World Cup 73 - RPing Thread

by **Augusticinia** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:19 am

Augusticinia defeats Copper Cuprum

On Matchday 9, Augusticinia played Copper Cuprum in Munich and defeated them 5-1. Vladimir Maier scored on a Free-Kick in the 20th minute. Maier scored again in the 43rd minute with a powerful header into the goal. In the 63rd minute Gervasio Wyrzyk scored another goal for Augusticinia after shooting from outside the box. Prince Deg scored in the 68th minute on a penalty after a handball from Stephan Dragic. Harry Wu scored in the 73rd minute after a 1 on 1 situation. Maier reached a hat trick in the 83rd minute after scoring from a penalty. Augusticinia is in 5th place in their group and not far behind opponents. Augusticinia will play Kandorith next in Munich.

Match Stats

Goals: 5 (AUG) | 1 (CUP)
Shots on Target: 9 (AUG) | 7 (CUP)
Shots: 14 (AUG) |12 (CUP)
Fouls: 6 (AUG) | 4 (CUP)
Corners: 2 (AUG) | 1 (CUP)
Free Kicks (Close Range): 2 (AUG) | 3 (CUP)
Offsides: 0 (AUG) | 0 (CUP)
Yellow Cards: 0 (AUG) | 0 (CUP)
Red Cards: 0 (AUG) | 0 (CUP)

Press Conference with Nikolaus Idoni

After the match against Copper Cuprum, Augusticinia's Manager, Nikolaus Idoni, was asked a few questions. When he was asked,"What is your opinion on Augusticinia's results." He said that Augusticinia has done much better since the last World Cup qualification and he is happy about Augusticinia's results. He was also asked various questions about Augusticinia's playing style and his backstory. Then an interesting question occured. A reporter asked,"Mr. Idoni your players are getting old. How do you feel about getting a new team next World Cup?" Idoni responded with,"I must face the fact that many players on this team must go. I love them dearly but I will have to adapt to a new team."

by **Jeruselem** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:42 am

Princess Laura naked holding a Windows Lumia tablet

Hey, this is Princess Laura for Naked News Jeruselem! No game for us today, we had the bye today. We'll be flying out soon for our next game.

Group 16, Jeruselem had the bye and well stayed 5th. Aeqamustopia travelled to leader San Jose Guayabal and got smashed 6-2. Nothing new there. Associated Godlands should have beaten Natanians and Nosts as they were at home but bungled it and managed a 0-0 draw. It was Greg against that Sword Bloke in that sword show place and greg beat the swords away 1-0.

The group 16 table is SJG leading with the sword bloke then Greg and them God people, then us and then ... those others.

I get a lot of questions. One is if the Jeruselem team have every played naked in a world cup? We don't, because it tends to offend a lot of sensitive people! I mean I have no issues but some of the team aren't so showy. We don't play naked in domestic league either, due to the crap weather we get sometimes.

Oh yes, I get asked if I'm that Laura Lust porn star too. No, she's not related either. Yes she happens to be short blonde girl like me. But I'm not her. I actually do know her from school. And her real name isn't actually Laura either! It's Jacky.

Sometimes we got a lot of god fearing folk sending nasty letters to us. A lot of from the usual suspects from some particular countries, I won't name them. They know who they are. The local nutters send a lot too. Occasionally some send actual threats, but we deal with that quickly. If you're stupid enough to put your real name and address on a threat letter, yes you deserve to be locked up and throw into pit of fire.

Some folk say we should put money into other sports. It's all about money, other sports simply don't attract the money because ... it doesn't have same following as football. I'm a pretty good tennis player actually but I can't make any money from playing Tennis in general. I don't need money but I don't do things for free either.

We do get a lot suggestions ... like military style training to improve. Jeru FC did that, didn't make a difference either way. Everything is a compromise, we can't mistreat the players because in the end they have go back to play for their clubs. If they go back injured, they are less willing to release players to the national team.

I have some good news for those Jeru FC fans, Major Trooble is out of hospital and recovering. He has a few months to get back to ... relatively good health. He will never be the same again though.

We are looking for a new Jeruselem coach as you know. Mind you if you come from certain countries, we'll be wary! I don't need to name those countries.

There's oddballs out there who dare or challenge our players to odd things. Some guy said I couldn't hold a sword because I'm a girl. You know what, Dad taught me fencing. I'm no Olympics champ by any means but when it comes defending myself, I can put up a fight.

That's it from for now. Catch up with the Jeruselem world cup team for our next telecast. I have to go, the girls need to get the ballet in time!

by **United States of Devonta** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 7:43 am

A Good Win... For A Young Team
_{Devontans defeated 2-0 by BOF 60 champions in an act of revenge}

United States of Devonta 0-2 New Gelderland

United States of Devonta (4-4-2 Diamond): Cooper, Brooks, Benton, Kindred, Liam, Russell, Abdullah, Edwards, Owens, Johansen, Adams
New Gelderland (4-4-2): Horn, Killarney, H. Landis, Rogue, Kirkpatrick, Brown, I. Landis, Rhodes, Wolf, Virgo, Griffin

Quick Stats:
47% Possessions, 10 Shots, 6 on goal, 2 Corners
53% Possessions, 14 Shots, 9 on goal, 5 Corners

Goals:
--NONE--
Wolf (72'), I. Landis (87')

CAUTIONED: Johansen (79')
EJECTED: --NONE--

Table:
Group 18                    Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Saintland                   8    7   1   0    19    4  +15    22
2 Abanhfleft                  8    5   0   3    18   12   +6    15
3 United States of Devonta    8    4   1   3     9   14   −5    13
4 New Gelderland              8    2   3   3     6    6    0     9
  Witty Penguins              7    2   3   2     6    6    0     9
6 Maklohi Vai                 7    2   1   4     4    8   −4     7
7 Cuboneland                  8    0   1   7     5   17  −12     1
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 0-2 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:
Saintland 3-2 Abanhfleft
Maklohi Vai 1-0 Cuboneland

----MATCHDAY NINE----

Matchday Nine | New Gelderland | 166th Ranked | @Olympic Stadium, Nassau Bay, New Gelderland | 32,786 attendance | Ref. Javier Medes

by **Semarland** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:14 am

JORGENSEN LANE TO JACOBSEN END
An in-depth look at thirty years of Semarland’s greatest academy and the 100th birthday of Peter Larsen – Part One

FOUNDATIONS
Krsthaven, 1989. The rain was hammering down onto Krsthaven’s only training ground situated off Simonsen Steet, located on the outskirts of the city. Sat in an office were five people. Krsthaven chairman, Peter Larsen, his son and manager, Martin, assistant manager Karl Johansson, and two other men. The first one was a tall man with dark brown hair and a somewhat chiselled face. He was in his late 40s and his name was Martin Andreasson. The other was a man in his fifties, a similar chiselled look to Andreasson but shorter and more muscular, and his name was Leonard Jacobsen. It would turn out that Andreasson would take on the role of Academy Director and Academy Manager, with Jacobsen being the new head of youth development. Jacobsen was the oldest son of Johan Jacobsen, a graduate of the old-style Krsthaven academy way before the Premarligaen, and his ideas would end up leading to a revival of football academies in Semarland shortly before his death in February 1990.

Chairman Larsen had decided to take a gamble and invest in a new academy. The goal was to convert some old playing fields, also known as the Jorgensen Lane complex and turn it into Semarland’s biggest, best academy. The SFA had granted each club a hefty amount of money but Larsen would take a step further, using money out of his own pockets to hire the best staff. It was May, a few days after the first ever season had finished. Plans to redevelop academies were announced in January thanks to the oldest SFA member, Johan Jacobsen. A lifelong fan of Krsthaven, he decided to leave all the money in his will to Krsthaven’s academy, trusting his three sons, Leonard, Mikkael and Christian to help develop it further. Completion of the complex was scheduled to finish in October, and in the months leading up to that the academies would train near the first team and use the first team training ground as their home stadium.

It didn’t look fancy at first, bearing in mind this was 1989 and you could not expect something to be world class without development. All the staff were hired by the end of July and the club got to work in recruiting players. Trials were held throughout the city and surrounding towns, and the club had built a solid amount of 15 players per age group, plus 20 in the U21s category. It was going to cost a lot to run, but Larsen senior and Larsen junior were convinced it would pay off. For the first three seasons, it operated like clockwork, just like all the academies other than FC Jansberg, who had went a step further than Krsthaven and they were already churning out top quality players just as they did before the Premarligaen came around. 68 year old Peter was of course, determined to get the upper hand over their arch rivals. Flash forward two years later, and Martin was jetting off to Mrevland to take up a role as a football consultant in Mrevland and to help develop academies over there. Peter brought in a dynamic young manager with a passion for academies called Anders Sorensen. At 35 years old he was the youngest manager in the whole Premarligaen but what he would do to Krsthaven’s academy would leave an everlasting legacy.

THE GOLDEN ERA
Sorensen would bring in a new Academy Director and a new Academy Manager to replace the outgoing Andreasson who went with Martin Larsen to Mrevland. They were Karl Jonathansson, 41 and Maarten Parsons, 32. Those two and 53 year old Jacobsen would work hard alongside Sorensen to produce the finest batches of players possible, and the first of those would be the Class of 1991. Only five out of the eight in the intake would go onto sign professional deals, with the three released swiftly being snapped up by other clubs. To be fair, despite being a good group only one is highly memorable and that is current Semarland manager Andreas Jansen. Jansen was the second-youngest of the sixteen year olds (two months older than striker Lars Koller) but was arguably the most talented. He tore up the U18 league that season, went onto make his debut for the U21s before signing his first professional contract in the summer of 1993. He would stay at Krsthaven for only five more years before being signed by Eikborg Club, where he was highly successful too before spending the final eleven years of his career at FC Kolberg, plus make over a hundred national team appearances. A true legend.

The next intake of 1992 wasn’t exactly the most memorable save for defensive midfielder Morten Ramsdyke and Yaande legend Rasmus Ollen, but the scholars of 1993 most certainly was. It included goalkeeper Martin Datheim and midfielders Adren Christiansen-Hallensburg and Morten Poulsen, with the trio all gaining over 100 national team caps and staying at Krsthaven until the ends of their careers in 2016, save for Poulsen spending his penultimate season at Boston Yellow Scarves in the Northern Sunrise Islands. The group also included the likes of Yacouba del Pierre and Soren Denholm, whose stays weren’t as lengthy but still successful and enjoyable. The trend continued until Sorensen’s depature in 1998 and Jacobsen’s retirement in 2001, and it started to progress a little slowly afterwards. The club also switched to a more modern complex called Jacobsen End, named after Johan & Leonard Jacobsen. It wasn’t too memorable at first, the odd gem cropping up every couple of seasons, but nothing too remarkable. That was until, the board decided to revamp the academy to the next level in 2009.

Stay tuned for Part Two, where we take a look at the refurbishing of the Jacobsen End complex.

SEMARLAND 3-2 ESTELAR
Semarland: Blaise N’Zonzi, Rasmus Norregaard, Jakob Lunds, Soren Pedersen, Johan Huxley, Abel Nkutu, Marcel Labonne (Lasse Pedersen 73), Demba Cisse (Tunji Tunde 80), Diego Snow (Tunji Adebayo 88), Isaac Nketiah, Serge Mavididi
Goals: Nketiah 20’, Mavididi 24’, Huxley 87’

STARTING XI V POLAR ISLANDSTATES (4-2-3-1): Marco Valbuena, Matur Eiriksson, Jakob Lunds, Martell Chalobah, Johan Huxley, Marcel Labonne, Tunji Tunde, Abel Nkutu, Marc Strand, Tipio Runen, Marc Lygaard

by **Audioslavia** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:36 am

Jeremy Jaffacake jumped into the first taxi he saw upon leaving Cathair Cross Airport, not even checking to see if anyone was already in it. What he supposed to be ahead of him was a short taxi ride to his Cathair apartment, followed by a long, long nap which he hoped lasted until at least noon the next day. It had been a very, very busy few days.

The cab drove off without him having given the driver his destination. Jeremy furrowed his brow. He looked to his right, and saw Rubio Sanchez.

"We're going to the pub. You're telling me everything"
"I haven't done an.."
"Everything, Jeremy. Everything"

It took ten minutes to get to the pub, the 'Cooked Flock' in Cathair. Rubio ordered two whiskies, one on the rocks, one on the rocks with ice and a straw and an umbrella. Rubio sat the two drinks down on the table and then sat himself down opposite the old man.

"I'm far too tired for this" said Jeremy, "if you'd any idea the week I've had you'd put off this little catch-up until tomorrow"
"I have a vague idea" said Rubio. "Stop me if this sounds familiar: You left..."
"It sounds familiar. Left. It's an adjective in my language. 'You' is familiar too, it's what people tend to call me" said Jeremy. Rubio sighed.
"You know what I mean. You left Cathair on Wednesday and went to Ousevale to meet up with Rami Niblick"
"This is true"
"I suppose I'll ask 'why' later, but yes, you left Rami and went directly to Keyne Island, where you pulled your half-assed trick of tainting the entire nation's water supply with muscle relaxants. Then you drank yourself to a stupor in Ousevale, judging from your ragged appearance, and then came back here. Does that sound about accurate?"
"How did you know?"
"I get an automatic message sent to my email account whenever a large pharmaceutical company sells something to a person who has a name remarkably similar to the ones on those credit cards you've stolen over the years. It's remarkable they don't get cancelled, Jeremy."
"Rich people's cards never do. A few grand here and there. They don't check their balances."
"I also get auto-messages when you buy large quantities of anything from pipes to swivelchairs to whisky to cat shit."
"And did you get any of those messages this weekend?" said Jeremy, with an eyebrow raised. Rubio shook his head.
"So, Jeremy, would you care to tell me just why you went out of your way to sabotage Keyne Island's match next week against god-damn Krytenia? You realise it's Krytenia that you hate, right? You haven't been, like, hit on the head recently and woke up thinking you were Krytenian or anything?"
"Of course not. And how I conduct my affairs is no business of yours"
"Jeremy, how you conduct your affairs is exactly my business. What I'm asking is 'why' you conducted said affairs."
Jeremy nodded and took a sip of his whisky.
"Stop stalling"
"I'm not stalling"
"You're stalling by saying 'I'm not stalling'. In any case, I can prove it. Put your hand in your coat pocket"
Jeremy did so.
"There's nothing there" said Jeremy. Rubio nodded. Jeremy frowned, before a wave of realization swept across his features. "Oh"
Rubio pulled out the plane tickets from his own pockets.
"You taught me far too well, Jeremy. Anyway, let's have a look at which airports in Keyne Island and Krytenia you flew to. Let's see..."
Rubio read from the first ticket stub. Then the second. And the third. And the fourth, fifth and sixth ones too.

"Cathair Cross to Issington Airport, Krytenia. Issington to Northwood International, Eura. Northwood to Glorious Strong Democratic Airport, Sameba... and the return tickets... erm... oh"
"I believe they're calling it 'Issington Olympic Airport' now, but yes, that's where I've been"
"..and.. but... I have a guy. He saw you in Keyne Island..."
"Yeah, that was last week. Takes longer for the relaxants to kick in. Should be up to speed now. The team are gonna be lethargic as hell. I reckon even Krytenia should put six past them next week"
"So, what on earth were you doing?"
"Get another whisky in and I'll tell you" said Jeremy. He leant back in his chair, gave Rubio a wink, picked up his glass and downed the last of his whisky in an attempt at a Humphrey Bogart level of cool. Naturally, with this being Jeremy, the umbrella poked him in the eye and the straw fell down his shirt, and a bit of icecube went up his nose, causing him to sneeze most of the mouthful back into the glass, which duly slipped out of his hands and smashed on the floor."
"Smooth" said Rubio.

to be continued

by **Gregoryisgodistan** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 9:04 am

Foot Slaves One Point Out of Playoff Position
by Journalist U499ASDWEK

Following a 1-0 win in The Sword Bloke on a 67th minute goal by Loyal Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Death to San Jose Guayabal, the Gregoryisgodistan Foot Slaves are now just one point out of a playoff position, with a game in hand over The Sword Bloke. This means that if both teams win out, Gregoryisgodistan will go through to the playoffs, and there is much rejoicing in the land. However, Gregoryisgodistan has an extremely tough matchup in two days when they travel to the Land of the Devil, San Jose Guayabal. It is sure to be an exciting, violent matchup with lots of cards, lots of fan violence, and maybe even a crushing or two. The Gregoryisgodistanis traveling to the game will be under heavy military guard to ensure the Guaya Beans do not do anything to them. If Guaya Beans attack, they will be shot by the military guard and killed. Fortunately, the Swordeans have to play the Devils too, so if they lose, which they will, we still have a chance.

But first, the Foot Slaves host one of the most wicked nations on Earth, Associated Godlands. Associated Godlands is led by Queen Shirley Phelps-Roper, who has established her own Church of God and denies Lord Almighty Gregory is God, instead proclaiming we will be thrust into hell, their version of the Land of Eternal Punishment. Except apparently instead of being slowly sliced with the Brownie Cutter of Death in perpetuity and brought back as soon as you are finished being sliced, apparently their "Hell" involves being burned. Very boring. Come on Shirley, you must be kidding me. Haha. A joke. But seriously, Shirley Phelps-Roper's "Hell" is quite unimaginative. If she enjoys punishing people, she should join the Church of Gregoryisgodistan and brutally execute the heathens. That would be fun. And we have The Execution Channel, so she could stream it live to Associated Godlands. That would be awesome. But it won't happen because she's a heathen and needs to die. Or at least cry. And she will cry when we when, which we will, because God is on our side, not hers. And then she will cry and wonder how on Earth God could cause them to lose to us. But the truth is that Lord Almighty Gregory is God, and he is punishing Associated Godlands for their sins. So we will win that game, the Godlands will lose, and then there will be much rejoicing heading into the game against the Guaya Beans.

After that, the Foot Slaves host the Pretty Pretty Naked Naked Princesses of Jeruselem, who, according to various reports, will be wearing clothes to the match. According to the Jeruselemites, they never play naked. But we know that's a lie because it contradicts what Lord Almighty Gregory says, and his word is the Word of God. So how dare they dispute the Word of God? It is the Word of God. But at least they're wearing clothes, so they don't have to die. Yet. Just don't strip on the field, Pretty Pretty Naked Naked Princesses, or anywhere else. Or you will be dead. That is the word of the Lord. And it is my duty as journalist to report it, for I am a writer for The Lord's Word, the largest Gregoryisgodistani newspaper. And we will watch as Lord Almighty Gregory smites the heathens from Associated Godlands and San Jose Guayabal who dare insult him and his ways. And we will sing the national anthem when we are in San Jose Guayabal, loud and proud, to drown out their insulting and/or Christmas Tree version. And then we will brutally attack anyone who insults it. Enemy Crusher Fatty Footy will crush them even if he gets red carded again. It will be totally worth it. Crushy Crushy Time! Crushy Crushy Time! I should get the Enemy Crushers to trademark that. And maybe give me royalties. But still, I would have to continue being a journalist for it is what the Lord has willed. And the Lord's Will is the Will of God and must be followed.

Anyway, after we host the Pretty Pretty Naked Princesses, we face two no-names, who are called something like Aquaddidlydullfart and something I think resembles Natalias and Noles. I really don't care what they're called, they're no-names and we will easily get six points from those two games and hopefully qualify. So it really comes down to the game against the Guaya Beans, and the Swordeans' game against the same. If we can at least match their result, we should go through to the playoffs. If we beat the Guaya Beans, we have a good chance of winning the group outright. Wouldn't that be awesome? Let's go out and beat the Guaya Beans, beat the Godlands, and beat everyone else. We will qualify for our second World Cup, for it is what the Lord has Willed. Don't you dare forsake the World of God. Or you will die. And that is what the Lord has Willed. So let's go out and qualify!

by **Kandorith** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 10:09 am

Red Dragons Remain In Position

Boring Paradise 0–1 Kandorith

Group 13                   Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kandorith               7    6   1   0    12    3   +9    19
2 Equestrian States       8    5   1   2    15    8   +7    16
3 Stvoto Latoli           8    4   1   3     8    5   +3    13
4 Boring Paradise         8    4   1   3    16   11   +5    13
5 Augusticinia            8    3   2   3    13    7   +6    11
6 Copper Cuprum           8    1   1   6     8   22  −14     4
7 Saaksvala               7    0   1   6     3   19  −16     1

Kandorith briefly fell to the second place as they didn't play in the previous cycle, but as the first match day of the second leg of the qualifiers starts for the Kandorese team, they proudly stand on top of the group again. ?Kandorith managed to beat Boring Paradise with a solid one goal match, during the away visit. The strongest and most solid Kandorese team has become a fact during the qualification campaign and Huangzhou's philosophy is one the Red Dragons can stick too and build upon towards the World Cup itself. The question however remains if Kandorith will keep this up all the way trough the finals, but the expectations are they will; regarding their absolutely solid performance.

Kandorith has been performing absolutely above their expectations as they now have a complete record on their name. For seven consecutive matches, Kandorith has not lost a single game. Which is by far the record holding qualification campaign for the Kandorese side. Even Xíangjí Hatema did not manage to realize such a successful campaign. With Huangzhou in charge, the Red Dragons have been absolutely ground breaking in their international campaign, with the support being the largest ever domestically. Where national pride has always been a big thing in Kandorith, it is the national football team which takes the crown from here on. With the defensive, counter-attacking football they have made themselves a tough and formidable opponent, ready to take on any challenge on their way. Kandorith has a few challenges to go, but their goal for this qualification campaign is defeating Equestrian States. Although Huangzhou said he wants to focus on current matches, like the upcoming match against Augusticinia, he told the press he would like to look ahead towards the next meeting against Equestrian States.

The players themselves have nothing but praise for their coach and fans. "Without the fans nor this coach we wouldn't be able to do this. We know we have the ability to be an outstanding team, but without the help of an entire national backing, you won't get far." said Meng, who will be in the starting XI in the next match, instead of Madato. Méng Zeijí, who has a legendary status among the fans and players of Kandorith was the top scorer in the last World Cups and qualification matches for Kandorith, this time he is taking a step back to see the advancement of more younger players. Yet, Huangzhou decided to put him in the starting eleven for the upcoming qualifiers to swap around the team a bit, for some much needed variation in counter strategy. The whole nation is looking forward to seeing Méng start for Kandorith again, while Madato Xien-kan said he is glad he will have a match to sit out and rest a bit before the World Cup starts, as he himself also sees Méng as his footballing hero.

(Home)Kandorith vs Equestrian States(Away)

Substitutes
GK - N^o 24: SEIJI Sakabara
GK - N^o 25: KEIXÍAN Han
LB - N^o 6: SUYING Shin
CD - N^o 8: XIEXIE Tian
CD - N^o 14: MING-HUA Te
RB - N^o 16: SHANYUAN Lee
CDM - N^o 11: MURAKAMI Mitsuhare
LM - N^o 13: OKHA Eiichi
RM - N^o 20: XIN Zihao
CAM - N^o 21: QÍNG Weimin
ST - N^o 22: MADATO Xien-kan
ST - N^o 23: QEILAN Zhu

Starting eleven
GK - N^o 1: JIANJIN Tuan
LB - N^o 3: XIAN Shilin
CD - N^o 5: HUÁN Jun
CD - N^o 7: LUNG Mara
RB - N^o 9: MAO Zhénsheng
CDM - N^o 4: TAIJI Moto
LM - N^o 12: KEILÁNG Xie
RM - N^o 15: SHAN Xiaobo
CAM -N^o 10: XÍMÍN Chosi
ST - N^o 19: MÉNG Zeijí
ST - N^o 17: MINGZHENG Shéng

by **Starblaydia** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 10:59 am

OOC: Technically a continuation of a World Cup 55 storyline, SDB's adventures while based in the Dreamed Realm are very much out of time by their very nature, and filling in the gaps several OC years and around 50 IC years (via the 4-years-per-Cup Starblaydi-Audioslavian Calendar) feels fairly fitting.

As Simeone opened his eyes, his dark surroundings slowly came into focus. The inside the monastery of the Vegan Orthodox Church was a dimly-lit space, not helped by the elaborately-decorated dark wood on seemingly every surface that drank in the light. Even the gold trimmings associated with the Orthodoxy didn't so much reflect the light as simply bear witness to it. Along pews and lecterns, benches and candelabras, dark shapes gave the impression of being solid against the inky blackness, only hinting at highlights to define the edges and lines of physical objects.

He shifted his weight and stretched the muscles in his left leg, waiting for the usual feeling of pins and needles to fade from his calf. The teleportation, for want of a better word, directly from the Dreamed Realm to anywhere else always produced such a feeling. There were no sounds in this monastery library, perhaps the two quietest of places merged into a single building. Even the slightest brushing of the sole of Simeone's shoes on rough stone below seemed to be like the rasping of a dozen pieces of sandpaper in the relative quiet.

Some at the SBIS had wanted to disguise Simeone in a Vegan Orthodox monk's robes - if disguising perhaps the most famous player in the history of sport was even possible - but instead he had arrived in his dark grey suit as per usual. Being shushed and frowned at disapprovingly were probably the greatest dangers he could face here.

Simeone stepped lightly across the stone floor, noticing the air turn from cold and clear to a much thicker, mustier scent of old books in a dry environment. He turned left, away from the pews, and went through a low stone archway into the library proper. There were few candles burning in this room, unfathomably large in the darkness, as the last thing one would want to happen would be any of these precious and ancient volumes going up in a blaze.

Quite how this monastery library in the poorest and most remote area of Andossa Se Mitrin Vega had been so generously stocked with the rarest and most ancient of tomes was quite beyond Simeone's reckoning, but he'd not been in too many monasteries or libraries so had seen nothing outside of a movie to compare this location scout's wet dream to. He thought that it fitted the part.

It was ridiculously dark for a library; quite how anyone could possibly find their required book, never mind read the pages inside, was beyond Simeone. He pulled out his phone and thumbed the on button, lighting up the screen in what seemed like an impossibly bright blue-tinted light. He turned the screen away from him and suddenly the shelves were illuminated in a cold, bright light, drowning out the soft orange glow from the few candles scattered around in select safe places.

Now where the bloody hell is this book? Simeone thought. There were easily hundreds, perhaps even thousands of books on the shelves that he could see, and that was assuming there was only the one room and no side chambers. All Simeone knew that it was a centuries-old Codex with a yellow cover: The Book of the Yellow Man. The problem with even centuries-old leather was that most things turned yellow, and yellow didn't stay yellow. Hopefully this one would be different.

Searching, scanning every row for the colour, the words or even some overly-dramatic inspiration, Simeone reached out and picked up the first yellow-covered book he saw. The cover gave no indication to the contents, much as he'd expected, unfortunately, so he flicked it open and read at random:

"On the ninth day, the first seed falls
dropped from the paw of the white lion
into the third furrow, far from the sun.
The young girl, perfect, smiles."

Simeone snorted at the pointless poetry and put the book back; that didn't sound like the Codex he was after. He carried on, picking books that he thought might be the one. There seemed to be no order or cataloging to the library, and he wondered quite how long he'd had to look.

"And lo, it will come to pass that they of the blue banners, bright and strong, will defeat the Islanders with purity of purpose and clarity of vision, striking thrice for every blow taken. The island will sink into the sea, and there remain for further years by four."

Close, but not quite.

"The wailing of women so loud at the start falls silent, returning to the expected place in the fifth cohort as they marching in line past the purple tributes, who bloomed beautifully but not the most beautiful of all."

This was getting silly, he'd be running out of time. For so long he had been used to having all the time in the Universe, but now in the soup of reality he was finding the tide running past him once again. He took less care with putting the books back, creasing pages and denting covers. Scanning became skinning, his running finger across the spine of the books, giving his eyes something to focus on, such was the speed he was trying to read each title.

For a moment he froze, eyes caught by a glint on an old, tattered book with a vividly bright yellow cover. Though the edges were frayed and the leather fallen away, the rest of the book was pure, solid yellow. Simeone stopped his search and went towards the book, on a shelf just below his eye level.

Codex Canarius

The Book of the Yelow Man

Lord Jagged of Canaria

This was it! Simeone quickly slid the book out from its nestling place and cleared his throat loudly - the signal for his extraction. As the familiar tickling sensation in his adam's apple began, he saw the robed and hooded figure of a Vegan monk step into the orange glow. The look on his face was of shock and abject horror, even moreso when he glimpsed what Simeone was holding.

There was a flash of blue light and Simeone vanished from the library.

by **Fluvique** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 11:33 am

Painful defeat: Nassau-Essen took the Fluviquean mistakes and put the white foxes near the elimination.

The four goals cover of sadness a broken hope. Drop tears dressed of resignations for this dream that will not be. The lament movie is a repeated sequence of broken souls and wrinkled hearts. Fluvique is near the elimination, outiside the world cup dream. Is the end of a history that could have another final, with Cook as manager and Sam Gonza, noted by all as one the best, but being dissapointing in the last matches. Nassau-Hessen was a fair winner, with a great score made by both order and game.

Was a question know how will react this team facing the adversity. The Chubbs goal, at five minutes, caused an icy shudder that froze the team. Fluvique never recovered from the state of shock that hit almost knock-out from the start. It was an eternal shock. So far, Fluvique had enjoyed an almost exclusive benefit: a good defence and had been not so assaulted like other top teams. Everything that had not be attacked in the first round, happened today.

In the middle zone the white foxes resigned to fight and lost ground to Nassau-Hessen to take the initiative. Bolgorro ruled as his way in the center circle orbit. He made the midfield his influence sector and was the heart of the Nassau game. They quickly took the lead through a header by Chubbs and found misplaced goalkeeper Andy Paribas. Fluvique took a walk during all the qualifiers, with they conceptual ignorance, but having high points like Augsburg, Varelovsky, De La Mesea and Dengells. We suffered today, but it could have happened before.

Fluvique deals with a stigma from the start: has several problems to create goal attempts, despite some brilliant moves of Gonza o the inspired expression of another player. In disadvantage, Fluvique took more dialog with the game, but without depth and without being clear, a trait that had distinguished here. His best time was between 30 and 40 minutes the first time. They could not draw the juice of that flash of inspiration.

For Nassau-Hessen this was one of those matches that build character. One of those battles more for the pick and shovel than a philharmonic football. But in this case, thanks to the space given away, the The Coalition of Governments team was showcased with a win that will remain in history. Rumble and Burrows him down the curtain into the game with his scoring, at 12 and 18 minutes of the second half. That was the symbolic farewell for Fluvique, resigned to her terrible misplacement.

The qualifiers will continue, but for Fluvique the things are almost finished. It was the qualifiers of Sam Gonza. It was the qualifiers for Fluvique. The sadness and disillusion staged an unexpected ending.

Nassau-Hessen 4

90: Sandy Roper
87: Shem Bracegirdle

14: Boffin Bandobrad

(61´) Gerundio Goldworthy
63: Odovach Faircotton
60: Holman Brownlock

(75´) Drogo Malando
51: Merima Rumble

59: Olo Burrows
58: Sancho Bolgorro

6: Quintus Marma-Madoc
12: Balbo Zarambaga

(89+1)Orgulas Sanybanks
44: Blanco Chubbs

Goals: Blanco Chubbs (´5), Merima Rumble (57´), Olo Burrows (63´), Merima Rumble (77´)

Fluvique 1

1: Andy Paribas
17: Frederik Dengels

(74´) Paul Kelly
2: Rodrigo De La Mesea

15: Mark Augsburg
3: Gabriel Varelovsky

8: Lucas Topolsky
5: Henry Mhago

7: Paul Di Angello

(61´) Emmanuel Battle
10: Sam Gonza (C)
20: FEDE

(56´) Bernard Pullian
9: Adam Wilde

Goals: Rodrigo De La Mesea (89´)

by **Ko-oren** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:39 pm

"Hey, and welcome to episode 379 of the Frightening Firefly podcast, your edutainment regarding all things Union soccer. I'm your host Mason Morgan, with me in the studio is the lovely Natsumi Takeda ("Hi there, everybody!") and 'professor' Stephen Westerhuis ("Good day!"). First I'll give you the biggest things of last match day, then Stephen will educate you on his Stat of the Day and then Natsumi is going to tell you how we appear in media across the Multiverse. Let's go!

Dragonflies lose to Starblaydia - again - and are - again - in danger of going out before the playoffs.

Brenecia is up next, and they're doing great business overall. But they will be one starting goalie short for our game.

All of our losses still have been by 0-1 only.

So, in light of these depressing results and outlooks, what have you got for us, Stephen?"

"What I've got for you today isn't so much a statistic, it's a matchup. Basically Brenecia versus Ko-oren. Specifically, it's our system versus theirs, mixed in with the players that use these systems but always add their own small flavour to it. We know how we play. Let's take a look at Brenecia. They have a 4-3-3 system with one clear defensive mid, one central midfielder and a number 10 in attacking stance. The defence and the forwards are pretty much as you'd expect in a 4-3-3. They have a quick team, seeking to create as many chances as humanly possible, and hoping one or two of them will stick for a goal. That's also how they beat us last time. The Dragonflies let them keep coming and before you knew it, they had one ball in the net and with barely any possession at all, we were scoreless.

That doesn't mean we had no chance last game. In fact, Brenecia's fullbacks were reckless and left a lot of space. One counterattack is probably what will decide the upcoming game. It was what decided the first. The Patriots want to get in possession and then launch attack after attack. Against the Dragonflies they showed they have another weapon, something that we are famed for ourselves: the counterattack. It turned into a game where neither team really wanted possession for a long time. It felt like basketball at times with a strict shot clock and quickfire attacking plays. But then a very defensive, conservative version of basketball.

For the next one, Aoki and De Jong need to keep the Brenecian wingers in check. They are capable of good crosses as they have time and time again shown. Maddon, the centre forward, has felt isolated before during this qualifying campaign. There's no reason why we couldn't be doing the same thing. Purrington is the creative brain on the team, but not omnipotent. Kilbane and Paterson are good, but susceptible to bad decisions. That said, it's not Maddon who is the prime scoring player. It's Purrington and Cullen, often set up by Maddon. Isolating Maddon is still a good way to go, as long as you realise that the more experienced scorers are on the right wing and right in Maddon's back.

What I'm trying to say is... uh, well that there is not one big way to stop Brenecia. They have more than one weapon. They have more than one successful style. The one thing we have is that they can be caught off guard. Whether they'll allow that against an opponent like us, is something else. We're not doing well, but we still have a big name that opponents like to be afraid of.

What I'm proposing is pretty simple. The wingers have to be kept on a short leash and incapable of delivering crosses. Purrington needs to be guarded and not be allowed any good pass within 30 metres from our goal. And now let them try to reach Maddon. Just let them try, hand over the ball and immediately be caught by our counterattack, which should leave their defence short handed as they tend to be. That's going to be it. We need to win. It might get ugly. Whatever gameplan there is, it could be ignored because of nerves and what not. Anyway, let's go to Natsumi, before we lose ourselves in this crystal ball of mine."

"And for our appearance in international things: well, they know we're in trouble. We're not really turning heads, we're not really excelling in any part of the game at the moment. As always, the team is quiet, no big divas there to stand up and chuck some mud just to get the press rolling. It's business as usual for us, professional and all. A good win over Brenecia will probably get us noticed, but so far we just haven't been in anything big, too bad. It's not too late to start watching the Unified Sunrise Islands, San Jose Guayabal or Kandorith as teams that we generally like that are actually doing well. So do watch the Dragonflies, but keep your Plan B ready. It's looking more and more likely that you'll need it. We're off to watch the match, catch you next time on this podcast!"

by **Schottia** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:45 pm

Their Lives

Eidetic.

#10: G. Avelione, Attacking Midfielder, Right, Left, Centre

You have black days. You have grey days. You have blue days. Other people have days; but you have the colours. Your existence is colour-coded, it makes it easier in case you ever forget. You are well on the way to implosion. If it is not the alcohol that does it, then it will be a car accident.

Your mother would take you and your brother down to church on a Sunday morning. You remember little of it, but you knew you were there. If only you could remember the town or village then you would be able to find the street and locate the building. You remember the uneven cobbles on road as your mother hurried you along in time to the echo of the church bells. The way was steep, and the soles of your shoes slapped hard against the stone as you resisted breaking into a run. Your brother, two years older, had no such difficulty, he descended the hill in long bounds and leaps. Such lightness-such agility. Your mother was always running late and you know it was your fault, you were too slow. You can't have been more than two-and-a-half, but it was still your fault, you slowed her up. All the time there was the rattle of bicycle wheels over the cobles, and the sound of people rushing to and fro. You remember the sounds.

There was never time to stop at the bakery on the corner; the bakery with its smells of fresh warm bread that wafted all the way down the road. There was never time to stop at the park, with its rusty old swings and squeaky roundabout. You recal that there was never time...

If only you could remember the name of the town or village you would be able to find the street and locate the building. You could walk up to the church doors, push them open, and the smell of dust and musty old books would enter your lungs once more. Old flaky black paint on a door surface. Squeaky smooth in places and dry bare wood in others. An old stone step, with writing carved into it. You were never told what it said. You ran your fingers through the stone grooves of each letter, trying to make out. Even now you run your hands along a table surface, trying to remember the feel. Your mother never told you, there was never time, you cried, but you were dragged inside. Your brother was ahead of you, a repeating image of the heel of his shoe flickers through your mind, as you can never quite catch him.

You'd never be able to read the inscription. You'd never know what it said. There had been no time to stop at the entrance of the church that day and there never was. You'd never catch your brother, and he perpetually disappears out of sight. You've known him all your life but you've never caught up with him, always a few paces behind.

If only you could remember the name of the town or village you would be able to find the street and locate the building. You would walk along the aisles past the congregation, the old grey faces staring down at you as you went past. You are still unsure whether it was sympathy or abhorrence. Elderly women who smelt of powders used to cover up death. Lifeless hair, dust, lingering cigarette fumes on a felt coat only worn on a Sunday. You would see where the old man with the shiny bald head had sat, his small round glasses reflecting the candle light back in your direction, the red-vein bulbous lips, the crisp suit, the black tie. You would feel the deep tread of the crimson carpet which lead to the alter, slowing your pace as you seemed to sink, in. You would remember the high rafters over-head, that to a small boy seemed to disappear into the clouds. But you never stopped, you never saw the faces again. Long gone now. Inhabitants of yesterdays, they had had their own stories. Your brother was always faster than you were, he reached the front of the church. You saw his skinny, bandy-legs in short trousers, his bony torso, in an oversized overcoat. You wanted to reach him but you never will.

Had you been able to reach out, to have him tell you what was going on. But you had been too young.

If only you could remember the name of the town or village you would be able to find the street and locate the building. You would have seen the spot where you met the woman whom you came to know as Tante. The ghost of the woman who would raise you would still be standing beneath the alter. Still dressed in her long mauve coat, still with the same tan coloured boots, still with the same grey leather gloves. She would still be telling you that silence was golden and speech was silver. She would still smell of the kitchen, and too much clothes detergent. You would have seen the step where your brother sat himself down beside the old sports bag containing his things. You would instantly remember the stern look upon the Reverend’s face, his long blue robes, the bible clutched close to his chest. And if you looked back you would also see the point between the rows of pews, where in your mother's arms, you saw your sister for the last time.

Now you can never let her know where you are. You were too small to leave a note, to say goodbye. You were too small to realise that this was even goodbye.

This had been a day that started in technicolor, and ended black, grey and blue. The black of the church door. The grey of the old women's faces. The blue of the priest's robes. This sense of loss has always stayed close to you. It's with you on the football field. It's with you when you're at home. It's with you when you drink yourself into a stupor every night of the week. You can't ask your brother how he feels. You can't ask for help because you are a man. You express your emotions of the football field. It is the only place you have permission to cry.

by **Szavoda** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:13 pm

continued from here

The following morning

The last of the fire trucks rolled out from the compound at about five in the morning. Most of the left flank of the house had been torched away, exposing the frail brick underneath the white-wash plaster. The smell of smoke stuck to everything, the wall, the grass, their clothes – Katarina had already rinsed out her jumper twice and still the smell remained. All the members of the Harther team were fine, having been in the opposite wing of the house, the only person to suffer was Lauren who was treated for smoke inhalation, but was fine by the time the sun came up.

Katarina replayed the events of the previous night over and over in her head – why didn’t she just stick to her job; do what she was told to do? She could have had the clients killed on her very first mission, just because of some shitty sense of nationalistic pride. She had separated herself from the rest of the team, volunteering to take gate duty, solo, and began to thoroughly chastise herself. She kicked pebbles out of anger and dummy fired her rifle several dozen times. The village had begun to stir somewhat, a group of elderly women moved past her on the way to the church at the top of the hill and she greeted them all in Szavda. They enquired briefly about the fire, but Katarina just passed it off as a cooking accident.

It was warmer today, with fewer clouds, and the sun shone oppressively in the sky over the central plains. The Harther team were moving out shortly after breakfast, travelling to an open pit mine they ran over four hours away. Katarina was considering turning back to the compound when she saw Molly coming up the track towards her. She instinctively lowered her head so as to avoid her gaze, but Molly caught her gaze with a friendly wave. She looked up at her colleague with weak eyes, she knew what was coming.

“Hey Kat, you holding up well?” She asked softly as she shifted her rifle from her hands to over her shoulder.
“Yeah not bad, just about managed to get the smell out of my clothes – can’t say the same about my hair.”
“Yeah it’ll stick there.”

Katarina smiled and they were silent for a second.

“Kat?”
“Yeah?”
“I saw what you did. Last night. I saw you from the window.”

Katarina’s heart skipped a beat. She suddenly felt sick. She closed her eyes and exhaled.

“I'm sorry, Molly, I'm really sorry. But I…”
“It doesn't matter.”
“What?” Katarina responded, surprised.

“I understand how difficult it must be for you – to swap all your allegiances, drop everything you were ever told about us and work for Eurans. Not only that, but you’re operating in Szavoda, in your home country. There’s clearly going to be some crossed-allegiances. I said to Cross that you shouldn't be posted on this operation, let you bed in somewhere a bit easier. But he insisted, he saw you had potential so he overrode my desire and billeted you on the team. It was always going to be a potential problem, so I was watching out for you. I saw that kid, he couldn't have been more than 18, and I saw you chase him down. That was impressive work, covered a lot of ground, but I knew you wouldn't be able bring him in – it’s the primal nationalistic urge, you felt on the same team as him, despite the fact that you knew were against him. Sure it wasn't the most professional thing to have done, but we would have merely just held him and called the police – Fjodor might have scared him a little bit – but knowing your law enforcement they would have just released within hours. I understand why you let him go, and I can’t stress enough to you how it’s not important. Don’t beat yourself up about it, which you’re clearly doing, just move on. I haven’t told anyone else, and I don’t plan on doing so.”

Katarina was silent, before clearing her throat. She looked up at Molly, who was a good couple of inches taller than her.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Now come on, we’ve got a job to do. “

by **Banguela** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:17 pm

Uncomfortable. That was, quite possibly, the best way with which I could describe the atmosphere behind the scenes. It had been less than a minute since an official had dragged me out of the dressing room. Not an easy task as the guys had been, in one word, ecstatic. Around the world, analysts were going through their files to spot when before a brand-new nation had broken into the international scene with a double victory in the fixtures against the leading seed. All statistics that did not really matter to the guys. All they knew is that they had picked up three completely unexpected points against a strong opponent. The skies suddenly looked much clearer, as apart from the impossible visit to Electrum, Os Gnus would meet the three direct opponents at home. Even if qualification was a few dreams too far, they could be the kingmaker in this group.

The scenario was too much like a poorly written fairy-tale. A difficult start, a good chance for us that ended on the woodwork. Then, the pressure and the mistake in the box. Tumultuous scenes and eventually, the red card for a disappointed Jacinto Freite and the penalty. But it turned around as Joao Pinto saved the day once more and even with a man less, the guys continued to play organised, disciplined, with heart... Something that did not count enough for the opponents, who started to hesitate, to quarrel and eventually...

Jacinto Freite had kicked a bottle of water almost in the second ring when he had to walk from the referee, but now he was the one dancing on the table in nothing but his underwear, next to Figuerinho. I honestly don’t think I have ever seen that last one as much as enthusiastic, but now he was leading the group in singing songs with approximately three lines of lyrics and a multitude of ‘lalala’s’ in the words. He deserved so, having scored by taking a corner out of the air and into the back of the net in one time.

Only know I realised that my massive grin was a bit unsympathetic towards my colleague, who stood there with misery written over his face. I tried to break the ice with a handshake but he pushed a ‘congratulations’ between his teeth and turned away again. It struck me how our good fortune was putting nails into his coffin as national manager of Legalese. I was glad that someone took us from behind the grey covers to face the press, as I had no idea how to keep my hands. The nonchalant pockets? But that could be a bit disrespectful. Maybe crossed? Then again, possibly a bit too angry. And if they hang loose at your side, that seems so silly. Or...

It must have been the easiest press conference I had gone through. The poor lad at my side suffered from start to end. Every question was an accusation. Every answer was insufficient. They were not making an article, they were creating his testament. Only two people in this tribunal, which unilaterally decided that the capital judgement was still too little, found it interesting enough to ask me a question. Two assists in front of an open goal.

“How proud are you with your team?”
“Do you feel that you can surprise against other sides?”

Well, if you really want that kind of easy-peasy stuff.

”Of course, it’s like a dream we’re having today.”

And...

”We’ll do our best. Ahead of the qualifications, we hoped for twelve points. We’re there already, everything else is a great bonus.”

And I had such a beautiful answer prepared on how I saw our qualification chances. Something marvellous on how impossible it was but that.. Oh, well, whatever.

When they finally were done with torturing the poor guy, we were finally allowed to leave the execution room.

”I’m sorry, man.”

He lifted his shoulder but a poor smile appeared.

”Each his time, I guess. Congrats.”

I already knew then that those were words that would reverberate at a certain moment in the not-too-far future.

by **Armeia** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:11 pm

STRIKERLESS: A BLOG FOR ARMEIAN FOOTBALL

THE ROUNDUP PODCAST WITH EZRA BLAHA AND TYLER OLYNIK

Ezra: Welcome to another episode of the Roundup, where we'll talk about the upcoming street league season and how the national team continues to disappoint us. Plus, we have some info about Holly Jonasson's next job that you won't want to miss. Also we have an update on Isa Tangemen's transfer to Southeastern.

Tyler: Yes, the street league schedule has been announced and we think the Sudens City Killers are the favorites so far. Out of the eight teams, I think their pro talent is the best. They're managed by ex player Carter Leroux and they have a front line consisting of Kameron Hamsik, Edi Dragic, and Reina Toure. Their defensive pair is Bojan Fertig and Marc-Andre Zupan, I can't see them giving up too many goals especially with Dragic and his physical, defensive style. Their goalie is Augustus Lenz, and he's recovered from his injury and is worthy of being a starter again.

Ezra: The odds from Forge have made the Killers the 1-3 title favorites, but strange things have happened in this league. I believe the second most stacked team is the Cora City Jokers. They may have lost Samantha Leroux but they'll be playing with Dierk Tanzer in goal and they'll have Alek Sander and Gregor Borg in their back two. Their front three should be made up of Zoran Michel, Dario Villa, and Tyra Halloway. Villa is new to Armeia, after running away from the Federated Districts, and he fits the fast paced, skill based scheme that the Jokers have been known for.

Tyler: Yeah, even their centerbacks can outpace you and hit you with a through ball before you're ready, and they're always pressing. I think head to head, the Jokers can defeat the Killers if they don't make too many mistakes on the defensive side because of their press scheme. And we all know how skillful Tyra Halloway is, the defenders are going to be fearing her elastico move and her stepovers, especially on a smaller pitch where dribbling off the boards is allowed.

Ezra: The match between the Killers and Jokers certainly will be exciting to say the least. The season is opening up soon, and the first round of games are going to be played in Sudens City, the party capital of the south. Then the league will head to two different locations, Kyang and Strathaven, the latter of which has been waiting years for the return of football. For seemingly the first time ever, the local side competing out of Kyang will actually be a contender. They may be the third best team, fielding Milan Toure and Isa Tangemen as well as Bianka Schraeder. We'll get to see the Toures play against each other for the first time since the Regions Cup, when Reina represented the South and Milan represented the North. Reina had the edge over Milan in those two matches, but he's regained his form and I'm interested to see how he deals with the more tight, fast paced game of the street league instead of the more passing style of play that Racing Club Lions uses.

Tyler: Speaking of passing, it's not working for our national team as of late. First we grab a late in, now we lose 3-0 because we couldn't do much on the attacking end with the ball. Everyone isn't used to this system, especially the players from more physical teams that aren't used to keeping the ball away and waiting for the right chance to come up. I mean, against USI I saw a bunch of times where someone could have passed but instead they went for a more direct approach to the attack and lost the ball.

Ezra: So are there any bright spots to the Super Dragons right now?

Tyler: Isa Tangemen, despite giving up three last game, is still a good goalkeeper. I think even if Ander Jordyn returned to the squad, Isa should start over her. Boom Redman is a big talent also, I can't wait to see where his career goes once he leaves Sporting now that they're relegated. Right now he's on loan in the Federated Districts, but rumors say that IK Cora City is very interested in acquiring him. We may see him wait out his contract before leaving on a free.

Ezra: On the subject of Sporting Center City, I actually have an update on the feud between Bianka Schraeder and Sayo Matsuoka. Bianka Schraeder, after the latest match for the national team where she was subbed on in extra time, told the press: "I hope she likes bounty games, I'm going to give her some advice and tell her to skip the road trip to Southeastern next season. And, uh, watch out for dead batteries when you guys play Blazers. Good job, Sayo, for making AFC Center City the most hated team in the league, and insulting your own fans from Redtown, which is just as bad off as where I'm from. Yeah, your team may do a bit better this year, but the Loftus Ultras are going to be the only ones to see it, because they're the only people in town who are masochistic and or drunk enough to watch your team in person."

Tyler: Some might say Bianka is overreacting, but I think Sayo has to remember the demographics of our country. Blazers fans might hate westerners like Bianka, but if someone insults those from Cora City over complaining about being poor, they'll have their back because New Split is in the same situation. Just because Loftus is rich doesn't mean that there aren't poor Southerners too, and they're going to be turned off from following AFC CC.

Ezra: Do you believe what Bianka said about CC being the most hated team in the league?

Tyler: Considering that the majority of the neighborhoods that WD1 teams are located in are working class neighborhoods, yes. And considering that more of the players than not are from bad backgrounds, everybody is going to want to kick the [expletive] out of that team considering Center City already has a historical reputation as a white collar club that fields players from central Loftus. I predict them finishing fifth, after really rough road trips to Blazers, Southeastern, and Northeastern, and I see them maybe splitting the derby with Hawks this time.

Ezra: There's another thing, Karl Reach is rapidly becoming disliked by Vandals fans because he convinced their star goalkeeper/midfielder, Pandora Reimfeller, to sign, in a night club... Except she was drunk off her ass, and there was no way she was able to make a decision in that state. The story is just coming out, really, but rumors say Pandora is content staying in Center City, until next season at least.

Tyler: I believe she wanted to go to Southeastern, to play with her close friend Kameron Hamsik. And on that subject, former Southeastern manager Holly Jonasson may be due for a new job, this time with Lionesses. Lionesses hired Vance LaFlame as the GM, but they still lack a head coach. Our sources link Jonasson to Lionesses on a three year contract, which may be announced next week. Other sources say she may be in at IK Southern, the brother club of Southeastern. Southern finished 14th and has a manager on the hotseat as of now. We'll be the first ones to tell you about if she indeed returns to management.

by **Gim** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:38 pm

WATV - Monday ~ Sunday 8:30-9:00

Host: Jo Jin Ri

Camera is at an aerial view of the studio with Anchorwoman Jo Jin Ri in the center of the studio.

"Hello, I'm Jo Jin Ri of WATV 8 Sports News. Tonight is the rematch of Pasarga and Gim, where the Gimian team has pulled off a miracle of a draw. 191th-ranked Gim tying 0-0 with the best team in the World Cup is definitely a rarity. Will another draw or win happen tonight? Well, let's find out."

Camera is at an aerial view of the stadium where the Gimian and Pasaragan players enter the football field.

"Pasarga has not scored more than a single goal only against two teams: Flardania and Gim. Gim has not allowed more than two goals in any of their games this tournament. 17th minute. Pasargan midfielder van Kristium makes a nifty pass to the right towards Pasargan forward Dominik Mauer, and he makes a cross to the center of the Gimian penalty zone. However, Kim Dong Jin, Gimian defenseman, heads the ball out of the penalty zone for safety. Pasargan players are slowly getting frustrated by the success of the Gimian defense."

Camera shows Pasargan players attacking in Gimian zone.

"31st minute. van Stiphout moves towards the center of the Gimian penalty zone, after deking Gimian midfielder Jang Kyung Pyo. However, Jeon and Kim, two Gimian defensemen, blocks the Pasargan forward in dribbling the ball past them. Talk about Gimian defense. Still 0-0."

Camera shows Pasargan players sprinting towards the Gimian zone.

"49th minute. Dominik Mauer sprints towards the open Gimian zone, where only one defenseman, Kim Dong Jin, remains within the penalty zone. Gimian goalkeeper, Lim Dong Yeop, comes out to challenge him, but Mauer dekes him out, and then he attempts a pass to van Stiphout. van Stiphout pushes the ball into the net with his feet, but Kim Dong Jin makes a slide to block the ball on the goal line! Pasarga still scoreless, as a result of spectacular Gimian defense. In fact, they have [i]seventeen scoring chances, while Gim only has two, so far."[/i]

Camera shows Pasargan players attacking in Gimian zone.

"79th minute. Császár Mór takes the ball away from Gimian midfielder, Choo Seung Ryong, and makes a long pass to van Stiphout past Gimian defenseman in the penalty zone, Son Kyu Jin. van Stiphout deflects the ball towards the left of Lim Dong Yeop(Gimian goalkeeper), as soon as he receives the pass. The ball hits the left post and bounces towards the right side of the goal. Lim Dong Yeop seems to have gotten the ball. The ball seems to be on the goal line, but the play is stopped. Is it a goal or not? Well, according to goal line technology, it is, by a margin, a goal. 1-0 Pasarga in 79th minute. Pasargans finally celebrating a goal after seventy-nine minutes of frustration and anger."

Camera shows Pasargan players shaking hands with the Gimian players.

"Full-time whistle blows. 1-0 loss for Gim, now to the interview with the captain of the Pasargan team....

by **Nassau-Hessen** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:48 pm

Hessen Reaffirm Control After Ties Start Mounting
Even more surprising, the Eagles are firmly poised as spoiler with five match days to go
Nassau 4 - 1 Fluvique

The Eagles have been experiencing a woeful slip from glory ever since the first bye. Riding on a high ever since tying Chiata in an upset, the Eagles have been suppressed to a single point by the Lodgers (who, despite being superior in rank, have been flailing as of late as are the Suns) and Akbarstan (who has played spoiler in the group to perhaps even more of an extent than Nassau). Nevertheless, the Nassauites find themselves on top in the shuffle of disappointment and surprise in the newly formed middle-pack. The Fluvique White Foxes, meanwhile, were teetering on the brink of elimination. Their match against Nassau, the least-scathed non-Audioslavian team of the Group, was one of their final hopes in a dying campaign that started full of ambition following their runner-up performance at the Baptism.

Nassau fans showed up in full force in Arima to the night game against the struggling Fluvique. The White Foxes were in desperation mode as the Hessen fought for their right to a first ever post-group stage appearance. As soon as the whistle blew, Fluvique managed to make a short-lived offensive streak into the Hessian end. After their hopeful spurt, Nassau completely controlled afterwards. An unguarded Fluviquean defensive pass was all it took for Zarambaga and Chubbs to lock into their 'A-game.' Heading the early offensive, Zarambaga was able to land a corner kick opportunity. All it took was a little bit of luck and skill for Chubbs to head the kick in at the dismay of Fluviquean goalkeeper Andy Paribas at the 5 minute mark. As of yet, the Fox defensive line had been one of the few successes of their dying run in group three. This score, however, took nearly all life out of the line. Despite a lack of scoring for the rest of the half, the Eagles managed to dominate the midfield and keep the vast majority of possession percentage. Sancho Bolgorro took control in providing his native squad many chances throughout the first half. So aggressive was the midfielder in his pursuits, he drew a yellow card off of an aggressive tackle. Fluvique had a few bookings of their own, as their team grew in frustration and desperation. In the second half, this would soon turn into a lack of real meaning to play as the Hessian dominance became more apparent. Soon enough, however, the Foxes were given mercy as the half-end was called. They were only down by one, but they felt as if they were trailing by a dozen.

Fluvique set out to make a comeback as soon as the second half started. Alas, their efforts were in vain as a dirty tackle from the enforcer (Shem Bracegirdle) to FEDE took out much of their remaining steam. He left the field in pain at 56'. Instead of having the opportunity to draw off anger and vengeance for their fallen teammate, the Hessen put the Fluviqueans in a state of shock and disappointment as the recently hot front-defensemen Merima Rumble spectacularly beat out the maroon-clad defensive line and chipped the ball into the back of the net. Advantage: Hessen. Soon after, Gerundio Goldworthy was given an opportunity to fill in for the faltering Boffin Bandobrad. He immediately set out to prove his worth as a prospective starter, for he set up old-timer Olo Burrows in his first goal of the competition a mere four minutes after Rumble's strike (albeit the opposing morale was negligible at this point). The Hessen continued to play in a way much like they did in the majority of the first half: dominantly. Soon, Rumble further buried any remaining hope for the crushed Fluviqueans as he performed a near-wonder strike against Paribas to put the Hessen up by four. A scuffle ensued a few minutes afterwards between Rumble and a couple Fluvique midfielders as each participant of the affair was promptly booked for a yellow card. The BoF runners-up did receive some consolation at the dying seconds of the match by a long shot goal by defensemen De La Maseas against a largely unfocused and untested Sandy Roper. However, as time expired two things became evident: the future scenarios of each team in the group and the fact that Nassau was essentially a bogey rival for Fluvique. After three minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle screeched as a raucous crowd of Hessians at a packed Arima Pavilion savored their first victory since the rest day.

At the final whistle, the Hessen found themselves separating from the pack in prospect of their first advancement past the group stage. Despite this, Eastfield and Chiata are closer than appears on paper, as each of them have already gone through their final bye (and the Suns already have dealt with the Bulls for the last time). Additionally, Akbarstan has both a bye and Audioslavia ahead of them to their disfavor. Nonetheless, it is difficult to look at the favorable future schedule of Chiata and Eastfield when the Hessen are ahead of them by almost two whole wins. They're practically guaranteed to be in the hunt for second (should they themselves not be the one in the runner-up slot) by the twelfth match-day. Fluvique, on the other hand, needs a flawless rest of group stage to get remotely close, as their hope is quickly dying out. The next match against Chiata may prove to be critical for the Blue and Gold, as a win at Gulf Stadium would pull Nassau away from the struggling favorite by an entire eight points. This prospective victory for Nassau would force the Suns to have only one loss of leeway to qualify cleanly for the second-place spot. In short, Nassau is pulling away, and the next match at Chiata may further affirm their reign in second place. What an ending it would be for Zarambaga and Chubbs.

by **Chromatika** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:12 pm

It was a brutal clinic put on by Vilita on the poor Anomalies; the Jungle Cats scored early and often, destroying the inadequate Chromatik defense and pushing back all attempts of counterattacks with ease. The Anomalies only had three shots on goal, and a twenty-eight percent possession rate didn't help at all. Franscesca Cortes could do nothing but just shake her head at the absolute dominance by the Jungle Cats. There was nothing she could do, it was just what it meant to be a newcomer against one of the elites.

Kjaarmark would have to be a big pick-me-up if Chromatika wanted to keep its dreams alive of finishing in the top half of the group. They'd have to have short term memory and just go back to work. But it was hard to forget something like that.

Could they do it? Or would they just go down again? She wanted the Anomalies to become known as a resilient team first and foremost. It was time for them to live up to the billing.

by **Free Republics** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:14 pm

Sporting World

The Goddess who Decides Winners and Losers and those who Worship Her
by: Angelina Zito

For many years, people throughout the multiverse have spoken of a Goddess named Margaret who has the power to grant victory and defeat to national teams in the world of international sports. Yet, until recently, the existence of a Church of Margaret was just a rumor. Today, I can confirm that this Church exists and that it has purchased the naming rights for the stadium in Albertope. The deal, which will be announced later today, will enable the city of Albertope to reclaim the revenue lost after the new Patriarch of the Church of Saintland decided to breach the terms of the Church's contract with the city as part of a massive cut back on the Church's international proselytizing efforts.

Several weeks ago, at the beginning of this edition of World Cup Qualifying, Rule Theriault left the Albertope stadium off of the list of stadiums that would host Republican home matches at this World Cup. The move was not much of a surprise to those, as the Church of Saintland's decision to go rogue, rebranding itself the "True Church," imposing a theocratic dictatorship upon our Federation and starting a war that threatened the very existence of our multiverse was a massive public relations disaster for them. And that's putting it mildly, if ya know what I mean. What was a surprise was the decision by the Church to refuse to pay the city of Albertope the rest of the money owed for putting their name on the city's multipurpose sports stadium.

Albertope Mayor Elzo Dominicus refused to comment on this story, but he has previously stated that "I am disappointed that the Church of Saintland has refused to make good on their commitments to the people of our city. Our stadium was built on the condition that they would pay us $10 million thalers per year for 50 years for the naming rights to the stadium. The people of Albertope celebrated years ago when they heard that we would finally bring first rate professional sports to our city and they celebrated again when we managed to bring international sports to Albertope. Our county even voted for Consul Kulseth in larger numbers than any other county in Roxawa but still they betrayed us. I am deeply disappointed but I promise the good people of this city that I will not rest until I find another sponsor who can pick up the slack so that I can keep tax increases and service cuts to a minimum. Mark my words: We will find another sponsor before this year is out." As it turns out, a very different Church has stepped up to the plate to save the city's budget.

The Church of Margaret is an organization which is just now coming to prominence, but which has been around for 72 years and counting. The Church traces its origins to the nations of Crosshill and Ariddia. According to the High Priestess of Margaret, the Church has established itself throughout the multiverse in the years since. At one point, a chapter of the Church was established in Maklohi Vai, but the High Priest of that Church turned apostate shortly before the finals of World Baseball Classic 27 when Maklohi Vai were swept on their home soil. Believers in the Church of Margaret credit the aforementioned Goddess's Rage at that individual's apostasy for the humiliating and shocking Vaian defeat in that series.

The Republican Church of Margaret is apparently a well-funded organization though members wear black hoods for the purpose of anonymity. The Priestess, who told me that she gave up her name to serve the Goddess, is the only one who is permitted to show his or her face before the Goddess. I agreed to attend a Church of Margaret service prior to the recent World Cup Qualifying match between the Free Republics and Banija. At the service, the Priestess carried out an elaborate ritual to sacrifice an enormous number of rubber chickens to the Goddess while the congregation prayed that the Goddess would give the Republican National Team a victory on this night. The Priestess informed me that Mr. Theriault's team had won the match immediately following each of their last 5 services. Apologetically, she admitted to me that she hadn't been able to conduct the ritual prior to the 3 matches this year where Mr. Theriault's team had drawn against their opponents. Even I have to admit that this is either a striking coincidence or proof that the Church of Margaret's teachings are correct.

Personally, I believe that it is the latter, but the rest of the multiverse will likely be hoping that it is the former. While I was in Margaret's Church, I felt her presence as she accepted the sacrifice and I knew then and there that Margaret was real. I urge everybody who wishes the Republican National Soccer Team well to come to the Church of Margaret's services and sacrifice some rubber chickens to the Goddess of Sport herself. May Margaret continue to bless the National Soccer Team of the Federation of Free Republics!

Angelina Zito is a recent graduate of the University of Nejax School of Journalism and our new international soccer correspondent. A former high school soccer player at Yellow Bay High School in Yellow Bay, Vorita, Angelina attended the University of Nejax on a scholarship but was unable to participate in college soccer due to the sexist policies of the Holy Party. Focusing on her studies, she graduated with a 4.0 grade point average in her journalism courses and served as the Secretary of the Student Government for 3 academic years. Like a true blue-blooded Republican girl, Angelina loves partying, having fun and getting wasted every night![/quote]

by **Krytenia** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:24 pm

Rami Niblick furrowed his brow.

Part of him was quite happy to let Jeremy just have his little slice of revenge, whatever prank he wanted to pull, just let him be the winner, just the once. Allow Jeremy his moment in the sun whilst he himself vanished into the twilight.

Most of him, however, disagreed. Rami, for once, had absolutely no clue what his arch-nemesis was up to...and this irked him.

What also irked him was he didn't have the chance to go and find out. He had a team to manage, after all, and Dario tended to ask waaaaay too many questions.

One thing did confuse him though. He'd been told that "a man in a trenchcoat, carrying a swivel chair" had been spotted somewhere in Sameba...and that Jeremy had flown to Krytenia. Isserton Airport, apparently, which was odd considering it was basically a field in the middle of nowhere, several hundred miles from Stanton.

No matter. Nothing had come of it, and Krytenia had beaten Sameba and a somewhat subdued Keyne Island side.

Still, though, what was he up to? Rami pondered a little more, wondering what the strange man in the trenchcoat was up to.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:47 pm

New Reservoir Bill Promises to "Save the South"

After months of negotiation between environmental groups, local councils, and the Llamanean government, the Emory Vasquez Reservoir has been signed and approved by all involved parties and the president, Michael Wladecki, who praised the bill, calling it "a small loss to the environment, but a huge gain to the people of Super-Llamaland."

Odd weather conditions had caused a record-setting drought in parts of the provinces of Nikcoro and Talahita, and by creating a new dam and reservoir along the Vincent River, the government hopes that the new bill will help slake the south's thirst. Signed by numerous right and centrist representatives, the bill passed the Llamanean Congress by the slimmest of margins, left-wingers slamming the bill.

"Utterly unnecessary," said Irving Welsh, representative of the Third District of Kyrinson Province. "This is not a permanent crisis. This is a temporary one. To say that a temporary issue demands a permanent solution - with far-reaching environmental effects from Peninsulera to Tansdale, all along the Vincent River - is absurd. This is a dark day for the Second Llamanean Republic."

Construction on the reservoir will commence next year, and already a bill to repeal it is in the works.

"Never has Llamanean Congress been so negatively competitive," noted LGN analyst Kurt Pritchard. "This may be the start of a trend that transcends pro- and anti- reservoir groups."

Could Super-Llamaland Have Political Parties?

Since the glory days of 1912, Super-Llamaland has had political parties for two stretches spanning eight months.

The first stretch, a shade over three months, was at the start of the Republic. Revolutionary General and President Arthur Moore decided that political parties got in the way of him doing whatever the **** he wanted and away they went. For various other reasons, political parties never came back despite numerous attempts to do so, and a bill that prohibited political parties stayed in the Constitution until Super-Llamaland collapsed under The Crisis in 2014.

The second, in the months leading up to the Crisis, was a desperate attempt to push personal platforms in a crisis that threatened the nation's existence despite President O'Reilly's horrified and repeated objections. It didn't go over too well, and down the government went.

When, under narrowly-elected president Michael Wladecki, the Second Llamanean Republic signed its constitution into place, there was nothing that prohibited political parties. "Oh no!" cried the people. "Wait, just kidding, they haven't formed any in the first place," said the people, and went back to doing their business.

But numerous issues have brought the different parties further and further from each other, and there has been some alienation between the two sides. If the trend continues, for the first time in well over a century, Super-Llamaland may allow political parties - not because of a crisis, not because of a dictator - but because they want to.
---
Albaie 2 - TIGERS 3

ALBAIE (4-2-3-1): Erentsen;Whitetree,Muaka,Alecder,Fent;Dubrackson,Efent;B Werek,Tererent,R Werek;Deberen
TIGERS (4-3-3): Ferguson;Meng,Carmichael,Smith-Reynolds,Bay;Sigurorzson,Candelario,de Vries;Rasmussen,Penbrooke,Quirk

Home: B. Werek 17, Deberen 45+1
Away: Penbrooke 8, Karnstedt 61, de Vries 78

TIGERS 1 - 0 Crystal Empire

TIGERS (4-2-3-1): Finch;Myers,Zhou,Smith-Reynolds,Karnstedt;Raburn,Neshsek;Rasmussen,Chen,Inriquez;Nilssen
C. EMPIRE (4-4-2): Starshine;Lily,Quartz,Firecrest,Splash;Rose,Waves,Glass,de Verre;Arrow,Moon

Home: Rasmussen 76
Away: N/A

by **Zenic** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 5:11 pm

Sometimes, we see the most beautiful things in those which are most hideous. Those words were written by Zenician philospher Hilda Arnfelde, the greatest philosopher to have originated from the Empire. And her words ring true for the Zenic association football national team.

The Survivors hosted The Lee Islands in match day 9, hoping to not only maintain but extend their lead in group 15. It was a strange match on match day 2 when the two teams managed a scoreless draw in the strange atmosphere of the Lee Islands. This time around, Zenic pushed themselves past 100% and came away with a 1-0 victory. The goal came in the 85th minute as Ayaode struck from 12 meters to extend his lead as the number one position on Zenic's all-time scorer's list. More good news came in the form of Valladares defeating Kirisaki 3-0 in Swangard, leaving Zenic as the only undefeated team in group 15 with a three point lead over second place Valladares.

Coming up next is an away game to Lons who are currently last in the group before taking on third place Thaldor. The squad cannot afford to lose concentration against Lons simply because they are last as any team can beat any team, a fact that cannot be disputed in sports. However, I believe this is a Zenic squad that can make dreams come true, which is why I have Zenic winning 3-1 against Lons before the important matchup against Thaldor. It will be a nerve-wrecking, or exciting, couple of days from now depending on the results. Let's hope for the latter. I know I am.

-- 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.

by **Nova Anglicana** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 5:19 pm

Tight Race Atop Group 1 In Second Half

Hayden Landers, Nova Anglican Football Today

Most teams in Group 1 have played 8 of their 12 games so far, not including the Lions of Nova Anglicana. They do have a bit of an advantage in that they have only played seven games. With a one-point lead over Nephara and a game in hand, the Lions seem to be in a fairly advantageous position. But the race isn't over and there is much for Sook Jin Lee's boys to do if they wish to return to the World Cup. There are only three teams that have a realistic shot at advancing: Nova Anglicana, Nephara, and Timbermunich. Let's take a look at each team.

Nephara

The 3rd-ranked Cormorants have stumbled a bit and find themselves in second place after eight games. In a bit of a strange turn, Nephara have lost to both Nova Anglicana and Timbermunich, the second and third seeds in the group. The Lions shocked the Cormorants with two goals in the last fifteen minutes from Chris Hodges and Emmanuel Moga and a dangerous Timbermunich cross was accidentally knocked into the net by captain and veteran defender Hadrian Belfast. The Cormorant attack has been somewhat lacking lately, scoring multiple goals in only three of eight games so far. They only managed a pair of goals in two victories over Maretta, scored one goal while losing to the Lions, and were shut out by Nephara. The offense has only really looked strong in a 4-0 dismantling of Mangetsujima and a comfortable 3-0 win over San Llera in their last game. The Cormorants have to be favored in all their remaining games, but they are really going to have to play up to their rank if they want to claim first place and avoid the playoffs. They should go 3-1-0 or better and finish no worse than second.

Timbermunich

The surprise team of Group 1, the Lumberjacks are sporting a strong 5-2-1 record after eight games. Their healthy 2.5 goals per game average has been buoying them so far, though they have shown a strong defense in keeping clean sheets against both Nephara and Nova Anglicana. They have racked up six goals against Shtiar Bakal, four against Mangetsujima, and three against Maretta. They have not been above reproach, however. They dropped two points away to a plucky San Llera team (2-2) and most recently suffered a catastrophic defeat (4-3) at the hands of Shtiar Bakal to allow Nephara to leapfrog them into second place. Their remaining games against Nova Anglicana (next up) and Nephara will go a long way towards determining their fate. I'll predict them for 2-2-0 at best, though I think 2-1-1 or 1-2-1 is more likely. They'll fade down the stretch and finish in third place.

Nova Anglicana

Finally, we have our own Lions. Riding high at 6-1-0 and 19 points after seven games, Sook Jin Lee's team have to be feeling pretty good about their play so far. A disappointing draw at home against Timbermunich notwithstanding, the Lions have won each of their games, including a 2-1 shocker away over Nephara. In fact, the Lions had been so good that they hadn't allowed a single goal in their first four games before that streak was broken by Nephara. The defense looked a little shaky in their last game against Shtiar Bakal. Although you could say that it was the subs plus Derrick Cole in net that caused them to allow three goals, looking that bad on defense against the 258th-ranked side in the world is unforgivable. The Lions are lucky that Jimmy Kelly's brace and goals from Jake Rhodes and Emmanuel Moga put them up 4-0 at halftime. The Lions have scored twenty goals so far and are averaging 2.86 per game. If this holds, it would be their highest average ever in World Cup qualifying, beyond the 2.71 they averaged in World Cup 71 qualifying. But the Lions still have tricky games left, including away to Timbermunich and San Llera and at home against Nephara. Wins in all five of their remaining games are not out of the question, but is certainly unlikely. 3-2-0 would probably be enough to carry them into the playoffs, but really, they need to defeat Timbermunich to feel like they have at least a playoff spot wrapped up. They'll fight with Nephara for first, but the Cormorants may finish strong and overtake them. We'll just have to see.

by **Witty Penguins** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 5:29 pm

WC QUALIFIERS: A.U.W.P. 1-1 New Gelderland

24 October 2015

UNITIA CITY - The Penguins have kicked off the second half of their World Cup Qualifying round with their 3rd draw of the campaign. It was an intense third installment of the Penguins-Gelderland saga, and unlike the previous match it was not a goal-less affair. Both sides were able to convert some of their opportunities into goals, but to the dismay of supporters, no team could muster enough goals in the match to secure a valuable win in the home stretch of the qualifying round.

It was the Penguins who drew the first blood; the offensive broke apart the Gelderlish defense, with Ben Knight pushing the ball through in the 41st minute. Receiving the ball, Pierre Fort fired the ball into the bottom left of the goal well out-of-reach of goalkeeper Eliot Horn. But that opportunity would be the only one that would come to fruition; the Penguins would not score again. The Penguins would, like their opponents, drop anchor and not budge. As the players returned from their half-time break, the New Gelderland took most of the team by surprise, making a stunning attack against the Penguinish team. It was a quick, tactical offensive that would see the defenders scrambling in a vain attempt to stop them - in a mere minute it would only be Oliver Johnson in the way of Ben Griffin. The risky attempt paid off, with Griffin making a well-placed shot that put the Gelderlish visitors back on equal terms. And in a repeat of the match at Nassau Bay, both teams left without a win in hand.

Penguinish supporters at Unitia City Stadium, 23 October 2015.
Source https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... orters.jpg

Richard Peak was satisfied with his team's performance, although slightly disappointed with the result.

"We did well in the first half, but the second half really let us down. The New Gelderland players caught us off-guard, and by the time the players responded, they had already scored. It's disappointing that we had let a win slip away like that, but it's still a draw. And we were quick to learn, and that saved us from a worse feat," Peak said.

"Hopefully when we face the United States of Devonta on the 25th, we won't let that happen again."

The team has had a bye today, and tomorrow they face their second match against the United States of Devonta. Their previous encounter finished in a draw, with neither side conceding or scoring a goal. In Group 18, Cuboneland has been eliminated from the Group, having managed only a single draw in their 8 matches. Maklohi Vai are in 6th with 7 points, but still have the opportunity to get back into the higher placings. Saintland continues to be undefeated, and with a comfortable 7-point lead, will likely qualify. Abanhfleft holds the playoff spot with 15 points, but United States of Devonta are close behind with 13. 4th placed New Gelderland and Witty Penguins both sit on 9 points, a distant 6 points behind. But with the Gelderlish team winning over USD, it is still certainly achievable.

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:38 pm

The Saga of All-Inclusive Haranguer F.C., Part Nine

The game against Tefel was now done and dusted. It had been a nervy first half, when the visitors took the lead following a defensive mistake on Sutalen Desoka's part, but Haranguer did well to bounce back in the second half thanks to goals from Rory Edwards, the Riuwiee United loanee, and Samantha Leroux, the new signing from Armeia. They now had three points from their first game, but there was no time to dwell on that as they had another game coming on Wednesday, against Gyouza Young Lads.

The Lads were also a team that had Premier League experience, although that had been some time ago, and they weren't as much a part of the promotion race now as they had been before. But that wasn't to mean that they were to be underestimated. Their squad was, appropriately enough, made up of mostly young players that had risen up through the ranks of the Gyouza Academy, one of the premier football academies in Abanhfleft, or loaned out from Premier League sides that wouldn't play the youngsters for the league matches. There were a smattering of veteran players in the side to provide leadership and experience to the young players.

On Tuesday night, the players of All-Inclusive Haranguer flew to Gyouza in Eielo Province in preparation for their second game of the season. With more teams playing in the lower leagues than the Premier League, there were obviously more games played in lower divisions like Unang Liga, but the players didn't mind (much), as that was the way the league worked. Simple as that.

There was a single change in the starting lineup that faced Tefel, with Sam Gonza coming in for Rory Edwards for the match against Gyouza. It proved to be a well-made change as Gonza headed in the long ball from Desoka to give Haranguer the lead just twenty minutes into the match. Fired up by Gonza's goal, Haranguer continued to press into Gyouza's half and were rewarded when provider Desoka turned scorer as he also headed in the ball from a corner taken by Gonza.

Surely things could only get better for Haranguer. But it almost wasn't to be, as Gyouza's Otto Griezwald, on loan from Sporting Ceneisis, managed to burn past Desoka before launching the ball over Callisto Parra and into the roof of the net to give Gyouza a goal back into the game. Later analysis would reveal that Desoka was being left alone in midfield to protect the back line, as his fellow central midfielders were bombing up the pitch in an attempt to get involved in the attack. Tom Mereilles could be seen shouting instructions at his players from his technical area following the goal for Gyouza, and it seemed as if the central midfielders had been properly chagrined into helping Desoka provide cover for Haranguer's back four.

Near the halfway mark of the second half, Mereilles brought on Rory Edwards and Samantha Leroux as substitutes, although as center forwards and not their usual CAM roles. It seemed not to be the best time for the team to experiment in player roles, but as it turned out, they would be well rewarded for their daring to experiment. Almost as soon as the two new subs stepped onto the pitch, Callisto Parra started off a play that saw every Haranguer player touch the ball before ending in a one-two pass between Edwards and Leroux before the Armeian international finally slotted home the ball past the Gyouza keeper.

But the fight wasn't yet out of Gyouza, and Griezwald stroked home his second of the game to keep Haranguer on their toes. In the end, though, it was a 3-2 victory for All-Inclusive Haranguer, and another vital three points secured, this time away from home.

But on the flight back to Haranguer, Tom Mereilles was not as happy with the result as anyone thought he would be. "We could've kept the clean sheet," he said to his wife, Janine Fuller, the club's co-manager. "Our other central mids were running up the pitch, trying to get involved when they weren't needed. We need to get more defensive-minded mids. Maybe even some actual defenders."

"There's still two weeks to go before deadline day," Janine replied. "There's still time to look at some more players and see if they can fit in well with our team."

"I know, I know, but where are we going to find them, though?" It was a question that would be answered later than both of them expected.

CRESCENT NEWS NETWORK
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WORLD CUP 73 QUALIFIERS: SAINTLAND VS ABANHFLEFT
By Malik Qazizadah

Players of Abanhfleft's men's national football team could only applaud Feministvs Sanctvsterra's excellent performance at home. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

ST. PETRUS, SAINTLAND - A 2-1 lead coming into half-time wasn't enough for Abanhfleft to secure their first ever victory against Saintland or Feministvs Sanctvsterra, the organization currently playing for the Sanctii banner.

Valery Zolnerov did well to scoop the ball over keeper Virginia Seius to give Abanhfleft the lead twenty-five minutes in, and Gustavo Potter headed into the crossbar to almost double the Revolutionaries' lead.

Gloria Nasennius tapped the ball into the bottom left corner of the net from a Olivia Florius corner to put the hosts back on level terms.

Kevin Kelvin finally put Abanhfleft above once again with a superbly clinical finish to stretch Seius to the limit before the ball took the lightest of bumps from the post and nestled into the back of the net.

Coming into the second half Abanhfleft increased the pressure on Saintland, but it was this pressing that was to be their downfall, as Feministvs Sanctvsterra struck on the counter to level things and then gain the lead in the span of seven minutes.

Silvia Allectus got on the end of a Seius long ball before skipping past flat-footed Charles Amoroso and Luke Edwards to tap the ball into the net from close range.

Olivia Florius scored the decisive goal with a deceptive curling shot that bamboozled Maksim Varamoninov and made him a little too early only for him to see the ball bulge the back of the net.

Feministvs Sanctvsterra's defensive tenacity held up under the mounting Fleftic pressure, but Potter came awfully close to sealing a draw for Abanhfleft as his header was once again denied by the crossbar.

Abanhfleft manager Kasper Molak: Team must move on from "heartbreaking" loss

Abanhfleft manager Kasper Molak: "The team did pretty well, I think. We showed good character and intensity and tenacity to hang on to a 2-1 lead under pressure and away from home, but their counterattack was too swift for us. We conceded two goals in the space of seven minutes, and that's never good for any team, from the lowest minnows to the top World Cup teams.

"It's a heartbreaking loss as we controlled the game for large portions, but their counter was too great for us. Feministvs Sanctvsterra aren't representing Saintland just for laughs. They've got the skills to do it.

"Everyone's saying that Abanhfleft's gonna choke again, miss out on the qualifiers for the second straight time after being given the chance on a silver platter. I say there's still a bunch of games to go, chances to win all the points we can. Don't write us off yet."

Abanhfleft is still sitting on second place but with only a two-point gap separating them from Devonta. Abanhfleft will host New Gelderland at the Stadion de December 27 in Imgortur, Verbergerkinnh.

      SAINTLAND 3 - 2 ABANHFLEFT
NASENNIUS (39')       ZOLNEROV (25')
 ALLECTUS (67')       KELVIN (44')
  FLORIUS (74')

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 01 Varamoninov
RB: 05 Amoroso (Cervantes - 69')
RCB: 04 L. Edwards
LCB: 04 Mikkelsen
LB: 02 Samonte
RM: 08 Turpentine
CM: 19 Zolnerov
LM: 06 Musa █ (Rice - 55')
CAM: 20 R. Edwards
RS: 11 Kelvin (Beineka - 78')
LS: 10 Potter

SAINTLAND
GK: 01 Seius
RB: 02 Junius (Rufus - 69')
RCB: 03 Tanicius
CB: 04 Nonius
CB: 05 Maximius (Dexius - 55')
LCB: 06 Dossenius
LB: 07 Vesuius
RM: 08 Epidius
CM: 09 Nasennius
LM: 10 Allectus
ST: 11 Florius (Ligustinius - 80')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Saintland: 50%
Abanhfleft: 50%
Shots
Saintland: 12 (6 on target)
Abanhfleft: 14 (5 on target)
Corners
Saintland: 9
Abanhfleft: 10
Fouls
Saintland: 3
Abanhfleft: 5

by **Chiata** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:47 pm

Chiata Times
Thrashing

Chiata opened the second leg with the same result they opened the first: a loss to Audioslavia. A loss to Audioslavia doesn't sound too bad, but it was 4-0. Chiata scored absolutely nothing while the Bulls rained in four on the net. Last qualifying, Chiata played Pasarga two times and never allowed more than two goals. Pasarga would go on to win the World Cup. Chiata allowed less goals to the eventual World Cup Champion, three across two games, than they allowed goals to Audioslavia in that single game.

To add some consolation, the Suns played the Bulls in Audioslavia. Chiata lost to the same team while the Suns themselves were at home, so a loss was to be expected. Very quickly, Audioslavia took control of the game. They dominated every aspect of the game, possession, passing, challenges, shooting, you name it. In the eleventh minute, Truex dove down to stop Vengochea from scoring. Truex ended up stopping the chance, but he suffered a might wallop to the head and was escorted off the pitch. Truex was replaced by Ducharme, but, to put it bluntly, Ducharme is not even close to Truex's level. The goals began to fall in for Audioslavia. Landhuis found the net off of a straight shot towards the center of the net. It should have been easily saved, but Ducharme was too far away due to poor positioning. Caszley scored for the Bulls some fifteen minutes later with a head that chopped down onto the pitch and then trickled into the goal. Chiata was lucky to get out of the half at 2-0.

Audioslavia picked up right where the left off. Chiata had no control of the game from the first minute to the ninetieth. Vengochea scored his second of the match from the six yard box. He snuck past Martinez, received a precision pass from Rodriguez-Torrejon, and tapped the ball in with no offsides. Chiata still had nothing. The energy was sucked out of them and went into the rampant crowd. Audioslavia put in another goal before Imaslavii showed some mercy and told his crew to pull back. Chiata had some breathing room and actually had a chance or two, but none were converted. The last twenty minutes dragged on fore ages, but the whistle finally blew. 4-0, and Chiata sunk five points behind second place, Nassau-Hessen, and stepped down to fourth. Coincidently, Chiata will play Nassau-Hessen next matchday. The upcoming match has been called a "must win" by manager Rodney Walters. No loss, no draw, only a win will give a hope for Chiata to regain the position that they started with.

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