Copa Rushmori XXX- Everything Thread (FINAL Posted!)

by **Cassadaigua** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:05 am

Opening Day a Success,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

It was a welcome sight to see so much great soccer, or football if you prefer, being played in our country. We have hosted several events in our time, but since we returned, it was only baseball. That’s fine, but for those who want to see something different, and the world’s most popular sport, hosting the 30th Copa Rushmori is truly a treat. Rushmore is home to many of the top soccer nations in the world, and there’s always a lot of pride in wanting to be the regional champion. Ten cities and twelve different venues will be hosting the games, so there are plenty of options for our fans to take in games if you can’t make it to Concord Heights. Groups 3 and 4 are exclusively in Brattleboro and Concord Heights, respectively, so nations traveling to each of those cities can set up shop in one hotel and prepare accordingly. The other groups are held in two different cities, but each city per group was put with the next closest option, so in these cases where there is some travel involved, it won’t be much.

There was some speculation that CASE (Cassadagan Association For Soccer Excellence) deliberately placed the Mytanar Region in New Lakeland (for two of three games) due to the fact that in that city, ticket prices are the highest, and that nation is recovering from a recession. Their fans are also known for, to put it nicely, extracurricular activities. Cassadagan conspiracy theorists, took the Mytanar speculation a little further, suggesting that if there were two cities in the country that CASE would prefer to see hooliganism, it would be New Lakeland and Grande Mountain, due to New Lakeland still sometimes considered an “outsider city” in Cassadaigua, and Grande Mountain simply being a place that protests and violence can never seem to get away from, so it happening there again would be nothing out of the ordinary. So I asked Taylor Connolly, the President of CASE about this speculation, “I suppose that when you look at it the way that has been suggested by their media, with some of our own people adding to speculation, it could make sense. But I assure you, it was simply coincidental. The only deliberate assigning of a host city for a nation was to have Cassadaigua play in Concord Heights. We never made it a point to say, put this nation in this city because of facts X, Y, and Z. Ticket prices may be higher in New Lakeland, but that is not true in Grande Mountain, so any of their fans who may be priced out of New Lakeland, can go to Grande Mountain. We want as many fans of theirs, and of every other nation in the tournament, to come to the Copa Rushmori.” When asked about hooliganism in general, Connolly said, “Security will be on top of any attempted acts. We will do our utmost to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. There is always the potential for some people to want to ruin that, and those people will be dealt with accordingly, and in adherence to Cassadagan law.”

Another cause of speculation was CASE’s naming of Brittany Cutler to be the coach of the team. This had been Stephanie Sweeney’s job. Of course, Sweeney is also the coach of the World Cup teams, so it definitely raised some eyebrows as to whether or not this is an audition for Cutler. Sweeney disappointed many in World Cup 80 qualifying after the team qualified for the proper in the 79th Cup. Despite that poor showing, the nation rebounded well in the Cup of Harmony, and made it to the semifinals, and it was thought by many such effort saved Sweeney’s job. Stephanie returned to coach the Di Bradini 43 side as well, and did coach the Copa Rushmori 29 squad. She will not be around, however, for this tournament. There has never been any sort of announcement of a firing by CASE. Taylor Connolly hasn’t said much about it other then to say, “It’s an opportunity to see what someone else can do with our national talent.” Doesn’t that sound like this might be an audition? The next tournament after this will be World Cup 81, and a good Copa Rushmori by Cutler could see her, and not Sweeney, be the coach of the team.

The roster features a few more World Cup players then did our last Copa Rushmori roster. Coach Cutler said a big mission of the team is to, “Get Chelsea Monroe and Caitlyn Mayer going at this level.” They are two of the brightest young forward stars in the country, and both excelled in their Di Bradini year, which was the DBC 41 team that also made the semifinals. Once again, the team’s leading World Cup scorer, Hannah Ranucci, is once again not playing in the Copa Rushmori. On the good side, Kristen Speller, the World Cup starting keeper, will participate. The team opened to a 3-3 draw against Darmen, and it say Monroe and Mayer each score a goal in the match. Despite falling 2-0 in the first 20 minutes, Cassadaigua battled back in the first half, and tied with a 38th minute goal by Mayer, and a 44th minute goal by Monroe. They again showed character in the second half, and after falling behind 3-2, Rachel Brenner, a starting midfielder in the last two World Cups, came through in her first Copa Rushmori as well, with a goal in the 82nd. The team plays Crystalline Caverns next, a nation coming off a shock draw with Eura in the opener, in what was really the only major surprise of the first day.

by **Yue Zhou** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 12:26 pm

OOC: Using the most recent Olastor roster I could find, from WC77.

RAPID RECAP: Dragons Can't Break Through, Draw With Olastor

Yu Xuelin, Beian Sports Network

BRATTLEBORO, CASSADAIGUA - Despite fourteen shots and six on target, Yuezhou simply couldn't get the goal they needed against Olastor to start the Copa Rushmori off on the right foot. Although the Red Dragons will take a point against a higher-ranked side, one can't help but feel disappointed after the national team put up its best performance in months and still couldn't get the job done. Alex Cartwright said as much in his post-match interview: "We played well and fought hard today. But if we want to get anywhere in this tournament, we need to do a better job of converting our chances."

Things got off to a strong start for Yuezhou, although Jiawei Sangu's sixth-minute shot into Moses-Pollard's arms was an underwhelming end to a thunderous counterattack. The Red Dragons dominated possession and pressed hard, pinning Olastor's midfield back and ensuring that they would get the lion's share of early chances. But Olastor would not break, and a team not many would tip as strong defensively managed to hold the line against the Yue attackers. Although Wen Xiaoli and Quan Zedong were both excellent as attacking-midfielders, an aging Jiawei Sangu and an ineffective Fu Xi simply couldn't finish.

It was Fu who was guilty of the most egregious miss, committed at the very end of the first half. Wen released Fan Xiaopeng down his left flank, and the Goldstaff City defender blitzed past Corr and whipped a cross into the box. Deverel Moses-Pollard flapped at it, and although the goalkeeper got a hand to it, the ball spilled out for Fu to shoot into an empty net. But he scuffed his effort off the post, and Jiawei Sangu's subsequent shot trickled wide for a corner. And so, after forty-five minutes, it was still scoreless.

The start of the second half would bring about more of the same, and after just five minutes, Alex Cartwright had seen enough. Off came a clearly tiring Jiawei Sangu, and on came Jiangdong's Huang Shenan. But the change did little to improve the Red Dragons' finishing. Within just three minutes, a pinpoint through ball from Quan released Huang and only Moses-Pollard stood between the Yue striker and a one-nil lead. But the goalkeeper managed to get a hand on Huang's weak effort, once again sending it wide.

Hong Guilin, in for Han Xiaowei at the sixtieth minute, and Xie Xueyi, in for Jin Guiyu as Cartwright molded his team into a more attack-minded 4-3-2-1 formation, were both impactful as substitutes, although Xie was only in for the final ten minutes - leading many to believe whether the Llamanean manager had waited too long to make his changes. But, although Yuezhou was seriously slowing down after a full match of pressing, they remained dangerous on the attack.

With five minutes left, Red Dragons fans briefly believed they'd broken through, as Wen Xiaoli found Xie wide-open in front of goal, and the substitute coolly slotted home. But Xie was blatantly offside, and the referee - luckily for Olastor - waved off the goal. Despite the opportunities, though, it'll be Olastor who most regret the scorelessness of the match. In the dying seconds of the match, Yuezhou were caught being a little too eager to score on a corner-kick, and Katy Ward found herself open on goal. Veteran defender Ma Jianke sent the striker flying, and was given a red card for his troubles, but in hindsight, he saved the point for Yuezhou. Because just seconds before the game would end, Maverick Houghton would step up to the spot, run up to the ball, and send it over the bar.

Yuezhou will play unranked St. Trinitans next, and the Red Dragons have to know that a win is absolutely essential. With the exception of Wang Wuying, in for the suspended Ma Jianke, Cartwright will roll the same starting eleven back as Yuezhou try to get their first win of the tournament.

by **Darmen** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 12:33 pm

Darmen's schedule for the 30th Copa Rushmori was not an easy one. Opening against the hosts Cassadaigua before facing the second seeded Eurans was probably the last thing the Darmeni's wanted to see when the schedule was announced. Their final opponents, unranked Crystalline Caverns, would certainly have made for better opposition in the opening match to allow the All Green's to get their feet underneath them.

Nonetheless, the All Green's took to the field against the Fillies as 82,000 roaring fans in Concord Heights Stadium looked on. Both sides put forward starting eleven's filled with plenty of experience. In the opening twenty minutes, Darmen seemed to be more effective at putting this experience into practice, with the Darmeni midfield passing the ball in circles around their Dagan opponents before exploding down the flanks and putting crosses into the box. Being slightly taller than the Dagans, the Darmeni attackers were able to rise past their opponents and head the ball twice into goal. Zachariah Butler was the first to do so, in the 11th, while Felix Lucanus followed suit in the 19th. After that however the Darmeni's let off of the gas, giving their opponents a bit of a breather. Both Dagan forwards scored in the closing portion of the first half, Caitlyn Mayer in the 38th minute and Chelsea Monroe in the 44th. The two teams went into the dressing rooms with an equal scoreline.

A visibly livid Godefroy Abascal must have lit into the team during the half time talk, as the All Greens once again looked like the same team they had appeared to be in the opening of the first half. This time it was Juanito Stafford who scored in the 55th minute. After making a run down the right touchline, Stafford cut back inside of the Dagan defender who had been marking him, the defender thoroughly confused as to why Stafford had not continued down the touchline to make his cross. Having no intention of making a cross, Stafford bombed forwards at full pace, barely able to control the ball in front of him as he raced through a wide open penalty box. Fillies' Goalkeeper Kristen Speller stood like a vase on a table (OOC: See #14 & #15) while Stafford blasted the ball past her to where the owl sleeps.

Unfortunately for the All Greens, they repeated the same mistake they had made in the first half, taking their foot off of the gas and allowing the Dagan's back into the game rather than crushing them and ending the game when they had the chance. Rachel Brenner scored the equalizer in the 82nd minute, and both teams would walk away from the match with a single point. The Fillies were smiling too, while the All Greens all gazed at the celebrating Dagan fans with disappointed looks.

by **Qusmo** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 4:01 pm

Qusmo National Team falls to reigning champions in Copa Rushmori debut

Qusmo’s Copa Rushmori debut was less triumphant than its counterparts in the World Cup Qualifiers & the Cup of Harmony, as the national team fell 1-0 to Valladares.

Qusmo came into the match as underdogs against the holders, but they put up a valiant effort. Ultimately, Valladares got ahead early on a twenty-ninth minute Wilfried Baume strike from outside the box & proceeded to set up a brick wall that Qusmo simply could not get past. The top-ranked team in the region had a back line of five for much of the match, especially in the second half, & Qusma players struggled to get through.

Striker Rilan-Jerat Nev will rue a chance just before the half to equalize, as they mishit a ball when they were running clean through on goal; however, much of the credit for the clean sheet has to go to goalkeeper Michael Armand, who made several excellent saves throughout the match. It was a good start for Valladares, which won on home soil in the last tournament & looks to defend their title in Cassadaigua.

“It’s not the best result for us to open the tournament, but, then again, it wasn’t an ideal opponent to get a result against, either,” Avarn-Oxolt noted. “It was a close match, & we’ll take heart from that. It wasn’t a Cenian defeat. In the end, we’re going to take this result & build off it.”

The manager referenced Qusmo’s only experience against Rushmori opposition before this Copa Rushmori - two matches which were not pleasant for Qusma fans. As an unranked nation playing in World Cup Qualifiers against the seventeenth-ranked nation in the world - still the highest-ranked opponent Qusmo has ever played - expectations were never high. In the end, Qusmo lost 5-2 in Cenial in its worst loss in history on Matchday 8, before suffering an even worse loss in Qanz on Matchday 17 with a 5-1 result that mathematically eliminated the team from qualification.

The two matches still stand as the only two in which Qusmo has ever conceded more than three goals, as well as the only two in which Qusmo has ever lost by a margin of more than two. Until the Copa Rushmori opener in South Granby, they also represented the only two matches Qusmo had ever played against an opponent from Rushmore.

“It’s not the end of the world. Of course, we were hoping for a draw - but we also didn’t want to concede a second goal. We can certainly still qualify, especially with the format this tournament is using. But if we’re going to do it, every last goal will be valuable. Every last point will be valuable,” Avarn-Oxolt emphasized. “I think we could probably advance with three points if we have a good goal differential, but to get at least four is really where we want to be.”

“The fact that we only conceded one goal in this match is going to be crucial, because if we do finish third in this group & are tied on points with other third-placed teams, every additional goal we concede will be tremendously damaging. To limit it to one against the team ranked number one in the region is a decent result,” the manager reiterated.

“In Copa Rushmoris XXVII & XXVI, there were only four groups, so third-place teams didn’t advance. But at Copa Rushmori XVIII, only one team with three points didn’t make it, & a team with three points & a negative goal differential did. & at Copa Rushmori XXIX, every team with three points advanced to the knockouts - including Northern Natanians, which had a -3 goal differential, & Sarrbia, which came into the final matchday with one goal scored, eight conceded, & no points, & ended up with a -6 goal differential.”

“If you go back to Copa Rushmori XXV, two nations were disqualified from competition after the group stage, leading to every non-disqualified team that placed third or better making it to the Round of Sixteen. It all depends on how the tournament breaks, of course,” cautioned Avarn-Oxolt, “but we want to be sitting on at least three points by the end of the group stage, & four or more would be ideal.”

“To get to four, we have to get a result against Savojarna. They’re a great team, & they qualified to the last World Cup. They’re ranked twenty-eighth in the world; that’s the best in this group according to the KPB rankings, & they’ll be looking to top it. Given the results today, they’re in a great position to go through. Our job isn’t to stop them from advancing; we just need to pick up a result. But, of course, saying that is a lot easier than doing it,” smiled Avarn-Oxolt.

“It’s going to be a tough match against the Savojars. I have a feeling it’ll be exciting for the neutrals, too,” Avarn-Oxolt predicted. “We & Savojarna will both be looking to play at a high tempo in this match. They have some players who are dangerous from the flanks, especially with a cross. Generally, our team likes to play more compactly, so it’ll certainly be a challenge for [Kynda-Sevet] Pec & [Forzu-Ralox] Kal - but I’m confident they’ll be up for it.”

“If we work hard & pick up something from this match, we’ll be in good shape heading to our match against East Neutralia. In the end, we want to be in a position to advance to the next round, & then we’ll see what happens from there. A 1-0 defeat to the top-ranked team in the tournament isn’t fatal. The blueprint from here on out is to pick up a result against Savojarna & then win against East Neutralia. If we can do that, I’m confident we’ll be staying a little longer in Cassadaigua.”

Qusmo National Team falls to reigning champions in Copa Rushmori debut
Valladares 1–0 Qusmo
South Granby, Cassadaigua
GK Vanza-Jerat Gep
CB Cunix-Betva Tla
CB Zenon-Gerol Kal
CB Ozolx-Alfan Ixi
CM Yunal-Julad Waz
- 79’ Yamaj-Blonz Jok
CM Ilinx-Kepex Zev
CM Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
LM Kynda-Sevet Pec
- 65’ Helek-Nenzi Ono
RM Forzu-Ralox Kal
ST Rilan-Jerat Nev
- 72’ Prant-Pertz Gor
ST Xilit-Zaxac Yol

by **Mytanar Region** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 4:40 pm

(OOC: probably worth noting Jezdimir is pronounced as 'Yezdimir', so Jez becomes 'Yez' and he isn't the guy from Peep Show).

Jana sat at her desk, racked with nerves. The sun was glaring through the floor-to-ceiling length glass windows and the office was unbearably hot. It was one of the hottest summers on record in Mytannion and it wasn’t doing much for the moods of people stuck in central Esca offices – particularly when the football was on. The two hour time difference between Mytannion and Cassadaigua meant that she would likely be able to watch the second half in a bar with her mates, putting her lunch break to good use.

Jana dreaded to think how much trouble she would be in if Mytannion won, going back to work would be pretty unlikely.

“Hey Jana, how you feeling?” Luka smiled, he sat at the desk neighbouring Jana’s and the two had got on well in the six months they had known each other.

“Nervous – so very, very nervous Luka…” Jana grimaced back.

“Have you not had a word with Jez and told him to make sure he puts us all at ease early on?” Luka grinned.

“Oh, how I wish it was that easy,” Jana let out a short laugh. “I was on the phone to him last night, actually, he seemed alright. I just hope they start well, it’s not an easy game and if they were to go behind it could be worrying.”

“Yeah, Pridnestrovia are a tough team to beat. Finalists last time.”

“Ha,” Jana smirked, “I see you read the Gazeta Mytanija interview…”

“Oi, I knew that anyway.” Luka replied defensively. “It was a good read on the way to work though—” Luka stopped abruptly and silently mouthed at her to be quiet whilst quickly muting the volume of the radio on his desk, it had been chattering away in the background for around half an hour and the sudden silence was semi-uncomfortable. Jana turned back to her computer and tried to make herself look busy. Evidently one of their floor’s managers had walked into the room and, depending on who it was, they may not appreciate the chat being about football. Not everybody enjoyed the sport, even when it was Mytannion playing. Veronika hated it in fact and from the hush that descended across the room, Jana could tell that it was her that had entered. There would be no listening to the game on the radio today.

Jana had been working at the magazine for around six months and it had taken around three before anyone had realised she was going out with the Jezdimir Ocokoljic. It had only come about when she had started discussing her weekend plans with Luka about how she was going to go back to Tsrvena to see her boyfriend Jezdimir and he had put two and two together and actually got the correct answer. Soon enough the entire office knew and people she hadn’t ever spoken to before would chat to her in the corridors or whilst waiting for coffee. It was strange.

She had known him since a very early age, they had grown up in the same inner-city housing block and had been in the same year at school. She knew the entire family: Elena and his sisters Natalija and Emilija and Dusko, of course.

Elena had actually invited her to watch the game with them all back in Tsrvena, but Jana hadn’t been able to get the time off work to go home. The journey wasn’t particularly long, the only thing that prevented her from going was the fact that she would have had use one of her mandatory 28 days of annual leave in order to go and she was hoping to use those a little later in the tournament.

Jana hoped her optimism wasn’t misplaced.

She wondered if Elena would be annoyed that she hadn’t gone, but she quickly shook the thought from her head. Elena was lovely. She knew that this was her dream job as well and she would probably encourage her to focus on that rather than take a day off just to watch the football. She was an extremely caring lady and she wanted the best for those close to her.

Jana had always dreamed of being a journalist and Kultura was one of the biggest media platforms in Mytannion, so when she got the phone call telling her she had landed a job there she was obviously ecstatic. Kultura dealt with all things popular culture from television and film to fashion to sport, basically everything. Academics at well-known universities had produced theses on how it defined and re-defines the cultural zeitgeist in Mytannion dependent on what it covers in the pages of its magazine, on its website and on social media. It was an all-encompassing media behemoth.

So naturally at the minute Jana was playing a relatively small cog in an altogether larger machine and she was beginning to wonder if it was all worth it.

So far she had more or less done very little other than assist those who were actually writing the articles or creating the content, but sure, everybody had to start somewhere. A few of her friends had gone to university instead of going straight into a job and she wondered if she would have had more fun doing that. All they seemed to do was party.

But then when she thought about it, she had been incredibly lucky to get the job, she had blogged and written some articles for a few different websites and she had used those to help her when she applied for the Kultura job. They had obviously liked them as she had got the job, so she figured it couldn’t be long before she was doing something a little more fulfilling. Plus, she was getting paid. Pretty well too, especially by Mytanar standards and given her age. She couldn’t complain too much.

There were footsteps behind her, step-by-step getting further away and then a swish of a door opening and slamming shut again. Veronika had left the room. Jana turned to Luka who looked horrified.

“Fuck!” He exclaimed, “We’ve missed the first five minutes!” He scrambled to turn the volume up on the radio and in doing so made it way louder than necessary.

“AND WHAT A START FROM MYTANNION!” The commentator blared, the signal crackling slightly as Luka tried and failed to turn it down. “OCOKOLJIC WITH A FINE FINISH FROM THE EDGE OF THE BOX AND IT IS MYTANNION ONE, PRIDNESTROVIA NIL.”

“YES!” Jana shrieked as she jumped up from her desk, several other people around the office doing the same, cheering as they realised what had happened. Luka lifted Jana up into the air, laughing as he did so.

“Your boy Jana,” He laughed, putting her down and punching the air, “Some fucking boy. Come on!”

The office door swung open again violently and Veronika strode in. As she realised everybody was out of their desks her face turned to thunder.

“What are you all doing?!” She shouted. “You’ve all got things to be getting on with, get back to work!” She ordered, walking over to her desk and sitting down before picking up one of the many pieces of paper piled on one side of her desk and reading through it.

Everybody else returned to their desks and Luka sheepishly turned the volume back to zero on the radio, Jana grimacing again. If they were to follow the game they would have to try to do it on their computers and somehow not react to any goals going in. Jana decided she wouldn’t check. If she started following the text commentary her anxiety and stress levels would go through the roof. So she decided to try and get on with her work.

What’s the worst that could happen, she thought, Mytannion were 1-0 up. At least they weren’t losing.

***

Jana had left two minutes earlier than she should have for her lunch break – Veronika hadn’t seemed to notice her leave – but now she was apprehensively waiting for Luka to come join her. She lit a cigarette, they had agreed to go to a bar located a couple of minutes away from the Kultura offices. They would be able to watch the entire second half and get back inside their lunch hour, it just meant Veronika wouldn’t be able to reprimand them for trying to sneak extra time out of the office.

Jana didn’t dare check her phone for the score, she felt like it would be bad luck to check now when she had decided not to follow it until she could either hear or see the game for herself. She would have to ask Luka when he finally decided to leave the office. She leaned against the wall before hearing Luka shout to her.

“Jana!” He said, rushing down the steps of the building. “Come on, let’s go.” He said, striding past her. “I thought you’d given up smoking by the way.” She stubbed the cigarette out before forcing herself from the wall. She jogged a little to catch up with him.

“Not when Jez is playing,” She said, “Plus, they say it helps keep you thin.” She smirked.

“I’m not sure how true that is, you know.” Luka frowned.

“It’s a proven fact, why do you think all the models do it?”

“I’m not sure damaging your heart and lungs is a particularly good idea.”

“Luka, I’m not being serious.”

“Whatever, you’re fine as you are, but I still think you should quit smoking.”

“If we win the Copa I will.” Jana laughed.

“I’m not even sure we can do that even if your boyfriend has the best tournament ever.”

“Well, you’d best hope he had because then, I’ll quit…”

“Like I said: whatever.” Luka said. “Hey, you’ve not asked me what the score is yet. I saw you getting on with work and figured you’d decided not to follow it…”

“Shit, yeah. How are they doing?”

“It’s 1-1 now, Haralampieva equalised, wasn’t the best defending really. Isaev left a bit too much space.”

“Ah shit.” It wasn’t a score that settled her nerves, her stomach turning over a little more.

“At least they’re level, it’s like starting over again in the second half.” Luka replied in an attempt to reassure her. “Come on, let’s get a drink.” He added as they walked up the couple of steps to the bar’s entrance. The noise hit her before they had even got through the door, people were singing and music was blaring through what must have been some pretty large speakers. As they went in, the sheer amount of people was astonishing. The bar must have been over capacity by a significant amount, people were packed together like sardines in a tin. Luka jostled his way to the bar and turned to Jana. “What are you having?” He raised his voice so she could hear.

“I’ll have whatever you’re having Luka!” She shouted over the din. He nodded in reply, turning back to face the bar. “Luka!” Jana shouted, attempting to get his attention again. He turned. “I’m going outside to have a cigarette!”

“Another?!” He shouted, shock on his face.

“I’m nervous!” She shouted back as he shook his head, turning back to face the bar. Jana pushed her way through the crowds and back out the door and the fresh air hitting her was a welcome relief. Despite the fact she had only been in the bar for around a couple of minutes, the heat was almost unbearable. The combination of so many bodies packed together and the oppressive heat from outside was horrific.

“Need some fresh air love?” Came a voice, a big bouncer looking down at her as she took a seat on the steps leading out from the bar.

“Ha, yeah, it’s pretty hectic in there.” She replied, smiling.

“I’ve no idea how you young people do it,” He said, shaking his head. “Normally I wouldn’t let anyone sit on these steps here, bit of a hazard, but as it’s a lovely young lady like you I’ll let you off.” He added, chuckling. Normally Jana would find that sort of comment a bit creepy, but the bouncer reminded her a bit of her own father and he looked like a big cuddly teddy bear – just one with a nose that had been broken a few too many times.

She took her cigarettes out of her pocket and attempted to light one, hands trembling with the nerves. Eventually she managed it, but not before the bouncer noticed.

“Are you nervous love?” He laughed, “I don’t see them winning today even if they play the best they can, too long away from the top-level to jump straight back in and be beating decent teams.”

“Yeah, really nervous to be honest, got my fingers crossed though.” Jana smiled back, not particularly wanting to get too drawn into the conversation. Whilst the bouncer seemed kind enough she had wanted to come outside and chill out, not talk about the football.

“That Ocokoljic kid is quite something ain’t he,” He continued, “Bet you fancy him don’t ya? All the young girls do!” He laughed. Jana almost did too, if only he knew the truth. He turned away and wandered around the corner looking up and down the street and Jana silently thanked a God she didn’t particularly believe for the fact that he did so. Now it was just her and her nerves.

Jez had already had a good game even if the result went against them, scoring a goal in the opening game of the Copa was quite something. But Jana knew that he would want to win the game as well.

“Please Jez,” She whispered out-loud. “Come on, you can do this.”

“Are you talking to yourself love?” The bouncer had arrived back at his post. “The nerves getting the better of ya there, don’t worry, we’re all nervous too.” He chuckled. “The game will be starting again soon, you’ll want to get back in there.”

“Yeah, just gonna finish this cigarette.” Jana gestured. She could hear shouts from inside and it sounded like it was underway again, but surely the second half would start a little more cagily given the two sides were level. They’d both just want to feel their way into it.

“GO ON!” Came a shout from inside. Before what can only be described as a deafening roar enveloped the street, emitting from the bar and other buildings.

“Looks like we’ve scored darling!” The bouncer shouted, laughing.

“Shit,” Jana said, stubbing the cigarette out as she ran back inside.

It was pandemonium, she looked to see if she could find Luka but there was a sea of bodies and the movement of people was almost like waves as they jumped and stumbled around the bar. People were in a state of ecstasy and it was all because it was 2-1 to Mytannion, they were in the lead once again.

She finally spotted Luka and fought her way across the room to him, people falling into her and away from her in equal measure. He turned to her and let out an incomprehensible yell, almost caveman like.

“AHHHHHHHHHHYESCOMEONNNNNNNNNNNN!” Luka hugged her, “YES JANA, IT WAS JEZ AGAIN HAHAHA!”

Jana screamed with delight.

***

Since the second goal the Mytanar team had offered absolutely nothing going forward and the mood in the bar had gone from ecstasy to anxiety within the space of around 25 minutes. There was still plenty of time left for Pridnestrovia to equalise and possibly even a little bit leftover for them to find a winner. The issue was almost that Mytannion had scored too quickly in the second half and had left them too much time to fight their way back into the game.

Slowly the game turned, passes from the Mytanar defenders and midfielders that had been easily finding their target in the first half were now going misplaced. Pridnestrovia players were intercepting the ball more and more often and they were also starting to get more success when they were using it themselves. Shostakovich was beginning to have some joy, becoming more inventive as the game went on and through balls were starting to split the Mytanar centre-halves and full-backs.

The inevitable was seemingly only being delayed.

“Come on boys, come on…” Luka said, nervously sipping his pint, “Let’s just hold on here.”

“A draw would still be a good result for us,” Jana said, just as anxious.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t be too bad, but it’d be frustrating given that we’ve been ahead in the game twice.”

Jana’s stomach knotted and she couldn’t decide whether she could keep watching or not. Last time when she hadn’t followed the game, they had conceded. But the stress of actually watching the game was horrible and it seemed like things could only go one way. She wondered if everybody else was feeling as anxious as she was, or if because Jez was playing she was feeling it more.

“I’m not sure I can watch this Luka.”

“Of course you can, shut up, you can’t go!”

Just then, a Pridnestrovian player – it’s Hedervary, Jana thought – picked up the ball and began running at Tihomir Feric. Feric seemingly did well, not allowing the winger through and Jana began to breathe a sigh of relief. Then, a slip, Feric was on his backside and Hedervary was running in towards goal. Azanovic came across, blocking her path towards goal but the winger simply pulled the ball back towards the penalty spot and Tanya Poroshenko met the ball, guiding it into the bottom corner past Jasmin Savic. 2-2.

“Noooooooo…” Came a collective grown from around the bar.

“Fucking shit!” Luka exclaimed. Jana had seen enough.

“Luka, I’m going back to the office, I can’t watch this.”

“Jana, wait, you can’t go!” He shouted after her as she headed towards the exit.

“Nah it’s fine! I’ll see you back there!” She said, reaching the door and pushing her way through, almost jumping down the steps and striding off down back towards her office.

“Bye love!” The bouncer shouted after her. Before more quietly, “Ah poor thing, nerves must have got the better of her.”

Jana silently prayed that things would go the right way. She hadn’t believed in God before, but if they held on she might start considering it.

by **Eura** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 5:02 pm

The Euran Football Association’s Copa Rushmori 30 Squad

Manager: Daniel Belgrave (59, Eura)

Assistant Manager: Mike Humphrey (62, Eura)

Styles and Permission

Style Modifier: +0

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:

Choose my goalscorers – YES
Godmod scoring events – YES
RP injuries to my players – YES
Godmod injuries to my players – YES (But only how the injury happens, not the extent of the injury)
Hand out yellow cards to my players – YES
Hand out red cards to my players – YES
Godmod other events – YES, provided you keep events within the realms of realism, so no deaths etc.

30 man squad

Shirt number – name – position – age – caps – goals – club
Caps and goals not included currently as stats are out of date by one cycle

Goalkeepers

1 – Robert Griffin – GK – 29 – Sabrefell Moths (Nephara)
13 – Kevin Belgrave - GK - 25 - Directus
30 – Jeffrey Douglas – GK – 33 – Bastion

Defenders

2 – Scott Coles - RB - 28 - Ulsa
3 – Jayden Fox - LB - 22 - Kirk Preston United (Schottia)
4 – John Leach – CB – 29 – Ulsa
5 – Harvey Blake - CB - 25 - Spartangrad
15 – Bryan Butler - CB - 33 - Spartangrad
19 – Charles Roberts - CB - 23 - Bastion
21 – Jon Haines - RB - 25 - Sabrefell Moths (Nephara)
23 – Ben Hall - LB - 25 - Oakstone
25 – Samuel Hopkins - CB - 24 - Chromatik Capitalizt (Chromatik)
27 – James Lord - LB - 23 - Holdenberg City

Midfielders

6 – John Talbot - CDM - 28 - Spartangrad
7 – Oscar Coltrane - AM - 29 - Sabrefell Athletic (Nephara)
8 – Liam Armstrong - CM - 26 - Starling (Nephara)
11 - Tom Robson - LM - 34 - Brigham
12 - Anthony Townsend - RM - 25 - Ma Alameome (Farfadillis)
16 – Alex Wyatt - CM - 29 - Revolutionaries
18 – Harry Gravesen - CM - 26 - Spartangrad
20 – Rhys Griffiths - AM - 23 - Revolutionaries
22 – Dominic Miller - LW - 28 - Bastion
24 – Frank Bevan - CM - 23 - Holdenberg
28 – Nicky Keane - CM - 30 - Directus
29 - Harrison Burns - RM - 26 - Bastion

Forwards

9 – Josh Holmes – AM/CF – 29 – Revolutionaries
10 – Dion Underwood - ST - 29 - Bastion
14 – Lofty Jones - CF - 31 - Bastion
17 – Brian Bond - LW/ST - 23 - Oakstone
26 – Lewis Phoenix - ST - 21 - Centralis Heart (Electrum)

Preferred starting lineup

Note; does not take into account suspensions, injuries or any other change. At the end of each RP I post, I will try to give a team for the next match and formation type. If no such lineup is posted, assume that there have been no changes and use the lineup below.

GK - 1. R Griffin
RWB - 2. S Coles
RCB - 4. J Leach
LCB - 5. H Blake
LWB - 3. J Fox
CDM - 6. J Talbot
RCM - 8. L Armstrong
LCM - 16. A Wyatt
RAM - 12. A Townsend
LAM - 7. O Coltrane
ST - 10. D Underwood

Eura may sometimes play 4-2-2-2 with Coltrane shifted to the left and Robson benched for another striker, usually Holmes, or a 4-3-3 with a middle of Armstrong/Coltrane/Talbot and a front three of Underwood/Jones/Holmes.

Subs

13. D Belgrave
21. J Haines
15. B Butler
23. B Hall
18. H Gravesen
20. R Griffiths
11. T Robson
9. J Holmes
14. L Jones

Player Roles

Squad Captain: Scott Coles
Vice Captain: Robert Griffin
Direct free kicks: Oscar Coltrane (Right footed) or Jayden Fox (Left footed)
Indirect free kicks: Liam Armstrong (Right footed)
Right corner: Oscar Coltrane (Right footed), Jayden Fox (Left footed)
Left corner: Jayden Fox (Left footed), Oscar Coltrane (Right footed)
Penalties: 1. Liam Armstrong 2. Oscar Coltrane 3. Dion Underwood 4. Anthony Townsend 5. Alex Wyatt

Kits

by **Cassadaigua** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 5:09 pm

This is the MD2 cutoff!

Group 1
Qusmo 1–0 East Neutralia
Valladares 3–0 Savojarna

  Group 1                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Valladares               2   2  0  0    4   0  +4    6
2 Qusmo                    2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
3 Savojarna                2   1  0  1    3   5  −2    3
4 East Neutralia           2   0  0  2    2   4  −2    0

Group 2
Mapletish 1–4 Sarrbia
Pasarga 1–0 Taeshan

  Group 2                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pasarga                  2   2  0  0    6   2  +4    6
2 Sarrbia                  2   1  1  0    4   1  +3    4
3 Taeshan                  2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1
4 Mapletish                2   0  0  2    3   9  −6    0

Group 3
St Trinians 1–2 Yuezhou
Ceni 4–1 Olastor

  Group 3                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ceni                     2   2  0  0    7   3  +4    6
2 Yuezhou                  2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
3 Olastor                  2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1
4 St Trinians              2   0  0  2    3   5  −2    0

Group 4
Crystalline Caverns 0–2 Cassadaigua
Eura 2–1 Darmen

  Group 4                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Cassadaigua              2   1  1  0    5   3  +2    4
2 Eura                     2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
3 Darmen                   2   0  1  1    4   5  −1    1
4 Crystalline Caverns      2   0  1  1    0   2  −2    1

Group 5
Rou Scotan 3–4 Thibaea
Nephara 2–1 Sargossa

  Group 5                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nephara                  2   2  0  0    5   1  +4    6
2 Sargossa                 2   1  0  1    6   4  +2    3
3 Thibaea                  2   1  0  1    6   8  −2    3
4 Rou Scotan               2   0  0  2    3   7  −4    0

Group 6
Kalosia 0–1 Mytanar Region
Eastfield Lodge 1–0 Pridnestrovia

  Group 6                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eastfield Lodge          2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
2 Pridnestrovia            2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
3 Mytanar Region           2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
4 Kalosia                  2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1

by **Qusmo** » Mon Jul 16, 2018 9:15 pm

SPONY LUQ TELEVISION

Hello, all. Welcome to Spony Luq Television, broadcasting from Qanz, Qusmo. After a 1-0 win over East Neutralia, Qusmo is back in the thick of the Group 1 race in Copa Rushmori XXX. Heading into their final match of the group stage, Qusmo is second; if they can maintain that status, they will advance to the Round of Sixteen. Let’s talk about the two matches so far, the next match to come, & the tournament as a whole. First, we have a question from a viewer in Ukular.

How big was that result against East Neutralia?

It may not have been very pretty to look at, but it was a massive result for Qusmo. Qusmo has struggled against Rushmori opposition; in their fourth match, this was not only their first win, but their first result. Interestingly enough, Qusmo also has precisely three losses against opposition from Esportiva, Atlantian Oceania, & independent regions, but after seven, eight, & twelve matches, respectively. In fact, Qusmo might want to consider competing in the Independents Cup in the future, as seven of their wins - a majority - have come against independent opposition, including wins in each of Qusmo’s last five matches against such teams & no losses in their last seven.

But Qusmo isn’t in an independent region; it’s in Rushmore. & this was a very big result for Qusmo to earn, both in the context of its history against its own region & the context of this tournament so far. It took a fifty-seventh minute penalty from Zilit-Zaxac Yol to provide Qusmo with the winning margin, & after that, Qusmo parked the bus to secure the win. They went from a 3-5-2 to a 5-3-2, & they even eventually switched to a 5-4-1. It wasn’t what the neutrals wanted, surely, but it was enough.

& there’s good reason Avarn-Oxolt Ban went to such lengths to secure all three points. Without it, Qusmo’s fate would be out of its control; even with a draw, Qusmo would likely have to pick up all three points against Savojarna on the final matchday to advance. They needed to pick up the easy points against the team unranked in both the regional & world rankings, because if they couldn’t do that, there would be little hope for them against the team ranked twenty-eighth in the KPB rankings & tenth in the Rushmori rankings. This win sees them through, however.

It will be very interesting to see how Avarn-Oxolt Ban plays from here on out. Avarn-Oxolt is known for very rarely making changes to their first-choice XI, but they made two changes to their starting XI from the opening loss against Valladares. First, they took out eighteen-year-old KF Trew striker Rilan-Jerat Nev & put in KF Qastyr striker Prant-Pertz Gor in their place; next, they pulled KF Qastyr goalkeeper Vanza-Gerat Gep in favour of KF Trosoc’s Xynat-Evela Cuf. Will those changes stay for the decisive final group stage match against Savojarna? Will Avarn-Oxolt go back to their day one lineup? Will we see yet more changes? It’s anyone’s guess as Qusmo prepares for its third match in South Granby.

& now we have a question from a viewer in Juvon.

How do Qusmo’s Round of Sixteen hopes look? What does the third-place picture look like?

Qusmo can guarantee a berth in the Round of Sixteen if they can win or draw their final group stage match against Savojarna. Technically, they could even win the group, but it would take a win coupled with current group leaders Valladares being beaten by East Neutralia to do it - &, even then, Qusmo would have a big goal differential hurdle to clear. Meanwhile, things may be a bit dicier for Qusmo if they lose. They would not be in the top two of the group if that happens, & they could even fall to last if East Neutralia beat Valladares.

Let’s assume, however, that a team unranked in the regional & world rankings, & which has never played a match of football before this tournament (& still hasn’t picked up a result) will not be able to topple the defending champions, who also happen to be ranked first in the regional rankings. If that assumption can hold true, it’s simple for Qusmo: win or draw for second, or lose for third.

Of course, if Qusmo can get in the top two in the group, they’ll reach the Round of Sixteen automatically, achieving a stated goal of manager Avarn-Oxolt Ban. However, if they finish third, it gets a lot trickier, because only the top four third-place finishers out of six will advance to the next round. So, let’s take a look at each team & each group to see where Qusmo could land.

First, let’s summarize the rest of Group 1’s chances. Valladares is in a great spot; they’ve already clinched a top two spot, so they’re through. They’ll win the group so long as they don’t lose to East Neutralia, & they’d also win the group if Qusmo & Savojarna draw. Even if that match is decisive & Valladares sees an upset, they have a massive goal differential advantage: they’re four goals better than Qusmo & six better than Savojarna on goal differential. So, we can all but chalk this group up to Valladares now.

Next, let’s go to East Neutralia. They’re not out of it yet, but they need to win against Valladares to have a chance. They’d also be eliminated with a draw between Qusmo & Savojarna. Even then, East Neutralia would only get third, on three points - & if Savojarna wins, there’s technically a chance Qusmo could finish third on goals scored, though they’d have to put multiple goals through. So, East Neutralia will be hoping for the opposite set of results as Valladares; they’ll need a win & a decisive result in the other match. Unless that happens, they finish last & are eliminated.

Now let’s move on to Savojarna. They’re in third now, & they can get to second with a win over Qusmo. Technically, they’re mathematically in contention for winning the group if they beat Qusmo, Valladares loses, & the combined margin of victory in the two matches is at least six. Meanwhile, Savojarna draws with Qusmo, they finish third on four points. If they lose, they will likely still finish third, on three points, but only if East Neutralia doesn’t beat Valladares; if that happens, they finish last & are out.

&, of course, we’ve already gone over what Qusmo needs. That means that the team finishing third will be one of these possibilities:

Qusmo, with three points & a goal differential of at most -1;
Savojarna, with three points & a goal differential of at most -3;
Savojarna, with four points & a goal differential of -2; or
East Neutralia, with three points & a goal differential of at least -1.

That’s a close grouping of potential finishers; Group 1’s third place team will have four points if Qusmo & Savojarna draw, but failing that, they’ll have three. Teams keeping an eye on the third-place standings will be hoping to see a decisive result in that match, with the best result a massive Qusmo win, coupled with an East Neutralia loss or draw.

With that in mind, let’s move on to Group 2. First, we have group leaders Pasarga. They’re tough to beat, & unless Sarrbia does it on the final matchday, they’ll finish first. If that does happen, they’ll finish second.

Meanwhile, all Sarrbia needs to advance is a draw against Pasarga. They’d even win the group if they can win their last match. Even if they lose, they’d still take second so long if Taeshan doesn’t defeat Mapletish - &, even then, it’d take a massive goal differential swing in order to see Sarrbia take third.

Speaking of Taeshan, all they need is a result against Mapletish to secure third - but they’d be eliminated with a loss against Mapletish. Again, they can still get into the top two, but only if they win, Pasarga wins, & the combined margin of victory is at least six.

Finally, Mapletish doesn’t have any points yet, but they’re still very much in it; if they can’t win, it would eliminate them, but if they do, they’d be the third-place side from Group 2.

So that means that Group 2’s third-place finisher will be one of:

Mapletish, with three points & a goal differential of at least -5;
Taeshan, with two points & a goal differential of -1;
Taeshan, with four points & a goal differential of at least ±0; or
Sarrbia, with four points & a goal differential of at most +2.

Potential third-place teams outside Group 2 will surely be rooting for a draw between Mapletish & Taeshan, or, failing that, a Mapletish win - preferably a narrow one.

Speaking of teams outside of Group 2, let’s move on to Group 3, which is in a remarkably similar situation. First, we have Ceni. For them, a win or draw would see them through as group winners, while a loss would see them through as second.

Next, let’s examine Yuezhou. They can go through with a win or draw, with a win clinching them the group. Even a loss would allow them to finish second if Olastor can’t beat St Trinians, or if the combined margin isn’t at least four. &, even then, they’d still finish third.

Now let’s go to Olastor. It’s fairly clear-cut for them, too; a result in their final match would see them take third, at least, while a loss would eliminate them. They could technically finish second, but only if they & Ceni win by a combined margin of four goals.

Finally, let’s take on St Trinians. It’s simple: a win would see them take third, & anything else would mean they finish as the group doormats.

With that in mind, let’s look at the potential third-place finishers. It will be either:

St Trinians, with three points & a goal differential of at least -1;
Olastor, with two points & a goal differential of -3;
Olastor, with four points & a goal differential of at least -2; or
Yuezhou, with four points & a goal differential of at most ±0.

Again, teams hoping to advance as one of the four third-place teams will be rooting for a draw between Taeshan & St Trinians, with a St Trinians win the next-best scenario.

After two virtually-identical groups, Group 4 is unique among the six in this Copa Rushmori. First, let’s look at the hosts, Cassadaigua. They need only a draw to guarantee the group win. They couldn’t win the group with a loss, but they would be in the top three no matter what, & they’d go through as second if Darmen & Crystalline Caverns draw; similarly, they could finish second with a loss if Darmen wins & the combined margin is at least three, or if Crystalline Caverns wins & the combined margin is at least four.

Next, let’s take a look at Eura. A win would see them win the group, while a draw would see them take second. A loss would likely see them take second, too, but they could slip to third - & no further - if Darmen wins or if Crystalline Caverns wins & the combined margin is at least three.

Moving on to Darmen, the math is still fairly straightforward. A loss would eliminate them, but a result would see them in the top three. They have a fighting shot at second, but only if the other match doesn’t end in a draw. If Cassadaigua wins, they’d be tied with Eura on goal differential if both matches were one-goal games, & they’d overtake them if either had multigoal margins. Meanwhile, if Eura wins, they’d need the combined margin to be at least three in order to have a shot at overtaking them.

Finally, let’s examine Crystalline Caverns. They’ll be fighting for a win, because they can advance with nothing short of that. They’ll be at least third with a victory, though, & could claim second if their win is coupled with either a Cassadaigua win, with a combined margin of at least three, or a Eura win, with a combined margin of at least four.

So, third place could go to:

Cassadaigua, with four points & a goal differential of at most +1;
Eura, with four points & a goal differential or at most ±0;
Crystalline Caverns, with four points & a goal differential of at least -1;
Darmen, with four points & a goal differential of at least ±0; or
Darmen, with two points & a goal differential of -1.

In terms of who could finish third, this group has a lot of diversity; depending on how the chips fall, every team is a possibility. However, unless Darmen & Crystalline Caverns draw, it’ll be a strong third place, on four points. Keeping in mind that both Cassadaigua & Eura would claim the top two spots in the group, no matter what happens in their match, if a draw does happen in the other match, every team in the tournament looks likely to be rooting for a draw between Darmen & Crystalline Caverns - save for the two teams actually involved.

Group 5 is also interesting. Let’s start with Nephara. They can win the group with a win or draw against Thibaea. They’d be tied for first on points with Thibaea if they lose, but they’d still keep above Thibaea on goal differential if the margin is within two. Meanwhile, a loss by three goals would see the two teams tied on both points & goal differential, but Thibaea would have the advantage on goals scored. All the while, Nephara can’t forget about Sargossa; if Nephara loses & Sargossa wins, Sargossa would likely overtake Nephara. The only way this wouldn’t happen is if both matches have one-goal margins & Nephara outscores Sargossa. So, Nephara could finish first, second, or third, though not fourth, & they can only slip to second if they lose or third if they lose by three.

Now for Sargossa. They’ll be facing Rou Scotan, & all they need is a win, a draw, or a loss of at most two in order to guarantee a spot in the top three. Meanwhile, if they can win while Thibaea fails to, or if they can get a result while Thibaea can’t, they will finish second in the group precisely. If both Group 5 matches end in draws, Thibaea will also finish second. If both Thibaea & Sargossa lose, there will be a three-way tie on points between those two teams & Rou Scotan on points, while if both teams win, they’ll be in a three-way tie on points with Nephara. Sargossa would likely be the top team in either of those tiebreakers based on point differential, seeing as they already have a four-goal edge in differential over Thibaea, a six-goal edge over Rou Scoutan, & would necessarily tie Nephara at the very least if a three-way tie for first happens. It’s worth keeping in mind, however, that it is technically possible for Sargossa to finish first, second, third, or fourth in Group 5.

With that established, let’s move on to Thibaea. They can clinch a spot in the top three with a result, & a win of at least three would see them place in the top two, & possibly even first. That depends on the result of the Sargossa-Rou Scotan match, as Sargossa could take first away from Thibaea despite a big win because Sargossa already has a four-goal margin in goal differential. Meanwhile, things aren’t so bright if they lose, as they’d be locked out of first & it would be virtually impossible for them to finish in the top two; Sargossa would have to lose by a margin at least four goals worse than Thibaea to allow them to slip in. Thibaea could even finish last with a loss, as Rou Scotan is not far behind them. They would be tied on points with a loss & a Rou Scotan win. If both matches are decided by a single goal, the two teams would be tied on points & on goal differential, but otherwise, Thibaea would fall behind Rou Scotan - & likely into last. So, Thibaea also has a complicated story, with first, second, third, or fourth all possibilities.

Finally, let’s tackle Rou Scotan. This is the team with, by far, the worst odds in the group. They need a win just to have a chance; otherwise, they’re eliminated. They would tie Sargossa on points, goal differential, & goals scored with a three-goal victory, but they’d likely be given the edge on head-to-head result; anything less than a three-goal victory, though, would confine Rou Scotan to a position under Sargossa. In that case, even if Rou Scotan wins, they’d be unable to hurdle any other team in the group if Thibaea can so much as pick up a draw in the other match. Technically, they’d finish second if they can win by at least three & Thibaea loses by any margin, but it would certainly be a long shot.

With that complex group, we have a complex set of possible third place finishers, including:

Nephara, with six points & a goal differential of at most +1;
Sargossa, with six points & a goal differential of at least +3;
Sargossa, with four points & a goal differential of +2;
Sargossa, with three points & a goal differential of at most -1;
Thibaea, with three points & a goal differential of at most -3;
Thibaea, with four points & a goal differential of -2;
Thibaea, with six points & a goal differential of at least -1 but at most ±0; or
Rou Scotan, with three points & a goal differential of at least -3.

Group 5 is certainly the most wild with regard to possible third-place finishers, as all four teams in the group have the chance to land in that spot, which could see a team with as many as six - but no fewer than three - points. That also means that there is a good chance that it is the home of the best third-placed team in the tournament, though there are a few decent possibilities for third-place teams of other groups, not least of which being a Thibaea team coming off a loss.

& now we can wrap things up with Group 6, starting with Eastfield Lodge. They can win the group with a win over Mytanar Region, & a draw would see them through in the top two - in fact, a draw would still win the group if Kalosia isn’t defeated by Pridenestrovia. If Eastfield Lodge loses, however, things may get a bit rougher for them. Firstly, they will be surpassed by Mytanar Region, meaning they can’t finish first. If Pridenestrovia-Kalosia ends in a draw or a Kalosia win, they’ll likely slip to third, & this is guaranteed if Eastfield Lodge loses by a multigoal margin; finally, if Eastfield Lodge & Kalosia both lose, Eastfield Lodge must finish third no matter what. In no scenario can Eastfield Lodge finish bottom of the group, but they could still fall to second or third.

Now let’s examine Pridenestrovia. A draw would give them second or third, & a win would see them finish in the top two. In fact, a win coupled with an Eastfield Lodge loss could allow them to win the group, & a win coupled with an Eastfield Lodge draw would certainly allow them to top it. However, should they lose, they’ll be in a precarious situation; they’ll be third at best, & only if Mytanar Region lose by a score equal to or worse than Pridenestrovia. If the two teams have identical results - two wins, two draws, or two losses - with identical scorelines, they will be tied on points, goal differential, & goals scored, but Pridenestrovia will have the tiebreaker on head-to-head result. That means that a result almost certainly clinches a spot through in the top two for Pridenestrovia, but a loss would almost certainly eliminate them in fourth.

Now for Mytanar Region, which is in a somewhat similar situation. A draw would give them second or third, while a win could see them take either first or second. If they win, they’ll want to see Kalosia do well against Pridenestrovia, as the only way Mytanar Region could take second in the group with a win is if Pridenestrovia also win, by an equal or better score. If Mytanar Region loses, however, they also fall into dangerous territory - though, perhaps surprisingly, not quite as badly as the team above them. If Kalosia fails to defeat Pridenestrovia, Mytanar Region will still escape with third. If Kalosia does beat Pridenestrovia, Mytanar Region will hope that Pridenestrovia loses by a worse score than does Mytanar Region; if that’s so, Mytanar Region would finish third, though they’d be out as fourth otherwise. So, Mytanar Region has pretty clear paths to any of first, second, third, or fourth, with a bit more wiggle room than the team ranked above it due to scheduling.

Finally, let’s arrive at the twenty-fourth of the twenty-four teams in the tournament: Kalosia. They’re being looked at last for a reason, as they’ll finish last in the group if they can’t beat Pridenestrovia on the final matchday. However, they’re not to be counted out yet; they’d be in a great position with a win. That would guarantee them a spot in the top three, & a win by a multi-goal margin would guarantee them advancement through the top two. In fact, if they win, the only way they wouldn’t finish second is if the win is only by a single-goal margin, the other match in the group ends in a draw, & Kalosia doesn’t score at least four more goals in its match than Mytanar Region does in its own. Now, that last stipulation is certainly a tall order, but all Kalosia has to do is win by multiple goals - or hope that there’s a decisive result between Eastfield Lodge & Pridenestrovia - in order to advance.

The third-place team from this group is likely to be strong in the third-place teams table; let’s take a look at how exactly that could break down, which could feature:

Eastfield Lodge, with four points & a goal differential of at most ±0;
Pridenestrovia, with four points & a goal differential of ±0;
Pridenestrovia, with three points & a goal differential of at most -1;
Mytanar Region, with three points & a goal differential of at most -1;
Mytanar Region, with four points & a goal differential of ±0; or
Kalosia, with four points & a goal differential of ±0.

So, what does all that tell us? Well, let’s keep in mind that the six third-place teams will be ranked, & the top four will progress to the knockout rounds. That means that one of the possibilities mentioned in each of these lists will appear in the third-place table, where the top four go through & the bottom two go home. Keep in mind that the only way Qusmo can fall to third is if they lose, coupled with other results, meaning that they would be sitting at three points with a goal differential equal to the margin of their loss on the final matchday. Let’s see how that stacks up with each group’s statistically toughest third-place finishers.

Third Place Table     Pts     GD
1 Group 5               6   ≥ +3
2 Group 2               4   ≥ ±0
  Group 4               4   ≥ ±0
4 Group 6               4   = ±0
5 Group 3               4   ≥ -2
6 Group 1               4   = -2
Q Qusmo                 3   ≤ -1

That means that if Qusmo loses & finishes in third, it would need to rely on results in other groups in order to go through. Other teams, however, might take heart from the results. For example, though Nephara could still finish third in their group, they would be guaranteed to be the best-ranked third-place team in the tournament should that happen; thus, they are guaranteed to advance, no matter what happens in their final group stage match, as are any teams with more than four points (&, likely, most with at least four).

Third Place Table     Pts     GD
1 Group 6               3   ≤ -1
Q Qusmo                 3   ≤ -1
2 Group 1               3   ≤ -3
  Group 5               3   ≤ -3
4 Group 2               2   = -1
  Group 4               2   = -1
6 Group 3               2   = -3

That means that if Qusmo loses & finishes in third, it could still progress to the next round. Unfortunately, we can’t get much more narrowly focussed than that analysis. There are 1 728 different possible combinations for the six teams which will be in the third-place table - & that number only factors in the teams, not their points, which would multiply the figure yet further, nor their goal differential or goals scored, which would technically be infinite. However, it does mean that Qusmo can advance with a loss. They would certainly need some help, but they would be in a better position than third-place teams with only two points - & no team with less can finish third, much less move on. If Qusmo loses on the final matchday, they’ll be in a breathless waiting match, with strong rooting interests in each of the other matches on tap, at the mercy of what happens in the other five groups. That said, there’s a way to avoid this all; Qusmo just needs to get a result against Savojarna.

Qusmo National Team gets positive result against East Neutralia
Qusmo 1–0 East Neutralia
South Granby, Cassadaigua
GK Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB Cunix-Betva Tla
CB Zenon-Gerol Kal
CB Ozolx-Alfan Ixi
CM Yunal-Julad Waz
- 65’ Karar-Nirlo Hus
CM Ilinx-Kepex Zev
CM Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
- 65’ Nirlo-Betva Uzo
LM Kynda-Sevet Pec
RM Forzu-Ralox Kal
ST Prant-Pertz Gor
- 73’ Dwada-Dalox Wek
ST Xilit-Zaxac Yol (57’ p)

by **Mapletish** » Mon Jul 16, 2018 11:02 pm

OOC: Trying my hands on writing short stories, and this is certainly inspired by the American Sniper
Part 1|Part 2| Part 3| Part 4| Part 5| Part 6

The Forgotten War - Sniper, sniping, sniped

SOF Sniper School was my next stop in my SOF journey. Having wanted to be to be a sniper and maybe also due to my love for hunting, I was very much drawn to the chance to be able to schooled in Sniper School. Constantly messed with our heads, late nights and early mornings, running around and stressing over something during the duration of the schooling period, that was Sniper School for me. You don't get shelled at since they can't shoot at but it was crucial to put us under as much pressure as possible in whatever ways that they can manage. From what I reckoned, only around 50% of the SOF taking the school will make it through the course. I believed it.

The first few classes that the SOF would teach was our mentality and to handle the equipment that we needed to use. We aren't just shooters, we are taught to observe. In fact shooting is a small part of the job even though it was an important part of the job.

Trained to observe and to do it over a long period of time. It is a foundation skill and often in many occasions, the sniper will find himself out ahead of the main force doing intelligence gathering, or even taking out a high value target. Observation is a key skill especially observing the area that you are in and your target. It is the first thing that one has to possess. Navigation whether is it through high tech tools or via the more traditional route is another key skill together with observation. Don't think that you are going to be inserted by a helicopter or you get a piggy back ride from a vehicle. Often, you will be inserted many kilometres away from your targeted area and you will have to trek the terrain to find a suitable area to track your target. Getting lost is certainly not going to allow you to get a mission success.

Stalking comes in the next phase of the course. It is one of the hardest skills to master. You are going to get into position without being seen and discovered by the enemy. If you think navigating your target is easy, try doing it and stalking. This will be the part where many of the guys will fall out. Moving slowly, carefully and patiently, that was the hard part and getting to the exact right spot for your mission. If you think that you can achieve through sheer patience, it is part of the package but it requires discipline too.

Have never been a patient person but it pays to be a winner. It pays to be patient. I have got to take my time. In order to succeed, I need to be able to take the time to get into position and to wait for my target. Be it an hour, a day or a week. You got to do whatever it takes, no excuses. During one of the evaluations, I was tasked to pass a piece of dense vegetation. I took hours to arrange my ghillie suit, arranging the grass and plants on the suit in order to blend into my surroundings. They are hot and sweaty nonetheless, so it was kind of annoying. I would need to get through it though and it does not make you invisible so whenever you cross into another terrain you will have to stop and rearrange your camouflage and of course without being spotted. You got to blend it and look like whatever it is that you are crossing.

Slowly does it. That was the motto to live by. Even if there was a snake. The rattling was not be mistaken and it was just beside me. Of course, if you want to get rid of it, you could have made your actions too big, too obvious and the instructor sees you. Changing my course, I crept slowly to the other side and took a longer route to reach the target. I was lucky that I didn't get attacked. Even if I did, I would have to calmly let it attacked me first and then get rid of it right after that. That wasn't the wisest approach but it is important if you do not want to get noticed.

During the stalking portion of the training, the first shot is not graded but you are graded on your second. Once you've fired, can you be seen? If you are not seen or noticed then there is a good possibility that you will be able to take more shots, but right after that, you have to get out of there. And it will be nice to get out of there alive. It is also essential to remember that perfect circles do not exist in nature, and that means you have to camouflage your scope and rifle barrel. I would take tape and put it over my barrel and then do camouflage and tape to ensure that it is well camouflaged. For me, stalking was a tough phase of the course and I almost failed because of the lack of discipline and patience.

It was only after we mastered stalking that we moved on to shooting a weapon.

Of course, that always comes a discussion on the weapons that we used as a sniper, what weapon I used during training and which weapon I prefer. During missions, I pick the weapon based on the mission and the situation. At sniper school, we learn the basics of a variety of weapons which thus prepared me to use all the weapons but also to select the right weapons for the job. I used four basic weapons at school and two were semi-automatic rifles, the SRM-12, a 5.56 sniper rifle and the SRM 11, a 7.62 sniper rifle. For people who are not familiar with guns in general, when we talk about a 5.56 sniper rifle, we are referring to a sniper rifle which fires a 5.56mm cartridge.

Then there were the .300 Winchester Magnum and the .50 caliber. The .300 Winchester Magnum or the .300 Win Mag measures 7.62 x 67 mm. You can fire it off the M24 or the SRM-13 system. Like the other two, this was meant to be suppressed. A device is attached on the end of the barrel that suppresses muzzle flash and reduces the sound of the bullet as it leaves the gun. It is not exactly a silencer although some think of it that way. A suppressor on a sniper rifle tends to reduce the amount of back-force or "kick" when shooter shoots, which helps to improve accuracy. Then there is the .50 caliber which is not suppressed.

The SRM-12 is the Special Rifle Mapletish 12 Weapons System, which has a sixteen-inch barrel and fires a 5.56 x 45 mm round from a thirty-five round magazine. This gun was super easy to handle and weighs around 4.8 to 5kg when fully loaded with the barrel and optics, which makes it a lighter option than the other rifles. Even though the 5.56 is a smaller and lighter round, it is not a preferable round to shoot someone with, especially since it will take a few shots to put someone down, especially those who are high on drugs and the surge in adrenaline meant that they are even more of a threat. Not unless, you put a shot right through the head but most of my shots are put in the centre mass, in the middle of the body. This gives me plenty of space to work around in.

When I was back in the platoon, I would use the lower receiver of the M4 to put it on the upper receiver of the SRM-12 which allowed me to go full auto. Although it is not favourable to go full auto, as its accuracy dwindles when you fire a spew of bullets but there might be a circumstance where it would come in handy, so I kept it as one of my options in case I needed it.

The SRM-11 or the Special Rifle Mapletish 11 Weapons System is an extremely versatile weapon. You could patrol with it and still use it as a sniper rifle. I like how I was able to shoot back right away when I was on my patrols. Since it was semi-automatic, I could get a number of bullets on target when I wanted to. Should I want to snipe, all I need to do was just to attach my suppressor on and put on my shots. A 7.62 x 51 mm round is all good with a higher stopping power than the smaller 5.56 round, so you could get a guy down in 1 shot. Although not my favourite rifles, it is a practice rifle that is often used in the SOF Sniper School.

Then there is the .300. It is an all round cartridge and its is great with its dead eye accuracy as well as it is great stopping power. It is often used in the M24 and of course it is one of the cartridge used for hunting. We would often use the .300 with the Jansen Mark I and we will customise the barrels and use the 740 Bolt Action by Jansen. These are great rifles. Its great accuracy can be seen from shots from a little over six hundred metres away and beyond in the 800s and you can see how it goes in like a laser. The .300 is what I used for most of kills.

The next one would be the .50 caliber. When anyone mentions its name, one would think of the large, bulky and heavy gun and it is not my personal favourite and beyond practise purposes, I never used it in combat. Think of the large machine guns like the M2 and you think of the 50 cal, that was what it is like. I'm never a fan of a large kick back whenever you shoot and a 12.7 x 99 mm round. Although there is a certain amount of hype that surrounds it, it was however one that I was and still am never fond of. It might be good for long ranges and it is certainly a good weapon but I just didn't like them very much much, maybe also because I have never found the right application to use a .50 caliber in my missions. Some like to think that the .50 caliber is a great anti vehicle weapon but I would like to spill some cold water over it. You get a shot over, it is not going to pierce it and it is also not going to stop it. It will pierce somewhere in the fuel tank or the engine and the fluids will start leaking out or the vehicle will start to wrecked and it will eventually stop moving. It is not only the 50 cal that will do it but even a .300 will do it the same. However, the best way to stop a vehicle is to shoot the driver.

Other than the guns themselves, scopes are an important part of the weapon system. I personally use the 32 power scope most of the time. However, the scope should only be used based on the mission and situation that you are going for. Depending on the circumstances, I would have an infrared and visible red laser, as well as night vision for the scope. These night vision scopes often have very clear glass and they are extremely durable under terrible conditions. Imagine using it under all sorts of conditions and they still appear well. A range finder is next on my equipment list for me to determine how far I was from a target.

Then right on the stock of my guns are the adjustable cheek-pieces which are cheek rests for you to put your cheeks on while you keep your eye in position when sighting through the scope. With all the different scope sizes, the need for an adjustable cheek piece is really important. A light trigger is next on the list, a smooth squeeze is what I go for, a simple tap and go, with no resistance and no jerkiness. Less interference, more control over the shot.

When we hunt, you know how the bullet goes from point 1 to point 2, how to pull the trigger and shoot. At Sniper School, the science behind it all is what we learnt. One of the more interesting things I learnt would be the free floating barrel which is often used in highly accurate weapons. A free-floating barrel is one in which the barrel and stock are designed to not touch at any point along the barrel's length. This is deliberately done in order to reduce the interference of the stock with the barrel's oscillation harmonics. As the bullet goes through the bore, it can cause the barrel to vibrate inconsistently from shot to shot which has an effect on the shot accuracy. Factors like the Coriolis effect too, affects the trajectory and the accuracy of your shot. The Coriolis effect is the rotation of the earth and the effect it has on the rifle bullet, which comes into play during shots over an extremely long distance.

All this science, data and theory is drilled to you over and over again and it ensures that not only do you understand with your head but also in your arms, hands and fingers. It is not familiarity but ultra familiarity that lets you get your shot. In most shooting situations for example, I would adjust for the elevation but not for the wind. Accounting for the drop in the bullet over the distance it travels is a variable that can be controlled properly, while if I were to account for the changes in the wind, I will take forever to take the shot, as the wind is constantly changing. However, on the battlefield, in a combat situation, you don't have the time no luxury to make fine adjustments. It is a killed or be killed situation.

I was not the best sniper in class and I almost got my ass wiped out of the class as I failed the practice test. In the field we don't work with spotters and the basic philosophy here is simple, if you have a fellow force member with you, he ought to be shooting and not watching, that being said, we use spotters in training. After I failed the test, the instructor went through the all the factors with my spotter and I, trying to figure where exactly went wrong. He went through the mechanical parts of the rifle, nothing was wrong.

All of a sudden, he looked up with me.

"Dip," he said, making it sound more like an answer rather than a question.

"Uhh..?"

I hadn't chew gum for the test that day, one of my habits while shooting. It was the only thing that I have done different and it turned out to be the sole factor for the failure of the test. I re-took the test with a gum in my mouth and the results were vastly differently, I managed to pass with flying colours next.

I would say snipers are a group of people who have their own habits, rituals and superstitions. It is all of these habits that make us seem so much like athletes. If you look at them while they play, you could have noticed them. Watch a baseball game and you can see some of the big hitters and the big pitchers. Look at their habits. The batter before entering the box, might rid his cleats of dirt, practise his swings for a little, adjust his helmet and step his left foot into the batters box before his right, adjust his swing stance once again before getting ready before looking up at the pitcher. And he never fails to do it every single at bat, that is what they are. Snipers do it in a rather similar fashion.

We have our own little habits and rituals that we follow to the tee. Be it training or war. I kept my guns in a certain manner in the bunk, the position of my cheeks on the cheek rest has always been the same, if I were to shoot, I will only choose a certain flavour of gum, I would adjust my gloves before going into position. When you do everything precisely the way that you have done before and then executing your job, you feel more at ease at the very least. This is at least something that you can control but the end result still is something that is way out of control. I know the gun is going to do its job so I will need to make sure I do mine too and to do it well.

Sniper training was more than just shooting. As training progressed, I got to learn how to observe the terrain that I was in and the surroundings. I learned to see things and think like a sniper on his job. Anything from the set up, to the angles to the coverage of the battle area, all those little, gritty details that are crucial to mission success. All these spots where your vision comes into good use, you must be trained and drilled to look out for them all the time, it is a learnt skill after all but some people do pick them up more easily than the others and I could say that I was much more natural in picking them up.

Practising to stay sharp and observing. Those are something that I will have work really hard to learn, hone and develop. I would go outside and just train myself to spot things in the distance. Honing, developing and improving on this craft is something that I do even on a vacation. Scary to think about how much my job revolves around me. Sharpening my observation skills, anything could be a training piece. I once train myself to observe subtle changes to the forest terrain in my usual hunting spots to spot animals. Studying the vegetation and the terrain to spot which direction the animals have headed towards or if exactly are there any animal herds around. The little inconsistencies in the landscape, the birds, the movements and shapes, that all helped in improving my observations skills a little.

In the end I graduated in the middle of the class, not the best or the worst results to have. Of course, in this area of work, you need the skills and also the opportunity and luck.

After spending the summer at sniper school, it was time for me to go back to the platoon and got busy with the rest of our training sessions, going through the training sessions as we prepared to deploy in a year. The hardest times of course for a diver is spent in the water. Even if you might be warm and fuzzy and familiar with the water, even though it might be your domain, it all depends on nature and nature is something that will play you in its stride.

Everyone gets all warm and fuzzy about the marine animals. I've had close and personal encounters with the marine animals too. The Navy has a program testing using dolphins for habour defensive measures and they used us as target practice, in a few cases without warning. The dolphins would come and interfere with our dives and swims. The dolphins carry out a range of military tasks, from locating underwater mines to flagging the presence of enemy swimmers for habour defence. They are indeed battlefield assets, due to their excellent biological sonar. They were also known to trained to hit people in the sides and they could crack ribs, I almost got my ribs cracked at a time but it was bruised. You might think that it might feel that you were being attacked by sharks.

After I was attacked by them, I made my way towards the piers nearby but once I ducked underneath, something clamped me hard, and that, it was a sea lion, which were also trained for habour defence and they were there to guard the piers. I went back into the open water, I rather be beaten by the dolphins then. The next thing on the list could be sharks.

The instructors love the explain how shark infested the waters can be. The instructors will happily and delightfully explain all the different breeds of sharks that are possibly in the water. They will go in depth about all the variety of sharks, its strengths, weaknesses, its swimming patterns and all the information about sharks. We are often taught to stand our ground and not swim away when we encounter them. We are taught to fight the instinct to "flight".

"Muster up your strength and punch it in the snort," that was the most common guideline that the instructors have for us.

The second one would be to "Stand your ground, do not be afraid."

One evening, we supposed to swim across the Maplish Northern Straits, in the dark and plant a limpet mine on a particular ship. Simple, standard mission procedure and operations for the dive team. I was beneath the ship and had just planted my mine when I felt something grabbing my fin. My first thought would be that one of my teammates was playing a trick on me. Since the SOF members are very comfortable with water and they love being in it. They like going around playing tricks on others. You will have a guy plant his mine then sink to the bottom and wait for the next guy to come over with his and with enough light from above the second diver, the first diver would be able to see the next diver easily and when the second diver comes to plant his mine, the first diver comes up, grabs his fin and jerks it.

The second diver would often think that there is a shark in the water, scaring the shit out of him and he would screw up the rest of the exercise and his gear may need a special cleaning next.

Who wouldn't suspect it to be your teammate in the first place? I turned around and gave him the finger. Little did I know that I found myself giving the finger to a shark, who'd just chewed off my flipper. Although it wasn't a large shark, it had mighty jaw power and my fin was in his mouth. Now what can I do? I just let the shark had the fin as I cut it off, because what is the point of keeping a fin that is half torn. As the shark chewed off what remains of my fin, I swarm up and re-surface and flagged down the security boat, for which I grabbed onto the side, explaining that there was a shark.

My encounters with sharks doesn't stop there. During another training exercise before my first deployment, we were inserted into another area infested with sharks, this time round inserted via submarine. We came ashore with two rafts and did some reconnaissance, built a temporary hideout and get back in one piece on our rafts and head back out to meet the submarine and go home. However, unfortunately, the coordinates that our officer gave to the submarine for the rendezvous was incorrect. We were that far off from the submarine that there was an island between us and the submarine.

At point in time, we didn't know what was happening at that time, so we just circled around our rendezvous point and that was certainly not the submarine's rendezvous point. We tried to make contact with the submarine with our radio until the battery drained and we couldn't even make a connection with them at all. We just spent the entire night out in the seas on our rafts. When the dawn comes, the fuel on the rafts were also gone. So what do we do all in the end? We decided to turn back to shore in wait. At least we won't get our asses hit by the waves.

As we were swimming towards the shore, we spotted a sea lion catching glimpses at us. For someone living further inland in Mapletish, I had never really had much of a chance to look at sea lions let alone interact with it. So naturally, I had the tendency to want to look at it and even went forward to give it a pat on its back. He's an interesting creature.

Before I could go any further forward, "bloop" he went below the surface. He's dead now. As a group of fins circled around his position, a number of sharks had decided to make him their breakfast. Sea Lions are huge animals but it was certainly not enough for the sharks and they started circling closer and closer to the sides of my raft. I turned towards my partner in the raft, "If we go down, I'm gonna shoot you and throw you to the sharks." He cursed at me and I think he tought I was kidding, but I wasn't, I was ready to throw him in.

We made it to shore without getting eaten. After an hour, the Navy patrol plane spotted us and they got an assault boat to come and pick us up. The commander of the assault boat took good care of us and got us back home.

That was one of those times when I was really glad to get aboard a boat or a ship. Usually, I would dread being on them since going out at sea meant boredom for me. So avoiding sea duty was a large motivator for me even during my trainee days. Submarines are the worst and they get me claustrophobic even the largest of them makes me feel cramped. Well at least being on board an aircraft carrier is much better. It is a lot bigger but you get bored easily too. But, it isn't as bad since you get many places to move around, many lounges to play video games in, and a gym for you to lift weights and pump iron. In fact on one of those occasions, the CO got us involved in the gym to deal with gang members who were causing trouble in the ship. We got in the gym for a workout, locked the door behind us and settled them once and for all.

I also got my first tattoo around this time. It was a tattoo of a angel-like warrior on my right arm. Over my shoulder, I had a tattoo of a diver emerging out of the water, which was to honour the work of the SOF. It also looked as if the diver figure was looking out for me, offering me protection on all of my missions and my deeds.

I would also continue to start my next phase of life over here. Besides being a soldier, I was a husband and during my vacation back home, Dana and I decided it was time to start a family, although it might not have been a rash decision, it was a decision made on a rush but with careful discussion with each other though. Dana was sure of that and that we were ready to start our family. Her pregnancy was smooth and the subsequent child birth went well too. We were lucky to be able to give birth to a boy and he was around 3.7 kg at his birth, not a particularly small kid to begin with. You learn a lot about a woman when she's under duress. I could not understand the excruciating pain that she was going through since I wasn't the one experiencing it. It got me feeling a little hopeless since my wife was in pain and I could not do anything to help her. Despite the pain, Dana was rather calm about it and she was trying her utmost best in between contractions.

Dana
Pregnancy was an emotional time for us and there were varying highs and lows throughout this entire pregnancy. When we first heard about our pregnancy, we were both all really happy deep down inside but we didn't smile or show it. At the same time, I knew that Viktor was going to be leaving for Somalia soon. That part was something that sucked and it meant that the emotional support that you need is gone soon in awhile. Although Viktor was a warrior, he wasn't as good in handling the baby at first, but he had a thing with kids. Although, it was not something extraordinary, he just had to carry him around the house and he would get him down to sleep soon. Most people don't deal too well with a baby's cries. Viktor wasn't an exception but he had his means and ways to get our son to stop crying. Even if he had his thing with kids, I knew that taking care of our son was all going to be on myself for the next few months that he was going to be away to fight the war. I was a little nervous to be able to step into motherhood alone and with all the newness and the all the mixed emotions that comes in with it, I'm not sure whether I will be able to handle them because without support, I was unsure of myself. However at the same time, I knew that I had to go at it even if I couldn't. At the same time, I was a little angry Viktor was going to leave and terrified that he wouldn't make it back alive by the next deployment. I loved him. Alot.

Other than Sniper School, my Chief got me to get into navigation school, which I went reluctantly. Combat navigation is something that is really important in combat. If you do not know how to get to battle, you are already done, let alone how to get away from the battle. In combat scenarios, the navigator has to plan the route to get to the target, comes up with the alternatives and the backup plans and directs the team to safety when you're done. Most of the time, a navigator don't get in the action. The navigator is usually a backup and is assigned to the vehicle while the rest does the combat. For that he will be able to get the team out of any situation should there need to. That was definitely something that I wasn't keen to do. However, I had to fulfill and learn the different roles in the battlefield. And when your Chief asks you to do something, you better do it.

I spent the whole time in navigation school frowning at the desk in front of my laptop as I learn the computer's functions and the tools that we all use for our navigation, communication devices and all the nitty gritty details of our job. I'm not going to say that it is fun and cool but the skills that I was learning in this area was something that is necessary for war even as if it wasn't the most exciting.

That is where I knew, combat is not all about the fire, the action, but there are many areas that goes with it.

by **Nephara** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:18 am

Nephara 2 - 1 Sargossa
(4-2-3-1) 12 - Swoboda; 2 - Rafford (18 - Kielseng 84'), 5 - Konoval, 6 - Bruyne, 3 - Lohengrin; 4 - Rowland, 8 - Klein (15 - Rosenthal 68'); 7 - Fanaiyan, 21 - Gosforth (c), 11 - Strongbow (16 - Aspenwood 77'); 9 - Hawke
Goals: Hawke 33', Fanaiyan 57'

Every nation has its list of opposing teams whose name gives a shiver down the spine. After five encounters, despite having only lost once, Nepharim had Sargossa at the top of their list. Qualifying of the 66 cycle, where Nephara so very nearly managed to seize the sole qualifying place in the group of six for what would have been a first-ever qualification before Sargossan grit ultimately won out. A 1-1 draw in World Cup 70, which just never really clicked into place for the Cormorants as they were ultimately bundled out in the second round. And, perhaps most damaging of all... who were the teams who took advantage of the Tveidalen Incident? Starblaydia and, yes, despite a 4-0 defeat, Sargossa. Truly, the Corsairs proved that whoever laughed last, laughed hardest. At least, they would if they hadn't repeatedly proven to be graceful winners.
Nepharim were not graceful losers. In fact the hope was, going into a CR tie that, ultimately, probably didn't matter - it was hard to see either of them failing to qualify, at the very least as one of the best third-place sides - that they wouldn't be losers at all. Michael Brandon's squad selection pulled no punches, save perhaps for Apostolos Tsattalios - confirmation at last that his place in the strongest XI had been usurped by the marginally younger Swoboda.

That historical context in mind, the groans from the green end of the crowd were predictable when the Corsairs capped off an electrifying start to the game with a goal in the ninth minute. They'd already looked more alert, more at the races, faster in all the right places. Mayoral and Caceres had both tested Swoboda, and Zevallos had wasted a brilliant opportunity to centre dangerously to instead hit the side netting. But the worst of it was the goal itself, and the manner of it as much as anything. Rowland won the ball off Espina by stabbing the slightly loose ball into his shins, but the ball bobbled awkwardly behind her. She gambolled after it and Trajan Bruyne stepped forward, and then both hesitated fatally, each seemingly expecting the other to handle it. The veteran Alejandro Vecino handled it for them, racing past Rowland, taking the ball past a flat-footed Bruyne, and a simple one-two with Caceres took Konoval out of the picture. There was still a finish to be made, with Swoboda racing out of his net, but Vecino made it tidily to give Sargossa the lead they deserved.
Swoboda, in the words of the commentators, 'made his displeasure clear'. Judging by what a nearby pitch mic managed to pick up, Swoboda in the words of Swoboda levelled just about every curse in the English and German languages at Bruyne and Rowland. They had to be better. They had to switch on.

And that's what they did.
In the words of Sunday league coaches all over the world, Nephara played like it was scoreless all over again, and with a confidence that belied the disaster that had just happened. The game got more physical, two sides who valued strength and courage displaying it at all cost, no matter who had to get hurt. Perhaps, in that vein, it was little surprise that Nephara's equaliser came from a cross, Strongbow tapping the ball along to Sieglinde Lohengrin, who hit a low, flat, diagonal cross first time. Hawke, with her lethal turn of pace, flicked it into the net with her first shot on target of the game, and just Nephara's second. Rios was left without a chance.
The Corsairs fought back, hard, both metaphorically and literally - was Espina lucky to stay on the pitch after a brutal challenge on Gosforth? Perhaps, but he got away with a booking, and as ever the Nepharim were no saints themselves. Mari drifted, got into dangerous positions but was unable to get a proper sight of goal. Fanaiyan was oddly muted in a game where Valenzuela did his defensive credentials no harm at all. This game was looking like it would petre out into a draw, unless something drastic changed.

Fortunately for the Cormorants, something drastic changed. What, precisely, it was, only those in Nephara's dressing room at half-time could say, but they strode out of the tunnel with backs straight and heads held high, ready to take the fight back to the Corsairs. Rios' fingertips were scorched early by a searing drive from the rightback Rafford, of all people, before Hawke, dangerous whenever she actually got a touch of the ball, drilled a low shot on target that skimmed off Gonzales' heel onto the upright.
A goal was looking inevitable, and just as the Corsairs seemingly began to get back into the game and looked dangerous on the counter-attack, they were sucker-punched. It wasn't quite Mari's match, as he rather snatched at a volley that came so beautifully down for him and could only send it straight into Swoboda's chest. The goalkeeper looked up, then arrowed the ball down the left flank to Strongbow and suddenly things looked very open indeed. Zevallos caught back up to Strongbow, who sidestepped past him, passed it to Gosforth who saw Lohengrin's overlapping run and caught it with another long pass, and the Crisisbless leftback once again found Hawke with a cross that this time stuck to her chest. Under pressure from Guerrero, she managed to turn and fire it to Rafford, who lobbed over the top to where Ishtar Fanaiyan, released at last from a stranded Valenzuela, was hurtling at full pace. Stretching out a long leg, she just managed to toebash the ball beyond the rushing Rios and the chasing Parra, and Gonzalez could only sprawl helplessly into the net in pursuit.
An oddly beautiful goal with an oddly scuffed finish. How very Nepharim.
Unfortunately for the neutrals, the match more or less stopped there. The Cormorants shut up shop, keeping just enough danger up front to keep the Corsairs honest, but with a solid bank of four and double pivot in front, there wasn't the space for the Sargossan attack to thrive. Mari did, belatedly, scrape the outside of a post, but it wasn't his day.
Three more points. Qualification all but sewn up. One step closer to glory.

by **Crystalline Caverns** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 4:22 am

Who'll Strike Glory at Copa Rushmori?
Predictions @ CaXXXadaigua

Concord Heights, Cassadaigua - It's the 30th Anniversary of Rushmore's grandest showing of regional pride, and what a better time it could be for the debuting Frostac Wolves.

Prior to arriving in Cassadaigua, Gaston Rolf and the Crystalline Caverns National Team were drawn into Group 4, a heat with an intense array of nations our Wolves must overcome to get to the Round of 16. Fast forward to now, with 2 days worth of matches having passed, the hopes and dreams of various nations flourished/crumbled with style. Who were these nations, exactly? CSN is here to give you the run down on which 16 we believe are going through!

Group 1 - Valladares, Savojarna, East Neutralia, Qusmo
The First Group of the thirtieth Copa Rushmori makes no room for error, as the group titan takes 1st in not only the group standings, but in the overall regional rankings. Valladares, a known giant from several successes in the CR and World Cup, burst into the scene of XXX with victories over Qusmo and Savojarna, the group's next two ranked teams. With only a battle against the unranked side remaining, it's fairly certain as to their progression. So while the Valladar side throttles with East Neutralia, let's identify the elephant match in the group that is Qusmo versus Savojarna. Both sides had run away with 1-0 victories against the poor new side, though they had equally failed to pick off the #1. Should the result end in a tie, both nations are very likely to go through. A victory for one nation, however, could mean the end of another's journey here in Cassadaigua. While that may be the case, you, the people of Caverns, believed that they will both get to join the blue-green behemoths in the Round of 16.
Advancing: Valladares, Qusmo, Savojarna

Group 2 - Pasarga, Taeshan, Sarrbia, Mapletish
Now here's a treat. The moon-loving wanderers of 3rd-ranked Pasarga are beyond one of the overall favorites to take the whole tournament home with em, displaying that nicely with victories over the 8th ranked Taeshan and furiously determined Mapletish sides. The final test to prove their worth: Sarrbia. This particular nation wasn't among the favorites to make it out of the group stage, especially when regarding some of their recent troubles. However, even with the odds against them, the dragons stunned us with a demanding victory over Mapletish and a draw with Taeshan. Undoubtedly, both Pasarga and Sarrbia are in prime stances to advance towards the R16, but what about Taeshan and Mapletish? Well, neither side has yet to rack up that many points, gaining only 1 via the draw Taeshan got with Sarrbia. While a victory in the Lions' favor could get them out of last place, the goal differential is just too far gone for them to be considered in the Top 4 3rd-place teams. As for Taeshan, unless it's a blowout victory, it might be too slim of a vote.
Advancing: Pasarga, Sarrbia, Taeshan

Group 3 - Ceni, Olastor, Yue Zhou, St. Trinians
The group that's been tugging on everybody's heartstrings, indeed. While lackluster in team rankings, it does happen to be a very special group, as the titans, Ceni, will be making this their final international appearance for quite awhile. But don't get sad yet, my friends! The nation that's brought the multiverse Andrew Arrowsword and Tir Snake Strike are dominating their group, snatching tasty wins over Olastor and St. Trinians with ease. The runner-up, Yue Zhou, happens to also be in high contention to progress, following their victory over Trinians. So, Ceni's in, Yue Zhou's basically in, and Trinians' out, so what about Olastor? The royal butt whooping they received from the Cenians had put them at -3 in GD, which may be low enough for them to just miss the knockouts.
Advancing: Ceni, Yue Zhou

Group 4 - Eura, Darmen, Cassadaigua, Crystalline Caverns
Hey, it's out group! Wow we're, uh, we're not doing too great. While pandemonium broke out in Mraz following the 0-0 draw versus titans, Eura, the Frostac Wolves failed to prevail over the hosts, losing a pain-staking 2-0 match. But enough about us! The Eurans and Cassadaiguans are, without a doubt, confirmed to represent their countries in the Round of 16, following draws and victories against us and the other nation in our group, Darmen. Speaking of the 11th-ranked side managed by young Godefroy Abascal, The green and white stand as the final challenge of Crystalline Caverns in the Group Stage, which may very well be their final game in this Copa Rushmori. With 1 less goal against them in the GD than Caverns, following having actually scored in the tournament, it's highly likely that, even at our best, the Frostac Wolves will fail to oust the Darmeni squad. Should the loss be more than just a bandage rip, I'd say there's a really good chance they will advance over Thibaea to the R16.
Advancing: Cassadaigua, Eura, Darmen

Group 5 - Nephara, Sargossa, Thibaea, Rou Scotan
This group is a lot closer than it sounds, really. Of course, the majority of people are aware of the fact that the Cormorants and Corsairs are among the most elite teams in the World Cup, qualifying almost on a regular basis. Thanks to the schedule, however, Sargossa is put into a lukewarm water, as a slim defeat to the group titan had left them stranded at 3 points. Thibaea happens to be the other 3-point team, however, their points had came off of Rou Scotan, while Sarg's are from Thibaea themselves. That's right, in match 1, the duo fought in a goalfest of a game, with the blue and white topping the Warlocks, 5-2. Should it come down to logistics, however, things are just not in Thibaea's favor at all. Should they stun everyone with a win over Nephara in Starksville, then we'll reconsider them as a major threat in the tournament. For now, though, Group 5 will only be able to progress half of it's members.
Advancing: Nephara, Sargossa

Group 6 - Eastfield Lodge, Pridnestrovia, Mytannion, Kalosia
Last, but certainly not least, is Group 6, contested with some of the humblest sides we've seen. Unlike the other groups, which were mostly open and shut cases, The difference between 6's 1st and 4th teams is only 3 points, not to mention the 2 goal difference! While the Lodgers gained notice after nudging Pridnestrovia, Mytannion showed the region that even a 24th-ranked nation can kick butt, defeating the newcomers Kalosia with ease. But now we face the final day, the day which may very well determine who's in and who's out. Judging by the fact Kalosia is battling Pridnestrovia next round, it's quite hard to bet in their favor...for now. As for Mytannion, all they need is a draw, preferably with at least a few goals, and they're pretty much in. Of course, a win would be much more favorable against Eastfield.
Advancing: Pridnestrovia, Eastfield Lodge, Mytannion

And there you have it, folks! Who will rise/fall on the last day of battle? From Concord Heights, good night, everybody!

by **Sargossa** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:06 am

Starksville, Cassadaigua

Angles. They’re not the sexiest of things. Tangents and cosines are never likely to get the juices flowing. Few kids skip merrily into Trigonometry class. Sieglinde Lohengrin was perhaps an exception. She picked up the ball on the left-hand side. Ahead of her Rowena Strongbow waited for a return pass but instead Lohengrin found an angle Pythagoras himself would have been proud of. Nikos Pythagoras, who played centre midfield for Peisandros in the mid 50s. The low cross was angled diagonally towards the Sargossan penalty area, into the space between the centrebacks and goalkeeper. It was angled to take Guerrero totally out of the equation and weighted perfectly to meet the run of Estrella Hawke, who’d played with Lohengrin enough to anticipate just such a pass. She’d read the pass a split second ahead of her marker Alex González but that was all the speedy striker needed. In the blink of an eye ball, striker, defender and onrushing goalkeeper were all advancing into the very same tiny square of turf in Starksville.

Pundits back home in Nephara may question Hawke’s first touch but the speed of this move meant the Sabrefall Athletic forward had no time to think, this would come down to pure instinct. And Hawke has the instincts of a world-class penalty area predator. Carlos Ríos, knowing full well he wasn’t getting there, tried to make himself big. But it wasn’t big enough as Hawke elegantly flicked the ball beyond the reach of the Spotivo Soluca stopper and into the empty net.

In one corner of Rushmore fans roared, fists were pumped into the air and drinks flowed. In another, voices rose in anger, hands covered faces or gesticulated at televisions and drinks were downed in annoyance. For large chunks of the opening thirty minutes Sargossa had kept Nephara comfortably in check. You could even say they’d dominated. And fully deserved the goal, scored by Alejandro Vecino with a little help from the Nepharim defence. But the Cormorants are unquestionably a class act. The Corsairs gave them an inch and they went and took a full mile. Hawke levelling the score before halftime.

The second half gave Sargossan fans that hard to describe nasty little feeling in the pit of the stomach, when you can almost sense the pendulum swinging back towards the opposition. Nephara were looking dangerous, chances were now at a premium. Hence the frustration when Miguel Marí fired a very presentable chance straight at Andreas Swoboda. While the TV cameras focused on the disappointed Marí, Swoboda was already kicking the ball down the left flank. It was the start of a lightning quick passing move which sent the ball from left, into the centre and then out to the right. And ended with another duel between Nepharim attacker and Sargossan defence. This time it was the boot of Ishtar Fanaiyan that got there first, sending the ball past Ríos and into the net despite the efforts of González on the line. Barely twenty-five seconds had elapsed between Swoboda’s save at one end and Fanaiyan’s goal at the other. Such are the margins.

‘Game management’ is one of international football’s newer buzz phrases and the Cormorants’ management of the remainder of this game was spot on. They may have surrendered possession but they also closed ranks and refused to buckle. They squeezed the life out of the match and, despite the odd late scare, safely secured three points that all but assured them qualification into the knockout stages.

There may have been endeavour, physicality and challenges that could best be described as ‘crunching’ but there had been no malice. At the final whistle there were handshakes, pats on the back and wry smiles between the opposing sets of players. The coaches too left the pitch in deep conversation, perhaps reminiscing about the first ever fixtures between these nations in which Rodrigo Defederico and Michael Brandon led their respective midfields during the World Cup 66 qualification campaign. The first match of which was also the last time Sargossa had tasted victory against the Nepharim. The two sides departed for different challenges. For Brandon and the Cormorants it was Thibaea and a potential third group stage win to ensure maximum momentum going into the knockout rounds. For Defederico's Corsairs, a chance to bounce back with victory and to seal a place in the last sixteen against debutants Rou Scotan. The Copa Rushmori journey continues.

by **Darmen** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:58 pm

The All Greens waited in the dressing room prior to their match against Crystalline Caverns. A victory was going to be necessary if they had any hopes of advancing to the Round of Sixteen.

Godefroy Abascal was livid with his team. He had hoped to have earned four points from the team's first two matches, but Marcellinus Winton's goal in the 31st minute wasn't enough for Darmen to defeat the Eurans. With those four points, Abascal had hoped to be comfortable enough to use his reserve players in the final match, and justify his decision to bring 38 players with him to the Copa. As it were, he was leaving nothing to chance, starting all of his normal eleven in an effort to defeat Crystalline Caverns.

Abascal's biggest worry heading into the match was the form of his two strikers, Felix Lucanus and Craig Blackwood. Only Lucanus had scored so far in the tournament and the two players had combined for only a single shot on goal against a stronk Euran side. He had made a late substitution in the match, replacing both players with their respective backups, Brian Firmin and Colin Russell, but to no avail.

All four of the players were chatting over in a corner in hushed voices. Abascal walked over to join them. "So, about those goals, will we see any today?" he asked.

Blackwood, the youngest and cockiest of the four responded enthusiastically, "Oh, yes sir bossman, Clovis Terrano won't know what hit him!"

"Blackwood you idiot! You're supposed to hit the back of the net, not the goalkeeper!" retorted Abascal, sarcastically. Blackwood continued to smirk.

Felix Lucanus, captain of the team and by far the best player in Darmeni football, responded in a slightly more realistic manner. "As long as Stafford and Ó Cuilinn can continue to pump balls into the box from the wings, we'll have a chance to score from headers, volleys and all other forms of chaos caused by those curvy crosses."

"But crosses are made by straight lines, not curves," said Firmin, giggling at his attempted joke. He stopped giggling when he noticed everyone staring at him, Abascal and Lucanus shaking their heads.

"Well then, we all seem very relaxed," observed Abascal, "I'm glad we're not nervous and worried about the result. What about you, Russell, you've been quiet. Anything you want to say?"

"I'll speak with my foot," replied the twenty-nine year old striker from Scott City FC. He turned away from the rest of the group and made his way towards the pitch.

"Well alright then," said Abascal, "I guess we'll just have to see how things go, won't we?"

by **Eura** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 4:32 pm

The perfect illustration of what is either right or wrong with Euran football can be found in its national team manager. Daniel Belgrave had been brought in to fill the gigantic boots of Steve Thompson after his emotional World Cup farewell, an unexpected appointment from the left field. Many celebrated it as a profound change and a transition to a more defensively focused style of play suited to tournament knockouts, while others lambasted the appointment as a conservative regression towards a long gone era, hanging the shadow of the "World Cup 60" generation over many decades. Regardless of these contrasting predictions of gloom and glory there was little contesting of his potential. The World Cup 66 winning goalkeeper had managed in Gold League with success at Farrenton with moderate resources and an underperforming squad, had managed other teams, and coached at various levels for nearly two decades. Thompson had less to point to when he took the job, and look how that had turned out. Nevertheless the critics were not entirely wrong to point out that Belgrave wasn't the same type of leader of men that Thompson was and therefore superior starting experience may only be a leveler at best.

Belgrave didn't pay too much attention to these opinions despite it being well known that he is a reflective, introverted soul, the kind to dwell on such criticisms and public questioning. He could never have said no to this job whatever doubts might exist. Every Euran boy dreamed of it (alongside pulling on the red and gold shirt themselves as players), and with recent developments in Euraleague, Euran girls could dream of it too. Belgrave held a mammoth 249 caps for Eura (and inexplicably a goal), making him by far the most capped goalkeeper in Euran history, so for him it was surreal to be the man in the dugout at this level. His first international game was a friendly against Euran Oceania Territories. The team won 2-0 against the lowly expats despite their "on paper" decent first team who had been battered much more harshly by inferior teams in their recent World Cup qualifying debut. Belgrave had picked a strong team for that game but they played half-heartedly, conserving their energy mid-way through a domestic season ahead of the Copa Rushmori. The only real moment of note was the bizarre experience of watching his own son in goal for the Euran national team while he was manager, albeit as a rotation choice - nobody could accuse Belgrave of any kind of nepotism.

His first game at the landmark 30th Copa Rushmori, by comparison, was deeply troubling. A full strength Euran team playing his new system focused on defending effectively both with and without the ball and counterattacking rapidly had abjectly failed to trouble newcomers Crystalline Caverns. A dire 0-0 draw spawned alarmist newspaper headlines. Radio phone in shows flooded the airwaves with tales from pundits of bad decision making and low confidence. Belgrave tried not to let this faze him and very publicly stuck by his guns for the critical second match against Darmen which Eura had to win. The first half an hour was a familiar kind of turgid and ended with Darmen evoking memories in Belgrave's mind of a long repressed variety, from an infamous defeat in the Cup of Harmony final, the only such final Eura ever reached. Marcellinus Winton darted between John Leach and Harvey Blake, caught off guard by Mordecai Ó Cuilinn's sizzling cross, and pounced on the loose ball to leave Robert Griffin with no time to keep it out. Left back Jayden Fox - a youthful sensation in Schottia finally called up among much hype - was having an atrocious game and set up Craig Blackwood on a platter to try and make it 2-0. Fortunately the Darmen striker pulled wide a poor effort but Eura were living very dangerously.

Alex Wyatt summarised Eura's frustrations neatly with a yellow card on half time for pushing over Winton after a small dispute over a throw in. In the dressing room Belgrave reminded the team of their responsibilities and shifted tactical instructions. The full backs needed to close down attacking midfielders more rapidly, the goalkeeper needed to open up his distribution, and so on and so forth, but no substitutions yet. These changes made some difference but in practice Eura remained ineffective. Sometimes in football you need to catch an honest break, an unpredictable bit of fortune, to restore confidence when things are not going your way. Such an intervention appeared unlikely as the clock ticked on to sixty minutes but a fateful error provided the opening. Felix Lucanus had the ball in Eura's half and was looking down as he sent back a pass to what he thought was one of his own midfielders. Instead he found Liam Armstrong, and Eura were away. Before Darmen could find their shape the Euran counterattack had swarmed to the edge of the box where Armstrong was able to lay off to Coltrane, who won a brief physical battle with Ritchie Porsche and clipped the ball back for Dion Underwood to charge in and slam it home from 9 yards.

The minutes continued to tick by and Eura now looked more comfortable on the ball. Darmen looked comparatively a bit desperate, changing both of their forwards with like for like substitutions without solving the problem of Eura's dominance in midfield. Scott Coles and Anthony Townsend appeared to be most threatening down the right wing but Coltrane could not be forgotten out on the left. Fox got in on the action too with a sensational cross that Armstrong would have converted were it not for a last gasp Silver Abbey header over the bar. Belgrave kept his trust in the Bastion contingent of his squad as expected. Jones came on for Wyatt while Fox made way for Dominic Miller as Coltrane was pushed into the centre. Eura's pressing only grew stronger as the remaining time grew thinner. Belgrave fidgeted on the sideline. A small part of him already feared the consequences of another draw for his newborn leadership of the national team. He checked his watch for a moment. That put it at somewhere around the 84th minute. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the red mass of Euran fans rise in anticipation of something. The former goalkeeper and his highly attuned peripheral vision had aged well; he adjusted his gaze up just in time to watch as Coltrane cut inside 20 yards from goal, put his boot through the ball and send it like a rocket into the top right hand corner. Belgrave had been spared by a staple of the later years of Thompson who had already aged to 29. He quietly thanked his predecessor and friend for leaving behind a player with the kind of talent needed to give Belgrave's project much needed spark.

by **Mytanar Region** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:03 pm

Alen Zekic had not enjoyed the most fruitful time in front of goal in his 7 caps for the Mytanar national team. This was his 8th appearance and he still had not scored a goal. He had been dropped at the end of the last Copa Rushmori due to his profligacy in front of goal and he had become more determined than ever to try and make that right. He was convinced that he was still doing all the right things, but he just hadn’t had the opportunity thus far in this Copa. Sure, it had only been one game and there was still time, but he really wanted to get the monkey off his back soon.

The game against Pridnestrovia had been almost heart-breaking, to go ahead twice in the game only to be pegged back level twice was bad enough, but to then actually lose the game. Well, the mood in the dressing room after the game told you more than words ever could. Alen wondered how the mood had been after that game back home. He could imagine the disappointment.

The gaffer had said they should all be proud of themselves, the result was disappointing sure, but the performance had been exceptional. Every player had played their role nearly perfectly, the Pridnestrovians just had the quality and the nous to keep themselves in the game and turn it around at the end.

The result was not catastrophic for their chances of qualifying for the knockout rounds but it was a minor blow in terms of the group placings. They all knew that finishing 3rd in the group could see them qualify, but finishing 2nd would guarantee them progression. Pridnestrovia were the second seed in the group, so in theory they were more beatable than Eastfield Lodge. The general impression was that the seeding system may not quite have been correct. But they would find out in the final match day if that was true.

For now, this game against Kalosia had more or less gone to plan. In his team talk Hjik had said to keep possession, which was not the usual plan for the Mytanar national team, usually the approach was characterised by ceding possession to the opposition and counter-attacking when the play broke down, usually after systematic pressing in midfield. However, it was clear that Kalosia were not of the same quality as the teams this tactic would usually be employed against, so the plan was different – Mytannion wanted an early goal instead. The plan would change then, allow Kalosia to have the ball and see if they could break down the well-organised defensive structure that had been relentlessly drilled before the tournament.

So, the plan was working, except for the fact they hadn’t managed to score a goal yet.

They had created chances, Alen’s strike partner, the youngster Jezdimir Ocokoljic had narrowly bent an effort outside the post. Secretly, Alen was slightly jealous of his younger colleague’s prolific goal scoring record with the national side. He had 5 goals in 8 appearances. But as Robin Hjik always reminded Alen, several of them goals had come as a result of his build-up play.

Alen was a more old-fashioned striker: a big, burly centre forward. He was good in the air, good at holding the ball up and bringing other players into play and he wasn’t afraid to put himself about a bit, even if that meant fouling defenders occasionally. He had already been reprimanded in this game for a late attempt at a tackle on one of the Kalosia defenders. He had only gotten away without a yellow card because of how early on in the game it had occurred.

He hadn’t had a clear sight at goal yet, but he still kept the faith. He had been Atletik’s top goal scorer each of the past two seasons and that was no fluke, he had the quality, he just needed the chance to come and he would demonstrate that quality for all to see. The other side of it was that he didn’t want to go on too long without scoring, because he knew himself that the pressure would only grow larger. It was large enough already.

The Mytanar press were well known for being excessively supportive when things were going well and for looking for scapegoats when things end up going badly. Alen did not want to be the scapegoat for a poor Copa performance. He probably wouldn’t play for the national side again if they decided he was the one to blame. No manager – maybe Hjik aside – if the media decided he was the one at fault.

Alen had been lucky that Hjik had decided to stay on in the job really, he was perhaps the only manager that would be able to justify selecting a striker who had not scored in his first 7 caps just due to the fact he was the best Mytanar player ever. Anybody else would be criticised relentlessly. Alen now had to repay the faith the gaffer had shown in him.

Fejzuli had the ball in the middle and was looking for an outlet so Alen offered him one, shouting for the ball and the young midfielder fizzed a pass along the ground into his feet. Alen could feel the Kalosia centre-half thudding towards him, so he trapped the ball – it was an excellent touch – and then waited for the impact. The defender had been trying to get touch tight to him all game and impose himself physically, but Alen knew he was stronger and perhaps more importantly – more intelligent.

The Kalosia defender thumped into Alen’s back and the resulting impact left him on the floor, but Alen smiled as the referee whistled. It was a foul and it had resulted in a free kick in a relatively dangerous position. They were around 30 yards out from goal, far enough out to get a good cross in, there was space to aim into and no issues of having to quickly get it up and down that came about from closer in.

Fejzuli jogged over and helped Alen up.

“Well played big man,” He laughed. “Almost like you knew exactly what was gonna happen there.”

“I’ve faced bigger and harder than him in the Top League, mate.” Alen smiled. “Put a good ball in for me here, yeah?”

“When do I ever disappoint?” Fejzuli asked, smirking.

Alen started to jog into the box, he couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle when he looked to his left and saw the twin towers that were Damir Azanovic and Niksa Obadko jogging up as well. The two central defenders were imposing men, standing at 6’3 and 6’5 respectively. Alen imagined if they weren’t footballers they could easily play basketball – a sport that was passionately followed in Mytannion, after all, with many sports teams having football, basketball, handball, even water polo squads. Atletik weren’t represented in all, but Damir’s Crvena Zvezda were.

Alen thought that they would probably make pretty good bouncers too, but he had never seen Niksa without a smile on his face, so maybe not.

The trio would be the main targets in the Kalosia box for Tahir Fejzuli. Jezdimir Ocokoljic was there too, as were Jeda Mehmedic and Grigor Todorov. They were more there for any knockdowns that may occur, feeding off the scraps that would be created by the other three. Todorov wasn’t bad in the air either, though.

Alen gazed back at the halfway line, where he could see Feric and Isaev, prepared to defend against any counter-attacks that may occur. Slavko Lalic crossed his vision, waiting for any balls that would be flicked out so that he could either re-service those in the penalty area or shoot himself. They had trained for this sort of scenario so many times, Robin Hjik had emphasised just how important set-pieces are in international games and Alen had agreed, this was his bread and butter. He loved these sort of chances.

The referee was gesturing towards Damir Azanovic and Niksa Obadko against two Kalosia defenders, gesticulating and trying to make the point that he would be looking very closely at them for any shirt pulling or grappling. Alen half-hoped the Kalosia defenders would, at least it would gain the team a penalty, it would almost be a free chance at 1-0. The half of him hoped for a good cross and or him to power a header into the net himself, but at the end of the day it was all about the team – it didn’t matter how they won.

The referee blew his whistle to tell Fejzuli to proceed and deliver the ball. The young midfielder whipped it in towards the middle of the penalty area – it was coming right to Alen!

But then Todorov stepped across and flicked the ball with the side of his head, everything was going in slow-motion as Alen turned and watched the ball move towards the goal, the Kalosia goalkeeper was diving and it looked like it was going in the corner, he wouldn’t be able to get to it. Then everything fast-forwarded again.

The ball hit the inside of the post as Alen kept moving towards the goal, as every striker’s instinct always told them to, as the ball bounced out off the post it hit Alen’s left shin. It was his weaker side but the speed with which the ball had rebounded off the post and the speed with which Alen had been moving towards goal gave the ball momentum, right back towards the Kalosia goal.

The ball bounced in. The Kalosia goalkeeper had been left stranded after diving to save Todorov’s header. Everything paused. Alen looked across to the linesman, half expecting to see the flag go up for offside.

Then, suddenly, it was pandemonium. 1-0. Alen had put them ahead. It seemed like the entire team had been unsure if it had counted, but now Alen was sprinting towards the corner flag, he tore his top off and jumped, karate kicking the corner flag and then turning to his team mates who mobbed him in celebration.

He would get a yellow card for removing his shirt, but he didn’t care. He had finally got his first international goal. It was pure ecstasy.

That was what it was like to score a goal for Mytannion.

by **Cassadaigua** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:09 pm

Time to cut this off!

Group 1
Savojarna 1–0 Qusmo
East Neutralia 3–4 Valladares

  Group 1                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Valladares               3   3  0  0    8   3  +5    9  Q 
2 Savojarna                3   2  0  1    4   5  −1    6  Q
3 Qusmo                    3   1  0  2    1   2  −1    3  WC
4 East Neutralia           3   0  0  3    5   8  −3    0

Group 2
Taeshan 0–1 Mapletish
Sarrbia 1–3 Pasarga

  Group 2                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pasarga                  3   3  0  0    9   3  +6    9  Q
2 Sarrbia                  3   1  1  1    5   4  +1    4  Q
3 Mapletish                3   1  0  2    4   9  −5    3
4 Taeshan                  3   0  1  2    0   2  −2    1

Group 3
Olastor 2–0 St Trinians
Yuezhou 0–1 Ceni

  Group 3                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ceni                     3   3  0  0    8   3  +5    9  Q
2 Yuezhou                  3   1  1  1    2   2   0    4  Q
3 Olastor                  3   1  1  1    3   4  −1    4  WC
4 St Trinians              3   0  0  3    3   7  −4    0

Group 4
Darmen 1–0 Crystalline Caverns
Cassadaigua 1–2 Eura

  Group 4                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eura                     3   2  1  0    4   2  +2    7  Q
2 Cassadaigua              3   1  1  1    6   5  +1    4  Q
3 Darmen                   3   1  1  1    5   5   0    4  WC
4 Crystalline Caverns      3   0  1  2    0   3  −3    1

Group 5
Sargossa 3–3 Rou Scotan
Thibaea 0–0 Nephara

  Group 5                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nephara                  3   2  1  0    5   1  +4    7  Q
2 Sargossa                 3   1  1  1    9   7  +2    4  Q
3 Thibaea                  3   1  1  1    6   8  −2    4  WC
4 Rou Scotan               3   0  1  2    6  10  −4    1

Group 6
Pridnestrovia 4–1 Kalosia
Mytanar Region 0–4 Eastfield Lodge

  Group 6                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eastfield Lodge          3   2  1  0    5   0  +5    7  Q
2 Pridnestrovia            3   2  0  1    7   4  +3    6  Q
3 Mytanar Region           3   1  0  2    3   7  −4    3
4 Kalosia                  3   0  1  2    1   5  −4    1

Tiebreakers:
Group 3- Yuezhou over Olastor on overall GD, H2H was a draw.
Group 4- Cassadaigua over Darmen on overall GD, H2H was a draw
Group 5- Sargossa over Thibaea due to MD1 win.

Round of 16: (Follows same 1R format as did CR 29)
G1- Nephara vs Cassadaigua (1st Group 5 vs 2nd Group 4) @ Concord Heights (Game will be scorinated by 3rd party)
G2- Ceni vs Qusmo (1st Group 3 vs 3rd Group 1) @ Rutland
G3- Sarrbia vs Pridnestovia (2nd Group 2 vs Group 6) @ Grande Mountain
G4- Valladares vs Olastor (1st Group 1 vs 3rd Group 3) @ Winchester
G5- Savojarna vs Yuezhou (2nd Group 1 vs 2nd Group 3) @ New Lakeland
G6- Eura vs Thibaea (1st Group 4 vs 3rd Group 5) @ Victoriaville
G7- Pasarga vs Darmen (1st Group 2 vs 3rd Group 4) @ Brattleboro
G8- Eastfield Lodge vs Sargossa (1st Group 6 vs 2nd Group 5) @ Starksville

Quarterfinals:
G9- Winner G1 vs Winner G2 @ Concord Heights
G10- Winner G3 vs Winner G4 @ New Lakeland
G11- Winner G5 vs Winner G6 @ Starksville
G12- Winner G7 vs Winner G8 @ Rutland

Semifinals:
G13- Winner G9 vs Winner G10 @ Concord Heights
G14- Winner G11 vs Winner G12 @ Brattleboro

3rd Place- Loser G13 vs Loser G14 @ Grande Mountain
Championship- Winner G13 vs G14 @ Concord Heights

ISideWith UK · by **Eastfield Lodge** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:59 pm

Eastfield Lodge Roster for Cup of Harmony 71

Demonym: Eastfielder

Eastfield Lodge is a pretty glorious nation, somewhat situated in Northern Rushmore - in reality, there's a very small island (acting as a transport hub) which hosts a portal linking the NSverse to a small bubble universe, wherein the rest of the Imperial Commonwealth is located (barring a couple of nations, but they’re linked up in other ways). The IC part describes the fact that there are several empires contained within one superstructure – divisions which are somewhat reflected in the convoluted league structure.

Those of you who know this nation well however will wonder what has happened to the Whoniverse (the universe of Doctor Who, the TV programme). Don’t worry, I will (hopefully) RP what went on. To those who don’t know, this nation used be in the NSverse, but due to the acts of a lone madman from The Holy Empire (mad, or pitiful, the legends are a bit shaky), Eastfield Lodge almost vanished from existence, leaving behind a small island (now in Rushmore), attached to a portal connecting here to the Whoniverse. Things happened, the portal became unstable, and we had to form a bubble universe, and as a result, the resulting temporal shockwave both wiped out all electronic records, and did some weird stuff to people’s ages (hence why some names in the team may seem recognisable).

Anyways, because of the initial portal, whilst humans are the overwhelming majority of the populace here, don't be surprised to find several other races and much advanced technology here. Some more historical information can be found here, in lieu of a factbook (NB: a lot of the information there is inaccurate though, TG me for clarification).

Back to the nation itself, Eastfield Lodge is probably the best place to live in the entirety of Rushmore, according to the WA at any rate. Amongst the accolades heaped upon are: Most Compassionate Citizens, Most Beautiful Environments, Happiest Citizens, Most Dedicated Public Healthcare, Healthiest Citizens, Least Corrupt Government, Longest Average Lifespan, Lowest Crime Rates, Nicest Citizens, Largest Public Transportation Department, Safest, Smartest Citizens, Most Popular Tourist Destinations, Best Weather and Largest Welfare Programs. Also of note is the fact that, in a region containing Saintland, Eastfield Lodge is the Most Devout nation, with Islam being the national religion, and that we have the Highest Police Ratios, so do not be alarmed by the sheer number of police officers.

Manager: Shabeen Ahmad III
Age: 69. He went down in Eastfield Lodge history as having scored an absurd 201 goals in 215 appearances for the EL national team (records are still being compiled, but he looks likely to be the human player with the highest tally). Still an inspiration to everyone and even at this age his skill is noticeable, even if his agility has waned. He had been the main coach/assistant manager for several World Cups, until Lowell Brown's sacking following a disappointing WC78 campaign, where he was promoted to the managerial role.

Assistant Manager: Robert Andrews
Age: 47. The former national team striker, who had over a century of international appearances to his name during his career, was specifically recruited by the new manager, his old friend and ex-teammate. This will be his first major job in football since his playing retirement, but his ability to calmly analyse situations even under immense pressure has earned him some plaudits from those in the know, and as such could prove to be a vital asset to the national team going forward.

Player are listed higher are more likely to play – strongest starting XI listed in Tactics section


Goalkeepers           Age  Gender  Club                     Notes
Korbin Harvey         30     M     Duke of the North (PAS)
Marvella Allam        25     F     VLC FC
Thijn Persson         24     M     Olympia FC


Defenders             Age  Gender   1° Pos  Other Pos  Club                           Notes
Emely Towers          30     F        CB               Tanrisal (PAS)
Tajo Carr-Ponce       27     M        CB               Ramusok United (COS)
Darrion Moffat        31     M        CB               Royal Jam FC
Olympia Gray          30     F        CB               Kingsgrove (BRE)
Eskama Nagi           27     F        RB               Hellinic Rouge (PAS)
Seamus Figueroa       27     M        RB               Nile Bridge
Hamaad Siddique       31     M        LB               Rozelle (BRE)
Marya Garner          25     F        LB               Olympia FC


Midfielders           Age  Gender  1° Pos  Other Pos   Club                      Notes
The Doctor            ?      M       AM     Utility    N/A - Unaffiliated        Time Lord (Flesh copy)
Jennifer Farrow       23     F       CM                Crawford City (COS)       Box-to-box midfielder
Hugh Ilyess           30     M       DM                Ulsa (EUR)
Malenna von Kraus     27     F     Utility             Royal Jam FC              Ex-NSI international
Kenyon Lacroix        29     M       AM                RGS Athletic
Osbaldo Bevan         29     M       AM                RGS Athletic
Sorel Qwivotic        24     M       DM                Royal Jam FC


Wingers               Age  Gender  1° Pos  Other Pos  Club                           Notes
Raquel Accardi        24     F       RM               AFC Treason (NPH)
Breta Glibin          27     F       RM               CA Paulinthal (PAS)
Tirs Rathun           32     M       LM       RM      Norrion Rovers
Ármin Harry           27     M       LM               Olympia FC


Strikers              Age  Gender  Other Pos  Club                     Notes
Werdickley Safadão    29     M                Norrion Rovers           Ex-Matthewsiania international
Auguste Alder         31     M                Olympia FC
Tia Drenas            34     F                Crisisbless (NPH)

Style: +3
RP Permissions:
Select my scorers: Y
Give out yellow cards to my players: Y (maximum five, TG me with a reason for more)
Give out red cards to my players: Y (only one more than the number given to your team, maximum of three - i.e. I get two red cards, you must have at least one)
RP injuries to my players: Y (Maximum 3, no career-ending injuries without my explicit permission – I reserve right to how long players are out; you can RP how severe it looks)
Godmod injuries: Y (within some reason)
Godmod scoring events: Y (Have fun.)
Godmod other events: Y (TG me if you're planning on killing anybody though, or anything really extreme.)

If I do RP, I will include the line-up for the next match in my RP post, along with any suspensions/injuries. If there is no line-up, look through my posts and check for current suspensions/injuries, but otherwise it’s fine. Also, if you're RP'ing any part of my match, please use the full name Eastfield Lodge at least once, it helps me find the RP.

NB: As the people of EL are extremely compassionate, and very civilised (despite what you may say about the religion), it would be uncharacteristic for the coaches/players to lose their temper, dive deliberately (jumping out of the way of bad tackles and falling awkwardly doesn't count), to be sent to the stands (if the ref is clearly very biased however...), spit, argue with the ref or fight. Players will also tend to inform the referee about mistakes/clarifications in judgement regarding throw-ins, fouls given but with no contact and goal kicks/corner kicks (plus other bouts of honesty - up to you).

by **Sargossa** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:20 pm

SSM | Sargossan State Media
International Edition - Sport

Corsairs Stumble Into Last Sixteen

Blanco Borrayo reports;

The less spoken about round three of the Copa Rushmori group stage the better quite frankly. So we’ll whizz through this pretty quick. Essentially there were two penalties. Both awarded to Rou Scotan, one iffy, the second ridiculous. There were two red cards. Both ‘awarded’ to Sargossa, one harsh, the second probably deserved in truth. And a national coach whose patience snapped. A lively Rou Scotan side took full advantage of the former champion’s plight, Fabricio Sadowski nailing both penalties before Carlinhos Serafin’s curling effort from just inside the box brought the sides level. Down to nine men and with a coach dispatched to the stands the side dug in, desperate to preserve their point while hoping beyond all hope that Thibaea wouldn’t find a way through in their surprisingly tight game with Nephara. Surprisingly, given the drama, there were no further twists in this tale and the nations of Group 5 ended the day as they started it. Nephara topped the group, Sargossa sat in second, Thibaea in third thanks to an inferior head-to-head against the Corsairs and Rou Scotan bringing up the rear. Albeit with a first ever Copa point to their name, won against Sargossa. A service we’re handing out altogether too readily to debutant nations.

It’s A Knockout

Twenty-four teams arrived, sixteen now remain. Which is altogether too many. So who will be advancing to that last eight?

Nephara v Cassadaigua
The atmosphere at any tournament always benefits from a strong showing from the host nation. And the Dagans have successfully emerged from a tricky group, having beaten Crystalline Caverns, drawn with Darmen and lost a narrow final fixture to Eura. But that loss could be crucial as it sees them paired with Nephara in the last sixteen. The Cormorants, as we know only too well, are a tough nut to crack and should probably prove too strong for the hosts, even with the Concord Heights crowd behind them. In fact this could be the year that the Nepharim add Rushmori gold to their plethora of Esportivan titles.

Ceni v Qusmo
If rumours are to be believed then this tournament could be an international swansong for Ceni and no doubt the Terranean island nation will be looking to end on a high. They’re going about it in the right way too, reaching the last sixteen with a one hundred percent record, leaving the likes of Olastor and Yuezhou in their wake in the process. Debutants Qusmo showed plenty of pluck in single goal defeats to Savojarna and Valladares but we’ve reached the stage where pluck only gets you so far.

Sarrbia v Prisnestovia
Beneficiaries of a Taeshani horror show and the inexperience running through a returning Mapletish squad, Sarrbia are perhaps fortunate to still be involved in this competition. But their football team are still going here even as their nation seemingly vanishes into the ether. Prisnestovia battled it out with Eastfield Lodge in Group 6, finishing just a single point behind the tournament’s fifth seeds. Largely thanks to an impressive victory over a talented Mytanar side. The Pridnestrovians should prove as big an obstacle to Sarrbia as Grande Mountain itself.

Valladares v Olastor
Olastor scrapped into the last sixteen while Valladares sailed into it. Expect a straightforward victory for the champions.

Savojarna v Yuezhou
The crowd at the tournament’s largest venue are probably not set to enjoy a goal fest. Two of the competition’s more defence minded sides both played second fiddle to Copa heavyweights in their respective groups but will both surely fancy their chances of progression to the quarter finals. Expect a tight contest of few chances, perhaps one settled by a moment of magic thanks to the guile of a player of Perttu Karjanen's ilk.

Eura v Thibaea
You can almost already hear the cries of ‘Eura Victor’. But Thibaea will be buoyed by the Eurans struggle against Crystalline Caverns and their own impressive performance against Nephara. Those two matches with give the Warlocks some hope at least. But, sadly, it’s the hope that kills you.

Pasarga v Darmen
Probably the biggest fixture on paper, as two former champions collide in Brattleboro. Unfortunately Darmeni fortunes have fallen since they pipped Sargossa to the Copa 13 trophy in Ancharmunn and they only made it through here as one of the best third placed sides. Pasarga, on the other hand, are a genuinely world-class outfit who breezed through the group, scoring nine goals in the process. The All-Greens will put up their customary fight but it’s The Wanderers who will be left standing.

Eastfield Lodge v Sargossa
The Sargossa that battered Thibaea would give Eastfield Lodge a game. As, arguably, would the side that narrowly lost out to Nephara. But the effort against Rou Scotan was a shock to the system, as was the ease with which Eastfield Lodge dispensed with the Mytanars. Based on that it doesn’t bode well, particularly as Sargossa have never even scored against Eastfield Lodge, let alone beaten them. But for their faults the Corsairs, joint top scorers with Pasarga, do pack some firepower and will be playing in Starksville, where the majority of Sargossan fans have based themselves. Which might count for something, possibly?

Expected Quarter Final Lineup
Nephara v Ceni
Prisnestovia v Valladares
Savojarna v Eura
Pasarga v ???????

Sargossa side to play Eastfield Lodge.

by **Qusmo** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:59 pm

Qusma manager Avarn-Oxolt Ban has made headlines with a highly negative review of their team’s performance in the group stage of Copa Rushmori XXX. Qusmo advanced out of the group stage as the fourth-best third-place team, the very last team to earn inclusion into the knockout rounds. It will play Ceni in the Round of Sixteen in Rutland, Cassadaigua. Below are Avarn-Oxolt’s controversial comments.

“It was remarkably close, &, really, we’re lucky to have gotten this far. If Taeshan had beaten Mapletish in Group 2, we’d be out. It went down to the very final matchday of the very final group, because if Mytanar Region had beaten Eastfield Lodge, or drawn, or even lost by just one, they’d be through & we’d be the team sitting out. I’m pleased to be moving on, of course, but I’m disappointed with the way we got there.”

“Tiring travel certainly wasn’t a concern; every match we played was in a single stadium in South Granby. Still, we scored only one penalty kick against a team in its first-ever international tournament, sandwiched by two losses in which we didn’t manage a single goal. We’re the only team in the Round of Sixteen to make it on only three points. All these other teams have proven themselves against multiple opponents, & quality ones at that. We just had the luck to be put in the only group with two unranked teams, to squeak by against our unranked counterparts, & to not get blown out by the other two teams. Only eight teams got eliminated in this round, & six were unranked; we very nearly made it seven for seven for the unranked teams being eliminated in the group stage.”

“With that in mind, as the worst team still in this tournament based on both ranking & group stage performance, we fully deserve the wretched Round of Sixteen draw we got. We’re up against Ceni. They’re a strong team; they started the group stage Pot 1 & finished as one of only three teams to finish with all nine points. They’re a motivated team; rumours are, of course, swirling that dysfunction in the federation is spelling the end of this golden age of Cenian football, so these players will surely want to make this Copa Rushmori count in case it’s their last. &, for us, they’re a bogey team.”

“Let’s not ignore the elephant in the room. This isn’t our first time playing Ceni. In our first competition, World Cup Qualifying for the eightieth cycle, we were wallopped 5-2 at Cenial Halycon National Stadium & then demolished 5-1 at Mastad Qusma. Ceni has our number. Of eleven teams we’ve played multiple times, they’re the only one which have beaten us twice. &, based on our respective teams’ forms during this tournament, it’s not looking too great for us in this rematch, either.”

“We’ve got to play better. We’ve just got to. We haven’t scored a single goal from open play this entire tournament. Our one goal was from a penalty kick against a team playing their second match on the international stage, & one of only two teams in this tournament not to earn a single point all tournament long. We haven’t shown that we can compete against quality teams in this competition. Aside from that one match against unranked East Neutralia, where we were saved by a spot kick, we’ve played four matches against teams from Rushmore & we’ve lost four matches against teams from Rushmore. I’m upset with how our team has played. We’ll be making some major changes in attack to try to unlock things, but against a team like Ceni, I’m afraid it may be too late.”

Qusmo National Team loses but advances to Copa Rushmori Round of Sixteen
Savojarna 1–0 Qusmo
South Granby, Cassadaigua
GK Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB Cunix-Betva Tla
CB Zenon-Gerol Kal
CB Ozolx-Alfan Ixi
CM Yunal-Julad Waz
- 68’ Rilan-Jerat Nev
CM Ilinx-Kepex Zev
CM Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
LM Kynda-Sevet Pec
- 73’ Ozolx-Mazur Guv
RM Forzu-Ralox Kal
ST Prant-Pertz Gor
- 77’ Yamaj-Blonz Jok
ST Xilit-Zaxac Yol

by **Yue Zhou** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:59 pm

Ruo 23 - Fan 17, Ma 25, Han RY 3 (C), Liang 13 - Hong 11, Wei 29, Han XW 18 - Wen 21, Quan 32 - Fu 10

It was a simple plan. But sometimes it was the simplest plans that were hardest to beat. And if Alex Cartwright was to keep his job, he couldn't afford to be beaten right now. Many had accused the Llamanean manager of not trusting his personnel enough - after all, a defensive-minded 5-3-2 was not what most national teams with the likes of Han Ruoyang, Wen Xiaoli, Quan Zedong, and Fu Xi would even consider. But with his job on the line, it was somewhat telling that Cartwright would choose to have faith in his attackers now.

At its surface, it was an attacking formation change - a center-back switched out for the deep-lying midfielder Wei Jiabin. There was much more to it than that, but it was a change made with attacking in mind. Cartwright would roll out a much flatter back line than previous Red Dragons teams, with the defensive Liang Yufeng taking Lin Wangming's place alongside fellow veteran Fan Xiaopeng. The fullbacks would have a tough time out there, with the attack-mindedness of Savojarna's wingers and fullbacks, but with the help of the midfield, they would cope. The midfield featured defensive steel in Han Xiaowei and Hong Guilin, as well as the free-floating Wei Jiabin - both responsible for defense and for launching counters with his pace and creativity. And, to force Andersson, Hoyberg, and the defense back, the two star attacking midfielders - Wen Xiaoli and Quan Zedong - up front behind Fu in a 4-3-2-1.

It was definitely a gamble - Wei's position, in particular, seemed suspect, and Fu Xi wasn't really the pure goal-scorer that the likes of Huang or even Jiawei could be. But the Red Dragons had always been a team that, despite Cartwright's defensive tactics, gravitated towards free-flowing, pass-heavy attack. And for that, there was no better formation.

OOC: change style mod to +2 if possible.

by **Nephara** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:42 am

Thibaea 0 - 0 Nephara
(4-2-3-1 / 4-4-2) 12 - Swoboda; 2 - Rafford, 5 - Konoval (vc), 6 - Bruyne, 3 - Lohengrin; 4 - Rowland (23 - Misidjan 72'), 15 - Rosenthal; 13 - Saroszi, 21 - Gosforth (c, 10 - Kendall 61'), 11 - Strongbow; 9 - Hawke (17 - Wolff 68')

It was oddly zen, watching the game from goal. Thibaea wanted to push through. Thibaea could not push through. Nephara wanted to push through. Nephara could not push through.
Andreas Swoboda had to admit it was relaxing, but he still had a job to do. Now, more than ever. If the Warlocks pushed through and had a shot and caught him napping, well, he could kiss his string of starts goodbye. The press would crucify him, and be right to. That wasn't a problem his counterpart, Chappuis, would face, as he was constantly on the lookout and had already made some sharp saves to deny Hawke, Saroszi, Gosforth...
Swoboda saw Kendall come on to replace Gosforth. A striker for an attacking midfielder, their captain, who'd just struggled to imprint himself on the game. 4-4-2 it was, then.
Anyway, Swoboda had lived life on both sides of the equation. He'd cut his teeth at Serpentine, a side who had an 'open' approach to football and a 'generous' approach to defence in particular. Swoboda had first impressed scouts by being repeatedly exposed on the counterattack and repeatedly picking the ball out of his net, at what was impressively not quite a 1:1 ratio. Even now, facing world-class attacking sides could be similar to that, for Nephara. The Cormorants played totally different to the Dragons - were a lot more committed to and competent at defending, which helped - but he'd still find his goal peppered with shots, just ideally from distance.
Aaand then there was life at 1860 Azoth, a side which had the ability and willingness to just sit on its opponents, bullying them in their own half. There had come a new challenge Swoboda had taken a while to adapt to. He wasn't facing opponents, so much as boredom.
Until something broke loose, and he was called on-
A sloppy pass under pressure from Rosenthal. The ball to... the impressive Rousselle, as far as he could make out, and then forward down the wing, Fetique, to Sardou and then high to Milhaud, who raced past Konoval and Swoboda was alert, and already rushing forward, out of his box because he was saved by a heavy touch and he could sense the moment that Milhaud realised it was out of his control, his chance to be a hero had passed... stretched out a leg but it wasn't enough, Swoboda hooked the ball away, hard, out into the stands, hustled to his feet and sprinted back on goal which was a handy thing, too, as the captain Desjardins was ready to take a shot at an empty net - but Swoboda managed to get back in time, sprang at the shot and took it in the chest, falling to the ground and rolling once or twice from the momentum.
Breathe in... breathe out.
The crowd was cheering, at least the part in green, but he got back to his feet, rolled the ball to Lohengrin. Had to be ready for the next attack.
It would never come. Neither would any goals. But when he was called on, Swoboda had stood up and been counted.

by **Darmen** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:55 am

The clock kept ticking downwards, and Darmen still had nothing to show for it. Up front, Felix Lucanus and Craig Blackwood's poor form was still prevelant, they had combined for just two shots on goal. With just five minutes left in the scoreless match, Godefroy Abascal had a decision to make. With only one more substitution available to him, he needed to decide which of his two strikers would be replaced. Looking towards the bench, he spotted Colin Russell, and was immediately struck by the confident look on the striker's face. It was in stark contrast to the rest of the Darmeni subs still on the bench, they all looked incredibly nervous.

"Russell, you're on!" instructed Abascal. Russell lept to his feet and removed his track suit. Craig Blackwood noticed the change being prepared on the sideline, and immediately gasped a sigh of relief.

Just a couple of minutes later, with the referee constantly checking his watch, Austin Timour controlled the ball in the box following a poor crossing effort from Darmeni Aquila Freud. Seeing a charging Russell coming straight for him, Timour turned in an effort to shield the ball from the Darmeni, but was absolutely smothered by Russell and lost possession of the ball. As Timour lay sprawled out on the ground, writhing in agony, Russell blasted the ball into the goal past Clovis Terrano. The Frostac Wolves' players immediately made appeals to the referee for the goal to be disallowed and Russell given a red card for his ferocious tackle. Those appeals fell on deaf ears however, as the referee had been checking his watch and hadn't seen the tackle.

After being treated by the medical staff, Timour recovered and continued the match, while Russell was subjected to being on the receiving end of some tough tackles of his own. The final whistle blew a few minutes later, and the Darmeni team celebrated, albeit a tad subdued, as they advanced to the Round of Sixteen. Their opponents: familiar foes Pasarga.

by **Ceni** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:06 pm

To Brobdingnag We Go
Chapter Fourteen: Dragon Riding and Beach Relaxing

DRAGONS IN ELSTRUND
Dragons occupy an interesting place in Elstrund. Several companies run air taxi services, with dragons as full-time employees, with the same rights as any Drawkian worker. Mostly dragons carry Drawkians from place to place, although sometimes they offer aerial tours of the city for naïve tourists like Andrew and his family.

Soaring through the rarefied Drawkian air, Andrew feels like a cowboy on the open range: he can go anywhere, a trusty steed at his side. Below him, Elstrund stretches in all its majesty, the Yggdrasil of Drawkland. Fuchsia orchids bloom throughout the valley surrounding the tree of life, fluorescent vermillion bird-of-paradise plants dot the landscape, fern greens and celadons dominate the country side. Cuckoos, chirps, calls, cackles fill the airwaves. All around him, the peaks and crags surrounding Elstrund, shrouded in mist and mystery, strike Andrew with their sheer beauty, contrasting and complementing the verdant landscape below, filled with mottled shades of green and blue.

The most amazing thing about this experience is not the scenery, though. It is the rough canvas skin, the azure scales, the omniscient and perceiving eyes of the dragon on which Andrew is currently seated.

Andrew instructs his dragon to dive, closes his eyes. He feels the rush of the wind, the adrenaline pulsing through his veins. He feels liberated.

Of course, Sarah has to interrupt his reverie. “You look like you’re about to fall off, the way you’re riding yours,” she snorts. “Let’s put down somewhere and I’ll show you the right way.”

“Shut up,” replies Andrew, continuing the conversation in imitation of one they have had many times in the past, as readers of this series will indubitably recognize. “I’m riding him exactly the way the trainers showed me back at the station.”

Sarah rolls her eyes. “When you fall off, I’ll say I told you so.”

Until now neglecting his duties as a paternal figure, Seth jumps into the conversation. “All you ever do is bicker! I’m tired of it. All trip, bicker, bicker, bicker.”

“But Sarah started it –“

“Stop!” says Seth. “I don’t want to hear any more ifs, ands, or buts. Stop bickering so we can enjoy the last few days of our trip in peace.” One of their dragons roars, perhaps sensitive to the negative sounds pulsating through the atmosphere.

“We’re heading to Archifel next, right?” asks Sarah.
Seth confirms her statement. “After all this strenuous traveling, we need some R&R.”

“Strenuous! Bah humbug,” interjects Andrew. “All we’ve done is see a few museums of Iarocav.”

“That’s massively understating it,” replies Sarah. “I’m really tired of you bringing up Iarocav anyway. Wherever we go, it’s Iarocav!” She strenuously denies that she has a crush on the Drawkionel, even after Andrew’s repeated prodding.

“Just shut up, you two.”

After the family disembarks from their dragon tour, they enjoy one last sunset in Elstrund before heading to Archifel the next day. Murex purples and violets, fiery reds and oranges filled the sky while the sun faded from the sky. “This may be the last sunset in Elstrund,” Seth muses philosophically, “but it certainly won’t be our last sunset as a family.”

“It may be if we continue bickering like this,” says Andrew.

“Don’t murder your sister overnight,” says Seth. “Even if she bothers you to no end.”

“I won’t,” replies Andrew. “I love her too much for that.”

THE ARCHIFEL ISLES
An archipelago stretching hundreds of miles, the Archifel Isles has marketed itself as a beachy tourist destination. They don’t need to do much exaggeration: with constant sun, cool breezes, and aesthetic palm trees, they attract millions of visitors each year, looking to enjoy a break from the hectic urban centers of Drawkland. Many isles aren’t crowded, though, thanks to their immense number. Our intrepid adventurers will journey to one island in particular: Syrtanna, which features historical charm, golden-sanded beaches, opportunities to fish, and, of course, an inordinate number of bars and clubs to get drunk.

“What should we do next?” asks Andrew, sipping some sort of sweet beverage. His outfit indubitably attracts the attention of many local girls: Sperrys, worn without socks; khaki shorts, revealing his tanned legs; a Hawaiian shirt, embroidered with a floral pattern in bright red and yellow, unbuttoned to show his abs; and sunglasses. The local girls do not attract his attention, though, and he sits down on a beach chair, a bit awkwardly, the breeze at his back and the ocean at his feet.

“I move we just sit here for a while and enjoy the solitude,” says Sarah. “The drinks are good, the beach is uncrowded, and the temperature is just right.”

Seth disagrees. “Sooner or later, I’d like to walk around the old town, do a bit of shopping, and experience this place’s historical charm. The whitewashed stucco and the old brick here are absolutely astounding.”

“I never pegged you as an architecture nerd,” says Sarah. “We can definitely do that later. For now, I lay claim to this beach.”

“As you wish,” says Seth, moving to sit in a beach chair of his own. “And I do like to explore our country’s history from time to time.”

“You never showed much interest in that when we went to all those museums earlier, though. Why the sudden interest now?”

“Old buildings are better than old artifacts,” Seth replies in a huff.

Entering the conversation, Andrew makes a declaration that seems to stop the two Drawkians right in their tracks. “And both suck. Let’s just enjoy the beach while the good weather lasts.”

Hours later, they have not moved. As they sit outside watching the sunset, Andrew sheds a tear: he knows this will be his last Drawkian sunset for a while.

-----

Andrew stares at the portal headed toward his home planet and his home country for the second time, this time on the other side, in Iarokannet Bay. “Attention all passengers…” the Air Terranea flight’s captain comes on the loudspeaker. While he drones on and on about safety and whatnot, Andrew stares out at the window and the mesmerizing interaction of colors and lights within the portal. Before he knows it, they’re on the other side, near Stratosphere City.

“I’m forever thankful,” says Andrew after they disembark. “I enjoyed our trip, and it’s too bad that I couldn’t continue for much longer. But duty calls.”

Sarah smiles. “I know that feeling. The best of luck to you in your footballing adventures. Remember us, and don’t forget to have a good time.”

“How could I forget you after what we did together?”

“Just promise me, Andrew, promise me.”

“I promise.”

Embracing his half-sister and father, Andrew sheds seven tears before walking towards the subway. The Drawkians wave.

by **Mytanar Region** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:20 pm

Jezdimir Ocokoljic could hear the noise from the Mytanar supporters in the stadium in New Lakeland. He almost didn’t dare look across to see what they were actually doing, because the noise was enough information in itself. The performance had been dire and the team had received an absolute rollicking at half-time from Robin Hjik and had managed to only concede a single goal in the second period, but still, a 4-0 loss to a team that had looked less than stellar up until this point in the Copa was disappointing.

Eastfield Lodge were the top seed in the group, but following the spirited performance against Pridnestrovia many had been optimistic about Mytannion’s chances in the final group game. The performance from the team had been completely unacceptable though, with pretty much everyone having a poor game and now the clock was ticking away, the seconds disappearing and they would be exiting in the group stage again.

The whole squad knew that the qualifying round for the World Cup would be an uphill battle, with national teams from all over the multiverse competing and this would naturally make the level of competition much higher. It would be harder to do well and nobody expected them to be able to actually qualify for the World Cup. The Copa Rushmori had been the team’s chance to show everybody what they were about, but they had been completely unable to do so.

As Jezdimir turned towards his own goal, Jasmin Savic lining up a goal kick, he heard a banger go off behind him – presumably from the Mytanar section – as the ball was kicked, arcing high up in the air and plummeting down towards Alen Zekic another went off and then two, three, four five. The noise was almost deafening. Zekic flicked the ball on but the header was ill-timed and the ball ran through to the Eastfield Lodge goalkeeper.

Jezdimir chased him down and he could see more clearly what was happening now. The Mytanar ultras were clearly determined to make their presence felt as flares were being launched towards the pitch, some onto the grass behind the Eastfield Lodge goal. A stroboscope had been thrown near the corner flag and it flickered bright white light. The performance had been diabolical and the fans had expected so much. Jezdimir felt a degree of sympathy with them, but the headlines in newspapers across Rushmore would once again be about Mytanar fans poor behaviour. It was a disappointing outcome of a tournament that had promised a little more beforehand.

As the goalkeeper kicked the ball back upfield, the referee blew his whistle and instantly there was an intimidating roar from the Mytanar section, an almost animalistic release of pent-up anger and frustration. This descended into boos quite quickly and as Robin Hjik shook hands with the opposition’s manager, Jezdimir sank to the ground, head in hands. They were eliminated. They were out.

“Come on, lad.” Came the voice of Damir Azanovic, the national team’s captain – as well as Jezdimir’s captain at domestic level with Crvena Zvezda – he pointed towards the fans. “We’ve got to go thank them, they deserve that.”

As he said it Robin Hjik was striding up the side of the pitch, waving his players over to the fans. The anger was clear to see on his face too. It was a talented bunch of players and many had thought they could finally establish themselves as a top regional team once again.

Jezdimir got back up and walked over to the fans, he could pick out faces and many were screaming obscenities, angry at the performance they had seen. A couple of smoke bombs, billowing black smoke, had been thrown onto the pitch.

In Mytanar football, the black smoke bomb was a universally known sign indicating the highest level of anger with a team’s performance. Many ultras groups had employed them before when their team were playing consistently poorly, or they were unhappy with the club’s board or something similar. Not too many could remember them being used for the national side.

The sense of anger was palpable.

Jezdimir stood there, clapping the supporters, thanking them for their support. What else could he do?

by **Qusmo** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:43 pm

SPONY LUQ TELEVISION

Hello, all. Welcome to Spony Luq Television, broadcasting from Qanz, Qusmo. Despite a 1-0 loss to Savojarna on the final matchday of the group stage, Qusmo has narrowly qualified to the Round of Sixteen of Copa Rushmori XXX, as the fourth of four teams to finish third in their group to advance to the knockout rounds. Let’s take a look at the group stage & those knockout rounds to come in Cassadaigua. First, we have a question from a viewer in Wexe.

What big upsets have there been in the Copa Rushmori so far?

None, really. So far, this tournament is remarkably devoid of upsets. Thirty-six matches were played in the group stage; thirty-five were played between one team with a higher regional ranking than the other. (In one match - Qusmo v. East Neutralia - both teams were unranked. It is worth noting that the team with the better KPB ranking, Qusmo ultimately prevailed.) Of the thirty-five matches between teams with differing regional rankings, twenty-seven ended in victory for the higher-ranked team, seven ended in draws, & only one resulted in an upset. &, then again, the supposed upset was a narrow victory by Mapletish, which has been impressive in their return to the international stage & which won Di Bradini Cup 43 - after knocking Qusmo’s U21s out in the quarterfinals, too. In fact, to give a stark example, on the second matchday of the group stage, with eleven such matches played, the higher-ranked team won all eleven matches, with lower-ranked teams unable to secure even a draw.

If you look at the aggregate results for the favourites in each match in this group stage, it gives you eighty-eight points from thirty-five matches, better than 2.5 points per match. Thirty-five matches is roughly the number of matches teams in a double round robin league of eighteen teams might play in a season; in such a league, earning eighty-eight points would likely signal a record-setting, runaway championship campaign. Indeed, looking at the Qusma domestic football pyramid for scale, despite playing thirty-eight matches - three more than in our hypothetical Copa Rushmori domestic league - no team in Pug Qusmyra nor Pug Qusma has earned eighty-eight points, & none of the three hundred twenty clubs in sixteen leagues in the Fuzpon Qusma pyramid have ever reached 2.5 points per match.

In the end, a table of all twenty-four teams sorted by results in this tournament reveals precisely how secure highly-ranked teams have been at this tournament. Every group winner can be found in Pot 1, & every Pot 1 team won their group. On the other end, all nine sides which entered the tournament not ranked in the top twenty of the regional rankings are found in the bottom ten. All seven unranked sides have at least two losses, & six take spots among the eight teams eliminated in the group stage; the only team that avoided that fate is Qusmo, which only snuck in as the fourth & final third-place team to be given a spot to compete in the Round of Sixteen. The only surprise among the teams at the top or the bottom-dwellers is Taeshan, the eighth-ranked side which suffered the nineteenth-best tournament, could only manage one point, & bowed out in the group stage as their group’s worst team. However, Group 2 was a formidable one, & having only one team in the top two pots go in the group stage is still a highly impressive record for the teams with pedigrees.

On the plus side, the group stage indicates that the regional rankings are accurate. On the other hand, if you enjoy rooting for underdogs, this tournament has surely left you in the dog house.

TR Team                  Grp   Pos   Pts    GD    GS   PCR
 1 Pasarga                 2     1     9    +6     9     3
 2 Valladares              1     1     9    +5     8     1
 3 Ceni                    3     1     9    +5     8     6
 4 Eastfield Lodge         6     1     7    +5     5     5
 5 Nephara                 5     1     7    +4     5     4
 6 Eura                    4     1     7    +2     4     2
 7 Pridenestrovia          6     2     6    +3     7     7
 8 Savojarna               1     2     6    -1     4    10
 9 Sargossa                5     2     4    +2     9    13
10 Cassadaigua             4     2     4    +1     6    15
11 Sarrbia                 2     2     4    +1     5    18
12 Darmen                  4     3     4    ±0     5    11
13 Yuezhou                 3     2     4    ±0     2    16
14 Olastor                 3     3     4    -1     3    12
15 Thibaea                 5     3     4    -2     6    31
16 Qusmo                   1     3     3    -1     1    UR
17 Mytanar Region          6     3     3    -4     3    24
18 Mapletish               2     3     3    -5     4    UR
19 Taeshan                 2     4     1    -2     0     8
20 Crystalline Caverns     4     4     1    -3     0    UR
21 Rou Scotan              5     4     1    -4     6    UR
22 Kalosia                 6     4     1    -4     1    UR
23 East Neutralia          1     4     0    -3     5    UR
24 St Trinians             3     4     0    -4     3    UR

Next, let’s take a question from a viewer in Nosib.

Who will go far in the knockout rounds of the Copa Rushmori? Who will win it all?

Great question. Unfortunately, it’s not likely to be Qusmo. The team starts off with a Round of Sixteen clash against Ceni, one of the two starkest mismatches on the highly predictive ranking sheet, rivalling only a match between second-ranked Eura & thirty-first-ranked Thibaea. Qusmo also has a one-sided history with Ceni, as Ceni has won two blowouts against Qusmo in World Cup Qualifying, by 5-2 & 5-1 margins, respectively. Finally, the two teams’ form are vastly different; while Ceni took all nine points from their group & are motivated by rumours swirling about their federation’s future, Qusmo has scored only one goal all tournament, including none from open play, & only got to this point as the last third-place team, leading to manager Avarn-Oxolt Ban to highly publically & bitingly criticize their own team ahead of the knockout rounds.

The question of who might go far could well be answered by looking simply at the higher-ranked team in each of the matchups; after all, the group stage went almost exactly that way. If that were to happen, here’s how the tournament would look.

Round of Sixteen
(4) Nephara - (15) Cassadaigua
(6) Ceni - (UR) Qusmo
(18) Sarrbia - (7) Pridenestrovia
(1) Valladares - (12) Olastor
(10) Savojarna - (16) Yuezhou
(2) Eura - (31) Thibaea
(3) Pasarga - (11) Darmen
(5) Eastfield Lodge - (13) Sargossa

Quarterfinals
(4) Nephara - (6) Ceni
(7) Pridenestrovia - (1) Valladares
(10) Savojarna - (2) Eura
(3) Pasarga - (5) Eastfield Lodge

Semifinals
(4) Nephara - (1) Valladares
(2) Eura - (3) Pasarga

Third-Place Match
(4) Nephara - (3) Pasarga

Final
(1) Valladares - (2) Eura

Valladares would defend their title over Eura, while Pasarga would win third over Nephara.

That said, we don’t necessarily think the entire knockout stage will go chalk. Here are our predictions for the tournament bracket.

First, we need to look at the Round of Sixteen. We don’t expect many surprises here; hosts Cassadaigua have fought well, & will be bolstered by a home crowd, but Nephara is eyeing its first Copa Rushmori after winning several regional championships in Esportiva, & they will simply be too much. Ceni, of course, will take care of Qusmo, & the round should progress mostly as expected. Matches to keep your eyes on include Savojarna-Yuezhou, Pasarga-Darmen, & Eastfield Lodge-Sargossa; the underdogs could certainly make things interesting in all, though we only expect Sargossa to actually score the upset victory in this upset-less Copa.

Next, let’s see how the quarterfinals might play out. Nephara face Ceni, & it is a true shame that one of these teams will not be reaching the semifinal, when both harbour realistic dreams of reaching the final - or even the tournament as a whole. However, we think that Ceni will be able to pull it out after being better-rested after an easy win against Qusmo, compared to a win we expect Nephara to get but have to play hard for. Pridenestrovia & Savojarna are certainly intriguing nations, but we don’t think the top two seeds of the tournament are going to go out before the semifinals of this tournament, which has placed such an emphasis on rank. Finally, Sargossa hopes to score a second upset over Pasarga, but we think that the third-ranked team in the region will simply be too much, after a tightly-contested match.

Now on to the most exciting part: the last four matches. Ceni takes on holders Valladares in the first semifinal, & we think that Valladares is vulnerable enough for Arrowsword & company to exploit; we’ll pick Ceni to stay in Concord Heights for both of their final two matches of the tournament. Next, we think that Eura will be able to prevail over Pasarga in a hard-fought battle. We’ll pick Vallares, which won their final match in the last Copa Rushmori, to do so again, while the final will be between Ceni & Eura. We think that it is only fitting that a team would beat three teams of higher rank than it to win a Copa Rushmori so heavily predicated on rank, & we think that it is only fitting that this Cenian team, which faces so much uncertainty, will win a trophy, even if it may be their last.

Round of Sixteen
(4) Nephara - (15) Cassadaigua
(6) Ceni - (UR) Qusmo
(18) Sarrbia - (7) Pridenestrovia
(1) Valladares - (12) Olastor
(10) Savojarna - (16) Yuezhou
(2) Eura - (31) Thibaea
(3) Pasarga - (11) Darmen
(5) Eastfield Lodge - (13) Sargossa

Quarterfinals
(4) Nephara - (6) Ceni
(7) Pridenestrovia - (1) Valladares
(10) Savojarna - (2) Eura
(3) Pasarga - (13) Sargossa

Semifinals
(6) Ceni - (1) Valladares
(2) Eura - (3) Pasarga

Third-Place Match
(1) Valladares - (3) Pasarga

Final
(6) Ceni - (2) Eura

In our last round of predictions, Di Bradini Cup 43, we got thirteen of sixteen knockout stage matches correct, including the third-place match, both semifinals, & the final. If this tournament continues the way it’s gone so far, that may not be an entirely remarkable achievement for pundits trying to predict the Copa Rushmori XXX knockouts. That said, we’re sure there will be surprises in store - or, at least, more than there have been so far.

Copa Rushmori XXX- Everything Thread (FINAL Posted!)

Part 7

Who is online