World Cup Qualification Round-Up
For the small nation of Cosneolta, entering a big tournament would be a rather daunting task, considering they only have one domestic football team and one stadium capable of holding international football. You would think that they would flounder on the World stage and be left languishing at the lower portions of the table. Their football culture has been heavily influenced by Mercedini (as is a lot of things) and many players have taken the trip to Mercedini to play weekly domestic football rather than stay in Cosneolta and play Sunday League week after week. Cosneolta are now playing against the big boys in a group that includes Qasden, Tumbra, Samarland, Devonta and Valladares. Cosneolta has currently played four games and is quickly approaching the first half of the first legs. They haven't managed to play with the big boys just yet (losing to Tumbra and Qasden) but they have managed to pick up points against Gumusservi and Nume, with the latter being an historic 1-0 away win.
Staring with the first match against Tumbra, Cosneolta were defiant and rather unlucky to concede the lone goal of the game. The team weren't expecting much from the game but they came away with some hope that they could cause a couple of shocks and hold some of the larger teams to a draw and maybe pick up wins against the contestable matches.
Cosneolta picked up their first point of the match with a goalless draw against Gumusservi in a match where both teams were complacent with the point. The game suited Cosneolta from a defensive point of view with few chances being shared between the teams. The small crowd in the small stadium celebrated as the small nation picked up their first World Cup Qualification points ever!
The team in blue then travelled to Qasden where they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 against a confident Qasden side who could be challenging for a World Cup spot in only their second cycle as a side. Frustration came from the striker's coach from Cosneolta who stressed that his team hadn't scored a single goal at the tournament yet. Prompting questions from many within the inner circle of the Cosneoltan FA regarding the nation's place in international football.
Finally, and to the jubilation of the fans and us here as Cosneolta Sports Rarely. The boys in blue and white picked up their first ever win at any World Cup stage with a narrow 1-0 over Nume. The celebration was intensified as the win came away from home, which hinted at a possible second win in the return leg. The three-points hoisted Cosneolta up to 7th in the table, which is roughly where the pundits and fans wanted them to come in a ideal situation. History was made, and we hope we could supply a lot more in the coming matches and cycles.
So there we have it, a brief round-up of all the matches Cosneolta have played thus far in the World Cup Qualfiers. The coaching staff have suggested that a direct qualification in their very first cycle seems rather unrealistic and are therefore aiming for the Cup of Harmony where the team can pick up more KPB points to shoot them up the rankings. We will back sometime in the future to give you another round up of matches. For now, we hope you all enjoy your day and we hope you have your fingers crossed for more good results and a Cup of Harmony invitation!