World Cup 87 - RP Thread

by **Transvolcanic** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 7:22 pm

Medio Centro
International Football

“Transvolcanic beats Yue Zhou 4-2, continues to rise from the basement”

During recent days it has been discussed whether Sergio Bautista was the correct manager or not, after his win at Lorrana, the people began trusting, and now the Cats beat Yue Zhou at the capital city in a 4-2 exciting match, this has surprised even the least optimistic people

Transvolcanic started with a 4-2-3-1, a new formation adapted against Yue Zhou:
-Díaz - Medina, Faibermann, Pamez, Delaliya - Ponte, Van de Nainssen - Nazenfritz, Takegomi, Parra - San Marcos
While Yue Zhou started with the same formation:
Ruo - Kang, Han, Zhu, Reeve - Guo, Yang - Liu, Wen, Li Jing - Huang.

The first goal just came at the third minute, a spectacular shot inside the box made by San Marcos that left Ruo with no chance 1-0

Then at the minute 22 a yellow card was presented to Díaz for making time

Minute 32 and after a free kick made by San Marcos, the ball was stopped by Ruo but Carlos Parra, making his dreamt debut, converted after he found with the ball, 2-0

Then at the 41st minute the yellow friend is presented to Medina, he strongly holded the shirt of Huang and that is a foul

We have to get to the 65th minute, as San Marcos completed a “doublet” as he shot inside the box, right of the goalkeeper, 3-0
At that minute, modifications came: Medina - Navarra, Kang - Chuan

Then at the 70th minute, Wen, with a defensive problem in the Transvolcanic team, used this and with no efforts he simply shot a ball directly to the upper right side, where spiders do webs, 3-1

At the 80th minute: Nazenfritz - Van Rosten, Huang - Yu

After the modifications, at the 82nd minute a penalty is declared after a handball from Han, in this case Van Rosten was chosen to convert it, he missed it but in a bounce he scored the goal, 4-1

We get to the 87th minute, a good service made by Yu ending in a goal by Li Jing, who didn’t miss it with 2 defenders in front of him, he made an effect looking shot, 4-2

With that, the match ended and right now several fans may be celebrating, however this also caused disturbs in cities like Ngorno Zveński and Bela Nova, where the police had to control all the fans, it was reported that several criminals like Milanesa Aguirre and Josh Breitner, two of the most searched criminals in the nation, escaped from their prison in Bela Nova after those disturbs, it has been seen as an “appaling and humiliating scene” as the emperor Diego I said

The next match is against Mexi Catcha, a newcomer to the international football, if the Transvolcanic Federation wins, the people will begin trusting in Bautista’s humble but ambitious project

Other news you can see:
-Campuzano: “I never left the team, the team left me”
-El Vaquero: rumours of a possible transfer of Öctagôn to L.U Calapa

by **Yue Zhou** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:58 pm

YUAN ZI-BYE
Beleaguered manager departs Red Dragons; Lu Jialan to take reins

YINCHENG -- Halfway into a humiliating qualification campaign that has seen the Red Dragons collect just nine points from their opening nine matches, the Yuezhou FA has announced their intentions to sack Yuan Zilai after a cycle and a half managing Yuezhou. "We'd like to thank Yuan Zilai for his accomplishments in bringing our national team back to relevance," said Brigadier General Zhao Ruiqing, still the interim head of the FA, "but have decided that in light of recent results, it's best that we move in another direction. Yuan Zilai achieved great things with Yuezhou, including two Copa Rushmori playoff appearances and near-qualification to World Cup 86. However, due to the recent stagnation, we've decided that his management style is no longer what the hardworking, long-suffering Yue people deserve."

Yuan Zilai joined the national team before Copa Rushmori 35 after spending five seasons at the helm of WNS Nangang. In bringing the Red Dragons to an unexpected Ro16 qualification before bowing out in a hard-fought 1-0 loss to Eura, Yuan remade the national team into something that Yuezhou could once again be proud of after a long hiatus from international competition. Imposing a counterattacking, relentlessly pressing style of play upon the national team, Yuan took advantage of Yue football's strengths while mitigating its weaknesses to create a dynamic but solid tactical setup. This style of play shocked the world during qualification for World Cup 86, when the Red Dragons took seven points off of Farfadillis, Sarzonia, and Eraman during a stunning start.

However, in what could later be said to be a turning point for the Yuan Zilai era in Yincheng, Yuezhou just couldn't make it over the hump. Although they remained in playoff position for most of the qualifiers, a late slump that saw its nadir in the now-infamous Alba and Cymru Incident left the Red Dragons on the outside looking in after MD18. While rivals Graintfjall advanced to the qualification playoffs instead (ultimately losing to The Royal Kingdom of Quebec), Yue fans were left with the harsh reality that Yuan's man-management abilities had never quite caught up to his tactical nous. And that theme remained for the rest of his tenure. While Yuezhou topped their group at the Copa Rushmori and advanced all the way to the quarterfinals, they did so largely by beating up on weaker opposition. Even then, the once-staunch defense had begun to show cracks, in entertaining-but-slightly-worrying matches such as a 5-3 win over Nacaltora. And Yuan's inability to manage the diverse personalities of a team fractured by the ongoing civil war also re-entered the spotlight, as he was criticized for his management of striker Wang Jiahui.

During WC87 qualifiers, all of this came to a head. Even in the team's 2-1-0 start, there were significant warning signs in the defense, with Yuan's men conceding seven combined goals to Lorrana and Darkmania in their opening two matches. After that deceptively hot start, things came crashing down on the Beian native. Four straight losses, including shocking upsets by Grearia and Transvolcanic alongside expected batterings by Starblaydia and Equestria, sent the team into a tailspin. Yuan was given an ultimatum before matchday 8 and 9 - get four points from the fortnight, or you're gone - but a disappointing draw to Beepee, followed by a more expected draw against Omerica, proved not to be enough in the end.

Next in line for the job? None other than former Dynamo Dalian and Beian City manager Lu Jialan, whose hiring was just confirmed by the FA. In five seasons with Dynamo, he imposed a counterattacking, defensive style of play that took the former relegation battlers to the heady heights of IFCF qualification. Before the Yuezhou Premier League's shutdown due to the ongoing Civil War, he had been tapped to run Beian City, although he never actually managed them in a match before taking the Yuezhou job. Now fifty-nine, the ex-goalkeeper looks to take the next step in his career by revitalizing the struggling Red Dragons, which reportedly starts with strengthening the defense. In that light, we wouldn't be surprised to see more five-at-the-back and higher-intensity pressing from the forwards to make up for a relative lack of threat from the fullbacks and midfield. However, until Lu Jialan actually takes over, all bets are off as to what style the famously tight-lipped manager will play.

As for Yuan Zilai? The manager has thanked the FA and fans for his time, but other than that, he's been as quiet as his successor. While it's believed that he'll be taking some time off after such a stressful tenure, it's unknown what position he's lined up for himself after doing so. Whether it's with a club in Yuezhou or a position abroad, we'll just have to wait and see. But for now, it's a new era for the Red Dragons - and the iconic manager, who juggled politics and tactics for so long (and nearly well enough to see Yuezhou's first World Cup), will not be a part of it.

by **Cascadia Empire** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:37 pm

OOC: this has no relation to Naked News Jeruselem. We are an independent corporation.

Jennifer Sednah (naked) is the Cascadia Naked News Studio with Rodrigo Blakenship and King Julien.

Hello this is Jennifer Sednah for Cascadia Naked News for match day 8 of the World Cup Qualification.

Yeah!
We won!
We beat Bonbohk!

Cascadia beat Bonbohk u Piche today 3-1. It was a good game. We will be talking about our games first because we want to. I’ll send it down to Rodrigo to explain more about the games.

The Commonwealth of Baker Park beat Happilopper, Xanneria could only draw against Norish Jeia Repa. North Japan and Quakmybush tied, although we think North Japan will say they won, and Quakmybush is a weird name. Vdara (go to sleep dammit) also beat Electrum (yes, you did win a cup). And that leaves us with our game. I’ll send it down to Julien to explain more.

First of all, I am your damned king, don’t listen to the other people. Everyone loves me. We beat Bonbohk u Piche today. I will just call them U. U did not do a very good job of scoring, this was clear because they only scored once. We did a good job of scoring, because we scored 3 goals. We just need to score more in other games, and not let them score on us as much. This win puts us in 6th place, a slight decline from match day 1, when we were in first. Now you can talk again.

The table does not look very good. We are in 6th right now and there is not much of a chance at doing well. If we do well, we can qualify. But if we don’t, we can’t.

Maybe they need me out on the pitch to score, I do kick balls better than anyone else in Cascadia. It was rainy, because we are in Seattle, which is rainy. I guess I have to go home now, I need to get to Indianapolis and kick field goals again.

Ok. How old are you again Rodrigo?

23.

Oh. You look a whole lot older.

Anyways, we won, everyone else sucks. See you later at CNN!

by **Baggieland** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 2:26 am

The DAILY BOING

Baggieland Take Four Points off the Big Boys

Baggieland 4 – 2 Kandorith

In the first game Baggieland entertained Kandorith, the pot two team and one of the pre-tournament favourites to advance from this group, yet they came away with an eye-popping 4 – 2 victory. However, the final scoreline was a bit misleading as to actually what happened during the 90 minutes.

The Lotus Warriors came out of the blocks with great intent; attacking relentlessly and in numbers. The Throstles had to be at their defensive best just to keep them at bay. The rearguard action couldn't hold out for long though, as the visiting team deservedly went ahead and their unrelenting pressure paid off. With just five minutes to go before the break, Baggieland secured a corner from one of their few forays forward, and from Brunt's inch-perfect cross, Dawson rose highest to head home the ball.

For most of the second half it was almost an exact copy of the first half. Tremendous pressure from Kandorith resulted in them going 2 – 1 up. Then, in a rare move forward for the home team, another lucky equaliser where Brunt went for goal from a free-kick just outside the area. It wasn't the greatest of shots and Tamatsuki seemed to have it covered, only for the slightest of deflections off the wall to wrong-foot the keeper. With the score at 2 – 2 and the clock ticking down, Kandorith were throwing everyone forward in an attempt for the three points that would get their qualification back on track. By throwing everyone forward like this, that left juicy gaps for Baggieland to exploit, if only they could get the ball back from Kandorith. And get it back they did, not once – but twice in the dying moments to put a gloss on the final scoreline that, quite frankly, they didn't deserve. Still, no one in Baggieland is complaining!

South Covello 2 – 2 Baggieland

In the second game Baggieland travelled to pot one side, table leaders and unbeaten South Covello. Every pundit outside of Baggieland was predicting a comfortable win for the home side. Oh, how we love it when pundits get it wrong!

The Rebels had plenty of possession in the first half, 72% to be exact, but as the saying goes "It's not how much you have, it's what you do with it." And that was precisely the home team's problem, despite their huge possession stat, Osborne only had one save to make and that was a lame effort, that honestly, my grandma could have saved. At least they had an effort on goal though, for the few moments that Baggieland had the ball, we barely crossed the half-way line. A most forgettable 0 – 0 for the first half.

The second half couldn't have been more different. Both teams must have got the hair-dryer treatment from their respective managers and finally we got to see some football. It was the Rebels who opened the scoring, and just five minutes later they scored again to go 2 – 0 up. Baggieland weren't playing badly, but the quality of the South Covello attack was beginning to show. However, the Throstles also have a pretty decent attacking record this tournament and they got a goal back thanks to some great work from Livermore, who had the Covello midfield in his pocket for most of the match, threading the ball through to Bomber, who in turn danced around his marker before slotting home. Our second goal came from our prolific striker Richardson who smashed the ball into the top corner after some great build-up play involving Bomber and Bassett.

A point away to South Covello – ta very much!

by **Garbelia** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 3:50 am

We aren't even going to tell you what happened. We lost, ok? Goodotter scored, but that was it. 1-0 to Quemorr Isles, and 2-1 to Graintfjall. The Otters are losing hope. Garbelia is losing. Goal difference has improved since GT took over, but we are still losing as he imposes his style on the team, which is why he has returned to attacking football, trying +3, for the remainder of the tournament. Team sheets expected to be released tomorrow, but the manager instructed his staff and players to not give an interview, having no comment himself, and urged fans to stay behind the team, saying that Garbelia is still actually on track with Arthur Goodotter's predictions still showing a 100% accuracy. For them to be completely correct, however, we would need to significantly raise our game.

But for now... We're bottom of the table.

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.

by **Waisnor** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 5:15 am

Surprisingly good two matches

Fans of Waisnor football team didn't wait for much success for matches with Yerapia and Megistos, especially after last 2 matches which ended in total score of 2-10 clearly not in favor of Waisnorian team. But this matches proved them wrong and gave them some glimpses of hope.

Firstly Waisnor had to battle Yerapia. Both teams have very similar results and both scored 4 points up to this match. And it was clear that both teams wanted to take points for themselves.
However, the match did not live up to such expectations: it turned out to be rather boring. Scoring chances for both teams were very few, and they were not particularly sharp.
As a result, the main events of the match were two yellow cards, one per team - Yerapian defender was punished for attempting to feign injury and Waisnorian midfielder Svyatoslav Piatigorets tripped the Yerapian striker in attempt to stop the attack.
As a result, no team was able to score a goal and they left the field, earning themselves one point.

Next Waisnor needed to face Megistos, who ranked 5th in the group before the match and was considered pretty tough opponent for Waisnorian team to face. But it seemed that Waisnorian players decided to exceed expectations from their team and from the very beginning of the match began to fight for the victory.
However, the defenders of Megistos team did their job well and kept their gate safe and sound. Megistos also carried out counterattacks, but Dmitry Samoilov could also repel attacks and not concede goals.
At the end of the first half, the score was never opened, and the second half began with a couple of dangerous moments at the Waisnorian gate, but Dmitry still could manage to deflect goals.
At the 71st minute, the score was finally opened - Timur Skvortsov was able to take advantage of long-range shot from Alexey Bastanov, he was able to bypass a couple of defenders from Megistos and shoot to the goal, making the score 1-0 in Waisnorian favor.
After this goal Waisnorian team went into deep defense, trying with all their might not to concede a goal, and they succeeded. As a result, they won their second victory in the tournament.

After half of the qualifying round matches for World Cup 87 ended, Waisnor is on 8th place in Group 16 with 8 points. Team scored the same number of goals, by the way. Second half of matches will be held in Ethane, Waisnorian team will start with the matches with Trolleborg and Mand Blustopia.

Team for a matches with Trolleborg and Mand Blustopia
Dmitry Samoilov
Pavel Burtsov
Nikolay Vaneev
Alexey Bastanov
Arseny Bratkov
Timur Skvortsov
Vyacheslav Grigoriev
Arthur Shuteyko
Vitaly Butin
Danila Neverov

by **Graintfjall** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 8:31 am

Excerpts from GBC Two [radio] coverage of the first match.

bundles

Thumped

uWu what’s this???

that

* Having never fought a trench war, the concept of dead man’s land is unknown in Græntfjall, but the familiar expression dead man’s water, referring to the zone of the sea where krakens lurk, is very much in currency.

Græntfjall – 4 (2)
Jorgesson; Vilbertsdóttir, Reynarsson, Kristersson, Ernestisson (11’); Ásvaldursson, Jvarsson (19’ pen.); Snæþórsson (21’ Johannesson ), Guttisdóttir (31’) (64’), Noahsdóttir (72’ Þórhallursson (89’) (89’)); Bergmundursson (72’ Jonathansdóttir (74’))

Pluvia and the Saxean Isles – 3 (0)
Kistler; Mullens, Rabb, O’Donnell (51’), Newman (46’); Fletcher (73’ Turner (77’)), Gardner (67’), Schuerer; Gilbride (71’) (86’ Roberts ), Pearce (59’) (62’ Goldberg ), Grisbaum

Garbelia – 1 (0)
Otterface; Findus, Lutrison, Johnson (89’), McCat; Avianuin (57’ Scratchington ), Otter (82’ Blisset ), Lutrini (69’), McOtterson (41’); Ottoerson (82’ Ottoman ); Goodotter (86’)

Græntfjall – 2 (1)
Einvarðursson; Vilbertsdóttir, Reynarsson, Bensson, Ernestisson; Ásvaldursson, Jvarsson; Snæþórsson (76’ Álvgeirsdóttir (86’)), Guttisdóttir, Noahsdóttir (56’ Mensdóttir ); Þórhallursson (27’, 60’ pen.) (68’ Bergmundursson )

OOC: P&SI did not list RP permissions so I have followed the permissions of their master nation, Garifunya.

by **Zwangzug** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 8:54 am

Merano Regency:

Brandon Sonnabend and the national football federation have parted ways by mutual consent. "We're grateful for Brandon's achievements and leadership over the last cycle-and-a-half," said random bureaucrat Ashley Spencer, "and we wish him the best of luck should he decide to pursue further opportunities elsewhere. I mean, there's probably no shortage of associations who believe their squads to be underperforming and have a high tolerance for allusions to doorstopper fantasy sagas, right?"

Kate DiMarini has been named as the interim manager. Formerly an assistant coach with the Commonwealth of Baker Park, DiMarini has been on the bench for Trebuchet Cham for the past six seasons, most recently leading them to third place in the league and the group stage of the Champions' Cup. Any managers interested in pursuing the position permanently are invited to contact the federation with a summary of their past experience, why they actually want this job, and their favorite genre of songs to parody.

Bassabook Baritone:

Exclusive news! Despite the federation's lambasting and scapegoating Brandon Sonnabend for the poor performance of our players, we at the Baritone can report that the bureaucracy has engaged in treacherous and occult rituals that go beyond any hyperbolic quotes he may have uttered!

Sources from inside headquarters claim to have seen the responsible parties striking poses and intoning supplications of false modesty. "We know well that many are the first seeds who struggle, with five great teams outside the automatic qualification places at this juncture," said random bureaucrat Ashley Spencer, feeding some papers with the standings on them into the flame of a candle. "Let us be accursed if we imply we are more worthy or deserving of success than any of these. And should we commit the great treachery of implying that we are a historic and honored nation that is foreordained to win, may we be cast into the outer darkness where not even Cups of Harmony are poured. Rather, accept the sacrifice of this beleaguered coach on behalf of our commitment to character development and turnover, and as a sign of solidarity with other, perhaps lower-ranked but no less competent, teams who have offered their managers unto the eternal carousel that is the mid-qualifier shuffle. Look with favor upon Kate DiMarini; grant not that she be victorious in the strife, but that she face whatever trials may come with reason and dignity, that we too may be said to respect the characters of other nations and not rely on increasingly contrived fantasy gimmicks. And may Sonnabend's career conclude in peace and sensibility, somewhere far away from us, thanks."

Clearly this dastardly hypocrisy, coming from alleged secular liberals, cannot go unchallenged. Please subscribe to the Baritone as we continue to expose these shameful displays!

Zwischen New Courier:

Kate DiMarini's job in Cham was likely to be more secure and long-term than interim boss, but this position has its own advantages. Fail and you can, if not in so many words, cast the blame on Sonnabend; succeed and you're an overachiever who can hopefully leverage that into a real job.

Still, while she was mentored by Pamela Scott, her natural preference is for a more offensive and forward-thinking style than the (1)-4-5-1 she'll be saddled with. Disrupting the team too much at halfway is risky, but can we please stop subjecting poor Fedya Troy-Vee to the barrage that is Group 5? If we must, throw in Laurel Tinker-Witt or Itzhak Canterbury or someone with experience; if we can, go full takil and throw caution to the wind. There's never been a better time to experiment!

Keppal Post-Press:

In the Champions' Cup group stage, Johan Idmar continues to be a goalscoring wonder, helping the Keppal Cosmos overrun Dí Maozöxê and Challengers' Cup holders Megabrantid SC. They even defeated Raynor City United, although the latter topped group E to set up a showdown with Istria City FC. But the Cosmos' clash with Jungle Strike FC should be no less thrilling; see inside for a full preview!

Arlington Moon-Tribune:

Did you know that Trebuchet Cham have qualified for the two most recent cycles of IFCF play, finishing fifth in season 31 (Challengers' Cup) and third in season 32 (Champions' Cup)? If you've been getting up-to-date on Kate DiMarini's resume like the rest of us, you probably have. But did you know that they had never qualified for the UICA competitions when that organization ran international club tournaments? And that they were the only one of our sixteen teams not to have done so?

Well, if you didn't know that, you can learn that and a whole lot more now. Audioslavian journalist Jeremy Jaffacake, well known for his pioneering video series "The Idiot Project," has released a database of results from UICA-affiliated competitions to the public. This ordeal required him to enter the anarchy of Paripana to make inquiries of the PSC and former UICA staff, a task beyond the abilities of many mortals but not the indefatigable Jaffacake. He reports that conditions in Paripana, other than the ongoing complete anarchy thing, are surprisingly decent, news which warms the hearts of many. And of course, the trove of analysis he compiled and formatted is welcome news to every nation that values preserving their sporting heritage, and Wight.

(Fuchs 49)
(Blum 27)

by **Juvencus** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:15 pm

GLI ATTACCANTI END FIRST HALF OF QUALIFIERS IN STYLE, DEFEATING RIVALS MERCEDINI

Juvencus 1-0 Mercedini

Gli attaccanti ironically remain one of the best defences in the qualifiers after 4 straight up clean sheets

After a very strange goaless tie in chilly Gouvanarch the team headed back at the Vinceti Catedral to host fierce -yet friendly- rivals Mercedini. Despite what the scoreline may suggest, the match was filled with a lot of opportunities and offensive football from both sides but by God's will -and maybe a little defensive genius- attacks were slightly ineffective this time around. Mauro De Casio is slowly rebuilding his name with the team currently sitting in 3rd place, 1 spot below the much needed playoff spot, which is held by pleasant surprise San Ortelio with 20 points so far. La Squadra is currently at 16.

Both teams entered the game with much hunger to be the first one to score a goal, the atmosphere at the Vinceti Catedral was intense as the stadium was packed, overcrowded even, with 55 thousand spectators from both countries and possibly different spots from around the multiverse. The Sonnel vs Novapax matchup was going to be interesting. It was not long before the gli attaccanti put its Pomenenienze play into effect, a series of quick passes between Russo, Santini and Exteberria found the latter's volley saved by a frog leap from Hosset, a goalkeeper familiar against the Juven team. Then it was time for Dini to get into the counter, a beautiful Karlovic through-ball found talismanic Dostalok who swiftly nutmegged Callejon and found himself 1 on 1 with Bulgari however Juvencus' main man was there to save the day once again. Both teams would eventually have to relax very soon with their gameplay, to avoid early fatigue during the game. La squadra seemed to be in possession of the ball for quite a long chunk of the first half, although its central defensive midfielders played in a much more defensive setup than normal and they were mostly looking to open up the ball to the side for an attack, however Dini's press was a bit too strong for a while. However, Kouyaté's smart thinking proved to be genius when he placed an excellent cross all the way to Etxberria, he then proceeded to get past Aznelik and pass it to Silvestri with his shot hitting the crossbar, which proved to be the last chance of the first half. It was a dry, but it was quite the exciting first half compared to past games.(Only the embarassing defeat against Sannyamathland was more exciting, but for the wrong reasons.)

There are no words to describe the second half other than it was pretty similar to the first half, maybe in a different order and the substitutions kinda did and did not make sense for the most part as Mauro De Casio keeps his streak of experimentalism even in big games such as the second seed of the group. Chances rained really early on like it was forecasted to be so. A beautiful Martell through-ball found Silvestri at just the right spot but his chip over the goalkeeper went wide, much to the awe of the crowd. The following Mercedinian attack was almost devastating for La Squadra with Chillotov's bomb hitting the crossbar and Dostalok not managing to score on the follow up thanks to a beautiful Ibarra block right on the goal line. Ibarra was of vital importance to the game as he managed to stop another Mercedinian attack almost by himself by intercepting the ball from Dostalok once more just as he was about to break the ice. With the mentality on the gli attaccanti's side, it was at last time for a goal to be scored, a nicely timed roulette by Santini and cross on the follow up was capitalised by a Silvestri header that passed right through Hosset's arms. The ice breaker was the thing that probably cut Mercedinian ambitions to win the game as the gli attaccanti eventually fell back and tried to put the possessive aspect of the Pomenenienze into effect. Lots of passes and circles in the midfield were enough to incite anger in the Mercedinian side but any ambitions for victory over the Mercedinians were almost cut short when Kraljic went on to intercept the ball from Russo and subsequently pass the ball to Dostalok and just as it seemed to be over, Bassi tackled him to the ground in the penalty area and was yellow carded for it. This stroke of genius was enough to save the game as Dostalok's(who went on to be this match's unluckiest player) penalty was saved by an in-form Bulgari. As such, the gli attaccanti bagged yet another 3 points and sit in 3rd place half way through.

Now as the team rest, it will soon have to prepare for round 2 of the qualifiers on which all competition is more familiarized with one another. First up is a visit to our close pals, San Ortelio on which one of the sides will finally have to break the chain of draws between the two.

by **Tumbra** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:21 pm

With Qualifiers Halfway Done, A Look At The Black Eagles' Performances

The Black Eagles, for their first foray into this competition, have shocked and been shocking in equal measure. Sports correspondent NIGEL HAYWARD takes a look at all 9 games and gives the campaign a rating so far.

COUNO - With the first half of qualifiers for the 87th World Cup now complete, a look at the performances of the team throughout this competition is now merited. It's probably not an understatement that the Black Eagles are, far above where they rightfully should be - a brief flirtation with the third place spot before being brought down to fifth - but this campaign has certainly been a shot in the arm as far as national pride has been concerned.

MD1: TUMBRA 2-3 PASARGA
Starters: Addison (6), White (5), Henderson (6), Brown (7), Hart (4), Powell (4), Hicks (7), McGrath (8), Vaughn (5), Fraser (7), Bridges (6)
Subs: Watson (for White; 67') - 6, Morgan (for Powell, 78') - n/a, Cresswood (for Vaughn, 80') - n/a
Scorers: McGrath (33'), Fraser (39')

The first match of the Black Eagles' campaign was a baptism of fire all of its own - the top seed Pasarga would visit the Black Eagles in their stadium. The Black Eagles, however, were not to be outplayed, and held the lead for much of the first half through goals by Craig McGrath and Neil Fraser before Pasarga struck back with Julia Muller's two goals early in the second half, including a stunning free kick on the hour mark. While the game was defensively good going, a late mistake by Simon Hart on the left flank ended up with Erik Földessy being left onside with zero opposition, giving him an easy chance which he finished.

Particular merit has to be given to Vincent Hicks, whose pass accuracy at 90% practically dictated the midfield for that first half. Addison, too, has to be given credit for making a massive 6 saves, including a particularly impressive one late on to deny Muller her hat-trick. Johnny Brown, at 32, once again showed why he was made captain, managing to shut out Oriel Acuna for most of the game.

POSITION: 7th - P1 W0 D0 L1 GF 2 GA 3 GD -1 Pts 0

MD2: VALLADARES 4-0 TUMBRA
Starters: Addison (5), Harris (4), Henderson (4), Brown (5), Bradley (4), Powell (4), Pollard (6), McGrath (5), Vaughn (4), Van Heirolf (3), Bridges (3)
Subs: Lloyd (for Henderson; 45') 4, Buchanan (for Brown; 66') 5, Houghton (for Powell; 77'), 6
Scorers:

The confidence taken from the first game against Pasarga proved unfounded as the team took a trip to Valladares, the fourth seed, and came back with a 4-0 shellacking. What can only be explained as misplaced confidence from Hemmings led to four changes from the team against Pasarga. Three goals from wonderkid Benitez in the 13th minute, Benezet and Baume led to a thoroughly demoralised Tumbran team, and the lack of energy showed in the second half. Particular criticism was levelled at John Bridges, who managed to scuff several shots off target, and the attack was mostly muted.

After the match Hemmings apologised fervently for the choices he had made and pledged a small change in the style of football employed. The team decamped to Tumbra afterwards, battered and bottom of the group. Certainly the worst performance of the qualifiers so far.

POSITION: 10th P2 W0 D0 L2 GF 2 GA 7 GD -5 Pts 0

MD3: TUMBRA 3-0 REGMOTTO
Starters: Addison (6), White (7), Henderson (8), Brown (9), Hart (8), Hicks (7), Pollard (6), Herlinger (9), Vaughn (6), Fraser (7), Cohen (8)
Subs: Houghton (for Hart; 77') - 6, Symes (for Vaughn; 85') - n/a, Ashburn (for Brown; 90+1') - n/a)
Scorers: Herlinger (37', 49'), Cohen (88')

Several changes were deployed for the Regmotto game, seen as a winnable one - Philip Cohen, who had been out for the first two matches with a hamstring injury, returned to the squad, and veteran midfielder Adam Herlinger was thrown in behind Cohen in a shift to a 4-2-3-1 formation. The two, who managed to rack up a combined 25 goals and assists during the Premier Division season, managed to link up again for all three goals, with Cohen playing Herlinger in for his goal in the first half and winning the free kick that Herlinger slammed away into the top right corner on the 49th minute. Cohen came in late with a goal on his own after being played onside by a Regmotto defender, and slotted the goal away easily.

The match easily proved a morale booster, and the Cohen-Herlinger celebrations filled the back pages of the papers as the Tumbran team finally picked up their first win. What filled up the front pages, however, was the arrest of a man who had been linked with several disappearances throughout Tumbra. But enough about the Locke case.

The Black Eagles thoroughly outplayed Regmotto, and deservedly came away with the three points and their first clean sheet, with Brown putting in a world-class performance to deny them any goals.

POSITION: 7th P3 W1 D0 L2 GF 5 GA 7 GD -2 Pts 3

MD4: U-KORO 1-4 TUMBRA
Starters: Addison (6), White (7), Henderson (6), Brown (7), Hart (6), Hicks (6), Pollard (7), Herlinger (7), Vaughn (6), Fraser (6), Cohen (9)
Subs: -
Scorers: Cohen (13', 41', 63'), Herlinger (84')

The impressive run of form continued with a trip to ninth seeds U-Koro, fresh off their Baptism of Fire campaign. There, Herlinger and Cohen linked up again, in a lineup that remained unchanged from the Regmotto game. Cohen this time used his speed to outpace the U-Koro defenders, getting two goals before the half time mark, and getting a third off a diving header from a corner. Herlinger added a fourth late in the game to cap a superb winning run for the Black Eagles. Perhaps interestingly, the usually sub-happy Hemmings didn't make any this match - perhaps wary of disrupting the new balance of the squad that the formation tweak had produced. Up next would be the match against second seed Hampton Island, which would perhaps prove to be the stiffest test of the new formation.

POSITION: 6th P4 W2 D0 L2 GF 9 GA 8 GD 1 Pts 6

MD5: TUMBRA 1-0 HAMPTON ISLAND
Starters: Addison (9), White (7), Henderson (8), Brown (8), Buchanan (7), Bradley (8), Hicks (6), McGrath (7), Herlinger (5), Cohen (6), Vaughn (6)
Subs: Harris (for White, 66') - 7
Scorers: Vaughn (68')

Any visit from the giants of Hampton Island would need to have a defensive masterclass, and Hemmings duly shifted the formation to 5-3-2, with White and Bradley on wingback duty, while Brown took on the libero role at the back. Buchanan, who specialised in playing at five at the back defences, joined the lineup. Up top, Cohen started, with Hemmings opting to go for Robin Vaughn as a second striker playing off Cohen rather than going with Bridges.

The match was generally a foul-tempered affair, with multiple fouls committed by either side preventing either side from truly getting into a rhythmn. Vaughn's 68th minute strike led to much cheering around the Couno Port Stadium, and the remaining thirty minutes saw a defensive masterclass that saw Brown roam around the box effortlessly scooping up loose balls and redirecting them towards the midfield. Particular praise was had for Addison, who made several saves in the dying minutes of the game to deny Hampton Island an equaliser.

In the end, this might have been the team's most famous win - after all, they'd just beaten the second seed in the entire group, and the celebrations engulfed the city into the night. Many attributed the performance to Brown and Buchanan's partnership at the back, but Henderson's tackles - having been designated as the "dirty-shorts defender" by Hemmings - were just as, if not more, important than Buchanan and Brown.

The result also saw Tumbra rise to joint third with the Fourteen Free Cities of Bluecliff, whom they would play in the next round of matches.

POSITION: 3rd P5 W3 D0 L2 GF 10 GA 8 GD 2 Pts 9

MD6: GARIFUNYA 0-1 TUMBRA
Starters: Addison (7), White (6), Henderson (7), Brown (6), Hart (6), Powell (8), Hicks (7), Herlinger (6), Vaughn (7), Fraser (6), Cohen (7)
Subs: Symes (for Fraser; 48') - 7, Houghton (for Hicks; 69') - 6, van Heirolf (for Vaughn, 88') - n/a
Scorers: Cohen (12')

The match against Garifunya saw a return to relative normalcy, with the 4-2-3-1 returning after bringing a famous victory in the previous match. The match itself saw the Black Eagles go up against the fifth seeds, and was another match declared as a "must-win" by Hemmings should the Black Eagles wish to get anywhere near the playoff spots.

In another show of defensive stability, Henderson and Brown pulled through, though less impressively this time, to keep Tumbra's clean sheet as Cohen fired early to gain another valuable three points for the Black Eagles. A potential penalty for the Black Eagles when Herlinger was tripped on the edge of the penalty box was rebuffed after much consternation, the ref perhaps unwilling to make tensions in the small island nation even worse than they already have been politically.

POSITION: 4th P6 W4 D0 L2 GF 11 GA 8 GD 3 Pts 12

MD7: TUMBRA 2-1 BLUECLIFF
Starters: Addison (7), White (6), Lloyd (5), Buchanan (7), Hart (6), Pollard (6), Hicks (7), McGrath (6), Vaughn (7), Van Heirolf (6), Cohen (7)
Subs: Allison (for Van Heirolf; 70') - 5, Morgan (for Pollard; 74') - 6, Henderson (for Lloyd; 77') - 7
Scorers: Vaughn (8'), Cohen (90+1')

This was the biggest match so far of the cycle - while the match against Hampton Island was the biggest giant-slaying the team had done throughout the competition, Bluecliff was an opponent of similar stature to the Black Eagles - the seventh seed - and directly ahead of them in the fight for the playoff positions. The match was deemed a must-watch, and it certainly did not disappoint.

The match got off to a decent start, with Cohen booting a good shot out wide within the first three minutes. Vaughn ended up being the first to score on the eighth minute after a piece of magic from the winger that saw him drift past two defenders and fire it into the upper right hand corner of the net. The rest of the match saw an end-to-end thrilling game of pure football from the Baptism of Fire runners up, who ended up beating Lloyd and scoring late into the match, on the 85th minute.

The match ended up being settled in injury time, with Pollard having been pulled off injured in the 74th minute - Vaughn's cross to Cohen saw him finish neatly into the bottom left corner, and the match was settled there and then. Certainly amongst the highlights of the game was Brown running off the bench after the final whistle to embrace Cohen, who had essentially secured god-like status for himself with his late strike. Once again, the celebrations lasted long into the night.

Position: 3rd P7 W5 D0 L2 GF 13 GA 8 GD 4 Pts 15

MD8: THE GOTHANITA ISLES 3–0 TUMBRA
Starters: Addison (5), Harris (5), Lloyd (4), Buchanan (5), Watson (6), Powell (6), Hicks (6), McGrath (5), Vaughn (6), van Heirolf (6), Cohen (4)
Subs: Bridges (for Cohen; 66') - 3, Henderson (for Lloyd; 70') - 5
Scorers:

Before this match the news hit like a bombshell - Johnny Brown, the rock in defence - was sidelined with a small ankle injury that would mean he was unable to see the team through to the end of the first half of campaigning. The defensive prowess of Lloyd and Buchanan, however, as they demonstrated in the previous match against Bluecliff,

What went up, however, had to come down eventually, and a visit to sixth seeds Gothanita Isles proved to sober up the team after their five match streak, with the team being brought back to Earth with a 3-0 humbling at the hands of the Gothanita Isles. Perhaps a show of complacency from the Black Eagles allowed three to be shipped past them, but the newfound defensive profligacy screamed a need to bring Brown back into the team as soon as possible.

That, however, wouldn't happen, and a disappointing performance showed the need for stability at the back as Cohen fired merely blanks. Dejected, the team headed home to welcome South Newlandia, hoping for a reversal in fortunes. While the team held on to third, with Bluecliff also losing to Pasarga, there was an impending sense of fear about the upcoming match.

MD9: TUMBRA 3-4 SOUTH NEWLANDIA
Starters: Addison (3), Harris (5), Henderson (6), Buchanan (5), Hart (5), Morgan (7), Hicks (8), McGrath (5), Vaughn (6), Fraser (6), Cohen (7)
Subs: White (for Harris; 60') - 7, Bradley (for Hart; 69') - 5, Bridges (for McGrath; 84') - n/a
Scorers: Hicks (24', 33'), Cohen (58')

This match still lives on in Tumbran football fans' hearts, with many of them being broken after Cohen's 92nd minute equaliser was called offside by just centimetres. Another display of defensive profligacy - despite Henderson's return to the side, and being unable to lead the defence - marked a very needed break for the Black Eagles as their qualification campaign now landed in jeopardy.

Hicks scored his first goal of the qualifiers early on, but was soon met by a two-goal salvo from Finnley Wallis, who left Buchanan for dead using his pace for the first one, and saw a misplaced pass from Henderson for his second. Despite this, Hicks seemed to be moving the game along - post match heatmaps showed he'd easily covered the highest distance of the entire team, and was still running for what looked like his life well into the dying stages of the game, and was unlucky not to get an assist to Cohen's disallowed goal.

His persistence was rewarded with an impressive strike from outside the penalty box which sailed past Trischuk's hands, into the back of the net. Despite this, in the second half, Simon McCabe scored a penalty when Addison brought him down within the penalty box. Addison was lucky to come away with only a yellow, and reflected glumly upon the circumstances post-match, pledging to do better. McCabe followed up in the seventy-eighth minute with another goal, rounding the keeper to top off a torrid performance for the goalkeeper.

Cohen rounded out the hour with a neat tap-in from a corner, but his presence was mostly muted due to Tommy Anderson's man-marking keeping him off the ball for most of the second half. His ninety-second minute goal initially saw him celebrate madly with the crowd, who were threatening to spill onto the pitch, but his expression after it had been pegged back emblazoned the front cover of the Herald and other major papers the next day, with the tears coming out of his eyes solidifying his status as Tumbra's finest football heroes.

POSITION AT HALF-TIME: 6th P9 W5 D0 L4 GF 16 GA 16 GD 0 Pts 15

Tumbra's position of 6th is well above their expected tenth place, and at this stage, just two points off the playoffs, will certainly bode well for the team. Should the team be able to solve its defensive issues quickly and get Cohen firing (perhaps by bringing Herlinger back into the 10 spot), then the team will certainly be on track for an extremely impressive debut campaign that has certainly shocked many.

by **Pluvia and the Saxean Isles** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 2:02 pm

Royal Marienburg University, Marienburg, Pluvia and the Saxean Isles

Prof. Charles Cunningham of the history department at the Royal Marienburg University was tired. He'd been up for many hours reading William II's diary and had only gotten a few hours of sleep, no thanks to the subpar beds at the Marienburg Arms. He'd sleepwalked through his first two classes of the day, but now he felt a surge of energy. No, it wasn't the candy bar from the vending machine that was serving as his lunch, it was the diary. He seemingly only felt alive when reading it; everything else failed to excite him.

The last diary entry saw William II confronting the changes to his life, having become King: the parties, the dignitaries, the paperwork, as well as not participating in university education or military training, those having been replaced by private tutoring and training. He chafed at these new restrictions, but what gave him the largest headache was the Praesidium, the royal council of noblemen that made up the executive branch of the Pluvian government. He knew that he needed to neuter it or replace the men on the council with better ones, but it would not be an easy task.

January 16, 1885

After successfully avoiding them for the last several days, today I must meet with the Praesidium. The members of this council are supposed to be the principal advisors to the king and fulfill certain functions as to the running of the state. In practice, they are a lot of old fools. Nevertheless, I must by law meet with them and I find it advantageous to note their respective functions and temperaments here.

The Lord Steward: The presiding officer of the Praesidium and by custom the chief advisor to the king, it is in practice a sinecure. The Lord Steward at present, the 9th Lord Hargreave, is a slothful and indolent man whose chief pleasure in life is port wine. The Lord Hargreave takes special pleasure in being Lord Steward because it comes with a large salary, requires him to do nothing but open and close meetings, vote should the Praesidium be equally divided, and mumble platitudes to the king. He is perhaps the most useless member of the council. He will, however, be the most difficult to remove, as the Lord Hargreave has held the position by custom for centuries. I shall have to find some way to play him Esau and myself Jacob.

The Lord Chamberlain: The head of the king's household, and in practice the chief advisor to the king. Originally merely a functional role, the proximity of the Lord Chamberlain to the king eventually earned him a place in the Praesidium and the king's ear. The Lord Chamberlain at present is the 3rd Lord Montgomery, a man possessed of perhaps the keenest mind in the realm, but also the most reactionary. He is as skilled at wheedling secrets out of any noble in the realm as he is in ensuring the highest quality of foodstuffs for the royal table. Not a bad man, but one who is more than capable of foiling my plans for this country. Likely to be my most implacable foe, but easier to replace legally if not practically.

The Lord Treasurer: The official responsible for the kingdom's finances. The Lord Treasurer is one of the oldest offices in the realm, and the first of any practical use so far listed. The Lord Treasurer at present is the 6th Lord Blackburn, the only good man on the council, in my opinion. He was a great friend of my late father and is devoted to our family. My chief quarrel with him is that he is a proponent of economy in government and opposed to taxation of nobles. I am not proposing anything irresponsible in terms of the public purse, nor do I intend to make the government the nursemaid for the realm, but I do envision an expansion of expenditures and the necessity of our nation's aristocrats to contribute more to the common purse. I hope not to have to replace him, but he would likely step down if I asked.

The Lord Chancellor: The official responsible for the realm's laws and the proper administration of the courts. The Lord Chancellor is a powerful position, having much influence in the administration of justice, and thus it grieves me to see it in the hands of the 5th Lord Ashburn, a man so avaricious and venal that a dragon would wonder at him. My father, God rest his soul, always believed the best of his Praesidium, so he never noticed the rampant bribery and maladministration that many complain of. The Lord Ashburn is also a great believer in hard labour, having never done a day's worth of it in his life. I would prefer a Lord Chancellor that admits the superiority of rehabilitation over harsh punishment in many cases. His crimes are known, therefore it will not be difficult to remove him. Appointing an honest man in his place will be the more challenging task.

The Lord Commander: The official responsible for the defence of the realm, both on land and at sea. Despite the fact that our nation's military success is mixed, we have a martial culture and the position of Lord Commander is held in high regard. The present Lord Commander, the 4th Lord Hasselbach, is a veteran of both Saxean rebellions and minor skirmishes with foreign nations, and a good soldier. He is a stickler for discipline in the army, but he is an inveterate conservative. Not only he is opposed to political or economic reform of any kind, he also evinces a contempt for adopting new tactics or weaponry. He is a war hero and so will be difficult to rid myself of, but he must make way for a new thinker in the position, someone who sees the challenges of a new era of warfare and is willing to work tirelessly to meet them.

The Lord Ambassador: The official responsible for the realm's relations with foreign nations. As our nation is a rather small one, the position of Lord Ambassador has almost always been about placating one or more foreign nations to avoid conflict. The current Lord Ambassador, and a master of this sort of politics, is the 2nd Lord Breckenridge. The Lord Breckenridge is a first-rate vacillator. He seems incapable of taking a firm position on anything, including recommendations for action within the council. He is a wonderful diplomat, as I myself have observed at many functions, but he is constantly ridden roughshod over in the Praesidium. Were he more firm, I would consider keeping him on, but as is, I need a Lord Ambassador who is a steady hand at the tiller both at home and abroad.

The Lord Constable: The official responsible for the keeping of public order and the dark arts of intelligence gathering. The Lord Constable has always been seen as the least of the Praesidium, because its duties are practical and "on the ground", as they say, rather than in realms of administration or politics. The 4th Lord Stromberg is the present holder of the title. He is a fiendish man who delights in punishing the wicked, as he sees them. I desire to replace his heavy-handed and frankly, medieval, methods with scientific policing, based on evidence and the newest research upon criminality. It is my misfortune that such an approach will be criticized for "sympathising with social-democrats and Saxean rebels" in a most unfounded manner. Still, I must find a man who believes in more than bashing in the skulls of suspects.

by **HUElavia** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 3:14 pm

Blowout Victories Swing Momentum for HUElavia!

Sajnur 0–3 HUElavia
(Di Donato 15', Nazario 60', Villca 70')
(Niurka Stadium, Ciarkhan)

HUElavia 7-2 Tioguldos
(Hamada 5', 30' (P), Sakaguchi 22', Yoshimura-Branco 38', Sol 52', Tiong Belleza 75', Jiang 90+4' | REDACTED 44', REDACTED 64')
(Takoroyama Kyougijou, Takoroyama)

HUElavia entered Matchday 8 and 9 needing victories in order to keep pace with the Top 3 of Group 1- Recuecn, Geektopia and (surprise package) Fluvannia. With the recent two matches, the team was sitting in 7th place, and struggling to score goals and hemorrhaging goals in the defense. Playing against at Sajnur at Niurka Stadium (73,000) in Ciarkhan and at home against Tioguldos in Takoroyama Kyougijou (62,000) in Takoroyama, Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos needing to win to make a statement that they were still alive and to boost the motivation and morale in the squad. Patricio-Leite served as the starting Goalie and Captain for the first match, while Rossi would be starting Goalie and Hamada served as Captain for the match. The Home Uniform was used for both matches.

The first match saw strong domination from Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos, as they looked to smother Sajnur, in a rematch of the Group Stage match in IAC 9. The opening goal came in the 15th minute, when HUElavia won a corner, which Ocampo took a corner kick, only for Di Donato to tower over Raglan and head the ball down past a stretching Khadur into the goal to make it 0-1. Di Donato was mobbed by his teammates for the goal while the Sajnurans were silenced from the goal. HUElavia kept up with the attacks, but there was no luck as Khadur was making saves left and right. Ciuru and Naulo also tried to test Patricio-Leite, but he was also making saves, as well as the defense would make blocks left and right to stop shots. In the second half, substitutions were made with Nazario and Gimenes Velho in for Ocampo and Sol respectively. HUElavia would strike again in the 60th minute, as Torrisi had the ball and gave a pass to Gimenes Velho, who got past Isarghie, and passed it to Nazario, who blasted it past a reaching Khadur into the goal to make it 0-2. Nazario ran to the corner flag to praise God while his teammates went to hug him to celebrate his first goal with the senior team. HUElavia kept the pressure going and eventually in the 70th minute, Jana fouled Moutinho-Figo to give away a free kick. Villca stepped up and sent a curving blast over the wall and past a Khadur that stood still as the ball blasted into the goal, making the net make a sound, making it 0-3. Villca hugged her teammates while giving thanks, while the Sajnuran crowd was totally silenced by the goal. HUElavia held out and took the 3 points, which were important to keep them alive.

The second match was a match that went down in HUElavian Sporting History. Against Tioguldos, Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos seemed to let go of their frustrations they've had throughout these qualifiers. The opening goal came in the 5th minute, when Sol was being covered by REDACTED, where he gave a pass to his left, and Hamada appeared to give a curving shot past a reaching REDACTED as it went into the goal to make it 1-0. The crowd jumped up and cheered to make the stadium rumble while Hamada celebrated with her teammates, giving an early lead to the team. HUElavia kept on looking on the attack, eventually getting a gran opportunity in the 22nd minute. Nazario sent a cross into the box, only for Sakaguchi to appear from nowhere and blast it past REDACTED, who stood still, into the goal to make it 2-0. The crowd erupted once again with passion, jumping and cheering to cause rumbles, while Sakaguchi went to the camera and did an archery celebration for the precise shot, all while her teammates hugged and congratulated her. In the 30th minute, a clattering foul by REDACTED on Sol gave way for a clear penalty kick. Hamada stepped up, gave a strong shot and sent REDACTED the wrong way, as the ball went into the goal to make it 3-0. The crowd chanted her name while she was celebrating with her teammates for the goal. In the 38th minute, Yoshimura-Branco dispossessed the ball from REDACTED and began galloping towards the goal, being covered by two defenders. She sprinted in between the two of them, went one-on-one with REDACTED and gave a low shot past a falling REDACTED that rolled into the goal to make it 4-0. The crowd jumped up and cheered with passion, applauding her for her solo efforts while she was hugged and congratulated by her teammates. In the 44th minute, REDACTED stole the ball from Ezwa, which allowed them to give a curving shot that went past the fingertips of Rossi, as it went into the goal to make it 4-1, silencing the crowd a bit. In the second half, in the 52nd minute, Sol was being covered by REDACTED, but gave a nutmeg to surprise the crowd and chip the ball over REDACTED into the goal to make it 5-1. The crowd erupted once more, chanting the Jeong-HUElavian's name and applauding his own individual effort for the goal. In the 64th minute, REDACTED went on their own run, sending D'Aquila into the ground with a nutmeg, while giving a low shot to send it past Rossi to make it 5-2, silencing the crowd some more. HUElavia kept at it and in the 75th minute, substitute Tiong Belleza (in for Savedra) got past REDACTED and sent a low shot that went past REDACTED's fingertips and into the goal to make it 6-2. Tiong Belleza celebrated by the corner flag as the fans chanted her name, while she was hugged and supported by her teammates. One last goal would come late in the finals seconds of the game, as Jiang would dispossess the ball from REDACTED and go alone in a counter attack, going one-on-one with REDACTED, giving a slide to the right to send REDACTED falling and tipping the ball to roll into the empty goal with seconds left to make it the definitive 7-2. Jiang was mobbed by her teammates as they celebrated her first senior goal with the team. Right there, the match ended, in one of the largest victories by the HUElavian National Football Team.

With the victories, HUElavia jumped up to 4th Place with 13 Points, with a record of 4-1-4. The team comes with a large amount of momentum coming into the second half of matches. They will play against Murphtannia in Natel and at Silvedannia, with another mix of players from all 4 teams playing. Marin will start the first game, and Lobato in goal for the second match. The Home Uniform and Away Alternative Uniforms will be used for each game respectively. The Sports Psychologists continue to give support and motivation to the team, who feel determined to turn around these qualifiers. In the Presidential election, Green Party's Pomawari Sihui Michi is taking a 52% to 48% lead over Libertarian Party's Juan Carlos Torrente, and may be winning the runoff election next month. HUElavians continue to hope and pray for the team and country.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

by **PotatoFarmers** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 6:47 pm

Previous RP (Chapter 3 Part 5)

RP Series: Getting to the top
Chapter 3: New Year, New Goals
Part 6: Running over others, before you get Farfed.

2 records were broken over the past week, a really nice record, and an unwanted record.
Let us talk about the good one - breaking the record of Poafmersia's biggest win in a World Cup Qualifier. It would be the 2nd biggest win in a WCC-sanctioned match, the largest win in a World Cup Qualifier, and the 3rd largest win in Poafmersia's short overall history. The team played at home against Caryton, a team that hasn't won all qualifiers, with their only point a shock 3-3 home draw against Farfadillis. The team has not provided any information to their fellow group members, a customary practice that is often seen as "respecting the opponents", so even the Poafmersians have no idea who or what to expect in the match. Poafmersia kicked off with a brilliant start, with Gisiik Moonar taking the ball from the Caryton midfielder, dribbling past 2 opposition players, before making a nice curved pass to Makana Tuft in the box. Tuft merely just tapped the ball in to give the Red Panjias a 1-0 lead. 7 minutes later, it was Gisiik Moonar again, who did a brilliant back heel flick before getting another through ball to find Joel Haodao running into the box. The quick link-up play gave the opposition absolutely no chance to react, and Poafmersia was 2-0 up. Tuft added yet another brilliant goal in the 39th minute, getting the ball after a clearance by keeper Nicole Potts, and then ran all the way to the edge of the box, flicked the ball upwards, and chose to head the ball in to give Poafmersia a 3-0 lead by half time.
Second half came, and the players ran riot. Monesty Erdos added yet another goal for the home side, after Moonar did a brilliant cross to find the head of Erdos. Erdos went straight for the top right corner, out of reach for the opposition keeper, and thus, Moonar got a hat-trick of assists. With that hat-trick, Adnan Suliaha merely rotated, putting on Daas Taisg just to give Moonar some well-deserved rest after his brilliant play for the first 60 minutes. It would be Haodao and Tuft who would work together with a 1-2 to score the 5th goal of the night, with Tuft being the one to tap the ball in for hat-trick. Haodao would later add a bicycle kick from a corner set piece to round off the scoring. The only blemish of the night was the team's inability to defend Caryton's final corner, allowing REDACTED to net in a lone consolation goal and deny the home side their clean sheet.

Against Farfadillis, however, things did not get as simple. The World Number 3 side played out a mini 3-3-4 formation, and literally blasted through the defence like a laser cannon. From the get-go, it was clear that the Red Panjias were not prepared to play such an ultra-attacking side, and the defence made mistakes after mistakes. First was the solo goal that allowed E. Çídh to run past the defence. Then it was allowing 2 players to slip past the defence to contribute to Gallegas' 22nd minute goal. Another low-level mistake during the defence of a free-kick gave E. Çídh yet another opportunity to make it 3-0. By that time, it was clear that the morale was at an all-time low. Even though Poafmersia tried to fight back by switching their strategy and going on the counter-offensive, there were no opportunities to strike as Farfadillis played out a really brilliant game in tip-top formation. Maybe it was because the players are giving a strong response after their loss to Southwest Eastnorth 3 days ago. Maybe it was because they found their scoring boots just again. Nevertheless, the team was unable to take the pressure, and Poafmersia slumped to their biggest loss in history of World Cup Qualifiers, second only to 2 6-goal losses against Baker Park in friendlies.

With that, we have played each team once. Just once. But there is no slacking off. At 21 points, Poafmersia is just sitting 1 point behind toppers Farfadillis, 2 points ahead of 4th seeds Squornshelan Remnant States, 3 ahead of 5th seeds Gyasto-Kai, and 5 ahead of 2nd seeds Krytenia. It is a battle to the finish that is impending - where Poafmersia would need to put in good performances, learn from their mistakes, and ensure that everyone is ready to press on to keep their top 2 spot. Adnan Suliaha, after the heartbreak 2 years ago, refused to make any public comments. But inside, the team has promised to work even harder during the mid-qualifiers break, to think about whether there is a need to reinforce with better players, and then, trying to put forth a much better performance for the next half.

Poafmersia 6
Makana Tuft 5' (assist by Moonar), 39', 65' (assist by Haodao)
Joel Haodao 12' (assist by Moonar), 84'
Monesty Erdos 52' (assist by Moonar)

Caryton 1
REDACTED 90+2'

Lineup for Poafmersia (4-3-3): Nicole Potts; Ariel Casey, Hollis Stephenson, Mitchel Rosales, Josef Gentry; Nero Wood, Ftiks Wariq, Gisiik Moonar; Joel Haodao (c), Makana Tuft, Monesty Erdos
Substitutes: Daas Taisg (Moonar 60'); Kirsti Niemien (Tuft 71'); Zak Kaloyanov (Gentry 85')

Farfadillis 5
E. Çídh 7', 39'
R. Çídh 60'
Gallegas 22'
Alxíkí 88'

Poafmersia 0

Lineup for Poafmersia (4-3-3): Sandi Jaliaha; Nasri Sanchez, Mitchel Rosales, Hollis Stephenson, Natalia Abbott; Arnold Shwentin, Woden Sweet, Gisiik Moonar; Joel Haodao, Shakira Handris (c), Pete Carisa
Subsitutes: Donk Mason (Shwentin 53'), Ftiks Wariq (Sweet 67'), Alex Hoboson (Rosales 78')

by **Mapletish** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 7:19 pm

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

Commentaries| Timothy Jozua

Al Qurija 2–1 Mapletish: Dragons edged out by The Secret Champs in Petro Mohammed Stadium

The unofficial world champion before that title was lost, Al Qurija continues to be one of the more "confident" teams, one can observe. They have a presence, an aura when they stepped onto the pitch for the pre-kick off warm up. What hits the visiting teams first when they arrived, was the presence of the Qurijan flag-coloured smokes and the smell of the different herbs in the different corners of the stadium. Bernhard Floris and Pau Porras, the two head coaches of the teams walked towards the centre of the pitch as their teams were warming up to shake hands and exchanged a few pleasantries as a sign of goodwill.

The Buio'Dzz added on to the stadium atmosphere and with the multi-cultural and multi-racialism of Al Qurija, the added Maplish indigenous culture in the stadium added onto the atmosphere of the Petro Mohammed Stadium which already has a rich sense of multiculturalism. The small visiting crowd of the Fireykop, the Maplish supporters, fired up into action as they followed on with the Buio'Dzz, a common ritual that the Fireykop has done when they are visiting foreign stadiums as a sign of solidarity with the visiting Maplish side.

The game kicked off with a patient build up play from Al Qurija. This tactic was similar in terms of the ones that the Dragons had utilised over the last few matches of the qualifying campaign. The Dragons were cautious as they set up their defensive lines conservatively to prevent a sudden counter attacking move from the home side. The game went down to a midfield battle for possession with the tempo set by the home side. The tussle for the ball saw shirt-grabbing and spews of cursing and pushing from the Al Qurijan players as they made sure they assert dominance at home early in the game. Patrick was brought down twice outside of the penalty box by the shirt pulling of his marker Stojko Popovski, the skipper of the Secret Champs. Patrick looked a little beaten down from all of that but managed to stand himself up.

The home side were the first to attempt a shot on goal in the 15th minute. A patient build up play from the the defence via Najm saw the Qurijans move the ball up towards the centre of the pitch. Faced with a Maplish side who did not exert much pressure on their pressing, the Qurijans had space to work with. Abbas Gim got to the end of the build up play and released Modevideo Carpi, their centre forward towards goal. However, the resulting shot from the left corner of the penalty box ended up weak and was routinely saved by the Dragons' shotstopper, Meade.

The Qurijans would come knocking on the gates of opportunity once again in the 25th minute. This time round, they were successful. The patient possession play was utilised by the Qurijans and the Dragons' pressing continued to be less aggressive than the home side had expected. A passing frenzy from Krstevski, Gim and Mohammed brought the ball towards the right flank to Kang who would tip a straight pass towards Carpi to allow him to have a shot on goal from the centre of the penalty box. Much to the frustrations of Dwight who had failed to chase down Carpi as he slipped past his marking. The fustrated Dwight could only look on as Carpi opened the scoring, 1-0 for the home side.

Carpi would continue to be the focal point of attack for the Qurijans while the Dragons would attempt a quick response to the opening goal to call an equaliser before the first half came to an end. Bobbie started off from the left flank following, an equally patient possession play from the Dragons. Ensuring that everyone gets a feel for the football, the ball was moved around the pitch and to each of the players, even reaching Meade for him to re-distribute the ball again. Bobbie's long cross towards an on running Gauvain saw it end off at his waist level, before Gauvain leashes a volley to beat Maksimovic, bringing the score to 1-1.

The first half would end as such and that allowed for the Dragons to go back to regroup as Floris attempted to rally his players once again. The rough, aggressive tussling play from the home side had clearly drawn onto the Maplish players as they failed to display their usual valour and vigour in play. The eccentricity of Floris was thought to help the players ease up a little. "You don't have to play their game guys, it is up to us to play our game. What they do with their game is up to them," Floris encouraged his players as they sat with their heads hung low in the dressing rom, looking especially beaten and worn out from the tussling treat they had received. "Yes, the referee was not exactly on our side, when he let some of those fouls go but it is up to us to see how we think of that. Think nothing of that, stand up again and continue. Patrick was an example out there, being taken down by their captain, he stood up again, not looking at anyone for solace or confirmation, no arguments, just stand up and go," Floris continued carefully as he glanced through the dressing room. This time round, the expression "with their heads hung low" expressed a different meaning. It meant, "deep in thought", rather than "in defeat".

The Dragons would kick off the second half with a more aggressive build up play as they passed the ball around in their patient possession play with a little bit more vigour in the second half. The Floris' effect appeared to have shone through and resonated with the players. The Maplish side had thus been able to put in a few quality chances against the Qurijans' goal in essence. Tonomi's long cross from the right flank in the 50th minute was a great example. He linked up well with Tijs as he trapped a wobbly pass from Tijs. Tonomi would then attempt to bring the ball up towards the Qurijans' half as he beat his first marker, Kang and then Gim who had attempted to snatch the ball from him. Tonomi quickly found the fast running Sonnie. Sonnie received the resulting pass and attempted a quick shot on goal which was parried out from danger by the ever-present Maksimovic.

The Dragons were not to be easily denied by that and were quick to attempt another chance at goal. That chance came in the 62nd minute. After being more aggressive in pressing, the patient possession play advocated and practised by the Qurijans was broken up by the Maplish side. Krstevski fell victim to Quin's aggressive body check and tackle while the former held onto Quin's shirt in an attempt to keep his balance off. That did little as Quin broke away from Krstevski quickly That allowed Sonnie to run forward in an attempt to support, with Patrick dropping down a little deeper to give Quin options. Quin opted to picked the ball up and distributed it to his right flank to allow the on running Tonomi to receive the ball. Tonomi broke away from the attempting tucking by Gim and unleashed a pin point pass to Patrick before allowing Sonnie to cut into the penalty box. Sonnie then received the ball and attempted a shot against Maksimovic. Maksimovic would keep the ball out confidently much to Sonnie's frustrations.

The Qurijans were not to allow the Dragons to be dancing on their turf. The 75th minute saw Gim snatched the ball from Patrick via a heavy sliding tackle which saw Patrick flew out of balance. Patrick could only pick himself up and chase down Gim but Gim had already been sprinting ahead with the ball. Quin attempted to cut him off but Gim made easy work of that attempt. A risky through pass from Gim saw Gonzalez took the ball and attempted a shot on goal from the edge of the penalty box on the left. The shot caught Meade on the far right corner of the goal. The home side were 2-1 up.

The restarted in play continued to see test how patient the Dragons were against an opponent who has played physically throughout the game but the Dragons were unable to add another significant attacking opportunity to their inventory as they could only come away with a 2-1 loss to the Qurijans and had to go home a little more beaten up than usual. The Dragons face Siovanija & Teusland back at home next and will be treated to a well-deserved mid qualifying break. We will see you then.

by **Savigliane** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:32 pm

LA GAZETTE DE VILLENEUVE
Ligurie's Premier News Source
SURGING SWANS SHOCK SUPPORTERS, SECURE SECOND
AMELIE BOUCHER, sports

ACQUI BOLLENTE -- Immediately after the World Cup qualifying draw placed Savigliane in Group 19 with Rushmori titans Eura, rising stars Siovanija & Teusland, and a bevy of dangerous lower-pot sides including Port Ember, Kohnhead, Mapletish, and Unofficial World Champions Al Qurija, it's safe to say expectations for the national team were at their lowest in decades. Although new manager Tlanx-Nulzk Hal promised great results, he was also bringing a radical new system that would require serious growing pains to implement. And even if they were able to get their system working, the past few tournaments had shaken Saviglianos' belief in the quality of their national team compared to others in this post-Event world they were still adjusting to. So to see the Swans in second place (three points ahead of Eura!) with a 6-1-2 record halfway through qualification has come as a tremendous - if welcome - surprise.

While the team hasn't quite proven themselves against the cream of the crop, narrowly losing 1-0 to Siovanija & Teusland before being vastly outclassed in a scoreless home draw against Eura, their record against the rest of the group has been nearly flawless, with an early 4-1 battering at the hands of Michael White's Kohnhead the only other blemish. And while a perfect record against Pots 5-10 isn't the sort of flashy upset that gets fans excited, not even Siovanija & Teusland or Eura can say the same of their national teams. It speaks to how solid Savigliane have been through nine matches - defensive stability is absolutely not a hallmark of Tlanx-Nulzk Hal's preferred style of play, but in their past seven matches, Savigliane have conceded just five goals, a mark bested only by Mapletish in Group 19.

Key to the team's defensive solidity has been the emergence of Chiara Blanco and Nico D'Ambrosio as Tlanx-Nulzk's first choices at their respective positions, as well as the steady excellence of Bertrand Marchetti, arguably the Swans' most consistent performer over the years. Blanco and Marchetti have proven essential to Tlanx-Nulzk's hard-pressing, high-line style of defense, which demands elite pace and physicality of its defenders, as well as significant two-way contributions from the fullbacks. With Blanco's steel proving a perfect match for center-back partner Adélaïde Garcia, and Marchetti proving a constant presence on all parts of the left flank, Tlanx-Nulzk can rest easy for now knowing that the defense can clean up any gaps left after a high-energy attack loses possession. Even if what has proven to be a strong back four is bypassed, former Pietrargenta star D'Ambrosio has proven an incredible last line of defense, leaving the formerly-undroppable Camillo Notari of AC Acqui Bollente fighting for his spot in the starting eleven. Perhaps emboldened by his recent transfer to SilverLeague champions AFC Mayville, D'Ambrosio was at his best in the MD9 clash against Eura, making eight saves to deny Eura a deserved three points, and showing the distribution ability that led to his selection in the first place.

While sixteen goals from nine matches (fifth in the qualifying group) may not seem that impressive, especially given Tlanxball's promises of a high-octane attacking style of play, there's reason to be optimistic about the Swans' attack as well. The timeless Francesco Grimaldi has led the way so far with four goals, but a balanced attack has seen Adrian Toscani, Isabella Coste, and Michael Durand all score multiple times as well. While the dynamic Toscani, hardworking Amara Vatrican, and the creative Pietro Giraudo have almost immediately established themselves as Tlanx-Nulzk's midfield three of choice, and Marchetti and either Margherita Romano or Giovanna Vitale have proven themselves attacking threats in their own right, Tlanx-Nulzk has had a finer balancing act up front. Francesco Grimaldi's skill, physicality, and eye for goal have made him undroppable, but Tlanx-Nulzk still needs to work out who plays alongside him. Playing two inside-forwards, likely Coste and the revitalized Michael Durand, gives the setup greater skill and passing ability, but at the expense of the width and pace that traditional Tlanxball requires. Meanwhile, the likes of Zoë Barthelemy and Calliope Montevecchi have shown themselves a little raw, but may offer a different direction.

Still, although the attack hasn't fully worked out - although it's had its moments in scintillating wins over Port Ember and Mapletish - it was always the part of Tlanxball that would take the most time, as new players build familiarity with each other and the new tactical setup. It's therefore been encouraging to see that the Swans have still been able to grind out results through defensive excellence, buying the attack valuable time to gel before the qualification campaign continues. And if Tlanxball can really get up and running, well...while Eura may be only three points behind, and a minefield of a schedule awaits the Swans, the future is bright in Villeneuve.

Natanians and Nosts 0 - 2 Savigliane
Starting Lineup: Fasano; Romano, LeClerc (Giraudo 53'), Blanco, Florenzi; Petit, Auvergne, Toscani (Dirac 61'); Durand (C), Squarciafichi, Montevecchi (Barthelemy 79')
Goals: Durand 23', Montevecchi 61'

Savigliane 0 - 0 Eura
Starting Lineup: D'Ambrosio; Marchetti, Garcia, Blanco, Vitale (Romano 51'); Vatrican, Giraudo (C), Toscani (Petit 64'); Coste, Grimaldi, Durand (Barthelemy 77')

Lineup against Pemecutan: Notari (C); Romano, Blanc, Garcia, Vitale; Petit, Auvergne, Toscani; Montevecchi, Durand, Barthelemy
Lineup against Kohnhead: D'Ambrosio; Marchetti, Garcia, Blanco, Romano; Vatrican, Giraudo (C), Petit; Coste, Grimaldi, Durand

by **Plane of Possibility** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 10:33 pm

Excerpts from Planer Juristik Kaner's notebook

Matchday 1: Ranoria 2-4 Plane of Possibility

The Planars got to a hot start away in Ranoria, having M'tok K'nen score a hat trick to get the three points. Sigrun Irota was also effective with three assists and Hope Lamont settled down after a rough start to the match.

Matchday 2: Plane of Possibility 1-1 Brenecia

After Tricia Pace's goal hit the back of the net for Brenecia, the Planars really clamped down - and hit back with a timely free kick from Sorrow Song. A match that really showed what the Planars are made of. Hope Lamont really shined in keeping down the Brenecian attack.

Matchday 3: Trigel 2-4 Plane of Possibility

This game belongs to the wingers - Ariqine Arrowstorm and Malaia Mietre. They scored all four goals, and assisted on each other's goals. There was a bit of a crack in the back four with Riki Dremont falling twice, but that can be easily remedied.

Matchday 4: Plane of Possibility 3-2 Filindostan

An injury time goal from Fribis Vierra snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by smashing a goal twenty-one yards... But it was M'tok K'nen that held the fort down. Hope had a bit of a rougher day, but the team made up for it.

Matchday 5: Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison 1-1 Plane of Possibility

The first bit of rough weather for the squad as the Cheetahs and Reptiles squad held the Planars to a single goal, off the left foot of Morning Shadow. After an early blip, Lamont and the defense held strong.

Matchday 6: Plane of Possibility 2-0 West Angola

Hope Lamont squashed all five shots headed her way, Sigrun Irota had a brace, and the Planars actually cruised this match. Nice going!

Matchday 7: Riena 0-0 Plane of Possibility

Two straight shutouts for Hope Lamont, containing the second seed in the group to no goals. Too bad that Arrowstorm's goal was called offside.

Matchday 8: Plane of Possibility 2-2 Terre Septentrionale

Sorrow Song did everything this game, while Lamont was almost knocked out by being winded. They hung on for the draw, though.

Matchday 9: Hindu Ram Rayja 1-4 Plane of Possibility

Four different scorers, and a nice way to end the half!

Overall, the team has managed to not lose. Five wins and four draws places them at nineteen points, which is good for third place. Can they keep this up, though?

by **Nephara** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:33 am

Sett Forest? 2 - 0 Nephara
(4-2-3-1) 20 - Senninger; 18 - Rostock, 19 - Brabanzon, 6 - Verlander, 3 - Muscadin; 4 - Timekeeper, 8 - Cromwell; 7 - Koerner, 17 - Flaxwood (14 - Fletcher 63'), 11 - Caracole (13 - Belgrade 63'); 16 - Avetisyan (9 - Bastable 63')

Nephara 1 - 1 Indusse
(4-4-2) 1 - Provost; 2 - Stride, 5 - Thorn (c), 6 - Verlander, 3 - Muscadin; 7 - Koerner, 15 - Horvath, 8 - Cromwell (14 - Fletcher 76'), 13 - Belgrade (11 - Caracole 72'); 9 - Bastable, 10 - Lovelace (21 - Basilisk 83')
Goal: Koerner 18'

THE HERALD
LEAKED PHOTOS REVEAL FLAXWOOD BROUGHT CURSE ON CORMORANTS WITH KING-HIT
Leonora Fischer

It was meant to be the greatest day of Leif Flaxwood's life; it turned into an utterly humiliating defeat that for the first time truly knocks the Cormorants off-course for qualification. But it appears the fallout from Flaxwood's first cap is only going to get worse after an exclusive photo was leaked to the press on the weekend.

A photograph of Leif Flaxwood posing with the Godhead, large boulder and possible reincarnation of Gethin Ramsey, was used by the club's official social media accounts to stoke up publicity for what surely seemed a routine match with the prospects of the Starling midfielder making his first cap. However, it appears this was the second take.

The leaked photo depicts rather more of a king-hit. Instead of giving the Godhead a hearty embrace, Flaxwood is not looking at the Godhead and posed as if to lean against it with a casual arm but rather lashes out with a fist, advertently or not, and in the moment the photograph was taken appears to be striking the Godhead in the temple. Upon further inspection, the publicised photo's Flaxwood has somewhat grazed and bloodied knuckles.

While the Godhead is not officially known and reported as having magical powers, its displeasure has been mooted as the reason for Nephara's defeat in the Forest. While the Cormorants are on a bizarrely poor run of form generally, currently four games without a win, their performance against the Forest was particularly poor.

Expert witches have pointed to the fact that their weakness was particularly evident in ways that Ramsey would have scorned on. A generalised malaise would be one thing, they argue, but the Cormorants were particularly weak in the challenge, second to every ball, and anything but ruthless in front of goal. Most damningly, they committed only a single foul all game. This would have been anathema to the iron-fisted disciplinarian Ramsey in life.

After the image went viral, Flaxwood quickly put out a statement on Twii.tur, saying that "The image of myself and the Godhead depicts an accident; I was only trying to lean on an iconic figure of our game, but misjudged the distance between us. No disrespect was or would ever be intended to paid to the Godhead or the great man it represents."

But the damage already appears to have been done, as Strauss revealed that her new squad selection would give a chance for AFC Treason midfielder Ilia Mueller to debut. We can but hope that her own publicity shots are not so beset by misfortune.

NEPHARAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 6
Goalkeepers: 1 - Aranea Provost (Holdenberg, EUR), 12 - Raluca Garamond (Sabrefell Athletic), 20 - Fasolt Senninger (Aries Chariots)
Defenders: 2 - Rovena Stride (AFC Treason), 3 - Vivica Muscadin (Sabrefell Moths), 5 - Roxelana Thorn (Revolutionaries, EUR, c), 6 - Cedella Verlander (AFC Corvistone), 18 - Linde Rostock (Stahlburg City), 19 - Miska Brabanzon (Sabrefell Moths), 22 - Reniira Clevinger (Sabrefell Athletic)
Midfielders: 4 - Rook Timekeeper (Sabrefell Moths), 7 - Anselm Koerner (1830 Cathair, AUD), 8 - Lothaire Cromwell (AC Izotz Zubia, AUD), 11 - Rasmus Caracole (Cazadores Cathair, AUD), 13 - Ysabet Belgrade (Sabrefell Moths), 14 - Exene Fletcher (Hellinic Rouge, PAS), 15 - Rashica Horvath (La Nueva Avenida, FFD), 17 - Ilia Mueller (AFC Treason), 23 - Janna Sauthier (CASK Thorsborg, SVJ)
Forwards: 9 - Kurtis Bastable (Ulsa, EUR), 10 - Konrad Lovelace (Revolutionaries, EUR), 16 - Voska Avetisyan (Istria City, BNJ), 21 - Latona Basilisk (Mâ Âlâmëómë, FFD)

SCHEDULE
Baggieland 2 - 3 Nephara
Nephara 4 - 1 Quemorr Isles @ The Iron Hill (Vermillion)
Græntfjall 0 - 1 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 0 Pluvia @ Ludd's Hammer (Stahlburg)
Garbelia 2 - 4 - Nephara
Nephara 2 - 3 Kandorith @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
South Covello 1 - 1 Nephara
Sett Forest 2 - 0 Nephara
Nephara 1 - 1 Indusse @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Nephara vs. Baggieland @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Quemorr Isles vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Græntfjall @ Phoenix Rise (Corvistone)
Pluvia vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Garbelia @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Kandorith vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. South Covello @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Nephara vs. Sett Forest @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Indusse vs. Nephara

by **Indusse** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 3:08 am

IFA NEWS NETWORK
Hell Yeah!

Indusse 0–1 South Covello
Nephara 1–1 Indusse
Group 9                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 South Covello                          9    7   2   0    20    6  +14    23
 2 Græntfjall                             9    6   1   2    16    9   +7    19
 3 Indusse                                9    5   2   2    20   13   +7    17
 4 Nephara                                9    5   2   2    18   12   +6    17
 5 Kandorith                              9    4   3   2    16   15   +1    15
 6 Baggieland                             9    4   2   3    23   18   +5    14
 7 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles            9    2   1   6    17   24   −7     7
 8 Sett Forest                            9    1   3   5    10   17   −7     6
 9 Quemorr Isles                          9    1   1   7    10   22  −12     4
10 Garbelia                               9    1   1   7    13   27  −14     4

The toughest matches yet, against the toughest teams in the group. Indusse played against Nephara and South Covello.In the First of those two, Indusse faced the group toppers South Covello. South Covello who's the former WorldCup finalists were shrewd and skilled enough for Indusse to lose. The match against South Covello was a close one, the game was full of counter attacks and was one of the most interesting matches in this WorldCup. The first half of the tournament will end after a match and the victory in both was needed for Indusse to be safe. Indusse was unable to score a goal against South Covello, both the team's players were bathing with perspiration. The first half ended without any goals. Both the teams, went back to the gallery for the timely rest. What's happening? Why is it so? The skills weren't working. Moteudi wanted the team to win. The second half started and both the teams continued their attacks. The possession at the end of the first half was fifty Fifty. Both the team were playing equal equal. But none were able to score a goal. The game continued with counter attacks and shots in target. But none of them could move the scoreboard. At the eighty sixth minute, Indussean Striker Mersiás sprinted forward with the ball and pushed it into the post. It went in, but the goal was offside. There ended everything. Within two minutes, South Covello scored the winning goal. The misinterpretation between two players in the Indussean defence just made the Covellian Striker to score a goal. The game ended with South Covello winning.

The Second Match was a do or die match. After the defeat against South Covello, it was indeed needed that Indusse should not lose to Nephara. The Match against Nephara was tight. The game was full of counter attacks, the first half was a total Nepharim half. Nephara created twelve shots only in that half where five were on target. Nephara scored their first goal in the eighteenth minute. A sprint from their goalscorer Koerner (18') just resulted in a fast goal. The Nepharim team was leading. Indusse was just able to score two shots against Nephara in the first half. The game continued and this time Indusse started fighting for a goal. Both the teams continued their supremacy I've rhe ball but Indusse is the one who should be winning. The game continued well and no one scored goals in the second half. Counter Attacks from Indusse increased but none were fruitful. Joseph Moteudi was thinking that Indusse will lose but, was that the flocking blues' need? Of course not. The game continued and in the eighty seventh minute, Indussean Mid Fielder Alexis Budtedjson was fouled in the penalty box. The referee called for penalty. It was Baskar H Kumar who can in. A flat kick which was not expected by the goalie. It's a goal, Indusse scored their equilizer. Yes! The Flocking Blues roared as if they had won. Indusse is having luck, Margaret the heroine. Indusse drew Nephara 1-1. The first half of the tournament came to halt, Indusse is third in group, leaded by South Covello and Graintfjall. The matches to start are really needed for the team, a victory nothing else.

by **Electrum** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 3:39 am

The Turnip: Keep Hanging On: That One Office Guy Weirdly Obsessed With World Cup Qualifying Is Slowly Getting The Idea That No One Cares About World Cup Qualifying
by Sweet-T, citizen journalist

Hoorah! We're at the end of the first half of World Cup Qualifying, and That One Guy In Your Office who is weirdly obsessed with qualifying is slowly getting the hint from your fellow workers that no one else cares about World Cup qualifying, especially at the halfway point. You know exactly which guy we're talking about. That's right, that slightly weird guy in the corner, whose eye is always twitching with nothing to say, and who smells like cheese, that's the one, I think his name was Scott. Or Mac. Or Eric. All of a sudden, he's started to really get into football, decorating his table with tables of all the qualifying groups, and wearing obscure gear like wearing a Hapilopper kit, or coming into work once and then being sent home because he was only wearing his Jeruselem suit.

It all started at that work meeting a month ago. Everyone started speaking about what they did on the weekend, and everyone mentioned very normal things such as going to the movies, or spending the day crying in the corner with existential dread concerning the inevitability of death. But that one guy. He started talking about how he could barely stay awake in the meeting on the account of staying up watching pot 7 team Freechi defeat pot 10 team Smosh Games 4-1, even though the Chromatika-Drawkland match was on at the exact same time. He sounded so triumphant watching a match that wasn't "mainstream".

Who does he think he is? He is sitting there, wasting our time by regaling us about matches on poor quality pitches between two no-name teams. It then regressed to him desperately blurting out the goal scorers of that Widaya-Khytonya match. But no one cares. Even if he would probably be the only person in the multiverse to know the exact name of the scorers, you should be paying him no attention. Don't feed the beast. Do not engage.

Quite frankly, we've all had enough of it, which is why everyone has taken action by stonewalling these conversations. The only way to signal that you are not interested is to say "Football? Do you mean soccer?" and "The only World Championship that I watch is our domestic baseball league competition, because we are so arrogant that we call our domestic champions the world champions" until he gets the idea. He's already started to talk less about football. Eventually he will stop talking about football. Eventually he will throw away all of those print-outs of qualifying tables, he will incinerate his Hapilopper shirt. Eventually we will be re-integrating back into society. Eventually.

by **Murphtannia** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 4:01 am

The losses just keep coming, matchday 8 and 9 pile on the misery for Murphtannia.

Following the 4-2 loss to Geektopia many fans could see the players head’s had dropped. They went into this qualifying campaign thinking they could qualify, or at least do better than last season, but it has gone a lot worse, the 3-1 win vs HUElavia remains the only win of the campaign so far, the team dropping points against Pays Den Haut and Rwekazaland didn’t help.

Jimmy was walking into the stadium now, he had put on his Murphtannian shirt, he loved the new design, his friends Jack, Paul and Steve had gone ahead of him to secure their seats while he got the burgers, those Burgers outside the ground were so good they might even be worth being late for the game.

As Jimmy entered the stadium he could feel the buzz, 200,000 Murphtannian fans all making their way to their stands, or too the bar, all chanting, laughing and having a good time, you’d have a hard time thinking Murphtannia were on as bad a run of form as they were.

After meeting up with his Uncle and Father Jimmy sat down, the 6 of them had managed to secure a season ticket, guaranteeing their seats for the entire qualifying campaign. Looking at his watch the game wouldn’t start for 15 minutes, so he pulled out his phone and started reading.

The article said “Murphtannia continue winless run, Murphy’s job in question?”, *Oh how I’d love that job* Jimmy thought to himself, “It’s outrageous I know” said Jimmy’s Dad butting in, “Murphy took our country to a 6th placed finish last world cup, and now they want to sack him, he needs more time, not like we were going to qualify anyway.” Before Jimmy could respond the announcer suddenly turned on

“Hello and welcome to the Murphtannia stadium!, pls give a round of applause for your home team, Murphtannnnnnia!!!” *The sound of 200,000 Murphtannians cheering is almost deafening, but one of the best parts”

“And now welcome the away team, Recuecn”

*The sound of 200,000 Murphtannians booing heavily outweighs the sound of 5000 away fans cheering.*

The lineups were announced and the game was kicked off, Jack turns to him “Score Prediction”, Jimmy answers in a slightly nervous tone “2-1 Murphtannia, I’ve got a good feeling about this, ah fuck”, as Jimmy was talking Frank Adams took a shot from outswide the box and blasted it into the top right hand corner of the net.

Jimmy of course joined in with the chorus of “What was that Pallett, fucking close him down” and other excplicit terms Jimmy couldn’t quite make out. The game went on, the Murphtannian fans including Jimmy did their best to encourage the team, but the team were in fact deflated, they were playing a team top of the table, and the attack couldn’t get going, due to a very strong defensive performance from the defense.

“Hey at least Saunders and Murphy are having a good game” Jimmy said trying to cheer up his father. His dad turned to him and said “Not good enough for us to win though”. As half time rolled around Murphtannia were lucky to be 1-0 down and not 5, the defence just got beat again and again and again. Early into the second half, Ly Nasser was brought off the bench to replace an injured Adams, nothing serious but be was brought off to be on the safe side as far as Jimmy could tell, and from the following corner Nasser headed the ball into the bottom right hand corner.

By the 70th minute the atmosphere was gone, Murphtannia were being battered, Pole and Boland had come on to try and break through the defense but failed miserably. When the game ended at 2-0 Jimmy could hear some mumbling voices calling for Murphy to be sacked as manager, and Jimmy was starting to believe them.

Against Fluvannia the result was the same, depressed fans, when Saunders scored the opening goal in the 15th minute the crowd went wild, maybe Murphtannia would win another game, but of course the fans were right not to get their hopes up, as Burton fired in goals in the 20th, 23rd and 25th minutes of the game to make it 3-1, the fastest hat trick Jimmy had ever seen and the quickest collapse.

In the second half the fans started to turn against the players, they had paid their hard earned money for this and the team were wasting it, so when Chad Gordon made it 4-1 fans started to leave, Murphy's consolation goal making little difference.

After such a bad run of form Murphy’s job is now on the line, one more set of losses and he’s done.

by **Saint-Domingues** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 4:42 am

Saint Domingue 3-3 Abanhfleft: Points shared after late equaliser
HT 1-2
An injury-time goal by Raoul Gimenez earned Saint-Domingue a point at the death, as they fought back from 3-1 down to get the draw.

Saint-Domingue had been stuttering of late after a good start, losing their last double-header at Savojarna and at home to Netop in their last outing. This had cost the Dominguans their second place, as the chasing pack ate away at their lead and overtook them. Abanhfleft were one of those teams, who had turned the 5 point headstart that Saint-Domingue had into just 1 point by the time the teams met. The Fleftics had achieved much better results in their previous two games, drawing away to top seeds Zwangzug and then ending Savojarna's unbeaten start. Abanhfleft, despite being in pot three, had started slowly and were lumbering about in 7th place until recently - whereas Saint-Domingue from pot eight were second. It looked like both teams were returning to where they were expected to be, the Avengers on the way down and the Fleftics on their way up.

Abanhfleft's early lead highlighted the way the tides were turning, though it did occur in slightly fortuitous circumstances. A Marcus Tabarez cross was slightly overcooked, but after taking a touch off of Emilio Campos managed to somehow squirm its way inside the far post for the opening goal.

It was an early goal, just as had happened in the previous home outing versus Netop. However, rather than instantly folding and conceding further goals as they did in the last game, Saint-Domingue steadied themselves and sought to slow the play down. The period after the goal was a slower affair as the Dominguans tried to take the intensity out of the game and not allow Abanhfleft to create more chances. Eventually Saint-Domingue were able to hit back, when Guildenstern Carew was unable to keep out a fierce effort by Diego Palacio and Julien Babesco was simply required to tap in the loose ball from all of five yards out.

The Fleftics returned to the lead shortly before half-time, Arthur MacAlistair weaving inbetween defenders and then providing the finish. MacAlistair then found his second goal just after the break with a similar run and finish.

Saint-Domingue had fallen behind to a multi-goal deficit once more, and Canisbro looked incensed on the sidelines. Attacking changes were made as they tried to get on the front-foot, Carlos Sanabria testing Carew from distance and Raoul Gimenez heading against the post. The breakthrough came from Canisbro's gamble, with the teenaged midfielder Fabian Delannoy - just seventeen years of age - scoring his first international goal. With one goal pulled back, the momentum began to shift dramatically in favour of the Dominguans as Abanhfleft retreated into a low block in an effort to defend their lead.

With time running out, Saint-Domingue pushed bodies up front and poured forwards. A long ball from Binet was headed on by Guillaume Boleyn and escaped everyone to the back post, where Gimenez was able to acrobatically dive forwards, his head meeting the ball to send it over the goal line. Wild celebrations followed as Saint-Domingue earned a certain point with a goal in the fourth minute of injury-time - the latest goal by a Dominguan player since the records began.

Though Gimenez's goal did earn his team a point, the result isn't the one many were hoping for if the Avengers were to qualify for the World Cup. Despite ending a disappointing run of two consecutive losses, the winless run has extended to three games, and Saint-Domingue have only taken 4 points from their last 5 games. They fall to 4th, leapfrogged by Ancherion, the team who started this poor run of form, who moved up to third after thrashing minnows Hafamarimet. On the bright side, Saint-Domingue are still just one point away from second place despite their struggles. Indeed, even Zwangzug, who have underpeformed massively and are in 7th, are still just three points away from the play-off spot. Group 5 remains one of the most open pools for qualifying.

Saint-Domingue head coach Camilo Canisbro: "It's a point won today. The draw feels like a fair result, Abanhfleft were dominant in short spells where they were very clinical. But we created chances and were never out of the game, even staring at a two goal deficit. Even when falling behind by one, two, three goals - the players remain determined as ever, and this time that got us something. But I am also going to say that we shouldn't always be getting in this position. After the Netop game I wanted us to be more defensively solid and stop conceding early goals that lead to us having to spend the next eighty minutes chasing the game - but we've done it again. I'm not fully sure what has happened to our ability to keep a clean sheet. If we keep conceding this many and requiring ourselves to get three or four just to get a point, we're not going to get anywhere."
Lineups:
Binet
Cotilla <- Jeune 88'
Boleyn
Cojuangco
Ahearn <- Pareja 45'
Campos
Sanabria <- Delannoy 63'
Carpeña
Palacio
Babesco
Gimenez

Saint-Domingue: Babesco (22'), Delannoy (81'), Gimenez (90+4')
Abanhfleft: Tabarez (6'), MacAlistair (39', 50')
Venue: Saint Dominic's Park

Lineups:
Binet
Cotilla
Boleyn
Le Guen
Pareja
Campos
Sanabria
Carpeña <- Keller 83'
Palacio <- Lacourse 78'
Babesco <- Sauvage 83'
Gimenez

Chartistan: Coriel (32'), Barney (69')
Saint-Domingue: Babesco (44', 61'), Gimenez (72')
Venue: Old Town Park, Billboard

by **Trolleborg** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 6:00 am

Greetings, compatriots!
The last two matches of the first round of WCQ-87 again brought great joy to all the fans of national football team.

TROLLEBORG - MAND BLUSTOPIA 2-0

Mand Blustopia firmly settled at the bottom of the tournament table and our fans, of course, were waiting for a major victory for their favorites, but the guests put up serious resistance. For a long time it was not possible to open score, and only closer to the break, when Mand Blustopia players seemed to calm down and considered that they could try to play more open football, our lads delivered a smashing blow. Pathmoor made an excellent pass from the center of the field, and Gulbranden successfully beat the goalkeeper. Defenders tried to save the day, but they didn't succeed

And in the second half the final score, as it turned out, was set by Finnsnes with an excellent long-range shot.

0: 2 away, apparently, it seemed to the visitors quite a decent result and they did not even try to achieve something else. And our players, many of whom have barely begun to understand what international football is, were unable to achieve more. Perhaps the fans were somewhat disappointed, but 2:0 in our position is incomparably better than 5:5.

TWICETAGRIA – TROLLEBORG 2-4

The only team in the qualifying group that we have ever met on the field. Our lads showed excellent football in the first half, sometimes even great, and led 4:0 to the break, but in the second half the coaches experimented with the lineup and formations, worked out variations, and the hosts, having come to their senses, were able to take advantage of this and narrow the gap.

Let's together take another look at these wonderful moments of the game of our players.
Troll started it’s all: he was left unattended for a second not far from the penalty area and shot beautifully into the far corner

The second goal scored by Severin, who in a fight with a defender somehow managed to freeze for a moment in the air and pushed the ball into the goal. It is still unclear how. Despite all replays and use AI we do not understand how he did it.

And a few minutes later, in a fight with a defender, he somehow managed to find the moment and make a shot past the goalkeeper

The last, as it turned out, goal of our team in this match was scored by Skaloed. Finnsnes, apparently with the help of telepathy, somehow figured out what to do, and gave the brilliant accurate pass, which no one expected, right to where our striker was arrive, completely unattended.

We love our central midfielders precisely for passes like this

After the break, the fans saw that the game pattern had changed and the players too, but still expected the continuation in the same spirit. However, now the goals flew into the same net, but right now it’s our goalkeeper was there.

At first, he failed to cope with a powerful long-range strike

And already closer to the end of the game, after a pass along the goalline and a struggle between defenders and forwards, the ball flew into the goal again

In general, according to the results of the second half, the coach, presumably, would made the conclusion that one should not start so thorough experiments right now. The team has serious work to do in the second round to keep the chances of a trip to the championship.

We finish the first half of the qualifying cycle with the leaders of the group, with an eye-pleasing score of + 9=0–0, in very nice company with Valanora and Banija, and only the reigning world champions have the best goal difference. No matter how the fate of the team will be, we will have something to remember. And it really can turn out in different ways, opponents will play against us with redoubled zeal, and truly titanic efforts will have to be made to get a chance to keep the first line. We believe in our guys, but don't let the responsibility to the country and the fans weigh on them, we will understand everything if the team shows due determination.

by **The Gothanita Isles** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 6:57 am

TGI 3-0 Tumbra
@ Hellina Stadium, Hellina, North Handoria, Atlantain Oceania (cap. 30,000)
Lineup for TGI (4-2-3-1): Thulile Bolkvadze (c); Jeanette Ross, Timotheos Dunn, Den Benjaminson, Charlee Harel; Sardar Chaplin, Remus McQueen; Stefanie Salzwedel, Chloe Brewster, Vladan Bloxam; Marino Barros
Cards: None
Goals: Chloe Brewster 17', 84'; Marino Barros 42'

Pasarga 3-4 TGI
@ Pasarga
Lineup for TGI (4-2-3-1): Thulile Bolkvadze (c); Jeanette Ross, Timotheos Dunn (Saif al-Din Kartal 67'), Den Benjaminson, Charlee Harel; Sardar Chaplin, Remus McQueen; Grigorii McCrory (Stefanie Salzwedel 50'), Chloe Brewster, Cyneburga London; Abdelkader Kartal
Cards: None
Goals: Júlia Müller 7', 39'; Oriel Villagómez Acuna 26'
Goals: Cyneburga London 18', 59' (assist by Salzwedel); Stefaine Salzwedel 74'; Chloe Brewster 88'

The Jeolerinan
When young upstarts upset the pecking order
If the World Cup qualifiers ended yesterday, these Pot 1 and Pot 2 teams will have been eliminated from qualification: HUElavia (Pot 2 team in Group 1), Terre Septentrionale (Pot 2 team in Group 2), Flavovoespia (Pot 2 team in Group 3), Xanneria (Pot 2 team in Group 4), Zwangzug (Pot 1 team in Group 5), Mercedini (Pot 2 team in Group 6), Krytenia (Pot 2 team in Group 7), Sargossa (Pot 2 team in Group 8), Nephara (Pot 1 team in Group 9), Kandorith (Pot 2 team in Group 9), The Sarian (Pot 2 team in Group 15), Vilita (Pot 1 team in Group 17), Hampton Island (Pot 2 team in Group 18) and Eura (Pot 1 team in Group 19). 14 teams. And we have not considered what happens in the Playoffs. A ridiculous number of these teams are former World Champions and have been regulars in the World Cup - you have World Number 2 Nephara, 5-time World Champions Vilita, and 2-time World Champions Eura. Along with them are teams that have been former participants in recent World Cups - Zwangzug, Terre Septentrionale, HUElavia, Hampton Island...you get the idea.
Matchday 8 and Matchday 9 probably produced some of the most dramatic upsets, as the multiverse's top teams grapple with the fact that newer, younger teams, teams that have shown themselves on the world stage for only a handful of years, are here to stay and upset the multiverse's pecking order. If people actually betted on all these results happening, probably the betting companies would have to be bankrupt. In case you missed it, let us go down the groups to show you the shocks of the week.

Group 5 - Zwangzug 0–1 Koniglich Wasserstein. How do you pronounce the name of the away side again? I have no idea. What does their team look like? Again, same answer. All we knew is that a team, unranked at the start of the tournament, defeated a team that is currently in 15th. Zwangzug must be so shook by the result that they got upsetted again just 3 days later, drawing with a team ranked 344th at the start of the tournament. By the way, if you need the result - Hafamarimet 1–1 Zwangzug - there you go.

Group 7 - Southwest Eastnorth 2–1 Farfadillis. Maybe not as big as the previous one. But it is a surprise to see the world 142nd defeat the world number 3. Farfadillis, last season's semifinalists, World Cup 84 champions, ended their unbeaten run at Southwest Eastnorth. I mean, what name is that? Regardless, that was a result that shook up a really tight race, with just 7 points seperating the top 5 teams. Now 3rd seeds Poafmersia and 4th seeds Squornshelan Remnant States might be rubbing their hands in glee, as 2nd seeds Krytenia fall below to 5th, while Farfadillis is within touching distance.

Group 9 - Sett Forest 2–0 Nephara. That, by the way, was in Matchday 8. A 4-match winless run till Matchday 9 has seen the last World Cup's runners-up slip to 4th, 2 points behind 2nd placed Graintfjall. The world 280th beating the world number 2 by 2 goals. And keeping a clean sheet. Seriously, fetch the pills. By this time, we are actually wondering why are there so many upsets.

Group 13 - New Lusitania and the Algarves 3–5 Vangaziland. This doesn't look as bad. Only 244 ranks apart. It is just the 8th seeds beating the 2nd seeds in a 8-goal thriller eh? Nothing much. Just think about how this results was largely ignored by many media outlets on Matchday 8, with Nephara, Farfadillis and Zwangzug's loss overshadowing this. Just imagine it.

Group 18 - Pasarga 3–4 The Gothanita Isles and Valladares 3–5 Bluecliff League. 118 ranks and 124 ranks apart. No no, they aren't upsets. After all that nonsense in Matchday 8, these results showing up in Matchday 9 is normal. Perfectly normal. Our Yellow Lions' win was no upset - it was an ordinary result. I mean, what can you expect if an unranked team can defeat the top seeds? Surely the 6th seeds can also do that to the top seeds right?

Group 19 - Eura 3–3 United Pink States. United Pink States, pointless before the match in Matchday 8, suddenly got their first and only point of the first half... against Eura? Come on, it must be Eura messing up right? There is no upset here, it is just Eura's problems. Right? Nothing to see here, move along?

So you have seen the surprises, the shocks, the horror. Really, by the end, those results have became so normal for the week, that our reaction is so muted. Just so muted. Let us not talk about 5th seeds Tikariot being 4 and 5 points ahead of 2nd seeds Newmanistan and 1st seeds Vilita in Group 17. Or how Bluecliff, the Gothanita Isles, Tumbra and South Newlandia, are all ahead of Hampton Island in a close race for 2nd place. Or how unranked returnees Mytanija is 3 points behind top 2 teams in Group 8. Or how unranked San Ortelio is 4 points clear in 2nd for Group 6. Or how 8th seeds Saint-Domingue, currently in 2nd, is 4 points ahead of top seeds Zwangzug. Or how in Group 1, 7th seeds Fluvannia, in 3rd place, is 1 point away from 2nd placed, occupied by 3rd seeds Geektopia? Where, by the way, is HUElavia in Group 1? 7 points behind Fluvannia, in 4th place. Go figure.

The Manclester Times
Tactical Prowness seen as Yellow Lions pull unimaginable upset
Pasarga - The Wanderers of Pasarga became on the other end of yet another shock in a week full of twists and turns for many teams, this time to our very own Yellow Lions, who came back from being 1-3 down at half time to pull off a 4-3 comeback win.
Manager Zahi Castillias was hailed as a "hero" by many football fans in Manclester, as they saw the potential of the Poafmer leading the Isles to a successful run at the qualifiers this round, following the 3rd consecutive victory which pulled the Isles 5th, and within 2 points off 2nd placed South Newlandia. The Wanderers opened strongly, with Müller opening for the hosts just 7 minutes into the game. London, starting a full game for the first time in 3 weeks, got hold of an equaliser after a speculative shot from 20 yards, but Müller and Acuna did a brilliant link-up play twice to put the hosts 3-1 ahead by half time. Fearing a trashing, Zahi Castillias removed the ineffective McCrory and replaced him with Salzwedel shortly after half time, and within 9 minutes, that gamble pulled off with Salzwedel giving London a brilliant cross to pull 1 back. al-Din Kartal also went on for Dunn shortly after, and the defence became more sharp. al-Din Kartal would provide a very important clearance in the 73rd minute, finding Salzwedel, and the Salzwedel dribbled past 2 defenders to fire it past a stunned Galambos. With the score now level, the Yellow Lions pressed even higher, led by Kartal the striker, and he provided a backward pass to Brewster 3 minutes from time to put the Isles ahead 4-3. This would prove to be the winner of the night, as the defence held on to win 4-3.
The switch from 4-2-3-1 to a 4-2-1-3, with star player McCrory being substituted off after just 50 minutes, was seen as the turning point of the game. The players found unexplainable confidence following the switch, and it took super substitute Salzwedel just 9 minutes to find an assist to boost the team's morale. And London was really on point on her return to the starting lineup - threatening the right side of the field consistently and keeping the opposition defence tricky. Instead of playing a more posession-based football, the team switched to a fast-paced, counter-attacking football against Pasarga, a tactic that worked extremely well with the opposition unable to react.
Zahi Castillias was praising his charges after the match. "When all seemed lost, I told the players that they had nothing to lose. To lose after playing well would still be honorable, and I told them to put in their very best to ensure that they do not regret when the result comes up. The players listened, we pulled off a really nice tactical switch, and I am extremely glad they overcame their mental barrier and got themselves 3 points against the top seeds. Together with Bluecliff's win over Valladares, it has certainly shook up the group and gave us even more fuel to press on for the exciting 2nd half."
The Yellow Lions next travel to Valladares, in a 6-pointer that may potentially decide the final rankings of both teams. The Yellow Lions also now stand an outside chance of making it to the playoffs on their 2nd attempt, a result previously unimaginable, but the team has shown the potential after this result.

by **TJUN-ia** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 8:34 am

By Peter Davis
After back-to-back wins sent the Jaguars back into the Top 2 for the first time this WC, many were hoping to keep the good time going as we entered the final 2 games of the first half. Momentum is always important in a competition like this one and David Seems knew everyone would be hoping for good things in these final two games.

First up was a trip to Uvenstadion Superparc in Iyes, the host of the IAC11 finals, as the Jags played Havynwilde on the road, a team who were up near the top of his group for a while before recent stumbles. Despite their worse-off position, everyone knew Havyn would be a tough opponent to play on the road and that would be the main talking point of this tight contest. Both halves were tight and the scoreline reflected that, with only 1 goal scored in either one. The first half saw Turner Sears strike in the 36th while the 2nd saw TJUN-ia's response, Joe Green allowed to score after a beautiful cross from Peliniho in the 78th. That would be that and the DrawMasters finally got their first draw...after 8 games. WE slipped down to 3rd after that result, 4 points back on Cassadaigua.

We would host the team who just went to 2nd on MD9 in Szensky, as the Jags hosted Acronius at Beregozera. You could say that the Union of Acronian Kingdoms had come from nowhere to be ahead of the Jags before this contest, but others would say they are a good team - and that point was proven on the shores of Lake Szen. The first half was a tight affair, with both teams getting a goal into the net: Vladimir Podolov for TJUN-ia in the 24th and Antony Saint-Saëns for the visitors in the 35th. The second half would start poorly for the Jags as Loïc Taubira scored a solo goal in the 48th that began on the halfway line, but TJUN-ia wasn't going to give up here - not on a night where Szensky could go 2-from-2 in terms of wins for the national team. On came some Galarian reinforcements and they would make the difference, Archer Andrews grabbing the equaliser in the 67th and Preston Chapman heading in the winner in the 85th. That would take 2nd back in this group.

After 9 games, a 4-game undefeated run has seen the Jaguars climb from 4th to 2nd. Although they find themselves 4 points back on Cassie, the long train behind them means there is no time to rest. Two big games kick off the 2nd half of matches - a chance for revenge against the Busoga Islands in Dukuma and Hispinas making the trip to Tiankong. So far, so good - but we can do better and we must do better if we are to make the Top 2 again. 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 W 3-1 (3rd)
MD5: vs Cassadaigua (4) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City L 0-2 (4th)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MD6: @Flavovespia (41) - Highland Road, Hadford Hill W 1-0 (3rd)
MD7: vs Muralos (259) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong W 5-4 (2nd)
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MD8: @Havynwilde (126) - Uvenstadion Superparc, Iyes D 1-1 (3rd)
MD9: vs Acronius (100) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky W 3-2 (2nd/6W-1D-2L/19pts/+9GD)
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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
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MD16: @Muralos (259) - Komcatt Arena, Urbego (?)
MD17: vs Havynwilde (126) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
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MD18: @Acronius (100) - Atlas Arena, Defense

by **Barunia** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 8:57 am

The kids at the Football Youth Training Camp soon fell in to a routine. Wake up, eat breakfast, exercise. Then school, lunch, more school, and then out to the field for training, or whatever else was on the schedule for that day. They got free time after 8pm, except on weekends. Then there was no school, so they got time off to explore the activities of the adventure camp site, or to play on thier electronic devices. Occasionally, there were outings across Marion, and you could ask to go home for the weekend. So far, Emmanuel Carter had not gone home, despite being at camp for over 3 months. The 15 year old was focused on impressing the coaches, most of whom represented one team: the Edwardton Eagles. He had it on good authority that the best player at camp would be given a contract with the Eagles, and he was determined to win it.

Emmanuel worked hard. He would always push himself during the training exercises, and in the drills. For the first time though, he was finding he was against people with a comparable skill level. No longer could he run circles around them like he did in the junior leagues. Now he had to readjust, try harder, if he was to be the best.

It wasn't all hard work though. He did take his time off when he got it. Usually that was spent with his new friends, Tyler and Kate. Tyler was a fascinating companion; personable, welcoming, and knowledgable on just about every aspect of football. As for Kate, well, she was becoming more than a friend. Emmanuel found himself falling in love for the first time. he hadn't told her yet, but he was beginning to wonder if she felt the same way.

Every weekend, a full 90 minute game was played, with teams chosen the week before. It was a time for both selectors and parents to observe, and today Emmanuel's parents were coming all the way from Delmars. Emmanuel had been named as a forward, and he was excited. This was his first real oppurtunity to show the coach and scouts who he was.

The game started badly for his team, who let in a goal within the first 5 minutes. Emmanuel hadn't even had a touch yet when it happened. Then a loose ball came flying his way. Emmanuel pounced and, determined to make his mark, plowed his foot into the ball from outside the box, intending to watch it curl gracefully into the next. Instead it sailed harmlessly wide. Emmanuel slapped his thigh in frustration.

He got another oppurtunity soon after. Again he shot it wide. Then over the crossbar. On his fourth attempt he thought he had it, but a defender came flying in, shielding the shot with his body and ramping the ball wide over the crossbar. A corner. Emmanuel was getting desperate to score now, and knew the set piece was his oppurtunity. He had been expecting to be on the recieving end of the kick, like he almost always had been in his home league. But the kicktaker swung his cross out to target the far post. It was a good header from Emmanuel's team mate, but blocked by the keeper. A defender pounced and tried to carry it past Emmanuel, who wasn't going to let him get away with that. Seeing himself stealing the ball and flicking it into the net, Emmanuel lunged forward and thrust his leg out. Straight into the defender's ankle.

As the player collapsed, Emannuel heard the whistle blow. Moments later the referee was raising a red card in the air, and Emmanuel walked off stunned. He couldn't believe it. This was suppossed to have been his moment. How could it have gone so wrong?

World Cup 87 - RP Thread

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