Campionato Esportiva XXI - Everything Thread

[Kita-Hinode]

The clock ticked as the Hinodejin failed to crack the egg. Kyung-Ja didn't know if who was at fault was the manager or the team itself for not being creative enough. A line-up of oldies failed to do much and she now had to play the role of saviour, something she wasn't even sure she would be able to do after a season where she wouldn't be able to do much.

She looked up at a defender, the ball between her feet. As the defender tried to tackle her for the ball, she simply dragged the ball back a bit. She pulled it to the side, watching as the defender followed suit. Time clocked down. She looked up at the defender, expecting another tackle, which did come only for her to drag the ball back again. Her mind raced with ideas until she finally sorted something out.

She rolled the ball to one of her feet, raising it upwards, throwing the ball over the defender. There, she turned on the jets, pushing the ball forward with her chest before finally managing to get it on the ground. She passed by the defender, the first big chance of the Hinodejin. Sadly, she booted it out, but that was still something. An attempt.

van Cann went under a lot of flack after the game... and things proved to be quite troubling for the Greatest Empire of All Realms.

[Filindostan]

Part 1

Office of the Polisi Pilindo
San Marco, Filindostan

Brigadier General Bato was working on his office, when President Dorigo Dutete called his telephone number. He gave a go-signal to begin Operation Katay, an anti-drug campaign which planned to eradicate the drugs problem in the country. Bato mobilized his police forces to raid known drug dens and arrest people involved in dealing illegal drugs, and he told them not to hesitate to use force if needed.

The first week of this operation was an instant hit - with around ten known drug dens mostly located in Kabunuklan were raided. Hundreds of people involved were arrested, and interrogated with regards to who were operating these dens. Unfortunately, not all operations ended without much bloodshed - In the weeks that followed, tens were killed, trying to escape the police who were trying to arrest them. However, this trend began to rise, and some of these killings had some of the killed thought to have 'fought the police force', or in Filis terms, 'nanlaban'.

The month ended with sixty-five drug dens closed, most of which were in the southern part of the islands, 987 personalities arrested, and 201 killed in action. The move of the police have been criticized by politicians, media, and the netizens alike, with the latter two not buying to the 'nanlaban' idea of the policemen. Despite the criticisms they gathered, Dory and Bato were not done, and plan to intensify the operations to ensure that the country will be free from illegal drugs by six months.

They concentrated on the Pelita Raya island, as they haven't gathered much from their intel reports earlier in the month. Bato employed his best policemen, some of which were playing in the Filindostan's top flight football, to start the raids in the northeast island of Filindostan. The team unfortunately decided to relegate themselves with CSKA Filindo to the National League to focus more on these kinds of special police operations. Some of which are PO2 Kardo, and PO3 Aneric. They were led by SPO3 Sabelo, known for his ruthlessness, and being cold even to his subordinates. The young policemen, who aspire to be professional football players, have decided to quit the police and sign for the newly promoted teams, especially SC Buenavista 005, who were looking for some experienced players to bolster their chance of playoffs football in the upcoming season. But Bato decided to not dismiss them yet. They had to complete police operations in the Operation Katay in order for them to be granted dismissal, else, he might turn to Sabelo to kill the two.

Their next move? A raid to a suspected drug factory in a subdivision in Bandariyan. And their target? The notorious Manolo Marvin "Nolo" Matienzo.

Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva 1–2 Filindostan
Charalambos Karagounis Field, Charalambos, Port Thimpodopoulos, Fhulghamous Peninsula
FID Scorers: MMM (56'), Yakob (pen 76')
FiD Lineup: Gerry; Casimir (Mila Khalifa 85'), Dina Satyawan (c), Alex Jampang, Leomarie; Damaris (Zemira Zai 71'), Siharto, MMM, Yakob, Bienvenido (Bochog 67'), Fizzy

They say the better team wins matches. It was not the case in this match, and Willy knows it.

A very dubious penalty decision from the referee costed the Nova Anglicans the match, after he deemed that the centerback adjudged to have brought down Zemira Zai who was running at the sides but the replays showed that she fell down too easily, most likely causing a simulation. Yakob made sure that the penalty kick would count in the 76th.

It was a dull match at best, with the Nova Anglicans leading early in the 25th minute. The Pula Garudas never got a sniff at the goal in the first half, thanks to an atrocious display in midfield by Siharto. He would recover well in the second half to provide the first goal for the Filindos, getting a neat through ball to MMM who outran his defender, and shoot the ball past the goalie in the 56th. The opponents could have gone ahead, another error in judgement, this time by the linesman, interrupted their run to goal when the referee noticed the linesman raising his flag. Again, replays show that despite being meters ahead of the last defender, their star forward was not on an offside position when the pass was played.

"I feel for our opponents being robbed of at least a point today, but sometimes, we just take this win. It's a win after all, a crucial one." He said.

Willy is expected not to field Zemira Zai in the next match for her actions. King will return from his suspension in the next match against Racing on Matchday 3 after getting sent off against the Ponies in their Cup of Harmony exit. For the meantime, they will scout their next opponent at the Arena Marinos in Port Thimpodopoulos when the latter face their Matchday 1 opponents.

[Buyan]

Nice and calm, Ichi thought, that’s how I like my victories. If he gave it a second thought, he realized the same goes for defeats. Either way, he started to get convinced about the group size, which at first seemed like some sort of ridiculous scheme by the organization to get their money’s worth out of the entry tickets. Be what it is, it turned out to be a genius move in hindsight as the series of games allowed him to hone his squad, satisfy a bunch of players and gain confidence ahead of the real work.

The Racing game had been so textbook, it nearly worried him that it would come across as one big set-up to any outsider. A quick opening fifteen minutes with a ton of chances, which eventually got rewarded when Emil Eklund got his head against a cross from Carl Nyberg. The youngster was an ersatz solution to a slightly injured Okmiankas but had gained confidence when Avenida Leal decided to dig up their moneybags for the right-footed winger. A good choice to step outside his comfort zone – something that seemed to work out well for him in general.

Eight minutes later, the journalists could start their copy when Algiris Micaukis recovered the ball in midfield with a spicy tackle, delivered it to Valter Isaksson who made use of the open space – Racing getting caught out of position – to set up a double pass with Hedlund and slam it home from just outside the box. Somehow, the existence of players who managed to stay afloat at international level had relieved Valter of a lot of pressure when wearing the white shirt with the blue cross. The seeds were getting planted with a few key players eager to make the World Cup at least once in their careers combined with youngsters with the professionalism and maturity to do their bit. All he had to do now was melt it all together…

And the next twenty-some minutes showed there was some room for progress. The scorching pace couldn’t be upheld but it pleased Ichi that most mistakes were made due to the head still wanting to deliver what the body couldn’t cope with – and not a certain arrogance, or downright laziness. Some corrections were made, guys shook up and noses redirected to bring a solid second half. Add to that a promising entry of the substitutions, with Gustloff showing that he could do well in the Champions Cup, a hungry Karlsson eager to show the downfall of Tjelberg wasn’t his fault and Kaukenas… Being Kaukenas, running into a silly yellow for protest but hammering the leather in the top corner just when Racing dreamt of more for about a minute or two.

Three points, promising game, strong confidence… Ichi liked the drama of the game but as a coach, he knew, you had to enjoy those calm, solid victories and savor the knowledge that everything was all ri…

”Goddamned.”

Friekder Dandalleion wasn’t a swearing man, so Ichi did look a pinch surprised when his assistant smacked the newspaper on the table, muttering some curses. With a nod of his chin to the front page, he told Ichi all there was to know.

KAUKENAS: “A SCORER SHOULD PLAY AND I’M A SCORER”

Nice and calm.

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

UNKNOWNS EARN SHOCKING DRAW WITH KITA-HINODE

by Taylor Larsen,

There are some of you who might be paying attention to the Campionato Esportiva, since it is the only way that it seems like Newmanistan will play international soccer. If you are, perhaps you know who these people are. I really don’t. Soccer personnel say the Rockets are using the “secret roster technique” that they have seen in other sports, mainly the World Baseball Classic. This is when nation do not reveal the names of their players to the public, or to anyone. Usually, these nations also do not contribute in any fashion whatsoever. Some people may reference them as one-post wonders, as in they sign up, and then you never hear from them again. Nations that employ the secret roster strategy typically do not have success. They do not usually provide press releases, either.

Well, here you have it. In the game against Kita-Hinode, who qualified for the World Cup last year, the Rockets (we will still call them that) were an obvious underdog, even if Kita-Hinode was playing a bunch of scrubs. In baseball, sure, you go with the Rockets. In soccer, you better go with the.... Poltergheists? That’s a pretty unique name, actually kind of like it, but their fans surely found all their missed opportunities scary, as despite a 69-31 possession advantage over the Rockets, they could not find the back of the net.

The Rockets goalie, who we may know it is, and surely fans of our domestic soccer league know who it is by facial recognition, made some key saves, but some off-target shooting helped his cause, too. This is one of those results that make you wonder if the Rockets will sign up for World Cup 80. When they debuted initially, it was World Cup 40. So far, though, still no sign up.

[Newmanistan]

NEWMANISTAN "ROSTER"

The Rockets are going with the secret roster strategy with this tournament. Therefore, the names will not be announced. You may go with jersey numbers.

Starters:
G- #1
LB- #2
LCB- #4
RCB- #5
RB- #3
LM- #8
CAM- #9
CDM- #7
RM- #6
LS- #10
RS- #11

Subs:
G- #21
CB- #12
CB- #13
MID- #15
MID- #16
ST- #14
ST- #19

Reserves
G- #29
CB- #21
CB- #22
MID- #23
MID- #18
MID- #17
ST- #24
ST- #25

RP Permissions-
Do whatever you want.

Style Mod: 0

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

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CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XXI: FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA FA TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF POOR REFEREEING
By Malik Qazizadah


Assistant referee Bart Styles of the Fhulghamous Peninsula Football Association indicates for offside in the Campionato Esportiva match between Filindostan and Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva. The Fhulghamous Peninsula FA has agreed to conduct an investigation into poor refereeing decisions made in the game, which Filindostan won 2-1. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Ulysses Turogo)

PORT THIMPODOPOULOS, FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA - Today, Fhulghamous Peninsula president Rashidunnin Ali announced that the FPFA would be conducting an investigation concerning allegations of poor refereeing following comments made by the Filindostani press following the Campionato Esportiva match between Filindostan and Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva in which Filindostan won 2-1 but only on dodgy refereeing decisions, at least according to the Filindostanis.

"We have to take these things seriously as this is the only way that we can keep the beautiful game beautiful," Ali said in an official press conference in which he announced the initiation of the investigation.

"This is the first major international tournament being held in our beautiful colony and with our friends in Copper Cuprum," Ali said. "We wish to make a good impression on our fellow Esportivan nations and states with our first ever major tournament, and if they say that we have made some mistakes with regards to refereeing these games then we will surely look into it."

The allegations come from an unverified source from within the Filindostan media, which claimed that the match referee had failed to see that Filindostan's Zemira Zai had dived in order to get a penalty for her country and that the linesman had judged the Nova Anglicanan forward to be offside when the forward was actually a few meters onside.

No direct mention of these decisions was made during the official post-game press conference, with the only reference to it being Filindostan manager Willy Gurnawan's mention of his feeling that the Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva were robbed of a point.

The quality of refereeing in the Fhulghamous Peninsula has been a topic of contention both within the colony itself and within Abanhfleft in general, with Fhulghamousian referees consistently being ranked as among the worst in the APOC Coalition's member states. Rashidunnin Ali had already initiated measures to ensure the improvement of the quality of Fhulghamousian referees when he was appointed president of the FPFA back in 2021 but even he admits that they still have some way to go before reaching the improved standards that he hopes to achieve.

"The Fhulghamous Peninsula is a region of promise in the sport of football," Ali said in the press conference. "We want to make sure that our leagues, our teams, our players, and our officials reflect that promise properly."

[Copper Cuprum]

It's just the second day of the Campionato, yes, but don't get yourselves blown away right now so you don't have a mountain to climb in the next few matchdays, okay?

---

Group A
Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison 5–4 Boring Paradise
Asiana 1–4 Mattijana
Fhulghamous Peninsula 4–2 Tumbra

  Group A                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison           2   2  0  0    6   4  +2    6
2 Fhulghamous Peninsula                    1   1  0  0    4   2  +2    3
  Mattijana                                2   1  0  1    4   2  +2    3
4 Tumbra                                   2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
5 Natanians and Nosts                      1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
6 Boring Paradise                          2   0  1  1    4   5  −1    1
7 Asiana                                   2   0  0  2    1   5  −4    0

Group B
Racing 0–1 Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva
Noburu Taiyou 0–3 Buyan
South Covello 2–0 Ethane

  Group B                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Buyan                                    2   2  0  0    6   0  +6    6
2 South Covello                            1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    3
3 Filindostan                              1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
4 Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva   2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
5 Ethane                                   2   1  0  1    1   2  −1    3
6 Noburu Taiyou                            2   0  0  2    0   4  −4    0
  Racing                                   2   0  0  2    0   4  −4    0

Group C
Vangaziland 0–0 Coldfield
Saint Pierre Islands 1–0 Damukuni
Copper Cuprum 1–1 Apox

  Group C                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Vangaziland                              2   1  1  0    4   1  +3    4
2 Apox                                     2   1  1  0    3   1  +2    4
3 Saint Pierre Islands                     2   1  0  1    1   2  −1    3
4 Coldfield                                2   0  2  0    3   3   0    2
5 2nd Brazilian Empire                     1   0  1  0    3   3   0    1
6 Copper Cuprum                            1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
7 Damukuni                                 2   0  0  2    1   5  −4    0

Group D
Newmanistan 2–1 Thalamascia
Kalactinians are better 0–3 Kita-Hinode
Super-Llamaland 1–0 Brenecia

  Group D                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Kita-Hinode                              2   1  1  0    3   0  +3    4
2 Newmanistan                              2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
3 Brenecia                                 2   1  0  1    2   1  +1    3
4 Islana Lunigo                            1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
  Super-Llamaland                          1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
6 Thalamascia                              2   0  0  2    1   3  −2    0
7 Kalactinians are better                  2   0  0  2    0   5  −5    0

[Vangaziland]

FC Vang, the Vannish National Football Team, entered Campionato Esportiva XXI out of spirits of goodwill and competition amongst their Esportivan neighbors. The team is ranked 108th in the world, making them a developing prospect. The team follows the shadows of New Gazi, an independant African land bearing shared heritage with over 40% of Mainland Vangazi. FC Vang is looking for exposure, be it the World Cup, the Olympiad or the Campionato.

Vangaziland's attachment to the region of Esportiva is tied to the land of Barnicea. There native Slavs and descendants of Fieretean-Spanish sailors live in a land of sun and beauty. Barnicea could be seen as the opposite of the Vannish North, which can be cold and harsh. FC Vang is made up almost entirely of Northerners from the Mainlands of Vangaziland & Wrexwic. The team will expand more into the Barnicean pool soon, with many players just becoming eligible in time for the next World Cup.

The Vannish National Football Team faced Damukuni on MD1. FC Vang were the heavy underdogs against one of the world's more established programs. One of the first things which would stand out immediately would be the final scoreline.Vangaziland won 4-1. Teri Chambersen put up a career day, earning over 7 saves. Damukuni was not laying back in defeat.

Vannish defenders were having problems sticking with their opponents. The CBs had to help out the wing backs, who found themselves outpaced. Team strategy and a shifting defense helped counteract this issue.

The first game would be close until the last 20 minutes. There, Vangaziland would pick up 2 late goals which would quell the day's resistance.

"The score looks like things went one way", said CB Lukas Sundstrom. "It was a close game that could have went either way. They took a lot of shots. They brought aggression. We got together towards the end and motivated each other enough to rally."

A huddle formed after the team's Stryker, known only as Oskolde, took a hard foul. The players could be seen yelling together after a rousing speech by Captain Ed Hjoerleif. It was soon after this that the final two goals would fall, six minutes apart.

The team from Coldfield was up next on MD2. Once again, Vangaziland was the underdog.

"We love the game", said Oskolde. "A lot of the guys know they're not the world's best. But we have fun. We play hard. We fight. But it's all for the game." He would lead FC Vang into a game that turned out to be a stalemate.

Oskolde was being played closely as a cross came in. He had the freestyler's control to head it down along his body to his outside leg. He took a hit at the same time, pushing away a defender. He spun deftly and popped the ball, just away from the defender. It curved back in the direction Oskolde wanted to go. But just as he was about to take the shot, a defender intercepted.

It was one of the top highlights which never was (except for the fact that Vannish sports shows showed the clip dozens of times the next day). Of course, there were always traditionalists who said that a more traditional strike may have gotten off in time. Freestyle is enough of a part of Vannish tradition that most Vangazi would be on Oskolde's side.

FC Vang would have to settle for a scoreless draw. The Vannish side is 1-1-0 and standing atop the Group. It's still way too early to get attached to such a lead. "It's a good start", said Coach Jaden Fils. "We still have to play these teams again, not to mention the rest of the group. We've done well to show up thus far. I think we can still tighten things up and make use of lost oppurtunities."

[Kita-Hinode]

The Hinodejin were already two up over the Kalactin squadron. The rather banter based name didn't hinder the Polteirgheists who, after a lot of complaining from fans, saw Kagomi Kurosawa benched over Iori Saitou, while Park Ju-Won was replaced by Marisa Kyon. Filling up for Kyon, and making the difference in this duel, was Cherry Whitecastle.

The first Satyr to ever play for the Hinodejin national team, a native of the far-away lands of Kanteshima (with her noting some place called Cornwall as her homelands) gave truth to the legend of the Satyr for driving people off with their tunes. Her hoofed shot had already proved pretty problematic for the Indian offshore squad, although not having yet scored a single goal, had taken out some defenders just from the impact of such a kick.

The game was nearing its' finish, Saitou and Kyung-Ja having already scored their goals. The ball came down near the box, the defenders struggling to replace themselves. It was all a matter of time for them to boot the ball off and the game to finish as it was. A good end for the Hinodejin, leaving with three points and still, after all, unbeaten.

Cherry Whitecastle leaped into the air. Her hoofs made contact with the ball, thundering down towards the goal. A beaten keeper only looked towards the area behind him, finding a ball resting in the net. The satyr landed perfectly, dashing towards the corner flag, trying to dance like she did back as a child. Ah, yes. She could remember, the accordion of her grandfather, her parents and their flutes, the drum her little brother would play.

Hinodejin media loved the picture, a satyr dancing near the corner, her teammates running towards her and the distraught opponents not quite understanding why she was so happy about it. The Empire might not be in the best of states, but it's finding some footing.

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS GET A WIN

by Taylor Larson,

The soccer team is actually off to a good start right now, so if the baseball team chokes tomorrow against Darmen, you will still be able to watch a national team play, even if we don’t know their names. Ratings for the Campionato Esportiva have not been all that bad, considering that it is up against the World Baseball Classic, making some people believe that we should actually let people know who the names of our players are.

In watching the 2-1 win over Thalamascia, #’s 9 and 11 showed great chemistry with one another, leading people from Southport to say, “Of course they do, they are teammates at home,” but I cannot speculate. Actually, The Rocket Report has been told that we are not to let people know who the players are, even if we do know. Since I am not the biggest soccer fan, I do not have immediate facial recognition on the players, but sources in Southport have shown me the team program and then told me to look at these two players, and see for myself. So I did, and I think that they may be on to something. With the win, Newmanistan now has a record of 1-1-0 and they are now tied for first place. Not to bad really. Islana Lunigo is the next opponent for the team, and they will have a bye afterwards. Not to long from now, they will be playing Super-Llamaland, and that should be very appealing to all of us, especially if our team continues to show some halfway decent ability.

So, the question is whether or not the names of the players will be revealed. Rumors have it, that is the team makes it to the round of 16, they will have their names become known to the world. Although several Newmanistanian websites have done their homework and have posted the names of the players already.

[Filindostan]

Part 1
Part 2

Matienzo Residence, Hidup Lebih Baik Subdivision
Bandariyan, Filindostan

It was a quiet evening at the Matienzo Residence. Enzo just went home from training with Perodos. He was used to the eerie silence at night. It was a subdivision he and his brothers purchased when he was just starting playing professional football. "You won't get any money from that." Their parents said.

Enzo had two younger brothers, Robertto Marwin, and Manolo Marvin. Bertto, 16, was still at college, and is currently living in a dormitory at the other side of Filindostan, at UTP-J. He got a basketball scholarship, and thus, will play for them this upcoming season of college basketball. Nolo, 25, is the black sheep of the brothers. He was batchmates with King, and was always, if not often, get into trouble in his college, much to the dismay of their parents, and Enzo himself. With the help of King, he graduated college, though it took almost an expulsion for him to change his troublesome ways. Enzo thought that it would end there.

Mistake.

After graduation, Nolo joined the reserves at Peroperayog, just at the autonomous city at the northern part of the island. Here, he was acquainted with known drug personalities in the vicinity, and started using drugs for recreational use and painkillers. Nolo was not aware that the reserve league Peroperayog was included requires a random team member take a drug test after the match. In one of those matches, he was selected to take the drug test, and failed. This caused him to end his dream of playing Filindostani football like his brother. He continued his drug addiction, and when he was sent back to Bandariyan, he almost converted their house to a mini-drug laboratory, something Enzo was not aware of before his discovery.

This caused a stir between the brothers, and the younger sibling decided to move out. For some years, Nolo cut off communications between him and Enzo, to the point that he did not talk about it at all on his social media. He joined his cohorts in the village next to them, and continued his wayward ways. Just last week, police force went into that house, as part of Operation Katay. Four of them were arrested, with Nolo able to avoid police contact, with his gun and things intact, he moved back to his brother's house to hide.

He did not know that he left his ID on the raided house, along with the full address details. He and Enzo didn't know the police were arriving that night. The silence was broken when the siren of the police cars drowned the home of the Matienzos.

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

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CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XXI: FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA VS TUMBRA
By Malik Qazizadah


Fhulghamous Peninsula's Kieran Moskowitz reacts to a missed goal attempt against Tumbra. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Ulysses Turogo)

PORT THIMPODOPOULOS, FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA - The Fhulghamous Peninsula caused a historic upset in the 21st Campionato Esportiva after the Colonists came from behind to secure an unexpected 4-2 victory over the Esportivan number 4 Tumbra.

Tumbra went ahead on a John Krajewski penalty after Lucian von Frankreich tripped up Krajewski inside the penalty area, and the Tumbran striker cheekily chipped Capoeirista with a classic Panenka penalty.

But the Fhulghamous managed to equalize just ten minutes later after Max Fetfatzidis pounced on the rebound from Ryan Hughes' save of Kieran Moskowitz's shot, and then the Colonists gained the lead only three minutes later when Fetfatzidis nodded in the cross from Tatsuo Kamakura.

Moskowitz would not miss from close range ten minutes after Fetfatzidis' second goal when he was on hand to chip into goal the ball after Ryan Hughes had been forced into another save this time by Aidan Power Jr.'s corner kick, which was threatening to slide into the goal.

Sebastiano Pelucci was subbed off at half-time by Fhulghamous manager Orestes Katsouranis Jr., and in his place came on Keenan O'Mitchell, who completed the Fhulghamousian turnaround with a smashing strike on the volley of his own.

Tumbran substitute Oliver Ganson, a regular visitor of Arena Marinos with Abanhfleft's Rosenpfelblatz City, nodded home a Tumbran corner near the death to make the score a little more respectable for the visitors.

Fhulghamous Peninsula national football team manager Orestes Katsouranis Jr.: "I'm certainly very surprised, in a happy way of course, that we got a result like this against Tumbra, which is generally acknowledged as one of the best nations in Esportiva. Our boys could have easily given up the ghost when Tumbra got the first goal in, but they didn't. Our boys fought back, and victory is a just reward for them all. But we cannot expect the other games to be this easy from here on out. The other countries will have studied us and they will know how to deal with us by then."

 FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA 4 - 2 TUMBRA
FETFATZIDIS (20', 23')       KRAJEWSKI (10' pen)
       MOSKOWITZ (33')       GANSON (89')
      O'MITCHELL (59')

TUMBRA
GK: 1 R. Hughes
RB: 5 Reyes
RCB: 4 Bailey
LCB: 3 Brooks (Keum - 89')
LB: 2 Lester
RM: 6 Butler (Hannity - 51')
LM: 7 Rhys-Stevens
RW: 10 E. Hughes
CAM: 9 Alexander
LW: 8 Hussein
ST: 11 Krajewski (Ganson - 80')

FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
GK: 21 Capoeirista
RB: 45 Palomer
RCB: 4 Hainaut
LCB: 5 Singerstein
LB: 3 Kamakura
RM: 14 Edison
RCM: 7 Moskowitz
LCM: 17 von Frankreich (Lovejoy - 69')
LM: 8 Power Jr. (Tavistock - 76')
RS: 19 Sebastiano (O'Mitchell - 46')
LS: 9 Fetfatzidis

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 49%
Tumbra: 51%
Shots
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 10 (5 on target)
Tumbra: 9 (5 on target)
Corners
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 3
Tumbra: 5
Fouls
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 20
Tumbra: 10

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

Here comes the sun, and she is the brightest star of all. Who will be the brightest star for the Campionato Esportiva today?

---

Group A
Mattijana 4–6 Fhulghamous Peninsula
Boring Paradise 0–1 Asiana
Natanians and Nosts 1–0 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison

  Group A                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Fhulghamous Peninsula                    2   2  0  0   10   6  +4    6
2 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison           3   2  0  1    6   5  +1    6
3 Natanians and Nosts                      2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
4 Mattijana                                3   1  0  2    8   8   0    3
5 Tumbra                                   2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
6 Asiana                                   3   1  0  2    2   5  −3    3
7 Boring Paradise                          3   0  1  2    4   6  −2    1

Group B
Buyan 0–0 South Covello
Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva 1–0 Noburu Taiyou
Filindostan 3–0 Racing

  Group B                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Buyan                                    3   2  1  0    6   0  +6    7
2 Filindostan                              2   2  0  0    5   1  +4    6
3 Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva   3   2  0  1    3   2  +1    6
4 South Covello                            2   1  1  0    2   0  +2    4
5 Ethane                                   2   1  0  1    1   2  −1    3
6 Noburu Taiyou                            3   0  0  3    0   5  −5    0
7 Racing                                   3   0  0  3    0   7  −7    0

Group C
Damukuni 3–4 Copper Cuprum
Coldfield 4–2 Saint Pierre Islands
2nd Brazilian Empire 1–2 Vangaziland

  Group C                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Vangaziland                              3   2  1  0    6   2  +4    7
2 Coldfield                                3   1  2  0    7   5  +2    5
3 Apox                                     2   1  1  0    3   1  +2    4
4 Copper Cuprum                            2   1  1  0    5   4  +1    4
5 Saint Pierre Islands                     3   1  0  2    3   6  −3    3
6 2nd Brazilian Empire                     2   0  1  1    4   5  −1    1
7 Damukuni                                 3   0  0  3    4   9  −5    0

Group D
Kita-Hinode 2–1 Super-Llamaland
Thalamascia 3–1 Kalactinians are better
Islana Lunigo 0–1 Newmanistan

  Group D                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Kita-Hinode                              3   2  1  0    5   1  +4    7
2 Newmanistan                              3   2  1  0    3   1  +2    7
3 Brenecia                                 2   1  0  1    2   1  +1    3
4 Thalamascia                              3   1  0  2    4   4   0    3
5 Super-Llamaland                          2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
6 Islana Lunigo                            2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
7 Kalactinians are better                  3   0  0  3    1   8  −7    0

[Newmanistan]

Tara Scott, the manager of the Southport Tigers baseball team, gets a call from Daniel Holstrom, the team’s general manager.

Holstrom: Tara, are you busy?

Scott: Hello boss, no not really. I was just watching a soccer game.

Holstrom: Soccer, why?

Scott: What else is there to do? The baseball team choked in the World Baseball Classic. Very disappointing, but the Campinato Esportiva is going on, so why not?

Holstrom: That’s fine, but we have to talk about Ducky Fitzhugh. His agent says he is really interested in playing here. He has taken kindly to our offer and is very interested in playing here. I know you are salivating over him and Mallory Harris in the same heart of the order.

Scott: He won’t be in any other lineup where he has a player his equal in the same lineup. We need to make this happen.

Holstrom: The $38.6 Million per year for five years is appealing. Jessicaville offered a little more, we think, but he knows this is the place for him.

Scott: What are Loudon and Pocono City doing?

Holstrom: Pocono City’s payroll is too high, I think. I believe they would love to have but realize that they probably can’t win out in the bidding war. To my knowledge, they have not offered anything, which probably means they just do not want to get involved. Loudon wants to spend the big bucks on a pitcher behind Duvall, plus they know Courtney is not getting any younger. I am pretty stunned that they have not made a bid, but it is what it is. We are the frontrunners in Newmanistan, but we have competition elsewhere.

Scott: Super-Llamaland?

Holstrom: Yeah, for the most part.

Scott: We need to get him here, but by the same token, I’d rather him go to Super-Llamaland then to say, Jessicaville.

Holstrom: A couple small leagues are involved too. A player of his caliber has nothing to prove with going to a small league. Brattleboro from Cassadaigua is interested as well, but I can’t see that being a fit.

Scott: For his career, there is no better option. He would hit third ahead of Mallory Harris. It works better with him third and Mallory fourth. He has to get pitches to hit that way. No one will pitch around him knowing Mallory comes up next.

Holstrom: If he wants to counter for more money, we can up it, but right now I think he is looking for a fit. He’s already a rich man and knows he will get a lot richer regardless. Well, I thought you would want the update.

Scott: Thanks, I appreciate it.

Holstrom: How’s the soccer game going?

Scott: It’s low scoring, like I wish our baseball games had been in the Classic.

[Kita-Hinode]

Damian Bao advanced with the ball, the Hinodejin Empire once again on the defence of an explosive attack. Penbrooke already proved how deadly the Llamanean brand of counter-attacks, dubbed "Explosive Football", could be as he scored the first goal of the match on such an occasion. Still, one of the Hinodejin was certain that they could counter that with something simple.

Koru Simishi slid in with a tackle, booting the ball up afterwards. Marisa Kyon managed to have some reach of the ball, keeping it up long enough to avoid a Llamanean tackle before she passed onwards to Iori Saitou. The number 21 looked viciously towards the goal, dashing with a power that had already granted the team the tie.

But then he did the odd thing and booted the ball to the other side of the field, finding Taria Shimikage near the box. Funnily enough, she chose to wait for one Adrian Lindberg to mark her. She shrugged, hoofing it back to Yuu Maki, who circled it to Akimaru Souji. Souji passed the ball back to Simishi who once again booted the ball up. A commotion formed in the Llamanean box.

And among the mess, Hinode's number 22 emerged. Suijin Minami appeared, sliding through the defence like water, much like her namesake. She gave a swift kick to the ball, sending it crashing against the net. The scoreboard ticked. Kita-Hinode 2, Super-Llamaland 1. It just washed thru their fingers.

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

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

CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XXI: MATTIJANA VS FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
By Malik Qazizadah


Fhulghamous Peninsula's Max Fetfatzidis celebrates the first of his three goals against Mattijana. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Ulysses Turogo)

PORT THIMPODOPOULOS, FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA - The Fhulghamous Peninsula overcame incredible odds once again to claim yet another scalp in the 21st Campionato Esportiva, this time the Esportivan number 10 Mattijana falling against one of the tournament's two hosts.

Following the Colonists' unexpected victory over Esportiva's number 4 nation Tumbra, spirits were high but expectations were also naturally tempered by the fact that the Fhulghamous has previously underperformed in the Campionato.

And it looked as if the heady atmosphere brought about by the Colonists' victory over Tumbra was finally about to be burst by Mattijana, especially after their star forward Andreas Weiss nipped in behind the Fhulghamous defense and pounced on the ball after Capoeirista had made a save against Weiss' strike partner Mathilde Lekarisa.

Max Fetfatzidis then popped up in the middle of the area to head in the equalizer just five minutes later, nodding home the cross from Aidan Power Jr, but Weiss struck against three minutes from the half-hour to hand the lead back to Mattijana.

Once again Fetfatzidis was there to pull the Fhulghamous back on level terms with yet another headed goal, and then the Rosenpfelblatz City striker finally completed his hat trick and gave the Peninsula the lead just five minutes later with a sublime volleyed strike into the roof of the net, only for Jessika Struna to end up being in the right place at the right time to poke home the ball after Capoeirista made an absolutely limp save on Andreas Weiss' shot.

In the second half, Mattijana appeared to have recovered from the Fhulghamousians' fightback as well as Max Fetfatzidis' hat trick, and they soon regained the lead after Mathilde Lekarisa's shot swept past Capoeirista's outstretched fingertips and slipped into the far post. Mattijana also had chances to close out the game but strikes from Andreas Weiss, Lekarisa, and Jessika Struna all went the wrong sides of the goalposts and the bar.

And then the entire complexion of the match changed as soon as Salvatore Pelucci came on in the 75th minute, and the AFC Langtree striker made an immediate impact in the game, equalizing for the Colonists just two minutes after coming on, giving them the lead in the 85th minute and then making sure of the result in the third of three minutes of added time to give two Fhulghamousian players two match balls to bring home.

Fhulghamous Peninsula national football team manager Orestes Katsouranis Jr.: "The boys were still in quite a mood after our victory against Tumbra so when Mattijana scored the first goal against us today, I thought we were finally get pulled down to reality. But the dream lives on. The boys want to keep fighting for that dream, and they're all fighting in the name of the Fhulghamous Peninsula as well."

       MATTIJANA 4 - 6 FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
WEISS (14', 27')       FETFATZIDIS (19', 36', 41')
    STRUNA (45')       SALVATORE (77', 85', 90+3')
  LEKARISA (57')

FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
GK: 21 Capoeirista
RB: 45 Palomer (Tzorvas - 51')
RCB: 4 Hainaut
LCB: 5 Singerstein
LB: 3 Kamakura
RM: 14 Edison
RCM: 7 Moskowitz
LCM: 17 von Frankreich (Lovejoy - 72')
LM: 8 Power Jr.
RS: 19 Sebastiano (Salvatore - 75')
LS: 9 Fetfatzidis

MATTIJANA
GK: 12 L. Handanovic
RB: 5 Illisevic
RCB: 4 Burnisevic
LCB: 3 Crajasovic
LB: 2 Neumann
RM: 9 Struna (Adrianov - 68')
RCM: 7 Hojbjerg
LCM: 15 Jakupovic
LM: 6 Bisrali (Velezia - 81')
RS: 11 Weiss
LS: 10 Lekarisa

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Mattijana: 50%
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 50%
Shots
Mattijana: 15 (10 on target)
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 12 (7 on target)
Corners
Mattijana: 7
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 7
Fouls
Mattijana: 15
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 22

[Filindostan]

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NATIONAL | BUSINESS | PROVINCIAL | INTERNATIONAL | SPORTS | ENTERTAINMENT

---

FOOTBALL
Campionato Esportiva: Can the Pula Garudas make it to the quarterfinals?

PORT THIMPODOPOULOS, FHULGAMOUS PENINSULA - The Pula Garudas of Filindostan remained unbeaten after three days of matches in the 21st Campionato Esportiva, after dispatching Racing, 3-0. Dina Satyawan scored two goals off corners in the first half, before a Yakob volley in the second half dispatched a pesky Racing side still looking for their first win and first goal of the tournament.

This leaves Filindostan second in their group, having rested the second matchday, and with the two of the higher seeds in the tournament cancelled themselves out, it would be a perfect time for the Filindos to run rough-shed in their next match here in Port Thimpodopoulos, against Noboru Taiyou, and grab the lead of Group B before the crucial set of matches against South Covello, Ethane, and Buyan, in which the former two made the World Cup finals in Drawkland and Ceni, and the latter being former two-time Campionato winners.

Should they flunk these matches, they will hope that surprises will shock the Group A standings, as of writing, Fhulghamous Peninsula are leading the group, with Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison second place, and Mattijana, the last edition's hosts, struggling with two defeats to their name already. Willy, the manager of the Pula Garudas, hope that the stars align with them and they could advance to their first quarterfinals appearance.

Written by FSNA Staff.

[Copper Cuprum]

It had been three days since the body of the late Chief Gon had been sewn up in a bag made of banana and coconut leaves. Following this symbolic return to the womb for the late chief, it was now time to smoke the body and preserve it for future generations of both the royal household and the Copperite people to look upon, as was tradition. Uncle Doc, the royal family's shaman, covered the chief's body with handmade ochre paint made from rubbing two sandstone rocks together and then mixing the resulting dust with water and some gum paste. Then the body was removed from its banana leaf bag and then placed on a rack over a wood fire made from the wood of a ritually consecrated tree (which had been selected by the deceased when they had come of age) alongside ritually important herbs and leaves to ensure that the smoke that touches the body is also ritually pure. A makeshift room of wooden poles and banana leaves is then placed over the rack to ensure that the body is smoked evenly.

The smoking of the body continues for another three days before the body of the late chief is taken out of the "smoking hut" and is now ready for display. First, only the immediate family members can gaze upon the body on the first day after the smoking, and then as the days pass, the circle of familiarity expands to include members of the extended family to friends of the family until finally, even strangers can gaze upon the preserved body without disturbing the soul of the deceased. This is when the body of the late Chief of Copper Cuprum is finally allowed to be displayed to the public as the local form of lying in state.

Once the body has completed its stay in the smoking hut, the deceased has ritually joined their ancestors in the spirit realm, and the throne of the Chiefdom now lies empty. Prince Deg is widely expected to be the next Chief of Copper Cuprum according to the Western primogeniture laws adopted by Copper Cuprum by Chief Zed in 1920 as a way to end the constant infighting caused by the deaths of previous Chiefs in years past. Prince Deg's ritual purification before his assumption of the Copperite throne meant that he missed the action of the first matchday of the 21st Campionato Esportiva being hosted by both Copper Cuprum and the Fhulghamous Peninsula, had Copper Cuprum actually played a game then. Contrary to popular belief in which the tournament hosts were supposed to play the tournament's opening game, both Copper Cuprum and the Fhulghamous had opted to give themselves the first day bye and leave the trouble of starting off the tournament to the rest of the competition.

Prince Deg was right in the middle of a ritual purification bath when Copper Cuprum's first game in the Campionato finally rolled around so he was unavailable to play that day. But whether Prince Deg could have actually made a difference on that day is still up for question, although Copper Cuprum was able to salvage a 1-1 draw against Apox, a result that was most unexpected from the perspectives of everyone involved. Alpha Gandhi's 15th minute strike was canceled out by a very late equalizer from Wesley Weyler in the fifth minute of added time when the fourth official had only signaled for four minutes as well. But Prince Deg had finally managed to complete his five ritual purifying baths in time for matchday three of the Campionato and the game against Damukuni.

Now that game against Damukuni was absolutely crazy. The lead swung every which way as both sides seemed like they were able to score at will. Prince Deg scored a brace to equalize and then give the lead to Copper Cuprum. Opatop Lazarovski scored a second equalizer for the Copperites before young Douglas Jameson, son of famous Fleftic attacking midfielder Finlay Jameson finally scored the deciding goal of the game to win Copper Cuprum their first three points. Some were saying that this was a sign that Prince Deg was indeed meant to become Chief of Copper Cuprum. But it wouldn't become official until after Prince Deg had been crowned Chief, and he himself had declared that he would rather defer the coronation until after the Campionato Esportiva so as not to distract the people of Copper Cuprum from their football too much (and he was also a very avid football fan himself).

And yet his teammates and even the Copperite commentators were already beginning to call Prince Deg "Chief Deg", and a number of online resources were also beginning to change the names of Copper Cuprum's cities to "Wa Deg", "Bed Deg", "Ons Deg", and the like. A few cheeky football fans had also begun changing the names of their teams to, and to use the most recent champion of the Copperite National League as an example, "Vay Deg Eels". Yes, it was Copperite custom to change the names of cities and everything else connected to the cities to the name of the sitting chief once the former chief had been properly ritually joined to his ancestors, but seeing as Prince Deg was not yet crowned Chief, it would still be some time before those changes would be made official.

[Copper Cuprum]

Is it going to be lonely at the top for you or lonely at the bottom? Or maybe you're going to be lonely in the middle of the table?

---

Group A
Asiana 0–3 Natanians and Nosts
Fhulghamous Peninsula 3–1 Boring Paradise
Tumbra 2–6 Mattijana

  Group A                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Fhulghamous Peninsula                    3   3  0  0   13   7  +6    9
2 Natanians and Nosts                      3   2  1  0    4   0  +4    7
3 Mattijana                                4   2  0  2   14  10  +4    6
4 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison           3   2  0  1    6   5  +1    6
5 Tumbra                                   3   1  0  2    5  10  −5    3
6 Asiana                                   4   1  0  3    2   8  −6    3
7 Boring Paradise                          4   0  1  3    5   9  −4    1

Group B
Noburu Taiyou 0–2 Filindostan
South Covello 2–0 Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva
Ethane 0–1 Buyan

  Group B                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Buyan                                    4   3  1  0    7   0  +7   10
2 Filindostan                              3   3  0  0    7   1  +6    9
3 South Covello                            3   2  1  0    4   0  +4    7
4 Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva   4   2  0  2    3   4  −1    6
5 Ethane                                   3   1  0  2    1   3  −2    3
6 Noburu Taiyou                            4   0  0  4    0   7  −7    0
  Racing                                   3   0  0  3    0   7  −7    0

Group C
Saint Pierre Islands 2–2 2nd Brazilian Empire
Copper Cuprum 1–0 Coldfield
Apox 3–0 Damukuni

  Group C                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Apox                                     3   2  1  0    6   1  +5    7
2 Vangaziland                              3   2  1  0    6   2  +4    7
3 Copper Cuprum                            3   2  1  0    6   4  +2    7
4 Coldfield                                4   1  2  1    7   6  +1    5
5 Saint Pierre Islands                     4   1  1  2    5   8  −3    4
6 2nd Brazilian Empire                     3   0  2  1    6   7  −1    2
7 Damukuni                                 4   0  0  4    4  12  −8    0

Group D
Kalactinians are better 0–2 Islana Lunigo
Super-Llamaland 3–0 Thalamascia
Brenecia 0–1 Kita-Hinode

  Group D                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Kita-Hinode                              4   3  1  0    6   1  +5   10
2 Newmanistan                              3   2  1  0    3   1  +2    7
3 Super-Llamaland                          3   2  0  1    5   2  +3    6
4 Islana Lunigo                            3   2  0  1    3   1  +2    6
5 Brenecia                                 3   1  0  2    2   2   0    3
6 Thalamascia                              4   1  0  3    4   7  −3    3
7 Kalactinians are better                  4   0  0  4    1  10  −9    0

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS CANT LOOK PAST NEXT OPPONENT

by Taylor Larson,

Next up for Newmanistan is a nation referred to as Kalactins are better. This is certainly a nominee for one of the strangest names of a nation that is our there. Why not just call them Northeast Kalactin, or something? Well, no matter what the name of the nation is, they are the next opponent for our anonymous team, and they have pretty much sucked so far. So far, they have four losses in four games, scoring just one goal, while conceding ten. It’s the type of opponent that should be an easy win for Newmanistan, but that’s never how these games play out. The Rockets will need to be sure not to get too complacent coming off of their bye for this match, and that they cannot be looking past this game for the game that follows, which is against Super-Llamaland. If you told me that they would be playing Super-Llamaland this time of year, as the World Baseball Classic semifinals are going on, I’d be really excited, but our soccer team only needs to look at the baseball team to see what happens to chokers. Super-Llamaland is still alive in the World Baseball Classic, and the finals series is taking place now between them and Cassadaigua. Well, technically it’s a semifinal series, but everyone knows the winner of that semifinal will win the title.

The Scootalove City press probably doesn’t read Campinato Esportiva press releases, after all!

[Filindostan]

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NATIONAL | BUSINESS | PROVINCIAL | INTERNATIONAL | SPORTS | ENTERTAINMENT

---

FOOTBALL
Noboru Taiyou 0-2 Filindostan: Pula Garudas maintain unbeaten start for the Campionato

THEREISNOGODABAD, FHULGAMOUS PENINSULA - The Pula Garudas have done their job.

If there was one target for the Filindostani football team, that was to win all their opening three matches, against equal or inferior opposition. And they were able to deliver it.

Despite looking very shaky in their opening win over Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva, they looked the opposite when the played Racing and Noboru Taiyou, the latter looking like a shadow of their former selves when they lost 2-0 to the Filindos courtesy of a rare goal by Fizzy Ramdani and a bullet of a rarer goal from Alex Jampang, securing three important points for the Pula Garudas.

It was not a smooth sailing game as anyone expected. There were still signs of Taiyouese resilience when they were able to withstand the pressure from the 20th ranked team in Esportiva, keeping them scoreless in the first fifty-seven minutes. By the next minute though, they were stonked with a unexpected driver from the Perouno defender, surprising everyone, including coach Willy, and even himself. They doubled the lead through Fizzy, who replaced an almost ineffective Bienvenido by the 65th minute, scoring with her very first touch of the ball.

With three of the six teams already faced by the Filindos (and beaten), their resolve will be put into the test when they face South Covello, currently Esportiva's number 1 team, and placed third in the last World Cup held in Ceni and Drawkland. While Filindostan is not expected to win that match, they hope to make their opponents deserve their win at the least.

Written by FSNA Staff.

---

This was the first news article in which the comments section was opened to the public. The editors of the article were confident that with the acquisition of GarudaSportsPortal's contract to provide the sports database, it could pave the way for people to let their voices be heard via the comments section. There was already a blogsite run by a personality called 'Anniesaur' who enabled comments in her article. Unfortunately, most of the comments were trolls. There was even one comment which were downvoted by users and was not able to be taken down immediately by the site administrators, causing a massive downtime to the databases of the blogsite, impacting the blog and other associated sites.

To counter this, an account providing commentary must be a valid account, meaning they have to be registered first to the beritafilindo.fid site and verify their idenity via a valid filindoid.com.fid e-mail address, which is unique to each person upon applying for their national ID. This way, online trolls can be mitigated, which have been a rising problem in online social networking sites in the country. With most of the population using these kinds of sites - the youngest registered user being aged six - one had to verify the email address by her cousin (aged 18) who does not use social media very much - to be able to register.

At the start of the comments section, some very civilized discussions were taking place, such as discussing which was the better substitution option for Willy against the Taiyouese. However, as the comments being posted one by one, online trolls registered through hacked email accounts began to infest the comments section of the Berita Filindo site.

It started with comments like these:

user6161
Fizzy scoring a goal? More like keeping the seat warm for Ina #threeGoalMeister

juanpayb
@user6161 That was rude and uncalled for. Fizzy still having at it, as shown in the match against #NoboruTaiyou

richisamole
WILLY OUT! NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR NATIONAL TEAM! WE SHOULD BEAT THESE LOSER 9-0 AND 10-0!

Until one of the comments was posted like this:

testuser000 - COMMENT MODERATED

Want to have a longer pogo stick? Try TITUS GEL!

The moderators of the site took notice of the comment posted by the user, and it was obviously a troll comment. Upon seconds, the post was deleted, and the moderator turned off comments for the post as things were already heated in the comments section.

The Berita Filindo site admins decided not to open comments in their future sports articles. "Some Filindos are really uncurable trolls." they remarked.

[Copper Cuprum]

This was probably the third time that Copper Cuprum's game was branded as "the biggest game in the history of Copperite football." Well, it couldn't be avoided. This was Copper Cuprum's first ever sporting tournament involving nations which weren't from the APOC Coalition. And the tournament also coincided with the death of Chief Gon, which naturally had the people of the Chiefdom in a state of mourning. But as the tournament was just a few days when Chief Gon passed, the Chiefdom had no choice but to continue with the tournament anyway and prepare for the transition of power to Prince Deg behind the scenes.

Of course, Prince Deg making himself part of the Copperite team time and time again served to delay that process even though the Prince himself had said that he would rather be crowned after the Campionato Esportiva so that the people wouldn't be too distracted from the football. But thankfully for the shamans, Prince Deg took his duty to the country as seriously as he did his football, and the Prince took care to not miss any of the five ritual baths that he needed to take before he could be considered ritually clean and pure enough to ascend to the throne, although the second of those two baths did come just before Copper Cuprum played their first game in the 21st Campionato Esportiva. The Copperites came out of that game against Apox with a 1-1 draw; Wesley Weyler nipping in behind the Apoxian defense to earn his side possibly an undeserved point in the fifth minute of added time when the fourth official had only called for four.

Some would say that Copper Cuprum's first victory in the current Campionato, a 4-3 win over Damukuni, was also an undeserved three points for them. By that time, Prince Deg had already completed his five ritual baths and he was now ready for action for the Copperite team. The Prince scored the first equalizer of the game to make it 1-1 on 32 minutes before Prince Deg scored Copper Cuprum's second goal just five minutes later. Prince Deg also played a part in Opatop Lazarovski's second equalizer to put the score at 3-3 by making the attempt on goal that the Damukuni goalkeeper parried only as far as Lazarovski's feet, and from that close range even Opatop Lazarovski couldn't miss.

Now Copper Cuprum was up against Coldfield. Two draws (a score draw against their rivals the Second Brazilian Empire and a 0-0 against Vangaziland) had seen Coldfield rise to second place in Group C while Copper Cuprum's opening day bye saw them trying to make up ground on the group leaders. First, of course, there was that score draw against Apox, and then the crazy win over Damukuni. Now it was Coldfield who were up next, and with the other team now going on a bit of a good run, it looked as if it was going to be a really, really tough test for the Copperites.

As expected, Coldfield really gave the Copperites a good go in this match. A win against Copper Cuprum would have made Coldfield the outright leaders of Group C with eight points in the bag. Meanwhile, a victory for Copper Cuprum would push them right into the thick of the fight for the top place in the group so the Copperites weren't just sitting back but pushing to attack as well when they had the chance. However, this only meant that both sides cancelled each other out for the entirety of the first half. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it wasn't necessarily a good thing either.

Then, finally, the breakthrough came. Prince Deg had been forced out to the wing by the tight Coldfield defense marking so he did the only thing available for him to do at that time and kicked a cross into the box. The ball flew over the heads of those people, Copperite and Coldfieldian, who were in the middle of the box, but the ball did fall kindly for a person who was at the edge of the box, Copperite left winger Tyrone Zudazet. The 34-year-old winger from Abanhfleft's Gyouza Young Lads somehow found himself in the right place at the right time to throw his head at the ball. The Coldfield goalkeeper made to rush back to the near post from Tyrone's perspective, but too late; Tyrone had already headed the ball in between the gap between the post and the goalkeeper's head.

It would turn out to be the only goal of the game, not that both teams didn't try to get some more goals. But the referee finally blew his whistle to signal for the end of the game, and the Princess Hawana Stadium (named after one of Prince Deg's beloved aunts and an avid football fan just like him) erupted in cheers for their team. Of course, this joy couldn't last for very long. One of Prince Deg's retainers approached him and said, "I have bad news, your Majesty. Uncle Doc has passed away. His son just told me a few minutes ago, after the game ended."

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

Will you get back to the old days when your team was top of your group or will have to fight it out with the other teams some more?

---

Group A
Boring Paradise 1–1 Tumbra
Natanians and Nosts 1–2 Fhulghamous Peninsula
Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison 3–1 Asiana

  Group A                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Fhulghamous Peninsula                    4   4  0  0   15   8  +7   12
2 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison           4   3  0  1    9   6  +3    9
3 Natanians and Nosts                      4   2  1  1    5   2  +3    7
4 Mattijana                                4   2  0  2   14  10  +4    6
5 Tumbra                                   4   1  1  2    6  11  −5    4
6 Asiana                                   5   1  0  4    3  11  −8    3
7 Boring Paradise                          5   0  2  3    6  10  −4    2

Group B
Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva 0–0 Ethane
Filindostan 1–0 South Covello
Racing 1–0 Noburu Taiyou

  Group B                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Filindostan                              4   4  0  0    8   1  +7   12
2 Buyan                                    4   3  1  0    7   0  +7   10
3 South Covello                            4   2  1  1    4   1  +3    7
4 Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva   5   2  1  2    3   4  −1    7
5 Ethane                                   4   1  1  2    1   3  −2    4
6 Racing                                   4   1  0  3    1   7  −6    3
7 Noburu Taiyou                            5   0  0  5    0   8  −8    0

Group C
Coldfield 4–3 Apox
2nd Brazilian Empire 1–7 Copper Cuprum
Vangaziland 1–0 Saint Pierre Islands

  Group C                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Copper Cuprum                            4   3  1  0   13   5  +8   10
2 Vangaziland                              4   3  1  0    7   2  +5   10
3 Coldfield                                5   2  2  1   11   9  +2    8
4 Apox                                     4   2  1  1    9   5  +4    7
5 Saint Pierre Islands                     5   1  1  3    5   9  −4    4
6 2nd Brazilian Empire                     4   0  2  2    7  14  −7    2
7 Damukuni                                 4   0  0  4    4  12  −8    0

Group D
Thalamascia 1–0 Brenecia
Islana Lunigo 0–0 Super-Llamaland
Newmanistan 4–0 Kalactinians are better

  Group D                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Newmanistan                              4   3  1  0    7   1  +6   10
2 Kita-Hinode                              4   3  1  0    6   1  +5   10
3 Super-Llamaland                          4   2  1  1    5   2  +3    7
4 Islana Lunigo                            4   2  1  1    3   1  +2    7
5 Thalamascia                              5   2  0  3    5   7  −2    6
6 Brenecia                                 4   1  0  3    2   3  −1    3
7 Kalactinians are better                  5   0  0  5    1  14 −13    0

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

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

CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XXI: NATANIANS AND NOSTS VS FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
By Malik Qazizadah


The Fhulghamous Peninsula national football team in action against Natanians and Nosts. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Ulysses Turogo)

PORT THIMPODOPOULOS, FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA - The Fhulghamous Peninsula continued on their incredible run of form in the 21st Campionato Esportiva in the form of a battling victory against Natanians and Nosts.

The Colonists, which had been on a three-game winning streak since the start of the tournament, when they as host nations were given the bye on the first day, were feeling very good coming into the game, but their good was suddenly and immediately deflated in the 17th minute after Ion Caius Ademelsson snuck past Pau Palomer and struck home a wonderful shot into the roof of the net.

Natanians and Nosts actually had a chance to double their advantage through Joao Cravelha but a well-timed tackle by Naftali Singerstein stopped what would most probably have been a golden goalscoring opportunity from the visitors.

Sebastiano Pelucci then had a chance to equalize denied by the quick hands and insanely long arms of Xose Foslio Probo, who shoved away Sebastiano's curling shot to the far post for the only Fhulghamousian corner of the game, which the Colonists failed to capitalize on.

Natanians and Nosts had practical control of the game up to the hour mark, when the Fhulghamousians began stringing together more and more passes and putting more and more pressure on the Natanians and Nosts midfield as well.

The Colonists' efforts were finally rewarded after Max Fetfatzidis was scythed down inside the box by Marcos Tarquinio Ivanov, who was lucky enough to escape with only a booking from the referee, and Fetfatzidis slammed home the resulting penalty into the top right corner.

Both sides were not content for the draw however, and both sides continued to pepper the goals with shots, but Xose Foslio Probo was practically the better keeper as he was able to catch a number of Fhulghamousian shots at his goal while Capoeirista was only able to send the shots against with away from the goal for corner kicks, but despite this, Natanians and Nosts were also unable to capitalize on the set pieces.

But it would be the Fhulghamous that would eventually take all three points from this game after Aidan Power Jr. stroked home the winning goal past the legs of a Natanians and Nosts defender, with Xose Foslio Probo unable to react to the ball until it was too late.

Fhulghamous Peninsula national football team manager Orestes Katsouranis Jr.: "This is incredible. This is the first time that the Fhulghamous has gone on such a good run. The people are always used to seeing our team stumble and fail in recent times so that now that they're seeing the team succeed, they're really cheering the team on. It's a good feeling, winning. I want to keep feeling it on and on and on and on. But we also have to keep our focus on the next match as well. That way we won't stumble and fall in spectacular fashion as well."

NATANIANS AND NOSTS 1 - 2 FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
   ADEMELSSON (17')       FETFATZIDIS (69' pen)
                          POWER JR. (89')

FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
GK: 21 Capoeirista
RB: 45 Palomer (Tzorvas - 57')
RCB: 4 Hainaut
LCB: 5 Singerstein
LB: 3 Kamakura
RM: 14 Edison
RCM: 7 Moskowitz
LCM: 17 von Frankreich (Lovejoy - 79')
LM: 8 Power Jr.
RS: 19 Sebastiano (O'Mitchell - 82')
LS: 9 Fetfatzidis

NATANIANS AND NOSTS
GK: 12 Foslio Probo
RB: 2 Ret
RCB: 3 G. Fostar
LCB: 4 Ivanov █ (P. North - 70')
LB: 6 Tralto (I. North - 55')
RM: 5 A. Munteanu
CM: 7 J. Munteanu (Gomes - 90')
LM: 8 M. Fostar
RW: 21 Cravelha
CF: 9 Ademelsson
LW: 23 Espalheira

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Natanians and Nosts: 48%
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 52%
Shots
Natanians and Nosts: 12 (6 on target)
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 9 (4 on target)
Corners
Natanians and Nosts: 7
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 1
Fouls
Natanians and Nosts: 14
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 21

[Copper Cuprum]

No song for you today, but at least you'll get a good result. Or will you?

---

Group A
Fhulghamous Peninsula 3–0 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison
Tumbra 5–3 Natanians and Nosts
Mattijana 0–0 Boring Paradise

  Group A                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Fhulghamous Peninsula                    5   5  0  0   18   8 +10   15
2 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison           5   3  0  2    9   9   0    9
3 Mattijana                                5   2  1  2   14  10  +4    7
4 Natanians and Nosts                      5   2  1  2    8   7  +1    7
5 Tumbra                                   5   2  1  2   11  14  −3    7
6 Boring Paradise                          6   0  3  3    6  10  −4    3
7 Asiana                                   5   1  0  4    3  11  −8    3

Group B
South Covello 1–0 Racing
Ethane 0–1 Filindostan
Buyan 0–0 Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva

  Group B                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Filindostan                              5   5  0  0    9   1  +8   15
2 Buyan                                    5   3  2  0    7   0  +7   11
3 South Covello                            5   3  1  1    5   1  +4   10
4 Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva   6   2  2  2    3   4  −1    8
5 Ethane                                   5   1  1  3    1   4  −3    4
6 Racing                                   5   1  0  4    1   8  −7    3
7 Noburu Taiyou                            5   0  0  5    0   8  −8    0

Group C
Copper Cuprum 3–0 Vangaziland
Apox 2–3 2nd Brazilian Empire
Damukuni 0–3 Coldfield

  Group C                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Copper Cuprum                            5   4  1  0   16   5 +11   13
2 Coldfield                                6   3  2  1   14   9  +5   11
3 Vangaziland                              5   3  1  1    7   5  +2   10
4 Apox                                     5   2  1  2   11   8  +3    7
5 2nd Brazilian Empire                     5   1  2  2   10  16  −6    5
6 Saint Pierre Islands                     5   1  1  3    5   9  −4    4
7 Damukuni                                 5   0  0  5    4  15 −11    0

Group D
Super-Llamaland 0–1 Newmanistan
Brenecia 0–1 Islana Lunigo
Kita-Hinode 2–0 Thalamascia

  Group D                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Kita-Hinode                              5   4  1  0    8   1  +7   13
  Newmanistan                              5   4  1  0    8   1  +7   13
3 Islana Lunigo                            5   3  1  1    4   1  +3   10
4 Super-Llamaland                          5   2  1  2    5   3  +2    7
5 Thalamascia                              6   2  0  4    5   9  −4    6
6 Brenecia                                 5   1  0  4    2   4  −2    3
7 Kalactinians are better                  5   0  0  5    1  14 −13    0