Fringe Players Make Statement as Turori Close Out WCQ
National Stadium, Fluvannia :: It was a mixed reaction from Nigel's Army following Matchday 17 of World Cup 88 Qualifying. Many fans were disappointed that the Football Association of Turori rested the entire Citizen Squad for the matchup against Krytenia, sending instead the Cocoabo Squad to contest a matchup that mattered very little in the overall standings but did ultimately deny the Eels a first ever perfect Qualifying run. The draw for Turori's National Cocoabo Squad in Krytenia was the first dropped points of the entire campaign for Turori and resulted in an outcry from fans who wanted Tarek Edgeli and the Citizen Squad to finish out the campaign and shoot for the perfect record.
For Edgeli, however, whether Turori finished World Cup 88 Qualifying on 54 points or 52 points or 48 points did not matter much. The only thing that mattered was the fact that the Turori National Team had won Group 15 and secured their spot in the World Cup 88 Finals. While their ticket was punched, however, there was still one more qualifying match on the cards. The opponent for the Turori National Team's final match of Qualifying would be Fluvannia. The Eels had a strong showing against Fluvannia in the first half of the Qualification campaign with Timaala Hualtia posting a shutout in a 2-0 victory with goals from Naraiaza Ruaplal and Kiidallen Aeroluzzi. It was actually Hualtia's last start for the Turori National Team after the Inland Peaks FC netminder was rested in the second half of World Cup 88 Qualifying.
Hualtia would not be the only player rested for the Final match against Fluvannia, however, as a number of Turori's regular starters were absent despite the return of the Citizen Squad to close out the campaign. Ever-present players such as Yeaddin Owls stars Mikki Mayelli and Daliora Toru'u as well as the the technically adept Kentu Umaka'a were left out of the lineup while youngsters like Planio'o Nrujsa would make their first start of the season alongside a number of other fringe and prospect players hoping to make an impression on the Turori National Coaching staff and secure their place among the final team selected to represent Turori in the World Cup 88 Finals in Cassadaigua and Chromatika.
A number of Eels players made an impact in the match including Loala Inkabu who scored their first career goal for the Turori National Team in the 5th minute of the match to set an early tone for Turori. The real standout player that would give the Turori National Team staff a difficult decision for the Finals, however, would be Planio’o Nrujsa. The 17 year old Defender had an instant impact on the pitch appearing in their first ever game for Turori, serving as the central defender in Turori's unorthodox 3-4-3 formation designed to fit the available players and not their standard formation. Nrujsa would be credited with the goal in the 40th minute that would eventually become the game winning goal and then added another off a corner kick in the second half to become the first Turorian player to score twice in their debut in recent history.
Nrujsa's late goal in the first half also opened the floodgates which saw the Eels score three times in the final five minutes of the first half, Nrujsa's tally being followed up by goals from Turakia Diijelhma and Tulaki Rauogba giving Turori a 4-0 lead at the break.
Fluvannia were one of the few teams - and the only team in Turori's Group 15 that did not wear names on their National Team Uniforms but one of their players did manage a consolation goal in the 73rd minute but the Eels wouldn't even allow that to go unanswered with Friika Diirotora scoring a first internationstatal goal of their own to round out the scoring as the Turori National Team closed out World Cup 88 Qualifying with a 6-1 victory over Fluvannia.
Turori [6] - [1] Fluvannia
GOALS: Turori :: 5' Loala Inkabu:: 40' Planio’o Nrujsa:: 41' Turakia Diijelhma:: 44' Tulaki Rauogba:: 57' Planio’o Nrujsa:: 80' Friika Diirotora
STATS: Turori :: Possession: 59%:: Shots: 10:: Corners: 6 Fluvannia :: Possession: 41%:: Shots: 3:: Corners: 3
Lineup: [GK] Derizi Amatopa, [D.] Bvalis Amaanara, [D.] Planio’o Nrujsa, [D.] Karek Edgeli, [ML] Naraiza Ruaplal, [MC] Friika Diirotora, [MC] Kinabo Telioa, [MR] Tulaki Rauogba, [FC] Kala'a Yuliizala, [FC] Loala Inkabu, [FC] Turakia Diijelhma
Bench: [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki, [FC] Lutara Makakio, [M] Cuoabaza Orani’aoa, [M] Saito Koshiki, [U ] Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [D] Amakli Inuro'o, [GK] Cocoabo #86
With the victory the Eels finished the 18 Game Qualifying Haul with 52 points and 52 goals - Averaging just under 3 goals scored per game over the course of the Qualifiers. Only Banija in Group 13 also finished the Qualifiers without a defeat and while Banija was able to score more goals than Turori at 62, the Eels were tops when it came to total points earned in Qualifying (52) and their overall goal differential (+44).
Over the course of the qualifying it was clear that the Turori National Team had their three goalies selected for the World Cup 88 Qualifiers. Although the highly impressive youngster Derizi Amatopa of Euran club Revolutionaries made the most appearances in goal for Turori during World Cup 88 Qualifying with eight starts, it is likely that veteran Cedniavella Turori netminder Wiyauw An'maude will be the starting choice for Tarek Edgeli and the Eels when it comes to the World Cup Finals in Cassadaigua and Chromatika. An'maude made just five starts for Turori during Qualifying but posted a shutout in each appearance they made conceding a total of 0 goals during the campaign. By comparison, Derizi Amatopa and Timaal Hualtia each posted shutouts in just half of their appearances in Qualifying.
Most Appearances during World Cup 88 Qualifying
16 [2] - Mikki Mayelli :: Yeaddin Owls AFC
16 [6] - Kentu Umaka'a :: Eastal Lunar
16 [2] - Daliora Toru'u :: Yeaddin Owls
14 [2] - Naraiza Ruaplal :: Broadview AFC (CBP)
13 [1] - Amakli Inuro'o :: Bastion (EUR)
13 [5] - Meldi'ita Mungwaii :: Arlington City (ZWZ)
12 [3] - Kiidallen Aeroluzzi :: Colonial Sile
11 [1] - Biliki Rona'atu'i :: Cednia Beach AFC
11 [4] - Moumouni Verre'elali :: Tropicorp FC
11 [1] - Lati'ala Giaoka :: Yeaddin Owls
Most Goals during World Cup 88 Qualifying
[6] - Kentu Umaka'a :: Eastal Lunar
[6] - Wiztsana Iretziia :: East End FC (XAN)
[5] - Meldi'ita Mungwaii :: Arlington City (ZWZ)
[4] - Moumouni Verre'elali :: Tropicorp FC
[3] - Kiidallen Aeroluzzi :: Colonial Sile
[3] - Nua'oma Aikiki :: Jungle Strike FC
[3] - Turakia Diijelhma :: Cednia Beach AFC
[2] - Six Players
Among defenders it was established that Mikki Mayelli of the Yeaddin Owls and Amakli Inuro'o of Bastion in Eura will be the first names on the sheet but the picture becomes a little less clear from there. In a standard 4-4-2 formation it is likely that Cednia Beach AFC Defender Biliki Rona'atu'i and Tropicorp FC's Moumouni Verre'elali would be the final two names in the starting lineup though Karek Edgeli was solid in seven World Cup Qualifying appearances and could challenge for a place in the roster. The real question now for the Turori National Coaching staff is whether Planio'o Nrujsa's two-goal performance in their Turori National Team debut on the final matchday against Fluvannia is enough to move the needle and include them in the Finals roster. In just one appearance, Nrujsa was tied for second among all Turorian defenders in goals scored during the campaign, level with Mikki Mayelli who appeared in sixteen games for the Eels. Tropicorp's Moumouni Verre'elali led all defenders for Turori with four goals over the 18 match qualifying campaign, only 11 of which Verre'elali appeared in.
Much of Turori's attacking resolve came from their possession in the midfield with 19 of their 52 goals scored coming from the midfield. Including the Cocoabo Squad midfielders that number increases to 21 with both of the Cocoabo Squad's goals in a 2-2 draw with Krytenia coming from midfield. None scored more than technical specialist Kentu Umaka'a of Eastal Lunar, however, with the set piece taker co-leading all players on Turori with 6 goals in 16 appearances during Qualifying. Umaka'a and Daliora Toru'u were ever-present for the Eels barring the final two games of the campaign with the decision to rest the regular starters. Excluding the Cocoabo Squad who appeared against Krytenia on Matchday 17, Nine different midfielders appeared for Turori during World Cup 88 Qualifying and eight of those nine found their way onto the scoresheet at least once. Inura Forest's midfielder Cuoabaza Orani’aoa was the only Turorian midfielder who failed to score a goal during the 18 Qualifying Matches.
Of course, the job of the Attackers is to Attack and score goals and they certainly did their job with seven different attackers accounting for 20 of Turori's 52 goals. Unlike the ever present defenders and midfielders, the Attackers rotated more frequently perhaps due to the age of Veteran players such as Arlington City's Meldi'ita Mungwaii with the coaching staff looking to provide more rest to the older players. Mungwaii scored five goals in thirteen appearances for the Eels during the qualifying campaign - the second highest scoring rate among all players with five or more games played. The only more efficient goalscorer was Wiztsana Iretziia who was very impressive in a surprise late-career comeback run scoring six goals in nine matches to lead all Turorian attackers and co-lead the Eels overall goalscoring chart for the World Cup 88 Qualifiers. While the typical starting pair for the Turori National team is that of the veteran Meldi'ita Mungwaii alongside the complimentary Jungle Strike FC star Nua'oma Aikiki, Iretziia's efficiency on attack is unlikely to go unnoticed in the World Cup 88 Finals.