World Cup 89 - Roleplay Thread

by **Pasarga** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 5:56 pm

"What do you think of the Wanderers' chance of winning the group, given that they have a few very difficult opponents in their group? I want to say that they have a good shout, but as we saw in the Copa Rushmori, this team can be very surprising and not deliver when it is expected of them."

"Well when you have teams like Krytenia, recently Cup of Harmony champions I might add, as well as Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom and San Ortello among others, the group is not going to be very straightforward. In groups like these you have to win the games that you have in your home stadium and then try to grab draws or even a few sneaky wins when you are on the road if you want to have a real chance of winning the group. However as we all know, upsets are quite common and you can not be expected to go undefeated through the groups, unless maybe you are one of the best teams in history. The Wanderers are a good team, maybe even an elite team, but they are capable of being beaten if a team really takes it to them."

"Luckily the team does have an easy first go of it, they are at the Stade de Torgos against a relatively weak team to hope their campaign up against, hosting West Guam in Torgos. It is a game where the Wanderers should dominate and if they do not have a multiple goal victory to kick off this campaign against such a weak team would definitely spell a bit of worry for the Wanderers. They are a highly ranked team but they seem very susceptible to being had by a particular strong team, as the team lacks a bit of physical bunch to bite back at any one who would employ such a tactic against them. However if the team is allowed to get into a rhythm and play their possession based style with that bit of a slant of attack, the team is going to be hard to beat. There is a plethora of attacking talent for the Wanderers to choose from, which is a huge plus for any manager to have. Too much of a good thing is not such a problem for a national team manager when it comes to their attacking options, as if one is not working out, then you can easily choose a different option."

"Well, the Krytenia squad is not exactly know for being the sort of brutish tactic types and they are likely going to be the most difficult of challenges, but you never know. With them having won a competition, this could be an entirely different Cyan Army that the Wanderers are dealing with and they could spring a few tactical surprises on the Wanderers. Still, at the end of the day, I have to believe that the Wanderers have fairly good odds of topping the group but I fully expect it to be a difficult bout throughout the campaign and one where the Wanderers are going to have their depth and mettle tested. This is why the PFA arranged a friendly at the San Daros in Paulinthal to take on a rising regional power in Bollonich, a game which the Wanderers were able to emerge as victors from. It was a difficult go about but eventually the talent of the Wanderers was able to come together and get the result, which is exactly the type of affairs that are going to likely be on hand during this group. However the side did not get to ninth in the rankings through sheer luck alone and that is why they should be booking passage to the Finals when the dust does settle."

by **Omerica** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:00 pm

blogdefootball.co.or
Now with a fresh coat of paint!

WC89 preview: The Incorrigibles have a fight on their hands if they want to make lightning strike twice
By Anastasia Saint-Martin

With the dust finally settling on the World Cup qualifying draw, all we can about Omerica’s group is “who knows?”. In the shadow of Omerica’s first successful qualifying campaign in nearly three decades, there will be much expectation for the Incorrigibles to follow it up with a second straight success rather than fourteen cycles of miserable failure and missed opportunities. Yet Omerica faces a number of significant hurdles to getting that coveted third trip to the finals, not the least of which is a highly competitive qualifying group that would make even the most battle-hardened manager nervous.

Entering an unprecedented fourth qualifying campaign and set to overtake Anne-Sophie Groothuis’s record for number of games as Omerica manager, Alexis Stephanidis now faces her most difficult challenge yet. After all, World Cup 86 came in the aftermath of a truly miserable qualifying campaign and the humiliation of becoming the first IAC host nation to exit in the group stage, not to mention being pitted against Turori, Siovanija–Teusland, Astograth and Valladares. Yet that unexpectedly good campaign began to create expectations for World Cup 87, which similarly saw Omerica drawn against Starblaydia, Equestria and Yuezhou. Pipping the Ponies to the playoff post created even higher expectations for World Cup 88, whose draw saw Omerica enter a “group of life” against Newmanistan, Flavovespia, Darkmania and South Covello from which the Incorrigibles would do the nearly unthinkable: qualify.

Each time, Stephanidis had to mute her ambitions. Finishing in the top half of the table was the standard, then it was just holding rank, then it was staying in the top three. Unfortunately for her, she may not be able to do that this time: it’s top two or bust for Omerica this cycle. After one of the most sustained periods of qualifying excellence in Omerican football history, anything less would be viewed as a stinging disappointment. Yet just like last cycle, the Incorrigibles have been drawn into yet another group where anything could happen. The difference this time is that, this time, the top seeds are far more formidable and the range of challengers significantly deeper.

In spite of a group stage exit in their all-Anaian finals group and a shock last sixteen defeat to Saltstead at CAFA, Ko-oren must be considered favourites to qualify directly, having their last three qualifying groups with margins of four points or more. That leaves one other top-two spot open and several nations clamouring for it. Oberour Ar Moro will be the team nipping on Omerica’s heels most closely, buoyed by a solid record of scoring against and taking points off the Incorrigibles. Sonnelians Juvencus will be seeking to halt and reverse a long period of decline and will be buoyed by their better-than-expected showing at the last IAC. Rushmori outfit Bollonich will attempt to continue their rapid ascent, having shocked the multiverse by finish fifth in their group as an unranked side last cycle. And then there is Montaña Verde, who very nearly made it out of a tricky IAC group in Poafmersia. Baggieland, Ardelark, Vajlahrys and Britonisea—while not quite contenders for that second spot—will also be there to catch anyone taking anything for granted off guard.

Furthermore, Omerica’s successful qualification last cycle was built off an experienced team, many of whom realistically only had one more international campaign in them. Defenders Charity Kayode, Sacha Sepulveda and Anna Charles have called time on international duty, which especially stings given that they all occupied key roles in an area that Omerica is not known to be particularly strong in. Maxime Fournier has also departed in midfield, while Jamal Ahmad’s retirement from Omerica’s Triad attack has quickly been followed up with those of Jessie Beckett, Alexis Chrysanthos and Jean-François Fernand. That leaves Stephanidis scrambling to find a new core to build off of and new blood to replace that which Omerica has just lost.

That isn’t to say that Omerica don’t have any reason to be optimistic. Valentine Augustin will have three incredibly capable deputies this cycle: an increasingly-confident Annelise Betancourt, a breakout José Calvo and a promising Zavier Street. The latter two—alongside the likes of Kara Félix, Noémi Belmonte, Máel Coluim Mac Ealair, Ronan Neuville, Ollie Tate and Arielle Poirier—produced solid performances at the last IAC, making the changing of the guard seem comparatively less daunting. Malcolm Beauchesne will take over as the pointy head of the Triad after impressing in Omerica’s ill-fated 88 finals campaign, flanked by the similarly impressive Adélaïde Argyris. Then there is Fearchar Mac Cléirich, whose outstanding performances gave Tikariotian outfit Baraldhur AFC the confidence to sign him this past transfer window and will make him the first Omerican international to ply his trade in Rushmore.

Overall, though, it’s easy to feel uneasy about Omerica’s chances this cycle. After all, the first time Omerica qualified, the federal FA spectacularly collapsed the very next cycle! Mercifully, there haven’t been any major riots recently and there aren’t any tax collectors (that we know of) pursuing Catriona Immaculata or anyone else in the URSF boardroom, but you sense a feeling that the Alexis Magic™ has to wear off at some point. Let’s just hope that there’s one more cycle of it left. ◇

Other Football News:
• OPSL Gold Division: Why the Mespalian and Romainbourgeois derbies were broken up for the “Rivalry Series” closing matchday
• World Cup 89: Britonisea seeking to build on the ABEN Union’s Olympic success as they square up against Omerica in Charlescourt
• OPSL Gold Division: Clubs overwhelmingly approve a new “2.5-up-2.5-down” promotion-relegation system starting in season 11

Uniting Omerican sport fans across the United Republics — blogdefootball: a proud member of the Gryphon Pride network

United Republican Soccer Federation
6 Jean-Jacques la Rouge Road
Port Alexandre, MS 18-A40
UNITED REPUBLICS OF OMERICA
Omerica v Britonisea
World Cup 88 qualifying group stage — Matchday One
Stade Just-Cartier, Charlescourt, Charlescourt
Omerica lineup (4–3–3): Annelise Betancourt; Kara Félix, Frédérique Marquetti, Noémi Belmonte, Felix Zanetti; Máel Coluim Mac Ealair, Fearchar Mac Cléirich (captain), Thom Magalhães; Ollie Tate, Jean-Lucas Babineaux, Terrance Parker
Substitutes: José Calvo, Zavier Street; Sean van de Laar, Sydney Collins, Noah Clement, Frédéric Dufour; Jacques-Pierre Castell, Alexandrine Bourreau, Ronan Neuville; Erica Walsh, Arielle Poirier, Lionel Stavros

by **Zwangzug** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:06 pm

I guess sometimes people expect YouTube links to songs to go here but I'm more of a lyrical than "general ambiance/vibe sound" person and there's plenty of reading material in this thread. However, this is the announcement that MD1 scores for Groups 13-18 are on their way!

And this is where they can be found.

by **Montana Verde** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:27 pm

This RP was 85% written before cutoff. I have not looked at the results prior to posting so as to preserve the authenticity of the system.

The ancient stone had lain in the temple for centuries, undisturbed by conquest and colonialism, by earthquakes and hurricanes, by gold rushes and stock market crashes. Professor Saskja Jóannsdóttir admired it once more, the letters of the mystical pre-Christian script so sharply defined in the rock she could have believed it carved just yesterday. Then the stone and its ancient wisdom faded into darkness.

“Aziz, light!” she barked.

Isaías Saavedra Águila jerked upright. The boy liked Saskja – she was much nicer than the Græntfjallers who had been here before – but the temple was stiflingly warm and they had only found it after days of trekking through the rainforest. He was exhausted and kept drifting into sleep. He jerked the beam back up to properly illuminate the surface, grumbling quietly to the unlistening archaeologist that she was pronouncing his name wrongly.

Saskja’s research partner Veronica Pilar Murillo Sáenz came up alongside her. Græntfjaller and Verdean, working in harmony – to document and enthuse upon ancient heritage, not trample under the boot of missionary suppression. It was truly a new day.

Veronica began leafing through her notebook. The strange symbols swirled slowly into focus as she compared them to the scribblings on the brown, rain-damped pages, dating back decades. She had been researching the pre-Christian Verdeans all her academic life, and now before her lay one of their most treasured artifacts.

“Can you read it?” murmured Saskja. The blonde woman stood a foot taller than her Verdean counterpart, yet she somehow felt herself looking up in reverence at her esteemed colleague, who held a key to unlocking a wisdom she alone could never have analyzed.

“This symbol, here. It normally represents a P sound. But this next pictogram softens up. A P-H. Like… a ‘F’.”

Saskja’s thick blonde eyebrows creased as she studied her colleague’s face.

“This is an ‘O’. But again, the next character modifies it, elongates it. ‘OR’, perhaps.”

“P-H-O-R…” Saskja mouthed the letters to herself.

“Then – ai, it is tricky,” grumbled Veronica. “It should be a ‘c’ but it is, very soft. Almost like the wash of the sea. And again, this character, it means ‘E’, but it isn’t voiced strongly. And the next… D?”

“P-H-O-R-C-E-D…” Saskja whispered.

Veronica was on the cusp of decoding the next character – which was, in fact, an ‘A’ - when the tablet once more dulled.

“Aziz, light!”

That’s right! It’s back! And this time, in Spanish!*

PHORCED-ACRONIM #001-MV

The Verdeans, too, have unlocked the ancient wisdom of the PHORCED ACRONIM system, although in Verdean it stands for ‘Pre-Historical Origins, Religious Culture, Entertainment and Drama: Accessing Comparative Research On News In Montaña verde’. Hmm. As a reminder, the first number is determined by the home team’s score, the second the away team’s. Given the Condors’ first game is a home game against Ko-oren, you can go ahead and put some pretty big weight on the result of the first 0 score, then…

Something exciting has arrived in Montaña Verde. It’s…

0: a familiar face from the past
1: a scientific miracle birth
2: a big trade deal
3: a huge hurricane
4: an order of flagellant nuns
5+: a flaming meteor

… and something has also left the country. It’s…

0: the last foreign paramilitary
1: a precious artifact
2: a controversial writer
3: a covert shipment of arms
4: a gift of friendship to a foreign nation
5+: the Catholic Church

* Sort of.

by **Hapilopper** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:32 pm

Libira National Stadium, Fiskadaha City, Poafmersia*
World Cup 89 Qualifying Match 1: Hapilopper v. Poafmersia
In spite of that speech that Nathan Ellis had given his teammates, he could still sense some tentativeness among his teammates, and honestly, he kind of understood. The Haps were going up in their absolute worst matchup in the first match of the qualifying efforts, against a very strong Poafmersia team in front of their fans. They weren’t that Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalision team the Haps played in their first ever match – they were much tougher, and it showed. There was no excuse, no shenanigans, no stupidity – the Haps plain got beat by the Poafmers, losing 2-0.

Billy Solomon had two goals go past him – one of them an absolute screamer from Joel Haodao from 25 yards out. All Billy could do was sit there and shake his head. It was a gem if there ever was one and seemingly came from a moment of last-second desperation. Nathan Ellis and Jerold Dickman were running at all due speed towards Haodao, and it was either fire one past them, or end up in the hospital. The two turned back to look at the net to find Billy diving for it but to no avail. All Nate could do was mutter the single word “motherfucker!” as the Haps fell behind 1-0 in the 25th minute.

In the 79th minute, Makana Tuft got it past the Haps as well, this time outmaneuvering a host of Hapiloppians, all of whom had bad intentions on their mind. Nate thought about running behind him and picking one of his legs up and throwing him over. Jerold thought about just shoulder-blocking the guy. But it was to no avail, Tuft maneuvered around and fired it over Billy’s head and into the back of the net. Billy grabbed the ball and in a show of frustration spiked it to the turf.

But it was what the final score didn’t show that had the Haps optimistic. The match could have gone so much worse. Billy had 13 saves on the night, including more than a few rockets that he launched himself into the air to stop. The Haps had more than a few solid moments on the other end of the pitch, including some shrewd offensive work from Pete Robson and Toby Bryson that was only stopped by great keeper work from keeper Nicole Potts. And the Haps, about as offensive-minded as the Poafmers, forced the Red Panijas to make 12 saves on the night.

It wasn’t often that the Haps weren’t blinded with rage after losing a match, but this was one of them. Instead, Nate, Thom Perkins and members of the Hapiloppian staff were hopeful. The worst was over. The Haps would have their home opener in a few days against Hebitaka, where they knew that their fans would be waiting to cheer them on about as loudly as possible.

Nate sat down in his locker, opened a cooler and got out a cold beer. He thought for a minute about the match and looked back at his teammates.

“That result’s not good,” Nate said to his teammates, who it seemed were waiting for something. “But, it’s not bad. I know a lot of people had us losing 6-0 or 7-0, but we didn’t. OK, so I saw some great things out there. So if you think I’m going to come over here and, you know, F-this, F-that, not today. We did good but we can do better. And y’all know what to do better.”

Some of his teammates were actually relieved that Nate was sipping on a can of Snap’s Gold Star and not throwing chairs.

“We’re going to go back home, we’re going to prepare, and we’re going to kick some ass against Hebitaka. We’ve got to. Don’t be discouraged because we lost one match. Take what you learn and take that into the next one. I expect that we’ll be doing that tomorrow morning.”

Other players nodded their heads as they got ready to get out of Poafmersia and ready to go back home.

“That said, I’m not gonna be that nice if we’re in the locker room and we’ve just gotten our asses kicked by Hebitaka,” Nathan interjected. “We’ve got to kick some ass this week. And quite frankly, I want to see y’all on the practice field as early as possible. I’ll be there. Y’all ain’t beating me there this time.”

* - Poaf, is this still your national team stadium? I checked your roster and it made no mention of it.

by **Lathamford** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:36 pm

WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION 89
Lathamford 1–0 Darmen

Morten Clawbrand '90 ׀ NIL

@Thousandforks National Arena (27,256) ׀ Game Sponsor: Aeroford

Game Report

1: The match is underway.
3: Craig Blackwood takes a shot. That's off-target.
4: The keeper pulled off a brilliant save from Víedharr Svendsen.
5: Skelmersdale is shown a Yellow Card.▍
7: Darmen give a free-kick.
8: Matt Falconderry takes a shot. It's on target but saved.
10: Lathamford is given a freekick
11: Darnell Halle takes a shot. It's on target but saved.
13: Lathamford is awarding a freekick
16: Craig Blackwood takes a shot. That's off-target.
20: Matt Falconderry takes a shot. It's on target but saved.
25: Kingsley takes a shot. It's on target but saved.
26: Darmen awarding a freekick outside a box.
29: Darnell Halle takes a shot. That's off-target.
30: Bill St. John fired in a volley that was technically breathtaking but also straight at the goalie.
33: Silver Abbey is shown a Yellow Card. ▍
36: Lathamford awarded a corner kick.
43: Farrowsteam fired in a volley that was technically breathtaking but also straight at the goalie.
50: Giles Kingsley takes a shot. That's off-target.
51: Craig Blackwood takes a shot. It's on target but saved.
52: Falconderry takes a shot. That's off-target.
54: Craig Blackwood caught offside.
56: Farrowsteam caught offside.
57: Craig Blackwood takes a shot. It's on target but saved.
59: Lathamford give a corner kick.
62: Substitution by Lathamford player Matt Falconderry make way for Morten Clawbrand
63: Hargreave headed a cross just wide.
76: Craig Blackwood broke away from the defense and hammered a shot straight towards goal... and right into the waiting hands of the goalie.
78: Riley Mac Pharlain caught offside.
81: Substitution by Lathamford player Skelmersdale make way for Wolfsong
84: Farrowsteam broke away from the defense and hammered a shot straight towards goal... and right into the waiting hands of the goalie.
85: Substitution by Lathamford player Wyvernchaser make way for du Graypelt.
90: Lathamford scores! Morten Clawbrand produced a trademark turn in the box to fool his marker before slotting the ball past the goalkeeper.
90+2: End of the game.

Line Up

Greenash, Decker, Skelmersdale (C)▍ (Wolfsong), Haymoore, Wymondham, Wyvernchaser (du Graypelt), Hargreave, Colfield, Farrowsteam, Kingsley, Falconderry (Clawbrand )

WCQ89’s first match against Darmen at the sacred stadium, Thousandforks National Arena, ended with the Speedy Cat successfully beating the opponent 1-0, a late goal by substitute striker Morten Clawbrand. The stadium was packed with 27, 256 spectators and many more outside the stadium because from the morning various events were held there with the main sponsor of the match Aeroford having held a career carnival and exhibitions as well as sales of various types of food and beverages. In the evening, a special concert by Lathamford's famous rock group "The Spellbroken" was held. The involvement of the Minister of Youth, Education & Sport, Gwendoline von Lockhart can also be seen as she was the VVIP guest for the match.

Head coach Pedro Menendez still maintained the same line-up during the friendly match against Poafmersia the day which ended in a draw. Tractor Grasswind FC goalkeeper Glen Greenash is still tasked with guarding the national goal, assisted by three defenders, namely team captain Dustin Skelmersdale, and two Featherwood Locomotive FC defenders, Clayton Decker and Martin Haymoore. The four midfielders are Joe Wymondham, Carter Colfield, Adolf Wyvernchaser, and Rotor Blewbury FC midfielder Jonah Hargreave. The attacking trio consists of inverted right-winger Otto Farrowsteam, left-winger Giles Kingsley and target man Giles Kingsley.

In the 4th minute Darmen almost took the lead with a quick attack, Víedharr Svendsen who got the ball kept rushing towards our goal, fortunately, Greenash managed to save his shot. In the eighth minute, we launched an attack, a beautiful cut-in from Farrowsteam continued to give the ball to Matt Falconderry and with just 1v1 with Hyman Campo, but his swipe shot was too weak to give a goal. In the 20th minute, Falconderry again missed his marker and managed to make a turn in but his shot was again saved by Campo. Ten minutes later a beautiful volley of Bill St. John was successfully rescued by Greenash, the stadium booming with cheers from the spectators. Similarly in the 43rd minute, the stadium once again thundered with cheers from the fans when Farrowsteam’s volley almost hit the goal, but Campo’s brilliance denied it all.

In the 62nd minute, Pedro Menendez saw Falconderry less effective in the second half and then replaced him with a replacement striker Clawbrand. In the 76th minute, once again Darmen almost scored, if not for the agility of the goalkeeper, Craig Blackwood's name would have been recorded as the opponent's first goalscorer. The match looked set to end without a goal but, in the 90th minute, when Calwbrand managed to deceive the opposing defense, with his speed, he also managed to beat Campo and scored the lone goal of the night to give the Speedy Cat their first win, congratulations.

World Cup Q89
Group 18:: MD1		Darmen		1-0			Morten Clawbrand 	▍ Dustin Skelmersdale


Scorer: World Cup Q89
Morten Clawbrand		1

by **Jeruselem** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:36 pm

Naked News Jeruselems's Aidra Nene and Princess Kate at Dazza Dallas Stadium

Aidra: HELLO, this is Aldra Nene reporting for Naked News Jeruselem live at Dazza Dallas Stadium! I'm with my boss Princess Katherine here with me for the first qualification day for World Cup 89.
Kate: Hello Jeruselem! Haachama chama!
Aidra: OK, let's get moving on. She spends too much time on Hololive.
Kate: Haachama chama!
Aidra: Group 17 results are in and we'll leave our game last because we have to force people to watch until the end.
Kate: Yes, can't have viewers leaving early.

Aidra: Xanneria had their first home game but the visitors were the Commonwealth of Baker Park which was probably the last type of visitor you want to play first up. The top seed Commonwealth of Baker Park got their first win 2-1.
Kate: That's a respectable loss, I wouldn't be too concerned about it.
Aidra: The Jovannic hosted visitors and got 3 home points.
Kate: We don't know much about those teams but 4-2 win is pretty impressive first game.
Aidra: Sajnur hosted visitors Polkopia and both settled for a 1-1 draw
Kate: Pretty evenly matched teams really, fair result.

Aidra: Kiltoch at their first home match playing visitors Flavovespia. Flavovespia won 4-3 against a valiant Kiltoch.
Kate: Well, good to see lots of goals in a game for the punters even if it was a home loss.
Aidra: Which leaves us here playing Eshialand, ranked like 122. And it was 1-1 draw. But we should have this one for sure.
Kate: Yes, we really should have won this one and given we are also at home as well. A disappointing start given our opponent wasn't expected to trouble us.
Aidra: So just maybe a bit of rust, because didn't play any friendies before this.
Kate: I assume it is, the first game is important but the reality it is how you finish that's more important. We did drop 2 points really, 2 points we should have gotten.

Aidra: Below par performance today
Kate: We can do a lot better for sure. Not our worst either but then we have a higher benchmark now from the last cup.
Aidra: Anything to be concerned about?
Kate: It's only the first game. Even top seeds can lose their first game.
Aidra: I guess there's time to sort out any issues
Kate: Every campaign is different with different challenges

Aidra: For sure
Kate: So everyone doesn't quite know who you but ... you're not totally unknown
Aidra: In football circles, I'm a nobody for sure.
Kate: But as a retired adult movie star, not foreign to the camera.
Aidra: I'm sure a lot of my fans out there will happy I'm back on camera, in a slightly different capacity.
Kate: Sorry guys, we have to keep this channel kinda family friendly. Kinda ...

Aidra: Hey I can still legally not wear clothes
Kate: Which only applies here not overseas, unless they allow it too ...
Aidra: I assume that's not the case in most places
Kate: Pretty much
Aidra: I really don't know that much about football if people ask
Kate: That's fine most journos don't know anything they are talking about anyway, why pretend.

Aidra: Yes that's it from us here
Kate: Disappointing result here for our first qualifier.
Aidra: I'll see you all later, in some other country.
Kate: I'm not going anywhere

OOC
Xanneria 1–2 Commonwealth of Baker Park
The Jovannic 4–2 Aut-Ves-Nat
Sajnur 1–1 Polkopia
Kiltoch 3–4 Flavovespia
Jeruselem 1–1 Eshialand

by **Milchama** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:37 pm

"Well we lost"

"Yeah that's not surprising, I mean even the newspapers were saying that we were going to lose like all of the games"

"Yeah but do you know who we played first?"

"No, who did we play first?"

"Raspotochje"

"And?"

"Somehow they're ranked lower than us"

"Oh dear god"

"Yeah we're worse than them"

"Oh dear god!!!"

"Yeah we're screwed"

"Rightly and truely screwed"

"There's no way to come back from this"

"I mean theoretically we could win some more games"

"Yeah, but like, how likely is that?"

"Ok fair"

"Can we fire everyone?"

"Not yet, it's been one game"

"Ok but against real competition we've only looked good twice, that 1-0 loss to Sarzonia in AOCAF and the victory in octos in the BoF. Everything else has been crap"

"We did well in the BoF"

"We lost to the two teams who actually RP'd and we lost to the two teams who did better than us in the standings. We're not good right now"

"Yeah I guess"

"So then what should we do?"

"I think we need to start having some players go abroad"

"Ok"

"How do we do that?"

"Maybe we can go to IRC, that's how it used to work"

"What's IRC?"

"International Relay Chat"

"What does that have to do with transfers?"

"Not sure but that's how it worked"

"Ok, let's try to find something more specific"

"What about the domestic sport channel?"

"Oh that's a good idea, who has a not terrible league?"

"No idea, the last time I paid attention to domestic soccer was pre-Isolation, and even then outside of Iskara Dai, who may or may not be a Starblaydian team, I couldn't name you a single team"

"Ok so then we need to go to domestic sport and beg people to take bad players"

"Basically"

"Or we need to create a breakout star"

"Oh we can do that"

"Ok, who is it going to be?"

"Either Leetal Fenet or Gal Waver"

"Ok, so who scored today?"

"Marc K. Floren"

"Why not him?"

"Because people will confuse him with Marc J. Floren and think they got him instead"

"Yeah but that's a plan!"

"I guess it's a plan"

"It also could be a RP angle"

"How?"

"Getting an agent and all that"

"Meh that's boring logistics stuff, nobody cares"

"Fair"

"But anyway we should totally do this!"

"Yeah let's get a player onto a foreign side!"

"A team that doesn't suck!"

"Well maybe not that far"

"At least second division!"

"We can do that?"

"I think so"

"Sure why not?"

"Great, let's go!"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

by **Eshialand** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:50 pm

https://www.blogwrite.esh/shanesland/05-14-22/i_want_half-decent_ice_cream_and_i_want_it_now
It's Shane's Land!
Your weekly dose of awesome

Hello internet, and welcome back to Shane's Land! I'm Shane Östergard, and... doesn't the news seem to get weirder every day? I mean, ever since that sewage plant explosion three years ago, the news has just gotten wilder and wilder. First, we turn out to have half-decent sports teams. Then we find a nation populated entirely by sentient cats. Now, I've just finished watching a soccer match with the commentary presented by completely naked women. Wild stuff, am I right?

Well, there have been three things that I've discovered in the past week, some of it headline news, and some of it slipping through the cracks, that I think have been the absolute cream of the crop... at least until next week comes and blows my mind yet again. So, I've decided to count them down. Here are the top 3 news stories that I've discovered in the past week that have completely blown my mind.

#3: Has Your Cousin Moved to Atheara? The Truth May Surprise You...
Yes, before you complain, I have made a conscious effort to make these headlines as clickbaity as possible. It's all about the reader retention baby!

Anyway, so someone over at the Eshialand City Journal (let's face it, it was probably that wackadoodle Alana Markai) recently went digging through foreign census records for no reason whatsoever other than that they're sick in the head. What did they find? A percentage of a percentage of people in Atheara identify as Eshian! That's right, people have been emigrating away from Eshialand! Why in the world would they ever want to do that, it's great here! I mean, except for the ice cream, I mean seriously, can someone make a good ice cream cone around here?

#2: There's a Sport All About the Number 7, and Eshialand's Playing It!
I wish I was joking, but the region of Sonnel never ceases to surprise with their odd sports. A sport all about the number 7. Apparently, the world championship of this sport begins tomorrow, and there's an Eshian team involved. Don't believe me? Check ENN Sports. Go on, I dare you. What you'll find is a video of Josh Seametzle trying to understand the rules of this game (which is quite predictably known as 7ball) and losing his mind in the process. I am lost for words at what the multiverse is able to do sometimes, each new discovery about this wild world just makes me think more.

#1: Eshialand Drew Jeruselem to Open Up World Cup Qualifying!
This doesn't even need to be clickbaity, to be quite honest. It serves on its own as a ridiculous headline that anyone with half a brain knows is just stupid and unrealistic. But yet, here we are. How did this happen?

Well, it started with 11 idiots and a dream, entering the Baptism of Fire last year with.. wait, that's too far back. You wanna know what just happened in tonight's match, don't you? Well, that's not such a long story. Jeruselem led most of the match thanks to an early goal by striker Kate Dallas, and things seemed pretty much hopeless, just as we all expected. Then... I'm not too sure what happened. All I knew is that I looked away, at, uh... a lightning storm outside my house, totally, yeah... and then I saw that the score had changed from 1-0 to 1-1! Again, I don't know how that happened, but it sure as heck happened!

So, those were my top 3 wacky news stories from the past week. If you think I missed any stories that were weird, wonderful, or just plain wacky, absolutely feel free to post them in the comments down below. Until next time, I've been Shane Östergard, bringing you your weekly dose of awesome!

Jeruselem - 1 (K. Dallas 13')
Eshialand - 1 (Carey 68')

by **Tumbra** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:57 pm

Delaclava 0-3 Tumbra

Starters: 1 - Lennon; 2 - Hughes, 4 - Ashburn, 14 - Paterson, 3 - Carter (27 - Harris, 66'); 6 - Hicks, 15 - Morgan (8 - McGrath, 79'), 10 - Cole; 17 - Hilton, 10 - Vaughn; 22 - Riordan (11 - Sheldon, 80')

TMB scorers: Nick Riordan (13', 29'), George Hilton (80')

Player of the Match: George Hilton (TMB)

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NEWS > Politics > Parliament
⬤ Parliament LIVE: SDP leader Saunders decries Northlands expansion as "pathetic, unlawful and imperialist" as debate continues on Northlands Expansion Act

By Germaine Pryor and Sam Willett
TBC News

⬤ This is a LIVE event. Refresh your page to get the latest updates on this story as it happens.
Last updated 3 minutes ago

3m ago
Economic opportunities "not the be all and end all to Tumbra's problems of inequality", says Wilson (Grn-Southport Central)

Rising from his seat, Arthur Wilson (Green-Southport Central) says that Tumbra's problem with growing social inequality and a rural-urban divide will "not be solved by introducing a new market to the Tumbran economy," instead saying that "we need to look towards giving greater help to those who need it, instead of papering over the cracks by cranking up jingoistic sentiment." His statement is roundly cheered by the Greens, SPD and by 20-odd MPs on the government benches, all of whom have sat near each other. No ministers are within this group, though they are making their presence very heard.

6m ago
Lindner (Lib-Chatham) asks for timeline on expansion should Act pass; Everett (Lab-Timbourne South) says that cities could be constructed "within a year."

The Leader of the Opposition, Peter Lindner (Liberal-Chatham), asks how long it will take after the Act passes to actually expand into the Northlands, and asks for a more detailed timetable of the expansion. His relatively mild question fits with the Party's general stance so far; here's an article on what the Liberal-National coalition have said in the lead-up to this debate. Most opposition has come from the smaller parties in Parliament; though there have been cases of Liberal MPs stating their opposition to the expansion as well.

The Prime Minister, who also serves as the Minister for Northern Affairs, rises. Kenneth Everett (Labour-Timbourne South) says that the government "is ready to move" the moment the order is given; with the Ministry of Northern Affairs ready to begin construction on settlements that could be ready "within a year or less."

"Mr. Speaker, This is a Tumbran project, worked by Tumbrans, for the benefit of all of Tumbra. All these economic opportunities will help our economy become more competitive, and allow us to move toward solving several other problems we see in the country nowadays - like inequality. We will spread the light of Tumbra to the Northlands; they will become a part of us, and we will embrace them," he says, to cheers on the Labour benches, and strangely enough, the opposition benches as well, where several Liberal MPs and most of the Conservative delegation are cheering.

11m ago
Saunders (SDP-Maxwell) decries Northlands expansion; mentions Esportivan Union disapproval

"Mr. Speaker, I don't agree with the idea of the Esportivan Union, not one bit," says Peter Saunders (SDP-Maxwell). His colleague, Cressida Granger (SDP-Penhurst) shakes her head; the Esportivan Union has long been a sticking point between the two of them, and reportedly has delayed the transition of leadership from the veteran to the 43 year-old, long heralded as the future of the Social Democratic Party. "But I must say, if the Esportivan Union decides to suspend us from their hallways, then they must be doing something right. This so-called 'expansion' is nothing more than naked colonialism. It is a pathetic attempt to deflect from the multiple failings of this government. It is borderline unlawful - nay, unlawful in the worst sense - to expand into areas where people live, undisturbed, not part of a state and living as they are." Jeers from the Labour benches; jeers from almost everywhere.

"This move by the government is pathetic, unlawful, and imperialistic," he says as he sits down. The Prime Minister merely shrugs his eyebrows on the government benches; he has the right to reply, but evidently doesn't think Saunders' statement is worth replying to. The Speaker calls upon the Leader of the Opposition.

15m ago
ANALYSIS: The Labour Rebels

By Dave Sharma
TBC political correspondent

A certain subset of the Labour Party has risen in opposition to the Northlands Expansion Act even before the debate; centering around the more socially progressive wing of the Labour party. Led by figures such as Joyce DeCerce (Lab-Newark South) and Mandy Ellis (Lab-Caldwell North), the twenty-odd strong caucus has been seen together more and more in recent weeks; for this debate, too, they are sat near each other.

It is expected that the vote on the Northlands Expansion Act will take place with a three line whip on Labour, essentially forcing them to vote Aye on the act; this is the crux of the issue for the caucus. Should they defy the whip and vote no, they might have their party whip revoked, or removed from the Labour caucus entirely. Should they vote yes, however, their opposition might have been for nothing. Yet rumours, each more concrete than the last, continually trickle through. Each of them are slightly different, but the gist of the rumours remain the same: that the caucus may strike out on its own; forming a new party to continue their advocacy for left-wing, generally progressive causes

This would simultaneously capitalise on left-wing urban discontent with Labour — who may not be left-wing enough for this group, often cited as a significant contributing factor to their recent election loss in Bencoolen — and their own personal annoyances at the parliamentary party, which has stuck remarkably to the right-wing of the centre-left party since Everett took charge in 2013. Expansion would prove to be the straw that perhaps breaks the camel's back, some would hope — not just for the progressive caucus but also on the ground, where sentiment is remarkably split on whether Tumbra should expand into the Northlands or not.

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TUMBRA vs NEPHARA and MARTUNE vs TUMBRA - WORLD CUP 89, MATCHDAYS 2 AND 3

Starters: 1 - John Lennon; 2 -Ryan Hughes, 4 - Ian Ashburn, 14 - Louis Paterson, 3 - Chris Carter; 6 - Vincent Hicks, 38 - Leo Hooper, 10 - Phil Cole; 17 - George Hilton, 9 - Robin Vaughn; 22 - Nick Riordan

Bench: 13 - Nick Barker; 34 - Neal Diamond, 5 - Harry Henderson, 26 - Raymond Perry, 19 - Russell White; 8 - Craig McGrath, 15 - Alan Morgan, 16 - Tom Stansfield; 7 - Neil Fraser, 42 - Dean Cresswood; 11 - Marcus Sheldon, 44 - Nigel Erskine

by **Osarius** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:37 am

Opening a campaign with a loss is never really "good" -- no matter how much the historians point to Jermain Lewis' back-to-back world champions -- and when you follow it up with a home opener against the strongest team in your qualifying group, you're faced with the unenviable task of trying to motivate a team that may already be feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the daunting task ahead of them. Luckily for Osarius, this is where Odell McIntosh shines. Years of working with young players have honed his naturally optimistic world view into a laser-focused, guiding light of encouragement.

"It happens," he said in the dressing room after the 2-1 defeat to West Zirconia. "We came to their house, with not much available information, and they only just edged it. That's not a bad thing."

McIntosh knew he had to frame things the right way today. Telling the players what he thought they wanted to hear wasn't going to cut it. They weren't stupid, and they knew their next match would be difficult.

"We all know that being the home team is worth half a goal in most cases," he continued. "And overall, we probably deserved a draw tonight. Think about their chances, where they were, and how often you'd normally expect shots from those positions to go in. Tonight they got the home turf boost. And that's fine. Next time, we get it."

He paused for a moment. "How many of you have played at Mount Crown Stadium?" He asked.

Roughly two-thirds of the team raised a hand. "Tell me," he took a deep breath. "Did you feel something the first time you played there?"

Aurelio Cesario exhaled sharply through his teeth. "Shhhh yeah..." He shook his head a little. "It's not like any other stadium I've played in. It feels different."

"And that was for a club game, right?" Odell asked. The emphasis on "club" giving Aurelio a moment of clarity.

"Oh right yeah, the first time. But it's different again for internationals." Aurelio stood up and gestured to one side of the room. "So imagine for a cup final, this side is all you. That's your team's fans. They're cheering and the noise is amazing." He gestured to the other side. "But that's the other team's fans. They're almost as loud, and they want to see you fail."

Odell nodded silently, and glanced around the room, taking in the faces and expressions, the reactions, of the squad.

"But for internationals," Aurelio laughed and walked until he was around three-quarters of the way across the room, then turned to face the larger part of the room. "All of this is on your side. There's a little section behind you who want you to fail, but you can't even hear them. They might as well be at home."

A few other senior members of the team nodded and chuckled. Odell stepped back in, "and that's what it was like for the other side tonight. We had maybe a thousand fans in here? The rest? All wanted you to fail. And you didn't. Not really."

"But gaffer, we lost." Antonio Vergara pointed out.

"True," Odell replied, looking the younger man directly in the eye. "But defeat isn't necessarily a failure. What did we gain today? What have we learned?"

A ripple of mirth passed over the group, primarily from the handful of Hastmead players in the squad.

Odell smiled. "See, they're laughing because they knew this was coming. Right guys?"

"Yep." Malia Niko and Aristeia Viridiana replied almost in perfect harmony. "Yeah," Ryu Masuya sighed.

"Then you lot all know the answer. What did we gain today?"

"Well, I guess we saw how they exposed a weakness in the right half-space with their passing patterns," Niko started.

"Good." Odell nodded. "We can address that, what else?"

"The high block was a risk, they sprung the offside trap a few times, and we'll need to be a bit more careful with that." Tigana added.

"You're right. And that's on me," Odell said, walking over to his whiteboard, which still bore the words 'Press high. Compress space.', and pointing at it furiously. "This is all part of the process. I know you guys aren't kids anymore, and I know you all have experience. But that doesn't mean we stop learning, stop progressing, stop improving." He pounded a fist into his palm, punctuating each action. "Yes, your job is to execute on the pitch and win games. But I'm your coach. Or manager, whatever. I have a duty to equip you with the tools you need to succeed. Tonight, maybe I didn't do that well enough."

He paused for a moment, scanning the room again. The few heads he'd noticed looking at the floor earlier were looking at him now.

"If I ask you to bake a cake and don't give you flour, can I be mad at you when you don't present a cake later? Was that really your failure?" He asked the room. "I take the responsibility for today's defeat. You all executed the plan as well as you could in the circumstances, and all I can ask now is that you trust me to go away and make a better one for the next game."

"Alright gaffer," Belshazzar Qanbari spoke up. As captain, he preferred to lead by example. Not the most vocal figure. "We trust you."

"I appreciate that. Now, we have a few days of training ahead of us to prepare for the next game. Savigliane will be tough, even at Mount Crown Stadium."

"Looking forward to it," Qanbari grinned. "I hear you called Kyshoen."

A ripple passed over the group. "Yeah, I thought the two of you might be able to do some damage together."

"It's been a while, gaffer, but I'm sure we can pull off whatever plan you come up with."

"Wait, are we changing system for Savigliane?" Niko chimed in.

"Probably," Odell grimaced. "Different challenge, sorry Malia."

"I'm guessing you're gonna go with Louis behind Kyshoen and Belsh?"

"Not sure yet, but that looks like it could work," Odell shrugged. "We need to trial a few approaches in training and through our simulations."

Malia raised an eyebrow. "I'll do my best to change your mind, then."

"Alright, well that's enough of that. Let's all get out of here, get rested. You've got an off day tomorrow but we're back in training Friday morning at the NDC." Odell wrapped up the teamtalk, putting an end to any other arguments and protestations that may have arisen. "I meant what I said about tonight, you played well, and overall, the result was unlucky. If we can build on that, we still have a chance at making the world cup proper. Let's keep that goal in mind."

by **Indusse** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 4:03 am

QuickNews
Top 6 News from the Union

#6 : Election Commision to finalize election dates

The Electoral Commission of Indusse has called the meeting of State Governors to finalize the election schedule for the third general elections. The governors would have to submit a report on how well their state is ready to conduct elections and count votes to the Electoral Commission consisting of the Chief Electoral Commissioner and three assistant electoral commissioners. The ECI would then talk with the current president and with his approval announce the election dates. Even though the president is a political entity, he/she cannot postpone an election schedule for more than three weeks. But, certain exceptions are given if the nation is under Pandemic Surges or Emergency Period. The Political Entities have started their pre-electoral operations and strengthened their Social media presence. Social Media plays a major role in receiving votes in Indusse, due to its vast sphere of influence. The Electoral Commission has informed that they would announce the schedule within a day or two.

#5 : Indusse to be full-time member of IOTO

IOTO Official Flag

Indian Ocean Territory Organisation, shortly called IOTO is a super organisation in India. IOTO is currently the most powerful alliance in India. The Alliance was first started as one to oversee the safety of nations in the Indian Ocean and later got to be a military and diplomatic alliance. IOTO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. IOTO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict. IOTO was part of various missions including Anti Piracy Operations, Attempted invasion of Dari Sultanate( cancelled due to situation improving), Bay of Bengal Naval War, Victory at United Bengal, Victory at Awell Islands, Anti insurgency ops, Quarterly military exercises, Deployment of naval forces in SCS. The IOTO has called all its member nations for a meeting on the Kumbhalgarh Insurgency.

#4 : Ban on Racism and other means of Discrimination

Mallika Agarwal and Sonam Sharma, who are the board members of the National Human Welfare Front (Activist Organisation) filed a case in the Supreme Court under the name of "Mukti" (Equality Wing) on the ban on racism and other sorts of Discrimination in the nation. The case was filed in light of the murder of a 25-year-old man who was killed by a group of men for loving a girl who belonged to "Upper Caste". The case was designated as "Mukti vs Govt. of Indusse" and after sessions of twelve days, the court declared that racism, casteism and other means of discrimination would be banned. Any sort of banned activities would get you jailed for a span of three years to lifelong jailing. The Court also decided to establish a forum for reporting grievances on such matters.

#3 : National Religion faces name change.

The Government of Indusse has decided to change its national religion from Hinduism to Sanatana Dharma. Even though it's just a name change, the government has insisted that the religion gets called by the traditional name. Sanatana Dharma is said to be the oldest religion in the world and various religious entities are welcoming the decision.

#2 : IAC Championship Fever not yet ended

After the victory of the indussean national team in the Independent's Association Cup finals, fans all over the world started celebrating their team's victory. The "IAC Championship Fever" as it got to be known has been reported to be never-ending. The Flocking Blue fan club conducted nationwide rallies and got themselves into trouble for blocking the passage of vehicles and causing issues for the public. FIR was filed against the participant and a fine of IRS 5000 was levied on each participant. The Government got a total of IRS 1,21,75,000 as a fine since there were about 2500 participants.

#1 : WC 89 Season starts with a victory!

The World Cup 89 Season starts and Indusse is in group A this edition. In the first matchday, Indusse defeated Transvolcanic for a score of three against none. The Group consists of Rizealand, Independent Athletes from Quebec, Krbustan, Murderbum, Reçueçn, Chartistan, Starblaydia, Sharktail and Transvolcanic. The teams of IAQ, Krbustan, Recuecn and Starblaydia has achieved victory in their first match. With the first match ending Indusse is third in the group.

Indusse 3 - 0 Transvolcanic
Goal Scorers:
Baskar Kumar 5', 62'
Mersias 77'



Group 1                               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Starblaydia                          1    1   0   0     6    1   +5     3
 2 Krbustan                             1    1   0   0     4    1   +3     3
 3 Indusse                              1    1   0   0     3    0   +3     3 
 4 Reçueçn                              1    1   0   0     3    1   +2     3
 5 Independent Athletes from Quebec     1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
 6 Rizealand                            1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
 7 Chartistan                           1    0   0   1     1    3   −2     0
 8 Murderbum                            1    0   0   1     1    4   −3     0
 9 Transvolcanic                        1    0   0   1     0    3   −3     0
10 Sharktail                            1    0   0   1     1    6   −5     0

by **Srednjaci** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 7:25 am

WORLD CUP 89 -South Newlandia & Tikariot

IS HOME DESASTER VERSUS CHROMATIKA BEGINING OF THE END HRVOJE VEZMAR'S ERA ?

Srednjaci 0-4 Chromatika

26' Edith Fillar 0-1
47' Baillare Fillar 0-2
66' Kandice Sayer 0-3
91' Edith Fillar 0-4

BY

IVAN BOŽIĆ

Dear viewers, welcome to the show dedicated to football. Of course, this is a new cycle of qualifications for the World Cup in South Newlandia and Tikariot.
As you could see in the live broadcast, our national team suffered a hard time in the first match against the overwhelming team Chromatik with 4-0.
In front of more than 60,000 home fans, our players looked completely lost. Unbelievable that we received four goals without being able to score a single goal. What is even more worrying, our team did not create many opportunities to score.
Now the question arises for all of us, has our game been read? Has Hrvoje Vezmar reached his limit and has nothing more to give to the national team?
We will certainly leave the answers to the leaders of the alliance. we still have a lot of games ahead of us, but the chair of the national team's head coach is getting hot. On the other hand, Chromatika showed a great game and confirmed the role of favorites in our group. Their game was simply at the highest level.
The Football Association also released the remaining tickets for home games. Here is where you can all watch our national team.

KATANIJA , NATIONAL STADIUM : BLUE OYSTER

Katania is the capital of DR Srednjaci. It is also the largest city in the country. Economic, political and military center. Katania has the strongest financial sector in the country and also has the most universities.

KATANIJA is the capital with 19,000,000 inhabitants.
It is the seat of government and the economic center of DR Srednjaci.
Katanija is first mentioned 600 years ago when in a storm merchants from the north strayed and came across the settlement.
Katanija in the old language means "enter". The language barrier actually gave the settlement its name. The merchant knocked on the door and asked the host what the name of this place was, and the host replied with a smile, "Katanija = come in," thinking that the merchant was asking him if he could take shelter from the rain.
Katanija began to develop later with the establishment of a trading post and an administrative building. With the arrival of the scholar Don Bernard Rivić, the first high school was established.
Peoples from the east also immigrated to Katanija, bringing with them other crafts such as glassmaking and goldsmithing.
The development of Katanija briefly stopped the pre-medieval war of the peoples of the Far East. After a siege of the city that lasted 6 weeks, the city surrendered to the khanata of Wei Xu.
Due to the disease of his troops and lack of food, the Easterners withdrew back to their Changxi empire.
Katania moved forward to a new war. King Dalat 2 established the Central Kingdom of Dalatia and declared Katanija the capital. He built a magnificent palace, today it is a museum and cultural heritage, a tourist attraction.
After the unification of all the slanders, Katanija briefly lost its position, but after the civil war and the establishment of the Republic, Katanija regained its position as the capital.
Katanija is the only city in DR Srednjaci that has two civilian airports.
It is located in the southeast of the country towards the border of today's Saint Shokai.
To the north are the slopes of the mountain Bijeli Vrh and to the south is Lake Bulat.
The river Modra flows through the town itself, which springs on the slopes of the mountain and flows into the sea.
The river Modra is navigable, so it transports goods and people.
In addition to the nearby mountain, on the east side are wooded hills and a national nature park.
Hikers, recreationists and mountaineers love to stay in these hills. The mountain lodges offer original food and drinks and the nature park has limited access to people so as not to disturb the biodiversity and ecosystem.

MD5: @Srednjaci vs Eura
MD11: @Srednjaci vs Darmen
MD16: @Srednjaci vs Melbergia

MELARIT

BLUE VOLCANO STADIUM - Melarit

HISTORY

The history of Melarit dates back to ancient times. Melarit was an important city for trade.
Trade meant a lot to the city, where in addition to trade, shipbuilding, production of oil, wheat, salt, stone and shellfish also developed.
There are records that the production and export of shellfish was a very lucrative business. Melarit was proud of his navy, they were excellent sailors.
All this leaves a lot of room for the development of the city in education and science.
Melarit has developed over the centuries and today is one of the most beautiful cities on the coast. It is the second largest city in Srednjaci.
In recent history, Melarit is the largest port in DR Srednjaci and one of the largest in the region. The cargo port carries an enormous amount of cargo. Apart from being a large port, Melarit is also a tourist destination with a large number of hotels and resorts. The rich historical and cultural heritage attracts millions of tourists every year.

MD3:@ Srednjaci vs Schima Bas
MD13: @Srednjaci vs Sylestone
MD15: @Srednjaci vs Lathamford

KULA

KULA GOLDEN EYE STADIUM

MD7: @Srednjaci vs Talamia
MD8: @Srednjaci vs Agreos

by **Barunia** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:22 am

There were many questions going into the game against Vilita. Would the new formation work? Would a 3-player defence be enough? Would the calibre of the Jungle Cats be too much for the Suns?

Despite all the opinions and expert analysis, surely no-one could have predicted a 9-goal game in which Vilita won by a single goal. The Barunians held their own, and at times even looked like they might upset the Jungle Cats, but it was not to be. Two goals to Emmanuel Carter, as well as goals to Hunt and Cartwright kept the Barunians in the game, but the feared Vilitan attack proced to much, with Milaaso the chief destroyer.

The Suns' new formation was the talk of the town coming into this match, and on analysis, it appears to be working. Ball movement was good, and both teams had fairly even possession, with the split 46%-54% in favour of Vilita. What's more, with four goals scored against such a tough opposition, the spearhead attack is working well. Because Carter is playing so far deep, he is able to be fed those through balls on the break, and create opportunities for a quick strike in the box. The additional support in the third forward also paid dividends, both in terms of keeping up the presuure and in goals. Having both Hunt and Swan on the field at the same time allows McLelland to utilise the depth of the Barunian roster in a far greater way.

Of course, that extra forward had to come from somewhere, and reducing the defensive line from four to three certainly caused some upset. A five-goal defeicit would, on the face of it, appear to justify those concerns. However, a closer look may suggest such criticism is unwarranted. It is true that the Barunian defence isn't great. But it has been that way for years, and pretending that the problems at the back are due to one less player is simply foolish. Barunia have always been an attack-focused team. For many cycles now, the defence have been criticised whenver the team loses, even when the forwards fail to score. This heaps undue pressure upon the defence.

Interestingly, the Vilitans also employ a back line of 3, with a covering defensive midfielder. Unlike the Barunians, they have plenty of experience, with Devmiko earning over 100 caps for his country. Juliette Whistler, on the other hand, has only played a few games against weaker opposition, and now steps up to the limelight following the international retirement of Stefani Obando. Likewise Seymour has little experience at international level, having been criminally under-utilised by Barrios. Of course, unlike their opposition, none of these Barunian players have ever played a World Cup proper.

Which of course leads to the single biggest reason why any criticism of the formation is unwarranted: It's a single game against the top seed, and one of the greatest teams in world football. Statistically, the sample size is far too small to make a judgement call. With scores elesewhere in the group of 7-0, 6-1, and 4-1, there are clearly plenty of fierce attacking sides out there who will challenge the Barunians, and their defence in particular. In this single match, Barunia have shown that they can be that aggressive too, even if it did not pay off on this occasion. Only time will tell if they have what it takes to go all the way, but even with the loss today, things are looking good.

by **Sarzonia** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 9:18 am

Even in matches that don't count in the tables, the struggles for the Sarzonian national team were still obvious in a loss and a draw.

Those struggles continued for Sarzonia as they opened World Cup 89 qualifying with a 2-2 draw against Equestria in front of a sold out crowd of 105,900 at Dave Wilson Stadium in Woodstock. For manager Nathan Hanifer, the team are still trying to find their identity without midfielder Brady Reynolds, who was sitting in the press box as a colour analyst rather than on the pitch in a Stars uniform.

"Oh yeah, we're still looking to adapt to who we have out there," Hanifer said. "You'd like to think you have an opportunity in training and in friendlies to find out who you're going to be as qualifying goes on, but you don't really know what's going to work and who the right combinations are for you until you actually play matches that count in the tables."

In the first competition for the Stars since the Mike Sarzo Memorial Trophy [OOC: I know it's concurrently IRL, but for RP purposes, it takes place before the World Cup], the Stars are still looking to adjust to life without Brady Reynolds, and life without Mek'hi West as a dangerous offensive substitution. West also retired after the Stars bowed out of the previous cycle's Cup of Harmony. Hanifer quickly warned that, even in a benefit tournament for cancer research that the Stars traditionally treat as a high-stakes tournament, there's still room for the team to grow into new, unfamiliar roles.

"This World Cup is going to be less about adjusting to a new system of football and different ways of playing," Hanifer said, referring to the new system employed by former manager Nicola Mentes in World Cup 88 qualifying. "I run pretty much the same system Nicola did. By and large as a team we've already adapted to the new system. What's more of a challenge is new players being put into positions that maybe they weren't in before. That's going to take a few matches and there's bound to be growing pains involved."

LINEUPS
Sarzonia (4-4-2 Sandt; King (Bowen 68), Benignati, M. Taylor, J. Taylor; Mabree, Wilson (C), dos Santos (Swann 72); Hennepin; Aguirre (Cambrio 46), Campos
GOALS: Campos 34, Cambrio 78)

SARZONIA STARS (all home matches will be played at Dave Wilson Stadium in Woodstock, capacity 105,900 unless otherwise mentioned). Opponent pre-World Cup ranks in parentheses. Home matches in BOLD.
MD1: D 2-2 EQUESTRIA (63)
MD2: BROOKSTATION (156)
MD3: @ Ostankin (336)
MD4: INDIA (259) (at Shipyard Stadium in Wilmington, expanded capacity to 77,355)
MD5: @ Zug um Zug (UR)
MD6: SALTSTEAD (62)
MD7: @ The Holy Empire (1)
MD8: ACASTANHA (109)
MD9: @ Græntfjall (29)
MD10: @ Equestria (63)
MD11: @ Brookstation (156)
MD12: OSTANKIN (336) (at Mike Sarzo Stadium, Nicksia, capacity 79,211)
MD13: @ India (259)
MD14: ZUG UM ZUG (UR; at Nottingham Pavilion, capacity 18,200 in Woodstock)
MD15: @ Saltstead (62)
MD16: THE HOLY EMPIRE
MD17: @ Acastanha (109)
MD18: GRÆNTFJALL

by **Sendhang** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 11:19 am

DAY 22 - MONTH 3 - YEAR 7

World Cup 89 qualifiers kicked off, Sendhang and Sharktail defeated but great results for the other Melayuan countries

The 89th World Cup qualifiers kicked off over the weekend as 90 matches were played involving 180 nations who are competing for one of the 30 spots available in South Newlandia and Tikariot. 6 matches involved Melayuan nations with 5 out of the 6 Melayuan nations had a tough opening match as they start their campaign against World Cup regulars. Only Acastanha had an easy trip to Ostankin where they excelled with a 4-0 victory. Sendhang, Sharktail, Eraman, Pemecutan, and Lathamford had to face tougher opponents.

Sendhang started their campaign away at Hatire Memorial, Capri with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the world number 3, Valanora. The team coached by Didrik Gjedrem scored the only goal of the game through the 24 years old striker, Jutta Palminger in the 16th minute. Palminger was the quickest to react in a confusion in the penalty box after a mistake by the Sendhangite defenders who failed to clear the ball from danger. Despite the defeat, Sendhang performed admirably against the 5-times World Cup champion. However, they need to start picking up points especially in their 2 upcoming matches away at former Baptism of Fire champion, Treekidistan before the first home match of the campaign against newcomer, Marianne.

The only other Melayuan nation that started the campaign with a defeat is Sharktail who were trashed 6-1 by the world number 6, Starblaydia. Despite the huge gap of level between the two, the result was still a shocking one but not exactly unprecedented as this is the third time Sharktail let 6 pass their goal in the opening match of the World Cup qualifiers. They lost 6-3 to Commonwealth of Baker Park in the opening match of the 85th World Cup qualifiers and 6-1 to Zwangzung in the opening match of the 87th World Cup qualifiers. To make things worse for Sharktail, their next opponent will be another World Cup regular, the Independent Athletes from Quebec who is currently ranked 21st in the world.

The other three Melayuan nations in the 89th World Cup qualifiers did the unthinkable and won against stronger opponents. Eraman managed to beat the Squornshelan Remnant States who is currently ranked 26th in the world with a 2-1 scoreline while Pemecutan shocked 34th ranked Zwangzug 1-0. Debutant Lathamford also sprung a surprise with a 1-0 win over 48th ranked Darmen. Is this going to be the World Cup where we got to see Melayuan nations competing in it? It's still too early for everyone. 17 more matches left to be played. Eraman will have another tough opponent in their next match as they face 54th ranked Huayramarca at home while Pemecutan and Lathamford will have an easier tie away at 159th ranked Southwest Eastnorth and newcomer Schima Bas respectively.

by **Nyowani Kitara** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 12:02 pm

@NyowaniKitaraWatch BREAKING NEWS- Tank movements reported in Port Viljan and Dewayo, as shots are reported to be fired at the public broadcast radio station in the NYK capitol. It has been 10 days since anyone has seen President Boaz Akongo as rumors persist that the President is indeed dead. #CoupWatch

@DewayoCapitolAuthority The National Government has called for an immediate curfew of 5:30 PM in Dewayo, enforceable for the next four days. Because of recent crime escalation, Nyowani Kitara's home World Cup Qualifier against Barunia will be played behind closed doors.

@BusukumaPost Rumors are abound in North Rushmore as curfew announced in the Nyowani Kitara capitol for the first time since the Akongo coup, more than 30 years ago. Banijan officials are rumored simply to be 'watching' the country, as military movements are ongoing in the north Rushmori nation. No word on if Boaz Akongo is alive or dead. #CoupWatch

@KWFA Rabble rousers, likely foreigners paid for by the governments of the United Republics(of Yuezhou), Banija, and/or Græntfjall, have forced our Qualifier against Barunia to take place behind closed doors. They fight their forever war against working people on all fronts, including the pitch. But no matter- we shall prevail. #NYKForever

@PeopleForAFreeKitara We may be abroad, but the rumors back home in Nyowani Kitara are disturbing. Tell the Common Rushmori Community, and their neighbors, to get their asses in gear to find out the truth and stand up for the people against their totalitarian oppressors! #FreeKitara #ElectionsForKitara #ImprisonTheAkongos

@PeopleForAPeacefulKitara More reports of violence spreading to Port Viljan and Inhalo, as major cities across the country institute a curfew. Does anyone have intel on what's going on?? Is Boaz alive? #CoupWatch

by **Juvencus** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 12:08 pm

Juvencus 4-2 Vajlahrys

Gli attaccanti will always be gli attaccanti! Amazing first matchday victory!

While il Nuovo Stadio Olimpico in Pomena was not as jam-packed as it would usually be for a special occassion like this, the 72,000 people in the crowd make sure to provide a voice for ages against yet another unusual opponent from a very mysterious nation. That nation being Vajlahrys, which oddly strikes a lot of people as the same type of spiritual being that says it lives on your walls on the constant. However, gli attaccanti performed in typical gli attaccanti fashion and managed to net 4 past the cthulhu-like beings in order to get the first 3 points of their campaign.

Madeiros is always keen on testing a lot of new and old players that have fallen out of grace and their abilities on the pitch in friendles, against low-ranked opponents or on competitions not considered as too major(but should be) by the federation, such as the IAC. This is to ensure that every single player knows exactly how the others behave in any given matchday situation and low-pressure matchdays provide that. The Juven players immediately commenced with the passing game, high pressure line, not providing the Vajlahrysians space to breathe. First chance, Nespoli beautifully crossed it to Silvestri and his header is saved by the crossbar. He managed to redeem himself shortly after when Garcia-Silvestri one-two saw the latter chipping the ball over the Vajlahrysian goalkeeper to break the ice. Celebrations would not last for long as the visitors would manage to score a goal with a quick attack and switches of the ball to find their striker burying the ball inside the Juven net. This almost repeated itself but a correctly-placed Callejon tackle was enough to save the day. Another chance followed with Pietro Alberte giving his 2 cents from long range was saved by the Vajlahrysian keeper very ominously. The first half would end with a curved Nespoli cross being taken care of by a Silvestri volley on the top right side of the goal. Thus, the first half would end in a 2-1 scoreline.

Second half would begin with a shocker as the away side would score yet another goal for the equaliser but that would be their last chance in the entire game as gli attaccanti would dominate in the possession and the ways they would attack or intercept the ball from their opponents. The pressure lines would be extremely high, Vajlahrysian players always had to back the ball to the keeper and then the goalkeeper would have to kick it in the field at random, with an aerial advantadge of Juven players always being superior, due to their height. A barrage of opportunities would follow, but to no avail but at the 65th minute a solo chance by Garcia would see him score and giving gli attaccanti their much needed advantadge. In the 78th minute a harsh tackle would take Silvestri out for a couple matchdays and bring a fight between the Juven players and cthulhu-like beings, thankfull nobody else was hurt. The matchday would be sealed when a corner kick by Alberte would find Limene's head, who replaced Silvestri and seal the deal right then and there. The final scoreline was 4-2. Next couple matchdays are against Ardelark and Baggieland on which the gli attaccanti are expected to get 6 points to keep moving forward on their campaign towards re-clinching a world cup spot.

Other news:

Weather: Cyclone Beatrice to hit Vinceti and bring its first rainfall in 6 years. Evacuation caution is advised, despite the small severity of the cyclone.
Sports: Plans for the creation of a Serie B split into 2 regions and 40 teams for the creation of a Juven professional football pyramid are under way.
National Politics: Juvencus & Oscioru reach historic open border trade agreement, the first of its kind since unification!
International Politics: Juven mob leaders in Montagnaverde speak up! Is organised crime in Montagnaverde too strong and will the Juven government have to cooperate?

by **Alasdair I Frosticus** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 1:05 pm

Dear Nations of World Cup 89 Qualifying Group 7

We're so excited to be playing you in the World Cup 88 qualifiers! Will your team be our friends? Will you join us for tea and crumpets before each match and become members of GOOFI - the Great Old Ones Friendship Initiative?

GOOFI exists to build links of cuddle-based friendship between ordinary mortals, Great Old Ones, and Elder Gods. It was launched in World Cup 88, and... Well, in truth it wasn't terribly successful. This made us sad. Vilita joined GOOFI, which was nice. And Audioslavia also joined GOOFI, which was super-exciting, especially when they shared scones with jam and clotted cream with us! Scones with jam and clotted cream are just as yummy as crumpets! Turori also expressed an interest in joining GOOFI, but we're not sure they were entirely sincere, what with beating us 4-2 in the World Cup final and everything. They might just have been pretending to be our friends to lull us into a false sense of security; so we're still thinking about their application. We're thinking of asking Nig'el what he thinks, but whenever we ask him about Turori he just goes all coy and giggles a bit.

But don't let any of that stop you! Oh please, oh please, oh please join Vilita and Audioslavia in GOOFI! There's nothing to be scared of, honest! Just because we're the number one-ranked team in the multiverse and our entire team is made up of ancient eldritch entities doesn't mean we're scary! We promise! Our ranking's clearly a fluke - we haven't actually won a World Cup since World Cup 69 - and while the mere sight of us is enough to drive the unwary insane, we're super friendly, really we are! There's nothing we like better than sitting down before a match for a natter over a nice cup of tea (usually with crumpets), discussing the leading issues of the day, your country's no doubt excellent literary tradition, and whether Turori are not very nice secret pooey-pants.

We tried to invite India to join GOOFI right before match day 1, but they just ran screaming into their home dressing room - which was terribly rude when you think about it, and might have impacted how they played on the night. We didn't want to thrash them 4-1, but they took one look at our back three, and just seemed to turn into soulless husks for 90 minutes. It's not what we wanted! So we sent them some cake and biscuits after the match, and we're assured they're much better now. Joining GOOFI would help build bridges of friendship between nations, and would no doubt help avoid this sort of pesky misunderstanding by letting you get to know our team, and just how friendly they really are.

If you do join GOOFI, we'll als give you 100 plush cuddly Cthulhu toys to show you how much we care, and how much we want to be your friends (this wasn't particularly successful in World Cup 88 either, so we're trying again; we have a lot of extra plush cuddly Cthulhu toys). So please join GOOFI!

Pretty please?

We're very loveable, really.

Thank you ever so much,

Your soon to be new friends in GOOFI.

by **TJUN-ia** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 1:23 pm

By Peter Davis

After another year of waiting for the clock to tell us of the arrival of a new season, this time had finally come for the farewell tour of Jeff Donaldson (and maybe a few others) to get underway. Everyone knew that this season, the tournament filled with farewells and new beginnings, would eventually come, but for it to align with the Jaguar's final chance to meet the WC90 deadline is a date only Margeret herself could've come up with. This tournament will certainly be the most important of them all for both David Seems and Li Xiu Ying as their eventual legacy may be on the line this time around and with the competition, we have in this group, we need everything we can get to try and get over the line for the very first time.

Round 1 was certainly a curveball as the scheduling gods sent us to the Krasnograd Dome to take on Tikariot's mates in the form of Aleksandr Zavrashin's Pyazhnaya, the new Baptism of Fire Champions and a nation David Johnson knows fairly well through his recent exploits for Prizrachnaya Brigada Cherniy Zamok. Everyone knew that heading here on opening day was certainly going to be a challenge but Johnson went head first into it during the opening 10 minutes, creating multiple chances before heading the ball past Maksimilian Chupov in the 11th to give the favourites the early lead. But one thing you need to know about this team is that they won the BoF for a very good reason: their offence. Svetlana Ananyeva, in particular, was the anchor for the hosts tonight, always being in the right place at the right time throughout most of the game. This could be seen perfectly in the later stages of the 2nd half, with "Babushka" scoring past Gylfisson in the 34th before setting up Inna Parshikova to do the same in the 43rd, giving the hosts a deserved 2-1 lead heading into the break.

Once the 2nd came around, however, the Jags pulled out their magic players of their own in the form of the Galarians Prince Carter and Archer Andrews. These two have always been dynamite from the bench and tonight would be no different, with Carter setting up Andrews for the equaliser in the 67th before Andrews found Carter for the go-ahead goal in the 78th. Things were certainly looking good but another substitute, this time Vsevolod Bogolyubsky, had other ideas and the 19-year-old struck from outside the box to level the scores once more in the 80th minute. Both teams attempted to find a winner but it wasn't to be, both teams shaking hands after the whistle after a brilliant game overall in Krasnograd tonight. It may not be the win, but both teams well and truly deserved that point.

Turori also drew their opening with Sargossa on MD1, retaining their UWC Title Belt they claimed from winning that WC. Yes, TJUN-ia is in this mix for the belts this time around and maybe that could be something to aim for if the Eels are not invincible this time around. But we'll focus on that another time, as football always has priorities. The first home game will be back in the JagBase as we play Ranoria for the umpteenth time in recent months before we travel to Hispinas for what should be another interesting game on the road. The countdown to the end has begun...but when will that end be? Only this team can dictate when that is and they will do everything within their power to make the end as far into the future as possible. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group 13)
MD1: @Pyazhnaya (181) - Krasnograd Dome, Krasnograd D 2-2 (T-4th)
----------------------BOOT IT!----------------------
MD2: vs Ranoria (79) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD3: @Hispinas (126) - Estadio Nacional en el Castill, Mandrid
----------------------BOOT IT!----------------------
MD4: @Milchama (220)
MD5: vsSargossa (41) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
----------------------BOOT IT!----------------------
MD6: @Sevenida (UR) - Seven Stadium, Seven
MD7: vs Raspojochje (336) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
----------------------BOOT IT!----------------------
MD8: @St Trinians (97) - National Stadium, Searle
MD9: vs Turori (2) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
----------------------BOOT IT!----------------------
MD10: vs Pyazhnaya (181) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
MD11: @Ranoria (79) - Smith Field, Richardson
----------------------BOOT IT!----------------------
MD12: vs Hispinas (126) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
MD13: vs Milchama (220) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
----------------------BOOT IT!----------------------
MD14: @Sargossa (41) - Independienté, Goza
MD15: vs Sevendia (UR) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
----------------------BOOT IT!----------------------
MD16: @Raspojochje (336)
MD17: vs St Trinians (97) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
----------------------BOOT IT!----------------------
MD18: @Turori (2)

by **Polkopia** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:00 pm

Inside the Snovski's Locker Room Leading Up To MD2

"Woooo! We did it boys!" Stepen Azarov led the team as they ran off of the pitch in Sajnur's National Stadium and into the locker room, the rest of the team sprinting to catch up with him.

The Polkopian Football Team had just managed a to hold Sajnur to a 1-1 draw. Having traveled to Javoser, the capital city of Sajnur, the Polkopians were at a major disadvantage, having to play in the face of hooting and hollering fans, and in a stadium that they were certainly not accustomed to playing in, many were expecting the unranked Polkopians to fall short at the hands of Sajnur. To the surprise of many, however, the Polkopians held their own and earned a point in their group after drawing with the home side in a highly-contested match.

"Maks, you fucker, that strike was absolutely beautiful!" Nikita Rudin shouted once the team was in the locker room. The compliment resulted in several Polkopians walking up to the midfielder and ruffling his head, patting him on the back, and so on, before retreating back to their lockers.

"I really don't know how you do it." Lev Rusakov, one of Polkopia's defenders who also happened to play in Olympik Restnov with the goal-scorer, Maksim Pašin. "Like, I'd hate to be a goalie and having to go against you... but let's be honest, I'd hate to be a goalie in general!"

The two men laughed and looked at the starting goalie, Vladimir Hužyak, who turned around, smiled, and waved them away.

"No but seriously, how do you get in the proper headspace to not psych yourself out when you're about to strike the ball?" Rusakov asked in the midst of changing out of his sweaty jersey.

Pašin shrugged, "I don't know, really. I've never really dealt with the jitters or butterflies, or whatever you call it. I just do it I suppose."

"No, but do you remember that strike against Akasov back in the regular season?" Rusakov said, "when you hit the ball from nearly thirty yards out that one time! Like... how?!"

"I just think of that one time you let Kosyo get past you in that season opener last season and I just imagine that your head is the ball." Pašin said, drawing a look from his teammate. After a few seconds Pašin laughed and hugged Rusakov. "No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I really don't know though, I think it just comes natural to me. I think the fact that I don't really think of anything is what lets me strike the ball so well."

From across the room, Kosyo heard his name mentioned and listened in on the to men talking. He crept up behind the and put his head in between the both of them. "Okay, but can we just talk about that dirty little nutmeg in that run though?"

As soon as he spoke, Pašin and Rusakov both jumped back, Pašin nearly falling off of the bench as he did so, and Kosyo laughed. Rusakov grabbed his towel and whipped it toward Kosyo, who ran away snickering.

"If that little fucker made me break my tailbone, I would've lost my shit." Pašin said, still laughing. "Ah, but it's not worth stressing over. I guess I'll just be happy that I lead the team in goals scored now, more than Polkopia's 'golden boy', eh?"

Slava Panin, who was nearby, had been listening in to the recent conversation. He had always felt a sort of competitiveness between himself and Kosyo during the regular season, and made it a point to avoid talking to him as much as possible during team events. It's not that he disliked Kosyo, but he didn't want to become friendly with him and ease up on his urgency on the pitch for the sake of a potential new friend. He was a competitive spirit at heart and wanted to earn that starting striker position for the Polkpian team. He wanted people to be cheering on his name instead of Kosyo's.

"Golden boy?" Panin scoffed, "who's been saying that?"

Pašin and Rusakov looked at each other, then at Panin before Pašin finally said, "Well, no one really, I was just saying."

"Gotcha. Well, golden boy doesn't really make sense to me I suppose." Panin said as he kicked his cleats off and slammed his locker shut.

The time was finally here for Polkopia's second match and first home game. Spectators in Polkopia were eager to watch their side play against an international opponent for the first time in years and the stadium filled up hours before kick-off. Before warming up, several of the players walked onto the pitch and over on the sidelines where they signed some fans' memorabilia including hats, jerseys, and footballs. Once done, Kosyo, Siyan, and Išutin all walked back to the locker room, laughing at some of the experiences they had with some of the fans.

"...And that one girl, I was hoping she'd let me sign her chest but instead she gave me a shirt to sign, I was like, 'okay here you go I guess' but... ya know." Išutin snickered as he ran forward, ahead of his teammates. Kosyo and Siyan looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Some people never change." Siyan whispered.

"Doesn't he have a girlfriend?" Kosyo said.

"He's got one for every day of the week! Don't you remember back in Sajnur, he was the only one who didn't fly back with us." Siyan winked at Kosyo.

"And just think! We're national heroes now! People will be flocking left and right for a signature. I'll give them a signature alright, I've got my pen handy for anyone who wants it!" Išutin yelled as he made his way in the locker room. leaving him teammates behind.

Kosyo and Siyan lagged behind, neither of them feeling any sort of urgency to join the rest of the team. Lately, Kosyo had been feeling some sort of disconnect from some of the other members of the team who boasted loud, and quite frankly, obnoxious personalities. He could deal with a little bit of post-match celebrations and a little bit of pre-game speeches, but he felt that he was in his element on the pitch after having some time to sit and have a 1-on-1 chat with himself. He needed time to sit and think about how he wanted to go about the next game, where he should be positioned, and routes he should take. On the pitch, Kosyo realized that he gets so wrapped up in his head that he never really was able to sit and think about every single detail in his game. His pre-match sessions by himself were always some of the most valuable moments of his entire career, and being on this level in such a heated tournament, he was afraid that he would begin to lose this important element. He had already confided in Siyan that he felt a little out of place here, and had already felt ostracized by some of his teammates, but Siyan had waved that off and told him that was all in his head. That was probably true, but Kosyo couldn't help to feel what he felt among this group of athletes.

Once inside the locker room, Kosyo brushed past some of the shirtless footballers, who were in the process of throwing on their clothes to get ready for their warmups. He took his place in the locker room and began to get ready himself, ignoring the lewd comments from Išutin, who was getting undressed next to him. Kosyo looked toward his left, where Siyan hurriedly threw on his clothes to catch up with his teammates, but still managed to banter with Vladimir Hužyak to his left.

Kosyo admired Siyan to say the least. Not because he had acted as his mentor when he first joined Lada Kirovski in the Polkopian Premier League, but because he was able to talk to any random person on the street as if they were his best friend. On the pitch, he had a bit of a temper and lashed out at people, that was for sure, but off the pitch he seemed like a completely different person - someone who everyone wanted to befriend and talk to. Someone who might surround himself with other outgoing, charismatic people instead of people like Yakoby Kosyo, who lad lots of talent, but lacked the charm that so many athletes his age had. Kosyo shook his head and distracted himself from some of these thoughts. Siyan was his best friend on the team, there was absolutely no way he would abandon him. Besides, Kosyo laughed to himself, who on this team was worth leaving him for?

Kosyo took a deep breath as he pulled his socks over his shinguards and made his way to the toilets. This, he decided, was the only place he would be able to have some alone time. He closed the door behind him in the stall and tried to drown out the room full of sexually-deprived men and they're brash, distasteful conversations.

"Okay Yakoby," Kosyo sat on the toilet, holding his head in his hands as he whispered to himself, "Coach said Kiltoch plays a 4-3-3, so... okay, so I have to play with my midfield a bit more, got it. They're also super aggressive early in the game, so I might need to play closer with my midfield... who's starting? Probably Pašin, right? Fuck, but he's so selfish with the ball, so I'll probably have to go out of my way to get open for him. Okay. Okay, I can do this."

Kosyo felt his pre-game butterflies kick in, but this was good. He needed to feel nervous. He needed to feel these emotions before this game. Lately, Kosyo felt like he was hiding his emotions behind some false sense of adrenaline fueled by a collective mindset of testosterone and masculinity, but that's not what works for him. Maybe for most athletes, but Kosyo had always been way more reserved than the rest of his teammates, in any setting really, so he needed to be here. He needed this time for himself before the game. After all, everyone back home was counting on him to perform well.

by **Squidroidia** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:38 pm

RIVALRY

Squidroidia vs HUElavia

Chapter 2 - First Blood

Televisions across Squidroidia lit up to a picturesque shot of the nation's capital, Inkopolis. As the Inkopolis Tower looms over the city, fans clad in blue and white gather under the structure, singing, chanting and preparing for 22 men and women to kick a ball around and potentially score goals. It was that time everybody circled on their calendars - When all anguish was erased, when 180 teams all began a dream to be one of the lucky 30 to advance to the World Cup proper and have a shot at football's biggest prize. Qualifiers day 1. Oh what a feeling.

The shot transitions to the inside of the famed Inkopolis City Stadium, packed to the gulls with fans in Squidroidian attire, overlooking the grassy surface where another journey would begin. Not long ago the gridiron national team, the Flyers, played on this surface and earned a 2nd straight berth in the World Bowl playoffs, only to fall at the first hurdle in Buffalostan. The Inklings weren't playing Buffalostan. As one manager would say to his team...

"Lads. It's HUElavia. Game 1 of 18. And so we say, here we go again. You all know that IAC 13 wasn't the best that we could have hoped for. I should know, this was the grind to end all grinds, and there was no way we would get that trophy. But now it's the big show. You're playing your biggest rival. A team which has achieved time and time again to get to the World Cup, while you all are forced on planes to the middle of the frozen tundra to get your butts kicked by Murphtannia! Be glad we aren't facing them."

Adam Johnson stood up with his players sitting down, changed into those famed Mako Designs shirts that donned the team since IAC 11. They were timeless, a testament to spirit and longevity But the Barunian didn't care about the shirt.

"0. 0. and 3. That's your record at home to open up the campaign. 3 times we started our campaigns on the back foot. To that, I say this... YOU BETTER WIN! You have to make your country proud to even stand a CHANCE at making the World Cup! I am not messing around, I am not here to play games. You lost to HUElavia twice. Once at this very stadium. Go ahead. Shut. Them. Up."

Claps and cheers were sounded off as the team took to their place in the tunnel, with Takemoto Shingen leading the way, Manuel Mendieta of the HUElavians right next to him. The team in yellow brought the big guns. Vannier. Guilbert. Fonseca-Mantovani. Woo-Jin Sol. And a young 17 year old Raul Nascimento Jardim leading their attack. HUElavia weren't messing around.

And out came the players. Oh how good it feels to be back. The stands, the atmosphere... It can make one forget that they were opening the campaign against their biggest rivals. For the Squidroidians, it was their moment back. Their moment to prove that the 88 qualifiers wasn't a fluke. The stands kept erupting in energy even as the players took their place. From here, it would be an 18 game grind, and only the top 2 teams would be eligible for qualification. Same rhythm, same pace, same old football. Everybody wants to rule the world.

With the whistle being blown, the game, and World Cup qualification, were underway. Johnson on one touchline, Leonardo Conavacio of Quebec on the other. Both teams would give it their all early, but it was the HUElavians who struck first. 35th minute, Mathieu Guilbert controls the ball with his chest after a deep kick from Muto Toki of Tivali City. Passing it back to Ismael Lieberman, the HUEsilia FC rightback charges up the spine of the Squidroidian midfield and defense before picking up Guilbert again. Striding his way into the box, Torrisi is found right in between Shigeko and Moronobu. The pass is intercepted by Shigeko but only for a fraction of a second, the ball being deflected to Torrisi, only a fraction of an inch onside. With a touch of his boot, he opened up the scoring, slotting the ball past Shingen. 1-0 HUElavia. Inkopoilis stood silent. Here we go again...

Squidroidia were put in desperation mode. Groundhog Day had seemingly set in. Every first matchday, it would seem, they would lose. The Inklings tried everything their kitchen sink could handle to fire one back. Nothing worked. Not even the substitutions it seemed, throwing on Colbert for Toshikuni didn't seem like a good fit... Until the 85th minute. Charlie Colbert, an Inkling Boy, found himself in a sticky ink situation. The HUElavian 4-2-3-1 system sandwiched him in between Guilbert and Fonseca-Mantovani with little to no wiggle room. All he could do was seemingly kick it forward and see what would happen, so that's what he did. The ball flew above the heads of the 2 players as the Squidroidian attack paced forward to pick up Colbert's cross. It flew through the air, cutting the buttery sky up hot until gravity made it fall down. There it was on the edge of the box. Makino Hideo was the one to touch it first, and if there was an opportunity for a national hero to send this crowd to overdrive, it was this time. Hideo's first touch sent it up just high enough with enough distance for him to control it, and his second solidified its position. The defense was catching up to him. He only had fractions of a second to make his shot past Gabriel Vannier. Right foot coming in, it would hit the ball as it flew towards goal. The HUElavian keeper couldn't reach it.

Inkopolis erupted into cheers. The Inklings finally smashed the clock. Groundhog day was over, and for Johnson it was a much needed sigh of relief. But this was HUElavia. Squidroidia had to beat their rivals, but with so little time honors ended up being even for both of them. Squidroidia 1, HUElavia 1. Squidroidia finally had a point on the board. One point, in the World Cup however, wasn't enough to see them through. 17 games still remained on their schedule, and it would start off with a trip to Txakhaxi...

RIVALRY - Squidroidia vs HUElavia
Chapter 1 - Here We Go Again
Chapter 2 - You are Here!
Chapter 3 - A Perfect Hill to Climb
Chapter 4 - Frustration
Chapter 5 - Round 2
Chapter 6 - When All is Set and Done

by **Mercedini** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:41 pm

89th World Cup Qualification MD1 Review
Mercedini vs. Cassadaigua
@ Zoloroni Sports City Stadium - Zoloroni, Mercedini

Good evening everyone and welcome back to qualification for the 89th World Cup. It's still very early days in proceedings, with only one game being played, but we will get plenty of information about all teams going forward. That is very true about Mercedini, who play their biggest rivals at home in their first game out. If the Golden Eagles want to compete with the best, they will need to beat the best, but the timing of the game may benefit World #8 Cassadaigua, since everyone comes in with fresh legs and hungry hearts. Regardless of the result, both sides will have plenty of time to either catch up or extend their lead, but this match will be crucial for the group's opening complexion. Did Dini kick-off their qualification calendar with a big win, or is it yet another opening defeat at home to the group's top seed?

World Cup Qualification: Cassadaigua Double Dini In Six Goal Game

It wasn't to be for the Golden Eagles as they lost their World Cup Qualifying opener in Zoloroni, with Cassadaigua breaking down the Sports City Stadium fortress rather effortlessly to net four goals in an impressive display from the group's top seeds. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered for the team going into qualification, as they were clearly second best in the Mercedinian capital for most of the match. A Chillotov brace was the only positive in the match, with the Lajuno striker on form and opening his account for his nation in a tough opening game. Billic stated after the game, 'We always relish the chance when playing high-ranked nations, because it shows us where we are currently compared to the big names of the sport. Clearly they were a cut above us in this game, but we will have another crack later in the campaign, and hopefully the result will be different to tonight.'. It echoed in shades of a couple of editions ago when Mercedini opened up in Zoloroni against the then #1 seed Banija, and were dispatched 3-0 in an equally worrying performances for the Golden Eagles. As we have stated before, with their big rivals out of the way early, Billic and his players can focus on the rest of the group, where they now play a sequence of perfectly winnable games to grab hold of second place (and potentially first if results go against last night's opponents).

Unsurprisngly, MErcedini end the first match day on zero points, but thankfully off the bottom thanks to more extreme results around the rest of the grounds. Mercedini will hope to bounce back from that opening defeat when they travel to Vikanias to pick up some points and claw back some of that goal difference deficit that they gathered from the last game. That will set them up with two more big games after that, with games against Qasden and Freeport which are guaranteed to be high pressure. They are both teams that Dini should be beating if they are to qualify for the World Cup with ease, but more dropped points early on could be a sign that Dini are back on the decline and heading for another Cup of Harmony campaign. Nevertheless, there is still plenty more football to be played across the group, so an early L doesn't mean the campaign cannot end with an overall W.

FULL TIME
Mercedini 2 - 4 Cassadaigua
Chillotov 56', 86' • Schanke 20', 62', Rosenblatt 43', Frontiera 81'

Looking round the rest of the groups, and it seems as if the upsets were hard to come by, as most of the big names managed to void defeat and begin their campaign on the right foot. Even so, the were still some results to remember for teams lower down the table. West Guam in Group 14 travelled to Pasarga and came away with a 1-1 draw to kick off their campaign with a cracking result. Current defending champions Turori did not pick up where they left off as they were held to a goalless draw at home to Sargossa. Astogarth took all three points away from Kelssek in their match, Banija went down 3-2 in Sannyamathland in one of the more stunning results of the round, and finally Audioslavia draw with New Lusitania. The result of the round went to the unfancied Cabo Azure who hit seven past Arjunnagar to top Group 3 ahead on Vilita et al.

That concludes our coverage of the opening day of action at the qualifying stage of World Cup 89. We hope you will be able to join us tomorrow for our match against Vikinias, where the Golden Eagles will put their most recent defeat behind them and get their first batch of points on the board. There's still a long way to go before the end of qualifying, but we will be here every step of the way to cover all of the action and what that means for the group and the tournament as a whole. Goodnight!

by **Schima Bas** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:49 pm

Matchday 1
AWAY: Shima Bas 1-4 Eura

’5 Tomlinson
’23 Tomlinson
’43 Robson
’76 Akili Granada
’77 Tomlinson

The Shima Bas Financial Times
Proudly funded by the Granada Fund for Independent Journalism

By Jeremi Baerci, Sports Writer

In a return to the world stage, The Golden Crescent faced tough opposition away from home in the nation of Eura, a place where footballing success is not hard to find in its record books. The match started with a vicious Shima Bas attack, with Shehedah unloading a fiery series of shots, deflected by the defense. While the first minutes showed promise, a poor corner attempt by Casildo Hana led to an overpowering Eura counter-attack, which Tomlinson made the most of by slotting the home team’s first goal into the bottom right corner.

A series of fouls after the first goal led to a particularly sloppy and uninteresting game until the second goal was struck by Tomlinson in an unlikely spot just outside the 18-yard-box, ricocheting off the bar and in. Robson added to the visitor’s misery with a third goal just before the half-time whistle, the result of poor defending and positioning on the part of Jalali and Ahmad. Having seen enough of the aging Jalali, the manager decided to substitute the veteran center-back for Shunnar Huq, who performed well, though unimpactful in transition, making a few sloppy passes that were intercepted.

In the second half the Golden Crescent found a bit of life, with an excellent strike from Granada that found its way just out of reach of the keeper. Tomlinson found his hat-trick in the following minute, where the away team looked utterly unprepared in wake of its first international goal.

Team morale seemed to fall significantly after the second goal, but upon coming out following the break the team seemed invigorated and inspired, despite the trailing scoreline. Outbursts from Granada and Hana earned them both yellow cards, and the manager ended up pulling both as tempers flared late into the match. Their replacements, Ubayy Granada, brother of the younger Granada, and Antwaun Kamara, did fairly for the rest of the match, but neither created anything of challenge for the Euran keeper.

The worst performer in the match was by far Hideki Nazar, who was wholly impactful on the pitch, sending shots to the roaring home fans more often than towards the opposing goalkeeper. Despite this, the manager kept him in for the entire 90, with the 20-year-old looking more fit for U-19’s than an international debut.

Back home in Shima Bas, fan’s expectations of a harsh loss to a stronger side proved correct. “I thought we could have done better with our chances, some players seemed to be competing with each other instead of alongside them, which I think is something the manager needs to resolve if we hope to get points in future matches,” said Arai Jestina, a small-business owner in Ourelaisa, whose store was still swarmed with the remnants of those who came to his cramped gyro shop in order to view the match.

Despite the moderate expectations of many, some Basians were infuriated by the team’s loss, and attributed the failing to the poor defense and lack of offensive creativity.

“Frankly if these players don’t improve, I think they should be forced to emigrate from this great nation. In this all-important first tournament for Shima Bas - It’s really a horrible situation and result,” said Hanklier Castado, owner of Panther Athletics, the premier source for high-quality sportswear and athletic material in Shima Bas, proudly produced with Basian labor. “Terrible execution. You know, I’m in favor of - I’m calling my friends who know the Emir personally, and I’m going to say what I think about this whole situation. Very bad things in store for Nazar, many others if they don’t pick up [their] form.”

by **Mytanija** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:55 pm

It had been a night of celebration at Radnika with both Mojmir Anac and Tahir Fejzuli celebrating their 100th appearance for the Hoops, an incredible feat at international level. A raucous Escan crowd had greeted the teams as they strode out onto the turf and both players were presented with commemorative plaques by dignitaries from the FSM and the Mytanar Premier, Ana Mecava-Catic. The Hebitaka players looked slightly bemused and they perhaps could have been forgiven for thinking the Mytanar team were getting a little ahead of themselves, there was still a game to be played and won out on the pitch. The celebratory atmosphere may have seemed a little premature to say the least.

It was different on the substitutes bench, where Omer Kuhar-Arh sat next to Ermin Urankar grimly, his mind clearly elsewhere. Lev Repin had spent his entire career with Ararat Severyan and knew the city well, had he known the worry plaguing the youngster’s mind he may not have selected him at all, but Omer did a good job of hiding it and here he was sat on the bench anyway. He constantly tried to remind himself that nothing had even gone wrong yet, that his father and three brothers had been out to sea hundreds of times before and they had come back safely each and every time. It didn’t help much though, not with the potential of his first ever international cap occurring at the same time. He couldn’t imagine much worse than such a momentous occasion being forever marred by a similarly momentous catastrophe.

Ermin Urankar did his best to take Omer’s mind off it, talking at length about some of the stories he had from playing at Radnika when Omer was still playing at Akademija. Pedja Kasun had had a word before the game too, but he was out on the pitch now, screaming instructions to his defenders from his penalty area. He couldn’t really help much from there.

“The 1923 Esca supporters are crazy too, that Odeljak 1-11 group seem to hate absolutely everyone. They don’t really like us Rauchiks, anyway, we always get a pretty hostile reception here…” Ermin rambled on. It was as if he didn’t want a silence to fall, lest Omer’s mind be able to wander out to sea and thoughts of his dad and brothers. It didn’t really help.

The pair were sat among the substitutes, with Dejan Zgela sat on one side and Bigger Mbala-Ekakia on the other. If this game were being played in the depths of winter they would all be wrapped up in the enormous padded coats which were ubiquitous with football matches played inland in winter in Mytanija. This was summer though and they all sat in their training shorts and a light jersey as the evening sun still kept the stadium warm. The summer storm which had been forecast for the northern regions of the country was nowhere to be seen in the capital, that difference didn’t do much to put Omer’s mind at ease, however.

During the first-half the usual suspects put on a real show, Jezdimir Ocokoljic scoring the opener with a drilled effort from just inside the eighteen yard box. It came from a nice piece of play down the right flank, Tahir Fejzuli releasing Jasno Odonelec who cut the ball back to his cousin Patrik. He drove towards the by-line and then lashed a ferocious cross across the box, Ganesh Tinnu could only parry it out into the danger area and as it rolled to Ocokoljic the whole stadium drew its collective breath, the air pregnant with expectation. The goal was a mere formality.

Ocokoljic’s movement was mesmerising and even with his mind elsewhere Omer could find genuine appreciation in tracking him around the pitch. Jasno Odonelec and Damien Gannot were in the same category, the trio all playing off one another expertly, seemingly in perfect sync. The fact they had played for the same club side in the recent past wasn’t lost on anybody. What a team Atletik Thessia could have had if they had been able to hold onto all the players they had sold in the past few years. Omer hoped he could get there one day. Ararat Severyan was his club, the one he supported, but Atletik had an intangible lure for many Mytanars. Especially those from Rauchnya like Omer, the Rauchiks and the Thessians had a long-standing affinity with one another.

Jasno Odonelec was heavily involved in Mytanija’s second, driving from midfield before picking out Damir Milcic’s run down the left. The Anomalies’ full-back took the ball past Farid Farhan like he wasn’t there, drawing an appreciative ‘ooh’ from the crowd, Milcic wasn’t particularly noted for his dribbling ability. Ocokoljic took both central defenders away with a darting run to the near post, excellent movement once again, leaving Damien Gannot in acres of space on the penalty spot. Milcic played the ball back to him and the Sabrefell Athletic striker had the simple task of rolling the ball past Tinnu for Mytanija’s second.

Lev Repin was in constant communication with his coaching staff and the substitutes and after the second he made a beeline for Omer, fixing his gaze on his and raising his eyebrows.

“That sort of drive from deeper positions that Jasno’s just done is something to learn from, son.” Repin said. Omer listened. He’d be a fool not to listen when it was Lev Repin talking, particularly using Jasno Odonelec as the reference point. He listened, but he didn’t feel as if he was fully taking anything in, it was almost an out of body experience.

Mytanija made it three before half-time, with Jasno Odonelec getting the goal his performance deserved. Alen Hrdaljko’s combative play won the ball high up the pitch and Odonelec ran beyond the Hebitaka back four just as Damien Gannot was drawing them up the field by dropping deep. Hrdaljko hit a pass which seemed like it might just come a second too late, everybody seemed to expect the flag to go up for offside, but Jasno Odonelec played on and the flag never came. He powered the ball into the bottom corner before running away in celebration, a brief look towards the linesman confirming that the goal would stand. The flag wasn’t going to rescue the Hebitaka defenders.

Half-time came and went, Omer went out onto the pitch for the half-time kick-around and he didn’t even realise what it meant when one of the coaches told him to stay out longer than the rest with Dejan Zgela and Slobodan Vujovic. Ermin Urankar raised his thumbs at him, grinning.

“Good luck!” He shouted as he headed off down the tunnel. Omer would be getting on the pitch in the second-half. The players the manager wanted to substitute on always trained a little longer at half-time, a slightly more intense warm-up so that they could be ready to enter the action. Zgela and Vujovic were straight into the high-intensity sprint exercises and as Omer started sluggishly the slightly older Zgela glowered at him.

“Come on Omer, we want to get on and score a few more here, put some fucking effort in.” He muttered in Omer’s ear. Omer raised the pace a little, although it still felt as if his mind was a long way away, he couldn’t fully comprehend what was unfolding. In normal circumstances he would be fully of nervous excitement, with butterflies in his stomach, but there was none of that. Just a dull ache of worry in the pit of his stomach. It was a bit different.

The trio finished and went down the tunnel to the changing rooms so that they could change out of their training gear and into their match kit. Energy drinks were hastily glugged down and the next twenty minutes or so were a blur. The rest of the team click-clacked out, their studs sounding off the floor as they went off to restart the game. Lev Repin briefly had a word with each of them, Dejan would be heading on first for Ocokoljic; Vujovic second for Patrik Odonelec; and Omer would head on last to take the place of Jasno Odonelec. Repin wanted a good performance out of each of them, ‘make me have a real problem for the next qualifiers’ he said. He also took Omer aside and told him to play without pressure, he hadn’t done this before after all, but the team were 3-0 up so he could relax and just play his normal game.

Omer struggled to take it on board, heading out with the others and a couple of coaches to take their places on the bench. Mytanija seemed to be in full control, the players stroked the ball around midfield and seemed to be slowly suffocating the Hebitaka team. Repin called for Zgela and then for Vujovic a few minutes later. Omer half-thought the butterflies would arrive then, but they didn’t. An image of a boat rocking across stormy seas just kept flashing through his mind and he actually felt a little sick. He wasn’t sure how long had passed in the second-half, so he looked up to the clock.

65:07

Just over twenty minutes. It ticked on.

“Omer!” Repin shouted. Omer took a second to realise what he wanted. “Omer! Come on!” Repin didn’t like waiting and Omer was up on his feet in a flash, his body instinctively doing what was needed whilst his mind took a moment to focus.

“Yes boss?” Omer asked as he stepped up towards the edge of Repin’s technical area, near the halfway line.

“You’ve plenty of time here to show me something, son.” The manager started. “But don’t try to overplay it or force it. Simple stuff, take the ball and move it on. They’re already tired, they won’t want a young lad like you coming on and keeping the ball away from them. Understood?”

“Yes boss.”

“Alright, let’s get you on.” Repin said, turning towards the fourth official. “Substitute please!”

Suddenly the fourth official’s board was going up, the number 38 in neon green replacing the outgoing number ten in red. Jasno Odonelec handed the captain’s armband over to Alen Hrdaljko who jogged over to Mojmir Anac and wrapped it around his arm. Odonelec shook hands with the referee before clapping the supporters who were busy giving him a standing ovation. He stepped towards Omer and gave him a brief hug.

“Good luck kid.” Odonelec whispered before heading over to embrace Repin and shake hands with the rest of the substitutes. Omer bent down to brush the grass with his hand, before breaking into a jog and making a sign of the cross and pointing upwards to the sky. He wasn’t sure if he was praying for a good performance or for God to bring his dad and brothers back safely. The game passed him by for a few minutes, his first touch a miscontrolled pass which drew a bark of disappointment from Alen Hrdaljko.

“Omer! Fucking concentrate!” The midfield pitbull rasped.

He got better though, playing a nice through ball for Dejan Zgela which required a fantastic save from Ganesh Tinnu in order to keep it out. There was also an audacious lobbed pass out towards the right for Slobodan Vujovic to run onto. The Royal Rumiatzi full-back couldn’t quite keep it in as it rolled out for a corner, but he stuck his thumb up appreciatively and the Radnika crowd sounded its approval for the confident attempt and the potential of the link-up between the two youngsters. Omer was doing okay and before he knew it fifteen minutes had passed, he caught a look at the clock in a break in the play and was slightly surprised by how quickly it had gone.

A minute or two later Slobodan Vujovic was busily bringing the ball up the right. Omer tried to occupy one of the Hebitaka central defenders, Talukdar, to give Damien Gannot space. It worked, with Gannot dropping into the space Omer would usually be in, Vujovic found him with a fizzed pass. Gannot’s first touch was exemplary, trapping the ball with consummate ease before getting it out of his feet and ready to move on. Omer briefly backed into Talukdar before spinning him and Gannot spotted what the young attacking midfielder was trying to do, playing a beautifully disguised reverse pass on Talukdar’s wrong side. Kuhar-Arh ran onto it and took one slightly heavy touch, running the ball almost too close to Tinnu. He felt an arm in his back, presumably Talukdar trying to put him off, but managed to keep his footing. Tinnu was rushing out, Kuhar-Arh was stretching to get there.

The Mytanar got there first. He got his foot under the ball, scooping it over Tinnu’s body and it bounced once before going over the line. It was 4-0 and a goal on debut for Omer Kuhar-Arh. His body took over once again and he was sliding on his knees behind the goal with supporters celebrating. The rest of the Mytanar team mobbed him, all proud of their young colleague’s introduction to international football and for just a moment Omer’s thoughts were calm and the stormy seas in his mind had settled. Even an injury time consolation for Hebitaka couldn’t burst his bubble. It was only when he was in the changing room again, after the many congratulations, that it finally hit him.

He wouldn’t know until tomorrow if they would be alright.

Somewhere in the Modraine Sea, aboard a fishing vessel named Delila

A group of hardy fishermen crowd around a small, battered radio. It would have cost a significant number of Coruns when it had first been purchased, it managed to get signal even way out at sea, weather permitting of course. None of the men were quite sure how it worked, but the point was that it did. They all knew this was a big moment and for four of them in particular even the fierce storm they were enduring wouldn’t prevent them from tuning the radio in to the correct station. Every so often the sound would go fuzzy, almost a crackle of static obscuring whatever was being said.

“Vinko will you get that fucking thing tuned in properly, eh?” One yelled from the back of the crowd. “We can’t hear a thing back here, it keeps breaking up.”

“It’s the weather Jure, nothing I can do about it.” Vinko spat back. It wasn’t any of the Kuhar-Arhs who were squabbling. They were all sat in silence, straining their ears to try and catch every word of the commentary. The group had all erupted in noise when Omer had entered the pitch and there had been disappointment when the commentator relayed Alen Hrdaljko’s frustration with their young hero. The four Kuhar-Arhs on Delila all remained quiet throughout. The minutes ticked by, past 80 minutes and into 81 and 82. Nobody could tell if it was the storm outside or the noise of the crowd on the radio, but suddenly there was a lift in the volume. Adian – Omer’s father – was now only centimetres away from the radio’s speakers as he tried to hear every word.

He needn’t have been quite so close.

‘Slobodan Vujovic moves up the right-wing with the ball here, the youngster has been excellent since coming on. That’s clever movement from Damien Gannot, dropping into space and receiving the ball from Vujovic. Excellent touch from Gannot! He’s got space! Kuhar-Arh’s running in behind if Gannot can find him. That’s a beautiful pass! Heavy touch from Kuhar-Arh! Can he get there first?! It’s a goal on debut for Omer Kuhar-Arh! He beats Ganesh Tinnu to the ball and it’s 4-0 Mytanija! Omer Kuhar-Arh!’

The fishermen all jumped up in celebration, the din inside the boat almost matching the roar of the storm outside as the boat rocked in the swirling waves. Adian Kuhar-Arh and his sons all embraced, kissing one another’s foreheads. His son, their brother, had scored an international goal on his first international appearance. They had all hugged him goodbye knowing it would be bittersweet. Knowing that they would be out at sea for it. He had begged them to come back safe, but they all knew it was in the hands of the sea deities. They had gone out and returned safely hundreds of times before and had all told him that would happen again, he just needed to go and focus on playing well if he got the chance to get on the pitch.

They would be there next time, at least they hoped they would be. The collective ecstasy, both among the family and the other sailors punctuated the slightly more concerning storm they found themselves in, an oasis of happiness amongst the writhing waters outside. Adian Kuhar-Arh offered up a small prayer. He just wanted to tell his son how well he had done, how he deserved everything he got for his hard work and how proud he was to be his dad.

“Please, Lord, just let us get home safely this time.”

MYTANIJA SQUAD FOR MATCHES VERSUS THE KYTLER PENINSULAE (A) & D.K. OF SOUTH INDIA (H)
Goalkeepers: 1. Pedja Kasun (Ararat Severyan); 12. Semir Besak (Mipojoseon [QUE]); 24. Lazar Obradovic (Liria Prizren)
Defenders: 2. Damir Milcic (Anomalies [CMT]); 3. Grigorij Savicevic (AC Izotz Zubia [AUD]), 4. Mojmir Anac (Olympic Thessia), 5. Dino Racic (Libertas Bergheim [SVJ]; 6. Patrik Odonelec (CA Paulinthal [PAS]); 25. Ermin Urankar (Ararat Severyan); 14. Bigger Mbala-Ekakia (Atletik Thessia), Kamil Jernejec (Chromatik [CMT]), 16. Josko Omerovic (Olympic Thessia); 17. Slobodan Vujovic (Royal Rumiatzi [ASG])
Midfielders: 7. Alen Hrdaljko (CA Paulinthal [PAS]), 8. Tahir Fejzuli (Mâ Âlâmëómë [FFD]); 10. Jasno Odonelec (Atletik Thessia); 23. Zijad Kurtcehajic (Atletik Thessia); 19. Mersudin Smajic (Liria Prizren), 30. Sefir Ajanovic (FK Arsika); 38. Omer Kuhar-Arh (Ararat Severyan)
Forwards: 9. Jezdimir Ocokoljic (Energija Chernovets [STL]), 11. Damien Gannot (Sabrefell Athletic (NPH); 21. Dejan Zgela (Damogran FC [SRS])

World Cup 89 - Roleplay Thread

Boot It!: An Entertaining Start For The Countdown

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