Cup of Harmony 82 [rosters/RPs/scores]

[Pluvia and the Saxean Isles]

Has Laurent Chambéry finally arrived?

Christopher Teschner, Marienburg Herald

The tenure of Magpies manager Laurent Chambéry, who replaced Lucien Hammerschmidt before AOCAF LXV, has not been one of universal smiles. At AOCAF LXV, the team failed to win a single game (though losing only one), and there were reports of a fight in the locker room following the final game of that competition. Not an auspicious start for the first foreign manager of the Magpies. And before the final three games of World Cup qualifying, by which time the Mapgies had been all but mathematically eliminated, Chambéry's side had earned just nine points. Sure, the final three games were good, including victories over top-seeded Mercedini and eventual World Cup side the Ochre Islands, but their record up to that point was 2-6-7 under Chambéry, with that embarrassing loss to Soldera in the first match of World Cup qualifying. Domestic commentators called the final three games "flukish" and suggested all sorts of reasons to discount them, including the lack of pedigree of the Ochre Islands and the supposed lack of motivation of Mercedini. But Chambéry may have quieted the naysayers with his side's first game in the 82nd Cup of Harmony against Valladares.

The Valladar team, despite being ranked only 66th in the world, was arguably (with apologies to Omerica) the side with the most pedigree in the group. A Copa Rushmori powerhouse with a World Cup runner-up finish to their name, they had been to heights that no Pluvian or Saxean Islander had dreamed of. They boasted players from not only their strong domestic league, but also the leagues of Astograth, Quebec & Shingoryeo, Valanora, Nephara, Audioslavia, Pasarga, and Eura. Their depth seemed overwhelming, their talent inexhaustible. The question was not whether the Magpies were going to win, but would they be competitive? The answer to that would come in the sixth minute.

Davis Kingsley, the Magpies' new attacking midfielder, was given a little too much space to operate by Darwin Pico. This uncharacteristic decision by the defensive midfielder seemingly came from his assessment of Kingsley as not so dangerous. Although it proved to be an underestimation, he can perhaps be forgiven for thinking that way. Kingsley was promoted over other forwards into this newly created role, giving rise to the theory that he was merely a manager's pet. Furthermore, retaining his job despite his less-than-impressive play in qualifying, led many to speculate that Chambéry was keeping him out there to prove a point rather than in the best interests of the team.

Whatever led Pico to think this, given the room to see and to make a touch on the ball, Kingsley lofted a beautiful ball into the box, where young Connor Robinson soared just millimeters more into the air than noted aerialist Danny Barrichelli, meeting the ball at a perfect angle, and his head driving it past the outstretched gloves of Lucien Chamoun. And just like that, it was 1-0 Mapgies, with both sides seemingly shocked. Neither side could believe that the Magpies had managed to best La Nacional so early in the contest. But if one had expected this to put the Valladar side back on their heels, they would be dead wrong. Instead, they unleashed their attack in a series of ferocious waves. La Nacional are known for ball possession and up-tempo play, and indeed they dominated most of the rest of the first half, breaking through on an impressive slashing run by Thibault Benezet, who slotted the ball past Bram Holger in the thirty-first minute. Despite several other chances, the Magpies' defense bent but did not break, somehow keeping the game at 1-1 despite only maintaining a little under forty percent possession for the half.

One of the strengths of the Valladar team is their stamina and their depth. They typically wear out opponents in the first seventy minutes, so that if they are ahead, the opposing side has no legs left to counter, if behind, they take advantage of their weary opponents' lapses, and if tied, they benefit in both ways. During qualifiers, Chambéry's side often found themselves in trouble in the last quarter of the match. This is perhaps where Chambéry's decision to insert younger players into the starting lineup made the difference. Alistair Bradley, Connor Robinson, Austin Davies, Joshua Weidenfeld, all of these players held up admirably under relentless Valladar pressure. And their young legs kicked into action in the 79th minute. The Valladar team presses forward in almost a 3-2-5 when on the attack, a very aggressive formation. But when their attack was broken up by Weidenfeld, the young legs made one final push after having been so long on the back foot. Weidenfeld found Davies with an outlet pass and he raced down the side of the pitch, dragging Pico out to try to pinch him against the sideline. But in one deft motion, Davies sidestepped Pico and found himself with room to spare. He darted into the short corner and played the ball back for Carsten Francke, whose toe met it at the right angle with the right amount of force to blast it past Chamoun and put the Magpies up 2-1 in a stunning moment.

The crowd at St. Bart's, about evenly divided, but with neutrals largely pulling for Valladares, suddenly reversed. The neutrals flipped with the impressive display and the furor of the Valladar fans abated somewhat, while the section in which the Dastardly Curse supporter group was sitting exploded. Two for joy, as the rhyme says. But it didn't end there. Chambéry pulled Rory Goldberg and sent on Ashton Houghton, making the formation now a 4-4-1-1 for better defense. He also brought on Matthew Fletcher to replace Davies, who had completely exhausted his reserves with his final run. As the Valladars pressed forward, these veteran players helped keep them at bay and Connor Robinson sparked another counterattack that eventually ended in a corner kick. With little time remaining, the Magpies played short, attempting to burn a little more time. But Valladar pressure quickly put an end to that thought, and Brandon Turner fired a looping cross into the box under said pressure. The ball met the toe of Kingsley, but would not have gone in had it not deflected off of a Valladar defender, which sent it spinning away from Chamoun at a crazy angle, finding the back of the net and making it 3-1 in the 88th minute. At that point, despite the valiant efforts of La Nacional in the final minutes of the game, it was over.

The question after the game is, does this mark a turning point for Chambéry and his side? We may choose to discount the final three games of qualifying as "success with the pressure off", but this win is harder to ignore. A win by multiple goals over a truly talented side in a tournament with something to play for is a big step. Furthermore, to do so by seemingly vanquishing the late-game jitters against a side that is known for its success in that period compounds it, however fluky the final goal might have been. It is a monumental achievement, a signature win for Chambéry. He is always preaching confidence and one would imagine this match giving his side a massive confidence boost. However, they cannot let their guard down against Wreckeria, a team with everything to play for now that their country will be officially merged with Hapilopper and who got their own injection of confidence after drawing with Omerica. A win would put them in a truly advantageous position, while a draw would maintain them in a comfortable spot. However, a loss might not only shatter confidence, but put them in a truly difficult spot, needing points against the top team in the group and before a much larger audience to guarantee their advancement. We shall see whether this represents a turning point or merely a false start.

[Alezian Union]

This has been a repeat broadcast from my comic thread!
You can check more of my comics there. Hope you enjoy it there!

[Alezian Union]

This has been a repeat broadcast from my comic thread!
You can check more of my comics there. Hope you enjoy it there!

[Soldera]

The request for a Zoom conference caught Norm Carricker by surprise.

It was from his boss, Solderan national football team technical director Dahvid Leib. The two had already held their weekly one-on-one meeting via Zoom after Soldera's 1-0 loss to Savojarna put the Snakes behind the eight-ball for advancement out of the group stage. However, the request seemed to have little to do with what was, frankly, an expected result.

"Hey, I really need to talk to you about something," Leib said. "Preferably before the Sabbath." That much was a given. After all, Leib would not work at all after sundown Friday and before sundown Saturday. But with that said, if the matter was urgent and he had to address it, he would and would bargain with his higher power later.

With thoughts swirling in his head, Carricker waited for Leib to accept the Zoom request. He was hoping it wouldn't be a termination notice where he would act as a lame duck manager for two final matches while the Solderan Football Association dickered over the next manager, or worse, the future of Solderan national team football. He sat and stared at the screen waiting for Leib, eyeing the coffee cup he was now too nervous to pick up and sip from. Finally, mercifully, Leib accepted the Zoom request and the two men sat face to face.

"Norm, hi, sorry to bother you," Leib said. "I wanted to let you know something." Leib saw the flash of nervousness in Carricker's eyes and realized the wording of his request was part of the reason for the noticeable anxiety in Carricker. "Don't worry, no one's even considering firing you," he said. "Rather, you might call it being kicked upstairs."

Carricker gave a confused look and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"For starters, I'm being named the commissioner of the new Solderan Elite League in preparation for its inaugural season," he said. "The work's going to take up most of the time I would normally devote to the national team. I'm going to have to put a staff together and work on establishing league rules and bylaws and the like." Leib took a sip from his cup of coffee, then continued. "We've been working on a succession plan for the national team and we want you to become the new technical director."

Carricker's eyes widened for a moment.

"But what about Tommy?"

"Tommy doesn't want the job," Leib said of Tommy Harvardsson, the deputy technical director. "He suggested you straight away because he feels as though you'd be better at building a program from the ground up. The results we've had so far already speak to that."

"What results?" Carricker said. "Last I checked, we lost our last match that counted. We lost every one of our friendlies."

"This is a new team in the grand scheme of World Cup play," Leib said. "The chances that a team this new would get great results are extremely slim. We recognize that. The results you've gotten are fairly typical of a new program. In fact, based on my research, they're significantly better than a lot of first-time World Cup competitors. This team has a reputation for being a tough out, and Pluvian media's still talking about that 7-3 pasting you gave them at their place on Matchday 1."

That gave Carricker something to think about. He'd known Leib was considering a move from being technical director, but he thought it was to be somewhere among the senior leadership of the Solderan Football Association, not as the first commissioner of the Solderan Elite League. But he'd thought he'd have a little more time with Leib as technical director. The three men had been deep in discussion and debate about the players Carricker wanted, both to replace the retiring Joey Westway and Davis Perez, but also on the future of defender Eli Bingham as he continued to battle the poor results of the multiple surgeries he had on his torn ACL. A change at technical director and a change at manager would suddenly make things more challenging in terms of establishing continuity at the top, which Carricker often said was vital for a team trying to establish its footing.

Finally, he'd agreed to accept the new role. He would stay on as manager through the end of the team's run in the Cup of Harmony and then step down and step up. A new manager would guide the Snakes into the future Copa Rushmori and the next World Cup qualifying cycle, but if this was his only run as manager, he would be able to look at his accomplishments with pride in what he helped to build on the pitch. He would soon be responsible for setting a tone off the pitch, perhaps earlier than he wanted to. But he had something to be proud of in the present.

[Savojarna]

Late Goal

Estadio Centenario Nerio Negrón Aponte, Montaña Verde

Soldera are the fourth draw in the group, the team Savojarna have to beat. They’ve expected to make the game, to control the flow, but for the first time since the change of managers, the Northlights feel like they might lose. Sure, they control the ball, they control things, but the goal, the goal just won’t come. Twenty minutes are to go, and there is no hint of a chance that would be more than just a shot, an attempt from range, through defenders, or otherwise easy pickings for George Rollings in goal. As rough as it might have been for the players on the pitch, at least they were doing something. It was even rougher for Ola-Mikko Virttu sitting on the bench.

The young Sumani midfielder’s legs were getting restless, his hands digging into his thighs, itching to do something, swing the pace of the game, force the goal that Savojarna needed so direly at this point; but Dima Lijushkin didn’t seem to want to send him on. Rika Lundell was doing a splendid job, there was no doubting that, but Ola couldn’t help but think about how he would snatch a ball, how he would dodge a defender, find the gap, score a goal, just do something to break this terrible deadlock. The coach sat on the end of the bench, scribbling hectically, then talking to Ljubov Misarin again, scribbling again, walking up and down nervously, while his counterpart just sat there with the smile of someone whose plan is coming to fruition, slowly but surely. Then, suddenly, Savojarna’s coach turned towards his bench and marched to it confidently. Ola’s muscles tensed up quickly, hoping to be sent out, but it was the man two seats over that the coach was heading for.

“Lars, get ready. We need offence here, Soldera won’t get through as long as we pressure well, so that’s gonna be your job out there. We’ll go for two top, you come on for Adrian, Sven’s gonna be hanging back and you have to score and press, okay? Give them hell!”. Lars Alvesen got up, and happy for some diversion, Ola decided to join his roommate and friend from Sjoedrhavn. The two were running up and down the sideline putting the last touches on their warmup as they suddenly heard a massive roar, turning their heads to the video wall just in time to see Rollings scrape out a shot by Kimi Hartikainen, deflecting it to a corner that Klaebo took his time to set up for. No need to rush, time to let the backs advance and set up - and time for Lars to get over to the sideline. “Go get em, Lars. I’ll come on give you the assist once Dima lets me”, Ola joked, before finishing his jog on his own.

Lars Alvesen, on the other hand, sprinted down the line, firing himself up one last time before he got next to the coach. Dima Lijushkin was negotiating the substitution with the fourth referee, while Ljubov Misarin was giving him his last instructions. Surprisingly, he thought to himself, Lars didn’t feel nervous at all. Instead, he felt safe, knowing he was going to perform, even if he was wearing a national jersey in front of 20’000 people in a WCC tournament. Then again, the Perl Kruger was the bigger stadium. On the pitch, the cross was sent in and cleared by a defender, but Milla was rushing down the side to bring it back in, and in the middle, Vlad Orakhin just about sent it wide. It was the sign Lars needed. As the fourth official raised his board, Dima himself helped him out of his jacket and gave him a little clap on the shoulder as he strutted out onto the pitch, clad in blue and blue, the blonde hair gelled up a little, tapping the Mjölnir tattoo on his chest with two fingers and breaking into an almost provocatively light jog into his position. Everything about him was screaming “I will score on you”, and he knew it.

Still, ten minutes later, it hadn’t come true yet. Lars was getting frustrated, and charging at his opponent with the intent of… well, he wouldn’t attack him, but he’d wanted to show the guy who he was messing with. Charging at Chuck Ingram, the centre-half played wide to Perez, and Lars near-missed him with a calculated charge, as he turned around and saw Sven narrowing down Perez, taking the ball away from him, and rushing into the hole that now had opened as Ingram was shouting at Lars. The striker immediately pointed his arm at the wide open gap, knowing that Sven had seen it in the same moment as he had. Rushing through the gap, the star of the offence stood face to face with Rollings, and slotted the ball into the net in the way the world expected from an Euraleague forward, signed on one of Savojarna’s most recent big name transfers. Sven ran on without slowing down all the way to the goal line and punched the air in a massive jump, standing there with his arms raised, before Misha Jashkin was there first to tackle him. Lars followed not much later, before the whole team celebrated the late goal that, if they played carefully, would mean victory in the first round. Savojarna were back, and it felt good.

[Tikariot]

The sun was trying to break through the haze, but only feebly managed to illuminate part of the pale pallour, a milky disc slightly brighter than the murky grey surrounding it. It was not necessarily cold, but the air that was leadenly creeping in from Lake Viljan bore this humid chill that would penetrate absolute everything, regardless of what the guy at the depot had said about how he'd stay warm, no matter what. Dermot Stackpoole shivered as he watched an ice float lazily drift by on one of the many currents of the lake, wondering absent-mindedly how far it would get before melting away. He turned towards the city of Marhammar, not even a kilometre away from where he stood at the entrance of Camp Winterhawk, where he was stationed as part of the Tikariotian peacekeeping mission in the northwest of Nyowani Kitara. The city looked even bleaker than usual in the shallow light, giving it a sickly hue, which did nothing to hide the deep scars the Nyowani Kitaran civil war had left upon so many parts of the country.

When the camp assignments were handed out, he had hoped that he'd get stationed in some of the northern parts that had been under DFLK control for most of the time. Sure, it likely was even colder there, but at least there was less of a chance of potential skirmishes by disgruntled former militia men or women, but there were too many senior officers that would choose those cozier spots. He still remembered when they arrived at the outskirts of the town to set up, to conjure up a camp out of nowhere. At first it was just the children that watched from a distance, then more and more of the remaining occupants had crept into view, eyeing their efforts with much scepticism and distrust, as if they were just another invading force threatening their livelihoods or, worse, their lives. And to be honest, who could hold it against them after what they had been through over the last few years, continuously overrun and taken by the rivaling factions back and forth, neither of them really paying much heed to them as the city turned more into a prestige object and station of power than a city where a formerly proud populace had built their lives for several generations.

This became even clearer when they had undertaken their first drive through Marhammar to get a better idea of the lay of the land. Sure, they had been instructed to remain within the vicinity of their compound, but Army Command had recommended them to still take a tour, so that in case of any potential unrest they would at least have an idea of what was where. The signs of the war were visible wherever one would turn one's head, pockmarks in most walls, holes in the roads and sides of buildings where shells had exploded, the blown-out windows gaping open like dead eyes that had seen too much. Streets that had once seen bustling markets now deserted, many of the buildings reduced to barely more than rubble, collapsed and abandoned, many of them in the typical pre-fabricated concrete panel style, which did not stand up to much of the impact, increasing the damage. Crushed and burnt out skeletons of trucks and cars were littering the sides of roads, left where they were as silent witnesses of a war that had brought the people of Marhammar not much more than suffering and pain.

It felt like everything was hanging in a precarious balance, the inhabitants of Marhammar still trying to pick up the pieces, quite literally, of their lives, trying to piece together whatever was left to give things a semblance of normality, make them livable again, while the first reports of refugees trying to flood back into the country were coming from the camps on the other side of the border. Dermot really wished that money from the Smith Fund would reach Marhammar soon to aid in the rebuilding efforts and even though he knew that it eventually would come, it was a race against time that already was lost because the refugees would return way before that could ever happen or even if the money would arrive soon, the actual clean-up and rebuild would take far longer. The wariness of the Kitarans as the patrol was passing through was almost palpable and uncomfortable, so this first foray into the city remained the only one for a long while.

While it was great news that the ceasefire was holding and there hadn't been a single altercation to report, it also had the side effect that camp life was very soon becoming very boring. Not that Dermot and the rest of the troops were hoping for anything flaring up, quite the contrary, but there was only so much one could do. In an attempt to keep the morale within Camp Winterhawk at least somewhat stable, they began to play football on a meadow at the edge of the camp and that was when they noticed a change in attitude from the locals, at least from the children. Their curiosity began to overcome their distrust and with time came closer to watch the soldiers' feeble attempts at emulating the stars of the TPL as they were playing in the World Cup qualifiers and then getting ready for the Cup of Harmony. It was then when one of the officers had the grandiose idea of putting up a big spare tent wall to use like a screen and use a projector that was supposed to be used for video conferences to project at first Tikariot's first game against Muralos onto it. During the Tikariot game for the first time locals would voluntarily venture to the edge of Marhammar end edge closer, but the tipping point came when news about the soldiers also doing the same for Nyowani Kitara's first match against Brookstation spread like wildfire through town.

When they saw more of the townspeople approach, the soldiers knew that they should retreat a bit and give the Kitarans their own space to watch the game of their team and while no words were exchanged, there was this mutual understanding between the two sides. All of a sudden this gap between being a local and being a foreigner seemed to narrow down into some sense of a connection over football. Not that the people from Marhammar were suddenly openly embracing the Tikariotians, but even just seeing this deeply set distrust slowly beginning to erode was a big success for the peacekeepers, in a way their own little peace accord in their own little corner. And despite all of the bleakness of the situation, Dermot suddenly felt happy.

[Valentine Z]

Part 2 - This would have helped us a lot in WC90...

With many cheers and happiness that came to the way of the Valentians as they played away against HUElavia's team, it was quite unexpected towards the Valentians on the accounts of two things. For one, the Valentian Kittens and Exuberant Superintendent T-2000/2904-3 Surveillant Clarissa Alanis Star Breya « La Amoureux Chéri » Millie Taissa Butterfly Mélody Coraline Jolijn Trini Clementine Hollie Samantha Zeta Harumi are more than aware of the finess and competence of the HUElavia. Against the 3 teams that they are going to play against, they are the toughest team that they were playing against, and it was literally the first match of the Cup of Harmony's season. As a result, the fact that they scored 3 goals against HUElavia's National Football Team was a miracle and something that Valentians needed badly to get their footing against the other teams. The second reasoning, however, was something a lot more different. Comical, even. It all started at the pre-game briefing and count of strength one morning, with the Valentian Kittens in the unisex locker room as they gathered around Clarissa's remote body. The strategy and planning were going relatively well, with everyone in the team at green health, as well as knowing what to do against the opponents. The HUElavia's team isn't as offensive-oriented as the Valentian Kittens, but that is absolutely not something to underestimate, still. The Valentians know of this. It was all standard routine stuff before the game, and then one of the players - Helen Jennifier Hiroto Morishita Chiyumi, asked a simple question.

"Hmm, I see, I see. So, I will have to pass the ball over to our forwards while watching out for their defenders and also midfielders. It would be a little hard, but I can do it!" she said, to which Clarissa nodded but was showing a small amount of confusion as to why her player said that. "Wait, Helen," she started, trailing off, "Rather than struggling against the thick fog of their defenders and midfielders, why can't you kick it into the goal itself?" That was when the rest of the Valentians in the team started scratching their heads. It was a relatively simply question from Clarissa and for that time being and for as far as they know, the Valentians were not the ones to be snide and condescending towards one another. In other words, it was pure and genuine confusion. "Wait, what?" Clemente Kenneth Evans L. Jiang Guanyu asked in turn, "I thought only the Forwards can kick goals," this was then followed by the rest of the Valentians nodding their heads. Clarissa was taken aback a little bit, but she simply smiled sheepishly and tried to clear the misconception, "Ahh, okay- wait, oh dear. I forgot to tell this to you guys, ain't it?" the murmurs could be heard, which was then followed by even more confusion. 30 more minutes before the match, and the confusion was simply adding on to the anxiety and anticipation for the match. Clarissa then continued on, "Okay, so the only reason Valentian's domestic matches have the rule is because we are a little too tall for each other, and to make it so that we won't be constantly goals with one another. Our domestic matches are slightly different. I forgot to mention that in international football, the rules are simpler – anyone can score a goal. Including the defenders and midfielders." For that brief moment, one can hear a group of "What?!" going off in the heads.

"What?!" let out a few of the more vocal Valentians in the team – including Sammie Arif Raihan Bin Mohamamad Andika, Marlene Isabelle Lisa Roselyne Pasquier, Kortnev Grigoriy (Grisha) Konstantinovich, and Štěpánka Caitlin Madeline W. Sedláčková. Štěpánka picked up the slack, confirming the team's confusion and perhaps the disappointment, "You mean we could have scored more goals in the actual World Cup? Rather than getting tackled and having to maneuver around the other players?" Clarissa nodded with a small frown on her face, realizing her mistake perhaps a little too late, "I know guys, I am so sorry. I know you guys are new and all to the season, and I should have told you guys that, you know? I forgot about the fact that our domestic games are a little bit different compared to international rules." At that moment, the game against HUElavia was going to start in 15 minutes, and at the very least, the confusion was cleared. All it resulted now was perhaps the small amounts of disappointment and "Could've done this and that" among the team. Still, Valentians being Valentians, the team forgave Clarissa and thanked her for being there nonetheless. "Ahh, it's all right, nonetheless," Kortnev started off first, "You have been here with us even when you are going into NSSCRA 12. I mean, I am already happy and am glad that we got this far in World Cup, after we didn't do the… Baptism of Fire, you know?" the rest of the team nodded, with Štěpánka continuing on, "Hey, don't worry, Clarissa! Thanks for all your effort nonetheless, and mistakes happen to everyone! Plus, even without the midfielders and defenders trying to score goals, we did pretty great there! And as far as I remembered, almost all the matches we got into involved only their forwards scoring goals, so that's even, hahaha!"

The team, essentially, wasn't fazed by the losses that they have sustained in World Cup. After all, it has already happened, and they did relatively great considering their position and for what was essentially the team's very first season into the world of international football. Right after that meeting, with the knowledge that anyone can score, the Valentian Kittens knew what to do against HUElavia's team, and it was a satisfying result they got - A victory.

[PotatoFarmers]

Pre-CoH Friendlies:
Sarzonia 3–2 Poafmersia
Poafmersia Goalscorers: Jordan Huerta 40', 73' (assisted by Valentin Gotti)
Poafmersia Lineup (4-1-2-1-2): Shirou Amatore; Nasri Sanchez, Simone Gori, Ali Berger, Natalia Abbott; Min Berg; Leonara Hall, Valentin Gotti; Michael Jackson; Makana Tuft (c), Jordan Huerta

Oberour Ar Moro 0–1 Poafmersia
Goalscorers: Michael Jackson 29'
Poafmersia Lineup (4-1-2-1-2): Nicole Potts; Mitchel Rosales, Hollis Stephenson, Ali Berger, Mac Rojas; Sylvia Fusco; Leonara Hall, Valentin Gotti; Michael Jackson; Makana Tuft (c), Iulianus Innocenti
Poafmersia Substitutes: Diamond Byan (Berger 78'); Ariel Casey (Rosales 82'); Kirsti Nieminen (Tuft 88')

---

CoH MD1:
Poafmersia 1–0 República Guanacasteca
Goalscorers: Jordan Huerta 89' (assisted by Valentin Gotti)
Poafmersia Lineup (4-4-2): Nicole Potts; Mitchel Rosales, Hollis Stephenson, Ali Berger, Mac Rojas; Leonara Hall, Michael Jackson, Lesia Astrauskas, Valentin Gotti; Makana Tuft (c), Jordan Huerta
Poafmersia Substitutes: Diamond Byan (Stephenson 59'); Iulianus Innocenti (Tuft 72'); Kirsti Nieminen (Astrauskas 86')

1 month ago, Fiskadaha City.

Poafmersia had just lost against Vdara at home, and this would mean Poafmersia will fail to qualify for the World Cup for the 2nd consecutive cycle. And unlike last cycle, where the qualification seemed impossible after a series of results, the Red Panjias had so many opportunities to qualify for the World Cup. First, a win against Havynwilde at home was needed. Drew. Then when they could have drew against Pasarga, they lost. Finally, any good result against Vdara at home in the second half of the playoffs - and they lost in 90 minutes. If last cycle's shock 3rd place was a low point in Adnan Suliaha's managerial career, then this is definitely the nadir in the national team history. Getting into the Cup of Harmony would only act as a consolation for a team who clearly have the pedigree to be in the World Cup. Alas, they ruined their own chances in front of their enthusiastic fans at home, resulting in the series of losses that led to the failure.

Adnan Suliaha is very clear on their targets for the upcoming Cup of Harmony - be better than the last. And it seems like the only reasonable target for the Red Panjias, given that they were supposed to have the quality to make it into the World Cup. The final squad was much younger than many expected, with players like Simone Gori (who missed the Qualifiers due to an injury, but was expected to make a comeback), Woden Sweet, Nero Wood, Matea Idowu, and Monesty Erdos all dropped for the final 23 players in The Licentian Isles and Montana Verde. A shift in the play style was also expected, with a consistent move to 4-4-2 likely be done going into the next IAC and qualification cycle, when the trio of Innocenti, Tuft and Dufour retires from international football. The younger midfielders would need to step up and show their worth, and that is what the coach has been trying during their 2 away friendlies at fellow "underperformers" Oberour Ar Moro and Sarzonia. The former had a poor start to the tournament, and ended up hiring former Mancodas City manager Ethan Stevenson to become their head coach, while Sarzonia didn't really get the best of results and was off the mark in terms of World Cup Qualification. Both teams are also one of the teams to beat in the tournament, so a friendly at both of their nations would be a true litmus test of which players to deploy for the starting 11. In the end, sense prevailed, and apart from some not-so-obvious choices in the frontline, the rest of the squad was pretty clear to Suliaha.

There wasn't much talk about the friendlies, as Poafmersia used them to tie down the teams, and focused on the games for the Cup of Harmony group stage. They were drawn in Group K, alongside Eshialand, Legalese and República Guanacasteca. On paper, it was a really tough group, though Legalese's form seems to be pretty unstable in recent years, which resulted in them being drawn as the third seeds. Eshialand, which the Red Panjias play tonight, will be the true "litmus test" for this team. A win against Eshialand will likely secure qualification to the Round of 32, and a good early result will hopefully give the team a slightly easier path to the finals of the Cup of Harmony. "If this team wins the trophy, it would be the best result in our opinion," said captain Makana Tuft. "We aren't the favourites by a long stretch, but we will do our best and it is a team effort to show where our true capabilities lie. A title would probably be the best evidence to prove that our team is well capable of reaching the World Cup, and will give us the morale boost ahead of IAC15, where we will be regrouping to focus on trying to get a good result."

[Barunia]

As Neville Swan considered his inevitable retirement from the sport he had devoted his life too, he pondered his next move. He still had a domestic contract with the Edwardton Eagles, and realistically had one more season with the club. But the Cup of Harmony would be the last tournament in which he would wear the famed sky-blue. It was sad, and left him wondering about his future. Could he go into coaching, like Mclelland had done? Or perhaps commentary, like so many others? Or perhaps he could start an unrelated business. He’d always had an interest in gardening, maybe he could open a nursery? He couldn’t see himself doing something like that though. It just wasn’t him. Football was his life. It still had to be part of it in some way.

While he was still trying to work this out, he got a call from the National Football Board. He was invited to a virtual meeting with the heads of the board. The meeting was brief and to the point. The board president, Ben Morrison, had a simple question. Would Neville be interested in being involved in a special project that the NFB were doing? Neville responded that it depended on what the project was. Morrison smiled and answered, “One that we hope will ensure Barunia makes its return to the World Cup.”

Neville was in, of course. As captain, he’d never had the honour of leading his team to a world cup. He would end his international career having never entered that tournament. An opportunity to get Barunia to the World Cup, no matter how it came, was not one he was going to turn down. Morrison wouldn’t tell him much more about the project, declaring it top secret. The actual details would have to wait until he was back home in Barunia. The only thing he was told now was the project’s name: Operation Star-Shot.

[Nyowani Kitara]

Note: This government owned media source is the most biased media sources in the entire country, so read this media source, especially the other news section, with a critical eye. Foreign media observers would call it a KPWC propaganda outlet, a charge that they would most certainly deny. They routinely charge the Free Press with straight up fabrications, something the newspaper rigorously denies. With recent legalization of opposition outlets within the country, its reach will inevitably decline, but in response it is doubling down on its loyalty to the President, and particularly, the party. Obviously, everything is strictly IC.

The Kitara People's Free Press
The voice for the working people of Nyowani Kitara

SPORTS- Nyowani Kitara responds well in Cup of Harmony opener with 1-0 win over Brookstation to open the festivities


Kitaran players celebrate the game's lone goal against Brookstation in their CoH opener

GARTON BAY, MONTFORT PARISH, THE LICENTIAN ISLES- The opening game was always going to be a tough one for Nyowani Kitara. "There are a couple of reasons that this game was going to be extremely difficult." Said NYK's manager, Liang Wei. "First, of course, we're talking about the opening match of the tournament, shortly following an emotional blowout loss to Ethane to end our World Cup Qualification hopes. That loss, of course, hurt in the second playoff leg. It wasn't any sort of dramatic, or anything- a 3-0 road loss is a 3-0 road loss, and we were simply thoroughly outplayed on foreign soil. But the magnitude of the loss was quite shell-shocking. We all expected to go out and do much better, have a better opening game, than that. At least be competitive, make it a serious game for the entire contest. But to go down as quickly as we did, and simply get bowled over like that? Did not expect it. Our worst performance in all 16 games of World Cup Qualifying was the do-or-die game with a spot in the World Cup Finals on the line."

"Not how you want to go down." Liang Wei said. "There were plenty of hurting hearts then. You saw the tears on the faces of players and visiting fans, you saw the pain of players faces on the bench as they watched Ethane celebrate World Cup Qualification. And then, of course, we were working on integrating Wang Jiahui into the squad. He's a player of immense talent- so on one hand, it will be easy. But because his talent level is so high, we kind of have to re-design the squad around him, just a little bit. We clearly have something that works well- a team ranked in the 80s, finishing ahead in our group of a team like Chromatika, while losing the amount of players we did throughout Qualifying, is an impressive feat in and of itself. But losing all those starters throughout, we did not have quite enough firepower to get past Ethane and into the World Cup Finals. Now we're adding some of that firepower to our squad- a rare circumstance for a national team. And Wang, of course, hasn't played international football in a while. He's got to adjust to the team, get some chemistry, and even simple things like learn everybody's names."

And while the transition of Wang Jiahui was rough at times, ultimately, a 1-0 win is a 1-0 win. Now, Wang Jiahui was not involved in the buildup for the goal. The goal came on a spell of possesion, that was unlocked by Olaf Svante pushing down the pitch. The play eventually led to Salem Lagun getting the ball in space, and eventually finding a wide open Owino Odede at close range, who hit the ball first time into the back of the net. Brookstation's goalkeeper doesn't stand a chance if Odede is hitting first time from the six, so that 35th minute goal was enough to down Brookstation. Despite the team's goal occurring in the first half, the team's attack looked fairly disjointed throughout the first half. Attempts to play the ball to Wang Jiahui were poor, and it was difficult for Wang to try and provide service to Nyowani Kitara's other attackers, especially their strike pair, Owino Odede and Odede Angonga. Even though the final third play wasn't great, the midfield was truly dominant. Players like Salem Lagun were in complete control, as Nyowani Kitara controlled the middle of the park and the lion's share of possession, therefore preventing Brookstation from getting any sort of attack.

The second half, ironically, was a better attacking half for Nyowani Kitara. They controlled more forward possession. They, of course, weren't exactly blitzing forward in numbers- with that lead, you've got to defend it. They remembered what happened in the first leg against Ethane, a 2-0 second half lead blown, something that, if they had held on, would have changed the face of the tie entirely. But the attackers and the midfielders were enjoying stronger spells of possession, and creating better opportunities for Nyowani Kitara's attackers. Angonga missed a contested header in front of goal, as enough physicality from the Brookstation center back meant he wasn't able to get a solid opportunity on target. Wang Jiahui had a shot himself saved at point-blank range at the one-hour mark. And even change of pace guys off the bench, like Mhara Vara and Rudolph von Katzenstig, were able to do largely what they wanted going forward with the football.

But what gave most commentators confidence, was the defense. "The defense throughout World Cup Qualifying was, in a word, shambolic." Said one commentator. "Out of the 80 teams who finished in the top half of their group, we had the 4th worst defense out of all of them in terms of goals conceded. And out of those who finished top two? We were the utter worst. And that followed throughout the playoffs, where we allowed two extremely late goals at home, including an own goal, to allow a win to slip from our grasp, and then defended horribly in a 3-0 loss in Ethane that put our World Cup hopes to the sword. The big question was, how would we defend in a match like this, with the back line under so much criticism? And the answer was, we would defend pretty damn well. Bigombe made some saves, but nothing that could be considered in the 'desperate save situation'. WE did a great job of not being beat on the dribble on the back line, and closed down the spaces, which meant that the chances they did have were under high pressure in the tightest of confines. Probably the best defensive effort of the cycle from this team."

Nyowani Kitara's next opponent will be the team in Pot 1- HUElavia. They will be smarting and looking for a win, after a surprise opening day upset at the hands of Valentine Z. A draw, likely, will be enough for Nyowani Kitara- but this defense isn't consistent enough to ever try and play for a draw. They've gotta go for it. Liang Wei talked about that. "Look- we're playing a HUElavia team that is wounded after losing on Matchday 1." Liang Wei said. "That means we're going to have a serious challenge. They're really going to be looking to flying up the pitch, and putting our defenders in uncomfortable positions. We're going to have to be confident enough to play on the counter. I think we're more than capable of doing so. In the back.. They are going to have possession for longer spells of time, surely, but it's about what you do with it. If we're forward-thinking, if we can fly up the pitch, then I'm confident that all things are possible against the group's giants."

[Schima Bas]

Golden Crescent finds key early win with excellent midfield play

Gaio Grieco silenced some of his detractors with a 3-1 victory at Barunia this week, starting his first Cup of Harmony attempt with a nice 3 points from the first match day.

Key to the victory was the midfield duo of Mukarram el-Muhammad and Bisma Shehadeh. Shehadeh, who was inconsistent in his WCQ appearances, showed flashes of brilliance and enforced his strength on Barunia’s defense, pressing high into the box and scoring two goals. Not known for being a prolific goal scorer, the first goal for the midfield giant came in the 27th minute, with a second following it right before the halftime whistle.

The offensive overload of the Basians was much more appreciated by the fans back home. At a raucous watch party in Ourelasia, 40,000 national team fans gathered in the city center to watch the game, which was broadcast live on the big screens that are usually beaming advertisement. Following the victory, one fan, a young Cusdu Jair, said that the match would be one remembered by many fans for a while.

“We haven’t been this happy since the time we beat Chromatika 4-3 in World Cup Qualifying!”, Jair said. “Grieco made us worry, but we aren’t worried anymore!”

The team’s next opponent will be Kimi-Suomi, who will host the Golden Crescent as they hope to continue in their winning ways. Kimi-Suomi is not a team that Grieco is looking past, the manager said.

“They beat South Newlandia away from home. This is a team that is hungry to compete,” Grieco said. “We’ll need to be on our game if we want to win, as always, but I believe we can pull it out. It’s a match against an Atlantian Oceania neighbor, so it means all that much more. As for us, our defensive performance is being sharpened with every match. I have full confidence in this squad.”

Upcoming lineups
MD 2: @ Kimi-Suomi

Tebrum Bourreau,
Volfango Di Lello, Avery Cloutier, Gilles Bertrand, Jerust King,
(C) Makin Moghaddam, Bisma Shehadeh, Mukarram el-Muhammad, Leonard Charbonneau,
Hideki Nazar, Casildo Hana

[Sendhang]

DAY 7 - MONTH 1 - YEAR 9

---

---

Sendhang is determined to win against Kyzhurkistan

St. Thomas: It's not too late for Sendhang to make a comeback in the last two matches of the Cup of Harmony group stage with a maximum collection of six points that will promise a place in the knockout round.

Sendhang's head coach, Teuku Irfan, explained that he hoped the players would be able to stay focused after losing to Oberour Ar Moro.

Despite the loss, Teuku Irfan felt that the majority of the players fielded in the opening match of the Cup Of Harmony learned a lot of new experiences against quality teams such as Oberour Ar Moro.

“I think the players who were fielded in the match learned something valuable after meeting a team that played very good football like Oberour Ar Moro. We will try to improve the team’s weaknesses in the next match against Kyzhurkistan as well as the Independent Athletes from Quebec.

“Of course, the support of the fans is very much needed in the next match as it can be a motivation for us especially in finding three important points over Kyzhurkistan.

"It's important that we win this match because only a win allows us to close in on the Independent Athletes from Quebec before the last match against them," he said.

Sendhang is currently at the bottom of the group after losing 3-1 to Oberour Ar Moro in the group's opening match at The Recreation Ground, here. Despite being last in Group L, Sendhang still has a chance to qualify to the knockout round of the Cup of Harmony for the first time in history if they can get positive results in the next two matches.

Another match that also took place on the opening matchday of Group L was won by the Independent Athletes from Quebec with a score of 2-1 over Kyzhurkistan. Sendhang will face Kyzhurkistan in the next match while Oberur Ar Moro will face Independent Athletes from Quebec.

[New Lusitania and the Algarves]

…WAIT HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Group Stage Preview (Selecção)

The guess of the reader is almost as good as the one from this journalist. Somehow, this is already a victory in itself, as the New Lusitanian outfit was selected by the organisers to take part in the Cup of Harmony despite their rough Qualifying record which just about can be considered positive from a victory point of view. It wasn’t at all easy and it has taken its toll on the team’s confidence, which may still mean a rocky start to the Cup of Harmony tournament. One of the biggest moments in the cycle was no doubt the coaching change from Grilo to Pedro Valentim, which has managed to keep the role for the upcoming tournament despite only originally being a temporary placement to see out the qualification cycle out.

The roster itself is very similar to how it started with the main changes being in the tactical overview. Although it is still focused on a more attacking view of the game, the game will be played more on the team’s flanks than previously, with the central midfield taking a role of distribution most of the time, rather than actually advancing towards goal in full force, so more assists from Guerra and Pereira are definitely expected. Valentim believes that “the knockouts are the bare minimum for the team but every match is going to be vital in this tournament and ensuring the continuation of the country in large football events, as well as its exposure. We have a good team and a good unit, so we’re hoping for a respectable result at least.”, which sounds as tenuous as the rest of the cycle has been, confidence-wise.
The draw itself wasn’t easy but could have probably been worse. The first phase, comprising of fourteen groups of four, allowed two to pass from each plus a handful of third-placed teams to do the same and advance to the Knockouts. New Lusitania, 17th seeds in the tournament in the middle of the second pot, would have an interesting challenge ahead.

Mercedini, 7th seed, would be the best side in Group J – in a slightly similar path to the Selecção, the Golden Eagles had started their qualifying path well but soon fell down the pecking order in the standings, with their cycle being all but ideal up to now. In the fourteen matches, they bagged up twenty-two points from six wins and four draws, finishing third, two points away from the play-off spot, won by The Ochre Islands, and five from group winners Jeruselem. Their attack managed to net twenty-four goals, but conceded eighteen, which cost them in the end. The Selecção will have a tough time breaking this unit in the second matchday, but should look to work, perhaps, from a counter-attacking position, though it’s all to be seen, with both teams having similar ideals and strategies football-wise.

Acastanha, 47th seed, finished fourth in Group 5 – having won as many points as the gap ahead was to the runners-up spot, seventeen. Five wins and two draws is certainly not a “winning record”, but their group was arguably one of the toughest, featuring Valanora, Huayramarca and Krytenia, the latter of which is also participating in this edition of the Cup of Harmony. A negative goal differential shows clear gaps in defence, similar to the issues that plagued the New Lusitanians over the course of the cycle, but their twenty-two goals also show a great capability of putting the goal forward, with their encouraging defeats (if such a thing can be said) with Krytenia away (2-1), Huayramarca at home (3-4) the travel to Sannyamathland (4-3) can show, as well as the home draw to the Krytenian Dragons (1-1). This shows that it will likely be an open first match in the group, perhaps more open than the Equipa de Todos Nós truly needed, considering their opponents.

Finally, there is also a match with the Alezian Union. It is, admittedly, a nation still in the beginning of their World Cup History but one with great promise, certainly rising up the ranks in the near future. During the Qualifiers, it wasn’t the flashiest of results, only managing nine points. This being said, they had a few results that pop-up, such as the reception to Starblaydia, a 0-1 defeat. That sort of performance showed what may come with more regularity soon and why the Cup of Harmony features their side… A side which is still young, it is worth noting, averaging at 25,9; with a maturing defence – ideal for a less attacking side as the Alezians; but with older, more experienced players up front, such as Marijabel’s Van Eijk at centre-forward (29) or right-midfielder Barinayev (31). It’s set to be the final match of the group stage and so, a much needing win for the New Lusitania side, but it’ll be clear that the Alezian unit will not make things easy for the Selecção…


“AND A TOUGH MATCH IT WAS / MORE OF THE SAME?”
New Lusitania 1-1 Acastanha
@ Market Street, Glenmount (Att: 17 521)

These were the main thoughts running through the New Lusitania press group, post-match. Glenmount had been host to yet another “game-we-should-have-buried-but-let-the-opponent-back-in”, which never ceases to be a frustrating affair, no matter how many times it occurs. No major changes in the national team from the end of qualifying raised a few eyebrows, but Market Street seemed to be near packed for what was always certain to be a very exciting duel in this first phase of the Cup of Harmony.
Valentim’s new New Lusitania seemed to be working a treat in the first half as the Acastanhada defence had no way of dealing with the Selecção constantly pressing and knocking on their door with chance after chance… though being New Lusitania it was also missed chance after missed chance. That being said, the team were up by 2-1 at halftime. First Silveira’s magnificent header into the net from Guerra’s cross really sold the idea that the team was turning over a new leaf with this match and then a great counter with Caldeirão really sealed the idea into viewers and fans’ minds. Despite this, Acastanha got the customary goal-before-halftime that is usually given due to some lapse of concentration from either side when the Quinas play.

When providing a text with argumentation and opinion, it’s important to be impartial and provide counter-points that show different perspectives – to not let any of the leading columnists down in what had been a stellar performance so far, the Selecção staged Part Two of the match, “How to throw away a perfectly good game”, to prove how the notions that had been conceived during the first half may or may not be perfectly wrong.
Some questioned whether the same players were on the pitch. Acastanhada, meanwhile, and not to take any of the credit away from them, had also found some newly-gained ideas and courage during the fifteen-minute interval and were now going deeper into “enemy territory”. Lopes, Ferradura and Palhagueira were probably the national team’s best players against such a threat during this half, blocking half the opportunities their adversaries had. Gothrado managed to create the Acastanhados much needed goal to equalise during the final moments of the match, thus completing what was already expected. New Lusitania came close to getting back in front when Paciente put the ball grazing the side of the net, but it was all too late to properly mount successive attacks as they had previously done – it was a draw, one which had plenty to analyse, following a near perfect first-half and a questionable latter-half of the game.

It's particularly important to get these questions resolved soon as their next opponent is Mercedini – it’s a face-off in which bookies are currently favouring their opponents, especially after their 4-0 victory against the Alezians, but New Lusitania cannot afford to go into the final match hoping for miracles following a first draw and so need to get some more points on the board. The Golden Eagles seem confident in themselves, with local sports press already throwing around the possibility of near-certain progression in the eventuality of a victory in just a few days’ time, whilst our local press decides to dear the near-opposite and already mention that advancement probability being halved if we don’t play well in the second matchday. Tensions are high and two teams want to put their less-than-ideal qualification path behind them already with a solid performance in the Licentian Isles. It’s certainly going to be a big one, which will surely make the country stop for ninety or so minutes.

FORÇA NOVA LUSITÂNIA!

[Independent Athletes from Quebec]

Quebecois Broadcasting Corporation (QBC)

SPORTS: State-of-art Seven Sisters NTC Opens to fanfare, RQFA hopes for a bright future

Amandine Bergeron-Chaissac

SEVEN SISTERS GROVE, ESTRIE - It took a decade in making, but finally the Independent Athletes from Quebec team has a permanent home, more conventionally known as Seven Sisters Grove, were announced yesterday.

The 120-hectare National Training Centre for Association Football (NTCAF) in Seven Sisters Grove, an hour south of Levis, Capitale-Nationale, will feature 8 pitches, an indoor arena, as well as adequate sports medicine, science and development facilities, a hotel and a hostel, the last two also serving as media village for the journalists covering Quebecois national teams.

The project, long viewed to be a crucial objective for the Royal Quebecois Football Association (RQFA) in last two decades of considerations and a decade of planning, is expected to deliver similar objectives to many national training centres out there in the sporting multiverse. Team Quebec manager currently on Cup of Harmony-82 duty, Lükækš Væñøœrëñbérghüïś (OOC note: OOC permission for said manager to have following head and body) was more than happy to hear the news of the facility's opening.

The Vdaran manager said: 'I am more than delighted that the Seven Sisters Grove have finally opened after years in making. This venue will be the foundation for all Quebecois coaches and players to learn, develop and most importantly become the best versions of themselves. I've known for very long time that this country's needed a centralised facility of highest calibre for years, and I am more than happy it's finally opened.'

In the past twenty years, the RQFA have generated Q£15m ($45m NSD) of federal and private funding into the project, and expects to contribute further funding to the project's financial state with several public-private projects the RQFA has received their proposals.

The NTCAF Director and the Imperial Sporting Council vice-president, Evander Pyo-Nash, was firm on the missions. He said, on the unveiling ceremony, that the goal was to help rejuvenate the sporting infrastructure in this country: 'We have a very straightforward goal here with Seven Sisters Grove. Football is one of our major sports where we have always held ourselves to high standards and will continue doing so.

'But we cannot do it just by relying on our players and coaches alone. We also need the infrastructure of our training centres, something that have needed improvements over the years, to match the international standard. The national tragedies we have suffered the over the years, from the burning of The Reneegrad and the turmoils within our federation, were tragic for all the reasons we know of. Fortunate news is that we have The Reneegrad that is being rebuilt as a world-class stadium, and the Seven Sisters Grove's opening is going to start everything again for all of us. Let's hope the trajectories remain positive over our future.'

When asked about the RQFA's heated relations with Q-League clubs over the recent years, Pyo-Nash insisted that this is not an issue the RQFA finds problematic.

'This isn't a problem, for this isn't IRSEA and IRSEA doesn't serve that purpose either,' answered Pyo-Nash at the Q&A session. 'RQFA and Seven Sisters Grove does not have conflict with Q-League clubs here, as the player development isn't something full-time we will do for every and all players who enter here. The clubs have academies for that purpose, and while the Seven Sisters Grove will have extensive, revamped programs to help young coaches develop, our facility here is for players to get together often and at a familiar facility designed for our age sides and senior national team. End of story...'

To read more, please click here.

Read this article in:

English | Français | The Taegukgi Indigenous

[South Newlandia]

Elephant Valley Mail
Page 1

An Open Letter to Dale Hartford-Phelps

What have you done to my Elephants? You’ve been here for just one game, but the face of the Elephants I always thought I knew is unrecognisable to me now. You threw the heart of the Elephants, our captain, the best player to ever suit up for South Newlandia, Mikhail Trischuk, away like a used napkin. You treated him like that, defied him a last chance to etch his name further into the history books in The Licentian Isles and Montana Verde. And then you turn around and offer him the position of goalkeeping coach? I can not believe the audacity. Frankly, I wonder why Trischuk even accepted. You know why? Because he has a great heart, and wants to help the Elephants any way he can; but watching him step into Barton Software Arena, I saw a broken man. You broke him.
I still can not believe how easily you were able to completely disassemble the decade of work Wolverine has done for this team. A 4-3-3 goes against everything the team knows, it’s an entirely different system, and players that aren’t used to it are going to have a hard time adapting. We saw it here, the stability offered by the Defensive Midfielder was gone, and the team had trouble all game to gets the ball up front. The thing Reid Gomez needs up front is not an additional striker up front, it’s players in the midfield that can get him the ball, and Levy just isn’t that guy, at least not on his own. It didn’t work. Maybe, the system needs time to set in, but if we can’t beat the number 114 in the multiverse, what kind of teams can we beat? Granted, Kimi-Soumi brought great fighting spirit and earned a win with great play; but the Elephants need to win these kinds of games.
After Wolverine resigned, we looked for a coach for a full rebuild; and yet, 8 of the starters from qualifying are back in the starting lineup. Instead of breaking up the old system fully and replace it with a functioning new one, you got rid of our best player, and forced you new system in the place of the old one. All you seem to have done is kick out some promising bench players and replace them with a troop of players who’s only quality is “fast”. You do realise we’re here to play football?
Wolverine, the best coach the Elephants ever had, resigned after one bad tournament, recognising his system was no longer working. Hartford-Phelps, will you do the same? We want our Elephants back.

[Montana Verde]

MD2 cutoff.

Note that cutoff for MD3 is planned to go ahead as scheduled on Sunday, after feedback suggesting that was OK.

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Grupo A
Muralos 1–3 Cabo Azure
Tikariot 5–2 Geektopia

  Grupo A                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Tikariot                       2   1  1  0    6   3  +3    4
2 Cabo Azure                     2   1  0  1    6   5  +1    3
3 Geektopia                      2   1  0  1    6   8  −2    3
4 Muralos                        2   0  1  1    2   4  −2    1

Grupo B
Soldera 1–2 Flavovespia
Savojarna 3–0 Chartistan

  Grupo B                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Savojarna                      2   2  0  0    4   0  +4    6 Q
2 Flavovespia                    2   2  0  0    4   2  +2    6 Q
3 Soldera                        2   0  0  2    1   3  −2    0
4 Chartistan                     2   0  0  2    1   5  −4    0

Grupo C
Delaclava 1–2 Saint Eleanor
Starblaydia 2–2 Zeta Reka and Hügeltaldom

  Grupo C                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Starblaydia                    2   1  1  0    8   4  +4    4
2 Zeta Reka and Hügeltaldom      2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 Saint Eleanor                  2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
4 Delaclava                      2   0  0  2    3   8  −5    0

Grupo D
The 14 Stars 1–1 Qasden
Chromatika 1–1 Drawkland

  Grupo D                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Qasden                         2   1  1  0    4   1  +3    4
2 Chromatika                     2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 The 14 Stars                   2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1
4 Drawkland                      2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1

Grupo E
Saterun 2–2 Mertagne
Savigliane 2–3 Yuezhou

  Grupo E                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Yuezhou                        2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
2 Savigliane                     2   1  0  1    6   4  +2    3
3 Mertagne                       2   0  2  0    3   3   0    2
4 Saterun                        2   0  1  1    3   6  −3    1

Grupo F
Southwest Eastnorth 3–1 Indusse
Electrum 3–2 Sarzonia

  Grupo F                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Southwest Eastnorth            2   2  0  0    6   3  +3    6 Q
2 Electrum                       2   1  0  1    5   5   0    3
3 Sarzonia                       2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1
4 Indusse                        2   0  1  1    1   3  −2    1

Grupo G
Estorvipa and Estorpiva 1–0 Gyatso-kai
Krytenia 6–2 Abanhfleft

  Grupo G                      Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Krytenia                       2   2  0  0    7   2  +5    6
2 Gyatso-kai                     2   1  0  1    2   1  +1    3
3 Estorvipa and Estorpiva        2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
4 Abanhfleft                     2   0  0  2    2   8  −6    0

Guaranteed to advance as one of the top 2 in the group
Can only progress as a top 4 third place

Because of the third place advancement provisions, no eliminations are yet guaranteed.

---

RP bonus info

Both hosts are grading all RPs to produce an average score. For the purposes of these stats, multiple RPs by one participant within a cutoff window are treated as one combined RP.

45 participants earned RP bonus.
12 participants earned max RP bonus.
The mean RP earned 70% of max bonus.
The median RP earned 90% of max bonus.

[The Licentian Isles]

Group H
Valentine Z 2–2 Brookstation
HUElavia 0–0 Nyowani Kitara

  Group H                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nyowani Kitara                     2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
  Valentine Z                        2   1  1  0    5   4  +1    4
3 Brookstation                       2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1
  HUElavia                           2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1

Group I
The Cordian Isles 3–3 Astograth
Trolleborg 2–4 Eraman

  Group I                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Astograth                          2   1  1  0    7   5  +2    4
2 Eraman                             2   1  0  1    6   6   0    3
3 Trolleborg                         2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
4 The Cordian Isles                  2   0  1  1    3   4  −1    1

Group J
Alezian Union 2–3 Acastanha
Mercedini 4–2 New Lusitania

  Group J                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mercedini                          2   2  0  0    8   2  +6    6
2 Acastanha                          2   1  1  0    5   4  +1    4
3 New Lusitania                      2   0  1  1    4   6  −2    1
4 Alezian Union                      2   0  0  2    2   7  −5    0

Group K
República Guanacasteca 0–1 Legalese
Poafmersia 1–0 Eshialand

  Group K                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Poafmersia                         2   2  0  0    2   0  +2    6
2 Legalese                           2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
3 Eshialand                          2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
4 República Guanacasteca             2   0  0  2    0   2  −2    0

Group L
Kyzhurkistan 2–1 Sendhang
Independent Athletes from Quebec 5–2 Oberour Ar Moro

  Group L                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Independent Athletes from Quebec   2   2  0  0    7   3  +4    6
2 Kyzhurkistan                       2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
3 Oberour Ar Moro                    2   1  0  1    5   6  −1    3
4 Sendhang                           2   0  0  2    2   5  −3    0

Group M
Wreckeria 4–3 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles
Omerica 2–2 Valladares

  Group M                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Wreckeria                          2   1  1  0    6   5  +1    4
2 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles        2   1  0  1    6   5  +1    3
3 Omerica                            2   0  2  0    4   4   0    2
4 Valladares                         2   0  1  1    3   5  −2    1

Group N
Kimi-Suomi 5–4 Schima Bas
South Newlandia 2–3 Barunia

  Group N                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kimi-Suomi                         2   2  0  0    6   4  +2    6
2 Schima Bas                         2   1  0  1    7   6  +1    3
3 Barunia                            2   1  0  1    4   5  −1    3
4 South Newlandia                    2   0  0  2    2   4  −2    0

[Starblaydia]

Episode 9 - The Record
S01 | E01 | E02 | E03 | E04 | E05 | E06 | E07 | E08

The luck of the draw sparks an unexpectedly
deep run in the World Cup and throws up
a game that will go down in the history books.

Alfono Di Angelo, Midfielder,
and Claudio Melciori, Defender
during World Cup 39

Narrator: Four years after their return to the World Cup scene, Starblaydia continued their journey to try and become one of the thirty two nations who would make it to the multiverse's greatest celebration of football. Betanii Marrones would lead her team, progressively becoming household names in their own country, against seven other sides to try and make it to World Cup 39, to be held in the Unified Capitalizt States and Valanora.

Fifty-seventh. It's not the rank you'd want when trying to make it through World Cup Qualifiers. You're an outside chance at the very best, because you're usually underneath three or even four teams above you in the seeded pots. It was exactly this way in the Qualifying Group for the team. Above them were Zwangzug, a top ten side, Qazox sat just outside the top twenty, and then Lovisa and Estresse Intenso were both inside the top forty. With Starblaydia barely inside the top sixty, below them were only Samcoa, one hundred and first, Wing Wang Woo at one hundred and sixty-fourth, with the unranked Minilla Island West, estimated at one hundred and seventy-sixth.

Like, okay, there's three teams that basically everyone is going to beat down on, but even then Starblaydia still had to sneak past both Estresse Intenso and reigning Cup of Harmony champions Lovisa, ranked above them, to make the Finals. With eighty teams in qualifying spread across ten groups, three would make it from each group. That seems positively pedestrian now, as in modern times double the number of nations are taking part in Qualifiers, but there are still only 32 places up for grabs.

Qualifying did not start well, as Starblaydia had to go away to three of the four teams above them, Estresse Intenso, Zwangzug and Lovisa in the first five games. They lost all of them, and by Matchday five had just four solitary points, courtesy of beating Samcoa and a creditable 0-0 draw when Qazox came to visit. They sat sixth in the group table, already five points back from the lowest qualifying spot. They had a mountain to climb, as Zwangzug had won five out of five, and Qazox four out of five. There was only ever realistically one spot that this team could aim for.

But then, suddenly, things got going. A Tarquin Fullbright hat trick against Wing Wang Woo in a 6-2 win began a run of five straight victories, culminating with the breaking of Zwangzug's winning streak on Matchday Ten. Alfonso Di Angelo's fourth of the campaign and one from Jae Chang-hwa the fullback. Even then, lifted up the table, the team were tied with Lovisa for that third spot on points, but held back on the tie-breaker of Head-to-Head. It was still possible, but only barely in their hands.

The away form was terrible: barring wins over Samcoa and Minilla Island West, they managed to lose every other match on the road. At home, however, in front of raucous crowds wherever they went, Starblaydia ended up winning six and drawing one, and it was this form that kept them in the qualification picture. When Lovisa came to visit with three games to go, they were sent packing by a single Leandro Perheira goal, as the big young central defender made his mark on the team.

Narrator: With one game remaining, Starblaydia were still in fourth place in the group. One point above them was Lovisa. One point below them was Estresse Intenso. Any of the three teams could still steal that third and final qualifying spot.

Starblaydia would beat Minilla Island West. Behind them, ultimately to no avail, Estresse Intenso would beat Wing Wang Woo. The crucial result was betweenn Lovisa and Samcoa. If Lovisa could win, it would be entirely in their own hands. In the end, a match that was played live on the stadium big screen at the very stadiumthat Starblaydia were playing their own game, it finished as a one-all draw. Starblaydia were through, knowing that it was that valiant home draw against Qazox that might well have given them the extra point they needed to qualify. Just one cycle since they'd returned, they were incredibly back in the big time.

"Is this the way to Valanora?
Not for Lovisa, 'cos they're poorer!
Show me the way to Valanora,
An' Dominique who waits for me!"

World Cup 39
Qualifying Group 6      P  W  D  L  GF GA  GD  Pts
1 Zwangzug             14 10  2  2  31 13 +18  32  Q
2 Qazox                14  8  4  2  26 11 +15  28  Q
3 Starblaydia          14  8  1  5  28 15 +13  25  Q_
4 Estresse Intenso     14  8  0  6  31 16 +15  24
5 Lovisa               14  7  3  4  22 17  +5  24
6 Samcoa               14  5  1  8  21 35 −14  16
7 Wing Wang Woo        14  3  1 10  16 32 −16  10
8 Minilla Island West  14  1  0 13   3 39 −36   3

Narrator: The reward for Betanii Marrones and her team was World number ones Az-cz in the Finals. Tenth-ranked Demot, and twenty-seventh ranked Candelaria And Marquez. This was about as tough as it got for any nation in Starblaydia's position. Surely, the pundit said, they were just there for the experience, before being quietly ushered out the door after three matches.

Group G of World Cup 39 was unlike any other World Cup group in history, at least in the way it finished. For Starblaydia, they opened with a more than worthy draw to Demot, somehow a narrow loss only to Az-cz, and then a brave and gutsy victory over Candelaria and Marquez. Four points is usually enough to get you out of a group at the World Cup, and to even get this far was a real accomplishment, but the way Group G turned out was absolutely unique. Everyone finished on four points, with four goals scored and four conceded. Everybody's Head-to-Head tiebreaker was broken by someone else, and the hosting committee of the UCS and Valanora were reduced to drawing of lots to separate these otherwise inseparable teams.

World Cup 39
Group G                    P  W  D  L GF GA GD Pts
1= Az-cz                   3  1  1  1  4  4  0  4
1= Candelaria And Marquez  3  1  1  1  4  4  0  4
1= Demot                   3  1  1  1  4  4  0  4
1= Starblaydia             3  1  1  1  4  4  0  4
The four-way tie will be resolved by drawing of lots, which will take place tomorrow.

In the end, the drawing was better than anyone at the SFA could have hoped for. Starblaydia were first out of the hat, followed by Candelaria And Marquez. Az-cz and Demot were eliminated. Absolute dreamland for anyone wearing white and purple, and something that has never happened in the history of the World Cup before or since. Going forward, Jeruselem would be the opponent downed in the Second Round, and approaching the Last Eight, with the last four so tantalisingly close, Starblaydia came up against the number two ranked team in the world. At home. It was Valanora. What happened next will go down in history.

Within ten minutes of the match kicking off, the Starblaydi fans that had managed to get tickets were cheering and celebrating like there was no tomorrow.

Acevedo was trying to bring the ball forward from defence, when Kalia Canildo slid in to challenge him. The ball bobbled to Alfonso Di Angelo, who was on his toes ahead of the experienced Riot, and he played a wonderful first-touch back-heel to Antonio Mora, switching the play from left to right in a matter of moments. Mora raced away towards the goal-line and chipped in a lovely curling cross into the centre of the penalty area. Acevedo was out of position, Yoshida stayed on his line and Nickel lost sight of Fullbright for a fraction of a second, all culminating in a powerful downward header into the bottom corner of the net.

Barely five minutes played, and you shock one of the best teams in the world in their own back yard. Tarquin Fullbright had been leading the line at the tip of a 4-4-1-1 and that was high fourteenth goal in the campaign, an absolutely stellar achievement, with his closest rival being Di Angelo, who was playing in the hole directly behind him.

There were cheers and chants, like "You're supposed to be on top!" and "Two in the World? You're having a laugh!". The Starblaydi fans always know how to create a tune, and they were doing their best to make the maximum noise despite being almost entirely outnumbered by home support.

Straight from the kick-off, Valanora laid seige to the Starblaydi goal, with both Kips and Soldarian going close. Starblaydi fans knew there was going to be another eighty minutes of this, and they were immediately worried. What they did have, however, was the lead, but that didn't last for very long at all, as Kiso Night held off Leandro Perheira and fired from the edge of the penalty area, rifling his shot into the bottom-right hand corner for the equaliser.

Eighty minutes to go, and it was back to level pegging. Starblaydia held out well, however, keeping the scores level for almost twenty-five minutes.

Nikolaidis had to pull out a string of saves, helped in no small part by the combined defending efforts of practically the entire team bar Mora, who placed himself near Starblaydia's side of the centre circle, and Fullbright, who hugged the half-way line, waiting in vain for any long ball. Two banks of four served Starblaydia well for those twenty-five minutes, until Night made his presence felt again as he out-jumped Roque Bravo to head in another goal and take the lead.

Starblaydia had scored once, against, the odds, but could they go and do it again? The Valanora crowd were behind their team all the way, and a confidence suddenly spread throughout the stadium, along with everyone wearing navy blue and black. This would be the toughest match in the lives of any of these Starblaydi players; they just needed to get through it, nick a goal, keep it tight at the back. There was still everything to play for.

Neesa whipped in a lightning cross and it would have been a certain goal for either of the strikers, if they had got a boot on it. Diving in to make a clearance, in between Night and Kips, was Edmundo Rivolli, who swung a right boot at the ball. He connected with it, but only just, and the ball diverted up and into the roof of the net. It was now 3-1, and Rivolli was seemingly inconsolable, simply laying on the ground, on his back, with his hands over his face.

An own goal Just before half time was just too much for the team to bear. They'd tried so hard and come so far, but in the end they'd undone all their good work with just a single individual mistake. Though their heads would drop and the energy be sapped from their legs, they would continue to try their best for the second half, as much as they physically and mentally could. Within a quarter of an hour, it didn't even matter.

Kips stole into the box, on the hour mark, and was challenged clumsily by Jabir. The defensive midfielder stepped across, putting his leg out, and Kips simply knocked the ball past him and went straight over his leg.

Last man.

In the penalty area.

Goal-scoring opportunity.

Penalty kick.

Red card.

Jabir was off, seen to weep as he untucked his shirt and left the field. Night, who else, picked up the ball and smashed it high and hard down the middle of the goal. Had Nikolaidis stood still, it would have taken his head off, but he half-dived to the side and waving a despairing hand at the ball as it flew into the net was all he could do. Four-One, one man down, game over.

After that it simply became a shooting gallery. Starblaydia, despite dogged defending, never really saw the ball again, except for the three further times they had to pick it out of the back of the net. Kips curled on in, substitute Fresco broke through the defensive line - somewhat controversially as he appeared to be a little offside - to score and Hawk slotted the seventh in direct from a free-kick with less than ten minutes to go.

Starblaydia were defeated, totally and completely, but their fans were still there to support, cheer and congratulate them, celebrating their achievements in getting so far. Not a single call for Betanii Marrones' head was heard, neither for Rivolli's or Jabir's. Starblaydia can be proud of getting so far in this World Cup and should not be too disheartened by the loss, or its magnitude.

Starblaydia had never, ever lost a match at any level, or under any circumstances, by more than four goals. Squornshelous, Ariddia and others held a claim to that particular record. Not once in the previous ninety-six year history had any team scored more than six - that being Hypocria, in a Draggonnii Inviyatii 6-5 win. It was the worst ever losing margin and the highest number goals conceded all at once. Valanora's thumping 7-1 win showed not only to Starblaydia, but also to the rest of the world, that when the big teams come out to play properly, the rest of the multiverse just doesn't stand a chance. It remains, to this day some two hundred years later, Starblaydia's biggest ever loss in their history, to a team that would end up being one of their most challenging rivals.

"Seven-one!
We only lost sev'n-one!
And we're singin' this song
'Cos we only lost sev'n-one."

Final score from Donna Cathedral:
_Starblaydia_ 1-7 _Valanora_
_Fullbright 6_ - _Night 12, 36 & 61 (P), Rivolli O.G. 41, Kips 64, Fresco 75, Hawk 81_

[South Newlandia]

[Wrecker]

THE END OF WRECKERIA – PART XII

The President’s House, Halsted
The day after Cup of Harmony 82 Match 2: Wreckeria 4-3 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles
This morning in Halsted was something else. It was hardly a typical morning in Halsted, where people would rush out of bed and try to make their way to work in order to try to make money in order to try to afford what they thought they wanted or needed. Instead, most of Halsted, and most of Wreckeria had taken the day off of work for two predominant reasons. The first, the Wreckerian National Football Team had eked out a great victory over the favored Pluvia and the Saxean Isles in a very exciting 4-3 match during the Cup of Harmony, giving Wreckeria a one-point lead in their group with one match left to play.

The second, and perhaps the more important reason, was that an announcement of “major importance” was set to be made at the President’s House and aired across all television channels in both Wreckeria and Hapilopper. Anyone who had watched both the Wreckerian and Hapiloppian governments over the last few months knew exactly what was going to happen – President Arnold Martin of Wreckeria and President William Mathis of Hapilopper were set to sign the consolidation agreement that would make Wreckeria officially a part of Hapilopper. Officially, on the world map, Wreckeria’s borders would cease to exist, and all its territory would become a part of Hapilopper.

The atmosphere in the President’s House was much unlike what it had been in the last few days, weeks, months, even years. For starters, a lot of people felt a lot more relaxed than they had. Hapiloppians and Wreckerians alike were enjoying a morning where, for the first time in 60 years, Hapilopper didn’t have to worry about its “Wreckeria problem” that some Hapiloppian conservatives would moan about every now and then in Parliament or on those TV news shows. And for the first time in 60 years, Wreckerians didn’t feel like they had to worry about their home getting shelled, or not being able to find necessary items at the store, or not being able to afford the essentials to keep the lights on and to keep putting food on the table.

And perhaps the happiest of all of them was Arnold Martin. Arnold looked like he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. He had been installed as Wreckerian president six years before as part of a peace agreement between the True Wreckerians and the Party of Pride, these two parties that had fought the Wreckerian Civil War for the last 54 years. Martin was one of the very few people in Wreckeria respected by both sides as a Solomonic figure – someone who could see both sides in any argument. His impartiality at the negotiating table, and his willingness to give equal time to both sides, made both parties agree that maybe he was the best one to lead the nation.

He would joke to other national leaders that while he didn’t entirely want the job – and that was true – the two sides threatened to go back to war if he didn’t take it. So for six years, Arnold Martin took the job as the head of a coalition government involving leaders from both sides. And it worked for a bit of time. Three years ago, it all went to crap when the True Wreckerians, feeling like they were treated unfairly, started a campaign of shelling what they felt were Party of Pride outposts. The war got started again, and the only result was more devastation. Wreckeria’s economy – as shaky as it was – collapsed entirely in the face of violence.

Perhaps working in the favor of Wreckerians everywhere, though, was that people just didn’t have the will to fight anymore. Wreckerians wanted to survive. They didn’t want to keep fighting each other anymore. They were tired of seeing destruction and devastation on a daily basis. They just wanted to live their lives like everyone else. So about a year later, when an unfortunate incident ended up splitting up Atlantian Oceania in two, Wreckeria decided they couldn’t stomach the violence anymore. They needed to be agents for peace, agents to better the world around them, not to tear it down.

Arnold Martin sat there in the President’s House thinking about the last six years. He was thinking about a speech he would be giving to viewers across both Wreckeria and Hapilopper. But he was also thinking about taking time off. As soon as he would give this speech, he would step down as President of Wreckeria, handing the reins over to Jeff Corbin, Speaker of the Wreckerian Parliament. Corbin would serve as the head of the Wreckerian Transitional Government, serving to tie up any loose ends and transitioning service from Wreckeria to Hapilopper. Arnold, meanwhile, would retire to a fishing lodge not far from Sprague, with the intention of departing from the public eye.

With the end in sight, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had seen both the best of times and the worst of times as head of Wreckeria, and he was ready to ride off into the sunset. He had looked tired, defeated and just ready to go away. Maybe spend a few weeks on Tropicoast Beach. Maybe find some place in Hapilopper City and spend a few days in seclusion.

Eventually, time drew near, and Arnold and his Hapiloppian counterpart got together to sign the documents. Arnold and Mathis looked at each other and nodded their heads, before signing the document that made Halsted a part of…

The President’s House, Halsted, Hapilopper
The present time
…that.

And then, it was time to face the world. Staring down television cameras, the two presidents – William Mathis, now finding himself the presiding leader over this piece of land as well, and Arnold Martin, looking forward to getting out of here and going away to retirement, prepared to speak to the now-combined Hapiloppian public.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, I am William Mathis, the President of Hapilopper, which, as of two minutes ago, now includes those people and lands of a nation formerly known as Wreckeria. Today’s signing brings to an end the 450-year history of Wreckeria, but I’ll let my counterpart, Arnold Martin, speak more to that. To the people of Hapilopper, this signing also brings to an end conflicts that had taken place for a number of years, indirectly involving our people, that had started out in this nation. Following months of negotiations, both myself and my Wreckerian counterpart have decided that unification of our two nations is the most beneficial course of action for all of us involved. But to that, I will let Mr. Arnold Martin speak. Mr. President, the floor is yours.”

Arnold took a deep breath. When he was done, he took a deeper breath. This would be, for all intents and purposes, his final public appearance as the head of Wreckeria before he exit stage left. So he had to make it good.

“My fellow Wreckerians, I understand that today may be a bit of a shock to the system. As of right now, our old nation is now a part of Hapilopper,” Arnold started. “Wreckeria, as an independent nation, is no longer. But today should not be seen as a day to mourn, but rather a day to celebrate. For today is a day that Wreckeria’s rebirth begins. For far too long, those of us in Wreckeria have had to deal with death, destruction, violence, poverty and famine, while those in Hapilopper have been fortunate enough to live in the land of the plenty. I’ve heard what a lot of you have called Hapilopper over the years, and that’s the Promised Land. Well, my fellow Wreckerians, welcome to the Promised Land.”

The significance of Arnold Martin calling Hapilopper “the Promised Land” was not lost on William Mathis and the rest of the Hapiloppians that were there. That had been a nickname for Hapilopper among Wreckerians, although a name that didn’t get a lot of play in the media.

“The fact is, in the coming days, weeks and months, a new Wreckerian Transitional Government, led by new Wreckerian President Jeff Corbin, will start the process of winding down Wreckeria and turning it into Hapilopper. Your simoleons will become Hapiloppian dollars. You will be led by leaders, elected by you, from different parties. Our hope is, as time progresses, jobs will return to Wreckeria. We will finally clean up the mess that had come from 60 years of war, and as a result, we can finally move away from the devastation that has marked our land. This time next year, I’m optimistic that Halsted, and other cities across Wreckeria, will have returned into productive nerve-centers, the way they had been before the war.”

Arnold looked at Mathis, who smiled at him. He then looked at the camera and offered some thoughts about unification. Thoughts that weren’t scripted. Thoughts that came from the heart.

“There’s a lot that can be said for unification,” Arnold said. “There’s an old saying – together we stand, divided we fall. We’re better together than we are apart. This nation floundered because we were split. Our government failed because we spent too long fighting each other. We failed because we had a mentality that we should keep pitting us versus them. We’re all the same people. You’re not less than someone else because of your party affiliation. I’m sick and tired of that. And I’m seeing that on a larger scale. There is no sense in pitting us versus them, because at the end of the day, we all lose. Friends that we talked to on a daily basis suddenly quit speaking to us because we’re us and they’re them. People that you thought you were cool with all of a sudden, out of the blue, shut you out, and for what?

“Us versus them never works. We’re all a part of a community, and we’ve got to work together to make sure that community works. Our community failed. It imploded. And it imploded because certain individuals in our community decided that division was better than unity. Party members refused to work with people from the other party, and what ended up happening? People got bombed. People died. By the time another generation had better sense and decided enough was enough, it was too late. There was nothing left to unite behind. If this happened 40 or 50 years ago, we might have been able to salvage the damage. But now, it was too late. We can not survive as our own country, and as a result, we must unite behind a nation whose history closely matches ours.

“This is a cautionary tale, I guess you could say,” Arnold continued, wrapping up his speech. “I’ve always taken pride in seeing the good in everyone. I’ve always been proud of being able to see both sides of an issue. But as time goes on, and we keep fighting each other, we keep staying divided, that never helps us. Anyone who ever thinks that dividing a community will benefit everyone, take a look at us. When Wreckeria split, it pit friends against friends. Family against family. And when we got back together, we were a shell of our old self. I hope there are others that can recognize this tale. The Wreckerian Transition Government is in good hands, and you, my fellow Wreckerians, are, too, in good hands. Better days are ahead. Thank you, God bless you, and so long, until we meet again.”

When the television transmission ended, Arnold stood up to leave, but everyone in the room – Wreckerians and Hapiloppians alike, gave him a standing ovation. A lengthy standing ovation. These were words he had thought about for months. Words that didn’t need to be scripted. Words that came from the heart. Tears were in the eyes of the leaders of the now-defunct Party of Pride and True Wreckerian parties. Arnold walked over and hugged them both at the same time. The embrace went on for some time, as the three shared their goodbyes.

And in those goodbyes, the leaders of the True Wreckerians and Party of Pride apologized, for years of violence, for years of discontent. They had wound up bombing each other into oblivion, rather than building their nation up into a better place.

After a long time, Arnold Martin left the President’s House for the final time. Tears running down his eyes, he wondered about how differently it could have gone. If Richard Hatfield had found a different purpose in life rather than be brainwashed by Scott Stone, that rabble-rouser True Wreckerian. If John Adler hadn’t been ambushed that chilly night in Halsted in March of 1966. Maybe Wreckeria would have a much different reputation these days. Maybe Arnold Martin would be a statesman within the Wreckerian government, which, in this different reality, would have been prospering to this day.

He stared a long time at the President’s House before climbing into the back seat of a car that would take him to the airport to catch a plane to Sprague. His time serving as the leader, mediator and moderator over Wreckeria had come to an end, and now that fishing lodge in Sprague was calling him out. He could wake up whenever he wanted, go to bed whenever he wanted, not have to worry about late-night phone calls over the possible worst-case scenario facing Wreckeria. His biggest worry now would be if the catfish on Lake Jackson were biting.

And maybe, by some chance, he could watch a Wreckerian National Football Team match. His story had ended, but Wreckeria’s had just begun.

The End.

(OOC NOTE: While this ends "The End of Wreckeria," this is, hopefully, not the end of my RPing in the Cup of Harmony. Further RPs will follow how the football team is doing as they transition from the Wreckerian National Football Team to the Football Team of Independent Wreckerian Athletes.)

[Saint Eleanor]

Delaclava 1-2 Saint Eleanor: White Stars' hopes still alive after O'Donnell strikes twice
Chief Football Correspondent Jamie Rodgers reports on a dangerously comfortable victory for Saint Eleanor that could help send them to the knockouts
Originally published on Sunday 9th August 1998

Katie O'Donnell delivered two goals in a strong performance whose efficiency was as ruthless as it was surprisingly mediocre to lead Saint Eleanor to all three points against Delaclava in both teams' second game in Cotata - gifting her country all three points as well as a fighting chance of continuing their adventure in the Cup of Harmony.

This match, a clash of the bottom two seeds in the group, was paradoxical enough a week before it kicked off. Only four of Delaclava's full squad play in their domestic league, with the rest overwhelmingly scattered throughout big-name international leagues, but they were swept aside 6-2 by Starblaydia. All twenty-three of Saint Eleanor's players ply their trade back home, yet they held the Rekans to a single goal, perhaps luckily, and are ranked above the Phoenixes.

Saint Eleanor's starting lineup for this game was almost unchanged, however (merely replacing Harriet Williams with her usual midfield partner James Trott in anticipation of a more stressed defence), raising concern and perhaps a few eyebrows among those worried that manager Priscilla Evans may be failing to keep the dressing room under control amid well-documented personal and group rivalries. Yet if the Eleanorians' first showing in this tournament was wasteful, their second was on the whole vibrant, dynamic, sometimes tense but undoubtedly much improved - not enough to put those fears to bed, more than enough to show that the national team can still call itself that.

It was not always destined to be this way. Delaclava probably deserved a free kick three minutes in, from a very similar position to the one that doomed Saint Eleanor last week, after captain Liam West checked playmaker Kent Lindblad with his shoulder. The officiating team had decided it was nowhere near cynical enough to warrant further action, however, and the ongoing opportunity from open play was wasted. The White Stars spoiled two early opportunities in quick succession, too: Katie O'Donnell could have put them in the lead with a testing shot from ten yards out, but after Joord Van der Beek spilled it, she managed to hammer the rebound wide of the mark.

When it came, the Eleanorian opener was fittingly both a ridiculous and an eminently sensible move. Having delivered a throw-in to West, Exandra Davies got the ball back immediately, moved a few paces and then smashed it well above Aleksandr Temirkanov - who likely could not have headed the ball out of play again even if he jumped - and into an inexplicably vast chasm left by a mistimed charge from Rahmonberdi Zhusupov. It was left to O'Donnell to get onto the right end of Davies' lob, hammer in from the edge of the penalty area, and demonstrate why you should always start a football match with at least two functional centrebacks.

Barely two hundred seconds had passed, however, when Varlem Kovalev benefitted from probably one of the easiest interceptions this Cup of Harmony will experience, perilously surging forty yards up the pitch before hitting a low cross which Lindblad could easily pitch upwards and into the net. Once again, nothing could split well-targetted passing against raw pace - and Kovalev tried his luck again shortly afterwards, this time looping an effort into the box which no Delaclav could reach and which was gathered by Davies after a couple of bounces.

Between the defensively-minded Rekans and the high-calibre Starblaydi, this game might have provided Saint Eleanor's best opportunity for a barrel of goals, which therefore makes their lack of adventure until the hour mark surprising. As if West saving a lacklustre Paul Gregory from scoring an own goal off a first-half Delaclav corner was not enough, the White Stars appeared perfectly happy to actively stay at 1-1 for no good reason while Lukas Meyer skimmed the edge of the post and had another excellent shot kept out by John Bailey, and even as Ben Romeijn came within inches of a wild long-ranger somehow dipping under the crossbar.

Saint Eleanor's first major opportunity of the second half came not from a defensive failing, like the three earlier goals in both of their Cup of Harmony games, but from a few moments of pure magic. After an offside call, Gregory teed up Evan Donald from the free kick that resulted; Donald then fed the ball to Steve Pilchard, who skipped past a number of Delaclav midfielders but was careful not to push either Eleanorian striker into an illegal position of their own. Ultimately, he redeemed his error in the previous game by teeing up O'Donnell's second goal of the day, as she received from 25 yards out and this time required only a few touches to score past Van der Beek.

Either side may well have scored the tie's fourth goal over the course of the following twenty minutes. Adam Denby, brought on for an underperforming Aidan Harris after an hour or so, should have added a third but scuffed an excellent opportunity; Damian Soto could have levelled thirty seconds into stoppage time, but was denied by Bailey's fingertips. In the end, 2-1 was the final score and Delaclava will almost certainly leave the Cup of Harmony at an early stage. Saint Eleanor, meanwhile, remain in with a serious chance of progression - which will degrade into a very bad joke if they fail to make an impression in their final group game. Much easier said than done.

Delaclava 1 (Kent Lindblad goal 30')
Saint Eleanor 2 (Katie O'Donnell goals 26' and 69')

[The 14 Stars]

Stars on the horizon?

Ofcourse a nice theme song too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2OD-dV7j_I

Our Starsian squad got in a literal group of death, and as expected their first match against Chromatika did not end too well even if we scored it wasn't enough to give real opposition to Chromatika.
Also with the amount of 3 players newly promoted to a starters position it was weird to see how diffrent the team was from before when Valerian was in charge and controlled the team excellently.
Rodriguez had replaced Moon in the defense and was a solid well proven defender that knows what he can and he cant do and uses that experience to exploit the weak points of his opponents.

On the midfield we see Stefano Garcia return, Garcia has been with the team since WCQ88 and has seen the teams rise, downfall and now the new rise of it under Landry and Young who had done a great job on that.
He was without a doubt one of the most experienced members but always had been benched despite being a quite good midfielder but not a big risk taker which makes the team less dynamic and creative on that side but what they did was first class work.

Lastly Flare who technically already retired but because of the accident with Valerian decided to come along with the CoH was replaced by the new age ace striker Holly Moonlight who is also the domestic topscorer.
She scored nearly every match and she did against Chromatika aswell showing a new dynamic and young playstyle relying more on her raw talent rather then experience because she simply did not have that at all yet, she was in the early 20s and had a whole career ahead.

But the coach?

Landry and Young becoming the coach has been the start of a series of success campaigns, even if they did not win any titles in multiple tournaments they advanced beyond the group stage and did really well.
Even in the world cup they had some unexpected wins like the ones on Tumbra and Flavovespia which are both quite good ranked sides and in their last match they even played a draw on Qasden and have hope of going through still.

Their last match was against Drawkland, this was a very important one since they could potentially even get second place if they win but if they dont the chance is very likely they will be eliminated.
So next match is a do or die for Landry and Young who are praised in The 14 Stars for their solid results and their ability to form a good team foundation from the ground because not much was left when the veterans resigned.

After all it went pretty well for a team which for not too long ago was thrown to the 200+ ranks after WCQ89 but made a glorious comeback and has shown that its soccer is not something to make jokes about.

Valerian

Valerian had woken up next day without remembering what exactly happened on the field back then, only a weird dizzy feeling could be described before he collapsed and he was diagnosed with severe heart problems.
He was advised to quit playing, he did not want to so the doctor made a medical treatment program which allowed him to play but not for long time anymore, he would be only good for 30 to 45 minutes per match.
Valerian agreed on this since he did not want to leave his sport behind yet, he was too much into the game to abandon it and his club Orion already released a statement that they would support their captain and would find a way to make it work.
Nowadays he only plays domestically as a super-sub who is brought on when they need experience and creativity on the field and Valerian has started to study again to become a coach himself in the future.
He currently is doing an internship on that study at the Orion U19 team and hopes to motivate those young players to aim for the same heights and even higher then he was ever able to reach.

And so they train, play and work towards that one match.

Its Do or die.

[Indusse]

IFA NEWS NETWORK
Salaam Legend!

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Cup of Harmony 82, would be the first soccer tournament played by the Indussean National Team without the presence of the Legendary Striker, Baskar H Kumar in the starting eleven. Baskar H Kumar who's also known as BK10 is that player in the nation who has played for the NT every time they were in the World Cup, he's that player who has scored atleast one goal every world cup and also who's the top scorer of the NT History, he's that player of the team who has been a guide, patron and an idol to hundreds of soccer players including those playing in the National Team now. Baskar Kumar retired from international soccer after the team got knocked out of World Cup 90. The Forty-four-year old player decided to leave the camp after the team's journey in the eighty-second Cup of Harmony. Baskar, who is currently a mentor in the team decided to get interviewed by IFA. Gabriel Giivarze once again would be the interviewer.

Venue: The Sitout, Training Ground.
Participants: Gabriel Giivarze, Baskar H Kumar

Gabriel (G): Welcome once again folks! Today we have our legend, the most celebrated footballer in Indussean History: Baskar H Kumar with us. Let's welcome him to be seated near me watching the training of the Indussean players.

Baskar (B): Thank you for the warm welcome Gabbie! It's my pleasure to be the guest of today's interview and that too hosted by you. Before starting I would like to thank you for the wonderful comments you made on me when Shane gave you his interview.

G: *laughs* No mention. How are you feeling when you are sitting on the side bench and not playing on the ground especially when you are in a match?

B: I hated sitting on the side bench as a substitute from the early World Cup 81 Season. That's the time when I felt I had a strong voice inside me. From then I hated to be kept away from the Playing eleven as well as a strong feeling inside me made me restless while not playing. I feel the same now and I hope it changes soon. I do take some time to cope with things, but I do play with my fellow players in practice sessions.

G: Can relate that situation to various things in one's life. Do you think your retirement is a huge loss to the team? Would they survive the change?

B: Don't you think it would be lacking a perfect player? *laughs* I don't think it's going to affect the team as a whole. They would continue to prosper, players would change and new players would join which is natural. They would rise to more heights under those players. Veterans like Budtedjson and Steve are expected to retire within a few seasons.

G: You're right, changes happen. There were recent controversies regarding the entry of Rahul B Kumar into the national team as your substitute. Rahul is your son and a lot of people claim its favouritism and you want to make him the captain, is this true? I did see that you rejected the claims but what do you think about his entry?

B: As you said, i never accepted those claims that were made through the controversies. Controversies like this happen when people get jealous of how one is or how his dependants are. I had a very successful career and I always want my kids to have them too. My daughter never chose football as a career and she has a successful career as a doctor in her homeland. My son, Rahul must have been a really good player to get selected to the team. Myself, being a selector never voted for his entry to remain neutral. His Colleague, Grundjee made it to the team so why can't he?

G: That's a sensible answer. Favouritism could have happened long ago. You didn't answer my claims to captaincy yet.

B: "Favouritism could have happened long ago." I could have let him in before Grundjee. I have no reason to make my son captain so quickly. The coach decides who he wants as the captain. If he feels Rahul is ready, then he gets to be the captain. We have players like Steve, Budtedjson, Mersias, Butea and Grundjee who could be the captain before him. Butea said he isn't interested to be the captain but can continue being the Vice-Captain. The Coach said he will announce the "OG" Captain only at World Cup edition number ninety-one. He would be trying out different captains then. As you can see it's Budtedjson now, it may change next tournament and so on.

G: Aye, what all are your future plans? Any plans to Manage NTs, Clubs or total retirement from Soccer?

B: I can be player-manager for clubs, note that I still play for Southbay Riveria and would do that maybe a season more. Managing a national team would be harder than managing a club, but let's see what happens. I have decided to be a full-fledged politician and do the maximum I can do for the nation. This may be my last term as president but this is my third term and should be the best. I also have business plans and may end up like Beckhem and his Grizzle Corp.

G: Thank you so much for attending this interview and I wish you all the best in your future endeavours. This is Gabriel Giivarze signing off, Adieu.

[Electrum]

The Turnip: Electrum inspirational in dazzling performances of a lifetime
by Billiam Maskey, chief-editor-in-chief

The Electrum Museum of Modern Arts, or EMMA if you want to be a pretentious git, is to be commended for their two artistic performances so far in Montana Verde. In its overseas exhibition 'Exploring Intersections Between Sports, Satire And Culture: In Front Of A Crowd' at Valerigua, Montana Verde, the Electrumite national team has been giving brilliant performances showcasing the range of emotions that can be felt by a sporting audience. It showcases the fact that football fans aren't just hooligan louts who light flares at the first opportunity, they are in fact just hooligan louts who light flares at every single opportunity.

Let's dissect their first performance in their collaborative entry with Southwest Eastnorth. Here, the entire team decided to play in a satirical and lackadaisical manner. Their postmodern interpretation of 'losing' involved the entire range of human emotion (and ultraviolet and infrared emotions for all you other sentients). By keeping the match teetering on the edge and then miraculously conceding a goal in the dying minutes of the match showed the Electrumite team's commitment to satire. Better to lose a match and make the crowd remember the moment rather than settle for an easy draw. Key to this performance was goalkeeper Ralph Mills who performed a triple axle while failing to save that final goal from SWEN's Roth, and Seb, who was nutmegged by virtue of not having any legs.

To snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against the fourth seeded team inspired such a visceral reaction from the crowd. Art is all about making the audience think and think they really did. They made little bonfires on all the chairs around the local stadium (matching the locale superbly), threw pina colada drinks at the poor staff members and made their mark on history by turning the stadium into a bunch of rubble. Despite detractors saying that postmodern art makes no sense, this outpouring of emotion illustrates what postmodern art gets so correct.

Although their next performance against Sarzonia was inspiring, it was also quite disappointing. They simply could not plumb the emotional depths of that previous match by winning. You just don't experience the same feeling. Anger, violence and hatred always trumps relief and humility. It's human nature. We're born naturally violent and wanting to kill the doctors who extracted us from our mother's wombs. Anyways, the loss diminished the emotional impact of their art and this puts serious questions on the viability of this exhibition. Another loss will ensure its success, another win will ensure EMMA's failure. It would be a shame for this groundbreaking exhibition to end this way.

[Acastanha]

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The Win That Everybody Waited

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In the continuation of Cup of Harmony, Acastanha was facing the newcomer Alezian Union in their second group match day. And as predicted, Acastanha came out with a full 3 points. The result placed them in the second place below Mercedini who win their second match against New Lusitania. But despite the win, the critics still pointed out the only 1 goal difference.

"Haters will always hate. That's all I can say. I'm seeing how our managers work his way to make us play better each days. Everyone can criticize but they don't know how it feels to face it yourself.

Jorge Vidshav
Acastanha National Team

The national players seems to have enough with all the critics that coming to their manager, Jorge Garbano. The team captain, David Gothrado stated that they don't care anymore with all the critics that have demonize their manager. Since the 5 consecutive lost in the qualifying round of World Cup, many critics and fans have voiced their opinion. And even with the latest win, they are still make a negative opinion which is now pointed out the 2 conceded goals.

I can't say anything. Let everyone say what they want to say. I will only focus with my boy and get ready for the next match. It's our last match and it's our last hope to advance further.

Jorge Garbano

To suppress the hate comment, FFA shutdown the comment section in their social media accounts. FFA stated that they were overwhelmed with the hate comments which is they are don't really understand about it.

For the next and last match of the group stage, Acastanha will be facing Mercedini, the current group leader. Just a draw will make Acastanha qualified to the next round.