Cup of Harmony Seventy-Eight: Everything Thread

[Sylestone]

Every team here has one vision. What's yours? To get a singular point? To make it past the group stage? To make it to the semifinals? To win the entire cup? Cutoff for groups A-D, Matchdays 3&4!

Group A

Group A
Graintfjall 1–0 Delaclava
Tequilo 3–2 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles
Ethane 0–1 Mercedini

Group A                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Tequilo                          3   2  1  0    6   4  +2    7
2 Graintfjall                      3   2  1  0    5   3  +2    7
3 Mercedini                        3   1  2  0    4   3  +1    5
4 Blouman Empire                   2   0  2  0    3   3   0    2
5 Delaclava                        2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
6 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles      3   0  1  2    5   7  −2    1
7 Ethane                           2   0  0  2    1   3  −2    0

Group A
Pluvia and the Saxean Isles 0–3 Ethane
Delaclava 0–1 Tequilo
Blouman Empire 3–1 Graintfjall

Group A                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Tequilo                          4   3  1  0    7   4  +3   10
2 Graintfjall                      4   2  1  1    6   6   0    7
3 Blouman Empire                   3   1  2  0    6   4  +2    5
4 Mercedini                        3   1  2  0    4   3  +1    5
5 Ethane                           3   1  0  2    4   3  +1    3
6 Delaclava                        3   0  1  2    1   3  −2    1
7 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles      4   0  1  3    5  10  −5    1

Group B

Group B
Kohnhead 2–3 Squidroidia
Cheergirls 0–1 Valladares
Orion Islands 1–4 New Lusitania

Group B              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 New Lusitania          3   3  0  0    9   2  +7    9
2 Squidroidia            2   2  0  0    5   3  +2    6
3 Valladares             3   2  0  1    3   2  +1    6
4 Kohnhead               3   1  0  2    4   5  −1    3
5 Cheergirls             3   1  0  2    1   4  −3    3
6 Geektopia              2   0  0  2    2   4  −2    0
7 Orion Islands          2   0  0  2    1   5  −4    0

Group B
Valladares 2–1 Orion Islands
Squidroidia 0–1 Cheergirls
Geektopia 4–4 Kohnhead

Group B              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 New Lusitania          3   3  0  0    9   2  +7    9
2 Valladares             4   3  0  1    5   3  +2    9
3 Cheergirls             4   2  0  2    2   4  −2    6
4 Squidroidia            3   2  0  1    5   4  +1    6
5 Kohnhead               4   1  1  2    8   9  −1    4
6 Geektopia              3   0  1  2    6   8  −2    1
7 Orion Islands          3   0  0  3    2   7  −5    0

Group C

Group C
Huayramarca 1–2 Megistos
The Gothanita Isles 1–3 Abanhfleft
Mattijana 0–1 Flavovespia

Group C                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Flavovespia              3   2  1  0    4   0  +4    7
2 Abanhfleft               3   2  1  0    8   5  +3    7
3 Sargossa                 2   1  1  0    5   4  +1    4
4 Mattijana                2   1  0  1    3   2  +1    3
5 Megistos                 2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
6 The Gothanita Isles      3   0  1  2    2   6  −4    1
7 Huayramarca              3   0  0  3    2   7  −5    0

Group C
Abanhfleft 1–0 Mattijana
Megistos 2–2 The Gothanita Isles
Sargossa 1–0 Huayramarca

Group C                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Abanhfleft               4   3  1  0    9   5  +4   10
2 Flavovespia              3   2  1  0    4   0  +4    7
3 Sargossa                 3   2  1  0    6   4  +2    7
4 Megistos                 3   1  1  1    5   5   0    4
5 Mattijana                3   1  0  2    3   3   0    3
6 The Gothanita Isles      4   0  2  2    4   8  −4    2
7 Huayramarca              4   0  0  4    2   8  −6    0

Group D

Group D
Rangers FC 0–2 Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom
Sarzonia 1–1 Mavinet
Yuezhou 1–1 TJUN-ia

Group D                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mavinet                       3   2  1  0    6   1  +5    7
2 Sarzonia                      3   2  1  0    4   1  +3    7
3 Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom      2   2  0  0    4   0  +4    6
4 TJUN-ia                       3   1  1  1    2   3  −1    4
5 Yuezhou                       2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
6 Barunia                       2   0  0  2    0   5  −5    0
  Rangers FC                    3   0  0  3    0   5  −5    0

Group D
Mavinet 4–4 Yuezhou
Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom 0–1 Sarzonia
Barunia 3–2 Rangers FC

Group D                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sarzonia                      4   3  1  0    5   1  +4   10
2 Mavinet                       4   2  2  0   10   5  +5    8
3 Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom      3   2  0  1    4   1  +3    6
4 TJUN-ia                       3   1  1  1    2   3  −1    4
5 Barunia                       3   1  0  2    3   7  −4    3
6 Yuezhou                       3   0  2  1    5   6  −1    2
7 Rangers FC                    4   0  0  4    2   8  −6    0

[Ethane]

For some of you, your teams are so close to magic. But where will you be come the end of the group stages? You might need some magic to get there. Cutoff for Groups E-H, MD3-4.

---

Group E

Krytenia 2–4 Xanneria
Tikariot 1–1 Sylestone
Twicetagria 3–3 Murphtannia

Group E                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Xanneria                 2   2  0  0    7   4  +3    6
2 Twicetagria              2   1  1  0    6   5  +1    4
3 Tikariot                 3   1  1  1    6   4  +2    4
4 Sylestone                3   1  1  1    5   6  −1    4
5 Murphtannia              3   1  1  1    4   6  −2    4
6 Krytenia                 3   1  0  2    6   6   0    3
7 The Jovannic             2   0  0  2    3   6  −3    0

Sylestone 1–0 Twicetagria
Xanneria 3–2 Tikariot
The Jovannic 2–6 Krytenia

Group E                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Xanneria                 3   3  0  0   10   6  +4    9
2 Sylestone                4   2  1  1    6   6   0    7
3 Krytenia                 4   2  0  2   12   8  +4    6
4 Twicegratia              3   1  1  1    6   6   0    4
5 Tikariot                 4   1  1  2    8   7  +1    4
6 Murphtannia              3   1  1  1    4   6  −2    4
7 The Jovannic             3   0  0  3    5  12  −7    0

Group F

Indusse 3–2 HUElavia
Electrum 2–1 South Newlandia
Sulsuland 0–1 Astograth

Group F                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Astograth                3   3  0  0    6   0  +6    9
2 South Newlandia          3   2  0  1    3   2  +1    6
3 Electrum                 3   1  1  1    3   3   0    4
4 Indusse                  3   1  0  2    3   7  −4    3
5 HUElavia                 2   0  1  1    3   4  −1    1
6 Ziwana                   2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
7 Sulsuland                2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1

South Newlandia 0–1 Sulsuland
HUElavia 2–0 Electrum
Ziwana 2–3 Indusse

Group F                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Astograth                3   3  0  0    6   0  +6    9
2 South Newlandia          4   2  0  2    3   3   0    6
3 Indusse                  4   2  0  2    6   9  −3    6
4 HUElavia                 3   1  1  1    5   4  +1    4
5 Sulsuland                3   1  1  1    2   2   0    4
6 Electrum                 4   1  1  2    3   5  −2    4
7 Ziwana                   3   0  1  2    3   5  −2    1

Group G

Tioguldós 2–2 Maccian
Poafmersia 0–0 Saltstead
Riena 1–1 Vdara

Group G                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Vdara                    3   2  1  0    9   3  +6    7
2 Maccian                  2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
3 Tioguldós                3   1  1  1    6   9  −3    4
4 Poafmersia               3   1  1  1    1   2  −1    4
5 Saltstead                3   0  2  1    2   3  −1    2
6 Southwest Eastnorth      2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1
7 Riena                    2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1

Saltstead 0–2 Riena
Maccian 1–3 Poafmersia
Southwest Eastnorth 1–4 Tioguldós

Group G                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Vdara                    3   2  1  0    9   3  +6    7
2 Poafmersia               4   2  1  1    4   3  +1    7
3 Tioguldós                4   2  1  1   10  10   0    7
4 Riena                    3   1  1  1    3   2  +1    4
5 Maccian                  3   1  1  1    5   6  −1    4
6 Saltstead                4   0  2  2    2   5  −3    2
7 Southwest Eastnorth      3   0  1  2    3   7  −4    1

Group H

Omerica 5–1 Jeruselem
Springmont 3–3 Savigliane
Northwest Kalactin 2–1 Taeshan

Group H                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Northwest Kalactin       2   2  0  0    6   1  +5    6
2 Oberour Ar Moro          2   1  1  0    7   5  +2    4
3 Savigliane               3   1  1  1    7   8  −1    4
4 Omerica                  3   1  1  1    8   5  +3    4
5 Taeshan                  3   0  2  1    2   3  −1    2
6 Springmont               3   0  2  1    3   7  −4    2
7 Jeruselem                2   0  1  1    5   9  −4    1

Savigliane 2–4 Northwest Kalactin
Jeruselem 3–1 Springmont
Oberour Ar Moro 3–5 Omerica

Group H                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Northwest Kalactin       3   3  0  0   10   3  +7    9
2 Omerica                  4   2  1  1   13   8  +5    7
3 Oberour Ar Moro          3   1  1  1   10  10   0    4
4 Jeruselem                3   1  1  1    8  10  −2    4
5 Savigliane               4   1  1  2    9  12  −3    4
6 Taeshan                  3   0  2  1    2   3  −1    2
7 Springmont               4   0  2  2    4  10  −6    2

[Squidroidia]

Full time in Chamberley, Himeko is going to be embarrassed. Cheergirls 1, Squidroidia 0.

Why does it always have to be the embarrassing bets that Fukuhara loses? As the President of the Squidroidian Football Association, she was always one to pull off outlandish bets in the group stage. You wanna know why? Because Squidroidia are undefeated in group play. That was, until they faced the Cheergirls. It was one of the more quirky matches of the group stage, along with every game Sylestone played. A bunch of squids against a bunch of cheerleaders, or Cheergirls as they are known. After Squidroidia beat Kohnhead by 3 goals to 2 the previous matchday, they thought they had a chance at going 3 for 3 heading into the midway point of the campaign. Meghan Banks scored an early goal in the 14th and all they had to do was mesmerize the Squidroidians with their fluid tactics to finish the job.

Well to be fair, they weren't the Squidroids.

Immediately after the game, Fukuhara knew that there had to be antics ahead. Her bet called for her doing a cheerleading routine. Problem was, Fukuhara wasn't a cheerleader in high school during the Inkhalla days. She like... Studied mathematics. Which is good if you want to see how the Squidroidian Cup will go, but it isn't good at all if you want to do a cartwheel.

The day after the game, while the Inklings were training for their next match against the Orion Islands, she decided to fulfill that promise at the Cheergirls home base. She strutted up in whatever flashy cheerleading outfit she could find in Sylestone that mentioned Squidroidia at all. In she came with a spandex uniform covered in blue and white glitter as well as blue pom-poms. She fit right at home as a cheerleader. A really old one by cheerleading standards.

She would sigh as she saw the players all crowd in front of her, including Banks who scored the only goal of that game to break Squidroidia's 13 game unbeaten run in the group stage, surprisingly unlucky for a team named Squidroidia. "Alright, fine, I'll do it", Fukuhara said in front of them, going over to the big mat they set up. It was just like what she saw laying in the middle of the track when she watched the Cheergirls highlights during WC86 qualification. But she knew she had to do this, not just for publicity, but for the team that beat her nation in the Cup of Harmony.

Himeko had no music playing to get her in the mood. It was only the Sylestone beauty that was playing as she made her first move... A standard jump, going up and down. Did I tell you that she didn't know cheerleading? So there she was, this president of a national FA just... Standing there. Unsure about what to do now. She then realized that she had to do gymnastics. The best she could do? A handstand. A handstand that drained her body after several seconds, in which case she fell to the ground. This was embarrassing, but she had to continue.

After getting back up she would go over to one corner of the mat and try to do some fancy legwork, sprinting to the center and pulling off a leg split. That was her first real acrobatic move of the performance, and she would follow it up by... Absolutely failing her next leg split. Now she was in the center of the mat with both legs on either the front or back of her body. Did I even tell you that she didn't know cheerleading?

After another awkward minute of failing to do acrobatics, she would get to the cheer part of cheerleading. Which meant she had to say something. Something encouraging. All she ended up saying was "Squidroidia! Squidroidia! Go Inklings!" 3 times in a row. Yeah, you'd get laughed off the room if you tried that in a cheer competition. It also would get you thrown out if you decided to not use your pom-poms. Which she did not. After that was over, Fukuhara was free to leave the base.

She was so cod damn embarrassed that she failed. If getting on the Cheergirls roster required cheerleading, she would fail miserably. Welp, it was just a loss and a embarrassing bet. Onwards to the Orion Islands!

[Graintfjall]

Svennsdóttir accuses media of sexism in Trouserpresshlið*

Else Svennsdóttir isn’t happy to be the indirect beneficiary of Emeli Vilbertsdóttir’s controversial dismissal from the national football team’s Cup of Harmony squad. The full-back, who had lost her place in the team to Molding’s Karoline Vernerisdóttir during World Cup 86 qualifying, but has since regained a starting role following Vilbertsdóttir being sent home amid accusations of acts of public impropriety with a sentient trouser press at a Sylestone nightclub, said that she “took no joy” in wearing “Emeli’s [number 5] shirt”. Svennsdóttir went further and said that she thought that “sexism” had played a role in the scandal, and that her teammate would have been treated differently had she been a man. “Male footballers’ antics are treated as cause for amusement, and they’re even cheered on sometimes for it,” she said. “But female footballers are held to a totally different standard.”

Football in Græntfjall was gender-integrated during the years of Communist government as a measure of social progress, but the tradition of men and women playing alongside one another – not uncommon in many other countries around the world – has continued post-Reconstitution. Players such as Amanda Guttisdóttir, Justiina Dannysdóttir and Lilly Wolfgangsdóttir, as well as foreign imports Jasmine Gardener and Momoko Wakabayashi, rank among the most successful and popular players in the country. But a majority of GPL players remain male as well as the vast majority of GPL managers, while the national team has never had a female head coach. “The theoretical legal equality of sexes in Græntfjaller society can sit uneasily alongside the country’s deeply embedded conservative Catholicism,” says University of Waltenberg professor of the sociology of gender Rebecca Oyolvursdóttir. “It’s fair to question whether a male player would have been treated the same way.”

A sexism row is the last thing coaches Sigtryggur Brynjólfursson and Særún Toresdóttir want in a campaign that has gone well on the pitch, with the Snow Wolves notching up an assured 1 – 0 victory over Delaclava, but disastrously off it with injuries, player scandals, and rumors of rifts in the squad. The distraction of the impending international transfer window, in which several national team members are expected to be made available, is only adding to the concerns of some that Brynjólfursson is in danger of having another good tournament overshadowed by controversy. The manager was tight-lipped on Svennsdóttir’s charges, saying only that he “treated all of his players the same way, with equal respect” but that he “would always be sensitive to any particular concerns”. Vilbertsdóttir for her part would not join in the accusations of sexism and continues to deny any wrong-doing. “I had a wrinkled dress and was going to use the trouser press to iron it out,” she said. “Any allegations that anything else happened in that bathroom are wholly defamatory.”

Græntfjall – 1 (1)
F. Snæþórsson; Svennsdóttir, Farmansson, Álfarsson, Vernerisdóttir; H. Snæþórsson, Guttisdóttir (11’), Jvarsson (61’), Noahsdóttir (46’ Aunosdóttir ); Dannysdóttir (76’ Rögnvaldursson ); Þórhallursson (76’ Mensdóttir )

Delaclava – 0
[roster unknown]

In this edition:

• Quinoa – the new sirloin steak?
• Military spending ‘out of proportion’ to strategic requirements, charges think-tank
• Mbumba Khaloi’s tragic plight highlights the injustice of systemic anti-immigrant bias
• Short story: The Last Railway Station
• Donation drive – help support justice for the needy with a tax-free gift

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UNBE-KNEE-VABLE!
Snow Wolves limping on three paws at Cup of Harmo-knee!

The Snow Wolves are RUNNING OUT of players as they lost the services of two more of their first-choice team. In a BIZARRE twist of fate BOTH full-back Karoline Vernerisdóttir AND striker Jason Þórhallursson had to be helped from the pitch with knee injuries – and they’re not even the first!!! A similar injury befell veteran goalie Alexander Leonardsson, who has already flown home along with DISGRACED TROUSER PRESS SEX WEIRDO Emeli Vilbertsdóttir and will be going under the knife with a potential six-to-nine-month recovery time.

THANKFULLY neither Vernerisdóttir nor Þórhallursson are expected to need anything more drastic than an ice pack as they recover from more minor bumps and bruises, but it will still mean the blue-and-whites are without their RISING STAR Vernerisdóttir and their leading goal-scorer Þórhallursson as they take on Group A hot-shots Tequilo AND hosts Ethane. “Initial diagnoses are of no permanent damage,” said embattled coach Sigtryggur Brynjólfursson. “We’re hopeful both will be fit to play again by the play-offs.”

That’s if the HOBBLING Snow Wolves even make the play-offs! They suffered a MAJOR setback to such hopes with a 3 – 1 THRASHING at the hands (and knees!!!) of Bloumany. Dan Antoninsson grabbed a consolation goal for the below-par Snow Wolves, converting the penalty awarded for BULLY Isaac Cupstran’s SAVAGE tackle that ended Vernerisdóttir’s night, but was unable to fill Þórhallursson’s big shoes for the rest of the night after the striker limped off early, rolling his knee while running to collect a pass.

Can the under-the-pump Snow Wolves rebound? They have a bye day to rest up, but will have to scrabble together a back line without their first or second choice goalie (reserve keeper Fabian Snæþórsson picked up a second yellow and will be suspended for the Tequilo – leaving teenager Björnólfur Ernestisson to stand in!!!) OR either of their first choice full-backs!!! Even worse they will be without goal maestro Þórhallursson’s magic boot (and head!!!) against some of the toughest opposition they’ll have faced yet! Let’s just hope Brynjólfursson can hobble together 11 pairs of working knees!!!

Bloumany – 3 (2)
Polinoir; Relston, Potts, Parson, Lornet; Miller; Credab (55’ Zilva ), Freltron, Cupstran (63’) (69’ Peach ), Hunter (17’) (71’ Tinkery ); Cousins (41’, 81’)

Græntfjall – 1 (0)
F. Snæþórsson (88’); Johannesson, Farmansson (40’), Álfarsson, Vernerisdóttir (63’ Svennsdóttir ); H. Snæþórsson, Guttisdóttir, Jvarsson (45’ Bjørnsson ), Noahsdóttir; Dannysdóttir; Þórhallursson (35’ Antoninsson (63’ pen.) (76’))

ND brings you the TOP stories today:

• Immigrant crime horror
• Page 3 babe Emelíana says “I’d never date a lad who didn’t support aggressive deregulation of the securities industry!”
• EDITORIAL: In defense of absolute free speech, no matter which ethnic minorities claim to be offended
• BAN THIS SICK FILTH NOW! Time to gag lefties peddling gender nonsense to our children
• Does cheerleading cause cancer?

* OOC: A political scandal at the Vatnshlið Hotel has subsequently led to other scandals being dubbed ‘-hlið’ in Græntfjaller jargon.

[TJUN-ia]

By Peter Davis

Another set of group matches arrived in Betham and for TJUN-ia, the pressure was on. A not-so-comfortable victory over Rangers FC and a 2-0 defeat at the hand of Sarzonia meant we were in 4th. The shaky start has certainly put David Seems under a little pressure to try and improve fast and he hoped to do that against Yuezhou, the 2nd-lowest-ranked side in the group.

It started well enough as TJUN-ia took control for most of the first half, sending multiple chances towards Yuezhou's back five and GK Ruo Xiaolan. Though she certainly tried to keep the scored deadlocked, she couldn't forever and Kepo Ulawaya found his way through to score the first goal in the 36th minute. As the half time whistle blew, everything looked calm.

Then Yuan Zilai happened. He instigated his side's midfield press to perfection in the 2nd half, limiting the Jaguars' ability to send the ball towards the Top 3. All it took was for a little mistake from the TJUN-ian defence in the 67th minute to allow Liu Huiying to send the ball to an unmarked Huang Shedong, who made no mistake from just inside the box. Yuezhou duped Seems and his side, and the rest of the game was spent trying to get that advantage back. Carter and Andrews same on to try and get the lead back, but a resilient defensive effort from Yuezhou kept them at bay to give TJUN-ia the clean sweep of possible results before the bye: 1 Win, 1 Draw, 1 Loss.

The bye came and went and now the situation in Betham is clear: the Jaguars next 2 opponents, Mavinet and Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom, are ahead in the standings by 4 and 2 points respectively. With a game in hand on Mavinet, we must use these 2 games wisely in order to avoid Barunia from overhauling us from a point back. No matter how you feel right now, the first half is over: 3 more games remain. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group D - All group games at The Bay Reserve, Betham, Sylestone)
MD1: vs Rangers FC (141) - W 1-0 (T-2nd)
MD2: vs Sarzonia (28) - L 0-2 (4th)
-------------------BOOT IT!-------------------
MD3: vs Yuezhou (118) - D 1-1 (4th)
MD4: BYE (4th)
-------------------BOOT IT!-------------------
MD5: vs Mavinet (73)
MD6: vs Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom (77)
-------------------BOOT IT!-------------------
MD7: vs Barunia (96)

[Sarzonia]

The ending will not be one the Sarzonian national football team wanted for its manager Kevin Connelly.

That much is certain. After all, nothing short of winning a World Cup is enough for a team that reached that summit no matter how long ago you measure the last time Sarzonia accomplished that feat.

They took another two important steps toward getting the widely recognised consolation prize with a 1-1 draw against fellow group leaders Mavinet and a 1-0 victory over Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom.

The results don't clinch the Group D title for the Stars (3-1-0), but they go a long way toward helping them close in on a spot in the Round of 32. Sarzonia's 10 points leave the team six points clear of the fourth and final spot in the knockout rounds with Sarzonia having two matches remaining in the group stage.

"We knew going in that we would have the last matchday as a rest day," Connelly told the assembled media. "We could either find ourselves sweating out Matchday 7 or simply rest up and get ready for the Round of 32."

The Stars will go into their next two matches in prime position to qualify, but they will do so without a high-powered offence, though midfielder Brady Reynolds said the team have pretty much worked through the frustration of dealing with the Yuezhou trap.

"We got a result against them," he said. "That was vital for our psyche. We may not have figured everything out, but we did what we had to do when we had to do it here in the Cup of Harmony."

[Sulsuland]

*Sulsuland mourned as they lost their chance to win a giant planet sized cup, but mysterious figures approached the Sulsu for a chance to win something called a “Cup of Harp honey”. Not wanting to miss out on this chance, the Team of Sulsu stepped forward, and Dave’s Mom finally took charge of the team. With her in control surely the team would succeed (or at least break even).*

“Alright boys~” *said Dave’s Mom* “I’m going to make sure we see this through to the end. Our game is up against a team called the elephants, surely you big strong Sulsu have a plan for that~”

“ElePhanTS!?” *Spoke one of the Sulsu in shock.* “hoW SulSu SuppoSeD to plaY AgaInSt ElEphanTs?!”

“hoW dOes aN ElEphaNt EvEn DriBblE a BaLl?” *another Sulsu pondered, completely unaware of which sport they’re playing*

“It noT maTtEr! SulSu StiLl havE to FinD ouT hoW to WiN!” *another Sulsu spoke up*

*finally, after a good few minutes of bickering amongst themselves, one of the Sulsu finally spoke up* “If suLsu haVe tO plaY AgainsT ElEphanTs, whY nOt JusT alSo UsE elEphaNtS?”

*the team of Sulsu gasped, as they had not considered this idea, having elephants fight other elephants would surely be easiest*

“bUt hOw SulSu goinG To GeT ElePhanTs To PlaY? EvEryOne KnoWs SulSU noT An ElEphanT!” *one of the Sulsu pointed out*

“EasY” *spoke the Sulsu who brought up the idea as he pulls an elephant from around the corner somewhere* “juSt MakE ElephantS LooK likE suLsu!” *the Sulsu proudly proclaimed as he put a small wooden mask over the elephant’s forehead*

*the Sulsu team commended their fellow Sulsu for his ingenuity, this was a truly genius plan, and surely nobody could possibly tell the difference, these elephants would be vital to winning*

*little did the Sulsu know they weren’t playing against actual elephants, but rather just a team which called themselves the elephants. A score for the opposite team was impossible, and the winning shot went to Dave, who gave the Sulsu their first victory*

[Xanneria]

Domestic Season Over: What happened?

While the Cup of Harmony has been raging on over the last few days, I feel it would be great to have a refresher course of what went on earlier this year in the Football League of Xanneria's top teir. The Omega Division was a rather fun league to watch, albeit one dominated by the likes of the powerful Austin City. AC is back after a few years hiatus and the changing of the guard has taken place, with Devon Laymore and Carlton Brower leading a torrid attack jokingly called the "Father and Son Special" due to their age gap. Galaxy SC, were them usual selves, crushing opponents who lied in their path thanks to a new acquisition in Audioslavian bruiser Gilbert Hoogervorst. "Boot Scoot Hoogie" as he is now known to fans in the league, has proven a talented defender and a star in the making. Galaxy has not missed a beat with coach Johnny Summers, the loss of Coach Rhule to the national team was thought to be a death kneel for the Galaxy team, but Johnny has done just as well as his predecessor, even if there have been videos of him strumming a guitar on the sidelines. Bearden FC's dive into Transfer window worked wonders for the team. Bill St John the 10 Million dollar man himself looked great for the Bulldogs as they also had Squornshellian veteran Rodden Yasov lead the striker corp which saw all 8 rostered strikers score multiple goals. Pearlham SC snuck in to the final spot of the Challengers cup with Ellie Salumäe operating the defense and Josh Sutton co-ordinating the offense, the Revolutionaries were a sneaky good pic this year and could only get better with age. How the Hawthorne Kickers didn't make it in to the IFCF will be one of the great mysteries of FLOX football. The Kickers had a great defense and an amazing offense but it seems they simply couldn't pull through in enough games to surpass Pearlham SC. Rome Beach, had a vaunted defence, they finished 6th despite a major leg injury to Mareth Erseburg and , Kyle Reynolds,Pitruan Durano and Kasumi Maki held down the fort for the Bayou Bengals. Dursten Easterners were in the same boat as Rome Beach as they had a season start off amazing only for injuries to strikers Davey Correa and Axel Trudeau send them spiraling downward, Laurens Descrarivents(SP?) and Mo Kallah, could only do so much on defense while the offense stagnated. Reality TV Star Zach Bob may have stole headlines at Christopher Park Rangers, but it was striker Julio Brandon that lead the team to a super respectful 8th place finish in their first Omega Division season in 16 years. Reedostown did what the Cardinals do and languished midpack. They do have a promising young Keeper prospect Summer-Rose Stuart, who could easily start in a few years, but she looks like she needs some refinements before full time starting. Ferryman's 11 did little of note, but they do have a +11 GD so there's that. Everyone's favorite small market team Shorterville AC signed Squidroidian player Itoh Hosi and he's done incredibly well, scoring 35 goals in his first season nearly one goal a game and even had four hat tricks. That loud click noise you heard? That may the door closing on Delano City SC's time in the sun, a rebuild could be in the works soon! Welcome Back Alexandria City, Ama Gainborough did a marvillous job being thrust into the starting spot early in the season, and the Violets may be back int he Omega Division for a while now. The blow up at East End FC didn't work, the pieces never fell in the right holes and now the team is dysfunctional and what not, this could be interesting to see what happens. United Marietta FC is one of many stories not unlike the National Team. Reliance on a talented but aging Eddie Peralta has hamstrung the Gorillas and now they to are going to have to be aggressive on the Transfer market this year. Capital FC made some great moves in the transfer market, Pvt. Cody Denjamic and Ahmed Nazar did great at striker and will be a great pair int he future. The problem last year was getting them on the same field together as they both had several small injury problems that stacked up and cost the Stars dearly in the standings. ISC Catalan City probably are lucky to have Jox Alirome, like most teams down here, he had to deal with injuries and WC commitments depleting rosters. Thankfully through his leadership they stayed afloat and will live another season. Unlike Catalan, Hawthorne United couldn't escape the downfall, after last years debacle,a nd their roster moves didn't do much either, constantly getting overpowered on offense and overwhelemed on defense it was a mess, and so was Sporting New Arch

Krytenia-2
Belmwr - 48' 56'

Xanneria-4
Brower 39'
Feltzer 60' 63'
Presintino 88'

Tikariot-2
Aspinall 72'
Mosnyk 94'

Xanneria-3
Presintino 12' 60'
Feltzer 88'

[Sylestone]

Sylestone 1-1 Tikariot
In a thrilling game, Sylestone just managed to draw with a superb Tikariotian side to put themselves into fourth place on the Group E table. However, the intense scoreline wasn't the main part of the game. But we'll get to that unfortunate incident later.
Tikariot scored relatively early, in the 19th minute after Franklin Mosnyk crossed the ball to Jesson Morrison, who deflected it in. 1-0 to Tikariot in the early stages and what the scoreline should be. They were a good side and deserved to win. Half-time passed quickly and in the 67th minute, the Mixer had a penalty shot after being fouled in the box. In one of the most hilarious fuck-ups of all time, he slotted it about 5 metres over the top of the goal. He couldn't help laughing. Tikariot nearly had another chance but the ever-brilliant ironing board stopped the shot as it remained 1-0. Finally, in the 88th minute, the Stove got the big breakthrough and slotted an epic goal in after the Tumble Dryer passed the ball to him. An excellent deflection guided the ball to the bottom left-hand corner and the player in question was ecstatic. A bit too ecstatic. A stray spark escaped him as he was celebrating and by complete coincidence, landed on a tiny amount of ethane that was for whatever reason in the stadium. The entire city shook as people in the area fled for their lives. Then it blew. A massive 20x20m crater in the stands and 52 unfortunate people lost their precious lives. The Stove watched on, mortified, unbelieving of what had just happened. He walked into the changing rooms and wasn't seen for the rest of the day by any outsider.

SYLESTONE - 1
Stove 88'

TIKARIOT - 1
Jesson Morrison 19'

Sylestone 1-0 Twicetagria
Sylestone somehow defeated Pot 3 side Twicetagria in their fourth game of the 78th edition of the Cup of Harmony. The amazing result entrenched them in second, only behind Xanneria with 9 points from three games. The stunning result gave the side a huge confidence boost as they played extremely well. The defence was spot on, helped by the fact that Twicetagria's main striker was injured. The only goal was scored in the 65th minute by the Tumble Dryer.
Twicetagria barely got any chances at goal, the only real opportunity being in the 30th minute when a corner was shot wide of the goal. Sylestone didn't get too many chances either, nothing that Twicetagria's defence couldn't stop.
The second half was a little bit harder for both sides. But the stocky Appliance-laced defence was too good for Twicetagria as they kept them at bay, while the Tumble Dryer shot a wonderful goal in the 65th minute. After the catastrophe a few days ago, the Stove was very careful about what was happening as he was substituted for poor play in the 82ns minute. It didn't matter as Sylestone somehow won anyway, pushing them up to second place in Group E. It was the first time they felt as though they might just have a chance.

SYLESTONE - 1
Tumble Dryer 65'

TWICETAGRIA - 0

[Jeruselem]

Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas with fox ears, a fox coat and a tail for Naked News Jeruselem in Ethane

Hello, this is Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas or just Princess Kate for Naked News Jeruselem. Kate San if you're Japanese.
It's match day 3 and 4 in Cup of Harmony 78 qualification, and yeah ... interesting results.
Well, it wasn't a total disaster but it wasn't what we all paid for either!

Before people get riled up about me wearing dead fox, this is not made from real fox.

Match day 3 when Jeruselem took on Omerica.
This round, it was Oberour Ar Moro who had the bye.
Yeah, we got absolutely destroyed 5-1 by Omerica.
Our worst loss for quite a while, worse than any loss during the World Cup 86.
Worst every game!
OMG! What a disaster.
What caused it?
Well, the managed decided maybe we could see if we could get away with 2 defenders instead of our usual 4.
Yes well, all that happened is we got thrashed and looked like idiots.

Springmont drew 3-3 with Savigliane.
Northwest Kalactin upset Taeshan 2-1 but then Taeshan were struggling already anyway.

Our loss meant we were suddenly ... on the bottom on the table on 7th.
Yeah on one point and bloody last.
Springmont were 6th on 2 points and Taeshan were 5th on 2 points.
We have a situation with Oberour Ar Moro, Savigliane and Omerica being on 4 points.
Northwest Kalactin lead the table with 6.

So match day 4, and we're last. We kinda were in trouble.
Taeshan had the bye and well I guess would slide down the table.
Savigliane lost to Northwest Kalactin 4-2. Northwest Kalactin are looking real strong with maximum points so far.
Oberour Ar Moro ... well they lost to Omerica 5-3 in a kinda of repeat of our loss except we were far worse.
Omerica scoring 10 goals in 2 games!

So that left us playing Springmont.
Given we lost 5-1 last game, they must have felt confident.
But we're not finished! We won 3-1 because we went back to our normal formation which kinda works.
Not our best game but better than our last game.

So after 4 match days, the table is Northwest Kalactin on 9 and Omerica 7. Leading the way.
Then three teams on 4 points, Oberour Ar Moro, us and Savigliane in 3rd, 4th and 5th.
Taeshan are stuck on 2 points in 6th and Springmont are last on 7 as well.

But we can still finish far higher given the effect of the byes.
That loss 5-1 will be felt and if we don't qualify I can point to that game as our problem.
I doubt we can finish first from here.
Now, we cannot afford to drop more points as we have other teams who will benefit from our mistakes.
But we are doing better than Taeshan ... if that's any sort of thing.

Group E has leaders Xanneria in 9, with hosts Sylestone on 7 and Krytenia on 6. And bunch of teams on 4. The Jovannic are still pointless ... literally.
Group F Astograth leads on 9 with rivals South Newlandia and Indusse on 6 each. And guess what, another three teams in 4 points. And that team who has to be last - that would be Ziwana.
Group G has a different scenario! Vdara, Poafmersia and Tioguldós all on 7 points. Vdara has a massive goal difference of +6. Riena and Maccian are on 4 points so they aren't far behind. Saltstead on 2 and Southwest Eastnorth on 1.

OK, 3 rounds left and some teams have to account for mandatory byes.
You know, if we get our shit together we could qualify.
We could end up on 13 points which is pretty good, but ... we could be be completely awful as well.

A lot of people say I should be more positive about our prospects.
I'm trying but after that 5-1 loss recently, it's really hard.
Let's see we've had a bye, a draw, a loss and a win ... there's no consistency there.

Oh yes, some people are just plain dumb.
Sending death threats to a Kate Dallas, but ahem to the wrong email address.
Because I'm Princess Kate ... not just Kate so they aren't paying attention are they!
Not that it matters, they all get referred to the police.

That's all from Ethane, I'll be back for Match day 5 and 6, and 7 later ...

[Indusse]

IFA NEWS NETWORK

What makes the game? Is it the performance of the team or the support of the fans? It is certainly the support of fans. The reason for the choice is that 45% of the players aren't able to play well if there isn't spectators in the stadium. That is really a big obstacle that the team has to surpass. What will the team do if they are going to a place where no one supports them?. The team is planning to conduct a friendly tournament at Indusse inside a "bio bubble" to overcome this problem. There will be no spectators and the teams will be not able to leave the stadium and the corresponding bio bubble. The team has played good as well as bad in this CoH season. Out of the four matches the team lost two and won two.

Indusse 0-4 Astograth

Indusse 0-1 South Newlandia

Indusse 3-2 HUElavia
Baskar 25' -
Mersiás 65' -
Butea 76' -

Indusse 3-2 Ziwana
Mersiás 54' -
Baskar 79' -
Baskar 87' -

Source: INDUSSEAN NEWS NETWORK

[Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom]

True Tales from the Cup of Harmony
Pt. 2

---

Matchday 0, just after landing

Time froze in the stall for a moment. Bogdan sat on the throne perplexed and befuddled. After some moments he heard a knock. “Yeah, come in.” Bogdan said aloud looking up at a mirror, seeing his stunned baby face painted in the glass. “Landing in fifteen,” the voice replied. Rawić peaked his out of the bathroom seeing the lights has been turned on inside the cabin. “Alright boys, wake up” said a gruff voice. Bogdan walked out into the cabin. Everyone was now waking up, generally without a happy face. A man stood up, it was the captain and his rough five a clock shadow. “We’ll rise and shine when the sky isn’t black, Marko.” Bogdan walked past his seat to return Miloš’ phone.

The jet was buzzing with activity now, mostly groans and complaints about the Football federations cost cutting measure of landing at 3am. Bogdan was mostly quiet, brushing off a wellness check by Miloš. “So you know we have a bye, right?” one player asked the head coach. “Rekawić, we’re here to win. We can’t be Janko come lately.” The coach said. Rawić looked and saw the coach look to his left “No offense. Oh he is sleeping.” the head coached picked up a magazine and tapped the player “Wake up! Janko.” The player named Janko slapped away the paper and yawed. “We’re all tired,” the coach said, “but we’ll have a bye to kick off this thing. Let’s all get up now, and we'll rest later.”

After everyone was finally awake and seated, the plane landed on the island paradise of Sylestone. The team was to play in a forested section of the island according to the maps e-mailed to the Rekan players. There was a lot on this island to see and do. Bogdan however had mostly planned his days around playing for the team. A few of the others were apparently planning a few getaways in the exotic land. Bogdan felt the five guys on the trip would be fine without a tag along without wilderness experience, though the other men were obviously not knowledgeable. Bogdan got off the flight, a bit shaken by the wobbly flooring on the plane, but nothing poor happened to the young man.

At the airport Rawić went to the baggage carousel, trying to get the events from the morning off of his mind. Bogdan felt a slap to his shoulder blade. A voice familiar said, “Hey, big man! I didn’t see you on the flight!” Bogdan didn’t need to turn around at all to know who he was dealing with. “You woke up quickly, Janko,” Bogdan said. Janko chuckled and interrogated “You sleep well? Have room? You didn’t see my bag go around, did you?” Bogdan shook his head, “yours is there,” Janko said looking at the yellow and red two tone duffle bag, “nice colors. You got to get yourself some bags with wheels, kid.” Bogdan picked up his bag, “I work on my arms,” he said. As Bogdan walked away, the young man’s arm was tugged by Janko, who spoke softly “Did you hear the news?”

Bogdan froze up. “I got a text after we got off the flight,” Janko said, and replied he had not checked my phone. “They found a coach. I hope he see something in an old guy like me.” Bogdan chuckled, “You’re a club legend. I’m just a kid.” Janko shook his head. “There’s a lot more to do with a wonder kid. They never sold me or my brother.” Bogdan shrugged, and asked a quick question, “did they say anything about the roster?” “Nope,” Janko replied, still eyeing for his bag, “They haven’t even told the public.” Bogdan nodded, “well we will see,” he said walking away. As the pair parted way, Bogdan had a small smile as he heard Janko mumble about his bag. Bogdan knew that bag would be found. The luggage would delivered straight to Janko’s doorstep in Zeta Reka with a very kind note.

---

Match Day 2: vs. Barunia, before kickoff

While many teams played after the first day of the Cup, Zeta Reka was fortunate to draw a bye. This was good for Coach Marko Dusan, who was working hard at his job even now after those matches had finished. Dusan whispered to himself excitedly, “Wow, what an upset! Some mice scored five goals.” While Dusan was looking over notes, two players walked into the room. “I’m not putting four at the back,” Dusan said reflexively. He then inquired rhetorically, “We’ve never played Barunia, so what’s the difference?” Standing in front of him were two solid players for the national team. Janko Yakowić and a sober Mullow Dorboslawić.

Dusan stained at the pair and softly inquired on their well being “What the heck happened to you? Are you alright?” Dusan asked the pair. Mullow, with a big scratch on his face, piped up to explain himslf, saying "Sir." However, as Mullow spoke, Coach Dusan coughed loudly, “not you,” he said sternly, “What the hell happened to you?” Janko Yakowić stood there wearing a bright neon shirt, baggy jean shorts, and a pink sneakrs, “My bag, it’s missing,” Janko said. “So you went into his bag?” Dusan asked in reference to Mullow. “I got these from a friendly tourist,” Janko said with his head down. “Well,” Dusan muttered, “you’re gonna be wearing normal clothing when you play. But for crying out loud, find a store.”

Dusan looked at Mullow’s scabbed face, noting the damage. “A bad date?” He raised his brow at the carnage in confusion. “You could say he was a, as some people call them, birds.” Mullow piped up, “with talons, and eggs. It was territorial.” “I would hope she was,” Dusan said, “man and avian alike needs to protect their own from the diplomatic nightmare we have become.” All three men were quiet for a few moments. “You’re not playing like that.” Dusan said, “I can’t have you getting recut and bleeding all over the place.” Marko spoke every word with a greater sense of disappointment. “I need some space,” Dusan said, and the two players walked out with awkward faces.

After they left, Bogdan entered the room. “Gröss playing in Audioslavia was a god send,” Dusan said knowing his young striker would have seen the pair of embarrassed veterans. “You were not on that trip, right?” Dusan asked, taking off his reading glasses. “Yeah, I was at the hotel. I was thinking about a lot.” Dusan put down his papers, “Well,” he said, “I have been thinking myself. Sit down” Bogdan lifted his hands, “Sir, you’re working quite a bit, I don’t need special treatment.” Dusan shook his head and picked up a pencil. “No,” the old coach said, “I have time for my most professional player, sit down.”

Bogdan took a seat, brushing hair away from his face. “I saw the news.” Dusan said, “Big changes coming to Capital, yeah?” Bogdan nodded, “It’s nothing too much,” he said, “I am a bit worried about my place over there?” Dusan scoffed, “You? Impossible. You’re a top player, they’d never give you away.” Bogdan shrugged, “I don’t know, it’s just something I think they could do.” Dusan wrote on his paper, “You’re pretty nervous looking. I was like that when a new coach would come. The guys used to tease me over it, and you know what? People only sold me when it was my time.” Bogdan scratched his arm, not wanting to mention his knowledge on the subject. “I’d give it a few games,” Dusan said, “You’ll be walking it off by our third game.”

---

Match Day 4: vs. Sarzonia, long after the game

Bogdan sat in his hotel room, tapping a local food item with his spoon. The action was performative, as Bogdan listened to his agent talk about the contract situation with Capital. Given the events after the day’s game, this was an all important phone call. While Bogdan’s agent, and relative, was talking about the developments of the day, Bogdan’s memory began to replay the events of the day.

Zeta Reka had faced off against Sarzonia, a high ranked side with a lot of talent. Zeta Reka suffered their first lost of the group stage after two good wins. As the team milled into the back, a few faces were prepared for interviews with the small amount of press that talked to an out the way nation with little experience. Janko Yakowić got some attention for his odd attire he prepared for time relaxing in paradise. The press had seen it all in two days, including a rice farming hat from who knows where and a t-shirt with a doll advertisement. By now that buahaha had seemingly died down, and with a high rated opponent, nobody would want to talk to the Rekan players.

Bogdan Rawić had three well played games, scoring a goal against Rangers FC, and helping clean up for a few mistakes by his less capped partners up front. After failing to score, Rawić sat down in a relaxed state, closing his eyes, an old post game ritual. As Bogdan was deep in thought, his heart raced and the young man’s hindquarters jumped off the locker room bench. “Hey man,” the captain said, “You might want to go out there.” Bogdan shrugged, “Why, Barto?” Bogdan asked with an effeminate squeak. “If they’re not telling you, the internet will.” Bogdan brush his hair, making sure to go from just below his shoulders all the way to the top of his head. “You think I got that modeling contract Mullow joked about?” Bogdan asked, inciting a chuckle from the team captain. “I played with him, I take him about as seriously as you do on a normal day.”

Bogdan went to the press area, which was loaded with cameras, and it seemed like a few faces from outside of Zeta Reka, the closest woman didn’t even appear to be from a nation in the Cup of Harmony. Bogdan’s inner voice pondered the situation, “Did someone die? Did everyone forfeit?” Bogdan scratched his head and said, “Hello,” to the friendly faces, “Good game today, no? We did very well, but got outclassed.” One reported gave the first question, “Are you aware of the shifts at your club?” Bogdan moved back slightly, “Well, yes. We were all told when you were.” The woman spoke up, “Are you aware that three starters will be sold, and you’re on the list leaked online?”

Bogdan was stunned for the second time on this trip. By the evening meal he could not remember his response to the question. What he knew was the words he picked up from his agent. “Kid,” the gruff man said, “the bottom line is that Perlog is intending to sell you, and few other pieces. We know the board has some say in what happens. This will be alright.” Bogdan took a sip of water and talked quietly, “Alright, uncle. Thanks for your time. I’ll see you later.” The pair exchanged well wishes, and disconnected the call.

Bogdan blew some air out of his mouth, making his lips flap. Miloš was in the room as well, “All’s well that ends well,” Miloš said yawning. Bogdan rolled his eyes, “Thanks for the commentary.” The two men were quiet after the catty sounding response. “You know I’m just here because of the superstition Rybki has about us sleeping in a bed. You know? We get an average of a goal extra or we lose one, or something.” Bogdan got into the skinny bed, “We get less fouls too,” he said turning off the light, Bogdan closed his eyes, “Don’t snore like last time.” As Bogdan went to bed, he heard Miloš already snoring loudly and mumbling out his wife’s name. This would be a sleepless night. Perhaps that would be good for an active mind.

[Murphtannia]

Match day 3


"Hello and welcome back to the Cup of Harmony, I'm bill and I'll being going over the highlights of Murphtannia's 3-3 draw with Twicetagria, lets get started shall we."


[First Half]


[15th minute] The game started well for Twicetagria as their Main Striker Vladimir headed home a good cross, beating Ball to put Twice 1-0 up.


[30th minute] Twicetagria then went 2-0 up when their winger used his clever footwork to beat Bridges and fire into the top corner.


[45th minute] A terrible;e first half from Murphtannia as Twicetagria then went 3-0 up, with Vladimir being brought down in the box, Twice then scored the penalty but Vladimir had to be stretchered off, with the bone being visible out of his leg.

[Half Time] Twicetagria 3-0 Murphtannia, Murphtannia looked poor in that first half, struggling to make even make a pass, Twicetagria should be 6-0 up, Murphtannia appear to be proving why they were ranked the worst team at the world cup.


[Second Half]


[50th minute] Twicetagria had the chance to make it 4, however the free kick on the edge of the box was deflected away after a brilliant save by Ball, Twicetagria appear to be continuing their dominate first half performance.

[55th minute] Murphtannia however made it 3-1, when Cartlidge whipped in a fantastic cross for Murphy to head home, he's been working on his heading quite a lot recently and it paid off.

[70th minute] The Murphtannian fans were continuing to get behind the team as Jenkins played in a fantastic through ball into the path of Murphy who scored the 1 on 1 to make it 3-2, the comeback was on and Murphy appeared to have his shooting boots on.

[80th minute] Twicetagria had collapsed towards the end of the game, the momentum was with Murphtannia as they applied more and more pressure. That pressure eventually paid off when Murphy worked his way into the box, he then crossed the ball over the onrushing defender and into the path of Jenkins who headed it home to level the game.

He ran off in celebration as the fans went wild.


[91st minute] Following 3 subs that wasted the final seconds the final whistle went and Murphtannia had completed the comeback, it showed the character of the players and the team in general to fight their way back.

This has been a fixed start to life in the CoH, with the first 3 games resulting in a win,loss and draw. If Murphtannia want to qualify for the knockout stages then they will have to improve on this form however, and work on playing the way they did in the second half throughout the full game.

This result leaves Murphtannia in 6th however most other teams had a match day 4, while Murphtannia had a bye match day due to an uneven amount of teams. Therefore Murphtannia will have to improve if they wish to catch up to the other nations.

[Sargossa]

It may have been early days but Brian McAllister‘s changes were reaping some kind of fruit. Both the good and bad were visible in the Cup of Harmony’s opening fixture against Abanhfleft. Going forward the Corsairs looked incredibly dangerous. Fonseca and Varela gelled nicely in the centre of the park, while Leguizamo and Soria caused all kinds of problems as they switched positions in a pivot around the central striker Mauricio Sainz. It was Soria who opened the scoring, cutting in from the left before curling a well placed effort on his favoured right foot. Sainz swept in the second from Leguizamo’s cross and substitute Mauro Pereira’s well struck volley from twelve yards made it three for Sargossa. But at the other end the side struggled to adapt to a back four after so many years of three centrebacks. Abanhfleft took full advantage of the uncertainty, bagging three goals of their own. All in all it proved an entertaining debut for the new coach, and one that gave him plenty of food for thought.

It’s not just the man in the hot seat that is new, the whole Cup of Harmony experience seems very new indeed. It isn’t. This is in fact the twelfth time Sargossa has featured at a Cup of Harmony. But there are players in the squad who weren’t even born the last time the nation played in the competition. Thirty two years ago, at the sixty second edition of the tournament, Sargossa took on the likes of Zenic, Cosumar and Flardania in the group stage in San José Guayabal before losing to Saintland in the last sixteen. Now all new names feature in the fixture list. Strangely new names. Despite the Corsairs’ near one thousand senior fixtures the group drew threw up six brand new opponents.

One of those new opponents was currently being a massive pain. At the Avondale International Sports Stadium Sargossa and Huayramarca were currently locked in a goalless stalemate. The Corsairs’ were enjoying more of the possession but the Condors’ heavy press was given them no time or space to do much with it. Sargossan attacks were getting swamped. The opposition’s ‘mudslide’ strategy being aptly named. But where silky attacking play faltered a simple set piece did not.

The freekick was given some twenty five yards out, to the left of the Huayramarca penalty area. Esteban Leguizamo and César Goyoso stood over it while their teammates jostled with defenders in the box. Leguizamo lifted both arms high before running over the prone ball. Goyoso followed in after the feint, whipping in a right footed in swinger towards the far post. Big frontman Mauricio Sainz, and centrebacks Juan Esnáider and Máximo Moy all drifted towards that segment of the penalty area, dragging their markers with them. It was Esnáider who rose highest but instead of twisting to head at goal he directed the ball back across the face of goal. The unexpected change of direction caught the Condors flat footed and they could only watch on helpless as Agustín Soria drifted in at the near post to side foot the ball over the line.

There were big smiles in the technical area, the staff particularly gratified to see a set piece routine worked on during training come to fruition on the pitch. Smiles too because rookie boss Brian McAllister had now secured seven of the first nine points available to him as an international coach. With four of the seven side in the group advancing to the knockout stages a win over The Gothanita Isles in the next fixture should just about secure that, before the tougher tests presented by the experienced Mattijana and previous Cup of Harmony finalists Flavovespia.

[Flavovespia]

Mattijana 0-1 Flavovespia

Flavovespia remain without a goal conceded, and went into their bye with 7 points, thanks to this one goal victory over Mattijana. The two sides met in the Cup of Harmony 76, where a late goal by Marc Sharratt gave Flavovespia a 1-2 win. The team was largely lining up the same as the previous two encounters, only David Blythe in for Stephen Shepherd at right back was a change. Morale seemed high, but the team knew a win could put them in good standing prior to their bye.

Flavovespia were the ones with the majority of the possession in the opening 10 minutes, but it was Mattijana who got the first real opportunity of the game 12 minutes in. An out-swinging corner landed at the feet of a midfielder who took a fierce swing at the ball first time. The shot was on target, and it took a headed block just in front of the line by Alexander May to keep it out.

Flavovespia got their fair share of chances later in the half. Scott Coleman had his on target shot in the 27th minute turned around the post by a good save. The follow-up from the corner saw Tony Gardner head the ball just slightly wide, 10cm or so to the left, and it’d would’ve been the opener. The first half came to an end fairly balanced. No goals, but also no lack of action in a positive game.

It didn’t take long for the second half to produce a pivotal moment. On Flavovespia’s first attack, Scott Coleman charged towards the box, pulling the Mattijana defence out of position. A quick pass to Steven Hall put him through on goal. Hall’s finish was well aimed and powerful, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. 0-1 to Flavovespia, who now had the lead in this close encounter.

Mattijana know had the task of trying to get a goal past Flavovespia, who were as of yet keeping a clean sheet throughout. However the goal seemed to put more energy into Flavovespia than Mattijana. Jonathan Feld found space to try and shoot for his second of the tournament, but it flashed beyond the far post and out for a goal kick. The second half was looking like Flavovespia’s to dominante.

Despite Flavovespia’s good spells, it remained 0-1, and as the final 20 or so minutes arrived, Mattijana grew back in strength, and were looking close to an equaliser. A somewhat bold decision was taken to bring on David Lyons for Scott Vaughan, and Valentine Richmond for Christopher Ace. However both these players seemed to bring an extra lease of life to Flavovespia, who were just beginning to look lethargic. Mattijana were pushing forward, but the defence and midfield were working well to stifle any threatening attacks. An 83rd minute shot went close, but Aarif Muhammad tipped it away well. Paul Rodwell replaced Tony Gardner in the dying minutes, with Gardner taking a slight knock, but Flavovespia held out despite his absence. 0-1 it finished, 2 wins from 3 for Flavovespia.

After Matchday 3, Flavovespia were on 7 points, tied with Abanhfleft, their MD5 opponents. Sargossa were next up, with 4 points from 2. Mattijana and Megistos were both with 1 win and 1 loss. The Gothanita Isles lie 6th with their 1 point from a goalless draw with Flavovespia and Huayramarca are yet to get points, albeit with 3 still to play.

Halfway reflections

With Flavovespia on a bye, and no match report to write up about, it’s time for a retrospective on the Cup of Harmony so far, looking at the results and the squad.

Flavovespia have come away with 7 points from their first 3 games. Whilst it’s isn’t quite the perfect 9 points from 3 Flavovespia achieved last time at the Cup of Harmony, it’s certainly been a positive start of the side. One caveat is that they’ve of course played the bottom 3 of the group, but they have a points tally that sets them up nicely for a knockout appearance, assuming they can perform decently in the second half. At the top of Pot 2, the 9th best side by KPB ranking in the tournament, Flavovespia have so far not let the expectations on them falter.

In terms of goalkeeping, it’s hard to fault Aarif Muhammad, given the 3 clean sheets he’s kept. But for a bit of an error against Mattijana from a corner, he’s played at a very consistent level, and has looked far beyond his age of 22 years. A calm and composed goalkeeper with the talent to back it up, Aarif Muhammad could well on this basis be the #1 jersey wearer for a long time. The era of David Meehan in between the posts for Flavovespia looks to be at an end. Richard Hartwell is also one of the players with no minutes so far.

Clean sheets wouldn’t be kept without a solid defence, and Flavovespia have certainly found the recipe for that. In the Qualifiers, they averaged 1.44 goals conceded, 1.23 if you only include Arnold Stevenson’s 13 games. Tony Gardner has performed strongly, and his absence in the game against Abanhfleft is a question mark on how well Flavovespia could perform. However he isn’t the only strong performer. Alexander May has finally shown what it takes to be an international level defender, with well-timed tackles and good positioning, removing the recklessness of his game he’s exhibited before. Iain Brown and Paul Rodwell have only made sporadic appearances, but have made no glaring errors as of yet.

At left back, Scott Vaughan is bringing experience and an assertive defensive mindset to his game, and has made it difficult for attacks to work down the right flank against him. He’s showing himself to be a fine replacement for Ronald Maddox. David Lyons hasn’t featured much, but did show promise against Mattijana as a substitute. On the right hand side, David Blythe set up a goal in the opener, and was given a chance to start vs Mattijana He put any worries of being a weak link behind him, and was more than competent in defence. Stephen Shepherd seemed to fall off in terms of performance against The Gothanita Isles. He’s been put on the bench, and will hope to recover if his number is called up.

On the flanks in midfield, Jonathan Feld has repaid the faith shown in him by Arnold Stevenson. He opened the scoring 45 seconds into the tournament for Flavovespia with a tricky shot to pull off. Since then he’s always been a threat on the left-hand side, showing a high work rate to pose a threat. Christopher Ace also found himself on the scoresheet in that same game against Huayramarca. Since getting into the national team on a more consistent basis, he’s shown a great turn of pace, and good dribbling. Keeping up pace for the whole 90 minutes and his passing and crossing could do with a little work however. William Somers made an appearance against The Gothanita Isles, but couldn’t change things.

At the heart of the midfield, James King and Murad Ahmed have been stars. Solid defensively, they’ve stifled attacks through the centre and often controlled the midfield. James King is as good as ever with his passing, and Murad Ahmed looks dynamic and keen to chase down any ball and any player. In the front of the midfield, Steven Hall continues to star in his new centre attacking midfield role. He’s gotten a goal, assisted another, and been a thorn in the side of any defence. The captain once again shows why he’s one of Flavovespia’s stars. Valentine Richmond has made 2 substitute appearances, with so-so levels of performance. David Clark similarly didn’t make a notable impact in his one and only appearance from the bench.

Up front, and Scott Coleman hasn’t quite hit the goalscoring form of the Qualifiers, although not from a lack of trying. He’s provided an assist to Steven Hall, and Coleman is linking up well with the attacking midfield trio behind him. A bit more composure in front of goal to return to his previous form, and he could be a star for Flavovespia. Ramon Martin, Mark Paul and Marc Sharratt are still waiting to get on the pitch, a bit of a reluctance from Arnold Stevenson to sub off Coleman or change formation.

Around the groups

Group A – Tequilo look all but assured of a place in the knockout stages, a Pot 2 side living up to their rank. Pot 1 Mercedini and the co-hosts and Pot 3 Ethane have struggled so far, both near the bubble of making it through. It could be a surprise exit for one of those 2 sides. Graintfjall, the most recent Cup of Harmony winners, are looking good so far in a debut cycle most nations dream of.

Group B – New Lusitania are making up for their disappointment last time out, with a perfect record so far. Valladares also look strong, albeit with a critical game against New Lusitania coming up. Cheergirls and Squidroidia have both impressed in their bid for a knockout stage appearance. However, 2 teams underperforming their rank, Geektopia and Kohnhead will be playing hard to avoid an early upset.

Group C – With 1 draw each, the Top 3 seeds, Abanhfleft, Flavovespia and Sargossa are the top 3 of the group, and all will be quietly believing a knockout appearance is in sight. Flavovespia have the toughest schedule left though, and a win for Megistos would put them much closer to the knockout stages. The other 3 sides need to win as many as possible to avoid being one of the 24 early departures.

Group D – 10 points from 3 10 points from 4, Sarzonia are living up to their early billing as one of the top sides in the tournament. Mavinet and the up and coming Zeta Reka and Hugeltadom will be pleased so far and will hope to see it through to the knockout stages. TJUN-ia have a tough couple of fixtures coming up, so qualification is still wide open in the group.

Group E – Xanneria’s perfect record will give them much belief they can go through to the Final 32. Co-hosts Sylestone will hope to make home advantage count and make it into the knockout stages despite a lowly rank going into the tournament. Despite some big wins, Krytenia haven’t lived up to the billing of some of their fans and neutrals, and know a loss to Tikariot or Twicetagria could be terrible for their chances of making the knockout stages.

Group F – 4th placed last time, Astrograth are looking strong for another knockout stage appearance. South Newlandia and Indusse are next up, although they’ve played 4 games so far. That’ll give hope to the likes of HUElavia and Ziwana that they can turn it around, having arguably underperformed so far.

Group G – Vdara are a nation that have really shone this cycle, and top this group with a game in hand. Poafmersia and the most recent Baptism of Fire runners up Tioguldós are 7 points from 4 games so far. Pot 3 Riena face Pot 4 Maccian in the next Matchday, and that could very well be a knockout decider.

Group H – A perfect record and topping the group with a game in hand, Northwest Kalactin are performing very well at this stage. Less so are Taeshan, 23rd in the KPB rankings, but without a win so far. Could one of the pre-tournament favourites make a shock group stage exit? Jeruselem from Pot 2 are also in the bubble, in a group that has looked very competitive and not going by the rankings at all so far.

[Northwest Kalactin]

Sednah Grabs a 3-0 Start at CoH
New Kalactanian manager Jared Sednah has gotten 3 wins in a row at the 78th Cup of Harmony. Sednah has recently taken the job over from longtime Kalactanian manager Damon Schecter.

The 3 and 0 start is looking good for the team, which included a win over the other Kalactanian manager that is with a national team, and Savigliane manager Edward Hernandez. Sednah scored a 4–2 win against Savigliane and Hernandez, which put the Kalactanians at first in the group so far.

Sednah has held up the attacking style that has been seen of previous Kalactanian teams, but also showed some very good defensive proficiency, with a 10-3 Goal Differential so far.

The biggest win so far for the Kalactanian team was surely the 2–1 match over pot 1 squad Taeshan, who came into the tournament as one of the highest rated squads. Jimmy McCarthy won man of the match, registering a goal and an assist in a great effort to help win the game.

The Kalactanian team may have their next toughest match against the Princesses of Jerusalem, who are the pot 2 team, and one of the most experienced teams in the world. Jerusalem sits at third in te group right now, with a 1-1-1 record, so a win will be huge for our chances.

Sednah has praised the play of his strikers during the Taeshan matches, being able to break through the strong defensive side of Taeshan.

He was quoted saying: “Our strikers have given this team a great boost as of late. They have been able to overcome adversity against high ranked, strong defensive teams and break through the defensive side and score. If they keep this up, our team can go anywhere they want.”

The Taeshani team, who the Kalactanians just played recently, have had a very rough start to the Cup, and have not managed to grab a win yet. They are one of the best quality exams in the tournament, but have not managed to come through with good matches yet.

Sednah has been dubbed as “overconfident” and “full of himself” lately, but these results may be confirming that he can actually do something good with this team. He has taken over from a very rough situation, and turned it into a good one, while also keeping all the players happy and multiplying team morale.

Weather or not this run ends up lasting for a long time, this is a very good start for what could be a great era for the Kalactanian team. Once again, only time will tell when it comes to Sednah, but maybe that 13 cycle contract wasn’t that bad anyways.

[Mercedini]

78th Cup of Harmony MD3 Review
Ethane vs. Mercedini
@ Senitent Oval - Kirkham, Sylestone

Good evening everyone and welcome back to the Cup of Harmony, coming to you from Ethane and Sylestone for it's 78th edition. We have seen two Mercedinian matches thus far, with neither really lighting up the group in any way, shape or form. It means the Golden Eagles have work to do when it comes to securing a spot in the knockouts, but they have the time and the space to do so if they are able to grind out results like they did in qualification. In the second double header of the group, Mercedini have co-hosts Ethane before they hit pause on the campaign for their mid-groups break. This gives them time to recoup their fitness and strategies for the rest of the group, and allows Dini to look ahead and let the group unfold before them. Without a win and without a loss, let's see whether the Golden Eagles can record their first win against dark horses Ethane.

Cup Of Harmony: The C2H6 Factor

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FINAL SCORE

COH | MD3

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ETHANE 0
MERCEDINI 1
Garzallo 87'

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Kirkham, Sylestone
Attendance - 17,003

They were made to work for it in what looked like the perfect stalemate, but one moment of brilliance from Garzallo lit up the darkness to give Mercedini an escape route in the game which was won by the narrowest of one goal to nil. It, of course, records the first win of the tournament for the team and lifts them safely into the top four with a game in hand over the teams above them. While the win was welcomed by many, with many fans and pundits singing the praises of Garzallo for his effort, Dini are three games into the tournament and have never really left second gear which is a worry. The results need to come sometime soon, and so do the performances.

The match between Dini and Ethane was always going to be hotly contested, the highest ranked team in the group versus the tournament co-hosts is something that neutrals relish, along with fans of both sides. The match, hosted by the Sylestonian Sentient Oval, meant there were rather muted crowds in the arena for the match, but those which had chosen to stay in Kirkham were greeted by a tight and tense game of football.

Neither side were able to flex their footballing muscles throughout most of the game, with the opening eighty minutes defined by lacklustre passing and scrappy chance, with the best chance falling to the main Ethanian striker, who couldn't convert from close range as the ball fell to him from a corner. It was an overall disappointing performance from Mercedini, with even Talisky and Dostalok missing the mark, after they have been so prolific earlier in the campaign. As stated before, it was the only shot on target which defined the match, snatching away the points in favour of the Golden Eagles with less than five minutes to go in the match.

The ball once again fell for Garzallo on the edge of the box from a corner, with the Zoloroni Met winger taking a touch before releasing a curled thunderbolt into the top corner to settle the match there and then. Players who were in the box were calling on Garzallo not to shoot, but to cross instead, but they were laughing at the ran across to the goalscorer who was celebrating in the corner with a small group of fans who had made their way to Kirkham to support their national team. Following that Dini only needed to last another two minutes of added time before the final whistle. The referee blew to small cheers from the travelling fans, but it was less than convincing at best, and downright disappointing at worst. In the end, a win is a win, and that will do wonders for the chances of this young-ish side going forward. In Kirkham, it finished Ethane 0, Mercedini 1!

. Group A                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts   H2H
1 Tequilo                          4   3  1  0    7   4  +3   10   1-1
2 Graintfjall                      4   2  1  1    6   6   0    7   2-2
3 Blouman Empire                   3   1  2  0    6   4  +2    5    -
4 Mercedini                        3   1  2  0    4   3  +1    5   N/A
5 Ethane                           3   1  0  2    4   3  +1    3   1-0
6 Delaclava                        3   0  1  2    1   3  −2    1    -
7 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles      4   0  1  3    5  10  −5    1    -

Looking through the rest of the group, and despite the 1-2-0 record and a current plectment of fourth, Mercedini's outlook on the group is looking somewhat positive, looking at the rest of the teams they need to play. With draws against Tequilo and Graintfjall, and their most recent win against Ethane, they still have to play Blouman Empire in third who also have a 1-2-0, plus Delaclava and Pluvia, who are yet to win in the group and are most at risk of elimination. The Golden Eagles have a straight run of games through to the end of the group stage, three wins out of three could very well mean Dini finish top of the the group, provided Tequilo don't win both of their remaining games. A win or a draw in that situation for Tequilo would mean it would go down to goal difference.

A win at any point for Mercedini would all but wrap up a spot in the knockout rounds with games to spare, but it all depends on the other results in the group to determine the seeding of the Golden Eagles in the hotly contested Round of 32. Looking through the rest of the groups, it seems as if there won't be any shock eliminations at this early stage, only Geektopia (41st, 6th highest at tournament) and Taeshan (23rd, highest ranked at tournament) lying outside of the qualifying spots from Pot 1.

Plenty of dust still needs to be settled for us to make a general outlook of the tournament , but this is already being billed at one of the most unpredictable Cup of Harmony tournaments to date. We hope you can stick around for the conclusion of the groups and the tournament, we hope to see you in a few!

[Kohnhead]

Promising start heads sour against Squidroidia

After a promising win against Valladares and a good performance against New Lusitania we were in a good position. Alas Squidroidia would of course upset us 3-2 to send us reeling. While we would fortunately pick up a draw against Geektopia 4-4 to somewhat avenge their 6-2 thrashing of us we are in a very tough position here. Let's take a lot at how our group table is aligning with the current ranks.

Group B              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 New Lusitania          3   3  0  0    9   2  +7    9
2 Valladares             4   3  0  1    5   3  +2    9
3 Cheergirls             4   2  0  2    2   4  −2    6
4 Squidroidia            3   2  0  1    5   4  +1    6
5 Kohnhead               4   1  1  2    8   9  −1    4
6 Geektopia              3   0  1  2    6   8  −2    1
7 Orion Islands          3   0  0  3    2   7  −5    0

In 1st place we have New Lusitania who are really trying to avenge their extremely poor performance in the last Cup of Harmony where they failed to make it out of the Group stage despite being the favorites. They are coming off of a 4-1 thrashing of Orion Islands and with only having played 3 games the worst ranked pot 2 side looks destined to advance.

In 2nd place sit the 82nd ranked pot 4 side Valladares who have won 3 out of their first 4 games their only loss coming to The Brains. Valladares were ranked as the 2nd worst pot 4 team so it is a little surprising to see them this high but they have played extremely well beating pot 1 side Geektopia. Their 2 remaining games see them take on the very good Squidroidian side, and the first place team in New Lusitania so they will need to play well to clinch advancement.

In 3rd place we have the Cheerleaders, Cheergirls. Cheergirls have taken advantage of a relatively easy schedule thus far and have 2 wins in 4 matches which puts this highly ranked pot 5 side in 3rd of our group. If we go by goal differential they are overachieving but they are coming off of a hard ofught 1-0 victory against Squidroidia who any Kohnheadian player can tell you are a good team. Cheergirls have to play us the pot 3 side, as well as pot 1 side Geektopia who are in dire need of points.

In 4th place we have the afore mentioned Squidroidia who are a top ranked pot 6 side. Squidroidia was a top pick to be a surprise advancement and they have shown that thus far defeating us and pot 1 side Geektopia in two thrilling matches. Squidroidia having already had their bye are a great place right now tied with Cheergirls on points and holding the h2h win against 2 of the 3 teams trying to unseat them from the final transfer position.

In 5th place we have us the pot 3 side. We are one of the worst pot 3 sides which makes this an amazing draw for the pots 5-7 teams as the 4 highest ranked teams in this group are all in the bottom 3 of their pots. You know what they say group B is for bad, anyway we started off quite well with the close match against New Lusitania and the win against Valladares but a loss to Squidroidia and a 4-4 draw against Geektopia have put us down in 5th without our bye. However we have had the toughest schedule so far out of anyone in the group and get to play pointless Orion Islands, and the pot 5 team in Cheergirls whom we should both be able to beat. If we get those two wins we will be advancing.

6th place has the pot 1 side Geektopia who are coming off of a good qualifiers where they beat us 6-2 in one of the matches. This is really unexpected as Geektopia has suffered losses to Squidroidia and Cheergirls with the draw against us being their only source of points. While by no means out of it yet they are going to need to play flawless football against some of the best in the group if they want to advance.

7th place on 0 points has the Orion Islands who are tied for the 2nd worse team in the entire tournament. They have not gotten a single point and while not technically eliminated their chances of advancement are extremely low.


My final predictions for how our group finishes which means this definitely isn't goint to happen is as follows
1. New Lusitania - They've played very well and are definitely deserving of this spot
2. Squidroidia - Yep I'm on the Squid train as they finish a convincing second
3. Valladares - A good tournament sees them finish 3rd convincingly
4. Kohnhead - I see us winning the last two matches to finish 4th, but I probably just jinxed us
5. Geektopia - They go on a late run but ultimately their slow start prevents advancement
6. Cheergirls - I'm not buying into their form so far, the goal differential says it all, although this will probably cause them to beat us 3-0
7. Orion Islands - Do I even need to explain this?

[South Newlandia]

My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined – Cup of Harmony Coverage

After a six point start, the Elephants had excellent chances to make something happen, like maybe even an early qualification, or at least coming close to that. Nope.
First, there was the re-match from the last Cup of Harmony; South Newlandia versus Electrum. Two years ago, the Elephants defeated the former World Cup champions 1-0, but it wasn’t quite enough this time. Despite an early South Newlandian goal thanks to a nice shot by Finnley Wallis in the 5th minute, after a nice pass back from Brandon Irving, the Electrumite team turned it around before half-time. The Elephants had a few good chances late in the game to get at least a draw, but they, well, didn’t. Glossman, who came into the game as a substitute for Simon McCabe, notably missed three “100% chances” (Wolverine, after the game). That was acceptable. Electrum is just out of the top 100 currently, but once again, former World Cup champions. Losing against them, in an approximately equal game, is acceptable. Losing to Sulsuland is not.

It was match four of the group stage, and South Newlandia, still in second place, would play Sulsuland, all the way down in last with just one point. The pot three team against pot seven. And, of course, as it always seems to go, it ended up with the Elephants coming short, 0-1. Why?

Losing to Sulsuland isnt great, but the real problem wasn’t that. The real problem was that Sulsuland was the better team over ninety minutes. Then again, this game was slightly special. The team from Sulsuland, already notably strange (they are from Sonnel, after all), seemed to not be themselves that day. They almost seemed like they were a lot bigger than usual, and also much greyer. The occasional noises that sounded like elephant trumpets were also quite surprising. The faces absolutely looked like they supposed to, though, and officials have said there was most certainly no foul play. Who are we to say they are wrong? Anyways, thanks to some of the players mysteriously also having four legs (for all the non-math people, that’s about twice as many as South Newlandians have!), the South Newlandian team didn’t stand a chance. A score for a character called “Dave” (one of two that seemed as they always do), whose view was just slightly obstructed by a very big opponent, Sulsuland was ahead early. The South Newlandian strikers never even got close to scoring a goal, there was always a leg in the way. Two incidents of opposing players accidentally stepping on South Newlandian players (once Roy and once Mohamed) fortunately left neither player seriously harmed. With the 0-1 loss that saddened quite some fans, the Elephants remain in second place, still on six points. On the other hand, with a game less to play and the top two opponents, Astograth and HUElavia left, things are starting to look grim for the Elephants. A group stage exit, something that wasn’t considered possible ahead of the Electrum game, is suddenly the most likely option. The next two games are double-headers again, but with their bye day coming up, the Elephants only have to prepare for one. They will be facing Astograth, who are topping the table with nine points out of three games so far, and the team is absolutely expected to reach the knockouts at this point. The Elephants will be the big outsider here, but the slightly changed team of Wolverine is not going down without a fight. The formation will be:
Rigby – Roy, Anderson, Gurero, Wright – Kaperrama, Lancaster, Young, Bishop – Irving, Cohen

One thing is clear to see, Wolverine is switching almost the entire team. Only five players remain from the last starting eleven, that being the four defenders and Brandon Irving. Rufus Rigby getting some time to show his skills was pretty much expected, but Kaperrama, the eighteen year old in Midfield and Young, only two years older, are a surprise to see. Additionally, Lancaster and Bishop, both of them decent alternatives, will be back, and Bjorn Cohen will have his big return to the international stage, having missed the qualifiers and some more after his big injury in the Campionato Esportiva. It’s going to be an important game, not only for the team, but also for the coach; Robert Wolverine might get into hot water with a group stage exit, and that would be almost unavoidable in case of a loss.

[Valladares]

Four games into the 78th Cup of Harmony in Sylestone and Ethane, Valladares' Cup of Harmony campaign looks to be well on track with La Nacional sitting in second place in Group B and in a good position to advance to the next round of the Cup of Harmony after three wins and only one defeat. While the numbers are in some way a confirmation of the team's rebound that began from the midpoint of the World Cup qualifiers after a terrible start, Dagan manager at the Valladar Football Association's service Jessica Curran has been still unable to win over the most skeptical fans, who perhaps by that string of results, perhaps by the playing style which isn't entirely appealing to the average fan, or perhaps merely by blatant sexism, want the VFA to do a turnaround and dismiss her, which VFA chairman François Boudou has already ruled out several times.

But she's definitely making progress. The team might not be the goalscoring machine that has been steered over the years by the likes of Marín, Dhanda or Oliveira, but its defensive performance has greatly improved. And best of all, over the field of the Chamberley Institute of Sport, they have proven to be mostly efficient against rivals such as Geektopia, Cheergirls, and the Orion Islands. Precisely, La Nacional opened up their Cup of Harmony adventure against Geektopia, which was taken by the Valladars as sort of a rematch after their meeting in the previous edition of the same competition in which the Geektopians denied Valladares the chance to finish on top of their group and have a much easier path in the knockout rounds.

This time the outcome would be entirely different, though, as Curran took her lessons from the second-to-last game of the Oliveira era and made avoiding the match from turning into a goalfest her main priority. The Valladars exerted high pressure in the middle of the field with Leonardo Rojas and Christian O'Brien and succeeded in keeping the Geektopians at bay for most of the match, while at the same time having both Ronald Mickel and Mateo Padilla wreak havoc in the Geektopian area with their constant incursions through the wings. At the end of the day, a goal in each half ended up doing the job for La Nacional, with Wilfried Baume (22') and Aymeric Fortin (77') securing Valladares' first set of three points in the competition, while Rahne's 86th-minute goal for Geektopia did not serve any other purpose than making up the score.

The second game against Kohnhead was another close affair in which Valladares deserved to have scored at least once. Having a slight edge in possession, La Nacional enjoyed the best chances of the match especially with Thibault Benezet, who was the most insistent player on the opponent's area but was unable to turn at least one of those options into goals. Unfortunately to Valladar interests, the Brains only needed to capitalize on their first big chance to win the match, with a combination between Charles Laker and Nicholas Raddison ending with the latter scoring what would be the only goal of the match, leaving the team with three points in the group.

Against Cheergirls, the defense had its most solid performance so far in the competition, with keeper Paulo Gaviria finally earning a clean sheet in part thanks to the good job of the defensive trio as well as both Rojas and O'Brien and in part thanks to Cheergirls' general disorder, with 10 players running around the field without a clear offensive or defensive plan. Eventually, Burnaby SC striker Pierre Vasseur, who replaced Alexandre for the second half, scored the winning goal in the 73rd minute following an assist by Ronald Mickel. Vasseur was able to find a hole in the topsy-turvy Cheergirls box and fired a shot towards the upper left corner of the goal. However, Valladares' troubles at turning options into goals became more evident in this game, with La Nacional and their strikers wasting no less than 8 clear-cut options during the match which could have given them a much bigger win.

The consolidation of Jessica Curran's idea came in the match against the Orion Islands, where for the first time in the tournament, the Valladars managed to stage a comeback. As it had happened against Kohnhead, the Orionites took the lead in their first real chance to score early in the first half (12th minute), however, La Nacional were quick to equalize as Alexandre managed to get rid of his marking and ran towards the Orion Islands' goal, but found a rival defender and was fouled as soon as he entered the box. The referee correctly indicated the penalty and the Montreal Koreana striker himself was in charge of exchanging it for a goal when the clock marked 20 minutes. From that moment on, the Valladars were able to keep the Orion Islands players at bay, while also creating dangerous chances in the other area of the field, and eventually got their reward in the second half with Mateo Padilla scoring the winning goal with 15 minutes to go in the match.

With nine points and currently sitting in second place of their group ahead of two crunch games against Squidroidia and current leaders New Lusitania, Jessica Curran and La Nacional look well-positioned to clinch a ticket to the last 32 of this Cup of Harmony edition. Next up for the Valladars is a bye day, which constitutes a chance for the Dagan manager to draw up a suitable strategy to deal with these two sides, which also have high odds of advancing to the next stage of the competition. The fans however are expecting the team to improve its offensive production, and while the memories of the recent third place at the last Copa Rushmori are still fresh, the Valladar NTs of the Maríns, Dhandas and Oliveiras still remain stronger in the imaginary of a fanbase that is impatient for its team to recover its prestige and its rightful place in multiversal football. And of course a deep run in the Cup of Harmony would be of great help to this goal.

[Taeshan]

"Northwest Kalactin, really Northwest Kalactin"?

"Yes sir, 2-1."

"Northwest Kalactin"?

"Yes, like is I said..."

"Northwest Kalactin. Two World Cups we were defeating top 10 ranked sides in the Group stage and winning groups giving ourselves a shot at the Quarterfinals and who knows after that, and now we can't beat Northwest Kalactin in a damn Cup of Harmony match"?

"Well see it was...It was not ideal conditions."

"What was the ball to circular? Did the Goalie forget he could use his hands in the box"?

"Well it was a rough performance, and they could still advance..."

"Northwest F***ing Kalactin. Can't beat them we might as well quit playing football at this point."

"Well they just need to get results against Jeruselem and Savigliane and they are likely though."

"We just went through that in the World Cup qualifiers. Oh you just need to win your last two games and you can qualify, nah fam, we'll just tie are way to a Cup of Harmony, be the top seed and just pretend like we don't know what a football is."

"Well sir..."

"Northwest f***ing Kalactin. I've had peewee teams with more skill than Northwest Kalactin."

"Now sir I highly doubt that."

[Ethane]

Injuries abound in incident at King Edward IV Stadium

An explosion during the Tikariot vs Sylestone Cup of Harmony match has killed 52 and injured hundreds of spectators, reports indicate.

Tikariot were in the lead for much of the game, after Jesson Morrison scored in the 19th minute. They dominated early on, and reaped the rewards for it. And it seemed like victory would be heading their way. Until the 88th minute. When Stove slotted in the leveller off a great pass by the Tumble Dryer. Drama late on.

But that wasn't the real drama of the match, as the long injury list confirms. After the initial explosion and the mass panic in the stadium as people fled to safety, security and the police feared it was a tragic terrorist attack aimed at one of Ethane's many great passions - sport. What was worse about this was that it was at a match between two international teams. You kill people and you damage the reputation of Ethane as a safe and solid nation to host a tournament in. Fortunately, it was discovered not to be a terrorist attack, though the actual cause of the incident was far more unfortunate, and surely uncomfortable for an appliance that plays a regular role in The Flame League.

The explosion actually came from the celebration of the levelling goal. Stove got overexcited in celebration, and ended up releasing a few sparks in to the stadium. One of these sparks, in his overexuberance, tragically connected with some loose ethane located in the stadium. The spark ignited said Ethane, causing the devastating explosion in the arena. 52 dead. Many more seriously injured, with numerous individuals in a critical condition within Ethanian hospitals, where they are under constant observation and treatment.

The scale of the damage is also only now becoming clear. The explosion ended up blowing a 20 metre squared hole in the stands where the fans sat. Many died, some were injured. The explosion also caused debris to rain down over the whole stadium, with several people seriously injured by flying debris from the explosion.

The stadium will be a write-off for the remainder of the tournament after the incident, with all the games moving from the stadium to the back-up stadium which is completely prepared for scenarios such as this. All games will now occur in The GLENT Pit in Deloitte, which has a capacity of 15,000 while expansion works are under way.

Repairs on the stadium are the least of anyone's concerns right now, but will most likely be done ready for some time during the next world cup qualifying campaign. The numerous lives that have been lost cannot be recovered though, and Stove and the Sylestone team of appliances will forever have that on their chest.

Additional safety measures will also now be in place wherever Sylestone or non-human participants compete in an Ethanian stadium. This precautions will include increased security presence, threat level assessments, thorough cleaning to prevent further ethane contamination within the stadiums, and a larger distance between the field and first row of spectators. If a match is deemed to be too dangerous to play in front of fans, then the decision will be made to play the game without fans for the safety of everyone. This regulations will be in place until at least next world cup qualifiers, when safety checks and concerns have been fulfilled.

[Krytenia]

Sentient Toilets, Meet Wet Bog Roll
By Rami Niblick in Halpenley, Sylestone

SYLESTONE is a nation probably best know to Krytenians for their penchant for sending a football team of sentient objects and appliances to recent World Cup qualifying competitions. In truth, they're outnumbered by the people of the nation, but for whatever reason the national football asssociation decided that was the way to go.

For now, though, Sylestone is the home of the Krytenian national team as they attempt to negotiate the knockout phase of the Cup of Harmony. The road ahead is fraught with obstacles - none more so that the potential of a quarter-final against old rivals Sarzonia should they get that far - but to advance from the first knockout stage they have to face up to a rather more recent chapter in Dragons history.

Six years ago, Jerome Jaffacake-Phillips began his stint as manager of the Krytenian national team by welcoming the Incorrigibles of Omerica to Ashton for the opening match of the World Cup LXXXV qualifiers. Omerica...did not expect to win. In fact, they even sent a second string side in the hope that the team's big guns would be well rested for what they expected to be the more important game against Newmanistan. Even the famed Blog de Football agreed with Krytenian predictions that the Dragons would walk away with the full complement of points, whilst jokingly concluding that "we may be completely wrong and the Kryties have the structural integrity of wet bog roll. Also, we think Martin Wallander may be part dog."

Now I'll be the first to admit that the jury's still out on the Wallander thing, but they were dead on the money with the Krytenian team's resemblance of saturated toilet paper. Krytenia's defence provided about as much resistance as an ant with a placard, and Omerica's reserves ran roughshod over their opponents, putting five past a laughable back line and an overworked Damian Carpenter. It's a day that will live long in the memory of Jean-François Fernand, who scored a hat-trick that day to forever etch his name into the history books. Krytenia would gain a modicum of revenge in the return game, winning by three goals to two, but the damage had been done.

And that brings us full circle. JJP's time in charge started with defeat to Omerica; with the vultures circling over the gaffer's head, another defeat to the same side may just end it. One thing is for sure, though; this is one match where Krytenia will not be underestimating the opposition. Onward!

[Tikariot]

Alistair McIntosh: Another two games lay behind us and so far this Cup is anything but harmonic for Tikariot. This is "Harmony Now!" on Tikariot Sports TV!



presented by



Alistair McIntosh: Four games into the Cup of Harmony and things are not going as planned at all, so we will be having some analysis on what happened and what went wrong and maybe on what could be done to turn around our fortunes. Our special guest tonight, from Tikariot Sports+ is Walter Bismuth, a legend in Tikariotian sports TV, welcome to the studio.

Walter Bismuth: Thank you Anton.

Alistair McIntosh: Alistair.

Walter Bismuth: I'll take the elevator, thank you.

Alistair McIntosh: Uh, alright, with us in the studio, as usual, are Duncan Haldane and Martin Seagrave and it looks like we hit our first real roadblock.

Duncan Haldane: Indeed. In a way it was just a matter of time before things would not run as smoothly, but it still stings.



Martin Seagrave: Sylestone is kind of an odd opponent for us. There is no other team we've played more often and, well, they are just special in so many ways, hahaha.

Alistair McIntosh: That is definitely true. So let's have a look at the starting line-ups.



Duncan Haldane: Two surprises here, with Mosnyk and Morrison together, but it shows so much that they have played together all season, so they are in absolute sync on the field.

Alistair McIntosh: So Walter--

Walter Bismuth: Say what? Oh Walter? I haven't seen-- wait, that's me! Sorry, Alison.

Alistair McIntosh: Uh, it's Alistair.

Walter Bismuth: That's what I said.

Alistair McIntosh: *sigh* So as a legend of sports coverage, how do you see the Cup of Harmony?

Walter Bismuth: It's nice, shiny and prestigious. It's a good tournament for everybody who just wasn't good enough to go to the World Cup.

Alistair McIntosh: That sounds a little harsh.

Walter Bismuth: Well, in my days you were either in or out.

Alistair McIntosh: You're still in or out now.

Walter Bismuth: I'm happy you agree with me.

Martin Seagrave: Maybe let's have a look at the Sylestone game, because it promised to be an explosive one.

Alistair McIntosh: Yes, that sounds like a great idea! Things started out a little slow, but Tikariot still got off on the right foot.

Al Hak going down the right side, chips the ball to Grimaud, who gets past Sofa who is caught napping. Grimaud tries to get around Drawer, but it deflects his cross back to Cumbernauld. Now Cumbernauld with the cross to the left, where Mosnyk takes down the ball, quick turn around Washing Machine, who seems to be stuck in the wrong cycle. Shoots while falling, Morrison GOAL! This definitely was not planned, but the ball takes a deflection off Jesson Morrison and Tikariot is up 1-0!

Walter Bismuth: What is this?

Duncan Haldane: Tikariot vs. Sylestone?

Walter Bismuth: That's, that's appliances! What are they doing on the field? The players could get hurt! Where ARE the Sylestone players?

Martin Seagrave: The appliances are the players!

Walter Bismuth: No, seriously, where are they? Is this a hidden camera show and I'm just being pranked here?

Alistair McIntosh: No, Walter, Sylestone's national team is made up of sentient appliances.

Walter Bismuth: I'll be damned!

Duncan Haldane: Uh, where was I? Ah yes, this is a great example of how you can score against Sylestone. While the appliances are very powerful and tactically fit, if you play the ball around quickly, they can be fairly slow to adjust and react, and again M&M at their finest.

Alistair McIntosh: Could we have found a dream team for our offense?

Martin Seagrave: Definitely possible, because they harmonize great and especially with Morris Nighthorse going through a bit of a dry spell, it's good to have a well functioning team.

Alistair McIntosh: That actually was it for the first half, as mentioned, there was not a whole lot going on, Tikariot was the better team, but after the goal the Sylestonian defense definitely tightened up. The second half also took a while to get going, until the 67th minute that is.

Washing Machine with a long pass forward! Bar Stool flicks it on past the Tikariot defense, Mixer in the penalty box, Chatelet comes out and penalty!! I am not sure who felt this more, Mixer or Chatelet, but the referee points at the spot! A great opportunity for Sylestone to draw even. Ooh, Mixer decides to take the penalty himself, I guess he does not believe in the curse! The referee blows the whistle and what on earth was that? That was what, five metres over the goal? Even Mixer can't stop laughing...

Walter Bismuth: Why does a mixer... I can't...

Duncan Haldane: This was one of the worst shot penalties I have seen in my life, this should have been a surefire goal for Sylestone, who had not had a lot of chances throughout the game.

Chatelet with a quick goal kick. Sylestone is not organized yet after the missed penalty, Thorniley to Grimaud, volley - and Ironing Board throws itself into the path of the ball, no goal!

Walter Bismuth: And now an ironing board? Just deflecting...and...

Alistair McIntosh: (taking a deep breath) Martin had mentioned earlier that the game was looking like an explosive one and we honestly had no idea how true that would become.

Only a few minutes to go and Sylestone now more active trying to push for at least one point. Brick Wall with a long ball forward. Again Bar Stool flicking the ball on, it falls to Tumble Dryer. Sharp pass in, Stove and GOAL! Really nice deflection of the ball and it hits right into the bottom left-hand corner, past Romain Chatelet's outstretched hand! Stove looks ecstatic here in his celebration, as he does not score a lot of goals here, he's starting to spark! [BOOM]

Walter Bismuth: No, no, nooo!

Alistair McIntosh: As investigations showed after, one of Stove's sparks landed on some ethane that was inside the stadium and it exploded right at the bottom of one of the stands. The blast could be felt in the entire city and the blast caused a 20x20m crater and 52 onlookers lost their lives in this bizarre accident. Our thoughts go out to the families and friends of the victims. No members of the Tikariotian team were among the victims, thankfully for them the blast occurred away from the playing field and other than some severely ringing ears no injuries were suffered.

Duncan Haldane: Obviously this ended the game, but what an incredible thing to happen, can you imagine if there was more ethane?

Walter Bismuth: Ethane, ethane, isn't that what cows fart out?

Martin Seagrave: No, that's methane.

Walter Bismuth: Ah.

Martin Seagrave: There will be a thorough investigation into what happened here and how something like that can be avoided for the future--

Walter Bismuth: That's it, I am filing a complaint! Appliances of the field, cow farts in the stadium, now people dead - I always knew those farts were deadly!

Alistair McIntosh: Walter, where are you going?

Walter Bismuth: I am going to file my complaint!

Alistair McIntosh: Where?

Walter Bismuth: (walking away) At the complaint filing place thing.

Alistair McIntosh: Walter! We still have a game-- WALTER!

Martin Seagrave: Guess he's gone.



Alistair McIntosh: (sighs) I guess so. So after these tragic events Tikariot was to face Xanneria, yet unbeaten, which was seen as one of the hardest sides to beat in the Cup.

Duncan Haldane: Given our record so far, we had to hope for at least a point here, not to make things too dicy, so here are the line-ups.



Martin Seagrave: Regular changes throughout a tournament, I wouldn't read anything into things here, plus sometimes some fresh blood can ignite things.

Alistair McIntosh: Wouldn't it have been good to bring the M&Ms as they have been doing very well so far?

Duncan Haldane: I personally would have, exactly because of that, but the coach must have his reasons to do what he is doing and so far he has been faring very well with it.

Martin Seagrave: And we'll be entering the game in the 12th minute for our recap.

Xanneria has been pressing since the referee started the game and the next wave is coming at the Tikariot goal. Davidson gets the ball out of his own box and Bunnkirk sticks it right through to Alirome. Lateral pass to Stegall, out to Brown on the left. Back to Bonchek, quick high ball into the box and Presentino with a header - GOAL! Xanneria with an early lead!

Duncan Haldane: A lot of pressure by the Xannerians from the get go and while our defense has been faring pretty well, this quick high ball there took them by surprise and that's not good. Especially against a team like Xanneria any lapses of attention will be punished swiftly and really nice header by Presentino, though, right against the movement of Chatelet, can't really say anything bad about this goal.

Martin Seagrave: I think what also could be the case is that for the first time they are showing some nerves. They are under more pressure since they performed so well in the World Cup qualifiers, so people are expecting more from them now and there's more press haunting them as well.

Alistair McIntosh: That's actually a very good point there, Martin, the whole status of the team has changed from an absolute nobody to a surprising overachiever to a team that both fans and media now actually expect to win games and be at or near the top. And it definitely showed in the first half, where they only had two shots on goal.

Duncan Haldane: In the second half, though, they were like a different team, so Coach Ekstrom must have said the right things, because they came out with a vengeance.

Not sure what Ekstrom put into their water during half time, but must have been a habanero or something, because there is fire in this team now! Thorniley to Welch. Back to McNair, right on to Al Hak. Cross comes in, Sheffield against the crossbar! Turner with the clearance, but Welch intercepts it and sends it right back out to Nighthorse. Gets past Bonchek, past Brown, shoots - and Walters with a great reflex on the line!

Duncan Haldane: Morris Nighthorse was a lot more energetic than in the last games, he ran a lot, opened up a lot of spaces, but just was missing that last bit of oomph at the end to get something countable.

Alistair McIntosh: In the 52nd minute Iain Aspinall came off and Franklin Mosnyk entered the game, a clear sign that they felt there was more in this than a 0-1 loss and immediately he added another log to the fire of the first half.

Al Hak coming down the right side. Sharp cross in - Mosnyk with the volley and just inches over the crossbar!

Martin Seagrave: Yes, they were doing what Xanneria did in the first half, they went right on it and pressed them back, but especially in these moments you are so vulnerable to counter attacks.

Nighthorse on the left side, quick fake and he is off toward the goal line. Whips it in - Sheffield with the header, but Walters can punch it away. And now the counter with Alirome. Still Alirome. Pulls Thomas and Dunlap towards the outside, pass right between them, Presentino alone in front of Chatelet now and through the legs! He doubles the lead for Xanneria!

Duncan Haldane: It hurts even more if the opponent scores while you have a lot of pressure on them, but this was like a textbook counter attack. Alirome is making sure to pull the remaining defenders and that leaves Presentino completely alone and he was not offside and with something like this, the goalie can just try to make himself as big as he can, but Presentino cold as ice.

Martin Seagrave: Often something like this will put a dent into a teams offensive endeavours, but here the Snowy Owls really showed spirit, because they stepped right to the plate and had the right answer.

Again Nighthorse, picking up the ball in his own half. Look at that speed! One-two with Thorniley, cuts inside and foul by Stegall! Free-kick in the half-left position, maybe just a bit too far to go direct. Thorniley has the ball ready, Boncheck and Bunnkirk form a small wall here. Thorniley with the high ball and MOSNYK! The ball goes right through friend and foe and Franklin Mosnyk is right at the far post and launches the ball into the roof of the net - only 1-2 now!

Alistair McIntosh: Yes, Mosnyk really is the man of the hour right now, a bit like Nighthorse was earlier this season. But even though Nighthorse has not scored a goal since the second game in Natanians and Nosts, he is working so hard for the team and that is something that enables players like Mosnyk, like Morrison or Grimaud to use the spaces he creates to push in.

Duncan Haldane: Then Morrison came on for Sheffield, who has not seen much of the ball today, and right away the M&M magic set in. Unfortunately Xannerian counters are a really really dangerous thing.

And Alirome takes the ball right off the foot of Welch! Pushes the ball forward, lays it off to Bunnkirk, direct pass to Leymore, goes into the box, Chatelet comes out, puts it to the right to Feltzer and GOAL! Xanneria are up 3-1 now with two minutes to go! That must be it!

Martin Seagrave: Grimaud then was brought in for an exhausted Nighthorse right after the goal and off they went.

Almost a powerplay situation now, Tikariot is not giving up here! McNair to the left to Dunlap. Onwards to Grimaud, back to Dunlap, now Welch. They are trying to find an opening. Lays it over to Thorniley, he shoots!! Post, Mosnyk - GOAL! They pull one more back!

Alistair McIntosh: Unfortunately that was already in the fourth minute of added time and it was not enough to at least get a point, but how different were these two halves?

Martin Seagrave: Yes, first half was all Xanneria, second one mostly us, but those counters, they--

Walter Bismuth: Let me through! I'm supposed to be here!

Alistair McIntosh: (groans) Looks like Walter is back. Yes, let him through, he's been here before.

Duncan Haldane: Welcome Walter, hope filing your complaint went well.

Walter Bismuth: Went well? Went well, you say? They wouldn't even let me in! I told them all about the cow farts and the appliances and they looked at me as if I was mad! Can you believe it? Where's the camera? Oh there you are! Come here! I'm going to tell you and everybody out there what is going on here! They let appliances on the field and they set fire to the cow farts and then it all just explodes! And then--

In the background Alistair is motioning for the cameras to stop rolling and the screen goes black.

[New Lusitania and the Algarves]

STL|Serviços de Transmissão Lusitana
Sport | Football|
Cup of Harmony 78

THE HUNT CONTINUES
Cup of Harmony Matchdays 3 & 4 Review:
Orion Islands 1-4 New Lusitania

Two games, two wins. The Selecção had gotten the ideal start to their Cup of Harmony and wanted to see that run continue. The next match was against the Orion Islands. The fourth forward Soares was given a chance as was Guerra for the starting lineup as Pedralva retained his position, these being the main deviations from a normal plan.
The game started extremely well for New Lusitania and it only took a quarter of an hour to find the first goal. Daniel Jota heading it in and putting the Selecção in the lead would set the tone for the rest of the match. Before halftime, a second when Veiga received a pass from captain Fernando and swerved into the left-hand side of the net. The teams returned to the pitch and the Orion managed to pull one back to score their first goal of the tournament. From a corner, a defensive mistake let the centre-forward walk into the box and take the shot. Things would return to normality soon however with Fernando taking a good free-kick into the top right corner leaving the goalkeeper no chance. Upon further inspection, the free kick had to be given when the defender went for Veiga's foot deliberately with a booking also being marked on the occasion. One final goal on top of the hour was a celebration as Soares celebrated his first career goal for the Selecção following a cross from Gama on the wing and a volley into the back of the net.
New Lusitania now had three wins in three matches with the prospect of a bye in the following matchday to restore strengths after a great performance.
Valladares picked up another win this time against the Cheergirls (0-1) as Squidroidia kept their attack for first up with a victory to Kohnhead (2-3). Their defeat to the Cheergirls the following match by a single goal had put a rock in their shoe's plan and Valladares caught some distance with an expected win against the Orion Isles (2-1) and a draw between Kohnhead and Geektopia in a 4 goal thriller. New Lusitania currently sit top of the group with a game in hand and on superior goal difference with Valladares on nine with them. The Cheergirls have made a rapid growth and now fight for qualification in third with six points earned, just above Squidroidia on the same tally. Kohnhead keep the fight alive on 4 but Geektopia have had a disappointing tournament with only a point so far as the Orion are still pointless. With the game in hand, New Lusitania should look to qualify before the final matchday after a good start but some question if it can be put on paper and copied once the team reach the knockout stages. Next on the calendar, it's the big ones - Valladares and Squidroidia. If the Selecção are to lose points it's here and with both teams upping the competition these are two games to focus on. Should New Lusitania leave unscathed, they're basically qualified but a string of poor results against the top competitors could make life harder. Part of the tactic against the Orion was a phasing of primary and secondary players so that the main squad was completely rested when it came to elements like André Silveira or Rúben Vinagrete. Whether this has paid off is yet to be seen but a strong sense of hope and confidence is being shown after the positive start achieved, something the team are hoping to carry on..