Cup of Harmony 70 Everything Thread - Eshan/Drawkland

by **Darmen** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:30 pm

"...this is the twelfth meeting between the Corsairs and La Nacional..."

The Sargossa vs. Valladares World Cup match played in the background on the television. Nur al Din Lambert paid no attention to it. He had narrowly avoided losing his job as Manager of the Darmeni team that had had qualification to the grand spectacle in its hands, and let it slip away with some disappointing results against teams that should have been easy prey. The only reason that al Din Lambert had even kept his job was because of his good friend, Tor Tong Lee. Lee had used his influence as President of the Republic to make sure that al Din Lambert's superiors at the Darmeni Football Association had treated the 50 year old manager "properly".

Despite Lee having saved his friend's job, the DFA was still adamant that al Din Lambert was expected to deliver results. For the Cup of Harmony, an appearance in the Round of Sixteen was considered the bare minimum for al Din Lambert to retain his job. The Quarterfinals however were considered to be the preferred goal to attain.

al Din Lambert uncrossed his legs and returned his feet to the floor from their previous position atop his office desk. His laptop's fan whirred rather loudly, it was getting on in age after all, and various papers and diagrams littered the rest of the desk's surface. Only two pictures called the desk home, one of al Din Lambert's family, and the other of him celebrating a goal he had scored in a past Copa with his teammates, most prominently Tor Tong Lee.

al Din Lambert sat silently for a moment, glancing momentarily at the match on the television to watch the referee blowing his whistle to start the proceedings. The silence was eventually broken by a loud sneeze.

"Bless you," said al Din Lambert, grabbing a tissue to hand to his guest. His guest hesitated for a moment, before taking the tissue and enthusiastically thanking al Din Lambert. The guest had already wiped his nose on his shirt collar prior to receiving the tissue. "Old habit from your playing days?" asked al Din Lambert.

"I guess," replied Tor Tong Lee, "though my wife seems to think I did that even before I started playing organized football. I can't see how I did, I almost never wore a shirt when playing in the Oltlestnas when I was young."

"The what when you were young?" asked al Din Lambert.

"The Oltlestnas. The Oldtown," replied Lee. When it was clear al Din Lambert still didn't understand him he continued, "The giant slums of Scott City."

"Oh, right. I guess I never heard them being called that."

"What did you hear them being called," asked Lee.

"You probably don't want to know."

"You're right, I probably don't. Anyways, back to our original topic before we were rudely interrupted by my allergies," said Lee, scrunching his face. He paused for a moment, running a finger along the desk in front of him. It turned white, the dust sticking to the finger in layers. "You really do need to dust in here."

"Me, dust? Never. That's the cleaner's job. And he's on vacation. Supposed to be back next week. I hope. Previous one never came back," said al Din Lambert, trailing off.

"Well, never mind that. What do you think of my proposition?"

"Proposition? What? What proposition?" al Din Lambert paused, before smiling. "Oh, that proposition. Well, let me think about it, and I'll get back to you later, ok?"

Lee shook his head. "I was hoping for a more immediate answer."

"Oh. Well then. Um..."

by **Aggrey-Fynn Land** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:56 pm

LANDER SPORTS NETWORK

Your plug for all things sport.

WAVY ONES STAND THEIR GROUND AS EXPECTATIONS RISE

Aggrey-Fynn Land just drew 1-1 with Mercedini. Mercedini are ranked 30th in the multiverse right now, more than twice as high as Aggrey-Fynn Land. Aggrey-Fynn took the lead soon after the half, with R.J. Duval heading a strong ball into the top left corner in the 47th minute. By the 51st minute, however, the game was level again, as Ben Chillotov slotted the ball past Jahseh Twins on a breakaway. After that, nobody could really grasp an advantage in the game; the ball tended to stay in the middle of the field. The game ended in a tie. Here is the post-game interview with Ben Simmons.

Reporter: How are you feeling after this performance?
Ben: A point is a point, and with such stiff competition, I'm glad we have one to our name.
R: Aggrey-Fynn Land is now ranked 73rd in the multiverse. How will you deal with the added pressure?
B: How we always have. We practice hard, we play a good game, we get the results we want, we repeat.
R: Do you think Aggrey-Fynn Land can make it out of the group?
B: It's only after the first game! *chuckles* Can't you wait before you ask that?
R: There's only three group games, you don't have much time.
B: All I want out of my players is a good effort, and hopefully, good results will follow.
R: Can you give us a glimpse into the gameplan against New Danican?
B: Probably something similar to what we have now, hasn't served us too badly yet.
R: Thank you Mr. Simmons for the interview. Good luck to you and the Superstars.

ISideWith UK · by **Eastfield Lodge** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 3:20 pm

After what had been a frankly disappointing qualifying cycle, the Eastfielder National Team got a chance at redemption after being invited to the Cup of Harmony. But the tournament in Eshan and Drawkland is the last chance saloon for manager Lowell Brown.

Rewind a year, and the Imperial Commonwealth was in a celebratory mood, after the national team broke one the worst streaks ever recorded in international football history - World Cup 77 saw the team qualify for the first time in over 40 years (22 World Cups, for readers in a different timestream) after a very tight race to the finish in Group 6 against Anglatia and Turori. The Eastfielders had to beat Anglatia to ensure qualification, but it ended as a draw; thankfully, Turori could only manage a draw themselves against winless and bottom of the group Kaisaru, sending the national team through to the World Cup finals for only the second time; a 0-0 draw with Electrum followed by two 2-0 losses against Nephara and Schottia ended Eastfielder participation in San Jose Guayabal in the group stages, but that was no matter.

Onto World Cup 78, and Eastfield Lodge were allocated into Pot Two, a pot that the national team has never qualified out of thus far. Nonetheless, hopes were high of a second successive qualification, or even just a good fight, as the team were unsurprisingly the worst Pot Two team in terms of the rankings. The group looked interesting, headed up by the qualifying demolition crew known as the Holy Empire, an up and coming third seeded nation in Eshan, and then the somewhat mysterious and absent nation of Acronius as fourth seeds, with mediocre Rushmori rivals Olastor coming in at fifth seed. Obviously, the Dreamed Realm side on paper would largely sweep qualifying without much trouble, making it a straight race to second between Eastfield Lodge and Eshan, and maybe Acronius.

And like all the best laid plans, hopes and dreams, it went badly wrong. Eastfield Lodge opened the campaign with a surprise loss away to Acronius; not a cause for alarm itself, nor was the 2-1 scoreline, but the manner of the loss seemed odd, more from complacency than from being outclassed. Two wins papered over the cracks, until a home 0-0 draw with goal-leaking Colonial Australia (their only point in the entirety of qualifying) highlighted them again. Changes were throughout qualifying, but somehow, none of the team selections would work in two straight matches. A 2-2 away draw with Eshan was a better display, but then a home draw with Rushmori minnows Olastor meant some serious questions had to be asked, after 9 points from a possible 18 saw the team already drifting behind its rivals, compounded by an embarrassing 5-1 loss to the Holy Empire.

Another draw with Acronius, and a thrashing by Qasden in a mid-qualifying friendly, pretty much signalled that any hopes of qualifying were more or less finished. All that was left was to salvage as many points as possible. A couple of wins with a surprise line-up showed that maybe things had turned a corner, until Eshan visited the Imperial Commonwealth and put the hosts in their place with a 2-0 victory, followed by another narrow loss against group leaders The Holy Empire. The team were formally eliminated in their second bye day on the penultimate matchday, but the final match, a 5-5 away draw with San Regada, more or less summed up the pathetic nature of the team’s qualifying campaign.

Lowell Brown, longtime manager of the Eastfielder NT, overseeing their return from the mediocrity of the 70s and 80s in the KPB rankings some years ago, up to this point, has repeatedly come under fire due to his dual role - one as NT manager and the other as manager of ICEL Premier League side Seaton Town, whose fans sometimes believe that this split responsibility hinders his management of the club. He has often been told to give up one of the jobs, but to his credit, he has done decent jobs with both, keeping Seaton as a midtable side with good challenging potential, whilst gradually moving the national team up through the rankings.

But this time it’s different, as he has the ire of the entire Imperial Commonwealth directed at him, as stories emerge of arguments and fallings out in the locker room, with team cohesiveness at a low not seen in some time. The ICELFA announced after the loss to Eshan that they would be reviewing Brown’s position as manager of the national team, with a view of getting in any possible replacement before the start of the Cup of Harmony. However, they decided to give him this one last chance, a chance at the Cup of Harmony, especially after a narrow 3-2 friendly loss to Cosumar. The task is simple; get to the semi-finals, or be sacked.

Should Lowell Brown get sacked, or even resign himself, who could replace him in the role? The main favourite to take the role would be current assistant manager Shabeen Ahmad III, which would be a historically significant appointment, as he was in that original Baptism of Fire 36 squad, the team that kicked off Eastfield Lodge’s international participation, the team for which he played 215 times, captaining 154 times and scoring 201 goals. He has of course managed the national team before, albeit in extraordinary circumstances in World Cup 58, managing a rag-tag group of national team players and amateur Gateway Island employees/residents after portal troubles meant that the rest of the Imperial Commonwealth was cut off. He led them to one of the team’s three infamous playoff misses, where the team were in a playoff spot but lost it due to a last matchday bye. He has not ever stated a wish to return as manager, but he could certainly do well in the role. Domestically however, there are very few high level managers who would want to make the jump that could, with all the managers of the big teams approaching retirement over the next season or two. An international appointment however could be on the cards, as something that hasn’t ever been done before, but a new fresh direction could well be useful.

WC MD14: Eastfield Lodge 0-2 Eshan
Line-up (4-1-2-3): Puppy - Towers, Lumo, Nagi, Hemmings - Rice, Bevan (Wallis-Iqbal 65’), The Doctor - Rathun (F. Quazin 75’), Berretti, Alder (Rowlinson 65’)
Goals (Assists): N/A

WC MD15: Olastor 1-2 Eastfield Lodge
Line-up (4-1-2-3): Mintson - Bell Jnr, Lumo, Nagi, Siddique (Hemmings 73’) - Abdalla, Soria (Wallis-Iqbal 73’), The Doctor - Asif, Hansen, Fransson
Goals (Assists): Fransson (17’ - Hansen), The Doctor (54’ - Abdalla)

WC MD16: Eastfield Lodge 1-2 The Holy Empire
Line-up (4-1-2-3): Mintson - Bell Jnr, Lumo, Nagi, Siddique - Abdalla, Soria (King 63’), The Doctor - Asif (Glibin 72’), Hansen, Fransson
Goals (Assists): Glibin (75’ - Fransson)

WC MD18: San Regada 5-5 Eastfield Lodge
Line-up (4-1-2-3): Mintson - Bell Jnr (Towers 56’), Lumo, Nagi, Siddique - Abdalla, Soria (Wallis-Iqbal 63’), The Doctor - Asif, Hansen, Fransson (Drenas 71’)
Goals (Assists): Asif (8’), The Doctor (21’ - Fransson; 67’), Bell Jnr (42’ - Soria), Drenas (82’ - Wallis-Iqbal)

Post-qual friendly: Cosumar 3-2 Eastfield Lodge
Line-up (4-1-2-3): Harvey - Towers, Bacon, Nagi, Siddique - Abdalla (Onatish 61’), Bevan, The Doctor - Glibin, F. Quazin (Berretti 79’), Drenas (Fransson 74’)
Goals (Assists): Drenas (29’), Bevan (62’)

CoH MD1: Yue Zhou 2-0 Eastfield Lodge
Line-up (4-1-2-3): Puppy - Towers, Bacon, Nagi, Siddique - Abdalla, Bevan (King 65’), The Doctor - Glibin, F. Quazin (Berretti 71’), Drenas (Fransson 71’)
Goals (Assists): N/A

Line-up to play Tinhampton (4-1-2-3)
Harvey - Towers, Fretwell, Gauthier, Siddique - Rice, Wallis-Iqbal, The Doctor - Glibin, Hansen, Fransson

by **Eshan** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:04 pm

ESHAN MATCH DAY TWO CUT OFF

Group A
Kalumba 5–3 Mercedini
New Danican 0–1 Aggrey-Fynn Land

Group A                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kalumba                 2    2   0   0     9    5   +4     6
2 Aggrey-Fynn Land        2    1   1   0     2    1   +1     4
3 Mercedini               2    0   1   1     4    6   −2     1
4 New Danican             2    0   0   2     2    5   −3     0

Group B
Jeckland 3–2 Ceni
Darmen 2–6 Buyan

Group B                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ceni                    2    1   0   1     7    5   +2     3
2 Buyan                   2    1   0   1     8    7   +1     3
3 Jeckland                2    1   0   1     6    6    0     3
4 Darmen                  2    1   0   1     6    9   −3     3

Group C
Red Blackiland 0–0 Coldfield
Apox 1–0 Vietmihn

Group C                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Red Blackiland          2    1   1   0     3    1   +2     4
2 Vietmihn                2    1   0   1     3    3    0     3
3 Apox                    2    1   0   1     2    3   −1     3
4 Coldfield               2    0   1   1     2    3   −1     1

Group D
Qasden 1–1 Löpstegl
Natanians and Nosts 1–1 Taeshan

Group D                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Qasden                  2    1   1   0     4    3   +1     4
2 Taeshan                 2    1   1   0     4    3   +1     4
3 Löpstegl                2    0   1   1     3    4   −1     1
4 Natanians and Nosts     2    0   1   1     3    4   −1     1

by **Ceni** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:32 pm

Cowboys and Fangirls
Chapter 7: Getting to Know Asher Koromin

Andrew's walk with Asher proved more insightful than either had imagined. By the end of the walk, which had them meandering along one of the seaside trails that hugged Whitehaven's coastline, they had set up a time for lunch the next day, giving Andrew some time to settle in again. Their walk had initially touched on Asher's background, and Andrew found out they had more in common than he had previously realized. So did Asher, which made the shy little 18-year-old much more confident in talking to the older footballer than before. The fact that Andrew was willing to talk to him, in fact, went a long way in breaking down Asher's innate resistance to conversation. Both constantly competed with older relatives (Andrew with his half-sister Sarah, Asher with his cousins Kel and Kira), both enjoyed seafood and New Age music, both relieved stress by walking.

It seemed that during their walk, Andrew had opened up more than Asher had. That didn't matter that much; Andrew could pry details during their lunch the next day. During the walk, Andrew mainly talked about his childhood and the fact that only his mother had raised him. Asher of course had a father to raise him, but it seemed like much of the Koromin familial attention was directed to either work (Asher's father was a professor) or the older Koromin siblings, which left Asher at the bottom of the pecking order as the youngest of the Koromin kids and without as much parental attention as he would have liked. By the end of their walk, Asher and Andrew had become more comfortable with each other, which, of course, was the first step of getting Asher more ingratiated into the whole national team setup.

The two chose a quiet sandwich and soup shop near the coast, located in an older Victorian row of shops lining the sea. Few of the tourists that normally swarmed the Whitehaven beaches knew about this little restaurant, somewhat off the beaten path, but it was authentic and good. Both ordered a clam chowder along with a half sandwich, a club for Asher and an Italian for Andrew, and sat down at a wrought iron table next to a beautiful Impressionist painting, taking their number with them.

Andrew opened up conversation. "You kind of remind me of yourself," he said, slurping on his Dr. Pepper.

"How so?" asked Asher, who had put both elbows on the table, staring at some other painting off in the distance.

"Back when I first started football, I was like you. I was 16 and thrown into one of the best clubs in Cosumar with all of these players so much older and wiser than me. I felt overwhelmed." A waiter brought their food and took their number away. "I had no idea what was going on, and I felt so nervous in the company of so many world-class footballers. It took me a while to get used to the life."

"I'm not sure that I ever can, you see? I may have the Koromin bloodline in me, but I have all these expectations since Kel and Kira have done so well." His voice came out almost mournful, as if he had recently experienced something so earth-shattering that it had totally crumpled his resolve, his will to go out there and fight. "I feel isolated on this team, except for my family, and you know how family can be."

"I felt that way, too, when I joined Real Azuris. There was almost nobody my age, almost everybody was older than me... I was unsure if I belonged." He took a bite of his sandwich and felt the kick of the spicy mustard on the Italian. Grimacing, he thought they had put too much in and found a knife to scrape about half of the remainder off the sandwich. "But now I've found my place, and I've helped Hakki Ojala find his."

Silence occupied the next few moments as the two chewed on their sandwhiches and slurped on their soup. Andrew noticed a small quartet making their way to a stage in the back of their cafe; they started to play some lively classical music. Amidst the music, Asher asked quietly, "Will you help me find mine?"

Andrew finished chewing before answering firmly. "Yes, I will. I would love to."

"Thank you," Asher murmured. "Thank you so much."

"It's my pleasure." Andrew smiled. "To be honest, though, I'm still looking for my place in life, and I'm still fighting expectations for me. Sometimes they can be crushing, I agree... Maybe you can be my partner in this endeavor. Maybe we can help each other."

Asher looked him in the eye. "Are you sure I can help you? I mean, I am only eighteen here, and I'm still learning about what life is like outside of school."

"Quite sure, Asher. Quite sure." The two finished up their lunches and stood up to bus their own, then refilled their drinks and sat down again. They continued their conversation, talking about the future of the Cenian national team before the conversation turned to romance and relationships. Andrew talked about his current relationship with Liam, and his memory started wandering to memories from their recent trip to Azuris... Asher told him that he was not currently in a relationship, but he would like to be in one. Their conversation again wandered, this time to various childhood stories, funny and otherwise. Finally, when the classical quartet winded down, the conversation did with it.

"Well, it was nice talking with you, Andrew," said Asher, taking one last slug of his drink before setting it down. "I feel like I got to know you a bit better."

"Same here," replied Andrew. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Asher waved goodbye as he walked out of the cafe. "See you tomorrow."

Andrew patted his pockets to make sure that he had his phone, his wallet, and his earbuds, which he did. He put his sunglasses and his baseball cap back on, and took the subway to his little condo on the coast, on the seventh floor of a modernist midrise. It wasn't as big as his home in Azuris, by far, with only one bedroom and one bathroom, but it gave him a nice little space to spread out when he had to stay in Ceni. Thematically, the designer emphasized the beach, with shells everywhere and beach pictures adorning the walls. The designer had chosen wicker furniture for every room, and everything felt light and airy to Andrew.

After he had finished unpacking his suitcase, Andrew plopped down on his bed and immediately fell asleep. It had been an exhausting few days, with travel and practice and all, and the next few days would be exhausting too. He would need all the rest he could get.

by **Soltsteed** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:27 pm

|national football | club football | basketball | rugby | volleyball | sevenball|

a forty-eight team world cup: a theoretical group stage, part cosumar
part two of a look into what the tournament would be like with sixteen more teams—and a commentary on if it should be done

KALDUKOSIC, Cosumar — In the previous instalment, we discussed the merits and drawbacks of a World Cup expansion and proposed a simulation of a 48-team World Cup. We threw the third-place teams in qualifying and Apox into the pot and produced sixteen three-team groups in a fit of utter insanity.

But that was all theory and number crunching and wild mass guessing. Now to get to the bread and butter and see how a forty-eight team World Cup might actually look in practice, starting with the group stage. Since there are sixteen groups and forty-eight games to deal with, we’ll dispense with the Boney side of the draw for now (that will be the next part of this series) and focus on the games in Cosumar.

For a refresher, each team plays every other team in their group once. Three points for a win, one point for a draw and a bonus point for winning the penalty shoot-out that immediately follows a drawn game. Top two teams in the group advance to the knockout stage; the third-place team is out.

Group A
The host nation thump through comfortably, winning the tournament opener 4–1 over former Baptism of Fire winners Kalumba, who qualified a mere two points ahead of the current Baptism of Fire holders, and securing their group victory with a 2–1 over the tiny Esportivan city-state and Schottian exclave of Port Christopher. Just one goal comes out of the final game, taking Port Christopher through as halfway-decent, though not particularly great, runners-up and knocking Kalumba out as one of the tournament’s more forgettable participants.

Group A                Pld   W  PW  PL   L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Cosumar                2   2   0   0   0    6   2  +4    6	Q
2 Port Christopher       2   1   0   0   1    2   2   0    3	Q
3 Kalumba                2   0   0   0   2    1   5  −4    0	E

Group B
A Rushmori classic: the home nation of the regional World Assembly Delegate Eura defeat everyone’s favourite “dictatorship-loving thundertwats” Sargossa 2–0 in the opening match, setting the latter up for a must-win date with the land-of-everything-and-then-some Flardania. Flardania, however, secure passage with a 4–2 win. In a rematch from the qualifiers, Flardania reassert their superiority with a 2–1 win, sending Eura to face the hosts in the next round.

Group B                Pld   W  PW  PL   L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Flardania              2   2   0   0   0    6   3  +3    6	Q
2 Eura                   2   1   0   0   1    3   2  +1    3	Q
3 Sargossa               2   0   0   0   2    2   6  −4    0	E

Group C
Tinhampton can’t seem to get a break. Whether real or fictional, the Miners suffer a one goal loss to an Esportivan team clad in red and black hoops in their opening game—1–0 to Soltsteed in the real life Cup of Harmony (but who cares?) and 2–1 to Red Blackiland in our simulated World Cup. Add in a 2–0 loss to Schottia and it’s a short World Cup for Tinhampton, to be sure. On the bright side, Schottia wind up winning the group after beating Rotschwartzland 2–1 in the final match. Nothing too shady yet.

Group C                Pld   W  PW  PL   L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Schottia               2   2   0   0   0    4   1  +3    6	Q
2 Red Blackiland         2   1   0   0   1    3   3   0    3	Q
3 Tinhampton             2   0   0   0   2    1   4  −3    0	E

Group D
And spot the opportunity for tomfoolery. Osarius start out by upsetting fellow Atlantians Farfadillis 2–1. Knowing that a loss is the only thing that stands a chance of knocking them out, the Firebirds then proceed to lose to Spaam 1–0. Farfadillis and Spaam then play a match that goes 2–1 to the Farves, sending Farfadillis through on goals scored and Spaam through on head-to-head. STN Sport have sent a fictional bouquet of fictional flowers to the fictional Osarians for their fictional shafting.

Group D                Pld   W  PW  PL   L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Farfadillis            2   1   0   0   1    3   3   0    3	Q
2 Spaam                  2   1   0   0   1    2   2   0    3	Q
3 Osarius                2   1   0   0   1    2   2   0    3	E

Group E
Let’s be honest: this was never going to be anything but a romp for the Bulls. Whether it was a 3–2 victory over Super-Llamaland or a 1–0 win over their COCANEFA rivals Starblaydia, notorious World Cup Final-chokers (and, to be fair, two-time champions) Audioslavia were destined to win the group. Just don’t tell the Blayde Club that they lost the final match to Super-Llamaland 3–2 and crashed out of the tournament. Oops… The cat is out of the bag, we guess…

Group E                Pld   W  PW  PL   L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Audioslavia            2   2   0   0   0    4   2  +2    6	Q
2 Super-Llamaland        2   1   0   0   1    5   5   0    3	Q
3 Starblaydia            2   0   0   0   2    2   4  −2    0	E

Group F
To be honest, 6–1 is a scoreline that would make headlines if it happened at an actual World Cup (and it probably has). True to their national motto, Electrum do in fact kick butt, decisively despatching Mriin in a five-goal drubbing and beating out top seeds and fellow Rushmoris Valladares in a gruelling and close-fought 4–3 match. The group’s resident Atlantians put up a decent fight against Rushmore’s top-ranked team, but it proves too little, too late: the Valladars scrimp through over Mriin 2–1.

Group F                Pld   W  PW  PL   L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Electrum               2   2   0   0   0   10   4  +6    6	Q
2 Valladares             2   1   0   0   1    5   5   0    3	Q
3 Mriin                  2   0   0   0   2    2   8  −6    0	E

Group G
Go, go Semarland. The self-proclaimed home of youth development and dope mix tapes put their best foot forward against the self-proclaimed princesses of Jeruselem. After claiming their first match 3–1, Semarland would go on to bag three goals, three points and victory in the group over top seeds and football Triple Crown winners Nephara, who did snag one more goal than Jeruselem managed. And to give the group a nice symmetry, the Rushmori transplants netted two goals and the Land of the Princesses snagged one, sending the royals packing and the former Esportivans to the next round.

Group G                Pld   W  PW  PL   L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Semarland              2   2   0   0   0    6   3  +3    6	Q
2 Nephara                2   1   0   0   1    4   4   0    3	Q
3 Jeruselem              2   0   0   0   2    2   5  −3    0	E

Group H
Things start out bad for New Gazi, losing 1–0 to Drawkland, before Ceni smash their dreams of reaching the knockouts into uncountably many pieces with a comprehensive 3–0 win. After eliminating the only team on the Cosumarite side to not score a single goal, things go true to rank in the group’s title bout, with Ceni emerging victorious 2–0 and setting up a meeting with fellow real-life Cup of Harmony participants Nephara in the Round of 32 (hexadecafinals?).

Group H                Pld   W  PW  PL   L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Ceni                   2   2   0   0   0    5   0  +5    6	Q
2 Drawkland              2   1   0   0   1    1   2  −1    3	Q
3 New Gazi               2   0   0   0   2    0   4  −4    0	E

Round of 32 fixtures: Cosumarite side
Cosumar v Eura
Schottia v Spaam
Audioslavia v Valladares
Semarland v Drawkland
Flardania v Port Christopher
Farfadillis v Red Blackiland
Electrum v Super-Llamaland
Ceni v Nephara

The wrap-up
If nothing else, Group D is the reason why a 48 team World Cup should not be held under this format. Most groups do turn out innocuously, with either the winners or the eliminated team decided before the last match. But Osarius sitting out of the final game on three points and the winless Farfadillis playing Spaam—who defeated Osarius on matchday 2—provided the perfect opportunity for foul play that no administrator could have adequately prevented except by creating a better format. If the World Cup Committee are worried about the chance that this kind of chicanery could actually happen in a 48-team tournament, be aware that sixteen groups make it more likely than not that some kind of corrupt bargain is possible to arrange.

And what does it all come to? Outside the adventures of Spaam, not many interesting matches and few truly outstanding performances from our bottom seeds. Of the third-place teams from qualification, only Red Blackiland, Nephara and Ceni—the last two of whom coincidentally meet each other in the last 32—put on decent enough performances to advance and would have been expected to qualify for the actual thirty-two finals anyway.

So much for expanding the reach of football? •

In other news:
Crime: Controversy erupts after a pair of outlaws carry out a suicide pact in County Walden
Football: The victories of Vietmihn and New Gazi are definitive proof that there is no god
Palatinate: Rainford borough skyscraper collapses after a catastrophic helicopter crash
Offbeat: Gryndhout penalty gives Soltsteed victory in the Cup of Harmony opener against Tinhampton

by **Drawkland** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:29 pm

DRAWKLAND MATCH DAY TWO CUT OFF
As you can see by the cutoff image, we're starting off slow. Let's see if you can make it to the bigger guns!

Group E
Scottopian Isles 6–4 Free Republics
Brigantii 2–3 Savojarna

  Group E                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Scottopian Isles                      2   1  1  0    8   6  +2    4
2 Savojarna                             2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
3 Brigantii                             2   0  1  1    4   5  −1    1
4 Free Republics                        2   0  1  1    5   7  −2    1

Group F
Kel Assuk 2–1 Abanhfleft
Yesopalitha 1–1 Elgenstad

  Group F                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Yesopalitha                           2   1  1  0    4   1  +3    4
2 Kel Assuk                             2   1  0  1    2   4  −2    3
3 Elgenstad                             2   0  2  0    4   4   0    2
4 Abanhfleft                            2   0  1  1    4   5  −1    1

Group G
Oontaz Dert Li Ng 4–1 Union of Socialist Alpine Republics
New Gazi 0–1 Nephara

  Group G                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nephara                               2   2  0  0    5   2  +3    6
2 New Gazi                              2   1  0  1    2   1  +1    3
3 Oontaz Dert Li Ng                     2   1  0  1    4   3  +1    3
4 Union of Socialist Alpine Republics   2   0  0  2    3   8  −5    0

Group H
Tinhampton 1–2 Eastfield Lodge
Soltsteed 2–1 Yue Zhou

  Group H                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Soltsteed                             2   2  0  0    3   1  +2    6
2 Yue Zhou                              2   1  0  1    3   2  +1    3
3 Eastfield Lodge                       2   1  0  1    2   3  −1    3
4 Tinhampton                            2   0  0  2    1   3  −2    0

by **Apox** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 11:06 am

Dravid Scott was sat in the office of a senior doctor, Dr. Parkinson at the Great Oak Hospital in Dwile. Since his somewhat unconventional return to public life prior to the National Team's last home match of qualifying against Ethane, he'd been in and out of all sorts of medical establishments, undergoing lots of tests. It hadn't been particularly intrusive or anything, just largely boring. But he supposed there was a reason for all of this testing, as it is not everyday someone travels to the Dreamed Realm in an unstable portal and has their genetic makeup altered slightly. He looked across at the doctor, who was hunched over his computer, poring over a fresh set of test results no doubt, muttering to himself,
"Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating... yes... hardly believable," Dravid coughed, and the Dr. Parkinson looked up, very much like he'd forgotten that Dravid was in the room.
"Anything interesting to tell me Doc?"
"Well, it certainly seems like you're telling the truth, this traveling part of course. And the letter sums that up. This, here," he said, turning the laptop slightly in Dravid's direction and pointing at the screen, "is the latest tests we've had back. They've been analysing your blood, and been running some, well invasive pathogens through it and it seems to have extraordinary regenerative powers. And despite this, it never goes malignant."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, effectively, your body is regenerating itself, and so, while you may be 59 years old by birth, biologically your body is much younger than that. It will likely be tending towards the peak fitness you had when you were in your mid-twenties I expect."
'Christ' Dravid thought to himself,
"So, in effect, yes, for the time being, you appear to be immortal. Obviously we'll keep monitoring your condition for changes, but you should be able to lead a normal life until and indeed if, your body cells stop regenerating themselves."
"Riiiiight. Ok then, so you're basically saying I've become something of a Valanori elf then?"
"Well not really. Your appearance hasn't changed, with the pointy ears and what not and I doubt you'll have any more of their greater than human intelligence and stamina etc. You're basically a human that cannot die, at the moment."
"Right then. Erm, ok"
"Anything else you'd like to discuss?"
"Not really. I'm still adjusting to it all."
"Naturally. Well, I believe you next appointment," he paused as he scrolled around in his computer, "is for two weeks time on Tuesday, so if your condition doesn't change I'll see you then."
"Of course. Cheers Doc." Dravid stood up and wandered over to the door,

"Exactly as if my body was in its peak, you say?"
"Exactly."

And with that, he shut the door behind him, mind already whirring and possibilities being turned over in his head.

APX 1-0 VIE Palmisano L. 47'
APX: Steele -- Richardson, Raynerson, Jekyll, Fowey -- Menheniot -- Townsend, Palmisano J. (c), Vladimirescu -- Palmisano L., Gandhi A.
VIE: Not provided

Apox just about beat out bottom seeds Vietmihn in our second group match with the winning goal being fired in by Lucan Palmisano in the forty-seventh minute after Imriel Townsend's impeccable cross in from the right wing found Palmisano on the edge of the box and he was able to volley it in. What is noticeable is the poor run of form of Alpha Gandhi currently, as he hasn't scored since the game against Natanians and Nosts in qualifying. He was wayward with a shot in the twentieth minute which he would normally have buried and timed a run so he was way offside in the sixty-fourth minute, before eventually being brought off for his sister Ozaria Gandhi in the eightieth. In the final group stage match is Coldfield, and the second seeds have not had a good Cup of Harmony so far, currently being on zero points. While qualification to the Round of 16 depends on Red Blackiland beating Vietmihn, a win or a draw would be enough to see Apox through if the top seeds were to be victorious.

by **Darmen** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:41 pm

"Oh. Well then. Um..." al Din Lambert's mind raced through various responses, scenarios, and what his wife might think of it all. "You really think I'd make a good politician?"

"You'd be the Secretary of State for Culture and Sport, not the Defense Secretary. You won't need to do any politicking," responded Tor Tong Lee, bending down in his chair to wipe his finger on the carpet. They dust that coated the finger was now laid out in a long streak on the floor. "I think you might need to vacuum too now."

"How much dusting and vacuuming would I need to do as a Secretary of State?"

"None. You see, we have multiple cleaning people, so the cleaning continues even when one of them goes on vacation."

"I really hope he comes back" mused al Din Lambert. The DFA could only afford to employ one cleaner at the moment, and even then, the pay wasn't that good. Turnover in the position was relatively high.

Tor Tong Lee continued, "Besides, you told me yourself that you wanted to stay closer to home to spend more time with your family. MacKenna¹ is old anyways, well liked, but old. Tried putting salt in his coffee the other day during our last Cabinet meeting, thought it was sugar. He can't even remember the difference between a Darmeni, a Darmeni-Valladar and a Valladar."

"What is the difference?" asked al Din Lambert.

"Well, lets say you have one of each gathered to watch an All Greens-La Nacional match. The Darmeni will cheer for the All Greens, the Valladar will cheer for La Nacional, and the Darmeni-Valladar will be trying to grab the remote to change the channel."

"Really?"

"Sure, why not," said Lee, rolling his eyes. "The point is, MacKenna isn't able to fully execute his duties and responsibilities anymore, and he needs to be replaced. Your my friend, you want to spend more time with your family, you know sport better than anyone else I know, with the exception of myself of course, and I'm sure you can handle the budgetary concerns of a handful of Museums and National Monuments, can't you?"

"I'd need some help," answered al Din Lambert, "but otherwise yes."

"Oh, you'll have plenty help at the Department of Culture and Sports. Lots of nice employees there. Always asking for my autograph whenever I stop by for a visit. Probably selling all of them online. Perhaps I shouldn't visit there very often anymore."

"Well, in that case, I suppose I can give you a tentative answer of yes, I'll take the job when we're finished with the Cup of Harmony," said al Din Lambert, sitting up straight in his chair. "I'll just need to make sure my wife is on board with it."

"Oh, don't worry about talking to your wife," said Lee, a wide grin appearing on his face. "As a matter of fact, I talked to her before I came here. She told me that if you didn't say yes, you'd be sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Really?" asked al Din Lambert, shocked.

Tor Tong Lee stood up and laughed. Reaching over the desk he grabbed the hand of al Din Lambert and shook it. He turned to leave the office, stopping only when he reached the door, "My Chief of Staff will be in touch with you shortly, good luck in the Cup of Harmony."

"Thanks," responded al Din Lambert. He looked at his wife's picture on his desk, cocking his head to one side and raising his right eyebrow.

She actually wanted him to take a job in the government‽

¹Jost MacKenna, incumbent Secretary of State for Culture and Sport.

by **Natanians and Nosts** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 10:59 pm

The Placeholder

Chapter Ⅴ

I looked at that place,in a contrast to the bar where people stay more casually,that was a room full of requint whre th appearance it had was of a place where one would be polited and quiet,somewhere people could spend a lot of money to be in.
There was a man,sitting at a kind of chair.The walls were yellow-ish,not quite white but far from dark,in a yellow tone that resembles the calm and safe of a house,the ligthing was tranquile and passed serenity.I thought to myselfe why would such a place exist here next to a place like that.

by **Buyan** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 3:08 am

FOOTBALL HISTORY

Rejoice as the thick curtain that has surrounded the island state of Buyan for the past decade has been lifted – not without the help of a little firepower, that was. Some of you might recall that back in 2025 the reign of Kazys Portnii, a post-communist ruler with fairly ridiculous but, most of the time, clinically benign quirks was replaced by an iron-first tyrant in Henrik Luberg. The man, whom we until recently all had to call the General, replaced a sympathetically backward dictatorship by a harsh and repressive regime. Not afraid to murder a share of his citizens, it seemed sensible – well, to him – to lock down all the borders and give those still attempting to get away a bullet-induced death.

One of the least enjoyable side-effects of Lubergs paranoia were his decisions to declare that Buyanese at the ‘wrong’ side of the border – ‘wrong’ entirely depending on your point of view here - would no longer be considered citizens of his fierce republic. On top of that, he forbid any further representation of Buyanese national teams, presumably avoiding further fleeing opportunities. Too bad as especially when it came to football, the Hedgehogs had built up a pretty fine reputation so far. That their success had been based on the excellent effect from foreign managers Sirius Hope, Reinhard Shale and Chris Maarsden certainly was something the new regime did not want to be reminded of. A nice scroll of honour, including two qualifications for the World Cup, a Baptism of Fire victory and two Campionato Esportiva triumphs in only twelve year, reached a swift and painful end.

Besides a painful end for the national team, the domestic Top Division was suddenly stopped in its tracks as well. Even if organised football, according to the limited news that reaches us from behind the iron curtain, still continues, the group of gifted foreign players that developed over the years have fled the nation – if they weren’t expelled. Grand names such as Viztourzys Kolektyvinis, winner of a Globe Cup and a CEdC, Bengtsmark IF, Champions Cup finalist and CEdC victor, and Blau-Weiss Pallstadt, the third club to win a regional title, no longer shine on the international platform. The amateur level, we can confirm, was numbingly drab and several magnificent names such as Tufte, Giertych, Dalmshelf and Lammerschon have retired.

In 2029, the UFC of Buyan, a gathering of political and social protesters to their expulsion of their native grounds, plead and begged amongst the few Buyanese footballers who were active in foreign competitions and almost all of them appeared willing to play for a new red-and-white. As the Buyanese Football Board officially opted out of the NSWC, it was possible for this group to partake – if only with a slightly different name. Amongst them, they’ve had gathered the remaining internationals still active, more often than not experienced players on the wrong side of thirty, and a few other guys who have integrated in the social network of their host country by playing football – not always that successfully. Guided by their experienced gaffer and civil rights advocate Sil Moen, they tried to qualify for the WC 74. After only a few games, they discovered that several secret agents had infiltrated their group and decided to withdraw from any further activity.

But the winter of 2033 saw a joyful change in atmosphere. It’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly ignited the fireworks in the political landscape of Buyan – some post-factum historians point to the revolutionary atmosphere in the whole Esportivan region, others point to the deteriorating economic situation leading to hunger strikes and a third category to a split amongst the closest supporters of the General, leaving Luberg exposed. Fact is that the straw that broke the camel’s back was an illegal publication with an overview of the ‘Best Buyanese Footballers’ which didn’t hesitate to laud those who earned their wage abroad such as Devold, Zemaitis and Marciak and included Sil Moen, probably the man Henrik Luberg feared most. His ludicrous reaction – burning piles of copies of everything football-related – started a popular uprising.

A few tens of thousands of deaths and a difficult yet – according to international observers ‘acceptably’ – open election later, the nation of Buyan had reincarnated in an enthusiast republic. Winning the election were the ‘Party of Liberators’, headed by no one but Sil Moen who added the title of President to a list that already contained former international and former manager. As could be predicted, his victory speech on the freshly rebranded Martyrs Square in the heart of Pajukas was met with a lot of applause, but mostly when he announced the return of the Top Division, the professional football competition, and the beloved Blue Hedgehogs. These Hedgehogs celebrated their return with a set of decent results but were no match for sides such as Barunia, Mriin & Farfadillis, to end up halfway their qualification group. An acceptable start.

NATIONAL TEAM

The Blue Hedgehogs

KPB: 93th. Once 19th in the world and still 206th in the All-Time Ranking, for what it’s worth.

Moment in time: December 2034

SQUAD

Time has done horrible things to the promising selection of the World Cup 72. The vast majority of the players have ended their careers – great names as Erhardt, Tufte, Giertych, Wladecki, Lammerschon, Prinsen and Dalmshelf ended their playing time in the regional mess which was Buyanese football in the last decade. Knut Dahle, according to those who once saw him the best striker Buyan ever produced, was murdered by the regime at 24. In Jurgis Venclova, the Uprising of 2033 found another martyr who formerly graced the blue shirt.

A great amount of the others retired whilst abroad, such as Zemaitis, Halmiini, Grobanov, Smetona, Justs, Moen and Castell. Including that long list and worthy of a specific mention are the two best players who ever graced our colours. The powerful midfielder Espen Knutsen ended a long and fruitful career at Crisisbless and is currently assistant manager for the same Nepharan side. The elegant genius Sverre Devold, record international and recognised as a defining name of his generation, ended his career after a decade for Barbury Town, having lead the Apoxian side from peak to peak.

To say that not much is left is not an understatement. A few of the players made it across the generations whilst playing abroad, with goaltender Pawlo Marciak as prime example. The brand-new captain of the side will be crucial in this fairly inexperienced line-up. Add to that an expat or three, including half-Farf Wallenberg. Take a few players who saw the last stand of the illustrious Top Division when they first put on their boots and add to that a young generation with no clue about professional football at a high level. Welcome to the new Hedgehogs!

1. Pawlo Marciak --- GK --- 32, Crisisbless,
12. Stjepan Bursuk --- GK --- 28, Gornik Wladica,
23. Garon Gularis --- GK --- 30, Pajukas Sport,

6. Espen Raestad --- LD --- 32, Tjelberg Forening,
3. Olli Grilianen --- LD --- 31, Bengtsmark IF,
17. Kalle Nordin --- LD --- 23, Welanduz Vadshult,

4. Vytautas Paksas --- CD --- 32, Viztourzys Kolektyvinis,
15. Svante Bjorklund --- CD --- 25, Welanduz Vadshult,
5. Viggo Stromberg --- CD --- 22, Bengtsmark IF,

13. Daumantas Okmiankas --- RD --- 22, Viztourzys Kolektyvinis,
2. Kristupijas Dobrovolskas --- RD --- 34, FC 23 August, Pridnestrovia

7. Algirdis Mikaucis --- DM --- 31, Scaffield,
21. Eskil Vernerse --- DM --- 23, Tjelberg Forening,

14. Edison Wallenberg --- CM --- 25, Rülândéá Côstä,
18. Gunnar Karlsson --- CM --- 25, Slask Pruznowiczo,
8. Henrikas Dobas --- CM --- 23, Pajukas Sport,

20. Valter Isaksson --- AM --- 28, Bengtsmark IF,
10. Miro Stepaniak --- AM --- 33, Garbarnia Hoyersko,

19. Rudi Polaniak --- RA --- 31, Garbarnia Hoyersko,

9. Emil Eklund --- CA --- 25, Bengtsmark IF,
16. Sam Herbjornsrud --- CA --- 33, West Gundar,
22. Andreas Losnedahl --- CA --- 26, Tjelberg Forening,

11. Jannick Brems --- LA --- 31, Tillsamman Stensund,

STAFF

Manager: Steponas Teriouris, 55,

Steponas is used to living success on the bench. In the early days of the Golden Period for Viztourzys, he was the back-up goalie for Manuel Schmidt. After stopping his active career at the honourable age of 41 – with a few Kolektyvinis trophies in the bag and playing minutes in the last match of the 2018 title season as heights – he joined the BFB. Initially as youth scout, later on as U17 and U21 manager. He became goalkeeper coach under Chris Maarsden, stepped up as the assistant manager for Sil Moen and is now, at last, manager of the team.

KITS

When you flee your home country knowing that every second of hold-up could be the second too much, there is stuff you forget. Old photographs. Food in the fridge. Large domesticated animals. And, apparently, the marvellous national shirts that were provided by AER Sportswear.

Luckily for the UFC, Krytenia-based multinational kit provider JMC showed compassion, providing them with the magnificent shirts displayed above. When returning to Buyan, it appeared that Sil Moen still had those in his suitcase and as most of the groundkeeping staff in the national stadium had found an untimely death, the old ones probably never will be recovered.

PERMISSIONS

Choose my goalscorers - Yes
Godmod scoring events - No, unless awesome
RP injuries to my players – Yes, but no indication of length of injury if above three games
Godmod injuries to my players – No, unless hilarious
Hand out yellow cards to my players – Yes, up to five
Hand out red cards to my players – Yes, up to one
Godmod other events – No, unless hilarious
Dude, I've got this awesome idea - TG me, I'll be glad to cooperate

HOME GROUND

The Nine @ Dyatinsk (57,000 seats)

It's big, it's build on an unpractical location and if we believe the contractor, it's build on a swamp.
But it's also state of the art and featured some games in the Campionato Esportiva IX, hence the name.

STYLE & TACTICS

Style Modifier: -4

With the team for the first time in hands of Teriouris, it seems as if the focus will be on the defensive front as he has designed some sort of 5-3-2 line-up. To foreign observers, he often attempts to sell it as an attractive 3-5-2 but even if we consider the high wingbacks, don’t be fooled - the first and foremost target is to cement the clean sheet.

On goal, the gloves will be worn by Pawlo Marciak, whose years at Crisisbless allowed him to grow from remarkably talented to actually damn good. His marvellous reputation earned in Nephara also gave him, one of the few to appear for the ‘old’ Buyanese side on this squad, the captains ribbon. As an alternative, Teriouris can opt for the powerful Bursuk or for Gularis, a man with great reflexes, but so far neither has appeared.

Of the eight defenders chosen in the selection, with Stan Halving absent due to injury, nearly everyone has a chance to appear from the kick-off. A pivotal figure is youngster Viggo Stromberg who developed into the key figure of the back five despite his age. A role initially held by Paksas, but the Viztourzys man is glad to start at his side and can be completed or replaced by the unremarkable yet useful Bjorklund, the experienced Grilianen or Kalle Nordin, a talent for the future. The wings have two guys who played for the old Hedgehogs in Espen Raestad, one of the leaders for this formation, and globetrotter Dobrovolskas who has a promising stand-in in Okmiansas.

In midfield, Teriouris has selected a variety of options for three very distinctive profiles. As the defensive element, Algiris Micaukis presents himself. Having never played in Buyan before, Micaukis made a marvellous career in Brenecia and recently moved to the top tier with his side Scaffield. He’s a team player and one who will do everything for the team. The alternative is a local youngster who might grow to his level in a few years, Vernerse. For the box-to-box, Teriouris prefers Henrikas Dobas, a silent force for Pajukas. The manager sees him as the best middle ground between the hardworking Karlsson and the creative Wallenberg. The holy shirt of Buyanese football is the number ten - previously held by Devold. It’s a hefty legacy that will be carried by Miro Stepaniak, a short genius. As key player, he has a scala of passes but never shies away from hard work. More than a good back-up is Isaksson, the Bengtsmark attacking midfield who lately racks up more minutes on the pitch than Stepaniak.

For the duo of strikers, Teriouris seems to opt for the combination of a powerful targetman and a shorter, more creative and agile attacker. For that last position, two man have been added. Jannick Brems plays for a mediocre side but is an above-average attacker who can pop up anywhere in the box and has amazing intelligence. Rudi Polaniak, on the other hand, is more of a poacher with a stocky frame. For the tall guy, the preference seems to be on the 24-year old Eklund, a man with an amazing header and a powerful shot. A series of alternatives have been called up, of which Losnedahl looks most like him. The lanky Herbjornsrud is often underestimated but adds to the suspense.

Penalties: Miro Stepaniak (if unavailable, in order: Paksas, Raestad, Eklund, Micaukis)
Indirect free kicks: Kristupijas Dobrovolskas
Direct free kicks: Miro Stepaniak
Corners, left side: Miro Stepaniak
Corners, right side: Kristupijas Dobrovolskas
Likely to be booked: Vytautas Paksas, Algiris Micaukis

Captain: Pawel Marciak
Vice-captains: Espen Raestad & Vytautas Paksas

by **Nephara** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 3:56 am

New Gazi 0-1 Nephara
(4-3-3) 20 - Tsattalios; 2 - Rafford, 5 - Konoval, 6 - Scharner, 3 - Lohengrin; 8 - Tarashaj, 4 - Rainsford (c), 14 - Gosforth; 7 - Szalai (13 - Bereveskos 65'), 17 - Stavanger (10 - Wardenier 65'), 21 - Amokachi (11 - Strongbow 65')
Goal: Wardenier 76'

How many breakthroughs, over the years, have been proceeded immediately by the man in charge muttering "ahh, fuck it" and stalking off to the side in disgust?
Michael Brandon's disgust threshold, Nephara was learning, was low. Nephara were dominant in the middle of the pitch, and the Cannoneers had reacted, correctly, by attempting to simply get the ball over the top of it as soon as possible. Star man Contee was always threatening up front, hovering on the shoulder of the defence, and fortunately none of the passes had quite stuck - Tsattalios diligently sweeping out behind, and making a couple of sharp saves from distant shots.
Up front, though, it just wasn't quite working out. People weren't being as ruthless as could be hoped for... and winning this match might not seem that bad, but in practical terms, it would let them rest their players next match. In idealistic terms, Brandon would probably explode, and nobody wanted to deal with that.
Besides, if New Gazi just got one goal - and they were easily a side capable of getting a goal, certainly better than, say, Tveidalen - that would be- well, he would explode really hard, anyway.
So off came the entire front three and on came a new, different front three. The dynamic on the wings flipped - Bereveskos made the diagonal runs and Strongbow took the more orthodox role hugging the chalk, and instead of a big man in Stavanger unable to get past the even bigger man, Thao Yeboah, there was Avila Wardenier.
Wardenier wasn't like Stavanger or for that matter like Brandon, and she knew it. She smiled at little miracles, and found them in every day. She was tallish, lithe and liked getting the ball to her feet. She wasn't like any other forward they had, and the other forwards they had weren't working - so when the sledgehammer snapped off at the handle, why not try the rapier?
Sure, the first time Yeboah smashed into her she went flying - but she somersaulted, bounced back to her heels and laughed as the referee booked him.
Sure, Rowena Strongbow hit in a high cross that Stavanger would've eaten up and winced when she realised her mistake, and though Wardenier threw herself gamely at it she was well beaten by Jawo. Brandon took a deep breath on the touchline and tried to refrain from murder.
But the next time? She beat Biobaku, who hadn't had to deal with someone trying to just beat him on the outside and was letting her just have the run of the touchline... and then she jinked inside and around him with buckets of pace. No angle for a shot and no Stavanger marked down in the centre.
Nobody at all marked down in the centre, in fact, because Wardenier had slipped away to the edge of the box and it was the simplest thing for Strongbow to cut it back, and Wardenier took the ball and Yeboah rushed in but with a deft turn he was sent hurtling in the wrong direction and all she had to do...
... was find the bottom corner.
And she smiled, as her teammates ran to her. Another little miracle.

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:19 am

CRESCENT NEWS NETWORK
SPORTS CHANNEL - OFFICIAL WEBSITE
ABANHFLEFT • PRIDNESTROVIA • OONTAZ DERT LI NG • COPPER CUPRUM • TRENDSTART • FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA

CUP OF HARMONY 70: KEL ASSUK VS ABANHFLEFT
By Malik Qazizadah

Kel Assuk's players celebrate their historic victory against Abanhfleft at the Drawk City Stadium in Drawk City, Drawkland. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

DRAWK CITY, DRAWKLAND - Abanhfleft's Cup of Harmony campaign continued to sputter and falter as the Lady Revolutionaries fell to ten women and lost to a plucky yet unfancied Kel Assuk side.

It was a tough contest from the start but most if not all odds were on Abanhfleft securing a victory against Kel Assuk; after all, the Lady Revolutionaries had gotten the better of the Tyran nation before in the World Cup qualification.

But it seemed as if things were not going to go well for the Fleftics as Seyni Ait Ahmed nipped in between the defensive lines and latching on to a rebounded shot from Patricia Foulke saving Isula Azellay's attempt to give Kel Assuk a slim lead very much against the run of play.

Abanhfleft's misfortunes seemed to pile up through the second half even as Chelsea Stuart scored a vital and deserved equalizer for the Lady Revolutionaries in her first start for the national team since being injured in the Fleftic Ladies' Premier League while playing for Arsenal de Releinthi Ladies. First, Merida Vance went off the field due to injury, and then Stuart followed her to the bench after Holly Jonasson elected not to push the still-recovering Stuart too far before Alexandra Rousseau completed the third substitution due to her illness woes.

But the low point for the Fleftics in this game was when Allison Torres was shown a red card for sending her studs into Ashur Ben Hassi's calves, but the decision was deemed controversial, mostly by the Fleftic faithful, and although a look from the video assistant proved to be inconclusive in the end, most Fleftic fans remain convinced that Torres deserved only a yellow card at worst.

Isula Azellay, who seems to have made it a habit of scoring against Abanhfleft, converted the spot kick to hand the lead back to Kel Assuk with less than ten minutes left to play in the game, and Abanhfleft's woes were only compounded when Patricia Foulke was clattered during a Kel Assuk corner and judged to have sustained a concussion, necessitating her removal from the game. Since Abanhfleft had already made three substitutions, Amanda Warren was forced to put on a goalkeeper's kit and gloves for the remainder of the game.

A new rival rises in Kel Assuk?
Kel Assuk has proven to be a bit of a thorn in Abanhfleft's side, an itch that just wouldn't go away no matter how hard it was scratched. This was the second game in which Abanhfleft had dropped points against the nation that had only made its debut in World Cup sports in this particular cycle and the Fleftics had already faced Kel Assuk three times in the current World Cup cycle.

The first meeting between the two sides ended with a 1-1 draw with Isula Azellay scoring the equalizer just a minute into added time. Miriam Hannibal was Abanhfleft's injury-time hero when the two sides met in the reverse fixture as the Lady Revolutionaries ran out 2-1 winners, but Azellay also scored a penalty to equalize for his side once again.

This time Azellay scored the match winner, also via a penalty, and the loss now consigns Abanhfleft to the bottom of Group F with a game against Yesopalitha still in front of them. After the loss against Kel Assuk, Abanhfleft is no longer fancied for even a narrow win against Yesopalitha; a draw or another loss is now expected from the Lady Revolutionaries.

Abanhfleft women's team manager Holly Jonasson: "When the moment comes that your team is no longer a favorite even though you still believe that they have a good chance of winning then that's when you know that your time is actually up. Obviously I would have loved the chance to win the Cup of Harmony on my last year with the women's team but if your team loses to a team which you won and drew against before then the gods are simply not going with us. I will still cherish my moments with the team but perhaps I should have quit while I was ahead."

Abanhfleft will face Yesopalitha at Lookout Stadium in Drawk City, Drawkland for their third match in the Cup of Harmony. Unless Abanhfleft wins by a large margin and Kel Assuk and Elgenstad draw then Abanhfleft does not have a chance of qualifying.

        KEL ASSUK 2 - 1 ABANHFLEFT
  AIT AHMED (40')       STUART (55')
AZELLAY (82' pen)       TORRES (█ 80')

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 13 Foulke
RB: 14 Warren
CB: 15 Hannibal
LB: 16 Heaton
RM: 5 Maynard
LM: 17 Vance █ (Choi - 61')
RW: 7 Prescott
CAM: 10 Torres █
LW: 8 Singh
RS: 9 Stuart █ (Villegas - 65')
LS: 11 Rousseau (Dolan - 52')

KEL ASSUK
GK: 1 Saidi-Sief
RB: 2 Ouyahia
RCB: 3 Neqrouz
LCB: 4 Othmani
LB: 5 Azergui
CM: 6 M'Hidi █ (Taher - 53')
RM: 7 Hasnaoui
LM: 8 Ait Ahmed
CAM: 9 Khalej (Bakoura - 60')
RS: 10 Ben Hassi (Feraoun - 79')
LS: 11 Azellay

STATISTICS
Possession
Kel Assuk: 49%
Abanhfleft: 51%
Shots
Kel Assuk: 8 (5 on target)
Abanhfleft: 11 (5 on target)
Corners
Kel Assuk: 5
Abanhfleft: 5
Fouls
Kel Assuk: 14
Abanhfleft: 20

by **Buyan** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:50 am

Randell Haenraets rose his hand in despair, knowing even before his fingers tickled the sky that the assistant was going to have anything off it. The Sterling City veteran had seen plenty of things in his time but as how Eklund sprinted – from a clear offside position – towards his hapless goalie filled him with a pastry mix of disbelieve and frustration. Witnessing the blatant mistakes of the referee, he refused to rush back to his own goal and simply shook his head. Trying to find a reasonable explanation how his side could have gone from a slim lead over a Norton header to an incredible defeat, he had to see how Emil Eklund scored his fourth of the game. The towering striker went to his knees, tears in his eye.

It had snowballed from one seemingly innocent incident, one of which there had been umpteen due to the moist pitch. Espen Raestad had been his unstoppable self and his rushes on the wing were countless. As he moved up the pitch, Odran Gordon decided to opt for the full stop with a sliding tackle that was more spectacular than rash. However, on the soaked grass his body propelled like a rocket and whilst Raestad trapped the leather out of reach for Gordon, the Darmeni midfielder planted his studs on the assistant referee – involuntarily that is. The man in black reacted as if stung like a bee, sprinted towards the stunned Gordon and practically pushed the red card into his nostril. Obviously, the side in green protested which only added to the ungrounded rage from the one with the whistle.

From that point onwards, the Hedgehogs get permission to plough through the side from al Din Lambert in a way that was getting more and more awkward with every minute, especially as they overturned the gap into a lead. Every fifty-fifty duel was decided against the ones in green and when Benbow was send off for an invisible offense, it became embarrassing. From the two-goal difference on, the experienced Micaukis attempted to cool down his squad members but the youngsters, enthused by the unexpected lead, decided to put the pedal to the metal and especially midfielders Karlsson and Isaksson seemed to refuse to give their nine-man opponents a moment of breath.

No wonder that Algiris Micaukis raised an apologising hand towards the baffled Haenraets as both ogled the 2-6 scoreline on the board after the last whistle.

”I’ld say ‘good luck’ for the last game,” the chivalrous yet annoyed Sterling man spoke, ”but I sense you’ve used up most of that so far.”

Micaukis understood the sentiment perfectly, the sight at the horizon of having to beat tournament candidate Ceni in a do-or-die confrontation was appealing to no one. But the moment of sympathy swiftly vanished over the realisation that a draw vis-à-vis Jeckland could suffice to escape the group stage - something no one even would have dared to dream off after being the whipping boys of a powerful Cenian side just a few days ago.

by **Savojarna** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 3:51 pm

SavojarSports.sj - inside reports from all Savojarna
Savojarna's women overturn Brigantii to first CoH victory

Metropolon, DRK -- In a dramatic match against its group's top seed, the Savojar women's team remained undefeated despite having fallen behind twice. Once again, our girls proved that they entirely live up to the successes of the men's team that got us within eyesight of World Cup qualification and to the Cup of Harmony. Once again, they were facing an all-men team, and this time they were not a bunch of uncannily pretty high-schoolers that might or might not have been distracted by their own group of even more oddly pretty (and creepily sexualised) high school cheerleaders. The physical advantages that some feared did not play a role in the result, however - Savojars know how to stand their ground, and the speed of our wingers as well as the pinpoint accurate crosses of Irina Jarkasjärvi more than made up for it. With Freya Sigurdsdottir, the Savojar squad has a striker that knows how to use her size and jumping ability to beat even centre-backs that outgrow her impressive 1.93, a quality she showcased again against Brigantii.

The match started out fairly slowly, but proved to be a bit of a danger soon after the first fifteen minutes. Having grown a bit too complacent thanks to the slow start of the game, the Savojar defense missed an offside trap when Russ Baker attempted a long ball to Irwin. While the players next to the striker were on point with their timing, Midström had missed it by a split second, causing Irwin to be on-side and alone in front of Viktorija Petrova. The goalkeeper was chanceless when the Brigantii striker, having plenty of time to aim, sent the ball straight to the bottom left corner and brought his team ahead after 17 minutes of play. The goal fired up the Brigantii, and they got another good chance shortly after when Raukanen found no legal way to stop Ramsbottom, leading to a very dangerous free kick from about 24 metres. Petrova would have been beaten by the shot that followed, but the ball bounced off the outside of the left post to give Savojarna a breath of relief.

After that shock, the team finally managed to pull themselves together again and play forward, looking for the equaliser. Following two missed chances and a save by the goalkeeper, Trent Harrell, there was a good chance started by the aforementioned Jarkasjärvi on the right side. She managed to get past Bakayoko, who could only stop the winger by grabbing her jersey and bringing her off balance. With the winger on the ground and the whistle blown, there was a free kick on the side of the Brigantii box, a declared strength of the Savojar team. Jarkasjärvi took the shot herself, crossing the ball into the middle to Sigurdsdottir who headed the ball right into the top right corner to equalise the match.
This caused the team to be overly sure though, and they stopped attacking with enough power to break through the double four-men-line of Brigantii, which backfired when they allowed for a counter attack down the left side when Reskilainen had joined the attack. A quick one-two between Samuels and Batley left her and Kjaer beaten, and when Byron Samuels laid the ball back onto Ramsbottom, the midfielder's shot found its way past Petrova. Brigantii managed to carry their lead over to the break, but the game remained very close.

In the second half, the Savojars had apparently been fired up by Asbeck to play much more aggressively and employ more pressing in defence. This worked very well as it managed to mostly suppress the attacks of Brigantii, and especially Raukanen and Johansson did a great job at shutting down the central midfield of the opponent. An attempt of a pass to Ramsbottom that was cut by Raukanen was at the beginning of the next dangerous attack of our girls. She managed to take the ball past Batley and play it down the side to Haakonson, who pulled to the inside and shot, but only hit the crossbar. Ten minutes later, the substituted Kaisa Hytamäki made a run down the left side and played back to Haakonson who was waiting at the corner of the box. She ran past Waldroup and shot the ball at the goal, and while Harrell just managed to block that shot, Vailova could push the rebounded ball across the line to equalise the game once again.

In the end phase of the game, there was one major moment of shock for the Savojar side. Like in the first half, Michael Irwin stood in front of the net, but this time the offside trap had actually worked. Irwin was whistled back and the ball given to Savojarna. It was only five minutes later when another joker, Svetlana Namenkova, had conquered the ball from Brigantii's Jimmy Boon and could play a long ball to the right side. Jarkasjärvi managed to dribble past Bakayoko yet again and crossed the ball to the middle, precisely onto the head of Sigurdsdottir. The tall striker managed to head the ball into the right side of the goal, against the goalkeeper's move, from about seven metres to bring Savojarna ahead for the first time in the match. Replacing Jarkasjärvi with the more defensively minded Martinova, the team managed to carry the lead through to the final whistle without any major challenges for the final ten minutes.

With this lead, Savojarna has a great position to advance to the octofinals. All it takes is a draw against the Scottopian Isles, however, they are also an unbeaten team who could beat the Free Republics 6-4 in a spectacular, offensive matchup. Their first match also saw plenty of goals as they drew Brigantii 2-2. If we draw the team, we will qualify as second, but with a win, we could even secure the first place in a group. A loss could have fatal consequences. If we lose by one goal and there is only one goal difference in the other match, we would still qualify; however, if Brigantii wins by two or we lose by two or more, we're out. If the Republicans win by two goals and we lose by one, it would all come down to goals scored, a stat in which they are ahead of us at the moment. The team is expected to stay the same as in the last two games, and the game will be broadcasted live as usual. Kickoff is scheduled at 00:30 Savojar Time (Ejana: 01:30), but there will be a full re-run at 18:30 (Ejana: 19:30) the next day on STV3.

Brigantii 2-3 Savojarna (2-1)

GOALS: 18' Irwin 1-0 (Baker). 32' Sigurdsdottir 1-1 (Jarkasjärvi). 39' Ramsbottom 2-1 (Samuels). 61' Vailova 2-2 (Haakonson). 82' Sigurdsdottir 2-3 (Jarkasjärvi).
YELLOW CARDS: 27' Ernberg, 49' Gallagher (both foul).
RED CARDS: --
REMARKS: 24' Irwin hit post, 51' Haakonson hit crossbar.

BRIGANTII: Harrell - Bakayoko, Gallagher, Waldroup, Lowe - Samuels (83' Buchanan), Batley (59' Boon), Baker, Wilbraham (73' Newell) - Ramsbottom - Irwin.
SAVOJARNA: Petrova - Midström (59' Hytamäki), Ernberg, Kjaer, Reskilainen - Johansson, Raukanen, Vailova (70' Namenkova) - Haakonson, Sigurdsdottir, Jarkasjärvi (83' Martinova).

by **Aggrey-Fynn Land** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 4:25 pm

LANDER SPORTS NETWORK

Your plug for all things sport.

AGGREY-FYNN LAND MOVE THREE POINTS CLOSER TO ROUND OF 16 BERTH

GOAL: Whitlick (46')

Aggrey-Fynn Land played New Danican in their second group game. New Danican is the lowest-ranked team in Group A at 109th place. Jerry Simmons hoped that they could take advantage of this: "There are many highly skilled teams in the tournament. So when we come across a team like New Danican where we are better than them on paper, we have to seize the moment." The captain, Roman Kendrick, echoed this sentiment: "This is the game. If we win here, the path to the Round of 16 will be a lot easier. If we don't, it will make the third game a lot more difficult." The fans were out in full force to support their Superstars in their quest for the Cup of Harmony. Aggrey-Fynn Land went to the game hungry for three points, against another team who wanted the points just as bad.

The game started off slowly, with a lot of the action taking place in the middle third. Both defensive units were doing extremely well to start, so there were not many chances for either team to get on goal. It took some very bold play by the Lander midfielders to open up play, but that only did so much. Daniel Ingram seemed to be on the end of everything. New Danican did not attack much in the half, because they were preoccupied with preventing a Lander goal. However, as the half started to wind down, the skill of the Wavy Ones really started to shine through. They started to launch overhead balls into the box to create chances, and began to make smarter moves to beat the man-to-man defense that New Danican was employing. However, they could not beat the goalkeeper. Frustrated, Aggrey-Fynn Land went into half tied 0-0.

Aggrey-Fynn Land seemed to take their frustrations to add to their fire, and it showed. They got the lone goal of the day when Gordon Whitlick picked the ball off of Gabriel Day and started to move forward into open space. He caught New Danican out of position, and was able to move into the box, where he let one go from 15 feet out. The shot was hard and low, and slid into the goal. That seemed to be the turning point in the game. Instead of hanging back, Aggrey-Fynn Land turned up the pressure, and stopped New Danican's advances before they could happen. They received more chances as a reward for their tenacity, but Daniel Ingram seemed determined to not let any more goals get past him. He was successful in that regard, but his attackers were not successful in mounting a comeback. Aggrey-Fynn Land won that day, 1-0.

The fans were pleased with the effort, and were singing songs as the Wavy Ones left the field. "When we play like this, we are unstoppable!" was one visibly excited fan's reaction to the game. "I think Aggrey-Fynn Land will go far in the Cup, I mean did you see them? This is what we need!" said another. "I got to hand it to the boys, our aggressiveness was what won us the day. And this wasn't possible without them, so they deserve all the praise I am recieving" was what Gordon Whitlick, the man of the match, had to say.

Aggrey-Fynn Land's next opponent is Kalumba, who have not lost yet. "They better be ready for us, because we're ready for them. They'll have to be at their best to beat us", was what Donny Tremors said in a post-game conference. Although Aggrey-Fynn Land and Kalumba are both in good place to advance, Aggrey-Fynn Land needs a win to top the group, or a draw to clinch a spot in the round of 16. A loss would give Mercedini a chance to advance. Where will the Wavy Ones end up? Find out later today, when the Superstars take the field again. It'll be on Lander Sports TV. We'll see you then.

by **Yesopalitha** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 5:34 pm

The figure was looming, quiet, stealthy, undetected. It was sneaking around, trying to obtain as much information as possible, all the while remaining undetected. It was being rather successful, not one being having noticed that it was there. The goal of the figure was to eventually gather all the pieces of the puzzle so that the grand plan could come to fruition.

It did help when the victims had no clue whatsoever of the figure's existence.

A long time ago, when Zaiden created Yesopalitha as a homeland for the Unbidden, the magic used caused backlash in the cosmos. Whilst Zaiden was able to uncorrupt the Unbidden and make Yesopaitha a haven for those that would not be welcomed elsewhere, the dark forces of the world found its home in a triumvirate of beings that became three of the least known yet powerful beings in the known world.

The first, Nocturne, had the power of night, the true power of darkness, to be able to use to suffocate the living light of beings.

The second, Muerte, had the power of death, to siphon beings' souls and to imprison them for eternity in the realm of eternal chaos.

The third was simply called Pandemonium, which is absolutely self-explanatory.

Nocturne, Muerte, and Pandemonium spent a lot of their time making sure to hide from Zaiden, quietly gaining their strength. They watched as the Unbidden became an acceptable country in the multiverse. They watched as the rest of the world continued to live on. Then, they decided it was time to take a hand in things.

They picked an isolated island in the middle of nowhere to send their first agent, a creation of the three of them. The agent was successful in manipulating the populace into a diaspora that took many years to be removed from the society. That island is still in the throes of recovery.

It was time to turn their attention to the actual matter at hand.

The re-corruption of Yesopalitha.

Unbeknownst to them, however, the island was starting to pick up their scent...

by **Eshan** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:01 pm

ESHAN MATCH DAY THREE CUT OFF
WHO IT GONNA BE?

Group A
Aggrey-Fynn Land 1–2 Kalumba
Mercedini 1–0 New Danican

Group A                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kalumba                 3    3   0   0    11    6   +5     9
2 Aggrey-Fynn Land        3    1   1   1     3    3    0     4
3 Mercedini               3    1   1   1     5    6   −1     4
4 New Danican             3    0   0   3     2    6   −4     0

Group B
Buyan 0–0 Jeckland
Ceni 3–1 Darmen

Group B                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ceni                    3    2   0   1    10    6   +4     6
2 Buyan                   3    1   1   1     8    7   +1     4
3 Jeckland                3    1   1   1     6    6    0     4
4 Darmen                  3    1   0   2     7   12   −5     3

Group C
Vietmihn 1–1 Red Blackiland
Coldfield 0–1 Apox

Group C                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Apox                    3    2   0   1     3    3    0     6
2 Red Blackiland          3    1   2   0     4    2   +2     5
3 Vietmihn                3    1   1   1     4    4    0     4
4 Coldfield               3    0   1   2     2    4   −2     1

Group D
Taeshan 0–1 Qasden
Löpstegl 0–0 Natanians and Nosts

Group D                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Qasden                  3    2   1   0     5    3   +2     7
2 Taeshan                 3    1   1   1     4    4    0     4
3 Löpstegl                3    0   2   1     3    4   −1     2
4 Natanians and Nosts     3    0   2   1     3    4   −1     2

by **Qasden** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:14 pm

Curse Continues as Qads Draw with Debutants

Dag freaking nabit.

Last report, the Qasden Vans made way into their 3rd straight Cup of Harmony looking to retain their title against big names like Ceni, Abanhfleft, Nephara and Eastfield Lodge. Sent across the region to the former-hand-loving-now-flying-sword-and-gun-loving nation of Eshan, the Qads found themselves as the Pot 1 entrant for Group D, meaning for once they have something to be proud about in soccer.

After a lil jumble to mix things up, the Blue-Reds began their third era of Harmonic Depression against the blue-lovin' twin-like nation of Natanians and Nosts. After a brief yet intense battle, TQ squeaked by with a score of 3-2, putting themselves up high on the shelf of glory quickly into the cup.

With a quick rest and some more practice, the Qads returned to Revolutionary Stadium to face the eager anarchists known simply as Löpstegl. While making some form of ruckus in Group 1 of the qualifiers, the debuting nation still unfortunately failed to reach qualification. Luckily, solace was found for the red and green, and soon they were invited to participate in Eshawk. Losing a narrow opener versus the knights of Taeshan, they now come to battle us for the chance of earning some tasty points.

With the Echani sun high in the sky, it was finally time for these two to meet. With the ball in possession, it was finally time to commence.

The first half began with Löpstegl dragging the ball 15 feet into Qad territory before being quickly overruled by the defense, a good sign for TQ. 3 minutes in, the ball finds itself midway into the opponent's side with Xandreas dribbling it. Passing it to Darsten, then back to Xandreas, then over to Bostun who'll put it right into the keeper's grasp. A close one for sure, but not quite there. The game sprawled out again for the remainder of the single digit minute time length before a tie shattered itself in the 11th minute of the game. Löpstegl forward, Reinn Halldorsson, slides the ball between Blight and Articado and squeezes the ball right over the arcs of Kai Metre's fingers. 0-1, the adversarial enthusiasts exploded with parading joy and flares, a couple of which being too close for comfort for a few Qad fans who purchased their tickets late. Deficited wit despair, the Blue-Reds recouped and recommenced the game on grass. 17 minutes, 25 minutes, 41 minutes go by, and no dice were added to the scoreboard at all after the Löpstegl goal. 43 minutes in, a stray ball finds itself hanging right by Onyx Foster, who in return caved the ball into the netted crevice behind Thorstar Thormodsson, fixing the pickle Qasden was in and reigniting the spirits of bipolar Qad fans. 1-1, the score wrote as the half came to a close.

Unlike the first half, the second didn't have, what's the word? Oh yes, goals. For the next 45 minutes (excluding the 3 minutes added for extra time), shots were made, balls were saved, and food was craved. But nonetheless, the fans still cheered for their team. Even PM Rees Häther tuned in.

"It was exciting to see these players battle with their skill and heart out there to keep their fans and families alike happy. Shame we did not defeat Löpstegl, but there's still time to redo the mess next match.".

The draw marks the second consecutive time that, not a star a newbie themselves, the Qads drew with a CoH debutant (See Kosovakia '69 for more info). The single pity point given to each team had brought mixed reactions to the group, following another draw made by Natanians and Nosts and Taeshan. As the Goal Differential in the group is still pretty small, anyone can make the cut, which brings us to our next matchup.

Returning once more to Revolutionary Stadium, TQ will take on the Knights of Taeshan in their final match of the group stage. Failing to make the quali cut, the Pink-flagged nation became the Pot 2 team for Group D, earning a win and a draw in the process. For the Qads, a win or draw is a must, as even just one point will put them through to the next round as (most likely) the group winner. A loss, however, would endanger any chance Qasden would have advancing to the next round, with a win of over 2 goals between Löpstegl and N&N would throw the Blue-Reds off the train to success just as it did in the qualifiers, something Merritt would not like to have repeated for the sake of his job.

Can Qasden defeat Taeshan and book themselves a one-way trip to the Round of 16? Will the underdogs of the group be able to catch up via a leader'a death? Only one bone will get picked, so stay tuned, stay updated, and stat alert for our next report, reloading at the 70th Cup of Harmony in Eshan and Drawkland!

by **Drawkland** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:30 pm

DRAWKLAND MATCH DAY THREE CUT OFF
Who survived the first shots?!

Group E
Savojarna 0–1 Scottopian Isles
Free Republics 1–1 Brigantii

  Group E                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Scottopian Isles                      3   2  1  0    9   6  +3    7
2 Savojarna                             3   1  1  1    4   4   0    4
3 Brigantii                             3   0  2  1    5   6  −1    2
4 Free Republics                        3   0  2  1    6   8  −2    2

Group F
Elgenstad 0–0 Kel Assuk
Abanhfleft 7–2 Yesopalitha

  Group F                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Abanhfleft                            3   1  1  1   11   7  +4    4
2 Yesopalitha                           3   1  1  1    6   8  −2    4
3 Kel Assuk                             3   1  1  1    2   4  −2    4
4 Elgenstad                             3   0  3  0    4   4   0    3

Group G
Nephara 1–0 Oontaz Dert Li Ng
Union of Socialist Alpine Republics 3–1 New Gazi

  Group G                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nephara                               3   3  0  0    6   2  +4    9
2 Oontaz Dert Li Ng                     3   1  0  2    4   4   0    3
3 New Gazi                              3   1  0  2    3   4  −1    3
4 Union of Socialist Alpine Republics   3   1  0  2    6   9  −3    3

Group H
Yue Zhou 0–1 Tinhampton
Eastfield Lodge 0–1 Soltsteed

  Group H                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Soltsteed                             3   3  0  0    4   1  +3    9
2 Yue Zhou                              3   1  0  2    3   3   0    3
3 Tinhampton                            3   1  0  2    2   3  −1    3
4 Eastfield Lodge                       3   1  0  2    2   4  −2    3

by **Drawkland** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:55 pm

Big Guns, Big Goals
An ESHAN/ DRAWKLAND PRODUCTION
ROUND of 16 MATCH FIXTURES

Ro16 1: Kalumba vs Buyan
Ro16 2: Apox vs Taeshan
Ro16 3: Ceni vs Aggrey-Fynn Land
Ro16 4: Qasden vs Red Blackiland

Ro16 5: Scottopian Isles vs Yesopalitha
Ro16 6: Nephara vs Yue Zhou
Ro16 7: Abanhfleft vs Savojarna
Ro16 8: Soltsteed vs Oontaz Dert Li Ng

by **Scottopian Isles** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:53 pm

Scottopian Isles Football Association
@SIFA

Peterson's 67th minute goal is all that separates the teams. Bluebirds win Group E to advance to the Round of 16!
#PlayBeautifully #CupOfHarmony70 #ScottopianIsles

RETWEETSLIKES
285K1.7M

7:20 p.m - 20 JUL 2017

- - - - - - - - - -

BLUEBIRDS SOAR AT CUP OF HARMONY, TOP 'GROUP E' UNDEFEATED

The goalscorer vs Savojarna, Allistar Peterson, leads the squad on a victory lap after securing the top spot in the Group Stages, a first ever for any Scottopian Team competing outside of Astyria

"Take a good look at the lads playing here in this Cup of Harmony campaign, no matter their future results, they'll be returning from Drawkland as footballing legends"... the exact words of manager Douglas McCann after the Scottopian Isles took 1st place in their group, a feat never accomplished by any Scottopian team with exception to domestic events such as the AstyCup or Terra Indicium. The opposition, Savojarna, gave the Bluebirds a good fight for their position, coming close themselves on too many occasions to leave any Tartan Army fan comfortable. Fighting until the final whistle, they themselves were too in place to take the prime position going into the knock out stages. Although the battle on the pitch was won by the Scottopian Isles, a tie-game between Brigantii & the Free Republics also paved a path for Savojarna to enter the Round of 16 facing Abanhfleft while our national team will take on Yesopalitha, but it was almost the opposite.

Coming off hot after their 6-4 win against the Free Republics, the Scottopians had the confidence to enter the game with the thought of coming away with all 3 points against their opponents. Tactically thinking, Savojarna had only managed 1-a-piece against the Free Republics while the Bluebirds gave one of their finest performances in recent memory. Although allowing 4 goals to be scored on themselves, somewhat expected with a rookie goalkeeper playing his first international match, the offense did a phenomenal job which prompted the manager not to change formation or strategy going into the last game of the entry stages. A couple of dry chances in the opening quarter of an hour kept the fans occupied but did not worry the Savojarnian defense in the slightest. They had done their homework and studied Baxters great scoring run in the 2017 AstyCup last month & his talents scoring 3 goals in 2 matches in the Cup of Harmony, sending an extra defender to shadow the striker everywhere he stepped foot on the pitch.

Goulding clears an attempt at goal away from the Scottopian net with his head after a goalkeeping blunder

Such frustration at the defensive effort got the Scottopians into a couple of heart shocking moments as they pushed too far up attempting to find a goal that a Savojarnian counter attack a few minutes from the half time whistle almost proved fruitful had it not been for the acrobatics of Cudiad de Fresno defender Richard Goulding. After novice goalkeeper Andy Castle prematurely challenged an attack for the ball, Freya Sigurdsdottir managed a cheeky chip shot from 15 yards out which dropped perfectly beyond the keepers reach, but the experience Goulding has acquired across his 9 season career is the reason he is still part of the squad. His ability to read the game, ball & players on both teams led him to be one of the few players to hang back defensively, and the away support was thankful that he did otherwise the teams would not have entered the dressing rooms at half time all square at 0-0

Of coarse, we all know that Scottopian manager Douglas McCann is not afraid to talk to his players while on the field, so one can only imagine the talks he gave to the squad to push them on in the last 45 minutes. Without knowing yet the result of the other game in Group E, the manager surely made his money in the locker room as the Scottopians came out more organised and determined to win than in the 1st. Multiple attacks followed by quick passing pressured the competition who were expecting more of the same from the first half. This pressure led to errors from the Savojarnia squad, where a poorly timed tackle by centerback Petra Ernberg earned not just a yellow card, but the devastating free kick accuracy of Peterson from within range. While other players quarreled in the box anticipating the cross from 26 yards out, the Scottopia City forward had other plans and nestled the shot in the top corner of the elusive goal to which a frenzy of cheers erupted from the 35-40,000 Tartan Army fans within the 150,000 seater stadium in Metropolon

Those of the Tartan Army that made the distant journey to Drawkland were treated to a once in a lifetime event upon the final whistle

A 1-0 lead with a little over 20 minutes to go placed the squad with a situation to contend with... Go for glory with a possible second goal or to take the safe road and play out the remainder of the game? We are all happy to say that our trust in our Manager payed off as a series of defensive & midfield substitutions ensured a Scottopian victory on the night. You would have thought a second goal was scored however at the news of the 1-1 draw at the Metro Arena across town between the other Group E rivals. That result would push the Scottopians through despite a draw or loss against the Savojarnian side, but the win was all the sweeter as again, the Scottopian Isles national team advanced to the an international tournament's knockout stages for the first time in their history!

The Bluebirds next match up in the 70th edition of the Cup of Harmony is against the runners-up from Group F, Yesopalitha, who finished the group stages with 1 Win, Loss & Tie each. Surely the fact they were dethroned from 1st place after coming off a 7-2 loss to Abanhfleft could play an advantage to the Scottopians momentum in the Round of 16. But one must remember that the Yesopalithaian team finished World Cup qualifying with 30 goals in 6 Wins, 2 Draw & 8 Losses taking 6th place in their group, a fact surely not overlooked by Douglas McCann & the rest of the Scottopian management team. However, teams do not advanced based on their previous endevours but on how they perform on those exact 90 minutes on the pitch.

by **Apox** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:39 pm

Sweeping changes to the ANL next season

by Clement Ashley

After two weeks of intensive talks, after breakdown after breakdown in negotiations, after deals nearly reaching a conclusion only to be dashed against the rocks by one party with the pens out - it's finally over. The longest saga in the IFA's short history is over, and as the dust settles, it's hard to see who is on the "winning" side.

With the MBC (Mareibat Board of Control) refusing to back down from their negotiating position of higher revenue shares for Mareibatian clubs, and the IFA refusing to sanction that, what was largely unimaginable a few weeks ago has happened - the ANL has become an Apoxian only competition once more after just one season of Mareibatian participation, in the top tier comprising only of Halholzer United.

This will pave the way for large scale restructuring within both the Apoxian and Mareibatian spheres. For the ANL, there will be a return to sixteen teams. Halholzer United will be leaving the league, after losing a vote to have just United remain in the league, the vote being called immediately following on from the announcement that the league will be splitting, and losing the vote 3-7. Therefore, bottom team Wye United will gain a reprieve from relegation and the top six teams from the ANL2 will be promoted. The ANL2 will stay as a sixteen team league, with the top three teams from both regional leagues being promoted.

The two regional leagues will play as eighteen team competitions next season, with no relegation this season and a new team from the lower leagues being promoted. The regional leagues will work their way back up to twenty teams over the next few seasons, with the bottom team being relegated and two promoted until the required numbers are reached.

The Mareibat Premier will once again become the top league in Mareibat, with Halholzer United begrudgingly agreeing to join the league and they are expected to be the overwhelming favourites for the title next season.

While the IFA once again prepares for a massive overhaul and restructuring just one year after the difficulty in getting the ANL set up, question must be raised over the leadership of Sammie Puskas at the head of footballing matters in Apox. For her, this year has just been one scandal or difficulty after another. While the blame cannot be entirely laid at her door, the buck does stop with her and her tenure so far has not been what some would call convincing. There will certainly be difficult decisions to be made in the coming days, weeks and months.

COL 0-1 APX
COL: Pilkvist -- Cockburn, Stephens, Osborn -- Lund -- Tjelvarsson (Ferguson 69'), Simmons (Montgomery 78'), Kucera, Chamberlain (c) -- Murray (Kovacova 78'), Balogh
APX: Anaximander -- Richardson, Raynerson (Gandhi O. 31'), Jekyll, Fowey -- Townsend (Ingersleben 67'), Ibrox, Palmisano J. (c), Vladimirescu -- Palmisano L., Gandhi A. (Arrowsmith 82')

In a surprising turn of events, Apox manage a narrow win against higher ranked Coldfield which not only sees the team through to the Round of 16 but through as first in the group after Vietmihn managed to draw against Red Blackiland. Coldfield started the match off with an aggressive pressing style, keeping Eurwen Raynerson and Imhotep Jekyll busy in the centre at the back, with Gavin Hughes decision to drop Bryton Menheniot for this game and play a 4-4-2 style initially looking like a bold one. Things only got tougher as Eurwen Raynerson was the recipient of a heavy tackle from Chris Kucera, who got off light with a yellow card, especially as it transpired post match that Eurwen had fractured her ankle and will be out for the remainder of the tournament. Despite this, the national team soldiered on and began to work their way into the match, a trademark of a Gavin Hughes team. Alpha Gandhi went close just before the half-time break, Brenton Pilkvist doing well to par the ball away from goal. After an early scare in the second half, with Anaximander making a save at full stretch to keep out Nathaniel Balogh, Apox were in the ascendancy and the pressure turned to the other end of the field, with Titan Vladimirescu being the one to break the deadlock in the 80th minute, pouncing on Alpha Gandhi's parried shot from Brenton Pilkvist and burying it past the keeper who lay sprawled out on the ground in front of him. This will see Apox through to the Round of 16 where we will face Taeshan, a team Apox have never lost to in their three previous encounters and who Apox faced in the Round of 16 in Cup of Harmony 58 where the team eventually lost to Saugeais in the final. It remains our deepest run ever in WCC competition. Let's go one better, and win the damn thing this time around, eh?

by **Ceni** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 8:05 pm

Cowboys and Fangirls
Chapter 8: Andrew and Dr. Jekyll

In the end, all their practice was for naught: the team failed to qualify. Andrew was frustrated. He threw his hands up and put his head onto his desk, sighing. Why couldn't they qualify? What in God's name had happened - all these scoreless draws, that loss to Nova Anglicana? He didn't know, he didn't pretend to know. He wondered where it had gone wrong, what they could have done better, if they could have done better at all. Andrew had never felt so uncertain in his life. To head off that uncertainty, for the first time in his life, he had decided to go to a nightclub. He settled on one called Quicksilver, located only a few blocks from his villa; he decided to walk there. He strolled for a few minutes, enjoying the Whitehaven breezes. He arrived at the nightclub, with its loud music audible from down the street, and walked in. Patrons clustered around a dance floor with pulsating lights. Otherwise, the club was mostly dark; Andrew paused for a second to adjust his eyes before venturing into the club. Conversations and loud music filled up the sound space around him; he could hardly hear himself think above the din. A soccer game was playing on the television, and Andrew consciously ignored it; an Adele song started playing in the background.

“There’s a fire starting in my heart…”

Andrew snorted. There certainly was a fire burning in his heart, one that threatened to burn down his entire body. It wasn’t the fire of love; it was the fire of frustration, the fire of anger from not qualifying for the World Cup. How is one supposed to win the whole thing when they’re not even in it? he wondered to himself.

“Reaching a fever pitch, and it’s bringing me out the dark…”

Andrew ordered a drink, a cuba libre. The bartender mixed it in seconds, handing it to Andrew in a heartbeat, only grunting to acknowledge him. He began to sip.

“The scars of your love remind me of us, they keep me thinking we almost had it all…”

They sure could have. At the first half, they were six points ahead of Nova Anglicana, with Turori in third. Ceni had totally imploded in the second half, losing to Nova Anglicana and drawing Tomikosan, Joaquin States, and Ytrribia, number 86, unranked, and number 112, respectively, the latter two scoreless. As a team with an aggressive mindset. Scoreless. Andrew shook his head and sighed as that sunk in.

They totally fucking blew it, he thought, they totally blew it. He drained his drink and asked for something a bit stronger.

“We could have had it all… Rolling in the deep…”

A young woman, maybe in her twenties, about Andrew’s age, turned to Andrew. “This is my favorite song!” She sounded excited. “Did you know that it was about how Adele felt after her idiot lover jilted her?”

“No, I didn’t.” The bartender plunked down Andrew’s second drink and looked expectantly at him. Andrew fished out some change from his pocket and handed it to the bartender. “And I don’t particularly care, either. I’m not in the mood right now for some random, irrelevant statements.” He took a sip of his drink. “Who do you think you are, anyway?”

“I know I’m the best striker in the multiverse, but not everybody agrees with me. I know that I’m right, though. Corinne Martel-Burns, at your service. Everyone calls me Connie.”

Andrew looked surprised. “You’re the famous Corinne Martel-Burns?” He gave the Schottian player another look-over. “I thought you’d look… I don’t know, a bit fiercer.” Now that some time had passed since the Schottic striker’s comment about the song’s origins, Andrew realized that it perfectly described his, and the team’s, emotions. They felt like jilted lovers, frustrated and angry at the sudden turn of events. Not like he was going to tell any of that to Connie; he didn’t want to vindicate her.

“Well, that’s me.” She drained her shot glass in one gulp. “Excuse me, bartender -“ The hulking man came over again, still without saying a word. “I’d like some more of whatever this was,” she said, pointing at her empty glass. The bartender wordlessly moved over to the drink stocks, refilling her glass.

“Oh, by the way, Corinne-“

“Everybody calls me Connie. I told you this, didn’t I?” She sounded exasperated.

“You aren’t the best striker in the world. By far.”

She started to grow red in the face, and her voice started to rise. "You, you!" she started to yell. "How DARE you! Fucking cunt!" she sputtered out, her voice growing in intensity after every word. Her face grew redder by the instant, reaching the dark red shade of a ripe gala apple. It seemed to Andrew that she was about to slog him in the face, but she held back her clenched fist. The redness receded. "Sorry. I have a bit of a temper. Who might you be?"

"Andrew Arrowsword."

Connie started to laugh. "You're Andrew Arrowsword?" She continued to laugh. "Can't be! I know him well! He's a lot taller than you!"

A couple of bars of the Adele song filtered through the din to reach the conversing pair. "You had my heart inside of your hand... and you played it to the beat." The song ended, and some unrecognizable tune drifted out of the speakers. Andrew thought that Ceni's qualification group could be compared to that lover who jilted Adele - they had Ceni waiting and hopeful in the first half, and in the second, well, they played Ceni to the beat, so to speak. Everyone was ready for them, and Ceni bore the brunt.

"You obviously don't know him very well. He's standing right in front of you." He said all of this in a deadpan tone, although a bit of exasperation crept into his voice.

Her laughing started to trail off. "Are you fucking serious?" she asked. "I always thought you'd be... taller, being the son of a Drawkian and all."

"Well, I'm right here." He waved his hands over his whole body. "And no, I'm not tall. I get that a lot."

Connie started to laugh again. "Well, those Drawkians are tall, you'd think that the offspring of one of them would be pretty tall himself."

Andrew laughed at Connie's remark. "Genetics turns out to be quite weird when you're mixing two different species here."

"Ha, well, I'm taller than you. Watch." She stretched higher, standing on her tiptoes to try and match Andrew's height.

"No way." He stood on his tiptoes as well, trying to reach up to Connie's extended height. Both of them laughed as they tried to outdo each other.

"I win!" squealed Connie, sitting back down at her barstool. "Why are you here anyway? I didn't think you'd be much of a drinking type. I always imagined you as cool and cerebral, not crazy like me."

"That's a good question." Andrew drained his drink, opting not to purchase another one, for now. The cocktail had a bit of a kick to it; Andrew leaned back as the alcohol worked its magic on his body. "I guess that I wanted to stop thinking about our performance in the World Cup. I really thought we were going to go deep this time."

"Ha! Ha! You cunts are fucking losers. We Schottians went through the whole damn thing with a fucking perfect record." Andrew looked at her drink again; it had disappeared. He didn't know how many she'd had since he last noticed.

"Yes, I did know. I don't think rubbing it in my face is going to make me feel any better." As the music continued in the background, Andrew thought about Connie. The song Primadonna Girl came to mind; she acted like one. Now that he came to think about it, she certainly had... character. He snapped his fingers and remembered what had been bothering him about her, once a vague whisper in the back of his head: she had been charged for assault in Quebec before moving to Ceni. At this point, he half-expected her to do something rash at this nightclub, with all the alcohol in her system.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot. It's the fucking alcohol talking." Connie's reply snapped him out of his musings.

"No, I think that's you talking." Andrew's voice now had an edge to it; he wanted to walk away from this conversation before he needed to be carried away from it in a stretcher. "Anyway, since I'm done with my drinking for now, I think I'll head out." He stood up, pushing in his stool. "See you around, I guess."

"Hey! Wait up! Let me come with you!" Connie also stood up, pushing her stool in and hurrying to catch up with Andrew.

Andrew really didn't want to walk anywhere with Connie, but she remained insistent. He finally consented to her presence. "OK, fine, you can come with me," he said, with the chagrin in his voice evident. "But no hitting me, or punching me, or, actually, touching me at all. Promise me."

Connie smiled a little bit. "I promise."

The character of Corinne used with the permission of Schottia.

by **Vietmihn** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 8:31 pm

Vietmihn 1–1 Red Blackiland

That was on the news for a few days.

Some people were happy with it, including President Rodrigo, who us off on a state visit to Argentinstan, and many, many others,

But, if there is a good side, there is a bad side too.

Plainly, some people want us to do better.

- Midfielder

MATCH DESCRIPTION

The match started with the Vietmihn attackers pushing forward towards the Red Blackiland team's goal.

They were repelled by the defenders of RB. The attackers of RB decided to move forward. It had been 22.32 minutes, and the RB team decided to

Vietmihn's defense tried to block it, but the RB team saw a hole in the defense and scored over the goalies head to the left.

*WHEEEEEEEE*

It was the break at the middle.

They go back on the field, and the Vietmihn team pushes again.

The RB defenders move to a defending position.

"Move, move, move!", yells the Coach.

They hit the ball through the goal of the RB team, and it was just 20 minutes off the clock.

The ball was pushed forward and backwards for the rest of the game, with a few shots at the goals from both sides, but there were no more goals.

Cup of Harmony 70 Everything Thread - Eshan/Drawkland

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