World Cup 86: Roleplay Thread

[South Newlandia]

A travellers’ guide to South Newlandia

South Newlandians don’t like to be divided into groups, because they believe that it can never do a singular person justice to reduce them to a single feature of them, but occasionally, it’s just necessary. For example, when you talk about South Newlandian places, you need to group the country into some geographical areas to get any idea what is being talked about. In general, you can divide South Newlandia into a Southern and a Northern Part, each consisting of five general areas. You can reach a few of those directly with an airplane, via the airports in Elephant Valley, Walstreim and Newport, but for most of the areas, you will have to take an additional ship or train, or a bus. Fortunately for you, public transport is almost free in South Newlandia, while renting a car can be more expensive. You will generally find that most South Newlandians are friendly and helpful, so if you were to run into any problems, you can always ask a friendly stranger for help. You can also ask the various animals, but while those are also friendly, they are often less helpful, because they will not give you a verbal answer. They are animals, after all, how would they be doing that?

The North

The five Northern Regions are containing slightly more than half of the South Newlandian population, mostly because the two biggest South Newlandian cities are both here. Of course, there is the capital city, Elephant Valley. Located near the West Coast, it is its own region, with the slightly more than a half million people making up about an eighth of the country’s population. The city has relatively few skyscrapers, but is built over a large area instead. The city used to be more industrial, but is mostly focusing on providing entertainment for the rest of the country; most of the biggest media outlets, like the “Elephant Valley Mail” or “South Newlandia One” are having their headquarters here, but there is also a lot of other IT-related industry here. If you care about sports, the city provides plenty, with the Elephant Valley FC, the Valley Wanderers and Northvalley Club being the prominent football teams, the Elephant Valley Homers and Elephant Valley United if you are into Baseball; and Elephant Valley Chess if that’s your thing.

Around the capital, there is a region called “Elephant Area”, consisting of the area directly adjacent to the capital. It includes Elephant Town (about 80.000), Elephant Island just off of the coast (55.000), and the small city of Chekar (about 30.000). This area is commonly in the shadow of Elephant Valley, sometimes even counted to it, but the small cities have their own charm. A lot of the area is also used for farming, to provide the population of the capital and its surrounding areas with food. There are also sports here, with the Elephant Town FC, the Kinetik Islanders and the very small team of Town being prominent in South Newlandian football.

Moving further inland, there is the Northern Central region. This one is among the biggest, containing a big part of the South Newlandian Jungle and the nearby mountains, where hardly anyone lives. These contain various animals, with Elephants being the biggest and most important if them. The nature is being well preserved by various environmental policies, which sometimes shoot beyond the target. Of course, there are also cities here, with Lexen City being the biggest of the area (85.000). The city is notorious for even stricter laws on businesses than the rest of South Newlandia, which hardly seems possible, but they get it done. The city is also known for commonly pushing for social and socialist reforms, with the two not to be confused. The second biggest city of the area is Ruditown (60.000), known for the fact that a large part of the South Newlandian police force is from there, maybe because of the nearby Ruditown Police Academy. While South Newlandia doesn’t have a military (pls don’t invade us thx bye), the police department is usually well funded. Everyone that wants to join the police force receives a lengthy sensitivity and de-escalation training, to ensure that police violence is not a thing that South Newlandians have to worry about. Most policemen or policewomen – almost half of the police force isn’t male – do not even carry a gun; firearms are very hard to get in South Newlandia in the first place. The only people that are allowed to own one and keep it at home are sport shooters, but they are very strictly forbidden from taking bullets with them, too. Interestingly, there are neither jails nor prisons in South Newlandia. It is common belief that the response to a crime should be to stop that crime from happening again, and that no human is inherently evil, so there are only two main reasons why someone commits bad crimes: Mental health problems, in which case the person needs a therapist or a doctor, not a prison cell; or people that genuinely do not see another option to survive. The second reason has grown much less common in recent years, with education programs for everyone and a solid minimal wage as well as comparatively large payments for everyone not working, for whatever reason that may be: Retirement, unemployment, disability, or being a child, everyone is guaranteed enough money to survive, not just physically, but also mentally. There are, of course, programs to get more people into work, and you are generally better off if you do work. There is also the Ruditown Biologics University here, with experts researching better ways to preserve nature or better ways to grow food. The other important city Jagomir (51.000). Jamomir is one of the poorer cities in South Newlandia, at least comparatively, because they used to thrive based on the timber industry, an industry that has basically been destroyed by regulations. The government is working on helping the population back into jobs. If you care more about sports, relevant teams are the Ruditown Guards, the Lexen City Reds and Jagomir City in football and the Ruditown Dachshunds in baseball.

Moving even further east, we reach a region called “Northeast”. Shocker. Parts of the jungle reach into this area, but there is mostly just farmland here; of course dominated by Newport, the nations’ second biggest city (335.000). Newport is named after the port – Another shocker – and it links South Newlandia with the rest of the world. Tons of goods are exchanged here, to be transported to the rest of the country, or to be shipped into the entire world. Newport is South Newlandia’s fastest growing city, but housing prices are still mostly under control. There is an active party scene here, but the majority of people here is comparatively open-market, at least for the country. In other parts of the world, they would likely be considered the left, maybe even the radical left. Of course, Newport Is becoming the new centre of life in South Newlandia, with big banks and businesses, at least by South Newlandian proportions. The highest court of the country is also in Newport, along with the Newport Law School and the Newport College for International Realtions. There are other, smaller cities in the Northeast too, like Iceity (15.000) or Hymade (5.000), but they are much less important. Sports teams include Jecken Newport and Newport United for football, the Newport Owls and the Newport Dolphins for baseball and the Newport Rooks and the CT Hymade for chess. It is clear to see that Newport is the dominating heart of the region.

North of the other regions, there is the last northern region, the so called “Far Norths”. This is another area dominated by farmland, with cities few and far between. The biggest one is Trunkst (44.000), a pleasant city on a peninsula, but other than that, on the mainland are only the cities of North Oldsea (24.000) and Pice (11.000). The Far Norths are much less important than the other parts of the country are, with neither city being particularly interesting, but the Dragon Island also counts into the Far North. The Dragon Island is a small, cold island a solid distance away from the South Newlandian mainland with inhabitants known to be rather strange. The Dragon Island is also the youngest part of South Newlandia, but that’s a story for another day. The city of Masmow is the only real city on the island, and with 60.000 inhabitants it’s also far and away the biggest of the Far North. In recent years, the city has been more and more common as a tourist destination, if cold weather and cliffs are your thing. The culture there might be strange to you, but it is certainly interesting. The population is either working as fisherman, for tourists, or are unemployed, but the people don’t seem to mind. The Island is also known to occasionally have visitors leave the island without a single memory of their trip, but that is a rather rare phenomenon that you shouldn’t be too worried about. Masmow is also dominating the world of sports, with the Masmow FC and the Trunkst CFT in football, the Masmow Dragons in baseball and the Masmow Chess Wizards in, well, chess.

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Snippets from current news:

Romleb Mada out for „probably at least a year” following his injury in Mriin
According to first news from the hospital, he has broken both his Tibia and Fibula in multiple places, in addition to “basically destroying” his knee. It is unclear if he can ever play football again, as he will “probably spend close to a year in excruciating pain”. The doctor responsible said that they would have to “basically build him a new leg”. According to him, Mada stated, among other things, that he wishes the team good luck, that he believes that Maas Halder, the defender, had no bad intentions, and that he “really wants a bagel”. We cannot say if the pain medication has influenced him here, but we wish him all the best and a good recovery.

Elephants caring for injured players, including Schroeder, Cohen and Mada
The South Newlandian team is currently weakened with three injured players. While Cohen is already recovering well, Schroeder and Mada are spending their days in a hospital at the moment. According to anonymous sources in the respective hospitals, the players and coaches are frequently calling and visiting to inquire about the health of the two players. We wish them both a quick recovery. Meanwhile, the team has also welcomed the Snowy Owls from Tikariot as they arrived at Elephant Valley International Airport, just as the Snowy Owls had done before ahead of the game in Rushmore. The Elephants, who didn’t win any of the last four games, will play the big surprise of the group sitting in second place tomorrow. If they don’t win this game, they will not only add another loss to the long list of defeats against Tikariot, but they will most definitely be out of the running for the World Cup in Newmanistan and Drawkland.

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Port Ember 2-2 South Newlandia (23’, 62’ – 38’ Irving (Assist Anderson) 83’ Mohamed (Assist McCabe))
South Newlandia: Trischuk - Roy, Anderson, Gurero (45’ Sloah), Wright – Mohamed, Li (76’ Lancaster), McMora, Wallis – McCabe, Irving (89’ Glossman)
Man of the match: Mikhail Trischuk (South Newlandia)

Southern Palm Islands 0-0 South Newlandia ( - )
Southern Palm Islands: Khan – Feachell, Darmraj (60’ Temptsone), Nathan, Shariyar – Das R., Torus (56’ Das D.), Brothasear (89’ Maskin), Krishn – Plascas D., Plascas P.
South Newlandia: Trischuk – Roy, Anderson, Gurero, Wright (80’ Bishop) – Mohamed, Li (Lancaster 45’), McMora, Wallis – McCabe (45’ Glossman), Irving
Man of the match: Rawat Khan (Southern Palm Islands)

Next up: South Newlandia vs. Tikariot (Elephant Dome); Filindostan vs. South Newlandia
Table situation: still not great
Planned starting eleven: Trischuk – Roy, Anderson, O’Neill, Wright – Lancaster, Li, McMora, Wallis – Irving, McCabe

[Ziwana]

Part Three

HOW WE WON THE

4TH CMFA CUP

By Charles Payen, Jean Wilder and Abdulaziz Haqawi

The camp in Soracana Islands

JEAN WILDER

After we had failed to qualify for the NS World Cu 84 proper by a slight margin, the media praised for overachieving. In some news outlets there were claims that our umodzi,umodzi style had captured the hearts of football fans not only in the Melayu region but also around the multiverse. I knew this to be true when we arrived Ruacalu. The Mayor of Ruacalu gave the team a red carpet welcome. Flowers were put around our necks, we were gaven hand shakes and that evening treated to dinner. At the dinner we were entertained by traditional Soracani dances.

ABDULAZIZ HAQAWI

It was an absolute spectacal. It gave the squad confidence.

CHARLES PAYEN

The accomodation given to the team was really beautiful.It was right by the sea. In our previous camp the 23 squad members shared one hostel room, in the camp in Ruacalu the lodge had multiple cabins. I was happy with the accomodation, living with 23 guys in one room can get really annoying. From the snoring to a lack of privacy.

JEAN WILDER

We stayed in 4 cabins.Before we moved in, four senior players;Yannick Saramandiff,Nicolas Bayaram,Jean Aristide and me sat down and discussed who would share a cabin with whom. What we wouldn't to avoid from happening was that, Sandheights City players staying in one cabin, Black leopards players in another, Western United players in another and Birnin Almalaki players in another.Birnin Almalaki, Western United and Black Leopards are all fierce rivals. We wanted to avoid creating a split that could hurt the camps harmony and cohesion.We also didn't want to separate mates so we came up with a colour mix.

CHARLES PAYEN

Sandheights City winning the league had reduced the tensions between Birnin Almalaki and Western United. This two teams had a really fierce rivalry. Every season they competed for the Liga Malikiy. The last two seasons before Sandheights had won, the two teams had lifted the Liga Malikiy. In the last 20 years, Western United and Birnin Almalaki have won the league 12 times together. The players of the two teams are always trying to oneup each other. It was great that Sandheights City had won and I am saying this because I am a Beach Boys player but because it cooled the tensions. As for Black Leopards they hadn't won the league since 1991.

JEAN WILDER

Black Leopards had met Western United in the FA Cup semi-finals in which the Leopards lost on penaltys. I thought this would be a problem but Black Leopards captain, Nicolas Bayaram assured me there would be no problems. It was great to have the issue of club rivalries not interfere with the national team. Togetherness is very important to a team, especially in a tournament. A team with great team spirit is able to work together on the pitch instead of relying on one player.

ABDULAZIZ HAQAWI

The vibe of togetherness continued, it was like a rural community. This had been established whilst in camp in Ziwana but it got stronger whilst in camp in Ruacalu. I think it was because of being in a foreign country. I was the only Al-Quasim Athletic play in the squad but I was never made to feel left out. In fact there were no clicks in camp, something which i had expected. There were 5 Sandheights City players, I think 4 Western United players, 5 Black Leopards players and 3 Birnin Almalaki players. I thought with so many players from one club like this would cause them to be together because of familiarity but it wasn't the case. We all ate together, went on walks together and watched movies that we knew by heart together.

CHARLES PAYEN

The weather was warm and pleasant in Ruacalu. Because of this the squad spent most of the time outside.It was an amazing experince eating breakfast, lunch and dinner outside by the seaside. I especially liked fried tilapia which reminded me of home and the cat fish nuggets which were a great treat. The atmosphere was special. The team building for the Akambuku was indeed on point.

[Riennic Isles]

The match was not going well for Riena.

In theory, a trip to the Esthampton Citypark in Springmont did not an intimidating fixture make. Not, at least, for a team harbouring lofty ambitions of qualifying for the World Cup finals. An away game against an unranked, unheralded side was exactly the sort of game that Riena needed to win if they were to progress to the next level. The best teams were the ones that were consistent, hoovered up maximum points against lower ranked sides - and with the greatest of respect, Springmont were exactly the sort of opponent that Riena needed to beat with regularity.

Theoretically, Riena would have an easy time picking up three points against Kristofer Donatis's side. Like taking candy from a baby. Theoretically.

But football isn't played out on the paper of a tactics dossier. That fact was driven home forcefully a minute before half-time - Bob Mayfirth took a lofted pass in his stride, sold Tsukamoto a dummy, and delicately stroked a shot past Minato's despairing dive and into the back of the net. The scoreboard flickered, and two numbers lit up on the screen - 2-0 to Springmont.

The atmosphere in the away dressing room at half time was deathly silent, the tension emanating from its occupants palpable.

On the surface, Shiranami was her usual calm demeanour as she dissected the team's first-half performance, but the narrowed eyes and the unnaturally forced smile of the manager combined to tell of a simmering, barely suppressed rage bubbling beneath the placid facade. And who could blame her? She had researched the Springmont team in an effort to prepare her players for the game. Together with the coaching staff, she had prepared painstaking dossiers of information on every single Springmont player, and walked the team through all the information as best she could. She had done everything she possibly could. And yet, despite all the work that had gone into preparing for the match, she found her team down by two goals after forty-five minutes.

It had been a thoroughly dismal first half. Riena had put out what was in effect a very attacking team against opponents they had been expected to dominate. But the turgidity that had been their downfall against these very same opponents earlier in the cycle was again the prevailing theme of their play. Riena had shown themselves to be a team who could turn it on at the blink of an eye. But so far, there had been no sign of the spirited, adventurous team that had took apart illustrious opponents of the ilk of Vilita and the Hinodejin Empire. There was only a collection of eleven individuals, all of whom looked terrified of the pressure that had been heaped on them by expectation - a ragtag bunch of players who played with dark fear festering in their hearts.

"It's almost time, Kanata."

Shiranami closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she held up a hand to acknowledge her assistant.

"I don't have a lot else to say. I've seen better from you, and I know that you're capable of playing far, far better than you have in that first half. Don't try to force it. Just go out there and play your natural game. Find your collective rhythm, and turn this game on its head. That's all."

A thin smile on her lips, she waved her players back onto the pitch for the second half.

The referee blew his whistle for the start of the second half. Kanzaki rattled the ball backwards to Amemiya, who hadn't been expecting the pass. The ball clanged off her shin and into the air. Sensing an opportunity, Noah Crownfish raced from his own half and leaped into the challenge - and a panicked Amemiya promptly caught him in the stomach with a raised knee, bringing him crashing back to earth. There was a grim inevitability about the shrill blast of the whistle, the remonstrations of both sets of players as they crowded around the referee, and the referee's resigned expression as he reached for his pocket. Her shoulders hunched by crushing disappointment, Amemiya was trudging off the pitch even before the red card was brandished.

On the touchline, Shiranami spun on her heels in disgust and muttered an expletive under her breath.

The curse continued.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

The Last Archduke - Part VI

Sanssouci Palace - December 31, 1893

Archduke Franz walked down the halls of the palace, which on this day were packed with working men. He stopped and helped one out with a box that had dropped, carrying it into the large banquet hall.

While Christmas was always a family affair at the palace, the New Year was a different story. Stelburg was a city of culture - of opera halls, art displays, open-air concerts - and most famously, a city of balls. In some of the more famous venues in the downtown core, there would be a ball at least once a month, if not twice. Stelburg’s high-profile people, the nobles, the rich, would gather for the celebrations.

But the biggest events of the year, on the ball calendar, were the only two that the imperial family had anything to do with. The New Years’ Eve ball, hosted at the palace, and the Midsummer ball, hosted at the Blauwald Castle about 20 minutes north of the city on a lake, during probably the second biggest holiday/festival in the Empire. It was a big day - and Franz’s mother, Kaiserin Isabella, always made a big deal of ensuring that the preparations were complete and everything was perfect.

Franz was searching for his mother on this day, and eventually found her decorating in the main room. “Franz, don’t make a mess in here,” she laughed.

“Mama, can I talk to you about something?”

“Franz, I’m a little busy right now - here, help me move this ladder” Franz was quick to help her out. “Can we talk tonight at the party? I’m just so busy today. I’m sorry,” she said.

Franz nodded - he continued to help her for a few more minutes, before returning to his room. It was going to be a big night for him, for several reasons. Of course, the New Years’ Eve Ball was always a special night, but this year would be different: naturally, of course, there was the big news of the day, that he planned on joining the military. Secondly, however, it was an imperial family custom that the first ball after an Archduke’s 18th birthday would be officially held in his honour, and for the first time, he would have a date for the event.

Of course, the date was chosen by his mother and father - and usually more for political reasons than any other. This time, the choice had been clear. All corners of the Empire had had to sacrifice in this war - but none was at breaking point more than Prinz-Eugens-Land. The colony had contributed a great deal of soldiers to the war effort - both from the Teus population as well as the various native groups that lived there. However, they had paid a high price, and many in the colony did not feel that their efforts were being properly rewarded. So the chosen date for Archduke Franz was Larissa von Ransmayr, the daughter of the Governor of Prinz-Eugens-Land, who also happened to be a Graf, or count, in the imperial court. The idea was that those in PEL would see one of their own in the imperial family, and feel that their sacrifice was being rewarded. Larissa was attending school in Stelburg through the war, and would be expected to court the Archduke now - although his most recent decision would throw a wrench in that plan, certainly.

He hadn’t actually met her yet, another imperial tradition. That didn’t stop his sister from speculating as the two siblings walked around the palace garden.

“Prinz-Eugens-Land, right? I’ve heard some interesting things about that place,” said Archduchess Elizabeth with a smile.

“Like what?” asked Franz, who had to admit he was a little nervous for the evening.

“Oh, just the stories of the explorers, things like that. The people there have to be a little mad, don’t you think? Most of the country is a jungle, and half of the Teus that went there still believed in the old religion. Sounds crazy,” said Elizabeth.

“I guess you would know, being the Princess-Protector or whatever it is,” replied Franz with a smirk.

That move had been another designed to boost morale in the colonies. The family would be linked with the colonies to drum up support for the war, and ensure loyalty. The Kaiser, who had been to Sankt Konrad many times and, of course, fought in the war there, had in fact paid a visit to the island after a naval battle took place off its shores. The imperial issue - Franz and Elizabeth - had been declared Prince and Princess of Prinz-Eugens-Land, respectively. Technically, the territory was considered a Protectorate of the Teus Empire, making the official title ‘Princess-Protector’. In reality, all it meant was that the two children sat on the board of the Imperial Colonial Association, and could use a palace in Kapstadt at their leisure, but such travel was quite unrealistic.

“I also heard they have funny accents,” said Elizabeth.

“Be careful, you wouldn’t want to offend your new subjects,” laughed Franz.

“Do you think this Larissa will have an accent?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

A few hours later, it was time to find out indeed. The imperial family greeted the various guests arriving at the ball - businessmen, many of whom were involved with the war effort in some way, noblemen, Stelburg socialites. In this room, for one night, it was as if the war didn’t exist - and Franz wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, or something showing the darker side of the city. Every imperial was busy on this night - escorting people to tables, giving speeches, and, of course, the Stelburger waltz.

At these balls, Franz and Elizabeth enjoyed playing some games, the most competitive of which was to see who could give out the most gifts between the two. It used to descend into both children running around the room, throwing gift packages at people. It was fun when they were 12 and 10, but now the two had a bit more of an image to uphold at these occasions: so, speed walking instead of running. The real challenge now was to see who could get out of the long conversations the quickest. And Franz was about 7 minutes into one with the Count of Kaiserhaven - he could see Elizabeth making fun of him from across the room - when his father pulled him aside.

“Franz, I’d like to introduce you to Larissa von Ransmayr, daughter of our friend Paul, the Governor of Prinz-Eugens-Land.”

She was beautiful, and Franz was instantly enamoured of her. The normally confident Archduke stammered out a greeting, returned with a ”Goeien abend” - there was that Prinz-Eugens-Land accent. Franz quickly pulled himself together, however, and the two of them actually got on quite well - well enough that they made plans to go skating on the canal the very next day. Most of the night was a blur - yet Franz remembered quite clearly most of their conversations.

His focus on that particular event throughout the evening had made him almost forget about the other one. By the end of the night, the number of guests had dwindled - Larissa leaving with the family she was staying with in Stelburg, the Lord Mayor’s family. There were only a few left, and now the Archduke and Duchess were left to talk.

“So, how was the accent?”

“Yep,” said Franz tiredly

“Yep? That’s not an answer, Franz”

“Oh, I mean yes, she had an accent. It was… nice”

“Aww, Franz is in love,” mocked Elizabeth.

“Come on,” Franz laughed.

“When’s the wedding?” Elizabeth was laughing as well now.

When they finished laughing, Franz realized that the one thing he’d set out to do today - tell his mother he was joining the army - had been put off until now. Suddenly, he became serious.

“Liesl, I can tell you anything, right?”

“I already know you like her, Franz,” she continued in a mocking tone.

Franz wasn’t laughing, though. “No, something else.”

Elizabeth got more serious now as well. “Well, what is it?”

“I’ve already talked to father - I’m going to be joining the military. You and father are the only ones that know - how do I tell mama?”

Elizabeth was shocked. “Just a- just a desk job, right?”

Franz could only shake his head no.

“I- um, when?”

“Probably next week.”

Elizabeth had tears in her eyes now, and Franz was beginning to choke up a bit. It wasn’t 1888 anymore - ‘joining the military’ no longer meant becoming a hero. It meant having to avoid being one of the 2.2 million who had already died, and the countless more injured. The siblings hugged each other. The announcement went over for the last song of the evening, and Kaiserin Isabella came over.

“Franz! You haven’t danced with your dear mother all night, come on!” Isabella smiled as Franz joined her on the dance floor.

They danced for what felt like an eternity in silence, Franz not wanting to tell her the thing nagging on his mind - which had already caused such a reaction in his sister. But in the end, he knew he had to.

“Franz, what was it that you wanted to tell me earlier?”

Franz paused now, struggling to find the words. “I’m going to join the military.”

There was a long pause again, no words, as the two stopped dancing and simply embraced. The Kaiser and Elizabeth both realized what was going on, and came over as well. The family joined as one as the new year rang in, unsure of what it would bring for their nation and themselves.

Siovanija & Teusland 5-1 Blampano, @ Olimpski-Stadion, Borograd, Siovanija

Starting XI: Heuser; Richter, Niedermayer, Maksimov, Lotbiniere; Kramer (Bahr 72'), Mihailov, Dimitrov; Kokalj, Romanov (Tauscher 84'), Ribbeck (Dezelac 66')
Goals: Michael Ribbeck 19', 25', Own Goal 44', Thorsten Kramer 61', Lukas Tauscher 89'
Man of the Match: Thorsten Kramer

Astograth 2-2 Siovanija & Teusland, @ Grand Duke's Stadium, Rumiatzi, Astograth

Starting XI: Heuser; Steimle, Jager, Thierse, Vesele (Lotbiniere 68'); Kramer, Bahr (Mihailov 81'), Bliznakov; Kogler, Tauscher, Ilev (Dezelac 81')
Goals: Stanimir Ilev 31', Leopold Bliznakov 62'
Man of the Match: Leopold Bliznakov

Siovanija & Teusland National Football Team
Squad Selection - Qualifiers 12 and 13
Home against Turori, away to Omerica

GK - Ewald Heuser, Anatoli Sveteikov, Dennis Eulenberg
LB - Edgar Steimle, Axel Richter
CB - Raphael Klopfer, Karl-Heinz Jager, Erich Thierse, Tristan Niedermayer
RB - Darijen Vesele, Pierre-Louis Lotbiniere
CM - Thorsten Kramer, Todor Mihailov, Dennis Brotzmann
LW - Mario Kogler, Lojze Kokalj
CAM - Leopold Bliznakov, Viktor Dimitrov
RW - Lukas Tauscher, Ivo Romanov
CF - Michael Ribbeck, Stanimir Ilev, Johannes Mandl

Expected Starting XI vs Turori: Heuser; Steimle, Klopfer, Jager, Lotbiniere; Kramer, Mihailov, Bliznakov; Kogler, Tauscher, Ribbeck

Expected Starting XI vs Astograth: Heuser; Steimle, Jager, Thierse, Vesele; Kramer, Brotzmann, Bliznakov; Kogler, Tauscher, Ilev

[Abanhfleft]

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independents sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

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Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Football Fallacies
with Graham O'Doherty

CONSISTENCY IS OVERRATED ANYWAY

Hello guys, and welcome back to another edition of The Football Fallacies with me, your gay Irishman Graham O'Doherty. And if it hasn't been a crazy topsy-turvy weekend and a half! Sometimes I still wonder if this team actually knows what they're doing, or if they somehow manage to luck their way to whatever victories we may amass. Probably one of the big mysteries of the universe at this point, I'd say.

Let's open this up with me saying I hate Legalese. Not just the fucking verbose and sometimes arcane language that lawyers use when trying to argue on the side of a lost cause, but the nation (inappropriately or otherwise) known by the name of Legalese. Yep, no two ways about it. On the very first match of this set of qualifiers, knowing that we were going to be playing against these bastards, I just knew that we were going to lose. I had my fingers crossed, of course, hoping that maybe this is the day my gut feeling goes wrong. But no. My gut got it right that time, and we feckin' lost. And we were piss-poor throughout that game as well. Very lucky we even managed to nick a goal through Amy Rusev but then they struck right at the death just to make sure that our hopes and dreams of collecting a win on the very first game of the qualifiers was well and truly dead. Honestly, I've got no other reason to hate on them other than this. That's just the state of mind that I'm in right now.

And it was very much the same thing at the start of the second half of quali. I mean, Christ above! Utter domination on the part of the team in black! We'd have been probably better off playing a team of eleven headless chickens. Christ, probably we would've nicked something just due to the sheer randomness of a bunch of headless chickens, something our team evidently can't do! About the only positives I could possibly get out of this shitshow of a game was the fact that McGinnis, Kellerman, and Hanokssen are once again back in the goals. By this point it's almost expected for at least one of them to provide at least a goal and an assist to this team, or at the very least a shot on target that actually gets the opposition keeper moving and flailing their arms about.

And then you get something like the match against Eurasies. The second one, i.e. the second leg, if you will. Once again it was an utter shitshow with one side showing absolute domination and the other side absolute capitulation. But the main difference is that for once, it's Abanhfleft who are doing the the absolute domination and it's our opponents who have done the absolute capitulation. Christ above, sometimes this team really just leaves me absolutely confused. Who the fuck even cares about consistency anyway? Wankers, that's who.

I mean, oh sure, it's easy to say that we were gonna pick up another win over Eurasies after we gave them a good 3-1 thrashing at home last time around. But come on lads. 8-3? You just never, never ever ever ever see results like those ever. Like at all. Did someone just flip a time warp switch and bring us back all the way to 1932? Cause that was a year where scores like 8-3 were much more commonplace. Seriously! Eurasies, you just got BTFO! Amazing. Just amazing. How shit must you be to allow one of the most inconsistent teams in the recent history of the sport of association football to score eight goals against you? Eight goals, mate! Eight! Enjoy this moment, boys and girls and whatever else you might identify as, because this is most definitely not going to happen again, at least not in our lifetimes.

The next international break sees Abanhfleft playing against both the Liberal Democratic Socialist States and group leaders Zwangzug for a second time. I don't wanna say it but I think we might win against the LDSS for a second time, but it's the game against Zwangzug that I'm both really looking forward to and dreading at the same time. For one thing, winning against Zwangzug again could swing the race for the top spot right back in our favour again. On the other hand, if we draw or lose against them, there's the momentum in the first half of quali gone, all the good work undone just as I predicted, and we're gonna be either just good enough to get knocked out of the playoffs between the worst second place teams or not even bother with getting out of third place altogether. Don't try to act like it's not happened before, because it has. And we, Abanhfleft, are very much experts of the bottlejob. XOXO from Graham....

█    ABANHFLEFT 3 - 5 LEGALESE
 McGINNIS (55')
KELLERMAN (70')
    BRITT (86')

*Legalese can choose their goalscorers should they decide to RP this match

EURASIES 3 - 8 ABANHFLEFT
               BRITT (5')
               McGINNIS (9', 36' pen)
               WINTER-SLAUGHTER (20')
               LINER (48')
               KELLERMAN (70', 78', 85')

*Eurasies will choose their goalscorers in accordance to their RP permissions

[Tikariot]

Alistair McIntosh: Does it ever feel like Groundhog Day for you?

Duncan Haldane: Because we wake up in the studio every day?

Alistair McIntosh: Yes, wait, wha-- Who is waking up in the studio?

Duncan Haldane: Uh, nobody, nobody at all... Carry on.

Alistair McIntosh: Alrighty then, let's indeed move on, but we're going to have to have a talk about this later on! So where were we? Ah yes. With me in the studio, as usual, Duncan Haldane, Martin Seagrave and Andreas Svedberg.

Martin Seagrave: Hello from me as well. So before we get to the World Cup qualifiers, there has been some more activity in the transfer department of the Tikariot Premier League, several of them including players active in the current campaign, so let's have a look at the latest ins and outs.

Duncan Haldane: We had already reported on the two Juvencus internationals making their way to Bul Khungur and Baraldhur respectively, but a lot more has happened since. For one two of our nationals are moving abroad, goalkeeper Brian Merson has signed a contract with Kitara AA from Banija and centre back Eren Knox is following him into the co-host of the latest Olympic Summer Games and is joining the Hoima Warriors.

Andreas Svedberg: And both teams did not waste any time and found replacements in Ko-oren, which makes perfect sense since they are showing an incredible defensive performance at the qualifiers right now, with Port Rhovanyon bringing on first team goalie Bengt Palmgroen from the Bruncester United AFC, while the Oriannor Mountaineers have signed centre back Gré Arceneaux away from Cirelbourne United. In return Cirelbourne has picked up Veriasod's Arnold Tomlinson on a free transfer to cushion the blow.

Martin Seagrave: And one more national team member is making a move into the TPL with Tioguldós' Choam Osfomilúo joining the Tikariot City FC from PO Draspa Moinas and finally Ajufue Lorokelo, also from Tioguldós, is moving on from Nor fam Bmodo Jídgem to sign a deal with the Kyethas Rivermen. And literally just in, Baraldhur is continuing to bolster their team, having just signed centre back Lissa Crain from 102s Jr.s in Zwangzug, who is seen as a coming defensive star for the Z team.

Duncan Haldane: On the domestic front there has not been a whole lot of definitive movement, however there are a few high profile contracts that expired at the end of last season that have led to a lot of speculation already, the most interesting ones being our very own shooting star Morris Nighthorse, Fraser Chitwick, Ellis Wagstaff, Jardel Connolly, George Hancock, Manfred Abidor, Anil Al Hak, Lloyd Cumbernauld and Trey Burnett, all of who are either currently or have recently been called up into the national team.

Andreas Svedberg: Morris Nighthorse is going to be an extremely hot commodity, but if you look at Baraldhur really stacking up right now with Santini and Crain, it would look to me that they will be trying to stage a title bid, so unless they would really need the money to do bring more players on, he is the one must-sign of the off season.

Alistair McIntosh: Thank you gentlemen, quite some movements already despite the transfer window not even officially open yet. So none of the players involved in these transfers are starring in the two last games of the World Cup qualifiers, at least not on the opposing side. The first of the two took place in Union Europae, where the Snowy Owls were baying for blood so to say, to get revenge for the 0-1 upset loss in Fort Viljan on match day one.

Martin Seagrave: To say that it was a shock defeat was maybe the understatement of the year, the literally worst possible start to our first ever World Cup campaign, but as painful as it was, it still is our only loss if you don't count in Mriin right after.

Andreas Svedberg: It may have been the wakeup call the team needed to focus and if you compare the to starting elevens, a lot has changed there as well. While some of it is just regular rotation, the main changes are Chatelet for Merson, Coronello for Kovalchuk, Sheffield or Wagstaff for Burnett and Aspinall and Grimaud for Connolly. For the first game of the second half Tikariot fielded Chatelet in goal, Grimes, Knox, Coronello and Liniack in defense, Thorniley, McNair and Welch in midfield and then Nighthorse, Wagstaff and Aspinall upfront.

Alistair McIntosh: And it became clear very early on that this team was hell-bent on redemption, because they came out of the starting blocks running already!

We are just eight minutes into this game and Tikariot is already trying to form a power-play like semi circle around the Union's penalty box. Thorniley with the ball in left midfield here, looks like he is trying to pull one of their midfielders out of their tight compound there, but they are not biting. Back to McNair, Aspinall's waving out right, but looks like the captain does not see him, instead on to Welch, quick cross to Nighthorse! A step over sends the defender the wrong way, he's in the box, flicks it in Wagstaff with the header and it glances off a defender for a corner. Thorniley is ready, floats it in, Coronello doesn't hit it right, falls to Liniack and GOAL! The ball somehow makes it throught he jungle of legs and into the back of the net, step one, done!

Andreas Svedberg: So in a way similar to the first game, where we were pressing for almost the whole game, but more focus. More patience, too, and granted it was a bit lucky that the ball fell right in front of Liniack, but hey sometimes we're entitled to a bit of luck, too, haha.

Duncan Haldane: At least every now and then, yes. But today Lady Maggie was on the Snowy Owls' side, because unlike the first game, they managed to put the thumb screws tighter and tighter.

It is literally one-way football here, Union Europae's swagger that got them a surprising three wins and twelve points so far not visible at all with any kind of offensive efforts consisting of long high balls with the hope that someone is going to get to them. Now Welch gets the ball deep in the Tikariot half. Nobody there to challenge him. Lays it right to Aspinall. Quick turn and he's past his defender. Into the box, he shoots and hits the post! The ball bounces back, though, Union Europae struggling to get the ball away. Wagstaff with a sliding tackle in the box, McNair with the tip of his foot, Thorniley GOAL! Absolute chaos in the Union Europae box and Thorniley with a great curveball into the corner! Now big discussions about Wagstaff's tackle there, the Union players are crowding the referee arguing and gesticulating. Let's have a look at the replay here. The ball is loose, Wagstaff slides in and clearly plays the ball. No idea why they are getting this upset!

Duncan Haldane: Very nice shot by Thorniley and I also don't understand why they got their knickers into such a twist there, maybe frustration, I don't know.

Martin Seagrave: Could be. I mean, it was similar to the first game with almost one-way football, but this time we were actually scoring!

Alistair McIntosh: Which they unfortunately did not continue, at least not in the first half, despite plenty of more chances. The second half started out with a bit of a lull, Union Europae evidently not having the power or skills to do much and Tikariot seemingly trying to preserve some strength. Randy Kovalchuk came on for Eren Knox after 55 minutes after a clash of heads and it took a bit after that before things gained momentum again, but when they did, they really did.

Zion Grimes and Vincent Liniack are almost operating as a second set of wingers, there is so little danger coming from the Union even if they kind of push ahead. Coronello with a long ball forward to Welch, swinging it right across to Grimes, sharp cross and ASPINALL WITH A BICYCLE KICK! This is one for the highlight reel and beautiful one-touch football by Tikariot here!

Duncan Haldane: Yeah, it was a beauty. They were not following our passes at all, always one or two steps behind and look at this cross by Grimes, exactly to where Aspinall was in acres of space and a beautifully executed bicycle kick here that will likely be one of the most clicked videos of the campaign so far.

Alistair McIntosh: And it also was a wake-up call, because not even three minutes later it almost was a deja-vu.

Again Coronello with a long ball, again to Welch, who is having a great game so far. Chips it high into the box, Wagstaff lays it off and Aspinall - GOAL! I've seen training games that looked more difficult than this, the Union defense has absolutely no answer to Aspinall's patterns here, again nobody close to stop him from what he is doing best right now - pounding home the goals. 4-0 Tikariot and still half an hour to go!

Andreas Svedberg: Their defense was in absolute shambles and two times it almost looked like they had forgotten that Aspinall was even there, but hey, not complaining!

Duncan Haldane: No, of course not. But it is good to see that Ekstrom has managed to use that first loss to really instill the right mindframe.

Alistair McIntosh: Unfortunately that mindframe seemed to have gone on a coffee break after the fourth goal, because within two minutes Union Europae managed to pull back two goals, which made Ekstrom jump around the sideline like Rumpelstiltskin and caused both McNair and Welch to be taken off in favour of George Hancock and Giovanni Vacarese. Thankfully the final chapter of the game was written by Tikariot again.

Looks like the coach has managed to right the ship again, that was an odd sequence of events there. Anyways, Tikariot on the way forward again, Thorniley to Vacarese. Pushing the ball forwards nicely, again no mentionable defense there, back to Hancock, again a chip into the box, directly to Aspinall and he just gets to the ball ahead of the goalie and the ball trickles over the line! 5-2! But Aspinall is down! This is not looking good! Here's the replay. He goes up, gets the ball and oof, gets the fist of the goalkeeper right in the head and that is a hard landing! They're leading him off the field right now, at least he is walking.

Martin Seagrave: This was a really painful one, right in the head, but I think the landing was the bigger problem. From what I heard he is ok, nothing major, but might have to sit out the game against Mriin, but at least Adrian Grimaud is ready to rock.

Duncan Haldane: He was scheduled to rest that game anyways, so from that standpoint no big change in plans, but yes, the main thing is that there are no major injuries for him. Looking at the game, 5-2 was a very nice answer to the shock loss in the first game and I think Aspinall's hattrick has been the first one in our national team, hasn't it?

Alistair McIntosh: Actually let me look. No, second time. Graydon Sheffield once scored four goals against the Liberal Democratic Socialist States at the IFC, but still a rare feat. Now on to redemption part 2, Mriin. Admittedly, these are two games that we had expected absolutely nothing from to begin with.

Andreas Svedberg: No, definitely not. Now as expected there were three changes to the Union Europae game with Lloyd Cumbernauld, Graydon Sheffield and Adrian Grimaud replacing Ozan Welch, Ellis Wagstaff and three-goal scorer Iain Aspinall.

Alistair McIntosh: Almost sounds as if we were not even trying to go full force against Mriin.

Andreas Svedberg: Yes and no. Mriin are the runaway favourites and have so far not shown a lot of weaknesses, but if put into perspective, our chances against South Newlandia and then the Southern Palm Islands are way higher than against Mriin, so it does make sense and it's not as if Sheffield and Grimaud are not worthy stand-ins either.

Alistair McIntosh: True that. So it was, as to be expected, a very hot and humid day in Alcassar and the Jassan Al Nuur Stadium is not exactly known to be a very breezy place, so I could just imagine what the temperatures down on the pitch must have been.

Three minutes in and the players are already soaked with sweat. Free kick for the Reavers after McNair brought down Tia Mor about 30 metres out to the right side. Otalia Kasmiir is standing at the ball. Romain Chatelet is trying to bring order into his defense, knowing the Mrii aerial superiority. And it comes in, Yonen with the head - GOAL! She rises above everybody else and not a chance for Chatelet to save this well-placed header, definitely not what the Snowy Owls had planned!

Martin Seagrave: Pretty much the worst possible way to start out the game. But this is exactly the problem with playing Mriin. They are so strong in the air that pretty much any set piece situation is extremely dangerous for us. McNair with one of his rare clumsy tackles and then boom. Yonen just two heads higher than everybody else and right against the movement of Chatelet, there was just no way this could not be a goal.

Duncan Haldane: So just like we were able to benefit from an early goal in TJUN-ia two games ago and in a way also in the last one, now we were under the gun early either having to equalize or to avoid going under.

Alistair McIntosh: Following the goal it definitely looked like we were going for the former, as the team stuck to the game plan and worked on keeping the ball low and take advantage of their speed.

This is quite the fighting spirit the Snowy Owls are showing here, they have been able to push Mriin into their own half for most of the last twenty minutes and here they are coming again! Liniack with a sharp pass out of the box to Cumbernauld. Quick one-two with Thorniley and the ball is back with Liniack who is just gunning down the line here! No cross, but he cuts in and shoots! Deflected by Halder, ball is loose, Grimaud - GOAL! A true poacher's goal here, if I've ever seen one!

Please click HERE for a graphical representation.

Andreas Svedberg: Just like the first goal was a prime example for how Mriin can win games against, well, basically anybody, the second goal was a prime example for other nations can at least score against Mriin. It all happens back here, where Liniack picks up the ball and without wasting any time gets the ball to Cumbernauld. Beautiful precision there. But then it really all comes out. Here Cumbernauld gets the ball to Thorniley, who gives it back almost immediately, but out there on the right side Liniack has been running like a maniac down the line and Cumbernauld get the ball to him right between Tevainen and Levaani. Now normally we would expect a cross into the box to go for a header, but knowing that we likely wouldn't have a chance, he cuts inside and tries on his own. Halder deflects the ball back into the box and Grimaud is just right there out of nowhere and pushes the ball across the line. Keep the ball low and be quick you're right there on the money.

Duncan Haldane: Unfortunately once you managed to get through like this, it puts the opponent on notice. And it turned into a kind of odd game after that, with Mriin trying to play the balls high to make use of their aerial fortitude and Tikariot keeping things low to the ground.

Alistair McIntosh: The best scoring chance before halftime, though, came for Mriin just seconds before the half time whistle.

Mekeus with a wide kick forward. Mor takes it down with such ease! Back to Bruun, high long ball finds Tevainen, heads it on to Kasmiir, another header going for Tali'raia, volley shot! And Chatelet with a beautiful save! He just gets his hand up and directs the ball over the crossbar, but now a corner, which are so dangerous. Kasmiir is ready. Raises her hand and curling away from the goal - Sheffield gets to the ball first! Clears it out towards Grimes, who just hoofs the ball forward into no man's land.

Martin Seagrave: I think that this was the first header that our team won in the whole first half, but before that you see exactly what Duncan had mentioned. They try to keep the ball out of our reach and the only advantage of that is that it slows down their game and gives us time to regroup.

Alistair McIntosh: No changes for Tikariot during half time, but Mriin brought on Beiren Reiger for Istria Saara, who did not have a good first half at all, and Lavinia Riitsi for Malia Yonen and the second half started with even more of a bang than the first one had.

Kasmiir picks up the ball deep in her own half. She sends Bruun down the right side, who skips right past Grimes, who is too slow in the backwards movement! Lays it back to Mor, nice cross over to the left side, Tevainen with the header and GOAL! Levaani with a cracker of a volley! She does not hesitate and just goes full force and I'm surprised the net does not have a hole! Only 57 seconds after the second half has begun! This was one of those shots where when she hits it right, she's the hero, if she doesn't it might hit the corner flag!

Duncan Haldane: A great counter attack by Mriin here and right after the match was restarted. But an incredible shot by Pia Levaani here, it was like a perfect hit. Like Bryce said during the game, if she does not hit it right it is so far off it might just as well be a throw-in.

Martin Seagrave: And just like in the first half, Tikariot increased their offensive efforts after this, also aided by Mriin dropping back a bit again. But the problem was that despite us having the majority of possession for most of the second half we would only get up to their penalty box but then we could not get the ball much further. It sometimes felt that their defenders had four legs each rather than two.

Despite getting stopped time and again, Tikariot still with relentless attacks. Welch lays the ball to the right for Cumbernauld, out to Liniack, he finds Connolly, cuts in, shoots! Blocked by Jaan. Ball comes back to Cumbernauld, shoots again and Mekeus punches the ball away right into the centre, McNair with the one-timer and Halder goes down! Right in the face! Haney turns and shoots and again Jaan gets his leg in between! And Bruun punts the ball away! So many shots, so little to account for!

Andreas Svedberg: It was frustrating, because they were so densely positioned in the back, so we had to try to shoot from pretty much every position, but there were just so many of them!

Martin Seagrave: Did someone count how many there actually were?

Andreas Svedberg: Yes Martin, there were 11, no worries.

Martin Seagrave: Good!

Alistair McIntosh: So there we have it, one win, one loss, still second, but even on point with TJUN-ia, so this could turn into a really hot race for second spot.

Duncan Haldane: Very much so. And it shows that literally every point counts here and the one advantage we have right now is that we have played Mriin already and they have not, so maybe that could be an advantage for us.

Andreas Svedberg: Now looking at the next two games, South Newlandia and the Southern Palm Islands, I hope we can get at least four points out of them, because I could see TJUN-ia beat Natanians and Nosts and then have the hard match against Port Ember, so if we could go ahead by even just one point, would be a great achievement.

Martin Seagrave: It is a reasonable goal for sure. Now looking at the projected line-up, Alasdair Dunlap will be starting for Zion Grimes, Jenson McTierney will be replacing Marvin Thorniley and Jules Haney and Iain Aspinall should be starting for Graydon Sheffield and Morris Nighthorse, who has looked tired in the last few games and definitely needs a break.

Alistair McIntosh: Thank you gentlemen for your usual deep insight and let's hope that we will not have too much woe to lament about when we next meet. To all have a good night and stay safe!

[Savigliane]

VIII. Giovanna Vitale
15 July, 2018
WCC World Cup Qualifiers, First Round
Acqui Bollente, Savigliane - training for the match against Springmont

---

Giovanna Vitale had gone through a lot of managers in her nine-year career. She knew better than almost anyone on the team that feeling when a new manager came and all the rumor mills started turning. Who would (insert manager name here) drop? What players best suit (insert manager name here)'s style? Would (insert manager name here) finally convince Vitale to play some defense, or move her to right-wing, or drop her, or sell her to a foreign club, or, or, or...

But she had spent three years with Pietrargenta, a club known for its lack of patience for managerial gaffes, and then four years with AC Acqui Bollente in what had been an era defined by turmoil and underperformance - again, leading to a never-ending parade of new managers, each with their own unique styles and philosophies. Each time, she had survived, if not thrived, despite being a right-back by trade who resolutely refused to do about 40% of the right-back's job. Her influence in the dressing room, as well as her talent, always earned her a spot in whatever system the manager came up with.

She'd heard whispers about the new guy from others, those who were less assured of their role on the team, the Zoë Barthelemys and Fabiano Duttos of the world. His name was Edward Hernandez, he was from some other country in Atlantian Oceania (apparently the region Savigliane was now in), and he was a defensive-minded reigning champion in his domestic league who was seeking a new adventure abroad. But even despite his reputation, Giovanna hadn't thought anything was out of the ordinary when he called him into a meeting.

Hernandez was looking through a yellow folder on his desk when Giovanna came in. "Welcome, gaffer. What's up?"

"Look, I don't know how much you know about me, or Northwest Kalactin, or anything around here, considering you guys just...fell out of the sky a few months ago," he started. "My name is Edward Hernandez, and I just wanted to make sure we were clear on your role about the team before we got started."

"Sure. I know that I have a bit of a reputation, but I think we both want what's best for the-"

"In the short-term, I have you backing up Fabiano at right-back, as well as possibly in the front three as a rotational option."

"-what?"

"In the long-term, I do prefer the 4-4-1-1 to the 3-5-2 the last guy was using, so you could possibly be an option for right-midfielder when we do transition to those tactics."

"Wait, uh, gaffer, with all due respect, you can't just-"

Edward Hernandez sighed, put his yellow folder away, and took out a red folder. "Giovanna, does the number thirty mean anything to you?"

"...no? Is that a Kalactatanican lucky number or something?"

"...It's 'Kalactanian', and no. Thirty is the number of goals we have conceded in eleven matches. That puts us at one hundred and sixty-seventh out of the one hundred and eighty teams in terms of defense. I trust you know where I'm going with this."

"I know I don't track back as much as Fabiano, but I can make up for it on the att-"

"You don't track back as much as Fabiano? Giovanna, you don't track back at all. It leaves a massive hole on the right flank that Efisio runs himself ragged trying to cover, and that opens up space in the center, and the result is an absolute mess. Trolleborg's a fine team, but there's no way we should've let them put five past us."

"Oh, come on, we were the best defense in the Bap-"

"I would hardly use the first person there. Look, in my time with Ballina FC, I built one of - no, the best defensive team in the nation, but I could only do that because I had full buy-in from all my players. I watched match footage of you guys at the Baptism of Fire, and frankly, yes, you did look very good. But that was for a bunch of nations that were completely new to the World Cup - you guys shouldn't have been there at all, and it made your defense - and you especially - look much more solid than it is. But this is a new level, a level with The Hinodejin Empire and Taeshan and Trolleborg and a whole bunch of other teams who will punish you for playing like a winger. And you may be some kind of superstar in your home dimension, but nobody knows who you are now. And I can't have someone on the pitch playing like that."

Giovanna had had nine club managers before this, and three Savigliane managers. For the first time, one of them had left her speechless.

[Tioguldos]

Tioguldós 2-1 Mathuvan Union
MD10, Ísupe Stadium, Mo Bmodo, Tioguldós

TIOGULDÓS 1-0 MATHUVAN UNION

The Red Army's first goal against Mathuvan Union at Ísupe Stadium came early, just 7 minutes into the game. It was the first of a few plays through which Perda Raom would become a major pain in the ass for Allen Retren. Starting from midfield, the Tiog players moved the ball to open space in the Mathuvan Union defenses. Seeing the opportunity, the No. 10 from Ausharmuj Marusi pretended to speed past Retren on the left, but quickly switched the ball to his right foot and passed him on the right, avoiding the tackle. With free space to play, he crossed the ball into the area, where Oroso was waiting. The forward volleyed it violently with his left leg and sent it to the back of the net. An unstoppable ball.
From then on the game opened for Tioguldós. Mathuvan Union began to put aside their defense trying to generate attacks, and the Red Army took the opportunity to move the ball through the midfield with Omnofo and Mongard approaching the center circle to provide numerical superiority.
Constant pressure from the Red Army negated any chance that Mathuvan Union could have had of getting anywhere near Tioguldós' goal.

TIOGULDÓS 2-0 MATHUVAN UNION

The match remained 1-0 with few scoring chances for both teams. Tioguldós limited to keeping the ball and not letting Mathuvan Union's attempt of crowding the midfield cost them the game.
At 23 minutes, Coach Mebal's plan paid off. It was a terrible mistake from Klokse. He tried to pass the ball to Ilkyne, but failed to hit the ball properly and it came out loose. Nese Niforro managed to get ahead of the midfielder and snatch the ball from him and give it to Mongard. The forward played it to the center with Perda Raom, who again dribbled past his marker and threw a long pass to Fenuskal, who was positioned wide up the left wing. The leftback passed the ball to Niforro, and the captain lowered it and shot hard into the upper right corner of the goal. Le Auftens jumped, but didn't even come close.
If the Red Army already had the game under control, the second goal gave them even more relaxation. Mathuvan Union kept attacking, but only managed to get a couple of shots on goal.

TIOGULDÓS 2-1 MATHUVAN UNION

However, besides Tioguldós keeping the match under control, Mathuvan Union did not leave empty-handed. At the end of the game, at 86 minutes, the referee sanctioned a penalty in their favor. Ofruós Geuo, who had entered just three minutes before, touched the ball with his hand. It was an inconsequential move, on the edge of the box. The ball bounced on the floor and hit his hand. He was sent off. Almost the entire Ísupe Stadium erupted in shouts and curses towards the referee.
Someone took the penalty. He took distance and kicked at ground level towards the right post. Boal jumped to the opposite side. Little else happened in the remaining minutes, and the match ended 2-1.
The Red Army is in a difficult situation. There are 21 points at stake, and they are 5 points behind the second. It's almost impossible for them to move forward, and fans are starting to lose hope, if they ever had it in the first place.

New Waldensia 1-4 Tioguldós
MD11, Tobias Masters Memorial Stadium, Valdenton, New Waldensia

NEW WALDENSIA 0-1 TIOGULDÓS

For Matchday 11 the Red Army traveled to Valdenton, New Waldensia. There they faced the national team of that country, at Tobias Masters Memorial Stadium. The more than 1000 meters of height above sea level weighed on the Tioguldós squad, but they managed to overcome it and win the match.
While they were an easy opponent, New Waldensia earned half of their points and nearly a third of their goals in the 2-2 draw at Mo Bmodo on MD2.
Nese Niforro scored the first goal in the 22nd minute with a powerful kick off a free kick from almost 30 meters from the goal. The ball swerved and baffled Robert Clayton, who couldn't respond.
As is typical of them, they celebrated by dancing and singing in front of the few fans who had traveled from Tioguldós to watch the match.

"Tioguldós! Ge'lel nu bolués!|"Tioguldós! You're my passion!
Tioguldós! Ge'lel ne perolés!"|Tioguldós! You're in my heart!

NEW WALDENSIA 0-2 TIOGULDÓS

In order to make plays that would allow them to reach the opponent's goal, the Red Army played wide, starting from the center-backs and working their way through the pressure of New Waldensia.
While Lomifal, Oches and Albofokh kept the ball close to the center circle, the players on the left wing managed to destabilize the defense. Prulduos Omnofo approached the box, attracting the full-back with him, and opened a space for Fenuskal.
Immediately, Oches threw a long pass to Fenuskal. The full-back headed the ball straight at the feet of Omnofo, who had pretended to sprint to the goal but fell back, losing his mark. Omnofo received the ball and in one touch sent it between Golden and Nguyen. Oroso managed to sneak in behind their back and take the ball before the goalkeeper catched it. He faked a shot, beat the goalie, and quickly veered to the near post. The goal was left defenseless and Oroso scored.

NEW WALDENSIA 0-3 TIOGULDÓS

At twelve minutes into the second half, Tioguldós scored the third goal. Once again, a play that started from the bottom managed to infiltrate the New Waldensia defense. This time on the right side of the field.
Playing one-touch passes, Lóroda approached the sideline, received the ball and played it forward with Mongard. The second striker wall-passed Niforro and ran behind Clayton's back. Nese returned the ball deep, for Mongard to throw a drilled cross to Oroso.
The Tiog top-scorer hit the ball, but Robert Clayton managed to block the shot with his chest. However, Nguyen and Gibbs did not understand each other. Both of them waited for the other to clear the loose ball, and Omnofo reached it before them and managed to score.
Nguyen was notoriously frustrated and lost his temper with the full-back for not running for the ball when he could.

NEW WALDENSIA 0-4 TIOGULDÓS

The fourth and final goal of the Red Army was scored in the 23rd minute of the second half. After a play in which the ball bounced back and forth several times inside the box, a shot from Oroso was deflected by the goalkeeper. It was a corner kick for Tioguldós.
Perda Raom was in charge of throwing the ball into the penalty area. He saw Oches free near the near post and passed the ball at the perfect height for the defender to hit it with the back of his head. Clayton jumped trying to stop it but couldn't, and fell to the floor in pain. He was substituted and it is yet to be determined if he will be able to play the next games.
With this scenario, the game was completely lost for New Waldensia. Something that was expected, given that they are one of the weakest teams in this edition of the WC.

NEW WALDENSIA 1-4 TIOGULDÓS

Despite the overwhelming result, New Waldensia managed to generate a counterattack with which they outplayed the Red Army defenders and scored a goal to leave the final 1-4 score.
It was 38 minutes into the second half and Tioguldós had the ball deep into New Waldensia's field. Omnofo played it backwards with Jopar, but Max Savage anticipated and snatched the ball. He quickly passed it to his playmakers and the entire team shot forward, aware that this was their chance to outmatch the Red Army defense.
Mathis passed the ball to Steele, who crossed it to Vega. Tioguldós was desperately withdrawing and they were unable to neutralize the New Waldensia attack. Vega ran a few meters with the ball, caught Oches's mark and threw a lofted pass over his head to James Larson. The striker hit the ball with the inside of his foot and send it into the goal.
He quickly went to look for the ball at the back of the net to resume the match. However, the game continued with the Red Army in almost constant possession of the ball and New Waldensia doing their best to defend their goal.

I edited a few words that made no sense. Several times. Sorry about that.

[Northwest Kalactin]

Travelers Guide: Part 2
What to Do?
Now, you may be wondering what to do in a nation with such great places everywhere. There is lots to do in fact, everything from Swimming to Skiing.

1. Enjoy the Ocean!
Now, if Northwest Kalactin is known well for one thing other than all the anarchy, it is the great beaches you can get in the nation. There are many different options to choose. Personally, my favorite is the Gold Coast Public Beach, which has multiple miles of golden sand, and it is all at a free cost to everyone. The beach has everything you want from a top beach, safe swimming, cool snorkeling and nice waves further out for surfing. If can be a bit tough to find a spot though, as many people are always trying to get a spot at the top end beach. If you aren’t visiting Gold Coast at the time, you can enjoy beaches pretty much down the entire southern coast. The Southern Coast has great beaches for swimming and snorkeling, although it lacks the strong waves that are good for surfing. Those beaches also tend to be a bit cooler than the Gold Coast Beach, but sometimes that can be a blessing on a 110 degree day in the nation.

2. Attend a Sporting Event
Because of the diverse climate of the country, almost any sporting event is viable in Northwest Kalactin. We have everything from Association Football to Zui Quan (okay, but you probably won’t find much of that here). If you are on the eastern side of the nation, you might as well catch a match of Bandy, a classic Kalactanian sport. The Kalactanians have one of the best Bandy teams in the world, so you can find exciting play all around the nation of this sport. On the Coastal side of the nation, you can try out some of the many sports played by Kalactanians, such as Soccer, Gridiron, Baseball, Basketball, Cricket, Rugby and Lacrosse. All of these sports are played by a good amount of people from around the nation, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a place to play or attend an event of the such. Professional sports you say? We have plenty of that. The NKSL is a high scoring-high action soccer league that has immense coverage from Sporting News Kalactin, and other sports magazines. There are also top level leagues for Rugby, Basketball, Baseball, Cricket, Ice Hockey and Auto Racing.

3. The Outdoors
No matter where you are in the nation you can enjoy the beautiful outdoors of Atlantian Oceania. There s good climate for anyone that wants to do outdoor activities, wether that be swimming, running, cycling or sport playing. On the Eastern, Mountain Terrain end of the nation, there is great climate for cardiovascular activity, as the weather tends to be around 40-60 degrees Fahrenheit. The annual Kyater Marathin takes place here, and it is the most prestigious one in the entire nation, with thousands of competitors from around the nation taking place in the event. Skiing is a favorite when you are here also, as the great runs or Jarrbergen satisfy the itch to go skiing at any time. If you are on the far warmer side of the nation, which can be up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit sometimes, it is a bit harder t get outside. Still, you can play sports at local fields, and even go swimming in the good waters if that is your forte.

[Mercedini]

86th World Cup Qualification MD10
Mercedini vs. Twicetagria
@ Zoloroni Sports City Stadium - Zoloroni, Mercedini

Good evening and welcome back to the Zoloroni Sports City Stadium, we are under lights tonight as Mercedini and Twicetagria face off in Zoloroni for the opening match of the second half. It has been a mixed campaign for both team so far with Twicetagria staying in the mix despite an opening day defeat to Dini in the reverse leg, while the Golden Eagles go into the game needing points, as they sit four points behind Savojarna in second and even more behind Baker Park in first. Pressure was high for both managers as the match build-up begun in the stadium, with the pressure almost guaranteed to ramp up for at least one of the managers in contention here tonight. Enough chit-chat, let's see whether Mercedini could go full circle and pull off their first double of the new cycle.

World Cup Qualification: You Make Me Feel Speci41

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FINAL SCORE

WCQ | MD4

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MERCEDINI 4
Dostalok 18, 42' (P), Chillotov 29', Nymark 61'
TWICETAGRIA 1
Vladimirescu 79'

---

Zoloroni, Mercedini
Attendance - 71,902

Mercedini stay in contention with matches running out for the Golden Eagles to keep their heads above water in the World Cup thus far. Their comprehensive 4-1 win over Twicetagria kept their train chugging along, and combined with a Baker Park draw, it narrows the front three ever so slightly to the point where it keeps the group interesting despite the large margins between the teams at this point. While points against Twice may be the thing that Dini needs, it will be the matches against the Baker Parks and the Savojarnas of the group which the results need to come from. Alas, you can only beat who you have in front of you, and for now, Dini have done that with room to spare.

It was one way traffic early one for the Mercedinians as they seemingly attracted the ball to their feet as they moved forward to attack the already peppered Tagrian goal. Dostalok and Chillotov were out there once again to get Mercedini further up the table following a mixed start to qualification. Their experience with each other's company on the pitch proving to be the edge for the Golden Eagles and they linked up themselves and their supporting wingers to rush forward as a single four-man bloc. The warning signs weren't heeded by the visitors, with Starling striker Daniel Dostalok opening the scoring just before the twenty minute mark with a precise finish on the edge of the six-yard box after the striker was fed through by Garzallo on the left-wing. That was that life that the hosts craved, as a collective sigh of relief was heard around the stadium. It wasn't long until the Sports City Stadium erupted yet again as Chillotov long range blast stunned the tens of thousands in attendance with as the Mercedinian striker, playing in Eura, released a shot from about thirty-yards away, past the diving goalkeeper and into the side netting off the post, an early contender for goal of the season has revealed itself.

For then on, Mercedini were comfortable and could take solace in their early two-goal lead given to them by their homegrown stars turned international travellers. Following their two deflating losses at the start of this qualification campaign, the team had been seeking a quick start to the second half to settle their nerves for the rest of the game, bit like in the Busoga game, things can quickly go south for the team, with even the relative safety of their national stadium not enough to save them from a surprise loss. The game wasn't won yet, with Twicetagria stirring from their early slumber to become a force in this game.

They worked hard to give the team a scare, but a clumsy tackle undid all of that work to give Mercedini a way out of their rut via a penalty in front of the travelling fans. A brief conversation between the two previous goal scorers was settled with a quick game of rock-paper-scissors on the penalty spot, something which was criticised during the post-match recap of events due to the lack of respect it represents from the hosts towards the visitors. Dostalok won that mini-duel with a strong scissor at the second attempt following a double-rock draw, and made no mistake from the spot to add a third to proceedings and leave the fans smiling as the referee blew his whistle for the end of what was an eye-opening first half.

The second half soon found it's way back into the Sports City Stadium as the players made their way back onto the pitch, oh to be a fly on the wall of the visitors. The players in red came out all guns blazing to try and cut the deficit that the hosts made for them in the opening three-quarters of an hour. Plenty of pressing play from both sides ensured neither side held onto the ball for long before they were forced into a mistake or a clearance, giving the ball to their opponents to start the cycle once again. An insurance goal was added to the Mercedinian pile when central-midfielder Johannes Nymark got in on the scoring action with a low, curled effort on the hour mark to add a fourth to the game, ensuring that Dini's goal column kept ticking over to help them in tie-breaker situations.

The match was already won, but a dogged but tired Twicetagrian side gave their fans something to savour for their long travel back, as Augustin Vladimirescu bundled the ball home from a poorly-defended corner, to celebrate with the travelling fans and giving the visitors nothing more than a consolation goal. It was turning out to be a good night for the Mercedinians at home, a 4-1 victory against an up-and-coming side like Twicetagria is nothing to be sniffed at, with points proving to be hard to find during these latter stages of the campaign. The Golden Eagles will be hoping to grow from tonight's performance in Zoloroni as they rise up the group table late in the day. Billic will be pleased as it finished Mercedini 4, Twicetagria 1.

[Silver Commonwealth]

Goalkeeper: Hugo Ximenes - #25 (M, age 26, 1.85 m)

Defenders:
Breno Maciel - #26 (M, age 32, 1.76 m)
Cristiano Pimentel- #27 (M, age 35, 1.87 m)
Romeu Serrano- #28 (M, age 26, 1.78 m)
Flávio Zanetti- #29 (M, age 36, 1.75 m)
Midfielders:
Alfredo Prestes - #30 (M, age 30, 1.78 m) (New Vice-captain)
Juliano Medeiros- #31 (M, age 29, 1.81 m)
André Alencar- #32 (M, age 35, 1.74 m)
Attackers:
Mauro Garcia - #33 (M, age 34, 1.87 m) (New Captain)
Danilo Saraiva- #34 (M, age 25, 1.76 m)
Leandro Barroso- #35 (M, age 29, 1.82 m)

Head coach and assistant coach positions remain the same.

SNN Sports

In an intense fight against Lovisa, Silver Commonwealth loses by one point!

---

Silver Commonwealth 3-4 Lovisa

Mauro Garcia 16', Georg Lunz 32' I Mariusz Franke 50', Danilo Saraiva 62', André Alencar 72', Hakon Indgaard 76', Georg Lunz 84'

''The Enrico's reserve team after the swap were determined to bring the fans a victory after the main team's loss against Juvencus. And while they indeed delivered an intense game, and made Lovisa's team to put effort from their side as well, in the end Lovisa still proved to be too powerful, and instead of a revanche over the first lost game in World Cup, Lovisa triumphed again with 3-4. So far it seems that occasional victories can't break the series of losses.''

''The first period started off without much action, but after some minutes it could be already told that an intense game would be ahead, as Lovisa wanted to score an another victory, but SC sought to defeat them on the field once again. In 16th minute, the SC's new forwarder and captain Mauro Garcia scored the first goal in the first period and match overall, bringing the result to 1-0 in SC's favor. However, Lovisa would rebound about that in 32nd minute, when Georg Lunz would score the first goal for Lovisa that match, bringing the score to a 1-1 tie, which stayed for the rest of the first period, and no team would score more goals that period despite the intense play, and so it would end with a tie. Thus tension and uncertainty were still in air.''

''In second round something that would later be called as ''most intense fight in SC's World Cup so far'' started to brew up - Mariusz Franke scored a goal 5 minutes after the start of the second period, bringing the result to 2-1 in Lovisa's favor, but Danilo Saraiva in 62nd minute would bring the result to a tie once again. SC's fans even started to have a some sort of hope about a victory when André Alencar scored a goal (long shot) in 72nd minute, bringing the result to 2-3 in SC's favor, but just a few minutes later Hakon Indgaard would bring the result to a tie for the third time! Some of SC's fans still hoped that their team could hold out to get overtime, and perhaps result would be a draw. But that doesn't seem what stars had to offer - Georg Lunz brought the result to 3-4 in 84th minute, the same player who scored the first goal for Lovisa. Some of SC's fans in stadium were visibly angry, and one even threw their hat in the football field after that, and got taken away by security. Either way, the end result would be an another loss.''

''After the game it was obvious to say the least that SC's fans were disappointed about both the team's performance and the outcome of the match. Some speculated that the reason for Enrico's switch of teams was said to deflect the blame away from main team, as coaches from other SC's clubs in inspections before the World Cup wrote, that ''the capacities and skills of reserve and main team aren't drastically different, and that both are capable enough''. It is also rumored that there are problems with dialogue between the reserve team and Enrico, and Sophie Patel (One of assistant coaches) serves as a mediator, although it is rumored that she probably finds it ''tiring'' as well.''

''Next match is going to be against Audioslavia. In the first encounter in this world cup, our team lost with 1-2 against them. Could perhaps Enrico turn this around and score an another victory? The status of ''unranked'' team isn't very encouraging, but there's always hope. It seems that the Enrico's phrase of ''We will bring home victory, not disappointment!'' has not fared well in the trials of fire, however, and has aged like milk.''

SNN Sports

Instead of a revanche, it is an another loss at home, even more severe than the first time.

---

Audioslavia 4-0 Silver Commonwealth

Santiago Rosel 20', Erwin Spijkers 34' I Kyran Knudsen 59' Santiago Rosel 71'

''After the loss against Lovisa, SC's fans awaited for the match against Audioslavia, largely due of the loss against Audioslavia at home with 1-2 at the beginning of the tournament, and some hoped that SC's team could still bring back a victory. However, the result was rather the opposite of that, and the defeat was even more severe than the first time: 4-0. Some think that main team most likely wouldn't have fared much better, considering how worn-out some of its players were after the matches, but others criticized the Enrico's plan to swap reserves and main team.''

''The first period and the start of the match didn't seem to have went well for SC's reserve-now main team, as Audioslavia's defensive playstyle worked well, and Audioslavia's team regained initiative soon enough. After a struggle of SC's team to maintain a defense against Audioslavia's attacks for some 20 minutes, Santiago Rosel finally managed to break through and score the first goal for Audioslavia that round. After about 14 minutes of similar struggle, Erwin Spijkers was the one who shot the second goal in SC's net, widening the gap between the results even further. After this second goal, the new captain Garcia ordered to focus on trying to score goals in offensives instead, rather than trying to defend as SC's tactics were clearly suited more for such playstyle. Perhaps such approach indeed worked better, or was it just the fact that a few minutes had been left until the second period, but SC's team indeed prevented Audioslavia from scoring more goals that period, with end result being 2-0.''

''The second period wasn't much better in that regard for SC's team, and Audioslavia continued its triumph - at 59th minute Kyran Knudsen scored the first goal for Audioslavia in second period, and third in game overall. The goalkeeper had jumped to defend the goal at the wrong post as he had expected Knudsen to strike at the right side of the net, but Knudsen instead shot the football ball in left side instead. Enrico was said to be annoyed about the reserve team's performance, and murmured to himself: ''Have they really been thrown off-balance so much to keep losing?"' At 71st minute, Santiago Rosel scored their second goal in this match and this period, bringing the result to 4-0, this basically hitting the last nail in the coffin, although it had become clear that SC's team couldn't win way before that. In 79th and 86th minute there were some good scoring opportunities for SC's players, but they got blocked by Audioslavia's defense in both cases. So, the result was still the sore 4-0.''

''After the loss against Audioslavia, SNN and the authorities back at home expected to receive another wave of anger and discontent from the fans, but surprisingly enough it was quite calm. Some had understood that it was just a game and not something worth to kill their nerves over, while others ''weren't angry, but rather just disappointed'', at least according to reactions in internet comments and some of the bars. If so, it is clear that some have already given up on the team and don't expect it to achieve much. However, there are those who still stay loyal to it, and those have the greatest virtue.''

''Now SC's team is sitting at the bottom of the scoreboard - what a great spot to find someone in! Next two matches are against The Holy Empire and Southwest Eastnorth. While with Holy Empire it is already clear that at most we should hope for a single goal while getting curbstomped, the victory against SE in Drawkland phase seems to suggest that our team might still have a chance there. We know this phrase is overused, but: Enrico is gonna need some luck over there...''

[Pluvia and the Saxean Isles]

Royal Marienburg University, Marienburg, Pluvia and the Saxean Isles

Prof. Charles Cunningham of the history department at the Royal Marienburg University had finally gone to bed. But he only slept for a few hours before rushing off to work. He felt distracted and impatient throughout the day, rushing through his classes, barely paying attention during the department meeting. But that latter one was hardly out of character; the department chair, Rufus Strongmire, was famously long-winded, but short on actual content. He pitied Strongmire's students, but at least they'd kept him to mostly graduate students, who were used to fending for themselves.

The fact was, he couldn't wait to get back to the diary. William II had sailed to Claesey, in the Saxean Isles, as part of a military regiment that was to provide order and calm down the Isles in the aftermath of demonstrations. His father figured that a show of force and the presence of the heir to the throne would quiet things down. But William's mind was troubled by the conditions he saw on his initial arrival, nothing like what he had felt visiting the Isles as a child. He had resolved to do his own investigation, and now, Prof. Cunningham was going to delve once more into the Prince's recollections and see what he had found that might have influenced his reign.

September 3, 1884

It has been nearly a month since I and the Lancers have been posted to Claesey. Though I should properly say that while we have been billeted in Claesey, we have visited many places in the Isles. On the Greater Isle, we made our way up to the Highlands, an area steeped in the old ways and, some whisper, the old pagan religion. There we spent a few days in Guilbron, the principal town, where our parade and our presence were met with significantly less enthusiasm. One of the lesser officers in our regiment was accosted by some rogues while in town and assaulted. Fortunately, some of our men were nearby and they and the local constabulary rescued the man. We departed not long after for the resort town of Roselake, named for Lach Ros. In Roselake, it was a gayer time. The locals welcomed us and we were able to swim and partake in other activities of leisure. Although the officer was seriously injured, he is now convalescing nicely in Roselake and should be able to take up his place again shortly. From Roselake we returned to Claesey, but not long after, we received orders and sailed to Kirkbridge on the Lesser Isle. Kirkbridge, being a town not quite so large as Claesey, has not had quite the good fortune as its sister city on the Greater Isle. The only other settlement of note on the Lesser Isle is Garmswith, which is home to a community of artisans as well as farmers. Kirkbridge greeted us with a cold indifference, while Garmswith was gladdened by the presence of young men with money to spend.

But before all of this which I have just described, I visited the spymaster in Claesey. Fortunately, the man is an old friend of our family's, and someone who adored me as a child and has the utmost loyalty to our country. I confided in him my plan to conduct clandestine activities of my own in light of the suffering I had witnessed in the streets. He acquiesced readily enough, though he warned me to steer clear of social-democratic radicals and anyone professing to be part of the Brotherhood, those who cling to the old ways and wish for a return to an independent Saxea governed by petty nobles and steeped in ignorance. He furnished me with supplies and taught me a few devices to disguise myself. I had accounted for my dress and my face, but he instructed me how to change my gait and my accent, both of which were unmistakably reminiscent of my Pluvian heritage and my social class. I had barely any time to try it out before we were sent off to Guilbron. I found Guilbron to be a suspicious place, filled with veiled references to the Brotherhood and studied ignorance if questioned more directly. But it is only a small wonder that men should place their trust in such a backward-looking organisation. Marienburg is far from Guilbron, and they see none of the benefits of trade that Claesey does. They pay the hated Protestant tax, and see their livestock carted off when they do not have specie enough for the government. They wish to be left alone. If we could but establish education and reform the laws, surely some good should come out of it for this remote town and they might be integrated more fully into our Kingdom. But it is good we left Guilbron when we did, for a sympathetic servant girl informed me not long before we left that there were rumors in the town that our regiment had brought Pluvian spies with us, and some were planning reprisals. I suppose my disguise was not yet perfected.

In Roselake, I had little need of disguise, for the town seemed contented enough and free of either radicals or reactionaries. But back in Claesey, and in Kirkbridge, I took up the black arts once more to labour and to converse with the fishermen and the dockworkers of both ports. In Kirkbridge, a man explained to me that Kirkbridge is the step-child of Pluvia, forever feeling neglected in relationship to Claesey. That city is the favored child of the Pluvian family and Kirkbridge must be content with the scraps. Here, too, they hate the Protestant tax. The maritime labourers of both towns are alike in temperament to my father, uneasy with change and desirous above all of stability, but taxation and neglect are fertile breeding grounds for the socialist. They are the only ones, these men feel, who acknowledge the manifold causes of their distress. If protests are possible in Claesey, and Kirkbridge has always felt inferior to Claesey, then we shall not be surprised when they express their misery. Neglect compounds neglect, as the twin sorrows of inferior treatment with regards to the rest of Pluvia and even their sister city eat away at them, like worms devouring a harvest.

I found some solace in the kind and courteous treatment we received in Garmswith. My disguise, my gait, and my accent and familiarity with Saxean were all improving, and so my alternate identity was received without much outward wariness there. The artisans do worry about being made redundant with the advent of some of the modern workshops on the mainland and the farmers have dealt with cattle theft and banditry. I cannot, in good faith, stand in the way of industrial progress, as I believe it is necessary for our nation, but I similarly cannot abandon these men and women to a life of idleness and sloth caused by a machine. I will have to ponder this; perhaps my father will know what is best. As for the farmers, it feels like a waste of the talents of the Lancers, but I persuaded the company to rid the countryside of the bandits. The men were glad for a bit of action, and we soon put the ruffians to flight, killing some, arresting others, and scattering the rest. The farmers were glad of our actions, saying that the magistrates and constables were more concerned with taxation and preventing signs of discontent or disloyalty than their concerns of their livelihood. There is much to be done in the Isles. What does it say about a nation that some of its people see the harsh hand of the law only as for their punishment and not their protection?

[Maccian]

Chapter 1: With Or Against Us

“Where is Jacques? Is he away in The Jovannic trying to help clean up that oil spillage off Brosskten’s coast?” enquired Konstantin Antejiro.

“No, last I heard he was attempting to establish diplomatic relations with a whole lot of nations in Atlantian Oceania. Perhaps our neighbours Baker Park or those clumsy fools to the east of us? Of course, he will do as His Majesty requests, especially if it is considered classified information,” said Pedro La Zille. King Timofeé signalled for an assistant to hand him a file labelled “TOP SECRET!” and sent them away. Cautious not to give away any information, King Timofeé slowly took out what appeared to be a folded-up map and unravelled it. Numerous creases were ironed out by the sweat droplets that hung precariously on his wrists as he got a pencil, presumably to point to various areas of Maccian.

“Right, before I get started, I am going to say this once. Any plots against this kingdom will be tried as treason and as a result, you will be strongly punished for such despicable acts and executed. Jacques Lemaire was a traitorous cultural-Marxist who actively encouraged the use of the French language and activities linked to a socialist revolution in the province of Janseebuck. I will speak about his fate once I am finished with this meeting. Multiple gasps and murmurs of shock, confusion, and disgust were heard among the 14 most powerful people in the entire kingdom.

“I regret to challenge your authority Your Majesty, but Jacques wasn’t a Marxist in any respect of the word. In fact, he was in favour of libertarianism-” corrected George Elliot before he was quickly silenced by the King.

“Shut up! I don’t care, it’s the same thing anyway. Marxism leads to degeneracy and corruption of our nation’s values,” stated Timofeé before pausing to glare at his ministers, whose mouths had dropped down to the ground and had looks of disbelief and doubt on their faces. Realising he was staring at them, facial expressions swiftly changed from doubtful to in approval and agreement with the King.

“These French-speaking fuckers are desecrating our great nation by uttering a language that is foreign to our lands. They’re the bottom of the barrel because of humongous crime rates which outrank every other province by a substantial amount, lazy leeches who sit around all they collecting unemployment benefits without finding a suitable job, imbeciles who are unwilling to even learn Maccian or English, although to be fair I don’t consider them Maccians nor human. They’re subhuman and are a stain on our land. The sooner these fleshed rats are exterminated, the better. The location that has a cross on it will be called the ‘Underclo Assembly’, a mere disguise for us to round all these Janseebuckans into one big extermination camp. So, opinions?” questioned King Timofeé, eerily grinning at each member of his cabinet. All but two were in complete and total agreement with the King’s grotesque plot to exterminate members of his own nation.

“I refuse to participate in such a despicable act against our own countrymen. I resign,” rebutted Naia Varaka.

“Neither will I. Therefore I will offer my resignation of the position of Propaganda Minister which will take place,” added Aaliyah Khalifa as she walked straight out of the meeting room. She motioned for Varaka to follow her as they both exited the room.

“Those two are easily replaceable. The question is, Your Majesty, how will we round up and eradicate these scum from our pure land?” asked Ruitawa.

“Nuke ‘em.”

“Seriously, Your Majesty, how will we eradicate them? Perhaps we use some as test subjects for our biological weapons program? How about digging a good old-fashioned mass grave and shooting them, then we cover it up and claim it was a Marxist so we can clamp down on dissidents even further? I believe we should go one step further and allow this treatment to be used for dissidents, anything that is leftist, and members of the immoral LGBTQ+ community?”

“We will be using the vermin as test subjects for what happens when the body is overwhelmed with radiation. As far as the public is concerned, we did a nuclear weapons test and it happened to land on these revolters. As for your proposal to extend this treatment to others, I believe that marriage should only be between man and woman. I’m not even framing this argument on a religious basis, but homosexuals do nothing but lower the birthrate and lead to further unnatural degeneracy. Thus, they deserve nothing but complete annihilation. Those ‘gender fluid’ or ‘non-binary’ people simply suffer gender dysphoria, which can be treated accordingly. I wholeheartedly support this proposal, we’ll start enacting it within the month. Any other additions people want to make?”

“Your Majesty, isn’t this a bit too extreme? This effectively makes us a far-right regime hiding under the shield of a monarchy? Just to clarify I have no objections to anything previously stated apart from the obvious backlash we will get from other nations who may choose to stop trading with us, weakening our economy,” interjected Namendro Breita.

“No. Keep it secret. No information will go out of this room. Now moving on to more pressing matters, whatever shall we do about the surge of internet searches of ponies?”

Onboard a private jet, Naia Varaka and Aaliyah Khalifa sat opposite to each other, not saying a single word. Finally, Naia broke the deadlock.

“This can’t happen. Over 5 million people are going to die because of those tyrannical, heartless bastards. We gotta do something about it because all those deaths will be on our head,” said Naia defeatedly.

“I have to admit something. King Timofeé wasn’t lying when he said there were people attempting to launch a revolution against him in Janseebuck. Remember when those college kids seized a singular small town in Dolblin and Timofeé claimed we were under attack while it was brutally yet swiftly crushed? Think that, but over 3 million people around Maccian ready to take up arms against this government. We call ourselves the “Red Cloaks” because once we are finished with this tyrant and his brown-nosing cronies, we will be stained in their blood. I am going to be straight up with you. We are most likely going to be ‘silenced’ so the whistle has to be blown very soon. Even if we’re not here, our brothers and sisters will still be able to continue our fight. So what do you say, are you going to be a freedom fighter or will you stand in the way?

[Flavovespia]

The Football Clubs Of Flavovespia

We now travel to the southern part of Flavovespia, and the 4 somewhat larger areas of Westwood, Haverwell, Hampridge and Middleshop. Westwood is the only one that's just one city-region, Haverwell and Middleshop comprise 2 city-regions respectively (Havermilly and Guildwell; North Mayshop and South Maishop). Hampridge used to be a city-region, before splitting into Boleland Wood, Ellerstone and Saltearth. All but Middleshop are comprised of some flats that lie little more than a handful of metres above sea level, before some steep rises up into the wooded hills and even mountains. Middleshop is central in Flavovespia, and the Middleshop mountain range, until recently, was a slow pass for many vehicles and travellers.

______________________
Tier 1	Super League
	Westwood Garden City FC Formed: 71BU Stadium: Westwood Road (37114) Rivals: Carston Green FC, Westwood FC (minor) Originally “Westwood Sports Society”, the club were founded in 71BU and came to represent Westwood in the Inter City Cup upon its founding. They would rename themselves Westwood Garden City FC in 58BU, a somewhat contentious issue as some felt the club was only representing Garden City, and not truly all of Westwood. Indeed Westwood FC would (unsuccessfuly) try and claim the Inter City Cup spot as the “true” Westwood side. Westwood Garden City won the Western Association 10 times, albeit many of those were after the top western sides moved to the GWNFA Super League. They’d spend time towards the top of the GWNFA Challenge League but never won promotion. When the Repechage was played to determine the 16 sides for the new Super League in 1AU, Westwood Garden City placed in the Top 16, to finally reach the top flight. Since then they’ve been a yo-yo side, but are in the Super League for 30AU.
	South Maishop FC Formed: 67BU Stadium: Bridge Pass (10965) Rivals: North Mayshop FC (major) South Maishop are a year younger than their rivals to the north. South Maishop FC played in the first Inter City Cup, and then in 59BU were one of the 10 founders of the United Football League. That lead was comprised of 10 city-region sides, all going “professional” (more semi-pro by today’s standards), with clubs largely based in the middle or east of the nation. South Maishop usually placed near the bottom, due to the small side of their fanbase, that trend extending through the merger of the United Football League with other leagues. Expected to struggle in the modern era and fall down the pyramid, they didn’t and stunned everyone in 7AU with promotion to the Super League, at the time the smallest side ever at that level. They surprised again by staying up in 8AU. Since then the club have bounced a bit between the top two tiers, a small town side that really punches above their weight.
Tier 2	Challenge League
	Guildwell Football Formed: 71BU Stadium: Guildwell Park Stadium (5000) Rivals: Havermilly FC (fierce) One half of the “Haverwell” region, Guildwell Football are quite an old side by the standards of Flavovespia. They were a founder of the Western Association, but although they made the final 3 times, were never champions. At the end of 23BU, they moved into the GWNFA Challenge League, but would never earn promotion out of it. The modern era saw them spend plenty of time in the second tier, with excursions into the third tier. 25AU finally saw them fulfil their dreams of promotion to the Super League, even if immediate relegation followed. Now, they’re coming off 3 consecutive playoff final losses to win back a place in the Super League.
	North Mayshop FC Formed: 68BU Stadium: Northbridge (6826) Rivals: South Maishop FC (major) Based on the northern side of the Middleshop hills and mountains, North Mayshop have followed a similar path to their local rivals. Founders of the Inter City Cup and United Football League, they were minnowsin both, although the money involved kept them above non primary city sides. The modern era started with them as one of 2 relegated sides from the 1AU National Division 1 to play in the National Division 2 for its first season. Nevertheless, North Mayshop have generally been able to quickly return to the second tier, whenever they’ve been relegated.
	Havermilly FC Formed: 63BU Stadium: Hat Way (9932) Rivals: Guildwell Football (major) Havermilly FC were another one of the city sides formed for the Inter City Cup. They grew in stature, and spent much of the Western Association in the top half, although it took until 39BU to win. 34BU, their third win was the most significant as they took a somewhat surprise 2nd place in the GWNFA Super League qualifier to earn a place in the league. They were minnows though of the top flight, and in 23BU, were one of two sides relegated to the new GWNFA Challenge League. They’d win the GWNFA Challenge League twice, but never lasted more than a season in the top flight. The modern era has been them largely labelled one of the strongest sides not to reach the top flight, and even with spells near the top end of the Challenge League, they never got that final push over the line.
Tier 3	National League Division 1
	Westwood FC Formed: 42BU Stadium: Westwood Fields (3300) Rivals: Panford FC (major), Westwood Garden City FC (minor) Westwood FC formed in 42BU, and were keen to try and be the side of the whole city-region, and not just Garden City, the largest city of the region. The ploy didn’t work, and the side only gained modest support. A Western Association and then later Untied and Eastern Alliance side, in 12BU they were 2nd in the United and Eastern Alliance Division 1. After the refusal of Hopford into the GWNFA Challenge League, they also made an offer to join, but the GWNFA rejected it. They were one of the National Division 2 founders in 2AU, but when relegation was introduced in its 2nd season, they were one of the unlucky 3. Since then it’s been a bit of a bounce between the lowest league and highest non-league, but they begin 30AU in the third tier of four league tiers now.
	Saltearth FC Formed: 44BU Stadium: Saltearth Stadium (2647) Rivals: Boleland Wood Town FC, Ellerstone United FC (major) Saltearth originally began play as Saltearth Sports in 44BU, participating in the Inter City Cup but part of the wider Saltearth Sports multi-sport society. They began simply “Saltearth FC” in 22BU when they joined the Western Association. That year also saw the start of their bitter rivalry with Boleland Wood Town, and a more friendly rivalry with Ellerstone United (then Team Ellerstone). They’ve been remarkably consistent in the modern era, spending all the time in the third tier.
Tier 4	National League Division 2
	Boleland Wood Town FC Formed: 44BU Stadium: Upper Green (5837) Rivals: Ellerstone United, Saltearth FC (major) One of the 3 Hampridge clubs formed to take part in the Inter City Cup, when Hampridge split into separate city-regions. Boleland Wood Town ended up with an acrimonious rivalry with the other 2 Hampridge sides when it joined the CCGW, and caused Hampridge United to move “temporarily” into Upper Green. They never left before they ran out of business. The 3 Hampridge sides would join the Western Association in 22BU, later merged into the United and Eastern Alliance. Then in the modern era, all 3 dtarted in the National Division 2 in 2AU. Boleland Wood Town have an inenviable record of 4 promotions to the second tier, all ending in relegation straight away. Boleland Wood is slightly unusual in using the Town suffix, despite representing a city-region.
	Ellerstone United FC Formed: 44BU Stadium: Studio Walk (9550) Rivals: Boleland Wood Town FC, Saltearth FC (major) Like the other Hampridge sides, they were formed to play in the Inter City Cup, but in 22BU, entered the Western Association, bitter rivals with Boleland Wood Town, and more amicable rivals with Saltearth. Originally “Team Ellerstone”, they had a brief season in 17BU as “Team Ellerstone United” before becoming Ellerstone United FC. Considered the best of the 3 Hampridge sides when the modern era began, however financial struggles at times have seen them end up relegated to the non-league on multiple occasions. They have some impressive facilities for their level, but don’t always have the money and players to use them to full effect. 2 Alliance Shield wins are some consolation.
Tier 5	Alliance D1
	Panford FC Formed: 64BU Stadium: Panford Park (1215) Rivals: Westwood FC (major) The small town of Panford in the city-region of Westwood were a small team for the first decades of their founding, but played in plenty of Gold Cup proper rounds. Something the club is noted for is a unique colour palette, adopting brown shirts in 48BU. One of the growing non-league sides in the modern era, 17AU saw them finally compete in the Western League. Relegated a year later, they still had a famous League Cup won with penalty wins over both St Astons City and Hadford Hill. They have a strong rivalry that’s grown in the modern era with Westwood FC of a similar stature, as they’ve both fought for league places.
	Havermilly Hanger FC Formed: 81BU Stadium: Hanger Bypass (1511) Rivals: Beachtree Rangers FC (minor) The Hanger engine factories gave their name to Havermilly Hanger, a factory team that were one of the original Gold Cup debutants. The club stopped only playing with workers a few decades after forming, and not long became independent of the business. They also reached the first round proper of the final Gold Cup. They achieved notable attention regionally when after promotion in 7AU to the Alliance D1, they followed it up at the end of 9AU to win promotion to the Western League. That and their 17AU seasons in the professional league all ended with immediate relegation, and the latter a second relegation. Nevertheless, Havermilly Hanger are largely seen as the second biggest side in Havermilly.
	Ellerstone Aerodrome Formed: 37BU Stadium: Aerodrome Arena (877) Rivals: none The aerodrome owners setup this side as an amateur recreational side in 37BU. Much of their early decades was playing in a variety of local leagues, the Hampridge region and nearby not known for a stable amateur league setup. Neverthless, they made the Alliance D2, and against a lot of expectations, have reached the Alliance D1. They’ve even reached the same division as Ellerstone United, their “big brother” side, in some seasons. Recent seasons see them push up in the Alliance D1, and could end up a surprise league side in the near future.
Tier 6	Alliance D2
	Beachtree Rangers FC Formed: 62BU Stadium: Cellin Road (575) Rivals: Havermilly Hanger FC, AFC Bears (minor) A small suburb of Guildwell on the seafront (as the name may imply), Beachtree Rangers were amateur for much of the classic era, but had a decent spell of Gold Cup appearances in the 30sBU. Another one of the Alliance D2 sides that haven’t yet managed to make it to the Alliance D1, although recent seasons suggests they should at least avoid a drop into the Associate leagues. They have a small rivalry with any Havermilly based semi-pro or amateur side.
	Westwood North FC Formed: 22AU Stadium: Hillview Pines (718) Rivals: none One of Flavovespia’s newest sides, Westwood North FC was the merger of 3 clubs based in the north of the Westwood city-region. They were village sides, up in the hills and far from the urban world of Garden City. The merger was done as a cost measure, but also to try and create a competitive side in that part of the nation. In their first 2 Flavovespia Gold Cup appearances, they reached the 2nd and 3rd Preliminary Round. 28AU also saw them win the Westwood, Haverwell & Hampridge League and become one of the first 8 promoted from the associate leagues to the Alliance D2.
	Saltearthbury FC Formed: 12BU Stadium: Saltearthbury Way (679) Rivals: none The suburb of Saltearth only founded its team in 12BU, although club turnover in the amateur game in this part of Flavovespia can be high. Saltearthbury were something of a surprise entrant into the Alliance D2 upon its founding. They never surprised when they got there though, rarely able to sustain a top half place and at times finishing right at the bottom. Things have improved a little in recent years, but many still suspect they’re a team at risk of falling into the associate leagues.
	AFC Bears Formed: 80BU Stadium: Linton View (840) Rivals: Beachtree Rangers FC (minor) Around for over a century now, AFC Bears have surprisingly limited history for a club of their age. Where the name of the Havermilly based side originates from is never exactly clear. The side were an amateur club, participants in early Gold Cups before the rise of semi-pro and professionalism pushed them out. Decades of amateur football in various leagues followed, until they recently were in the newly formed Westwood, Haverwell & Hampridge League. They won it in 29AU, therefore they will in 30AU take their place in the Alliance D2.

Code: Select all

OOC: Tier 1-4 kit graphics taken direct from my domestic newswire

[Cassadaigua]

Wolcott Delivers On Guarantee After Flavovespia win,
By Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

The fun part of this article will be talking about Meghan Wolcott, and the guarantee that she made that the Fillies would defeat Quebec on the road, by at least three goals. The Grim Reapers have played exceptionally well, and are on their way towards building their program to be one of the top programs in the World. With Quebec having defeated the Fillies by two in Concord Heights, the significance of the three goal win would be to get a tiebreaker over Quebec even if Cassadaigua is hoping to pull away from them, and everyone else in the group, over the second half of qualifying. There was another task at end hand, however, and that was the nation of Flavovespia, ranked #51 in the World coming into the tournament, so they were capable of doing so much more than their mediocre 4-1-4 record prior to the match. For some reason, Flavovespia opted to sack their former manager, Richard Crawford, after just the fifth matchday. Under Crawford, Flavovespia had a record of 1-0-4, having been defeated by Devonta, 3-1. So, it has worked out for the team, but personally I think his firing was done more to be a wake up call jolt for the rest of the team then anything else. Sometimes, that is what it takes, but to do after five games seems a little premature unless they were on the hot seat to begin with. Anyway, they did what they did, and they moved on. Arnold Stevenson has a lot of work to do for this side, but right now, surely, everyone is happy with how he has been leading the team.

Captain Rachel Schanke was pretty vocal before this match at the Dagan Airways Stadium that the team was not looking ahead of this match towards Quebec, and there would not be any real reason to doubt her. That is, until the first fifteen minutes or so of this game when the opponents in their away, not as Bumblebee looking, kits (that reminds me, I miss the Bumblebees of The Babbage Islands) dictated the flow of the match. Jonathan Feld opened the scoring in the 9th minute, and then in the 16th, Tiffany Nelson fanned on a should-be save on a soft but accurate Steven Hall shot to make it 2-0. Stephanie Sweeney, after the second goal, made a surprising move, pulling Tiffany Nelson from goal and putting in Kelsey Morgan. The goalkeeper change, so early, is rare in soccer, especially when there is no sign of injury to the starter. But Nelson has been plagued with giving up the bad goal several times already during qualifying, but Sweeney stuck with her. Here, this move may have also been about providing a jolt of energy to a squad that was otherwise looking flat, as if thinking about their match in Quebec instead of the Hornets. The Fillies started getting some momentum, and began looking a lot more crisp as the first half went on. Still, Flavovespia looked like they might head into the intermission up by two. That is, until the 40th minute, when Zack Pierce was on the receiving end of a great pass from Katie Standish to make it 2-1. Still, Flavovespia looked like they might head into intermission up by one, at least. That is, until the 45th minute (plus one for injury time), when Rachel Schanke made a great individual play to split a couple defenders (Ronald Maddox looked 51 and not 31, and by that I don’t mean he should try out for Hampton Island), to get a great chance and tie the game. 2-2. Suddenly. Arnold Stevenson has done a great job, but here he learned that you can never feel comfortable against a two-time World Cup Champion.

The second half was all Cassadaigua, and in the 52nd minute, Meghan Wolcott put the Fillies in front for the first time, and they kept buzzing around looking for chances as if they should be in the yellow and black uniforms. If not for great goalkeeping by Aarif Mohammad at this point, Cassadaigua easily could have ended up with seven or eight goals by the time this was all done, but they had to settle with it just being a 4-2 advantage. In the 85th, Scott Coleman got one back for his team, beating Kelsey Morgan who in her defense, was standing around with not much to do for a very long time. Cassadaigua tightened up without a problem, and Flavovespia never put another shot on target afterwards.

So, that brings us to our second game, and the guarantee match. Wolcott was very aggravated with Quebec’s Michel Fillion in the first game mainly for the way he laughed at Brooke Sutter and Brooke got a yellow card on him. Prior to the match, Meghan said that she did not regret making the three goal win, at least, guarantee, “No, I am feeling very good about it. There is a lot on the line for us here, and that can’t be found in the group title. We’d love the tiebreaker, but one of their airheads laughed at a player of ours, and we aren’t going to take that. He had a good game, and he is a good player, but there is a bit of payback that we want to have in this game, and we will get it.” Princess Chelsea, one of Caspian’s older sisters even came on and said, “I think Meghan’s guarantee was awesome. Obviously, the whole royal family is watching this game for many different reasons. I ask that both teams keep it clean and respectful.” On the sideline, the Fillies were upbeat, with the forwards like Wolcott and Rachel Schanke seeming eager to get out there on the field.

It did not take long for Wolcott and Fillion to begin yapping at one another, and this would go on for most of the game. Nothing more would come of it until near the end of the game, and as Cassadaigua struck with the game's first two goals (Madison McClain in the 19th, and Wolcott in the 31st), the Dagans had that early momentum. Fillion, though, would have his say, again overpowering Brooke Sutter, as he scored in the 42nd minute, but this time, Fillion would keep any laughter to himself, and focused on celebrating with his teammates. Early in the second half, the team’s exchanged goals, with Rachel Schanke scoring in the 56th, only to be answered by Marco Hertel in the 65th. Cassadaigua had the lead, but time was running down for the promised three goal win to happen.

The scoreboard read 3-2, and the team was in between a rock and a hard place in determining whether to focus on protecting the lead, or trying to push for two more. For the most part, Fillion had his way with Brooke Sutter again, but in the 73rd minute, she would be able to steal the ball from him and alertly delivered a long ball to streaking Zack Pierce, who was catching the Grim Reapers in the counter attack. Pierce made a good run, and opted to pass to Ashley Dahlin, who had just came into the match two minutes earlier, and Dahlin would get the goal, making it 4-2. There was time, and with a two goal advantage, you could afford to take this chance if you really wanted too. It was wide open, back and forth action for a while, but in the 86th minute, Meghan Wolcott did it herself, getting the fifth goal of the match for the Fillies, putting them up 5-2, which is where it would end. It was a bold guarantee, but they would get that three goal win.

Next up, the Fillies have consecutive home games against Ihilthracna and Wymondham, which should result in six points. Nothing is ever a given, but this is a great opportunity for the Fillies to tighten their grip on the group lead.

[Sargossa]

(Sort of but not really continued from here. For transparency's sake the first two paragraphs have been copied directly from this earlier RP.)


The landscape stretched as far as the eye could see. As landscapes tend to do. Jagged dark rocks tore out of the bleak reddish ground, like blackened bones protruding from a cracked limb. Snaking through this appropriately hellish scenery long lines of sullen, miserable figures snaked off into the distance. People moved in single file, shackled together. Their numbers beyond count. The long lines wound towards a single central point.

Vast obsidian battlements rose from the ground, towering over the moaning masses like titans. Five huge black gates opened like gaping maws, into which the lines disappeared. From within came the horrific sound of a million souls locked in torment. Cries of anguish, gasps of fear and screams of pain. An infernal and endless cacophony. At the centre of it all stood a black tower, its height impossible to confine within the laws of science and logic. At the very top, miles or possibly days above, sat a chamber, its dimensions as intimidating as the structure it lay within. The floor was a sea of polished skulls. So too was the vast throne in the centre of the chamber, atop which sat the lord of this particular kingdom.

‘He’s here?’

A hunched figure dressed in black robes prostrated himself before the throne, greyish skin spread across a frame of bone. More akin to a cadaver than a living being.

‘Yes my dark liege’

‘Then fetch him, worm. Now’

The hunched servant rose and clapped his bony hands together. At the far end of the chamber a huge brass door slowly opened inward. A single figure appeared at its threshold, before hesitantly making his way towards the throne. He could only really be described as non-descript. He had a face that was instantly forgettable. One that disappear completely in a crowd. Or even in just a pair. More noticeable was the figure’s outfit. He wore a dark blue top, a small black trident visible on the left breast, and white shorts. That same trident appeared on the right leg of the shorts. A pair of white and blue football boots completed the ensemble. He looked quizzically around the chamber. Eyes widening at the sight of the beast that sat upon the throne. A beast in burnished bronze armour that hid a torso that rippled with muscle. Two huge red hands steepled in front of a cruel face, black talons topped them. As black as the two large horns that curled from its head.

‘Where am I? Who are you?’ He paused, puzzlement upon his bland face. ‘Who am I?’

‘You.’ The beast's mouth curled into a cruel grin, fangs revealed underneath. ‘You are something of a celebrity in these parts. Although… Charon, something’s missing.’

The cowled servant regarded the newcomer carefully. ‘Oh, of course. There seems to have been a delay in the transmorphing process. I shall fix it post haste.’ He approached the figure and leaned in close.

‘I’m very sorry about this.’

Charon stepped back and clapped his greyish hands together. The figure yelped in pain, a hand grabbing at his chest. A slash had appeared on his torso, tearing the dark blue fabric to reveal a dead gash in the flesh beneath. Charon clapped again. A second slash appeared, next to the first. He clapped twice more. Two further gouges appeared on the figure’s now quivering body.

‘It’s still not quite right.’

Charon lent forward again. ‘I really am very sorry about this.’ He whispered a single word, Sarian, and the figure was flung backwards, a shriek on his lips. After a moment he dragged himself back up. A single fresh angry stab wound glistened dangerously close to his heart.

‘There we go.’

Through rasping breathes he managed to speak. ‘Why are you doing this to me? I don’t understand. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know what I am.’

The beast smiled again and rose from his throne. In long, languid strides he approached the wounded figure, skulls crushed under the heavy press of his cloven feet.

‘You are a symbol. No, an embodiment. An embodiment of a force that has contributed untold misery to the lives of the innocent. On one single, beautiful occasion you have made more than a billion souls thoroughly miserable. Over the decades the total of your victims is impossible to calculate. In these parts we respect that. Your work is…’, he pressed the taloned fingers of one hand to his lips and withdrew them with something approaching a kiss, ‘… spectacular.’

The figure stared at the floor. Knowledge was slowly filling his mind. The longer he existed in this world the more he was starting to comprehend his place within it. Although it was still very fuzzy. ‘I… I still don’t fully understand.’

He rolled his fiery eyes. ‘Nor do you need to. You just need to know that you work for another cycle is nearly done. The chances of success are all but extinguished. And impressively early too. Bravo.’

The figure stood taller, his wounds seemingly forgotten. ‘All but extinguished?’

‘What?’

The comprehension was growing by the second. ‘You said all but extinguished,’ his eyes had lit up. ‘That means that there is still…’

‘No. Don’t you say it. Don’t you dare say it.’

‘… hope.’

The beast glared at Charon, causing his servant to bodily flinch away from the gaze. He rolled his eyes and approached the figure, draping a huge arm across his shoulders. He steered the figure to an opening in the chamber wall. Beyond it they stepped out onto a stone balcony. Beyond that the beast’s domain stretched out before them. Directly below lay a black abyss.

‘Hope. Let me tell you about hope.’ He untangled his arm and stepped back into the chamber. Hidden from the figure’s sight a build up of power appeared in his right hand. The power coalesced into a solid shape, that of a brass hued Desert Eagle pistol.

‘Let me tell you the thing you really need to know about hope.’ In one fluid motion he span around, lifted the weapon and pulled the trigger. ‘It’s hope that kills you.’

The figure had turned just in time to be flung back as the bullet struck him square in the forehead. Such was the force of the impact that it hurled him back against and then over the side of the balcony. Like a puppet with its strings cut the figure was swallowed up by the gaping black of the waiting abyss.

The beast peered over the balcony’s edge. Charon joined him. He turned to his serf expectantly but got little back.

‘Oh come on! That was good. It’s hope that kills you.’ Charon only looked at him blankly. Exasperated he showed the cowled servant the still smoking gun. Four letters had been aggressively scratched into its side. ‘The gun is called Hope.’

‘Oh. OH! Of course!.’ Charon desperately tried to feign suitable enthusiasm. ‘Hope. The gun. Most excellent my infernal eminence. Very droll.’

‘You didn’t get it did you?’

‘I… well… you dark majesty has so many weapons…’

‘Did you?’

‘I… well… errr… no.’

‘Damn your hide to the very depths of, well, here. I don’t know why I haven’t flayed you yet. I… wait. Do you think he got it?’ He gestured down into the abyss.

‘I’m not sure he could possibly have made that connection.’

‘Dammit.’ The beast peered into the blackness. ‘Charon.’

‘Yes my hellish lord?’

‘Fetch him back.’

‘I’m not sure that’s even poss…’, he trailed off. Suddenly aware of the barrel of Hope, a mere centimetre from his head.

‘Fetch him back.’

[Cheergirls]

Meghan Banks did not know what was going wrong with qualifying this time out. She would try to just pin it down towards having expectations that were too high after the last time, but she really felt that they could be better then the 3-1-5 record that they had at the midway point.

Manager Sarah Drennan could see that Banks was about as demotivated as she had ever seen her. For the most part, Drennan’s role was figurative as in a cheerocracy, in it is the decisions of the captain that are the most important. Drennan was mainly there to provide guidance, make sure that they were looking great before the match and that they could keep to the travel schedule. She was not really a soccer expert, she was a cheerleading coach, after all. There was not much that she could offer the team, but she tried to figure things out, anyway.

“Meghan, I have a question for you and I really think you should think about this?” Drennan asked.

Banks looked up, as it was a weird way for coach Sarah to begin. Usually, Sarah would just say what time dinner or curfew was going to be, and that would be the end of it, but this was already seeming different.

“Meghan, I think we should play with a little more structure. We are getting beat because we are too busy running around and players are getting tired more easily. We don’t need so many people chasing the ball carriers. It is effective in keeping the ball out of our net, but we are not scoring. I was thinking that we should try to have more structured positions like a normal soccer team, or at least something close to a normal team.”

Meghan shook her head, “That is very complicated, coach. I have seen what other teams do with their formations and stuff and I don’t think we would be good at that. We would be worried about being out of position a little too much.”

Drennan nodded, “Yes, Meghan, but it is tiring us out. It is leading to too much running around, and we aren’t getting enough chances on goal. We’re too busy defending all the time.”

Banks nodded. Coach had a good point. Maybe they could start working on this.

[Kandorith]

Shinonome Kyoai - International
News From The Empire

---

Renewed Kandorith Barges To Victory

Critical restructuring and change of tactics has been all the talk and buzz on the Kandorese home front as Hayabusa was summoned by the Kandorese Football Association. A tired yet determined looking manager left the premises of the building and said himself the talks were inconclusive, the atmosphere on the field showed something completely different as Kandorith barged to victory against Glazgo in a six goal spectacle ending with five goals for Kandorith.

The atmosphere in the stadium of Glazgo was tense as the Kandorese squad has been underperforming ever since they won the Cup of Harmony. Uneasy but expecting the Kandorse fans awaited their football heroes, who were then hailed with loud cheering and applause as they walked unto the field. Hayabusa, as usual, would enter the field behind the team but this time he looked renewed and more confident than he did in previous matches. The match against Glazgo would show just how much drama there currently is in and around the Lotus Warriors.

Before the match Hayabusa did not shy away from the press and gave us some insight in what the KFA talks were about. "I can say they are about the team's future but also mine." Hayabusa said with a slight chuckle. "I have to admit that the team has been underperforming and I take the full blame. But, I do think it is not to late to turn around and I can ensure we have some surprises up our sleeve for the upcoming matches. From what I have seen on the training ground is that our greatest problem is creating chances and pushing up the midfield. Whereas some say it would be our defense. I think we have to focus less on our defense as they are having a tough time exactly because our midfield is not living up to the tactics I have laid down before the team.

"This of course was my first mistake with this team. We have a great pool of young and very capable players who are ready to represent their nation, my tactics however, did not fit well with this team. I have to do away with the old and indeed let the new Kandorese team show what they are made of. The team needs a whole new playstyle to fit this new and young team; I will make sure this will be the talk of the nation. I have been talking with some of the top people in the Kandorese football and we mainly spoke about our visions on the Kandorese national team, I can tell you that the results will not be disappointing."

The optimistic Hayabusa has indeed made sure the Kandorese national squad has been the talk of the nation after the match. No one in the nation actually expected the team to win with such a margin or even play with such imposing style. Multiple outlets even speak about a revival of the explosive Kandorese football. Hayabusa has made sure that the team is playing a more attacking approach which surely fits the quick players the manager has put his faith in.

Before these matches Kandorith was relying on luck to try and get the ball to the flanks and eventually move the ball back in towards the box. With the new tactic it seemed that the squad was playing more freely and more confidently. The midfield is more spread out, controlled and freely flows towards the extremely quick wingers the Kandorese team relies on. In the striker position the two main strikers Masada Katano and Takayama Nakajima looked more determined and took more shots in this match than they have on average throughout the entire qualifiers so far.

With the team looking better on the field the question now is if they can indeed make a comeback; which would absolutely be an amazing achievement. The Kandorese are four and eight points removed from the number two and one spot respectively and therefore have their work cut out for them.

We know for sure that Hayabusa will take no chances and wants to qualify with this team for sure. The question is if they have what it takes to get a hold on the table, but if the match against Glazgo was a taste of what is to come; there will be an absolutely spectacular ending to these qualifiers.

---

Group 9                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Valanora                              11    9   2   0    37   12  +25    29
 2 Qasden                                11    8   1   2    30   19  +11    25
 3 Ancherion                             11    7   2   2    28   20   +8    23
 4 Kandorith                             11    6   3   2    37   22  +15    21
 5 Lochario                              11    5   2   4    17   18   −1    17
 6 Schottia                              11    3   3   5    12   17   −5    12
 7 Kencana                               11    2   3   6     4   13   −9     9
 8 Emastalia                             11    2   2   7    13   23  −10     8
 9 Solharcht Kirale                      11    2   2   7    11   29  −18     8
10 Glazgo                                11    0   2   9    16   32  −16     2

[Krytenia]

Part I: Miasma
Part II: Mistral
Part III: Tempestuous
Part IV: Trickledown

IBIXAN PIECES

Part V: Emmenthal

Dr Fisher arrived at the oasis, and regarded the unassuming shack nearby. If Ordo was correct in his reasoning, this would be the place where he would find his answers. To the south, the strange rock formations in the desert provided an almost alien vista. The doctor approached the door, and knocked. There was no answer, but clear sounds of movement inside.

"Hello? My name is Sam Fisher. I'm a friend of the elder Ordo; he sent me to talk with you."

There was the sound of footsteps from inside the shack, followed by the unmistakable clunk of the door unbolting. It opened to reveal a tall, thin, middle aged man. His tan skin suggested he spent a lot of time in the desert sun. The man eyed Dr Fisher quizzically.

"Ordo? There's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Come in; I imagine you have questions."

Dr Fisher entered the shack. It wasn't what he expected. Along one wall were dozens of box files, with numbers that the doctor didn't understand the correlation of. A couple of old-looking maps adorned the wall on the adjacent corner, with the kitchen area seeming almost an afterthought. Another door on the far wall led to what he assumed was the bedroom. He took a seat at the table in the middle of the main room, and was joined by his host.

"They call me Hermit, still, I imagine," the man chuckled, "never quite shook off that one. Pablo Raul Sanchez Ruiz at your service. Call me Pablo. I'm guessing if Ordo sent you, you have the same questions I had. About the desert."

Dr Fisher nodded. "He told me the story of Shang Lér, and how he brought about his own and the land's downfall. Some of it seems...fanciful? But I think there's truth there."

Pablo got up and walked to the wall of box files. "Shang Lér had hubris, this is true. But the answers are far more mundane." He laid a file on the table, and opened it, revealing wads of old photographs. He pulled out one, a panorama of sandstone hills. "Recognise this?"

Dr Fisher looked for a good minute at the photo, before slowly shaking his head. "Can't say I do, to be honest. What is this?"

"When you got here, did you see the rock formations to the south? That's what they looked like, many years ago."

"So what happened?"

"Greed. Shang Lér was informed these hills, and the rock below, were rich in mineral wealth. He got the Ibexan logistic machine rolling and then some." Pablo retreived another photo; likely of the selfsame hills, this time pockmarked with man-made tunnels and shafts. "They went in there looking for that wealth. Bored holes and tunnels in the hills, so many of them. Each mound looked like a Casaran cheese* pyramid."

"Did they find anything?"

"There's mention of something called chalcocite; copper ore. They found enough to mine in some quantity."

"So what happened next?"

"Some sort of ecological disaster. Not the desert; not yet. Something else...say, can you hear that? Sounds like it's coming from outside."

"I can, yes. Guessing it's not something you expected?"

Sam and Pablo went to the door, opened up, and watched as a helicopter landed next to the oasis.

NOTES
*Casaran cheese - Swiss cheese

[Tequilo]

---

THE PROGNOSTICATIONS FOR OXO CONDÓR
2/5 Carhuanina The Resplendent

---

A lot of hokum has been written about World Cup 91’s MVP Oxo¹; some might say we’re continuing that tradition with the series about his earliest days… before all that malarky with the cult, and the misunderstanding about his progenitors, and the business with the gun in the shoe shop, and the hallucination-enhancing liquor. And all that.

Old Man Chuco | Carhuanina The Resplendent | Gabriel Ángel Arca de Yaya | Lilián Tlalqui-Arca | Teodor Xuilo Gabriel Tlalqui ‘Oxo’ de Chanco Cóndor

The bruja Carhuanina The Resplendent of the town of Chanco Cóndor, known to all as Nina Tlalqui, was enjoying a cold bottle of de Oro™ beer with her good friend and lifelong conspirator Teresa Barceló, and Señor Sá the Drayman who was wightfather to her grandson, little Oxo. As one of the three men who was in close attendance after the birth of the boy, and bringing a gift of goldbeer for the recuperating mother, Señor Sá quickly won a nomination to be wightfather - that is to say, a wise mentor to the child to help see him through his youth and safely, or at least interestingly, into adulthood. Since Oxo was born in a barn, at the local inn, it was almost inevitable that a brewery delivery driver would find his way into the nativity - but Señor Sá was not an unwelcome guest, nor an unwelcome wightfather, for obvious reasons. With the coming Confusionist ceremony, the Insubstantiation in which the three wightfathers would declare their lifelong commitment to making the boy’s life a noteworthy one, a man who could drop many crates of beer off the back of a lorry was a ‘wight-send’ indeed. And he took his role tremendously seriously, as any wightfather does in Tequiloan culture.

“Señora Nina,” said the drayman, who was not nearly as drunk as he ought to be, given the quantity of goldbeer he had consumed with Nina and Teresa in the garden of La Rosa Cantina, “it gives me great pleasure to take some responsibility for the boy, sure enough it does; …”

It was a pregnant sort of pause…

Perhaps he was more drunk than even I realised.

“Will you be coming to the point soon, Señor Sá?” wondered Teresa, with a grin and a cheeky wink to Nina.

“Confound me,” said the drayman “but you have put some sort of palabra on my tongue! … No wait… there it is! I simply forgot my point. Being with you two bold deceivers, I never know what thoughts are my own, or the ones you have sent me with your secret ways. To get to the point, and this was a good illustration of it, sure enough - though it will be an honour to help the boy, I’m fearful that you’ll be the one doing the wightfathering, and me not so much as your instrument.”

Señor Sá meant this with the greatest of respect, of course. In all the town of Chanco Cóndor, and the surrounding parts, Nina was surely the most respected and powerful of all the brujas and other assorted meddlers of the mystic arts. As Carhuanina The Resplendent, she had been the most stunning of young women, most admired by strong and self-assured men and women of the district, feared in equal measure by those of weaker constitutions who would control her for fear of being controlled. She had cast her greatest and most famous palabra on a wild man of the town, a promising young footballer and dedicated rabble-rouser, the handsome and charming and athletic Pauchuco Tlalqui, an unattainable prince of the streets - and he had come willingly, to be captured and set to her side, to be the father of her daughter Lilián, keeper of her house and tender of her garden, grandfather of the well-starred boy, Oxo Cóndor, and her favourite drinking partner, especially of the hallucinatory intoxicants the Tequiloa prefer after hours. And while Chuco has settled down out of his wildman ways to become a builder and labourer of the town, one who had a hand in all the modern constructions of Chanco Cóndor, still Nina remained a striking and powerful conjuror, one that all wilful men ought to fear. Señor Sá was right to be cautious of her, though of course as drayman of the town, he had a certain status of his own, because, to brutalise a famous Tequiloan proverb, no one blockades the road from the brewery to the bar.

“Señor Sá,” reassured Nina, “you have me all wrong, I defer to your greater judgement!” And with that she toasted him, taking shot glasses and the bottle of misty Piyacoque that will turn your insides out, psychiatrically speaking. Downing the shot, she grimaced and took a sharp intake of breath. Teresa next did the same, saluting him with a wink and a wicked grin.

Oh well, thought Señor Sá, I place my cerebellum in the lovely slim hands of the brujas, and the dogs help me. He downed his cloudy psychoactive cocktail, and just managed to splutter out the words “what would you have me do for the boy, as his sworn wightfather; what is he to become?”

The world went a little sideways, and his mind was impinged with gentle voices of jackdaws and the children of the nursery school at the end of the street and all the dead crowding round him. Through it all cut the sound of Carhuanina The Resplendent, who came to him, it seemed, as a silver-hooded, white-eyed and black-gowned queen, speaking to him in calm and measured tones of extraordinary beauty.

“I want him to be a shapeshifter,” said the jackdaw-queen, “but also to have a trade, plumbing or electrics perhaps. A steady income… no, not that. A shapeshifter. A man who could be a rattleworm or a desert ant; or a cactus rat or a jaguar or the far-travelled condor on the wing. Perhaps with good tool skills… no, with wings that can fly close to the sun, a spiritman! Not an electrician. An electric eel!”

After that it all went a bit vague. I probably should’ve stuck to goldbeer, said a part of Señor Sá that was outside of Señor Sá and yet not so, at the same time.

---

1Alright, alright; so this is a purely subjective statement - they didn't bother to issue an MVP award officially, and Tequilo issuing it unilaterally to one of it's own has been widely disputed by the five veto-carrying boss nations Miley's World, Loonaterian, Mapletish, Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk and Liventia. But no-one can argue he wasn't interesting.

[Astograth]

Previously

As Leopold Bliznakov wheeled away in celebration, the Astograthian defence stared at each other in silent frustration. With Indartsu Lekea they avoided eye contact, though, and he knew why – the goal was his ultimately his fault. As defensive midfielder he was Bliznakov’s man-marker, and the Siovanijan had first avoided the mark and then outpaced him, slipping into the box behind Alarabi Labeaga to receive a ball from Lukas Tauscher that went past Stanimir Ilev and met Bliznakov’s boot, burying a shot that keeper Gentza Bedigax had no chance to reach as he rushed from one post to the other.

There was, of course, blame to dole out to Marko Martel’s defending on the left wing, to Labeaga for not properly covering Bliznakov, to Mogel Doyenard for not keeping his defence better organised, even Bedigax for his positioning. But this defence had been one of the strongest in the entire qualifiers, conceding just 5 goals in the 9 matches of the first round, and now that Louis Vaudrail had reorganised the team to stimulate goalscoring, they’d conceded 4 goals in 2 matches. The problem was midfield, and Lekea was in charge of that. As captain, he was technically in charge of everything, but keeping and distributing the ball was his primary domain and especially now that Astograth had changed into a narrow 4-4-2 diamond.

Siovanija and Teusland hadn’t even shown up with all the big guns, notably not fielding Kingsgrove forward Michael Ribbeck, but they’d brought enough to hammer down on Astograth. Their biggest gun of all, for one: 1830 Cathair’s Thorsten Kramer, nothing short of a genius, ran (and passed) circles around Gaitzka Gurina and Baraxil Muhaburu in centre midfield. His every touch seemed effortless. Vaudrail had subbed on Domiku Bergara, a more defensively skilled player than the inexperienced Muhaburu, to try and stem the tide – to marginal effect. And Kramer wasn’t even the one putting on a man-of-the-match performance: Bliznakov had tormented Astograth the whole match, playing in Ribbeck’s replacement Ilev for the opener and now scoring his own.

Lekea clapped his hands to rouse his teammates. “Come on!” he called out, “we’re pulling this one back!”. Mathematically, it was almost impossible for Astograth to qualify for the World Cup in Drawkland and Newmanistan, even before they played Siovanija and Teusland. That was a reality they’d already accepted, but they could still make the Cup of Harmony and every single point mattered for that all-important KPB coëfficient. It was Lekea’s job to drill that into his teammates. The encouragement rang hollow when he’d just failed his defensive duties, but if they wouldn’t look at him to take an apology, he’d carry on with his captain duties. No matter how many goals against he was responsible for, that blue armband still carried a lot of weight in Astograthian football. Its lineage was unblemished, a who’s who of Olibondeka’s history. Lekea had been designated – some would say shoehorned – into that. Did he deserve it? Maybe. It wasn’t for him to say.

At age 22, he’d signed for Nephara’s AFC Corvistone from Apox’s Barbury Town, and immediately become the darling of Astograthian journalism. He was the only Astograthian competing in the best league in the multiverse, and at a decent team too. There were others out there, of course: Ager Alaba at Audioslavia’s Itzalovalle, Ugaitz Leskerre at Eura’s Lajuno, Iraunkor Berdesagar at Brenecia’s Gallant Cross, but everyone wanted to know about the Nepharim Premiership. Entire news cycles were devoted to his appearances for Corvistone, how he paired up alongside and against world-calibre players. Pundits spent hours, days and weeks discussing his relationship with managers Davalei Evatee and Hadrian Belfast, whether this was the year he would unseat Spahi Keskin as undisputed starter, and what Corvistone’s chances at the title were. Lekea was the face of the competition for its lucrative TV deals in Astograth, and sponsorship contracts of all sorts rained down. A humorous side effect of all this, at least for Lekea, was that the Astograthian public were completely oblivious to Corvistone’s reputation as the most hated team in Nephara.

In truth, he was a squad player at a top-half team in the best league in the world, no more and no less. It was a great achievement, to be sure, but he wasn’t going to be winning Premiership awards or a Galáctico nomination. He was just one among many, many players in a very cosmopolitan league. Keskin was the better player, he had no issue admitting that, and Keskin wasn’t a national team player, nevermind captain, because Nephara were currently World Cup runners-up and Copa Rushmori champions, while Astograth got tossed out of their own Copa Rushmori and were struggling to finish 3rd in a qualifying group where they were the 3rd-ranked team. If Keskin were Astograthian he would start ahead of Lekea every time, no question.

As Astograth opened itself back into the international transfer market and IFCF competition, Lekea’s prominence as Olibondeka’s international star began to fade. There were dozens of Astograthians abroad now, at teams big and small in leagues big and small. Ihazintu Malkorra had joined him in the Premiership, at lesser teams but as starter, dazzling fans in a way Lekea had never been able to. Of course not, for he was an anchor man at heart – or hatchet man, if the occasion called for it. His job was to cut down flashy players like Malkorra or Bliznakov, it was all about spoiling the fun. And now that you had Martel and Ibargengoitia tearing down the wings in the Euraleague, Muhaburu carefully crafting play in Farfadillis, Galharretborde winning awards in Kelssek and not one but two players, Bergara and Echeberz, at Audioslavia’s Izotz Zubia, one of the best clubs in the world… Lekea didn’t have the same luster he once did. He also wasn’t in his 20’s anymore. He was 31. Lekea had been a big fish in a small pond, and now he was more like a medium fish in an Olympic swimming pool.

Still, he was the captain, and walking back toward the centre of the pitch for kick-off, he locked eyes with Bergara and Gurina. They, at least, still looked to him. Not up at him, necessarily, but that was fine. There were 90 thousand people, or thereabouts, packed into Grand Duke’s Stadium, and they too looked at Lekea when, some fifteen minutes later, he received the ball from Gurina and, in one of the finest passes he’d ever performed, dared to place a long, low-flying ball that curved just past the reach of a retreating Erich Thierse and into the fine touch of Olentzaro Karazatorre. With a second touch, the striker struck a low shot right beneath goalkeeper Ewald Heuser’s left arm, where no amount of contortion could save it.

[Vdara]

Back In Business

Following a decent 3-1 victory over Grand Quebecois at home, Vdara were now up against Fujai, who were just one place behind the Vdarans. While Vdara had racked up losses against Eura and Pasarga, Fujai had managed to beat teams like Timuria, and were sitting just three points behind Vdara. This match was crucial to Vdara’s qualification efforts.

Væñøœrëñbérghüïś was trying to get his players focused in the dressing room.
”Right, lads. I’m sure you already know, but this match is extremely important. It’s a six-pointer, and I can’t emphasise that fact enough. We NEED to win this, both to keep up with the top two and to build up a gap between us and the teams below, alright? Let’s get cracking then, we can do this!”

And now, live coverage from Vai Sports 1!

Pre-Lineups Tune

”Hello, and good evening to you all! We’re coming to you live from the Nykanalstadion in Fujai, but due to some prior broadcast overlap, we’re not able to provide you any of our usual interesting facts without cutting into the match itself. So, without further ado, let’s talk about the lineups!”

(Skip to 1:45 in the Pre-Lineups tune for the lineups tune itself)

”Markos Moustakakos starts the match in goals instead of from the sidelines, with David Xeniadis, Nestoras Galanatos and Valentinos Giannakos filling up all three centreback slots. In left wing-back, it’s Tryfon Vlahiades, with Manousos Athanas starting at right wing-back. Moving up the pitch, we have the duo of Kimon Karalas and Anargyros Stamatelis in centre-midfield, with Vangelis Mavroglou starting in the central defensive-midfielder role. Upfront, it’s the youthful and speedy duo of Chirstoforos Lazelis and Andrianos Petras, with Nik Cosmidis still injured from the knock he suffered in training. It’s gonna be a fantastic match tonight, since both teams are going to be playing their socks off due to the importance of this match. Don’t be changing the channel now, we’re only getting started!”

The match report is as follows (for the second time in a row, sadly, the match report will be shortened - this will be rectified next time, trust me, I’m just a bit tired):

1: The match is finally underway here in Fujai, as the teams in third and fourth come together in a battle for the top three!

Fujai and Vdara went back and forth for a while, with the Vdarans keeping a strong hold on possession, and getting ever closer to taking the lead in the process. However, Væñøœrëñbérghüïś was getting quite agitated at the sidelines, and he shouted for the players to push on. This would pay off, as Agnes Hammeren would end up bringing Chirstoforos Lazelis down right outside the box...

39: It’s a free kick for Vdara, and it’s in a lovely position - just outside the box! For once, it’s going to be Petras who steps up to take it, as he places the ball down on the ground just now. He’s taking a few steps back, getting a good run up on the ball as he smashes it... and it curves nicely into the top left corner! It’s a goal that’s come late in this half, but it’s a valuable goal for Vdara!

Once Vdara got their first goal, they seemed to loosen up a little. They started to move around a little better, and were starting to get into better positions upfield. Passing is a valuable skill in games like these, as Kimon Karalas came to find out just four minutes later...

43: Karalas receives the ball from Xeniadis, and he tries to launch it forward further up the pitch. He’s managed to get it to the feet of Lazelis, who does a lovely roulette to get around Veberg and takes a shot... which flies past Parekh and doubles Vdara’s advantage! What a moment to score, just before halftime!

Halftime came and went, with Væñøœrëñbérghüïś seemingly quite chuffed with Vdara’s domination of the game. He didn’t bother to change any tactics during the break, instead opting to bring on the Young Lambros Tantalopoulos - who recently won a title in his debut season with Walstreim Lions - to replace Mavroglou. No other changes were made, and the squad still seemed full of determination.

At the start of the second half, it appeared that Vdara had returned to the state it had been in during the majority of the first half - dominating possession, but not getting any of those crucial moments that would result in a potential goal. That is, until Vdara managed to get themselves a corner...

68: The ball’s gone out of play, but it’s deflected by Veberg for a corner. Vlahiades will be the one to take this, as he swerves the ball into the box perfectly... and it connects with the substitute’s head and goes in! Lambros Tantalopoulos gets one of his signature headers, and increases the margin to three goals!

Just like what happened in the first half, Vdara loosened up. These goals really seemed to boost their confidence, whilst having the exact opposite effects on their opponents. This was a great advantage for Vdara, as low confidence can lead to mistakes, which is a lesson that Chibuzo Jorg would learn not long after...

77: Tantalopoulos is working his way into the box here, and he’s showing how good he is on the ball! He’s past Felland, he’s past Hammeren... and he’s been sliced down in the box by Jorg! The referee immediately pulls out the red card while pointing to the penalty spot, and Fujai are now a player down with the possibility of conceding yet another goal!
78: Karalas is going to be the one taking the penalty, as he takes a few steps back from the ball. He gets a good run-up, gets a good connection on the ball as he strikes it... and it’s 4-0 to Vdara! The home fans are not enjoying this match, not in the slightest!

From then on, it was just constant pressure on the Fujar squad. With only 10 players on the pitch, they couldn’t attack without leaving a massive gap in their defence - so they chose to play extremely defensive for the last 10-12 minutes.

90: The referee blows the whistle for the final time, and the Fujar players are booed off by their own fans after that rubbish performance from the home team. However, let’s not take away anything from the Vdarans here - they well and truly dominated today’s match, with Fujai only registering 3 shots compared to Vdara’s 15.

Fujai - 0

Vdara - 4
Andrianos Petras 39’ (FK)
Chirstoforos Lazelis 43’
Lambros Tantalopoulos 68’
Kimon Karalas 78’ (P)

---

With that brilliant performance over, Vdara could happily look towards their next game, as they were at home against Drunk People at the Local Tavern. While they had drawn 4-4 with them the last time, the fans were confident that they’d easily get a win over their inebriated opponents - especially when they weren’t playing in somebody’s back garden instead of a stadium. However, only time will tell.

[Rangers FC]

The Sleepy Rangers Fan Chronicle

For once, Sleepy Guy was happy. Rangers had managed to not lose another two matches - granted, they’d only got two points from them, but they were still defying some expectations.

Sleepy Guy: ”How good are we, eh? I mean, we’re derailing qualification hopes every step of the way, aren’t we? First it was Krytenia, and now it’s Mattijana. Granted, we only drew with Mattijana, but we still took two points off of them at the end of the day, didn’t we?”

Sleepy Guy takes a swig of some ‘1872’ branded whiskey, before slamming the bottle back down on the desk.

Sleepy Guy: ”For a team that came into this tournament with the low, low rank of 330th, we’re doing pretty darn good! I mean, three victories? Three draws? Heck, we’ll be on par with Celtic soon, won’t we?”

Sleepy Guy proceeds to take another swig of his ‘1872’ whiskey. This may not end well, he’s already had a full bottle earlier today.

Sleepy Guy, more slurred than before: ”Ach, who cares about Celtic anyway? We’re our own team, are we not? We don’t need no green and white Irishmen telling us what to do, we need to focus on what WE do! We are the Rangers who cheer the boys in blue, after all!”

Sleepy Guy proceeds to finish the whole bottle of ‘1872’ whiskey, without a doubt in his mind that this wasn’t a good idea

Sleepy Guy, now almost unintelligible: ”This... is some damnnnnnn good orange juice. Now... where was I? Oh yeah, Celtic! Fuck them! Fuck all of them, those... Celtic fans! They don’t like Rangers, so I don’t like... any of them! Wooooohoooooo!”

With all of this alcohol pumping through him, Sleepy Guy slams his head on the desk in front of him, and goes for a nice sleep. Luckily for him, he’ll have two match results and a splinter in his forehead to wake up to. What a Guy, eh?

NO SURRENDER, SUPPORT TRANSGENDERS!

[Vilita]

Eel-Cat Things Embarrassed by Audioslavia

A Dark Day in Equestria :: While Perran Adlani's Vilita & Turori Eel-Cat Things were far from perfect in the Group Stage, there was no expectation of what was to come. After a break while the lower seeded teams contested an oft-maligned Round of 24, the Eel-Cat Things were back in action for the Round of 16 against a particularly difficult opposition. Audioslavia. Of course, the history between the two nations was very long. Vilita have long had good fortune against Audioslavia, while Turori have had quite terrible fortunes against their now-regional rivals. Vilita denied Audioslavia to lift their first World Cup during Starblaydia & Druida World Cup 20. Then, Audioslavia took their vengeance out on an undeserving Turori side, eliminating the Eels from the World Cup Knockout Rounds in 3 of the next 6 World Cup Finals. Somehow Starbalydia seems to always find their way involved as well

Fast forward 40 cycles and Audioslavia's curse was finally broken on Turorian soil. Audioslavia would win their first ever World Cup in Turori & Aguazul by defeating Starblaydia in the final - The Same Starblaydia who played their first ever international match against Vilita and on whose soil the World Cup 20 Finals would be played. At the same time, Audioslavia rose to dominance in the AOCAF Cup contesting five of six title matches and winning three of them. It was a strange period of trophies for Audioslavia that ran against everything that was known about Audioslavian history in big time sporting competition.

This time, Vilita & Turori would get involved again, reversing the course and sending Audioslavia back into a period of defeat, overcoming the Bulls to win AOCAF 41 - the Eel-Cat Things first title in over 25 cycles. The Vilitans would ride this wave of momentum to win World Cup 68 as well as the unified team winning AOCAF 42 and the Olympic Gold Medal.

This period of sustained performance from Vilita & Turori would lead to the Eel-Cat Things being favored going into the AOCAF 61 Round of 16 match-up against Audioslavia. 90 minutes later, however, the tides had shifted once more. It was a dark day for Eel-Cat Things Footsport and it all started off controversially as Lohani Riiyaaw was clearly fouled by Audioslavia's Santiago Rosel yet the Bulls attacker was allowed to take possession and easily finish past Vernasa Sanamun to give Audioslavia a 1-0 lead. The Vilita & Turori players and staff were irate at the non-call and could still be seen arguing to the referee when Audioslavia doubled their advantage just minutes later through Erwin Spijkers. The winger was a bit lucky to have mis-hit the shot that Sanamun was well placed to defend against but the awkward trajectory found its way just beyond the reach of the Kiiarana City goalkeeper and just like that Vilita and Turori were down two goals.

It was just five minutes into the match and already Vilita & Turori were down two goals. The players were irate at the non-call on the first goal and just as frustrated at the stupidity and lack of talent on both sides that resulted in the second goal.

In many sports, this would be the moment where the coaching staff would call a time out to settle the team, re-baseline the approach and proceed forth with an updated gameplan. But there are no timeouts in Footsport. Still agitated and distracted, the Vilita & Turori defenders were playing like they were down 4-0 in the 90th minute, not like a group that needed to provide their team momentum to climb back in a game that had barely started. The quality of their play in the opening ten minutes of this game would, however, make the 4-0 prophecy come true. Rojara Tiones decided to kick before they looked when attempting a clearance in the 8th minute of play and the muckracker Rosel had gotten a foot just between Tiones and the ball at the time the Yeaddin Owls defender completed their follow through. Rosel bundled over in apparent pain but sprung up immediately once the decision was given for a penalty kick. Taking a page out of Vilita & Turori's book, Rosel would take the spot kick they earned and convert easily to put the Bulls up 3-0 on a wayward Vilita & Turori side. At the rate the game was going the Eel-Cat Things were on pace to lose the match by an undisputively Samoan scoreline of 31-0.

Thankfully, they would somewhat get their act together from that point - either from realizing there were still 82 minutes left to play, or through the grace of the Audioslavia team deciding it wasn't worth pressing too hard against an agitated team when they had a Quarter Final match to look forward to after that. Audioslavia began to sit back as the Vilita & Turori side gained momentum throughout the match, eventually turning the tides of domination to the other side of the pitch. One thing that Vilita & Turori could not do, however, was find the final touch into the back of the net. Earning a team record 23 corner-kicks in the second half was not enough to save Vilita & Turori as only goals scored would be counted at the end of 90 minutes and Audioslavia would get one more through Moses Moxey on Audioslavia's only shot on goal in the second half of play. With a partially split squad with a number of Key players already forward deployed to Banija to prepare for the Olympic Games, it was perhaps not a surprise that Vilita & Turori were defeated in the AOCAF Competition - but the manner of their defeat certainly came unexpected back at home and would ensure changes to be made on the regional level for Vilita & Turori's finest. As the Eel-Cat Things either returned home or headed off to Banija with their tail between their legs, Audioslavia would go on to the AOCAF 61 final... where they would add to the growing list of Title Match defeats at the hands of Starblaydia who would return to the AOCAF winners circle for the first time since AOCAF 23.

 Vilita & Turori 0 - 4 Audioslavia	
	Goals:	- None -
	Team:	Vernasa Sanamun, Lohani Riiyaaw, Rojara Tiones, Amakli Inuro'o (Clarana Refiami 73'), Kiidallen Aeroluzzi (Lentali Purama 71'), Cuoabaza Orani’aoa, Intikko Kuhilana (Mbdiai Akarenaa 70'), Naraiza Ruaplal, Tulaki Rauogba, Turakia Diijelhma, Nua'oma Aikiki

---

[Eura]

Life in the Seventh Star

Part Three

Sunlight flickered in and out of existence as Mateo lay on his desk, his head on its side and his eyes gently falling asleep. Then, a thwack!
‘Piroz! Am I boring you?’
‘Wha-no, shi-‘
‘DO NOT SWEAR!’ Another clip around the ear – Sameban schooling still hadn’t quite clamped down on corporal punishment and this kind of inappropriate disciplining of students. Mr Laro didn’t like Mateo at the best of times. Taking a nap with five minutes left of double maths wasn’t going to endear him to the teacher either. ‘Seeing as I’m struggling to hold your interest, I’m sure you won’t mind starting to clear up the textbooks. Go on, get on with it.’ The rest of his class looked on with the same fatigue in their eyes that had got Mateo in trouble, though they were trying harder to hide it. After a few more minutes of monotony the school bell rang and they were free to go. ‘Mateo!’
‘Yes sir?’
‘You should take this class more seriously. You’ll never know when it might help you.’ Mateo pretended to listen as long as he needed to, and then flounced off out of the classroom.

Walking to school in a city like Aspel was a challenge. The endless traffic, heaving pavements, dirty air and overbearing noise made it similar to living in a tumble drier. Other kids didn’t mind it as much as Mateo did. When they kept walking down the main road from the school gates, he diverted, cutting through the back streets and taking a different route each time to keep things interesting. If nothing else he’d make a good taxi driver one day. ‘Hey kid! Come now, stop!’ Two men in patchwork clothing approached Mateo as he went around an unfamiliar corner. ‘Hey, lota for a patriot?’ Mateo stopped in his tracks. What he had heard was an all too familiar saying in the poorest, most devastated corners of the old Sameba; former conscripts and veterans forced onto the streets and begging for the old basic 0.01 decimal unit of currency. ‘I don’t have anything, sorry. I would give if I did.’ The men grunted disbelievingly and shuffled off further down the street, leaving Mateo alone.

It was then that he noticed the towering ruin before him. Where a seven storey office block at the end of the road once stood a skeleton now remained, not obviously destroyed but certainly damaged enough to be abandoned. The road itself had been long cleared as they had been throughout the city, but even after the most part of a decade since the war formally ended, ruins such as this one survived throughout Sameba. Aspel was full of them – Rivet, another megacity, had practically nothing else left but these remains. Children across the country had been instructed for years now to steer well clear of any war sites. Keep your head, or end up dead said the public information films they’d be played at school, along with that recognisable little Euran government falcon in the corner. Most obeyed but not Mateo. These places fascinated him, and sometimes served as a hunting ground for unlikely treasure.

He made his way in through the old doorway and carefully stepped over the broken glass that covered the lobby floor. Nothing in here had been cleared up post war. Weeds were starting to sprout through the floor tiles, and an urban fox was rifling through some old cupboards, looking as desperately for food as the residents had when things were really tough. Mateo waved and watched as the creature turned to face him, took a moment to take stock, and then darted away through a gap in the wall. You could still just make out that this had been an office with three or four companies housed inside, though the floor plan painted on the wall was illegible due to the paint peeling off with time. The only new piece of the puzzle this building offered was a bold yellow sign on a temporary stand just inside the entrance:

BY ORDER OF THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT

THIS BUILDING – 1693 VERDE AVENUE – IS DEEMED UNSAFE

Leave the premises as soon as you can. This building has suffered war damage and is not fit for human habitation or use.

The building is scheduled for demolition at…

There was a blank space where the date of the building’s destruction was supposed to be. Maybe the Eurans and the local council had forgotten about this one. Mateo grinned from ear to ear as he realised this old wreck was all his. He looked for a stairwell and found one right away, tucked between a bank of disused lifts, deftly jogging up it and dodging bits of debris on the way, looking carefully for any old munitions or booby traps. There were none to be found. ‘Hellllooooooooooooo?’ No response returned back, other than an echo. ‘Yes! Free rein, all mine!’ he said to himself with a sense of enormous satisfaction. Adventure was sparse for a Sameban teenager so a place like this could be his kingdom with a little imagination. He pictured it as the headquarters of a company he’d run, like the one his grandfather owned before the war. It could sell cars or advertising, or a tiny thing like hairclips or pens – anything.

Mateo closed his eyes and made his choice. When he opened them, he could see it all laid out before him. The busy office floor illuminated by daylight criss-crossing through the giant plate glass windows as his employees happily bustled back and forth. ‘Good morning Mr Piroz!’
‘Oh, Mr Piroz, good to see you there!’
‘Mateo?’
‘Mr Piroz, you really must see our latest figures…’
‘Mateo.’
‘Piroz! Man, I knew we could rely on you. We’ve installed a rollercoaster in MateoWorld, it’s got nineteen loops…’
‘MAH-TAY-OH.’ Mateo was jolted from his daydream by a voice from behind. He spun around and stumbled. An old computer monitor had felled the great CEO of this imaginary company and left him on his back, red in the face with embarrassment when he saw who it was.

Arabella gave her friend a quizzical look as she stood over him like a colossus. ‘…you ok there Matty?’
‘Bella, hey! Uh yeah, no I’m cool, just-ow!’ In his rush to get up, Mateo stubbed his toe on the leg of the desk from which the computer had fallen. ‘Shit that hurt. I’m good, just, you know, I was walking home and I saw this old shitheap and I thought, well that could be cool, there might be stuff I could have in there, like a computer or something, so, erm…’
‘Exploring?’
‘That’s it, yes. I don’t know really, it’s pretty lame. Whatever. Who cares anyway.’ Mateo’s flawed attempt to pass off his hobby as a one off left Arabella with a smirk on her face.’ Sure, I guess I just imagined it when I saw you in the old TV centre last week then.’
‘That was different!’
‘Mateo, shut up. I spotted you coming down this way and thought I’d join. If that’s ok with you?’ Mateo beamed. ‘Awesome! Let’s check out the next floor.’

They knew each other from school but Mateo and Arabella were part of a larger group of friends in their year, and rarely hung out in any sense. Mateo, however, had seen enough of her to get that familiar feeling of butterflies in his stomach at her presence. His teenage awkwardness had prevented him from ever actually talking to her meaningfully though, so this situation was forcing him out of his comfort zone. He was trying to act like a tour guide and quickly found out she knew more about combing shelled buildings than he did. ‘That’s one of those touchscreen wall TV things! Those are so rare. Apparently they’re everywhere abroad and in Eura.’
‘Huh. Kind of cool, I guess. I’ve seen a few in Samebus’ she said quietly, smiling ever so subtly as Mateo panicked again at his observations proving mundane. ‘Yeah, right, but they’re not like this one.’
‘What’s so special about this one?’
Arabella could see him running the plausibility numbers behind his eyes. ‘Uh, it’s inverted.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Up..sidedown...audiovisual…ness.’
‘Haha, ok, whatever you say Matty!’

She had just finished speaking when a dread inducing groan filled the air. ‘What was that?’
‘Your “inverted” TV screen probably. Maybe it’s opened a portal to a parallel universe where we’re both sentient bookcases.’
‘No seriously, listen.’ The groaning got louder and Arabella stopped laughing at her own joke when dust started to fall from the ceiling – dust that had been there untouched for years. ‘Oh shit, no way. You don’t think it’s actually like, dangerous in here, do you?’ A concrete pillar made the timely decision to disintegrate a few feet away at that point, bringing down a whole section of the ceiling and causing Arabella and Mateo to fall to the ground. Mateo momentarily blacked out. He was unable to see or perceive anything around him and feared that he might be dead. It couldn’t end like this! If it did, Mama would kill him. ‘MATTY! Grab my hand!’ Suddenly he found himself torn from the ground and being dragged towards the stairs as ceiling tiles and cables dropped out of the sky around him.

They sprinted as fast as they could down the stairs without tripping over the bits and pieces they had to avoid on the way up. Arabella found herself flattened as a plastic pipe burst out of a wall and stopped her without warning. Mateo skidded to a halt, ducked under the pipe and returned the favour owed by scooping her up from the ground. They were in the lobby now and were running for the exit without regard for the shards of glass and other falling hazards threatening to hurt them. Just as the remaining front windows began to implode, they were out and away, and running down the street as fast as they could. The building crumbled on the near side, the top six floors coming down one by one before crushing the lobby and burying the basement, sending dust and smoke spiralling out towards them. When the smoke cleared, they found themselves lying on the potholed tarmac and completely speechless. The ruin was gone and replaced by a void of beige fog.

Mateo gained his composure as soon as he could. ‘Woah! That was crazy. Are you alright?’ Arabella said nothing. ‘Arabella? Are you ok, are you hurt?’ She turned to look at him. ‘I’m fine.’ They were both fine. Not just fine – by some miracle neither of them had as much as a scratch on them. If it wasn’t for the layer of muck on their clothes you wouldn’t be able to tell they had been in the building at all. ‘Well,’ Arabella started, ‘that’s funny.’
‘Funny? What’s funny?’
‘I know you had to prove the TV was inverted, but inverting the building was a bit much.’ He stared at her with confusion in his eyes initially, and then began to laugh. She joined in and soon they couldn’t stop. Locals and the fire brigade now filled the street with a mix of anger, frustration and annoyance in the air. Arabella and Mateo on the other hand were having a jolly old time. ‘Hey, so, my Mama is making fish tonight. Do you want to come eat with us?’
‘Yeah, ok. Why not?’ It had taken a near death experience to manage it, but Mateo had finally talked to her.