World Cup LXI (61) RP Thread

by **United Gordonopia** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 8:26 pm

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

What a decision. After four years at RMS, Norm's future was the question on the table. With football programs around the country pining for him, he carried a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Several Gordonopia Football Association squads were interested in signing him, despite the fact that he had never played on their academy teams. At the same time, he was faced with the opportunity of becoming the first in his family to go to college. Both his skills, and his strong academic performance, would allow him to go to virtually any school in the country. After meeting with dozens of recruiters, though, he was still totally undecided. One more recruiter to meet with in his cramped apartment living room, and he would have to make the final call.

After so many meetings in the same place, Bates was feeling little nervousness. The fact that he was doing it in his home certainly helped; if the recruiters truly wanted him, they could venture into the impoverished Tolten slums themselves. After some waiting, Bates finally heard the last knock. Slowly, he got up from the aging couch, and opened the door. A greying, somewhat diminutive man was there. Although his stature was not nearly impressive as many of the recruiters Bates had spoken with, there was something in his eyes that left a good first impression on Norm; some kind of experience, confidence.

"I suppose you're Norm?" the man asked.

"That's right Mr..."

"Heinrich. You can call my Bill, though. I'm here to see if you'd be interested in signing with West Tolten."

So maybe the best would be last. West Tolten. Hometown heroes. It'd been awhile since they're glory days, back when Norm had been a baby, but they were still one of the few good things in Tolten. Tickets were just affordable enough for the poor to afford, if they saved a little, and the fact that many on their recent roster came from situations like Norm had helped further endear the top-level squad to the people of the slums.

"Well, Mr... sorry, Bill, would you like to come in? Have a seat?"

"I would love to," the man replied with a subtle smile.

As Bill slowly strolled into the house, finding a seat on the couch, Norm suddenly realized why the man looked so familiar: this wasn't some typical recruiter... West Tolten's head coach was sitting in his living room.

For several minutes, Bill strongly expressed his interest in Norm, and what he had accomplished over the past few years. Although not the only convincing presentation, it was certainly enough to make Norm consider the team. After a short time, though, it seemed as if it was done. That was when Bill brought up something Norm had never expected to hear from a recruiter.

"I need to get home to my wife, but I do have one quick question, Norm. You wouldn't be related to a man by the name of James Bates, by any chance?"

The question momentarily silenced Norm. How did this man...? Finally, he decided to answer, obviously a bit rattled, "Yeah. He was my father."

Seeing the shock his question had caused, Bill was slightly confused. "I recognized some similarities in your play style. I visited Riverwork Worker's Stadium one night, oh, ten years ago just because I'd heard from some old friends how good James was. I grew up over in Mont Creek, a few blocks over, by the way. Well, your father impressed me so much that I had to offer him a callback. I got his contact info, and tried to reach him about making a deal with the team, but I could never get in touch."

"My father was murdered ten years ago..." was all James could say initially.

"Oh. I'm... very sorry."

"No... it's, okay. Really, this almost makes it better. It was always his dream to get noticed by a pro team... I never knew..."

"Yes, he told me that. Well, I suppose I should be going. Remember, if you're interested in West, you just have to let me know."

Norm nodded as Bill stood, and was silent until Bill was just about to close the door behind him. Just before that could happen, though, Norm added a final few words: "Yes, I think I'll do that."

by **Thatius** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 8:41 pm

Thatian Security Embarrassed

In recent years, Thatius has ramped up its security forces in preparation for an influx of visitors from abroad, due to increased tourism and sporting events held in the nation. For the past five World Cups, Thatius has participated in qualifying, and made sure that everything ran as smooth as possible. In fact, the nation, home to the Firebirds (the nickname of the Thatian National Team), has been recognized as one of the safest nations in the region.

Unfortunately for today, chaos descended upon the field as Thatius hosted the Vampirican-Krumbian Confederacy in a World Cup Qualifying match. Five streakers jumped the barriers and sprinted on to the field as the match was going on. Officials stopped the game and the players tried to catch the streakers. Most curiously, the five disturbers of the peace were wearing white robes of the "Genosien Brotherhood", largely known as a cult throughout Thatius. As of late, the government has tried to crackdown on these hooligans, who preach that the end of the world is near, and that they must sacrifice snakes in order to stop the destruction.

Of course, these cult members, ranging from 45 to 69 years old, were apprehended before they could sacrifice snakes in front of a crowd of 80,000 in the stadium, and millions more in Thatius. One member of the Genosien Brotherhood tried to throw one of the snakes, a black rattler (a venomous snake found in the Southern Djonos Islands) at one of the field's security agents. Bad luck for the agent, as it landed right on him, with the snake biting him right in his chest. The man who threw the snake is now in custody along with four of his fellow cult brothers, who all have been charged with public disturbance and face two weeks in prison.

Meanwhile, the man who threw the snake, Danijel Disolac, who is also the leader of the cult, faces two years in prison since the security agent now lies in the hospital in a coma. There is no bail set for him, and he has no chance at appealing. This is probably due to the government wanting to rid itself of this annoying brotherhood, who has tried to interrupt sessions of the Council before, along with other government-oriented events. This is the first time the Genosian Brotherhood has infiltrated a sporting event, and hopefully the last.

In an embarrassing fashion the security forces running the World Cup Qualifying matches at home in Frederikstadt National Stadium were completely humiliated as millions watched the scene unfold. Radio-Televizija Thatius, the official broadcaster of Thatian home games, failed to cut to a commercial break in time. Instead, the reporters were heard laughing loudly over the microphone, and boasted of how slow the agents on the field were. Later several reporters were heard accrediting the interruption by the Genosian Brotherhood due to the lack of security on the field, while others cited the fact that the checks at the gate do little to prevent people from bringing in unwarranted objects, such as flares, flags, and noise-makers.

Nevertheless, the Thatian Police Bureau has insisted that World Cup Qualifying matches will face a much tighter security for visitors and athletes a like, as they try to prevent an event such as this from happening again. The Thatian Minister of Sports officially apologized earlier this morning to the Vampirican-Krumbian Confederacy, who were playing Thatius at the time.

Thatius went on to win 3-0 against the Vampirican-Krumbian Confederacy, thanks to two impressive goals by Marko Voloski in the first half, and a third goal scored by Alex O'Brien in the second half. O'Brien, who will be retiring after this World Cup, made his first goal of World Cup 61, and increased his all-time goals to 31 while playing on the national team. Next, the Firebirds will face the 131^st ranked Cult of Ashely Greene. Yet again, another cult to face on the field.

by **Kinitaria** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 8:56 pm

RESILIENT Kinitaria produced a dogged fightback to keep themselves second in group 10, despite trailing 2-0 to qualification rivals Milchama.

Although West's scrambled effort had given Milchama the lead and Pritt had seemingly put them in control by the interval, Luka Sabčot halved the arrears from close range before a curling Preda free-kick wiped out the deficit.

With the game in hand now wiped out, Kinitaria are nestled in second place, a cushion of two points separating them both from first and third either side of them ahead of a trip to Perinpanland, who have been doing surprisingly well given that they cabled their intention to withdraw shortly before the start of qualifying.

Milchama, on paper, were of a much higher rank than Kinitaria, and their lineup was a far more offensive one, so it was no surprise that the visitors were able to get on top early. It took some fine reactions from Petran in goal to deny Pritt after the striker had shrugged off the attentions of Anton Spirlea to blaze a low shot towards the bottom corner.

In practice, the attacking strategy used by Milchama proved devastating to the Kinitar back line. With the capability to bring seven players into the surge forward, the Kinitaria defence would often crumble at the sight of these early forays forward, and Milchama should have opened the scoring on numerous occasions, the most glaring being when Tim Roe, forcing Petran to commit, took the ball past the keeper but sent his shot skidding harmlessly wide to sarcastic jeers from the home fans.

Kinitaria weren't totally outclassed and were able to venture forward on their own on occasion. With Mihalcič forced to drop back, Luka Sabčot was left relatively isolated upfield, and correspondingly, the chances would fall to him. He could have put his side ahead when he shimmied past Marcus Crassis, only to see his curling effort soar inches wide of the frame of the goal. Had Kinitaria gone ahead, it would have been much against the run of play.

On the half-hour, though, Milchama would get the goal their dominance deserved. Ari Haldentrot's outswinging corner was headed out by Lupei only to fall to Roe's feet. The striker's effort from the edge of the box deflected off Spirlea and into the path of Carry West who had the simple task of opening the scoring with a toe-poke past the unsighted Costin Petran.

Kinitaria refused to let their heads drop despite being one behind, making attempts to catch out the Milchama defence with some long balls upfield, most of which were capably dealt with by Hadley Flynn. On one occasion, Mihalcič did manage to burst through the opposing back three to find himself clear on Mickey Flint, but the goalkeeper reacted well, forced Mihalcič wide and was then able to smother the weak shot when it eventually came.

Milchama doubled their advantage as the clock ticked towards half-time. This time, it was more of a team effort, the build-up starting from deep as Valerie Eres' long pass found Roe, who was waiting for it on the left wing. He swung the ball in towards Colin Floyd on the edge of the box, to take it under control with his chest and chip it over the defence towards Ricky Pritt, who'd beaten the offside trap before firing home to complete a special team goal.

The half-time whistle came just moments later with Milchama two goals to the good, and it was no more than they deserved. Kinitaria, however, faced a critical fifteen minutes in the company of manager Yurovič. He decided to make an attacking substitution at the break, bringing off Vacarestič in place of the more offensively-minded Leon Cantacuzino.

It was a move which paid dividends almost immediately. Within minutes of the restart, Cantacuzino had used his pace to cut inside, bursting past Hadley Flynn, surging into the penalty area to play a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Luka Sabčot and Kinitaria's top striker made no mistake in picking out the back of the net from ten yards.

This goal gave Kinitaria renewed confidence and, for the first time in the match, the home side began to get well on top. They were unlucky not to equalise when Pročazka's dipping effort was beaten away by Flint, only to fall into the path of Mihalcič. Unfortunately for the Kinitar striker, though, Mark O'Donell jumped in with a superb sliding tackle before he could get the shot away.

As the second half wore on, the pace of the game began to die down a little, both sides having lost some of their attacking urgency. Milchama had the vast majority of the possession in midfield, but seemed happy to pass it around the chasing Kinitar players rather than seek out a killer third goal. For their part, Kinitaria were frequently pinned back in their own half and, when they could get the ball away, only managed to clear it long upfield to the feet of a visiting defender.

Yurovič was often seen frantically trying to urge his team on, but it seemed as though they needed a spark to get them going. That spark would be provided when Sabčot was hauled over by Ari Haldentrot as the two players vied for possession just outside Milchama's penalty area. A free-kick was awarded to Kinitaria, which Kristijan Preda stepped up to take, and he promptly curled it over the wall and well out of the reach of Flint into the net, sparking wild celebrations amongst the home fans and a delay of several minutes as a flare was hurled onto the field from the Kinitars behind Petran's goal.

Vikenti Andonov replaced Spirlea when the game was eventually restarted, now that Milchama were sparked back into life and Kinitaria required some extra help in defence. This proved to be a smart move, as the visitors proceeded to batter the Kinitar ranks in the hope of snatching back their lead. West came close to grabbing a third with a volleyed effort which soared past Petran, but fortunately Karl Sala was on the line to clear.

There was no chance of Kinitaria ever nicking a shock winner, but as they rode out the final Milchama wave of the match thanks to some top goalkeeping by Petran, it was fair to say that they'd done their job and kept themselves in a strong position ahead of their visit to Perinpanland, where boss Yurovič will be hopeful of a win to continue an outstanding opening half of the qualifiers.

Kinitaria manager, Tofiq Yurovič, having watched his side grind out a draw:
"Today, we didn't start off how I would have liked. Defence is a key area we've been working on and so to lose two goals early in the game is - it's frustrating, especially if it turns out that we haven't been able to clear properly. There's not really any excuse for it, we've seen this Milchama side do very, very well in previous games and in previous World Cups, and we knew what we were going to be faced with. Unfortunately, we haven't dealt with that early on. That said, though, I'm very pleased with the way we've reacted, we've not gone down, some sides would go on to lose by five or six in that situation but we've kept going, plugged away and seized and defended the point. It's a point gained for us, it's two points dropped for them, which is vital because it keeps us in second place.

It's too early, far too early, to say we might be qualifying or we might not be qualifying. I want to qualify, of course I do, and we've set our sights high by setting qualification as our aim. We can be very proud of what we've achieved so far, though, some of the players have given all their heart in every game we've played to pull off performance after performance and I couldn't be happier with that. It's a long time since I've been able to be so proud of any squad that I've been in charge of, and the fact that it's the national team only makes their achievements greater.

We're going off to Perinpanland in hopes of getting a win. I've talked about how much I respect the Iturributans, so I'd be delighted if they could help us out a bit by crushing Milchama - but we know that if we're going to get to the World Cup, it's got to be under our own steam. Perinpanland - I don't know exactly what happened with them, I know they were trying to withdraw from the tournament altogether, but they've done very well despite that, they're fourth in the group and we can't afford to underestimate them. We're treating the game very seriously and we're making sure that we're doing enough so that we've got what it takes on the day, which is all that matters in football."

KIN 2 - 2 MIL
(41%) Possession (59%)
(6) Shots (15)
(5) On target (9)
(6) Fouls (8)
(2) Corners (2)
(4) Offside (2)
(1) Yellow cards (2)
(0) Red cards (0)

Kinitaria team ratings: Petran 9, Sala 7, Lupei 8, Sykora 7, Spirlea 8, Vacarestič 9, Preda 10, Kovačev 8, Pročazka 8, Mihalcič 8, Sabčot 9.
Substitutes: Cantacuzino (for Vacarestič 45) 10, Andonov (for Spirlea 75) 7.
Goals: Sabčot 49, Preda 68.

by **Polar Islandstates** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:04 pm

"Evenin' Gunnar, the usual?"

"Yes pleash! Two!" shouted Gunnar, closing the door of The Auld Creaky behind him and wobbling inside.

"...MIGHT HAVE EQUALISED AS WELL WERE IT NOT FOR THE QUICK REACTIONS OF LARS HEGG GAMMEL. THE GOAL SEEMED TO SPARK THE TERNS BACK INTO LIFE HOWEVER, AND BEFORE TWO LONG LEPKA HAD HIT THE POST WITH A FREE KICK, OYEN-SPEKKE JUST NARROWLY HEADING WIDE FROM THE REBOUND. THE DIVING ATTEMPT WAS ATHLETIC, YES, BUT HE JUST FAILED IN HIS ATTEMPT TO DOUBLE HIS TALLY FOR THE MATCH. ONE MAN THAT DID MANAGE TO DO JUST THAT HOWEVER, WAS ELLIS ELMSVIKUR, WHO CONTINUED HIS RICH VEIN OF GOALSCORING FORM FOR THE TERNS WITH RASPING SHOT FROM THE EDGE OF THE PENALTY BOX AFTER EXCELLENT WORK FROM KVITCHENKO DOWN THE LEFT FLANK. THE TERNS NOW HEAD INTO THEIR RE-..." *click*

"Gunnar? You seem... tipsy?" asked Yannis, confused.

"Yes! Itsh my new plan to cope with Gunnar!" said Gunnar, earnestly.

"But, you are Gunnar." pointed out the landlord.

Gunnar took a moment to process this new information.

"Good point. I mean, I'm getting Larshen tonight sho I can cope with drunk giving another one of hish hishtory lesshhsonsh. Leshionsh. Talksh." he nodded, clearly quite pleased with himself.

"Well, alright then..." said Yannis slowly, perhaps thinking of his licensing conditions, "but maybe we'll just start you off with one for now, eh?"

"Whatever you shay, mate!" exclaimed Gunnar in return with a silly smile plastered on his face, clearly happy to just get served at all.

"Evening, gents!" said Larsen, entering the pub.

"Hi! Larshen! Let's hear it!" shouted Gunnar a little too enthusiastically.

"Well I-... wait, what?" asked Larsen, taken-aback.

"The hishtory thing from your book! I all earholesh! Go Larshen, go!"

"Ummm, kay...?" hesitated Larshen, I mean, Larsen...

A NEW GAME
The sport of football trickled into Valhallan in dribs and drabs, eventually taking hold in Victorrinn first. The island's strong naval heritage and fertile fishing grounds, not to mention its convenient location as far as icebergs and ocean current are concerned, quickly meant that Victorrinn became the location of the two biggest international ports in the Valhallan island chain. Not only responsible for a great deal of shipping up and down the chain, the ports of Resolute and Aasiaat were the two most important ports when it came to travel to foreign lands, with Sargossa and Candelaria and Marquez chief amongst these inter-regional destinations.

Sailors and diplomats, explorers and fisherman, many who took to the seas in those early days of international diplomacy would come back speaking of a game the Sargossans and Candelariasians would play, the games becoming great public spectacles. One such report from noted sea captain Konrad Jensen reads thus;
"And they play a most curious game here. On a pitch three times the size of a handball pitch, up to eleven men on either side would go about playing the game of handball, only the preferred method of propulsion for the ball is with the feet. Indeed, upon investigation by my crew we were astounded to note that the bouncing of the ball is permissible only by the goalkeepers, and that any other players attempting a similar tactic will find themselves excluded from the field of play for the rest of the match, with the team not even able to replace him! Furthermore, the players are allowed in the goal area, which is not a semi-circle at all, but a square! I cannot see what they see in the sport personally. Games are incredibly low scoring - closer to a low scoring game of hockey than a handball score - but the games nonetheless draw intense support and attention from their supporters, who seem even more tribal than our handball fans. We sail with the morning tide from Porto Alegro tomorrow."

The game was slow to catch on in Valhalla, the sport of handball preventing football from ever being played in an official capacity, and instead merely by sailors in teams that ranged from five to eighteen a side of what were little more than cleared patches of tundra, and always with improvised rules. It was only when a visiting crew of Sargossan sailors saw the curious sight of thirty-two Valhallans trying to kick a ball into handball goals placed at opposite ends of a pier loading yard that they realised the Valhallans would need some guidance.

A FOREIGN CHALLENGE
The next few months saw feverish translation of the rules into Valhallan, and intense matches of a sort of football between whomever was on shore leave at the time. The first official match of football on the shores of the Valhallan region would come in 1895, when two visiting crews of Sargossan and Candelariasian sailors teamed together and laid down the challenge to the sailors of Aasiaat. The Sargossans of a merchant fabric vessel and the Candelariasians of a diplomatic envoy marched up to the Aasiaat Port Director's ceremonial residence and nailed their poster to its door for all to see.

The document no longer survives today, and nor do we know who was on the team that decided to play football any more precisely than the logs of fifty-one combined staff recorded by the ships when they arrived in port, however, we are aware that the challenge was laid down to the "Men of Aasiaat" to produce a footballing eleven that could play the combined squad of sailors in a match abiding by all internationally accepting rules of the time. The match was to take place on the cliffside above the town, and was to be officiated by a team of Ansernian fur traders that happened to be in the region at the time. On whose authority the challenge was accepted is unclear, but the men of Aasiaat nonetheless collectively accepted.

MEN OF AASIAAT
With two days to assemble their team, the Port Director held an open trial on the first day in which the eleven players were chosen. Once the Men of Aasiaat side had been selected, the second day was full of training on the pitch marked out on the cliffside by the Ansernian referees side. On the third day, they kicked off, and the first official football game in Valhalla started.

No records survive today of the full details of the game, only a grainy picture of the visiting team of sailors, named Wanderers in the newspaper articles the next day. Indeed, we don't even know the names of the goalscorers. All we have are the surnames of the eleven men who played for Aasiaat that day, and the final scoreline of 3-1 to the Wanderers. Sjolund, Chazov, Norlund, Myren, Holstad, Borgen, Valeev, Gronhagen, Svenningsen, Laske, and Johannsen.

LEGACY
The game of football caught the public imagination that day. Now a much larger game than handball both nationally and internationally, it still took a matter of years for it to take off. But take off it nonetheless did, and that curious crowd of less than five hundred were soon joined by thousands more. The influence of Sargossans and Candelariasians on the game played in those day is hard to overstate, with much of the early tactical lessons coming from the talented sailors that would visit the nation.

The Men of Aasiaat would never play a visiting Wanderers side again, instead seeing a rival team form across the channel in Resolute. The two sides had various membership over the next few months, eventually settling on specific lineups of regular players, and forming the first big rivalry of Valhallan football history. In 1897, the men of Aasiaat would eventually form the first and oldest football club in the Valhallan region, Sporting Club Aasiaat 87. Shortly afterwards, Resolute Hills would form officially as an amateur club in across the channel, making the oldest club derby still in existence today. Both clubs have since been eclipsed by their more illustrious and decorated rivals in the form of Resolute Storm 1913 FC and Aasiaat Harbour, but the age and prestige of the first derby remains with Sporting Club and Resolute Hills.

The site for these early matches was almost always Cliffside, which grew to hold a capacity of just over eight thousand before cliff erosion eventually did as it had threatened to do for decades and claimed the stands and the pitch. The historic site is now lost to the waves, washed away by countless years of erosion, but the legacy of its first matches and first international matches between Victorrinn and Surtsey will always be held proudly aloft by the residents of Aasiaat as the seat of Valhallan football.

"Okay, that was ackchually really intereshting!" exclaimed Gunnar.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Gunnar?" asked Larsen suspiciously.

Gunnar answered not, but slunk forwards and passed out with a hiccup.

"Oh."

by **Vilita** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:33 pm

JUNGLE CATS CLAWING BACK

First Two wins set stage for possible playoff battle

After an eerily disheartening start to their World Cup 61 Qualification Campaign, the Vilita Jungle Cats came roaring back in the Anathematic Republics, scoring their first victory of the campaign over an unranked side and second win overall. The action all happened in a five-minute period in the second half, but started off strongly in the first half as the Jungle Cats built on the momentum of their slim victory over Wolfmanne on the previous matchday.

Jungle Strike FC stopper Nycflala Kater was recalled in net for the first time since conceding twice in the Jungle Cats opening round defeat against Vielha. Kater was shakey throughout the match but the backline of Ritopa Simafela, Niubo Deneli and Miiara Makose did their job keeping the Anathematic Attack at bay for the majority of the match.

Vilita opened the scoring in the 13th minute after Jian Lejsrma led Jomur Hulyer through on the left wing. The flying winger cut in from the corner of the box, pulled the ball back to his right foot and curled it cooly around the Anathematic goalkeeper. Hulyer wheeled away in celebration, netting his first goal of the campaign, finding new manager Calaesa Mitaroka on the sidelines in an embrace.

The Jungle Cats held on the the advantage through the remainder of a relatively uneventful first half. At the break, manager Mitaroka made two changes.

In a somewhat surprising attack-minded move, Mitaroka removed Miiara Makose from the defense, shifting Retiso Buran to a deeper role in the lineup and introducing attacking midfielder Steffyn Siazzu. Goalscorer Jomur Hulyer was also removed, being replaced by Yves Gadois in a view to further compliment the attacking prowess of Viji-mara Lawaai.

The second half started a tad on the slow side, much as the first half had ended, but picked up greatly after 5 or 6 minutes of play.

It all started on a corner kick in the 52nd minute when Viliaka Morasita delivered an invting ball that Viji-mara Lawaai could make no mistake with, heading into the open Anathematic goal after rising unmarked at the back post, doubling the Jungle Cats advantage to two goals.

Just minutes later, it was Sirkii Moliaudo's turn, firing a bullet of a shot from the top of the 18 yard box that the Anathematic goalkeeper could only leap, flop and eventually watch fly right on by and into the back of the net.

The Jungle Cats were up 3-0 and still celebrating when the Anathematic Republics struck back, getting the 3-1 goal through the Anathematic Forward. Despite scoring the goal, the Anathematic Forward showed no celebration signs.

It was but a blip on the radar for the Jungle Cats who introduced Riksa Valjariia into the match in place of Jian Lejsrma in the 62nd minute. The match would play out rather uneventfully as Vilita would take home the 3-1 to reach the 4th spot in the group, four points out of the playoff race.

The performance of Nycflala Kater still left questions to be answered, conceding one goal in two attempts and not giving new head coach Calaesa Mitaroka much to compare with when making the decision as to who will start the upcoming match against joint leaders Osarius in a game the Jungle Cats must win in order to re-gain control of their own destiny in the final Group 9 table.

Defeat to Osarius would mean the Jungle Cats are certain to enter the second half of qualifying as underdogs who could only qualify for the World Cup with a perfect qualifying record and the calculted misfortunes of no fewer than one other nation.

	Anathematic Republics
:: Goalscorers :: :: 13' Jomur Hulyer :: 52' Viji-mara Lawaai :: 55' Sirkii Moliaudo	:: Goalscorers :: :: 56' Anathematic Forward
:: Best Player: Ritopa Simafela :: Worst Player: Retiso Buran :: Shots on Target: 5 :: Corner Kicks: 4	:: Best Player: Anathematic Forward :: Worst Player: Anathematic Midfielder :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 1

Vilita Jungle Cats (3-(1-4)-2) ::
[GK] Nycflala Kater, [D] Ritopa Simafela, [D] Niubo Deneli, [D] Miiara Makose, [DMC] Retiso Buran, [ML] Jomur Hulyer, [MC] Jian Lejsrma, [MC] Aniara Jiurjai, [MR] Viliaka Morasita, [FC] Viji-mara Lawaai, [FC] Sirkii Moliaudo
BENCH::
[FC] Lita Adjei, [FC] Yves Gadois, [M] Manolis Kontalroma, [M] Steffyn Siazzu, [U] Riksa Valjariia, [D] Kadi Molali, [GK] Jaqe Planst

Vilita Substitutions::
(45) - Miiara Makose >>> Steffyn Siazzu
(45) - Jomur Hulyer >>> Yves Gadois
(62) - Jian Lejsrma >>> Riksa Valjariia

by **Geisenfried** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:35 pm

It was a simple, nondescript building on the outside, no different than any other office building you might see in the heart of a city. Nothing about it would seem out of the ordinary, even if you were to walk into the front door, mistaking it for some other building. Even if you somehow managed to sneak past security, it would just seem to be a generic office with generic cubicles for a generic communications company. But if you happened to have an identification card with the right authorization and entered the elevator, you'd be able to access the underground facility hidden underneath where Geisenfried's best and brightest served their nation's best interests as part of the intelligence service. Inside these walls, one of the more experienced veterans entered a closed room with one of their latest recruits. In his hands was a deceptively simple folder.

"Listen, before we head to the meeting, I need to give you a special briefing on something."

"The qualifying game? Seemed like an awful lot of hubbub for a football match. We expecting some sort of terrorist attack or something?"

"Not... exactly. How much do you know about Urbis Tractus?"

"Not much at all, sir. I kno-"

"It's okay. If every single person in this office had to know everything that was happening for every situation in every country, we'd never get anything useful actually done. Regardless, here's some of the most relevant stuff."

The veteran waited patiently as one of his new protégés took the time to go through what he prepared. After he finished, the look on his face was much what the veteran expected it to be - utter perplexity.

"First of all, how are we even having this match? A team composed entirely of robots? That seems rather spectacularly illegal."

"You'd be amazed what the WCC will let you get away with."

"And the country is a city... that moves? Floats, even?! How would you even get something that large to..."

"Well... those things don't happen much in every day life here, and so we're quite accustomed to passing off these unbelievable stories from far away as being pure fantasy. But if you're committed to a job like this, you find out... it's a weird world we live in, and things that seem impossible exist."

"But how? Surely the laws of physics would dictate..."

"You'd be wrong. Paradoxical phenomena is the terminology our scientists prefer to use for these sort of events, but in layman's terms... magic powers them, for all we know."

"So you're telling me with a swish and a flick of a piece of wood and a few terms of gobbledygook I can make reality my playground? You can't seriously tell me that sort of..."

"That those things simply don't happen? Can we afford not to? We get enough evidence coming it to support it's existence, even if we can't explain it. But here's what you also need to realize. If we as nation know that ma... that these paradoxical phenomena can occur, and that there are certain other people or nations that can willingly induce these phenomena, what exactly are we to do about the threat it poses against us?"

"Well... I... guess you would try and figure out how to induce... paradoxical phenomena, was it? That could serve as a counter to any mag... to any attack using said phenomena on our country?"

"That would be one way to level the playing field. But it opens a whole new can of worms - how do we regulate these paradoxical phenomena? How do we prevent them from misuse by any domestic entity that might learn the secrets of these phenomena within our country? We instead chose to level the playing field in a different way - finding out how to prevent these paradoxical phenomena from happening in the first place. It took us quite a bit of research, but... science came through. The ionized gamma-neutron oscillation radiation emission field - or since a guy named Siebach was the one who first figured it out and the other term's a mouthful, a Siebach field. You'd need a physicist familiar with it to explain in full detail, but as far as I came to understand it, it stabilizes an area of spacetime, preventing any sort of irregular energy reaction that generates these paradoxical phenomena from occurring within the bounds of the field. With a sufficient power source and the right equipment, you can stretch a Siebach field over a fairly sizable region. Indeed, we've been maintaining a wide scale array of these Siebach fields over the entirety of the country as our primary defense mechanism for these sort of things."

"So wait, these Siebach fields are radioactive? Wouldn't that pose a health risk for the entire nation?"

"The areas near the reaction core that produces the field is, but those are secured facilities. As for the field itself, we haven't been able to attribute and health long-term health defects to it - in humans at least. For other species that rely naturally on those sort of phenomena, well... they seem to be able to handle short-term exposure, at the very least."

"So the big deal with Urbis Tractus is actually..."

"Right, we suspect that if the city does indeed approach Geisenfried in preparation for the match, whatever is keeping that city afloat is likely to be neutralized by our Siebach field array. We've sent repeated warnings to them requesting them to keep out of national airspace because of security reasons, but what we're really worried is that they'll ignore it, run into the array and fall out of the sky and onto our country, which would be one hell of a mess. Once we were made aware of the situation, we had the GKFV specifically schedule the match in Heimüller because we can direct them to come via sea, and if they are stupid enough to not heed the warnings, they'll fall into the bay - perhaps not the best scenario, since it'll still be a giant catastrophe, but perhaps not quite as much as if it landed on our natural borders."

"Any possibility of temporarily disabling the area of the array nearest the region for the match, just to avoid such a possible situation?"

"And leave a giant floating city, most likely militarized, hanging above one of our major metropolises? Sorry, but that's an even worse security risk. These guys should realize that just because they can float doesn't make them immune to the concept of national borders. If they try and push through foreign territory without permission, ours or otherwise, any civilized nation would see a declaration of war from the aggrieved party a reasonable measure. Still, chances are they respect what we ask them to, and they come over for a nice, reasonable football game. Or at least as reasonable as a game with robots would be. But the possibility of the city entering the array remains, so we've got to prepare contingency plans."

"Wow. I had no idea a football match could be so much trouble."

"Tell me about it."

Geisenfried 1-1 Baltskandio

- Schenze (42'), Kold (54')

Group 12:	GP	W	D	L	PT	GF	GA	GDF
Eura		 6	5	1	0	16	23	10	+13
Starblaydia	 7	4	0	3	12	13	12	 +1
Ko-oren		 6	3	1	2	10	 7	 7	 +0
New Mont. St.	 6	3	0	3	 9	 8	 8	 +0
Mashiki		 6	3	0	3	 9	 9	 9	 +0
Baltskandio	 6	2	2	2	 8	15	14	 +1
Aexalla		 7	2	1	4	 7	 7	13	 -6
Geisenfried	 6	1	3	2	 6	 4	 9	 -5
Urbis Tractus	 6	1	0	5	 3	 8	12	 -4

Next Match - MD8: v Urbis Tractus @ Küstenkolosseum [Heimüller, Heinessen]

by **Arcadian Islands** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:50 pm

Following a 4-1 loss in Karditan, the Satinbirds defeated newcomers Beaverriver in Esperance bouncing back to record their second win of the qualifying campaign through a double strike from Jean d'Entrecasteaux. The Satinbirds will now visit Northern Sunrise Islands for what is expected to be a tight clash, with a tough match against top seeds in Group 16, Bostopia, looming on the horizon.

Match Highlights

The match kicks off.

1' Arcadian Islands are off to a great start, buoyed by the vocal home crowd, with Gareth Sully and Robert Lamanon combining well in their first attack.

3' GOAL!!! Arcadian Islands 1 Beaverriver 0: The number 10, Jean d'Entrecasteaux gets the home side off to a flyer with Lamanon grabbing the assist.

4' YELLOW CARD: An early caution for Arcadian Islands centreback, André Jamet.

10' A slip up at the back by Arcadian Islands gives the visitors a chance but they can't capitalise. Down the other end, Sully and d'Entrecasteaux are proving to be a handful.

15' Lamanon is in the action again, taking a free-kick that deflects off Beaverriver goalkeeper Javier Donahoe and onto the post. The defense eventually clear the ball.

20' Jeanie Clee goes on a weaving run past a couple of Satinbirds defenders but the attempted through-ball is well read by Arcadian goalkeeper Travis Croker.

22' Arcadian Islands are pressing forward but the Beaverriver defense are going well to break up the attacks.

25' Good play by Andrew Dennett to set up Sully but the burly striker shoots the ball high. At the other end, Beaverriver's Felix Deher combines well with Edwin Robert but the shot misses the target.

25' YELLOW CARD: Beaverriver midfielder Moises Clarke is cautioned after fouling a threatening Dennett.

30' Arcadian midfielder Zeke Fitzgerald has visiting goalkeeper Javier Donahoe beat with his long range effort but the ball goes inches wide. Moments later, d'Entrecasteaux sets up Lamanon whose shot flies just over the crossbar.

35' Zeke Fitzgerald again proves troublesome for the defense as he combines well with his Arcadian teammates d'Entrecasteaux and Sully before Lance Hallbreaks up the move.

36' Beaverriver's Jesus Ochion is looking the best attacking threat for the visiting side.

40' The visitors are finishing the first half strong with plenty of pressure on the Arcadians goal. Defender Jamet does well to stop Jeanie Clee and clear to safety.

45' More pressure from Beaverriver with good opportunities for Clee and Ochion, who both shoot wide. Edwin Robert also gets involved, testing Croker with his shot. The referee brings the first half to an end.
The second half kicks off.
50' An opportunity for Arcadian midfielder Fitzgerald who has just the goalkeeper to beat but shoots the ball wide.

53' GOAL!!! Arcadian Islands 2 Beaverriver 0: Lamanon draws his defender to set up d'Entrecasteaux who doubles the lead for Arcadian Islands with his second.

55' The home side keep applying the pressure. A well-worked move is finished off by Gareth Sully who hits the ball just over the bar.

56' SUBSTITUTION: Arcadian Islands Lucas Kennedy replaces Dennett.

57' SUBSTITUTION: Beaverriver's Alina Sheento replaces Jeanie Clee.

60' Edward Aitken's header from an Arcadian corner is deflected out for another corner. The danger is eventually cleared by Beaverriver.

65' A direct free kick by Lamanon crashes off the crossbar to moans of sympathy from the pleased home crowd.

66' Beaverriver's Alina Sheento is struggling to get decent ball from the midfielders.

70' A long range effort by Ochion goes straight to Arcadian keeper, Croker. Moments later, Moises Clarke does well to feed Ochion who in turn sets up Sheento but the striker misses a golden opportunity.

70' SUBSTITUTION: Arcadian coach Nial Moro replaces goalscorer d'Entrecasteaux with Paul Riggott while Beaverriver's Rose Shelton replaces Allie Finni.

75' Confusion at the back for home side as Sheento gets a look in but the ball goes out for a corner. Arcadian Islands clear the danger.

80' Substitute Paul Riggott has made an immediate impact, testing Beaverriver's defense with his positioning and speed.

85' A loss of possession at the back by Beaverriver gives Riggott, Sully and Lamanon a chance to counter quickly. Covering defense by Beaverriver is up to the task.

90' Sheento gets into a good position up front for Beaverriver but has no support and is eventually dispossessed. The home side begin slowing the pace down as the final whistle draws near.

The final whistle sounds.

Match Summary
@ Esperance Football Stadium, Esperance, Flinders Island, Arcadian Islands
Arcadian Islands (1) 2 - 0 (0) Beaverriver
J.d'Entrecasteaux 3', 53'
-
Yellow Cards
A.Jamet
M.Clarke

by **Pasarga** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:52 pm

"So, the Wanderers are back in business after winning a few matches and Western Cuba dropping some points."

"It does appear that way, though remember that we're not at the halfway point nor have we faced the group leaders yet. It's still a long ways to go, though these wins certainly have helped morale and gotten the supporters believing again."

"Any idea when the PFA is going to announce the hiring for the new manager? While they have been doing well under the interim boss, having the new manager in place would certainly add some stability to the line ups and formations that have been thrown out since Abel resigned."

"From what I have been hearing, it looks like they are going to wait until the halfway point and make the hire then."

"Shame the interim boss isn't being considered, he's done well with what the situation that he took over. All the same, I suspect that the braintrust of the association is looking for a few cycles and not just this one."

"Aye, I suspect that is the reasoning behind that decision, with him being a bit long in the tooth and all. I also highly suspect a domestic hire, as foreign interest has been low in the vacant position."

"I can't imagine why. An up and coming national side with a good pool of players to choose from, seems a real golden chance for any half decent manager."

"But we're not a threat to make a deep run in the Finals themselves, maybe get to the round of sixteen, but not any further. While such accomplishments are satisfactory for the patient Pasargan people, for managers looking to make their name, simply getting out of the group stage isn't going to be good enough. That is why the post is likely not getting as much attention as you would think."

"I suppose so, though the FSSO showed last tournament that any team can make a run, not just the traditional or high ranking powers. We might just surprise a few people yet."

"If and only if we qualify, which by no means is a guaranteed outcome right now."

by **Stachland and Minor Outlying Islands** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:52 pm

Stachland Reds

Stachland’s Historical Megafauna

The nation of Stachland, being relatively isolated from any major landmass by the Atargatic Sea to the east and the Eurybiatic Ocean to the west, has historically been host to a native ecology radically different than that of proximate nations. While Camerania, Stachland’s closest neighbor, is largely populated by animals of the boreal forest and the polar seas, such as elk and walruses, Stachland is, at present, largely devoid of apex predators and sizeable game creatures.

This, however, was not always the case, as the Stachlandic islands were once home to several unique breeds of megafauna, each conquering the islands in turn and persisting for millennia before being driven to extinction by another.

The last of these great animals was the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), which is first attested to in the fossil record nearly twenty thousand years ago—having possibly crossed a narrower Atargatic Sea from Camerania during a period of global cooling—and is last observed just three thousand years ago.

It is thought to have been wiped out by the arrival of the people who would come to be known as Stachlandic aboriginals from a homeland in the distant south, since then lost to time.

Before it came the great mastodons, and, nearly one million years ago, the great terror birds, standing more than ten feet tall and preying upon the Stachlandic voles which had first appeared nearly four million years ago and which remain common today.

Dinosaurs were rare, but by no means absent. Small predators such as Saurornithoides, Troodon, and Velociraptor stalked the plains and mountains of our nation, hunting the vast herds of Protoceratops which have been uncovered at locations such as Kynard’s Quarry and Moss Creek.

On what would become the Stachlandic islands, sensibility and speed often triumphed over size and brawn, leading the larger species of dinosaurs to be virtually nonexistent. Brains were paramount for survival in that primordial world, though one can never say for certain just how smart those creatures may have been.

by **Andossa Se Mitrin Vega** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 10:15 pm

And now for your friendly MD8 Media CutOFF

And scores have now appeared.

by **Qazox** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 12:00 am

World Cup 61
ASMV-Valanora

Another win for the Eagles as they continue to show that theor non-qualification to World Cup 60 was (hopefully) a fluke,. but the Cup of Harmony finals run was not. A 3-1 win vs. United Gordonopia has assured Qazox at least a share of the group lead going into the final game of the first half against Star United States. Here with the poetic look at the recent match is Johan Bacci:

While idle teams lay in wait,
for their chance to strike.
The Eagles soar freely high,
winning again on guile.

Winning is an admirable trait,
from the old to a young tyke.
As all the crowd breathed a sigh,
Qazox won easily all the while.

But the start of the game
was delayed due to a protest.
A northern man ran onto
the pitch with a banner.

"Northland Freedom or Shame!"
the Sign stated, as it came un-wrest.
The sellout crowd began to boo
as he was taken off in rough manner.

After the interruption, the game soon began,
with the crowd still abuzz.
It took a bit to break the tie open
and it was Qazox who did it.

Marsha Tanner beat her marking man,
slicing home a shot just above the fuzz.
Derrick Schmidt just missed it when
a flare came down and it was lit.

The match was stopped and the party
taken away out of the stadium.
But the hostile fans began to wreak
havok in all of the seats.

The Police came, though a bit tardy,
and began scanning for Radium.
Soon they had found what they did seek,
a prankster smuggled in some nuclear 'treats'.

The visitors clamored for a forfeit
of the match, but none was given
The crowd was sent home and
after an inspection the game resumed.

Under protest, the visitors called for it,
but soon they seemed to be driven.
To win this games, already out-of-hand,
and go back home with a win assumed.

But two more quick gosls for Qazox
ended any real chance at a victory.
Daniel Spaatz and Soai Fu'anuoa
added to the Eagles' first half total.

Wallace, juked out of her socks,
allowed Jere Tobias to make one to three.
The other Coach roared like Krakatoa
though some of what he really said is anecdotal.

Despite a horrid start to the game
The end result was clearly the same.
Star United States is up next, and with a gleam,
Qazox is hoping to reign supreme.

by **Akbarabad** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 12:01 am

Tiger Eaters triumph in revenge encounter.

(Akbarabad Press, AP): Visiting upstarts and professional crybabies Mangolana were brushed aside as the Tiger Eaters sealed a crushing 4-1 victory. The team again demonstrated for the benefit of the world, exactly who the better team was after we had been cheated of our rightful second round place in the World Cup by these pretenders. No doubt Mangolana are ready to screech "match-fixing" again and their unfortunate players are again likely to face a kangaroo court, jail time and torture for their failure just as they did last around.

The Tiger Eaters have now fully restored their confidence and have rightfully gone back to leading Group 20 again. Those lost points against Soviet Canuckistan may still hurt us in the end, but for now we are in the box seat. Next, we travel to mid table Kingdom of Phoenixia and it is vital that we keep the positive momentum going and win the game. Given our lead in goal difference in group 20,
we can even afford a narrow, unconvincing one goal win but a full three points are still vital.

Akbarabad 4-1 Mangolana
(Zahid Hassan 18", Jawad Khan 32", Zohaib Khan 47", Rezaul Karim 64") (Unknown 87")

by **Slembana** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 12:21 am

The Slembana Times: Really good result, I guess

By Peter Whiteman, chief football reporter at the Royal Slembanan Stadium, Bafilo (attendance 136,590)

The lads have drawn 2-2 - it might seem like it's only decent, but when you're unranked and you draw against the side who are 26th in the world, that takes some beating. This side were Queer Poco el Mono Ara. They had hosted World Cup 58 with one of the hosts for this World Cup - Andossa Se Mitrin Vega.

We raced into a second minute lead when Finlay Yalnif's cross was headed home by the brilliant Val Kylx, who was scoring his 13th goal in 15 internationals. QPeMA almost equalized in the 13th minute, when their star striker had a tap-in at the back post into an empty net, only to hit the post. However, QPeMa's star striker redeemed himself after his miss, and equalized in the 39th minute (after Jarod Vale had headed wide), when his volley smacked itself past our goalkeeper, Toby Gapman.

After half-time, we almost scored again (49th minute), only for Kylx's stinging shot to hit the QPeMA bar and rebound back into play, where a QPeMA defender cleared it away. Our captain, Gavin Stockwell, then hit the post with a header (61st minute), but three minutes later, QPeMA took the lead, when their left winger banged home a free-kick. The score was now 2-1 to the away side - we were in trouble.

We had many other chances to score after that, but none of them were successfully converted into a goal. However, we finally equalized in the last minute of stoppage time - the 92nd minute of the match. Gapman punted the ball down the field to Yalnif, who crossed the ball into the box, with Vale waiting. Vale nodded home a standing header to send our fans wild, as we had drawn against a really good team.

by **Jeruselem** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 12:25 am

Kissy and Emily Dallas complaining about fellow player Rachel Meanie

Kissy: What's wrong with her, all she thinks about is herself.
Emily: Well, there's lots of me people in this world.
Kissy: I know but surely consideration of other people is part of social skills.
Emily: She sure doesn't have many friends.
Kissy: She's got friends?
Emily: I'm not sure about that as well.

Kissy: She's just plain rude, pushing people out of the way. Telling them they aren't important.
Emily: She's no princess either.
Kissy: Mel maybe very annoying but she's not rude
Emily: Mel has respect for others, Rachel doesn't
Kissy: People seem scared of her too.
Emily: I'm not.

Kissy: Well, she avoids being rude to us because the Princess gets agitated when stuff like that happens.
Emily: She's a meanie and a coward.
Kissy: Some people just pick on weaker people to show strength
Emily: She's not quieter these days though.
Kissy: That's because Princess Sofia is a bad tempered bitch and lets you have it when you're out of line
Emily: Well it seems to work

Kissy: She only goes off if you're an idiot.
Emily: Does Rachel have a boyfriend?
Kissy: I've never seen him
Emily: Probably hiding all the time
Kissy: Reckon he has to stay away from women because she says so
Emily: Well, there's a lot of flirts around here.

Sofia: Hey, you talking about me again?
Kissy: No, not you.
Sofia: Oh ... nevermind then
Emily: Little miss meanie
Sofia: Oh her ...
Emily: She's got too much tude

Sofia: Don't worry, I won't allow that business to go on.
Kissy: I hope so
Emily: She calls you Softie and your daughter Meloncholy
Sofia: Really? I'll give her softie.
Kissy: What you gonna do?
Sofia: She can run on the field, last.

Kissy: She won't like that.
Sofia: Hey, I can do far worse.
Emily: I know.

by **Mapletish** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 3:42 am

The Lions' World Cup LXI Qualification Journey
Mapletish 1-0 Leorudo ; Small Victory for Lions,but with positives taken out of it.

It might be a small 1-0 victory for the Lions against the outrankers from the lesser hundredths spots.However,the Lions were unable to come out of the match with a small 1-0 victory and several positives out of it.

The entire first eleven was revamped with reserves to rest the tire-out senior players.Although the play slowed down a little,the Lions were still able to get what they wanted,a three point stance to chase the leaders,Qazox who won their match 3-1.It was certainly a take it easy match for the Lions as Leorudo used the chance to show the group's third seed that they are up to something.

Nonetheless,the Lions regain supremacy and got off to a 0-0 first half before adding another goal in the second half through Dennis Long.Without the added bonuses from the senior players,the team have to rely on themselves to get the whole play going.The reserves were not bad on their own or else they won't be selected in the first place.With a few plays caught up due to mis-communication, the overall play was still up to standard.

Muain Newtons was positive about the victory and he continue to assure the press that the Lions are going to qualify on their fifth attempt to qualification.There might be some pauses here and there to put the Lions down,but the golden fifth attempt will definitely work as the Lions mature on every single World Cup cycle.With remarkable finishes in all of their World Cup Qualification rounds,the Lions will look on changing history.

When asked the question of qualification for the Lions on their fifth attempt directed to the Mapletish President Sir Wiston Walash,he answered it with a quick and swift word, Qualified.When asked to elaborate more on that,he explained about the attempts made by the Mapletish Sports Federation to improve sports in Mapletish on every single area with the first Summer Olympic delegation gaining a remarkable 2 gold,2 silver and 2 bronze medals and ending up in 41st place in the medal tally on its first trip to the Olympics.However the Winter Olympics delegation was unable to win any medals in the Winter Olympics on its first trip but it was remarkable as always.

With plans to continue the World Cup LXI Qualification project,the fans will have to sit back and enjoy the on-coming pressure that will mount on the Sporting Lions now,more like the Football Lions will have to work doubly hard.

by **Warkus** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 4:11 am

The Ultimate Training Session

Part III

Hen-Ddyn had just woke up the team, he was leading them somewhere. 'The winds', was what Tawel called it. It was a long walk inside the mountain, the lads could swear that their legs were burning off, even though it was incredibly cold. As they continued, they noticed that it became harder to walk and even harder to stay on the ground. By the end of the walk, all members of the team were holding on for dear gravity. "We're here, the winds." said Hen-Ddyn, the only person standing comfortably. "This is where you'll be training." he said. Training? Here? Was this a joke? No one could even stand properly, let alone train! Shouts of complaints echoed the icy mountain. "Oh, yes, I forgot that you people can't just walk around here." said Hen-Ddyn, "Well, I suppose you'll just have to get used to it." he said, disturbingly calmly.

Victor Vos started the training session, they were to walk around the area five times. The level of difficulty in that was incredible, the lads found that even after one lap, they were exhausted. Vos ignored the complaints and required that the team continued their training.

Vos continued the routine for a week. Although it was still exhausting, movement was no longer as difficult. The next activity was sprints and reflex movement, something that was even more challenging. That took the team three weeks to grasp. "Congratulations," said Hen-Ddyn "You're now as fit as a child." Hen-Ddyn's insulting words didn't make things any easier, they had to re-learn all of their fitness. All of their time on the ground, running and practicing, meant nothing here. They had to practice all over again.

Two weeks later, the monks brought out a football. Both sides were prepared for a match.

It was finally time to see if the team's hard work had come to fruition.

by **Khytenna** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 4:45 am

Island 6 news

A lose and a win gives Khytenna an unexpected good start

Khytenna stand 4th in the tables as they start their campaign in great form, after a tense match, Khytenna loose to Nicole Scherzinger, but after the bye game, they hit back with a win over west Zirconia

game 1:

Nicole Scherzinger: 1

Rostom 76th

Khytenna: 0

Khytenna And Nicole Scherzinger battled it out for most of the game, both trying to get the edge of each other, Khytenna had the best chances in the first half, with Firestone being a pain for the defence as useral, but the main chance at goal came from winger Falcon, who tap a corner to himself, and made a long shot at a tight angle, he smased it, and the it was only a finger tip save that stop the shot going in.

Nicole Scherzinger got the winning goal in the second half, a cross by Triktomi was taped towards goal by Dervishi, troy did well to push the shot away but Rostom was their to captialise of the lose ball, the home crowd went crazy, and the Khytenna's looked devistated, but there was nothing they could do, it was a well worked goal.

Game 2:

west Zirconia: 0

Khytenna: 1

Carmichael 38th

West Zirconia is a high ranked team, any other given time, they would of been odds on Favorite, but a poor start for them meant, going in to this game, Khytenna could smell blood in the water and would look for the up set, Khytenna went for from the start, and nearly got the first goal in the 2nd minute of the game, sure enough it was from Firestone, he made a run towards to box with Pellett also making a run, but a dummy pass and a turn put firestone in the box, he took it early, what he normally does, but this time he just put it wide, but the smile on Firestone's face showed, that he had only just started.

the goal for this game didn't not come from firestone however, but from the powerful foot from Carmichael. it came from a free kick, it was out side the box on the left hand side, Evelyn went for the shot, but it was saved by the keeper, the defence panicked as Firestone and Pellett was their to try to tap it in, the clearance was poor, and went towards Carmichael, he chested the ball, and fired it back towards goal, it curled and went in to the net, what a goal for Khytenna to take the lead!

that was all that was needed, Khytenna battled to get the second goal, but never found it, instead won the game one nill!

line-up for next game:

GK 1. Roary Troy (31 Blue Bay)

RB 3.Kevin Maycast-Nockes (20,Tellio Chequers)
DC 15 Oliver Testerman ( 27 Dunboor FC , Cafundeu) (capt)
DC 18.Tao Xin ( 22, Persepi Sharks)
DC 17. Nelson Bohannan(30 Alterdamm Merchants, Gray harbour)
LB 5. Teddy Berkeley (22 central FC)

RM 16. Dan Javis (24, Portside tigers)
CM 4. John Carmichael (22 Central FC)
LM 7. Trever Evelyn (22 Blue Bay)

FW 9. Fergal Firestone (25 blue bay)
FW 20. Lawrence Yzo ( 18 Central FC)

by **Slembana** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 6:27 am

The Slembana Times: Other results today

By Tom Jaxon, football reporter

Alongside our 2-2 with Queer Poco el Mono Ara, we have three other results from our World Cup 61 qualifying group (Group 5) to tell you about. Scrap Brain Zone ended a three-match losing streak with a 1-1 draw away to Ancharmunn, group favourites Jeru FC kept up their excellent record by winning 2-0 at The Islands of Qutar, and Mesoland caused a shock by winning 1-0 away to Megadia. This means that Jeru FC stay top of the group with 19 points out of a possible 21. We stay second, six points adrift of Jeru FC, and above Mesoland due to having a better head-to-head record than them (we beat them 1-0 on Wednesday). Deep Fried Pickles remain bottom of the table. They can still qualify automatically, though, I believe, but they would have to go on a really good run to qualify.

by **Licentiapacisterra** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 7:14 am

Wightling Tourist Board
Spit, New Wight

Nathan Gardiner had been flying for quite a while, a nervous experience for him, since last time he flew, he had crashed into the sea, and lost 18 of his best friends. Luckily, the flight was smooth, and he landed in Spit with his body intact.

Nathan didn’t just have a random feeling that caused him to think that the team was in Old Wight. Like a fairly large minority of people in Licentiapacisterra, around 350,000 at last count, Gardiner had been brought up believing in Wightism. His parents, both from atheist families, had found a belief in Wight for no other reason than their belief that something had to be there, and Wightism was the most likely of them all, more likely than Orthodoxy at least, which is the second largest religion in Licentiapacisterra behind Wightism.

Nathan’s parents had brought him and his sister up believing that Wight was where they would go when they died, and that Bua was the King of this afterlife. Nathan never had any reason to dispute this, and so he didn’t, believing in Old Wight his whole life. He knew that most of the team were atheist, with at least one of them Orthodox, and there was equal amounts of ridicule towards all of them for their differing beliefs, in the same way there was for their favoured music (Rock in Nathan’s case), favourite football team (Celtic), or the amount they cursed in the locker room (lots).

Nathan had heard about what had happened in the north-east of Atlantian Oceania, when Wight materialised rather violently in the mortal world. He knew that it had affected various countries, and torn apart an entire island, where Wight now stood. To him, that was proof enough for him that Old Wight existed. Tearing apart an entire island wasn’t just a large natural disaster, it was a supernatural being deciding to move into the mortal plane. Despite what other people might say about it being bollocks, it was obvious to Nathan that his friends were in Wight, whether others would believe it or not.

“Wow.” He muttered to himself under his breath. “That earthquake must have had a pretty big effect.” He was looking at a city that had quite obviously been near destroyed by whatever had happened. He remembered, almost ten years ago now, visiting St Barts, after flash flooding killed around one hundred people on the islands. The town that surrounded the harbour had been devastated, entire villages in lower lying areas flooded with muddy water, people’s homes and possessions soiled and soaked, cars floating downriver. Spit looked like it had been hit ten times worse than St Barts had on that day.

He arrived at a fairly new building, that looked like it had been redone after whatever happened here. The sign read “Wightling Tourist Board”. This was the place he needed to be. He walked up to the receptionist sat at her desk.

“Hello, I’d like to speak to Mr Yates please.”

“Take a seat, he will be with you shortly.”

Nathan sat, looking to the obligatory table filled with magazines on his right. Strangely, as if the Tourist Board was expecting him, there was a copy of Cyan and Gold, the Licentian football magazine, on the table. The front page, as it had every day since the crash, had a section of black on the top right, commemorating the 18 men who had died that day. The title said “I Just Can’t Get Enough”, with a picture of Archie McIntosh celebrating having scored a hat trick in the 6-2 rout of Danaelia, making the same pointing to the sky gesture that every one of his teammates had made when they had scored since the crash. Nathan was about to pick up the magazine and begin reading, when he heard the receptionist call over to him.

“Mr Yates will see you now Mr Gardiner.”

“Thank you.” Nathan said, with his usual politeness. He was taken aback when he realised that the woman at the desk knew his name despite him never mentioning it. This was getting creepier every minute...

Nathan opened the door to Eddie Yates’ office, and looked at the man sat at the desk.

“Mr Yates, I need your help. I need to get to Wight.”

by **Equatorial Sarmen** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 7:22 am

Equatorial Sarmen have got off to a fairly good start. They lie in 5th place with 8 points. A disappointing 3-0 loss to Rustika makes Sarmen hope that they can bounce back and produce something big. They can still get in the World Cup. They don't have much chance, but they have made a much better start than in their first qualifics the 60th world cup. They wanted to know how the group looked and after what they saw they know it was time to make or break it was now or never, Because they could still make the playoffs, They got a spark of motivation and said they we are all going to full out for the win. With new boss Rick Jones in charge of the team he was inspired to make the team fight. If they fought every game like a battle they may well be in the playoffs. The team where now motivated and with the boss fired up sarmen wanted to get on a roll and get those wins racked up. There hopes of getting through into the group stages where beginning to turn into something big. Sarmen where ready with the manager at the helm. They where ready for the fight of there lives. This has been the sarmenian news i'm John Stewart. Thanks for watching...

by **Sanian Confederacy** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:17 am

- 11 Days Ago, Incorporated States of the Sanian Confederacy

Vermillion Sands, Sanian Strikers Recruitment Office

With her nose pressed flush against the glass and hands blocking out the glare of the sun, Isabella’s view began to fog with condensation as she squinted through the mirrored glass. She could just barely make out a slight red haired figure talking to a smaller avian form sporting a buzz cut and fatigues. Isabella swayed precariously on her companion's shoulders.

"Will you cut it out? It's hard enough to see as it is without you swaying like a drunkard."

The burly figure below her gave an indignant snort. "Ay Díos mio, you know, you're not as light as you used to be."

"Are you telling me Adam 'El Gigante' Maus can't lift an eight year old girl on his shoulders for five minutes? Roo and Toby'll have a field day when I tell them that."

"Like you'd dare, Izy." Adam gave an impatient sigh, wanting to move the child's mind from embarrassing him in front of his friends. "Is she nearly done?"

"I dunno, Oh! They're shaking hands, she's coming!"

Isabella slid down Adam's back and quickly reclined against the wall, affecting a pose of bored nonchalance as a giddy Gabriella Boudreau emerged from the recruitment office, ruffling her auburn hair excitedly.

"So? Did you do it, Gabriella?" Despite her best efforts, eagerness and anticipation wavered in Isabella's voice. Gabriella fixed her with a serious stare, before a wide grin spread across her face as she gave a mock salute to her two companions.

"That's Forward Gabriella to you, ma'am."

Dropping her facade, Isabella let out a squeal as she bounded up to Gabriella, her sister in all but name. A roguish smirk found its way onto Adam’s face as he extended a fist in the new Forward's direction. Meeting him with a smirk of her own, Gabriella removed one of her hands from Isabella's tight hug and bumped knuckles with her newly reinstated teammate. Adam wasn't one for emotions but Gabriella had known him long enough to understand the delicate undertones of this small act.

Breaking her embrace with the little girl, Gabriella offered her free hand, one not clutching several neatly folded papers, which Isabella accepted, before the trio began to make their way to the airport.

.
.
.

- 5 Minutes Ago, The Eternal Realm of Valanora

Raynor City, Sanian Strikers Hotel Room

Gabriella liked the Strikers. It was demanding and nothing was easy, sure, but it was simple. Game objectives were clear and it was refreshing to stand with men and women you could trust implicitly. Of course, she loved and missed the children that were her family back in Vermillion, but here she felt like an equal, a team player. Routine good behaviour and hard work was rewarded with praise and strong results. In many ways playing internationally was far more fair and honest than that in the Confederacy, the entire team was the best of the sanian best after all. She nodded to herself. Yes. She definitely liked it.

by **Dorian and Sonya** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:19 am

Now to Chase Down Legal

During the World Cup 60 qualifiers the Mystical Unicorns had been a team on a mission to prove that their former high ranking had not been a fluke. The result had been a runaway campaign in which they sat alone atop the table before having a decent showing In the Cup Proper and a nice top 12 ranking. This time out is an entirely different affair as it has been Legalese playing like a squad with something to prove.

Yet following a draw on the road at Darmen and a beat down at home from Legalese, the Unicorns find themselves just two points back on the table as the first half winds down. A Legalese loss and a Sylvanae win would see the Unicorns lead the group at the midpoint. And with other nations like Darmen, Camwood, and Homelands our waiting for the chance to move up anything could happen.

In other news it has been made official that five members of the Unicorns squad have been submitted for the World Cup Hall of Fame. These nominations are quite an honor and all five have been members of the squad since our return in World Cup 50 and were integral parts of the World Cup 53 championship squad.

J’hys Ickaeth leads the group as the best Sylvanae player to ever wear the Pink & Purple. Few scorers in the world have her touch from long range.

Wend Rayghaest has been an anchor in the midfield and has performed largely under the radar as others grab the glory.

Deshy Ielath is the centerpiece of a lightly regarded defense. A defense that has performed well enough to keep the Unicorns competitive against the world’s elite.

Jania Lassvanil also has become a quiet superstar as she defies her own diminutive stature to be one of the world’s best keepers.

Maelwen Maridilyon is the woman who has guided the Mystical Unicorns for now their 12th attempt at qualifying and has missed that goal just three times to date. Perhaps her greatest achievement was guiding them to a World Cup 53 title while ranked a lowly 39th in the world.

With the second half of qualifying looming on the horizon, expect these five Hall of famers and their younger counterparts to shine bright and find a way to win the group and qualify for their 9th world cup proper.

by **Bongo Johnson** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 10:38 am

BongoBeat.net - Sports for the 21st Century

I.S.B.J. draws heavily outmatched Bears Armed 3-3

It was almost a miracle. To think that the second to last squad in Group 7 could even have a smidgen of a chance against a team as strong as Bears Armed. And yesterday, they did. With an unbelievable comeback from down 3-1 to tie the game with a goal in the 87th minute, the Incorporated States have staved off yet another crushing defeat. Go, go, Bongo Johnson! Keep on fighting valiantly!

Scorers: B. Branson 26' - K. Goosecock 77' - R. Yohn 87'

by **Bears Armed** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 10:46 am

"Ma'am SunBlesséd, I'm Marrya Hawthorne from the 'Council Groves Chronicle'. Thank you much for agreeing to let us interview you."

"You're welcome."

"Thank you.
"Hrright, so, as we come towards the last game in in this half of the qualifiers, it's the match-up that people have been forecasting as probably the hardest game out of this set for our girls to win? Hrright?"

"That's hrright, as it's against the group's second seed... although at least we have the 'home field' advantage this time around, which of course won't be the case hwhen we meet them again around the same date next year to close the qualifiers. Hopefully we'll manage a good win over them this time and that will let us establish momentum to build on during the rest of next year's games and extend our lead by enough that the question of hwhether we qualify or not doesn't come down to a last-match decider once more."

"So you and BAAS have arranged for a large number of poultry to be sacrificed to Margaret, here at Wimbley, actually inside the stadium in fact, shortly before kick-off."

"Can't hurt, hrright?"

"Well, I was raised as a 'purist' Ursion myself, and it's never seemed quite clear to me just hwhere or how Maragret fist into the Heavenly Hierarchy..."

"Ur'rmm, well... I'm not a theologian, but as I understand it from a One-plus-Seven viewpoint she's considered to be one amongst the many 'spirits-of-power' hwhom the Great Bear assigned to shape the Worlds... and, like some of her colleagues, she loved the Worlds that she had helped to shape so much that in His benevolence [/i] the Great Bear allowed her to hrremain here instead of hrreturning to[/i] the Eternal Forest once that task had been completed."

"Hr'rmm. And the fact that she is generally depicted in Human form, and that some stories actually claim she was originally just a mortal priestess living in a nation by the name of 'Short-Snout' or something along those lines?"

"My teacher said that as one of the 'spirits-of-power' sheactually would have been too powerful in her natural form to fit comfortably into the shaped Worlds, and so she would have had to take on a series of mortal-seeming identities instead."

"Hr'rmm, I suppose that I can smell that hokay.*
"Anyhows, hrreturning to the football: Hwere you disappointed that the Belles only drew, instead of winning, against Bongo Johhnson?"

"Fleas and fur-loss! Of course I was disappointed, but our girls gave it all that they could on the day. The problem was, it was hrrather hot for urrs there -- the highest temperatures that we've played in for any game this year, apart from the Pink Cup one in Jerueselem just before these qualifiers started, in fact -- and, especially coming on top of a match in played in chillier-than-normal NorthPort, that was just too much for anybearry to feel an eightSquared in the yonkh hwhereas our opponents -- being at home, as they were -- were fully accustomed to such conditions. That being that, I'm glad that we actually managed a draw hrrather than an actual loss. As it stands now, due to that hrresult, if we beat Gyatso-kai -- as we certainly should be able to do, touch wood! -- although they'll still be equal to us on points we'll be ahead on head-to-head and thus finally hrright up at the top of the group hrready to go onwards next year."

_________________________________________________________________________

OOC

* "I can smell that hokay" = "I can grasp that concept".

by **Darmen** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 11:09 am

World Cup Hall of Fame Candidate #4: Zach Preston
"Grandpa" "The Loyal Gentleman"

Date of Birth: December 25th, 1981
Place of Birth: Kingston, Darmen
Position: Midfielder

Family: Single
Political Party: None
Religion: Evangelical Lutheran Church of Darmen

Preston, the teams first Captain and star player, has rarely missed a match, and is one of the teams leading all-time goal scorers. Preston is an avid follower of Cricket, and enjoys playing it in Scott City's recreational league.

Scott City FC
Preston has been the Captain of Scott City FC since it began play in early 2011. He is the club's all-time leading scorer, and is renowned for his ability to surge out of the midfield and strike for a goal. Has played under former Manager Georges Thomas, and current Manager Tony Montgomery. Both Managers have very high opinions regarding Preston. He is a fan favorite, and his jersey is always in the Top 5 of sales charts around Darmen. Preston has earned the nickname, "The Loyal Gentleman" due to the fact that he has never left the club.

Darmeni National Team
Preston enjoyed a spot in the starting lineup through much of the team's early history. But following a sub par performance at the latest Copa Rushmori, Tim O'Donahaue decided to relegate Preston to the bench. The move hasn't fazed Preston at all though, and he has played exceptionaly well coming off the bench, scoring three goals so far during the 61st World Cup, as well as dishing out two assists.

What does Preston want to be remembered for?
"Erm... Not sure exactly. I guess... just as a guy who was really instrumental in the early days of Darmeni football during the international era."

World Cup LXI (61) RP Thread

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