The 81st Cup of Harmony: Sylestone and Zwangzug (Everything)

by **Adab** » Thu Oct 14, 2021 9:46 am

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Sunday, June 3, 2035 / 26 Rabi al-Awwal 1457
Adab 4-5 Saltstead
Yissakar (26’), al-Kufa (48’), Yargab (55’, 89’) | Åubreħtssen (12’, 67’), Joxepħssen (29’), Felicianus (56’), Aħterop (78’)

NEWS | CUP OF HARMONY 81
By: Elymur Amwan

Saltstead narrowly overcome Adab

Adab’s Cup of Harmony 81 campaign got off to an exciting, but ultimately losing, start as the team went down 4-5 against fellow Group C side Saltstead.

Ranked 89th in the world coming into this match at the Kitchener Stadium in Avondale, Sylestone, Adab were not favorites to win against 49th-ranked Saltstead. Nevertheless Saad Kaykali’s side had shown a penchant for holding on against – and indeed triumphing over – higher-ranked teams throughout the World Cup qualifiers, and many hoped that trend would continue in this match.

Eventually this would turn out to be Saltstead’s day, but it cannot be denied that Adab put up a valiant fight.

Adab began the match in their typical attacking, high-pressing style, aiming to put the Saltstead defense under stress from the very first minute and cause it to collapse. But the approach quickly backfired, as the Saltstead players held on under the pressure, marking the front three of Enlilbani Yargab, Jushur al-Kufa, and Rebekah Yissakar and preventing them from bringing the Adabian attacks to completion.

The Stallions, as their opponents are nicknamed, gradually pushed them back and began dominating possession in the midfield, with Natasħa Aħterop in particular proving herself in this stage of play, outmaneuvering Emma Arthur and Alulim Sinmuballit and delivering the ball with increasing regularity into the Adabian half of the field. This culminated in the first Saltstead goal just 12 minutes into the match, as Aħterop, running down the wing, sent the ball rolling across the width of the penalty box to Reinhard Åubreħtssen, who promptly blasted the ball in with impressive precision.

The Adabians regrouped and immediately began their counterattack. Having admirably held on under great pressure, the Saltstead defense began to give way, allowing al-Kufa to break through past a series of Saltstead players in the 26th minute on his way into the penalty box. His shot, however, was less than accurate and almost ended up flying past the net if it hadn’t been for Yissakar’s quick action at the other end of the box, leaping to greet the ball and send it down into the net to tie the score.

Yet this tie would prove short-lived, as no less than three minutes later Nico Joxepħssen made his presence known to everyone in the stadium with a sudden, powerful right-footed strike from well outside the box. The Adabian defenders could only watch in awe as the ball went straight to the net, with keeper Satchit Chandrasekar crumpling to the grass in a feeble attempt to intercept the fast-moving object.

Having secured a 1-2 lead, the Saltsteaders gradually abandoned their attack and returned to a more defensive, tactical approach, daring the Adabians to come at them only to strangle them at midfield, taking away possession of the ball and allowing them little chance to endanger the penalty box and deliver the ball to the front three. This approach worked; no more goals would be scored in the first half.

The scoreline would only change after the half-time break, the Adabians coming back with a vengeance just three minutes into the second half. Exploiting a gap in the defense between Micħäl Aurelius and Jan-Pijr Åudenberg, al-Kufa found himself with an unimpeded path to the box and aother chance at the goal. This time he made good on it, tricking Saltstead keeper Robert-Jan van Daal into going to his (al-Kufa’s) left before firing the ball to his right and into the open net.

Once again the match was tied, now at 2-2, and again both teams went on the attack, eager to establish a clear lead. Adab took the lead for the first time in the 55th minute, with veteran striker Yargab scoring off a remarkable Yissakar assist, which saw the latter dance her way around Aurelius, Åudenberg, and Serena van Middelkamp to even enter the penalty box, where she finally delivered the ball to Yargab for the kill. But only a minute later the Stallions struck back, with midfielder Theodor Felicianus charging forward with the ball from the center circle. He feigned a pass to Åubreħtssen, which was enough to distract the Adabian defenders and leave them watching as Felicianus continued on with the ball anyway, stopping at the penalty box line and successfully shooting straight to the back of the net.

Yet again the match was tied, this time at 3-3, but there would not be another Adabian comeback. Indeed, the Adabians began to slow down, appearing to run out of gas as the Stallions resumed their attack with renewed vigor, pushing their opponents back deeper into their own half. Åubreħtssen added to his goal tally in the 67th minute off a Joxepħssen corner, and with Arthur and Sinmuballit increasingly outmaneuvered at midfield the Adabians found themselves unable to mount a sustained offense. Nevertheless it was still a surprise when Adab manager Saad Kaykali brought Arthur off the pitch in the 70th minute, replacing her with 34-year-old veteran Salman al-Muntar.

Saltstead put themselves up 3-5 with a remarkable Aħterop goal in the 78th minute. Narrowly avoiding Ephraim Orlev just outside the center circle, she sent the ball flying towards the penalty box. If it was directed at a Saltstead midfielder or forward, then no one came forward to greet it, and they didn’t have to. The ball lowered just in time to enter the net. Chandrasekar mistimed his jump, sending himself onto the grass and leaving the ball with an open path into the net.

Adab cut into their opponents’ lead in the closing minutes of the match, with Yargab scoring his second goal of the match in the 89th minute, this time off an al-Kufa assist from the penalty box line. Though the Adabians continued charging at their opponents until the end of the match, eventually they were unable to score another goal and would have to content themselves with a 4-5 loss as the opening to their Cup of Harmony campaign. A loss, yes, but nevertheless an epic and valiant one that would undoubtedly be remembered for years to come.

Adab lineup for MD2

Starting lineup: Chandrasekar, Altun, Enmerkar, Issou, Frangieh, Arthur (VC), Sinmuballit, Orlev, Al-Kufa, Yissakar, Yargab (C)

Substitutes: Marramzi, Al-Tikriti, Sharkalisharri, Akshak, Thomas, al-Muntar, Samanu, Emmita, Uhwan, Zambiya, Akaptaha, Barzani

by **Sarzonia** » Thu Oct 14, 2021 11:03 am

A 1-1 draw isn't exactly going to hit the spot when a manager is hoping to save their job, even if the manager in question is guiding a team ranked in the 60s in the KPB ranks and their team's opponent are ranked 35th.

That said, the Sarzonian national football team slightly outplayed Trolleborg, but couldn't convert their second half domination into anything more than a 78th minute Holly Cambrio free kick goal and were forced to settle for said 1-1 draw against Trolleborg.

Sarzonia (0-1-0, one point) won the possession battle 59 percent to 41 percent, led the way in shots, firing 15 to Trolleborg's 12 with seven of Sarzonia's shots on goalkeeper Tomas Kot Kotsson compared to Trolleborg's five on Sarzonia's Carlton Sandt, but it was Trolleborg who found the back of the net first through the right boot of Stuart Kerr as he capitalised on a poor clearance by defender Charlie King to slot the ball through King and Sandt for a 27th minute goal that forced manager Nathan Hanifer to consider a three-back, three-forward approach.

"We felt like we were behind the eight ball after Kerr's goal," Hanifer said. "It caught us on our heels a bit, and we maybe needed a moment or two to collect ourselves." That moment came with the ensuing kickoff by midfielder and team captain Clayton Wilson as he sent the ball toward forward Jake Campos upon the referee's whistle to resume play. Campos was the focus of the Trolleborg defence throughout the first half and the first 18 minutes of the second half before Hanifer sent Cambrio on for Campos. Hanifer explained that Campos had scarcely had a breather throughout World Cup qualifying and the Trolleborg defenders were playing him especially physically.

For his part, Campos said he was eager to get back onto the pitch for the team's next match against Bollonich.

"No question," he said. "I thought we could have gotten the equaliser earlier if [Hanifer] kept me out there with [fellow starting forward Cayden] Aguirre." As for the physical marking Trolleborg used against him, Campos said, "I'll adjust," if Bollonich employed the same or even more aggressive tactics against him.

Hanifer said Cambrio would get more playing time and his intent was to substitute her for Aguirre in the next match if given the opportunity.

"Cayden's 34 years old and he's getting to a place where he's not quite as able to play a full 90 as he used to," Hanifer said. "He's capable of being really effective for about 60-65 minutes, and we're going to have to keep that in mind."

NOTES: *Goalkeeper Paolo Gomes is said to be making "remarkable" progress in his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered at the beginning of World Cup 88 qualifying.

"Last report I got was he's been able to do some light running on the knee," Hanifer said. "Barring any setbacks, he might have a chance to make the squad for World Cup 90 qualifying."

*Aguirre declined to comment on reports that he was reconsidering his decision to retire at the end of the World Cup 89 cycle.

"I've made my decision and I intend to follow through on it," he said.

*Assistant manager Brady Reynolds said he hasn't been told of reports he would have been named interim manager for the Stars if the Royal Banijan Soccer Association named Hanifer their manager after Marcus Waters was fired.

"First I've heard of it," he said. He also declined to address reports that the IFF Board of Governors was considering Waters for Hanifer's job.

"That question's best directed to the IFF," he said.

by **Chartistan** » Thu Oct 14, 2021 4:54 pm

The whistle blew. Adult Royce was so done.

His frustrations for not being the captain of Chartistan blew to a crescendo at the Sentient Oval in Kirkham. He stood up on the pitch, Sentients and Licentian fans and Chartistani fans shocked in horror, Flora Watson on the ground. It was a nasty tackle, studs out, clearly charging on the 31 year old as the body lied there. A clear opportunity for the Licentian Isles to fire a goal in and take control of the tie - It was only 0-0 38 minutes into the first half - and a frustrated Doctor Lucas and even more puzzled captain Yamjune looking onto Royce and the disaster he did. Can't make a wife out of a hoe, he said. He was numb to all the pain of intentionally getting this. He didn't need the Chartistani national team anymore. He was going to figure his future out for himself.

The referee reached into his pocket and pulled the red card out. The Licentians roared while the Chartistanis, Royce not included, tilted their heads down. And there he was, a story crafted from the days of Qasden, forced off the pitch. The pain of seeing a hero rise up only for what he called "obsessed teenagers" to shoot his morale down. He would leave the Sentient Oval wishing to numb out the pain, the agony of being 2nd in command to a player who only got the armband due to fans and fans alone. As he was about to head back into the tunnel, he looked back at the field.

"Fuck you, goodbye", he murmured before disappearing.

Turns out Chartistan didn't need Royce for that match. Down to 10 players, they would find a way to hold the Licentians at bay before Little Exnash fired the ball into the back of Caitlin Fraser's net. It would end 1-0 to Chartistan. Royce, however, wasn't there in the locker room. He seemed to go off on his own, an outcast from the rest of the team. First it was not getting a club team to play for, then the Yamjune shenanigans, and now, to begin the Cup of Harmony campaign, he was gone. Not just for the game against Ottoman Syldavia, but he straight up disappeared. Throwing his phone into the Esportivan West Ocean, nobody on the Chartistani team could contact him. He was done for real. So done.

The frustrations of not getting what he wanted plagued Royce as he settled into his own hotel room for at least the duration of the tournament, planning his next move out of football. He could already see the obsessive Yamjune fans spamming highlights on Twit.tur posts and celebrating his very disappearance from the national team. All those "never needed him anyway x"s and those "yamjune slays, royce is away"s felt like insults. He was better than Yamjune, and yet those stans got away with the murder of a career. It felt like treason and even less of a reason to continue.

As he saw the press conferences and seeing Combbrush and Yamjune and Exnash plead for Royce to come back, he closed his eyes and just said to himself no. If anything, they should have pleaded for the stans to stop. They started all of this, and they deserved to be punished. They, along with rabbid Juvencus fans, nearly drove Chartistan out of existence. Enough was enough. As he turned off the TV and went into his bed, his mind was made up. He was no longer going to play football for Chartistan. If not that, then he wouldn't play football again.

Chartistan now had 22 players on their roster. Royce was done with football, but in a land of sentients while your nation is busy playing football at a major tournament, what could he do...?

by **Lathamford** » Thu Oct 14, 2021 5:52 pm

The Farmers:: part 11

MD7, Teaham meets Charlie River away, the Aegis Bowl is packed with home fans. The Riverman head coach Leofing Michelgrove lined up several new faces in his starting line-up, most interestingly, he put young goalkeeper Augustin Scrogs as the main goalkeeper in addition to left-back Wulfgar Hungate, and young striker Sévon Little. While the Farmers head coach Nilson Morrow still believes in his main lineup except for the injured key midfielder, Claudius Bottomford. The main half looked balanced with both teams starting the match cautiously. The fight in the middle position was clearly dominated by Charlie River, Ralph Norwood as the DMC seemed intact navigating the midfield and managed to help the defensive position absorb Teaham FC's attack. Norwood has good technique and ball control as well as sometimes threatening by channeling the ball right to the Charlie River striker. Just 10 minutes before the end of the match, a beautiful free kick by Christopher Langeton managed to beat Teaham FC goalkeeper Agamemnon Starveling enough to give the Riverman victory in the match. Meanwhile, Nilson Morrow admitted that he was not satisfied with the performance of his defensive line until they were defeated at the last minute. In this regard, Morrow reminded his men to move as a team by making accurate passes and making sure to control the ball well to avoid them. continue to be pressed next punished following a simple mistake made.
[Part 1 ׀ Part 2 ׀ Part 3 ׀ Part 4 ׀ Part 5 ׀ Part 6 ׀ Part 7 ׀ Part 8 ׀ Part 9 ׀ Part 10 ׀ Part 11 ׀ Part 12]

Cup of Harmony 81: MD01
Lathamford 3–3 Independent Athletes from Quebec
Morten Clawbrand '22; Otto Farrowsteam '61, '79 ׀ Havard Popov '8, Lyyti Vang '12, '19
@Stabb Field, Cham, Zwangzug

Lineup
Glowsnarl, Haymoore (Rockripper), Wolfsong, Decker (C), Wymondham, du Graypelt, Hargreave (Trafford), Colfield, Clawbrand (Strongwick), Ironstorm, Farrowsteam

Cup of Harmony 81: MD02
Huayramarca vs. Lathamford
@Simplex 3, 102d, Zwangzug

Glowsnarl
Haymoore, Wolfsong, Decker (C), 
Wymondham, du Graypelt, Hargreave, Colfield, 
Clawbrand, Ironstorm, Farrowsteam

by **Pluvia and the Saxean Isles** » Thu Oct 14, 2021 5:59 pm

Royal Marienburg University, Marienburg, Pluvia and the Saxean Isles

Prof. Charles Cunningham of the history department at the Royal Marienburg University rushed into his first class of the day, only to find no-one there. He checked his watch. Fifteen minutes late. That explained it. Pluvian university students were somewhat more likely to remain in their seats when their professor was late than the average Atlantian Oceanian student (the country had a long tradition of hierarchy), but they had their limits. He sank into the chair in the front of the classroom. He'd (almost) never missed a class. After running his hands through his hair (it was thinning, he could tell), he resolved to make the best of it. He pulled out the diary.

The last diary entry saw William II on his unprecedented campaign trip. He was bringing his message to the people of Pluvia directly. Although he would not endorse candidates or campaign for political parties, he was going to do his utmost to speak on the first steps of reform taken by the National Assembly and to press for more. He had arrived in Oldenbach and partaken in the usual festivities that the locals put on for the king. The proceedings were enlivened by the presence of the monarch's new traveling companion, Rhys the Saxean troubadour. Rhys afterwards gave a performance, but the assembled notables were less than impressed, much to the young king's disappointment. William II also met with local merchants on the subject of trade and with peat producers about coal and the future of the future of peat. William II knew that his modernisation program was necessary, but it also meant the destruction of certain older ways of life. He'd have to balance these tensions if he hoped to become a successful monarch.

May 8, 1885

It is very early in the morning, but I was awakened by a sudden, jarring, sound and a violent jolt from the steamship. I immediately leapt from my bed and went on deck to see what was the matter. Initially the crewmember I talked was not certain of the problem, hazarding that we might perhaps have run aground on a sandbar, though he allowed that it should only rarely happen with steamboats, as compared to other ships. He urged me to remain belowdecks in my cabin, but I refused. I needed to know what was happening. It was later ascertained that some sort or another of debris or flotsam had become snagged in the wheel of the steamship, which caused no small amount of damage and was the reason for the delay. Fortunately, we had been steaming in sight of the shoreline, and the crew was confident we could coax the ship close enough into shore to lower the rowboats and head for shore.

As I wait for the rowboats to be prepared, I reflect on our steamship journey. It is a marvel of modern engineering and truly the Pluvian navy that I dream of shall have all manner of steam-powered ships. But this unfortunate accident is a reminder of how anything may fail, even the technology that we wonder at. It shall be imperative to establish not only a more modern military and economy, but also a stock of engineers to maintain this technology so that we should not find ourselves in this frustrating position.

We sailed from Oldenbach the previous night, and were headed for Albersend. The city itself is only little more impressive than Oldenbach, that is to say that it is a provincial town, though it is magnified somewhat in importance by its status as a river port. It seems that all I have to speak on these days is the importance of trade to merchants. I dearly wish to be engaged by some person of a similar intellectual stature, who can envision my dream of a modernised military and industrialised realm producing all manner of goods for the strengthening of our nation. Pluvia has long been, and it saddens me to say it, something of a backwater in our region. There are strong states to both our east and west, and we should be horribly outmatched if it came to war between our nations. I dream of a Pluvia who must bow and scrape to no foreign man or nation, one who is recognised as a power in our own right and treated as an equal. I harbour no discontent with foreigners; I simply wish my realm to be accorded the same respect as any state.

I am informed that the rowboats have been prepared and we are to go ashore. Perhaps I shall snatch a few hours of sleep yet before the dawn.

by **Saint Eleanor** » Thu Oct 14, 2021 6:23 pm

Oneshot: A Slice of Strife

11:17pm (local time) - Saturday 19th October 1996

Priscilla Evans, the manager of the Eleanorian national team, is now sat in a pizzeria somewhere in Avondale, maybe a couple of hours after her White Stars just about managed to scrape a 0-0 draw against the fifth-best team in the world... wait, what?

Certainly she must be even more confused at the fact that something, somewhere in the building, is making some fairly prominent bouncing noises. Then they stopped.

"Here... is the pepperoni pizza that you ordered," says the Sentient Oven, as it removes the just-cooked dish inside it. "Coming up pretty soon. Hey, can I get a plate?" It did, about thirty seconds later.

The first reaction hardly takes as long. "This is crap," moans Evans. "Are you sure you didn't give me a half-and-half by "mistake?""

"You haven't even eaten what we made for you... I'm sorry you think that. We try our best to ensure that every one of the delicious pizzas we make is of high-quality, or at least edible enough."

"I wouldn't call this pizza either - would you?"

"If you want, I can get one of the human staff to slice your food up for you. Hopefully they can find some way to ensure that it actually looks like something you'd enjoy. What's your name, again?"

"Priscilla Evans."

"You're the Crystal Fair woman... yeah. And you're now the manager of the Saint Eleanor team?"

"Yes. Apart from what just happened there, my life's been going pretty well. How's your life?"

"Single. You can hardly find any Ovens in Avondale. But yeah, the fact I'm getting quite a few Rubber Chickens is pretty good."

"Anyway, a few days ago, one of the few thousand travelling Tinhamp... Eleanorians hoped that if I got something against the Banijans, "may all the pepperoni pizzas you ever eat have the toppings spread out evenly" or something like that. I think he's a bit of a weird one. Definitely knows what I like, however."

"You did?"

"It finished goalless, so I'd say so? But it's not my fault that Idai Uster can't finish off a clean shot against the keeper from twelve yards out with about half an hour to go. Well, that and about five other chances from a bunch of other people. Send in the pizza-cutters, by the way."

"A few years ago, they won all of their qualifiers and the World Cup final," notes the Oven, shortly after calling in its human colleagues. "How they can't even win against Saint Eleanor... who were playing in the Baptism of Fire in Banija this year... wow. Apparently they're moving back to two years per World Cup for the 90th edition."

"Thank fuck - the post-UICA "consensus" was getting tiring anyway. Not too sure it'll do them a lot of good, anyway."

"So, Saint Eleanor is in the Cup of Harmony and...?"

"Fifty teams. Group winners and whoever among the runners-up and really good third-placed teams wins in the Round of 22 - whatever that's supposed to mean - go through to the last sixteen. Proper knockouts from there."

"So you're well-placed!"

"Most people seem to think so - although as I've said, some of them are so convinced we'll end up having a good run that they want things to happen to me that can't happen. Like this place making a good pizza. Why are you here, anyway?"

"A couple of years ago, this place had a non-sentient oven that caught fire and they closed for a few months. They ended up putting a bunch of job adverts in Kirkham - my hometown, the place where most of the Sentients live - because the Sentient Ovens were apparently more reliable. As it turned out, only a couple actually bothered applying."

"I was in somebody's house when it got set on fire."

"Really?"

"Esther Barnes - suburban Newion, Gladom Newion. Former colonial-era bureaucrat's daughter, quiet, better-read than I thought, preferred tea to coffee, one of approximately not a lot of Newion who spoke about their dislike for President meKonta... that guy's birthday was literally one of the questions on the dodgy schools trivia quiz a few weeks ago. Survived with nothing more than her clothes, a mobile phone and a pile of documents entitled something like "SECRET - IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT PROTEST". I used that phone to call a taxi to get me the hell out of there and ended up getting banned from the country two weeks later."

"Uhhh..."

"I'm told she ended up in the headquarters of "Vemalina noFrenalk Woodchipping Services" - code for some opposition movement - after the lightning strike happened. She got a double-tap in the head from the apparently secret police about five years later anyway. This happened twenty years into the future, if you believe all of that nonsense about "fluid time." The President's still there, if you were wondering."

"Saint Eleanor isn't any better with democracy, I've been told. How are you still in a job?"

"I honestly have no idea what I was doing there, apart from maybe talking about playing in their crappy football league that nobody's ever heard of. She wasn't really a football person, anyway, so still no idea. Perhaps the Mitcham family skimmed over that detail. The Reporter has learned well from Newion state media that you just don't talk about anything that happens to your enemies. Except in footy."

"That's... Gladom Newion is literally the worst of the former Tinhamptonian colonies in almost everything possible. Last in everything except poverty rates, says my human mate, anyway. No wonder they barely have any standards."

"No standards... did they claim to have any? You lot certainly did. This food's still crap but I'm just about going to eat it anyway - I hope I don't really hate it. How many of you work here?"

"One. If you want restaurants that have a lot of thinking kitchen utensils, I suggest you wait until after you play whatever games you have at Kirkham. If you don't, there's a completely human-staffed pizza place if you cross the road, take a left and continue for a quarter of a mile."

"That must explain why you're so bad at your job, then."

"I'm just the Sentient that cooks the pizzas, honest! We don't get to turf customers out until midnight, so hurry up with your food, please, Cilla." She did, if you were wondering.

∴

Meanwhile, at what may or may not have been a Tinhamptonian team hotel, Stephen Mitcham has nothing to assist. He has been very reliably informed that nobody was getting concerned for any reason whatsoever.

by **Valladares** » Thu Oct 14, 2021 8:26 pm

Stabb Field, Cham, Zwangzug
Minutes prior to the Lathamford vs. Independent Athletes of Quebec match

With the Cup of Harmony début for the Valladar national football team against Le Choix yet to take place as La Nacional conveniently had their bye day set for MD1, the Valladars took the chance to open up a space in their schedule and attend the opener of two of their group rivals, Lathamford and the Independent Athletes of Quebec, with the latter side featuring the debut of former Valencia FC manager Federico Rassmussen as new Quebecois gaffer after years of service as assistant manager of the Grim Reapers. Arriving at Stabb Field an hour prior to kickoff, the Valladar delegation split up to take their seats over three rows on the main stand of the stadium, with the players and manager Jessica Curran in the lower row, the remainder of the coaching staff in the middle row, and the Valladar Football Association executives in the upper row, from where they had the chance to watch the game with a relative degree of privacy, while also talking among themselves about the future of the national squad prior to their upcoming Cup of Harmony adventure, and of course, about the Valladar manager directly involved in this game they were about to witness...

"So here we are...another Cup of Harmony edition, and another one in which Valladares will win a couple of games just to bow out unceremoniously in the first knockout round..."

"Mr. Hicks, there is no need to be so pessimistic", replied VFA Chairman François Boudou to Rudolph Hicks, the chairman of the Mountbatten Football Association (MFA), one of the twelve state football associations of Valladares making up the VFA, and member of the VFA's Executive Committee. "The CoH is another chance we're getting in order to finally win something, or at least, to get part of our team's reputation back. And who knows, perhaps a good showing here in Zwangzug will leave us well poised to attempt qualification for the World Cup next time around."

"I'd say, it's Jessica Curran's last chance to do something with the national team...speaking of which, when does her contract expire?"

"It's suppossed to run until the end of this World Cup cycle, i.e., when this competition ends."

"Don't get me wrong, I like the gal but unfortunately, she has not made merits for a possible renovation. We haven't qualified for a World Cup again, nor have we had any outstanding appearances in the Cup of Harmony or the Copa Rushmori, other than that third place when she first arrived. And what about the development of women's football? Is there a women's domestic league set up already? The expectations we had with her appointment have not been met, and the public's patience has reached a limit, so I'd dare to say this is the time for a change of course."

"I must concur with Mr. Hicks", interrupted Jacques de la Rose, chairman of the Foix state association, "results are the main metric to evaluate the performance of managers, and Mrs. Curran might have charisma, may be an extremely jolly and charming person, but she has not delivered results of note. One could say that she has done a fine job in bringing the generation that won the Di Bradini Cup up to the senior squad, and has addressed the issue of generational turnover as well as she could, but this is a resultist world that does not really pay attention to other details of management, and her results have not been great, so it might be a good time to make some sort of change."

"Well, gentlemen. I will agree with you that the on-field results have not been satisfactory, but I would like to tell Mr. Hicks that we have taken some steps in the development of women's football. For example, we have hosted two Festivals of Football in Metropolis with the participation of nearly 1,000 women's teams from all over the country, and we have had some productive conversations with the Liga Federal regarding the creation of a women's league, conversations in which Mrs. Curran has been heavily involved and has provided us with valuable feedback, and if everything with the LFV goes well, we might be talking about the creation of the women's Liga-1 within one or two years. So we have really made some progress on that front. What you want to see are tangible results, but these take some time to come and I prefer doing stuff slow but steady."

"Anyways, she should know better than anyone of us here that her future actually depends on La Nacional's performance in this tournament. Anything below quarter-finals might be considered the end of the road, I think we can all agree on that", stated de la Rose, to which several of his Executive Committee colleagues nodded in approval. "Who else is in this group? Quebec, Lathamford, and..."

"Huayramarca and Le Choix. We know little or nothing about Lathamford or Le Choix, Huayramarca will be an interesting challenge, and we'll finally get the chance to face the Grim Reapers in an official match since all of our previous meetings have been in friendly games."

"And look who's left in charge of Quebec...", uttered the chairman of the Junín state association Juan Barguil upon the appearance of the Quebecois players for the pre-match warming up, led by their brand-new manager, the Valladar Federico Rassmussen.

"Federico Rassmussen has been finally promoted to the managerial seat of the Independent Athletes of Quebec. Perhaps this is the moment he had been waiting in order to prove his worth with a national squad. Definitely someone to watch here in this match."

"And someone who should be in our radar should we have to make a decision within the coming days..."

"He had his chance to become manager of the Valladar team when we hired Curran", stated Horacio Uribe, the chairman of the District of Metropolis football association, wearing his distinctive hat, "...but he dismissed it to stay as the second man in Quebec, playing a minor role. However, if winning an international competition with a limited team such as Valencia doesn't count as "proving his worth", then I don't know what would it be, to be honest."

"Maybe he didn't feel ready to take over just yet. Remember that he jumped from Valencia straight into the Quebecois football team, even though he had offers of clubs such as Metropolis Alligators. He is a smart guy who must have put his time in Quebec to good use by learning how to manage a national team, which is very different from managing a club, and will now be surely eager to show everyone how much he's learned on the way."

"Good thing we came here to watch this game, because we'll have the chance to see him in action, not as a mere assistant but as the actual manager of a highly respectable national team, and a potential manager of the Valladar national football team."

"You speak like we had already fired Curran, even though we're yet to begin our participation..."

"I'm not saying we should fire her right away, but we should start considering candidates to replace her if something happens, and Rassmussen is a very good pick."

"Time will tell, gentlemen", said chairman Boudou as his sights set on Rassmussen who was still overseeing the warming-up session on the pitch of Stabb Field. "Time will tell..."

by **Le Choix** » Thu Oct 14, 2021 9:50 pm

It was, in retrospect, almost a perfect game.

Despite conceding a goal early, the Chosen refused to go away. Now together with a purpose that defined them grater than ever before, the eleven on the pitch and twelve off seemed to be on the same page at all times. Aurélie Dior scored the goal that tied the game and kept Huayramarca from winning the match.

Afterwards, everyone looked for the latest news from "home".

Apparently, search patrols were being sent out from the Theocracy, but the Red Queen was coming through with her promise. They haven't been found yet, and according to the Red Queen, the Theocracy didn't have the technology to be able to track an invisible ship in the middle of the Ocean.

"What is the plan?" they started asking one another, trying to figure out how to instigate any change.

"We finish this tournament," came the reply from the Red Queen, "And then we meet in person to discuss next steps."

"In person?" they asked breathlessly. None of them had ever seen the Red Queen before.

"Yes," was the reply, "We will meet. We will plan, and then we will save our country."

by **Eshialand** » Thu Oct 14, 2021 11:20 pm

See You Tomorrow, Or Someday
Part III: It Doesn't Count Until It Does
Part I | Part II
Huayramarca 2-1 Eshialand

Huayramarca D.M., Huayramarca

"And Habisbrauer takes it from Ian Mamani!"
"There seems to be a fire underneath him the likes of which I've never seen before..."
"What could be motivating him, I wonder?"
"Oh, I was looking at that janitor behind you, he seems to have eaten a nasty bean burrito!"
"Shut up, Karsten! It's not Trevor's fault he likes that new taco truck in downtown Eshialand City!"
"You really don't know me, do you Josh? And why would he even bring the burrito here?"
"Wait, Mina just swiped the ball away from Habisbrauer before he could pass to Carey!"
"Oh no..."
"Mina passes it to Mendoza, who passes it to Tello... and he scores, 2-1 Huayramarca in the 86^th minute..."
"How did it all go so far downhill?"
"It probably had something to do with your bean burrito comment..."
"So I can't have fun?"
"You can have fun, just have fun watching the match. That is what you're being paid to do after all..."

Guariday, Zwangzug

"Less than 5 minutes left before stoppage time, how could I blow it?" George kept thinking to himself as the day of their first match against Mertagne drew near. No matter what, he couldn't get his mind off of what happened, and what it could mean for the team's form going into the Cup of Harmony. But he had to hold out hope, since his doomer attitude was only going to hurt him in the long run, right?

"Focus on tomorrow, yesterday will only disappoint you."

Rebecca was objectively right, but how in the world was George just not going to think about Atheara and Huayramarca? How was that not supposed to affect him in any way?

"Hey George!"
"What?" He turned around to find Melissa calling for him. "Oh, it's you... what is it?"
"You don't seem very happy to talk to me today..."
"It's just Huayramarca, that's all..."
"Don't worry about it, it happens. Anyway, what I was going to talk about was whether you wanted to get together with the rest of the team for some Turnip-Oh!"
"Heh, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time..." he replied, remembering the card game from all the way back in World Cup 88 Qualifying, before the worry of losing matches to lower-ranked opponents, and the stress of performing to standards that, at the time, were non-existent. Sure, reminiscing about stuff that happened only a year and a half ago may not seem like much, but for George right then and right there, it was exactly what he needed.

"Yeah, Coach surprised us by grabbing our old cards before we left, and I was thinking you might wanna join in on the games! Sarah's probably gonna beat us all again, but c'est la vie, am I right?"
"Absolutely... sure, I'd love to come along. I could really use it right now..."

The two got halfway to their hotel, talking about strategies for how they could beat Sarah, until George pointed out something that wasn't quite right.

"Wait, how did Coach manage to get our cards? Mine were in my apartment, Coach doesn't have the key!"
"Uhhh not important!" Melissa then ran away from him, and he knew exactly what had happened.

She had Jake use his spare key to his apartment before they left Eshialand to get the cards... and you know what? In this case, the ends more than justified the means.

Huayramarca - 2 (Sayritupac 38', Tello 86')
Eshialand - 1 (Longfield 29')

by **Vilita** » Thu Oct 14, 2021 11:49 pm

Vilita Open Group F with Solid Victory over Juvencus

Janaki Gardens, Guariday, Zwangzug :: It would be a new-look Vilitan National Team stepping foot on the pitch in a new-look competition as the Jungle Cats contested their first Cup of Harmony matchup since they finished in 3rd Place during the 50th Cup of Harmony hosted in Vilita and the New Montreal States over 30 cycles prior. Of course, considering how the Jungle Cats World Cup Qualifying campaign ended, they would almost certainly be pleased with a Top 3 finish in the 81st Cup of Harmony in Sylestone and Zwangzug but with Five Team groups in Qualifying and only the Top team in the group assured advancement to the Round of 16 there was still plenty of work to go between Matchday 1 and any potential Semi-Final run for the Vilitan national Team.

As the Top Seed in Group F and one of the Top 4 ranked nations in the entire tournament it would of course be expected that the Jungle Cats would ultimately be in contention deep into the knockout rounds. However, as Vilita learned against their very same Group F opponents during World Cup 88 and World Cup 89 Qualifying, no result is assured until the final whistle blows. Having played - and dropped points against Eshialand, Mertagne and Savojarna over the course of the previous two World Cup campaigns, the new Vilitan coaching stuff would be taking no match for granted understanding fully that any team can beat any other on any given match day.

While Juvencus is the only team that Vilita will face in the Cup of Harmony Group Stage that they did not face in either World Cup 88 or World Cup 89 Qualifying, they do have a recent meeting with Juvencus and, as expected, they failed to win that match too. Entering the World Cup 82 Finals as reigning World Cup Champions after lifting the trophy in Banija and the Free Republics one cycle prior, the Vilita National Team opened as the top seed against Juvencus, the lowest Pot three nation in the draw. With Vilitan legend Mako Canopii in net, Juvencus managed to get a pair of goals and hustle the Jungle Cats to a 2-2 draw continuing the Jungle Cats long held streak of failing to win the first World Cup Finals match after winning the World Cup itself.

Of course, despite the opening matchday draw to Juvencus, Vilita would survive the group and go on to win the World Cup for the second consecutive cycle afte a 3-0 victory over Turori in the championship game, claiming their 5th World Cup Title 67 cycles after their first. Now, 75 cycles after their lone Cup of Harmony Triumph, the Vilita National Team would kick start another cycle with a game against Juvencus and hope the schedule would grant them the momentum to carry forth and win just their second Cup of Harmony title.

There was no Mako Canopii to be seen when Vilita entered the field with youngster Zelkki Milake Jr. leading the team out of the tunnels with the gloves. Milake - who helped propel the Vilita & Turori Eel Cat Things to the 50th Di Bradini Cup title, had made just one appearance during World Cup 89 Qualifying as the goalkeeper of record during the 2-4 loss to Kandorith on Matchday 9.

This time, Milake would get a lot more help on the attack and would receive it far earlier in the game. The Jungle Cats would get a pair of goals from the midfield in the opening thirty minutes with Fyin Miateal picking up their 4th career goal for the Vilitan National team in just their 10th appearane for the Nation while, on the other end of the spectrum, Limu Katarakhana would score their 28th career goal for Vilita while making their 150th all time appearance.

The Jungle Cats would hold onto the lead until half time where they would make one change to the lineup, removing Mileke Drokasorma nad introducing Kudii Davasarii into the game. It was mostly a case of fresh legs and slotting a skilled player into the position tactically where their predecessor was already performing. However, while the substitution did not appear to have any adverse effects on the style of play being put forth by Vilita, the Jungle Cats were on their heels from the start of the second half and ultimately Juvencus would pull one back through the veteran Joaquim Martell.

It gave a moment where some felt that the former Independent Associations Champ might be able to upset the form book and steal yet another point from the Jungle Cats. This time, however, Vilita would maintain their composure and eventually find the back of the net again with Lentali Purama and Kudii Davasarii scoring for the Jungle Cats in the 66th and 70th minute respectively to all but close out the game and secure a successful debut for the new Vilitan Coaching Staff taking over in the wake of the sacking of former head coach Cavuna Aquafek. There was one minor scare late in the game when Juvencus scored one more goal to close the gap to 4-2 but that was as close as they would come as Vilita would hold on for all three points to move atop the Group F table.

With the result and combined with Savojarna's own four-star victory on the opening matchday, it would quickly set up a top of the table clash not only in ranking but in live table position as well on Matchday 2 when Vilita and Savjarna meet in Spenson, Zwangzug at the Stelladome where the Jungle Cats would actually play their next two matches, first yet another game in the never-ending series between Vilita and Savojarna then finally the Jungle Cats much anticipated rematch against Eshialand who had stolen points off Vilita during World Cup 88 Qualifying. Vilita and Savojarna met twice during World Cup 89 Qualifying with each winning a single game though Savojarna held the tiebreaker in the series with a 4-0 thrashing of the Jungle Cats in Vilita during their first meeting of the campaign - a match that some of the Jungle Cat Squad will still have fresh in their minds as they search for a tiny slice of revenge on the pitch.

 Vilita [4] - [2] Juvencus
				
	GOALS:	Vilita 	:: 18' Fyin Miateal:: 29' Limu Katarakhna:: 66' Lentali Purama:: 70' Kudii Davasarii           		
	STATS:	Vilita 	:: Possession: 63%:: Shots: 8:: Corners: 15	Juvencus 	:: Possession: 37%:: Shots: 8:: Corners: 16
	Lineup:	[GK] Zelkki Milake Jr., [D.] Jirak Trikala, [D.] Narri Sebapilo, [D.] Mileke Drokasorna, [ML]  Trezisi Rokopolis, [MC]  Lentali Purama, [MC] Intikko Kuhilana, [MC]  Limu Katarakhna, [MR]  Fyin Miateal, [FC] Clarana Refiami, [FC] Fishtii Blikala			
	Bench:	[FC] Tenziki Kulakao, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [M] Kudii Davasarii, [M] Jurzen Devmiko, [U ] Polaox Torerun, [D] Linkat Cjinder, [GK] Striitca Virahat

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 3:37 am

By Peter Davis

So then...here we are. Nine names will end this tournament on the team sheet for the final time and no one really knows how to let that sink in. Four of them have been staples of this team since Seems took over and all of them were here at that Baptism of Fire way back when. Some feel that this Cup of Harmony shouldn't turn into a farewell tour for these 9 players, but others say otherwise and demand that David Seems and Li Xiu Ying should aim to get this team to the Quarterfinals at least, to give them the best ever send-off possible. No one really knew how this journey would end but until then, everyone agreed that we should enjoy this while it lasted and should enjoy the football as well.

So, on to the football and a trip to the Bug House was up first against Atheara, who have managed to sneak into the Top 100 in the world without much fanfare. Tobias Oslegard's Blue Guard were certainly a tight ship and many expected this first game to be a tight contest overall. It certainly was, with only Joe Green's 12th-minute goal the only breakthrough in this entire game. Both Harold Gylfisson and Mugel Krygorf were working overtime to keep the shots at bay and that was certainly felt at the final whistle. The Jags were the only team not to concede in the entire tournament. That's certainly a surprise.

A good start, but a start that needs to be reinforced before our bye on MD3. Milchama is next at the far-away Wayr Stadium, a team we certainly have recent history with. Who will claim Round 3, the 0GA Jags or the team who just had a bye on MD1? Who knows. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group J, All Matches in Zwangzug)
MD1: vs Atheara (84) - Bug House, Twineur W 1-0 (T-1st)
MD2: vs Milchama (132) - Wayr Stadium, Rackham Range
MD3: BYE
MD4: vs Darmen (57) - Wayr Stadium, Rackham Range
MD5: vs HUElavia (31) - Bug House, Twineur

by **Indusse** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:30 am

The Daily Newsmaker
The Result's, as they say

The Third General Elections come to an end after a month-long campaigning, voting and counting procedures. The results were totally unexpected even though they had the same winner.

Constituent General Elections
Nation : Indusse
Constituency : 187
National Leader : President
Elections till Date : 3
First General Elections

Seats Contested : 182
Results : NDP (124), JL (30), ICP (15) Kulashekaras (8), Arya (3), Others (2)
Ruling Party : National Democratic Party (124 seats)
Leader : Baskar H Kumar
Second General Elections

Seats Contested : 187
Results : NDP (125), JL (32), ICP (16) Kulashekaras (7), Arya (4), Others (3)
Ruling Party : National Democratic Party (125 seats)
Leader : Baskar H Kumar
Third General Elections

Seats Contested : 187
Results : NDP (76), JL (69), ICP (31) RFA+ (10), Others (1)
Main Participants : NDP, JL, ICP, RFA+, Others

The Elections were won by the National Democratic Party securing seventy-six seats of the total one eighty-seven. Even though there was a notable fall in the seats won by the party, they have successfully claimed their majority and would be able to form the government. The Main Opposition is once again Justice League, which faced a rise in the seats that is from Thrity Two to Sixty Nine. The Sudden Change in Popularity caused NDP to lose seats and ICP and JL to gain a lot. The Indussean Communist Party secured Thirty-one seats from their previous record of sixteen and reports say that the investors are returning to rescue the party from its debt trap which happened this month. The Royal Family Alliance or the Monarchists of Democracy lost their existing influence and is currently sitting with a mere 5.3% of votes and ten seats. A single-seat was won by Independent Candidate Bagha Baghruba in the SNS Province making him the new governor of the three-seat only SNS Province.

Constituent General Elections Results

Governor-elects
1. Hind Province: Baskar H Kumar (NDP)
2. Southbay Province: Comrade Lal Kishore Tannahji (ICP)
3. Neagra Province: Comrade Banva Chaturvedi (ICP)
4. Sindvpore Province: Ajeesh Agarwal (NDP)
5. Dhalopura Province: Anand Chandrashekar (JL)
6. SNS Special Zone: Bagha Baghruba (IND)
7. Chandore Special Zone: Ali Ahmed Shah (JL)
8. Munnuvir Province: John Jeff Mackzie (JL)
9. Cheralam Province: Kottayil Manohara Kaimal (ICP)
10. Veerasalingam Province : Thotta Kashyapa Reddiar (NDP)
11. Goda Special Zone: Mahesh Bhopathi (NDP)

by **The Licentian Isles** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 9:09 am

Chartistan 1-0 The Licentian Isles – Sentient Oval, Kirkham, Sylestone

Chartistan Goals – L. Exnash (53 mins)
Licentian Goals – N/A

The Kit Hipster

Hello, and welcome to my blog that, apparently, some fuckers will read! We’re now seeing the Licentian Isles in the Cup of Harmony, so I was expecting to put my focus there, but I had a rather interesting comment, and this time it wasn’t from a mad Mytanar! That means that, today, I’m going be focussing on the kits of the legendary Holy Empire, and then submitting something to a group from this nation that seems to be keen on kindly debate. I hope the debate is about football kits!

I’ll be honest, I was expecting a nation that’s been around since the first World Cup might have kits that were boring and mundane (that’s a joke for the viewers from the Holy Empire there), but these kits are really rather nice. They are described as “famous Imperial gold and red”, and the way the two colours come together on the home kit is really nice. The outline of a cross in the middle of the kit is simple, sure, but it’s a nice detail, and the characters from the flag appearing in silhouette within that cross is lovely. Otherwise, it’s just very smart, with the red collar only adding to that. Big thumbs up from me.

Y’know, I don’t think we see just a straight reversal of the home kit as the away kit often enough. Especially where countries identify with two very specific colours, as the Holy Empire do, it can be simple but effective, and that’s the case here. If anything, having red as the dominant colour may be slightly better, and that isn’t just my bias for away kits talking! I’m a fan of gold as an accent colour, and it really works here. Overall, this is a really nice set of kits, well befitting such a legendary nation in football.

Now, you may be wondering about that tease from slightly earlier in the post today. Well, I received a comment on my last blog from an anonymous user linking me to something online from a group in the Holy Empire calling themselves GOOFI. I’m not certain what it stands for, but they seem like a friendly bunch! Any group offering tea, crumpets, and erudite yet kindly debate is good in my books, though I’m not certain about the cuddles, as I’m not entirely certain what my girlfriend would think: she disapproves of this enough already! So, I decided to fill out this form. It didn’t ask for my name, just the country I live in, but I’m sure that’ll be fine.

NATION NAME: the Licentian Isles

QUALIFYING GROUP: 12

NUMBER OF WORLD CUPS QUALIFIED FOR: 6

NUMBER OF WORLD CUP FINALS REACHED: 0

NUMBER OF WORLD CUPS WON: 0

MY FAVOURITE MEMBER OF THE HOLY EMPIRE SQUAD IS: Shet-Niggurath

SIGN US UP! WE WANT TO JOIN GOOFI FOR FUN AND FROLICS WITH TEA AND CRUMPETS! [X]

WHEN WE JOIN GOOFI WE WOULD PREFER (choose one):
Tea
Crumpets
Scones
Cuddles
Erudite yet kindly debate on the leading issues of the day
Tea and crumpets and scones and cuddles and erudite yet kindly debate

WE DO NOT WISH TO JOIN GOOFI BECAUSE (choose as many as apply):
The Great Old Ones scare us
The Great Old Ones smell
The Great Old Ones drove someone I know insane
We prefer Euclidean geometry
We dislike mad cultists
Unwilling to join a formal friendship group
Just have better things to do

SIGNED ON BEHALF OF [NATION]: the Licentian Isles

DATE [indicate World Cup 89 qualification matchday]: Cup of Harmony MD1

As I say, they seem like a really friendly group of people. It was slightly difficult to name which member of the Holy Empire squad I like the most. I’ve hinted before that I’m a fan of kits rather tham specifically football, but still, I had a look through their squad, and one of the players mentioned bridies and scotch pies: that’s enough for me to be on their side! I was also slightly confused by some of the reasons not to join, not least because that’s a slightly strange concept on the whole. I don’t remember much about Euclidean geometry, and I’ve never heard of the Great Old Ones. Anyway, I’ll be sending that off after this is posted, and I’ll keep you updated!

I’ve also decided that as we go through this process of me reviewing kits, I’m going to give a ranking of my favourite kits that I’ve reviewed so far, but I have decided to expand it to five kits now I’ve reviewed a few more. Here’s the ranking so far!

1. Yuezhou - Away
2. Omerica – Home
3. The Licentian Isles – Away
4. Bollonich – Away
5. Polkopia - Away

I would like to apologise to my new friends (hopefully) from GOOFI, but the Holy Empire kits were incredibly close to making my top five.

That’s everything for today! Comment down below what you think about these kits, and maybe suggest some for me to review going forward that you think can beat the current top five. Thanks for reading, and see you soon!

Cyan-and-Gold Squad to face Poafmersia at Fiery Stadium, Dodle, Sylestone:
Starting XI – C. Fraser (C); C. Spijker, F. Watson, L. Allen, R. Findlay; F. Buchan; M. Henderson, A. McGregor, A. Mazereeuw, W. Tuininga; T. Weiling
Bench – S. Heijnis, A. van As, S. Thomson, S. van Duuren, T. Hughes, M. Louws, R. Grant

by **Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 11:32 am

Part 1

Chapter 2, Part 2
21.08 8:00
Markus and Nikola continued to relax in Markus’ old sedan. “I haven’t been to a funeral in a year,” Markus said, “We had an operation in the south of the city. We had to help handle a hostage situation. Domestic abuse, big guns, scary stuff.” Nikola nodded his head, “I think Wulter told me of this, or perhaps Željko Crnac before he was re-stationed.” “You’d know nothing if Željko told you,” Markus said scoffing and waving a hand, “If he still talks to you, tell that bastard he owes me for two dinner bills. But yes, you have probably heard of Alek before. He was a good brother for the team; heart of gold, body of iron,” Marku’s hand was clinched tightly, “If Alek hadn’t be tripped by that stupid wire, you two would have been close.” Markus cracked his wrists. “We will be late for the funeral. First we have to get to the office, we still need to change.”

21.08 8:27
“You were speeding, Markus,” Nikola said as Marko crookedly flew into a parking space, “Well, they can write me a ticket,” Marko said dismissively, neither man wanted to litigate another argument about Marko’s horrific driving, “Next time, I can pick you up, friend,” Nikola said, “Let’s just get dressed, we need to be there by nine, and the festivities start at something like twenty minutes past the hour.” Nikola and Marko went into the Field Office of the capital region’s highest policing authority. In the nation Zeta Reka, the three regions, Zeta Reka, Hügeltaldom, and Glavni, handle a portion of law enforcement on their own. The Federal Government, which Nikola and Markus were affiliated with, was intertwined in the most important situations. The Mobile Enforcement Unit utilized unique weapons and methods. Offices for the regional MEU were located in the same building complex as the regional police. Nikola and Markus were finally there, the pair just outside the center of Aleiusia, just outside the seat of the nation’s power. The area had a bit less congestion than the hustle and bustle a mile northwards.

The pair walked into an elevator around the side of the building. The sharing of the building by different departments gave the federal officers control of the upper two floors of this four story building. Using a key, Nikola got the elevator to come back to earth. The pair entered a room with white walls, and sprawling hallways. Both men knew where to go. “Good morning,” a male officer said, Markus nodded, “Morning,” he said back in reply. Nikola and Markus arrived at the locker room, which had changing stations for the officers. “So, any updates on Mira?” Markus asked, “I have not seen her in four days, but I know you visit her daily.” Without a second of though, Nikola replied quickly, “She’s the same as before, Markus, though yesterday I think they were going to be getting a report on whatever metal was used on the hellacious bobby trap. I’ve been talking to her family in Porto Nowi, her father will probably visit tomorrow-” “-Why not today?” Markus interrupted sternly, “I’d visit my daughter every day!” Nikola waited a moment before giving his reply, “He is a big attorney in Porto Nowi, he’s in some case.”

Eventually, Nikola had his ceremonial wears on, “Nikola,” Markus said, “I never finished my story, did I?” “No, you didn’t” After a moment, Markus addressed Nikola, “Well, comrade,” he spoke slowly, “I really should.” Nikola listened in, going out of his changing booth. “Like I said,” Markus resumed his story after a pause, “were in the South of the City. The Red Team was given authorization to go in, we had to deal with four guys, and two hostages. Alek was headstrong, and strong. Alek went in first, not wanting anyone else to deal with the crap. Of course, they had a trip wire, you know what happened next. A bunch of damn rocks fell down. Who has rocks? Those barbarians barricaded themselves in further. We got them, yes, but they didn’t pay hard enough. I should have torn them apart with my guns. One day when I see Alek’s ghost, he will send me to hell.” Nikola looked over as Markus finished adjusting his clothes and left his booth, “Ghosts? C’mon, m-” “-Don’t you ‘c’mon’ me. They say his ghost is still in the South of the region.”

“You don’t need to take his word for it,” a voice said, prompting Nikola to turn around, standing in entrance way was an older officer, “I’ve heard stories from the boys on the lower floors. They say when you go to the hills where those trashy scumbags killed Alek, you see him. One man followed him, eventually his body crashed, and faded away, even the ashes turned into air.” Nikola looked at the old man, who he knew as Officer Sebastian Florain, “Well, Florain, I won’t argue with you, but I will believe it when I see it. Maybe if your crew gets a call while everyone is at the funeral, you might see him.” The trio shook hands, and both Nikola and Markus moved out as a few more officers came in.

Nikola gave some somber greetings to those who were not attending the funeral. After a quick stop, the two were off. Nikola discreetly positioning himself to Markus’ driver side door, “Give me your keys, Mr. Grand Prix.”

by **Flavovespia** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 12:25 pm

Savigliane 3-1 Flavovespia

Key Events:

0’: Kickoff here in Carson Stadium, Cleorough. Flavovespia get us underway, in yellow and black, Savigliane in red and blue.

7’: A first sighter at goal for Savigliane. Thea Squarciafichi takes a shot from just outside the box, with Flavovespia restricting the passing lanes. It wasn’t too far off target, but Aarif Muhammad had it covered.

10’: GOAL: Savigliane 0 – 1 Flavovespia (Michael Cole) – Flavovespia’s first real attack, and exactly what they needed. Steven Hall moves the ball down the right hand side, and then fires in a whipped cross from about 20 metres from the goal line. Aimed at the far post, it’s met by Michael Cole just off the ground, and Cole times the shot well to score. Nicodemo D’Ambrosio was unsure whether to come out to try and gather the cross or cover the shot, and his positioning made the shot easier for Michael Cole than it needed to be.

26’: Savigliane have a good effort as Adrian Toscani finds a little room to run forward into the box. His shot is powerful, but Aarif Muhammad is able to push it out wide for a corner. The corner goes over almost everyone’s head, and Gabriel Buvalelli can’t do anything but deflect it out for a goal kick.

41’: Flavovespia have had limited opportunities since the opener, but Michael Cole makes a good run forward after Clark’s grounded through ball. Cole tries to square it in the box to Scott Coleman, but the touch of Adélaïde Garcia takes it behind Coleman, and it’s then cleared away.

Half Time: Savigliane 0 – 1 Flavovespia.

53’: Savigliane have a great opportunity as Bonagiunta Rossi gets into the box, and takes a shot from a tight angle. It’s saved by Aarif Muhammad, with Thea Squarciafichi calling for it in a better position, a let off for Flavovespia there, and a squandered chance.

59’ GOAL: Savigliane 1 – 1 Flavovespia (Bonagiunta Rossi) – Savilgiane have their equaliser and in the end they make numbers going forward count. Thea Squarciafichi gets past Tony Gardner and fires a fierce shot at goal. Aarif Muhammad does well to get any contact on it, but his parry is straight to Bonagiunta Rossi, who shoots across goal, past Aarif Muhammad, and into the net.

65’ GOAL: Savigliane 2 – 1 Flavovespia (Bonagiunta Rossi) – In just 6 minutes Savigliane reverse the scoreline. Good movement of the ball in the final third sees Bonagiunta Rossi drive into space between Tony Gardner and David Blythe. Zoë Barthelemy’s through ball was timed well, and Bonagiunta Rossi was there to lift the ball over Aarif Muhammad and into the net.

74’: Flavovespia come close to an equaliser, Michael Cole gets onto the end of a through ball in the box and shoots from a narrow angle. It forces a save out of Nicodemo D’Ambrosio, and the ball flies across the face of goal. Steven Hall just can’t get there quickly enough to shoot before Savigliane get numbers back to clear for a throw-in.

85’ GOAL: Savigliane 3 – 1 Flavovespia (Adrian Toscani) – Flavovespia had to put players forward, and were in the end punished. Alexander May and Stuart Cookson were outnumbered by a quick ball downfield, and eventually Thea Squarciafichi squares it selflessly to Adrian Toscani for a tap-in. That looks to be the decider, short of Flavovespia scoring very quickly in the next few minutes.

Full Time: Savigliane 3 – 1 Flavovespia

Player Ratings:

Aarif Muhammad – 6. Despite conceding three, only really could take partial blame for one, and made some good saves.

David Lyons – 6. Was decent in defence, but was often stifled in trying to get the ball forward.

Stuart Cookson – 5. Rather average, and partially responsible for some of the goals due to a lack of communication.

Tony Gardner (-> May 67’) – 3. Had a poor game, a yellow card and being the main culprit of the first 2 Saviglaine goals summed up one of his weakest international performances.

David Blythe – 5. Let too much through in defence, although did make some good passes forward.

Murad Ahmed (-> Feld 75’) – 4. Didn’t work out at all well in the left midfield position today, costing Flavovespia on that side.

Alexander Clarkson (-> Player 75’) – 5. Defended decently, even if he did pick up a yellow, but ultimately didn’t do enough to influence the midfield.

David Clark – 6. A performance that wasn’t bad, as he made some good challenges and passes forward, but ultimately lacked in anything special.

Steven Hall – 7. Got an assist, and showed he still has a lot of talent left. Couldn’t always find a way through the defence though.

Michael Cole – 7. He scored, and was a thorn in the side of Savigliane for large periods of the game, just occasionally didn’t make the right choices.

Scott Coleman – 5. Rather anonymous, he couldn’t beat his markers easily, and maybe played too advanced for a game where Flavovespia struggled for possession.

Subs:

Alexander May – 5. He shored up the defence of Flavovespia a little, but was ultimately caught on the counter, despite in theory having more stamina.

Jonathan Feld – 5. Gave more of an attacking edge to Flavovespia, but score is ultimately dropped as his loose pass allowed Savigliane to counter for the third.

Kieron Player – 5. Couldn’t make much difference, did little wrong with the ball, but wasn’t particularly good at winning it.

Tactical Analysis:

A game of two halves, and one where Flavovespia have much to learn from the second. The first half was very good from the Flavovespian perspective. Flavovespia dealt with the fear of conceding early in a brilliant way, by scoring early themselves. The method was simple but effective, Steven Hall timing a cross well, to find Michael Cole in a good spot to score. Whilst Savigliane had more of the ball in the first half, they couldn’t particularly find a route through Flavovespia. Flavovespia themselves weren’t being drawn into the chasing the ball, and only pressed off of a loose touch.

Unfortunately for Flavovespia, it all went wrong quite quickly. Yellows for Clarkson and Gardner meant they were more cautious and Savigliane were able to exploit that. Tony Gardner didn’t get close enough to Thea Squarciafichi, allowing her to then shoot for what would be the equaliser, after an initial save. More movement around by Savigliane meant Tony Gardner and David Blythe left too much space to exploit for the second goal for Savigliane. Another issue was the time taken for Nick Cole to make changes. It was the 75th minute when Murad Ahmed finally came off, and his performances were not up to scratch. His third sub saw Alexander Clarkson come off for Kieron Player. With it at 2-1, some would wonder why he’d not put a more attacking player like Robert Totten on, or even consider a switch up in formation.

Flavovespia by no means played badly against Savigliane, ultimately they just weren’t able to match their opponents, and eventually Savigliane exploit mistakes to come from behind and win. Always a bitter pill to swallow to lose from a winning positon, even against higher ranked opposition. Flavovespia have an early bye, before facing Hispinas. Hispinas, after a 3-3 draw against Sharktail, take on Savigliane in MD2. Nick Cole, and the scouts and coaches of Flavovespia will be watching that with a keen eye, to try and study their opponents.

by **Juvencus** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 12:33 pm

The Second Great War of Unification(1876-1892)

While it is common knowledge in the historical community of Juvencus that trade & communication with outside powers was mostly illegal and very strictly regulated for a time between the late 18th century up until the beginning of the war. However, the reality of the situation is very different and the impact it had to the war is of immense value. For the most part, the really important coastal cities of the Duchy of Pomena as well as the Confederation of the West were impossible for "regulatory" forces to look after, as such, outposts a few miles inland from the important centers were put in place, which blocked more mainland cities from getting any valuable trade items or knowledge in the form of books received from an outside power. However, cities like Pomena, Remeno, Tipoli, Serone and others had gotten richer and more powerful over time and while trading non-native items with the more inland populace was illegal, knowledge gained while in the legal regions masqueraded as native soon spread all over the nation like wildfire. In particular, Quebecois War strategies for both land and water brought over in the 1849-1851, 1866-1868 and 1871-1875 military expeditions quickly modernised what would be the armies of the Unionists in the Northwestern Theater and give them an important headstart in a lot of regions in the start of the war.

The March to Remeno ~unknown photographer

Chapter 6: The Liberation of Remeno(July 17th, 1878)

The loss at Pomena two weeks prior had taken its toll on King Alberto VI himself, being unable to fulfill his own ambitions by doing what his father had done back in 1844 as well ass the entire force which was completely under his command. And while everything seemed to not be getting worse, a series of rebellions in several Remeniotti neighborhoods took the guarding Independentists forces by surprise and these past 2 weeks it had been constant infighting in the outskirts of the city as well as a big chunk of the port, from which the battleships anchored there had departed from. Upon hearing news of this, Gianluca IV, Terzi, who had just won the positions at Guillermont and had pushed the Independentist troops back to Remeno took it upon himself to liberate the city itself as this was his grand opportunity. He quickly organised a massive force, which was outnumbered by the Independentist one by 2 to 1, however with morale on their side and the Remeniotti rebels keeping them busy it seemed much easier than it seemed on paper.

In the early morning hours of July 17th 1878, Gianluca IV ordered a strategic artillery shelling of the Independentist positions in the city, succeeding in breaking several of them down very swiftly and a push inside followed. As street fighting broke out once again, another epic battler between the Uhlaner and the Spirezi cavalries took place in the backline of the Unionist invading force. Despite being outnumbered 5 to 1, the Uhlaner once again outmaneuvered the Spirezi, causing them a major amount of casualties and keeping the Unionist infantry mostly out of harms way from attacks towards their backbone.

In the frontlines, peak fighting occured in Piazza Occustelo, with major shootouts at the taverns, shops and even insside the Ecclesia di Santa Clara. Remenioti Rebels were stationed up in the bell towers and proved to be great sharpshooters in combat, allowing the Unionists to push through despite the hard fighting, which lasted the whole day and costed the lives of many soldiers. At the destroyed Eccelsia di San Marco more fighting occured, with fired up Remenioti rebels leading the Unionists to the Independentist positions and capturing a Cuori colonel, in charge of the defence of the position, Stefano Subuti in the process.

Alberto VI was evacuated once the city was deemed lost by his advisors, and ordered for a general retreatment, which was unorganised and hasty. The Unionists kept chasing the retreating Independentist troops as they were making their way back to Trata, succeeding in both killing and capturing plenty in the process. By the afternoon, the city of Remeno was finally liberated way quicklier than anticipated. The executions following the battle were harsh though, with many mass hangings and shootings, most of which were public, taking place. Last one of the executed was Stefano Subuti, who was heard exclaiming "Do not fool your people, you imbeciles!" before execution. Remeno's liberation opened up the perspective to recapture Trata and regain control of all important positions lost during the start of the invasion and perhaps even go for a swift counter-attack to end the war quickly.

Battle Outcome: Complete Unionist victory, Northwestern Theater changing tides for the first time in the war!

by **Bollonich** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 1:17 pm

Difficult group as huge expectations loom, Interesting Matchday 1
With the Bollonischian national football team’s first match in the CoH at Sylestone is coming up, it’s important to look into the groups and previous results in the group itself. Due to the uneven nature of the group sizes, teams will get a bye on one of the five matchdays. And we experienced such a bye on the first match day itself which could be helpful but also could have a negative effect of the mindset as we’ll feel the need to catch up. Focusing too much on the table at an early point is not necessary as it is to get those performances on the pitch. Looking at the level of teams itself that we’ve got to face this is going to be far from an easy job. Jerusalem, the pot 1 side of our group is a side that made a surprisingly good run into the World Cup last cycle, and despite failing to qualify this time around, they remain to be a force to be reckoned with. Next we have Trolleborg, a side we are all too familiar with having faced them last cycle around in Qualifying. Trolleborg just missed out on qualification in the playoffs as they lost to unranked nation Polkopia who made a surprising run to reach the World Cup as an unranked side, a feat that few nations have achieved. The following two nations are Sarzonia and Hapilopper, these countries are going to be difficult to deal with however can be defeated. The chances of us defeating either Trolleborg or Jeruselem however looks to be very narrow.
While our players were comfortably relaxing, the other teams in our group fought it out for the early advantage. The match between Sarzonia and Trolleborg came to a rather disappointing end as two highly competent sides held each other off for long enough. Both teams got on the scoresheet however neither could conquer over the other as the points were divided. Next was Jeruselem’s encounter against Hapilopper, we knew what to expect and Jerusalem didn’t fail to deliver. The players showed to the multiverse that despite not making the World Cup their players are mostly the same from last year’s wonderful run. They showed this quality as they banged in goals against Hapilopper. Hapilopper tried to fight back but couldn’t as they were simply outclasses and outmuscled. The match ended 5-2 for Jerusalem as this was a convincing victory for last time’s World Cup dark horses. These matches not only set up the group in spectacular fashion, but also gave us crucial insight on the game of our opponents. As we come up against Sarzonia next this insight will be very important for the technical staff to figure out a game plan so we pick up points against the Sarzonians from Atlantian Oceania.

by **Yue Zhou** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 2:05 pm

PENGZHOU, XILINDAO, THE PEOPLE'S FEDERATION --

Zhang Ming was entering what felt like the three thousandth hour of his shift when relief finally arrived. Once a software engineer in Yincheng, he'd been...convinced by the YPA to work recon for them while the city was under siege by the United Republics, and had been summarily taken to the island of Xilindao near the conclusion of the Yue Civil War to help the People's Federation set up new defensive measures. They'd had to start from basically nothing, resorting to guard towers at first as if it was the 1600s, but had eventually managed a reasonable enough recon system. Of course, the circumstances surrounding the government's flight to Xilindao meant that Zhang was one of a select few knowledgeable enough about the system to keep it going - but it at least meant he got to travel the island more as things inevitably stopped working at the various recon sites.

Pengzhou was one of the newest locations that had been set up. It was on the southern coast of Xilindao, in one of the most densely forested sections of the island. Pengzhou itself was just a little beach on the edge of the forest, but the interior was far less penetrable. The open land was just big enough to get a beachhead set up, so some surveillance was still needed, but it was far from the most likely landing site if the United Republics wanted to invade.

A knock on the door marked the arrival of some backup. Zhang stood and opened the door on...some kid.

"You're not the usual guy," he started flatly.

"Corporal Ding was taken out by a UR patrol last night, sir," the teenager replied. "They told me to have you teach me to take his place."

It wasn't really surprising, aside from the location - the UR had occasionally been sending ships out to make quick shelling runs and soften up Xilindao's staunch island defenses. Neither wanted to say it, but Ren Qiang's coastal fortress had been slowly being pushed away over the past few weeks.

"Who told you that?"

"One of the other corporals, sir. Said Ding died in his arms, cursing Wu Zhongsheng out with his final breaths."

"...he specifically told you that?"

"They're good last words, sir."

"No, they're not. You wait until the UR takes me out, I'll show you some good last words. Anyway. What's your name?"

"Private Wen, sir."

"Well, Private Wen, the system's pretty straightforward." It wasn't. "We have some camera links here, and surveillance drones along the coast targeting these positions between us and the next base, about fifty kilometers down. The radar should also be rigged to send alerts for UR activity, but they've been taking out a lot of what we send out lately, so we've been focusing on eastern approaches. Take a look."

The kid - Wen - sat down accordingly and squinted into the monitor screen.

"So, another raid, huh?"

"This one was worse than usual, sir. Caught us off guard, and we didn't have enough firepower to quickly repel them. A lot of us got taken out. They asked for reinforcements from central." Wen peered, confused, to the side. "What does the range on these look like?"

Zhang Ming winced. "In theory, up to fifty kilometers into the ocean. In practice...they've been taking out a lot of our equipment lately, and we've focused on covering the entire coast. Anyways, with all the YPA soldiers pulled out to Ren's 'secret mission', whatever the fuck that is, it's not surprising that we're getting hammered lately."

Wen nodded in reply. "They've been asking for more men for weeks now, but central just keeps pulling them off lower-priority bases." He looked back into the screen. "Why can't they just go around?"

"We can still get them if they go around. They just end up further away from-" he was cut off by the sound of alerts pouring onto the monitor screen.

"Sir!"

"Ugh, calibration's fucked again. This happened a few weeks ago. Central command was not pleased when we told them the enemy fleet approaching was actually just in Nanhai, I'll say that much."

"You don't think we should check it out?"

"They're not on the screens, are they? You think we wouldn't notice an eastern fleet with that many ships?"

"But if they circled-"

"You can control the paths of the drones. See for your-" Zhang paused just long enough to take note of something on the screen. "Wait, these are completely different alerts as last time? Oh shi-"

Before he could finish the thought, an explosion struck the building. The third phase of the Yue Civil War had begun.

KATABI, NYOWANI KITARA --

"Yes, I understand. Yes. I'll let them know. Agreed." Brigadier General Wang Chuan calmly hung up the phone, then calmly turned, calmly stepped out of the tent, and calmly threw it a hundred meters into a nearby stream before walking back inside. "That was Ren Qiang himself."

"Oh?" It was a Colonel, Xi Haidong, to reply disinterestedly. "What did he say?"

"The United Republics have landed on Xilindao," Wang replied. "They're overrunning the local defenses and preparing to drive north to the capital. With the Eurans setting up an exclusion zone, we have no way of getting back to help them."

"Why don't they just ask the Eurans?"

"We're not supposed to be here. In their eyes, the People's Federation isn't even a legitimate state. But they have thought about it."

"What do we do next?"

Wang looked up, eyes full of resolve. "We fight our way out of this."

by **Hapilopper** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 2:09 pm

Sentient Oval, Kirkham City, Sylestone
After Match 1: Jeruselem 5-2 Hapilopper
There wasn’t much to say. The players of Team Hapilopper all sat in their lockers, wondering what could have gone better in that 5-2 drubbing. The Princesses of Jeruselem had their way with the Haps all night, and it seemed like it all started in the 4th minute, when Nathan Ellis decided the time was right to prove his point to his teammates and to the rest of the sporting world that Hapilopper was not going to get pushed around.

And it happened following a goal kick, just like it did against the Kytlerians. Kate Dallas and Jerold Dickman were jockeying for the ball, and Nathan decided this is where he would lay down his shot. With Kate Dallas out of the way, the Haps could turn things around and pull off a stunning upset. Nathan could drop her with a bonecrushing spear tackle and prove his point. Yeah, he’d be sent off, but the Haps would have the psychological advantage, and maybe those Haps could forget about that Naked News nonsense.

Except… that’s not what happened.

It seemed like Kate Dallas spotted Nathan coming her way. So she moved out of the way. Nathan never slowed down. Jerold never spotted Nathan coming his way. So instead of laying down a bonecrushing hit on Jeruselem’s star striker, Nathan Ellis accidentally laid down a bonecrushing hit on his own teammate, knocking him into next week and into the Team Hapilopper sidelines. And Jerold, being Jerold, reacted the way you’d expect him to do – getting up and immediately throwing a punch at whoever assaulted him. And Nathan, being Nathan, wasn’t going to back down from a fight.

So, in the 4th minute, rather than Kate Dallas doubled over in pain, Nathan Ellis and Jerold Dickman – teammates on Team Hapilopper, mind you – were throwing punches at each other, and the rest of Team Hapilopper were running in to break their two teammates up. Fuming at what he was seeing, Dom Probst stormed from the owner’s box at the Sentient Oval, past all the toilet seats in the stands – and into the midst of the fight, screaming at both players.

Meanwhile, the Jeruselem Princesses and the referees could only stand and watch at the mayhem going on. Amazingly, neither Jerold nor Nathan got carded, because of just how ludicrous the whole situation was. And that, more than anything else, took the Haps out of their game. It’s kind of hard to beat the top team in the group when you’re fighting each other.

After the match, the entire team sat in their lockers, wondering just how badly this Cup of Harmony was really going to go. The Haps never recovered from that incident in the 4th minute, and it was a total embarrassment for everyone – the players, the sponsors, the television network, everyone.

“We messed up big time today,” Dom started. “We had a real good chance to get off on a good start, and maybe pull off a great upset. So we’re sitting there, just praying for a good showing. And what do we do? We end up looking like a monkey fucking a football out there!”

The entire team sat there, staring at Dom, knowing he was absolutely right.

“And you two,” Dom snapped, looking at Nathan and Jerold, “You want to explain yourselves? We’re a team, god damn it, and we’re here to win ballgames. You think we’re going to be able to win these ballgames if we keep doing shit like this? Fighting each other?”

“That’s pretty damn obvious,” Nathan started.

“You keep quiet,” Dom interrupted.

“Now, sir,” Jerold started, staring at Dom. “I realize that Nathan’s been around a long time, and I realize that he’s got to do something to keep us fired up, but I don’t understand why it has to involve me getting slammed to the turf.”

“Well, maybe if you realized what I was doing, maybe you’d understand why it happened,” Nathan explained. “I wasn’t aiming at you, I was aiming at Kate Dallas. You were in the way.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault that you tackled me,” Jerold said.

“I didn’t say it was your fault, you weren’t paying attention,” Nathan explained.

“Oh, I wasn’t paying attention? I had my eye on the ball, Ellis,” Jerold snapped. “I’m trying to play a ballgame, good sir. I don’t know what kind of stunt you’re trying to pull, but I’m trying to play a ballgame. We would have been just fine if you had pulled your head out of your ass and left Dallas up to me.”

“Didn’t I tell you before the match?” Nathan asked. “I told you and everyone else that Dallas was mine. I was defending her. Maybe you should pay more attention. Maybe you need to realize that if you’re getting knocked out like that, maybe there’s a reason for it. And maybe you won’t get hit again.”

“WHAT IS THIS SHIT, HUH?” Jerold screamed, jumping up and confronting Nathan. It seemed like the fight was about to start again. “YOU JUST WANT ME TO GO HOME AND YOU CAN DEFEND THE WHOLE TEAM? Fine. We’ll try that.”

Jerold stormed out of the locker room, still dressed in his kit.

“I can’t talk to that son of a bitch,” Nathan lamented as he stormed out. “Probst, I can’t talk to that son of a bitch. I really can’t. I told the whole team to keep clear of Dallas and he didn’t listen.”

“Nathan, I know,” Dom said. “But you’ve got to get to him. He’s someone you wanted on this team and he’s someone you wanted us to keep. If you can’t get to him, we’re never gonna win a damn ballgame. We’re liable to be out of the football business altogether. So do yourself a favor, when we get back to the hotel, get yourself and Dickman a few beers and talk about it. You’ll thank me for it.”

by **Trolleborg** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 2:19 pm

Greetings, compatriots! It’s TTV with a news from Sylestone, where our national football team played games of group stage of Cup of Harmony.

The fans this time returned to their tradition of arranging marches before and after the game, and the "green river" formed by the marching fans was especially noisy and loud. And at the stadium itself, a "green wall" was formed, which occupied a good third of the entire stadium. Large groups of fans also took up a large portion of the rest. They all awaited the start of the match with some apprehension. It was interesting how much the team recovered from the cruel and unfair blows of fate in the last WCQ matches and what the head coach will offer new at CoH, where our players traditionally play not very well.

Altough our coach voiced his decision to put Krogh on the post number one and have Kerr on the bench as a secret weapon just on the case things gone awry, at the case he bring him and Kot Kotsson at the starting lineup. These two players was very valuable with their wealth of experience in the situation when we all expected tough game. And opponents don’t disappointed us. In their quest to return to the top positions in world football Sarzonia put much efforts in every game, and right now fighting for their coach with considerable tenasity and beginning of the CoH prove that

Altough our coach voiced publicly his decision to put Krogh on the post number one and have Kerr on the bench as a secret weapon just on the case things gone awry, at the case he bring him and Kot Kotsson at the starting lineup. These two players was very valuable with their wealth of experience in the situation when we all expected tough game. And opponents don’t disappointed us. In their quest to return to the top positions in world football Sarzonia put much efforts in every game, right now fighting for their coach with considerable tenasity and beginning of the CoH prove that.

Pretty quickly it became noticeable, however, that all this storm was weathered by our team. While Sarzonia have a bigger percent of posession, this is mainly due to the passing in the center of the field, and mainly across it, not forward, and closer to the center line than to our box, due to the fact that all avenues to move forward was reliably closed much of the game time. Hendrick Groningen was played his, maybe, best match of the last three seasons, he is always where he needed most and, probably, have a good portion of Sarzonia fans displeasure on him. And while on the paper opponents shot at the goal more often, it was mainly pretty harmless – from the long distance and while Kotsson have unobstructed view. And our team not limit herself only to neutralizing the attacking impulses, but also regularly move forward, sometimes lingering for a long time in the penalty area of Sarzonians. One of these moments led to the goal - Kerr took advantage of a moment of lack of self-control in the opposing team's own penalty area and make a striking cunning shot. The fans of our team expressed their satisfaction with the loud roar and lighting of several hundred torches. Then the game continued in about the same spirit, our lads gave their opponents the opportunity to roll the ball in the center of the field and shoot at goal from afar, but, unfortunately, they still could not fully withstand the pressure. We made a mistake only once, but that was enough, and, as a result, game ended in a 1:1 draw.

After the game, our fans staged a large-scale procession quite in the spirit of the first seasons of our team in world football, presenting strangers and oncoming scarves, badges and other memorabilia. In social networks T-Friends, everything related to the match caused significant activity, it has not been on such a scale for a long time.

To conclude our report, we must make one more message.
Altought we on TTV are we prefer to refrain from gloating and negative wishes addressed to the opponents of our teams, but the people demand and we obey

So, to the good news: gopolkopers all together receive four to six defeats (depend on how to count them). Rejoice, compatriots!

by **Sylestone** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:08 pm

The Sylestonean > Sport > Football > CoH 81

SENTIENTS OFF TO STRONG START WITH STANDARD 1-0 WIN

Sylestone vs Sendhang @ Chamberley Institute of Sport, Chamberley

Sylestone (4-1-3-1-1): Brick Wall; Ironing Board - Toilet (Sofa 78’) - Washing Machine - Dishwasher; Air Conditioner; Kitchen Sink (Stove 61’) - Bar Stool - Fridge (c); Heater (▮ 43’); Tumble Dryer (AC Vent 85’)

Sendhang (4-1-2-2-1): Wageo; Kefalo (Seletar 65’ (▮ 76’)) - Winata - Lumipada - Hamzah; Mendriq (Beripeda 56’); Al-Qari - Wirajuda (▮ 20’); Nowela - Kalbasi (Kintak 80’); Nggawe

CHAMBERLEY, SYLESTONE - Despite going winless in their last four games, with losses in World Cup Qualifying to Chromatika and Darmen preceding draws to Schima Bas and The Licentian Isles in a home friendly, the Sentients returned to top form when it really mattered - on matchday one of the Cup of Harmony. And their fans were expecting it, too, as locals flooded the ground as the gates to the Chamberley Institute of Sport opened an hour before kick-off was scheduled, draped in the marvellous stone flag that represented the nation on the world stage.

The game itself was just the second of the tournament, following the opening match of the tournament at Sentient Oval, Kirkham between fellow groupmates Yuezhou and New Lusitania. The final result came through just as the players were about to walk (or bounce) onto the field with New Lusitania, Sylestone’s next opponents, coming out on top with a shock 2-1 victory. But the players quickly got over the shock and put their minds back to the match at hand, for that was what was important at that specific moment in time. Everything else could come later.

Despite being hosts, the SFA took the selfless decision to place themselves in their usual pot, being 59th ranked in the multiverse. However, due to a qualifying cycle that saw eleven of the top 35 ranks fail to qualify (Newmanistan, Hampton Island and Squornshelous did not participate in qualifying), this Cup of Harmony appears to be the most stacked it’s ever been in 81 editions. So even though the Sentients are 59th ranked in the multiverse, they’re still only the 24th highest out of the 50 participants and with only the first- and second-placed sides as well as the two best third-placed teams from each group of five making it to the playoffs. That’s 22 teams making the knockout stage.

And the Sentients are 24th.

But they did not play like they were a middling side in the Cup. As a capacity crowd of 109,300 watched on, the Sentients immediately began to run headlong into the Rice Farmers’ defensive line with accurate passing and threatening manoeuvres. But the Sendhangite defenders, being a tough defensive unit, held strong, keeping the Tumble Dryer and Heater at bay for the first ten minutes as they began to build dangerous attacks of their own.

Sylestone’s first true chance came in the 17th minute of the match, with the Fridge making the most of a mistake from Sendhangite left-back Niko Kefalo, following a wayward pass back from midfielder Teuku Hassan Al-Qari. The Sentient captain, spotting an opportunity, took the ball up the wing and, noticing the Kitchen Sink in free space on the other side of the field, switched it to perfection, bamboozling the Sendhangite defensive line and goalkeeper Albertus Wageo as they struggled to maintain their positioning. Taking a touch, the Kitchen Sink flicked the ball up into the box for the Tumble Dryer, left with only centre-back Putra Lumipada to break past before entering a one-on-one with Wageo. But Lumipada made it hard, forcing the Tumble Dryer to rely on the Heater as it came up alongside the rest of the Sendhangite defence. Without controlling the ball, the Heater went directly for goal, curling it past Lumipada’s outstretched foot and towards the goal. The ball seemed on track for the top-right corner, but just as the Sylestonean attacking midfielder was peeling away to celebrate, Wageo’s left hand came out of nowhere, tipping the ball over the crossbar as the crowd breathed a sigh of despair. It was still 0-0.

Up until the 45th minute of the first half, that was the best chance either side got as each side settled into their typical defensive strategies, looking to wear their opposition down before capitalising on it with a goal or two late in the game. Following a yellow card near the halfway line to the Heater, a poor free-kick from Jorok Mendriq meant that the Air Conditioner was able to clear the ball, all the way over Mendriq and the rest of the defence. It was a race between the Tumble Dryer and Sendhangite central defenders for the ball and despite not being the fastest player on the pitch, the Kirkham Sentients forward arrived at the ball first, pushing it past Lumipada and Dadan Winata as Wageo came out to meet it. Spotting its chance, the Tumble Dryer flung the ball at the goal, accurate and fast. Wageo pulled out a spectacular but despairing dive as the ball tore into the back of the net, allowing over 100,000 people to release a deafening cheer. On the brink of half-time, their side had taken a 1-0 lead and was well on top, having dominated the entire half with 70% possession. They were back at their best, and just when it mattered.

But the Rice Farmers’ lack of possession did not deter them following the break, knowing that their bursts of attack, a tactic that had worked so well throughout their footballing history, could certainly be sufficient in scoring a goal or two. Thus, despite the Sentients dominating play for the first ten minutes of the second half, it was not the home side that would create the first real scoring chance of the half.

Al-Qari had the ball in the midfield when he spotted an opening in the Sentients’ defence, knocking it between the Dishwasher and Washing Machine to attacking midfielder Cezar Nowela. However, the two right-backs were able to drop back with pace, forcing Nowela into the shot, despite being situated a few metres outside the box. Yet, the shot was a good, powerful one, forcing the Brick Wall to move and for a moment, making the Sylestonean goalkeeper look a little too slow. But the ball did not curl enough, hitting the edge of the Sentient goalkeeper and rebounding out of play. So close, yet so far.

The Rice Farmers didn’t receive another great chance until the 83rd minute, when another quick counter-attacking move resulted in a corner after a slide tackle from the Ironing Board ensured the goal could not be scored. After a fair amount of deliberation, substitute attacking midfielder Temiar Kintak stood up to take it and curled it directly in front of the Brick Wall, who opted to come out of its comfort zone in the goalmouth to try and deflect it away. But centre-midfielder Nanang Wirajuda got his head to the ball first, deflecting it towards striker Gusti Sing Nggawe, preparing to volley the ball towards the goal. It landed perfectly for the Rice Farmers’ striker, in front of an almost-open goal, with the Washing Machine the only thing blocking it, aimed to shoot. But the heat of the moment got to the head of the Sendhangite, propelling the ball directly into the body of the Sylestonean centre-back, who, mainly by chance, deflected it out towards the Stove to break down the attack.

Nothing came of the resulting Sylestonean counter-attack, but with in the first of two minutes of stoppage time, the Sentients were back in on goal in a last-gasp attempt to break the shackles and put themselves at the top of Group A. Just outside the penalty box, though, the Bar Stool was fouled by a determined Josua Beripeda, resulting in a free-kick after a quick check to see exactly where the foul was committed. The Bar Stool itself took the set piece and for a moment, seemed to have beaten Wageo in goals with a curling delivery aimed at the left post. But no, the Sendhangite got to it, deflecting the ball down into his arms and immediately rolled it up the field to Wirajuda, with just fifteen seconds remaining on the clock. A miracle was now required if Sendhang were to equalise this.

They couldn’t do it. Mere seconds later, the Sofa was able to take the ball off the Sendhang midfielder and belted it up the field in celebration, confirming the match 1-0 victory. It had been a good game, but with just above 70 percent possession, the Sentients had thoroughly deserved the victory. The result broke a four-game drought without a victory and got the home Cup of Harmony to the best possible start, for the first time since the 78th edition.

But now the Sentients were faced with their toughest match yet, against New Lusitania on the other side of the country, in the treetop city of Pesfield. Their opponents will be coming off a high following a 2-1 victory over the 33rd-ranked Yuezhou, but the Sentients are not a side to relax against, particularly after their dominant victory over Sendhang. It will be a top of the table clash between two sides fighting for a top two berth, if not more. A victory would almost certainly spell top two finish, but a draw or loss would leave victory as a requirement over Nyowani Kitara and at least a point would have to be obtained against Yuezhou, although first place and automatic qualification for the round of 16 is obviously ideal. But for the Sentients, it’s just one game at a time for now as they seek to redeem themselves after two poor Cups of Harmony in a row. They’re not even focusing on knockout possibilities at the moment, considering the strength of their group mates, or even supporter expectations. They just want to beat New-bloody-Lusitania and gain revenge for that round of 16 match in Omerica. Can they pull it off?

SYLESTONE - 1
Tumble Dryer 45’

SENDHANG - 0
-none-

Starting Lineup vs New Lusitania @ The Trees, Pesfield

Brick Wall; Ironing Board - Toilet - Wok - Dishwasher; Air Conditioner; Stove - Knife - Fridge (c); Mixer; Tumble Dryer

Schedule:

Matchday One: Sylestone 1-0 Sendhang @ Chamberley Institute of Sport, Chamberley
Matchday Two: New Lusitania - Sylestone @ The Trees, Pesfield
Matchday Three: Sylestone - Nyowani Kitara @ Chamberley Institute of Sport, Chamberley
Matchday Four: Yuezhou - Sylestone @ Fiery Stadium, Dodle

by **Nyowani Kitara** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 5:42 pm

President Nafuna Akongo at the Dewayo Presidential Palace

The Presidential Palace was certainly a chaotic place these days. Nafuna Akongo had felt emotions these days like she had felt so few times in her life- the same emotions right when her Father died, and the same emotions she felt when she moved to Tikariot as a child, under a fake name, to start her schooling. That feeling of being nearly completely alone- she knew that if she succeeded, she'd succeed with immense power and so much of the world backing her, she could establish herself on the proverbial throne for a very long time. Not even 20 years old, if she was able to return stability to Nyowani Kitara, she could potentially be President for half a century- or even longer.

Of course, she was far, far away from doing that. Her country was ripping itself apart. And Gustav Isaksson's attempt to assassinate Max Ulf, to try and blow up cooperation between the DFLK and the KFF, as well as stunt the DFLK leader's growing popularity, backfired to a stunning extent. She thought there was a possibility that Gustav could miss his shot and then return home, of course- job not done. But truly, it had been worst case scenario. He missed his shot. He was not only captured- but he was both alive and intact. A General who knew him from her Father's days as President had recognized Isaksson, her right hand man, the man with a backbone, the most loyal man the whole country hand to offer.

Losing Isaksson, and seeing the harsh international criticism that followed- well, the fear of losing the war had been amplified by when she lost Isaksson. She was the man her Father trusted the most, and obviously, the do-everything kind of person that she now trusted the most. It was something that, in some people, could drive their paranoia through the roof. But Nafuna Akongo, as young as she was, as prone as she was to making spur of the moment decisions, had been aged beyond her young years because of this war.

The one thing giving her hope, of course, was the conviction that others had in her. When she had reached maybe her lowest point not that long ago, being reduced to literal tears during a ferocious phone call from the Margravine herself, she had come to a realization. She already understood that this war was, of course, a life or death scenario for her- there was no way that the KFF would ever let her survive if they were to find their way to Dewayo. But although her gamble to try and take out the head of the snake called the DFLK backfired in spectacular fashion, it had showed her something- that people were willing to stick by her.

Some, out of loyalty. That was Ren Qiang and his men, in particular. Some of her people on the front lines, running the ~~propaganda department~~ news rooms- dedicated socialists. And some of the people in this Palace, of all ethnicities. Others, out of fear. Many of her top Generals, she knew, had no choice but to stick with her at this point- Generals were not about to run and claim asylum anywhere, so to lose this war would be a death sentence for them as well. Whether they liked her or not, they were in a situation where they had to stick with her. Those were people she could trust- their self-interest matched her self-interest, which matched her country's self-interest.

Not everybody had been willing to stick by her, of course. A slew of defections from the KRF ranks on the southern coast, timed with their own fear of Gustav Isaksson being gone since the man was in a prison somewhere in Port Viljan, had ensured that the KFF had, for the first time, taken complete control of the southern coast. To their benefit, as well, as the newly established Euran blockade had taken away their ability to control any of the water off the coast.

But one of her members on the Central Military Commission put it best- the last CMC meeting to date, of course, that consisted strictly of KPWC members. One of her Generals had put it admirably. "Look- what you did was pretty bad." He had told her. Probably the most frank any General not named Gustav Isaksson had ever been with any Akongo. "I will not lie. But think- look at how Nephara and Eura are responding, particularly Corvistone. They aren't cutting their losses, declaring you a lost cause, and getting the hell out of here. If they did, Dewayo would fall in a month. They aren't throwing you under the bus. Hell, nations are still rallying behind us- look at Mytanija."

"They see something in us- and in you." He had continued. "They're gonna stick behind you- they will not stand by as we fall." And she had nodded in agreement. Even if what he said was maybe an optimistic view on the situation- Eura and Nephara wanted to save face, Nephara didn't want to turn around and admit what would surely be a humiliating defeat to the KFF, or admit they had backed the wrong horse- a combination of all of those things was true. And so she tried to think positively as Nepharan troops poured into the country, specifically to the southern front, to protect Dewayo and continue their harsh counter-attack against her brother and the Kitara Freedom Front.

Now, she was on her way to a meeting of the party's Central Military Commission, who were fighting this war. Nowadays, these meetings were not exclusive to party members. Monika Lindbeck, in particular, was everywhere. She was the new right hand lady, courtesy of the Margravine. Nafuna Akongo didn't know much about her, admittedly. Where she was from. Even her age. But she didn't need to- she had to make it up to the Margravine, show her that she had placed her faith in the right horse. That these soldiers were not here in vain. And plus, she had to admit- Lindbeck was good.

"This meeting seems to be an international affair." She joked to Monika Lindbeck as they walked into the meeting. Lindbeck didn't even crack a smile- she was not in a joking mood. As they walked into the room, everybody stood up. She quickly told everybody to sit down before she started the meeting. "First, I'd like to thank everybody for coming here today." She told everybody in the room. "We all know the situation on the ground, as we stand. We all know the threat to our livelihoods, the people of Nyowani Kitara, that is represented by the KFF, who are puppeteered by Busukuma and Juvencus. And the same threat represented to us by the DFLK. Now, we need to do more to turn this boy around, and win this."

KPWC Central Military Commission

Chairwoman and President of the Republic- Nafuna Akongo
Permanent Invitee- Monika Lindbeck(NPH)
Naval Representative- Vice Adm. Oscar Karlsson
Air Force Representative- General Hazael Ooko
Army Representative- General Jehoram Oyange
Legislature Representative- Susanna Opondo
Invitee- Colonel Sey
Invitee- Achille Riruimcseny(FFD)- Mercenary

"Of course, as we all know, troops from Nephara have been coming here in droves- our ally, Ulrica Lindt, has answered the call of the people of Nyowani Kitara, and re-doubled her commitment to our country even in these... Troubled times." It was the closest that the President, in a political system such as this one, would ever come to criticizing themselves in a meeting like this. "Nyowani Kitara will not forget this. However, while we are in her gratitude, now is not a time to think about that. Now is a time to double down, continue our training, and regain our ability to fight and take this war to our enemies."

"We are here today because we need to think about how we are subdividing our troops- how we need to think about our overall strategy. With this further injection of Nepharan support, even with Banijan supply drops in place, we are going to need to push back in the north."

"Madame President." Said General Jehoram Oyange. "Permission to speak?" The President nodded, and sat down. "Comrades. Now is the time to start the fight, and start the path north. We have yet to record serious land victories against the DFLK. But look at the situation they are in. The two peninsulas, they have a serious hold on, even if we simply abandoned the Tikariot border peninsula since that area was quickly becoming indefensible. But even while we were suffering serious casualties in the North, the DFLK advance has slowed, almost to a halt. Why? Because they are struggling to hold onto their territories."

"We need to start an advance in the northeast." He said. "The DFLK troops, of course, seem to be as battle-hardened as ours are. They are well-equipped, and unlike the KFF, they are real, legitimate soldiers. The KFF is trying to round their boys into shape, but their main advantage is general popularity in the region. The DFLK's is much different- we still control some areas where they are popular. Particularly out west, on the mainland by the Tikariot border- as far as my military political commissars can tell, support for the DFLK runs high out there, but they lack the ability to complete an amphibious landing. But if we start an offensive in the northeast, well, we can turn the screws on them. With the introduction of Nepharan troops to the northern front, finally, under the command of General..."

"Belshaw." Monika Lindbeck said. "Not and she's not a General either. Brigadier Rachel Belshaw." Monika Lindbeck said. "But this may be a mistake. The KRF does not have the forces to fight a two front war. Fortunately, the Nepharan army does. We have our troops in the north, of course- we need to establish and hold the line against any potential further DFLK advance. But we need to be focusing our attacks on Malik Akongo and the South." Ever so true to the Margravine's foreign policy goals in the country, Lindbeck continued.

"The President's brother is the biggest danger to this country." Lindbeck continued. "And plus- we have advantages fighting in the South. The Euran Naval blockade. Of course, those Banijans are flying supplies out to KFF troops. But they are rag tag. Guerrilla. Not much fighting experience to many of them. Not well trained. Not well disciplined. But the biggest advantage- the blockade. Them having the sea behind them used to be an advantage. They could take their time to build some sort of Naval Force, always had ports to receive supplies, men, volunteers from every which nation."

"But with the blockade? Suddenly, the coastline is a prison for them." Lindbeck said. "We need to disconnect their two main areas of territory. Something like that could really put Malik Akongo on his heels. One that could take advantage of that blockade, and turn the tide in this war for good." Everybody was listening. "We need to cut into territory that they control, that is between the two pieces of KFF territory. And we need to launch an attack not towards Inhalo- we, of course, need to leave enough forces to hold the fort. But we need to put the squeeze on the forces that control the San Ortelio border."

Everybody sat there, pondering. "I think the Nepharan is right." Said Achille Riruimcseny, the Farf mercenary. Nobody knew why he was here, exactly- his merc group had a reputation for doing everything their own way. "If we can squeeze that half out, and re-conquer the strip of land going down the San Ortelio border and to the sea, that will give the KRF a major victory. But it will not be easy. The KFF does have problems holding that border region, but those fighters will of course be tough to try and break down."

"It's not so simple." Vice Adm. Oscar Karlsson said. "Even that land between the two areas of KFF control... We control it, but it's almost a permanent struggle there. Plus, it's not like we can simply fight our way west, unless we get some serious naval support. We'll have to fight south, into the southernmost portion of the country. Defense there can be had, but if we can launch a strong enough offense, we can probably make a serious difference."

The President considered her options while everybody debated. "You know- I like the idea, Monika." The President said. Monika simply nodded, her face emotionless. "Somebody call General Morgan Leander. Bring him in here tomorrow. Let's get his thoughts, and his commitment. If he's in, then we are going to focus our attack on the southeastern portion of the KFF's control. We're gonna win this god damn war." The room was in agreement. The Commission was dismissed.

After the meeting, the President and Monika Lindbeck had received a proposal from Eura and Nephara, exploring the idea of a no-fly zone in the country, to prevent Banijan air supply drops. She, of course, after short consultation with Lindbeck, signed off on it. She had no idea when, or even if, they would be implemented. But her energies were on winning this war- could she take advantage of Nepharan doubled down investment to take down Malik Akongo and win this war?

NYK Watch releases long-awaited Humanitarian Report on Nyowani Kitara Civil War

NYK Watch is a non-partisan organization that has long reported on Nyowani Kitara affairs from a neutral perspective. They have continued to do so throughout the war, advocating for refugees and urging all parties to bring a quick resolution to the conflict, as impossible as that may be. They have put out a 'human rights' report on the country, trying to showcase the situation on the ground for every-day civilians to encourage their governments to stop the violence.

Nyowani Kitara Human Rights Report

Displaced Persons
Internally Displaced persons- 4 million people

Externally Displaced Persons
2.5 million people
- 1 million refugees to Græntfjall
- 500,000 refugees to Mytanija
- 500,000 refugees to Tikariot
- 250,000 refugees to Quebec
- 250,000 refugees to Banija
*OOC Note: Any country not listed can simply say they've taken in refugees as well without asking for my prior permission, as long as it is under 10,000. If you want to say your nation took in more refugees, reach me directly on discord or via telegram.

Troop Counts
KRF- 525,000
KFF- 300,000
DFLK- 250,000

Including official Nepharan and Euran deployments, NYK Watch estimates about 75,000-90,000 total foreign troops are in the country, fighting for any of the three sides.

Casualty Counts
- Estimates range wildly, but counts of upwards of 50,000 total deaths. NYK Watch estimates about half of the deaths during the war are civilians. NYK Watch is not confident enough to estimate how many deaths happened in each group, or how many deaths have been caused by each group.
- Separate from the traditional casualty count, NYK Watch estimates that between 500 and 1,000 people have died because of executions. NYK Watch notes that it is hard to have an accurate count of executions from a specific group, but notes that the "lion's share" have come from the KFF and the KRF.

NYK Watch also notes the following regarding the crisis in the country
- Remarkably short on doctors, as all three sides have drafted doctors into the military to take care of health care issues on the front. It has severly impacted the ability to deliver healthcare to the civilian population
- The ability for children to receive an education has suffered severely, especially those in KFF and DFLK controlled territory, as funding for schools has dried up.

by **Banija** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 5:56 pm

Manager Pam Scott after the 0-0 draw with Saint Eleanor

Pam Scott had just been through a ringer of a post-game press conference. What everybody wanted from the national team was a strong start, something to show that the World Cup Qualification failure was simply a blip in time. A moment that could soon be put past them, rather than the start of an overall long-term downward trend in Banijan football. And with the famed Baker Parker in squad, hopes were confident.

And yet- the criticism was biting. The team was looking for something, anything, to give them hope- and this anxious fanbase was not ready for a 0-0 draw. Now, the Banijans had been a bit unlucky- Idai Uster missing a penalty was certainly not in the plans for Pam Scott on her opening day. But despite all the top-level talent on this national team, failing to manufacture a goal against Saint Eleanor was always going to bring criticism. And the criticism came in- hot and harsh. "Lifeless debut for Pam Scott." "Team snores way to 0-0 draw with Saint Eleanor."

"You know, this team is capable of doing better than this. We need to actually bring energy." Scott said to herself. There was her controversial decision to bring the first team to the Cup of Harmony, rather than a team of youngsters. She had defended herself, saying that the tournament was a worthy pursuit in its own right. She remembered her quote. "We can be mad about being here, about not making the World Cup, and simply be depressed. Or- we can look at it as an opportunity. An opportunity to restore pride to this national team, an opportunity to come and win trophies. It is a worthy prize in and of itself. This is not the start of the next cycle- this is the end of the current one."

Quite a few veteran players, used to World Cups, had shown their disinterest in going to the tournament. Look at the IAQ, for example. But Pam Scott had put her foot down- she would take the first team, and she would have all her players there. She made it known to them, quietly, not via the press, that players who skipped a callup to the Cup of Harmony would be down her list for national team invites. So with some cajoling, everybody was here. But not everyone looked happy about it.

She knew that was showing on the field. She wanted to find a way to bring some energy to the squad, to show them how they'd need to come out to get three points against Saltstead, who were a much better team on paper than Saint Eleanor. But how could Pam Scott make it happen. That was the question she pondered as she made her way to the team bus, to go back to the hotel...

by **New Lusitania and the Algarves** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 6:28 pm

Putting the (Recent) Past Behind Them…
A Cup of Harmony Preview

A tough cycle so far physically and psychologically but now it was time to start their usual end of cycle tournament at this phase – the Cup of Harmony. In its 81st edition, it would be slightly smaller than recent editions for one reason or another. Sylestone and Zwangzug hosted this year’s proceedings proudly welcoming forty teams and their fans for a festival of football. The pack was also included some arguably bigger names than usual, including the likes of Banija (WR 5th), Poafmersia (15th) or Vilita (19th) in Pot 1 and going down to the 167th ranked Britonisea, it made sure it was going to be a good tournament.
The Selecção – included in Pot 2 - was drawn into Group A, a draw with both its perks and downsides. Despite its many challenges however, it was a group to which the public had responded well to – now all the team had to do was match expectation… Three third-placed teams, a fourth-placed side and a fifth-placed nation during the qualifying groups – interestingly, the lowest ranked, Nyowani Kitara, had scored the most (42, followed by the Selecção’s 39) and host third-seeds Sylestone had conceded the least (12)… yet it was New Lusitania who had had the greatest gap from the play-offs in this bunch of five – a solid nine-point gap, albeit holding the best goal differential as well, on a positive note (+12).
Seeded Yuezhou would be the inaugural match, meaning they’d get their hardest group match out of the way immediately (in theory). Not strangers, the two teams faced each other back in World Cup 85’s Qualifiers at the Anta do Dragão. The best performer over qualifiers, it’s a team who treads carefully before striking, meaning that getting the team to gel and achieve strategic performance is key in the first match. Hosts Sylestone are the third ranked side. Eura and Chromatika would always be tough acts to beat, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. A solid defence is most definitely the side’s main strength on the pitch with the home crowd always being a good advantage to have in these tournaments. Last time New Lusitania saw this badge was way back in the IA10-cycles. A team that’s looking set for the future, it’s definitely a team to watch in this tournament. Also joining the group are Sendhang who may have finished behind Yuezhou in Group 5 of the qualifiers, but only did so by a point with 10 wins, 4 draws and 4 defeats – the same record as New Lusitania themselves. The fifth and final team are the slightly less known Nyowani Kitara. Despite being from the smaller fringe group to qualify for the cup with a losing record, it was mainly do to their lack of defensive strategy seeing how they conceded 31 goals during the 18 matches – that being said, they were also the aforementioned high scorers with 42 netted, which will likely mean a defensive strategy from Grilo in this game.
With the Yuezhou match moments from going underway, it’s a time of overturning fortunes for a New Lusitania team who seems to be “slightly average” at the moment, with hopes being carried from back home but also from the droves of away fans going to the grounds. Defence is still the main issue for New Lusitania but there’s a belief of having “possibly resolved some of the kinks” according to the Grilo. Four games should be a good indicative anyway, so without further ado, let the Cup of Harmony, by all means begin!

by **Lathamford** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 6:37 pm

LathamOil LNG Ltd, a subsidiary of LathamOil Corp. has entered into an agreement with OakGas Group Co Ltd of Oakwood Landing to ship three cargoes of carbon-neutral liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the LathamOil LNG Complex (LathamOil LNG) in Padham, Alrore County. The deal will see LathamOil ’first shipment of carbon-neutral LNG to Oakwood Landing, which will be delivered to the OakGas terminal in Watfield between October 2021 and March 2022.

“LathamOil is proud to further enhance its 15 -year partnership with OakGas which now includes the supply of carbon-neutral LNG, reflecting our commitment in offering low carbon LNG solutions to the market.

"As an integrated energy player, LathamOil is actively targeting collaboration with buyers and end-users to achieve common sustainability goals," LathamOil Vice President of LNG Marketing and Trading Lee Fixler said in a statement on Thursday.

Meanwhile, OakGas vice-president Dr. Markus de Wilboir said as a long-term LNG partner and consumer, the company was excited to receive carbon-neutral LNG shipments from LathamOil. "This is a significant achievement for both companies in our efforts to be more environmentally conscious and reduce our carbon footprint," he said.

OakGas has remained LathamOil' major LNG buyer and partner since 2006, following the first long-term supply agreement between LathamOil and its subsidiary, Watfield LNG Co Ltd.

LathamOil maintained its position as OakGas’s leading LNG solutions provider when the two sides concluded another new deal for the next 12 years last year.

The 81st Cup of Harmony: Sylestone and Zwangzug (Everything)

Boot It!: The Clock Likes The Win

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