Baptism of Fire 70 Everything Thread

by **The Orion Islands** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 5:56 pm

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: No
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: No
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: No
Hand out red cards to my players: No
Godmod other events: No

by **Free Republics** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:34 pm

This is your 24 hour warning.

This 24 hour warning was posted about 30 minutes into the cutoff window.

by **Abercontin-Jereaux** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 8:39 pm

Chapter 2: I Hate The Cold Weather
Skye's POV

In the last chapter...
Unable to hold my inquisitivity, I asked, "Hi, what's your name?"

The guy hesitated for a while, before saying, "My name is Chase. Chase Alvarez of Girondins de Tresembert."

"Wait. You're Chase Alvarez?" I asked. I may have asked a bit too, erm, doubtedly as Chase looked a bit offended.
"Technically speaking, yes I am." He said, "My coach was always talking about you. He was like, 'Oh you know this girl named Skye Beauregard. She is a legend yall know.' That sort." I was a bit flattered that someone had actually praised me.
"My coach also talks about you. He says you are a rising talent and something like that. Anyways, I'm also in Girondins de Tresembert, but the women's team." Chase's ears perked up at that sentence.
"Really? Well..." Chase tried to start up a conversation though he already did. Just then, the pilot made an announcement that the plane would be leaving after a couple of minutes.
"I'm sorry, but I have jet lag, and I need to sleep otherwise I'll throw up." I told Chase. Chase just nodded. As I tried to sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about how I had actially spoken to a male footballer. After a few minutes, I fell into a good sleep...

Chase's POV

After this Skye character fell asleep, I still stayed awake. I was worried sick about our performance in the BoF. I hoped we reached the last 16.
After a while, Skye started to shiver and she barely mumbled, "Blanket." I took the one in her seat pocket and laid it on her.
I read that Saintland was a cold country, so I packed a bunch of jackets. But, I prefered wearing shirt-sleeved jerseys to undersleeve ones. One thought cane to mind, Did Skye pack enought winter stuff? It was weird that I like thought about Skye. I barely knew her. It was just... Jeez never mind.

Saintland
Still Chase's POV

After some long hours of flight and a quick stopover, we reached Saintland. I, feeling lethargic, slugged my way while Skye was a bit energetic but her hair was a bird's nest. I shiuld have slept because we arrived in the middle of the night. The gigantic clock in the arrival struck 12 midnight. I yawned loudly, before covering my mouth and excusing myself. Out of the blue, I heard someone saying to me, "Hmph. If you have no manners in public, then you don't deserve to be here, unless you want to destroy your reputation." I turned around to see Jase Ferrero, the oerson that a lot of people hated. It wasn't his playing that sucked, but his attitude. He was like a typical playground bully.
"At least I had the courtesy to excuse myself. You shiuldn't be hanging around here since you look down on your teammates." I said, agitated.
Salem, Donnie and Shawn tried to stand up for me, but I told them that it was okay. But, Salem continued, "Chase's right. If you hate your teammates so much, then find someplace better!"
"Well at least I'll find people better than yall." Jase said calmly. I mean, Jase was already a bad egg to begin with, but he was my rival in the pitch, so getting into a fight with him wouldn't really help. I was about to retaliate when something weird happened.
"Those who bully their teammates don't deserve a place here. Even the reserves are better than you. So shut up and lay off Chase." Skye said. Like what? We had just met and barely known each other but there she was, standing up for me. I would have been embarrassed, needing someone else to save me, but this time she had really done him in.
"Well, look at that. Little Skye standing up for her boyfriend. Aw, how loyal." Jase said sarcasticly.
"You should be ashamed you don't have any hot chicks by your side."Skye told him. Everyone became silent.
When we reached the hotel, I kept thinking about what happened just now. I really wished Jase sucked so badly that he needed someone like Kealer to replace him. Sadly enough, the manager still trusted him, so I couldn't just complain directly to Mr De Vries. This argument seemed like the only highlight then but oh god was I wrong.

Skye's POV

At the hotel
One thing boys should learn is to never mess with a diva. Otherwise, he'll get trashed by her. Even the stupidest of people knows not to do that, so I don't know how and why Jase did so.
The weird thing is that I actually stood up for Chase which was against my beliefs. I mean, I didn't really like male footballers as I said earlier, but I just did one a favour. And about Jase calling Chase my BF, that's complete bullshit. Like what.
When we reached the hotel, we were divided into like 5 rooms. 3 rooms of 5, 1 room of 2 and 1 room for me only. When everyone chose their roommates Jase was the only one left without any roomates. Even though Jase was a dickhead I felt a bit sorry for him. He was left with Mr De Vries. Why Mr De Vries chose an arrangement like that, I don't know.
"You're technically suposed to cover your head in public unless you're playing. That's according to Saintland rules." Mr De Vries told me before I went to my room.
"Sure, Mr De Vries."
"Don't call me that," he said with a disgusted face, "Call me Manager or Samuel. I don't mind." Well, I tried being polite.
I headed to my room. It was one of those rooms that was supposed to be luxurious but it wasn't. I didn't bother changing into pyjamas. I plonked onto the bed and fell asleep instantly.

"Skye? Wake up. Its breakfast." Some male voice said, "After breakfast is training, so quick." I rubbed my eyes and saw Mr De Vries and Chase.
"Remember to bring the necessary stuff." Mr De Vries told me. I felt a bit uneasy with two boys in my room, but I didn't care. Chase handed me my jacket and said, "You're cold." I realised I was shivering like hell.
At the canteen or whatever, I ate bread with mayo and egg. I wasn't that hungry, but I ate anyway. I knew Jase still hadn't gotten over what I told him yesterday because he glared at me. Just then, Mr De Vries rang the bell, signalling that it would be traning later. Once I stepped outside, I felt like Olaf from Frozen, because the weather was THAT cold. On normal occasions, I would love it, but now I need that tropical air. How the shit would I perform with this temperature? I hate the cold.

by **Amuaplye** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:57 pm

"I resign. I resign. I resign."

Chuikov knew his days in power were numbered. His cabinet had mostly resigned. His Labor Minister and Attorney General were dead, and his designated replacements (namely, the Assistant Ministers of those positions), had resigned on the 9th. Erik Christensen, the head of the Amuaplye Domestic Terror Task Force, had killed himself yesterday, on the 10th. His Minister of Communication, who was still in the hospital, somewhat recovering from the bombing, albeit in serious condition had resigned an hour later. Today, the 11th, 5 more members of the cabinet had resigned. And, according to the rest of the cabinet, the Conservative Coalition was holding a meeting on whether they should propose a Vote of No Confidence against Chuikov.

He knew this was because of the bomber, and the significant incompetence that caused it, and let it happen for so long. And for 19 people to die because of it? It would destroy his career. It was like the Green Report of 1991* all over again. This time, they wouldn't even bother hiring a Appointed Investigator. They would just kick him out and ask questions later.

But Chuikov didn't want to resign. His popularity rates were falling, his Cabinet had either mostly resigned or was dead, and he was probably going to be out by 6 months, but he was still the "People's Prime Minister". He would not resign.

So, he made a speech outside of Parliament, in front of protesters, counter-protesters, and journalists. He walked up in the "Bombing Suit" that he wore to the Parliament summit (which was bombed), and the speech talking about it on the 8th. It had been cleaned, to remove debris, but he still wanted the tatters, soot, and bloodstains to be visible.

"Hello, people of Amuaplye. I am here to notify you that I will not be resigning. I will not surrender to the men who have wanted me gone for 11 years. They have drummed up this reason to discredit me and will try to throw me out of my office for trumped up reasons. My cabinet, whilst resigning, will be filled up soon.

However, there is one thing that is extremely difficult to solve: Mr. Christensen. He killed himself in a televised press conference yesterday, in an extremely tragic event. We are still investigating the matter. He wished for no funeral, and to be buried with his father in his native Reykjavik. I or my successor will be visiting there sometime in mid-March to attend the burial.

Anyway, I wish to give a message to the citizens in this great nation. I will strive for the success of Amuaplye. I have consulted with Mr. Bishop, the head of the AIA, to work with the Acting Head of the ADTTF, Mr. Cyril Angus in order to introduce new counter-terrorism, security, and gun control measures to the Proposers and to the House. This will hopefully prevent any more instances of terrorism here.

We have done so much in these 11 years, and I wish to lots more with the time I have in this position. I am going to do the best as I can in my final days as Prime Minister, politics permitting. Goodbye, everyone, and may Amuaplye be prosperous."

He left, the crowd surprisingly silent, except for the chants of the protesters. If it was this time last year, anything he said to anyone would be drowned out by applause. He knew that those subtle things signified that perhaps his premiership is going to be over soon.

*Lore: The Green Report was a report from Appointed Investigator Thomas Green, who performed an investigation on the crime wave in Amuaplye from 1980-1991. Maria Pelletier was found to have possibly colluded with the AIA to refuse to investigate terrorist incidents to help bolster her career by stopping them once the next election came around in 1985. Even though the AIA tried to stop it, it continued and eventually went out of hand. She was ousted in 1992.

by **Terre Septentrionale** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 11:34 am

OOC: I'm usually not good at making up stories inolving my players but i'm gonna try it.

Cristiano Fernando and Krzysztof Pajaczkowski are in their hotel room. They both received a text message from team captain Amelia Zalwowska: "hey look in the drawer next to your bed, they has a bible in it. A bible! Please y'all bring your bibles we're gonna burn them all in my room!"

Cristiano asks Krzysztof: "do u come wiff me to amelias bedroom lol?" "I don't have time, I'm watching Scarlett Nicholls videos on VirtueTube." said Krzysztof. then, he admits that he's in love with her.

"ok whutever, am in amelias room if ya need me lol" says Cristiano. Then he goes to Amelia's room with a bible that he found in the drawer next to his bed, while Krzysztof keeps watching Scarlett Nicholls videos.

Amelia Zalwowska greets Cristiano as he enters in her room. Half of his teammates are already there.

"Ok thanks everyone!They put bibles in the drawer, they try to convert us to their stupid and murderous religion, we won't let it happen! I want all of you to throw the bibles you found in the drawer next to your bed, to throw them just here in the middle of the room. We're gonna set them to fire!" said Amelia.

Everyone in the room who bring bibles are throwing them in the middle of the room. Then Slawomir Skrzeszewski set them to fire and players are watching bibles burn.

"yo am gunna film dis n upload it on SanctusTube lol" said Cristiano. Jedrzej Kosciukiewicz tells him that they're gonna shut down his account, but Cristiano don't care.

Cristiano turns on his camera and is filming live on SanctusTube. He says to the camera: "yo dis is Cristiano Fernando from Terre Septentrionale n were burnin bibles here in malifornia, they needs 2 stop wiff their murderous religion lol"

Meanwhile, Krzysztof Pajaczkowski kept watching Scarlett Nicholls videos on his laptop. Both videos of her singing as a pop singer and videos of her speeches as a politician. Krzysztof fell in love with Nicholls and, since he likes her page on Facebook, he spontaneously decided to write her a love letter on Facebook messenger. The letter reads as follows:

Dear Scarlett,
you probably never heard of me, my name is Krzysztof Pajaczkowski, I'm a soccer player in Terre Septentrionale and now I'm in Malifornia for the Baptism of Fire. I'm in love with you since I saw you at the World Vision contest a couple of years ago. You're the most beautifull woman I ever seen and I love your voice and now I love you even more since you're the leader of the Free Republics. I would like to meet you next friday at a café here in Los Martines, we could drink either a coffee or a FreedomCola? I really like what you do as a leader, you know legalizing same sex marriage and stuff. I'm not gay, I like women, but I have a buddy in Terre Septentrionale who'se gay. Also, I think you need to make all the Free Republics, including Malifornia, secular. yes the FFR should be a secular nation, let's discuss it next friday.

Then just when he press the send button, the fire alarm in the hotel is ringing, everyone has to evacuate.

Firemen and policemen found out about the fire in Amelia Zalwowska and Sarah Surprenant's room and arrested the whole Terre Septentrionale team. All the players on the team spent the night in police custody and they were interrogated. They finally got released 12 hours before the start of game 1 against Lashnakia. Luckily the game against Lashnakia is the last one of the day.

by **San Felix** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:21 pm

BoF Pre-Match Analysis
By: Juan Rojas

Today, after several weeks of preparation and training, the 70th Baptism of Fire will begin. Matchday 1 will serve as an opening for what will be a very interesting competition. The 37 competing nations are well prepared for the matches, and they have some of the best new players in the whole world. Today we'll analyze the players and strategies of several nations that are currently in the BoF line-up with the goal to understand the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents and to compare between our selection and other nations around the world to see if we have a chance to actually go far in the competition.

West Phonecia:
Players to Watch: Jason Summer, Luis Cavera.

The Stampedes look confident, and with their 1-3-2-4 formation, they might be able to hold a defensive lead over it's enemies, while making the possibilities of quick rushes and counter-attacks possible. Their main weakness could also rely on their defense, a quick attack on the rather weak midfield might catch them by surprise. Clearly a team to look out for in the following weeks.

Hapilopper:
Players to Watch: Ernie Stevenson, Bobby East, Cooter Harris

Considered one of the strongest nations in the competition. Hapilopper haves a squad that relies heavily on defense and pressure. One of the best teams regarding defensive tactics, their ruthless backs may give the opponent a hard time. Offensively speaking, they may not be a strong as they'd like to. Their internal conflicts may give them a disadvantage on the field, but, their biggest player might be Cooter Harris, a goalkeeper that's been considered as scientifically unbeatable. Won't be surprising to see them going far this tournament.

Terra Septentrionale:
Players to watch: Zajaczkowski, Cwierczakiewiczowa.

Also one of the strongest nations in the competition. The attacking duo of Zajaczkowski and Cwierczakiewiczowa is clearly effective and almost unstoppable, if one can get past them, a fairly simple defense line-up will be waiting. Opposing teams might be able to exploit the gaps left by the defense. But, overall, a fairly strong nation that will definitely leave a mark on the tournament.

Port Ember:
Players to Watch: Nicovic, Moult, Reddington.

Port Ember is looking good with a young squad and a strong mid-field/striker combination. Their attacks may be lethal and strong, leaving no margin of error for the opposite team. Any mistake that's made, will be exploited by Port Ember. The defense is not their strongest point, and might be easy to fool with the right tactics or strategies. An impressive squad that may lead to impressive goals and matches.

San Felix:
Players to Watch:Laguna, Vera, Sanz.

Last, but not least... Us! San Felix's squad is composed of young and strong players that might give a hard time to sloppy defenses. The line-up made by Semprún focuses on attack and possession of the ball. Laguna, a pacey speedster might be able to run past defenses, and Sanz's crossing abilities can catch even the best goalkeeper off guard. Defensively, our team could be better. The young players may be too inexperienced for the hard job of defending and any mistake will easily be exploited by the opposing team. In conclusion, we might have a chance of going far this tournament.

by **Saintland** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 6:00 pm

MD1 Results

St. Petrus Group
Starcom Racing 4–5 San Félix
Western Bjornaic 0–1 Tornado Queendom
Bernegastad 3–0 Tulize
Pius Desurongcrandis 1–0 The Aurian Plains

  St. Petrus Group                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Bernegastad                         1   1  0  0    3   0  +3    3
2 Pius Desurongcrandis                1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
  Tornado Queendom                    1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
4 San Félix                           1   1  0  0    5   4  +1    3
5 The Aurian Plains                   1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0
  Western Bjornaic                    1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0
7 Starcom Racing                      1   0  0  1    4   5  −1    0
8 Tulize                              1   0  0  1    0   3  −3    0

St. Paulus Group
Abercontin-Jereaux 3–0 Aurevbush
Lepolanatnessffiria 0–3 Bolgano
West Phoenicia 5–0 San Carlos Islands
Spensar 2–2 Petrisi

  St. Paulus Group                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 West Phoenicia                      1   1  0  0    5   0  +5    3
2 Abercontin-Jereaux                  1   1  0  0    3   0  +3    3
  Bolgano                             1   1  0  0    3   0  +3    3
4 Petrisi                             1   0  1  0    2   2   0    1
  Spensar                             1   0  1  0    2   2   0    1
6 Aurevbush                           1   0  0  1    0   3  −3    0
  Lepolanatnessffiria                 1   0  0  1    0   3  −3    0
8 San Carlos Islands                  1   0  0  1    0   5  −5    0

El Fierro Group
Port Ember 1–2 Timuria
Kandonica 1–1 Amurbia
Caras 1–2 Saciu

  El Fierro Group                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Saciu                               1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
  Timuria                             1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
3 Amurbia                             1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
  Kandonica                           1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
5 Caras                               1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0
  Port Ember                          1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0

Los Martires Group
Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison 1–3 Hapilopper
Orestea 1–3 Amuaplye
Terre Septentrionale 6–2 Lashnakia

  Los Martires Group                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Terre Septentrionale                1   1  0  0    6   2  +4    3
2 Amuaplye                            1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
  Hapilopper                          1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
4 Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison      1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0
  Orestea                             1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0
6 Lashnakia                           1   0  0  1    2   6  −4    0

San Hacienda Group
The Orion Islands 1–2 Bliuji
Zealandiana 1–1 The Szcerkina Federacy
Paratan 1–1 Asdia

  San Hacienda Group                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Bliuji                              1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
2 Asdia                               1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
  Paratan                             1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
  The Szcerkina Federacy              1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
  Zealandiana                         1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
6 The Orion Islands                   1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0

Note: Shatla, Lavize and New Karelograd do not appear in the tables yet because they had byes on MD1.

by **Timuria** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:45 am

Timuria Steal Win

by Tufan Nursultan

Port Ember 1-2 Timuria
Danny Nicovic (31);Vatan Ercetin (47), Caner Turan (88)

The first ever game for the national team is in the books. At a packed Fierro del Inferno Stadium, the national team rode their luck at times and came out with a narrow 2-1 victory over an energetic Port Ember side. Both sides were clearly nervous to be on the international stage for the first time, for the Port Emberian players this was the culmination of years of specialised training, for our national team it was the first time that any of our sports people had an opportunity to show the world what they could do.

The first 20 minutes set the tone of the match, Port Ember were better able to control possession throughout, the training their players had been put through very clearly paying off as players such as Ertan Renda, who are normally able to press effectively were rendered useless for large stretches of the game from a defensive standpoint. Danny Nicovic forced a very good save from a volley in the 18th minute, Saban Inekci barely managing to claw the ball out from the top corner onto the post.

Timuria's first chance of note would come from a corner, Ertan Renda whipped the ball in and a mistake from goalkeeper Peter Smith left Tuna Rustemoglu with an easy chance but the 35 year old defender headed onto the bar. On the ensuing counter attack Danny Nicovic lobbed the ball over an exposed and helpless Saban Inekci. The national team seemed to enter a spiral at this point, with Port Ember dominating possession and having all of the attacking opportunities up to half time. Saban Inekci and the defence looked like they were very much improvising at times, with the keeper having to make no fewer than 5 saves, but they managed to stop the Port Emberians adding to their total and escaped into half time somewhat fortuitously only a goal down.

The second half's tone was set early as it was in the first, a much more even flow between the teams. Whatever Bekir Altingunes said to his side, clearly took away some of the nerves the team was clearly displaying. Vatan Ercetin ran rings around the defenders on his way to placing the ball in the top corner in the 47th minute. This time it was the turn of the Port Emberians to panic in defence for the next 10 minutes Timuria had their way, frustratingly managing 4 shots on target in that period, however Peter Smith showed off his excellence and saved each one most notably a double save from Vatan Ercetin and Tekin Yavuz.

The rest would be a back and forth battle and a draw looked a both fair and likely result, as substitutes Caner Turan and Eyup Mustafa came on to provide an attacking spark and solidify the defence respectively the game looked like it was about to wind down and both teams would settle for the draw. In the 88th minute Caner Turan showed off why he was considered such a talent in the Superleague taking the ball from Ozbek Sarikaya in the Timurian half and beating 3 players in a magnificent solo effort on his way to scoring with a deflected effort that wrong-footed the goalkeeper. Somewhat stealing the win for Timuria from their deserving opponents.

What they said after the game:

Bekir Altingunes: "I'm naturally delighted that we came away here with the win, obviously there are a certain amount of nerves that each player will have had to deal with and I think that showed, on both sides, but rather more on ours and if that's our biggest problem I honestly think that means we're a rather lucky team because that will fade as we get more settled."

Vatan Ercetin: "I can't really remember scoring, I kind of blacked out as I took the shot and the next thing you know I'm being mobbed by Ertan and Tayyar. Seriously though, very pleased couldn't have asked for a better debut."

Caner Turan: "Obviously I'd prefer to start, but if the coaches want me to make an impact from the bench, I'm more than happy to do that and obviously scoring the winning goal is a good way to show that I can start if needs be."

Ratings:

Saban Inekci 8/10 - Saban didn't have an easy game marshaling a nervy defence, he gets the 8 on the number of times he bailed out the defence.

Ozbek Sarikaya 5/10 - Ozbek struggled at times in an unfamiliar system against obviously physically fitter players, he will need to improve fast.

Tuna Rustemoglu 4/10 - Aside from his fluffed attacking opportunity Tuna was exposed by a fit and fast team as a bit of a liability in defence, the overwhelming majority of the Port Emberian opportunities came from them targeting Tuna, as soon as this became obvious he was substituted.

Osman Hasanoglu 6/10 - The only starting defender who put in a decent performance from start to finish, won 77% of his aerial duels.

Gokdeniz Dag 5/10 - Similarly to his Uryanspor teammate, a lot of Gokdeniz's problems seemed to stem from unfamiliarity with the system. Will need to improve.

Hakan Diren 5/10 - Looked over matched at times and very very clearly allowed his nerves to get the better of him, making very poor decisions throughout. Should have been substituted and wasn't far off being given a 4/10.

Yusuf Ihsanoglu 6/10 - A quiet game for the more defensive of the two midfielders, a good sign that he wasn't noticeably bad, but wasn't very good.

Tayyar Ozel 7/10 - A thorn in the side of the defence when he provided support by his teammates. Made the defenders day very hard.

Ertan Renda 6/10 - Despite being a non-entity for a lot of the game in terms of pressing, Ertan made up for it by being one of the few players to make effective forward passes. He should get better as the team settles in.

Tekin Yavuz 6/10 - The left-winger will feel a bit aggrieved to have been brought off when there were other players who were acting as liabilities, but his play was competent at best.

Vatan Ercetin 7/10 - The scorer of the first ever national team goal made the most of his opportunities. It was only the heroics of Peter Smith that prevented him from adding to his tally.

Subs:

Eyup Mustafa 6/10 - Brought on in the 65th minute to relieve Tuna, he managed to solidify a lot of what was going wrong at the back and provided a stable base for the team to build off from the back.

Caner Turan 8/10 - Brought on in the 71st minute Caner did exactly what he was meant to do. Change the dynamic of the game. While his goal was a bit of a fluke, the fact he was in a position to make it happen is ultimately what matters.

Man of the Match: Saban Inekci - It would be easy to give this to Caner Turan, but it would overlook the fact that if someone else were in goal the national team would have conceded 3 maybe 4 in the space of 10 minutes. So this win belongs to Saban Inekci just as much, if not more than it does to Caner Turan.

Player of the Game for Port Ember: Peter Smith - Despite being an attacking outfit first, the Port Emberian's have something special in their goalkeeper.

The next match: The next game is against Kandonica who are coming off a 1-1 draw with Amurbia. A win here would really send a message to the group that Timuria means business and would likely allow them to take command of the group. The starting XI is expected to be the same as it was for the opening match.

Odds: Timuria 5/4 Draw 5/2 Kandonica 5/2

by **West Phoenicia** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 2:41 am

West Phoenician Stampedes Team Manager Yusuf Weir has hailed their maiden game a success as they took to the field to play against San Carlos Islands.

While fans did not come out in large numbers a key supporters came out to support the Stampedes who have made their debut entry into the international football by entry into the Baptism of Fire.

The Stampedes did not let their fans down as they defeated San Carlos Islands 5-0 in a brilliant match Forward Jason Striker was th star of the West Phoenician team by scoring 3 of the 5 goals and is in his way to be named most valued player if he continue to play the remaining games like he played the first match.

Yusuf Weir also sang the praises of the defensive line who stood like a strong wall foundation keeping their opponent out for most of the game. For those that did get through, goalkeeper Daniel Fozter stopped each attempt dead in it's track, pouncing like a puma on its prey and stopping any ball from entering the goals.

The Stampedes have celebrated their first win, the positive energy oozed from them pores. But they are not silly, they are well aware of the long journey that awaits to reach the finals.

by **Abercontin-Jereaux** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 3:19 am

Chapter 3: Never Trust Anything or Anyone
Skye's POV

In the last chapter...
Once I stepped outside, I felt like Olaf from Frozen, because the weather was THAT cold. On normal occasions, I would love it, but now I need that tropical air. How the shit would I perform with this temperature? I hate the cold.

In my team, we usually do some light trainings before a practice match. My other teammates think otherwise, though. When Mr De Vries asked us if we wanted passing or a practice match. Everyone, other than me, chose the latter. Thank goodness there wasn't tackling practices. But still, I used to do some passing, shooting and stuff before a match, so I was definitely not used to this.
After Mr De Vries had chosen the captains(Chase and Jase), the rest could choose who to side with. For some unknown reason, almost everybody wanted to go with Chase. Mr De Vries made a decision that all the Starting XI and Hoffman would be with Chase while the rest would be with Jase. There was an odd one out, though, so he became the temporary referee.
The upside of these matches was no tackling practice, but the downside? It's a 4-in-1 package-- Passing, shooting, defense and tackling(if you consider it as separate from defense). The ref gave us no time for just a team talk as he like assembled the captains instantly. After a game of rock scissors paper, Jase's team started.
Now, I'm not implying that the subs and reserves suck. It's just that they're easy game for us. They gave the ball almost instantly after the start. I could tell Jase wasn't happy, but you have to blame him for being an asshole. We started the game strongly, with Salem scoring. A beautiful cross from Donnie. The ball was supposed to go to Shawn, who was generally free most of the time, but it didn't matter. Just a few moments later, Jase came close to scoring. If it wasn't for de Almeida(and goal-line tech) we would've conceded. The next few minutes was tense, as both sides did anything to get the ball. It's like dodgeball, except everyone wants to get hit. Shawn got the ball and found an open space and sprinted there. Did I say he was like super fast? Because his solo goal would've gotten him the goal of the tournament. Shawn scored another one and the game ended, even though it was only 45 minutes.
"Well, done, young lads. Speaking--" Mr De Vries was about to continue but was interrupted.
"Sir, I'm 25." Shawn complained. He was like the veteran, even though he was young for a footballer.
"Stop interrupting me and shut up for goodness sake. Anyways, the day after tomorrow is our match against Aurevbush, so be ready." Since we had more home games, we were likely to progress to the next round due to home advantage. I really wanted to go sightseeing around St Paulus, so I was happy when it was do-whatever-shit-you -want time, aka free time.
"Also dom't forget to cover your head." Mr De Vries reminded me before we left.

Chase's POV

While the others were either sightseeing or playing the latest sword fighting game, I was busy practicing my aiming and skills, if necessary. We'll never know how good the opposition can be, right?
I hoped to say that my practice was fruitful, but time went too fast for me to at least improve. Before I knew it, it was dinner. And yes, we did have a slight break for lunch. Coach came up to me. Seeing that I was practicing, he patted my back and congratulated me, "Good job. The energy that I want." I wanted to thank him, but instead I asked for the Starting XI.
"Well, it's basically the normal XI. You nervous?"
I was quite nervous, but I lied, "No."
"You're lying. Your eyes open a tad too wide and you look off to your right." How the heck does Coach know these? Before I could ask, Coach said, "Don't you want dinner? It's chicken curry with potatoes and, erm, either rice or vermicelli. Dessert is strawberry or blueberry or cranberry macarons." Sounded Asian, but I took it anyway(not trying to be racist in any way).

The day of the match

Oh my gosh. I am actually playing my first international game. I was so excited I kept on asking when the match would start. When we walked onto the pitch, we did some stretching first before the national anthems. After that we had a team photo and talk. After that, the game started.
In the 7th minute, Jase did an untimely slide tackle on one of the Aurevbush defenders. Their fans shouted for a yellow card, but the referee kept it in his pocket. He did give a warning to Jase though, but he didn't look the least bothered. In the 17th minute, we were on the verge from scoring. Shawn passed to Skye, who faked a shot and passed to me. I was looking for an empty corner. But, seeing that the goal was not so defended open, I took a shot and it actually hit the back of the net! I was so damn ecstatic and I celebrated extravagantly.
In the 44th minute, we were yet again close to scoring. Donnie took the corner, and it was headed to me. I did not know what to do at first, but I decided to take a volley. Miraculously, I scored. I did the floss, which probably cringed the hell out of some of the spectators.

That was supposed to be the spotlight of the match, but no. What happened next was astonishing. After we had gained possession, I found that the goalkeeper was out of position. Seeing I had had a chance to score, I kicked the ball towards the net. I was about to celebrate my hat trick, when Jase had to spoil it all. Even though he was clearly offside, he still tapped the ball in. When he was flagged, he looked surprise, but I know he did that in purpose. I was fuming. Some of the angry spectators were also booing Jase, but he didn't look concerned about that.
Thankfully, Skye scores in the last minute. Who said women couldn't score against men. I joined in the celebration, but my heart just didn't feel right.

At the end of the match, the LED screen showed the standings. West Phoenicia we're ahead of us in goal difference, and we were ahead of Bolgano only because we came first in the alphabet. If only Jase hadn't denied me of the hat trick, we would've been safer away from Bolgano...
While the others were celebrating the win, I pulled Jase aside.
"Why did you do that. It was clearly supposed to be a goal and you were offside anyway. Why did you tap it in?" I asked him, infuriated.
"Well I didn't know if it was a pass or a shot. I deciphered it as a pass to me, so I tried to score. Be clearer next time. And you should've thanked me for tapping that in instead of scolding the heck out of me."
"What?! Like I would ever forgive you for denying that goal? Anyway that was a very lame excuse." I stormed back to the dressing room. Shawn came up to me and showed me the news on his phone.
Abercontin-Jeraix players spotted Arguing, internal conflicts? Seriously? Jase, now the stupid news. That's why I never trust the news. Or Jase.

by **Bolgano** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 4:36 am

Lineup
#1 Red Nines GK
#2 Gail Noldman DF
#4 Patrick Deds DF
#14 Austin Ficks DF
#6 Riot Birgot MC
#7 Brandon McShane MC
#8 Ryan Mchane MC
#20 Eammon Frot MC
#9 Daniels Frizzel
#10 Tom Evans
#11 Louis Merts

The game was a very tough match in the first half as neither team scored a goal but in the second half Tom Evans opened the penalty and then Ryan McShane made the second and before the end of the game the center captain corne where Austin Ficks headed and scored where it was a good game and a good start.

by **Timuria** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 4:54 am

The Fire is Real Chapter 2:

Iskender played on his phone in the hotel lobby, sighing as the day's training had been completed for the goalkeepers. The Football Federation at least had the decency and organisation to get a very comfortable hotel for the team in El Fierro. He sipped the vodka mixed with lemonade he ordered at the bar. His head already becoming cloudy as this was his third drink. The lemonade tasted flat and bitter when mixed with the vodka, thinking that it didn't matter as he wouldn't be playing the next day. After all what were the odds that Saban would get injured.

Today was set pieces training, he went out with the second team defence and while he performed adequately, he made sure to include enough slips that there was no way the coaches would think of starting him. After Hasan's comment at the end of the first training in the Free Republics, he had denied deliberately failing to make the two saves that led to the second team losing the scrimmage. Assuming his denial was enough, Iskender had stepped up his performance, just enough to see off Hasan, but never quite as commanding as Saban was in training. It was the ideal sweet spot, Third choice meant working with the coaching staff very closely, first choice would mean he would have to face the prospect of actually playing, something he'd had enough of already.

"Having a little drink are we?" The familiar voice called out behind him extracting a sigh from the young man.

"Yes Hasan, just lemonade, no need to tell the coaches." He said as Hasan sat across from him and smiled, sipping his water. "Feeling confident about the opening game?"

"Sure, I don't see why we can't win. I also don't see why you're deliberately conceding goals in training."

"Oh not this again, seriously Hasan, you're 39 years old with kids of your own. Babysit them." He defensively sipped his drink and looked away, "Plus I didn't deliberately concede goals. What kind of person would do that?"

"A lazy one who's content to stagnate." Hasan plainly replied.

Iskender couldn't meet his eyes, he had seen right through him at every turn. "Have you considered I'm just not that good?"

Hasan shook his head, "Do you know what I did before I played football?"

"You mean last year? Because, you know. The league just started."

Hasan rolled his eyes, "I was a teacher and I've seen every kind of self-sabotage you can imagine. A person with all the talent in the world, who only conceded 8 goals in 22 games. Concedes goals that an old man like me wouldn't? I don't buy it."

The alcohol hit Iskender as he finished his drink and he yawned, taking advantage of it he hastily replied, "Wow I'm tired, got to get some rest for the big game."

Hasan sighed and shook his head as Iskender walked away, "It's 7PM Iskender!" He called out, "We'll carry on after the game." Iskender held up his hand as a means of saying goodbye and made his way up the stairs.

***

Bekir poured out a glass of whiskey for himself and his assistant. Preparations had gone about as well as they could and he slid the glass to him across the table in the office they shared, where they had already spent hours planning. "Oh thanks Bekir, but I don't really drink."

Bekir looked apologetically at his assistant taking back the glass, "Sorry, I didn't know. I just assume everyone does."

"That's fair, I just never really took to it. I preferred books and computers." Senol offered him the closest his face could contort to a friendly smile.

"So is that why all of this weird statistics stuff is what you're trying to get clubs to do?" He inquired, curious about his assistant's views on his own work.

"That's not the point, the point is that there are massive inefficiencies that prevent smaller clubs and smaller nations from competing. I get that in this competition all of our opponents will be of similar strength and experience, but seeing if this system can work will be critical if we take the team to the World Cup Qualifiers."

"Big if." Bekir's eyes glazed over as he thought about the pressure he was under to deliver some kind of meaningful success that could be built upon.

"Hey. I'm sure this will work then we can work together for the qualifiers."

Bekir smiled as he sipped his whiskey, a warm trickled down his body. "Well let's see. So you did maths at university or something?"

"Well sort of, I did applied mathematics, then did my masters in statistics. But I've always loved sports. It was just a shame we never had any kind of professional sports."

Bekir nodded in agreement, "Well we have them now, I say we make the best of it."

Senol raised a glass of water he poured for himself, "To making the best of it." Bekir tapped his glass with his own. The two men allowed the room to fall into silence as they considered the fixture to come. "We're going to win Bekir. I can feel it."

"Are you sure you haven't been drinking? That sounds awfully... non-statistical." He broke out into chuckling, which Senol joined, unable to stop himself from enjoying the moment. "Even if we don't we'll live and we'll learn. They can't ship me off for losing one game."

Senol winked at him, "Or can they?" Both men chuckled together, as they continued to drink and chat wondering how the country would react to the result that was to come.

***

The team streamed into the locker room, wooping and cheering. The collective euphoric high they were feeling from their last second narrow win, erased the nerves all of them had felt at the beginning of the match. Bekir walked in smiling at the team as they celebrated together, Senol whispered to him "The system works." while wearing a smug grin.

Bekir simply shrugged at him with a look of relief, looking to the team high fiving and cheering he whistled loudly, piercing through the noise bringing silence to the locker room. "You should all be really proud of that. They put up an amazing fight, but you guys got the points." One of the players cheered, interrupting him. "Still we're going to look back at the tape and see what we can learn. I know you guys were nervous going into this match, so enjoy tonight, go catch a movie or a concert then come back tomorrow ready to start again." The team nodded in agreement and began to get changed.

Bekir went to collect his rucksack and found a note attached to it, he opened it:

"Mr Altingunes, we're very pleased with the result of our first game. Please enjoy tonight, but remember. We're watching."

He crumpled the note and stuffed it in his pocket, putting the ominous tone out of his mind as he put on the rucksack and called out to the team, "Be in your rooms by 9, be asleep by 11. We'll start a bit later tomorrow with a review of the tape." He turned to Senol, "You can makes sure these guys don't do anything stupid right?"

Senol sighed, "Babysitting? Sure I think I can manage that. Why? Where do you have to be?"

Bekir shook his head, "I can't say, I just need to phone someone urgently." He didn't wait for a reply before he escaped the locker room, pulling out his phone and typing, "I get that the party is mad at me, but don't act like you're going to kill me if I lose. Back off." He sent the message. He only hoped they would heed what he said.

Seeing their manager leave Caner, Iskender and Ismail looked at each other, "I wonder what's wrong with him?" Iskender asked.

"Probably his wife." Ismail said, "So, there's a concert we could go to tonight. We'd be back in time for the curfew."

Caner shook his head as he closed his locker. "Thanks for the invite, but I need to be up early tomorrow to get some training in."

Iskender looked at him exasperated, "Come on, you scored the winning goal in our first ever match, you don't want to go out and see if you're famous?"

"I know I'm famous, I play in the Superleague. Anyway I won't be as famous as you when the big screen caught you taking a nap. You're lucky the coaches didn't see."

Iskender blushed, "I was tired, anyway we can go out tonight, fuck the curfew!"

Ismail shook his head, "You're on you own there. I'm going to watch this pop group and be in bed by 11. Like coach said."

"Fine, I don't need you guys to have a good time. I'll just... find something else to do." Iskender finished changing and hit the town.

***

Iskender sat with an irritated expression on his face, as Caner walked by, "Oh. You're up?"

"Couldn't find anything to do that wasn't going to a bar. So I just went to bed." He lamented.

Caner smiled, "Good you can help me train, I need to practise shooting."

Iskender yawned, "Maybe I'll join you in a bit, I want to eat some breakfast." He had no intention of doing any training beyond what was mandatory.

"If you don't want, just say no. I get that you don't want to work, but don't make promises you can't keep." Caner walked off as Iskender watched, sighing wondering why he felt so unfulfilled. So far everything was going according to plan, he had the minimum amount of work for maximum reward. So why did it all taste like ashes?

Shaking his head as he saw a pretty woman walk by, blonde hair almost angelic as the dawn light hit it. He smiled to himself. Feeling empty and unfulfilled could wait, until the tape review started, the world, or at least the area around the hotel, was his oyster. He walked over to the woman and smiled, trying out his broken English, "Hello, I am Iskender. Nice to meet you." He began slowly, clearly he had said something right as the girl replied, taking her time so he understood everything, but she seemed reluctant to speak with him, especially as she rather easily discovered his foreign origin. She stepped into the lift and as the doors closed Iskender looked at the orientation materials and a section called "Latent Xenophobia." He really needed to read the materials before he tried anything else.

by **Hapilopper** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 11:25 am

Coliseum of the Crucifixion, Los Martires, Charter Society of Malifornia
Game one – Hapilopper vs. Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison
Until about 18 seconds in the Hapilopper-C/R Coalison game, national team manager Thom Perkins wanted to strangle Ernie Stevenson, the starting forward for the first game of the group phase, and the first game in the history of the Hapilopper National Football Team. That’s because Ernie stood up, while Thom was giving his pre-game speech, and made a bold declaration, actually interrupting the manager of the club, a very big no-no for players to do.

“I will score our first goal in the first minute of the match!” Ernie stated, as loudly and as confidently as could be. “I GUARANTEE IT!”

His teammates were remarkably impressed with Ernie’s confidence and with this brazen guarantee. In other words, he was going to lead the HNFT to victory, damn it, and victory would come in the start of the match!

Thom, however, was less than impressed. He didn’t like Ernie being so brash before the first match in the team’s history, and he didn’t like him being so brazen just before the start of an international tournament. And he really didn’t like it when Ernie made the same guarantee to Venerable Television’s Robert Skippers in a live TV interview just before the match started.

“I’m going to score of the first minute of the match,” Ernie said on VTV’s broadcast, beamed to millions of homes across Hapilopper. “That’s not a prediction, that’s a guarantee, and that’s a MONEY-BACK guarantee!”

As the match started, Thom could be seen looking incredibly frustrated, with some suggesting that he really didn’t want to stomach the unusual arrogance of his starting forward. But, sure enough, 18 seconds in, Ernie had put the ball into the net, directly in front of the several thousand Hapilopper supporters, and the HNFT had a quick 1-0 lead.

As soon as the ball reached the back of the net, Ernie started doing one of the dumbest-looking dances seen in international sport as his teammates got to him to celebrate the fact that, yes, Ernie Stevenson had made good on his guarantee to score a goal in the first minute.

The VTV commentators, Jon Arnold and Harold Kellner, were incredulous. This was the first game in the history of the Hapilopper National Football Team and their first goal was less than a minute in? It meant great things were coming for the national team, that was for sure.

25 minutes in, a perfect pass from “Beautiful Bobby” East gave Ernie the opening he needed, and made the Coalison goalkeeper look kind of silly as he just ran past him, 10 yards from the net. All Ernie needed to do was walk the ball in. The HNFT now led, 2-0.

For the next 50 or so minutes, it seemed as if the Hapiloppians were just playing around with their opponents – taking the ball away, dancing around with it, and practically playing a game of “keep away” as players seemed to enjoy passing amongst each other while keeping the ball from their opponents.

After the 75th minute, Ernie was subbed off in favor of John Cornett, who decided he wasn’t going to let Ernie upstage him. He ran onto the pitch, took a pass from “Beautiful Bobby” and sent it sprawling into the net, giving Hapilopper a 3-0 lead.

A goal from the Coalison in the 86th minute looked for all the world like a mere consolation goal, and the Hapiloppians were heading home with a solid 3-1 victory and three very solid points to start off their Baptism of Fire.

“Now THAT was the kind of match we needed!” Ernie shouted as the team was in the locker room after the match. This was met with whoops of agreement from the entire team, who was utterly delighted to celebrate a very well-deserved first victory of the Baptism of Fire group stage.

While Thom was pleased with the victory, it was still important for him to address that little “guarantee” that Ernie had made good on.

“First of all, great victory, and great goals, Ernie,” Thom said. “But I don’t ever want to hear you make another guarantee like that again. You do that and I’ll take action.”

“Boss, I did that to fire us up,” Ernie said. “I wanted to get us going on the right foot, and I didn’t score that goal myself. I couldn’t have made good on that guarantee if my teammates weren’t helping me, now then, would I?”

“Yeah, I know, but…”

“But we won,” Ernie interrupted. “We won because we were the better team. I saw them practice this morning and I knew immediately that I could do it. Let me repeat what I just said. We won and they didn’t.”

“That’s good and stuff, but I do not want you to make those guarantees again,” Thom responded. “You don’t want to make a guarantee that you won’t be able to live up to. And I’ll take action if you make a guarantee and don’t follow up on it. So, in other words, you say you’re going to do something, you damn well better do it.”

“Deal,” Ernie said smiling. “By the way, I think we’ll beat Orestea next.”

Ernie was nodding like a doofus as he made this declaration. It wasn’t a guarantee, but just a happy declaration that the HNFT would end up with another victory in a few days.

HAPS VIEW THEMSELVES ABOVE ORESTEA

HNFT DOMINATES COALISON

ARROGANT HAPILOPPER PROMISES ANOTHER VICTORY

STEVENSON'S MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE LEADS HNFT TO WIN

-Headlines following the Hapilopper-C/R Coalison match

Later on, as Thom faced the media, he was pressed about Ernie’s “money-back guarantee” he had made on live TV just prior to the start of the match.

“Look, the fact is, we were confident and we had good reason to be,” Thom said. “Ernie made that guarantee because he had seen what the Coalison had been during practice this morning, and he saw a few things he could exploit against their defenses. He’s also seen that we’ve been able to plan out some great moves against formations like what the Coalison had, and we’ve got some things planned out against… who are we playing next?”

Thom’s forgetfulness drew some chuckles from the assembled members of the media, who saw it as either arrogance or overconfidence.

“ORESTEA!” a few members shouted in unison.

“Ah, yes, Orestea,” Thom responded. “Whoever they are. Yeah, we’ve got some things for them. You’ll like what we’ve got in store for them.”

The Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison had been defeated, and now it was time for the HNFT to prepare for Orestea. Training got going bright and early the next day, a necessity given the disgustingly hot nature of Los Martires summers. The sun had yet to peek over the horizon, but the HNFT was training in preparation for their second match.

The team had started to work together as a unit, and the victory had given them a huge boost of confidence. Even players that didn’t really like each other were starting to warm to each other, like Ernie and Colin McLain, who were both joking with each other about that “money-back guarantee” issued before the first match. Nate Ellis and Steve Erickson, the central players in one of the ugliest scenes in last year’s HFA season, were on speaking terms. That was good. Every player needed to work together as a unit if they wanted to advance in the Baptism of Fire.

by **Terre Septentrionale** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 12:31 pm

Terre Septentrionale explodes for 6 goals in an offensive fest

Los Martires, Malifornia, Free Republics - What a start for Terre Septentrionale! For their first ever international game, they scores 6 goals! But first, lets talk about an incident that occured the night just before the game. At 11:42 PM the fire alarm at Terre Septentrionale's hotel was ringing and it was found the fire originated from team captain Amelia Zalwowska's room. The whole team was in police custody during the night and they got released in the morning. Without enough sleep, the Nordiques had to play a match against Lashnakia in the evening. The Los Martires Memorial Coliseum was sold out for the day but not many Terre Septentrionale fans were seen in the stands. Septentrionaux tends to avoid travelling to religious nations.The game was only 2 minutes old when Élisabeth Normandin passed the ball to Amelia Zalwowska who dribbles with the ball and makes a header pass to Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa who heads the ball right into the net and Terre Septentrionale takes a 1-0 lead! Lashnakia tied the game at the 17th minute and 5 minutes later, Player #8 tried to pass to Player #11 but Zdzislaw Brzezanczyk blocks the pass and takes himself the loose ball and made a long pass to Sarah Surprenant who dribbles and makes a cross to Amelia Zalwowska who shoots and scores and the score is 2-1 Tere Septentrionale. At the 33rd minute, Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz passed to Amelia Zalwowska who made a short pass to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski in the penalty area. He's tripped by Player #2 who gets a yellow card and it's a penalty! Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa takes the penalty, she kicks the ball and it's a goal, 3-1 Reprezentacja Nordycki! The Septentrionaux scored another goal at the 36th minute when Sarah Surprenant made a short pass to Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz who dribbled with the ball and made a cross to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski who shoots and scores! The score is 4-1 Terre Septentrionale at the halftime.

At the start of the 2nd half, Zbigniew Zajaczkowski subs out in favor of Tymoteusz Swierczewski and the Northmen are now using a 3-6-1 formation. Terre Septentrionale is awarded a corner kick at the 56th minute. Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz kicks the ball in front of the net, Élisabeth Normandin jumps higher than anyone and heads the ball into the net and the score is 5-1 Septentrionaux! The Nordiques scores again at the 72nd minute when Charlie MacEachern (who subbed in for Élisabeth Normandin) passed to Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz who dribbled and made a short pass to Tymoteusz Swierczewski who made a cross to Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa. Cwierczakiewiczowa shoots and the ball is in, she gets a hat trick! 6-1 Terre Septentrionale. Then, 10 minutes later, Lashnakia scored to make it at 6-2 and this is the final score. Terre Septentrionale dominated this game with having possession of the ball 62% of the time and 17 shots, 9 of them were on target. Lashnakia only had 8 shots and 4 on target.

BOXSCORE
2nd minute: Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa assisted by Amelia Zalwowska
17th minute: Player #10 assisted by Player #7
22nd minute: Amelia Zalwowska assisted by Sarah Surprenant
33rd minute: Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa (penalty)
36th minute: Zbigniew Zajaczkowski assisted by Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz
56th minute: Élisabeth Normandin (unassisted)
72nd minute: Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa assisted by Tymoteusz Swierczewski
82nd minute: Player #11 assisted by Player #9

YELLOW CARDS
33rd minute: Player #2
41st minute: Player #6
79th minute: Slawomir Skrzeszewski

RED CARDS
None

Matchday 2

On matchday two, Terre Septentrionale will play against Amuaplye. Both teams won their opening game and are expected to advance to the playoffs.

Wlodzimierz Pietruszewski,
Senior writer, La tribune Septentrionale

by **Port Ember** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 2:01 pm

Port Ember Times

Port Ember loses debut match in the Baptism of Fire League

By Erica Davies - Federation of Free Republics.

Port Ember's first International Football Team has lost its debut match against Timuria with a final score of 2 - 1.

Although the game marked the first international game for both sides, coupled with the obvious inexperience and stage fright, it was by no means a boring game - and is well deserving of the title of an international match.

The first half of the game was beautifully played by our national team, and clearly dominated the game in the opening stages in terms of posession and attacking oppertunities, with Danny Nicovic scoring the nation's first international goal close to the 20 minute mark.

Impressive goalkeeping managed to stave of the fury of the Port Emberian onslaught not less than five times after the first goal, still in the first half.

The second half of the game turned bleakly for our national team as the Trimurian's gained new confidence and managed to dominate the game and place our lads on a constant defence, with our Goalkeeper Peter Smith working hard, managing to block four of the six on target shots.

In summary, the Trimuria Team was the side who managed to conquer their stage fright and kept a cool head which afforded them a narrow but well deserved victory.

Port Emberian Team Manager Stuart Baker had the following to comment post-match:

"I do understand that our nation and supporters must be dissapointed with our first loss on the international scene - which is understandable, a loss is never fun.

I do wish to share that you should not lose faith in our team, as I have learned a lot from this loss, which is still a beacom for the future.

What I have seen is that our lads is fit, talented and passionate, and our strategy is effective. The first half demonstrated what we are about.

I contribute our loss to a combined factor of stage fright and loss of focus, with our opponents displaying a more focused approach to the game. This we can fix with more experience - so I still see a bright future for us in this tournament.."

Match Statistics

Goals: Danny Nicovic; Vatan Ercetin; Caner Turan

Man of the Match: Saban Inekci

Yellow Cards: None

Red Cards: None

Next Match

As the first loss is still sinking in, the team is already preparing for their next match against Shatla. As this will be Shatla's first match of the tournament, Team Manager Stuart Baker is hoping to use their possible stage fright to our advantage and secure our first win.

Port Ember will stick to their previous starting squad for their next match.

by **Aurevbush** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 6:00 pm

Team Aurevbush's Roster:

Trigram: AVB
Colors: Blue and White
Alternate Colors: White with Red
Nicknames: Game Gators, the Aurevs
Headquarters: Lewandshire Federal City
Style Modifier: +/- 0
National Stadium: (various), Logimir Memorial Coliseum, Aeuitkiva MD (defacto)

Staff:
Manager David Alderman
Assistant Manager Aaron McInnes
Head Coach: Galen Iavarone
Assistant Coach: Lynwood Esperon
Goalkeeping Coach: Chas Kinton
Trainers: Arron Tian, Raphael Sanghvi, Rory Nyseth
Head Medical Technician: German Jann

Players:

Goalkeeper:

Link Moy (#1)
Hugh Bennett (#8)
Fisher Turner (#14)

Defenders:

Bowery Rogers (#24)
Fisher Powers (#64)
Thomas O'Leary(#19)
Willard Collins (#36)
Flint Price (#20)
Augustus Keyton (#29)
Calvin Colby (#2)

Midfielders:

Leonard Dayton (#4)
Robert Lee Marshall (#68)
Hugh King (#3)
Malachi "Irish" Sherman (#6)
Luis Berumen (#29)
Max Gruber (#50)

Forwards:
Justice Roberts (#15)
Freddy Valle (#12)
Jefferson Umana (#44)
Emanuel Prado (#38)

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes/No
Godmod scoring events: Yes/No
RP injuries to my players: [b]Yes[/b]/No
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes/No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes/No
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes/No
Godmod other events: Yes, as long as it's not anything over the top...

by **Free Republics** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 6:01 pm

MD2 Cutoff

St. Petrus Group
San Félix 1–1 The Aurian Plains
Tulize 3–2 Pius Desurongcrandis
Tornado Queendom 2–2 Bernegastad
Starcom Racing 4–2 Western Bjornaic

  St. Petrus Group                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Bernegastad                         2   1  1  0    5   2  +3    4
2 Tornado Queendom                    2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 San Félix                           2   1  1  0    6   5  +1    4
4 Tulize                              2   1  0  1    3   5  −2    3
5 Starcom Racing                      2   1  0  1    8   7  +1    3
6 Pius Desurongcrandis                2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
7 The Aurian Plains                   2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
8 Western Bjornaic                    2   0  0  2    2   5  −3    0

St. Paulus Group
Aurevbush 2–0 Petrisi
San Carlos Islands 1–0 Spensar
Bolgano 0–4 West Phoenicia
Abercontin-Jereaux 3–0 Lepolanatnessffiria

  St. Paulus Group                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 West Phoenicia                      2   2  0  0    9   0  +9    6
2 Abercontin-Jereaux                  2   2  0  0    6   0  +6    6
3 Aurevbush                           2   1  0  1    2   3  −1    3
4 Bolgano                             2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
5 San Carlos Islands                  2   1  0  1    1   5  −4    3
6 Spensar                             2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1
7 Petrisi                             2   0  1  1    2   4  −2    1
8 Lepolanatnessffiria                 2   0  0  2    0   6  −6    0

El Fierro Group
Amurbia 5–2 Caras
Timuria 7–1 Kandonica
Shatla 1–2 Port Ember

  El Fierro Group                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Timuria                             2   2  0  0    9   2  +7    6
2 Amurbia                             2   1  1  0    6   3  +3    4
3 Saciu                               1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
4 Port Ember                          2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
5 Kandonica                           2   0  1  1    2   8  −6    1
6 Shatla                              1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0
7 Caras                               2   0  0  2    3   7  −4    0

Los Martires Group
Amuaplye 1–1 Terre Septentrionale
Hapilopper 8–2 Orestea
Lavize 0–3 Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison

  Los Martires Group                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Hapilopper                          2   2  0  0   11   3  +8    6
2 Terre Septentrionale                2   1  1  0    7   3  +4    4
3 Amuaplye                            2   1  1  0    4   2  +2    4
4 Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison      2   1  0  1    4   3  +1    3
5 Lavize                              1   0  0  1    0   3  −3    0
6 Lashnakia                           1   0  0  1    2   6  −4    0
7 Orestea                             2   0  0  2    3  11  −8    0

San Hacienda Group
The Szcerkina Federacy 1–1 Paratan
Bliuji 1–2 Zealandiana
New Karelograd 0–0 The Orion Islands

  San Hacienda Group                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Zealandiana                         2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
2 Bliuji                              2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
3 Paratan                             2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
  The Szcerkina Federacy              2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
5 New Karelograd                      1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
6 The Orion Islands                   2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
7 Asdia                               1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1

by **Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 6:27 pm

The Natanian Republic of Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison Roster for the BoF LXX

# name age position height club

starters:1-11 reserves:12-23

1	Ubiratã Ubirajara Ubiraci	21	goalkeeper	1,98	F.C. Loch Blue
2	Natenoghodi Natena		22	r. back	 	1,72	Napiini F.C.
3	Tata'a Tapixi Xaxim		21	centre back	1,80	High Plains F.C.
4	João Miguel Irima		21	centre back	1,80	Pira Guaçu E.C.
5	Indaje Nhakyrã Iraity		20	d. midfielder	1,85	Goj Kyfé F.C.
6	Natenaghanagha Natena		22	l. back	 	1,72	Napiini F.C.
7	Na'arew Nàrà'zyw		25	a. midfielder	1,77	F.C. TatáResape
8	Mario Giovanni Petrescu		26	d. midfielder	1,75	Goj Kyfé F.C.
9	Peri Ubiratã Tibiriçá		20	a. midfielder	1,77	F.C. Loch Blue
10	Rhinić				20	striker	 	1,77	F.C. Loch Blue
11	Sinusić				20	striker	 	1,77	F.C. Loch Blue
12	Cláudio Alberto Vieira		21	goalkeeper	1,96	High Plains F.C.
13	Napocenigi Natenaghaneghegi	21	centre back	1,90	Napigixo F.C.
14	Nozâ Norõwada			19	r. back	 	1,62	Napigixo F.C.
15	Mihai Ioan Ionescu		25	centre back	1,85	Goj Kyfé F.C.
16	Natalagha Napiini		19	l. back	 	1,62	Natena F.C.
17	Martim Nhana'i Nhamokyrã	23	a. midfielder	1,75	Aruanãs Azuis F.C.
18	Nhanarã Norõwede		25	d. midfielder	1,84	Awaru F.C.
19	Meiruguassu Moacir Silveira	19	d. midfielder	1,76	Guassu Guaçu F.C.
20	Tawato Inaje Akaju'y		18	striker	 	1,60	Cheetah Dinamo
21	Noledi Noniciwagha		18	a. midfielder	1,97	Goj Kyfé F.C.
22	Guaraci Ubiratã da Silva	24	goalkeeper	1,95	F.C. Loch Blue
23	João Guaraci dos Santos		25	striker	 	1,70	High Plains F.C.

captain's name is in blue

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: No
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: No
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (only one per game)
Hand out red cards to my players: No
Godmod other events: No

EDIT:Style modifier:+1,618

by **Bolgano** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 6:40 pm

In a match where the two teams fought it was seen that West Phoenicia was superior to Bolgano waiting for the next match.

by **San Felix** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:08 pm

San Felix 1 - 1 The Aurian Plains

Line-up

#       Pos     Name                    Age     Team                                         
1	GK	Carlos Villegas	        20	El Valle F.C           
					
2	RB	Franco Hurtado          22      Costa de Oro	        
3	CB	Richard Correa	        27	Diablos de Mercedes	   CAPTAIN  
17	CB	Marcos Vargas	        20	Juvenil de la Victoria	        
5	LB	Pablo Marapacuto	21	Diablos de Mercedes	 
       				
6	RM	Diego Molina	        23	Deportivo San Vicente      FREE KICKS	
16	CM	Ronnie Navarro	        26	C.F Aguizu	        
11	AM	Juan Manuel Vera	21	Gigantes de Candelabros    PENALTIES       
8	CM	Manuel Sarmiento	19	Club Marinos	
7	LM	Gabriel Sanz	        20	Pistoleros de Manzanares	

9	ST	Bryan Laguna            20	Club Marinos

Results: San Felix climbs up to the top 3 with 4 points, being tied with Bernegastad and Tornado Queendom. Goal difference acts as the deciding factor. Bernegastad holds a GD of +3 placing the nation at the top of the board. San Felix and Tornado Queendom are tied on GD, making Goals Against the tie-breaker between both: San Felix haves 5 GA, while Tornado Queendom are tied with Bernegastad on 2 GA, but again, GD places Bernegastad on the top, leaving Tornado as the current runner-up on the tables.

With a noticeable lead, San Felix may actually be able to pass through the Group Stages, but, confidence is dangerous and saying that we got this in the bag might jinx us any time soon. We'll have to wait for the rest of the matches to see how things end up.

San Felix stats:

Wins: 1
Draws: 1
Losses: 0

Top goal scorer of the team: Juan Manuel Vera - 3 goals.
Top assist maker of the team: Hurtado - 2 assists.

by **West Phoenicia** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 9:12 pm

The West Phoenician Stampedes win second match against Bolgano with a spectacular 4-0 win against their opponents. Team Managment continues to applaud the amazing training of their defensive coach who has built up a strong wall of defence for any opposition attack, stopping the attackers in their tracks before they can reach the goal keeper.
Jason Summer continues to shine on the field scoring two of today's goals, coaching staff are trying not to make the same mistakes of some West Phoenician sporting teams who rely heavily on one or two players.

Team Manager Yusuf Weir has made it clear all members of the squad are just as skilled up and valuable as the next. If one team member was too falter, his reserve replacement will be just as skilled.

The West Phoenician Stampedes will next take on Abercontin-Jereaux who are hovering in second place and would want nothing more than to knock West Phoenicia off it's golden first place spot .
Their opponents nicknamed The Golden Eagles are about to get their feather plucked as West Phoenicia plans to break through the heavy defences their opponents have used during their last two games. They so have one female on the team Skye Beauregard; who will quickly learn she won't be given special treatment just because she is female.

In other news on the political front Justice Amber Trustee departure from the West Phoenician Supreme Court is only a few weeks away. As a left leaning justice on the court many politicians from the Communist Party, Socialist Party, Green Party and Feminist Party have wished her well but
Are left feeling shattered that they will lose one of there own. Only Justice : Cate de Vutton remains as the sole left leaning justice. The bench also consists of 2 moderates and 5 conservative. With The Right Wing Coalition currently in government, there is a strong reality that there will soon be 6 conservatives.

Left wing and centrist politicans are hoping when the time comes for the next Justice to be nominated that they can convince enough senators to block any right wing nomination and instead nominate and approve a centrist or left leaning justice.

It will be tough, first the Prime Minister will nominate a number of possible nominees, those nominees than appear before the West Phoenician Senate Judiciary Committee, if approved they then move onto the whole senate where they need 50% +1 support, from there the Prime Minister will approve and liason with the Emperor who will approve or veto.

The Senate stands at 310 members, to block a nominee or approve they need 156 votes. The Right Wing coalition has 145 senators.
If the Opposition teams up with the Left wing and Far left faction they would have 134 senators. That leaves 4 Senators on the Cross bench from The Republic Party and 26 from the far right bloc that consists of the Nationalist Party and the Prohibition Party.

The Centrist/Left wing alliance will struggle to get Nationalist Party or Prohibition Party Senators to vote for a left wing, but they may be able to convince them to vote for a centrist. All in all, political reporters are already saying the Right Wing Coalition has the numbers to push through any Justice of their choice and it may take The Opposition appealing to the Emperor to veto.

Meanwhile Justice Amber Trustee's retirement seems only to be from the bench. Rumour has that she will be accepting the role of Co-Leader of the West Phoenician Justice Party who has a number of strong policies on Court reform, review of sentencing, and other judicial matters that they feel Justice Trustees will be an asset in moving forward to get their agenda pushed through government.

by **Amuaplye** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 10:32 pm

BAPTISM OF FIRE LXX: MATCHDAYS 1&2

Matchday 1: Amuaplye v. Orestea

This game couldn't have gone better, despite the issues at home. We won, 3-1. Our goalie, Owen Estrada (henceforth known as #37), did extra time, having to stop at least 4 or 5 goal attempts by Orestea. He only managed to fail once, and even then, it was because of him tripping and falling. Injuries were extremely minor (not even a bruise!), and he continued playing. #69 scored 2 goals, and #60 scored 1. We can't access the roster at the moment, and we weren't able to see it, so we don't know who scored the goal against us. No yellow or red cards were issued, and the game was relatively peaceful. Speaking of peaceful matches....

Matchday 2: Amuaplye v. Terre Septentrionale

This wasn't. Rival and knockout round hopeful Terre Septentrionale was up against us today, and the game was predictably heated. We tied, 1-1, and both sides took rather long to score goals, unlike against Orestea, which was goal after goal after goal after goal. both goalies (#37 for us and #1 for them) had to stop, maybe... 7-13 attempts to goal each. #69 scored 1 goal for us, and #8 scored a goal against us. 1 yellow card was issued against us, (#16) for denying an opportunity to score a goal. This led up to the goal against us. We also heard chants of "We don't want this to end.", often times extended with "Our home is a hellhole."

by **Port Ember** » Mon Jul 15, 2019 1:23 am

Port Ember Times

Port Ember snatches first international win in the Baptism of Fire League

By Erica Davies - Federation of Free Republics.

Port Ember's national football team has snatched their very first international victory in their second match, as part of the Baptism of Fire League this sunday, with a decisive 2-1 final score.

The match took place in the Fierro del Infierno Stadium, and the 93,204 seats was filled to capacity, with an enormous turnout from Port Emberian fans, despite their teams previous loss.

Despite both teams being rookies on the international scene, the quality of the gameplay was clearly on a international level, and the war on the field kept the capacity crowd entertained until the very second the final whistle blew.

Shatla kicked off the match, and immediately exploded onto the field, positively dominating the game in terms of posession and goal attempts. The Port Emberian team wad caught offguard due to the immediate and overwhelming offense, and succeeded a goal already in the 8th minute of the match. The rest of the first half saw a continious domination from Shatla, however failing to score again, as the combined defencive line and goalkeeping skills kept the ball out of the net.

The second half of the game changed drastically, as it was clear that Port Ember seemingly gave the first half to their opponents, forcing them to work hard and tire themselves out. The Port Emberians continued to provide attavkimg opertunities to the Shatla side, and punished them if they overstretched their attack, with two amazing counter attacks which led to goals.

Captain Reddingtion orchestrated both goals by stealing the ball deep into own territory, and lunging it deep down field, allowing the fit striker Nicovic to chase the ball down and score an almost unopposed goal. The pattern was repeated with the second and final goal for the Port Emberians.

The coach, players and fans alike expressed joy at the victory and feels confident that the fire of hope remains to possibly reach the quarterfinals.

Match Analysis - Port Ember

Port Ember displayed good skills and strategies in this match, making it clear that their superb fitness and youth is something to count on. The counter attacking pair of Reddington and Nicovic is also something that resembles artwork. The team should however focus more on their defensive skills in the future.

Player Scores

Goalkeeper (GK)(#1): Peter Smith - 8/10. Once again did this young man keep up his good form, stopping 7 out of 8 shots at goal. Definitely a player to keep an eye on.

Center Back (CB)(#2): Josh Richards - 5/10. Nothing special came from this player, and made quite a few mistakes, allowing the opponents to attack continiously with ease. Looked a bit better in the second half, but still nothing special.

Center Back (CB)(#3): Jason Lee. 7/10. Looked impressive in the second half, stealig a lot of possession. Would like to see more however, from this talented young man.

Full Back (LB)(#4): Alex Kuhn - 6/10. Nothing special came from this player, and made quite a few mistakes, allowing the opponents to attack continiously with ease. Looked a bit better in the second half, but still nothing special.

Full Back (RB)(#5): Russel Pierce - 6/10. Nothing special came from this player, and made quite a few mistakes, allowing the opponents to attack continiously with ease. Looked a bit better in the second half, but still nothing special.

Attacking Midfield (AM)(#10): Raymond Reddington - 8/10.

Although he had a late start, not making any impact during the first half, he made up for it during the second half. He organised his defencive line continiously, stole alot of possession, and continiously created gaps in the opponents defence, creating both oppertunities which saw Port Ember score.

Defensive Midfield (DM)(#6): Steven Packard - 6/10. Played a decent game, making no serious mistakes, but not shining in any particular manner.

Wide Midfield (LM)(#8): Jason Chamberlain - 6/10. Played a decent game, making no serious mistakes, but not shining in any particular manner.

Wide Midfield (RM)(#11): Steve Rogers - 6/10. Played a decent game, making no serious mistakes, but not shining in any particular manner.

Central Forward (CF)(#7): Leon Moult - 4/10. Biggest dissapointment in the team currently, just not performing as he should or can for the last two games.

Central Forward (CF)(#9): Danny Nicovic 8/10. Played a brilliant game, scoring both goals. Alongside Reddigton, truly a match made in heaven.

Match Stats - Port Ember Point of View

Goals Scored: D. Nicovic x 2

Goals Secceeded: x 1

Man of the Match: Raymond Reddington

Current Standings

El Fierro Group                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Timuria                             2   2  0  0    9   2  +7    6
2 Amurbia                             2   1  1  0    6   3  +3    4
3 Saciu                               1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
4 Port Ember                          2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
5 Kandonica                           2   0  1  1    2   8  −6    1
6 Shatla                              1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0
7 Caras                               2   0  0  2    3   7  −4    0

Next Match

Port Ember has a off day this monday, which will be used to rest the well deserving players, and prepare for their next match against Kandonica in the Fierro del Infierno Stadium. Coach Baxter has announced the same starting players as before.

by **Timuria** » Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:42 am

Timuria Run Riot

by Tufan Nursultan

Timuria 7-1 Kandonica

Vatan Ercetin (17), Tayyar Ozel (32), Ertan Renda (43, 68), Ismail Burhan (55, 76), Caner Turan (89); Player #10 (59)

Whatever nerves may have been on display in the first game have well and truly subsided. The national team came away with a convincing 7-1 victory over Kandonica in the Fierro del Inferno Stadium. Kandonica came into the game hoping to build on the draw they earned in the first match, while the national team looked to improve upon an at times haphazard performance particularly in defence.

The direction of travel in this game became obvious early with Vatan Ercetin hitting the post in the 5th minute after being put through on goal by Ertan Renda. He was then denied by the goalkeeper in the 12th minute as he saved the ball onto the crossbar. Finally he would take a chance as Tayyar Ozel crossed the ball and he hit the back of the net with a diving header. Immediately after the goal, Kandonica forced a smart save from Saban Inekci who didn't have much to do during the match. Tayyar Ozel doubled the team's tally from outside the box, rocketing the ball into the top corner while the goalkeeper was left gazing at the ball.

In the 43rd minute, Ertan Renda scored a free-kick from 30 yards, given as a result of a harsh challenge on Vatan Ercetin which forced him off the pitch with what team doctors called a "dead leg" meaning he should be active for the next game against Caras, Ismail Burhan came on in his place. The national team went into the halftime break with a comfortable 3-0 lead and they wouldn't look back.

Substitute Ismail Burhan, who is known for his friendly, but deeply competitive rivalry with the man he replaced grabbed a goal in the 55th minute, a well placed effort from the edge of the box after a smart pass from Ertan Renda. However, the national team would not have it all their own way a serious miscommunication between Tuna Rustemoglu and Ozbek Sarikaya allowed the Kandonican #10 to grab a goal. Then would follow the only period of really even play between the teams, with Kandonica really trying to make a game of it. Their defence, however let them down yet again as Ertan Renda managed to sneak his way past the centre-back and slot a placed shot past the goalkeeper making the score 5-1.

After long periods of sustained possession, Ismail Burhan added another goal, simply rounding the goalkeeper and hitting the back of the net. Caner Turan made the most of his 15 minutes on the pitch, scoring a goal by cutting in from the right wing and showing he truly is two-footed by scoring with his left. Unlike the previous game, the national team clearly had confidence and executed the plan to perfection a good sign for potential deep run into the competition.

What they said after the game:

Bekir Altingunes: "We obviously don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but we clearly just outmatched them up and down the field. Even the best teams have off days so we're not taking anything for granted and there were some untidy periods of play we'll want to clean up. As for Vatan's injury he should be back in time for the next match so expect him to start."

Ertan Renda: "Honestly I didn't feel great after the last game so to come back and contribute to the victory is nice. The coach has really grown into the role and we really feel ready to make a big push."

Ismail Burhan: "I really hope Vatan recovers quickly, but I also hope that I've given the boss something to think about tonight. There's talent up and down this roster so I hope those two goals have bartered a bigger role for me going forward."

Ratings:

Saban Inekci 7/10 - The man of the match from the first game didn't disappoint in the follow up. The one goal he conceded wasn't his fault and he generally took care of business. A solid day for the man between the sticks.

Ozbek Sarikaya 6/10 - Ozbek really struggled in the first game and fared a little better in this one, but he was substituted after the miscommunication that led to the one goal the team conceded. Clearly some kind of improvement will need to be seen otherwise he could be benched.

Tuna Rustemoglu 7/10 - He went from one of the worst performers to a solid defensive outing. A lot of players wouldn't have been given a second chance, but Altingunes' willingness to do that has paid off.

Osman Hasanoglu 8/10 - Osman had a good solid game, very little was getting past him and he made a lot more forward passes than he had in the previous game. Clearly growing into his role on the team.

Gokdeniz Dag 7/10 - Gokdeniz managed to bounce back from his sub-par performance in the opener much better than his Uryanspor teammate Ozbek. Very little went wrong for him in a fairly quiet day.

Hakan Diren 7/10 - Hakan Diren struggled in the opener, but managed to find his feet in this game. He looked comfortable on the ball and worked well with his partner in midfield. A good day.

Yusuf Ihsanoglu 8/10 - Yusuf acted as a very effective defensive screen, stopping a lot of threats before they even had the chance to emerge. The comfort of the win for the defence rests on his shoulders.

Tayyar Ozel 8/10 - Tayyar was a thorn in the side of the defence all game long and added a goal for his efforts.

Ertan Renda 10/10 - Two goals and a hand in almost every goal. It was a masterful performance from the attacking midfielder, who did not have the easiest game in the opener.

Tekin Yavuz 6/10 - Tekin was kept quiet and didn't really manage to make much of a serious impact.

Vatan Ercetin 7/10 - Before his injury he looked like he would be on for a big day. Sadly his day was cut short, but Vatan can be happy with his performance.

Subs:

Ismail Burhan 8/10 - Ismail is considered unlucky to not be the starting striker, but he made his case excellently in this game, taking his goals well.

Caner Turan 7/10 - Caner built on his superb performance in the last match with a solid one and another goal. The two starting wingers must surely be under some pressure from him.

Yildiray Sabuktiginoglu 6/10 Brought on in relief of Ozbek Sarikaya, Yildiray didn't have to make a lot of strong defensive plays, but he also didn't make any mistakes. The 6/10 reflects a lack of time on the pitch rather than a mundane performance.

Man of the Match: Ertan Renda - The Elektriklestirmespor man really showed some of the excellent form he had captured in the Superleague. Despite not looking the part, he showed he belonged on that pitch during the match.

The next match: The next match is against Caras who sit at the bottom of the group through two games with the mirror image of Timuria's goal difference sitting at -4 compared to our own +7. The expectation will now be through the roof as this dominant win has captured the attention of the country with workplaces offering to show the match on TV's during the day and others offering to give workers time off to watch. The starting XI is expected to be identical to the one that saw the field against Kandonica.

Odds: Timuria 2/3 Draw 4/1 Caras 4/1

by **Timuria** » Mon Jul 15, 2019 4:21 am

The Fire is Real Chapter 3:

Bekir walked into the locker room where the team had assembled for the final tactical overview before the team's second game. He looked around the room and saw two of the reserve players looking a bit nervous and curious in the direction of the office in the training facility he and Senol had occupied during their time here. He approached the blonde haired backup goalkeeper and the savior in the last game. "Caner, Iskender, is something wrong?" He looked to the office and saw a red haired woman, dressed in very smart clothing.

"Yeah this woman came here, said she was from the..." Iskender trailed off as he stared at her. Caner clipped him on the back of the head, "Oh right." He rubbed the back of his head, "Something about personal security? Are we in some kind of danger coach?"

Bekir shook his head, "No, no. I'm sure it's just the Football Federation being cautious. You guys get ready for the tactical overview." The players returned to their lockers, but continued to observe the red haired lady through their peripheral vision. Bekir approached her and regarded her with deep suspicion, "Hello miss?"

"Call me Rabia." The woman stood up and opened the door to his office, "We need to speak with each other in private."

Bekir was unsure exactly what was happening, but he sensed that refusal was not a viable option, he stepped into the office, as the woman followed closing the door behind them, causing a wave of gossip ridden muttering in the dressing room, which Senol silenced with a bellowing, "Okay that's enough, get your notebooks!" It always surprised Bekir how his colleague could produce such a powerful voice from such a meek looking body. He sat at the desk and smiled, trying to reduce the tension that filled the room, "So Rabia. What can I do for you? My players say you're from personal security?"

Rabia sat across from him and beheld him, a small grin came on her face as she read from her phone, "I get that the party is mad at me, but don't act like you're going to kill me if I lose. Back off." She tilted her head, "Well Bekir I'd remind you that you agreed to take this role on the promise that you could put on a good show. You also agreed to the consequences." She retained an icy cold demeanor. "I don't want to have to come back to this locker room." She stood up, "Consider this your only warning, do not send messages like that to us again and consider chemically castrating your players. You'd think they'd never seen a woman before the way they reacted to me."

She spun on her heels and began to walk out before he could even give a response, but she turned before she reached the door, "Oh, congratulations on the first win. For both our sakes I hope it's the first of many." She elegantly departed the room, Bekir didn't know what to make of her, was she from the intelligence services? Did the Department of Recreational Activities suddenly have its own spy agency? Or was she just some actress hired by his friends in the party to mock him? He couldn't be certain, but he knew one thing, he had to find a way to keep the positive results coming otherwise he could find himself facing those "consequences" he agreed to, none of which had pleasant implications for his career trajectory.

Senol poked his head into the office, "Everything okay Bekir?" He nodded hastily in response, "Well the team are ready to do the last tactical overview before we head to the stadium. So when you're ready." Senol tapped the frame of the door before he left Bekir alone, with his thoughts and his fears.

***

The team ran into the changing room leaping in the air in celebration. That was beyond their expectations, the atmosphere in the room was electric. Iskender gave his teammates generous high fives and hugs. Even if he was at his core apathetic it was hard not celebrate such a commanding win. Him, Caner and Ismail went to get changed, "Congrats on the goals guys." The pair nodded to him.

"Thanks Iskender. Did you manage to stay awake on the bench this time?" Ismail asked with a grin.

"Yes I did, I mean you guys put on a show and so did Saban. So I'm sitting pretty."

"Caner, you feeling okay?" Ismail asked as he noticed Caner wearing a scowl.

"Yeah, just a bit... It's whatever. So do you guys want to do something tonight? Bar maybe?"

Iskender perked up at the suggestion and wrapped an arm around Ismail, "Yes 100% I've been dying to go out." He said as if dying of thirst.

A loud whistle pierced through the room as Bekir stood in the middle of the changing room, "That was sublime. Every single one of you deserve to go out and have some fun tonight. Curfew is lifted for tonight as long as you can make it for 11 tomorrow for film review and tactical overview. Go out and have some fun! Coach's orders." The team cheered loudly at the manager's blessing.

"Well then. I'd say a bar is very much where we need to go." Iskender smiled at his companions, "Let's get dressed and go out."

The three agreed as Bekir and Senol left the changing room.

Bekir began to make his way out of the stadium with Senol, "So you really think it's wise to let the players cut loose tonight?"

Bekir nodded, "Look they're probably never going to win 7-1 again, so they may as well be allowed to enjoy it. Plus I told them they need to be ready for 11 tomorrow, that rather limits the kind of stuff they can get up to."

Senol nodded, "Sure, sure. So the system is working, but I really need one more game to tell you what adjustments need to be made."

"Working better than expected I'd say. I'm glad I asked for you."

"Well thanks. I'll be honest this wasn't my first choice, but I'm glad I'm here."

Bekir hailed a taxi, "Split a fare to the hotel?"

Senol shook his head, "You go ahead, I have plans. Going to watch a movie."

The taxi stopped in front of the pair, "Alone? Okay." He looked at him suspiciously as he got into the taxi and Senol walked off, Bekir wondering what he was really doing. He couldn't help but wonder if he was somehow connected to Rabia.

***

The trio left met in the hotel lobby, the sun beginning to set as they had dressed significantly neater than they were used to. All 3 wore button down shirts and somewhat smart trousers. "So, what's the plan?" Iskender asked eager to go out.

"Well we were thinking about grabbing some food then heading to a bar and just having a couple of drinks nothing crazy." Caner replied.

Iskender looked down and away, "Yeah, sounds good I guess. What food?"

Ismail smiled, "Well some of the national team's fans have been barbecuing around the city, we thought we'd crash one, get some food."

"So... why did you tell me to dress nicely?" Iskender queried.

"You want to look good for the fans right?" Ismail put an arm around him and guided him to their booked taxi. The car set off and the trio sat in silence briefly as Caner spoke to the driver in fairly fluid English.

"Guys... you remember that woman right? From earlier the one who met with Bekir?" Ismail and Caner nodded, "Do you guys really believe that she's from 'personal security'? Doesn't that seem a bit... weird?"

Caner and Ismail exchanged a look, "I mean I guess? But what's the alternative? It's not like she's some kind of spy." Caner laughed at the notion.

Iskender shifted uncomfortably, "It's just... doesn't it seem like if there was a need for security it would be down to the police and they wouldn't need to tell the manager?"

Ismail shook his head, "She was probably just keeping him up to date. You know he was a minister before he became manager. Maybe he still has access to some information?"

Iskender sighed, "I'm just saying. Something feels off." He paused, "We should look into it." Caner suddenly put his hand on Iskender's forehead, "Um Caner, what the hell are you doing?"

Caner joked, "Just checking to see if you're sick, that sounded like you suggesting we do work."

Iskender slapped away his hand, "Okay very funny, but you have to admit there's something weird going on here."

The trio began an impassioned argument as the taxi continued on its journey.

Baptism of Fire 70 Everything Thread

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