World Cup 71 - RP Thread

[Felix]

Fliers fall from the sky across the Holy Republican Empire from Republica to Petrograd from New City to Baseton. Thousands of unsuspecting citizens pick up the fliers and read the message below...

Unbiased Media In Felix

Opinion: A Letter To The Oppressed
By: Unknown

Dear Citizens of the Holy Republican Empire,

For the past few years you have been oppressed by a tyrannical government that uses religion as a form of governance. The government has created a system that murders political opponents, both Republican and foreign born, and has driven the survivors into hiding. Because of this freedom has no voice in the lands of the Republic; but not all hope is lost. You can do something about it. In the next few weeks Radio Free Republica will be broadcasting the truth from the places of freedom and will air these messages of truth indefinitely until the Republic transforms into an oasis of freedom and justice. Along with daily radio broadcasts once every month Radio Free Republica will be dropping leaflets like this all over the Holy Republican Empire in hopes of inspire you, the citizen, into causing change for the good.

Political action against your government is both necessary and a desirable activity supported by the people of the Esportiva and their governments. We want you to join the democratic forum as you have been so ruthlessly and cruelly denied entrance. By raising your voice despite the dangers, you are being an active participant of the forum.

The Holy Republican Empire has a weakness despite their display of absolute power. You, the citizen are their weakness. If you raise your voice you will receive the support from many Esportivan nations, while it may not be in the form military action, pressure made in the form of WA condemnation, trade embargos and economic sanctions will surely cause the petty government to cave in.

As you finish up reading this letter you might be wondering why we care about what's going in the Republics. We care because we love freedom, we love democracy, and we love the people. We have no political motive other than removing the Holy Church out of your government and bringing freedom to your lands, the right to choose your own destiny as you see fit.

For freedom! For democracy! For justice!

Radio Free Republica

[Nova Anglicana]

Lions Give Brave Effort, Can't Handle Terns

Hayden Landers, Nova Anglicana Football Today

The Lions are no stranger to the Terns of Polar Islandstates, having confronted them in World Cup 70. At the time, the Terns were ranked 4th in the world, with the Lions being the lowest-ranked team in the tournament at #60. The game was an important one for both sides, as all teams in Group F were deadlocked at 1-0-1. The winner would move on no matter what. For the Terns, their footballing reputation was at stake. Failure to advance out of the group stage would be disastrous. For the Lions, this was an unexpected opportunity made possible by their shocking 4-2 win over Valladares the previous matchday. For the first forty-five minutes, the teams were level, and PIS even were threatened more than once by the Nova Anglican attack. But just before halftime, talismanic striker Gustaf Kolehmainen got a great ball into the box from Alexis Zeljeznicar and knocked it into the net for his ninety-third career goal for his country. The goal did not break Nova Anglican spirits, as they knocked on the Polarian door in the second half, but they could not break through. Victor Larsen salted the game away in the the 74th minute with a shot that bounced off the goalline, off the crossbar, and finally in. One more fortuitous bounce, and the Lions might have remained in the game. As it was, a two goal deficit with fifteen minutes to go proved to be too much for the Lions to overcome, and the Terns poured salt in the wound as Torsten Wolff blasted one in from the edge of the box in stoppage time. A 3-0 victory represented the difference between the Terns and the Lions, and a well-deserved difference.

Now in WC 71, these two teams meet again. Both have improved, with the Terns vaulting to 2nd following their 3rd place finish in WC 70, and the Lions jumping all the way to #35 pre-World Cup proper, and now ranking 33rd after a less than stellar qualification and defeating San José Guayabal on the away goals rule to squeak in WC 70. I think many were expecting a better game than last time, but the money still lay on a Terns victory. And rightly so, given that the Lions were definitely not playing their best during qualification.

The Terns' Eikr Lillehammer effectively neutralized Emmanuel Moga, hounding the Sparta Torspeda midfielder and sticking with him despite his fantastic pace and tricky dribbling. Moga complained more than once to the referee about bumps or holds or other minor infractions that he felt Lillehammer was committing against him, but a player like Lillehammer knows the difference between breaking and bending the rules as well as just how much one can bend them. The referee dismissed Moga's protests, as well he should have. With their key centre link disrupted, the Lions were reduced to trying to create overlaps with Chris Parker and Bradley Lancaster as well as having Kyle Fleming cross the ball into the box as much as possible. But the Terns were equal to this, fending off the Nova Anglican attack. Chris Hodges managed to make Kirilaunen dive for one of his headers in the thirty-third minute, but other than that, chances were few and far between. Meanwhile, the tandem of Larsen and Bickermann constantly caused issues for the Lions back line. It took both Cesar Martinez and Philip Castillo to fully contain the creative Zeljeznicar, and so Bowman and Jordan had to handle the Polarian strikers on their own. Larsen consistently used his physicality to create space against Jordan, while Bickermann kept Bowman active, searching for an opening. The two of them forced Klein to make a handful of saves, and more than one shot sailed not too far over the crossbar. All in all, the first half was dominated by the Terns, even though they came up empty.

Taking a gamble, Sook Jin Lee moved Castillo up to pair with Moga in a more of a 4-1-4-1 look. This left Martinez to handle Zeljeznicar on his own, but gave Lillehammer someone else to worry about. Castillo was able to provide a little more strength in the middle, and gave Hodges a beautiful chance on a chip in the fifty-fith, but Aapo Nordenberg affected the shot just enough to give Kirilaunen enough time to easily make the save. In the sixtieth minute, the Terns' patience finally paid off. Larsen brought a ball from Zeljeznicar down off his chest, glanced backwards, and back-heeled the ball straight to a breaking Bickermann. Left alone with Klein, Bickermann shot it across the goal, banging it in at the far corner to give PIS a 1-0 lead. The play required impeccable timing and technique, and the Terns executed it perfectly.

The last thirty minutes saw Lee, desperate for an equalizer, first bring on Jimmy Kelly for Castillo, giving the Lions a 4-4-2 diamond look. This had the effect of putting more pressure on the Polarian flanks and the centrebacks, but gave ground in the middle for counters. Kelly provided a much-needed burst of energy, stretching the defense, and even forced Kirilaunen to make a nice save in the seventy-eighth minute, but he was not able to break through. Lee sent Terrance Jordan off for Barrett Brandt, trying to take advantage of the 6'6 defender's height. Unfortunately, his only touch resulted in a header sprayed over the bar to no avail. These tactical changes gave the Lions some equalizing chances, but it was a miracle that they didn't lead to another goal for the Terns. Larsen had a one-on-one situation with Klein called for offsides, and young Eidur Gunnlaugsson saw his corner kick just glance off the head of Brandt, resulting in a clearance from Bowman when just a few more inches would have seen it land squarely on the noggin of Bickermann, possibly earning him the brace.

The final whistle blew, and the Lions left the pitch 1-0 losers. The game was closer than many would have predicted, but a loss is a loss is a loss, and the Lions have no points after the first game. They next take on the Grim Reapers of the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, their best chance for a victory, but they have never defeated these Quebeçois, and they held mighty Vilita to a 2-2 draw. This game will determine whether the Lions have any chance of advancement at all; they need a win. Meanwhile, the Terns and fellow powerhouse Vilita will go head-to-head in a matchup that could determine who wins the group. The Lions need a win; make sure you're there to root them on.

[Brenecia]

The Patriots had been flying.
They'd dominated the early spells of the game, Kasper Lorde kept busy in goal to keep down the score. The pace of the Brenecian front three was dazzling, and it was to nobody's surprise when Connolly finally slotted low past Lorde on the break, twenty minutes into the game.
Had the half ended at forty minutes, surely they would've gone on to breeze through the game.
But it didn't, and they didn't.
It was a neat little move, that was all. Nittenpepper took possession in midfield and hooked it up the right to their conventional winger, Masters, who beat his marker and played a good cross to the far post. The far post that Jansen was making a clever run for, and the Beckwith City man powered a header past Fairhall to level the scores.
Faulkner blamed Monroe - why hadn't he covered the second runner? Monroe blamed Breton for letting Nittenpepper slip free. Fairhall blamed herself. But the fact was that it was 1-1 heading into the second half, for all the Patriots' dominance.
The Patriots had been flying. And now they were falling.

On another day, Brenecia could still have salvaged this.
They'd been on the back foot since the second half had started. Their hearts had been crushed just as the Bustards' hopes had been redoubled. Suddenly Nittenpepper and Meeuwessen were stringing together passes, orchestrating the match and Breton didn't seem to have enough in him to close them down. Sara Fairhall was keeping them in the match as much as Lorde had in the first half.
It was inevitable, really. Yap was unlucky when a strike from distance glanced off the bar, but Jansen yet again was making the right run at the right time to smash it into the net.
They sharpened up after that, hopefully not too late. Camden was pulled for Armstrong with Bredon moving further forward, but still contributing to the defence. Malta Keohane came on for the unusually muted Scherzer. For the last twenty minutes, things started to click.
First it was Connolly threatening a second, lashing a shot in from twenty-five yards that Lorde did well to get both hands behind. Then Cullen fired just wide from just inside the box. And finally, as the hearts of the nation swelled after a Sarian attack was cleared meatily by Faulkner down the right. Cullen flicked it cleverly for Keohane, and her pace and positioning brought her through the Sarian's high defensive line... suddenly the field was open before her. Her first touch was perfect, and glancing behind her she was leaving Michaels, Peters and Stone in her wake.
Now she was bearing down on goal, and...
... And the touch was heavy. Lorde, coming off his line to challenge her, was able to stretch out a leg and slash the ball away. Keohane hurdled the goalkeeper and swore. The best chance they had for an equaliser had deserted her.
On another day, Brenecia could still have salvaged this. But not today.

It would have been easy to despair.
Catherine Bardsley faced the drawing board, Conrad Keane bringing in the coffee. While it was possible to progress with three points, it was an unlikely scenario, and... most likely they'd need a result against both their remaining opponents to progress.
Those opponents... Ko-oren and Pasarga, the Marauders fresh off a 1-0 victory.
It wouldn't be easy.
"You're really staying the course against Ko-oren?" said Keane, looking at the tactics board with some scepticism.
Bardsley took her coffee. She drank it black and concentrated. "Yeah."
"We'll get hammered."
"It's Ko-oren," Bardsley countered. "They're rock-solid at the back, and this is my best five going forward - I don't give a damn that Cheney had a bad match against the Sarian, he's got two goals for three games at international level! We need this."
"I'd still put Armstrong at the back..."
"Without Breton, our build-up play dies. We'll get a lot of possession next match, might as well use it."
Keane looked uncertain. "I guess. And Pasarga?"
"We'll see how we do against Ko-oren," said Bardsley patiently. "We'll do our regular thing. See how Ko-oren stands up to it. See how Pasarga deals with the Sarian."
"Right, a side broadly similar to us with the same formation..."
"Now you're learning, Conrad. But for now, an unchanged lineup. And tomorrow we go out, control our destiny and win the damn thing."
Keane smiled, ruthlessly. "Now you're talking my language, Cath."
"Damn right."
It would have been easy to despair. But fuck that.

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

From The Letter Box of Juan Tzimisces...

Dear Sir,

I watched with interest the Holy Empire's recent 3–3 with the Calanian Syndicate with interest. Coming back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead showed real character, but to then concede an equaliser in the dying minutes of injury time suggested that our lads lacked stamina compared to the worthy opponents from the Inevitable Union.

The solution is clearly to eat more pork sausages.

You may not be aware of the advantages of an all-pork-sausage diet, but I assure you that the benefits are indisputable. Of course, you must eat the correct sausages. None of this industrially mass-produced muck, oh no. The only possible sausages to eat are those harvested by Imperial virgins under the light of a full moon from lovingly hand-massaged consenting sentient pigs on alternative Twensuesdays.

Or was it under the light of a crescent moon? I forget.

But this is perhaps a distraction. The important thing is that your team eat more pork sausages. I am therefore arranging to ship you plenty of pork sausages to Ordinary Reality via a specially constructed portal.

There is absolutely no need to thank me - I only think of what's best for the Empire.

Yours, Etc.,

John Phocaso

Sir,

Your team's limp concession of a last-minute equaliser made me fart like a haddock.

Yours,

Maria Botaniates

Sir,

You may receive an offer of pork sausages from the evil oppressor who calls himself 'John Phocaso', claiming that these are 'harvested by Imperial virgins under the light of a full moon from lovingly hand-massaged consenting sentient pigs'.

Mr Phocaso is a fraud.

Not only can I attest that the staff designated to massage and harvest us are not virgins - we enclose photographs taken from our secret camera hidden behind the haystack - but we are also not consenting sentient pigs.

Sentient, yes, but consenting, no. We are being held here against our will so that our sweet, tender flesh (and we do not deny that we are very tasty) can be turned into delicious sausage meat. Already we have seen our friends and family slaughtered to advance his evil designs, and we can stay silent no longer - which is why we have smuggled this letter out hidden away inside your ISPI tax documents for last year.

Also note that we are not strictly speaking 'pigs', but rather an alien race called the 'Schwein' that looks rather like the porcine species of what you refer to as 'ordinary reality'. This is perhaps irrelevant; the important point is that we require rescue.

Help us, please.

Old Major, Napoleon, and Snowball

PS: Good luck with your forthcoming matches against the Holy Republican Empire and the Royal Barangay; we'll be watching if we haven't been sent to the slaughterhouse

Poopy-buns,

Devil Bunnies!

I snort the nose, Lucifer!

Banana! Banana!

Yours, etc.

Haddock Cheeks

Dear Mr. Tzimisces,

Please find enclosed your ISPI tax filing form for the previous financial year.

We would like to remind you that the Holy Empire has no non-residency exemption for 'spending most of the tax year outside the Empire', as you claimed on last year's form, whether for 'coaching the defending World Cup champions' (as was the case with your last form, but is in any case irrelevant for the present form) or for 'saving the multiverse', however frequently you claim to undertake the latter.

Also note that as your relationship with Margaret has not been officially blessed by the Orthodox Church of the Holy Empire - and is unlikely to ever be blessed given the OCHE does not recognise the existence of other gods or goddesses - you may not claim an exemption on the basis of your relationship.

Sincerely Yours, and good luck in the World Cup,

The ISPI Inland Revenue Service

[Ko-oren]

KFA seizes 'official' opportunity

Seven years ago, the KFA lifted all gender restrictions on football in Ko-oren. Ever since, boys and girls have made it through youth academies to the point that five out of eleven
Ko-orenite NT regulars are female and across all players in the Ko-orenite National League, 42% are female, to barely 2% after the first four years of the restriction lift. That women have a harder time intergrating into different sports like rugby union, league and gridiron is maybe less surprising, but the Ko-orenite Basketball League is 51% female as of last season. Back to football: the one area women do not seem to touch is 'arbitrary': only one out of 11 regular KNL (includes the top two divisions) referees is female, and just five out of the set of 24 regular KNL assistant referees.

To improve the position of women and to ensure that all refereeing talent finds its way to the professional parts of the sport, the KNL has bought additional rights to broadcast World Cup matches live to a classroom of 14 aspiring referees. Not only that, but the games will be broadcast into the classroom via hologram to improve the viewing experience and to provide excellent immersion.

To finance the project (or to make good money off of it) the KFA is accepting bids for the hologram hard- and software, the results of the experimental course (conducted with assistance of Greencaster University), and the Multiverse's various comedy channels may bid for the footage of 14 men and women walking through a classroom, looking at a hologram, wearing special glasses and a headset for pinpoint location audio, all whistling and pretending to caution players thousands of kilometres away.

Miranda Mortcombe, the sole female head referee, is glad the project is underway: "Nine of us are over the age of sixty, so some newcomers are welcome. It's just a matter of time before one referee needs a new hip, which would have left us short."

Dragonflies face Brenecia in doubly crucial Group G game

Both of matchday one's losers face each other in the World Cup in the Dragonflies v. Patriots game. With Pasarga beating Ko-oren and the Sarian escaping with a win against Brenecia, the loser of this next game is all but eliminated from the competition.

Let's go back to Telino's Stadii Ximena, where the Greenblues took on the Wanderers on day one of the World Cup. Sure, betting offices tipped Pasaraga's XI to win, and undoubtedly so did many pundits, fans and neutral football followers. Still, captain Jan Macík's low volley in the 64th minute came as a surprise to anyone watching this game. Up until that point, the Ko-orenites not just defended well, they also had the better of the game (including a huge wasted chance by Wakefield just two minutes earlier). After this point, the Dragonflies' pride looked destroyed, something that hasn't happened in years. They finished the remaining 26 minutes without anything that looked like a shot on goal, taking the loss for granted. No doubt Darius Fitzpatrick will have grilled them in preparation for the second game: it's finally time for Ko-oren to reach the quarterfinals, but after a lackluster performance and another good opponent waiting for us, it's not impossible for us to finish third or fourth in the group.

Obviously, the same goes for the Patriots: they lost to the Sarian in the first game and have to fight for their last chance: if they lose, they'll be last in the group with just a slight chance for second place.

All other groups in the World Cup saw a draw, which means that every team will have at least a small chance to reach the second round up until the very last game. Every group, but Group D, with Audioslavia, Nephara, Kandorith and the Blouman Empire. Nephara beat Audioslavia, no surprise there for the best team in qualification. Valladares tied Barunia 4-4 in Group A, with Barunia reestablishing that they might have the best offence in the world at the moment (after a monumental 47 goals in the qualifying stage). We also started this World Cup with five unbeaten teams, of which there are still four left: Ko-oren lost, while Pasarga and the Polar Islandstates won, and the Holy Empire and the Equestrian States tied.

[Sangti]

Continued from this
Libertad Sportswear Multiversal (LSM) Group - Main Office
Sangti, The Royal Barangay

Marita waited for the fax machine to print the KPMB's request. It was a ten-minute wait, for just a one-page letter. After two more minutes, the request was grabbed by her, and she read the letter:

TO: Libertad Sportswear Multiversal
CC: Office of the Gran Supremo
FROM: Konsehong Pampalakasan ng Maharlikang Barangay

---

Greetings!

We are the from the Konsehong Pampalakasan ng Maharlikang Barangay, the nation's governing body in terms of sports. This organization regulates all the development about almost all the sports here in the Barangay, We envision a competitive national team for every sport that the nation enters, all for the glory of the Gran Supremo.

We are currently in a search of a local kit provider for the kits of our Agilang Dilaw. For the past seven editions of the World Cup, The Royal Barangay have been supplied by Kirola Sports. With the current contract due at the end of the 71st World Cup, the organization have decided not to extend the deal beyond that. As such, we would like to thank them for all the effort they have done to produce top-quality kits for our national team.

We have seen the majority of your work on kit designs on football kits - from the clubs, to the national teams of Raussland, Darvale and Gregoryisgodistan. We also appreciate your efforts in designing the sportswear of the national baseball and basketball teams. This is why we approached you to be our next kit provider for the World Cup next edition.

We will send Ms. Blessy Katrin Palomares, one of our graphic consultants, to assist you in creating the initial kits for the Barangayan National Football team. We also request to hand you a contract offer of fifteen World Cup editions, with terms to be discussed. We would like to debut the kits by the Campionato Esportiva at the latest. If you can provide us the final design within three months, then we can use it on our final group match.

We look forward to hear from you soon regarding this matter.

Marita was overjoyed. For the first time, the company will design the football kits of The Royal Barangay. She would anticipate the arrival of Blessy to assist her in the kit design. They would do work on the kits within four months, ready for the next competition which is the Campionato Esportiva.

OOC Note: We would like to thank Audioslavia for making our kits since World Cup 65 up to the 71st World Cup. Your work on the Sangti/TRB kits will much be appreciated.

TRB Scorers: Erick Khan 32', Niel Conanan 78'

[Apox]

Two games, 4 teams. Two massive fixtures and funnily enough two fixtures with the same nationality on either side. The newly promoted Centre For Excellence in Endeavour, the new Apoxian answer to the Unified Sunrise's long running Project +90 were facing off against the very same Project +90, with the Apoxian based version of the brand being their opponents on the day - playing at the Project's swanky development base on the suburbs of Dwile, both teams playing fast and fluid football - their play having stood out a little from the more physical game most of the other teams in the ANL3 tended to go for.

***

Several months later, and in Felix, 30,000 Apoxian and 30,000 Sunrisian spectators packed into the Stade de Lyon in order to watch the next instalment of one of the most exciting and long running rivalries in modern football, with both teams desperate to gain a result against each other. Many knew the score from the earlier game between the two sides, and it had been a much hyped news feature going into the game. The national anthems were sung, both teams belting out the words as if their lives depended on it, their voices swollen by the extreme noise the crowd was now making.

The ball was placed on the centre mark, and after a moment of relative calm as the anticipation rose in the crowd, before the whistle blew and the game begun, the noise reaching deafening levels again as Hannah Alcouin passed it back to Felipe Maniche - the 16th match of international football between these two sides had begun.

***

The Centre for Excellence had the early advantage, their pressing game combined with a slightly better stamina than the Project's player meant they were able to hold the upper hand, thanks partly to Titan Vladimirescu, their captain on the left flank outmuscling and generally out playing Jess Proudlock against him. His cross to Igapé in the 5th minute nearly found it's mark, before his curled shot was only stopped by an impressive save by Orville Kang in the Project's goal. Both sides pressed hard, but it would be the Centre who found the breakthrough, Mauro Bianchi raking a brilliant cross in front of the Project's defense, the ball reaching the feet of the youthful Jhon Mercurier who was racing onto the ball, and despite nearly getting tangled up with Léonce Comê in the box, managed to emerge unscathed and pop a shot past Kang to score the opener for the Centre in only the 9th minute of play.

***

In the full international, it was slightly different, with the Sunrisian's doing much of the pressing - although it was largely fruitless, with Solomon Etezadi putting in his usual impressive performance to prevent many scoring opportunities from arising in the early minutes, although the most impressive stop of the opening 10 minutes came from Olim Shahzad, who, with Ettie Seabrooke beaten in goal at a corner, managed to bicycle kick the ball from pretty much the line and out to safety. However, while Felipe Maniche was busy being all kinds of threats down in the Apoxian box, Tolgus Tregajorran was proving to be a fair handful in the Sunrisian box - mainly by making a nuisance of himself and taking plenty of Sunrisians to mark him. In fact, he nearly got Adnan Zozula on goal in the 11th minute after he'd successfully dragged Zozula's marker out of place, but Mellody Sioux read it well and raced out to smother the ball before Zozula was able to pull off a shot.

***

While the international match was being open but still quite cagey, by the 15th minute the game between the Project and the Centre had opened right up, with Igapé pulling off a shot at Kang, before young Apoxian poacher Ulysses Zimmer was quick to fire off a speculative shot towards Tim Cage in the Centre's goal - it flew harmlessly over. The only real, meaningful action was Marcos Sierra's sending off for the Centre, after he lost his cool and stamped on the hand of Brian Litchmoor as he struggled back up having been floored by Sierra's strong tackle. The free-kick was decisive, and well taken, Divan Miocic weighting the ball remarkably well for Ulysses Zimmer to collide with it, Zimmer actually not doing too well in the air, but being in the right place at the right time, and the ball careered into the goal at an angle unexpected by Orville Kang, the score being drawn level.

***

Apox were working their way into the match a little better, with Zana Ibrox moving into a slightly more advanced position and being able to exploit the space opened up by Tolgus Tregajorran dragging at least one defender around with him all the time - the Sunrisian's had clearly been very well briefed on his talents and were unwilling to grant him even the tiniest bit of space. He did manage to get the ball on the edge of the box long enough to lay it back to the incoming Ibrox - however she leaned back in the shot and, to the moans of the Apoxians in the goals and jeers of the Sunrisians, the ball sailed harmlessly over the bar.

***

The first half was nearing it's end point back in Dwile and both sets of teams were beginning to flag a little - neither quite experienced enough to maintain the intensity for the whole 45 minutes without a short break in the middle. It was leading to more mistakes on both sides - including Orville Kang almost letting the ball slip through his grasp and into his net from a strong back pass. He dived gratefully on the ball prior to it reaching his net, thankfully.

However, these mistakes meant there would be another goal in this half, and so it turned out. Kang went to clear the ball, and threw it out in the direction of Ratchet Griffin. However, he misjudged it, and Titan Vladimirescu was there, wrestling Griffin off the ball and laying it through to Mercurier in the middle. It paid off, Mercurier spinning a slamming a firm shot towards Kang. Kang read him well though, and parried it out... straight into the feet of Vladimirescu, who in the words of choice Nepharim press unleashed a total "thunderbastard" onto the unsuspecting Kang. The Centre's supporters in the stadium exploded into cheers and the half time whistle went - the Centre were ahead at half time, made all the more impressive what with them being reduced to 10 men.

***

Well, the Apoxians certainly weren't on top going into half time in the international match, with Solomon Etezadi and Ettie Seabrooke having to use all of their talent to keep out two shots by Hannah Alcouin, a long range, but nonetheless on target effort by Maniche and what we'll leave as a "speculative" effort by Hasato Kimiki just before the whistle. It was clear that the final 15 minutes of the half had been going the way of the Sunrisians and the Apoxian defenders looked notably relieved to get a break at half-time, having managed to concede in that time as well. They were, despite the apparent gulf in skill between the two team (something Apoxian fans have always staunchly regarded as bollocks since the Sunrisians overtook us in rank) still very much in the game and in the hunt for an equaliser - if only the USI's defenders would give Tregajorran a touch more space on the ball one of these days...

To be continued... (by NSI, I hope)

[Star United States]

On the Curtis Case

City of Star - The national soccer team of Star United States has qualified for the first time for the World Cup proper in Yttribia and Felix. Shockingly, the Starians have continued on in their path without a head coach. The head coach of the team was suspended from his position due to a suspicion of a conspiracy in the second match against San Jose Guayabal during the qualifiers. The night after the match was played, the National Sports Federation of Star United States announced the following: “We are currently unaware of any fraud in the World Cup Qualifier San Jose Guayabal - Star United States. After a certain statement was said during a live broadcast, the motives behind this match of the Management Staff and the national Men’s Soccer Team are being investigated. With no further to do, Luke Curtis is currently warned and suspended from his duties until further notice. Assistant coaches will assume the position. Thank you. Updates to come,”

After various days of investigation, the Starian sports fanatics woke up to alarming news. Chaos, once again, hit the social media. It left many in awe. The following post was published early this morning on the official website of the SF: “The investigation of fraud in the San Jose Guayabal - Star United States has concluded, and the leadership of the National Sports Federation has arrived at an agreement.. The association of San Jose Guayabal is not held responsible for Starian actions. Head Coach Luke Curtis and Assistant Coach George Lewisly have been found guilty of fraud and their cases will be transferred over the judicial authorities. Their work in the Sports Federation has been terminated. The Sports Federation will attempt to fill the vacancies soon, however, until later notice, Brent Bought will be the Acting Head Coach. Thank you.”

The Sports Federation refused to make any other comments regarding the situation. However, Amos Estrada, the head of the Sports Federation was interviewed with three questions about the concerning topic.

Question: “Mr. Estrada, what will the team do now? They are in the World Cup!”
Answer: “The team is sufficient enough to carry out without the head coach. Nevertheless, Brent Bought will be taking the position until a qualified-person may be located.”

Question: “Mr. Estrada, what do you have to say about Head Coach Luke Curtis’s fraud?”
Answer: “I refuse to answer this question, however, everyone makes mistakes - some have devastating consequences.”

Question: “Mr. Estrada, how did the Board reach said conclusion?”
Answer: “That information is confidential.”

Social media has experience another soccer fever has caused chaos. Many soccer fans have shown their angered or satisfaction through their posts and pictures. For safety measures, neither the location of Mr. Curtis and of Mr. Lewisly nor of their court trial have been made public.

As time progresses, more updates to come.

[Osarius]

Against Equestrian States in the opening Osarius game of the World Cup finals, it appeared that Jermain Lewis attempted to make a point. In response to the general consensus that his side's key players are "old" and perhaps "past their best", and that their younger replacements might not be up to the task just yet, Lewis left Acosta, Drummond and Grassi -- all key players in the Firebirds' victorious campaign two years ago -- out of the starting lineup. It didn't quite go according to plan.

Despite the hard work of Fabio Mancini alongside Gavin Mitchell in midfield, behind Andrea Poynter -- presumably selected for her experience against the Ponies, now that she plies her trade in Canterlot -- the Firebirds just could not break down a resolute Equestrian defense.

"Between the experience they have a centre back, and one of the game's better goalkeepers, it was always a tough ask," Lewis conceded. "We let frustrations get to us later on, too. Let them sit back and really get to us. We'll need to improve for the next one."

Though the talk will be of the Equestrians' resolute defending, Jermain Lewis' stubbornness shone through in the latter stages of the game, when he refused to introduce either Drummond or Grassi into a game crying out for a bit of attacking nous. Replacing Fabio Mancini's tiring legs with Salvatore Laccona -- ostensibly in an attempt to provide a physical advantage in the final third -- didn't work out, either.

Between Poynter and Puntoriero attacking the same areas, and a well-drilled defensive line catching Marshall offside more often than not, Osarius were forced to try and play through the middle. Against the solid back pair of Molovi and Flitter, however, this really meant they were limited largely to shots from distance. While Mitchell tested Gentle Breeze and Mancini cannoned a shot off the crossbar just before half-time, Lewis' side just struggled to create many clear-cut shots. Wesley Kane often got the better of Bailey on the left wing, but was unable to capitalise, with nobody to connect with in the middle. His frustrations manifested themselves in a second half booking, followed quickly by a substitution, bringing Tobias Clarke into the fray instead.

On the positive side, however, former Shanak midfielder Gavin Mitchell acquitted himself brilliantly alongside Fabio Mancini, in what may well be the future of the Osarian midfield. "I was very happy with Gavin and Fabio today, with Rock [Acosta] out of the team, they both stepped up and did brilliantly." Lewis said. "I'm wary of asking too much too soon, but I think both lads have great careers ahead of them. Very mature displays today."

Next up for Osarius is Apox, who also played out a goalless draw on matchday one. "Apox are hard to predict." Lewis said. "But there were enough positives today that I can stay confident. We'll get better as the tournament progresses, we just need to focus on the next game, and take it from there."

* * * * *

Sat at his desk in a quiet corner of the chamber that was home to 'Genkaku', Marcus Resheph, Oracle's Head of Data, was checking his email between writing the code for a deep analysis task. Highlights of the Osarius-Equestrian States match played on a low volume on his second monitor.

Bloop! A new message popped up. It was from Lloyd, Oracle's Head of Security.

Marcus, bad news. Someone got us again. The final four have been leaked.

The enclosed link led to a football fans' forum...

* * * * *

blakhat

Osarius 51.1% win probability over Polar Islandstates. OPPA ~0.21
The Holy Empire 50.2% win probability over Audioslavia. OPPA ~0.15
Osarius 52.6% win probability over The Holy Empire. OPPA ~1.41

weird final OPPA.

nollidge

fake. no way the final OPPA could be that skewed.

tufeise

why fake the final OPPA so obviously though?

the_fredo

i dunno. the other results he leaked were real...

misterwizard

assuming this is legit, does this mean didn't know about the source code leak?

nollidge

still doesn't mean this isn't fake. it just doesn't add up.

blakhat

wait until tomorrow then. they will air on tv the same results. mods can check if i edit this.

@wizard guess not. not really much they could have done anyway really.

komanda_redd MOD

@nollidge he has a point. i can lock the thread until tomorrow if that helps.

fiah

more time the results look real to me. dunno if he hacked for real but its whatever tbh

nollidge

lock it. we'll see tomorrow. if he's lying he should be banned for repeated spam.

blakhat

repeated spam? where? how is this any different to a prediction thread?

komanda_redd MOD

valid point. doubt we will ban anyway. but if this is fake, now is the time to come clean.

blakhat

how do you come clean on something you didnt do?

[Super-Llamaland]

Gloriax was a feisty, young team - heck, their captain (the striker, Eloisa Purinton) was younger than every Llamanean player save for Michael Herleksson. Super-Llamaland's average age was a decent 26.6, but Gloriax's 20.8 still managed to put them to shame - this was a team that was starting a f***ing sixteen year old.

Bogdan Antonescu, though, wasn't about to take any risks with them - dropping points here could prove fatal. The lineup was therefore a bland 4-2-3-1, the banteng manager's only risk being starting the untested Orson Kerraway on the left wing. Still, it was a calculated risk, especially since Alex Ford had been slumping as of late.

As for Antonescu's counterpart David Russell, the Gloriaxians were playing what they had played since the start of the qualifiers - Kuhlmann in the net, a back line of Bayne, Stcyr, Pinney, and Ketner; Hiett, the teenage Mangano, and Weekes in the midfield, and Stockard and Coppinger backing up the star, Eloisa Purinton, in the front.

The whistle blew. Player passed to Sturgeon. The match began.
---
Ten minutes in, everyone could see that both sides had made serious mistakes - and they were floundering about on the left wing and the trench lines of the midfield.

Orson Kerraway, usually scrapped for Dickinson or Ford, had amassed a total of nine international caps - mostly in qualifiers or throwaway friendlies, the sort that ended in "SUPER-LLAMALAND WINS TWO-NIL OVER SOME MINNOW" headlines. Certainly nothing on the caliber of a must-win World Cup match. As a result, he seemed abnormally jittery, and the entire sideline winced when he took a perfect cross from Tobias Dickinson and pinged it over the crossbar.

And Rusty Mangano, so accustomed to fame's luxuries at sixteen, simply choked. Most of the Black Tigers were handling their first World Cup fairly well (by far the most high-stakes game they'd ever played, probably), but the future superstar was simply absent. It was Tobias Dickinson who took advantage of this most, and although the 29-year-old's talent was nowhere near Mangano's, Dickinson was simply running circles around him, taking command of the attack with blistering pace.

Both sides adjusted a bit - Frederico Hiett was forced to take over Mangano's spot in the center, shuffling up the back line as well as they struggled to dealing with life without Hiett pitching in on the left side. As for the Tigers, Kyle Sturgeon was forced to play forwards a bit more than he liked, but the team adapted smoothly enough.

The Cartwright-Purinton clash early on was fairly boring - Cartwright had gotten a few touches, but the majority of the offense was handled by Tobias Dickinson. Meanwhile, with the early game being a bit dreary, Eloisa Purinton had few chances at showcasing her magic in the box.

The real action began in the thirteenth minute. Mangano suddenly managed to recover, and his well-timed challenge took Tobias Dickinson by surprise. The Llamanean managed to recover well, but Mangano was faster, and managed to poke the ball away from him and send a pass towards Lore Coppinger - another sixteen-year-old, mind you, who took two, long, striding steps forwards. Gray advanced towards her, and, inexplicably, so did Myers. Coppinger's eyes seemed to light up as she waited for the defenders to realized they'd screwed up - sure enough, both began to backtrack before Myers took command and went for a tackle on Coppinger - but the right-winger simply stepped around Myers and rattled off a perfect clear to Eloisa Purinton.

Antonescu, usually predisposed to civility, swore loudly. The curse echoed about the pitch as Purinton's shot hit the back of the net. Jared Finch dove at Purinton while Ryan Reagan tried to cover a slice of the goal with his body, but neither had a chance - noticing both, the striker sort of lifted her shot over Finch and bounced it towards the left side of the goal. One-nil Gloriax.
---
The Tigers struggled to regain control of the game after the early deficit. Kerraway temporarily found his grip on things and made a decent attempt on goal, while the rest of the team continued to push up.

Including the Lotus Park striker, Kristopher Nilssen. He'd had little media attention in the qualifiers, when Cartwright was being Cartwright and Powell and Masters were doing their best to lose their jobs. But even now, when everyone turned to him as the Tigers' "secret weapon in the attack", extolling him as quick on the break and deadly with his right boot, he didn't fold. Of course he wouldn't fold, he'd already been through this once before two years ago. But now, he was better than ever. And Antonescu - h***, the entire team, even the egotistical Cartwright, knew it.

And of course, when he was open on the right wing, Cartwright - Cartwright! - turned around, stepped back from his mark to give himself time, and passed to him. Nilssen didn't hesitate - taking a mocking little step inwards, he proceeded to fire the ball low-and-right for an easy goal.

Except the flag went down. There wasn't an argument - he'd been clearly offsides.

The rest of the first half proceeded similarly - chances from both sides, but nobody finding that finishing touch - and the Tigers went into the second half of their first game down one-nil to Gloriax.

Then things got worse.
---
Annabeth Kudlowski knew she would get a cap that really mattered within two weeks - she'd been promised the starting spot in the World Cup if Jared Finch slipped up, but even if he didn't (which, she had to admit, was depressingly likely) she would likely get the second half of some game. Antonescu had pulled her aside and promised her that she'd get some time in the net at the World Cup, and the Furellese manager rarely reneged on his promises.

She just hadn't expected it to be so soon.

But, sure enough, Jared Finch had somehow managed to slip and fall on the stairwell going in after halftime - everyone had heard a crack when his leg hit the stone - and now she was snagging her gloves and running into the net. She had no real warmup - never felt the need - but everything seemed to be in order.

As it turned out, there wasn't much need for her - the untested McKenzie Ferguson would've done just as well. She had a total of one shot on target to stop, and it was in reality simply a floater that Purinton shot off Sebastian Myers' leg. Meanwhile, the Tigers pushed forwards and forwards, Dickinson and Cartwright dangerous in the center; Nilssen and Inriquez lurking on the wings. The Gloriax team started falling back under the onslaught.

The goal that Super-Llamaland finally scored in the fifty-sixth was a perfect portrait of what had been of their second half so far. Pinney's rushed clearance attempt at Mangano, under pressure from a charging Orson Kerraway, had been neatly trapped and taken away by Kyle Sturgeon, whose pass dropped at Sebastian Inriquez's feet. Inriquez took a step, cut past Bayne, and rolled it to the wide-open Anthony Player, who let loose a beautiful, soaring cross that Cartwright, cutting behind Xuan Stcyr, neatly headed home to equalize. One-all.

Just because they'd equalized, though, didn't mean the Tigers were about to stop. In fact, a botched communication at kickoff gave Orson Kerraway a golden opportunity - he managed to, with a clean challenge on Rusty Mangano, tackle the ball away, where Kristopher Nilssen managed to get his boot in front of Hiett's and dribble forwards. Nilssen stepped to the right and fired on target from long distance, but Ethan Kuhlmann handled it easily.

Still, although the resulting game was a bit more balanced, tiredly returning to the beginning's trenchline tackle-fest, the Tigers continued to keep the upper hand. From her faraway vantage point, Annabeth Kudlowski saw, multiple times, a blue-and-green-striped player break through, but each time Gloriax managed to stop them. Still, it was only a matter of time...

And there it was. Sebastian Myers, playing at defense, managed to trap a sloppy attempt from Mangano and fire a much better pass. It bounced about halfway between the center of the pitch and the sideline, and Inriquez took it smoothly. The Lyon right-winger sprinted up the wing, watching Gloriax panic both towards Inriquez and away from him to guard some other wide-open attacker, and then lofted a cross. It was messy, floating over everyone, but Kyle Sturgeon tracked it down and found himself practically wide open on the left wing. Nobody considered Sturgeon the scoring type, but nevertheless he took two steps in and absolutely crushed it into the upper right corner, past a stunned Kuhlmann.

And suddenly it was two-one, and the subs were coming on - Gloriax put in James Lindberg and Gianna Spahn for the absentee Pinney and the ineffective Mangano, while Antonescu decided to tone down the attack a little, with the aim of locking down three points, bringing in Alex Bale for Tobias Dickinson. With twenty minutes left to play, the Tigers lead two-one, but could they hold it that way?

Annabeth knew the Black Tigers would be coming in real strength now. She refastened her gloves. She was ready for this.
---

"****!" Annabeth screamed, slamming her gloves into the ground and leaving for the shower room. Nobody stopped her.

She'd done so ****ing well - stopped a nice volley from Purinton off a beautiful cross, hadn't even batted an eye at Stockard's wide-open smash at the net, instead contemptuously catching it as if it were being tossed at her. She'd even faced down Lore Coppinger - not as well-known as Purinton, but almost as good and certainly a strong winger - in a one-on-one.

But of course, when, at the eighty-fifth minute mark everything had gone to ****, she'd done nothing to stop it. James Lindberg had shrugged off Alex Bale and broken free, and as Ryan Reagan moved forwards to stop him, he'd rattled off a strong pass to the right-winger, Coppinger. As the Tigers quickly managed to adapt, Coppinger tried to fake past Nicholas Gray and get a shot off - but Gray managed to block it, sending it into the air.

She'd entertained coming out to snag it, but decided not to - then she swore as, somehow, James Lindberg managed to get the ball gain and loft a cross into the air. And Purinton wasn't going to be gentle with it if she got it. Kudlowski went out, leaping for the ball and jumping onto a collision course with Purinton.

She caught it squarely in her hands, just as she always had, bringing it down as she came back to earth. Crisis averted.

And then Lore Coppinger was screaming something triumphantly, and Sebastian Myers was hurling foul remarks at anyone who would listen. She'd dropped it, and Coppinger had poked it into the goal.

Antonescu tried to sub in Alex Bale for Ryan Reagan to get the team to push up, but to no avail. If it'd been earlier, they might have gotten off a third goal. But she hadn't given them time, ****ing dropping it as she had.

They were screwed.

STARTING LINEUP AGAINST TURORI

Ferguson; Myers, Reagan, Herleksson, Bale; Sturgeon, Dickinson, Player, Ford; Cartwright, Nilssen

[Pasarga]

"Your Grace, I have information that may be pertinent to you." The aide said as Júlía Ólafsdóttir as she was preparing to break from the throne room after hearing the matters of the day. It was an antiquated system but replacing it with something more streamlined was a bit of a sticking issue with some of the more rural citizens who did not appreciate change. All the same, the Queen enjoyed it in her own way, getting to hear first hand from her citizens or their representatives what exactly was the issues that were being a detriment to her realm.

"Speak quickly, I am weary from the day and would much like to get to accompany my wife for the remainder of the evening." The politics had taken up enough of her time already, the greater part of the morning and afternoon had been given up to administering the nation. Now the Queen desired the sweet comfort of spending time with her loved ones, something that seemed to happen less and less as of late. Pasarga needed her but she needed her family and they both required her time. Such was the see saw affair and balancing act of the personal and national affairs, it certainly kept her on her toes.

"Szcaroio Majistar has vacated the country and taken up residence in Sargossa." That piqued the Queen's interest indeed, she had assumed that her cousin would leave the country now that the chances of his rebellion had been squashed. However that he choose to go to Sargossa of all places seemed interesting to her, given that they supposedly were inclined to lend her cousin military support for his cause. Was he looking to go there and recruit and army to come back to Pasarga with?

"Are you certain of this and if you are, have you been able to ascertain his intentions for making Sargossa his new home?" She asked, her eyebrow raised a bit in intrigue and caution. While the country was now more or less back under her thumb, the thought of her cousin coming back with an army to try and force his claim disturbed her. She thought him wiser than to see Pasarga put to the torch for his own desires, especially when she had not moved against him or his children for their treason. It would have been the wiser move politically but you did not strike at family, that was her policy and why she was better suited for the crown than Szcaroio ever would be.

"As hard as it to be believed you majesty, but those that were in his inner circle say that he goes there simply to live out the rest of his days or until you choose to let him return to the islands. One or two have even hinted that he goes there in service of Pasarga, to seek out the truth behind their intentions of trying to support his rebellion when it seemed like it was all about to kick off." Now that certainly had to be a tall tale if she ever heard one, her cousin putting not only the country ahead of himself but the family as well? That could not be the truth, not after everything that he had put her through the last few years with his threat of civil war, it simply could not be true.

"I want the truth, however it may come. I want to know why my cousin has gone north and I want to know as soon as humanly possible." Her voice was stern and loud, with even the cackle of the radio broadcasting the Wanderer's victory in the World Cup being drowned out by its strength. The Queen dismissed the aide to do as she commanded but her mind was elsewhere, to her youth and when she never thought she would be upon the throne. Back then everything knew that Takilian would pass the crown to Szcaroio, how strange it was now for him to be in exile and she the ruler that Pasarga had. "What have you done Szcaroio?"

[Eura]

The ferry between the Euran east coast port of Finch and the island of Endem, a large island just off Eura's east coast with Electrum to the south west, was usually tortured by the sea it had to sail across. This channel had a habit of being volatile in bad weather conditions. Today though the waters were very calm, as they only had a light summer breeze to stir them. It was about eight in the evening and the sun was coming down; one could see the lights of Finch in the distance and the daunting glow of Falourr was so strong that it could be seen, just about, far to the north. It was only from here that one could realise just how massive a country Eura was. At least that's what Harley couldn't help but think as he glanced the other way from the viewing deck of this leviathan ferry, looking out towards Endem and beyond it the Endemian Ocean. Harley was no ordinary commuter though. He wasn't on holiday either. Harley was just a guest on this route, a man who had never been on it before and likely never would again, bar the return journey. This vessel, to him, was just a meeting point, a rendezvous, where he would share research that he had spent the last nine months accumulating.

Harley had been in deep cover in the Szavodan borderlands west of Sameba. He hadn't been observing the Szavodan's of course, they just happened to be there. His cover was that of a photographer for tourist organisations, but in reality he was there to take extreme long range photographs from high altitudes, on days with good visibility, of Sameban military and industrial facilities. Sameba's west flank was, in the strategic balance between the two countries, the hardest section of Sameba to balance against or counter. It neighboured the geographically smaller and demographically much, much weaker Szavoda and was harboured safely behind the eastern chain of the west and north Euran mountain ranges, which were split down the middle by the Holden. Here, Sameban industries were offered some protection and secrecy from Eura's prying eyes and, in the case of conflict, from various means of bombardment or sabotage. It was also the location of a focused military build up, as the region offered some protection to airbases for Sameba's outnumbered air force. Moreover, troops were needed there to maintain the border with Szavoda, a country whom were having to hold back the tide of potential immigration from Sameba and who had a very defensive military set up. By default, they appeared neutral to the outside but had surprisingly registered little on the radar of Euran and Sameban diplomacy efforts. Sameba, which had began to retreat into its shell in the last few years, now simply assumed Szavoda was mildly hostile.

Therefore, there were three immediate interests for the Euran government in observing what was going on right on the very frontier of Sameba's western territory. The state of Sameban industry, the presence of military reserves and possibly staging positions for an attack, and Sameba's stance towards their small western neighbour. For one thing the very western end of the Euran-Sameban border, the apex of the Euran-Sameban-Szavodan border were all heavily mountainous and constantly monitored by Eura as potential access routes for a surprise attack. However further to the north, the mountains became a bit less daunting in terms of height and width but were also steeper, giving more ambitious climbers - like Harley - the chance to get great views over the border. Of course, there were dangers involved in doing this with powerful photography equipment with you. Not only were some routes quite dangerous to navigate, but it was also well known that many climbers - Szavodan's, Euran's and god knows who else - had perished in these mountains, but not always in ways you might expect. Questions had been asked before about walking parties hearing isolated gunshots. There were some families of missing climbers who claimed foul play, but so far, none of their suspicions had been proven correct. Harley had reasons to believe, however, that those suspicions had a grain of truth to them.

Finally he was joined by his colleague. She was a short woman, with fair hair, freckles and an iron gaze. She stared out over the water, and then looked around a bit at the people around them. Mostly Euran, but you could see a few Electrumites about. A Valladar couple were babbling away in their native language as they snuggled up by the railing, watching the sun set. An oil tanker was passing which spoiled the view a little, but the viewing deck was high enough that you could see over it. The only thing on the horizon was another maritime attraction that was getting a few passengers attention - the easily recognisable flat top of a Euran Navy aircraft carrier, way off in the distance with a few escorts, probably heading to Falourr. 'Nice evening isn't it Harley.'
'It is. Who are you? What department?'
'Is there a department for inquiries from low level intelligence grunts who are peeping way above their pay grade?' Harley scoffed at her as she retained her stony gaze. 'Who are you calling low level? You're what, some civil servant? Maybe even MoD. I might be in the field, but OSI field agents rank highly by default. Especially ones with specialties.'
'What, you think you're given clearance because you can climb over some rocks like a four year old in a sand pit? Don't be naive. Anyway, you're out of date on protocol, no calling it OSI in public anymore. Not after Askoy.'
'Get over it. OSI never died. Now you need us more than ever. Now are we going to talk business or what?'

She paused and for a moment there was relative silent. All you could hear was the waves, the dull hum of the ships engines from way down below, and the chattering of the Valladar couple. 'We can, but I'll warn you, this government isn't exactly in the mood for more scaremongering.'
'Typical Liberal Party, eh? No guts on Sameba.'
'Look, no-one is denying the Sameban's have closed up a bit in the last couple of years. The death of Alyeya brought the reaction it was always likely to. However, the sort of thing that OSI, the navy and the Endemian's have been saying? Its just alarmist crap.'
'Is it really alarmist crap?'
'Yes.'
'Look...what's your name again?'
'Just call me B.'
'B, they shot up the house of another photo-spook up north because he'd caught them reactivating abandoned bunkers. They've sent every single capital ship of theirs away from Aspel bar a couple of escort carriers and set them up permanently in seemingly random outposts. They've been increasing spying activity in the capital and border regions while ignoring everywhere else. Their factories have all suddenly become harder to access and we know they've had a special forces command committee discuss the feasibility of hitting oil rigs, Polarian and Endemian. Something is up, and it isn't just posturing.'

Once again she could only laugh. 'Think its funny do you?'
'You realise how barmy you sound?'
'I've got something that will wipe that smile off your face. This could be something big.' Harley looked genuinely a bit worried, and this in turn made B concerned. 'What do you mean?'
'Thirty six years ago, we thought they were building a gun type fission bomb at a relatively small underground facility out where I was, right?'
'How do you know about that?'
'Word gets around.'
'Right, well, yes we considered that possibility, but deemed it implausible.'
'What if they were wrong?'
'Look, stop teasing me and get to the point. You were out there to monitor movements of armoured vehicles and industrial output. What did you find?'
'I did monitor those things, but on my longest trip out I scaled the north face of Greya, one of the larger mountains that is mostly on the Sameban side. I wasn't even near the Sameban border when I noticed helicopters coming in and out almost hourly of a small valley on the other side, at about five thousand altitude according to the local OS maps. At the bottom of the valley, at about two thousand feet above sea level, there is some sort of industrial facility. I couldn't get any direct photographs, but its active...well, except this one.' He pulled out a large photograph from his file, being careful not to let it blow away, and B's eyes widened as she looked upon the evidence he had brought home. 'In the side of the cliff face...I mean, it can't be.'
'It can be, and it is. After doing some research, its exactly the same design as the first Valladar reactor built many, many decades ago, Andes II. Its a complete redesign of what they had going before, and its got them crawling all over it. They must've infiltrated the Valladar facilities or nuclear energy board, because they might not like us, but they would never give the Sameban's of all people nuclear tech. I don't know whether they're doing it to fuel subs or to build bombs, but whatever they're doing, it isn't good news.'

[Vilita]

TUROKI CITY, VILITA :: After taking a day off to re-charge, the scientists, engineers, administrators and technicians were all back to work in support of Tropicorp's World Cup 71 Madness initiative.

The weather was beautiful at the Turoki Institute of Technology (TIT) as the technicians arrived to the Advanced Studies and Technical Evaluations Laboratory (ASTEL); the department sponsoring the equipment that the Vilita-South Regional bracketry was being calculated upon.

Overseers from Tropicorp arrived shortly after, just in case anything would go wrong with the formula or the calculations, and to ensure no outside tampering would take place.

The matchups having already been completed for the first round, only 8 teams remained in the Vilita-South bracket and all but one of them were from the top seeded Nation-Slots in the opening round of the simulation.

The lone bottom-8 nation-slot entry in the second round was the Star United States, who were calculated victoriously over Valladares in the first round of simulations.

As the technicians ran the computers through their morning paces, a very, very small crowd gathered at the Turoki Community Complex for the calculations.

Interest in the Calculations was minimal at best in Turoki with the locals preferring to spend their time outside in the fresh air than hanging out at the stadium waiting for some simulated results of a fake competition to roll in.

A few locals did show up, however, some of whom were likely there just to take advantage of the sale at the team shop.

They stuck around for the reveal, just to say that they did it.

The TIT worked hard to get the calculations on schedule after one of the technicians tripped over a wire in the morning during the start up process, putting one of the simulation servers back into an un-loaded mode.

But they got things back up and running and got the calculations done in time to pump them across the pipe to the Turoki Community Complex.

One of the onlookers at the Turoki Community Complex wore an Audioslavia Bulls cap and let out an audible 'hoo-rah!' when Audioslavia was revealed as the calculated winner of the first pairing against Nephara. Many outsiders were pulling for Nephara, and there was some history in the real world between the two nations, but in the end, the calculations projected a return to form for the over-powering Bulls who advanced to the third round.

The tightest matchup of the bracket would see another Calanian side - The Calanian Union, square off against Esportiva's Unified Sunrise Islands. Formerly separated by directionality, the Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Sunrise Islanders put their ring-ed fists together to form an uber-sunrise island. Perhaps it was this that put the Unified Sunrise Islands over the top in advancing to the third round.

The Star United States had the biggest battle to face up against #3 seed nation-slot Pasarga, and it would not go well as yet another pairing went to the form books with Pasarga being the calculated winner.

The final matchup appeared likely to be another true-to-form result, but the handful of onlookers at the Turoki Community Complex got a bit of a surprise when the TIT pumped Eura over the pipes as the calculated winner of the pairing over the #2 seeded Atlantian Oceania nation Legalese; breaking entirely the once strong Calanian stranglehold of the Vilita-South bracket; with only Audioslavia remaining.


1x. WC71 Madness Announcement: A Study in Predictive AI
2a. WC71M :: Turori Regional - North :: Initial Bracket
2b. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - West :: Initial Bracket
3a. WC71M :: Turori Regional - East :: Initial Bracket
3b. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - South :: Initial Bracket
4a. WC71M :: Turori Regional :: Pre-Primary Round Calculations
4b. WC71M :: Vilita Regional :: Pre-Primary Round Calculations
5x. WC71M :: External Calculations Summary
6a. WC71M :: Turori Regional - East :: Round of 64 Calculations
6b. WC71M :: Turori Regional - North :: Round of 64 Calculations
7a. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - South/West :: Round of 64 Calculations

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

"Well, shit." stated Holowaty. To say he was displeased with the football display from the +90 kids was an understatement. Say what you will about The Centre for Excellence as how they were, as he once stated on the news, "scraps glued up to form a rivalry against what they accounted for a foreign side pestering their league". The Daineri talked strong words, but was aware of how his team played and wouldn't back off the tiniest bit. Orville Kang could only shrug on the locker, mostly overwhelmed by the pressure of being responsible for the two goals he suffered. A brief line of thought eventually hit jackpot when he noticed two dark-haired boys sitting on the edge of the room near the door and a blonde lass drinking a glass of water.

Both teams entered the field. Mantel was confident. Even with one man down, the Centre was taking the match fairly well, showing more focus and tactics than Project +90's boys. However, some of the followers could see three players decked on their new black and red uniforms preparing to the side of the field. Numbered 30, 31 and 35. They were unknowns to the crowd, but three players that the Sunrisians had harvested on their system far from the regular Apoxian eye. Bruce and Mark Buchet were two brothers well schooled on the multiple positions technique, a thing that the Sunrisians had as their magnum opus. Hailing from Alva, an old town near Matthew City, the two were youth team products and in fact were sent to Apox only to make sure they'd overcome the Apoxian's newest youth team threat. The lass was named Argentina Danielle. Brought from the"Caliente" South of Southern Sunrise, Argentina was one of the best talents from Southern Sunrise to work with and as such was sent to become an additional hand on the +90 at Apox squad.

***

"Well, kuso." said Mihashi Chiyo. The Mizuyukijin coach looked with anger to the score. Not that she was pissed with the team, but the whole ordeal had gone longer than she intended scoreless. It was a feeling of displeasure, feeling of anger. It lacked something. Lacked a goal. Not that the team wasn't trying hard. They had Tregajorran's number, his ID card, his driving license, his pet dog Brutus' photo, his Quikbird login data and would even have his shoes and shorts, because not only this is not a Jeruselem RP, but also because we doubt we'd sneak out with that and not get even a yellow card.

But the truth was that their goalkeeper was untouchable. Or at least was very touchable, because he stopped any ball from even getting near the net. She would then look around and find a very annoyed O'Haile, swearing he'd end the Warriors' star right leg on a swift crush. She sighed at that comment, pointing out that he wouldn't play the second half. They didn't need a red card. Pondering what she'd do for the second half allowed her to think of two players that would solve all problems. One on the left, looking at his dreadlocks on a mirror and a brown-haired man looking to the ground with a smirk on his face. Once the two teams entered the field, two players were noticeable on the pitch. Number 30 and Number 34.

Number 30, the new Midfielder, was named Allejo. The name doesn't seem like much at first, but Allejo, one of the most notoriously affected by the Re-Agement, was known as the most dangerously player inside the pitch that the Sunrisians have ever produced, something which when considering his competition, names such as Abuda, Café, Michael Leminski, Rolando, Rolandinho Juliano, Ruby and Namine Nagatomo was one hell of an achievement. Brought up on the 70s as a player from Futuro de Albatroz on the old Campeonato Carnavalense, Allejo was remarkable for his dislike of training and spending most of his time on seclusion, rarely, if ever, speaking. Trainers hated him, but it wasn't spam. He was just that good, scoring against all possible teams. A total of 5760 goals in his entire career, spanning from playing at at least 32 teams not only in the Sunrise Islands but also on many Emirates of Futurnia countries. After briefly being the NSIFC president, he got himself into legal problems and ended up on jail. Later, during the Re-Agement, he shined as a prison team's star midfielder again and eventually got to Carnival City Samba where only after a season, he'd star at Fontvielle, under the most expensive fee yet to have been paid during a Transfer Window.

Number 34 was Dustin Ambrose, a defender at Daineri's Crystal. Originally a very simplistic player, abiding only to justice and fair play, Dustin enjoyed a brief period at the Marendi University, leaving there as a collegiate star that would eventually move to Daineri football. His appearence on Daineri football was seen with surprise and what came out of Acropolis to play on the national team was something different. A mad man only by appearence, Dustin knew how to get the reaction he wants. He was there to inspire fear for anyone facing him, would it be a bloody old chap from Apox, a swift dancing Pony or a fighting Osarian. Hell, even people from the Peace Republic felt something was odd about him and once he was on the pitch, they could understand. He never really injured anyone, but he was hard to not get caught by. He was always... there.

And Tolgus Tregajorran would be the first to ever see how Dustin worked on the International field. The very first ball he could receive, there was the very own Ambrose standing on front of him, looking to him with some menace, causing a brief shock to the Apoxian before Ambrose knocked the ball up front. Ambrose was always there, hard to get away from and seemed like it was the nightmare the Sunrisians could only make towards their rivals... that is once the ball found Allejo. And it did more than it normally would.

***

The three new numbers of the +90 line-up finally entered the pitch, while Léonce Comê, Brian Litchmoor and Samuel Freeman left the grass, all clapping. Léonce, according to Holowaty, had a better match than the usual, as he somehow avoided turning into a Kitsune in any point of the match, unlike last Wednesday against Don't Panic. As the ball reached the feet of Argentina Danielle, the crowd stared in confusion. Argentina took two steps out of Tango by holding the very hands of Piran McGerbinier and emulating two steps to the right before leaving him behind while dashing towards the backline with the ball. She then lifted the ball up, knocking it even higher later on with her knee and then finishing it off with a neat bicycle kick, knocking it on the lower left side of the goal while Tim Cage only looked at her, still very confused for her brief Tango.
Argentina then proceeded to, happily, bow to the crowd, later getting hugged by Mackenzie Rollig and Divan Miocic, before returning to her field. 52 minutes. Centre 2-2 Project +90.

***

Allejo was showing a display that, while never really finding the goal, left the Sunrisians with a smile on their faces. Hell, the day you could find one Sunrisian somehow rolling the ball over the legs of the very same Apoxian at least five times, that was already fun on the eyes of the Saviour Grey followers... only that Allejo confused Alice Monteforth enough that on the very same dribble movement, he made her confuse herself on where the ball really was. He somehow made a Moonwalk work as a football dribble by kicking the ball up, Moonwalking by the defender and get the ball back. Time was ticking down, and even if Allejo was doing a fantastic job on marvelling the audience, every chance he had ended on the hands of Seabrooke or on the feet of Etezadi. The game was emotional, exciting, electric, enticing... hell, if you know a good-meaning word with e, you might as well put that in.

***

Danielle rolled the ball to Zimmer. Zimmer passed to Ermac. Ermac passed to Miocic. Miocic passed to Danielle. Danielle dashes. Danielle leaps over a tackle. Scunthorpe pushes Danielle aside, steals the ball. As Scunthorpe looked up for a passing chance he noticed a light boy dashing towards him.

"Not over my dead body."

Mark Burchet quickly steals the ball from Scunthorpe. The dark-haired boy finally found himself free, but knew Gareth would be back sooner than later for the very ball he got. Bruce, looking exactly like Mark, signalled on the box. Mark twirled himself and kicked the ball up to the box with the heel of his very feet. Bruce Burchet imitated the very bicycle kick Danielle did. And even worse, as he repeated the very same area where the ball went to at first. 3-2, 72'.

***

Time was ticking down. Time was really ticking down at the first Matchday. There probably wasn't much pressure as the other game of that very group wasn't going much different. But it was still Apox - Northern Sunrise... Or Apox - Unified Sunrise, but it was still something like Apox - Sunrise. And hell, it displeased them to the bone to not get a goal out. Allejo tried, Ruby tried, Rolandinho Juliano tried. But nothing came out of it until the referee whistled. Game over. One point for Apox. One point for Unified Sunrise. One point for Osarius. One point for Equestrian States. One point for us. One point for them. One point for you. Everybody gets one point!

***

The game was very much done and very well made, if the +90 kids were anyone to ask from. A 3-2 game, a win! Hell, everything seems to be going well after all. Maybe the Centre wasn't as good as they expected. Titan, however, wanted to switch that. He dashed up, taking the Burchet brothers by surprise. Only to get smashed by Timwise Gerduns.

...Actually, let me rephrase that. Timwise tackled Titan's leg out of his leg. And it wasn't a grammar mistake. Titan couldn't, briefly, feel his left leg. Which is good, considering a howling yell could be heard from the pitch once the leg decided to return back from its' brief soul trip around the pitch. It wasn't as brutal as they imagined, later on the hospital, but Titan was in no shape to continue the match. And neither was Gerduns, who got a red card for that very tackle and was now not making the trip to play against the Old Guard Regiment. Mantel only had a choice, to sub in their best player around.

Gwinevra Harmonion.

Harmonion, once a Project +90 player, departed the team once she had a disagreement with Holowaty's training patterns. Which is mostly an excuse on how she didn't want to train under the uncommon heat of 45º C when they made a brief trip to Shamar at Northern Sunrise. Needless to say, Gwinevra took the penalty and because of Kang's lack of mind at the day... the game ended 3-3.

***

"And that's my essay." said Elissa de la Pierre, a high school student at Tiamare Municipal High School. "That's what makes our culture special, the people we have history with."

"Are you going to do another one for the match against Equestrian States, Elissa?" asked her teacher.

"...They don't have a youth team for that." answers Elissa with a smirk.

[Felix]

xkcd comics

Cutoffs with music are so World Cup 70...

FINALS - MATCHDAY TWO CUTOFF

[Valladares]

Trevor: Hello, Valladares! Welcome everyone to Pelotazo Mundial, the show where we will be analyzing and commenting on the events happening around the finals of the seventy-first World Cup, live from Felix for TV1 and Radio Valladares. This is Trevor Ramsey and today we'll look at the exciting four-all draw between Valladares and Barunia in the opening match for the Valladars, as well as the other results of the opening day and some other miscellaneous things. And here is our co-host, Andrés Santamaría. Hello, Andrés, nice to see you again!

Andrés: Hi. I'm very pleased to be on this show with you, Trevor, as usual. I'd also like to congratulate our show's production staff for the excellent job at allowing us to be both in radio and television. Keep up the good job, guys!

Trevor: Yes, please do so. Anyways, going into topic: World Cup 71 finally kicked off, woo! And let me tell you, we had a bit of everything on this opening day: ranging from goalfests to snoozefests and also to the ever-present upsets, for example, hosts Felix opening their finals campaign by losing to Falcus, who I still don't know who at the WCC they bribed in order to reach this far. We also had to bear with two really, really boring matches in Group B since Osarius and Equestrian States cancelled themselves out with a disappointing goalless stalemate, just as Apox and Unified Sunrise Islands did later that day.

Andrés: How disappointing...but what about our Tricolor? I'm sure that's what our audience wants to know about the most.

Trevor: I was going to that part. The Valladar NT make up the category of "exciting goalfests" along with Barunia, after offering us a delightful recital of offensive football and total disregard for defense in a 4-4 draw in Napoli.

Andrés: Wow....however, no-one can say the team didn't do their best to win.

Trevor: I agree. Players like Frank Rozenthal and Pedrinho were deadly on the front, and both contributed with a brace. And here comes the part where I've criticized coach Verzeri the most, and it's WHY we cannot defend an advantage. Every time Valladares had the upper hand in the match, Barunia somehow managed to easily get past the three men on the back and equalize every time. It's so frustrating when things develop like that...

Andrés: I understand your pain. I've had my reserves regarding Verzeri's coaching skills at the NT, with him coming out from the youth squads and never having managed a senior side, let alone a national team. But you can't deny how much he has improved at the helm, and look...he qualifies to the proper in his first attempt.

Trevor: Not wishing to discredit him or rain on his party, but I think that was mainly due to the players, most of them having been around for some time now.

Andrés: Well Trevor, the coach is just as important as the 11 men on the pitch. Also remember he's the first one who has to deal with the blame in case something goes wrong.

Trevor: Anyways, why don't we talk about the success of one of the most loved men in Valladar football? Yes, we are talking about the brand-new gaffer of San José Guayabal and Marinos Metrópolis legend Paulo Oliveira.

Andrés: Oh yeah. I've heard his popularity in SJG has skyrocketed thanks to some convincing performances after being kicked out of the WC by Nova Anglicana, remember them?

Trevor: Ugh, Nova Anglicana...they lost to PIS, can they get kicked out now?

Andrés: Hmm...no? Wish two more losses for them so your dream can come true. Returning to Oliveira, he's already had his first match with San José Guayabal at the Cup of Harmony, which conveniently they're hosting. And guess what, he won!

Trevor: A 1-0 for Gregoryisgodistan. Obviously they loved that win as they deeply dislike their closest neighbour.

Andrés: Do you think he can win the CoH after this first showing?

Trevor: It's too early to call it but I'd want him to win.

Andrés: Obviously. We all want our fellow countrymen to win. Except for politicians. No-one loves them.

Trevor: True that. Going back to World Cup now, we can talk about the Cup of Losers on another day...and our next game will be against hosts Felix, who are coming to this match reeling thanks to that shocking defeat to Falcus and will be looking forward to experience their only joy for this WC cycle: beating us, which has already become a national holiday over here.

Andrés: Isn't it the "We Beat Valladares and That's the Only Relevant Thing We'll Ever Do" Day in Felix, right?

Trevor: Oh Andrés, it seems you are indeed very knowledgeable on Felixian stuff. Well, you wouldn't mind it if we shared with our audience some "informative capsules" on Felix, would you?

Andrés: Not at all. In fact I love sharing Felixian facts with my audience, and given that they're our next rivals it'd be cool to show some of the "best" things of Felix.

Trevor: Here we go... *chuckles*

Andrés: Well, I propose to you playing the Wheel of Fortune to select the Felixian topic on which we'll extend to you. There are five options: Geography, Politics, Economy, Music, and Sports. So Trevor, please spin the wheel and choose one topic!

Trevor: Three...Two...One...GO!

*the wheel spins and spins and after a few turns stops, with the arrow pointing to the Music section*

Andrés: And the topic Trevor chose is....FELIXIAN MUSIC! One of the current booming stars of Felixian music is Joel Sparks, who has recently become a hit on internet in this country after becoming known with flamboyant songs such as "Feed Me Mom" and "I Don't Want Milk".

Trevor: Ugh...what a... I mean, who would dare to nick himself "Joel Sparks", please? Does this guy have a self-esteem low enough to punish himself like this?

Andrés: Well, if the name doesn't sound so appealing to you, his songs don't do him any favours...why don't you look at the videos?

*the music videos for both songs are played*

Trevor: ....my gosh. At this moment, if I didn't have such an urgency to throw up, I'd invade....

Andrés: Invade what? Felix?

Trevor: Meh Felix. I'd invade the internet, just to get rid of that disease before it spreads and transforms into a pandemic. Also, have you looked at that ridiculous dance!? Look, look at it again...

*Trevor stands up from the desk and goes in front of the camera to mimick the coreography by Sparks, amidst laughter from his fellow co-host and the rest of the production staff*

Trevor: To be honest, I am not impressed by this. This only supports the general view that Felixians love crap and mediocrity. If they like crap like this, then it's no surprise why beating Valladares "sparks" celebrations never seen in this country, even better than New Year's Day. Not to mention this is the reason why they will never be relevant. By the way, the runner-up is the first loser at everything.

Andrés: You say it like if you were expecting for them to pull that card out in the hope that it would give them loads of World Cups.

Trevor: Of course it won't, but it's good to remind them of their rightful place once in a while.

Andrés: Oops, time's out.

Trevor: Yes. Sadly, now it's our turn to say goodbye. Thank you for tuning in us today and don't miss tomorrow's broadcast, where we'll be talking about Valladares' crunch match against Felix and more. Bye-bye everyone!

[Equestrian States]

Ponies Survive Firebirds' Challenge, Sunrisians Await
by Steve McNotapony

Osarius 0-0 Equestrian States
at Stadia Volker in Volker, Felix
Attendance: 91,623
Scoring:
No Scoring

VOLKER, Felix - The Ponies opened their World Cup 71 finals campaign with a date against top-ranked Osarius, a clash in which few expected the Equestrian States to emerge with even a point from. However, a less than full strength Osarian side found themselves unable to overcome the resolute Equestrian defense, and the Ponies managed to hang on and claim a share of the points, much to their supporters' relief.

Once viewed as the biggest weakness of the Equestrian national team, the Ponies' defense has transformed into an elite unit that can hold strong against the very best offenses in the multiverse. Though world-class goalkeeping from Gentle Breeze is certainly one of primary causes of an improved defensive record, the performances of others like Brix Hamilton and Andrea Molovi have played no small role in Equestrian successes over the past couple years.

Largely limiting the Firebirds' to long-distance efforts that Gentle Breeze had little difficulty keeping out of the net, the Ponies' back line was yet again near-perfect last night, only a mediocre outing by Krysia Bailey (replaced later in the match by Rosie Tyler as the Equestrians sought to break the deadlock on the scoreboard) giving the Osarians any real hope of a goal.

Offensively, the Ponies weren't as impressive last night, stifled somewhat by the Firebirds' dominance of the possession battle, but Pristina Shine still managed to sneak in a couple shots that were barely off-target or saved by goalkeeper Ruby Fletcher. Also earning praise on the attacking side was Wither, who did well in her 20 minutes after coming on as a late sub and was denied a potential 84th minute game-winner by the woodwork.

Next up for the Equestrian States are the Unified Sunrise Islands, held to a scoreless draw yesterday by Esportivan regional rivals Apox. The Ponies will be looking to continue their tradition of hammering Sunrisian teams, boasting an unbeaten all-time record at the senior level against them with an aggregate score of 21-8 in favor of the Equestrians.

---

Match Report :: Match Day 1

 OSARIUS 0-0 EQUESTRIAN STATES 
Stadia Volker (cap. 90,000) in Volker, Felix

Scoring:
No Scoring

Starting XI:
GK - Gentle Breeze
LB - Brix Hamilton
CB - Andrea Molovi
CB - Flitter
RB - Krysia Bailey
CM - Cloudchaser
CM - Apple Cobbler
LW - Krystal
CAM - Rainbow Blitz
RW - Stardust
ST - Pristina Shine

Substitutions:
 Rosie Tyler in for Krysia Bailey '72
 Wither in for Apple Cobbler '72

[Blouman Empire]

THE EMPIRE TIMES

Kandorith A Class Above

The Eagles were left humiliated by Kandorith yesterday as they were outplayed by their opposition despite the 2-1 score line. A defensive error from Hamish Alpin lead to an early goal in the first half and was a sign of things to come for the Empire. Alpin failed to receive a pass from Jacob Kleeza allowing Méng Zeijí to quickly jump on the ball and take shot from the edge of the area catching Tuneson and the Blouman defence out.

The goal gave Kandorith the edge they needed as they lifted and continued to put pressure on the Blouman defence and controlled the intensity of the game. Méng Zeijí had another attempt but was denied by Milton Tuneson who stretched to get his hands on it, while XX hit the woodwork twice. The Eagles were unable to build up without being shut out by Kandorith. Blaine Cooperson was the only player to have an attempt on goal with a 35 yard shot which was caught comfortably by Minzheng Shéng. It appeared only a matter of time before Kandorith scored their second but the half time whistle sounded giving the Eagles a much needed break from play.

While the Eagles played better football in the second half they were remained outclassed by their opponents as Kandorith continued their controlling play. The second goal of the game came on the hour mark with Minzheng Shéng and Meng Zeiji teaming up to allow the latter to slip one past the keeper. Kandorith managed to dominate the second half, however, in the 85th minute Cooperson broke free of his defenders and managed to chip the Kandorith keeper putting the Eagles on the scoresheet. While the goal appeared to lift the player’s spirits Kandorith held firm and ensured they secured the win and the three points.

The Eagles will face Audioslavia in their second match in what is expected to be a tough match for the Empire. The Eagles have faced the Bulls have lost eight of those matches with their best result a 2-2 draw. Team manager Logan October was cautiously optimistic when speaking about the upcoming match “It’s going to be tough but we will be learning from the mistakes of the first match and work towards putting in a better performance when we reach Audioslavia”. The Eagles will need to work hard against history and win if they are to remain in contention for the finals, while a loss will almost certainly mean that the team and fans will be booking early flights home.

[Yttribia]

Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show

After this matchday, some of you may want to dance the time warp ^again to wish this catastrophe never happened. Nonetheless, the next cut-off is here!

FINALS - MATCHDAY TWO CUT-OFF

[Nephara]

It had been a hell of a match, and just thirty-six minutes in. The Cormorants had reverted to a 4-4-2 diamond to match the Red Dragons', and with the Kandorese pace and terrible defence both sides had a goal to their name. Minzheng Shéng had fired a first clean past Ballard, but it took just five minutes for Logan Murdoch to smash home an equaliser. And now, Méng Zeijí looked to take on a slick forward pass. Desperately, Marlowe and Belfast ran back to cover him, Ballard dashing off her line to challenge him.
With memories of defying Styrn the same way, she dove for the ball at his feet. But at the last moment his feet shimmied and feinted and the ball seemed to...
... disappear?
Her hands shuddered as they crashed into the striker's ankles. He collapsed. No dive here, despite Sasha Christener immediately gesturing it.
Ballard stepped to her feet. Surely it was a penalty, and...
... And the referee pulled out the red card.
Immediately, green shirts crowded the referee. The double penalty was a pitch of a thing, and... 2-1 down, 10 men, backup goalkeeper...
But arguing never changed anything. Christener just got booked for dissent, that was all - and she'd miss next match as a result. All Ballard could do was trudge off the field, swallowing her pride and her thoughts, with a sympathetic glance towards Isadora Caravella as she hastily got her gloves on. The substitute board called out a red 14 and a green 12, and only then it really sank in...
At a World Cup. Her second World Cup start.
Ballard got the urge to stop as she passed by the touchline - to apologise to her manager.
"Boss, I-"
"Keep walking," said Riether icily, looking straight ahead.
"But-"
"I don't want to hear your voice. I don't want to see your face. Go."
She opened her mouth. Then closed it. And trudged back to the dressing room.

The final whistle like music to Caravella's ears.
Almost in disbelief, she sunk to the ground. 4-1. Four fucking one, from the group's weakest side. So yeah, maybe they had underestimated the opposition, or certainly their pace - the penalty put the Red Dragons back ahead, Caravella going the right way but it simply having been too well-placed, before a pair of goals in the second half put the score beyond doubt. One was a fantastic free kick from Minzheng Shéng, a likely goal of the tournament contender, while the other was simply Méng Zeijí coming forward on the break. Caravella hadn't challenged him like Ballard had, and he'd slotted it past her neatly - off the inside of a post and into the net.
Poor Di. She'd take this hard.
She glanced at the touchline. The gaffer was already gone, but she'd seen her face like thunder earlier, brushing her number 1 off . And Ballard looked up to Riether, was the thing - it was Riether who'd given her her first set of regular starts in major tournaments. It had meant so much to her...
She wished Stocki was around, but her club teammate been substituted out in the 83rd minute. So it was left to Hadrian Belfast to haul the young goalkeeper off the ground.
"You alright?" he asked brusquely.
Caravella chuckled, bitterly. "If I felt alright, you'd be disappointed."
"Yeah, maybe. Just remember it's still all in our hands. Just have to beat the Empire. And we can do that."
"Christ, though. Four fucking one..." Was that their heaviest ever in the World Cup? Surely it was.
"The next match, Dora. Just think ahead."

Nothing was adding up.
It just shouldn't have happened that way - it shouldn't! She'd worked so hard on marking, getting down that pace with her slower centrebacks and to be fair Ritter had done well when brought on for Marlowe but...
It had just... all fallen apart when Ballard was sent off.
Not for the first time that evening, she muttered a curse.
And yet... it wasn't as though it was a stupid mistake. Just a misjudgement. Fooled by a clever bit of showboating from a young, flashy striker - sure, Ballard should have done better, but... she was a cheerful, confident young Treasonsider. Competitive, reliable, strong-willed.
Hopefully that hadn't all crumbled when she'd been ignored and cast aside at her most vulnerable.
Christ, she hoped that hadn't been a mistake that would come back to haunt her. She needed to get her emotions in check, rather than just... just lashing out. It had felt good to just cast her aside without looking at her. She'd felt powerful. But right now it was so very, very clear that it had been a refuge in weakness.
And Ballard hadn't dared look anyone in the eye in the dressing room. Just slunk into a corner and stared into the ground.
Fuck it. Tomorrow she'd track her down and apologise in private. She deserved that much.
Still left her with a hell of a headache for tomorrow.
Two banks of four had given her a fantastic result against Audioslavia. Midfield diamond had given her a humiliating defeat - yeah, there was a clear winner there. It hadn't even been that effective against the Purple Knights in qualifying. If it didn't work out... well, she could put Kestrel on the left wing for added versatility. Then again, where was the sense in relying on a Plan B? That was just conceding defeat from the start.
4-4-2 it was, then... fuck it, they could play to their strengths. And the Blouman fullbacks were fairly weak. Cathar and Quinn up front. Murdoch and Ashdown in central, Bottlegreen, Connacht, Chris- ... well, no, Christener was suspended, wasn't she? Cumulative cautions. Damn. Rhein, then. With Belfast... Marlowe? Marlowe. She'd been bad against Kandorith, but she could still deal well with slower opponents. And Stockinger.
With Caravella in goal, she supposed.
Three points would be enough. They just needed to win, something they'd manage against Audioslavia. The fucking Bulls, who were now eliminated, shockingly. They could beat the Empire. They had to beat the Empire. And Riether was tired of underachievement, damn it. She'd bring an end to this endless cycle of mediocrity. Of never quite living up to their promise.
They'd lost one game, sure.
But that was all in the past, wasn't it?

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

From The Letter Box of Juan Tzimisces...

Dear Sir,

As an avid fan of the Imperial football team, I must confess to feeling some consternation at watching last night's match against the Holy Republican Empire. This is the second match in a row where the Empire - our Empire, not the mundies - has gone behind, clawed their way back into the lead in a stirring comeback, and then conceded a last-gasp injury time equaliser.

This will not do.

I'm sure that you're as frustrated as any of your legions of fans across the multiverse, but I can present a solution:

Haddock song.

Now, bear with me a minute here. I'm sure you receive any number of suggestions as to how to improve the team's performance, but the difference here is that this one will really work.

Listening to haddock song is renowned across the multiverse for its performance-enhancing qualities, so much so that it's banned in Bazalonia, Al Quds, and Krytenia - but not in the World Cup.

This is what listening to haddock song can do to you:



Yes, it's well known that haddock song can turn any 90-pound weakling into a real man.

The method is scientifically attested and tested. Scientists have proven* that listening to haddock song stimulates the fishy centres of the brain to build MUSCLE TISSUE through dissolving ear wax that the body then recycles into POWERFUL MUSCLES. This will instantly and immediately end the problems your team have been having with end of match stamina.

I enclose six collections of haddock song recordings, including Tales from the Sea and Gills, Girls, and Guns.

Yours,

Jorge Vatatzes

*Relevant studies may not have been peer-reviewed or published; relevant studies may have been funded by haddock farms

Dear Mr Tzimisces,

We will forever be grateful to you for your efforts in rescuing us from being turned into pork sausages. Rest assured that there will always be a warm welcome for you in Schweinland. Here's hoping you get the two-goal victory over the Royal Barangay you'll likely need to assure yourself of qualification for the next round.

In eternal gratitude,

Old Major, Snowball, and Napoleon

Dear Holy Empire Football Association,

It has come to my attention that you are attempting to illegally import recordings of haddock song into Felix.

Please note that haddock song is a controlled substance in our nation, and we have impounded all of the recordings until the conclusion of the World Cup, at which point they will be returned to your relevant appointed officials when they leave the country.

With thanks for your cooperation,

The Felix Customs Department

Dear Mr Tzimisces,

Thank you for your recent letter explaining that you believe yourself to be exempt from paying tax in the Holy Empire in that involuntary payment of taxation by any Imperial citizen runs counter to the Principles of Frostiness.

We quite concur.

This is why we only require payment from individuals whose subconscious commitment towards the state overrides their natural objections towards paying tax. You are one of those individuals.

Look, Juan, we go through this every tax year. Every single time you pretend that you don't want to pay, only for you to pay the full amount after we go through this charade of you trying to find exemptions and us explaining why the exemptions don't apply in your case.

Do us all a favour, and arrange payment at the earliest possible opportunity so we don't have to go through this tiresome pretence again.

Sincerely Yours, and good luck in the World Cup,

The ISPI Inland Revenue Service

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

Season 6, Chapter 8: Wrong Way

Mikoto: Erm... Sunrise, don't you think we're too busy to go to a trip?
Sunrise: Nonsense!
Mikoto: And also very much broke to afford a trip?
Sunrise: What about that sponsor money from last chapter?
Mikoto: ...oh, yeah. But I'm busy working on our living room.
Sunrise: That's the point! If we travel, not only are we going to see the Unified Sunrise Islands team on the field, but we'll also get some relax time! We can even go to those beaches on Felix's north!

Felix pops up on the window.

Felix: My north?
Sunrise: ...I meant country, not person.
Felix: Oh. Good, because I don't have any sand on my head.
Mikoto: ...
Felix: Though come to think of it, it would look a bit cool. Wonder how much it costs...

Sunrise shrugs, closing the window.

Sunrise: Anyway, what do you say? We can even get some clothes to show our support!
Mikoto: I don't know... There's something about the term World Cup that confuses me.
Sunrise: Confuses you?
Mikoto: It's about how it's represented here. It used to be fighting stuff, now it's an event somewhere else-
Sunrise: Honey, don't point out the sudden changes, people might rib on us for that.
Mikoto: ...Don't they already rib on you?
Sunrise: On our national football team, yeah. But that's solely one or two countries, we just kinda ignore that. And I'm a very loved figure by the masses.
Mikoto: You should go tell the kids, shouldn't you?
Sunrise: About that.

The kids all passed through the main room, decked in grey, white and yellow versions of what they usually wear, carrying baggages and leaving two on the living room, one for each of their parents.

Mikoto: ...You told me last, didn't you?
Sunrise: Well, when I got these tickets from Ytt, I didn't really imagine you would agree on going if I didn't convince the kids first.

A horn from the van could be heard, the kids entered through the van's door.

Mikoto: ...Fine, we'll go. But you'll pay it back for me one day.
Sunrise: Anything for you, love.

The couple finally entered, only to notice Dainer throwing a bunch of baggages while Sindybot, Sarian and Ytt only stared, waiting to get in.

Mikoto: I thought we were going alone.
Upper Sunrise: I'm afraid not.
Dainer: You're not going to leave me in this house, out of the spotlight, while you go on a trip!
Sunrise: Sheesh, fine, fine!
Ytt: Yeah, it's OK... I think it would be wiser to get the whole gang out to travel, after all.
Sarian: I still think we're forgetting someone.
Lower Sunrise: Nah, let's go already! We'll end up late for the plane if we take more time than that!

They finally departed on the van from the house, only to leave Arceus on the house, tear-eyed.
The van also wasn't exactly large.

East Sunrise: You know, you should be thinner...
Southie Sunrise: Shut up, East.
East Sunrise: ...Or else that tanned guy won't want you, Southie.
Southie Sunrise: Oh, you're getting it right now!
Upper Sunrise: OW! What was that for?
Southie Sunrise: Sorry, I can't move my hand the way I want, hold on...
East Sunrise: Hahah! Southie got her hand stuck on Upper- OW!
Lower Sunrise: Her hand's stuck, but mine isn't! Shut up!
Westie Sunrise: Thewe's sumthing cold near my leg!
Sindybot: Don't worry, you'll get used to it.
Dainer: Hey, wing boy, close those damn things before they stick on my eye!
Upper Sunrise: Oh! I'm sorry, sir...
Mikoto: SHUT UP!

Everything on a 5 miles distance of the van shut up, surprised by Mikoto's voice.

Mikoto: Thank you~
Sunrise: So, we're going to the World Cup, Ytt?
Ytt: Yeah, we are. It's pretty nice over the place it's hosted. But don't worry, we'll get there soon enough.

The van continued through the highway, passing by a sign that said...

Welcome to Yttribia.

[Ko-oren]

KFA ends experiment, results inconclusive

The KFA announced a multi-thousand Korona plan to educate new referees in the aging world of Ko-orenite football officials. Not even 24 hours later the KFA released a new statement saying that they will abandon all efforts, even after an initial 20,000 K$ investment in 3D software. The reason has not been disclosed, but there is a persistent rumour that Florent Beauchamp, the overseer of the project, talked to his 8-year old son about the project. Allegedly the project is so pricy that Beauchamp cannot spare his son's pocket money, to which little Beauchamp replied that 'if it's so expensive, why don't just get a video ref' after which Florent Beauchamp admitted that that was the way more logical thing to do in the first place. In conclusion: young referees will still be admitted to the professional KNL leagues, they will still be wrong in some cases (lack of training), but at least we will have a fairly cheap system for overturning wrong decisions. All without the cool 3D promises though, and that is where the KFA really had something awesome for a change. Whether little Beauchamp got his pocket money remains unknown, but we've got someone on the job to find out.

Matchday 3 Previews

Group A: Valladares v. Falcus & Barunia v. Felix
Falcus and Felix advance. Well, as long as Felix wins. Or even ties, but in that case they have to rely on the other F-team to not lose by 7-0. We'll pick Falcus and Felix to advance. So basically, as long as Valladares don't drop an F-bomb on Falcus, Felix and Falcus will Find themselFes in the round of FiFteen - plus one.

Group B: Apox v. Equestrian States & Unified Sunrise Islands v. Osarius
Everything can happen in this group. The two winning teams from these matchups advance, except if Apox wins by not enough goals while the Unified Sunrise Islands win their own game. We'll give up a limb for Osarius not to advance, but we're still going to say that the Firebirds will continue their run together with the Equestrian States. Or maybe Apox. At least we're sure this group won't get any harder to keep track of as long as there's not going to be any more draws in Group B. And why would there be draws? It's not like three out of four Group B games ended in a 0-0. Wait...

Group C: Holy Republican Empire v. The Calanian Union & The Royal Barangay v. The Holy Empire
This group is very confusing, until you realise you can abbreviate the teams to HRE, TCU, TRB and THE. And then abbreviate some more. TRB r out, the HRE V TCU W -> R16, HRE V TCU L -> R16 ≡ THE L, u catch our drift.

Group D: Blouman Empire v. Nephara & Kandorith v. Audioslavia
The Blouman Empire and Nephara battle it out all or nothing, while Kandorith can sit back, relax and watch that game while trying not to embarrass themselves against an eliminated Audioslavia.

Group E: Star United States v. Eura & Farfadillis v. Yttribia
Yttribia beats Farfadillis. The Vherderoja lose to the Purple. That's what we hope at least.

Group F: Gloriax v. Turori & Super-Llamaland v. Legalese
See Group B, but replace Apox with Legalese, the Equestrian States with Super-Llamaland, the Unified Sunrise Is;ands with Turori and Gloriax with Osarius.

Group G: The Sarian v. Ko-oren & Brenecia v. Pasarga
See Group F for the idea, and then look at Group D for a carbon copy of the situation. Kandorith is Pasarga, Brenecia is Audioslavia and Ko-oren and the Sarian are the other two. If the Greenblues can just keep a clean sheet for a change, that would be great. You know, basically what if the defence does exactly what we expect from them in such a bus parking team.

Group H: Vilita v. Nova Anglicana & Royal Kingdom of Quebec v. Polar Islandstates
Who cares? If we advance, we play Group F teams, not Group H teams.

[Pasarga]

Torgos Tribune ~ Wanderers Power Through

It was not easy for the Wanderers as they took on the challenge from The Sarian, with their opponents having the overwhelming amount of support as suspected before the tournament. However when the day was done, it was the Wanderers who walked away with the victory and secured their spot in the knockouts, leaving the match with Brenecia on the final matchday a far less stressful fixture than it would have been had the day not been won by the Wanderers. Now but a draw for the side will see them top the group and get the runner ups of Group F. Considering the situation that is going on in that group, even if the squad were to fall into second place after the third group match, it might not be an unfavorable draw regardless.

As for the game with The Sarian, as expected, they were being pushed on by the extremely pro Sarian crowd considering we are in Esportiva for this World Cup and they pushed the Wanderers hard from the first whistle to start the match until the last. Every fifty-fifty ball was hotly contested as The Sarian players were putting everything on the line to try and get the result. That effort would pay off for them in the thirty-fourth minute when an errant back pass from Hugrún Valdimarsdóttir to Lenka Randáková intercepted by a Sarian striker, leaving them one on one with Endre in the net. The keeper dove right for the near post, however the shot was instead lob to the left and gave The Sarian the early advantage, which they kept through the halftime whistle despite the best efforts of Tobias Möller to pull things level.

Deciding to take a risk, Jullian van Setten took out Szölôsi Oszlár and put in Dominik Mauer to start the second half, switching the Pasargan traditional 4-4-2 into a highly attacking 4-3-3. The change put the press on The Sarian defense which slowly began to crumble underneath the increased pressure that the third striker provided, with Császár Mór dominating the midfield despite the loss of his center partner. Mauer would be the recipient of the better attacking play, getting the ball out on the wing, dribbling past the left back before curling a shot from just outside the box and that managed to sneak into the upper near corner. With things level, the manager pulled another pair of switches, with Möller and Müller replaced by van Stiphout and Vass Adrián. Now in a 4-1-3-2, the Wanderers absorbed the pressure that The Sarian put on as they scrambled for a winner. Instead it would be the Wanderers who would net it, with Mór hitting on the break in the eighty-seventh minute.

Brenecia now awaits after the sluggish but effective victories over Ko-oren and The Sarian. Expect the manager to rest Mór and Möller for the knockouts now that the Wanderers have secured their place. Mauer and van Stiphout getting further chances to show which one of them should be the starter during the next cycle. However there is still the group title to play for, so don't expect the side to take it easy on Brenecia, despite their opponents being eliminated. The Wanderers have been intent on showing that they deserve their top five ranking and a perfect record in the group stage would help, as would being undefeated going into the knockouts for the cycle. A win here and then by some good luck and fortune, a win of the entire tournament would see the Wanderers win the tournament without a loss during the entire cycle. Such a feat is extraordinarily hard to come by, but what better way to show that the Wanderers are elite than to have a completely undefeated cycle with a title to top it off? That continues tomorrow, with taking care of Brenecia and winning the group.

[Barunia]

The Scarlet Standard

According to international media, Barunia has the best offence in the world. That's right, we're fucking number 1. That's fantastic. But so what? We blasted our way through qualifying, scored four in our first game, and the result? One measly point. We might have the best record, but no way are we the best team.

The question is, as the Suns go in to their final game of the grope stage, will the pressure of the label affect them? The next game is vital. 1st place is lost to Falcus, the team everyone thought would finish with 0 points. 2nd is ours for the taking if we smash Felix, and Valladares don't overtake us on GD. Thank God they're 3 behind us.

Will that now world-famous offence come into play? We need goals, and plenty of them. Whatever we do, we cannot lose to Felix. Our fate is still in our own hands, but the defence need to make their name for themselves as well. I still reckon Bainbridge is the best keeper in the world. Now is the time for everyone on the Barunian squad to prove they are worthy of their accolades.