World Cup 80 • EqueStar • Roleplay Thread

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Letter

Emmanuel Jones was busy using a stopwatch to determine the speed for players kicking a ball, when he was called up for another meeting, this time at the Leader's own office. Escorted to Victory Square with some bodyguards at each side, Emmanuel Jones entered the Leader's office where he was busy doing the "evil villain" look by having his chair turned back from Jones with a wine glass in hand. "Mr. Jones. I see you have arrived on time. I happened to have gotten some mail from Banija, which has been labeled Top Secret." "Has you screen the mail through arsenic and anthrax tests?" Jones asked making sure that the mail didn't contain a poison.

"The tests were negative, however I did read the letter. And I must consider that we- Oh hang on!" The Leader tossed the tomato juice filled glass aside as he turned his chair. "I'm sorry, but how can you even handle having your chair like that. But anyways, I had some intel made by our operatives and secret police. They were able to get some info from The Banijan Post." The Leader got a remote, which brought down a large monitor for both of them to see. "Banija has some islands in their nation that has been suffering from a serious drought along with a drop in tourism. This means the agriculture is in a decline. We got two main VIP's in this mission, Katikkiro Matthias Mutebi and Premier Ebrahim Razav. Both are in a conflict over the whole crisis and things aren't looking good." The Leader explained to Jones.

"Then, a leak got out that the Katikkiro barely done anything for foreign aid. To make matters worst, the Katikkiro had sank an aid ship from Equestrian States. The Katikkiro wants me to send someone to kill the Premier, however I would consider no. And seeing Banija has literally suffered from leaked memetic entities.." The Leader paused a brief moment, because he knew the pain that Jones felt. "Our plan is simple."

(OOC: Mood Music)

"Rather than kill anyone, how about we.. deliver the aid that Banija needs through some tricks. You and I are going on a trip to Banija to straighten out this mess. I have the Ministry of Science experiment with some agriculture and weather control systems. Then, while you are talking with the Premier, I have a fake spy meet with the Katikkiro and have them stall him. Meanwhile, I head straight to the Kabaka to get his nation with force, or whatever necessary with ensuring peace." The Leader explained to Jones.

"For Peace?"
"Yes, Jones." The Leader said with a smile, that was almost sinister, but still comforting.


"For Peace..even in cruel and unusual ways."

To: Matthias Mutebi, Katikkiro of the Kingdom of Banija
From: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

TOP SECRET: For Your Eyes Only

Mr. Mutebi, we are aware of your deepest concerns at what's happening, but your request has been approved by the Leader. An assassin will be deployed at the airport that is the closest to Busukuma, where he will be the individual wearing a baseball cap and glasses, dressed wearing a tie. Please be aware that the assassin is armed and has already been handled with getting passed airport security. Please allow our plane to be in your airzone, so they can get there safely.

The Leader is aware of the harsh security matters that both your nation and ours faced, but seeing the crisis that is occurring in Banija, we might help with fighting the crisis from your orders. Even if it means with extreme prejudices to eliminate others who might harm the nation or aid to making the crisis grow.

You will not be disappointed, Mr. Mutebi,
[REDACTED], Ministry of Foreign Affairs Official

[Equestrian States]

ANGELIC BREEZE SUNK!
Relief Ship's Sinking Sparks Public Outrage
by Sudden Spark

CANTERLOT - The crisis in Banija took a tragic and shocking turn for the worse late last night in the Busoga Islands when the Angelic Breeze was sunk by Banija's Royal Navy while attempting to deliver food and medical supplies to the beleaguered islands. It is currently unknown how many were killed of the ship's 130 crew and passengers, most of which were aid workers employed by Harmony International, a humanitarian NGO founded by Equestrian Harmonists nearly 50 years ago. Several survivors - all pegasai - were able to reach shore and contact Equestrian authorities to report the attack.

Harmony International was quick to make a statement regarding the attack, condemning the Banijan Navy's "unprovoked attack on a civilian relief vessel" and vowing to "continue [their] mission to provide assistance to the people of the Busoga Islands".

The sinking of the Angelic Breeze couldn't have come at a worse time, with tensions between the Equestrian States and Banija already at an all-time high before the attack. Banija's Katikkiro Matthias Mutebi has been extremely vocal with his criticisms of Equestrian policies regarding the Taruu Sea and the welcoming of Banijan immigrants in Equestria whom he considers to be traitors. Katikkiro Mutebi has also overseen a significant expansion of the Banijan military all the while employing an aggressive approach to foreign policy. Most recently, the Katikkiro has also been embattled by scandal as his country deals with a historic drought, being accused of diverting foreign aid from the Busoga Islands to the mainland.

Now Matthias Mutebi faces an even more serious problem: an outraged neighboring superpower. Popular opinion of the divisive Katikkiro among the Equestrian public was already extremely low prior to the sinking of the Angelic Breeze, especially among the growing Banijan-Equestrian community, but it's likely that this latest incident will push that number to near-zero. The news of the sinking has already been met with large-scale demonstrations outside of the Banijan embassy in Canterlot early this morning, some protesters even going so far as to characterize the attack as "an act of war".

Whether or not the Equestrian Parliament and Royal Council, both of which will meet later today in emergency sessions to discuss the crisis, will authorize a military response remains to be seen. However, a recent flurry of activity around the Royal Navy's headquarters in Seaddle suggests that the Equestrian military is indeed preparing to act if they are cleared to do so.

More stories from The Canterlot Daily Journal:

• Harmony International: Relief to the Busoga Islands will continue
• Foreign Ministry: Unprovoked attack an intolerable atrocity
• Photos: Protesters fill the streets outside Banijan embassy

[Northwest Kalactin]

Jack England looked at the large book in his hands and felt sleepy.

He walked over to the window and reflected on his cold surroundings. He had always loved industrial Gold Coast with its large, bright buildings. It was a place that encouraged his tendency to feel sleepy.

Then he saw something in the distance, or rather someone. It was the figure of Juan Subdula. Juan was a tennis player with a handsome face and a athletic body.

Jack gulped. He glanced at his own reflection. He was a sympathetic, cold-blooded, tea drinker with pointy toes and ginger fingers. His friends saw him as a noisy, crazy man. Once, he had even jumped into a river and saved a small kitten.

But not even a sympathetic person who had once jumped into a river and saved a small kitten, was prepared for what Juan had in store today.

The overcast was unexpected, making Jack puzzled.

As Jack stepped outside and Juan came closer, he could see the combative glint in his eye.

"I am here because I want the Money," Juan bellowed, in a spiteful tone. He slammed his fist against Jack's chest, with the force of 9318 koalas. "I frigging hate you, Jack England."

Jack looked back, even more puzzled and still fingering the large gun. "Juan, get out of my house," he replied.

They looked at each other with calm feelings, like two knotty, keen boxers loud at a very snooty meeting, which had piano music playing in the background and two brave uncles large to the beat.

Jack regarded Juan's handsome face and athletic body. He held out his hand. "Let's not fight," he whispered, gently.

"Hmph," pondered Juan.

"Please?" begged Jack with puppy dog eyes.

Juan looked sparkly, his body blushing like a helpless, handsome hat.

Then Juan came inside for a nice glass of tea.

THE END

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Lt Commander O'Brien was at her duty station, i.e. on the bridge in the captains' chair. As CO of one of the two escort ships to protect both NSC Achilles, and NSC Odysseus, it was her responsibility to have all the defensive resources of her ship's capability operating at all times while they were at anchorage here in the international waters off Banija. She currently had both ASW helicopter patrols in the air, and the patrol craft making a sweep of the aft and port side perimeter. The other frigate in 'B' squadron, NSC Eleanor, had the same responsibilities forward and to starboard of the main ships.

Marie's current assignment, NSC Reliant, was actually the second vessel to carry that name in the Baker Park Naval Registry; both she and her sister ship, NSC Ardent, were names carried on two early 20th century auxiliary ships the first go round. Now they were the most current version of fast attack frigates, only 2 years old and possessing the most up to date attack and defensive weapons systems available. Marie was happy that she had been given an assignment to such an advanced vessel, with all of the new bells and whistles, as it were.

As her attention was primarily on the computer screen showing all the streams of data being recorded from various sources simultaneously, she was jolted when an IC message came through from directly behind her. "Radar on UAT's incoming, 5 miles at 2 o'clock". She toggled over to the radar screen and there she saw 4 blips, on a direct course.

She smacked the IC key down. "Emergency Stations, all hands!" The high pitched buzz tone sent sailors everywhere scrambling for their emergency equipment.

Then Marie made a split second decision that probably was the most important order she has ever given as an officer.

"Mr Harvey, manually override SeaWIZ, repeat, manual override."

The SeaWIZ, or the CIWS as it is officially known, is the automated close-in weapons system that is meant to protect ships from incoming objects--missiles, planes, any external threat. It's very likely that within 15-30 seconds from the point that O'Brien called for an override, the CIWS would've locked on to the nearest threat and shot down the incoming threat.

Four fighter jets swept past the squadron; two directly overhead at approximately 1000 feet and one each to the outboard sides of Reliant and Eleanor. And then they banked sharply and proceeded to fly off in the same general direction as they had come.

[95X]

The Origin of Britny Sierra, Part Two

(Ever wondered what would happen if a 95Xer "liked" your self-insert? Keep reading!)
95X Year 70, four years ago.

Xi Foureleven went missing after a meeting with a once-powerful CEO, leaving the rest of the SC Oceanside staff to run daily operations. Although they were fully capable of doing so, the hours were long and they were left without much free time.

One particularly warm and clear night, Britny Sierra asks Jason Ninetyfivex if he's doing anything afterwards. It's not an unheard of request, and after all Ninetyfivex was the person who hired her.

"Well, I was thinking of heading over to Jill in the Box, probably the last place you'd want to go," he replied to her question.

"What if I said that works for me?", Sierra's smile widened. She wasn't one to turn down ideas.

While Ninetyfivex closes the office for the night, Sierra changed from her office clothing into blue jeans shorts and a cute yet appropriate white tank top.

"Wait," Ninetyfivex quizzed, "how did you change clothes so quickly?"

Sierra wasn't about to mention the extra women's room Foureleven secretly added to the office.

"I know something you don't!" the 26-year old Sierra said in an almost teen-like manner.

They go to the fast food restaurant, where they wind up deciding to split up a "Midnight Meal", on account of it being a lot for one person, let alone two.

"Y'know, I do work out," Sierra made small talk after they sat down, "I'm not ripped like Elev' or anything, but hey I also played several years ago."

Ninetyfivex already knew she used to play the sport. "Well, I'm not that good with small talk," Ninetyfivex said in a poor attempt to avoid awkward silence while waiting for their food. Fortunately, the place wasn't too busy and the kitchen staff was efficient, and a box consisting of a double burger, tacos, and fries, was soon waiting for them at the counter. The two split it somewhat equally.

"Mmm," Sierra commented after her first bite, "this is more delicious than I thought it'd be."

Ninetyfivex was hungry and had already taken a large bite of the burger, too large to respond immediately. To him, this was just two office people that decided to go to the same place at the same time after work. Nothing more.

Some awkward eating follows. Then, Sierra quietly broke the silence.

"Look," she hushed, so nobody other than Ninetyfivex could hear, "a cute girl!"

"Huh?" he looked away from the table for a minute, and Sierra quickly snatched another fry. When he looks back, Sierra is blushing ever-so-slightly. It's tough to tell on account of her slightly copperlike natural complexion.

"That doesn't scare you?" Sierra asked.

"What would scare me about it?"

"That I like both guys and girls?"

"No. Nothing to be ashamed of really." Ninetyfivex said to try to drop the seemingly-out-of-place topic and finish up his portion of the food.

After they leave, Sierra wanted to take a walk down the concrete beachwalk that separates the beach from Oceanside. The weather was still warm despite a very slight onshore breeze. After a short distance, she paused and leaned on the 1.25m barrier wall between the walk and the beach and stared at the ocean waves.

"A few years ago I was a random beach girl," Sierra reminisced, "then I met you and you offered me a job." She turned to look at Ninetyfivex, who is standing on her right, but not close, as they continued to walk south. "There were a lot of people on the beach that day, you could have met anyone."

Ninetyfivex didn't say anything, but he didn't want to think of Sierra walking alone on the beachwalk that late. He coutinued walking with her until they reach the lobby of what he thought was the building that housed SC Oceanside's offices. But this lobby looked quite different.

"We're not at the office building?", Ninetyfivex asked, thinking that would be the best place to part for the night.

"No, silly," Sierra giggled, while pressing the button for an elevator. "This is my apartment building."

"Then I'd better get going," Ninetyfivex replied. "Nothing personal."

"Oh." Sierra looked disappointed, while walking back over to Ninetyfivex. "I had fun, though. Good night."

"You too," Ninetyfivex responded. "Good Ni—"

He stopped as he found Sierra's lips pressed against his. Not what Sierra thought it would be, her eyes popped open and she pulled her head back. She placed the fingertips on her right hand on his lips, then his cheek, then his sweatshirt. The look on her face was disappointed horror.

"You're there," She said, "but you're not."

"Would you believe me if I told you it has to do with 'RL Theory'?", Ninetyfivex asked.

"RL", as it is understood in 95X, is only theorized. It is said that a few people understand if it is fact or fiction. Britny Sierra was obviously not one of them. In fact, "RL Theory" is the craziest of conspiracy theories in 95X.

The bell for the elevator dinged and a door opened.

"Oh my gosh! Stay away from me!" she said as she ran into the elevator and couldn't seem to press the buttons fast enough. The elevator door closed and Ninetyfivex as well as the armed guards in the lobby heard crying ascend the building.

"Co-worker, nothing more," Ninetyfivex said to the guard as he left.

The next day at the SC Oceanside office was guaranteed to be awkward.

"Mr. Ninetyfivex," Sierra approached his office in suprisingly business professional attire.

"I'd like to forget that anything at all happened last night," Sierra apologized. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"Already done." Ninetyfivex accepted her apology.

"Today's going to be weird," Sierra sighed. "I'm trying to work through it."

"Take a day off," Ninetyfivex suggested.

"What?", Sierra almost thought she was being fired.

"I authorized it," Ninetyfivex explained, "which is something I can do when Eleven isn't present."

Sierra returned to her apartment, where she heard a knock on the door. At the other end is a single work-from-home professional man closer to her in age.

"Hi, I moved in recently and I heard crying last night. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Sierra said. "Uh, do you like coffee?"

[Mriin]

aroundthehorn.mrn

Halfway There
WC80 Mid-cap

And just like that, all the first legs are through. How time flies. Let's take a look at how all the qualifying groups are going, aye?

Group 1
Not all is well in fluffy bunny land, it seems. The, uh, extraordinarily aggressive new Holy Empire team (how the fuck are we saying that when their was was zombie pirates) is having some trouble keeping things in line, having dropped seven points already in a group of mostly middling names. Eastfield Lodge are looking to continue salvaging their reputation, currently tied on points with the Empire, while upcomers like Natians and nosts and North Prarie hunt for that playoff spot in third. Eshan and Bostopia are both around but are underperforming by a fair margin; hope still shines through for teams like this this cycle, though, as just needing to get to third for a crack at the World Cup proper is a much less steep ask.

Group 2
While Vilita are doing markedly better than their little sibling, they still surprisingly find themselves behind a dominant Savojarna side. I remember when we reporting last qualifiers, Savojarna had an excellent run of form very late on, nailing multiple upsets that had the potential to be spoilers--except they beat everyone so no one nation could benefit. They kept up that stunning run of form and have only lost a single match so far, to Darkmania, one of the nations battling for third (but quite likely out of reach for second). Noted underperformers here are Abanhfleft, sitting on just seven points when they were expected to put up a reasonable fight at qualifying.

Group 3
Tveidalen 2.0 may have happened, but the Nepharim aren't flinching elsewhere. Solidly on top with a five point margin on Flardania and Audioslavia, and that triple powerhouse is likely going to be the final top three in some order. I'd say Audioslavia are likely to return to their old form and find a way past the Kitsunes, assuming the managerial change and a conflict of their... interesting personalities doesn't cause undue locker room tension.

Group 4
Brenecia continue the trend of doing that student-master flip, both in how their UICA results are starting to outpace Nephara's and this being their second straight qualification run where they're winning the group at a canter. Sargossa are looking to get over that draw fever they haven't managed to shake off from last cycle, hoping to join our old punching bag Juvencus in the playoff spots.

Group 5
Hey, it's us! Sitting pretty atop the group, edging Chromatika on head to head (which is actually the first tiebreaker, so it's extremely handy that we can do no worse than falling to even with them). Kalumba is eight behind the both of us, and pretty much all the rest 4-6 points below them; the only big shifts I see coming is maaaaybe Aji No Moto, if they hit a hot streak, might sneak into third over Kalumba. Of course, there's still going to be tons of tension over who holds firmer between us and the Chromatiks for the valuable auto-qualification spot.

Group 6
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I'm still not really sure what the hell went down with the whole Northern Sunrise Islands/Kita-Hinode thing, but the new team is floundering a full eight points out of third; they'll need to kick things into overdrive and hope for Darmen or an electrifying Baker Park squad to go cold. South Covello leads the charge, having taken their national transition much more smoothly.

Group 7
Eura Stronk, indeed. They just absolutely creamed some place called Revlona 2-8 away! Meanwhile this is probably the most exciting midtable group, with Apox, Taeshan, Abaja, and Ashkam (whew lots of As) all brawling over the lower two spots with any having a fair shout at it. I'd normally heavily favor Apox, who are in second right now, but I can't help but feel they're fading a bit lately; it'll be an interesting group to watch down the stretch, regardless.

Group 8
Electrum and Drawkland are jostling at the top, as expected, both not quite showing the level of dominance they'd been hoping for. I'm good with them going through--just gives us more chances to get back at them for the losses they handed us in the WC and BoF, respectively. Meanwhile a surprising Aggrey-Fynn Land is finally following through on the promise they'd shown in previous cycles, sporting an impressive sixteen points on a minuscule 9/6 goal split. The Free Republics are looking in from fourth, after getting beaten back by Drawkland in a the Independent's Cup final rematch, while a name I've been told is a returning class in The Macabees are holding their own in their first cycle back.

Group 9
Pasarga are the hardest-stumbling first seed so far (just wait, Turori, we're coming) but seem to have mostly righted ship by now, at a scant 18 points just 1-2-3 points ahead of Jeckland, Devonta, and Soltsteed, respectively. Qasden is also in the mix looking to pounce on that playoff spot, but it'll be interesting to see if the Pasargans can avoid the tense qualification finale they had in our group last cycle.

Group 10
Ethane are on top here after a bit of regression the last few cycles, followed by a veritable list of "literally who?"s in Lazhal, Quakmybush, and Jeruselem. I know those last two are historic names, but it's been literally decades (over a century for Quak, even) since they've done anything relevant. And then, of course, first seeds Turori languishing in fifth with an awful 4-1-4 record, with their 'citizen squad' disappointing majorly. How do you let yourself get shown up by a bunch of literal birds?

Group 11
Four way tie for first, what the fuck? I guess it makes sense considering who makes it up--Ceni have an extra pedigree on the rest, yes, but moreso because of their league than their international success. Then there's perennial solid-with-upside sides Buyan and Tumra, and even the Yesopalitha side that held us to a draw last AOCAF. Makes me feel a little better than they're actually good and didn't just fluke us. And even after all that, Gopnikea in fifth is just three points behind the pack! Absolutely everything is up for grabs here.

Group 12
Schottia obliterating all opposition, nothing new here--wait, Maryloupe? That mediocre side we played in qualifiers a few years back? They're in second??? And... Loynn in fourth too, of the same cut (at least as far as Mriinians are concerned). We must have rubbed off on them if they're both seriously threatening to topple noted names like Super-Llamaland, Cassadaigua, and Mattijana. Oh, and... Vangaziland in last? Whoof, that's rough.

Group 13
Farfadillis, despite having one defeat on record, might be the most dominant team through the halfway mark. A full seven points behind, there's a dogfight between another set of four solid-with-upside teams to watch: Acronius and New Gazi looking to finally establish themselves after years of uninspiring results, Mercedini trying to reverse their awful fortunes the last few cycles have held, and Ko-oren looking to break back into the top flight of football they enjoyed some twenty years ago.

Group 14
This is an interesting group for the fact that over half of the nations make you go "oh, yeah, I think I actually know them." Valanora, who have solidly proven they don't need their full complement of elves to be world-class, take the lead. Follow that by one of the two teams we've beaten in the World Cup, Damukuni, and one of the admittedly lesser-knowns in the Alpine Union. But then there's two ancient stalwart northern islands of the big two sporting regions, 95X representing Atlantian Oceania after their surprise qualification last cycle and Nethertopia representing Rushmore after surprising everyone by just signing up. And they're in with a shout in fifth! Then, when you look down to the bottom three, you catch sight of Filindostan and Razenthuria, both newer nations dreaming big that have come up monumentally short so far. Very far out of contention, they should probably just focus on the fundamentals and get back on solid ground. Euran Oceania Territories are also there as their typical also-ran selves; any chance they could claim some of the motherland's talent to actually put up a fight?

Group 15
And finally, Cosumar are squaring off with one of our favorite foes--Barunia, the second seed who stepped aside and let us qualify in just our second cycle. The Cosumarites are so often billed as some of the finest footballers in the multiverse, but I've yet to be properly convinced by the results they've actually put up--if they want that title, we need to see some dominating play. Then there's Valladares, a former giant in proper decline, though their ability to turn losses into draws so far do leave them in a good spot to take a punt at a playoff game. And, both last and least, the unheralded return of Zwangzug to international play has gone to pot with one of the worst records in qualifiers so far; it's a sad sight to see, and I hope they get things together.

[Qusmo]

Qusmo National Team edged out by Kandorith

Qusmo suffered yet another loss in World Cup qualifying, falling 1-0 to Kandorith in Tracam.

After two early victories in the qualification campaign that vaulted the Qusmi’y to second in Group 11, they are in the midst of a three match losing streak, sitting sixth of ten with six points after five matches. Qusmo may be sitting near mid-table, but they are closer to the bottom - Beepee, the team Qusmo last beat, which has four points - than they are to fourth place - Gopnikea, the team they first lost to, which has nine points.

After the match, manager Avarn-Oxolt Ban commented on their team’s recent dip in form after the match. “Look, it’s not a matter of our campaign running off the rails. We’re really done rather well. No one expected us to win 4-0 in Beepee, for example. A drop in performance was predictable, though. We started off against some of the weaker teams in the group; now we’re entering the toughest part of our schedule. I’m not disappointed that we haven’t pulled off another massive upset. We’ve hung in there, competed fiercely, & kept things close. That’s all I can expect out of our team at this point.”

Indeed, this was Qusmo’s best display of football in a loss to date. From the moment of the first whistle, Qusmo got on the attack & applied constant pressure to the Red Dragons throughout the match. The home crowd at Mastad Tracama was lively throughout & lifted their team to an inspired performance. It just wasn’t quite enough this time.

The lineup, which reverted to Avarn-Oxolt’s original matchday one 3-5-2 lineup with the exceptions of Paliv-Xilit Max as a second striker in place of Rilan-Jralv Nev & Zenon-Geral Kal instead of the still-exiled Lucex-Ilinx Opu at centreback, had particular success in passing the football. It opened up the pitch throughout & created all kinds of chances; the new duo in attack, however, were not able to convert. Paliv-Xilit Max, in particular, who had scored as a substitute against Beepee but had not yet started a match for the national team, struggled to put shots on target.

“Look, some days you perform well, & some days you don’t. It just depends on the day & on how you feel. I’m confident that Paliv-Xilit Max will get back in form soon,” Avarn-Oxolt told the media. “Both Paliv-Xilit & Rilan-Jralv have performed well at times & poorly at times. We’ll probably keep rotating those two to see who does well on a given day; hopefully, one will step up & cement their place.” Notably, Rilan-Jralv did come on for Paliv-Xilit in the eightieth minute, & had a fantastic chance just three minutes later, but Kandorese goalkeeper Jianjun Tuan made an excellent save.

Instead, the team to break open the scoring was Kandorith. Shan Xiaobo, captain of the Red Dragons, did just what Shan Xiaobo does & raced across the pitch mere metres from the touchline before cutting inside & sending a rocket past Xynat-Evela Cuf & into the back of the net in the eighty-eighth minute.

“It’s disappointing that we weren’t able to get three points, given how close Rilan-Jralv was today, & it’s disappointing that we weren’t able to pick up one, given how long our defense hung strong. Still, it’s an encouraging sign that we’re doing better than we did in our last two matches, & that we can hang with good squads. I’m hopeful for our match against Yesopalitha. The Sacred Heart is an intimidating venue, & the team will be no pushovers, but I think we have what it takes to mount a decent challenge. Hopefully we’re able to do just that.”

Qusmo 0-1 Kandorith
Mastad Tracama, Tracam, Qusmo
No Qusma goalscorers
Cards: None
Injuries: None
Subsitutions:
80’ Rilan-Jralv Nev for Paliv-Xilit Max
80’ Helek-Nenzi Ono for Kynda-Sevet Pec
88’ Yamaj-Blonz Jok for Yunal-Julad Waz

Group 11 Recap
Buyan 5–2 Omerica
Ceni 2–3 Yesopalitha
Qusmo 0–1 Kandorith
Wolves Clans 1–1 Tumbra
Beepee 0–1 Gopnikea

   Group 11                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Buyan                              5    4   0   1    12    4   +8    12
 2 Yesopalitha                        5    4   0   1    15   12   +3    12
 3 Ceni                               5    3   0   2    15    7   +8     9
 4 Gopnikea                           5    3   0   2     8    9   −1     9
 5 Tumbra                             5    2   1   2     7    9   −2     7
 6 Qusmo                              5    2   0   3     5    5    0     6
 7 Kandorith                          5    2   0   3     6   13   −7     6
 8 Omerica                            5    1   1   3     8   10   −2     4
 9 Wolves Clans                       5    1   1   3     5    8   −3     4
10 Beepee                             5    1   1   3     2    6   −4     4

[Eura]

A massive explosion rocks a mysterious object, leaving an air of destruction, scandal and some mystery. That objects name? World Cup 66. The scandal? That an upstart nation like Eura won it. This is the completely true story of that inexplicable victory and its implications for the future.

burrrr nurrrrrr nurrrrrr nurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr nur nur
burrrrrrrrrrrrr nurrrrrrrrrrrr nurrrrrrrrrr nurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr nur
nurrrrrrrrrr nurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr nurrrrrrrrrrrrrr nur nur

'There was only one nation.' Xkoronate sheepishly began their testimony.
'One? Are you sure?'
'Yes. They called it...the United Federation of Eura.'
Concerned murmuring
'Why was it not destroyed with the rest of the Rushmori's?'
'It fled, as we knocked all of the Rushmori's out. But I followed with all the Oceanian's, with the inclusion of the invincible Rushmori Polar Islandstates, in my command.'

nurrr nurrrr nurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr neeeehhhhhhhh

'When you first saw the World Cup, were you blinded by its majesty?'
'Blinded?'
'Paralysed? Dumbstruck?'
'No!'
'Yet the Euran's were able to qualify for the tournament, make it to the knockout phases, and beat the prestigious nations with their filthy footsteps!'
More concerned murmuring
'Noble WCC members, surely you understand that once the random attacked...'
Thumping fist to address further concerning murmuring 'THERE WILL BE ORDER IN THIS WCC!'
'You were right to focus your attention on overcoming the randomness of scorination. But this particular Euran, this "John Spartan"...'
'By the time I learned of his intent to score a 25 yard worldie, there was nothing we could do!'
Angry rambling, cries of "traitor!" An incredibly smug NSFS watches as Xkoronate is ruthlessly put down by the WCC's heckling. Discreetly, a WCC suit leans over to another. 'This has gone on long enough. Make an example of this bungler! The WCC demands it.'

Reluctantly, the biggest of all the WCC guys accedes to his colleagues assessment. 'You are one of our most treasured instruments xkoronate. Long have you led the World Cup with honour and distinction. But your inability to safeguard World Cup 66 from Eura...was a colossal failure.'
Random outburst from some randomer, probably Valladares being snakey 'Nay. It was heresy!'
VERY CONCERNED MURMURING TURNING QUITE FRANKLY INTO RABBLE, RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE
'I will continue my campaign against the Eurans!'
'NO. You will not.' Xkoronate is cuffed by a jubilant NSFS, I don't really know where to go with this analogy, sorry. 'Soon the next World Cup will begin. But the weight of letting Eura win will stay your feet, and you shall be left behind.'

Nuhhhh nuhhhh
Nuhhhhh nuhhhhhhhhh nuhhh nuhhh, nuhhhhhhhhh, muhhhhh muhhh
Pan to a Farf-looking engineer holding up bits of random text and shit

'The roleplaying quality was about to fail, there's bad writing throughout the narrative layers. Your spellchecking? Totally fried. Let's not even talk about the actual relevance to a sporting tournament that you're roleplaying wars and shit in. You got any idea how much this is costing your RP bonus, son?'
The baddest dude in NS Sport picks up his Euran national team shirt with the number 8 and slips it on. His name? John Spartan. Euran talisman, late 60's and early 70's World Cup era. In this case, the physical embodiment of Eura. 'Tell that to the Polarian's.'
After some monkeying about, Farfadillis has to leave Eura as Apox comes to collect him. 'You done with my boy here, Farf? I don't see any writing skills.'
'His narratives are working fine Apox, so shut your hole! He just needs to take it slow. Anyway, Apox. Tell me, how did you made it back to the World Cup in one piece?'
'Sorry Farf, its classified.'
'Huh! My ass! Well, you can forget about signing Winrouge!' Apox chuckled as their elevator slunk away to reveal the globe of the multiverse. 'Well, he's in a particularly fine mood. Maybe he didn't qualify. Now, look at that - the sporting multiverse. Haven't seen her in years. You know when we first tried to qualify, the idea of a broad sporting multiverse was just theory and politics. But now look! Atlantian Oceania is just one of three competitive sporting regions. Any one of those regions can pick out the country that walks to the championship. Nothing is getting past this cluster of regions in one piece.'

PUUUP PUPPPP PAA PAA PAA PUUUUPPPPPPP

A shitload of media appear because victory parade
'You told me there wouldn't be any cameras.'
'Folks need heroes, Eura, give 'em hope! So smile would ya? While the sportverse still has something to smile about.'

Cut to a scene of xkoronate being brutally tortured by NSFS in front of a massive crowd of gawking wankers. 'You've drawn quite a crowd!'
'If they've come to hear me beg, they'll be disappointed.'
'Are you sure?' Stoic glare doesn't stop him getting electrocuted to shit
'BLLURRRHHHRHR'

Cut back to glorious celebrations as Based Mod Arch prepares to deck Eura in medals and whatnot
'Eura, we're lucky to have you back.' Some weird ass green hologram calling itself "Nephara" appears out of nowhere 'Based mod Arch, I've detected suspicious signatures of random off Group 5, I've commissioned six bitchy World Cup Discussion Thread comments in response.'
'Thank you. I apologise, but we're going to have to make this quick.' Nephara looks up at Eura and Apox standing around like absolute champs. 'You look nice.'
'Thanks!' Eura and Apox stare at each other after saying the same thing simultaneously, like mate don't try and steal my credit for my glorious fashion sense.

TO BE CONTINUED.

[Equestrian States]

Matchday Ten Cutoff

Let's get the second half started with a bang, shall we? This is your MD10 cutoff!

And your results are here. Get 'em while they're fresh!

[Petroslovania]

World Cup Edition

Sloppy, one word that can describe the way Petroslovania tied their last match against Norcambria. The only goal scored was when a goal kick by Brambilla was carried by the wind and into the back of the net, much to everyone's suprise. They were lucky that the poor performance didn't affect the standings. Manager Anders Engström blames the loss on the lack of an Asst. Manager, which brings back the question on everyone's mind: who will replace Tony Vargas? The Daily Gazzette has reviewed the top choices for the Asst. Manager position.

Victoria Toledo
Vicky Toledo is one of the most likely choices for Asst. Manager, despite being on the squad for the least amount of time. She has shown she is very capable of leading players and making them not only better players but better people.

Phillip Schweeper
Phillip Schweeper is a very ambitious person, who coaches well and knows how to get the most physical success out of each player. However, he is not the most popular among the players nor is he skilled at coaching all positions, the way an Asst. Coach should be.

Tarquinius Jedlička
Tarquinius Jedlička is currently the longest serving member of the Petroslovanian team, in WC 79 he played as the second string goalkeeper after many long years of game play. He now uses his knowledge to help other keepers grow, he claims he doesn't want the promotion, but if necessary he would take it.

Kazuko Fujioka
Kazuko Fujioka is debateably the most skilled Manager in the Petroslovnian Soccer League, currently coaching the second best team. Fujioka already has good chemistry with most players and is especially good and keeping peace among players and staff.

Félix Rios
Félix Rios is the coach of San Lorenzo F.C. a small club that was found and moved from the fourth tier to the first all in four years, all by Félix Rios. Rios has a no quit attitude and refuses to stop for nothing. He is especially good at coaching young players.

Brambilla after scoring his first goal

[Petroslovania]

World Cup Edition

The decision is final! Anders Engström and Tatianna McCaig have finally come to the agreement that: Kazuko Fujioka is worthy of the appointment.

[The Sherpa Empire]

----֎-֎-֎----‭

‭"Dude, why'd the Banijan Navy sink a ship full of horses?" asked Fareed Aziz. He didn't follow the international news very closely when it wasn't sports-related, the Sherpa media hadn't done a great job of covering the crisis in the Busoga Islands, and he hadn't understood that the ponies on the Angelic Breeze were Equestrian citizens and not livestock.

‭"What?" said Ashok Walia, who hadn't seen the story at all because he was too busy playing NationStates. (He was still annoyed that someone else had snagged the name "the Sherpa Empire" before he could grab it, and was -- at least in his opinion -- not putting it to good use.)

‭"The Banijan Navy sunk a ship full of horses and food, and now everybody's mad at them."

‭"Why?" said Walia.

‭"You mean why'd they sink it or why is everyone mad?"

‭"Both."

‭"I don't know."

‭"Everyone's mad because the Banijans attacked the ship unprovoked, and some of the crew are still missing," Shubhashish Srihatta explained from the other side of the plane. "You really need to read the news more. They were trying to deliver supplies to help with the drought in the Busoga Islands, and the Banijan Navy opened fire on them for no reason. The Empire ought to do something about it, but of course we won't because the Sherpas are allergic to building a decent navy. You can't make threats if you're not going to back them up, and now we can't send aid ships without navy protection because we have to worry about Banija attacking them."

‭"Yo, don't be blaming Sherpas for everything," Jigme Sherpa chimed in. "We're not responsible for every problem in the country."

‭"I don't see how it's our problem what's happening on some islands the other side of the world," said Aziz.

‭"People are dying," said Srihatta. "That's a problem whether it has anything to do with us or not.It's wrong that the Empire is ignoring it."

‭"This guy's RPs are so random," said Walia, who had lost track of the conversation and returned to reading the NationStates forums.

‭"What?"

‭"This guy on NationStates, he's babbling about magic suitcases and Chinese opera."

----֎-֎-֎----‭

‭The loss in Mercedini was frustrating, but what could you do? It only took a moment for Lotsawa to stumble and the shot to get past him, and then the Sherpa Empire was down by a goal. They tried to mount a comeback, but they didn't pull it off, and that was that. Of course the fans back home would be annoyed. They were starting to get frustrated with the team's losing record, and some people were calling for a shake-up of the coaching staff. Phuntsholing United head coach Hamza Ganguli, who had been passed over for the job of coaching the national team, was particularly vocal in his criticism. "This is what happens when you let Sherpas run everything instead of choosing people based on their merits," he said in one interview. This was met by an immediate backlash in which he was accused of racism all over the media, and none-too-politely informed that the coach of the national team was Lepcha, the commissioner of MLF was Rajasthani, and the director of the Sports Department was Han-Chinese. None of them was ethnically Sherpa.

‭Xue Gong, the director of the Sports Department, said he hadn't yet decided if the Department would replace the head coach of the national football team, but Ganguli would not be considered for the job after making such ill-conceived comments.

‭

----֎-֎-֎----

[Beepee]

Beepee have started the second half of their qualification campaign in similar fashion to their first... poorly.

Defensively weak against the much stronger opposition, Beepee have struggled to cope in the qualification tournament with the free flowing nature of more professional outfits.

Victory in the Baptism of Fire tournament now seems a distant memory.  With qualification seemingly so unlikely Beepee will be looking to save face and garner as many points as it can whilst avoiding any serious embarrassment.

[Juvencus]

STETZRA 0-3 JUVENCUS

JUVENCUS PUNCHES THROUGH STETZA NETTING 3


Juvencus clinches even further into 2nd place after matchday 10

Another victory for the gli attaccanti as they cruise through Stetzran territory in dominating fashion. An incredible all-around performance from all gli attaccanti meant a certain victory against the Stetzran minnows.

A relatively calm 15 minute start of the first half commenced with Juvencus and Stetzra, despite being really offensive teams, exchanging ball possession, trying to find their own rhythm against each other. However the more aggressive gli attaccanti found its footings faster and as a result they pressured forward really soon, with their first chance being a goal by Campana after a great through-ball from Provenzano, the unmarked Campana did what he can do best and is scoring. The pressure kept on going from the gli attaccanti with chances from all 3 attackers in Laterza, Martell and Camapana being cut short by the Stetzran goalkeeper. Stetza came close to equalising in the end of the first half, with a Glonse shot from slightly outside the box being kept on by an incredible Zappa leap. There it was, the first half ended in a 0-1 lead in favour of Juvencus.

Toset wanted a less physical and more pace and technique oriented setup, thus Amaury Félix was subbed off for Priscilla Herbert as a start, since Herbert is an almost flawless passer, really intelligent with the ball on her feet. A few minutes later, a speedy Ramires sprinted through several Stetzran players before finding an unmarked Laterza in the right side of the box, the latter did the impossible as he managed to score a goal from a nearly impossible angle and give Juvencus 0-2 lead over Stetzra early on in the 2nd half. The entries of Grec and Tafani later on in the game meant the game would get even more pace oriented, just as Toset had planned. Immediately upon entry, Grec and Tafani's cooperation in the pitch meant a hailstorm of opportunities was imminent. Firstly, in the 68th minute, a Grec through-ball to a Tafani shot went wide. Soon enough though, Grec did an identical sprint to the Ramires he had subbed off prior in the match only to find Tafani in an advantadgeous position, Tafani with a strong shot managed to score a 3rd goal for the gli attaccanti. More chances were to follow in the game, such as a Laterza 32-yard shot, hitting the crossbar and a Martell shot going wide in the 88th minute. The score stayed as it was, a 0-3 lead for Juvencus. Juvencus clinched even higher in the second spot they've clinched the game prior after New North South Wales' defeat to rivals Tobiasia. The next matchday is a visit to Olastor, a must-win game for the gli attaccanti.

Stetzra XI:
GK:Josef Howard
CB:Asa Alpacana
CB:Lito Rafeal
RB:Beau Lograo
LB:Mahmoud Derozza(Yellow card 30')
CDM:Josh James
RM:Joe Tribecca
LM:Pierre Peloton
RF:Micheal Allison
LF:Alex Hamm
CF:Nick Glonse

Juvencus XI:
GK:Naldo Zappa
CB:Dudu Madeiros
CB:Nicolò Bassi
CB:Amaury Félix(Subbed off for Priscilla Herbert, 52')
CDM:Nino Russo
CDM:Elio Provenzano(Assist 25')
RM:Julio Ramires(Assist 60')(Subbed off for Hugo Grec 61', Hugo Grec: Assist 70')
LM:Angelino Alberighi
RF:Demetro Laterza(Goal 60')
LF:Joaquim Martell
CF:Anastasio Campana(Goal 25')(Subbed off for Brunella Tafani 61', Brunella Tafani: Goal 70')

[Nephara]

Nephara 3 - 1 Lisander
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Tsattalios; 2 - Rafford, 5 - Konoval, 6 - Theuer, 3 - Vicelich (19 - Jeurissen 83'); 4 - Rowland, 8 - Klein (15 - Rosenthal 71'); 7 - Szalai (13 - Fanaiyan 68'), 21 - Gosforth (c), 11 - Strongbow; 9 - Hawke
Goals: Hawke 31', 55', Strongbow 49'

Michael Brandon wasn't a thrill-seeker. Not in life, certainly not in football. He knew Nephara had a reputation for thrilling qualifying campaigns, and took over midway into one that he came tantalisingly, agonisingly close to turning around. He considered sucking that excitement out of them to be part of his job.
Eight wins from nine. Five points clear at the top - comfortable, to some, but a defeat to Audioslavia and a freak loss somewhere else and they would suddenly be in trouble. 1-1 against Lisander in the first half... that threatened to be the freak.
They'd played alright. Dominated the ball without really trying, which Brandon always felt was a good sign, and got a deserved goal through Estrella Hawke doing what Estrella Hawke did, holding off a tight marker with a strong arm and hammering the ball into the top corner from just inside the box.
That was fine. They should've had more, but didn't, and no glaring chances had been missed, but it stopped being fine when Tsattalios was beaten at his near post by a strike deflected heavily off Konoval's calf.
It wasn't really anyone's fault, but that made it everyone's fault, and he drilled that into the team at half-time. But - and this was crucial - you couldn't let heads drop. So he finished the team talk with an optimistic message - they were still in this. They should still win. So ... win.
His lads were good lads. They came from humble backgrounds, by and large, and got by through graft and perseverence and bloody-minded stubbornness. It had never been about mental weakness, or lack of skill. Maybe it had been about fatigue, to some extent. Maybe the culture had been allowed to toxify, the snake's tail in its mouth in the glorious implosion following the World Cup triumph eleven years ago (had it really been that long?) but the important fact remained that if you got them moving the right way, stopped them getting distracted, stopped the infighting and the self-destructive impulses, they would move mountains for you.
Duly, they did - though Lisander wasn't precisely a mountain, spirited opponents though they may have been, you could only beat the enemy in front of you. Strongbow burst through their lines in possession and massaged the ball into the bottom corner beyond a sprawling goalkeeper before her throughball was pounced on and netted by Hawke. 3-1 in the end.
It'd been a close-run thing for a couple minutes. Certainly a sliding doors moment - take just a point from Lisander, maybe even lose it, slink demoralised to Audioslavia and suddenly things look open and terrifying and the zero-sum game of the playoffs beckon.
Better not to think about it. They had the points. The gap remained five.

NEPHARIM NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 6
Goalkeepers: 1 - Apostolos Tsattalios (Falourr, EUR), 12 - Andreas Swoboda (1860 Azoth, CEN), 20 - Anthoulis Matraxis (Creed United)
Defenders: 2 - Leona Rafford (Crisisbless), 3 - Sieglinde Lohengrin (Crisisbless), 5 - Dieter Konoval (KT Moreazerua, AUD), 6 - Ryan Theuer (Falourr, EUR), 18 - Danijel Brymora (Brinemouth), 19 - Lux Vicelich (Sabrefell Moths), 22 - Trajan Bruyne (Mallox, COS)
Midfielders: 4 - Monica Rowland (Bastion, EUR), 7 - Adnan Szalai (Ulsa, EUR), 8 - Rusalka Klein (Crawford City FC, COS), 11 - Rowena Strongbow (Directus, EUR), 13 - Ishtar Fanaiyan (Eastweald, COS), 14 - Josie Webster (North Laithland), 15 - Circe Rosenthal (Marionville, SCT), 16 - Regatta Aspenwood (Handon United, SCT), 21 - Konrad Gosforth (Mâ Âlâmëómë, FFD, c), 23 - Servet Misidjan (AFC Treason)
Forwards: 9 - Estrella Hawke (Sabrefell Athletic), 10 - Heron Kendall (Port Sebastian, SCT), 17 - Dragan Stavanger (Tannenberg FC, VLD)

SCHEDULE
Lisander 1 - 2 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 0 Audioslavia @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Tinhampton 0 - 1 Nephara
Nephara 4 - 0 Dalmat @ The Iron Hill (Vermillion)
Frozen Forest 0 - 2 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 4 Cereal Isle @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Flardania 1 - 2 Nephara
Dance 2 Revolution 0 - 4 Nephara
Nephara 3 - 1 Kopyk @ Phoenix Rise (Corvistone)
Nephara 3 - 1 Lisander @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Audioslavia vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Tinhampton @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Dalmat vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Frozen Forest @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Cereal Isle vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Flardania @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Nephara vs. Dance 2 Revolution @ Godswatch (Crisisbless)
Kopyk vs. Nephara

[Ko-oren]

WCQ 80 - Dragonflies Recap

Player Grades
All in all, though there were some draws that really should have, could have, would have been wins, the Dragonflies have held themselves quite well in Group 13. There have been some issues and problems so far, and most of the poor grades will be discussed further below. This overview definitely doesn't do the entire campaign justice, and doesn't show the border between the player's talent and the coaches' work, but it has to suffice for now.

Lyami Aviara, GK - 4/10 - See the section Goalkeeping under Issues below.
Lionel Dalton, RB - 5/10 - As the veteran defender, we had expected a far more 'experienced' showing. There's little that Dalton does to grow his teammates. Sure, that's not his strength anyway, but there were many examples of mistakes made by the defence that should've been avoided with some coaching by fellow players. Offensively, Dalton is sound and he aids the midfield in the buildup.
Hisashi Yamaoka, LB - 7/10 - Defensively very sound. Yamaoka is only 24, but he's the second most experienced defender anyway (after Dalton). Yamaoka tries to be the captain of the defence, but falls flat far too often. Good on him for trying to fulfill this role anyway, and he's a big contributor to the better results later in the campaign.
Ethan Benjamin, CB - 3/10 - Bad positioning (see the Issues below), and has since been replaced by Russell Swadling. Benjamin is only 21 years old, he'll be back on the starting XI in the future, but WC80 is too early for him.
Dennis Lampshire, CB - 6/10 - Called to the team as a wildcard, but kept strong, fought for his place among the starters, and kept it through the criticism. Lampshire keeps growing every single week, and his club Bruncester are also seeing a better player every game.
Ingmar Linderood, CB - 4/10 - Much like Ethan Benjamin, he has been replaced. For Linderood, that might mean the end to his national team career. He has been on the bubble since the start, but the many goals conceded early on do not help. Ian Neves has his place now.
Russell Swadling, CB - 6/10 - Replaced Ethan Benjamin. He handles the situation decently, with a high floor but a low ceiling. He does his thing, and is a decent defender, but lacks the quality to make the team around him better.
Ian Neves, CB - 7/10 - Was called to the team last-minute to act as a defensive captain in absence of leadership in the back line. He now has huge shoes to fill, and he does a decent job. The Branvón centreback has experienced a second boom to his career because of it, and he grows along with the team.
Reizo Yokota, CM - 6/10 - Yokota acts as a defensive midfielder with Analor Avalor, but he's also asked to join the attack. Yokota has the tank to keep doing that for 90 minutes, which is as much as you can ask from him. He's out of position frequently, and Avalor cannot make up for that often enough.
Analor Avalor, CM - 8/10 - Analor never expected to make the team, let along start, or even be the captain. In such a young group, left to its own devices without the massive stream of veterans retiring from the NT, Avalor demonstrates what is expected of everyone.
Maximilien Longchambon, AM - 7/10 - Longchambon keeps playing better than expected, which is keeping Lynn Holstege out of the team. For Longchambon, this might be the start to a very, very long shift as attacking midfielder on the NT, as the second youngest member on the 23-man roster. His creativity works on this team, his spacing and sense for open space has developed immensely. Biggest surprise of the campaign, so far.
Wouter Wouters and Chloé Beaulieu, ST - 8/10 - I'm naming them together. Striker is notoriously a difficult position to play on the extremely defensive Ko-oren squad, but these two are as good as a duo like Shiribeshi and Tokachi back in the day. The efficiency is everything you'd hope for in a team that does not generate many shots on goal.

Opponents
Ko-oren is sitting in fourth place, behind Farfadillis, New Gazi, and Mercedini. Behind us, Acronius is also still in the mix for a World Cup berth. Cathaldonia, Octinstine, Stegosauristan and the Sherpa Empire are battling for KPB points at the moment, and Austenesia are just trying to get a win this campaign - they're on just two draws so far, one of which is against us.

% chance for World Cup:
Farfadillis: 85%
New Gazi: 50%
Mercedini: 25%
Acronius: 20%
Ko-oren: 15%
Other: 5%

Farfadillis is still a different beast, on one loss (to us!!). They haven't qualified yet, but they are looking at another World Cup spot in front of a group of 4 teams that are more set on beating up each other than beating up the Vherderoja. New Gazi is next best, having established themselves as a good runner-up. It looks like they're only just ahead of the rest, but throughout the first half of qualifying, they've always managed to stay ahead, a vital quality for qualification. Mercedini is good at avoiding ties, but whether those will turn into wins or losses will be apparent soon. Acronius, while fifth, have already had both their matches against Farfadillis, so it can only get better for them from here on out. Ko-oren, meanwhile, is a good challenger, but far too inconsistent. A win over Farfadillis, but a 3-0 loss to New Gazi, and minimal efforts to the bottom five of the group cannot possibly be enough.

Issues from WCQ 80:
Captaincy
At the start, the head coach must have been at his wits' end when it came to leadership in the team. Lyami Aviara is too much of an individual, Dalton does not show any leadership beyond those he already trusts, and strikers don't make good captains in full-on defensive teams. Analor Avalor was called, without the talent of some players that are now benched because of it. Still, Avalor makes up for it with what he instills in his young teammates, and a crisis seems averted for now.

Goalkeeping
Aviara has been criticised since the start of the campaign for the number of goals conceded. Many are not his fault (see the positioning below) but there's definitely something going on with this confidence. Things look on the mend with just one goal conceded in the last four games - two of which were 1-0 victories for the Dragonflies, and it is crucial to keep that clean sheet when the Dragonflies are on a famous 'boring' 1-0 victory streak. Again, a crisis seems averted for the time being, but this sure was a cause for concern after 9 goals against in the first four matches, and just when it looked fine, a 3-0 thrashing by New Gazi.

Defensive positioning
Also a big part to the many goals against at the start - a cardinal sin to a 5-3-2 team that relies on its defence as much as we do - is the centre of the defence. Five defenders means three central defenders, and two of them were not up to snuff as it seemed. After the switch to Ian and Russell, everything seems normal again, but the effects still linger. Ethan and Ingmar still show the same problems when they are subbed in. With a back line of Dennis, Russell and Ian, the offside trap functions normally, and the space between defence and midfield is also taken care of pretty damn well.

Jersey
A new jersey was presented, and it all went by like nobody paid attention. The jersey now shows an equal amount of blue and green (instead of the mainly green jerseys until so far). Whether the dragonfly logo stays as is, remains to be seen, however. From afar it more looks like a smudge than a dragonfly, though from up close it looks pretty fly. Oh wait, it seems that somebody did notice:

The Ko-oren kits may not be clean and polished, but they have some style and the dragonfly is great too.

Guess that means the dragonfly stays.

Reserve players
An experiment that's here to stay: calling 5-10 extra players to fill in for subs when needed. It is even a great way to stockpile more experienced players to call on. And the clubs are happy with the recognition as well, if it doesn't impact the league calendar too much.

[The Archregimancy]

THE TALE OF BENJY BUNNY AND THE TASTY BUTTERCUP PATCH

One fine day in the Holy Empire, the fluffy bunnies took to the field to play against Free Swiss States.

The fluffy bunnies had won the reverse away fixture 7-0, so were super hopeful about scoring lots of goals while playing at what was temporarily passing for home.

Why, the immortal Dread Lords Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail were so confident about a positive result, that they had travelled to the Holy Empire from Fluffy Bunny World to watch the team in person for the first time in qualification, so all the fluffy bunnies were terribly excited.

As they took the field, Benjy Bunny couldn't help but notice that the Imperial Hippodrome groundskeepers had left a small patch of buttercups just to the right of the penalty area he was defending in the first half.

Benjy Bunny did so love buttercups.

He loved buttercups even more than he loved fresh carrots and nice cups of tea; largely because they acted as a powerful hallucinogen to poor little Benjy Bunny, who had a rare congenital bunny condition that made him susceptible to protoanemonin, which is what ranunculin is broken down to when eaten by cute little bunnies.

What a lot of big words! I bet you thought you were reading a happy little story about fluffy bunnies, not a scientifically accurate treatise about the properties of the Ranunculaceae family of flowering plants!

So anyway, do you know what Benjy Bunny did next?

He started to munch on the buttercups, and didn't even notice that the referee had blown the whistle to start the match!

Well, this led to a right to-do, let me tell you.

Every time the Free Swiss States players tried to attack, Benjy Bunny thought that they were evil amorphous servants of the Shadow Lord Ma'Gregor speaking to him in the colour blue.

This made Benjy Bunny unhappy, and soon he started to zip up and down the field, trying to take the ball away from the evil servants of Ma'Gregor, and seeking to place the Spherical Chalice of Destiny (or 'the ball') into the Bottomless Chasm of Eternity (or 'the opposing team's net')

Benjy Bunny was ever so confused that every time the fluffy bunnies managed to vanquish the evil servants of Ma'Gregor and place the Spherical Chalice of Destiny into the Bottomless Chasm of Eternity, the Chalice would reappear!

Zip, zip, zip, went Benjy Bunny, up and down the field, hopping around in a buttercup frenzy, and tirelessly trying to kick the Chalice into the Chasm.

And by the time the referee blew for the 90 minutes - and Benjy Bunny was finally starting to come down from his buttercup trip - he had scored five goals! Though on the down side, his total abandonment of anything resembling defensive duties meant the visitors had scored two themselves.

The next day, after he woke up from a terribly long sleep, all the other fluffy bunnies were laughing happily at embarrassed Benjy Bunny's very sore head, and he promised to never eat buttercups again.

But secretly Mr Tzimisces was wondering how he could ever get that sort of performance out of all of the bunnies.

Hippity-hop, hippity-hop, into the burrow.

THE END

[Jeruselem]

Princess Cassie with a female Jeruselem player

Cassie: Hello, this Princess Cassandra Elsa Dallas of Jeruselem reporting for duty with Naked News Jeruselem covering the World Cup 80. We're at home back at Dazza Dallas Stadium, I'm with one of the team here, Naomi Campbell. One of the forwards.
Naomi: It's nice to talk to everyone here
Cassie: Xianina visited us to stake a claim and test the mettle of Jeruselem team. Xianina did have 3 wins so we know they could beat one on the day. Jeruselem didn't exactly have one of their best games but we did enough to win 2-1
Naomi: We were lucky they couldn't shoot straight most of the time

Cassie: That's why they only have 12 goals from 10 games I guess
Naomi: We'll need to improve, we only scored two goals. Should have been at least three
Cassie: Too many missed opportunities, we could have had a great goal difference boost.
Naomi: We've got the capability. but we can't get it together even after 10 games.

Cassie: It was still 3 points
Naomi: True
Cassie: Other results in group 10, Turori beat Melbergia 3-0 in Melbergia. Ethane won 3-1 against The Liamese Empire in The Liamese Empire. But these are kinda expected results. We got some shockers today.
Naomi: Really?

Cassie: Lazhal drew 0-0 with Acapais at home, you know they should have won. But that wasn't the shocker.
Naomi: Must be Quakmybush then
Cassie: Quakmybush lost to Banija 3-1 in Banija which shook up the table.
Naomi: Wow

Cassie: Ethane on 24, Lazhal on 19, Jeruselem moved to 3rd on 18. Yes, we're not going away. Turori moved up to 4th on 16. Quakmybush back in 5th on 15. Xianina on 12, Banija 11, Acapais 10 and the other two on the bottom with 7.
Naomi: The top two aren't safe then
Cassie: They have us and Turori on their backs now.
Naomi: That's great news

Cassie: Now, the world cup 80 team is actually very different to say the one from 78 and 79 both of which almost qualified.
Naomi: We have some people from World 78 but pretty much most of this team is new. That includes your sister too taking over, from ... her mother .. your mother.
Cassie: My mother was pretty unlucky, as a player and coach. We almost qualified a few times.
Naomi: Yes, the heartbreaking kind of failure.

Cassie: We maybe ranked 50 but we're no lightweights
Naomi: We still cause problems for the faves
Cassie: Now, you've got a different kind of pay contract with team. Please explain
Naomi: Most people get paid in fiat, I didn't want that.

Cassie: So you get paid the crypto equivalent of the fiat amount?
Naomi: Yes, I know it means it kinda bounces around a bit but that's my choice.
Cassie: Why don't you just automatically change the fiat to crypto?
Naomi: The money hits the bank then I have pay fees to change it again. Why bother.

Cassie: Oh yes, rapey bank fees. You do have a fiat account
Naomi: Yes well, sometimes I have to use it.
Cassie: You'll be glad to know we had a successful fundraising crypto effort
Naomi: That's great

Cassie: Yes, means we don't have to contend with banks messing around with our money
Naomi: Doesn't your family run a bank?
Cassie: No actually, there's already too many bloody banks in Jeruselem as it is.
Naomi: Yeah

[Mercedini]

World Cup Catch-Up
@ Zoloroni Sports City Stadium - Zoloroni, Mercedini

Good evening and welcome back to our coverage of qualification for the 80th World Cup. The matches are beginning to tick down for all of the teams involved in qualification campaigns, with seven matches to go before we find out who was battled their way to the World Cup, who has to make their way through a play-off, and who has to settle for the Cup of Harmony, and maybe even early elimination from the entire World Cup cycle. Numbers left in contention are beginning to dwindle as we begin to see nations knocked out entirely, and with nations only a couple of days away from qualifying, the walls are beginning to close in on those teams stuck in mid-table limbo. So let's see whether Mercedini are stuck in the mire, or have managed to give themselves a good chance of qualification.

   Group 13                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts   H    A     
 1 Farfadillis                       11   10   0   1    42   16  +26    30  0-3  2-4
 2 New Gazi                          11    7   2   2    27   17  +10    23   -   3-3
 3 Ko-oren                           11    6   3   2    20   14   +6    21  1-0   -
 4 Acronius                          11    6   2   3    23   15   +8    20   -   2-3
 5 Mercedini                         11    6   1   4    21   19   +2    19
 6 Octinstine                        11    4   1   6    21   24   −3    13  3-2   -
 7 Cathaldonia                       11    3   2   6    17   28  −11    11   -   5-2
 8 Stegosauristan                    11    3   1   7    12   21   −9    10  1-2   -
 9 The Sherpa Empire                 11    2   2   7     9   19  −10     8  1-0  2-0
10 Austenesia                        11    0   2   9    15   34  −19     2  NXT  2-1

In Group 13, we now have two teams on the edge of the precicipce as The Sherpa Empire now joins Austenesia as the second team to lose out on auto-qualification, with the team ranked in tenth place potentially one game away from being completely eliminated from porceedings, with all of the bottom four losing their matches on match day eleven giving the advantage to Octinstine who jumps into sixth position with their win. The final team to lose was out very own Golden Eagles, who fought valiantly against the World #3 but eventually succumbed to a 4-2 loss in Farfadillis, meaning they fell two places and lost ground on their rivals in the race for the two available play-off places. With Farfadillis' victory over the Golden Eagles, they retain their seven point lead at the top of the table ahead of second seeded and second placed New Gazi with seven games remaining, la Vherderoha certainly look well on their way to yet another World Cup Finals. Ko-oren remain the only team to take points away from Farfadillis with their stunning 4-3 victory away from home, which keeps them in the hunt following a disappointing set of results versus lower ranked teams.

With the auto-qualifying spot all but wrapped up in the group, attention now turns to the play-off race, and in what could be a dramatic end to the group stage in Group 13, four teams have a great chance to claim the two playoff spots available for teams to make their final bid to be at the World Cup in Starblaydia and the Equestrian States. New Gazi, Ko-oren, Acronius and Mercedini are all left in the mix for the playoffs, and with Farfadillis two far ahead to feasibly catch, while the bottom five teams are at least six points behind the four previously mentioned teams, it seems as if it will be a four-horse race to the line which will determine who extends their campaign and who is left out in the cold. New Gazi looked to have wrapped it up on paper, but haven't managed to achieve or maintained the gap they need to secure a top three place, giving the three chasers chances to potentially overtake and knock New Gazi out of contention.

Of course, plenty can change between now and the end of qualifying, with Mercedini potentially holding the advantage as they have now played Farfadillis and can now focus on the lower ranked nations and their rivals immediately above and below them, while their said rivals still have to play la Vherderoja. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, and with other groups fairly wrapped up at this point, it could become the focus of the World Cup come the final match days.

That's all from us in today's analysis of the World Cup 80 Qualification, tomorrow it's Austenesia who visit the Sports City Stadium for heir reverse leg. Mercedini may be confident going into their home match as they did beat the group's bottom ranked side 2-1 away from home in Austenesia, but as we've seen, nothing is certain is a topsy-turvy qualification campaign. We hope you will be able to join us for that, but from Zoloroni, we bid you goodnight!

[Abanhfleft]

---

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

WORLD CUP 80 QUALIFIERS: ABANHFLEFT VS SPACEANIA
By Malik Qazizadah


The Abanhfleft women's national football team celebrate only their third victory in the World Cup 80 qualifiers with this 5-0 drubbing of Spaceania. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

URANIUM CITY, FLEFTIC ANTARCTICA - Abanhfleft tallied only their third ever win in the current World Cup qualifying cycle with a smashing victory over Spaceania, which is also Abanhfleft's first win under new manager Ginny Katesmar, from North Prairie.

Katesmar took over from caretaker manager Joel Peter Ragland in the mid-qualification break, after Ragland had led the Lady Revolutionaries to two defeats in two games during his interim spell following the "summary dismissal" of the former women's national team manager Heinrich Wurzmann, and expectations are high on both Katesmar and the national team following a disappointing run of performances that has put a serious dent in the Fleftics' hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.

At the start of the game against Spaceania, the first World Cup qualifier being held in Uranium City and the Stadium of the Southern Lights, both the team and the new manager still seemed unsure about their new relationship with each other, but as the game wore on and Abanhfleft's dominance was finally translated into goals, both players and manager seemed to grow into the relationship until finally, at the end of the match, the team had mobbed their Prairiean manager and celebrating as if they had already won qualification to the group.

As for the game itself, while the first few minutes of the game once again consisted of nervous and unsteady play from the home side, Abanhfleft grew into the game and soon got the opening goal as Alexandra Rousseau tapped in a low cross from her striker partner Chelsea Stuart.

Rousseau would then return the favor for Stuart with the Rosenpfelblatz City Ladies striker bouncing the ball on her head and then laying it off for Stuart, who practically smashed in the second goal of the game for the Lady Revolutionaries.

And if the team thought that the same "game of two halves" syndrome that had plagued them all of these qualifiers, those thoughts were quickly and immediately dispelled once Lillian Prescott had been tripped up inside the penalty box, and Chelsea Stuart converted the resulting spot kick.

Claire Osgood's long-range goal from a parried Adelaide Singh attempt finally put an end to all Spaceanian resistance against the Lady Revolutionaries, and substitute striker Kelly McGinnis put the finishing touch on the result with ten minutes to go after an impressive through-ball from fellow substitute Prudence Woodward.

"Can the change in manager carry us over the line?"
Discussing the victory over Spaceania on Matchday Live, guest pundits Boguslav Gavrilyuk and Matthew Cave said that the fans of the national team shouldn't read too much about the future of the Lady Revolutionaries from this one result, and that it was also too early to judge Ginny Katesmar as well.

"You see it in teams with new managers almost all of the time," Gavrilyuk said. "There's almost always a short period of good results from any given team when they get the new manager in, and it appears as if the same has happened for the women's team. We are right now in the honeymoon period in the transition between managers. We have to give this a run of games before we can begin judging her."

Cave was in complete agreement with his fellow pundit and also added his own concerns on whether the change in manager would be enough to steer Abanhfleft's qualification hopes back on the right track. "We all also know how much a great upheaval like bringing in a new manager can disrupt a team's flow and process," he said. "I mean, looking back on it, we will probably keep saying that the decision to part ways with Wurzmann will prove to be the right decision in the end. Our form has just been absolutely atrocious under him. But bringing in a new manager and getting them up to speed with our tactics is quite difficult as well. And they're almost always going to bring their own touch into the tactics as well. Mixing things up might be beneficial; they might not. But we will certainly find out come the end of this qualifying campaign."

Abanhfleft women's national team manager Ginny Katesmar: "It's a great feeling. My first game and my first victory with this team. I like the girls in this team, especially the younger ones. But everyone's got fight and spirit in them. I see this team and I wonder what they're doing near the foot of the qualifying group. This is a team that can punch as high as the sky. And I hope to be the manager to lead them back to the World Cup."

           ABANHFLEFT 5 - 0 SPACEANIA
       ROUSSEAU (18')
STUART (41', 47' pen)
         OSGOOD (53')
       McGINNIS (80')

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 1 Carter
RB: 2 Osgood
CB: 4 Jackson (Hannibal - 82')
LB: 3 Valentine
RM: 5 Maynard
LM: 6 Choi
RW: 7 Prescott
CAM: 10 Torres (Woodward - 53')
LW: 8 Singh
RS: 9 Stuart
LS: 11 Rousseau (McGinnis - 68')

MATCH STATS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 48%
Spaceania: 52%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 18 (9 on target)
Spaceania: 6 (4 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 10
Spaceania: 3
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 11
Spaceania: 15

[Ashkam]

“Bitch better have my money
Y'all should know me well enough
Bitch better have my money
Please don't call me on my bluff
Pay me what you owe me…”

Five Hundred Warriors
Chapter Eleven

The van’s tires skidded as it pulled off, accelerating in a different direction than the other van that was headed to the west. Splitting up would make it harder for them to get busted by the police response, but to be safe, they would ditch the van as soon as they were a decent distance away. Audrey Kazma clutched the seat tightly as they started moving, surprised by the sudden increase in speed, and she felt something that was almost like a sinking feeling in her stomach as she was pressed back in her seat by the momentum. Arik Nordale, on the other hand, was an expert that had one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand on a gun as he put it away and switched focuses to driving.

“The good thing about being with this gang is that they have some ties with the police. I made sure ahead of time that the response in this area isn’t going to be that strong. It’s for show, mostly. They’re not going to chase us too far, they’ll lose our trail soon and we’ll find somewhere to ditch the van. Someone else will pick it up later, but we don’t want to be seen around this thing after it was sighted at the site of the attack,” he explained. The neighborhood that they were in soon changed as they sped through the area, the downtown surroundings shifting to the more industrial outer parts of Hesevan, with warehouses and railway lines and factories where workers were getting out from work.

They had to stop temporarily as some of those workers crossed the street, and Arik cursed. “We’re almost there, but this is never not going to make me nervous. Just sitting here while the cops might still be on us, before they lose our trail,” he muttered. The workers were coming from a steel factory and they took forever to finish crossing the street after getting out from their day of work, but when they did, Arik floored the gas again and Audrey was once again pressed against her seat by the sudden jump in speed. Eventually, the sirens faded and they pulled the van into an empty industrial parking lot that was blocked from view by three abandoned factories on each side, with only one side open.

Arik stepped out and undid the lock on the fence before getting back into the van long enough to pull it into the lot. And then he jumped out again, grabbed his gun, and gestured for Audrey to follow him. She slid out of the van almost reluctantly and kept her hands in her pockets as she walked around the back, watching when Arik undid the lock and then opened the back doors. “Out,” he said simply, leveling his gun at Martin Majala as he climbed out of the van and put his hands up. “Audrey, keep your gun on him.”

Her hands were shaking but she reached for the pistol and raised it towards Martin, holding it with both hands and keeping her finger away from the trigger as if she was afraid it would shoot the man itself, with no input from her. That wasn’t the truth, but it might as well be to someone that hadn’t fired a gun before today, or even held one. And yet, this weapon was the thing that would win her more friends, according to Arik. According to him, it would win her the kind of friends that would allow her to have freedom from the country’s restrictive laws, and freedom to live as one of the elites without entering government. If she put in the work, of course.

“You sure owe us a lot of money, pretty boy,” said Arik, hitting Martin in the stomach with the barrel of his own rifle. “You ever intending to pay those debts back? Or are we going to have to leave you bleeding out here and head to your house to collect it ourselves? Don’t make this harder on both parties than it has to be-”

“I really don’t have it, if I did you would have been paid already. But you know communist countries don’t pay their players millions of dollars-”

“But you, Martin, aren’t an ordinary football player. You’re the starting striker not for one of the tribal clubs, but for the rich capital club. We all know that in Jestana, the players make more. And you’re not an ordinary player in Jestana, but a valued star. The crown jewel of their attack. So no, I don’t believe it for a minute when you say that you don’t have any money and that you’re just a poor, broke footballer that we should feel bad for while forgiving your debts-”

“I had money at one point but you already know that I took the loan because I needed more and didn’t have enough, and I still don’t have enough to repay it back-”

Arik aimed his rifle at Martin’s knee. “You know, I could make your career prospects change drastically with one pull of the trigger. A striker with no knees isn’t a useful striker, and I think your recovery prospects would be, well… You would be relying on wishful thinking as far as a comeback anytime soon goes. You already don’t have money now, according to yourself. What if Dynamo Jestana moved on from you because you can’t do the job and they need to send the salary elsewhere?”

“You know, the national team is forming soon and if you do this, you’re not going to be able to play for it. They already selected me. I got a letter about it,” Martin said rapidly. “They’re going to want to know what happened to their star striker if I can’t play anymore and when they dig into it they’ll see that you did it. And at the very least, you won’t be able to play. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Arik lowered the rifle without blinking or flinching, cocking his head to the side. “No, I don’t What I want to do is drive you to that mansion of yours and have you unlock the door for us while we raid the place and take everything that you have that could pay off what you owe. Just because doing something that would alert the national team isn’t wise does not mean that we aren’t prepared to make you bleed. Or you can simply pay up here and now.”

“Which I’ve already told you that I can’t do… Let’s go back to the house, I suppose.”

[Schottia]

Enrico Hanson-Conavacio

Part Ten.

Dull As Dishwater.

Schottia U-12 v. Nephara U-12

It wasn't exactly Harbour Hill Stadium, but the main training pitch at the Regional Development Academy would have to do. Tess had been surprised by just how many people turned up to what was essentially a high-end school football match, as nearly five hundred people had gathered to watch Schottia U-12s take on Nephara. Maybe some of them had read fixture details in a rush, and mistaken it for an under twenty-one game, but either way, there was a decent crowd. While most of the capacity was pitch side standing, this was still where Regional Development Side A played their matches in the third tier of Schottic football. As a result, there were home and away dugouts, and a small stand down one side, where barely a spare seat was visible.

To be fair, the organisers of the Harbour Shield Tournament had done a good job of making it feel like a real international; so much so that Tess actually felt nervous lined up alongside her teammates, as they awaited the Nepharim national anthum. She felt pretty small: small compared to the other players and small compared to the setting. The pitch had been slightly scaled down in accordance with SFA guidelines on U-12 matches, but all the same, the people watching in the crowd seemed a long way off.

Tess had always thought of Nepharim people as being tough, hard-tackling sorts, but maybe she was just unfairly indulging in stereotypes. They were probably a bunch of sensitive souls, who would have been appalled by the insinuation that their nationality made them in someway predisposed to overly robust challenges... At least that's what she hoped, as she glanced down the opposition line, who looked disconcertingly steely.


Fifteen Minutes in.

For all the effort being put into it, the game was dull as dishwater - or so Enrico thought, staring back at the midfield melee. There was an awful lot of kicking going on, but not a lot of passing. Well... If they couldn't be bothered getting their act together and pass it to him, then why should he lift a finger? He'd made a couple of half-arsed attempts get his teammates attention, but his yells of "HERE" and "ENRICO'S" had failed to spur them into action. Well, he couldn't do much more than that.

'Pssst..!' He heard the not-so-subtle attempt to get his attention.

'What's up?' He said strolling over towards Tess Maitfield, in a lazy, couldn't-give-a-fuck manner. Given the fact that the ball hadn't crossed the halfway line in the last five minutes, told him he was probably safe enough moving out of position.

'Pay attention...' Tess hissed, in the same low half-whisper. She pulled a disapproving face that reminded Enrico of his mother, shooting him a look out the corner of her eye, while trying to keep her attention on the game. 'The coach is getting pissed off with you.' She added. 'You should be sitting a bit deeper, you've no chance of picking up ball where you are, and Kenny (Billman, the left-back) is getting murdered right now.'

'Huh..?' Enrico shrugged as he looked round at the dugout, where their coach was indeed shaking his head. The truth of the matter was, if he tracked back, he was more likely to be reduced to a supporting role, and less likely to be able to grab the glory. If Tess thought that she was going to get on the scoresheet and steal the credit for his hard work then she'd have another think coming. 'I'm fine where I am,' he answered defiantly.

Enrico ambled back to his position hugging the touchline, as he watched the ball go out for a goal kick at the other end. If the keeper's earlier attempts at distribution were anything to go by, then it was very unlikely to come anywhere near him. The eleven-year-old slid his hands down his thighs, forgetting for a second that his shorts didn't have pockets. Walking over to talk to that stuck-up little cow Tess, was the largest distance he had covered since the kick off.


After the match

'Both sides defended well.' Tess' father stated, aiming for a bit of diplomacy. 'One of those games where you were never going to get many opportunities.' He added as they headed back through to Huntley following what had been a truly mind numbing 0-0 draw with Rushmori side, Nephara.

Tess didn't really know what to say, so she simply nodded. She was beginning to empathise with her father's plight - playing badly wasn't easy. If drawing nil-nil felt like this, then she could only imagine how soul destroying it must be propping up the bottom of the table.

'They say the Ceni - Cosumar game was a little better.' He put in, matter-of-factly. Two-all, quite a few chances at both ends by all accounts...' Tess wasn't sure anymore, whether she still had a soft spot of Ceni, the country of her upbringing. Life wouldn't have had to pan out too much differently for her to be pulling on the iconic red and gold jersey.

Tess nodded, as she kept her eyes on the hedgerows, as they whizzed through the South Schottic countryside.

'I tell you...' Her father shook his head, as he released a long exasperated breath. '...that Conavacio kid has got one stinking attitude.' Tess couldn't be bothered talking about it. In her entire eleven years on the planet, she had never once encountered such a rude, arrogant, and self-entitled person. 'Just like his bloody father...' The Hillstreet boss felt in necessary to add. 'You know, I've no time for those fair-weather players. Great when your side are in the ascendency, but as good as a man down when you've got to pull your socks up. They think because they produce two minutes of brilliance, and tuck away a couple of goals, that it makes up for the fact that you've got to carry them for the rest of the ninety minutes. Nah.' He shook his head more decisively this time. 'Not for me...'

'Yeah.' Tess agreed weakly, realising that in two weeks of playing alongside him, she hadn't actually seen Enrico Hanson-Conavacio do anything. The boy's career seemed to be 60% hype, 30% mystique, and 10% being able to kick the ball really hard. It all added up to one big, soft, overly built-up brat, who Tess desperately wanted to understand.

---

OOC: A big thank you to the nations who agreed to let me use their youth teams for the Harbour Shield.

[North Prarie]

PrarieNow reactions to Matchday 10 around TSP

Kaea Westnord @beepeenp1124
May 5, 7:27 pm / Stonebridge, EH

This isn't even funny anymore. Purely ashamed of my country of descent. #FosbergOut

Acel Carrinamae @prarieambasbp verified
May 5, 4:22 pm / Norfolk Pinewoods, Beepee

Rising. NorPine FC. NP. BP. All losses. I'm having a great week....#NRPvsBOS #BEEvsCEN #LCRvsACF #EqueStar80

Kari Kolder @kkolderchannel6 verified
May 5, 9:36 pm / Cobblestone Lake City, SL


The face that you make when you realize that Stetzra lost too @SPSN #Ugh #FosbergOut

Bridget Jacobson @bridgeterhs
May 5, 6:59 pm / Huntiana, HN

Midand watching everyone fail be like #OnlyTheMPDIsGood

Noah Aisha @noahaisha17
May 6, 11:42 am / Worcester, EH

I literally have no idea how Beepee can be so good and then so bad in such a short matter of time #FosbergOut

Denis Brice @denisbsoccer verified
May 5, 10:19 pm / Spring Lake, HS

Put me in coach, i'm ready to play...today.#NRPvsBOS #ICouldDoBetter #SportingWorldCup5

[Tobiasia]

New North South Wales 0-1 Tobiasia

The Tigers took a hard fought and close away win as the defence delighted to keep a clean sheet.

The game began quickly, with a lightning fast attack from NNS Wales as their attackers penetrated the midfield, and it culminated in a few good shots, saved by an on form Percy Matthews.

The only goal of the match came from Rosa Uzele at 49’. Urtup began the play, passing it across to Ryans who ran with it before crossing into the box where Uzele hammered a volley into the top left corner.

NNS Wales had some attempts at goal, but the terrific trio of Zeya, Goldsmith and Woods held all their attacks off with ease.

Our view
An excellent defensive performance from the trio at the back. It’s a tad concerning this is only our first clean sheet of the campaign but it was still a well fought one. However Philips was effectively absent from the attack, instead starting to fall back to CAM some of the time, and he needs to return to striking and scoring goals. However his form up until now has been perfect so no real qualms.

Highscorers
•Fraser Philips: 8
•Lee Ryans: 5
•Rosa Uzele: 5
•Harry Lithgow: 2
•Sally Urtup: 1
•Arthur Slim: 1

Most assists
•Sally Urtup: 5
•Lee Ryans: 4
•Harry Lithgow: 3
•Flint Eastgate: 3
•Fraser Philips: 2
•Arthur Slim: 1
•Paul Goldsmith: 1
•Rosa Uzele: 1
•Frank Woods: 1
•Katrina Zeya: 1

[Taeshan]

After a rough end to the first half of qualifying with a 2-2 tie against Kosovakia the Purple Knights went on the road against a rather weak side in Competitive Solitaire. While the result was expected to be a win, with other results throughout the season the fans were rather worried that they would be unable to actually get the win on the road. With other results not really going the sides way they would need to keep up with a victory. Both Eura and Apox managed wins on the road and the Knights were looking to keep only three points behind second to have any chance of qualifying for the World Cup.

The game was a rather defensive affair. With the home side not really interested in much more than defending against a better side, and the Knights expecting to have a hungry home side and themselves setting up defensively. In the end it was the usual suspects who would put the Knights on top. Janson Jewsbury found a strong cross into Miles Snavely who pounced on a sleeping defense and rounded the goalie for his 101st international goal. A strong performance and it really allows the Knights to continue on, with a big match upcoming in Apox it seems like a big matchup is only days away.