It's do or die time. The Dragonflies have plenty of experience with this - from all of our 12 World Cup appearances, we've only ever been safe or already eliminated in about three of them. The other nine came down to the last day, and the Dragonflies have been successful - or lucky - on just over 50% of those attempts. And World Cup 85 is no different. The entire group is in a gridlock, each team winning one and losing one match. The winners of these final games, Kita-Hinode versus Ko-oren and Vilita versus Main Nation Ministry, will represent the group in the next round.
No clue who the opponents will be, because Group C is also too close to call. Pasarga are on a significant disadvantage, Sarzonia are doing a little better than the rest, but that's it. That said, on the Farfadillis' side of the World Cup, only two teams are safe among sixteen.
Oh, but what happens with a tie here or there? Well, then we're out. Our defence was thoroughly pummeled by the Vilitans, and our offence couldn't find the net often enough to balance it out. So that means we have to defeat Kita-Hinode in the 'K and a dash' derby. But what will that take?
The Poltergheists' balanced 4-3-3 will be hard enough to break. The 4-3-3 might be rare on Ko-orenite fields, it's a staple on many others', and don't take this the wrong way, but it was enough to beat the number one team in the Multiverse. Playing with flair and adventurous curiousity, the Hinodejin have a team full of different backgrounds and influences. That's in stark contrast to the Dragonflies - who might coming from different backgrounds, but - who also play methodically and with meticulous discipline. Time and time again, the Dragonflies have shown to be able to beat teams that are far stronger than us. Time and time again, the Dragonflies have also shown that adhering to the system whatever is thrown at it can backfire. No matter what, the Poltergheists will have to be at their most creative to break down the 5-3-2. At the same time, the pressure is on us. We must score. And that's not something the system is designed for.
"Be prepared for some slight changes," head coach Juliasterinthen announced. That's what he does: slight changes, just enough to prop up the team from one World Cup cycle to the next, each time reverting the changes and implementing something new, learning from each new iteration, and hopefully one day finding something that sticks. Juliasterinthen's also bound by the players that are selected. Not by him, but by a committee of selectors, gurus of football, but not the people that have to turn 23 players into a team - let alone take that team into a World Cup. Whereas the last few World Cups were all about small changes to the back line, and experiments with 4-man back lines while in possession, this World Cup has been all about inventing something new for the often ignored midfield. Yokota is the everlasting defensive element, Longchambon is the ever-present attacking element... and that leaves one other player where you'd need two in order to get a functioning unit.
But maybe the changes go deeper than that. Instead of using the same formation that has brought us success and frustration for years, maybe it's finally about celebrating the different elements of Ko-oren. The archipelago is varied enough, and everybody knows it. But for the sake of keeping this country together, as any History student could tell you, we need to rely on set principles to make this rag tag collection of languages and origin stories into one functional group. Maybe, just maybe, we let the football field be a place where we can see these different starting points. Attacking football from the east. Defensive stability from the north. Tactics and positioning from the west. And, er, finding creative solutions in the face of certain doom from the south. That's the one thing the selectors have done well. We have players from all regions of the nation. The stability and creative solutions are side by side in defence: Hellegeland, Van Schelven, on the one hand, and Basquez on the other. Positioning and attack in midfield. Just doing whatever works and accuracy up front. Juliasterinthen, please, focus on what we do well, individually. The system works, and it's in everyone's mind. The individuals on this team can do the rest. If that's not what they're there for, then you could've put anyone on that field.
