Baptism of Fire 57 - Everything Thread

[Pays den haut]

OOC: As I said in another RP, it takes 2 business days before Pays d'en haut receives the results of a soccer game.



Pays d'en haut lost against The Oaklands

On a game that was played saturday in Setter, Isle Oakhurst, Pays d'en haut lost 1-0 against The Oaklands and have a record of 0-2. Another game was played monday, against New Drakonika, but we will receive the results wednesday night.

1st half

Pays d'en haut attacked at the 11th minute. Groulx passed the ball to Charbonneau, who passed backwards to Bédard. Bédard passed to Saint-Onge and Saint-Onge made a cross to Tremblay. Tremblay shoots wide right. Goal kick.

Pays d'en haut attacked again at the 27th minute. Bédard passed to Lapointe who passed to Turcotte. Dale Into trips Turcotte in the penalty area, it's a penalty! Dale Into gets a yellow card. Vincent Turcotte shoots too high, the score is still 0-0.

The Oaklands attacked at the 36th minute. Larple passed to Ramp who passed to Fife. Fife passed to Goodge and Goodge made a cross to Cannock. Cannock shoots and scores! 1-0 for The Oaklands.

2nd half

Pays d'en haut attacked at the 61st minute when Gallant passed the ball to Lapointe who passed to Bédard. Bédard passed to Tremblay who passed to Turcotte. Turcotte shoots and score! But the goal is waved off because he was offside, still 1-0 for The Oaklands.

At the 68th minute, Antoine Desgagné came in for Nicolas Lapointe.

At the 72nd minute, The Oaklands changed their formation from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1 and Cedric Vaclav came in for Paul Serpent.

At the 75th minute The Oaklands attacked. Burns passed to Thompson who passed to Ramp. Jean-François Groulx tripped Ramp and got a yellow card. The Oaklands got a free kick. Adrian Fife takes the free kick but he shoots too high. The score remains 1-0 for The Oaklands.

Pays d'en haut attacked at the 83rd minute when Durand passed to Charbonneau who passed to Tremblay. Tremblay passed to Bédard who passed to Saint-Onge. Saint-Onge shoots but Thomas Calllum makes a beautiful save!

Pays d'en haut attacked at the 89th minute when Gallant passed to Bédard who tried a pass to Desgagné but the pass was intercepted by Vaclav who passed to Fife. Fife passed to cannock and he shoots but Gauthier makes the save!

The final score was 1-0 for The Oaklands.

Pays d'en haut has played a game today but we still don't have the results. Then tomorrow the Habitants will play its final game against North Britonisea.

[Tumbra]

The dressing room was in chaos after the match. We'd won our second match in a row, we'd won over all the major threats in the group, and we'd qualified for the next round no matter what happened on the final matchday. Garifunya had amazingly overcome the Atruans, 3-1, and we were now top of the group after defeating Gylias 2-1.

"Right lads, it's been an excellent win and we really have nothing more to play for, so just go out there and enjoy yourselves. BUT you shouldn't let your guard down too much, as the TFA want us to finish top of the group. Let me educate you guys on what could happen on the last day." Coach Fletcher said.

He started turning to the whiteboard in the dressing room and began writing. I, however, let my mind float back to the match.

Jordan had elected to play Peter in front of Bobby today, as apparently Pandon had been to Fletcher and told him he didn't feel like playing today. At the back, the fullbacks were swapped again, I was playing with Brandon and Hal was playing with Henry Butler.

Right from the get-go we were on the attack against Gylias, culminating in a shot over the bar in the third minute by Peter. Another three shots were saved by the Gylian goalkeeper. Then it was their turn to attack. The free-flowing passes, seamlessly moving in and out of the wide areas were extremely tough to control, and a mis-timed tackle by me led to their forwards scoring in the thirtieth minute or thereabouts.

After that terrible piece of play, however, it was all Tumbra, up to the half-time whistle. Shot after shot wide, spooned, over. I received the ball in injury time of the first half. I saw Peter Jones running towards the Gylian goal, making sure he wasn't offside as he did so. Ignoring Hal, I struck the ball. A long throughball, delivered just in front of Peter, who was now sprinting like crazy.

Everything just went quiet in my mind. Would he? Wouldn't he? I glanced up at the stadium TV and there he was, just running, running, running. He was clear. He had space. All he needed was one good shot. If his antics in the DBC 32 were anything to go by, he would finish the goal.

And he did.

Half time came and went, and pretty much nothing else happened for me, and as such I requested a substitute. I watched the rest of the game from the bench. Now Harold had received the ball. Bob was close to him. He passed. Passed to Sanders, back to Bobby, and then to Albert.

The "layering strategy", where we passed the ball up, layer to layer, was working.

Albert crossed the ball in. The Gylian goalkeeper was reaching from the ball. But Peter got there first. He nodded the ball in.

And that was the game.

"Er-hem."

A voice shook me back into reality. It was Fletcher.

"This is the current table, with today's results included."

Group E
Tumbra 2–1 Gylias
Garifunya 3–1 Atrua

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Tumbra                  3    2   1   0     5    3   +2     7
2 Atrua                   4    2   0   2     6    6    0     6
3 Garifunya               3    1   2   0     5    3   +2     5
4 HAUAHUHAU               3    0   2   1     2    4   −2     2
5 Gylias                  3    0   1   2     1    3   −2     1

"We are on 7 points, Atrua are on 6 and Garifunya are on 5. Now, we play HAUAHUHAU tomorrow and Garifunya play Gylias. Atrua have their rest day. Now, this is what could happen.


TUMBRA, 7 POINTS
-Will finish top of Group E if Garifunya lose, and Tumbra wins, and if Garifunya draw and Tumbra win or draw.
-Will finish second if Garifunya win over Gylias by one goal and Tumbra draw or lose.
Previous results:
Tumbra 0-0 Garifunya
Tumbra 3-2 Atrua
Tumbra 2-1 Gylias
Upcoming matches:
Tumbra X-X HAUAHUHAU


ATRUA, 6 POINTS
-Cannot finish top of group after loss to Garifunya.
-If Garifunya win or draw with any amount of goals, Atrua will be eliminated.
Previous results:
Atrua 1-0 Gylias
Atrua 2-0 HAUAHUHAU
Atrua 2-3 Tumbra
Atrua 1-3 Garifunya


GARIFUNYA, 5 POINTS
-Can still finish top of group, can still qualify
-Will finish second if Garifunya draw with Gylias on goal difference, eliminating Atrua.
-Will finish first if Garifunya win and Tumbra lose, eliminating Atrua.
Prevoius results:
Garifunya 2-2 HAUAHUHAU
Garifunya 0-0 Tumbra
Garifunya 3-1 Atrua

Upcoming Matches:
Garifunya X-X Gylias

"So according to your charts, if Garifunya don't lose, then Atrua will be out no matter what?" asked Henry Pandon.

"Yes." the reply from Fletcher was short and simple.

Good riddance, I thought to myself.

"Let's head back to the hotel. We can debrief further there after everyone has had a hot shower and some warm milk."

[The Oaklands]

Tensions couldn't have been higher between the Kegents. Jeffrey had once again tried to sneak downstairs in the morning to check who had won between The Oaklands and North Britonisea, and, once again, his wife Veronica had disconnected the internet. Jeffrey, this time, had known what the cause of his sudden loss of contact with, well, his current life really, and he had charged upstairs to confront his wife. She had not been the slightest bit scared, but had stood there, ready with more quips about Jeffrey and his "stupid" love of football. Finally, when Veronica had refused to tell Jeffrey how to re-connect the internet (he refused to go through the ridiculous charade of the previous day), he had grabbed a bag, stuffed some clothes and essentials in it, and marched straight out of the house. He was so consumed by fury he didn't stop to think of the consequences. An hour later, he arrived at Northwest Whitefay airport, and bought a flight to The Sarian. He didn't care about the ridiculous last minute cost, and he didn't care what his wife was going to say. In the waiting room, he saw a newspaper that informed him of George Cannock's incredible second half hat trick, which included "the most magnificent free kick anyone has ever scored". This calmed Jeffrey down, and he spent the next hour working out The Oaklands' chances. They would go through if they won! And now he was going to watch them win...

[Alastonia-]

ROADE, THE SARIAN- Manager Anthony Matthews said after Sunday's match that his team needed to improve on the defensive end. Monday, they answered the call, as Alastonia won their third match of the Baptism of Fire, their second shutout, as they defeated Paymina 1-0.

After Sunday's high-scoring win, defense was the name of the game on Monday. The lone goal of the match came in the 29th minute, as Elias Harrison took a shot from just outside the box. Paymina's keeper was able to save the shot, but the rebound went straight to Chris Thompson, who was easily able to get the putback, giving Alastonia a lead it would never let go with his second goal of the Tournament.

"Right place, right time, I guess," said Thompson. "Their keeper did a good job of stopping [Harrison's] shot, and it just happened to come back to me. But I'll take it, of course."

"Well, as you can imagine, I'm really happy with our defense today," said manager Matthews. "We were much more solid that yesterday. And this was a tough match, so we needed our D to be top notch. Luckily for us, it was."

Alastonia now needs only a draw in Tuesday's match against Masseau to guarantee advancement to the round of 16.

MATCH SUMMARY
Alastonia 1-0 Paymina

Goals:
Thompson (Alastonia)- 29'

Yellow cards:
Burton (Alastonia)
Anderson (Alastonia)
House (Paymina)
Rafeal (Paymina)
Red cards: None

Shots: Alastonia 15, Paymina 13
Shots on goal: Alastonia 3, Paymina 3
Corners: Alastonia 1, Paymina 3
Offsides: Alastonia 4, Paymina 4
Fouls: Alastonia 15, Paymina 14
Possession: Alastonia 50%, Paymina 50%

[New Drakonika (Ancient)]

OOC: This is an IC version of OOC events that have transpired while attempting to update my personal results database, going from data in previous RPs. The two North Britonisea and New West Guiana results have been made for the database and published in this RP. If either user has an objection, TG me. The Pays d'en Haut result has had scorers decided, but the user may still godmod sporting events provided they use the scorers info.

Before you ask, the North Britonisea match does have the RPed 90th minute goal by Jmz Blyv.

Hry Mrsdn frantically searched for the match report of the New Drakonika-New West Guiana AOCAF 45 match, so he could update the DrakoStat database, which was under massive editing, as the company had simply forgotten about it.

He had already found reports for the Abahnfleft game, read a reputable blog about the game against The Oaklands as well as the Greater Watford match in AOCAF 45.

He was having issues with the North Britonisea game, as they had not even submitted a roster at the time. But never the less, he got the Drakonikan scorers from a credible source.

North Britonisea 2 - 3 New Drakonika
Jmz Blyv (16, 90)
Mrtn Hrmsn (67)

Finally, after twenty minutes of searching, he found the results of the NWG match, but only with Drakonikan scorers, as for some reason the NWG scorers were simply not on the report.

New West Guiana 4 - 2 New Drakonia
Jmz Blyv (19, 22)

And finally, he uploaded the scorers for the Pays d'en Haut match.

New Drakonika 3 - 2 Pays d'en Haut
NDK: Jmz Blyv (17, 43)
PDH: Vincent Turcotte (32. 84)
NDK: Jrj Lepd (78)

After almost an hour, he had finally done it, and swore he'd get the higher ups to do it more often and with more speed.

[Abanhfleft]

"Do you see anything wrong, frog?"

"No, I do not see anything wrong, perfidious Albion."

"Then what in the world are all these people worried about?"

"Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die."

"Hey, that's Tennyson. 'The Charge of the Light Brigade.'"

Godric Wexler and Georges Leblanc were sitting in a darkened hotel room that the Abanhfleft national football team had used as a sort-of "war room," in which they planned strategies for the national team's games in the Baptism of Fire. They had already finished the game plan for the coming game against the Oaklands, and now all they were doing now was reviewing game footage during the last game against North Britonisea, in which all of the team's female players played against that mysterious team with no names. The team had received a lot of complaints from people of unknown origin, but mostly within the Sarian probably, that the women players' shorts were too, well, short. And, physically, they were right. Someone with a tape measure that gone ahead and measured the female players' shorts, and he found that most, if not all of the shorts, measured between 8 to 10 centimeters below the bottom; as short as miniskirts.

But the problem was that in Abanhfleft, that was the standard size of female footballers' shorts. Because Abanhfleft was an egalitarian society that appreciated everything, women's football kits were made just that little bit shorter to "create a pleasing aesthetic." Many other nations had accused the Fleftic Football Association of sexism. The FFA merely asserted that it was "culturally acceptable" in Abanhfleft for female athletes to wear sports clothes designed to accentuate the shape of the body, and sometimes even flaunt it. The sports authorities would protest about the female Fleftic athletes' kit. The Fleftic sports authorities would claim that it's all part of the culture. It would become an endless back-and-forth with no foreseeable end. And it would do all of them good if they just got on and forgot about it.

"Well, you have to admit that Chelsea Stuart has got some very nice legs," Wexler said.

"Don't forget about Alexandra Rousseau," Leblanc replied.

"And Allison Torres."

"All right, perfidious Albion. Let's just admit that we like all of their legs."

"Of course, it's the Frenchman who had to admit that he loves legs."

"Speaking of love, where is Adelmio?"

"Oh, I think he's off negotiating with a player or something. You know, that sort of thing."

"I don't envy his position."

Roade, The Sarian
That same moment

"Elahi Edhi?"

"Yes, who's asking?"

"My name is Adelmio Bandini," the Italian manager of Malabon SC said, offering his hand to the Paymina player. "I am the manager of Malabon SC, of the Fleftic Premier League."

"I assume that you are interested in me," Edhi replied as he took Bandini's hand. "I mean, I'm a football player, you're a football manager... it's a logical conclusion. But have you talked to my club yet? I believe another team is not yet supposed to begin negotiations with any player until a transfer fee has been agreed upon."

"Don't worry, my good man," Bandini said, leading Edhi to an empty table. "I've already talked with your club. They've agreed to a price of £12,000,000. I know it's not really much, but for a club like mine, that is substantial money. And with that transfer fee already accepted, I don't believe my club can make any more signings. But it's all for the best, I promise you. Malabon SC is a strong club, perennial contenders for the Fleftic Premier League title, and in the eight decades of its existence it has never dropped from the top tier of Fleftic football. Sure, we're not as big or popular as those teams in the Bundesliga, the Barclays Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, or even Major League Soccer, but we're a passionate nation for football. I assure you that you have lots of opportunities to grow with Malabon. So..." Bandini took out a checkbook and a pen from a pocket inside his coat. "Name your price."

[The Sarian]

The final Matchday for the group stage is here, and for 29 teams the dream is over, for the other sixteen the knockout stages begin.

[The Sarian]

Matchday Five Results - The Sarian

Group A
 Alastonia 4–2 Masseau  @ Mason Stadium, New Oslo Town, Henrikson Islands
 Bandwagon 2–2 Paymina  @ Stadium of Ackland, Ronan, Ackland

  Group A                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Alastonia                     4   4  0  0   11   5  +6   12 Round of Sixteen
2 Masseau                       4   2  0  2    4   5  −1    6 Possibility of Elimination
3 Bandwagon                     4   1  1  2    6   7  −1    4 Eliminated
4 Paymina                       4   1  1  2    3   4  −1    4 Eliminated
5 Etelkoz                       4   1  0  3    1   4  −3    3 Eliminated

Group B
 Wolfbenz 0–0 RPGers  @ White Horse Stadium, New Calne, Isle Wilterset 
 Isula ĝe Ru 1–0 Khalifa Arabia  @ Gorgona Arena, Gorgona, Isle Kensingtea

  Group B                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Isula ĝe Ru                   4   4  0  0    5   0  +5   12 Round of Sixteen
2 Wolfbenz                      4   2  1  1    5   3  +2    7 Possibility of Elimination
3 Khalifa Arabia                4   2  0  2    7   4  +3    6 Eliminated
4 RPGers                        4   0  2  2    0   6  −6    2 Eliminated
5 Somstratzka                   4   0  1  3    1   5  −4    1 Eliminated

Group C
 Estenia 5–3 United States of Devonta  @ The Matterhorn, Lavington, Isle Regis
 Seltik 2–0 French Louisana  @ Oakhurst Arena, Setter, Isle Oakhurst

  Group C                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Estenia                       4   3  1  0    9   4  +5   10 Round of Sixteen
2 Seltik                        4   2  2  0    7   3  +4    8 Round of Sixteen
3 United States of Devonta      4   1  2  1    9   9   0    5 Eliminated
4 Kingston-Atlantis             4   1  0  3    2   6  −4    3 Eliminated
5 French Louisana               4   0  1  3    2   7  −5    1 Eliminated

Group D
 North Britonisea 0–1 Pays d'en Haut  @ Warrah Park, Stanley, Isle Falkland 
 Abanhfleft 3–0 The Oaklands  @ Poseidon's Palace, Port Salvador, Isle Regio

  Group D                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Abanhfleft                    4   4  0  0    8   1  +7   12 Round of Sixteen
2 New Drakonika                 4   3  0  1    8   6  +2    9 Round of Sixteen
3 The Oaklands                  4   2  0  2    6   7  −1    6 Eliminated
4 Pays d'en Haut                4   1  0  3    4   6  −2    3 Eliminated
5 North Britonisea              4   0  0  4    4  10  −6    0 Eliminated

Round of Sixteen fixtures will be posted along with the Quebecois Results, owing to only seven of the nine runners up qualifying for the next round. There is a rest day tomorrow, so don't worry about not having time to RP.

Finally, congratulations to Alastonia, Isula ĝe Ru, Estenia, Seltik, Abanhfleft and New Drakonika; fingers crossed for Masseau and Wolfbenz, hopefully we will be seeing you in the next round. Commiserations to all the knocked out sides.

[Polaaskan]

Montreal, ROYAL KINGDOM OF QUEBEC - Polaaskan got a deserved third straight win in Group G with a narrow 3-2 win against Valnara.

The game started with a lot of excitement. Numerous changes were made, as Markus Pallessen replaced the suspended Hogg, Timo Asker replaced Jonathan van Leonardsen, and Heiko Blonqvist came in for Patrik Ael up front. And Blonqvist proved why he should have started with a cracking goal on 6 minutes, after Vasili Semshov floated over a pass for Blonqvist to hit first time on the volley, sizzling its way past the Valnaran goalkeeper. But the Valnarans were quick to equalise however, with a striker levelling it on eight minutes with just a simple tap in. Rallied by Ulrik Leonardsen, Polaaskan pressed for a second goal but were kept out by the top form of the Valnaran goalkeeper. Eventually, just before half time Timo Heinckel scored a stunning goal, dribbling past the entire Valnaran defense before unleashing a lethal effort, lashing it into the back of the net.

One half time sub was made, Soren Akselsen came on at left-back for Vasili Semshov. For some reason, Leonardsen was looking to employ a more defensive back line, as technically Semshov and van Leonardsen are wing-backs, while Akselsen and Asker are more defensive full-backs. However, this proved costly as the Valnarans equalised on 57 minutes. Jon van Axelsen came on for Iiro Mihaylov on 68 minutes, who had little involvement in the game. van Axelsen's flair got the better of the Valnaran defence, and he was able to find Karlstrom running down the wing who beat his man and slotted home on the 73rd minute, bringing Polaaskan 3-2 up. Aleks Johansen came on for goalkeeper Teemu Petersen on 83 minutes, and Polaaskan still troubled the defence. Polaaskan almost got a fourth when van Axelsen's rocket rebounded out to Karlstrom who just nudged it wide. In the end, it was a 3-2 win for Polaaskan, propelling them to the top of Group G. Next matchday would be a bye, and on the fifth and final one it would be a showdown against Gregory Llama Land, another favourite to get through. If they win in MD4, Polaaskan must beat them on MD5 to win the group and provide them assured qualification. If they don't, they may have to go through as a "best runner-up".

GK - Teemu PETERSEN
LB - Vasili SEMSHOV
CB - Sol ARKE (c)
CB - Christian HOGG (vc)
RB - Jonathan VAN LEONARDSEN
DM - Frans LAURENSEN
LW - Lukas KARLSTROM
AM - Iiro MIHAYLOV
RW - Johan PEKARIK
ST - Heiko BLONQVIST
ST - Timo HEINCKEL

Pre-BoF Friendly
Polaaskan 4 - 0 Polaaskan B
Pre-BoF Friendly
Semarland B 2-0 Polaaskan
Pre-BoF Friendly
Polaaskan 1-1 Dutch Semarland
Pre-BoF Friendly
San José Guayabal 4-0 Polaaskan
Pre-BoF Friendly
Polaaskan 2 - 0 Pine Island
BoF MD1
Leadan 1 - 2 Polaaskan
BoF MD2
Polaaskan 2 - 0 Joshulia
BoF MD3
Valnara 2 - 3 Polaaskan
BoF MD4
Bye
BoF MD5
Polaaskan v Gregory Llama Land

[Aestate]

The Sad Best Match
A better performance of the team and the fans’ goodbye
Camilo Pistoia in Quebec
La Federazione, Tuesday 04 November

Almost a party, the last match has justified our expectations. Around ten minutes, New Bordial opened the scoring, to aestateans despair. A beautiful goal by Munir Al'Rashin. But the response was given four minutes later. In a fast reaction, Alvares scores a strange belly’s goal with a great pass of Soldati. From then, the aestateans fans went wild with their voices thundering in the stadium:

“U Can't Win This/Ooo, Ooo!/ Ooo, Ooo!/U Can't Win This”

The chants were stronger When Guido Alves scored the tiebreaker with a free-kick outside the area. Maybe, the more striking goal of Aestate to this point. Unfortunately, Al'Rashin got the ball, after a pinpoint cross, and it was buried in the net. The aestateans fans continued a cheer up:

“Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An' if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know”

And Myers scored the third goal. Anyhow, Al'Rashin scored again for New Bordial. The our fans did believe until the final whistle, though it was not enough. With 3-3, the match was over, so Aestate did receive the passage back home. But the aestateans fans weren’t surprised. They sang the last chant while letting the ground:

“It was an early morning yesterday
I was up before the dawn
And i really have enjoyed my stay
But i must be moving on
Goodbye stranger it´s been nice
Hope you find your paradise
Tried to see your point of view
Hope your dreams will all come true”

I'll speak to you, I’m not surprised too. When Guadalajara scored on 1 minute, in the first game, while our team did paralyzed, I did see the future. Thanks to lucky we achieved the score tied. Actually, we can finish this BoF without anyone victory. Now, they going into the last match. Keep your fingers crossed for them.

[Racao]

Exploring Racao's Past: Chapter 1, Section 1

[New Bordial]

New Bordial draws to Aestate 3-3, Will Progress to Round of 16

Despite trailing for part of the game, Munir Al'Rashin became a hero for New Bordial last match, obtaining the an international hat trick for New Bordial while scoring a stoppage time equalizing goal. The game opened with an 11' from Jaegar's clean pass to Al'Rashin who cut two defenders to score the goal, however, this was met with by Aestate's Alvares in the 13'. Aestate would take the lead scoring with Guido Alves' goal from a clean free kick in 32'. Following Kretikos's halftime speech, New Bordial became energized at the start of the half with Munir Al'Rashin's 47' goal from Sergio DiRama's cross. New Bordial would face little time to celebrate after a tackle from Ambre Oyne in the 51' on Marco Alvares presented both players with injuries and a red card to Oyne for a rash challenge. Despite the injury, Aestate took advantage with Myers scoring a goal in the 62' in retaliation. After hope for securing a spot seemed lost for New Bordial, Al'Rashin earned a hat trick with a beautiful 90'+1' goal from Alec Trite's pass inside the box to beat keeper Alekseiev. Kretikos's substitution Alexander Ross earned credit for this goal. It was his long pass to Alec Trite that gave him the opportunity to set up the scoring chance for Al'Rashin. New Bordians were happy with the matches result, not for the draw, but for the near 100% change of progress to the Round of 16. Here's a quick look at the stats for New Bordial:

Shots: 11 (6 on target)
Goals: Al'Rashin 11', 47', 90+1'
Assists: Jaegar 11' | DiRama 47' | Ross 90+1' | Trite 90+1'
Yellow Cards: Graham Uke (embellishment)
Red Cards: Ambre Oyne (reckless challenge)
Subs: Jaegar --> Vasquez 64' |Nereun --> Uke 77'| Javi --> Ross 88'

Looking Ahead: Versus Pine Island



Though many in New Bordial were happy with the draw to Aestate, captain John Allen had different words: "I know we can do better." Kretikos agreed with these words, "We just didn't show enough fight out on the field today. Aestate was able to take the lead for much of the game to our dismayl. I need to figure out what we did wrong and fix the problem." Kretikos in response has a small lineup change, "With Oyne's suspension, he can't be played so I'm putting Rodney Lin back into the lineup. Its a shame that he got suspended after he was put into the lineup after a fear for Rodney Lin's suspension. Lin provided a form of "shot-stopping cohension" to the our defensive force. Him and Evan Kil-Ho are the two best defenders right now. My little experiment with Ambre Oyne sadly didn't work so well." The New Bordial National Team is amphed up for the game tomorrow, "Watching Pine Island play, you gotta give them a lot of respect," said Sergio DiRama, "They're one of the top teams in the tournament. I wouldn't put a New Bordial vs. Pine Islane finale out of the question." The question though, can they win? No Doubt.

Both Ambre Oyne and Marcos Alvares's injuries appear to be minor and will likely be ready for action in a day or two.

Subs:
ST: Richard M'Boli (31) (Vasenshir)
LM: Graham Uke (32) (Frogolem)
CDM: Lee Seung-Gi (22) (Havenport)
CAM: Alexander Ross (30) (Kalos Square F.C.)
RB: Crystal (22) (Silverback F.C.)
CB: Giovanni Vasquez (33) (Kalos Square F.C.)
GK: Nick Callum (37) Shell Cove

In Group I & The Rest of the Baptism of Fire

Group I
New Bordial 3–3 Aestate
Beauce 3–2 Republic of Guadalajara

                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Pine Island                3    3   0   0    11    5   +6     9
2 New Bordial                3    2   1   0    12    5   +7     7
3 Beauce                     3    1   0   2     5   12   −7     3
4 Aestate                    3    0   2   1     7    8   −1     2
5 Republic of Guadalajara    4    0   1   3     5   10   −5     1

Qualified 2nd Place Teams

  2nd Place Team              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
2 New Drakonika                 4   3  0  1    8   6  +2    9 Round of Sixteen
2 Seltik                        4   2  2  0    7   3  +4    8 Round of Sixteen
2 New Bordial                   3   2  1  0   12   5  +7    7
2 Wolfbenz                      4   2  1  1    5   3  +2    7 Possibility of Elimination
2 Masseau                       4   2  0  2    4   5  −1    6 Possibility of Elimination

New Bordial is guaranteed to place above at least one other 2nd Place finisher, Masseau.

With New Bordial's draw to Aestate, they are secured their place in the top 2 of their group. However, this is not enough to progress to the Round of 16. New Bordial will need to be in the top 7 of 9 2nd place finishers in order to progress. HOWEVER, New Bordial is the only 2nd place team currently with a game in hand. A win tomorrow aganist Pine Island would secure a 1st place finish in the group. "Pine Island is the one of stronger teams in this tournament" Kretikos said, "We are going to have to work hard if we want to win." New Bordial still has one of the highest goal differentials in the tournament (+7) behind Pine Island and tied for second with Abanhflet and leads the tournament in goals scored (12). "I think offense is most definitely our strong point," said Kretikos, "And since most of them are really young, they will be huge assets in tournaments to come."
New Bordians will certainly be watching the next game against Pine Island carefully; "I can't believe it!" said rabid fan Jeremy Vengez, "Our team is doing really good! I think we could become of the best some day."

New Bordial Team Stats

Goals

Munir Al'Rashin - 5
Richard M'Boli - 2
Kris Jaegar - 2
Alec Trite - 1
Henry Javi - 1
Evan Kil-Ho - 1

Assists

Alec Trite - 6
Sergio DiRama - 3
Kris Jaegar - 2
Munir Al'Rashin - 1
Richard M'Boli - 1
Alexander Ross - 1

[Gylias]

Panagiotakis Xanthopoulos had told his teammates he would be lingering behind a bit after the last match ended, but he would join them as soon as he had taken care of a private matter first. Now enjoying complete privacy as the only person left in the locker room, he sat down on the floor, crossing his legs, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Great Mauan...", he began to involuntarily whisper. He was used to speaking his thoughts to an extent, so in certain cases he would simply forget he had the capacity for interior monologue. This was one of those times.

However, this was also one of those times when Adna Acsir had remembered she'd left something in the locker room and started dashing back towards it, reassuring her teammates she would be back shortly. Out of respect for Panagiotakis' privacy, she opened the door quietly and tip-toed with great stealth.

"Thank you for that dream last night, it was wonderful... Wish you'd warned me to wear a condom in advance, though."

In the process of grabbing her thing, Adna happened to notice Panagiotakis sitting in a meditative position, and that he was slightly mumbling. Oh, what's this?, she thought. Intrigued, she carefully manoeuvred herself into a position behind one of the lockers. Leaning her head out slightly, slightly, she strained her ear to make out Panagiotakis' mumbling. I hope Pana's alright... hope it's not something bad.

Upon managing to make out the name "Mauan", her face lit up with a grin from ear to ear. Ah... good ol' Mauan, eh, Pana? Thanking they for their plentiful milk?

She couldn't make out what Panagiotakis was saying, but she did manage to detect the rising tone of a question, followed by a pause. Yus, chance~!, she thought. She leaned her head out from behind the locker, smiling playfully, and put on her best "sexy" voice to announce, "Hello again, Pana. Same as usual, then?"

Panagiotakis, startled, opened his eyes and looked behind him. He was greeted by Adna's friendly grin and teasing expression as she winked with one eye and stuck her tongue out. "You still owe me for that last request I answered, dear.", she continued, not missing a beat.

Panagiotakis lightened up and burst into a chuckle. "Heh, you had me there for a second!", he joked, pointing towards Adna. "Y'ever considered voice acting?"

"Oh, I'm not acting, dahling♥", Adna replied in the same tone.

The two shared a laugh as they both got up and approached each other for a hug. As it concluded, Adna lightly flicked Panagiotakis' nose with her index finger, and teased, "You're supposed to use your indoor voice, silly~"

"And you're supposed to have red haiiiiiiiir~", Panagiotakis played along.

[Alastonia-]

NEW OSLO TOWN, THE SARIAN- Needing only a draw coming into Tuesday's match to advance, Alastonian manager Anthony Matthews told reporters that he would rest many key starters against Masseau.

But early on, it was Alastonia's star forwards who would take the spotlight, as Chris Thompson got some room on the break and was able to slip the ball past the Masseau keeper to give Alastonia the early 1-0 lead. Masseau would answer quickly, however, drawing even in the 15th minute. But Alastonia would respond, adding a goal by Andrew Pace to give the Owls a 2-1 lead going into halftime.

"We were feeling good at the half. [Masseau] hung tough, but I felt we were in a good place," said manager Anthony Matthews.

But one had to wonder if he would rethink that statement, as a quick goal by Masseau tied the game at 2. From then, however, it would be all Alastonia. Steven Potts scored a header off of a corner in the 61st minute, while Craig Jackson banked one in off the post in the 83rd minute to extend the Alastonian lead. When the final whistle blew, the scoreboard read 4-2 in favor of Alastonia, propelling the Owls into the round of 16.

"I liked our energy in the second half," said Matthews. "We were fortunate enough to be in a position we could get some other guys in there, get some fresh legs in. That allowed us to out-hustle them towards the end.

"Everyone was excited in the locker room. It's a good feeling. We'll take tonight to celebrate, but then it's back to work. We know it's only going to get tougher."

"Obviously, I'm thrilled," said Chris Thompson, now with 3 goals in the Tournament. "Winning the group is a pretty nice accomplishment. But we aren't done. We've still got work to do. But I think we're all up for the challenge. I know we are."

Alastonia now has Wednesday off, and will begin the knockout stage on Thursday. All matches from this point forward will continue to be broadcast live on A-Sport.

MATCH SUMMARY
Alastonia 4-2 Masseau

Goals:
Thompson (Alastonia)- 6'
(Masseau)- 15'
Pace (Alastonia)- 33'
(Masseau)- 49'
Potts (Alastonia)- 61'
Jackson (Alastonia)- 83'

Yellow cards:
Allen (Alastonia)
(Masseau)
(Masseau) x2
Red cards:
(Masseau)

Shots: Alastonia 24, Masseau 18
Shots on goal: Alastonia 7, Masseau 5
Corners: Alastonia 5, Masseau 4
Offsides: Alastonia 3, Masseau 0
Fouls: Alastonia 5, Masseau 6
Possession: Alastonia 54%, Masseau 46%

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

The final matchday, the final cutoff. Let's see who else will stay in Quebec for a bit longer!

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Matchday Five Results- Royal Kingdom of Quebec

Group E
Gylias 3–3 Garifunya
HAUAHUHAU 2–2 Tumbra

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Tumbra                  4    2   2   0     7    5   +2     8
2 Garifunya               4    1   3   0     8    6   +2     6
3 Atrua                   4    2   0   2     6    6    0     6
4 HAUAHUHAU               4    0   3   1     4    6   −2     3
5 Gylias                  4    0   2   2     4    6   −2     2

Group F
Western Borderlands 0–4 Friskney Eaudyke
Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland 1–3 Sumaltheria

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Mendoya                                     4    4   0   0     7    2   +5    12
2 Sumaltheria                                 4    3   0   1    13    8   +5     9
3 Friskney Eaudyke                            4    2   0   2    10    9   +1     6
4 Western Borderlands                         4    1   0   3     3    9   −6     3
5 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland    4    0   0   4     5   10   −5     0

Group G
Gregory Llama Land 0–1 Polaaskan
Leadan 3–2 Valnara

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Polaaskan               4    4   0   0     8    3   +5    12
2 Gregory Llama Land      4    3   0   1     9    4   +5     9
3 Joshulia                4    2   0   2     4    5   −1     6
4 Leadan                  4    1   0   3     4    7   −3     3
5 Valnara                 4    0   0   4     5   11   −6     0

Group H
Peruvian Highlands 0–2 Racao
Daritii 2–0 Zips Nation

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Racao                   4    3   1   0     9    2   +7    10
2 Daritii                 4    2   1   1     7    7    0     7
3 Peruvian Highlands      4    2   1   1     4    4    0     7
4 Scow Creek              4    1   0   3     4    6   −2     3
5 Zips Nation             4    0   1   3     2    7   −5     1

Group I
New Bordial 1–2 Pine Island
Beauce 0–3 Aestate

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Pine Island                4    4   0   0    13    6   +7    12
2 New Bordial                4    2   1   1    13    7   +6     7
3 Aestate                    4    1   2   1    10    8   +2     5
4 Beauce                     4    1   0   3     5   15  −10     3
5 Republic of Guadalajara    4    0   1   3     5   10   −5     1

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Round of Sixteen Fixture

Sarian Half

#A1 Alastonia vs. #B2 Wolfbenz @ White Horse Stadium, New Calne, Isle Wilterset

#B1 Isula ge Ru vs. #E1(#A2 eliminated) Tumbra @ Beckwith Memorial Stadium, Beckwith, Isle Regis 

#C1 Estenia vs. #D2 New Drakonika @ Fredrik Elwing Stadium, Marlborough, Isle Regis

#D1 Abanhfleft vs. #C2 Seltik @ Poseidon's Palace, Port Salvador, Isle Regio

Quebecois Half

#F1 Mendoya vs. #G2 Gregory Llama Land @ Stade Olympia, Montreal, Montreal

#G1 Polaskaan vs. #F2 Sumaltheria @ Iqaluit Stadium, Iqaluit, Nunavut

#H1 Racao vs. #I2 New Bordial @ Pavel Wilson Stadium, Kingston, Frontenac

#I1 Pine Island vs. #H2 Daritii @ CSKA Stadium, Quebec City, Capitale-Nationale

[Tumbra]

It was our rest day. I intended to go out, go for a walk, enjoy the beautiful Quebecois scenery, as we would be going to the Sarian for the potentially make-or-break clash against Isula ge Ru. We'd really been dealt the short end of the stick. Now don't get me wrong, there were other matches that I would very happily avoid, like Ahbanfleft and Estenia. But there were some fixtures I would loved to have gotten. Seltik or New Bordial would have been perfect.

Just as I was walking down the hotel corridor, I saw Jordan walking out of his room angrily. He was muttering something under his breath, which I couldn't make out. He didn't notice me as he walked toward the lift lobby.

Seeing as his room was unlocked in his haste, I crept in and decided to see what had caused him distress.

It came in the form of a simple email from the TFA.

Jordan,
The last match was not one we wanted to see end in a draw and we are concerned that it may have affected your stock amongst the players and supporters. We wish to reassure you that we are behind you but would also like to see you make more noticeable changes when approaching important matches.

Sincerely,
Prince Andrew of Bedford
Chairman of the TFA

The last match, eh? That was a 2-2 draw with HAUHAUHAU, which eventually secured our qualification from the group, whereas the other four groupmates- Garifunya, Atrua, Gylias and the aforementioned HAUHAUHAU were all eliminated, much to our surprise.

We were the clear underdogs going into this. We had the lowest points total of any nation topping their group, whereas Islas ge Ru had gone top of their group, undefeated. Not one newspaper within Tumbra expected us to win. In normal time, extra time or even on penalties, all their match experts had us losing out. It felt horrible being treated like this. Wouldn't any newspaper, however neutral they had to be, wish for their home country to win?

Perhaps not.

Perhaps making money was all they cared about these days.

God Fuck The Press.

I decided to hightail it out of the room before Gaffer came back and found out I was in his room.

I took the lift down, and as the doors closed I saw the opposite door open, and within it was Gaffer Jordan.

Thank goodness.

Stepping out into the cold Quebecois air, I immediately put on my cap and preceded continue walking.

Walking into the unknown future.

[Estenia]

Time to shock the World

Chapter 10: Estenian team to the 16

Somewhere on the road to Marlborough, Isle Regis

Everyone was on the bus and after the extraordinary win against Devonta with 5-3 after some short fun they had for about 2 hours they slept on the bus on the way to Marlborough. The next morning they watched the skyline of Marlborough and Maksimov who woke up first he opened up his phone and checked the match reports Estenia has had.

Pre-BoF Friendly
Devonta - Estenia 2-1
Pre-BoF Friendly
Semarland - Estenia 0-3
BoF Game
Kingston-Atlantis - Estenia 0-2
BoF Game
Estenia - Seltik 2-2
BoF Game
Estenia - Devonta 5-3

after checking those results he quickly checked out the match report which was on the Tureasports.est.com

Estenia crushes Devonta, reports for next match

Yesterday night, Estenia won Devonta for the last group game of the Baptism of Fire. The score was 5-3 on Estenian favour, an unexpected event from everyone of us. Well Maksimov as excpected did an amazing performance due to the lots of saves he made from the 9 shots from Devonta to target he keeped 6 of them. An awesome performance was also made by Adrianov and Makarov, Makarov scored a hat-trick tongiht, with another goal made by Adrianov and an amazing 90 minute goal made by Maksimov himself, that dude is amazing, I tell you he will sign to a big *ss team this or next season, I think he will make teams from the likes of Felix and the Sari Lands(Sarian it's you by the way) want, Sari Lands already know some of his spice and will see even more in the next game against Drakonika, an Australian Football mostly nation, but yet again still strong on football they've done some very good results but Estenia may take care of them. Maksimov might take care of the shots. Adrianov might take care of the goals, Nazarenkov might take care of the extraordinary goals. But all the team will take care of the good teamwork like they did with every opponent they had. And as we say in Estenia 'Fellas you'll have luck in a ball'. Seriously now, good luck to our team and we hope they reach final and win this so they show everyone that is time to shock the world, wow nice slogan! Anyway the game. Predictors say about the next match that Estenia will either win 1-0 or either lose 2-1.

After checking that he posted on that.

'MaksimovTheOfficialTurean': Hey, dude thanks for these comments but make preditcors try again I'll just do better performances from now on, so keep in mind I'll do crazier stuff out here.

[Bandwagon]

Bandwagonian team booed on arrival in Dublin after poor performance.
"You f**king w***ers" shouted an angry fan. The team of young footballers failed miserably. "You little s**ts. You little s**ts." chanted another fan.
All the coaching staff have been sacked and a new selection are expected for the World Cup.

[Polaaskan]

POLAASKAN THROUGH TO THE ROUND OF 16
Four straight wins will see them play against Sumaltheria

In a chilly Quebecois night, Polaaskan rounded off a set of four straight victories. The final match in Group G was a narrow, but nonetheless deserved, win against Gregory Llama Land.

Polaaskan kicked off with the same team that started the second match. Johan Pekarik started despite Mikke Leonardsen's return from injury, and Jonathan van Leonardsen and vice-captain Christian Hogg returned in place of Timo Asker and Markus Pallessen respectively. Their first chance came just after three minutes, after a swerving Iiro Mihaylov cross found the head of Timo Heinckel who headed just onto the bar. The opposition goalkeeper was quick to grab the ball before any chance of a rebound. Polaaskan continued to press the Gregory Llama Land defence, giving them total and utter grief. Both Mihaylov and Heinckel came close a couple of times, as well as captain Sol Arke's header from Jonathan van Leonardsen's corner was saved by the goalkeeper. For their attack, they troubled the Polaa defence very little. Both Arke and Hogg looked very calm and assured at centre-back with Frans Laurensen, the defensive midfielder in front of them. Semshov and van Leonardsen provided excellent support down the flanks, too. The deadly trio of Karlstrom, Mihaylov and Pekarik continued to create chances for Heinckel and Heiko Blonqvist up front, attempting to crack the dazed yet somewhat efficient defence.

Two changes were made for the second half. Goalkeeper Timo Sokolov, the only person in the squad except centre-back Nikolay Dimitrov not to have featured, replaced Teemu Petersen, and Mikke Leonardsen came on for Johan Pekarik. Leonardsen returned with fine form, with many chances galore for Polaaskan. Despite their amazing attacking play, the opposition goalkeeper was on point at all times. Polaaskan made their third and final sub on 61 minutes. Vice-captain Christian Hogg swapped into his favourite role, in defensive midfield. Frans Laurensen came off after a decent game, and Nikolay Dimitrov, the only Polaa player not to have played so far, came into central defence alongside Arke. Like his counterpart, he seemed very composed, although being of a similar build and character to "rough man" Christian Hogg. After much pressing, Polaaskan finally got their deserved goal from one of the most outstanding players of the tournament, Iiro Mihaylov. After a blocked shot from Lukas Karlstrom, which rebounded off an opposition defender, Mihaylov lashed the ball home from roughly 30 yards, which flew into the far top corner, on 83 minutes. For the last few minutes, Polaaskan never failed to press and attack, and substitute goalkeeper Sokolov was barely troubled at all thanks to the solid defence, and only made one or two saves. The whistle ended, with Polaaskan top of the group, to face Sumaltheria in the next match, at a different location this time. They will travel to the icy, frozen area of Iqaluit, in Nunavut. We wish Polaaskan the best of luck, and congratulate Gregory Llama Land (who finished second, advancing to play Mendoya) and commiserate Joshulia, Leadan and Valnara, tricky opponents for Polaaskan.

GK - Teemu PETERSEN
LB - Vasili SEMSHOV
CB - Sol ARKE (c)
CB - Christian HOGG (vc)
RB - Jonathan VAN LEONARDSEN
DM - Frans LAURENSEN
LW - Lukas KARLSTROM
AM - Iiro MIHAYLOV
RW - Mikke LEONARDSEN
ST - Heiko BLONQVIST
ST - Timo HEINCKEL

Pre-BoF Friendly
Polaaskan 4 - 0 Polaaskan B
Pre-BoF Friendly
Semarland B 2-0 Polaaskan
Pre-BoF Friendly
Polaaskan 1-1 Dutch Semarland
Pre-BoF Friendly
San José Guayabal 4-0 Polaaskan
Pre-BoF Friendly
Polaaskan 2 - 0 Pine Island
BoF MD1
Leadan 1 - 2 Polaaskan
BoF MD2
Polaaskan 2 - 0 Joshulia
BoF MD3
Valnara 2 - 3 Polaaskan
BoF MD4
Bye
BoF MD5
Polaaskan 1 - 0 Gregory Llama Land
BoF Ro16
Polaaskan v Sumaltheria

[Sumaltheria]

They had done it. Actually done it.
Tobias cheered, joining in the celebrations. The whole team where enjoying a night out, taking it the happiness. They were in the final 16.
It had been hard. Tobias had doubted they would make it. But they had, somehow. Somehow, they beat the other team, somehow won 3-1. They had been victorious. They were in.
Now they had to try even harder. Give more that their best. These teams would be tougher, better. But this vistory gave him a sliver of hope. Maybe they could do it. Maybe they could win.

[Wolfbenz]

The Kolbenz Times

Dire Wolves make it to Round of Sixteen

New Calne, The Sarian- Dive bars around the country yelled in joy for the Wolfish team reaching the Round of Sixteen of the Baptism of Fire. Although the team suffered a goaless draw against RPGers in their last match, the team managed to progress to the knockout stages with a bit of luck, which is something the Wolfish don't usually have.

The match against RPGers was a boring one that felt like it dragged on for way more than 90 minutes. 

"Admittedly, all of us out on the field, myself included, could have done a better job," spoke Espen Pavlov in a post-match interview after the match, "I just hope that the results in Quebec can get us to the next round, because I don't want to go home just yet."

And the results did get them to the knockout rounds, with the Wolfish winning against Somstratzka and Khalifa Arabia, drawing against RPGers, and losing to Isula ĝe Ru. 

The match against Alastonia will prove to be a tough one, with the Alastonians going in undefeated and scoring 11 goals in four games, while Wolfbenz scored 5 in the same amount of games.

Top Wolfish scorers in the BOF (as of 11/5)
1. Espen Pavlov: 2 goals (one against Somstratzka and one against Khalifa Arabia)
2. Tihomir Freud: 1 goal (against Khalifa Arabia)
3. Lars Hollande: 1 goal (against Khalifa Arabia)
4. Arseniy Konstantinov: 1 goal (against Somstratzka)

Comments

Bobbeh a few seconds ago

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I think you owe all of us 500 Viostocks, CommieNazi666.

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3418 up  2 down

CommieNazi666 21 minutes ago

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Imo the Dire Wolves still suck. We're going to get curbstomped by Alastonia

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1 up  4287 down

MrSensible 30 minutes ago

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Quite a disappointing result yesterday, I must admit. Hopefully the boys in (dark) blue can overcome this obstacle of a team known as Alastonia.
And thank God they didn't put little Zoller in the last two matches. 

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3 up  978341 down

[Pine Island]

Team Summary

Pine Island is into the Round of 16, after an eye opening performance in the group stage. Thirteen goals in four matches, scored by six different players certainly made a statement on Pine Islands' attacking methods. There 4-3-3 formation has proved to be successful for the Eagles, as they are referred back home; with their midfield playing more attacking minded. We had a chance to see this in their pre-tournament friendlies, especially in matches played against Darvale. While the offense is enjoying success, Pine Islands' defense certainly isn't.

In Pine Islands' first four matches played we saw average defending; corners and set pieces were easily cleared, but one thing couldn't. Counter attacks. Opponents were speeding down the flanks leaving wing backs trailing behind, trying to catch up. Manager Shane Starks will have to decide whether to put young talent over older, experienced players entering the Round of 16 to contain this issue.

The next match for the Eagles is against the nation of Daritii. Like Pine Island, they use a 4-3-3 line up, which will surely test that wing back position(s). Forward Artornii Ornackii leads Doritii with 3 of their 7 goals this tournament, so he will surely be a player to watch. We have also noticed that Daritii, despite using an attacking formation love to play the ball at ease; they like to take their time with possession. It would be advised for Pine Islands' defense doesn't foul in this kind of position, as we all know Pine Island loves to speed things up. That's all for now with the Team Summary.

Team Stats
Team stats as we enter the Round of 16.

Pine Island Goal Scorers
Anthony Jackson - 4
Elvin Rodriguez - 3
Jacob Gardner - 2
Mitchell Nicolas - 2
Bradley Pierce - 1
Rory Bathurst - 1

Pine Island Assists
Jacob Gardner - 5
Malcom Banks - 3
Mitchell Nicolas - 2
Rory Bathurst - 2
Elvin Rodriguez - 1

Yellow Cards
Malcom Banks - 1
Bradley Pierce - 1
George Faulkner - 1

Injuries
Cleo Sotton - Knee (might be cleared from hospital to play in tomorrows' match)
Matthew Thomas - Wrist Injury (will be out for remainder of tournament)

[Daritii]

The National Football Team of the Socialist Republic of Daritii
Headquarters: Latterii
Owned by: The Daritiian Sports Association
Ground: Latterii Prime Stadium (located in Latterii)
Kit: The first colours consists of a primarily Red top, with black and yellow stripes. The shorts are primarily black with red and white stripes. The leggings are yellow and white. The second colours has a primarily black top with red and yellow stripes. The shorts are primarily red with white and black stripes while the legging is the same as the first colour. The goalkeeper jersey has a yellow top. The bottom is primarily red with black and white stripes while the leggings are the same as the other colours.
Manager: Sedickii Ercantii

Starting Line up

Gk: Setintii Ordovickii
Def: Fersintanii Sercootii
Def: Ardivinii Vinii
Def: Arckii Sarditii
Def: Sarckii Ckii
Mf: Seronii Identii
Mf: Asdintii Gertinii
Mf: Marvickii Vertinii
Fw: Artornii Ornackii
Fw: Arexii Santii
Fw: Fivii Forernii

Substitutes
Gk: Ernonii Perocockii
Gk: Hortinii Sedernii
Def: Apinii Arckertii
Def: Setinii Vebickii
Def: Jernii Cretonii
Def: Detisii Gercickii
Mf: Quarnii Nenii
Mf: Spatinii Abernonii
Mf: Fortinii Hevtinii
Fw: Courinii Zeckii
Fw: Keckii Petinii
Fw: Arckitii Tinii

Daritiian Blossom, Sport Section

The Red Ravens have made it past the group stages, but will they make it past Pine Islands? Both teams have their strengths.

Our team is more strategic than our opponent. Pacing is something important in our strategies. Some plans must be slow and can take time while other plans are rather quick. Plans change rapidly however and elements from other plans will sometimes be mixed into the current. Our team is wonderful when it comes to passing. Since passing is an important part of our strategies it is one of the things our team focuses on during training.

Agility, teamwork and maintaining the ball are a few other things our team excels in. Though our team as an attacking formation we actually excel in defence. A great midfield, defence and goal keeper will surely keep Pine Islands from scoring.

As for players, Tratickii FC's Artornii Ornackii has proven to be a success. We were expecting our top scorer to be from Tratickii FC's rival, Latterii Prime FC, who recently won the Latterii Cup, a competition for all teams located in our Capitol city and are presently one the four teams to watch in the Daritiian Cup and Daritiian League A.

Article by: Adertimaa Azarchii