World Cup 81: Roleplay Thread

[Barunia]

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Ch 8. Waybridge to Sheppardton - The Southern Coast


Waybridge is a city in Havenia, situated on the south-eastern tip of Barunia Island, the most populated of the three big islands that make up the Barunian Archipelago. It’s not a common tourist destination, but for those looking for something off the beaten track, Waybridge has delights aplenty. It is also an excellent place to start a tour of Barunia Island’s rugged south cast, with its natural beauty and interesting sites, as you follow it west to Sheppardton. Sheppardton is a thriving city in West Barunia, with plenty to see for the interested tourist.

Getting Around
To get to Waybridge, you can either catch the train from Porthaven, or else drive down the Trans-Barunian Highway. Follow the signs for Waybridge Highway: The Trans-Barunian route turns off and follows the South Coast Highway to Sheppardton. Waybridge has a small above ground rail network, which should suffice to cover most tourist areas. Sheppardton’s train network is, lie Waybridge’s, merely an extension of the inter-city line. However, Sheppardton has embraced the city tram, and has an effective network across much of the inner city, with the train being reserved more for the outer suburbs and residential areas. There is no train or public bus route connecting the two cities, so travellers will either have to drive or purchase tickets for one of the privately-owned coach companies that run the route. Some of these coaches cater specifically to tourists, and are an excellent way to engage with a local guide as you travel. Alternatively, the more adventurous can go it on foot, hiking along the South Coast Trail. Walking will take several days, and travellers should be prepared – for more information on the track, go to http://www.baruniawalktrails.org.bu/southcoast.

Things to see – Waybridge
Waybridge is named after the river that crosses the river Solitude. Built on a road named The Way, it allowed 18th-century graziers to move their livestock across the river. The original wooden bridge was replaced with a new stone and cast-iron bridge built next to it in 1860, by which time a township has grown up around the bridge. The bridge is now a city icon, and well worth a look. Not far from the bridge is the Bridge Inn, an early 19th-century tavern which may be the oldest surviving establishment of its kind in the country.

A much more recent addition to the tavern scene is Rogue’s Brewery, on Chapel Street. Originally founded just north of the city in Lilyford, Rogue’s has grown considerably and now have their brewery in Waybridge. The Brewery has a bar and restaurant, complete with glass wall through to the factory below, so you can see exactly how your beer was made while you drink it. A special experience for anyone who appreciates a good drop of beer or cider.

The Solitude river runs through the centre of the city, but follow it to its end and you will see something spectacular. Waybridge does not slope down to the sea, but is perched on a cliff, and the river plummets almost 50 metres to the ocean below. There is a viewing platform here where you can view the Solitude Waterfall from a spot over the ocean, or you can charter a boat tour from Anderson, a small harbour town just east of Waybridge.

If you are a sports fan, you might just want to catch a game at Bluebirds Stadium. The Southern Bluebirds Football Club (an association football team) are said to have the most passionate fans in the country, and there is always an amazing atmosphere inside their home stadium, the fifth largest in the country.

Things to See – Southern Coast
The South Coast of Barunia Island is essentially high cliffs, some with sandy beaches below. This landscape is wild and untamed, broken only by a few farms and small towns. The South Coast Highway is considered one of the best drives in the country, as it stays close to the ocean views for most of its length. While travelling along the road, if you are driving, stop by one of the many lookouts to enjoy the views of this picturesque landscape.

Things to See – Sheppardton
Sheppardton is in West Barunia, along the south coast. Unlike the rest of that coastline though, Sheppardton is not built on cliffs, but rather meets the sea in a rocky beach around the mouth of the Sheppard River, after which the town is named. A promenade runs along the eastern waterfront, and one of the key features of it is a permanent funfair, complete with ferris wheel, amusement rides, and sideshow alley. A beachfront theatre also provides daily family-friendly shows. Many of the attractions look like they’ve been in place for a century or more, but in fact the entire facility was only built after the city was battered by a hurricane about ten years ago.

If beachfront amusements aren’t your scene, then try Skyline Tower. This tower features 360-degree view of the surrounding countryside, 50-stories in the air. There is also a rotating restaurant for those who want to experience fine dining with amazing views.

Sheppardton also hosts the annual ‘Streets’ Art Festival, which runs from late April until the end of June. The festival sees artwork installed in public places, as well as public performances of art, theatre, dance, and other cultural activities. If you miss the festival, there are always some pieces on public display – check the local tourism guide for a map, or go to http://www.streetsartfestival.com.bu.

[Dreamplanet]

KNOW THE NEW PLAYERS CALLED UP FOR DREAMPLANET

With Cun Cerrilho's near-death,Dreamplanet's squad is improved before second half of qualification.

The Dreamplanet roster has been updated for the second half of the competition, with Miguel Benedito replacing Gil Vicente, Fábio Henriques replacing Cun Cerrilho and Duarte Henriques replacing Zé Andre. So who are these players? All of these players all share one thing in common, they play for reigning league champions, Coerefente.

Miguel Benedito
The Coerefente youth prodigy has lead his squad to Liga Dreamplanet success and has been named captain for the 2004-05 season where Coerefente will be defending their surprise league title and also carry the flag for Dreamplanet in the Campionato Esportivano di Campeones, Benedito got his reputation for being an aerial threat and also his penalty prowess, scoring 7 goals from headers, scoring all 5 penalties he took, only one longshot rounded up his 13 goals for Coerefente in 2003-04, putting him in 5th in the top scorers chart of that season.

Fábio Henriques
A speedy CM that has been playing alongside Miguel Benedito at Coerefente, often the source of goals with 19 assists in the league games, his raw speed can be an asset for a quick, counterattacking team much like Dreamplanet is, fans have been wanting the inclusion of Fábio Henriques for quite a while, now that he's here, how good is he?

Duarte Henriques
Fábio's older brother is a sturdy defender, used to deal with strikers with quick pace, once famously frustrating Dreamplanet captain, Luis Silva in the Coerefente vs Sporting match as Coerefente went on to win 2-0 with Duarte Henriques providing a man of the match performance, much like Jorge Cardozo, he's a no-nonsense defender with a questionable disciplinary record, but one thing is for certain, the man sure can play.

Many fans are questioning Rodrigo Vaz's timing of calling up these players, citing that they should've done this change at the start of the tournament instead of halfway through, only done due to the career ending of Cun Cerrilho, but even if they are later than usual, what matters will be if they can deliver the goods for a Dreamplanet squad still chasing top 3.

[Jeruselem]

Princess Cassie standing around holding a microphone, and a longsword in the other hand ...

Hello, this is Princess Cassandra Elisa Dallas of Jeruselem for Naked News Jeruselem. I'm gonna talk about security and football related security in Jeruselem as I got flood of emails from foreigners about this. I wanted to hold a gun but apparently I can't do that on TV so I'm holding this instead. Just to focus your mind on security. I better be careful with this, it's actually sharp and cuts down stuff including people's limbs. My husband is an actor and also a trained swordsman, he knows how to use one of these but I don't. Anyway, back to security talk.

Of course, we don't let anyone come in our country like any other country would do. In order to visit our country, you can apply for visitor's visa on our government web site. Of course you're a member of the visitoring football team entourage, this is done for you by your government ... well that's what I assume! The funny thing is we don't charge you for it, until you get it. So a visitor's visa allowed you to stay for four weeks or one monthm whichever is greater. Yes there are other visas but that gets complicated but most football fans visiting use the visitor's visa. Naturally our immigration people have discretion to say NO. Make sure to bring your passport with at least month left on it. We're not totally anal and demand 6 months like some places.

Pretty much 99.9% of people come here by plane or space ships if you have one. The other 0.1% are from cruise ships, and they don't stay very long anyway. We have the usual airport security with the usual problems with people being asshats or security people being asshats. Hey, but it's nothing special. And no you can't bring your longsword from other country unless you have permission to do so, and you have to tell us beforehand. That applies to other weapons and other things.

Contrary to rumours we do not do random strip searches at the airport. Pretty much they are for the special people who want to hide things on their body with the intend to smuggle it into our country. People like terrorists and smugglers and also just twats who want to avoid biosecurity. We don't generally go through your phone, tablet or laptop to look what's on it. Unless the person in question is particularly dodgy. Mainly because it's a general waste of our time.

In public spaces, you can't carry weapons unless you're allowed to. That includes concealed weapons. Obviously the armed forces, police and other people who like to shoot bad people can. And special people ... like princesses. But most people aren't royalty. There's always special places if you want to use weapons like gun ranges or fencing schools. I'm not particularly good with guns or swords.

As for stadium security, it's a public place. But there's extra security as football games are targets for those who aren't very nice to us. We've got the usual gate security checks, and security guards to check on people who might be a bit problematic. We have a response force for ready rather unexpected incidents, and they are armed to kill. The corporate box at our stadium is actually quite secure. You can't get in there without being checked and the glass is bullet proof. I'm talking inches of the that stuff. And the usual 6 trillion security cameras ...

Naturally the home and visiting team have their own security arrangements, sometimes you can't see these people. But they are watching. Actually the buses look rather large compared to your average bus, because they are actually armoured. I know that's weird but we don't want to take chances. The visiting team also have their hotels with our security people because there's weirdos out there who want to harm people. They aren't always in uniform either. Sometimes that pretty maid is actually a security person. Pretty much most of the hotel maids are pretty actually. A lot are Dallas girls too.

If a team requests, they get a fighter escort in and out of our country. This is not normal. I don't think anyone has asked so far. You must be particularly unpopular football team if someone wants to blow out of the sky. But we won't say no.

One last thing, don't try weird stuff with the Internets here. We take cybersecurity seriously, zero tolerance for people doing illegal stuff especially to harm others or steal money or stealing crypto. We're not going hassle you if you're downloading terabyyes of Princess cassie videos though. That's fine as a long as it's not the copyrighted variety stuff. I'm very popular.

That's it I hope I didn't scare you. Now, I have weeds to chop with this thing.

[Adab]

Adab has won the 67th WorldVision Song Contest, for the first time coming out on top in the contest in the twenty-fifth edition it participated in. Below is the nation's history-making WorldVision entry, which emerged triumphant in the contest when even its biggest fans had not expected the song to break into the top five.

ADAB
Selia Goral – "Turn Away"
Tune: Aretha Franklin - I Say a Little Prayer
Language: English

Selia Goral

Background
Adab's unexpectedly low placing at the 66th WorldVision Song Contest invited controversy and heated debates across the country. The country placed 21st at said contest, a stunning 18-place drop from the high they had reached at the 65th edition. The blame was directed at virtually everyone involved in Adab's entry, but mostly at the country's official WorldVision and World Hit Festival songwriter Kinan al-Salaman. Al-Salaman's insistence that he choose the contestants and have them sing the songs that he had written, critics charged, was becoming too much of a stranglehold on the country's musical efforts and served only to hamper its performance at both contests. Adab's success in penetrating the 40th World Hit Festival finals - though it eventually only placed 13th - did little to shore up al-Salaman's reputation. Al-Salaman was one of the greatest musicians in Adabian history and had served his country well on both contests, both as singer and songwriter, but the general consensus was that - after so many years - the time had come for him to hand the reins to the younger generation, one that was hopefully more in touch with the latest musical trends around the world.

Surprisingly for both supporters and detractors alike, al-Salaman agreed that the time had come. In a press conference at his mansion, the Alwalid, he brought up the contract which he and the Emperor had agreed to before the 64th edition, which stipulated that al-Salaman would serve as the country's official WorldVision songwriter for five editions (and, thanks to a later addition to the contract, World Hit Festival songwriter). It had been assumed by virtually everyone that al-Salaman would seek an extension, but instead he announced that he would take an "indefinite sabbatical" from the music business once he had fulfilled his part of the contract and focus on running the sprawling Al-Salaman Group; thus the 68th WorldVision Song Contest and the 41st World Hit Festival would be his last hurrah as the country's official songwriter. He left it to the Emperor to choose his successor as songwriter and decide how future contestants were chosen, and emphasized that they did not have to be signed to Al-Salaman Records; essentially he was returning the powers that he had wrested away from the Emperor. (It was soon pointed out that al-Salaman might have chosen to see out his contract, instead of retiring immediately, so that he could write for the Junior World Hit Festival, believed to be scheduled for the near future.)

Now that the retirement question had been settled, al-Salaman turned his attention to the task at hand - he was, after all, still the official songwriter - and began devising his final farewell from WorldVision and World Hit Festival. For this edition, he wanted Adab represented by someone from a minority group. This was of personal relevance to al-Salaman; he was a Druze who shot up to superstardom in a country whose citizens were mostly Sunni Muslim. Al-Salaman intended to pay tribute to Adab's ethnic and religious minorities, some of which still occasionally faced various forms of discrimination in their own country.

Al-Salaman’s choice of a contestant eventually fell to the 21-year-old Romani woman Selia Goral. As late as three generations ago, her family still lived an itinerant lifestyle, wandering around the rural parts of the country in their caravans, though Selia and her parents made their residence in Mosul. Selia got her start performing her folk and R&B-flavored compositions in cafes and local and regional festivals; at one of those festivals, she was noticed by an Al-Salaman Records executive, who proceeded to put in a good word for her and got her signed. Her first two singles shot to the top 10 of the national charts, aided by constant radio play and online promotion.

As for the song to be performed on WorldVision, al-Salaman drew largely from the soul and gospel records in his collection at the Alwalid. When al-Salaman showed her the first draft of the lyrics and explained how he envisioned her singing the song, Selia was concerned that it might end up sounding "too retro." "Who cares?" al-Salaman replied. "As long as you sing from the heart and the song sounds good, then it's all good.” Al-Salaman and Selia worked together in modifying the lyrics and deciding which instruments and backup singers to use; she received a songwriting credit alongside al-Salaman.

The performance
The venue had come to a standstill following the previous act’s exit. The lights had gone off a while ago and the audience was in their place, standing, sitting, whispering to each other, waiting for the next act to come on the stage. Now the lights slowly went back on, shining around and down upon the stage. The camera zoomed in at the long-haired ginger serenely making her way onto the stage and into the eyes of the audience. Selia Goral had caught their attention before she even performed; she was resplendent in her light blue dress, adorned with small diamonds which shone nicely in the blueish light. Following her were five women – all in purple satin robes – selected from the choir of St Anthony’s Church in Adab City. The Adabians in the audience rose to their feet, cheering as Selia grabbed the mic off the stand assumed her position at the center of the stage, with the backing singers a few feet behind her.

“Good night Örkendrem!” she roused the audience with a wave and a huge smile, her eyes scanning the audience as laid out before her. Her grip grew tighter around the mic. “Thank you, thank you very much for your warm welcome. I love you all. I suppose I won’t much time to say what I want to say, so let’s get down to business, shall we?” She momentarily turned to the singers behind her as the backing track began playing. “Now is the time.”

(Italics) sung by backup singers

(So now I turn away)
The moment I see your face
Well baby I know it’s all over
And so now I turn away

All the times you broke my heart
Oh baby you’ve twisted and torn it
And so now I turn away

The audience cheered and clapped, especially the Adabians, enchanted and taken by surprise by her singing; even her fans weren’t used to hearing that much power and conviction behind her voice. The camera began to zoom in on the backing singers, swaying along to the beat. Once again Selia turned to them, beaming. “Let’s go girls!”

(Not today) not today (or tomorrow) or tomorrow
(You can come back to me and say “I love you”)
(Not today) not today (or tomorrow) or tomorrow
(I’ve had enough, oh no baby I’ve had enough)
(And maybe) and maybe (and you know) and you know
(Baby I just ain’t coming back, it’ll only break my heart again)

Selia now made her way to one of the bridges. Under her the masses danced and cheered and waved, with some even raising their hands as high as they could, trying to reach for the bridge. There was now a spotlight on Selia, following her every move; she was already prominent enough as it was, but the spotlight helped to further focus everyone’s attention on her.

I hear you running
Running, trying to reach me
But baby I’m turning away

You tell me you think of me
Well it sure wasn’t the case last night
And so now I turn away

“You’re the greatest, Örkendrem! Let's keep the momentum going!” she shouted, with arms wide open, lifting her gaze somewhere between the audience and the ceiling, raising her mic and then slowly pulling it down to her mouth.

(Not today) not today (or tomorrow) or tomorrow
(You can come back to me and say “I love you”)
(Not today) not today (or tomorrow) or tomorrow
(I’ve had enough, oh no baby I’ve had enough)
(And maybe) and maybe (and you know) and you know
(Baby I just ain’t coming back, it’ll only break my heart again)
No, no, I’ve had enough

(Not today) not today (or tomorrow) or tomorrow
(You can come back to me and say “I love you”)
(Not today) not today (or tomorrow) or tomorrow
(I’ve had enough, oh no baby I’ve had enough)
(And maybe) and maybe (and you know) and you know
(Baby I just ain’t coming back, it’ll only break my heart again)

Selia sauntered back to the center stage, taking in the adulation of the crowd. The spotlight was still on her, thought it had dimmed a bit to avoid clashing with the other lights pointing down at the stage. Now those lights were concentrated on her and the backing singers; this was done at the expense of other parts of the stage, with parts farthest from the audience dimming into blueish darkness, just barely bathed in the color of the lights, but at this point only the performers really mattered.

Baby listen to me (listen to me)
You used to be the one for me
But no more, baby (turning away)
I’m leaving now (turning away)
Tired of your games (turning away)
I’m turning away (turning away)

(Not today) not today (or tomorrow) or tomorrow
(You can come back to me and say “I love you”)
(Not today) not today (or tomorrow) or tomorrow
(I’ve had enough, oh no baby I’ve had enough)
(And maybe) and maybe (and you know) and you know
(Baby I just ain’t coming back, it’ll only break my heart again)

Selia now turned her back on the audience and gazed at the backing singers, raising and flailing her arms as if conducting them. The Adabian spectators, meanwhile, were cheering and shouting her name.

Baby listen to me (listen to me)
You used to be the one for me
But no more, baby (turning away)
I’m leaving now (turning away)
Tired of your games (turning away)
I’m turning away (turning away)

(Not today) not today (or tomorrow) or tomorrow
(You can come back to me and say “I love you”)
(Not today) not today (or tomorrow) or tomorrow
(I’ve had enough, oh no baby I’ve had enough)
(And maybe) and maybe (and you know) and you know
(Baby I just ain’t coming back, it’ll only break my heart again)

The backing track gradually grew fainter in volume and the lights dimmed. The audience, realizing that the performance was inching towards its end, applauded Selia and the other singers. Once the backing track had stopped and the last note gone away, they gathered at the front of the central stage and gave their final bow, to the cheers of thousands upon thousands in the venue. “Thank you very much Örkendrem. I love you all. Good night!” Selia shouted, waving to the crowd as she and the others disappeared backstage.

[Abanhfleft]

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Football Fallacies
with Graham O'Doherty

Well, I'm back, and like I promised, I'm here to talk about the rest of what is now officially the first half of the World Cup qualifiers. We're going to take a look at the four games that Abanhfleft have played in the second half of the first half of the qualifiers (does that sentence even make sense? Does it or does it?) as well as going maybe a little in-depth on how we came to get those results in the first place. You might agree with my analysis or you may not. That's what the comments section is for. But enough dilly-dallying. Let's look at the rest of our qualifiers for now.

Game Six: Abanhfleft vs. Sultanate of Oontaz (Monsanto Stadium, Releinthi)

        ABANHFLEFT 4 - 1 SULTANATE OF OONTAZ
       DAGEN (13')       DIMAINTINDIHAN (63')
V. ZIMA (15', 83')
  R. EDWARDS (40')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 56%
Oontaz: 44%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 23 (9 on target)
Oontaz: 15 (5 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 10
Oontaz: 6
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 23
Oontaz: 24

First up is our qualifier against the Sultanate of Oontaz. This was the second time that Abanhfleft was drawn in the same group as another member of the APOC Coalition, the first being that infamous qualifying campaign for World Cup 80 with Copper Cuprum where Heinrich Wurzmann just simply had the poorest start of any Abanhfleft manager. But enough about the past, let's focus on the much more near past. The Sultanate of Oontaz have historically never done well against Abanhfleft whether it's at home or away, and this game was no exception. It certainly didn't help the cause of the Lions of Sand and Sea that Kareem Dagen and Vitaly Zima scored two goals in the same number of minutes within the first 15 minutes of the game, and once those two goals had gone in, Oontaz simply had no way of coming back. The game was pretty much done and dusted when Rory Edwards scored his first goal in the current qualifying cycle after he pounced on a mistake by Oontaz's Martin Opulencia. Karimabdul Dimaintindihan of Thereisnogidistan FC managed to score a consolation goal for Oontaz before Vitaly Zima capped off his impressive night with a second goal with seven minutes to go in the second half and really put the Sultanate out of their misery.

Game Seven: Mareibat vs. Abanhfleft (Unknown stadium, Unknown city, Mareibat)

MAREIBAT 0 - 3 ABANHFLEFT
               DAGEN (12')
               OGIGAYATSU (53')
               MacALISTAIR (82')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Mareibat: 43%
Abanhfleft: 57%
Shots
Mareibat: 12 (4 on target)
Abanhfleft: 20 (10 on target)
Corners
Mareibat: 3
Abanhfleft: 5
Fouls
Mareibat: 18
Abanhfleft: 17

Next up is Mareibat, who appear to have very close and deep ties with Apox. Make of that what you will. What we do know for certain is that their national football is not yet up to snuff in terms of playing with the big boys, or at least that's what I like to think. But then again, what other possible conclusion could you come up with when your team has demolished the opposition by three clear goals at their own home? I guess you could say that we left this a little bit late, but we had the confidence to keep the pressure on Mareibat once Kareem Dagen did his magic yet again and slipped the ball into the back of the net like a boss. Mareibat locked up their defense for the rest of the first half, forcing Abanhfleft to resort to set pieces and long-range attempts to secure the three points. In the second half, Daisuke Ogigayatsu somehow managed to leap the highest in the crowd of Mareibat players to slam home the improbable header, and then substitute winger Arthur MacAlistair capped off Abanhfleft's dominant display with a curling rocket of a shot near the end of the game. Talk about rubbing salt in the wounds of the vanquished!

Game Eight: Abanhfleft vs. Jeruselem (May 26 Revolution Memorial Stadium, Riuwiee)

███ABANHFLEFT 1 - 3 JERUSELEM
PEARSON (20')       NANO (39')
                    DALLAS (85')
                    BITCONNECT (90+4')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 48%
Jeruselem: 52%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 10 (3 on target)
Jeruselem: 10 (5 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 2
Jeruselem: 4
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 23
Jeruselem: 19

Now we arrive to only our second loss of the current qualifying campaign, and it's against yet another one of the teams that we really have to watch out for in the race for automatic qualification, Jeruselem. To say that we got beat is a bit of an understatement, although there is a meme going around in Jeruselem in which their coach Princess Chloe Dallas had her head photoshopped onto the body of a tackle football player with the caption, "They had us in the first half, not gonna lie" at the bottom. I get what they're trying to say about that. I really do. In the first half of this qualifier, it was Abanhfleft who were the dominant team and it showed when Cedric Pearson finally managed to lob the ball over the goalkeeper after maybe two to three attempts. Jeruselem's equalizer through Nina Nano (lovely name, I love it much more than her real name Nina Raiblocks) was the result of miscommunication between Carlos Cohen and Melisizwe Afolayan but it was very much against the run of play.

Slowly but surely though, Jeruselem began to assert themselves into the game, and as early as the first five minutes of the second half, their newfound pressure was already paying off as the Fleftics began to commit more mistakes and make more sloppy passes. For the first thirty minutes of the second half, the Revolutionaries could get away with those mistakes, but we all felt as if it would only be a matter of time before we were finally made to pay for our mistakes. And we did in the 85th minute when substitute Katya Dallas (I have no idea if she is related to the coach of Jeruselem but apparently she looks like one of Jeruselem's reporters) managed to get away from Luke Edwards, turn around, and smash the ball into the roof of Carlos Cohen's net.

Jeruselem taking the lead in the dying minutes of the game was the ultimate knockout punch to the Revolutionaries. Everyone could see that the wind had been knocked right out of their sails. And Jeruselem could sense the blood in the water, so they pounced on the opportunity and made sure that Abanhfleft would not be able to come back to this game with Betty Bitconnect heading home from a corner kick in the final action of the game. All three points to the Princesses, and none to the Revolutionaries. This revolution just got stuffed.

Game Nine: Neo-Romanum vs. Abanhfleft (Unknown stadium, Unknown city, Neo-Romanum)

NEO-ROMANUM 0 - 1 ABANHFLEFT
                  V. ZIMA (61')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Neo-Romanum: 39%
Abanhfleft: 61%
Shots
Neo-Romanum: 5 (1 on target)
Abanhfleft: 6 (2 on target)
Corners
Neo-Romanum: 0
Abanhfleft: 2
Fouls
Neo-Romanum: 12
Abanhfleft: 15

Now on to the final game of the first half of the qualifiers, and let me just tell that it was practically a war of attrition more than it was a game of football. Neo-Romanum really built themselves to defend like a brick wall in order to keep offenses out. And it actually worked, for all of sixty minutes. It took yet another touch of Kareem Dagen's black magic to unlock the Neo-Roman wall, and because everyone was so preoccupied on covering Dagen, they didn't notice Vitaly Zima ghosting inside the box until Dagen made the cross and Zima headed the ball across to the far post. And really, there was nothing else to report from that game apart from the tackles and the elbows and the headbutt or two that somehow went unnoticed to both the physical and video assistant referees. How Andrea Marilungo managed to get away from headbutting that Neo-Romanum midfielder still amazes me.

And that's it for the first half of the World Cup qualifiers for Abanhfleft. Once again it's time for me to take a break from writing about the Fallacies of Football. I don't know when I'll be back, but rest assured that I will be back. Just like that muscular dude who's actually a robot underneath said. You know what I'm talking about. XOXO from Graham...

[Darkmania]

OOC: Darkmania are not biding for WC for a while.

ÖRKENDREM PAPERS

Successfull hosting of Worldvision. Darkmania to host World Cup?

Article written by: [ur=lhttps://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=448618=]Link here[/url].

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Live from the Dëritee Ärenä music venue,

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ÖRKEMDREM, DARKMANIA
With the success that was the hosting the Worldvision Song Contest in the darkmanian capital Örkemdrem, it seems that there is a small demand of darkmanians hosting the World Cup despite the fact that the darkmanian football federation as said that they ruling out biding for the WC as they need more experience in sporting events.

"If we can host nation-states biggest music competition as well as the 2nd biggest, I bet we can host the WC succsuelfuy." one guy who wants to be namless as he apears to be drunk and said it with not-so-good english.

"Darkmania may have shiny new venues with capability of around 40 000. We have the infrastructure. But hosting an event like that here is suicidal. Besides, we had technical problems in the broadcast, and we had a lot of issues doing the hosting of World Hit Festival. While both became successful, i don't want Darkmania to embarrass himself just because of some issue that is out of control", Öle Dräsÿnter tells the paper as he is on his way to work.


The contest was won by Adab with their song "Turn Away" and 106 points, while Britonisea with "You've Wanted Me" came 2nd with 96 points. Host Darkmania got bronze with "Redd oss! (Save us)" and 93 points. It also shall be mentioned that all these nations are also in the qualification to the World Cup hosted in Free Republics & Banija.

[Kita-Hinode]

[95X]

Unknown person 1: "These no-name players from our secret facility have performed better than expected."

Unknown person 2: "They have been born of artificial means, and raised from birth to play soccer in an environment without distraction. This is unsurprising."

Unknown person 1: "Then perhaps it is time."

Unknown person 2: "Indeed."

[Dreamplanet]

APEX ARENA COMPLETED

The Apex Arena, Dreamplanet's new biggest stadium with 75,000 seats has been completed and is set to take matches after the World Cup cycle, most likely the first match played at the stadium will be the 2004 Dreamplanet Supercup match between Liga winners Coerefente and Taça winners FC Libon on the 8th of August 2004.

The Apex Arena will also become the home of the Dreamplanetian football team, which prior to the completion of the stadium, used a variety of club stadiums, however now Dreamplanet will have a home of their own, they will also hold some home matches at other parts of the country but the Apex Arena will host a majority.

The stadium cost 265 million Libas to build, it contains a 105X68m football field, a 400m track of 9 lanes, 4 pole vault boxes, 4 circles for shot put, 2 lanes for javelin, 2 circles for discus throw (one of which is equipped with a safety net which can be transformed into a hammer circle), 6 lanes for long jump and triple jump, 2 mattresses for high jump and 2 electronic scoreboards, and the Dreamplanetian Football Association believes that having a home stadium is the next step in revolutionising Os Tricores and maybe training athletes for a possible Olympic Games debut.

The stadium came with loads of excitement, while we will not see Dreamplanet play any World Cup games yet in the Apex Arena, the population has questioned the Apex Arena's usability in-between matches, as no club plays in it as a result of Sporting CD and FC Libon rejecting a move to the Apex Arena, the stadium could be seen as a waste of money, however the Apex Arena can be seen as a sign of things to come, as the Dreamplanet FA might use the stadium to bid for the Campionato Esportivano di Campeones in the near future.

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

The Tale of Snickerdoodle and the Upset Tummy

And just as the World Cup reached the halfway stage of qualifying, the fluffy bunnies travelled to the wonderful land of Miznan.

But what's this?

Snowball has a sore paw!

"Ouchy" said Snowball, who was known for being very brave. "I think I broke it in the pre-match warmup", and tears began to well up in his big brown bunny eyes.

"Why isn't Snowball's paw healing immediately?" asked Cinnabun.

"It's because we're not in the Holy Empire" said kindly Mr Tzimisces. "Here in Ordinary Reality, you cute little bunnies can get injured normally"

Well, that was a turn-up for the books, you can be sure. All of the fluffy bunnies were surprised at this news; all this time they thought they had been invulnerable, and instead they were merely lucky.

"Does this mean I get to play in goal?" asked Snickerdoodle.

"Why yes!" said Mr Tzimisces.

"Hurrah!" said Snickerdoodle, who had done very little other than benchwarming and nibbling on carrots across the last two World Cups. Why, he was even nibbling on carrots now.

Snickerdoodle was very fond of carrots.

In truth, Snickerdoodle didn't have very much to do in the first half of the match against Miznan.

Why, before you could say 'carrots are super-yummy, and full of healthy vitamins", the Holy Empire were 2-0 up.

"Hurrah!" cried all of the fluffy bunnies, as they hipped and hopped all over the pitch after the second goal.

Snickerdoodle had very little to do, as Miznan couldn't manage a single shot on goal the entire first half.

So he sat down on his goal line, and munched on carrots.

Lots and lots of carrots.

Oh deary me.... Snickerdoodle ate far too many carrots.

Snickerdoodle ate so many carrots that he gave himself an upset tummy.

"I can't play in the second half" he said, forlornly. "My tummy is too rumbly".

Well, you can't quite imagine the things that Mr Tzimisces said to that; let's just say he didn't seem too kindly anymore. Even Mr Di Bradini, who - while a well-respected football legend, and highly effective coach - usually deferred to Mr Tzimisces when it came to team management said a couple of words that we can't repeat in public, but which you can safely assume were very, very rude indeed.

Between Snowball's sore paw, and Snickerdoodle's carrot consumption, there were no more fluffy bunnies to play in goal!

Oh deary me indeed!

So Mr Tzimisces scratched his head, and sent out substitute midfielder Popcorn in as an emergency goalkeeper.

"But I'm not a goalkeeper!" said Popcorn.

"I know" said Mr Tzimisces, shrugging his shoulders, while also making sure that there were no carrot stocks behind the goal his team were defending in the second half.

Well, the unusual goalkeeper situation certainly changed the match, and thanks to a series of unfortunate yet somehow simultaneously exasperating and hilarious events that we would love to outline for you here, but which would take far, far too long to explain, Miznan managed to come down from 2-0 down to tie the match.

"I'm sorry" said Snowball - but none of the fluffy bunnies blamed him for his unfortunate sore paw.

"I'm sorry" said Snickerdoodle - but... well, let's just say that the other fluffy bunnies didn't talk to him again until the mid-qualification break was over.

And he wasn't allowed to eat any carrots for a week.

Hippity hop, hippity hop, into the burrow.

[Krytenia]

He may have only been in charge of the team for a scant few games, but Valrauncion is already proving to be a big hit - on social media, at least.

Bostopia-based short post social site Chirper, the soup de jour of the Krytenian youth, is where such discourse - for want of a better word resides. It takes many forms, from simple chirps to clever memes. It comes as no surprise, then, that the number one trending hashtag on the site right now relates to him: #SMA.

But what is #SMA? Well, put simply, it's the essence of Valrauncion's personality, distilled into three letters. Thanks to a headline earlier in qualifying, the elf's trademark "this is going well" smarmy smile has been condensed into the phrase "Smug Mode: ACTIVATED".

Rather unsurprisingly, it's led to comparisons with that other infamous hype machine, Timo Skye. We could write paragraphs and pages on the similarities between the two, but to be honest, someone else got there first. So we leave you with this meme, posted by @tiger88 and retweeted over six million times.

[Squornshelan Remnant States]

Be Ever Watchful, Chapter 3:

In an apartment somewhere in Brantisvogan, a woman sat next to a phone. She was of average height for a Squornshelan, about 5'5", with shoulder-length dark hair and muddy brown eyes. In fact, nearly everything about her appearance was average for a Squornshelan, from her clothing to her hairstyle. If she had attempted to appear as forgettable as possible (she had) she could not have done a better job. The name on her credentials was also forgettable: Irina Polokov. It was not her name, but it easily could have been. While most ethnic Squornshelans in the Confederacy frequently gave their children names more in line with the cultures of the various provinces, it was certainly not unusual for them to retain the Slavic and Nordic naming traditions that had prevailed under the Imperium.

The phone next to her rang, jolting through the silence of the apartment. She allowed it to ring four times before picking it up.

"Polokov residence."

"There can be no further delays," the voice on the phone admonished. "They have defeated Qasden, you must act, now."

"The delay was unavoidable, we c-"

"Delay stemming from the capture of an operative is inherently avoidable. Further incompetence will not be tolerated."

"I understand. We will initiate phase one prior to the next match."

"Be thorough. It will not go well for you if they continue to win."

The woman calling herself Irina Polokov hung up the phone. She was sufficiently contrite over her team's failings, but did not need threats to motivate herself. That idiot Perchkov had delayed things, but she had adapted, as one must. The plan was ready to be put into action. Her people were in the right places, with the right information to do their jobs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The ersatz photographer, once it became clear that his press credentials were forged, had shut his mouth entirely. He had not spoken a word since confronted with evidence that no one at the Brantid Post seemed to know who he was, despite the fact that he was in their computer system and, apparently, on their payroll. His supposed name, Aatu Perchkov, was well known to the Post's computer systems, but had never been heard by anyone at their Chalesm offices. Gathering information about the intrusion that had altered the files was proving difficult, but the way it had been done led to one conclusion.

"Whoever did this has serious resources."

"Why not just say, the Imperials, Chief?"

"Because a good investigator doesn't jump to conclusions, Lieutenant." Farid sighed. "I admit that this kind of attack likely has to be state sponsored, and that the Imperials are the obvious suspects, but we just don't have enough information. Our only lead is likely to kill himself before he ever speaks another word, and without something to go on we're left waiting for them to make the next move." Several more matches had passed uneventfully since "Perchkov's" arrest, and the waiting was making Farid anxious. What made matters worse was that once he was suspected of espionage, "Perchkov" had to be handed over to the Confederate Security Administration, which took responsibility for a broad range of anti-terrorism and anti-espionage investigations.

"You're jumping right along with me, Chief. Why do you think he'll kill himself unless he's SIO?"

"If he was really SIO he'd be dead already, you know we didn't find any poison capsules on him. If he's got one, he can die whenever he wants." Operatives of the Imperial State Intelligence Office had always been a problem in the Confederacy, and keeping them alive in captivity had frequently proven difficult.

"Maybe he's waiting for something."

"Waiting to be locked away and forgotten forever? What opportunity could he possibly get from inside a prison cell?"

[Brenecia]

Brenecia 1 - 0 Octinstine
(4-1-4-1) 1 - Woodgate (c); 2 - Broxham, 5 - Heneghan, 22 - Varney, 3 - Quill (19 - Prentice 70'); 4 - Staunton; 7 - Crowther (15 - Garrard 78'), 21 - Case (14 - Ruskin 59'), 13 - Wheeler, 11 - Ashbrown; 9 - Riordan
Goal: Crowther 17'

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
How has Brenecia gone half of qualifying without conceding?
Laura Mulholland

Brenecia's been here before. Six matches into the 67 cycle, Brenecia's Franca Connell had kept six straight clean sheets, in a stretch that included a scoreless draw in Valanora. It looked as though the Patriots, the last team to concede a goal in the multiverse (equal to South Covello, who were second-last to concede this cycle), would get their first-ever chance to qualify for the World Cup itself, or at the very least its playoffs... until a dramatic slide in the second half of qualifying ensured those dreams stayed dreams.

There were reasons that collapsed, of course, or more accurately reverted to the mean. We do not think of this Brenecia side as full of natural talents, but it's safe to say very few of the 67 vintage would get in the current Patriots. Gareth Mortlock, still in a then-terrible A-League, and Mark Graves, an unusually short journeyman in the then-mid-20s-ranked Premiership that produced most of this side, were protected by two holding midfielders in Sylver and Chenoweth who had little interest in moving forward. It was a direct, unambitious and rather slow side that played a disciplined, physical low block. Defending is hard, but it was most of what they did.

The Patriots of today are far better than that. For one, they are the first seeds in first place, which naturally puts them in a stronger place when it comes for qualifying, and they've kept the streak going half again as long. The biggest test remaining is next match, where Brenecia host a Cassadaigua side that have been raining goals against lesser sides and will be looking to make up for a scoreless draw with Tinhampton. The Dagans even felt aggrieved not to score against the Patriots the first time around, as Woodgate pulled off one of the best saves of his career to deny Ranucci.

Realistically, it's unlikely that the Patriots will make the full 18. But this isn't just a fluke, or a statistical quirk. This is a sign of a defence that is comfortable with each other, has weathered the aging of Szubanski and Woodgate and the retirement of Gryphon and the injection of the young, brilliantly promising Keziah Broxham. Calhoun, Varney and Beath have looked assured when given the nod, as well, and then have slotted happily back into line. Even more mercurial talents like Crowther and Wheeler are more than willing to help defend from the front and track back for the Patriots. This is not the best side in the world, defending champions or not, but it's one that doesn't get complacent, doesn't let up the pressure, doesn't break their concentration. And that's a damn good habit to get into, in the run-in to the World Cup.

Who knows? Maybe the streak can even go another seven games after this.

[Mytanija]

Team to play Acronius: Savic; Feric, Azanovic, Anac, Isaev; Fejzuli, Todorov, Elvahic; Odonelec; Ocokoljic, Aleksic.

Subs from: Kasun, Vukovic, Zupan, Madar, Mehmedic, Nikic, Zahovic.

---

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

LAERTIADES

by Dorde Arsic

PART II: ODYSSEY
EPISODE 7, AEOLUS

IN THE HEART OF A MYTANAR METROPOLIS

The tram moved swiftly down the line, people dashing out of the way lest the end up underneath it, a painful ending that would be. The air was smoky, there had been a fire at a shop, Mr. Vucina had heard talk that it had been an upholstery store – no wonder about the smoke. Stop-to-stop they rattled, women chattering behind him about what they were going to make for dinner or what their children were learning at school, comparing notes. Mr. Vucina often wondered what people who did not live in the city did with their lives, did they replace the constant noise and seemingly perpetual motion with anything in particular to make their lives go by any quicker? Or did the clean air give them clearer minds? Did they perhaps muse in the same way about what city dwellers did? Did they consider them to be the strange ones?

Mr. Vucina had to visit the bank to withdraw some cash, he hoped there would be no issues. Last time he had tried to withdraw money the bank clerk had said the account had been emptied by his wife, by Maria. He knew why she had emptied it, she had been paying that useless manager of hers with whom she was having an affair. She had denied it of course, but Mr. Vucina knew nonetheless. What else could she possibly need the money for? She had concocted a tale about paying to repair her dresses for shows, but Mr. Vucina knew that her manager received the money, he could picture it all in his mind’s eye.

Him begging her, saying he needed the cash, telling her that she hadn’t been paying a retainer for months and that by rights she owed him for services rendered. Him saying how he had been doing it for free because he loved her and wanted to be with her but that now, with hard times he needed the money and that if she loved him she would give it him.

Mr. Vucina could picture it all.

“NEXT STOP, ALIEV STREET!” Came the shout, the tram beginning to judder to a halt. Mr. Vucina stood, unsteady on his feet with the movement of the tram, he grabbed onto one of the looped straps hanging from the ceiling as he tried to stay stood up. He righted himself and leaned against a seat next to him. Phew, he thought, now he remembered why he didn’t take the tram all too often.

The tram finally came to a stop and people filed off: a man in work overalls, a young woman holding a tiny baby, an old lady with a cane and then finally Mr. Vucina. As he passed by the conductor he let out a nearly incomprehensibly quick ‘thank-you’, as everybody did and then jumped down the short drop to the pavement. He often wondered how those with disabilities or blind people negotiated that drop, the conductor must help them, he thought. He had seen one man, blind, jump off of his own accord – entirely without assistance – and successfully land with two feet on the ground, proceeding to continue about his business. He must have done it every day, he seemed to know what he was doing.

BANKING BOREDOM

Mr. Vucina entered the bank at haste, he had a busy day ahead of him and many things he still had to achieve. The queue, however, had an entirely different idea. There were several people between he and the bank clerk and he just knew that each of those in front of him would take a while over whatever it was that they needed to do, it was just one of those days, or at least it felt like it. He was the seventh person in the queue, which on another day he may consider lucky, he may also consider it to be completely inconsequential. It really depended on how he felt that day, today, it was inconsequential. How stupid little superstitions like so called ‘lucky’ numbers were, he thought.

Mr. Vucina gazed across to look at the bank clerk, the young man looked thoroughly bored, a man not enjoying job – particularly as the old lady stood before him droned on and on. Mr. Vucina could catch the odd word here and there, she was asking about her pension, something about how it had only got paid in last week and had already disappeared. The poor lady had probably spent it and forgotten. The bank clerk looked entirely disinterested and Mr. Vucina was thankful that he at least knew exactly what he was trying to do. Although it may prove more difficult because of Maria.

He often wondered where it had all gone wrong for them. But the truth was that they both knew. They probably should have separated after their son’s death, but they had struggled on through and there had been good times even after that, but it had never been the same. Mr. Vucina stopped himself. He had said he would try and ditch the morbidity. Yeah, stop thinking about that. Come on, something else.

MIRKO’S PAYDAY PARTY

Mirko was pretty pleased with himself, he had managed to get his payslip off The Bursar and when he thought about it, there had actually been little incident involved in that little rendezvous. The Bursar was a little eccentric, certainly, and the talk about him being able to talk for Mytanija was also obviously true but it hadn’t been as difficult to extricate the payslip from him as Mirko had built it up to be in his mind. He wondered why exactly The Bursar did have a poor reputation, he just seemed like a slightly strange ageing man, if anything.

Now that Mirko had his payslip, he was stood in the bank queue and waiting to provide the bank with the details on it to ensure the money entered his account quickly. The Bursar had said the money would be in his account post-haste, but Mirko wanted to make sure and the transaction details on the payslip could be instantly entered into the bank’s system and complete the transaction.

He was pleased that it was essentially payday, more than anything else, though. He was going to spend some money that was for sure. He’d organised to go to Bugaric’s for a drink later with a couple of friends, anything to keep him out of the house with Stojan Milotic and the Euran about. Anything to make the mundanity of life go by quicker, he thought wryly. It was easy to see how an ostensibly intelligent man could squander their life’s work on a whim, as they attempt to eliminate boredom from their life with alcohol. So the story went for many a Mytanar man. The women continued to suffer.

Mirko felt a tug at his arm, he turned and was greeted with a warm, wide smile. Luka. An old university friend. He was constantly busy with a highflying legal job these days, but they kept in contact as much as they could. Mirko laughed.

“Luka! How are you?”

“Yeah, great, great man. You must be pleased,” Luka replied, pointing at Mirko’s payslip. Luka then leaned in conspiratorially: “Long fucking queue though, aye? I waited outside for ages and you’ve still got someone ahead of you!”

“Ha yes, I’m very pleased in fact.” Mirko said, laughing, before looking at the queue behind him and adding: “Yeah, it’s been ages. Least I’m not one of them though right?” As the words left his mouth the old lady who was ahead of them moved away from the counter and towards the door. “We’re moving.” Mirko grinned. He was next.

“Drinks are on you. I’ll wait over here, out of the way.” Luka said, moving towards some seats near the front window of the bank, away from the counter. Mirko moved towards the clerk.

“I just need to sort my payslip out, if that’s alright?” Mirko asked.

OH, TO BE A YOUNG MAN

Mr. Vucina looked towards the two young men laughing and joking together with a touch of jealousy. He wished he were that age again, without a care in the world. He couldn’t entirely hear what they were discussing, but they seemed to find it funny. Then one of the youngsters moved away, as the old lady with the pension problem vacated the space in front of the counter and the other young man moved up to converse with the bank clerk. Mr. Vucina could only see half his face, but he felt like he vaguely recognised him from somewhere. He shook his head, how would he know a man of his age?

He shook his head again, he probably didn’t. That’s why. What else did he have to do today? It was sadly a case of so many errands, he didn’t know where to start. He had to get lunch, that would be next, his stomach was rumbling. He never had been able to think on an empty stomach. Mr. Vucina knew that he’d likely while his day away, as he usually did. But it was always nicer to think that he had a plan than to never have a plan at all.

The young man at the counter was talking to the bank clerk animatedly and the bank clerk was returning the conversation apace, too. It was quite the change from the clerk’s behaviour when the old lady had been complaining about her pension. Perhaps they knew each other, they were sharing a joke, the young man at the counter let out a large peal of laughter and the pair shook hands.

“See you later!” The young man said as he walked away, the young bank clerk waving at him and returning the favour. The young man passed by Mr. Vucina and again, he could have sworn he knew the young man, or had at least seen him before somewhere. Mr. Vucina just couldn’t place where.

Mr. Vucina watched as the young man strode towards the exit, his friend from before stood up from his seat and looked at him.

“Are we ready to go?” He asked his friend. Mr. Vucina overheard. He had always had a habit of listening to other people’s conversations and he knew it was something he shouldn’t do, but he never stopped.

“Yeah, let’s grab a drink.” The young man Mr. Vucina thought he knew replied. “Hey, have you heard the joke about two Esca vestals?” He asked.

“No?”

“Hahaha,” His friend responded with hearty laughter, “Here, listen..” He said, exiting the bank.

PART II: ODYSSEY
EPISODE 8, LAESTRYGONES

Mr. Vucina exited the bank with a huff. He had been unable to withdraw cash again. Maria had emptied the account a second time and this time he was actually angry about it, he needed that money. He had some cash on him, but it wouldn’t last much longer than a couple of days further, plus he needed the money for other things. How would he pay to send his letters, or place adverts, or other parts of his job? He added the latter two to make himself feel better, he knew he shouldn’t be sending letters to Ludmila, but it was only a product of his relationship going downhill that he had ever started doing that. If anything, Maria was partially at fault.

His stomach let out a loud rumble. Soon, he thought, urging it to stay quiet. Food would have to be next on his agenda. Where to go? Hjarnic’s do a good sandwich, there would be best. Always busy, mind.

Hjarnic’s it is, Mr. Vucina thought. A nice gorgonzola cheese sandwich with a glass of burgundy would be quite the ticket. The burgundy may even dull his senses slightly so that he could forget about Maria’s affair and her antics with their joint bank account. Perhaps it may even give him the courage to confront her about it all. Wishful thinking, that isn’t really my style, Mr. Vucina considered. Better to leave it and try to fix everything, maybe ask her to try and repair it one last time and then if it doesn’t work out well… Whatever.

He skipped along the pavement, attempting to avoid droplets of rain that were falling fairly heavily now. The weather in the city was so changeable, nobody could ever set their watch by it that was for certain. People around him were doing the same, or plunging umbrellas upwards overhead, guarding against the water like hoplites with their shields against falling arrows. Mr. Vucina felt a little like a Spartan, back against the wall and fighting Maria’s manager for her affections, so the simile worked to a point. Unlike a Spartan he was sure to lose with a whimper. Maria seemed intent on making sure of that.

Ah, Hjarnic’s. He opened the door, the bell tinkling similarly to the Post Office’s earlier in the day. The smell of freshly baked bread enticed him inwards and myriad other smells fought for his attention. He knew why he had chosen to come here. It was simply wonderful.

Mr. Vucina looked around and he was unsure that the beautiful smells matched the ugly sight that was before him. Businessmen, falling out of their ill-fitted suits, gorging themselves like animals upon the foodstuffs they had purchased. One man in particularly was hungrily inhaling a sandwich of some kind, it had sausages on it and they were being chewed by the man’s mouth – a threshing machine – clear for all to see.

There was a line in a book that went something like: he turned from man to pig and pig to man and struggled to tell which was which and Mr Vucina felt it slightly apt for the situation right now. Sure, there were no pigs, but the men were consuming pork products in the same manner that pigs may eat and that was close enough. He would have to read that book again, he felt like he had slightly butchered the meaning of the quote. It was to do with politics, if he remembered correctly, and a farm.

Another man was chewing so loudly next to Mr. Vucina that it sounded like he was choking, he emitted popping noises from time to time also and Mr. Vucina wondered if he might have something wrong with him, but the scene was the same all around him: businessman after businessman gorging themselves at speed, attempting to consume their lunch and then get back to work, to put their nose to the grindstone for a few more hours for their bosses in their white collar job.

Hjarnic’s would not do today. Mr. Vucina made a mental note not the come for food at Hjarnic’s at lunchtime on a week day. The sight of the men eating like animals was enough to put him off his gorgonzola cheese sandwich and glass of finest burgundy. He’d have to find somewhere else today.

It’s funny, Mr. Vucina thought, earlier in his life when he was a bit more of a businessman he may have hurriedly ate like the men he was deriding. He pondered: me, and me now. How things change. As Mr. Vucina left Hjarnic’s, stepping back out into the pouring rain, he had never been more aware of how small he was in the grand scheme of things. He was but a speck. The weather didn’t care for any speck, or any man for that matter. It did as it pleased, perhaps at the whim of a god or goddess – or even gods and goddesses, dependent on your beliefs.

Mr. Vucina wondered what goddesses and gods eat and drink. His thoughts moved tangentially, relating to his realisation of his relative lack of importance in the grand scheme of things and he turned the question over in his mind: do the statues of ancient gods and goddesses in the National Museum have anuses, like us mere mortals?

It was something to think about, if nothing else.

[Vilita]

Vilitan FA debut Matchday Sponsors, Jungle Cats win 3-0

Colonial Field, Sile, Vilita :: After tripling their total number of goals conceded in their World Cup 81 Qualifying campaign during the course of their previous two matches, the Vilita Jungle Cats took a detour to the Island of Turoki where they were hoping a change in scenery would result in an improvement in their form. While their opponent for the match was a relative newcomer in the nation of Vithuland, there was some added excitement for the match as it signalled the rollout of the Vilitan Football Associations matchday sponsorship program whereby, in addition to their standard corporate partnerships in association with the National Team, the Vilitan Football Association would announce a specific marketing sponsor to highlight during each Jungle Cats match.

Ever since the great shift and reset era as the chosen ones often eluded it to, there has been an overall distrust in corporate society - but as time has passed so has the distrust. While corporations of certain flavors thrive on the Vilitan mainland, many struggle to win public approval and instead those tasks get scooped up under the Tropicorp wing to ensure the Vilitan public get all the corporate attention they require without having to put up with it all in their daily lives.

Some marketing programs have never really lost their lustre, however, including the first Vilitan matchday sponsor: the Turoki Island Tourism Board.

:: Turoki Island Tourism Board

The Turoki Island Tourism Board, through their "Visit TI" campaign, is always looking for new and exciting ways to reach across the multiverse and pull new tourists into Turoki City and to experience the grandeur of Turoki Island itself. From the well preserved Northern Forests and the native villages of Riailia to the Southern Shores and the always-hopping Island Capital of Turoki City, Turoki Island would seemingly 'sell itself'. But with the ongoing development throughout the Vilitan Cove region and new tourist destinations such as Cocoabo Park cropping up, the Turoki Island Tourism board occasionally decide they need to get their name back out in the forefront of the minds of would be tourists before they start planning their next week-long getaway.

While the Turoki Island Tourism Board might have been hoping for a larger impact opposition to showcase their highlighted event, in the end the match at Colonial Field was assigned to Vithuland. While it may not have had the same build up and anticipation the result was certainly favorable for the Tourism Board and the Vilitan National Team as well as the Jungle Cats got an early goal from Purapal Eskiiy to set them off and running before a pair of second half tallies - one from midfield anchor Cavuna Aquafek and another from Berali Tzufarei - sealed the deal and secured Vilita's third 3-0 victory of the campaign allowing them to keep pace with Mercedini atop the Group 13 standings.

The fans at Colonial Field were wowed by their former academy product and current Eastal Lunar star Limu Katarakhna who came on in the second half putting on dazzling spin-o-rama's and seemingly aloof mobility that while an exciting showcase of the talent produced at the Colonial Academy, may also have been a bittersweet reminder of what the town of Sile lost when Katarakhna made the switch from Colonial Sile to Eastal Lunar in Stellar Division competition.

Vilita [3] - [0] Vithuland

:: Vilita Goalscorers :: :: 5' Purapal Eskiiy :: 58' Cavuna Aquafek :: 71' Berali Tzufarei

:: Vilita Statistics :: :: Possession: 62% :: Shots on Target: 7 :: Corner Kicks: 9

:: Vithuland Statistics :: :: Possession: 38% :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 3

---

Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. Vithuland ::
[GK] Mako Canopii, [D.] Monner Vileai, [D.] Jirijii Januaa, [D.] Rojara Tiones, [D.] Linkat Cjinder, [ML] Cavuna Aquafek, [MC] Purapal Eskiiy, [MC] Jurzen Devmiko, [MR] Westii Yahaya, [FC] Linvoi Warazil, [FC] Berali Tzufarei
BENCH::
[FC] Fishtii Blikala, [FC] Sipke Tarala, [M] Limu Katarakhna, [M] Tripate Falcon, [U ] Kwuimekii Hentetii, [D] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [GK] Vernasa Sanamun

---

It was the first goal of the campaign for Purapal Eskiiy, the oldest player on the pitch. Cavuna Aquafek leads all midfielders now after netting their third goal of the campaign while Berali Tzufarei now had three goals in four matches as they closed in on Nii'arala Milaaso - who did not appear in the lineup nor on the bench for the Jungle Cats against Vithuland - atop the Vilita National Team goalscoring charts for the World Cup 81 Qualification campaign.

[Geisenfried]

Halfway There, Livin' on Qualification Hopes and Prayers?
Die Steinadler finish first half with strong run, but qualifications chance remain slim

Geisenfried's return to international football has seen some ups and downs - a very tough frontloaded schedule meant the start for Geisenfried was slow, only managing a single point against Vakolicci Haven and Celeria in the first four matches of World Cup LXXXI qualifying. But it seems since holding steadfast in Dözel against the 27th ranked and then-group leaders Qasden, Geisenfried has found its groove, rattling off four straight victories including its most emphatic one yet against Dormill and Stiura in Kapetägien, giving the Kövren region a sense of relief it has not seen in weeks after the arrival of Hatabu Danso. That said, with the first half of qualification done, the more easier backend of the schedule must cede once more into a series of tough matches against some of the top teams in the group, including back-to-back matches against teams higher on them in the standings in group leading Pasarga and 3rd-placed 95X. Even an extraordinarily optimistic projection - managing draws against the three teams ahead of them in the rankings and managing to sweep everyone below them, would only put Geisenfried at 35 points for the qualifying session - and with Pasarga already at 24 and Qasden at 22, one of the two would have to drop most of their remaining matches for Geisenfried to squeak into playoff contention, as either would need only 4 wins a piece to match or best that mark (including the point a draw with Geisenfried would give them). And that's using one of the most optimistic scenarios for Geisenfried. Still, even if die Steinadler end up working more for an invitation to the Cup of Harmony rather than a World Cup berth, coming off a seventeen cup absence as an unranked team, few would have expected them to be in fourth place with a positive goal differential - one that belies the fact that half of their goals given up were all in their first match. Though some stuck in the golden days long past may find it disappointing, any realistic assessment of the team would give them flying colors for what they have achieved so far.

All that said, a look so far at how the team itself has been doing -

Goalkeepers:
GK 1 Jonas WIESER (25) - Heimüller SC - [12 caps, 5 clean sheets]
GK 12 Vincent JENSEN (22) - Eintracht Rödis - [0 caps, 0 clean sheets]
GK 23 Benjamin FUCHS (18) - Königs FC - [0 caps, 0 clean sheets]

Despite the debacle against Pasarga, Büchner has yet to switch out Wieser, and he's rewarded that faith in recent games, managing to blank both 27th ranked Qasden and 70th ranked Vakolicci, helping Geisenfried earn a couple of points most would have never expected them to come through on. Additional clean sheets against the South Falls, Illahee and most recently against Dormill and Stiura show a growing comfort as a netminder, and I wouldn't expect Wieser to be switched out for the much rawer Jensen and Fuchs, even if actual World Cup qualification remains a very long shot.

Defenders:
RWB 2 Matthias SCHNEIDER (26) - VfS Königseifert - [12 caps, 0 goals]
LWB 3 Niklaus ZIEGLER (24) - Gryphons FC - [12 caps, 0 goals]
LCB 4 Oskar LINDSTRÖM (23) - Königs FC - [12 caps, 0 goals]
RCB 5 Hector OSTMARK (23) - 1.FSV Dözel - [12 caps, 0 goals]
LDF 13 Joachim SCHMIDT (21) - SV Silbern Sileväl - [3 caps, 0 goals]
CDF 15 Dmitri RESNICK (21) - 1.FSV Dözel - [4 caps, 0 goals]
RDF 22 Viktor STEINHAUER (22) - August Gründer - [5 caps, 0 goals]

There's been some healthy rotation here in the backfield, but Büchner seems set on keeping his starting four steady - and perhaps, despite struggles early on, this has proven to be the better option, as Geisenfried has become far more solid in the backfield, giving up only a single goal since the Squornshelous game. When he does change things up, he tends to drop in Resnick to partner with his 1.FSV Dözel teammate Ostmark, hoping to rely on the prospect's club time to pick up the communication. Still, Steinhauer has been the most frequent defensive sub, jumping in for both Schneider and Ostmark on occasions, especially with Ostmark's rougher play style leading to a team leading disciplinary record, and Büchner wanting to protect him from getting sent off.

Midfielders:
LDM 6 Elias METZGER (23) - Kapetägien Verein - [12 caps, 0 goals]
RWM 7 Mariusz JAEGER (20) - Kaiserstadt Altien - [12 caps, 2 goals]
RDM 8 Karl MERTENS (24) - August Gründer - [12 caps, 0 goals]
CMF 10 Stefan EICHEL (28) - FC Darnesmark - [12 caps, 1 goal]
LWM 11 Rudi LÖWENTHAL (22) - Königs FC - [12 caps, 3 goals]
DMF 14 Lorenz HAHNEMANN (21) - FC Alster Alba - [3 caps, 0 goals]
CMF 16 Paul BERKHOFF (23) - Heimüller SC - [3 caps, 0 goals]
RMF 17 Alexander RIESZ (22) - VfS Königseifert - [4 caps, 0 goals]
AMF 18 Ephraim ROTHENBERG (22) - Königs FC - [5 caps, 1 goal]
LMF 21 Leopold KEMPF (20) - VfS Königseifert - [3 caps, 0 goals]

As the most flexible unit, the midfield has seen plenty of rotation and ins and outs, as Büchner has tried various formational changes and seeing what works best, though like with the defense, he seems to be set on getting his top team to gel through qualifications than making any dramatic changes. Löwenthal has been the revelation of the group, one of the biggest playmakers so far in helping Geisenfried move onward. He's even been pushed up into more of a forward left wing role at times to push things more offensively, and has the most goals in this group, and second most on the team. Eichel's more veteran presence has been more on distribution and setup than making anything happen on his own, though he managed to put in his first goal in a Geisen uniform in the last match against Dormil and Stiura. While Jaeger hasn't quite shown the same consistency game in game out that Löwenthal has, he has a certain spark that produces his moments and has managed to put in a couple on his own accord. Metzger and Mertens have helped Geisen's solid defensive efforts in the past set of games, though they are the most frequently substituted starters, given that for tactics changes, pulling one of the two defensive middles has been the most reasonable option to accommodate elsewhere. The subs have been solid in relief - special mention should go to Rothenberg, who has been the most frequently called upon and shown up strong late in matches, finally managing to put one in the back of the net in this latest match in Kapetägien.

Strikers:
CF 9 Kieran THIESSEN (24) - Heimüller SC - [12 caps, 5 goals]
RS 19 Felix REICHENBACH (19) - Gryphons FC - [3 caps, 1 goal]
LS 20 Lukas SONDHEIM (21) - Königs FC - [3 caps, 0 goals]

Thiessen took a while to get going - only putting his first score on the board against 95X, and not showing up again until Illahee, but he's come into his own in the latter portions of this first half of qualifying, including exploding for a brace against Dormill and Stiura. He's had to bear a lot of the offensive burden for die Steinadler, but he seems to be finally growing into the role. Geisenfried's more defensive orientation has led to Reichenbach and Sondheim not seeing the field as much, but Reichenbach managed to get on the board relieving Thiessen after he had scored a goal of his own in the Illahee game.

Matchup Table:

Home\Away	Pasarga	Qasden	95X	Geisenfried	Olastor	Squornshelan Remnant States	Vakolicci Haven and Celeria	The South Falls	Dormill and Stiura	Illahee
Pasarga	N/A	MD15	3-1	MD10	MD17	1-0	MD13	1-0	MD11	5-2
Qasden	3-0	N/A	MD16	MD14	MD12	MD18	5-3	4-0	3-2	3-0
95X	MD12	1-3	N/A	2-1	1-0	MD15	3-1	MD10	MD13	MD17
Geisenfried	2-6	0-0	MD11	N/A	2-1	MD13	0-0	MD17	4-0	MD15
Olastor	3-5	1-3	MD18	MD16	N/A	MD11	2-2	4-2	3-0	MD13
Squornshelan Remnant States	MD14	2-1	1-2	2-0	1-2	N/A	MD16	MD12	MD17	MD10
Vakolicci Haven and Celeria	2-3	MD17	MD14	MD12	MD10	1-0	N/A	3-0	MD15	1-0
The South Falls	MD18	MD13	0-0	0-1	MD15	2-3	MD11	N/A	3-2	2-0
Dormill and Stiura	0-1	MD10	3-4	MD18	MD14	0-0	2-2	MD16	N/A	MD12
Illahee	MD16	MD11	2-4	0-2	1-2	0-1	MD18	MD14	1-3	N/A

Group 15                             GP   W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1  Pasarga                        9   8   0   1    25   13  +12    24
 2  Qasden                         9   7   1   1    25    9  +16    22
 3  95X                            9   6   1   2    18   14   +4    19
 4  Geisenfried                    9   4   2   3    12   11   +1    14
 5  Olastor                        9   4   1   4    18   17   +1    13
 6  Squornshelan Remnant States    9   4   1   4    10    9   +1    13
 7  Vakolicci Haven and Celeria    9   3   3   3    15   15    0    12
 8  The South Falls                9   2   1   6     9   18   −9     7
 9  Dormill and Stiura             9   1   2   6    12   21   −9     5
10  Illahee                        9   0   0   9     6   23  −17     0

Geisenfried 4 - 0 Dormill and Stiura
Thiessen (15', 42'), Eichel (36'), Rothenberg (83')

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

WCQ--Freeport Isles vs Commonwealth Preview

Frank Armitage
The Daily Mail Chief Soccer Writer

Few people—unless one was the most overly optimistic person imaginable—would have predicted that the Commonwealth National Team would be headed into the second half of qualifying for the World Cup having not lost a match in the entire international season.

Nine victories in a row, including 5 away matches, see Baker Park atop the Group 17 table. They hold a 3 point advantage over Darmen as they begin the return fixtures of the round-robin, beginning with Freeport Isles at Rogers Stadium. The Condottieri sit in a respectable 5th place on 16 points although that is not surprising at it sounds; their edge over most of the other sides in the group who are fighting in mid-table is their close ties with the Equestrian States. On the whole, they probably believe they should be at least ahead of Taeshan or Coldfield at this point.

The last match of the first half of the tournament saw a combined squad of players from both sides who hadn't gotten as much match action as some of the regulars, and they looked quite comfortable in the 2-0 win over South Calebian. But a return to full squads is scheduled for at least the first few matches, with the Gold squad getting their opportunity against Freeport.

The area which caused the most consternation prior to the start of the campaign—defense—showed itself to be a strength as the matches have progressed. Three clean sheets out of nine is ahead of the pace set during WC80 qualifying, when the team kept only 4 for through the entire schedule, if you don't include the playoff tie against Qasden. This is largely attributed to better marking and pressure in the midfield areas over the course of 90 minutes, something that has been hit or miss at times.

The issue that will soon need to be addressed is--among these 2 squads, who will miss out on the chance to book a place on the team should they qualify? There could be a few veterans who will be making their last appearances for the national side in the upcoming matches, and it wouldn't be a surprise if there were a few dropped points between now and the end of the competition if Pam Scott and Trevor Richmond want to put some of those on the bubble into pressure situations when the matches against Coldfield, Taeshan and Darmen come around again, all at home.

Richmond and Scott held a joint press briefing ahead of the Freeport match.

TR: "I believe we made a prediction that we would need at least 36 points to have a chance to make the playoffs. So I guess that sounds like we only 3 more wins. But we are 8 points ahead of Taeshan, who are third. And I don't think anyone believes that an 8 point margin is insurmountable. We see it all the time in the NSL, a team loses 2 in a row or draws two and suddenly it's a difference of 3 points between you and the team 2 spots below."

PS: "I am reluctant to guess how this match (against Freeport) might shake out. They have proven themselves to be serious competition in a short period of time, and we of course have the advantage of playing them twice already, but they won't come here afraid to play to win. We have a lot of respect for them after the Open Cup and we're treating this like match that's for position."

[Natanians and Nosts]

Despite being at one of its best World Cup Qualifiers campaigns,Natanians and Nosts may be at a crisis.

Natanians and Nosts is currently the 3rd in its group,with 18 points,6 points behind Barunia and Drawkland with 24 points both,but it itself is also tied with San Regada and Omerica.Despite having both third best attack and best deffence,and the same number of points as Audioslavia,the team might not be in that good of a moment.
The team is becoming quite old and with a static "face".It is dependent on a few players,although team-working is important,probably a key to the paying-style,it is needed more players.

[Qusmo]

Many, many thanks go to EQS/Freeport, who posted this mid-qualifying mass table, which I made liberal use of, up to & including fairly blatant plagiarism when creating the table of best defenses. If, for some reason, you’re looking at this spoiler in this RP & somehow didn’t see the giant table from Freeport, I would highly recommend looking at that table; it is rich in data to exploit & expand on for RPs of your own.

SPONY LUQ TELEVISION

Hello, all. Welcome to Spony Luq Television, broadcasting from Qanz, Qusmo. Qusmo had a great start to World Cup 81 Qualification, with the most points, the most goals scored, the least goals conceded, & the first-place position in Group 9 after five matches; however, with just four points in the four matches since, they have sunk to fifth in the table. That means that Qusmo is facing an uphill battle to qualify out of Group 9, a proposition that never figured to be easy, anyhow; now, let’s take a closer look at Qusmo’s campaign, the rest of Group 9, & the field of qualifying hopefuls at large. First, we have a question from a viewer in Uqular.

How do you think Qusmo will finish out the Qualifiers?

We predicted at the outset of the campaign that Qusmo would get off to a hot start but then sizzle out. Even at the peak of Qusmania, we maintained that Qusmo had had its hot start but was about to fizzle out. Well, we saw it happen. After a hot start, Qusmo did, indeed, fizzle out. We don’t see a big drop from what Qusmo’s already done, but we also don’t see a remarkable improvement to come, either. If you set your eyes on qualifying for the World Cup after seeing Qusmo atop the Group 9 table just a few matchdays ago, we’d advise you to reconsider your goals for the team this cycle.

There’s no doubt that Qusmo has a good defense; its still top of the group by three goals, & Qusmo has still yet to concede more than once in a single match so far in this qualifying cycle. In fact, Qusmo had a top-ten defensive performance in the first half of the qualifying campaign, conceding only five goals in nine matches. Of the one hundred ninety teams which entered the qualifying campaign, only one - defending champions Brenecia - have yet to concede. South Covello is close behind, with only one goal put past them, with Tinhampton in third with only two goals. After that, Ko-oren & Audioslavia round out the five teams which have conceded an average of at most once every three matches, followed by the Equestrian States, New Lusitania, & Taeshan with four concessions, & only Turori & Qusmo with exactly five goals conceded so far.

    World Cup 81 Qualifying                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
  8  Brenecia (4)                         9    9   0   0    17    0  +17    27    1st in Qualifying Group 16
  4  South Covello (10)                   9    9   0   0    23    1  +22    27    1st in Qualifying Group 18
 25  Tinhampton (65)                      9    7   1   1    15    2  +13    22    2nd in Qualifying Group 16
 17  Ko-oren (47)                         9    8   0   1    15    3  +12    24    2nd in Qualifying Group 18
 53  Audioslavia (31)                     9    5   3   1     9    3   +6    18    2nd in Qualifying Group 5
  9  Equestrian States (17)               9    8   1   0    22    4  +18    25    1st in Qualifying Group 10
 33  New Lusitania (89)                   9    6   2   1    19    4  +15    20    2nd in Qualifying Group 1
 39  Taeshan (60)                         9    6   1   2    14    4  +10    19    3rd in Qualifying Group 17
 18  Turori (12)                          9    7   2   0    22    5  +17    23    1st in Qualifying Group 1
 68  Qusmo (81)                           9    5   1   3    14    5   +9    16    5th in Qualifying Group 9

There is something striking about this group. Of the ten teams to have conceded five times or less thus far, four are first in their group & another four are second. Taeshan is an outlier, outside the playoff places at third place. However, no team is as far back in Freeport’s Mid-Qualifying Overall Standings table or their own group’s table as is Qusmo, in fifth.

The reason why is that Qusmo has not had an offense as prolific as their defense as been solid. They have only scored fourteen goals over the nine matches of the campaign. That figure masks just how difficult is has been for Qusmo to score, however; eight of those goals came in Qusmo’s first two matches, while the other seven only saw Qusmo score six times, with matches in which Qusmo was unable to score outnumbering those in that seven-match span in which Qusmo did find the back of the net by a four-to-three margin. That has been the root of Qusmo’s trouble during this campaign.

Their attack hasn’t exactly been as impotent as that of South Batoko or Tanzanique - every one of the teams in the qualifying campaign has scored at least once in their first nine matches, though these two nations have done so only once - but they certainly haven’t had the firepower of Mercredini - which has found the back of the net forty-one times. With fourteen goals scored, Qusmo is a touch below average on this statistic. No group has less than three teams which have scored less than fourteen goals, nor does any group have less than three teams which have scored more than fourteen goals. Seventy-seven teams have scored less than fourteen times, while one hundred nine have scored more; the other four - including Qusmo, of course - have scored exactly fourteen times.

So, we see that Qusmo has a subpar offense, but shouldn’t Qusmo’s dominant defense overcome this? If Qusmo’s goals were evenly spread out, perhaps it would, but the important statistic to remember is that Qusmo’s goals for-against margin has been only six-to-four outside of their first two matches. That is what has been holding Qusmo back; the offense has not just been not scoring in bunches - aside from those first two matches - but they have also been inconsistent.

That is why national team manager Avarn-Oxolt Ban’s mid-qualifying roster moves - or lack thereof - are so interesting. Qusmo is doing more than just fine defensively, but they need more help with their offense. However, they only made one move: dropping left back Karar-Nirlo Hus in favour of centre back Lynul-Savar Mal of KF Lilnim. This probably was a good reprioritization of the national team’s defensive roster spots; Avarn-Oxolt does not need two left backs, after all, if they do not use even one in their Starting XI. Adding another centre back will provide depth, & Lynul-Savar has played well both with their club - being a part of a defense which conceded an average of less than one goal per match - & with their national team - having kept a clean sheet in the Damukuni friendly, their only cap thus far.

The decision not to make any other changes, however, is being scrutinized more closely. Avarn-Oxolt has responded to these criticisms. “We had so many priorities for those last few roster slots, so it was a lot tougher finalizing our twenty-five than the one change might suggest. I had a few items on my roster wishlist: I wanted another centre back in reserve, so that we could rotate & rest the back line more; I wanted to keep a third full back, so that we had a reserve in case we started a match with full backs on either end of the pitch; I wanted to add another defensive midfielder, as that was the only midfield spot at which we didn’t have two players; & I wanted to keep all our forwards, as we need a good stable of options when our primary targets aren’t in top form,” explained Avarn-Oxolt.

But when those options are not in top form - & neither Prant-Pertz Gor nor Rilan-Jerat Nev have found the back of the net in the national team’s past fourteen matches, much less in this qualifying campaign - why not rotate the options at disposal to ensure that Qusmo’s secondary targets are in top form? That is a question only Avarn-Oxolt will be able to answer. Nonetheless, it hints that the second half of qualifiers will likely go much as the first half has - & that Qusmo will likely finish somewhere around where they are now. Thus, unfortunately, we don’t see Qusmo qualifying for this World Cup.

Next, we’ll take a question from a viewer in Atlem.

Who will be headed to the World Cup?

That’s a great question - & it’s one that people across the multiverse have to be asking themselves now. Technically, no team is eliminated yet, but it would take a miracle for quite a few teams. Just look at Groups 13, 17, & 18, for instance, where Swibia, Kwesiland, & Star United States are the full twenty-seven points behind their group’s leader & the maximum twenty-four points behind a place in a playoff.

Because of the complex permutations involved with this particular qualifying format, featuring some group runners-up qualifying automatically & others delegated to a playoff, we will not venture to predict exactly which thirty-two teams will advance to Banija & the Free Republics. However, we are willing to predict which team will win each group & which will take second place.

Let’s start with Group 1. It is currently led by an undefeated Turori, but two draws have given daylight for their opposition. Trailing them is New Lusitania, with Valladares & Beepee not far behind. We think that Beepee’s +4 goal differential hints that the former Baptism of Fire champions are not quite ready to move up into the grandest stage of them all. We also think that Turori will not only not falter, but get even better as the cycle goes on, & finish atop the table without too much drama. Now the question comes down to whether Valladares or New Lusitania will claim the playoff spot. Valladares certainly is a dangerous team, but New Lusitania have shown that they are nothing to trifle with, either, with a good offense & one of the top eight defenses in the multiverse in the first half of qualification. That great defense, we think, will be enough to secure a spot in the playoffs for World Cup 81.
Qualifier: Turori
Playoff: New Lusitania

Another interesting group is Group 2. Cosumar, this group’s leader, is also high-ranked but not running away with things yet. In fact, their lead over Juvencus is only one point - & Juvencus is the only undefeated team in the group. Acapais is close behind, while Saint Emelie leads a pack of midtable teams below. Ultimately, Cosumar has the experience & the talent to make it to make it to the World Cup, demonstrating as such in a 6-0 not-so-friendly dismantling of the Free Republics over the mid-qualifiers break. That said, Juvencus has demonstrated that they can hang in with anyone in this group, including Cosumar, with a 1-1 draw in the latest matchday. We think that these two will be tops of their group - potentially setting up a massive clash on the final matchday in Cosumar. Ultimately, though, we think that Cosumar’s experience - & current points advantage - will prevail.
Qualifier: Cosumar
Playoff: Juvencus

Group 2 may be close, but Group 3 is even closer. There is a dead heat for the Group 3 lead between Barunia & Drawkland, both at twenty-four points, with Barunia on top by virtue of head-to-head record after a 1-0 win in Matchday Two. Natanians and Nosts, San Regada, & Omerica trail these two, tied on points at eighteen apiece, & there are some good teams in this bunch, including Omerica, which is the only team to have taken points from Barunia so far. However, we don’t think that any of these teams can overcome a six-point deficit; even if they win all of their final nine matches, the results will be out of their control. Thus, we see the group coming down to either Barunia or Drawkland. Given that the final match between the two will be in Barunia, & that Barunia was able to secure a win in the away leg, we will lean towards Barunia to get the advantage over Drawkland in this one.
Qualifier: Barunia
Playoff: Drawkland

Group 4 features another tie for first place, this time between the Holy Empire & Apox. The Holy Empire have the edge for now based on a commanding 5-2 home win on Matchday 6, but the sides are even on points, at twenty-two each. Trailing behind are Yuezhou, Filindostan, & Romaian. Romaian has managed some remarkable results in getting this far, including by being the only team to defeat the Holy Empire in this qualifying campaign, but we are not sure they can make up the six-point gulf needed to crack the top two. Likewise, the recent dearth in what was a stable of assistant coaches in Filindostan seems to have cost them, & we don’t think they can catch up, either. Finally, Yuezhou may be the two top teams’ closest competitor, but they also have a net-zero goal differential, which is raises all kinds of red flags about their potential long-term success. Ultimately, we think that the two teams on top of the group now will stay that way by the end - & that the World Cup 80 runners-up & five-time champions will make it through first in their group.
Qualifier: The Holy Empire
Playoff: Apox

Technically, Group 5 features Starblaydia with a comfortable four-point lead followed by five teams all one point removed from the next. Sixth-place Melbergia has fourteen points, but Kalumba has fifteen, but Adab has sixteen, but Petroslovania has seventeen, but Audioslavia tops the chase group with eighteen. Starblaydia is coming back on the international scene in a big way, with a trip to the quarterfinals in a home World Cup preceding a win in the AOCAF Third Place Match, which happened to be the thousandth in the proud purple nation’s history. The five-time World Cup champions should qualify fairly easily, barring some shock. As for the place in the playoff, Adab has been performing remarkably well, & may be a dark horse pick to contend for it. However, despite the Cinderella story, there’s no way we can pass up the other multiple-time world champion with over a thousand wins to their name, Audioslavia, to advance to yet another World Cup, especially with a defense that has been among the top five in the multiverse so far in this campaign.
Qualifier: Starblaydia
Playoff: Audioslavia

Group 6 is where we arrive at the first of many perfect performances so far in this qualifying campaign. Baptism of Fire co-hosts Farfadillis have been superb during this campaign, & we see no reason to doubt them now; in any event, their nearest rivals would have to make up a five-point deficit to have a chance at the top spot. Super-Llamaland has a pretty good perch in second, though, with twenty-two points, powered by an offense which ranks among the best in the multiverse so far in this campaign. Indusse is behind them, at nineteen points, & the other co-hosts of the most recent Baptism of Fire, Semarland, find themselves at fourth, but we don’t think that either can keep up with Super-Llamaland’s firepower. As a result, we think that Farfadillis will take first & Super-Llamaland will place second without too much drama.
Qualifier: Farfadillis
Playoff: Super-Llamaland

Eura has all but won Group 7. With a perfect record of nine wins in nine matches, & a nine-point advantage over their nearest rivals, the top-ranked nation participating in these qualifiers has by far the largest lead in any qualifying group at this point of the cycle. They will go through. The only question is who will get to go to the playoff. North Prarie & Mattijana are now second & third, respectively, with eighteen points each, while the Sherpa Empire would need a good second half with fifteen points now, & Mytanija & Blaneu are just behind with fourteen each. Ultimately, the gap is a little too large for us to be confident in a team like the Sherpa Empire’s ability to make it up, despite some very good play - & that also eliminates Mytanija & Blaneu. The key question, then, becomes whether we think North Prarie will hold onto its slim advantage or whether Mattijana will overtake them. North Prarie has had some great results, including a 5-3 win over Mattijana; however, we cannot overlook Mattijana’s offense. They have scored thirty-seven goals thus far, tied for second with Vilita, & trailing only Mercedini. We think that they will be able to turn things around in the home leg on Matchday Twelve & use that momentum to fuel a trip to the World Cup playoffs.
Qualifier: Eura
Playoff: Mattijana

Group 8 is a little closer than Group 7 - but not terribly so. Ethane has yet another perfect record atop their group, as well as an enviable six-point advantage over Devonta. Devonta doesn’t have a lock on a playoff spot, however, as Damukuni is mounting a challenge that currently is only one point short. Competitive Solitaire & Maryloupe trail well behind, with fifteen & fourteen points, respectively. This group looks set to go to Ethane, but its playoff spot looks to be a battle between Devonta & Damukuni. A key clash will be on Matchday Ten; Damukuni defeated Devonta by a 2-1 score at home on the opening matchday, but can they replicate that magic in Devonta? If so, they’ll go up two points & have the head-to-head tiebreaker. If they lose, however, they’d be four points behind with eight matches left. Devonta could well be able to come back from a two-point deficit, but a four-point margin for Damukuni would be a mountain to climb. Add to that, too, that Devonta has scored more goals & conceded fewer than Damukuni. Plus, Devonta has had a better record of cleaning up against the competition they need full points against, as they have only dropped points to Ethane & Damukuni thus far, while Damukuni has lost to Ethane & has drawn Zeleny Hrebenia & Competitive Solitaire. That means that, behind Ethane, Devonta likely has the edge in this one.
Qualifier: Ethane
Playoff: Devonta

There isn’t as much pressure on the second-placed team in Group 10, however - &, yes, we know we missed one. World Cup 80 co-hosts have gotten back into the swing of the qualifying campaign, with a draw in East Belzaria the only hiccup in what has otherwise been a fairly dominating performance. Three points behind them, Saltstead has twenty-two points; they were handled by a visiting Equestrian States side on Matchday Three, but they were sticking close behind at only a one-point difference until a surprise draw in Sorrentopia to close out the first half of qualifiers. Luckily enough for them, they don’t have a lot of competition close behind them. Garifunya & Northwest Kalactin have seventeen & sixteen points, respectively, but both the Equestrian States & Saltstead have simply been a class above in this group; they should not be challenged for the top two spots. As for who gets what, we look at the dominance of the Equestrian States & cannot help but be impressed. One of only ten teams to reach a quarter-century of points in this campaign thus far, the Equestrian States have dominated opponents day in & day out. They conceded one goal to Sorrentopia, the same nation which surprised Saltstead, & let three in against East Belzaria. As it is, that places the Equestrian States in the top ten of defensive performances of this cycle, too, but only two nations have conceded once or not at all so far; if the Equestrian States had been able to claim another clean sheet against East Belzaria, they not only would be one of nine nations to have nine wins over their first nine matches, but they would also be riding one of the top three defensive showings in the multiverse so far. Especially in light of their 3-0 blowout win in Saltstead, we would be surprised if the Equestrian States don’t win this group - with Saltstead finishing as their runners-up.
Qualifier: Equestrian States
Playoff: Saltstead

Group 11, however, is a little more complicated. Mriin is atop the group with twenty-two points, but Abanhfleft & Jeruselem follow close behind with twenty-one & nineteen, respectively. Behind them are Darkmania with sixteen & Dreamplanet with fourteen, but they do not have great odds of making up five- & seven-point gaps to keep the possibility of a berth in the World Cup alive. In reality, it’s a three-horse race for the top two spots. Ultimately, Jeruselem has had some success, but Abanhfleft has had a good defense - conceding an average of less than once each match - & Mriin has had a red-hot offense - scoring over thirty. As a rough estimate, but one only off by two goals total, Jeruselem has had the offensive showing of Abanhfleft & the defensive performance of Mriin. If it were the other way around, Jeruselem would be in an amazing position; however, they’re not. Mriin’s offense will lead them to the top two spots. Abanhfleft’s defense will lead them to the top two spots. Jeruselem will be left out. The AOCAF Cup runners-up seem to have the slight edge for the ticket directly to Banija & the Free Republics, though, because they have had a better offensive performance than Abanhfleft has had a defensive performance, & they have had recent success at a senior team level, notwithstanding Abanhfleft’s accomplishments at the U18 & U21 levels.
Qualifier: Mriin
Playoff: Abanhfleft

Group 12 is not a tough one to predict. Nephara has a perfect record, with twenty-seven points. Eshan has only dropped points against Nephara, with eight wins powering them to twenty-four points. Within a dozen points of them is only West Angola & Cosneolta, but at eighteen points each, they don’t look to pose a tremendous threat. It is down to Eshan & Nephara to figure out which team will finish first & which will finish second in this group. In any event, this group could be a great contender for one of the three automatic qualification spots for a group runner-up, as Eshan is one of five group runners-up on twenty-four points at the moment, & one of only three with twenty-four points & a plus-twenty or better goal differential. That means that, if the qualifiers were to win now, Eshan would claim the third & final automatic qualifying place for a group runner-up. A key clash will be on Matchday Ten; if Nephara can win in Eshan, it would put them six points ahead, practically guaranteeing them the group. Still, even if Eshan can manage a draw or even a win, Nephara is a fantastic team that has done amazing things both in this qualifying cycle & in the past. In the end, we cannot bet against a former World Cup champion with nine wins in nine matches over the first half of their qualifying campaign.
Qualifier: Nephara
Playoff: Eshan

Group 13 is in a similar situation to Group 12. Vilita has a perfect twenty-seven points, while Mercedini has a perfect record aside from their match against Vilita. Tobiasia is third with nineteen points, while Kernovi and Rewgwlas trails in fourth with sixteen. However, everyone outside the top three have a negative goal differential, because this group is extremely high-powered. All of this group’s top three teams have scored at least thirty en route to that point. In fact, this group boasts both one of two teams tied for second on the goalscoring charts - Vilita, with thirty-seven - & the team which has scored more than any other - Mercedini, with forty-one. Ultimately, Vilita is the team which has combined a phenomenal offense with an excellent defense, & that is why we have to favour them. They are the team to combine a relentless attack with an uncompromising defense, while Mercedini has had a history of letting in enough goals to see them drop a few points if their strikers are out of form for some matches. In most other groups, we would be taken aback at Mercedini’s domination of all things goalscoring; in goal-crazy Group 13, however, they are overshadowed by who can both score in bunches & keep their opponents from doing the same.
Qualifier: Vilita
Playoff: Mercedini

Compared to groups like the last two we looked at, Group 14 can claim a bit more parity. Kita-Hinode top the group, but with only twenty-two points & a plus-nine goal differential. Sargossa has a ten-goal better differential, but they are two points behind. Two points behind them are Main Nation Ministry, while Siovanija and Teusland are two points behind them, & the Alpine Union are a further two points back. Sangti trails the Alpine Union by only a single point, but, of course, Soute follows two points away. As well as nations like seventh-place Soute have done, it is clear that they likely will not challenge Kita-Hinode’s twenty-two points with the mere eleven they have now; however, it is not as clear where to put that cutoff. Ultimately, three nations in the group have goal differentials of precisely plus-nine, with another at plus-nineteen. This group of four nations is not only the top four in the current rankings, but the most likely to advance, either automatically or through a playoff. Kita-Hinode is a favourite in this group, but they certainly have weaknesses, & these have been exposed at times during the campaign, leaving them in this fairly close situation. Still, they are four points over third place, & they look likely to claim one of the top two places, at the very least. On the other end of this group, Siovanija and Teusland has battled valiantly, but they narrowly lost a 5-4 match in Main Nation Ministry they sorely needed to win to close out the first half of qualifiers, making give better odds to Main Nation Ministry than Siovanija and Teusland. In the end, though, do we think Main Nation Ministry will hurdle Sargossa? It’s a difficult question; both nations have done quite well, but the teams in this group have beat up on each other a bit. In the end, we think that Main Nation Ministry has the quality to push through & secure a playoff place - though we don’t think they’ll quite have enough gas to surpass Kita-Hinode, leaving them top of the table.
Qualifier: Kita-Hinode
Playoff: Main Nation Ministry

Of course, most Qusma fans with knowledge of the qualifying picture outside Group 9 will be most familiar with Group 15, where Qusma manager Cralt-Nirlo Fox is plying their trade. After ten matches in charge, Cralt-Nirlo has performed admirably well, defeating Pasarga 3-0 & then 95X 3-1 in successive matchdays. However, despite a perfect record of seven wins in seven - eight in eight, including their friendly win over Qusmo - against ranked teams, Cralt-Nirlo has only been able to secure a single point over unranked sides, with a scoreless draw to Geisenfried & a 2-1 loss in the Squornshelan Remnant States condemning them to second in the current table on twenty-two points. The only team challenging them from below, however, is 95X, at nineteen points. We think that Qasden has the quality to fend off 95X’s challenge & possibly even reclaim their spot at the top of the table. Qasden has the joint-best offense & the joint-best defense in the group, & they have impressive wins over both of their nearest rivals in the table. &, of course, they have Cralt-Nirlo Fox on the touchline. Pasarga, of course, is a former World Cup champion & the current group toppers, with twenty-four points, & they should have no trouble claiming one of the top two spots in this group, but we’ll go ahead & slot Qasden in front of them.
Qualifier: Qasden
Playoff: Pasarga

Group 16 doesn’t have as much drama at the very top, but it does have an interesting race for second. Defending World Cup champions Brenecia have picked up right where they left off, winning all nine of their nine matches, & we won’t even consider them falling to second in their qualifying group, much less missing the tournament altogether. In our estimation, it’s much more likely that they complete their perfect qualification campaign. Instead, we have a race between Tinhampton, with twenty-two points, Cassadaigua, with nineteen points, & Octinstine, with seventeen points, for the playoff spot out of Group 16. Octinstine has done remarkably well, but we think that they will slip over the next few matchdays. Instead, we think that Tinhampton & Cassadaigua are the teams which have enough quality to keep being competitive into the final days of the campaign. Indeed, the final days may be vitally important, as Cassadaigua will host Tinhampton on the final matchday of the campaign. If both teams earn the same number of points over the next eight matchdays, the result of that match will determine who finishes second in the group. Considering that their previous match was a scoreless draw, Cassadaigua would not only tie Tinhampton on points but also win the head-to-head tiebreaker simultaneously with a win of any margin over Tinhampton; however, a draw or loss would leave them eliminated. Can Cassadaiagua keep pace with Tinhampton until then? We think so. & can Cassadaigua win once they have the home field advantage? They may be removed for a bit from their previous World Cup glory, but we think that they still have what it takes. We’ll pick Cassadaigua in dramatic fashion - behind Brenecia, wrapping up their spot in Banija & the Free Republics decidedly undramatically, a few matchdays early.
Qualifier: Brenecia
Playoff: Cassadaigua

Group 17 is fairly open & shut, to be honest. After their qualification in their debut cycle, Baker Park looks to make it two for two - & has a perfect record so far. Though we’re not sure if they can maintain a perfect record throughout all eighteen matchdays, we do think that they have been playing like the class of the group, & they should win it. Once we’ve reached that conclusion, choosing the runner-up is easy; Darmen currently sits second on twenty-four points, while Taeshan is third at nineteen. Darmen has been perfect aside from their match against Baker Park, & we expect that excellent form to continue. We certainly don’t forsee a five-point fall from grace over the last nine matchdays. As such, we’ll peg Baker Park to win the group & Darmen to place second.
Qualifier: Baker Park
Playoff: Darmen

If Group 13 is the group of unbelievable offense, Group 18 is the group of amazing defense. The group is topped by South Covello, which has a perfect record so far & nearly a perfect defensive record; they have conceded only one goal, the second-fewest in the multiverse so far. With twenty-four points, Ko-oren has conceded only three goals thus far, which puts them, too, in the top five in defenses of the multiverse. Behind these two are Flardania, with seventeen points, as well as Bostopia & Krytenia, with sixteen points each. We don’t see any way these teams could catch up on the order of seven or eight points to these phenomenal teams, especially when they place such an emphasis on defense. Finally, with the joint-second-best offense in the group as well as the second-best defense in the multiverse, & sporting a perfect record thus far, we see South Covello moving on from this group in first.
Qualifier: South Covello
Playoff: Ko-oren

Now we reach the final group: Group 19. Here, Chromatika seems to have a strong grip, with twenty-five points total. Behind them are Savojarna, with nineteen points, then Nova Anglicana, with eighteen points, then South Toronto, two points behind them, then Pink Floyd FC, another two points behind them, & then Shofercia, with two fewer points than that. This is another group where it’s difficult to identify an exact cutoff, but no one should sleep on South Toronto. They have the best goal differential of the group besides Chromatika, with the second-best offense & third-best defense of the group. That spells them out as a balanced team, capable of winning either a high- or low-scoring match. That said, there are a lot of contenders in this group, & we think that Savojarna may come out on top in the end. This team has the joint-best defense in their group, in a tie with Chromatika. Interestingly enough, also like their group’s leaders, they have not lost yet in this campaign, with only a slew of draws holding them back. Indeed, they are the only team to have taken points away from Chromatika so far. We see them winning the second spot on the table in the end.
Qualifier: Chromatika
Playoff: Savojarna

&, of course, we arrive last at Qusmo’s group: Group 9. We have already discussed why we do not think that Qusmo, fifth at sixteen points, will not make it. However, the top four is extremely close. Polkopia & Valanora both have nineteen, while Eastfield Lodge & New Gazi each have eighteen. That’s the tightest group there is. We think that Valanora will continue to rehabilitate their poor start to the campaign by overtaking Polkopia to finish top of their group. Meanwhile, Eastfield Lodge is the only team in the group with only one loss, & no team not named Valanora has a better goal differential. Thus, we think that Eastfield Lodge has the best chance of continuing their good form & being the other team to finish in that all-important top two. That said, we wouldn’t mind being wrong on this prediction if it results in Qusmo heading to Banija or the Free Republics.
Qualifier: Valanora
Playoff: Eastfield Lodge

Group 9
Axuva 3–2 Savalen
Qusmo 4–1 Rakivland
New Gazi 2–0 Polkopia
Karulicja 2–0 Nuadh-Alba
Eastfield Lodge 2–2 Valanora

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

QNT rallies to open WCQ with 4-1 win over Rakivland
Qusmo 4–1 Rakivland
Mastad Qusma, Qanz, Qusmo (cap. 80 000)

---

GK  Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB  Yelto-Alfan Ono
46’ Ozolx-Alfan Ixi
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
46’ Yoltz-Tlanx Sal
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla
DM  Yunal-Julad Waz
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
LM  Kynda-Sevet Pec
RM  Forzu-Ralox Kal
AM  Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
46’ Nirlo-Betva Uzo
SS  Paliv-Xilit Max (74’)
ST  Xilit-Zaxac Yol (48’, 85’, 89’)

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')

Group 9
Qusmo 0–1 Savalen
New Gazi 3–0 Axuva
Karulicja 6–2 Rakivland
Eastfield Lodge 3–1 Polkopia
Valanora 7–1 Nuadh-Alba

   Group 9                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 New Gazi                          3    3   0   0     7    1   +6     9
 2 Savalen                           3    2   0   1     5    4   +1     6
 3 Qusmo                             3    2   0   1     8    2   +6     6
 4 Karulicja                         3    2   0   1     9    4   +5     6
 5 Eastfield Lodge                   3    1   2   0     6    4   +2     5
 6 Valanora                          3    1   1   1    10    5   +5     4
 7 Polkopia                          3    1   0   2     3    6   −3     3
 8 Axuva                             3    1   0   2     3    9   −6     3
 9 Nuadh-Alba                        3    0   1   2     2   10   −8     1
10 Rakivland                         3    0   0   3     4   12   −8     0

QNT offense stymied in 1-0 loss to Savalen
Qusmo 0–1 Savalen
Mastad Polana, Polan, Qusmo (cap. 60 000)

---

GK  Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB  Yelto-Alfan Ono
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla
DM  Yunal-Julad Waz
77’ Prant-Pertz Gor
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
LM  Kynda-Sevet Pec
81’ Ozolx-Mazur Guv
RM  Forzu-Ralox Kal
81’ Jralv-Nexec Pec
AM  Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
SS  Paliv-Xilit Max
ST  Xilit-Zaxac Yol

Group 9
Savalen 4–0 Nuadh-Alba
Polkopia 4–1 Valanora
Rakivland 2–3 Eastfield Lodge
Axuva 3–2 Karulicja
Qusmo 2–1 New Gazi

   Group 9                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Savalen                           4    3   0   1     9    4   +5     9
 2 Qusmo                             4    3   0   1    10    3   +7     9
 3 New Gazi                          4    3   0   1     8    3   +5     9
 4 Eastfield Lodge                   4    2   2   0     9    6   +3     8
 5 Polkopia                          4    2   0   2     7    7    0     6
 6 Axuva                             4    2   0   2     6   11   −5     6
 7 Karulicja                         4    2   0   2    11    7   +4     6
 8 Valanora                          4    1   1   2    11    9   +2     4
 9 Nuadh-Alba                        4    0   1   3     2   14  −12     1
10 Rakivland                         4    0   0   4     6   15   −9     0

QNT rebounds in massive 2-1 win over New Gazi
Qusmo 2–1 New Gazi[/url]
Mastad Qanza, Qanz, Qusmo (cap. 60 000)

---

GK  Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla (58’)
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
84’ Yoltz-Tlanx Sal
CB  Ozolx-Alfan Ixi
DM  Yamaj-Blonz Jok
84’ Nirlo-Betva Uzo
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
AM  Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
66’ Gavax-Nenzi Abe
LM  Helek-Nenzi Ono
RM  Ilinx-Iblix Tla
SS  Paliv-Xilit Max (81’)
ST  Xilit-Zaxac Yol

Group 9
New Gazi 3–1 Savalen
Karulicja 0–2 Qusmo
Eastfield Lodge 2–0 Axuva
Valanora 1–0 Rakivland
Nuadh-Alba 0–0 Polkopia

   Group 9                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Qusmo                             5    4   0   1    12    3   +9    12
 2 New Gazi                          5    4   0   1    11    4   +7    12
 3 Eastfield Lodge                   5    3   2   0    11    6   +5    11
 4 Savalen                           5    3   0   2    10    7   +3     9
 5 Polkopia                          5    2   1   2     7    7    0     7
 6 Valanora                          5    2   1   2    12    9   +3     7
 7 Axuva                             5    2   0   3     6   13   −7     6
 8 Karulicja                         5    2   0   3    11    9   +2     6
 9 Nuadh-Alba                        5    0   2   3     2   14  −12     2
10 Rakivland                         5    0   0   5     6   16  −10     0

QNT takes care of business against unranked Karulicja
Karulicja 0–2 Qusmo
Hosted in Karulicja

---

GK  Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
73’ Ozolx-Alfan Ixi
CB  Yelto-Alfan Ono
DM  Yamaj-Blonz Jok
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
LM  Kynda-Sevet Pec (62’)
RM  Forzu-Ralox Kal (40’)
AM  Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
54’ Gavax-Nenzi Abe
SS  Paliv-Xilit Max
ST  Xilit-Zaxac Yol
68’ Prant-Pertz Gor

Group 9
Savalen 0–1 Polkopia
Rakivland 8–0 Nuadh-Alba
Axuva 2–6 Valanora
Qusmo 0–0 Eastfield Lodge
New Gazi 2–0 Karulicja

   Group 9                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 New Gazi                          6    5   0   1    13    4   +9    15
 2 Qusmo                             6    4   1   1    12    3   +9    13
 3 Eastfield Lodge                   6    3   3   0    11    6   +5    12
 4 Polkopia                          6    3   1   2     8    7   +1    10
 5 Valanora                          6    3   1   2    18   11   +7    10
 6 Savalen                           6    3   0   3    10    8   +2     9
 7 Axuva                             6    2   0   4     8   19  −11     6
 8 Karulicja                         6    2   0   4    11   11    0     6
 9 Rakivland                         6    1   0   5    14   16   −2     3
10 Nuadh-Alba                        6    0   2   4     2   22  −20     2

QNT earns nervy draw against Eastfield Lodge
Qusmo 0–0 Eastfield Lodge
Mastad Qusma, Qanz, Qusmo (cap. 80 000)

---

GK  Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
CB  Yelto-Alfan Ono
DM  Yamaj-Blonz Jok
77’ Yunal-Julad Waz
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
AM  Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
67’ Ozolx-Mazur Guv
LM  Helek-Nenzi Ono
RM  Ilinx-Iblix Tla
SS  Paliv-Xilit Max
67’ Jralv-Nexev Pec
ST  Xilit-Zaxac Yol

Group 9
Karulicja 5–3 Savalen
Eastfield Lodge 4–1 New Gazi
Valanora 1–0 Qusmo
Nuadh-Alba 2–2 Axuva
Polkopia 5–3 Rakivland

   Group 9                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Eastfield Lodge                   7    4   3   0    15    7   +8    15
 2 New Gazi                          7    5   0   2    14    8   +6    15
 3 Polkopia                          7    4   1   2    13   10   +3    13
 4 Valanora                          7    4   1   2    19   11   +8    13
 5 Qusmo                             7    4   1   2    12    4   +8    13
 6 Karulicja                         7    3   0   4    16   14   +2     9
 7 Savalen                           7    3   0   4    13   13    0     9
 8 Axuva                             7    2   1   4    10   21  −11     7
 9 Rakivland                         7    1   0   6    17   21   −4     3
10 Nuadh-Alba                        7    0   3   4     4   24  −20     3

QNT falls far in table after loss to Valanora
Valanora 1–0 Qusmo
Hatire Memorial, Capri, Valanora (cap. 60 000)

---

GK  Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
CB  Yelto-Alfan Ono
DM  Yamaj-Blonz Jok
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
AM  Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
78’ Ozolx-Mazur Guv
LM  Helek-Nenzi Ono
RM  Ilinx-Iblix Tla
SS  Paliv-Xilit Max
78’ Jralv-Nexev Pec
ST  Xilit-Zaxac Yol
61’ Prant-Pertz Gor

Group 9
Savalen 0–0 Rakivland
Axuva 2–4 Polkopia
Qusmo 2–0 Nuadh-Alba
New Gazi 1–3 Valanora
Karulicja 0–2 Eastfield Lodge

   Group 9                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Eastfield Lodge                   8    5   3   0    17    7  +10    18
 2 Polkopia                          8    5   1   2    17   12   +5    16
 3 Valanora                          8    5   1   2    22   12  +10    16
 4 Qusmo                             8    5   1   2    14    4  +10    16
 5 New Gazi                          8    5   0   3    15   11   +4    15
 6 Savalen                           8    3   1   4    13   13    0    10
 7 Karulicja                         8    3   0   5    16   16    0     9
 8 Axuva                             8    2   1   5    12   25  −13     7
 9 Rakivland                         8    1   1   6    17   21   −4     4
10 Nuadh-Alba                        8    0   3   5     4   26  −22     3

QNT breaks slump with win over bottom-of-table Nuadh-Alba
Qusmo 2–0 Nuadh-Alba
Mastad Atlema, Atlem, Qusmo (cap. 60 000)

---

GK  Pilta-Jerat Nev
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
CB  Ozolx-Alfan Ixi
CM  Yamaj-Blonz Jok
62’ Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
AM  Gavax-Nenzi Abe
LM  Kynda-Sevet Pec
65’ Helek-Nenzi Ono
RM  Forzu-Ralox Kal
ST  Rilan-Jerat Nev
71’ Paliv-Xilit Max (76’, 87’)
ST  Xilit-Zaxac Yol

Group 9
Eastfield Lodge 0–1 Savalen
Valanora 2–1 Karulicja
Nuadh-Alba 0–2 New Gazi
Polkopia 1–0 Qusmo
Rakivland 3–1 Axuva

   Group 9                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Polkopia                          9    6   1   2    18   12   +6    19
 2 Valanora                          9    6   1   2    24   13  +11    19
 3 Eastfield Lodge                   9    5   3   1    17    8   +9    18
 4 New Gazi                          9    6   0   3    17   11   +6    18
 5 Qusmo                             9    5   1   3    14    5   +9    16
 6 Savalen                           9    4   1   4    14   13   +1    13
 7 Karulicja                         9    3   0   6    17   18   −1     9
 8 Rakivland                         9    2   1   6    20   22   −2     7
 9 Axuva                             9    2   1   6    13   28  −15     7
10 Nuadh-Alba                        9    0   3   6     4   28  −24     3

QNT falls again after surprise loss to Polkopia
Polkopia 1–0 Qusmo
Marshupov Arena, Peeto, Polkopia (cap. 42 285)

---

GK  Vanza-Jerat Gep
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
CB  Yelto-Alfan Ono
54' Yoltz-Tlanx Sal
DM  Yamaj-Blonz Jok
54' Nirlo-Betva Uzo
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
AM  Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
80' Gavax-Nenzi Abe
LM  Helek-Nenzi Ono
RM  Ilinx-Iblix Tla
SS  Paliv-Xilit Max
ST  Xilit-Zaxac Yol

[Turori]

A History of Turori and Competitive Cups for Champions

Eagle's Club, Eelandii, Turori :: With rumors abound that the Football Association of Turori may be considering a possible invitation to a Confederations Cup like competition, Turorian fans have begun to wonder what exactly is Turori's past history in the Confederations Cup or Confederations Cup like events?

The short answer is none. Typically reserved for champions of specific events - namely WCC and Regional events, The Island Emirate of Turori has limited opportunities for eligibility in such events.

While there have been countless instances of such tournaments in the past, a few recent instances have caught the attention of the Football Association of Turori. Of course, the entire Vilitan Cove region will have been aware of the Confederations Competitions held in the Equestrian States where Vilita famously defeated the Polar Islandstates one go around and then were upended by regional rivals Osarius at Diamond Park in Stalliongrad as they looked to defend their title.

More recently, however, there was the 7th Eagle's Cup competition which, while not exclusive to champions, was contested majorly of champions including the 4 Most Recent Eagles Cup champions, the champions of the AOCAF, Copa Rushmori, Campionato Esportiva and the Independants Cup, the World Cup Champions, the Cup of Harmony Champion and The Baptism of Fire Cup Champions. While a handful of invitee nations also contested, all eyes were on the two groups that paired the most recent champions head to head against each other with the champions of all four regional tournaments contesting Group B while the three defending WCC tournament champions + Its all time champion Valanora Contested Group C.

Just as in the Confederations tournaments hosted in the Equestrian States, the top 2 advanced. After dispatching their rogue opposition, they would intermingle at the Semi-Final Stage before an overall Champion was crowned in the Eagle's Cup VII Final.

Group Stage Results

Group of Regions----- P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Cosumar           6  2  3  1 12-11   +1   9
[2] Schottia          6  2  2  2  8-8    +0   8
 3- Super-Llamaland   6  2  1  3  7-7    +0   7
 4- Eastfield Lodge   6  1  4  1 11-12   -1   7

Group of Champions--- P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Valanora          6  4  2  0 16-11   +5   14
[2] Electrum          6  3  0  3 12-9    +3   9
 3- Qasden            6  2  1  3 11-13   -2   7
 4- Soltsteed         6  1  1  4  9-15   -6   4

Semifinals Results

Schottia 2-2 Valanora
(3-3 AET) (5–4 pen.)
The Eagle's Club in Eelandii, Turori

Electrum 3-4 Cosumar
The Eagle's Club in Eelandii, Turori

---

3rd Place Playoff

Valanora 1-0 Electrum
The Eagle's Club, Eelandii, Turori

---

Final

Schottia 1-3 Cosumar
Eels Park, Eelandii, Turori

---

While Turori may not have much, if any history competing as a Nation against other Nations in a Cup of Champions / Confederations Cup like event - they do have experience playing in and around such teams as well as, through their Eagle's Club location in Eelandii, Turori; have experience hosting virtually identically formatted competitions as the one in which they are rumored to be contemplating competing.

Either way, the Football Association of Turori will want to ensure that any participation in non-World Cup related competitions does not detract from the ultimate goal of bringing the sporting multiverses greatest prize - the World Cup - home to the Island Emirate for the first time. Of course, things will have to be taken one step at a time for Turori who first must determine whether they will be represented by the Citizen Squad or the Cocoabo Squad in post World Cup 81 Qualification competition. Then, should they make it to the World Cup 81 finals in the Free Republics and Banija, they will have to not only advance beyond the Group Stage but to win a Quarter Final matchup for the first time in their history - 65 Cups and counting since lifting the second ever Baptism of Fire Cup trophy and kicking off a future of as-yet unfulfilled promise as a sporting power.

[Mriin]

Some time ago... (after MD7, to be clear)

"So," Geraard started as he gently pushed the receptionist out of the room, "I feel like I've been left out of the loop, here. And as a business partner that's not good."

Vance just rolled his eyes. "Business partner my ass. Don't get all up in yer britches just 'cause Kresh couldn't keep it in his fucking pants and you were a warm seat."

"...the fuck does any of that even mean?" Geraard glanced at Vicky, hoping for something to base an actual conversation on.

"That's Vance's special way of saying 'you're not a real owner', since you weren't part of the original buy-in. Which is bullshit, because Bruul is expecting just as much out of you--more, even, since you're still fucking playing. Why didn't we just pull in a foreign manager, again?"

"Because," the elderly brown dragon, sneered, "this was supposed to be our venture. A monopoly over the nation's budding passion, not to be undercut by foreign investors obsessed with burning scales in that"--a smoke-filled hack--"transfer window. How so many bought into that thinly-veiled Nepharim pyramid scheme is beyond me."

Don let loose his own bout of flame and took a step towards Rochford. "Because it's an international economy we're operating in, you daft dinosaur. The satyrs left passing things back and forth between the isles centuries ago; both Maal and Vidial make the bulk of their profit from foreign trade. If you want to get ahead you need to play the game."

"Alright, alright." Geraard made a 'calm down' motion with his hands, which (as it usually does) didn't have the desired effects. "I get it, my existence is an insult to you rich fucks. But you were arguing about something else before I got here, and I'm not leaving 'till I get an earful of that."

Rochford was the first to respond, and got to continue unabated--even if they don't necessarily outrank you, interrupting someone over a century older is still greatly frowned upon. "Our civil disagreement was centered on the bold-faced lies I was told when investments were being gathered for this venture. I spent the time to study this awful sport, to find the scarce quality talent available at the time, and paid more than most anyone else to put a "good" team together. Did it make money when we went on winning streaks? No. Did it make money when we were competing for the championships? No. Did it make a damn difference when I sold off the good players and we dropped like a rock? No, it did not. This 'business' is a sham!"

Having waited patiently, Don gave the loudest snort he could muster. "The Esteemed Kantal is just obstinately refusing to acknowledge their own glaring mistakes. Chief among them was thinking football is some sort of get-rich-quick scheme--that was never a part of the MNL pitch. We were perfectly clear sport was a passion project that could be economically sustainable, not some magic source of revenue. Second came the choice of venue--building a pitch in the courtyard of your own castle? A piece of property no layman has entered except as a janitor in the entire course of its existence? Voluntarily excluding the largest consumer demographic was a bold move, I must say."

"And on the same note," Vicky cut in, finally returning the glare, "your success didn't matter because you only had your 'lords and ladies' attending the matches. There are thousands of wealthy merchants we could have turned to when founding this league, but we only scraped together some fifteen or so who could actually give a shit about football. If they're buying tickets it's not to see quality play--it's to day drink and network. You're not going to run out of potions because your keeper is a plastic bag in the wind, nor if your striker harnesses the power of the sun and scorches the other team to cinders. And don't even get me started on you--" Vicky returned Vance's rude gesture, and it was too late. She was ready to get started.

[Equestrian States]

-WORLD CUP 81 QUALIFYING-
First Half in Review: Pony Power on Display in Group 10
by Steve McNotapony

We've reached the midpoint of World Cup qualifying and it's time to look back at what has thus far been an excellent campaign for the Equestrian States. Manager Pearly White has been taking the opportunity to give some international playing time to players on the fringes of the Ponies' roster and has been rewarded with some excellent performances out of them. The Ponies have yet to lose a game, lead the group, and are comfortably in position to at the very least qualify for a playoff spot (though most Equestrian hoofball fans might still shudder at the very thought of facing another World Cup qualifying playoff). But how did we get to this point? Let's review the Equestrian States' nine first half qualifying matches before we look forward to what is to come in the second half.

Match Day 1

Unknown Venue, Unknown City, Penguinland
Penguinland 0-2 Equestrian States
(Rosewing '15, Rainbow Blitz '83)

The Ponies started their campaign to qualify for the 81st World Cup in the frigid nation of Penguinland, where Pearly White saw fit to run out a nearly full-strength team to ensure the Equestrian States would start the tournament strong. And they did start strong; it took just 15 minutes for Rosewing to find the back of the net, rifling the ball into the postage stamp from the top of the box, putting the Ponies ahead early. Protecting a one-goal advantage on the road, the Equestrians played things pretty safe, looking to defend their lead but not risk injury to key players with two crucial games against Garifunya and Saltstead looming on the horizon. The Ponies dominated possession, whittling away at the clock before Rainbow Blitz effectively sealed the result in the 83rd minute after heading home a Rosie Tyler corner. All in all, a relatively uninteresting start to the campaign, but with all the points secured, no Equestrian supporters were about to complain over the lack of excitement.

Match Day 2

Royal Equestria Stadium, Canterlot, Equestria
Equestrian States 2-0 Garifunya
(Pristina Shine '4, A. Aiza '16)

After comfortably dispatching Penguinland, the Equestrians returned to Atlantian Oceania for their home opener against third-seeded Garifunya, a team which has been a relatively consistent presence in World Cup qualifying lately, but has yet to show any real sign of taking the next step towards being a challenger for a place in the finals. The Garifunyans had also started their campaign with a win against lower-ranked opposition and so the Ponies would offer them a chance to make a statement to the multiverse. As it would happen, that statement would be that the Garifunyans were perfectly content to remain also-rans for yet another cycle. Just four minutes in, Pristina Shine tore through the Garifunyan back line as if it didn't even exist and finished her run with a cheeky chip over an utterly helpless Stijn Kruit to put the Ponies in front. Aarón Aiza compounded the poor young goalkeeper's woes just over ten minutes later, finding the back of the net with what the winger later admitted had been intended as a cross for Pristina Shine. With a comfortable lead built, the Equestrians again buckled down to see out the result with little fanfare. Cloudchaser and substitute Decima both rattled the woodwork in the second half, but the score remained 2-0 until the final whistle blew.

Match Day 3

King William VII National Park, Ashwell, Saltstead
Saltstead 0-3 Equestrian States
(Pristina Shine '25, Luminesce '28, Pristina Shine '32)

Before the start of qualifying, all eyes were set on the Ponies' trip to Saltstead as the greatest obstacle standing between the Equestrian States and a spot in the World Cup. Ranked 38th in the multiverse and coming off of an impressive 5-1 road demolition of unranked East Belzaria, the Saltsteadish were in excellent form and fans were primed for what they expected to be an epic duel between the Ponies and Stallions. Instead, what they got was a rout as the Equestrians dismantled the Saltsteadish in front of a sold out King William VII National Park that went from joyous optimism to stunned disbelief in the span of less than ten minutes. After a back-and-forth opening quarter-hour, the Ponies began to take control and then ruthlessly exploited a series of disastrous errors from the Saltsteadish defense and midfield to crush the Stallions. Pristina Shine struck twice and Luminesce once to give the Ponies a commanding 3-0 lead that the Saltsteadish had no chance of overcoming. Forced to play aggressively, Saltstead pressed desperately for a consolation goal to minimize the damage, but the Equestrians were all too happy to play on the counterattack and nearly increased their advantage a few times. The much-anticipated Ponies-Stallions duel ended with the Equestrian States left alone atop the group and the Saltsteadish humiliated on home soil.

Match Day 4

The Crownlands, Manehattan, Equestria
Equestrian States 2-0 Northwest Kalactin
(Wither '82, E. Everdeen '90+2)

In somewhat predictable fashion, the supposedly easier match on paper at home against Northwest Kalactin in Manehattan's brand-new Crownlands stadium would prove more difficult for the Ponies than the hyped-up visit to Saltstead. The Equestrians got off to a slow start, with Pearly White fielding a squad of second-stringers to give the first team some much needed rest after three straight matches, but the Kalactanians largely failed to take advantage of their first half chances with goalkeeper Marilyn Peterson ensuring the score would at least remain level at halftime. Pearly White made a few changes in the second half, including bringing on veteran attacking midfielder Ironhide to spearhead the Ponies' offense. The switch worked and the former Champions' Cup winner assisted both of the Equestrians' goals, proving that the 31 year-old dragon wasn't quite ready to retire just yet. After four matches, the Ponies were perfect with four wins and not even one goal conceded.

Match Day 5

Sorren Stadium, Sorren, Sorrentopia
Sorrentopia 1-2 Equestrian States
(Lunar Shadow '23, Flitter '57, B. Maddison '90+3)

The Ponies traveled to Sorrentopia for their next fixture, with most supporters thankful to have ended the run of three straight matches against the next three highest-ranked teams in Group 10 without dropping a point. Pearly White's team selection again featured a few rare starts for second and third-string players, including young midfielder Lunar Shadow who has been impressing lately with Vilita's Eastal Lunar. The thestral didn't let her opportunity go to waste either, scoring the Equestrians' opening goal and generally making the Sorrentopian midfielders look a bit silly. Flitter reminded the multiverse of why you never ever leave a pegasus unmarked in the box on a corner kick, netting the Ponies' second in the 57th minute. Sorrentopian forward Braith Maddison found the back of the net in stoppage time to cut the Equestrian lead in half, ending the Ponies' run of 582 minutes without conceding, but it was far too little far too late and the Equestrian States collected another three points.

Match Day 6

First Entertainment Centre, Manechester, Equestria
Equestrian States 2-0 South Batoko
(Krystal '9, D. Bagg '64)

Few things are certain in the World Cup. Even the best teams will, from time-to-time, lose in absolutely stunning fashion to some unheard-of unranked minnow who will never be seen again afterwards, vanishing into the mists of the vast multiverse with an exceedingly rare scalp. As such, supporters of top-seeded teams are often unusually wary of names like South Batoko. Who the hell are they? Where are they from? Who knows, but they might somehow get their first ever win against the world's 17th-best team, on the road no less! It's those kinds of losses that established managers dread more than any other. They can be potential instant career-killers. Fortunately, South Batoko wasn't able to pull off the "impossible" upset against the Equestrian States. Veteran midfielder Krystal and Manechester City's aptly-named wonderkid Dûsh Bagg saw to it that the Ponies walked away with all three points, but it wasn't until the final whistle blew that the more paranoid Equestrian supporters let out a sigh of relief.

Match Day 7

Belzarian Command Complex, Command, East Belzaria
East Belzaria 3-3 Equestrian States
(L. Monte '2, Ironhide '16, Crystal Arrow '36, D. Matthews '66, L. Monte '71, Indigo Zap '83)

Remember what I said about unranked teams? Yeah, this is why. The Ponies had gone six matches without dropping a point, had let in just one goal all tournament, and had the group's top three seeds in their rear-view mirror. And yet, here comes East fucking Belzaria, who not only somehow scores three goals on the Equestrian States, but also holds them to a draw! It took an 83rd minute equalizer from teenage sensation Indigo Zap for the Ponies to avoid a humiliating defeat. Yes, the Equestrian team on the field was far from what could be considered a first team or even possibly a second team, but the Ponies still had the advantage in skill and experience. Like I said, sometimes these things just happen. Sometimes the Weegies are just gonna beat Polar Islandstates. Next to that, the Belzarians drawing the Equestrians seems downright predictable.

Match Day 8

Zun Olympic Stadium, Zun, Lochario
Lochario 0-1 Equestrian States
(Sonar '40)

One problem with how long World Cup qualifying campaigns are these days is that there are just a lot of matches to be played, and not all of them are going to be "fun" to watch. Not every game is going to feature a goalscoring bonanza, a batshit crazy referee picking fights with managers on the touchline, or bloodthirsty intergalactic space pirates-turned-brain-hungry intergalactic zombie space pirates. Some matches can simply be summarized by saying, "one team scored a goal and the other one didn't." Lochario-Equestrian States was one of those matches. The Ponies were solid but didn't boast quite the flair they were showing off earlier in the campaign. Maybe they're slowing down a bit...

Match Day 9

Sky-High Coliseum, Cloudsdale, Equestria
Equestrian States 5-0 Sharktail
(Silver Moon '1, Indigo Zap '51, Sunny Day '60, S. Body '66, Cornflower '85)

Or not. Ya dun bin pwny'd, Sharktail.

The Second Half

   GROUP 10                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
 1  Equestrian States       9    8   1   0    22    4  +18    25
 2  Saltstead               9    7   1   1    17    6  +11    22
 3  Garifunya               9    5   2   2    13    8   +5    17
 4  Northwest Kalactin      9    5   1   3    14    8   +6    16
 5  Lochario                9    4   1   4    10    9   +1    13
 6  East Belzaria           9    3   3   3    11   15   −4    12
 7  Sharktail               9    2   4   3    16   18   −2    10
 8  Sorrentopia             9    2   2   5    12   14   −2     8
 9  Penguinland             9    1   0   8     8   21  −13     3
10  South Batoko            9    0   1   8     1   21  −20     1

Overall, outside of some bumps here or there, including that insane draw with East Belzaria, this World Cup qualifying campaign has gone incredibly well for the Ponies. They're overwhelming favorites to at least make the playoffs, possibly qualify directly even as a runner-up, and probably qualify as group winners. Things have rarely gone so smoothly for the Equestrian States in a qualifying group, only the nearly-perfect World Cup 66 campaign registering as comparable to the Ponies' dominance in Group 10 this cycle.

Pearly White's ambitions are to someday lead the Equestrians to a World Cup title. It's long been believed that the talent to pull it off is there, it's just a matter of execution. Last cycle, the Ponies didn't bow out of the World Cup until their run was narrowly halted in the quarterfinals by eventual winners Brenecia. Had the Equestrians somehow scraped out a win there, it's possible they could have actually won it all. The Ponies are pounding on the door of the multiverse's hoofballing elite and if they can sustain this run of success, with a bit of luck they might pull it off.

That said, there's still half a qualifying campaign to be played. Pearly White will have to keep her team focused on the immediate goal of qualifying for the World Cup before they can really start thinking about winning it. Saltstead is just three points back and has been excellent outside of their humbling loss to the Ponies and they're going to want revenge. Win at home against the Stallions at Royal Equestria Stadium, and the Ponies should cruise to an easy auto-qualifying spot. But a draw or loss will mean the Equestrians will have to see out the remainder of the campaign with another team hot on their heels.

[Banija]

Beginning this mini-tour of African music with my very first cutoff of World Cup 81... We'll head to Ghana, with a song about one of the world's greatest dances. Hope you enjoy!

[East Belzaria]

East Belzaria has ended the first half of their qualifying campaign with many different feelings, running through their minds. They've had a taste of everything. 3 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses.

The Positives:
East Belzaria, is a competitive side that fights for big results. This was seen in their courage against the Equestrian States to accomplish an incredible 3-3 draw. They also fought hard against teams like Penguinland and Sorrentopia to get historic victories.

The Negatives:
East Belzaria are defensivley unstable, having conceeded the third most amount of goals in their qualifying group. In all 3 of their defeats they conceeded 2 or more goals. Their home debut against Saltstead went horribly wrong, as they lost 5-1 there.

The Target:
East Belzaria still is hopeful of qualification, but it won't be easy to make up the ground on the playoff spot. "We must push hard" says David Madridson, East Belzaria coach "And we'll succeed when we do!"

East Belzarian Goalscorers:

5 goals:
Lorn Monte

2 goals:
Harada Lopez

1 goal:
Lucas Phil
Morty Beau
Shad Radclyffe

[Vilita]

Vilitan Companies Team up for WC81 Stadium Bid Plans

Lonngeylin, Vilita :: Arcticala, Vilita :: A pair of Vilitan companies have teamed up to put together a partial bid towards the construction of new stadia in World Cup 81 host countries Banija and the Free Republics. The two stadium to be built in time for the World Cup 81 Finals are the Stadium of the Restoration in Banija which is set to host the opening match of World Cup 81 and the RT&T Stadium to be constructed in New City, Orlandiana, Free Republics which is set to host the final of the 81st World Cup.

:: Arcticala Electrical


The Arcticala Electrical company is the main supplier of power in the Vilitan Cove region. Arcticala Electrical harnesses energy from many sources and prides in its renewable Wind, Hydro and Solar efforts. The company also runs a small scale Nuclear generation facility inside the Sorthern fallout zone. The facility is fully staffed by Robo-things and provides emergency power to the Vilitan Government and major cities. The pride of the Arcticala Electrical company are its advances in Solar Power which are on display prominently at the Arcticala Electrical Stadium.

:: Lighthouse Lightworx


Lighthouse Lightworx is a spinoff company originally researching emerging alternate lighting solutions and ultimately developing a technology and product line specializing in Light Emitting Diode technology. While they have provided many specialty replacements for common household items, they have also emerged into the specialty design space including the development of super-large video displays such as those that might be found at sports arenas as well as flexible displays including those used on many popular Vilitan communication devices.

Pavel Wilson Stadium, Kingston, Frontenac, Royal Kingdom of Quebec
Signage by Lighthouse Lightworx

Lighthouse Lightworx and Arcticala Electrical have teamed up and are looking for a third partner to join up with in the World Cup Stadium bid process. Of course, with their expertise in Electrical solutions, Arcticala Electrical would be focused in outfitting the proposed arena with the most cutting edge in self-sustaining and dependency free power - an abundance of which would likely be needed to power all of the massive screens that Lighthouse Lightworx would be able to intertwine throughout a potential stadium design. The Pavel Wilson Stadium in Kingston, Frontenac, Royal Kingdom of Quebec is one such example of the type of work that Lighthouse Lightworx is capable of bringing to a stadium project with a massive ring of screens ensuring that every fan in attendance has available to them every conceivable piece of information regarding the live game in progress from box score to instant replay.

Of course, while Arcticala Electrical have countless exemplars of their dedication to applying alternative solutions to energy from A to Z, the most direct example of their capability to contribute to a sporting arena is their self-sponsored Arcticala Electrical Stadium in Arcticala, Vilita; home of Arcticala Inlet AFC. As part of the naming rights deal, Arcticala Electrical ensure that the stadium is 100% self sustaining from an energy standpoint and use the arena as a test ground for their newest electrical generation solutions.

While Arcticala Electrical are fully capable of providing a power solution - even as far as the ability to design and construct a full or partial roofing structure - and Lighthouse Lightworx can outfit the arena with more bells and whistles than one could fully comprehend from a Lighting and Visual experience perspective - they will still be looking for a more traditional partner from a perspective of framing out the arena structure itself and contracting the core basics like the seats that the butts will go in and the grass that will form the playing surface itself. Project representatives from both companies are thought to be looking both at Vilitan and Turorian corporations as well as being open to considering some potential partners outside of the Vilitan Cove region.

---