World Cup 83 - Roleplay Thread

[Turori]

Tuirma Searches Ancient Texts for Key to Victory

Turori may need more than a little help from Margaret to dig out of Group G hole

BCEL Beverage Corporation Stadium, Jinja City, Banija :: The Turori National team felt right at home when they got to the BCEL Beverage Company Stadium in Jinja City with Cocoa-bo in the locker rooms, Cocoa-bo advertising on the boards at the stadium in their familiar Eelskin Brown and their Colonial Rivals the Vilita Jungle Cats had left the Turorians a 'gift' in the locker room that defender Lulu Pumaziiri had the unfortunate honor of finding as the first one in the showers. The Vilitan National Team had used the very same locker room just one match day prior as they were defeated by the Commonwealth of Baker Park on the opening match day of the World Cup 83 Group Phase. The Turorians were hoping to meet up with the Vilitan National Team later on during the knockout round of the World Cup Finals to get a chance at revenge over their colonial rivals who had eliminated them from the World Cup for two cycles running.

In order to get there, however, Turori would first have to advance from Group G and they were off to a slow start having been held to a 1-1 draw against Apox on the opening match day at the Star Field in Herzegovina City. As the #2 team in the multiverse the Turori National Team were widely expected to easily roll through Group G and make their way into the knockout phase. There were no former World Cup Champions in the group which also contained a side that many consider to be the weakest in the World Cup 83 Finals, Bongo Johnson. It would not be that easy mark that the Eels would have on Match day 2, however, it would be Mriin - the prickly Atlantian Oceania side whose only claim to fame was their defeat at the hands of Vilita and Turori in the AOCAF 56 Final in the Equestrian States.

With over 20 places separating the two sides in the World Rankings, Mriin would likely have been happy to settle for a point against Turori while the Eels were certainly looking to record their first win of the Finals to remove any doubt of their advancement when it came down to the final match day. Unfortunately for Turori, however, they were not able to dominate the possession as they had hoped to do as the Reavers style had sufficiently cancelled out the System Turori defensive structure being employed by Kliaill Tuirma's Turori Eels.

The two teams shared possession but there were minimal chances in a match which quickly became a nervous affair when the two sides realized they were more evenly matched than they might have thought at the outset. Looking for a spark, Tuirma introduced Turakia Diijelhma at half time for a slightly more attacking threat but it didn't affect the match when the players returned to the pitch refreshed from their locker room breaks.

Tuirma kept messing with the Eels lineup to try to inject some offense, moving players around on the pitch and then replacing the youngster Nua'oma Aikiki with veteran attacker Mirana Gotuai. After throwing all their chips at the problem, however, Tuirma finally conceded with their 77th minute change where the Turorian head coach made the call to settle in and secure the point by introducing defender Moumouni Verre'elali of Tropicorp FC in order to solidify the back line. While the Eels wanted the victory to ensure full control of their destiny on Match day 3, it would certainly not have been a terrible position to head into a match against the lowest rated team in the group with two points and an unbeaten record having a possibility to come out with five points and a decent shot at advancing on a tiebreaker at worst.

Unfortunately, while the defensive changes did their job in open play, there was little the Eels could do in the 82nd minute when Karii Bruun headed home to give 23rd ranked Mriin the lead.

Having already played all of their cards, Kliailil Tuirma had no substitutions left to make any further changes to the Turorian side to press for a late equalizer. On the other hand, Mriin had every incentive to hold on to their lead as a victory on the day would ensure their advancement to the Round of 16. When the final whistle blew, the Turori National Team knew they would have their work cut out for them on the final match day but they would soon receive the news at just how improbable a task they would be facing.

Turori [0] - [1] Mriin

:: Turori Goalscorers :: - None -

:: Turori Statistics :: :: Possession: 50% :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 8

:: Mriin Statistics :: :: Possession: 50% :: Shots on Target: 3 :: Corner Kicks: 7

:: Mriin Goalscorers :: 82' :: Karii Bruun

---

'Turori Eels Lineup v. Mriin ::
[GK] Timaala Hualtia, [D.] Yitizo Mpala'a, [D.] Biliki Rona'atu'i, [D.] Mikki Mayelli, [D.] Lulu Pumaziiri, [ML] Daliora Toru'u, [MC] Kentu Umaka'a, [MC] Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [MR] Indelli Nura'amura, [FC] Meldi'ita Mungwaii, [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki
BENCH::
[FC] Mirana Gotuai, [FC] Turakia Diijelhma, [M] Mbdiai Akarenaa, [M] Lati'ala Giaoka, [U ] Amakli Inuro'o, [D] Moumouni Verre'elali, [GK] Wiyauw An'maude

---

While the Turorian players already knew they had screwed up, blown a chance at an easy advancement - they still left the pitch in Jinja City thinking they had a shot to advance. When they saw the scoreline in Group G's other match, however, the tone changed considerably. Apox had thrashed Bongo Johnson by a scoreline of 7-0 to move second in Group G with a goal differential of +7. With Mriin already assured advancement on six points at the top of the group, the Turorians would have to catch and pass Apox in order to advance and as the Match day 1 fixture between the two sides was a draw, it would all be decided on goal differential if the two nations were level on points. As such Turori would be going into the final match day at a deficit of -8 on Apox.

Normally when employing System Turorian tactics, the Turori National Team is more than satisfied winning matches by the slimmest of margins with 1-0 considered an ideal result. That would absolutely not fly in this scenario, however. Even if Turori could get some help from Mriin defeating Apox, it would be unlikely to recover enough to majorly help the Eels.

However, if Mriin is able to defeat the Apoxians by two goals or more, the Turorian National Team could have a chance. Twice this campaign alone the Turori Eels outscored an opponent by six goals, first on the opening match day of the World Cup 83 Qualification campaign against Hyundai-Kia and then later in the campaign against 78th ranked nation Darkmania. Both matches were 6-0 triumphs for Turori and if they could repeat that outcome against Bongo Johnson they would potentially be close enough to benefit from a windfall of advancement should Mriin take care of business against Apox.

Turori Eels Head Coach Kliaill Tuirma decided to study the ancient texts in the Turori National Team vault to seek tactical inspiration for how to approach the critical Matchday 3 scenario with odds so long they couldn't comprehend where to start.

The Original Rejistanian Tactical Systems

System Karela: (aka. All-Out-Defense) - Perhaps the most famous of Rejistanian tactics, the use of System Karela typically employs the use of at least 5 defenders and either one or zero attackers. The moniker was generated by Rejistanian newspapers to describe the unconventional style of play of Karela Lines of the H1SR (First League of Rejistanian Soccer). Known to fans as "the most boring tactic ever".

System Jesejil: a 4-5-1 tactic, often in combination with pressing, named after the Rejistania city Jesejil kali in nanti ligat. This tactic was first employed by the Rejistania Under-21 Squad.

System Imdila: a 4-4-2 tactic. Named after Hexen Imdila, the first coach of the Rejistani national team who often used this style.

System Hisisim/Iknel: a fluid tactic where players are loaded into the midfield to create possession at the expense of both attacking and defensive prowess. Typically includes 2 or fewer defenders and 2 or fewer attackers (IE: 2-7-1; 1-8-1). The terms originate from the Rejistanian terms for Versatile (Hisisim) or Midfield (Iknel).

System Hangila: a 3-4-3 tactic named after Ha~e Hangila, a Rejistanian coach who preferred a more attacking 3-4-3 formation.

System Takil: (aka. All-Out-Attack) While at the peak of their prowess, Rejistanian head coach Laxtu Takil used an all out attacking style during the World Cup qualifiers when World Champion Rejistania played against weaker opposition. Famously resulted in the first double-digit victory when Rejistania scored 10 times against Ravea during World Cup 17 Qualifying.

The Modern Turorian System

System Turori: a hybrid system taking from System Karela, System Jesejil and System Imdila, System Turori as employed by the Turori National Team adds a much stronger emphasis on the defensive role of its midfielders as opposed to using natural defenders. The Turorian tactic has 3 central defenders who are joined by 2 wing back midfielders when the Eels are on defense. However, when on Attack, the wing defenders push up the field and become true outside midfielders, supporting the attack as needed. Interpretations of the formation could include (5-3-2); (3-2-2-2) but more naturally fit a defensive minded (3-5-2). Previously, the System used by Turori was more reflective of a traditional System Jesejil.

As Tuirma reviewed the texts he understood the implications of the decisions he was going to make. The more extreme the tactical choice the more difficult it was to perfect. System Karela carried the potential ramification of boredom for players, fans and anyone within a sufficient radius of the playing field. System Takil on the other hand was sure to excite but any missteps in implementing the tactic could be catastrophic as goals could begin to get scored against just as quickly as they were being scored for.

Tuirma opened to the tab for System Takil. The first page warned the reader of exactly these facts. Of course Tuirma already knew but to see the warning written so plainly in the ancient texts was a sobering reminder for the Turorian Head Coach of the troublesome journey he was about to begin. He flipped the next page and began to study the usage of System Takil by the Bettian National Team, one of the great employers of the Takilan system in the history of the World Cup. Tuirma read every word and when he was done, back to the start and read it again. His team were still in Banija and the ancient text could not be removed. He needed to ensure no mistakes or his Nation's rise to the pinnacle of internationstatal sport could come crashing down just as quickly in his hands.

The next morning, having returned to Banija armed with the knowledge of the ancient system that could save Turori's World Cup, Tuirma gathered the players and laid out the plan for a match that would require nothing short of perfection in planning and execution, as well as a little help from the goddess Margaret to delivery the right results across the board to see the Turori National Team survive to fight another day in their quest for the World Cup.

---

System Karela v. System Takil

Flag of Rejistania, Champions with System Karela


Flag of Bettia, Champions with System Takil

System Karela is a tactic best described as "All Out Defense". In reality, a Karelan System is more likely to be the one applied by a team that is gravely outmatched and hoping above all to escape with a goalless draw. As System Karela has also been dubbed "The Most Boring Tactic Ever" - a match where both teams were employing Karelan tactics could easily be quipped as "The Most Boring Game Ever". System Karela was named in the time before time after the Rejistanian club Karela Lines. The tactic was famously used by Cockbill Street during their successful campaign to qualify for World Cup 20. Adding to the legend, the Cockbill Streetians used the tactic, in its loosest form to record an historic 1-0 upset victory over former World Champion nation Rejistania - the very nation whose club Karela Lines originally invented the tactics. Unfortunately for Cockbill Street, however, they would lose their final match of the Group Stage when Lovisa famously used the Karelan Tactic against them. There would be no celebrations on the day - As Lovisa were eliminated anyway, but the resultant press conference from the Lovisan manager resonates across social sharing sites to this very day. Having sat down to talk to the media, the Lovisa manager took no questions. Confidently, he grabbed the microphone and uttered two words ("Lovisa Win") and walked out of the room. At the very same time, the Turori Eels had lost to Rejistania, also by a 0-1 scoreline, and also at the hands of the Rejistanian's own ultra-defensive system. The Rejistanians were not going to be beat at their own game and took on the tactic, successfully employing it against the Eels who had won their previous two games and were looking to run the table en route to their first big World Cup run.

The chain would continue, as the Eels then adopted System Karela for the first time in their history and executed the tactic to perfection in their Round of 16 fixture. The Eels played Two-Time World Cup Runners-Up Spaam to a goalless draw sending the match into extra time. When Lorenzo Mumamba netted for Turori in Extra Time, it set up a rematch between Turori and Rejistania in what many feared would end up as "The Most Boring Game, Ever". In the end, the Rejistanian's had a trick or two up their sleeve, switching from System Karela to System Takil unexpectedly and catching Turori off guard. The lone goal was enough to make the difference resigning the Eels to a 3rd consecutive Quarter Final defeat - setting off the start of a record run of Quarter Final ineptitude that still stands to this day. 5 of the next 6 Turorian World Cup Finals knockout matches would end with a 0-1, 1-0 or 0-0 scoreline to be decided on penalty kicks. The glory run for Karela would soon run its course, however. When the H1SR folded in Rejistania and Cockbill Street was paved right off the map in Atlantian Oceania; Turori were left as the last of the original "Karelan" teams standing.

While System Takil is an all out attacking system it was actually never fully employed by its namesake, Laxtu Takil. Takil was the head coach of the Rejistania Orange-Blues during of of their great periods of World Dominance, having built a team from the ground up at the Under-21 level and taking them all the way through to winning the World Cup. Takil actually resigned from the post just before the World Cup 17 Final citing that "It is best to leave when things are great". During their time as coach of the Rejistania National Team, Takil actually employed tactics that were much closer to System Karela than any form of attacking style. It was Takil's defensive approach that had led the Orange-Blues to their World Cup titles. However, near the end of their term in charge, Laxtu Takil began to experiment in the name of entertainment and keeping the players happy. Perhaps trying to prove how ridiculous of an idea attacking styles were, Takil sent the Rejistania team out in a 2-3-5 formation - the inverse of the normal formation of the team. This one exemplar was a stunning move from the normally defensive minded coach and is responsible for the coining of the term "System Takil" even if the Systems namesake was actually a very defensive minded coach. Shortly after introducing the System Takil style of offensive play, Rejistania would become the first team to score double digit goals on an opponent during World Cup 17 Qualifications when they would defeat Ravea 10-1 cementing System Takil as a legendary formation for generations to come.

While Rejistania themselves were most successful in their defense minded formations it was the Atlantian Oceania based nation of Bettia who were most successful while employing System Takil. The Aroras of Bettia rose to the pinnacle of the sporting multiverse as World Cup 33 champions. While the Bettians would win two World Cup's using System Takil, the most memorable result for the side was perhaps also the first time anyone had ever heard of Bettia or seen the successful use of System Takil in competition when Bettia lifted the Baptism of Fire trophy for World Cup 22 with a resounding 7-0 victory over Corneliu. Many regard it as the first truly successful implementation of System Takil and to this day the Bettian approach is studied by coaches Multiverse wide as they look to harness the power of System Takil.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Strong Finish Required--Scott
by Frank Armitage
The Daily Mail Chief Soccer Writer

Reporting from Busukuma, Banija:

Commonwealth National Team manager Pamela Scott has made clear to her squad that the Group H finale at the Stadium of the Restoration will not be a low pressure, valedictory match.

Sitting atop the table having defeated Vilita & The Macabees in succession, Baker Park approach this contest against Audioslavia with the same attitude as they took into the previous matches here in the Kingdom.

"We are a side in the toughest region (AOCAF) and we know that there are no off-days," said Jamari Bozeman, the midfielder who has scored 2 of the 3 BP tallies here. "(Audioslavia) aren't going to just pat us on the back and say 'well done' because we've clinched a spot. They are going to want to make sure that we don't forget they have two stars on their shirt. Pam wants us to treat this as though we need to win to advance."

Jared Wyatt will get his first World Cup start in goal, while the other players who didn't get a start in the first two matches will be on the pitch at kickoff--Emily Arnold, Pryna Rasanamira, Nicki Stone, Antonio Sotolongo, and Missy Tilton. "I'm proud and delighted that we have depth in the squad to be able to get everyone a chance to say they started a World Cup match," Scott remarked during her media availability. "I know that we have always had a preference at the FAC for giving all players on a squad for a tournament a chance to have their moments. Everyone puts in the same work every day, so everyone deserves a chance to share in the glory."

Asked which side in Group G she'd rather play in the round of 16, Scott shrugged her shoulders. "Apox have a score to settle with us, don't they? I don't think it matters, because we have to beat whoever it is we face if we want to continue."

[Mriin]

BCEL Stadium locker room, halftime...

“The hell is wrong with you?” Karii gave Maas a sidelong glance after he punched his locker.

Geraard, managing to pick that out from the other side of the clamorous room, guffawed. “With that boy? A lot.”

“Fuck off, old man.” Maas shook his hand out while flipping Geraard off with the other. “It’s… it’s stupid, it is. But y’all talkin’ ‘bout stickin’ it to Turori for the AOCAF final, and I’m still fuckin’ pissed I got left off that squad. Y’all get revenge and I’ve got sour grapes.”

“You’re still hung up on that?!” The veteran huffed as he pushed himself up and wandered over. “Doesn’t seem like it’s fucking up your play any. Why’s that?”

“I’m not that much of a dumbass. I’ve still got a job to do.”

Karii snorted at that. “And you’re still gonna risk breaking your hand for no reason? You weren’t even the only one left out. I wasn’t there either, or half the team we’ve got now.”

“Shit,” Geraard interjected, “the only one of them that was in the final was Umaka’a. Take a shot at him if you want some glory, not yourself.”

“Nothing too stupid, though,” Karii added. “We’ve been roughing them up good so far and I don’t know how far the ref’s leash goes.”

“They’re Nepharim,” Maas countered blankly.

“Oh, shit, I didn’t realize that. Go wild then.”

---

BCEL Stadium press box, with the RMAL crew…

TOUM BUURK: And we’re back with Malia kicking off the second half.
JII TIAAN: Do you think we’ll see more activity from the Reavers, Toum?
TOUM: I have to imagine we will. The Eels need three points from this game after drawing Apox, and you know Brennan has Reina and Malia on strict counterattack orders.
JII: That explains why we’re not seeing one of those explosive kickoffs; they know getting Solara the ball as deep as possible isn’t going to magically conjure a goal against a defense of this caliber.
TOUM: And Aeroluzzi forces an exceedingly poor attempt from Tia, Hualtia doesn’t even blink.
JII: Hualtia is an interesting case. Not often you see an eighteen-year-old starting a critical matchup in the finals.
TOUM: The Apox game must have seriously shaken their faith in An’maude. Hualtia is definitely a quality player, having lead the combined cove Di Brandini team to the final, but this is their first start against a senior team ranked above 200.
JII: Turori has advanced aggressively after Toru’u’s inbound, the Reavers returning to the compact 4-4-2 they choked the first half with.
TOUM: Portia cuts an interesting figure marauding alongside Malia. Both blades that have been sharpened in the Premiership, they certainly know how to give opponents second thoughts. Just there, Portia stamped the ground in front of freshly brought-on Turakia Diijelhma--just seventeen, this Turori team is remarkably young!--and that was enough to halt them for a moment.
JII: There’s always going to be a little technical deficiency when satyrs face off against humans, but you can’t deny stomping around with hooves is good for the intimidation factor.
TOUM: At least for those without experience in the matchup. Brenecians have perhaps the most of any human nation, and used it to show a masterclass of handling the “unfair” advantages internet trolls like to claim satyrs have.
JII: Aye, and you have to imagine that’s part of why the MNL brought Brennan on board. See if she can unlock a bit of the human game we’ve been missing.
TOUM: Aikiki lets the ball slip and the Reavers regain possession. Good marking from Reina to keep them off-balance.
JII: Pia feeds Tia as she’s done a hundred times, and we might finally see a proper drive here!
TOUM: Oh dear--before I could even mention that Umaka’a had unhanded Tia with aplomb, they’ve been completely laid out by Maas. What was he even doing that far up?
JII: The ref shows him a yellow card and Tuirma is not happy about it on the touchline. There was definitely a hint of malice in that tackle, I can’t deny.
TOUM: Umaka’a got up quickly under their own power, that may have affected the decision. Maas clearly meant to send… some fashion of message with that, rather than explicitly trying to commit murder.
JII: It looks like that’s got Tuirma antsy, as they call on another replacement--Aikiki is out in favor of Mirana Gotuai, significantly raising the level of experience on the pitch for the Eels.
TOUM: And what experiences they bring--not much more you can ask for in a career than plying your trade across the Northern Sunrise Islands, Pasarga, and Starblaydia.
JII: Not of a vintage Liga, perhaps, but Iskara Daii is Iskara Daii.
TOUM: Couldn’t have said it better myself. Gotuai will get their first chance quickly, as well--but Mara is a match for it, cleanly grabbing and collapsing on it. A bit belatedly, perhaps, Geraard is coming out to relieve Maas and remove the risk of a second yellow spoiling the fun. This is likely to be one of his last World Cup appearances, all things considered.
JII: And what a career he’s had. Leading the Mrii defense was never an easy job, and he’s occasionally lead them to heights nobody expected of them.
TOUM: And some deep lows, as well, but that’s the game. Either way, it looks like we’re set for a bit more midfield noodling while he gets his legs underneath him and Reina gets a proper bead on Gotuai.

…

TOUM: And here comes Tuirma’s final move, defender Moumouni Verre’elali taking over for Umaka’a, who finally seems to have gotten sore enough from the clash with Maas.
JII: It seems the Eels are going to dedicate themselves to a singular point after nearly eighty minutes of being unable to crack the Mrii defense. This really is a stunning performance against the world’s second ranked team; Brennan can’t get enough praise for what she’s done shaping this back line up.
TOUM: Absolutely--if she pulls us into the next round, there’s no doubt she’ll be a national hero overnight. The thirst so much of the fanbase had for Don’s sacking was astonishing, all things considered, but such consistent failure in the group stage was always going to be hard.
JII: Hold that thought--Solara has found some space for the first time all night! She’s gotten a step ahead of Rona’atu’i and is squaring up in the box--
TOUM: Hualtia with an extraordinarily acrobatic leap palms an absolute bullet over the bar! That was an incredible read from the young keeper, or else they have reaction speeds I could only dream of.
JII: Malia sprints straight to the corner, she’s still got plenty left in the tank here. This could be a make or break moment for the entire game--who knows if the Reavers can get this close again against ten minutes of dedicated System Turori.
TOUM: The ball is up--it’s clear over the gaggle, Karii gets a horn on it! Just past the far post and she managed to hook it in! Mriin has taken the lead over Turori in the eighty-second minute, I can’t believe it!
JII: This might just be the crowning moment of Karii’s career. After the Bongonian match she was quoted as saying she “owes” Mara a goal--there was no better time than this for her to come through. With the Eels already shifted into a defensive stance, it’s going to be an ordeal for them to find a leveller with time running out.

[Vilita]

Jungle Cats shine in Win over Baulls

Mavuto Field, Hoima, Ankole, Banija :: When the Vilitan National Team players collected their things from the BCEL Beverage Company Stadium in Jinja City a number of the players were indicating that they hadn't felt well. Of course they had just thrown away a winnable match in the first game of their World Cup 83 campaign so there wasn't particularly a lot to feel good about altogether so most of the players shrugged it off or put it behind them as they set off to the 75,000 capacity Mavuto Field for one of the signature matches of the World Cup 83 Group Stage: Vilita v. Audioslavia.

The Rivalry between the Vilita Jungle Cats and the Audioslavia Bulls goes back generations and while it does not tend to fester between matches the way the hatred continuously flows between Audioslavia and Krytenia, the intensity level always ramps up to appropriate levels in the build up to a match between two of the Giants of the history of internationstatal sport. New for World Cup 83 is the hit song 'With Vilita' composed and performed by a disgruntled Jaffacaker in response to the Audioslavia National Team's chances at the World Cup 83 Finals particularly considering the difficulty of Group H which included Vilita, the #1 Ranked nation in the multiverse and defending World Cup Champions.

Of course, it wasn't always like that for the two nations as it was Vilita as the underdog minnows entering the World Cup 20 Final in Druida against an Audioslavia side who were Runners-Up just one World Cup prior and looked set to claim their first World Cup Title against the newcomers from the up-and-coming Atlantian Oceania region.

Instead, a little known Vilita National Team winger named Tanner Nerni, born in Turori, changed the course of history for the two nations as Vilita would win their first World Cup title while Audioslavia's legacy as 'assured losers' whenever they reached a competition final was cemented.

While there was far less on the line during Matchday 2 of the World Cup 83 Finals, no match between Vilita and Audioslavia could ever be taken lightly and this was no exception as the Vilitan Coaching Staff put forth a strong lineup missing only top goalscorer Sipke Tarala from the starting 11.

The Jungle Cats set out to take the lead early and secure three points to ensure they had control of their own destiny heading into the final match day and that's exactly what they did with Eastal Lunar's Limu Katarakhna opening their World Cup 83 goal scoring account just 8 minutes in. Vilita would hold on for 82 minutes to claim the victory and while they weren't set up great sitting third in the group standings, they put themselves in position to advance with a win on the final match day of the Group Stage. It was a position not too dissimilar from World Cup 82 where the Jungle Cats dropped points with draws against 28th seeded Juvencus and 29th seed Mercedini to put them in a hole but they dug out of it to secure their first ever unbeaten World Cup Finals culminating with the 3-0 triumph over Turori in Valanora.

While the Jungle Cats did secure the points they needed to stay alive in Banija there was a concern in the 22nd minute when goalscorer Katarakhna had to be removed from the pitch after landing awkwardly in the process of being fouled by Audioslavia's Manolo Cesar Chavez. Katarakhna was replaced by Fishtii Blikala and would not return to the sideline putting into doubt the enigmatic winger's availability for the crucial match day 3 fixture against The Macabees. As Katarakhna is currently the only Vilitan player who has managed to score a goal at the World Cup 83 Finals, the Jungle Cat supporters will likely be waiting with baited breath to determine the Eastal Lunar players status for the remainder of the World Cup Finals.

Vilita [1] - [0] Audioslavia

:: Vilita Goalscorers :: :: 8' Limu Katarakhna

:: Vilita Statistics :: :: Possession: 58% :: Shots on Target: 4 :: Corner Kicks: 6

:: Audioslavia Statistics :: :: Possession: 42% :: Shots on Target: 5 :: Corner Kicks: 3

---

Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. Audioslavia ::
[GK] Mako Canopii, [D.] Linkat Cjinder, [D.] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [D.] Jirak Trikala, [ML] Polaox Torerun, [MC] Limu Katarakhna, [MC] Jyuola Mtalata, [MC] Cavuna Aquafek, [MR] Cywrenta Vlintejni, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [FC] Enzoril Alabonni
BENCH::
[FC] Sipke Tarala, [FC] Fishtii Blikala, [M] Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, [M] Jurzen Devmiko, [U ] Ikala Mravedii, [D] Rintala Sekagaya, [GK] Striitca Virahat

---

The Jungle Cats kept super-star striker Sipke Tarala on the bench against Audioslavia, clearly attempting to rest the Nepharim based attacker who has scored the game-winning-goal in two consecutive World Cup Finals to ensure their place amongst the World Cup's all time greats. It is likely that Tarala would have been introduced if at any point the Jungle Cats were in need of a goal but thanks to Katarakhna's early strike and the Vilita defenses composure throughout the match, Tarala was able to rest up and prepare for the Jungle Cats Matchday 3 opponent, The Macabees.

There will be nothing to conserve for the Jungle Cats on Matchday 3 as nothing short of a victory will see the defending World Cup Champions able to advance from their Group. Vilita and the Macabees enter the match level on 3 points and sharing a goal differential of +1. However, The Macabees have secured the tiebreaker over the Vilitans by virtue of their three goals scored over the first two matches of the World Cup Finals compared with the Jungle Cats lone goal of the campaign scored by Katarakhna on Match day 2 against Audioslavia.

While the Vilitan National Team has no recent history against The Macabees, their colonial rivals Turori do as Turori and The Macabees battled down to the final match day in World Cup Qualifying Group W for the right to appear in the World Cup 83 Finals in Banija and Equestria. Turori got the upper hand in the Group with their 1-0 Matchday 2 victory in The Macabees but the Macabees exacted their revenge at the Cednia Beach Center on Matchday 9 with a 3-2 victory over the Eels. While Turori ultimately did pip The Macabees to the Top Spot in Group W, the now 36th ranked nation in the multiverse survived a Playoff Group Stage to sneak into the World Cup Finals where they will have only defending World Champions Vilita standing between them and a place in the World Cup knockout round.

Both The Macabees and Vilita have already lost to Group H leaders Baker Park so even in victory would likely be looking at no better than a Runner-Up finish in Group H. There could, however, be a silver lining in that equation as Group G is in the midst of a revolution with third highest seed Mriin having already qualified and in position to win the Group while #2 ranked nation in the World and defending World Cup Runners-Up Turori are on the verge of elimination opening up the chance that the Group H runner up could even be favored by the books to win their World Cup Round of 16 knockout round match.

Having already secure the tiebreakers the Macabees are likely to be content to sit back and let the match play out as slowly as possible while the Vilitan Coaching Staff will be pushing their players to attack and put the ball in the net as they gain nothing from a point on the day at the Wolf's Den. For many of the Vilitan players, however, they will be looking forward to the return to the Wolf's Den - a venue that was near and dear to the Jungle Cats World Cup 81 title winning campaign having played three matches at the arena in route to the World Cup 81 final. Those positive memories are sure to sour quickly however if the Jungle Cats are unable to take care of business and come away with all three points as the World Cup 83 Group Stage comes to a close.

[Equestrian States]

WORLD CUP 83
EQUESTRIA & BANIJA

Groups E-H - Match Day 3 Cutoff
Sponsored by Goliæth Sports Café

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Tonight the tournament field will be cut in half. Will your team be moving on or going home? Try to enjoy tonight's cutoff tunes while you sweat it out.

Results

[Eura]

All things considered, it hadn't been the worst performance by Eura, yet none of them were overly happy. Robert Griffin was spitting with fury at his team and himself. Scott Coles, marshal of the defence, shook his head at what had gone on. Dion Underwood was gobsmacked that he'd been substituted so early. It was 3-3 and felt like two points dropped rather than one gained despite the opposition being top seeds in the group. This was because Eura had been 3-1 up and cruising at one stage, only to concede two second half goals, the second an absolute howler where Harvey Blake's back pass let in Basil Branuso to round Robert Griffin and lump it past him. Unfortunately with two minutes left of the game with the Holy Empire there wasn't a whole lot they could do about it. Monica Rowland disagreed. She'd been the dogged star of this Euran campaign, even when the team was in the pits during qualification. She was passionate and relentless and never gave up, all of those things Euran players of old were supposed to be but hadn't shown for a very long time. There was only ninety seconds left to turn things around.

The Holy Empire were on the attack which isn't ideal when you want to score a last minute winner. Nicolás Zarides galloped forward - he'd had an excellent game and still looked dangerous - with acres of space emerging between himself and the goal. Griffin didn't have his eye in today and Rowland wasn't going to let a disappointing draw turn into an unbelievable defeat by letting Zarides test the goalkeepers reactions now. She dived in, one foot outstretched and the other trailing well enough behind for it to not be a complete lunge, and just about poked the ball out from under his legs as he shaped to shoot. It was perfect. Without hesitation she was back on her feet and out of nowhere everything was opening up. Her good mate Charles Roberts had got on to the loose ball and cracked it up the pitch, a long ball of the highest quality. She was up with it at full throttle though not fast enough to actually catch it. That would be the job of impact substitute John Fletcher who headed the ball down to Oscar Coltrane. Even in his early thirties Coltrane had the pace for this, knocking the ball forwards with his left and then running on to it with his right, and covering a solid thirty yards in the process.

Thirty seconds were left on the clock and they were away. Fletcher, Townsend, Wright, they were all bombing forward and Rowland was at the base of this move. She began to slow as the edge of the box came closer, lactic acid burning as her muscles seized up and reserves of energy reached the level of exhaustion. Coltrane put it across and Rowland now realised she was a spectator. She was too far back to get on it. It flew over Fletcher, behind Townsend, and Wright, without much time but enough to get a proper boot on it, swiped at the ball and watched it thunder into the advertising hoardings behind. There was still a few moments play left yet in reality it was over. Jorge Tzykandeles hoofed the goal kick a long way and by the time it landed the referee had blown his whistle. Rowland fell to her knees and shouted into the grass. Eura had gained a valuable point here against top opponents and still she felt like they'd lost. Then again, after previous experiences, at least she felt something. Her opponents wandered up to shake hands and she obliged meekly, not entirely committed to this display of sportsmanship and good will. What she really wanted to do was leave a stud mark in a couple more of them before they all trudged off.

She was first into the dressing room and waited there like a teacher preparing to give badly behaved students a dressing down. Rowland was fuming with what had happened and not quite able to put it into words in a health way. Yet when the others got in, she said nothing at first. Everyone sat down one by one. Michael Brandon came in and said the usual things managers do in these situations. There was a lot of talk about how inspirational a coach he was and particularly special strategies but when it came down to it he fell into the same cliches the rest of them did, he just happened to be better than average at delivering them. Once he was finished, she picked her moment as she always did. 'Listen guys, we've let ourselves down out there. That wasn't us at our best. But its behind us now. We've got Qusmo and we just need to pump them and move on ok?' The atmosphere in the dressing room was fairly grim, but this endorsement from the team's most notoriously moody member, whose presence was so large she was already considered a senior player, lifted the mood right away. One thing had grown about Rowland in the last year. She used to channel her anger into her performances and not be quite so controlled in how she articulated herself when pissed off. Now she had matured enough to know when to drop a verbal hammer, and when to play it softly. This was a moment to go softly. Brandon didn't let her see but he was smiling over in the corner. This was exactly the kind of leader he'd hoped to find.

[Banija]

Matchday 3 Cutoff for Groups A-D

Brought to you by Recettes Gastromoniques

Kim and Kanye. Batman and Robin. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. And, lastly, Food and football. What do these all have in combinations have in common? They are perfect for each other. For those of you who didn't make the trip to the Glorious Southwest and watch the games, or have kids and could not take them to the Goliæth Sports Café or any of your nation's dive bars, or simply don't like crowds, how can you prepare food without missing a moment of the action?

That's right- take a bite of Recettes Gastromoniques- "The Official World Cup 83 partner for Introverts who can't cook." You get home from work, throw the food in the oven for 20-30 minutes, flip on the game, and then you can grab and eat! No cooking required! No skill required! All you gotta do is know how to work an oven- the simplest of tasks, eh?

As for the tourney? 6 spots remain in the Round of 16. Who will claim them? Who will fall? Put yourself in a good mood, and Celebrate the day while you wait for cutoff.

[Recuecn]

Celebrations abound in Reçueçn once more as the nation has advanced to yet another round in its world cup quest. Reçueçn got lucky--their game was a hard-fought draw against the group's top seed, but even that wasn't enough to assure the team passage to the round of sixteen--a win from Qusmo would still have seen Reçueçn eliminated.

Things were tense, then, in Hollow Shades were The Holy Empire and Reçueçn met to decide which of them might advance--either of the teams could advance, but not both. It was also a possibility that neither would make it through, depending on results from the other game. As Jacques Tremblay, the RNFT's manager, tried to outline the tactics for his side during the game, he was constantly distracted by updates from the game between Qusmo and Eura. Furthermore, the tactics kept changing as the situation in the other game changed. Tremblay got flak for that--he saved his last sub until there were only 5 minutes left in regulation, when it seemed clear that Eura would take the win and that playing for the draw would get Reçueçn through.

Despite Tremblay's incredible performance bringing Reçueçn this far, however--a testament to his coaching ability--commentators pointed out that using his substitution earlier would have made more sense--and that regardless of what was happening in the other game, you should always be playing for the win. A better result is a better result. Tremblay was apparently a little more risk averse--too risk averse, this time, maybe, but in the end it worked out.

When the final whistle blew, a little suspense still remained--the players for the Holy Empire knew that with only two points they would not be going through, but without knowing the score from the other game, the Unicorns' supporters didn't know their fate. The players on the sidelines knew, as did some of the fans following the match on their phones, but not all the Reçuecians on the pitch had heard the news, nor all the supporters in the stands. Then, over the sound system in Stadium of the Night came an announcement: "Final score of this game: The Holy Empire two, Reçueçn two. The final score from the other group D match is Eura two, Qusmo one. With these results Eura wins the group and Reçueçn advances in second place."

The Reçuecian fans lost their minds. The noise was immense. The players all ran onto the field hugging each other and jumping up and down. Back home in Reçueçn City, as well as other cities around the country, cars drove around honking their horns and waving the Reçuecian flag. The elation was palpable. It felt like a repeat of the night when Reçueçn clinched their qualification for the world cup.

With the group stage behind it, the RNFT will next face Cassadaigua in Canterlot. By some trick of fate, the bracket in Equestria has become lopsided, with only pot 1 and 2 teams on one side and only pot 3 and 4 teams on the other. Thus Reçueçn's theoretical path to the semifinals would be easier, but the same is true for every other team in this part of the bracket as well. As the lowest-ranked of all the teams, each and every game will be a challenge for Reçueçn and the Unicorns will be perpetual underdogs. Every step along the way has been a happy surprise for the Reçuecians, not to be taken for granted, but with each new success, one wants just a little bit more...

Previous Match

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The Holy Empire 2-2 Reçueçn
World Cup 83 Finals — Matchday Three
Stadium of the Night, Hollow Shades, Equestria
Hebron (45+2'), Heissler (64')
Reçueçn line-up: Gerauld Firaut (c), Leo Beck, Ägidius Heissler, Norman Bright, Oliver Spencer, Luc Pélissier, Harold Saunders, Maynard Hebron, Hippolyte Lavigne, Franky Adams, Freeman Lebo
Substitutions: R. Lavigne for Pélissier (52'), Bourguignon for Heissler (70'), Leclair for Adams (85')

---

Upcoming Match

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Cassadaigua vs Reçueçn
World Cup 83 Finals — Round of Sixteen
Star Stadium, Canterlot, Equestria
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

[Kita-Hinode]

WORLD CUP 83
You're never gonna stop me: why you shouldn't call your manager a Soccer General
Written by The Sunrise Club's Digest director Choji Sarutame after a lot of sake
MASHU, SOMEI-YOSHINO - So. Here we are, the day after. God, is it the hardest day to endure or what? I mean... for crying out loud, I don't recall how many bottles of [BRAND REDACTED BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T PAY SPONSORSHIP FEES TO THE SUNRISE CLUB'S DIGEST] I had yesterday. That said, you need to keep in mind that this game was pretty important, even if we didn't exactly come to the tournament with a whole lot of expectations... yeah, the team that won several trophies had zero expectations towards the World Cup, imagine that. If it's not a declaration to how we just expected bollocks on the horizon or not, then I don't know what else it could be. Now, you probably are thinking that a game featuring two teams that needed an actual, specific result to qualify would be this clash of warriors culminating into a proper result, no prisoners were being taken. A clash for the ages, stuff that legends and rivalries are made of. Dreams are made of this and whatnot, right?

Pictured here: a clash for the ages.

Well, you'd be wrong. Lindgard's team actually managed to get a good hold of the game pretty early. Of course, they had to deal with the usual distractions that this group seemed to be pretty fond of, overall. South Covello's game was hardly what one would consider orthodox and Free Republics aren't exactly well known for their football: they're way more known for the shenanigans, in and off-field. Still, if you look through that, they're... a football team. In the end, it was really a matter of holding them down to a draw and then a freak free-kick score by Iori Saitou meant that the Hinodejin had literally punched their ticket in. And by that, I mean the Hinodejin punched the Free Republics out of the World Cup.

An artistic representation.

Fun stuff. Anyhow, you must be asking yourself what exactly is next for the Empire after that victory. Well, we're taking on Starblaydia, the other notable purple team that managed to get into the Round of 16. Of course, if you're one of those better-versed fans of the sport inside the Hinodejin Empire, you might know of Maria Reyes, starter right-back for the outfit that already has five World Cups to their name that has also been a player for Hinodejin upstart club Interdimensional Misei. In all fairness, this is an evenly-matched game, despite them having had an easier time to qualify into the World Cup than the Hinodejin.

Assuming the Hinodejin are capable of performing like a proper team, this should be an interesting match. Again, I urge you to remember that this team doesn't have expectations, every game is a bit of a crapshoot. Not to say we don't deserve to be here, we just didn't exactly expect to still be here after the group stage. Hell, some had to deal with the inconvenience of prolonging their stay in Banija (specifically the part about their plane tickets) due to the qualification anyways.

Plus, pretty sure the Hinodejin aren't very good at the whole "being a joke team" part of things.

[Kelssek]

Kirk McDonagh had taken Thamior Liadon aside to make sure he was in the right frame of mind in the context of the racial abuse controversy. Remember that the individual might have some agency, but structures of exploitation can only be truly challenged through worker solidarity and quickly resuming defensive shape in transition. Everyday resistance was the way that subordinated actors could most durably resist domination. He meant well, Thamior thought.

The players lined up in the tunnel, ready to walk onto the pitch. Thamior took his place in the Kelssek lineup, looking nervously to the other side of the tunnel at some of the Vanorian legends standing next to him and his teammates. Thamior had wanted to shake hands with one of the players he’d most admired growing up, but he was too much in awe to approach Laborious Hawk, who had a steely look on his face, focused intently on the match ahead. Thamior reminded himself he had to do the same.

What did help steady his nerves was something his old youth coach at Dein d’Abhide had said on the phone last night, knowing exactly what Thamior might feel at this moment. You’ll be standing next to them, playing on the same field as them, because you’ve earned the right. You belong there, at the World Cup, and on that ground you are their peer.

* * *
Aninyel had overruled Galain’s concerns and set up the crafted satellite receiver by the fire pit again.

Galain leaned back against the trunk of one of the great trees. Thamior’s cousin Cayelinne was wearing her replica jersey with Laborious Hawk’s number 10 on the back. “I hope Thamior plays well, of course. But I’ve always supported Valanora. That blood kin are playing against them today does not change that.”

“This match doesn’t ultimately matter, though. Kelssek are already out, Valanora already qualified.”

“You’re trying to talk me into supporting Kelssek? Your parents gifted you a Soldarian jersey for your fifteenth Midsummer and they had to hold you down to get you out of it two weeks later.”

Galain let it drop. He cast a glance further back at Janrinhiel, a councillor who had been vocally opposed to Thamior’s decision even to play for an “outside” team in the Kelssek Football League, and then personally travelled to Burnaby to badger Thamior into refusing the international call-up.

Aninyel came to sit next to Galain, snacking from a bowl of grapes and slivers of hard cheese. “Well. This should be interesting.”

“You mean the match, or the commune ripping itself apart?”

Aninyel made a dismissive motion with her hand. “That is rather dramatic, Galain. Is there some true reason to think so, or are those your fears talking? Are we suddenly incapable of peace among ourselves over a game? After all these centuries? It’s not quite that perfect, yes, and it’s not quite that bad.”

* * *
”Final whistle blows, and it’s the end of the line for Kelssek at this World Cup. These players can still take pride in the achievement of making it here. Valanora made a statement today, and with their three wins in this group. Are they back as a force to be reckoned with? They’ll find out against Ko-oren...”

“Must have been a real treat for young Thamior to be on that field with people like Hawk, Lithvathal, Soldarian...” said Janrinhel. “Quite a shame that it has to be with that maple leaf shirt on.”

Not wanting to rise to the bait, Galain simply nodded and kept an impassive expression.

“We should do this again for that next Marauders match. When is that again?”

Galain politely told him, and Janrinhel tapped him on the shoulder and walked off. Galain caught Aninyel's eye.

“It’s a start, Galain.” Aninyel murmured.

“...Well, I do want to watch that one too,” he said.

[Ko-oren]

Lunaro Tsukida's Numbers Game

We're back again! The Round of 16. In 26 qualification attempts, the Dragonflies have gone to the big dance 11 times. Of those 11 times, the team advanced from the group stage 7 times - which is a really good score, considering 50% of all teams are sent home here. In the six cases so far, the Dragonflies were among the eight teams whose runs ended here. Maybe, just maybe, seven is the magic number and we finally get to the promised land, the Quarterfinals. Valanora stands in our way, who aren't the steam rolling giants of times past but they're certainly still a street ahead of us. Normally we get drawn against impossible opponents, so this one has to be it. Don't let us run ashore in the Round of 16 again... please.

Let's turn to the Ko-orenite Association Football Hall of Fame for a little. Every single time the roster is officially communicated to the WCC, or the AOCAF committees, the Hall of Fame is included, out of sheer respect for what these 13 people have meant for the sport in our country. They go back to World Cup 55, the first time the Green and Blue were represented in an official match. The HoF includes some huge achievements (Koyane Shiribeshi, national team top scorer to this day) and some incidental ones (Simon Everest, scorer of the first official goal). Overall, however, the Hall is full of monumental people that football fans just aren't going to forget, no matter how long ago they took place. Xi Shang, the first captain, under whom the team went from punching bag to Cup of Harmony regular. I mean, there are some milestones in here. But as time went on, the team became more and more consistent, and now a Cup of Harmony qualification just won't cut it. World Cup qualifications count, and should we make a Cup of Harmony, nothing short of the semifinals is accepted. The better the team got, the fewer new achievements are possible. Alizarin Lelantos is in on account of coaching the Dragonflies to the Cup of Harmony - which our current head coach has done on multiple occasions, but you won't see our current coach making the Hall based on that.

As a side note, just direct your attention to number 9: turns out our current coach is in the Hall. Katanmak Juliasterinthen, Celebrated defender and captain of the most successful campaigns.

What constitutes as a successful campaign? In his time, he played in a team that's right around where the current team is. A World Cup qualification counts, and is still kind of special, but we expect a Round of 16 appearance. Which Juliasterinthen has captained us to on a few occasions. It's just that we will expect more of the players on this team. Nobody in this team will go to the Hall if things go on the way they do now. So what is needed to go to the Hall? And how far along are the stars of the World Cup 83 Dragonflies?

Condition #1 A player must be towards the end of their career, or at least an experienced national teamer.

And this is where most of the roster falls out of contention already. Don't forget, out of hundreds of players that have ever played for the national team, only a handful made the Hall. The rest are the dozens and dozens of players that have been on the roster for a single cycle, then disappeared. The group of possible national teamers is larger than ever, and you need to be both good and on form to make it. Gone are the days when someone shows up to the national team on fame alone. With this condition, even Larut Theshendan falls out of contention. While he's been on the roster for a while, he's only recently become the starting goalie yet he's in no way irreproachable. Dennis Lampshire has the potential to stay with the NT for at least 5-6 more years, but given his outbursts and leading a roster-dividing strike some years ago, chances are he'll never make it. The rest of the defence is too young, or too inexperienced, so even 30+ Seoane and Brogley are gone. Really the only defender that could make the Hall is Lionel Dalton, 31 years old, and starting right back since the dawn of time, it feels like. He's even played with Katanmak Juliasterinthen on the same team. In the other lines, Yokota could get there in the end.

Well, that narrows it down to a single player. But what if we look at the achievements of the rest, and predict how far along they are in terms of making the Hall?

Larut Theshendan
Has: starting GK role, many starts
Needs: to improve a little more, command the starting GK position despite a group of talented youngsters coming in, get one or two legendary saves in big games. Oh, also he needs to chug along for another 6 years or so. He's 28 now, that's not enough.

Minne van Schelven and Ethan Benjamin
Has: talent, established themselves as starting centrebacks in their early 20s
Needs: to keep doing this for another 10 years. Both were involved in the strike, but they could turn that around if they just not mention it from now on. If either one develops some leadership skills and use them to keep the squad together, everything is forgiven. They're in a weird position where they're still young, yet their names are already etched in the history books - but not for good things.

Reizo Yokota
Has: experience, perfect fit in the 5-3-2, personality
Needs: a landmark event to be remembered. Yokota is, and has always been, a perfect background person. He's stable, he keeps his teammates stable, he supports the coach, and rarely gets a yellow (only for professional fouls). He can still become a great mentor... only he's the only one to play his position. If Yokota can find the spotlights when it matters and pull his team through a bad situation - he could just find himself in the Hall.

Maximilien Longchambon
Has: talent, hype, numbers (goals and assists)
Needs: experience. Longchambon is 23, so he has quite a ways to go. The next step in his career is vital: either take his club (Tanques) to the Champions' Cup, or get out and go to a bigger league. For the national team, he's been the deciding factor in many a match, but needs to stay here for a little longer. With his current numbers, he's a lock for the Hall, though.

Vaugrenard, Olio, or Noya
Has: -
Needs: status, stay the starting striker. The Dragonflies are a stable team, but the turnaround at the forward position is crazy. No striker since Shiribeshi or Tokachi has managed to be the undisputed starting striker for more than two cycles. While all of them are efficient, they need to command the starting position for a long time in order to be important enough as a striker - especially in a defence-centered national team.

[Apox]

Previous Parts
Part 1, WC82, Part 2, WC82, Part 3, RUWC 27, Part 4, CE 24, Part 5, CE 24, Part 6, WCQs 83, Part 7, WCQs 83, Part 8, WCQs 83, Part 9, WCQs 83, Part 10, WCQs 83, Part 11, WCQs 83

It was just after midnight on the island of Teol. The Apoxian forces had been landed on the main island for a couple of weeks now, but aside from a couple of small skirmishes, had yet to land a real blow on the disparate rebel forces scattered around the Federation of Mareibat.

The Euran aggression against the Bellight People’s Army (BPA) on Bellight had lulled the Mareibat Freedom Militia (MFM) on Teol into a false sense of security – they had primitive intelligence that Apox considered the BPA to be the greater threat to peace in the federation and so had been expecting that the first conquest would be against the BPA. It was the plan for the MFM to wait until Bellight fell whilst consolidating themselves in the Eastern isles and sue for peace and independence from the main federation of Mareibat.

To that end, they’d even been conducting operations in Arbour, to the north to try and expand their territory. This was a flawed plan as quietly the Apoxians had been shoring up defences on Arbour and so far all major attempts to take the island had failed.

Two young MFM privates, James Addaker and Ellen Proudfoot, were on watch for the night on the hill between Teol and Bashir, the highest point on the island. So far it was a night largely like every other, small amounts of traffic passed around the island, largely based in Teol itself. Just to the north of Teol, construction was continuing without respite on the Teol Power Plant, which had been nearly completely destroyed by the MFM when they’d taken the island – a short sighted move typical of the people organised rebel groups as since then there had been barely any power on the island.

“I can’t see a shitting thing out there James, I’m telling you” Ellen was frustrated as James was sure he’d seen a light out to sea minutes before. James grabbed the binoculars back off her,
“I’m telling you I saw something just off the coast from Cove!” He squinted through the binoculars, scanning the waterline for any sign of life.
“Probably just a fishing boat, they’ve started sending them out in twenty-four hour shifts now the food is running low” Ellen retorted, leaning back from the observation window and sparking up a cigarette, “Besides, aren’t the Apoxians supposed to be attacking Bellight now, poor bastards.” She said in between drags.
“Clearly the higher-ups don’t think that, or they’d…” James started before being silenced by Ellen,
“Did you hear that?” They both looked out to sea. A low rumbling was just detectable in the distance, but it was definitely growing louder.
“James, pass the binoculars!” she said, stubbing out her cigarette and returning to the window. James was still scanning the water.
“James!”
“I’m looking, leave me alone!”
“The sky James, the sky!” And there it was, a number of dark figures against the starry sky. Planes. What their purpose here was, neither of the two privates could exactly guess, but it was unlikely for a pint and a catch-up.

“Can you tell how many there are?” Ellen asked, poking her head out of the window to get a better viewpoint on the planes.
“Hard to say… at least five.” In truth there was another strike force of Apoxian bombers approaching from the south, their targets a number of strategic targets and defense points on the island, as James and Ellen quickly discovered with a number of bright flashes and loud explosions lighting up parts of the islands – mainly some makeshift coastal batteries and the half built mess that was the power plant.
“Radio base, give them some updates. Find out what we’re meant to be doing!” James barked at Ellen, who hurried back to the radio in the back room of the observation post to worriedly shout into the handset located there. She was just ascertaining with the radio operator whether they were to stay in the observation post or return to the main base in Teol when James shouted back to her again,
“Ellen, there are parachutes now!” Once again she scuttled back to the observation post, aghast to see the sky around them had filled with parachutes,
“Call for backup,” whispered James, as it became clear several of the parachutes would land close to the post. They didn’t know that these parachutes signified members of the third commando regiment, one of the most highly trained in Apox, based out of Oxshott in mid-Apox. If it came down to a straight firefight, they wouldn’t stand a chance against these highly trained soldiers.

Four parachutes touched down around the observation post, with James cowering out of sight underneath the observation window and Ellen shouting garbled instructions into the handset. One smoke grenade and two shots later, the commandos moved on to their main objective where the regiment was converging – holding the bridge into Teol from the western side of the island. Silence once again fell on the peak of Teol mountain.

***

The sound of explosions on the island in front of them was the signal for a small flotilla of landing craft to get underway, having filled up with soldiers from the 1st and 5th Dwile regiment along with a number of tanks from the 1st Armoured Vehicles Regiment, based out of Skibbereen. With the noise on the mainland, and amongst the carnage now being sewn by the 3 Commando and by the MFM themselves in their lack of preparation, most of the two mile journey to the mainland went without a hitch.

Their target? The coastal village of Cove on the other side of the island from Teol, with a harbour wall suitable for tying up relatively large vessels and a long sandy beach it made the perfect location for the Apoxian army and Mareibat harbour masters to establish a beach head.

As the landing craft approached the harbour, the post on the end of the harbour wall noticed in the incoming fleet and a couple of machine guns began spraying lead at the fleet at large. Some of the positions further up the beach were now being bombarded by the long range guns of the A.S Puniface and A.S Unimpeded who had been escorting the landing party to Teol. They couldn’t fire on the harbour wall though, it was too important to the strategic plans of the invasion to risk any major damage. So it was down to the Bofors gunners on the landing craft to silence the machine guns, which were clearly manned by inexperienced recruits shown by their general spraying of bullets rather than fixing on clear targets.

As the first boats pulled up to the beaches, the remains of the now crippled outposts sputtered into life. However for the most parts the skill and training of the Apoxian troops, along with local Mareibatian embedded in their units, overcame these positions relatively easily. The most spectacular casualty was an Apoxian Mountain mk4 tank which became tangled in some metal mooring lines and took a direct hit in a less protected panel, spreading quickly to the fuel tank and exploding in an enormous fireball.

However, the resistance was quickly squashed along the beachfront, and by the time the 2nd and 4th regiments were landing in the second wave of troops, the edge of the beach was being secured from counter attacks coming from the heavily forested hillside and troops were engaging in fierce firefights, although causing more casualties on the rebel side, as they were taking the village of Cove and the crucial harbour wall where larger ships would be able to land supplies and fresh troops.

Apox 3-1 Mriin Quintero 5', Jekyll 9', Vol 51', Blake-Tatum 64'
APX: Spitfire -- Fox, Gandhi, Jekyll, du Plessis -- Drawbridge -- Townsend, Palmisano, J. (c) -- Quintero (Koyaanisqatsi 67'), Blake-Tatum (Palmisano, L. 75'), Ephraim-Garza (Hannibal 67')
MRN: Solaani -- Bruun, Kress, Halder, Levaani (Velant 62') -- Mor, Yonen (Polandre 62'), Tevainen -- Taani (Tali'raia 72'), Vol, Vocani

Another successful escape from the World Cup Group Stages from this Apox side, which must at this point be classed as a really strong side and not one to be completely bowled over in shock when mentioning World Cup title contenders. Lunar Dusk executed the usual plan, fluid attacks centred on the creative pivots in midfield with wingers and full back able to provide their usual menace up the flanks. Granted, Mriin are a better side than Bongo Johnson, and certainly a firmer defensive outfit. But, and maybe there was a touch of complacency about this side which had already qualified for the Round of 16, but they were out of the game before they'd had a chance to ease themselves in, Cassiopeia Quintero continuing to stake her claim as one of the best Apoxians currently playing as she struck a crossed ball from Ephraim-Garza beautifully on the volley past Mara Solaani before just four minutes later Imhotep Jekyll imperiously headed in a free-kick from Imriel Townsend, perhaps controversial using the solid Maas Halder as a ladder to reach the path of the ball. Mriin recovered from their early set backs, and with the quality of their strikeforce, tested Tregatta Spitfire on multiple occasions before half time, although Chardonnay du Plessis good defending on the left kept ANL based Aldo Vocani uncharacteristically quiet. The second half saw Mriin reduce the deficit to one thanks to an excellent Solara Vol strike, but it would be Apox who cemented the win late on, Marcy Blake-Tatum continuing her astonishing scoring rate, jinking the ball past the lumbering Reina Kress to power the ball past Mara Solaani and into the top right corner.

Apox's reward for reaching the Round of 16 and topping their World Cup group? Defending two time World Champions and top ranked Vilita. Oh good. This side has managed to avoid defeat to last tournaments runners-up and close neighbours to Vilita, now eliminated Turori, in the group stage, but this will be a difficult test. In four previous meetings against Vilita, Apox have a not awful 1-1-2 record, the last being the 4-3 loss to them last finals in the quarter-finals, a game this side will be keen to avenge. And hell, if Apox do somehow manage a win next round, then the belief really will begin to build that this is finally a side which can go all the way.

[Zwangzug]

Zwangzug's e-Lipogram
That's a wrap

A draw with Sargossa saw Zwangzug fall out of this World Cup; its "Corsair" opposition top group B and will go up against non-Banijan cohosts in round two.

Fabián Guzmán would start goalscoring around a fourth of an hour in, off a diagonal pass from Goyoso. Joshua Twoni got Zwangzug on a "sky-high" board, with Jonah McCollins providing an assist. In half two, it was roving Rogawski who put Zwangzug on top, only for Alianza Jucaro's Tomas Murillo to kick it in with his right foot and hang onto a full point (world scoring!) for this group's champions.

Although his nomination to pick a squad was a catalyst for criticism, it looks as if Tavish Willow has won a lot of fans with his oddball "four-six"ing. Zwangzug's prior showing at a last thirty-two was at that sixty-ninth (ohohoho) World Cup; following a hiatus and on-and-off participation, this was a quality run. (Though Slogda look trash right now, I think I should also shout out to prior national coach Makvala T. for invigorating this group and spurring this run.)

What can fans look forward to? With CYBORG showing up and strong-arming our cashflow, nobody knows with total accuracy if this national squad will show up again soon. If so, old folks such as Shobhana Birla may stand back for a young cohort. With isolationism looming in Pug Qusmyra (totally not our fault, probably), I would think Franziska and Ramona will probably go back to Zwangzug and stop playing, but who knows?

"First Division" action is not lacking, and all of us can look forward to annals of McJakill, Scallop, Banach and company with a grand campaign for Cosmos. Until that hour, thanks for following! Now I must sign off and find a trash can or similar for Subroto Parida to vomit in, oops.

[Vilita]

Jungle Cats send a message with Eight Goal Performance

The Wolf's Den, Busembe, Kitara, Banija :: Heading into the final match day of the World Cup 83 Group Stage, the Vilitan National Team had scored just 1 goal in the World Cup Finals - a rate of just half a goal per game. It was a far cry from the record the Jungle Cats had enjoyed during the World Cup 83 Qualification Campaign where they were one of the most prolific attacking sides averaging over 3 goals per match. Doubters wondered if they had lost their offensive touch and if they had, would they be able to contend for the World Cup title or were they ripe pickings for an upset. Entering matchday 3, the Vilita Jungle Cats were in a somewhat familiar position of needing a victory to ensure their advancement through to the next round. Group H leaders Baker Park were already assured advancement on six points as the only other teams in the Group who could achieve the same point haul were Vilita and The Macabees who were squared off against one another ensuring only one could possibly make the mark. For the same rationale, the groups last place side Audioslavia had been eliminated from contention as while they were only 3 points out, at least one of Vilita or The Macabees would be on at least 4 points by the end of the final match day.

For the Vilitan National Team there was no history between themselves and The Macabees in the modern era though there was plenty of film available from the rising side who played three extra matches during their World Cup 83 Qualification Campaign after being bested in Group W of Qualification by the Island Emirate of Turori and having to go through the additional playoff round in order to ensure advancement to the World Cup Finals.

Much like The Macabees matches against Turori during the World Cup 83 Qualification cycle, the meeting between Vilita and The Macabees at the Wolf's Den had gotten enough to an exciting start and Vilita's opponents seemed up to the task despite the large gap between the World Cup Committee's official rankings for the two nations.

Up 3-2 with just under 20 minutes to play, the Vilitan Coaching Staff decided that the best way to keep ahold of the match was not to hunker down but to take the pressure to the opponent and keep them busy in their own half. In what may be looked back upon as one of the most influential tactical changes in recent history, 29 year old Marine Coast United strike Fishtii Blikala was introduced in place of left midfielder Kudii Davasarii in the 72nd minute. Blikala was charged with moving up in the field and playing as an attacker on the left wing opposed to the role that Davasarii was playing which more resembled that of a defensive wing back.

Less than two minutes after coming on the pitch, Blikala found a way to put the ball in the back of the net with their first convincing touch of the match after a ball was played low across the face of goal from Sipke Tarala into the on-rushing path of Blikala to put Vilita up 4-2. Then, just after the restart it was Blikala once more stealing in on a weak back pass that got caught up in the damp grass at The Wolf's Den setting Blikala one on one with the Macabees goalkeeper Liam Jer'Voos. Blikala would make no mistake and would secure their second goal of the match within less than five minutes of being introduced.

Having gone from just one goal away from a place in the World Cup Round of 16 to now losing 5-2 with just over 10 minutes to play, The Macabees seemed to switch off in dejection after seeing their chance to upset the defending World Cup Champions in Group H slip out of their grasp. The Jungle Cats however were anything but switched off with relatively fresh legs in attack in the form of Fishtii Blikala and Berali Tzufarei - Vilita's second choice attackers looking to prove they deserve more playing time as the Jungle Cats continue their World Cup Finals run. Tuzfarei and Blikala would each add another goal with the Marine Coast United striker completing their first ever World Cup hattrick in the 86th minute with a volley left of center after Va'a-Rio Kiwavn made a few neat moves on the right side to get open for the cross.

Blikala and Tzufarei certainly seemed to make their case in the match that they were better than second choice material but the game was not yet done and there was one more chance developing for Vilita inside Stoppage time. It was none other than Sipke Tarala with the ball at their feet and there was no doubt what the result was going to be. Having scored the World Cup winning goal in two consecutive World Cup Finals, earning the World Cup golden boot and commanding the highest transfer fee of any player during the most recent UICA transfer window where Tarala left Lonngeylin Coast to join the Nepharim Premier League side and UICA Champions Sabrefell Athletic; there was certainly an argument to be made that Sipke Tarala was the top striker in the multiverse. After a 20 minute spell of watching other players score goals on the same pitch as they were on, however, Tarala decide to make their presence known with a booming shot to send a message right back to the coaching staff that while Blikala and Tzufarei may have talent, Sipke Tarala is the game winner they need in the important matches.

Vilita [8] - [2] The Macabees

:: Vilita Goalscorers :: :: 1' Sipke Tarala :: 28' Limu Katarakhna :: 30' Jirak Trikala :: 74' Fishtii Blikala :: 75' Fishtii Blikala :: 84' Berali Tzufarei :: 86' Fishtii Blikala [HAT] :: 91' Sipke Tarala

:: Vilita Statistics :: :: Possession: 61% :: Shots on Target: 10 :: Corner Kicks: 22

:: The Macabees Statistics :: :: Possession: 39% :: Shots on Target: 6 :: Corner Kicks: 3

---

Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. The Macabees ::
[GK] Vernasa Sanamun, [D.] Jirak Trikala, [D.] Mileke Drokasorna, [D.] Rojara Tiones, [ML] Kudii Davasarii, [MC] Jurzen Devmiko, [MC] Polaox Torerun, [MC] Limu Katarakhna, [MR] Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [FC] Sipke Tarala
BENCH::
[FC] Fishtii Blikala, [FC] Berali Tzufarei, [M] Cavuna Aquafek, [M] Westii Yahaya, [U ] Cywrenta Vlintejni, [D] Lohani Riiyaaw, [GK] Mako Canopii

---

As for the important matches, the next one on the cards for the Vilitan National Team would be in the World Cup Round of 16 against Group G winners Apox. Many had circled the Round of 16 for the potential of a third consecutive World Cup Finals with Vilita versus Turori knockout round match but instead it would be the #1 Ranked Vilitans who would finish 2nd in their group and be paired up against the winner of Group H. The match would take place at none other than The Wolf's Den, a stadium which Jungle Cats players and fans will be well familiar with. Besides contesting their Matchday 3 victory over The Macabees at the Wolf's Den, the Vilitan National Team have also recently played competitive fixtures at the Wolf's Den during the 7th Cup of Champions tournament as well as at the World Cup 81 Finals. The Jungle Cats have a strong record at the stadium in Busembe which is one of the most intimate in all of Banija with fans right on top of the pitch providing a good environment for the supporters. As the Jungle Cats always travel well to The Wolf's Den the Jungle Cats have begun treating matches at The Wolf's Den similarly to their preparation for home games back in the Vilitan Cove. In fact it has even been rumored that one Vilitan company has placed an inquiry to buy the stadium from Taeshani Pizza company Fadron Pizza in hopes of utilizing the arena for Marketing purposes in cross-promotional campaigns and in support of corporate expansion activities.

---

Favored Eels can't escape Group G Shaking up Round of 16

Kabonero III Field, Istria, Moravica, Banija:: The Turori National Team entered their final group stage fixture at the Kabonero III Field in Istria knowing they would need abandon their tactical discipline to break records on the offensive side of the game that none would have ever expected to see broken from the Turorian state of mind. Klaillal Tuirma's Turori Eels would need to score early. They would need to score often. Yet even after they did that, they would still need Mriin to do the same in their match versus Apox.

Turori began sharply to make a dent in their goal scoring responsibilities against a Bongo Johnson side that seemed lost on the pitch and likely already had a foot out the door thinking of a gold course bck home. It took just 7 minutes for the Turori National Team to open the scoring at the Kaboreno III Field when shirtless calendar hero Daliora Toru'u fired a cross from the left side that fooled everyone including the Bongo Johnson goalkeeper looping over everyone and curling into the netting. Turori may have had the lead but on this tey, knowing where they stiood in the standings, Turori needed many more goals before they could even start thinking about where the stood in regards to moving on to the next Round.

After a bit of a lull in the action following the opening goal, Turori got back on the attack about 25 minutes in and momentarily appeared to have a second goal through Wiztsana Iretziia who redirected a ball in from Kentu Umaka'a out of the reach of the Bongo net minder but the flag quickly went up as the veteran striker was adjudged to have been in an offside position when the ball was played in. The pressure did prove to be contagious however as Meldi'ita Mungwaii did finally increase Turori's advantage not once but twice over the next ten minutes of play to give Tuirma's Eels a 3-0 lead at the half time interval.

While Turori's goal scoring pace was not far off where they needed to be to make up their goal differential gap in their quest to climb back into the top two of Group G at the end of 90 minutes, the news they got at half time was not good as Mriin was not doing their part to help the Turorian cause.

Perhaps in a panic watching their World Cup dreams slip away, Tuirma carelessly altered the teams balance introducing two more attacking players, both inexperienced youngsters, throwing Kala'a Yuliizala and Nua'oma Aikiki into the match to fight for more goals. Unfortunately, the pressure of the situation was causing the youngsters to hastily take poor chances instead of waiting for better quality chances. Additionally, as they aren't typically tasked with contributing greatly to the defensive side of the ball, mistakes the youngsters were making in transition had a much bigger ripple down effect on the team as there were three fewer defensive players behind them to cover for their mistakes and break up the opponents play. It would come back to bite the Eels in the 58th minute when Bongo Johnson pulled a goal back that all but ended Turori's chance of advancing. At the same time, Apox had taken a lead over Mriin to extend their Goal differential to +8 in the live tables while Turori was now mired down at just +1. More importantly, however, with Apox leading at Mriin, even if the Eels should be able to score seven goals in the final half of of play, they still would fail to advance with Apox having moved top of the group and Mriin's six points from the first two match days more than enough to keep them out of Turori's grasp.

Daliora Toru'u would close out Turori's World Cup 83 campaign with a delightful highlight worthy free kick in the 72nd minute that would ensure Turori would go out on a winning note. Unfortunately for Toru'u and the rest of the Turori National Team, they had not competed in Equestria and Banija with the hopes of qualifying for the Top 10 best plays of the Tournament award. They had not come to be exciting. They would much rather have been the Boring Team that won it all instead of the exciting team that failed to advance. Yet, somehow, that is where the Turori National Team found itself after an entertaining 4-1 victory over Bongo Johnson that, thanks to Apox's victory over Mriin, also resulted in the Turori National Team's elimination from the Equestria and Banija.

Turori's early exit in the World Cup 83 Group Stage marks the end of a run of four straight World Cup's where the Turori National Team had advanced to at least the Quarter Finals which was an all-time record not only for Turori but for all Vilitan Cove nations. It was also the end of Turori's all-time long two-match winning streak in Quarter Final fixtures. It also marked the first time Turori's official elimination from the World Cup Finals came at the hands of Mriin, an up and coming force in Atlantian Oceania. It likely comes as little surprise that Turori's most prolific foe in the World Cup Finals is Audioslavia, a team that the Turori National Team has never beaten and has been directly responsible for the Eels elimination from the World Cup on no fewer than four occasions. More recently, however, it had been Eura who was the thorn in the Eels side with the Euran's eliminating Turori from the World Cup 3 times since World Cup 70.

Turori's failure to advance means there will be no Vilita versus Turori match up in the World Cup 83 Knockout Rounds in Equestria and Banija but instead it will be Vilita facing off against Apox at The Wolf's Den with a Quarter Final spot on the line. Should the Vilitan National Team reach the Quarter Final phase it will be the first time in their history that they have reached that phase in four consecutive World Cup Finals.

Turori [4] - [1] Bongo Johnson

:: Turori Goalscorers :: :: 7' Daliora Toru'u :: 29' Meldi'ita Mungwaii :: 34' Meldi'ita Mungwaii :: 72' Daliora Toru'u

:: Turori Statistics :: :: Possession: 63% :: Shots on Target: 10 :: Corner Kicks: 13

:: Bongo Johnson Statistics :: :: Possession: 37% :: Shots on Target: 4 :: Corner Kicks: 6

---

'Turori Eels Lineup v. Bongo Johnson ::
[GK] Wiyauw An'maude, [D.] Lulu Pumaziiri, [D.] Biliki Rona'atu'i, [D.] Amakli Inuro'o, [ML] Daliora Toru'u, [MC] Kentu Umaka'a, [MC] Lati'ala Giaoka, [MR] Indelli Nura'amura, [FC] Turakia Diijelhma, [FC] Meldi'ita Mungwaii, [FC] Wiztsana Iretziia
BENCH::
[FC] Kala'a Yuliizala, [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki, [M] Saito Koshiki, [M] Mbdiai Akarenaa, [U ] Mikki Mayelli, [D] Yitizo Mpala'a, [GK] Timaala Hualtia

---

---

Vilitan Union submit official bid to host Winter Olympics

Vilitan Union Olympic Headquarters, Lopinka, Vilita :: As the Turori National Team traveled home from Banija after being eliminated from the World Cup 83 Finals, fans back home in the Island Emirate quickly shifted their attention to something that had gathered very little of it previously: The Winter Olympic Games.

Turori's sporting metropolis of Eelandii located midway between its Capital city Almintora and its biggest city Cednia was one of two remaining finalists for the Vilitan Union Olympic Committee's planned bid to co-host the XIV Winter Olympic Games. While neither Vilita nor Turori were well known for any year round ski resorts or other Winter Sporting hotbeds, they had been increasing their footprint amongst indoor Winter Sports in particular Ice Hockey with the Vilita & Turori National Ice Hockey Team earning a top 5 rank in the multiverse and winning the 34th World Cup of Hockey competition. The Vilitan Hockey Championship had expanded to 14 teams throughout the Cove including the Eelandii Explorers team based in Turori. While Vilita did have two permanent outdoor Winter Sports facilities at elevation in their mountain ranges, they were only open for a short period of time when the stars aligned and the weather was appropriate to support natural snow fall. The two remaining cities in contention - Yeaddin, Vilita and Eelandii, Turori were separated by this very fact. With all else being equal the Eelandii bid might have been favored due to its proximity to major cities in Turori but there was no dedicated Sliding Track in Eelandii nor was there any expectation of snowfall during the games - even if not needed for the competitions, for the ambiance of the Olympic Winter Games.

In Yeaddin, there was a permanent sliding facility just a short distance away in the Parra Kala mountains which was home to the Vilita and Turori Bobsleigh team. The expected weather conditions also were slightly more favorable to winter sports with a 20% chance of temperatures near freezing opposed to a <5% chance in Eelandii due mostly to the air flow from the Royal Quebecois entering Northern Vilita. Turori is typically shielded from the Royal Quebecois freeze by the Calanian Forest region now known as the Cocoabo Forest to its immediate north.

Now, instead of hypothesizing about Turori's Round of 16 match up or potentially preparing for a Vilita versus Turori Round 3 match up in Banija, the Island Emirate was on pins and needles as the Vilitan Union Olympic Committee announced which of the two remaining candidate City bids would be put forth as the official Vilitan Union Co-host City bidder for the XIV Olympic Games.

And the winner was... Yeaddin. The collective sigh could be felt throughout Turori as the smaller Island Emirate had been bested by their larger colonial rivals once more - Even if the two never got the chance to square off at the World Cup Finals themselves. With their final candidate city selection now made, the Vilitan Union Olympic Committee pressed forward and submitted an official bid to host the XIV Winter Olympic Games with the indoor arena events and sliding competitions to be held in the Yeaddin, Vilita area while the Vilitan Union Olympic Committee would partner with the city of Neverend in Liventia who would serve in the proposal as the host of the Nordic and Alpine events in the outdoor portion of the Olympic Winter Games. It was another back to back blow for Turorians though, if there was any consolation to be had, Yeaddin is the closest major city in Vilita to Turori and the Eelandii IcePlex is likely to be the first choice for any overflow Ice Hockey matches during the Winter Olympic Games if there are enough nations entered that the Ice House in Yeaddin is unable to appropriately squeeze all the matches into the schedule.

---

[Valanora]

There was a sly smile coming from the dark haired figure sitting in the corner of The Dragon's Tail, one of the many pubs across the Eternal Empire that had been flooded with football supporters who had come to watch the Marauders in their last group stage match. There had been a sense of joy and merriment inside the pub from the opening whistle, as the Marauders had already done more than what was expected of them in this tournament and had secured their advancement into the knockout rounds with a spare match to go, having pulled a pair of upsets against their regional rivals of Cosumar and Equestria. The latter had been the more impressive of the victories, with the Pony Lands as many called them, for taking down one of the cohosts in front of their home fans and against a side who were the better team according to the most recent publication of the WCC rankings leading up to the Finals in the Glorious Southwest nations of Banija and Equestria. Any time someone managed a result against a cohost, it was worth noting down, for the hosts always seem to at least play above their ranking in the group stage and so take Equestria down at home when they were already said to be a top ten ranked team was a glorious moment indeed.

The figure was smirking though as the talk had inevitably drifted towards whether the Marauders were really back or not, if the team that was out there with the five star crest adorning their kits were true title challengers. This was the sort of talk that the figure had expected to come, even as the match had started on the televisions, with the Marauders up a goal to nil with the first quarter hour but few eyes were actually trained on the screens. There had grown over several decades a certain amount of expectation and some would even say no small amount of greed when it had come to those had claimed to be supporters of the Marauders, expecting podium finishes from the squad even when other teams were seen to be in the ascendancy or the Marauders having a bad go of it. Not that anyone could blame them that greatly for coming to those sort of levels of standards from the national team when they were so dominant for so long in the sport, but it was a disservice to the team and the teams that they faced as well, something that few would even think to consider when having such lofty goals.

For them, this was a discussion that held no merit, it was not a question that need ever be posed, even after the Marauders had seen their record qualifying streak broken two decades before. The idea that the Marauders needed to be back suggested that they had fallen by the wayside at some point and were in need of that triumphant return, it was the sort of half baked statement that did not think beyond the moment. For the Marauders to need to be back, they would have had to left in the first place, and as far as they were concerned, the Marauders had never fallen and were in need of that return. The Marauders had been ever present and merely needed to go through what they experienced in order to become more observant and in tune of whom they truly were and not who those in the Empire or even the greater world and worlds wanted them to be. Sometimes falling down on the road to success is needed, so that when you finally do reach that destination, such victory and success is the sweetest of nectar and not something of which you have become numb to.

The match and discussions about the merit of the Marauders return were both coming to the close, as the national team looked to have secured the group title with a three to one lead with very little time left to go. The dark haired figure merely paid off their tab to the host and chuckled softly to themselves as they departed The Dragon's Tail and headed back towards where they had come. It had not even been ten years and yet many had already seemingly forgotten what he had looked like and that to was amusing to him as they sat there in their judgement of players and individuals who were doing things they could only dream of. If the general public could not even remember the face of their leader of a century, then they still had much to learn in about the way to conduct themselves and proving themselves worthy successors to inherit the elven gifts. All the same, it was at least refreshing for Faeron to see that there had been camaraderie and growth rather than distrust and ruin that had followed in the wake of his and the millions of other elves leaving in The Calling. Arrogant, greedy, and a bit too in the moment that they seemed to be, their was such potential and meaningful strides being made. As he stepped to the portal that would transport him back to his dimension, he idly wondered if this was how Elune felt as she watched over the elves those thousands of years before...

[Cassadaigua]

Time To Squash Cinderella’s Dreams,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Calling someone a Cinderella in sports is something that is usually reserved for college basketball. In other competitions, we tend to just call them underdogs. No matter what you want to call Cassadaigua’s next opponent, let’s just say that they were not expected to get this far. However, once you get this far, you’re aspirations start getting bigger and bigger. The typically defensive minded squad from Reçueçn has nothing to lose now. They weren’t expected to get this far, so now it’s all just have fun, play hard, and take what you get.

So, who is this, Reçueçn, anyway? The nation does not come from one of the main sporting regions, and is instead situation in the gigantic assortment of nations in The West Pacific. I will have to give them credit though, they have provided a lot of good information about themselves, something that would make a travel agent happy to hear about if you happen to know one. I am sitting here, reading all of the travel information that they have provided, and seems as though it is a mountainous nation. Chalk something up that we have in common, then! Just when I was thinking that this might be a good nation to go and visit, they have become one of those countries that wants to restrict cars in major cities. They get on my nerves. Anyway, let’s talk about soccer, because that is what we are here for, and why we are talking about Reçueçn to begin with. Their claim to fame is finishing third in IAC 7. That’s a competition for those nations who don’t call one of the big three regions home. Therefore, outside of a handful of decent nations, let’s just say it’s not the Copa Rushmori, AOCAF, or the Campinato Esportiva. Reçueçn is currently creating the biggest and best page of their sporting resume, but they will have to continue to compete at this level, cycle after cycle, in order to have sustained success over a long period.

To get where they are, Reçueçn had to go through the extra round after qualifiers, and they proceeded to win all three of those games. This moved them to the World Cup for the first time in their history, and they would finish second to Eura within their group to get where they are now, in the beautiful city of Canterlot, in Equestria. While the underdogs often get support in neutral stadiums, and they still will, the Ponies that call Canterlot home may find themselves interested in rooting for the Fillies. After all, Cassadaigua has a long history of camaraderie with Equestria, including several co hosting bids together. Pink and purple go together, and have for several different occasions.

For Team Cassadaigua, this has been an excellent cycle, winning the qualifying group fairly easily, and then topping their World Cup group, thanks to finishing things off with a 1-1 draw against the #3 team in the world, Farfadillis. Defender Hannah Shanley, of all people, was our only goal scorer, coming in the 28th minute to at the time, put us up 1-0. The Fillies have continued to have a balanced attack, and no matter how good Reçueçn’s defense has been, they will be tested here. Without question, this has been our best performance since our return to national play, and they will want to keep it going. About the match, Hannah Ranucci told me, “Too much gets made about rank. I don’t care what Reçueçn is ranked. They are #1 as far as I am concerned, and we have to be on our best to get the win. When there are only sixteen teams left, all of those little ranking numbers might as well be lottery balls that you throw into a hat, because it doesn’t mean a damn thing. They got here, they are one of the best sixteen teams around, just like us. It will be a battle.” Manager Stephanie Sweeney agrees, “I love the mindset of this team, there is no one who is paying attention to the ranks, or that we should be a favorite in this game. They have practiced and trained hard, and we have been studying game tape of them. I know there will be a lot of Cassadagans in attendance, because by nature Equestria is a top tourist destination for Cassadagans even if there were not a major sporting tournament here. I can’t wait to get out there!”

Neither can we. Now, as a fan, we can sit back and hope that Cinderella’s clock is ticking closer to midnight.

[South Covello]

OOC: Feel free to use this form to RP any people of yours filing reports or testimony on prior acts they suffered on behalf of the Gregists, including if you wish details that were not RPed at the time)

Excerpts from the Victims of Gregism Documentation Archive:

The following are excerpts of written or verbal testimony from both victims and perpetrators of Gregist violence, designed to provide a permanent record of all that went down during those horrific times. Victims who filed for compensation will receive such an amount as determined by the Committee. Perpetrators will receive no compensation but have been given full immunity in exchange for their truthful and accurate statements.

Name: Felix Brines
Gregist Name(s), If Any: Youth Slave 7AZJABAB, Slave 7AZJABAB, Lord Almighty Gregory's Pancake Chef
Category: Victim
Foreign or Domestic: Domestic
Country, if Foreign: N/A
Format of Testimony: Verbal

Testimony:

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the committee. My name, as you all know by the introductions, is Felix Brines. However, that is not the only name I ever had. I was born to two slaves serving a government VIP by the name of Loyal Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Urnie Bartholomew, his wife, Loyal Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Maya Bartholomew. At the time, The two of them were newlyweds and had no kids, but ordered my parents to produce a child so that said child would be able to serve them as well. Nine months later, I was born. Even from as young as two years old, I was forced to labor as a slave for the Bartholomews. At first, the tasks were menial, things a small child could do, like picking up their trash and putting it in the trash can. Sometimes they would deliberately throw trash on the floor even though the trash can was close enough that they did not have to get up, just so they could make me do more work. If I did not do what they wanted, when they wanted, as fast as they wanted, they would brutally beat me, even when I was a small child. They said it was my duty as a slave to serve my masters to reward them for being so loyal to Lord Almighty Gregory.

"As I grew older, my responsibilities grew too, and by the time I was 12 or 13 years old, I was responsible for making breakfast in the morning. The Bartholomews, who by then included a son, Loyal Youth Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Danny Bartholomew, were huge fans of pancakes, so naturally they forced me to make pancakes for breakfast for them every morning. This involved getting up at 4 AM, after I was up until after midnight the previous night performing chores, to make hundreds of pancakes on the off chance Lord Almighty Gregory and his entourage showed up. They never did, and I suspect this was just a ploy to make my life miserable. On the other hand, it is possible they really did have enough faith in their false god and so-called 'Loyal Friend' to believe that one morning he might surprise them with their presence. I do not know. In any case, all but a handful of these pancakes were always wasted, and if my parents or I tried to eat a few of them rather than subsist on the meager rations of prune juice and gruel we were given, we were brutally beaten until we bled and bruised in gory detail.

"At the age of 24, my masters gave me to Lord Almighty Gregory as a birthday gift for the deity, and I became his pancake chef. I did not even get a few random characters as my identity at that point, I was simply known as Lord Almighty Gregory's Pancake Chef. It was my duty to serve him, and if I did not, I would be brutally murdered or suffer other horrible, unspeakable fates. This was actually slightly better as it was my sole duty to make the so-called LAG pancakes, and I did not have to focus on other tasks as I did for the Bartholomews. However, LAG was a demanding master. He would summon me at 3 AM as I was trying to sleep, order me to prepare him 500 pancakes, then as soon as I was finished, he would demand that he wasn't hungry anymore and I should feed them to one of his goats. Those goats, and his other animals, were perhaps the only things LAG showed any compassion for. He would watch and stare joyfully as his goats consumed the pancakes I worked so hard to make, then he would declare that he had worked up an appetite watching the goats and demand I cook him more pancakes. Sometimes, we would go through four or five of these cycles before he actually ate my pancakes or got bored and gave up. Oftentimes, other slaves would be preparing other food for him while I prepared him the pancakes. Sometimes he would eat their food instead, sometimes it would all go to his animals. If I ever complained, took too long, burned a pancake, undercooked one, dropped a cooking instrument on the floor, or did anything else to his displeasure, he would either beat me or order one of his personal Slave Beaters to do so, usually the latter as they were capable of inflicting far more physical pain than he could.

"Finally, seven years after I became LAG's personal pancake chef, the Gregist regime fell and I was liberated. I am thankful every day for that moment. Thank you for hearing my testimony and entering it into the record."

---

Name: Janis Brownwell
Gregist Name(s), If Any: Youth IZ8A8ZBAB, Soldier IZ8A8ZBAB, Military General Jane Barnett, Military SuperGeneral Jane Barnett
Category: Perpetrator
Foreign or Domestic: Domestic
Country, if Foreign: N/A
Format of Testimony: Written

Testimony:
"I grew up in what was then known as District 33, Ward 2, and is now somewhere in the vicinity of New Ponytown. In my 13 years of education, from age five to age 18, I was constantly taught that Lord Almighty Gregory was God, that he created the world on November 5, Year 0000, and that he was truly glorious and anyone who didn't like him was evil. We were taught that all the nations on the Enemy List were evil and must be destroyed. While children in other countries were singing songs like "Ring-a-Round the Rosy" at that age, we were singing "Nukey all the Sanctii" to the same tune. The exams we were given as children reflected the lessons - I vividly remember one question on a science exam, "Where does water come from?" I, and most of my classmates, answered "Lord Almighty Gregory" and were marked correct. One student, whose name I sadly have forgotten, gave a detailed, and based on my later understanding, mostly if not entirely correct, answer about the water cycle. He was taken to the school's Execution Hall and we all had to watch as he and his family were executed for his blasphemy. We were in second grade at the time. At the time, I well and truly believed all the lies I was told because, well, why would my teachers, my parents, my leader, and everyone else I knew lie to me? I can see now that these were, indeed, lies.

"At the age of 18, I graduated high school and was immediately drafted by the military. We were fighting a war in Hicana at the time, the first of several we would fight in that nation, and they needed my help. Driven by my passion coming out of those lies, I was one of the bravest, fiercest soldiers, and led a charge over a hill that resulted in the death of 500 Hicanan soldiers and over 2,000 of their civilians. These were far from the only Hicanans I killed during this war, both military and civilian. I truly believed, based on the lies I was told, that Hicanans were wicked, vile scum who wanted us all dead and must be stopped at all costs. If there are any Hicanan refugees still alive, I would like to apologize for my acts.

"Moving on, it is no surprise based on by body count that after the war, I was promoted to Military General and given my own name, Jane Barnett. After killing even more of Gregoryisgodistan's enemies abroad, both military and civilian, I was promoted again, to Military SuperGeneral, and commanded my own battalion. During the Great War of Esportiva, we were deployed in the Free Republics and were one of the more intimidating squadrons to land in that country. We were one of the first to land, taking the Republicans by surprise with our human blitzkrieg before they closed the airspace to prevent any more of us from parachuting in. We landed on the coast of the country, on the same continent that the capital Republica was on, and attempted to head there with the goal of killing Reino Kulseth. In this case, the attacks on Consul Kulseth were somewhat justified, and even today I believe he was a bad man. However, the propaganda spread by the Gregists attributed to Kulseth acts far beyond what he ever did, including personally kidnapping our babies and eating them whole, attempting to rape and murder every woman in our country, and much more. I believed these lies, because what else could I do, and they made me hate Kulseth and the Free Republics even more. Similar lies were told about the other nations we were at war with, including Damukuni, San Jose Guayabal, and so on. It was said that Damukuni had kidnapped 100,000 of our citizens and force fed them poisoned potatoes until they died. There was, of course, no truth to this whatsoever, but it was designed to swell up hatred against them, and it worked. We all hated all our enemies during that war. It was for that reason that we targeted not just the Republican military but Republican civilians, shooting everything that moved pretty much. Under my command, we likely killed tens of thousands of Republicans, the majority of whom were innocent civilians. Some were small babies, some were elderly, it covered pretty much every demographic you could imagine. We did so because we thought it was the right thing, but we know now were wrong.

"Having now had a chance to see the outside world for real once the propaganda came down, we know that pretty much nothing we were told was true. Although it is true that Consul Kulseth was a bad man, if you call everyone in the world an evil, wicked enemy who must be stopped, as the Gregists did, you are bound to be right occasionally. Even then, Kulseth and the Holy Republican Empire, as he proclaimed his nation to be known at the time, were not nearly as bad as we thought. They were not eating our babies, they were not raping our women, and so on. I would like to take this moment to apologize to any surviving family members or friends of the Republicans who I or my battalion senselessly slaughtered. But for the propaganda we were subject to, we never would have done what we did, and we hope that you can at some point forgive us given the circumstances. Thank you to the Committee for hearing my report."

[Eura]

emplor.eur/main/sport/football
SUBLIME COLTRANE FINDS THE ANSWERS
Attacking midfielder the main contributor as Eura beat Qusmo to progress
Report by our Euran international team correspondent Isabel Haynes at Grand Regal Stadium, Royal Canterlot, Equestria

QUSMO - 1
Max 68

EURA - 2
Coltrane 30
Bond 62

Younger talents in the Euran squad tend to have driven the team's successes in recent times, but that didn't mean that Oscar Coltrane couldn't be the difference between Eura and Qusmo last night as the former ran out 2-1 winners.

Coltrane, 32, has claimed recently that he has "aged like fine wine" and that he intended to be Eura's creative focal point for years to come. This seems unrealistic with Moira Woakes and Brian Bond looking increasingly vital to the team, but Coltrane at least silenced the doubters in this game. It came off the back of a 3-3 draw draw with top seeds Holy Empire. A draw would have been considered a good result in normal circumstances, however Eura had lead 3-1 at half time against a disorganised Holy Empire side thanks to a Bond brace and an Underwood stunner, making the final score of 3-3 following major defensive errors a substantial disappointment - errors that meant Robert Griffin and Harvey Blake were to be rotated out of the side against Qusmo for Kevin Belgrave and Samuel Hopkins. Technically Eura only needed to avoid defeat in this game to qualify for the next round. Yet there was a lingering sense of unease before kick off, mainly because of what happened at the last World Cup where Eura's group stage defeat to Sargossa sensationally eliminated them despite winning the other two games. Therefore they would set out to record a comfortable victory in this third game against Qusmo to avoid any doubt about whether or not they would make it to the next stage.

The opposition also needed a win - a draw was as bad as a defeat for them, a victory being the minimum required to avoid an early end to their World Cup dream. Necessity meant that for both sides this was going to be an attacking game. Coltrane was involved from the off and recorded the first shot on target, a swinging and dipping volley from outside the area that Xynat-Evela Cuf had to acrobatically tip over the bar. Eura were in their element in the first half, pinging the ball about with an air of freedom and grace and withholding possession from Qusmo like the ball was theirs by divine right, refusing to give the opposition even an inch. When Qusmo did get the ball they tried to attack and create chances against the stereotype of what Qusma football is about. They came closest in the 17th minute when Xilit-Zaxac Yol ramped a spectacular unorthodox volley of his own over his head at a tight angle, forcing Belgrave into a physically challenging save where he had to backpedal at speed and push the ball wide. Nevertheless it was the Euran's who were building pressure most effectively. Dion Underwood had glanced one just wide of the post and Anthony Townsend had his eye on goal with a couple of soft shots. Brian Bond, Eura's star player so far in this World Cup, was looking threatening hadn't had a clear cut chance. It fell to Coltrane to make the breakthrough.

In the 30th minute Ben Hall (back in for Stanley Burns to the surprise of many) was running down the left wing at a clip when he was felled by Cunix-Betva Tla. As Tla trudged back into position slowly the free kick was taken quickly by Liam Armstrong, setting Coltrane away down the middle with acres of space outside the box. He had the opportunity to lay it off for Underwood or play Townsend in behind the defence. Instead he chose to pause and draw out Zenon-Gerol Kal to attempt a tackle. Kal obliged allowing Coltrane to shift his weight onto his left side, nip past the centreback and, with no obstruction directly in front of him, take a shot at goal from 20 yards. Coltrane's strike was beautifully curled off his left and settled nicely in the bottom right hand corner of the goal leaving Cuf with no chance of a save. The goal had been coming but was still good enough to draw gasps of awe from thousands of fans in the stands. Eura pressed for a second and Coltrane almost had it with an effort from further out. Cuf was equal to it and got down low to take ball into his chest. Half time was approaching and so Eura pushed harder for a second. Qusmo saw out the remaining period and were glad for the break to arrive when it did.

If the score had remained the same Eura would have been guaranteed to qualify. However they were not going to take anything for granted with the stakes this high, not again. Bringing off Townsend for Woakes gave Eura more fluidity in midfield and permitted Coltrane to roam about more. It was a substitute that almost paid dividends within minutes as Woakes broke free down the right after dispossessing Ilinx-Kepex Zev and whipped in a perfect cross at head height for Underwood. He could only be denied by a superb act of determination by Zev, who had charged back to recover and intercept the ball with his own head, clearing it away. Qusmo continued to work hard off the ball and tried to force opportunities through when they did recover possession. In truth though they had not looked threatening whatsoever since the midway point of the first half. Their lack of threat when starved of the ball and naturally defensive style meant that Eura could play a high line without fear of a counter attack, dominate the ball even further, and build up further to a goal that felt like it could come at any moment. In the 62nd minute it did. Coltrane turned provider this time, waiting for the perfect moment after a long sequence of build up play. Eura had spent a minute or two looking for an opening in the wall of white kits when Coltrane spotted a gap. He threaded through a pass for Bond to sprint onto and chip Cuf from only 10 yards as he rushed out in a failed attempt to smother the ball.

Defeat and therefore elimination now stared Qusmo in the face. Manager Avarn-Oxolt Ban opted to make radical changes in an attempt to reverse the 2-0 deficit; a triple substitution went up on the board, Qusmo essentially switching to a formation with only two centrebacks in defence and the other moved into a holding midfield position, while the existing holding midfielder was hauled off for a third striker. In the moments following the second goal and the substitutions the Qusma were unsurprisingly still reforming their shape and this transition nearly led to a third Euran goal. A mix up between Tla - now playing in that holding midfield role - and Yelto-Alfan Ono let in Underwood, only for the Euran to scuff his shot wide of the post. Eura held off on making any changes until Qusmo earned a goal that gave them a bit of hope going into the final stages. Eura had conceded a rare corner and from the inswinging ball a flailing scuffle for the ball ensued, which ended with Paliv-Xilit Max getting the final touch over the line after substitute Prant-Pertz Gor somehow failed to score an open goal. It was a frustrating moment for a Eura and a sign that they needed to lock the game down. Off came Underwood and Bond, Underwood for Dean Sharp's legs, and Bond for the defensive addition of Blake. Coltrane and Woakes would play as an interchangeable attacking pair behind the striker ready for the counterattack.

The changes made after the goal that made it 2-1 were effective in killing off any momentum. The game slowed down and again became about ownership of the ball after a brief period where Qusmo were able to string together some neat attacking moves. By the 80th minute the game was clearly winding down and Qusmo's heads went down. They could not be faulted for effort, but the Euran's had been the better side, and had made their earlier dominance count. Even in a defensive situation Coltrane continued to excel, harrying the Qusmo midfield when they had the ball along with the relentless Monica Rowland. His man of the match award would be completely deserved. All eleven of the team remaining on the pitch did their part until the final whistle. Qusmo were out, and so it transpired were the Holy Empire. In an unexpected turn of events they had been eliminated by a defeat against the underdog of the group Reçueçn. Eura had therefore won the group with two wins and a draw. Michael Brandon could be seen enthusiastically congratulating his players after the game and passionately applauding the traveling Euran faithful in their many thousands. He has turned things around from the most desperate period of qualifying. Eura now go on to face Farfadillis, possibly their most daunting opposition yet despite a strong record in previous iterations of this fixture. Selection issues remain at the back, however it is likely that Brandon will persist with the attacking combination that has served Eura well in the group stage.

[Recuecn]

Mister Minister | Ch. 1 | Monsieur le Ministre
Mister Minister | Ch. 2 | Monsieur le Ministre
Mister Minister | Ch. 3 | Monsieur le Ministre
Mister Minister | Ch. 4 | Monsieur le Ministre
Mister Minister | Ch. 5 | Monsieur le Ministre

---

On set at R2, the culture channel for Reçueçn's national television broadcasting corporation, about a year ago.

"Bonsoir, Jean-Luc Lassalle."

"Bonsoir."

"It's a pleasure to have you here in the studio today to talk with us about your recent proposal to save Reçuecian football."

"The pleasure is all mine."

"Let's start at the beginning. Would you tell us a bit about this movement--because it has, really, become a movement now--and what it's all about?"

"Of course. I think I would begin by saying that I don't really like to think of the initiative being to 'save football',"—Jean-Luc accompanied this with air-quotes—"I'd rather see it as what it is at the most basic level, a proposal for a new government ministry. I put 'save football' in quotes"—air-quotes again—"because I don't see myself as some kind of savior for the sport. I don't want people to think of it that way. The proposal has a very specific and concrete, achievable, political goal, and that's what we must focus on if we want to accomplish it. Plus, establishing an entirely new government ministry under the Reçuecian political system is much more difficult than reviving the sport, if you can believe that." Jean-Luc cracked a grin.

"But this proposal for a new ministry of sport did originate with your dissatisfaction with the state of Reçuecian football, n'est-ce pas? Can you say a bit about how this all began?"

"Sure. There were really very many factors that lead up to having the idea and then acting on it, but one I'll mention here while I can give it some publicity was seeing the sad financial state of many of the teams that used to play in the RNFL--that's the Reçuecian National Football League, of course. Particularly, my own team, Chapel-Field House, was forced to start fundraising efforts just to stay afloat—and those are still ongoing and you can donate on their website. So yes, it really was the state of football in this country that saddened me—a sentiment I think many of my compatriots share—and that inspired me towards this course of action. But I think we will find that very many sports and activities in the country will benefit enormously from the new ministry. Local sport and community growth will be greatly augmented, and on the international level as well, we will see that allowing the government to step in and organize things will really help us."

"It's great to hear you give a shout-out to your home team." The interviewer seemed to actually mean this. Marie Lando, the journalist usually assigned to these sorts of 'cultural news' interviews for R2, had a well-studied professionalism and disinterest. But here she seemed to take a personal interest in the topic—a good sign, thought Jean-Luc, and from his experience, indicative of the way many other Reçuecians felt... which was why this crazy idea had come so far so quickly. "I was always a Raptors fan, myself," Marie went on. "To continue then with the focus on football, how exactly would the new ministry of sport help smaller teams like Chapel-Field or the Raptors, who are struggling with the current situation where there's so little organized support? What about the league as a whole and the RNFL as an institution?"

"That's a great question. As you mentioned, and I think the fans are aware of this too, a lot of the teams really did fine as long as there was organized league play, so our hope is that by reestablishing the RNFL all those teams to thrive again. But the ministry will also be able to help out teams that are struggling financially, whether that's via grants or more indirect assistance. The eventual minister of sport of course would choose what sort of programs they would want to focus on, but the government has all sorts of ways to help out businesses—which is really what these teams are—with their stability."

Jean-Luc continued. "Then, of course, when it comes to the RNFL, we'll be able to set some guidelines, some boundaries, and establish regulations that will help to keep the league accountable. Obviously everybody wants the best for the league, but that can mean something very different if you're talking to a league rep, a team owner, or a fan. We want the league to provide a secure place for teams to exist and play, in other words, we really want to hold the league accountable. Some of the exact reasons it ceased operation a while back are still unclear, and the main thing is to avoid a repeat performance of that scenario."

"You mention that league representatives might see things differently than fans do. Do you think they'll be excited to hear you talking about regulations and holding them accountable?"

"Excitement might not be the right word, but I do really hope that they'll see this favorably, and I think there's good reason to. If we can make the league into a stable platform, that's good not just for the fans, but for everybody who's a part of that. I really see it as helping them help themselves. We'll give them a foundation to start to represent themselves internationally again—and we all know everyone's keen to get a slice of that UICA pie. I frankly can't see any reason the league might not be in favor of this idea. As I've said, we all share common goals, and plus, we'd be giving them their jobs back!" Jean-Luc smiled winsomely again at his own comment. He had a feeling this interview was going well.

"Okay," Marie changed course. "What about sport outside the RNFL? Where do you see a need for an entirely new ministry?"

"Well, even to continue talking about soccer a moment longer, the sport isn't merely confined to the RNFL. There's hundreds of local amateur teams that we'd love to help out. Community sporting associations like that play a huge role in Reçuecian social and cultural life, and growing these programs is immensely exciting to me. Then, of course, qualifiers for World Cup 83 start next year. That will make it ten cycles since Reçueçn last attempted to qualify, and I don't know how we'd make it happen, but I'd love to see us throw our hat in the ring once more!"

"And of course," Jean-Luc went on, "there's so much sport in Reçueçn that isn't football. Some of our oldest, most time-honored, traditional sports have seen massive declines as well recently as people turn to more modern sports or other pastimes. We think these sports have inherent cultural value and we want them to stay strong and continue to play a role in shaping our country. And there's plenty of modern sports that Reçueçn has adopted as its own—skiing, tennis, cycling, to name a few of the most iconic. We're a small nation, but we think that with a little top-down organization, we'd be able to begin to start hosting international competitions in some of these sports. And then of course, that begets more enthusiasm, as well as bringing in more tourists, which in turn helps the economy... and we expect this to increase domestic tourism as well—we don't want to forget what a fun-loving nation we are. We want to keep that in mind, which is why we encourage our citizens to travel around the country, spend their vacations getting to know people from a different region, passing some time with them. Sport is perhaps the best way to bring people together. I know there's a lot there, but maybe the best way to sum it up is to say that we think investment in sport around the country will begin an upward cycle that will only accelerate towards better and better places."

"That all sounds very exciting. Tell us a bit about the boring side. What do people need to know about what it's going to take to make this become a reality?"

"Right. There's a lot of politics that has to go into this process. It's going to involve an amendment to the Articles of Alliance, which date from the fourteenth century, so that of course will never be easy. The national legislature will first have to pass it—that involves a proposal and a vote in the Mayoral Chamber, as well as the approval in the House of Lords—but then each region in Reçueçn will have to ratify it, and this is the tricky part, because it will need to be unanimous. Every canton, principality, prince-bishopric, duchy, county, free city... I mean, you get the idea. But then of course in each of these the ratification process is different, in surprisingly drastic ways sometimes. So this part might take a while."

Here Jean-Luc began to grow excited. You could tell that this was his passion. "But that doesn't mean that it's boring or that you shouldn't be involved." He was looking into the camera. "These are your Mayors, your representatives, your aristocracy, and your regional assemblies who will be making these decisions—and in some states you may have a direct vote yourself. So if this is something that is important to you, do something! Contact your representative in the Mayoral Chamber, send a letter to your regional government, or start campaigning in your community! Politics isn't about money and power, it's about this—living together in a society and deciding together what we want to happen in that society. If sport is important to you, then it's every bit as important a political issue as the budget, every bit as valid of a cause to support. Politics is about you and I talking together and then making something happen. Alors unissons! Créeons ensemble!

"Thank you so much, Monsieur Lassalle. Unfortunately we really don't have all that much time today, so I'll ask just one last question: If this program does succeed, who do you envision as Reçueçn's first Minister of Sport?"

Jean-Luc looked surprised by the question. He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I hadn't thought about that yet."

"Would you nominate yourself?"

Jean-Luc laughed. "Me!?"

Marie saw the interview was over. "Merci, Jean-Luc Lassalle.

"Merci à vous."

"Bonsoir."

"Bonsoir."

---

The wave of public support really had really astounded Jean-Luc. Although the Mayor had originally turned down his suggestion, after the article in the Times, the office had been forced to go public with it, although it had been presented still with Lassalle's name on it, rather than the Mayor's. But everybody loved the proposal. Support was so strong that representatives in the Mayoral Chamber of every political hue asked to be able to co-sponsor the bill. People put up signs outside their homes to show their support reading simply "Ministry of Sport".

Enough commotion had been made to capture the attention of R2. The interview, aired at prime-time, was broadcast to every home in the nation. This no longer felt like a pipe dream. Now it was something that was happening. Jean-Luc received another email from the Mayor, but this one was shortly followed by his arrival back in Reçueçn City. Seeing how popular this proposal had become, he was now more than ready to jump onto this bandwagon that he himself had accidentally started rolling.

As far as the public was concerned, however, everything was still thanks to Jean-Luc. He had had the idea, he had taken the initiative, his name had been on the paper, his face on the television, and his voice in the speeches from the Mayoral Chamber that people now listened to as the radio broadcast the debate concerning the proposal. The young staffer himself somehow seemed blissfully unaware of his newfound celebrity status. He was so laser-focused on his goal that everything else faded into the background... or was interpreted as part of the mounting excitement for the constitutional amendment that with each passing day seemed a greater and greater possibility.

Given the sudden political drive in the country, it felt as though the process was taking forever. All the details of the new ministry had to be ironed out in debate. What powers would it have? What might its first budget look like? Should it be subordinate to the ministry of the interior? How big should it be? What would fall into its jurisdiction? Everything had to be decided before the proposal could be passed on to the regional governments for their ratification. Having cleared so many hurdles, more were still to come, but for now, Jean-Luc and his proposal would have to play the waiting game.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

© Sporting Times Daily 2028
Confident BP ready for challenges
by Mindy Cartwright, National Soccer Writer


The Commonwealth National Team have returned to Dodomo for their round of 16 matchup against Mriin here at the Albert III Stadium, and it's been difficult to avoid the hype surrounding the matchup between the Reavers and BP.

The sides have met one previous time, during the World Cup 81 group stage, when the Commonwealth won 1-0 in East Point, Free Republics, on a goal by Annabeth Westmoreland. For this match, the stakes are a bit higher; the winner will advance to meet the winner of the Kita-Hinode vs Starblaydia in the quarterfinals.

Baker Park were only one of two sides that won their group without dropping points, and allowed only 1 goal in their three matches; it was a brutal group phase for the top seeded teams, as 4 of the top 8 ranked teams were eliminated—The Holy Empire, Nephara and the runners-up from the last tournament, Turori were all top seeds and the Free Republics were a second seed—while only co-hosts Banija actually finished atop their group of the 8 teams that were drawn from Pot 1.
The ability to give the original starters at least one game off during the group matches means that the Bees enter the match healthy and they feel quite happy about their situation at the present.

"There is a good spirit in camp, which we normally have anyways," said co-captain Nick Haller, who scored in the last match against Audioslavia. "This is my 3rd time in the squad (for the World Cup) and it's strange being one of the older players in the team, rather than having others to look up to and take charge. I can't think of many moments in my life that can compare with being the captain of my country, and here in the nation that has been an important part of my professional career. I don't know where I'd be today if I hadn't taken the advice to play at (Kitara Athletic Association) after I didn't make the squad (in World Cup 80). The chance to play here in Banija is unbelievable."

Asked about whether there was a seriousness of purpose now that the team are being viewed as a real threat to other nations, Haller said he's always aware of a seriousness as the match gets closer among the squad. "I know there's a perception that we are fun loving and loose, but we are all professionals, we know when to put that stuff aside. What is different now from (Trevor Richmond's tenure) is Pam sets the tone. Trevor was usually even keeled and just let things play out, Pam is more involved, so when she stops joking around, everyone knows that it's time to dial it down."

[Banija]

1-0 victory see Banija win group and face South Covello in the knockout stages


Chibuzo Afolayan(#7, left) celebrates with Kizza Okafor(right) on his match winner against Starblaydia

JINJA CITY, HANGAZA- This cycle has absolutely been quite the ride for the fans of the Kadongo Kamu. Starting with AOCAF LVIII, when the national team finally broke past its habit of losing in the quarterfinals of the regional championships, and made a run all the way to the tournament final, seeing this team on the cusp of becoming elite. And then, of course, in the Cup of Champions on home soil, that was a precursor to the World Cup Finals themselves, when the Banijans, once again as underdogs, went to the semifinals of that tournament, as the host and one of two non-champions among the participants, after defending the trophy's holders, Brenecia, in the group stages, alongside Baptism of Fire winners Hapilopper.

Now, of course, there are better stories than a nation that went to the AOCAF Final making the knockout stages of the World Cup Finals. We'll admit that. Especially when you talk about a nation like Reçueçn, doing what they have done in this cycle, coming from unranked to the knockout stages, without the benefit of the home field advantage that the Banijans have now enjoyed for the third consecutive major tournament in a row, that is a better story than this Banijan squad. And yet, here this squad is, with a nation awaiting their seeming every move, on the cusp of delivering ecstasy to Banijan footballing fans.

First, of course, let's talk about this. What the heck happened against Starblaydia? It was all set up for the Banijans to fight valiantly, and then, naturally, be felled by a stronger and more talented opponent. But as 75,000 Banijan fans packed Mavuto Field to its maximum capacity, to see the host nation take on the five-time world champions, something felt different. There was not the fear that Banijans normally have coming into big matches, against storied opponents such as Starblaydia, or nations that have felled them before at the World Cup- the fear that comes when you play a VIlita, or a Starblaydia, or a Pasarga, or a Farfadillis, on the biggest stage that the sport has to offer.

Now, we're not going to get ahead of ourselves and say that the Banijans were the better team by some crazy margin. That is simply not true, and anyone who actually watched the game knows that it would be simple journalistic malpractice to say this. But Marcus Waters did not sit back, and simply let the Starblaydians take the game to them. Even when the Starblaydian national team lined up and performed their famous Raiigar dance, the Banijans were not intimidated. They did not respond with fear. But they looked the Starblaydians in the eye, and you saw something there. Focus. Determination. Motivation. They did not want the tournament on home soil to end in another disappointing group stage exit, and you knew that this team believed in themselves.

You could see it in the early stages of this game. The crowd was roaring and rocking at Mavuto Field, and the Kadongo Kamu were riding the energy provided by the fans. The Banijans came out fast, and they were always going to challenge early. Just in the third minute, it would be Okonkwo Okparro who would force the 24 year old goalkeeper Cosmo Leopoldi to make a fully extended save to his left, after a rocket of a shot almost saw Banija lead brilliantly. But for the first 15 or so minutes of the match, Banija dominated the proceedings. They were moving the ball well. THey were playing with energy. Their midfielders were playing well in the middle of the pitch, and most importantly, they were playing well in the final third. There were early game jitters, of course, so the finishing wasn't exactly there, but it was a good start for a team that knew just one goal from the other side could see them bow out early of this tournament, once again.

But at about the 15 minute mark, the Starblaydians really started to settle in. This is a young squad- five starters on this Starblaydian side were Sporting World Cup winners just two editions ago, and therefore, an environment like this on the international stage would not be something that they had much exposure to previously. But after settling in, they would begin to try and take the game to the Banijans. Starblaydia knew that a draw for them could see them eliminated if the Turkish Vans took care of business against Taeshan, and they began to attack well. Aaron Cole, the opposition's #9, had an effort saved by Lemuel Bereket, and McCloud even hit the bar at about the half hour mark.

When the game really started to grab tension, however, it was the 35th minute. Both teams were going ferociously at that point- the traditional Starblaydian work ethic going against the incredible energy provided to the Kadongo Kamu by the 75,000 raucous fans in the arena. Kawsu Kaba, a center back who has had his own share of struggles with the national team, pulled on the jersey of Sutter McCloud when McCloud had a step on Kaba in the box. The former Sporting World Cup winner, of course, went down, and the referee pointed to the spot. The small Starblaydian section celebrated, while the Banijan fans had their nerves at their highest point? What would happen next?

It would be Kota Sato who would step up to take the penalty. The veteran midfielder has seen quite a lot for Starblaydia, and with 49 career caps at the senior level heading into the tournament, is plenty experienced. Sato placed the ball down, and stepped up to take the penalty. However, fortunately for the Kadongo Kamu, Lemuel Bereket stepped up to make the biggest save of his career. The Banijan #1 took one step to his left, and dove, full extension. He got his left hand on it, a big palm, and the ball rolled out of bounds, past the post, for a corner kick. The crowd cheered loudly naturally here, and the momentum went back to the Banijans.

It wouldn't take long for the Banijans to press their advantage. The energy was deflated from their opponents after the saved penalty- this was the opportunity for the Kadongo Kamu to press their luck. With this momentum, they had a little bit of energy. But instead of their fearsome trio up front, it would be Okafor who, once again, would be scoring a big-time goal in the World Cup Finals. A shot by Okparro had hit off the post, and there was a mad scramble for the ball in the box. It went out to the edge of the box to Afolayan, and about 15 feet away, Okafor was standing, unmarked at the 18. AFolayan passed the ball to him, He collected it with his left foot, switched to his right, and launched a powerful shot towards the upper corner. The goalkeeper did not have a chance. ANd just like that, in the 39th minute, it was 1-0 to the Banijans.

The second half was nerve-wracking for the Banijans, but they were built for the moment. In the 65th minute, 35 year old center back Abate Brehanu came onto the pitch for Assefa Yitebarke, as they dropped the striker entirely and went to a back 5, instead of a back 4, to preserve the lead. Starblaydia had its opportunities, but the Banijans were defending with plenty of depth and energy, and they were able to hold out for the entirety of the half to clinch a 1-0 win. It was, permit our journalistic neutrality here, glorious. 7 points for the Banijans in Group A, the most ever at a World Cup for this side. Their first time ever winning their group at a World Cup. And, most importantly, their second time reaching the knockout stages of the World Cup Finals. Starblaydia was not too disappointed, as news came in quickly that Taeshan won their game, 1-0, which eliminated Qasden and sent Starblaydia to the next round as well.

Who is Banija's opponent for the next round? South Covello. Many might remember them primarily from World Cup 81, when legions of people who protested the delicacy of goat meat came to this country. But yet, relations remain cordial. Newly elected President Benitez attended the World Cup 83 opening ceremonies, for example. They have a fierce, defensive minded squad, and they are ranked 5th in the multiverse, a reflection of their accomplishments and of the extremely high talent levels on their national team. They've got a very young side as well- while Banija is very veteran heavy, with 6 members of the starting XI 30 or older, South Covello only has 1 player who is 30. It's a young squad, which can be a mixed bag at a tournament as high pressure as the World Cup. Can that added advantage in experience and veteran leadership bring Banija to a place it has never been- the quarterfinals of the World Cup?

We'll find out soon enough. The match will be at BCEL Stadium in Jinja City. The locals are ready. The fans are ready. Hell, it's the World Cup knockouts- who isn't ready? 170 nations have been dwindled down to just 16, how is this not exciting? We don't want to jinx the national team, and therefore we won't make a prediction- but of course, as always, go Banija!

[Farfadillis]

The remnants of Farfadillis
A few snapshots

Deep in Karuvis, in a town called Kragujevac, a woman is grocery shopping. She's smart, so she's brought a list to remember everything she needs to buy. She's found the eggs, she's found the bread, and she doesn't need much else. Or does she? She checks her list. One: Eggs, a dozen. There's only half of that left, so she'll have to make do. Two: Bread. She's found the mold-less bread. Lucky her! Then something catches her eye: there's a number three. She reads it. Three: milk. Of course, milk is an important part of a healthy diet. You need milk to not break your bones.

She begins looking for milk. She's done this before, so she immediately goes to the aisle that has milk and other non-milk things. She gets there. There're are three bags of milk. She picks up the first two. They smell gross. She picks up another. "The expiry date!" She exclaims after realizing the third one stinks too. It hasn't expired. Upon closer inspection, she realizes the three milk bags have a few inconvenient holes. She puts them down and picks up the other two. They smell nice. Normal. She checks the expiry date, just in case. Both are good to go.

But then she remembers! Oh, how could she forget? She has to check for the "See Berts"! She pulls out her geiger counter. Beep beep. "50 em-See Berts!" She exclaims. That's much more than last week. She can't drink something with so many See Berts. She goes to the counter. Good old Dejan greets her with a smile.

"Good morning, Dejan. Do you happen to have non-radioactive milk?"

Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ

In Puerto Farolero, in Victoria Lago, a sprawling metropolis, or what used to be one, a kid raises his hand. Lorenzo, unlike his classmates, is really enjoying the class. Señorita Fernández is a really engaging teacher in his eyes, and he always enjoys her history lessons. Last week, he learned about the Guayabalense almost-invasion. Three days ago, he learned about the Rulandese revolution. Yesterday, he learned about the complete and seemingly irreversible collapse of Farf civilization.

For a brief moment, he wonders what "complete and seemingly irreversible collapse of Farf civilization" really means, since he's at a school, and schools are civilization things. But his wandering imagination is interrupted by his teacher.

"Do you have a question, Lorenzo?" She inquires in a friendly tone. Lorenzo is her favorite student, after all.

"Why do we only talk about recent things?" The kid asks in confusion.

"Oh, there's a simple explanation for that. I'm glad you asked!" She answers.

Señorita Fernández then points out the window. In the distance, a huge fire can be seen. "Class, do you see that fire?" She asks, raising her voice.

"Yes!" They reply in unison.

"That's our monthly library fire, kids." She says before waiting for the kids to stop cheering on the fire. "As you know, history is stored in books. But in Farfadillis we have a long tradition of making libraries - the places where we put the books - right next to where we store our firewood. Sadly, this leaves us without books very often. That's why we don't know history from before fifty years ago."

Lorenzo looks on, having drifted off. The fire is just too beautiful.

Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ

In Frion, in the town of Störn, a concerned father tells his daughter not to go outside. "The flying jellyfish are not gentile today, Miska." He warns her. But try as he might, Miska is not of the listening kind. A Farf through and through. Miska steps outside into the snowy snow. Frion is a state with a lot of mountains, and Störn is in them. This has three consequences: breathing is hard, it's very cold and there's a lot of flying jellyfish.

Miska whistles on none the wiser. She's never been stung before, for whatever reason. Flying Jellyfish used to only sting when provoked but they've become more hostile since the complete and seemingly irreversible collapse of Farf civilization (she always thought that was quite a mouthful). What's more, they were 'effing' like rabbits now, according to her father. "Their amorphous bodies of jelly may look delicious, but you should not try to eat them." Miska's big brother Riki had said. Miska believed him, because he'd been
vomiting for weeks. "What is amorphous?" She asks herself.

As Miska is about to get to her friend's house, she sees one approaching her. It's small. "Cute!" She shouts with joy. She loves cute things, and this one is pink. "Pink Flying Jellyfish are very dangerous, Miska." Her father had said. But she hadn't listened.

She goes to pet it, thinking pink things can't harm her. She pets it. It flies away. She bursts into tears.

Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ

In Ruland, Ruland, a family hides inside their home. Ever since the thing with the long name, gang shoot-outs have become more dangerous for bystanders. Whereas in the past, by many unlikely consecutive strokes of luck, stray bullets never hit civilians, now they hit them with a non-negligible chance. Since getting shot is bad for your health, many Rulandese had had to adapt to this new reality. Now they could only get out of their homes outside of gang shoot-out hours. This was between 7 and 9 am, because drug cartels were very disciplined when it came to their sleeping routine and rising early. Unfortunately, this coincided with the time that daddy had to go to work at what was left of the Boom! Uranium Mining uranium mine.

"Do you really have to go, daddy?" Mälïnä asks, scared. She's only five, but some of her friends' parents have already died. "I'm scared."

He tenderly kisses her in the forehead. "Yes, sweetie. But don't worry, I'm prepared." He flashes a smile, in an attempt to soother her. It works, somewhat.

He puts on his bulletproof gear, picks up his shield, opens the door and steps outside. Thus begins his daily commute.

After a few steps, a stray bullet hits his trusty old shield. He smiles, secure. "Hey, Ëstébën!" He greets his neighbor drug trafficker. "Still a man of routine, I see."

Ëstébën ducks just in time to avoid getting headshot. "Yes, Püns. Not even one casualty today. Good luck at the mine!" Püns walks on after returning the good wishes.

Behind him, Ëstébën's gang buddy gets shot. Püns turns around to see if he should help, but it only got his arm. So, unconcerned, Püns walks on.

[Mriin]

Maal Memoirs
Sports
Dodoma Dislikes Smoke

Yon Kegant
Dodoma, Banija

Never forget that the wind can change on a dime. Buoyed on by the stunning upset of--hard as it is to believe it--superpower Turori and automatic advancement, Mrii fans turned out to Albert III Stadium en force and with a level of vigor hitherto unseen. While our travelling fans have always been a certain type of excitable, there was a distinct lack of what other nations know as ‘hooligan’ behavior. This is due to the relatively recent convalescence of footballing culture on the isles--the history simply isn’t there like it is for nations like Mytanija, Eura, and Apox that have much deeper roots in the scene. Perhaps spurred on by this matchup against one of these ‘classical football’-type nations a few enterprising Mrii did their research and got what they thought an authentic pantomime together.

I can tell you one person who very much did not appreciate when the flares lit up in the white-and-blue seats; and surprisingly, it wasn’t stadium security, who didn’t seem phased much at all. Maybe they figured if there was a fire it’d be put out by the rain soon enough? Regardless, I sensed a look of indignation in Cassuioeua Qyubtero’s eyes as the match kicked off. Perhaps just at the arrogance of these fans celebrating before she’d had a chance to give them pause, or maybe a justifiable anger at her culture being appropriated and mocked by these weird pastel metahumans. Whatever lit the fire under her on that damp day, it quickly came to fruition as mere minutes into the match she converted a skillful--optimistic, perhaps, but the sort that works with enough confidence--cross courtesy of Clarissa Ephraim-Garza. It was one of those pivotal moments where the rest of the game would rest on the immediate reactions; for the surrogate Mrii hooligans, they decided to get even louder, utilizing the venue’s reputation as an engineered sound funnel to maximize the ruckus.

Until Imhotep Jekyll swiftly shut them up with another goal before the clock hit ten minutes. An ingenious bit of emergent gameplay lead to Jekyll getting a “lift” from Maas to beat his horns and nod in Imriel Townsend’s free kick. For those of us who’ve followed Solara’s Premiership escapades it was a particularly hard-hitting moment, as that sort of conversion from Townsend to her is a staple part of the Moths’ toolkit; being on the receiving end is no fun at all. While the fans settled back into their seats and put their toys away, the Reavers were never going to roll over. Perhaps not bust their asses off trying to get back into a game that only matters for the Coefficient, but it’s still a matter of pride--and nobody wanted to see a repeat of Apox’s demolition of Bongo Johnson. They managed to pull themselves back together with the Apoxians pressing less perilously, the trio up front garnering a chance or two and making the wonderfully-named Tregatta Spitfire earn her keep betwixt the sticks. A breakthrough would come, eventually--after a break and an even wetter start to the second half, Solara found a sliver of open space and rammed it into the goal as she sometimes pulls from the blue.

The Mrii in the crowd, who’d been warming up for some time as the play on the pitch improved, was suddenly invested again. A thundrous cheer accompanied Malia Polandre’s substitution for what may be her very last minutes of World Cup play, a hero for the team and the nation. As such, it was remarkably rude of Marcy Blake-Tatum to put the game back to a two-goal deficit nearly immediately after and I implore the World Cup Committee to issue a demerit in her name for this flagrant disrespect. It was at this point, struck down at their moments of highest hope thrice, beaten to every punch and thoroughly moist that the flame dwindled. But even as this was a harsh reminder of our mortality, we have to remember that the winds can change in our favor just as sharply, and the Reavers are of a quality that no challenge is insurmountable on any given day. We will all need to keep this match in mind and we return to the same stadium in the Round of Sixteen--yes, don’t forget, we finally can continue playing football after the group stage!--in the fêted rematch with Baker Park.

Mriin - 1
Vol 51'
Apox - 3
Quintero 5'
Jekyll 9’
Blake-Tatum 64'

[Equestrian States]

-WORLD CUP 83 COVERAGE-
The World Cup of Chaos
Upsets abound as top teams stumble in group stage
by Hot Take

It has not been a good World Cup for most of the multiverse's elite.

For many of the top-ranked nations which entered the 83rd World Cup, it has been a tournament that their supporters would sooner forget than cherish the memories of forever. Of the eight teams which were in Pot 1 at the World Cup draw in Canterlot, those teams which the rankings would suggest should be expected to make deep runs, just one finished atop their group: 22nd-ranked hosts Banija, ironically the lowest-ranked team of the bunch. Additionally, just two groups saw both their Pot 1 and 2 teams advance to the second round.

But where has everything gone wrong for these teams who most of us thought would be title contenders? Have key players gone missing? Have their managers gone completely insane? Has our local Spirit of Chaos, Discord, teamed up with Margaret, the legendary Mistress of Mischief? In this article, we'll be taking a closer look at how the campaigns of some of the pre-tournament favorites collapsed, or at least hit serious bumps in the road.

#1 - Vilita (2-0-1, 6 pts, 2nd in Group H)

Let's start at the top with Vilita, the two-time defending World Cup champions. The Jungle Cats had every reason to expect to cruise through the group stage without any significant difficulty. After all, the Vilitans boasted the roster with by far the most championship pedigree of any in the tournament. However, the Jungle Cats' dreams of becoming the first team to win six World Cups and only the second side to win three consecutive titles took an immediate hit in the form of a 1-0 defeat against Baker Park in their first match. Although the Vilitans would rebound from that early setback with a 1-0 win against Audioslavia followed by an 8-2 absolute shellacking of The Macabees, the defending champions are moving on as a group runner-up and have a difficult road ahead of them if they want to repeat as champions.

---

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[Equestrian States]

WORLD CUP 83
EQUESTRIA & BANIJA

Groups E-H - Round of 16 Cutoff
Sponsored by twii.tur

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The knockout rounds begin, and the field continues to shrink. Enjoy tonight's cutoff tunes, sponsored by Universal Music Group.

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