World Cup 84- RP Thread (IC)

[Chromatika]

Proper MD2: Cassadaigua 2–0 Chromatika
Goals: None.
Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Ria; McBee - de Aea - Will - Ilya; Montague - Armageddon; Victoriane - Mora - Conrad; Andisori (C).
Substitutes: Damjana -> Ilya ('52), Friedman -> de Aea ('74), Gail -> Mora ('82)
Projected Lineup vs. Turori: Ria; McBee - de Aea - Will - Damjana; Montague - Armageddon; Victoriane - Mora - Dragana; Andisori (C).

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Jillian Nier, Football Correspondent

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Part 21: The Bomb

Part 22: The Speech & The Confrontation

”All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.
Galileo Galilei

Press Conference Hall
Capitol Building
Chromatik City, Chromatika
Material Plane

‘Easy, Alina, Easy.’

The First Premier of Chromatika steadied herself thirty seconds before the most important press conference of her career. A course of action had been agreed upon the previous evening; The Enlightened had double checked their math ten times to make sure that the conversion between iterations in the plane of the Enlightened and the seconds on Chromatika would align with no problems.

Her security had been precise and to the point, combing over the area four times to make sure there was no way that the Checkers Party at the behest of Ven- no, The Enlightened - could interfere. No, for a while now, she had known that the next move in this game would be hers, and she was finally ready to make her play.

Keira Andisori’s acquaintances had located the bomb that The Three were going to use to reset the timeline and the matter around Chromatika. It was being monitored remotely to see what was happening, and according to the readings that only The Skilled could understand, it was set to go off in about a half hour. “It needs to be right before the bomb is about to go off,” he had explained, “That we make our move. When it enters the last time period, the bomb will not obey any failsafe commands that The Three have instilled into it to make it explode any faster. Basically, they will only be able to wait. Once we pull off this endeavor, we will be able to have enough power to phase the bomb to our realm and dispose of it ourselves here.”

The pit in her stomach clenched even tighter at the thought of that bomb. If they were unsuccessful, all this would’ve been for naught. They would’ve been reduced to playthings of a cosmic race, a symbol of the very system that they had fought to overcome - except this time with The Three playing the role of the Golds, Silvers, and Bronzes of the Chromatik Party system and the rest of Chromatika playing the role of the Light Reds.

‘Over my dead body,’ resolved Alina. She checked her watch again.

‘It’s time.’

///

The Palace of A Thousand Suns
Astral Plane

Sounds of clattering heels filled the marble stone floors of the hallowed hall as The Scheming paced. She looked nervous, for lack of a better word. The Split sat motionless in his seat, while The Stalwart scowled openly at the sounds filling the chamber.

“The bomb has entered the last thirty minutes,” stated The Stalwart with an edge in his tone, “It is irreversible now. In a blink of an eye, that wretched nation will be reset, and we will not make the same mistake again.”

The Split nodded, and was about to continue when -

“The Keeper sends her regards!” exclaimed The Hope, emerging from the fall wall. The Skilled and she had successfully infiltrated the Palace once again, noting how easy the endeavor was due to the arrogance of The Three. The fact that The Three had been vulnerable all this time, with their safety blanket being the very ignorance of their people, filled both The Hope and The Skilled with the righteous rage and zealous fervor needed to complete this task.

‘One-eighth of an iteration remaining,’ The Hope reminded herself.

The Three rose up as one, flanking each other in an isosceles triangle, their hands stretching out toward the invaders. A black chain and a white spear appeared out of The Split’s hands, The Stalwart’s skin grew as tough as rock, and The Scheming became translucent, The Three getting ready for battle.

“Do you really think,” laughed The Scheming, “That a castaway who gained free will due to random chaos and one Enlightened that we chose to send down to the material plane will have any chance against us? You must be delusional!”

‘One-sixteenth of an iteration remaining,’ The Skilled counted in his head.

“Even if we fail, others will see the discrepancies and irregularities that we have followed!” exclaimed The Hope, speaking rather loudly to keep The Three occupied, “The truth will always prevail!”

A sinister grin came across The Split’s face.

“Truth is relevant, dear Sister,” he hissed, “And almost always, determined by the victors.” He started to advance slowly toward The Hope, brandishing his weapons.

The Hope raised her hand, and a gleaming white shield appeared on her left arm.

‘One-thirty second of an iteration remaining. It’s up to you now, Alina.’

///

Press Conference Hall
Capitol Building
Chromatik City, Chromatika
Material Plane

“… are thankful to the dignitaries visiting our nations for their continued support in our endeavor to have a proper and fair election for the very first time in our nation’s history.”

Alina Krasnikova took a breath as the assembled crowd gave her a moderate applause after her opening statement. She looked at her watch once more, and noting the second hand, continued.

“However, while the methods of the assailant who assaulted Ms. Lubabalo and the people who hired him must be brought into question, we have discovered a far more sinister plot while committing to the investigation of those matters. I must regretfully inform you, my fellow Chromatiks, that we have been deceived this entire time.

We believed that The Chromatik Party was to blame for the class-based caste system that was thrust upon us for too long in the past. Then, uncovering that thread, we discovered the enigmatic figure of Venom to be responsible. We thought that this Venom was the true villain behind the operation, a being who had solely messed up our country and set it back centuries in terms of cultural advancement.

However, we were deceived.”

As Alina paused for dramatic effect and to get a sense about the room, one could hear a pin drop. Not a single sound could be heard except for the breathing of those around her and her clear, cold voice as she went on:

“As Chromatika has played in the World Cup, we have learned about not only the countries of Atlantian Oceania and other regions like Rushmore and Esportiva; we have also learned about nations in space like Drawkland, far-off lands like Zwangzug, and more importantly to this matter, countries that exist in different planes like The Holy Empire.

Why is this important? Because we learned the horrible truth: Chromatika’s problems have stemmed from an extraplanar race of angelic beings who call themselves The Enlightened. Specifically, their leaders, a triumvirate known as The Three, have taken it upon themselves to use their powers - a single thought shared between the three of them in their hivemind society - to take control over their people and use the happenings of our nation to serve as a distraction while they wreaked havoc.

You see, Chromatiks, young and old, male or female, Rainbow Party or Checkers Party - none of the things in our country would’ve happened if The Three hadn’t implanted their desire to rule into our nation and caused The Chromatik Party to appear - the people in the Party being twisted by their malice and menace to think and believe in the ideals that they did.

Who among you is without fault when it comes to dealing with other people? What causes people to be kind toward one another when they are feeling antagonistic? It is hope; it is compassion; it is the ability to relate to each other. Have those be taken away from you by an alien being of great power, and no wonder The Chromatik Party was able to do the things that they did to us.

Open your eyes, Chromatiks! Currently, there are two of these Enlightened in their home plane trying to deal with the triumvirate that has enslaved their entire people. These Enlightened tell me that by having our people come to terms with the lies that they’ve been told, their people will be able to see the truth for themselves as well. Our greatest enemy wasn’t ourselves; they lay beyond this realm!” She stopped, holding her left fist high above her head.

‘I hope that was enough,’ she admitted to herself, ‘Because without your part, this also won’t last very long…’

///

The Palace of A Thousand Suns
Astral Plane

The Hope’s shield was slowly diminishing under the attacks of The Split. She could feel her strength waning - it would only be a few more hits now until her strength was overcome, and she would be released into The Empty.

That was when a peculiar feeling washed over her. A mental voice joined her link, and then another, and another.

“How dare they break one of our foremost commandments! They must be punished!” exclaimed the voice of one agitated The Brave.

“You and your compatriot will remain heroes for the rest of our plane’s existence! We must put these traitors away at once!” stated The Historian very excitedly.

A multitude of voices joined the link surrounding The Hope and The Skilled, and though The Enlightened’s ability to share power between each other relied on close proximity, the sheer volume of the voices joining them filled The Hope with such strength that her radiance returned hundredfold.

The Three were momentarily stunned by the sheer brilliance of The Hope; even The Skilled looked upon her with awe.

“By the power that is within me bestowed upon the multitude of The Enlightened who have chosen to believe me,” she stated firmly with power, “And by the truth that has come from The Skilled that you put away unfairly,” she took a moment to nod at The Skilled, “And by the millions of souls in the material plane from the nation known as Chromatika whom you’ve been a puppeteer of and profited off of for far too long…

I, The Hope, sentence The Three of you to roam the nothing for all eternity, not being able to truly pass on, but not being able to return. May your beings be washed of all that caused you to rebel until you become The Enlightened once more and pass onto the beyond.”

With that, she outstretched her right hand, and a single beam of pure energy and light streamed from it, hitting The Three in turn. With three high-pitched screams, they were simply… gone.

One snap of the fingers, and the antiessence bomb returned to the Astral Plane. Another snap, and it simply vanished - now property of The Combustible, an Enlightened who specialized in explosives.

Turning around to The Skilled, The Hope let out a sigh of relief as the multitude of voices slowly left her consciousness, making sure to take their time to not overwhelm her with their sudden departure.

For the first time since his exile, The Skilled smiled, for he was finally home.

///

Press Conference Hall
Capitol Building
Chromatik City, Chromatika
Material Plane

As the silence after her words stretched on for twenty seconds, Alina could see some nervous mutterings and murmurs from the crowd before her.

‘C’mon, now, don’t forget about us,’ she thought, tapping her wristwatch.

Then, as promised, a single ray of sunshine shone through the stained-glass window from the west, and she knew that they were all right.

“I implore each and every Chromatik to look into their convictions and morals and ask themselves what they believe in. Are we a people who are past forgiving others? If so, then we are a lost people. No, only by working together and accepting each other’s flaws in judgment for what they were and striving to not repeat them again can we truly become a better nation.”

She paused for dramatic effect.

“Now, as proof to my naysayers that what I’ve stated is true… I present to you The Enlightened that saved Chromatika: My friend, The Hope!”

In a flash of brilliant light, The Hope appeared in her Enlightened glory, wings outstretched. She wasn’t alone - next to her were two people that had been gone for a long time - Jordan Lawless and Trenn Rien.

Pandemonium ensued. An extraplanar angel had just revealed herself to the Chromatik public. Trenn Rien was a popular footballer in his playing days, and still had a good following. Jordan Lawless was the best sportswriter for The Rebel. The two missing men had been the talking point of the media for months, people wondering if they were really dead.

Meanwhile, on the Astral Plane, The Enlightened decided on a unanimous vote to sever the link. As a telepathic race, they would always be able to talk to each other and influence each other to a point even without a hivemind; however, they decided that individuality was a risk worth taking compared to the atrocities that were committed by The Three.

In Chromatika, The Checkers Party changed their platform drastically, and this change from radical extremism to more of a conservative take on the policies put forth by The Rainbow Party actually won them more followers than less. Kerri Wyse Aart even joked that the events of Alina’s press conference had lost her some votes, but she was so very glad that she had.

The election was scheduled for the fifth day of the eleventh month, and history - for once - moved onto its new era for Chromatika, unmitigated and unchanged.

[Turori]

Cocoabo Aide in Citizen Squad's World Cup 84 Preparation

Group 4:

Turori (11)
Guadalajara (341)
Sajnur (76)
Benjamin Mark (132)
Cosumar (18)
Saintland (161)
Devonta (67)
Pink Floyd FC (241)
Barsland (318)
95X (40)
Ynyslas (UR)

Footsport Association of Turori Headquarters, Eel's Park, Eelandii, Turori :: While everyone knew the Citizen Squad would be the squad of choice for the Turori National Team during the World Cup 84 campaign, the Footsport Association of Turori (FAT) made the decision to allow Turori's National Cocoabo Squad to represent Turori for three of the opening ten matches of the teams World Cup Qualifying Campaign. While many suggested it was just being done as a publicity stunt, the Football Association of Turori maintain that the rationale for putting the Cocoabo squad in for three matches was far more practical. Firstly, the Cocoabo Squad needed more competitive matches to stay on top of their game in case they were called upon in the future. Since World Cup 81, Turori's National Cocoabo Squad had to rely on exhibition matches against each other at the Cocoabo Park Stadium for the majority of their match training, in addition to their participation in the AOCAF Regional Championships representing Team Tropicorp in a research and development capacity.

Things got off to a bad start for the Cocoabo however with a 3-4 defeat to 95X that caused many to wonder if the Footsport Association of Turori should cancel the Cocoabo Squads two remaining appearances for the National Team. In the mean time, the Citizen Squad was taking care of business with three consecutive shutout victories over Ynyslas, Guadalajara and Sajnur with the Eels outscoring their opponents 6-0 over the three game stretch. The conversations changed greatly however after match day 5 when the Citizen Squad were upset at home losing 0-1 to Benjamin Mark at the Kionao Minor Field - a rare match for the Citizen Squad at the home of the Cocoabo Preservation Society. Any question at to whether the Cocoabo would be utilized in their next scheduled apperance on Matchday 6 in Cosumar were put to rest at that point and any lingering objections to the Cocoabo's presence in a rotational status on the World Cup 84 Qualification campaign were silenced when the Cocoabo ran rampant to a best ever 5-0 victory over Cosumar.

The first half closed out with four consecutive victories for the Turori National Team including one for the Cocoabo Squad on Matchday 9 against Pink Floyd FC. While both the Citizen Squad and Cocoabo Squad suffered a single defeat over the first half of the campaign, there was still plenty of evidence that the Citizen Squad was on top of their game and would always have outperformed the Cocoabo Squad in the long run. Over seven matches in the first half of Qualifying, the Citizen Squad conceded just a single goal with Cedniavella goalkeeper Wiyauw An'maude and Inland Peaks Timaala Hualtia combining for six shutout victories. On the other hand, the Cocoabo Squad recorded just one shutout victory in three matches and conceded a total of six goals in the other two games they were a part of.

Citizen Squad First Half Results Summary:

Turori 2 - 0 Ynyslas
Goals: :: 1' Kentu Umaka'a:: 5' Mikki Mayelli
Team: Timaala Hualtia, Yitizo Mpala'a (Lulu Pumaziiri 67'), Mikki Mayelli, Moumouni Verre'elali (Biliki Rona'atu'i 63'), Amakli Inuro'o, Lati'ala Giaoka, Timi'sala Koarena, Kentu Umaka'a, Indelli Nura'amura, Wiztsana Iretziia (Meldi'ita Mungwaii 45'), Kala'a Yuliizala

Turori 3 - 0 Guadalajara
Goals: :: 26' Nua'oma Aikiki:: 50' Nua'oma Aikiki:: 70' Lulu Pumaziiri
Team: Timaala Hualtia, Mikki Mayelli, Yitizo Mpala'a (Geafi Laina-Sola 74'), Lulu Pumaziiri, Biliki Rona'atu'i (Tulaki Rauogba 45'), Daliora Toru'u, Kentu Umaka'a, Indelli Nura'amura, Timi'sala Koarena, Wiztsana Iretziia (Mirana Gotuai 59'), Nua'oma Aikiki

Turori 1 - 0 Sajnur
Goals: :: 56' Yitizo Mpala'a
Team: Wiyauw An'maude, Yitizo Mpala'a (Wiztsana Iretziia 68'), Biliki Rona'atu'i, Tarek Edgeli, Mikki Mayelli, Kentu Umaka'a, Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, Indelli Nura'amura (Daliora Toru'u 65'), Lati'ala Giaoka, Nua'oma Aikiki, Turakia Diijelhma (Meldi'ita Mungwaii 45')

Turori 0 - 1 Benjamin Mark
Goals:
Team: Wiyauw An'maude, Mikki Mayelli, Amakli Inuro'o (Saito Koshiki 45'), Lulu Pumaziiri (Nubara Moafalia 45'), Yitizo Mpala'a, Kentu Umaka'a, Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, Daliora Toru'u (Turakia Diijelhma 64'), Tulaki Rauogba, Nua'oma Aikiki, Mirana Gotuai

Turori 4 - 0 Saintland
Goals: :: 12' Tarek Edgeli:: 16' Meldi'ita Mungwaii:: 22' Lati'ala Giaoka:: 45' Nua'oma Aikiki
Team: Wiyauw An'maude (Timaala Hualtia 74'), Tarek Edgeli, Biliki Rona'atu'i, Mikki Mayelli, Moumouni Verre'elali, Mbdiai Akarenaa, Lati'ala Giaoka (Daliora Toru'u 45'), Kentu Umaka'a, Indelli Nura'amura, Meldi'ita Mungwaii, Nua'oma Aikiki (Kala'a Yuliizala 57')

Turori 1 - 0 Devonta
Goals: :: 17' Meldi'ita Mungwaii
Team: Wiyauw An'maude, Mikki Mayelli, Lulu Pumaziiri (Lati'ala Giaoka 65'), Moumouni Verre'elali, Tarek Edgeli, Indelli Nura'amura, Kentu Umaka'a, Daliora Toru'u (Mirana Gotuai 45'), Cuoabaza Orani’aoa (Kala'a Yuliizala 45'), Meldi'ita Mungwaii, Nua'oma Aikiki

Turori 2 - 0 Barsland
Goals: :: 29' Cuoabaza Orani’aoa:: 83' Lati'ala Giaoka
Team: Wiyauw An'maude, Yitizo Mpala'a, Mikki Mayelli (Indelli Nura'amura 74'), Geafi Laina-Sola, Moumouni Verre'elali, Kentu Umaka'a, Mbdiai Akarenaa, Daliora Toru'u (Lati'ala Giaoka 58'), Cuoabaza Orani’aoa (Wiztsana Iretziia 75'), Meldi'ita Mungwaii, Nua'oma Aikiki

While the Citizen Squad outperformed the Cocoabo handily over the first ten matches, the uptick in the form of the Cocoabo over their final two matches was enough for the Footsport Association of Turori to maintain the status quo and assigned a further three matches for the Cocoabo to contest over the second half of the Qualifying Campaign. Since the Cocoabo failed to defeat 95X at Eel's Park in Eelandii, it was decided that the Citizen Squad would travel to 95X in an attempt to avoid letting one of the Eel's biggest qualification rivals back into the race. Instead, the Cocoabo would travel to Benjamin Mark to try to avenge the defeat suffered by the Citizen Squad.

Both of the swaps would work out in Turori's favor as the Citizen Squad overpowered 95X thanks to a first career goal from youngster Tulaki Rauogba and additional tallies from Indelli Nura'amura and Wiztsana Iretziia. The win put Turori solidly in control of Group 4 needing only to not slip up from that point forth with their sites set on the World Cup 84 Finals.

The Cocoabo would show drastic improvements in their form by scoring back-to-back shutout victories in Benjamin Mark and then back at the Cocoabo Park Arena in the Cocoabo Forest against Cosumar. On Matchday 17 Turori's National Citizen Squad traveled to Saintland and six different players scored for the Eels in a 6-1 victory that saw Turori move 8 points clear at the Top of Group 4 with just 3 games to play. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead in Saintland, the hosts clawed one back just before the half to make for a somewhat tense second half until the flood gates opened in the form of late goals from Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, Biliki Rona'atu'i and Mbdiai Akarenaa.

With Qualification all but assured, Turori took their foot off the pedal and slipped to a draw against 6th placed Devonta on Matchday 18. However, as 95X were also held to a draw on teh same matchday, it meant that Turori had secured the Top Spot in the Group in addition to their place in Cassadaigua and Baker Park. The last two matches on the schedule would be split with the Cocoabo Squad traveling to Pink Floyd FC while the Citizen Squad remained at home to begin preparations for the World Cup Finals with a squad opportunity matchup against Barsland.

Citizen Squad Second Half Results Summary:

Turori 3 - 0 95X
Goals: :: 1' Tulaki Rauogba:: 62' Indelli Nura'amura:: 77' Wiztsana Iretziia
Team: Wiyauw An'maude, Lulu Pumaziiri (Indelli Nura'amura 45'), Biliki Rona'atu'i, Mikki Mayelli, Amakli Inuro'o, Daliora Toru'u, Lati'ala Giaoka, Mbdiai Akarenaa, Tulaki Rauogba (Wiztsana Iretziia 45'), Nua'oma Aikiki (Turakia Diijelhma 71'), Meldi'ita Mungwaii

Turori 5 - 0 Ynyslas
Goals: :: 13' Amakli Inuro'o:: 23' Meldi'ita Mungwaii:: 24' Kiidallen Aeroluzzi:: 64' Meldi'ita Mungwaii:: 80' Kiidallen Aeroluzzi
Team: Timaala Hualtia, Yitizo Mpala'a (Dmitri Levada 20'), Amakli Inuro'o (Indelli Nura'amura 74'), Moumouni Verre'elali, Biliki Rona'atu'i, Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, Mbdiai Akarenaa, Timi'sala Koarena, Kentu Umaka'a, Meldi'ita Mungwaii (Kala'a Yuliizala 67'), Nua'oma Aikiki

Turori 3 - 3 Guadalajara
Goals: :: 7' Daliora Toru'u:: 22' Nua'oma Aikiki:: 70' Daliora Toru'u
Team: Timaala Hualtia, Yitizo Mpala'a (Amakli Inuro'o 45'), Mikki Mayelli, Biliki Rona'atu'i, Moumouni Verre'elali (Mbdiai Akarenaa 59'), Timi'sala Koarena, Indelli Nura'amura, Lati'ala Giaoka, Daliora Toru'u, Turakia Diijelhma (Meldi'ita Mungwaii 64'), Nua'oma Aikiki

Turori 2 - 0 Sajnur
Goals: :: 12' Wiztsana Iretziia:: 75' Geafi Laina-Sola
Team: Wiyauw An'maude, Yitizo Mpala'a, Lulu Pumaziiri, Mikki Mayelli (Geafi Laina-Sola 71'), Biliki Rona'atu'i (Kiidallen Aeroluzzi 45'), Daliora Toru'u, Mbdiai Akarenaa, Kentu Umaka'a, Indelli Nura'amura, Nua'oma Aikiki, Wiztsana Iretziia (Meldi'ita Mungwaii 45')


Turori 6 - 1 Saintland
Goals: :: 11' Kentu Umaka'a:: 26' Nua'oma Aikiki:: 35' Amakli Inuro'o:: 73' Kiidallen Aeroluzzi:: 84' Biliki Rona'atu'i:: 89' Mbdiai Akarenaa
Team: Wiyauw An'maude, Lulu Pumaziiri, Mikki Mayelli, Amakli Inuro'o (Mbdiai Akarenaa 45'), Biliki Rona'atu'i, Kentu Umaka'a (Mirana Gotuai 61'), Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, Saito Koshiki, Indelli Nura'amura (Wiztsana Iretziia 45'), Nua'oma Aikiki, Meldi'ita Mungwaii

Turori 1 - 1 Devonta
Goals: :: 1' Wiztsana Iretziia
Team: Timaala Hualtia, Amakli Inuro'o, Tarek Edgeli (Yitizo Mpala'a 32'), Lulu Pumaziiri (Kiidallen Aeroluzzi 73'), Mikki Mayelli, Daliora Toru'u (Mirana Gotuai 69'), Kentu Umaka'a, Mbdiai Akarenaa, Timi'sala Koarena, Wiztsana Iretziia, Meldi'ita Mungwaii

Turori 3 - 0 Barsland
Goals: :: 8' Wiztsana Iretziia:: 40' Meldi'ita Mungwaii:: 72' Nua'oma Aikiki
Team: G.Q Disterfred II, Yitizo Mpala'a, Biliki Rona'atu'i (Amakli Inuro'o 45'), Mikki Mayelli, Lulu Pumaziiri, Kentu Umaka'a, Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, Lati'ala Giaoka, Mbdiai Akarenaa (Daliora Toru'u 82'), Meldi'ita Mungwaii, Wiztsana Iretziia (Nua'oma Aikiki 45')

Group 4                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Turori                           20   15   2   3    54   14  +40    47
 2 95X                              20   13   3   4    46   33  +13    42
 3 Sajnur                           20    9   5   6    53   45   +8    32
 4 Devonta                          20    9   5   6    26   23   +3    32
 5 Saintland                        20    8   7   5    15   17   −2    31
 6 Cosumar                          20    8   4   8    30   29   +1    28
 7 Ynyslas                          20    7   3  10    22   38  −16    24
 8 Guadalajara                      20    5   6   9    41   50   −9    21
 9 Pink Floyd FC                    20    6   2  12    37   54  −17    20
10 Barsland                         20    4   4  12    24   36  −12    16
11 Benjamin Mark                    20    3   5  12    25   34   −9    14

While the Cocoabo Squad's participation in World Cup 84 ended in a similar fashion to how it started - a narrow defeat, the Citizen Squad would have a solid showing to close out the campaign against Barsland with a 3-0 home victory at Eel's Park in Eelandii with the Turorian attackers showing to be in top form with Wiztsana Iretziia, Meldi'ita Mungwaii and Nua'oma Aikiki each finding their way onto the scoresheet.

While the Citizen Squad wrapped up qualifying and immediately began preparing for the World Cup 84 Finals, it wasn't quite time for the Cocoabo Squad to head back home to the Cocoabo Forest to play daily demonstration matches. Turorian delectables outfit Cocoa-bo with a major presence in Cassadaigua as well as a cult following in the Commonwealth of Baker Park had begun working out the details of an exhibition match for Turori's National Cocoabo squad in Cassadaigua during the build up to the World Cup 84 finals.

The Turori National Team would also be drawn in the Cassadaigua half of the World Cup Finals meaning that once more the Citizen Squad and Cocoabo Squad would be sharing the spotlight together. While the Citizen Squad would certainly have the weight of the entire nation on their shoulders as they look to make amends for their early group stage exit during World Cup 83, the Cocoabo Squad will have a chance to prove themselves on a domestic level against the Cassadaiguan club Starksville near the Rushmori based Cocoa-bo distribution center. The match could end up serving as an opportunity for the Cocoabo to prove themselves on a new stage as more internationstatal domestic clubs are rumored to be open to signing Cocoabo to their rosters in the wake of the pending transfer of Cocoabo #91 to Oljestaden IF of the Audioslavia National League.

[Nephara]

Baker Park 0 - 2 Nephara
(4-4-2) 1 - Mercator; 18 - Longship, 5 - Thorn, 6 - Brosch, 3 - Close (c); 13 - Saroszi, 4 - Shone (15 - Rauch 79'), 21 - Moxham (8 - Chalk 67'), 16 - Deventer; 9 - Hawke (14 - Laiota 79'), 10 - Metzger
Goals: Saroszi 24', Hawke 63'

Daniella Strauss did not sit neatly. She sprawled, slouched in her chair, heeled boots on the desk, and currently throwing little rubber balls at a wall to catch flawlessly on the rebound.
The door opened, and Monica Brightwater stepped in. "Do you mind?" she asked, mildly.
"It helps me think." Bounce- smack.
"I can hear it from down the hall."
"Great. Yeah." Bounce- smack. "What do you need?"
"The physios don't want to risk Rowena for next game. Might be up for the bench if we're lucky, but..."
Bounce- smack. "Great." Bounce- smack.
"You don't sound--"
"What can I expect? She ran through on painkillers for me. Well, I shouldn't say for me. She wants me out of just job, just like..." Bounce- smack. "What did that poll say? 76% of respondents?"
"You're sounding awfully like you've given up," Brightwater accused.
"Do I." Bounce- smack. "Well, maybe I have. I stand by my methods, and either they'll work against the Commonwealth or they won't."
Brightwater glanced towards the tactics whiteboard behind Strauss' head.

"I see," she lied diplomatically. The ball had stopped bouncing, as Strauss had hauled out a bottle of-- oh. Oh. Now she really did see.
"That can't be-"
"Old Sideburn's Number Nine Sipping Rum.* Yes, the very same," said Strauss grimly, as though loading the bullet into a roulette pistol. "I don't know how that crafty git Aidan got his hands on any. It tastes of smoke and of yew, of hulking Marcher longbowmen loosing bodkins through the mists of time. It's 280-proof--"
"That's literally impossible."
"Ah, and yet, you reckon without the ingenuity of the old masters. Fetch Rowena for me. We shall share this moment, and our issues will be in the past."

Rowena Strongbow's recovery continued apace, but she wasn't given a clean bill of health to do more than sit on the bench and glower. That was fine. Three days later, she was still hungover.
So it was up to Morena Deventer to step up, as she'd done most every time she'd been called upon except for last match. Timing, right? Well, Strauss had no options but to hope she could do a better job of it this time. Otherwise, their team was unchanged, while the Commonwealth had swapped goalkeepers. Kyle Moyer had spent his time on the naughty step, but after Gaines had let in three against Drawkland, it was time for his redemption arc.
But as they'd let in three, they'd smashed four back the other way, and keeping a clean sheet was Strauss' main focus. Was everyone's main focus.
"They're at home, so you don't want to go in hard on 'em, that's a lot of pressure for the referee. Not like back at home in Sabrefell where we get away with murder," she cautioned. "Hold fast, show them outside, okay? Don't go in for the sake of getting stuck in, or to look heroic, or any of that bullshit. If all they do all game is work Hesterine from outside the box all game, I'll take that. Sure she will, too."
But Tawny Shone had her own set of instructions. Tawny Shone existed to win the Shithouse Olympics. A stud in Westmoreland's stride, an elbow in Bozeman's flank. Any time the Commonwealth built up momentum, she broke it. And if they got past her, they'd have Thorn and Brosch to deal with, and this match Ilyana Brosch chose to have a spectacular game, interposing herself everywhere in the final third. One tense moment saw Patton very nearly played free by Westmoreland... but then Brosch came in on her blindside, slid in counter to instructions and in the box but managed to hook the ball seamlessly clear without even touching the Chenoworth Rovers striker.
Westmoreland went it herself a couple of times, but Mercator was equal to it. Still, it seemed in the early runnings as though Baker Park could pick up another gear, and Nephara were on the ropes, and that's precisely when Monako Saroszi scored.
More exactly, it was about a minute before. The tall timber of Estrella Hawke continued to lead the line, and Deventer had an easy task of finding her with a cross once given space to roam down the flanks between wingback Yeomans and captain Briggs. Neither closed her down, the cross came in, Hawke found herself alone and smashed a powerful shot into the underside of the crossbar with all her might. It should have gone in. It surely should have gone in! But it didn't, and though Moyer was beaten, Vasillias reacted quickly to hook the ball back over her head and into orbit. That should have been the end of it. Baker Park's beleagured defence got back to its test, happy to have pyrrhically passed its first real test of the game, just as Monako Saroszi eased their way into the path of the falling ball and slammed it hard into the top corner of the net.
Shades of offside. Metzger had lingered past the last man, and helpfully tried to follow the strike in, but he hadn't made contact. Nepharim fans went berserk through the VAR check, but were relieved as hell when the all-clear came back. Didn't stop them chanting about how the system was a farce for the rest of the game, though.
The rest of the first half was a cagier, more even affair. Baker Park controlled the midfield fairly well, but struggled for penetration; Nephara dominated the wings but apart from a single chance - cross from Longship, Moyer flapped at it and Hawke, stunned that it had made it past him, wildly dragged wide what should have been an easy finish - struggled similarly. The half nearly ended spectacularly, as Annabeth Westmoreland won a free kick and with quick thinking immediately drove it through the scattered Nepharim defence. Tyrek Jones sprinted past them all, but Hesterine Mercator thought fast and reacted faster, threw herself at his feet, the shot caromed off her elbow and looped over the bar.

Strauss was left with plenty of reason to fret. They had not kept near enough clean sheets of late to be comfortable with a one-goal lead against an excellent side with the wind at their backs. They needed a second, and to sit on it.
It had been a solid, if uninspired, performance thus far. She didn't trust that. So she sent a rocket up them, shouting until she was hoarse and then letting Brightwater take over for a stanza to switch things up, and then closing it out with some coaxing and wheedling. They'd do better. They'd be stronger. They'd be more decisive in the second half, get the points and deserve it.
They went out, fast and hard, sharper and stronger and while that cost them a couple of fouls it won them the momentum. Suddenly, Moyer was the one under pressure - denying Hawke's flicked header by going down low and hard and fast to flick the ball around the post, standing up to tests from Metzger and the oddly quiet Moxham.
The breakthrough felt inevitable, and of course it came through Estrella Hawke's eighty-ninth goal. Should have come once or twice already, but she was an old hand at this. She knew it couldn't be rushed, rushing would only let it slip. If it was going to happen, it would happen.
It happened.
Shone hacked the ball out from under Westmoreland and poked it towards Moxham. She glanced right, laid it off for Deventer, cutting on the inside track, and when Briggs came to challenge her she slid the ball past him. Metzger took the ball to feet, back to goal, pressure behind him but still managed to wrestle onto the inside of Vasillias and drag the ball low across goal to where Estrella Hawke could prowl into and smash into the net.
And then they had twenty-five minutes to defend it, while retaining threat up front. Chalk came on for Moxham, more able and willing to track back and regain some stranglehold on the centre of the park. Laiota replaced the cooked carcass of Hawke later on, with Rauch coming on for Shone (whose caution had been coming for a while and threatening to make a friend; already, she was going to be suspended against Drawkland). And the yellow cards racked up as the Cormorants refused to simply cruise to the finish under the cruel gaze of the Godhead. Mercator saved them sharply, twice. Longship managed to take 47 seconds to take a throw-in. Until the final whistle blew, and blew, and blew...
Daniella Strauss' first World Cup victory, at the fifth time of asking. She slumped to her knees without even thinking. Looked up at the sky, and she swore she could hear the Godhead's voice in her mind again, telling her, imploring her to look forward already. Forward to Drawkland.
Win and they'd have snatched glory from the jaws of disaster. Lose and... well, that didn't bear thinking about.

* Credit, of course, to the incomparable Wight. I've literally wanted an excuse to use this in an RP for years...

[Free Republics]

Rule Theriault had discovered a couple hours before the match was to start this his team's second match would be against Drawkland, not Baker Park. This left the Republicans without a gameplan for their second match as they'd spent the days since their last match preparing to face Baker Park.

Fortunately, the opponent was Drawkland, a team they already knew well. The Free Republics and Drawkland seemed to play annual knockout round matches at the Independents Cup and had played in World Cup qualifying 4 years ago back when the roles were reversed, in terms of the rankings. Now they were meeting in the World Cup.

Free Republics-Drawkland matches were usually high scoring but it was evident from the start that this match wouldn't be. The rain and wind made sure of that. In this weather, both teams were more cautious than normal and the match ended up looking more like what you'd expect to see from Saintland vs Taeshan than from two attack minded teams like Drawkland and the Free Republics.

The lone goal of the match also came in ugly fashion. An errant Elias Keys back pass likely intended for Nicholas Kingston found its way instead to Love Holm, who would have been called offside if the pass had been from a Republican player. Holm now had a 1v1 with Septimus Xander. Even in these conditions, that was no sure thing but Holm managed to get enough footing to put a shot on goal. It wasn't a particularly good shot and should have been a routine save for Xander but the Drawkian keeper had stumbled for a split second in the mud and was unable to react in time. The Free Republics thus had a goal in the 27th minute.

After that goal, Drawkland became much more aggressive, trying to get that equalizer. For the remainder of the first half, this meant a faster paced match. Then, halftime rolled around and the Republicans came back out for the second half singlemindedly focused on protecting their 1 goal lead. This led to the Republicans focusing on maintaining possession rather than attack. While that wasn't their usual style of play, Theriault's training had always placed heavy emphasis on adaptability. The match would end with the score 1 goal to nil. Drawkland would see very few opportunities at Taras Sergeyev's net in the second half.

After the match, they visited a local bar where they watched the Baker Park vs Nephara match after changing out of their uniforms for street clothes. Theriault was not one to care about blending in with the locals so the Republican team showed up to the bar in jeans and T-shirts referencing Republican culture. Several players were wearing Nova Hellstrom-Hancock for consul shirts. One was wearing a Dixon Light shirt and several were wearing shirts for their favorite New Republican Wrestling Conglomerate performers. Sir Koby Theodore, the assistant coach was wearing a shirt that read "Stop the Impeachment Hoax" on the front and "Kyle did nothing wrong" on the back in support of his long time friend consul Kyle Bolton, who was currently facing an impeachment trial. Theriault, who changed into a suit, looked out of place among his team.

Running around so conspicuously would have been an extremely bad idea in Equestria and wouldn't have been a good idea in the Free Republics either for different reasons. In Baker Park though, they could openly run around as the Republican National Team without worrying about being mobbed by legions of haters or by their fans. At the bar, they drank and watched the Baker Park-Nephara match, openly rooting for the hosts. A win or draw from Baker Park in this match would send the Republicans through to the Round of 16 regardless of the result of the Free Republics-Baker Park match. A win by Baker Park would put both teams through and eliminate both Nephara and Drawkland.

The result of that match wasn't what Theriault's team wanted to see. Nephara won convincingly even without Strongbow. This meant that the Republicans would need at least a draw to secure their spot in the last 16. That still wasn't bad because all matches after this one would be must-win matches for a team that came into this World Cup with sky high expectations and was now on the way toward their goal. As they waited in the tunnel for that third and final match, their coach warned them once again to take everything one match at a time and to focus solely on winning the match for the next 90 minutes. When they were on the pitch, the consul election, the impeachment trial and all of the other things happening in the Free Republics did not matter. The only thing that mattered was winning and moving on to the next World Cup match...

[Brenecia]

Brenecia 3 - 2 Darmen
(4-3-3) 1 - Farrell; 2 - Broxham, 5 - Horgan, 6 - Mathers, 3 - Quill (c); 8 - Matheson (21 - Parker 85'), 23 - Fallon (4 - Locke 68'), 13 - Wheeler; 7 - Cheney, 9 - Ciogach, 16 - Fletcher (11 - Keynes 76')
Goals: Horgan 30', Keynes 82', Ciogach 90+1'

Cathal Keynes' career had had its ups and downs. Mostly downs, it felt like. But then, he never was the relentlessly optimistic sort. More the type who rolled with the punches as they came, and expected another to come any second.
He'd emerged right after the World Cup victory, the beneficiary of dubiously naturalised Sunrise Islander Keohane's international retirement, as part of a wave of players who had found their best way to break through in the A-League was to play for a really shit team. Unsurprisingly, things only picked up after he moved to Eura, but the move to the Goldleague had sunk plenty of Brenecians before. Even fringe internationals like him. The A-League was that little half-step behind that you couldn't quite tell if someone would make or stack until they tried.
Ashbrown stacked it. Keynes made it, and as the resident hot-shit youngblood made the position his own for like two whole years before Ceridwen Fletcher, the new resident hot-shit youngblood, took over.
But Brelk-Xeral Erv still valued Keynes' contributions. For good reason; many people had given him POTM honours against South Covello. His reward was to be dropped. Okay. What was he gonna do, kick up a fuss? He was Brenecian, for God's sake. You did the job.

The job came just before the closing stages of the game, because what the Patriots were doing was not working. The match was not going well, by any stretch. The opening half-hour had been energetic, but short on quality, with Stafford and Cheney absolutely butchering chances at either end and Farrell, after her virtuoso performance against the Covellans, nearly beaten at her near post by Mac Pharlain as she let a ball slip through her hands.
Horgan was the hero there, covering to scoop the ball off the line. He would be the hero at the half-hour mark, too, as the permissively chivalrous Darmeni defending allowed him to wrestle past Abbey and head home Fletcher's corner, despite the protests of their opponents.
Prodigal manager Berhtoald Myers had no reason to sweat, though. All he'd have had to do was look a couple minutes into the future, see a sweeping diagonal ball from Stafford rewarded by a magnificent diving header from Blackwood that left Farrell no chance. Or, not long after, see Good clean out Matheson with an inch-perfect sliding challenge, Cardoso turn smoothly on the ball and rifle it forward for Stafford to gracefully whip across Farrell, slamming into the near side of the far post and rebounding into the net, a beautiful, satisfying goal for anyone in white and a war crime for anyone in navy.
By the end of the half, Darmen were dominating and it seemed like their flurry of activity could have lead to a third, maybe even fourth goal to kill the Patriots off. Farrell to the rescue again for one, poor finishing from Blackwood (almost ludicrous after the brilliance of his goal) at fault for the other. Brenecia had survived, but they'd need to do better than that.

And they did. Just, not by much. Hence Keynes' arrival.
The second half had been calmer, more disciplined, more controlled. The Patriots had eased into control of possession, though they weren't entirely positive what to do with it, and the Plan A of 'get it to Lauren' was often finding her lost down tunnels. Fletcher was firing crosses that weren't finding Ciogach. Brenecia had the ball but Darmen looked comfortable.
Keziah Locke was the first arrival. Ronan Fallon had absolutely nothing to offer in possession, for all his forceful counterweighting of a creative midfield. But that failed to pick up immediate dividends, and time was running out. Break emergency glass to find the large man who runs fast and direct. It's Keynes time.
He warmed up. He came on. His first touch was pulverising Spalding in search of a throw-in. His second was to hook a long shot from the edge of the box that Campo parried away, a little less than convincingly.
He'd keep testing, he could guarantee that much. And this time, reward wouldn't take long. It was Quill who played him in, running towards goal with a head of steam built up, Spalding in his way-- Keynes cut the ball back across for his club and country teammate Ciogach. And then Ciogach returned the favour, not quite as expected, but Keynes could work with that! Running across Spalding, letting the ball come across him naturally and stroking it past Campo with a finesse people sometimes forgot he had, and then pumping his fists and getting the crowd on their feet.
They stayed there long enough.
Now it really was attack-versus-defence, though a defence-splitting pass from Good to Blackwood very nearly but not quite stopped that in its tracks before Farrell pounced on Blackwood's ever-so-slightly heavy touch. And Farrell picked the ball up, and saw the clock running down. She hurled it down the left, where Keziah Broxham was waiting, and Broxham didn't stay waiting for long. She gunned it forward, then shuttled the ball across to Riona Parker, fresh and vibrant and ready to leave her mark on the game. She'd found space past Good, as nobody else had managed all game, it seemed, and looked up, and swung a deep, ambitious diagonal across seemingly everyone.
Everyone except old mate Cathal, gunning it to the far post. He rose like a salmon over the stunned and beleagured Spalding to mightily head the ball back across the face of goal, and Ciogach and Campo both hurled themselves at it.
Everyone watching back home squeezed their eyes shut.
And when they opened it, hearing the cheers, they could see Ciogach and Campo lying tangled and stunned in each others arms, Ciogach's nose streaming with blood, and most importantly that ball in that net.
Keynes figured Kara was basically out of commission, so he did most of the celebrating himself. Figured she wouldn't mind, right? And anyway, she got moments like this all the time. This was his vindication.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Die Stelburger Zeitung

Sport

The Summer of Kramer

By Harold Muller

Thorsten Kramer arrived to the lobby of the national football team’s hotel in Newport at precisely 9:30am, the agreed-upon time for our interview set up through the STFA’s media department.

Despite last evening’s 2-0 loss to Vilita, the 1830 Cathair star was all smiles as he sat down. This was pretty much the last off-day the Goldhorns would get, travelling later today to the sight of their next and all-important match, Newmarket. After that, there would be nothing left but preparation for the Audioslavia match, arguably the biggest in the history of the national football team.

For 15 minutes, however, Kramer joined us to talk about his career to date, the World Cup experience, and a little about life as well. It was quite an interesting interview, and its key points are presented here. The full interview will also air live on RBC Sports in the pre-match build-up to the Audioslavia match.

Stelburger Zeitung: Thorsten, it’s been quite a whirlwind month and a half for you, wouldn’t you say?

Thorsten Kramer: It’s a month you dream of as a footballer, I think, but it’s not just my achievements, it’s everyone at 1830 and of course all the people here with the national team as well. I’m hoping it’ll go on a little bit longer, though, for sure! Whirlwind now, but a period of time I’ll look back on very fondly.

SZ: Earlier this month, you became the first player born in the United Republics to win the Champions’ League, or its predecessor, the Champion’s Cup. Was that something on your mind at all during or after that final in Sabrefell?

TK: I was definitely thinking about that a bit prior to the game, to be honest with you, but during and after it got a bit lost in the emotion of what we’d achieved as a team. I didn’t really think about it again until Michael (Ribbeck) called me later that night and mentioned it. It’s great to be the first, and hopefully I’ll be the first of many.

SZ: Your move to 1830 Cathair has obviously been a big success. Thinking back to when you left boyhood club FC Teussen Stelburg, was that a difficult decision?

TK: Definitely. I’d lived in Stelburg my entire life, I grew up in the stands at the Teussens-Arena. It’s hard to leave something you love so much. But it’s also not every day that a club like 1830 comes calling, and I knew that I just had to take that opportunity. I won’t lie, the first few months were hard, being away from family and friends, but I adapted well and I’ve loved my time in Cathair.

SZ: You’ve now won the President’s Cup, the Republikaliga, the Audioslav National League and the IFCF Champions’ League. What’s next for you in football, and how big is the trophy cabinet at home?

TK: Haha, well, I’ll have to show you later this summer. You know my house out on the Blausee (a lake 15 minutes north of Stelburg)? I’ve got a den in there with all the medals and the shirts from big games framed up on the wall. It was Elsa’s idea, actually. As for what’s next, well, I’m never satisfied with just 1, to be honest. I know that we’ve got a squad at 1830 that we can go out and win the CL again next year, and we just need to keep pushing. One is nice, but two is better, right? And then, of course, there’s the national team. I think we’re about to enter a great era, and I’m excited to see what that will bring and to be a part of that.

SZ: You mention Elsa, your fiancee. Now, I understand that winning the Champions’ League and this World Cup actually had an affect on your wedding plans?

TK: Haha, well, the original date we set was about 3 days or so before the CL Final, so that wasn’t happening! And then ever since I’ve obviously been busy with the World Cup. So we’ve picked a new date later on in the summer, once everything has calmed a bit.

SZ: You must be looking forward to that.

TK: Of course, it’s exciting for sure. We’ve been together since high school, and I think it’s perfect timing now to do it.

SZ: Will it be the biggest thing that’s happened to you this summer?

TK: Haha, I’m not going to answer that one!

SZ: Of course. Well, Thorsten, it’s been almost a decade now since you played your first match for the national football team. Since then you’ve become pretty much the face of the national football team back home, and, well, a national hero. Could you have ever imagined, that day in Banija against The Cereal Isles, that you’d end up here?

TK: Not a chance. At that time, I was just focused on putting in the best effort possible and being considered at least an option for the national team. I was 18, had just broken into the Teussen team, and I wasn’t really thinking 9 years down the road.

SZ: Has that fame, or status back home, how has that affected you?

TK: Well, you know, I’m pretty reserved and quiet, I don’t get drawn into the spotlight all that much. But it’s funny you mention it, because it’s obviously had a bit of an effect. You’ll be watching TV one night, and suddenly, there you are doing a commercial. I remember when I came back to Stelburg last month, I’m driving back home on the highway and there’s a big billboard that says ‘Stelburg, city of champions’ and it has the double winning team up there and then my face on the other side. It’s almost surreal.

SZ: Was that double win by FC Teussen Stelburg something you followed last season?

TK: Oh of course, whenever I could I was watching the games. I called Karl-Heinz before the Cup final, and told him to give my best to the boys and wish them luck. It’s such a brilliant achievement, I’m happy for everyone at the club.

SZ: Back to the national team, obviously when you came in you were the fresh-faced rookie, but now you’re a more experienced, dare I say veteran player. What has that change been like?

TK: I’m not a veteran yet! Give it a few more years. I think obviously our team has grown a bit younger, you’ve got guys like Viktor (Venev), Vlad (Kostov) and Lutz (Daschner) that are retired from the team now, and so a lot of the guys that took me under their wing when I first got here obviously. But we’re all really excited about the future of our team, and you can feel it whenever we get together.

SZ: Who are you closest with in the team?

TK: Oh, well, I pretty much get on with everyone. Niels Kronthaler is obviously someone I played with at Teussen, so we’re close. Like I said, we all get on, I think Michael (Ribbeck), Karl-Heinz (Jager) and I have a close relationship, though. Ivo Romanov and I hang out a fair bit as well.

SZ: Todor Mihailov has become a key part of the national team beside you in the midfield. What has playing alongside him been like?

TK: He’s unbelievable. You wouldn’t think he’s 21 watching him play. He’s going to be special, for sure. You can already see it whenever he has the ball.

SZ: So, the World Cup. A big win to open it up, then a loss against Vilita. What do you make of the tournament so far?

TK: Getting that win was an incredible feeling, I think, we all wanted to give the fans that came here and all those back home that moment. Obviously, Vilita, a very difficult challenge, they’re ranked 1st in the world for a reason. I don’t think it was our best performance, though, and I know we’re better than that.

SZ: So it all comes down to one must-win match with Audioslavia. You’re facing 5 1830 Cathair teammates, the country is playing for a moment that would go down in history. What are your thoughts on this one?

TK: Well, I think for a lot of the guys in our room, it's the biggest match of their careers so far. It’s just about turning that energy into something positive, and going out and playing our style and fighting through the battle. We believe in ourselves, we have faith in each other as well, and there’s definitely excitement in the room for this one. Pressure’s off, right? We weren’t expected to be here on the last day. So we’re eager to prove why we are, and why we can go further.

SZ: Thorsten, thanks for your time. Congrats on the CL, the upcoming wedding, and best of luck against the Bulls.

TK: Thanks Harold.

Siovanija & Teusland’s national football team will take on Audioslavia in a must-win matchday 3 clash that will see one of these two teams advance to the Playoff rounds. Audioslavia need only a draw to advance, while the Goldhorns are desperate for a win. The entire nation will be watching. Come on you Goldhorns!

[HUElavia]

HUElavia Game 3 Intro

Well, we got our first taste of reality in the World Cup.

A tough match against Banija that found us have our opportunities snuffed out, our players getting hit hard, including a foul that sent their captain to an early shower. We lost a match that could have been historic. We lost an opportunity to make an upset in our inaugural World Cup. Still, to lose 2-0 to the #3 team in the Multiverse isn't a horrible fate, but that's in the past now.

Now, we got another big team to face: Farfadillis. We take on the group leader in what can be a historic day for Los Amarillos. It won't be easy, but it's certainly doable. Remember, we already took on another team in the Top 10 and got a valuable point against them in the Qualifiers.There's a lot of different scenarios as to how we can Qualify into the Round-of-16. After all, Group C isn't called the "Group of Life" for nothing. We got to pick ourselves up and go for the glory against Farfadillis.

Regardless of what happens tonight, whether we advance or get eliminated, HUElavia has a National Football Team to be proud of, to support for every game. We love this team for what they've achieved, and all we can go from now is up.

May the odds fall in our favor. May our dream run continue tonight.

Game 3: Farfadillis vs HUElavia

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

OOC: Originally, in recognition of the more serious nature of a Holy Empire - Starblaydia matchup, I wasn't going to do more Python; I was going to do a more serious Arthurian myth post. But in tribute to Terry Jones - whose death was announced overnight - and as a nod to Star's own RP, I bring you....


The Knights of the Oblong Table In....

THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL GRAIL-SHAPED WORLD CUP

"Alas, Sir Barsanuphius, 'tis half time and we are 1-0 down against a better side; I fear that our quest for the Grail-shaped World Cup is at an end"

"Perhaps there is time to make an adjustment before we take the field for the final 45 minutes; we must ask Sir Joasaph the Wise. Sir Joasaph, though Lord Tzimisces speaks much of minor tactical adjustments, perhaps you have a more practical solution?"

"Indeed, bring me a matchday ball"

"This looks like one"

"Bring it forward; are you sure this is a matchday ball?"

"It is decorated like one"

"Sir Mirax drew on the patterns"

"No I didn't"

"And this isn't the ball stitching; it's a false one"

"Well, alright, I did do the stitching; but it is a matchday ball"

"So you did decorate the ball like this, Sir Mirax"

"No, no... no... Sir Joasaph. Well, yes. Yes, yes, a bit, a bit"

"What makes you think this is a matchday ball?"

"Well, kicking it made me trip over my boot laces"

"Your boot laces?"

"I got better."

"Kick the matchday ball!"

"Yes, kick it! Kick it!"

"Quiet! quiet! Quiet! There are ways of telling whether this is the matchday ball, regardless of whether it features additional ornamentation from Sir Mirax"

"Are there? Do they hurt?"

"Tell me, fellow knights, what do you do with matchday balls?"

"Kick them! Kick them a long way!"

"And what do you kick other than matchday balls?"

"More matchday balls!"

"So, why do your free kicks travel so far?"

[pause]

"Because matchday balls are... lighter than wood?"

"Good! So, how do we tell whether this matchday ball is lighter than wood?

"Build a bridge out of it!"

"Aah, but can you not also make bridges out of stone?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Does wood sink in water?"

"No... It floats! It floats! Throw the ball into the pond!"

"Ah, but my brave fellow knights, what also floats in water?

"Bread!"

"Apples!"

"Very small rocks!"

"Gravy!"

"Mud!"

"Lead!"

<a loud voice calls out from the back>

"A duck."

"Exactly! So, logically..."

"If... the ball... is no heavier than a duck.. it's lighter than wood."

"And therefore?"

"If we play for set pieces, we should get the opportunity for a free kick that - because the ball is so light, and we can kick it a long way - might just allow us to score the tying goal"

"Then go forth, and find a ball that weighs no more than a duck!

[pause]

"You there, who called out 'a duck'; who are you who are so wise in the ways of science?"

"It's me; Simeone Di Bradini, you great muppet. I'm the assistant manager. You know precisely who I am."

"My liege!"

"Sir knight, will you come with me to relate your tactical insight over the weight of the matchday ball to the manager Juan Tzimisces?"

"My liege! I would be honored."

<some minutes later>

"..and that, Lord Di Bradini, is how we know the multiverse to be banana shaped."

"This new learning amazes me, Sir Joasaph. Explain again how sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes..."

[Cassadaigua]

It all comes down to this,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Group A is a mess. That is one thing that everyone can agree on right now. With four nations sitting on 1-0-1 records, there will be some intense action on the field within the group. On the other side of the field will be the Dragonflies of Ko-oren, a nation that could hold an interesting distinction at some point. As Cassadagans, we pride ourselves on being the only winner of the World Cup, World Bowl, World Cup of Hockey, World Baseball Classic, and International Basketball Championships. Arguably, we could add a sixth sport to that with our motorsports title, coming in NSSCRA. That is a feat that was accomplished decades ago, and the difficulty of it could not be any more apparent with it still being duplicated. That brings me to Ko-oren.

It’s a good question to ponder, at least for us, as to which nation might be the closest right now to being the second nation to win these five totals. Ko-oren may just be that nation. Consider that they have already won the World Baseball Classic, which is probably the second hardest competition to win other then the World Cup. I say that not to highlight the World Baseball Classic, but that tournament has been affected by dynasties quite a bit, making it hard for others to get the title. Recently, since Newmanistan won their sixth title, we have seen several nations win their first baseball title, and Ko-oren was one of them in taking World Baseball Classic 45, beating the Rockets here in Concord Heights in a seven-game thriller. They have already won the World Bowl (twice actually), and the International Basketball Championships. They are getting better here in soccer, and as we have seen from them firsthand in the first two games of the World Cup, they have a well-oiled squad that could be closer then it seems to getting that prestigious World Cup title. That would then leave the World Cup of Hockey. They still have a way to go in that. Still, I cannot think of another nation that is closer right now. South Covello could have a shot, and the Free Republics seem like a good option. Maybe Sarzonia one day if they return with full-force. Some nations, like Vilita, could disagree with you on what should be considered the five biggest sports out there, but I can’t see the say of them attempting the World Baseball Classic. I’d love to see Turori though, and for them to send the Cocoabo squad to do it.

This really leaves us with Ko-oren, which is why the nation is so well respected here. In the different sports that we attempt here in Cassadaigua, we see different faces at the top of the ranks in them. With Ko-oren, it’s one of those nations that you can consistently see in everything. In Grande Mountain, the critical game will take place. It’s really a shame that we have to be in the must-win situation that we are in as I don’t think that we can consider this World Cup successful at all, in terms of our squad, if we did not reach the round of sixteen. That alone, too, probably would not be seen as a success if we did reach it, but we have to find our way there. It has never been easy for us, though. Losing to Turori put us in this situation, and we’re playing a side that just played very well in beating that same squad.

In the second matchday, Cassadaigua was actually pretty impressive in a 2-0 win against a Chromatika squad that played exceptionally well during qualifying, well at least for the first half of it. They began known as a side that was able to pull out close victories, showing that you don’t always have to win by a big margin, and that it shows a lot of character to keep winning the tight ones. A strong 8-1-1 opening half led to a 6-2-2 second half, which would have been better if not for a 1-0 loss to Zealandiana. They were an inspired group to knock off our Fillies. Stephanie Sweeney was aware of all of that, and the team played a much smarter game then they did against Turori. I know some felt that they were a little too cautious in the Turori game, as if no one wanted to risk making that first mistake that would lead to an opposing goal, therefore no one took any large chances. Against the Chromatiks, the team was more aggressive in the opening moments, and Hannah Ranucci got the team on the board in the 15th minute. The 33-year old captain had a great game, and would assist on the 36th minute goal by Rachel Schanke that doubled the advantage. There was no scoring after that, but not from a lack of effort. Complete detailed coverage of the match can be found elsewhere on the website.

Here we are now, in this critical game. We’ve pulled out clutch ones before, and now we must do that again. A win we’re in, a loss we’re not. A draw is iffy.

[Kita-Hinode]

WORLD CUP
Hinodejin Empire 4, 95X 2: Captain Saitou
Written by sports journalist Nanako Ichigo.

VICTORIAVILLE, CASSADAIGUA - With a win against the Vanorians already in the past, the Hinodjein arrived at Victoriaville with a singular mindset: beat 95X so that the game against Eura becomes a formality. Two hours later, the team from the Hinodejin Empire was answering questions about how they were one of three teams to guarantee themselves in the next round. With a very similar line-up to the one that beat the Vanorians proudly, Raiden Kojima still out due to problems with the local authorities and Koru Simishi being played as a matter of experimentation at the ever-so leaky defence that has been a problem for Eleanor Lindgard from even before the start of the tournament; the Hinodejin were looking at the game with strong hopes of setting themselves up for the knockouts.

Suffice to say that with ten minutes, the Hinodejin were already showing exactly what kind of game this would end up being: a game where the Esportivan team more or less dominated things. Ikki Tokei, inspired as always, chose to dazzle the Cassadaiguan crowd with more of his flashy moves, although he did pass more often, something we assume to have been the result of a stern talking to after the first game. And in their very first attempt at scoring, the Hinodejin took one zero out of the scoreboard as after combined efforts from Miguel Benedito and Ikki Tokei, Luís Silva got his second goal at the tournament.

95X would answer, eventually, near the thirtieth minute when a lucky counter-attack found Myozan Namezono not paying too much attention: Alix Ajax would punish such failure with the goal to tie it off. It was then that a figure that had yet to make his presence known decided to finally contribute. Iori Saitou had more or less obtained the role of captain following Sang Kyung-Ja's sudden retirement from the sport but there were some that were definitively not confident on the choice of captainship. Things got worse when Luís Silva entered the picture but the forward retained his role as captain nonetheless.

Following a wild tackle by Aisling Ayala, Iori Saitou requested the ball, preparing to take a shot. He stepped back, lobbed it over the wall of players before the ball itself chose to rest inside the goal, having rolled peacefully past Lauren Hills' hands. Saitou himself would contribute another time with another great free-kick shot from an astonishing 40 meters away from the goal. Simishi would then give away a penalty, get yellow carded (which forced a return from Eichi Fujiwara) while Roisin Dart used her strong leg to score past Namezono.

The duo of Choji Matsumono-Gide and Ikki Tokei had to do one of their moves once again. This time, Tokei spun with the ball past Summer Madison before rolling it back to Choji. Matsumono-Gide turned his back to his marker, Natalie Notgnirrah before flipping the ball over her head, reaching for the sphere before kicking it back towards his own net, only for the ball to find itself against Ikki Tokei's upcoming foot. The shot took a wild curve, hitting the top right angle of Hills' goal. With their score safe, the Hinodejin once again choked the game off, attempting some things but never really managing to add a fifth goal to the pack.

After the game, Eleanor Lindgard was asked about whether she and her team were nervous about the upcoming challenge in Eura. "They might be the top seed of the group but every game in football is really defined by the match itself and not random numerals ran by some machine," she stated rather proudly, "but regardless of what is the final score, we just hope to give another good show to the Cassadaiguan people before packing up for the knockouts." When asked about Matsumono-Gide and Ikki Tokei, she chuckled and replied with "I honestly don't know what they're on about most of the time but I'm happy that two rivals from their university days are able to look past their duels for the greater good" before snarkily adding "I just wished Tokei didn't make me so worried with the ball, he's giving me a heart attack one day."

Now, the Hinodejin are preparing themselves for a game against the group's top seed Eura. On paper, the match isn't exactly a key match: both teams already qualified as both had solid wins in the first matchday before stomping their opponents on the second match, which also means Sunrisian-born Yuki Hatsune isn't going to have the chance of playing football in the knockouts of this World Cup. We from the Sunrise Club's Digest extend our sincerest commiserations to our fellow Sunrisian and lament that things ended up going that way but the Hinodejin Empire has guaranteed renewed breath in this World Cup with these results.

HINODEJIN EMPIRE 4 - Namezono; Kisame, van Brabant, Simishi (Fujiwara 43'), Metharom; Matsumono-Gide, Miguel Benedito, Tokei; Luís Silva, Saitou [c], Whitecastle
95X 2 - Hills; Ayala, R. Concord-Fourteenth, C. Concord-Fourteenth [c], Sixteen; Madison, Ajax, Moody; Hardin, Dart, Notgnirrah
Goals:
HIN - Luís Silva 11' (assisted by Miguel Benedito), Iori Saitou 33', 37', Tokei 53' (assisted by Matsumono-Gide)
NFX - Ajax 29', Dart 43'
Cards:
Yellow: Simishi (HIN) - 43'

[Recuecn]

OOC: Since Monty Python seems to be the theme in group H, here's my own tribute to the great comedians and the late wonderful Terry Jones.

The RNFT had spent the last couple weeks as they played out their world cup group stage matches practicing football... and also meticulously studying Baker Park's travel maps. Handily for the Unicorns, they'd settled into a hotel in Belle Haven, which is just about equidistant from the three cities where they had been assigned to play: Newport, Ezriquay, and Coolville. But one member of the team, defensive mid Grégoire Leclair, is about to leave the hotel--for the hospital. Currently he is lying for dead on a stretcher in the hotel lobby after having clumsily tripped in his room and hit his head on the nightstand. The EMTs having stepped out for a moment, Leclair lay unattended in the loby...

Just then, Franky Adams and Emanuele Cutrona stepped in from outside. "Any way, Franky," Emanuele was saying, "You and the starting line-up can catch the 11:30 from Belle Haven and be in Coolville by six o'clock, and..." Suddenly, he saw the midfielder lying on the stretcher. "Oh! Grégoire!"

"My hat!" said Franky. "Leclair!"

Emanuele couldn't look. "Has he been..."

"Yes, after breakfast. But that doesn't matter now, he's hurt."

"Oh! Poor Grégoire!" said Emanuele.

"Looks like you shan't be catching the 11:30 now."

"Oh no, Franky, you mustn't miss your train."

"How can I think of catching a train when I should be here helping you?"

"Oh, Franky, thank you. Anyway you could always catch the 9:30 tomorrow--it goes via Alton and Shirley."

"Or the 9:45's even better."

"Oh, but you'd have to change at Marshallton."

"Yes, but there's only a seven-minute wait now."

"Oh, yes, of course, I'd forgotten it was Friday. Oh, how could this have happened?"

The pair were joined by Ly Nasser who came down the stairs, thinking to find Grégoire waiting in the lobby. "Oh, do hurry Leclair, your train leaves in twenty-eight minutes, and if you don't catch the 10:15 you won't catch the 3:45 which means--oh!"

"I'm afraid Leclair won't be catching the 10:15, Nasser," said Franky.

"Has he been...?"

"Yes," said Emanuele, "after breakfast."

"Nasser," said Franky, with a crack in his voice, "I'm afraid you can cancel his seat reservation."

"Oh, and it was back to the engine, fourth coach along, so that he could see the State Fairgrounds Stadium in Springfield."

"Not anymore, Nasser," said Franky. It sounded like he was sobbing. "The line's been closed."

Ly was shocked. "Closed! Not Springfield!"

"I'm afraid so," said Franky.

Suddenly, a man carrying a doctor's bag burst through the lobby doors. "Alright, nobody move the patient. I'm Davis, the injury prevention and assessment physical therapist from Belle Haven Hospital."

"My word, you were here quickly, doctor," said Franky.

"Yeah, I got the 8:55 blue line from Hempstead East and missed that bit around Parliament Square."

"It's a very good train," said Ly.

"Excellent," said the doctor.

"Very good," said Franky.

"Delightful," said Emanuele.

Just then, Harold Saunders ran in from the hall leading to the hotel gymn. He was already wearing his jersey and cleats, ready to play, although the second squad wasn't even set to leave for Coolville until the next day.

"Hello everyone," said Harold.

"Harold!" Emanuele exclaimed.

"Where's Grégoire?" Harold looked down at the stretcher. "Oh golly! Has he been... ?"

"Yes, after breakfast," said Franky and Emanuele simultaneously.

"Then he... won't be needing his reservation on the 10:15."

"Exactly," said Franky.

"And I suppose as the second midfielder it must go to me."

"Just a minute, Harold," siad the doctor. "There's a small matter of... sabotage."

"Oh, but surely he simply tripped over his shoelaces and then took off his shoes."

Ly pointed at the clearly unconscious Grégoire. "How could anyone trip over his shoelaces and then take off his shoes without first cancelling his reservation?"

"Haha," laughed Harold. "Well, I must dash or I'll be late for the 10:15."

"I suggest you pushed the other midfielder for his seat reservation," said the doctor.

"I may have had the motive, doctor, but I could not have done it, for I have only just arrived from Castleford on the 8:13, and here's my restaurant car ticket to prove it." Harold seemed unfazed.

"The 8:13 from Lima doesn't have a restaurant car," said Emanuele.

"It's a standing buffet only," added Franky.

"Oh, uh... did I say the 8:13? I meant the 7:58 stopping train."

"But the 7:58 stopping traing arrived at Oceana at 8:19 owing to annual point maintenance at New Bremen junction," pointed out Ly.

"So how did you make the connection with the 8:13 which left six minutes earlier?" asked Franky.

"Oh, uh, simple!" said Harold. "I caught the 7:16 Football Special arriving at Oceana at 8:09."

"But the 7:16 Football Special only stops at Oceana on alternate Saturdays," said Emanuele.

"Yes," said Ly, "Surely you mean the Holidaymaker Special."

"Oh yes! How daft of me," said Harold. "Of course, I came on the Holidaymaker Special, calling at State University Borough, Lima, Jacksonville, Endborough, East Liverpool, and Castleford."

"That's Sundays only!" cried the doctor.

Harold was caught in his lie. "Damn. Alright, I confess I did it. I pushed him for his reservation, I wanted to make it to Coolville to start in the match against Starblaydia. But you won't take me alive! I'm going to throw myself under the 10:12 from Southend."

"Don't be a fool, Harold, don't do it!" called out Franky. "The 10:12 has the new narrow traction bogies, you wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Exactly."

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

OOC: Obviously, big thanks to Star for the help!

Starblaydi Boss speaks about WC, BP

Frank Armitage
The Daily Mail Chief Soccer Writer

Reporting from Coolville:

The first time you have the experience to meet Ázëwyn Fëanáro—Manager of the 5 time World Cup & 6 time Atlantian Oceania Champion Starblaydia National Team--in person, is not a moment you'll likely forget.

An NSWC Hall of Famer in her own right, her nation's All-Time record holder for appearances, Fëanáro radiates a presence and confidence that overrides her physical stature, and accentuates her dark, smoldering beauty. The first female Elf to play, score for and captain Starblaydia, with 270 caps, she made to transition to management after her long playing career finished.

We sat down to get her thoughts on the tournament and her views about what's in store.

Frank Armitage: We thank you for the opportunity to meet and have a chance to talk about the Starblaydi National Team, the Starblaydi FA, and this edition of the World Cup.

Ázëwyn Fëanáro: Pleasure to be here, Frank.

FA: You've been the manager of the National Team for several cycles, and also as lead the Under-21 and Under-18 teams. You have control over the player development pool, but is there a level of management above you that has a veto or some power they can use to negate your decisions?

AF: It was in, what, World Cup 78 when I came in to manage the national team set-up, and I think the overall standard we’ve set for ourselves has been second to none. I was brought in by my old team-mate, Tororin Halatyrion, SFA President and erstwhile World Cup Committee President, and ultimately he’s the person responsible for the SFA in its current state; I’m only tasked with concentrating, thankfully, on the stuff that happens on the pitch. Ultimately the goal is that fabled sixth World Championship. We want it, and we want to get a hold of it first, before the Vanorians and the Vilitans and the Frosticans, or anyone else. We’ve been on an upward curve so far, with quite a bit of success at junior levels, comparatively.



FA: Which nations are you wary/concerned/leery about in this half?
AF: We always make sure we don’t fantasy book our way out of a group in the Finals, but it’s impossible to look past Equestria in either the Second Round – if one of us messes up our plans and finishes second – or potentially a Semi-Final matchup with a certain set of results. Obviously they’re the World Champions, and they beat us in the Final last time. Vilita, too, arguably the best team in the world are lurking in a potential Quarter or Semi-Final match, but at this point you’re looking at the permutations of more than twenty matches and picking your toughest possible opponents, as based on many people’s opinions, as you mentally go through a difficult tournament before a ball has been kicked. I don’t find that very helpful, honestly, so we do what comes best, which is to take each game at a time, do our homework on the opposition, and see what comes. There are so many teams you can’t discount; the ones I’ve mentioned, Audioslavia, Nephara, Free Republics, Sargossa… Baker Park of course, never discount a home crowd’s benefit in a Finals, we all know that one with home teams in the World Cup.

FA: The only previous match Starblaydia have played in this country was in Belle Haven, but this time the schedule sends you from one side of the country to the other. Have you gotten any impressions about the country outside of the capital?
AF: We felt very welcome here when we arrived for Baker Park’s 500th game friendly, and I can see since then a number of the stadia have been upgraded and are being improved. They’ve all got this wide kind of bowl feeling to them that really lends itself to great views for the fans with no obstructions, and that all adds to the atmosphere of playing under a big Commonwealth sky. Transport around has been very easy – it’s almost a shame that we get to travel the multiverse so much yet see so little of it; we’re all consumed by the football we have to play in these places, but I guess that’s the nature of the job we do. I very much enjoyed Belle Haven last time we were here. As it was a friendly we got to explore a little more than usual and get into the Victoria Square and along the river.

FA: Any specific sights or places you want to see before you board the jet to head home?
AF: (smiles) Hopefully it’ll be a long time before we need to take a flight out of Baker Park, ideally straight to Concord Heights and the Dagan Airways Stadium. We’ll get a bit more time to take in the culture here if the tournament progresses, and honestly it feels very much like certain parts of North-West Starblaydia, that has a similar styles and kind of people. We’re very much at home here so far, and we’d like to successfully stay all the way until after the Semi-Finals in Oceana. But, still, one game at a time, as they say.


FA: Including you, there are seven previous champions here, so obviously a lot of opponents you're familiar with, does that make it harder or easier to prepare for?
AF: Well, what can you say? There’s – what was it – something like eighteen World Championships in this half of the draw alone, nine on the other side. It certainly draws the eye as you see all these tasty matchups with plenty of history, I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve played Vilita since that opening Matchday in World Cup 15, and our history with Audioslavia and The Holy Empire are both very well known, and go back almost as far as with Vilita. Equestria and Nephara are more recent additions, and they’re both certainly very dangerous opponents, but we can’t just focus on the teams with the biggest or the shiniest trophy cabinet – there are plenty of teams here in contention, so many who are gunning for their first title. World Cup champions of old, like us, have already written our names in the history books once or twice, and for some they’re still questing for their first time, so anything can happen.

FA: Would you ever consider club management? Would you ever consider managing another NT or a club overseas?
AF: I played all my club career for Telcontarë, and I’ve played and managed only Starblaydia at international level, so even though I just said ‘anything can happen’, I don’t see myself representing anything other than the white and purple going forward. Maybe that will change, long into the future, but we’ve not accomplished our goals yet, and I think we still have so much more to give back to the country, and to show the world what we’re capable of.

Fëanáro was a central midfielder during her career, and some have compared Baker Park's own Annabeth Westmoreland to her. She didn't want to be quoted when I asked about that, but she did have a brief smile as she declined.

FA: We appreciate you speaking with us, thanks for the time and best of luck the rest of the way.
AF: Thank you so much.

[Vilita]

Vilita open strong with victory over Bulls

The Park Stadium, Oceana, Baker Park :: For the second straight World Cup group stage the #1 Ranked Vilita Jungle Cats would be drawn in the same group with Audioslavia, the nation they defeated in the World Cup 20 Final to join the realm of champions, a title which could never be taken away from them and defined the next 40+ cycles of the Vilitans national identity. For the second straight World Cup group stage, the Vilita Jungle Cats took care of business and defeated the Audioslavia Bulls.

It was also the third straight victory for the Jungle Cats over their old rivals Audioslavia going back to a 3-1 victory in the World Cup 78 Round of 16 Knockout stage. The famous result was also a feature on the popular Vilitan programme "The Wormhole" which looks and events in popular culture including major sporting matchups and re-imagines them through the eyes of a parallel universe with some... minor tweaks to reality.

We've arrived here today in the Cognosphere of Cosumar for a very special treat as two titans of the international footsport game clash in brutal conditions where only one team can advance and the other one gets sent home. To say these teams don't like each other is perhaps a misrepresentation of the truth. There is a time and a place for hate and if you are going up against the Tropics of Audioslavia in the World Cup, the time for hate is generally any time other than the final. The time for love is the final.

That's right Milton, If you can survive through to the World Cup Final, doing so alongside the Tropics of Audioslavia as your opposition certainly would be cause to love the opposition, as such a matchup historically is as good as just awarding the trophy right then and there.

Thanks Ulysses. Absolutely. In fact, the Tropics of Audioslavia very much take pride in their all-time record seven defeats in the World Cup Final, so much so that their national flag has paid homage to a history of finishing runner-up; with a total of seven stylized roman-numeral "2"s, each representing a different defeat in the World Cup Finals on the top of the flag. They've incorporated the same design into the kits they are going to wear today and, most confusingly, every player on the pitch dons a number either beginning or ending with 2.

Milton: Yea, its most obvious when they stand for their catchy national anthem, "The Cow Jumped over the Moon". But boy, they really do love losing in the World Cup Final Don't They. But in order to lose that many Championship matches, you have to qualify for that many championship matches and what that means is that drawing to play against the Tropics of Audioslavia in any round other than the Final is anything but Love....

All three of Vilita's recent World Cup Finals victories over Audioslavia have come with Yeaddin Owls AFC net minder Mako Canopii in goal. During World Cup 78 it was Purapal Eskiiy who got the scoring started before a double from Karisto Monafog secured the victory for the Jungle Cats. During the group stage for World Cup 83 it was the lone goal from Eastal Lunar FC's Limu Katarakhna that made the difference. In the opening match of the World Cup 84 Finals in the Commonwealth of Baker Park it was three new player, Polaox Torerun, Nii'arala Milaaso and Va'a-Rio Kiwavn getting involved to secure three points for the Jungle Cats.

Vilita had a strong opening forty-five minutes and took an early lead through the Turoki Tide midfielder Polaox Torerun which they were able to maintain through to the half time whistle. Audioslavia were bright to start the second half but were overpowered once more by the #1 ranked team in the multiverse when Eastal Lunar phenom Nii'arala Milaaso doubled the Jungle Cats lead. Fifteen minutes later it was Va'a-Rio Kiwavn putting the match away on a free kick that was earned after Milaaso had the shirt tugged so hard that it tore up to the armpit requiring a kit swap on the sideline. The 'slavi fans headed to the exits when Kiwavn found the back of the net but they did leave a little too early as Rickson Maranon would convert an 83rd minute spot kick to provide a consolation goal for Audioslavia and perhaps give the defeated side a little bit of momentum they could take with them to Matchday 2.

There was no shortage of points earned across the board on the opening Matchday of the World Cup Finals as the maximum number of points, 48, were awarded across the Sixteen Matches as not a single match ended in a draw. It is not known how many times this moderately unlikely scenario has occurred in the past but it gave many something to watch for on the second Matchday of the World Cup 84 Group stage to see which match would be the first to fail to produce a winner.

Vilita [3] - [1] Audioslavia

:: Vilita Goalscorers :: :: 7' Polaox Torerun :: 59' Nii'arala Milaaso :: 74' Va'a-Rio Kiwavn

:: Vilita Statistics :: :: Shots on Target: 7 :: Corner Kicks: 8

:: Audioslavia Statistics :: :: Shots on Target: 6 :: Corner Kicks: 3

---

Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. Audioslavia ::
[GK] Mako Canopii, [D.] Jirak Trikala, [D.] Rojara Tiones, [D.] Monner Vileai, [ML] Limu Katarakhna, [MC] Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, [MC] Jurzen Devmiko, [MC] Westii Yahaya, [MR] Polaox Torerun, [FC] Sipke Tarala, [FC] Enzoril Alabonni
BENCH::
[FC] Tenziki Kulakao, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [M] Cywrenta Vlintejni, [M] Kudii Davasarii, [U ] Lentali Purama, [D] Inteali Koranjo, [GK] Cilamara Issah

---

---

[Equestrian States]

The following is a response to this post by SRS:

To: The Squornshelan Confederate Football Association
From: The Multiverse's Greatest Fußball Manager, Bøb Übermanager
RE: Your national team's managerial vacancy

Squornshelan Remnant Statesians, rejoice, for your savior has arrived!

I, Bøb Übermanager, DER ÜBERMANAGER, would like to formally apply for the position of manager of the Squornshelan Remnant States national football team. It goes without saying that I, Bøb Übermanager, being the multiverse's greatest Fußball manager, am the most qualified candidate you could ever dream of. You list several criteria which you wanted in a new manager. I meet most of these, and all the other criteria which suggest otherwise are wrong:

1) Recognize a football
I can, in fact, recognize a Fußball.

2) Spell "Squornshelan Remnant States"
Czkørmnuczyelamn Qrimnant Ztatz (the 'Q' in 'Qrimnant' is silent). This is the correct spelling. Your dictionary is a tome of falsehoods.

3-5) Find a goalkeeper under the age of 30, they don't have to be a good goalkeeper, just anyone under 30
My second cousin, Johannes Überbarber, is a 29 year-old barber currently making his living in Freeport. This concludes the list of people I know under the age of 30.

6) Misuse substitutions
I, Bøb Übermanager, never misuse my substitutions. If your players are incapable of following my instructions themselves on the first try, they are weak and will be dismissed from the team immediately.

7) Not use substitutions
The primary function of substitutions is to correct mistakes, and I, Bøb Übermanager, never make mistakes.

8) Find out where the real Jzeovak Vladcik has been hiding the past two years
I know not who this "Jzeovak Vladcik" is, but I shall hunt him down and personally crush him. Only cowards hide from things. My team shall never hide from anything and will obliterate those who attempt to stand between me and ultimate victory.

9) Prepare the fans for the day when the Imperium passes us in the rankings
The KPB rankings are a flawed system, as any system which does not immediately acknowledge the supremacy of any team managed by Bøb Übermanager is bullshit.

10) Recommend their own replacement (approx. 1 year from now)
There will be no replacing Bøb Übermanager, for Bøb Übermanager is DER ÜBERMANAGER and cannot be fired, dismissed, released, or "mutually agree to part ways." I shall manage the Squornshelan Remnant States to victory in this "Independent Associations Championship" of yours (although I firmly believe the SRS would be better off registering for a proper tournament like the AOCAF instead), then will lead you to the World Cup 85 finals, and then we shall set about in a glorious campaign in which we shall win every trophy that can be won.

I recommend that the Squornshelan Confederate Football Association not waste its time with any other wannabe managers, for they are all inferior halfwits.

I await your grateful acceptance,

Bøb Übermanager

[Cassadaigua]

It's cutoff time for MD3 in Groups E-H. Time may be winding down for some good teams

Results

[Audioslavia]

Episode Two, Chapter Four [14:33]

The only subtitles for this episode right now are YouTube's automated ones.

All videos are and will remain Unlisted on YouTube. The only way to find them is through links on the NS Sport forum.

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---

Script

Chapter 4 - The Comet

[Scroll over the ‘Narrative Committee’ factbook]
The Narrative Committee once controlled the Cognosphere of Bonesea, deciding upon the direction that its people - and its boats - would take through the billowing sees of the Enness Ocean. Figuratively and literally and spiritually and often sarcastically.

That’s me. Odger Lee, author of the wonderful book ‘The Humble Opinions of Odger Lee’ and occasional friend and drinking partner of your Jeremy Jaffacake.

[Some shots of previous video]
It was during one of these drinking sessions with Mr. Jaffacake that I first heard about his idea for Scemametrics. I didn’t comment at the time, but after some consideration and having seen chapters one to three, I feel I have to offer my opinion of the method Jeremy has devised to find Ridiculousness in the World Cup.

It’s not very good.

[various parts of the formula/scemametrics list]
I applaud the time and effort, but can you really discern the silliest nation in World Cup history with a singular formula? One that penalises nations for dipping their toes into the waters of international football and deciding, after eleven defeats and a draw, that it isn’t for them?

No. I don’t think so. Yes, The Great Monty Python were pleasingly wacky and BENKONATE’s players had amusing names but look at the other teams in the top eleven. KT MPLG, KCToker, J-Man2k7 and their ilk performed badly, but there’s little truly *ridiculous* about them. Even if there was, who are we to point and laugh from a decade into the future?

When Jeremy first mentioned this ‘Idiot Project’ to me, I gave him one rule that he should live by. Well, two rules, but it was only the one sentence.

[this quote also on screen]
“Be wholesome, and don’t bring up any OOC drama from the last fifteen years, lest it look like you’re just grinding your axe like a div <or insert a better word than ‘div’>”

[Scemametrics top 10]
On the whole, throughout his series on Scorigami… Scorigami… that *is* a strange word… Jeremy adhered to the rule, but in presenting the highest echelons of the Ridiculousness Chart as a freakshow he has rather crossed the line.

[that boat]
With Bonesea silent and The Narrative Committee rather bored, we’ve commandeered this chapter and we are here to steer this ship back on course.

First, let’s get our bearings.

[Graph]
Here is his graph showing the top eleven most ridiculous nations in World Cup history. It is displeasingly pixelly. Here is a better one, and one that shows almost every one of the World Cup’s three thousand teams. It is also a little pixelly, yes. Never mind. It demonstrates both my desire for the direction this episode should take, and my distain for the direction Jeremy has chosen. Let me explain. Using a much prettier chart.

[Comet]
I believe the quest for Ridiculousness should focus not on the extremes, but the outliers. Those at the top of the pile aren’t interesting, but those scattered to one side, away from the majority, are those that we could consider positively ridiculous. With the emphasis on ‘positive’. Take these guys for example. ‘Cabric’. /CAB-rick. I don’t see any evidence that they’re Croatian so it’s probably not -itch/

[various Cabric things]
Cabric were a nation of Crystalline based beings named ‘Baeans’ /BAY-ans/. Their goalkeper was a light green sentient crystal named ‘Eialio’. Yes, ‘EYE-a-low’, not ‘eye-ah-lee-oh’, despite the spelling. Cabric was generous enough to give us some prounciation guides, just in case someone needed to pronounce their names in the future. Eialio was already a thousand years old by the time the rennaissance happened. Meanwhile, Cabric’s right back was a kid called Mike McCarthy.

Cabric competed in one of the most loaded Baptism of Fire tournaments in history, a Casaran system one with 64 teams including Astograth, Ko-Oren and future champions Polar Islandstates. They didn’t reach the knockouts of the tournament, and they didn’t qualify in their debut World Cup, but they did win ten games from twenty to finish a respectable fifth, ahead of the likes of Kandorith and hilariously inept Sameba.

At the Cup of Harmony tournament they went unbeaten in their group before falling to Cotdelapoms in extra time of the second round.

In the next cycle, Cabric went 7-2-5 in a group containing a a young Eura, a not-very-young Sarzonia and The Babbage Islands. Their final match in the qualifying was against Yankees123, a team in Jeremy’s top ten of Scemametrics. They lost.

It was their last ever game of international football.

[The Comet]
Their final win percentage of exactly fifty percent is better than that of former world champions Errinundera, and better than 2/3rds of all teams who ever played in the World Cup. And yet they somehow managed to concede far more goals than they scored.

It’s when you look to the outliers, not the extremes, that you find the truly, positively, ridiculous. You can’t do this with Scemametrics. I mean look at the full Scemametrics graph.

[Scemametrics graph]
Most teams are squashed onto horizontal lines, having perhaps played only one World Cup cycle, meaning their Redheaded Stepchild Factor - and how distasteful *that* name is - is a whole number, so there are long strings of nonsense on the first, second and third horizontals as various team names sit atop one another, unless Schmiegellandarquista Slaytesicsestrosdioeshima /good luck/ played in World Cup 76 when we weren’t looking.

Dj8989 are still out here in the wilderness, but that’s not something to laugh at, nor is it a reason to scroll sadly over their history while listening to an avante-garde cover of a Donna Summer song <see chapter 3>.

Interestingly, they aren’t the team who are the furthest north in this chart.

[Scroll over Adamica, plus WC31 info showing them performing worse than Dj8989 in the same tournament]
World Cup 31 was not the best time to miss the Baptism of Fire.

[Comet + Scemametrics graphs]
This graph, which compares Average Goal Difference per Game with Win Percentage, is pretty. We call it ‘The Comet’. The Scemametrics graph is ugly. There is no shape, no form and very little function. Jeremy Jaffacake has, as usual, done a lot of work but accomplished very little.

Doing very much and accomplishing very little is the opposite of storytelling.

To prove this, let’s visit one of the World Cup’s most fondly remembered storytellers.

[Babbage Islands stuff]
The Babbage Islands made their debut in the first days of the post-Jolt era, entering Baptism of Fire 34 and winning what in hindsight looks like an incredibly tough group that includes Valladares and Delaclava. An upset defeat to Toyur in the second round was disappointing, as was their form in qualifiers for World Cup 47, but it wouldn’t take long before the Bumblebees would start to create a buzz.

The Babbage Islands would host World Cup 49 along with Newmanistan, and would fight their way to the semi-finals of World Cup 50, beating Adi’han in the third-placed playoff. From there until the end of World Cup 63, The Babbage Islands would fail to reach at least the quarter finals only twice. They were a tremendously powerful team.

[page from WC58 overlaid on google earth that will slow down my computer so much during recording that it’ll basically be unwatchably jerky]
In an era where many sports reports came in the form of a mini novella, The Babbage Islands were a throwback to the early days, when telling your story in a few short paragraphs was the fashion. There is much to be said for choosing clarity over wordcount so as not to give your readers a migraine. Jeremy, I’m looking at you, here. And myself a bit. More than that, The Babbage Islands let their opponents tell their story as much as they themselves. When tragedy struck Babbagian midfielder Ava Gillespie in the World Cup 63 semi-final, it was opponents Audioslavia who broke the news, and both finalists wore black or yellow armbands in the final in a show of solidarity. When The Babbage Islands created the sport of Community Football, it was exactly that - developed by a community of nations, not controlled solely by one man or a federation. Their sport, like their RPs, was not theirs alone. In sharing the story every step of the way, their work belonged to everyone. The Babbage Islands left the realm of international football after World Cup 64, but that their memory lives on is a testament to a team that very much captured the imagination.

[SRS graph thing]
The Babbage Islands did more with less. Here, in this chart, we see the top fifty nations in the SRS rankings, with their SRS points along the side and the amount of World Cups they entered along the bottom. The Islanders sit comfortably above the trend line along with a who’s who of World Cup winners and Total n Utter Insanity. To their right, teams who played in far more World Cup tournaments than the Bumblebees. This quadrant shows the teams that accomplished more with more, *this* quadrant, the teams that did less with more. The bottom left quadrant shows the teams that accomplished less with less and here, the teams that did more with less. Nobody did more - with less - than The Babbage Islands.

In this graph, the teams who actually won a World Cup are coloured in pink. Those who did not, in light blue. The Bumblebees reached two World Cup finals and a number of semi-finals, but could never quite get the job done.

At the head of The Comet - the part of a comet which is actually a comet, if you want to get technical - they nevertheless sit proudly next to Valanora in the north-eastern corner. Only five teams have a higher win percentage than the Babbage Islands, and only Valanora’s average goal-difference per game is higher.

Naturally, The Babbage Islands accomplished this feat with much fewer games. They were positively ridiculous. Sublimely ridiculous.

[roll credits]

Extras:
The Comet

Previously on The Idiot Project
Episode One:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3 (A)
Chapter 3 (B)
Chapter 4
Chapter 4.5
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Episode Two:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

---

”We’ll Hammer Banner Scammers” :- Wilf Lidgley

When Audioslavia take the field against Nephara in World Cup 84’s second round matchup, you’d be forgiven for thinking the two national teams were somehow related. The famous maroon, black and green flag with the animal on the front will be waved at one end, and Audioslavia’s will be waved from the other.

Quite why the entire nation of Nephara collectively decided it would like to resemble a Pro Evo version of another nation is one of many Nepharim ideas lost on Audioslavia, along with happiness, female football players and eating every animal you can find.

Nephara want to be Audioslavia so much, they even followed us into mediocrity. Whereas the Bulls are here because they desperately hung onto a draw against fourth and fifth seeds Siovania and Teusland, Nephara are in the second round due to having thrashed a discombobulated Drawkland by more goals than Baker Park or Free Republics managed.

Despite both nations possessing very middling ranks right now, it is Nephara who have the edge. Audioslavia are still in the middle of something of a slump, taking just three wins from their last eleven games as they desperately scramble for some sort of form. Nephara, on just three defeats over the previous 23 games, will pose a similarly sized threat to the Vilita side that swatted the Bulls aside on matchday one, only with blunter claws and a slower paw.

We’re not sure what kind of animal would be both a cormorant yet also have claws and a paw, but whatever monstrosity it is, it stands between Audioslavia and a first quarter-final berth since World Cup 76.

I've been Jeremy Jaffacake, G'nite b<music plays>

[Farfadillis]

"You think so, Mr. President?" Forgus asked, incredulous. The President had accepted one of his ideas.

"Yes, your plan might just be crazy enough to work." Terán mused briefly. "But it will take a lot of preparation. We simply don't have any spies. We need to start from the ground up."

"Do we, though?"

"Yes."

"Ok, my bad, Mr. President."

"We should look for the cream of the crop of potential spies. This is no easy task. Getting a country to detonate nuclear bombs on us could prove to be slightly hard." Alex Terán said, matte-of-factly. "As a matter of fact, I expect it to be very hard."

"I've gone ahead and scouted some potential profiles for you to look at. They are what I consider possibly decent spies. Also, the best I could get."

"Always one step ahead, I like that about you, Forgus. Let me see."

Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ

Name: Gonzalo Furia-González
Occupation: CEO
Passions: Tennis
Skillset: Absolute Psychopath
Weaknesses: Very posh. I mean, he plays tennis.
Other notable facts: Once donated fake money to an orphanate then sued them when they tried to use it to pay his company for water. It had to close down.

Name: Hüý Müngâsâsârtëénés
Occupation: Boom! Uranium Miner
Passions: None because the bleak prospect of spendin his entire lifetime workin at a mine has robbed him of his dreams and passions.
Skillset: Hates his life too much to care about puttin it at risk.
Weaknesses: Probably has developed serious diseases from his time at Boom! Uranium Mines, the best uranium mines in Farfadillis!
Other notable facts: His coughs are green.

Name: Neumann Grothendieck
Occupation: Mathematician
Passions: Abstraction, activism, drivin terribly. Fortunately, he also loves the prospect of nuking other countries. He also hates that prospect.
Skillset: Incredibly intelligent. Slightly psychopathic, extremely deranged.
Weaknesses: His pursuit of abstraction has abstracted him from day-to-day life quite a bit.
Other notable facts: Avid follower of the Zwangzug national team.

Name: Morgosó Mariganta
Occupation: Student
Passions: Anime and videogames
Skillset: Nobody will suspect an acne-ridden adolescent who almost speaks in Japanese whenever he speaks a language that is not, in fact, Japanese.
Weaknesses: Do I really have to make it explicit?
Other notable facts: What's an uwu? No idea, but this guy seems to know.

Name: Ander Kurisevic
Occupation: Spy
Passions: Spying
Skillset: A spy's skillset
Weaknesses: Look, I found an actual spy.
Other notable facts: He's an actual spy.

Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ

"Forgus..." Alex stared in disbelief at the profiles in front of him. Forgus was scared of how Terán would react. "This is brilliant! It's the perfect team!"

Forgus tilted his head. Alex hugged him.

"Now there's no way this mission is gonna fail!" The President exclaimed ecsatically.

[Mriin]

aroundthehorn.mrn

The reports of Brenecia's safety have been greatly exaggerated

For the shade of fan that doesn't pay very close attention to the other games in their team's group, or perhaps are just bad at math, a rude surprise awaited for them should they have looked up the tables immediately following the South Covello-Mriin match. The official World Cup website listed Brenecia in an ominous burgundy at the top of the Group D table--who would use a shade of red to signify progression, anyway?--thereby making the maths on the Reavers advancing... rough. In that scenario, a Darmen result against South Covello on MD3 would be absolutely required, as where the Covellans to win Mriin would automatically be eliminated via the head-to-head tiebreaker. However, thanks to some enterprising Audioslavian and Vilitan fact-checkers raising a stink online, officials in Baker Park realized their mistake and removed that formatting. If both South Covello and Mriin were to win, they would be in a three-way head-to-head lock with Brenecia and be forced to go down the list of tiebreakers to separate them. Depending on the magnitude of said results any permutation of the three is possible! Hope springs eternal.

The result was a huge disappointment, there's no getting around that. The Reavers had a giant-killing reputation in their first few cycles that I'd thought had finally returned come a three-one lead at halftime. But one, unfortunately, can never count out a team like the Rebels. They're renowned for their defensive acumen above all else but it seems Mrii know how to rouse them out of their slumber, this being the second unusually high-scoring match between them. It was in particular the Covellan wunderkid Lonzo Gordon-McHayward-Greensward-Squidward [sic] who popped off in the second half, rousing his teammates that had just started to give off an air of listlessness. Any observer, every Reaver on the pitch, and probably most of the Rebels thought Malia innocently cutting down an aggressively positioned Dexter Yankee would simply be a brief pause in the Covellan drive with the benefit of halting their current momentum. "Fuck that," said Lonzo (figuratively), taking the kick and ludicrously arcing it over the entire defense and over a stunned Mara (who wasn't even in the goalmouth at the time of the kick, it was that far away). It's the sort of struck-by-lightning moment where I sat straight up and thought shit, this game is nowhere near over.

Lonzo's next transgression against common sense and my dreams would come via an absurd cross that scythed through three different Mrii defenders who, if you had taken an aerial snapshot of the pitch beforehand, you'd be sure were directly in between him and Coconut Charles. Yet through the ball went, finding Charles' noggin like a heat-seeking missile and no doubt giving Mara an aneurysm as she dove just short of getting a hand on it. With her reach there was essentially one ball-sized gap between the tips of her fingers and the crossbar. Of course it perfectly slotted in there. Why wouldn't it? Suddenly it's a tie game.

Solara very nearly retook the lead with a clean horner on a corner kick, but Matthew Tyler was clearly Extremely Done with this whole 'giving up goals' thing. Unparalleled reaction speed, the sort you'd expect from arguably the best goalkeeper in the world. Makes you wonder how Solara and Otalia had each snuck one past him earlier, nevermind how Karii had bungled another by. Finally, frightfully, the Covellans were on a drive that was threatening to press into injury time. Popo, normally the absolute paragon of stamina, faltered for just the briefest second while tracking Lonzo. If you weren't intensely watching the interaction between the two there's no way you would have noticed. But that half a step was all the kid needed, collecting the slightest of throughballs from the woefully-named Paul Paul before single-handedly dekeing his way past Malia and Maas. There was some catharsis when Mara just fucking laid him out, I won't deny. But it was short-lived as the red card came out and the realization set in that we were probably going to lose this game and have to start Kaara against Brenecia.

Yeah, he converted it. Even after he limped to the spot. Because what the fuck can't this seventeen-year-old do.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

This is the final Group stage cutoff for World Cup 84. 32 started, only 16 will remain.
That's just the Way it is

[Banija]

Kabaka - King
Luguba - Queen Consort
Sarauniya - Queen Mother
Isebantu - Crown Prince
Omugabe/Omugaba - Prince/Princess
Omulangira/Kyabazinga - Duke/Duchess
Kagere/Kiweewa - Lord/Lady
Katikkiro - Prime Minister
Waziri - Foreign Minister
Lukiiko- Parliament
Kiongozi- Leader of the Opposition

Setting is Cassgo Stadium in Victoriaville, Cassadaigua

Legacy. What a word that was, especially in this sport. And Gitonga Kahara sat on the bench, contemplating how his own legacy would turn out. The Kadongo Kamu were well into the second half of their do-or-die group stage match with Zwangzug, and with Banija's captain sitting on the bench, the team had been struggling to generate much offense. Marcus Waters, of course, wanted his team strictly focused on the game, but there was no avoiding it- this was the modern era. The score in the other game was absolutely unavoidable- and considering the lack of offense both sides were generating here, the match score in the other game was stunning. IT was goals galore in Winchester, as Farfadillis and HUElavia were both scoring all kinds of goals, trying to get their teams over the finish line.

Gitonga Kahara was in a weird position. For his entire life, he had always had a central role to play in his team's fortunes, no matter what they were. As he helplessly watched his side struggle to break down the Zwangzug defense from the sideline, he thought about his own journey here. He thought all the way back to when he was just 15 years old, just a lad playing soccer on the streets of Herzegovina City. He was a trailblazer for Banijan soccer players in many ways, and his own youth career was one of them- he is one of few Banijan players to largely start their career abroad. Growing up in Herzegovina City, he was always viewed as an extremely talented kid, but as the country lacked an academy system at that point, it was about just making enough headlines playing for your local high school to get a shot.

He could still remember the exact moment he got the letter. so many years ago. As just a freshman, he led his high school to a Greater Herzegovina District Title, and they were one win from a Moravica regional title, losing in the final to one of those posh schools from Istria. He even attended a special invite-only youth camp that the now-defunct Herzegovina United held in the pre-academy days, as he got to meet players from his boyhood club. His high school coach was so enthralled, that they convinced Kahara's parents to tell him to apply for membership at one of the world's elite academies when he turned 16. And so, his second season of high school, age 15, the high school coach took incredible amounts of film of Gitonga Kahara. Both his coach and his father spent countless hours taking film, and editing film, to try and get the best shots of Gitonga Kahara. He'd need a highlight reel, and he provided one, as in his second year Kahara was essentially unstoppable.

Kahara had always had a dream to play for Herzegovina United, but that went belly-up as the establishment of a national league, the BSL, greatly increased Herzegovina City's profile at the expense of Herzegovina United, who couldn't compete in that shadow. But his high school manager had higher ambitions. After the finish of the boys soccer season in his sophomore year, his high school manager aimed for the sky- sending footage and an application to one of the multiverse's most prestigious academy, Project Olimpo, all the way in Kita-Hinode. They are world famous and renowned for their ability to develop players, and they recruited players from all over the multiverse. They had multiple players in that academy from places like Chromatika and Bonesea, nations that were, at that point, consistently ranked in the Top 6 and competing for World Cup trophies. The chances of him getting accepted, when young footballers from God knows how many countries were trying to get into Project Olimpo, many richer than he, were probably small. But Project Olimpo saw the potential, saw the talent, in the kid from Herzegovina City. Far before we got big, when we were nothing but a fun stat in a bar trivia game, that stat being 'which team lost every single match of the World Cup 73 Qualifying campaign?'

And yet, he had gotten that letter. What a moment that was. Getting home from school, stepping off of that yellow RTC school bus, walking into the kitchen. Seeing his two older brothers standing there, and looking at the letter. Hearing his Mom read that letter twice- once in English, the language it was written in, and the second time in Olusanke. The tears. The celebrations. What a moment of joy that was. And that gets us back to the word- Legacy. His old high school was already renamed after him- Gitonga Kahara Secondary Academy for Boys. Like many footballers from poor background, he bought his parents a home, moving his parents to a very posh part of Herzegovina City, in a neighborhood just outside the Herzegovina Temple. That's the legacy he left there.

The first Banijan player in the modern era to play at a foreign academy. And he did not only go and play at the academy- but he went there and thrived. Kahara went to Project Olimpo, and in Year 1, won the Golden Boot in the All-HInodejin Youth League, and that was when his path to superstardom rose. Of course, when he originally went to the academy, he wasn't that well known. Those who were well versed in high school soccer in Herzegovina City knew him and what was happening, but most of the sport's attention was going towards the bankruptcy of one of the country's oldest clubs, Herzegovina United. Those who followed the sport in general briefly read his name in a headline, and promptly forgot about him. It was big news that Banija's first ever player to go to a foreign academy was going to one of the multiverse's best academy, but a 16 year old nobody had heard of from a high school nobody had heard of wasn't going to generate that much attention.

And then his career continued to flourish. He really started to capture the attention of onlookers when news filtered back that Gitonga Kahara had not only done well at this academy, but he had actively thrived playing at Project Olimpo. It is difficult to succeed when somebody changes environments at such a young age- below the glory of the footballers who have actually made it, the world is littered with players who had all the potential in the world, and then, it did not pan out. Fortunately for Gitonga Kahara, he was not going to be that guy. He ended up winning the Golden Boot in his only season participating in the All-Hinodejin Youth League for Project Olimpo(Jutsii), and making the league's best XI. That's when his name brand and recognition started to truly increase and show across the world. How far could he go?

Scouts in a lot of different places were talking about him, including in the BSL. Could he play professionally? And when Banija signed up a team for the U21 World Cup, their first ever foray into international youth competition(beyond the Commonwealth), Gitonga Kahara was on the squad. Back then, of course, Marcus Waters was only the assistant manager of the senior team, and by contract was manager of any Banijan youth national teams. Kahara was certainly the player that Banijans were most excited to see. The media attention around him was heavy, but since Banija had never competed in the Di Bradini Cup before, nobody knew what to expect. But boy did he show what he was capable of at the tournament- a stunning bicycle kick goal on just the 2nd Matchday of the tournament took him out of hiding and in plain sight. He led that team to a bronze medal finish in Valanora, all those years ago, dominating opponents for the tournament's entirety, and earning himself a contract at Polaris in Ceni.

Legacy. That was the legacy he left with his brief stint in the Banijan youth setup- that the next generation of Banijans were tired of Banija constantly being in the football shadows. We'd find a way to put ourselves in the spotlight, to earn true respect from the rest of the field. And hell, we have. Think about his legacy. He had a record-setting transfer when he wen to Polaris in Ceni. He had another record-setting transfer when OAS Royal FC of Cosumar spent big bucks to bring him to Cosumar(of course, showing how crazy the market is, those records have been long broken by several of Kahara's national team teammates). But even though he didn't hold Banijan transfer records anymore, it was still part of his Legacy- without his success in both Ceni and Cosumar, would the path have been blazed for players like Bultum and Kawesa to get bigger paydays?

And now, since he was 30, that word was always on his mind. He's done positive things for his Legacy in terms of wearing the shirt- the national team shirt. All-time leading goalscorer. DBC bronze medalist. Is the only player to start every single World Cup Finals match Banija has ever played in- until now, breaking his personal streak of 19 consecutive starts at the World Cup Finals. Scored one of the goals in the World Cup 80 Playoffs that put Banija into her first ever Finals. Scored against world #1 Vilita in a World Cup Quarterfinal. Bronze medalist at the World Cup. AOCAF finalist. That was quite a Legacy- and now, of course, wearing the armband. But it hadn't always gone smoothly since he got the armband. In what was deemed as their best chance to win a major tournament, AOCAF LIX, he disappeared in his first big game as captain, a 1-0 loss to Ko-oren that saw the defending silver medalists dumped out unceremoniously in the Round of 16.

And now, there was this moment. All those goals in Qualifying wouldn't matter if he couldn't make a difference here. And as goals were being scored left and right in Winchester, it became ever more clear to the Banijans that they'd need all three points. And although he was a star, his team getting dumped way too early with this high of a ranking? As captain and the star man, that would seriously impact his Legacy. The worst part about it? He wasn't even on the field. He hated the call from the referee, he thought the red card was harsh, but it was what it was- he was on the sideline, watching his teammates. He knew what the media would say if they lost here. Echoes of can't win the big one, echoes of let us down by missing this match, echoed through his head. Was there anything Kahara could do at this point? All he could do was watch, and pray. People would forget about this red card if they got to the Round of 16 anyways. But if scores held... he would be out.

He looked up at the clock one more time. 88th minute. Marcus Waters was throwing everyone forward, trying desperately to break Zwangzug's resolve. Zwangzug was clearly eliminated from the tournament at that point- but still defending just as fiercely, because who wants to go home from a World Cup with 0 points? The Kadongo Kamu clearly missed their captain. He knew that this would probably be his best chance to win something- how long could Banija stay ranked in the top 5 like they were now? And yet, with seconds ticking off the clock, there was nothing he could do. His own Legacy, at the moment, was strictly in the hands of others. Ironic how that happened sometimes, right? The Banijans kept attacking, kept piling forward, and still- no goals.

And yet, in the 90th minute, there was an opportunity. Ilman Jawara brought down in the box. The referee blowing his whistle, and pointing to the spot. VAR confirming the decision on the field. Penalty. So many nerves for those wearing green and orange. Kahara took a knee, alongside the rest of his teammates on the bench. He looked down- he couldn't bear to watch. It would be down to how well Namakula Kawesa could handle her nerves. And when when the sideline exploded around him, he knew. Kawesa ran straight towards the bench, and everybody seemed to mob her. What celebrations. And the Banijans had 6 minutes of stoppage time to defend, but with everyone yelling from the sideline, they got the job done. Kahara was ecstatic. His Legacy was intact- saved by his teammates. He knew not where or who'd they be playing in the last round, but what matters is that they got to the knockouts. Once they got there, anything could happen, right? And Banija's captain would be there- well-rested, fresh, and hungry for whoever Banija had in front of them.

[HUElavia]

HUElavia's World Cup Dream Ends In Bittersweet Fashion

HUElavia came into Matchday 3 facing off against Farfadillis at Winchester City Lottery Stadium (59,000) in Winchester, Cassadaigua, where Los Amarillos needed to get a favorable result while Banija didn't, or they needed to win by a margin or two goals or more in order to advance. This time around, the stadium was clearly Pro-HUElavia, as over 60% of the stadium had fans draped in the colors of Yellow, Blue, and Green. Both teams came out with their best XI players, with the exception in HUElavia where Gonzalez was benched in favor of wonderkid Navarro, in hopes he could get goals in.

The first half began with a bang, as Farfadillis kicked off and a pass from Êns to Bajnok went a little too hard, where Bajnok had trouble possessing the ball, and Navarro quickly jumped on him to get the ball and go one-on-one with Tgô, sliding it in with ease, making the scoreline 0-1, with only 13 seconds into the game, marking the quickest goal in HUElavian history in the World Cup. Navarro got mobbed by his teammates in the corner flag, while the thousands of HUElavians jumped and celebrated, making Winchester City Lottery Stadium rumble and shake from the celebrations once again. The lead was short-lived, as a foul by Hierro over Êns allowed Wçêíl to take a free-kick with ease, which blasted over the wall, and despite Ricardo's attempts to deflect the shot, it went in, with the Farves celebrating while Wçêíl was mobbed for his tying goal. Both teams went around giving each other shots and blows until the 35th minute, where a counter attack started with Hierro passing to Gallego, where he ran with the ball until passing to Cristiano, who reached to just outside the box and gave a blistering shot with his right foot. The shot was too much for Tgô and the ball went in to make it 1-2, with Cristiano running to the bench to celebrate with the team, while the fans once again gave their iconic stadium rumble. While the HUElavians sang, the match looked as if HUElavia was going to advance, but a pass from t'Öéséné got past the HUElavian defense and Holsteiner slid it past Ricardo in the 42nd minute to tie it at 2-2 once again, with HUElavia being shocked by the tie headed into half-time.

The second half came, and both teams once again began to trade shots that either went wide or were saved by either Tgô or Ricardo. In the 57th minute, a shot by Petit deflected off Marchiondo, which allowed HUElavia to make substitutions, bringing off Petit for Hamada and Hierro for Toni, in an effort to add power to the attack and defense. Gallego took the corner kick and it was quickly scored by Toni to make it 2-3, with the stadium once again rumbling from the celebrations, while Toni also got mobbed by his teammates. The match went on, with HUElavia trying to defend now, until a foul by Toni on substitute Salogadó in the box during the 80th minute ended up with a Penalty Kick in favor of Farfadillis. Wçêíl took the kick in a blistering shot, where Ricardo got a hand to it, but it was too much, as it went in and the score read at 3-3. Los Amarillos were still hungry for the Qualification, and as a stoppage time of 5 minutes was given, HUElavia got desperate, and threw in everyone for the attack. All seemed lost as the time went away until a slip by Bajnok allowed Hamada to get the ball and run one-on-one with Tgô, only to dribble past him and slide it in to make it 3-4. The stadium went ballistic with the goal, celebrating like crazy, while Hamada made history as the Youngest goal-scorer in World Cup History for HUElavia, as well as the first ever female player to score in the Finals for HUElavia. Although, the celebration was short-lived, as when the referee blew the whistle, they found out Banija got a late winner over Zwangzug, thus eliminating HUElavia on head-to-head, leaving Los Amarillos in a state of shock. Navarro and Hamada cried, while Cristiano and Rossi came to comfort them. Mendieta also was in tears as this was his Final Match on the HUElavian National Football Team, as he retires with 160 caps. The squad came up to the section of the fans, revealing a banner saying "Obrigado pelo seu apoio/Gracias por tu apoyo" ("Thank you for your support") and sang the national anthem together while taking a team photo with the fans behind them.

With the victory, HUElavia do finish Group C with 6 points, but finish in 3rd with Head-to-Head points with Banija, all while finishing with a goal difference of 0 compared to +2 for Farfadillis and Banija, where both finished 1st and 2nd respectively. Despite the elimination, it is a massive feat to be one of the worst teams ranking-wise and have options to advance in Matchday 3, even more so with winning 2 out of 3 Group Stage matches. Notably, the win against Farfadillis is the first time HUElavia has defeated a Top-10 team from the World Rankings, where Farfadillis is ranked #9. Despite the elimination, Los Amarillos overperformed from their expectations, and are projected to move up significantly high in the rankings, possibly into the 20s of the World Ranking. With this, HUElavia is expected to be a Pot 2 or Pot 3 team for the next cycle of tournaments. Not to mention, the squad is still young and the experimentation of young players, including three female players, was a massive success. HUElavia have something to build on, and it is expected they will push to make further appearances in the next editions of the World Cup. Not to mention, they are a favorite to do well in the IAC tournament coming soon. For now, the team will be welcomed back to Curumba with open arms and be given a ceremony for their successes during this cycle of Football Tournaments. All we can do is train and come back stronger. After all, all we can do is go up.

FORÇA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Taeshan]

"Well based on that game-tying goal celebration you've made a decision on where you're going next season, right Santiago"?

"Yes it's been an interesting World Cup. I wanted to move on from Mulhampstead after a few rough years fighting relegation and for promotion. I'm starting for a probably top 20 or so nation at a tough position, and think I can be a bigger part of a better team. Three offers were on the table, one home at X Island, one in Apox where I've spent most of my adult life, and a possible new adventure in Audioslavia with Oljestaden IF. Well I guess there was a fourth in Darmen, with Jim Falls, but I feel one Tae fullback at any club is enough to shore up any defense."

"So the classic image from this World Cup, at least for Taes, will be the 90th minute game-tying goal, sending the nation you've spent so much time in home from the World Cup, and winning the group for Taeshan, from the Left Back on a counter, and you remove your shirt and on it you said thank you to the fans. In the colors of your new club."

"Yeah. I felt that it would be weird to go to another club in Apox. I owe an incredible amount to Mulhampstead. They made me the Left Back I am today, but much like I wouldn't feel right for playing for any club in Taeshan but 1093, whom I won a Premier League title with, I wouldn't feel right playing in any jersey but Mulhampstead. So I decided pre-game I'd have a shirt underneath that said, so long and thanks for all the fishes Apox. I doubted I'd score. But I did."

"Yes, no goals in 60 appearances before this, must have been luck."

"That or a higher power that writes my life for me."



"Randall. An injury in the last game had you a threat not to play, but a Captain's goal out of a halftime that saw you down 2-0, and an overall gutsy performance saw you shepherd this team to the next round. What did the Manager say in the dressing room to inspire this performance"?

"That isn't really for me to say but for the man himself. I'm so proud of my side. Two years ago we were a side who hadn't qualified for the World Cup in 4 decades. Now we are one of the final sixteen. This is my side, and it is so great to see them reach this height. I'll be so proud to watch from the stands in the next campaign."

"You haven't announced your official international retirement, but that sounds like a close enough statement. 175 caps and now 7 goals would see you retire as the 9th all-time in Taeshani caps. What has this career meant to you"?

"First off yes, i'll be retiring. This has been a great honor. Only so many have worn the Purple and Gold. It is a brotherhood of men and women who have had the great honor. 228 men and women have played in over 1100 games for our nation. I didn't ever think I'd reach the top 10 in caps, let alone reach 100 caps. I was a small center midfielder that a coach saw something in. We were a plucky underdog two seasons ago, and now we are on the precipice of being one of the best teams the nation has ever seen. Any result against The Holy Empire, good or bad will go down in the halls of Taeshan sporting history."



"Miles, and incredible performance from the side. Down 2-0, an epic comeback to go from a hot start in a World Cup to out in the first 45 minutes, to storming all the way back to win the Group, knockout Apox and set up a hot ticket matchup with The Holy Empire next matchday in the Round of Sixteen...What has this tournament meant for this team"?

"It has been incredible. Our hot start to qualifying, to a late tailing off, we worried if the 4 decade failures would be back on us, and then to qualify and play so well it has been incredible. We made some interesting decisions in pre-game due to an Abriel Torres ankle roll, Larson played well as a false 9...but Abriel should be ready for the knockout match and even if he is not I'm sure I won't be able from keeping him off the field in such a big game for our nation. It has been so long since we have seen even a modicum of success and this has been such an incredible experience."

"What did you say to Larson when you pulled him off? Do you expect him to learn from the experience"?

"We had to go more attacking. At this point we needed a real striker and that was what led to Shannon coming on. Apox wanted it more than us, and I needed more of an aerial threat. He knows he will continue to be one of our main bench options, and I expect he will continue to be one of our bright young stars."

"Everyone is wondering, what was said at the half? It was an incredible turn around and kept the journey going."

"I just walked into the room. Sat down and told the boys listen, we've been on a great run of form until this moment. We have the horses to make it far, but we have to continue to do the right things right. We have to check each box that comes along, not every other. This is what keeps average teams from being great. I stood up, and looked at the squad and just said...Do you want to be average, or do you want to be f***ing great. And walked out of the room."

[Kita-Hinode]

STREET FOOTBALL
Project 8 winners looking for veterans for a Street League
Written by sports journalist Nanako Ichigo.

MISEI CITY - Four years ago, Anthony Hawk's Project 8 started to much fanfare. The project was a way for Anthony Hawk, a former Sunrisian national team player, to introduce himself to Hinodejin media as a star. He has since moved on to several other projects, most recently as the referee for the Rock N' Goal Tournament but it did find some solid talents. In spite of this, however, none of them ended up getting the ever so desired professional contract that many thought would be a given after the end of the show.

Now, three winners of the reality show partnered up with Misei-based businessmen to push for another nostalgia trip in the form of a street league featuring the best underground talent of the Hinodejin Empire but with a caveat, the sponsors only wish to back the tournament up if they're able to gather some noteworthy veterans to take part on it in one way or another. In spite of something they considered somewhat restrictive and against the purpose of the old street league that used to grace the screens of Sunrisian fans back in their days.

The Street League would be a direct revival of the old tournament that was considered a complement of the local youth scene, with street teams taking on high school and academy teams for international play at the young days of the Youth Cup. Fittingly, the tournament was a breeding ground for talent, introducing names like "Lady" Garinotte Monoyance and other players with national team experience. The new version of the tournament is being kickstarted by three of the eight winners of Anthony Hawk's Project 8: Juri "J-Kat" Nanagami, "Starlet" Naoko-Cho Hashimoto and "Deadboy" Sora Nakamura.

So far, their efforts in recruiting veterans have been a failure, as they failed with a couple of retired Sunrisians, including Sang Kyung-Ja. Should you know a player interested to participate in the Street League affairs, contact them at the following e-mail (telegram me or PM me via Discord).

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

© Sporting Times Daily 2030
BP through in rough & tumble affair
by Mindy Cartwright, National Soccer Writer


The Commonwealth National Team picked the right time to come out of their malaise, as well their first ever victory over the Free Republics in the final Group E match at the BBP Stadium, as Jamari Bozeman scored twice along with goals from DeAngelo Simmons and Tracey Vasillias—her 7th international tally moves her to the top of the list for goals by a defender all time—to pull away from the visitors and advance for the fourth consecutive time to the knockout stages. Coupled with Nephara's 5-2 victory over Drawkland, the results saw a 3 way tie at the top of the table, but left FFR the odd team out on goal difference.

Baker Park will now move on to face Group F winners Vilita—the #1 ranked side in the world—at Rogers Stadium in Endborough, which will be a rematch of sorts from AOCAF LVIII, when BP knocked out the combined Vilita & Turori side in the quarterfinals.

On this night however, it was an attacking oriented lineup for Pam Scott, as she made 5 changes from the starting XI who appeared in the first two matches; Simmons and Missy Tilton up front, Daisy Callum in for Trent Yeomans on the left wing and Sarah Foreman joining Vasillias and Derick Briggs in the defense in front Danielle Gaines, making her second start. The change up in personnel paid immediate dividends, as Rule Theirault's side looked to be on the back foot for most of the first 15 minutes, with Bozeman, Lorenzo Taborn, and Annabeth Westmoreland slicing through the central midfield with sharp passes and dangerous runs, opening up the defense's right side for Callum and Tilton to find holes to exploit.

It was the Leiderkranz Ladies forward who had the two best chances early, as she just missed the frame from 24 yards with a strong right footed shot, and later cut inside of D Ralf Schroder on a crossover, only to fire right into the arms of Taras Sergeyev.
Bozeman opened the scoring in the 27th minute after he and Westmoreland had swapped positions in the middle, and the Hondo FC star held up the ball, then turned to her left, past Maxim Izmarlov and immediately found Bozeman on the edge of the box, where he took one touch and fired low, Sergeyev getting his fingertips to it, but unable to keep it out. Most of the 74,803 spectators roared to life—save for the 16,000 or so supporters behind the goal wearing the Blue & White of the guests—and spurred on by the home crowd, the second goal wasn't long in coming.

Simmons was the recipient of Taborn's effort in chasing down a long ball into the Free Republics' end; muscling Schroder off and hugging the by-line, he lifted the ball into the box, where the Monmouth Park striker headed it in with authority. 2-0 after 34 minutes and noise level seemed to increase.

Just before halftime, the Republicans halved the margin, when Porbergur Lydsson took a pass from Johnny Smith and beat Briggs off the dribble then curled it in from 12 yards, Gaines unable to reach the shot in time. With their only recorded shot on goal, they had made it 2-1 and that's how the 1st half came to a close.

The Republics kicked off and immediately looked much more positive, moving the ball with purpose, and increasing the intensity; they appear to have taken a page from the Nephara game plan, with more physicality in the tackles and a now increasing foul count which began to slow the pace of the game.

After the previous match, there were once again questions raised about whether the Commonwealth can match the intensity and physicality of sides like Nephara and other top multiverse sides, or are they a bit too soft to break into the elite club of World Cup championship contenders; the 32 minutes between the 48th & 80th on the match clock probably caused some critics to rethink that notion.

Taborn was given a talking to by Ms. Kennedy, the referee from Cassadaigua, following a hard foul on Usman Eldarkhalov, then Briggs was the next Bee to get a scolding after a clash with Lydsson; Veronica Navarro saw yellow on 56 minutes after a professional foul on Kalervo Peltoa, while Simmons & Valclav Urbanek had a round of handbags at 5 paces, which involved another instruction on the laws from the referee, followed by a chat with the captains.

Soon after that delay came Vasillias' moment for the record book, as she broke forward following a clean tackle on Smith, taking the ball 35 yards on the dribble with nary a challenge, then lining up a rocket from 30 yards which surprised the keeper and nearly everyone else in the stadium when it bulged the back of the net, sending the supporters and her teammates into a delirium. 25 minutes to go, it was 3-1 and Scott, assistant manager Will Barnard and the other coaches began to have more animated conversations on the bench.

The niggling fouls and raw emotions on both sides picked up after the resumption of play; Tilton saw yellow for a push on Schroder, Westmoreland was fortunate not to go in the book after a vicious tackle on Izmarlov, Taborn finally joined his running mate Navarro on the naughty list and Foreman made it four when she fouled Love Holm on the edge of the box, which the VAR ruled no penalty.
Declan Mason came on for Taborn soon after the latter went into the book, on 71 minutes, which brought on a tactical shift, Navarro & Callum tracking back deeper, while the central midfield narrowed up and cut down their triangle distances. It was this change which effectively sealed the match, in two ways.

The narrow formation saw the FFR attack look to play wider, and another hard tackle from Westmoreland saw Callum pick up the loose ball, float it forward for Simmons, who held up the attack, while Tilton made a sublime dummy, which drew Zak Josef, and Bozeman immediately followed into the space left open, Simmons delivering a perfectly timed pass which Bozeman slotted home to get his brace and the celebration was on with just about 11 minutes left.
Kelly O'Donnell replaced Callum prior to the kickoff and Amanda Hayes was ready to come in for Westmoreland about 90 seconds later when the final act took place.

Foreman saw a second yellow and a red when she elbowed Peltoa on a free kick near the 18; this time the VAR was not as forgiving, awarding a penalty to Free Republics. Hayes was called back and JC Bartok was brought on in place of Tilton. Following Smith calmly converting the penalty, the 10 player BP side were forced to withstand several concerted attacks over the final 8 minute plus 6 minutes added on, but Westmoreland, Bozeman and Simmons were able to sustain possession in stretches long enough to allow time to expire. At the final whistle, Baker Park had won the battle, and also held their own in the war, too.

lineup:
Gaines; Briggs (C), Vasillias, Foreman; Callum (O'Donnell 79'), Westmoreland, Taborn (Mason 71'), Navarro; Bozeman; Tilton (Bartok 83'), Simmons
Goals: Bozeman (2) (27, 79); Simmons (34); Vasillias (65)

Yellow Cards: Taborn, Navarro, Tilton, Foreman (2),
Red Card: Foreman
Fouls: FFR—24, BP—28
Corners: FFR—2, BP—5
A: 74,803

[Nephara]

Nephara 5 - 2 Drawkland
(4-4-2) 1 - Mercator; 18 - Longship (2 - Stride 70'), 5 - Thorn, 6 - Brosch, 3 - Close (c); 13 - Saroszi, 15 - Rauch, 21 - Moxham (8 - Chalk 63'), 16 - Deventer; 17 - Bastable, 10 - Metzger (14 - Laiota 78')
Goals: Saroszi 20', Metzger 33', Deventer 41', Chalk 75', Bastable 87'

Daniella Strauss squeezed just about her entire range of emotion into two hours. A clear-out of Drawkland's established footballers had crippled them, but there were players here capable of moments of magic; a rainbow flick? Seriously? And that let Southers (wearing... 0) set up Jaxon Madison to curl a strike into the top corner, past Mercator. Emotion: despair.
But the Cormorants had weapons and danger of their own, and the Drawkish didn't stop charging forward, leaving Xander exposed. He saved magnificently from Kurtis Bastable at point-blank range, then beat away a shot from Monako Saroszi at his near post... but couldn't do anything when they nipped ahead of Keys, unchallenged, to roll the ball across him at the second time of asking. Emotion: relief.
Soon afterwards, Saroszi set up Metzger who sent a crashing far-post header past Xander, before a faintly spectacular run from Moxham ended with them dragging the ball across for Morena Deventer to finish coolly unmarked from the edge of the area. The attack was fluid, it was good, the lead was warranted: elation.
The second half was a lot steadier, more passive. The Elites calmed down, packed out the centre of the park rather than ceding it; whoever among them was calling the shots recognised that they'd get murdered on the break if they just kept charging forward. Initially it looked to be paying some dividends, as Garnet picked out an electrifying crossfield pass, Nepharim hearts leapt in mouths, the towering Ross Hunter dived forward and glanced enough of a head to it to look to flick it above Mercator but the split-second reactions of the Eastweald stopper managed to flick the ball in turn over the bar. She was also tested by Hanson and Apollo but from distance, as the back four marshalled well against the threat and Malachi Chalk was injected to add energy and muscle to the midfield.
He'd soon offer a little more than that. Nepharim set pieces tended to be a weapon in their locker, but against their hulking opponents there'd been little headway. A free kick from Saroszi, their star on the night, might have found the top corner against other opposition. Here it just smacked Kingston in the face. But Saroszi got onto it quickly, battled Bakker to manage to hook it aside between his legs, and the loose ball came close enough to Malachi Chalk for him to fire low and hard towards the bottom corner. Xander was caught between a dive and an attempted block with his feet; he did neither. 4-1, Cormorants cruising.
Not for long. Hunter made it 4-2 with a thumping half-volley deflected off Thorn's back soon after, but Kurtis Bastable hit back with an eerily similar strike close to the end, and ultimately Nephara had looked comfortable from the moment they'd first taken the lead. Some nerves, but nerves came with the territory, it seemed.
Nephara were secure in the next round, clambering to top place on goal difference and condemning the brutally unlucky Free Republics to failure despite having beaten both sides beneath them in the rankings. Daniella Strauss had saved her job but what was genuinely more important to her was that she had salvaged the nation's pride. Had they lost this, well, the NFA wouldn't have had time to sack her before she'd have announced her resignation to anyone who'd listen. The failures had stung her to the core, just as much as she could exult in this glory, Nephara's first overachievement on paper in... in a terrifyingly long time.
She was, in all senses, proud.

She'd had a plan for what to do to the Godhead, if she'd lost this. Even had the equipment for it stashed somewhere, a big hammer with a pick on the other end.
She'd left that back in the dressing room.
The 'head had been left in the stands, and a crew would be over to remove it overnight and start trucking it to the next game. For now, though, it was just her - the rest of the squad had set off back for the hotel, the fans had filtered out, only a skeleton of staff remained.
She stepped out onto Gleason Field, swept at by a chill breeze that brushed off her scarf. She was a little surprised at how the pitch felt, grass layered over turf. Felt even better about not risking Strongbow.
She sat by the giant, looming boulder. Really, it was little taller than she was, though it was far broader and thicker, and would absolutely kill her instantly if it fell on her. It smelt a little of smoke from the dying flare wedged into its 'lips'. She pulled down the seat next to it and leaned on it as she pulled something else out of a satchel. Not the hammer. The rest of the bottle of Number Nine.
"Proved the haters wrong, didn't I?" she said. Talking to a stone? Yeah, that was the kind of mood she was in. Another couple years in this job could kill her, she swore.
"I fuckin' did, though." She took a hearty and ill-advised swig. "Dani Strauss, manager of the Cormorants. Some nobody from nowhere. Just like Tess Riether. And she won it all. She won it all starting Sasha Christener at rightback. So why not me, eh? Well. One step at a time, eh. Next's... next's..." She checked her phone. She squinted at it. She tried to figure out the implications. Damn, this stuff was wrong. And, well, it was useless, the matches were still going. "Whatever, we can beat 'em, right. Whoever they are."
She was rewarded with a pleasant green glow at the back of her mind. Maybe that was just the Number Nine. But then, maybe not.

She smelled roesti. Butter, potato, oil and salt. The traditional Nepharim hangover cure, which was convenient as she was presently nursing a traditional Nepharim hangover.
"Where the fuck--" She screwed her eyes shut and groaned. "Who-- ?"
"Ah, there you are!" An awfully familiar voice rang from around the corner, followed by an awfully familiar face. Franziska Rensenbrink, chair of the NFA, Strauss' boss. In a loose white shirt and holding a frying pan. She was in her early fifties, and looked younger in her face and older through her silver hair. She'd been slim in her youth, but too many working lunches with WCC officials had steadily thickened her over her tenure, though she still wore it gracefully.
Strauss was practical. "Am I being fired? 'Cause this is either very roundabout or very direct, and I can't quite tell which."
"Mm. No, but passing out next to the Godhead with a near-empty bottle of Old Sideburn's No. 9 would absolutely have been our excuse to cut you off without compensation if you'd lost," she said, pleasantly. "Really, dear, they call it a 'sipping rum' for a reason."
"Mmngh."
Rensenbrink chuckled as she padded back into the kitchen, then came back out with a heaping plate of roesti, smoked sausages, thick artisanal bread. It was dripping with grease, and thus a perfect representation of the ideal Nepharim breakfast. Especially after a night like Strauss'd had...
"But you didn't lose," said Rensenbrink, pulling up a chair by the bedside. "And, don't worry, if pictures of you existed they'd be all over social media by now. When you didn't show up at the hotel for an hour I had a couple of goons look for you with orders to scoop you up and bring you back here."
"And I really didn't notice--"
"No, you were, ah... barely conscious. Enough to slur out a few clumsy passes at the goons. You know, they do say it functions as a potent aph--"
"Great, brilliant," said Strauss hurriedly. She started on breakfast.
Rensenbrink chuckled. "In any case. No, your job is secure. We'll sweep your little indiscretion under the rug."
"Hrmnw--" Strauss swallowed. "How kind."
"I know! So all you have to worry about is Audioslavia."
"Oh. So that's who it... damn."
"Actually, on paper, we're both lucky to be here. On paper. In reality, they have Desya Kuznetsov."
Another bite. "Hhngh."
"I know. Still, we expect great things from you, Dani, that hasn't changed. Mm, not what the foreign press is saying, though. They seem to think this is a rage against the dying of the light. Hell, even the Audioslavians. Jeremy Jaffacake--"
"Oh, Christ."
"I know!" said Rensenbrink cheerfully. "'Nephara want to be Audioslavia so much, they even followed us into mediocrity', with 'blunt claws' and a 'slow paw'."
"That fucker! Wait, a slow paw?"
"Well, compared to Vilita."
"I mean, they are the... ahh, nevermind that." Strauss slumped aggressively back in the bed, and shifted aside the clean plate that was once breakfast. "I'll shove it all up him once we're done. I'll show 'em all. You'll see, you know."
Rensenbrink patted her on the shoulder. "I know, I know. Just recuperate here for as long as you need. The relevant people have been notified. There'll be time to go out and raise hell later."
"Damn right I fucking will!"
"I know."

Strauss was an odd figure, Rensenbrink had decided fairly on in knowing her, but she had her buttons. The emotional hair-trigger was there behind the sharp suits, quick tongue and progressive style, and times had shown you got the best results out of pressing it over and over. You'd galvanise her with vinegar, not honey.
A siege mentality, localised entirely to one woman against the world. Truly, Gethin Ramsey would be proud.