World Cup LXXV - AK75 - The RP Thread

by **Abaja** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 1:13 am

World Cup LXXV

Abaja's struggles continue, lose to Flardania

- By Joseph Ifiomenrinike

ABAJA

Mbanefo 39'

FLARDANIA

Yabuta 24'
Mizoguchi 80'
Miyamoto 89'

Abaja 0 - 2 Flardania

GROUP 20

Abaja 0–2 Flardania
Shytysle 1–2 Anglatia
Chromatika 0–1 Ko-oren
Group 20                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                                  9    7   1   1    16    5  +11    22
2 Flardania                               10    5   3   2    20   17   +3    18
3 Chromatika                              10    4   2   4    13   11   +2    14
4 Abaja                                    9    3   3   3    13   13    0    12
5 Anglatia                                 9    3   3   3     8    8    0    12
6 Shytysle                                10    1   3   6    16   24   −8     6
7 Nordeana                                 9    0   5   4     8   16   −8     5
The Abaja Lions were looking for revenge against the Flardania Kitsunes on their home field. Well, that did not happen. Flardania ended up defeating the Abajans 2-0 in Kingston, just how they defeated the Lions 2-0 last week. This is the first game the the Lions have lost while playing in Abaja. Abaja's offense continues to struggle. The offense was only able to score 1 goal against Nordeana yesterday, a team that was already eliminated, and a non-threat. This game, they failed to even score a goal. Now that they have lost to Flardania, their record slumps to 3-3-3, and Abaja is now unable to qualify automatically from group 20.(Even though many people thought they wouldn't accomplish that anyway). Their qualifying schedule is getting closer and closer to an end, so one or two more slip ups for the Abajans could very well mean they will be eliminated. Here's what captain Alulawe Ju had to say after the match. "Many people, even our fans,expected this to happen again. That's why our last game against Nordeana was important. We couldn't pull it off, and now we drop another one. Our schedule. Will not. Get. Easier! We have to get it together, and play much more aggressive. Time is running short for us. We have three games left. We really have to step it up. We can't afford to lose anyone of those last three games. Even the one against Ko-oren, though they will be tough." Head coach John Ndami also said "Well, it is very hard to win a game when your offense is struggling. A few days ago, we won five-to-two against Shytysle and it seemed as if everything was starting to turn around for us, but the game after that - the game against Nordeana, we just could not take advantage of our chances. And now, we lose another tough game on our ground. I guess some of us got a little cocky win that win and expected to win every other game after that. We have to realize that not everything that we think will happen will actually happen. We can't assume that we will defeat Nordeana because we defeated Shytysle. We can't just assume that because we scored five goals the other day that we will score five more against Nordeana or Flardania. We can't this loss stay in our heads, though. Brush it off and focus on next game. Our next game will be against Anglatia, a team we beat the first time we met. Now, because we beat them the first time, does that mean we'll beat them a second time? No, absolutely not. Both of us are trying to stay alive here, so you can bet that Anglatia will play much more aggressive than they did before."

Alan Atsi said this "Our offense was completely lost out there. We just couldn't do anything right. I know it sucks to lose, especially at home, but this is what will always happen if our offense doesn't step up soon. It seems as if we have a good game one day, and then after that we are suddenly in a two-to-three game slump. We needed the win against Nordeana to at least bring some momentum into this game. We couldn't pull it off, simply because our offense played like utter garbage. Also, I agree with coach. Anglatia is fighting that spot just as much as us right now. We are both tied for twelve points. We both have the same record. Both of us still have a shot at qualifying, and I'm sure as hell neither of us want that to slip away. We just have to see who wants it more. We beat them first time around, yes, but that likely won't happen again if we do not improve our offense." Ahmad Abdullah added on, saying "The first two teams on our schedule were literally the only two easy teams. We couldn't even beat both. That's not good at all. After our first two games, we'll have to power our way through the rest of our schedule. We've already lost this one. If we lose tomorrow's game, then I don't know what to say. Also after tomorrow we face off against Ko-oren. Yeah, you already know how that's gonna go down. We'll have to push ourselves so we can win in Anglatia."

It was a nice day in the City of Kingston. Partly cloudy and at 72 degrees. The Kitsunes came into Abaja for the first time to play against the Lions. In the beginning of the game, both teams were already playing very aggressive.. Ervin Jon-Mikel (ABJ) stole a pass from Pandazi Papadopoulos (FDA) and ran it up field before passing up to Alan Atsi (ABJ). The pass was interrupted by Eizan Iwamoto (FDA), but Atsi still managed to get the ball. Alan Atsi passed to Alulawe Ju (ABJ). Ju saw Ayame Fujisaka (FDA) coming his way, so he quickly passed to Dedéna Esé (ABJ). The pass was taken away by Koharu Miyamoto (FDA) and she passed it up to Pandazi Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos to Ako Izumi (FDA). She goes up field, able to run past Ervin Jon-Mikel. She passes to Ryoushirou Nayasaki (FDA). Nayasaki passes to Joseph Yabuta. The pass is almost picked off by Eze Mbanefo (ABJ), but he misses, leaving Yabuta a lot of room. Yabuta shoots! It was low, fast, but far right. Mbanefo was lucky that he mis-aimed that one otherwise it would be an early 1-0 for Flardania. In the 8th minute, the Lions were making their way up field, and quickly. Ahmad Abdullah (ABJ) sprints past Akiho Ubukata (FDA). He tries passing it up to Dedéna Esé. The pass was headed away by Eizan Iwamoto. Fabrosu Nyema (ABJ) gets it. He passes it to Alan Atsi. Atsi passes to Alulawe Ju. He shoots a booming kick, and it is swatted away by goalkeeper Miyoko Hōjō (FDA). The ball came to Ayame Fujisaka (FDA). Fujisaka passes to Koharu Miyamoto who passes all the way up field to Ryoushirou Nayasaki. Nayasaki tried a cross to Joseph Yabuta. The ball was deflected by Emmanuel Udoh (ABJ) and out. Ryoushirou Nayasaki throws it in to Ako Izumi. She tries to get past Ervin Jon-Mikel, but trips on his foot. Jon-Mikel get the ball and passes up to Alan Atsi. Atsi crosses to Alulawe Ju. The header from Ju is saved by Miyoko Hōjō. In the 17th minute, Abaja had possession. Fabrosu Nyema (ABJ) passes to Alulawe Ju. Ju tries to squeeze in a pass to Dedéna Esé, but the pass is taken away by Claire Nguyen (FDA). Nguyen passes to Ayame Fujisaka. Fujisaka to Pandazi Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos is unable to outrun Fabrosu Nyema and as a result Nyema takes the ball away from him. Nyema passes up to Dedéna Esé. Esé passes back to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah takes a long shot. The ball runs across the field until it was stopped by Miyoko Hōjō. She dove for it and managed to catch the ball. In the 22nd minute, Fabrosu Nyema was moving up field. He decided to slow it down this time. He passes to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah finds Alulawe Ju. He runs up. The crowd gets louder. Ju passes to Alan Atsi. Atsi runs up to the box and is tripped up by Koharu Miyamoto. No foul, though it looked like it. Koharu Miyamoto gets the ball. Here came the 24th minute. Miyamoto to Nayasaki. Headed away by Emmanuel Udoh. The ball comes right to Ako Izumi. Izumi passes back to Nayasaki. Good teamwork so far. Nayasaki somehow manages to squeeze in a pass between Emmanuel Udoh and Eze Mbanefo and get it to Joseph Yabuta. REALLY good chance here now for Flardania. The shot by Yabuta is slightly deflected by Joseph Amé (ABJ), but the ball still goes in, and its a goal for Flardania! Joseph Yabuta brings his team to a 1-0 lead over Abaja after a perfect pass from Ryoushirou Nayasaki. The 31st minute soon arrived. Stephen Oyenusi (ABJ) gets the ball from Sayo Matsuoka (FDA) and passes to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah passes to Dedéna Esé. Esé nearly has the ball taken away from him by Eizan Iwamoto. He shoves Iwamoto away and he falls down. Iwamoto sat on the ground with his hands up. Somehow no foul was called. Dedéna Esé continued to move it up. He shot it. His shot was again batted away by Miyoko Hōjō. Alulawe Ju gets the ball. He shoots it, but the ball bounces off of Ayame Fujisaka. The ball comes to Koharu Miyamoto, who heads it back to Fujisaka. Fujisaka passes to Pandazi Papadopoulos. He then runs up, stops, and passes to Akiho Ubukata. Ubukata passes to Ako Izumi. Izumi takes a shot at it. Caught by Joseph Amé. In the 39th minute, Emmanuel Udoh's pass to Fabrosu Nyema is picked off by Ako Izumi. She gets tripped by Eze Mbanefo. The ref saw, and immediately Mbanefo got a yellow card. Izumi was now awarded a free kick about 2 meters away from the box. She shot it. The ball zoomed above the top crossbar. In the 43rd minute, Abaja had another chance to tie the game up. Fabrosu Nyema to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah back to Nyema. Nyema passes up to Alan Atsi. Koharu Miyamoto nearly takes it away. Atsi crosses to Alulawe Ju. The header from Ju is just a little far left. The whistle blew, and here came halftime.

A very physical aggressive game here in Kingston. The Flardania Kitsunes currently have a 1-0 lead over the Abaja Lions after a goal from Joseph Yabuta in the 24th minute. The second half soon started.Both teams were still playing as aggressive as they were in the first half. In the 49th minute, Stephen Oyenusi takes away a pass from Sayo Matsuoka and passes up to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah gets tackled by Akiho Ubukata and she passes to Sayo Matsuoka. Matsuoka runs up to the box, stops, passes to Joseph Yabuta, and Joseph Yabuta shoots. His shot is deflected by Eze Mbanefo and the ball goes to Stephen Oyenusi. Oyenusi passes up field to Ahmad Abdullah, and Abdullah passes to Fabrosu Nyema. Nyema passes up to Alan Atsi, and Atsi gets tackled by Koharu Miyamoto. She passes up to Pandazi Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos to Ako Izumi. She passes to Akiho Ubukata, who then tries to pass it up to Sayo Matsuoka. Stephen Oyenusi gets it and passes up to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah rushes up field and passes to Alulawe Ju. Ju runs past Claire Nguyen and finds an open space to shoot. He does, but his shot is again off target. Alulawe Ju may again have another off day like last game. In the 56th minute, Ako Izumi is attacking. She runs up field before passing to Joseph Yabuta. Yabuta takes a shot. His shot is caught by Joseph Amé. In the 58th minute, Ugochi Kekulé (ABJ) is in for Merrakwü Odena (ABJ) and later in the 63rd minute , Anwreusu Freneda (ABJ) is in for Ervin Jon-Mikel. In the 65th minute, here came Abaja. Really looking to tie this game up for the fans here. Fabrosu Nyema passes to Anwreusu Freneda , who passes to Alan Atsi. Atsi passes to Alulawe Ju. Ju had space to shoot, but instead he passed to Dedéna Esé. Eizan Iwamoto slid to try to tackle Esé. Esé jumped over him, but Iwamoto managed to get a piece of the ball, and Flardania again had possession. Eizan Iwamoto pass up to Akiho Ubukata. She gets the ball taken away from her by Ahmad Abdullah, and Abdullah sprints his way up field, then he passes to Alulawe Ju. Ju runs up, then he shoots! His shot bounces off the crossbar. Alulawe Ju knock on his head with his fist. In the 71st minute, Rin Mizoguchi (FDA) came in for Akiho Ubukata, and boy did he(?) make an impact. He caused a lot of trouble for the Abajan defense. In the 75th minute, here was Papadopoulos. He passes up to Ako Izumi. Izumi tries a pass to Rin Mizoguchi. It is picked off by Ahmad Abdullah. Abaja is trying to take advantage of this possession as they need to score here. Abdullah passes to Fabrosu Nyema, who passes to Anwreusu Freneda. Freneda passes to Alulawe Ju. Ju takes another shot. His shpt is batted away by Miyoko Hōjō. It comes to Alan Atsi. Atsi shoots it. His shot too high. In the 80th minute, Dedéna Esé's pass was taken away by Ayame Fujisaka. Fujisaka passes to Koharu Miyamoto and she passes to Ako Izumi. Izumi to Rin Mizoguchi. Mizoguchi rushes up field. He passes to Sayo Matsuoka. Matsuoka back to Mizoguchi. Ugochi Kekulé desperately tries to tackle him. He misses Mizoguchi and the ball. Flardania can make it 2-0 here. Mizoguchi with the shot. GOAL! 2-0 Flardania! After just 9 minutes of playing time, Rin Mizoguchi already has his first goal of the match, and that goal silenced the crowd. In the 89th minute,Fabrosu Nyema passes to Alan Atsi. It was broken up by Koharu Miyamoto. Atsi takes it back. She tries to tackle him from behind. Atsi fell down. There's a yellow card for Miyamoto. No arguing with that call. Free kick for Abaja. The shot is.... way off. Abaja was unable to score a goal, and the final whistle blew. Abaja has scored 0 goals and let up 4 in their two match-ups against Flardania. On June 21, they will go to Anglatia to face off against the Explorers. This game is very important for both teams. Who will win?

COMMENTS • 10,149
Top Comments • New Comments

AbajaSoxer - Joined February 13, 2011
- June 20, 8:52 PM - Alulawe Ju's performance is making me vomit. Since yesterday he's missed like 20 shots.
Reply • Like (1681) • Dislike (52)

Mr.Krabs - Joined August 28, 2007
- June 20, 11:11 PM - When Ju is not on his A-Game Abaja will not win games. they rely on him 2 much.
Reply • Like (990) • Dislike (32)

Jason Usim - Joined June 8, 2015
- June 21, 12:05 AM - This is not how alulawe ju should be playing when there is an important game tomorrow.
Reply • Like (837) • Dislike (14)

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by **Brenecia** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 4:31 am

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
A sideways move means history is doomed to repeat itself
Jack Barraclough

"Well," Raven Cullen suggested at the press conference once asked to scrounge for a silver lining, "at least we kept another clean sheet."

It's true. The Patriots kept a clean sheet. The only problem was that a feeble Lymantatia ripe for the taking kept a clean sheet too, the first time that the Patriots have failed to score this campaign and it couldn't possibly have come at a worse time. Chances of reaching the playoffs seem more remote than ever.

Between a draw at home against such poor opposition and failing to take the opportunity of the managerial honeymoon and home advantage against a Sunrise Islander team that could have been forgiven complacency, Cullen has dropped five points from four games and it is a testament to how abysmal the first half of qualification was that some pundits are mistaking this for 'progress'.

This isn't to say that jettisoning Sasha Bale was a mistake, although it left many to wonder if Bale could have overturned the deficit on her own given the rest of the qualifying cycle to rectify her errors. But if you do make the decision to jettison your manager who has a proven run of success but is in a terrible backslide of form, surely you need to have a backup lined up, a clear and tangible improvement.

Instead, a manager who favours the exact same style and has a mixed (though mostly positive) record in the A-League was rushed out of Rozelle and into the leading job, and it is telling that fans of the Saints were not hugely disillusioned at the sudden loss of their manager. There are a lot of good A-League managers around. Good A-League managers have taken Brenecia this far already - this is because, with the lone exception of Jon Slatesaver, Brenecia has never had a manager in the modern era who has managed abroad before taking over the national team, and it has never had a foreign manager at all.

Slatesaver, by contrast, came in directly after winning the Nepharim Premiership. Granted, the Premiership was a mid-tier league in those days, but the A-League was an abject long-ball low-skill swamp, and it was Jon Slatesaver who turned the Patriots into a well-drilled machine who were tough to beat and ruthless on the counterattack, Slatesaver who made Union Park into a genuine fortress, Slatesaver who ensured that, at one stage, Brenecia were the last team in qualifying over the entire world to concede a goal.

The approach grew stale and ran out eventually, and Slatesaver was fired... but the replacement was there. Catherine Bardsley had pretty much revitalised the A-League by succeeding with a very young, fast and attack-minded team, principles she immediately brought to the national team. The Patriots almost qualified at her first attempt... then they did manage to, won their first game and only narrowly lost the others, all playing that familiar style of football.

In the last two years of Bardsley's reign, Brenecia qualified easily for the World Cup a second time in a row, suffered three narrow defeats to superior opposition and made it to the semifinals in the Campionato Esportiva. And then, in an inexplicable act of hubris, the ambitious BFA decided to let her contract elapse, and in a desperate attempt to get back at her former employers she signed on with the Sameban national team. She was fired, eventually, but doesn't appear to have left the country since and hasn't made a public appearance in a while. Blood may be indirectly on the BFA's hands here, but that's for another article.

So who was the great replacement the BFA had lined up? The sort of appointment who could take Brenecia to another level? In theory, it was Althea Reader, dominating with Northern Union... but she turned them down, due to the cold-blooded that they'd undermined and then released Bardsley. She's not stopped winning the league since. So the BFA turned to Danielle Granger, who had managed Rozelle United to midtable safety and had a modest reputation as a tactician. Unsurprisingly, the Patriots went backwards, failed to qualify in what most thought was a disastrous qualifying cycle at the time - though scraping into second place sure sounds good now - and after a dismal Cup of Harmony, she was sacked.

Bale was a good appointment. She'd learned under Bardsley, she'd been reasonably successful at Kingsgrove, she played the right kind of football and she brought Brenecia its first trophy in the Campionato Esportiva, before taking them to the World Cup playoffs twice, the Cup of Harmony final and then another regional final. The only bad run of form Bale has ever had, besides the away legs of playoffs, has been this qualifying run. And it's been appalling. So sure, replace her... but with an upgrade.

Raven Cullen's contract runs until the end of the Campionato Esportiva, with an automatic year-long extension should she (by some miracle) qualify for this World Cup and another automatic extension should she win the regional championship. Assuming neither of those things happens, the BFA should think about her replacement very carefully indeed... and maybe, for once, start to look abroad again.

by **West Angola** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 6:38 am

NAMIBE CHRONICLE

WINNING WITH THE LIGHTS ON

Peter Simmons celebrates his 31st minute goal against Tobiasia last night

TOBIASIA CITY- West Angola took another step towards qualifying for World Cup 75 last night, claiming a 3-1 road victory over Tobiasia in dominating fashion. The visitors led 3-0 with less than five minutes remaining before a Tobiasian player whose name, through an improbable series of clerical errors, was lost in transmission, managed to knock home a goal to prevent a clean sheet for West Angola and salvage a small measure of respectability for his side. Peter Simmons kept up his torrid scoring pace, firing him a shot in the 31st minute for his ninth goal of the campaign, and nine minutes later Paul Ramirez scored his fifth to give the gold-and-blue a two goal lead. Nathan Gonzalez’s shot in the 73rd minute sealed the victory, and touched off a jubilant celebration among the few West Angolan fans in the stadium and those watching back at home.

With Frenline Delpha drawing Falatulu 2-2 in Toakameau, the three points gave West Angola the group lead (albeit with one fewer match left to play than the Anacondas). Should both sides win their remaining matches, the final meeting between West Angola and Frenline Delpha will decide which nation wins the group and qualifies automatically, and which one must win a playoff in order to advance. In that scenario, a draw would play in the Anacondas’ favor, and with the match taking place at Butter Fight Field the West Angolans would be hard-pressed to find an advantage. Jan Pawel’s side will be looking for help from Legalese and Tobiasia and hoping for a shock result to give them some extra breathing room in their final match. West Angola cannot afford to look too far ahead, however, as to drop points against Legalese next week would be catastrophic, and the Legal Eagles have already disappointed the national team once this cycle, taking a 1-1 draw at home.

Last night’s win, however, should give football fans across the nation hope that our side can avoid another underwhelming result, as the players were in excellent form. Crisp passing, superb strategy, and on-target shooting were all on display as West Angola took a commanding lead and never wavered despite a hostile crowd and a determined effort from the hosts. After a contentious first half hour that saw two excellent saves from the Tobiasian keeper and utter domination on the other end for the visitors, Peter Simmons broke through on a well-timed pass from Abraham Taylor and curled his shot into the top corner to put West Angola up 1-0. Tobiasia put together their best run of the half on the ensuing possession, feeding the ball into the box and very nearly making a dangerous shot, but sharp defense from Elsa Scott allowed her to clear the ball and prevent the hosts from netting a quick equalizer.

Having dealt with the immediate danger, it wasn’t long before West Angola scored again, as Abraham Taylor again advanced the ball to Peter Simmons in the Tobiasian zone, but this time Simmons faked a shot that fooled the keeper before feeding a pass over to Paul Ramirez, who scored on a wide open net to make it 2-0 in favor of his side. That scoreline persisted through to halftime, and once again Jan Pawel had nothing but praise for his players as he headed into the locker room. “The defense has been excellent, the attack has been excellent, we’ve had very few mistakes so far,” Pawel told EPSN, “We’re in a great position to come away from this match with a win if we continue playing at this level.” Statistically, West Angola had dominated the first half, controlling the ball for 71% of the time and managing five attempts (four on target) to Tobiasia’s one. Alan Harrison agreed with Pawel’s assessment, saying “West Angola has just outmuscled Tobiasia in this first half. They let them in that one time after the goal, but besides that they’ve looked very solid. If they continue this play in the second half I can’t imagine anyone in West Angola will be disappointed with the result.”

Despite the confident predictions, West Angola came out more than a little flat once play resumed. Tobiasia seized possession out of the gate and came within inches of scoring as the shot rebounded hard off the crossbar. Wesley Reynolds cleared the danger, but within moments the hosts were threatening again, and this time only a flying save by Jeremy Thomas prevented a goal. West Angola recovered after the second near miss, and the defense succeeded in holding off Tobiasia until the final five minutes. Possession went back-and-forth in the middle of the pitch for the next several minutes until Nathan Gonzalez managed his second goal of the tournament. As Abraham Taylor brought the ball up after taking a pass from Glenn Santos, he and Gonzalez switched lanes on the attack, putting Gonzalez in the middle while Taylor attacked down the right wing. Tobiasia was drawn out of position by the shift, and Gonzalez was wide open on the cross when Taylor lobbed it in his way. The goal put West Angola up 3-0 and with only seventeen minutes left until full time was essentially the final nail in the coffin.

West Angola was cruising, and appeared to be on pace to close out the match, but Tobiasia refused to quit fighting. Even with little chance of managing a position result, and long ago eliminated from the qualifying campaign, the bottom seed in the group began pushing numbers forward in pursuit of a goal. The hosts’ efforts were finally rewarded in the 88th minute as a Tobiasian player (whose name, as previously stated, was lost to this publication) slipped between William Craig and Keith Glover on the wing to net a late goal and make the result a little less painful for his side. Tobiasia was unable to manage a second goal in stoppage time, and the final whistle blew with the score still 3-1 in favor of West Angola. After the match, Jan Pawel spoke about the team’s qualification chances, “We’re not focused on scenarios and who needs to get what result when. All we’re concerned with is winning our last two matches. If we do that then we go through, it’s as simple as that. We’re going to head back to Namibe and train hard for Legalese next week, and no matter the result of that match we’re going to train hard for Frenline Delpha.”

West Angola will host Legalese next week in Warren Memorial Stadium. Tickets will be available 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) at  Tobiasia (255)
Peter Simmons 31'   1-0
Paul Ramirez 40'    2-0
Nathan Gonzalez 73' 3-0
                    3-1 Unavailable 88'   
Yellow: Simmons 41'
Red:    None

Group 13                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 West Angola                             10    6   3   1    21   12   +9    21
2 Frenline Delpha                          9    6   2   1    15    7   +8    20
3 Osarius                                 10    6   0   4    21   17   +4    18
4 Falatulu                                10    5   1   4    26   29   −3    16
5 Legalese                                 9    1   4   4    18   21   −3     7
6 Herendon                                 9    1   3   5    11   16   −5     6
7 Tobiasia                                 9    0   3   6    18   28  −10     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

Part Eleven: Cabinda
The West Angolan Constitution was a tricky thing. It had been rewritten four times in the country’s first twenty years of existence as the balance of power between the Crown and the Parliament had shifted, but the final version had stood for over a century with only a handful of amendments. One unique feature that had persisted through all the turmoil was the provision that for an elected monarch. When the King or Queen died or abdicated, the Prime Minister assumed their powers to take temporary full control over the state until their successor was crowned. Thus far, the system had worked well for West Angola, but it had been controversial for years among those who feared giving the Prime Minister absolute executive power in addition to legislative would eventually lead to dictatorship. Emily’s declining to run for the monarchy herself had alleviated some of those fears this time around, but now she was confronted by a decision that could bring them back to the fore.

Two days earlier, Emily had received a confidential communique from the Cabindan ambassador requesting a meeting. The tiny state was just a few miles north of West Angola, separated from the larger nation by a small strip of foreign territory. For most of West Angola’s history it had been just another province, but forty years previous it had suddenly exploded into a hotbed of rebellious fervor. Cabindan separatists had assassinated King Sien III, and their summary execution had provoked an overt secession movement. While the effort had been initially quashed, the national chaos prompted by the undead rising allowed Cabinda to make a clean and uncontestable breakaway. Stable independence had been short-lived, and the nation had dissolved into chaos after President Michael Raven had been himself assassinated by a WASABI special forces team under David Nichols. The subsequent West Angolan occupation had unified the people once again, and after five years under Augustine control a second rebellion led by Charles Sommers had restored Cabindan independence for good.

Despite the outsize negative role West Angola had played in Cabindan affairs, Sommers had been remarkably conciliatory towards the Parrish regime. In the months since the Exiles had reestablished control, he had sought ever-closer relations between the two nations via the first normalization of relations in their mutual history, a landmark free trade deal, and a student exchange program at both the primary and secondary levels. The ambassador had hinted several times in meetings with members of the West Angolan government that his leader was interested in pursuing reunification, but the idea was a source of serious division among Emily’s cabinet. She suspected bringing the two nations back together would be the subject of the day’s meeting, and had tried once again to broach the subject to her government earlier. As expected, any hope of accomplishing any further business died instantly as the cabinet erupted into arguing. Defense Minister Eric Saunders, who was staunchly opposed to bringing the breakaway province back into the fold, had become the unofficial spokesman for the anti-Cabindan faction, while Richard Morris led the opposition group.

For some reason, the normally respectful tone of cabinet debates went out the window when Cabinda was brought up, and it wasn’t long before Saunders insulted Morris’ patriotism and the Minister of State responded with a particularly crude joke about his opponent’s mother’s relations with right-wing politicians. The two seemed about to come to blows when Emily pressed a small button under the table, producing a loud, blaring noise that forced the bickering officials into silence. After a few seconds, she released the button and clasped her hands in front of her. “If you all are done making a mockery of your offices,” she began, “I would ask that you remember that your role in this decision is advisory only. Until we have a new monarch, I hold the authority to make whatever foreign agreements I deem necessary pending Parliamentary approval. I will make up my mind regarding Cabinda after weighing your input, but right now I just want a simple yes-or-no answer from each of you: if you don’t get your way on this matter, would you consider it grounds to resign? Eric? Robert?”

The two highest-ranking ministers shook their heads, and the others around the table slowly did the same in turn. Emily smiled sweetly, “See? That wasn’t so hard. Anyone who changes their mind should feel free to step down, but keep in mind that my decision will stand regardless of your actions.” The meeting had proceeded on to other business, the earlier acrimony forgotten, and Emily was relieved that her decision wouldn’t cost her any of the experience she’d worked hard to work into the government.

Her secretary’s voice on the intercom brought Emily back to the present, “Madame Prime Minister? The Cabindan Ambassador is here.” She closed the file on her desk containing the latest WASABI intelligence report from the northern state, then pressed the button, “Excellent, thank you, Paul. Please show him in.”

At six feet tall, two hundred pounds, Ryan Norris was an imposing figure. Fifteen years in the diplomatic service after twenty years as a soldier made him as dangerous as he looked, and he was notorious in the West Angolan diplomatic corps and government as a shrewd negotiator and a talented judge of character which made him extremely difficult to lie to. He was, for all intents and purposes, the best diplomat in the region, and the obvious choice to carry a sensitive or monumental proposal to a foreign government, which is why it was such a surprise when a short, thin woman walked into Emily’s office instead. Trying to cover her surprise, Emily rose and extended her hand, “Good afternoon, Madame Ambassador. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

The woman shook Emily’s hand and spoke with a hard voice at odds with her small form, “Madame Prime Minister, the pleasure is all mine. I must apologize for springing this on you, I’m sure you were expecting Ambassador Norris. He has unfortunately been delayed by urgent business at the embassy and sent me instead. My name is Charlotte Richards, Deputy Ambassador to West Angola. I’ve spoken with Minister of State Morris on several occasions. Here are my credentials.” Emily accepted the manila folder and thumbed through it. Morris had never mentioned the Deputy Ambassador’s name before, or that she was a woman, but her diplomatic record was in order, so Emily kept her suspicions off her face and instead gestured to the couches in the center of the room, “Would you care to sit? I’m eager to hear what your government has to say.”

Emily and Richards seated themselves on the beige couches, and the Cabindan opened her folder and withdrew a thin stack of paper, “This a draft of a treaty my government wishes to propose concerning bringing our nations together under a common ruler once more.”

There it was. After weeks of dancing around the issue the Cabindans had finally proposed reunification. Emily picked up the stack and began reading through it; the primary clause appeared to be Cabindan recognition of the King or Queen of West Angola as their ruler as well, leaving their respective governments intact below the top level. This would require several changes in Cabinda, as they would have to strip their Presidency of many of its powers on foreign policy, leaving it an essentially vestigial position. Emily looked up at Ambassador Richards, “How does President Sommers feel about ceding almost all of his authority to our next monarch?”

The woman’s face betrayed nothing as she answered, “The President and the Assembly will restructure their relationship internally. It won’t affect the overarching relationship between my nation and yours.”

“And what of Cabinda’s domestic affairs? We’ve been pleased to observe the progressive reforms President Sommers has enacted since his election, but I’m not sure how well my people will take to entering a political union with a nation that denies many human rights to its people.”

“To what, exactly, are you referring?”

Emily made a show of considering, then ticked them off on her fingers, “Your nation lacks universal health care, suffers from a massive pay gap, segregates its military by sexual orientation, and has one of the most regressive tax rates in the region. We can’t just sweep these things under the rug, especially if you’re going to give a West Angolan monarch responsibility for your foreign affairs. We can’t be expected to answer for your domestic policy if it’s this much of a mess.”

“All of those things are on the President’s legislative agenda, it’s simply a matter of getting the Assembly to approve them. You of all people know that moving too quickly can lead to disaster, and bringing our nation closer to West Angola can help serve as an example and spur our government to turn the President’s vision into reality.”

Emily frowned. The argument was persuasive if it was legitimate. Everything Sommers had done so far suggested he was indeed a democratic reformer, but if he was instead seeking a more self-interested goal West Angola would quickly regret shackling itself to a dictator. Emily reached the bottom of the third page, and stopped cold as she read the last clause. Fixing Richards with an icy stare, she spoke with an iron edge in her voice, “West Angola is not assuming Cabinda’s national debt.” Two wars for independence against a much larger army, as well as Sommers’ aggressive social platform without the necessary tax base, had forced Cabinda to incur a large debt in just a few years. While far smaller than West Angola’s in terms of size, it represented an outsize portion of the nation’s GDP, and the opinion of Emily’s economic analysts was that a default was inevitable unless they could win relief from their creditors, of which West Angola was one.

“Madame Prime Minister, I never would have taken you for a budget hawk.”

“I’m a realist, Madame Ambassador. Our current level of social programs is sustainable, but with a top tax rate of 60% we have very little wiggle room. If we suddenly take on a large amount of debt, much of which we already hold, I might add, the effect on our economy could be disastrous. No, if you’re seeking debt relief, I suggest you pursue a different avenue.”

Now it was Richards’ turn to frown, “I might be able to persuade my government to amend the terms regarding the debt, but I warn you that if we default the consequences could be even worse for you.”

Emily stared at the other woman for several seconds before speaking, “There’s no way Sommers didn’t know I’d balk at the debt clause. He sent you here with a fallback proposal. What is it?”

Richards sighed, “You’re very perceptive, Madame Prime Minister. President Sommers offers as an alternative to both assumption and default that our nations enter an economic union. Cabinda will devalue the Kwanza in favor of the African Pound, and West Angola will forgive the debt we ow you and commit to aiding us in paying off our debt to our other creditors. Before you respond, let me point out that if we default you would be losing out on most of the repayment anyway, so on balance you lose little while gaining a valuable economic partner with access to a wide range of natural resources.”

The Prime Minister nodded, “That may be feasible, I’ll discuss it with my Treasury Minister and the Director of the Central Bank.” She quickly read over the rest of the treaty and found nothing to raise further objections. Rising to her feet, she shook the Ambassador’s hand once again, “Thank you very much for coming. Our government will be in touch with the embassy very soon with our proposed changes.” Paul showed Richards out, then returned to Emily’s office, “Madame Prime Minister? Should I schedule another cabinet meeting?”

Emily considered it, then shook her head, “No, Paul, just with Morris and Anne Greenwood, and notify Charles Westing, I want the Central Bank to have input on this.”
===
Outside, Deputy Ambassador Charlotte Richards sat frozen in the back seat of the embassy car. The door opened, and an exact copy of the diminutive diplomat climbed in beside her. Snapping her fingers, the doppelgänger shed his disguise and handed the folder back to the motionless Richards. With a few quick waves of his hands, Q implanted the necessary memories in the woman’s mind, then clapped his hands and disappeared. She unfroze the moment Q was gone, and shaking her head as the new memories settled themselves, she called out to her driver. “Back to the embassy, Joseph, I need to update Ambassador Norris. I do hope he’s feeling better.”

by **Brigantii** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 6:49 am

World Cup 75 Qualifying Review

Brigantii 2-2 Sameba

Brigantii have scored 4 goals in the last 5 minutes of four matches, those four goals have rescued 6 points for the Stags and kept them in some kind of contention for qualification for the World Cup, what some might have seen as an unattainable dream, however the late goal this time wasn't in their favour and cost them all three points against Sameba.

Taking the lead through Michael Irwin, with the Albertpool forward being quickest to respond to a loose ball The Stags looked comfortable going into the break with a 1-0 lead. Sameba pegged them back shortly after the orange slices and isotonic sports drinks, but that equalizer was soon cancelled out by Stephen Mcnamara, scoring his second of qualifying and giving the travelling fans hope that they would be returning to Brigantii with all three points. But that hope was dashed in the 88th minute when the home side scrambled in a leveller from a poorly defended corner. Robertson came to catch, but failed to reach the ball and saw it headed in for 2-2.

After the match, coach Ron Winston was upbeat in defeat and commented “It would have been nice to go home with the win, but we have three games to go and another three chances to take three points. It's going to go down to the wire, but I think we've shown throughout qualifying we're not just here to make up the numbers”

Enough was enough, Pascal couldn't stand to listen to the knocking any more. He lit the candle by his bunk and headed out on to the deck. The water was calm and the boat was gently bobbing in the warm Wyrmgore sea. The sea was like liquid tar in it's bottomless blackness, it's depth deceptively hidden by the lack of anything visible within it. Pascal leaned over the side and peered into the sea in the direction of the knocking. The flicker of light from the candle barely illuminated the side of the boat, but in that pin light Pascal thought he could see something clinging to the hull of his boat. Something with long, dark, wavy hair. “What are you doing?” he asked the thing, but didn't get an answer. “Are you haunting me?” he asked, again receiving no answer. The thing, clinging to the hull looked to be nodding as Pascal spoke to it. “Are you going to let me sleep tonight?” he asked the dark mass, which again, didn't say anything, it just continued it's rhythmic nodding.

“Okay” Pascal said to the thing and returned to his cabin.

It was at this point in the story our granddad would ask us what we thought the “thing” was and we would excitedly say “a shark”, “a ghost” or “a mermaid”. It was unlikely to be a shark, except my brother thought it could be, and then my granddad said it might be a shark with a mullet – a fish joke we were too young to get. Then he'd lean in and say “let's wait and see.”

Pascal laid down in his cot and blew out the candle, casting his room into shadow, feeling a little more comfortable that the thing outside wasn't going to bother him again, but it wasn't long until the knocking and whispering started again. This time the knocking was louder than before, and was more regular, almost rhythmical. Thud, thud, thud, thud, then the whispering began again, Pascal, Pascal, thud, thud. Exasperated, Pascal huffed, blowing air out of his nose. Gritting his teeth he re-lit the candle and headed back to where he saw the thing hugging the hull of his boat. “I thought you were going to let me sleep” he bellowed in it's direction, but could barely spot it in the low light of the candle. “Are you listening to me? Let me sleep” Pascal bellowed at the thing before storming back to bed.

by **Turori** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 7:05 am

Location :: Almintora National Stadium is located in Almintora, Turori. Almintora is the capital city of the Island Emirate of Turori and has been the capital ever since the time of Turorian independence.

Primary Domestic Tenants

FC Almintora currently compete in the Tropicorp Lower League of the Vilitan football pyramid.

Domestic Competition History :: The Almintora National Stadium has served as the home of FC Almintora since the clubs official incorporation into the Vilitan League System.

The first domestic match ever played in the Almintora National Stadium was a Vilitan Cup pod match between FC Almintora and the now-defunct Irougil FC who have since had their history absorbed by Irottea. FC Almintora were winners on the day by a 1-0 scoreline and in fact the Almintora National Stadium would become something of a fortress for the team that, at the time, was the pride of Turori.

The Almintora National Stadium hosted its first ever Stellar Division contest on the opening matchday of the history of the Stellar Division with FC Almintora hosting Mavaloiao. Once again, Almintora was victorious by a 1-0 scoreline - the third straight 1-0 victory to open the stadium including two cup wins.

FC Almintora's strong opening run at the Almintora National Stadium lasted 7 matches before they were finally upended by Turoki Isle. Over their 7 match unbeaten run to open the Almintora National, FC Almintora recorded 5 victories including a 3-0 victory over a team from Lonngeylin - Jungle Strike FC, that would end up going down in history as one of the trophy wins for the home team in domestic competition at the Almintora National.

The strong home record at the Almintora National Stadium throughout the debut season of Stellar Division competition allowed FC Almintora to place 6th in the final Vilitan League table, a feat they equalled once since but have never bested.

During Vilitan League Season 6, the story at the Almintora National Stadium was quite different. During season 6, FC Almintora recorded just one victory at the Almintora National - and that was a 2-0 Vilitan Cup triumph over lower league side Alikki. With no home victories and just one on the road over the course of the season, FC Almintora were bounced out of the Stellar Division for Vilitan League Season 7.

The debut season of Declasse level competition at the Almintora National Stadium kicked off with a drab 0-0 draw versus Lonngeylin City. The first ever Declasse Division victory for the home team at Almintora National Stadium came on the third matchday against Alikki Locals. It would be another 10 seasons before Stellar Division competition would return to Almintora National after FC Almintora placed 2nd in the Declasse Table during Season 16. Once again, winning ways in the top tier would be returned to the Almintora National Stadium by means of a FC Almintora victory over Mavaloiao. Unfortunately for the fans in Almintora, it would not be a sign of things to come. FC Almintora struggled in its return to the top tier despite recording 6 home victories over the course of the next two seasons, being relegated back to the Declasse for Season 19.

After a few seasons of Declasse level competition, Season 21 would prove to be by far and away the best in the history of domestic competition at the Almintora National Stadium. The stadium's primary domestic Tennant, FC Almintora, would advance all the way to the Vilitan Cup Quarter Finals before being ousted by Stellar Division Giants the Yeaddin Owls in a 0-2 result at Almintora National. However, all was not lost for Turori's capital stadium as going into the final matchday of the season, FC Almintora had the opportunity to clinch the Declasse Division title and claim the first domestic silverware in club and stadium history.

Three minutes into the match, FC Almintora had already scored two goals against a Colonial Sile side that was on its way towards relegation and a one-way ticket to the Lower Leagues. By the half hour mark, FC Almintora had put 4 on the board. The club were able to lift the Declasse Division title in front of their home fans at the Almintora National Stadium - to date the only domestic title ever won at the capital city's main arena.

Unfortunately, Stellar Division play would not remain at Almintora National for long as FC Almintora were 'one and done' in the top flight. Things got even worse four seasons later - after being mired in the Declasse FC Almintora were relegated from the Vilitan League and for the first time ever, the Almintora National Stadium would play host to no top-level professional domestic competition.

Since that relegation, investment into the Almintora National Stadium and upkeep of the facility has been reduced to bare bones levels suitable only for standard maintenance. Still, the fans still come out to support their team - whether FC Almintora are competing in the Declasse Division, or, the newly established Tropicorp Lower League to which they were relegated to at the conclusion of Season 47 after a return spell in the Declasse.

However, just prior to that relegation the Almintora National Stadium hosted the most hotly contested match in its domestic sport history. After FC Almintora had done the unthinkable, upended Jungle Strike FC in the Vilitan Cup Quarter Finals, they were drawn against Turorian rivals Cednia Beach AFC in their first ever Vilitan Cup Semi-Final appearance. Incredibly, the underdog's from Almintora claimed a 1-0 victory in Cednia and came in needing only to draw with their Stellar Division opponents at the Almintora National Stadium in the second leg. The fans packed the Almintora National in record numbers - the aging facility barely able to accommodate the influx. The all-time record gate receipts taken in from the match were a welcome relief to Stadium Officials who already had plans for how they could use that sort of money if they were ever able to come across it. While Cednia Beach scored early to level the two-legged fixture, the fans were treated to extra time at the Almintora National for the first time in ages.

Unfortunately for the citizens of Almintora, their home side's run would end there but it was a memory that will last a lifetime for families who were in attendance to applaud their local teams fascinating journey to the Vilitan Cup Semi-Final.

Now, with FC Almintora back in the Tropicorp Lower League, attendance at Almintora National Stadium is quite moderate with only the occasional National Team outreach fixture truly able to pack fans in the seats like they did that day against Cednia Beach.

Notable Domestic Records @ Almintora National Stadium::
Highest Attendance
FC Almintora v. Cednia Beach AFC, Season 46, Vilitan Cup Semi-Final, Leg 2

Most Goals Scored in a Match (Combined)
Seven (7) - FC Almintora [3] v. Yeaddin Owls [4], Season 3, Vilitan Stellar Division

Most Goals Scored by One Team
Five (5) - Yeaddin Owls :: FC Almintora [0] v. Yeaddin Owls [5] - Vilitan Cup Season 8

Most Goals Scored by One Player
Three (3) - First to do so - Mauritus Banda v. Strike FC, Vilitan Stellar Division Season 2

by **Hasznia** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 8:04 am

Mapletish 3–3 Hasznia
GK-Scott
RB-Villa (goal 36')
CB-Johnson
CB-Iverson
LB-Young (out 45')
DM-Diaz
DM-Rogers W.
CM-Strain
CM-Pearson (goal '25)
AM-Henry (goal 79')
FW-Hawkins
Bench: Clark, McAdams, Burns, Sanders (in 45'), Howard, Clayton, Wright

Just Hasznian Things #6: Destinations

Despite Hasznia’s relative isolation from the rest of the multiverse, tourism, mostly domestic, is a major industry for many Hasznian cities. In the days of the Grand Dukes, several weeks’ vacation was mandated for workers in royally-chartered companies, and that policy was one of a very few to carry over to the Kingsley Republic. Hasznian families and individuals tend to frequent the same vacation spots every year, though that trend has been changing recently. Below are some of the most popular Hasznian vacation destinations.

Delight Beach, Sanguine Islands

Annual visitors: 1.3 million
Major attractions: Beaches, Delight Come Theme Park, Summer Palace, resorts
Delight Beach is a unique tourist destination in that it combines a traditional beach town with the trappings of a historic landmark. The idyllic island in the temperate Sanguine Islands plays host to the former Grand Ducal Summer Palace, a beachfront mansion that the grand ducal family of Hasznia once occupied for the summer months. In addition to the palace and the eponymous beach, tourists come to Delight Beach for nightlife as well as Delight Come, an island-themed amusement park.

The Summer Palace was constructed in 1921 under the direction of Prince Joaquin, the Landgrave of Wick, youngest brother of Grand Duke Victor II. It was rarely used for its intended purpose, at least not for the entire summer; the rest of the time, the Grand Duke allowed various cronies and foreign dignitaries the use of it, frequently as a bargaining chip in negotiations. The Palace’s value as a tourist attraction began before the coup; tours were offered in the winter months to offset the cost of maintenance.

In the coup of 1963, the Palace was seized by the Sanguine Islands Liberation Front, an independence movement that soon collapsed and turned the palace over to local government. The terms of that agreement are still the governing documents of the Summer Palace Disposition Committee, a semi-private trust that owns most of the beachfront property around the island. During the early years of the Kingsley Republic, the national government used Delight as neutral ground for backroom deals, with parties as diverse as the Hasznian Worker’s Party and the Barracha mafia.

Today, Delight Beach is the main beach resort destination in Hasznia. A small airport connects Delight to the mainland by way of the airport in Reform, though many tourists still prefer to take the ferry for the scenic views. Domestic tourism accounts for almost all tourism through Delight, though exposure on international websites as an off-the-beaten-trail beach resort destination has fueled an increase in the number of foreign tourists.

Carriage District, Barracha

Annual visitors: 2.5 million
Major attractions: Barracha Park, bars, Barracha Opera House, botanical gardens, boutique shopping, Debtor’s Gaol, Football Hall of Fame and Museum, National Museum, restaurants, Royal Carriage Works Museum
The Carriage District lies at the heart of Barracha’s historic downtown, twenty-five city blocks closed to motorized traffic, serviced by streetcars, bicycle taxis, and horse-drawn buggies. The District is in many ways the cultural center of Hasznia, playing host to its national museum; its largest football stadium, Barracha Park, home of Barracha 1919; and the Opera House, which also hosts the National Symphony Orchestra and the Barracha Ballet. In between these landmarks are countless bars, boutiques, nightclubs, and restaurants to suit a wide variety of tastes.

The Carriage District has its origins with a Grand Ducal proclamation in 1799, which stated that the streets around the newly-built Royal Carriage Works should be twice as wide as in the rest of the city and kept free of debris, so that carriages could be more easily maneuvered. The result was a gridwork of wide cobblestone streets that continued to be serviceable after the introduction of the automobile, sparing the district the rapid redevelopment that changed the character of many of Barracha’s other neighborhoods.

When Brianna Kingsley announced plans to tear down many of the buildings in the district in 1974, the backlash was so strong that she instead changed her tune, calling on the people of Barracha to revitalize the sagging district. To help them, she banned cars from the streets and had the streetcar lines refurbished, as well as injecting a huge amount of capital from her White Sun Corporation into redevelopment projects. The gamble paid off, and the District is now a sustainable, thriving city center.

Today, tourists mingle with Barrachans on their way to work or to do their daily shopping. Crowds on the nights of 1919 matches can number in excess of one hundred thousand, not counting those in the stadium, and the bars do a brisk business on away nights. Sales tax from the district goes to fund the museums, botanical gardens, and other public attractions to keep the customers coming.

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 8:17 am

PORT CHRISTOPHER 1 - 1 ABANHFLEFT
      UIST (85')       R. EDWARDS (41')

         ABANHFLEFT 4 - 1 SAVALEN
KELVIN (33', 45+2')       TOBSAKHA (76')
    MARILUNGO (39')
          LEE (89')

                FLUVIQUE 3 - 3 ABANHFLEFT
         DI ANGELLO (4')       POTTER (7')
GONZA (90+5', 90+7' pen)       KELVIN (33')
                               RIEDEWALD (67')

      ABANHFLEFT 3 - 2 WEST-EAST TIMOR
L. EDWARDS (14')       HANSRAW (60')
    KELVIN (28')       KANRALANOK (80')
   LEE (87' pen)

     ABANHFLEFT 1 - 2 NOVA ANGLICANA
OKAMOTO (90+5')       MCBRIDE (45')
                      KELLY (78')

    ABANHFLEFT 1 - 3 GREATER CASCADIA
EL SALAH (16')       MI (8', 55', 81')

      ABANHFLEFT 2 - 2 PORT CHRISTOPHER
R. EDWARDS (23')       BANDOS (25')
 OWOBOWALE (78')       RIVERA (59')

by **Kandorith** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 8:30 am

Second Place Struggle

Kandorith 0–0 Polaaskan

Group 7                                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Valanora                                 9    6   3   0    22   12  +10    21
2 Sarrbia                                  9    5   2   2    27   14  +13    17
3 Kandorith                               10    3   5   2    17   16   +1    14
4 Polaaskan                                9    2   5   2    10   14   −4    11
5 The Royal Barangay                      10    3   2   5    14   21   −7    11
6 Jeckland                                10    2   2   6    15   19   −4     8
7 Stacoco                                  9    1   3   5    11   20   −9     6

As the Kandorese team failed to graps another win, the drawing game of Kandorith is starting to look like a dangerous one. The only hope for Kandorith now is to win every upcoming match and for Sarrbia to stop getting points. For the Kandorese fans it will be absolutely nerve wrecking as they faithfully watch their team in another disappointing qualification round. Some are even saying the glory days of Kandorith are over and they shouldn't join the upcoming World Cup to truly rebuild the entire team. Further more it is confirmed that Méng will no longer have a guaranteed spot in the starting eleven due to his sub par performance. Although he hasn't lost the coach's faith completely, he was in need of a rest.

The only obstacle for Kandorith would be the need to beat Valanora, currently and undoubtedly the number one of the group. Kandorith will surely muster all their strength and their nothing to lose attitude to try and overcome this team, to still have a chance to make it to the World Cup finals.

Kandorith VS Valanora

Substitutes
GK - N^o 24: SEIJI Sakabara
GK - N^o 25: KEIXÍAN Han
LB - N^o 6: SUYING Shin
CD - N^o 8: HUÁN Jun
CD - N^o 14: MING-HUA Te
RB - N^o 16: SHANYUAN Lee
CDM - N^o 11: MURAKAMI Mitsuhare
LM - N^o 18: OKHA Eiichi
RM - N^o 12: KEILÁNG Xie
CAM - N^o 4: Taiji Moto
ST - N^o 23: MÉNG Zeijí
ST - N^o 17:MINGZHENG Shéng

Starting eleven
GK - N^o 1: JIANJIN Tuan
LB - N^o 3: XIAN Shilin
CD - N^o 5: XIEXIE Tian
CD - N^o 7: LUNG Mara
RB - N^o 9: MAO Zhénsheng
CDM - N^o 20: XIN Zihao
RM - N^o 15: SHAN Xiaobo
LM -N^o 10: XÍMÍN Chosi
ST - N^o 19: QEILAN Zhu
CF - N^o 13: MADATO Xien-kan
ST - N^o 21: QÍNG Weimin

by **Falatulu** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 10:11 am

To: Lord Almighty Gregory
From: Abelino Greece
CLASSIFICATION: [redacted]

Hello Lord Almighty Gregory,

Your proposal regarding the gathering of intelligence would be perfectly fine with me.

- Abelino

Toakameau Post

The end of my National Soccer Team?
by: Rule Theriault

With the current Qualifying campaign being an absolute disgrace to the great legacy of my National Soccer Team organization, I have decided that I will be disbanding the current team at the end of World Cup Qualifying. I apologize to everybody in Falatulu and to all of our fans throughout the multiverse for our disgraceful performance this cycle and I promise everybody that we will not continue to disgrace our great legacy with poor performances on the pitch. I want to state, for the record, that I am willing to keep the team together should they win their final two matches against Herendon and Osarius and should they finish in the top 2 within their qualifying group. If they achieve one of these goals, but not the other, I will merely consider continuing to field a National Team. Should they accomplish neither, I will disband my National Team organization effective immediately and Falatulu will no longer be entering a team in WCC competitions. I wish Mr. Abdullahi luck as he manages this squad of pathetic and pathological underachievers in what I'm certain will be their last two WCC matches ever.

by **Banguela** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 10:39 am

”You’re up next,” Joao Ferreira spoke and the way he pronounced should have said that I was next to throw my marble at middle school or next in line at the grocery shop whilst he was still contemplating whether he would pick up the red or the green peppers. But we were standing in front of a bench that had been neatly tucked in between the touchline and the grandstand of Farham Arena, in which an approximate eighty thousands of green-and-black painted supporters did an attempt to break the world record of collectively tearing eardrums.

The Cormorants, already reinforced with Asher Voeller at the attacking front, were at the wrong end of a 1-2 scoreline with ample minutes left on the clock and tried to turn things around by besieging the Banguelan goal. It was at times like these that it became clear which unique mix between brute force and refined craftsmanship had earned them regional and world titles, allowing Just Hargrave to have a chat with the assistant referee if he weren’t trying to hide his frustration over allowing two goals already.

Initially, an almost friendly atmosphere had rolled down the stands as the fans had gathered to see their side mathematically ensure a ticket for the World Cup they had already won early on in the campaign. The scarce supporters of Os Gnus had received a very hearty welcome, possibly a bit too celebratory in hindsight. The defending champs reinforced the hopes of their crowd by dominating from the first whistle onwards, their defining midfielder Elaine Ashdown directing them in this masterclass upon how to camp at the opposite half of the pitch.

But then, Bogwa did what would ironically be his best act of the day, namely clipping his ankle in a hopeless duel against the piece of human rock called Malachite Scharner by the average Crisisbless fan. For half a second, I believed my moment had come but then I saw the glance of the gaffer move to my left. Zito Miguel, probably, getting in his sight, nothing unfair considering his pretty prolific streak, larded with a g-. Wait. The glance moved down the line of reserves and before Shale or anyone else caught what was going on, Kubunga transformed the 4-4-2 so desperately kept intact by the manager, in good weather and bad, into some Christmas tree formation.

It is strange that a pair of genius players always told to be impossible to field together could team up like this. Whilst the three remaining midfielders formed a cushion to guard the defence from the infiltrations from Szalai and Ashdown - Macabanga doing an extremely laudable job there -, Amarinho and Kubunga altered the balance. The reigning and future prince of the black-and-red midfield don’t have, and never will reach, the reputation of the Nepharim stars but did manage to give our possession stats a viable boost, the lifeline out of our beleaguered half. Most notably, they raised the pressure on the hesitant wingbacks while Rui Mokanga fought like a madman against the pair of heralded central defenders Shale had in store.

It is difficult to describe why Rui Mokanga was so good, actually. Obviously the brace did the trick for the statisticians but there was something magnetic in the way he played at the home pitch of a country where he plied his trade. A barrel of courage and another one of energy allowed him to get up and over his technical limitations and pierce the net from Hargrave twice, a cannonball and a surprisingly refined header doing the trick. But even a trio of attacking stars playing far above their regular level get exhausted and purely on physical strength, the Nepharim had returned to our half. And with Amokachi doing what she was put on this earth for, scoring goals with grace, everyone in the stadium was counting down for the equaliser. It was a moment for a flash of tactical genius, reinventing the football-equivalent of the wheel in order to protect us from the impending doom but...

”Lua, it’s pretty simple. I’ve told Figuerinho when he came in to spread the news to just hoof it up field as soon as you’re up. All I’m asking is twelve minutes of sprinting. Fucking non-stop.” I nodded, contemplating whether this man was actually the tactical mastermind the papers sold him for.

About five-hundred seconds, Fabricio Santos brought down Adnan Szalai by grabbing hold of several limbs at once. A hesitation of the ref, guided by frustrated outcries from the home side, allowed Macabanga to twist around his access and put his laces through the leather, sending it up and over me. There’s a lot you can say about Calliope Katskalidis and most of it would be a mix of genuine fear and respect, but speed isn’t her strongsuit and as I managed to get out of her grappling arms, I realised that I was loose, with only Hargrave standing between me and a historical goal. As I chipped the ball, I thought, Joao Ferreira indeed ain’t half-bad tactically.

by **Taeshan** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 11:21 am

Everything is slightly better than expected.

http://chirb.it/Kgc2eb

by **Banija** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 11:31 am

The All-Banija Sports Magazine
The only nationwide publication that is all sports, all the time!

Can't take anything for granted: Shocking 2-0 upset by Wolfenia causes serious damage to Banijan World Cup Qualification hopes

John Katumba & Kiggwe Mavuto after the final whistle blows in their 2-0 loss away to Wolfenia

WOLFENIA- Going into the game, Jan Cassallerus had called it a must-win for this squad. They had lost to Farfadillis, and while nobody expected this team to be able to defeat Farfadillis, as they have not dropped points once throughout this entire World Cup Qualification campaign, they knew that the loss to Farfadillis just amplified the importance of their three remaining games. They would absolutely have to have a win against cellar-dwellars Wolfenia, before the race for the playoff spot would be decided with Banija hosting Dreamplanet, and quite possibly a winner-take-all match in Ficiscia for the Group 18 playoff spot.

Wolfenia was clearly not given the script, however, as they upended the entire race with their stunning upset of the Banijans, by a final score of 2-0. The Banijans had been playing with tons of confidence throughout the entire middle of the Qualification campaign. Winning 4 games in 5 matches had allowed the team to retain and regain its confidence levels, and all of Banija was turning all of their attention to this World Cup Qualification campaign. After a disappointing showing at the Regional Championships, hosted by Banija, this was Banija's major chance to finally win their first international trophy.

We're not really sure what happened to this team in this game, or why they came out so flat. Maybe they were deflated after putting so much into the Farfadillis, that they never got over the loss to the group winners and could not recover in time for their trip to this country. Maybe the team was simply too tired. Maybe they couldn't handle the pressure of being the hunted ones, in pole position in 2nd place in the group, and could not handle the weight of the expectations of an entire nation. Regardless of what happened, this team did not deserve any points against the group's cellar-dwellars.

They played terribly. There was no combination play at all from the Banijans. They could not maintain possesion, they did not go forward with the ball, it just seemed as if they were waiting for an opportunity that wouldn't be gifted to them. Watching this game, and especially watching the first half, it looked as if Wolfenia was the team fighting with the hunger and passion of a team that is competing for a spot in the World Cup, while Banija was counting down the days to the end of a terrible World Cup Qualification campaign at the cellar of the group. Valdmir Yeović was repeatedly gashing this team down the right flank, and nobody was surprised when he opened the scoring in the 32nd minute.

A 44th minute goal was added by the aging captain Vladmir Šubić-Zrinski to give the team a 2-0 lead going into halftime, which would hold as the game's final score. While Wolfenia had a defensive-minded, possesion-based formation, with the lone striker and 5 midfielders, including three central midfielders, and 4 defenders, the Banijan midfield had what was quite possibly the worst game of the entire campaign. Nobody on the pitch could do anything, and even having Cassallerus use three halftime substitutions could not inspire this team, as they went down to an inferior Wolfenia team, though it was a Wolfenia team that was far superior to Banija's team on this day.

Jan Cassallerus did not mince words after this defeat. "This was, overall, the worst performance of this team to date in this World Cup Cycle. When you are competing for a spot in the World Cup, especially this deep into the Qualification campaign, you cannot afford to drop points in a game like this. That has set us far back from our goal, and now we are set back from our goal of reaching that playoff spot. However, we still have two games left, and we are still in the race. It is much more difficult now, but World Cup Qualifying tends to take twists & turns that you'd never expect. We're still in it, but what happens around us happens. We need to focus on our own game, and that starts with our final home game of this campaign. We have a home game against Dreamplanet, and a win in front of our home fans would allow us to right this ship before we travel to Ficiscia."

If Banija wants to get that playoff spot, it is absolutely mandatory that this team find a way to gain all three points against Dreamplanet. With Banija not picking up a single point in two consecutive games, against the best & worst teams in the group, the group will come down to this team's ability to defeat its rivals competing for these same World Cup playoff spots. Ficiscia is a team that dominated Banija at the Stadium of the Restoration, and while that will be a big game, the biggest game coming up is the one in front of you- Banija vs. Dreamplanet. While Banija found a way to win the last time these two teams met, Dreamplanet will be looking to return the favor for the Matchday 5 game between these two teams. A Banijan win would officially eliminate Dreamplanet from World Cup Qualifiers, and this team wants to win this game so their final matchday in Ficiscia means something.

by **Anglatia** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 12:13 pm

TheInsiders.an
An inside view of sports in the Empire of Greater Anglatia

Social media update
Article by James Inchausti

We're more than halfway through qualifying and everything is going as expected. Grass is still green, the sky is still blue, the Jugoskanians and South Valerians are fighting again, and Amy Abramsen is killing our chances at qualifying. I would actually say that she already has ruined our chances, unless every other team somehow screws up completely. But we'll get to that in another article. This one is about transfers and offseason stuff, and what we've gathered from looking at the Empire's most popular social network, Anglanet.

The biggest story for Bathgate fans will be that they've lost the rumored chance they had of landing Tyra Halloway next season. The central midfielder slash center fielder posted this, last night:

Tyra Halloway - 16k likes - 2k reblogs

I am retiring young after next season.

Thank you for making me feel special for the last three seasons.

So long, and Fuck The Blue Side.

By 'Blue Side', Tyra is most likely referring to the central part of the city of Loftus, where she played before signing for Haesan Metro FC and then the Matthew Mets. Central Loftus almost entirely supported AFC Center City, while Tyra's team, Hawks United, drew their support from the surrounding metro area and the English speaking suburbs. Tyra's partner, Reina Toure, quickly made a post in reply before deleting it, but our site was able to screenshot it before it could be deleted.

Reina Toure - 401 likes - 87 reblogs

>tfw bae abandons you in a foreign country with an ex-blue

>haven't felt this much abandonment since my parents threw me out of the house and sent me to Loftus by myself

>passed up on millions of dollars in sponsorship money to go to USI

>didn't hit on the hot coach when I had the chance

>spent a couple million dollars on gifts, all for nothing

>time to reconsider life choices

The coach that Reina referred to is either Brandon Tjaeder who coached her at Hawks United, or Rakel Teixiera, who coached her at AFC Center City during her brief failed stint there. While she deleted the original post, she interacted a bit with some Bathgate fans who had questions.

BCFC The Greatest - 12 likes - 1 reblog

@ReinaToure17 did you really spend millions on gifts?

Reina Toure - 174 likes - 13 reblogs

I bought her a car that cost 2.5 million for her birthday, so yea

Oh, and I paid for everything when she wanted the most expensive house in Haesan

Every time she wanted something I bought it with no questions asked, I feel used now

Bxthgate Cxty - 8 likes - 2 reblogs

@ReinaToure17 are you two still together?

Reina Toure - 2k likes 89 reblogs

IDK yet, probably not. I've come to the realization that I'm dating a narcissist and right now I just wish I could build a time machine to avoid fucking up my life choices

She says she's moving to Ross after the season so I probably won't see her again

We'll see how this develops, but as of now, it's looking like the rumors that Reina Toure and Tyra Halloway would come to rescue Bathgate City from mediocrity seem false. There's also some other problems with Bathgate, which we'll get into in the next article...

by **Ko-oren** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 12:47 pm

Union of Ko-oren Games

Nation - G S B

Ko-oren - 12 14 8
Thaulandi - 11 22 14
Nine Sisters - 10 11 15
Wolf Islands - 10 1 2
Protea - 8 0 6
Polaris - 7 8 4
Zakhozan - 5 2 4
Waratah - 4 2 7
Dragonfly Isl- 4 1 6
Kang Rao - 3 5 3
Santa Teresa - 3 4 6
Milyu - 2 3 3
Taloren - 2 2 2
Irisia - 2 0 1
Seiranesia - 1 4 2
Dendronesia - 1 3 0
Fern - 1 2 0
Skyvinduren - 1 2 0
Six Saints - 1 1 4
Arhoria - 0 1 1

Some movement after the afternoon of day 18 of the Games. Just 21 more golden medals will be handed out. From day 12 until day 18, there was a calmer pace to the rain of medals from the first 11 days, as more 'violent' sports were on display.

The tournament organisation was said to ignore the sports of these days: just two events in sports like judo, taekwondo, wrestling and boxing where just a few kilos matter so much to the result. The organisation had already said before the tournament started that every sport would get not more than two events, with the exception of tennis as a key growing sport across the Union. After the Games are over, the associations of these unfavoured sports said to host a new tournament, with events for each weight class. Some athletes decided to sit out their matches in protest, while in actuality these are the athletes that were extremely unlikely to win based on their weight and their opponents' weight. Basically, there is a lot to the argument of the four associations, and the only good thing is that that best (but also usually heaviest overall) won, and that no sport would account for more than 5% of the total medals handed out.

Archery was hugely popular with the number of archers in the Union on the rise for years. It's also picked up as a secondary sport by many. Skeet Shooting was an interesting event. Firearms are banned in Ko-oren so for a while it was debated whether the event should have continued at all. Some conservative voices in the Ko-orenite government made a point out of boycotting the event, while some more Union-wide parties said that the event was fair game and that there should be an exemption to the law for sports. There was a compromise: there was a law specifically suggested by the Unionite government, drafted and passed by the Ko-orenite government, that firearms for sports' purposes were allowed. This was taken quite far as amateur skeet shooters now also competed during the event in their own venues, set up just for a day. Some other nations offered to host this specific event if the Ko-orenite government banned it.

The remainder of water sports were held today as well: rowing, sailing and synchronised swimming.

The Nine Sisters were the clear victors of days 12-18. They won 6 golds and finally took third behind Ko-oren and Thaulandi. Ko-oren had an awful week for just two bronzes, but they kept their spot at the top even with Thaulandi closing in. Thaulandi broke the 20 silver line, and now have by far the most medals of all nations (47). Ko-oren have 34 and have been overtaken by the Nonosororitans with 36. The Wolf Islands' luck seemed to run out as well and fell to fourth, with 10 golds versus just a silver and two bronzes. Protea, Zakhozan and Polaris also creeped closer to the top 2. Arhoria remain without gold.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 1:02 pm

Osiris

For Aaron Brandt, Wagner's confrontation had come at the worst possible time. He'd just been tying up the loose ends on Phase Two of his plan.

For years, the league had shown blatant favoritism towards teams on the eastern and southern coasts, with the sparser northwestern nations generally neglected. While the northern Confederation of Denison had separated from the rest of Super-Llamaland all together, taking its clubs with it, the west was still discontent. This could be seen by the distribution of teams in the now-defunct LFL - the entire western third of their nation had one club in the top tier of twelve, Ruby Falls - less than New Llama's two alone. This western discontent had fueled the rise of the populist CLF (Centrists for Llamanea's Future) party, and now it could fuel Brandt's own personal ambitions.

He had nearly finished an email to a number of employees of the LFA that came from the west - anticipating that they would help, he'd been building up the number of westerners within the LFA from the moment he became president.

From: Aaron Brandt <abrandt@lfa.org>
To: Eighty Four Recipients
---
Tomorrow, the LNLN measures (Limitation of Non-Llamanean Nationals) that we have worked so hard to draft will finally take place.

Adam Wawrinka opened the LFA's doors to foreigners - and they blatantly exploited it. Remember when the stars of our national team were Shaun Campbell, John Oliver, and Bobby Crosby? Where have Llamanean talents like them gone? The answer: buried underneath Vesely and Vorobyov, Candelario and Costa, Rodrigues and Rasmussen.

How can we hope to inspire a new generation of Llamanean talents when the only football stars they see are foreigners? How can we rebuild our domestic leagues if only foreigners show up to play?

LNLN will change everything. Our struggling FA will become revitalized. Youth academies for our children can reopen. Super-Llamaland has been an independent nation for 100 years. So why can't our FA do the same?

Please vote FOR the

And, of course, then Wagner had come in and he'd quickly hidden the tab.
---
Later

Kristopher Wagner shook Brandt's hand. "Ah, that makes sense. Thank you. I have trust that you'll continue to lead well." It didn't make sense, and he knew what Brandt was up to, but he needed to lull the LFA president into complacency. The two had talked for a few minutes, Brandt explaining his motives behind shutting foreigners out of the lower-level football leagues. Knowing that Aaron had always looked down on him to some extent, he'd managed to feign acceptance well enough. At least, he thought so.

He'd first been tipped off by a clerk from Wheathampton who'd spoken to Brandt and was understandably concerned. Wagner had known for six months about Brandt's policy of hiring a disproportionate number of westerners, and he also knew that most of them weren't very close to him. But he didn't anticipate that Brandt would act so soon. Megan Leonard's email had saved him.

He'd still planned ahead, of course. As he walked down the LFA hallways, he pulled out a cell phone and speed-dialed a reporter he knew wrote for the New Llama Daily.

"This is Kris. I have a story for you," he said, patting the tape recorder in his pocket. They were going to get everything tonight.

TIGERS GET REVENGE AGAINST KABOOMLANDIA
Super-Llamaland 2–0 Kaboomlandia
Sorenson 17, Vorobyov 90+1
Lineup: Bernholm; Sorenson, Ynoa, Reichart, Karnstedt; Candelario, Vesely (Santana 75); Karjalainen, Rasmussen, Adrian (Vorobyov 63); Rutherford (Penbrooke 65)

by **Ceni** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 1:15 pm

CENI SURVIVES PAPUTU SCARE
Adrián del Toro comes on to save three points

Ceni came into the away match with Paputu off an 28-match undefeated streak in World Cup qualification matches, stretching back all the way back from the second half of World Cup 73 qualification, when they first made their debut in the World Cup. They haven't looked back on that point, and they could secure at least a playoff spot with a win this week. However, the team from the Confederate Islands of Paputu was standing in their way, and they did not take kindly to a 4-1 thrashing back on Ceni's home leg and resolved to put up a fight throughout the match.

Ceni was hoping for an easy win over their lower-tier opponents, ranked outside the top 200 after an OK showing in the Baptism of Fire. They started the match off well, with Kel Koromin leading the charge to move the ball down the field against the Paputu defense that had not given Ceni too many problems in the two team's last match. However, the defense, led by Paputan captain Kyle Matten, had learned from their mistakes in the last match, and Matten organized a trap for Koromin as he advanced down the field. Koromin tried to pass back to Allison Swan, whom he trusted to carry out a good playmaking play, but he was thwarted by the stern play of the Paputan defenders, who were able to clear the ball and launch an effective counterattack against the Cenian defense. However, Cenian goalkeeper Jacrian Ryaden was able to block that shot, which was weak and right into his arms.

Ceni then again tried to score and hoped that their advantage in the midfield would be enough to penetrate the Paputan goal as they had so successfully in the Cenial Halcyon Stadium. But Paputu's National Olympic Stadium was a different matter, and the 58,000 strong home contingent was supporting their team to the best of their abilities. It apparently spurred on the Paputan national team, for Alan McKortney, the Paputu team all-time top goalscorer, managed to receive a pass from attacking midfielder Richard Bartlow which managed to dissect the Cenian defense somehow, going behind a forward-moving Josh Axakel and to the right of the Cenian defensive stalwart Kaia Travaran. McKortney then managed to hit an angled shot, out of the reach of goalkeeper Ryaden. Paputu had scored a goal - but that wasn't a guarantee of anything, especially considering Paputu had scored an early goal in the Halcyon match and gone on to lose the match heavily.

Kel Koromin, hoping to make up for his poor offensive play earlier in the match, took charge of the offensive yet again. The Cornellians star, instrumental in the Schottian side's excellent campaign in the Gold Cup, passed forward to 1830 Cathair midfielder Jaime del Olmo, who hit an incisive pass to Jacen Xasan that managed to get around the back four of Paputu's defense. Xasan, faced with the oncoming rush of Paputan defenders, ran to the right and passed a little backwards to Koromin, who was in a good place to make an attacking play. He made good on his opportunity, scoring into the left corner of the goal, where goalkeeper John Edmonton had left an opening for him as he was moving towards the right to block against the Xasan threat.

Ceni was now expecting to take total control of the match, as it had done in the game against Paputu several weeks earlier in the qualification cycle. However, Paputu apparently didn't get that memo, mounting a great effort in the midfield to take possession and keep it, in preparation for an effort on Ceni's goal. For around ten minutes, Corran Celgis, Thajan Jaros, and Allison Swan attempted to steal the ball from Paputu's defenders and mount another offensive movement against Paputu, but for those painful ten minutes, Paputu stymied them and held on to possession. To throw Ceni off and reinforce the apparent advantage in the midfield, Paputan coach Mark Landweeg switched out defensive midfielder Donald Watersen for a more central midfielder, Jupun Mawerta. The switch apparently had a good effect on the character of the play for Paputu, for Mawerta was able to change the Paputan playing strategy from a more defensive one to an offensive one. That switch resulted in a goal, courtesy of attacking midfielder Luke Filler.

Ceni was, at that point, a bit irked, and some of the players thought they had finally caught the upset bug that had been afflicting so many nations over the course of this qualification cycle. Josh Axakel began to get a bit less reliable on the defense, accidentally passing some balls to the Paputan offense, but at least Jacrian Ryaden was able to undo the damage Axakel caused with some good saves to deny Paputu a three-one lead. Unfortunately, though, in the second minute of stoppage time in the first half, Ryaden was unable to prevent another defensive mistake from Axakel, a poor clearance allowing Paputan winger Richard Bartlow to take advantage of the opportunity, extending Paputu's lead to 3-1. At this point, Ceni was extremely worried, and manager Elias Carrasco gave the team a half-time pep talk telling them how to combat adversity and work better as a team. He also made an early second-half substitution, replacing the error-prone Josh Axakel with a perhaps more reliable Evan Turich-Albertson, a former Western Borderlands national.

Ceni was hoping for a bit of a resurgence in the second half with that defensive change as well as a renewal of the offensive pressure that had put the team in first place over all qualification groups for goals scored. They knew they could come back from this goal deficit. Nico Asturias, the Cenial United striker, led the charge, receiving an excellent pass from Allison Swan to set up his attacking play. Dodging the Paputan defenders, Asturias forced a one-on-one with the goalkeeper Edmonton, only to have his shot ricochet off the post and see Kyle Matten clear hos shot back to the midfield. That only bought Paputu some time, however, as Thajan Jaros just caught the ball on his chest and launched a flurry of small passes, first from him to Swan, then Swan to Celgis, then Celgis to Asturias, then a back pass from Asturias to Koromin, who shot, but saw his shot go a bit too high and bounce off the crossbar. But Asturias was able to get this ball back into play, shooting into the lower right corner of the goal to lessen Ceni's goal deficit to only one.

Paputu's defense was still going strong, and, in order to facilitate the offense, coach Elías Carrasco switched out Corran Celgis, the Centralis Heart star, for a perhaps lesser known player but still a great talent, Adrián del Toro, who ripped apart defenses in Cenileague with his goal-scoring talents. Carrasco would now count on del Toro to do the same for the national team, as the team would still need to score two more goals in order to pull out the three points. Asturias's goal had reinvigorated the team and raised their morale after they were on the verge of collapsing in the first half, and the team could now count on yet another stellar attacking midfielder to help the team in their attacking quest. For a while, Ceni probed the Paputan midfield, only to find their efforts repelled by a strong Paputan midfield, which was still remembering their large defeat in the first half of qualifying and anxious to avoid the same fate again, even though they were still 3-2 up.

Despite the best efforts of Kyle Matten and John Edmonton to block any Cenian goals and keep the hopes of an upset alive, Ceni's attack scored two more goals in the remaining 15 minutes of the match. Kel Koromin started out this play, running forward and dribbling along the side before passing to Allison Swan behind him; Swan managed to cut right between the Paputan defenders to find Adrián del Toro, who was in a great position to take advantage of an opening in the Paputan defense. And that he did, with a beautiful shot that tied up the game for Ceni and left an opening for another Ceni goal to get the full three points. Del Toro obviously had no nerves scoring at such an important time, and Ceni was glad for it, as any of those nerves could have sent the shot flying inches in the wrong direction. After his goal against North Carcossia made him the youngest person to score for the Cenian national team, del Toro's strengths have continued to astound both the Cenian public and manager Elias Carrasco.

The remaining ten minutes or so of the game would be quite crucial for both sides, as Paputu hoped to keep the upset dream alive, while Ceni wanted to score another goal to mathematically ensure themselves at least a play-off spot for the World Cup proper. Kaia Travaran was able to disarm a Paputu attack led by Norbert Takela, who had subbed on for Paputu leading goalscorer Alan McKortney, with some good defending, and she passed to Thajan Jaros, who moved the ball out of the zone of defense and into the zone of attack, where it would do Ceni more good. And that it did - Kel Koromin moved down the field at a lighting rate, and Jaime del Olmo hit a blistering shot into the left corner of the goal. Unfortunately, Edmonton blocked the shot, sending it out. This set up a set piece opportunity, with Jacen Xasan taking the corner kick. Del Olmo took a header, which was rebounded by Edmonton. Fortunately, though, del Toro was in the right place at the right time, getting onto the rebounded ball and sending it right into the goal. The team mobbed around del Toro, celebrating what ended up as the game-winning goal. What a finish from such a young player!

Paputu mounted an attack to try and least salvage a draw from the encounter, but their offense was quick and half-hearted, with Jacrian Ryaden not even having to collect their shots, which both went well wide of the goal box. It was an excellent win for Ceni, which came from behind in a thrilling game to secure at least a playoff spot for the World Cup, but hopefully this win was a step towards automatic qualification. Ceni next plays Turori, who have been on an iffy form so far as the group's top seed, as they lost to Jeruselem to put the third seeds in an excellent position to take the playoff spot (behind Ceni of course!).

PAPUTU: Edmonton; Kali, Matten, Potoremara, Rigg; Kawaturupuro, Watersen (Mawerta 31'), Jones; Filler, Bartlow; McKortney (Takela 54')
CENI: Ryaden; Axakel (Turich-Albertson 47'), Travaran, Morroghany; Jaros, Swan, Celgis (del Toro 63'); del Olmo, Xasan; Koromin, Asturias
GOALS: McKortney 17', Koromin 22', Filler 38', Bartlow 45+2', Asturias 61', del Toro 76', 88'

by **Savalen** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 1:44 pm

Sagra was starting the match. Around 15 meters away or so the ball was placed in the center circle and the two strikers kicked off. Now one following Sagra then suddenly missing a few days might have thought that this was Temuge and Axelsen or some concoction of the national team players. But you would be wrong

Why? Well this was street football. In Greater Cascadia. Sagra was the best player on the pitch, even if he blended in with the pimpled, red-faced teens that were playing with him. He certainly stood out from the derelict industrial buildings around him.

You see, Sagra was AWOL, which wasn't his fault. He hadn't played a minute of Savalen's qualifiers and therefore decided that the punishment of not getting a free flight back wouldn't apply to him if the team was. That's all well and good, but, how, in this day and age, was he still stuck in Greater Cascadia? Well, after being left alone in the changing rooms that seemed to reek of anger, he decided to earn money any way he could. He couldn't be a waiter or a cleaner - he didn't have the skill set. But he took full advantage of the flourishing street football league in Savalen. He quickly gained some sponsors and a pay packet that was large and paid per match. He almost saved up for the flight home - just one final match to play.

Whilst I've been describing what happened to Sagra since the draw, he has already gone and scored a goal. There really is a reason why he is regarded one of the best up-and-coming talents in an up-and-coming nation. He was showing why he is receiving the largest pay-packet in the league.

We will leave Sagra to win the match and just say that Savalen drew 1-1 with Port Christopher. A win would have seen them almost qualify, but now they had Nova Anglicana snapping at their heels. A mood of dejection was in the camp and it needed some youthful players to really lighten it again. This is where Sagra and Sviták, who had a niggle for the game, are sorely missed. The team needs them as much as, maybe more, than the coach.

We return to Sagra some time later and find he scored ten in a 15-0 rout of the opposition. If you look carefully from space, you might see a guy sprinting so fast that a trail of fire and Sparks is left in his wake. You may ask why is Sagra running so fast? His flight is in an hour and he is nowhere near the plane.

For those of you worrying whether he will make it, know this - Sagra is never late. At the airport, he buys a ticket to Ceni, from where, on AirTerrena, he flies to Dodford Park, Savalen's next match. If you were to hazard a guess who may be starting next match, you would certainly put a quid on Sagra and Sviták. At least this time it won't be some disused road in an industrial area - it will be in a mega stadium far far away.

by **Alasdair I Frosticus** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 1:57 pm

NEWSLETTER OF THE IMPERIAL WOMEN'S INSTITUTE
Palace Branch

An Open Letter to COCANEFA

Dear CACKY-CACA

As you may be aware, New Gazi were visiting the Palace Branch this past week in order to share recipe ideas and get bitch-slapped by the attacking 5-3-2 formation that we've become so adept at following our miserable start to the qualifying campaign (back when we still thought a hat trick was something involving our favourite milliner).

In the course of their visit, the lovely New Gazi boys showed us some 'trump trading cards' that I believe have the official stamp of approval from your organising body. May we all say that all the ladies here at the Palace Branch absolutely adore the photy-graph of Mrs Herringbone; never has she wielded her handbag with such aplomb. We are flattered to have achieved a certain level of fame - perhaps even infamy - with you cheeky little mundies.

However, while we perusing the cards more closely over afternoon tea (and trying Mrs Tussar-Silk's new gooseberry jam, which has really rather come out well this year), Mr Tzimisces made us aware of a flaw in the listing on our card.

Our card reads as follows across the first five lines:

World Championships: 4
CoH Championships: 0
BoF Championships: 0
Regional Championships: 0
Total Silverware: 4

The error is forgiveable, as you are likely unaware of the Dreamed Realm Cup between the Holy Empire and the Archregimancy. Unfortunately, due to the non-linear nature of time in the Realm, it's impossible for us to quantify the number of Dreamed Realm Cups that have been are to be won (your grammar does rather struggle with these concepts) by the Holy Empire (we'd attempt to explain this to you, but your cute little mundy minds would almost certainly literally explode).

Given the above, we suggest that you reissue our card with a lemniscate, or what I believe you colloquially call an 'infinity symbol', so that the first five lines read as follows:

World Championships: 4
CoH Championships: 0
BoF Championships: 0
Regional Championships: ∞
Total Silverware: ∞ + 4

This minor change will, I believe, adequately address our concerns while maintaining the integrity of your card system.

All of the ladies here at the Palace Branch wish all you at COCONUTTY the best with the rest of your fine tournament.

We include a walnut honey cake baked by Mrs Peau de Soie, which we stress is merely a gesture of goodwill, and not in any way a bribe.

Sincerely Yours,

Ethel Organza (Mrs)
Captain, Holy Empire WC75 squad

by **Valanora** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 2:08 pm

Valanora Times
Marauders On The Verge

After taking a time to clear their heads and rest in the bye match following the disappointing result against Polaaskan, the Marauders traveled to Jeckland with the task clear before them. They had to win all of their remaining group games if they wanted to secure the group before the pivotal match against Sarrbia on Matchday 14 in Capri. It is a fate that the Marauders would like to avoid, having to win that final match in the group stage to make sure that they secure the group but the group has had a handful of surprises for the Marauders despite what many believed to be better preparation than the side has been used to in the last decade or so. Perhaps that preparation is why the Marauders remain unbeaten even if they have had a handful of surprising results that looked to momentarily derail their Qualification campaign.

Jeckland were hanging on to their own slim chances of making the Playoff when the Marauders arrived and they played their absolute hearts out trying to keep that hope alive. Thrice did they break through the Vanorian resistance and find their way onto the scoresheet, a full quarter of the amount of goals that the Marauders have conceded on the whole of the qualifying campaign thus far. It was a performance of defiance from Jeckland, attempt to deny the more renowned squad the easy victory as they attempted to wrap up their own qualification chances. Ultimately though, even the most stern defiance can be overran with enough patience and flat out determination on the behalf of the aggressor and though Jeckland did ultimately fall to the Vanorian contingent and eliminated from even competing for the Playoff, their performance was quite astonishing.

As for the Marauders, they were given a stern warning in the form of the Jeckland result on the heels of the Polaaskan draw that this is not going to be an easy task to complete. The World Cup is meant to be a contest between all the best teams in the world, though undoubtedly a few "lucky" ones do make it into each iteration of the tournament, and the contest of qualification is supposed to be a challenge. If it was so easy and such a formality, their would be no qualification campaign in the first place, the host nations would simply invite the best thirty teams in the World Cup Committee rankings and that would be that. However it is difficult and surprises do happen, even if it is annoying and frustrating when it happens to your team, it is a reason why the games are played. Even now there are a multitude of teams still within the group title or playoff spots in other groups that before the tournament that no one would have given a chance of progressing, yet here we are.

For the Marauders though, they are now on the verge of clinching at least that spot in the Playoff but it will hardly be an easy challenge, even if such a task was able to be true among the qualification process. Few remember how hard the Marauders had to work in World Cup 42 to have their perfect cycle, it did not come by chance or by skill alone. It came through the hard work of the entire team and that is what is required of them once again and will always be required of them if they wish to procure another championship or to even put up the performances expected of a talented national team. In the way are Kandorith, a side that was predicted to be the most difficult in the group but is now clinging onto the Playoff lives and need to defeat the Marauders in order to still have a chance at such a progression. These are the challenges that arise with every passing of the tournament, situations that few could have foreseen that produces circumstances that become quite testing of ones character. Can the Marauders pass their test or have the ones against Jeckland and Polaaskan been forewarnings of the Marauders unable to perform when they know that their progression is on the verge of being assured and in their own control?

by **Ethane** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 2:21 pm

Dear Savalen,

Congratulations on your amazing start to the World Cup. I understand your nation is ecstatic at what has been going on in the tournament so far. You are currently topping the group, and have a good chance of qualifying, if you keep up the pace of play you have managed so far. It is remarkable the rapidity of your rise, and the world is looking on in awe at the sudden powerhouse in the group that your nation has become, coming from absolutely nowhere before hand.

I recall doing two friendlies with you at some point in the recent past, and I can tell your our nation relished the opportunity to play the team who have been doing so well for newcomers. It did sting a bit losing to you at home, I must admit, for we were the better team by far, and you just got lucky. At least we beat you in our own home game, for if we didn't, well, let's not think about that scenario.

However, I must ask you to stop showing us up. There are many higher ranked teams than you who are suffering miserably, The Sarian to speak of one, and we are all looking at you with our anger. Well, to be precise, and team that isn't in first place is looking at you in frustration, wondering why they got the luck, and all the stronger, better teams, struggled this cycle with the prolific upsets that have plagued this world cup.

So, as you come into the last couple of games, please lose. No hard feelings, but I don't want a team, new to the world cup stage, to show everyone else up.

The public mood may be slightly different in the overall nation - many people in Ethane love underdogs - but this is likely because we are still within a hope of qualifying ourselves if we continue the way we are going. If we were to suffer a series of consecutive defeats, our mood may change. So, I would advise you to kindly lose your next few matches, to make up for the suspect results throughout the campaign so far.

Yours Frustratingly,
Bob Hope
Executive Ethanian Football Council Chairman

Dear World Cup Executive Committee,

I am writing to you because of the feeling that there has been some foul play in this world cup, with the rise of teams such as Savalen being suspect to many. I can assure you, I feel that Savalen's results must be looked into - no team comes from nowhere to be top of the group with only a few games left in their debut world cup. It just doesn't happen.

What I am implying is I feel that Savalen has been taking part in some dodgy tactics, either with match fixing, or foul play that has seen them get this far. I do wonder what secrets the nation holds - they had a dinosaur for crying out loud - and I believe because of a general distrust, their results must be suspended and investigated, and the group halted while the results are looked at.

I feel strongly about this issue, and urge you address it immediately.

Yours Gratefully,
Bob Hope
Executive Ethanian Football Council Chairman.

Dear Bob Hope,

I totally understand that you are infuriated with Savalen - they are a new nation, and way outperformed our performance in our first edition of the world cup, but this is no reason for you to begin to throw baseless accusations around the place.

These accusations of match fixing are in poor taste. It is disgusting to hear that prominent members of the Ethanian football council are telling Savalen - a new team just wanting to play some good football, that they have to start losing, and asking the World Cup Executive Committee to investigate their results before any further games are played.

Not only does it insinuate suspicions and hatred of other football delegations - something which this nation should not condone, or encourage in any way, shape, or form, but it also damages the standing of our footballing body round the world.

This sort of accusation distracts from the beautiful game, which we all love to watch, and turns it into a political fight, rather than a beautiful game of football.

Due to these circumstances that you have brought this nation to, with this news story hitting press headlines around the world now, I must ask you to stand down from your role as Chairman of the Executive Football Council of Ethane. Until you do stand down, our footballing body, and our nation will be unable to attempt to salvage some credibility from the disaster that has insued you sending those letters.

I am extremely disappointed in you, and it brings me to shame to have to call you a fellow Ethanian at this stage.

Yours disappointingly,
Alexander Lucas,
Prime Minister of Ethane.

by **Ficiscia** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 2:30 pm

Ficiscia International News: Popular Front wins Election!

Carinha, CAR - Against most expectations, the Ficiscia Popular Front won the elections surprisingly clear. Nevertheless, the leftist alliance that was only formed six weeks before the elections has not been able to secure its governmental power yet. The results are extremely tight and not yet definite, as recounts have been ordered in almost all provinces. Nevertheless, the political landscape of our country will shift to the left, and it will do so clearly. Especially impressive was the large amount of votes for the Social Democrat breakaway group DSR, led by former Primus Valerius Resconius. Resconius, who is already 73 years old, denied all aspirations on a government office and claimed he wants no more than to serve his term as a representant of Centrum in the Provincial Council and to lead his party, but with his party gaining an impressive 124 seats in total, he will play a role in the national politics for sure. The situation following these elections is extremely difficult, as the popular front does not have a majority, but rejected all collaboration with the old social democratic party or the right wing block. The former government party PSF broke completely apart with its split and has almost no power left, while the centrist and right wing block improved significantly. The big question is now if the PSF would accept a minority government or if there will be a coalition with the right block.

With almost 48% of seats with the popular front, this is most likely, especially as the right block does not hold a majority without the social democrats. In the united parliament, the Popular Front parties now hold 247 out of 517 mandates, with 131 being assigned to the right wing block (TLD, PFN, POF). However, should the Centrists with their 72 MP's join the right in order to avoid a largely leftist policy over the next four years, especially as the DSR has shown not entirely adversed to the ideas of socialism, the majority of the Left would be incredibly small. Given that the left coalition that was in power before these elections holds a total majority now even without Democrates Ficiscia, the formation of a left wing government seems inevitable, but only the next few weeks will bring clarity about the stability of it. The elections of the Primus will take place in two weeks, and then we will know more. Of course, we at Ficiscia News International wanted to know what this means for the nation and spoke with political analyst Lucius Nervinus.

FNI: Lucius Nervinus, on the first glance, the Left is by far the winner of this election. Would you agree with that?

Lucius Nervinus: Well, obviously as they have almost a majority now. But this can easily backfire, it is a very difficult situation for the Front now. If they don't agree to a deal with the PSF, it may look power-hungry. If they do a coalition with the DF or PNC, it seems as if they are trying to go into a vendetta. Any opening towards the right will inevitably cost them electors on the left side of the front, and I cannot see the DSR agreeing to a coalition with the social democrats they broke off from. Now, maybe they search an alliance with a minor party, likely the DF, but as I said it could be interpreted as deliberately avoiding the SocDems. And if the Left rejects to govern altogether, many voters will be disappointed - you usually don't elect a party to see them reject a government with almost 50%. So if I was in charge, I'd probably try to get the others to accept a minority government. It's kind of the best way to save their face, even if CF did already advocate revolution again.

What caused this massive shift? Many didn't expect that, I assume.

Well, obviously it all comes down to the Forum Valeriam actions. What happened there was obviously wrong, but then many also thought that the police overreacted. They broke up a still peaceful gathering, and the arrestation of protestors truly is questionable based on the Constitution. So the DSR was formed due to that and did cash in on that very well, and the Popular Front strategy made the whole Left a lot stronger. This is basically their main selling point - a less instable, more coherent government. I think that they also had a bit of benefit compared to the PSF as they heavily criticized them.

There's quite a chance that a Norja woman could become Prima. No Norja woman ever held a government office, so do you think this will influence the decision?

It very well may. The PFN may be more inclined to vote for them based on Norja nationality, and the PSF may feel a little obliged to do so as well, given that they spoke a lot of social justice and equality in the country lately. Normally I'd say this doesn't matter at all once the elections are over, but given that it's so close and the Left Block needs only about twenty votes - or abstains - every little thing will matter now. There may be a threat of some unrest if the people doesn't get its will too. I cannot predict anything, really, but I think it's gonna be a minority government with PSF and maybe DF support. Or re-elections.

by **Bonesea** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:11 pm

by **Pasarga** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:17 pm

The first of the Euran engineering corps were arriving in Torgos and the citizens that had been in port as the Euran vessels had docked were left a little starstruck. Impressive freighters that dwarfed anything that the Pasargan vessels could muster and even the various vessels that had often came into port for trade. The industrial might that the Eurans held had always been talked about but few Pasargans had ever gotten a first hand encounter of just impressive they truly where and now in their very own ports and streets they were getting a sample of that.

"Do you think it is wise to be investing this much time, effort, and money in an effort to try to quickly modernize the Pasargan industry and military? We where not that far behind in regards to domestic technologies my analysts have told. Can we truly trust the Eurans to uphold this arrangement over the course of three decades, that they will not grow tired of the support they provide and decide to use their assets elsewhere? Let us not forget how quickly the Sargossans turned on us and how disinterested the Polarians became."

Jakub knew that his Minister of the Interior was worried about the arrangement and how much that it might eventually would cost Pasarga, they were after all quite valid concerns. Pasarga had slowly been modernizing on its own but it was at quite a slow pace and they truly lacked the capacity to do it completely on their own. The resources alone were going to have to be brought in on a commodity, Pasarga did not have copper and iron in the quantities needed to create the equipment and infrastructure to support a modernizing people. All the while, more people were leaving their farming and fishing villages, their mining towns to come and live in the metroplexes on the prospect of better living conditions.

"Maybe they do become like the Polarians and reallocate their assets to another venture, yet in doing so that would free us of our obligation to them as well. Our capital and trade goods would then be free to be used in other arrangements or perhaps by such a time we will have risen to a level where we could be self sufficient. Trade will obviously always need to be a necessity for such a continuation but until such a time that the roads between cities and the villages are nothing more than well maintained dirt paths, we are hardly in a position to make the strides needed to this on our own."

"We risk much with these moves Jakub though I do not doubt that your aunt would be proud of taking such a risk, she was a risk taker as well when it came to the seat that you now occupy. To live boldly as a she did, not many would have been supportive of a homosexual Queen before her, yet she had the love and adoration of the people. I am not sure all her advisors adored her but they respected her boldness, her aggressive approaches to diplomacy and how fluid she could be in it, if she found that current arrangements did not benefit Pasarga and her people. So while I or others might not always agree with your decisions Your Grace, remember that your aunt was bold and would be proud."

If Pasarga emerged in the next coming years as a growing industrial power with the military might to protect herself, then he could be proud of himself and think he was upholding the line of his family. Though they did not share the name, he was bound and determined to make Takilian and Julia proud of their continued line. Three generations of Pasargan leaders that better the country greatly in their time, all three Majistars, even if the surname did not name them so. The line of Majistar had ruled Pasarga for over three hundred years, he was not about to see its reign ended or be in shame. The Eurans would be a tool to facilitate that growth, he was betting a lot on that.

by **Northern Sunrise Islands** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:30 pm

WORLD CUP 75
Unified Sunrise Islands qualified early, celebrations ensue

...That's pretty much it, though. Thanks.

by **Flardania** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:51 pm

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.

Qualification for the World Cup this cycle has possibly been one of if not the most difficult ones yet. When you look at group 20 Kirishima sits at 5 wins 3 draws, and 2 losses. Kirishima should at least have 6 wins 2 draws, and 2 losses and at most 7 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses. The two losses against Ko-oren were both valid and the draw with Chromatika in MD 2 shouldn't have happened but was a fair result against a good team that had the right game plan. Problems began with Nordeana in which the Kitsunes drew 3-3 and against Shytysle who drew 4-4 despite the same strategy of Jym scoring every goal. In a matchup that will probably hurt Takagawa caps for the rest of qualifiers. In fact when Kirishima had much lower expectations things kind of seemed easier but also at the same time two that is what sucks about being second pot.

You see when your in the third or fourth pot the story is about apply pressure to steal a qualification spot, while when your in pot two it know becomes about protecting your spot from the hungry spot. So losses hurt more but at the same time it in away becomes harder to beat weaker teams for some reason. Yes Kirishima is higly ranked but the Kitsunes need to remember that and play with confidence in their ability. They need to show that they know they are ranked 25 regardless of mystical forces because at the end of the day you are who you choose to be.

Now it has been long enough but we have the press statement of Sayo Matsuoka and Ako Izumi about their transfers which followed the disappointing draw in Heiwa. Here is what Sayo had to say:

"It has been fun playing with Miyoko for a season in Imgeum but I am already use to testing my talents and learning new experiences aboard. Good or bad the experiences I've had in Armeia made me a stronger player. There is a delicate balance between pushing yourself and harming oneself. I was a little hesitant in joining the Anglatian super league. If I was going to leave a high caliber team in the K.P.L then I felt I needed to go to a team in a league much more competitive and challenging than my own. With that said I very strongly considered reuniting with Rakel Teixiera. No matter what anyone else says Rakel was and still is important to me. During the worse of days when I would look around me and see hostile glares...Teixiera still focused on games and did not make me feel like an outsider. Coach helped make things bearable. With that said a certain entity was intrested in signing with them.....badly so. Everywhere I looked from my teammates, to my family, friends, fans, Kirishinan media all said don't do it. They all said that entity was poisonous to my career and not to further aggravate said entity. In fact I decided to avoid the entity all together. With that said the Matthew Mets was a good looking team in a quality league and I accepted.... I have been made aware after the fact of the presence of Tyra and Reina and I simply do not care. This is not Armeia this is the Sunrise Islands. I plan on improving myself and having fun. That just the Kirishinan mentality so I will show up and do what I'm paid to do. If any of them do not like the fact I'm coming in, there is nothing I can do to change that."

Ako Izumi: I was kind of expecting a more festive mood announcing this news at home hopefully with a win but nevertheless we are. In my short career I guess I never stopped and thought about how good or talented I am. I mean I was a background character my whole life, whether it was socially, at Ac Kawajiri and so on. I did not have any anchor forcing me to keep playing in Kirishima besides the innocence of playing near home. I decided might as well put my name out there and see whose open to signing me. Worse case scenario, I reject all the offers and return to Heiwa. Next thing I know I find out I'm worth 20 million and that I'm going to a team that had a respectable finish the season before. I'm simply excited and just glad my hard work payed off. Now it's just about continuing that work ethic so I can return to the NT in World Cup 76 Qualifiers a much more deadly threat and help my nation become more dangerous.

Well now it's time for the Kirishinan football check. The segment where we take a look at other match-day matchups that matter to most Kirishinans. In Group three Acronius drew with Cosumar at home with a score of 2-2. Cosumar now has become the first team to instant qualify for this historic world cup 75 with 23 points while Acronius remains in second with 16 pts and two matches to go. In Group five San Llera drew with Arcantova at home with a score of 2-2 while Damukuni posted the same score on the road against Britonisea. Damukuni and San Llera both sit tied at 22 pts both assured at least a play-off spot. With both teams having three games left. Group five is about to get so much more intense. In Group nine, Devonta won a crucial upset on the road against Schottia 4-3 prolonging their hopes another matchday. Finally in Group 19 Unified Sunrise Islands won convincingly at home against Aji No Moto 4–1.This now sees Unified Sunrise Islands instant qualify to WC75.

Abaja 0–2 Kirishima Match Review:
So coming off a disgraceful performance in Heiwa. So bad that the KFA is considering not using the Ostianae Magnaem Centre it for home match should the Kitsunes make the playoffs. This marks the first time the Centre has gone winless in International play. With that said it was no surprise that Ai Takagawa sat out this game. Not only did Hojo perform well last time against Abaja but Takagawa performance did not warrant another experiment this close to the end of qualification. The Kitsunes arrived in Kingston looking to hand Abaja their first home loss as well as create separation from their competition in this bizarre world cup qualification cycle.

The Kitsunes had a chance to score early but it was a fair matchup with both teams playing aggressive. In the 24th minute Ryoushirou Nayasaki reminded everyone why he is a starter in this national team as he squeeze in a pass between Udoh and Mbanefo to Joseph Yabuta. Jo-kun was almost denied by Joseph Amé but Yabuta had enough power behind the ball that despite the deflection, the ball still went in. Hojo met the opposition attempts to tie the game head-on, denying them the same way she did the last time they played in Kairaku. This matchup was much more physical than the Kitsunes are usually accustom to. Wanting to add a more physical player to the midfield, the 71st minute saw Kyosuke sub in Rin Mizoguchi a rookie player on the defending champions Hyuga Valkyries squad. A player really popular in certain fangirl circles for his syouta looks. This was his first ever international cap and what an impact. In just 9 minutes on the field Izumi passed the ball to Mizoguchi who rushed up the field before a short pass to Matsuoka before getting it back and dodging Kekulé tackle. Mizoguchi drills it hard for the goal and the roar from the Kitsunes supporters were deafening. Mizoguchi approached Yabuta and delivered a marvelous stunner that Jo-Kun sold perfectly. The game went on uneventfully save for a Koharu Miyamoto yellow card in the 89. A rarity in her defensive career but still appreciated considering it reflected her effort on defense. Kitsunes once again defeats this side two nil.

(UR)Abaja 0 – 2 Kirishima(25) 
                Yabuta (24')
                Mizoguchi (89')

Here is what Kyosuke had to say after the match.

"We dropped a match we should've won and that put us at risk. We knew we had to play like a team ranked 25th and we knew what worked the last time we faced the Lions. We watched tape to check if our opposition changed anything and our game plan remained mostly unchanged. We haven't had a chance to truely string wins together, curbing the momentum we usually have at this stage. Hopefully we can put the dropping of points behind us and finish strong. Right now we can't think of or even hope for a shot at winning the group. We need to keep at least our current position safe and winning our last two games would certainly do that. Keeping up momentum continues to be our major area in need of improvement."

Flardania(Kirishima) v Nordeana Preview @Kairaku:
Nordeana is coming off an extended vacation with a bye as the Kitsunes face the owls for the fourth time in two world cup cycles as the kitsunes were in the same group with them prior. Last match the Kitsunes with stunned with a three all draw that ended their winning streak group and matchup wise. The Kitsunes just need a single win to guarantee a playoff spot. The Kitsunes need to avoid the mistakes of their last encounter with the Owls as well as capitalize on their home field advantage. Expect a packed Dreamscape Arena. Lets Go Kitsunes!

Post by: Keita Woo

World Cup LXXV - AK75 - The RP Thread

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