Baptism of Fire 77 [rosters/RP/results]

[Peko-land]

Pekoland's First Day In The Big Scene

Pekoland 4-1 Kingdom of Voidstania
Venue: Oceanside Stadium, Marray, Bechor
Attendance: 36,831(Pekoland side 16,000, Voidstanian Side 12,842, Neutral 7,989)
Goals:
[PKO] 1', 19' The Princess; 55' Flattening Crew; 74' Mrs. Kiryu
[VOI] 72' Hugh Mcbride

The coach, The captain, The Princess herself led her team onto the pitch for the first time ever peko. The Princess dreamt of assembling the best football team in all universes peko. And with the Pekoland team finally playing their first match ever, she felt that she was closer than ever to that dream peko. Everyone on the team knew her dream and pledged to work as hard as they can to make her dream come true peko. They walked into the sea-themed stadium, nervous, excited, and full of hope peko. Everyone had given their 110% in training, they knew they were well capable of winning peko. So The Princess gave one last pep talk to the team, everyone cheered "GLORY TO PEKOLAND" three times at the top of their lungs and took confident steps towards the pitch peko.

As everyone knows, The Princess loves big entrances peko. She decided to show her superiority by shooting at the goal right after the starting whistle -catching the Voidstanian keeper off-guard- to give her team an early lead in the 6th second of the match peko. She simply stood proud and let out her signature laugh "HA↗HA↘HA↗HA↘HA↗" as the team ran to her to celebrate the early goal peko. The Voidstanians were stunned, it did not take them long to concede more opportunities and eventually a goal, scored by The Princess again peko. The sixteen-thousand nousagis that had come to watch her were in a party mood, doing Mexican waves and setting off fireworks peko.

The one-woman Flattening Crew flattened the enemy defense with some slick moves and put another goal past the man between the sticks peko. This goal awakened something in the Voidstanian team peko, it was as if they were sleeping for the past hour peko. They came with attack after attack, denied multiple times by Moona until the seventy-second minute when Mcbride shot a screamer of a shot outside the box to the corner of the goal, where it was impossible for Moona to reach peko. Their fun didn't last long though, Mrs. Kiryu used her dragon strength to score almost the exact same goal only ninety seconds after the ball hit Pekoland's net peko. To fire up the fans a bit, she breathed her flames into the stands, for which she was penalized with a yellow card peko. APPARENTLY, it's dangerous for the viewers peko. Does he not know nousagis aren't flammable peko? What a fool peko.

[Soldera]

It wasn't the first clean sheet in Solderan national football team history, nor was it the first victory for Solderan football.

But for Norm Carricker's squad in the opening match of the 77th Baptism of Fire Cup, it was a result he was more than happy with.

He would witness the Snakes earn a goal in the 23rd minute of play through an unlikely source, team captain and graybeard Joey Westway as he dove for a ball that saw Carricker jam his right fist in his mouth. It was a risky attempt by the 35-year-old in his first and only World Cup cycle on the pitch for the Kingdom with the Acceptably Normal 18-yard box crowded with players from both sides mucking it up, figuratively speaking. So when Westway was able to bounce up from the ground with his right arm extended skyward in triumph and a broad smile on his face, Carricker exhaled in relief.

He watched as the Snakes players surrounded their captain and congratulated him with pats on the back, shoulders, and rear end and the Acceptably Normal players retrieved the ball from the back of the net. Soldera would continue pressing forward in numbers, as Carricker wanted his team to take the play to Acceptably Normal. They would just miss a 44th minute tally from striker Matt Conley as his header bounced off the crossbar and onto the field of play where the opposing sweeper cleared the ball out of danger. They would also get a 64th minute goal by Conley waved off by the officials because the offside flag was up, drawing a protest from Carricker.

"[Snakes striker Cayden] Barkley waited until Westway played the ball toward goal," Carricker said when asked what he told the officials. "He wasn't offside."

Barkley would finally get a goal that counted in the 78th minute when substitute midfielder Marcus Peters, on for Westway, played the ball into the area and the ball caromed off the upright and right to Barkley. The forward lifted the ball just over the outstretched glove of the goalkeeper for the insurance goal the Snakes were desperate to score. Finally, the Snakes felt like they could breathe. That was, until Carricker sent on an offensive substitution with Lisa Allyson replacing Conley in the 79th minute. His instruction to Allyson and the Snakes was clear: Keep pushing for another goal.

"There's an old saying that a two-goal lead is the most precarious in football," he said. "I didn't want our team to rest on their laurels. After all, it's our first match against a non-Rushmori side and we know football can change in a heartbeat."

The continued attacking by Soldera didn't result in another goal, but it allowed them to maintain possession in the opposing end, and when the final whistle's blast sounded three times, Soldera earned its first victory in four competitive matches. They would find themselves level with The Cordian Isles and Aerodon for first place in Group D ahead of their match against a StrayaRoos side that conceded seven goals to Cordia. Still, Carricker warned his team not to be complacent.

"We can't afford to get into a goalfest with too many teams, at least not this early in our team's development," he said. "We still have to play sound, fundamental football in all phases of the game. We're off to a good start."

[Kingdom of Voidstania]

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes (Ask me for severity)
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes (Only in tandem with other events)
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: (TM Me)
Godmod other events: Yes (this is when Godmodding injuries is in affect)
Style Modifier: 4
Layout: 4 - 4 - 2
Starting positions

Name	Sex	Position	#	Extra
Salvatore Miller	Male	Head Coach	N/A	The first head coach for the Voidstanian national team
Levy Gross	Female	Assistant Coach	N/A	The only female in the VNT, Just as good as MIller, and a bit more creative
Francisco Stanley	Male	GK	1	Slightly Above Avarge GK
Frank Ward	Male	LD	3	likely the weakest link on the team
Earl Massey	Male	RD	2	Fairly average
Ron Hart	Male (PN: They/Them)	LCD	4	The only LGBT player on the team
Randy Park	Male	RCD	6	Bulky; Slower yet stronger than avarage
Omar Matthews	Male	LW	11	Small but Fast
Roland Coleman	Male	RW	14	an average player
Hugh Mcbride	Male	CM	21	Team Captain, slightly older (30s)
Boyd Owen	Male	CM	15	Avarge player.
Carlos Cortez	Male	LF	9	Small and fast
Gilberto Wise	Male	RF	7	Vice Capitan

Bench

Jaime Hunt	Male	D	30	Below Average
Jeff Day	Male	D	44	Below Average
Damon Griffin	Male	M	99	Average
Louis Phillips	Male	M	23	Below Average
Jeff Day	Male	F	77	Average
Ian Sutton	Male	F	81	An older striker, yet very good. Comes on at the end most games

[OOC: sorry I was late]

[StrayaRoos]

MD1-Nantwich
Cordia 7 (Voll 9,12,39 Eriksen 28,72 Osterholt 45+3,56)
StrayaRoos 3 (Cahill 17,59 Kewell 81)
HT 5-1 Att:29,981
Cordia-Bergstrin-E.Johnson,Chase (Goransson 49),F.Johnson,Demov,
Eriksen,Andersen,Karajainen,Karlsson (Oosterhuis 29),
Voll,Osterholt
StrayaRoos-Yesak (Ryan 45)-Forsberg,Jedinak,Poalian,Okuna
Yuail,Hazard,Bale (Guala 8 ),Fitzsimmons
Kewell,Cahill

MD2 Preview

MD2-Couno
StrayaRoos VS Soldera
StrayaRoos Line up
Ryan-Okuna,Poalian,Jedinak,Forsberg
Fitzsimmons,Bale,Hazard,Guala
Cahill,Juric
Soldera Line-Up
Rollings-Parrish,A Irvine,Ingram,Bingham
G Irvine,Westway,West,Clarke
Barkley,Conley

Prediction Soldera 1-2 StrayaRoos
OOC Based off results section in WorldSoccerI'm A fan

[Dispertag]

The Referee's Bulletin
Your source for dispertagués football latest news

Neither for you, neither for me 13th December 2021

---

Dispertag has officially debuted on the international football scene in the 77th Baptism of Fire (BoF) championship. This important tournament, which has already been held for so many editions, is the door to international success for the new nations that make their debut in this sport that we like to call soccer. This year brings even more excitement with two exciting host nations: Græntfjall and Tumbra. Since our beloved nation has been framed in group C among the four groups that there are (A, B, C, D) with the following rivals: The Karodin Tetrarchy, Allahai, Pekoland, Kingdom of Voidstania, Surgeius and Winnebogan; and groups C and D play their matches in Tumbra, I will refrain from commenting on the details of Græntfjall, while emphasizing their great role and country.

The game pitted Dispertag against Winnebogan and was played at the Tumbran National Stadium, located in Straton, one of the 25 states in which the territory of Tumbra is divided. Since it is summer there, our players have enjoyed a sunny but not excessively hot day, which has varied between 15ºC and 18ºC. With a capacity of 100,000 spectators (the largest in all of Tumbra), this stadium, despite being the oldest, has all the necessary modernities and is an architectural work that undoubtedly beautifies the view of the spectator and the player.

Before the start, the usual warm-ups of both teams took place, already on the grass, before an audience excited to witness the first group game and start the championship. With just a few minutes to go, our recently appointed coach, Martín Galán Expósito, gave a vigorous talk cheering our players to start the game aggressive and try to win in the debut. The starting eleven was the one already established, it did not undergo changes, and the line-up is also the expected 3-5-2: from Puerta González in between the posts; Romero Castillo, Heredia Prieto and Buenaventura Tomillo the Cerberus of the defense; Campos Zamora, by Andrade Cisneros, Maldonado Fernández, Cruz Aranda and Cortés Quintana spread across the midfield; finally, our forward with Solís Suárez and Monrós Saldaña.

The start of the game was settled with a serve for Dispertag, who managed to keep possession of the ball for the first fifteen minutes of the game. Thanks to a good game creation and the great chemistry of our midfield, several occasions were generated until, insisting, a great through ball by Campos Zamora that Solís Suárez was able to receive with control served to score. the first goal in the form of a chip. The scoreboard looked favorable 1-0 for Dispertag in the 21st minute of the game. After the euphoria of the first goal, the dispertagués team was too much confident, which can be attributed to the inexperience of the national team. In a corner kick that de Andrade Cisneros threw from the left, the opponent managed to mount a counterattack to match a header from one of their defenders taken advantage of by the seasoned Winnebogan striker who, only in front of the goalkeeper, tilting to the left of the dispertagués area, managed to get a low shot towards the right post in the back of the goal. After the 1-1 draw in the 28th minute, the rest of the first half proceeded normally and without major events, so the fourth official only added one minute to half-time.

In said break, the players returned to the changing rooms and took the opportunity to hydrate and rest. Martín congratulated the players on their great debut, managing to maintain a competitive draw. The second part began with the opponent's serve and the continuation of the competitiveness that was already being seen in the first 45 minutes. Both defenses were so strong that the offensive advance of the teams was decimated. However, this did not prevent two more goals from each party. First of all, a good triangulation in the middle of the field by Winnebogan allowed the opponent to advance to the area of ​​the Dispertag team where, after a perfectly thrown cross, the forward only had to finish on goal. This second goal that opened Winnebogan's lead, 1-2, put Dispertag on the ropes in the 72nd minute of play, already past the halfway point of the second half. The coach then decided to make the changes to go on offense. He replaced Maldonado Fernández with Aguirre Montalvo and Solís Suárez with Zúñiga Echevarría. Despite the goal, Dispertag's national team did not get nervous and managed to rise to the occasion. The 88th minute was fulfilled when a band change through the air, through a cross thrown by Aguirre Montalvo, was received by striker Zúñiga Echevarría who advanced to the edge of the area and made a low pass to the center of the area finished off to the center of the goal by Monrós Saldaña to put the final 2-2 in 89. The addition was 4 minutes that were lived with a lot of tension but were not resolved in a change of the scoreboard.

With this bittersweet result, Dispertag takes third place in the group C table with one point, behind Pekoland and Surgeius, who have both achieved victories. In the next match we will face The Karodin Tetrarchy, a team that plays very offensive and whose coach Izolda d'Argentré has expressed his desire to win after enjoying his rest day on the first match day, which means that they will debut against Dispertag.

Signed: Carolina Aparicio Manjavacas (sports commentator and reporter)
on behalf of his Majesty the King: Augusto Santamaría Úzqueda

[Aerodon]

Aerodon wins! An exciting win today as Aerodon won 4 to 3. Steven Bjergun had a hat trick today with all goals outside the box. His first was in the 3rd minute,his second din the 33rd minute to tie it up and his third arrived in the 94th minute. Arnold Werngov had one in the 77th minute. After the game a conference with the coach revealed that he had confidence in the team the whole time.

[Aerodon]

Get ready for matchday 2 Aerodon fans. So far 1 and 0 lets make it 2 and 0!

[The Cordian Isles]

The Cordasfjord Post

---

Wait, we're completely sure this is football?

---

Nantwich, TUMBRA- It was an absolute slaughter for the Cordians in what most expected to be a tough match against StrayaRoos, with the North Stars scoring five goals in the first half and never looking back, taking the victory by a score of 7-3. Sebastian Voll opened the scoring nine minutes in with an absolute blast from high in the box which got past Thomas Yesak of StrayaRoos. Voll pressed quickly on the kickoff and actually managed to steal the ball, and Cordia began another attack. Voll took a second goal here, taking a pass from Hannah Anderson and cutting to the middle to release his powerful shot up and over Yesak's head.

By this point, both teams were in shock. The Emus had expected to put up much more of a fight, while the Cordians hadn’t expected goals to come this quickly after only netting two in the four matches of the AOCAF. Voll's second goal served as a wake-up call to the Emus, and Cordia’s momentum wavered, then went the other way entirely as StrayaRoos began taking shots and getting chances. It would be Harry Cahill with the goal, taking a pass from Alex Fitzsimmons and putting some massive spin on the ball to curve it around Kristin Bergstrin and in. At this point, the atmosphere in Nantwich Stadium changed and it felt like StrayaRoos had a chance to make a comeback.

Not for long. Rasmus Karlssen kicked a corner over the bulk of the two teams, finding Nicholas Eriksen open on the back side for an easy tap-in that Yasek had no chance at saving. Nearing the end of the first half and with no end in sight for the Emus, Sebastian Voll found himself on the ground inside the penalty box, Mark Forsberg of StrayaRoos (just 15 and a starter on the national team!) having made a little too much contact in an attempt to prevent Voll from getting open. Of course, this did exactly the opposite, as Voll found himself with space all around on the resulting penalty, while Forsberg only got himself a yellow card. Voll elected to shoot straight up the middle; Yesak dove left. Goal, and a first-half hat trick for Sebastian Voll. 4-1 felt like a pretty massive lead at the time. It only got worse from there, as Anton Osterholt took possession of the ball on a Bee Karjalainen throw-in and found himself weaving around StrayaRoos players toward the goal, setting up a beautiful short-side shot which Yasek couldn't have anticipated. And so Cordia took a 5-1 lead into halftime.

We’ll never know what happened in the StrayaRoos locker room. We do know that when the Emus returned to the field, it was Matt Ryan in net, Yasek having been subbed out. It wasn't a good start for the Emu as he let in a bit of a soft shot from Osterholt, but in the end Ryan played significantly better, notably sprinting clear across the net to save a Sebastian Voll shot that should have been an easy tap-in. Invigorated by this play, the Emus took the ball all the way down the field and it was Harry Cahill again with the goal, picking up a pass from Tim Kewell just above the penalty arc and crushing it into the left side of the net, making the score 6-2. Four goals to tie would have been unlikely, but you wouldn’t have told it to those Emus. They were playing their hearts out. And it nearly worked, but Kristin Bergstrin proved her worth, keeping the ball away despite the onslaught.

These minutes served as a wake-up call for the Cordians, and the Emus eventually lost their momentum. The final, seventh goal for Cordia is credited to Nicholas Eriksen, though it really isn’t all his to claim. He launched a corner, and StrayaRoos’ Samuel Jenidak, with his back to the ball, deflected it into his own net by the misfortune of being the person who happened to be standing there. StrayaRoos now realized that, at a deficit of 7-2, there was little to lose, and they brought much of their back line up to try and get one last goal. Kristin Bergstrin was being stretched to the limit, making saves left and right. Eventually, one was bound to escape her and it did, a close-in shot from Tim Kewell which was nearly impossible to read. The final score was 7-3 in Cordia's favor.

The 7-3 victory sends a message to the rest of Group D, the same message that serves as our nation’s motto: Fear the North. Elsewhere in the group, Soldera took an acceptably normal 2-0 win over Acceptably Normal, while Aerodon took a close 4-3 victory over Texkentuck, so the North Stars are currently ranked first in the group on goal differential. Next up for Cordia is a bye day before a match against Soldera that will likely be a close contest, as Soldera has proven itself a competitive footballing nation with a solid performance at the Copa Rushmori which saw them draw the 13th- and 23rd-ranked teams in that region.

[Ardengard]

“We’re here guys, don’t snooze off just yet.”

The bus with the Ardengardian football team rolled up to the front of their hotel in Þingsnitz. As three to five bell boys rushed forwards and started unloading the luggage from the side, the players got up drowsily and leapt down. Jet lag was beginning to kick in and each of them wanted to get to a bed as quick as possible. Roy Dent, seated right at the back, waited till all his players and staff were off before he pulled a red suitcase out from under his seat and wheeled it down the aisle to the doors. Seeing his coach having trouble bringing it down, Jalio offered to help. He picked up the suitcase and brought it down to the ground with a slight gasp for air.

“Damn coach, what’ve you got in there?” he chuckled.

Roy looked at the striker, broke into a smile for a second, and went back to an expressionless face again.

“That’s not exactly an answer, but sure - not snooping around if it’s private.”

“Everyone! Clean up and get some rest. We’ll meet up in the lobby in the evening!” Dent said in a single breath, before pacing away with the red suitcase. Jalio smiled. Despite all of his eccentric mannerisms (which they had a great time making fun about) all of the players had high respect for their manager. Most of them had worked with him for a while now and had learnt how to navigate past or interpret the abnormalities. The team had only grown and improved under his tenure and, well, this tournament might just be the one for them.

“Are you gonna keep standing there or are you going to your room?”

Jalio turned around to see his good friend and teammate Shahee Firdos.

“Should I ask you the same?”

They laughed and went into the lobby together.

“Are you going to sleep now or you want to go around the city?” asked Shahee

“Sleep obviously – I’m exhausted. Aren’t you?”

“Nope, I slept on the plane.”

“Good for you. You go out if you want. I’m gonna take a shower and hopefully wake up in time for dinner.”

“Cool, see you.”

---

At dinner

“Hey Shahee,” said Saul Lipton – the team captain. “Where’s Jalio?”

“He hasn’t come? Probably still sleeping. I’ll call him up. Can I sit here?”

“Yeah sure.”

Shahee sat down opposite Saul and took out his phone.

“Jalio, you’re lat…”
“Yeah shit I overslept, I’m coming,” Jaio interrupted, and disconnected the call.

In a few minutes Jalio rushed into the restaurant and took the seat beside Shahee.

“You guys haven’t started eating?”

“I finished my first helping,” Saul replied. “What? I was hungry.”

“And I had some snacks around the city so not exactly hungry right now.”

“Well ok then, you guys can watch me eat.”

Do you know that awkward silence when you’re around known people in an unknown environment and just don’t know what to talk about? Well, it was a variant of that which followed, with Jalio enjoying his food with all his might and the other two just looking on. It was finally broken when Roy Dent walked up to the table and sat down at the fourth place.

“Hey coach!”

Dent nodded.

“Do you feel like eating?”

“I’ll just have dessert,” Dent said. “So, what do you boys think about our first game?”

“Taksylvania? To be very honest, I’ve never heard of them before.”

“Well, others can say the same about us too. That’s the point of the tournament.”

“Yeah true, but what’s the age of their players? Their main goalie is twelve years or something. So either their bodies work differently from ours, or those are some damn special football players.”

“Yeah, we’ll have to be wary of that. Can’t cross them out, but I’d be more concerned about our second opponent.”

“República Guanacasteca, known as The Pigs. They’ve got plenty of young blood in that lineup.”

“Yeah, and they have a very defensive style of play so we need to make sure we’re ready for counter attacks and the like. We’re likely to dominate possession so we need to make sure that, when we have the ball, we can make as many attempts at goal as possible and hopefully get a few in as well.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll get to see some of their action in their match against Metherwoll and gain more information about their strategy from there too. For now, let’s focus on the first matchday.”

“How much do we actually know about Takyslvania?”

“Very little. They’re probably going for a 4-3-3 formation so most of the play will be in the middle of the pitch and both teams vying for possession.”

“So whoever keeps possession will be the likely winner?”

“Good thing we have a strong midfield then.”

“Yeah but our defence hasn’t been… top notch.”

Three pairs of eyes shot towards the captain.

“Well, fine, we haven’t been the best at the back but this time it’ll be different. We’ll do the job, don’t worry. Just score goals too.”

“Oh we have no problem doing that,” Jalio and Shahee grinned. “It’ll be our pleasure.”

“Let’s stop talking about the match now and just enjoy dinner. We’ll plan strategy with the entire team tomorrow.”

“Just one last thing coach,” Jalio said, raising his glass. “Here’s hoping for our first win.”

---

Ardengard vs Taksylvania,@Fjlarkfjall Arena, Þingsnitz

0’ – Taksylvania kicks off the game
6' - Cross by G. Stradet (9), Received by J. K. Mao (10), Shot off target by J. K. Mao (10)
14' - Run into the box by J. K. Mao (10), Passed back to S. Firdos (30), Shot on target by S. Firdos (30), Saved by K. Agarwal
20' - Foul by S. Liptin (26) on P. Penguin, 31 metres from goal, Free kick taken by S. Tax, Direct shot off target, Goalkick  
28' - Corner to Taksylvania, Taken by B. Unfit, Delivered into the box, Headed in by F. TAMO, Goal 
Ardengard 0 - 1 Taxksylvania
33' - Foul by R. Ingal (28) on B. Kaju, yellow card to R. Ingal (28)
38' - Shot on target by B. Unfit, Saved by D. Dutt
43' - Corner to Ardengard, Taken by H. Vipen, Delivered into the box, Headed away by P. Flower
45+2' - Whistle blown
Half-time: Ardengard 0 - 1 Taksylvania

The atmosphere in the dressing room was glum. Eleven players sat in front of their lockers with heads in their hands. A loud bang interrupted the cold silence as Roy Dent stomped his way into the room. All eyes turned towards him. He stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips, studying the faces around the room and then.... broke into a big smile.
"Why the gloomy faces?" he said, still smiling.
No-one spoke.
“Cheer up lads. No reason to be down.”
“Yeah?” Liptin said. “What about us losing?”
“Is the game over?”
“No.”
“Then what’s your point?”
“My point is that it’s half time and we’re one goal down…”
“And there’s 45 minutes left so stop mucking about as if Christmas is late, get energised and score two goals in the second half.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
With the same smile still on his face, Dent turned on his heels and marched out.
“You heard him guys. Score two goals.”

46’ – Ardengard resumes play
47’ – J. K. Mao (10) shoots from outside the box, Shot on target, Saved by K. Agarwal
49’ – ARG substitution, H. Bose (56) off, S. Hawkins (42) on
51’ – TSY substitution, B. Kaju off, S. Sick on
57’ – High press and ball won by S. Hawkins (42), Through ball to S. Firdos (30), Chipped into the box, Volley by J. K. Mao (10), Goal
Ardengard 1 – 1 Taksylvania 
62’ – ARG substitution, G. Stradet (9) off, A. Horner (11) on
65’ – Corner to Ardengard, Taken short by S. Firdos (30), Crossed in by J. K. Mao (10), Collected by K. Agarwal
70’ – TSY substitution, A. Torturer off, N. Interaction on
76’ – Counter-attack by Ardengard, A. Horner (11) passes to S. Hawkins (42), Shot on target, Cleared on the line by B. Spear
83’ – Throw in for Ardengard, L. Myer (99) passes to J. K. Mao (10), Through ball into the box, Shot on target by S. Firdos (30), Goal
Ardengard 2 – 1 Taksylvania 
84’ - ARG substitution, L. Myer (99) off, G. Promer (33) on
      TSY substitution, S. Tax off, T. Khan on 
88’ – Corner to Taksylvania, Taken by T. Khan, Delievered into the box, Punched away by D. Dutt 
90+2’ – Whistle blown
Final time: Ardengard 2 – 1 Taksylvania

[Estorvipa and Estorpiva]

The Federal Republic of Estorvipa and Estorpiva was a nation born from the chaos and disorder of the Estorvipan Civiĺ War. It was a political union between two rebel states, the Federation of Estorvipa and the Republic of Estorpiva, but for most of the Federal Republic's early existence, it was nothing more than a government-in-exile residing in the city of Tiraspol, the capital of the nation that had supported the old Estorvipan People's Republic for the longest time, the Democratic People's Republic of the United Socialist States of Pridnestrovia.

Back in the old days, Pridnestrovia and Estorvipa were staunch allies. Some of it had to do with the fact that both nations at the time had socialist governments, but most of it had to do with the fact that Estorvipa was sitting on massive quantities of uranium, uranium that Pridnestrovia needed to build both nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Pridnestrovia promised support and cooperation with Estorvipa even as they were extracting Estorvipan uranium for their own uses. Pridnestrovia upheld these promises to Estorvipa even as the former transitioned to a more democratic form of government under the late Galdar Rodionovich Umayev, and subsequent administrations would reiterate Umayev's promise to Estorvipa once they assumed the mantle of leadership in Pridnestrovia. Relations between Pridnestrovia and Estorvipa would remain warm and friendly until the early months of 2017, when the leader of the Estorvipan People's Republic, Vissarion Zhivkov, requested help from his ally to deal with a revolutionary movement in the north that even him and his repressive Estorvipan People's Army seemingly couldn't deal with. The president of Pridnestrovia at the time, Field Marshal Stepan Stepanovich Stepanenko, agreed to send help in the form of two infantry divisions and one armored division.

However, by the time Pridnestrovian boots landed on Estorvipan soil, the situation in Estorvipa had significantly deteriorated. Vissarion Zhivkov was no longer dealing with a rebellion in northern Estorvipa; he was dealing with a full-blown civil war. The revolution in the north had consolidated itself into the anarcho-capitalist Estorvipan Commune, and the rest of Estorvipa had broken up into numerous smaller factions all vying to replicate the success of the north in creating their own nation-state. Even some of Zhivkov's own generals had decided that they no longer wanted to support their Supreme Leader in putting Estorvipa back together, and so they took their respective commands and created the Democratic People's Republic of Estorvipa. The whole situation was just a mess, and the Pridnestrovians on the ground in Estorvipa just didn't know who to shoot and who were supposed to be their allies. Eventually, they received their orders: engage and eliminate the forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Estorvipa at all costs, as they were the rebel state holding the Estorvipan capital of Rybolovlev as well as the city of St. Paulsburg, the third-largest city in Estorvipa.

Behind the scenes of the conflict though, the Pridnestrovian Committee for State Security (KGB) and the Military Intelligence Directorate (GRU) soon began to uncover evidence that the revolution in northern Estorvipa was not an organic act of rebellion against an oppressive regime at all. Instead, it appeared that the anarchist movement in Tarkovska was directly funded by Pridnestrovia's rival, the Imperium of Rushmore. The Imperium, through the Imperial Security Service, had been funneling money and weapons into Tarkovska to fund and arm numerous criminal groups in the city and encouraging them to overthrow the local government and establish their own state. Soon, the gangs would spread their influence from Tarkovska to neighboring cities like Krasevets and Makarovo, and that was when the Estorvipan Commune declared its independence from the Estorvipan People's Republic. Encouraged by the success of their operation in the north, the ISS reached out to other dissatisfied groups within Esportiva and offered to help them replicate the success of the Estorvipan Commune in establishing their own states within Estorvipa. Many such groups would end up taking the ISS up on their offer, and that was how the Estorvipan Civil War started. In fact, the only rebel state not to have been approached by ISS was the Democratic People's Republic of Estorvipa. Field Marshal Petar Antonic was merely an opportunist who saw a chance to break free of his oath to the Supreme Leader and proclaim himself the leader of his own country.

Even Vissarion Zhivkov himself would fall for the smooth tongue and false promises of the ISS. ISS agents made contact with Zhivkov and convinced him that Pridnestrovia’s intervention in Estorvipa would result in them eventually removing him from power and installing a more cooperative and compliant puppet leader in his place. Zhivkov, who was a very proud man who considered himself above all of his peers, did not take kindly to the implication in the lies that ISS had told him, and so he accepted the Rushmore Imperium’s offer to become their ally and protect his holdings against the Pridnestrovians. Of course, until that time, Pridnestrovia had never intended to replace Zhivkov with anybody else. They were simply responding to his call for help in dealing with the civil war that had now engulfed the Estorian lands, and had fully intended to hand control of the restored and reunited Estorvipa back to him upon the conclusion of their intervention. But because of Zhivkov’s switching allegiances to the Imperium, Pridnestrovia now had no choice but to do exactly what ISS had told Zhivkov they had planned to do, which was to establish their own puppet regime over the Estorian territory that they had captured. Thus was born the Federation of Estorvipa, with Kirill Fedorchuk as the Federation’s new president.

Over in the western front, Pridnestrovia would find another rebel state, the State of Estorpiva. The State of Estorpiva had been formed by their leaders to protect the Pivans, an ethnic minority within Estorvipa, from the chaos engulfing their country and from potential attacks and atrocities by the larger and more numerous Vipan factions. When Pridnestrovian forces made contact with the State of Estorpiva, the faction controlled nothing except two settlements, the city of Feuerstadt and the town of Durdenville, and when they encountered the Pridnestrovians, they hadn’t yet been tainted by the false gifts and broken promises of the Imperium. For a brief moment, Pridnestrovian commanders briefly contemplated crushing the State of Estorpiva and absorbing their territory into the Federation of Estorvipa, but cooler and more diplomatic heads thankfully prevailed, and instead the Pridnestrovians offered to recognize and provide support to the State of Estorpiva. Unfortunately, the alliance between Pridnestrovia and Estorpiva would not last longer than a month as the sneaky and underhanded Imperial Security Service also made contact with the State of Estorpiva and made their leadership believe that Pridnestrovia actually planned for the State to be absorbed by the Federation of Estorvipa, once again denying the Pivans a chance at establishing a homeland for their own people. The State of Estorpiva subsequently pledged their allegiance to the Imperium, depriving Pridnestrovia of yet another ally in their intervention in the Estorian Civil War. The Pridnestrovians also retaliated by creating the Republic of Estorpiva, which they then claimed to be the “true Pivan homeland.”

But all those seemed to be nothing more than empty gestures in the strategic face of things. The Imperium basically had control of almost every single warring faction within Estorian territory and were massing their own forces for a two-pronged strike against the Pridnestrovian invasion, while the biggest thing that Pridnestrovia had been able to do was to destroy the Democratic People’s Republic of Estorvipa and capture the city of St. Paulsburg. Pridnestrovian strategists knew that their invasion forces currently in Estorvipa would not withstand a two-pronged attack from the north and the west for very long, and there was a very real threat their forces would be annihilated if the Imperium and their puppet allies could launch their offensive. Pridnestrovia knew that they were as good as defeated, and the Imperium knew that as well, but in a twist, the Imperium decided to offer Pridnestrovia an olive branch: an end to all hostilities in exchange for the complete withdrawal of Pridnestrovian forces from Estorvipa and the dismantling of both the Federation of Estorvipa and the Republic of Estorpiva. There were numerous other terms added to the peace treaty, most of them meant to humiliate Pridnestrovia more than anything else, but those were the most important ones. Pridnestrovia agreed to the treaty, albeit very reluctantly, and before they withdrew from St. Paulsburg, the invaders decided to light the city on fire as an act of petty revenge.

But in a strange and perhaps cruel twist of fate, while they were officially the victors of the Estorvipan Civil War, it was the Imperium that fell into decline and was eventually forced to close themselves off from the rest of the world after a brief period in the spotlight brought about by this war. Pridnestrovia, officially the losers, licked their wounds and bided their time. In the meantime, Pridnestrovia continued to participate in international affairs and soon cemented themselves as a regional player, continually accumulating diplomatic goodwill with other nations while the Imperium grew even more isolated, along with their Estorvipan puppets. Life in the now fractured and divided Estorvipan states had become even worse than it was under the old Estorvipan People’s Republic, and most of the aid and supplies that the Imperium had promised to provide to their puppets after the end of the war ended up going to only one puppet regime, the anarcho-capitalist Estorvipan Commune. The rest of the puppet states fell into an even deeper decline as the flow of aid from the Imperium dwindled into a trickle before eventually drying up altogether.

Meanwhile, the exiled governments of the Federation of Estorvipa and the Republic of Estorpiva continued to operate and push their case for recognition from the international community from the relative safety of Tiraspol, capital of Pridnestrovia. Initial efforts to gain recognition were rebuffed by the Imperium, but even as the Imperium lost influence and closed themselves off from the rest of the world, few if any nations chose to officially recognize the Federation and the Republic as two rightful governments of the Estorian lands due to fears of Imperial retaliation by any means. Even when people started forgetting about the Imperium, nations still refused to recognize the Federation and the Republic simply because it was harder to recognize two governments-in-exile as opposed to the governments who were actually in control of the areas that they claimed. But all that was about to change soon because, just two years after the end of the Estorian Civil War, one of the rebel states was finally ready to call it quits and surrender to the Federation of Estorvipa and the Republic of Estorpiva.

This is the story of how the Federal Republic of Estorvipa and Estorpiva started its journey to restore order from the chaos of its homeland. It was a long story, it was a difficult story, and many would eventually pay the ultimate price to achieve that aim, but if the end result of it all was the restoration of order in Estorian lands, then it will all have been worth it.

STARTING ELEVEN VS. KINGDOM OF ATLANTIA
GK: Pantilimon; DF: Kessler——Birkov——Krasnenko——Krastenkovic; MF: Vinogradovsky——Potritskij; Roberto——Davydov——Roberta; FW: Prasutagusic

[Magnecia]

United Republic of Magnecia National Football Team

Team Info
Head Coach: Richard Montana
Assistant Coach: Joe Lee Koman
Captain: Peter Gates
Trigram: URM
Nickname: The Eagles
Sponsors: D-Sports (principal sponsors), Owayo Sports(kit sponsors) and several others

23 Men Squad for Baptism of Fire 77

Goalkeepers:
#1 Frank Willies (26), club: Chester City FC
#4 Jim Bradley(29), club: New Sheffield AC
#66 Zlatan Cooper Jr.(22), club: Chester City FC

Defenders:
#5 Peter Gates(34), club: Delburg City FC
#3 Michael 'Mike' Johnston (23), club: Las Orleons FC
#2 Dwayne Holiday(28), club: Hopdale Sporting Club
#13 John Rumsfeld(28) ,club: Marebone FC
#15 Nestor Ashley(28), club: Hartwood FC
#33 Danny Robinson(24), club: Delburg City FC
#2 Calvin Brady(29), club: Marebone FC

Midfielders:
#7 Jason Lewis(27), club: Westwood Sporting Club
#11 David Hutchinson(28), club: Delburg Athletic Club
#15 Charles Henderson (31),club: Worcester United FC
#12 Patrick Kennedy(22), club: Worcester United FC
#22 Richard Stafford(19), club: Las Orleons FC
#17 Joe Ebright(29), club: Westwood Sporting Club
#18 Derek Austin(26), club: Chester City FC

Forwards:
#10 Joe Zimmerman (25), club: Hopdale Sporting Club
#17 Kevin Johnson(24), club: Worcester United FC
#9 Ryan Faulkner(30), club: Hartwood FC
#8 Kayne Prescott(20), club: Adaston United FC
#16 Samuel Clark(23), club: Abington Warriors
#18 Tom Sands(26), club: Delbrug City FC

Starting 11
GK: Frank Willies
LB: Mike Johnston
CB: Peter Gates
CB: Dwayne Holiday
RB: John Rumsfeld
CM: Charles Henderson
CM: Patrick Kennedy
CM: David Hutchinson
RW: Jason Lewis
LW: Kevin Johnson
CF: Joe Zimmerman

Formation:4-3-3
Style Modifier: +1

RP Permissions:Anything, just don't kill the players. Do not cause any career ending injuries. TG me or reach me by discord before godmodding.

[Aerodon]

Mat Jones on Tweeter: Came down to brew the morning coffee and found my son building a life size Prick (Plastic Brick) model of Steven Bjergun,it's actually pretty epic. Can't wait to crush Jeeves Land in today's fixture.

[Aerodon]

Thomas Mathews on Tweeter: Walking near Nantwich, a lot more Aerodon than Jeeves Land flag's. Go Pits!

[The Karodin Tetrarchy]

Alar Morvan, a young boy who lived in the outskirts of the city of Nevezant on his family’s farm, had found himself wandering one day into the Argouez. It might have been the stuff of scary tales for Karodinian children, but this wild land intrigued young Alar. He disappeared into the Argouez for a day or so, with his parents worrying what might have become of their pride and joy, their only child.

As it turned out, Alar had quite the adventure. He first found an abandoned outpost, filled with rotting wood and writing in a language he didn’t understand. In one of the huts, there was a map pinned to the wall that became the focus of his attention. It depicted nothing in what he knew to be his homeland, and instead of the blank, scary Argouez, there was what appeared to be a land filled with multiple settlements. While he didn’t understand the meaning of their names, he knew the characters spelled out “Mertagne”.

This wasn’t enough for young Alar. There must be further interesting things to find as he delved deeper into what he understood as a wilderness, so he kept walking, with the map now in his school satchel. He walked further, until he came across a group of large men, carrying axes and speaking a language he didn’t understand.

Though he initially felt fear at the sight of them, these men were not the brutes that Alar might have expected. They were friendly, and while they didn’t share a language or, it seemed, anything at all, the men treated young Alar with kindness. They fed him, and through signs and hand symbols, they began to understand a little of each other’s lives. Eventually, these men were the ones who guided Alar back to his home the next day, after allowing him somewhere to spend the night and rest his weary young head.

As he guided them along the path he had followed to find them, he left them at the edge of the forest bordering his home. For reasons that couldn’t be communicated in simple hand symbols, the men didn’t seem keen to walk Alar all the way home. That was fine for him: he knew the way. Eventually, he came across the fields of the Morvan family farm once again, and his father Donasian, who had been frantically searching for his son amongst the crops since daybreak.

Donasian Morvan cried with joy, as his worst fears had not come true. His son had returned to him. He couldn’t be angry after that, though he was concerned. After ensuring that Alar was fed, he sat his son down and asked him what had happened.

It was a long rambling story, of exactly the sort you might expect from an eight year old child who had discovered something that amazed him. In the end though, it became clear to young Alar that his father didn’t quite believe his story, at least not in its entirety. Thankfully, Alar had proof. He removed the map he had taken from the encampment within the Argouez from his satchel and showed it to his father.

Donasian studied the map for a while. He understood as little of the language included as his son, but he perhaps had more of an understanding of how this might affect the world that he lived in. His crops were regularly shipped to the coastal cities of the Tetrarchy, to Porzhbihan and to Hirtraez, which claimed to be the only place that those of Nevezant and Havreg could sell their goods. They had long relied on the two larger cities, and those cities had long claimed tithes on the basis that there was nowhere else that those goods could be sold.

Donasian was not a well educated man, but he had a sharp mind. If young Alar had truly found another civilisation beyond the Argouez, then perhaps he could begin to trade with them, and earn riches beyond that of any other farmer in Nevezant. He put Alar to bed later in the evening and sat down with his wife, Paolina. Of course, this was a risk: he didn’t know what lay beyond the Argouez other than his young son’s stories. He wanted to think this over properly, and besides, his wife was, of course, in charge of the family’s finances and business. She would know if they would truly benefit from this new route of trade, he just kept the fields and the animals.

After a discussion long into the night over many kettles of tea, Donasian and Paolina Morvan made a decision. The next day, Donasian would travel into the Argouez on horseback, well-armed with a sword and bow in case of assault. While there, he would see if he could verify his son’s claims, and if he could, then he would try to strike up a relationship with someone nearby. This could be life-changing for the Morvan family, and they had to take the opportunity.

[Guanacasteca]

Servicio Guanacasteco de Noticias

The Pigs punch first!

José Murillo, at Græntfjall for the 77^th Baptism of Fire.

The day came for the players of the Guanacastecan National Team. After months of preparation in tournaments such as the Copa Rushmorí de Campeones, a tournament with some clubs of Huayramarca at foreign highlands was enough to deliver The Pigs to Græntfjaller coasts in order to learn some experience in the 77th Baptism of Fire. The first rival of this team was Metherwall, a team that surprised some people while reading the description of their roster, even including some player named SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO (honestly, what does his parents thought while naming him?) and the entire Ness family defending any potential attack made by Ingram and Fuller.

A predictably defensive match as both teams were playing with a five players line at the back of their schemes. Guanacasteca tried, surprisingly, to take initiative of the match with some crosses from Rodrigo Marín right to Kenneth Ingram, using the speed of the latter in order to break the defensive line of the Ness brothers, Ingram tried in vain for a handful of minutes before he passed the ball to Sean Fuller, his companion. Fuller received a cross from Ingram, the Liga Deportiva Josefina’s striker jumped in the air and nodded the ball, he failed to do contact properly, hence the ball was caught by Jack Jarvis.

Guanacasteca seemed unable to break its rival defense but it was a reciprocal matter, as they also weren’t able to do so, even to the point that they didn’t tried enough to cross the middle of the pitch with any plays. Han Ruoyang asked the defense to move some meters forward, near the midfield, in order to exert more pressure in the rivals and force them to commit some mistakes while linking some passes. Its work came to fruition just before the end of the first half, as Dylan Orellana crossed a ball to Sean Fuller, the striker went near the right edge of the area, dribbled and passed the ball to Ingram, his partner nodded the ball and scored the first and last goal of the match for the República Guanacasteca side.

Kenneth Ingram, write that name down into the history book of Guanacastecan sports, he’s the first player to score a properly official goal according to the FGF registry logs (as they considered the last Copa Rushmorí like a series of friendlies, since it was more like a performance thermometer for the manager). The team went to hug him while celebrating, a somewhat impatient Han asked the team to get back to their side in order to finish the first half of the match without surprises.

As a brief resume of the first half, Metherwoll didn’t proposed anything in order to change the initial state of the match, instead, they dedicated to defend themselves from the speedy ambushes from Ingram and Fuller, sometimes with support of Marín and Calderón while advancing towards rival lines. Instead, República Guanacasteca tried to attack way more than they are used to do so, since they deemed to have an opportunity in order to score a goal, something they proved and got in the right moment. Getting a goal just before the end of the first half is always important, as it provides some relief before planning the details for the second one, also, the advantage and comfort it provides it’s unrivalled.

The Guanacastecan side went to the pitch for the second half with more confidence after getting the goal, the team focused on controlling the ball due to the lack of offensive initiatives from the rival. Han asked the team to push a bit more in the offensive half of the pitch in order to generate more risky situations, some of those appeared in the shape of mid-range shots from Rodrigo Marín who saw those balls getting close to the crossbar a few times.

The weirdly named SEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOO wasn’t unable to bypass the solid defensive performance from David Monterroza and company, the back five was accurate tempo and marking the quite talented opponent with zonal marking.

To finish this, the República Guanacasteca celebrated their first victory with a prayer and then players hugging each other while celebrating the outcome. Now, the goal is to keep the performance for the following matches, one at once, in order to gather some confidence and sportive momentum that will be crucial for this team.

[Metherwoll]

The below is a conversation between Jack Jarvis and manager Tam Cowan. As it turned out, Jack was shocked to find that they weren’t playing in the garden with a capacity for seven, and would in fact be playing in something called a ‘stadium’. You’d think that after the long flight they’d have got the message, but these players aren’t the smartest.

“Here, Tam.”

“Aye.”

“I thought ye said we’d be playing in wee Jamie’s garden.”

“Aye, I lied.”

“Awww, whit?”

“Aye. I lied so that yous wouldn’t complain about playing on a real fitba pitch.”

“Tam, ye cannae be lying tae us like that. We’re easily homesick!”

“I don’t care, we’ve brought wee Jamie’s maw with us anyway, so you can still get yer tea from her.”

“That’s class, Tam. It’s no as good as playing at wee Jamie’s, but it’s better than nothing.”

“It’ll have to do. It might also surprise you that we’re playing against an actual fitba team and all.”

“WHIT?”

Playing against proper teams was going to be a lot different from playing against wee Jamie and his crappy wee nets. Proper teams have proper preparation, whereas wee Jamie’s preparation was drinking a few cans of sugary fizz. Wee Jamie is not a team, either. He is one boy. Now that I think about it, it’s no wonder that Metherwoll won all their games by an aggregate of about 11-1 - wee Jamie didn’t even play in goals. He played outfield, and just let SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO and his crew take potshots at an empty net. Is that what football is? No. Is that how Metherwoll play? Yes. Would it result in any results? Erm…


naw.

[Tumbra]

MD2 Cutoff - Groups C and D

And here's your MD2 cutoff! It's gotten a bit warmer - will your team be able to stand up to the heat?

EDIT: Soldera's RP was not graded for the MD2 cutoff and will instead be graded for the MD3 cutoff.

Group C
Surgeius 2–5 Pekoland
Winnebogan 2–2 Allahai
The Karodin Tetrachy 0–2 Dispertag

. Group C                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pekoland                   2   2  0  0    9   3  +6    6
2 Dispertag                  2   1  1  0    4   2  +2    4
3 Surgeius                   2   1  0  1    3   5  −2    3
4 Winnebogan                 2   0  2  0    4   4   0    2
5 Allahai                    2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1
6 The Karodin Tetrachy       1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0
7 Kingdom of Voidstania      1   0  0  1    1   4  −3    0

Group D
Soldera 3–2 StrayaRoos
Texkentuck 2–1 Acceptably Normal
Jeeves Land 0–0 Aerodon

. Group D                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Soldera                    2   2  0  0    5   2  +3    6
2 Aerodon                    2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
3 The Cordian Isles          1   1  0  0    7   3  +4    3
4 Texkentuck                 2   1  0  1    5   5   0    3
5 Jeeves Land                1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
6 Acceptably Normal          2   0  0  2    1   4  −3    0
7 StrayaRoos                 2   0  0  2    5  10  −5    0

[Soldera]

Most goalkeepers winning a match and notching their first-ever clean sheet in international competition might be leading the party scene as the team went out to celebrate. They would often be among those deep in the throes of revelry with booze flowing and bedroom conquests at least as numerous as saves or defensive clearances.

Most goalies aren't George Rollings. Sure, he was happy with the result and he was especially pleased with his and his defense's performance in shutting down the Acceptably Normal attack, but while several of his teammates were out carousing and drinking and trying to hook up with whomever they could get in bed that night, Rollings celebrated by grabbing a bottle of cranberry juice from the mini refrigerator in his hotel room. He poured it into a plastic cup at his hotel room and played a song on his phone as he pulled up the video of the match against Acceptably Normal. He wanted to rewatch his performance and critique it.

After reviewing his game, he also looked at video of the defense in front of him so he could work on improving the team's positioning for their next match against StrayaRoos. The four defenders and the midfielders who also helped out defensively would get his critical eye. As he finished writing down his final notes about the defensive performance and put his notebook into the cabinet, he heard a loud BANG at the door and high-decibel conversations directly outside the hotel room. He looked in the peep hole on the door and rolled his eyes. It was reserve goalkeeper Jeff Bannister, who was drunkenly fumbling with his pockets in what clearly looked like him trying to find his room key. Rollings opened the door and Bannister, who had been leaning on the door, practically leaned into Rollings and almost knocked him backward onto the floor.

"Hey," Bannister said. "Where's your bitch?"

"What bitch?"

"I thought you'd get mad pussy right now. Dude, you had a clean sheet. You should be swimming in pussy right now." Bannister thought for a second. "Or dick if that's what your into."

"You'd better get to bed," Rollings said. "You're not gonna be in any shape for the StrayaRoos match tomorrow night."

"Dude, you get some pussy or what?" Rollings gave a smirk and sideeye to his backup. "Good night, Jeff."

The next morning, the knock on the door from assistant manager Bert Lundquist startled Rollings awake. He looked at the digital clock on the night table between his and Bannister's beds and saw it was 5:30. He had 15 minutes to get ready for breakfast with the rest of the team.

"Jeff, time to get up," he said. He heard a moan and saw movement in Bannister's bed.

"Man, what time is it?"

"Five-thirty," Rollings said.

"I feel like I got hit by a truck," Bannister said. "Uh, oh shit!" he said, then quickly getting out of bed and run-walking to the bathroom where Rollings heard the telltale sounds of vomiting. He shook his head, then started getting dressed. He and the rest of the team would take showers both before and after the StrayaRoos match, so there was no need to take one before breakfast. Finally, when Bannister emerged from the room, he looked sheepishly at Rollings.

"Sorry about last night," he said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well," Rolling said. "You?"

"I must've gotten one hour of sleep," Bannister said. "Remind me to never drink again."

[Graintfjall]

RP cutoff for MD2 (Groups A&B)

News

Háttmark

• Protests continue, but remain largely peaceful. Demands vary, from those angry that the officers have only been placed on administrative leave rather than arrested, to those wanting more systemic reforms up to "defund the police" rhetoric.
• Surging gas prices caused by storm disrupting to oil pipelines have seen protests of a very different kind as truck drivers angry at government inaction block roads. Travel to stadiums and hotels for visiting teams will not be affected, however.
  Altendalur
• The opening of the new Western Transit Canal shipping lane has been put back six months. The opening was meant to take place this weekend but structural damage to the canal has been detected.
• An archaeological dig outside city limits has discovered an ancient Veridian coin stash. Keen amateur metalfinders can now be seen sweeping stray patches of grass in the suburbs in hopes of finding their own treasure haul.

Weather: Windy, light rain, cool.

---

Group A
Magnecia 4–2 The Republic of Western Sol
United Adaikes 0–0 New Jehova
Estorvipa and Estorpiva 3–1 Kingdom of Atlantia

  Group A                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Magnecia                         2   1  1  0    6   4  +2    4
2 United Adaikes                   2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 Estorvipa and Estorpiva          1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
4 The Republic of Western Sol      2   1  0  1    5   6  −1    3
5 New Jehova                       2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
6 Dod Rava                         1   0  0  1    2   3  −1    0
7 Kingdom of Atlantia              2   0  0  2    3   6  −3    0

Group B
República Guanacasteca 0–0 Ardengard
Takeshwar 0–0 Metherwoll
Rhubarbton 0–0 The Finntopian Empire

[I feel the need to add: [sic]]

  Group B                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ardengard                        2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
  República Guanacasteca           2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
3 Takeshwar                        2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
  The Finntopian Empire            2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
5 Rhubarbton                       1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
6 Metherwoll                       2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1
7 Taksylvania                      1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0

[Aerodon]

The game was rather boring with Aerodon driving ahead early but missed multiple chances,the defense hold solid the whole time. The last chance came in the 89th minute where it was saved. Sadly Aerodon stays in 2nd missing the opportunity to take the lead in the group.

[Aerodon]

Press Conference with Coach:
Media: How do you feel about today's game?
Coach: It was a disappointing game for us. We had so many chances but could not finish it off. Hopefully our team can do better if we want to advance. We gotta step it up. So I promise you that next game will be better.

[Kingdom of Voidstania]

Interview with player McBride after MD1:
"The game was disappointing. After a hard fought game we came out soundly beaten, and due to a few reasons. The Peko-Land kept us in our half where we are weaker, and where able to get the goals in. The second was the Peko are a type of people we had not thought of facing. Our debut may have been weak, but we will step it up, and we will win!"

[Peko-land]

The Wanderer in a Pink Jacket - Chapter 1

Chapters
Prologue
Chapter 1

Throughout history, cities were built and civilizations were created. A civilization's life is like a human's. They are born, they grow and prosper, they make mistakes and come back stronger, they reach a peak where they are unmatched in power, they recline and learn to be humble, they miss their glory days as they wither, and they die. One lost civilization is one that had risen out of impossible conditions. Once a small village in the middle of the swampland, it had turned into a megalopolis, a superpower in their region. They had invaded their neighbors and seized their land. Their invasions were not to simply cut their enemies to size, they developed their new land to the height of civilization at the time. This seemingly unstoppable force disappeared one day, leaving no trace as to why they abandoned their land. Their people left to immigrate to the deserts in the west and south. Now a disorganized and divided nation, they could never regain their power. But maybe they didn't want to.

Today, the city they left behind is considered neutral territory. I was lucky enough to be able to travel to this great land and see the capital with my eyes. The pyramids, the giant monuments to their goddesses, The unique and beautiful architecture, the grand towers decorating the skyline... It was simply magical. I was even luckier to have met who I thought was the Princess of Pekoland at first. This young lady looked almost identical to the Princess, but her hair and clothes were colored differently. She was not as confident as the Princess was in her speech, she stammered a lot and couldn't make eye contact. I was able to learn that this lady had somehow been taken away from her home into a new world for no good reason. I thought the Princess had to see this lady and offered to take her back to Pekoland. I knew I was going to be back there soon but going back there immediately after leaving was not in my plans.

Normally, the Princess wouldn't accept random wanderers bringing a stranger into their presence but this mysterious lady had piqued her interest too much to refuse our sudden entry. The Princess could not believe her eyes. The lady then introduced herself and told her story to the Princess. She felt that she had no choice but to invite her to live in the castle, as much as she clearly was a peasant, a perfect copy of the Princess could not become part of the plebeians. I was quickly dismissed from the throne room. From this point onwards, I have no information as to how her life went in her new home. All I know is that she does not go outside the castle much.

[StrayaRoos]

MD2-Couno
StrayaRoos 2 (Kaiplo 29,Guala 41)
Soldera 3 (Barkley 49,81,Realaw og 85)
HT 2-0 Att.14981
StrayaRoos-Realaw (Ryan 87)-Okuna,Poalian,Jedinak,Milligan (Forsberg 16)
Fitzsimmons,Bale,Hazard,Guala
Cahill,Kaiplo (Kewell 81) Sent Off Kewell 89
Soldera-Rollings-Parrish,A Irvine,Ingram,Bingham
G Irvine (Peters 69),Westway,West,Clarke
Barkley,Conley Sent Off:Barkley 89

Review:The Emus had an an 3-2 Defeat to Soldera in Couno that was marred by an 89th minute Brawl that sent off Roosian Striker Tim Kewell and Soldera's Star player Cayden Barkley and Suspended them for the next games against Textentuck and The Cordian Isles Respectively but otherwise it was an disappointing match for the emus with several debutants playing like Atletico Menai Captain-Keeper Matt Realaw who Is possibly having an transfer to Champions Panem Olympic and Union Zalk Young Gun Cruz Kaiplo who Has been loaned to StrayaRoos Barrier Islands' Duomji FC To get 1st Tier Experience ahead of Zalk's Title charge in Next Season's SFL2 and First Choice Goalie Thomas Yesak has been Sold to Atletico Menai to Lead them to Safety in SFL1 Next season

Transfers so Far this Summer
Matt Realaw (Atletico Menai) To Panem Olympic
Alex Fitzsimmons (Real Menai) To Southwest Ajax
Cruz Kaiplo (Union Zalk) To Duomji FC (StrayaRoos Barrier Islands) [LOAN]
Thomas Yesak (Panem Olympic) To Atletico Menai
Tim Kewell (Real Menai) To Northern United
Nazareth Guala To Circunses FC [Free Transfer]
Matt Florez (Panem Olympic) To Duomji United

[The Cordian Isles]

A History of the Cordian Flag

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The flag that served as Cordia’s as the monarchy period came to a close, being replaced by a democracy. This is where the flag gains its significance, as well as from its yellow border and the curious separation of the blue fields. The eight-pointed star in the middle, one of the best-known Cordian symbols, represents the isles themselves. The blue field represents the water, with the division having no significance other than an interesting attempt at modernity. The gold or yellow border is controversial, as there are two opposing interpretations of it. One is that it indicated a wall to the outside world, blocking outside influence and continuing the Viking idea that the rest of the world was inferior. The other is that the border indicated the glow of potential from the rest of the world, for trade, relations, and so on. What’s the real answer? We don’t know. The flagmaker never revealed the meaning, and governments supporting either ideal were in office during this period.

Cordia’s second flag was one of the weirdest choices imaginable. There was no particular reason for the flag being so incredibly dark, the government just selected it. This flag, due to its darkness, made Cordia appear much more dangerous and authoritarian to other nations, and it actually damaged public relations with multiple other nations. The imagery of the flag itself is quite interesting. The star here not only represents the islands as a whole, but also a port city. The port city is in there because of the very strong naval tradition Cordia has had since its unification, and Cordia’s reputation, both now and at that time, as having major port cities for trade and commerce in the world’s north. The navy blue triangle represents the ocean, while the black represents the land. The entire flag is supposedly designed to look like the isles at night, an interesting design choice but perhaps not a great one for a piece with such consequences as a nation’s flag.

Cordia’s third flag was quite well-received. There was no controversial imagery, and the imagery that was on there looked pretty good and was interesting, too. The star, per usual, represented both the isles and a port city. The city itself was to be constrained by the green ring. The land itself was represented by the green field, with the ocean represented by the navy. The flag was changed as this design was deemed too much of an image as opposed to a flag, with representations too literal and the meaning of every element pretty obvious.

The current edition of the Cordian flag has been received even better than the third. It features a deep royal blue background which figures into many of the nation’s graphics and sports uniforms. The pale gold ring is reminiscent of the rings found in earlier flags, and the eight-pointed star is there as always. Added was a white circle. The circle is supposed to represent the island itself, while the star represents the people and nation that inhabit it. The gold ring represents the people who represent and defend Cordia, projecting its image to the outside world. Finally, the blue represents… the ocean. You already knew that.