World Cup 87 - RP Thread

[Savigliane]

Savigliane 1 - 4 Kohnhead
Lineup: Notari; Marchetti, Garcia, Blanco, Romano (Vitale 59'); Vatrican, Giraudo (Dirac HT), Toscani; Coste, Grimaldi (Squarciafichi HT), Barthelemy
Goals: Coste 29'

United Pink States 1 - 3 Savigliane
Lineup: D'Ambrosio; Marchetti, LeClerc, Blanco (Garcia 54'), Romano; Petit (Dirac 61'), Auvergne, Toscani; Coste, Squarciafichi (Grimaldi 78'), Durand
Goals: Squarciafichi 31', Durand 45+2', Toscani 59'

MD4 lineup (Port Ember): Notari; Marchetti, Garcia, Blanco, Romano; Vatrican, Giraudo, Toscani; Coste, Grimaldi, Barthelemy
MD5 lineup (Mapletish): Notari; Marchetti, LeClerc, Garcia, Romano; Vatrican, Auvergne, Toscani; Coste, Squarciafichi, Durand

L'POSTE DE TRINITÉ
Ligurie's Second City, Trinité's Second Newspaper

SMURFGATE: PETIT SUSPENDED FROM NATIONAL TEAM
Paul ROUSSEAU, sports

VILLENEUVE - FA Chairman Jean-Luc Dubois reported this morning that temperamental midfielder Sebastien Petit would be suspended for the national team's next two matches, against Port Ember and Mapletish, due to a "personal incident" that caused him to miss training. While Dubois was characteristically tight-lipped about what exactly Petit skipped the vital team practices, during which Tlanx-Nulzk Hal had just begun to impose his new "Tlanxball" system on the NT pool, to do, we at L'Poste have uncovered shocking videos of Petit engaging in lewd acts with a number of famous athletes and other celebrity figures from across the world.

In what social media has immediately taken to calling "Smurfgate", due to the smurf themes of Petit's sexual behavior at a Quebecois nightclub, Petit is seen in the middle of sexual acts with a vast number of Quebecois clubgoers and various professional athletes, including a figure who is believed to be star Llamanean baseball player Tyson Long. While this sort of behavior is a little obscene even for the partygoing midfielder, who recently left Villeneuve NSC for CSKA Quebec after a number of training-ground fights and feuding with management, what truly takes it into "problematic" territory is the fact that he skipped key national team training sessions in order to do so. We have exclusive reports that indicate the FA and Tlanx-Nulzk Hal are aware of this issue and are deeply reconsidering Petit's involvement with the national team.

While Petit's club career seems relatively unaffected, with CSKA Quebec announcing no formal punishments for their million-dollar signing, his national team career is reportedly in serious jeopardy. While Petit was believed to be one of the players who would benefit most from Tlanx-Nulzk Hal instituting a new system, as his hard work and passing ability could've made him suited to offer a more defensive option at the #8 position in place of Amara Vatrican or Adrian Toscani, this recent update has reportedly caused Tlanx-Nulzk to sour on him. It's unclear what his future holds, but to so wantonly ignore his national team duties is, in the opinion of this sportswriter, a slap in the face to all Saviglianos. The national team should be a role model for our country in these challenging times, and having someone of Petit's character on it tarnishes the Swans' image. I wouldn't be surprised if Tlanx-Nulzk and the FA kick him to the curb for that reason.

Petit does have one thing going for him from the video, at least, despite his possible future as an NT pariah. Dude has a massive dick.

Just give us money please - we fired the guy who wrote these advertisements because we couldn't afford to pay him. Link's below, not sure if it works - the IT guy left too

[Muralos]

La Gazeto de Sportatoj
Muralosian National Soccer Team Loses Two Straight World Cup Qualifying Matches
Co-ed Hawks Record Biggest Defeat to Date, Expose Failures of "Time Shifting" Technology
By Adamo Tanaka and Jonathan Liu
January 13, 2021

(OOC: Okay, so my explanation of how the players can play two matches in one day was just absolute hogwash. For that, my RP from MD2/MD3 should pretty much be ignored, and Muralosian time will remain the same as RL time. To explain it any other way is just too exhausting for me! Also, I realize that mentioning RL countries and tournaments is unusual... apologies about that. I will avoid it in future RPs.)

SHANEVILLE CITY, CENTRAL SHANEVILLE and URBEGO, MURALOS. The Muralosian national soccer team has played three qualifier matches for the 87th World Cup – the first on Monday against unranked Nacaltora and the next two on Wednesday, against unranked Central Shaneville and world no. 4 team Cassadaigua.

Against Nacaltora, the Hawks won 2-0; as one of only two teams that won their matches on the first matchday, they were propelled to the top of World Cup qualifying group 3 along with world no. 79 Busoga Islands. However, Wednesday saw two of the co-ed Hawks most crushing losses to date. Against underdogs Central Shaneville, the Hawks lost 4-2 in Shaneville City's Red Bull Arena; against powerhouses Cassadaigua, they lost 5-0 in Urbego's Zemlinsky National Stadium.

Wednesday's defeats – especially the one to Central Shaneville – revealed a critical flaw in the Hawks' management. Early in the day, with Central Shaneville's attacking style in mind, head coach Jozefo Koltakov assembled the Hawks in a defense-heavy 5-3-2 formation that they had never played in to date. This formation required all but one of Muralos' starting and reserve defenders to start. From the beginning of the Muralos-Central Shaneville match, the idea was doomed to fail. Just two minutes after kickoff, Central Shaneville's Spencer Owen found an opening for striker David Vujanic as Muralos' five defenders – Ryo Takeda, Aleksandro Kim, Rebeka Mori, Aminda Mori, and Koralo Petrov – struggled to get out of each other's way. As Vujanic passed the ball back to attacking midfielder Danny Straniar, the latter delivered a decisive shot into the lower third of the net.

After a few minutes, it seemed that the Hawks would pick up steam. The match's 10th minute saw an elaborate counterattack, the one occasion in which all five Muralosian defenders cooperated. Ryo Takeda, Rebeka Mori, and Aminda Mori succeeded in gaining possession of the ball amongst themselves; Aminda Mori then passed the ball to midfielder Lerta Donaldson. Donaldson, after taking the ball forward, found Rui at the center of the field, after which Rui scored in a similar manner to Straniar – some distance away from the net, with the ball flying low to the ground.

Now with the ball, Central Shaneville's squad took advantage of the next 10 minutes in the match, and then some. A long ball from Luke Graham made its way to David Vujanic, who had positioned himself in between Ryo Takeda and Aleksandro Kim. With that, Vujanic gave Central Shaneville a 2-1 lead over Muralos in the 14th minute of the match. Just five minutes later, the lead became 3-1: Danny Straniar intercepted a pass by the Hawks' Takeda, sending the ball back to Vujanic and into the net once more.

At this point, head coach Jozefo Koltakov called up the Hawks' midfielder Nikolaj Granda and brought off defender Rebeka Mori, bringing the team back to their usual 4-4-2 formation. This change improved Muralosian prospects dramatically; by the end of the first half, the Hawks had around 65 percent possession of the ball, culminating in a long-range goal scored by midfielder Johano Abramovich. As Radio Muralana-Sportema's commentator Kirill Chen proclaimed, the Hawks' play leading up to Abramovich's goal "really represents what Muralosian soccer is at its finest; astonishing energy, impeccable skill, and wonderfully creative touches now and then."

Unfortunately, head coach Koltakov's corrections did not prevent defender Takeda from charging at Central Shaneville's Josh Smith less than ten minutes into the second half. Smith was awarded a direct free kick, which he took with exceptional accuracy, yielding Central Shaneville's fourth and final goal. Muralosian fans at the match could be seen clutching their heads; Kirill Chen noted with dismay how the "tables have turned for Muralos." The Hawks made four attempts at a third goal, but only two shots by Adamo Brava and Valora Lin were on target. Both were blocked handily by Central Shaneville's goalkeeper James Penford.


FINAL
Muralos 2 - 4 Central Shaneville
Rui 10', Abramovich 42' | Straniar 2', Vujanic 14', 19'; Smith 55'

Koltakov took responsibility for the the Hawks' defeat against Central Shaneville, stating in a post-game interview with La Gazeto that "it was highly unnecessary to push the new formation on our squad. We did not need it to be competitive against Central Shaneville; in fact, it is incredibly clear to me that our change in formation cost us the entire game. For the upcoming home game against Cassadaigua, I have scrapped the unusual 5-3-3 and 4-3-2-1 plans, and we will revert to the 4-4-2."

Unfortunately, the Muralos-Cassadaigua match resulted in another loss – perhaps expected when a team ranked at world no. 259 (tie) plays a team ranked at no. 4. For over 80 percent of the match, Cassadaigua’s squad had possession; each of their five goals was the product of an unrelenting attack, with none of the Hawks' talented players able to beat their Cassadaiguan counterparts to the ball. A loss like this, wrote La Gazeto's Klara Antonova, "can be forgiven, but it stings after the last game against Central Shaneville."


FINAL
Muralos 0 - 5 Cassadaigua
Rosenblatt 8', Schanke 11’, 29’; Wolcott 19', Rice 77’

The 0-5 loss to Cassadaigua marks the Hawks' biggest defeat in team history, eclipsing their 0-3 loss to Garbelia.

On Wednesday night, Muralosian president Madoka Kuznetsova released an official memo about the purported shift in Muralosian time from 24-hour days to 48-hour days, attempted so that the Hawks could have time to recover between matches. According to Kuznetsova's memo, the Muralosian government's implementation of the time shift "has failed, and I regret to have alarmed our citizens about such a large shift in the country's perception of time and space. I also believe my actions misled the Muralosian national soccer team, rendering them confused about their fatigue between matches earlier today. In summary, the Hawks – along with all Muralosians – will continue to experience time as they previously have."

In response to President Kuznetsova, Muralosian assistant coach Pavel Li wrote on social media that “Madame President’s statement is received, and while we regret the error, we greatly appreciate its acknowledgement. A schedule like the World Cup qualifiers’ is not unheard of, and we will be proactive in our recovery between matches. The burden lies not so much on you as it does on myself, our Hawks, and coaches Koltakov and Kageyama.”

“We will stick to our roots, with our strong resolve and our tried-and-tested strategies, unlike those we used earlier today,” Li concluded.

The Muralosian national soccer team will play their next two matches on Friday, January 15, against world no. 41 Flavovespia (at City Arena in Marthorpe, Flavovespia) and world no. 100 Acronia (at Dynamo Stadium in Nord-Urbo). These matches – as well as all World Cup 87 matches – will be broadcast live on RTM-1, Radio Muralana-Sportema, and rtmnet.mur.

Muralosian line-up against Flavovespia and Acronia:

(OOC: the Muralosian national soccer team is a combination of the former men's and women's teams; however, I foolishly neglected to make a women's team roster back in my early days of NS Sports, so in making the new co-ed team, I took the men's team roster [which had just 13 people in total] and added female players to the reserves. To make up for the unfairness of the starting roster being all men, I am taking care to switch up the starting lineup every now and then, so that Muralos' excellent female players are included. Non-binary athletes also compete at a high level in Muralos; traditionally, they have joined the teams of the gender they identify more closely with, but we may see them called up to a co-ed squad like the Muralosian national soccer team.)

(4-4-2)
GK - Markov
LB - Petrov
CB - Lei
CB - Kim
RB - A. Mori
LM - Donaldson
CM - Abramovich
CM - Granda
RM - Shchedrina
ST - Rui
ST - Brava

"There's no denying that teams we're up against are extremely good. But all of this is out of our control; there's nothing we can do to change the fact that Flavovespia and Acronia have been on the international stage for quite some time. What remains in our control is the way we carry ourselves before and during these matches: the degree we prepare ourselves mentally and physically. Let's rise to the challenge and not forget what we've trained for. Let's be determined to take on Flavovespia, Acronia, and all the other high-ranked opponents who come our way." -Adamo Brava, captain of the Muralosian national soccer team

[Baggieland]

The DAILY BOING

First Double Header Brings Highs and Lows

Indusse 4 – 2 Baggieland

Baggieland travelled to Indusse for the first game of the first double header in this qualifying campaign. Indusse are only 21 places above the Throstles in the world rankings and many were hoping that they could follow up from their impressive display in the first match with an away victory.

Richardson put the visitors 1 – 0 up early in the first half, but the home side then stunned the Baggieland faithful by putting four goals past us. A late consolation goal by Bomber gave a tiny bit of respectability to the final scoreline.

Baggieland 4 – 0 Sett Forest

In the second game, Baggieland were home to the much lower ranked Sett Forest. Following our two defeats in the opening two games, nothing but a convincing victory was needed. And the players duly obliged. A four – nil whitewash was provided by the boys in blue and white stripes, who pleased the eye with a masterclass in how to dominate a football game. Richardson was again on the score-sheet with a brace, aided by a goal apiece from Brunt and Regis.

After the game with Forest, we got together with the manager to get his thoughts on how the Throstles were doing in the qualifying tournament so far.

Reporter:
"What do you think of the show so far?"

Fred Buckingham:
"Well, three points from a possible nine don't sound so good, but we have played the 2nd ranked team, which was followed by a tricky away match to one of our main rivals."

Reporter:
"Four – nil is our biggest win in international football."

Fred Buckingham:
"Yeah, I'm chuffed to bits about that. The boys put on a great display and thoroughly deserved all the plaudits they received after the game."

Reporter:
"What are your thoughts on the next double header?"

Fred Buckingham:
"Well, first up we're home to Quemorr Isles, who are even lower ranked than Forest, I think everyone is expecting a comfortable home win there. Their sharks are all grin and no bite! However, the next game is away to Graintfjall who are 36 places above us in the rankings. This is going to be another tricky fixture, but hopefully we learned our lessons from the game against Indusse. On top of that, Graintfjall's nickname is the Snow W****s. As everyone knows, here in Baggieland, we Baggies hate the W****s, so that will give us the inspiration we need to win that game."

[Indusse]

IFA NEWS NETWORK
Good Going!

Indusse 4–2 Baggieland

Quemorr Isles 1–2 Indusse

Group 9                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 South Covello                          3    3   0   0     9    3   +6     9
 2 Nephara                                3    3   0   0     8    3   +5     9
 3 Indusse                                3    3   0   0     9    5   +4     9
 4 Kandorith                              3    2   1   0     6    4   +2     7
 5 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles            3    1   0   2     9    8   +1     3
 6 Baggieland                             3    1   0   2     8    7   +1     3
 7 Garbelia                               3    1   0   2     5    8   −3     3
 8 Græntfjall                             3    0   1   2     2    4   −2     1
 9 Quemorr Isles                          3    0   0   3     4   11   −7     0
   Sett Forest                            3    0   0   3     3   10   −7     0

Matchday 2, that's a win! Matchday 3, That's also a win! Wow! Indusse hasn't lost the pace. Is this World Cup going to be rememberable one? Let us see...

In the Second Matchday, Indusse faced Baggieland who's twenty one places below that Indusse in the World Rankings. The Baggies who had hoped for a easy win against Indusse went back as if they were fooled. The Match had Indusse's Victory again! Indusse defeated Baggieland for a score of four against two (4-2). Baggieland started the goal scoring at the early first half. The goal by Richardson in the fifteenth minute put Baggieland in a one against none lead in the early first half. But that wasn't enough for a safe score, within twelve minutes, that is thirty seventh minute of the game, Indusse scored the equilizer goal. It was Bechun Butea who started Indussean Goal Game. He scored a wonderful goal from the chip made by Goblin Grundjee. Thirty seven minutes were over and both in a draw. There was just eight minutes for the first half to end. Baskar H Kumar thought they had to score one more goal before the whistle. Yes, that was the confidence! At the forty third minute Baskar Kumar scored a wonderful goal from the spot kick achieved for a foul or Bechun. Nothing else happened that half, the whistle was blown and yes, Indusse leads the match for a score of two against one (2-1). Everyone went back to their rooms and came back after the break, Baggieland had the possession from the second half start till a bunch of three minutes, not even allowing the Indussean players to touch the ball. But, their shot wasn't of sensation. The Shot put off from the left corner wasn't even able to pass the penalty box. Budtedjson got the ball, that's the end of the long possession. He sprinted along the X-Axis central field and got the ball rolling near Goblin Grundjee's leg. Goblin Grundjee took the ball effectively and chipped it to Mersiás. Mersiás kicked the ball with that perfection that the ball went into the goal post. That's close, it went inside through the perfect top left portion. That's just luck! exclaimed the commentators while the spectators was stunned. Three goals! Indusse 3-1 Baggieland. The game continued, The Baggies lost possession, at the eightieth minute the statistics showed seventy nine percent of possession for Indusse, whereas Baggieland just had twenty one percent. That possession was outmost need, in the eighty fourth Minute, Indusse sprinted forward with a counter attack against Baggieland. Baskar H Kumar from the center sprinted forward to the penalty box. The defenders stood like a wall in front of him. He just chipped the ball above and Goblin Grundjee who was looking for the ball got the ball on his chest. That second, the time when he turned the Baggieland goalkeeper fell upon the striker. It's a foul! Goblin Grundjee lies down hurt. How sad! But, be happy too! It's a penalty! Goblin Grundjee wasn't able to play the match again. He was taken away from the ground as retire hurt. Rajpoot came as his substitute. But, the medical officers say that he will be able to play the fourth Matchday. The Penalty was taken by Mersiás, he didn't lose the target. That was a easy goal and the ball went inside. Indusse 4-1 Baggieland. Now, there's a very small time left, Baggies can't win. The game continued with the same flow but a sudden counter attack from Baggieland in the eighty nineth minute helped the Baggies to score another goal. The late consolation goal by Bomber in the eighty nineth minute ended the match for a score of four against two.

Goblin Grundjee was hurt, Indusse played the third Matchday without Grundjee in their team. Grundjee was okay, he just needed rest, he was there in the pavilion watching the game against Quemorr Isles. The match started with a quick foul from the Quemorr side, Indussean striker Baskar H Kumar fell down in the midway. The foul gave indusse a free kick but the players weren't able to change the freekick to something fruitful. The game went lame till the twenty second minute of the game. "Eddioidio Boom! Savoka Savoka Jhum!" someone started chanting that slogan. Who was it! Suddenly, everyone noticed a group of tribals trying to get inside the stadium with Spears and Clubs. The Referee called a break, everyone be safe! The Police and the management tried their best to remove the tribes from the spot. The police had to arrest them atlast so that the game could continue. The tribals threw three spears at the players and with god's grace none were hurt. The game continued after the tribal drama. The game continued the click started again twenty seven minutes! The tribal noises gave Indusse a boost, Mersiás ran from the sidelines and crossed the ball into the penalty spot. Baskar H Kumar was there, he just kept his leg in the way and the ball deflected into the goal post. It's a goal! Yaay! Indusse leads the match now. One for None! The match continued again the game went without any big things to notice. The Referee had to call the game for halt as the time for Half Time arrived. The players were in a good start, Now the game became thrilling. Both the teams had counter attacks frequently. Everyone thought that or this will be a goal. But none went inside. It's time for another goal it seems, who will score the goal Indusse or Quemorr Isles? The answer was Quemorr Isles, the equilizer from their side came at the sixty second minute, a small header from a small head. But that was enough for the goal!! Quemorr Isles 1-1 Indusse. Everyone got thrilled, what the heck was happening? Now who's gonna win? Indusse or Quemorr Isles? The Counter Attacks continued and Quemorr Isles scored another in the eighty first minute. They couldn't control themselves and started celebrating. But the Indussean players were looking at the line's Referee. He had called a offside. It was one! Alas, Quemorr that isn't a goal! The confidence of the Isle Players fell. That was the chance, Budtedjson took the ball from the isles players. Sprinted forward like a cheetah and passed the ball to Mersiás and continued to go forward. Everyone thought Mersiás would pass to Budtedjson but no, that was clever he passed to Baskar Kumar who was far behind. Baskar took the ball sprinted forward and now, it's time for Budtedjson. The ball was chipped to him, Budtedjson took a deep breath and jumped. The ball! The ball! The ball hit his head went in and yes, it's a goal!! Indusse 2-1 Quemorr Isles. There was just a minute left, Quemorr had lost the game. Well played by both and Indusse has tasted victory again!

#ForcaIndusse
#IndusseStronk

[Electrum]

The Turnip: Inside: The Conspiracy To Make The World Think We Won The World Cup 78 (Part 2: Who and Why? And Also How? Who? What Was This About Again?)
by Billiam Maskey, chief-editor-in-chief

In my last article, I discussed the inexplicable insistence of nearly everyone everywhere in multiverse labelling Electrum as World Cup 78 winners, and how we could not have possibly won the World Cup 78. But if we didn't win the World Cup, who did? Why is the whole multiverse insisting that we won the most prestigious competition in the sporting world? And who the hell ate my chilli cheese fries? We will attempt to answer those questions and more in today's article. Hopefully. Reading this sentence create a legal agreement between you and The Turnip that you cannot legally sue us for not answering those questions. Enough stalling let's get to it.

But first, a word from our sponsors. T Fuel is the hottest new energy drink - made from the juice of turnips, a hint of a robot's bath water and the distilled essence of crushed up cocoabo feathers, the feathers being denibbed for her pleasure. T Fuel comes in so many flavours such as creamy marrow soup (named the Bonesea flavour), pink lemonade (the Taeshan flavour), gruel (Eura flavour, of course) and the satisfaction you get when you tip over your opponent's king in chess (Zwangzug flavour). Buy now using the link in the description, and the first fifty people to use the code "ILOVEYOU" (we really need the validation thanks) will be eligible to receive a one per cent discount on their order if they purchase more than a hundred dollars of product.

Now, to get to why you are reading this article. Who really won World Cup 78? The answer is obvious - Eura did. They were after all, the losing team of the bout, according to most mainstream sources. How did everyone get it so dreadfully wrong? It's what we in the amateur psychologist business call "mass psychogenic illness". Clearly, as we were the underdogs coming into the finals, the entire multiverse just adored us and our players -- who can forget the time when Alan Moore was mobbed at Ramusok airport because of his "short legs and tall body" and "that wondrously handsome left pinky"? Meanwhile, the multiverse just hates the fact that Eura sounds like "You're a". Hypothetically, if you said "Eura stronk" to an imaginary friend, they would be like "Why'd you call me a strong?" It's bonkers.

So anyways, Eura bad, Electrum good. When Eura started winning, everyone in the entire multiverse, including the Eurans, suffered from a mass psychogenic illness. People could not accept that we were losing, so they all started to become nauseous, scream in pain and begging for release every time the Eurans scored a goal. People became so traumatised by the event that they had all collectively decided that they must have jumped against the corner of their television room, causing them to clip through it, then resetting into a new save file in their minds where Electrum had won the World Cup. That is why everyone is suddenly insisting that we won the World Cup -- Eura winning is just too traumatic to even consider in the first place, even though they were the favourites.

That being said, we've found some interesting facts regarding Cosumar and Bonesea's hosting of World Cup 78. If you take an anagram of "cosumar" and "bonesea", you get "nausea bro comes" and "aura becomes nos". That's right. The prediction that everyone would lose their minds from Eura winning the World Cup was predetermined, including the fact that our auras have suddenly been aligned to say no. It was destiny. Here's another coincidental anagram from the two country's names: "causes mean boor." I think people can draw their own conclusions as to what group of persons that anagram refers to.

In essence, Eura are the real winners of World Cup 78. People just can't accept that because they're too traumatised to entertain such a possibility. Seek help. Share this article far and wide, and spread the gospel on who really won World Cup 78.

Ah fuck, I remember now. It was me that ate those chilli cheese fries. My b.

[The Gothanita Isles]

Regmotto 2-3 TGI
Lineup for TGI (4-2-3-1): Thulile Bolkvadze (c); Jeanette Ross, Abu Bakr Ekmekçi, Saif al-Din Kartal, Charlee Harel (Gerhard Abraham 50'); Amalija Bothe, Remus McQueen; Grigorii McCrory, Ladislava Tyler, Cyneburga London; Abdelkader Kartal
Cards: McCrory 18'
Goals: ?? 22', 50'; Kartal 41' (assist by Tyler), 90', Tyler 75' (assist by London)

TGI 0-1 U-Koro
@ Mytraton, Yhens, Diikista state, Hallikshire, Esportiva (cap. 25,000)
Lineup for TGI (4-2-3-1): Thulile Bolkvadze (c); Jeanette Ross, Abu Bakr Ekmekçi, Saif al-Din Kartal, Charlee Harel; Sardar Chaplin, Remus McQueen; Grigorii McCrory, Ladislava Tyler (Stefanie Salzwedel 60'), Cyneburga London (Vladan Bloxam 15'); Abdelkader Kartal
Cards: None for TGI
Player X 15' (yellow), Player Y 69' (yellow)
Goals: Player Z 72'

The Pinnacle
Budget Fantasy Picks: What you should be looking for
Media outlets of the multiverse have once again gathered their sports teams to participate in the biennial World Cup Qualification Fantasy football competition. Teams of journalists around the world have once again sat down, thinking which are the possible teams that would present a good results, even with a relatively low cost price. This year, in partnership with Poafmersia's The Poafmer Times and the Poafmersian Broadcasting Corporation (PFBC), we have decided to release an online version of the game for all our citizens and citizens around the multiverse to participate in. This cooperation between the media outlets is extremely significant, as we work together to bring about the best coverage of the World Cup Qualifiers.
This year, the fantasy competition may be slightly harder. Although the budget (240 KPBs) is still the same as the last time out, you have to pick a grand total of 19 teams, 1 more as compared to last time. This further decreases the average KPB/team points from 13.33 to 12.63, a whole 0.7 drop. As we approach the closing dateline, we take a look at which teams are the cheap budget picks that will help you carry your score.
You may have heard of the Poafmer Times' World Cup microsite. After finding the best coverage last year, we have taken the effort to look into the microsite and improve it slightly. Now it features various additional information such as predicted World Cup pots, looking at best fantasy teams, as well as a refreshed UI for the World Cup rankings page. Do check it out at https://bit.ly/NSSWCQ87.
Anyway, we digress. We start by looking at the top KPB picks - 11 points was the maximum from 3 games thus far, and we have 4 teams on the list:

11 Fantasy Points
Equestria (26.35 KPB)
Zwangzug (29.79 KPB)
Mriin (34.38 KPB)
Banija (55.66 KPB)

The most valuable ones here are expensive - really ridiculous hefty prices, especially the last 2 on this list. But the 10 pointers are relatively better - we will show you the 14 teams that made the list:

10 Fantasy Points
Thibaea (0.00 KPB)
Saint-Domingue (1.30 KPB)
Tikariot (9.60 KPB)
Huayramarca (10.21 KPB)
Sajnur (10.32 KPB)
Kohnhead (11.72 KPB)
Mavinet (13.86 KPB)
Squornshelous (15.08 KPB)
South Covello (15.80 KPB)
Poafmersia (16.20 KPB)
Independent Athletes from Quebec (16.93 KPB)
Valanora (43.40 KPB)
Farfadillis (45.17 KPB)
Nephara (54.82 KPB)

Unranked Thibaea starts this list, having pulled off a stunning 4-2 away victory against 2nd seeds New Lusitania on Matchday 2. Saint-Domingue is also pulling off a roaring start as 8th seeds - although 2 out of 3 matches were against lower-ranked teams. But the 2-1 win over Sharktail pulled them to 2nd place in Group 5, which clearly placed them on the list. Both of these teams may have good starts, but we would like to reserve our judgement on them. Pot 5 team Tikariot is probably the more stable pick here, though like Saint-Domingue, they only played the bottom 2 seeds, as well as a 4-2 away victory against Zeta Reka, the 4th seeds. Personally, we would prefer one of the middle 6 teams - Kohnhead, Mavinet, Squornshelous, South Covello, Poafmersia and Quebec. They may cost slightly lesser/more than the average cost required, but these teams have certain capabilities that we are pretty confident of getting good returns out of them. As for the last 3, nothing needs to be said, and they are pretty capable of producing results - albeit at a much higher price.

Before we move on to giving you what we consider are "budget" picks, let us take a look at the poor teams who have churned out non-positive points thus far - teams that you should consider avoiding unless you are betting on them producing a big result in response.

Teams with non-positive Score
Pays den haut (0.00 KPB) - 0
Widaya (0.00 KPB) - 0
PSTCT (0.10 KPB) - 0
Mexi Catcha (0.30 KPB) - 0
Acastanha (0.40 KPB) - 0
Hispinas (0.80 KPB) - 0
The H Corporation (0.90 KPB) - 0
Critical Operations (1.10 KPB) - 0
Sett Forest (1.20 KPB) - 0
Blouman Empire (11.89 KPB) - 0
HUElavia (22.04 KPB) - 0

Nacaltora (0.00 KPB) - -1
Simulland (0.00 KPB) - -1
Mand Blustopia (0.10 KPB) - -1
Icecliff (0.20 KPB) - -1
North Alezia (0.60 KPB) - -1
Rwekazaland (0.60 KPB) - -1
Regmotto (0.70 KPB) - -1
Cirrus Azale (1.30 KPB) - -1
Stevidia (1.40 KPB) - -1
Transvolcanic (4.00 KPB) - -1
Balqia (6.19 KPB) - -1
Sharktail (9.17 KPB) - -1

We start with the 0s and negative 1s first. HUElavia, 2nd seeds in Group 1, sacked their manager after a 3-1 away loss to 6th seeds Murphtannia. The sacking did absolutely nothing, as they lost 0-1 at home against 9th seeds Silvedania and 2-4 away at 3rd seeds Geektopia. We would have to check the history books, but this is looking to be a start similar to that of Chromatika back in the 85th World Cup. Blouman Empire is also a 0-pointer, having played tricky ties against Quebec, The Sarian and Ko-oren on the opening 3 days. Sharktail has been another dissapointment, having produced a 1-6 loss to Zwangzug, 2-4 home loss to Savojarna, and 1-2 away lost to Saint-Domingue.

Hindu Ram Rajya (0.00 KPB) - -2
Smosh Games (0.00 KPB) - -2
West Zirconia (0.00 KPB) - -2
Sannyamathland (0.30 KPB) - -2
Belac (0.40 KPB) - -2
Hafamarimet (0.50 KPB) - -2
Quemorr Isles (0.60 KPB) - -2
United Pink States (1.30 KPB) - -2
Yerapia (1.90 KPB) - -2

Caryton (1.00 KPB) - -3

Caryton opened with 3 big losses - Gyatso-Kai 6–2 Caryton, Caryton 0–3 Socialist New Britain and Krytenia 3–0 Caryton. This caused them to sink to the outright bottom with -3 points from 3 games, the worst pick anyone can possibly have.

So what then, are the really good picks that have surprised people? We will give 5 names for that matter, names which we feel have potential to cause a shocker for below average price.
5) Bluecliff League
At 2.50 KPB, it has raked up 9 points. Although 2 of its 3 wins came against lower ranked opponents, the shocker of the night came when they defeated Hampton Island, the second seeds who participated in the World Cup proper last year. And this team has generally gave off some positive vibes, and we believe, they can pull off another result or two if the team maintains its performances.

4) Hapilopper
The Baptism of Fire 70 champions may have gone on a 1 cycle hiatus, but are now back even stronger than before. At 5.37 KPB, they are considered to be a budget pick, especially since the criteria has gotten harder with 1 more team to pick but same amount of points. They have drawn 2nd seeds Xanneria and defeated 4th seeds Electrum, showing that they are well capable of reaching a good finish this time.

3) Yuezhou
We thought of other teams to be placed in this list. But Yuezhou's performance last cycle has made us think that they are capable of more, and we picked them ahead of many other teams. Though their opening results haven't been that eye-catching, they seem to be the correct pick in a group where Equestria and Starblydia are likely to dominate. Yuezhou has the ability to give the top 2 teams a nice run, and yet provide enough value for 7.79 KPB. Surely a must pick in our opinion unless you are gambling on someone else.

2) Mavinet
Actually, we cheated. They are a whole 1.2 KPBs above the average KPB per team required. But we cannot resist the urge. In a group where Drawkland and Chromatika are hot favourites, 3rd seeds Mavinet has questioned the pecking order after defeating 4th Devonta and 5th seeds Eastfield Lodge in back-to-back games. And their team is not that easy to overcome either - to the extent that probably Chromatika and Drawkland are feeling worried about them right now. They aren't that off the chart, and should be an easy choice for Group 10 if you don't intend to splurge on Drawkland or Chromatika.

1) Kohnhead
7-2 trashing of United Pink States. 4-1 beating of Savigline away. 2-2 draw against Port Ember. 3 excellent results have allowed us to rate this team so highly that we think it is a waste not to pick them. For Group 19, you may pick current UWC belt holders Siovanija and Teusland (S&T). But as compared to them, Kohnhead is much cheaper, only at 11.72 KPBs. And they are capable of storming the group and even threatening Eura or S&T. Counting on them to present a good value-for-money run.

The Otksarin Mail
Tracing the Ultimate World Championship: Can we finally unify the lineal belt?
After Al Qurija made a surprise return this World Cup, there is a chance that the lineal belt, out of circulation for quite some time now, may get its way back to be unified with the latest interim belt, currently held by Baker Park after taking it from Banija, who started a new interim UWC belt because the last 2 interim belts are unlikely to be back in circulation for years to come. With all eyes on Group 4 and Group 19, where the belt titles are held, we take special interest in tracing just who will grab hold of the belt and defend it, hopefully bringing it into the World Cup proper.

Note: For these matches, the team listed first is defending the belt, the team listed second is attempting to take the belt. No home/away sequence in this list.

Lineal belt matches
Al Qurija 1-3 Siovanija and Teusland
Siovanija and Teusland 3–1 Natanians and Nosts
Siovanija and Teusland 1–1 Eura

Upcoming matches:
MD4 - Siovanija and Teusland vs Pemecutan
MD5 - Siovanija and Teusland vs Kohnhead/Pemecutan vs Natanians and Nosts

Siovanija and Teusland took the belt from Al Qurija, and doesn't seem to be losing it after a nice draw against Eura away and a 3-1 win against Natanians and Nosts. They are likely to hold the belt for quite some time - we don't see Pemecutan as the team to stop this run. Kohnhead, though, might prove to be an interesting one. It would be a difficult call from there, and that should be the match we pay attention to.

Lineal belt matches
Commonwealth of Baker Park 1–1 North Japan
Commonwealth of Baker Park 3–3 Vdara
Commonwealth of Baker Park 5–5 Cascadia

Upcoming matches:
MD4 - Commonwealth of Baker Park vs Bonbokh u Piche
MD5 - Commonwealth of Baker Park vs Electrum/Bonbokh u Piche vs Xanneria

This can't be the start Baker Park wants, with draw after draw against teams which should be easy enough. Okay maybe not Vdara. But the other 2 clearly are defeatable, and Baker Park can't seem to do it. We aren't sure how far Baker Park will hold this - MD5's match against Electrum would be tricky if Baker Park cannot find the correct form.


The Gothanita Times
Opinion: Ranting about KPB, luck, and football
Barely 3 matchdays in, and world champions Banija has been guaranteed to stay in the top 3 even if they lose all their remaining 15 matches. 2nd placed Nephara is guaranteed top 4, while Farfadillis remains the only other team other than the first 2 that stands a chance of getting overall first in the KPB ladder. Only 25 teams have a mathematical chance of squeezing into the top 10 of the world, while currently, 15th placed Drawkland is closer to the bottom than the top.

Strange, isn't it? But that, by design, is how the KPB system works. A maximum of 12 KPBs is awarded for this qualifiers, while you will get heavily rewarded if you make it through to the World Cup proper. Fail, and you are likely to gain only tiny consolations from winning the Cup of Harmony, if you manage to get in. This is how cruel the KPB ranking is - easy to reach the middle, difficult to reach the pinnacle. The Gothanita Isles, with 1 win in 3 games, are just barely in 119th place. It would be a climb that would require a solid qualification result, something which is easier said than done.

Speaking of our poor Yellow Lions, I think they were robbed of their points against U-Koro. Absolutely robbed. The 15th minute incident was clearly a red card- Cyneburga London was tackled so badly on the pitch that he sprained his ankle - yet the referee just gave the opposition player a yellow. Then in the 34th minute, when Kartal was fouled in the box, the referee said Kartal was diving. Absolutely nonsensical. If anything, our Yellow Lions was just playing absolutely well yesterday - just that they were unable to be more clinical in the finishing. As compared to their performance away at Regmotto, I think that they were more deserving of the 3 points as compared to the opposition. The opposition that didn't submit any roster. No indication of playing style, information about the teams was absolutely 0. Not like Regmotto had any much difference. They, too, didn't provide any information about where we were playing, instead giving us some random grass patch in a random place. My, that place was absolutely painful to play in.

Anyways, those are probably the 2 most nonsensical of matches. The remaining matches should be nice because the opponents provide the respect by giving a roster and some information about their team. Oh well.

[Sharktail]

SHARKTAIL POST EP40

Top news
1.High pressure on player.
2.Zeehad ready to step out.

1. Defeat after defeat befell the Sharktail team. After a humiliating 6-1 defeat in the opening match, Sharktail lost again, this time to Savojarna. Not stopping there, Sharktail continued to drift with fantasies as he squandered the opportunity to collect at least one point during the match against Saint-Domingue when denied by Rosly's own goal. No fan will love a result like this. After the match against Saint-Domingue, the SFA official website was filled with critical comments and disappointment from supporters. There were also a handful of supporters telling Sahami to step down. Following uninterrupted comments from fans, the SFA made a statement asking all supporters to calm down. And they ask supporters not to be too emotional or angry with the current situation. This is because, this team can be said to be under pressure and criticism from supporters may cause the morale of the players to decline. Commenting further on this situation, former Sharktail defender, Azmi supported the statement from the SFA. He said for the players, they have tried their best to avoid the pressure. But sometimes the pressure is too strong, causing them to completely lose their focus. Azmi also reminded the Sharktail players to calm down and want the brand to come down with a new and stronger spirit and determination in the next match.

2.Zeehad ready to step out.
Sharktail main goalkeeper Zeehad Yusof is ready to give way to other goalkeepers in the next match. Zeehad, who has just joined the national squad, made his debut in a draw against Lorrana. Zeehad was entrusted by Sahami as the main goalkeeper, but after three games, he conceded 12 goals. Zeehad said his words about his willingness to give way to other goalkeepers because he was worried that it would continue to be a point of weakness for the team as well as dragging his other teammates as well.

Ahead of the fourth and fifth matches against Abanhfleft and Chartistan, Sharktail management only targeted three points from those two matches.

VS Abanhfleft line up:
David . Harold . Yusri . Harizul . Karim
Chandra . Azaim . Nik Akif . Balang .
Gaby(c) . Virman

VS Chartistan line up:
David . Haikal . Yusri . Rosly . Haizul
Jaclin . Azaim(c) . Shiham . Amirin
Virman . Shahrul

[Saint-Domingues]

Hafamarimet 0–3 Saint-Domingue: Away day delight
HT 0-2

---

There was a first-half brace for Julien Babesco as Saint-Domingue eased to their second successive victory amid a sterile atmosphere at [REDACTED].

It was a very empty surroundings at the stadium where Hafamarimet were to host the Avengers, with very few tickets sold and the atmosphere amongst the home support being, for all intents and purposes, dead. A small contingent of passionate away fans - who had travelled to hell and back to make the long and arduous journey - were audible throughout, and were richly rewarded for their fantastic support with a fine Dominguan performance.

Babesco exchanged a neat one-two with Nico Pozo on the edge of the area and, after taking a touch to escape defender [REDACTED], fired the ball in to the bottom corner with goalkeeper [REDACTED] having little chance at a save. Shortly afterwards Babesco doubled the tally for both himself and his team when he headed in a cross from the left by Jacques Charbonneau. It was a duly deserved assist for the left wing-back, who was only starting in place of injured Emilio Campos. After a shaky appearance in the previous game against Koniglich Wasserstein, Charbonneau looked a far more composed and assuring presence on the ball, and was frequently bombing up and down the pitch to help contribute to attacks and provide defensive solidity. The Hafamarimet right-winger [REDACTED] as well as his eventual replacement [REDACTED] did not have a sniff all game.

With two goals to the good Saint-Domingue were cruising, never being called upon to get out of second gear as they comfortably saw their way through the game. Jules Binet did not have a single save to make, and barely had a touch except for the occasional goal-kick. In a post-match interview the goalkeeper even went so far as to jokingly refer to today as his "day-off".

Sensing that the game was already done at the half-way mark, Camilo Canisbro elected to bring off two of his main men; Babesco and Josep Carpeña made way for Jérémie forward Raoul Gimenez, who was partnered up top alongside Nico Pozo for the first time and teenager Fabian Delannoy made his first World Cup cycle appearance, gaining valuable experience for the future.

The game was put to bed within eleven minutes of the second-half, when Maxence Vignon rifled in a Gimenez lay-off on the edge of the area for his first international goal. Cheers and applause came from one tiny, cordoned off section off the ground as well as a roar of approval from the Dominguan bench, but otherwise it was silent. A lifeless performance from Hafamarimet was met with silence rather than boos or grumbles of disapproval, which only added to the feeling of playing in a ghost town.

A first ever away win is an achievement in and of itself, and even more so when it is a win in World Cup qualification which gives the team two wins on the spin from their opening two games. Saint-Domingue are 2nd in the table, though they are one of four teams to be resting on 6 points. But still, a number of firsts have already been made just a short time into the cycle. The first goals, wins both at home and away, and the first clean sheet. Canisbro has already been able to demonstrate the progress he has made within two fixtures. A more tricky home tie is up next, who are much more competent than their place in the table suggests, and it will be another good chance for us to see just how good Canisbro's Saint-Domingue really are.

Saint-Domingue head coach Camilo Canisbro: "Away ties are always tricky. It might sound weird considering I have already taken us to two tournaments, but this was our first real away game. Before then we have always been based in the host country, working out of our training camp. Those were neutral, this was an away game. That brings lots of challenges, you have to fly out shortly before, get used to the change in timezone, you're in an unfamiliar country, an unfamiliar stadium, and not so many fans. It has been very hard to get here, even for us. So to see so many Dominguan fans in that away end was amazing. The effort our fans have put in took my breath away. We wanted to perform for them and the three points is courtesy of those away fans."

"After the last win the boys were feeling confident. We might have been fancied to win this one, which is unusual for us, but we were not going to shirk under pressure. The atmosphere felt lacking in intensity, and I thought the same about their team. So I told my players I wanted us to really get at them. Press them hard, run at them, play with more intensity and a higher tempo than our usual game. Hafamarimet couldn't deal with that, and we got some good goals to go with the points. It's been a good start for everyone associated with the team, but we are not resting on our laurels. We are working as hard as ever and already the focus has shifted to Sharktail."

---

Lineups:
Binet
Cotilla <- Sauvage 78'
Boleyn
Cojuangco
Pareja
Charbonneau
Sanabria
Carpeña <- Delannoy 45'
Vignon
Babesco <- Gimenez 45'
Pozo

Hafamarimet: N/A
Saint-Domingue: Babesco (17', 22'), Vignon (56')
Venue: [REDACTED]

Saint-Domingue 2-1 Sharktail: Own goal secures victory
HT 1-0

---

An unfortunate second-half own-goal by Sharktail's Rosly Subri gave Saint-Domingue their third successive win in World Cup qualifying.

The Avengers were riding on a good wave of form; running off the back off two wins from their opening two games, a hard-fought victory at home to Koniglich Wasserstein and then an imperious dismantling of Hafamarimet. By contrast, the Blue Predator had opened their qualifying campaign with a bruising defeat to highly-rated Zwangzug, before losing at home to Savojarna in a high-scoring fixture. Bizarrely - and there would have certainly been some eyes raised at Saint Dominic's Park if it were uttered - there were some quarters who were arguing that Saint-Domingue of pot eight were the favourites for their game against a team from pot five.

There was an early change required for Saint-Domingue, when Giuseppe Cojuangco was forced off by injury, though this did little to disturb the team's rhythm. Josep Carpeña threaded a pass through to Nico Pozo, and the twenty-one year-old this time demonstrated a ruthlessness that had been lacking in the previous home game to fire his team into the lead.

In the second-half Virman headed Sharktail level, though this did not last for very long. Almost immediately after the equaliser, Saint-Domingue went up the other end and began to apply a great deal of pressure to the Sharktail backline, ultimately forcing Rosly to divert a dangerous cross by Antonio Pareja into his own net.

Saint-Domingue head coach Camilo Canisbro: "We had to battle really hard today. Sharktail are a lot better than their placing suggests, we were never going to underestimate them and I think the win today demonstrates our focus. A tight game which required a bit of good fortune but also some top-class finishing. Perhaps our trickiest game so far, and it's great to win again. The start has been amazing so far, but we are not getting ahead of ourselves. We are only focused on game number four against Ancherion. Their last two games have been very hard, but they showed how good they can be in pushing Zwangzug all the way and then getting a point in Sjoedrhavn versus Savojarna. I think it is going to be another hard-fought game and we are working as hard as ever to try and get something out of it."

---

Lineups:
Binet
Cotilla
Boleyn
Cojuangco <- Le Guen 4'
Pareja
Charbonneau
Sanabria
Carpeña <- Lacourse 82'
Vignon
Babesco
Pozo <- Ahearn 90+1'

Saint-Domingue: Babesco (Pozo 7'), Rosly OG (76')
Sharktail: Virman (75')
Venue: Saint Dominic's Park

[Graintfjall]

Snow Wolves left to rue familiar failings

For the second time in as many games, Græntfjall surrendered a late goal to turn a potential draw into a defeat and make their World Cup 87 qualifying hopes ever more vanishing. With three games played the Snow Wolves lie 8th in their group having picked up a solitary point, and pressure is already mounting on new manager Kang Guilin to shape up quickly to the demands of supporters and officials who were hoping for considerably more consistent results from their much-heralded foreign hire. Through his translator, Kang labelled the home defeat to familiar foes Nephara a “frustrating near-miss” and admitted “defensive resolve” had been “lacking in the final moments”, but refused to hit the panic button. “I can’t find it,” he admitted. “I think someone might have ripped it out?”

In the context of previous games, the performance against the Cormorants at the Grander International Arena was a considerable improvement; the last time the two sides met in international competition, a dominant Nephara smashed seven goals past the hapless Græntfjall defense. This time, the Snow Wolves’ back line stood strong for 85 minutes to hold on to a 0 – 0 tie. More advanced stats were not in their favor – Nephara had a possession advantage of 59% to 41%, completed 573 passes to just 115, and had 8 shots to Græntfjall’s 2 – but the ugliest draw would have been entirely welcome. Instead, the home crowd were dismayed to see a costly late corner needlessly conceded. A sense of inevitable dread built up in the stadium as though the languid tentacles of a kraken were stealthily encircling the ground; and so it was, Lothaire Cromwell cleaning up after Konrad Lovelace’s header was blocked on the line by Elektra Lúthersdóttir, who could do nothing to prevent the midfielder stabbing in the rebound.

The result was especially infuriating given the surrender in similar circumstances to South Covello. Traveling to the Revolution Stadium in Riverview, the Snow Wolves began the match without striker Jason Þórhallursson, having failed a pre-match fitness test (though his return against Nephara was an insipid showing and he was substituted after just 50 minutes of largely inert plodding during which he failed to seriously impact the game and missed his only chance with a wayward header). A costly errant pass from Bríana Noahsdóttir opened up a fast Rebels counterattack culminating in a straightforward sidefooted finish for striker Coconut Charles, but the Snow Wolves responded to the challenge gamely and put together an enterprising sequence of play during which they dominated possession and came close to equalizing twice, Noahsdóttir atoning for her error with a crossbar-rattling drive and a typical Hjörleifur Reynarsson header from a corner forcing a good save at the line. The dam burst seemed inevitable, and arrived in the 33rd minute when Emeli Vilbertsdóttir netted her maiden goal after 44 international matches, smashing in a fizzing rebound as Matthew Tyler did a poor job of punching clear a corner.

But the second half saw the home side restore their domination of possession, control, and, eventually, scoreline. Having pressed hard across the pitch for 86 minutes, the tiring Snow Wolves afforded Colo McNiel just enough space to unleash a low shot that Christian Einvarðursson could not get a hand to. Ásvarður Bergmundursson had a run at a second leveller in the dying moments of injury time but tucked his shot wastefully wide. Vilbertsdóttir, in a poetic mood, admitted the aftertaste of scoring her first goal in such circumstances was “like bitter ashes”, while Reynarsson reflected the prevailing sentiment of the team (albeit with his usual lack of verbal precision): “It’s a tough group. The teams we’re up against are skilled and experienced. They never stop thinking about new ways to grind us down, and neither do we.”

Kang’s job appears secure for now, but pundits have suggested it’s not too early to start demanding improvements. “There’s not much time to breathe in the busy international football calendar,” according to veteran football journalist Olle Tobiasson. “A new coach can’t ‘take a few games’ to get used to the system, because by then World Cup qualifying hopes are already over. And then it’s into a Cup of Harmony, a Copa Rushmori, and out the other side again! I’d certainly expect KG to be looking for an improvement by the halfway mark.” GTV analyst Gloria Alessandrosdóttir agreed that “a swift pick-up is needed”, but said the disappointment was less about the results than the nature of the defeats. “Græntfjall have one of the tougher opening schedules and there can’t be too much surprise that strong, experienced sides like South Covello and Nephara prevailed. What, I think, is frustrating some fans – and some higher up at KG – is that these late goals threw away potential draws. Which really means, the team played pretty well, just not quite consistently enough.”

In their next brace of matches Græntfjall will travel to Indusse before hosting Baggieland at home, for the first meetings with each team in their respective international histories. Kang will be forced into a change for the first at least of the two matches, with Hilmar Farmansson having picked up an ankle injury that will rule him out in the short term; Stefan Jokulsson earns a recall to the squad as Vigfús Bensson, who failed to impress against South Covello, and Ásgautur Johannesson, unneeded given Vilbertsdóttir’s continued excellent form, are shuffled back out. Lyngar Rögnvaldursson also earns a recall as Kang mulls the need for more offensive spark given Þórhallursson’s uncharacteristically limp showings to date.

Also in the paper:

• NEWS: “Carpet of glass”: witnesses describe terror as youths smash windows, burn cars in Laafjörður
• POLITICS: Praise, condemnation in equal measure for Þjóðbjörnsson’s fiery speech
• SOCIETY: “Not just about zoning law”: explaining the ‘minaret ban’
• BUSINESS: Tech stocks dip as government mulls anti-encryption law
• SPORT: Final final selections for Olympic delegation set to be announced

South Covello – 2 (1)
Tyler; Klementine, Yachtwood (45+1’), Ukelele, Gonzo; Rivers (59’ Bork ); Night (54’) (73’ Lewis ), Gordon-McHayward-Greensward-Squidward, McNiel (85’); McAllister (69’); Charles (20’) (67’ Brown )

Græntfjall – 1 (1)
Einvarðursson; Vilbertsdóttir (33’) (87’), Reynarsson, Bensson, Lúthersdóttir; Ásvaldursson, Jvarsson (79’ Bjørnsson ); Snæþórsson (58’ Heikkisdóttir ), Guttisdóttir, Noahsdóttir (90’ Dannysdóttir ); Bergmundursson

---

Græntfjall – 0 (0)
Jorgesson; Vilbertsdóttir, Reynarsson (90’), Farmansson (71’ Ernestisson ), Lúthersdóttir; Ásvaldursson, Jvarsson; Snæþórsson (80’ Heikkisdóttir ), Guttisdóttir, Noahsdóttir; Þórhallursson (50’ Bergmundursson )

Nephara – 1 (0)
Provost (90+1’); Muscadin, Verlander, Thorn (74’), Stride; Belgrade (53’ Kalevi ), Cromwell (86’), Shone (79’ Timekeeper ), Koerner; Lovelace, Bastable (85’ Basilisk )

[Garbelia]

Results are in: Sett Forest 1 - 3 Garbelia
Garbelia 0 - 1 Kandorinth
By Norvis FC legend, Edward Ottero

Highlights of today's game:
GOAL! Unknown, SETT FOREST (13) Cutback cross buried into the bottom corner, just out of the keeper's reach.
HUGE CHANCE! Arthur Goodotter shoots from distance, and smacks the bar
GOAL! Steve Ottoman, GAB (37) Steals the ball of the back line and buries a 1-on-1.
HUGE CHANCE! A Sett Forest striker crosses the ball, but the Garbelery keeper gets there first.
-HALF TIME SCORE: 1-1-
SUBSTITUTION! Lonivan Blisset on for Miaow Lutrini (45)
HUGE CHANCE! A mazy dribble from McOtterson, but the shot is blocked and the rebound falls to Ottoerson, who hits the post. (51)
YELLOW CARD! Miaow Lutini (56)
SUBSTITUTION! Lutra Scratchington on for Ottery Ottoerson (60)
HUGE CHANCE! Scratchington does well to dribble round the entire Sett Forest defence, including the goalkeeper, but their defender gets back just in time. (62)
GOAL! Otto Otter, GAB (66) Otto Otter somehow bends in a corner at the front post and beats the keeper, who was waiting at the back post. Wondergoal from Otter, howler from the keeper.
GOAL! Lutra Scratchington, GAB (72) Lutra Scratchington chips the ball from outside the box, and watches as the keeper scrambles back. World class finish. Assist from Arthur Goodotter.
RED CARD! Unknown, Sett Forest (77)
MASSIVE CHANCE! Steve Ottoman somehow misses a penalty. He went for power down the middle, but the keeper caught it.
-FULL TIME SCORE: 1-3-

Player Ratings for Garbelia:

Otto Otter 9/10
Lutra Scratchington 9/10
Steve Ottoman 8/10
Ottery Ottoerson 8/10
Bob McOtterson 8/10
James Lutrison 7.5/10
Arthur Goodotter 7/10
Lonivan Blisset 6.5/10
Lefiné Avianuin 6.5/10
Miaow Lutrini 6.5/10
Otto Johnson 6.5/10
Ottery McOtterface 6.5/10
Lutro Ludovitch 6.5/10


Garbelery Star Player: OTTO OTTER
Overall Star Player: OTTO OTTER

A win! And in emphatic style as well. The cries of "One Otto Otter, there's only one Otto Otter!" rang throughout the stadium, as the teenage midfielder displayed a masterclass. This really relieves the pressure on the manager's shoulders, and should provide the confidence boost we needed. We proved today that Garbelia has more strings to its bow than just Arthur Goodotter, and a set of two wondergoals with one scrappy one. The defenders could have stayed a bit tighter to their man on Sett Forest's goal, but it was placed perfectly into the bottom corner, and out of the keeper's reach. But who cares. WE'VE WON OUR FIRST COMPETITIVE GAME!

Highlights of today's game:
GOAL! Hideyoshi Takahashi, KANDORITH (13) Beautiful corner headed home with ease.
GOAL RULED OUT FOR OFFSIDE! Arthur Goodotter latches onto a through ball, and smashes home, but the referee judges him offside.
RED CARD! Ottery Ottoerson goes in studs up. Awful challenge, Kandorese player lucky not to be injured. (30) (Suspension for 1 match)
-HALF TIME SCORE: 1-1-
SUBSTITUTION! Lonivan Blisset on for Miaow Lutrini (45)
YELLOW CARD! Takahashi (64)
SUBSTITUTION! Lutra Scratchington on for Ottery Ottoerson (70)
SECOND YELLOW CARD! Takahashi just shoves the striker over as she looked to be breaking free. (85) (Suspension for 1 match)
-FULL TIME SCORE: 0-1-

Player Ratings for Garbelia:

Lutro Ludovitch 9/10
Ottery McOtterface 9/10
Otto Johnson 9/10
James Lutrison 8/10
Otto Otter 7/10
Miaow Lutrini 7/10
Lutra Scratchington 6/10
Steve Ottoman 6/10
Bob McOtterson 6/10
Arthur Goodotter 6/10
Lonivan Blisset 5.5/10
Lefiné Avianuin 5.5/10
Ottery Ottoerson 2/10



Garbelery Star Player: LUTRO LUDOVITCH
Overall Star Player: AKIHIKO MIKAMI

This was a highly encouraging display from Garbelia, despite the narrow loss. Being serious, we were never going to upset a Pot 2 team, so a 1-0 loss was a huge improvement from the 6-2 at Pluvia and the Saxean Isles. The back line held strong, and the Garbeli were unlucky not to score when the referee (clearly incorrectly) ruled out Arthur Goodotter's perfectly fair goal for offside resulting in abuse being screamed from the sidelines. The team could not have done much to stop the goal, Takahashi simply jumping higher, and did well to limit chances with superb goalkeeping and defending. The red cards for Ottoerson and the goalscorer, Takahashi, are worrying, but the Garbeli have plenty of squad depth, and this is overall an encouraging result.

View from Venjolath Road will be broadcast on both radio and television daily until the end of the WC Qualifiers, and will be available as a podcast afterwards. Tomorrow, we bring you previews for our next two games and an exclusive interview with Gero Tisza, thought to be next in line for the international job if our currant man fails. Current top scorers for this tournament: Arthur Goodotter: 2, Lutra Scratchington, Steve Ottoman, Otto Otter, 1

[Transvolcanic]

El Vaquero
Fútbol Internacional
*translated to English - matchday 2
“As expected, the team lost to Equestria, however the lack of defense and goals has put the team of Teófilo Koralski in a very bad position, which for the quality of the players, shouldn’t be last with 0 points, and even worse to have just been defeated by a 1-7 score in Xiaohong, which is now the worst result in the team’s short history, the players were not found anywhere, Pablo Colín did only 1 save, he ate the rest of the Equestrian shots, Ferdinand Faibermann was still not in conditions to play, Guilherme Ponte was put as a CDM and this surprised everyone, as he is expected to go as a CB, and obviously made a bad paper, Ignacy Volodov scored for the team at the minute 78, when all was already lost and the players very tired and not in the best state

To make this even worse, not to the players, but for the manager, important people in the world of football in the Transvolcanic Federation claimed it was an absurd decision to hire Teófilo Koralski as manager of the national team, one of those is the owner of TransLiga A club Unión Capital FC Ernesto Deliques:

[insert Twitter-like image] Ernesto Deliques ✔️ @DeliCouprettOficial
“It is incredible but horrible for me as a fan of football to see my home being destroyed with a 7-1 score, seriously @AFTNacional and @TeofiloEntrenador45, you gotta put on the batteries by now! (Insert batteries emoji)
#Ponganselaspilas #queremosverfutbol”

Another important person who posted against this result was Lucca de Chivillis, the son of the recently dead Enzo de Chivillis, an important person who established the basis of the TransLiga A, today’s top tier division in the Transvolcanic Federation:

[insert Twitter like image] Lucca de Chivillis @Luquita_Chivillis
“What has happened today!? I get awake to see my team at least fight against a football top nation and I find it as a humiliation! @CampuzanoMartínezAug why did you go from this team?
@AFTNacional start taking action! My father would have liked his nation to fight every game, showing the sport he always liked
#fueraTeófiloKoralski #palizahistorica”

Later during the post match press conferences Keinri Öctagôn said very angry to a periodist before getting out of the field:
“What? You are trying to ask me something? I think I got nothing to say! The only thing I want is to have a better team! Yes only the forwards alone can’t do everything! I am sick of this ####”

Teófilo, again, didn’t attend a post match conference, which was seen as unprofessional in the entirety of the nation, hours later the #Saquenateofilo (Get Teofilo out) became tendency in Twitcher, right now Teofilo is at a risky point in which, another humiliation would be the end of his period as manager

Interesting news:
-Transfer market today January 15th: transfers and rumours
-Zeila Česvočhy: “Alliaja should have a team in TransLiga B”
-Andrés Vassi: “I want to be in a World Cup qualifiers soon”

Final result: Transvolcanic 1-7 Equestria

---

Volodov 78’ - Unnamed (7) 5’, 11’, 17’ (pen.) 35’, 45+1’, 67’, 85’

Starting XI: Pablo Colín, Ulisés Rivera, Bartolo Medina, Juud Weigners, Gustavo Pamez, Pietro Pelatto, Eugéne Nazenfritz (Marcell Bovier 70’), Minoto Takegomi, Keinri Öctagôn, Dabur Maldonado (Ignacy Volodov 70’)

Matchday 3 soon

[Silvedania]

World Cup: HWBH, or How We Beat HUELavia

By Merpity Merpus

After a disappointing start, fans of the Silvedanian national soccer team are feeling better today. MD1 and MD2 proved to be wins, bumping Silvedania to 4th place in group 1.

MD2 - Game Analysis
Opponent: HUELavia
Score: 1-0
Goals:
71' Isaac Guilbert
Penalties: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Attempted Goals:
05', Cinnam Onerj(Silvedania)
38', Ayuka Hamada-Navarro(HUELavia)
67', Ayuka Hamada-Navarro(HUELavia)

MD3 - Game Analysis
Opponent: Pays Den Haut
Score: 2-0
Goals:
12' Keith Beaumanior
63' Keith Beaumanior
Penalties: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Attempted Goals: N/A

Isaac Guilbert scoring the only goal of MD2. OOC: Ignore the colors of the jerseys.

And now, pre-game analyses of MD4 and MD5.

MD4 - Silvedania vs. Sajnur @ National Stadium, Sajnur

Sajnur has a very skilled team and a record of 2-0-1. We're probably gonna lose, as they have a KPB of 10.32 and are number one in group 1.

Predictions:
Score: 0-2
Goal Scorers: Andre Naulo

MD5 - Silvedania vs. Tioguldos @ Lightgarden Stadium

Sajnur is very similar to Tioguldos.

Predictions:
Score: 1-0
Goal Scorers: Unknown

[TJUN-ia]

OOC: Players mentioned for our oponents are based on the teamsheets for BoF74 (Hispinas) and CR36 (Nacaltora)

---

By Peter Davis

After a tough loss to the Busoga Islands kicked off out 4th WC campaign, David Seems' Jaguars looked to get back on track right away in this long process. One game doesn't mean we're out of contention and that was what Seems set out to prove across these next few games - that TJUN-ia is still in the running.

Game 2 meant a trip to Hispinas, a nation that doesn't recognise its former history as "Hispania y Filipinas" or wants people to recognise that fact, and in this battle of similar playstyles, David Seems would beat out Alfonzo Medrano in this one. The first half was all TJUN-ia, with all 3 of the Front 3 scoring in the first 45. Kepo Ulawaya would get his goal in the 23rd, Joe Green in the 34th and Vladimir Podolov in the 39th. It was fun to watch the Jags make a show of this fixture, but the home fans certainly didn't like it. The 2nd half was certainly more of a contest but that didn't stop TJUN-ia getting a 4th through Tier 1 substitute Preston Chapman in the 65th. The hosts would get a late consolation through Ozeano Amunategui in injury time but that would be the only joy of this match for the home team. The points were TJUN-ia's and so was the first win of the campaign.

After that success, it was back to home shores and specifically the shores of Lake Szen. Beregozera was hosting its first game as Corentin Smits' Nacaltora came to town. The home fans produced an epic atmosphere here in Szensky and that must've worked in TJUN-ia's favour today. Both halves produced 2 TJUN-ian goals with the first coming from Podolov in the 15th, the crowd roaring in approval. Podolov loves playing in his home region and that would be evident when he scored his 2nd just before the break. He helped set up the 3rd with a key pass to substitute Archer Andrews to tap in on 68 minutes and it would be Andrews who helped with the 4th and final goal in the 78th, sending a deep ball to Podolov to complete the hattrick over poor Isaac Truchon in the net.

TJUN-ia certainly isn't dead at all and have risen from tied 9th to 4th in the space of 2 games. Now, the real tests of this first half are appearing on the horizon. Next up is a road trip to Central Shaneville and the new Red Bull Arena in Shaneville City to take on a team looking for their place in the group after 1 win and 2 defeats. Then it will be the big one in TJUN-ia City as Cassadaigua, the 4th best team in the WCC, come to National Stadium for the first time. Considering the history TJUN-ia already has with the Matriarchy, this one should be a fun one to watch but a tough one to play. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group 3) - lines indicate when next edition of Boot It! will be released
MD1: vs Busoga Islands (79) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City L 1-3 (T-9th)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MD2: @Hispinas (315) W 5-1 (7th)
MD3: vs Nacaltora (UR) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky W 4-0 (4th)
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MD4: @Central Shaneville (UR) - Red Bull Arena, Shaneville City
MD5: vs Cassadaigua (4) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MD6: @Flavovespia (41) - Highland Road, Hadford Hill
MD7: vs Muralos (259) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MD8: @Havynwilde (126)
MD9: vs Acronius (100) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MD10: @Busoga Islands (79) - The Dukuma Oval, Dukuma, North Island
MD11: vs Hispinas (315) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MD12: @Nacaltora (UR)
MD13: vs Central Shaneville (UR) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MD14: @Cassadaigua (4) - Dagan Airways Stadium, Concord Heights
MD15: vs Flavovespia (41) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MD16: @Muralos (259) - Komcatt Arena, Urbego (?)
MD17: vs Havynwilde (126) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MD18: @Acronius (100) - Atlas Arena, Defense

[Squidroidia]

Parading the sidelines of the Inkopolis City Stadium, besides national team boss Ryūzaki Mito on the touchline, was a big, child-loving, squid costume by the name of Squiddy. Squiddy the Squid was, like all things following the apocalypse, the vision of leader Higa Takanori's vision. The Squidroidian national team had just came off a Semi-Final appearance in the 10th edition of the IAC, so there was some considerable hype around the football team and the product on the field. Off the field, however, Squidroidia's youth didn't have a buddy, so to speak, to help them cheer on their national team. And so, before the Baptism of Fire, Squiddy the Squid was born, played by a member of the Squidroidian FA ever since the team arrived at Chromatika for that Baptism.

Squiddy only did make the trip with the rest of the NT when they went to WCC sanctioned tournaments or in Squidroidian home games, so Squiddy didn't really see the team draw embarrassingly to Kulefati while on the sidelines. However he did have lots to cheer about when the team were winning - Kids in Squidroidia argue that Squiddy was his happiest during the Baptism of Fire, when his energy was let out arguably more than the national team, his smile beaming as the team went to the Semi-Finals. Of course, he then lost his mind when the team smacked the Gothanita Isles in the 3rd place game. That was peak Squiddy the Squid. Ever since then he was somewhat sad at any given stage of a tournament or even qualification - The home loss to Wymondham, losing 5-1 at home to Cassadaigua, A Flock of Seagulls and very nearly that home opener against Wreckeria. No matter what tournament the team were in, Squiddy the Squid ended up sad at some stage.

Then Jabal Akhdar happened. A warm, fuzzy day at the Inkopolis City Stadium, the Inklings were playing a somewhat rotated squad in preparation for the Valanora game - Bertolini and Meeuwessen went into defense, Tadakata slotted into defensive midfield, Shunji slotted into goal instead of Shingen and, most importantly, Itoh was starting the game again, with Hideo moving to right winger and Itō on the bench. Jabal Akhdar were new to football, having showed up at the Baptism of Fire like Squidroidia did last cycle, although they didn't do as well as, say, the Fourteen Free Cities or champions Treekidistan. Squidroidia, of course, had Elves Security Forc- erm, The Eternal Empir- erm, Valanora away, and that was another can of worms, or should we say a Untitled Elf Game... Either way, Squidroidia were putting some star players on the bench in preparation for that big game.

The team, however, weren't going to press back. Itoh certainly wasn't. As a striker in Xanneria he got the ball rolling right away with 2 goals, in the 6th and 13th minute, to take Squidroidia up 2-0. Jabal Akhdar did respond a bit, with Abdul-Hadi Anis Haddad (Or Haddad for short) scoring in the 16th to bring them 1 goal behind the home team. Before the second half, however, there was a little bit of Tadakata in the mix as the Islander would make it 3-1. 45 minutes later? That would turn to 6-3, Hideo grabbing 2 for himself before the attack snapped back to normal and Itō scoring in the 83rd before Hideo's second goal. Oh yeah, and Nazari and Hakimi got goals along the way too.

It was a decent result for Squidroidia, although they did score a certain ton of goals along the way. Shame that due to the Darmen game and Wreckeria it was their first points all campaign, but it was a start. But as the Untitled Elf Game goes, Valanora was almost certainly going to beat them down to Earth. May the Untitled Elf Game begin...

Squidroidia 6

Hoshi '6 '13
Tadataka '44
Hideo' 50 '89
Itō '83

Jabal Akhdar 3

Haddad '16
Hakimi '57
Nazari '75

---

Alternate Universe W87CQR
FFI Group 3 - Garifunya 1, Squidroidia 1
Uknown Stadium, Garifunya

Even when they start the campaign away from home the Inklings couldn't catch a break. Just like it was without being puppets to the FFI, the very first game for the national team in qualifying was not what they expected. Garifunya? They looked easy on the surface, besides being better than Wymondham in a sense. But they seemed like they could be a team they could win against on a good day. That day wasn't really considered a good day. Despite Hideo's goal in the 83rd, he had to do it because of how good Garifunya were in the first half, with Sonel Augustin scoring in the 38th to give Gari, as they are known around here, the lead. It was just 1 solitary point.

Even with this new qualifying format 1 point is not going to get a team far. In the FFI it certainly wasn't going to make you proven against the big sides. With 7 spots up for grabs for the non-sports region crowd, you had to, essentially, win the group. No going for 2nd or 3rd, you had to top everybody else. Top 4 group winners advance automatically, the rest head into a playoff for the final 3 spots. For a team from here to make the big show, they had to go undefeated. 1 loss can seriously harm any chance of qualifying.

Hence why Mito wanted the team to equalize or even win against a team like Garifunya when the home side were leading. 3 points gone could do a lot of damage then and can do a lot of damage now. For any team hoping to qualify, especially if they were stuck in the FFI, they have to limit losses or even draws to a minimum and put winning above all else. It's been like this since the first qualifiers all that time ago, in the days of Crosshill and Total 'N Utter Insanity. Only now has winning been amplified. Just a couple of defeats and, even with a high level team beating everybody else, they can still miss the mark. For the Inklings, it depends on when and where they could beat Trolleborg and Abanhfleft - They beat them before, so why not here, when it matters more than ever?

Hence why some anti-regional qualifying folk also cite this as another reason to stay with what worked. Aside from teams from wildly different confederations competing against each other before the World Cup, the regional format is only going to harm the regions in the long run. Sure, AO being limited can help big time, but what about Esportiva? What about Rushmore? What about, of course, the independents? Nations from those confederations are rising up big time - Tequilo, Poafmersia, Squidroidia, Kohnhead and TJUN-ia in the independents, Sylestone, Zeta Reka and Vdara in Esportiva, Græntfjall and Tikariot in Rushmore... Not to mention all of the phoenixes rising up alongside them. The regionals system is only going to harm them moving forward and might make the World Cup stale as these rising powers all look towards the Cup of Harmony as their stage until a giant falls down. Imagine that, a Cup of Harmony far more interesting than the World Cup...

Of course, the WCC can change the spots each confederation gets on a whim, so a rising Rushmore may be awarded with more spots if Tikariot argues well enough to the committee. It just might be the confederations getting greedy if it means that Nephara gets to lose yet another World Cup final. The only other proposal greedier than that is expanding the World Cup proper to 48 teams, but even then it allows the rising powers a better shot than with 32 teams. Ultimately, like always, it comes down to what the WCC wants. If the WCC wants a staler World Cup with fewer and fewer new nations making it in and a system that busts the kneecaps of nations who worked so hard because Margaret decided they should lose to Smosh Games or Arklanda on the final day, this is the format. If they want the rising nations to compete, they should turn back to what worked.

UNOFFICIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRACKER

Lineal Belt
FFI Group 3
Al-Qurija defeated 4-0 by Trolleborg
Trolleborg wins the Lineal Belt

Interim Belt
AOCAF Group 5
Baker Park wins 1-0 to Jabal Akhdar
Baker Park keeps the Interim Belt

[Xanneria]

Attacking Maroons defeat North Japan, but did spies get the best of us?
excerpt from http://www.xtrasports.xan/nationalteam.htm

DOMINICA CITY - A glorious day for the Maroons. That day was the day of reckoning for the North Japan national team as the Kirins took tot he field to participate in a qualifier against Xanneria. The game was actually a way higher paced game than a 2-0 score indicates, but in the end a huge game of keep-a-way took place as the Kirini lost heavily in the time of possession department 62.83 minutes to 33.17 minutes. It was sure a sight to see the unique attacking styles of the Maroons, slow down the pace to a fairly extreme level. All in all it was an interesting affair, but the big news out of this may be a suspicious event that occurred in the ticketing center. Ticket personnel at the National Stadium Ticket center reported in the electronic findings suspicious activity during an audit of ticket sales for the North Japan-Xanneria game. According to the audit four Vdarans from "Glaskopolis" had purchased tickets to the game. The issue was that the Audit was done on the day of the game and it could not be determined if the three men had made it to the stadium or not. The four men were identified as S. Gerardikis, G. Maklimnopoulos, K. Roofikis, and B. Bear. All four of these men came from the Vdaran hamlet of Glaskopolis and particularly a neighborhood known as Irboskis. While nothing can be done legally about the fans, and it's unknown weather they taped the match. But with the game at the Vdaran home stadium coming up, it's unsurprising news that the Xannerians played so differently.

When asked coach Rhule had to say this.

Well, yeah, I got worried the second I heard about the possibility of Vdarans with cameras, I told the boys to get out to a quick lead and stay held down to the battle stations and play keep away. I mean I know what people with camera can do unsuspectingly. That's how my sex tape was made.

On the plus side, Andrew Gasey did score his first ever goal in international competition.

North Japan - 0

Xanneria - 2
Feltzer 22'
Gasey 39'

Vdara and Xanneria tie in bloodbath game.
excerpt from http://www.xtrasports.xan/nationalteam.htm

VDARA - the first away game was a tense affair, a matchup against a team less than 6 spaces behind us in the rankings and with the scandal and accusations going around about the "spying scandal" it had seen some media members turn nasty against each other and even star striker Alex Fotellis was talkative about the match. This lead to what can be one of those games described as a all out brawl. With the ref being the notoriously lenient [NAME] of [NATION]. It was clear that this match you could see was fraught with players foaming at the mouth. It came to a head late when Alexis Fotellis and Kyle Falcon got in a shouting match after a missed Fotellis goal that went straight into Markus Portsman's hands. After wards it appeared Falcon may have agitated Fotellis. According to sources Falcon supposedly said

Nate Ellis could have scored there!

This quote sent Fotellis into a rage and he attacked the young Xannerian getting himself immediately ejected. He will be suspended for the North Japan game, and he should count his lucky stars its a one game suspension for a thrown punch. He should be back on the starting line-up the next match and it's should be a doozy as it's the infamous Hapilopper/Vdara rivalry between him at Nate Ellis. But alas it also seemed that punch changed the rest of the game that lead to a 2-0 run by the Maroons and eventually in the 92nd minute a score from Carleton Brower, whose been a fair bit quiet this campaign so far had tied the game up. Up next for the Maroons is a couple of High Stake games against group leader and surprise debutant team Cascadia and Bonbokh u Piche, a team no one knows much about aside from the fact they seem to have ties to Tiogludos.


Vdara - 2
Fortellis 39'
Lazelis 61'

Xanneria - 2
Brown (PK) 74'
Brower 92'

[Trolleborg]

SULSULAND – TROLLEBORG 0-1

The first away match of the tournament took place at our guys in the mysterious Sulsuland.
The film crew was seriously impressed by the state of affairs in this country, in the visited areas of the city and the vicinity of the stadium, the Practically rural feel of the area is striking.
Everything emanated calmness, no one is in a hurry, everyone knows each other personally. And the general atmosphere at the stadium is like in the games of our minor leagues. And this, in general, it must be admitted, is not bad, responsibility does not press so much on the players.

Our lads confidently controlled the course of the game, and in the first half they opened the score – after a very clever pass by Levenkrands from the flank, Severin scored,

And our players have a chances to have scored more, but not too many at all, since the hosts defended their goal net selflessly, compensating for some lack of experience by willing to throw themselves under the ball if necessary and do everything to not allow Trolleborg team freedom of action.

All in all, we won game, with a decent quality of play, and without obvious flaws in defense.

TROLLEBORG – MACCIAN 5-3

The second opponent was Maccian, who was in the third seeding pot before the start of the competition. The fans were eagerly awaiting this game, as most of the experts, pundits and commentators believed that Maccian and Megistos were our main competitors.

Those who like to see as many goals as possible were pleased: this time there were eight of them, approximately evenly distributed throughout the playing time. Our guys from the first minutes tried to prove who is in charge here, but the first attack of the guests ended in a goal - they used the failure on the right flank as it should, defender make a long pass, then midfielder make a cross to the center and forward make confident headshot. Most of our defensive players at this time were just approaching their own penalty area.

Fortunately, the lads weren't discouraged by this turn of things. Ten minutes later Kerr, having received the ball in the penalty area, and, being surrounded by defenders, did not turn around and try to make a shot, but rather put ball back to the Troll, who delivered one of his trademark long-range shots.

And ten minutes later Kolding and Laaste played the ball to the left of the guests' penalty area, took advantage of their momentary confusion, followed by an accurate pass forward, the defenders did not clearly comprehend the situation, lost direction and gave Severin an opportunity to shoot accurately - and he took advantage of it.

The logic of the game suggested that now our lads will continue in the same spirit, but the reality turned out to be more complicated - the teams left for the break with a draw, thanks to the guests' accurate free kick.

In the second half, the situation did not change much, the hosts pressed on and in the 54th minute Trolleborg took the lead again, after a corner goal was scored by Finnsnes, who managed to extricate himself from the defender’s attention.

Ten minutes later, Troll took advantage of the moment of the undecisiveness of the guests' midfielders, successfully robbed them (in the best style of Groningen, we on the stands even think for a second, that he was also learned how to disguise and look like other players), make a few steps and suddenly shot at the goal from 25 meters (and there we are recognize who is who precisely, because that shot was so recognizable).

Maccian, down two goals twenty minutes before the end of the game, did not give up and tried to do what else they could. The protracted siege of our team's goal led to a corner kick, after which the guests scored the third goal.

And then they tried to achieve more. But carried away by attempts to level the score, Maccian took liberties in defense. As a result, Pathmoor after intense fight got the ball from the defender near the box, and then managed to make a pass along the goal line, and Severin had only to put his leg where needed, which he did as forward of international team must do.

The rest of the game passed quite calmly, there were no more sharp moments, our lads won, although questions about the quality and organization of the game remained. Let's see what happens next, because probably most serious tests for our team are ahead, as on the next game day we will have a trip to Holy Empire to the grandee of world football for the exam. Three days before the game, a portal for the delivery of fans will start working, and we invite everyone who wants to support the team in the most difficult game. Lads will need everything we can give them.

[Waisnor]

Wonderful victory and shameful defeat

After being defeated by Trolleborg in the first match Waisnorian fans hoped to score points in the next two matches with Mand Blustopia and Twicetargia. First, the match was played with Mand Blustopia. There have been major changes in the starting lineup, mostly among the defenders.
The new roster played more coherently than the previous one, and from the very beginning of the game Waisnorian team pressed against the Mand Blustopia gate. However, in the first half of the game, the defense of the opponents was held against the pressure of the attackers, and the teams left for the break with a zero score.
With the beginning of the second half, the pressure on the team goalkeeper continued, and on the 58th minute the score was finally opened - Artur Shuteyko was able to take advantage of the chance after a corner kick and sent the ball straight into the goal with his head.
Waisnorian team didn't calm down with this and continued to attack, on the 68th minute another goal was scored - this time Konstantin Nikrevich scored after the Mand Blustopian goalkeeper seemingly knocked out the ball and Konstantin sent the ball back into the goal with a strong blow, this time bypassing the goalkeeper.
Waisnorians asserted their advantage and began to play less aggressively, being more focused on maintaining a convenient result for them, but attacks did happen, and one of them, towards the end of the match, ended with the last goal in this meeting - on the 88th minute Alexey Bolotov scored the third goal with a roundhouse kick, setting the final score.

After a convincing victory over Mand Blustopia fans from Waisnor hoped for the same victory over another enemy - Twicetargia. However, fate prepared for Waisnorian team a completely different outcome of the match.
At the beginning of the meeting, both teams played on an equal footing and both teams had an almost equal number of dangerous moments that could end in a goal. But in the second half of the first half, the initiative gradually shifted to Twicetargia and it was she who scored the first goal in the meeting - in the 34th minute Ronny Dargozhov was able to go one on one with Vladimir Samoilov and get around him, sending the ball into the net.
Teams went to the brake with the same score, and in the second half the Twicetargian team began to dominate the field, giving Waisnor very little chance to attack. On 54th minute, Twicetargia's advantage increased also on the part of the result - Stormy Martins was able to successfully shoot in the lower left corner of Waisnor's goal and make the score 2-0.
To score another goal Twicetargia needed only 2 minutes - on 56th minute, Kei Ardvanev ,thanks to a successful combination in the penalty area, managed to score the third goal with a rather easy header.
After the third Twicetargian goal was scored, Waisnorian team seemingly lost any hope that they can take at least 1 point. Twicetargian players were able to take advantage of this situation and score another goal - at the 76th minute Tina Kinavrei shot from outside the penalty area and hit the top corner, making the score 4-0.
Some Waisnorian fans were already leaving the staduim because they knew that this match was already hopeless, but many stayed to withess yet another goal into Samoilov gates - on 87th minute Kinavrei made a double thanks to bypassing the defenders and an accurate shot at the bottom of the goal. Waisnorian fans were left devastated after this defeat, but they still have hope for the nezt matches.

Team for a matches with Red Kelp and Sulsuland
Vsevolod Gromyko
Pavel Burtsov
Konstantin Nikrevich
Alexey Bastanov
Arseny Bratkov
Timur Skvortsov
Anatoly Makovsky
Arthur Shuteyko
Fyodor Sipyagin
Vitaly Butin
Alexey Bolotov

[Mapletish]

The Sour Kind
"I only know one thing, that is I know nothing"

Commentaries| Timothy Jozua

Mapletish 1-1 Eura: Dragons survived heavyweights' onslaught, shares the point with Eura

The Rosfield Stadium played host to the match up between the two Rushmori countries as the Dragons welcome the Eurans. The two sides were cordial with each other as Beernhard Floris and Lee Sharp shook hands and were picturing speaking to each other. Judging from the smiles on both of their faces, the encounter was judged to be a friendly match up between the two sides. Besides, the Dragons stood little chance against regional giants, Eura. The difference between the two teams were evident at first glance, the Dragons were unranked in the multiverse football rankings while regional giants Eura stood unforgivingly at 10th. Despite losing their previous encounter against Natanians and Nosts, the players were still as focused and deliberate with their warm-up seemingly unfazed by the presence of the Euran team who were on average much older and more experienced than the Maplish squad.

Unfazed, the Maplish performed the Buio'Dzz. The Rosfield Stadium shook. The spectators went on board with the traditional ritual as the home crowd brought with them the "home ground advantage". The young Maplish squad rallied together and gathered in a tight circle after the emotionally charged Buio'Dzz and said their last pieces before taking on the match. The cordial and friendly exchanges between both the Maplish and Euran players proved to be the last time they were that friendly with each other during the pre-match preparations as both sides dialed up and got ready for the kick off.

The Eurans were the first to leave friendly feelings behind and were quick on the attack. Right from the kick off, they were pressed forth to begin their attack. The number 10 side in the multiverse started with Bond at the centre line. Bowman made a quick run into the Maplish half at the starting whistle. Bond made a quick one two with Patterson before the former released a long ball towards Bowman who was lingering in the Maplish half patiently. This caught Quin by surprise as he failed to mark Bowman tightly. Bowman made the run for it with the ball at his feet, beating Dwight and dashing straight for a one to one opportunity against Meade. Meade confidently stripped the ball off Bowman's feet.

The Maplish would survive this scare and regain some composure on the pitch from the resulting passing play initiated by Meade as he distributed the ball towards the right flank to Tijs who comfortably controlled the ball and the tempo of the match. A breather finally following a quick fire goal scare. The Dragons held onto the ball well and were patient in their build up towards the Euran side. A tussle in the midfield ensued as both sides wrestled for possession of the ball in the centre of the pitch with both sides opting for short and direct passes in an attempt to build up the tempo and break up the opposition.

There was a lack of breakthrough from both sides until the 16th minute. The Eurans were the first to breakthrough from the deadlock scenario. Watts got to the end of a stray long ball by Tonomi who failed to find Gauvain with his long cross. Watts retrieved the ball patiently before passing the ball towards Steele on the other side of the pitch. Steele played a quick one two with Robshaw before moving upwards in the pitch. The Euran formation moved systematically and precisely. Steele then attempted another direct pass towards Rowland who caught on with it and picked up Patterson in front. Bowman and Bond dashed immediately, cutting off the back chasing Sonnie and Bobbie. The ball reached Bond's feet and he attempted a shot straight away. Singer was quick to put his body on the line as he blocked the shot as the ball deflected out.

The resulting corner was well defended by the Maplish team as the Eurans almost got their way. Patterson played a short corner towards Almwood who leashed a direct cross towards Menard who failed to head the ball as Dwight snatched the opportunity to head the ball out of the box, another scoring opportunity busted by the Maplish side. Floris applauded the effort from the sidelines while assistant coach Cherokee heaved a sigh of relief in the dugout as he twirled his pen unsteadily. The Maplish side however were unable to make do with the counter attacking opportunity as Euran won the ball back almost immediately as Robshaw outmuscled Quin to the ball as the Euran side regrouped.

Despite being hard pressed by the quick attacking plays from the Euran side, the Dragons were not to be underestimated as they too put in some notable attacking chances. The Maplish had their chance finally in the 28th minute. Elton was the mover of the Maplish attack. Bringing the ball up the left flank he released the ball towards skipper Bobbie. Bobbie danced through the opposition as he got passed Robshaw and sidestepped the oncoming Rowland who came in to cover. Bobbie then set a curling long ball towards Patrick who beat Menard who stayed in deep. Patrick slotted the ball towards Belgrave only to see the latter leaped towards the ball bravely.

The Eurans were hard pressed for another response to cement their spot as favourites. The 36th minute became just that moment for the Eurans. The visiting side showed their Pot #1 prowess and were unfazed by the cooperative home crowd who were singing for the last hour. Following their synchronised Buio'Dzz performance together with the Dragons, the home crowd was at least not satisfied if the Dragons did not try to put pressure on the Eurans despite their unranked status. The opportunity came through for the Eurans. Sonnie tripped fast running Woakes in the Maplish half of the pitch after failing to strip the ball away from Woakes. Both sides kept their cool as Woakes leaped away from the encounter and was quick to restart the game. Patterson took the ball from Woakes and was precise in his pre-free kick set up. He let out a sigh and begin his run up. The curling long ball hit the goalpost and deflected towards Bowman's head who was just outside of the penalty box. Bowman instinctively headed the ball towards the goal as Meade dived into empty space, failing to parry the ball away.

Lady Margaret was obviously smiling at the Eurans as the breakthrough finally happened for the heavy favourites after attempting to break the deadlock since kick off. Lee Sharp could be seen on the sidelines gesturing at his players in an effort to rally them. The atmosphere remained tense on the Maplish side. The home crowd, affectionally called the FIerykop was not discouraged being behind at all. In fact, the drum beats intensified and the singing continued. The Dragons were able to muster a response in the 43rd minute. Tonomi's speed was not matched by the on running Watts who was tasked to cover him on the wing. This allowed Tonomi more autonomy on the right flank. Bringing the ball deeper forward, he was able to pick out an on running Sonnie and the latter unleashed a powerful shot towards goal. His effort was parried away by Belgrave who stood his ground, keeping the score 1-0 in Eura's favour.

The second half proved to come too early for the Maplish side as Floris attempted to rally his side together in the dressing room. The quirky, eccentric, obsessed artist broke into his artsy demeanour and the dressing rooms for the Maplish side was filled with laughter despite being one goal down. It apparently looked like Floris' part time comedy was his attempt to shake off the tense-ness that his young team were playing with in the first half. His attempt to shake the team off of their tense-ness might have played a part in what was about to happen, in one of the more encouraging sides of Maplish football in history.

Finally, it was the Maplish's turn to take the ball at kick off, a chance to control the tempo of the game right from the get go of the second half. Selfishly, the Maplish took command of the tempo from there. The liberation of the locks and shackles from the first half broke off as Sonnie and Quin linked up well with each other and the pair formed a passing quadrant with Dwight and Singer as the heat map centred on the centre of the pitch. Bobbie cut into the centre of the pitch in an attempt to provide for passing options some times as the Maplish tried to distributed the ball to everyone on the pitch, at least the players on their side, to "warm up" the ball in their own words.

The Maplish would be the first to do something significant in the second half. The 57th minute marked the encounter for the Dragpms. Having centered most of their passes in the centre of the pitch, the Dragons moved towards the right flank and took the play towards Tijs and Tonomi. Quin and SInger joined in the passing square as they moved towards the Euran side of the pitch. Tonomi's one two link up with Quin, released Quin out with the ball. He beat the oncoming Robshaw who was determined to steal the ball away from him before facing another challenge from the onrunning Menard. A quick pass towards Patrick continued the Maplish attacking move. Patrick was unable to convert his chances as his shot was parried away by Belgrave who remained on the ball.

The Dragons were not easily discouraged by the miss though. They saw another chance in the 60th minute. Following a misplaced pass from Almwood landing on Bobbie, the Maplish skipper made the most of what he had. He linked up with Sonnie before rounding up the on running Quin who was quick to cover the attacking position as Patrick and Gauvain continued to go deeper into the attack. Quin received the ball from Sonnie on the left flank before unleashing a pass towards Gauvain who then picked the opposite side of where Belgrave was going towards. Luckily for Belgrave and unfortunately for Gauvain, the ball went way out from the goal.

The Eurans were not to allow the Dragons to have their way as they piled on the pressure too. They mounted their response in the 67th minute, 7 minutes late amidst not being able to do it immediately from the resulting goal kick from Gauvain's failed attempt on goal. Following a rough tackle from Elton, Patterson took a free kick from the left hand side of the penalty box. His curling free kick reached the head of Bond who attempted to head the ball towards Meade only to see the latter reach and handle the ball with ease, kind of unfazed by the curling free kick coming his way just moments earlier.

Being a goal down dragged on for the Dragons as they entered the 76th minute. That was to be changed. Steele tripped the on running Tonomi on the edge of the penalty box. The resulting free kick from the edge of the box was handled by the 20 year old skipper. Despite his age, he was composed and the folds on his head spoke otherwise of his young age. He positioned the ball on the pitch and he started his pre-kick routine. Taking a deep breath, he brushed his hand through his hair. Bobbie picked a type of pick and roll for this dead ball situation as Patrick and Gauvain did a two prong run in. The end of the ball path reached Gauvain's waist level as he dropped in a volley to level the score 1-1.

With scores levelled, the game went back to square one as the Eurans became a little more tense than when they were up by a goal. The last ditch offensive waves came in one after another as the Dragons proceed to sit back and soak up the pressure. Woakes would manage a close chance to bring the score in Eura's favour in the 83rd minute. A sluggish passing move between Quin and Patrick was intercepted by the sharp Rowland who then picked out Woakes immediately. Woakes made the run for it after receiving the ball beating Dwight and immediately unleashed a powerful shot towards goal only to see Meade pounced on the ball at the given opportunity to preserve the scoreline.

The two sides were unable to break the deadlock for the remaining minutes of the game as the Dragons and the Eurans share the spoils for this match as the Maplish were safe at least for this match day from a complete wipe out.

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Pemecutan 0–1 Mapletish: Dragons ride on momentum to secure first three points in Qualifying campaign

The Dragons travel to Pemecutan with the close draw against Eura still fresh in their minds. Tegeh Kori National Stadium at the Pemecutan Puri Federal City played host to the encounter between the unranked Maplish side and the 192nd ranked Pemecutan. The Dragons were outsiders to get any positive result from this encounter as Pemecutan who were playing comfortably in their home stadium, while the Maplish squad were young, inexperienced and have travelled a long way to reach Pemecutan. All eyes in the Tegeh Kori National Stadium were on the home team's top forward, Arya Tunnga Wijaya who was the Karo League's top scorer, the 22 year old stalwart was a crowd favourite as cameras were focused on his pre match warm up while the crowd were cheering and clapping as the stadium announcer announced the starting line up.

The Maplish side kept their heads down as they prepared for the game, going through their usual warm ups. Bernhard Floris took the chance to chat with his players while juggling the ball, one of the few times he ever touched a football. For this middle age man to even touch a football meant he had somewhat thought about something other than tennis for a moment. Upon seeing Agung Suryanantha and Surya Agung Pramana from the Pemecutan side heading towards the dugout, Floris took the chance to shake their hands and exchanged a few pleasantries, in his attempt to be friendly.

Before heading towards the tunnels, Floris made one last attempt to gather his players together and huddle them up for a pre-match team talk. The players started nodding in unison as Floris deciphered his plans and the team did a short cheer before heading towards the tunnels in an orderly fashion, all ready to take on Pemecutan. The Pemecutan players were relaxed and in their zone as they knew they got the home crowd behind them. That assurance kept them calm at least and every drill they did were perfectly executed, indicating that they meant business regardless of opposition.

The Dragons would rally themselves and the small crowd of FIerykop who made their way to Pemecutan with the Buio'Dzz as the small crowd of Fireykop in the Tegeh Kori National Stadium coordinated their moves and chants with the players on the pitch. The atmopshere although not as electrifying as that from the previous match day against Eura, the young squad was rallied together over a simple yet useful ritual. The Maplish side were first to attack the goal against Pemecutan in the 7th minute as Patrick broke free from Sonnie's one two with Dwight before meeting the strong Rangga Putra Pratam and Wijaya who was there to cover up for Pratam. Patrick thus, was only reduced to attempting a long shot on goal against Kedek Adi Prakasa who made short work of the attempt.

Pemecutan were not to be pushovers and responded in the 14th minute with one of their own. Bayu Hermawan was able to link up well with Agus Setiahadi and they were able to beat the on running Sonnie and Quin who failed to cover their tracks and failed to track the duo effectively. The duo of Hermawan and Sertiahadi were able to execute their play which allowed Kora League top scorer, Arya Tunnga Wijaya a chance on goal which was securely held by Meade who made the heroic attempt to cover up for the mistakes of Sonnie and Quin. The defenders covering them, Dwight and SInger, gestured and shouted at the midfield duo to stay focused.

The Dragons continued to pile on the pressure. In the 21st minute, Tijs brought down Agus Setiahadi and snatched the ball to make an attacking move of his own. The single leg sliding tackle from Tijs was so captivating that the home crowd applauded his effort even though he had stole the ball from a Pemecutan player. The magic of good football, it brings people together. Tijs unleashed a quick pass towards Tomomi who had repeated this same drill numerous times in training and on the pitch. Taking advantage of his deeper than usual position in the Pemecutan's half, his speed got him ahead of Putra before beating Laksman but was unable to beat Prakasa who stood firm.

The Dragons were not be to satisfied as they began to overwhelm Pemecutan. In the 35th minute, the Dragons rounded up some of their fastest players to try and break up the slow, direct passing play that had dominated much of the first half in an attempt to switch things up in order to achieve some kind of a breakthrough in an attempt to break the stubborn deadlock. It was Singer once again who initiated a high press and high defensive line in a repeat of the situation that presented itself in the match against Natanians and Nosts. Quin took advantage of a misplaced pass between Hermawan and Kusumawijaya in the high pressing style adopted by the Maplish squad to snatch the ball away. This snatch proved to be useful as Quin would find an on running Patrick, who would pass the ball to the side of Prakasa into the on running Gauvain who placed the ball into the empty net. 1-0 for Mapletish, away from home.

The Dragons continued to ramp up the pressure as the scoreline remained in their favour. Tonomi made a running start on the right flank and he was caught on by Sonnie who leashed a wayward side lob over to Tonomi. Tonomi trapped the ball comfortably with his chest before bringing it down to his feet before beating the on running Hermawan who was ready to mark him. Tonomi found himself in a heavily populated right flank in fact as Hermawan, Putra and Laksman had the tendency to almost hug the right touch line in an attempt to slow him down and provide some kind of a crowding/ double team effect to put some pressure on the almost free-rein Tonomi. Tonomi would have his work short on the right flank as he released the ball to Patrick outside of the penalty box, only to see the resulting shot parried away by Prakasa.

The Dragons would attempt one last shot on goal before the first half was over. Having dominated the possession the majority of the first half, the Dragons were not willing to give up control of the ball that easily as they hug the ball with short and direct passes around pitch as they attempted to move together as a unit upwards, downwards and sideward on the pitch, aiming to keep their shape, for a much as possible. It seemed like a parade precision drill if one did not realise that it was a football team performing some team drills on the pitch as practised from the training field. However, once or twice in a game, the players do break away from this monotony in an attempt to spice things up. This time round it was Dwight who wittingly unleashed a straight lob towards Gauvain who was waiting at the tip of penalty box on the other side, standing on the same line of shoulders of Pratam and Laksman. Gauvain went for a volley but his attempt was made short work of by Prakasa.

The first half eventually ended with the Dragons up one goal to none in one of the more successful scorelines the Dragons had ever achieved so far in the World Cup qualifying, leading at half time. Floris could not hide his grin as he patted the shoulders of everyone who walked through the tunnels at half time and was all smiles as he spoke to Cherokee on the way to the dressing rooms. Some of the pressure must have been off his shoulders at that moment in time. Floris was not exactly the most stress-free man because he had something to show for being able to turn around a team that was not filled with the best Maplish football had to offer. Of course, he yearned for the players from the Primero Liga to be playing in the national team, representing the nation. However, he too wouldn't be in this spot if the clubs had not boycott the national team call ups anyway. He was also not the first choice coach anyway. Somehow fate intertwined and he happened to be here.

The second half was started off brilliantly by Pemecutan. Pemecutan had to mount a response against the Maplish offensive onslaught anyway. Following a trip just outside of the penalty box in the 47th minute, with Tijs being the culprit once more, Setiahadi had a direct chance at goal. His resulting shot though went wayward much to his dismay. Meade jumped clear almost handling the wayward shot much to his relief. He didn't have to move much. The Dragons responded immediately from the resulting goalkick. A long goal kick was not exactly Meade's specialty but the wind added some more speed and distance to his goal kick and Patrick was able to trap the ball with his chest before making a quick turn, facing Pemecutan's goal. Patrick would then find the on running Bobbie from the left flank as he cut inward to receive the ball and unleash a long shot towards goal. The ball rattled the goalposts and went out.

The crowd at Pemecutan were not easily silenced despite having faced the mounting pressure from the Maplish side against their national team. The singing and chanting continued from the home crowd at Tegeh Kori National Stadium. The small segment of Fierykop at the away stands could only look on as their singing were drowned out by the home crowd. They wave flags and blow the trumpets as compensation for their lack of singing. Pemecutan might have been more motivated by the home crowd's warm support as Setiahadi and Hermawan moved further forward in attack making their formation a little like 5-1-4.

The 54th minute saw another Pemecutan offensive. A great link up play amongst the Pemecutan players ensured for this brilliant play. Setiahadi, Kusumawijaya and Hermawan formed an attacking trio as they passed and moved quickly in the pitch switching with Wijaya and Pramana in a fast pace attack in another method to break down the stubborn Maplish defence. The Maplish side turned towards more aggressive pressing and body checks to counter the fast moving players and ball. The end of the link up play saw Wijaya attempting a chip towards and on running Meade trying to close the angle on Wijaya but the chip failed as Meade attempted to reach backwards to catch the ball.

The 58th minute saw a Maplish attempt on goal, this time round from the left corner. Tomomi was not keen on doing an outswinging corner like how he would normally do it. He decided to play a direct ball towards Gauvain at full body's height allowing Gauvain to unleashed his acrobatic attempt on goal. However the resulting bicycle kick failed to achieve its intended result as it was well saved by Prakasa. The resulting response from Pemecutan was similar to the Maplish corner in the 63rd minute as Pemecutan had its corner attempt. Putra tried a short corner attempt with Hermawan who unleashed an outswinging cross into the box with Setiahadi ready to head the ball only to see it snatched by Quin who was faster in attempting his jump.

The Dragons would keep up with its attacking in an attempt to improve its advantage. In the 76th minute, Sonnie linked up with Oliv Lui who replaced Quin earlier. Lui's attention to detail saw him avoid Pratam's sliding tackle before unleashing the ball towards Torbjorn who was brought on to replace Patrick. The resulting shot from Torbjorn rattled the crossbar, without Prakasa having to move.

The remaining minutes of the second half was to be a long drawn out time as Pemecutan failed to break through the Maplish defensive line as more players retreated after a change in instruction by Floris to focus more on defending the narrow lead. The final whistle drew the end of the match between Mapletish and Pemecutan as the visitors, finished the match 1 goal up.

The Dragons face Kohnhead next at home, and will be travelling to United Pink States to take them on away.

Group 19                                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Kohnhead                               3    2   1   0    13    5   +8     7
 2 Siovanija & Teusland                   3    2   1   0     7    3   +4     7
 3 Natanians and Nosts                    3    2   0   1     6    5   +1     6
 4 Savigliane                             3    2   0   1     5    5    0     6
 5 Eura                                   3    1   2   0     4    2   +2     5
 6 Mapletish                              3    1   1   1     2    2    0     4
 7 Al Qurija                              3    1   0   2     6    7   −1     3
 8 Port Ember                             3    0   2   1     2    4   −2     2
 9 Pemecutan                              3    0   1   2     0    2   −2     1
10 United Pink States                     3    0   0   3     3   13  −10     0

Kohnhead leads the group at the end of matchday 3 with Siovanija & Teusland following close by, both at 7 points each. The only other team who has maintained an unbeaten record in the group is Eura, who are currently in fifth having drawn twice and won once in their last 3 matches. The Dragons sit in 6th having lost to Natanians and Nosts in the opening matchday before getting a point against Eura and three against Pemecutan. United Pink States remained together with Al Qurija and Port Ember, unable to pick up a win in the last 3 matches. This is also one of the lowest scoring the Dragons have gone, scoring only twice in 3 match days. We will see how many points can we pick up against Kohnhead and United Pink States.

We will see you then!

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

Following the World Cup qualifying victories over Yerapia and Megistos - victories that put the Holy Empire's qualification campaign back on track - authorities from the Imperial Secretariat of the Purple Inkwell and the State Bureau of Imperial Security were quizzed about documents that were found by archaeologists in Turori. These purported to describe events taking place tens of thousands of years into the future of Atlantian Oceania. Both ISPI and SBIS officials remained tight-lipped about the temporal process that would have permitted documents from the future to have been found on an archaeological site relating to the little-known Turori pre-pottery Palaeolithic, but one source said that the events likely relate to the Juan Tzimisces playing centre-right midfield in the current line up.


The brown and emerald-clad Cocoabo legions of the mighty Niggel, the eel-like God-Emperor of Vil'Turor, poured forth towards the Slavian Bull-ships, their laser wing tips unleashing hot death towards the Bull-ships' scrotal command centres.

No more would their differences be settled on the cold and airless vacuum fields of Asteroid Football; now at last vengeance would belong to Niggel! For untold thousands of years, the sentient Cocoabo legions had spread their inevitable terror across the Atlant'Oc galaxy; for who had known before Niggel's rise to power that flightless birds could conquer the galaxy - or most of it. Only the immortal genetically-engineered human-eel hybrid that ruled the Vil'Turor

The Slavians and others originating on the homeworld of old still refused to submit to the inevitable victory of Niggel's Cocoabo legions. For centuries asteroid football had replaced warfare, as many believed that any attempt to launch a final assault on the remaining civilisations of Atlant'Oc would result in mutually assured destruction; none could conquer without their own star-faring civilisation being reduced to dust.

Yet Niggel's slithery mind had read the star-runes; he had studied the Slavian Bull-ships; he believed that he had detected a weakness in the indefatigable be-horned and scrotum-wielding Slavian star fleets. And now his Cocoabo legions of doom poured forth at last to unleash their holy vengeance, and bring more of Atlant'Oc under Niggel's glorious rule.

And yet, moments after he had given the final command to attack, Niggel felt.... doubt.

It was not that he doubted the ability of the Cocoabo to destroy the Slavians, it was only that by forsaking the latest asteroid football challenge, he had....

And then, like thunder, a voice somehow sounded through the airless vacuum of space. Niggel could hear it resound loudly through his mind - and on the flagship of the Bull-ship fleet - Slavian Lord High Admiral J-Jeffekake could hear the same voice.

WHY HAST THOUGH FORSAKEN THE RULES OF FOOTBALL cried the voice.

And then, both God-Emperor Niggel and Lord High Admiral J-Jeffekake saw him... a figure clad in gold and red, floating between the two fleets, and wielding a mighty referee's whistle.

FOOTBALL SHALL TRIUMPH OVER WARFARE; RECALL THY LEGIONS, RECALL THY FLEETS!; and even Niggel knew he had no choice.

Thus it was that peace returned to Atlant'Oc.

The next day, 11 Cocoabo troop ships and 11 Slavian Bull-ships faced each other in a conveniently placed asteroid belt to settle their dispute via the ancient rules of the sport still known - though the field might change, and the scale might grow - as 'football'.

And if, in truth, Niggel's ambitions were frustrated, and J-Jeffekake's feelings inscrutable, they knew they had no choice.

For who can gainsay an order of The Tzimisces?




OOC - apologies to Vil and Audio for taking liberties with your nations' far-flung futures in this deliberately awful semi-mythic space opera. If this doesn't match your conception of your nations tens of thousands of years in the future, then ignore it, and/or brush it aside as an alternative reality version of what might happen rather than what will actually happen; in an infinite multiverse there are likely infinite possible futures, after all.

[Juvencus]

GLI ATTACANTI CLINCH FIRST VICTORY OF THE QUALIFIERS, LACKLUSTER ATTACKING GAME WORRIES CRITICS

Juvencus 1-0 Cosumar

A crucial victory as Juvencus remains 1 of 3 group 6 sides to remain unbeaten so far in the qualifiers.

Juvencus XI:
GK:Marchisio De Pesca
CB:Carlo Callejon
CB:Nicolò Bassi(Yellow card, 21')
CB:Izotz Ibarra
CDM:Nino Russo(Subbed off for Félix Sissoko, 75')
CDM:Piere-Didier Kouyaté
RM:Chimo Quaranta(Subbed off for Júlien Cantù, 62', Júlien Cantù assist, 83')
LM:Michelangelo Santini
RF:Joao Pereyra(Goal, 83')
LF:Joaquim Martell
CF:Santo Silvestri

Cosumar XI:
We have not managed to get any information for their players, but they were blue da ba di da ba die.

The Vinceti Catedral was once again a witness of a lackluster scoring event as this current gli attacanti goal drought has been going on since the previous Independent Associations Cup. These players have seriously forgotten how to score goals, but interestingly enough have massively improved their defensive efforts for a side with just 3 defenders and that goes without saying, it was yet again, another rare clean sheet for our backline(with the previous one being in the horrifically disappointing performance against Treekidistan in a goaless draw). However the lack of goals and excitement met a lot of boos from the fans in the establishment and for good reason, as they came to see their favorite -as the name suggests- gli ATTACANTI play.

Mauro De Casio has not seen his type of Pomenienze play out, as if something is wrong with the squad's mental or even aging state. This was clearly apparent during the first half when Cosumar decided to enter a team of blue creatures that our scientists have managed to identify as vloo. This is one of the very few times that our team has played against a different species so that was probably uncalled for and quite distracting initially as la squadra's players were afraid to get near the Cosumarite squad (Which, reportedly was not half as strong as the side it once used to send). But then the waters calmed down and the engine starting working, Pereyra's technical nature proved to be of vital importance into getting the gli attacanti started organising the first truly offensive effort of the game around the 20th minute, when, after getting through the Cosumarite left side defender managed to cross the ball into Silvestri's head, however the ball was headed wide. Soon enough, a masterclass from Martell would see him shoot a lightning bolt into the Cosumarite keeper's hands and Silvestri tapped it in, the stadiums roars soared through the massive crowd, however this was covered up by silence and boos once the goal was disqualified and Silvestri was fouled. An attack from the Cosumarite side in the dying minutes of the half proved to be a scare, as the striker's shot was magnificently saved by De Pesca. On the corner kick that followed, another dangerous header by the same striker was blocked right on the line by De Pesca and quickly cleared out by Bassi. As such, the first half remained clear of goals.

Entering into the second half, that is where things got quite tricky, no substitutions early on in the 2nd half, not wanting to rest some of the older players and giving the younger ones a bit more playing time in this experimental period. This would almost prove to be fatal as a rare miscalculated Russo pass was intercepted by a Vloo, only for a hardcore Ibarra tackle to clear the ball away. With quite a possessive play and not a lot of attacks, the home side was quickly met with unprecedented boos by its fans, who expect the gli attacanti to be a LOT MORE AGGRESSIVE than it has been lately. A couple substitutions, initially with letting Júlien Cantù in and eventually Sissoko as well proved to be quite the grease the team needed to restart its engines. A pinpoint accurate Sissoko cross in the 78th minute found Silvestri in a very opprtune spot, however his shot was stopped by the crossbar. Soon after, it was a moment of gloriousness as a beautiful Cantù sprint through the right side and eventual through ball to Pereyra found the latter in a tight spot against the goalkeeper, which tight spot meant nothing as he pierced the top side of the net to give Juvencus the advantadge in the late stages of the game. With the scoreline of 1-0, the gli attacanti has recorded its first victory of the cycle and will need quite a few more if it wants to qualify for the world cup.

The next games against Turori and Sannyamathland are of equally crucial importance, with the first one being a matter of the ego as we have never beaten a Turori side and the second one also being a matter of the ego, more so because of the lowliness of the side but also because of that darned IBC 30 defeat.

Julio Campana: 1 goal
Joao Pereyra: 1 goal

Júlien Cantù: 1 assist
Joao Pereyra: 1 assist

Yellow cards:
Nicolò Bassi: 1 yellow
Chimo Quaranta: 1 yellow
Edu Coste: 1 yellow
Red cards:
None

[Megistos]

We Got What We Wished...

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GENERAL | POLITICS | SCIENCE | FASHION | SPORT | FAN'S COMMENTS

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Crap, I think not being optimistic was the wrong move, because I got what I wished for. Damn, could I have hoped for 2 wins and got 2 wins? Probably not, it could just be luck. However, barely losing to the Pot 1 team and drawing to the Pot 3 team is still good. Especially when that specific Pot 1 team holds 4 World Cup titles.

Against Maccian, a 1-1 draw would take place, with Lukovic and Calinnflores scoring, a volley from a cross and a top corner shot respectively. The game was relatively equal, except for the Maccian players being pretty aggressive, which wasn't really countered from the Megistian players. A bit surprising for a match like this to end in 1-1, but you can't change the past, you can only alter the future.

However, the same fate as MD2 against The Holy Empire wasn't to be. A 1-2 loss was to take place, which luck could not be argued through Megistos, facing the 11th best team in the multiverse. However, some fans have pointed out that a similar thing had happened with Eura, now the 10th best team in the world, who when matched with Megistos produced a 6-5 score. Most have shrugged aside some vile comments that the national team depends on Robertson, who manufactured the lone goal for Megistos, even though the goalkeeper was not the best. Midfielder Tzimisces would score 2 goals for the night, one from a penalty and one from a long shot, where Becks was not prepared.

These two results places Megistos in 5th place, a place not many teams would want to be early in the competition. However, Megistos faced two of the hardest competition in the group, which should hopefully mean that we can bag some wins in the next few games.

Speaking of the next few games, in MD4, we face Yerapia. Pot 7 team, we should expect a win, considering the win against Pot 6 team Sulsuland. Shortly after MD4, comes MD5, where we face Red Kelp. Pot 8 team, we should also expect a win in this matchup, facing the Pot 8 team. However, don't get too overconfident - but we can still anyway expect wins.

[Mytanija]

Coming to all good cinemas near you:

[Lorrana]

Mexi Catcha 0-2 Lorrana

7' | Mexi Catcha missed shot
13' | Lorrana missed shot
29' | Lorrana goal: Sidar va Daledi blasts it into the goal from just outside the box!
45' | Half-Time
46' | Lorrana substitution: Em'kava (#4) comes off for Almodi (#20)
51' | Mexi Catcha penalty kick after Lorrana defender Irti Ramük gets a yellow card for a handball
51' | Mexi Catcha penalty kick saved by Lorrana goalkeeper
73' | Lorrana goal: Kiyon taps it in after an Vess Vador faked out Mexi Catcha's keeper!
90' | Full Time! Lorrana gets their first ever competitive win!

Lorrana 0-2 Grearish Union

1' | Officials are deployed outside Lightspeed Arena to calm down the parading fans
4' | Grearish Union Goal: A beautiful shot from 35 yards out
17' | Lorrana defender Irti Ramük gets a yellow card off of a stupid tackle. He won't be able to play the next match against Starblaydia
18' | Grearish Union Goal: A wonderful free kick that sailed just over the wall and into the top corner of the net
34' | Lorrana failed to capitalize on a corner kick
45' | Half-Time
90' | Full Time! After an extremely boring second half filled with parking the bus, Grearish Union gets a well-deserved 3 points after a disappointing loss to Omerica

Current Group 12 Standings



Group 12                                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Equestria                              3    3   0   0    14    4  +10     9
 2 Yuezhou                                3    2   1   0    11    7   +4     7
 3 Starblaydia                            3    2   0   1    10    7   +3     6
 4 Omerica                                3    2   0   1     7    4   +3     6
 5 Darkmania                              3    1   1   1     7    6   +1     4
 6 The Grearish Union                     3    1   1   1     4    5   −1     4
 7 Lorrana                                3    1   0   2     6    8   −2     3
 8 Beepee                                 3    0   2   1     4    8   −4     2
 9 Transvolcanic                          3    0   1   2     3   12   −9     1
10 Mexi Catcha                            3    0   0   3     0    5   −5     0

Current News Headlines

[Central Shaneville]

MIXED BAG FOR CENTRAL SHANEVILLE
A short recap today but Matchdays 2 and 3 are in the books and Central Shaneville find themselves in the lower part of their qualifying group, despite this the island nation has had some very consistent performances only ever losing by 1 or 2 goals, not to mention a win against Muralos.

The Red Bull Arena has provided Central Shaneville with its only win of the campaign so far which the home fans celebrated all the way to the local bars, however a massive punch back into reality for Central Shaneville came when their first ever regional derby against Havynwilde left a sour taste in the mouths of many travelling Central Shaneville fans.

Elsewhere, the story with manager Jay Bucks continues and whilst his job seems a little more secure following a home win, the Central Shaneville board will be keeping a close eye on him as the qualifying groups start to heat up now 3 matchdays have been and gone.

[Havynwilde]