World Cup 71 - RP Thread

[Free Republics]

It was halftime of the match between the Holy Republicans and the Holy Empire. At halftime, the Holy Republican Empire led 1 to nil on a Kyle Bolton goal. Later on, they would blow the lead before Koby Theodore would score the equalizer on a free kick from a seemingly impossible angle to secure a 2-2 draw with the #3 team in the multiverse. However, the match itself would be overshadowed by what happened at halftime, specifically what was said over the airwaves as the screen turned black, with the words "LEGION OF LUCIFER" written in large blood red letters across the screen.

Legion of Lucifer on FBC, during halftime of HRE v. THE

Hello to everybody in the Federation of Free Republics. Yes, I said the Federation of Free Republics. Tonight, I wish to speak with you briefly about the state of our great nation and the freedoms we have taken for granted for generations. As you know, recently Reino Kulseth was named your dictator for an indefinite term after an unfree and unfair sham "election" which was called under false pretenses.

But, I am getting ahead of myself. Tonight, I intend to speak to you about the events of the past 2+ years. As you can probably tell by now, something has gone horribly wrong in this country. 2 years ago, Consul Venicio Piazza, a great man and a true patriot, was gunned down by Gregoryisgodistani assassains. I am aware that you have been told that Feministvs Sanctvsterra was behind this heinous crime against humanity, but the truth is that the Gregoryisgodistanis are telling the truth in this instance. I know that you probably find this hard to believe, as did I when I discovered this fact, but the one time they actually assassinated somebody, hardly anybody actually believed that they did it!

But, our story does not end there. Following the death of Consul Piazza, you turned, in your desperation to Reino Kulseth, an unscrupulous con man who promised you a better future, if only you would surrender your freedom to the so-called "True Church" of Jesus Christ. In truth, Reino only cares about one thing: securing absolute power for himself, at the expense of the rights our forefathers fought and died for. By the way, Reino, I will use the word you if I want to, whenever I want to and however much I want to. I'm not going to be intimidated by the likes of you.

Following his election, Reino Kulseth plotted the perfect opportunity to stage a false flag and seize dictatorial power for himself. That opportunity came during the Closing Ceremony of the last Winter Olympics. A number of imposers, impersonating Feministvs Sanctvsterra and the Legion of Lucifer blew up the legislative buildings in Republica. These priceless landmarks were lost, merely because Consul Kulseth wanted to seize more power for himself. To add insult to injury, he blamed us for this heinous crime against our posterity.

Today, I want to announce that the Legion of Lucifer, on behalf of the Federation of Free Republics, hereby declares war on the Holy Republican Empire and all affiliated with this illegitimate regime. At the Legion of Lucifer, we love the old Republica and we want to restore our nation to her former greatness. We want to be the bridge to the past that our nation so badly needs at this point in time. All of us at the Legion of Lucifer love the freedom we used to have in this land and we want future generations to be able to enjoy the freedom that we took for granted, until the horrible events of the past few years.

I want to finish with a few words of warning to the Republican People: Your dictator Reino Kulseth is making plans, as we speak, to drag you into a major war that will end disastrously for our nation. I urge you to do everything in your power to thwart this madman's attempts to start a war that our nation simply will not win. Do not let Kulseth take you down the path to ruin. Reject his regime now and stand with the millions of Legion of Lucifer members as we fight to restore our freedom! Thanks for your attention tonight.

[Sangti]

It's over.

For the third time, the Agilang Dilaw will not progress beyond the group stages of the World Cup, after being in the losing end of a nine-goal thriller against The Calanian Union. It should be noted that while Rick Martinez decided to change his formation to a 4-5-1, he did not make any changes to his backline, meaning the players who started and conceded five goals in their defeat to the Holy Republican Empire, conceded five more today. This futility in defense is starting to make Barangayans over the world worried after conceding an astounding sixteen goals in just three matches.

Rick has told the Barangayan media that he intend to make eleven changes for their match against The Holy Empire, no longer an all-important must-win match, but a no-bearing game that may be important in selecting his next squad for the Campionato Esportiva. After all, some players playing domestically who are former internationals or have not yet played internationally should knock on the door of a Barangayan call-up. And for those who will be given the chance to play in the game should seize the chance to prove themselves and avoid the chopping board for the tournaments to come.

It was not an ideal campaign for the Barangayans, but whatever, at least the pressure is off them, and hopefully they can stabilize their worsening defense.

---

Lineup against HRE (MD1): Balido; dela Vega, Arceo (Ang 85'), Docdoc, Bautista; Amio, Linsangan, K. Khan (Taguiam 65'), E. Khan; Escuro (Conanan 74'), Corsiga [Goals: Corsiga 48'; Conanan 84']
Lineup against TCU (MD2): Balido; dela Vega, Arceo, Docdoc, Bautista (Oliva 67'); Linsangan, Belga, K. Khan, Amio (Leron 83'), E. Khan; Corsiga (Yparraguirre 56') [Goals: Corsiga 3', 34', 46'; E. Khan 76']
Starting Lineup against THE (MD3): [3-4-3] Bucaoto; Berciles, Ang, Oliva; Amio, Marchadesch, Belga, Leron; Yparraguirre, Escuro, Sampaga

[Apox]

Gavin Hughes paced his hotel room deep in thought, after Apox's absolute pasting at the hands of the reigning World champions, with plenty of ponder about from that game.

It... would be fair to say things hadn't exactly gone to plan. They'd played their usual, compact game to begin with, and had been doing well against the reigning champions, until, Zana Ibrox. She'd made a rash challenge against Roque Acosta, and after flattening him, had been shown a straight red. After that, it had been largely one sided, with Osarius pressing and harrying relentlessly, Tregajorran and Zozula looking stranded up front and generally not getting enough of the ball, Zozula withdrawing back into more of a midfielder role for the rest of the game.

They'd obviously struggled at the back as well, Etezadi and Shahzad looking like they weren't sure of themselves and lacking that understanding. Ettie Seabrooke, surprisingly, also didn't have a great game, which would have been bitterly disappointing for her, this is likely to be her last World Cup finals, certainly as a starter.

In any case, it was a 4-0 loss. A right spanking, something which the national team seems to do at least once in tournaments these days. And it posed Hughes something of a difficult choice, did he stick or twist. Change his team for the final group stage match against Equestrian States, or stick with the formation, and team, which got them to the finals in the first place. Obviously Ibrox wouldn't be able to play, he'd probably move St Cleer in for her, Luxulya has had a fantastic qualifying campaign and indeed another fantastic club season with Crisisbless in Nephara.

Also worrying was the lack of goals in the team (even though only 4 goals had been scored in the total of the group, all by Osarius) with there being a number of potent strikers in the squads of the four teams, with Tolgus Tregajorran having looked a little, hmm, contained against the top teams in the finals, as opposed to the lower calibre opposition in the qualifying. Zozula had generally managed to look more potent, perhaps due to him having a slightly lower profile than Tregajorran, which is a little surprising after his amazing form for East Franz Athletic over the last few seasons. Something would have to change, otherwise they wouldn't be able to beat the Equestrians, and wouldn't progress.

Plenty of food for thought.

Team Sheet vs. Osarius
GK - Ettie Seabrooke
RD - Jack Lerryn
CD - Solomon Etezadi (c)
CD - Olim Shahzad
LD - Ben Hatem
RM - Alice Monteforth
CM - Zana Ibrox red 29'
CM - Armando Quillisi sub Wilfried Lidgley 77'
LM - Kaj Aurora
ST - Tolgus Tregajorran sub Corinna McKenna 82'
ST - Adnan Zozula

[Equestrian States]

Goalkeepers Shine in Scoreless Thriller
by Steve McNotapony

Equestrian States 0-0 Unified Sunrise Islands
at Felixian Airlines Stadium in Oceania, Felix
Attendance: 71,984
Scoring:
No Scoring

OCEANIA, Felix - Before last night's match, the Equestrians and Sunrisians had met four times at the senior level, and in those four previous games had combined to score a whopping 29 goals for an average of 7.25 per meeting. As such, supporters of both the Ponies and Saviour Grey went into Felixian Airlines Stadium anticipating yet another high-scoring thriller between the evenly-matched rivals. Yes, the match would also feature a clash between two of the best goalkeepers in the multiverse, but the high-octane Sunrisian attack and pinpoint accuracy of Pristina Shine would surely fuel an inevitable goal glut, right?

Wrong.

As expected, both the Ponies' and Saviour Grey's offenses came out in full force, unleashing a seemingly endless barrage on both ends of the pitch. However, both Equestrian goalkeeper Gentle Breeze and Sunrisian keeper Mellody Sioux had career nights in goal, repeatedly denying shot after shot after shot to preserve their clean sheets. Instead of a duel between opposing strikers Felipe Maniche and Pristina Shine to see who could score a hat trick fastest, fans were treated to a goalkeeper duel complete with spectacular acrobatic saves and last-second deflections.

The opening minutes of the match were dominated by the Unified Sunrise Islands and Gentle Breeze was forced to make her first save of the night just 50 seconds in as the Equestrian defense battled to keep the Ponies' best-known superstar from being overwhelmed. Gradually the tide shifted and the Equestrian States would finally fire their first shots after nearly ten minutes of relentless Sunrisian pressure. The final half hour of the first half would be defined by counterattacks, each goalkeeper being made to prove her elite status more than a few times before the midpoint in the game, though Pristina Shine narrowly missed a golden opportunity to break the deadlock just before the whistle, rattling the crossbar with a thunderbolt from just outside the box.

In the second half it was the Ponies that emerged from the locker rooms as the better side, controlling the pace of the game and testing the limits of Ponyville United goalkeeper Mellody Sioux's talents, with the nekonian by far the best Sunrisian on the field in the final 45 minutes of play. Amidst the Equestrians' second half dominance, Gentle Breeze was also given several chances to shine by quick counterattacks that caught the Ponies' back line off-guard, the "Goddess of Goalkeeping" proving her divinity with near-perfect saves on every shot. Both managers made their substitutions with the scoring of a game-winner in mind, but nothing could beat either side's top-class keeper in the end and the match concluded with no goals on the board, but plenty of material for the highlight reels.

"I can't say I'm too disappointed with the result," stated Equestrian manager Pearly White after the final whistle, "though I do feel we deserved three points given our dominance of the second half. Still, credit where credit is due, both Gentle Breeze and Mellody [Sioux] were on-form tonight and proved why they're among the best of the best in today's game. I'm not going to complain about a pair clean sheets from our defense against two top ten teams, and we're still very much capable of advancing from this group with one game left, so we'll be content with the point for now."

  GROUP B                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts      MD2 Results:
1  Osarius                     2   1  1  0    4   0  +4    4       EQS 0-0 USI 
2  Equestrian States           2   0  2  0    0   0   0    2      @ Felixian Airlines Stadium in Oceania
   Unified Sunrise Islands     2   0  2  0    0   0   0    2       OSR 4-0 APX 
4  Apox                        2   0  1  1    0   4  -4    1      @ Stadio Altomare in Altomare

Elsewhere in Felix, the Osarians rebounded from a disappointing draw with the Ponies in the opening match by absolutely eviscerating Apox in an extremely impressive 4-0 victory which moves them into position to win the group - as many expected they would - by merely avoiding defeat in their final game against the Unified Sunrise Islands. The Equestrians and Sunrisians meanwhile remain tied at two points apiece after a pair of scoreless draws each of their first two matches, a win for either (or even both) of them on the final day enough to ensure a knockout round berth. Even Apox remains alive in the group of death, despite being leveled by Osarius, though they will need to earn full points in their final match and hope the Saviour Grey and Firebirds don't split the points in their game if the Apoxians are to advance.

As it stands, there's plenty of reason for optimism among Equestrian supporters heading into the final set of group stage matches. The Ponies' defense has remained unscathed against two teams with some of the best attacking talent out there, while the Equestrian States have only really been denied a goal thus far by poor luck and a world-class performance from Mellody Sioux. A win against an Apoxian side that was systematically annihilated by Osarius is all the Equestrians need to ensure themselves of a second straight knockout stage appearance, while the Ponies' top two rivals at this point for a second round berth will have to play each other on the final day. Still, despite controlling their own destiny, the Equestrians will need to approach their match against Apox with caution, as the Apoxians will be desperate for a win to keep their slim chances in this tournament alive.

The Ponies have yet to clearly underestimate any of their opponents since Pearly White took charge of the national team almost two years ago, but it's worth repeating given the excitement and optimism surrounding the team right now, since we are still very much in the group of death here and not even the top-ranked title-holders from Osarius can consider themselves safe until it's all over.

---

Match Report :: Match Day 2

 EQUESTRIAN STATES 0-0 UNIFIED SUNRISE ISLANDS 
Felixian Airlines Stadium (cap. 70,000) in Oceania, Felix

Scoring:
No Scoring

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

Substitutions:
 Rosie Tyler in for Krystal '53
 Rumble in for Flitter '66
 Luminesce in for Apple Cobbler '78

[Vilita]

ALIKKI-CORRA, VILITA :: The small crowd outside the Turoki Community Complex during the revelation of the calculations from the Tropicorp Artificial Intelligence Team's World Cup 71 Madness simulation may not have realized it at the time, but the Tropicorp Team threw everyone a curve ball. During the previously planned day off, the Tropicorp team in Alikki-Corra swapped databases with the Turoki Institite of Technology team in Turoki City. The TIT and TAIT had been following each other Tit for Tat throughout the buildup to the official scorinations, and decided to execute the swap in order to show not only the agility of the simulation software but also to show the real-time responsiveness and true calculative nature of the results, hammering home the point that they are truly taking in real factors and live calculation and not just artistically revealing a pre-determined bracket.

With results from the Turoki City simulations already revealed, the circle of calculations advanced in the direction of Alikki-Corra where the calculations were being handled right from the source, a team of engineers and technicians from the Tropicorp Artificial Intelligence Team.

Where the Turoki Institute of Technology calculations had at least one head-to-head matchup that mimicked what was being seen in the real-multiverse group stage pairings: Audioslavia v. Nephara; there were no such cases on the Alikki-Corra side of the house. There were many intriguing matchups however, with teams on the brink of elimination in the Multiverses real premier event also up against tough opposition in Tropicorp's own Predictive Intelligence simulation experiment.

World Cup host's Felix were the opening card in the Alikki-Corra simulations, against the 9 nation-seed Nova Anglicana. The second matchup, going from the top down, was the toughest to predict with The Sarian paired up against the Holy Republican Empire.

In a bracket that had gone nearly all chalk in the first round - Nova Anglicana's mild 9 v. 8 upset over Brenecia the only result that didn't go strictly by seed, the matches would only become more difficult to predict as all nation-slots remaining were filled by top 9 entrants.

Of course, there was mild interest in the next pairing on the list, where the home team Vilita were paired up against long time friendly-foe the Equestrian States. The final pairing would see the Holy Empire paired off with Esportivan interest Apox.

As was the case with the prior rounds calculations, there was no pomp, no circumstance or no drama involved with the revelation of calculations from the Tropicorp Artificial Intelligence Team.

The technicians had the computational assets operational. The engineers and the mathematicians had the equations and variables loaded. The data entry specialists entered data. The computational assets computed.

Then, by way of wireless data transmission, the results appeared all at once on the video board outside the Tivali Ring Stadium.

Instantly the shock of the situation was apparent as Tropicorp's own simulation had predicted that the Vilitan nation-slot would be defeated at the Round of 32, failing to progress to the Round of 16. In the Tropicorp simulation, the death-blow was dealt by the Equestrian States. In reality, however, it was Nova Anglicana who stood in the Jungle Cats way of advancing to the Round of 16 in the real-multiverse's World Cup 71 competition.

There was some slim hope for Vilitan fans, however, as Nova Anglicana were also projected not to advance by the TAIT simulation, being stopped by the top seed Felix. However, in Group H of the real World Cup 71, that situation could still prove reality as even with a victory over Nova Anglicana on the final matchday, Vilita would require a Polar Islandstates victory over the Royal Kingdom of Quebec *and* a multi-goal victory over Nova Anglicana to secure a place in the Round of 16.

In the other two matches calculated on this day by the Tropicorp team in Alikki-Corra; The Sarian edged out the Holy Republican Empire in a 5 v. 4 pairing, marking the second 'upset' result, seed wise, amongst the newly posted results. The 2 seed in the bracket also advanced with The Holy Empire taking down the Esportivan challenger Apox.

The Tropicorp Research & Development department did release a statement following the results indicated that they had always planned the ability for one calculation site to be able to absorb or take over the calculations from another site should something technically or un-plannable happen. However, it was only a late decision to actually excersize that capability during the simulation event. The Tropicorp representative indicated that a similar swap would not be taking place among the calculation sites in Turori.


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
6c. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - South/West :: Round of 64 Calculations
7a. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - West :: Round of 32 Calculations

[Kandorith]

Fans Watch In Disbelief


Nephara 1–4 Kandorith

P Group D                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kandorith                    2   2  0  0    6   2  +4    6
2 Blouman Empire               2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
3 Nephara                      2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
4 Audioslavia                  2   0  0  2    0   3  −3    0

While Kandorith marked a first real World Cup victory in their first match, the fans have even more reasons to party now. Kandorith defeating Nerphara with four goals to one; a one of a kind victory for the Kandorese side, which seems to be moving towards reaching the round of 16 for the very first time in history. The fans have been exited ever since Kandorith has shown her prowess in the qualification rounds, reaching the World Cup quite easily; apart from a bit of a bumpy qualifying campaign. Now that Kandorith has reached the group stages of the World Cup; everything seems to be going as planned, with Xí-tiang being the national hero for this year.



Kandorith has a history of being eliminated before the World Cup even starts, but this time the Red Dragons seem to be pretty much a well respected side to reach the next round. If Kandorith reaches the round of 16, it will mark a historical day for the Kandorese Football Association; Xí-tiang being the first national coach to have a team which reaches this far in the World Cup. Fans all around the nation and in the host cities have been partying ever since the team managed to reach the World Cup again. And the partying will continue if Kandorith keeps performing like a true dream team.


The next match will be against Audioslavia, a very respectable team in the World Cup; quite historical even, but the Kandorese fans think the Red Dragons are up for reaching at least a draw. Naturally Xí-tiang and his men will be looking to snatch a win; but a draw would be respectable for the Kandorese. A hungry fan-base awaits the performance of this team and a hungover crowd is slowly but surely making themselves up to party again.

[Yttribia]

Chapter 6, Episode 9: Welcome to Yttribia

Ytt: I mean you're not going to be missing the World Cup...
Sunrise: We're going to be missing us play!
Ytt: You'll be missing your team play, I'm going to watch mine...
Mikoto: Woah guys, calm down...it's just a detour.
Sunrise: How can I calm down, I was looking forward to seeing the team play, and now...
Ytt: You'll experience the World Cup...just not your own team~

Ytt's phone rings, as he gets a phone call from Felix

Ytt: Allo?
Felix: Ytt, where is the group? They should have been here hours ago!
Ytt: Yeah, about that...they're here in Yttribia...
Felix: Have they called you an idiot yet?

Ytt puts his phone aside as he asks the entire group a question.

Ytt: Have you called me an idiot yet?

The entire group nods their heads no. Ytt returns to the phone call with Felix.

Ytt: No they haven't, Felix.
Everyone + Felix: You Idiot!
Ytt: Jeez, I'm sorry! Well, listen, I'll make it up to you!
Sunrise: Howso, Ytt? There's almost no way you can make it up.
Ytt: Front row seats for the game against Star United States?

The entire group is shown contemplating Ytt's proposal. Ytt takes out a pack of tickets to hand out.

Ytt: Well, what do you guys think now?
Sunrise: That seems like a nice offer.
Southie Sunrise: Please, take the offer!
Western Sunrise: Sum'tims you got to take it!
Lower Sunrise: Do it! Take the offer!
Sarian: No, no, no! I hate being stuck in this hellhole!
Sindybot: Easy Sarian, it'll be over in a bit.
Sunrise: Well, Ytt...that's a very nice offer.
Ytt: So that means...
Sunrise: Yes, we'll take your offer.

The group celebrates as they hop back into van and drive off to Gaillard, where the match is scheduled to take place. Ytt happened to leave his phone back near the border.

Felix: Ytt, you still there? Helloooooo? Dear gosh, where'd that Raven-obsessed loser go, aiya...

[Turori]

CEDNIA BEACH, TURORI :: While the Cocoabo Preservation Society took full advantage of the opportunity to raise awareness for the plight of the Cocoabo during the reveal for the Round of 64 calculations in the World Cup 71 Madness Simulation, it was a different situation for the Round of 32 as all the attention had shifted back to the Cednia Beach Centre where the Coconut Marsh Institute along with Tropicorp representatives were heading the affairs.

Meanwhile, Cocoabo Preservation Society head Noa-isinao Wioauoi was likely still back in Kionao at the Cocoabo Preservation Society headquarters counting the donations that had rolled in during the Round of 64 calculation event two days prior. Wioauoi has been working together with officials from the Tropics of Vilita, the Atlantian Oceania Regional Defense Organization and the Atlantian Oceania Cartographic Institution to identify a suitable space on the Westward Calanian shoreline to open up a new Cocoabo Sanctuary and natural preserve to help ensure the continued growth and success of the Cocoabo Preservation Society in achieving its long term goal of maintaining for all time the heritage and preservation of Turori's treasured Cocoabo.

There were some representatives from Tiones Lumber at the Cednia Beach Centre handing out some coupons and discussing the things that they could offer clients in the rise of the digital age. While originally on opposite sides of the table - a company who makes their business from cutting down trees - and the Cocoabo Preservation Society, charged with preserving to the highest degree the Cocoabo's natural habitat. However, the Yeaddin, Vilita based company got a massive influx of new source material when Tropicorp moved in to the Calanian coastline, and has since championed support of rebuilding and supporting the replenishment of Natural Cocoabo habitat in Turori.

With the attention turned back to the simulations, however, it was time for the Coconut Marsh Institute to flex their muscle.

The opening pairing of the Turori-North bracket had the defending World Cup Champions Osarius paired against World Cup 71 hosts Yttribia. It was an unfortunate pairing for the purple prodigy who came up short against Osarius in the calculation.

Perhaps an even more interesting matchup would come when Atlantian Oceania's Farfadillis was paired with Gloriax, the surprise package of the first round after upending the 4th nation-seed in the bracket, HopNation. Once again, however, the higher-seeded team survived as Farfadillis were the calculated winner of the pairing.

There would be one 'upset' result in Turori-North, however, and it would come in the 3 v. 6 matchup between Saintland and the Royal Kingdom of Quebec. As in the first two pairings, when the seeded Atlantian Oceanian nation defeated the Esportivan one, this time it was the Atlantian Oceania side, The Royal Kingdom of Quebec, defeating Saintland.

It would be the only upset of the bracket, however, even as Ko-oren were expected to struggle to defeat San Jose Guayabal, the number 2 seeded team Ko-oren ensured that after the revelation of three brackets, all #1 and #2 seeded teams survived to advance to the Round of 16.


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
6c. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - South/West :: Round of 64 Calculations
7a. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - West :: Round of 32 Calculations
7b. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - South :: Round of 32 Calculations

[Brenecia]

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Another Disappointing Tournament - Time To Review Options?
by Karena Fife

It's hard to dislike Catherine Bardsley. She's done so much for the Patriots over the years, between focusing on youth, successfully integrating attacking football, and getting success. Two World Cup qualifications have been the icing on the cake, both in first place.

And yet, in five World Cup matches, Brenecia has three points to its name. And looking in other tournaments, the record's hardly been better.

Bundled out of the Cup of Harmony at the quarterfinals - that wasn't bad, but Brenecia won just one match all tournament, 1-0 against Queer Poco. They scraped out of the group, beat San Jose Guayabal on penalties and lost to Gregoryisgodistan in extra time. CE11 wasn't much better, knocked out in the Round of 24 while also losing to Slembanana in the groups. Brenecia wasn't expected to do much last World Cup, and most people were happy to just have a victory (even before it turned out that Felix would finish second) - but Apox got their revenge to knock Brenecia out at the second round of the next regional tournament. And now, with two more defeats, here we are.

The chances of Brenecia failing to progress were always high. Failing to get a point would be a disaster. But it's a very real threat, given the strength of Pasarga - even if they rest veteran centre-forward Moeller, as is probably likely considering Pasarga have qualified regardless. And, in all honesty, probably fancy themselves to cut the porous Brenecian defence aside. The lack of a Plan B cost the Patriots dearly against the Dragonflies, who simply ripped them apart on the counterattack. The lack of mental toughness cost them against the Sarian. Any number of things could cost them against the Wanderers.

To some people, mediocrity is frankly a relief for the Patriots, and regularly making up the numbers at the World Cup is something good. But surely a team with Cheney Scherzer wearing the number 9 - a striker who netted better than one in two in the world's strongest league - can do better? A team with Catherine Purrington from the same team? Cullen, who plays for Barbury Town? Brinemouth's Connolly and Breton? Zozi's Faulkner? A team who can always fall back on their pick of players from the 17th-best league in the world?

Brenecia can do better. Brenecia should do better. But until the Patriots can get their heads together, live up to their potential at a major tournament and, God willing, come away with silverware, Bardsley will always have that one dark shadow over her reign as manager.

[Blouman Empire]

THE EMPIRE TIMES

Dare To Dream

A goal from Percy Baser was enough for the Eagles to defeat Audioslavia for the first time in history. The goal came in the 55th minute thanks to a cross from Steven Mallard that found the head of Baser whom directed it past Sean Patternick putting the team ahead. The eagles managed to hold off an onslaught from the bulls late in the game giving the Eagles a vital three points and have captured the Empire’s imagination that they might just make it through to the finals.

Unlikely qualifier Kandorith managed to defeat Nephara 4-1 in the second match assuring them a finals berth. The unlikely match of the group will be played next with the Empire facing off against Nephara, the team that wins will find themselves going through to the finals while the losing team will send home. Despite their defeat Nephara are still favourites to win the match and unlike the Eagles have moved past the group stage before where they made the quarterfinals in the 68th edition and have the quality to go that far again. The Eagles despite having participated just under three times as many World Cups have never made it out of the group stage something Logan October and his team are fully aware.

Atmosphere has been high at Camp Blouman where the team have been busy preparing for their final group stage match. Captain Hamish Alpin spoke to The Empire Times about the atmosphere amongst the team “Confidence is sky high at the moment and the players are looking forward to the upcoming match. After our win against Audio I see no reason why we can’t beat Nephara and it’s a match everyone on the team is waiting for”. October was more reserved pointing out the strengths of Nephara and that the upcoming match will not be an easy one “I have a plan in place and if we stick to it we will win, but Nephara are a very strong, physical side and we will have to fight to secure the win”.

Blouman fans meanwhile have begun to dream about the possibility of the Eagles moving into the finals for the first time. The fans that have travelled to Felix to support their team have renewed optimistim and some have already began to look at whom the Empire will be facing in the round of 16 with some already booking tickets to Santa Maria. Back in the Empire it is expected that nearly 40 million people will watch the match with many venues granted extended opening times to cater to people wanting to watch the game at these locations. Social media has also exploded with tens of thousands of posts about the Eagles since the final whistle, with many fans expressing their hopes and dreams of a finals berth. Whether the Eagles will fulfil these dreams by gaining a win or at the very least a draw is yet to be seen but for the time being Bloumans can continue to hold hope and dream a little longer.

[Eura]

A large print of a photograph covered the back wall of the situation room. It was in colour and taken using a high quality camera, but the image was slightly blurred as the camera clearly moved slightly when the photo was taken. The foreground was also partially obscured by some sort of rock structure doused in a touch of snow. Visible in the background, at very long range and in better focus than the rock in the front, was a cliff face, embedded into which was a mildly camoflagued but nevertheless visible concrete structure. Away from the cliff face was an entrance and a road heading downwards on a steady incline, and then barely visible to the left were other facilities. Military style vehicles could be seen outside along with civilian trucks, with no visible markings on any of them, or indeed any of the facilities. The small outlines of people could be seen, a combination of men who - from this range at least - looked like they were in either construction overalls or military gear. The facility in the cliff had a major discrepancy in the texture of the main wall; it was clear after detailed analysis that this was actually a massive steel door. A blast door with CBRN protection.

Looking on at this picture were the Euran chiefs of military staff, the heads of the intelligence services, key members of cabinet and the Prime Minister of course. Michael Judge had been in office for nearly a year, and he was starting to become fed up of these emergency summits of the leadership of the nation. He had already experienced a few as the caretaker Prime Minister of the dying years of the coalition. The Uke Islands, the occupation of Fligsive, and other flashes in the pan of international relations. Now, as an elected Prime Minister, he'd been forced to handle the continuation of the collapse of Mytannion (though he'd never actually acted on it, or had to). He had to formulate some sort of reaction to the "incident" in Fligsive which had utterly confounded Euran scientists, intelligence and policymakers as to how to respond. So far they'd settled on "act like we know what were doing, try our best to cover it up". He had also had to deal with the nearby Whittorian Islands set up. During this period, he had managed to get through a few social justice packages with his majority and got the economy back on course for steady growth - his approval ratings remained decent even if the honeymoon was over. Now, he was faced with another crisis, but for the first time it was an utterly secret one.

Once upon a time, Sameba had a nuclear programme. It had tried to build three old fashioned nuclear reactors in different parts of the country, and planned to build two more. The last war with Eura decades ago brought much sacrifice for the Sameban state and people, not least including their nuclear program. Developed to provide both a foundation for a major civil nuclear energy network and to help fund a nuclear deterrent to level the playing field with Eura, the program was stalled during the war after two of the three under construction reactors were bombed, while the third came close to completion but they could never find the solution to certain problems. Sameba had closed down the program all together shortly after the war. However, they had enjoyed more luck from building small reactors for submarines. They had managed to build or import thirty of them over a fifty year period, and the one ingredient Sameba did have for a nuclear program without needing outside help was plentiful fuel sources for reactors. This meant they could afford to fuel their fleet of nuclear submarines, and four nuclear aircraft carriers - though those aircraft carriers frequently had to fall back on their conventional backup generators. Now Sameba had seventeen nuclear hunter-killer submarines left, plus reportedly one imported but unfueled SSBN. Only five were remotely modern having being built since the last war, and the older ones were barely operational and antiquated. Though various types of Sameban military equipment were inferior to their Euran counterparts, nuclear submarines was the area in which the Sameban weakness was decisive, hence their reliance on diesel submarines instead.

The Eurans were at a loss as to how the Sameban's had kept any nuclear military equipment going at all, even if they did have natural fuel resources. They had no capability to refine them or produce viable fuel. The answer was that they had done it through third parties for many years. Now, as Sameba's international situation became even worse and more isolated, they were running out of friends to call on. Their nuclear subs, a third of their known submarine fleet, and their four most capable carriers, had a couple of years, perhaps months of fuel left. This, the Eurans were somewhat aware of. What they were less sure about was what else they might be building a reactor for. Sameba had always wanted nuclear weapons. They'd never be able to have the hundreds of SLBM's and air launched ballistic missiles the Eurans had. They would never be able to match Eura demographically and militarily, especially not after the strategic gap had grown so much since the last war - especially with Eura now exercising international influence that made Sameba a mid-level pariah. Yet just a few tactical level weapons, or maybe even a couple of missiles, might change the nature of the Euran-Sameban relationship forever. It might force the Euran's to relax sanctions and to allow Sameba to create some trade opportunities once more. It might be enough of a bargaining chip to allow Sameba to reduce its conventional arms strength, freeing up much needed funds for other areas of government spending in a time of civil unrest and a fragile economy. Or it would give Sameba the self confidence to reassert itself and prevent the seemingly accelerating slide towards a dependency on Eura for internal survival - a situation which could result in the collapse of the Sameban state and possibly even absorption.

Of course, Eura was only semi-aware of the depth of Sameba's internal struggles. What concerned them was that if this apparent attempt to produce Sameba's first nuclear deterrent succeeded, it might give them an impact weapon that could make them just about think it might be worth using. A sudden attack on the northern frontier with tactical nukes, or an attack on a Euran city or nuclear power station, or the naval base at Falourr; the possibilities were equal parts endless and terrifying. That, in short, was why the Euran government's top decision makers had gathered in this room on a warm summer day. Ice cream, the World Cup and sunbathing on the roof's of tower blocks was the order of the day in most of Bastion. Not here. 'Prime Minister?' Judge had been musing over the various problems at hand in his head while those around him talked. Now he had to give his own view. 'You all know my feelings on Sameba,' he began in a hushed tone, 'and my deep reluctance to antagonise them too dearly. However, this cannot be ignored. I think we all know that. We all know, the potential cost, the potential ramifications of Sameba acquiring a strategic or tactical nuclear capability. It could push them over the edge, make them overconfident. They know we won't use ours because all we have are over powerful strategic weapons designed to hit Valladares or far away antagonists, or medium range airborne weapons which would also be too powerful so close to our border.'

Judge flicked through the report in front of him. 'I think we've all got enough reading material to digest here. Obviously the analysis we've got so far is largely based on guesswork but I want us to assume, on the advice of the Chief Advisor from the Nuclear Weapons and Energy Authority, that if they've successfully replicated the Valladar Andes II reactor, then they've already got a system much more capable than what they had before, which means this time they may actually be capable of developing a weapon. The NWEA Advisor suggests we should prepare for the worst and assume they have a test ready bomb in six months at the earliest. I want everyone here to go away and think about this, but discuss it with no-one who is not in this room right now. This is more confidential than top secret, to say the least. I just want to say that, in my opinion, every option is on the table.' One of the less senior cabinet members perked up at this bit of information. 'Every option, Prime Minister? Are you suggesting a pre-emptive strike?'
'I'm not suggesting it, I'm just saying every option should be on the table. I'm the last person in this room who would want to risk starting a war. However we need to remain flexible with our options. In the meantime I want the investigation to continue from all here involved and I want a full breakdown of our possible options and approaches in the immediate time period. Everyone here is dismissed now except the immediate advisory committee core.' The rest of the cabinet and some of the Chiefs of Staff looked surprised. The head of the navy spoke up, visibly annoyed. 'Prime Minister, I think every service chief should remain here during this discussion!'
'Admiral, your insight is incredibly valuable but I need the Chiefs to begin discussion immediately of the ramifications for our defence policy. In the meantime the further discussions of certain aspects of our policy here are to be restricted to myself, the Foreign Secretary, the Minister of Defence and my immediate intelligence advisor.'

On this note, most took this as their cue to leave. People filtered out gradually, eventually leaving three people in the room. The Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence Graham, and Chairman of the OSI, Doyley. One of the cabinet heavyweights and a commando turned spook. Now they were joined on conference call by Amy Yarley, who was currently on a visit to the Endemian Council on her way back from the Whittorian Islands. She had been briefed already and went off on a long rant at her boss about the problems this would cause the government. 'Amy, look. I understand your objections to elements of my strategy but I can't incorporate your own suggestions in their current form.'
'What is hard to understand about my suggestions, Prime Minister?'
'They're not hard to understand, they're just utterly impractical and would make us look daft if it got leaked and then the Sameban's actually produced the goods. Now look, I need you to listen to me Amy. You need to go to Valladares, meet Ambassador Howell on the pretense of a brief visit to discuss a future summit meeting with me, though it would be nice to find out if they fancy that for sure.'
'Can't do that.'
'Why?'
'Because Howell wants to quit and you know it. She never fully got over nearly being lynched by a mob of Valladares finest angry civilians.'
'I don't care whether she's over that or not, she will do her job! While she is handling pleasantries, I need you to make contact with your opposite number in Valladares and find out more about the status of the Andes reactors decommissioning. Come up with a story for why this is an issue, learning lessons for our own industry or something, but the real objective should be to find out how Sameba might have gotten access to the Andes II site. Do I make myself clear?'
'Yes, Prime Minister.'

As she hung up, the Minister of Defence got up from his seat. 'I'd better get to the meeting with the veterans reps on the Green at five.'
'Fair enough, but on the way I want you to plug any potential leaks in the ministry and create a working group of people you trust to discuss this issue separately on a twice weekly basis.'
'Yes, Prime Minister.'
'Doyley?' The Chairman of the OSI smiled and looked up from his lap. Doyley was maturing with age a bit these days. He was still much younger than Judge and many politicians, but he wasn't a spring chicken any more. 'I'd say well done on your OSI grunt for getting this. What's his name, Harley?'
'Yes, low level operative. Got lucky.'
'Give him a promotion, but nothing too extreme. I just wish we'd made this find sooner. What are our prospects of getting more intelligence?'
'Well as you well know sir, its become more and more difficult to keep my assets in play across the border in the last two years since they tightened up. They're on edge right now and after our sleepers in Aspel found themselves at the bottom of a silt river bed, I've been cautious about putting new cards on the table. However, we've got assets in Szavoda that could be deployed unnoticed to watch the region generally. Track logistics to the site area, and the security situation. As for infiltrating the facility itself, that's another matter.'
'I know its difficult John, but we really need to see whats in the mountain. God knows how they're building one in there, according to the scientists its not the most suitable location for actually running the thing. Its well hidden though and therefore we need to take extraordinary measures. Get someone in there John, whatever it takes.' Doyley rose from his seat with a blank expression on his face, hiding his reaction to that order completely. 'Yes, Prime Minister.'

[Super-Llamaland]

The End

Christopher O'Reilly regarded the document in front of him balefully. He'd printed it off the internet a few weeks ago, which had been excited to, in full color, document something that hadn't truly happened in Super-Llamaland since the 1940s. The Llamaneans now had their own political parties.

Not official ones, of course - it simply wasn't possible for the Llamaneans to make the leap from no political parties to straight-up bipartisanism within weeks. But they'd certainly began to fracture. Formerly a unique, partyless structure, the 120-member Congress had begun to split up.

It'd begun with the religious nuts, of course, who created a voting bloc - The Coalition for a Religious Llamanea. When the other minorities had the idea of doing this as well, and voting blocs began to form, each member considering the new adversity the perfect opportunity to change the nation completely or believing that a screw-up here would end the nation.

There was no way to stop the voting blocs - you couldn't just force people to vote differently. O'Reilly was losing control of his nation. The strong central government that usually defined the Llamaneans was completely gone, replaced by a giant group of warlordesque party leaders.

He looked down at the chart again, editing in some updated numbers.

UNAFFILIATED - 42
THE EMERGENCISTS - 30
THE AUTHORITARIAN LEFT - 15
COALITION FOR A RELIGIOUS LLAMANEA - 13

The question needed to be resolved immediately. He would have to call a special session.

---

"I trust you gentlemen know why we are here today," O'Reilly said. He looked around the room. Grim faces - they knew what they were dealing with. Super-Llamaland as a whole was threatened - some sort of dome was surrounding their nation, cutting all contact with the outside off. Now there were universal food shortages and an epidemic of crime - no judgement or aliens yet; this was a far slower - and more painful - apocalypse. The nation was slowly dying of an unknown disease and the president was powerless to stop it. "It's clear that what is going on here - will not stop - until the dissolution of Super-Llamaland."

Immediate objection, of course. "Wait, hold on!" cried one of the senators - BAINBRIDGE, SETH (Kyrinson) said the tag. "Did you see what happened in Denison? Adequate preparations must be made, borders drawn to minimize human loss of life! This isn't something you can just say will happen."

"Bainbridge raises a good point," someone else said. By now, O'Reilly had mostly started to sit back and watch. "And I agree that right now, this is our goal." No argument. "But now that we've settled that, what to do in the meantime?"

Oh, ****.

"We need to impose martial law right now. Have you seen the streets? It's ridiculous is what it is. Crime is tripling every month."

"That's no reason to infringe upon our rights," somebody else said.

And thus the longest Congressional session in history began. When it was over, nothing had been accomplished - but with the final day of Super-Llamaland set to May 31, they knew it wouldn't matter for long...

---

Annabeth Kudlowski supposed it was a decent enough result - one-all against Turori; salvaging a point and giving them a second shot against Legalese. Still, it wasn't a great scenario to be in.

If only they'd beaten Gloriax, the Tigers would be on four points and have a great chance at the Ro16. Now they'd have to top Legalese to survive, barring some sort of shocker result in the Gloriax-Turori fixture and a Llamanean draw. Still, the world number seven would not be easy pickings.

For all the hype it had received (not really any reason, though - the two teams had almost no history, although a Llamanean team had knocked Vilita out of the tournament two years before), the match had been a bit boring. A bit of back-and-forth in the beginning, then the Turori team had began to push forwards, acquiring some nice shots on goal but nothing in the goal tally. Kudlowski had snagged an admirable effort and punted it forwards, whereupon the Tigers had caught a lucky break and managed a push forwards, Tobias Dickinson nearly scoring - as it were, his shot bounced off the crossbar.

Eventually, though, a goal was inevitable as the game got progressively pacier and looser. For minutes, it seemed that a shot was always thirty seconds away, until eventually someone got a goal past her and it was one-nil.

They rallied back and forth, the Llamanean fans getting progressively tenser, until Dickinson in the thirty-sixth managed to slot the ball through the defense and straight to Kristopher Nilssen, who couldn't help but smash in his second world cup goal. From there, the game was boring - one-all, and the Tigers went home pleased with the result, but displeased with their chances...

Lineup to play Legalese -

Finch ; Reagan ; Myers - Herleksson ; Bale ; Sturgeon - Player ; Dickinson ; Cartwright - Nilssen

[Farfadillis]

Beat the host or you're toast

It is no secret that the Farf team's first two matchdays were rather... uninspired. The attack wasn't as menacing as it once knew to be, and the defense didn't compensate either. A tie against the Star United States with just three shots on target - and with the equalizer coming from a scorer as unlikely as Bârr - was certainly not what the Farves had in mind for the first matchday. As disappointing as it may have been, it wasn't entirely out of question. Capitalizing on huge advantages has never been our biggest strength. However, the most important match of the group stage was no different, and we ended up being dominated by a Euran side that looked a lot more like it's WC66 iteration. That, however, may have been our fault. The attack did play better, but the spark just wasn't there. We weren't the constant threat that prevented teams from exploiting our defensive weaknesses. Instead, we were just defensively frail and offensively adept. The Eurans could've won by a larger margin nobody would've complained. Definitely underlying our offensive meltdown, though, was the fact that the one who scored for us on that match was yet another defender, Alaminos. Sure, it was a great long-range effort, but the goal was very undeserved, and even with such a lucky goal we ended up not being able to grab a single point. Goes on to show we've not been doing well...

Basically, Dandalleion's speed has taken a small hit, and it sometimes shows. Some ambitious passes from Delafuente and Terán just don't make the cut anymore. Terán himself is not playing like the nightmarish cheeky midfielder his usual self is. Fuego's kinda new to the World Cup experience, sure, but he's not been dribbling like he can, either. Kâí's runs down the left flank aren't as terrifying as we know they can be. Fôx is doing well, actually, but there's only so much you can do when you're the only one in-form. The defense has been performing better than usual - if only we could make both parts work at the same damn time!

But anyway, this last matchday's going to be crucial. A win will (almost) definitely see us through to the next round, unless Star United States pull off one huge upset. Up against us? The Yttribians. Hosts, though not as well-known as other teams. They beat the Star United States, unlike us, though they were badly beaten by the Eurans. Basically, they've been doing better than us but their result against the Eurans was more sincere than ours. With how we've been performing, it looks as if we were once again looking to pull off an upset in the last matchday of the group stages of the World Cup. Basically your usual Farf participation in the World Cup.

Can we pull it off? Yes. With how we've been playing? No. To be honest, none of the substitutions Pekarik made seemed to be in-form either - Tuzzio's shown his rapid decline's not limited to physical attributes, and Monrazón is still much too young to take care of the midfield properly at this level. Tôr did look pretty convincing, but replacing Fôx or Kâí is something we simply can't afford.

We've got nothing left to do except cross fingers and hope we get an undeserved ticket to the round of sixteen, making an entire nation cry in front of us in the process. But man wouldn't it be funny if we won and Star United States thrashed Eura...

[Turori]

KIONAO, TURORI :: The halls of the Cocoabo Preservation Society were quiet. Things still hadn't been fully cleaned up since the big World Cup 71 Madness opening night gala that the Preservation Society had held two days before. The CPS simply didn't have the staffing available to turn the event around any quicker to support another event. There was no real public viewing available like there was at the other sites in Cednia Beach, Turoki City and Alikki-Corra.

For now, Noa-isinao Wioauoi had the halls to himself.

Wioauoi was hoping to have a big announcement at some point in the near future, so he would have to play his cards right. In the end, his goal... his job was to maximize donations that were coming into the Cocoabo Preservation Society. Sure, he could host some kind of a Gala every time new calculations were made, and new pair winners were announced. But at what point would it be the boy who cried wolf; or would the guests start saying "Well I donated last time" and just show up, enjoy the Hors d'oeuvre and drinks without making a donation. Noa-isinao Wioauoi really did have a delicate responsibility to balance.

So he decided to do things differently for the revelation of the second round calculations in the Turori-South bracket of the World Cup 71 Madness simulation: Members-Only.

With no big board in the public eye, Wioauoi decided he would allow the scores to be accessible only to those members at the Silver Cocoabo level or higher. Non-members, or members at the Copper Cocoabo level would have to donate up to the Silver level in order to receive priority access to the calculation results. Silver level and above members would receive the calculation results without a donation required for Round 3, but nothing was decided yet for the Round of 16.

Perhaps, Wioauoi saw an opportunity to turn the results into additional memberships, and of course, with additional memberships would come additional donations. Not just one-time donations, either, like those secured at events like the Madness Gala that preceded the first round of calculations - but sustained donations. Noa-isinao Wioauoi had set up the membership scheme at the Cocoabo Preservation Society to ensure that members would automatically contribute at their donation level every year on Cocoabo Day unless the member opted out of their status level prior to the day.

So it was done, and Wioauoi waited for the results to come in. He instructed some members of the Cocoabo Preservation Society's marketing and communications group excatly how to distribute the World Cup 71 madness - Turori South Round 2 results; and to whom to distribute them to.

Satisfied that he had yet again accomplished his primary goal - found a way to get even more donations for the Cocoabo Preservation Society; Wioauoi went home for the night.

The results of the Turori - South Bracket ::

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
6c. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - South/West :: Round of 64 Calculations
7a. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - West :: Round of 32 Calculations
7b. WC71M :: Turori Regional - South :: Round of 32 Calculations

[Felix]

Unbiased Media In Felix

World Cup 71: On The Edge of Glory
By: Steven Smith

It seems like Felix is Valladares's ultimate bogey team. They can't seem to win against us. In the last three previous meetings Felix hasn't lost against them. The combined goal total against them? 8-4. And now Felix can add another four goals and another win against them. Felix was frighteningly dominant, which was a much welcomed sight to the home support which saw Felix falter against a now dangerous Falcus side in matchday one.

Mizuyuki-jin manager Ishikawa Haruka decided to change up the lineup a bit by changing the midfield. Instead of Nickolaus Dürr, Hyun Suk Moon of Real Santa Maria started. And Kunibert Mathias who tweaked his ankle following a harsh tackle in the Falcus match was switched off with Rudolf Venetianer. The stage was set, if Felix lost that match we would be out and the fans would be outraged, especially after our finish last World Cup.

The mood was set, it was win or go out and Felix started with a bang. In the 4th minute a quick counter attack from a early Valladares attack resulted in a 4 on 3 situation where speedsters, Rudolf Venetianer, Sebastian Krister, Pedro Peña, and Chloe Álvarez ran free against the Valladar defenders. The quick passes between each other kept the opponents guessing and final pass was a moment of pure brilliance. As the three defenders and the goalie began to head for Rudolf Venetianer the former SC Volker midfielder flicked it and Pedro Peña ran from the penalty spot and headed the ball into the open net.

The second goal came 14 minutes later this time from a free kick. Following a desperate Jéremy Carrasso tackle during another Felixian break. Sebastian Krister was up to kick. He fired a powerful shot that was blocked by Tom Moore but it wasn't caught which gave Felix a chance for a rebound shot and the Pedro "The Poacher" Peña scored his second goal of the match with a well placed shot in the bottom left. 2-0 and Felix was in the driver's to win the match.

Rudolf Venetianer scored the third goal following the half time break in the 51st minute with a good volley from a corner kick. The travelling Valladar fans were in a state of shock, they have seen their team lose to Felix but not like this. They didn't even register more than 2 shots in the first half. They were dominated and they knew it. The Felixian fans on the other hand were crazy and loud making a Valladar comeback nearly impossible.

The final goal and the nail to the Valldar coffin was a substitute goal by Kunibert Mathias. In the 83rd minute the substitute had a one on one matchup against Tom Moore and won against the helpless goalkeeper. He simply ran past the goalkeeper and did a cheeky chip goal even though there was no goalkeeper. Felix won the match 4-0.

Felix now moves on to their final match, if we win we're in to the next round it's that simple. Good luck to Felix! And until next time!

[Felix]

Rich Girls (The Tweleves Remix) - The Virgins

[insert witty message here]

FINALS - MATCHDAY THREE CUTOFF

[Yttribia]

Salt by Bad Suns

This World Cup may be nothing to some teams, but just salt.

FINALS - MATCHDAY THREE CUT-OFF

[Audioslavia]

Now Go Home

Audioslavia in dismay as Bulls suffer their worst Finals display since World Cup 28

As Audioslavia trudged from the field following their opening-day defeat to Nephara, the average voice in the crowd seemed upbeat. 'They edged a close one'. 'Bloumanis never put up a struggle', 'Blouman and Kandorith next? We'll be fine'.

Fans had reason to look on the bright side. Blouman Empire and Audioslavia had faced off against one another nine times in the past, with Audioslavia winning seven to the Empire's one. Kandorith had measured themselves up to the Bull thrice before and been unceremoniously gored into the wall each time, failing to land a single blow themselves.

It hadn't really registered with us that we were only ninety minutes away from an early exit.

The first forty-five minutes came and went with Audioslavia hardly forcing their will on their opponents. Blouman Empire, it has to be said, had the better chances, with Steven Mallard the catalyst in midfield, organizing space for Cooperson and Harrison to try their hand at goal - the latter forcing a deft save from Patterick that would have otherwise given the Bloumanis a deserved lead.

Early in the second half, the Bulls started to press. Styrn darted between two defenders only to roll a finish onto the foot of the post. Jovellanos cut inside to unleash a ferocious shot that whizzed past the goalkeeper only to graze the post on its way out for a goal kick. The Bulls were in the ascendancy, and then all of a sudden they weren't.

Mallard, otherwise subdued by Omaexevarria in the opening parts of the second half, sprang back into life and created space for himself by way of a one-two with Kane Ancap on the left. Mallard cut inside, parallel with the edge of the eighteen yard box, evaded Corbijn's attentions, waited for the strikers to arrive into the box and then expertly floated a delicious ball behind all the players scampering into the box. The ball was expertly timed for Percy Baser to meet it without having to jump, simply sprinting onto the ball and using all his shoulder and neck muscles to power his head into it from seventeen yards. Patterick, unsighted by the melee of players in the box, could only watch on as the header sailed into the corner for 1-0.

1-0 down with thirty-five minutes to play, Audioslavia started loading the crossbows, ready to punish the scarlet-clad Eagles for having the temerity to score on them. They then turned the crossbows around and fired them on themselves.

I don't know if you've ever seen eleven Audioslavians panic. It isn't a pretty sight. Imagine Laurel and Hardy trying to carry a ladder up a spiral staircase. Only replace the ladder with a football. And replace Laurel and Hardy with a three-man midfield. And replace the staircase with a trumpet going 'wahp wahp waaaaaaahhhhhp' for twenty-five minutes.

Audioslavia didn't create a proper chance until the eighty-first minute, and even that was skied high into the air by an erratic shot from Ronda Styrn, who had looked a shadow of herself for most of the game. Styrn, who had celebrated her twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth birthdays will a long stay on her couch due to some niggling knee injuries, appears to have celebrated her recent thirtieth birthday by... well... losing it. That rich vein of form throughout most of the domestic season, all those goals during the latter stages of qualifying, were they simply a short indian summer, rather than the blistering return to form we all expected it to be?

The inclusion of Hufdis Uulver and Jaurtiketa Buruz - on for Styrn and Llagostera - stank of a desperate last throw of the dice by manager Kirk. In truth, it finally gave Audioslavia some fangs in the dying moments of the game. The two combined well in the build-up to a chance for Jovellanos, who could only manage to find the side-netting with a snap-shot from twelve yards. Buruz would force a point-blank save from the keeper on ninety-two minutes, and that would be the last action of the game. Audioslavia 0-1 Blouman Empire. Bulls out. That's that.

The final game against Kandorith - playing a weakened side after already having booked their place in the second round - was simply a slap in the face to most Audioslavians watching. The Bulls started without a handful of 'starting' players (if they can be ever be considered that again after the first two games) yet took the lead early on - their first goal of the finals, to the ironic applause of both sets of fans - through Caszely's strike, but the Red Dragons equalized almost immediately through Xien-kan. Caszely would re-take the lead with his second goal, Shéng silenced the celebrations with a wonderful twenty-five yard strike just a minute later. Qing Weimin - rarely a starter for the Kandorith national team - received an undeserved straight red card on fifty-six minutes for a clumsy, if hardly malicious, challenge on Tijgers Landhuis, and Audioslavia pressed on for the win. Surely that should be possible against ten men? Against a team who'd never beaten them even with eleven? No. Taiji Moto's strike on eighty-two minutes after waves and waves of Audioslavian blunt-edged aggression put Kandorith 3-2 up, and Audioslavia staring at the possibility of going a tournament with three straight defeats - an unprecedented failure. Jaurtiketa Buruz's goal, deep in injury time, saved such blushes, but the fact that the players proceeded to celebrate a 3-3 draw in a dead rubber match like they'd just won a World Cup semi-final raised a fair few eyebrows at home. Most had lost emotional involvement in the match, and the tournament, long before the match had started.

Audioslavia, then, go home to lick their wounds and plot a way through to the latter stages of the AOCAF Cup, two years from now. How many of the current squad survive the trip remains to be seen.

[Turori]

KIONAO, TURORI :: Noa-isinao Wioauoi's plan had worked.

While it wasn't the headline on the local news, the World Cup 71 Madness Simulation being run by the Tropicorp Research & Development Group's Artificial Intelligence Team did have a cult following. In the "instant gratification" culture of the modern age, the idea that somewhere in Turori the Turori-East bracket results had been calculated just ate at the skin of those anxious to find out the results.

Having cleverly restricted the revelation of the Round of 32 calculations to only donators and the Silver Cocoabo level or higher, Wioauoi architected the scheme that resulted in hundreds of new donations coming in overnight as Artificial Intelligence and Sporting enthusiasts alike opened up an account with the Cocoabo Preservation Society and submit a donation to meet the minimum requirement of 50 Ture at the Silver Cocoabo level.

The reward to the new donators was the result of the four newly-calculated pairing results for the Turori-East bracket; as the other 3 bracket results had already been revealed.

Wioauoi also succeeded in preventing data leakage for a long enough time period to take full advantage of the information he was withholding. By choosing to wait until early in the morning to make the results available to Silver Cocoabo members, interested parties had a decision to make. Find out the answer immediately, by donating prior to heading in to work for the day; or, wait all day long at work without knowing the winners of the pairings.

Pulling at the heart-strings of the impatient and data-fueled public, Wiouaoi knew he would attract new contributors.

Finally, however, word began to spread. So without further delay, Wioauoi gave the word for the results to be published so that the Cocoabo Preservation Society would be the primary source for the information rush by those who did not already donate to the Silver Cocoabo level, getting one more chance to get the CPS logo out in front of those users.

Perhaps it was a need to drum up some excitement for what had thus far been a fairly mundane bracket, the opening round of calculations resulting in just the lone minor-upset, with Cosumar advancing over the 7th Nation-Seed Super-Llamaland.

However, if it seemd like the Turori Regional - East was a bit of a snooze fest in the Round of 64, then it would have seemed even worse in the Round of 32.

The first matchup was fairly easy to predict with the Polar Islandstates advancing over the Suns of Barunia.

The next match on the board of course was the most important, but also on paper the toughest and closest of all the matchups. Fortunately for a point of keeping interest among potential future donators, the Island Emirate of Turori were calculated to advance over Rushmori champions Sargossa.

Atlantian Oceania champions Valanora took down fellow Region-of-Champs resident Blouman Empire to set up a pairing with Esportivan champions Buyan who were calculated to advance over Cosumar.

With the field of 64 cut down to just 16 remaining representative nations occupying seeds in each of the 4 regional calculation brackets.

Perhaps the most interesting matchup of the 3rd round would be the final one that was revealed with Atlantian Oceania champions and veteran nation Valanora paired in a nation seeding against the up-and comers, Esportiva's modern champion Buyan.

With the field having been cut in half twice, the lowest seeded team remaining was Eura, a #7 nation seed going into the tournament, who upended #2 Legalese to set up a clash with Pasarga in the third round. Legalese being the only Top-2 nation to have thusly been eliminated from the competition.

A pair of #6 seeds also remained with The Royal Kingdom of Quebec and the Equestrian States still alive and kicking heading into the crucial rounds.

Only in the Turori Regional - East did all four Top-seeded nation slots advance to the regional semi final stage where #1 Polar Islandstates will be up against the #4 nation seed Turori in the other of the rounds marquee pairings.


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
6c. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - South/West :: Round of 64 Calculations
7a. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - West :: Round of 32 Calculations
7b. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - South :: Round of 32 Calculations
7c. WC71M :: Turori Regional - North :: Round of 32 Calculations
7d. WC71M :: Turori Regional - East :: *Restricted* Round of 32 Calculations

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

HOLY EMPIRE HERALD

HADDOCK SONG PLAGUE GRIPS FELIX
Imperial Authorities Deny Responsibility

By Anna Comneno

The Felix half of the World Cup draw was thrown into chaos last night as hordes of the host nation's youth became addicted to haddock song, and many visiting fans succumbed to the siren lure of the haddock song plague.

A typical haddock song addict

Officials from the co-hosts were quick to point the finger at the Holy Empire following the confiscation of several recordings of haddock song that had been sent to the World Cup 69 champions as part of an illicit shipment "clearly designed to illegally boost the visitors' athletic performance" according to one senior official in the Felix customs authority, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Members of the Holy Empire Football Association delegation were quick to deny responsibility. "We join the Felix authorities in condemning the illicit trade in haddock song" said imperial coach Juan Tzimisces, "and will cooperate fully with local authorities in attempting to stamp out this addicting substance, I mean addicting sounds." Imperial assistant coach Simeone Di Bradini emphasised that the team was wholly clean, had never used haddock song in training, and invited the multiverse's media to attend Imperial training sessions. "We have nothing to hide" he stressed "we have won four World Cups through skill alone, not through the use of dodgy addictive aural performance-enhancing fish song".

Other officials in Felix supported HEFA. "I suspect the customs department are trying to hide their own error" said one highly placed source. "They did confiscate a private, unsolicited, and wholly unofficial shipment of haddock song sent to the Empire's training ground without the Empire's knowledge or approval - but it looks like the entire shipment was inadvertently released after one customs officer succumbed to the temptation to give haddock song a try."

Imperial officials were said to be cooperating with the Felix police in bringing the terrible plague under control. "We shall not rest until all of the innocent victims are safe" said one officer of the Purple Inkwell. "Uncontrolled use of haddock song can devastate local communities; but working together we can stop this escalating further out of control".

A haddock song users' den

Nonetheless, some parties in Audioslavia are said to be unofficially petitioning that the World Cup 69 trophy be awarded to the Bulls by default "until the suspicion that the Holy Empire was using illicit performance-enhancing sounds" could be fully investigated. A formal statement from the Audioslavian Association denied any involvement with the petition, stating that it was "an unnecessary distraction from our own dismal performance in the present World Cup."

Officials from both the Holy Empire and Felix were said to be disappointed that the haddock song controversy was set to overshadow the second-round match between the Empire and Osarius, set to be the block-buster match of the tournament as the two past winners of the tournament go head-to-head. The Osarian delegation refused to comment, stating merely that "local legal matters are the responsibility of the local authorities".

[Apox]

Jack Lerryn was one of the "lower profile" starters on the national team, which when you look at his stats, seems nothing but incredulous. Over 250 appearances with Barbury over the course of his career, having played there since the youth team, graduating to the first team in the season they were promoted back to the ANL, becoming the captain of the side following on from Matthias Sindelar's departure, winning Marshall Cups, Cygnus Cups and ANL titles with the team (in fact every title they've ever won has had Lerryn in the squad). He'd played in the National Team for many cycles now, basically since Jack Forster's international retirement, joining the elite 50 caps club and making the right defence position his own in recent years.

And now here he was, playing in the crucial match against the Equestrian States, currently still bottom in the "Group of Death" as it was being called, with the knowledge that the winner of this match would basically be the team joining Osarius in the knock-out rounds (unless the Unified Sunrise Islands could pull off something spectacular against Osarius in the other match).

The score was still 0-0, and it had been a relatively open game. Gavin Hughes had thrown caution to the wind and lined-up with his usual 4-4-2, with Wilfried Lidgley starting in place of the suspended Zana Ibrox.

Lerryn was lurking on the far right side of the box at for an Equestrian corner, sticking to Krystal like glue. The ball lofted over the melee in the box, but broke out after Pristina Shine's shot deflected off Solomon Etezadi and rolled out to Lerryn on the right. Pushing off Krystal, he broke out of the box - having never been one to hoof the ball up unless he had to, using his skill and pace (not as much pace any more these days) to play the ball away from danger. He somehow managed to get past Cloudchaser, leaping over the experienced pegasus' tackle, but knowing he likely didn't have the pace to run past him, flicking the ball into Armando Quillisi instead.

Quillisi read the game well, and saw Lerryn had the speed still up, slicing one of his trademark through ball round the rapidly back tracking Krystal, the ball reaching Lerryn's feet just outside the box. He glanced in, and saw Tregajorran rapidly advancing, but he had a good feeling about this. "Fuck it" he thought, "I'm going for goal".

---

Tolgus Tregajorran watched the corner take place, keeping half an eye on Molovi and Hamilton who were prowling about on the halfway line. He saw the ball fly in from Apple Cobbler and the scramble in the box. Truth be told, he hadn't had a great deal to do in the game so far, and hadn't had much of an impact yet, to his annoyance. With the second half ticking on, he knew that, record goalscorer or not, if he continued to look fairly anonymous, Hughes would whisk him off, probably for Corinna, in an instant.

However, Lerryn was on the ball now, and Tregajorran was off, playing rushing towards the Equestrian goal behind him, glancing to make sure he kept his line with Molovi as she back tracked. Armando had the ball, and before anyone could even get close to him, he'd sent it hurtling forward into the still advancing Lerryn, cutting after the Equestrian defence with an ease that only a world class player like Armando could do.

Molovi had no chance but to try and intercept Lerryn before he got into a truly dangerous area, and with Zozula arriving on the far side of the box, Hamilton was tracking him. With Flitter thundering back with incredible pace, Tolgus was, for a minute, free in the box. He screamed to Lerryn, but Lerryn looked set. "He'd only ever score two international goals!" Tolgus thought, "Pass me the fucking ball!"

Jack took the shot, and to be honest, sliced it hopelessly, the ball careering off to his left, right to where Tregajorran was. He leaped into the air, salmon like (OOC: I'm envisaging Zlatan's goal headed goal against England in Euro 2012 here), and fizzed the ball goalbound. Gentle Breeze, to be fair to her, got a hoof to it, but was unable to stop the header, and the stadium exploded into noise, this game had just headed up.

---

The stadium was beginning to fill up and there was that famialiar pre game noise coming from the fans in the stands above - the murmurs, the shouts, the laughs, the stomping of feet up and down the terraces. Gavin Hughes always liked to listen to these noises before going into the dressing room to talk to the team, it gave him an extra feel for things, settled his mind a touch.

He'd had plenty of time to mull things over since the win against the Equestrians. They'd progressed, thankfully, to their second World Cup Round of 16. Their opponents, the Holy Republican Empire weren't quite the same prospect as their last opponents in a World Cup knock-out match, a team going by the name of Polar Islandstates in WC67, the number one side in the world at the time, and the future winners of that very same cup. It had been a while since apox had been able to venture back into the finals with any conviction, having endured a pretty miserable run in the three World Cups following. The squad was a wee bit different then, but very of the "core" players, the superstars, were the same, with Ettie Seabrooke, Jack Lerryn, a 20 year old Solomon Etezadi, Armando Quillisi, Kaj Aurora and Tolgus Tregajorran in the team that day, All of them now on 50 caps or more, and, bar 'Zadi and Kaj, they are had a maximum of one more World Cup in them, as a starter anyway. This was it. The chance to go further than any other Apoxian team in history in the biggest competition of them all.

He stepped into the dressing room, and the room fell quiet, expectant.

"Well lads, this is it. They didn't think we could do it, we were the underdogs in the "group of death". But we defied them. We're here, now, ready to face The Holy Republican Empire. On paper, they're easier than Osarius or the Unified Sunrise Islands. Ignore that bollocks. This game is going to be bloody tough, and all of you are going to have to fight for it, like I know you will, right until the end.

That's not to say we can't win. Winning is not impossible. It's necessary, to see us get through to those quarter-finals and damn well make an impression on this World Cup that we've been long overdue making. I have full faith that you're all going to go out there and do me, and our nation proud. Give them hell."

[Free Republics]

OOC: The following RP extensively references Gregoryisgodistan's latest RP for the CoH.

Samual Izmailov was livid. A number of his private emails had been leaked by Gregoryisgodistani hackers, revealing his prostitute-patronizing habits and his skepticism about the legitimacy of Consul Kulseth's election. The leak was in retaliation to the plan by Money Pictures to release a movie about Gregoryisgodistan entitled The Interview. The Interview had already been filmed and Izmailov had played Lord Almighty Gregory in the film, which starred Koby Theodore and Kyle Bolton as celebrity gossip journalists who travel to Gregoryisgodistan to interview and assassinate Lord Almighty Gregory.

The revelation, by Sister Maria Polus, that the plot revolved around an assassination attempt apparently infuriated the self-proclaimed "god" who ordered his minions to cause mayhem. They had hacked into the email accounts of those associated with the film and published large numbers of private emails, drawing particular attention to the incriminating messages. As the press picked up the story, Izmailov put out a statement declaring that "Before thy believeth that the purported email hack is not a forgery, please consider the source. The nation of Gregory'isgod'istan is notorious for spreading falsehoods and propaganda. I have no recollection of sending or receiving any of the purported emails that I have seen. Furthermore, I find the views expressed in those emails to be repugnant. I have never held such views, nor will I ever do so!"

---

Unfortunately for Izmailov, Kyle Bolton and Koby Theodore did not get the memo. They were in the nation of Felix. Petrus Fadius had called a press conference open to the press from all over the multiverse. It was several days after their 6 goals to 2 victory over The Calanian Union. That had been yet another dominant performance for Theodore, who scored 3 goals and assisted goals by Kyle Bolton, Faredin Pozenel and Ayub Sandstrom. At the age of 21, Theodore was starting to mature as a man and as a soccer player.

When a foreign reporter brought up the emails and read some of them to Theodore, his answer was sincere and truthful: "I have done many things in the past that I am not proud of. Those emails are among them and, for that, I apologize to everybody throughout the multiverse who looks up to me. I also want to take this opportunity, since I am in the nation of Felix, to apologize to a certain girl who will remain unnamed for taking advantage of her all those years ago. While I do not believe that what I did then was legally wrong, I was morally wrong and I ask only that I be forgiven for my youthful indiscretions in the past. I have deep regret for the stupid and thoughtless things that I did before I had a personal relationship with Iesus Christus. I doubt that most people here in Felix will ever forgive me or that I am worthy of their forgiveness, but I ask for it nonetheless."

Theodore's statements were echoed by Kyle Bolton, even though Bolton did so insincerely. This further undercut Izmailov's claims that the emails were a Gregoryisgodistani forgery. It was now evident, from the statements by Bolton and Theodore, that the emails were actual emails revealing their mindset at a previous place and time. Needless to say, this was going to prove extremely bad for Izmailov, now that he had been caught attempting to lie his way out of a scandal. Scripture was very clear on lying: The 9th Commandment said "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." In addition, Proverbs 6:16-19 listed 7 things that are an abomination to the Lord, among them "a lying tongue" and "a false witness that speaketh lies." In other words, Izmailov had committed one of the most grievous sins in a futile attempt to cover up other sins.

---

Indeed, Kulseth had just decreed, a day earlier, that lying was now a criminal offense in the HRE to be punished by public flogging and any additional punishments deemed appropriate. Now, Samual Izmailov had not only been exposed for patronizing prostitutes and associating with known Enemies of the Empire, but also for lying. He had gone home to take a nap before the press conference began in Felix and was completely oblivious to everything.

Unfortunately for Izmailov, Consul Kulseth was watching the press conference live. He had seen the emails and had known that they were accurate. He had already been informed of the validity of the emails by the Imperial Protection Agency, which quickly hacked the email servers themselves to discover whether the hack was valid. They reported their findings to the Consul, but Consul Kulseth was still willing to look the other way, so long as there was plausible deniability that would allow him to ignore these incriminating emails. Once Theodore owned up to sending the emails in front of an international television audience, that plausible deniability was gone and there was no way to get it back. Consul Kulseth was left with no choice but to order the arrest of Samual Izmailov...

[Farfadillis]

Delafuente nailed one of his trademark through passes. Kâí shoved forward, leaving Hale behind thanks to the difference between them in speed. He then dribbled his way around Melendez, who'd sprinted towards him a bit too fast. He continued his run entering the box, but was forced to go to his left because Kemény had positioned himself flawlessly. With the Yttribian defender breathing down his neck, stepping on the line of the box, he turned around, gave the ball a small touch and positioned himself to cross before his opponent could react. Dandalleion, entering the box at full speed, headed a missile towards the Yttribian goal Irvin's reflexes weren't the best, but the ball hit the crossbar very violently. Violently enough for the ball to make its way to Terán, standing a few metres from the box, for some reason free of annoying defenders. He smashed the crossbar, too, but this time the ball would bounce inside and hit the roof of the net. A goal...

... five minutes into the match. Very certainly not what the Yttribians were expecting. Indeed, not even the daftest of Farves would've imagined la Vherderoja taking the lead against the hosts so soon. At least not after how they'd been performing. But it had happened. The Farves were ahead and with Eura having managed to lose by just one goal, they were at the moment looking forward to an exciting round of sixteen disappointment against the Terns. Maybe they'd even show they were up to the Polarian challenge and thrash the hosts to show that the AOCAF Cup-winning Farfadillis team from some years ago was back!

Well, they didn't. Far from it. The Yttribians, of course, didn't want to let their fans down playing at home. So they charged forward with everything they had. Usually, against a team like Farfadillis, this would have a few implications. First off, the match would have many, many goals. The Farf defense would collapse as is routine and the Farf offense would destroy a defense exposed by the oppponent's attacking efforts. This would turn out not to be a usual match, however.

The Farf offense, the very same one that even far better teams had been cautious against and the very same one that had scored a fantastic goal five minutes in, would not be any threatening to the hosts. Delafuente wouldn't get another defense-splitting pass in the entire game. Kâí would not make another deep run. Dandalleion wouldn't get close to scoring again. Terán wouldn't shoot on target any of his long shots after the goal. Fôx and Fuego wouldn't do much, either. How, then, would Farfadillis survive the match? Well, by showing why Pekarik was hired, that's how.

It's true, the offensive-minded players Farfadillis had become famous for wouldn't threaten the Yttribian goal much for the rest of the game, but even they would help the effort to keep the sheet clean.

While it is true that some alarms had gone off because of how badly the team had played the previous two matches, few stopped to notice that the Farf defense had done considerably well. Sure, the Eurans had scored two, but considering how that game went down, the fact that they scored just two was a big defensive merit. The Star United States scored one when many previous iterations of the Farf defense would've conceded more. In the end, it was the defense stepping up their game and the offense letting everybody down. The Yttribians had a tough task ahead of themselves, but they had it all wrong: they had to worry about the Farf defense, not the counterattacks.

Dandalleions started heavy pressing. Even though he's a bit old, he was still extremely annoying to the Yttribian team. Fuego joined him occasionally. Fôx and Kâí started to focus on defending exclusively. Sure, they were at best fairly average players when not attacking, but they'd learned the lesson after being managed by Pekarik: sometimes you've got to defend, even if you're way, way better at doing absolutely anything else. Still, the two were very combative players, so their defender would never be laughable. Terán joined Mêndêlöíndçêl as a defensive midfielder, a position he'd played in a few times before. Delafuente became the team's only centre midfielder. His task was slightly more offensive than the others'. He had to look for spaces and try to start counterattacks, but in the end he became just another defender. Mêndêlöíndçêl, as usual, captained the team in every way. It was not a secret that Yurpá was one of the best in the world when it came to defending - a Buyan magazine ranking him fifteenth best player in the world. The Yttribians knew they'd achieve nothing by attacking through the centre.

So, the Yttribians started to try to exploit the flanks. Alaminos was in top form that day, unfortunately for them, and he's the best Farf in history to play as a defender. Their best bet was, therefore, to expose the Farves' biggest weakness when defending: Cleto Mata. Mata was a great player, but he truly shone as an offensive defender, not as one who had to defend all match. Playing on the flank sure wouldn't help him. Pekarik and Cardona both realized where the game was headed after fifteen or so minutes, and they both knew the other had realized too. That's when Pekarik shocked the world by replacing Mata - who'd made no big mistakes - with Cayfú. There would be speculation from the media, but Pekarik's objective was winning. Exclusively.

Now that the hosts' best hope was gone, the Yttribians were faced with the dilemma of having to break the Farf defense. Yes, Pekarik had managed to make that a dilemma. No option was practical. They'd have to work themselves into the goal, somehow. There weren't any weak links to exploit anymore. Sure, attacking through the centre was still absolutely impossible, so they'd have to try and play wide. This wasn't very convenient considering the best player the purple team had was their centre attacking midfielder, Cisternino. Arguably, of course.

Yttribia invaded the Farf half the entire game. But they found themselves unable to create many chances. Sure, they got no less than seven shots on target, but they had only two clear-cut chances despite attacking the entire game. To their disdain, Tzâín, the only possible weak link left, was in a fantastic day. Farfadillis atacked on the counter thanks to a few solo attempt by Fuego, to show that the Yttribians couldn't fully dedicate themselves to the offense until there were ten minutes or so left. Pekarik replaced Dandalleion with Pickton when this happened, and the Farf defense started to look truly impenetrable. Then, he replaced the tired Fôx with Tôr, who despite being similarly offensive-minded, was not exhausted unlike his fellow Rulandese.

The hosts would find themselves unable to score against the Farf defense, even after almost solely dedicating themselves to that effort. Pekarik definitely had left his mark on the Farf team. Say what you will about how the Farf team played the three group stage matches, but they were still in with a chance to win.

But how funny, he now had to face his homeland. Would he be able to show off what he had achieved with his own national team? Would he, unlike the previous time, best the man he had assisted on his way to a World Cup title?

[Turori]

KIONAO, TURORI :: Noa-isinao Wioauoi finally had the approvals he needed. Wioauoi had just received word that the Atlantian Oceania Regional Defense Organization (AORDO) was approving the use of Atlantian Oceania protected lands to the North and East of the Island Emirate of Turori by the exploratory consortium formed between the Cocoabo Preservation Society and Tropicorp.

For Tropicorp's part, they would be providing mostly funding. While the research done at Tropicorp often seeks to develop technology to help the populous, or, to take dirty industry out of the Vilita & Turori mainlands, it would only be a matter of time before some protest group somewhere started complaining about the destruction of natural overgrowth on the Calanian coast by Tropicorp research and production centers. As such, a little bit of funding to support Noa-isinao Wioauoi monstrous vision and some Tropicorp logos associated with protected natural lands aimed at the preservation of one of the native species of the Island Emirate of Turori would go a long way to rebutting any future accusation that Tropicorp didn't care about nature or needed to be more sensitive about the environment.

All the grunt work, the administrative work and the oversight however would be the responsibility of the Cocoabo Preservation Society. While eventually there would be an entire team and staff associated with the effort, for now, with the majority of the work required being high-level negotiations, dealing with official entities and committing agreements on behalf of the Cocoabo Preservation Society, the majority of the existing work had fallen on the shoulders of Wioauoi himself.

Now, with all the paperwork ready to go, and the project ready to move on to the next stage, it was time for another party.

Wioauoi opened the doors to the Cocoabo Preservation Society headquarters and invited all comers. He had an announcement to make. And a lot more donations to take.

------------------------------

As the crowds came in, each one was welcomed personally by the head of the Cocoabo Preservation Society, Noa-isinao Wioauoi. The room was set up differently on this night than it had been during the World Cup 71 Madness Gala just a week prior. That event, with a more formal feel, as if it were designed as a 'night of elegance, pomp and circumstance' was a limited entry, invitational event for those at the Silver Cocoabo membership level or higher.

On this night, however, the doors were wide open. The dining tables were gone replaced by standard seating in the center of the main hall, and standing social tables around the perimeter.

As the crowds found their seats, each found a bottle of Calanian Spring water and a goodie bag filled with snacks and a coupon to be traded in at the beverage center for one beverage of their choice. Tables around the perimeter offered a small selection of pigs in a blanket, chips and dip and some traditional turorian snack foods for the guests. The CPS concession stand around the corner was also open, selling traditional light meals that some guests picked up on their way to a seated or standing position.

Wioauoi had billed it as an "Announcement to mark a remarkable breakthrough in Cocoabo Preservation" - but cleverly coupled it by promising the initial revelation of not just the Turori Regional - West calculations from the World Cup 71 Madness tournament; but ALL calculations on the day, including those from the Vilitan segments, would be piped directly into the Cocoabo Preservation Society headquarters thanks to the generous support of CPS's newest partner, Tropicorp.

Finally, the lights flickered to signify to the guests that it was time for the preceedings to begin, and Noa-isinao Wioauoi took to the stage.

"I'd like to welcome everyone here to the Cocoabo Preservation Society headquarters" Wioaoui began, "I hope you will be as excited as I am when you find out what we have in store for the evening."

"I'm not going to drag this one out, so just take your seats and I'll get straight into the big news. Then we'll take a short break, then for those that wish to stay, we'll have the revelation of the 3rd Round Results from the World Cup 71 Madness simulation"

Wiouaoi made a motion to two assistants at the side and then continued with his announcement.

"Working closely with the Atlantian Oceania Regional Defense Organization, and thanks to some support from our friends at Tropicorp, the Cocoabo Preservation Society has been lucky enough to be granted full access to a large swath of land that has been held under the protection of the AORDO for some time." Wioaoui made another motion to some assistants who took the curtain off a presentation board showing a map of the greater Vilitan Cove and Calanian Coast region, and a large section of land on the Calanian Coast highlighted in Red on the map.

"As you see here, the lands to the North of Turori, from the Point of Calania eastward to the Krytenian border, which have been long held as a protectorate of the Atlantian Oceania Regional Defense Organzation, will soon be transferred into protectorship right here to the Cocoabo Preservation Society!" - A minor rucus of support broke out within the crowd.

"It has been a lot of hard work to secure this, and of course we had to provide assurances to the Atlantian Oceania Regional Defense Organization that we would have the administrative capability to take on the task of overseeing such a large section of Calanian coastline. This is one reason why we have partnered in this endeavour with our friends at Tropicorp. Tropicorp offer the financial stability as well as the experience in autonomous oversight of independant isolated landspace as they have proven to do plentifully with their own lands south east of the Tuorki Isle."

"We will be using a similar model, but of course for a different purpose. The lands, which for now shall be known as the Cocoabo Forest, are the single most similar climate in the region to the natural habitat of our beloved Cocoabo. As such, the location could't have been more perfect." - At this point, another curtain was unraveled revealing the name "Cocoabo Forest" and what appeared to be a flag or insignia for the new preservation.

"While we are thrilled and excited at the possibilities of expanding Cocoabo Preservation to the Cocoabo Forest, it will take a massive effort from everyone here at the Cocoabo Preservation Society to prepare for this. As such, we will have plenty of new job opportunities in the Cocoabo Foret, but, we will not be leaving the Cocoabo's native home here in Turori. The better job we do here in Turori, and the better that Preservation efforts continue, there will always be a home for Cocoabo's here on the main islands of our home. In order to best preserve the Cocoabo's for the future, however, expansion of preservation land into Calania is the best bet, and we're so excited to take you on this journey with us!"

Wioaoui walked out into the crowd a this point, "Obviously, we always need your donations and support, and now, more than ever, your donation can make a difference. We have a chance here to start fresh. Provide a perfect sanctuary where Cocoabo can roam free, unperturbed, unfenced, unrestricted without the thread of civilian interference. Lets make this happen!!"

The crowd cheered as Wioaoui walked out and shook hands with some of the dignitaries who had some of the few seated tables on the side of the hall. One of the assistants made an announcement that folks were free to wander about the CPS headquarters for the next hour, and after the break, they would continue on by simulcasting the reveal of the next round of World Cup 71 Madness results.

In the back of his mind, Wioaoui both breathed a sigh of relief - the big announcement was over - and reared up the butterflies all at the same time, knowing that his whole career - his whole life, would be defined by the success - or failure, of the Cocoabo Forest.

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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
6c. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - South/West :: Round of 64 Calculations
7a. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - West :: Round of 32 Calculations
7b. WC71M :: Vilita Regional - South :: Round of 32 Calculations
7c. WC71M :: Turori Regional - North :: Round of 32 Calculations
7d. WC71M :: Turori Regional - East :: *Restricted* Round of 32 Calculations
7e. WC71M :: Turori Regional - East :: Round of 32 Calculations

[Gloriax]

South Esportiva Comes Together
The Proposed SETO Finally Looks To Take Shape

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Tomás Márquez, the Minister of Defence of San Jose Guayabal arrived late evening yesterday, here at the Titania International Aiport, Titania. He was provided a Z+ security force, comprising of 15 specially-trained commandos armed with the latest, and most developed weapons in MT technology. This is sure to send a very strong message of mutual friendship that is prevalent among the two Esportivan nations.

Antonio Fitzgerald, Defence Minister of Gloriax, also had to face numerous questions for quite a few days before the planned arrival of Mr. Márquez, ragarding the nature of the treaty that was going to be signed. As far as the trip is concerned, though, experts are of the opinion that the following might be discussed at length in the talks.

1). Mutual Defence: Both the nations shall have mutual respect for each other, and provide military supportin times of crises (i.e. war, climatic disasters)

2). Capacity to impose embargos on offending nations

3). Financial support: San Jose Guayabal and Gloriax shall support each other financially when the situation arises.

4). Mutual advancement through technology and research (both defence and non-defence)

5). Free trade: A nation shall not be imposed any customs tax while importing or exporting goods from the other.

6). Food, water and ammunition supplies: The nations shall be providing each other with food and water (during natural calamities) and ammunition (during war).

The above treaty is believed to be a great step forward for the Gloriaxians to have a stronger say in the military matters of Esportiva. Thus, the forming of the SETO (South Esportivan Treaty Organization) is just a matter of time. This, also, shall provide a huge impetus to the ongoing conflict between the proposed SETO nations and Gregoryisgodistan. Experts believe that if Gregoryisgodistan is isolated in terms of allies, there is a big chance of bringing about their downfall….