World Cup 81: Roleplay Thread

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

The Alpine Union blanks Thibaea

Tavernes, Republic of Aquitaine-Languedoc - (NAP) Following the controversial fiasco against Raffiah, The Alpine Union recieved Thibaea at home at Stade Autodrôme, home of the Olympique de Tavernes, a 2nd division team in the Alpine pyramidal league system. Many Thibaean fans travelled to Tavernes and were happy to be in a place in the Alpine Union where we speak their language.

The Alpine Union attacked at the 27th minute when Bartlomiej Szczepankiewicz made a short pass to Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz who dribbled with the ball and passed to Amelia Zalwowska who shoots but Évrard Chappuis made a wonderful save.

Exactly 10 minutes later, Krzysztof Januszkiewicz made a long pass to Sarah Schroffenegger who dribbles with the ball in the right corner of the field and tries to pass to Amelia Zalwowska but the ball touches Valéry Barbet's leg and goes out of bounds behind the net, it's a corner kick for the Alpine Union. Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz takes the corner kick. He kicks the ball in front of the net and Slawomir Skrzeszewski heads the ball into the net, it's a goal for the Alpine Union! The score is 1-0 Bisons at the halftime.

Thibaea atacked at the 64th minute when Fabien Gachet passed the ball to Yseult Fétique who dribbled with the ball and made a short pass to Alexia Sardou who shoots but Zofia Kwietniewska made a fantastic save and the score remains at 1-0.

At the 77th minute, Ariane Rousselle tried to pass to Vincent Desjardins but it's intercepted by Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz who passed to Amelia Zalwowska who dribbled with the ball and made a cross to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski who shoots and scores and the Bisons are leading 2-0!

The Alpine Union is now sitting in 2nd place in the standings, tied with Soute. Both teams has a win and a draw. Sargossa is unsurprisingly in 1st place with two wins. For their next game, the Reprezentacja Alpejski will travel to Sangti to play against them. Sangti, also known as The Royal Barangay, once supplied the Southern Democratic States with their baseball uniform. Now the Alpine Union's baseball uniform is designed in Filindostan, as well as the soccer uniform.

On another note, the Alpine Union had previously announced that our home game against Sangti on matchday 12 was going to be played in Malbork and the game against Soute on matchday 14 was going to be played in Manzanilla. Both locations have been inversed. Matchday 12 against Sangti will be played at Santiago Abréu, located in Manzanilla, Republic of Castilla, and home of Real Manzanilla C.F. Matchday 14 against Soute will be played at Stadion Miejski Malbork, located in Malbork, Republic of Prussia East, and home of Korona Malbork. The change was made to accomodate both teams, as Soute is a polish speaking nation and Sangti may have been colonized by a spanish speaking nation in the past.

BOXSCORE

37th minute: Slawomir Skrzeszewski
77th minute: Zbigniew Zajaczkowski assisted by Amelia Zalwowska

YELLOW CARDS

Alpine Union: Sarah Schroffenegger
Thibaea: Fabien Gachet

RED CARDS

Alpine Union: None
Thibaea: None

[East Belzaria]

East Belzaria finally scored their first qualifying goal when Lorn Monte got the home team off to the perfect start. But what followed was a solid performance from Saltstead who scored 5 goals to inflict East Belzaria's biggest defeat in their history.

David Madridson was furious on the touchline, shouting at the referees and the players. After the match he said "It was never going to be easy, but with the eyes of our nation watching, we needed to do more than score a goal and then throw everything away!" Lorn Monte was interviewed about the goal he scored. "I was so happy in that moment, that I never expected the opposite emotion when the game ended" he said.

East Belzaria are rock bottom and have an away game against Northwest Kalactin, who currently sit in 1st. Madridson is said to have isolated himself from the squad, with many believing that he's formulating a major tactical plan for that fixture. He cancelled the pre-match press conference with the Belzarian Media. We can only hope that our triumphant nation will emerge victorious!

[Krytenia]

Krytenia's new boss in typical "smug mode".

Who Put This Cock In Charge?!?
By Rami Niblick in Emberton

LET'S be honest here. We know that the start of World Cup LXXXI qualifying hasn't exactly been stellar. The opener against South Covello was uninspiring - a lesser hack, possibly Audioslavian, would probably say they played like they owned us - and the defeat to Ko-oren was unfortunate especially as they seemed more wary of us than we were of them. Still, despite zero points out of a potential six, the resignation of manager Tim Beltrand after just two games in charge was a bit of a shock.

It was nothing, however, compared to the bombshell that came out of KFA's headquarters last night. With a vacancy at the top to fill, the suits decided, in their eternal wisdom, to appoint...Valrauncion. Now, I'm as open minded as the next journalist, and I know that he is absolutely our cock now, but you'll forgive me for having misgivings about our new footballing overlord having been born in Starblaydia (well, what's now Starblaydia anyway).

Let's give him a chance though. He'll be leading from the front rather than the technical area, and his first match in charge is against Bostopia, a team Starblaydis and Krytenians alike just love to slap about. Onward!

[Taeshan]

It was a rather lackadaisical start to the qualifying campaign for the Purple Knights. Just months after their recent home loss to Darmen in a friendly the team flew across Rushmore for the big matchup at the start of the World Cup 81 qualifiers. In a rather shock the Knights found themselves against a team they had used to hope to prepare for the competition, which was interesting as the best team to prepare to play Darmen, is probably Darmen. It seemed a rather rough start to qualifying, visiting the top seed, but it does mean the toughest game on the schedule will be out of the way at the earliest possible date.

The result seemed certain before the game even started, but games are not played on paper. This game however, could have been. With a less than shocking result the hosts managed to beat their fellow Rushmore side 3-0. It was an overall impressive performance by them, and the Purple Knights were massively outclassed for a second straight match by the side. That said hopefully they can take something from their second meeting against Darmen, and use it for their third crucial matchup at home in a few months at the Atlantea Coliseum.

[Valanora]

"Someone tell this group of players that they are representing the best team to ever compete in the sport of football, not your Sunday League side that is simply out there for the fitness. This is the Marauders for crying out loud, we should have four if not all six points through the first two matches of qualifiers, even if both of the games took place away from the Eternal Empire. There is five stars on that crest for a reason and it is not for bloody not showing up when the moment is there to seize the day. I swear, when the team was nothing but elves, they would have never allowed this sort of calamity to take place, this is an utter disgrace to the shirt and the Empire itself."

Though the patron in question was three bottles of wine into an obviously inebriated state, the innkeeper knew that the words being espoused were echoed by the thoughts of many of the rest of his patrons. Like every matchday both for the Premiership as well as the national team, his little inn was crammed full of patrons looking to see either their club or their country march out to a victorious game That the Marauders had yet to do so in the opening weekened of the Qualifiers had seen the patrons go from moderately dismissive of the away draw against third pot team Eastfield Lodge, to completely enraged after the loss this evening and calling for the manager to be sacked. It always struck him odd how quickly the moods of fans seemed to change, especially now with the majority of the elven population gone from the home shores. It seemed that they had taken a lot of their patience and a good deal of their civility with them when they had moved into whatever plane of existence the "Calling" took them to.

"It is early days yet Jonheim, give the players at least another international wekeend to try and sort themselves out, a lot of these players are playing together for the first time. Anyone that is worth their salt knows that you can not simply build up chemistry and cohesion through one or two training sessions before a game, as much as the international game would like to lead you to believe that. 'Sides, the side still has Laborious Hawk, there is no way a player like that will ever allow the team as a whole to have their performances consistently dip well below expectation, that man is a machine when it comes to trying to meet and exceeding the limits of ones potential, as well as having had the steady voice of being captain for decades. He'll sort the team out in no time, just you watch."

"Let us hope that this team will not continue to make a mockery of that crest in the mean time, it is a complete shame that the name Valanora and those stars upon the crest do not warrant the same respect and fear that they once did. Teams used to shake in their boots when they lined up against the Marauders, now they seem to be licking their chops and relishing the chance to take their own piece out of the once great ruler of the game. What a bloody shame and what shambles this team has become."

[Main Nation Ministry]

Machine of Death: Important Decision

He was called into the office after they checked the results. The subject was about the card that Green got that seemed to be almost vague. The trouble when it came for organizing soldiers who wouldn't die from battle-related injuries or causes of deaths. The ones who gotten HEART ATTACK were surely allowed to serve in the armed forces. However, those who gotten deaths that implied they would die on the battlefield, they were rejected. Of course, due to the nature of the machine, it tends to give out cryptic predictions to the unlucky. Green, who was recently promoted to a lieutenant in his squad gotten a prediction that could have happened both in and out of a war. On the card-shaped paper was the words IMPORTANT DECISION.

Green was seated at a chair, where a colonel was showing his card towards him, discussing the matter. "How long have you been in your squad, Green? You do realize your promotion to lieutenant will affect your choices, including the investigation into your other squad members." the colonel said, getting out and adjusting some paperwork. "Well..I'm sure that everyone's choices affect the future, even if it doesn't exist. The future is always changing, but our past decisions will stay the same, you know." Green said in a counter-argument. "True, however if are able to know the future, then we need to make sure that we don't fall onto the bad outcomes, as I would say." the colonel said, reading off the list of the members of Green's squad.

"Let's see. Eugenia is to die by SKYDIVING. Meaning that we are to put both of their two legs firmly on the ground at all times."
"What if someone lands on Eugenia?"
"It could happen, however having them in the sky will increase their chances of dying. Now, the next one. Idelle is to die by a VAMPIRE."
"I thought vampires didn't exist? Just VAMPIRE, but not VAMPIRES?"
"Just VAMPIRE. Shikoba is to be killed by.." the colonel temporarily stopped, putting his hand on his face, not wanting to read Shikoba's cause of death. "Shikoba is to die by a FLAMING BEAR."
"Uhh..."
"I know. I think something is up with the algorithm on the machine. There is a surprisingly amount of people who are going to die by bears. It's an enigma, almost. That leaves us to our last member of the squad. Captain Rajmund."

Green seemed to be unconcerned about Rajmund, at first, until the colonel called out his prediction. "Captain Rajmund is to die by ABANDONED TO BE KILLED." Green was surprised at this. He knew Captain Rajmund, so he didn't expect him to have a prediction, as that. "Wait! How could that be possible, though? We are made to be honorable! There is no way that we would betray our fellow troops!" Green said to the colonel. "Well, he is to die away from home, Lieutenant. Our theory is that Rajmund will be forced to be abandoned for the safety of the rest of the squad. Unless, of course, you will be the one making that decision in the future. However, we will give you a choice. We could either allow Rajmund to be captain or we will show him his prediction and kindly assign him to a position in the nation. What's the decision, Green?"

To Green, a few minutes deep in thought was almost like a few hours. He could be forced to have Rajmund sacrifice himself in the future, or he can save him for a different life of his own. Wanting safety over sacifrice, Green unanimously picked for Rajmund to be demoted to stay in Main Nation Ministry. As Green was allowed to return to the barracks, something entered his mind. He was still going to have to do an IMPORTANT DECISION in the future, no matter what. It scared him as he didn't know what kind of decision he would be faced.

[Starblaydia]

The Shape of Things to Come
"Be yourself", Fëanáro encourages team

Carlos Gorgas (right) and Daniel Robertson (centre) demonstrating a fairly typical
minor difference of opinion with Frederico Esposito (left) late in the second half.

The Arena Kirola is a narrow, boiling cauldron of noise and colour. For this match in particular, the often white-washed walls that demarcated the pitch from the stands were instead a battleship dazzle-paint pattern of claret, green, black and white, themselves covered in some of the greatest moments in Audioslavian football history - the important ones being the two World Cup championships in the 63rd and 64th editions. Considering one of those was against Starblaydia, and the other against the Andossa Se Mitrin Vega side that almost no-one managed to actually hate, you can probably guess which one of the most memorable moments in the Bulls' history was best covered by the artists of Audioslavia.

Whether John Ryan smugly sauntering past a desperately unhappy and gesticulating Sergio Di Bradini, or Israel Klimt skipping down the touchline with the glee of a little girl on her way to a sweet shop, they were the original fire, the flaming gold on black, the claret and green, the chokers-no-more. The Curse was broken because of Starblaydia, because Lena Kochanska missed that one on her way to becoming the leading human goalscorer for Starblaydia, but not a World Cup Winner. The 63rd World Cup had got the Bulls out of exile, and everywhere you looked the colour and the noise would hypnotize you into feeling like the entire world was on Audioslavia's side. But into that raging mass of gasoline ready to ignite strode eleven Starblaydi players decked out in the purest, crispest purple uniforms they had ever worn.

Audioslavia had the classic claret-and-green striped shirt with white shorts and socks, meaning Starblaydia's first choice of all-white was not on the cards. Not the colour on the murals that appeared to scream 'drown me slowly' amid the chaos and riot of colour, but the colour everyone associates with Starblaydia. It is the national colour, it is instantly recognisable wherever you go, and it marked the Starblaydi players out as lonely warriors on the field of battle, each one a little purple dandelion in a raging field of razorgrass. It was the Starting XI, numbered one through eleven, with no injuries, no niggles and no problems. They'd be facing the very best that Audioslavia had to offer, a team coming off the back of a fairly dismal bore draw away in Bellarona, while Starblaydia had a solitary but not entirely comfortable 1-0 victory in Melbergia to their name. For fans all across the world this was one of the picks of the round, perhaps the most enticing match of ninety-five played around the world on this Matchday. How often does a match between the top two teams in a Qualifying Group also count as a local derby, a rematch of a World Cup Final, and one where the two sides boast seven World Cup titles, nine AOCAF Cup titles and Baptism of Fire 1st and 2nd places between them? Not only that, both teams were wearing ediraf kits, thus making it one of the sharpest-dressed matches of the round, too.

Starblaydia came to attack and Audioslavia came to defend, even at home with a seemingly infinite number of fans stretching up into the stratosphere cheering them on. But the home support for the Bulls did not mind this, for they'd seen enough of their team to know the shape of things to come. Cautious, wary defensive play from the Bulls allowed Starblaydia most of the ball in the opening exchanges, allowing Starblaydia to get into second or third gear before overpowering them with stamina, speed and strength in the closing stages. It's the standard way that Audioslavia play, and have played for a very long time to more success than most nations. Starblaydia, however, are not most nations. Ranked 15th in the world, Ázëwyn Fëanáro's team are no mugs, and had their own gameplan that the hosts would have to contend with.

The kickoff came with a roar like the sound of a gun going off, the home fans urging the Bulls to press harder and faster, ensuring they won the ball from Starblaydia before the five-time world champions had any chance to get a foothold in the game. In midfield, the two number Fours battled for supremacy. Practically one and the same, Storm Holsen and Viola Capodanno are both twenty year old stars in their first Qualifying campaign, tasked with being the singular pivot of a team chasing and expecting Qualification to the most high-profile tournament in the world. Both performed admirably, though, breaking up attack after attack from the opposing side, frustrating the other team and generally putting on a two-person defensive masterclass that this sort of match rarely sees happen on both sides at once. Holsen and Capodanno were like two storm giants astride the pitch, thunder rolling and cracking at their steps but always too far away from each other to really find out who would be the strongest.

Instead it was the offensive players who had to come to the fore around them with hard running, clever passing and constant movement being the bare minimum to get the ball past the two pesky kids in midfield who were like generals shifting their armies into ever-reacting defensive positions. A Marcelo Di Bradini pass here, a Ciro Oljer move there, a Mezna Rayyen run down the wing, or a Desya Kuznetsov elbows-first leap on the edge of the box, all trying to make the first breakthrough. Between the well-protected back-fours, though, nothing was getting through and despite it being such a defensive masterclass, tensions were high. Nails were bitten, lucky pants were rubbed, loved ones texts were ignored and, by the end of the first half, it was all in vain. A nil-nil suited neither team, really, but they would take it over being a goal down at this point.

The crowd were obviously getting frustrated, hoping for some unsung hero to "just fucking blooter it" in the manner of two-goal Final hero Karsten Eiger from the 63rd World Cup. The frustration started to boil over to the players themselves, who, in some cases, had essentially decided to have a go at each other rather than try and set up their team with great play. Jean-Michel Boiteux had evidently decided to see just quite how far up into the air he could kick Austin Dashwood, prompting Viola Capodanno to see from how far away she could slide and still completely annihilate the ankle of Boiteux in turn with her ever-so-delicately raised studs. As it all started to descend into something of a farce of pushing, shoving and pointed questions of the opponent's mother's particular proclivities, the referee waved a flurry of yellow cards like they were going out of fashion but, still, somehow, all twenty-two players were on the pitch.

With Sterling Renshaw's legs a combination of tired and excessively bruised, off he came for the veteran Dwarf Hanar Nauglamír. Few players manage to match Nauglamír's combination of acceleration, passing acumen, positional play and sheer solid chunk of body mass. It was he who really changed the game, pulling the strings in Starblaydia's midfield when they had the ball, and deferring to Capodanno's smooth style of sweeping up opposition attacks when they didn't. Aaron Cole was constantly causing trouble, Mezna Rayyen was making sure she ran Baran Kuznetsov ragged, and all the while Nauglamír danced in little shuttled runs towards and away from the ball, towards and away from Audioslavian players. His positioning was so good, playing with his head up and seeming to ghost into free space without thinking about it, that he began to drag Audioslavian defenders out of position. First Holsen was too far away to react quickly enough to Di Bradini getting the ball in the centre of the pitch. Another occasion shortly after saw Earl Van den Brink caught between Cole and Nauglamír coming forward, though Altzibararechuluago had read it well and was there to make the cover tackle.

It was all getting slightly bitty and breaking down somewhat - team strategy and game plans were going out of the window in favour of small groups of two or three players linking up well largely due only to their natural skill to keep the ball away from the opposition rather than any solid gameplan as armchair and studio pundits alike would understand it.

But then, finally, it happened. Amid the swirling broken play of a counter-counter attacked, Viola Capodanno was there to nick the ball away from the feet of Storm Holsen. Marcello Di Bradini latched onto it and raced away down the left-hand side, passing the ball square inside and riding the tough sliding challenge of Baran Kuznetsov. Nauglamír collected it and immediately switched it out wide to the other side for the onrushing Esposito. Nauglamír made a break for it and Esposito delicately chipped it forward to Aaron Cole, who flicked the ball on for the sprinting Nauglamír, who had timed his run absolutely perfectly. He made the offside trap look like an open gate to a field and shot into the gap behind the two centre backs, bringing the ball down sublimely with the outside of his right calf, collecting it with his right boot in the same stride and sprinting up towards goal. That's the thing about Dwarves, very fast over short distances.

So fast, in fact, that Louelle Ronquille shot out to meet him and dive at the feet of the little fat Dwarf, but Nauglamír's feet were much to fast for the Tout-Puissant number one, and the Karak Ungor Chiefs talisman rounded the stranded 'keeper and passed the ball happily into the middle of the goal, sending the bright white netting rippling from the centre as the traveling Stablaydi fans went absolutely crazy. Everyone in an Audioslavian shirt blamed somebody else - not cutting out the pass, not closing down the man or the Dwarf, not attacking the header, not stepping up to the offside trap, not being an idiot and falling over in front of a player who's four feet three inches high... the standard sorts of recriminations that frustrated players of all levels hurl at each other.

That was the turning point in the match for a number of reasons, as after that point the Bulls players had completely lost their heads. Some seemed afraid of being caught in possession with the ball, others were trying desperately hard - too hard - to win back possession from the Starblaydi players, and others seemed like they'd rather take it out on the opposition just because they were ahead. Mezna Rayyen soon had to go off thanks to a rake down the back of her calf, while off-the-ball scuffles both minor and major occurred as the referee lost his grip on the game, too. Substitute attacking midfielder Carles Gorgas, on for the tiring Ignacio Borjon, and Starblaydi defender Frederico Esposito traded a little more than shoves, not quite coming to direct blows but both earning final warnings from the referee. Ciro Oljer certainly managed to use his anger in a more focused way, firing a low cross diagonally across the box that was begging to be smashed into the roof of the net, but Desya Kuznetsov could only manage the side netting and yet more frustration because of it as the stamina of the Bulls began to overrun the Starblaydi team in the closing minutes.

But, it all proved for naught. With 1-0 on the scoreboard, there was nothing left to say but goodbye to a fiery match that should not live too long in the memory, but should certainly be used as a tool of why you should keep your cool in these sorts of situations. Starblaydia will not be back in Audioslavia for some time, and on this occasion they leave a broken city behind them, one desperate to begin the long climb back up the table to seek a Qualifying berth, even at this early stage in the proceedings. Starblaydia next welcome newcomers Andwell to the Stadii Di Bradini for Matchday Three, where a big win is hoped for to fire Ázëwyn Fëanáro's side into pole position in the Group.

Final Score from Arena Kirola:
Audioslavia 0 - 1 Starblaydia
(None) - (Nauglamír 72')

   Group 5, MD2                    Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Guriguay                          2    2   0   0     6    0   +6     6  ^
 2 Starblaydia                       2    2   0   0     2    0   +2     6  ^
 3 Adab                              2    1   1   0     3    1   +2     4  v
 4 Petroslovania                     2    1   1   0     3    2   +1     4  ^
 5 Melbergia                         2    1   0   1     3    3    0     3  ^
 6 Kalumba                           2    0   2   0     3    3    0     2  v
 7 Audioslavia                       2    0   1   1     0    1   −1     1  v
   Bellarona                         2    0   1   1     0    1   −1     1  v
 9 Andwell                           2    0   0   2     2    5   −3     0
10 Brittany Normandy Aquitaine       2    0   0   2     0    6   −6     0

[Kita-Hinode]

[Cassadaigua]

Food Poisoning; Octinstine Defeat Dagans,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

When the team took for Octinstine, they seemed to be a healthy bunch. They had played well against Brenecia, and escaped the matched without any injuries. Practices were normal, and everyone looked to be in good shape when they took the flight out from Concord Heights. We don’t know if it was airline food, for something they ate once in the foreign country, but the team had to work with a makeshift starting lineup. Out of the lineup were captain and forward Hannah Ranucci, midfielders Shelby Martin and Sierra Mattison, as well as defender Lupe Enriquez. Getting the chance to start would be Chelsea Monroe up front, Breanna Rothers and Emma McKee in the middle, and Hannah Shanley in the back. It didn’t seem too bad, but on short notice, these players do not have a ton of time together. Yes, Chelsea Monroe does have experience with Caitlyn Mayer up front from past Di Bradini Cups, but with the depleted midfield, things could still have been problematic.

Things got worse for the Fillies early in the first half when Kristen Speller leaped for a save, which she would get, but came down awkwardly on her left leg. She pleaded that she could stay in, but five minutes later, in the 25th, Octinstine fired one home to make it 1-0. Twelve minutes later, it was 2-0 in favor of the home team. This, was looking brutal. At halftime, we finally received word, officially, of why so many players were out of the starting lineup, and it was from a pretty bad bout of food poisoning. Evidently, that group of players went to the same restaurant last night.

As for the game, the Dagans completely dominated the match in possession after going down by two, but the passes did not always connect. So while the possession numbers greatly favored the pink, the real legitimate opportunities did not. In the 59th minute, though, Chelsea Monroe did fire one home to make it 2-1. Then, in the 72nd minute, we were all level when Caitlyn Mayer used some nifty individual moves to make it level at 2-2. Or wait, no we weren’t. Our lovely referee ruled that Mayer was offsides. As pissed as we were about it, when looking at the replays, she was. That’s the chemistry for you. Mayer and Monroe should have it, and there’s really no excuse for them not too given they have played on the national team each as starters before, but maybe Di Bradini 41 was a long time ago. The game ends 2-1, and the Stephanie Sweeney’s seat in the office just got really, really, hot, if you catch my drift.


(Below not part of article, and is private to the people involved)

“Hannah, you know I can’t have that. You need to be more supportive of the men on this team.” Coach Sweeney ordered, “They earned the spot, and as the captain, I can’t have you, or anyone else looking to undermine their spots.”

“Coach, really, Cassadagan soccer is about women.” Ranucci replied, “I am not going to pretend that I am happy that Cassadagan females are left off this team for them. Shelby, Sierra, Lupe and I all agree and realize that when we qualified in 79, it was without men. We start adding them in Di Bradini Cups and in 80, we start going south. CASE needs to stop trying to look good for Male Equality Now.”

“They earned their spots in the Baker Park Open Cup, Hannah. You know that.” Sweeney replied.

“Did they, now? Who did they play, exactly? Other B or C-list teams, or maybe even lower then that. You don’t make the all star team of the majors by winning a Double-A championship.” Hannah questioned.

“The Baker Park Open Cup was a fine accomplishment. You might not agree with me, but don’t go trying to undermine me. Next time, Hannah, I go public with some of the crap that you are saying privately instead of telling the media that you guys came down with food poisoning.” Sweeney answered, “I named you the captain because I expected you to be a leader.”

“And I am being that,” Ranucci replied, “The consensus of the female players on this team is that we need to go back to what made us a powerhouse in soccer, and what got us to qualify in 79. You can’t keep overlooking the fact that Cassadagan soccer was on a roll up to Cup 79. Then the baseball team added men in the 42nd Classic, so we did for the soccer team, too. Then, we sucked in the Di Bradini Cup after being a semifinalist the time before, and then we sucked in the last World Cup. Reality, coach, reality.”

“Hannah, really, since when did you get like this?” Sweeney asked. “Anyway, cut the attitude, and win the next damn game for us.”

[Cheergirls]

Captain Mikayla Corston and Designated Goalkeeper Megan Gillespie converse before the match:

Corston: I can’t believe how big this stadium is. Oh my gosh!

Gillespie: Those lights, and those people in the seats, I don’t know about this.

Corston: You’re nervous?

Gillespie: Yeah, kinda scared. This place is going to get loud. And there are some drunk hecklers back there. They are drunk and the match has not even started yet.

Corston: It is kinda intimidating.

Gillespie: I like playing in your backyard better. So much more relaxing.

(Ref blows whistle, time to begin)

Megan Gillespie looked around. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” she whispered to herself as they game was underway. She liked being a goalie but had never faced anything like this. It didn’t take long before Pierre-Louis Le Tonnelier was coming in hard with a great shot opportunity. Gillespie shook. “Oh shit! Oh shit!” she thought. Le Tonnelier fired the shot, and she didn’t make the save. Thankfully, she didn’t need to, as it went over the cross bar. Gillespie breathed a deep sigh of relief as Corston gave her a thumbs up.

After the goal kick, she had some to take a deep breath. The drunk hecklers made fun of the fact that she was playing in a cheerleading uniform, just like all of her teammates, and she really wanted to say something back. When she was thinking about something to say, something happened. Holy crap! Tori Robilliard just scored! 1-0 Cheergirls! Yeah baby, that’ll shut ‘em up!

The team known as the Ex-Pats probably took Cheergirls for granted, or they just wanted to try and make the pretty highlight reel play instead of taking care of fundamentals. After the first goal in the 9th minute, Cheergirls went up 2-0 as Mikayla Corston put in the back of the net in the 20th. That, however, seemed to wake up the home team, and they quickly scored two goals by the end of the half. In the 47th, they went up 3-2. With the lead, the Ex-Pats started to try and get fancy, instead of smart, once again, and in the 72nd minute, Corston’s second of the game made it 3-3. Again, the Ex-Pats were awakened, and in the 84th minute, an inadvertent handball by Kelsey Eastbrook in the penalty area meant a penalty kick to be taken by Peter Chadwick.

The goal seemed inevitable. Gillespie bit her lip as the drunk hecklers, a lot more of them now, had all kinds of colorful things to say about Megan. She was completely out of her league here. There was no way she was going to prevent this from going in. Chadwick lined it up, and she dove to her left. She needed to dive to her right. She waited to her the roar of the crowd, but heard something else instead. The sound of the shot ringing off the post and going to the side. Crisis averted.

“I had it all the way!” Megan joked with her team afterwards. A 3-3 draw, and a point in the standings. Hey, I can think of other teams who don’t have a point yet.

[Vilita]

Vilita off to strong start in World Cup 81 Qualifying

Tivali Ring Stadium, Alikki-Corra, Vilita :: The Vilita Jungle Cats opened up a new World Cup Qualification campaign in style in front of a packed crowd at the Tivali Ring Stadium with a resounding 6-0 victory over Kernovi and Rewgwlas. It was the first matchup between Vilita and Kernovi since they added the Rewgwlas into the equation but judging from the outcome it may have been smarter for Kernovi to go at it alone as the 119th ranked nation in the multiverse looked more like the 319th ranked nation for large stretched of the match as, powered by the home crowd, Vilita dominated all areas of the pitch.

It was a first ever start for Kiiarana City prospect Vernasa Sanamun in goal for the Jungle Cats and while the crowd was electric in support it may ultimately end up being memorable for Sanamun for all the wrong reasons. After having very little to do over the first hour of play Sanamun was injured leaping to keep out a deflected shot in the matches 71st minute, landing awkwardly on the shoulder and ultimately having to be replaced by Mako Canopii.

While the Jungle Cats got the crowd going early when Kaivel Illatara put the home side up 1-0 after just five minutes of play, it wouldn't be until after the half time interval that the Vilitan National Team really opened things up and made the most of their opportunities against a Kernovi and Rewgwlas side that may have lacked a little bit of preparation or coordination heading into their difficult qualification opener.

When the clubs emerged from the locker rooms the Jungle Cats took the reigns and rarely let up with Ikala Mravedii doubling the Vilitan advantage just two minutes after play resumed before Illatara netted their second goal of the match on the hour mark. It was 10 minutes to forget for Kernovi and Rewgwlas as Nii'arala Milaaso opened up their goal scoring account for the World Cup 81 Qualification Campaign then experienced midfielder Westii Yahaya converted from the penalty spot for the exclamation point.

The match slowed down after that due to the injury to Sanamun but the Eastal Lunar phenom and former Galacticos Youth Player of the Season Nii'arala Milaaso sent Kernovi and Rewgwlas home with leftovers putting one more goal into the net and leaving their goalkeeper Sebastian pen Godwitiel of Swyftlandre in desperate need of an appointment with their sports therapist with a long qualification campaign still ahead for Enyon Bosdennis's United Team.

Vilita [6] - [0] Kernovi and Rewgwlas

:: Vilita Goalscorers :: :: 5' Kaivel Illatara :: 47' Ikala Mravedii :: 60' Kaivel Illatara :: 63' Nii'arala Milaaso :: 68' Westii Yahaya :: 87' Nii'arala Milaaso

:: Vilita Statistics :: :: Possession: 62% :: Shots on Target: 11 :: Corner Kicks: 15

:: Kernovi and Rewgwlas Statistics :: :: Possession: 38% :: Shots on Target: 3 :: Corner Kicks: 4

---

Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. Kernovi and Rewgwlas ::
[GK] Vernasa Sanamun, [D.] Linkat Cjinder, [D.] Kwuimekii Hentetii, [D.] Mileke Drokasorna, [D.] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [ML] Purapal Eskiiy, [MC] Westii Yahaya, [MC] Cywrenta Vlintejni, [MR] Ikala Mravedii, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [FC] Kaivel Illatara
BENCH::
[FC] Enzoril Alabonni, [FC] Sipke Tarala, [M] Cavuna Aquafek, [M] Karisto Monafog, [U ] Rintala Sekagaya, [D] Arocki Tadalek, [GK] Mako Canopii

---

The Ark of Tobiasia, Independence Park, Kyiv, Tobiasia :: After the big 6-0 victory over Kernovi and Rewgwlas to open up their World Cup 81 Qualification Campaign, the Vilita Jungle Cats hit the road travelling to Tobiasia to face off against the 49th ranked Green Trees in what would presumably prove to be a more difficult task then their opening match.

The Jungle Cats would make a slew of changes to their lineup from the squad that played at the Tivali Ring Stadium to start things off. After going off injured against Kernovi and Rewgwlas, Kiiarana City netminder Vernasa Sanamun was obviously left out of the squad and replaced by experienced goalkeeper Cilamara Issah of the defending Vilitan Stellar Division champion Lonngeylin Coast squad. There were changes up top as well as the forward duo of Kaivel Illatara and Nii'arala Miilaaso was replaced by another powerful duo, Sipke Tarala and Tenziki Kulakao.

They wouldn't be quite as productive as their counterparts were back at home but the match would, from end to end, take a similar feel over the course of the 90 minutes. Just as they had against Kernovi and Rewgwlas, the Jungle Cats got on the board quickly though this time it was off a set piece as the ageless Jirijii Januaa powered home on an inch perfect corner kick delivery to set the tone.

Unlike against Kernovi and Rewgwlas, however, this time the opposition would respond and the scores were level by the time the half-time interval hit.

Fortunately for the 7,100 strong traveling Vilitan supporters, the Jungle Cats would pounce late on once again with Linkat Cjinder, Tenziki Kulakao and Cavuna Aquafek getting on the scoresheet in the final half-hour of play to secure three points for Vilita and propel the Jungle Cats to the top of the table.

Vilita [4] - [1] Tobiasia

:: Vilita Goalscorers :: :: 6' Jirijii Januaa :: 61' Linkat Cjinder :: 76' Tenziki Kulakao :: 79' Cavuna Aquafek

:: Vilita Statistics :: :: Possession: 60% :: Shots on Target: 10 :: Corner Kicks: 9

:: Tobiasia Statistics :: :: Possession: 40% :: Shots on Target: 3 :: Corner Kicks: 3

---

Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. Tobiasia ::
[GK] Cilamara Issah, [D.] Linkat Cjinder, [D.] Mileke Drokasorna, [D.] Jirak Trikala, [D.] Jirijii Januaa, [ML] Jurzen Devmiko, [MC] Polaox Torerun, [MC] Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, [MR] Tripate Falcon, [FC] Sipke Tarala, [FC] Tenziki Kulakao
BENCH::
[FC] Linvoi Warazil, [FC] Nuola Brenzil, [M] Cavuna Aquafek, [M] Karisto Monafog, [U ] Fishtii Blikala, [D] Kwuimekii Hentetii, [GK] Mako Canopii

---

It was a rare perfect start for Vilita over the opening two matches of qualification - a point in the scheduled where they have traditionally and unexplainably dropped large percentages of points against lower ranked opposition. Perhaps one thing that helped spur the Jungle Cats on was the fact that their opponents on Matchdays 1 and 2 were not debutant unknown entities that no one knew anything about but were established nations with an historical record and plenty of scouting tapes available for review. Whatever the cause, the six points and +9 goal differential accumulated to propel the Vilita National Team to the top of Group 13 was the strongest opening two matchdays of a World Cup Qualification campaign of the modern Vilitan era.

[Audioslavia]

In Barley’s life, he’d been warned about Tuesdays exactly twice.

The first time had been memorable. As a boy, he’d seen his father return home at six o’clock on a Wednesday morning as drunk as a mug of tea. Barley had been making his fourth attempt at putting his school tie on when his dad had barrelled through the front door, seen his son, said ‘watchoutforTuesdays’ shortly before falling into a stupor on the couch. His mother had kicked him out of the door and towards the bus so she could shove her husband up the stairs, ranting about setting an example to kids. Barley, too young to really know what ‘drunk’ was, had often wondered what his father had meant, right up until the morning after his seventeenth birthday, a Wednesday morning after the Tuesday night revelries before. Then he'd realised.

The second time had been on Friday evening. ‘You won’t like Tuesday’, Harry had said. Harry, an enormous Starblaydi with shorn black hair and a beard you could lose several otters in, was Barley’s co-worker on this job. He’d been in Cathair for twenty years or so and had the beer belly and sickly greying complexion to prove it. Barley had only been in the capital for four months, moving across from sleepy Ironforth, in the heartlands of rural Audioslavia, shortly after turning twenty-three and completing an apprenticeship at one of the town’s construction companies. Barley, now Barley the Qualified Builder, had made his way to Cathair to seek his fortune, and was finding even scraping a living to be difficult. Even if Harry had been in the Audioslavian capital for as short a time as Barley had, he’d be more at home here than Barley. Major cities in the world are more alike to one another than they are to the countryside around them, regardless of nation. Harry was from Jhanna. Jhanna was like Cathair was like Burningham was like Emberton. The opposite of the rural parts of all countries Money flowed, in the infrastructure largely worked and the ‘locals’ had long since moved to the suburbs. The city centre was as multi-cultural as your average top-of-the-league football team.
Oh god. football.
‘You won’t like Tuesday for two reasons’, Harry had said. ‘One, it’s the first working day after the Starblaydia - Audioslavia game, and I’m going to take the fucking piss out of you if we do your lot in Cathair’.
Barley had watched the game back in Ironforth, with his parents, and had seen that, indeed, Starblaydia had ‘done’ Audioslavia. A single goal to nil. A close match, but a painful one. Audioslavia had set out to undermine Starblaydia and outfight their porphyric opponents once the Calanians had lost their heads. It had worked before. It had always worked. Superman shows up and so, rather than get in a fist fight with him, you throw some Kryptonite in his eyes and knee him square in the ovaries. On this occasion, though, Superman had swatted the rock of Kryptonite out of Lex Luthor’s hand and slapped him in the face. Yes. That was the metaphor. Much better than the tired one about the matador.
‘Two… well… I’ll keep ‘two’ a secret’.
Harry had kept his secret. Barley had had to figure it out on his own. It hadn’t taken him long.

Upon entering the nightclub, bright and early at 6am on the Tuesday morning, Barley had found himself surrounded by men and women dressed exactly like him. Yellow hard hat, blue overalls, big yellow tool-belt and an orange hi-viz jacket. The ‘Supreme Court’ nightclub was, of course, full. Like it always was. Cathair was a city that never slept, so if Monday night was ‘construction’ night at the city centre’s most prominent club, then Tuesday morning was as well. The nightclub was supposed to close at 5am, but had a remit to stay open until the early hours if they felt they were full enough. They were always full enough. Apparently not everyone has work to go to on a Tuesday morning.

Barley had made his way through the crowd and behind the bar, nodding at two tired barmen as he descended into the beer cellar and the bowels of the building. The ‘Supreme Court’ club had been, as Harry had told him, the actual home of the supreme court in Audioslavia, back in the day. The various ‘capturing of the essences of the shifts in the political zeitgeist’ (what Audioslavian history books tended to call revolutions) had, over the years, gradually forced most traditional inner-city establishments - the parliament building, the council offices, the police stations and courtrooms and the like - into new builds on what had previously been the outskirts of the city, before expansion, but was now known as the ‘Grand Forum’, a region of Cathair that had money coming out the wazoo and would probably be the first place to go if there were to be another revolution. Those heart-of-the-city, pile-carpeted, panel-walled carved-stone buildings that the city’s institutions had built and called home for hundreds of years had been taken over and turned into soup-kitchens, hostels for the homeless and reputable charity organisations. Then, when Audioslavia had gotten bored of all that, they’d been turned into trendy wine bars, bistros, art galleries and disreputable charity organisations. And shit nightclubs. The ’Supreme Court’ nightclub comprised of only the top six floors of the old court building. The first floor basement had become the club’s cellar and stock room, while the three further basement floors had simply been sectioned off, with the bottom-most floor, 5b, being boarded up entirely. The club, evidently so busy that the owners found it necessary to stay open until 6am on a Tuesday morning, had decided to expand into the lower floors. Chapsworth’s Construction, the company Barley and Harry both worked for, had been hired to clear out the basement floors and make them serviceable. With all the open floors done, all there was now was to unseal the bottom floor and clear out whatever it was that had been stuck there all these years.

‘AND IT’S NAUGLAMIIIIIIIIIIR! ONE NIL!’ came an annoyingly familiar voice as Barley entered the second-bottom floor of the building. ‘Out battled by the Starblaydis’ Harry had continued, grinning beneath a mass of black beard and blowing e-cigarette vapour in Barley’s general direction. ‘The Audioslavian bull charges and the matador sashays out of the way.’
‘Yeah’ Barley replied. ‘Lap it up’
‘Tell you what. You’re clearly incredibly angry, mate’ said Harry, still not wiping his annoying grin from his face. ‘How about you take out your frustrations on that door’.
Barley looked at the ‘door’. It wasn’t a door. Doors open. This was simply a massive block of concrete attached to a place where, according to the old maps of the building, there was a doorway. Beyond it, they’d surmised, was a staircase down to the final level of the building. It was also possible that the entire bottom floor had been filled up with concrete. There were no records of the renovation work that went on between the revolutions and the old ‘Supreme Court’ soup kitchen being closed down in favour of the ‘Supreme Court’ nightclub. Neither Harry nor Barley knew what would be beyond the concrete. Maybe more concrete. Maybe a stairwell. Maybe an angry marmoset with a knife. Who knew.
‘Fine’ said Barley. ‘Give me that sledgehammer. I'll pretend that enormous slab of concrete is your face'

Barley took the sledgehammer offered to him by his co-worker, thought better about wiping the smug grin off his face with the business end of it, and took an almighty swing at the concrete door.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Preview of Group 17
Frank Armitage
Mail on Sunday Chief Soccer writer

With a much higher number of entrants into this World Cup Qualifying campaign, the format has changed to reflect the additional 40 nations competing. While those teams finishing atop their group will automatically book their places, only the second placed sides will battle for the remaining slots; of course this format would've see the Commonwealth miss out making the Finals in the Equestrian States.

With that in mind, let's take a brief look at the competitors in Group 17 (current KPB ranking in parentheses):

Darmen (22)—Drawn again into the same group as Baker Park, Darmen were the group winners last time around, as they did not lose another match after their 3-1 defeat at Sportsmen's Park in the second match of the tournament. They play a determined, no-nonsense style and only the foolish would bet against them not advancing this again. This time around, BP will face them at the tail end of the round robin, with a trip to Darmen on matchday 8 and the return fixture on the penultimate matchday, which might decide the winner of the group.

Taeshan (60)—The Taeshanis slumped to sixth in their group for EqueStar80, but are expected to be in the thick of the fight to make the last 32 this time around. A solid defensive side, they should be a stern test for the Bees.

Coldfield (71)—Like Darmen, they also return to the schedule for this competition, looking to avenge the sweep Baker Park inflicted upon them last time. The trip to Crownsville will not be an easy task to overcome.

St Saratoga (167)—Returning to qualifying after not entering WC80, but pretty much an unknown to most.

Freeport Isles (189)—Made the semi finals of the BoF, the Condottieri are already a familiar name in this country after their appearance in the Open Cup, where their 'B' side finished 9th. They are similar in species makeup as Equestria, which will provide a challenge not only to BP, but to many of the sides they will come up against as they are heavily influenced by the playing style of the Ponies.

Timmy's Tigers (262)—Eliminated in the round of 32 at the BoF, the Tigers are a bit of an unknown quantity.

Innovian Indusse (307)—The last of the BoF debutants in this group, they are like the above team, a question mark that probably will not & should be underestimated.

Kwesiland (unranked)—The WCQ marks the first time this team has appeared in a multiverse competition, so the element of surprise could work in their favor.

South Calebian (unranked)—See above. Nothing really can be said about them at present. Like this preview, they will be the final opponents before the mid-tourney break and the end of the 18 game fixture list.

[95X]

95X in AOCAF 18
AOCAF 18, which took place in Myrtannia years before the 95X Year Numbering System, marked the debut of the 95X National Soccer Team. Headed by Coach Chris Crossman, it started the precedent of 95X naming a Head Coach to the position many nations refer to as the manager. Its other curiosity was bench player Melissa/Michelle Mitchell, 16-year-old dicephalic conjoined twins.

MD 1: No game scheduled.
MD 2: Hypocria 6, 95X 1; Mari City Park, Mari City
MD 3: Demot 4, 95X 1; Mitchell Technologies Field, Blackheart
MD 4: Starblaydia 3, 95X 1; Mitchell Technologies Field, Blackheart
MD 5: Milchama 1, 95X 0; Mitchell Technologies Field, Blackheart

0 wins, 0 draws, 4 losses; 3 goals for, 14 goals against, -11 goal difference; 0 points. Did not advance.

[Qusmo]

When you're reading this RP, please imagine that Phil Davison is reading it aloud. Thank you.

A Blog

PROOF: QUSMO will WIN the WORLD CUP

If it wasn’t obvious all ready, Qusmo will win the World Cup.

Qusmo beat Axuva, which beat Savalen, which beat Valanora, which has FVE World Cup titles! The World Cup Committee should just make Qusmo the first team to win six World Cups now & not let the other hundrend ninety one nations get their feelings hurt when they get their hopes up!

Just look at Group 9. Every team conceded at least one goal. Every team except 1: QUSMO. Convinced yet?

Qusmo scored four goals in both its matches. Not just one - but BOTH of `em! No other team in Group 9 has done it in ONE match before, let alone too. Come to think of it, probly no other team in the multiverse has done that!

& if that wasn’t enough, look who Qusmo just beat: Axuva. In their match against non-Qusmo, they were able to score three goals. But Qusmo had a clean sheet! & FOUR goals!

& Axuva wasn’t going up against just anyone, either. When they scored three goals, it was against Savalen (not Qusmo). & Savalen beat Valanora! & Savalen held Vanalora to just ONE goal!

Who does that? I’ll tell you does that: QUSMO, THE SIX-TIME WORLD CHAMPIONS.

What do those so-called “reporters” at Spony Luq Television have to say for themselves? They said we couldn’t qualify for the World Cup. They said Valanora was too good. Well, guess what? They also said we were going to win the De Brandini Cup. & guess what? They were WRONG!

We’re going to win so big! We HAVE won so big! & here’s a guide for Spony Luq Television & their asshattery - or, as I like to call them, SPONY FAKE NEWS ASSHATTERY:

• We’re better than Axava: ‘Cause we BEAT ‘em!
• We’re better than Ravland: ‘Cause we beat THEM, to!
• Were better than Savalen: ‘Cause we beat Axuva, & they beat Saleven!
• We’re better then New Gazi: ‘Cause they beat Rakland 2-1, but we beat Rock Band 4-1!
• We’re better than Polkopia: “Cause we’re better than New Gizi, & they beat Polkopokia!
• We’re better than Karoliga: ‘Cause we’re better than New Gazi, & they beat Polkopia , & Polkopia beat What's Their Face.
• We’re better than Nuad-Alba: ‘Cause we’re better than New Gazi, & they beat Polkopia, & they beat Kirrilikji, & they beat Nead-Aba!
• We’re better than Eastern Lodge: ‘Cause we’re better than New Gazi, & they beat Polkopia, & they beat Karookarook, & they beat Nood-Ooba, & they drew Eastfield Lodge, so that means Eastfield Lodge is no better than Nidi-Ibi, & we’re better than them! Plus, Eastfeld Lodge drew Vlanora, & we’re better than them, too!
• We’re beter than Valanora: We already said! & it’s obvious!
• We’re going to win the World Cup: We’re better than Valanora, & Valanora didn’t just win a World Cup, they didn’t just win five World Cups, they qualified for thirty-seven straight. & that’s more than how many spots there are in a World Cup! That’s not even pssible! So we’re going to have more spots in the World Cup than more spots in the World Cup than there are spots in the World Cup, so all the teams in the World Cup will have to be from Qusmo, & so QUSMO IS GOING TO WIN THE WORLD CUP!!! DUH!!!!!

We haven’t lost or even DRAWN a SINGLE MATCH we’ve EVER PLAYED in the the two World Cup Qualifers in this cycle so far! The World Cup Committee oughta just give us six trophies now! SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. & GO QUSMO!!!!!!!

I’m sorry.

Also, in case you were wondering, contrary to what the RP above stated, Qusmo is one of ten nations this cycle to have scored at least four goals in both their opening World Cup matches so far. The others are Cosumar & Juvencus of Group 2, Farfadillis & Super-Llamaland of Group 4, the Sherpa Empire of Group 7, Mercredini & Vilita of Group 13, & Carloso & Alenburg of Group 18.

Also, I feel kind of like Margaret will strike me down & hand me a 5-0 defeat in the next matchday to spite me for this, but I had too much fun writing this. Hope y’all enjoyed it, too.

Group 9
Savalen 2–1 Valanora
Nuadh-Alba 1–1 Eastfield Lodge
Polkopia 2–1 Karulicja
Rakivland 1–2 New Gazi
Axuva 0–4 Qusmo

   Group 9                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Qusmo                             2    2   0   0     8    1   +7     6
 2 New Gazi                          2    2   0   0     4    1   +3     6
 3 Polkopia                          2    1   0   1     2    3   −1     3
 4 Axuva                             2    1   0   1     3    6   −3     3
 5 Karulicja                         2    1   0   1     3    2   +1     3
 6 Savalen                           2    1   0   1     4    4    0     3
 7 Eastfield Lodge                   2    0   2   0     3    3    0     2
 8 Valanora                          2    0   1   1     3    4   −1     1
 9 Nuadh-Alba                        2    0   1   1     1    3   −2     1
10 Rakivland                         2    0   0   2     2    6   −4     0

QNT puts Axuva away early in first WC81Q away trip
Axuva 0–4 Qusmo
Hosted in Axuva

---

GK  Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB  Yelto-Alfan Ono
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla
46' Karar-Nirlo Hus
DM  Yunal-Julad Waz
46' Nirlo-Betva Uzo
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
71' Yamaj-Blonz Jok
LM  Kynda-Sevet Pec
RM  Forzu-Ralox Kal
AM  Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
SS  Paliv-Xilit Max (9')
ST  Xilit-Zaxac Yol (14', 40', 82')

[Beepee]

Disappointment for Beepee.

New Lusitania 1 - 0 Beepee
Scorer: B. SILVA ('63)

As always the norm in qualifying matches with Beepee, it was a night of disappointment with one chance the only difference separating the teams.

Beepee edged the first half and were able to keep New Lusitania at bay in the early stages when Carlo Bannan’s chance from 20 yards was pushed away by Rio Patrice in the 7th minute.

In the 23rd, B. Silva blazed over the bar from a freekick before a long throw from Bolt was cleared by the Lusitanian defence down the other end.

New Lusitania had an excellent chance on 28 minutes when Shep denied B. Silva, again, from 8 yards after build-up play from Bruno Fernando and Francisco Gama prior to another Beepee effort doing close but Rui Patrice was able to clear.

The visitors had a penalty shout when Veera went up against Dalot but the referee judged that Dalot had won the ball.

Whilst Beepee were finishing the half strongly, Bolt danced down the wing but his shot was driven over the bar before Veera’s close range header was cleared away by Rui Patrice minutes before the interval.

Beepee started the second half brightly enough, and Patterson’s opportunity from 20 yards went wide of the upright but on 63 minutes, New Luistania took the lead. B. Silva pounced on a mistake by Shep which he slotted home from 5 yards.

Beepee looked to get back on level terms, substitute Liam Chang saw his header saved, a shot by Patterson was pushed out for a corner before a combination between Bolt and Malade allowed Veera to strike but the forward was deemed offside.

As much as Beepee tried, their crosses into the box weren’t arriving to Beepee’s frontline and New Lusitania were doing their best to closest Beepee attack down and doing so successfully ensuring that they took all three points.

A bad night for Beepee who were not at their best tonight.

[Jeruselem]

Naked News Jeruselem's Princess Cassie on a video on the official Jeruselem government web site ...

Hello, I'm Princess Cassie. Or Princess Cassandra Elsa Dallas of Jeruselem, if you want to refer to my full name. This video is about informing people who are visiting from other countries, planets, galaxies or dimensions about visiting our country. Sorry I cannot speak in your native language because I just can't, just a limitation of being a Homo Sapiens Sapiens. I can speak other languages but not that well.

I know visiting another place is difficult because things are well ... different. If you're here to support your national football team during the World Cup 81, yes things were will be different like you'd expect. I'm here to help understand our country. This video is a bit long but it won't explaing everything because that's just impossible, and I don't know everything either but I'll do my best.

Jeruselem is country governed as a Constitutional monarchy. I am a member of the royal family so I'm not just any simple citizen of the country. If you want to know about the Jeruselem royal family, we have a web site for that. I don't want to bore you with those details. I am also the official spokesperson for the Royal family, because I happen to be on television ... a lot.

The economy of Jeruselem is what would be termed a Mixed Economic System, where government control is mixed with market forces. Actually there's more government control but you'd expect that with a Constitutional monarchy. We do have the usual government structures as well as corporations, non goverment organisations and other organisations like any you'd expect including ones not domestically controlled. We're not really much different from most other places. We do have excessively high taxes though.

We still use that fiat currency system but if you only have crypto, you are welcome here. Not everyone here uses crypto so you might need to convert it sometimes. We're not backward looking. Also you only spend Gold or Silver, we won't turn that down either. I'd take Gold coins over a pile of banknotes myself. Our banknotes do have a rather large number of zeros, that's just normal these days.

Our immigration policies aren't really that strict, in some cases we're bit lax. It's not open borders either, as preferences to our regional countries do apply. But we don't shut out people outside our region because we're not a bunch of asshats some places. There's a lot of foreign blood in the royal family if one has a closer look.

We don't a fully free press because it's not a democracy. Some of the news outlets are government owned technically which includes Naked News Jeruselem, but that's owned by us actually. Saying that, we don't dictate what every article says. There's a degree of freedom as long as it follows particular guidelines. If say one starts advocating Nazi like ideals on their publications then they are shut down because it's not desirable.

We have a relatively ... relatively open society. Females here have a relative high level of freedom compared to other places. Religious freedom is high, you can choose your religion with a couple of notable exceptions. Yes, some are banned but it's a small number. People of indeterminate sexuality or transgenders, aren't persecuted. If one is real fussy, we're refering to people in the LGBTQ+ genders.

Society is generally sexually liberal, but we do have communities which are like completely the opposite and somewhere in between. Not every community is the same, so be aware of that. Yes prostitution is legal here subject to licenses and legal stuff.

Yes we have Internets! I mean, you're watching this over our Internets ... you get what I say. No we don't shut off the rest of known universe either, because that would be pointless and the banking systems wouldn't work either. It's not a totally open Internets either, we have government controls as well because we want keep out the bad people and other bad things out there. Or just unfriendly parties don't like us.

There's no one language here either. Depends on your ethicity and what you choose to speak. Saying that English is a compulsary subject at all schools so we can communicate with each other. Latin is a thing here too, in some quarters like the Catholic church. Learning Arabic, Hebrew and Greek is useful here if you want to live in some communities which are religious.

We favour public transport so we don't have too many cars trying to poison the air. Yes in some cases you do need to drive between particular cities or towns because there's pretty much just desert between those places. Some places you'd need a tank to get there ...but anyway. It's cheap and easy to get around pretty much. Cars are expensive ... due to taxes. Fuel here isn't expensive but the supply is limited and very limited in some places because they in the middle nowhere.

Yes your phones should here although we do have a lot black spots due to geography and some places require satellite phones because getting bloody cables out there is impossible. And we aren't technology backwater here either. So don't worry unless you want to live in mud huts or something.

It does get really hot ... and cold here because that's just what happens when you live a in giant desert. Be prepared for that, it's not bad in a city or town but out there in the wilderness ... be prepared. Have food and water in case the car breaks down. And a phone so someone can find you.

Don't expect much food other than Middle Eastern, Jewish, European and Turkish food. Yes you can get some places server other kinds of food, but it's not everywhere. It's mostly authentic stuff from centuries old family recipes, our food isn't out there by any means. Oh yes, the water supply isn't the best either. It's a bit salty as part of the water supply is desalinated, so there's probably too salty for some. It's less salty if you are in place closer to the rivers.

Signs here are English, Arabic and Hebrew. Some include French for some reason, like the ones in the palace where I live.

Well, I think that's enough from me. Have a nice stay.

[Farfadillis]

(OOC: These conversations are not supposed to be taking place in English)

"Well, students." The Geography teacher said to her class. "Today we will learn about Farfadillis' main industries. They are the backbone of our economy. Without them, we'd starve to death. Can anyone care to tell me one of them?"

The typical hardworking student who had prepared for the class raised her hand. "Yes, Camila?"

"The wood industry."

"Correct! The wood industry is one of Farfadillis' biggest industries. We have very big forests that we can ravage and we love to set things on fire. It's only natural that it is the second-biggest industry in the country. Does anyone know what the biggest one is?"

Antonio, one of the more unruly kids, raised his hand.

"Tell us, Antonio."

"It is the mining industry."

Slightly surprised by her student's correct answer, the teacher continued with her questions. "Yes, correct! But what type of mining, specifically?"

"Uranium mining."

"Perfect! And why is it so important, Antonio?"

"Because without it the country would collapse."

"Well... that might very well be true. But I'm asking you why uranium's so useful, there's no need to be fatalistic!"

"I don't know... my father says it's used to make something called 'Fortunatium'. He says without that everything would go to, uh, feces."

"Unfortunately, that's not correct, Antonio. It is used to make atomic bombs, which we then sell to hostile foreign powers."

"My father says that's what the government tells us."

"Well, yes, but that's because it is true! Besides, it's not the most moral way to keep an economy going, why would they be lying?"

"You're right, sorry."

"No need to be sorry, Antonio. This kind of thing is what class is for!"

Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ

"Prepare the bombs, Garseas."

Newly-elected President Alex Terán's voice was profoundly irritating to the scientist.

"They're already prepared, Mr. President. We're waiting for the temperature to reach acceptable levels. Szoirsia's currently being hit by a heatwave, and if the temperature's above 25.53ºC at the time of the explosion, we will have wasted a perfectly good batch."

"Ok, Gar. We don't want to waste any more bombs. We're already running low." An uncomfortable silence filled the air. "Have you been successful in finding a more efficient way of producing the... what was it called?"

"Luckium. Named after its discoverer, Fortunato Luckini. You might hear some other people in the team call it Coincidencium, though. That's cause Coincidencio Martínez discovered it independently only a few days later, it is said."

"Yes, Luckium. You know, I lived in Apox for many years back when I was a footballer. You wouldn't believe it, but in their language, it is an extremely appropriate name. As if it were called Suertium."

"Very interesting, sir." Garseas pressed the button. In an instant, in a far away desert, one hundred atomic bombs exploded in the desert, mysteriously generating Luckium. For another day, Farfadillis would continue to thrive.

[Mytanija]

For fair RP bonus attribution, this is obviously a very heavily Mytanarised take on Ulysses. And also much shorter.

Team to play The Sherpa Empire: Savic; Feric, Azanovic, Bobic, Isaev; Fejzuli, Todorov, Elvahic; Lalic; Ocokoljic, Zekic.

Substitutes from: Kasun, Vukovic, Anac, Brkljacic, Stojkovic, Odonelec, Aleksic. Niksa Obadko is suspended following a red card versus Acronius on MD1.

---

LAERTIADES

by Dorde Arsic

PART I: TELEMACHY
EPISODE 1, TELEMACHUS

Mirko woke up with a start. A crash had come from downstairs and was followed instantly by hoots of riotously drunken laughter.

Through bleary eyes, he tried to glance at the alarm clock placed on his bedside cabinet. It was a struggle, the room still lay in darkness with the blinds drawn tightly across the window. Mirko had the duvet wrapped around him. He remarked to himself in his mind that the warmth and darkness were almost uterine in quality.

The radioluminescent numbers and dial of the alarm clock ruined the peace of the cocoon Mirko had created for himself in his mind’s eye. So too, did the loud laughter that was still coming from downstairs and Mirko feared that they would be getting complaints after all, he truly did.

He would have to get up, it was 8 AM, but he had wanted to enjoy the peace of his room for a little longer. He groaned and sat up on his bed, hugging his knees close to his chin and shutting his eyes tight, hoping it would all go away.

Footsteps started up the stairs and Mirko groaned once more. There could not be A Moment’s Peace, could there? Simply Put, Mirko would have to get up. Just as he started to rise, Mirko’s room door swung open. In fell his housemate, Stojan Milotic and another man. Mirko did not know the other man, somehow he didn’t quite like the cut of his jib, but he had resolved to give everybody a chance following the incident of the 2nd May and would therefore hear him out.

Stojan Milotic would proceed to speak first:

“Mirko, I Will have to ask you did I see your poor cat out on the Lawns this morning?” Stojan Milotic spluttered with laughter, before continuing with vigour, hardly able to get the words out without laughing: “Might I suggest that you, Throw It Away?” He couldn’t continue anymore, the laughter winning out as he and the other man roared.

Mirko could feel his face going red with both anger and embarrassment. His cat had died a couple of days prior and he had been feeling relatively cut up about it. Stojan Milotic had been quite consoling, but here he was – drunk – making cruel remarks about Mittens.

“I Want To Talk About You,” Mirko directed at the unknown man. Who exactly was he?

“Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good To You…” the unknown man crooned back to Mirko. The unknown man and Stojan Milotic fell into each other laughing, nearly bending over in half with the force of their howls. Mirko strode over to them and pushed the pair out of the room, the smell of alcohol nearly making him retch. He then turned like Johan and walked over to his wardrobe, hastily throwing on clothes before heading to the door and down the stairs.

He would have to get the pair out of the house, they were on their final warning regarding noise complaints and the ever boisterous Stojan Milotic just did not seem to get the message. Mirko was no saint, granted, but he had at least tried to keep a lid on things. At least until the fallout from the last complaint blew over.

“Aha, his Mood Returns, as you can see Gaines!” Stojan Milotic exclaimed boldly, “I have told you about this at length have I not?”

“Indeed you have Stojan Milotic and had I not seen it with mine very eyes I may have found it hard to believe you, yet here we are!” The unknown man known as Gaines replied and Mirko noticed something quite distinct about his accent before he remembered.


“Is it Already September Stojan Milotic?” He asked, “The Euran is here?”

“Present and correct Captain!” Gaines the Euran replied, punching Stojan Milotic on the arm and laughing loudly.

“Very perceptive Mirko, I’m glad to see all the education is paying off!” He yelled, the volume ever increasing as the alcohol seemed to be hitting the pair harder and harder with their laughter ringing around the room like a particle in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN’s fine complex.

“Right, come on, let’s go.” Mirko said bluntly.

“But to where Mirko?” Stojan Milotic questioned, wide-eyed, “Where can we go at such an hour?”

“It’s 8 AM, come on.” Mirko replied. “How did you two get this drunk anyway?”

“Look, we shtarted drnking at midnight, so this is rpetty good going by all accoutns.” Gaines the Euran slurred. Before breaking into song: “You Don’t Know What Love Is!” Mimicking a drummer with a spoon and a ladle, crashing them onto a pan he had commandeered from the overflowing sink.

“Stojan Milotic, I’m being serious now, come on.” Mirko said, “We’re going to get more complaints!” He hissed.

A look of horror dawned across Stojan Milotic’s face and he simply put a finger to his lips and shushed loudly before standing up and creeping out of the room.

Mirko did not know whether to laugh or cry.

“Gaines, come on.” Mirko said and so the trio headed to the outside world and into the half-light of an autumnal morning in Thessia. The Plain Song of the birds in the trees greeted them as well as a light breeze, refreshing at the time of year but it would soon turn fiercer indeed it would.

“Where are we going Mirko?” Spluttered Stojan Milotic.

To sober you two up. Mirko thought internally, but he knew he could not say that to them for they would try to avoid that outcome all day if they thought they could. His mind wandered ever so slightly onto the topic of whether you could actually think externally and Mirko supposed that you could – what else was thinking outloud, after all? And in so saying, he responded: “To get something to eat, Stojan Milotic.”

“Ah yes, a wonderful idea. And it is the time of day for it after all, what is the Euran line on breakfasts, Gaines?”

“If only I could remember it Stojan Milotic, but I’m struggling to remember very much at all at this point.” Gaines the Euran replied, eyes practically rolling in their sockets as he strained to think.

“I’m very much surprised you Eurans haven’t managed to find a way to bomb all your breakfasts, if I’m quite honest with you Gaines.” Mirko remarked, smirking to himself.

Stojan Milotic gasped with drunken exaggeration.

“Mirko, how can you talk to my friend like that?”

“Stojan Milotic, you are drunk and you know what I think about the Eurans.”

“They saved our backsides during the Mytanar Conflict you daf—” Stojan Milotic was interrupted by yells from across the street. Tramps.

“But, but: I Loves You Porgy!” Came the anguished cries of the female tramp, about as inebriated as Stojan Milotic and Gaines the Euran. Mirko hurriedly continued walking, hoping to avoid a situation where Stojan Milotic and Gaines would involve themselves in the situation.

The tramps were stumbling into each other, each with a bottle in hand and the female was crying, the male angry at something.

Mirko didn’t stop to find out more. Luckily, neither did Stojan Milotic or Gaines.

“Mirko I’m stopping right now,” Stojan Milotic stamped his foot childishly. “Give me the key to the house and let me go back. I know your game.” He hissed.

“Stojan Milotic, you cannot return to the house, I’ve already told you about the noise complaints.”

“But we willsh be quiet, Mirko.” Stojan Milotic replied, slurring throughout and emphasising the point with a finger on lips (although not consistently, you will understand, due to his drunken lack of coordination), and a large shush.

“Oh, whatever.” Mirko resignedly replied. He could not be bothered arguing with the pair. It was really quite remarkable that Stojan Milotic was meant to be a medical student. Although they did always say about medical students, didn’t they? They worked hard and played harder as a Partridge might say.

Mirko handed the key to the house over to Stojan Milotic, he would be surprised if he ever received it back.

“I needsh one more fvAOUR from you Mirko.” Stojan Milotic said and Mirko wondered if he did in fact have a speech impediment and it wasn’t just the alcohol.

“What?”

“Let Gainesh shleep in your bed.”

“No!” Mirko shouted, “No, no, no. Not a chance, no.”

“He’s shtill gunna.” Stojan Milotic replied, reminding Mirko of his kid brother back in the day.

“Oh, whatever Stojan Milotic,” Mirko said, resigned to the fact that it was going to happen anyway, “I need to go to work. If you two are going to be like this I will not be staying at home tonight.”

“Oh come on Mirko, it’s for but a few hours!”

Mirko strode off. Stojan Milotic steals from poor Mirko to give to Euran oppressor Gaines, thus spake Zarathustra. Mirko smirked to himself.

“We’ll shee you again!” Gaines shouted after him.

Oppressor?

Usurper?

PART I: TELEMACHY
EPISODE 2, NESTOR

“So you will understand that if Kalinina’s forces suffered another defeat in this manner, they would be truly – for the want of a better term – ‘done for’.” Mirko smirked at his class. “The victory at Istina was little more than a Pyrrhic victory, Kalinina’s forces were low on morale and equipment and the Euran support and coordination with Otpor to attack the port at Trunca exposed this entirely.”

“Do you feel that the Otpor, the Resistance, were overly reliant on materiel support from the Eurans, Mirko?”

“In all honesty, no, it would undoubtedly have been more difficult without them but I feel that the Otpor could have drawn Kalinina’s forces into an extremely long and drawn-out war that was ultimately unwinnable. Public opinion had long since turned against Kalinina and victories in the north of the country meant that territorially she was becoming increasingly exposed anyway.”

“But did the bombing of the port at Trunca not speed this all up?”

“It obviously did, yes, which made the Conflict finish sooner which was good for everyone. Whether the Otpor were overly reliant on Euran support I suppose is in some ways immaterial given that they were on the winning side and that is the beauty of it all, anything beyond that is conjecture and we can argue and debate it. What may be a better question is: was Kalinina’s regime overly reliant on foreign material support?”

“And what do you think, Mirko?”

“Aha,” Mirko chuckled, “Well, that is going to be the question I’m setting you all ahead of next week. So I cannot tell you, really, can I?”

“Ha, it was worth a try.”

“It sure was and that’s all for this week, so I need a 1,500 word assessment on that question for this time next week please. No excuses next week Helena!”

Mirko sat back down at his desk. He enjoyed taking these small undergraduate tutorials, he was paid pretty handsomely for it too and it was at least vaguely interesting. Mytanar History and Politics was anything but dull. The hubbub as the class finished, packing their things up and dissipating always made him chuckle to himself. He remembered when he had been that age and so eager to impress, so eager to show that he could succeed academically and prove his intellectual worth.

The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

As the class emptied out of the room, Mirko noticed one girl holding back. She had brown hair and a slender figure. Mirko was searching for her name, Alania? Elena? He couldn’t remember. She was quite a delightful young lady, it must not have been difficult for her parents to love her. Some were born with it all: brains, looks and wealth and Mirko surmised she must be one of them. She seemed shy, though, maybe it was difficult to have it all.

“Uh, hey, Mirko.” She said, “I just wondered, would you mind helping a little bit with a few pointers for this assignment?” She asked nervously, explaining: “It’s just I’ve been struggling a little with this module recently and I could really do with doing well in it.”

Anita, he remembered.

Her name was Anita.

“Hey Anita, yeah no problem, it wasn’t so long ago that I was an undergrad. I remember how difficult it could be at times.” He said, “What exactly are you struggling with?”

He wasn’t saying it just to be helpful, if he had been a couple of years younger he’d be the one asking the exact same question. If he had been a couple of years younger he’d be in the exact same position. Come to think of it, if he had been a couple of years younger he’d ask Anita out for a drink. If he was a couple of years younger.

***

[Oberour Ar Moro]

The director counted them down from off screen and a cameraman pushed in towards Genevieve Foulon, attractive woman and lead studio host.

"Welcome back to Antenne Sports' Final Whistle!" Foulon announced. "We just saw Oberour Ar Moro draw with Rannoria. Let's go into a bit more detail with Final Whistle's own coach: Kadvael Heault."

Another camera did a dramatic turn from looking at the studio desk to the distinguished older man standing in front of a large screen. Kadvael Heault had not expected to be their "coach". He would have been at home if Oberour Broadcating Corporation didn't own Regium Immortal. He wasn't going to mind the extra money. He was going to mind trying to becoming some kind of media figure.

"First I want to look at the Oberour goal. It's the 35th minute, and Oberour has had some trouble putting their attacks together. Laki Gontayy," he pointed at the screen and the screen, as was set up by the production team, highlighted the Rannorian Midfielder "and Merah Vreiman," another point, another highlight, "did an impressive job bottling up Oberour sweepers. Here though-" Heault gestured, and the highlights disappeared and the video started moving slowly "-this is a proper attack. You see Ruvonig Bouclier de Fer passed the ball back to Josselyn Pessiere. As sweeper, Pessiere wants to build the attack, carry the ball from goal-to-goal."

As rehearsed six times, Heault made a vauge gesture, and the footage pulled back, showing more of the field. "Now, you see the Iron Swordsmen ready to try and snuff out the attack again. You see Maret Swaz coming up to try and theive the ball. But! Pessiere sees the Bouclier de Fer is crossing back and he makes a pass to where Swaz was." Another gesture and another camera shift, looking down the field from behind the Oberour goal.

"This was the best opportunity they had seen all day, and they capitalized. This is a great example of a dual sweeper attack. Bouclier de Fer is taking the ball, and the midfielders and forwards are putting themselves in position to either take the pass or screen off defenders." He sweeps his hand semi-grandly as the replay moves forward. "And it ends here with a quick pass to Kerrien Odierne who is in perfect position to nudge the ball past the goalkeeper, and tie up the game."

In the few weeks Heault had been working for Antenne Sports he learned that Foulon was actually fairly well versed in football. Francois de Diepe, the remarkably handsome gentleman sitting to her right, however, was not. But he was very well scripted. "Coach, what would say was the reason for the lack of goals, especially compared to the game against Anthor?"

"Honestly," Heault lied as he gave an approved line, "the Rannorian defense and playing at Arena Perla probably contributed. But Oberour Ar Moro had some shots go wide. If they connect on those, it's a second win."

Kadvael really just wanted to call them sloppy, because they had played sloppy, but no one really wants to hear that. He mentally shrugged. Another show. He suddenly realized: he's getting used to television faster than he had thought he would. How about that?

[Sharktail]

SHARKTAIL CRASH PEGUINLAND

After a draw in first match,Luis make a few change at the formation for the second match against peguinland.It worked after sharktail easy to win with huge number of goal 6-2 against peguinland.Sharktail top scorer Gaby scored his first hatrick at WCQ.This was a surprised because it was the first time Sharktail joined WCQ.Sharktail NT manager thanked all his player because played well and win in front of own fans.

Sharktail vs peguinland
Starting x1
Gomis
Maxi
Obbie
Mikel
Karen
Farhan
Salleh
Wan
Gaby
Shahrul
Robin


Goalscorer:
13-Gaby
28-robin
34-peguinland
48-salleh
63-gaby
78-peguinland
88-obbie
92-gaby

*sorry peguinland roster not detected

match 3 lineup
Starting x1
Ahmad
Obbie
Kim
Lewis
Karen
Nik akif
Wan
Salleh
Imran
Gaby
Robin

[Al-Mumtaz]

Another loss for the Holy Phoenix

National team of Al-Mumtaz started the World Cup qualifying with two loss from two matches. Even though both of it is just 1-0 lose, a lose is still a lose. With the team failed to find the net on both match, this raised a question on the striker, with most of the backlash pointed at Koharu Mitsuko, the only woman player in the squad. Most of the people blame the inclusion of the woman as the main reason why the national side can't find the net.

"People said it is the Mitsuko mistake, and she is to blame. But no, it is a team game, and we win or lose as a team, not individual. We just need more time to increase the cohesiveness and teamwork, and everything will be better." - Maurice Hussein (Head coach)

"We made a lot of mistake on the pitch and some miscommunication, we will get better and show the best for all of you, that's for sure.", Arnie Ksawery (Captain)

This is the final result of the matches :

Al-Mumtaz 0-1 Tinhampton at Al-Mumtaz National Stadium.
(Yakub King (OG) 77')
Played in front of the home crowds, who was so excited after the isolation policy lifted, Al-Mumtaz started really well. On 31st minute, Mitsuko got a huge chance, but she was easily pushed by the enemy defender, even though they won a penalty, Shota failed to convert it into goal. The dull performance from both team continued into second half, before a free kick by Tinhampton played misdirected by Yakub to his own goal. Tinhampton kept pushing forward and scored another goal on 84th minute, but the referee ruled it out for an offside. The score stayed until full time.

It was a good performance at early minutes by Al-Mumtaz, but it seems their morale was down after Shota failed the penalty kick.


Brenecia 1-0 Al-Mumtaz at Kingsgarden
(Griffin Riordan 90+2')
Playing away against 4th ranked team in the world, reminds me on the historical run of Al-Mumtaz, playing against Jeru FC, which was the 4th ranked team too at that time. The Holy Phoenix gave a good match and pushing Brenecia. But it was the last shot of the match that buried the point for Al-Mumtaz.


The next match will be against Octinstine in front of the home crowds, will finally Koharu can answer the critique or is it a wrong choice to include a woman in National team afterall? Watch it on Al-Mumtaz Sports Vision.

[Karulicja]

The Marshupov Arena might look as sturdy as an intergalactic spaceship, it still trembled on its concrete cornerstones when Rafael Korošeć darted towards the corner flag, sliding into it as half a dozen of his teammates came crashing into them. The yellow stripes in the stands made one big tsunami of waves which simply smashed the Karulicjans against the canvas. They weren’t to stand up anymore. Two minutes of clueless attempts for a hopeless dropped ball in the box later, the referee decided he had seen quite enough of it and ruled for the end of the game.

It wasn’t as if the Polkopians didn’t deserve to keep the three points at home and launch their qualifying campaign, albeit one game late. Zoric clearly urged his guys to push from the kick-off and the visitors weren’t capable to object. Hanging on by the skin of their teeth and the tips of Moscardelli’s gloves, Karulicja hobbled themselves through the first storm. Just when the wind started to wane, Bogdanov spotted an open space in between Micallef and Kaflas, made a run for it and shut it up.

Although it didn’t change the overall picture of the game, with ten guys in light blue chasing an uncatchable bit of leather, it did make Polkopia lift their foot off the gas a little. Just enough for Karulicja to straighten the back and, halfway the second half, and capitalise on a defensive miscommunication. Giuseppe Trevisan, one of the few who kept his head above the water throughout, took over possession, placed it in front of his right foot and booted it in the corner. With the nasty bounce in his curve, he caught out an annoyed Danko Vilar.

Apparently, they poked the beast with it.

Rabutsov was thrown in by the Polkopian gaffer but what’s more, he seemed to have thrown wood on the fire. As usual, it takes a few minutes to take on but once they were there, the white-and-yellow rushed towards the goalmouth, suffocating any opposition. The faults made, just to stop what can’t be held, were countless and ruthless. Apostol Hysi ended up with the longest walk when he was desperate enough to first kick, subsequently slam and eventually simply drag down Bogdanov. And miraculously, they held on. The ninety minute mark came and went and… It wasn’t even a good cross from Milanov. But it was loose for half a second and Korošeć showed why he was sported as a lone striker for a side on the road back up to the heights of the football firmament.

”For me,” Azzini pondered afterwards in living rooms nationwide, ”a performance like this one tells me we deserve a spot in this arena. It’s games as the one tonight which qualify you – not just for a Cup of Harmony, but also to take on bigger opponents. If I see the heart shown tonight, I do not fear a thrashing against sides such as Valanora.”

Nice words, of course, but that’s not what’s on the agenda. Up next is Rakivland, the last one left searching for it’s first points. Sporting a central midfield duo of Ceccarelli and Pajic, Azzini makes quite clear that he wants the three points against the Ballhoggers – and so does the crowd.

[Rannoria]

Franerik, Rannoria
The Riot Bar

The bar was quite clean tonight. After the absolute thrashing Rannoria received when they played against Mercedini, many patrons decided to watch the game at home instead. If they had families, that was twice the reason for them anyway. The game on the 2nd didn't call for celebrations either. A 1-1 tie? Many decided on having no afterparty whatsoever. Asides from the two bartenders, there were only seven guests. None of them in the mood of drinking for the national team. This was great for the players, since the last thing they really wanted was to be swarmed in a loud and rowdy bar, and so the players shuffled in. Not all of them came to the Riot Bar, though. Some of them decided to do their own thing and meet up with their families before flying out to Vithuland. Others decided to retire early. The majority of players just wanted to kick back and watch some Youtube. In the end, the only people who went were Susanto Kader, Hakku Purnama, Pi Heibi, and Wahrim Saka.

The four of them ordered their drinks, got them, then sat down. A few of the patrons came up to them and asked for pictures, but after that, the team went to talking. "So, 1-1 today," Hakku began, "I think we could've done better."

"C'mon man, it's Karsten's job to say that," Susanto laughed at his own line, but stopped quickly, "besides, we didn't do so bad, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," the striker replied, "it's just that... Oberour was an unranked team. That was supposed to be one of our easiest matches, and we only got out with a tie. That team is something special, though. To start off, they use sweepers. Who uses sweepers? Interesting position. And not only that, but those sweepers were able to start off the counter-attack that evened out the game one-to-one. It was a nice play."

"Not only that, but they beat Anthor 4-3. Anthor is ranked around the 90s, if I recall correctly," Pi Heibi continued the conversation, "it's pretty weird how they beat Anthor, but they only tie against us."

"Maybe it's the home-game advantage?" Wahrim suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Pi said, "but still. It can't be so much of a big deal. I mean, yeah it's kind of strange to be in foreign ground, but it doesn't affect you so much." The four players nodded and all took a sip of their drinks. They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Susanto picked up the conversation again.

"So, Hakku, nice goal today. Tenth-minute, huh?"

Hakku grinned, "What can I say? Us Rannorians have a knack for scoring early goals." At this, the four laughed. "But thanks. I think it was a pretty good goal. Karsten nabs the ball off their right-wing Ruran l'Ermite, and runs with it. He gets past one of their midfielders, passes to Susi, who passes it back to him. Then he passes the ball to you, and by getting it through a hole in their defence, I receive the ball, and get it into the top-right corner."

"Yeah man, we were there," Wahrim said, "Merah played a risky move in the second half, though. Their offensive plays were able to get them into our third of the pitch, but Merah tackled one of their strikers. Yellow card for him. While there were no injuries and no goal from the free kick, he could've gotten a red."

They all nodded in agreement, but after that they ceased football talk and went to casual conversation. It was nice that night.

[Nephara]

Bongo Johnson 2 - 3 Nephara
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Tsattalios; 18 - Kielseng, 5 - Konoval (c), 6 - Bruyne, 19 - Vicelich; 4 - Rowland (23 - Misidjan 60'), 15 - Rosenthal; 13 - Saroszi, 14 - Moxham, 11 - Strongbow (16 - Aspenwood 76'); 10 - Cathar
Goals: Cathar 33', Strongbow 51', Rosenthal 57'

THE HERALD
ONCE WAS ENOUGH - A SUMMARY OF NEPHARIM ONE-CAP WONDERS
Lukas Saltor

Perhaps now more than ever, people seem very concerned with prestige. The BoldSport Galactico awards have given a definitive overview of the multiverse's best and brightest, tournament Best XIs are now usual practice in the WCC, and a number of nations have published their own historic Best XI (perhaps a feature soon to follow here, but I digress).

But let's focus on the match. A match in which Hesterine Mercator was widely believed to be in the frame to start, against a spirited Bongo Johnson side. That didn't happen in the end; it was Apostolos Tsattalios given an opportunity to regain his starting place. He was... about average. He made four mostly routine saves and was well beaten by two well-placed shots.

This means that Mercator was denied the opportunity to escape the dubious company she now follows - and, yes, of course, almost anyone reading the paper would bite someone's arm off for a single Nepharim cap. But even so, let's take a look at those who made a mark on the international stage... precisely once.

Sebastian Seward was a fiery sort, both as a player and now as a manager, and nobody's ever been able to order him around. A sharp shot-stopper, he enjoyed a relatively stable club career, breaking out at Goodfeather FC, before moving on to Sabrefell Athletic, where he spent a good few years as starting goalkeeper. Shortly after losing his starting place to Lind Pressinger, he left for Vermillion Rage, and was a reliable stopper into his 30s. But his eye was already on coaching by then - retiring at 35, he swiftly moved back to Goodfeather, into its coaching staff, with a view to management. He's already managed as many clubs as he played for - after picking fights and losing the dressing room at Goodfeather, he rehabilitated his career at Women of Gallia and then Olympic East, and is now looking for his next job. His international career was perhaps curtailed by a dressing-room brawl with Kunibert Mathias, the Felix-cum-Nephara-cum-Felix international midfielder.

There is perhaps less to talk about with regards to Wilhelm Urquhart, a steady . His sole cap came against the Fair Republic, whose rather ironic brutality had injured Gerhard Thunder, and wound up in a narrow 4-3 win salvaged by Keith Rowland. Already a veteran goalkeeper by the time Nephara joined the WCC and UICA, Urquhart moved from Parrhesia to Sabrefell Athletic at the age of 33, and closed out his career solidly. Unfortunately, his decline corresponded with Athletic's brief but alarming flirtation with midtable mediocrity. Steed Corren won his sole cap in the inaugural Trindl Cup's third-place playoff, in which Nephara were beaten 2-1 by hosts Semarland. Corren was part of the first batch of recruits to the now-mothballed Project +90 Treason, and the Islander influence was clear - he was an athletic, agile sweeper who excelled at distribution. He moved to North Laithland, and after over a decade there, went to Bengtsmark IF to finish his career.

Diligence and Temperance Nkembe, two of a set of septuplets, have two caps between them. The Nkembes were an apparently fecund family from Brinemouth, and the two defenders were undoubtedly the stars. Temperance was the only one to actually break through with Brinemouth, and the brawny centre-half was a talented but raw presence who has since moved on to Newrook City. Diligence, meanwhile, made it big in Semarland, with FC Kolberg, before recently returning to Leichhardt. Following the Stargazers' relegation, he's dropped down with them to the second tier. Kindness Nkembe probably made it best of any of the others, a stout defensive midfielder who spent most of her career bouncing between First and Second Division, before recently moving to Qusmo. Kyle Renown is perhaps the most 'trivia question' of these players. He'd had a fair few caps before Nephara joined the WCC, and in their first ever 'official' international match... Nephara get cleaned out 4-0 by New Ecopia, Renown breaks his leg and misses the next year, and isnever called up again. A calm, intelligent centre-back, he went from hometown club Sabrefell Athletic to finish out his career in Southfell.

Augustine Brandon is a cousin of Michael, and was, in essence, an inferior copy of the same player. Early on, perhaps it didn't look that way - but while Michael Brandon improved with time, injuries ensured Augustine would always be an early bloomer. Though born in Brinemouth, where Michael stayed (until, obviously, moving to Eura), he spent his entire career at Crisisbless, retiring at 34. His cap came as a substitute appearance, in a 4-3 win over Omerica, replacing... his own cousin. Cheney Portsmouth was similarly domestic-minded, and he wound up spending almost his entire career at Treason - the muscular winger, however, ended his career abroad at FC Chippenham.

Birgit Sternberg was a hard-nosed, hot-blooded striker who broke through at Vermillion before being quickly scooped up by Crisisbless. At the age of 31, she was thought to be past her best and moved to Starling. In cycle 63. Suffice to say, Birgit Sternberg - fuelled by pure spite, by this point - netted nineteen league goals to somehow secure Starling the league title, before twelve the next season helped them retain it. From there, she moved to Stahlburg Rovers, then to Aurora Sylveons in the Islands and finally finished her career in Chromatika for Myana.

Tzipporah Cohen has perhaps the gloomiest story of all. An early bloomer at Chatswood, Cohen was thought to be a prodigy. She had everything - pace, strength, height, athleticism, intelligence... and absolutely no ruthlessness. Thrust into the limelight in her early 20s, Cohen was unable to get going in the Premiership, though a loan to Emerald City Harmony managed to rehabilitate her somewhat - by this time, she'd already won her cap. Chatswood, relegated in her absence, called upon her to help fire them straight back up. And then, with her leading the line, immediately went down again. She now plays in Mandon United, in the second tier of Apox. She's somehow only 30. Someone save her.

Hesterine Mercator herself, granted, will almost certainly win another cap over the qualifying cycle. Initially of Chenoworth Harriers, now of Tihon, she has been a sporadic presence as Nephara's third or fourth choice goalkeeper for a couple of years now. Unfortunately, her cap came... in a humiliating 4-2 defeat on home soil to the lowly Cereal Isle two years ago. Mercator was not without fault, and looked overwhelmed. Will she perhaps get a chance to get the albatross off her neck against Busoga?

NEPHARIM NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 2
Goalkeepers: 1 - Apostolos Tsattalios (Falourr, EUR), 12 - Andreas Swoboda (1860 Azoth, CEN), 20 - Hesterine Mercator (Tihon, CMT)
Defenders: 2 - Leona Rafford (Crisisbless), 3 - Sieglinde Lohengrin (Crisisbless), 5 - Dieter Konoval (KT Moreazerua, AUD), 6 - Dragora Steelhenge (Cornellians, SCT), 18 - Eloise Kielseng (Sabrefell Athletic), 19 - Marcin Close (Brinemouth), 22 - Roxelana Thorn (Lammerton, SCT)
Midfielders: 4 - Monica Rowland (Bastion, EUR), 7 - Ishtar Fanaiyan (Eastweald, COS), 8 - Rusalka Klein (Crawford City FC, COS), 11 - Rowena Strongbow (Directus, EUR), 13 - Monako Saroszi (Ulsa, EUR), 14 - Chimera Moxham (Port Patrick United, SCT), 15 - Circe Rosenthal (Marionville, SCT), 16 - Marisha Staunton (Crisisbless), 21 - Konrad Gosforth (Mâ Âlâmëómë, FFD, c), 23 - Laura Carrow (Marionville, SCT)
Forwards: 9 - Estrella Hawke (Sabrefell Athletic), 10 - Nevaeh Cathar (Avenida Leal, FFD), 17 - Erika Wolff (North Sabrefell)

SCHEDULE
Nephara 1 - 0 Eshan @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Bongo Johnson 2 - 3 Nephara
Nephara vs. West Angola @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Nephara vs. Busoga Islands @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Cheergirls vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Cosneolta @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Ancharmunn vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Greater Libertania @ Godswatch (Crisisbless)
EOT vs. Nephara
Eshan vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Bongo Johnson @ The Iron Hill (Vermillion)
West Angola vs. Nephara
Busoga Islands vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Cheergirls @ Phoenix Rise (Corvistone)
Cosneolta vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Ancharmunn @ Godswatch (Crisisbless)
Greater Libertania vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. EOT @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)