens to the best and worst of teams."

"Anyone remember when Sel Appa failed to qualify as ranked third?"

"How do you even know about that, we weren't competiting yet."

"It was in the papers."

"Well Krytenia not qualifying last tournament when ranked first is a bigger and more recent story."

"True that."

"Still, the Wanderers are on their way now."

"Shame that things at the WCC are a bit hectic and crazy right now."

"Such is life my friend, such is life."