World Cup 83 - Roleplay Thread

[Torisakia]

And welcome to another edition of the Sports With Bort blog, I'm your always humble host Bort Stevens. We're continuing our special report on Torisakia's World Cup 83 campaign that we began earlier. Previously, we talked about Torisakia's 0-0 draw with Ko-oren on matchday two of the group stages. Today we'll be reflecting on the first two matchdays while looking ahead at the Ice Birds' next match against Flavovespia.

Part of me wants to say that these first two matches for Torisakia have been disappointing. We haven't scored a goal at all and we gave up 2 goals in the first game alone. But another part of me wants to say that this is what most of us expected. Not saying that we all expected them to disappoint us; but I'm saying that because it was pretty reasonable to believe that the team would start off slow at the beginning of the group stages. A completely revamped team, first appearance in a while, new players, new coaches, new environments, we couldn't just expect them to start winning right from the start. This isn't a case like we had in the past World Bowl where Torisakia was in a group with teams that had performed badly in recent editions. This time we're in a group with teams that have performed well over the past couple of World Bowls. And also given that our first two matches were against Top 50 teams, it's hard to say that we didn't expect to lose. Maybe this next match against unranked Flavovespia will bring out a bit more competitiveness in the guys.

Even though we've not scored a single goal so far, everyone seems to be playing well. We held one of the best teams in the world to only two goals and held another top 50 team to no goals at all. Even though we aren't doing the best, you have to admire the fight and determination that our guys are playing with. Especially the defenders like Logan Brantley and Kanta Serafin. They're really putting in work to keep our defense in top shape early on. Goalkeeper Mitch Issacson has been solid as well. He's had 26 saves so far on well over 50 or so shots and only 2 of them have actually gone in the net. We do however seem to be lacking on the offensive side of things. Our centerfielders are having trouble getting the ball upfield so our strikers can have a chance at a goal. Torisakia has one of the lowest number of shots attempted so far this World Cup with only 11. On the other hand our strikers don't make a high enough effort to get open for shots and potential crosses. Syarhey Sweetcloud seems to be the one with the biggest problem. He's looked confused and off paged in these first two matches, and it may be just opening round jitters for him given this is his first international event. Lets hope he can get his stuff together in the next matchday or two or else we'll have to call up Aristide "The Tide" Wallace to take his spot. And we all know how badly he wants to play.

Torisakia faces off against Flavovespia on matchday three of World Cup 83. This one will be on the road as will the next game until matchday five when we finally get another home game. I think it's nice that we have some road tests early on. It kinda helps shake off those opening round jitters that I was talking about and can help us adjust to the new environment. Even if we lose this game I at least want us to score one goal. It doesn't matter how it happens. Whether it be a brilliant bicycle kick by Jordan Kallian, an OG by the Flavovespia goalkeeper, or a penalty kick off a flop by Kelso as he rolls around on the pitch in agony on an Otto Award winning dramatic performance. I just want us to score once this whole tournament god dammit!

Welp, that's all I have for today. I'll be back with another edition of Sports with Bort soon to discuss the Torisakia-Flavovespia matchup and preview the next matchup as well as take a look at other happenings around the tournament in other groups. Take care and don't say "don't" say "doesn't"!

[Brenecia]

Brenecia 0 - 1 Polkopia
(4-4-2) 20 - Farrell; 2 - Broxham, 22 - Horgan, 6 - Szubanski (c), 19 - Prentice; 7 - Crowther, 21 - Case, 13 - Wheeler (8 - Matheson 78'), 11 - Keynes (16 - Fletcher 72'); 9 - Riordan (17 - Bremner 65'), 10 - Ciogach

What Clarisse Ward hated, more than anything in the world, was chaos.
You knew where you stood with Ward, even her enemies had to concede that. More importantly, you knew where Ward's world stood, and where it was planning to march on towards.
She'd focused on the basics, in her overhauls. Clean, pressed uniforms, shirts tucked in, boots and belts shined. Restoring a sense of pride to Brenecia's decayed military, and then sending out her new shiny recruiting sergeants to impress broke kids from the mean streets with nothing to lose. She'd set an astronomical number for recruitment, anticipating the army to fall short and give her an excuse to start firing people. She wasn't too upset, though, when they actually managed to hit the figures.
It was the same with the police, long neglected - and in this, Ward had the refreshing feeling that everyone supported her. Cash was thrown at the problem, and her own secret police rooted out the widespread corruption within the force. Then more funding had to be pumped in, to staff the prisons packed to bursting with... well, pretty much everyone.
For the rest, austerity prevailed. Writers and students in the humanities looked west in envy as their budgets were slashed, wages stalled, infrastructure decayed. Moths started to eat at the fringes of the welfare net that Nepharim law had left them. The middle-class tightened their belts and convinced themselves they were making brave sacrifices for the good of the land. The poor starved.

The weekend brought a cascade of events. Independence Day fell on the day of a World Cup qualifier, one which the Brenecian FA planned to honour the veteran defender Niko Szubanski with his hundredth cap. Jim Reid had agreed - the defender deserved it, really, and while well past his prime was still doing a job for 1830 when fit.
Independence Day under Clarisse Ward meant parades, pomp, pride. New dress uniforms and parade routines had been rolled out just in time for the military as they marched through the streets of Rozelle. The police joined in, as well. Nothing could go wrong when the lines were blurred between the two, right? And most spectacular of all were Queen Mairin's ornamental Royal Guard, an explosion of navy, sky, white and bronze plumes and feathers and medallions, arranged in meticulous staggered formation around the overripe figure of the monarch herself. Ward had never liked the idea of the Royal Guard. She'd needed that money for her actual elites. But to see them in full flight... maybe it did add a little something. A little weight to the occasion, and to the Brenecian crown itself. And as her PR man, Carrigan, kept telling her, reminders to the international press that there was a Queen helped them call the nation a constitutional monarchy, rather than a veiled dictatorship.
The streets were packed, and a festival atmosphere prevailed. Fireworks sprayed into the sky as soon as it turned even vaguely dark. It was food for thought. And Ward wondered how this army would look marching through the streets of chaotic, ruined Mareibat. Could they be welcomed as heroes there, too?
She leaned across in the seat to her highest-ranked officer, Dorian Blackwood, who had so impressed Ward with his efficiency and drive that he'd been promoted to Brenecia's first-ever Marshal. She planted the seed in his head. He nodded, thought it through. He'd evaluate things, send back a report. And then Ward could make calls with that evaluation in mind.
She leaned back. Enjoyed the rest of the show, let her head rest for a bit. The people were happy. The streets were in order. Brenecia looked strong, powerful, united. All thanks to her.
Now all that was required was for the Patriots, long the strong right hook of Brenecian soft power, to do the business against Polkopia. They could do that, right?

BRENECIAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 2
Goalkeepers: 1 - Lachlan Kenway (Vidial Alchemists, MRN), 12 - Scanlan Pritchard (Marque), 20 - Cass Farrell (Northern Union)
Defenders: 2 - Fiona Marquess (Birdingstone United, ETN), 3 - Eliwulf Tambor (Northern Union), 5 - Rosena Grayndler (North Hall), 6 - Keane Mathers (Northern Stallions), 18 - Erica Weaver (North Hall), 19 - Morwen Prentice (Crystal Fair HC, CRY), 22 - Garrett Horgan (Northern Union)
Midfielders: 4 - Finn Townsend (Francisca Orient), 7 - Cu Roi Garrard (Northern Union), 8 - Elysse Matheson (Hornchurch, EUR), 11 - Isidra Corvey (Kingsgrove), 13 - Keziah Locke (Duke of the North, PAS), 15 - Lauren Cheney (Kingsgrove), 16 - Ceridwen Fletcher (North Hall), 21 - Roisin Staunton (Kingsgrove)
Forwards: 9 - Kit Kennedy (Bourne River, ETN), 10 - Banshee Strider (Lotus Park), 14 - Creidne Lindauer (Kingsgrove), 17 - Niall Bremner (Unioneers, EUR), 23 - Vesuvia Carrick (Atletik Thessia, MYT)

SCHEDULE
Islas Aaland 0 - 4 Brenecia
Brenecia 0 - 1 Polkopia
Lepolanatnessffiria vs. Brenecia
[Bye] (Friendly: Ceyne Isles vs. Brenecia)
Brenecia vs. Hapilopper
Damukuni vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Bolgano
Brenecia vs. Islas Aaland
Polkopia vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Lepolanatnessffiria
[Bye]
Hapilopper vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Damukuni
Bolgano vs. Brenecia

[Vilita]

Jungle Cats drawn in Group X with Jeruselem Mattijana

World Cup 83 Qualification Preview

Group X

Vilita (1)
Jeruselem (35)
Mattijana (60)
Busoga Islands (92)
Vartugia (213)
Asdia (310)
Saintland (UR)

Tivali Ring Stadium, Alikki-Corra, Vilita :: As #1 Nation in the World Rankings and Defending World Cup Champions, the pressure on the Vilitan National Team to qualify from Group X of the World Cup 83 Qualifications was equally non-existant and crushing at the same time. With their greatest challenge on paper to the top spot in the group being 35th ranked Jeruselem, many pundits have already penciled the Jungle Cats in for a spot in Banija and the Equestrian States where they will be seeking their third consecutive World Cup Title to tie the all time record. Other more astute observers may see Group X as a bit of a potential banana peel for the champions however with difficult matches against Mattijana, the Busoga Islands and the returning nation of Saintland whom is unranked on paper but likely to provide much more of a challenge then the standard debutant nation.

Vilita will open their campaign on the road against a nation they have never faced in competition, 310th ranked Asdia. They will then quickly return home to the Lonngeylin Coliseum where a packed house will witness what could be one of the most important matches of the campaign where the Vilitans will host Jeruselem in a match that will set the early tone for the Group. After the first set of matches the Jungle Cats will head back on the road to Vartugia before advancing to their bye week giving them plenty of time to prepare for the critical Matchday 5 fixture against Mattijana.

Many feel if the Jungle Cats can survive unscathed through Matchday 5 they will be in pole position to take top spot in the group and cruise to the World Cup Finals in Banija and the Equestrian States. If they run into any road blocks however it could be a difficult campaign ahead much like the World Cup 82 Qualification campaign which only saw Vilita through on the final day of qualification matches.

It will be the second straight campaign where Vilita have been drawn against the Busoga Islands and the Jungle Cats will certainly be looking to improve on their performances from the previous cycle as it was a 1-0 first half defeat at home to the Busoga Islands that put the Jungle Cats on the fence and struggling to secure their place in the World Cup Finals. Despite a near-perfect second half of Qualification it still nearly came down to those three lost points at the hands of the Busoga Islands to get Vilita through to the Finals. As such, there will certainly be no taking things lightly against them in the 83rd World Cup Qualification Cycle as the coaching staff will be pushing the players extra hard in the week before the teams meet on Matchday 7 so as to not suffer the same fate as they did last time the two teams met on Vilitan soil.

As for the other teams in Group X, the Vilitan National Team most recently squared off against Mattijana during World Cup 78 Qualifying with a pair of victories over the then-91st ranked side in the multiverse. The Jungle Cats don't have a strong history against Saintland but will be hoping to change that by the end of the World Cup 83 Qualification Cycle with the last meeting between the sides being a 0-3 defeat during the World Cup 72 Finals. However, there is no team in Group X that the Vilitan National Team has more history against than Jeruselem. While it will be the first time in the current generation that the two history-laden sides will meet, there is no doubting the history that goes back to the very beginning of internationstatal sport between the two nations including the World Cup 13 Cup of Tardy and some of the earliest Under-21 World Cup Championships which were contested regularly between the two nations that invested heavily in youth development while the sport was still growing. World Cup 83 Qualifying will be the first page of a new chapter of history between the sides and Vilitan fans throughout the multiverse will be hoping that these new pages of history will favor the Jungle Cats.

[Tinhampton]

OOC: Still utterly baffled? The Table of Contents for This Book Shouldn't Exist can be found HERE.

THIS BOOK SHOULDN'T EXIST
(C) Lydia Gould and Abdulrahman Haddad 2019
Part 1, Chapter 1 - The Historical Literature

IV
Transarid is only one part of the story, of course. Another crucial piece of our jigsaw lies in the little-heard-of nation of Mexico Socialista*, where several alliances, including a group of Democratic and Monarchist Rebels, were fighting for the heart and soul of their land. Although these particular rebels had recieved support from Tinhampton, the monarchists had forced out their democratic one-time friends a matter of days later. With the actual approval of Mayor Price, and the insinuated thumbs-up of Foreign Minister Anderson and her more hawkist stand-in Kevin Wright, it was down to Military Minister Saffron Howard - another unknown name put to yet another unknown face - to spark the fuse that led to the mass-scale Tinhamptonian invasion of Mexico Socialista, with all of 2,000 men and (if rumours are to be taken at face value) some support from the Galactic Liberal Democracy.
Ms Howard had two known goals, to establish relations with Tinhampton and to build a democratic infrastructure, but perhaps this was too much. To many, it felt like Tinhampton was fighting too many wars to count, on too many fronts to count, and with far too many people to count - with itself, with Transarid and now with the Mexicans. The first two were being lost massively, but the third got even tighter; with all remaining rebels and what remained of the old Communist administration putting aside their differences to stop Tinhampton from coming any closer than twenty-six miles of the tarnished capital, before the Mioktopians - with their flashy robotic troops and imperial aspirations - finally forcing the government to its knees in less than two days. In the Treaty of Mexico City, Mioktopia claimed the south of the country whilst leaving the original occupiers to do their own thing with the rest of the land, including immigrate into the new Mioktopian colony: clearly, this victory was very far from a perfect triumph.
The Minister had succeeded Mayor Price in that line and was looking further to follow him into the most important office in the land - but faced stern competition against the likes of Education Minister Vanessa Davis, Business Standards Minister Daniel Steer and Foreign Minister Wright, who was supported by Price. For some time after the Treaty was agreed upon, which came 45 minutes before the first ballot for the Mayoralty began, she was herself willing to admit for a while that the result of the war could have led to "significant embarrassment" to her cause - whilst, at the same time, rationalising it as "the right thing to do against far-right aggression" as exhibited by Mioktopians. She was far from popular in the Assembly: Nathan Ball - leader of the Tinhampton First Party, one of the smaller parties in government, and no relation to Fred the footballer - had condemned her as a "Satanic feminist" and urged his party's Assembly Members not to vote for her or Mrs Davis.
Ms Howard, although a more moderating and anti-fascist figure, was also seen as having "blood on her hands" and only got through to the last round of the Mayoral election two days later after two Free Democrats agreed to vote for her on the former grounds. Perhaps Mr Wright may have pulled through otherwise, despite being much abhorred as the "continuity candidate" for an agenda that swathes of Tinhampton had gone onto the streets to oppose in recent weeks; at one stage in early September, Price told the Military Minister not to speak to him after she supposedly threatened to throw bricks at him, before she ordered five kilograms of the wonder metal stalinium in retaliation, as if to make a point. Whether or not Howard's attempt at being somewhat humorous succeeded or not might have been debated for a few days, but has long since been lost in the stew that is Tinhamptonian civil disobedience.
Mr Steer pulled out the next day, widely thought to have almost no chance of winning despite being so similar to Howard - yet it would be wrong to explain that they were exactly identical in their politics to each other, best demonstrated through her support and his opposition to the dreaded "Sugar Tax" and the LGBTQ+ Hate Speech Eradication Bill. "Liberty and justice for each man we will provide," originally coined by Founding Father Paul Derrick, were the buzzwords of 2018's new political order, having been deployed by only the third of the Mayoresses so far in her first address; cue a nine-point lead in one poll by the United Conservatives over the Social Democrats, unheard of in the 21st Century.
Three weeks after Howard won re-election, Mexico Socialista's great allies in Saralonia - having fallen under the yoke of foreign intervention - was split in half, with the socialists keeping the south and a Christian Democratic country which is currently recognised by Tinhampton as the only legitimate Saralonian state. Whilst Tinhampton's failure to "set up a stable democracy" in Mexico Socialista - as demonstrated by that country's descent into civil war not long after the Honolulu compromise - was described by Mr Ball as "the biggest kick in the teeth that Mayor Howard will ever recieve," perhaps it yet reaffirmed this finest and most inadvertent of genius masterstrokes from one of the youngest Mayors in our history. If the claims that she rolled her eyes in front of Foreign Minister Ryan Terrence upon being told that Mioktopia had fallen into its fifth civil war are true, nobody would be surprised!

*Note: The country is referred to as Mexico socialista by the World Census. However, we are putting the second half of the nation's name in sentence case to avoid further confusion.

[Recuecn]

After drawing Qasden Reçuecian fans had hoped that their luck would hold against the supposedly weaker Santa Regada. Such was not the case. Although the RNFT was slated to lose against their higher-ranked opponents, the fans had perceived momentum after winning the draw against Qasden and anticipated something coming from that.

Nothing did. Santa Regada defeated Reçueçn in a match where the Reçuecian side couldn't stop itself from botching its halfway decent performance with a number of mistakes. Sloppy defending allowed the Santa Regada goal when their striker was unmarked--Leo Beck apparently thinking he was already offsides. A couple more such careless decisions demonstrated that the Unicorns' defense was getting a bit tired and not thinking perfectly straight. Franky, who'd been denied a chance to score against Qasden, somehow found even less luck in this game, and grew increasingly frustrated, until eventually after an ugly tackle he was handed a yellow card.

Tremblay, the manager, tried his best to do his part to prevent the team's collapse, but found himself unable to do much from the sidelines. He used his substitutions to shore up his defense, swapping out a couple exhausted defenders, and after Franky's yellow, taking him off in favor of a mid-fielder. He did manage to prevent Santa Regada, who had scored fairly early on, about half-way into the first half, from extending their lead. But some fans were not happy. Even the match commentators at home voiced the same thoughts. "Reçueçn's got a fine defense, he should be trying to attack, tie the game up," one said during the match coverage as Reçuecians from around the world watched. "Losing the game can only hurt you so much, what he needs is more points for qualification, and you've got to start scoring more goals."

Reçueçn, two games into its qualification attempt, hasn't scored yet, and in fact hasn't even yet had a shot on goal.

---

As soon as the game was over, Emanuele had collapsed on the field. Franky had been right. The draw against Qasden was a fluke.

Emanuele had been brimming with confidence, before a conversation he'd had with Franky. High off his success (and the team's) in the IAC and against Qasden, he'd been ready to take on the world--literally.

Franky, however, had taken a more "realistic" approach. Well, Franky called it realism. Realistically, it was pessimism. Maybe Franky had just been in a funk at the particular moment he'd talked to Emanuele--maybe he'd just been cross at having his video game interrupted. But his mood of low-expectations was contagious. Emanuele had caught it, and once Emanuele and Franky were mopey, it didn't take much for the others to notice and lose their own moxie. Franky and Emanuele were the youngest on the team--they brought a sort of adventurous spirit, a willingness to give anything a try, a sense of humor... they hardly took anything seriously, and sometimes that was needed to lift some of the stress off the team's back. When Emanuele began to despair of qualification, he quit inspiring Franky, Franky quit motivating Emanuele, and the wheel quit turning. The others on the team noticed one by one and gradually the locker-room had fallen quiet.

Tremblay had noticed. As they completed his drills, his men ran with their heads down. Their was less laughing and joking during his training exercises. And of course, once they had lost the game to Santa Regada, the pessimism had become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Tremblay had more to worry about than the players did. The players, for the most part, were only concerned with winning one game at a time. Maybe Gerauld thought ahead a bit more. But Tremblay had to worry about image, as well. A loss for the Unicorns' first home game didn't look good. If the team didn't start scoring soon, too, then people would start to complain about him personally. Tremblay could have a pretty thick skin when he needed to, but he knew that sort of thing couldn't help the team out at all. Tremblay didn't want the funk his players had caught to pass on to the fans, either. So far it was only a single loss. But home games mattered more, and Tremblay didn't want to start a trend. He knew he'd need to come up with something to revitalize the team spirit, he just wasn't sure what that could be.

The next game would be against Valladares. Another opponent ranked at the top of the group. There would be no shame in a loss, but Tremblay knew that it might only serve to deepen the depressive mood of the team. It seemed like it would be time for him to give another speech. He'd have to prepare the team to let them down gently if they lost, yet also inspire them to play while entertaining their highest expectations. Otherwise there'd be no way for them to win in the first place.

Tremblay dreaded addressing the team. He didn't have trouble telling them what he needed on the pitch or the training field, but as soon as he had to speak eloquently or try to manipulate their emotions, he had no clue where to start. He put off the speech as long as he could.

He still hadn't gotten around to it by the time the next World Cup Qualifiers weekend had arrived. The team, all assembled in Metropolis, the Valladar capital where the match would be played, sat in the locker-room at the stadium. The despondency that had now become typical reigned in the room. There were just a few minutes until the game started.

Tremblay had stepped out "to use the restroom." He stood with his back to the wall, his head leaned against it, just outside the locker-room door, trying to psych himself up to finally give his pep talk. He took a deep breath.

He took another.

Raoul Lavigne popped out of the locker-room and almost smashed into Tremblay. "Oh, sorry coach!" He seemed a bit confused, not sure what Tremblay was doing.

Somehow Raoul had broken through Tremblay's mental block. "Hey Raoul, can you pop back into the locker-room with me real quick? I wanna talk to you guys."

Raoul looked surprised again. "Sure, coach."

The pair entered the locker-room. Tremblay gestured for Raoul to have a seat. He waited a moment and cleared his throat before beginning.

"Boys, I don't know what's gotten into you."

Tremblay paused a little to let them figure out where he was headed. A couple furrowed their brows, obviously confused and trying to think back to what they'd done to get themselves in enough trouble that Tremblay would interrupt the entire team just before a game to address it.

"We've been through rough patches before. You haven't always gotten along with each other. Think back to the first time we had a call-up. Half of you hated each other. And yet we did well for ourselves in the Baptism of Fire. Or think about the IAC. Our locker-room was full of tension, and that all evaporated as soon as we started winning.

"If we've learned anything, it's that we let our mood be controlled to easily by our circumstances. We know that's our weakness. It helped us, sure, in the IAC, when things are going well. But now you've lost one single game, and look at you! You're miserable!"

Am I being too harsh? Tremblay wondered. No. This is the time for it. He laid it on even thicker.

"You all play for the best teams in Reçueçn. You call yourselves professionals. You've fought through tough games, bad seasons, runs of poor luck. You know when you play for your club, you can't give up. That's your job. You can't quit when it's hard.

"But now, when you play for the country, you go soft! You lose one game, and you lose all your spark!" Tremblay let his voice rise a little. "It's not like this is volunteer, some kind of charity work you're doing that you can half-ass. You're paid to be here. But more importantly, you're representing your nation!"

Tremblay was almost yelling now. "Do you think, when you go out there in ten minutes, and you play with your heads hanging down, and your tails between your legs, that it makes you look good?! Do you think that it makes me look good, makes the team look good?!

"Guess what. I don't care. If you go out there, and you decide you don't care if you look like shit, I don't care either. I don't care if we don't take another point and I lose my job, I can go back to retirement. I should have quit years ago. Je m'en fou.

"There is one thing I do care about though. When you're playing, and I've said this a million times, you don't represent Genève. You don't represent Reçueçn FC. You represent the whole damn nation. You represent the nation to yourselves, to the fans, to the politicians at home. But you represent it also to the rest of the world.

"I don't care if you lose. If Valladares mops the floor with you because tHeY'vE gOt A hIgHeR rAnK, I don't give a shit. But if you don't get out there and play your best, play with every hope of winning, take every chance you've got, then you've let down yourselves and you've let down Reçueçn. If after qualifiers, people say, 'wow, Reçueçn gave up after the second match-day, where's their spirit,' then that is on your heads. I've done my best to get you ready. And that's all I ask of you. Your best. You can beat this team if you want, if you get lucky. But what's important is that you play with your heads held up, that you have hope, that you persevere.

"Now everybody, hands in the middle. 'Reçueçn' on three. One, two--"

"Reçueçn!" The cheer was convincing. A silence settled over the team as they filed out to start the game. Only what happened on the pitch would reveal whether it was a grim silence of motivation, or if Tremblay had failed to pierce through their foul mood.

Previous Match

---

Reçueçn 0-1 Santa Regada
World Cup 82 Qualifiers — Matchday 2
National Stadium, Reçueçn, Reçueçn
Reçueçn line-up: Gerauld Firaut (c), Leo Beck, Ägidius Heissler, Norman Bright, Oliver Spencer, Luc Pélissier, Grégoire Leclair, Maynard Hebron, Hippolyte Lavigne, Franky Adams, Freeman Lebo
Substitutions: Emanuele Cutrona for Leo Beck (62'), Paulin Bourguignon for Ägidius Heissler (65'), Harold Saunders for Franky Adams (74')

---

Upcoming Match

---

Valladares vs Reçueçn
World Cup 82 Qualifiers — Matchday 3
Metropolis, Valladares
Reçueçn line-up: Gerauld Firaut (c), Leo Beck, Ägidius Heissler, Norman Bright, Oliver Spencer, Luc Pélissier, Grégoire Leclair, Harold Saunders, Maynard Hebron, Hippolyte Lavigne, Freeman Lebo

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Since Q went to the trouble of getting this info and EFL did an excellent story on our match, I thought I'd throw together this quick thing about one of my pre-season matches.

Qusmo 1-5 Baker Park--Wire Report

Atlem, Qusmo (CNA)—The Baker Park National Soccer Team opened their 2 match trip to Rushmore by defeating the Qusmi'i Team here at Mastad Atlema in front an estimated crowd of 57,000.

Goals by Eddie Wagner & Missy Tilton in the first 25 minutes saw the Commonwealth take a 2-0 lead to the dressing room. JC Bartok scored on a header in the 51st minute, the host's Pavliv-Xilit Max cut the lead with their 31st international strike for Qusmo, but Antonio Sotolongo restored the 3 goal advantage on 72 minutes and Lainey Wadsworth got her maiden tally in her second appearance as a substitute on the stroke of 90 minutes to round out scoreline, which equaled the largest home defeat for the Qusmi'y.

BP—Wyatt; Bartok (Hutchins 73'), Rasanamira (Monaghan 67'), Jordan; Yeomans, Callum, Sotolongo (Voss 78'), Fernadez (Hayes 59'); Tilton (Wadsworth 73'), Wagner (C), Jones (LeClair 54')
goals—Wagner 14, Tilton 25, Bartok 51, Sotolongo 72, Wadsworth 90
assists—Callum (2), Jones

QUS—Jralv-Vlont; Cunix-Betva, Zenon-Gerol, Yeto-Alfan; Yunul-Julad (Jerat-Jonto 55'); Ilinx-Kepex (C)(Yamaj-Blonz 55'), Ilinx-Vulav, Helek-Nenzi, Forzu-Ralox; Paliv-Xilit, Xilit-Zaxac (Prant-Pertz 62')
goals—Pavliv-Zilit 61
assists—none

lineup vs San Felix--Moyer; Briggs, Vasillias (C), Stephens; Yeomans, Westmoreland, Sotolongo, Stone; Bozeman; Simmons, Tilton

[95X]

The Beginning of the Future

Back in 95X Year 74, meetings were held to form The Market League that would eventually become the top-tier soccer league in 95X. Problem: organizers overlooked that some of the meeting participants had children that would accompany them to Pacific City and had no activities for them. Four children waited agony-inducing minutes in a room adjacent to the conference room where a club owners meeting took place inside.

A girl with rainbow hair, with the stripes running front-to-back, jumped down from the chair she was sitting on.

“I’m bored!” she cried out to the room with three other girls in it.

Two of them who were spending time together and sitting criss-cross on the floor look her direction.

“We are occupying ourselves, thank you,” the younger girl coldly replied, her solid-red eyes masked her glare.

“But you can join us if you want,” the older girl encouraged.

“What’s the game?” the rainbow-haired girl asked as she awkwardly sat down next to them.

“It’s a concentration game,” the older girl replied. “The first person to look away loses.”

“That sounds boring!” the rainbow-haired girl objected. “They should have known we were coming!”

They were approached by the fourth, a very light-skinned, light-blond-haired girl with ice blue eyes.

“Can I join you?” she asked in a meek voice. “I have a deck of cards.”

“Sure,” the older of the original two girls replied, who was also the eldest of the group. “I’m Jordyn,” she introduced herself as the fourth girl sat down.

“I’m Sarah,” the girl with the solid red eyes said. “Jordyn’s my big sister and my best friend forever!”

The rainbow-haired girl flicked her hair back with her right hand. “Antara!”

Suddenly a swath of rainbow-colored hair flicked back and forth. The rest of them thought Antara had waist-length hair but that wasn’t the case.

“Oh, Mom said my dad was a centaur. But instead of having a horse body, I have four legs and a butt that sticks out with hair growing on the top of it.”

Sarah thought that was quite an inappropriate thing to say, but didn’t want to insult her.

“You are more than that, and there are other things we can talk about,” Sarah opined.

“How old are you?” Antara glared at her.

“Nine.”

Antara shifted her eyes as that sounded like something an adult would say, and the three of them turn to the fourth, who has yet to say anything. She frowns slightly and looks to the carpeted floor.

“I don’t like my name,” the fourth girl said while looking at the floor.

“A ‘name’ is merely a string of letters used as an identifier, it does not define you,” Sarah said to the fourth girl.

“Do all of you promise you won’t make fun of me?” the fourth girl asked, her voice shaking as if she’d been frightened by the thought of introducing herself.

“We won’t,” Jordyn and Sarah said at the same time. Antara nodded.

“It’s Margaret,” the fourth girl said with a sigh.

“There is nothing wrong with that name,” Sarah confided with her.

“Really?” Margaret was surprised as she looked up at Sarah. “How old are you really?”

“Nine,” Sarah replied.

“She’s telling the truth,” Jordyn vouched for Sarah’s answer, “she’s really smart for her age. Sometimes a bit too smart though,” she ended with a smile.

Sarah and Margaret went on to become friends with each other, while Antara would become Sarah’s main rival. The three would later play on the 95X Under-18 Team that competed in the Seventh Under-18 World Cup, though they were reserves that saw no playing time during the competition.

[Qusmo]

Chapter I.
Chapter II.
Chapter III.

Chapter IV.

“Oh, Margaret.” Nirlo-Raxat Hal rubbed their temples, wondering what they would say - what they could say. They had weathered troubles & crises of many sorts before in their years serving as chair of KF Koflir, & now they were so close to their first domestic title - but one apparent act of carelessness now threatened it all.

A face popped in the frame of their door. “You said you wanted to see me?”

“Yes, come in, Franziska.” Franziska Schnee-Krull was their club’s star right-back - & Zwangzugian. They were among the first two foreigners signed to play in Pug Qusmyra, & only after Nirlo-Raxat had masterminded a grand strategy to expand Koflir’s player pool to make them more competitive & they had won a long & challenging legal battle to accomplish it.

“Why’d you bring me in, boss?” Nirlo-Raxat was asking themselves the same question, but in a slightly different way than Franziska meant it. Why did they choose Franziska & Ramona Ambaile-Hund, her teammate on the Zwangzugian national team, to be the first two foreigners to play in Qusmo? Not even three years ago, Koflir was at a tipping point, & Franziska & Ramona had tipped the club in the right direction. Now, Franziska might have sparked a tipping point of much bigger proportions.

“There’s something we need to talk about. Something it’s been reported you said.”

“What is it?”

Hal slid a printout to the other side of their desk. The highlighted text read “men and women have different body parts and it's perhaps unsurprising that many natural languages have different words that distinguish them.”

“What about it?”

“Are the words yours?”

“Yes, they are. What of it?”

Hal slid another sheet of paper across the desk. “Here’s a pie graph of the proportion of the nation of Qusmo that approves of what you said.”

“Sir, with all due respect -”

“With all due respect, the respectful form of address is ziram.”

“Alright, sir-ma’am, with all due respect, I do not concern myself with popularity, nor polls, nor pie charts. What I said was a statement of fact, & I stand by it.”

“Franziska, it’s a red circle. That’s all it is. It’s literally just a big, red circle.”

“Well, at the risk of pointing out the obvious, your survey must be inaccurate.”

“How do you figure?”

“Usually I’m able to work out whatever I need to with mental math, but I have a calculator on my phone if I need it.”

“No, what do you mean? How’s this pie graph inaccurate?”

“I still stand by what I said, & I live in Qusmo, too. Besides, it’s highly statistically implausible that, throughout an entire country the size of Qusmo, popular opinion of any statement would be unanimously negative, especially a statement of fact.”

“No, Franziska.” Hal was stern. “I think you’re missing something. Just living in Qusmo doesn’t make you Qusma. & that’s precisely the problem.” Hal sighed. “Do you know why there was a law against foreigners playing in Pug Qusmyra?”

“To encourage clubs to develop local talent with which to stock the national team?”

“Bullshit.”

“Beg your pardon?”

“You heard me. It’s bull. That’s what Fuzpon Qusma said, sure, but really, it just boils down to this: you’re a foreigner. &, generally, Qusmi’y do not like foreigners.”

“Why does that matter? I don’t care what anyone else thinks of me. Besides, this’ll all blow over in a week or maybe two. I still don’t see why you felt the need to call me in.”

“Because you represent this club, Franziska - & you represent foreigners in Pug Qusmyra, & you represent foreigners in Qusmo. & when you attack the very root of Qusma culture, it goes to the very root of Qusmi’y’s - what’s the word? - fears about immigrants, let’s say. & I fear that those might be much, much stronger than you realize - & your discourse, as innocuous as I know you meant it to be, could prove pernicious to the wider discourse on immigration & immigrants in Qusmo. I know it doesn’t seem like you did much wrong - &, really, you didn’t. But you have to remember: you represent so many people living at the margins in this country. & that statement of fact demands that you hold yourself to a higher standard - & a much more careful standard. Have I made myself clear?”

Franziska nodded. “Alright. You’re free to go.” Hal imagined she would make some sort of statement about how she loved Qusma culture & that it, too, had its place, & she hoped her words wouldn’t be misconstrued. But, deep down, Hal knew they would. & Hal worried it would be too late.

[Banija]

Even in a world where governments focus on pie graphs and charts to measure politics, there is one thing that truly matters- freedom of the people.

Today's cutoff song is about that desire to be free in Uganda. I encourage all of you to give it a listen.

[Port Ember]

Port Ember Times

The Tridents Keeps World Cup Qualifier Dream Alive!

Port Ember 1 - 0 San José Guayabal

By Erica Davies - Port Ember Times Sports Section

The Tridents have managed to keep their world cup qualification dream alive by snatching a hard worked for victory yesterday against San José Guayabal with a final score of 1-0.

Port Ember managed to clinch their second consecutive victory in their third match of the World Cup Qualifier Run this sunday, which took place in the Trident's own Waterstad International Stadium located in Port Ember Megalopolis.

This victory has placed Port Ember on top of their Qualifying Group Table in this early stages of the run.

The Game

The match was a constantly hard fought game with neither side affording their opponents a second to catch a breath, and was a true nail-biting derby.

Throughout the entire game neither side managed to obtain domination and spend the entire 90 minutes launching and defending against attacks.

The first half came to an end with both teams having failed to achieve a goal, but not due to a lack of trying. Both sides have made more than plenty shots at goal, with their defense managing to hold on strong.

The second half was characterised with the same explosive football, with neither side gaining or affording advantage, and it seemed very much so that a 0-0 draw was on the cards for the day, until in minute 88 the San José Guayabal side desperately pushed for a final attempt at goal, throwing forward their entire team. This faltered quickly when captain Reddington managed to steal possession from the opposing striker with a breathtaking tackle, and he shot the ball deep and hard down-field. The signature Bait Ambush was sprung and star striker Danny Nicovic chased the ball down with possessed speed, outrunning his opponents and staring down the goalie. He feinted twice, launching the ball deep and hard into the bottom corner, leaving the opposing goalie stunned. The crowd exploded in joy.

The Fans

The game was played in the Trident's home stadium of Waterstad International Stadium, with the 90 000 seats fully sold out, and in typical Port Emberian fashion, was filled to the brim - with over 85% of the seats filled with Port Emberian fans. They were loud and energetic as always and surely energised their team on the field.

Port Emberian Player Scores

Goalkeeper (GK)(#1): Peter Smith - 8/10. The talented and much loved keeper had a busy day behind the sticks, and was excellent at task, stopping 7/7 attempts at goal.

Center Back (CB)(#2): Josh Richards - 7/10. Showed his true potential during the match and alongside his fellow defenders, re-established the famed 'Iron Wall of Defence' which we saw late in the Baptism of Fire. Displayed world class defender skills.

Center Back (CB)(#3): Jason Lee. 9/10. 'The Prince of the Backline' was om his usual brilliant form, commanding and rallying his backline into the 'Iron Wall of Defence' which we all know and love. Besides his commanding roles, he worked extremely hard himself by shutting down the attacking strikers; exhuasting and frsutrating his opponents. Well deserved man of the match award.

Full Back (LB)(#4): Alex Kuhn - 7/10. Showed his true potential during the match and alongside his fellow defenders, re-established the famed 'Iron Wall of Defence' which we saw late in the Baptism of Fire. Displayed world class defender skills. There was concern regarding poor performace in his last two matches, but he proved without a doubt that he is back on-form.

Full Back (RB)(#5): Russel Pierce - 7/10. Showed his true potential during the match and alongside his fellow defenders, re-established the famed 'Iron Wall of Defence' which we saw late in the Baptism of Fire. Displayed world class defender skills. Another player who managed to prove his worth on the team after previous poor performances.

Attacking Midfield (AM)(#10): Raymond Reddington - 8/10. The captain again proved his worth on the field (as he has consistently done since the start of the qualifier run). From defence, organising the back line, offense and setting up attacks for his strikers, the lad was everywhere on the field. He is also responsible for setting up the Bait Ambush which led to Danny Nicovic scoring and winning the game.

Defensive Midfield (DM)(#6): Steven Packard - 7/10. Was instrumental in shutting down the constant attacks and setting up counter attacks.

Wide Midfield (LM)(#8): Jason Chamberlain - 7/10. Capitalised well against the tiring oponents in the second half, creating gaps in the left flank of the opponents defence time and again.

Wide Midfield (RM)(#11): Steve Rogers - 7/10. Managed to shut down counter attacks from the flanks regularly.

Central Forward (CF)(#7): Leon Moult - 8/10. Although not scoring, his keen eye and fitness combined with his chemistry with he rest of the team allowed him to exhaust and frustrate the opposition endlessly.

Central Forward (CF)(#9): Danny Nicovic 8/10. He was a constant threat in the match, scoring the only goal of the match. His excellent stamina meant that he could threaten and exhuast the opposing defence and midfield for a full 90 minutes.

Match Stats

Goals - Port Ember: 1 - Danny Nicovic x 1
Man of the Match - Port Ember: Jason Lee

Aftermatch word from the Coach

"I am delighted with our result today. It was a very close game until the final seconds of the match, but we managed to play our hearts out. We have nothing to be ashamed off, and we have proven that we can go head to head with a world class team. I wish to thank the opposition side for putting up such a insanely good fight - you guys rock. We have definitely learned a lot by playing you today, and we have surely grown stronger as a team as a result!

I also wish to thank our amazing supporters, another full house crowd! Its surely what managed to give us that extra push to finish the game in our favour." Coach Baxter

[The Authoritarian Republic of Lochario]

ANOTHER LOSS! THE FEDERATION CONSIDERS TO FIRE THE COACH IF HE LOSES ANOTHER MATCH

Yesterday the Locharian team lost in front of their own crowd against a slightly weaker opponent Newmanistan and conceded even 2 goals! The coach Cinga Munrich says that he would retire himself if the team loses against Shalta. The Federation starts to question the state of the coach and the players. If the team loses the 3rd match against Shalta, the Federation has 2 options.

Option 1 : Sacking the coach and placing another, more skillful coach.

Option 2 : Withdrawing from the world cup qualifiers as a result of players low morale


Locharian fans hope that something miraculous still can happen and the team might come out of this deep hole the team is in right now.

[Port Ember]

Port Ember Times

The Tridents prepares to face off against Qusmo

Pre Match Analysis & Interview

By Erica Davies - Port Ember Times Sports Section

Port Ember will face off against Qusmo in their third match of the World Cup Qualifier run this Monday, to be played at the Qusmo stadium of Mastad Tracama, a 60 000 seater stadium

Team Stats Analysis

Qusmo:

This team has played 2 matches so far as part of the World Cup Qualifier Run, in which they won both their matches against Far Wor Eryunce and Euran Oceania Territories in two very impressive matches. This team is currently ranked 22nd on the world rankings, making them the strongest team in this group. They are a footballing nation with an extremely impressive history and footballing infrastructure who has not only qualified for the world cup before, but actually reached the knock-out stages. For the qualifier run they have played one less match than Port Ember and have scored a total of 5 goals and allowed only 1 goal to be scored against them.

Port Ember:

This team has played 13 total international matches so far, of which they won 11 matches, drew 1 and lost 1 match. Their Qualifier Run is looking good so far, with one draw and two wins against Competetive Solitaire and San José Guayabal respectively, both very strong teams. The Tridents is currently ranked as the 186th best team in the world.

From a pure statistics point of view, the next match will be another difficult match for Port Ember, most probalytheir toughest yet in their fledgeling career. Qusmo is ranked 162 spots higher and has a much longer history and experience. Lastly, Qusmo will enjoy the home ground advantage for this upcoming derby.

Team Analysis - Port Ember

Offense: The technical offensive skills of the team is on suberb form. The chemistry between their starting striker duo and their midfield creates amazing attacking oppertunities. Also their signature 'Bait Ambush' tactic is still a highly effective tactic, proven to be effective at this level of football.

Midfield: Arguably the strongest component of this team, under command of the amazing Reddington. The midfield plays a perfect balance between organising the defence, and creating oppertunities for attack. However, Qusmo has proven to field a larger and more impressive midfield game, which could cause great challenges for the young Tridents.

Defence: The backline has grew into a true iron wall of defence. They have howevered shown some cracks when put under constant pressure in their last matches, and will need some work leading up to the physical upcoming match.

Goalkeeping: Analysts have nothing but praise for Peter Smith the starting goalie. The young man is a legend in the making.

Substitutes: The team has a impressive line-up of substitutes, whom have received field time recently, adding possible depth to the team when needed. The extra attention they have received from the assistant coach is sure to play a important role as well.

Team Morale & Cohesion: The 4 year youth program is paying off dividends, as the team has excellent cohesion and on-the-field chemistry. The last two consecutive wins in the Qualifier Run is sure to give them a much needed morale boost.

Current Form:The team is on great form, winning their last two matches against very strong sides, and is displaying an improved performance with each game they play.

Typical Gameplan: Their typical system of tiring out and frustrating their opponents in an attempt to pull their 'Bait Ambush' is a risky play which can easily go wrong and concede a goal. However when it works, it is highly effective, and so far this is still effective on this level so far. Port Ember is proven to be more aggressive in play compared to their opponents to be, which might be their secret to a huge upset win.

Team Analysis - Qusmo

Offense: The Qusmo side is not very well known as an aggressive team, focusing their strength on their midfield and backline. As a defence orientated team, their soft focus on the offense might create the gap which Port Ember needs to slay this giant.

Midfield: This team has a impressive, skilled and multi layered midfield, serving as a dangerous defence/counter attack tool for the team. Analysts have predicted that if the experienced midfield can neautralise Port Ember's midfield - which is actually highly likely, Port Ember will most probaly lose the match.

Defence: Arguably the strongest element of this team. They have proven to possess one of the strongest backlines in the world and it will take something - or someone special to blast past them.

Goalkeeping: Not much is known about the starting goalkeeper for the next match, except that he is the third in line keeper for the team. It remains to be seen whether the gloves of Prant-Telew Wek will stand a chance against the golden boot of Danny Nicovic.

Substitutes: The team has a impressive line-up of substitutes, filled with some of the best and freshest talent hailing from Qusmo, adding possible depth to the team when needed.

Team Morale & Cohesion: The team has displayed that they are highly motivated and more than prepared to put the work in to finish the job. They also have the look of a unified, well oiled team.

Current Form:The team is on great form, winning both their last two matches against very strong sides. They have also recently played a number of successfull international matches in the pre qualifier season, helping to unite the team.

Typical Gameplan: This team is a defender heavy team, focussing on a strong midfield and backline. The high octane offense of Port Ember will have a hard day trying to burst through this impressive setup.

Starting Line-Ups

Port Ember

Goalkeeper (GK)(#1): Peter Smith.

Center Back (CB)(#2): Josh Richards.

Center Back (CB)(#3): Jason Lee.

Full Back (LB)(#4): Alex Kuhn.

Full Back (RB)(#5): Russel Pierce.

Attacking Midfield (AM)(#10): Raymond Reddington.

Defensive Midfield (DM)(#6): Steven Packard.

Wide Midfield (LM)(#8): Jason Chamberlain

Wide Midfield (RM)(#11): Steve Rogers.

Central Forward (CF)(#7): Leon Moult.

Central Forward (CF)(#9): Danny Nicovic.

Qusmo

#25; GK; Prant-Telew Wek

#2; CB; Cunix-Betva Tla

#3; CB; Zenon-Gerol Kal

#4; CB; Yelto-Alfan Ono

#5; DM; Jerat-Jonto Jan

#6; CM; Ilinx-Kepex Zev

#7; AM; Gavax-Nenzi Abe

#8; LM; Helek-Nenzi Ono

#9; RM; Forzu-Ralox Kal

#10; SS; Paliv-Xilit Max

#11; ST; Xilit-Zaxac Yol

Team Kit

Port Ember have announced that they will play with their main kit in their upcoming match.

Pre Match Interview with Port Emberian Coach - Stuart Baxter

Erica Davies: Morning Coach. Congratulations on yet another victory. I guess it must feel good to perform this well on this level of the sport with such a young inexperienced team?

Stuart Baxter: Morning Erica, thank you! Indeed it feels good, no one can deny that. The lads is working hard, and displaying a lot of passion and heart to get these results, so it us nice to have that hard work rewarded. Unforunately it is not going to get easier from here, so we will need to work even harder for the future.

Erica Davies: Are you worried about the next game?

Stuart Baxter: Hell yes I am! Our oponents is a brilliant team who always plays their heart out on the field. They are the 22nd best team in the world for a reason! They have decades of experience and history on their side. They are also on great form, having won both their qualifier matches so far. I should also add that there are no easy matches on this level of the sport anymore. Each game is your toughest game. With all that said - this next match will most definitely be our toughest match ever in our fledgeling history.

Erica Davies: So for the next game, any changes in your gameplan, based on your opponents play?

Stuart Baxter: There is obviously a weakness or two which I have noticed from the other team, which we will hammer upon, but we will not change our overall play, besides fixing a mistake or two which we have noticed in our previous match.

Erica Davies: Good awnser! Lastly, prediction for the upcoming match?

Stuart Baxter: I know what you are thinking Erica, what everyone in the world is thinking - that we will get decimated on that pitch. And for all I know, you all might be correct. Qusmo is insanely good and we will be in a load of trouble.. but I want to remind everyone out there that my lads are hard working, passionate and proud. Even if we do lose tomorow, it certainly will not be a cakewalk. I plead our opponents to bring their A Game tomorow, because we certainly will. Even if we need to die on that field - we will play like its our last day alive!

[Nephara]

Ceynes 1 - 3 Nephara
Friendly
(4-4-2) 12 - Petratos; 2 - Longship, 5 - Visser, 6 - Reinhardt, 3 - Katarec (19 - Rouphos 75'); 7 - Skapetis (13 - Kuepper 84'), 4 - Marchant (15 - Aschenbach 56'), 21 - Brandtner (8 - Chalk 56'), 11 - Staunton (c); 9 - Tzorvas, 10 - Lovelace (17 - Bastable 56')
Goals: Skapetis 17', Chalk 64', Bastable 78'

The mood in the dressing room was less than competitive, it had to be said. But that was only fair. It wasn't a competitive game.
"Warm-weather training. That's what they're calling it." Marisha Staunton sniffed, and had the right to; she'd been a semi-regular in the setup, once. For the rest here, they were on the fringes and they knew it. Or were deeply naive.
"It's a PR exercise," said Mordecai Brandtner, conspiratorially. "You really reckon Ceynes were the best they could get for a friendly?"
"Yes," said Sander Katarec.
"... What?"
"I mean, 90% of the world's got an actual real match going on now. Ceynes are nearby, they're a bit crap without being proper shit, and they've got nothing else to do. It's a nice way to look at how more players do in the deep end, while still giving the stars a rest. Hell, if you think about it that way, even being here is kind of a slap in the face!"
"Thanks, Sander," said Staunton, in a withering tone. "You really know how to make someone feel better."
"No problem, Mari." Katarec's smile was so, so punchable. He was clever enough to know when playing the fool would get the laughs.
The weather was indeed warm. Step outside the dressing room, as the players would soon do, and they'd be faced with a sweltering heat far, far removed from the cold, windswept, arid mainland. The Nepharim tendency was to burn, or perhaps catch fire outright, not tan. In an interesting move, Strauss had allowed some of the rested core players to fly over and partake of the sun and the sea, if they so wished. A few had taken her up on that. A couple had almost immediately regretted it.
"And remember," Bryony Johansen told the players cheerfully on their way out to the pitch, "they'll be used to this!"

"And remember, you're used to this. They'll be cooking alive in their kits. Make 'em run a bit. Have a laugh. You've got nothing to lose."
Monica Brightwater, Strauss' opposite number today, had learned these lessons herself the hard way. A veteran Nepharim manager, the friendlies were her idea, a way to blood an inexperienced team for Campionati to come. She'd cut a fairly spare figure before her arrival, and was by now positively gaunt, draping a loose shirt over dress pants.
Her players were largely terrible. Not universally. The centre-halves, Knox and Mensah, were playing at a decent level, as was the experienced leftback Karsten Riordan, the son of Kieron, the goalkeeper in Nephara's first World Cup match. The creaking Nkembe could still break up an attack, and the erratic but gifted Sophia Fortune was always a threat. On her day.
The crowd was full, and excited. Far too skint to compete in the WCC, Ceynes didn't tend to get to play home matches, let alone against one of the greatest sides in the world's... third-string, approximately. But there was still plenty there, players from top-half Goldleague and Premiership sides, a Champions Cup winner in goal in Jason Petratos, 32 and not entirely sure himself why he was here so late for just his third cap.
Two minutes in, St. Preux, his opposite number, had already had to scramble for a save, Arista Tzorvas barrelling through on goal and firing just a little too close. Two minutes later, Brandtner came close from distance, a shot shaving across the crossbar. Soon afterwards, Staunton hit the side netting. Not long after that, St. Preux had saved with her legs again, the young Lovelace doing all the right things before losing his composure one-on-one. And a little later it was, finally, 1-0 to the Cormorants, Skapetis scything past the aging Riordan and firing low past St. Preux's near post, who expected the cross and was slow to react.
Ceynes tired of having the shit kicked out of them, and bucked up for the rest of the first half. Somewhat fortuitously, that's where they managed their goal - a deflected strike from the optimistic Memphis Commons was reacted to, quickly, by Sophia Fortune, slamming home between Petratos' splayed legs. And Murgen Knox gave Lovelace a good kicking, as was frankly inevitable. Still, the Cormorants picked back up in the second half; strikes from the fresh legs of Chalk and Bastable finished the job, with room to spare.

It was a nice little match, all things considered. A good bonding opportunity, before going back to face No(x15) back in Stahlburg.
But it was more than that, for all parties concerned. A chance to swap shirts with affection with their Islander cousins. A chance for Strauss to relax, even; the more experienced Brightwater offered her wine, exchanged advice, let herself be vented at. A chance to learn that Reinhardt really was hydrophobic and wasn't just saying so to avoid being dunked headfirst into a pool.
And it was a chance for the locals to pretend they weren't forgotten by their former fatherland. They connected far better with the players, open and genial, than with their cagey Margrave. It was a reminder that, for all Nepharim had come here centuries ago with their longbows and cannon hell-bent on destruction and conquest, things were rather more chill now. The Islander desire for more independence and steady devolution had been matched by the Nepharim, and still was today.
And the timing was good, because the day after the match, the Brenecian delegation landed; its own Prime Minister in tow.

[Dreamplanet]

CAN THE BLEEDING BE STOPPED?

Results haemorrhaging, squad splintering, is the WC83 dream becoming a nightmare?

Earlier in the day, Dreamplanet fans woke up to the news of alleged infighting which were quickly denied by the Dreamplanetian FA and then rekindled when Aaron Hungar was given the captains armband for the first time ever, things went from bad to worse as Os Tricores were beaten late once more in a out-of-the-ordinary violent match on Dreamplanet's part, and nobody's got answers.

Os Tricores were already agitated before the match, but they were out there to prove a point, however that point got muddled when Mata Vaugrenard scored in just 4 minutes when Maximilien Longchambon crossed the ball from the right hand side of the box, only for Mata Vaugrenard to tap it in past Filipe Vaz, this clearly angered the already-upset Dreamplanetian squad, who started bickering amongst themselves as the manager frantically tried to restore order, all caution was thrown into the wind as Ko-oren saw the chance to break Dreamplanet even more as they piled on the attack, however Os Tricores reacted in a way that hadn't been seen for years, by adopting the ugly game again. Luis Silva was the first to receive a card, getting yellow after stamping on Vaugrenard's foot after his dash through the middle after the free kick, eventually this went too far as Jorge Cardozo gave away a penalty in the 25th minute, collecting Dreamplanet's third yellow card of the game as he desperately got his hand to a goal-bound Reizo Yokota header from a corner, which Saushilu Janoreirinthen scored by chipping Filipe Vaz, only angering Os Tricores more as the fans started throwing objects at the celebrating Janoreirinthen, who also got an earful from Vaz, who reportedly said "No! Anything but that!" Following another 10 minutes of fouls from Dreamplanet and a dive that some say that Luis Silva should've gotten a second yellow card for, Luis Silva would ease tensions by scoring in the 43rd minute from a headed goal, he took his time to silence the home crowd who only started booing him even more, the second half would end on a very ugly note of a very ugly game that promised to be thrilling, now it was for all the wrong reasons... Or all the right reasons?

The second half was more of the same, but Os Tricores were able to tie up the game after calming down in the second half, Aaron Hungar, the unfortunate son of the Eura match, was able to slam a shot in from outside of the box after stealing the ball from Reizo Yokota, after the goal he went to Ko-oren manager, Katanmak Juliasterinthen and pointed at the Dreamplanetian badge, this comes after being provoked by the manager before the match, stating that he didn't have the mentality to play in this vital match after the own goal and the alleged coup attempt, this only stirred up the match as all football seemed to be forgotten as Ko-oren kept pressuring the revolting Dreamplanet with their polite and efficient tactic, Os Tricores would continue to play tough and physically but Ko-oren seemed to just frustrate Dreamplanet every step of the way, holding the ball up in deliberate timewasting saw the first red card of the match when Jorge Cardozo was sent off for yelling obscenities at Domingos Noya who "took too long to cross the ball", the following free kick was cleared but the chase was on to get the goal, Aaron Hungar almost doubled his lead with 3 minutes left of play but should've been the wiser when Minne van Schelven was able to clear the ball and then taunt him, all of the fans were amazed when the usually calm and collected Aaron Hungar, started strangling the defender and choke-slammed him onto the adboards, receiving his red card, Dreamplanet's second and putting Dreamplanet down to 8 men. With seconds left of play, Saushilu Janoreirinthen was able to give the Ko-oren fans their 3 points when he was able to shoot from distance, observing how Filipe Vaz was nervous, he struck a shot onto the bottom left corner that Filipe Vaz couldn't get to, this once again started the Dreamplanetian complaints and outrage as a defeat had robbed them of points once more.

After this last minute loss and momentum fully stopped, Ko-oren stand tied first with Eura after they tied with Freeport, Dreamplanet will be hoping to claw more wins against Torisakia and Flavovespia, but they will have to fix their attitude problem and try to patch any falling out in the team, because the time and matches are running out, and even if the Ko-oren match promises to be scintillating, Os Tricores need to remember how they got far in the Campionato Esportiva, restore their unity and spirit and give the fans a run to remember in the second half of the campaign.

Ko-oren 3 - 2 Dreamplanet
(Mata Vaugrenard 4', Saushilu Janoreirinthen 25' (pen.), 90+5' - 43' Luis Silva, 71' Aaron Hungar)
Willowbourne, Ko-oren

Fixtures:
August 1st - MD1: Western Bjornaic 2-6 Dreamplanet
August 2nd - MD2: Dreamplanet 3-4 Eura 
August 4th - MD3: Ko-oren 3-2 Dreamplanet 
August 5th - MD4: Torisakia vs Dreamplanet
August 6th - MD5: Dreamplanet vs Flavovespia
August 9th - MD6: Bye
August 10th - MD7: Dreamplanet vs Freeport
August 12th - MD8: Dreamplanet vs Western Bjornaic
August 13th - MD9: Eura vs Dreamplanet
August 14th - MD10: Dreamplanet vs Ko-oren
August 16th - MD11: Dreamplanet vs Torisakia
August 17th - MD12: Flavovespia vs Dreamplanet
August 19th - MD13: Bye
August 21st - MD14: Freeport vs Dreamplanet

Group M                             Pld   W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Eura                               3    2   1   0     7    4   +3     7
2 Ko-oren                            3    2   1   0     5    3   +2     7
3 Freeport                           2    1   1   0     2    1   +1     4
4 Torisakia                          3    1   1   1     6    6    0     4
5 Dreamplanet                        3    1   0   2    11    9   +2     3
6 Flavovespia                        2    0   0   2     5    8   −3     0
7 Western Bjornaic                   2    0   0   2     2    7   −5     0

Qualified for World Cup
Qualified for Playoffs
Eliminated

[Hapilopper]

Marshupov Arena, Peeto, Polkopia
World Cup Qualifying Match 3: Hapilopper vs. Polkopia
There was a certain level of grimness in the faces of the Hapilopper National Football Team in the locker room of Marshupov Arena just prior to their match with Polkopia. This match, against the team ranked 63rd in the world, would truly see just how “for real” the Haps were. It was one thing to knock off Bolgano (ranked 273rd) and Islas Aaland (unranked), but it would be another thing to go head-to-head with Polkopia, the 63rd ranked team in the world. Thom Perkins could feel that tension in the air. He was feeling it too as he searched for the words to get his players ready. He found it, in the form of a speech from a professional wrestling show from so many years ago.

“Gentlemen, a wrestler said so many years ago, there’s no shame in going out there to fight and getting your ass kicked,” Thom said. “But there’s no honor in not fighting at all. You know what we’re fighting for. We’re fighting for Hapilopper. We’re fighting for our fellow Hapiloppians who are looking up to us at this very moment. Get the job done.”

The players of the HNFT looked at each other and smiled. They didn’t know how this match would turn out, but if they could at least put up a good showing, they might be able to pull off that “impossible dream” of qualifying for the 83rd World Cup.

“I mean, after all, what’s the worst that could happen?” Thom asked with a smile on his face. “Let’s go for it!”

The team was ready for the match. They were probably going to get their asses kicked by a potent Polkopian squad, but they weren’t going to lay down and let them have it. When the players walked through the tunnel, led by Cooter Harris and Ernie Stevenson, the entire HNFT had smiles on their faces. If they were going to go down today, they were going to go down in a great mood.

Just prior to the national anthems playing just before the match, as the two teams stood at attention, Cooter looked over at Ernie and quietly reminded him of something.

“No promises, no guarantees,” Cooter quietly muttered to him.

“Not today. I don’t know if I can keep them today,” Ernie replied. “I only make promises when I can keep them.”

“Fair enough,” Cooter responded. “We’re probably going to get our asses kicked.”

When the whistle sounded to begin play, however, Hapilopper most definitely did not get their asses kicked. They were playing as hard as they possibly could, and they were slowly, but surely, finding themselves out playing Polkopia. The Haps had decided just before the match to attack as hard as they could, and play a match of attrition – eventually, they would break through the defending midfielders and the five backs. It wouldn’t happen in the first five minutes, or the first ten, or hell, even the first 20, for that matter.

But it was slowly happening. Ernie Stevenson, Bobby East and Steve Erickson were all firing shots into the goal. They were being saved, but for the most part, they were on target. In the first 35 minutes, the Haps had made 11 shots on goal, and nine of them were on target. This was a team serious about making it.

When the teams returned from the halfway break, it seemed like the Polkopians would take control, and on several occasions, Irakliy Živkov and Rafael Korošeć had their way with Hapiloppian defenders and midfielders. A Polkopian goal was certain!

In the 56th minute, it almost came. Alexei Krepkov got the pass he wanted from Korošeć, he had gotten past all of the Hapiloppian defenders, and he was on his way to the goal. Krepkov kicked as hard as he could into the goal, and the ball flew like a homing missile for the goal… only to be caught by the diving Cooter Harris. The Polkopians had given the Hapiloppians their very best, but the Hapiloppians, if they could just put one in, would not be denied. Cooter looked at Alexei, smiled, and kicked the ball 60 yards the other way.

That was the break Hapilopper needed. Kelvin Beverly headed that goal kick right into the path of Murray Hunnisett, who ran the ball a few yards before firing it to Ernie Stevenson. It was the pass Ernie had been waiting for, and in the middle of three Polkopian defenders, Ernie just flat-out eluded all of them and fired the ball in to the back of the net at the 58th minute. Hapilopper now led 1-0, and Ernie, having not made any promises of any result of any sort, was pleasantly surprised at the goal.

So were the fans watching back in Hapilopper. About a thousand or so fans were watching on Hapilopper City’s Hamilton Square went into a frenzy. There was beer flying everywhere, the flags were waving, and chants of “ERNIE, ERNIE” pierced the night sky. By the way, it was 3:15 in the morning and a lot of people around Hapilopper City were trying to sleep before a work day.

In the 81st minute, it happened again. Murray nutmegged a Polkopian midfielder, and the ball went right to Bobby East. Bobby zigged and zagged past Polkopian defenders, and with an opening of his own, he fired a shot right into the goal from 30 yards. Goalkeeper Danko Vilar didn’t have any idea what was coming. The shot was directly on target and nailed the back of the net with spectacular results. Hapilopper had punched above its weight and now led 2-0.

The match ended that way, and by the end of the third match day, Hapilopper stood alone at the top of the leaderboard in Group N. That “impossible dream” was starting to look more possible as the matches went on. In fact, Hapilopper was one of a handful of teams in the entire qualifications, along with Savojarna (ranked 32nd), Zwangzug (ranked 67th), Bongo Johnson (ranked 51st), South Covello (ranked 5th), Starblaydia (ranked 11th), Turori (ranked 2nd) and Vilita (ranked 1st) to have a perfect nine points through three matches.

When that fact was brought up by reporters to head coach Thom Perkins, he laughed it off.

“So we’re supposed to believe we’re on the level of those teams,” Thom said, laughing. “Come on. We’re a first-year team. This is our first attempt at qualifying for the World Cup. Some of these guys have been doing this for ages. Vilita or Turori, whether or not they’re together or separate, we’d try about as hard as we could but I think they’d have our number. Same with South Covello or Starblaydia.”

Thom was also asked by the media if the team could, in fact, pull off the “impossible dream” and make it to the World Cup.

“Well, maybe,” Thom said, smiling. “We’ve had a great run of success so far. It’s certainly worth fighting for. We’ve got nine matches to go, and we’ve just got to go at them one at a time. That’s all we can do. If we can go for them, one at a time, then we’ve got a real shot at pulling off something incredible. But we’ve got to take it one match at a time.”

That next match to focus on was against Lepolanatnessffiria, ranked 349th in the world. That team, which we’ll just call “Hapilopper’s next opponents” so this writer doesn’t run the risk of starting an international incident by accidentally misspelling their name, was very unimpressive in the recent Baptism of Fire, finishing last in the St. Paulus Group, winning none of their matches, tying one and losing the other six. Obviously, Hapilopper’s next opponents had a tall mountain to climb.

The Haps, of course, couldn’t just treat this as an easy match, even though the match would take place at the sold-out Capital Stadium in Hapilopper City, and even though it was the first-place team in the group against the last-place team. Training got underway bright and early the morning after they returned from Polkopia, before the sun even rose the next morning, and gameplans were already being drawn up for their next opponents. Just one match at a time was all it took.

[Polkopia]

Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 (Part 1) • Chapter 4 (Part 2) • Chapter 5 (Part 1) • Chapter 5 (Part 2) • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8

The following passages are taken directly from Polkopian author, Yakub Orvin's novel, Pelyučidnost', in which he describes the novel as a sort of a revitalization of the "golden age" of Polkopian literature dating back to the 18th century. By releasing the novel to the public, Orvin hopes to grow his international fanbase, as well as showcase the "hidden treasure" of Polkopian literature to the multiverse.

---

09. Aleksis (Part 1)



It was several hours before the ball was to start, yet Prince Aleksis was already present in the ballroom as he had been instructed by his mother and father to greet any guest that strolled in early. Having only just taken his fifteenth year, the Prince had been accustomed to standing at his father’s side while he conversed with the esteemed members of Polkopian society, however this was an entirely new experience for him, and to say that he was nervous would be grossly understating the emotions going through his head at this point in time.

In preparation for this, the finest tailors in the capital had a fine suit for him made, colored in a deep burgundy with an array golden flowers stitched down the middle. Underneath, Aleksis wore a shirt decorated primarily in the same golden flowers as his jacket, however his pants were in the same burgundy color as his jacket. He wore boots which all but reached the bottom of his knees, colored in a brilliant lily-white, and, much to the young Prince’s dismay, wore a short wig which was powered to a sickening shade of white and whose curls only just made an appearance under the Prince’s cap, which he was expected to remove upon the commencement of the ceremony.

“My son.” Aleksis’s father was right behind him, “Today marks a very special occasion in the legacy of our country and our family, and it is your duty to uphold the responsibilities that you’re assigned with at birth by taking the Vasiliviskiy name.”

Aleksis had his eyes trained on the grand doors that would be flooded with princes, lords, and ladies, all of whom will stop at nothing to earn their favor with the royal family.

Daarius sighed. “Aleksis, you are soon the be the second child of mine who has taken on a bride. I can only hope that this marriage fares better than your brother’s.”

Aleksis turned around and looked at his father. “Papa, I don’t want to do this.”

“Hm? Marry this girl?”

“No, papa, I don’t want to be here, at this ball, right now. I’m unbelievably anxious about this whole thing and I would much rather be in Peeto or somewhere else where I might take my bride into indulging in the arts or something perhaps more constructive than this.”

Daarius was silent for a moment but this silence rang like church bells in the ears of Aleksis. Finally, Daarius placed his hand on his son's cheek. "My son, if by some misfortune I were to die tomorrow and your brother the following day, you would ascend to the Polkopian throne and rule how you see fit. If you'd rather not partake in balls and festivities, that matter would entirely be left up to you.” Daarius paused and smiled for a moment, but then continued talking whilst using a much more stern and direct tone toward his son, “But you are my son and my subject, and therefore you must obey the command in this very moment, where I have so clearly instructed you to attend this ball and be the guest of honor throughout tonight’s ceremony.”

Aleksis nodded and turned around, taking in a large intake of breath and filling his body with so much air, until he released all of it in front of him in a shaky, nervous exhale. His father must have heard this and tapped his back with his hand.

“Come.” His father guided him across the empty room, devoid of all souls except their own, and into another room where a grand display of food and drink had been readily prepared for the night. Whilst the evening’s main courses had yet to be laid out on the table, massive trays of savory hors d’oeuvres were scattered around the table, as were empty silver chalices for tonight’s guests to enjoy at the expense of one’s mobility. Daarius took one of the cups from the table and examined it before picking up a handle of vodka and handing it to him.

“If one should ask, the bottles of vodka that are atop the table are from Moltava. I keep only the finer Dravelian drink for myself and the most esteemed guests of the evening. You needn’t worry about them, however, I will be discussing matters when them personally. Drink up though!”

Aleksis stared at the cup in front of him and took a tentative sip. The immense bitter taste had only just permeated his lips when his entire face shrunk in disgust and he began to put the goblet down, when his father’s hand gripped his wrist and stopped him.

“Alyosha! Do not dare put this chalice down, you are to drink the entire amount for which I have given you. Words cannot describe the offence taken by the giver of drink when the recipient has refused his offer, so I implore you to finish that cup and become acquainted with the taste, for in it you will find the ability to conduct yourself in a sanguine manner with the more that you drink.”

Aleksis nodded his head and gulped down the drink and his father nodded in approval.

“Good, good. We’re about ready to start the evening so take another cup for yourself if you so wish and meet your guests in the hall. Should you need me, I'll be in the balcony ensuring that the preparations for my meetings are conducted in a satisfactory atmosphere.”

Daarius turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Aleksis alone. Aleksis sighed and poured himself another glass of vodka and sipped on it as he walked out into the main hall. Just as he entered, he heard the large boom of the guards unlocking the door from the outside and opening it, letting the first guests of the evening inside, to which Aleksis left his chalice on the staircase and approached the pair, taking the woman's hand first and kissing it before shaking the gentleman's hand. These formalities came at great ease to the boy, but it was making conversation that he had always found to be the most difficult process of affiliating himself with any stranger.

"God has surely smiled upon us today by bringing the both of you to the Brankovskiy in good health! Who do I have the pleasure of meeting at this moment in time?" Aleksis heard the same line used by his father in the past and it was the only thing he could muster up with such little time to prepare for an introduction.

"My Prince," the man said, "I've already had the pleasure of meeting your excellency not just a few nights ago. I am the father of your bride-to-be and the Lord of Politvoe and Vladikovskoe. My name is Lord Amaraas Diga and my wife, the lovely Lady Giovanna Diga, is accompanying me this evening."

Aleksis's face flushed a bright red after realizing that he had not recognized his future father-in-law and quickly scrambled to find the words to make amends.

"M-My Lord, please accept my sincerest apologies, I meant no offense, merely just-"

Lord Diga approached Aleksis and embraced him. "We're family now so I may ask you to please allow yourself to relax and drink if you haven't already. I'm here to meet your father but you may converse with the Lady Giovanna at your pleasure."

Lord Diga pulled back and smiled. He then turned around and began walking to the room next door when he stopped in his tracks and faced Aleksis once more.

"Might I suggest for your next encounter to be more mindful of their appearance so you do not offend somebody. The Lords and Ladies in the capital are so quick to become offended and so resilient to offering forgiveness, it may be in your best interest to take my advice." Lord Diga turned around and left the room, leaving Aleksis with Lady Diga.

[Tamgu]

First time ain't the charm!
Tamgu has seen a horrible start to the WC83 qualification with 3 consecutive losses and a -7 goal difference.

Results:
Saciu 3–2 Tamgu
Tamgu 0–4 Starblaydia
Devonta 2–0 Tamgu

The new manager Albin Nerevod seems to have all the blame put on himself. In the inteview of the 4 goal battering that the team took at home he ranted about the team being unwilling to fight: "We are by no means the favourites of our group, but i expected some fighting spirit from the boys! They looked like they had been frozen out there! Absolutely unacceptable! This loss was not just a shame for me but for the entirety of our country. How are we going to look at our people's faces now? ... "

He also reminded the fans that the Hawks' primary goal was not to top the group and win the competition, but instead to represent our country the best as they could. Some has regarded his comment as a cheap excuse for the losses.

[Busoga Islands]

Royal Stadium in St. Petrus, Saintland- 65th minute

This was Saintland's first World Cup Qualifier in, their estimate, at least a generation. The energy in the stadium, among the players and fans, was astounding. The Islanders, of course, felt as if they were in a strange land. Not many Islanders made the long journey to Saintland- there were probably only 500 or so Islanders in the crowd, many people from the Muslim-majority nation being scared off of travelling to the strict Christian theocracy of Saintland. Now, of course, the similar white and red colors of both nations made finding that extremely small group of Islander fans fairly challenging. Still, Channeh Jarju, the Canterlot Stars midfielder and the national side's holding midfielder, was able to find them at halftime.

She looked up at them after she had committed a foul, in that moment. She saw the flags waving, and the small, sectioned off section still bouncing with energy. She gave a thumbs up and a smile at the section, which was on the other end of the field, almost directly above, in the top deck of the stadium, of the goal the Busoga Islands were attacking. But she couldn’t focus on those fans- it was about focusing on the moment in front of them.

As she walked over to join the wall for the oncoming free kick, she looked around the stadium. She had played in all kinds of environments. The United League that she played in gave her lots of preparation and practice for an environment such as this one- she would not get rattled. A lot could be said about where they were playing, but ultimately, she was not rattled. She had played in World Cup Qualifying before. She had been representing her country in both qualify and major tournaments(an AOCAF and a Cup of Harmony). She was used to the high-octane atmosphere that come with putting on the national shirt.

And yet, at the wall, she was nervous. This pair of defensive minded teams had quite a physical battle, back and forth, and she was not surprised to have the referee walk up to her and show a yellow card. “Don’t worry about Channeh, you’ll be fine.” Said Ousman Babaja, a striker who had joined the wall next to her. “Cards are par course for a holding mid.” And she wasn’t worried about it. She knew that it was a yellow card- she had mistimed her tackle ever so slightly, getting in there just a split second too late.

But that’s not why she was feeling what she was feeling. She didn’t reply to Ousman, just standing next to him on the wall. The free kick was from a dangerous distance- it looked to be about 30 or so yards. A ways away, but by no means an impossible shot. Ioannes Granius was standing over the ball, one of the few opportunities in the game for both teams. While it was not the most interesting of matches for fans- very few shots on goal, for a holding midfielder like Jarju, this was a battle of wills, a battle of wits- the most fun kind of match.

She had been running everywhere this game, as both and her opposite, Lucas Equitia, were taking command of the midfields. Lots of interceptions, the vast majority fo the game played in the middle third, very few forays for either side into the final third. And yet, now Saintland had this free kick- the best opportunity of the match for either side. Would Granius be able to tear this into the upper corner, from that distance?

Granius backed up, and took the strike. The wall jumped up in unison, and the shot smashed right into the leg of Ousman Babaja. It went to the Saintland back line. And they passed it sideways for a moment, before trying to go forward. Jarju lept in front of the pass intended for Granius, and she picked it off. She then looked up, and saw quite a sight. She saw Ibrahim Fatah and Madhav Oojam racing up the sidelines, while Ousman was screaming for a long ball. Would this be the opportunity? She kicked the ball down the right sideline, aiming for Fatah. And then she started to sprint up as well to join the attack. Fatah received the ball, and the ball was crossed, towards Babaja. The aging striker leaned forward for the cross, trying to head it. However, Alessandro Suedius came out to meet the ball at the 18. He dove forward and punched the ball, though not the convincing of clearances. Where did the ball land? At the feet of Jarju.

Oojam made a diagonal run towards goal at this point. “Channeh, pass the ball!” He yelled. But heck- she was the experienced vet- what an opportunity this was, right? As Seudius raced back towards his net, she took one step right and blasted a shot. It sailed towards the far corner, and Seudius could not recover in time. The ball went into the back of the net, and then pandemonium it.

“Hell yeah!” She yelled as she began sprinting. She put a single finger to her lips to silence the Saintland crowd, and raced to the corner, and slid forward to the corner flag, as her teammates mobbed her. What an exhilarating moment it was- a match winner for the Busoga Islands? She played out the rest of the game, and when the final whistle blew, almost 30 minutes in real time after that goal, she collapsed to the ground, and rose her hands into the air. Three incredible points for the Busoga Islands- this was almost surreal, was it not? She did not know nor care about the flight plan, or who was next. She enjoyed the biggest moment of her international career- scoring the match winner, in World Cup Qualifying, away from home. She would thoroughly enjoy this moment that would stick with her for the rest of her life.

[Taeshan]

Hubris is a funny word. After a strong start to the World Cup qualifying campaign the Purple Knights returned home for a second match, this time in the X Island Metropark, and they laid a massive egg in a match against lowly ranked Senayan. Behind the weakest performance all campaign the Knights mustered a lowly 8 shots on a team that barely had the ball outside of their own half of the field. Controlling the match from beginning to end the Knights performance was the worst performance probably seen this side of Taeshan for at least...since the last qualifying campaign. The three attacking subs off the bench weren't enough to even get more than 2 more shots in the second half and now the Knights have managed to make the dogfight with Darmen even more relevant. They still hold a 1 point lead, but with two remaining matches against the group favorites it seems unlikely that they will do much more than they have in any of the recent seasons.

[ThePenguinLand]

ThePenguinLand Times(2 in 1 Special Edition!).

PenguinLand Defeat 25th Ranked Darmen in opening match

Darmen 0-1 PenguinLand

75',Thiagomos

Lineups and Player Ratings:

Campo
Espinosa
Abbey
Maddox
Goldschmidt
Mac Pharlain
Cardoso
McNeil
Stafford
Hurst
Blackwood

Stankovich(7.7)
Jedercik(7.5)
Prokazy(7.9)
Hidercky(7.7)
Fore (7.5)
Gonzalodin(7.2)
Gonzalaherna (7.3)
Strezelny(7.4)
Dinawsci(7.7)
Fernandes(7.2)
Edmunsonowivic(7.5)

Key:
Subbed
Yellow Card
Goal
Subs: Hernazo-80'(Fore)[7.0],Mattic-69'(Gonzalaherna)[6.9],Thiagomos-63'(Edmunsonowivic)[8.0].

Subs:Virgo-59'(Espinosa),O Cuilin-70'(Mac Pharlain),Freud-70'(Stafford).

That's it!

Brilliant performance from our back four and a wonderful goal from Thiagomos. Our team played well and co-herently, maintaing a strong defence and taking our oppurtunities in the attack. Although,there are some questions about Edmunsonowivic's fitness, so far the team has said that he will get back to full health. We can take away a strong opener and a few points in our first match of the qualifiers. Let's look into the highlights below:

---

34'Min:Good play upfield from Gonzalodin to get it out to Dinawsci on the wing. He plays up into the penalty box, for Edmunsonowivic to get a head on it! Yet a quick save from Campo sends out for a corner.

40'Min:Hurst drives the ball through showing some link-up play, to Blackwood who takes the chance early. It's nicely deflected off Prokazy for a corner,

44'Min:Staffer plays a floating pass in which reaches Blackwood. He turns around to shoot on the edge of the penalty area,straight into Stankovich who clamly collects it.

45'Min: Dinawsci finds an opening in the defence, he passes it through to Edmunsonowivic who just manages to scrape the bar with his shot. It managed to startle the keeper, but went high and wide.

---

60'Min: Brilliant play from Fernandes who puts Dinawsci in for a chance! He sends the shot across goal, where its deflected by a fingertip save from Campo.

Cardoso sends a pass to Mcneil who sees Stafford in Space. Stafford plays a through ball to Hurst, who's attempted shot is scuffed early by Hidercky.

75'Min:0-1!Gonzalaherna and Dinawsci exchange passes, to then put Thiagomos in with chance. He turns and shoots it low into the corner past Campo!

80'Min: That was close! Blackwood manages to worm his way through the defence and squeeze a shot past Prokazy, yet Stankovich is there to block it.

---

PenguinLand lose 0-1 to Taeshan in hard fought match.

PenguinLand 0-1 Taeshan

56',Abriel Torres

Lineups and Player Ratings

GK-Bogodin Stankovich(7.4)
RB-Eden Fore(7.1)
CB-Shidlern Prokazy(7.5)
CB-Rosamin Hidercky(7.5)
LB-Slozmow Jedercik(6.9)
CM- Nowac Strezelny(7.0)
CM- Mattias Gonzalaherna(7.4)
CM-Mattinas Gonzalodin(7.2)
RW-Mattias Fernandes(7.3)
ST-Martinas Edmunsonowivic(7.0)
LW-Leopold Dinawsci(7.1)

Jingleheimer
Smitt
Coshan
Trueblood
Fasnacht
Santiago
Abl Bakr
Klingenberg
Morgenstern
Figueroa
Nkitilina
Torres

Key:
Subbed
Yellow Card
Goal
Subs:Edmunsonowivic-Thiagomos(60'Min)[6.8],Strezelny-Mattic(65'Min)[6.5],Jedercik-Dainawonivic(70'Min)[6.8].

Well, there's always more...

We played well and respectably yet our attack was left lacking. Good co-ordination and team play are still prevalent, yet finishing and spontaneous attacking play were underutilised. Edmunsonowivic's fitness is still in question as he was subbed off for the second game in a row. Let's look into the details below:

---

40'Min: An interception puts Torres through! His finish only scrapes the post as it's saved by Stankovich's deflection.

45'Min: Gonzalaherna puts Dinawsci through. He crosses in low for Edmunsonowivic to get a head on it. Jingleheimer gets a hand on it and turns it away.

45+2'Min: Figueroa plays in Torres again. This time his shot is deflected off Prokazy, yet Nkitilina gets their only to have Stankovich clear it away.

---

56'Min:0-1! Torres get his goal! He slips through the defense and puts it to the right of Stankovich out of the keeper's reach.

60'Min: Dinawsci dribbles through into the box. His quick shot manages to warrant a reaction save from Jingleheimer who puts it over the bar.

70'Min:Fernandes manages to find the post! From a 30-metre free kick, he strikes the ball up and over the wall only to have it bounce off the post and roll out.

[The Macabees]

THE WITCH EMELIE, IV
Previous: I, II. III

Dario arrived at the training headquarters in Beda Fromm in the early morning the next day. No one else was there. Donal Jerispo, the big boss, had texted him the previous night and asked him to see him before the sun came up — it was important, it read. Dario, who understood that this could either be very good or very bad, walked into the big boss' office shaking beneath his sweater.

"Hi, Mr. Gertona," said Donal, with a solemn tone.

Dario gulped. "Hi, Mr. Jerispo. You wanted to see me."

"Yes, yes," replied the big boss. Waving to the seat across his desk, he added, "Sit, sit."

The analyst did as requested, placing his hands in his laps. A drop of sweat broke on his forehead and began traveling down to his cheek before he hastily swatted it away. For a moment, Dario thought he couldn't speak. His throat refused to utter a sound, but then, "S-s-so, what's going on?" he asked.

"I think we both know what's going on," said Donal.

"Do we?" asked Dario. "I'm not sure."

Donal chuckled. "Look, Mr. Gertona, I really like you. You have to understand that. You're a good analyst and you do good work here, so this is very difficult and uncomfortable for me to say. But, some aspects of your behavior are not acceptable. I saw Doctor Emelie Reverie and she made me aware of a number of situations where you've...abused your friendship with her. She says you've made her uncomfortable these past few days. Ms. Reverie is an extremely important part of our medical team and I can't lose her. Neither can I allow sexual harassment to pass without a response. It just wouldn't reflect our culture here. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to let you go?"

Dario's eyes widened. They didn't reflect shock or fear, for the future or whatever, but rather anger. "WHAT!?!" he yelled. Again, "WHAT!?!."

"Calm down, Mr. Gertona," said Donal, who stood then. "Calm down or I'll have to call security."

But, Dario was fuming. "That's f'ing bull****! Emelie...Dr. Reverie...was f'ing in her office. How is that acceptable?"

The big boss looked around awkwardly at first and then recomposed himself. "Look," he said, "I'll deal with that separately. Your behavior is its own thing and there's no excuse for it, no matter what other people have done or are doing. Do you understand that? Now, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I have a busy day ahead of me."

"Fu—" Dario stopped himself before finishing that expletive. He breathed in. Then, "Okay, I'll go."

Shoulders hunched in defeat, he stood up, turned around, and walked out of the office. When the door closed behind him, he felt his phone vibrate in the right front pocket of his pants. Reaching into it, he extracted it, used his thumb to unlock the screen, and read a text sent to him by Frapto Nevara, the defender. It read: Meet me in the locker room. I want to apologize for everything.

Holding back tears, he made his way to the locker room, toward the back of the complex's central administrative building...



...when he arrived, he could hear grunting coming from behind the wide double doors that led to the locker room. It sounded like two or three men. Dario wondered what the hell was going on.

He stepped up to the double doors and pushed open. What he saw brought him to his knees. The tears began to stroll down his face with increasing vigor and all he wanted to do was scream, scream and...hurt someone, something, anything. There, in full view of anyone who walked in, Frapto and Klasos were double-teaming Emelie. Her face was one of pure enjoyment. Maybe it was that that killed Dario the most, as the inside of his body began to rot and crumble, and his heart decayed with excruciating pain. But, despite the clenched fists and pure, unadulterated hatred he felt for all three of them then and there, he finally brought himself to stand, turn, and run away.

He could hear the maniacal laughs of Frapto and Klasos chasing behind him, as the world darkened and caved in on him, like nightmares following him in the night.

Tears in his eyes, he ran straight through the twisting halls until he was out of the building. From there, he ran to his car, which took him home.



Janis' car parked just as Dario ran to his. She saw him and the tears that covered his face. In a hurry, she opened her door and yelled at after him, "Dario, wait! What's wrong?!"

But, he did not respond. Before she had a chance to catch up to him, he was gone. A certain sadness swept over her.

What the hell was that about? Why did he ignore me?

Others began to trickle in then as well but, when they greeted her, her mind was too busy with what had just transpired for her to say anything in return. A simple wave and she was off to investigate what had just occurred. But, inside there was no evidence of anything. He had left everything on his desk. Then, her phone beeped to her that she had a new email. Opening it, she saw it was from her boss, the senior analyst Alfons Yera. He had convened a Monday morning meeting to be held in thirty minutes. Shrugging, she sat down.



"Dario was let go this morning," said Alfons, somewhat coldly. "For what reasons, I don't know. He was fired by Mr. Jerispo directly."

Janis sat there, coffee in hand, absolutely stunned. Fired? What had Dario done? As she stewed, her mind went directly to Emelie...that witch! And as her mind went in circles, Janis thought of how she could make Emelie repay for the way she had treated poor Dario, who surely deserved better...who surely deserved someone like herself.

First, she'd speak to Mr. Jerispo. He must have let Dario go on false information. It was Emelie who needed to be fired. The woman was sleeping with the players!

With a feeling of disgust, Janis stood before Alfons had ended the meeting and she stormed off as the rest of the team looked at her curiously.

[Zwangzug]

Micah Angier blinked back the lights from the flash of the cameras. It should have been an easy interview. He'd scored his second goal for the national team, Zwangzug had won, and the Trink press would get the chance to talk him up rather than report on the latest atrocity that Danhy fans had committed by virtue of being, well, Danhy fans.

But instead, it was a shambles. All they wanted to do was put words in his mouth--"did you think that Chevanthi did a very nice job on defense as well as counterattack?" "Don't you think that Zwangzug are off to a fine start, albeit against mediocre opposition?" "Isn't Willow silencing his doubters?" As if he couldn't analyze the game for himself!

He was good, yeah. One of the best midfielders in the country. But he wasn't like--the best. He knew that, and he'd accepted it. There were people who played so naturally that they couldn't put it into words, but Micah needed to put work in, and continually tried to improve his skills. He could be a manager or a broadcaster in the future, he thought--he wasn't gifted enough to transcend language. But there went the Trink press, inviting him there and then ignoring the fact that he could speak.

To make matters worse, they insisted on using stupid infographics. "Look," he said. "Pie graphs are not...not good."

"Yes they are! Everyone loves pie! Shiny colors!"

"People are bad at estimating area and angles. Linear bar graphs are much more readable. Like, this cycle--okay this cycle is a bad example because the goals have been so evenly distributed, we're only three games in. But the active players, Ramona has scored seven goals in her career. That's more than any of us. So you would make her the longest bar, and then someone like me would be just under a third of that. That's easy to read, you know? I've only scored two goals, that's significantly less than hers."

"But what if we were to include older players?"

"Then that's even more evidence for the bar graph! Someone like...Spencer Gleason scored 14. If you want to include us all on the pie chart, a bunch of us, like me, would be tiny little indistiguishable wedges! Like the crumbs left over when you slice with your knife too thin. You have to use a pie graph."

"Arlo Rais-Sonnen scored 21," another journalist called, "in the sixties. And the original national team--"

"Oh enough about the original national team," sighed Micah, "they were disproportionate anyway, it'd be ludicrous no matter how you slice it."

"But look, the cause of death graphs on every national factbook are pie charts!"

"I don't think you're seeing my point."

"Those pie graphs," rang out another voice, "can be a bit misleading. Are our human citizens really lost in the wilderness, or is that just an artifact of counting AI and sentient zebras? I've been doing some independent research, and--"

Micah looked up. He knew that voice. Not as loud as it had once been when it rang out over the grass of Kyogijo Concord, commanding the attention of Eintracht Trink, but decisive nonetheless.

"Misako?"

(Angier 26, Cherenkov-Nguyen 47, Arokiaraj 83)

[Squornshelan Remnant States]

OOC: On the off chance CH happens to be reading, I want to emphasize that the frustration expressed herein with the scheduling of UICA competitions is purely in character. I am very grateful that UICA exists at all.

Change of Seasons, 2

It never seemed to get any easier, no matter how many fires she managed to put out. A roster had been named and venues for qualifying had been arranged, contracts had been signed and proverbial checks were in the proverbial mail, but there was still no end to the string of crises coming across Ailen's desk, however shiny, new, and free of damage it might be.

Why can't these imbeciles realize that I have nothing to do with roster decisions. Somehow the general media hubbub surrounding Provorov's exit and her ascension to the presidency had now become connected with the team's performance in Brantisvogan against Siovanija and Teusland. Naturally, after losing at home to a lower ranked team, there had been some second-guessing of the players and coaching staff, but sensationalists in the Brantid sports media in particular had decided to draw connections that would allow them to tar the entire SCFA. Not one of them has any idea what an association president actually does. As if she would waste her time deciding something as trivial whether Tudan Povarnin or Polter Yndel still belonged on the Black-and-Reds shortlist.

Of late, her office had been hard at work ensuring the financial future of the SCFA. Not a few of their sponsors had been concerned about the association's administrative instability of late, and a poor home result had only compounded the problem. Her time had been eaten up with appearances aimed at both retaining current sponsorship contracts while quietly lining up potential replacements. The presence of the SCFA president herself went a long way toward impressing the association's various benefactors, but it was a drain. Besides that, there were always thousands of things to do, and miles of red tape wrapped around each new domestic season. How easily people forget that we're responsible for all of that as well, as if they only remember that we exist at all every two years. While most, including Ailen herself were satisfied overall with the pace of gender integration in the SCFA leagues, there was a proposal currently under fierce internal debate to incentivize teams to not only sign women, but to play them, by adding a consideration to a proportion of minutes played by women to the ever more complicated formula that determined each club's fair share of league revenue sharing programs. There was also quite a bit of frustration from progressives that while women were beginning to make an impact at home, they were still underrepresented on the national team. Add in the far right political commentators who still wanted to turn back the clock to a time before women had been permitted to compete, and it was a mess to say the least. No matter what I do, a large number of people are guaranteed to be unhappy, Ailen frowned, sometimes I can't tell whether this is politics or sport.

While the gender integration issue was contentious enough, another decision loomed that was not yet on the radar of the average fan or sportswriter. Due to the asynchronous nature of the multiverse in which international competitions took place, it was becoming impossible to keep a constant time frame, and there was a very real possibility that the upcoming SCFA season would have to be delayed pending the announcement of the schedule for the coming UICA cycle. Worse yet, domestic and international club competitions, at least with regard to the confederacy, might have to be uncoupled, so to speak. The SCFA leagues and cup could then continue as annual competitions, and whoever happened to be champion when a new UICA cycle was announced would attend. It was hardly an ideal solution, but a far more attractive one than losing all certainty of when the next SCFA season might begin, or indeed how old players might be when it did. Again, they'll all hate me whichever way we go. Overall, Ailen favored the 'decoupling' option, but she was determined not to take public action until more people were at least aware of the impending dilemma. Give people a little time to think and maybe a few will see it our way.

In any case, with a bye week coming, she had a slim window of time to catch her breath before tackling the logistical challenges of hosting a WCC sanctioned match in Rudlit. So far it was by far the smallest venue and community to do so in the confederacy, and ensuring that the infrastructure was up to the task had occupied many thousands of work-hours over the past few months. The week leading up would be chaos, though in this, at least, Ailen was confident. We'll bring international football to an underserved community, and show the world that you don't need a shiny new 80,000-seater stadium to put on a great show. For the first time in a few hours a smile came to Ailen's face, either that or the press will have another disaster to talk about.

SRS Qualifying Schedule and Results:

MD1: Quakmybush 0-1 SRS
MD2: SRS 1-2 Siovanija & Teusland @ Radlov Arena (cap. 76,800), Brantisvogan, Megabrantis, SRS
MD3: Lashnakia 0-1 SRS
MD4: Bye
MD5: SRS v New North Carolina @ Eichlen Stadium (cap. 37,500), Rudlit, East Flania, SRS
MD6: Anollasia v SRS
MD7: SRS v The Holy Empire @ Bridger Lane (cap. 72,406), Damogran, Algolia, SRS
MD8: SRS v Quakmybush @ Pheldagrif Stadium (cap 45,620), Yassaca, Sivolvia, SRS
MD9: Siovanija & Teusland v SRS @ Olimpski-Stadion (cap. 60,000), Borograd, STL
MD10: SRS v Lashnakia @ Slavnarzeczpospolitastadion (cap. 61,230), Lublova, Molvania, SRS
MD11: Bye
MD12: New North Carolina v SRS
MD13: SRS v Anollasia @ Castle Street (cap. 57,300), Jaglan, Algolia, SRS
MD14: The Holy Empire v SRS @ Imperial Hippodrome

[Terre Septentrionale]

The Macabees blanks Terre Septentrionale

Trzebiegoszcz, Township of Pomerania - So far Terre Septentrionale played against teams of their strenght at the Baptism of Fire or teams ranked lower than us on matchdays 1 and 2. This time it was a huge task for the Septentrionaux: They received The Macabees at home, a team ranked 46th. The game was played in a sold out Stadion Hydro-Polnocna in Trzebiegoszcz, Township of Pomerania. The Nordiques attacked at the 22nd minute when Amelia Zalwowska passed to Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa who shoots but Líam Jer'Voos made a fantastic save and the score was still 0-0 at the halftime.

At the 48th minute, Harako Vera passed to Goroga Kileno who dribbled and made a short pass to Jarus Menkalepken who shoots and scores. The Macabees were leading 1-0. Terre Septentrionale attacked at the 83rd minute when Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz tried to pass to Amelia Zalwowska but Frapto Nevara blocked the pass. The ball was loose and Thomas Heinz, who entered into the game at the 71st minute, takes it and immediately passed forward to Lena Oravi who dribbled with the ball and passed to Damrek Yusen who dribbled with the ball and he shoots and he scores. 2-0 The Macabees. This is the final score, the Reprezentacja Nordycki lost 2-0 against one of the best team.

BOXSCORE
48th minute: Jarus Menkalepken assisted by Goroga Kileno
83rd minute: Damrek Yusen assisted by Lena Oravi

YELLOW CARDS
7th minute: Zbigniew Zajaczkowski
34th minute: Stan Kiro
58th minute: Przemyslaw Zawistowski
65th minute: Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz

RED CARDS
None

Darkmania

With this loss against The Macabees, Terre Septentrionale is now 4th in the standings with a win and two losses. As expected, Turori and The Macabees are ahead of the Northmen in the standings, and Amurbia, with 2 wins and no loss, are also ahead, which wasn't expected. Terre Septentrionale will travel away to Darkmania, another nordic nation, on matchday 4, which won't be an easy task either. Darkmania is ranked 78th.

Wlodzimierz Pietruszewski,
Editor in chief,
La Tribune Septentrionale

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


(OOC: this is not a newspaper article)

07:00 AM

A plane which came from the Free Republics landed in Terre Septentrionale at the Trzebiegoszcz International Airport, locally known as Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy Trzebiegoszcz. Soccer player Krzysztof Pajaczkowski came off of this plane, escorted by two Republican government agents. Pajaczkowski was detained in the Free Republics since the Baptism of Fire, officially for attempting at Scarlett Nicholls life, hovever it was a mistake. Pajaczkowski and the two Republican agents were welcomed by a GRITS agent (Gendarmerie Républicaine Intercantonale de Terre Septentrionale) (OOC: it's Terre Septentrionale's equivalent of the FBI or Canada's RCMP without their furry hats) and were taken to a conference room whitin the airport. The Republican agents explained to the GRITS agent why Pajaczkowski was detained, what he was accused of, and that he has been deported and barred from re-entering in the FFR. The GRITS agent decided that they won't take any further action against Pajaczkowski and he's free. He's free to travel anywhere but in the Free Republics and a mention saying he's barred from re-entering in the FFR will be added to his passport. He's also free to reintegrate the National Team if the coach decides so. After the meeting the two Republican agents went to the waiting room and waited for their return flight. Pajaczkowski stayed in the room with the GRITS agent one more hour to talk about his actions in the FFR and the consequences, then he was free.

04:00 PM

Krzysztof Pajaczkowski arrived at Stadion Hydro-Polnocna in Trzebiegoszcz and met his national team's teammates, he was welcomed positively, and told them what happened to him in the FFR. Then he met team manager Slawomir Wyrzykowski for an hour in his office. Wyrzykowski promised him he'll be back on the official roster after the mid-qualifications break.

07:00 PM

The game against The Macabees started. Krzysztof Pajaczkowski watched the game from a press box. At the halftime he was introduced to the crowd and got an ovation.

[Islas Aaland]

Beat the odds

The game that no Nordic will forget will be this 3-1 against one of the best teams in the multiverse, nobody expected this result and every goal that was made was shouted with all his strength, the defeats of the past were forgotten now twice as exciting matches come.

Match
IA: '9 Lenms Holsdan '67 Roll Denssen '72 Helt Flamsen
DA: '70 Jorie Stelharter