Baptism of Fire 72 - Everything Thread

[Atheist Democratic Freehold]

[Note I don’t RP much during the BOF]

ANF News (Sports)

Reporter A: Atheist Democratic Freehold is playing Mann Clan for this match. It is unknown if they will be playing a 4-5-1 or a 3-6-1, but we do know who their starters are.

STARTING 11
GK: #1 Zaksle Zijdansm
LB: #2 Andamsin Bardan
CB: #4 Redol Powen
CB: #5 Perd Oum
RB: #6 Savka Opladoor
LM: #7 Nonas Okald
LCM: #8 Savka Oqapels
CM: #13 Ceja Nobek 
RCM: #9 Redando Oasmedi (C)
RM: #10 Perd Gajalo
CF: #11 Andos Galqe

Reporter B: We should also check out their record:

RECORD BEFORE BAPTISM OF FIRE (W-T-L)
Tournaments: 0-0-0
Friendlies: 1-2-1
TOTAL: 1-2-1

Reporter A: They currently have a record of 1 win, 2 draws, and 1 loss. Let’s check their games (H means home, A means away, and @ means neutral venue which has not happened yet:

1. (H) DRAW vs. Third ZSeparatists (1-1)
2. (H) WIN vs. Third ZSeparatists (2-1)
3. (H) LOSS vs. Third ZSeparatists (2-4)
4. (A) DRAW vs. Trolleborg (2-2)

Reporter B: There is not much to say before a game, but we hope that you will be watching the game later today.

Reporter A: Signing off.

[Villablanca]

Villablanca Team Preview
The Villablancan Times


About Villablanca: Football is easily the number one sport in Villablanca, however they're only now participating internationally. The country's education system prioritises health and physical activity and there's a huge amount of passion for the game throughout the island. That being said Villablanca is still relatively small population wise, and may find it hard to compete against some of the huge nations at the World Cup. This makes the BoF a perfect opportunity against fellow unranked nations. The whole tournament is being shown live on tv, and Villablancans have travelled in droves to watch their star players test themselves against over countries. The president himself is also said to be travelling to every game. There's a huge sense of national pride and excitement ahead of the tournament.


Manager: Sebastian Cortez (71 y/o): Cortez has done and seen everything, except leading his country and testing himself internationally. The 71 year old describes it as a dream come true, with the Villablancan FA rewarding him for years of service to the local game. This'll likely be his last tournament before retirement, and what a way to top off an illustrious career. Cortez had stints at Deportivo, Candas and Cantlapino, winning titles wherever he went. He's also done excellent work with grassroots football and several charities. On the field, Cortez has evolved and developed a pressing system which he'll look to implement here, with his philosophy built around retaining possession and then winning it back quickly.
Assistant Manager: Claudio Diaz (58 y/o)
Head Physio: Felipe Ortiz (53 y/o)

Jorge Gago (GK) (32 y/o): Standing at 6"4 Gago is the tallest member of the team. He's a solid and experienced keeper who's been starting regularly for his local side Portavo since the age of 17. He's the country's best shot stopper and his commanding presence in the box will be important due to the defence's relative lack of height. He's also talented with the ball at his feet and has ability to throw the ball long distances at pace, which could be useful for starting counter attacks.

Alejandro Manu-Manu (CB) (19): Young and inexperienced, Manu-Manu wouldn't have usually been a starter but injuries have meant he's forced his way into the first team. He's shown promise during his breakthrough campaign for Abejar, but he'll have to prove his critics wrong as many believe playing on the international stage could be a step too far. He finds himself out of position a lot but often makes up for it with excellent recovery tackles and his impressive pace, but will he get away with that against tougher opposition?

Jose Tello (CB) (36) (Captain): Tello may be near the end of his career but he'll be an integral part of the Villablanca side. A legend at league champions Cantlapino, Tello has made up for his declining pace by improving his defensive positioning and passing range. His cool head and winning mentality will be key, he's captained Cantlapino to a record 9 league titles and 6 cups throughout an illustrious career. On the ball, Tello will likely roam upfield and advance play with his passing, whether that be a simple ball in to midfield or a defensive splitting pass towards the strikers. Out of possession, Tello's uncanny ability to read the game and make interceptions will be key to stopping counters. There are some question marks over his pace, although the other two centre backs are expected to do most of the leg work.

Gaspar Savala (CB) (23): Savala struggled to get in to the team at Portavo until last season, when he switched from a right back to a centre back. Despite being only 5"9 he impressed with his passionate and committed defending, often throwing himself in the way of shots and making heroic blocks. He's become a fan favourite of sorts due to his passion, although there are doubts about his discipline and his lack of height could be an issue against big strikers. Since he's a converted full back he good pace which will be important playing in this system.

Leon Garcia (LM) (23): As the only one starting on the left flank, Garcia will have to use his athleticism and stamina to shuttle up and down the wing. Playing the same position in a similar system at Deportiva, he'll be well accustomed with the demands of the role. When the team is in possession, Garcia will push high and offer width where he can send in some of his lethal crosses. In defence however, he'll be expected to deal with the opposition winger and drop deep to form a 5 at the back. No doubt he'll have his work cut out with a wide range of attacking and defensive responsibilities, but the 23 year old showed his quality in the league and is a solid and dependable option

Sergio de la Fuenta (CM) (25): Standing at 6"2, de la Fuenta is a strong, combative midfielder. Although he plays as a defensive midfielder for club side Cantlapino, he'll be asked to play slightly further forward to fit in to the system. A very much defensive minded player, de la Fuenta will offer a crucial spine to the midfield and give defensive protection to the back 3. In possession, he'll likely recycle the ball to more technically gifted players but it's off the ball where he really excells. Fantastic at pressing, he'll use his speed and strength to bully opponents off the ball and try to quickly win it back.

Alex Silva (CM) (30): The more silky and technical player of the midfield two, Silva has spent 8 years at Deportiva. His role will be to connect the attack and defence with excellent passing and movement. As talented as he is on the ball, he is defensively weak, with de la Fuenta expected to take the brunt of the workload in that regard. However on the ball he is hugely talented, able to play quick one twos and play in strikers with his vision. He could form a formidable partnership with Sanchez, with the pair expected to be the team's major creative force.

Andres del Toro (RM) (28): Usually a right back for club side Horche, del Toro still has the attacking acumen to play further forward. A similar player to Garcia, del Toro will provide crosses in attack and solidity in defence, with most of the creativity and attacking threat coming through the centre. Although undoubtably strong technically, there are doubts on whether he'll be able to shuttle up and down all game and this is very much a new role for him, so he'll have to adapt quickly.

Felipe Sanchez (CAM) (27): The creative hub of the team, Sanchez will be the main man for crafting out chances. A key player for Cantlapino last season, Sanchez racked up 19 assists and chipped in with 12 goals. He'll be given license to roam the final third, looking to get in to space before crafting out chances for the forwards. His quick and creative passing will be key to the team's success. Sanchez is also adept at getting out of tight spots, with the ability to dribble out of any situation. He's also deadly from dead balls, and will be the team's main set piece taker

Roberto Mangas (ST) (27): Mangas netted an impressive 19 goals for Portavo last season and will be looking to strike a deadly partnership with Martinez. Strong, skilful and capable of the spectacular, he'll be the side's main threat in the air. His huge leap will give him an edge over smaller defenders and his ability to hold the ball up before laying it off could be key. Mangas also has a rather impressive highlight reel, complete with volleys, overhead kicks and various other acrobatics. He'll be looking to show off his skill on the world stage and establish himself as a key player.

Luca Martinez (ST) (24): The team's main man, fans are hugely excited to see Martinez test himself against stronger opposition. He's just had the best season of his career, scoring an incredible 32 goals for Cantlapino. Still only 24 he's going from stride to stride and is establishing himself as Villablanca's modern day superstar. With electric pace and lethal finishing, Martinez will be a threat to any defence. He's capable of scoring a goal out of anything, beating players left and right and scoring goals from impossible angels. Getting him service and providing balls for his intelligent movement off the ball will be key to the team's success. Fans have high hopes that Martinez and Sanchez can recreate the partnership that won Cantlapino the league.


The Bench: Villablanca have solid back up keepers, Costa is an able deputy and the 38 year old Ramon provides valuable experience. However the are some depth issues at centre back. Injuries mean the entertaining yet often calamitous Parco twins have been called up, as well as the unproven 18 year old Mateo Blanco. Further up the field things look more promising, Zayas is an exciting young talent at centre mid, while Herrera is a reliable if unspectacular back up. On the flanks, San Jose is a more attacking version of Garcia and could get starts against more defensive teams and the talented 20 year old Suarez could well win a starting spot at right mid if he impresses from the bench. Espiritiu is unlikely to get minutes at attacking mid due to the quality of Sanchez, however at striker there are several quality options. Gomes offers a huge areal threat, standing at 6"3 with a massive leap and the 19 year old Teodoro brings pace and trickery off the bench, which could be deadly against tired defences.

Group E:
Villablanca
Mavinet
Shokpos
Donnacona
When U Die
The Appraisal To The Allmighty MR TAYTO
Lake Esper

Villablanca's bye in the first round means they were able to watch and assess the quality of their competitors. Mavinet, Donnacona and Lake Esper seem like the biggest competitors in what looks like a tight group. Villablanca's opponents vary greatly in both playing style and political ideologies in what promises to be a diverse and exciting group of teams.

Fixtures:
Matchday 1: No game played
Matchday 2: Villablanca vs Mavinet
Matchday 3: Shokpos vs Villablanca
Matchday 4: Villablanca vs Donnacona
Matchday 5: When U Die vs Villablanca
Matchday 6: Villablanca vs The Appraisal To The Allmighty MR TAYTO
Matchday 7: Lake Esper vs Villablanca

[Riennic Isles]

Tamaki Oda was not a man who suffered fools gladly. At fifty-five years of age, he reckoned that the time he had left was far too invaluable to be spent on those who didn't deserve his time. A grizzled lion of a man, Oda had grown up in abject poverty, working ten hours a day as a stevedore for an unscrupulous shipping company to feed his family. Throughout his long years down at the docks, he had seen more than his fair share of characters of every stripe imaginable. Pistol-wielding drug dealers, drunken sailors, shady hoodlums, jilted lovers - you name it, Oda had seen them all a thousand times over. He quickly earned, and preserved, a reputation for being a hard but fair man who was not averse to dispensing his own brand of violent justice whenever the situation called for it.

But it would be demeaning to suggest that Oda's stern manner was the only facet to what was, in fact, a colourful character. Oda was also a rabid football fanatic. His was a slow-burning passion cultivated over dreary evenings down at the docks, where the only entertainment to be found were the dingy local pubs and slatternly prostitutes. A man of unyielding moral fortitude, Oda chose instead to spend his bleak hours playing football on the concrete breakwaters, where he had no compunction about mercilessly felling his opponents. Many a stevedore or sailor trying to clumsily trick their way past the towering man-mountain in defence found themselves face down on the concrete with a broken nose, and resolved not to revisit their bumbling impersonations of a football player ever again.

Despite the fact that Oda the footballer relied more on his intimidating physical presence than any natural aptitude or talent, his fascination with football would turn out to be his salvation from a life spent lugging backbreaking crates of canned cat food around. Fully aware of his own limitations as a player, Oda gradually honed an interest in the more cerebral aspects of the game. He bought five-rin football magazines from the local newsagents and spent hours poring over crude illustrations and match analyses of football matches played elsewhere. He became a familiar face to the librarians at the municipal library, where he would borrow a crate of acrid-smelling tapes, lock himself in the audio-visual room and devour grainy footage of World Cup matches from a bygone age. The man had an almost insatiable appetite for all things football. It was a slow, painful process, but Oda stuck to the task of clothing the bare bones of his footballing experience with expert knowledge with uncommon perseverance. It took him the better part of a decade, but Oda became a veritable expert on such diverse subjects as coaching, tactics, scouting, and player development.

As soon as he felt he was ready, Oda borrowed a moth-eaten suit off one of his mates, bought a tin of shaving cream from his neighbourhood chemists, and dressed up for the first time in his life. The junior acolytes at the Riena Football Association laughed their heads off at the simple, rugged labourer with ideas above his station, and snootily pointed him to the construction site two blocks down the street. They weren't laughing when Oda walked out of the interview room with a shiny Riena FA name-tag identifying him as a newly minted scout for the national team.

From that point onwards, Oda went from strength to strength within the arcane halls of the RFA. The time-honoured virtues of honesty and integrity, allied to a steadfast belief in the value of hard work - all attributes that had served Oda well during his stint as a manual labourer - helped him establish a reputation as a reliable scout with a keen eye for talent. As Oda added to the list of gifted players he had spotted, the RFA mandarins began to sit up and take notice. Even as he continued to unearth raw talent all across the isles, he became a trusted lieutenant of many a senior RFA bureaucrat. Oda found himself promoted, and promoted again, charting a meteoric rise through the ranks of the RFA, all while doing a job he sincerely loved from the bottom of his heart. As chief scout, he oversaw the expansion and streamlining of Riena's international and multiversal scouting department; and he was an instrumental influence in the implementation of Riena's inaugural national talent development programme.

Oda loved his job; to him, finding and nurturing talented footballers was a calling, even more so if he could play a part in giving those players a better life. He remembered only too well how he had spent thirty-five years of his life, living hand-to-mouth in the slums. To him, a youth team player he had helped scout was a child granted salvation from a life of poverty and suffering. He would have been content to remain chief scout for the rest of his career; for the rest of his life, even, if the RFA would have him.

But just as fate had plucked Oda from a life spent toiling in the docks, so too fate conspired to put Oda on a different path now.

Sat in his office, Oda leaned back in his chair and passed a hand across his eyes, trying to process the events that had transpired over the past week. He could never have imagined that he would be thrust into a position of such immense responsibility at this stage of his career. Sitting on top of his office desk was a manila folder, almost bursting at the seams with paper. On it, scrawled in black marker, was a single word - candidates. Oda contemplated the manila folder for a few moments, reached for the bottle of chilled lager he had retrieved from the office refrigerator, and cracked it open. He took a long draught from the bottle, savouring the sensation of the cold amber liquid trickling down his parched throat.

Once his thirst had been slaked and his mind refocused, Oda perched a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles on his nose, flipped the folder open and pulled out the first dossier in it. He would soon be making one of the most momentous decisions he had ever made in his career in football. A decision that could either send Riennese football spiraling towards ruin - or lay the foundations for a glorious new age for football in Riena.

Oda cleared his throat, adjusted his spectacles, and began to read -

"Kanata Shiranami, 24 years old. Final year undergraduate at the University of Riena ..."

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – The first foray into the world of football

It's the Year 2088, 3 years after WGP2 and NSSCRA 9. Clarissa gathered her friends around for a dinner party, and perhaps to propose something along the way. She figured that if she could get them to go for the world of racing, perhaps it could work for football as well.

Make no mistake that the Valentians are not exactly the kind of people that are extremely dedicated to football. While it is indeed true that there are nation-wide leagues, little leagues, among many others, football is something that they did not exactly focus on. This is on top of the Valentians being conservative with the amount of money and budget that they have, most of them going to public services.

Going back to Clarissa, she was holding up a poster of Baptism of Fire for Valentijn and the rest of the people to see. A lot of them signed up for the challenge, featuring a more diverse range of people this time, including a few civilians or those that were not exactly talked about in the Valentian lore. They have their own stories to share, but they were not as pronounced and talked about as the leaders of Valentine Z. It was perhaps for a good percentage for them to make a name out of themselves.

Valentijn looked at the paper, detailing through every single contract details and terms and conditions to ensure that they did not get fed a bummer. The sign-up started soon after, with up to 2000 shortlisted folks, eventually going down to a handful 20-30 people.

With this sign-up period comes a rather bizarre and an unusual being that came out. Someone that no one expected her to show up, not due to her incompetence, but simply due to her nature.

Holly Lapia Starlight.

A being made out of lights and is cold to the touch, Holly heard about the news buzzing around from her garden dimension (located somewhere in Yangon, to protect the nature of it), and she would came out and visit Valentijn and Clarissa, the husband-wife team who are organising the whole event.

"Ahh, hello there, my friend! Holly, what brings you here?" Clarissa approached the shy light girl. Despite their contrasting differences, it was more than definite that they have became the best of friends - both cheerful when they try to, but one of them being a little more introverted.

"I was wondering if I could... See and join this," she said with a small hint of confidence in her voice, "I want to meet new people, and the sports, I heard about these ever since you guys raced cars. I wanted to try that, but... You know, I am not that good when it comes to racing. Maybe ball-kicking is more of a thing."

"Haha, you're in, Holly! Just sign your name here..." Clarissa gleefully gave Holly a pen to write on, to which the latter took the pen gently and signed her name on the form.

She would then eventually become the goalkeeper of the team, with the team captain (none other than Valentijn) citing that "She... Let's just say that she has the magic without going into the border of cheating. Her reaction times are amazing!"

Of course, there's also a bit of a trouble with allowing Holly to be near other players, given her chilly nature - she has the body that is constantly at 40 Kelvin (minus her hand).

"I understand! And don't worry, I will do just fine in the fields!"

With the team set, and support from the entire populace of Valentine Z, the Valentian Football Team set off in their dropship to their first destination, and for their very first match.

---

The Valentians – First Match, First Victory

And the first match would be something that is impressive especially for first-time players. They were pitted against South Charlia, and there, they would win with a 3-2 score.

Holly did her job as best as she could, but it did not help that she tend to get a little overwhelmed when the going gets tough. And even for as something as BoF, it did get tough; the Valentian Defenders were a little too tall for their own good, which allowed their opponents to weave and run around in circles, and delivering their fantastic kicks. Holly was able to block perhaps 3 shots, but 2 went in.

"She can certainly do better," Valentijn would comment when it comes to talking about his term, "But I know that she has the ambition all in her heart, so I am actually already satisfied with the team's performance. Hell, this is already our first win here!"

The defenders and midfielders would also try their best, though not without getting away unscathed. At around 50' of the match, Adriana would suffer a small malfunction on her right leg, while Valentina fumbled and nearly slipped on the fake grass with her nearly planting her face.

As for the 3 goals, they would be delivered twice by Clarissa, whose calculative nature and her impeccable calculations on trajectories would guarantee definite goals. Though of course, even then, she had her kicks blocked, either due to her code's oversight, or the performance of the opponents. Mostly the latter!

Unexpectedly, at the last few minutes of the match, Gwen would pass the ball to Jolyn as the former was getting surrounded by the opponents. Jolyn, in an act of athleticism, kicked the ball straight into the goal, which was unexpected by both teams. The sudden nature of it was too much, they thought.

Valentijn would watch over from the dropship, preferring to stay inside due to his size. He would have a robot body to which he control in order to interact with the team. As for Valentina, her 60 meter tall height was shrunk down by improved magic (instead of just 14 hours, she now could stay shrunk down for up to 6000 hours, cancellation possible any time).

The Valentians then bought a couple of food and drink items from the host country, in turn bringing it back up to their dropship for a celebration.

Valentijn gave everyone a clap and a short speech, congratulating the team for their effort, as well as for the cheerleaders for raising the spirits, and for the field medic Germaine to act quickly on Adriana's foot, and any other possibly injuries that she might see along the way.

"A good Prost, to everyone! And may we get the same fortune and performance on the next matches!"

[Maccian]

---

Major Blow as Légionne Roi Suffers Tournament Ending Injury!

by Emily Carter

The Maccian striker who featured in the 1-0 loss to Zeta Reka was injured in the match and was stretchered off. Légionne Roi has suffered a broken ankle and will be heading back to Maccian to undergo surgery. Here's what assistant manager John True had to say about that:

"You know, it's really unfortunate that Légionne Roi won't be here to play the rest of the tournament. It's really unlucky when your first game of both professional and international football, you injure yourself inside of the first 30 minutes. I'm absolutely gutted for the young lad," said John True.

We asked Kidomasdipuetz Anjill about the now gaping hole in the offence now that Légionne Roi has dropped out of the squad.

"Erm- this is a shame. Big, big shame. He could've earnt his freedom but instead, he got injured so now any hope or glimmer of life outside prison is gone. My best bets, after surgery he'll be in the hospital recovering and will then probably transferred to a minimum-security prison just because his chance at redemption was cruelly ripped away from him. Common courtesy, you know. As for the big gaping hole in the striker position, we've decided that we're gonna move players around in different positions. Amiensha Kiyllē has been showing real promise in training as a striker. She has been a goal poacher in the 11 a side exhibition matches the squad played against each other. She scored a hat-trick in the first match they played and a brace in the second one. She must have some prior experience playing football, there's no way we picked a bunch of criminals who play football at a schoolchild's level and we got her, a player who looks like she could have played for an academy team," stated the Kidomasdipuetz.

Our interviewer then asked Anjill: "It looks like you're coming out of the loss to Zeta Reka with a positive attitude and actively trying to improve your players. Why did you have the players playing games against themselves?"

"Well, we just lost to Zeta Reka because they were much more physical and aggressive than our players were. I think this is due to experience, most of these kids just sat out during PE lessons were football was being played. We went over the footage and analysed what went wrong for our team. John True and I saw our mistakes and decided to try and remedy them in training. So we set up these exhibition matches. These matches allowed us to figure out the positions they're best suited for and how to utilise the skillset they have right now to benefit the team. I want to start Kiyllē against Valentine Z as well as making a few changes to this team. All I can say is that I'm looking forward to the match against Valentine Z, they've shown that they can play football as a team and have the same drive and determination that we have as well. This match will certainly be interesting, Valentine Z has shown they're good team, but can we disprove the critics and deliver?"

"There have been reports claiming that these players here are not suitable for the physical nature of football and are too frail. What do you have to say about that?"

"These reports saying that these kids aren't suitable for this tournament is, forgive my language, utter bullshit. These players of mine have been extremely motivated in performing the best they can for their country and for themselves. They'll learn and adapt to the opposition as we progress further on in the tournament"

"Alright. Final question. Who's the new player?"

"We thought it would be appropriate to bring on another criminal in Roi's place, preferably one that was quite fast and could whip the ball into the box. We've scoured the whole of Maccian, or rather, the state of Janseebuck, for talent that we could bring in. Angelina Aurellix from the city of Mortvivant has been invited to come and participate in the Baptism of Fire 72. She's almost touched down here in Appalachia. I'll probably rest her for today's game because she would be fatigued due to jet lag. Sorry in advance for going off-topic, but the cuisine here in Appalachia is insane. Their fried chicken is so good, by the end of this tournament these players should put on a couple pounds of weight. These critics won't be saying nothing about Zeyla or Kriessmann when they're bodying defenders like they are made of a house of cards I'm really happy to be here, representing Maccian you know?"

"Thank you for your time Kidomasdipuetz, good luck against Valentine Z!"

"Thank you, and we're going to need all the help we can get!"

After the interview, the Kidomasdipuetz announced the team lineup. There have been a few key differences, with Kiyllē, Drowska, Koiu, and Vizalietd coming in for Kizerain, who remains on the bench after his poor performance in the last match, Zeyla and Jamressl and Kadune. It seems like the Kidomasdipuetz isn't messing around and is going into the match with a big emphasis on offence. Perhaps Librastearpen can make his debut, he looks as though he is a threat on that left wing.

[Lake Esper]

A Fish out of Water
Chapter 2

Kieran quickly pulled up Oscar’s Facebook profile on his way to the company car. The journalist was about his age. He wore glasses and sported the trim haircut all the rage in Lake Esper. For some reason, he had expected the sports journalist to mirror the athletes he covered in appearance, yet Oscar did not match up with that mold at all. Tall and skinny, he usually wore cable-knit jumpers, slacks, and duck boots, at least as far as Kieran could discern from his Facebook profile. It was a far cry from the rough-and-tumble athletic world that Kieran imagined, but then again, for all he knew, the man could wear Esper City gear to all the matches he reported on.

He then turned to Oscar’s author profile at the Esper City Times. Mostly football, Kieran noted, with a smattering of other sports: cricket, bocce, snooker. Lake Esper had bocce competitions? he wondered with a bit of a snort. The prose was laconic, without any of the flowery language all too common in the newspaper’s Opinion section. No, sir, it was colloquial, straight and to the point, replete with action verbs and missing the verb “to be” in many spots.

So would the guy himself be as laconic as his prose? It was hard to tell with these people. Sometimes the curtest writers tended to be the most loquacious people, but sometimes they were also taciturn in real life. Kieran would have to wait and see.

The car was waiting for him, and he put his contingency carryon in the trunk. Sometimes the paper asked him to travel on short notice, so he always kept a packed bag in his office in case a car needed to whisk him away from he office. It really came in handy in times like this. The driver locked the doors, and soon enough, Kieran was on the A40 heading towards the airport.

---

Apparently, the newspaper did not believe in leaving buffer zones for international flights, so Kieran arrived at the airport only an hour before his flight to Felix. Luckily, Lake Esper had no exit immigration, and he got through security just in time to reach the gate as the airline started boarding. Kieran found Oscar already in his seat on the widebody, and the sports reporter stood up to greet him. “Oscar Langley, I presume?” Kieran asked. He already knew the answer.

The other journalist nodded. “I see you’re a bit of a history fan,” he said, chortling and extending his hand to Kieran. “Ready for this?”

“Not particularly,” he replied. “My editor told me that I would be going to Ethane about two hours ago. I suppose she’ll send an email with more details about what exactly I’m going to report on, but I’m an international affairs guy. I know next to nothing about sports.”

“Ah, well, that can be fixed,” chuckled Oscar. Kieran had a good impression of the man so far. He shook hands firmly, had a good sense of humor, seemed willing to open up and share his expertise. This might work, he thought. After all, traveling is one of the best ways to get to know people better. “I like to think of football as a battle, with two competing strategists trying to get the ball beyond the other team’s defenses…” As Oscar started explaining his perspective on reporting, Kieran started to download reports from the major newspapers in Lake Esper’s groupmates. Olivia had mentioned foreign perceptions as a key item to report on, and a newspaper like the Dai Hoa Times of Mavinet was as good a place to start at as any. Kieran clicked on an article on their front page that looked promising. He raised his eyebrows at an interesting passage in the writeup, about the nation’s first match with Lake Esper.

“Is it normal for a country to hold back information about its players and tactics in an international competition?” he asked, when the other man had reached a stopping point.

“Tactics, yes,” Oscar said. “After all, you don’t want the other team to know what exact moves your team will make. But I’d say it’s rare, and definitely a bit of a faux pas, not to release a 23-man roster of players right before the match.”

“Interesting,” Kieran mumbled. “Well, this paper from Mavinet is remarking on how they don’t know anything on Lake Esper’s players at all, or even our head coach. Come to think about, I don’t really know much about them, either.”

“That’s strange,” said Oscar. “Let me pull up the team roster on my iPad.” He turned the screen to show Kieran. “Here’s a diagram of the starting lineup.” He scrolled down. “And here’s a list of the players, with some biographical information. Position. Age. Club. Looks like the head coach is Cian Hargrave, forty-two, of Esper Sporting. Huh.”

“Is that an unusual choice?” asked Kieran. “Please do pardon my ignorance. I really don’t know anything about this.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Oscar smiled. “It’s my job to explain the game to people who don’t know a thing about it.” The two reporters shared a laugh. “To answer your question, there are some folks who argue that sports and politics don’t mix. Appointing Hargrave means that our MINSAC doesn’t really jibe with those people.”

“How so?”

“He’s a bit of a compromise choice. Esper Sporting is an academy, which means it largely operates outside the normal league structure. And the rivalries between the main Esper City teams especially often carry out beyond the football field into boardrooms and courtrooms, which means appointing any one of their managers would have sparked claims of favoritism or unlawful selection or something like that,” Oscar explained. “It’s bullshit, but MINSAC must have wanted to avoid all that legal crap and selected someone that everyone could agree on, even with a bit of grumbling.”

“Apparently the Esper City Times isn’t a big fan of those folks who prognosticate about the separation of sport and politics,” Kieran responded. “I’m pretty much here to talk about the political ramifications of this tournament. Nothing else.” He paused. “Oh, there’s something else that’s interesting in this article.”

“Oh, what’s that?” Oscar asked.

“The f***ing tabloids must have gotten to Ethane ahead of us. The people from Mavinet must have run into one of their reporters in New Sarum already.”

“Letson,” Oscar corrected him. “We’re playing the first couple of games in Letson.”

“We have to make yet another connection when we get there?” Kieran groaned. “That’s going to be the first line of my report. Ethane provokes diplomatic crisis by forcing Lake Esper to play in a minor city that’s not the capital.”

Oscar laughed and shook his head. “We’ll be playing in their main shindig the second half of the group stage, the King Edward VI stadium in New Sarum.”

“Oh great,” sighed Kieran. “More shuttling back and forth.”

“This is a normal practice. And you’re an international affairs reporter, for God’s sake!” exclaimed Oscar. “You should be happy to explore more of the country! After all, you said yourself that the paper wanted a man on the ground feel. So stay on the ground. I can handle reporting on the games.”

Kieran considered Oscar’s statement. “I am a bit querulous,” he admitted. “If I can complain about something, I will complain about it.”

Oscar smiled. “Me too, man. Me too.”

The plane pushed away from the gate and began its taxi.

[Adyatin]

A house in Northern Adyatyagrad, Adyatin

“Nikolau! Come eat!”, a voice shouted from the kitchen. Babushka had made her stew, and she was particular about when to eat it. Nik never understood why - it was a stew, it’s just as good in an hour, and it’s even better the next day, so why would he have to come now? He was sitting on the floor of the living room, his older brother next to him. The two boys were glued to the boxy television set in front of them, the voice from the kitchen already forgotten. They were barely ever allowed to watch, because it was Father’s television, but today was a special day. The two’s eyes were glued to the TV as the camera panned over the faces of the players, and a rendition of the national anthem that sounded as if it came out of a tin can blasted from its tiny speakers. Nik murmured the names of each player as they passed, the camera starting at the far left. Skuranov and Andriyev came first, the two ZSKA defenders that he hated.

Like his father and his brother and his grandfather, Nik was a Karalsky fan. But today he wasn’t wearing the old royal purple shirt that he would wear whenever he played. It was time for something new. He wore a white shirt, with green sleeves, on which he had painted the cross that was as holy to him as the Orthodox cross in the kitchen was to Babushka. The Adyati Cross. Next to it, he had drawn the pattern of the kit, and the number 6. Kirilo Lutsenko, the pride of Karalsky, part of the national midfield. At school, Mischka from across the road had said his jersey was a fake, Nik couldn’t afford a real one, and that Lutsenko wasn’t good, that he couldn’t play a straight pass and Adyatin would only be good because of Petro Simunov, ZSKA’s superstar. Nik thought Mischka was too full of himself. In the break, when they played football, he had taken the ball away from him and sent him flying onto the ground, and when Mischka cried foul play Nik had told him he was a crybaby, just like Petro Simunov, and that unlike him at least Lutsenko could take a tackle. Most of the kids at school were fans of Karalsky and backed him up, even though Nik knew it had been a foul. In the evening, he asked Father if it was true what Mischka said, and Father said that he could indeed not afford a new Adyati kit, but that Mischka’s family also could not, and even if they did, Nik had put ten times as much of his heart into his self-made kit.

Now, the camera panned towards the middle, and there he was. His hero, Kirilo Lutsenko. Nik gasped, his hand clutched to his chest and heart swelling over the national anthem. Adyatin were lining up for their first international game, at the Baptism of Fire, against a country called Floyssauu. Nobody in Adyatin had ever heard of Floyssauu, Nik thought. He definitely hadn’t. “Why are we playing those Flosser-whatever? Where is Savojarna? I wanna see them beat the commies!”, Nik’s younger sister Katya piped. “They’re not here, stupid girl, they don’t play in the Baptism”, Nik answered, proud to show off his football knowledge and with the arrogance only a nine year old could muster, “they played the Baptism like ten years ago! They sucked though, we’ll do much better!” Next to Nik, his brother rolled his eyes. “Shut up, both of you! I wanna see the game”, he said as the grainy image on TV changed to the lineups of the teams. The Baptism graphics were slick and modern, something none of them had seen before and much nicer than the AVL’s text-on-screen graphics, but they looked washed out on Father’s old, boxy TV.

Then, finally, the whistle went. The game had started. The kids fell silent as the match began, and the announcer was talking over the noise from the stadium. “Now, it is a historic moment, Adyatin are beginning their first international football game ever! The team is suited for this challenge, as they immediately build up over Simunov”, he began. Nik thought about how weird it was to suddenly hope Simunov would do something great, rather than cheering for Lutsenko to knock him off his feet. “Lutsenko wide to the wing, Maritsyn comes forward. Now, a cross for Adyatin, here’s Hautarovich and… denied just over the bar. Fervent start for Adyatin here!”, he quickly rattled off, the excitement of the kids going up and up.

Suddenly, the door flew open. “Children! Food!”, Babushka shouted with her wooden spoon raised high above her head. They knew she wouldn’t actually beat them with it, but it was enough to immediately make Katya jump. Nik’s brother, Serhiy, turned and got up, but Nik was as if he was glued to the screen. “Babushka, please not now! It’s the game! Adyatin are playing! For the first time! I wanna watch Lutsenko and all the others please!”, he was pleading while looking at the corner that was following, Levenden punching the ball away. He knew all the players from the newspapers, he knew everything there was to know about Mario Levenden, the goalkeeper of Floyssauu. “I don’t care, Nik, dinner is now. Come here!”, she said.

Nik ate as fast as he could, and he has never eaten dinner as fast as this evening. The TV set was still running, and nobody has bothered to turn it off, when he heard sudden shouting. It turned out to be a near miss, but it made him eat even faster. When Nik came back to the TV, waiting for everyone else to finish their dinner like Babushka wanted, and the kids raced back to the tiny living room, they were just about to kick off the second half. Pushing the ball forward, Adyatin still were at the brink of a goal, but they wouldn’t score. The kids wouldn’t move a single bit, waiting for that one elusive goal. But then, there was a change. “Twenty minutes to go, and Hautarovich is starting to look tired. And he is now coming off, bringing on the second man up top, Arseniy Varchenko of Karalsky Adyatyagrad”, the announcer said, and Nik couldn’t hold his excitement. “Serhiy, it’s Varchenko! It’s our Varchenko! He’ll score, he’s our hero, I know he’ll score”, he said. He would be right: Seven minutes to go, Lutsenko played the ball forward diagonally, onto the playmaker, Yushchenko, dribbling through the defence, passing off to Varchenko, and he shot the goal! Now, tomorrow, at school, he’d bet Mischka would not say a word about Karalsky.

[Southern Esportivan Union]

OOC: No hard feelings OOC'ly, just trying to stir up some IC rivalry.

Earo declares Environmental Disaster
Premier unsure if more islands will sink

CAYO COSTA - Earon Premier Sylvia Becket declared a nation wide Environmental Disaster yesterday following the evacuation of residents from Hog Island. Becket also confirmed that following a recent storm, Piaçabuçu Island has now become East Piaçabuçu Island and West Piaçabuçu Island, after storm surge severed the island in two. A rise in sea level caused by climate change has been noted as the reason for the two most recent events, as well as several other flooding events which have happened in recent years.

SPUDS SINK SOUTHERN ESPORTIVAN UNION

---

Premier Becket Slams Insensitive Jeckish Media
Poor Choice of Headlines leads to Rebuke

CAYO COSTA - Premier Sylvia Becket has lashed out at the publishers and editors of a Jeckish newspaper in response to a headline which she considers to be highly insensitive. The story, which was published not long ago following Jeckland's 3-1 victory over the SEU national team in the recently concluded Campionato Esportiva, was titled "Spuds Sink Southern Esportivan Union."

Considering the recent environmental disaster which has befallen Earo, in which the rising sea levels caused by climate change have seen several islands submerged underwater, Becket called the headline, "the most insensitive and careless rubbish ever spouted by Jeckish miscreant journalists." She would probably have continued on, had she not started choking on her words in anger.

The Jeckish journalists in question, to their credit, do seem to have recognized their error and reached out to offer an explanation and apology. Becket doesn't appear to have accepted any of it.

"As far as I'm concerned, they can get stuffed!" exclaimed Becket later on in the press conference. Becket's government has come under increasing pressure in recent months, with the Environmental Alliance gaining in the polls on her National Conservative Party. The tone of her response is likely being driven by desire to appear as though she is taking the situation seriously, in contrast to accusations of apathy made by those most affected by the disaster, the environmental refugees.

The SEU national team will, following a rather successful jaunt in the Campionato, play their first match tonight in the Baptism of Fire. Their opponents are the Rushmori nation of Adyatin, who won their opening match four days ago against Floyssauu, 1-0. They are the only team in Group A to have secured a victory so far, let alone to have scored a goal, with the other two matches in the group having ended in scoreless draws.

[Muradil]

“How’s the role swap going on?” the interviewer asked Jan.

“I’ve had enough time to adapt into coaching, besides, Hël is still with me, and he’s been very helpful helping me transition.”

“Any differences between your coaching styles, or will you continue Mnęrotï’s style?”

“Maybe it’s tradition back home, but the 4-4-2 formation still looks solid to me. And we’ll be more aggressive for sure, you can thank the Farves for that. Sure, we might not have had the international results to back that up on the AOCAF, but that was only our first international tournament and we weren’t sure what to expect. Muradil’s a pretty isolated country, after all. Despite our three consecutive losses, I think it wasn’t that bad, and we could push through this time with more experience.”

“And what about the new additions to the team? Anyone we should look forward to seeing play?”

“Well, I look forward to seeing Sấutér and Bruĉï on an international stage. They’ve been playing together for about ten years now, and they’ve always been delightful to watch. Other than that, I feel like Zêdrès is at his best right now; I’m not saying the other players shouldn’t be followed closely, of course, just that those three are the ones who have impressed me the most in these last few days.”

“For our final question: is there anything else you want to say? Any closing remarks?”

“I just want to let you all know how grateful I am to be here. Also want to thank our glorious Leader, and all the work the government has been doing behind the scenes to make this possible, and to allow fans come here. Also, of course, I’d like to thank our own personal Farves, who have been helping us for the last two years. These fellas have football for blood, and they have been adamant on making us play more aggressively. Finally, thank you for taking your time to make this interview. We’re pleased to be here.”

“And with these words we say goodbye to Jan Nêhorte, the coach of Muradil’s national team.”

---

Once the camera’s light went black, Jan relaxed. Giving interviews wasn’t his forte, and he wasn’t very articulate with his thoughts. If only Hël was willing to talk more. He loosened his tie, he never felt comfortable wearing formal clothes either.

He felt tired, the match was going to be in a few hours and talking like that was exhausting. Jan wanted to sleep until the game, and that’s what he did.

---

While Jan was giving the interview, Sấutér was in his room watching Bushkrub’s matches. Despite not being the fastest player or the most skillful, he surely was the smartest. And that wasn’t because he was born with it. He knew he was at a disadvantage with better players, but they didn’t put in the work, or at least not like him. He truly breathed football. That’s also why the unstoppable pair of Nex and Dènïs worked. Nex was the best player he had ever seen, but he wasn’t that smart, so he micromanaged him.

“Bushkrub are a very aggressive team” he scribbled down on a notebook. “Their defense is pretty weak, tho. Don’t play for counterattacks. Kurseff is particularly weak. Godick’s airplay is lacking.” He just wrote down the main ideas, the rest was in his head for sure. But if the coach needed something, he could always look the notebook and get an idea.

He took off his headphones, put aside his tablet. “Enough for today. I have to get a good night of sleep.” After leaving the notebook and the tablet on his night table, he tucked himself a bit more on the bed and turned around. Sấutér put his arm around Nex. Yeah. That was the secret to being an unstoppable duo.

[The Grearish Union]

Thanks to Donnacona for immense help with resizing the visuals.

B L A C K D O L P H I N S


GREARISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
21-Player Squad

Coach: Frank Blanchard, GRU (66)
Formation: 4-4-2
Style: +2 (Offensive)


STARTING XI

Susanna Schaefer, 18, #1, Female, Goalkeeper

---

Schaefer is known around the country to be a prodigy in the Grearish football ranks, with what they call the safest hands in the entire land. Having grown up a few miles outside Plibury, the rural background meant that she had to do a lot of the heavy lifting (literally as well) for her family, being the eldest in her generation. It remains to be seen, however, how well she performs in the World Cup cycle when the Black Dolphins will first travel to Delaclava for the Baptism of Fire, and later try their hand at qualifying for the World Cup proper.

Joanna Rodrigues, 24, #2, Female, Left Back, (Captain)

---

Some say, that being named captain of the football side has worked in the favour of Grearish skipper Rodrigues, as the 24-year-old is expected to stand stall to defend the opposition's right wing attacks and overlaps, while making sure our own left-wing is well-fed with a regular supply of deliveries from the back four. A charismatic showing of leadership and an intelligent style of gameplay, coupled with impeccable vision and a sense of innate empathy justified her being adjudged the skipper of the Grearish national team. The entire nation is now rooting behind her.

Alexander Allman, 35, #3, Male, Left Centre Back

---

A football team is known to be highly dependent on the pillars in their central defenders who stand like rocks before their own goal, protecting it from shots dangerous enough for Grearia to concede. The experience of the senior-most player on the Grearish squad will most definitely come in handy especially while facing formidable oppositions ranked much higher than Grearia's own. It remains to be seen, however, if age becomes a major hurdle for Allman in the process. The expectations, however, will be sky-high from the seasoned veteran.

Mateo Elliott, 21, #4, Male, Right Centre Back

---

The young Mateo Elliott was known to be a bit of a wonderkid ever since he burst on to the national scene when he stood immovable in front of his goal, defending to the end. This well-built right centre back will be one to watch out for, if the pundits are to be believed!

Lilah Buchanan, 20, #5, Female, Right Back

---

Buchanan's quick rise to the national scene was propelled by her blistering right leg, and her sturdy build, making her a fearsome barrier for most opposition wingers. The tall Grearish defender had caught the eyes of national team scouts in the wake of the announcement of the Grearish participation in the World Cup spectacle, and the performance of this young workhorse has never disappointed since.

Cassandra Preston, 24, #6, Female, Left Winger

---

Fondly known to the public by the name of Cassandra "Pacey" Preston, the speedy left winger has a vicious left foot in her arsenal that has caught many eyes in the course of the selection process for the Grearish national team. The onus will be on her in the upcoming international season to prove her might, as she will face off against some of the best in the world in battles to assume control of the midfield.

Chance Benton, 18, #7, Male, Central Midfielder

---

Chance Benton, named by his parents after he was born in one of the most difficult times the family had seen in terms of financial and social stability, Chance has definitely taken every chance he could get up until this point to get the coveted central midfielder position in the fairly new Grearish national team. Ball distribution being one of his key assets, will have keen eyes overlooking it, as he tries to help his comrades out to work every inch of space available in the midfield, or wherever his team needs him.

Layla-Mae Potts, 17, #8, Female, Central Midfielder

---

Adding to what some might call the youthful boiling blood of the Grearish midfield, comes Layla-Mae Potts, renowned for her pinpoint passing precision, and ability to pick up teammate runs as they occur around her every second. A timid girl when not on the field, Potts shows the greatest of transformation to convert into the fierce central midfielder that Grearia has been blessed with.

Janet Daly, 16, #9, Female, Right Winger

---

Completing the 4-player midfield formation is another young gun out of Bradwick in the south. Janet, otherwise completing her 10th standard examinations back in school, decided to try out for the Grearish national team when news spread that the BoF was upon us and the nation needed young blood who were hungry for victory. This tactful right winger knows most tricks of the trade to fool her opposition, but a rather short-tempered teenage mentality might prove to be her greatest foe.

Avery McAuley, 19, #10, Female, Striker, (Vice-Captain)

---

Number 10 and probably one of the most sought-after players for the Grearish NT, Mc Auley is also the vice captain for the national team we take such pride in. The Black Dolphins' premier striker will be on the lookout for a prolific goal-scoring season as a poacher up front, relying on her immense shooting force and gargantuan willpower.

Willis Kline, 24, #11, Male, Striker

---

We round off the starting eleven with the inclusion of Kline, the deep lying forward, who prevents the supply chain from the midfielders to McAuley from getting blocked up. Kline, however, is not expected to be rigid in his role, and that the Grearish public can expect to see a flurry of goals from him as well.

SUBSTITUTES

Summer-Rose Stuart, 24, #12, Female, Goalkeeper

---

The second goalkeeper of the 21-player squad is Summer-Rose Stuart, who despite being the elder of the two, finds herself on the bench. The gaffer seems to be quite firm about the first XI choices hat he makes, but one cannot rule out the possibility of a change in the guardian under the sticks once Grearia finds itself in a suitable position.

Jasmine Gardener, 25, #13, Female, Left Back

---

In what some pundits are claiming could be only a possibility under a major injury condition, Gardener is seen as an eclipsed player by the Grearish community, shadowed by the all-pervasive charisma of Rodrigues as the skipper. Preparing for the worst, Gardener may as well be blooming flowers of success for Grearia in times of grave crisis.

Lydia Radcliffe, 20, #14, Female, Left Centre Back

---

With Alexander Allman occupying the LCB role in the first XI, Radcliffe had to be pushed to the back-burners in a situation where the hands of the team management were tied. The age issue might work against Allman in the case of a marathon tournament, though, and that might mean so action for our girl from Donetch.

Callum Frank, 28, #15, Male, Right Back

---

Jersey number 15 goes to Callum Frank, who is expected to warm the bench, really, especially in front of the towering figure of Buchanan. Thought to be a good like-for-like replacement, however, Frank has earned his flight to the NT matches.

Theia Golde, 17, #16, Female, Right Centre Back

---

The 16-year-old wonder in Theia Golde sees herself on the bench accounting for her lack of domestic experience in inter-city clashes, and her injury proneness. The selection at a young age, however, shows some promising signs for the years to come!

Dionne Blackmore, 30, #17, Female, Right Wing

---

The senior right winger will most likely not see action until some injury occurs, as there seems to be no valid reason to change two fact paced young guns for a player into her thirties. In the belief that she might be able to slow down the tempo of game with her intelligent passing, however, may be the deal maker if she does get a few minutes on the field.

Ruby Houghton, 21, #18, Female, Central Midfield

---

Houghton is our reserve central midfielder for the cycle, with impressive performances in intra-Grearish levels. The youthful CM might as well have to see out a few matches for Grearia as the midfield job is predicted to be rather tough, and substitutions would not surprise a lot of people.

Fergus Sloan, 24, #19, Male, Left Wing

---

Sloan is our 2nd-best left winger for the national team, this cycle, as "Pacey" Preston seems to have her place solidly cemented into the national team. First-team action is thought to be beyond Sloan, at least for thiss cycle, until and unless a dramatic fall in the performance graph is recorded for Preston.

Aaron Murphy, 20, #20, Male, Attacking Central Midfielder

---

The 20-year-old number 20 of the Grearish NT, Aaron Murphy is one-of-a-kind. With no other ACMs in the team and the gaffer preferring a rather traditional 4-4-2 pproach, Murphy finds himself in the bench. However, if pundits are to be believed, a Murphy substitution in a game could turn it on its head and will thus be a key player for the side, tactically.

Gia Knott, 24, #21, Female, Striker

---

Another prolific striker in the Grearish ranks, Knott is seen as an out-and-out striker, who is believed to be a perfect replacement for Kline who likes to play in a slightly withdrawn role, in case the gaffer wants to go on the attack mode with the pedal to the metal.

CONCISE SQUAD

#         NAME                    AGE     SEX     POSITION
1	Susanna Schaefer	18	F	 GK
2	Joanna Rodrigues	24	F	 LB
3	Alexander Allman	35	M	LCB
4	Mateo Elliott		21	M	RCB
5	Lilah Buchanan		20	F	 RB
6	Cassandra Preston	24	F	 LW
7	Chance Benton		18	M	 CM
8	Layla-Mae Potts		17	F	 CM
9	Janet Daly		16	F	 RW
10	Avery McAuley		19	F	 ST
11	Willis Kline		24	M	 ST

Subs:

12	Summer-Rose Stuart	24	F	 GK
13	Jasmine Gardener	25	F	 LB
14	Lydia Radcliffe		20	F	LCB
15	Callum Frank		28	M	 RB
16	Theia Golde		17	F	RCB
17	Dionne Blackmore	30	F	 RW
18	Ruby Houghton		21	F	 CM
19	Fergus Sloan		24	M	 LW
20	Aaron Murphy		20	M	ACM
21	Gia Knott		24	F	 ST

FORMATION

KITS



Home - Away - GK
These fantastic kits were provided to us by the Donnaconan sportswear brand, Infinite. These will be worn with pride by the national football team of The Union for the foreseeable future.


RP PERMISSIONS

I give my opponent the permission to:

Choose my goal-scorers: Yes
Godmod goal-scoring events: Yes
Injure players: Yes (For serious injuries, please reach out via TG or Discord.)
Godmod injury events: No
Red card players: Please reach out via TG or Discord.
Yellow card players: Yes
Godmod other events: Yes, but nothing that alters my nation.

Any violation of the above will meet the ignore cannon.

[Havynwilde]

_{Hub for all information on sports related to Havynwilde with other contributing information}

EDITOR'S NOTE

_{I want to thank you for opening the latest edition of The Assoicated, for years we've found pride in providing you, the viewer with the most in-depth analysis of sports in Havynwilde, ranging from Lygahaven play and also into other amateur sports that shine bright in our small nation. The time has come to bring The Assocciated to the world, of course that means Havynsmen and women and the Havyish sporting culture are brought to the world, its our pleasure to unveil to our viewers our new website, www.theassociated.hyn, featuring articles, visuals and videos on the latest and greatest of sports here in Havynwilde. Thank you for giving us the chance to serve you,
Kitchie Simmons
Editor-in-Chief}

---

PAGE 31 :: Two Sides The Same

The troubled domestic talent, Rosario Corutwood



Rosario Courtwood isn’t once to mince words when she talks, she speaks with a calming presence and has made it known how vital her discussions with Zenon-Gerol Kal have been for the Havyish national team, rumored to be close friends, the two have bonded over the past year in a half.

“I convince Zenon to switch allegiances to Havynwilde,” she told the media after Kal was taking flack during a media interview, “they don’t deserve any blame, they’ve been forced to change their playing style, adapt to a new nation, and willingly gave their time to monety to play for Havynwidlde. This is not how we will treat them.”

Referring to Zenon-Geral Kal, the twenty-eight year old was a mainstay of the Qusmi’y national team before this, 108 caps to their me made them one of the handful of Qusma players with over a century of caps for the Qusmi’y national team - and they were well respected during their time with KF Koflir - easily one of the best backs in the world.

The twenty-eight year old was forced to a decision, to side with either Qusmo who has taken a international absence from sporting competitions or switch allegiances to Havynwilde; courted by the HFF, the federation has rumored to have paid as much as N$4-5 million for their services - rumors it has denied, saying Kal was given a choice of their own free will.

However, Courtwood said it was a in the end her pushing which gained Kal’s trust and decision to switch allegiances: “I spoke with Zenon before the Archipelago Cup, I knew they’d been on the fence about it for weeks;they really asked questions about life in the nordslaget, how it was adapting to a new environment, speaking another language and stuff,” she said, explaining to the media, “I told them, taking a risk is probably one of the biggest thing they'd have to do, it wasn’t going to be easy but, in the end, worth it.”

“I said,” she paused, “they’d easily be in the talks for the national team if they declared, the Havyish national team needs a leader like them, look what they did with Advernians,” she said, speaking of her domestic club, Kal had been an important part of the Ivys defense last season, “they were a mainstay, and I felt like we were better because of it.”

Meanwhile, the Advernians left back has been no stranger to tough decisions - “I wasn’t supposed to make the senior team,” she told in her documentary, ‘24 to 1,’ “they told me I wasn’t good enough, I was cut from three academy teams and was left off the U-19 side,” all this being true, Advernians never gave her a chance until she broke out two seasona ago.

In fact, she wasn’t even supposed to be considered for the national team, Erika Cook with 1964 Briarcliff had been the favorite prior to her injury towards the tail end of the season, this inadvertently resulted in Courtwood being forced into the starting spot, once she’s he’d a grip on since then.

However, given a chance under the likes of Shane Newman, she’s truly shined in a handful of appearances, no there’s not much to go off of, but she’s one of the best defenders the domestic league has produced. For her, tis a shame she didn’t decide to go overseas, that’s been the great dilemma plaguing good players in the league for the past three years.

Stay home and gain big bonuses or move abroad to bigger leagues and try again to climb the club ladder, it's hard work for some players and some don’t want to take the risks and see all they've built torn down just to begin again.

But, for players like Kal who took the risk, it shows it can pay off: going from a starter on another national team to a captain and easily the best player on the roster in short succession, for Kal, being thrust into that position has to be one hell of an experience, of course, they haven’t gone out on much nor spoke out on their feelings about being placed in this position.

Courtwood on the other hand has reveled in her position since she’s been thrust into the spotlight, but there’s always the lingering question if she’s committed domestically: she’s clearly a talent, taking her skill overseas seems to be the next big step, but she doesn't want o go anywhere, sayd Dylan Ruderoff.

“She’s cool with the Ivys, its certainly not helping she signed a mammoth renewal last season that locked her up for four more seasons and its unlikely they’re going to be willing to part with the contract they’ve made for her. Now, she’s not worth money like Carlton Brower, or maybe the kid from the Shamrocks, but she;’d fetch a solid transfer fee - the trouble she seems to have is whether or not she’ll start right away - that’s something that seems to dictate her reasons for not moving anywhere she likes where she is on the pecking order.

But, there seems to be issues coming from within the camp - Shane Newman has lobbied for her to move overseas- and if she doesn’t, could we see repercussions on his part?

Something like taking her out of the starting spot, relegation her to the bench? All of that would make sense I’m sure if it was enough to push her to take her talent overseas, but Shane Newman’s also a clear coach, what he’ll do is probably something much less drastic, he doesn’t, after all, want to see her gone.

Corutwood was brought in for a specific reason, she’s been praised with her skill on the ball and with handling distribution, in a league where that doesn't really hold true for a lot of defenders, her ability to hold technical skill really helped to have her stand out, and that’s the main reason she's a fixture on the national team.

“For me, she’s an important piece to the puzzle, withourt Rosario, I don’t think we can really move through with our game plan,” says Newman.

‘But, what is that gameplan,’ critics ask, nothing has been done thus far in a year to assure us that Shane Newman is the correct director for the future of this national team, hell, the Nordslaget has yet to win a game, and coming off a 2-1 lost t SOuth Newlandia, its looking like the team might as well kiss any shot at the Baptism of Fire goodbye.

For some, asking what’s next involved and admission that things aren't going as well as they should - but Rosario Courtwood has refused to back down - she said as much at numerous press conferences and has traditionally been one of the loudest in the room.

“THings are fine, we’re fine as a team,” she sighs, exasperated with media personnel, “what more do you want us to do, you can’t will us to doing something,” she struggles to speak towards the media with a calm demeanor, “we’re trying to build something and we’re getting hell from it each time.”

The back has had a strong presence with the national team and similarly the Ivys, heading into this season, for the Ivys at least, its win or bus - they’ve got to put it all together for Easter bridge, continued second-or-third place seasons can’t go on much longer for anyone on that team.

SImilarly, ehr position on the national team is also in flux - is she going to seek more challenges abroad- or is she pivoting towards the money: there’s really strong questions hinting that Shane Newman,despite what he says has stronger feelings about moving her to the backburner of things, RBS Sprots commentators tell us in a wrap-up of the South Newlandia game.

“Too many mistakes cost us and cost Courwood her job, probably,” says Kyle Wilsure, “iif things don’t get better fast, than, well, we might as well say ‘fuck-it’ tot his team,” he echoed, “I don’t even think Shane Newman will have a chance to put his impritn on this team before it implodes, nothing is goging well - froms truggling against he likes of Sharktail to not even being able tofind a victory against South Newlandia, to think their was a time when this team was celebrated and we looked forward to watchig them.”

Another echoed, “at this time, it may be worth ending things before it’s too late, it can still be fixed, by someone or something else, Shane Newman usis clearly not the answer, and this backline...isn’t tit either,” but of course, for Courtwood, these fall on deaf ears.

“I don’t think things are bad for us right now, it’s just a media narrative, they hate him,they hate us, they don’t want us to succeed, whatever, really. I think the nordlsaget should ignore whatever the fuck they have to say, we’e a different team and we’re tryinf to do something that no one’s done before.”

But this might be what is wrong with the national team, their nonchalant attitudes, from Shane Newman, to Zenon-Geral Kal seems to have alienated supporters from the national team.

“I don’t even know what this team has become, it's not what it was meant to be.”

It seems that the HFF might’ve miscalculated when it planned this national team, ith issues already raised from the amount of no-=domestic players to the treatment of the media dns supporters, this national team has proven nothing but decisive for the international scene.

[Ethane]

The stage has been set. The first matches have been played. Teams are making their first significant forays into international football, hoping to set themselves up for success in the world cup. Can any team set themselves apart in these first few matches?

Cutoff for Baptism of Fire MD2, Groups D-F

Group D
Necosia 0–1 Great Lausitz
Xuzaqiy 3–1 Lo Santano
Atheist Democratic Freehold 2–1 The Mann Clan

Group D                                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Xuzaqiy                                      2   1  1  0    4   2  +2    4
2 Drunk People at the Local Tavern             1   1  0  0    4   3  +1    3
3 Atheist Democratic Freehold                  1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
4 Great Lausitz                                2   1  0  1    4   4   0    3
5 Necosia                                      2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
6 Lo Santano                                   2   0  1  1    2   4  −2    1
7 The Mann Clan                                2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1

Group E
The Appraisal To The Allmighty MR TAYTO 1–1 Donnacona
Lake Esper 5–1 Shokpos
Villablanca 1–1 Mavinet

Group E                                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Lake Esper                                   2   1  1  0    8   4  +4    4
2 Donnacona                                    2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
3 Mavinet                                      2   0  2  0    4   4   0    2
4 The Appraisal To The Allmighty MR TAYTO      2   0  2  0    1   1   0    2
5 Villablanca                                  1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
6 Shokpos                                      2   0  1  1    1   5  −4    1
7 When U Die                                   1   0  0  1    2   3  −1    0

Group F
Caelapes 3–2 Soracana Islands
Simpralia 1–1 Monglechabagd
Sankt Konrad 2–2 Riena

Group F                                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Riena                                        2   1  1  0    5   2  +3    4
2 Monglechabagd                                2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 Caelapes                                     2   1  0  1    4   4   0    3
4 Soracana Islands                             2   1  0  1    4   3  +1    3
5 Sankt Konrad                                 1   0  1  0    2   2   0    1
6 Simpralia                                    2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1
7 Jerauuk                                      1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

[Appalachian Nation]

This is the Cutoff for 2nd Matchday of the Baptism of Fire Number 72.

Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iffqQ_OhcRE

Also it has occurred to me that someone PMed and I didn't see their message till just now. Appalachia is not my primary account on NS, if you want to PM me questions about the groups then you will have more success PMing me through my primary nation Xanneria.

Group A
Pangurastan 2–3 Jamestownnnn - Bland Foods Stadium - Pittsburgh
Floyssau 1–3 Sylestone - Ohio Valley State Fairgrounds - Louisville
Southern Esportiva Union 0–1 Adyatin - Charleston Indoor Arena - Charleston

Group A                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Adyatin                       2   2  0  0    2   0  +2    6
2 Sylestone                     2   1  1  0    3   1  +2    4
3 Jamestownnnn                  2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
4 Res Publica Nova              1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
5 Pangurastan                   2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1
6 Southern Esportiva Union      1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0
7 Floyssau                      2   0  0  2    1   4  −3    0

Group B
Khazajamal 4–3 Sanctanus - Knox Global Stadium - Knoxville
Balaslandia 0–1 EGM - Randall Cobb Memorial Stadium - Lexington
Muradil 2–1 Bushkrub - Bank of Carolina Stadium - Charlotte

Group B                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 EGM                           2   2  0  0    4   2  +2    6
2 Muradil                       1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
3 Khazajamal                    2   1  0  1    6   6   0    3
4 Bushkrub                      2   1  0  1    3   2  +1    3
5 Sanctanus                     2   1  0  1    8   8   0    3
6 Porticalia                    1   0  0  1    4   5  −1    0
7 Balaslandia                   2   0  0  2    0   3  −3    0

Group C
Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom 0–0 Daskel - Coastal Waters Stadium - Erie
Valentine Z 1–1 Maccian - KiHi Stadium - Greenville
Sabalonia 3–4 South Charlia - AFK Outdoors / Fuller Family Stadium - Blacksburg

Group C                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Valentine Z                   2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
2 Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom      2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
3 South Charlia                 2   1  0  1    6   6   0    3
4 Daskel                        2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
5 Kuriko                        1   0  1  0    2   2   0    1
6 Maccian                       2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
7 Sabalonia                     1   0  0  1    3   4  −1    0

[Delaclava]

Among the large, often harsh landmass that makes up the mainland of Delaclava, spectacular cities and quaint towns line the coasts like sparkling jewels of all shapes and kinds. We will see some great football action today at six of those gems. As the players walk on to the pitch, the air is crisp and a little warm, and the scent of sea hangs lightly in the air. It's the perfect day for twelve teams to play their best football.

Matchday 2 cutoff!

Group G
Baggieland 0–1 Kohnhead
Havynwilde 2–1 Twicetagria
Tequilo 2–1 South Newlandia

Group G                            Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kohnhead                           2   2  0  0    4   1  +3    6
2 Tequilo                            1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
3 South Newlandia                    2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
4 Havynwilde                         2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
5 Twicetagria                        2   0  1  1    4   5  −1    1
6 Baggieland                         2   0  1  1    3   4  −1    1
7 Revatnagar                         1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0

Group H
Independent Athletes from Quebec 2–4 Alba and Cymru
Ottoman Syldavia 0–0 Audiasania
The Grearish Union 3–1 The Veiled Islands

Group H                            Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Alba and Cymru                     2   2  0  0    6   3  +3    6
2 Audiasania                         2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
3 The Grearish Union                 1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
4 The Veiled Islands                 2   1  0  1    5   4  +1    3
5 Ottoman Syldavia                   2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1
6 Qvardax                            1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0
7 Independent Athletes from Quebec   2   0  0  2    2   5  −3    0

[Kohnhead]

Kohnhead get their Second Straight Win

Kohnhead fresh off of a 3-1 win vs Revatnagar last night was pitted against Baggieland in this match. Baggieland had gotten a draw against Twicetagria in a high scoring affair where each scored three goals, but Baggieland had blown a 3-0 lead and surefire win. Kohnhead this time in a low scoring affair got the best of them with a 1-0 victory.

The game started off pretty calmly with neither side being able to muster any sort of attack for the first 15 minutes. Defense stifling the offense was a common theme of the game evidenced by the final 1-0 scoreline. In particular Dylan Vargas who had an abysmal game one rebounded all with Claire Corton who had looked bad in the first game as well. The first real scoring opportunity was a Harry Richman shot from pretty far outside the box that the keeper couldn't hold on to cleanly. Fortunately for Baggieland, Brendan Dawson cleared the ball out of bounds. On the ensuing corner Derek Pennington headed the ball away to safety.

The next chance for either side would come for Baggieland and it was their only good chance at scoring which highlights just how well Kohnhead's defense was playing. "Bomber" Robinson the captain for Baggieland sent a beautiful pass up to Jeff Richardson who was barely onside and sent a beautiful ball onto the goal but a diving save by Newcastle kept the ball out. Newcastle is having a really good start to the tournament and I hope he can continue his hot streak.

In the 33rd Kohnhead would get another chance as some great passing between the midfield trio of Linus Rallyton, Charles Laker, and Ida Cogginter would end with Rallyton having the ball in a great scoring position. He thought about shooting but instead sent it out to Maltos who fired from the corner of the box. She beat the keeper but it bounced off the post and the ensuing rebound shot from Korkson wasn't close.

At the half the score was 0-0 and Kohnhead's offense especially Korkson and Maltos knew they needed to get going and try to score. The second half went about the same as the first half until the 67th minute. John Moore for Baggieland cleared the ball down the line where it was picked up by Vargas at about midfield. He hit Laker in the middle of the pitch who sent a long ball down the sideline for Richman. Richman quickened his pace and beat the defender to the ball. He did a quick little move to get around the defender and sent a pass on the ground to Rallyton who was in the middle of the box. A beautiful strike from Rallyton gave Kohnhead the lead and win.

Kohnhead who were playing great defense before transitioned into a more defensive position and Baggieland couldn't muster anything else of note, besides Regis and McAuley picking up yellows. Richman would get a yellow for Kohnhead and he was subbed off in the 75th. Again Richman has trouble playing the full 90 minutes so him being subbed off happens often. In terms of their group standings, South Newlandia whom had grabbed a win in their first match lost to Tequilo by one goal (2-1). Tequilo had a bye during the first set of matches so they sit three points behind Kohnhead but with a game at hand. The full standings are below.

Group G Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Kohnhead 2 2 0 0 4 1 +3 6
2 Tequilo 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
3 South Newlandia 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
4 Havynwilde 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
5 Twicetagria 2 0 1 1 4 5 −1 1
6 Baggieland 2 0 1 1 3 4 −1 1
7 Revatnagar 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 0

Match Ratings
Linus Rallyton 9.4/10 (Player of the Match)
Jackson Newcastle 9.1/10
Dylan Vargas 8.7/10
Harry Richman 8.6/10 (Subbed off)
Claire Corton 8.4/10
Charles Laker 8.1/10
Caroline Prius-Leonard 8.1/10
Ida Cogginter 7.7/10
Nicolas Radison 7.5/10
Aaron Korkson 7.0/10
Erin Maltos 6.9/10
Griffin Pheonix-Andrews 6.2/10 (Subbed on)

[Alba and Cymru]

Thousands of Celtic smiles and cheers filled Floridiana Stadium in Mersatha, Delaclava today as Alba and Cymru punched its way into a 4-2 victory over the Independent Athletes from Quebec. The footballers from Alba and Cymru made themselves known in the early game, possessing the ball for almost 30 minutes throughout the first half and scoring two goals by Not Lionel Messi and Marco de Tarancón. The Quebecois team made a hard drive to recover in the second half, scoring their two goals within 15 minutes of each other, but the Celts answered with an absolutely astonishing drive down the field, scoring another goal via Conchúr MacGregor at the 70' mark. A successful penalty kick from Alba and Cymru's Not Lionel Messi sealed the team's second win in the group stages of the 72nd Baptism of Fire, putting them on top of the entire competition.

"Now, that's how my boys do it," said Coinneach MacDunn, manager. "The two goals we put up in the first half got the train goin', but I think we lost it sometime in the middle of the game, and we allowed them to catch back up. But they didn't give up, and that's what I admire about this team. We picked ourselves back up and scored two more to seal the deal. We need to work on consistency, we have to go 100% through 100% of the game, but other than that this was a good win, and we'll be ready to play tomorrow."

"We're in first place now," said vice-captain Not Lionel Messi. "It's a good position to be at, but it's too early to celebrate. We have to stay on our guard if we want to go deep in the brackets. I believe we can keep this momentum up, but it's gonna have to be a team effort. So far, I think our comradery has been top-notch, and I'm certain that we'll keep winning if we keep staying strong."

"It's a good feeling, you know, to be cheered on by your fellow countrymen," responded defensive player Teàrlach Levenax, who was key in today's match in the Celtic backfield. "I see this as a good win. It gets the morale up and the adrenaline going. I think we're a hell of a lot more comfortable playing as a team now. We were still working out the rust even today, but I think that everyone's about to see what we're really capable of in these next few matches."

The Celtic Times did not have any interviews with players or staff from the Independent Athletes from Quebec.

Game stats for Independent Athletes from Quebec (0-2)

Group rank: 7th
Shots: 7
Goals: 2 (51:08, 66:30)
Possession: 39:50
Saves: 3
Fouls: 11
Yellow: 2
Red: 0
No notable injuries

Game stats for Alba and Cymru (2-0)

Group rank: 1st
Shots: 10
Goals: 4 (Not Lionel Messi, 9:44; Marco de Tarancón, 26:39; Conchúr MacGregor, 69:58; Not Lionel Messi, 83:11)
Possession: 50:10
Saves: 5
Fouls: 12
Yellow: 2 (Heinrich Weiss, Jarquín Ramos)
Red: 0
Injuries: Ine Wes Seaxe (pulled hamstring, will return Friday)

Alba and Cymru will be back in action tomorrow to face the football team from Ottoman Syldavia (0-1-1) at the same venue, and the Independent Athletes from Quebec will take on Qvardax (0-1), venue TBD.

[Villablanca]

The Diary of Sebastian Cortez

Matchday 1: A centre back sex scandle

I woke up peacefully and got ready to watch the day's football. It felt nice to not have to play and I started feeling excited about the day ahead. That's when Claudio, my assistant, knocked on the door. "There's been...an incident involving Mateo Blanco". Now usually this would mean some sort of injury or maybe he's been involved in some sort of argument, "what kind of incident", I asked. Claudio went on to explain that the 18 year old had been enjoying the local nightlife a little too much. His roommate had been asleep when he burst in at 3am with two Ethanian women, before performing indecent sexual acts in the opposite room. Of course this is just what I needed, we haven't even played a game and there's already controversy. The tabloids would have a field day. I suppose dealing with these situations is all part of management.

I ordered Blanco in to my office. He showed up half an hour later, looking the worse for wear. I looked him up and down and tried to figure out what to do next, it seemed I had two options. I could either send home in disgrace, an example to the rest of the squad about how far such unprofessional behaviour would get you. And make no doubt this was incredibly unprofessional. I mean how many people dream of being called up for their country, and what does he do with the opportunity? He has a threesome at 3am, perhaps his spot could go to someone else if the organisers would allow it. I looked in to his eyes, he seemed lost and confused. Would sending home really be the best option? It would surely ruin him, unless he goes on to achieve huge things he'll always be remembered for the sex scandal incident. It wouldn't be fair. The kid was only an 18, this was probably the most freedom he's had in his life, doesn't it make sense he'd get a little overwhelmed?

I mulled the decision over while staring him down. He could barely hold eye contact, continuously looking at the ground, he was clearly guilty. I think it was that remorse that helped me make my mind up. I decided I'd let him stay. Instead of tearing him down maybe I could use this to get the best out of him. I decided to put on my angry parent voice and I launched in to him. "Do you have any idea how many kids dream of pulling on our national jersey? Of competing at the world cup? Millions of kids would love to be in your position. You've let them down, you've let me down and you've let yourself down." His face went red. I gave him my best death stare before switching my tone. "But you know what kid I'm going to give you something rare, something you'll never get from me again. I'm going to give you a second chance. So go out there and prove your worth and just maybe, you'll get to pull on that jersey." His eyes lit up. Maybe I'm going soft in old age, but somehow I knew I made the right decision. Now I just have to hope he doesn't let me down again, and I'll have to pray the tabloids don't find out.

I held a training session later in the day. Blanco performed passionately but was clearly still physically shaken and had poor positioning and awareness. He's ultimately still a long way from being first team ready, even when sober, but there were some promising signs. I also ran a few drills to try and get the team used to our system. The problem with national sides is that there's often very little time to form chemistry and tactical familiarity, but the team seemed to gel well. Players were laughing and joking with each other and the side seem mentally ready for the gruelling run of games ahead. The question is, do they have the quality to get over the line?

[Havynwilde]

_{Hub for all information on sports related to Havynwilde with other contributing information}

EDITOR'S NOTE

_{I want to thank you for opening the latest edition of The Assoicated, for years we've found pride in providing you, the viewer with the most in-depth analysis of sports in Havynwilde, ranging from Lygahaven play and also into other amateur sports that shine bright in our small nation. The time has come to bring The Assocciated to the world, of course that means Havynsmen and women and the Havyish sporting culture are brought to the world, its our pleasure to unveil to our viewers our new website, www.theassociated.hyn, featuring articles, visuals and videos on the latest and greatest of sports here in Havynwilde. Thank you for giving us the chance to serve you,
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PAGE 31 :: The Mood Post-Twicetegaria

Leon Davis chases down a ball during action against Twicetegaira, on his way to scoring a brace



Havynwilde captain, Zenon-Gerol Kal took to twii.tur to speak to Havyish fans following the Nordslaget’s 2-1 victory over rivale, Twicetegaria after the second matchday clash between the Melayan nation and the upstart Atlantian Oceanian nation. Thanks to a brace from the feet of Leon Davis early and late into the match, the Havyish national team was able to dodge a late goal from Twicetegaria, running out winners and giving them time to steady the ship ahead of an important clash with top-of-the-group side, Kohnhead.

With a masterful strike from early on, coupled with a wonder goal in the 74th minute, the Havyish striker has really shown early in this competition, with two masterful assists coming from the likes of Francis Sutherland and Ashton Cook, both able to set him up nicely as Davis was able to put the ball away, locking the Havyish into the lead for much of the game.

Meanwhile, for Gerol, it was clear joy and improvement from the national team captain, squeaking on twii.tur: “Thank you @HVYNordslaget gans! You are the reason we won today, you lead us to victory! #AguardeNordslaget #HVYTWE.

For fans in Declava the feeling was euphoric, “finally, we got it done, we’ve waited a long time for this,” syys a fan with a Ashton Houston jersey on, “this feeling is really raw for us, and it's an exciting one for us, I don’t know how to describe it.”

Havynwilde’s players too had similar feeling, talking to the press after the game, “ifor us, we new it was coming, we were waiting for the right moments throughout the game, and I think we found it, that’s why we won,” Ashton Houston told the media, “really, it was going to come, we just were waiting for the right moment to show that.”

The goalscorer himself has something to say after receiving the Jecken Man of the Match award, “for me, I just followed the game plan, we did stuff we worked on during practice and executed it on the field, we just need to keep that mentality for ninety minutes and we can be unstoppable, for sure.”

Meanwhile, Shane Newman seemingly also approved, “a great performance out there from our boys, we’re proud of them and we want to bring that same energy we had out there to Kohnhead.”

It seems players have turned to circling a now quite-important match with Kohnhead on their calendars: “we put ourselves in a position to where not every game is a must win, there’s not much room for error in this group, even if its the top four teams moving on,w e want to put ourselves in the best-possible position to move on, I guess,” Rosario Courtwood said during her turn.

The panel of four players who spoke to the media, Kal, Leon Davis, Rosario Courtwood and Ashton Houston alls seemed to be reflecting on the game: “for sure, for us it was a hell of a game, a lot of things we wanted to roll out and we were able to execute.”

Meanwhile, Newman answered speculation on the placement and his favored tactics: “we have two players up front and we want them both on the field at all times, we've had to adapt to the playstles of Asthon and what she brings to the table. But, we also have to cope with the fact that both her and Leon are strikers first - she plays that at Hamiltonian in Kelssek and he’s a striker for Bombarralense, bringing them both together is probably one of the hardest jobs I’ve been asked with, but I think I’ve executed that job pretty well. The two are still clicking, but with Houston playing the false ten, it really has helped to create distractions for the defense - look at what it did to Twicetegaria - we really were firing on all cylinders today.”

“Houston’s got the more-dominant presence, she played much of her time with Cambria as the loan striker, but her skillset coupled with work from Cavi Cook and Leon up front really can cause damage if we can work things out more. I really think this tournament will be good for them, at least before the world cup qualifiers.

We’re working on integrating their playing around themselves, alongside Gavin Cook, to operate a triangle of sorts up front, these three probably are our biggest offensive weapons outside Francis, and they’re going to be the keys to scoring for this team. Hopefully we can get some more stuff in before Kohnhead, I don’t see why we wouldn’t.”

His decision to play the odd formation to bring in Ashton Houston to the fold for the national team had drawn ire when it was first deployed, during the Archipelago Cup last year, and i hasn’t really held well in the few games we’ve seen - but Newman believes this is the way forward for the national team - he’s pushed for it and has yet to deviate from it in a formal competition. His reliance on the formation has resulted in a split support for it - some call for a switch to a more-natural 4-3-3 with the second striker sitting on the bench or for Ashton Houston to be used as a false six and float up and down as a midfielder.

However, al these options result in once player being unuseable, and with a lack of wealth of talent at other positions, its important to result the Havyish pairing with Ashton Houston and Leon Davis constitute the increased quality at the striker position for Havynwilde, leading the pack as the current generation of Havyish stores and talisman (and women.)

“One of the biggest things for us is adapting to change,” Newman says, “we’re really trying to build a team that complements every player and their skillset, adapting is big for us and that’s something that we want Havynwilde to see,” Newman says, “for us, its it normal to do things differently, different formations is really a driving formation in the game and we’re demonstrating that by using them more and more.”

Quietly, however, there seem to be changes for the national team that haven’t been acknowledged, biggest amongst them: Joel Nolans seems to have lost his spot as the starting goalie for the Nordslaget - no one's really spoken much on that and even Newman had little to say = here’s his comments in the post-game conference.

“We felt lie the best thing for us at the moment was to continue with Myles as our starter, and we’ thinking that it was the right foot forward for us for the time being. I spoke with both Myles and Joel, and Joel understand that we’ve had to make some changes to adjust to things, it's nothing that we’re doing to speak against what he’s done, both for club and nation, but we wanted to do things differently.


However, with Nolan no longer a starter for the national team, will that firmly entrenched Connelly as the starter for the Nordslaget? He’s been the keeper for Latrobe AFC, where his past season was average best, previously a mediocre keeper domestically, Latrobe AFC picked him up and has inadvertently made him a decent keeper. Him becoming a pick for the national team was considered a shock domestically: many argue Grier Wood was passed over for the second to third spot on the national team.

Similarly, Blair Young is below him on the depth chart, the third option keeper has been with Baywall the past three seasons and just came off winning the league title before deciding to make the move over to Perce Town of the Royal Kingdom of Quebec: “Looking for new pastures, thank you #Pirates fans for the past five years,” he squealed on his twii.tur account, “a new journey begins!,” posted Perce Town as they announced his signing.

This creates an interesting dynamic at the back with the three keepers juggling for position, similarly, with Connelly get more game time to prove himself? He’s the only player eligible for the CMFA Nations League,a domestic-team based international tournament for Melau Archipelago, we could see him showcase morre even after the Baptism of Fire and then, during World Cup qualifying, all three keepers should get ample time to debut and show for the national team.

“We’re just trying to put the best foot forward,really, right now , that’s all,” Newman told the media, “we’re making decisions that will help us during the long run and Joel and everyone is completely onboard with the moves we’ve made, I don’t think anything has been established that’s hurting us.

I know how I want the team to play and pushnig for that will take work from all of us, I’m confident in Myles’s abilities in the net, I’m confident in Joel’s and I’m confident with Blair’s, they’re all certainly able and productive in the goal for us.”

[Twicetagram and JYPe]

A Manager's Insiders: Part I
A draw and a loss in two games isn't exactly what you would call a great start. Although the Baggieland game was quite a bit of a morale booster, we didn't have the same energy in the next game. A 2-1 loss against Havynwilde, although we could have tied it late game.
As a national team manager, this was not part of my plan. I had contacted the sports science department. I had gone through our strengths and weaknesses, as well as assess our opponents as well. I created tactics as to how we could defend and attack at the same time.
However, the results weren't shown in the next game. Although our defense was solid, we couldn't prevent a second goal. Our midfield and attack had left much to be desired. After the match all the players looked very unhappy, even to the point of disappointment. I tried to boost the morale, but did anyone care?
No.

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Life in Twicetagria

We edited our logo to make it look fancier

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Drop in performance because of low morale? Jan de Vries goes in depth
by, John Suh and Jan de Vries

After what was supposedly a good outcome in the AOCAF 60, we couldn't really feel the excitement in the players as they played fellow rookies in the BoF 72.
After a close draw against Baggieland, we weren't able to snag a point as we fell 2-1 to Havynwilde. That triggered some questions from all football fans of the country. Did this show an increase in fatigue in the players? Were they complacent? Or was the morale just so low? We'll hand it over to Jan de Vries, who'll take care of the next section.

Hi, Jan de Vries speaking. I was honored to be able to have a little conversation with team manager Rylie Kim. Ms Kim showed me around the makeshift headquarters, where everything was. She first showed me the physiotherapy department, where a reserve player was being treated after a training mishap.
"So basically, when players are injured, they'll be sent here immediately. Then a qualified, certified doctor will handle everything and give the player the required treatment. We don't use medicine or drugs, though." Ms Kim said as we looked from a window.
Next, we went to the sport science section, where the previous game was being analyzed.
"This is the place where we can assess the previous game and players. We find the strengths and weaknesses of each player. Then, during training, we'll tell the players what to improve on and yadda yadda. After that, we assess our next opponents. We'll see their pros and cons. I take the info and devise tactics as to take advantage of their weaknesses, while compressing their strengths."
This sounded confusing, but she looked like she was having fun. Ms Kim showed me around various other places, before coming back to the locker room.
"This is the place where players get ready before a match, if you didn't know. This is where I give my tactics and instructions. I try to make the atmosphere more lively and excited so the players will play their best."
"Speaking about atmosphere, there has been reports from everywhere that the team morale is quite low. What do you think?"
Ms Kim thought for a while, before answering, "The players are just tired after a long period of playing. This doesn't mean their fitness needs working with. It's just that they've probably been stressed too much."
So that was it. The answer isn't exactly one people would feed on, but at least we've got an answer!
Next match is up against Tequilo, who sit in 2nd place. Despite our low ranking, I believe that we can still go for the win.

[Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom]

Zeta Reka & Hügeltaldom Federativna Republika Zeta Reka i Hügeltaldom
Baptism of Fire 72 Recap Match Two Recap and Match Three Preview

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The Rekan all-stara traveled to Erie's Coastal Waters Stadium and took on The Republic of Daskel. The Daskel goalkeeper made five solidsaves, including one that prevented Jad from scoring off a wind assisted corner. Despite a solid attack, the middle trio were seemingly suffocated at times. Both the pace and passing accuracy and opposing players were better. Two front five players were substituted out of the game, Simeoniwić and Rybki. Rybki left first, looking tired after three halves of highly physical play. Simeoniwić made one or two opportunities, despite this Simeoniwić was not as creative as in games past. Dynamo Stojan Heiden's was awarded his second cap, but failed to fly past rival defenders.

In a bitter draw, the Rekans were accused of pulling back after over an hour of unsuccessful attacks. The back four, goalkeeper Nowak and defensive midfielder Dorboslawić held the line throughout the day with help from the front five. Unlike the last contest, few claimed to notice roughhousing from the people of Zeta Reka. However some, including a foreign reporter, claimed the low foul number in this game showed was an act of cowardice. The reporter claim that, "Maccian's player's were bullied where Daskel's were respected." Head coach Dusan vehemently denied all allegations, invoking facts and bold statements of patriotism. The standoff was tense, but honor was protected.

The next match will see the Rekans play Kuriko. Kuriko had an off day, resting after a 2-2 draw, the same scorline as Zeta Reka's most recent opponent. Another draw could put the Rekan in an unsafe place, a Daskel win could put the Rekans in third with fourth place South Charlia having a game in hand. Reports state that backup goalkeeper Wukan Radovlawić suffered an injury from a fall on the team bus, if any assistance is required in goal that duty will fall on the uncapped Zlatko Wukowić.

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Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom 0–0 Daskel
GK: Bosko Nowak
LB: Janko Yakowić
CB: Stanko Yakowić
CB: Bartolomej Wladmirowić
RB: Imilo Dakić: v75
LW: Jad
RW: Miloš Simeoniwić: v70
DM: Mullow Dorboslawić
CM: Rybki (c): v63
CM: Želmir Kolarowić
ST: Stajkwon Hokwok
Subs
CM: David Dix: ^63
RW: Stojan Heiden: ^70
RB: Wukdrag Nikowić ^75

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Rank: 2nd (=0)
Goals: 0 (1 total)
Possession: 55% (51.5% avg.)
Shots: 7 (4 total)
On goal: 5 (2 total)
Saves: 4 (11 total)
Fouls: 11 (28 total)
Corners: 5 (8 total)
Offsides: 1 (2 total)
Yellow Cards: 0 (3 total)
Red Cards: 0 (0 total)

[Baggieland]

The Daily Boing

Baggieland 0 – 1 Kohnhead FT (0 – 0 HT)

DENFO Stadium, Salem, Delaclava.

Baggieland played their second game of the tournament, this time, at the smallest of all the host venues – bringing with them around 8,500 passionate and very vocal supporters. After throwing away a 3 – 0 lead in the first game, Baggieland was hoping to bounce back with a more positive result against Kohnhead.

Despite putting in a stronger defensive display then they did in the second-half the previous day, the Baggies just couldn’t find a way through a well-organised Kohnheadian defence. In the 67th minute Rallyton broke the deadlock and there were to be no more additions to the score-line after that.

The game had a very tentative start to proceedings, with both teams seeming to be more cautious about avoiding making any mistakes rather than trying to create anything. There was nothing of note until the 15th minute when Kohnhead had the first shot at goal which was easily parried away by Ben Osborne. Midway through the first-half Baggieland had their best chance of the whole game. It all began when Len Livermore completely bamboozled his marker with a cheeky back-heel that enabled Bomber to play a sublime pass to Richardson. He picked his spot and unleashed a fierce drive towards the bottom-left of the Kohnhead goal. Richardson himself had turned around to begin celebrating, when the Kohnheadian keeper made an outstanding dive and by some miracle only just managed to claw the ball away before it crossed the line.

In the 33rd minute Kohnhead responded to nearly conceding the first goal by producing a quality attacking sequence of their own, but the neat build-up play wasn’t rewarded with a goal as the post came to Baggieland’s rescue. There were to be no more chances for either side before half-time.

The second-half began in much the same way as the first-half had and the game had to wait until the 67th minute when Kohnhead finally made the breakthrough. A hopeful long ball forward was met by Richman who showed some good skill to set up Rallyton, who had managed to slip past his marker in the box and couldn’t miss. After that, it was all Baggieland as they finally showed their attacking prowess as they had in the first-half against Twicetagria. In the 75th minute Fred Buckingham made a triple change as he made an attacking switch by bringing off Laurie Bassett, Ronnie Regis and Jeff Richardson, replacing them with Billy Cunningham, Cyrille Allen and Ginger. Unfortunately, despite often producing some good build-up play, they just couldn’t find a way through the Kohnheadian defence.

Baggieland now sits in 6th place with just one point from two games. They really need a win in their next game in order to get their BoF tournament back on track.

Baggieland stats:

Possession: 44%.
Corners: 3.

Tournament Scorers:
Ronnie Regis: 1.
Ray Brunt: 1.
Jeff Richardson: 1.

[Tequilo]

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La CASA TLALQUI
Nuevo Camino-220, Pueblo Chanco Cóndor, Distrito Norte de Huayna-Comitán, Guastanango

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At the little adobe house on the dangerous bend toward the end of Nuevo Camino, next door to La Rosa Cantina, on the outskirts of the ramshackle village of Chanco Cóndor, another evening goes by in which the wild daughter Lilián Tlalqui, usually a fixture on the sofa when the pitxi is on the television, misses the next instalment of the Baptism of Fire; papa Chuco Tlalqui grumbles at her absence and wonders what mischief she will be getting herself into; and mama Nina smokes a puro, listens to her husband's grumbling, and wonders how to tell him that his dear Lilián has gone and got herself preñada, following a brief and secretive affair with a stranger from Antivador. Not tonight, she thinks. I will have to prepare the ground, she thinks.

"Husband," she says, "shall we have a little pyacoque with our puros and pitxi this evening?"

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Next up on ParaísoTV's Deportivo Valiente channel 4 tonight, Bautismo de Fuego - our magazine programme presented by the network's top sports anchor, Neizan Baztán, with expert analysis from ex-footballer turned pundit Haizinto. Right after these commercial presentations from our channel sponsors.

"Calzónes de Búa!" exclaimed Nina Tlalqui, a viewer from the North Huayna-Comitán district, "Haizinto! He looks like a guava to me." Her husband laughed. "No, my Nina, he is a guava," he said, "and his destiny will be the same as any fallen fruit: rattleworms in his rotten flesh" Nina Tlalqui nodded her head sagely, "this pyacoque is really speaking through you this evening, husband" she said.

Good evening pitxi fans of Tequilo, and welcome to our Baptism of Fire coverage here on your favourite sports channel, DV4! Tonight, game one - and game on! Los Mextiqos begin with a good win over early front-runners South Newlandia^(transl.); goals from Huracan and Mateo Tafalla enough to ensure the points. On the debit side, injuries to Chicchan and Vilca Hualla look pretty serious, with Chicchan not expected back for the group stage and Vilca Hualla, we understand, now headed home with three fractured costillas and a punctured pulmón - Coach Nores already faced with a selection headache there. But he'll take the win and millions of Tequiloa were out on the streets celebrating late last night as if we'd won the triple crown already! Let's pull up the stats, Haize - tell me what we are looking at here.

TEQUILO  2-1  SOUTH NEWLANDIA  	 

Loc: Jayji Stadium, Crystal Lake, Delaclava	  	H/T: 1-1
Att: 22,685						Player of the match: Huracan

TEQ: Huracan 26' Tafalla 62'
SNL: McMora 28'

Player		Rating					Match Stats	TEQ-SNL
Ferran Teixidó	[7.0]					Possession (%)	62/38	
Patrick Zambo	[7.2]					Shots		15-13
Haize Apeiztegui[6.1]YY	    				On target	6-5
Huracan		[8.6]	goal: 26'			Pass Compl (%)	78-67	
Chicchan	[8.4] + 	  				Corners		5-6	
Callañaupa	[7.1] 		  			Fouls		10-10
Vilca Hualla	[5.1] + 					Yellow cards	1-1
Tutayan		[5.5]			 		Red cards	0
Mateo Tafalla	[7.6]	goal: 62'	     
Narciso Cora	[8.2]				
Roxelio Toran	[5.8] 	    	   					
							Injuries	Severity		
Huachalla	[7.3]	sub: Chicchan 20'		Chicchan	5 games		
Garaitz Minha	[5.8]	sub: Zambo 54'			Vilca Hualla	Heading home	
I.Artechevarria	[ - ]	sub: Vilca Hualla 88'	
							
Statistics generated by the Bonesea QuickStatter v1.1

Well Neizan, clearly, we see plenty of possession for the Mextiqos but otherwise, a tight game as expected. The first real incident of the day is Chiccan's injury in the 20th minute as he crumps into Ricardo Reiner and certainly comes out of it the worse off. Huachalla could not have expected to be out on the field so soon. Huracan gets the historical first competitive goal for Tequilo just a few minutes later but celebrations are cut short, with Patrick McMora equalising within a couple of minutes. Despite that possession, Los Mextiqos find the Southerners difficult to break down, and it takes El Héroe de Tequiloa to ensure a first three points; the beloved Mateo Tafalla with a wonder goal in the 62nd minute, leaving poor Mikhail Trischuk in the Southerners goal, who otherwise had a half decent game, completely flat footed. Opportunities after that fell to both sides but in the end, Tafalla's goal decides it - how many of us have said that down the years in Tequiloan football? Just at the end Vilca Hualla limps off with what seems an innocuous bump in the side from Johan Dorsey, but we hear his tournament is over following a collapsed pulmón - get well soon, young man!

Indeed Haize that is a blow with Tuhuexetagua¹ coming up next, and they will be smarting from a slow start, looking to get a first win on the card after three games. It looks like straight swaps for those two injured bodies with Huachalla and Isidor Artechevarria set to start the next game.

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MUSEO de PITXI
1, Plaza Pitxi, Camino Recto, Distrito Socrates, Tapalupé

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Exidio Coyopa still here to guide you through our palacial museum, and to introduce you to our national sport. Do not be afraid to interrupt and ask me anything, for with all modesty I will tell you I know everything about pitxe. Just no more questions about Pyacoque if you please…

…in here we have the old Grand Ballroom of La Familia Aratinco, where great balls and wild dances were held in the aristrocratic days of a bygone era, and now dedicated to a different kind of music - that of the drum, the stamp, the clap, the chant and the hollah… what is pitxe without the spectacular contribution of it's wild supporters - of every club and every colour? In this grand room the Museo de Pitxe celebrates the varying tiers of club followers, from the choir - el Coro - to the drummers, stompers, shouters and even the sunshine brigade - la pandillasoles - who only come out when the weather is nice and the team are winning. In Tequiloa pitxe culture, support is very stratified, and you join the group who you can make the best contribution toward. Are you a drummer with a great sense of rhythm (and more importantly, a drum)? Then stand with los bateristas and drum away. Are you more comfortable out of tune, making an unholy racket - over there are el ruido, the noise. Generally just angry at the terrible state of affairs and want everyone to know? In the corner, los gritos - the shouters. This gang gets bigger when things get tougher in the league. Don't care how they are doing or what the weather is, haven't missed a match in twenty years - truly you are the loyal, el leal, and you will get your reward in Huevan (a famous holiday resort of Antivador with lovely beaches).

RAQ: Who do you support, Exidio, and what kind of supporter are you?

Ah, a rarely asked question! Thank you for showing a personal interest in my personal interests. Let me tell you I have studied every team in Tequilo, and I have watched every team in the top division of all six state championships, plus most in the second divisions too. I have watched pitxe in every country in Plataforma and in Pletora, these two massive continents to the south and north of here respectively. I have studied most teams in the top divisions of those countries, and the international club championships of both continents; I spent a year in Bonesea learning about 'greasy churning' and six months in Wight being scared witless watching the insane Wight League, may the Spitting Lizards save me! And do you know who I support? Would you like to guess? I support the team that plays just up the road from here, the All Reds, Todosrojos - my beloved Socrates. They haven't won much - two state championships and one national cup. I was ten when I first went to see them, a baby Mextiqo from the pleasant suburb of Socrates, in the year when they won their second (and last) state championship. Naturally I imagined they were a great team of Tequilo - but as I learned over time, it was a beautiful moment in a mostly drab existence of the club. But I always go, and so that makes me 'un Leal' - a loyal one. Although I find the loyal ones are an old and tired bunch generally; I prefer to stand with los ruidos, who like to make such a racket.

RAQ: What about El Presidente?

Our leader Presidente Itzaltzu Urbano 'Tzalti' Larrosa, hailing from Urzagui in Puezan state, is a well-known Peru Urzagui supporter - certainly their most famous celebrity 'partidario'. With eleven state championships, they aren't a bad side either - certainly, I will grudgingly admit, better than my beloved Reds - and hold their own in perhaps the most competitive state championship. But like all other teams in Puezan, they are overshadowed by Tequilo's most successful club, CF Frantxizko-A: 21 state championships and six - SIX! - Copa Tequilos.

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Quite surprised by the fact that anyone was reading our Stiki-Stiki mini-feature, we became entirely overwhelmed with requests for a Masvidal sticker, following a widely followed online lecture yesterday by pitxe professor and museum curator, Exidio Coyopa. Of course Colección Stiki-Stiki^TM has already printed this season's Baptism of Fire collection album and any additional stickers would have nowhere to be stuck. But ever mindful of our customer base and always doing our best to please, we decided to get all our loyal staff to go through their personal sticker collections to see what we could come up with, and, thanks to car pool boss Clara Cuahtemoc we bring you, by popular request, a copy of her second most valuable sticker - the Baptism of Fire 44 image of Masvidal, aged 24, about to break into international stardom. This 80-year old sticker is part of Clara's treasured antique collection, and incredibly, a duplicate - she has another in a completed BoF-44 album which is so valuable, she wouldn't even tell us where she keeps it, let alone bring it into work.

This Masvidal collectible is probably worth a good ₱300 (Chelínpesos) on it's own; the album, we reckon, if Clara really has filled it, is going to be worth five hundred times that - enough to buy a small apartment here in the pleasant Socrates district of the capital Tapalupé city. But there is more - Clara claims, and we can't verify it - that she has the magical 'Dwayne' sticker in the completed album. Like, oh my dogs. The Dwayne Sticker.

We are surprised the good chap Exidio didn't mention it in his biography of Masvidal lecture yesterday - but then again, it is a controversial subject. You see, Masvidal was not always Masvidal. He was born Dwayne Masvidal. By the time he reached his adult teens, he had already decided to abandon the name Dwayne and just go for the mononym; and he had punched a lot of kids (and a few adults) along the way who had dared to call him by his former first name. When the editor of Tamarindian sticker company Nappini first published the BoF-44 collection including the name Dwayne on the Masvidal sticker, Masvidal went straight round his house and punched him on the nose. He also kicked the pet Qili Pig, allegedly, and spoke harshly to the dog. Leaving with further threats, the sticker was recalled the next day and the new print issued, as seen here, sans Dwayne. Rare versions of the Dwayne Sticker made it into a few albums, and Masvidal did his best to buy them all up with a mix of threats and generous compensation. Today, a genuine 'Dwayne' would set you back a million chelinpesos and set up an immediate investigation by local law enforcement, since most of them have, by now, been stolen and fenced on the black market. Which means Clara Cuahtemoc may have some questions to answer…

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FOOTNOTES
1Twicetagria

[Twicetagram and JYPe]

Life in Avetania: A Journey in the Poorest District

Avetania is the poorest district in the whole of Twicetagria. They were unfunded by the once corrupt government, unemployment rates are still high, and their workers get wages lower than the average in the whole of Twicetagria. Agriculture is the main contributor to its GDP, but with the horrid weather, it's very hard to gather a lot of harvest for sale.
One factor which contributes to its low tourism rate is because of the Mirelia mountain chain that stretches the entire northern border. Nevertheless, sea travel was only introduced in the past few decades, and their main port is at the southern tip of the peninsula, Griderina. Commuting there requires you to take a cheap ferry from Alphaxrie, the closest main city, and wait for 7 hours before reaching your destination. The sea is filled with pirates, and there are no airports.
Those who have even set foot in Avetania only have visited the Mirelia mountains. over 70% of Twicetagrian citizens didn't even know of its existence until they came across a survey asking them if they have heard of Avetania.

I wake up as the boat conductor wakes me up at Berese port. This part of Avetania is one of the only places lucky enough to get its own harbour. However, this place is separated from other main areas, and with the rocky terrain all over, transportation is quite tough. Places are all sprinkled across this curious peninsula, and it takes at least an hour to reach each other. The more rural areas have absolutely no connections to the outside world. There is still hope though. The new AA1 highway is completing soon, and should open within a year or two. Sadly, this highway only links Berese and Griderina(read the spoiler to know its location) with the outside world.
I am greeted by the Gonnon family, who welcome me with open arms. They are one of the fortunate families to live in this small city of 55,000. However, being in one of the poorer districts, they rarely have access to electricity and utilities, and have to take a 1 hour-long ride to fetch their daily limit of 3 litres of water per person. They only get 1 1/2 hours of television time, and their children, aged 6 and 10, often squabble to see which channel to watch.
As I step into their cramped 1-room apartment, I could see Mr Gonnon watching Twicetagria's match against Havynwilde. Just then, the match cut short, and it was replaced by a message: Sorry, but your television airing time has ended. Come back tomorrow!
Mr Gonnon sighs as he says, "You see, with the past oppression and corruption, most of us Avetanians are living in these kind of conditions. I'm thankful for the current government's efforts to turn this wasteland into the star of southern Twicetagria.
Twicetagria used to be an impoverished country(when it was still named Ostroria), but the current government's reforms have slowly changed the nation into a modern one. However, Avetania is the last province the government has worked on, but everyone here has high hopes, says Mrs Gonnon. I step into their room, which has two bunk beds with a narrow walkway in between. The family have kindly left some room for me, even though I feel bad for accepting it.
They then take me onto a tour around their city. Their car looked a bit run down, but it still was safe to ride. They first take me around their neightbourhood, Galensia. Galensia is full of one-room houses and bunched-up apartments. The central park was small and strewn with litter. Police officers were patrolling the area, which is famous for its gang fights.
Then, we headed to Rigenta, the industrial area. It was full of old factories around, but a lot of construction was going on, which meant that the government was making changes here.
After that, we went to Alloa, the city center. The children were very excited, as they haven't been here since their school holidays started. The area was full of small offices, condominiums and schools. The only building that had a somewhat good architectural design was the province headquarters. But even so, it was closed off to the public. We then headed to the coastline. One would expect sandy beaches with blue waves, but instead it was rocky. The port was quite small, and there was nothing spectacular about it.
After coming back to their apartments, the kids immediately continue reading their hand-me-down comics, which they were excited about. Feeling sleepy, I went back to sleep.

[Villablanca]

All square in opening game for Villablanca
The Villablanca Times

VILLABLANCA 1-1 MAVINET
Stadium: Newton-Smith Arena (42,786)
Weather: Sunny (24 C)

VIL: Mangas (67')
MAV: Thanh Hai (21')

Match Stats: (VIL-MAV)
Possession (%): 57/43
Shots: 13-8
On Target: 6-4
Pass Completion (%): 81-70
Corners: 7-3
Fouls: 8-9
Yellow Cards: 2-1

And we're up and running folks! Villablanca made their international debut with a solid 1-1 draw in what was a tough opening game. Mavinet proved stern opposition, scoring early before sitting deep and stifling Villablanca's creative talents. The game started with Mavinet sustaining pressure and knocking the ball around nicely. Gago was forced in to several early saves including a fantastic long range effort by Hoang Minh. Despite their early possession, it was a counter attack that got them the opening goal. Winning the ball back in midfield, they switched it to the flank where Tien Linh skipped past Gaspar Savala, from their he cut inside and played through Thanh Hai for a 1v1. The striker made no mistake with the finish, slotting it past Gago to make it 1-0. From there, Mavinet sat deep, seemingly content to defend their lead.

There were very little chances until half time, with Villablanca struggling to break down the resilient backline. At half time manager Cortez brought on Suarez at right wing to try and give the team a more attacking edge. They started the second half more promisingly, focusing their attacks down the flanks rather than through the centre which clearly wasn't working in the first half. Their first real chance of the game came from a corner, with Tello narrowly heading over the bar after losing his marker. Villablanca pressed and probed but still couldn't find a way through. Sanchez in particular cut a frustrated figure, being marked out of the game by the excellent Tri Thong. Midway through the first second half Cortez abandoned flair and skill altogether, taking the controversial decision to take off Sanchez and bring on target man Marco Gomes. The gameplan became clear, bombard the box with crosses and hope for the best.

Villablanca started getting more chances, Gomes headed wide soon after coming on and a speculative effort from de la Fuenta forced a save from the Mavinet keeper. However it was in the 67th minute when the goal finally came. Tello switched the ball out wide to Suarez who swung in yet another cross. It curled and dipped perfectly to match the run of Roberto Mangas who headed in to the bottom corner. And with that Villablanca scored their first ever goal in international football, a landmark occasion. However Villablanca almost lost their lead straight away, with Mavinet again threatening on the break. After a blistering break the ball was cut back to Thanh Hai on the edge of the box who had a clear shot on goal, but was thwarted by Tello, with his block stopping what looked an almost guaranteed goal. Villablanca rallied and threw men forward looking for a winner, but the Mavinet defence held firm, heading away cross after cross and not allowing Villablanca any space.

Player Ratings: (Villablanca)
Gago (7), Manu-Manu (6), Tello (7.5), Savala (6), Del Toro (5.5) (OFF: 45'), Silva (7), de la Fuenta (6) (OFF: 82'), Garcia (6.5), Sanchez (5) (OFF: 62'), Martinez (5.5), Mangas (7.5), Suarez (7) (ON: 45'), Gomes (6.5) (ON: 62'), Zayas (N/A) (ON: 82')

[Riennic Isles]

The Riena Sentinel

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As it happened - Riena 3-0 Simpralia
Wavelets turn on the style to win opening BoF match

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Preamble

Good evening, and welcome to the Riena Sentinel's minute-by-minute coverage of Riena versus Simpralia in the 72^th Baptism of Fire. It has been, to say the least, a whirlwind first month in charge for Kanata Shiranami. Plucked from obscurity by acting RFA director Tamaki Oda ahead of a clutch of more seasoned tacticians to fill the manager's hotseat, Shiranami has so far overseen a single draw and three losses in her four matches in charge. Admittedly, those three losses came against relative multiversal heavyweights in the form of HUElavia, Filindostan, and Zwangzug, all teams ranked in the top 50 in multiversal competition, but more worrying was a 2-2 draw against fellow minnows Kohnhead, where Riena twice let slip well-deserved one-goal leads to draw 2-2.

Despite Shiranami's relatively short time in charge, and the callowness of the first-team players available to her, there have already been calls for Oda to reverse his decision to install the rookie manager at the head of the national team, citing her inexperience and lack of tactical knowledge. However, it is unfair to slate any manager on the basis of their first month in post, especially given the one-sided match-ups that the national team has had to face over the past three weeks. Instead, we can expect Shiranami to be judged on Riena's performances at the Baptism of Fire in Appalachia, Delaclava, and Ethane, where she will be leading her players against a similar caliber of opposition. The manager and her players will have a point to prove when they step out at The Marianne Detreux Stadium in Southern Hampton, Ethane, to face off against Simpralia.

Team news

Riena (4-3-3): Minato; Himemori, Narita, Amemiya, Uruha; Sakuranami, Ishibashi, Nakiri; Steiner, Kanzaki, Suenaga.
Substitutes: Kugimiya, Igarashi, Tsukamoto, Kawakaze, Matsukai, Akamatsu, Samukawa.

Simpralia (4-1-2-1-2): Pokimane; Andrews, Blain, Mai, Valkyrae; Amouranth; Hayden, Alaana, Kjellberg; Tarantino, Skefanny.
Substitutes: Monila, Apostulu, Dark, Reed, Nakata, Durnil, Orten.

The manager speaks!

Kanata Shiranami addresses the press before the match. 'I think the starting line-up reflects the team's attitude and ambitions in this match. As is the team's philosophy, we will look to dominate possession, especially in the center of the park, and hopefully that will allow us to control the game from the first whistle to the last.' Asked for a prediction on the final score, Shiranami simply smiled and refused to comment.

A historic moment awaits ...

The players jog out of the tunnel to huge roars from the 37,000 strong crowd. The players go through the usual pre-match formalities, the national anthems of both sides are blasted over the tannoy, and Riena will be playing its first competitive multiversal match in a matter of seconds ...

Peep peep!

Riena kick us off on a balmy evening in Southern Hampton, Ethane. Kanzaki sweeps the ball backwards to Ishibashi, who faffs around with it as Alaana bears down on her at speed. She gets in a tangle with the Simpralian captain, but is let off the hook by the referee, who deemed Alaana's challenge to be just a tad overzealous. Free-kick to Riena.

4'

Nakiri picks the ball up in midfield and advances with some menace into the Simpralian defensive third. She lays the ball off to Suenaga, who races down the left flank and sends in a decent cross that's just behind Kanzaki. The ball trickles out of play for a Simpralia throw. A decent first chance for Riena.

7'

A heart-in-mouth moment for Riena and Shiranami. Kjellberg receives the ball deep in his own half and gets around a half-hearted attempt at a tackle by Himemori. He combines well with Tarantino and Hayden to take half the Riena defence out of the equation. The Simpralians are in space and time on the edge of the Riena area. Alaana elects to shoot with power, but her rising drive was always too close to Minato, who has no problem helping it over the bar for a Simpralian corner.

8'

The first corner of the game comes to naught. Kjellberg's effort is floated too close to Minato, who claims easily enough.

12'

Riena pass the ball around in neat little triangles in midfield, looking to settle and get a firmer foothold in the game after that early scare. Eventually Uruha finds herself with space against Andrews, and sends in a low whistler of a cross that ricochets off Nakiri's knee and into Pokimane's arms.

15'

Riena are beginning to build some serious pressure here. The Simpralian midfield sit off Sakuranami, who needed no second invitation to surge forwards into the opposition half. She turns Amouranth on the edge of the area and tries to flick a pass into the path of Suenaga, but it is ever so slightly overhit, and Andrews is on hand clear the danger.

GOAL! Riena 1-0 Simpralia (Steiner 16')

Flare Steiner scores Riena's first ever competitive goal with a fine piece of individual skill!

The breakthrough, when it came, was deftly executed. Amemiya showed bravery and composure to clear Kjellberg's low cross away from Skefanny's outstretched boot. Her hefty clearance broke fifty yards upfield for Ishibashi, who took a touch, looked up, and slid a simple through ball past the retreating Simpralian defence and into the path of the onrushing Steiner. She took a fine first touch, nudging the ball away from Pokimane's despairing dive, before calmly rolling the ball into an empty net. A finely taken goal.

20'

Shiranami's side have taken the game by the scruff of its neck. They are absolutely dominant in possession and look incredibly dangerous every time they go forward.

24'

Riena have had 85 per cent of the ball since taking the lead. Simpralia are perhaps showing them just a bit too much respect.

26'

Sakuranami hauls Alaana to the floor as the Simpralian captain tries to get on the end of a hospital pass from Narita. She can count herself lucky not to go into the book for that one.

Penalty to Riena!

Uruha's well-hit crossfield pass is killed dead by Suenaga on the opposite flank. She turns on the backburners and accelerates past the covering Amouranth. Suenaga plays a one-two with Nakiri and breaks dangerously into the area. Mai stretches to dispossess the Riena winger, but ends up inadvertently catching Suenaga with her trailing leg. The ref tried to play the advantage, but blew for the penalty as soon as Pokimane dived and held the ball. He calls Mai over and brandishes his yellow card in the air.

30'

It's going to be Nakiri to take the penalty. She is, of course, Riena's designated penalty taker, and notched the country's first multiversal goal from the spot against HUElavia.

GOAL! Riena 2-0 Simpralia (Nakiri 31' pen)

Nakiri runs up to the ball, skips, and calmly dinks the ball beyond Pokimane into the bottom left corner of the net. No problem for the classy midfielder, who celebrates her second multiversal goal with gusto.

35'

Simpralia are really struggling to live with Riena at the moment. Sakuranami sends a pass fizzing into the feet of Kanzaki, who tries to spin Mai and get a shot away. The ball deflects out for a corner via a combination of Blain and the Simpralian upright. Moments later, an inswinging corner by Uruha causes all sorts of chaos inside the area. In the end, Valkyrae just about gets enough of the ball to hook it out for a Riena throw.

40'

A rare Simpralian attack breaks down after Himemori shepherds Kjellberg into a cul-de-sac down the Riena right. Sakuranami steals the ball off the toes of the Simpralian winger and launches it upfield to Steiner. She elects to shoot first time, but ends up woefully slicing her effort. Pokimane has enough time to put a cap on the ball before gratefully diving onto it. A wasted opportunity.

43'

Nearly some handbags in the midfield. Narita sashays upfield and finds Ishibashi, who gets her legs taken out from beneath her in the robust style by a sliding challenge from Tarantino. Ishibashi dusts herself off and exchanges a few frank opinions with the Simpralian forward before the two players are separated by the referee. No bookings.

45+1'

There will be a minimum of two added minutes at the end of this first half.

Half-time: Riena 2-0 Simpralia

Riena have been excellent for the better part of this first half, and they go into the break with a two-goal advantage thanks to Steiner's fine individual effort and a Nakiri penalty.

Half-time comment

Kanata Shiranami will be pleased with her side's first half performance, and rightly so. Perhaps slightly hesitant to overcommit in their first competitive multiversal match, Riena spent the first few minutes of the match getting themselves up to speed, and had to survive an early scare in the form of an Antonia Alaana thunderbolt. But they have since grown into the game and asserted their dominance in assured fashion. Aside from that Alaana effort, Simpralia simply haven't shown the quality needed to trouble this Riena defence; you suspect their coach, Simpralian ruler Queen Addison Rae, will be huddling over a tactics board with her assistant Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. They have got to find a way to break the Riena monopoly on possession if they are to take anything out of this match.

For her part, Shiranami will likely be asking her team for more of the same in the second half. Her favoured 4-3-3 formation has worked a treat so far. The Sakuranami-Ishibashi axis in midfield, backed up by a slightly deeper Narita, has had no issue exerting control over the middle of the park. Simpralia have been consistently camped within their own half, which has nullified their forwards and allowed what might otherwise have been a vulnerable Riena defence a relatively easy ride. Riena already have what amounts to a stranglehold on this match, and unless the Simpralian coaching team can come up with an effective answer to the dominance Riena have enjoyed in midfield, don't bet against Riena further consolidating their position in the second half.

Peep peep! The second half is a go!

Simpralia will kick us off in this second half. Both teams are unchanged from the first half in terms of personnel, but it seems like Nakiri will be playing slightly deeper than in the first half. Perhaps a tactical alteration by Shiranami to firm up her midfield by adding an extra player?

48'

Blain makes a last ditch challenge in her own area to deny Nakiri a clear sight of goal. The ball is recycled to Andrews, who nudges Uruha out of her way, sending the Riena defender sprawling on the deck. She gets up and protests in the rambunctious style, but the referee isn't interested. In the meantime, Andrews hacks the ball square to Alaana, but Sakuranami is alive to the danger and nips in ahead of the Simpralian captain to intercept.

51'

What a chance for Simpralia that is! Valkyrae flies into a fifty-fifty challenge with Suenaga and comes out with the ball. Himemori is stranded upfield as the Simpralian left back speeds down the flank and past a desperately backpedaling Narita. She cuts back onto her right foot and sends in a peach of a cross. The Riena defence is caught in two minds as Tarantino, arriving late in the box, connects first time and sends a sweetly-struck volley whistling past a helpless Minato. It seems destined for the corner of the net, but Amemiya pops up out of nowhere and valiantly heads it off the line and out for a throw! Tarantino must be wondering how that hasn't hit the back of the net!

52'

Mana Amemiya is, quite understandably, a little dazed after putting her body on the line for Riena. The Riena physios are called into action, scrambling to help her off the pitch for treatment.

55'

Amemiya appears okay to continue. The physios have had to break out their bandages for a cut the Riena defender sustained while making that goal-line clearance, but she looks to be raring to get back into the thick of things. The referee gives his assent, and Amemiya jogs back onto the pitch to retake her position in central defence.

62'

We have just passed the hour mark, and the balance of this match doesn't appear to have altered significantly. Riena are still enjoying the lion's share of possession, but they seem to be content to hold onto the ball and take the sting out of the game. For their part, Simpralia have not threatened since Amemiya denied Tarantino a certain goal. It will be interesting to see if either manager opts to make any tactical changes as we head into the latter stages of the match.

67'

It has been smooth sailing throughout for Riena, but it's Shiranami who makes the first change of the match. Hijiri Sakuranami takes off the captain's armband and hands it to Nakiri. She jogs off while applauding the Riena support, to be replaced by the defender Mao Tsukamoto. It looks like Shiranami will be pushing Narita further up the pitch to play in defensive midfield while Tsukamoto slots into central defence alongside Amemiya.

71'

Narita stops Skefanny in his tracks and sends a swirling pass over the top of the Simpralian defence for Steiner to chase. The fleet-footed winger easily wins her footrace against Valkyrae, but loses her balance as she tries to bring the ball under control and crashes into the advertising hoardings. Valkyrae is adjudged to have had the final touch as she went over Steiner, so it will be a corner to Riena.

GOAL! Riena 3-0 Simpralia (Tsukamoto 73')

Tsukamoto smashes a header into the top left past a motionless Pokimane, and surely Riena have the three points in the bag now!

The manager will be delighted with that. Riena's third goal is a well taken header that showed the value of teamwork and organisation at dead ball situations. Uruha produced a good delivery from the corner, sending the ball skimming just above the heads of the Simpralian defenders to the far post. Kanzaki won her aerial battle with Andrews and headed the ball back across the six-yard box, where Tsukamoto evaded Blain's attentions to head home powerfully past Pokimane.

74'

And that is Uruha's last contribution to the game. She is taken off to a smattering of warm applause from the Riennese fans as Kaede Igarashi replaces her at left back.

77'

Kanzaki mistimes an attempted tackle on Amouranth in the slapstick style and leaves the Simpralian midfielder writhing in agony on the floor. That was a proper forward's tackle. The referee checks with his assistant as Kanzaki tries to help Amouranth to his feet; he eventually decides that a yellow card will suffice. Amouranth appears to be unhurt and fine to continue, but Simpralia decide to err on the side of caution, bringing him off for the forward Ela Orten. A marked shift to an attacking strategy from Queen Addison Rae and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

80'

Chance for Simpralia! The change appears to have given Simpralia fresh impetus in attack. Bankrol Hayden receives a pass from Orten and goes on a mazy dribble. He almost loses his footing, but somehow manages to come out with the ball, leaving three Riena defenders in his wake. On the edge of the area, he spots Minato off her line and sends a chipped shot towards the far left corner, but Minato reacts quickly to get back into position. It's a comfortable enough catch for the Riena 'keeper in the end.

82'

Amemiya clears a threatening Kjellberg cross into touch for a Simpralian throw. Both teams will be making a substitution - Simpralia brings on the winger Drew Durnil for Haley Blain, while Riena replaces the flagging Tomoe Ishibashi with Mishiro Kawakaze. Simpralia appear to be throwing caution to the wind in terms of tactics - with Durnil's introduction, they have transitioned into what might generously be termed a suicidally attacking 3-3-1-3 formation. Meanwhile, Riena's final change of the game is a straight like-for-like swap from Shiranami, who will be looking to preserve the status quo right up to the final whistle.

85'

What a save from Pokimane! Nakiri steams into a tackle on Kjellberg and comes out with the ball. She wastes no time in laying the ball forward to Kanzaki, who uses her pace to get around the covering Mai. She hits the ball powerfully with her laces, but Pokimane showed lightning reflexes to get down to the shot, before smothering the ball at the second attempt.

87'

Himemori picks up a booking for something or other off the ball. She tries to protest the decision, but the referee is having none of it.

89'

Pokimane receives the ball from an Andrews backpass and looks to launch it long. Her flighted pass takes out the Riena midfield and finds Tarantino deep within the attacking third. The Simpralian forward knocks the ball past Kawakaze and tries to slip Skefanny through on goal, but Tsukamoto produces a brilliant sliding interception to avert the danger.

90'

On the touchline, the fourth official holds her board aloft, and we will have a minimum of three minutes of stoppage time.

90+2'

Riena are keeping the ball well, passing the ball in neat triangles between defence and midfield. They look supremely comfortable, as would be expected of a side that has been so thoroughly dominant over their opponents. Meanwhile, Sakurako and Himawari have just named Aya Nakiri the player of the match. The Riena vice-captain has been an immensely effective presence in attacking midfield today, her movement and passing knitting together the Riena attack. She was a thorn in the side of the Simpralian defence all day, and would have added an assist to her goal had it not been for a quite fabulous piece of goalkeeping by Pokimane.

Full time: Riena 3-0 Simpralia

The referee brings proceedings to a close, and it is a richly deserved victory for Riena and Kanata Shiranami, who celebrates her first competitive match as manager with a thumping win. There was a gulf in class between the two teams out on the pitch this evening, and Riena could have easily won by more if they hadn't taken their foot off the pedal in the second half, allowing Simpralia to work their way back into the game. Based on this first performance, positives abound for Shiranami and her players. Shiranami's philosophy of possession-based attacking football seems to be taking shape remarkably quickly, and her work with Riena's players bore fruit in spectacular fashion today. This assured performance provides the perfect springboard for Riena's next match against Sankt Konrad, and will also go a long way towards silencing the team's critics.

Simpralia, for their part, will look to take some crumbs of comfort from this thrashing. While they were perhaps outplayed and outthought by their opponents on the day, the Simpralian team fought tooth and nail until the last whistle, and that is something Queen Addison Rae and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should find some solace in. Simpralia's tactical shift to a more attacking formation in the second half also gave their attacking players the support they had lacked in the first half, allowing them to flourish and trouble the Riena defence on several occasions.

We will have a complete match report up on the top of the hour. Thank you for joining us, and good evening.