World Cup 63 RP Thread

[Falconwhereveryouare]

The Eagle's Eye
Best rag in Falcus!
SPORTS
Heel, Girl

By Otis Birmingham

Not exactly what we were expecting. The Falconian fans were understandably disappointed in the results of the match against High Heels, especially at home in Wingipeg. These girls from the tower certainly weren't damsels in distress, even though they've been playing below expectations as of late. They bounced back and played very well, though it seemed the Falcons had cooled off a bit from their recent games thrashing the bottom-feeders. Our position in third was preserved, however, thanks to Gyatso-kai cleaning up against the Backyardigans, whom we're now three points ahead of. Unfortunately, that was also a win for the Avatarians; as Kiryu-shi also beat Mirelesin, we are now stuck seven points behind both teams with a match against the Kiryus on the horizon. Of course, after our narrow miss on a playoff spot in the World Cup 62 Qualifiers, we are in the group with the most points accrued by the top two teams. Both started 7-1-0, the only draw being against each other? That's ridiculous. The qualification chances of the Falcons are dwindling daily. Moving on from that depressing notion, the Conclepsians gained their third win of this campaign against Torisakia while Savski Venac and Vivedin rounded out Group 8 with a scoreless draw.

Onto our own draw. Meline Stiletto, who apparently has extensive experience from playing in the Babbage national league, dominated much of the match by herself. She had the entire midfield in the palm of her hand, dictating the flow of play throughout the first half and much of the second half. It only turned into one goal, thanks to a stellar job at organizing the defense by Boris Halth, and even that was on a rebounder from a redirection of a pass after a somewhat passive cornerkick. Dierdre Spike had kicked in the corner, Marlene Spike received it and passed it into the box, Nicolene Wedge redirected it towards the goal where Somer Lann got in front of it but couldn't hold on to the ball, and captain Melody Mule was there to clean up the rebound. It wasn't until late in the second half that the Falcon midfield got its act together and started a strong drive. It, of course, payed immediate dividends. Edwardo Baez finished with a curling effort from practically even with the goal; the ball made a hair-pin turn mid-air to land just inside the far post, well out of Kaisa Cuban's reach. Time was short after the equalizer, however, and the referee gave next to no injury time for either team to try and mount a campaign for the full three points.

Falconwhereveryouare - 1
Edwardo Baez, 88'
High Heels - 1
Melody Mule, 32'

[Royalsoldiers]

Royalsoldiers Defeats Argo Islands 2-1
By, Lucas Hampton

Royalsoldiers was able to defeat an Argan team by the same margin they did in the friendlies. One goal. This should have been much larger and the team should not have had such a scare near the end of the game. Royalsoldiers took an easy lead within the first two halves but as players were rotated into the game, the team did not blow through as much as this wished. With majority of the defenders on the bench, the Argo Islands made an attempt at scoring. Many people and players described Jim Kodiak as insane on the sideline. Kodiak was throwing his clipboard and screaming at everyone on the field. The team did respond by picking up the effort but overall what could have been a great win for Royalsoldiers ended up in a close win that did not show off much of Royalsoldiers capability. No blame can go on Kodiak, he outcoached Ryan Carmichael who was also pacing the opposite sideline.

Royalsoldiers in the first half played a slow-tempo possession match but near the end of the half the attack and regular up-tempo play showed. The team easily put up a goal after just four shots on the goal the entire half. They also controlled the ball 87% of the entire first half. This was what a team should be playing like against a team that was both experience and talent-wise outmatched. Royalsoldiers was able to score a final goal to put them ahead to win the match. Eric Taurus came up big with the second goal while Michael Smirnoff scored the other goal. Smirnoff got the start for Oliver Cyrus after Cyrus rolled his ankle in the game versus the Blouman Empire.

Goals

Argo Islands
Tyrone Warner-67'

Royalsoldiers
Eric Taurus-42'
Michael Smirnoff-83'

[Jeru FC]

Jeru FC assistant coach Princess Melody and Felicia Day

Felicia: I don't feel very well
Melody: You having another baby?
Felicia: No, I had the flu
Melody: Dunno, you're always cranky. Can't tell
Felicia: Really?
Melody: Hey, I know what cranky is about.

Felicia: Oh yes, you're not Miss Cranky for nothing.
Melody: We should have won today really.
Felicia: Err, I know
Melody: I mean Jeruselem scores more goals than us today
Felicia: The girls not at their best today
Melody: It's not like we had a big party yesterday

Felicia: What happened to our pre-cup party?
Melody: Budget cuts, they decided it wasn't necessary
Felicia: Hope they don't cancel the end of cup one
Melody: The army don't pay for that one
Felicia: Oh good, I love a good party
Melody: More partying is needed

Felicia: Don't recover like used to
Melody: That goes for everyone
Felicia: Anyway, I've been reading your mum's book
Melody: You can read?
Felicia: Err, sort off. Very interesting.
Melody: It is fiction, not a biography.

Felicia: I know but I know of lot of it based on real life
Melody: She changed the names to protect the innocent
Felicia: Interesting she used her middle name for the main character
Melody: She was going to use Amy but we know a few Amys
Felicia: Who's the annoying brat in the book
Melody: Who do think it is?

Felicia: You
Melody: I suppose that's me
Felicia: I don't want kids like that
Melody: I'm not as bad as the book character is. Mum just likes to add spice to things.
Felicia: Mind you, your Mum is little miss cranky most of time too
Melody: See, it's not my fault

Felicia: Your sister seems a happier person
Melody: She's a bit of stirrer though
Felicia: better than being a grump
Melody: Hey
Felicia: You're funny
Melody: Why does everyone try to annoy me ...

[Turori]

This is your Cut off, for Matchday 9 of the 63rd World Cup.

This also marks the half-way point in the qualifiers for World Cup 63. The MD9 Scores and Half-Way Tables are Here: http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=217223

There will be a break in the action now, with scorination resuming from Aguazul. Good Luck to all in the Second Half.

[Qazox]

A 2-0 win over Free South Califas sees the Eagles crawl their way into 4th place in Group 17 at the halfway point of the 63rd World Cup qualifiers. Brooke Chen, who has emerged as the next great Qazox female forward; scored in the 65th minute to break the scoreless tie, and Alberto Esperanza scored 2 minutes into injury time to make it 2-0.

But the win came too little too late for Thomas Carpenter, who was released from his duties as coach after the match. Assistant coach Brandy Gerrard was let go as well. Diane Lisanti, the vice-president of Football operations for the QFA will be the interim coach until after this qualifying cycle.

[Antoletia]

"and thats the way the cookie crumbles."

"Yes epic game here in Homelands our, and the Fire Ants have defeated the home team 3-1. Behind the 2nd ever hat trick in a Fire Ants uniform from Filip Constantinescu."

"And heres reporter Angelica Rosui with the star."

"Filip how do you feel about your game tonight."

"Well i just felt really good all day, the first ball bounced right into the net and it was all like a dream after that."

"Talk about what the success of this years team could mean for you and the Fire Ants."

"Well when we made the world cup the last time it shocked the world, now we haven't been there in a while and we don't really remember that feeling. I feel if we get close a fire might arise, and the Fire Ants will be at the front of it."

"How about that final goal, over the head bicycle into the net. Majestic shot, what made you do it."

"Well i didn't have much space and i new time was running out to go after the hat trick. The lob pass came in and i just went for it. The keeper was stunned, and we had all but won it on that shot. If felt great."

"It looked great as well. Now what do you feel about the possibility of a new coach in Antoletia at the end of the season."

"Well Axkess has been a great coach, but he's getting old and wants to retire. He's the face of Antoletian coaching and anyone who tries to replace him will have to be greater than him. When he goes back to Civil Citizenry but IDK, i'd rather focus on now than later."

"Thanks Filip, great game."

[Taeshan]

"Damn boy, we beat Sargossa. Only the second time ever, and we kept our shutout streak going. Dru Holliday- 9 Clean sheets. Well on his way to goalie of the year in the world. That, and when you control the ball the whole game and even when the other team gets near your goal you have the four best defenders in the world under the age of 22, and perhaps over it to stop the ball."

"Yeah, and now we basically just have to continue to play solid defense, and we will easily qualify, and perhaps not even have to worry about a playoff. Especially with a three goal lead and Cosumar in second. They may have beaten Sargossa as well, but they didn't look good doing it."

"Yeah we got this. So close to advancing."

"This great group stage could also see us break the top ten, which would be one of the biggest achievements in the history of Taeshan soccer."

"Yes, and we could very well be a top two seed in this cup, and the way things are looking that could help a lot in the finals."

"Also the new jerseys don't seem half as bad to the fans now that we are continuing to win."

"Yeah, new jerseys for a team looking to be taken seriously. Which funnily enough was the Euran's reasoning for their new jersey. Serious jersey for a serious team."

"Seriously Eura, when was the last time they were relevant. Am i right?"

"Yeah. They gonna hate cause we beat em."

"Yeah."

"Well, hopefully we can do it again."

"Word."

[Kericia]

Goal: score some goals?

Following Kericia's 2-0 defeat at Cuboneland, the islanders' seventh in nine games, even normally upbeat manager Harry Kennedy had difficulty remaining positive.

"The kids are giving their all but it's like constantly being down a man," the old coach remarked.

The Kericians have had a difficult return to the sport of football, even considering their nearly forty year absence. A team that decades ago at least competed for a qualification place now sits second from bottom, with only two goals scored. The team currently has the unenviable distinction of being the second least-prolific side in the entire tournament: only Northern Artic Islands have scored less, with only a single goal in frozen, icy hand.

Many have blamed Kennedy and his defensive style of play. Kennedy built a dynasty at Kericia City FC on stifling defensive play and an opportunistic counter-attack, but this has failed to translate against tactically and athletically superior sides. Lone striker Ray Fava has consistently been shut down by opposing defenses.

The lone bright spot in Kericia's campaign thus far was a shock 1-0 victory against then-number-one Jeruselem. The Princesses' roster was depleted by illness, but when your country appears to be headed toward non-qualification for the 17th time, every win is a reason to celebrate.

[New Ecopia]

After a 2-nil victory against Puge New Ecopia is now fourth with sixteen points.

New Ecopia is currently two points away from third place which is the teams target for the next game.

The team is training extremely hard at the beach to improve the teams strength, agility, speed, stamina and discipline to improve the teams performance and win rates.

Meanwhile back in New Ecopia the citizens are cheering and supporting the team all the way through the nations first World Cup appearance.

As the time counts down till the teams next game everyone awaits anxiously for the results that will place New Ecopia third.

[Jeruselem]

Princess Katy and Jeruselem captain Emily Salad

Katy: Hello, once again this Princess Katy for Naked News Jeruselem. I'm in Pacificius where Jeruselem travelled to take on the local team. With me is the our estimed team leader Emily Salad.
Emily: Oh, hello everyone hete
Katy: Just to say Emily Sallad S A L L A D is not related to the coach Michelle Salad S A L A D
Emily: Actually I'm related to Katy, in an obscure way
Katy: We beat the local team Pacificius at home. An away win is always good.
Emily: I think we could done a bit better.

Katy: I think 5 goals would have a better result if you had taken your chances
Emily: A bit wasteful but then we didn't concede any goals at all today
Katy: I heard the recent bird flu in Jeruselem knocked you around badly
Emily: Well yes, I didn't respond to it very well. A few weeks in bed
Katy: And the kids?
Emily: They tried to be helpful at home

Katy: Our defense isn't just the same as it was
Emily: No, these young kids need to learn to play 90 minutes not 45
Katy: They are a young as I am
Emily: So all we need is everyone to get used to the program. You see, in club football you don't get challenges of the world cup.
Katy: Like adapting to foreign environments, travelling long distances and encountering exotic peoples
Emily: Yes, at home - you're relaxed. Away, it's far harder where you're the guest of someone else's country.

Katy: I guess us Dallas girls are well travelled in comparison
Emily: Actually most Jerusemites are really homebodies ... you have relatives in Qazox, Starblaydia, Arridia
Katy: True, I spend a lot of time in Qazox. How you find travel?
Emily: I'm not very good.
Katy: I guess each to their own when it comes handling travel
Emily: I'm not young anymore. It gets harder as I get older

Katy: So is this stress physical or more mental?
Emily: Travel sure makes one tired but the mental battle to keep on top of the situation is something you need to learn
Katy: In the past we sent young football players to foreign tournaments but not now.
Emily: It's costly I guess. And parents fret about their kids leaving for another country.
Katy: We've had a few draws, including Jeru FC having 4 now with a recent draw today.
Emily: This cup is interesting, it's close in all groups. Draws being rather common for top and middle ranked teams.

Katy: What we need is a run of wins to create buffer between us and them
Emily: I agree, last cup we failed to qualify. I don't want to repeat that.
Katy: I guess the key is a better 2nd half qualification
Emily: Yes, last cup we didn't do well there.
Katy: Well thank you Puddles
Emily: Err, yes thanks.

Katy: See you all later the next game.
Emily: Yes, cya later.

[Ko-oren]

Half-way situation

Optimism level:
1 World Cup Winners, baby!
2 We'll qualify
3 50% for playoffs
->4 Don't let us finish 5th in the group again
5 Last in the group, and proud of it

Let KSN take you through the first half of qualifying and some statistics to get you all up-to-date again for the last nine matches!

The Babbage Islands 2–5 Ko-oren

The first match started fantastically with Ko-oren beating the Babbage Islands in a David versus Goliath match. The three goals GD that the team won with this, proved to be vital in keeping the team's GD positive during the next eigth matches. Unfortunately, the momentum of the MD1 victory did not stay with the team...

Ko-oren 2–0 St Lucoa

Another good victory in the race to the World Cup. St Lucoa, seen by many as the weakest team of the group, was solidly beaten 2-0. The Dragonflies' chances seemed to shoot up with every goal they scored... but what goes up, must come down.

Mialmaropa 0–2 Ko-oren

Ko-oren also beat the other 'weakest' team in the group. Today's opponent and the last opponent were both close to unranked, and both were beaten 2-0: not a sign of dominance, but a decent victory overall. It turned out that the lack of scoring was not necessarily bad attacking, but rather to avoid conceding goals at all costs.

Ko-oren 1–2 Zandistan

The first loss of the campaign. Zandistan is the team that surprised most critics, leading the table by MD4. It seemed an okay loss at the time: Zandistan were just very, very lucky and had the same luck against earlier opponents. Ko-oren was second and did not seem to give in.

Groteberg 1–0 Ko-oren

The second loss of the campaign, and this one hit hard. Groteberg, at the time 8th in the group, won a lucky match (it was the only match they one at the time of MD5), beat Ko-oren 1-0 and this caused the Dragonflies to fall back to fourth place. Not really a good record for a team that finally wanted to be done with the disappointing results all the time. After a good start, this was the match that the Dragonflies fell back and couldn't perform anymore.

Ko-oren 1–0 Maklohi Vai

Ko-oren beat the aspiring Maklohi Vai, taking over Michael VII for a round. Maklohi Vai face many of the problems the Dragonflies face too, though MV is ranked somewhat lower. Also, MV is still a growing team: they're working their way up still.

Westros 2–2 Ko-oren

The first tie of the cycle: Michael VII won their match and took back the third place again. It should not be forgotten that the difference between the top four was still only three points...

[/pre]Michael VII 2–0 Ko-oren[/pre]
In the direct confrontation for third place, Ko-oren sorely took the loss. Two goals separated the two teams in the end. Zandistan and the Babbage Islands won their matches too, meaning Ko-oren was suddenly three points after the other teams: is this already a mission impossible?

Ko-oren 4–1 Swyftlandre

In the last match of the first half, Ko-oren won very, very solidly: sign of a way back up? Ko-oren scored four and this is therefore the best match in a long, long while. As Michael VII beat Zandistan and the Babbage Islands had an unexpected draw, Ko-oren reduced the difference of three to two, and the difference between Ko-oren and the first team from six to four.

Schedule for the second half:
Home - Babbage Islands (5-2 win)
Away - St. Lucoa (2-0 win)
Home - Mialmaropa (2-0 win)
Away - Zandistan (1-2 loss)
Home - Groteberg (0-1 loss)
Away - Maklohi Vai (1-0 win)
Home - Westros (2-2 draw)
Home - Michael VII (0-2 loss)
Away - Swyftlandre (4-1 win)

Comparing WC 63 to 62 and 61:

WC ..   P/match
WC 63   1,7777778*
WC 62   1,5
WC 61   1,3125
*not finished yet

Stadium search: last candidate, and on to the selection process!



This is the final stadium in the list of candidates for national stadium. This one is in Esthauan, the biggest agglomeration in the Northeast, and still not too far from other major population centers such as Sraltlur and Ko-oren City. It's used by the football team of Jeknolr, which is not too famed for finishing in the top spots of the league. They are a solid team though, and the stadium is one of the bigger ones in the league (and usually nearly full, even).

Name: Thunder Arena
City: Esthauan
Built: 1973
Capacity: 70.000

[Secundus Kasius]

"Gooood morning ladies and gentlemen of Secundus Kasius, you're listening to Saturday Sports with me - Sammy Deppler! For those just tuning in, we're about to be joined by Johnny Hall, reporter for the Daily Dove and defender for the Phoenixes - the Kasian national football team! Can you hear me, Johnny?"

"Good morning Sammy, I read you loud and clear. Please excuse any tiredness in my voice - international football is no picnic, I can tell you that for a fact!"

"After your performance yesterday I'm surprised you're not still exhausted - you and the others on defence went above and beyond! The Slembanan team certainly gave you a run for your money, wouldn't you agree?"

"They could try as hard as they liked Sammy, but we weren't going to allow them one inch! If only our forwards had pushed the advantage, we'd have had the match sewn up, in the bag, done and dusted!"

"You say that Johnny, but weren't Slembana the first to score?"

"That is correct, due to a miscalculation in our preparations - propaganda from the Slembanan side caused us to focus upon their striker Kylx, who was advertised as their best player by miles. This allowed Yalnif to slip past us (embarrassingly) unnoticed, and knock the ball into the back of the net."

"So did you have any other trouble from Slembana's star striker?"

"Who, Kylx? Surprisingly no - we'd expected great things from him after all the hype, but his heart clearly wasn't in the match. We were able to mostly ignore his attempts and focus upon other players with little consequence."

"That is indeed peculiar! But you soon equalised, right?"

"Yes! Turner scored a cracker of a goal when Holt passed to him at the last moment. Sadly, that was one of the few moments of excellence shown by our forwards this match, we believe due to the continued after effects of the Caffee incident."

"I was just about to mention that - congratulations on your recovery! I hear the rest of the team are better also?"

"Thank you - whilst some of us are still experiencing light tremors and anxiety headaches, we've all recovered enough to be back on the pitch. Unfortunately Milly was not so lucky, and she is still stuck in her hospital bed."

"And we are of course sorry to hear so, and everyone is praying for a swift recovery. Well, thats all we have time for folks! Thanks again to Johnny Hall, and we wish you luck in your next match! This is Sammy Deppler, and you're listening to Saturday Sports."

[Azox]

Azox beaten by Beaverriver.

Julio Stager's 74th minute goal in front of 67,000 crazy beaver wearing fans at Carbon Stadium ended Azox' first half of qualifying as the AngelWolves finish with a 3-1-5 record and are mired in 7th place, 11 points out of a playoff berth. We know after the draw that this would be a tough qualifying schedule and it has been. But due to the bad start (0-1-3) after 4 games, it's been over for a long time. Now all that Azox needs to do is act like a spoiler and turn those five 1-goal losses into two or three wins.

[Cataduanes]

Charruterra 1
Cataduanes 1

On the back of two successive victories the boys from Cataduanes faced another tough away fixture against Charruterra. However things got off on the wrong foot as Cataduanes arrived in Charruterra two hours late. A terrorist incident led to the closure of the Santa Cruz International Airport for 14 hours prompting the squad to make a 3 hour drive to catch a flight out from the city of Nuevo Almagro. The whole debacle had left the normally mellow Manuel Tapia rather testy, most evident by the way he curtly told reporters at the Nuevo Almagro Airport to ‘’Do you mind’’.

From the kick off the home side looked very motivated, willed on by the vociferous support of the Charruterra fans they took the game to their opponents with gusto. This forced the visitors to play very defensively and inevitably the tackles led to bookings, with both Jishi and Guevara picking yellow cards in the first 20 minutes of the match. For Charruterra it was Alexandria Yakushkin who stood out in the first half, her strength on the ball and accomplished ball control contributed greatly to the home sides forward play. It was Yakushkin came closest to opening the account on the 34th minute, the attacking midfielder drove home through a crowd of bodies, the ball going in off a post. They could have been in front with less than a minute on the clock as Yakushkin came close again, she took aim from 30 yards and sent a shot thundering against the crossbar. Hector Song, the Cataduanes goalkeeper, barely saw it.

The second half proved to be an even bigger spectacle as both sides attacking style led to a proliferation of end to end football, and Cataduanes played with more verve. In the 62nd minute Paco Morientes took advantage of a weak backpass from Darth Rider to round Mr X to put the visitors in front. This prompted a frantic flurry of attacks by the home side in a bid to seek an equalizer, while the visitors sought to hit back with counter-attacks. However Yakushkin continued to be a headache and her forward running caused a good deal of trouble, and in turn led to Guevara’s dismissal for a second bookable offence on 75 minutes as he brought Yakushkin down on the edge of the area. The visitors, now down to 10 men, found their attacking options limited and their misery was complete with five minutes to go when Cloyan was awarded a harsh penalty for handball by Luis Garza and the Charruterra forward confidently stroked home from the spot.

The draw leaves Cataduanes anchored in 8th place with 9th place Smernof trailing in 9th place by three points. Ahead of Cataduanes and still in touching distance point wise are Paradystopia and Charruterra. Cataduanes is travelling to face the indomitable Sylvanaes Queendom, a fixture in which the odds are firmly stacked against Cataduanes.

[Kandorith]

Draw gives small hope for Kandorith


Xíangzhoú Daily



When things were looking down for our national team, a glimpse of hope returned to the international stage of our football team.



In a surprise draw against Jeru FC, Kandorith managed to show they are indeed capable of scoring when needed. The match was quite special, once again the team needed to prove they were worthy of wearing the badge of the Kandorese Football Association, which many teams have lost before them. When Kandorith did not succeed in grabbing the first half, but conceding a goal, things were not looking upwards. The fans already feared the returning image they have seen for the past years, Kandorith crashing in the first round without any good result.


The second round started rough, but controlled, with captain Moto Taiji finally showing his skills which he was known for in Nagato Goya. His presence on the field was sublime according to both fans, reporters and the players around him. To much delight, Kandorith regained much of their possession play and finally started to look towards world class football, when the break came.


An opening fell in Jeru's midfield which was utilized by Iichi, who steered JieJie forwards. The "Hurricane" as he is known in Therseias Jiaxi started his run, bypassing the midfield in a burst of speed, before laying off the ball to Méng. With control and concentration Méng was able to drop the ball in front of Mirajié, who was able to volley the ball just beyond the goalkeeper with zero space for error.


As soon as the ball hit the back of the net the crowd became ecstatic, like Kandorith had regained it's freedom. The once slowly watching supporters of the national team could be heard roaring outside the venue's boundaries. The flags went up, so went the cups. Kandorith has regained it's spirit with a one to one draw. The new slogan for the Kandorese team will be, "From the ashes reborn, like the feathered Dragon we strike" according to the "Kan-Ultras", the most famous and maybe infamous fan club of the national team.


We are looking forward to seeing Kandorith perform in their next match, to finally show the world class football we were promised to experience with this new and young team. We are hoping to see Méng in action in the next match, proving himself as the striker he has been for Nagato Goya.

[Jukenia]

We lost again. 0-1 to Akbarabad. Both of us tried to score in the first half, but failed. Jawad Khan scored a goal in 66th minute - and after that, Ken Azura, our goalkeeper, was controversially red-carded. Kebin Amaroh will be the starting keeper next match.

We are still in the fourth position in the standings. The only way for now, is go up.

OOC: Sorry for those short, poetic-ish RP, I don't have the time to write a full one.

[Cambirano]

CAMBIRANO BLANKED AGAINST LYMANTATIA

The game seemed to fly by, compared to some of the more open and attacking matches Cambirano has participated in during WC63. In fact, there was only one goal in the game, and unfortunately for the home fans who packed into Pennington Stadium, it was not scored by Cambirano, but by their opponents, Lymantatia.

The first third of the match, in fact, featured no shots on target by either team. The game mostly consisted of a melee in the midfield, with both teams struggling to link passes together or show any attacking prowess. Cambiranan midfielder Clint Easton called this part of the game "rough for everyone involved." He even pointed to several bruises on his shin which he said were a result of the physical qualities of the beginning 30 minutes.

Then, the remainder of the first half changed very little, although Cambirano was able to place one shot onto target, a lazy floater from 17 yards away sent by Henri de Camouette. Lymantatia, on the other hand, had 2 quality chances, including a one-on-one breakaway by striker Sylvius Johnson that Theo Walden barely managed to defend against, placing the shot just inches wide of the post. Manager Klaus Handel called Walden's effort a "superb piece of goalkeeping."

The deadlock was broken in the 48th minute, when Nicholas Ivanov found space on the right wing, evading three Cambiranan defender before placing a cross into the box that found Lymantatian forward Jacques Bressler's shoe for a rocket from 5 yards out that left Walden helpless, a spectator, as Lymantatia took the decisive lead.

It didn't always look like that goal would be decisive; in fact, Cambirano won the remaining 44 minutes of play by any observation. In the 55th minute, Easton played a one-two pass to William St. Mark, but he was unable to control the return ball quickly enough, and the ball rolled harmlessly to the Lymantatian keeper. Cambirano's other major chance came in the 84th minute, when a corner found de Camouette's feet in a wide open position in the corner of the penalty box. He couldn't secure it, and instead he weakly tapped the ball out of bounds at least 7 yards wide of the net.

So that left Cambirano with a 1-0 defeat at home, leaving them in 8th place in their group. Lymantatia is currently 4th.

Manager Klaus Handel had little to say about the team's overall performance or his expectations for later in the cup, saying: "Cambirano is far from its peak as a nation, but it's important for people to remember that this is our third international competition as a team, and we also had to rebuild after the last World Cup, significantly. Maybe this won't be the World Cup where we get the desired result, but I can promise you we will keep moving forward."

Match Summary: Cambirano vs Lymantatia
48th: GOAL J. Bressler (Lymantatia) 1-0 Lymantatia
59th: SUBST A. Brightenhouse (In) S. Gurley (Out) (Cambirano)
72nd: SUBST C. Stevens (In) R. Koulares (Out) (Cambirano)

[Svengarda]

The Leache
Wight

The town was eerily quiet as Kirt pulled the 4.x4 into the town. The small car-park was in the centre of the town, around a weedy water fountain. Kirt parked the car in one of the spots which were all empty bar a battered up city hatchback. How it ever got here is a mystery in itself. The three accomplices got out of the car and started to walk to their destination. There was no-one about. It seemed as if the town had cleared out for these foreigners.

"This place gives me the creeps" said Finn, keeping his exposed arms warm against the cold and rain. Ransu lead them up a steep hill and then onto a plateau. The road stretched for 100 yards either way, before ending abruptly and the door of a house. Along the top of the road were four more houses. Two had lights on in various places. THey took a left and walked to the house on the end of the left-side of the row.

It was the abandoned house, and their new hide out.

Ransu had brought the crow-bar from the car maintenence kit and used it to prize open the door, which was bolted shut. The door opened after several attempts, with the wood around the handle splintering and cracking as it did so. They walked into the dark dusty front room and flicked on thier heavy-duty torches. The room was covered in dust and the furniture was protected by thick sheets. The light switches were non-functioning so they removed the heavy shutters on the window. Although there wasn't much light outside it made a considerable difference to the house.

They explored the house, and found two bedrooms, a dining room cum kitchen a living space and two bathrooms. Ransu and Finn opted for the master bedroom, whilst Kirt, having been decided as the hardest working member of the group got the single bedroom all to his self. After putting thier meagre belongings in the wardrobes, they decided to to go into town and buy some stuff for the long-term: food, clothes, batteries, several heaters and other electronic goods. They returned to the centre of the village and each set off with a fistful of Blood Shillings, eager to start their new lives, but deep down, they knew that the SIA were still after them...

[Asteran]

Everybody knew it was over. Just 4 points from a possible 27. Seven losses, with just one victory against Lalo Limahina. The Blue Lions had briefly flirted with success, only to see it slip away. It was over.

Stan McAllen, though, refused to quit.

He continued the tongue-lashings at half-time and full-time. He berated players, threatened to send them home, or bench them. In training, they were run into the ground if he felt they weren't playing to his required level. Even the other coaches felt his wrath, as he refused to let any member of the team off the hook. Except for himself. McAllen refused to look at himself, claiming that everything else was the cause of the team's problems, not his well-known anger issues or inability to react quickly to changes in games.

The AFA was embarrassed by it. The ratings for the qualifiers had plummeted, as people stopped watching the team play. After all, why would they want to watch a team continue to lose? The papers stopped devoting pages of space to the team, reducing it down to just one or two, while covering domestic sport and the run-up to the Olympics with more passion. The last match against The Inevitable Syndicate drew just 3.1 million viewers out of a nation of 58 million.

The AFA knew they couldn't fire McAllen now. They had to wait until the end of the tournament, then get rid of him for not meeting their expectations. But what were their expectations? The AFA hired a man that had no real success and was last coaching a League Two team because of his issues. Eight coaches had said no to the AFA. The national team job had so little cachet that even unemployed managers wanted to wait for a league position to open up. The AFA was mostly at fault for that. Many of the AFA's First Executives were overbearing and micromanaging, to the point where the last two managers resigned rather than work under them. The appointment of former national team manager Neil Markham was supposed to fix those issues.

It did, but the damage was done. And with the appointment of McAllen, the job became even more of a joke to future managers. The Blue Lions job had become, for all intents and purposes, a career killer. McAllen would be lucky if he got a job with a team in the National League, never mind the Football League.

Halfway through the qualifiers, and the team was done. They wouldn't qualify. They would go back to their clubs and face criticism from the fans and the media. The AFA would undergo another shakeup, and it was likely that the men on the field would never appear in a Blue Lions shirt again. McAllen would be exiled from management, and the AFA would pick another manager that was underqualified and not ready for primetime. The cycle happened every few years, and it would happen again.

[The Inevitable Syndicate]

Victory Arrives... Inevitably
Kirano, ASTERAN---- A fantastic game of football was played in Kirano today by The Inevitable Syndicate, resulting in a wonderful victory 2-0 against Asteran. Even though the Syndicate had faced some tough matches, today they were able to pull it together and gain a much needed victory.

Asteran started the game off with some wonderful control, playing a rather attacking game in stark contrast to the Syndicate's more mellow, defensive style of play. The defence proved to be stronger, with the Syndicatians provinding a brilliant defensive line for snapping back with. Henry Davies was elected to be on the pitch this time, playing instead of Nathan Powell. He bought some luck with him, as in the 19^th minute, he shot a brilliant goal right past Joel Thatcher!

The second half saw more attacking plays from Asteran, but again, it didn't seem to be enough. Shots were made, but Archer was straight and true, and saved them all. Davies had another brilliant attacking play, and scored another brilliant goal in the 52^nd minute. That was it for Asteran, as they didn't manage to make it past out defence after that point. We knew we were going to win, and that we did, much to the delight of the Syndicatian fans.

The Inevitable Syndicate
:: Goalscorers ::
:: 19' Henry Davies
:: 52' Henry Davies
Asteran
:: Goalscorers ::
:: N/A None

And so concludes the first half of the World Cup! The Syndicate currently sits awkwardly in 6^th place, needing some vital wins if they are to climb the scoreboard. The players of Burgess FC are off to play the AOCL, whereas the other members of the team will be taking a nice deserved break. Here's hoping the team doesn't get too complacent now (like that chess bloke...), or they'll be feeling the wrath of the opponent when they come back. ILN managed to get manager Lewis Thackray's thoughts on the team's progress:

Well, I'm incredibly pleased with how well the team has been doing in the world cup. We've faced some really tough opponents, so gaining the 14 points we did was an amazing achievement. I also believe the team has had fantastic sportsmanship, even when the fans haven't. This shows true Syndicatian politeness, and sets an example to those wishing to emulate our sports stars. I think the team can continue to perform well, and hopefully we'll finish the group stage in a competitive position!

Freddie Johnson
ILN Sports

[Kiryu-shi]

To my readers!

Hi all. It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this blog, and, to be honest, I don’t know if blogging will ever catch on in Kiryu-shi like it seems to have done elsewhere. I am, however, very aware that there are a few dedicated readers, and I hope that this will be seen by a few people between now and the end of qualifications.

As you are no doubt aware, I have spent the last few months as the Assistant Head Coach for the Kiri, and let me tell you, it has been the experience of a lifetime. I’m not sure how to express the newfound respect I have for the sport, for what goes into building a successful team, and the effort that the players and staff go through on a week-in, week-out basis. As most of you will be aware, this is the mid-qualification break for the World Cup, and the Kiri are in a good position to at least make it to a second spot in the group and with a chance to make it into the play-offs.

As for my role with the team, I can assure you that it is a lot more difficult and a lot less glamorous than I would have thought four years ago when I was starting up this blog. First of all, let me warn you that I won’t be able to provide full disclosure: I’m attempting to win football matches here, and I don’t want any information about this team to be public that I think may benefit future opponents. But, for those of you who are watching the Kiri play, frustrated, perhaps, at the lack of offensive output and the missed opportunities that seem to pass by, I will simply say that the speed of the game, paired with the small details that have to break right to score at any given moment, create an on-field experience that is much different than the view of the game from a television screen would make it seem. And let me remind you that, first and foremost, the Kiri are winning! With this previous match out of our way, we have advanced to 7-1-0, with one of the best records through qualifications in the entire world.

As for our previous match against Falconwhereveryouare, a number of you may be aggravated by the fact that we weren’t able to score more goals against such an attack-oriented opponent. And yes, my own philosophy heading into this match at this point four years ago would have been to attack early and often, making sure to secure the game against a team that hasn’t shown a commitment to the defensive side of the ball. However, there were a number of factors that went into our style of play, which resulted in such a low-scoring match. First of all, it was our joint decision to focus on containing the powerful attack of our opponents. This is a team with a number of legitimate scoring threats, and it was our prerogative to ensure that throughout the duration of the match, none of their talented offensive players would have a clear shot on goal. That was our primary directive heading into the match, and we feel that, although there were a few close calls, we succeeded for the most part. While the ball possession rate was closer than we would have liked, as the Falcons showed their ability to retain the ball and build up attacks, our defense and midfielders successfully clogged up our side of the pitch both halves, and our central defenders in particular did a stellar job of ensuring that their forwards never had the ball in space anywhere close to our net.

As for our attack, we created a number of opportunities for our forwards to succeed. While we were admittedly patient, refusing to expose our defense by committing numbers to advance up the pitch, we utilized long passes through space to attempt to take advantage of the fact that they only use three defenders. Obviously, this plan wasn’t going to ever put up big numbers. We rarely had more than two people advance up the pitch at a time, and usually it was Tziganes making a run with Enéh playing a secondary role ready to move back if we lost possession. Furthermore, this patter of attack relies on extreme precision and incredible timing from our midfielders, further compounding the difficulty of scoring. And finally, the Falcon defenders are actually quite talented. Boris Halth is an extremely intelligent commander of the back line, and utilizes his teammates expertly. They make full use out of their three players, which allows them to cover a lot more space than one would think.

While these may read as excuses, I hope you understand them as an insider’s perspective to what can hinder an seemingly large opportunity to put up big points on an opponent. I can assure you that we are committed to opening up larger margins than one goal through the second half of qualifications, but will also point to the fact that we have put up goals in every match we’ve played so far, and have even scored five goals in two separate matches. And against Falconwherever you are, our strategy succeeded. Enéh’s second half goal following our prescribed pattern of attack was carefully orchestrated and executed perfectly, as Tziganes as able to control Ian’s long pass before finding room for her fellow forward at the top of the penalty area. That was how we drew it up, and for long-time readers, you’ll recognize that as being one of my fundamental-five plays that I wrote about during the World Cup last year.

It’s been a lot of fun, readers, and who knows, I may yet return to the world of reporting in the future! Meanwhile, keep watching our matches and feel free to send my office a letter; you know that I am always open to suggestions and critiques.

Thank you all,
Kayla

[Sargossa]

SSM | Sargossan State Media
International Edition - Sport


Campaign Turns Corner, Falls Down Stairs


Gonzalo Pereira reports from some grotty Taeshani hovel;

It wasn’t that long ago that Sargossa travelled to Cosumar for what, on paper anyway, was one of the toughest fixtures of this campaign and gave the hosts a sound beating. The Corsairs struck six on a night that saw them claw their way up to second place in Group 1. Just for a second the optimists among the fanbase, the law of averages suggests there might be one or two, believed their heroes had banished the malaise of the campaign’s. Surely now the darker blues would challenge the Taeshanis for top spot.

That optimism lasted precisely four days, crushed in the turgid morass of what was a dire encounter with Boyznichov in the murky jungle depths of Durgos. The visitors arrived with no fanfare whatsoever and with little in the way of form but proved durable enough to hold a Sargossan attack that looked decidedly laboured in the second part of this international double header. A point may have been gained but precious ground was lost as Cosumar skipped back ahead of the Corsairs while Taeshan put further ground between them and the rest of the chasing pack. Some of that ground was made up as Cosumar and Taeshan cancelled each other out during the eighth round of matches at the same time as Sargossa struggled to a win against unfancied Chunnan. But few could get excited about it.

Of course all that would have been both forgiven and forgotten with an impressive performance in Taeshan. But a seriously miserly defence is the rock through which the Knights are boring their way to the World Cup finals and they once again looked suitably impregnable. At the other end they even managed to score two goals, which in this part of the world has to go down as something of a hammering.

When the dust settled the table made unattractive reading, with the second seeded Sargossans now languishing in fourth place. Such an occurrence might be cause for current national coach Martín Tejera to take a nervous glance at the thread holding that sword precariously above his head, particularly with one failed campaign already under his belt. But impressive runs at the Cup of Harmony (3rd place) and Copa Rushmori (2nd place) should be enough to earn him time to turn it around. Plus the current FFS hierarchy don’t seem to have the wafer thin patience of years gone by. Besides, all the firing was going on in another part of the Sargossan capital as Ciudad Soluca got through three managers in as many months. Hernán Calderón got the push after a disappointing Liga de Fuego campaign saw the reigning champions finish ninth, Tito Esparsa followed him out the door after the once feared Black & Bloods came dead last at the Aeropag Football Invitational and Roberto Franco barely had time to unpack before a 5 – 0 Globe Cup trouncing to Maccabi Shatilova signalled his demise.

[Apox]

The History of Apoxian Football

Part One: The Beginning
Part Two: Expansion and the Marshall Cup
Part Three: The Game Grows
Part Four: Moving on from Cups
Part Five: The Northern League
Part Six: The Midlands League
Pat Seven: The Dwile League

Part Eight: The Seafront League

The Seafront league was a more smaller affair than the bigger competition's of the Midlands League and Dwile League. The only greatly successful team going into it before it's creation was Urbanista, and even then, they had only ever gotten to be runners-up in the Marshall Cup.

And so they dominated the league to start off, winning the first three seasons, the second by 10 points and only losing once during the entire season, giving pundits reasons to fear for the competitiveness of the league. Then remarkably in the 529 season, Exton F.C, previously a very small team did what many thought impossible. After beating Urbanista away and then drawing at home, and after Urbanista tripped up against Southtown and local rivals Urbanista Trojans, Exton had a fairly clear path to the title, which they achieved one match early, beating Urbanista by 4 points in the end.

However, Urbanista took the title again the next year in triumphant fashion, and even beat FC Endeavour in a friendly, giving some pundits reason to call them the greatest Urbanista side of all time.

Despite all this, they failed to get the title in the next year after Southtown miraculously took the lead, and Exton beating Urbanista on the final matchday meant they edged above them into second, giving Urbanista their lowest finish to date.

This set a trend in the Seafront league of Urbanistsa outclassing all the other teams, and then going on to win all title that year or miraculously lose it in spectacular style, letter in lesser teams like Exton F.C and Southtown to come and steal the trophy from them.

Below are the stats of the Seafront League in the 19 seasons it was active:

Urbanista - 11 times: 526, 527, 528, 530, 532, 535, 536, 538, 540, 542, 544
Southtown - 3 times: 531, 534, 541
Exton F.C - 2 times: 529, 537
Urbanista Trojans - 1 time: 533
Real South - 1 time: 539
FC United Wanderers - 1 time: 543

---

Jon Quillisi Has Opinions column from the Apoxian Word

Yet another depressing, high-scoring draw! What has happened to our defence? Yes, we seem to be able to still score against pretty much everyone, but the goals don't count for much if they're wasted!

We got off to a slow start, looking sluggish as the game started but then picking up our attacking momentum later on. However, Shadowbourne nicked a cheeky goal early on, with Andrew Wirahadi scoring first. It looked like things were going to be a serious embarrassment for our team after Cevdet Cochrane put away their 2nd goal in only 4 minutes.

However, we drew back, and used the speed of our wingers to go on the counter, and, thankfully, we scored in the 23rd minute after Will Fich was able to find the net. A Shadowbourne own goal helped us back into it, but they went 3-2 up, two minutes before half-time after a poor back pass from Will Fich resulted in Andrew Wirahadi getting his second of the match.

After half-time, we played with slightly more poise and even managed to draw level in the 54th minute after a Dan Weekes header beat Jos Kamanarov quite comfortably to score. Unfortunately, the lead was not maintained for long, and substitute Daishi Loustau scored after only being on the pitch for about 2 minutes.

We did manage to salvage a point towards the end though, after Marlon Vetta added another goal to his impressive tally that he's been amassing. So, while we showed good resilience to keep recovering, it should have never got to that stage, and we need to turn things around in the second half by beating all the teams we drew to this time, and by still beating the teams we won against last time as well. A tough ask, but a necessary one if we are seeking qualification.

Team Sheet from the Game (scorers in bold)
GK - Will Hewitt
RD - Jack Forster
CD - Chris Neguwa sub Hans Nielsson 69'
CD - Dan Weekes
LD - Oley Williams
RM - Olim Benzari
CM - Will Fich
CM - Fran Gracie sub Katie Womble 74'
LM - Tom Heeeh
ST - Dravid Scott (c)
ST - Chris Maarsden sub Marlon Vetta 57'

Halfway Stats (from 8 recorded matches)
Goals Scored
4 - Dravid Scott
3 - Will Fich
2 - Chris Maarsden
2 - Marlon Vetta
1 - Fran Gracie
1 - Tom Heeeh
1 - Olim Benzari
1 - Dan Weekes
1 - Jack Forster

[Super-Llamaland]

Group 6
Carmadin 2–3 Darmen
Pacificius 0–2 Jeruselem
Velkomorave 2–4 Jedi8246
Cuboneland 2–0 Kericia
Super-Llamaland 4–1 Powersith
CODE: SELECT ALL
Group 6 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Darmen 9 6 1 2 29 20 +9 19
2 Jeruselem 9 5 3 1 17 10 +7 18
3 Super-Llamaland 9 6 0 3 25 18 +7 18
4 Jedi8246 9 5 2 2 21 18 +3 17
5 Carmadin 9 5 0 4 25 15 +10 15
6 Cuboneland 9 4 2 3 16 17 −1 14
Powersith 9 4 2 3 15 16 −1 14
8 Velkomorave 9 2 1 6 12 23 −11 7
9 Kericia 9 1 1 7 2 16 −14 4
10 Pacificius 9 1 0 8 11 20 −9 3

After a 3-2 upset versus Carmadin, Darmen found itself in the lead by a point over persuing Jersuelem and Super-Llamaland. Two points behind is Jedi8246, Carmadin and Cuboneland at 4 and 5 points back apiece are still fighting. Velkomorave, Kericia, and Pacificius lag behind.

But this isn't about Darmen, this is about Super-Llamaland, 4-1 victors against Powersith. Trevor Duncan did not score but was still dominant with three assists. On the other hand, Blake Bennett and Chris Chapman rallied the team from a 1-0 deficit midway through the second half, leading the annoyed and weakened Llamas to victory. Chapman destroyed the Powersith defense in minute sixty-three to tie the game at one apiece. Powersith countered by blowing through the weak Llama defense many, many times, but Blake Bennett made a series of amazing saves to keep Powersith frustrated, even saving two PKs in the second half alone!

Trevor Duncan stepped in by assisting Chapman to another goal in minute eighty-one to make it 2-1. He made an amazing pass to Johnny Rushmore in minute eighty-six, and soon afterwards it was 3-1. An easy pass to wide-open Bobby Crosby in stoppage time wrapped up the great "comeback".

Manager Bryan Ferguson: "We're still in this...the fight continues for group six, but I'm confident." An poll among Super-Llamaland for who would win Group Six showed this: (figures may not add up due to rounding)

Jeruselem 20%
Darmen 19%
Super-Llamaland 16%
Carmadin 15%
Jedi8246 15%
Cuboneland 12%
Powersith 6%
Kericia 2%
Velkomorave 2%
Pacificius 1%

A match against easy Kericia is next. The Llamas are expected to blow by weak Kericia. Powersith v. Darmen is an interesting game to watch elsewhere in the group, with Darmen favored.

[Chunnan]

OOC: The brothers Jeremy and Gerald return, this time in the Chun City stadium to watch the game. It's after the game and the brothers are walking to the car. Once they're done talking, they hear gun fire.

Jeremy: Am I imagining this?

Gerald: Are we really that drunk, or is what I saw true?

Jeremy: No way, Chunnan, losing every game except for one tie, winning 5-1?

Gerald: Lemme take out my Sunsoon Universe, I'll check the scores. NO WAY!

Jeremy: What?

Gerald: The 57ers wo...

Jeremy: I DON'T CARE ABOUT FOOTBALL, GIVE ME THE SCORES!!

Gerald: Ok, it says, Chunnan won 5-1, and I remembered, we didn't drink anything!!

Jeremy: Wow, we actually won!!!

Gerald: Then the goals, I remember them so clearly!! Yoseph Goasla really did score a hat trick!!

Jeremy: Wow, a header, a huge run followed by a chip, and a penalty!!!

Gerald: And Zim Link's amazing 3 way jukeage. That was amazing. The best part was, they only had one goal!!!

Jeremy: Do we still have hope left?

Gerald: Probably not, but we could still dream.

*Gun fire sounds followed by screaming!!*

Jeremy: What the hell is going on!!??

Gerald: I don't care, GET IN THE CAR! I'm outta here!!

Jeremy: At least lemme check my phone to see if they're saying anything.

Gerald: No way they'll spread the news that fa...

Jeremy: SHUT UP!! The news says, Yoseph Goasla shot in his car!

Gerald: Those death threats came true!!

*Police and ambulance sirens can be heard everywhere*

Jeremy: Cmon man, let's leave before we get shot.