World Cup LXXV - AK75 - The RP Thread

[Bonesea]

.

[Mercedini]

Mercedini Sports Daily
Matchday 9: Unified Sunrise Islands vs. Mercedini
@ InComm Arena - Matthew, Northern Sunrise Island

Welcome back to the live coverage of Mercedini's qualifying campaign as Mercedini play their toughest match to date; they travel today to play group leaders and favourites Unified Sunrise Islands. Last time, Mercedini stunned the USI fans as they beat them 2-0 with an accomplished defensive and attacking performance in Zoloroni. USI will be looking for redemption as they play the only team that has taken points from them so far. The stadium is jam-packed with Islanders and Mercedinians as the teams complete their warm-up. The Islanders have been very friendly to myself and fellow Mercedinians who have made the long trip to see their team play. I have been given this lovely flower necklace in beautiful blue and black, with the odd yellow flower here and there, it's so very lovely to see nations come together and settle their differences on the pitch rather than by other means. The Mercedinians have been dotted around the stadium instead of being separated by security which shows how welcoming the Islanders have been. Enough about that, we have a match to play and there is plenty as stake for both teams. A win for USI will almost certainly book them a place at the tournament finals, while Mercedini will take a giant step towards an historic achievement if they win here today. The teams come out of the tunnel, and receive a rapturous applause from fans of both nations.

0' - A rousing rendition of both national anthems ring out around the stadium, the sun is shining and we are overlooking tranquil waters along the coast. USI will play in their White and Grey kits, while Mercedini will play yet another game in their Blue and Black kits. Billic and Legge will start yet again for Mercedini, and what a moment for Benjamin Legge, at just 17 years of age, he is playing against one of the top ranked teams on the pitch. Can either of them make an impact and do the unprecedented double over the top-ranked side in the group? We will soon see! USI verses Mercedini, starting now.

2' - (USI 0-0 MRC) - Mercedini going for jugglar early on this game with Crasic and Pujanic running down the wing with Billic and Legge in support (of course!), Crasic long cross towards the back post!! Billic with the header! GOAL!! Mercedini shock USI once gain! The header went of the opposite post and crossed the line. The stadium is stunned into silence as Billic and his teammates celebrate in the corner. The Mercedinians that are cheering are the only ones making noise as Mercedini open the scoring. 1-0 Mercedini!

13' - (USI 0-1 MRC) - USI trying to regroup after that early goal, Nishidake trying to get the two forwards involved with the game but at the moment Mercedini are being astute in the opening minutes of the game. The Mercedinians around the stadium are chanting for their team to continue the good work. Can Mercedini hold onto their slender lead? approaching the fifteen-minute mark and Mercedini still have their one goal advantage.

20' - (USI 0-1 MRC) - USI on the attack, they have had plenty of possession in the last five minutes, and are trying to find an opening in the Mercedinian defence Alcouin on making a run and Stabb finds him with a terrific through ball down the centre, Alcouin into the box, pulls it back to Stabb! GOAL!! He beautifully curls it into the bottom corner to tie the game up at a goal each. The USI fans go wild, they are back in this game, can Mercedini hold onto a point? USI are getting into their stride. It's level at 1-1.

24' - (USI 1-1 MRC) - USI are coming forward yet again, no time for Mercedini to get organised, the home crowd really getting behind their boys. Stabb with the ball in the midfield, lays the ball to Sumitsu who runs down the wing with the ball, unleashes an early cross to Alcouin!!! GOAL!! The match has been turned on it's head in under five minutes! Alcouin flicked the ball with his outstretched foot, the ball evaded Hosset as it rolled slowly into the net, Alcouin got to his feet and celebrated with the fans and his teammates, USI on top in this game, they have turned it around with two goals in under five minutes, it's 2-1 to the Unified Sunrise Islands!

31' - (USI 2-1 MRC) - USI are at it again, relentless pressure on the Mercedinian defence as the opposition look to shut this game down before half time, Juliano dribbling past the Mercedinian defence and into the box... oh! Tranev has bundled him over in the penalty area, it's an easy decision for the referee who awards the penalty and gives USI the chance to make it 3-1, just after the half-hour mark. It's been a disastrous 10 minutes who risk conceding three goals in ten minutes. It's Sarracena who will take it, he sets the ball down and waits for the referee to give him the chance to score. The referee blows his whistle, Sarracena runs up to the ball... and coolly slots the ball into the goal for a third. His teammates celebrate with him, and USI have almost certainly wrapped this game up. USI now lead 3-1.

40' - (USI 3-1 MRC) - The play has slowed down ever since that third goal from USI. Mercedini are hoping that they can keep their dignity and don't concede another goal. Tranev and Ossun passing it between the defence and the goalkeeper. The USI players holding back and happy to let the clock tick down while conserving their two-goal lead. We're approaching the end of the half, it remains 3-1 to USI.

45' - (USI 3-1 MRC) - Surprisingly, no added time to be played as the referee immediately blows his whistle to signal the end of the first half. Mercedini started off very well in the first half with an early opener from Billic, but Mercedini was blown away by a USI barrage, three goals shipped in a ten minute period gives USI an overwhelming lead against the overachieving group minnows. It's half-time here at the InComm Stadium, and it's Unified Sunrise Islands 3, Mercedini 1.

HALF TIME: Unified Sunrise Islands 3 - 1 Mercedini
Stabb 20', Alcouin 24', Sarracena 31' (P) // Billic 2'

Mercedini and USI have come out early for this second half, both teams want to get this match restarted. Mercedini have it all to do against the group leaders, and a seventh group win looks to be on the cards. Mercedini will be fighting for second place in the group, with nations like Lymantatia and Yttribia hot on their heels. Brenecia could still put together a streak of matches and could yet challenge for a second place finish, but that all depends on how well Mercedini can do against their immediate group rivals. The match has been kicked off by USI, and we are underway in this second half.

49' - (USI 3-1 MRC) - Mercedini have started this game off very well, they have provided the game with a much needed kick of energy to the start of this second half. Aznelik and Crasic have linked up well, we may have a new partnership that is blossoming on the pitch. Mercedini showing promise and standing up to the big dogs. However, as it stands, its 3-1 USI.

60' - (USI 3-1 MRC) - GOAL!! Unified Sunrise Islands have grabbed a fourth on the hour, it was from a corner that was whipped in with pace, the ball was headed out by Ossun but was fired with pace by Nishidake into a crowded penalty area. The ball took a deflection off one of the Mercedinian players (I don't know who) and the ball evaded the grasp of Hosset and it nestled in the back of the net. The game has surely been wrapped up now, it's 4-1 now!

66' - (USI 4-1 MRC) - We have another goal here!! Mercedini have reduced the defecit down to two with a beautiful curled shot from outside of the box. It's Billic with his and Mercedini's second of the match. Legge who was nearby when the goal wa scored gave his fellow countryman a high-five and grabbed the ball. Mercedini wanted the quick restart, they got it and we are swiftly back underway. A mall glimmer of light for Mercedini. 4-2.

78' - (USI 4-2 MRC) - USI frustrating the visitors as they cling to possession of the ball. Mercedini committing foul after foul in hope of retrieving possession from the other team. The Islanders inside the stadium are singing loud and proud as their team are about 10 minutes away from yet another victory and almost assurance of a place at the World Cup, hopefully Mercedini will follow them, but it is likely that they will have to qualify via the playoffs. Still 4-2.

85' - (USI 4-2 MRC) - Down to the last five minutes in this game and Mercedini are on yet another attack. They are not letting this game go down without a fight. Legge on the attack, running into the box but he is surrounded by defenders, can he dribble his way past them? Oh! He can! He nutmegs three players at the same time, he puts it on a place to Billic who easily dispatches the ball into the net GOAL!! He grabs yet another hatrick in this qualification campaign, but they need yet another goal to complete their monumental comeback. Time is ticking down, can Billic and co. pull of another 4-4 draw?

90+1' - (USI 4-3 MRC) - The referee blows his whistle for the end of the game. Mercedini came so close so clinching a point against the group favourites, but it wasn't to be for the boys in blue and black. A Billic hat-trick wasn't enough to clinch the game as USI mercilessly killed the game off just after half time, a late fightback at the end wasn't enough and Mercedini slump to their second loss of the campaign. At the InComm Stadium, it's finished Unified Sunrise Islands 4, Mercedini 3.

FULL TIME: Unified Sunrise Islands 4 - 3 Mercedini
Stabb 20', Alcouin 24', Sarracena 31' (P), Nishidake 60' // Billic 2', 66', 85'

So, at the end of this match, Mercedini travel back to Zoloroni as they host Vyshehradska in the reverse fixture that saw a goalless draw and me falling asleep in my commentary box. We hope to see a good match with plenty of goals, but until then, we bid you farewell from Matthew and we hope you don't commiserate too hard. Hey, at least we're still in third place, who would have thought that. Goodnight!

[Nephara]

OOC Note: The article below comes from a tabloid newspaper. As such, it should not be mistaken for journalism.

THE BEACON
GET STUCK IN, LADS! NEPHARA'S BRAVE BOYS stick the boot into SAMEBAN THUGS
Thane Erskine

After plucky Nephara's UNLUCKY 1-1 DRAW with hated Qualifying Group 2 foes SAMEBA, tensions boiled over both inside and out of the stands! FORTUNATELY, a heroic effort from powerful, strong Nepharim such as YOU READERS repelled the vicious assault of locals and their riot police.

Sporadic flashpoints heated up all over the city and across the entire day as the grim-faced locals took a dim view to Nepharim celebrating, drinking and singing jovial chants about how their country could "GET THE FUCK OUT OF PRAVENNA". Inevitably, hostile elements of foreign media have labelled Nepharim fans 'hooligans' for their actions, when any red-blooded patriot would have done the same.

BIFF!: Gregor Pembleton shows foreign nag a piece of his mind!

"It was proper mental out there," star witness Rook Marshall made it known to THE BEACON, "but anyone who wanted a fight got one. Reckon there's a few police out there who'll be thinking about a career change after tonight." Marshall was fortunate to escape concussion after headbutting a riot policeman covered head to toe in armour that betrays the Sameban cowardice and unwillingness to engage in a fair, man-to-man fight.

Despite occasional injuries to fans of both sides, the Nepharim returned to the airport and the safety of a civilised home country in ebullient spirits, knowing that they'd done their fatherland proud through their prowess in traditional nonlethal combat.

ATMOSPHERIC: Cowardly officials weren't prepared to deal with simple flares

LILY-LIVERED WCC OFFICIALS expressed umbrage at 'controversial' crowd behaviour, but the NFA has heroically IGNORED complaints at the large number of flares lit off by the travelling support as well as the allegedly 'political' nature of the Nepharim chants, many of which referenced Sameba's COWARDLY ASSAULT on former Nepharim colony Pravenna.

But Calista Giannou, the leader of the Hellenic Flock supporters' group who claims to have punched through a riot shield with her bare hands, spoke PASSIONATELY about these claims. "If they didn't want to be confronted over their invasion of a sovereign nation, they shouldn't've invaded a sovereign nation, should they?"

[Falatulu]

The day had finally come for Henric Ivarsson and Scarlett Nicholls to infiltrate the Free Republics. All of their training and preparation had finally paid off and they now had the opportunity to carry out a mission that was vitally important to the Brotherhood and therefore vitally important to the future of the multiverse. Their orders came from Abelino Greece himself and were as clear as could be: They were to infiltrate the Free Republics posing as temporary guest workers and gather as much information on the happenings within the nation as possible. Abelino had given them specific orders not to assassinate anybody or otherwise cause trouble while in the Free Republics, as doing so would potentially endanger their safety and therefore their ability to gather sensitive intelligence that would allow the leader of the Brotherhood in Far-Eastern Esportiva to determine the group's future course of action.

On this day, as they boarded a flight to San Jose Guayabal, where they were supposedly "on missionary duties" according to IesusisGodistani government records, they looked every bit the young Fundamentalist True Church of Iesus Christus couple and, in fact, Scarlett had specifically chosen Henric as her partner for this mission because she had a crush on him. While on their mission, they would pose as husband and wife, within the context of a FTCoIC relationship. Their forged IesusisGodistani identity documents, which were recognized as legitimate by the nation's security system thanks to some assistance from Feministvs Sanctvsterra hackers, referred to them as Finn Camfield and Abigail Camfield.

They arrived in San Salvador just 12 hours before their flight was scheduled to depart for New Jersualem. For the next few hours, they walked around the city making fools of themselves. Both of them knew just enough Español to know how to act like a parody of overzealous proselytizers. For several hours, people who were minding their business on the streets of San Salvador were subjected to screaming about how they're all going to Infernus because they haven't accepted Iesus Christus as their savior and the Fundamentalist True Church as His True Church. Their goal, of course, was to turn as many people as possible against the religion they were pretending to hold. At one point, they were approached by a policeman, showed him their IesusisGodistani passports and made sure to mention in passing how much they were looking forward to going home to New Jerusalem in a few hours.

Finally, the time came for them to catch their flight "home" to New Jerusalem, where they would stay for a few days in an apartment building owned by a Falatuluan intelligence asset until they were scheduled to depart for the Free Republics. Fortunately, they would leave on a Saturday, so they would not have to sit through services at the Cathedral where their ruse might have been discovered. During those several days, they sat around in the apartment watching IesusisGodistani television, which was profoundly awful, especially now that Father Archibald had begun an anti-sports campaign out of a belief that sports encouraged sin. Television programming in IesusisGodistan was now basically limited to educational programming about the Bible, Christian music programming and "moral education" programs that were intended to teach the Fundamentalist True Church's moral code. Thus, the plot of literally every single show that they watched over those days was boring and predictable and the only interesting parts were the punishment scenes in the "moral education" programs, which would arguably have been considered pornographic in any civilized nation.

When they did venture out into the city of New Jerusalem, the one thing they noticed was that the Virtue Police (officially the "Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice") seemed to be everywhere in the city and seemed to always find an excuse to hassle somebody over something. Following the Great War, Father Archibald had inexplicably remained in power in his nation and had decided that God had punished His True Church because of their insufficient piety. Now, IesusisGodistan had laws regulating practically every aspect of life, including a Common Dress Code for the nation's citizens that required everybody in the nation from Father Archibald down to the lowliest manual laborer to dress almost exactly the same, with a handful of work-related exceptions, a total prohibition on the use of words deemed "profane" in any circumstance or context, a law mandating the use of Consul Kulseth's old You/Thou distinction and even a law making "rudeness to a Saved Person" a criminal offense. Needless to say, this wasn't exactly a pleasant place to live, but it was also much easier to enter than the Free Republics.

The time that "Mr. and Mrs. Camfield" spent in IesusisGodistan seemed to last an eternity even though it was just 80 hours. When they were finally able to leave, they were relieved that they wouldn't have to spend another minute in this theocratic shithole of a country but they were also nervous about the unknown. The Free Republics was a highly secretive nation, which went out of its way to ensure that information about conditions in their society did not get out to the rest of the multiverse. Yet, rumors had emerged that Kaleb O'Reilly had turned the nation over to an army of robots with superhuman intelligence who had turned the nation into a glorified police state and may or may not be preparing to wage war.

Despite possessing such robots, Consul O'Reilly felt that physical labor was a job that humans, not robots, should perform. Unfortunately, the Free Republics did not have enough people to keep up with the demand for labor, especially with O'Reilly's decision to construct monuments, pyramids and statues of himself throughout his nation. The Free Republics also had a chronic maid shortage now that all of O'Reilly's low-level party functionaries felt that they were entitled to live a life of leisure. Thus, the Republican government now had more jobs than they could fill and had begun to recruit guest workers from nations that were deemed friendly toward O'Reilly's regime and IesusisGodistani guest workers were in especially high demand because their nation was extremely poor and their cultural background made them ideal for the jobs that O'Reilly's government needed to fill. But at this moment, neither Falatuluan spy knew why the Free Republics wanted guest workers, where they would be working or even what their work would consist of...

[Chromatika]

Prelude, Book I Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Interlude Part VII

The Rainbow Revolution
Book I: The Sparks
Part VIII: The Student

“You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.” - Conrad Hall

So, during the time when Alina Krasnikova was doing good work for the Shadow Writers by making sure that R.A. Penelope Mier would be attending the meeting at Igsi's Produce in Urrheddiao, and when the nation was still reeling from the news that Franscesca Cortes was a traitor, but had no clue that it was all a planned event between Cortes and Shadow Writers, the Chromatik National Team was sitting in the locker room after the narrow loss to Flardania, demanding that the email that Cortes wrote to them be revealed.

"All right," said Lisa Amos, the Interim Manager, who was also coming around to side with the team when it comes to the affairs around Luuk Aart and Franscesca Cortes, and was willing to continue the role that Cortes had played with the Shadow Writers, "Let's get out of Chromatk airspace first, and then I'll let you guys read it."

There were a few disgruntled replies, but they agreed that it's best until they were out of Chromatika. Within the hour after the game against Flardania, they were in the air heading to Cosumar, and that was when Lisa Amos allowed the email to be unveiled to them:

"My dearest players of the Chromatik National Team,

It is with a heavy heart that I write this email to you. I want to stress just how much of a personal honor it has been for me to coach such a talented bunch of individuals, those who would just never quit. You guys are the inspiration behind everything I do, from the first game at the Baptism of Fire to the match we had against Abaja. I have enjoyed every moment that we've had together, from the training to the meetings to the games themselves. Thank you for letting a total rookie lead you into things that she had no business leading you into.

When I learned that I had terminal liver cancer, I knew I wanted my death to mean something other than just another death from the life-taking force that is cancer. I want to use it as a platform to show others especially around the BIV community that the government is way more flawed than they know. I am willing to die for my beliefs, and if that makes me a martyr and a radical, and if I get remembered in Chromatik history as a revolutionary, then so be it.

My wish for you guys is that you continue to grow together in teamwork and in harmony, and that the results speak to the level of work that you have always put in. It is my firm belief that we will become one of the best teams in the world some day. Perhaps not this cycle, perhaps not next, but there will be a time where Chromatik football becomes known around the world as one of the best.

I only wish that I could have seen it from my own eyes. Lisa is a fine friend and rival, she'll take good care of you. Lastly, I have something to say to all of you. Never play afraid. Always play with the mindset that you can win, for believing is more than half of winning. The moment that you start questioning yourselves will be the moment that others question you.

It has been my profound honor and privilege to spend time with you all. Best of luck in the future."

- Franscesca Larriet Cortes

There was hardly a dry eye in the room.

"Idiot," said Meagan Kelly, "Always have to play the heroine who looks ahead. You could've spent your last days traveling with us and watching us play, giving us and Lisa advice... But then you always were a visionary."

It was with a subdued mood that the team flew to Cosumar.

Lisa Amos was rereading her own email, printed out, in her hands.

"Lisa,

I still remember the first time we met, during the Annual Meeting of all League Chromatiks 1 Managers right before Season Two. You were so bright, you were so inquisitive. You greeted me with that smile of yours, and were not afraid of asking the tough questions, some that people might consider unprofessional or intrusive, all in the name of academic pursuit and doing whatever you can to help our team. That is the one quality that you have that I am very happy about. You don't care what people will say as long as you're doing something legitimate for the benefit of your squad.

I see what you've done with United - a team barely staying in the League Chromatiks 1 to taking the title from me last season - and I have loved watching you grow as a friend and a rival. It is such a privilege to have seen you do what you do best.

I leave my team now in your charge. The media have always said that Jillian Nier is the student and Nikolai Thorben is the master in the Urrheddiao - Myana matchup. I don't think this is the case. In my opinion, it's me you who were the student, and I who was the master. And now, the student has become the master.

Take care of them for me. Thank you for being someone whom I can leave this team in the hands of. They are a fun bunch to manage, an agreeable bunch, and also a bunch that does love to ask questions and learn. Keep their interest, keep their morale, and they will come through. Maybe your offensive prowess will allow us to score a bit more, but remember that the team was built around Thorben and the back five.

Bon voyage, my friend."

-Franscesca Cortes

I thought of you as a mentor, too, thought Lisa. Funny how we think alike. I'll do my damnedest to keep them together, you have my word.

---

Trenn Rien's brace and Gabriella Antonio's late goal wasn't enough to secure the Anomalies a key home win against Flardania as Yabuta scored the game winner in injury time in a definite thriller at the Capitalizt Dome.

It was Rien who scored the first two goals of the game in a span of ten minutes in the first half, as Carrol Liam assisted on both, showing brilliant play that seemed to mystify Hojo. Unfortunately, Nayasaki cut one back before the half, and Matsuoka equalized score by the sixtieth minute.

Antonio's breakaway gave the Anomalies the lead around the eighty-first, but that was equalized by Izumi just minutes after that, setting the stage for Yabuta's heroics.

The team's defense was a bit leaky during the game, but then it was a hard match against the second seed in the group.

The next game looms large - Anglatia is a must-win for Chromatika if they want an outside chance at qualifying.

[Anglatia]

Still shorter than I wanted it because of time reasons...
An Empire In Flames - Part Three

One player for Ballonsgate United stood out more than anyone else on the pitch. She danced around defenders, made grown men and women look like mere children with her skills on the ball, and she had just placed another ball in the back of the net to secure a hat trick in the extra time period of an important win. That player went by the name of Nessa Chryst. It was two months after she had arrived in Ballonstone, and she had quickly signed up for the nearest football club, the one that was managed by Pasco Hackney. It turned out that Hackney was a retired player who had spent spells at Bathgate City, Lane United, and Rozada CF, as a defensive midfielder. He was quite knowledgeable about tactics, and his tactical training helped Nessa to play better than she ever had before. She was able to do this because for the first time, she had more than athleticism. She had a real teacher.

The final whistle blew and the opposing team was happy for the match to be over. Ballonsgate had won 4-0, and three of those goals had been scored by Nessa. She was the youngest on the pitch by four or five years, but she was somewhat of a virtuoso in space. She knew exactly how much space she needed to make her runs, and she was never out of position. Once she was on the ball, she always seemed to know how much space she needed to keep possession, and to pull off skill moves and flashy passes. If one watched her, they would think that she was one of the stars of the Valerian First Tier, which was known for flashy play. But the only ones who saw her play were the six hundred or so fans who showed up, probably only because it was a decently long drive to the nearest Superleague club.

The attendance was still high enough to motivate Nessa to play as well as she could. This wasn't like her amateur games from Branslakur, where it was rare for attendance to reach one hundred. She played better with an audience, even if it was nothing compared to the massive stadiums in the Superleague. "You guys are the best!" she shouted, climbing the fence behind the goal and throwing her shirt into the crowd below. When she jumped back down, she found Pasco waiting for her.

"Someone is here to talk to you," he said, nodding towards a man standing by the sideline. This man was someone that she recognized, but she couldn't quite match a name to his face. He wore a black track jacket, with a purple and white badge. It was the badge of a T9er team, but she couldn't remember which one.

"Is that guy from Territory Nine?" asked Nessa, folding her arms. "Let me guess... Valpalma? Wait, no. Arija?"

"Yes, and I think you'll be quite interested in what he has to say," Pasco nodded. "Just promise me that you'll wait a bit before making a decision."

A decision on what? Nessa would find out soon, and it would be a decision that sprung her career forward and brought her onto the big stage.

=====

The Alliance For the Defense of Jugoskania, or ADJ, was formed out of necessity, and had been revived out of necessity. Except, the old generation had their own families and responsibilities now, and the soldiers didn't have the combat experience of the last generation. They had grown up hating their northern neighbors, and they had heard stories of the war, but some of them had never actually fired a gun before. They would, however, be baptized by fire as they set up in Branslakur and prepared for the upcoming onslaught as the SVLA tried to break through the eastern section of mountains to make a break for Otavice.

The man responsible for getting the ADJ ready to fight once again was interrupted when a messenger parked out front and ran into the leader's tent, where the other officers were gathered. "Commander Antic, I'm sure you don't want to be interrupted, but there's big news. The SVLA is swinging even further left, to gather help. They know that they can't beat us and the Imperial forces, so-"

"So what? Who is aiding them?" asked Commander Antic, leaning back in his chair and staring straight at the messenger.

"The Comintern, or more specifically, the Nordskanians," stated the messenger, referring to the People's Republic of Nordskania, which was the ancestral homeland of all of the inhabitants of Jugoskania(with the exception of South Valeria). Communist rule in the 20s, 30s, and 40s was what had brought most of the Jugoskanians to their current island in the first place, and now the PRN was a threat to aid the SVLA. Unless Greater Anglatia stepped up its numbers in the region, it would be quite a hard war to fight, and they would likely fight on two fronts again.

Things had certainly gotten more interesting.

[San Jose Guayabal]

FAS vs Alianza - The Rivalry: Atmosphere - Part 3.

After talking about the history and origins of this iconical rivalry, it's now the time to talk about how the normal Guayabalense citizen lives this rivalry, escpecially when a matchday is close, how the cities turn, how the social media reacts to the game and everything related to it, the organization of the "Barra Bravas" days before the match, the chants and how the teams live it from inside, the players thoughts and desires, the moments prior and during the match, even what the police says about this kind of risky games, everything is here, on the third part of "FAS vs Alianza, The Rivalry."

By: Cristina Gómez, The Female Side of Football.
From: Loma Chata, San José Guayabal - World Cup 75 - Qualifiers - Matchday 7.
Posted: Saturday, July 18th, 2207 - 18:06 (Guayabalense Central Time - User's default time)

After mentioning everything that happened during the days of preparation by the two groups of fans, now is the turn to bow down to other activities occurring around this important classic soccer of San Jose Guayabal, CD FAS vs Alianza FC is obiously the most exciting game in esta nation, is why I have dedicated to the mission to show the world as this match live from the previous details with fans, the preparation by the police provide security event, traders who will benefit from this match, at every point, from the commercial to the psychic, mention the psychic as some traders in these games live good or bad times, it all depends on the fate of each person at the time to market and the prices offered to customers, besides that it is important to mention the players, unlike other reports, we will mention players as they prepare for this match, the atmosphere in the team, nerves and any other occurrence that occur in the internal equipment and usually do not come to light, this time will come to light in order to see how important, how vital this classic between two historic teams in San Jose Guayabal, the curiosity and all that deserves to be known by all fans of good football.

In this episode, we will focus more cops and traders, as I mentioned before, the role of the police in this kind of match is important in order to preserve the physical integrity of the fans, the material integrity of all properties nearby and of course, maintain public order in the streets surrounding the stadium. To give more context is necessary to mention events that had occurred even before a law to protect sporting events, some of these events lived many years ago was created, but its impact continues until today because they are a latent reminder what can happen when tempers flare in a game like this, in a "Classic of hate." the first event was in mid-2013, when our league had 22 teams and played in format Opening and Closing, Alianza won that game 3-2 but the good game shown by both teams in the afternoon is not the reason we remember this game, but what happened before and during the game. Just before kickoff, fans of Alianza made suspicious movements in one of the stands of the stadium, leaving a fairly large gap where there were no people, not seen what was in there, nor was thought to what was to happen, that space was maintained for 20 minutes until suddenly an explosion rocked the sector stands, gunpowder was introduced illegally, this explosion was such that two people had to be amputated arms or legs due to concrete shards were embedded in the legs, twenty wounded, fortunately no deaths, but this was just the harbinger of what was about to be ahead in the game.

Later, at halftime, fans of Alianza approached the space of segregation between fans of one and the other team, they forced the barrier and managed to enter the area where fans of FAS were located, it is at that point where he began a battle between both groups, about 25 injured and 30 people arrested was the record left this embarrassing incident. Many predicted would happen a disaster at the end of the game and indeed so happened, right at the start, when fans of FAS were headed to Santa Ana, in a confused fact, three people were killed when a police officer was forced to shoot into the air, the bullet fell into the windshield of a bus, the rider of the bus, believing it was under attack by supporters of Alianza FC, accelerated the march and had to run three policemen and a group of fans of Alianza FC the three policemen were hit at high speed and died on the spot, although it was not a scene caused by violence among fans, this event is marked because of the confusing fact that occurred between fans and police, it became a call attention to the police, because it was observed that the control methods in the order were failing and that they were repressive rather than preventive, all this led to the point that a reform of the law enforcement procedures were discussed but this was forgotten for many years, until an event it occurred that ultimately marked a before and after in safety procedures.

It was on the night of January 25, 2140, and when the league acquired the current format of 16 teams playing each other twice, just off a game where FAS was relegated to the second division, because they could not defeat Alianza, despite being an inconsequential game if we talk in many goals, it was 0-0, the pride of the fans of FAS was hit by eternity after that game against Alianza FC, just outside Santa Ana, a group of fans of FAS, heavily armed intercepted a bus with twenty fans of Alianza FC, fans of FAS forced the opponents to get off the bus at that moment started shooting mercilessly and was like twelve twenty fans of Alianza died in that slaughter, the reason for condemnation of this act was that occurred within the area designated as a security ring, with this I mean that is an area that in theory should be guarded by police because it is a place where the two groups of fans can meet and something bad can happen, as it happened, in addition to this tragic incident, at least 150 serious injuries were reported after fans of FAS rammed a group of fans of Alianza were walking to the hotel zone of the city, a group of about 500 people, all these incidents led to police protection practices in games like this changed drastically, it was at this time where surveillance cameras were installed in stadiums, electronic entry through a card containing the place where the fan will be seated and that has to be deposited to a machine in order to enter the stadium, although many of these measures were abandoned over time, fear of macabre conflicts has been little little in the past and today the most common are fighting bare-knuckle, if any kind of weapons or items that could be a serious danger to human life, and a more thorough control by the police in the areas They find the contour of the stadiums.

After all these reforms, many police say they feel "tied when trying to impose back order amid a fracas" because laws but have limited police when acting, as it is considered unethical to shoot rubber bullets and pepper to fans who are in lack of control during a fight gas, has toughened penalties that can be done creditors who initiate a fight between groups of fans and are recorded by security cameras installed public around the stadiums, penalties can range from three to eight years in prison, sentences that many considered hard but others do not believe so, yes, are only applicable to games of the Premier League and not for matches international Involving La Selecta, UNLESS it is a World Cup or a Cup of Harmony, where the laws are back to normal, so beating a foreign fan does not bring greater consequence, compared to hitting a fan of another Guayabalense team, even seeing all these considerations the police work is arduous, and to check it decided to enter a conversation between senior members of the police and organizers of the CEdC which will take place this Saturday, at this meeting quite important aspects talk, such as logistics preparation for the event, location of registration points and other tactics that police may use for this important match, where more than honor at stake.

Upon entering the police headquarters, located a couple of blocks from the Royal Palace, accompanies us the general inspector of the delegation San Salvador South, the delegation charged with the surveillance of the Cuscatlan Stadium sector Marcos Gutierrez, who took us to the office of him in that office were sitting members of Alianza FC, event organizers, members of CD FAS and other persons with sufficient competence to intervene in security issues for this match, the nomas begin the session the first point to try was the number of police to be used in plan, approximately two thousand members who would be guarding the perimeter of the stadium two days before in order to monitor any suspicious movement that could result in the contours of the place, the next item on the agenda was placing three checkpoints for fans who do present at these points should be verified that carry any unlawful the stadium and the authenticity of the tickets you have purchased will also verify all this in order to disrupt the market black, whose activity soars into the clouds when there is a match of such importance, through counterfeit tickets and journalistic credentials or titles of possession of VIP boxes in order to come to watch the game, it sounds a strange practice but is completely normal to see this happen in the days of classic. Besides that, the ban was ordered to carry umbrellas and any other device that could be puncture-proof and could be used as a weapon, in addition to prohibiting the distribution of glass containers.

In addition to these measures, police also looked at the use of helicopters and anti-riot units, especially water cannons to disperse the fans if a fight occurs at the end of the game, the use of water cannons is not regulated by law therefore this is the last resort that the police can use to disperse people after shooting in the air and used pepper spray are strictly prohibited by legislation to control the order in sports, a law enacted in 2140 but was reformed a couple of years ago, during the World Cup 74, finally, this takes away freedom of action to the police but prevents other damage that can be caused to the public, finally, the repressive component of the act removed the police, because he was doing more harm than good. The leader of the police operation took his turn to speak and asked the team leaders and organizers of the event to "work together to so shove goal to violence in the stadiums." Critical problem suffered by the company in San Jose Guayabal from memorable times. After that, we headed towards the sector of training of the police, where we could see as they prepare to face the issue of security for this match, when we entered the courtyard we see how a group of policemen was being dispersed by another group of agents through the use of water cannons in order to disperse the group of at least two hundred policemen who were against another group, a practical scale since they will not be two hundred to those who would face hypothetically speaking, but thousands potentially angry people or blind fanaticism at the time of the end or during or even before the match.

After training with water cannons, we could see how suddenly thirty unemployed police were seen in the middle, at that moment the rest of policemen went to where each of those policemen, that was the practice of body search for party the review of elements and including drums and other musical elements, a group of policemen carrying drums as were dressed in shirts of Alianza FC and CD FAS, in order to create a good environment pregame practice and thus see that this would be the scenario which would face on Saturday night for the highly anticipated match, meanwhile we could exchange words with the inspector general who said "he appreciates conduct training of this type, it gives the place a touch of realism, although scale it can provide a good parameter of what the police will during gameday, a complex and hostile environment, is why some policemen who were being registered on the basis of the practice began to attack who wanted to register, did rotations during times in order to admonish who is intimidated by the crowd of fans who stood in line, although there were several who knew how to handle the mood and temperament of the crowd, there were others who were reduced because they let themselves be mastered by the crowd, finally, what I saw in the police headquarters was a good practice for police officers who participate in the preparation for this great event, after nearly a hour practice, they broke lines and went to lunch, deserved a break after a series of practices that were well performed.

Alianza FC fan attacks FAS fan with a machete, back at 2013 riots.

[Sameba]

As with most football stadiums the Aspel Dellaro has its own distinctive characteristics; in this case, its humid atmosphere and condensed bowl structure. The Dellaro was always an amazing venue for a game that mattered, such as Sameba's legendary shock results against the likes of Polar Islandstates, Farfadillis, Cosumar and now potentially Nephara. Tonight was no exception as General Gartanzo, flanked by his most prominent advisors and cabinet members, watched the big game against the Esportivan nation pan out in front of them. Sameba were playing genuinely good football for the first time in a while. In this game they were playing new world champions at home, and had played exceptionally well in the first half hour as Sarado, Sabbattini, Huele and Capion bore down on the Nepharim goal. Eventually they broke through as Mayalla struck a sweet shot into the bottom left hand corner from 15 yards, set up by a sizzling dribble and released pass from Capion. The Sunrisian-born Huele caused problems all game, but it wasn't enough to stop Penumbra Amokachi stroking home a clever pass on the counter just before half time. The second half was more tame in terms of quality as Nephara failed to break down the Sameban's once they brought on a fifth defender. Yet while things were calming down on the grass, they were escalating in the stands. 85,000 fans were roaring the teams along, but it wasn't all about the football today.

The recently occupied Endemian island of Pravenna was a former Nepharim territory, one held in high regard by the Esportivan country. They had not taken kindly to Sameba's forced occupation of the island by rogue generals, nor the subsequent refusal to undo the occupation because "what's done is done". However there was no chance of Nephara intervening, certainly not without Euran assistance, and so the battle would have to be had out here. The Nepharim fans had chanted about it a fair bit throughout, repeatedly returning to the defiant cry of 'Pravenna is theirs', a very noticeable attempt to disassociate the colonial nature of Nephara's link with the place. Despite all of this things did manage to escalate in the last quarter of the game as nasty tackles started to fly in from both sides. Gartanzo watched on with his closest associate Beran, incredibly tense about the febrile atmosphere brewing. 'Are the police deployed in sufficient numbers?'
'Of course General, they are numerous enough to police three of these games, let alone one!' The local state police chief had piped up, hoping to shoehorn in some credit for himself in the presence of the President in all but name. He wasn't so convinced. 'Our fans are looking restless.'
'I am sure everything will be fine sir.' The police chief took his cue to nervously exit the room, and find some of his subordinates to put their foot down. Before he could even get of the room, the loud crack of a firework made everyone snap upright, backs straight and attentions focused. 'What was that?'
'We must get the General out of here!'
'Let's formulate a plan, quickly!' Gartanzo shook his head as his overeager, promotion seeking stooges squabbled among one another. 'Sit down, and shut up. Its just a flare.'

On the stadium clock, the game was ticking over into its 79th minute. The last five minutes had seen several fans from both sets of supporters bundled out of the ground by heavy handed riot police. The chants had been getting increasingly aggressive. As one drunken Nepharim was dragged away, the Sameban's sang "Scum, scum, foreign scum!". It was a sadly common chant among the nationalists, and certainly lacked artistic creativity. Nephara's fans were now almost completely distracted from the game, resigned to the likelihood that Sameba would slug out a draw. The Hellenic Flock, their main co-ordinated group of fans, heartily boomed out increasingly patriotic songs. They swayed quickly though into familiar territory, as cries of "Oh Sameba, Pravenna said no!" broke through the hissing, whistling and boos of the home fans. The Sameban's responded with the throwing now of bottles and other small objects. Beran leaned over to Gartanzo as discreetly as possible. 'Emile, I think we need to call a stop to this. This place feels like a touch paper about to be lit.' Before they had any chance of doing so Katskalidis, the Nephara player of Pravennan descent, crashed into fresh substitute Pablo Dohi, sending him flying and shortly after limping off the pitch with what hopefully wasn't too serious a calf strain. The home crowd responded with fury, and the instigator was promptly sent off, giving Sameba a serious chance of winning the game in the last ten minutes. Even this did not prompt silence from the traveling fans, who lit more flares and pulled out some Pravennan flags. Chants of 'Sameba's a shithole, I wanna' go home' and 'Katskalidis, leg breaking machine!' were projected into the evening air with gusto.

It was not like Sameban football fans to be outdone for inappropriate behaviour at home, as they quickly proved. Suddenly, several tiny shiny objects flew into the Nepharim end. 'What the hell was that? Why are they recoiling?' Beran's question was quickly answered as three Nepharim fans, including a teenage boy, were shown on the security cameras to have been hit by darts. 'Ok. Ok, General, we have to do something right away.' Gartanzo would not budge. Despite the aggression, a lone away supporter (quickly named supporters club chief Calista Giannou by police officials in the room) stood loud and proud at the front, leading the Nephara fans on as they continued to sing their hearts out. Nothing would silence them. 'Free Pravenna, Free Pravenna, Free Pravenna!'
'General, we have reports of fifteen wounded. We need to act.'
'Your father is a baby killing soldier, your mother is a shagger, your daughter is a mother, your son is your brother, you all fuck one another, its the Sameban family!'
'General! These songs cannot be heard on national television! They will spur dissenters, surely?' Gartanzo was losing his patience. He didn't really want to crack down unless he had to, though he wouldn't clarify why. Beran looked at him with desperate eyes as the other advisors continued to bark contradicting viewpoints in his ear. 'General.'
'Beran?'
'If you don't do something now, this lot will for you.' Just as the Sameban fans began to deploy their own flares, Euran flags now joined the Pravennan ones in the away end. One final chant would push things over the edge. It was a familiar one from the Endemian derbies, a song that had been sung as a taunt by foreign fans before; but never at the Dellaro. Not at the crucible of Sameban football. It was the signature chant of their sworn national enemy after all.

By the time the song reached its crescendo and the Sameban fans began to scream and holler in anger, Gartanzo had already taken the decision to send the riot police into the part of the stand where the padded up stewards were dividing the fans. It was loud, and it was clear. 'Euuuura, Euuuura, Euuuura, Euuuura!' Just as they began to venture into 'Craig Sinclair's having a party', the violence truly erupted as both sets of fans smashed through the steward line and railed against each other. The order was given straight away, leading to the subsequent merging of riot police into the fray. Batons crunched down on skulls both Sameban and Nepharim. Riot shields beat down on men, women and children. Tear gas was fired in the concourse behind the stand where some fans had already flooded out to fight. Remarkably the violence did not prompt a stoppage in play, mainly because the game was nearly finished. After the final whistle blew it spread into the streets, escalated by the arrival of anti-government South Sameban's who had stealthily made their way to the stadium in gangs of a few dozen each. It was at this point that the authorities suddenly turned their attentions specifically onto the away fans, under the order of commanders who saw an opportunity to portray the Nephara fans as in league with "undesirables" and political subversives. Mounted police and tear gas canisters flew into the lines of traveling supporters. Some stood and fought, while others frittered away at the sign of serious personal injury being on the cards. One young fan, still clad in his green Hargreave shirt, found himself flattened by a direct hit from a stun baton round. The unconscious fan was quickly dragged away by police, despite the protests of the away fans. He would be fortunate to be going home. As all of this chaos unfurled in front of him, the General simply shook his head. 'We've only got a few months. We are behind schedule, and do not need this.' Beran put his hand on Gartanzo's shoulder, a rarely permitted bit of personal contact. 'No need to worry, my friend. The hardliners will have to be patient.' Gartanzo was not convinced, and once again left Beran in the dark with a curious silence.

[Pasarga]

"The Sargossa team sure wanted to grab that draw last night, can you belief that they put four past our defense in a single match? It was something else to watch, truly a marvel, yet the Wanderers did just enough to see off that Sargossa attack and see themselves through to victory."

"Yeah, those four goals nearly doubled what the Wanderers had conceded through the first seven matches of the campaign, just a testament to how much the Sargossans now consider us as their rivals. It is quite remarkable what little actions turn friends into rivals, especially given how close our two nations were at one time. We shared a domestic league for a decade, until they decided to pull out of the arrangement, no one really knows why though there are a lot of rumors that they were discontent with how much better Pasargan sides were performing."

"Well I am not quite sure that would be it, given that Pasargan sides only won five of the nine seasons, with CA Paulinthal winning four of those and Galatica getting a surprise title in that mix as well. You can hardly be too surprised that CAP would notch up the titles in that time, as they have been one of the best teams not just in Pasarga but all of Rushmore for nearly forty years now, even if they are suffering something of a drought of titles currently. Anyways, it was something else to watch that match last night and really a testament to just how determined the Wanderers are to remaining among the best in the world when they could have easily began to fall off after the early exit in the last World Cup and the aging national pool."

"Speaking of the aging roster, while there is a bountiful amount of talent in the field positions for the next wave of national team players and for the national pool, there is a near complete absence in the keeper position. For a squad that prides itself as much on its defensive performances as it does its offensive ones, this has to be quite concerning. Zsa-zsa and Endre are not getting any younger when it comes to back ups and Lukacs is only a few years younger than themselves. Can they truly stay at such a peak performance while the pool waits for some younger keepers to come along or will there be a time when the position will be a liability for the Wanderers and their attempts to win more titles?"

"Well there is Aswad Munif Shalhoub playing in the Unified Sunrise Islands but he is young and not getting very many starts with the first team over there. If he continues to develop and gets more time, then perhaps he is the next keeper, but you are right when you say there is a bit of a gap in talent at that position. However there is quite the concern that much of the national pool is getting older and that the majority of the talent is under twenty and playing abroad. Jörg Feierabend is the only domestic based talent that I can see breaking into the team in the next two or three cycles that is not on the wrong side of twenty-five. It seems as if the golden generations of Pasargan football are ending."

"Well, Pasarga has always valued the collective effort over the individual one, perhaps we will see a reversion to a more team based tactic rather than hoping the couple of individual stars the squad has to produce the magic. Right now if the Wanderers are facing adversity, they know that at any moment Dominik Mauer or Szölôsi Oszlár can create a moment of magic and turn a result on its head, grabbing points perhaps where they would otherwise not have gotten them. It is a luxury that if the current trend continues that might not be afforded in the future and now is perhaps the time to begin adjusting rather than be slapped in the face with such a transition period."

"Perhaps or perhaps there will be a couple of late bloomers among the current players and we will see all this worry be really for nothing, just as it seems like the worry about having a competitive group might have been overstated. Four points is all that stands between the Wanderers and qualification, which might even be booked next weekend after the matches, should the Wanderers find victory and Arkan and Starblaydia fail to get full points. It has been a strange qualification route but it is one that the Wanderers are handling with care and respect to their opponents, perhaps why they are so successful currently. As with the match against the Corsairs last night, it is a remarkable thing to watch unfold before your eyes and I hope to see more of the same.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

OOC: Lord Almighty Gregory is unaware of Abelino Greece's specific spy plan, but knows him well enough to suspect he's doing something.

From the Desk of Lord Almighty Gregory

To: Abelino Greece, Falatulu
CLASSIFICATION LEVEL: [Redacted]

Dear Mr. Greece,

I am writing to, once again, offer my assistance to you in taking down the wicked tyrant in the Free Republics, Dumpy O'Rumpy. If there is any way we can be of assistance to you, please let me know. We have already provided you with several hundred nuclear weapons to secure your nation against the Dump. Please let me know if you require more weapons, military training in human blitzkrieg, manpower, or anything else. Our soldiers are anxious for the opportunity to take down the Rump, and if you would like to work with us towards that opportunity, we would greatly appreciate that.

Dumplestiltskin is a tyrant and a despot and must be stopped. He is cruel, and is also a horse's rump. He is so hated in Gregoryisgodistan that our nation spends a half our every day expressing our hatred for him. (OOC: And others we hate, but LAG isn't saying that.) If you would like to join us in the Half Hour of Hate, your nation is welcome to do so, and express your hatred for the King Rumple Dumple.

But, more importantly, we would be very willing to provide you military or other assistance should you wish to join us in taking down Dumpy O'Rumpy. Additionally, if you wish to share intelligence on his wicked ways with us, we would appreciate that, and we will do the same for you. I should let you know this communication is so classified that even knowledge of the classification level is classified information, so there is no way this communication can be intercepted. If you wish to reply, send your reply through [redacted] with classification level [redacted] and it will be equally uninterceptable.

Thank you, good luck in your attempts to bring down this tryant, and Death to Dumpy O'Rumpy!

Sincerely,

Lord Almighty Gregory

[Chiata]

Chiata Times
Back on Track

Chiata finished the first leg of Qualifying in fourth. It was expected that Chiata would be behind Saintland, but being behind the likes of Chernordad and Hasznia has really been a shock. Chiata failed to dispatch Hasznia in the Suns' own backyard, and as a result the Suns plummeted to fourth. Somehow, the Suns were able to straighten themselves out and reclaimed their position as second in the group, two matchdays into the second leg. It all started at home.

New Gelderland and Chiata had held each other scoreless last leg. This time around, Chiata had the home advantage and were ready reclaim their pride after the loss to Hasznia. New Gelderland had a fair amount of revanchism as well, with the highlight of qualifying being that opening draw to Chiata. The New Gelderlish side set up in 4-2-2-2 while Chiata placed themselves in a 5-3-2. It would be another defensive battle. Going into the day, Chiata had only allowed three goals across the first leg, a feat only matched by defending champions Nephara in Qualifying up to that point. Of course, Chiata also had the worst attack in the group, totaling only five goals in the first six matches.

Chiata gathered energy from the crowd throughout the match as the minutes ground on in the first half. Each side had hard defenses, while New Gelderland was more willing to attack. It was this tendency that would cost the New Gelderlish the match. Right midfielder Wolf made a sloppy pass intended for attacking midfielder Rhodes. Adleson snapped up the opportunity and Chiata went on a lightning counter attack. Chiata has a very limited offense and the few opportunities to score usually come from a decisive counter attack. Adleson passed the ball to Goldstein, but Kirkpatrick moved to intercept. Kirkpatrick was able to tip the ball, but Goldstein was able to chorale the ball back in and moved into the box. Goldstein faked a shot, forcing Rogue to jump and try to stop the perceived shot. This created an opening for Goldstein to pass to Stewart. Stewart pivoted and put a hard ground skidding strike on the right side of the goal. Goalkeeper Horn dove to stop the attempt, but he was too far away. The stadium erupted into cheers as Chiata went up 1-0. It isn't every day you get to see a Chiatan score.

New Gelderland made a few feeble attempts to get back into the game in the second half. Wingers Virgo and Griffin tried their best to equalize, but all of their shots were handled well by Truex. New Gelderland was running out of steam, and Chiata merely had to do what they always do: play hard defense. Perhaps it was a bit too hard, though, since Copeland got caught tackling too hard and was shown a yellow card. This happened again late in the game, forcing Copeland off the field. New Gelderland hoped to exploit the undermanned Chiatan defense, but there simply wasn't enough time to unlock the jigsaw.

Chiata 1 - 0 New Gelderland

Chiata got the best out of matchday eight. They got a win, and added to it was a Hasznian BYE and Chernordad being crushed by Saintland 5-0. This meant Chiata reclaimed second position. To put the icing on the cake, Nephara defeated Lightshield in a 7-2 drubbing, but those two allowed goals meant that Chiata had the best defense in Qualifying up to that point. However, there was no time to celebrate. Chiata needed to continue to win if they hoped to reach the playoff round. Saintland was up by a formidable eight points, so the group was narrowed down to fighting for second place.

Chernordad would be Chiata's next opponent. Chiata traveled over the dense jungles to reach Ermakova Memorial Stadium in Chernordad. The energetic young nation had kept up Chiata in their last meeting, with Chiata winning 2-1. Chernordad had burst on to the scene with an undefeated title run in the Baptism of Fire and had kept up with Saintland, Chiata, and New Gelderland in the group. However, they were crushed in the opening match of second leg, letting in five Sanctii goals and scoring none. Chiata hoped to prey on low morale as the two defensive sides prepared to class for the second time.

Center back Frank Hill replaced Rebecca Copeland in the staring lineup, due to the latter's suspension after two yellow cards in a single match. Chernordad's game plan centered around exploiting this weakness. Chernordad wore their home kits, yellow with red streaks, while Chiata was in their white kits. The stadium rumbled at the start of the match. The home fans wanted to get back the glory they had achieved in the Baptism of Fire. They very nearly did.

Chernordad would open up the score tallies, forcing Chiata to come out of their shell and go for broke. Left winger Gustavsson received a good cross from Semhar and pelted the ball to the net. Truex was unable to punch the shot away and Chernordad went up by a goal. Chiata answered by pushing forward, as by the in game instructions by manager Hommland. Prince would provide the equalizer. He spun around Nekrasov and planted a shot on goal. Aksenov got his hands on it, but the ball bounced off his gloves. Prince somehow got the rebound after Voronuff utterly missed the clearance, and Prince tapped the ball in to tie the game, one all.

Chiata continued to push forward with their attacks as Chernordad gave up more and more ground. Hommland wanted a win, not a draw. However, this attacking mood would result in another score for Chernordad. Curtis was dribbling by the end line and lost control of the ball. Chernordad took the goal kick quickly and caught Chiata off guard. Suddenly, Zotov and Semhar were racing towards the goal with none other than replacement Hill as the only defender in the area. Hill made a sloppy job of a challenge and the two attackers easily advanced. Truex charged forward in a desperate attempt to get at the ball. Semhar gave a wide pass that put Truex out of the equation. Semhar beat Adleson in a little foot race and tapped in the score. Holding true to the motto, Chernordad was most vulnerable right after they scored. Chiata would quickly knot the game up again, with Toler equalizing for the Chiatans.

As the match continued into the 70th minute, it apeared the day might end in a 2-2 draw. Despite the risks, Hommland once again told the Suns to push for a score. Early on, Chernordad had a few chances for a game ending counter attack, but the Chiata midfield was able to handle them. With the minutes ticking by, Chiata pushed forward with all their strength. Chernordad gave up on the counter attacks and tried to park the bus. Luckily, Chiata's offense played uncharacteristically well and continued to push for a score. Stewart came close to scoring, but Mishin cleared the ball over the end line. Toler took the resulting corner and sent it arcing into the box. Prince came up with one of his trademark headers and sent the ball tumbling into the net. The Chiatan side celebrated wildly to a quiet and stunned crowd.

Chernordad 2 - 3 Chiata

[Cosumar]

All-Time Cosumar XI ::: Entry #6 ::: Alexander Pearce (LCB)

106 caps
3 goals
Played WC 61-69
Captained WC 67-68

As we now cross into the second half of entries, the player selections will start to get a little more controversial. Unlike the five preceding entries, the remaining positions may not have just one legendary player that obviously sticks out above all others. For example, there might be two such legends vying for one spot. Or there may be a glut of merely "great but not legendary" players to choose from. Center back falls into the latter category. Cosumar has never had a CB considered irreproachably world-class on the international level. We have, however, produced lots of very good defenders who fit into the next tier down. It was always going to be interesting to see which two emerged on top after our combination of fan-voting, media-polling and statistical modeling. Obviously, the first is Alexander Pearce. Always a fan and media favorite, Pearce dominated in the human elements of the survey, though his actual play scored lower than many of his counterparts according to the computers.

Personality: Alexander was always wise beyond his years, a product of growing up with much older siblings and following the examples of some truly extraordinary adults in his life. He was known for his natural ability to guide and coordinate others without coming across as condescending or controlling. He was never a blustery leader, rarely raising his voice, instead relying on calculated motivational rhetoric. An elegant public speaker with a charming smile, Pearce was also the public face of many a team, product and cause. Yet his dignified, regal public personality is contrasted by accounts of those who know him best, describing a man with a whimsical, goofy personality when away from soccer and its spotlights.

Playing Style: Pearce was a rangy defender with great mobility. His strength was undoubtedly his aerial ability, both in marking and on set pieces in the opposing area. As a very cerebral defender, he could always be counted on to be in the right spot for his teammates and contribute mistake-free play. These qualities allowed him to play in either center back spot, and even frequently at left back (for club moreso than country). If he had a true weakness, it was that he could sometimes be outmuscled by opponents' physicality. He was best known for his leadership on the pitch; his awareness, communication and organizational skills helped motivate his teammates and ensure they remained in position. Even once his best playing days were behind him, Farris Crowley still liked to call him up as an invaluable guiding presence in the team.

Early Life: Alexander Reginald Pearce was born on December 11, 962 to Matthew & Tara Pearce in Ramusok. He was born into a proud family of athletes. His father, Matt Pearce, was a journeyman defensive midfielder in Cosumar throughout the 940s and 950s and his mother, Tara Pearce, was a striker at the collegiate level before moving on to an accomplished career as a professional sprinter and hurdler. Alexander had two older siblings: JJ Pearce, a talented Gridiron lineman who would play in the CFL, and Rebeka Pearce, who became a successful basketball player. Even his grandfather, Chester Pearce, was a prominent figure in the early days of Cosumarite pro-soccer as a defender and, later on, manager. Alexander was the late-life surprise for Matt & Tara. They were satisfied having had one son and daughter, and thought they were done. But then out popped Alexander...nearly eight years after middle child Rebeka. His parents gave him freedom and encouragement to find his own path in life, but Alexander nevertheless felt pressure from the earliest of ages to achieve in the realm of sport like his parents and siblings. He was especially aware that his father wanted him to play his sport (soccer) since neither JJ nor Rebeka had taken to it. Like most children, he went through various phases (wanting to be a space pilot, then a doctor, then a firefighter...) and was even the #1 ranked youth tennis player in Ramusok, but eventually the family trade found its way into his heart. By means of his Grandpa Chester, actually. The summer that Alexander was 15, he spent three weeks at his grandfather's house while his parents were out of the country. Chester Pearce was the manager of Ramusok United at the time and Alexander became engrossed with his job, with the tactical side of soccer. He spent entire days watching tape of opponents with his grandfather, and of the world's great historic teams like Valanora and Di Bradini's Starblaydia.

Club Career: Delighted that the Pearce soccer legacy might carry on after all, Alexander's grandfather and father encouraged him to begin training with Chester's youth teams at Ramusok United. Once he adjusted to the different perspective of actually being ON the pitch, Alexander's newfound affinity for the nuances of the game quickly showed up in his play as a defender. A couple months after he joined their training sessions, Ramusok United signed Pearce as a full-fledged player. At 19 years old in 981, Pearce made his first start in central defense for the Blues' first-team. His grandfather had since been sacked, so any suspicions of nepotism were long dispelled. Pearce established himself as a promising young talent, but struggled for regular playing time at United behind a glut of experienced defenders. He requested a transfer, and at 20 years old he was sold to the brand-new OAS Royal FC just ahead of the inaugural Harlighet Ligan season. Pearce became an icon for prestigious club in the heart of the capital, anchoring four championship-winning sides over sixteen years there. From 983 to 999, he made over 400 appearances for OAS Royal (club record). Some call the Royal Palace grounds "The House That Alex Built". King James II himself even made Pearce the ceremonial Baron of Ramusok Fief for his devotion to the royal family's club. But after the 999 season, at 36, he decided to take an opportunity to go abroad and do for another club what he did for OAS Royal: take a new club with potential and build it into something great. That club was Cornellians, conceived to represent Schottia in the Multiverse Premier League. Pearce mostly played left back for them and quickly became the team's emotional and mental leader, keeping their back line on a tight string and earning the title of player-coach. In two MPL seasons, Pearce helped Cornellians make two title pushes. He won the first and only MPL Cup in his last professional match at age 38.

International Highlights: First joined the National Team at the tender young age of 18 as a seldom-seen sub in World Cup 61. At the time, he was merely an untested prospect from the Ramusok United bench - so his inclusion over more proven players was controversial. But Farris Crowley believed in Pearce's potential and wanted to get him valuable experience to soak up as early in his development as possible. It paid off. Pearce would become a mainstay for Cosumar at center back (and sometimes left back) throughout the 980s and early 990s. Though this era is known as "The Dry Years" for Cosumar's sudden dearth of top-level talent and inability to even challenge in Qualifying, it wasn't actually a dry era for defenders. It was attacking talent that the Fiefdom struggled for. With the leadership of Pearce and other underrated talents like Endyl Paru and Abdiel Assad (who also received strong consideration for this spot), however, Cosumar's goals-against tallies remained mostly as strong as they were in the golden years. Pearce's representation for Cosumar culminated in World Cups 67 and 68, in which he became co-captain along with Abel Scarloff. At 30 and 32 years in these Cups, he was in his physical and mental prime for a defender and become an icon for both Cosumar and its most prominent club, OAS Royal. Aging hit him hard after World Cup 68, however, and he returned to a bench role for World Cup 69. He was left off the squad for World Cup 70 after a trying year at OAS Royal at age 36, but made a grand Vanquishers return at the subsequent AOCAF after being rejuvenated by his move to Cornellians. His international retirement and final Cosumarite hurrah ended up being a major storyline of that tournament.

Life After Soccer: Now 44, Pearce lives in the Greater Handon region of Schottia with his wife Shelby and their two sons Alexander Jr. (15) and Richard (12). After finally hanging up his boots at 38, Pearce was hired by Cornellians to replace Jock Sonny as Manager. Sonny recommended his former player-coach himself, and Pearce's transition into full-blown coaching was seamless. He oversaw the club's move from the now-defunct Multiverse Premier League over to the Schottic Premier League with immense success. Under his watch, the club have become the giants of the Schottic domestic league, winning three of the last four titles. Pearce also served as Assistant Manager for Schottia U21 in a couple Di Bradini Cups, gaining valuable experience managing in the international game. In his relatively short post-playing career, Pearce has proven a well-rounded managerial skillset: tactical acumen, player recruiting and motivating, effective organizational management and even shrewd handling of finances. He is considered one of the prime candidates to eventually succeed Gethin Ramsey in charge of the Cosumar National Team in a few years.


And there you have it. Alexander Pearce at left center back for the All-Time Cosumarite Dream Team. His versatility and leadership make him a valuable component of any back line, and his powerful left foot (and understanding of the LB position next to him) make him better-suited for the left center back spot. Hastmeade Diamente defender Arndu Farsgaard and Eastweald legend Endyl Paru were next in line for this spot after Pearce. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to let us know how you feel about the fifth selection in the comments section or on social media with the hashtag #CosumarXI. Be sure to stay tuned over the next few weeks as we continue to fill in that image below.

#1: LB William Riley | #2: CM Irvinn Rincon | #3: ST Rikki Varshney | #4 ST Sur Arora | #5: DM Vareza Na'Noni | #6: CB Alexander Pearce




In honor of Cosumar's 25th World Cup, The Cosumarite Courier is naming the best eleven Cosumarite players in history for the first time ever. If our scientists unlocked the secret of time travel and we could assemble any combination of Cosumarite players from the last 50 years, who should we select to win a World Cup? Well, you voted and we did our nifty research...so now we're unveiling the aggregate results. One by one. Each matchday. You can read the biography of each selection or simply check the updated version of the above image each day to quickly see who made it and continue on with your life. By the time World Cup 75 Qualifying is winding down, the countdown will be complete and a concrete Best XI finalized. We will be unveiling entries in order from most unanimous to most controversial, so the worst comment-section firestorms SHOULD be saved until the end!

---

MD8: "Acronius loss gives Cosumar breathing room atop Group 3"
Scorers: Bye
Subs: Bye

MD9: "Vanquishers stave off aggressive Lons comeback bid at Kêlik Den to secure sixth win"
Scorers: Worsaw 21', Öhman 63'
Subs: Womack 73', Branch 80', McNessa 90'

---

Cosumar Goal-Scorers Tally (35 GF)
Anders Engström (10)
Belarmin Worsaw (6)
Ole Öhman (5)
Mauricio Sigler (3)
Aziz Senturk (2)
Alexander Soarhaven (2)
Peter Svensson (1)
Bacary Na'Kale (1)
Sheldon Serra (1)
Ace Newman (1)
Matt Branch (1)
Frazan Va'Goshal (1)
Own Goal (1)

Cosumar Assists Tally
Belarmin Worsaw (6)
Ole Öhman (5)
Anders Engström (3)
Vareza Na'Noni (3)
Mauricio Sigler (2)
Aziz Senturk (2)
Augen Wittevrongel (1)
Sheldon Serra (1)
Tiffany Elam (1)
Alexander Soarhaven (1)

Substitute Appearances Tally
Matt Branch (9)
Ace Newman (5)
Tevin Lilley (5)
Frazan Va'Goshal (5)
Tiffany Elam (4)
Esteban Hernandez (3)
Jo de Marisco (3)
Augen Wittevrongel (3)
Maynard Gorham (3)
Deirdre McNessa (3)
Olaf Womack (2)
Torbjörn Jorgensen (1)

Cosumar's World Cup 75 Cycle
Four Corners Friendly Tour: Cosumar 1-0 Flardania (@ The Wormhole, Ashen Point)
Four Corners Friendly Tour: Cosumar 5-0 Azrea (@ Versiaville Pavilion, Versiaville)
Four Corners Friendly Tour: Cosumar 3-1 Super-Llamaland (@ Orangi Stadium, Crawford)
Four Corners Friendly Tour: Cosumar 3-1 Rotschwarzland (@ SweetHaven Stadium, Stoneshore)
Qualifying Matchday 1: Bye
Qualifying Matchday 2: Cosumar 4-2 Lons (@ Fire River Arena, Ramusok)
Qualifying Matchday 3: Pridnestrovia 2-2 Cosumar (@ Sheriff Stadium, Tiraspol)
Qualifying Matchday 4: Cosumar 5-2 Acronius (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
Qualifying Matchday 5: Kaboomlandia 0-4 Cosumar (@ King Wulfric II Royal Stadium, Kolra)
Qualifying Matchday 6: Cosumar 3-1 Super-Llamaland (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
Qualifying Matchday 7: Nuevo Caracas 0-2 Cosumar
Mid-Qualifying Friendly: Ethane 0-1 Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 8: Bye
Qualifying Matchday 9: Lons 1-2 Cosumar (@ Kêlik Den, Kêlik)
Qualifying Matchday 10: Cosumar vs. Pridnestrovia (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
Qualifying Matchday 11: Acronius vs. Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 12: Cosumar vs. Kaboomlandia (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
Qualifying Matchday 13: Super-Llamaland vs. Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 14: Cosumar vs. Nuevo Caracas (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
Green: Victory
Blue: Draw
Red: Defeat
Home team listed first

[COCANEFA]

CUT OFF

[Flardania]

OOC: Damn just a minute late

Opening Theme

---

Bonjour et Ohayōgozaimasu Kirishima. Welcome ladies and gentleman back to another edition of the Kitsune Report, brought to you by Seongwoo Motors and the Nagatomo Sports Network (NSN). Here at the Kitsune Report it's all about our cherished national team and other football news that may vaguely relate to the team because I can. We will continue coverage of this historic World Cup 75 qualification where 140 nations fight continue to fight for 30 measly spots, where only 20 will be able to relax via instant qualification and the remaining 20 fight for the ten remaining spots in a cruel playoff round. With five matchdays left and potential 12-15 more points on the line, anything is still possible. So with out any further delay it's time to get grooving for some cup football once again.

So we all know that Sayo Matsuoka was originally going to speak about her career path following the Kirishima-Ko-oren match in Imgeum before the heartbreaking loss the Kitsunes suffered. Well in that time more things came up about the deal which will make this move more news worthy and for someone who may be trying to avoid drama....may very well get stuck with it again. This certainly will fit into Sayo's press conference which will be shared with Ako following the match against Shytysle in Heiwa. This press conference due to it being Izumi's hometown from childhood and as a professional will go on regardless of mood.

Now some of you may be wondering what I'm trying to say. Don't worry I will get to that in just a little bit. The big news is that Sayo Matsuoka will be playing with Reina Toure and Tyra Halloway. Reina Toure is the sister of the great Milian Toure and was a teammate of Matsuoka at AFC CC. Now you would think that wouldn't be much of a problem but alas unfortunately it may be. Considering the bad press Sayo continued to have in Armeia combined with AFC not being as successful as they should've been it will be hard to gauge what a reunification will mean. Will they be able to click due to experience working together or will pettiness prevail and the season will end with one of them wanting out?

Now to make matters worse you throw in Tyra Halloway into the mix and things become much more complicated. Tyra certainly heard a lot of anti-Sayo sentiments and it did not help that she was on a rival squad like Hawks United. That has a chance to be an explosive situation I expect Sayo to try and bury any hatchets but going from past experience anything she does will be seen negatively. Remember that one time Sayo mentioned that wealth dosen't matter in terms of skill or determination? Yea that vilified her and all of Center City so if something like that can be misconstrued then we are going to have some big problems concerning the Mets.

Well now it's time for the Kirishinan football check. The segment where we take a look at other matchday matchups that matter to most Kirishinans. In Group three Acronius drew with Super-Llamaland at two goals a piece while Cosumar was victorious on the road against Lons with a score of 2-1. Cosumar leads Group 3 with 19 pts with Acronius right behind with 14 pts. In Group five Damukuni won convincingly on the road 5-2 against Platerdam. Damukuni continues their historoic run at the top of group five undefeated with 7 wins equaling 21 pts.In Group nine, best in the world Eura easily handled Devonta at home 4–1. Finally in Group 19 Unified Sunrise Islands won a close one against Mercedini at home 4–3. In that game Akihabara favorite Tomoyo Nishidake managed to score in the 60' minute which certainly made many Kirishinans watching at home happy as Unified Sunrise Islands now pull forward with an eight point lead over their closest competitor.

Chromatika 3–4 Kirishima Match Review:
Speaking of happy Kirishinans the Kitsunes sought to increase the mood after a 0-3 drubbing by Ko-oren in Imgeum. The Kitsunes debuted their alternate Empress Red soccer kits against Chromatika. Last match up was a heartbreaking 1-1 draw in the nation capital. Kyosuke decided to mix things up by starting Ai Takagawa in goal. The This matchup saw both teams tied at 11 points, each seeking to take advantage of the Abaja bye.

The Kitsunes came out unprepared for the new offensively minded opposition and it showed as Gabriella Antonio instilled fear into the Kitsunes with an 18th minute goal after a misread by Takagawa. Kirishima struck back quickly in the 21st minute with a Yabuta flying though with a through ball before hitting finesse shot in the upper left corner. The Kitsunes kept things rolling in the 43rd minute after Matsuoka was fouled. Izumi from just outside the box a little too close to be in her Goldilocks hit a beautiful corner to put the Kitsunes up 2-1 at the half.

After the half Nioli Quren slithered undetected pass Iwamoto taking advantage of the opportunity and drilled the ball past the keeper, tying the game at 2-2. In the 69th minute Ryoushirou Nayasaki delivered a healthy cross to Yabuta who headed the ball in for a 3-2 lead. Gabriella Antonio struck again in the 79th minute knotting the game at three. The Kitsunes played aggressively, determined to not drop two points before getting a corner in the 88th minute. Defender Koharu Miyamoto made a clutch header to put the Kitsunes up 4-3 thus keeping all three points for themselves.

(71)Chromatika 3 – 4 Kirishima(25) 
Antonio (18' 79')       Yabuta (21' 69')
Quren (47')              Izumi (43')
                            Miyamoto (88')

Post by: Keita Woo

[Super-Llamaland]

TIGERS - ACRONIUS: AS IT HAPPENED

Time is ticking out, and if the Tigers want any hope of crossing the line, they'll have to take matters into their own hands and defeat Acronius tonight. A difficult task, but the Tigers are in their best form of an admittedly underwhelming cycle, and three points against the Blue Boys (who smashed them late to pull ahead 5-3 in New Llama) would narrow the gap between the two teams to a mere one point, a critical development. Can the Tigers turn it around tonight?

Lineups:
SLL: Costa, Lindberg - Ynoa - Reichart - Sorenson, Candelario - Vesely, Vorobyov, Rasmussen, Chamberlain - Penbrooke
ACR: Nielsen, Andersen - Ayers - Royce - Ruess, Santiago - Spelmeyere, Aubry, Fawden - Vesper - Blackett

Fairly standard lineup from Acronius - relying on Axel Aubry and the front line to cover up the defense's relative weakness. But it's a high-quality attacking line - Blackett and Fawden play for Farf side Avenida Leal, while Vesper makes a living terrorizing the Cenian leagues. Meanwhile, Trevor Duncan keeps Jessica Chamberlain in the lineup at right-wing - but this time at the expense of Reid Adrian, Ethan Candelario's defensive presence deemed too important to give up. The former Oslerholm Chariots manager hasn't done that poor a job of managing the Tigers so far, but he'll need to step up his game tonight against Henry Coyle's Blue Boys.

1' - We have kickoff! James Costa wins the flip, and Penbrooke opens the night with a pass to Felix Rasmussen, whose pass to Vorobyov is promptly intercepted. Solid stuff.

3' - Acronius is looking the better team early on, and Axel Aubry cuts past Reichart and crosses into the box for the first chance of the night. Emily Ynoa manages to clear the ball out, though, and the Tigers pour forwards.

6' - A rather disorganized counterattack that was - still, Miro Vorobyov managed to flip the ball to Ansel Penbrooke, who promptly humiliated Lupe Andersen and fired on target. Nothing Nielsen couldn't handle, though.

10' - The Tigers keep threatening, Vesely summoning his inner Megan Sigurorzson by running down the goal-kick. Jessica Chamberlain gets a chance this time, but Sebastian Nielsen parries the shot wide for a corner.

12' - Felix Rasmussen swings the corner in, but it's hilariously misplaced and rolls out on the other end. Oh well.

15' - Acronius pushing forwards now. The Tigers defense has been mostly untested today, but that changes as Titus Blackett unleashes a cannon from outside the box - Emily Ynoa sticks her leg in the way and neutralizes the threat, although she winces when Blackett's shot hits her thigh.

17' - Arturo Santiago is brought down by Ethan Candelario a few yards outside the box, earning the Goodfeather FC midfielder a yellow, his second of the qualifiers.

18' - What a chance! Aubry sends the free-kick over the wall, but James Costa is magnificent once again and makes a diving stop. Brilliant work from the goalkeeper.

20' - Acronius keeps threatening, though...Blackett misses high, but Costa still pushes it out to be safe for a corner. Ynoa has been decent, but after a great game against Pridnestrovia, Kurt Reichart hasn't exactly impressed, and Ethan Candelario will need to be more cautious now that he's on a yellow. Acronius could score sooner or later.

23' - GOAL FOR ACRONIUS (VESPER 23) AND IT'S ONE-NIL! The corner is off target, but Max Fawden runs it down and, after evading the sliding challenge of Michael Sorenson, rifles a cross into the box. A brief skirmish later, Saul Vesper manages to get his foot on the ball and slip it off the left post and in. Both sides should've scored earlier, but it's Acronius who gets on the board first. The home fans go wild, knowing that a victory will virtually secure their advancement to the playoffs.

25' - The Tigers kick off and Felix Rasmussen goes on a madcap run into the defense. He manages to draw Lupe Andersen hopelessly out of position, and as Acronius reacts, he threads a pass through two defenders and into the box for Penbrooke to smash in! Well, at least in theory - but Andersen intercepts the pass. No points for effort, Felix.

28' - The Tigers have come back well from Saul Vesper's goal. They should knot things back up by the end of the half.

30' - Ansel Penbrooke manages to intercept a pass outside the box and sprint forwards, but he's instantly surrounded by Acronius' defense and is forced to pass back. Not the star striker's best performance.

33' - Of course, as soon as we say that, he manages to slalom past Andersen and fire a pinpoint cross at Miro Vorobyov, whose volley unluckily bounces off the crossbar. Jessica Chamberlain catches up to the rebound but makes a mess of it and fires wide.

35' - Sebastian Nielsen decides the best course of action is to use his goalkick to...pass to James Costa, who smartly sends it to Jessica Chamberlain and her blazing speed. Chamberlain streaks up the wing like a meteor while Acronius sprints back in hot pursuit. Chamberlain passes to Felix Rasmussen, who fires, but Nielsen does well to stop it.

38' - Vesely becomes the second Llamanean player to receive a yellow, for cynically bringing down Saul Vesper around the center circle. Not good at all.

40' - Let's all take a moment to praise the ways of James Costa. If someone else were starting, it could easily be two- or three-nil. Also of interest - backup striker Kyle Rutherford warming up on the sideline. Would Duncan take Penbrooke out so early?

45' - We'll have one minute of stoppage.

45+1' - First half over, and it's Acronius 1 and the visiting Tigers stuck at nil. The Tigers looked very strong, especially after Saul Vesper's 23rd-minute strike that opened up the scoring, and were unlucky not to score. That doesn't really matter though - they still need at least a draw if they want any chance to qualify, and a win would be ideal.

46' - Well, let's see where the second half takes us. Vesper dashes forwards and is immediately brought down by Penbrooke, who is lucky to avoid a yellow. Why are the Tigers losing their composure? We've played just one half and they're still in the game.

48' - GOAL (VOROBYOV 48)! ONE-ALL! Jessica Chamberlain bolts down the left wing, switching with Miroslav Vorobyov, who runs to the right side of the pitch. Once there, Chamberlain whips in a fairly good cross. Ansel Penbrooke has the first shot at it, but hits the right-post. Vorobyov, ducking past Lupe Andersen, has the second, and nearly sends the ball over the crossbar from one yard out. Instead, he buries the shot in the top-left corner and wheels away in celebration. The Tigers have equalized!

50' - Acronius are pushing forwards now. They want three points, although even if they draw or lose they'd still be in second place. Not a bad performance from Coyle's Blue Boys tonight, but one point won't be enough to sate them.

52' - Kyle Rutherford warms up again. Penbrooke seems to notice it too, although he doesn't really improve.

54' - A very evenly-contested match. Saul Vesper dashes into the box to reel in Axel Aubry's pass, and has a shot to net a brace and pull his team ahead. Instead, he taps the ball into James Costa's arms.

55' - Acronius makes a substitution. Looks like it's Aaron Maxwell on for Andersen. The Tigers respond by bringing out Ethan Candelario for Reid Adrian, hoping to pull ahead two-one and grab all the momentum from the rest of the group with three straight wins.

57' - Acronius makes them regret this immediately. Axel Aubry takes a chainsaw to the Tigers defense, ripping it open, and finds Saul Vesper in the box. Vesper fires past James Costa, but his goal celebrations are interrupted by the offside flag. How sad.

61' - Reuss fouls Candelario, and Ansel Penbrooke is allowed to take the free kick. From forty-one yards out, he sends it over the wall and nearly into the top-left corner. He sends it well over the crossbar though, although it was a foot off from being the goal of the year.

66' - The Tigers make another substitution - off goes Reichart, on comes Immanuel Kane. Star sub Joe di Scampi is warming up for the Blue Boys, the chagrin of Llamanean fans, who politely request that he not.

68' - Saul Vesper comes out, but it's for Di Scampi (yes, the former FC Denison striker). Out of the frying pan...

70' - OMFG

71' - GOAL! (DI SCAMPI 71). Axel Aubry once again manages to get past a now too-cautious Candelario, and he sends a pass past Michael Sorenson and towards Fawden, who turns and runs. A dangerous situation becomes worse when Fawden manages to evade Emily Ynoa and tap a pass into the box. Di Scampi doesn't quite make contact, but manages to redirect the ball, which then rolls in a moment before James Costa gets to it. And that's all the wunderkind needed to put Acronius ahead again. What a play.

72' - The referees conferencing. They're going to need to look at replay. Did James Costa punch the ball out of bounds before the ball crossed the line? If so, cornerkick to Acronius. If not, goal to Acronius.

73' - They've decided (probably using goal-line technology) to take the goal back! The stadium erupts in boos, but the Tigers are level again!

74' - The corner-kick goes to Di Scampi, but this time Costa blocks the ball without need for goal-line review.

76' - Acronius continues to push. This one's going down to the last minute.

78' - Kane makes a perfect challenge, and Chamberlain takes the ball and breaks free!

79' - Chamberlain stops, ducks past a defender, slaloms past another, and sends a beautiful through-ball, and it's none other than Ansel Penbrooke who takes it and volleys...

80' GOAL! GOAL FOR ANSEL PENBROOKE! (PENBROOKE 79) The stadium is in chaos! A Tigers fan runs onto the field - he gets a firm handshake, an autograph, and a thirty-second conversation until the fan is taken away by security.

82' - What a beauty! Immanuel Kane tackles Di Scampi and the ball rolls off. Jessica Chamberlain takes the ball and springs forth, breaking out of the Tigers' half. Two defenders come out to confront her - she slides past both of them, smooth as can be, and sends a through-ball. It's Ansel Penbrooke who catches up with it before any defender can, and his first touch sends the ball into the top-left corner of the net. Sebastian Nielsen never stood a chance, and the Tigers are up two-one on a truly beautiful strike!

84' - Miro Vorobyov comes out...and sweeper Tyler Zhou comes in! A rock-solid back five. At least, one that can hold Acronius for ten or so minutes.

86' - The Tigers nearly score a second, but Chamberlain fires wide from long range. Not the most prudent idea when they can just kill time - but a third goal wouldn't hurt, in Chamberlain's defense.

87' - Acronius's fans are still furious over Di Scampi's goal being taken away. Some of them have made signs that say "IT'S ACTUALLY TWO-ALL". But the referees' call was the correct one. That ball didn't cross the line.

89' - Now Acronius is really knocking on our door. Di Scampi fires from medium range, but Emily Ynoa reels it in.

90' - There will be three minutes of stoppage.

90+1' - What a chance! Tigers fans' hearts stopped when Axel Aubry saw his teammates marked, muttered "ahhh screw this", and fired on goal instead - a thunderous shot that James Costa barely managed to send over the crossbar! Acronius will have a corner-kick. It could be their last possession.

90+2' - GOAL TO ACRONIUS! (DI SCAMPI 90+2) Joe Di Scampi has the last laugh, rising up over Ynoa and using his head to flick Axel Aubry's cornerkick past James Costa and into the net. No doubt about that one. What a heart-breaker!

90+3' - The Tigers are given one final attack, but Sebastian Nielsen easily saves Penbrooke's attempt and it's all over! Each side will take a point, but in truth each side deserved three. The draw means that we're still in it, but we were on the verge of pulling within one point of Acronius and this match was truly heartbreaking. Can we catch up again after this spectacle? Who knows? One thing's for sure - it was fun to watch!

[Ceni]

---

HOW CARRASCO SHOULD DO THE WORLD CUP LINEUP
Arrowsword, Zajon should be included

---

Admittedly, Ceni has a pretty star-studded attack, with stars like Kel Koromin and Jaime del Olmo backed up by excellent performers Jacen Xasan and Nico Asturias. With only four spots available in the offense, then, quality players like Andrew Daren, Kira Koromin, Tomás Fierro, and Will Noveth were left on the bench, and two excellent players - Andrew Arrowsword and Jacob Zajon - were left off entirely. However, there can be a solution to this problem. As Ceni inches ever closer to qualifying for the World Cup for the third straight time, manager Elías Carrasco - for now, according to the numbers, the best manager in Ceni's history - should make a couple of changes to Ceni's starting lineup and formation to make sure that Ceni achieves its goal in the World Cup.

First of all, Carrasco should make some changes to the formation, especially regarding the defense. Kaia Travaran - the team's captain - has been a bastion on the defense, especially during the first half of qualifying. But the other two starters - Josh Axakel on the left and Justin Morroghany on the right - have been less than convincing in their defensive performances. Carrasco has never prioritized the defense, and out of the group leaders as of the ninth week of matches in the World Cup cycle, Ceni is one of the 5 nations with the worst defenses - conceding 12 goals over 8 games (still a pretty decent tally), but most of the other nations set to qualify for the World Cup have goals conceded in the single digits. This author believes that, for this reason, manager Carrasco should leave off one of either Axakel or Morroghany and rely mostly on Travaran to lead the defense. The defense is not an integral part of Ceni's football heritage, and getting rid of a defensive spot would preserve room for the attack that Ceni will need to get past these tough defenses. After all, the more defensive teams will have less of an attacking propensity, so there will be less need to have a bigger defense. The goalkeeping options right now - Ryaden, Morales, and Koron, in that order - are likely the best options for that position; Ryaden has recently regained his form with Schottic club Handon United, while Morales has cemented his position as the second-choice Cenian goalkeeper with three seasons of excellent performances with Viento Oeste.

In the midfield, Carrasco should shift Thajan Jaros to a defensive mid spot - he thrives creating chances and opportunities, but so do Allison Swan and Corran Celgis, and Jaros is fairly adaptable to a defensive mid position, allowing him to take over partially the workload of the defense. Swan and Celgis can still manage the playmaking and moving forward effectively, then, and Jaros can serve as a good link between the midfield and the defense, increasing the midfield's effectiveness. There won't be too many offensive playmakers looking for a share in the glory (as they say, too many cooks spoil the broth), and switching Jaros to the defensive mid will help to shore up the defense, increase chances, and help the counterattack, which has been, admittedly, suffering a bit.

The attacking mid and the strikers, though, are a more complicated decision - and a more crucial one, for if Carrasco chooses the wrong strikers, he can severely limit the team's potential in the World Cup. It's a good thing, then, that Ceni has a lot of options in this area, although it will be a hard choice sorting everyone out. Everyone should agree that Jaime del Olmo and Kel Koromin - two of the finest footballers Ceni has ever produced - deserve starting spots in any lineup. They have the skills to pay the bills, so to speak, with clean, crisp passes and absolutely beautiful shooting; these two are the main reason why Ceni is averaging at least four goals a game during qualifiers. Jacen Xasan has raised his profile, too, playing in the Euran league after having two stellar seasons with Myrmidon, and he ought to keep his starting spot in the attacking mid as well. Those are pretty much locks for the three players - they have the quality to set up and score multitudes of goals, and they have already proven themselves, both on the club and national team sides.

The other two striking spots, however, and the substitute spots for the attacking positions are a bit more hazy and uncertain, as there are quite a few players competing for these spots, and all have their own individual merits and demerits. Two players stand out for inclusion in the newly created striker's spot: Jacob Zajon and Andrew Arrowsword. Zajon got his start with FC Jansberg in Semarland, which has won a LigAnaia Nord title, as a right midfielder (although he started out as a striker), making him one of the most versatile players in Ceni's roster. He has played striker for the Cenian national team as backup in the last two cycles, but Carrasco chose to leave him off due to a lack of striking spots in the 3-3-2-2 formation. With his transfer to Myrmidon, though, he's been raising heads, as his abilities were instrumental in ensuring that the club reached the octofinals of the Champion's Cup.

Andrew Arrowsword, meanwhile, just celebrated his seventeenth birthday but is a better choice than ever to earn a spot in the Cenian national team. Despite his youth, Arrowsword is perhaps one of the best players to come out of Ceni. After winning the Golden Boot last year in Electrum, with Club 24, he moved to Real Azuris in Cosumar, helping the club to win their third straight season as Cosumarite league champions, and Arrowsword played a major part in their victory in the Cosumarite cup as well. Rumor has it that Real Azuris has chosen to start Arrowsword the next season. Arrowsword has excellent stamina, wonderful finishing, and a beatiful shooting movement from both feet; he is resourceful, intelligent, and creative. In short, he is the striker that Ceni needs to reach the knockout rounds of the World Cup.

A third option, however, is probably the most promising, and should be a good pick for either spot. Nico Asturias, while only 20 years old, has topped the scoring charts not only for Cenial United, but also for the Cenileague in general. He was also instrumental in bringing his club to a Champion's Cup octofinal spot, one of two Cenian clubs to do so. He had excellent reflexes, penalty shooting, and a good shooting motion and general, and he's also been a good scorer for Ceni throughout this World Cup qualification campaign so far, so in this author's opinion, Asturias deserves to keep his starting spot on the squad.

For the substitute spots in the attacking zone, Carrasco has several options, but he should go for the following players: Kira Koromin and Will Noveth as subs for Kel Koromin and Nico Asturias, respectively; Adrián del Toro for Jaime del Olmo, and Andrew Daren for Jacen Xasan. While Tomás Fierro has been having a good season as well, 1860 Azoth has been having another resurgence in the Cenileague, and Daren has been a major part of it; del Toro is a natural choice to replace del Olmo, thanks to his 34 goals in the Cenileague last season.

My Starting XI: Ryaden | Travaran - Morroghany | Jaros - Swan - Celgis | del Olmo - Xasan | Asturias - Koromin - Zajon

[Jeruselem]

At Dazza Dallas Stadium after Jeruselem beat the Confederate Islands of Paputu 1-0

Princess Laura and the coach James

James: How did the other teams go?
Laura: Ceni had a bye and our rivals won their games
James: No nothing changed in the end
Laura: Yep, the top 4 are the same. Ceni lost a buffer to Turori due to the bye but Turori and Quak are still have their bye
James: So we're still in the race
Laura: Two points off 2nd, and 6 off top spot

James: I'm not expecting us to take the top spot
Laura: We can only dream, but not very likely to happen now
James: Everyone was a bit sluggish today
Laura: Well it is like over 30 celcius, and it's middle of the day
James: I suppose it is
Laura: It's kinda obvious it's hot

James: Why is that
Laura: Girls everywhere in tank tops
James: I don't look at girls all the time
Laura: No wonder you miss on them
James: I'm bit tunnel visioned
Laura: It was only our 2nd home win and last game as our first away loss

James: I guess that happens when you reverse fixtures
Laura: We can't afford to drop any points now
James: Especially handing points to Turori and Quak
Laura: At least our defense was much better today
James: The opposition wasn't exactly Ceni
Laura: We didn't concede a goal, that's important

James: We still have work on scoring goals, 1 goal against a low ranked team
Laura: Yeah, we need to work on that
James: Don't think we've scored 4 or more in a game
Laura: True
James: Who's the girl with the pink hair
Laura: That's Anna

James: Oh right, I wondered who that was
Laura: Come on, that's my kids. You should know
James: I never see your son
Laura: He's too busy at Jeru FC, with his friends
James: Different social circles
Laura: You don't want to socialise with the Jeru FC people, trust me.

James: I've run into them before
Laura: So that's why you don't pick Jeru FC players in the team
James: They drink far too much beer
Laura: Us girls get wasted too ... not that's happened recently with me
James: You might turn up with a hangover, they drink during work hours
Laura: Yeah I know

[West Angola]

NAMIBE CHRONICLE

TWO FOR TWO


Paul Ramirez (front, #9) celebrates his 66th minute goal to put West Angola ahead

NAMIBE- Even if they don’t qualify for the 75th World Cup, West Angola can come away knowing they caused a bevy of sleepless nights in Osarius and Falatulu. Jan Pawel’s eleven came one step closer to finishing their improbable qualifying campaign last night as they overcame an early deficit to defeat Falatulu 2-1 in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Namibe. Paul Ramirez and Peter Simmons both scored to erase a 5th minute goal from Connie Chase and put West Angola in good position to qualify for the nation’s third World Cup. West Angola came into the match with momentum, riding high after their 2-0 victory in Osarius two weeks ago, while Rule Theriault’s side looked to continue their long slog back to the top after a disappointing first leg. Falatulu had defeated Legalese 3-2 in the IslandDome in their prior match, which allowed them to pull even on points with West Angola and Osarius, and had a chance to vault past both of them into second place when group leader Frenline Delpha overcame Osarius 1-0. With both teams seemingly on the cusp of climbing into the driver’s seat in the qualification race, the stakes could not have been higher.

West Angola was able to defeat Osarius in part because they shifted their formation five times over the course of the match, keeping the far more experienced side from keying on their weaknesses and pressing home on the attack. This time, however, Pawel kept his players in their standard 4-2-3-1 throughout, and despite surrendering an early goal West Angola managed to hold the visitors in check for the final eight-five minutes of play. West Angola played aggressively out of the gate, pressing forward in relentless pursuit of the lead. Alan Harrison, commentating for EPSN, proved prophetic as he observed, “Falatulu is very dangerous on the attack. If [West Angola] keeps throwing themselves forward like this it could cost them very dearly.” Sure enough, Kyle Bolton got behind the defense on the counterattack and found himself and Connie Chase with only Wesley Reynolds between them and Jeremy Thomas. Reynolds made a determined effort, but Chase and Bolton split him wide and forced him to charge the ball, leaving Chase wide open to blast a shot past a lunging Jeremy Thomas to give Falatulu a 5th-minute lead.

Seemingly cowed by the early goal, West Angola began to play more conservatively and hung back waiting for an opportunity. That chance came in the 27th minute when Elsa Scott headed out an attempted cross from Ayub Sandstrom and sent the ball bouncing directly to Glenn Santos in space. Falatulu found themselves short at the back as Santos worked the ball up to Nathan Gonzalez, who in turn fed it ahead to Peter Simmons. Simmons outmaneuvered Nusmir Senicar with some tricky footwork just outside the left corner of the box and fired the equalizer by William Walls. Simmons, joined by Gonzalez and Abraham Taylor, slid to the ground near the corner to jubilantly celebrate the equalizer, but quickly found themselves under attack from the stands. A small group of fans near the front row began hurling food and bottles at the West Angola players, leading to a short stoppage as stadium officials removed the disruption. While the fans were initially believed to be from Falatulu, Warren Memorial Stadium security revealed late last night that those removed were West Angolans reportedly dissatisfied with Simmons’ play in the loss to Herendon last month.

Neither side managed to score again before halftime, and Jan Pawel addressed the state of the match with EPSN as he headed into the locker room with his players, “Obviously we’d prefer to be ahead, and giving up a goal in the first five minutes is never good, but we battled back well and got a great equalizer. I’d say we’re in good shape to keep fighting and hopefully win this match as long as we keep our heads and don’t get ahead of ourselves.” Both statistically and to an observer, the first half had been an even battle. Possession stood at 48-52% in favor of Falatulu, and both sides had four shots apiece (two on target for West Angola, three for the visitors). Both sides had had their breakthroughs, but the vast majority of play had occurred between the two zones, with no clear advantage to either. Alan Harrison commented, “With how even this match has been so far, if it doesn’t end in a draw we’re probably going to see the winning goal come off an odd bounce or a questionable call.”

Once again, Harrison proved prophetic (prompting #EPSNCrystalBall to begin trending on social media after the match), as the 1-1 scoreline held into the 66th minute until Paul Ramirez broke through to score his fourth goal of the tournament. The score combined both a lucky bounce as Ramirez’s first attempt caromed off the shin of Filip Perkovic before rolling back to him. His second attempt on goal would have been deflected once again, this time by Leonid Borodin, but he and Peter Simmons came together hard just as Ramirez fired, clearing the defender out of the way and obscuring Walls’ vision as the shot rolled across the line. Borodin and Walls both appealed to the official to call a foul on Simmons and disallow the goal, and video replay does seem to support their assertion that the captain deliberately ran into Borodin, but the referee allowed the goal to stand and gave West Angola a 2-1 lead.

With just over twenty minutes to play, Falatulu threw themselves into the attack with renewed vigor. West Angola had no chance to seek a third goal as they had to concentrate totally on holding off Rule Theriault’s attack. The defensive work over the final stage of the match was nothing short of masterful, although there were a handful of close calls, such as in the 76th minute when Falatulu took three corner kicks in quick succession. Jeremy Thomas barely kept the visitors from equalizing with two fingertip deflections and a diving snag on the third attempt. While there were no further incidents that close, Falatulu continued to hover around the edge of the West Angolan zone for the remainder of the match, and when the final whistle sounded it was as much of a cause for relief as celebration.

In addition to the badly needed win, the match was noteworthy for the fact that for the first time in qualifying (excepting the match against Tobiasia where the lights failed and the referee couldn’t see anyway) West Angola did not have a single player booked. Avoiding suspensions will be key if the team is going to make it into the World Cup, especially for the defensive half of the pitch, which represents all eight of the team’s yellow cards thus far. West Angola will also need to take six points from their next two matches against Tobiasia (on the road) and Legalese (in Namibe). They defeated Tobiasia 5-3 in the first leg (the match where the lights failed) but were unable to overcome the Legal Eagles on the road and suffered a small setback in a 1-1 draw. West Angola has suffered some disappointing results this cycle, but also has shown they can play at a world-class level. If they can show more of the latter and less of the former, they may give the whole nation something to celebrate.

West Angola’s match against Tobiasia will take place in that nation, so only a small number of tickets will be available from the Sporting Ministry. Fans interested in attending may seek tickets via the away venue or through the Sporting Ministry Ticket Office, which can be reached by phone at 22-81-1995 or online at http://www.football.wa/national/tickets.

West Angola (120) vs. Falatulu (23)  
                  0-1 5' Connie Chase
Peter Simmons 27' 1-1
Paul Ramirez  66' 2-1                
Yellow: None
Red:    None

Group 13                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Frenline Delpha                          8    6   1   1    13    5   +8    19
2 West Angola                              9    5   3   1    18   11   +7    18
3 Osarius                                  9    5   0   4    16   14   +2    15
4 Falatulu                                 9    5   0   4    24   27   −3    15
5 Legalese                                 9    1   4   4    18   21   −3     7
6 Herendon                                 8    1   3   4     8   11   −3     6
7 Tobiasia                                 8    0   3   5    17   25   −8     3

---

Chronicle writers Christopher Lauren and Paul Wilson contributed to this report.

---

Part One|Part Two|Part Three|Part Four|Part Five|Part Six|Part Seven|Part Eight|Part Nine

Part Ten: Playing the Odds
The royal election had taken a dramatic turn since the presentation ceremony. Karol Preszek had been true to his word, as he had not gone to the press or drawn any attention to the fact that Emily was using a fake Orb, and had seamlessly integrated the WASABI search teams into his security detail. Those teams were using Preszek’s campaign as cover for their efforst to find the real Orb, and as far as Emily and Robert Morris could tell no one had questioned their activities, or why Preszek’s campaign schedule suddenly included a lot more museums, but none of them had managed to recover the Orb yet. Meanwhile, Preszek had caught fire. Millions of people living on the nation’s west coast had been without telephones and had had only limited internet access until early the previous week, and their inclusion in opinion polling showed an extremely high level of previously unaccounted-for support for Preszek. Those who had lost the most to the brutal civil war had received the majority of the aid from Preszek’s civilian relief organization, True Way, and their backing had sent him from a distant fourth to only three points back of front-runner Robert Silva.

The far-left candidate had effectively molded True Way into a massive ground game. As the organization was a non-profit charity rather than a corporation, it was not prohibited from endorsing or advocating on behalf of a candidate, as long as it refrained from purchasing television advertising. Leaflets, billboards, and proselytizing were all acceptable, and Preszek’s group was employing all of them as they drummed up support for their candidate among the nation’s poor. The candidate had acquired the image of the champion of the common citizen, a fearless crusader who advocated tirelessly on behalf of those who had suffered the most from the policies championed by other candidates. His most frequent target was Silva, who Preszek had shackled to the war with devastatingly effective imagery of the devastation caused by the heavy fighting between Benguela and Lobito. Painting Silva as a warmonger helped undercut his image as a progressive candidate, and forcing him to defend his support for the crusade was driving the public’s perception of his foreign policy further and further to the right.

If Preszek was going to win the left, however, he would need to unite it behind his platform. Currently standing in the way of that effort was Adam del Rosario, the former political prisoner and democracy advocate. Del Rosario was polling at just under 10%, but his platform was virtually identical to Preszek’s, the only difference being his call to abolish the Parliament and make all national decisions via referendum. The proposal was unique, radical, and in the eyes of many utterly ridiculous, but he had attracted a determined following among like-minded voters and extreme libertarians. Preszek had asked for a meeting with del Rosario to explore what concessions he would require to drop out and endorse Preszek, and while he feared the potential spoiler’s demands would be too much, the backing of even half of the man’s supporters could swing the election in his favor.

The meeting was being held in del Rosario’s secondary headquarters in Huambo, Preszek’s campaign having smuggled him into the city after an early event in Namacunde via a small bus while the official train took his entourage west towards Cuando Cubango as a diversion. The office had been cleared of staff except for del Rosario’s campaign manager, Michael Dorage, and as Preszek approached the loading dock of the converted warehouse he looked over at his own campaign manager, who was more than he seemed. As far as the public was concerned, his name was Colin Manning, and he had reddish-brown hair with a beard. Preszek knew him as Q, and since the two had met at the Presentation Ceremony he had discovered the apparently omnipotent being to be an invaluable resource.

“So Q,” he began, trying to draw some of the being’s secrets out, “when we first spoke you said you approached me because I intrigued you, and that you enjoyed causing trouble in West Angola. How long have you been doing this, exactly?”

The man leaned back and seemed to be considering whether to speak at all, “I am older than you could possibly comprehend,” he said after a long pause, “but I didn’t take an interest in your little country until recently. It isn’t a matter of time, I can be everywhere at once, or nowhere at all if I choose. I began by toying with Luke Parrish, after he was King, and I’ve also had my fun with the Cabindans when they tried to break away several decades ago. I wore the same face at that time as now, but since the people who saw me then are all dead I can recycle it. I figured you’d like that, being so in love with this silly construction you call nature.”

Preszek ignored the mocking tone on the last sentence and pressed forward with his questions, “But why approach me?”

“Because it amused me,” Q snapped, “I require no other reason. It is not your place to question my decisions.” The being fell silent, and Preszek feared for a moment that he would disappear as he had in the past, but at last he spoke again, “Your questions are tiresome. Tell me what you’re going to offer del Rosario.”

“I assume he wants a full referendum for everything, I’m going to start with declarations of war only and see what I can work him down to.”

Q frowned, “No. No that won’t work. He’s more pragmatic than he seems. He knows you’ll never accept the total referendum measure and he’s going to abandon that position quickly if you press him. Start high with allowing a referendum bill to go forward for debate, and always give him less than he gives you. The man is intelligent, for a human, but he’s not a skilled negotiator and he’ll give in if you’re subtle.”

Preszek nodded, “That’s very helpful, thank you. What will you be doing during this time?”

“I’ll be combing through his staff to see who we might want to bring on board after he withdraws.”

“You haven’t already done that? I didn’t think you needed to be on site to do something like that. With your power-”

“My power is absolute. I could have done it before now, but I’ll need something to occupy myself while you and del Rosario carry on with your incessantly slow vocalizing. Honestly, how do you humans stand such a tedious method of communication?”

Correctly surmising that the question was rhetorical, Preszek glanced over his notes as the bus came to a stop, then hurried inside before he and Manning attracted any unwanted attention. They were met at the door by Dorage, who ushered Preszek into del Rosario’s office before departing with Q/Manning. Now alone, del Rosario leaned back in his chair, “So, Karol, what do you have to offer me?”

Preszek swallowed, Q had been a valuable ally, but his methods and goals were certainly his own. Could he trust the mysterious being, or had he been toying with him even now? He had to make a quick decision with his first offer. Too high and he might kill his chances before they even began, too low and he would compromise his chances with the bulk of the electorate. Del Rosario was looking at him expectantly, and Preszek made a snap choice, “Adam, let’s be realistic. Your chances of winning are slim-to-none, and I’m your only hope for a deal. Eriksson’s a fascist, Silva and Millian have both denounced your referendum plan as a fairy tale, and Correia’s only cares about taking a knife to the national budget to care about electoral reform. I’m the only candidate willing to integrate your ideas, and I don’t see us as having any option but to start slow. In exchange for your endorsement, I will allow a bill allowing referendums with Parliamentary approval to go up for debate.”

Del Rosario had been taking a sip of water, and he nearly choked on it when he heard Preszek’s initial offer. As he coughed and sputtered, Preszek reflected on what Q had told him, “He’s smart, for a human, but he’s not a skilled negotiator.” That he was letting his surprise show so obviously was a testament to that lack of skill, but the man recovered quickly, “You cannot be serious, Karol. You may be my best option, but you are hardly my only one. Beyond that, you need me a lot more than I need you. I’ve been calling for referendums for years, I’m used to being ignored, and I don’t need government support to spread my ideas. You, on the other hand, are nothing without the crown except a charity worker with an inflated ego. I am far more comfortable with Robert Silva winning than you are. No, you will give me everything I want in return for my support. Full referendums on all national decisions, I will accept nothing less.”

Del Rosario was clearly angered by Preszek’s attitude, and he was worried at first that he had overplayed his hand. He kept his cool, however, and smiled across the desk, “Silva doesn’t need you. It’s in his best interests to keep you stealing votes from me and watch your platform wither away. Who do you think will listen to you if he wins? Emily Parrish? Please, she’d drive a tank herself if she weren’t busy writing bills to fund the murder machines. Millian if she strikes a deal? She and Parrish are practically the same person. I am your only option because I need you, Adam. You either back me or find yourself having dealt your cause potentially irreparable damage. I’ll sweeten the deal: a referendum on referendums, allow the people to decide.”

“Unacceptable, the people won’t know how much a referendum can do for them until they experience it firsthand. It must be given to them from above so that they can be allowed to appreciate it. If their first decision is on referendums themselves and they turn it down, they and you will regret it down the line. If you can’t allow referendums on everything, keep tax policy, I suppose it wouldn’t do to let the people set their own tax rates, they’d cut them down to nothing and bankrupt the nation.”

Preszek kept it off his face, but inside he was smiling from ear to ear. Del Rosario had given away too much, his desperation was showing. “Adam, that’s simply not enough, and you know it…” They haggled for about an hour, Preszek certainly getting the better of his opponent, and finally settled on referendums for declarations of war and amendments to the Constitution, proposals he had been considering adding on his own anyway. Both men were all smiles as they shook hands, del Rosario was even gracious, “You’re a tough bargainer, Karol, you’re going to give Silva a serious run for his money.”

Preszek laughed, “That’s the plan, Adam. It’s a pleasure to have you on board. I look forward to working with you in the future.” Del Rosario must have pressed a buzzer, because seconds later there came a knock at the door and the two campaign managers came back in. Q gave Preszek a barely perceptible smirk, and the look in his eyes told him that the being already knew everything he and del Rosario had said, “Was the meeting a success, sir?”

Karol looked at his new ally, “I believe so. Mr. del Rosario and I are looking forward to working together. I hope you spent your time productively, Colin.”

“Oh, I certainly did, Karol. I think you’ll like what I’ve learned.”

[Abaja]

World Cup LXXV

Abaja again draws against Nordeana

By Amina Ogwu

NORDEANA

Christiansen 32'
White 56'
Hansen 73'

ABAJA

Atsi 16'
Udoh 39'
Oyenusi 64'

Nordeana 1 - 1 Abaja

---

GROUP 20

Anglatia 0–1 Chromatika
Flardania 4–4 Shytysle
Nordeana 1–1 Abaja

Group 20                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                                  8    6   1   1    15    5  +10    19
2 Flardania                                9    4   3   2    18   17   +1    15
3 Chromatika                               9    4   2   3    13   10   +3    14
4 Abaja                                    8    3   3   2    13   11   +2    12
5 Anglatia                                 8    2   3   3     6    7   −1     9
6 Shytysle                                 9    1   3   5    15   22   −7     6
7 Nordeana                                 9    0   5   4     8   16   −8     5

The Abaja Lions traveled to Nordeana to play against the Owls. The Lions again were unable to beat Nordeana, tying against them. This match had a lot of Abajans puzzled. The Lions were able to defeat Shytysle 5-2, so why can't they beat Nordeana? Here's the answer. Abaja has oh so many chances to score and defeat Nordeana,but simply couldn't. Alulawe Ju had a rough night. He shot 6 times, but none could end up in the back of the net. Abaja's offense had many struggles, and much frustration. Many thought Nordeana would be as easy to defeat as Shytysle, but that wasn't the case this time. Also, with this draw, it drops Abaja back down to 4th place inn the group, and with their qualifying schedule getting shorter and shorter, it has many Abajan fans worried about the outcome for the Lions. Here's another problem - Abaja is going against Flardania again tomorrow, a team who only lost 2 of their 9 games. Oh boy. During the press conference, Alulawe Ju and Alan Atsi didn't quite walk into room with a smile on their faces, unlike June 17. Alulawe Ju said, "Honestly, the reason why we did not win this game was because of how awful and careless I was with my shots. I mean, if I took six shots, you would expect me to make at least one of them, right? Well, that did not happen, and I basically threw the game away for the team. We could have won this one, but we did not. We could have moved up to second place to replace Flardania, but that didn't happen. We're back in fourth place. We do NOT have many games left on our schedule, so we desperately need to step it up. Especially me. I don't think that Chromatika will be playing tomorrow. Correct me if I'm wrong. But, if they don't play tomorrow and we somehow manage to pull off a win against Flardania, we replace them in third place. It's bloody close in our group,and we don't want any match to slip away, but unfortunately it happened this game. We'll have to make up for that tomorrow." Alan Atsi also stated "With that goal that I had in the sixteenth minute, our confidence level rose significantly. We thought that my goal would only be the first of three or even four, but we were horribly wrong. We missed a lot of potential goals, and it wasn't just Ju. I missed some shots. So did Dedéna Esé. Same thing for Ahmad Abdullah, but I'm not gonna bash the young man for missing some shots. He's still learning out there. We still have a pretty good chance of qualifying for the world cup, being one of the thirty teams, we just have to put our blood, sweat, and tears into match day eleven, where we can possibly get revenge on Flardania. The crowd will know how to hype us up!"

Head coach John Ndami also stated "Well, that was a big disappointment. We had many chances to win, but couldn't convert on them. We couldn't take advantage. Hmm.. I guess that means we really have to work on our shooting, boys! Yes, many mistakes, some offside calls, but we still have more games to play. We still have a chance of qualifying. We aren't out yet, but if we lose against Flardania, that puts us in very, very bad position. I thought we were in good shape, judging on the fact that we really outplayed Shytysle a couple days ago. We had another win, we had a chance to win our third straight, but we couldn't. Were we playing aggressive? Yes of course we were. We put a lot of pressure on them and our defense did a good job of keeping their opponents out of the box. Were we playing smart? No, not really. Bad passes, careless shots, and just bad decisions in general made us unable to win the game." Fabrosu Nyema added on, saying " I don't like draws. I like wins! It is kind of unacceptable drawing to a squad who is already eliminated from qualifying. Unacceptable in my opinion. This was the worst time possible to draw against a team when we have another difficult team coming up tomorrow. Not saying we're going to lose, of course, but if we play as bad as we did today, then yeah that's definitely going to happen. We're back in Kingston tomorrow, and we don't want to disappoint the crowd. If we lose against Flardania, it'll be our first loss at home, and it will most likely be unable to qualify automatically from our group. Match day eleven is very important. No slip ups, and no wasted chances!"

The Lions have walked on Nordeanan soil for the second time on their schedule. Players from both teams walked onto the field, and the match soon began. Nordeana started off on a fast pace early on, while Abaja decided to go on a slower pace. In the 7th minute, Nordeana had a chance to score here. Jacob Holtby (NOR) passed it up to Wayne Crosby (NOR). Crosby pass to Sanders Axelberg (NOR). Axelberg hesitates, shoots.The shot was low and fast. It then went into the hands of Joseph Amé (ABJ) and the ball was caught. Joseph Amé punted it. The ball went up field and was now in Fabrosu Nyema's possession (ABJ). Nyema passes it up to Alulawe Ju. Ju passed to Dedéna Esé (ABJ). Esé ran up, lost Matthias Holmstrom (NOR) and shot it, just inside the box. Goalkeeper Adam Gustafsson (NOR) tried diving for it, but he missed. Luckily for the Nordeanans, the ball bounced off the side crossbar, and into the possession of Thomas Jones (NOR). Jones ran it up, then got the ball taken away from Alulawe Ju. The Nordeana crowd sighed in grief. They knew - or they thought Alulawe Ju was going to score, but he didn't! The ball was saved by Adam Gustafsson after Ju took a booming kick just outside the box. That was just the first of si misses for Alulawe Ju. In the 13th minute, here came Nordeana again. Axelberg has it. He passes it to his teammate John Hansen (NOR). John Hanson then got tackled by Stephen Oyenusi (ABJ). Great defensive effort by the Abajans there. In the 15th minute, Abaja had ball. They were working it up field. Eze Mbanefo (ABJ) passes to Fabrosu Nyema. Now Nyema has the ball. Nyema passes it to Ervin Jon-Mikel (ABJ), who passes it back to Eze Mbanefo. Mbanefo passes to Emmanuel Udoh (ABJ). Udoh avoids his opponent, passing it back up to Ervin Jon-Mikel. The 16th minute soon arrived. Here's Jon-Mikel. He passes it to Alan Atsi. Alan Atsi sprints his way up. He tries to find Alulawe Ju, but he sees that he is not open, so he runs up to the box himself and shoots it. The shots up, and GOAL!! Perfect strike from Alan Atsi. The ball goes right past Adam Gustafsson, and Alan Atsi is the one who scores the first goal of the match. This one for the Abajans, and the people of Nordeana are already starting to feel doubt. It is still early however. Nordeana has many, many chances to comeback here and tie it up. Here came the 20th minute. Nordeana had possession, until Ahmad Abdullah (ABJ) picked off a pass from Erik Sigursson (NOR). He ran it up, passed it to Dedéna Esé. Esé crosses to Alulawe Ju, Ju has his header blocked by Adam Gustafsson. In the 22nd minute, Nordeana had possession again, looking to tie it up in front of their home crowd. Here's David Ashborne (NOR) to Erik Sigursson. Sigursson up to Sanders Axelberg. The pass was headed away by Emmanuel Udoh. The ball then ends up in David Ashborne again. Ashborne runs it up field. He passes it up to John Hansen, but the pass is taken away by Merrakwü Odena (ABJ). Odena has the ball taken away by John Hansen. A little bit of carelessness from both teams, and now Nordeana is back in control. John Hanson runs it up, he's inside the box now. Good chance for Nordeana, and many people in the crowd begin to stand up. Instead of shooting it, he pass to Sanders Axelberg. Axelberg with the shot! Ah, too high. Sighs of grief let out from the crowd again. The 31st minute arrived. Nordeana again in possession. Thor Christiansen (NOR) gets a pass from Thomas Jones. Christiansen passes up to Erik Sigursson. The pass got headed away by Fabrosu Nyema, and the ball goes into Emmanuel Udoh's possession. Udoh passes up to Ervin Jon-Mikel. Jon-Mikel to Alan Atsi. Alan Atsi manages to get past Thor Christiansen, but gets tripped up from behind by Christiansen. Alan Atsi had a hard fall, and was holding on his foot. He was on the ground for about 2 minutes, then managed to get up. As he got up, he was limping a little bit. He told coach that he was okay, but coach Ndami decided to switch him with Serian Osopo (ABJ) until the second half. Meanwhile, Thor Christiansen got a yellow card, and he already knew he would after such a rough tackle. In the 39th minute, David Ashborne is running it up, then passes it to his teammate Sanders Axelberg. Emmanuel Udoh was contesting. Before Sanders Axelberg had the chance to shoot, he was tackled by Udoh. Udoh, assuming he got a clean tackle, ran up to get the ball, but the referee thought differently. Emmanuel Udoh received a yellow card - the first for Abaja, and the second in the game. Emmanuel Udoh got upset, because he thought the tackle was completely clean. Instead, Nordeana got awarded a free kick. Axelberg took it. He shot it. It was high. Joseph Amé leaped for it and snatched it out of the air. In the 43rd minute, Ahmad Abdullah was running up field. he passed to Dedéna Esé. Esé back to Abdullah. Abdullah to Alulawe Ju. Ju to Atsi. Atsi takes a shot. It is too high and far left. Neither team was able to score another goal before the halftime whistle. Abaja in the lead here in Nordeana.

At halftime, Abaja was leading over Nordeana 1-0. They were looking to keep it that way throughout the game, or perhaps even score an extra goal or two, just to make sure that they had put the game away. What they did NOT want to let happen is for Nordeana to tie the game up, which is what happened anyway. Alan Atsi also came back into the game. In the 48th minute, Nordeana was attacking. David Ashborne had possession. He passes to Wayne Crosby. Crosby back to Ashborne. Ashborne is tackled by Merrakwü Odena. Odena the passed it up to Fabrosu Nyema. He ran up field. Nyema was followed by Ahmad Abdullah, and Nyema then passed to him. Abdullah passed to Dedéna Esé. He passed to Alulawe Ju. Ju, instead of taking the shot, decided to pass the ball back to Dedéna Esé, who later shot it. The shot was far right. Atsi tried to get it, but the ball winded up in Thor Christiansen's possession. Christiansen passes up to Jacob Holtby. It was headed out by Ervin Jon-Mikel. Still Nordeana's ball. Jacob Holtby throws to Erik Sigursson. He sees Sanders Axelberg, who lost Emmanuel Udoh. He passes up to Sanders Axelberg. However he is offside. Fans did not agree, until they saw the replay. In the 54th minute, Nordeana had possession again. David Ashborne pass to John Hansen. Hansen the pass to Sanders Axelberg. Axelberg shoots! The shot is batted away by Joseph Amé. Joseph Amé punts it. Jacob Holtby gets it. The ball is immediately taken away from him by Fabrosu Nyema. Nyema passes it up to Alulawe Ju. Ju then gets tackled by Justin White (NOR). White passes up to Erik Sigursson. Fabrosu Nyema heads it to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah passes it to Alulawe Ju. Ju runs up, stops, takes a shot. The shot goes just above the top left crossbar. In the 55th minute, Abaja was attacking again. Ahmad Abdullah to Fabrosu Nyema. Nyema out runs Erik Sigursson and passes it to Alan Atsi. Atsi then passes to Ju. Ju gets tripped up by Justin White, and behold. Justin White gets a yellow card. He was shocked, and had his hands on his head. The Lions' captain, Alulawe Ju now had a chance to make the game 2-0. He was awarded a free kick. He took it, shot it. The kick was batted away by Adam Gustafsson. Alulawe Ju bangs his fists on his head out of frustration. Now, instead of the game being 2-0, the Abajans are now fighting to keep their 1-0 lead. Later on, in the 63rd minute, Thomas Jones passes to Jacob Holtby. The ball sneaks just past Fabrosu Nyema. Holtby now passes to Erik Sigursson. Sigursson to John Hansen. Hansen is tackled by Stephen Oyenusi. The 64th minute came, and Oyenusi is running it up. John Hansen takes the ball away from him, and Oyenusi tries to get it back. He tackles him. He got a piece of the ball, but mainly his feet. Oyenusi was yellow carded. It was the second yellow card handed out for the Abajans, and the fourth yellow card handed out in the game. Here came the 73rd minute. Time started running low for Nordeana. They needed a score here to tie it up. Sanders Axelberg gets a beautiful pass from David Ashborne. Axelberg runs past Emmanuel Udoh, and passes a perfect pass to John Hansen. The pass somehow gets past two Abajan defenders (Merrakwü Odena & Eze Mbanefo). Stephen Oyenusi tries to catch up to John Hansen, but he is unable to. Hansen runs into the box. He shoots it. The ball goes to the back of the net, and it's in! Nordeana ties up the game! The crowd explodes. In the 84th minute, Abaja has possession again. They do not have much time left, so every possession now is crucial. Ervin Jon-Mikel passes to Alan Atsi. Atsi passes to Alulawe Ju, in desperate need to score a goal to save the Abajans. He gets the pass. He shoots it! Ooo. The shot goes just far left. He shakes his head in disbelief. He was very upset on how poorly he played today. Here came 90+2. David Ashborne passes to Sanders Axelberg. The crowd is out of their seats, getting louder and louder. The shot by Axelberg. Joseph Amé dives for it, and taps it away. Neither team could score before the final whistle blew, and Abaja again ties against Nordeana, a team who they thought they should've won. Next up is Flardania, a team who had beaten the Lions 2-0 last week. The Kitsunes will come into Kingston to play against the Lions in the Kensi Stadium. Who will win?

---

COMMENTS • 5,894
Top Comments • New Comments

Mister Whiskers - Joined April 25, 2006
- June 19, 10:04 PM Ju was just missing everything.. Would've been 3-1 if his shots were more accurate.
Reply • Like (602) • Dislike (23)

Ginston Kingston - Joined December 21, 2012
- June 19, 9:47 PM - If Abaja can beat Anglatia and Chromatika, how the hell can they not beat these dudes?
Reply • Like (588) • Dislike (12)

Michael Eiarsi - Joined July 15, 2014
- June 19, 9:15 PM - The way Atsi fell lol I thought he was dead.
Reply • Like (436) • Dislike (291)

Read More

[Mapletish]

Mapletish 2–3 Saintland: Dragons drop points against familiar foes - The Commentary

A brace from Josef Gai was not enough as the Dragons fell to a 3-2 loss to Saintland, the Dragons sit dead last in Group 1 of the World Cup qualification stage and are mathematically impossible to qualify automatically from their group. The Dragons kicked off the second half of the qualification campaign with a 4-1 defeat to Eshan and were losing steam as they managed one win from seven games, their worst qualifying showing since World Cup 57.

It was a positive start to the match for the Saints, who were looking to take further control of Group 1. We get a first glimpse of Olivia Florius as she attempted to latch on to a loose ball in behind the defence, but Orla Fritjof was on hand to make the vital interception before the trigger can be pulled, the first thrilling encounter in this match at just the third minute. Bernard Aristi's men were struggling to get hold of the first half as Saintland were clearly playing with a lot of confidence as they led the group at 19 points, 8 points ahead of Chiata.

The Dragons started to get a hold of themselves within the first ten minutes of the game as they began to control bits of the possession and put in some real chances of their own. A lovely bit of movement from Aleksander Gustav gave the defensive midfielder the chance to lift a penetrating pass into the box for Di Natile who tried a shot from a tight angle. The pacey Ria Junius was quick to intercept the shot before it troubled Virginia Seius as it goes out for a corner. 'Chances like these were crucial for the Dragons as that gave them confidence as the ball went into advance areas," commented Nicholas Daez in the half time show.

The two sides were unable to break the deadlock and remained at a 0-0 stalemate as they approached the half way point of the first half with the attacking talent on display. Even with the players out there, Alero Junio had remained fairly quiet. It was highly unusual for the veteran as he liked to cement his spot early in the game to prove himself worthy. Maybe age has been catching up on him? We never know. The first half was about to get a little exciting as Andreas Fadius broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. Maria Vesuius moved into space down the left flank and then passes neatly into the feet of Fadius who just had to take on strike beyond Ivar before flashing a superb right footed finish into the bottom left corner. It was 1-0, classy play by Fadius.

The nerves were laid to rest after Saintland broke the deadlock. The Saints sat a little behind to soak up some pressure from the Dragons. The Dragons built up play patiently as Alessendra Vito got a precise pass towards Di Natile as the latter controlled the ball steady and advanced into the Saints' half. He picks out Kimberly Aurora who nutmeg Gloria Nasennius who was covering her. Aurora then sent a well timed through pass to Enkainia Lee on the run but Enkainia could only shoot the ball out wide in an attempt to equalise, a quick reminder for the Saints not to sit back and soak up pressure for too long.

The first half was yet to finish as it was Fadius' spotlight once again. After Petya made an unbelievable save to deny Olivia, the ball comes back into the feet of Fadius and he quickly passes it neatly into the bottom corner. The linesman initially calls for offside, but he is overruled by Mr Referee who awards the goal in the 42nd minute.

Half time quickly approached at Rosfield. Saintland's pursuit to gained more momentum at the top of Group 1 continued as they go into the break with a 2-0 lead against Rushmori counterparts Mapletish. Andreas Fadius was the main figure of the first half as the midfielder opened the scoring with a flashed finish into the corner before adding a second from close range. The Dragons had to step up their game in the second half to stand a chance.

Truth to be told, the Dragons stepped up a little when the second half resumes. A foul from Josephus Flaccus on Gustav led to a free kick from just outside of the box. Junio stepped up to hit a spectacular free kick up and over the Saints' wall, but it just didn't dip enough in time and ends up crashing off the top of the woodwork and got deflected to Amanda Maximius who made a weak clearance and the ball went right to the feet of Josef Gaia. The youngster made no mistake with the chance and fired a brilliant strike into the top right hand corner, despite Paulus Plinius' acrobatic attempt to keep it off the line. It was a goal for Mapletish in the 55th minute here.

The Saints were then able to orchestrate a perfect response to the goal. Gloria Nasennius threads a penetrating pass in behind the Maplish defence for Olivia Florius, who opens up her stride forward before lifting a clever strike into the roof of the net over the incoming Petya. 3-1 for the Saints, as Rosfield was rained with goals at just the 59th minute. A third of the match remained in the Maplish capital as the Dragons attempted to grab two more goals for an equaliser, a difficult task as the Saints looked eager to ensure a strong showing to ensure they can win the group and qualify for the World Cup automatically.

Going into the 67th minute, Andreas had a great opportunity to claim a hat trick as the attacking midfielder runs in behind the Maplish defence, received pass from Silvia Allectus only to see the attempt on goal come way off as it went into the side netting. Fortunately for the Maplish defence, the linesman already had his flag up so even if that attempt were a goal, it wouldn't have counted anyway. A sigh of relief from Aristi as the manager faces a hill in his attempt to finish strongly in the group and maybe get an attempt in the Cup of Harmony.

The Dragons eventually added another goal in the 81st minute. It was Josef Gai once again as he received the ball from the feet of Enkainia before guiding a stunning shot high into the top corner after cutting inside on his right foot. Fortunately for the Saints, this will be the last threatening moment the Dragons were able to pull off.

Full time at Rosfield and the Saints maintained their lead over Chiata at 22 points. A double from Andreas and a goal from Olivia proved enough for the day, even with Gai's double at key areas in the game with terrific strikes. The Dragons looks set to sit bottom of the group here.

[Confederate Islands Of Paputu]

PAPUTIAN SPORTS GAZETTE

FIRST VICTORY FOR PAPUTU
Finally, after 8 matches, Paputu find it's first victory in the World Cup Qualifiers. The score of 1-0 arrives after a though match, in which finally Paputu find the way to defend and counterattack in a good way. After the loss for 1-0 against Quakmybush it was clear that the paputian side was in great difficulty, but yesterday the islanders made a great match saving their dignity in front of 40.000 fans.
The match showed the difficulties of Paputu in passing the midfield with short range passes, while North Carcossia managed to attack Paputu with their superior skills. It must be said that the first half was dominated by North Carcossia, but Matten and Potoremara made a great defensive work, and Edmonton didn't have to make any save. The second half has started better for Paputu and at the 61' minute Kawaturupuro has stolen the ball from carcossian midfielders and a great counterattack started. Filler has dribbled a difender but his shot hits antoher one, making the ball taking a strange direction and fooling the goalkeeper. 1-0. After this event North Carcossia didn't found a way to assault efficacely Paputu, and the result remained the same till the end of the match.

Mark Landweeg stated "this is a great day for paputian football. We have finally made what our fans asked: obtain a victory and save our honour. I'm excited because of this result and I hope that this will make other teams understand that Paputu is a nation of fighters."
Luke Filler said that "the team is very happy, we felt bad for our previous result, but this match has made us find new strength and hoeps. In the next match it will be nearly impossible to defeat the opponents, but we want to fight on every possession and on every ball".

THE LINE-UP: Edmonton, Rigg, Matten, Potoremara, Kali, Jones, Mawerta (Watersen 77'), Kawaturupuro, Bartlow (Lidgerwood 88'), McKortney (Takela 90'), Filler
SCORER: Filler 61'

[Confederate Islands Of Paputu]

THE LINE-UPS

Quakmybush-Paputu 1-0
Line-Up: Edmonton, Rigg, Matten, Potoremara, Kali, Jones (55' Limton), Mawerta, Kawaturupuro (79' Lusasu), Bartlow (82' Lidgerwood), McKortney, Filler

Jeruselem-Paputu 1-0
Line-Up: Edmonton, Rigg, Matten, Potoremara, Kali (81' Shikula), Limton (75' Nay-Liter), Mawerta, Kawaturupuro (89' Lusasu), Bartlow, McKortney, Filler

[Osarius]

Time running out for Robinson
With the Firebirds floundering, national team manager Azarai Robinson knows his job is under threat. The OFA have shown patience with the former Firewood City fullback, despite shock defeats during this qualifying campaign, but time is running out. Osarius can still qualify for the World Cup, but it will not be straightforward. "I think he [Robinson] knows that Osarius have to qualify if he wants to keep his job. Anything less won't be acceptable." John Holcombe believes. The OSN pundit also has faith in Robinson, though. "He's a good guy, a good manager. Things just haven't gone right this cycle. Some things outside his control, some things he just made the wrong choice maybe. It's hard to say. You don't win back to back AOCAF titles with an underage squad unless you've got a bit of nous, so I think we'd be making a mistake to get rid of him right now. Besides, who can come in?"

Robinson is said to be reeling following the decision of a few senior players to retire from international football at the start of the campaign, and while he knows well the quality of "the next generation", he feels the need for robust on-pitch leadership and experience. Injuries and suspensions to key players have not helped, either. Compounded with travel problems in the aftermath of Hurricane Tara, and mine collapses in the Carbos, things just have not gone according to plan for Osarius. Robinson looks increasingly like a man at the end of his tether, but refuses to give in. Something that has divided opinion among pundits, some believing this is a strong example to set for his players, others taking the view that he should fall upon his sword and make way for someone else to come in and restore the reputation of the former world champions... (continued on page 67)

[Banguela]

UNREPAIRABLE?
Major damage on all fronts

Crowd violence, a phenomenon previously restricted to club football in Banguela, has found a new target in the confrontations of Os Gnus. Although it is difficult to pinpoint what caused the spark that put the atmosphere last night in Sao Pedro on fire, it would be all too easy to blame the dismal performance of the squad. As rows raged both inside the stadium and outdoors, the outcome confirms the archetypal result of this kind of hooliganism: a myriad of losing parties which cast the future in a dark shadow.

Already ahead of the confrontation with Sameba, the thermometers spotted a spiky tension within the bands of supporters that roamed the streets around Sao Pedro ahead of the game. The late and unexpected loss of points at the hand of a fairly courageous Brigantii had given the ambitions of a so-far excellent national side a tremendous blow. The discontent feeling of their side letting everything slip out of their hands wasn’t doing much positive for the vibes and the benching of home favourites and Uniao Mpulo stalwarts Ignacio Carbela and Raul Paché formed an unwanted extra ingredient to an already dangerous cocktail. Early on the afternoon sightings were made of some of the Uniao X-sides represented in the borough surrounding the stadium, many of them unfortunately fuelled by the cheap liquor places so rampant in that neighbourhood.

However, such nonchalant rowdiness should not construct a problem in terms of fan control as it is an often sighted element within Sao Pedro. From the outside, the opening half posed little additional problems although those who watched the confrontation at home with their volume high could spot several demeaning chants being made towards the Samebans, who refused to be outdone and responded with vigour, despite the numeral disadvantage. Certainly instrumental in the collapse of control was the fact that the visitors knew which strings to pull, calling for ‘Ignacio, you’ll never start’. In a sad twist of faith, it was exactly his replacement Eric Kwaganda who allowed Sabattini to break through on the left wing and set up Sarado for the equaliser – a can of gasoline on the fans who had just received a bucket of water when a powerful Edison Joao headed home the opener.

The chants became more vicious and flares popped up in several sections of Sao Pedro, making things more grim as the night was about to fall. Every fifty-fifty decision from the referee was now replied with unrest and one could see how at several places, the fences keeping every group in place were getting climbed. But what caused a complete meltdown was the change in tone of the roars send by the Banguelan supporters. It started with relatively gentle, ‘Sameba never will be an empire’, devolved into some childish chants concerning the mothers of the green-and-blue clad fans and outright political statements such as ‘Pravenna is Nephara!’ and eventually a rhythmic, seemingly endless ‘Eura, Eura, Eura, …’

What was the root in this change in sentiment is difficult to pinpoint. Possibly the local hooligans had done their homework as well as the opposing thugs, finding inspiration at what the Nepharim dissed out in a previous confrontation with Sameba. But unconfirmed rumours mention that, amongst the hardest core of Banguelan rioters one could spot members of the Hellenic Flock, the ill-famed support clan of the Cormorants. Whether the cause was foreign or local, it did make blood boil on both sides. Detrimental to any option of a good ending was the remarkably boisterous reply of the riot police, that came out in full harness and eager to club on sight. Force against force seemed to be the answer by the order troops, one that allowed the red button to appear on the touchscreen.

But that one wasn’t pushed until minute 87 when Sameba set up an attack along the right side of the pitch, nearest to the corner where the visitors were caged and playing towards the Colina Negro, where many of the harshest elements amongst the home crowd had gathered to antagonize their opponents. One could question whether the limited in-stadium control, allowing fans to move around the stands disorderly, constituted an extra element to the ensuing events. A throughball was passed towards Michael Sarado who, just as he was about to slide into the box, was send into the air by Djalma Yaba who had firmly decided to not let man nor ball get a foot closer.

Referee decisions will always be arbitrary, especially in a case as this one where even the assistant waves his flag with insecurity rather than decisiveness. A series of replays allowed one to see that Sarado had been hit just outside the box yet rolled into the sixteen as if he had just been shot with an airgun by the Banguelan captain. The forwards gestures, almost claiming that his leg had been pulverised by the contact with the hardened Djalma Yaba, were already met with discontent from the stands, especially as the ref bought it and pointed to the spot whilst handing Djalma Yaba a yellow card – a gesture that made boiling pots not only cook, but also spill over in all sorts of directions.

The captain, lately often lauded for his maturity, solicited for a second carton by grabbing hold of the shirt of the referee and immediately got what he begged for. The home support replied by pelting Sarado, at that point lying near the backline, with anything that was not too heavy to sling onto the pitch. Considering the raggedy state of Sao Pedro, such ammunition was available in abundance and it seemed as if a cloud of stones was pouring on the head of the Sameban forward. Obviously, his supporters replied with outcries of anger, quickly becoming the next target. Things devolved from that point on with a flare being thrown into the visitors stand, making several casualties. It could be considered a miracle that, with a full-out battle happening behind the goal between riot police and fans of both sides, Huele managed to put a winner against the net, quickly followed by a final whistle from the ref.

There are many ways in which we could portray the subsequent scenes in the stands but ‘tribal, ruthless violence’ probably covers it best. Amongst the subsequent happenings were, as we describe in no particular order, chairs being thrown into the Sameban stands, flags being ripped, furious pummelling between rioters and the cops, dozens of victims being send off to the hospital of whom one still in a critical position, seven cars going up in flames, hours of unrest in the city centre of Mpulo which lasted till the break of dawn and a fastfood joint being completely torn apart by hooligans for the mere reason that their design plaque at the entrance was coloured in the same hues as the Sameban kits.

As the dark clouds from the fire are disappearing from the streets, it is time to make the check of the resulting rubble. The incidents will cost the city department hands full of cash, in order to restore the beheaded arches and dismantled street furniture. Similar bills could be handed to the stadium owners as well, but considering the deplorable state of Sao Pedro, one would hardly notice so. More importantly, several people of both nationalities got heavily wounded and we’re looking towards a long judicial battle upon finding the culprits – not only in every separate case but also for the incidents as a whole.

But less financially yet possibly more harmful in the longer run are the effects on Banguelan football as a whole. First of all, the chances of the national side to break into a second consecutive World Cup have seriously dwindled. As Os Gnus board for a presumably ineffective trip to Nephara, our two main rivals are pitted against one another in a direct clash to determine the favourite for the play-off spot with ample time left to turn the table upside down. Whilst even a draw could’ve been relatively favourable, the loss makes the chances of Banguela for second remarkably slim with two difficult away games to go. “It was a disgrace,” gaffer Joao Ferreira made no secret of his sentiments towards the rows, “but it also was negative on the team. They stalled and I can’t blame them considering what went on in the stands. Djalma Yaba should have kept a clear head but with a different atmosphere, such would have been a lot more feasible.”

Having a potential ticket to the play-off round torn up is one thing, of course, but the face of Banguelan football could end up to be the most damaged of them all. Previously sighted as a sympathetic outsider by many, a team that brought naïve yet attractive football, the Bangers could get their nickname associated with the long line of teams that have fallen prey to the hooliganism disease which swarms across the World Cup field. It makes one look with a scared heart to the upcoming confrontations, not in the least the one at Nephara.

[Electrum]

Media Release from the Ministry for Immigration

The Hon Jim Connors MP
Electrum Nationalist Leader, Member for Nickel
Minister for Immigration

---

Tumbran hooligans will be punished, as they deserve

As Electrumites we've had ENOUGH of those other nations TARNISHING our BEAUTIFUL cities and stadiums, especially through rioting and anger that they have drawn in a football match. How dare they cause GRIEVOUS BODY HARM, VANDALISM and GENERAL SKULDUGGERY in our beautiful, pristine nation. We are a civilised people and will not tolerate criminal activity of any kind, not least from criminal activity associated with HOOLIGANS who have nothing better to do than whine about some stupid goal in some stupid match in some stupid game.

It's typical that these temporary visitors are a NUISANCE to our society. They must be PUNISHED under the full extent of the law, before they can be DEPORTED back to their own countries of origin. As a result, I will not sign their deportation papers until they have been appropriately punished by local authorities. They must be made to SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES before they can return back to their country of origin. I will NOT bow down to international or national pressure as I personally am SICK AND TIRED of the Ultras, Hooligans, Thugs, Louts, Ruffians, Troublemakers, in general SCUM OF SOCIETY trying to take our country by force, and THREATENING our citizens. Enough is enough.

I will personally make sure the multiverse clearly understands that this is what happens when FOREIGN CITIZENS enter our country and DISREGARD our way of life.

--PRESS RELEASE ENDS--