World Cup 73 - RPing Thread

[Zenic]

Greetings to one and all to a wonderful day in the Empire. Or rather, a wonderful match in Kirisaki. Zenic once again managed to come away with some points against the 27th ranked nation in the world.

The Survivors traveled to Kirisaki to kick off the second half of qualifiers for World Cup 73. Both squads remained the same as when they had met on Match day 1. It was a much chippier match this go around as Kirisaki were now chasing Zenic in the group standings and wanted to send a message to the rest of the world that they were the cream of the crop. It eventually led to yellows for Saten (rough tackle), Natsume (accumilation of fouls), Kurugaya (professional foul) and Takanashi (time wasting) for Kirisaki while Zenic would have Marshall (rough tackle) and Daniel O. (professional foul) booked. Scoring-wise, Kirisaki would strike first in the 39th minute with Kurugaya heading the ball past Sagan on a corner kick. Zenic would eventually respond in the 71st minute with a goal from number 10 himself, Sroel Cavan off of a 23 meter strike. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, resulting in Zenic remaining first in the group and Kirisaki 2 points behind in 2nd place.

The remaining schedule looks favorable for Zenic: at home against The Lee Islands, at Lons and then hosting Thaldor before their third and final day off in the qualifiers. It would not be a surprise for Zenic to remain undefeated until the match day 13 game in Valladares and by then it might be too late for anyone to catch up to the Survivors. Honestly, not many people would have imagined this type of scenario before the start of qualification. With just a few more wins, people will get to see something they never thought they would see: Zenic in the World Cup. Now that day would possibly be the greatest day in the Empire.

-- Xavier Magnusson

Xavier Magnusson is one of the oldest and most respected sports writers at the Leinz Herald. Having 32 years of award-winning journalism and experience covering both domestic and international association football competitions, it is only appropriate that he would be the one to cover the Empire’s first ever international tournament and all subsequent tournaments/events.

[Kernansquillec]

DO KERNANSQUILLEC STAND A CHANCE OF QUALIFYING?
A Daily Kernansquillecan article

We're over the half way stage in qualifying and things are shaping up to be very intense in group two as the battle for qualification steps up another gear and reaches the business end of the season. All seven teams in the group could still technically reach the World Cup so here's the Daily Kernansquillecan's low-down on what may lie ahead for these teams.

Remaining fixtures
H - The Sarian
A - Dreamplanet
H - Garifunya
H - Kernansquillec
A - Britonisea

1. RealSquad (Unranked, 7th place, 1 point)
The RealSquad, unfortunately for them, haven't been much of a real squad since the start of qualifying. Opaque information laws in the country have prevented the names of any member of the team being divulged and it's very unlikely their names should be revealed anytime soon considering how embarrassing their results have been so far. Things had started so well for the minnows as they claimed a point from the home of Barunia, the group's top seeds. But, since then it's been a rough ride with the team losing six games on the bounce. To be fair, they have managed to just about hang on in most games, losing by just a couple of goals in general. But a lack of team cohesion and the heartbreak of losing some many games by so little means the team is unlikely to get off of the bottom of the table. They are also the only team so far who cannot finish in first place.

Our prediction: 5 games left, 5 more defeats to come. 7th place.

---

Remaining fixtures:
H - Britonisea
A - Barunia
A - RealSquad
H - The Sarian
A - Garifunya

2. Dreamplanet (237th, 6th place, 3 points)
Dreamplanet are another team that have really had big trouble getting used to World Cup Qualifying football. Just a single win against RealSquad has highlighted their campaign so far and things aren't set to get much better. A change of manager might give them some hope, but the simple fact is their squad isn't anywhere good enough to challenge the big boys in the group. Luis Silva may have helped his side score 15 goals, but they have also leaked 26 goals in just 7 games. Very few teams would be capable of making the World Cup with such a terrible defensive record and Dreamplanet will not be the team to do so.

Our prediction: Probably a win and maybe a surprise draw in one of their remaining home games but that's about it. 6th place.

---

Remaining fixtures:
H - Dreamplanet
A - Garifunya
H - Kernansquillec
A - Barunia
H - RealSquad

3. Britonisea (159th, 5th place, 8 points)
Britonisea have probably been the biggest surprise so far in group 2. They have been competitive in most of the games they have played and pulled off some decent results against Garifunya and The Sarian. The overall quality of the front-runners means that this time is going to be too hard an ask for LeRoy Summers' men to make it, but they could well be a side on that up. Expect them to pull of at least another upset before the group is up.

Our prediction: A surprise win in Garifunya followed by a draw in Barunia will see the team climb above Garifunya in the table. 4th place.

---

Remaining fixtures:
A - Kernansquillec
H - Britonisea
A - Barunia
H - RealSquad
A - The Sarian
H - Dreamplanet

4. Garifunya (84th, 4th place, 9 points)
Garifunya may just be on 9 points, 4 behind Kernansquillec, but we mustn't forget they have a game in hand so could close the gap on the top three to just a matter of points. However they will need to improve their form on the first half of qualifying if they are to pull of a big surprise and claim a playoff place. The team may just be worth a bit of a punt if they can pull things together but we just don't see that happening at the moment. They aren't helped by the fact that they face very difficult away trips to all three of the teams they are trying to hunt down. It would be very surprising if they should manage to claim a couple of draws, let alone the couple of wins they would need to snatch a ticket for the World Cup. We actually see Garifunya struggling a lot during the rest of qualifying, dropping points against lesser opposition such as Britonisea and Dreamplanet. May they prove us wrong.

Our prediction: Trouble ahead for the G's - wins will be rare this second half of qualifying. 5th place.

---

Remaining fixtures:
H - Garifunya
A - Britonisea
H - Barunia
A - RealSquad
H - The Sarian

5. Kernansquillec (50th, 3rd place, 13 points)
If you had to pick a team capable of picking up a surprise spot at the World Cup, Kernansquillec would have been one of the teams on your mind. A first half of qualifying was without fault for the most part, but fell apart against the two sides they needed to do over to qualify. A 5-0 drubbing against top seeds Barunia hurt the side a lot and the team have struggled a lot on the road, only managing to finally claim all three points last time out against Dreamplanet. But they will now face Barunia and The Sarian at home in front of a home crowd starving for a World Cup appearance. If they keep things together and grap a win against either Baruncia or The Sarian, a playoff spot might just be within reach.

Our prediciton: Last day drama for the Kers against The Sarian, but the Kers will just sneak it. 2nd place.

---

Remaining fixtures:
H - The Sarian
A - Dreamplanet
H - Garifunya
A - Kernansquillec
H - Britonisea

6. Barunia (24th, 2nd place, 15 points)
Barunia came into the group as top seeds despite being closely matched by The Sarian. After the first half of qualifying The Sarian were just edging them, but things are very close between them. The home tie between the two giants will surely decide who wins the group, baring any further upsets. The Suns need to find some consistency and maintain a high standard of football that has for periods during matches escaped them. But we fully expect them to make it to the World Cup.

Our prediction: Barunia will overcome The Sarian and claim their rightful place. 1st place.

---

Remaining fixtures:
A - Barunia
H - RealSquad
A - Dreamplanet
H - Garifunya
A - Kernansquillec

7. The Sarian (26th, 1st place, 17 points)
The Sarian lead the group at the halfway stage and have been impressive so far and have remained unbeaten. The game against Barunia will surely decide their fate for the rest of qualifying, but they still hold a two point advantage over their rivals, so even defeat wouldn't completely end their hopes of qualification - unlike Barunia who would surely have to settle for second place if defeated. But The Sarian hace some very tough away games to finish their campaign and we at the Daily Kernansquillecan believe the recent spell of good luck the team has had will turn before the end of qualification. Defeats against Barunia and Kernansquillec could well spell the end of their World Cup hopes.

Our prediction: The second half isn't going to be pretty for The Sarian. 3rd place.

The Sarian 1 - 0 Kernansquillec
(Bob 41')
National Stadium, The Sarian City

Dreamplanet 1 - 3 Kernansquillec
(Silva 62' (pen.) / Varano 2', Spijker 51', Iris 59')
Estadio Da Ilha, Dreamplanet City

# Group 2                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts   Form
1 The Sarian                    7    5   2   0    13    5   +8    17   DDW-WWWW
2 Barunia                       7    4   3   0    16    6  +10    15   XDWXWW-W
3 Kernansquillec                7    4   1   2    16   14   +2    13   WX-WLWLW
4 Garifunya                     6    2   3   1    12   10   +2     9   -XXXWLW-
5 Britonisea                    7    2   2   3    17   16   +1     8   DWXL-LWL
6 Dreamplanet                   7    1   0   6    15   26  −11     3   LLLWL-LL           Qualification position
7 RealSquad                     7    0   1   6    12   24  −12     1   X-LLLLLL           Playoff position

[Brenecia]

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Bronwyn Stensholt Declared New U18s Manager
by Gareth Horner

The vacancy left in the youth management job by Conrad Keane's sacking has been filled by a manager who is definitely of the new breed in Brenecian football. Stensholt, a 32-year old from Falkner, who had been responsible for overseeing the prolific academy of Kingsgrove, has worked with Sasha Bale in the past and favours a similar style of quick-passing, high-tempo attacking football. Though Stensholt has never played professionally herself - her career was curtailed by serious recurrent injuries as a teenager, and she still walks with a noticeable limp - she is a clever and pioneering figure who has been an influential voice for reform in Brenecia's youth system. Now she will have the opportunity to enact those reforms more directly than ever.

At her official unveiling as the new manager, Stensholt was softly-spoken and seemingly reluctant to engage with the press until the topic shifted to her planned reforms. At that, her eyes lit up and she spoke at length with rare passion. She wants players to train on a variety of surfaces and pitch sizes, and trying to play at pace even through the torrential rain Brenecia is prone to. She would like further collaboration with the Mareibat FA, who are yet to turn a strengthening club system into a strong national team (and it is unclear whether or not their FA has the desire), at all levels. The only question where she showed any hesitation was the question of whether Brenecia could continue to look for foreigners who are eligible for selection. There were six players in the last U18 squad who were, essentially, foreigners, while of the players in recent senior squads include Larsson, pretty objectively from the Sarian but recently obtaining his Brenecian citizenship via residency, and three (Duffy, Paterson, Maddon) who are Nepharim citizens eligible through heritage. As were, looking a little further back, former mainstays like Brad Kuepper and Erin Camden. Given that the current quality in the Brenecian side does not run especially deep, the debate is whether it is right to recruit anyone who qualifies. Keane's pragmatic view was that a very small country like Brenecia has to take every advantage it should get. Stensholt was less forward, and while she said that eligibility for Brenecia was decided by the WCC, not by her (effectively sidestepping the question but implying she'd pick anyone she could), she then pressed that it was important that Brenecia developed its own players and established clear pathways to the national team from within. Which makes sense - they can hardly influence the youth systems of other nations.

Stensholt's recruitment has been greeted with excitement by many of the footballing establishment as well as many former Kingsgrove youth players who played under her. Naphtali Thatcher was particularly effusive on his mostly inactive Twitter, and he was hardly even the most vocal. And it has to be said that Stensholt's optimism is a refreshing change, exemplified by her closing statement to the press. "There's no reason we can't be among the best in the world. We don't have a lot of people - but we just have to be clever with them."

[Chiata]

Chiata Times
Mixed First Leg

Since the last time we reported, Chiata was 1-1-1 and in third of Group 3. Sadly, very little has changed. In Matchday Five, Chiata travelled to Eastfield Lodge in hopes of advancing their table position. On the other hand, Eastfielders were hoping to get a good result at Parliament Stadium in order to get a playoff spot. Neither side expected what was to come. Eastfield Lodge would be the first to score. Qwivotic knocked the shot in from fifteen yards. Truex, even with his impressive size, was unable to reach far enough to stop the strike. To the cheers of the fans, Jagger would find the net for Eastfield Lodge, making it a 2-0 game. The Suns finally came to their senses in the 27th minute, when Saunders scored his first international goal. Momentum swiftly turned and the half ended with Carroll heading in an equalizer after a cross from Hopper.

The home Eastfielders were mystified that their National Team had just given up their lead. Once again, they were in for quite a show. At 2-2, Eastfield Lodge set to work at trying to regain the lead. They did it in the 52nd minute, when Graham evaded both Carry and Webb in order to tap the ball into the left corner. Eastfield Lodge kept up the assault, determined to give the home fans a win. Keeble would score, making the score 4-2 and putting Eastfield Lodge above Chiata by two once more. Chiata was devastated, when was the last time Chiata allowed four goals in a game? Somehow, the Suns turned things around. It started with Stewart squaring up and scoring in the 68th minute. Around ten minutes later, Chiata did the improbable and equalized. Davis got on the tally by beating her marker, Rehman, and smashing the ball in. Television watchers grew rapidly as news quickly got around that Chiata was tied 4-4 with Eastfield Lodge. Then, the impossible happened. Just before stoppage time kicked in, Saunders let off a desperate shot from the edge of the box. It sailed slowly through the air. At the last second, it curved sharply away goalkeeper Puppy, and found the net. Parliament Stadium went dead quiet as all the stoppage time kicked away. With their nerves fried, Chiata walked away with a 5-4 win.

After that strange game, where Chiata scored five goals, which they never do, and allowed four goals, which the also never do, the Suns came back to Gulf Stadium for matchday six. They were set to play Emirate of Akbarstan. Many Chiatan fans hoped Chiata would score five again, but this time with less goals conceded. Sadly, Chiata played another grinding game against a lower ranking team, though with eight less goals. Emirate of Akbarstan was held scoreless by the brutal Chiatan defense. Unfortunately, Chiata would only score once. Davis scrambled for the ball after the Akbarstan keeper fumbled and dropped it. Davis beat the swarming defenders and knocked the ball in for the games only score. In one game nine goals were scored while in the other only a single goal was scored. The only thing in common: Chiata gets another good victory.

Then comes the disaster. It is time to end the first half of qualifying and Chiata will do so in the nation of Fluvique. Fluvique had been playing poorly, in great contrast to their Baptism of Fire campaign, just as we had predicted. What we didn't predict was Chiata losing to the young nation. It was another single goal game, a result that occurs a lot when Chiata is involved, it seems. Neither side gained any momentum in the first half, it was a dead draw. Chiata's defense was impeccable as (mostly) always. Fluvique sported a solid defense as well, gaining the respect of the Chiatan players there. However, just before the break, Fluvique surprised the Suns. Wilde scored in front of the roaring home crowd, putting Chiata in a difficult position. Chiata did nothing, nothing! in the second half. If Chiata is unable to score against Fluvique while away, how can they hope to take on Audioslavia on the road? Chiata had their useless BYE for Matchday Eight, so their position in third has not changed. Luckily, Audioslavia and Nausa-Hessen drew against their opponents, so their not exactly racing ahead of Chiata in the table. Will this luck continue when Chiata travels to Audioslavia? We can only dare to hope!

[Natanians and Nosts]

"Good night Natanians and Nosts,we've been made some questions to our players on their free time.Some answers were...interesting.First,we asked them which music style was their favourite:
-Nost folk music:0
-Natanian folk music:1(Lucas Lucius Vit)
-Pop music:5
-Rock music:7
-Punk rock/Punk pop/Emocore:2
-RAP,RnB and Hip-Hop:1
-Reggae:0
-Classical Music:5
-Metal:0
-Electronic:2
-Other:0.
Yea!And here that we see the biggest differences between our players.Then we asked them predictions about our next game.The answer of all of
them was that we'd win 1x0!And these are the stats we'll show today,tomorrow we'll show more.Now you stay with the interview with Lucas Lucius Vit."



-Good morning mr. Lucas!How are you?
-Good morning I am fine too!
-What do tou think that we should do to win more games?
-I think we must train,train and train a bit more.Also we shoul play the games,because we'll only lose if we olny train.Since we won against Aeqamustopia,I think we've improved our results,not counting todays lost.
-Who do you think that will surprise in these last games?
-I think taht everyone is doing its job,and that I am seeing in the trainings,Logan North will make a bigger surprise,but Caeso York is making a good job as a wingback and he scored a goal,maybe he start a game soonely!
-How about our attack problem?
-I think that it is not a problem at all,but our deffense is trying to do its best,but we're facing five teams that are in the World Cup for years,but in a near future,we'll be one of them,or even better.
-Last question.Do you really like folk music,or were you just kidding?
-I really like folk music,I prefer the Natanian than the Nost,but the later is cool too.Also it's part of our culture.

[Witty Penguins]

(OOC: Just to clarify some things in the following article: New Penguinia is a semi-autonomous region of Witty Penguins. 'Penguinish' people and 'Penguinites' refer to Witty Penguins citizens; 'Penguinians' refer to citizens of New Penguinia.)

FOOTBALL: Gentoo League Teams Announced

24 October 2015

---

The teams of the new Gentoo League. Clockwise: Aukeville Auks, FC Unitia, Team Macquire, Maryhampton Heat, Merganser Flock, New Penguinia Force, Spectorpool Rangers, Ross Shores FC, Rosea Geese FC, Ravenville FC, Puffinby United, and Port Aveton Owls.

Today the Penguinish Football Federation announced the 12 teams from across the nation, including New Penguinia, that will be competing in the upcoming Air Arctica Gentoo League. Each region will field at least 1 team, with the two most populous regions, Sphenscipia and Adelieland having two teams. The teams that were announced are:

-FC UNITIA - Unitia City, Sphenscipia
-ROSEA GEESE FC - Rosea, Sphenscipia
-PUFFINBY UNITED FC - Puffinby, Freedom Island
-SPECTORPOOL RANGERS FC - Spectorpool, Eiderland
-RAVENVILLE FC - Ravenville, North Arctica
-MARYHAMPTON HEAT - Maryhampton, South Arctica
-AUKEVILLE AUKS - Aukeville, Adelieland
-TEAM MACQUIRE - Macquire, Adelieland
-ROSS SHORES FC - Ross Point, Ross State
-MERGANSER FLOCK - Merganser, Tundraland
-PORT AVETON OWLS - Port Aveton, Terre de Glace
-NEW PENGUINIA FORCE - Polaria, New Penguinia


Most of the 12 teams have come from regional leagues, however 3 teams - New Penguinia Force, Merganser Flock, and Port Aveton Owls were newly established for the purpose of the league. The addition of the Force was to the surprise of some people, as football in the semi-autonomous region of New Penguinia is under-developed in contrast to the mainland sport. The annoucement had brought mixed reactions to both sides of the border - some Penguinians have voiced their anger at what they see as an attempt by the Penguinish government to retake control of their region again. Some commentators from Witty Penguins agree, theorising that the inclusion was part of an attempt to warm the increasingly cold relations between the two.

The Federation has yet to finalize a start date, but they are currently planning to commence the league towards the end of November 2015. Further information about the teams will be released in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile in other football news, the Penguins have concluded their third encounter with New Gelderland with a 1-1 draw, to retain 4th in their World Cup Qualifying group. Tomorrow they will face the United States of Devonta. A match summary and report will be released later today.

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

WORLD CUP 73
Draw at Son Vasco: Unified Sunrise/Omerica ends on a stalemate

Returning to the qualifiers the Sunrisian way: on a rude awakening. After managing a run of wins, the Sunrisian squad fail again to obtain a win against fellow Esportivan side Omerica. To a 64.420 seated Argitxanda Stadium, the likes of Rolando and Rolandinho Juliano failed to surpass the defence after ninety minutes, something Jan-Nikläs Rosenkränts and others also didn't manage to do against a great game by Zezinho and Tretyakova. Omerica's tactical skill was mostly shown after the attack chances created by the Savior Grey. In a way, you have to hand it to Tobias Wilmer, whom played the role of "defensive sheriff" very well over a mostly challenging opposition.

The game started with shots mostly coming from Hannah Alcouin, focusing mostly on air plays, only to fail at a pretty cautious Intan Petera. The Sunrisians would continue to be upfront, mostly thanks to a somewhat inspired Felipe Maniche who, time after time, tried to prove his strength as the team's goalscorer. Suffice to say, he failed just as well. In the end, the draw feels like something just neutral, nor positive, nor negative. And now for a game against Armeia where, hopefully, the team will turn the tide. Like last time.


TOUGH GAME (TO WATCH)
University Days: Hare State 2-4 Cream State

After a nice, breezing trip to Dainer, we return to the Sunrise... and to the Universities. Now, considering the kind of teams we got earlier, you have to admit, this is a nice little souvenir over them. Anyway, USICA. The Unified Sunrise Islands College Association, one of the three ways to rise to relevance as a young footballer in the Sunrise Islands. And unlike the other two ways (Youth and Street), this one at least guarantees you a degree if football doesn't work out.

So, about the USICA, it has been one of the biggest features of the Sunrisian football season, only... well, these recent years have suffered from some rather bloated numbers. And every season tends to introduce a couple of universities that have joined the top of the pyramid. It got to a pretty high number, but nothing tops the fact that most of these colleges aren't known for their quality in the pitch. So for every Prism College or Krystal Tech, examples of teams that are good and got introduced somewhat recently, you have all sorts of minnow teams that barely scrape anything.

Case of point, Cream State Rabbits. Playing out of the sympathetic town of Cream, Amy Island; Cream State was one of the colleges from the Amy Island area that were heavily expecting to participate at the Athenian Conference due to how on other sports, the team mostly dealt with playing teams from that conference, specially Glenn and Apotos. Turns out the whole College Wave did hit the Athenian Conference hard and a grand total of twelve universities ended up trying to join the Conference during the off-season.

The Rabbits' leaders were hopeful that they would be accepted, even if their football program was notoriously young compared to every other choice around and it started to show as the whole election process went. Prism College was the first one accepted, then Aleona Ricca moved from the second division to the Conference straight away. Following that, Kisunete, Righteous See, Basil Pike and Seidan Academy all snagged a spot and that was pretty much it.

Not wanting to deal with the Independent status' new rules, Cream State and the other five cut colleges (Bray, Air Force-Matthew, Cinnamon, Gon College and Sipher Tech) started the Connectional Conference with other schools that failed to make the cut at other conferences. Once competition really started, Cream State saw how much they still had to cover. Ending the regular season at 12th of 14, only over two just-promoted from the third division (Treleyanne and Rukya) on the table, the Rabbits did what they could, shrugging off the whole round as "bad luck" and preparing for the non-conference games, a little additional to reach thirty-two games.

On the other hand, we have Hare State... Rabbits. Yeah, Rabbits versus Rabbits. And considering that species isn't even common at the Sunrise Islands, you can imagine how that goes. Hare State did all sorts of things on the Corneria Conference, however, unlike their nickname comrades, even winning the Conference once or twice. This season, however, things didn't go right at all and the team hit the bottom of the Corneria, 11th of 11. And the numbers are mostly what justified this match-up.

HARE STATE - McAllister; Díaz, Rocker, Parmi, Juanfran; Christalinna (C), Mareth, Jester, McClight; McLean, Allisson
CREAM STATE - Simmons; Dix, LeDuq, Maisonneau, Cantoinne; Natal, Guevara, Martim Vaz; Calango, Little (C), Knight

The game starts and... goal!? Little starts after the Hare State defence literally opens up a way for him. 1-0. After that shocker goal, Cream State would score again a while after, now thanks to Calango's oversight of running at the left side of the field. The first half would see a third goal by the home Rabbits when McClight, mostly thanks to Simmons not going the full effort when trying to block her shot. The first half wasn't really much interesting, though, even with those three goals. One of the biggest problems of these teams was the lack of union. Seriously. Almost like passing the ball here was a sin or something. By the time we got to the second half, the home Rabbits managed to tie things out, thanks to Allisson's luck shot... Only for Knight and Little again to score and reach 4-2. And that's the score only because of the referee being somewhat nice with the home team.

That's it, though. Enough of the University for the time being. How about visiting the other youth stuff? It can't be that bad.

[Krytenia]

Marching On Together
by Trevor O'Carroll in Aspel, Sameba

RAMI Niblick may be making his preparations to disappear into the sunset, but that doesn't mean he's going to just sit back and watch the Aces crumble. Far from it. The men in sky blue and white showed a backbone they were sorely lacking in the first half of qualifying, taking down a Sameba side that had been the revelation of the first six games.

The game started with a show of strength - oddly, though, not from either team, as the build-up included a military parade and flypast. (Tinpot dictatorships - have you had your five a day?) Sadly for the home side, the roar of the engine and the fans in the Aspel Dellaro failed to spark the men in green. Krytenia took the bull by the horns, getting their eye in early. Valrauncion put a sighter just wide, whilst Sam Alinas and Armando Ortega put in the hard yards, denying Huele the ball and creating opportunities of their own. It was inevitable that teh visitors would score; in the end it was Ortega who would apply the finishing touch, slamming home the ball from a Ronnie van Rijn pullback. The Krytenian defence was also working well, Jason Davis relishing his run in the first team and running himself into the ground to help Alfie Xousa clean up in front of David Heaton. Ortega's goal proved to be the only goal of the first half.

Sameba wouldn't be afforded any leeway after the break. Krytenia came out with blood pumping, and again it was Ortega at the centre of things. This time, the youngster turned provider, finding Liam Larsson on the overlap. The Casuals man would arrow a fierce strike home for a rare international goal, and Krytenia were cruising. Huele was being kept well shackled, and Alinas was still orchestrating things in the middle of the park. Even a knock to Ortega didn't knock the Aces out of their stride, as Fernando Reyes came on to continue his fellow Hispanic's hard work. The Aces would soon have a third, and this time it was Larsson's turn to be the provider. His cross was met head-on by Valrauncion, leaving the 'keeper no chance.

Huele, eventually, would escape his bonds and crack home a late consolation, but that's all it was. All change, then, in Group Six, and a chance next to right a wrong as the amateurs of Keyne Island visit the Harbour Stadium. The "Mighty Oaks" draw against their paymasters remains their only point in qualifying, and Krytenia have only one thing on their minds.

They want thirteen.

SAMEBA - 1
Huele 85

KRYTENIA - 3
Ortega 28
Larsson 47
Valrauncion 64

[Eastfield Lodge]

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Sport >>> Football

ICELFA, WCC embarrassed by "Animatronic Mannequins" stunt in World Cup Qualifier.

Eastfield Lodge 3-1 Nui-ta

Eastfield Lodge (4-1-2-3): Wood - Lumo, Bell Jnr, Rehman (Summers 71'), Finn - Onatish (Keeble 71'), King, Wallis-Iqbal (The Doctor 78') - Asif, Rathun, Drenas

Nui-ta (N/A): Animatronic Mannequin #1-11 (#12 for #4 at 48', #13 for #8 at 75', #14 for #5 at 82')

The Imperial Commonwealth FA were reeling yesterday evening with embarrassment and disappointment, after it was revealed that Nui-ta - the unranked nation in our group that hadn't submitted an official roster to the World Cup Committee for the qualifying process for the upcoming World Cup - hadn't actually arrived in Eastfield Lodge at all. Instead, some pranksters, who claim to be from the former Eastfielder colony of Boring Paradise had paid off the Nui-ta team and took their place on the team plane that arrived in northern Rushmore as was expected. It wasn't even just the pranksters themselves that were aboard that flight - instead, they brought along robotic football-playing mannequins, disguised as humans (definitely humanoid, at any rate) and dressed up in the kits of Nui-ta (which is literally just a navy blue top with Nui-ta written across the front).

Nonetheless, the teams lined up at Parliament Stadium, with our players and the match officials oblivious to the deception - in their defence, they were well disguised, even if they moved a bit jerkily. A few of the pranksters did pose as the coaching staff - the rest must have been behind the scenes operating the players. Going into the match, Nui-ta had only managed 2 draws in the first half of qualifying and were propping up the table - we had beaten them away in the first match of qualifying, against real players as we are now assured; however, one of those draws was against Audioslavia, the Bulls' only blemish so far this campaign. As for us, we're stuck in 5th, having registered a draw against Nassau-Hessen following the 4-1 drubbing by Audioslavia, taking our point haul to 7 from 6 games - not the best record if truth be told.

The match was a relatively low key and dull affair, with Nui-ta set up extremely defensively and blocking literally everything that Lowell Brown's side could throw at them - in the first 20 minutes, there were only 3 (non-goalie) touches inside either box, all of which were headed clearances out of the Nui-ta box. The closest Eastfield Lodge got to a goal was a hopeful long shot from Wallis-Iqbal that clipped the top of the bar on its way over. The only other attempt of note was a deflected shot from Tia Drenas, whose shot was looped over onto the roof of the net, with the Nui-ta goalie sent sprawling along the ground. In terms of play, the ball was in the Eastfielder third of the pitch for only 5% in that period, and about 30% was in Nui-ta's third - pretty clear evidence that the ball was bogged down in the middle of the pitch - and given our 73% possession stat, it was pretty clear how the game had panned out.

That did change before the half hour mark came though, as a miss-hit goal kick fell straight to Tia Drenas, whose first touch took it past both central defenders and brought her 1-on-1 with the keeper - a deft chip later and that was the deadlock broken. And that was also the first indication that something wasn't right, as the two Nui-ta players had also collided at that point, and a few detached fingers were reportedly seen being reattached at that point. Nothing was made of it however at the time, and play went on. The game opened up a little bit from there, with some Nui-ta 'players' actually making slightly threatening forays with the ball into our half - one of the mannequins managed a shot from the edge of the box which Dennis Wood had to dive for and push out for a corner. Our chances began coming as well, as Tirs Rathun managed to dance his way inside the box, with his shot across the face of the goal only just out of Drenas' reach and only just going wide as well. Samantha King managed to break clear of the defence to latch onto Micella Onatish's long ball forward and got past the keeper - a heavy touch when trying to control made the angle too tight to convert from, and she could only stretch to hit the side netting; however, this midfield three could potentially be a big part of the national team's future.

The match went into half time 1-0, and all in all it was a pretty frustrating days for the fans and the Eastfielder players as well - yes, they did have the lead, but being the team with the worst defence in the group (even worse than their bottom of the table opponents) meant that a single goal lead would not be enough in any circumstances. Alongside the very precarious situation of the match, there was also a suspicious lack of vocal noise coming from the Nui-ta dressing room - the only thing that could be heard was the sound of a drill. Not a training drill or anything like that, an actual drill that you'd use on a wall when hanging a shelf up for instance. But there wasn't time to think about that, it was time for action. Eastfield Lodge opened the second half a much different beast compared to the first - they began exploiting the gaps between the Nui-ta players as they pushed for an equaliser.

And it was working, as within a minute of the restart, a slip by one of the Nui-ta players allowed Ali Asif onto the ball, and he ran into the box, only for his shot to be smothered by an outrushing keeper. But a few minutes later, the most bizarre thing occurred - Nui-ta player #4 went in for a successful slide tackle on Tia Drenas. However, the player came out of it with their leg pointing completely the wrong and bent at an unnatural angle. The entire stadium was cringing, except for the Nui-ta players themselves, who were completely emotionless - even the injured player attempted to get and keep playing, obviously hampered by the mangled leg, but there was no blood or bone or anything like, and there was obviously no pain on the player's face. The Nui-ta manager took him off, obviously, but all 80,000 fans were a little bit shell-shocked. The players as well, but they recovered pretty quickly, and managed to increase the lead shortly before the hour mark through a well-taken free kick from Samantha King, who was taken out from behind whilst passing the ball through. The free kick was about 5 yards from the box, in line with the right-hand post (from the goalie's perspective), and Samantha got it over the wall and down onto the post, to give the keeper no chance of saving it.

From then on, the result was almost without doubt, as Eastfield Lodge dominated the possession and kept a tight rein on the game, preventing Nui-ta from having any tangible opportunities. And whilst that was going on, there was always some podding and probing, looking for a gap or an opportunity to deal the fatal blow, and one came 68 minutes into the game - a break saw Wallis-Iqbal out on the wing, and with all the time and space in the world, he looked up and saw an unmarked Tia Drenas rushing towards the edge of the box. His cross was pinpoint, and despite having no pressure on her at all, and all the time in the world to judge her header, she could only get underneath the ball and head it over the bar - an excellent chance wasted. But she atoned for that miss on the 75th minute, as she was brought down in the box when challenging for a similar ball (this time from substitute Daniel Keeble) - the ref did not hesitate to award the penalty, and Tia promptly fired it home, sending the keeper the wrong way to notch her second of the match.

Nui-ta would pull one back towards the end of the match, as they began attacking much more often and with reckless abandon, and eventually, they got a stroke of luck, as Juan Lumo scored a brilliant volleyed goal 2 minutes before stoppage time - only that it was at the wrong end of the pitch and he sliced it past an unsuspecting and flat-footed Dennis Wood in the Eastfielder net. A stroke of misfortune in what was otherwise a dominant game meant it was a good start for Eastfield Lodge in the second half of the qualifying campaign. The result put them up to fourth in the group, behind Chiata on head-to-head points (with Chiata also having a game in hand), and 2 points behind Nassau-Hessen in the playoff spot - Audioslavia on 17 points look to be running away with this group, so one can almost write off the possibility of an automatic qualification place.

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---

Eastfield Lodge 1-1 Nassau-Hessen
Team: Veronica Puppy – Dylan Bell Jnr, Juan Lumo, Abdur Rehman, Darlene Finn – Dennis Jagger, The Doctor, Samantha King (Saqib - 65') – Georgina Wadimu, Fedrea Quazin (Roman Qwivotic - 73'), Thomas Graham (Tia Drenas - 73')
Goals: Georgina Wadimu (43')
Assists: N/A

Team to play Emirate of Akbarstan (MD3): Veronica Puppy - Dylan Bell Jnr, Dominique Lamy, Robyn Summers, Hamaad Siddique - Dennis Jagger, The Doctor, Juan Sandro - Georgina Wadimu, Fedrea Quazin, Tia Drenas

[Eura]

'What is his name, again?'
'Gareth Deforge, sir. Reporting from Bravo section on the Greenops division. He's been pressing his case officers on this for several weeks supposedly and wants to take it higher.'
'And you people thought this merited a meeting in White Ridge? This is some junior intelligence officer with a hankering for a pet project, I'm not happy with being brought in to this at such an early stage.'
'Sir, with the greatest of respect, we've sounded it out and it isn't just some throwaway idea. It is worth considering. Can we continue if you're ready?'
'Right then. Bring him in.' After a few moments of silence, the old whitewashed doors of this large room in White Ridge Palace swung open. In walked a secretary, guiding in an unsuspecting desk-bound civil servant who was nattering on at her. 'Look, if he's not available now, can't I come at another time? Its my own boss for gods sake, I don't get why I had to come all the way out here! I...woah.' Gareth stood with his mouth ajar at the end of a long meeting table to see four of the most powerful men in the country at the end of the table. The Minister of Defence, the Chairman of the OSI, the Chief of the General Staff of the armed forces, and another senior spy who Gareth recognised as not his boss, a middle ranker, but a woman who he knew only as 'Spader' from some files that were slightly above his pay grade. He didn't quite know what she did, but he thought it likely that she was the kingpin of Eura's espionage empire inside their northern neighbour. Or possibly even all of their neighbours. 'Good afternoon Mr Deforge. Will you take a seat please? The Foreign Minister wanted to be here but she is unavailable, which is why I'm attending.' The Defence Minister, a veteran Liberal MP from Falourr called Martin Evesley. He was one of the Prime Minister's most loyal colleagues and trusted appointments, and in that respect it was almost as if the PM was in the room.

'Its an honour to meet you Minister, to be honest I didn't really expect this. Have I done something wrong?'
'Not at all.' Now the Chairman, who technically was almost Gareth's supreme commanding officer, chipped in. 'You know usually its committed and high ranking agents that come up with operational planning, but we like your idea. We did some research on Bardsley and some psychological analysis on her media appearances and previous behaviours. We examined this in detail as a group, and realised that she is ripe to be turned. She's a prominent foreigner in Sameba who is well liked despite being a female manager, despite some bad footballing form and despite being a from abroad. She doesn't even speak the language that well, but the internal polling the regime does that we've cracked a few times apparently indicates she's popular. But we know it's a front. When she sits in front of a TV camera and tells the media all is well in Sameba, she doesn't mean what she is saying and we know it. So, to put the viability of your idea to its fullest test, we contacted her family through discreet channels.'
'The boys she's got back in Brenecia? And Keith?'
'Yes. The boys were only so much help but Keith admits their marriage is on the rocks and is seeking consultancy on the matter. More importantly, he's told the Brenecian government on four occasions that he has reason to believe his wife has witnessed human rights abuses and she has broken down on the phone to him. Now we can't confirm this, but the chances of this man being some sort of Sameban double agent are pretty much null considering they married a decade and a half ago. Does this sound like what you thought might be the case?' Gareth couldn't believe his luck; he looked almost like he was about to faint as the most powerful spy in the country, and perhaps the region, asked him for his opinion as an expert. An expert advising the king of the experts! 'Well yes sir, it does. I discussed this with my friend, which I noted in my file - she's from the trade so I assume that's ok - and did a lot of research on it. There's no reason to believe she couldn't give us an in if presented with the opportunity to use her.'

The people at the end of the table looked at each other as if he'd just said something surprising. Spader leveled her gaze at Gareth and barked a question at him. 'I lead our operations in our belligerent neighbour's territory; how would you feel about being involved in an advisory role in this operation, if we were to carry it out?'
'I mean, well, I don't know if I'm qualified to lead anything-'
'Which is why you won't. Like I said, advisory.'
'Yes then. Yes. But the opening, I don't understand - we haven't got one yet have we?'
'That's what we were just about to tell you. We have an opening and also a use for Bardsley. As even you at a junior level are probably aware the Sameban military leadership is in deep water at the moment. President Gelta, formerly Brigadier Gelta, already had a couple of near misses recently and went missing for nearly three weeks at one point. We believe he saw off a plot from within the air force, but its become clear that he seems to have lost full control, possibly even a few years ago, which would explain their erratic behaviour, because he was always more hardline than Coley, but not this aggressive. As good as our intelligence is up there it is hard to know about the top level for sure. But we do know who the dark horse is to be his replacement, after all, Gelta is getting old. Have you heard of the Cittàdifiango massacre?'
'Who hasn't? Dissidents, students and trade unionists seize a retail park and industrial estate, the Sammy army responds by sending in the tanks. Big death toll.'
'Right. Well, one of the things we've kept to ourselves at a very high level, on a strictly need to know basis, is the name of one of the commanding officers on that day. Specifically the man who gave the order to open up first. We never let the media publicly identify him either. His name is Emile Gartanzo, and at the time he was a Colonel. Long story short, the man is almost a complete enigma to us on a personal level, but has quickly risen up the ranks after a series of influence-based promotions. He is now a three star General and would be the chief of staff there, the counterpart to our colleague here, were it not for mitigating circumstances.' The head of the chief of staff sat at the table stared blankly, not reacting to the comparison.

Spader continued after a moment of silence to take a swig from her tea. 'The Chairman here asked me to investigate him when we noticed he had shot up the ranks not long after the massacre. It is our belief that the mitigating circumstances behind why he has not been incorporated into the leadership is that Gelta and his few loyal allies with any real influence don't trust him at all. Gelta may even have him down as a target for a purge, or had him down for it at least. Despite this Gartanzo has started making speeches in the very nationalist north east. Building a political platform. He's even criticised Gelta as "limp-wristed" in public, the sort of language that would have led to a serious dressing down a year or two ago. Yet there has been no sign of a response. The only answer can be that Gartanzo has won over serious heavyweight allies in the ruling elite and has an eye on being the next man in the big chair, or at the very least the head of the military for another successor candidate. We need a way of getting access to the man, to this thought processes and personal life. We need to know what it is that has made him do so well and how he will act if he becomes leader or head of the military soon.' At this stage, the Chairman came back in. 'And this is where your operation comes in Gareth. There is one personal contact we know Gartanzo has, and that person is Bardsley.'
'Seriously? I mean, I knew she was a route of access, but what is she doing conversing with someone in the military? When I did my personal profile I didn't even really consider an affair as a possibility.' The Chairman couldn't help but laugh. 'Look, we're not talking a forbidden romance here. The guy has been spotted with her at various state events, media appearances and even outside of the dressing room after a World Cup qualifier. So long story short we have a woman who we know we can probably motivate to help us, and a target to use her against who we are desperate to get information on.'
'So how do we contact her?' They all looked at each other again, before the Chairman turned to him with a smile. 'Well, after a chat with the Prime Minister about this, I had an idea. Bit of a genius one, actually. Sports journalists. Unthreatening, not their to harp on about human rights, and usually not interrogated until they leave the country - usually only to find any documentation or evidence on their person of anything bad. So we thought, who could we find that wouldn't raise too many eyebrows if they were a bit of an oddball, and who could get a message to Sameba's manager?'
'And you had an idea.'
'Oh, yes. Have you ever heard of Jeremy Jaffacake?'

[Flardania]

霧島面接直列！
A KBC exclusive of the Interview Series, Sayo Matsuoka
Français|日本語|한국어|English
Discover the World| Kirishinan/Flardanian Broadcasting Corporation

---

Interview by Uyeda Tanosuke

Sayo Matsuoka on left, Tanosuke Uyeda on right
Discover the World Intro Song

: Intro begins with a view from space as the world slowly turns below before cutting to a shooting star in the sky in the distance, in a field of cherry blossoms with the words Discover the World written in the night sky. Intro then proceeds to show Tanosuke all over the world eating local foods, interviewing people, attending concerts, football matches, etc. About a minute and a half later the intro ends and cuts to Tanosuke and Sayo sitting next to each other with the chairs tilted slightly forward in the middle of a association football field.. Tanosuke smiled and looked into the camera.

T: "Bonsoir et Konbanwa, welcome to Discover the World on the KBC Network, I'm your host Uyeda Tanosuke. This show took my dreams of travel as well as my love of global understanding and allows me to share the world with our viewers in Kirishima, and the world. Tonight we have a special guest for those who are watching at home. I am here at the University of Damushuto Stadium in University City, Damukuni with Sayo Matsuoka. "Tanosuke turned to face Sayo. Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this interview.

S: Sayo was wearing Kirishinan blue and silver tracksuit that had the words #UnfinishedBusiness written on the back where the name would go. She turned towards Tanosuke with her energetic bubbly smile. "No thank you for having me on the show, I never thought I would end up on this program" She said excited.

T: Tanosuke couldn't help but smile as well "So you know the main reason why you are on the show today right?"

S: Sayo nodded "I certainly do Uyeda-san"

T: "Do you mind if we save that for the end of the show?" Tanosuke asked cautiously

S: Sayo giggled, "Please do I'm willing to go as long as possible being in a good mood" She paused before continuing. "I need to let it out because...well everyone knows how I get when something really grinds my gears."

T: Tanosuke nodded "Well first of all we are halfway though with world cup qualifiers and the Kitsunes lie in fourth place however has only played 6 games out of seven thus far, what are the current thoughts in the back?

S:Sayo shrugged. "There isn't too much thought at this point" Sayo begun. "Besides the the draw with Swilatia, we followed our first half game plan win against every team ranked below us and upset Watford. Now we just have to manage doing that again, actually beat Swilatia this time, and either draw against Pasarga or Yttribia and or hope for another shocking draw like Gim vs Pasarga or Swilatia against Yttribia.

T: Tanosuke adjusted himself in his seat. “Seems to be a very complicated situation and scenario."

S: Sayo nodded. "Certainly, from the very beginning we did not have expectations to qualify for the world cup proper but the expectation to remain in contention to the end of qualifiers and be in position to capitalize on a upset if it does happen."

T: "How does team feel playing against Damukuni in this very stadium, considering the last matchup?" Tanosuke asked.

S: "Well one has to keep in mind that when we begun our campaign we were at home against a lower ranked team. Now we are still the higher ranked team but we now have to deal with the oppositions home field advantage. For our game plan to work this upcoming match-up is essentially a must win for us, that's the mentality we need to have as our young team progresses.

T: Tanosuke laughed "Well one thing for sure Matsuoka-san, is that you definitely sound like a football manager. I'm sure you use that charisma in the AFC CC locker room."

S: Sayo shrugged "Perhaps but that is an opinion that you need to ask of my teammates."

T: Tanosuke nodded “Well Sayo it is time, as you know just recently Hamasaki Tetsuya blasted Bianka Schraeder and you hinted that you agreed with. Now on social media some of her fans attacked you and Bianka had some choice words lets watch the clip....... Do you have a response."

S: *sighs fuming* Andres sorry but reality check just because someone isn't from the slums like you and Bianka doesn't mean I've had things handed to me which is by the way something I notice that's what people from your actual poverty area like to do. B[*beep*] about everything. I hear mouths open and it's B[*beep*]ing, and B[*beep*]ing, and,B[*beep*]ing,and B[*beep*]ing....don't forget and moaning about oh we are poor over here and all we care about is money.”

Next Bianka before I go in, I'm going to start with some honest go girl to girl real talk as nice as possible. I haven't been in Armeia during contract time so I don't know if it's a cultural thing or not. I'm going to assume the latter. Bianka grow up, in the real world professional sports players have something called I don't know uh professionalism and one of those things is called courtesy. People can here all they want but the player tells management if they are doing something the same way management tells the player if things are being done. Imagine a corporation running the way you think things happen...oh wait they don't.

"Now that I'm done being helpful....listen here you over sensitive princess who is going to expose my team as a poverty club." Sayo takes off jacket and is wearing a AFC CC shirt. "Hm you might expose my team as a poverty club but you area has already been expose. Oh it hurts when I play by your own rules and judging by past experiences you are probably more affected than I am. If there is anything that I learned since playing at AFC CC is that in Armeia you gotta be tough and not take [beep] from anyone and at this point your the last [beep] I'm going to let try to walk over me oh intimidate me.


T: "My Goddess" Tanosuke stammered.

S: Sayo sighed look Bianka, the only issue anyone initially had with you was your lack of professionalism. Tetsuya was a [beep] and maybe my tweet also added to your rage and you thought I said much worse than I did. I rechecked my message and if my saying I personally would give front office a heads up sets you off to offend me, my home, AFC CC fans. Heh that's your prerogative. I don't see this as a rivalry and I don't have any animosity towards you. However if even after my olive branch you are considering going barbaric or savage on me I will show you what a blue-red belt in taekwondo means.

T:“Well Sayo thank you for being on the show and I hope the situation gets better between you two girls."

S: Sayo goes back to her usual friendly and bubbly personality and smiles. "Thanks for having me and I hope so too."

Tanosuke turns to face the camera. "This has been Discover the World on the KBC Network from University City, Damukuni. What will I do next and where I go are the questions to which I have no answer, tune in next time to find out. Stay tuned as Newsroom Report is up next. Once again I'm Uyeda Tanosuke and this as been Discover the World: change your perceptions.....change the world." Tanosuke said the motto as the Space Ambient Credit theme plays as the camera pans out. The credits begin running down the screen as Tanosuke can be seen shaking hands with Saiko.

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[Ceni]

---

GONNA FLY NOW?
Ceni pulls out win over Matthewsiania

---

Ceni finally pulled out a win over Matthewsiania, breaking its poor streak of draws on the first matchday of the second half of qualifying and setting itself in a good position in Group 4. However, it almost didn’t happen, as Ceni had to score a winning goal from a two-all draw at the last minute, creating cause for celebration in a time where Ceni is perhaps stagnating in the World Cup.

Striker and captain Werdickley Safadão led the relatively young Matthewsianian team onto the pitch, including the defender Renné Asterix, who plays for the Cenian club Tir Snake Strike. Meanwhile, Ceni’s roster featured normal striker duo Kel Koromin and Will Noveth as well as captain and 1830 Cathair star Jaime Del Olmo. The game started out with Matthewsiania showing the form that took them to a win over Ceni and a draw over Ceni in the Cup of Harmony as they gained possession from the midfield almost immediately. Safadão led the offensive pyramid featuring Meluna and the seventeen year-old McKenzie Colium right through the midfield, dispossessing Corran Celgis, who recently earned a transfer to Del Olmo’s side Cathair, and spearpointing the offense right through Ceni’s defense. Although Kaia Travaran tried very hard to stop Safadão’s run and clear the ball, he simply passed to Meluna, sending the ball out of Ceni’s reach. Out of options, Juan Medina ventured backwards to try and win the ball, but his tackle proved unsuccessful as Meluna simply evaded Medina and passed forward to Safadão. Josh Axakel, meanwhile, was advancing on the Matthewsianian advancing triangle and managed to steal the ball from Safadão, if only briefly, as the tackle sent the ball right to the feet of Colium. Ceni grew more frustrated, and more desperate, as Matthewsiania kept avoiding Ceni’s tackles and attempts to steal the ball. The epitome of this offensive domination occurred as Axakel, embittered by the increasing tide against Ceni, tackled Safadão dubiously, forcing the referee to award a penalty and a yellow card for Axakel. The picture was not pretty for Ceni as Safadão sent Ryaden to the left, converting on the opportunity to give Matthewsiania the lead.

Ceni, by this time, was growing restless with their strategy and formation, so coach Kirk Koromin swapped out Will Noveth for his daughter Kira Koromin and Juan Medina for the up and coming youngster Allison Swan, hoping that the switches would allow Ceni to control more of play. Matthewsiania, however, still had an imposing presence in the midfield with Bressinho, Zé Gatinha, and Xowver, effectively preventing any Cenian attacks by this point. Matthewsiania still dominated play as well, as Safadão used his pure talent to send excellent shots at Ryaden, with some only missing the goal by the skin of their teeth, with Ryaden saving others. It was clear, though, that Ceni could not continue to allow Matthewsiania to dictate play for the entirety of the match; Ceni would have to take control. However, that was easier said than done, as Matthewsiania continued to evade all Cenian attempts at any tackles or steals whatsoever. Ceni, however, still had hopes and dreams, and it knew that it would have to shape up, and fast, or else it would never be able to qualify for the World Cup. A win against Matthewsiania would be a good start in a qualification run, and Allison Swan took on her task of playmaker with gusto to reach that goal. A creative play finally forced Colium to send a wild pass, which was intercepted by the midfielder Celgis. Celgis passed forward to Swan, who managed to zig-zag through the Matthewsianian midfield and pass forward to Jacen Xasan. Xasan moved forward, passing back to Jaime Del Olmo, who curved a powerful ball past Pedrinho Cléston into the back of the net. Ceni was finally back in business at home at Cenial Halcyon National Stadium.

Shadow B’betsy National Stadium made some good memories for the Matthewsianian team as they had drawn hosts Ceni there at the Cup of Harmony in their group-winning run. Ceni, meanwhile, reached the semifinals, but losing to top tier teams Saintland and Valanora at the end of its campaign. Matthewsiania wanted to make some more good memories, though, at Cenial Halcyon, as they continued with their extremely well placed runs through Ceni’s defense and midfield. Ceni still had hope in the midfield, though, as Swan continued her good performance in the match, doing well to dispossess the Matthewsianian offense. Thajan Jaros held up the left end of the midfield and proved a good link to Jaime Del Olmo, one of Ceni’s prolific goalscorers, as well. Corran Celgis, as well, proved to work well with Allison Swan, and the two, since Swan’s substitution into the game, proved to tighten up Ceni’s midfield a lot to Matthewsiania’s advances. For the most part in the second part of the first half, Ceni was able to seal its leaky boat to the Matthewsianian offense, anchored by Safadão. Late in the first half, however, Safadão managed to run along the side, forcing Travaran to send the ball out. Colium sent a corner kick straight to Safadão in the back, who fired off a loping shot towards the top corner of the net, barely making it in. The goal was certainly a blow to Ceni – they had hoped to keep Matthewsiania scoreless throughout the remainder of the match, especially with Swan and Celgis holding up the midfield so well. Finally, though, the whistle for the first half blew, and Ceni found themselves staring down at a Matthewsianian two-one lead. Ceni were crestfallen, but they knew that they had the entire second half to make up the deficit.

Allison Swan set out to make that happen with an incisive pass forward through the midfield, just barely missing out on an interception by Xowver. Del Olmo, however, found the pass well and sent the pass forward to Kel Koromin, ahead of the Matthewsianian defenders. He outdribbled them and forced the goalkeeper out, allowing him to send the ball straight into the right side of the goal. Although the goal did lift Ceni into a draw position with Matthewsiania, it was not enough to win the match outright, and Ceni definitely wanted to win the match outright to start the second half of qualifying with a bang. Matthewsiania, however, was not in the mood for that, and had other ideas in mind as it continued to thread its way down Ceni’s midfield. Celgis and Swan found good ways to stop Safadão, Meluna, and Colium, however, forcing them to make outlandish passes, forcing them to the sides of the pitch, and surrounding them with the midfield. Ceni’s tactics appeared to work, as Safadão’s wicked attacks that disassembled Ceni’s defense and midfield in the first half appeared to not have much effect in the second. “Appeared,” however, seemed to be the crucial word, as a couple of times, Meluna found himself deep in Ceni’s territory with the ball before conceding possession to a more active Jaros in the defensive structure. With Ceni’s new formation keeping Matthewsiania out of its field of play, Ceni hoped to find inroads through Matthewsiania’s defense. Unfortunately for Ceni, though, the world number 91 proved to be equally adept on the defensive side as the offensive side, and their formation, too, stopped most of Ceni’s attacking motions into their side of the pitch.

Jaime Del Olmo desperately wanted to make the World Cup in his career, already possessing a Champions’ Cup title with 1830 Cathair. And he was determined to win the match against the bogeyman Matthewsiania. However, Matthewsiania was holding its own in the defense, sweeping away any attempts by Del Olmo to send the ball into the goal. Kel and Kira Koromin both had their sights on the goal as well, but again, Matthewsiania’s defense proved too strong, again and again denying Ceni’s chances at the goal. Renné Asterix, in particular, proved adept at thwarting Kel Koromin’s attempts on the goal, seeming to always be in the right place at the right time. Matthewsiania, although wanting to win, appeared to settle for yet another draw as they kept Ceni from puncturing the defensive line. When they did regain possession, they sometimes would keep pushing the ball back and forth between the defenders as to deny Ceni possession. On rare occasions, as opposed to the first half’s fairly frequent sorties, Matthewsiania would move forward to attempt to score another goal for the win. Until the eighty-fifth minute, the last part of the first half proved to be fairly boring, as Matthewsiania was not willing to give up possession.

However, that soon changed when Matthewsiania, Meluna in particular, sent a ball forward to teammate McKenzie Colium. However, Alison Swan correctly read the ball on time, intercepting the ball and sending the ball forward to Jaime Del Olmo, who positioned himself in an area before the last defender but in a fairly empty area of the pitch. Taking advantage of this situation, Swan passed forward to Del Olmo. After outmaneuvering Marek, the lone defender left, Del Olmo now had to outmaneuver Pedrinho Cléston. Far ahead of Marek, Del Olmo shot powerfully to the top of Cléston, but unluckily, the ball bounced right off the top crossbar. Thinking it was the end of the match, Del Olmo just stared dejectedly. However, his foul mood turned happier as Kira Koromin seemed to appear out of nowhere to angle the ball into the goal, behind the arms of Cléston. The entire team breathed a sigh of relief: Ceni had won against their rival and bogeyman Matthewsiania, at home, breaking a long-running streak. Ceni now had confidence and faith in their abilities of football; they hope to continue their good momentum with a win away against Herberland. If they have some of the good form they had against them last half, they should do well, but they still need to be cautious and confident, but not too confident.

[Krytenia]

K1K: The Game Of History

MATCH #35: SEND US VICTORIOUS, HAPPY IN SQUORNSHELOUS
Squornshelous 0-1 Krytenia, World Cup 16 Qualifying
Vogsphere, Squornshelous, 8 October 1997

You never forget your first time. So today, we look at the game that took Krytenia to their first World Cup finals.

THE BUILD-UP
Krytenia's first World Cup campaign hadn't been too bad. Sure, they hadn't come close to qualifying, and there were some...issues in Tadjikistan with rioting fans, but the Celestials had got themselves a memorable win over Dennisov and were feeling confident going into the Cup of Harmony, held on their own turf and in Melmond. Sadly, that's where the wheels fell off. One draw and four defeats led to a game for the wooden spoon; a game the Krytenians would win against Lykaia only after extra time. Manager Ed Bye had left mid-competition, and the team were in disarray.

Enter Karim Isserson. Ever wondered why the big stadium in Emberton has that name? This man is why. The former Tadjik national team manager took the reigns of the side in the build-up to their World Cup XVI qualifying, and soon whipped the team into shape. They shocked NASTIC - twice - and hammered both the Gulf States and The Water Cooler in their first six games. A second victory over the Gulf, coupled with three free points courtesy of TWC's sudden and pointless withdrawal, left the men in sky blue top of the group with two games to go. Next up: group seeds Squornshelous, away; the reverse fixture had led to a three-one win for the Pschychoes. No pressure then.

THE MATCH
If you want to know the difference between Krytenia ancient and moders, take a look at the team's formation. The Celestials lined up in a surprisingly defensive (by today's standards) 5-3-2 formation, looking to contain and frustrate a very good Squornshelous side. The tactic worked, as the home side, though with the bulk of possession, butted their collective heads against a solid blue wall. Just four shots on goal were recorded in the first half, all from the home side, and only one giving goalkeeper Adam Vernazza any problems - though the Morales Blacks stopper saved superbly from a close-range Tobias Jones shot.

Krytenia switched to their more familiar (at the time) 4-4-2 for the second half. The game opened up somewhat, allowing more Squornshelan chances, but Vernazza was in imperious form. Igor Raskolnikov in particular was getting pretty annoyed at seeing the Krytenian 'keeper preventing him from putting the men in red and black on the scoresheet.

It was on the hour mark, though, that the game turned on its head. Allowed a rare chance to break, Chris Lydersen powered down the flank before finding striker Ari Smith. Smith was pulled wide of the goal by the attentions of defender Ernesto Gonzales, but eventually got past him, at which point George Clark, the Pschychoes' stopper, forced him to the by-line. Smith managed to squeeze the ball under Clark and across the six yard box, where Stephen Xousa, in a fit of excitement, wellied the ball at full pelt. Into an empty net. From four yards out.

Cue bedlam. The Krytenians' travelling support went into rapture, whilst everyone in red and black just gaped at the incredulity of it all.

Half an hour of catenaccio followed from the visitors, putting everyone bar Smith behind the ball to protect the lead. As the result from Nikea came through - one which, thanks to said Water Cooler withdrawal, meant the home side went through regardless, the game petered out. Krytenia had come, saw, qualified, and only gone and won the bloody group!

THE AFTERMATH
Defeat on the final day to Nikea was completely glossed over in all the euphoria. Unfortunately, reality struck in the finals. The Eagles Nest and Mattigool helped themselves to three points, with only a draw against the Insanicians to brighten the gloom.

Krytenia, though, had a taste for the World Cup. To date, that taste has still not been sated. One hopes that World Cup LXXIII will be the next chapter in the Aces' long history of World Cup finals appearances; that, of course, is history yet to be written.

#1: It Haperd One Night
#89: You Beat Us, We're Still Better
#637: The Magnificent Seven
#361: What's The Time?
#220: The Smashing Orangey Bit
#809: Hell Has Frozen Over, And Now It's Sky Blue
#234: Mallon's Miracle

[Garifunya]

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

The assault squad acted fast. Two men took off after the wounded sentry, desperate to bring him down before he could summon reinforcements. Two fired several shots at the soldiers in the bedroom. They didn't hit them, but they bought themselves enough time to close the secret door and smash the button that opened it. That obstacle wouldn't hold them for long; so what to do next? Fleeing after their two comrades would take them back to the kitchen, but also perhaps into the teeth of the sentries and then into the embrace of the Jandaams. Heading the other way would see them surface at the front gate of the Palace; it did open up directly into the courtyard, but would they be able to flee in time before the assembled forces defending the Palace got to them? The leader made his decision; they would go back the way they came. Two men arrayed themselves in the front to serve as a first line of defense, then the two carrying Gillaat, then two more serving as rearguards. From behind them they heard the thunder of approaching boots, while ahead they heard scattered gunfire. They couldn't move fast, as the two encumbered with Gillaat couldn't move much faster than walking speed.

From behind them, bullets whistled overhead. If they had not been wearing their ear plugs, the noise would have been deafening. The two rearguards, including the leader, dropped off. They signaled to the other four to continue on. They hunkered down behind a curve in the tunnel and a firefight ensued. They didn't have to win, just buy the others enough time to survive. The four left kept on moving down the tunnel, where they soon encountered the rest of their team. Three dead sentries lay on the floor, but one of their own was spilling his lifeblood out onto the ground. They looked at the other assault squad member, who shook his head. His own blood was visible and he walked painfully. After taking a moment to honor their fallen comrade, they pressed on towards the kitchen. There were no further incidents in the tunnel. Once they reached the kitchen, they opened up the secret door, only to find a scene of chaos inside. Jandaams and sentries were locked in battle with the kitchen staff. Apparently the alarm had been raised and the staff had taken it upon themselves to stop the reinforcements. Here, two potboys wrestled with a man head and shoulders above them. There, a cook and a Jandaam had crossed blades, the former with a cleaver and the latter with a combat knife. The saucier looked up and gave a cry of joy when he saw the assault squad; this gave the soldier he was fighting enough time and space to quickly draw his sidearm and shoot him. Even as he fell to the ground, the pâtissier brained the soldier with a frying pan and he crumpled to the floor. The wounded soldier drew his knife and threw himself at the nearest Jandaam, while the other four made a beeline for the exit. One drew his walkie-talkie. "Now, General, now!"

"Now, General, now!" The voice crackled into General Mastebroek's ear. "Atak!" he shouted. The militia and the sympathetic Laandmakt surged forward, yelling and whooping while discharging their weapons at the men defending the Palace. They weren't out to crush the defenders; they just had to make as much of a show as possible to draw as many as they could to defend the front of the Palace and allow their team time to escape. The Jandaams and soldiers were taken by surprise, but they soon rallied and gave as good as they got. The roar of gunfire mixed with the battle cries of both sides, reaching a deafening cacophony.

Back in the kitchen, the two vanguards helped the kitchen staff as they could, striking down the soldiers that stood in their path to the door. But they could not help them all, and watched as brave men and women spilled their blood for Prins' dream of democracy. They threw open the door; the side courtyard stood almost empty. "We are almost out; just two guards," said one into his walkie-talkie. They fired at the guards, killing one and wounding the other. From his knees, he unleashed a burst of machine-gun fire that riddled one of the assault squad's body with holes, but a second shot killed him. A truck screeched to a halt outside the Palace; the men leapt into the back and the truck roared off. Several tense minutes passed as the driver negotiated the twists and turns of Frederykvil, trying to avoid the few Jandaams not guarding the Palace. Soon the driver accelerated and the assault squad breathed a sigh of relief; they had cleared the city limits and were on their way to Vrijport. Prins, François and Mastebroek had promised them that the road to Vrijport would be clear, and they hoped it was true. But who knew how many of Gillaat's men still swarmed throughout the countryside?

[Sameba]

Anticipation was building ahead of Sameba's ill fated tie against Krytenia in Aspel, due to be played the following evening from this one, a warm night with a soft breeze touching the faces of those on the balcony of the Maracasso bar. General Emile Gartanzo stared out at the city in which he was born with his cold eyes scanning the horizon. His friend and colleague Colonel Beran had enjoyed a nice evening with him, but was now set to leave. 'It's been a good evening, Emile.'
'Yes. But not a good day.' Beran leaned on the safety barrier and gazed out at the same view. 'I don't know about that, comrade. It is just a set back.'
'It is not just a set back, is it? You have seen their media. Oil in the central Endemian Ocean, well beyond the reach of anyone but the Euran's. Potentially billions of barrels.'
'They will never be able to process it.'
'Won't they? Every time that they lack something, they seem to find a gold mine of it just at the right moment. Allies, food, form on the football pitch. We will not survive the coming years if it continues. Something has to change.' Beran sighed as Gartanzo polished off his gin. 'My dear friend, you worry too much. We will find a way. We always have. Now, where is the woman, our Brenecian friend?'
'Waiting for me downstairs I think, my staff car has just pulled up. I should go. Enjoy your evening, old friend. Give Maria my regards.' Gartanzo parted company with his fellow army officer and made his way downstairs in his impeccable dress uniform, accompanied by his bodyguard who had been keeping his distance at the bar throughout. On the steps of the bar entrance downstairs was Catherine Bardsley, the Sameban national team manager who had come all the way from Brenecia to live here. She had experienced a hard day at the training ground and had agreed to meet Gartanzo on the drive back to her players residence at the Hotel Colombo in Aspel's wealthiest district.

'Catherine, how nice to see you! Are you well?'
'I'm ok, thanks, General. Its been a tiring day over at the training ground but we are confident about tomorrow.'
'Now now, come Catherine, you make it sound like we are at a press conference! Relax and come with me, I wanted to have a word if that is alright with you.' She shrugged and gave him a nod before his driver opened the passenger door for them both. After a moment of getting comfortable they were away, and the General was enthusiastically rattling off the itinerary for the next day. 'It's going to be wonderful my dear, absolutely wonderful. A flypast, a full parade, with our fantastic President Coley present. Hopefully your team can come up with a good performance!' Bardsley was confident that this wasn't some sort of intimidating demand judging by his tone. In fact, she felt quite comfortable about Gartanzo, who had first approached her in the dressing room following the first home game of qualifying. He had made her feel more at home in Sameba, treated her like a human being, and appeared to be a commanding and powerful man. He did seem to have quite the aura about him. She couldn't help but feel something was off about him somewhere - occasionally someone would see him whenever they happened to meet and they would look scared of his presence. Then again she felt like there wasn't much point reading into it, given how the military intimidated everyone in this country by default. 'Now Catherine, I have a quick question about tomorrow. Would the team be willing to wear some armbands?'
'Armbands?'
'Yes, for Glory Day.' The infamous Glory Day. A mandatory national holiday in Sameba that was supposed to mark the birth of the first Sameban state. Now it had much darker connotations, as every year it would be met with protests in the south that usually had to be suppressed violently. She had no idea if this man had anything to do with it - he was strong worded, but didn't seem like the type to get his hands dirty. 'I guess we could, yeah, as long as the WCC regulators are ok with it.'

After a short drive, they neared the hotel when Bardsley had a sudden urge to ask a question. She didn't know if it was a good idea. In fact, it should have occurred to her that it was a very stupid idea. Nevertheless her curiosity had already gotten the better of her, and she spluttered out the question from nowhere. 'Why can't we play Eura in friendlies anymore?' Gartanzo remained silent for a moment, looking away out of the window with a smile on his face like she had said nothing. After an agonising pause, she followed it up with a tease. His first name. 'Emile?'
'I don't know, Catherine.'
'You don't?'
'No. I think we should play them, home and away, like the days under Coley.'
'Really? I got the impression you lot didn't like it.'
'As in, the military? Well, maybe. But I liked the derbies.'
'Why?' There was another long pause, before he answered in his characteristically poker-face tone and mannerisms. 'Because while I believe in a strong Sameba, I would prefer for us and the Euran's to solve our differences without bloodshed.' Bardsley sat in silence for the rest of the journey. She felt like Gartanzo had more to say, but she didn't want to push her luck. She was now convinced at least, even if she knew it was hopeful, that this was potentially a good man in the system. Finally the car stopped, and he let her out to go visit the hotel. 'Catherine?'
'Yes, General?'
'Have a pleasant evening. I'll see you tomorrow. You don't need to refer to my status any more.' She smiled at him, possibly marking the first time she had smiled properly at anyone in a uniform in this country through something warmer than gritted teeth. 'The same to you, Emile. The same to you.'

[Farfadillis]

My phone rang for the first time in a while. Turns out that when you don't have close family members able to contact you, nobody important calls you often. I'd actually kinda forgotten why I even had one in the first place. I looked at the screen and read a name I hadn't heard of in a while.

Héctor Rossizzo. Manager of the national team from the beginning of AOCAF Cup 38 until the conclusion of AOCAF Cup 44. Suffice to say I'd known him well. He had easily been the manager I got along with the most. Not knowing the language in Vilita and Turori rendered me unable to speak to my domestic club managers much. Also, yes, I suck at languages. I can only speak Farf. You'd think that after more than fifteen years of being surrounded by people speaking different languages, I'd pick up a bit of any. But no. Risko's Rulandese had always been completely unintelligible to me, as had been Terán's Faroleran. Where was I? Oh, yeah, it was Rossizzo.

I won't say I owe everything to Héctor, cause then I would be lying. But he was a big influence in my career. He didn't quite make me rise to the top, but he made my game much better during the limited time he coached me as my international manager. A top manager, if you ask me, as criticized as he might have been at times. Tactically clueless, maybe, and he never quite had to face any internal problems, but nobody can argue with the results he got. Plus he was really fun to be around. I think the main advantage he had over his Polarian successor was his Farf flair. As much as Steffan tried, you could still feel the lingering Polarianism. That was not the case with Héctor. He wanted to score goals and that was where his tactical knowledge ended. Ok, yeah, I'm exaggerating, but he really wasn't too bright when it came to creating a cohesive and concentrated defensive unit that actually defended. Naturally, Steffan made up for his shortcomings in that department.

I picked up the phone. I didn't know what to expect, exactly, but I figured it wouldn't be anything bad. Unless he was going to ask about my legs. Sadly, no signs of progress.

"Hello, who's there?" I asked, as if I didn't know who'd be answering.

"Ichi, it's me, Héctor Rossizzo." He replied, none the wiser. "I talked to Friekder the other day, and we came up with an idea I'm sure you'll find interesting."

[Vers-Gelderland]

It was another exciting - yet disappointing - qualification game against Witty Penguins, New Gelderland's rival and perhaps its first bogeyman. While New Gelderland was perhaps expecting Witty Penguins to finally score a win at home, they surprised themselves by equalizing in the late second half to secure the draw. However, New Gelderland has yet to score a win against the Artician team, who has proven a major disappointment for New Gelderlish hopes in World Cup 73, as well as inflicting New Gelderland's only loss in the Baptism of Fire tournament. It seems like New Gelderland simply can't get the better of Witty Penguins. The first half definitely showed that Witty Penguins were one of the most promising teams of the World Cup: they managed to cut through the New Gelderlish defense not once, but twice, but only one was enough, as Pierre Fort was able to capitalize off a good pass from Witty Penguins captain Ben Knight.

The second half still marked a period of extreme defense on both sides as neither side wanted to budge an inch from their positions. Each side kept shouting, "Heave, ho," but yet each other side would still not budge, like the Zax in Dr. Seuss's famous story. Unlike the Zax, though, the New Gelderlish team took somewhat of a risk when Louis Rhodes received a pass from Harry Landis and incisively cutting through the Witty Penguins midfield. With the crown quiet in stunned silence, Rhodes passed forward to Ben Griffin; Griffin passed back when he was in the penalty box, allowing Rhodes to get a good angle on goalkeeper Johnson and score New Gelderland's only goal of the match. After that, the match reverted to its previous Zax Paradigm, with each team, sadly, still not budging an inch. The Unitia City crowd was hoping for a good match; they got a good one, but not a particularly exciting one, as football matches go.

David Ross was fairly excited and optimistic about the match, and pronounced it "good enough" for his team as they prepare to travel to Nassau Bay to face seventy-first ranked United States of Devonta. Many Gelderlish citizens wish them good luck, and they'll surely need it against the nation of garish match reports and eye-murdering colors. Certainly nobody in New Gelderland wants to have their eyes burned out by yet another one of those match reports - so it's fairly certain that nobody will be looking for the Devontan side of the story.

[San Jose Guayabal]

MATCHDAY 9 RP CUTOFF - GROUPS 1-10

Once upon a time you could have been dominant or a minnow, nor you're on a new path of victory or maybe constant fail, c'est la vie... Might your luck change this day and will be the begin of a new time of success for your nation?

[United States of Devonta]

A Holy Thrashing... #2?
_{Devontans receive another crushing defeat to the Sanctii national team}

United States of Devonta 0-5 Saintland

United States of Devonta (4-4-2 Diamond): Cooper, Brooks, Benton, Kindred, Liam, Russell, Abdullah, Edwards, Owens, Johansen, Adams
Saintland (6-3-1): Seius, Junius, Tanicius, Nonius, Maximius, Dossenius, Vesuius, Epidius, Nasennius, Allectus, Florius

Quick Stats:
34% Possessions, 3 Shots, 1 on goal, 2 Corners
66% Possessions, 18 Shots, 12 on goal, 6 Corners

Goals:
--NONE--
Florius (8'), Allectus (29', 67'), Junius (75'), Vesuius (82')

CAUTIONED: Liam (56'), Russel (69')
EJECTED: --NONE--

Table: N/A

Schedule:
MD1: United States of Devonta 0-4 Saintland
MD2: United States of Devonta 2-0 New Gelderland
MD3: United States of Devonta 0-0 Witty Penguins
MD4: BYE
MD5: United States of Devonta 3-2 Abanhfleft
MD6: United States of Devonta 2-1 Maklohi Vai
MD7: United States of Devonta 2-0 Cuboneland
RD: BYE
MD8: United States of Devonta 0-5 Saintland
MD9: United States of Devonta Vs. New Gelderland
MD10: United States of Devonta Vs. Witty Penguins
MD11: BYE
MD12: United States of Devonta Vs. Abanhfleft
MD13: United States of Devonta Vs. Maklohi Vai
MD14: United States of Devonta Vs. Cuboneland

Other Group 18 Games:
Cuboneland 1-2 Abanhfleft
New Gelderland 1-1 Witty Penguins

---

----MATCHDAY EIGHT----

---

Matchday Eight | Saintland | 14th Ranked | @Royal Stadium, St. Petrus, Saintland | 30,295 attendance | Ref. John Prado
WIP

[San Jose Guayabal]

http://www.gobiernonacional.gu/estado/q ... ho/english

Economy

The economy of San José Guayabal is a developed mixed economy with state-ownership in strategic areas of the economy. Although sensitive to global business cycles, the economy of San José Guayabal has shown robust growth since the start of the industrial era. Shipping has long been a support of Guayabal's export sector, but much of the Guayabalense economic growth has been fueled by an abundance of natural resources, including petroleum exploration and production, geotermical power, hydroelectric power, and natural gas. Agriculture and traditional heavy manufacturing have suffered relative decline compared to services and oil-related industries, and the public sector is among the largest in the world as a percentage of the overall gross domestic product. The country has a very high standard of living compared with other Esportivan countries, and a strongly integrated welfare system. The Guayabalense modern manufacturing and welfare system rely on a financial reserve produced by exploitation of natural resources, particularly on the South Pole Sea.

Appart from the resources that the nation has, now with the newl approved laws and dispositions, San José Guayabal is becoming a new hub for investment from different nations all around the multiverse by granting services like E-Residency, which grants to everybody the chance to open a business in San José Guayabal and receive an official answer from the Government in just 24 hours! being a record in Esportiva and thus a hard hit to the red tape, the digitalisation of currency also provides greater chance to do transactions in all over the multiverse to Guayabalense people, like paying salaries or buying goods, making the distances shorter and making easier the effort of creating and maintenance of a business.

Energy Resources

Guayabalenses enjoy one of the highest GDP per-capita in Esportiva and the fourth GDP (PPP) per-capita. Today, San José Guayabal ranks as one of the wealthiest countries in the world in monetary value, with the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation in Esportiva. According to the WA World Census, San José Guayabal is a net external creditor of debt. San José Guayabal managed after decades of constant progress through the rankings the best Human Development Index (HDI) of the region with a value of 93 The standard of living in San José Guayabal is among the highest in the Multiverse. Esportivan Union Foreign Policy Magazine ranks SJG the 91st among 93 nations in its Failed States Index for 2203, judging SJG to be one of the region's most well-functioning and stable countries. Based on continued oil and gas exports, coupled with a healthy economy and substantial accumulated wealth, San José Guayabal is expected to continue as among the richest countries in the world in the foreseeable future.

Green Energy

San José Guayabal is a heavy producer of renewable energy, first of all due to good resources in hydropower. Over 60% of the electricity production in mainland San José Guayabal is covered by hydropower plants. The total production of electricity from hydropower plants amounted to 896.9 TWh in 2199 There is also a large potential in wind power, offshore wind power and wave power, as well as production of bio-energy from wood. San José Guayabal has quite limited solar energy resources during the winter but the deficit is normally defeated during the large period of summer, but is one of the world's largest producers of solar grade silicon and silicon solar cells.

Guarantees of Origin, the system for Guarantees of Origin was implemented by the Esportivan Union Renewable Energy Directive 2189/28/EC. In 2192 the average electricity consumption mix of a Guayabalense household was 45% renewable.

Gas Production

In 2195, Guayabal was the largest crude oil exporter in Esportiva (at 156Mt), and the 4th largest exporter of refined oil (at 104Mt). It was also the largest natural gas exporter of the region (at 144bcm), having significant gas reserves in the North Sea. San José Guayabal also possesses some of the world's largest potentially exploitable coal reserves (located under the Guayabalense continental shelf) on earth.

Three million barrels of oil adds 1.3 Mt of CO2 per day to the atmosphere as it is consumed, 866 Mt/year. Thus the global CO2 impact of San José Guayabal activities is significant. Much of the CO2 creation happens outside of Guayabalense borders, from Guayabalense fossil fuels.

Oil Industry

In May 2169, SJG asserted sovereign rights over natural resources in its sector of the South Pole Sea. Exploration started on July 19, 2173, when "Viajero Océanico" drilled its first hole. Initial exploration was fruitless, until "Carguero del Sur" found oil on August 21, 2173. By the end of 2173, it was clear that there were large oil and gas reserves in the South Pole Sea. The first oil field was "Oro Negro", produced 427,442 barrels of crude in 2180. Since then, large natural gas reserves have also been discovered.

Against the backdrop of the 2171 Guayabalense referendum to join the Esportivan Union, the Guayabalense Ministry of Industry, headed by Ramiro Montesinos moved quickly to establish a national energy policy. SJG decided to stay out of international oil groups, keep its own energy prices in line with world markets, and spend the revenue—known as the "currency gift" in the Petroleum Fund of San José Guayabal. The Guayabalense government established its own oil company, Statoil, and awarded drilling and production rights to "Petróleos del Sur" and the newly formed "Henríquez y Cia S.A.de.C.V".

The South Pole Sea turned out to present many technological challenges for production and exploration, and Guayabalense companies invested in building capabilities to meet these challenges. A number of engineering and construction companies emerged from the remnants of the largely lost shipbuilding industry, creating centers of competence in San Miguel and the western suburbs of Rostov. Rostov also became the land-based staging area for the offshore drilling industry.

[Nephara]

THE BRINEMOUTH HERALD
WIDESPREAD RELIEF AFTER COMFORTABLE NEPHARIM VICTORY
by Geneva Scharzer

Thank God.

That's all people really had to say as Nephara breezed past San Llera with ease, showing a quiet superiority that had been totally absent from their past three fixtures. A fervent home crowd in Sabrefell helped, and while they were a little nervous at first, Felix Keller's neat seventh-minute finish calmed the nerves and let them chant and wave their flags without fear. A precisely-flicked header by Kellard in the 43th minute made the scoreline comfortable, and when deputising winger Brendan Rivers was fouled in the box in the second half, Ashdown made no mistake. For her part, Nikita Griffiths did her best to stake a claim to start over dearly beloved Catheline Stockinger (whose form in qualifying has been erratic), and Rowan Gawain put in a promising cameo near the end which would definitely have calmed a few nerves.

Which is not to say San Llera didn't fight to stay in the game. Saragosa was a threat throughout, and his early strike forced Ballard into scrambling desperately to her near post only to see it roll just wide. But aside from that, Nephara had the best of the early stages. They passed the ball around cleanly and weren't afraid to mix up the passing range - this time, they didn't have San Llera's surrounding sea to worry about hoofing the ball into. And just as Fonda took up possession in midfield, Rainsford slickly dispossessed him, ran onto the ball and played a pin-point long ball onto Michael Kellard's chest. Glancing behind him, the Emberton Reds striker passed it forward onto Felix Keller's run, putting him past the entire San Llera defence. Keller had all the time and space in the world, and tucked it past Fons with ease.

It let the Cormorants take their foot off the gas for a bit, and they stopped hounding San Llera the moment they got the ball. Mestre, with his only clear chance of the game, really should have done better from ten yards but instead tried to blast the ball past Ballard at her near post. Nothing doing there. Meanwhile, there were jitters at every Nepharim set piece, though nobody could quite direct their headers into the net despite Ashdown's remarkable accuracy from a dead ball. Kellard, who had already smashed a free header against a post earlier on when he really should have scored, more than made up for it on the verge of the half-time interval; a hopeful cross by his former club teammate Sasha Christener saw him rip past Quella and flick a header past the motionless Fons.

The second half continued much in the same vein, two sides with similar ideals but one simply with more class. Fons made some good saves after an uneasy first half, most notably a double save from Keller at close range. Ballard, for her part, managed an excellent save from Capo with her feet that soon proved irrelevant - the assistant's flag was raised. Ultimately, it was a nice overlap along the right that secured a comfortable victory for the Cormorants. Rivers played a neat one-two with the substitute Kurtis Rough that put him clear on goal. Lleran leftback Olivier, badly out of position, smashed Rivers. San Llera suffered the controversial 'double penalty' of a penalty and a red card, and while Ashdown had to take her penalty twice thanks to the encroachment of an overenthusiastic Andrea Cawdor (who got a very pointed glare from her Diamante teammate), she put each one perfectly - the first into the top-right corner, the second into the top-left. To his credit, Fons went the right way each time, but to no avail.

Despite the red card, San Llera held back and kept it tight from there, thanks in no small part to an outstanding cameo by Teodora Alemany of Klyde keeping Ashdown quiet in the closing stages. But they weren't going to threaten a comeback down a man and three goals in hostile territory, and the Cormorants ultimately had what they craved - a comfortable win against a decent opponent. Elsewhere in the group, Nova Anglicana's bye leaves them a point and a game in hand ahead of the Cormorants. Shtiar Bakal did Nephara a massive favour with a tight 4-3 victory over Timbermunich, who slip to third. Maretta defeated pointless Mangetsujima with a comfortable 3-0 scoreline. Mangetsujima will have to host Nephara next, and that, God willing, will be little more than a speedbump on the road to recovery.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

MATCHDAY 9 RP CUTOFF - GROUPS 11-20

They say that time's done supposed to heal, but it ain't done much healing. Can the scores tonight heal or bite your nation?

[Dreamplanet]

double post i can't remove D:

[Dreamplanet]

DTV.com - World Cup Qualifying News

Britonisea 3-2 Dreamplanet

What a mess Dreamplanet fans made, the Dreamplanetian fans make the Doportedas Olympic Stadium's roof collapse, not all fans got out ok, with 306 injuries and 13 deaths.

24th October 2015/24th October 2001 (Dreamplanet years)

The match didn't matter at the end because sadly, 7 Britonish fans and 6 Dreamplanetian fans died after a part of the roof collapsed on them. (Where they was pictured above)



Before the match things weren't ok as most Dreamplanet and Britonisea's fans just went to cheer and talk about WV, but some fans actually got into a fist fight right after the final whistle had gone, during the interview, Dreamplanet's manager said: "Things like that make you forget the game, now i can't remember if we did well or not, all i remember was seeing the roof come down, the ambulances coming over, and this was all after the final whistle, Dreamplanetian fans were never this bad, maybe it was a backlash of the 2-6 game."



Luis Silva was interviewed and he was upset and crying; "You know, these things don't need to happen, we're 2 very happy countries with togetherness that might be shattered, this didn't need to happen."



A visibly shocked Filipe Vaz famously quoted "It's the darkest hour in Dreamplanetian football, this shouldn't have happened, 95% of people here didn't care about the initial 2-6 loss, but the 5% did, which ruined the what has been a good/bad day".



The Dreamplanet FA has commented on social media, saying "The #BRIDRE match was a absolute disaster, this was a bad incident which we hope will never happen again."

Dreamplanet host Barunia next but the stadium will be empty as many people (including the DFA) have said that they did not want to go to the stadium in respect of this incident.



There was controversy before when Jorge Cardozo scored the Dreamplanetian goal at 43' minutes using his hand. (Seen above)

About the handball goal, Jorge Cardozo commented "Well, it wasn't nice, but when i saw the ball go at that angle i was sure it was not going in, so i decided to punch it in just to make sure, and it was given, a goal is a goal."



The controversy caused a fight between players and Zé André got sent off. Zé André punched Britonish Player Roberto Chick, and then got joined by Aaron Hungar and others, Aaron Hungar got a yellow card, in the Britonish side of the fight, Roberto Chick got a yellow card for kicking Zé André in a retaliation attempt and Rixton Bale got a yellow card for having a all out fist fight with Jorge Cardozo which then got even bigger and everyone got involved but Luis Silva, Drake Conahey, Mark Fernandez and Noah Richards. Fans spilled on to the pitch to get involved aswell. The fight was 5 minutes long and the match had to be delayed so that it could break up the fight which could've intensified.



The match was not abandoned but was called as a early half-time. In the tunnel the fights continued but they were shortlived as both teams went later into the changing rooms for half time, the second half was also pretty heated but not many yellow cards from there on, a few mini-fights on the stands happened, but nothing that disrupted the actual match. It was surprising how the match was not abandoned even though there was a fight. (The roof incident happened after the final whistle went.)



Other controversies cued as the match was interrupted for a flare attack on the Britonish Goalkeeper, we did not hear what he said about the flare because we were leaving the stadium for security reasons while the Britonish players were being asked questions by the media.



About the flare incident, the Dreamplanet FA said also on social media: "#BRIDRE; Dreamplanetian fans normally don't carry flares but maybe this time they did as revenge for the 2-6 game, once again this was not meant to happen, we are terribly sorry of this darkest hour of football."



The flares were uncontrolled by fans of the Dreamplanetian side, major damages was done as some walls got burned and the roof was almost to fully collapse, but by then the fire was controlled and the fans were evacuated, still not quick enough for the 319 fans which got injured and the 13 which died.



Fortunately for Britonisea this was the last match the stadium hosts, as in Matchday 1 they had a draw with The Sarian.



The part which was most damaged was the away side and the home side, with away side having many chairs burnt and the home side having a broken roof which was caused by one of the fireworks (how a fan was able to carry them to the stadium is another question) which was set off by accident and exploded on impact with the roof.

Game Stats:
Score: Dreamplanet 2-3 Britonisea
Possesion: 41% - 59%
Shots: - 13 - 29
Goal Scorers: - Luis Silva (17') Jorge Cardozo (41') - Mark Fernandez (57,61) Noah Richards (79')
Yellow Cards: - Jorge Cardozo (43') Aaron Hungar (43') Filipe Vaz (53') Jorge Cardozo (57') 4-2 Roberto Chick (43') Rixton Bale (44')
Red Cards: Zé André (43') Jorge Cardozo (57') 2-0

We are not sure if this will damage WV relations between Dreamplanet and Britonisea but the voting will most likely take a hit and that could mean that points are cut down from what they would normally be. The WV Final is on the 16th November, which is only 23 days of distance.
In speaking of WorldVision, the song has been changed to a unconfirmed song but sources say that it will be sung by Jorge Paulista who lost his wife and 2 children in the roof collapse.

DTV 1 or DTV News viewers saw this:

This was a interview on people and where they were when they watched what happened:

Interview 1: Fransisco Gomez
"I was in the pub with my friends and others cheering on Dreamplanet and we were blown away on how the match went so badly, we didn't see the initial 2-6 game, so we had no idea what they were arguing about, but that handball goal + fight in the 43 minutes was intense. I was not expecting that, out of the blue a major punch out happens and the game gets called off for a early half time. But the stadium collapse was just as bad, no one saw that coming, and i'm not even sure who started it, maybe faulty repairs was the real culprit here..."

Interview 2: Igor Silva (Dreamplanet FA Owner)
"We were at the stadium, then suddenly all we see is debris raining down, and we all thought "Is this place collapsing?" i even sent out a Tweeter post saying "We have no idea what's going on, but we see debris..." later i removed that post because when i got out as we got told to evacuate the stadium i saw the fire, the ambulances, the shocked players and fans, and then i saw the main culprit, the broken roof... I never saw anything like that..."

Interview 3: Filipe Vaz (Dreamplanet Goalkeeper)
"It wasn't a nice game, it really wasn't. But that fist fight was really with justice, Jorge Cardozo scored a handball and the Referee didn't see it, but i remember defending a last minute corner, i looked up when the final whistle went, and i saw a explosion on the roof, i told the fellow defenders: "The roof is not going to last any more..." And it was true... eventually the roof did break down. And the rest was heartbreaking."

Interview 4: Rodrigo Dos Santos
"It was horrible, and it could've been avoided, the flare went off accidentally and what happened next was a total tragedy, the seats were on fire (Yeah that was our fault) and alot of more people could've died, and we were lucky that the whole stadium did not collapse. If it did, Dreamplanet and Britonisea would have a HUGE problem in their hands. I saw the ambulances and the helicopters, and it was a horrible experience, this whole thing was expected but no one ever expected that some-one would die in this game, both sets of fans were hugely supportive no matter the result, and Dreamplanet (obviously) had unfinished business with Britonisea, i know there was fights before the match, but those fans did not get in the stadium, this has to go under serious investigation by Britonisea and Dreamplanet, as a Dreamplanet supporter i really do think that we did not mean this to happen, this is not Dreamplanetian football..."

[Brenecia]

Her name was Sheila Cannon. Or, as the peanut gallery seemed to know her, Not Geneva Urquhart. Fuck that bit of received wisdom, though - she was a professional. She was here for a reason. Half the snobs who wrote her off probably just watched the ANL, heads too far up their own arse to bother with the local product.
The bloke in front of her was one of the Robideaus - she wasn't sure which one. Did it matter? Everyone was the same from the penalty spot. And right now, he looked like opportunity.
She was fucking sick and fucking tired of all this talk of "ooh, we're fucked if ~precious Genny~ gets hurt, ooohh, we literally have no other goalkeepers in this country," like, fuck! No! Obviously! Did they think she wasn't a professional? Or Greig, or Olenna, hell, they could even bring Sara or Catherine back. Plenty of Brenecian keepers in the A-League. Couple in the Nepharim second tier if they were that desperate.
She was going to save this fucking peno. She was gonna make a name for herself. Urquhart annihilating Dickens as he was through on goal was the best thing that would ever happen to Cannon's career.
Robideau stepped back. Hit it to the left, you bastard. Low and to the left. Cannon planted her stance, wishing she'd had the chance to stretch beforehand.
He stepped up, she dove, he hit it. To the right. Into the sky.
So much for her moment.
Cannon got up off the ground and hurled himself at the Antoletian midfielder who looked like he wanted to sink into the ground. "You could've at least hit the target, you stupid cunt!" she screamed as players waded into the melee to try and seperate them.

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Brenecia vs. Ko-oren Preview: Crunch Time In Kingsgarden
by Karena Fife

Ko-oren absolutely need to win this game.

That's something we need to watch out for, particularly missing our best goalkeeper to suspension. Ko-oren are nine points adrift of the Patriots and six of Starblaydia - who they just lost 1-0 at home to. Things aren't going to plan for the first seeds, and the Patriots have been the primary benefactors. If the Dragonflies don't win this, they're probably out of the running even for the playoffs.

But just because they've been in poor form doesn't make them a bad team, and as is their tradition they go into this match with the group's best defensive record. A five-man defence is backed up by a great goalkeeper in Macedo, they have a decent midfield (most prominently Wakefield, who caused the Patriots plenty of grief in Aminey) and, in Leroux, a striker who gets plenty of ugly goals given half a chance. If they score, there's going to be a hell of a fight to so much as draw one level.

But that's a big if, and the Brenecian defence has been pretty rock-solid itself - Antoletia is the only team that's scored against us so far - and has plenty of punch going forward as well. Cullen, inching ever closer to a hundred caps, and Thatcher are a fearsome set of wingers and Maddon can definitely stick the ball in the net. All of them are very, very quick. Not to underestimate a midfield which has consistently gone above and beyond - Paterson especially.

Either way, it's going to be a study of contrasts, and it should make for decent viewing. There's definitely a lot at stake. But Brenecia are both irresistable force and immovable object at the moment. Can Ko-oren say the same?