World Cup 64 RP Thread

[Andossa Se Mitrin Vega]

It was nearing midnight as the plane reached cruising altitude and set a course for Errion Vega. Despite the constant travel that the squad had been forced to endure during training this had been a brutal road trip fir the Sea Dragons. Following a schedule presumably put together by some former Dancougar intern, the sqaud had flown to Cyborg Holland in the Esportiva Region. And then just as they had made themselves comfortable the news came in that they would have to return to the plane and journey to far off Alliance of Armed Nations where they would face Levivania, So much for getting acclimated.

Just so everyone knows, Esportiva and Alliance of Armed Nations are nowhere close to each other and the Sea Dragons had been forced to cross the entirety of the Pacific as well as most of the West Pacific. So much for comfort and rest before the match.

The Sea Dragons arrived in Levivania a tired and grumpy bunch with just six hours to get ready to play. And despite the fact that ir was some underling in Wight that needed thrashing it was the home side that paid the price as the Sea Dragons played a violent and bruising match. The home side never managed to get things together as they were dismantled 2-0.

And now for the trip home. Where the Sea Dragons can rest before facing Kerblaeistan.

[The Inevitable Syndicate]

Tyrants 2 - 5 The Inevitable Syndicate
Unknown 17' , Unknown 55' / Mitchell 24', 64', 87' , Pratt 9', 36'
The Syndicate got off to a lightning start in the World Cup 64, pulling off an impressive 5-2 victory against Tyrants. Pratt started off strong, scoring after a fantastic cross from Mitchell that really hit the weak points in the Tyrants defence. While the team had many shots on target, only two of them really collided after a corner in the 17^th, and a free kick down our end in the 55^th. Mitchell was also on fire, scoring two solid goals and even managing to tease another one out of the Tyrants, just three minutes before extra time in the second half. Overall, a fantastic start to what should be a fantastic cup. The pressure is on for the next game against Mytannion.

Chapter i. Negotiations

An Inconceivable Truth
A Story of Syndicatian Climate Change

---

Chapter ii. Raiders Of A Lost Art

Andrew couldn't believe this. Here he was, losing his mind in a debate, when some mad woman with a hat came in and started blurting about magic. It must be a dream, he thought, Dr. Bones continued with her speech.

“So, as we can see, the reaches of the Great Calanian Desert currently stretch to here,” Dr. Bones pointed at an area just past the Mertagne Mountain range, the great divisor between the Syndicate and other countries such as Ibex. “However, their effects are are more widespead, with areas such as Pinehearth being turned to slush. Now, how many of you know about ancient Ahlenfi culture?”

Nobody in the forum said a word, coughed, or raised a hand. While Syndicatians were normally rather smart folk, foreign history of countries that required to you to literally dig for reference material weren't a strong point. Ariana continued.

“Well, in ancient times, it has been rumoured that the only reason that the people prospered so much was that they had access to an ancient device, given to them as a gift from The Dreamed Realm – Probably the Holy Empire.”

“The Who?” a young MP shouted.

“You've not heard of the Dreamed Realm? Well, you need to brush up on your Geography. I'll keep it brief – the Dreamed Realm is a realm dreamed up by Monks. The Holy Empire is just that – An empire, in the Dreamed Realm. Sometimes they come into contact with the real world, mostly to play football. Anyway, many years ago, the Ahlenfi people were given this device.”

Andrew raised a hand. These negotiations were just as boring as normal. “But what does the device do?!”

Dr. Bones shot him a dirty look. “I'm just getting to that. Anyway, this device could control the weather, so it enabled the people to have good crops and enough food to trade. That way, they didn't have to expand to find a river. They could live peacefully in the desert.”

“And you think it's being used now, just to make it absurdly sunny?”

“No, Administrator. I'm thinking if we can find it, we can change things back to how they used to be. So, I need a team. A team willing to venture into the desert, try and find this machine, and bring it back to the Syndicate. Are you in?”

The entire Forum all looked at each other in disbelief. It was an absurd proposition. But also, it was a time of crisis. If the current trends continued, within three months, Nostromo would be a pond and Pinehearth would be barren.

Stephen Jones, head Moderator, stood up, and spoke for the first time in a while. “I've always wanted to go on a dig. I'm in!”

[Vilita and Turori]

It all comes down to this.

After being thrust onto the International stage during World Cup 13 Qualifying, posting just 8 goals in 18 games and being shut out 14 times, the Vilita Jungle Cats quickly became one of the multiverse's most feared competition. After winning the Cup of Tardy for World Cup 13 and Cup of Harmony for World Cup 14 the Jungle Cats made the World Cup for the first time during World Cup 15.

The Jungle Cats appearance, however, was not the only thing happening in the Vilitan Cove during World Cup 15. Vilita's neighbor and former colonial territory, the Island Emirate of Turori, tossed their hat into the ring.

With a much more successful debut than the Jungle Cats, the Turori Eels were crowned champion of the Pre-World Cup 15 Baptism of Fire Cup - a claim that they will forever have over their larger, more decorated foes.

While Vilita did not perform particularly well during World Cup 15 they returned during World Cup 16 before getting a free pass to the World Cup 17 finals due to being the hosts.

For Vilita, it was the first World Cup hosted on their shores, and first to be held in Atlantian Oceania. For Turori, it was a chance to make a statement, and statement was made and received when the Island Emirate qualified for the World Cup Finals in just their third attempt, equaling the mark previously set by the Vilitans.

Not to be out done there, just like Vilita, Turori bid for and won the rights to hosting the World Cup in just their 5th venture into the World sporting foray.

Up until this point the two nations were inseparable statistically, but for a 2-cup shift in their historical timelines.

Both Vilita & Turori qualified for the World Cup in just their third attempt. Both Vilita & Turori won the rights to host the World Cup Finals in their 5th entry. While Vilita had won the Cup of Harmony, Turori won the Baptism of Fire Cup, a tournament the Jungle Cats hadn't had the opportunity to enter.

The parity, and both nations sporting fate, took a sharp turn in Starblaydia & Druida.

Riding the boots of Banda, the Vilita Jungle Cats stormed to the top of the sporting world. After upsetting their way to the World Cup Final and bringing millions of Vilitan supporters with them to Druida, the Jungle Cats found themselves in what seemed a difficult match at the time. Audioslavia. As history would see it, the match was already a guaranteed victory for the Vilitans, but they didn't know it at the time. Not until Turori-born Tanner Nerni scored the goal for the Jungle Cats that brought World Cup glory to the Vilitan Cove.

The Eels on the other hand, could not get past the Quarter Finals. A painstaking time where the Eels were a top 5 nation in the World due to consistency - far more consistency and high performing than the Vilitans. They were missing one thing though, the World Cup Trophy. As Vilita crashed out in the early rounds, and even failed to qualify for World Cup 28, Turori continued plucking away making 5, 6, 7, 8 Quarter Finals appearances but never advancing further. Constantly outperforming Vilita, but there was no response. "Wheres your World Cup?" was a constant chant from the Vilitans the only time they square off against Turori in competition, during the 30th Cup of Harmony. The Eels had no reply. A bunch of quarter finals appearances - more than the Vilitans. A couple of Cups of Harmony - more than Vilita. A Baptism of Fire Cup trophy - something Vilita would never - could never have.

In almost every way imaginable, The Eels out performed their Vilitan counterparts. But nobody ever knew it. Not with the World Cup 20 replica staring at every visitor, every fan, every dignitary that walked down the streets of Alikki-Corra, turned at the Tivali Ring Stadium and saw the ultimate sporting prize - the one Turori could not grasp.

The rivalry between the nations became one purely sibling in nature. Big Brother - Vilita, the older, bigger nation - they had their hand on the prize. No matter how many times they faltered - how many times they underperformed, all the Vilitans had to do was hold one hand high in the air with the World Cup Trophy, and the other hand, flat down on the forehead of little brother Turori who is flailing their arms reaching for the trophy with all their might but never able to get so much as a finger on it.

There was no hatred. No competitive zeal. Despite the proximity, the jealousy, the braggery - the sibling rivalry grew more and more into a social rivalry. The nations were rivals because they were told to be. Not because they were actually rivals on the field. How could they be?

Not once had the Vilita Jungle Cats and the Turori Eels taken the field against each other in a competitive match.

In fact, they even started to join forces. To strengthen their regional squad, Vilita & Turori united on a Regional Level for the AOCAF championships, a curious but fruitful move that resulted in a pair of regional titles for the entity known as the Eel-Cat Things. But there were always two sides of the locker room. The Vilitan side and the Turorian side. The players, the fans, the two nations - they always knew they were supposed to be rivals. They just never had a chance to show it.

Not directly, at least...


After nearly 1000 World Cup Qualifying and Finals matches contested against nations other than each other, the Vilita Jungle Cats and Turori Eels were drawn together in the Group Stage of Qualifying for the 64th World Cup in Wight and New Montreal States. Construction quickly commenced on new terraces at the nation's biggest stadiums to accommodate what was expected to be unprecedented demand for tickets for... an unprecedented sporting event in the Vilitan Cove.

While the Vilitan Cove duo will be contesting matches against 8 other nations throughout the qualifiers in group 14, only two matches will really matter to any of the fans. In fact, with the exception of Atlantian Oceania regionmates Svengarda and Cosumar, it is unlikely that many fans will have any familiarity with the Group 14 opposition.

All eyes will truly be focused on the Round 4 tilt between the two friendly neighbors with, perhaps, a not so friendly future ahead of them. Such an important rivalry wouldn't have been possible, however, if it hadn't gotten a few sparks of animosity to keep it alive through the years...

...to be continued...

[Mapletish]

The usage of Player with their respective jersey numbers will be use for Gyatso-kai's players instead of using their previous roster.

The Football Kaki, Objetivo: Copa del Mundo
Matchday One: Gyatso-kai 2–3 Mapletish

John Smiths, Your Football Kaki

---

The Stadium of the Republics was the venue of the Lions and Ice Bisons' clash, it was a venue of deep memory for many of the Fireykop as it was the place that had the Lions beat their rivals, the Bisons back in the previous trip to the stadium. This was a sweet revenge for the Lions there as they keep one back from their previous meeting in which the Lions failed to achieve three points the last time out.

The Lions completely dominated the first half and was good value for its 2-0 lead at the break, courtesy of Junio and Di Natile. Such a prediction was not present in many of the bookmarkers' sites around Mapletish, the most common result in those sites showed that the Lions will be trailing the Bisons 1-0 at half time and eventually lose 3-1 by the final whistle.

The match spiced up a little after the half time as Mr Manager tried to fire up his team in the dressing rooms as the Bisons catch two back to back goals to catch up with the Lions. However, Junio sealed the end to the action packed second half with a calm composure to make the score 3-2.

It was breathless, ridiculous and sometimes unpredictable football here as demonstrated once again why there is no alternative or a substitute to the World Cup. Lots of drama involved here as football played the centre role on the stage.

The Lions were surprising dominant in the first half of the game as they started to carve out a series of chances through luck or plain teamwork, for that I'm not too sure but it was a commendable effort against a formidable opponent. The match saw its first chance as Gosta Esbjörn's vision put the Lions on the run as his smooth through pass put the on running Di Ai Jing straight on goal, however she was unable to convert her chances well as it slipped wide.

Whatever the masses might think about Janette's female dominant squad, she was trying to prove all critics wrong that a team dominated by females are capable of putting on a tight performance that is worthy of some special mention. His confident manner of how she carried her team forward set about their evening's work right on track.

Minutes after their first pain stricken chance, the Lions were able to put on another chance. This time round it led to a goal for the Lions. The Lions kept the ball for a minute and a half before Mei Kei break forward from her post into the left berth. Lingering outside of the box dangerously, she put a pass through to Junio in the box. Junio surged forward with tight space and attempting a shot from his position. His shot was no better than reasonable but a deflection off Player 2's hand wrong footed Player 1 and put the visitors a goal up.

It was a neat opening on the Lions here as they now have a lot of pressure off themselves. This really can be seen from the relaxation of play as the tense atmosphere settled down. A Jessie and Esbjörn controlled midfield play was seen as more stable against Player 8 and 10's combination with sharper and more confident passes.

After 21 minutes, Jessie was given the chance to help the Lions double their lead and put her team in rare territory of being favourites of winning their match. The defensive midfielder was unmarked in the box when Esbjörn fire a free kick from the right flank but Jessie but couldn’t get over the ball and sent her header over the bar.

Ten minutes later, the Lions got the second goal that their adventure and precision merited. It came from another electric counterattack, led inevitably by the excellent Ai Jing from the middle of her engine room.

In an attempt to recoup what seen to be a wasteful first time chance for the Lions, she tapped a neat pass to Di Natile in the middle, who left Player 4 trailing in his wake with almost embarrassing ease as he zoomed into the penalty box. On his less favoured left foot, a goal was far from certain but the all rounder footed his finish emphatically across Player 1 and running off to celebrate the first goal scored by Mapletish.

Janette applauded the effort of her team as she pat every player on their shoulders as they walked back into the dressing rooms. By contrast, the growling presence of Mr Manager in another dugout left you almost fearful and curious of what treatment he was going to dish out to his players at half time. He was seen busy jotting down notes on his notebook just before the half time whistle was sounded, seem to be more like a script of what he was going to say.

Mr Manager's response was plain simple as he dished out his criticism of the match and all of the weaknesses of his team. He made a few tactical changes as he hauled off an almost anonymous Player 9 on the pitch and bring on Player 11 which seem to be more energetic then his counterpart who didn't even ventured far into the opponent's penalty box.

The change made immediate effects, Player 11's brilliant cross from the right was tapped in by Player 17 six minutes after the break to herald a crazy spell of three goals in three minutes. Was it defensive errors from both sides or was it a turning point of the match? It was more than obvious that it is more of a turning point for either side to take notice of that.

A minute later Player 11 put the Bisons' on equal score with the Lions. The forward smashed in the rebound after Sapphire parried a Player 10 first time shot following an exciting reverse pass from Player 8 that wrong footed Vivian.

The Lions fought back to bring the score line to their favour in sixty seconds. A brilliant pass from Ai Jing put Junio through on goal and with the least amount of fuss possible, Junio chipped the ball past Player 1 to make the score 3-2 to ensure complete superiority for the Lions.

By now, the Bisons had a head of steam as they started to pass around in an attempt to open up the Lions' tight defences but to no avail. The desperation of looking for the deciding equaliser for the Bisons meant that the Lions were able to cushion every desperate move on the run. This gave rise to sudden counterattacks by Junio and Co as he led the Lions forward, a 30 yard attempt after an attractive counterattacking play saw the ball rocked the bar and cracks started to form.

In the 70th minute, Junio had a goal disallowed and then six minutes later, as the Lions failed to replicate a repeat of a 5-2 victory back then. However the scoreline was good enough to earn the Lions a victory in their opening night of their WC 64 qualifying campaign. This also marked the Lions' rare first win in their opening match of any WC qualifying campaign.

[Slembana]

DBK Sports - Football - Stachland 1-4 Slembana

Written by Temi Temi Dagens

Our first game in World Cup 64 qualifying has ended perfectly, as we have beaten Stachland 4-1 away from home. The Stachlanders are currently ranked 33 places below us in the KPB rankings, in 118th. This win gives us a lot to be proud of.

Stachland had the first major chance of the game, with two minutes of the game gone. Their playmaker played an excellent ball down to their star striker. Their star striker zipped past our captain, Don Adobe, twisting inside him, before shooting just wide of the post from 15 yards out. Our goalkeeper, Kevin Banks, was well beaten by the shot. Stachland's fans clapped the player for his efforts, as it was nearly a great goal.

Five minutes later, Stachland's other striker lost the ball to Hank Bowles. Bowles passed the ball into Follin Maxet, our defensive midfielder, who sped down the field, and passed the ball to our veteran right-winger, Finlay Yalnif. Yalnif sped past the Stachlandian left-back, before curling a great, spinning cross into the box. Val Kylx, our star striker, powered his head towards the ball. However, the ball was palmed away by the Stachlandian goalie. Despite the fact that we had failed to score, it was still a promising sign for us.

We had three more good chances in the five minutes following Kylx's miss: a Jyvx Dagens free-kick that hit the crossbar, a Toby Valfox drive that hit the post, and a great chip from Harry "Komodo" Young. However, in the 14th minute, Stachland opened the scoring, when their star striker lifted a lob over Banks to make it 1-0 to the hosts. This goal stunned us, as we had been the better side up until that point.

Stachland almost went 2-0 up in the 19th minute, only for their central midfielder to see a great header saved by Banks. We took the ball up the other end, and almost equalised, but Valfox's volley hit the crossbar and rebounded back into play. However, this was encouraging for us.

In the 23rd minute, Kylx received a great pass from Dagens. Kylx sped down the field, but a Stachlandian defender brought him down just outside the area. The referee gave us a free-kick. The free-kick was in perfect Dagens territory. The 27 year-old stepped up to take the set piece - and scored, giving the keeper no chance. This was an excellent goal, and it put us on level terms.

Stachland tried desperately to restore their lead. Their attacking players bombarded our goal with a plethora of shots, testing Banks to the maximum. Banks was a very busy man - he had to keep shots out almost every minute. One of his best saves was when he palmed away a volley that was just about to cross the line. This was in the 37th minute. Despite all the chances Stachland had, we went into half-time level.

Stachland continued their dominance into the start of the second half. Their star striker saw a drilled shot go just wide, their playmaker chipped over the bar, and their right-back hit the post with a great cross-cum-shot. However, in the 56th minute, we took the lead. The scorer was defender Dennis Valfern, whose 40-yard screamer hit the crossbar and went in.

Despite the fact that we were dominating, Stachland were still in the game. Their centre-back fired over from 18 yards, their other striker tested Banks, and their central midfielder saw a 35-yard shot hit the post. However, in the 64th minute, we went 3-1 up. Our scorer was Kylx, who slotted home a penalty. This was awarded for a foul on Young.

After our third goal, Stachland had no more major chances. And, in the 86th minute, we well and truly put the game to bed. Substitute striker Jordan Valfox scored, nodding a Yuppë Tárnix cross past the goalie to make it 4-1.

Man of the match: Kevin Banks - 9/10

[Apox]

An Adventure in Old Guard - Part Two

Dravid Scott and Jon Quillisi sat in the Auld Shipman Inn in the centre of Oldem, sipping their pints and chatting about various things, they had happily stumbled upon each other when wandering on a boring, muggy afternoon. They had wandered into the Auld Shipman, a pub Jon had begun to frequent in his time here, and settled down quickly, after exchanging a couple of words with Jasper the Zealous, the owner of the pub.

After around 20 minutes, they noticed Clement Ashley as he arrived, clearly bored out of his mind and also having a wander. He plonked himself down at the bar and after ordering a glass of Get it Down Yer from the bar, turned to his notepad, having only the briefest of glimpses around. Jon looked at him, before whispering to Dravid;

"Isn't that the crazy journo guy who was sacked for suggesting people from Mona don't have souls or something?" he said quietly, staring at Clement as surreptitiously as possible. Dravid wasn't the most subtle person in the world however, and he rapidly and very obviously turned around to look at Clement. This caught Clement's attention, and he squinted across the room at them in the low light. After recognising them, he smiled a broad grin and picked up his notepad and pint and walked over to join them.

"Cheers Drav," was all Jon had to say, as Clement sat down next to them,

"Alright gents, what bring's you to this piece of shit we lovingly call Old Guard?" he said, taking off his journalistic questioning voice for a second.

"Meh, not like old Apox, though I'll get used to it for a moment," said Dravid, even though he clearly didn't want to be here.

"Fair, it's not great for me either, being out of work and all that now," replied Clement. A short awkward silence followed, before they all succumbed and talked about what they knew best, football.

"What do you think of our qualifying group then?" asked Jon, as Clement eyes lit up, clearly pleased to have something which he was knowledgeable on to talk about.

"Well it's alright, Mytannion is quite a good top seed to be drawn, which means that theoretically we should have quite a good chance of progressing. Western cuba are a solid side, although we are now ranked better than them which shows their stagnation, as they've only improved 3 places since we last played them back in World Cup 61, and The Inevitable Syndicate are a good young side that will go out with a lot to prove."

"Spoken like a true journo," Dravid smiled, "And what of the others?"

"Meh, I haven't heard of most of them, and the one's I have aren't real threats. Not that we can keep our guard down, we can't afford to have lots of draws like last time, which really cost us." He looked up, and they could tell he'd be itching to preach a bit of football to someone after losing his job.

"And what of the match on Saturday?" asked Jon.

"What the one against Lacus Magni?"

"The same."

"Well, Lacus Magni didn't really show up, which is what you'd expect from a relatively unknown and untested side, although the 1-0 scoreline makes it look a lot closer than it was. Bit worrying our inability to score, after we've lost you Drav," he said, as Dravid blushed a little. "However, Chris got their in the end and what a shot it was! But not a lot to say really."

"Fair enough, although I thought that the new guys played quite well, especially Jack Moses."

"Well yes, he's not a fully refined player yet, but he's got lots of promise, as do Hans Nielsson, Oley Williams and Fred Barnett." CLement glanced down at his watch, "SHIT! I said I'd meet my agent 10 minutes ago, I apologise, but I really have to run, I'll see you later!" he said, already getting up and going to the door. After he left Jon and Dravid exchanged glances,

"He needs a job, he's good." muttered Dravid, secretly glad that he didn't have to worry about journalists as much any more now he was retired.

"I think I have an idea..." said Jon, as he got up, and motioned for Dravid to follow.

Team Ratings
Will Hewitt - 7
Jack Forster - 6
Dan Weekes - 6
Fronden Abel - 5
Jennie Scott - 6
Olim Benzari - 7
Will Fich - 7
Katie Womble - 6
Fran Gracie - 6
Keri Ularu - 7
Chris Maarsden - 8
Substitutions
Tom Olfa on for Keri Ularu 64' - 6
Fari Y on for Fran Graice 68' - 5
Goalscorers
Chris Maarsden 51'

[Darmen]

Mother told us there would be days like this, but we never thought they'd be this bad
WCC publishes wrong fixture list, Dancougarian Interns to blame

When millions of All Green's fans tuned into DBC to watch the opening match of Darmen's World Cup Qualifying, they were stunned to see the All Greens lining up against Farfadillis, and not Islo Aiz ens Islo Dorne. "I was already to watch the All Greens coast to an opening win, and instead I had to watch a boring 2-2 draw," said one angry fan after the game, as part of a small group of protesters outside of the Darmeni Soccer Federation offices in Scott City. Another fan said, "The DSF must've known where they were going, they showed up in Farfadillis on time. Yet they didn't have the common decency to let us, their loyal fans, know that the schedule was all messed up? IS OUTRAGE!"

The Darmeni Soccer Federation blamed the WCC for the incident. In turn, it is reported that the WCC blamed several of its interns, most of whom hail from Dancougar, for the mix up. "We apologize to the fans, and have update our website with the correct schedule," said DSF President Georges Thomas, who will be stepping down as President following this World Cup cycle. "Several major newspapers will also be printing the correct schedules in tomorrow mornings editions."

Meanwhile, in Farfadillis, Darmen managed a 2-2 draw, as Bryan Faulkner and Gene Turko scored superb goals, both coming in the first half. But the match was otherwise boring, as both teams struggled to put together long periods of possession. "It was a defensive battle for sure," said Manager William St. John de la Ware. "But it's a good result, especially after our 2-0 loss to Ko-oren."

In other group action, 19th Century Beards and Warkus defeated East Shippensburg and Islo Aiz ens Islo Dorne respectively, both by the score of 2-0. Valladares suffered a humiliating draw with unranked Altiplane, 2-2 (see maybe you don't deserve the Westlands), while Birolika defeated Darmen's next opponent, Deadmans, 5-3.

"I think the other results in the group went our way," said de la Ware, "the Valladares draw was a bit surprising, but we're all glad it happened." Darmen's next game will be tonight at Aris Field in Eau Claire, with kickoff at 3:00p.m. Darmeni Standard Time.

[Blouman Empire]

THE EMPIRE TIMES

SMALL CHANGES TO SQUAD

Sir Nathan Kolson has made a number of changes to the Blouman International Football team as he leads his team for his second tilt towards qualifying for the World Cup. At a team announcement held at FFB Headquarters Sir Nathan showcased the 21 players he has selected to bring footballing glory to Bloumany.

Despite the team’s poor performance at the last AOCAF Cup Sir Nathan has failed to make significant changes to the squad instead preferring to recycle older players and bring in a small number of young talent citing performance, stability and experience as the key measures to select the best team to help Bloumany continue their quest for World Cup greatness. The biggest player to be dropped from the squad was former Captain Johnathon Briggs-Way. Johnathon played a total of 66 games for the squad scoring a total of 9 goals and lead the team through two World Cup qualifications and Cup of Harmony tournaments. Sir Nathan commented on the dedication and leadership shown by Johnathon and thanked him for his service. In his place Liam Dellape has been reinstated as the team’s top central defender. Dellape is no stranger to international football having played the Empire’s first 40 games since their reinstatement in the WCC and despite still being on the squad was never placed on the field by Sir Nathan. During the team announcement Sir Nathan backed bringing Dellape back to a starting role pointing out his improved performance at his Braxon City during the current season. The other big name to fall was William Goodfellow, like Briggs-Way Goodfellow had also been a starter since the begging as a striker Goodfellow scored 14 goals in his 66 games and helped to assist countless more for the Empire. It is believed Goodfellow’s dismal performance furing AOCAF 39 and his failure to score a goal in half a season at his club was the main reason for the teams drop. Sir Keith has decided to bring in young gun Kane Harrison. Kane Harrison whom is still riding off a high after winning the Di Bradini Cup where he scored 9 goals from 7 games has continued his good performance at his club scoring an impressive 12 goals from 15 games. Sir Keith was full of praise of Harrison and stating that the Empire will have a powerful forward duo with both Harrison and Baden Lakes teaming up. Sir Keith has also decided to bring in two other players from the Empire’s U21 team with Steve Mallard being selected though is expected to start on the bench for most games and Milton Tuneson taking over the number 1 reserve goalkeeper spot from outgoing Ian Farkus.

Sir Nathan has decided to keep Baden Lakes as Captain commenting that Lakes “Has been a strong Captain always leading from the front and someone the entire team looks up to for guidance”. Sir Nathan has decided to make Hamish Alpin as Vice Captain for the qualifiers; Alpin captained the U21 side and winning the Di Bradini Cup in the process despite having only player 11 games for the team he is confident that he will be able to draw on his “many experiences both good and bad”.

Some commentators have questioned the lack of changes to the squad pointing out the lack of a win at the 39th AOCAF proving that the team is getting old and tired. Channel 8 commentator Jason Dunstan stated “We still have four of the original squad in the team; there are still better players out there Kovarch and Dellape need to be given the boot to make way for the better midfielders. It will be in that section of the field where the team is going to lose the game”. A number of other commentators have praised Sir Keith’s “Tiny steps” strategy stating that changing too many players at once diminishes teamwork, stability and experience all important aspects of any successful team.

Sir Keith spoke cautiously of the team chances in the upcoming qualifiers and their likelihood of progressing to the World Cup. “I think we are now in a position to challenge the top contenders to qualify but we still have a long road ahead of us, our competition has continued to improve also I can say that this year we will finish within the top half of the table this year”. The eyes of the Empire will now be on Sir Keith and his team to see if Sir Keith’s predictions come true.

[Paradystopia]

The night had been long and arduous. Being an illegal alien in the Commune was bad enough, but being an illegal alien who couldn't speak and all the time being hunted down by a deranged sociopath? Well, it's safe to say it wasn't Kharamhan's idea of fun. Having swum across the freezing cold Rhadvojeh River and arriving in the province of Nhmadia, he was hungry, tired and without a complete plan of action. There was also a good chance at least one of his ribs was broke.

Having recouperated slightly on the muddy bank of the river, he watched the glowing silhouette of Rhekia. Unfinished business existed in that town and now the World Cup had started. Shit.

He also wondered to himself whether Paradystopia had won or not.

Dragging himself to his feet, he began to trek into the wild plains of Nhmadia. The homing beacon was still in the lining of his pocket and had been overlooked by his captor. At least that was some good news. Whether it could be used as a weapon should he stumble upon a horde of the lawless nomads who lived here was a thought he quickly suppressed. He continued to walk due east, until Rhekia disappeared.

After an hour or so, he pressed the button on the small device in his pocket. Hopefully, a helicopter should rendevouz with him and get him safely to Paradystopia. At least, that was the plan and things hadn't gone to plan thus far and why should they change?

Thankfully, the helicopter arrived and Kharamhan had practically clambered aboard before it had even landed. Strapping himself into the seat, he looked up. Dultsabjr?! This just got better and better ...

"Kharamhan. I trust the mission was successful?"

Kharamhan shook his head

"What?!"

Tarquihn Dultsabjr found himself on the receiving end of a truly sour look. Sometimes he overlooked Kharamhan's disability to an exasperating degree and showed no interest in learning any form of sign language. Dutifully however, he garnished Kharamhan with a notepad and pencil. It didn't take long to express the severity of the situation though.

he knows

"What? No ... he can't ... Everything?"

Kharamhan added another word

he knows enough

"How much does he know!"

he knows enough
I'm mute. Not psychic

"You're also the best man for this sort of job. So you'll forgive me for not being impressed at your failings! Do you fail to see the importance Kharamhan?! The Paradystopi team will be leaving Cyborg Holland at some point soon."

I'm mute. Not psychic
who won?

"Paradystopia surprisingly. One-nil. That Morgana woman scored. 20-somethingth minute. Anyway, we have work to do."

who won?
wooooooo

"Sarcastic bastard when you want to be aren't you?"

---

---

"Kharamhan knows, which means Dultsabjr probably does too now. Yes Ma'am, I understand. No Ma'am, we aren't yet ready to carry out the mission. I apologise Ma'am. 48 hours Ma'am. Yes, I will make that 24. I understand, Ma'am. Yes Ma'am. Ma'am, what should we do should I catch Kharamhan or Dultsabjr sniffing around again? Yes Ma'am, I understand, like an accident Ma'am. Yes Ma'am. K03 over and out."

[Alexanderburn]

The front headlines of the newspapers in Alexanderburn?

Mass murder in shopping centre kills three

The announcement sent shockwaves across the nation, even more deadly than those of the national team's loss against Bears Armed. Coach William Kingsley had the following message to the country and other audiences after the match:

Right now, all that matters is being by the families of those affected by this horrific tragedy. This incident clearly highlights the fact that our nation needs to adopt even more intense gun control laws that the Conservative Party so adamantly opposes. I sincerely hope that this deadly rampage shows the MPs what truly matters in our society.

Meanwhile, the ANFT suffered an expected defeat to a superior team led by Darrarlha o GoodSword, losing the match 3-0 against the seventh best team in the championship.

"Frankly, we were not prepared for this game, and the shootings that occurred in suburban Baychester made matters simply worse," noted captain Marcel Schroeder. "In fact, we nearly forfeited the game prior to its commencement, but we felt that it was important to keep the spirit of Alexanderburn alive somehow. Overall, we did see one of the most talented teams perform with outstanding players in an extraordinary match. It was an astonishing game to both watch and play in, and the agility of the BAAS was breathtaking."

The game featured goals by Thyrra Darma’s-darthhrr (10') and Sarrathrie Sevens (28'; 59'). Despite the sadness that is being felt throughout the nation, it has been agreed that the ANFT must continue its attempt at qualifying for its first ever WC, as it came close in the WC60 but ultimately had to reject an invitation to play in the Cup of Harmony. Tonight's game will take place against Ancharmunn, a team that according to the assistant coach, "should be manageable to defeat" as a result of Alexanderburn's outstanding record in the previous World Cup. The roster is featured below:

STARTING LINE-UP (Alexanderburn @ Ancharmunn)

-------------------- van der Pol ---- Cremonesi -------------------
------ Frederiksen -------- Schroeder -------- Austerlitz ------
-------------------- Holierhoek --------- Collett -------------------
--------- Rittenhouse ------- Hooper ------- Doyle ---------
----------------------------- Nordaglio ------------------------------

Modification: +0.5

[Ko-oren]

Days later, here they still were. Still in the control center overlooking the 250 engines that would push Ko-oren to a different region. In just a matter of minutes, they would cross the imaginary border over international waters between 10000 Islands and Atlantian Oceania, and while everything was going as planned (which means that everything is going exactly 100% right... Ko-orenite planning. You gotta love it), they were still nervous. But of course, once the nation crosses the border, they are still not done yet. Then only a third of the journey is finished, and another third is getting more or less to the place that the country will from that point on call home, and the last third of the journey is boringly pinpointing the area, and anchoring the archipelago to the sea floor again. All 250 LEDs, representing all 250 engines on the west coast that have been pushing the country through the sea for the past three days, were still green. Not one has been orange - or god forbid, red - until so far. One engine's engineer called in that they would need fuel soon, or else they would go out of service. But within the hour the were restocked.

"Thirty seconds from now, we will be official Atlantian Oceanians!"

"Yes!"

"Great!"

"Anything with the engines?"

"As I've been saying for days, if there had been anything going on with the engines, I would've told you already."

"Right. Now what?"

"I'll just turn on the radio. I mean, the border between two regions is just sea. I bet we will even forget that we pass it."

"Well... I think we just did. Congratulations so far!"

"Yay!"

"Fantastic!"

...

"Thank you for tuning into Ko-oren Radio 1, and we can say that at least half of the country is now officially in the new region already! It's four o'clock, which means it's time for our daily World Cup show. First things first, the national team match. Then, a little update on the schedule. Let's get started!

First game ended, 1-0 victory. On the telephone is Kran Gulusten, journalist for KSN. What can you say about the game?

"I'm happy with the result, firstly. Of course, as the U-20 have been forgetting, winning your first match means you don't have to sweat as much for the rest of the group stage. With 18 games, that effect fades out after four matches, but at least no-one will be able to take away this victory. Then again, the opponent has only played the Baptism of Fire. At one point, we should be proud we're their first real opponents, but there is nothing as disheartening as losing your first game. So congratulations on the first game, sorry for the first loss, and good luck for the rest of the stage to Bearded Moose."

"Anything on the match itself?"

"Sure. One thing: it's really hard to write things while standing. Their small stadium meant that only a few people had actual seats, and journalists and the rest of the supporters - only 4500 in total, I heard - had to stand the entire time. I might not recall all of the names correctly, but I'll try. Thank god the weather was okay, could you imagine if it were snowing? We've had our share of snow over the years of qualifying... But ah yes, the match itself. We thought it was already done with after a few minutes, you know how much we value our clean sheets. They got a penalty! Sergeyenko missed thankfully. A few minutes later, Shiribeshi - did you know this might be his last cycle? - scored the only goal of the game. The rest of the game was basically experimenting with tactics, especially defensive. That's one of the things you can do when you play a smaller team - that was almost collapsing under the pressure and the nerves of playing a first game - is trying things out. We started with 3 clear defenders, two defensive midfielders, three midfielders and two strikers, but that gradually was toned down to five defenders, three midfielders, one attacking midfielder and one striker. Just trying to keep possession for as long as possible. We've seen some good passes, but zero offensive intentions, unfortunately. The defense was good, but if you keep thinking one goal will get you there, wait till we play some of the tougher teams - especially Michael VII, Jedi8246 and Timfen, as they will be the teams that we have to get points from - I mean, we can't possibly think we can beat the Archregimancy on just any day - to make sure we end second - or third - - and we'll definitely lose some of these if we keep focusing on scoring one goal and running back for the rest of the game."

"Wow, that was some sentence. Could you do some alliteration next?"

"Sure. About what?"

"Well, let's move on to point two: the schedule."

"Ah, agendas. All already Atlantian actors' abnormal aberration allowed all associations adjusting appointments, awkwardly."

"Amazing. So what you're saying is that we first thought we had to play a few tough teams consecutively, but now we don't?"

"Well, we just face Timfen and Michael VII after another, but outside of that, it's pretty good. We do have all the lower ranked teams first, then all the higher ranked ones, unfortunately. But that's been like this since whenever."

"Thank you for your time. See you tomorrow at the next show!"

[Boring Paradise]

Group 7

Khytenna (#73)
Mangolana (#207)
Starblaydia (#6)
Shining Armour (#310)
Fulflood (#214)
Boring Paradise (#46)
Nova Cambria (#UR)
Vettrera (#119)
Swytlandre (#114)
Kiryu-shi (#22)

MD1: 1-0 Fulflood (A)
MD2: Kiryu-shi (A)
MD3: Nova Cambria (H)
MD4: Vettrera (A)
MD5: Swytlandre (H)
MD6: Khytenna (A)
MD7: Mangolana (H)
MD8: Starblaydia (A)
MD9: Shining Armour (H)

MD10: Fulflood (H)
MD11: Kiryu-shi (H)
MD12: Nova Cambria (A)
MD13: Vettrera (H)
MD14: Swytlandre (A)
MD15: Khytenna (H)
MD16: Mangolana (A)
MD17: Starblaydia (H)
MD18: Shining Armour (A)

World Cup Blog|Confusion Rises

I can't say much now as I don't have much time but here goes.

A week before the match against Fulflood. It was planned to be against Starblaydia but the Fixture Draw came out all wrong so the teams were against the wrong teams. This was lucky because this would have caused a humiliating defeat instead of a win. In other team news The youngsters, Raiyaan Malik, Sameer Jaklim and Hishaam Ali are now out of school which means they will be atteding the training sessions more often which also means they will be performing better in the next few years. The Paradisians have a lot to play for still as it has only been one match so far and seventeen more to go.

The Match was against Fulflood, Away and are ranked 214th which it seems to be a walk over. But it was not... Their goalie was not letting any goals past. Raiyaan Malik was not playing the match after he fell off a tree in the park near his house. He will be back for the game against
Kiryu-shi the second best team in our group. Saneer Jaklim was the main star in the game with lots of good attempts on goal, one went in after the 63rd minute. Fulflood had also been playing well when they got three shots on target out of the seven in the whole game. The next game against Kiryu-shi is going to be another away match for Boring Paradise. I will see you then for the match news.

Luke Homewood, Out.

[Zwangzug]

The Bassabook Baritone

Entr'acte?

A zenzicubic return

Maybe it's best to begin with the final score: 2-1. A soft finish from Yuuki Nakano let the hosting Zwangzug national football side cancel out the initial opener from the visiting Queer Poco el Mono Ara side in the first half, before Zwangzug seemed more confident in the second half, and Sally Ici-Holder came up with the winner.

It was not, by international standards, a well-played game on either side. The Pocoans were slight favorites, but didn't seem able to put much of an attack together after their initial goal. Zwangzug, for their part, were fortunate in getting on the board against the run of play. Ted Silla-Raty and Patricia Eliot were at first reluctant to push forward, and the hesitant defenders weren't giving them much freedom. Gradually, however, Antje Kurzmann-Tremme would help control possession when possible, giving Nakano a few chances though the Pocoan attack was still working hard. Kurzmann-Tremme did eventually pass ahead to Nakano, who broke through for the fluke equalizer.

After the half, however, Zwangzug came out much more strongly, be that due to the realization that the Poconese were beatable or the roars of the fans who'd made the trip up. If anything, the luck swung the other way in that the visitors were fortunate to only go down by one. The "X" midfield (itself a holdover from the history of the first national team) was content to pass back and forth for a while, tiring out the opponents, before Ici-Holder converted a pass from Silla-Raty. After that, it was back to the low passes, until full time was called by Salli Lorjken.

All told there was somewhat less hoopla, at least officially, than there might have been for such a long-awaited match. Partly it was due to the Pocoans not actually being expected in the Rackham Range, due to a bizarre scheduling fluke that was probably, deep down if not completely, Zwangzug's fault (collectively, don't ask how), and partly the fact that with a long eighteen-match schedule ahead, we can and really should put the emphasis on the future and not the past. Certainly, the weight of history was present enough for the players who took the field, to say nothing of those on the sidelines.

"Um, right," said an admittedly tired captain, Brett Chrowder, after the game, "we're doing that seventeen more times and we're the underdogs in all of them, so a win will be like--yeah. Okay. Uh. Obviously I'm delighted, the way we've all, uh, come together from different clubs already--but of course having the clubs, just at all, is--that is, it all feels amazing."

"I think we had them going," said Ici-Holder, "that second half, we were able to be more confident and eventually it showed. Obviously the home-field advantage was something amazing, I can't really imagine what this means to some of the fans."

Well, the fans had various reactions. "I think it's going to be really fun to watch this team," said Nora Betrace, of Outrive. "Just in terms of seeing what they'll grow into, already--well, first win, isn't it? But when it comes to strategies, they'll make their mark somehow."

Paul Klein, from Cham, was also pleased. "They seem to be working well together, already. I'd like to think the team can become more than the sum of its parts, though that's for now--I mean, who knows, maybe there are excellent players we'll get to see different facets of, at this international level. I'm just amazed I got to see this, as slow as it was for a while, just the atmosphere is so memorable." Another fan, when pressed for comment, seemed very confused and wanted to make predictions about the "Mi'ato derby," whatever that means.

Onwards and upwards? Not literally, and depending on the rest of the group probably not metaphorically either. No matter. From the moment Lorjken's whistle announced that the match had begun and the Zwangzug national team took its first steps in years, it seemed like the worst is over. In the best possible sense, we can say it's all downhill from here.

[Western cuba]

Las Palabras de Libertad

German American States 0-2 Western Cuba

Javier Andino

---

Football hooliganism, it's an ugly term. Yesterday's game was greatly executed by the Western Cuban side, but unfortunately it was overshadowed by its fans (well a certain group). During the days of the Republic, the Cuban Conquistadors were the largest supporters of Western Cuba. Numbering in the tens of thousands, the Conquistadors proved to be a dominant fan base during any Western Cuban game. Waving the national flag and singing national songs with pride, the Conquistadors also kept the game fun and clean for any side.

The Conquistadors are now gone, well for away games that is. And the government has now replaced them with the Red Army, an all Russano group that is paid by the government to travel to away games and to unfortunately cause the wrong side of hectic towards the other team. Literally wearing military uniforms, the Red Army offers an intimidating presence and scary one as well. But it's too carried away, and ruins the spirit of the sport and serves as an embarrassment to any citizen of Western Cuba.

Everything that the Red Army did yesterday besides singing the national anthem was just terrible and I wouldn't be surprised if other clubs decided to ban the Red Army from attending any more matches at there own stadia (I know I would). Ranging from throwing beer bottles to burning the flag of the Page, (who we're at war with) I just wanted to puke at everything the Red Army did. And come on, German American States, your authorities did nothing to stop these ruthless fans. Enough is enough when you have fans burning the flag of another country.

And I got to see a lot more than anyone that was watching the game on television was well. Fortunately I managed to secure a ticket being addressed as a journalist. I had to stay clear from the Red Army, (who would of probably beat me if they discovered my true identity), but I still had a good look at their actions. Seeing little children giving opponent fans rude gestures and screaming profanity at them was just shocking. And it's even more terrible to think that the government paid these fans to do so. The government needs to know that this is not helping Western Cuba in anyway, but is actually hurting its reputation. What happened to the days of the Cuban Conquistadors? The Red Army is just another reason why this current government is such a disaster.

But going any from the terrible affairs committed by the government, the national team actually played great yesterday and impressed. By half time the score was 2-0, and the Cubans were dominating the pitch in terms of possession and shots. The only reason the lead wasn't by a bigger margin was due to the spectacular display in goal by the German American States goalie.

Tito Moreno once more had a spectacular game, displaying to us the type of soccer he plays efficiently over at Pays de Croix. Scoring the only two goals in the game at the 22' and 35' mark, Moreno has already established himself as the biggest threat on the national team. But we can not give him credit without praising the entire team as well. Mostovoi and Kartashov feed the ball to Moreno throughout the entire first half, and the defense proved so dominant that from the press box it looked they didn't even break a sweat.

Tito Moreno battles with a German American States defender for the ball during last night's match in the first half

I also must praise Artem Mesyats's smart decision to pull Moreno and Mostovoi at the end of the half. The game had already been decided, and there was no need to risk the possibility of having his two best players to be injured. If Western Cuba goes on to have a solid qualifying campaign, Artem will be vastly praised by the Western Cuban media. (Even though its state-controlled). Mesyat had inherited a team that was in a total mess and turned it so far into contenders. It the team continues its form throughout qualifying, then we have a sound chance of qualifying. Perhaps we can do better in the World Cup then we do in the Cup of Harmony.

But before we think of the actual World Cup, we must focus on the next game ahead of us. At home, Western Cuba will face Tyrants, who were routed by The Inevitable Syndicate, who looks to be one of the high rising teams in soccer as of lately. Hopefully the international world will get to see the true Western Cuban soccer fan tonight, instead of the stereotypical Red Army. Unfortunately I won't be at the game, (After all the government wants me dead, isn't that nice?) I'll be watching the game on tv however, and will be writing up another column early tomorrow morning. Let's go for another win Western Cuba.

[Powersith]

"Wait, so we arn't playing Kaledor?"
"Nope we are playing Baruina, still at home though."
"Well lets get a quick run through of game film."
"Yup, and lets keep the same mentality."
****
PSSN

Schedule Confusion, but Powersith beats Barunia in Qualifying Opener, 3-2!

We all thought we were going to play Kaledor, but it turns out, the whole schedule is wrong, and so through the confusion, we had to play Barunia. It was one exciting game though. All 100,000 Imperial National Stadium seats were filled with a sea of red and black as Powersithians were ready cheer on. In the Luxury box, Emperor Viros Levnan would be spectating. Security was tight as there were Emperor Security Forces stationed throughout the stadium. Famous Band One Step would sing Powersith's national anthem. After that, kickoff. The scoring started out quick as Patrick Monroe sprinted down the middle, juked a defender, and shot. It went into the top left corner. After 4 minutes, the score was 1-0. However, Barunia would respond back, as their striker, Victor Castolo would hit two goals in the 24th minute, and 44th minute. At halftime, the score was Powersith 1 Barunia 2.

Fans held their breaths as their nation's team was down at the half. Manager William Thomasson must have given a strong pep talk at the half, as Powersith's defense held and Barunia would never score again. The offense started clicking again as it did in the first half. Captain Leonardo Martinex, from a long kick from goalie David de Phillips, would be wide open to tie up the score in the 58th minute. Then in the 89th minute, Leonardo Martinex would cross the ball over to Patrick Monroe, who was hit inside the box. This meant it would be a penalty kick. As he ran up to the ball to kick, he stopped, causing the goalie to jump to his intended area to block. This left a wide open space in the middle, and Monroe would chip it in, and sealing a victory. The final whistle blew, and Powersith had won an exciting game 3-2.

Post-Game Interview
Interview with William Thomasson.

Q: With this close victory, are there any worries for the next game?
A: Obviously, I mean, how can we let two goals in like that? We need to improve on those things, the fundamentals. I mean, we are going against a tough Hutt River team. They have an outstanding offense, and we need to make sure our defense can stop them. I mean did they just beat a team 6-2? We can't beat them if they do the same to us.

Q: With the schedule changes, will it affect your team's preparation and play?
A: No, it won't. We just have to learn how to adjust. That's part of the game. You have to expect the unexpected. Everything changes.

Q: With Barunian captain Joric Ruskin's reaction to the loss, where he yelled at his teammates and throwing off his armband, do you think players are taking the game to seriously?
A: Well, I would understand him from a player's perspective. I mean it is World Cup Qualifying, you are representing your nation. You play with all your heart and all your energy. But, yelling at your own teammates? That's a chemistry problem.
***
Scoring Summary

First Half
4' Patrick Monroe 1-0
24' Victor Castolo 1-1
44' Victor Castolo 1-2
Halftime
Second Half
58' Leonardo Martinex 2-2
89' Patrick Monroe (PK) 3-2

Final Score: Powersith 3 Barunia 2

Statistics

Possession: Powersith 56% Barunia 44%
Shots: Powersith 9 Baruna 7
Shots on Goal: Powersith 5 Barunia 4
Corners: Powersith 5 Barunia 3
Fouls: Powersith 13 Barunia 14
Yellow Cards: Powersith 0 Barunia 0
Red Cards: Powersith 0 Barunia 0

Statistical Leaders

Goals: Patrick Monroe (2)
Saves: David de Phillips (2)
Assists: Leonardo Martinex (2)

Powersith will go on the road for their next match. They will go up against powerhouse Hutt River.

Reporting from Imperial National Stadium,
Kelly Maine, Soccer/Football commentator, PSSN (Powersith Sports Network)
***

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all.
- Emily Dickinson

That quote was posted on the team bus, plane, and headquarters. It would be the message that manger William Thomasson would tell his team for their next match against Hutt River

"Alright team, we play a powerful Hutt River next game. What did we learn from game film?"

"Sir, that they are very offensive oriented. We must stop every possible opportunity they can get."

"Good, now look at the quote I put. We must have hope, we must believe in anything for our next match. Every second, minute, possession, opportunity, anything can happen. We must capitalize on anything we get. Believe. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"When we play Hutt River, I want you to go 110%. You play for your nation, show them what National Pride is."
***

[Cassadaigua]

So, where have we been? Blame the men,
By: Brittany Lawton

As Cassadaigua returns to the World Cup, some out there may be wondering what has happened to us. Based on the interest that we had in the “Comeback Tour”, it is safe to say that we have not been forgotten about. It was flattering to see that kind of response, and now as we return, people ask this question.

My first comment on that is that I am a soccer coach and an ex-soccer player. If you are looking to me for expert political analysis, then you have come to the wrong place. At the same time, I am a graduate of the great University of Concord Heights (shout out to UCH on winning the Honor Conference tournament in Yesopalitha! Woot!) so it’s not as if I am uneducated about these things. Let’s take you back to World Cup 61 for a moment, which was one of the last times we saw active participation in a tournament. In a qualifying game against The Archregimancy, good ol’ (loser) Preston I. Grant of the most pointless “civil rights” organization in the world, known as MEN (More Equality Nonsense) (Male Equality Now) led a mass conversion to Orthodox amongst the weaker sex. I really don’t know what that was supposed to prove, quite frankly, but they did it under some code of brotherhood I guess. Her Highness, Queen Cassie, didn’t want to put too much stock into that, because most of everything that MEN does ends up in a great laughable failure anyway (anyone remember Occupy Concord Heights? Thought not!) . Unfortunately, what did happen was men becoming a lot more belligerent across Cassadaigua and resisting laws. Funny, I thought a mass conversion to Orthodoxy was supposed to make them more loyal citizens instead of disobedient, but I’ll digress from that. Essentially they tried to act like they have more rights then they actually have and push for not only for equality, but for supremacy.


A MEN activist is arrested in Concord Heights while picture also demonstrates men, who follow laws, can have equality.

In response to this, Queen Cassie became a little concerned about the impact of other cultures on the Dagan lifestyle and sought several measures to combat this. One of this was to pull Cassadaigua not only from the World Cup, but from other sports as well, but this was always going to be a temporary fix. Because of that, there was not a greater outcry against this action: everyone knew we would be back at some point. Not only have we returned to the World Cup, we are re-appearing in other sports as well. I’m not sure I really understand what Queen Cassie really meant to accomplish, or if the nation’s quick return (we only missed one World Cup, after all) means she is backpedaling now, I’m just glad that we’re back.

I know that some readers probably stopped at my insulting of the MEN movement and immediately clicked “e-mail reply” to flame me out. I’m expecting that, but the fact is, MEN is pointless because they accomplish nothing more then to further divide Cassadaigua by making everything about gender. Cassadaigua does not need that, we have made a lot of positive strides in this nation in creating greater opportunities out there for men. Those who read Cassadagan sporting blogs probably only know about what’s happened in the sports world, but if you look at our culture, you’ll see that such progress is more widespread then just in sports. MEN, despite what they’ll lead you to believe, has nothing to do with this. We would make more progress without them. I'm not anti-men, I'm anti-MEN.

(OOC: I am aware that the man in the pic is in a Franciscan robe. Use your imagination!)

[Shadowbourne]

Part I

---

The man leaned back in his chair. His plan was falling perfectly into place; however, 14 years as a criminal investigator had taught him to take nothing for granted. He puffed silently on his cigar as he waited patiently for his friend to arrive.

---

Khairi Dotzer rubbed his head as he sat quietly in the back seat of the black car. He had hit his head on the car's roof as he was being hustled inside. As he sat blindfolded, waiting to arrive at his destination, he tried to hold back tears.

---

3 Months Earlier
"Don't worry my friend. We are almost there."
"I'm not worried. Just anxious, that's all. Y'know, we have over $200 million riding on this game."
"I am well aware, Alexey. "
"I'm just saying, for a guy who's given up his entire career just for this one opportunity, you don't seem very flustered by the prospect of failing."
"Why would I be flustered? I'm not going to fail."
"Or so you think. One can never be to certain, Ratko."
"Would you just shut the hell up!? I've been a referee for over 20 years. Our plan is foolproof."
"Don't be so sure. It's not like people haven't tried to fix the World Cup before."

---

Present Day
The car slowly rolled to a stop. The two men in the front seats walked around to the back door and opened it. As the men dragged him out of the back seat and undid his blindfold, Dotzer tried desperately to regain his bearings. The two men grabbed him by his arms and lead him into a brick building and up a flight of stairs. They stopped in front of an unmarked door. As one of the men swung the door open, Dotzer looked across the room. A man sat behind a large, mahogany desk, calmly staring back at him. Dotzer's heart sank immediately.

Alexey Fondey wasn't the victim. He was the culprit.

[Hutt River]

Steven Wilkinson was a lonesome man. While the rest of the team were talking away in the dressing room before the match, he sat in the corner by himself, waiting, not speaking. He wasn't one for the press either, as they found out when they attempted to interview him. The few that he allowed to interview him were met with very dull answers.

He'd found out about his selection in the squad just a few days before the World Cup was due to start. It should've been much earlier but he thought it was a joke, so they had to go to meet him in person before he believed them. He had good reason to, an amateur footballer playing for a pub team in the bottom tier of the league, the closest he came to the top division was with South Bury's youth team at the start of his career. He then spent a few seasons in the 2nd divisions, where he was nicknamed 'pilot light' because he never went out. After being released by his last club, he retired from football when he was 25, but played his first game for his local pub team five years later.

He did the tests that everyone on the team had to go through and passed them, despite the fact he was slightly drunk. He did them when he was sober and somehow did worse than before. It was decided he would play drunk for the first game, sober for the second, drunk for the third etc. until they decided which was best. Everyone didn't appear to mind having a drunk person playing with them.

The manager approached Wilkinson.
"You feeling okay?" he asked, looking a bit worried
Wilkinson looked up "Yeah I'm fine, thanks"
"Not going to do anything on the pitch are you?"
"Nah, I've played most of my games drunk before. I know I'm doing."
"Alright. Go on, the teams just gone out."

Wilkinson could hear the shouts of fans. He walked out of the changing room and joined the back of the Hutt River team. As he walked out into the full to capacity stadium, he tried to remain his usually emotionless self, but he could feel a slight twinge of excitement lurking somewhere in his brain, and a slight smile went onto his face.

[Saintland]

Saintland defeats Spagbogia 1-0

(SP) In their first ever World Cup qualifier, the Kingdom of Saintland was victorious against Spagbogia by a score of 1 to nil. While we are happy with any victory, this was not a very impressive victory. Spagbogia is ranked 334th in the world and the SP doesn't even have a roster for their team. "After that detour in New Sideburn, we found out that we were actually visiting Spagbogia, not Audioslavia. Fortunately, we didn't have to prepare for them. That was an easy win for us and we decided to conserve our energy for the tough opponents that are coming up. I didn't have to do too much today. I just saved a few very poor shots and my clean sheet helped us leave with a victory" - Alessandro Seius

It had been a very interesting few days for the Sanctii. After preparing for Audioslavia, they got on the plane to travel to that country. During their trip, they found out that they were scheduled to play an unplanned exhibition at New Sideburn. Apparently, they contacted the King at the last minute and he agreed to their challenge. They landed in New Sideburn and found out that their archrivals had created a trophy featuring their captain Lukas Strongnesse deliberately trying to injure Prince Andreas. This infuriated them.

However, the Sanctii would be caught unprepared. New Sideburn had probably issued the challenge at the last minute on purpose to disrupt their preparation. The match was not aired in the Kingdom because the Royal Networks could not get a TV crew to New Sideburn quickly enough. They knew our Kingdom would not turn down a chance to face our arch-rivals, even if it would be untelevised and unseen in the Kingdom. This would be the most hostile environment the Sanctii had ever faced. Still, despite everything going against them, they managed to hang in that match.

New Sideburn struck first and early. That was to be expected, given that the Sanctii were not ready to walk into that environment. Gerhard Thunder headed a ball into the net in the 5th minute, putting them up 1 goal to nil. After that, the Sanctii fought their way back into the match. Stephanus Vagionius would score an equalizer in the 43rd minute to send the "friendly" match into break tied at 1.

A highlight early in the 2nd half saw Silvester Flaccus put one of their female players in her place. They were both going for a header and he ran her over. Fortunately, he only got a yellow card for that. A few minutes later, one of their other female players decided to go after Paulus Flaccus and tried to foul him. It was a cute sight to see, but she barely phased him and just got a yellow for her trouble. The free kick would go off the wall to Mamilius. Mamilius sent it at goal, but it was blocked. Vagionius rebounded and his shot was also blocked. Fittingly, Paulus Flaccus beat that thug Strongnesse to the ball and kicked it into the back of the net. "I saw the opportunity to run over one of their female players and I took advantage of it. Their use of female players is an abomination and that was some well-deserved revenge for their vicious attack on our captain. We weren't really interested in defeating New Sideburn today. We just wanted to rough them up a little bit. Next time around, we'll be playing to beat them and we expect to do just that."

New Sideburn would come back and score 2 goals to escape with a 3-2 victory, but they got lucky once again. Thus, they got to keep their Strongnesse trophy this time. The terms of the agreement that led to this match were revealed to the SP. The 2 teams will play prior to each World Cup, with extra time and penalties in the event of a draw. The team that currently holds the trophy will host. Needless to say, the Sanctii would be better prepared next time.

Following the "friendly" match, our Kingdom's National Team returned to their team plane and resumed their flight to Audioslavia. Right as they entered Audioslavia and prepared to land, the team pilot was informed via telephone that the World Cup organizers had published an inaccurate fixture list. Instead of visiting Audioslavia, they were going to be facing Spagbogia, a team they had not prepared for. The plane made a stop in Audioslavia anyway to refuel and then they began their flight to Spagbogia.

The team arrived in Spagbogia around 3 hours before their match was scheduled to start. They went ahead with it anyway. Once again, the Sanctii were not at their best, but once again they still put on a decent performance.

Throughout the match, possession was dominated by the red and white. Over the course of the first half, Vagionius would blow scoring opportunities in seemingly every way imaginable. His shots went wild. His shots hit the post. His shots hit the bar. His shots were blocked by the keeper. Yet, the Sanctii kept going back to him. It remained scoreless at half.

In the 49th minute, Nicolaus Poenius hit a long pass to Prince Andreas. Somehow, their defense had forgotten to mark Prince Andreas and he broke away. Alone in the box, Prince Andreas charged toward the goal. The keeper went for the ball, but Prince Andreas dodged him and the net was left completely unguarded. The Prince kicked it in for an easy goal. Saintland led 1 to nil.

Since it appeared that Spagbogia was not going to score any time soon, the Sanctii decided to put this match on ice. They decided they didn't want to expend any unnecessary energy against this team, so they would just run out the clock. In the 64th minute, Mamilius and Vagionius were replaced by the Jucundius brothers. Suddenly, the Sanctii had 7 defenders on the pitch at the same time along with 3 midfielders. This strategy worked and the Sanctii would hold on for a victory and 3 points. That is something our rivals in New Sideburn cannot say, as they were defeated 2 to nil by Northern Sunrise Islands.

With 3 points already earned, the Sanctii return home to host unranked Zwangzug. Zwangzug was actually victorious over Queer Poco el Mono Ara by a score of 2 to 1, but they are not expected to pose much of a challenge. Zwangzug was once a power in international soccer, having finished 2nd at the 42nd World Cup, but they have since fallen completely out of the rankings. They do pose more of a threat than Spagbogia, but the Sanctii should still easily defeat them. In a rare occurrence, Royal Stadium is expected to be sold out for this match. The stadium, which seats around 3 times the population of the city of St. Petrus, is the largest and most prestigious in Saintland. Royal One will be covering the match, which will once again be broadcast live. The match will be broadcast live from the Cathedral, so everybody is encouraged to take the train to St. Petrus and show their support for the National Team in person. There will be a bus between the stadium and the Cathedral, so even if you don't have tickets, make sure to join the celebration outside of the Royal Stadium. We want an intimidated Zwangzug team when they take the pitch because we want the Sanctii to pick up their 2nd victory of qualification.

---

Prince Andreas couldn't believe it when he heard his team would have to play New Sideburn immediately.

Prince Andreas - "We're about to play Audioslavia. Why would my father agree to play those thugs now?"

Alessandro Seius - "I know we're not prepared to play them. This isn't going to be good."

Stephanus Vagionius - "How about we just use this match as an opportunity to rough them up a little bit and exact some revenge? We probably aren't going to beat them on their turf with such short notice."

Prince Andreas - "I like the way you think, Stephanus. Let's rough up a few of their alleged 'ladies' and then we can focus on beating the World Champions."

Josephus Flaccus - "Those women are an abomination to God. I don't know how they can have such little class."

Prince Andreas - "Its settled then. We play to rough up New Sideburn and then we beat Audioslavia."

After a brutal match, the Kingdom of Saintland again lost to New Sideburn by a score of 3 to 2. They got back on their plane and had crossed into Audioslavia. Suddenly, the Pilot spoke over the address system.

Pilot - "I have received notice from King Paulus XV that the World Cup Committee published an inaccurate fixture list. The Kingdom of Saintland is scheduled to play at Spagbogia, not Audioslavia. We will be landing in Audioslavia to refuel and then we will be flying to Spagbogia. All players are advised to get some sleep on the plane. We will be arriving shortly before the match is scheduled to start."

The team could not believe this news.

Georgius Catiotus - "How did the World Cup Committee publish the wrong schedule?"

Andreas Inventius - "I have no idea. I hope their leadership gets fired because of this error."

Prince Andreas - "We need to stay focused. As you know, Spagbogia was one of the other participants in the Baptism of Fire. They did not win a single match in that tournament."

Lucas Aufidius - "At least we're facing a team we should beat easily."

Prince Andreas - "Don't be getting overconfident. Pride is a very serious sin and we all know how God loves to humble the arrogant."

Ioannes Poenius - "They are still 11 soccer players. Just because we should beat them on paper doesn't mean we will beat them on the pitch. Anything can happen out there."

Matthaeus Belaeus - "We need to get some rest. We will be at a disadvantage because of these travel arrangements."

Prince Andreas - "I agree, Matthaeus. Stay focused, everybody. We can't afford to blow this opportunity to pick up points."

The team tried to sleep, but when the plane arrived in Spagbogia, they had not slept well. They were glad to leave Spagbogia with a 1-0 victory, as they prepared for the flight home to face Zwangzug...

[Bears Armed]

“At home to Alexanderburn instead of away to West Zirconia? Hwhat the furless devastation happened?!?”

"Apparently hwhoever the organisers entrusted with the job of sending out an incorrect the schedule used an old, and incorrect, version of that document hrrather than the prroper one.”

“Urrgah! Surely there aren’t still any Dancougarite interns left around to mess up in positions like that?”

“Surely not, for true: Any of them who survived their homeland’s destruction would surely be too old by now to be given such a job. No, I think that the errorrr must have been down to somebody whom Wight’s King Bua appointed on a hwhim. He is apparently a Chaos spirit of some kind, if hwhat a little bird told me about him was true, after all.”

“Hr’rmm. Well, maybeso.
“So, anyhows, hwhom are our girls actually due to play against next… and hwhere?”

“Sorry, we’re still waiting for either the complete corrected schedule or at least instructions for the next match-day to arrive…”

“Urrgah!”

[Armed Bears]

"A win! A four-to-one win! Hwhat a nice start to our qualifying campaign."

"Especially after our girls' tthree-to-one loss to the other Bears in that pre-season friendly game -- hwhat are they calling that event now that it seems to have become a hrregular fixture, the 'Inter-Ursine Challenge' isn't it?-- for true, ayyuh?"

"Ayyuh. Of course it would have been even better if that win had been over United Gordonopia, the group's second seed and the team that we'd actually expected to be facing until only a day beforepaw, instead of these lower-hrranked opponents Lisander instead, but..."

"But a win's a win, and three points towards qualifying, and hopefully it will help our girls build the spiritual momentum that they'll need if they're actually going to qualify -- finally -- this time around. Ayyuh?"

"Ayyuh. Let that be from your mouth to the good spirits' ears..."

"That hrreminds me, i know that we sacrificed to Margaret before our opening game -- as uusal -- but hwhat happened about giving offerings to Pedestria too? I though that that was going to be a hrregular thing, as well..."

"I'm not entirely sure, but I heard a hrrumour that the Great Medicine Society objected strongly to the idea."

"Ur'rmm... I wonder why?"

"So do I..."

[Branta Island]

"Today is a good day, signore Gaspari."

"It always is after a win. Winning by one goal or six, it all adds up to three points and a great way to start the qualifying campaign. I have high hopes for Aureliano Sebastiani after his goal was the difference in the match. A late game strike from just inside the 18 yard box, bouncing in front of the keeper enough for him to misplay it, and the sound of the crowd roaring with approval. It is a good feeling."

"Yes, but you must have seen what I saw too, and that was the defensive line being spotty throughout the match. Melbergia had enough chances to score at least three times, but clever keeping from Maximilien Rustici certainly was the deciding factor here."

"It is true, I was none too pleased with the back line being holier than Free Swiss cheese. Three of those four play for elite clubs, either here or in Saugeais, so there is no excuse."

"Chalk it up to fitness issues? I mean the season did just end for our domestic leagues, so not many players had the right mentality going in, signore."

"That's not the point here. The players should know going in that they need to be in peak condition at all times, especially if they are to be called up to the international squad. If they can't do that, then I won't consider them next time. Easy as that."

"Any major chances to your starting lineup then?"

"Not at this time. One match is not enough time to let the starters gel. I'll give them a little more time to work out the kinks, win or not."

"Well, we wishing for your continued success, signore, and good luck at The Alphabet Letters coming up."

[Hyskigland]

Di Hārold
Di Furš ænt End Āŋlɨš Tɨndiŋ av di Komunwelþ av Hískɨglænd

Sumir: Di Blʉ-Svards bʉrgar dār Vʉrld Kup mɨt en mač kontra Silar.

---

The Herald
The First and Only English Newspaper of the Commonwealth of Hyskigland

Playing in Svardanʉl before a crowd of nearly fifty thousand, the Blue-Blacks—Hyskigland’s national football team—managed to play the ninety-second ranked team in the world, Silar, to a 2-2 draw. The result was the first non-loss against a world top one hundred team (Hyskigland had previously lost 4-0 to Eastfield Lodge, and 1-0 to former top one hundred squad Stachland) and indicates that the Blue-Blacks may be able to be competitive in this World Cup campaign.

“Now, since I’ve been comparing our progress this year to the progress of my Stachlandic team in the World Cup 55 cycle, I will note that that team won its first three games,” head coach Everett Lang lightheartedly explained. “Of course, those were against fellow group bottom-feeders, not a top one hundred team. I think we managed a draw with a top hundred team in our very last qualifying match—but only after getting clobbered by every single other highly-ranked squad we came up against.”

What squads will Hyskigland be facing as this qualifying campaign continues? The team will first go on the road to face Nethertopia—who, despite being clobbered by group favorites Mytannion in their first match, are still a dangerous foe—before returning home to play against powerhouses Mytannion and Apox. The Blue-Blacks would certainly be thankful to gain even one point from any of these three matches.

Of all the teams in Group 9, the Blue-Blacks might only be favored to finish ahead of two of them: German American States and Lacus Magni. Once again, however, Lang harkens back to his days as a player: “In World Cup 55 qualifying, Stachland was in much the same situation as Hyskigland is today—one of the lowest-ranked teams in the group. But we led for a few days at the beginning, and we eventually finished fifth. And that was a team that didn’t even make the Baptism of Fire knockout rounds. I think you’ll find that our team today will really exceed everybody’s expectations.”

The match against Mytannion will be played in Svardanʉl, but at the home of Kapɨtal F.K., rather than at Svardanʉl F.K.’s home stadium. Future match sites are yet to be determined.

---

Fun Facts! (Geography Edition)

Did you know that...

...Hyskigland is the northernmost nation in the region of Icenia?
...Hyskigland's highest point is Hífel (3072 m), narrowly beating out Ronfel (3061 m) and Vankafel (2990 m)?
...Hyskigland's fourth-highest mountain, Krigorfel (2653 m), erupted five years ago in 1275 KE/1006 NKE, prompting Statmɨnster Helmen Smirdɨr to announce only the second state of emergency in national history?
...Hyskigland's northeastern peninsula, known as the Vankaslatz, has a population density of only 0.04 people per square kilometer?
...Hyskigland is located along the lower boundary of the Arctic Circle?

[Karditan]

I'll be continuing my story arc from WC63, which concerned my goalkeeper [Emanuel Portico, semi-retired petty thief] recounting to his wife [Sweet Swing, professional sportsmare] his trip through Rushmore in his younger years [sometime between WCs 57 and 58]. If you hadn't been keeping up with it [I wouldn't blame you], here's a quick synopsis of what's happened so far:

Emanuel, wanting to see more of the world and escape the Karditani authorities, sneaks into Rushmore [both the region and city] aboard a discount flight into Ancharmunn and hitches a ride on a cargo boat to Ossidiacqua. He manages to immediately get himself wrapped up in one of the Acquan assassin guilds, but luckily ends up working as a freelancer instead of just getting stabbed. His first hit is a wily Player In a Manager's Profession (P.I.M.P.), whom he had to chase clear across the district of Ares--and each district of Sant'Elia is practically a city within itself. The duo somehow managed to work their way into the Royal Palace. The Grand High Cardinale is particularly bored, so he gives the two combatants swords and let them have at it in a proper duel. An odd turn of events ended with both the P.I.M.P. and the Cardinale dead in an narrow alley several floors below the room the fight happened in, as well as the leader of the guild that recruited Emanuel being mistaken as the currently dead Cardinale. And that's the story of how Giocomo Re became the leader of Ossidiacqua.

Having had quite enough assassins for one trip, Emanuel then took a boat back to Ancharmunn, this time to the city of Sayercooan. He proceeded to get blasted on whiskey, threatened a barman for information and played a hand of cards with some mobsters in the bottom of an abandoned boathouse. We join our hero on a boat in the dark waters outside Fidishwa, as the Charmunnry mobsters finish there latest round of not-quite-legal refugee work.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14 <-- You are here.

Emanuel stood on the prow of the medium-sized fishing boat, looking into the inky blackness of the night. There's something remarkable about knowing you're looking at a landmass, but not being able to see it in the slightest. A dark cloudy night, a remote region of a relatively primitive nation, there isn't a light to be seen for miles save the extremely dim glow of the boat's cabin lights--which is only provided so nobody walks overboard and the away team has some way of finding their way back. The head honcho walked up next to him, following his gaze.

"You seen 'em yet?"

"No," he said simply, gently shaking his head.

"They're takin' too long. This is a simple job--just dump the cargo off on the shore. No authorities to catch them. What the hell are they doin'?"

"CAP'N!" called the scout up in the ship's cabin.

"Quiet down, ya moron! This is a stealth operation! And does this look like a Captain's hat?!" he said, taking off and shaking his fedora.

The scout held up a finger and went to say something, but stopped himself. After a moment he shook his head and pointed off into the water. "The away team is coming back!"

Emanuel followed the sailor's outstretched arm and spotted the small lantern sidling up to the side of the boat. "Huh. Missed that."

"Here, you can make it up by helping haul it up. Grab a rope." The honcho led Emanuel over to a complex pulley system mounted on the port rails, where he called down to the little bobbing lantern. "You guys hitched up?"

"Yeah!" returned a disembodied voice.

"Let's get pullin', then." The two set to work yanking rope down over the metal rollers, gentle splashing and splorshing sounds coming from below as the smaller boat left the water. A handful of heaves later, the pulley was locked in place and the three guys that comprised the away team scampered back onto the deck.

Emanuel patted one particularly seasick mobster on the back as he blew chunks over the railing, before turning to the honcho. "So will we be making our way to Sicoutimont now?"

"Yep. It'll be a few hours, though, and dependin' on the currents you might have to deal with a tricky landing at the break of dawn."

"Fair enough. I'm going to go get some shut-eye; it's been a long day." With that, Emanuel took to one of the old cots below deck and dozed off.

***______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________***

"I don't get how people can sleep on boats." Sweet held a hoof to her mouth and turned a little green just thinking about it.

Emanuel chuckled handed her his empty mug. "If you're going to make like that thug, keep it in the cup. Anyway, I didn't really have any trouble going to sleep after spending an entire day running around, in foreign countries, getting stabbed, committing regicide and getting slammed. Stuff like that takes a lot out of you."

"...yeah, I suppose that makes sense..."

"So, where was I? Oh, right. When I woke up, we were just approaching Sicoutian waters..."

[Mangolana]

Mangolana Gazzette

Mangolana loses close in return to World Cup

Mangolana made their return to World Cup competition in front of a standing room only crowd of 38,219 at the Grego-Johnson Stadium. This marked Mangolana's first competitive match since their Isolation following World Cup 61, and the house was a rocking all night long. Sadly though in the end, Mangolana lost the match, but only by the closest of Margins with the scoreline being in favor of the visitors from Swyftlandre 2-1. The players from Swyftlandre did not have names on the back of their jerseys for the match and no roster was submitted for the match. Even with this development, the players from Mangolana along with the manager Arch McTash chose to allow the game to proceed. The goals from Swyftlandre came early in the match as they scored on two free-kicks from just outside the box at the 7th and 22nd minutes to give Swyftlandre an early 2-0 lead.

Though Mangolana trailed 2-0 early on, the crowd did not let up as it cheered for its boys from Mangolana and their extreme effort to try and claw their way back in the game. Then finally at the stroke of 74 on the game clock the moment these fans have waited for occurred...

"What a save from Marte there as he stops a blast from a Swyftlandre striker. Marte now throws the ball out to Jordan Morgan who gets a Through Ball to Nena! NENA TURNS ON THE JETS HERE AND GETS A PASS TO ALLEN FULLER! GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOAL FOR MANGOLANA!!!!!!!!!! GOAL!!!!!!!"

And just like that, Mangolana got its first goal of World Cup qualifying and drawn within one of Swyftlandre. The roar from all over Mangolana could be heard around the World. Though Mangolana drew within one, they could not find an equaliser and fell to Swyftlandre, the crowd went home happy knowing that the World Cup has returned to Mangolana and they once again have their national team to look forward to.

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Mangolana's 10 year anniversary of World Cup plays continues as we again recap Mangolana's play in the World Cup and other WCC Sanctioned Soccer events.

World Cup 55
Mangolana in their second World Cup, were drawn into Group 1 for their World Cup qualifying Campaign as they attempted to qualify for the 55th World Cup in Aguazul and Delaclava. Mangolana was drawn into group 1 with Qlumez, Starorentia, Valanora, Pasarga, Altimarus, Ko-oren, Italiaum, Cosumar, Justownia, and Carasatoga. This also marked the first know mistake for the Mangolana Gazzette, or at least the first ever to be caught by another country as the Gazzette reported that Pasarga was unranked and that Mangolana would make quick work of them, when in fact Pasarga was a World Cup veteran who were much more skilled at soccer than any member the Mangolana soccer team. In Mangolana's first match they would draw Carasatoga 0-0 at home and then defeat Carasatoga 3-1 on the road. Mangolana would draw Cosumar 1-1 at home and lose 1-0 on the road. In a match-up between Ko-oren and Mangolana, Mangolana won 2-0 at home and draw them 1-1 on the road. Mangolana would also be swept by Pasarga losing 1-0 at home and 1-0 at Pasarga. Mangolana would sweep Starorentia winning at home 3-1 and winning on the road 3-2. Mangolana would split with Justownia losing on the road 1-0 and winning at home 2-0. Mangolana would draw Italiaum 1-1 at home and win on the road 3-1. Mangolana would defeat Altimarus 1-0 at home and draw on the road 1-1. Mangolana would be crushed twice by Valanora, losing at home 7-1 and losing on the road 5-3. Mangolana would lose 2-0 on the road at Qlumez but comeback to defeat them 3-0 at home. Mangolana would finish 6th in the final standings, marking a similar finish to their first World Cup. With some luck however, Mangolana would qualify for the Cup of Harmony which we will cover in Part 3 of the history of Mangolana World Cup soccer.

Final standings World Cup 55

Group 1 Standings

    Team              P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Valanora         20  18  2   0  84  13  +71  56
  2 Cosumar          20  16  2   2  46  24  +22  50
  3 Pasarga          20  12  2   6  30  19  +11  38
  4 Justownia        20   9  6   5  24  21   +3  33
  5 Qlumez           20  10  2   8  27  23   +4  32
  6 Mangolana        20   8  5   7  28  27   +1  29
  7 Ko-oren          20   6  4  10  19  31  -12  22
  8 Carasatoga       20   6  2  12  18  31  -13  20
  9 Starorentia      20   4  3  13  23  52  -29  15
 10 Italiaum         20   3  4  13  12  36  -24  13
 11 Altimarus        20   1  2  17   8  42  -34   5