World Cup 90--RP Thread

[Qasden]

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Something in the Water

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By Tomathan Hammerland

Good news, I successfully escaped Valanora! Bad news, I'm now mere miles off the coast of Farfadillis and I'm pretty sure having calamari as a boat snack wasn't a good idea in afterthought.

At least there's reception here, now I can report instead of message for help. After Harrison doomed our U21 campaign with his hopeful insolence strategy, I took it upon myself to completely leave the nation in a sign of protest, not because I already arranged this ride upon realizing my ticket to Raynor was one way. I don't think those people were Vanorians, but really I just tried to get a trip to, like, Aji No Moto, so I could fly home in less dramatic fashion. I didn't think it'd lead me to being in a lifeboat somewhere in squid waters. I really need some kind of distraction from this misery, maybe...another kind of misery? Oh! Qualifiers! That'll work perfectly.

Thanks to my imprisonment, I completely mistimed when the match against Saint Eleanor started, finding out it ended like several hours beforehand. I would've covered the game against Karodin, as well, but, y'know, boat and all. At this point in the race, Qasden's fate was entirely out of our hands. Turori and Drawkland continued to horde points like the damn soccer goblins they are, Darsten's old school strategy came up as unimpressive, even the unrelated UnderVans ended up flailing against the defending champions like a bunch of weebs. Football season looks all but over for us, the perfect time for me to intrude more results!

9 matches in, Qasden found themselves back where they started: broke, hungry, half-drunk, and pissed off. A second loss to Turori further confirmed our inferiority to them, though there was still vague, unforgivable hope to make playoffs. Dark humor, that was, but hey, national self-deprecation is in right now. Following upping Winnebogan, the Vans ventured off to the mystical world of Saint Eleanor. I don't actually know much about them, other than we played them pretty recently and lost in the leg we hosted at Merellin. Afaik, there's no proper nickname for these Assnaians, so we'll just call them Sefas in tune with their association's acronym (is that a swear somewhere? I'm gonna save it, just in case). Like us, Elenor faced a good quandary of problems. falling hard since we last met. The Sefas weren't too far behind us, just 3 points, but with an imperial-driven Britonish team right next to them, it wasn't hard to hear the tiny screams. Like I said, I completely missed the match itself, but I do know that neither side could be comfortably ok with the result. 2-2, a fair beating of both sides' defenses, though not enough to fully satiate desires to stay alive in the standings. Saint Eleanor were doomed to play the Eels next as a punishment or drug test, idk, but we got a slightly better end of the stick.

The Karodin Tetrarchy were somewhat of an enigma to watch. Like Winnebogan, this was the country's debut tournament, recently balling out of the Baptism of Fire in the Group Stages. However, international curiosity caught wind of puny Anaian baby team and hyped it up as a site to behold, the biggest potential of any team since the all-star Sliced Breads. In Porzhbihan, Karodin personally proved it against us by nearly tying the Vans in the first match, throwing an unnecessary wrench into the socket of Darsten's intentions. Despite that, their biggest success stories this session has come up rather dry: a victory against Saint Eleanor and a shock draw versus Drawkland. Anyhow, the Tetrarchy played Qasden in Elder, ending horrifically for the visiting newbies, 6-3, the strongest showing from Qasden offense-wise.

This report's a bit lackluster, and that's mostly because I'm trying to make sure whatever's rocking the boat isn't about to put me in a kid's game to the death (too meta?). Qasden still squabbles around in its own shiitake mushroom forest in 4th place, though now in striking distance of a Geektopian-occupied 3rd. This sounds fun, but guess who had to ruin all the fun? Britonisea. Those damn Brits decided to get absolutely demolished by the Corps in the last match, giving Drawkland enough points to officially make the rest of these qualifiers irrelevant to us. The Vans are out from WC contention...so why do we feel the need to go down burning everything with us? Lucky for Qasden, Britonisea just so happens to be our next opponent, taking place in their own grass at Doportedas. Not only that, but succeeding the match is one, last, home game at the Royal against Drawkland? The two that unintentionally, purposefully wronged us our next in the schedule, so maybe...just maybe...the country will have something to look forward to? Vengeance is a dish best served when it's most inconvenient for those it's being served to. For the Brits, they hold an extremely delicate 5th place over Saint Eleanor. For Drawkland, a necessity to win the remainder of their games is a must in order to auto-qualify over Turori. So, to help bring our WC90 run to an end, why not create a little mischief?

Can Qasden keep the heat on Geektopia for the now-desaturated bronze finish? Will Darsten be able to justify keeping ex-players as managers? Could somebody please send help that's not in the form of pirates, krakens, and/or the Farf naval remnants? Stay tuned, stay updated, and stay alert for future reports, live whenever I find land that's not on fire!

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[The Gothanita Isles]

Final 3 games "crucial" in creating benchmark - Owain Davies
Reported by Otksarin Times

Alor Hangor - Ahead of the Yellow Lions' final 3 games against Darmen, Ochre Islands, and Jeruselem, head coach Owain Davies has said that the final 3 games will be crucial in setting future expectations for the trajectory of the combined Isles' football team.

The head coach of the Gothanitan football team, who hails from Tikariot, has been thankful with the fans for giving him time to experiment with the aging national team, saying that there really needs to be a proper goal setting done together with the Gothanitan Isles Football Confederation (GIFC) and the respective stakeholders in transforming the national team's fortunes for the future. "I have spoken to Zahi (Castillias), the former head coach, and we have basically reached a consensus. The current domestic league structure is struggling to show results, with few younger players able to step up and take over the abilities of the aging players. This is a serious concern, and we largely believe that it partially has to do with the way the domestic clubs tend to only focus on players from their own (nation), which only breeds a false sense of 'competition' when in reality, the clubs haven't really gotten an improvement in their player quality." The coach also called on clubs to be more focused on player development rather than fighting for club glory, which he said was "obvious" during the discussions over the reform of the Gothanitan Football League.

When asked about the team's chances to squeeze into the top 4, the coach simply pointed to the competitiveness of the group. "You can probably figure all that out own your own - Darmen, Kyzhurkistan, and Ochre Islands have all defied the odds to be in the race alongside top seeds Jeruselem and Mercedini, which can only signal how competitive this group has been in general. Over the past 11 matches, I would say that the players, while more experienced than their opposition, aren't able to keep up with the tempo of the game, which resulted in the series of unfortunate losses. The next two home games here in Alor Hangor, however, are a good time to bounce back - we have been taking all our points at home, and we are slowly learning from the lessons of the past to make the team performance better.

[Astograth]

Previously

“I know all the players,” said the old waitress with a wave of her hand.

A plate of boiled chicken, boiled peas, and boiled potatoes steamed between her and Urti Kirna, freelance journalist. He’d invited her to sit down after explaining he was doing research on Itziar Lévêque. The Diamantea eatery, in the thick of Basabe, was otherwise deserted.

“You ‘know’ them how? Like, personally?” he asked.

“Sure! See?” she gestured at the pictures on the walls: many were of her posing with men in their twenties. Kirna was not the most versed in Old Boys’ history, considering it was a relatively minor club, but he could pick out a few famous faces: Eguntsenti Belazkez and Petrigai Errezarret, deadly strikers; Gero Sorrosua, before he starred for Urbizania Wanderers and the national team; a young Panfilo Napoleoni, the now-veteran Juven midfielder; dazzling winger Anchoka Oyhantkabal, whom they’d sell to the Valladar league. An impressive cast, but having a photo taken said nothing about closeness. The lady was evidently proud of her collection; Kirna, out of the corner of his eye, could see her scanning his face for a reaction. He hummed in appreciation of the display.

“Very nice. Uh, very nice,” he managed to say. “None with Lévêque, I presume?”

Her brow formed a subtle frown. “Lévêque – no, not him. He was fine, you know, but nothing special.” There was a scoff in her voice. “He was what we needed to get promoted at the time, but that’s that. I don’t know how he got signed to Farfadillis, but good on him.”

“But you do know him,” ventured Kirna.

“Yes, yes. Yes, of course. I know them all.”

“How did you…” Kirna caught himself about to repeat the question he’d asked earlier. “How did you… meet him, exactly?”

“Well here, of course!” she sounded almost offended. “They all come here, can’t you see the pictures?” They weren’t very good photos, and his eyesight was strained by the poor lighting in the restaurant, but Kirna could now tell from the backgrounds that they indeed seemed to be taken in the same establishment.

“The players come here? When?”

“All the time,” said the woman with a chuckle, repeating the same dismissive wave of her hand.

“They come her to eat?” he asked while he eyed the plate in front of him. It looked filling, but less than appetising.

“Eat, drink, party. All the time. And please, eat! Don’t mind me” she commanded, shuffling the food toward him.

Kirna smiled, though it came out more like a grimace, as he sunk his fork into the potatoes. He found the story hard to believe. Top-level footballers, coming down to the industrial zone of Basabe and into a depressing little diner? To eat, drink, and party? Basabe was a shithole, but surely there were better places. This was nowhere near the stadium, the training ground, or any neighbourhood footballers would want to live in. This woman had to be exaggerating, playing it up. If this place was somehow actually famous, he could look it up on his phone, but it would be rude to do that in front of the… owner? Presumably.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t actually asked your name yet.”

The lady smiled. “Urdie, darling. Urdie Teiyechea.”

Teiyechea rung a bell. Did he have a schoolmate with that surname? Tiled house, it meant. Anyway. Kirna swallowed a mouthful of bland potato. “Urti Kirna,” he said, though he’d already explained who he was earlier. “And you’re the… owner? Of this place?”

She nodded. “Forty years now. And an Old Boys fan from the day I was born.”

40 years… circa 650 then. When did Old Boys get to the First Division? Late 50s? “Must’ve been a party when the club first got promoted. To the top flight I mean.”

“Oh…” Urdie’s eyes twinkled, “it was. It was. I was over there, though, in Urbitzo. We won 1–0 and Royal Association drew. That was that: we were through,” she laughed. “Promoted for the first time. The first team from Basabe. Yes, it was fun.”

It had been a lovely chat, if not a lovely plate of food, but the topic of Lévêque kept falling by the wayside. “Mhm. So, again, sorry: Lévêque. Do you know anything about the problem he’s had?”

“The papers, you mean? Not really, no. I’ve heard the club offices are in a bit of an administrative headache – the taxes on foreign players they should’ve paid and such, you know.”

“Right. Is it going to be a big issue?”

She shrugged. “No, I don’t think so”. She tensed suddenly. “Why? Is it a problem for Old Boys?”

Now it was Urdie who interrogated Urti. “Uh, no, ma’am. I don’t think so. That’s part of what I’m trying to find out, really.” That put her at ease, it seemed.

“So what is it you need with Lévêque?” she asked.

“I… don’t know,” said Kirna. That much was true, but he debated opening up. Whatever. He leaned in. “This kind of – it just doesn’t fit, you know? Why is this blowing up now? How did they never catch on that his papers were fake? I just have this feeling there’s more to it.”

“Hm.” The woman looked at the walls, pensive. Her head jerked to the right, a sideways nod. “I guess there could be more.”

“I’m going to Uertza to see if I can find out more there.”

“With his family?”

“I mean – sure. But I doubt they’d talk to me.”

Urdie looked him in the eyes, then stood up. “One second,” she said, and disappeared behind the bar of the restaurant. A puzzled Kirna munched on chicken with a faint trace of rosemary. She reappeared with a small note, which she laid on the table. Printed at the top was the diner’s stationery logo, but Kirna’s eye was drawn to the pen scribble underneath: an address – 544 Sastakaiak street – and a phone number underneath. He looked up at the lady, his question written on his face. She smiled.

“Family address. His dad’s phone number.”

“How?”

She smiled wider. “Just a few calls, darling.”

After he had thanked her profusely, Urti Kirna realised it was a scant twenty minutes before his train to depart for Uertza. Once aboard, he admired his luck – or his journalistic talent, as he preferred to think of it. It was an hour into the trip when, on a lark, or perhaps a hunch, he searched Urdie Teiyechea on his phone.

“Oh fuck” he said aloud after clicking the first link, earning himself a few sideways glances.

Basabe Old Boys Club Presidents.

Urdie Teiyechea: 655–661.

[Tikariot]

Winston Curtis: Good evening and welcome to "Tikariot Tonight". I'm Winston Curtis.

The Nyowani Kitara Peace Talks in Varakoula have reached Day 9 and significant progress has been made over the last few days which, despite encountering some speedbumps in the process, seems to have prepared the path towards common ground between the involved parties. Kyria Stevenson in Varakoula, what is the atmosphere like right now?

Kyria Stevenson: The atmosphere is one of general tensions easing and concentrated efforts in drafting a treaty having taken centre stage.

Winston Curtis: There have been some much publicised, at times heated, discussions, some of which involving our own foreign minister Daniel Longobardo, so it looks like the waves have subsided?

Kyria Stevenson: Yes, definitely. The involved parties have managed to agree on a quite robust framework for what is now called 'The Varakoula Accords', which are going to deal with everything from amnesties, protocols for the elections in Nyowani Kitara, the Independence Referendum in the DFLK-controlled territory in the north, the peacekeeping force, funding for the recovery efforts as well as any potential counter measures in case that any parts of an eventual agreement would be violated, which is what is mostly happening behind closed doors now.

Winston Curtis: Have any closer details emerged yet as to what the Accords will look like?

Kyria Stevenson: Yes and no. Most of what we know now comes from news conferences and statements that the various delegations have given over the past few days, such as Nephara overseeing the actual elections or that Nephara, Eura, Tikariot, Græntfjall, and the United Republics of Yuezhou will be forming the international peacekeeping force, but as for any potential articles or actual clauses there have been nothing more than speculations based on these.

Winston Curtis: Thank you, Kyria. Joining me now in the studio once again is TBC's Chief Political Analyst Bryce Holdsworth and Bryce, what would you see as the most likely final outcome of the Varakoula Accords?

Bryce Holdsworth: Well, as Kyria has mentioned, all any of us have been able to do is speculate how the different tidbits of information we've been given so far will be worked out into a solid set of a peace treaty that will allow a swift and hopefully peaceful transition to a post-war Nyowani Kitara. I think that the key facts are that Nafuna Akongo is currently still the reigning president of the nation, even though her powers are suspended for the time being, that Malik Akongo has been declared a persona non grata in Nyowani Kitara with the United Republics of Yuezhou granting him political asylum and that there will be an Independence Referendum in the DFLK-controlled territories.

Winston Curtis: Looking at Nafuna Akongo, how do you see her chances to remain in power post-elections?

Bryce Holdsworth: That actually is the single-most discussed detail and the one where independent observers see the least unified position. She technically is the victor of the war, obviously thanks to the heavy backing by Nephara and Eura, but the big unknown is what her standing with the general populace is. A lot of her future will hinge on if Kitarans will see her as the true victor and leader of the Kitaran people and subsequently Nyowani Kitara as a whole or if she will be rather seen as the iron-fisted dictator that was at least partially responsible for the whole civil war to have started to begin with.

Winston Curtis: Have there been any indications from within the country yet which direction the scales might favour?

Bryce Holdsworth: No, none whatsoever. A sizeable influence on this will also directly come from the referendum in the north, because if it is successful, then the newly formed state and its supporters will no longer have any influence on any election results and with that her future, but if it is not successful the actual numbers could play a significant role in determining what consequences that could have on the outcome of elections.

Winston Curtis: Speaking of the referendum, are there any predictions what probabilities there are for either a yay or nay?

Bryce Holdsworth: It is hard to say, because while the DFLK-held peninsulae do have a white majority strictly ethnically speaking between Osterlanders, Nordlanders, Zealanders and Kitarans at a rough 60:40 split, not all of them might have interest in actually breaking away from the country itself.

Winston Curtis: Could access to potential funds for reconstruction and development play a role in the decision?

Bryce Holdsworth: Now this is one of the details of the accords that has not been made public, if the funds would actually extend into a newly founded state in the case of a successful referendum or not. So your guess is literally as good as mine here. My personal gut feeling would be that if the referendum is successful, the newly founded nation would likely not be covered by whatever fund will be instated, but I could very well see other nations, such as Græntfjall invest into that new nation, which would or could offset at least parts of that. But like I said, this is pure speculation just on my part.

Winston Curtis: Out of the big factions in the war, the one we have not yet touched on is Malik Akongo. Can we see him as the big 'loser' in the game, if you want?

Bryce Holdsworth: Yes, I think that is pretty much the general point of view. He's been the one to kick over the first domino and while there obviously have been several sparks that were needed to ignite the whole powder keg, it is the popular opinion that his was the decisive one.

Winston Curtis: Now he also had pretty strong supporters with Banija, Darmen, Juvencus or the United Republics of Yuezhou.

Bryce Holdsworth: That he had, but a couple of factors here were quite different to the support of, say, Nephara or Eura for Nafuna. Both Nephara and Eura were very firm and large-scale in their support and also very actively involved. Plus they are both Rushmori and are widely considered among the strongest regional powers. On the other hand Banija and Juvencus are not even part of Rushmore, the URY is just emerging from their own set of troubles and Darmen never were as involved as the others. Additionally you also have to take into consideration that Nafuna and the KRF were the established forces within the country while the KFF had to build itself up from the ground and a far smaller base to begin with, so that playing field never was level.

Winston Curtis: So from what we heard, the United Republics will be granting him asylum, with a potential prospect of a passport still floating around, is that an acceptable outcome for him?

Bryce Holdsworth: Well, that obviously depends on your point of view here, haha. I personally would be surprised, if the powers that be would allow for a Yue passport become part of the Accords, but overall I think that he can be considered lucky that he is still alive, because of his role in the whole crisis.

Winston Curtis: Thank you, Bryce. This wraps up tonight's edition and we are expecting more details of the actual Varakoula Accords to emerge in the days to come. We will, of course, keep you up to date on any developments, but at the very least it is good news that the peace talks seem to be progressing well towards a workable solution for each of the parties involved. I'm Winston Curtis and bid you a good night.

[Independent Athletes from Quebec]

Figment I, Part 3

'ZINA! ZINA! ZINAAAAA!'

It was the voice of Matteo Hanson-Conavacio. Just as before, Zinaida found her flashbacks halted just as she reached. This time, it was in the middle of the festival grounds where the loud, amp-filled music echoed all over her like a ball of kinetic energy. As she turned around to see a 170cm tall, musular figure smiling right in front of her, Zinaida felt like she was being blasted into the middle of a stage, a prospect that was daunting enough all alone with no excitement.

'Hey!' Zina shouted back in off-pitch, before giving a hug and a peck to the cheek for him, Natalie and Joelinton Dykeson, before slowly coming back into the focus. The circle of tents surrounding The Cocoon was filled to the every square metre of land with flashy tents, messy shoes with grass and syringes all over and near it, and smell of marijuana and cigarettes all over it. The sea of flags from all over Anaia, Atlantian Oceania, Rushmore and rest of the multiverse, brought by the festivalgoers as a matter of tradition, swarmed the vicinities, and they fluttered over the sky like majestic sails of ocean-travelling clippers of mercenaries from centuries past. Thousands of tents, intended for half-dozen peoples but carrying a dozen each, were carefully nailed to the ground, containing all sorts of unneeded amenities and items inside for the sake of aesthetics.

And at the centre of it all, right in front of the massive, 360-degree stage, stood there. Their height and physique were as evident as the seven devils of seven hills from ancient myth and history, and contemporary music (OOC: combined reference to seven hills of Rome, and Seven Devils, a Florence + The Machine song from their 2011 album Ceremonials), with the summer reddening their skin and light absorbing into their shades.

'How fucking are you doing? Looks even more dazzling than ever!' Natalie Wesoloski-Okafor asked cheerfully, as they gave each other a fist-bump. A left-handed opposite known both for her 192cm height, night-and-day performances every match, and ability to draw all media attention when with Montreal Koreana VC or the volleyball national team, she was more than aware that perhaps few hundred people were looking at them and their tent, even in the middle of the chaos. 'You didn't arrive late for once! Great, and the next three days are just going to be absolutely splendid!'

Zinaida nodded to Natalie, desperately in need of getting her mind off the funk she was feeling following the flashback. After four years in the 'Grand Smoke' she had considered herself pretty good with recovering, but it still required a greater mile of outer and inner strength for her to push through the wild lifestyle she was trying to play catch-up to her more accustomed friends. 'Right, so let's just drop off our backpacks on the tent, and figure things out first...' Zinaida scratched her short hair, and went up and down twice in the air with her hands. 'We can never get enough things to prepare for...JC and I covered any pills, energisers or vitamins if needed. There's always time for that, since we aren't in a hurry.'

'You sure you aren't going to freak out like how it went last time?' Natalie asked, adding a minor chuckle to indicate that it was a minor rib at her and no more. No offence intended. 'God, I hope we won't get the same problem this time.'

'Nope, nope, and nope. Weather looks all great and that this weekend!' Zinaida shouted, her smile glowing in the sunlight.

'Brilliant! All more the reason for us to enjoy the occasion right?!?!?!?' Jean-Christophe nodded, loosely banging his chest with his left hand. It was a necessary measure, given their imperative to focus on maintaining best physical condition possible as professionals, but even then Jean-Christophe always sought to take derivative routes whenever possible. 'You know, it amazes me how we stick together even when the times remain uncertain with it all, and I'm glad for it.'

'Sure you do, but you know, it's not like we were ever going to leave this city,' Natalie answered back, catching Jean-Christophe right on guard as he remembered that it was he who had left on a grand transfer a year ago, crossing the murky waters that stood between Rushmore and Anaia, to city of Sabrefell, Nephara. Ah, the inevitable, he felt the ribs touching each other upon the remark.

'But we love the city always. Though it bears its teeth like a light, and spits us after every few-day doses,' he answered back. Easier said than actualised, considering extensive love-hate struggle everybody held with this metropolis.

Finally, completing the crew, Joelinton Dyxkeson emerged from the blue, him walking into the fold after his weak frame were being pushed aside few times along the way from makeshift loos on the outer ring of The Cocoon. 'Oh hey, guys,' he said with hoarse, high-pitched voice. 'I hope we won't get lost again this time around...the line behind me probably felt like an hour long, and god, there were people leaving behind their droppings everywhere...' he said in a rather ominous matter, something that was made worse by his 2m height and 50kg of weight that seldom matched it. Tales of lines, dropped syringes and peoples casually ending up in fights were inevitable part of the Roxburgh stories since the festival had become prominent in the nineties, and with strong crowds this year in the uncertain times, the signs already didn't look too good.

[Guanacasteca]

Servicio Guanacasteco de Noticias

Goalless Streak Ended, But Now How We Wanted to End.

Camilo Gutiérrez, on coverage of the 90^th World Cup.

Perhaps, the República Guanacasteca, had one of the worst streaks in World Cup history during the last five matchdays, not a single goal scored but, somehow, made enough effort to grasp three points out of fifteen during said period of time. Han Ruoyang has had enough patience with the team as they have failed to stand up as the circumstances required it in order to take themselves away from the rock bottom of Group 8 of the Qualifiers, instead, they landed in the most undesirable of the places in this side of things.

The once unstoppable appetite of Fuller and Ingram stopped all of a sudden since their match against Electrum, the team managed to achieve decent participations but the capacity of the players to get past their opponents was lost. Han considers that this happened due to “lack of solidarity from the players to attack as a block” something that has costed him vital victories against Mertagne and even Electrum, as the Pigs had clear chances to defeat the Electrumites in their match at Centralis, it was just that they weren’t in their days/nights.

The voices echoing for “it’s a process, respect it” are accumulating and reaching a strong consensus among sports fans and it’s a pretty obvious point to be fair. Do we really know what was this thing before the last year? We were isolated from the Multiverse, so there wasn’t a realistic way to know about this, no excuses. We had to learn and pay right of floor in the harshest way, with five games without scoring, losing important matches in the death of the game as our players were unable to hold the advantage, they struggled too much to achieve.

The main reason behind that is the fact that our players haven’t gained enough physical capabilities to compete against the elite, it’s basically willpower and desire for triumph, something that itself won’t be enough to achieve some success in the long term. Han has said “We need to build resistance and more stamina in the players, there’s no chance to see our defenders getting bypassed easily and not being able to withstand to a proper challenge against anybody.”

Han message also echoed some words towards the managers of the Primera División: “Managers, we need some of your time and collaboration in order to build a strong generation of players, able to withstand 90 minutes of football of the highest level, no matter the rival, we just need players capable to take this challenge. This will be helpful for me and your teams, as they will be able to compete in the different international competitions that the IFCF has in their competence portfolio, being able to maximize earnings from participation and bolstering the league for good, its all a virtuous cycle!”

Will the managers and president of the teams listen to the savvy words and accept the challenge from Han? Will the players be able to do so too?

[Eura]

WORLD CUP 90 QUALIFYING GROUP 6 – MATCHDAY 10
Nyowani Kitara 2–1 Eura
Scorers: Sutton 68
Lineup: 1. V Simm, 4. J Menard, 19. J Byrd, 25. A Coles, 6. M Rowland (sub Erskine 49), 8. V Robshaw, 11. B Malone, 7. M Woakes (sub Rogers 82), 12. D Bowman, 10. T Sutton, 17. I Tomlinson (sub Atkinson 73)

WORLD CUP 90 QUALIFYING GROUP 6 – MATCHDAY 11
Eura 1–0 Chromatika
Scorers: Woakes 51, Almwood miss pen 71
Lineup: 30. C Webb, 2. A Mason, 4. J Menard, 5. T Green, 19. J Byrd, 3. L Almwood, 6. M Rowland, 16. O Vincent (sub Robshaw 70), 7. M Woakes (sub Erskine 65), 10. T Sutton (sub Sherwood 86), 9. S Robson

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emplor.eur/main/euranews
ANALYSIS: Can a Varakoula deal save Liberal Eura?
Chief political correspondent Amos Mitchell assesses whether their decades-long reign is over

Over a year ago now, a political earthquake rattled Eura and its dependencies. The Euran Oceania Territories had voted to join Anaia, and quite recently that transition finally took place, with the future in the Territories looking uncertain, if somewhat hopeful. An indecisive ballot on Euran electoral reform left this country no closer to overhauling its antiquated electoral system. Most importantly, the people of the former Sameba voted overwhelmingly to do away with the post-war Provisional Government. This earthquake exposed deep cracks in an already creaking Liberal government in Bastion. With less than a year remaining until the next general election, I explore whether the game really is up for Prime Minister Ian Smith and his battered party.

Nyowani Kitara and the Rutherford effect

In the past couple of weeks, the political focus of the nation has been orientated towards the very pleasant Vaiomala Beach Resort, Varakoula, Tikariot. Previously known only as a well-regarded tourist destination to the average Euran, Varakoula has become synonymous with the war in Nyowani Kitara, as a variety of powers and factions gather at the resort to bring that dreadful conflict to an end. Years of unforgiving combat and criminality has killed 400,000 and displaced at least two and a half million. This might seem relatively modest to Eurans for a multi-year conflict, after the tens and millions of deaths we witnessed in the Great Endemian War, but for the 25-million people of Nyowani Kitara, such casualties represent a devastating blow. And it is always worth remembering, of course, that every death is an individual, not a data point – each will impact someone, somewhere.

The intent for the substance of the talks to remain confidential has been undermined thoroughly by a steady stream of leaks, with officials from all delegations making sure to spin events to fit their desired narrative. It is through those leaks that we know that Smith’s most senior cabinet member, Foreign Secretary Carl Rutherford, has taken the lead for his country in talks and reportedly distinguished himself in doing so. Multiple sources have shared accounts of the Foreign Secretary’s dogged, pit bull-like approach to negotiations, smashing heads together and taking on other delegations where necessary, with an early battle against the Banijan head of state allegedly a pivotal moment in negotiations. “He’s taken most here by surprise, I think,” said an anonymous source from within the Euran delegation, “even those who are supposed to be on our side.”

With the help of Eura’s allies in Corvistone, themselves lead by Medina Klose (reportedly a cross-border political ally of Rutherford), Bastion has been able to protect its interests and play a decisive role in bringing peace closer than ever, despite a number of obstacles in the way. However, until a peace treaty is formally signed, none of this is certain. And yet, there is already a sense in the gossip machine of Blackhall that Rutherford has, to quote one cabinet colleague, “played a blinder”.

Did the Foreign Secretary go the extra mile in order to help his government’s popularity at home? It is true that Rutherford’s stock has risen quite significantly, with the 57-year-old almost even keel in his approval ratings. There has been talk of leadership ambitions, which Rutherford has not yet denied amidst the business of negotiations, but sources close to the Foreign Secretary have suggested such rumours are premature. One was explicit; “Carl is a team player above all else and would never push Smith off a cliff like that. He’ll have his eyes on winning that next election somehow, like the rest of us.”

It is that last line – and the “somehow” - which betrays the state of the Liberal government. Despite an apparently significant foreign policy success looming on the horizon, with the narrative of a very positive outcome already having provided the Liberals a modest boost in the polls, they remain in a deep pit. Rutherford’s modest polling successes are not reflected across the front benches where double-digit unpopularity is the norm. Most importantly, even after word of impending success in Tikariot, Prime Minister Smith himself remains in the mire on -29 approval after the latest EurGov poll.

Referendum ramifications

It is hard not to see the ripple effect of the events of a year ago still defining the struggles of the current administration. The rot perhaps set in earlier as the Liberals long wave of goodwill gradually eroded after victory over Sameba. The once unstoppable Amy Yarley was then deposed and replaced by Smith, not all that long after she had almost singlehandedly prevented an election defeat, and many in the Liberal Party feel that was the turning point. They may be right, but the “triple referendum” of Smith’s making is the immediate, proximate factor undermining his attempts to survive.

The result in former Sameba, where 65% of voters chose to bring an end to the much-maligned Provisional Government, was an outright disaster that worsened the difficult (but manageable) consequences of the other two referenda. It drove a horse and cart through the Liberal electoral coalition as Sameban voters flocked to the Social Party, and more nationalistic Euran voters to the Unionists. Although the party recovered from a brief dip as low as 20% in the opinion polls after a failed leadership challenge against Smith, where he was spared thanks to the intervention of – you guessed it – Rutherford, the Liberal brand remains damaged, maybe even permanently.

Why is it so difficult for them to recover? Euran national treasure and political scientist Professor Simon Roe-Barnes gave me several reasons. “In most democracies it is highly unusual for a single party to remain in power this long. Indeed, in Eura’s democratic history, no-one has stuck around longer. Eventually fatigue sets in and people want a change, and will pin any problems they can think of on the government of the day. Add to that the perception of a meandering, weak Prime Minister, a divided party, and a fragmentation of their electoral coalition caused by numerous events, and it all adds up to a government on its way out of office.”

To make matters worse, the outcome of the former Sameba referendum still hasn’t been put into practice. In just a few months the Provisional Government will be formally abolished after the deconstruction of its institutions in place of new local government structures, which will closely resemble those in the rest of Eura. “If there is a point of no return, that is it” a gloomy party strategist tells me, admitting that internal polling and focus groups suggest anything but a seamless transition will see the Liberals shed voters left, right and centre.

Harry Barnham’s long game

It seems likely then that the Liberals are in real trouble going into the next election. However, they can only lose if their opponents are in a position to win. At the last election, Yarley’s campaign performance and the not yet fully repaired image of the Social Party helped keep the Liberals in office. Not everything has gone swimmingly for the Socials since. Harry Barnham, their first leader to survive a general election in many years, has spent much time and effort marginalising the left of his party after a very dark wilderness period during the height of Liberal dominance. He has also trodden a fine line on Sameban integration, riskily backing Provisional Government abolition in return for national legislation to outlaw secessionism with minimal opposition.

Unfortunately for Smith and his beleaguered government, these problems have not been enough to derail an unmistakable momentum for the leader of the opposition. Its not just a preoccupation of the pundit class to wax lyrical about how this is Barnham’s moment of truth. His approval ratings have slowly improved to the point where he is more popular than his party, rated as the Best PM by 45% of voters, regular figures not seen since the pre-war period, and he has been received well on the road at numerous by-election campaigns. Barnham is regularly described by voters as competent, patriotic and likable, three values on which Smith sold his leadership bid, only to now score terribly on all three.

Barnham’s party, too, seem to have finally shaken off the decay that defined them for far too long. The Social Party now lead the Liberal Party on every major metric of public confidence in the government, with the exception of the economy, where the Liberals cling dearly to their lead by only 2%. On foreign policy the opposition lead by 5% - at one point during the premiership of Yarley, the Liberals lead by an eye watering 44%. That lead might be reversed by confirmation of the Nyowani Kitara peace accords, but the overall picture will likely remain dire for the Liberals and very positive for the Socials barring a very radical reversal.

If Prime Minister Smith thinks there might be salvation in the form of opposition parties that split Barnham’s own voter alliance, he would be mistaken. During the post-referendum crisis, the drop in the Liberal vote led to the Unionist Party surging as high as 15%, with the Capital Party also gaining. The polls have normalised since then but, if the Provisional Government drawdown or another series of events were to shake confidence once more, there is no sign the Liberals will benefit. The Socials are pulling in centre-right voters alienated by the rightward turns of the Capital Party over the years, while social conservatives are increasingly lured in by the Unionist Party and its clarion call of Euran nationalism.

A strategy for re-election – and the future beyond

The walls are closing in and a cloud of pessimism has now taken over the Liberal government. There are those who go a step further and describe it as fatalism. “We’re fucked” a senior backbench MP told me in a phone call last week, which lasted as long as those two words after I’d asked about his party’s prospects at the next general election. In some quarters, there is a resignation to the fate of a long-overdue return to opposition. For others, desperation has set in, with a rump of MPs still determined to turf Smith out of office before it’s too late. With the run-in to an election now being counted in months rather than years, it surely already is.

And so, we return to Foreign Secretary Rutherford, diplomat-extraordinaire and increasingly the only popular cog in an otherwise dilapidated machine. It appears to be a big ask for Rutherford to be the one to turn things around. He has likely done as much as he can in delivering a result at Varakoula. There are younger MPs and members of cabinet who might possess the appeal to drive a Liberal campaign to victory. Angela Green, the Minister for Rushmore who is currently at the summit with Rutherford, has been touted by numerous insiders as a potential secret weapon for the campaign trail. There is also the option of a new and exciting raft of policy proposals, though the Liberals seem too exhausted to come up with anything worthwhile.

In hushed tones, there is another group of Liberals who are preparing not for this election, but the next one. “We are not going to recover here, so its best to look to the future.” David Todd is the Liberal Party’s oldest MP at the grand old age of 81; a serial rebel, he is never reluctant to speak frankly. I mentioned Green to him in a conversation we had this week, and he made the point that, while clearly a talented politician, the thirty-something member for Falourr’s affluent Merchants Road constituency was most likely too inexperienced to be Prime Minister. I dared to ask - could she be the next Yarley? “We won’t find another Yarley – probably no-one will.” I found it hard to disagree with his conclusions, and find it hard to see beyond a future that includes Prime Minister Harry Barnham.

[PotatoFarmers]

Box Scores to be updated

Treekidistan 3–3 Poafmersia
Poafmersia 1–0 Saltstead
The Licentian Isles 3–5 Poafmersia
Atlantic Republic 1–5 Poafmersia

Important for Poafmersia to capture 2 wins against Havynwilde and Ardengard - Adnan Suliaha
As reported by Sporting Daily

Fiskadaha - Ahead of Matchday 12's fixture against Ardengard, Adnan Suliaha calls his team to rally together to grab "2 wins out of 2" to attempt to seal their qualification ticket before the final "revenge game" in the Poafmersian capital against top seeds Pasarga.

Crucial wins against Saltstead and The Licentian Isles have boosted morale in the Red Panjias' camp, as the regain the lead at the top of Group 14 following the Wanderers' draw at home against The Licentian Isles, something which Poafmersia narrowly avoided on Matchday 10 following 2 late goals from midfielder Michael Jackson. Jackson has been the centre of attention for many Poafmers, with the 26 years old creative midfielder from Mancodas City involved in 7 of the team's 14 goals in the last 4 games. Together with Jordan Huerta and Aleka Dufour, who have also been superb up front, the Red Panjias managed to secure 10 points from a maximum 12 in the run towards the top of the table. And Suliaha has been calling on the younger generation, such as Huerta and Jackson, to "step up" to show that last cycle's miss was a blip. "The players have really learnt from the lessons of the IAC, and having been warmed up to the tempo of the qualifiers, they have certainly got what it takes to make it to the World Cup proper in Baker Park and Vilita - if they continue their current form, which I certainly believe they will." Suliaha has also pointed out that the Wanderers' have a harder time ahead of them, with games against Saltstead and Treekidistan still to come for them.

The next 2 fixtures, at home against Ardengard; as well as away at Havynwilde, will be streamed live on PFBC Sports 1 channel. Many Poafmers will be expected to gather around Poafmersia in groups to watch these 2 key fixtures, as the Red Panjias attempt to avenge last cycle's poor peformance to regain their spot in the final 32.

[Muralos]

A Multiversal Muralosian Newsletter

Thank you for reading the first edition of the Multiversal Muralosian Newsletter! This newsletter is sponsored by the leading newspapers La Hodiaûa Ĵurnalo de Urbego and La Gazeto de Sportoj, the blogging platform Substako, and the team behind the popular video series All About Muralos. It seeks to be a short-form medium, providing readers with assortment of news and facts about the nation of Muralos.

The social sphere:

• A national referendum was held on Saturday, January 22nd, to alter the national flag of Muralos. The original flag, a silhouette of a map of Muralos against a turquoise background, was replaced with a new flag featuring a flying bird on a primarily blue background, with additional yellow, red, green, and black stripes. The referendum achieved an 84% turnout, and 84% of voters chose the new flag in favor of the old.
• Also on Monday, the campaign period officially begun for mayoral campaigns in Muralos. The country's two major parties, the Esperantist Party and Independent Party, have announced candidates for the mayoral elections in Urbego, Havenurbo, Okcidenta-Havenurbo, and Okha.
• An alliance of 15 Muralosian universities – including Urbego National University and the Havenurbo Institute of Technology – met at a conference on Tuesday, January 25th to discuss the admission of intergalactic and multiversal students to Muralosian universities. Consensus at the conference seemed in favor of a cap on intergalactic and multiversal students at 1 percent of the student body population, but the dean of Urbego National University expressed "concern and trepidation about this policy that may be overly restrictive."

Sports news:

• The Muralosian national soccer team has won 3 of their 4 most recent World Cup qualifying matches, dropping points only to multiverse no. 71 Le Choix, who are currently third place in World Cup qualifying group 2 - not before being in the top 2 for 10 straight match days.

[Kandorith]

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Shinonome Kyoai - International

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One point ahead in a thrilling match.

With only a few games to go, Kandorith draws against Southwest Eastnorth to stay in the lead.
By Natsumi Miyasaki
Sports

^{SHARE THIS:}

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 PGroup 20                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kandorith                        11    7   3   1    29   21   +8    24
2 Squornshelan Remnant States      11    7   2   2    20   12   +8    23
3 Chartistan                       11    4   3   4    26   23   +3    15
4 StrayaRoos                       11    4   3   4    15   17   −2    15
5 The Sarian                       11    3   5   3    26   24   +2    14
6 Sendhang                         11    4   1   6    16   16    0    13
7 The Republic of Western Sol      11    2   2   7    14   23   −9     8
8 Southwest Eastnorth              11    0   7   4    25   35  −10     7

Things are looking up in the green for Michiyu as the Kandorese team maintains their lead at the top of the table, but the threat of Squornshelan Remnant States remains.As there are only a few games remaining, the Dragons are looking to solidify their lead over Group 20 and are looking in great form. It is currently a tale of caution and getting to know your opponents. Chartistan was beaten with a one-goal difference, but the Kandorese team slipped up against Southwest Eastnorth in a ten-goal game that ended in a draw. Should they have done better? Michiyu believes so, yet they are not angry about the result. Kandorith has a one-point lead in the group right now and is looking to be on track to qualify for the World Cup.

The Kandorese national team went into the qualifiers in a group with mostly unknown opponents, making every match a new trial to prove themselves. One thing is certain: there is nothing left to lose for the Kandorese when it comes to these qualifiers. Michiyu has also stated it is a win or fail situation when it comes to the remaining matches after drawing with the Squornshelan Remnant States. Both teams are enjoying a comfortable lead over the rest of the group right now and are looking to become the first to directly qualify. The Kandorese are probably the team that are the favourites in the group to do so, yet they are not entirely certain of their qualification as the Remnant States have proven to be a thorn in their side.

In recent years, the Dragons have always enjoyed the underdog role and have performed quite well under that guise. Now that they are presumably the favourites, they have to take on that mantle in group 20 of the qualifiers. At the moment of writing, the Kandorese are enjoying an eight-goal lead when it comes to goal difference, just like the Remnant States, and a nine-point advantage over the number three in the group. Things have to turn for the worst, or they might not qualify, as things are indeed looking up for the national team as they are preparing themselves for the last few matches in these qualifiers. For Michiyu, it has become customary to respond in their own calm way, seemingly without any bother.

"We just have to qualify," they replied, "The team is doing their very best and even though some matches have gone wrong, we are still looking to prove ourselves in every game. Where has it gone wrong? I do not know, but I can assure you that we are doing everything to bring the win home and are absolutely motivated to get back into the World Cup. When I started here, I had to rebuild the entire team, and this is one of the results. A new Kandorith when it comes to football. I will keep building this team, keep finding a way to new heights, and hopefully inspire the entire nation when it comes to football. "

Michiyu is one of the youngest managers within Kandorith and has been enjoying a sort of rock star status ever since the empire made it to the quarter-finals under their lead. Surely, the manager is aiming to do the same in the upcoming World Cup, but right now, qualification is the main obstacle to tackle. With the last remaining games, the Kandorese are looking to distance themselves from the remnant States, which could seal qualification for the Dragons.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

down to the sharp end...will you ask or give No Quarter?

the penultimate CUTOFF of WCQ 90

[Starblaydia]

Episode 6 - The Double
S01 | E01 | E02 | E03 | E04 | E05

Facing an opponent usually found across the
diplomatic aisle, there's a chance to hold the two
most prestigous trophies in football at once.
A departing veteran and debutant make impressions.

One of many TV interviews given during
AOCAF Cup 14 by Starblaydi players.

Narrator: Whether known as football or soccer, it's clear that the entire world comes together to play the beautiful game. In Atlantian Oceania, several nations would eschew the World Cup itself, but instead earned their places among the hall of champions of the premier regional football tournament, the AOCAF Cup. Teams like Hypocria and 95X both lifted the championship, but it was the Free Republic of Lamoni that proved the strongest, winning the tournament on three occasions before their move to Greater Dienstad, where they have remained ever since.

The Free Republic of Lamoni was, for so long, the counterpoint to Starblaydia in Atlantian Oceania. As the spirit of 'RAWRCRUSH' rose in the east, the hawk of freedom would rise in the west. The two countries would take every opportunity to try and get one over on each other, and the field of sports was no different to that of politics or economics for these two. President Stone on the one side, Lord-Protector Tiberius Starblayde on the other, these were the two biggest personalities, and the most powerful individuals in the entire region. It got even more complicated when alliances grew up around them.

This is the first AOCAF in quite a while where the Hawks will not be facing Starblaydia in the group stages, so Lamoni has a very good shot at taking the top spot in the group. This will generate momentum that will come in handy during the knockouts, as the Hawks might have to take on Starblaydia, who we have yet to defeat. As Starblaydia has only one more AOCAF of experience than we do, it rankles. It rankles even more when you remember that Starblaydia is Lamoni's chief political-military rival (as we are Starblaydia's). We shall cross that bridge when we get to it, however. The team has already flown over to Bettia, and is practicing at the facility that they will use for the purpose. GO HAWKS!!!!!!

On the one hand, Tiberius Starblayde formed the Strategic Alliance, the SAAS, of Autocratic States. Starblaydia, Krytenia, Nova Roma, Nojika, Abattoir, Xile and Hypocria. Basically anywhere that a strong, singular leader in charge came together to sign the Lavingrad Pact in Xile and suddenly form a hugely powerful voting, trading and military block. This was quickly countered by a Lamonian-led effort dubbed the Federation of Like-Minded States by President Stone, which quickly folded into the Strategic Defence League, formed of mostly democratic, freedom-loving nations, and all of a sudden Atlantian Oceania had itself a cold war, although the words exchanged were often pretty hot. Even your favourite drink was a political choice, whether you drank Orcnius vodka from Starblaydia, or the Lamodka equivalent from Lamoni- named thanks to a Bazalonian Marketing team. It was, frankly, absolutely ridiculous.

It was the unifying power of football that actually allowed the two nations to meet as rivals, competitors, but ultimately sportspeople. This global, multiversal obsession was so much bigger than the petty spats between two countries and two leaders. Two teams, one ball, one pitch, one game. By the fourteenth AOCAF Cup, Starblaydia had won the title four times in the fourth, seventh, eighth and tenth editions, while thusfar Lamoni's best finish had been third place in the seventh, where they'd lost to the most unlikely of hat-tricks, by Tournetas left-back Fidel Khaif. They picked themselves up to win the third place play-off and now, seven tournaments later, had finally been able to take the next step and reach the championship game. It was one for the script-writers: the AOCAF giants versus their perennial regional rivals, finally being able to match them at their own game.

Starblaydia, however, had just been crowned World Champions for the second time, beating Bedistan on penalties in the Paladin Dome of New Montreal States. Still using an 'A' and a 'B' team to compete in both tournaments concurrently, the second-string squad of players knew they had an opportunity to do what few nations had ever done: be World and Regional champions at the same time. The one thing that stuck in the back of everyone's mind, however, was that Lamoni had yet to beat Starblaydia. 'Yet', it's an awfully powerful word, isn't it? This Lamonian side had knocked off Pacitalia in the semi-final, and we all know that the Blue Foxes' later record of ten regional titles is so far out of the realms of imagination for anyone else, it has to be seen to be believed. This wouldn't be a cakewalk for the powerhouses in purple, and Coach Boldman was not going to allow his team to be the footnote in Starblaydi history, as unlikely as it might have been at the bookmakers.

Looking upon Starblaydia, Lamoni faces its biggest AOCAF struggle yet. Starblaydia is the only team that Lamoni has not as yet won a match against, but most of the matches between the two teams have been close. The resulting rivalry between Lamoni and Starblaydia will give the Hawks a motive to take that potential 5th AOCAF Cup out of the hands of the Starblaydis.

This will also be another so called SDL vs SAAS match, and lots of eyes from all over AO will be there to watch the match. Even President Stone will be flying down to Bettia in order to watch his team defeat Starblaydia. AOCAF parties are being planned all over the Free Republic, and they will be popular. Lamoni is also expected to garner support for being the underdog in this match, with odds of a Lamonian victory low enough that a Lamonian victory would make someone financially set for life.

Formation-wise, Geraint Evans' side lined up in the standard 4-4-2 Diamond so beloved of managers through its history, captained by the 34 year old Cherry Garcia. Francisco "The Terrible" Ibanez at right-back had made it through the Group Stage only to be banned from playing any further, so his place in the starting line-up had been taken by Tabitha Di Bradini, the 18 year old grand-daughter of Roberto Di Bradini, Simeone's younger brother. Another famous surname was that of Matranga, although this time it was Jade,31, in midfield, descendant of Aiden. They would both go on to play a huge role in the scorelines.

To see the names of the Starblaydi goalscorers would warm the heart of any Starblaydi fan: Matranga and Di Bradini. One can almost wind back in time to the days of Aiden, Nick and Itechton Matranga, Simeone and Roberto Di Bradini, but this was Jade Matranga and Tabitha Di Bradini - Aiden and Roberto's grand-daughters. Even when Erik Coale gave Lamoni the lead after half-time, Starblaydia were unworried. After the hour mark, Jade Matranga slipped past the marking of Lonnie Bourquin, exchanged a one-two pass with Jacqueline Maitland and blasted the equaliser past Neil Metro in the Hawk's goal.

Lamoni's 3-5-2 had given them some measure of control over the game, winning battle in the midfield area at times and using their natural width to greater effect than the one forced into the Starblaydi 4-4-2 Diamond. As the momentum swung back and forth, the two sides were equally matched in their passion and competitive nature, and the three man defence was playing havoc with the two up front for Starblaydia. Even the 18 year old starlet Jacqueline Maitland, who'd scored seven goals in the previous seven games - one in every match - was struggling to make much of an impact. It was a finely balanced game, one in which a Starblaydi side of old might have let nerves get the better of them once they went behind, or might have pushed too hard and left the back door open to concede again. This, however, was a much more confident set of players, much more at ease with itself as a unit, and the players with themselves individually. They absolutely knew that they could get back into it, they just needed to bide their time.

That was how it remained - somehow - until the end of the ninety minutes. Everyone thought that penalties would come until Tabitha Di Bradini - who replaced Francisco Ibanez mid-tournament at Right-Back and never let him have the position back - burst onto a through-ball from Will Soperra, surged past Allan Revard and toe-poked the ball past Metro, who had nearly closed her down. As Di Bradini hurdled the Lamonian goalkeeper, the ball was in the net and, with three minutes to go, Starblaydia had won the game.

The goal sparked mass-celebrations all across the Starblaydi-supporting section of the crowd in Bettia, as well as much further beyond back at home. The result didn't just mean that they were champions, it meant they were record-breaking champions, and, for a moment, could call themselves the ultimate footballing power in the multiverse. One cycle, two trophies. Absolute dreamland.

Final score from Stadiwm Bettia, Gabalfa:
_Starblaydia_ 2-1 _Lamoni_
_J. Matranga 66, T. Di Bradini 117_ - _Coale 52_

Narrator: Starblaydia had won the fourteenth AOCAF Cup, their fifth AOCAF title and the World and Regional Double. They were the top of the mountain, holding all the gold that was worth winning. From there it seemed that the only way would be up to even greater heights. National fotoball teams from around the region and the multiverse, however, would have plenty to say about that, and they would be the ones to have the decisive say in whether Starblaydia could really take off, or be roughly hauled back to reality.

[Eraman]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

The Melayuans
Part 4

by Prof. Dr. Mustari Bumi

If Melayuan is so flexible that it is not bounded by race or religion, what is Melayuan?

On the Meaning of Melayuan

This question became the theme of the debate on the Melayuan, many scholars tried to resolve this matter. As if, the meaning of Melayuan cannot be matched to the concept of race or nation. Indeed we know that the Melayuan originated from Yue Zhou, Filindostan, or the archipelago itself; but there are also Melayuan from Indusse like the Palmyrans. Indeed, we know that the Melayuan have customs, but the Melayuan customs are various.

When Melayuan archaeological material mentions "Melayuan" it must be understood in various contexts of the time. In the pre-Meilawati era, Melayuan meant people who lives in the Melayu Mainland.

At the time of the emergence of the Meilawati civilization, the Melayuans developed their meaning to include the customs of other tribes residing in the islands nearby the Melayu Mainland. And in the golden age of Samudera, the Melayuan expanded further to include other races such as the Palmyrans who accepted Melayuan customs, in accordance with the cosmopolitan status of Samudera.

In fact, when we mention Melayuan, we describe Melayuan civilization as opposed to race. The Melayuan term is closer to the Esportivan term that in Esportiva there are various tribes with different cultures and religions but still Esportivan.

Conclusion

Now we understand that the Melayuan are the indigenous people in the archipelago, which consists of various races and religions. It is not limited to the Melayuan customs of Samudera, but includes every tribe here, including the Girian, Mandaran, Banyuan, Otksar, and Bumi tribes, the indigenous tribes in Libonesia and Acastanha, the Palmyrans of the Southern Palm Islands to the Hispanic Melayuan in Berdeng Bundok. Melayuans still hold the same customs, namely decency, manners, and ethics as well as maintaining the name and dignity.

[Nephara]

New Zhengguo 1 - 2 Nephara
(4-4-2) 1 - Provost; 17 - Soeringer (2 - Schrader 71'), 22 - Warden, 6 - Turnbull, 19 - Page; 7 - Koerner, 4 - Timekeeper (19 - Tapper 79'), 23 - Kvasina (15 - Sauber 71'), 16 - Marinca; 9 - Gjasula, 10 - Harper
Goals: Gjasula 22', Koerner 66'

Nephara 2 - 0 Barunia
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Provost; 2 - Schrader, 5 - Clevinger, 6 - Turnbull, 3 - Lind; 18 - Tapper, 8 - Cromwell (15 - Sauber 62'); 13 - Reed (7 - Koerner 82'), 14 - Fletcher, 11 - Considine; 21 - Basilisk
Goals: Basilisk 36', Sauber 81'

Management was heartless.
You couldn't look it, or your players would abandon you. Players needed to feel like they could talk to you. But Triffid Ramsey, she came from a hard lineage, and she was the kind of manager who had accurately treated her own daughter like Nephara's best left-winger without inaccurately treating her like an untouchable star, another Strongbow.
Ramsey didn't get the time to drill her players like club managers did. Hour after hour on the training pitch? No, that wasn't a game she could play. So she interpreted her job pretty simply, picked the right players, put them in the right shape and used most of the time she had on defensive drills. Learning shape, building chemistry. Building a culture.
But it meant, when the mix wasn't right, something had to change and it had to change decisively.

Her problem, right now, was that the player she wanted to start in two years' time was not the player she wanted on the bench tonight.
Lothaire Cromwell was one of Nephara's best players, even the wrong side of 30. And against Barunia, he was proving a dominant force. The Suns had packed the midfield with bodies, and it was imperative to prove dominant.
It had been an anarchic performance away, and there'd been too much anarchy in general for Ramsey's liking. Nephara had simply conceded too often, drawn into attacking games too frequently. Feo Tapper, a hero of the Eagles Cup, had been blooded into qualifying before finally usurping the technically superior but less bloody-minded Rook Timekeeper, and he was excelling alongside Cromwell's intelligence and vision.
Sauber was... superficially close to Cromwell. They were the two best box-to-box midfielders in Nephara, and Sauber was close to a decade younger, time on her side. Sauber's club career was going from strength to strength, getting regular minutes early for the Smiths before earning a move to the Rams and doing well there, too; in both cases, even, in similar systems to the one Ramsey favoured. But it was becoming increasingly apparent, across the course of qualifying, that Sauber was not what Ramsey needed on the plane.
She'd dithered on who would wear the #15 on the squad for... a while. In the end, she decided to stick rather than twist. But Sauber didn't have Cromwell's intelligence or his leadership, and it was those qualities against Barunia - and before - that were holding the side's defensive structure together.
She knew it was a mistake, but she could afford to see it through, with the Cormorants 1-0 up on the hour, Cromwell in need of a rest, and qualification secure. Fine. "Warm up, Tash," she said without even looking, and heard Sauber leave her seat. She was a good professional, there could be no doubt about that.
Well, Sauber came on and immediately Nephara's control started to slip a little. Part of the issue, Ramsey knew, was Sauber was trying too hard, running around... creating gaps. Ramsey had seen tapes! Sauber knew her place for Athletic, she'd known them for Stahlburg. Here she was just trying to do too much in what was, by necessity, a simpler tactical interface, making Tapper stretch to cover, and giving Clevinger and Turnbull more work to do. And the effect was that after being unworked all game - she'd come out quickly to save from Moorhouse's feet in the first half, but the striker had turned out to be offside - now had to be alert to push out a cross from Swan, to palm a Hunt shot around the post, to block the substitute Rachael Cross with her feet, scuffing the ball into the ground and having to claim the bouncing ball ungainly with her hands, falling gratefully on it before the rebound could be converted.
The pressure had been immediate, and for a while it looked like the Suns would capitalise on the pressure, but finally, Nephara started to adapt, take back control. Good jockeying from Lind reduced another substitute, Whistler, into an ineffective cross that Provost easily claimed, rolled to Reina Turnbull, the best ball-playing centre-back Nephara had. Turnbull showed why, slinging a ball down the right; Schrader got on the end of it, played a deft one-two with Reed, raced down the flank through the exposed Suns as the Cormorants sprung as one on the counter. Schrader's cross was lower, only narrowly too far ahead of Basilisk, Brayshaw did well to get to it first but could only scuff the ball a couple metres behind Basilisk, into the centre of the area...
Ramsey winced when she realised what would happen next, she genuinely did.
Because the ball bounced and it was Sauber, gamely racing forward through the lines, and this time it would be rewarded as she slotted a strike low and hard past Taylor. An undoubtedly well-taken goal, and she knew the pressure on her, celebrating like the world had been lifted from her shoulders. And commentators online immediately buzzed, revising old takes - ones who had said Cromwell was getting tired and they needed more legs in midfield had already pivoted, accurately, to saying Sauber was damaging the midfield integrity as Barunia started to pile shots up, but now flitted back to saying actually Sauber must have been a good
And of course, that matched Sauber's perspective, too. That a goal, a single strike of being in the right place at the right time, vindicated an otherwise underwhelming performance. She'd be crushed, Ramsey knew, when her name was not on the next squad list (whose would be? Brand? March? Exene Fletcher?).
But it was what had to be done for the team.

NEPHARAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 8
Goalkeepers: 1 - Aranea Provost (Spartangrad, EUR), 12 - Raluca Garamond (Sabrefell Athletic), 20 - Tanith Arrowsmith (Dynamo Sjoedrhavn, SVJ)
Defenders: 2 - Ophelia Schrader (AFC Treason), 3 - Radeka Lind (Jinja City FC, BNJ), 5 - Reniira Clevinger (Herzegovina City FC, BNJ), 6 - Reina Turnbull (Kingsgrove, BRE), 17 - Pristina Soeringer (Stein-los Turkish, PAS), 18 - Gawain Warden (Marinos Metropolis, VLD), 22 - Ida Sevet-Stokes (AFC Corvistone)
Midfielders: 4 - Rook Timekeeper (Sabrefell Moths), 7 - Anselm Koerner (1830 Cathair, AUD), 8 - Lothaire Cromwell (AC Izotz Zubia, AUD), 11 - Kendra Constantine Ramsey (AFC Treason), 13 - Severine Reed (Raynor City United, VAL), 14 - Thalassa Fletcher (La Nueva Avenida, FFD), 15 - Pernille Brand (Brinemouth), 16 - Lili Marinca (Chromatik, CMT), 19 - Feo Tapper (Aleuisia Capital, ZRH), 23 - Lindse Kvasina (Sabrefell Athletic)
Forwards: 9 - Ruby Gjasula (Bastion, EUR), 10 - Bravura Harper (Ulsa, EUR), 21 - Latona Basilisk (Mâ Âlâmëómë, FFD)

SCHEDULE
Indusse 2 - 4 Nephara
IA Quebec 0 - 4 Nephara
Nephara 7 - 2 Milchama @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Pekoland 1 - 0 Nephara
Nephara 6 - 3 New Zhengguo @ Phoenix Rise (Corvistone)
Barunia 2 - 4 Nephara
Nephara 6 - 3 Natanians and Nosts @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Nephara 5 - 0 Indusse @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Nephara 1 - 3 IA Quebec @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Milchama 3 - 3 Nephara
Nephara 3 - 2 Pekoland @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
New Zhengguo 1 - 2 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 0 Barunia @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Natanians and Nosts vs. Nephara

[Jeruselem]

Naked News Jeruselem's Aidra Nene with Crown Princess Bella in Darmen

Aidra: This is Aidra Nene for Naked News Jeruselem, covering the World Cup 90 qualification campaign. It's match day 13 of qualification and we're in Darmen. I'm with a Princess, it's not Princess Kate but Crown Princess Bella ... our future uber ruler of the universe, sorry Jeruselem. She wanted to come along with us to Darmen for a holiday because ... she can and we couldn't say no.
Bella: Good day everyone! Hope everyone is well.
Aidra: Being the product of two football players, our King Hamish who was a forward and Queen Bianca who was a goalkeeper. Both of which did play in the World Cup finals once. You're football royalty, literally.
Bella: Thanks Aidra, but I'm not as good as the boys and girls out there. I could play but for my own safety, it's better I'm not in the team.
Aidra: You been following the team?
Bella: For sure, it's the national team ... the Princesses are our pride in the football world. Even we have trouble making the finals most of the time.

Aidra:
A quick recap of match day 12 to put today into context.
Ochre Islands were back home and faced ladder leader Kyzhurkistan, this was a must-win for both. Ochre Islands who either win or lose - never draw, won 2-0.
Top seed Mercedini back home should have been Pluvia and the Saxean Isles, but went down 2-1 who were eliminated in reality.
The Gothanita Isles, the last placed team and were eliminated held Darmen to 0-0 at home. Darmen needed to win that game.
And Jeruselem back home did enough to win against Soldera who are not an easy team to place by any means.

Bella: Actually, match day 12 was quite kind to our campaign with rivals tripping over eliminated teams.
Aidra: Soldera didn't make things easy, they could have say drawn and made our lives more difficult
Bella: Our defense did actually do it's job so maybe that's why we might be getting better
Aidra: Let's get on today's results ... lucky number 13. What do think of the team
Bella: Considering we've replaced half the team and more, the new blood has done as some good. They just need to learn about international football. Having an experienced coach like Peko is really helpful. I know Peko as a friend and she's a fantastic person. She always want to do the best for her team, she knows it's all about them and not her because in the end, they are ones do the real work on the field.

Aidra:
Let's see what today brings! A lot of teams will be eliminated leaving a few standing.
The Gothanita Isles were hosting Ochre Islands and as expect lost to them but it was close. Ochre Islands winning 1-0, continuing their win or lose strategy.
Soldera having lost to Jeruselem, hosted top seed Mercedini. Mercedini needed to really win this at this late stage but Soldera proved a PITA to hold them 1-1 draw which was good for us!
Pluvia and the Saxean Isles having won their last game, hosted Kyzhurkistan who were recovering from a loss to Ochre Islands. Pluvia and the Saxean Isles who were eliminated could have handed over 3 points to Kyzhurkistan but stubbornly held them 1-1 draw. For Kyzhurkistan, that's a disaster.

Bella: Actually, those draws are good for our campaign! We didn't want those rival teams picking up wins.
Aidra: But we're here in Darmen because they were picking up wins and we were struggling to hold on the top spots. Darmen has our respect and is a team we don't take lightly, considering they beat us a lot in the past. We did have 4-4 draw with them at home recently.
Bella: We could have lost that game as well.
Aidra: Well, we have the good news from here. We won 3-1, yeah it wasn't 1-0!
Bella: One of our best games for sure this cup, this game was one of those I thought we could lose.
Aidra: Darmen do have one of the better attacks on this cup so they were capable of smashing us off the field

Bella: Well, it's a good thing their defense has been substandard and that kinda blunted any advantage of that they had today
Aidra: But our defense is pretty substandard, lots of games where the opponent really took advantage
Bella: Turns out we're the number one in offense in Group 10, that's what's saved us.
Aidra: World Cup 88, we had great offense backed up one of better defensive efforts for a world cup
Bella: Yes that cup was just one of our best qualifications, we qualified with time to spare! Not here ...

Aidra:
Let's look at the table, and sorry lots of teams eliminated.
The Gothanita Isles still last, 10 points. Eliminated
Pluvia and the Saxean Isles 13 points. Eliminated
Soldera, still 6th with 15 points. Eliminated.
Top seed Mercedini, 5th on 19 points. Eliminated
3rd seed Darmen, 4th on 19 points. Eliminated
Leaving the top 3, who aren't eliminated !!!
Kyzhurkistan on 21, 3rd spot only getting 1 point in two games recently.
Ochre Islands are 2nd on 24 points, and they have been reliably in the top 3. They could top the group if they maybe draw some games they lost?
Well, that leaves ... us back on the top of the table with 24 points! And we have the best goal difference of +6.

Bella: We've somehow clawed our way back to the top
Aidra: We could have just been overwhelmed by the mob but we're stronger than some of the others
Bella: Ochre Islands, great job to be in the top 2 near the end and Kyzhurkistan have improved but they have stumbled lately. Good for us.

Aidra:
So that leaves the final game on match day 14.
Ochre Islands hosts Pluvia and the Saxean Isles, you think Ochre Islands would win this or they'll lose because they don't do draws.
Kyzhurkistan hosts Soldera, Kyzhurkistan should win.
Mercedini hosting Darmen, 1st and 3rd seed - and this game has zero impact who can qualify ...
Jeruselem hosting The Gothanita Isles, the opponent you'd want if you were Jeruselem!

Bella: Well it's simple, we win ... we're all good. And it won't matter what other do. Hopefully the others don't win, so we can top the group.
Aidra: Now, people wonder what's your favourite animal? Princess Stella likes ... sharks, Peko, it's rabbits. Kate, it's cats.
Bella: Oh me, dogs. Particularly bitches ... of the female dog variety, I wasn't calling anyone a bitch.
Aidra: I get called a lot worse, don't worry. Like a dirty cock sucking slut whore ... but hey that's what I did for a job before this one.
Bella: I'm glad people aren't getting that sensitive
Aidra: Actually I don't really a flying f about those people, they can go jump into pit of sewage.

Bella: I guess that what makes Jeruselem women a little different from others I guess
Aidra: That's it from us, we're going home
Bella: Say, have you been in any of normal movies?
Aidra: Me? Not officially as an actress. I'm a body double sometimes for adult scenes.
Bella: I was wondering why you're so familiar
Aidra: I'm good for something. Even it is just being a whore.

[Squidroidia]

Theme Music

"So it all comes down to this! Squidroidia are in position to qualify for the World Cup for the 2nd straight time in their history, and this time they're hoping to top the group in style and punch their ticket to Vilita and Baker Park automatically. The Inklings, however, are faced with a game that, for all we know, is for all the marbles. Kohnhead City, Kohnhead, the lights of the domed Chicken King Stadium in the nation's capital city. All Kohnhead needs to do to qualify automatically is win against this Inklings side that has had their weaknesses exposed in that win-and-you're-in clash against St Trinians. Meanwhile, down in Naypyithaw, the Valentians are hoping for that not to be the case, as Valentine Z hopes to get one step closer to qualifying for their first ever World Cup with a match against the struggling Savojarna to round out qualification. 12 spots are open for the World Cup tonight! This is the final matchday of World Cup 90 qualification!"

"Hello and welcome to Chicken King Stadium in beautiful Kohnhead City, my name is Takanaki Osa. Yes, you are reading that right, this is the final day of World Cup qualification, and heading into kickoff 12 automatic spots are up for grabs and numerous playoff spots are for the taking as well, 10 more spots available from that path for the teams in 2nd. For now, however, Squidroidia are in a golden situation to qualify for the World Cup for the 2nd consecutive time. All they need to do to qualify automatically is either win or draw their final game and they're in the show no matter what. However, they don't want to underestimate their Indie rivals Kohnhead, all the Brains need to do to qualify themselves is win against Squidroidia and nothing else. This is a team that did lose to the Inklings 1-0 in Inkopolis on Matchday 7, but they have home advantage by their side in Kohnhead City."

"Meanwhile, there is still 1 team that, while assured that they won't be able to win the group on head-to-head tiebreakers, can still punch in 2nd place and knock Kohnhead out of the World Cup in the process. Valentine Z are hoping to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history, and all the Valentians have control of is their game against Savojarna at home, in the beautiful Fate Stadium. If they win against Savojarna, who have experienced a once in a generation collapse and will not make it to Vilita and Baker Park, then all eyes turn right here to Chicken King Stadium, as they also need Squidroidia to win to knock Kohnhead out of the World Cup and get the Valentians into the qualifying playoff for a shot at one of the final 10 spots in World Cup 90."

"If Squidroidia win tonight, or even if they play out a draw against fearsome Indies opposition, they will join 8 teams who have made it before a ball has even been kicked in the final matchday and 11 more group winners that we'll know by the end of tonight. The teams that are already in, besides the hosts anyways, reads like a list of football's biggest powerhouses. Turori, Græntfjall, Nephara, Zwangzug, defending champions Ko-oren, Farfadillis, Banija and Audioslavia all have made it in and don't have to worry tonight. Some teams, however, will have to worry tonight, and that includes Equestria, Pemecutan, Eura, Kelssek, IA Quebec, Starblaydia, Valanora, Pasarga, Poafmersia, HUElavia, The Holy Empire and Tikariot. You hear me right, Starblaydia, 5 time world champions, can be eliminated tonight if things go south."

"Squidroidia, however, were gifted a golden opportunity to join this list and qualify automatically before the final matchday, with Valentine Z and Kohnhead losing their penultimate fixtures. Instead, they joined their top 3 bretheren with another tick in the loss column, a 5-2 embarrassment away to St Trinians. The last time Squidroidia conceded 5? The Holy Empire in the World Cup 89 Quarter-Finals, that ended 5-3 for Cthulhu and his team, who lost the World Cup final to Ko-oren. If it wasn't for this performance in Searle, and oh yeah, here's that Appleton goal again just to show you how much of a drubbing this was, we wouldn't have to worry about tonight. But as fate would have it, even with the team Squidroidia had, this was a wake-up call for the Inklings. Now they just have to make sure they don't do this against Kohnhead and they're in."

"With time ticking until kickoff for the final matchday, Squidroidia's fixture against Kohnhead will be broadcasted here on SBN 1, or in Squiddish on SBN Squid. Over on SBN 2 you can find the Valentine Z versus Savojarna match, the Valentians needing a miracle, much like the Inklings last cycle, to have a chance at making the World Cup. If you want to see every important match in this matchday, and yes they'll all be on at once, change that dial to SBN Sport right now for World Cup Goalageddon, every goal from every game right until the final whistle. You can also tune into SBN Radio 1 for radio coverage of the Squidroidia game, and visit sbnsport.sqr for text-only coverage."

"When we come back, Squidroidia's path to this point has been a rollercoaster, so meet the fans that have traveled to every Squidroidian game in qualification to see what qualifying really is like to the die-hard fans of the Inklings. That and more coming up, don't go anywhere!"

---

"So... 90 minutes away from topping the group."

Adam Johnson patrolled the Inklings in Chicken King Stadium's away locker room, each one of them, star men to fringe players, looking sharply at the manager that has guided them to points that, just a few cycles ago, seemed out of reach. Here they were, ready to make it to the World Cup again. But, as fate would have it, they were now the favorites to get a win away to lock in their seat at football's biggest show once more. None of that underdog mentality stayed with them, at least in qualification. They were favorites, and, like what was witnessed against St Trinians and the Finntopian Empire, favorites sometimes don't do that well.

"You've spent 3 matchdays away from home to round out the group. Three. Matchdays. Ever since you walked out of Inkopolis City Stadium for the final time this cycle, playoff pending, having embarrassed yourselves against the Finntopians, you have been forced to fly to the far-flung corners that the sport had to offer. Legalese, St. Trinians, and now, here tonight... A familiar foe. You have played Kohnhead many times over the past couple cycles, so much to the point that our fans think they're a rival, a rival on the same pedestal as HUElavia even... Tonight, you have the chance to knock your rivals back down to the ground and earn... These."

In his hands, two tickets to the World Cup 90 Final, one for himself and the other for SFA President Fukuhara Himeko. These tickets were by no means cheap, regular people could drop an arm and a leg to see the biggest match in football, but these were there to represent something that was less tangible, more of a metaphor than anything.

"...Tickets to the World Cup. You earned these tickets before under my watch, but that came with you scraping through 2 games against one of the most famed teams in history. Guess what? They're hosting the show now. There is no Jungle Cat to face in the playoffs this time! In order to prove to them that those 210 minutes and those penalty kicks weren't a fluke... You have to first GET to the World Cup, then hope to the ones above that we get drawn against the hosts. I know you guys can do it. I know you can muster up enough energy to get through one more game, one more crucial game on this road to Vilita... Even if you do so much as draw to Kohnhead, YOU GUYS ARE THROUGH! They have left you wide open to punch your spot in. And who knows from there? We could get farther than last time. Maybe even reach the World Cup Final... However unlikely that may be."

Johnson got the tickets back into his pocket and looked at his team, knowing that soon his team would have to step out onto the pitch one more time.

"For tonight... Imagine to yourself that this is the World Cup Final. Just imagine that instead of all roads leading to the Vilitan Cove... All roads lead to Kohnhead City. Truth be told, all of you won't be able to step onto the field for a World Cup Final. The next generation of Squidroidians are knocking on our doorstep and ready to show the world what they're made of, and maybe that generation will get us to the promised land. Get all of those thoughts about making a generation believe that they can do anything and face Kohnhead like you would face a Turori or a Valanora or a Starblaydia or a Holy Empire. They have the keys to the kingdom, they have the one thing you need to re-enter the biggest event in sports. You can do this, I believe in you."

And so, with a smile emerging from his face, he huddles up with the team he has led for 3 cycles now, a team that he knows head onto heart, a team that can do anything under him. This was the final match of World Cup qualifying, the last game for this team to prove that they belong before the festival began. They had to show up here otherwise it was probably off to the Cup of Harmony.

"...You are the best team I have ever managed in my career. Go out there and prove me right. GO INKLINGS!!!"

With the squad fired up and ready to go, they went out of the locker room, in their famed kits and all, ready to stare down these Brains and prove to them who was the strongest in the Independent scene. There was no going back now. Soon the 2 teams would step onto the pitch together, ready to settle this once... And for all.

[Ko-oren]

Groups that are done
Group 3: Turori 1st, Drawkland 2nd.

Group 11: Zwangzug 1st, South Newlandia 2nd. Yuezhou and Eshialand dropped out of this race surprisingly suddenly even after Yuezhou handed Zwangzug their first and (so far) only defeat.

Group 16: Farfadillis 1st, Vdara 2nd. This one could have been a tad closer but Vdara's 1-4 home loss to 6th-placed Garbelia makes it hard for us to say they deserved a closer fight.

Group 17: Banija 1st, Brenecia 2nd. A somewhat predictable group, but it's good to see the Banijans back up and in command after a horror WC89 cycle. At 11-1-1 they showed everyone last cycle was just an accident, at least for us outsiders.

We know the top 1 but not the playoff team
Group 4: Graintfjall has got first place locked up at 10-1-2. Juvencus has a mathematical chance to overtake Trolleborg's second place: they are three points apart so all Trolleborg has to do is get one point to secure the playoff berth. Trolleborg play Delaclava, Juvencus play Nagore - a much easier opponent on paper.

Group 9: Nephara are miles and miles ahead with 10-1-2, but we have four teams fighting for a second chance in the playoffs. Milchama leads the fray, Pekoland and Quebec have a decent chance, while Barunia need all of the above to drop points. We have Milchama taking on Barunia, and if the former win this one they well and truly deserved their spot. Barunia have the opportunity to knock out one direct contender but still need Quebec to lose to Indusse and Pekoland to lose to New Zhengguo, which is the most 'doable' opponent.

Group 13: Ko-oren had a near-flawless run (33p), while Savigliane (28p) and Valladares (27p) have kept things close and difficult. We might just see two Anaians graduate from this group, still. Here's the good news: the two take each other on, head to head, for that final spot.

Group 19: Audioslavia, on two straight World Cup third-place finishes, and several arse-beatings in the CAFAs, have locked up the group with Tikariot likely to sneak in behind them. Hapilopper and Abanhfleft can still make things interesting. Hapilopper lost 4-3 to Tikariot on MD13 while Abanhfleft tied Zeta Reka and Hagelslag 1-1 to do them all the disservices in the world. None of them play each other, so Tikariot can get things done easily... on paper.

We know the top 2 but not the order
Group 5: Valanora and Huayramarca are 10-2-1 and 10-1-2, making the latter one of the better (if not the best) current runner-up. The Anaians need the Atlantian Oceanians to slip up, though. Huayramarca do play Krytenia last - will we see an All-Anaian pact?

Group 8: We're pretty much done here, Cassadaigua have a 3-point lead over Polkopia with the rest of the group miles behind.

Group 14: Poafmersia (29p) and Pasarga (27p)'s battle of the P's is looking to be decided in Poafmersia's favour, but it's all still to play for. In fact - it will all be played for! Poafmersia hosts Pasarga on MD14 - this is a good one!

Group 18: The Holy Empire are a point away from another World Cup appearance and could have already secured their spot had they not tied 6th placed Pyazhnaya 1-1. Mytanija is looking at the playoffs with a small chance of something better.

Group 20: Kandorith is the third BoF 42 team with a shout here (together with Astograth and your favourite World Cup champions, Ko-oren) two points behind group leaders Squornshelan Remnant States. Kandorith could have had first if they hadn't lost at 3rd-placed, already-eliminated Sendhang. Let's get it done, Kando!

Free for all
Group 1: Squidroidia, Kohnhead, and Valentine Z are within three points of one another, where all three can all finish anywhere in the top 3. Valentine Z and Kohnhead didn't help themselves by losing in MD13 to Osarius and Savojarna, respectively (though that's a hell of a pair of names to lose to, given that those two aren't in the WC conversation at all). Kohnhead host Squidroidia for this exciting finish, while Valentine Z face less pressure in Savojarna... well, that's 2 crackers of games left.

Group 2: Pemecutan, Equestria, and Le Choix have 27, 26, and 25 points, with Equestria pulling Pemecutan back into the fray with a 4-3 MD13 win. They all play eliminated teams, and we all know there's no better feeling than to play spoiler.

Group 6: Eura and Chromatika are tied at 27 points, while Nyowani Kitara aren't out of it yet at 25. All three won their MD12 and 13 games: this is a stacked top 3. Chromatika host Nyowani Kitara, giving Eura an obvious route to the World Cup proper, who in turn play 8th (and dead last) Good Samaritans.

Group 7: Six teams are still in it, with Kelssek needing one point to lock up first place. Astograth and Omerica can still take first, but are more involved in the second place fight, which also sees Wreckeria, Gyatso-Kai, and Kiltoch still alive. Astograth beat Omerica 1-3, Kelssek tied Gyatso-Kai 1-1 that could have sent them straight to the main event last round. The round before Gyatso-Kai lost 1-2 to Wreckeria to keep the latter involved, while Kelssek got three crucial points over (current) third place Omerica.

Group 10: Jeruselem and the Ochre Islands are in a bitter battle, tied at 24 points, with Kyzhurkistan still technically alive at 21 points. They could have made things a bit easier for themselves had they not tied 7th-placed Pluvia and the Saxean Isles in MD13. What would have helped them even more was to keep the Ochre Islands from beating them 3-0 on MD12...

Group 12: The most fun battle remaining: Tumbra had a near-perfect start to the campaign, racing out to a record lead, but got tangled up as we went on, but still have a very respectable 31 points. Adab have 30. Starblaydia, knocked down but refusing to stay down, have 28... That's more than some group leaders have. None of them play each other anymore, unfortunately.

Group 15: HUElavia and TJUN-ia are tied at 28 points with Ethane close behind at 27 in one of the most entertaining three-horse races left. Ethane beat TJUN-ia 2-0 in MD13 to keep themselves in the race.

---

Must-watch TV guide (Bold if the game has direct consequences for both teams with heartbreak for the loser)

Kohnhead vs Squidroidia (Group 1) - if Squidroidia win or tie, they qualify, while Kohnhead then need Valentine Z to stumble. If Kohnhead win, they qualify, and Squidroidia is left hoping that Valentine Z don't equal them in points (H2H: 6-3 for Squidroidia over Valentine Z).

Chromatika vs Nyowani Kitara (Group 6) - the winner goes to the playoffs. If Eura fails to win, the winner qualifies automatically. The loser of this game is always out of contention.

Gyatso-Kai vs Omerica and Astograth vs Kiltoch (Group 7) - too many scenarios to list. Six teams are in contention. Gyatso-Kai and Omerica two are 3rd and 5th in their group. A draw helps nobody. A win for Omerica gives them a decent shot at the playoffs (or even the group win), Gyatso-Kai need a lot more to go their way. Astograth have the playoffs locked up with a win, while Kiltoch need a lot to go right. Keep an eye on the score bug for the Kelssek and Wreckeria games as well.

Barunia vs Milchama (Group 9) - if Milchama win, they go the playoffs, while Barunia needs to win and have two other results go their way.

Savigliane vs Valladares (Group 13) - winner goes to the playoffs, loser is out.

Poafmersia vs Pasarga (Group 14) - winner autoquals, loser goes to the playoffs. This is basically round 0 of the playoffs.

TJUN-ia vs HUElavia (Group 15) - the winner autoquals, the loser might go to the playoffs or even be eliminated entirely in case Ethane wins their game.

[Tumbra]

Tumbra 0-1 The 14 Stars

TMB (4-2-3-1): 1 - John Lennon; 2 - Ryan Hughes (25 - Neal Diamond, 74'), 4 - Harry Henderson, 5 - Ian Ashburn, 3 - Nigel Harris (19 - Chris Carter, 65'); 23 - Andrew Fisher (6 - Vincent Hicks, 79'), 15 - Trudy Harrison, 10 - Phil Cole; 30 - Valerie Wells, 9 - Robin Vaughn; 11 - Nick Riordan

TMB scorers: Nil

Player of the Match: Tom Feeney (TFS)

---

South Covello 0-3 Tumbra

TMB (4-2-3-1): 1 - John Lennon; 2 - Ryan Hughes, 4 - Harry Henderson, 14 - Stephen Kerr, 3 - Nigel Harris; 6 - Vincent Hicks, 15 - Trudy Harrison (8 - Craig McGrath, 72'), 10 - Phil Cole (38 - Leo Hooper, 84'); 17 - Neil Fraser, 9 - Robin Vaughn (21 - Lynne Crossley, 72'); 11 - Nick Riordan

TMB scorers: Neil Fraser (15'), Nick Riordan (36'), Harry Henderson (72')

Player of the Match: Harry Henderson (TMB)

Link to arc home
defender meets midfielder: season 5, part 8
into the unknown (season finale)

And with an emphatic 2-0 victory over Lanar, Chromatik added to their first title by being the first team to pull off the double — winning both the league and cup, and putting a cap on the team's season. To their surprise, Trudy had been named in the All-Pro team; and her attendance at the end-of-year awards ceremony was mandated. She had been allowed to bring a guest, but she hadn't brought Stephen — both of them agreed that it'd probably attract too much attention, which was what they definitively did not want — so she went alone.

Alone.

Stephen found himself watching the awards ceremony online, and Trudy cut a rather lonely figure at her table. Sure, Lili and Cixin were there at the same table as her, but they'd all brought someone along with them, and Stephen found himself focused on her, watching the awards ceremony play out with a small smile on her face. It was a smile, sure, but Stephen knew it didn't really mean much; it was the smile Trudy employed when she was somewhere she didn't really want to be, the smile that she employed when she had to do one of her brand endorsements, the smile she put on after a loss. Lili and Cixin talking to the ones they invited, in contrast to Trudy sitting relatively alone, pulled on Stephen's heartstrings, but at the same time it raised fresh doubts about Trudy. It was something that Stephen had always been curious about, but had never really dared to ask her about.

Who was Trudy, really?

Well, it wasn't a question in the metaphysical sense; Trudy Harrison was the girl he'd met four years ago, and had fallen in love with, and was his team-mate and girlfriend. But it was more of where she'd came from. She mentioned Kingsbury a lot of times, but nothing more than that; not a mention of who her family was, or what her early life, or of her life back in Tumbra. Whenever he'd clean the house, and went into her room, he was struck by how...impersonal it seemed to be. Sure, there were pictures, but they were mainly of her and friends. Trudy and Ami. Stephen and Trudy. Trudy with Cixin, even one with Lili...but none of her with her family. Or any from her youth. He knew she didn't like talking about it, which was fair — but if they were going to go on like this, he'd have to meet her family and get their approval. He just didn't know how to bring it up.

All that, however, was forgotten when Trudy basically collapsed through the door, exhausted by the day's events; clutching the small statuette she'd gotten for finishing in the All-Star team; and they'd basically collapsed into bed after that. Stephen had fallen asleep almost instantly, but awoken a few hours later to go to the toilet...only to find Trudy awake, when he returned from the toilet.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" he whispered, easing himself into the bed, before caressing her face.

"No," she whispered back, smiling weakly.

"How long have you been awake, then?"

"A while."

"What's bothering you? You can always tell me. It's what I'm here for." He squeezed her hand with his, and she squeezed his back.

"Just can't sleep, really. You—"

"I'm not going back to sleep myself until I know that you're sleepy, too."

"I don't know. I'm happy that we're like this. It's almost too good to be true, really, that the boy I found out that I actually fancied did like me back. And I'm happy he did. Really."

"But...?"

"But I can't help but think of the world I'm going to drag you into because, y'know, because we're together..."

The hair on the back of Stephen's neck prickled. His next words had to be chosen carefully. Very, very carefully.

"Regardless of what world we're in, we'll always have each other."

"No, Stephen, this one's different."

"Tell me about it, then."

"I can't."

"But why? I thought we'd established we'd be honest with each other. That we'd communicate things with each other."

"I know," she said, voice quivering. "But I didn't want your opinion of me to change if I told you. I didn't..."

"Why would it? I love you because of who you are. It'd take a lot, and I really, really, mean a lot, for that to change."

"It is about who I am. It's something I can't change about myself, no matter how far I run or how much I try not to think about it."

"Then tell me about it. I'll share your burden with you. We'll take this on together, Trudy, because I love you, and that's not going to change. If it's something we can do something about, then we'll do something about it. If it's a secret that needs to be kept, I'll keep it for you. Anything. All you need to do is..."

She turned away from him. A few moments of silence followed, before Trudy Harrison turned back towards Stephen Kerr, eyes slightly teary. She squeezed his hand one more time before beginning.

"When I told you I was from Kingsbury, I wasn't lying. Right? I'd spent the past two years of my life before meeting you living there, playing for Kingsbury United, in muddy fields and generally playing without much hope of a future."

She paused, swallowed, before continuing.

"What I didn't tell you, Stephen, was why I was there."

"You wanted to be a footballer."

"Right. I did want to be a footballer. But my family didn't want that. They wanted me to become a part of the family business, a part of the machine, and one day they would groom me to take over at the top. But I didn't want that. So I left. I ran. And they let me."

"So you're free."

"No. I will never truly be, Stephen, because of who my family is. Because of who my father is."

"Who is he?"

Trudy bit her lip, and buried her face into Stephen's arm. A soft sniffle could be heard, and Stephen patted her on the back, embracing her. Eventually, though, she extricated herself, and continued.

"If I told you that my father was the second richest man in all of Tumbra, and owned several newspapers and an entire cable television network...would you believe me?"

Stephen's eyes widened, his stomach lurching. It...couldn't be. But she couldn't possibly be lying. It made perfect sense, in a weird, cosmic kind of way. She had to come from somewhere; and the explanation she was providing...made sense.

"Yes," he said quietly, "but what's his name?"

"His name...is Charles Harrison. If you go to his Online Encyclopedia page and search under 'Family' you'll find that he has one daughter. That's me. I'm his daughter. The one people know exists but nobody knows who she is, actually. In a way it's kind of liberating," a sad grin appearing on her face. "I know people have debated whether I'm dead or not. But nobody actually knows, because he's so goddamn private."

"So what's the problem?"

"He'll never approve of us."

"And that's it?"

"No. But there is so much he could do to both of us, Stephen. So much. Think of the richest person you know, personally, and what they can do with all the money they've got. Now multiply that by a factor of hundreds. Then imagine that person in the corridors of power. One of my uncles was in Cabinet. That's how high we're talking. He can do anything he wants, Stephen. That's what scares me at night. That he could kill our reputations with a click of his fingers. And I know he still thinks that this football thing is a phase, Stephen, that one day I'll grow bored of it and I'll return to his side to begin the process of taking over."

"I still don't get it."

"You're in his way, now. Us being in love with each other is an obstacle. He's going to try and do everything..."

"To break us apart."

"Yeah."

Another squeeze of the hands. "Whatever happens from now, Trudy, we'll face it together. I promise. There will be nothing stronger than us. A defender meeting a midfielder."

"Facing the world together. No matter what happens."

"Together."

Tumbra vs Quakmybush - World Cup 90 Qualifying - Squad

Goalkeepers: 1 - John Lennon [Lakewood City], 12 - Nick Barker [FC Inter Nantwich], 13 - Frank Johnson [Abingdon Celtic, TLI]
Defenders: 2 - Ryan Hughes [Lakewood City], 3 - Nigel Harris [Lakewood United], 4 - Harry Henderson [Aleiuisia Capital, ZRH], 5 - Ian Ashburn [Lakewood City], 14 - Stephen Kerr [Chromatik, CMT], 20 - Douglas Moore [Lakewood United], 25 - Neal Diamond [Lanar, CMT], 27 - Mike Sheppard [Kingston FC, QUE]
Midfielders: 6 - Vincent Hicks [FK Metropola Borograd, STL], 8 - Craig McGrath [Serrapince FC], 10 - Phil Cole [Osarese Marcadia], 15 - Trudy Harrison [Chromatik, CMT], 23 - Andrew Fisher [FC Inter Nantwich], 38 - Leo Hooper [Myana, CMT]
Wingers: 9 - Robin Vaughn [Lakewood City], 17 - Neil Fraser [Lakewood City], 21 - Lynne Crossley [Strathcona Internationals, KSK], 30 - Valerie Wells [Swanguard Athletic, QUE]
Strikers: 11 - Nick Riordan [Serrapince FC], 22 - Nigel Erskine [Anomalies, CMT]

[The 14 Stars]

End of an era

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR18NP-acL4 Official end song

Maximillian and Jill

Jill and Maximillian through the tournament grew closer as friends and very good friends who shared anything with eachother, however Maximillian felt something else besides this friendship which he hadn't felt a long time.
But it was hard to bring to words and also hard to speak out to her, he thought about it, would his late wife look down on him now and be proud of him or would she hate him for being so selfish.
But on the other hand he also remembered the words of Marcus Blade that day, ''you turn it around, who would be the most proud of you'' .....was what echoed through his mind endlessly as he thought about it.
While being at a restaurant someday they were together eating there and talking about tomorrows match against Tumbra.

Jill: ''It really will be an exciting match, i hope ill be allowed to play that day, how are you feeling though since its almost your last match for the National Team which might be quite hard.''

Maximillian: ''It is....but less then it was earlier since i found out that there will be a life for me after my career, my biggest fear always was becoming a nobody after my days as a soccer player....''

Jill: ''That won't happen, you're still one of our best players and our ace, i'm convinced there will be enough of attention for you even after your career so no need to be afraid of that.''

Maximillian: ''Thanks, thats quite reassuring to hear, yet there is something important that i've not done yet n my life, i should have done it already but my doubts really clouded my thoughts for a while.''

Jill: ''What is it? if there is something important you should do it as soon as you can!''

Maximillian: ''Well to be fair that important thing in my life.....is you Jill....you really managed to make me see everything on the bright side again and i just don't wanna let that be over after this.''
Maximillian takes Jills hands in his own as he looks in her eyes and says

Maximillian: ''Dear Jill, do you want to be my girlfriend?''

Jill: ''Oh my...ofcourse i do you're the first person i actually feel that connection with that i've always missed in my life...you really make me happy everyday and i never want that to stop.''

Match against Tumbra

Line-up

gk - Princeton (subbed in the second half for Feeney)
lb - Neville
cb - White
cb - Moon
rb - Salisbury
lm - Diam
cm - Valerian
rm - Ray
lw - Redwood
st - Flare
rw - Blade

At the kickoff these eleven appeared and the Tumbrans were a strong team, they were one of the top teams in our group so a good result against them would be a win on itself already.
They used high pressure to push us back to our own half but the defence was lucky to have Moon and White who were very experienced and easily corrected any mistakes in the defence to the annoyance of the Tumbran forwards.
In the first half none of the teams did really push even if the Starsians were not in the run for qualification they still wanted to make it hard for Tumbra's team to win against them.
Lots of chances appeared but Calvin Princeton showed his quality as Starsian goalie and saved one after the other keeping his goal clean while the Tumbrans legit bombarded the Starsian goal with shots.
at the end of the first half the Tumbrans seemingly got impatient and made a series of small fouls that led to free kicks and a massive chance for Kira Blade which she nearly missed to the shock of the tumbran goalie.

Half time

Landry: ''alright guys n girls not bad but we have a whole half to go, i can see they try to score but their impatience is growing and we need to use that to our advantage in the second half.
We have to ensure to keep our cool, especially our CB's CM's and so on need to have their heads cool and stay in control, if we keep our cool we might even be able to snatch points of them.''

Young: ''Yes we should concentrate, play our own game and with that we'll beat them alright!''

Team: ''Yeah lets win this!!! yeah!!!


Second half

In the second half the Starsian players graudually from defense when to a more offensive playing because the Tumbran side got more annoyed by the minute and kept making small fouls.
However the game-speed was very high because people in Tumbra played very very quick soccer and the endurance of the Starsians was not their strong point but rather their technical game.
Long minutes of back and forth went over and all players became more and more exhausted until Landry decided it was enough and called Flare to the side to explain his plan to him.
After that Flare, Blade and Valerian stormed forward in a triangle formation with all players at their side and back, Flare passed to Kira and a new triangle appeared with Diam and Valerian, she passed to Valerian who formed a triangle with Ray and Diam.
These triangular dribble tactics allowed the Starsians to adapt to the Tumbran defense and easily play through it ending it with a massive shot of Valerian in the back of the net out of reach for the keeper in the 72th minute.

After this the Tumbrans even got more impatient however the referee was on their side so they didn't get a card because it were all minor things that weren't worthy enough for a card.
One player from Tumbra, one of their strikers managed to shoot at the crossbar and another one shot the rebound but right in the hands of Princeton who took his time and got a yellow card for his time buying.

Whisle

After the whistle cheers from the Starsian but sad noises in the stadium until they heard something weird, looking on the field one of the Starsian players had collapsed without any signs of injury at all.
Morris Valerian, captain of the Starsian and matchwinner today was the victim as both teammates and the medical staff of the Starsians and the Tumbran staff worked together to see what was wrong and how they could help him.
Meanwhile panic araised in the stadium as they saw a lifeless body on the field, they didn't know whether he was dead or not which later did not seem to the case and was called in the stadium.

Meanwhile the Tumbrans formed a human curtain around the treated player, they probably felt bad for losing but no player deserved to be hurt in any form and after all they were all humans.
Across the stadium a loud applause both for the Tumbran respect and the medical staff could be heard aswell as a chant of the players name to show their support in these bad times.

''Valerian!'' ''Valerian!'' Valerian!''

A little while later he was dragged off the field by the medical staff with the players around him forming the human curtain while applauding back to their fans to thank them for their support here today.
One of the greatest Starsian players today had met a tragic accident, he was brought to the nearest hospital for now awaiting medical checkups to see how worse it was and what it was in the first place.

Stars and.....Stars?

Line-up for the Starblaydia match, the line-up was changed as some players did not want to play today after the horrible accident as they simply couldn't get their minds to it:

gk - Feeney
lb - Steeler (debut)
cb - Wilson (debut)
cb - Moon
rb - Esscher
lm - Diam
cm - Chardan (debut)
rm - Forsberg
lw - Jude Redwood
st - Maximillian Flare
rw - Jill Swyndon

captain - Maximillian Flare
vice captain: Nicolay Moon

Match

Before the match when the teams were done singing the anthem the Starsian players offered the Starblaydi team a nice gift for their 300 year anniversary which was not something exceptional but a symbolic token of their respect to them.
It was a Starsian kit with ''300'' and ''Starblaydia'' on the back where usually the number and name were located which was a one-of-a-kind thing that only was made for this special occasion today.

They kicked off and played until the the 36th minute, at this minute the Starsian kicked the ball out, a loud applause from the Starsians could be heard as they chanted one name with thousands of people.

''Flare! Flare! Flare! Flare! Flare!!!!!''

a substitution was called, Maximillian Flare was called off, his last match was played here, he made a long walk waving and applauding to the fans as he stepped off the field wishing Holly Moonlight his replacement luck.

goals

The first half ended with 3 Starblaydi goals and 2 Starsian goals respectively made by Swyndon and Moonlight, the same Holly Moonlight would score two more in the second half but it was not enough.
Starblaydia was a team with many faces, many qualities and they showed their skill but our Starsians bravely played a great game after the horrible accident and lost the match with their heads held high.

[Soldera]

And just like that, the Solderan national football team are officially eliminated from contention for World Cup 90 qualifying.

That's the bad news. Soldera will not be going through to the proper in their first qualifying campaign. They were officially eliminated after a 1-0 defeat against group leaders Jeruselem at Dazza Dallas Stadium. That rendered their home finale, a contest against Mercedini, meaningless except for pride. They managed that pride as midfielder and team captain Joey Westway notched a 79th minute goal in the final home match of his career to earn the draw and officially eliminate Mercedini from qualifying contention.

The final match will be a road game against Kyzhurkistan, who are trailing both Jeruselem and The Ochre Islands for a spot in either the proper or the two-leg World Cup playoffs. Other than starting mainly a team of reserves, Snakes manager Norm Carricker said he expected his players to fight to get a result against Kyzhurkistan. Soldera beat them 4-1 at King Anthony Stadium on Matchday 7.

"It's a balancing act," Carricker said. "On the one hand, I want to see some players who otherwise wouldn't get a chance to play, but on the other hand, I want to see our players get out there and play like there's something at stake because for [Kyzhurkistan], there is."

Jeff Bannister will get the start for the Snakes in goal and Nestor Gomez will be next in line to play. Carricker said he would likely send Gomez on as a second half substitution depending on how the match played out.

"If I feel like Jeff gives us the best chance to get a result or he's playing especially well, I'll let him stay in there," Carricker said. Other than the reserves, he said he would start Westway.

"Joey's provided us a lot of leadership and has played a huge role in developing our program," Carricker said. "He's now going to play a pivotal role in getting our domestic football pyramid up and running." Carricker said he would consider offering Westway a role as an assistant manager if he's interested.

"He's been a coach on the pitch for us," Carricker said. "He may still have some football left if we're invited to the Cup of Harmony, but if not, he's gone out having helped this team play better than most pundits expected." Or their manager, for that matter. Despite the team's 4-3-6 record and position as the sixth placed team out of eight in Group 10, the Snakes have a plus-2 goal differential. That alone may not get them playing postseason football, but a team entering World Cup qualifying ranked 236th in the multiverse not being eliminated until the antepenultimate game of qualifying is still a credit to Carricker and the players. In particular, how the team rallied after the loss of defender Eli Bingham to a torn ACL.

Carricker said Bingham suffered an infection after surgery and it was looking unlikely that he would play for the Snakes again. However, Bingham said he was still going to fight to get back on the pitch.

"I feel like I have unfinished business out there," he said.

[Sarzonia]

Sarzonia's national football team was officially eliminated from knockout round contention despite a 5-0 away victory over bottom-of-table Dod Rava as Mytanija earned a 2-1 win over Eraman, leaving Sarzonia with one match to play for pride and the hopes of impressing the potential hosts of the Cup of Harmony.

Sarzonia needed to run the table and hope Mytanija lost each of their final three matches as the Stars were eight points behind Mytanija with three matches to play. The Stars held up their end of the bargain with a 3-1 away victory over already eliminated Eraman whilst The Holy Empire defeated Mytanija 4-3. However, Mytanija's victory over Eraman officially closed the door on qualifying.

"It's disappointing to not qualify for the proper," manager Nathan Hanifer said. "We got some good results in our last four matches (three wins and one draw), but we left too many points behind."

Hanifer said he would start Trent Woodson in the final match at Dave Wilson Stadium in Woodstock against Magnecia. That team defeated the Stars in an away match 4-2 on Matchday 7. Hanifer said he hadn't heard anything official about his status as national team manager, and repeated the mantra that he would address his future "at the appropriate time."

"Right now, I'd be making a decision based on emotions," Hanifer said. "It may be that the decision about my future with the national team is out of my hands. I'd like to think it's not, but you never know. I'm going to step back and evaluate everything with the [Incorporated Football Federation] like I've done every time thus far and we'll take it from there." Sources familiar with the IFF's thinking say the Board of Governors is likely to support Hanifer's return, pointing to the team's rallying in the past four matches after a 2-1 defeat to Mytanija. The Stars have won four of their last six matches including a 2-1 away victory over top ranked defending runners up The Holy Empire.

However, if Hanifer walks away or the two sides don't come to terms on a contract, speculation has centred on either Under 21 national team manager Colton Longley or assistant manager Brady Reynolds for the top job. Representatives for Longley have declined comment, stating that he has work to do as Junior Stars manager. The Junior Stars will take on Græntfjall in the quarterfinals of the current Di Bradini Cup. Longley has managed the team to a record of 5-2-2 thus far, including a 3-0 win over Darmen in the Round of 16. As for Reynolds, he has no managerial experience, but Hanifer has told sources he's pleased with Reynolds' development as an assistant manager.

[Kyzhurkistan]

"And that is it, the final whistle. Attokur Rakhimov came close in the final minutes, but the same can be said about Rory Goldberg's diving header which exploded on Halikov's post. It has been a tense game in the Topbati Arena and the stress clearly reflected on the opening half, but afterwards the Magpies and the Tigers turned it into a spectacle. A fair draw, two points less than hoped for but a correct representation of an intriguing game. Over to you Ayda, in the studio."

Applause rises up as the camera pans over the three pundits in the sofa of the leading Kyzhurki football show. Host Ayda Akhmetova immediately asked the hard questions to the duo across from her, former manager Usup Kayipov and Dinamo midfielder Sanzhar Ayetbaev.
"Should the Tigers have won this one?"
"For their qualification ambitions, yes, of course. But it is no secret that this would be a difficult confrontation. Chambery might be contested over at Pluvia but this no longer is the side that got whipped by Soldera on the opening day."
Sanzhar nodded in confirmation, adding.
"Before this campaign, any point was considered a success. As such, a draw after a positive performance, it is hard to see that as a failure."
Ayda missed a bit of pepper and salt in their replies.
"Let me put it differently: the Tigers needed three points if they wanted to accomplish their miracle. Where could they have grabbed those?"
This took a bit more contemplation from the guests but Ayetbaev found a window of opportunity.
"The best part of our game was just after the break. Omorov managed to score but there were opportunities for one more: the free kick from Zhuraev, the chip from Rakhimov, … But then came that equalizer and the balance tipped."
Kayipov saw it differently.
"That last chance from Rakhimov, that should have been a goal and then you can play for the World Cup against Soldera. Now it is going to be… Well, hard I guess?"
Behind them on a large screen, the other results lit up. Ochre Islands confirmed the form they had demonstrated at home with an away win, whilst Jeruselem took three points on the road in the difficult trip to Darmen. Mercedini keep on struggling to win their games, a draw for the Golden Eagles in Soldera.

"That means it is twenty-four for Ochre Islands and the Princesses, three more than our Kyzhurkis. This means that…"
Ayda tries to look at her producer for more information, but doesn't need to see the remainder of the studio that there's panic behind the cameras.
"... what approach would you advise the coach for the final game, a difficult trip to Soldera?"
"Well, ehm… We can still qualify if…"
Sanzhar tries to assist the veteran.
"If the Gothanita Isles… No. Wait, if both manage. No?"
Suddenly, Ayda sticks her finger in her ear. It is not even the one where her wire is connected to, but in screen class, they have mentioned that it makes clear to the audience that something is coming in from outside.
"It is unclear how and whether we can still qualify, but there seems to be an expert mathematician connected to our studio. Hello?"
Suddenly, a tiny, angelic voice fills the ether. If we did not know better, you would say it's an eleven-year old girl rather than a professor from Utagan Technical University.
"Hello? Is this the television?"
"Yes indeed, you are live. You can shed more light on the qualifying chances?"
"Yes. They are gone. Even if Jeruselem and Ochre Islands lose and we join them at equal points, we are eliminated. In a three-way tie, Jeruselem wins the ticket. Then it is us versus Ochre Islands and that second goal from Gibson in the second leg puts us out."
"That's unfortunate but thank you for your insight, miss…?"
"My name is Lidiya and I want to say hello to my teacher, mister Nezar and all my friends in my cl-"
The little girl is cut off surprisingly fast.

If that ending makes no sense, please check my previous bit.

[Ochre Islands]

'Why oh why had they sent a second bin lorry and why are there camels going past my office?' Geoff asked himself, pulling himself away from the window in his office, before treading down the steps of the High Embassy, out the door, a step or two over the porch shared with the takeaway, then around the corner.

'Where's the other bin lorry gone?'

'Eh? We got here in that hatchback there' Si said, pointing at the Council pool car him and Kev had driven here in, which was definitely a 5-door hatchback and not a bin lorry.

Geoff looked back at the High Consulate, noticing the window he'd looked out of was sited just above the flue serving the extractors in the takeaway.

'Ah' Geoff said. 'Must have been condensation on the outside of the window causing a trick of the light.'

Kev looked up from the ground, finally breaking his gaze from the last bit of the vindaloo brownie he'd dropped. 'Hear that, Si?'

'What's that, these Krytenians polluting the air?'

'No Si.' Kev said, in a rather matter of fact manner. 'A train's coming.'

'Isn't it a tram?' Geoff asked. Si nodded back though seemed powerless to do anything to correct Kev.

Working above a takeaway you tended to know when it would get busy, and this was usually when the tram stopped at the nearby station. Geoff had learnt this so he knew in future to avoid making phone calls to upset Krytenians in holiday hell whilst there were shouts of 'no, I said I wanted "four cones of chips and three sodas", not "foreclosure and free yoga" in the background.

What Geoff didn't know though was that as a result of one or two miscommunications, his office was now being used for free yoga classes. This was part of a Krytenian outreach program on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, to the point where he was about to lose his desk on a Wednesday as well to the yoga class, such was the popularity of them. The entire High Commission may well have been shut down had it not been amusing for the staff back in Emberton to receive diplomatic correspondence on the matter. There was even low-level talk of a radio broadcast soap-opera on the entire thing, where Geoff's continuing hijinks in Bellflower would be acted out by famed Krytenian voice actor Ala Penjo.

Still, this seemed to fade into obscurity once the 09:47 tram toward Breakerview Athletics Park rattled past. 'Fifth time this month that's arrived slightly early' Kev said dejectedly. 'Gives the driver time to catch his breath though' he sighed. 'It must be exhilarating driving that.'

Si and Geoff stared at Kev for a minute, then the three of them jumped in harmony at the sound of Mr. Dave Ellie utilising the horn on his bin lorry to get some attention.

'Alright lads' Dave said, leaning his head out of the window. 'Are yous going to move anytime soon? We've got more collections to make' he said, gesturing to the other two people in the cab with him.

'Sorry, Mr..?' Geoff said, not having been introduced. 'Ellie. Dave Ellie' the driver replied, having what was turning out to be an outstanding day for introducing himself in the format 'Surname. Firstname Surname.'

'Mr. Ellie, can you tell me about the camel I saw walking down the street?'

'Camel?' Dave said, thinking for a moment. 'Oh! You mean Sally? I've just seen her.'

'Sally the Camel?' Geoff said. 'What sort of a name is that for a camel? What is this country I've been posted to?'

'Nah, Sally aint a camel, she's got no humps.'

'Sally the Camel has no humps?' Geoff replied, confused.

'Because Sally is a horse' 'Of course' Kev said, followed by Si backing him up. 'Anyway, Sally's being ridden by a small child at the moment on a bit of a fun-tour up and down the seafront, you might have mistaken them for a hump.'

'Possibly...' Geoff said.

'Give me a minute Kev' Si said, returning to the car and reversing it out of the way enough for Mr. Ellie to get past.

Si returned to the group holding his mobile phone. 'I knew I'd seen something. Look at this, Kev.' 'It's the Council's website, isn't it?' Kev replied.

'That's correct Kev. Isn't it spectacular?' 'Not really' Kev replied. 'It's full of typos and they've used Comic Sans in a headline announcing the discovery of the death of a beloved pet goat, named Pete, a couple of years ago, which was only discovered lately through DNA testing by the looks of things by his distraught co-owner.'

'Sharp eyes there Kev.' 'Thank you Si. Also there's no mention of the trains.' Kev went back to looking at what was left of his brownie on the floor, now that 26 tonnes of bin lorry had rolled over it. 'Now, they've added a bit' Si said. 'Your Council... foreign relations – that's new... international treaties... Krytenia... Crazy Craig's Krytenian Takeaway and High Commission, here we go.'

Geoff looked at Si as if he was mad. 'Are you really going to read the entire legal text of a treaty between Bellflower City Council and Krytenia here and now?'

'No' Si said 'I'll just search for something'. He tapped in three letters into the search bar of the document. 'If you'll see here, it says nothing about Krytenia owning the air – and I quote - “the land and structures forming plot 12, Bowlingswan Way, Bellflower, otherwise known as Crazy Craig's Krytenian Takeaway and High Commission was granted to the Federal Kingdom of Krytenia in perpetuity by the Republic and Community of Ochre Islands'.

'And what exactly does that mean?' Geoff asked.

'You're polluting Ochre Island air and causing yourself hallucinations of the Camelidae variety!' Kev said, suddenly snapping out of the grief over losing his brownie. 'Si, get in the car. We've got some air monitoring equipment to pick up.'

[TJUN-ia]

By Peter Davis

After a win in Tiangkong against the United Adaikes but a 0-0 draw in Ranoria, the Jaguars of TJUN-ia could certainly feel the pressure upon their shoulders and the hyenas of this group begin to catch up. Level on points with HUElavia, 4 ahead of Ethane and 7 ahead of Ranoria - that's how we entered the final double-header and no one was sure how we'd exit it. Would MD18 matter or not? Could TJUN-ia do it or not? David Seems and Li Xiu Ying knew that every damn point mattered in these final few games and they would certainly give it all for the cause.

Up first, Darkmania in Szensky and while not exactly a high profile matchup, the 1-0 win we got on the road certainly meant KS would go for it on this one - just in case. Every point mattered, of course, and if that meant turning Beregozera into a fortress for the night, then so be it. Rëubens Gälmanga wouldn't have a goon night at all in the CSTO capital and that would certainly be made apparent early on, with Vladimir Podolov feeding of the home crowd once again to take the lead after only 5 minutes. That would lead to both his teammates, Kepo Ulawaya and Joe Green, ending up on the sheet with him before the end of the game, countless chances going Lÿngeman's way in this contest. It certainly was routine but in these times, the routine was all that was required and a new situation was now in effect. Ethane beat HUElavia and Ranoria also won, so TJUN-ia found itself in a win-and-your-in scenario entering the next game.

That next game would be against the Red Kites on the road, a team who certainly wanted revenge after falling 4-0 to the Jags in Szensky - and they would certainly get that tonight as they looked to stay alive in the WC Chase. TJUN-ia knew they could make history with a win, but Ethane was fighting for their very lives and they would send 2 daggers into our chests back to The North Pacific. The first was via Scott Burgess in the 35th, the 2nd from Muhammad Palmer in the 56th. We tried to fight back but to no avail...and now we must face the ghosts once more.

HUElavia 28 (+11GD, 1-0 H2H), TJUN-ia 28 (+15GD, 0-1 H2H), Ethane 27. So tight and so stressful for all involved with only one more game to play, the situation is as follows. TJUN-ia will host HUElavia on the final day in TJUN-ia City while Ethane travels to Aut-Ves-Nat. The winner of TJUN-HUE will qualify for the WC as group winners while a draw or defeat could open the door for the Red Kites to sneak into the Top 2.

Of course, many in both TJUN-ia and HUElavia will be keeping an eye on events on the Autonomous Vessel Nation, but the majority of the focus will be on events in the National Stadium itself. Leonardo Conavacio's side won out 4-2 in Curumba and as such have the H2H advantage if a draw were to play out. So in that case, TJUN-ia has to win in order to reach the WC for the first time. Anything less than that could either see in in the playoffs for the first time since '88 or down and out in 3rd for the 3rd WC in a row.

This game will be the first time since MD5 that TJUN-ia plays a game not on top of the group - which only goes to show how well this team has done in this WC Cycle thus far. Seems and Li have produced what could be our best WC performance thus far, a campaign which has seen us drop points in only 4/13 games - the other 9 all dubs. We've been a team that always finds a way to get those points on the board, more so than ever before, and a team that has adapted to the loss of The 9 way better than a lot of people would've expected. The Galarians certainly can play and that helped us reach this point years in the making - at the 11th hour of Levi-Holt's Dream.

But the shadows of the past, especially at this stadium, continue to haunt us entering this contest. The last 4 WCs could've seen the Flag of Multiversal Peace in the Finals Pantheon, but to no avail and all within the degrees of pain. WC86, a long slog that ended in the "Playoff Semi" in Tikariot, the best draw in our history, before we lost both legs to a superior Chromatika side. WC87, finishing 2nd to Cassadaigua and entering the National Stadium 3-2 up on Siovanija and Teusland - only for us to lose 6-5 on the night and 8-8 on away goals, breaking hearts everywhere and sending us down "the dark path". That dark path took us to WC89, where Banija was imperious and TJUN-ia finally understood what Tikariot felt like before - losing at home to Oberour Ar Moro on the final day to miss out on a potential WC berth. WC89 was just as painful, a scenario presenting itself for TJUN-ia to snake into the playoffs only for Turori to crush those dreams into dust in a revenge game on the road. That time, we actually went 3-0 in the National Stadium - but that wasn't enough.

Basically, these past few years have been nothing but an exercise in how much pain one nation can handle - and that nation has had enough of playing this damned game. Don't get us wrong, we don't have anything against the Cup of Harmony - but many here feel that we are overdue graduation to those pearly gates Jackson Levi-Holt promised us by this time long ago. This is our final chance to reach that goal he set for us and despite the shadows of the past being all around us on the final day, TJUN-ia is going to fucking fight for its right to be considered something more than a Top 50 team. HUElavia like to say a phase during their football journey: "FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!" Well, in the capital next time, TJUN-ia will try to counter with a phrase of its own. Next time, we defend ourselves and our dreams once more...but can we do it...even if it's just this once?

GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group 15)
MD1: vs United States of Great America (UR) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City W 4-0 (1st)
----------------------Boot It!----------------------
MD2: vs Aut-Ves-Nat (142) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City W 4-2 (1st)
MD3: @United Adaikes (244) W 1-0 (1st)
----------------------Boot It!----------------------
MD4: vs Ranoria (67) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong L 0-1 (2nd)
MD5: @Darkmania (104) - Nätionaljë Stëduÿm, Örkendrem W 1-0 (1st)
----------------------Boot It!----------------------
MD6: vs Ethane (14) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky W 4-0 (1st)
MD7: @HUElavia (41) - Estadio Nacional, Curumba L 2-4 (1st/W5-D0-L2/15pts/+9GD)
----------------------Boot It!----------------------
MD8: @United States of Great America (UR) W 3-1 (1st)
MD9: @Aut-Ves-Nat (142) W 4-2 (1st)
----------------------Boot It!----------------------
MD10: vs United Adaikes (244) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong W 2-1 (1st)
MD11: @Ranoria (67) - Smith Field, Richardson D 0-0 (1st)
----------------------Boot It!----------------------
MD12: vs Darkmania (104) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky W 3-0 (1st)
MD13: @Ethane (14) L 0-2 (2nd [H2H])
----------------------Boot It!----------------------
MD14: vs HUElavia (41) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City

[HUElavia]

HUElavia 0-2 Ethane
(Lozano 28', Palmer 73')
(Takoroyama Kyougijou, Takoroyama, HUElavia)

HUElavia 6-2 United States of Great America
(Chanca 5', 61', Regnard 25', Ferreiro 39', Castilho 75', 87' | REDACTED 44', REDACTED 90+2')
(Stade de la Cote, Singelles, HUElavia)

XI at TJUN-ia: 
Lettmann, Mitarte, Coentrao, Pujals, Vogt, Doisneau, Fonseca-Mantovani (C), Yamane, Torrisi, Sol, Nascimento

Match Preview:
After over a year of qualifiers going on throughout Group 15, the Final Matchday arrives with a simple message to two growing rivals in TJUN-ia and HUElavia: "Win And You're In." Despite falters by both teams in Matchdays 12 and 13, what both teams have expected when the schedule first came out is what has become reality, with both teams having to fight to make the World Cup. For TJUN-ia, they have fear instilled into them after having multiple heartbreaks in failing to qualify to the World Cup on the Final Matchday. For HUElavia, they know what it is to advance into a further stage on the Final Matchday. With Ethane hot on their trails, both teams will have to give it their all and fight to punch their ticket to Vilita and Baker Park. Regardless of whether there is a victor or a draw, only one can go directly into the World Cup. The other may have to go through the playoffs, or even go to the Cup of Harmony next summer.
Matchday 14: TJUN-ia vs HUElavia. "The Final Showdown."

A Chef's Voyage

The Many Sides of Canternico

On the northern coast of HUElavia, in the state of Grande Costa, lies one of the most influential and historic cities of HUElavia: Canternico. A city with a population of 19.5 million inhabitants is the cultural capital of the Tallians and the Italian Language in HUElavia. This city has been the birthplace of various celebrities and politicians in HUElavia, including Lionel Rossi Rigoni, former Presidential candidate and Governor Raul Rabellini-Ruiz, famous actress Letizia Niccoli, and current HUElavia Football Team Captain Liana Fonseca-Mantovani. Truly, this city knows how to produce some of the greatest people in HUElavian history. You know what else is this city good at producing? Food. Lots and lots of it. Today, I'm taking the time to get acquainted with Tallian dishes that have become immensely popular throughout HUElavia.

First up, I'm here at Borelli's Deli a Deli chain that first started here over 160 years ago by Tallian immigrant Bellino Borrelli, that has now spread throughout HUElavia and is known for its traditional Tallian Deli Meats. Here, I'm ordering a fair array of deli meats for me to eat and enjoy as a meal. We got Salami, Prosciutto, Mortadella, and finally Capicola, also known as Gabagool. Time to dig in! *Takes multiple bites* Mmmmm, these are all very great! The prosciutto has the clean ham taste that is a bit salty, but fresh nonetheless. The Salami has a sharp and slightly spicy taste to it, but it really is a solid deli meat, always goes well with some provolone cheese. In this case alone, it's still a great taste. The Mortadella has a fatty, savory taste to it with the little pistachio parts in it making a nice complimentary mix with each taste and bite. Finally, the Capicola, it's dry and cured, but has a spicy taste to it and it's very enjoyable to have. All in all, these are some great meats exported from Tallia to HUElavia, it's a staple for the many sandwiches of the country.

I spend my time exploring the museums and art exhibits, filled with valuable artworks created by Tallian-HUElavians, as they helped enrich the artistic culture of HUElavia. On top of that, I visited a museum of the various HUElavians who were of Tallian origin who contributed to the country, whether in Sports, Entertainment, Politics, or Industry. In fact, many of the farms in this part of the country have been passed down generations through Tallian-HUElavian families. In other words, these people are very family-oriented and have taken the chance to influence HUElavian culture and the way of life through their traditions brought into the country. In fact, the Tallians were among the first groups of immigrants to come to the country, seeking to escape poverty and make a name for themselves in this massive country.

Once time has passed, it's time for another meal. I decide to visit a popular restaurant by the coast named Laguna, famous for its pastas and seafood. Although for today, I'm with the hankering for some pasta: Spaghetti alla Carbonara. *Takes bites and slurps* Mmmmm, this is so delicious! The pasta is smooth and easy to take bites out of it, the pepper brings a nice kick to the taste, and the ham is smoky and salty, giving a nice mix into the dish. I decide to add some tomato sauce into the mix and take a bite. *Takes bite* Mmmmm, the sauce adds some more kick to it as well, has that nice acidic tomato taste to it that people tend to know and love with Spaghetti. Great staple meal and this feels great to have.

Finally, some dessert at the restaurant: Gelato. Time to take in this delight. *Takes lick and bite* Mmmmm, very creamy and enjoyable! It's cold, but not cold enough to give some brain freeze, as well as this Lemon-flavored Gelato is sweet and citrusy, which makes a nice combination with each spoonful. Very great dessert to have, whether as part of a meal or as a snack, you can never go wrong with this.

At the end, Canternico is a beautiful city with plenty of history and culture and a great place to visit. I'm grateful to see all this.

Join me next time as I travel down south to the city of Goang, the cultural capital of the Jeong, one of the newest immigrant groups of HUElavia, with a popularity growing among the HUElavians and tourists who come visit the area. Until next time!