World Cup 91 [roleplays]

by **Cardenao** » Mon May 09, 2022 7:21 pm

The time was now! Or rather, the time was 15 minutes ago when Toni had needed to leave his family’s cramped, run-down home to reach the Stadi Nacional because the time was now. Cardenao’s first World Cup match, a national event so engaging that President Mihaly Otamendi had declared a national holiday and the people were out in the streets celebrating, Toni could hear shouting and pounding of drums outside!

‘Aha, finally!’ Toni thought to himself as he found his Cardenao national team jersey and donned it as quickly as possible. He flashed through the small rooms of the poorly lit shack looking for his trusty flip-flops before shrugging and running towards the front door. One final obstacle: mother.

She stood towering in the doorframe and for a second Toni was scared she would tell him she’d changed his mind and he was no longer permitted to go to the football match. Instead, she leaned down, kissed his forehead, and handed him his flip-flops.

“I love you Toni my boy, here are your shoes,” Elanora said, excited for her son to be in the crowd for Cardenao’s first ever World Cup match and that his father would be at the stadium to meet him. ‘What a man' she thought to herself. Raphael had spent the better part of a month contracted to a Banijan Regional Transit Corporation ferry, serving as their sea fisherman catching fresh fish for the ferry staff and customers as the boat traveled on a circuit between West and East Cardenao. While perhaps not the most exciting work, Cardonian’s were a historically sea-living and fishing-first people and there was still a sizable portion of the population who lived and depending on this way of life. To that end, this month of labor had earned Raphael enough money to buy tickets for himself and his son Toni to Cardenao’s opening World Cup match and today was finally that day. Toni hugged his mother goodbye, jumped through the open door and ran out into the streets outside.

The world outside was alive with a mass of white and blue Cardenao jersey’s, people of all ages in the streets singing and professing their love for the 23 soldiers of God that were preparing to do battle on the pitch to defend and earn national honor. Toni paused, taking in the scene. This area of the favela was always busy, an intersection between major parts of New Cardonia, a transit hub for the poorest living in the capital city of Cardenao, so activity was endless and the best and worst aspects of humanity were laid bare. This was something else though, this was different. This wasn’t the usual frantic attempt to survive, the hopeless desperation of simply trying to make it to tomorrow that usually plagued the favela. No this was a party, a celebration releasing all of that pent up desperation in a surge of national frenzy and football fanaticism, and Toni was late for the main event.

He tucked his flip flops into his back pocket and took off running towards the Stadi Nacional, Cardenao’s primary national football team stadium that was occupied by domestic powerhouse Cardonia FC. Today’s opponent was a nation named Barunia. Not a big deal, just the 55th best football team in the entire world.

55th best in the world. That’s who Cardenao was debuting against. Not ideal but also nice because the expectation of total loss had been set so there was nothing left to do except party! And partying is something Cardonian’s are most certainly within the top 55 of the world for. Oh and Cardenao’s world ranking by the way? 277th. Amazing.

Trumpets blared out calls for half drunk fans to boozily sing back to, drums sounded in the deep as people marched towards the stadium or one of the countless public viewings that were popping up throughout the country, people were dressed in all manner of patriotic outfits and all of it made Toni feel so alive! Sure there were dead fish in the street, but that’s a national constant for much of the nation when so much of your cultural history comes from the sea. That being said, the smell was just as bad as it ever was, another national constant.

He ran even faster as he dreamed about seeing his heroes up close and in person, the goal scoring machine Juanma Saez, midfield general Harritz Larranizar, the incredibly speedy dribbling master Fabrizio Viscarra, and of course the 17 year old great hope for the future, Chimo Ventura. Toni was going to see all of them playing the beautiful game and it was all happening with his father. As he made his way down the hill to the stadium, Toni got more and more excited. It was finally going to happen, his first game in person! He loved watching Cardonia FC on the telly (on the rare occasion it worked) or by listening to the radio with his grandfather Riccardo. But he had never actually been to a real game.

The favela had given away to much nicer, elegant buildings a symbol of the financial sector but after a few short blocks Toni raced out of the city buildings and stood before the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

Blue and gold fireworks flashed through the sky illuminating a massive grass lawn that lay at the northeastern most point of the city. In the center of it sat the Stadi Nacional, ready and waiting for 56,000 screaming fans to fill the seats. It was a classic football oval, not too much to it, with half of the stadium on either side covered by roofing while the northern and southern portions of the oval were exposed to the elements. There was a network of paved pathways directing foot traffic to and fro the various access points to the facility with a small but growing number of shops spread throughout. A good deal of the lawn touched the Ocean of Ayes and stared across to the unseeable eastern continent of Cardenao several hundred miles across the blue. You could see all the lights of New Cardenao starting to turn on. A ferry operated by the Banijan Regional Transit Corporation was coming into port, loaded with thousands of Cardonians from across the Ayes. The sun was going down to the east, bathing the stadium and ocean in a golden light and, to the end of his days, it would remain one of the most beautiful sights Toni Arrigler would ever see.

A full minute passed of the boy staring in awe at the stadium before the sound of cheering from the stadium snapped him back to reality. Gravity started to go for him as he anxiously trotted closer to this house of worship and he was relieved to hear the sound of his dad’s voice cutting through the racket.

Toni looked around and saw Raphael, his father the fisherman, and ran over to him, getting picked up and twirled around in the air.

“Are you ready son?” Raphael asked his son.

“Yes Papa!”

Cardenao 3-3 Barunia

CAD (4-2-1-3 wide): 1 - Holland; 2 - Hendrix, 5 - Rojas, 15 - Grandillon, 3 - Mathers; 4 - Valenzuela, 8 - Vera (76’ 19 - Abwooli); 6 - Larrainzar; 7 - Acosta-Vargas, 9 - Juanma (81’ 17 - Chimo), 11 - Chevaughn (81’ 20 - Yeison)

CAD scorers: Mathers (1', Larrainzar), Juanma (44', Acosta-Vargas), Mesa (88’, Larrainzar)

CAD Player of the Match: Harritz Larrainzar
Tikariot 5-3 Cardenao

CAD (4-2-1-3 wide): 1 - Holland; 2 - Hendrix, 5 - Rojas (71’ Odita), 15 - Grandillon, 3 - Mathers; 4 - Valenzuela, 8 - Vera; 6 - Larrainzar (71’ Jayful Archer); 7 - Acosta-Vargas, 9 - Juanma, 20 - Yeison (73’ Viscarra)

CAD scorers: Valenzuela (23’, Vera), Juanma (74’, Jayful Archer), Juanma (80’, Acosta-Vargas)

CAD Player of the Match: Juanma

The Cardenian Inquirer
Kimi Time

Oh here we go, here WE go fine readers! Good morning to you and you and you. We got a lot to celebrate, at least relatively speaking. For the Federated Republic of the Kingdom of Cardenao, the World Cup is officially underway! The first two matches are in the books and our national team, our boys in blue and gold have made history by building on their Baptism of Fire showing and officially debuting in the World Cup. That is just amazing, just crazy, I mean how many of us ever thought we would actually see this day? Years of pining, desperately hoping THIS WILL BE OUR YEAR to have our very own national football team to no avail. But not anymore. No no no sir, not anymore, for we have a team of 23 gladiators who are doing battle on the great pitch of honor to claim recognition for our country or die trying. (editor note: wtf Timo pls do not reference/make comparisons to death!)

Our first two opponents? The 55th and 40th ranked teams in the world. Wow, that’s nice and easy then isn’t it? Might as well let the lads have a drink or two beforehand, maybe a break for a picnic during halftime as this’ll be sure to be straightforward for the national team, then I’ll serve them crumpets and mimosas personally, oh it’ll be lovely! (editor note: overbearing sarcasm is unattractive Kimi) But for real though boy are we f*****! (editor note: seriously Kimi?!? You’re not wrong but not in the paper!!!)

I love the lads, don’t get me wrong we all do, but that is a preeetttyyyy…yeah that’s a super unideal start to our World Cup campaign. For comparison’s sake we are number 277. Yes, 277. Playing number 55 and 40 in our first matches. Sure, sure numbers aren’t everything I hear you say. But it’s about the meaning behind the numbers, they have some damn good and accomplished footballers. We have good footballers by Cardonian standards, and in these first two games, we saw that we certainly have some quality but a long long way to go. Let’s begin.

Cardenao vs Barunia, our first ever World Cup match. Thank God we got to play at home because, let me tell you what good readers, the atmosphere was absolutely incredible, just totally intoxicating not even including the intoxicating effect of all the beer! (editor note: pls don’t brag like a frat boy Kimi we are a paper) Fireworks going off, everyone yelling and screaming like maniacs, flares in the crowd, trumpets bullhorns drums getting played and it didn’t stop for ninety whole minutes. What an experience, it’s something the nation will never forget.

The game itself was incredible. From the first moment it was clear national team manager Scooter McNash had sent the team out to play ball. As the whistle blew the Blue and Gold immediately started a high-tempo attacking movement and cut past the Barunians in a flash and it looked like when we were going to be clear through on goal within the first twenty seconds of the game but a vital ‘tactical foul’ from a defender sent Ibai Acosta-Vargas tumbling to the floor. Free kick about 30 yards out from the right side, definitely an interesting placement and it was Harritz Larrainzar who stepped up to take it with a delicate chip that floated over the defenders head and dropped perfectly for our Captain, Dylan Mathers, to control it with his chest and blast the ball into the net to send Cardenao up 1-0 within the first minute of a game against the 55th ranked team in the world in our World Cup debut game.

Holy shit. (editor note: this one…this one is acceptable Kimi)

Total pandemonium in the stands, people were hugging, babies were cheering, everyone losing their minds, and the whole national team, Scooter McNash included, met at the corner flag for a huge hug. What scenes, what a memory to have.

Of course Barunia scored three minutes later, then again in the 18th minute to go up 2-1 and man that was just really not ideal. Felt like a total punch to the stomach watching these foreign players who were playing a level above us just carve right through defensive formations for two easy goals. Right before the stroke of halftime though, Diego Valenzuela won a challenge and passed the ball to Larrainzar. He left it for Giampetro Vera who used his crazy speed to burst through the midfield line and spray the ball out left to Ibai Acosta-Vargas. One neat touch, a little drop of the shoulder, and he whipped a low ball in to Juanma Saez who had zero issue trapping the ball and rifling a shot into the net in the blink of an eye to tie the game up as the referee blew his whistle.

The second half featured a much more regimented Cardonian defensive scheme, moving more cohesively and reacting faster to pressure the ball while someone covered the space. You love to see in game adaptation and it was very successful as the second half was far more neutral in possession and goal scoring opportunities between the two sides. That was broken in the 63rd minute from a headed goal off a floated corner for Barunia that sent the visiting side up 2-3 and I was nervous that the 55th best team in the world was about to press on and really take it to the lads but I had no reason to fear because the blue and golds absolutely balled out. After that final goal, the Cardonian team controlled the majority of possession and had several good chances that could have gone in any other day but coming down to the 88th minute and Barunia was still ahead 2-3. Enter Yeison Mesa, the hulking 6’6 striker who can outpace just about anyone and has an endless bag of dribbling tricks to slice his way to goal. He’d made just one national team appearance prior in a brief substitute appearance in the goalless draw against Trollish Islands in the Baptism of Fire but hopes are high for him, hopes are high for all the lads it must be said. (editor note: Yes Kimi yes praise them!)

88th minute. Barunia’s goalkeeper hits a goalkick too far and Robert Rojas easily collects it, passes to half-Cardonian, half-Banijan Abwooli Isaza in defensive midfield. Lad doesn’t try to be a hero and passes it off to Larrainzar who hits a great splitting through ball out right to Yeison on the wing. He collected it under pressure, using his huge frame to seal off the defender before rolling the ball across his body, pivoting around the right back and cutting inwards at goal 1v1 with the centerback before him. A little scissor left, a little scissor right, and Yeison just had the keep to beat. A little stutter then a clean strike to the far post. Goal. Booooooooom! What a thing to see, a white net bustling with a powerfully struck ball, just poetry in motion!

The team trotted back to the center line, held on for dear life for the last few minutes and the final whistle blew. 3-3. What a historic night, a historic result!!! Absolutely wild I couldn’t stop yelling and screaming, I still can’t to be honest with you I still randomly burst out into song singing praises to the Blue and Gold. (editor note: for once you aren’t being dramatic, pls stop yelling national team chants randomly during the work hours or HR will have to meet with you. Again Kimi.)

We, Cardenao, the 277th ranked team in the world, tied Barunia, the 55th ranked team in the world on our World Cup debut. That is boss that.

Unfortunately the next match did not quite go according to plan. Tikariot. Number 40 in the world. Yikes. It would be nice to play someone right around where we’re at but hey that’s life. One day Cardenao will be ranked higher than 40th and we’ll see who’s laughing then! (editor note: no-one is laughing now either)

The home side was up 2-0 by the 20th minute and they were on vacation after that point. That’s not to say the Cardenao national team rolled over and played dead, hell no. I am PROUD of how the team never once looked like they had given up, never once stopped taking the game to the Tikariot home team. Indeed, in the 23rd minute we pulled back a goal after a Larrainzar corner kick was deflected to Giampetro Vera about 22 yards out. A nice little shimmy to free up some space and he rolled it to Diego Valenzuela who hit an absolute melter just past the diving keeper to make it 2-1. Cautiously optimistic feelings were surfacing and Juanma Saez had a goal ruled off for offsides in the 33rd minute and that proved fatal as the Tikariotins bashed through our defensive line to make it 3-1, a scoreline that would hold through halftime.

The second half was pretty uneventful to start to be honest, some back and forth action with a decent chance for Robert Rojas from a corner kick before Tikariot scored off a corner of their own in the 70th minute prompting Scooter McNash to make all three substitutions as the scoreline read 4-1. Emmanuel Odita came in for Rojas at centerback, Jayful Archer for Harritz Larrainzar in center mid, and Fabrizio Viscarra came in at right wing for Yeison Mesa (who earned a start after his strong showing against Barunia).

Turns out these were good moves to make as the flow of play changed in Cardenao’s favor. Much higher tempo to the play, crisp passes, smart runs, Jayful Archer in particular put on a masterclass with his dribbling and passing to open up the play and it all payed off in the 74th minute when Jayful slide a delightful little through ball for Juanma to run onto and curl into the net to make it 4-2. Okay now, things were looking alive, a little spicier. Blue and Golds attacking more, looking confident, Acosta-Vargas sends a shot fizzing just over the bar in the 78th minute before a brilliant save from Ray Holland in our goal denied a fifth goal to the home team.

80th minute, Jayful Archer shows his defensive chops and neatly steals the ball from a Tikariot player before playing it out wide to Acosta-Vargas. He crept inward from the left wing before passing it back to Jayful Archer, who hit a zipping one-touch pass past the defense to Juanma Saez who calmly took a touch and dinked it over the keeper to make it 4-3. Absolutely brilliant!

The team surged forward looking beautiful in the blue kit with gold stars across the chest, surging forward in attack and pulling back in defense like the flow of the tide (yay symbolism!). Unfortunately in the 87th minute we surged forward too far and got caught out for yet another counter attacking goal to make it 5-3. Scooter McNash had seen enough and made the tactical switch to a more defensive approach, content to see the game out and take the L.

And so the final whistle blew, 5-3 loss against the 40th best team in the world but it was a fantastic display from the lads to take the game to them, to play with their heads high and never rolling over once to pull back three goals. Combine that with the extraordinary 3-3 draw with Barunia, number 55 in the world, and it’s hard not to feel excited about the future of the national team and what we might be able to do in the years to come. And, my dear reader, I am excited to take that voyage together.

But that’s all for the football folks, thanks for tuning into that! Now, we gossip!

In international news, there’s word out of the President’s office that an international appeal for foreign aid, investment, and infrastructure improvement will be issued to the global community. Now that is great for a ton of obvious reasons, our country isn’t exactly modern, nor clean with good roads or wide spread internet access or any one of a million different ways we lag behind the developed world, so this international investment will undoubtedly boost us in a modern direction. That is great and I am all here for it and the improvement that would bring. Maybe we can finally build the Great Bridge between East and West Cardenao across the sea.

However, what would the Kingdom of Banija think? Our only foreign ally who currently operates the extensive ferry service between both East and West Cardenao, and also all 14 islands around the country. They also sent quite a nice monthly check to the government coffers and generally contributed to improving the nation’s infrastructure and public transport. There are many who would like to see Banija contribute even more though, perhaps this is a calculated bluff leaked to try and secure more support from them?

Or maybe Cardenao is genuinely going to enter the international world and try our hands at diplomacy? Hah, wouldn’t that be a sight to see?

by **Sharktail** » Mon May 09, 2022 7:33 pm

Sharktail Post EP62

Sharktail - 3
Win Aziz 40 ', 71'
Twin 49 '

Line up
Maxter (GK)
Harold
Maqri
Homer
Hatim
Azaim (c)
Max (Twin Zairo)
Nazmi
Win
Amar
Ilias (Haziq Badrol)

Southwest Eastnorth - 2
Navarro 59 '
Barnett III 81 '

Equestria - 3

Sharktail - 3
Win Aziz 31 ', 66'
Ilias 85 '

Line up
Maxter (GK)
Harold
Maqri
Homer
Hatim (Irfan)
Azaim (c)
Twin (Azrul)
Nazmi
Mokhtar
Amar (Ilias)
Win

4 goal from Win Aziz give Sharktail important 4 points from two match against Southwest Eastnorth and Equestria. The two matches ended in a 3-2 victory for Sharktail in the game against Southwest while the Equestria match was tied 3-3.

The Sharktail team comes with a mission to collect atleast 3 points. A good start in this early match is very important to ensure a good campaign. Ahead of the match against teams that former world cup final participants, the matchup like this was considered one of the must needed to win.

"I dont remember when do we able to give fight with top ranked team. Almost everytime this match come, we getting thrashed by 6 or 7 goal. Among the famous we getting beaten by 6 goal against Baker Park and Zwangzug, followed by newly humiliation lose to Starblaydia and Independent Athletic of Quebec. So, everytime we got a chance of winning, it we have to do it, not to try it. "

Carrol noted they have yet to be able to eliminate or at least reduce weaknesses on the defensive line. Sharktail can be considered among the most allowed goal among Top 100.

"Once again it gives me a headache. I don't have to think much for an attack. Even the strong opponets, still we are able to score 1 or two goals. But the defense is not. Even against the nation who rank far lower than us, 3 or 4 goal is not impossible for them to score. "

Carol seems out of his reach now on how he should improve it. A lot of players come and go but no one is solid enough to be called the wall to protect the goal.

"I'm happy with the monstrous performance in attacking. Let's just see now, two game 5 goal. Well, they are other team who underperform or worst, but considering us getting this everytime, so nothing seems to be improve. If this continue, i gonna say sorry that we might have to go defensive playstyle. It might gonna effect our attacking probably. "

Sharktail will be back with the next 2 matches against Nyowani Kitara and Football Tiger. Possibly we have to get another 3 points against Football Tiger. Go Wi Go Sharktail.

X1 vs Nyowani Kitara
Maxter (GK)
Harold • Maqri • Homer • Irfan
Azaim (c) • Twin
Nazmi • Mokhtar • Balang
Win

X1 vs Football Tiger
Maxter (GK)
Amir Fazrul • Maqri • Mahali • Hatim
Azaim (c) • Max
Benjamin • Mokhtar • Amar
Haziq

by **Chromatika** » Mon May 09, 2022 7:40 pm

Part 1: The Announcement and The Draw

Matchday 1: HUElavia 0-0 Chromatika
Goals: None.
Starting XI: (4-1-4-1) - Fillar, J. (C); Fillar, G. - de Aea - Anbient - Ighv; Zuniga; Wen - Hauser - Fillar, B. - Kuznetsov; Gainsbourg.
Substitutes: Kruetzberg -> Wen ('62), Fillar, E. -> Kuznetsov ('74), Phoen -> Hauser ('82)
MVP for Chromatika: GK Juxon Fillar
Summary: Though they outshout HUElavia twelve shots to eight, Chromatika could not get a goal to bounce in at Estadio Internacional, San Rafael, HUElavia as the team had its first game be recorded as a draw. It's an acceptable result away at the third seed, though Chromatika also had the edge on time of possession (68%) and absolutely didn't lack for opportunities. Juxon Fillar stopped all eight attempts at goal and looked good as the Anomalies' defense came through despite being so offensively focused.
Matchday 2: Chromatika 1-0 Saltstead @ The Islander Dome, Myana, Myana Island, Chromatika (Cap. 133,000; 35,000 Seats)
Goals: Kuznetsov '72
Starting XI: (4-1-4-1) - Fillar, J. (C); Fillar, G. - de Aea - Anbient - Ighv; Zuniga; Wen - Hauser - Fillar, B. - Kuznetsov; Gainsbourg.
Substitutes: De Saint Pierre -> Fillar, G. ('51), Si -> Zuniga ('66), Larriet-Cortes -> Fillar, B. ('74)
MVP for Chromatika: LW Vasiliy Kuznetsov
Summary: In a testy affair against the feisty visitors, Vasiliy Kuznetsov's goal in the seventy-second minute, assisted by Hilary Hauser, proved to be the difference as Chromatika got its home campaign going with a much needed three points. Saltstead proved to rise up to the challenge when it came to withstanding the Chromatik attack as Juxon Fillar was rarely threatened in the game. Chromatika once again left some opportunities wanting as they could've had two more shots go their way, but one went off the crossbar and the other was called offsides. Thankfully, they managed to grab the one goal they needed for the end result.
Matchday 3 @ (4) Pemecutan and Matchday 4 vs. (218) Raspotochje @ RCK Field, Alnio, Capital District, Chromatika (Cap. 100,400; 32,000 Seats)
Predicted Starting XI: (4-2-3-1) - Fillar, J. (C); Fillar, G. - de Aea - Anbient - Ighv; Zuniga - Larriet-Cortes; Wen - Hauser - Kuznetsov; Gainsbourg.
Reserves: GK Kathie Begley, GK Lorée Bautista, RB Victoire De Saint-Pierre, CB Klavida Régine, CB Moira Ansov, LB Ipati Aimée, RW Emilie Kruetzberg, DM Mare Si, AM Baillaire Fillar, AM Alissar Phoen, LW Edith Fillar, ST Hank Killian.

Sybill & Hellion Redux, Part 2: The Resolute

Juxon FIllar's Gloves

The Islader Dome
Myana, Chromatika

After another grueling match that the Chromatiks barely won 1-0, Rachel Hellion saw her counterpart head to the locker room with authority. It would be Sandra's job to address the team, handle the post-match press conferences, and whatnot. Rachel's job, on the other hand, would be taking care of the players. As she saw her charges get past her one by one, she noticed one figure still standing in his goal, surveying the field, resolute and alone.

Juxon Fillar had been a figure of interest during the Cup of Harmony run. Though he only conceded eleven goals in eight games - less than 1.5 goals a game in average - some said that he was carried when it came to these three games: Chromatika 3-2 Poafmersia, Chromatika 4-3 Omerica, Chromatika 5-4 Starblaydia. Never mind that in the other five games, he only conceded two goals. Never mind that he got the shutout victory over Mercedini in the Championship. Never mind that if it wasn't for Juxon, Chromatika couldn't have even won those games.

Though he was a soft-spoken, driven individual, it didn't take rocket science to guess that some of these things got to Juxon. He was the eldest of Chromatika's royal family when it came to football. His younger siblings, the ever-reliant Grayson, the brilliant Baillaire, and the drill sergeant of Edith, all drove him to be better and do more than he thought possible. However, all that was pressure.

Then, these first two games had come. Juxon had made it so that Chromatika never had to worry about a goal being scored in the games against HUElavia and Saltstead. Sure, Grayson, Henri, Keira, and Ha'nei had done their part with the help of Kateryna, but everything started and ended with Juxon on the defensive front. He had done his part to remind everyone just what they had in a keeper.

The second to last to leave the field was Grayson, who gave Rachel a nod and a tilt of his head toward his older brother, as if he wanted her to check on him.

"I'll let Sandra know that he'll be a bit late," Grayson muttered. Rachel nodded, and slowly made her way toward the Anomalies' Captain.

It wasn't like Juxon to not notice her coming, as he always had such awareness. However, this time, he didn't say anything until she was almost next to him.

"Ah. Rachel," he said, emotionless.

"Good work out there tonight," she offered.

"Thanks," he replied back.

"A NMS for your thoughts?" she quipped.

"Did you hear them at the end of the game?" he inquired, his eyes out into the stands.

"Oh, that," Rachel responded, remembering the chanting of the crowd when injury time hit. Instead of doing the usual "Go Anomalies!" or "C-H-R-O-M-A-T-I-K-A" or the Wave, the crowd of 42,000 - 35,000 seated and 7,000 standing room only, for yet another sold out home game for the Anomalies - had started to chant, "Juxon! Juxon! Juxon!"

"Yeah. I heard them," she finally answered, "And you earned it. How did it feel?"

"I wish that the Cup of Harmony final could've been held at home," he remarked, "Though we had some fans at Montaña Verde, it's not the same as when you play at the Capitalizt Dome or anything like that. The experience of having so many people chant my name was incredible. I didn't know just how much I needed something like that."

Before she could respond, he continued, "I know there's eighteen more matches to go, but this is a moment I'll remember for a while. That isn't vain of me, is it?"

She looked back at him with a bit of concern. It was uncharacteristic of him to ask such a question, but she noticed that it was just an attempt to reinforce what he already knew.

"No, it's not," she said, looking at him intently, "Play for the fans. Play for your country. Play for each other. It's all part of why we play."

She gave him a gentle pat on his tall frame, then turned to head into the locker room.

"Don't be too long, you know that Sandra hates waiting."

With that, Rachel Hellion turned and started walking briskly.

Juxon Fillar looked over the field and the stadium one last time, taking in the moment. Sure, greater challenges waited them, but this... This was all right.

2. Lya

Officer Lya Elizabeth Bartell scratched her head as she read the latest missing persons report to come across her desk. 1,281 people had disappeared since the CP Sponsorship Program began - and that was only among the people that they were aware of, as they had all been people that had been "negatively" impacted by the CP Sponsorship Program.

They had no idea what was happening to those people. It had not been the New Light Party's intent to have these people disappear, that was for certain, but whether it was their intent or not, people were disappearing, and that wasn't good for Chromatika a whole.

"You know," came the voice of her partner, Melanie Bosh, "This is crazy. It's almost as if they just vanished from the country. Some of them are seen on camera going into a building, but they never come out. See this here? Marianna Chime? Literally vanishes out of her car. But the strangest of it all has to be this one."

Melanie pushed a button on her remote, and the two of them watched a video of one of the missing people, a man named Peter LaFrance, apparently talking out loud to someone - except there was one problem.

There wasn't anyone else on the screen.

"This is downright creepy," voiced Lya, "What can affect so many of these people?"

"I don't know," was the reply, "But I think we have a much bigger case than just what our little Special Task Force can handle."

"You really want to go to Chief Trennek and tell him that we need to carry this up the chain?" asked an exasperated Bartell, "He'll never let us live it down, you know that."

"Better that than seeing the number hit much higher and having nothing as an answer when people start asking us for results that we have no way of getting," responded Bosh.

Then, Lya's partner's eyebrows furrowed as she thought of an alternative.

"There is one other thing we can do," offered Melanie, "I have a contact in the media world. Maybe, if we can get this carried on a major paper without making it obvious that we leaked it, we can get those above Trennek to authorize something bigger, and we can leapfrog him."

"It's a risk," replied Lya, "But it might really be worth it given the alternative."

"Right," responded Melanie, "I'll give them a call."

As Melanie Bosh stepped out of their vehicle to make a call, Lya Bartell couldn't help but think back at the image of the man talking to someone that wasn't visible.

Chromatika had come face to face with extraplanar angels and other strange things in the last few years. What fate had befallen them now, and what was behind these disappearances? What did that have to do with the CP Sponsorship Program?

by **Nephara** » Mon May 09, 2022 7:50 pm

NSV 0 - 2 Nephara
(4-2-3-1) 12 - Strand; 17 - Kovac, 18 - Copperhead, 6 - Scales, 22 - Levering; 4 - Constantine (19 - Tapper 78'), 15 - Ulmer; 7 - Matalin, 23 - Kvasina, 11 - Marinca (16 - Crowcombe 61'); 9 - Kurtishi
Goals: Matalin 18', '

Nephara 2 - 0 Yuezhou
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Provost; 2 - Schrader (17 - Kovac 80'), 5 - Clevinger, 6 - Scales, 3 - Lind; 4 - Constantine, 8 - March (15 - Ulmer 47'); 13 - Reed, 23 - Kvasina, 11 - Marinca; 10 - Harper (21 - Basilisk 73')
Goals: Harper 39', Kvasina 58'

THE HERALD
EAGLES STAND UP TO THE HEAT AS HARPER LEADS THE WAY TO YUEZHOU WIN
Sisi Sharpe Football Correspondent

It took just a couple of months for Nephara to play Yuezhou again, after the love-in at the Copa Rushmori that culminated in a 2-0 Cormorants victory, but already much had changed. Elaine Koeller showed an eagerness to test new blood, and yet, when the dust settled, the result was the same 2-0 as before.

Koeller handed starts to Bravura Harper and Lindse Kvasina, signalling a desire to blood both ahead of the veterans Basilisk and Fletcher; she was rewarded by goals from each. Even more impressively, Demeter Constantine came in from the EC squad to give a composed performance while Tamara Ulmer stepped up admirably after an injury to Renate March.

The Dragons showed up well in the early runnings. The Farham was a familiar stage for Sabrefell Moth Liu Huiying, who has become a terror at Zenith level over the past couple of seasons, and it was little surprise to see her at the heart of the Dragons' attack, pulling strings and prising away runners as the side's false nine. A brilliant disguised pass gave Huang a brilliant chance to open the scoring in the ninth minute, but the veteran striker pulled his shot too close to Provost, able to take and hold it at the chest.

Liu lashed a shot of her own into the side netting soon after, and the home crowd were beginning to grow impatient, though Elaine Koeller stayed calm and confident on the bench. Her confidence was vindicated, as the Cormorants began to work their way back into the game. Actual chances were short on the board, however, with Li and Yuan doing well to shut chances down and Wan Sheping breaking down the play in midfield.

That all changed, however, with a rapid exchange of passes shortly before the first half. What looked to be a sweeping crossfield ball from Lind was shut down by a sliding block from Wan; instead of sulking, however, Lind ran to quickly take the throw, hurling the ball to Marinca, who hooked a long diagonal over the top with impressive power. Severine Reed, having done close to nothing, raced in from nowhere to drive a ball across the face of goal, and Harper nipped in ahead of her marks to toebash the ball across the line, narrowly beating Zhao to the ball.

The second half had barely begun before the Cormorants faced a new setback. March, who has entered a new lease of life in midfield for Koeller, and Dragons captain Li Jing both went in, hard but fair, on the same ball; Ulmer came away the worst, clutching her ankle and limping off. The home crowd bayed for a card, but in truth, Li was blameless. A baptism of fire for Tamara Ulmer, another star of the Eagles Cup, in a crunch match. Yet she stepped up to the challenge gamely, soon winning a yellow card of her own for a brutish challenge on Wen Xiaohui.

The game refused to open up, clear chances few and far between, though more ambitious members of each side were taking shots; Huang stung Provost's palms with his last action before being taken off, while Bravura Harper rolled the dice from the edge of the box, firing narrowly high and wide under pressure. But it was another defence-splitting pass that made the difference, two Eagles linking up; Constantine won the ball after a slack pass from Jiang, quickly feeding Ulmer, who saw the slightest of openings in the midfield to bypass it completely. Suddenly, Kvasina had the ball on the fringes of the box in acres of space, and capitalised ruthlessly, whipping the ball into the bottom corner under minimal pressure.

The second goal appeared to tame the Dragons for a time, though they rallied late on; Luo Nanwei, the youngest outfielder on the team, came on for an electrifying seven-minute cameo, briefly giving Radeka Lind a torrid time and arguably unlucky not to win an injury-time penalty. But in the end, the Cormorants stood up to a tough opponent amidst an uncertain situation, and have made a strong early start to what Koeller hopes is a comfortable campaign.

NEPHARAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 2
Goalkeepers: 1 - Aranea Provost (Spartangrad, EUR), 12 - Medusa Strand (Chromatik, CMT), 20 - Tanith Arrowsmith (Dynamo Sjoedrhavn, SVJ)
Defenders: 2 - Ophelia Schrader (AFC Treason), 3 - Radeka Lind (Jinja City FC, BNJ), 5 - Reniira Clevinger (Herzegovina City FC, BNJ), 6 - Anaximander Scales (Brinemouth), 17 - August Kovac (Aries Chariots), 18 - Sven Copperhead (Crisisbless), 22 - Kyri Levering (Aries Chariots)
Midfielders: 4 - Demeter Constantine (Crisisbless), 7 - Tambra Matalin (Revolutionaries, EUR), 8 - Pernille Brand (Brinemouth), 11 - Lili Marinca (Chromatik, CMT), 13 - Severine Reed (Raynor City United, VAL), 14 - Thalassa Fletcher (La Nueva Avenida, FFD), 15 - Tamara Ulmer (Algolia SC, SRS), 16 - Ana Crowcombe (Avenida Leal, FFD), 23 - Lindse Kvasina (Istria City FC, BNJ)
Forwards: 9 - Davor Kurtishi (AFC Corvistone), 10 - Bravura Harper (Ulsa, EUR), 21 - Latona Basilisk (Mâ Âlâmëómë, FFD)

North and South Vietnam 0 - 2 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 0 Yuezhou @ Farham Arena, Sabrefell
Tjorl vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. United Adaikes @ Eagle's Club, Brinemouth
Kamisato Ayaka Nation vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Valentine Z
Mercedini vs. Nephara
BYE
Nephara vs. The Gothanita Isles
Oberour Ar Moro vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Pluvia and the Saxean Isles
Nephara vs. North and South Vietnam
Yuezhou vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Tjorl
United Adaikes vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Kamisato Ayaka Nation
Valentine Z vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Mercedini
BYE
The Gothanita Isles vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Oberour Ar Moro
Pluvia and the Saxean Isles vs. Nephara

by **Pemecutan** » Mon May 09, 2022 8:00 pm

Part 4.1

The sky is so clear. There's only a few clouds can be seen. Flowing so thin, it looks like a candyfloss. The breeze welcome Nyoman Agus Partayasa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pemecutan, as his delegation arrived at the Ampenan International Airport. Together with him are several government officers including Deputy Minister of Defense, Chandra Ayu Padmayoni. Aside from government official, there are also delegation from humanitarian and non-governmental organizations. Their presence in Ampenan is to ensure the smooth running of the referendum. The referendum have been waited by Cakranegaran for a confirmation of their sovereignty eventhough they have managed their domestic affairs freely without the intervention of any other countries. However, after the bloody republican rebellion, Pemecutan have place their presence in the region to keep it in peace.

'Welcome to Cakranegara, Mr. Minister. We hope you enjoy the flight,' greet Muhammad Salawi, Cakranegara Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He insist to be the one who welcome Pemecutan Minister himself. The gesture that he feels appropriate to welcoming a foreign envoy. Together with him is Pemecutan Ambassador to Cakranegara, Wisnu Yahya Hadi. Partayasa welcomed the greet with a firm handshake. This might be his hundredth times to visit the lovely country. But he never feel bored about it.

The delegations are escort to their hotel which located in the Ampenan city center. Partayasa look outside his window. This country haven't change much, he thought. Ampenan, a city of slightly above half million people still overed its simplicity. There are only a few highrise buildings which block together at the CBD. While the city center or the old town still have their hundred of years vibe where the Cakra Palace, the previous resident of Cakranegara monarch, is currently use by the country's President.

Around 35 minutes have passed and the delegations safely arrived at the hotel. Partayasa open his room door. A Presidential suite on top of the hotel's floor. He is standing at the big window overlooking the city. The Grand Mosque can be seen from there. He is smile lightly with the view. He then walk to the drawing room where he placed all his work related stuff there. Turn on his laptop and he check for the schedule. It seems that he still have a few hours to rest before his first meeting with the Ambassador. 'Maybe I can take a shower to freshen up. But then what can I do?' His eyebrows twitch. He rest his body to the back of the chair while slowly closed his eyes. 'This might be a long journey.'

A NEW PLACE

Partayasa walk hastily. He can't believe that he is late to meet the Ambassador. 'Im too comfortable with resting,' he thought as he arrived at the designated meeting room. The Ambassador greet him happily although Partayasa still feel guilty.

'I'm terribly sorry,' he said during the handshake.
'Nothing to worry about, Mr. Minister. We're also just arriving,' answer Yahya Hadi to calm the Minister. Partayasa nodded while greeted Padmayoni and Agung Wirayasa, Pemecutan Consul in Selaparang, the easternmost city of Cakranegara. The meeting is held a few floors below Partayasa's room.

'So how's the situation here?' Partayasa ask the Ambassador.
'The preparation is running smoothly. I guess nothing is to worry about. The latest poll indicated an increase of full sovereignty voters although the margin is very narrow. The highest poll turnout is in Selaparang and Sembalun province. Both in eastern part of the country,' explain Yahya Hadi.
'I see. Then we must ready for that outcome,' comment Partayasa.
'But how about our military base in Gili Anakan? Will it be affected?' ask Padmayoni.
'The base is strategic. We can't loose it,' answer Partayasa.
'That would be a huge task, Mr. Minister,' interrupt Agung Wirayasa. Everyone turn to him for explanation. 'Selaparang and Sembalun are two most opposed provinces of the base presence. As both provinces have the highest poll turnout, they might be pushed to closed it,' add Wirayasa.
'Hhmm. We can think about that later after the referendum and the outcome. Now we're here to check their readiness. Not just here in the city but also the other part of the country,' confirm Partayasa. The other nodded in agreement. 'I heard Toluiwa will also send their delegation during the referendum?'

Partayasa back to his room and suddenly throw his body to the bed. He reminiscing what happen during the meeting before. 'Maybe I have to visit Toluiwa too,' he thought. He checks the schedule on his phone. The next schedule is tonight. Dinner at Cakra Palace. The President is always happy when Pemecutan delegations come to his country. But in the meantime what would I do?

Partayasa look at his watch. It's still 2 hours before the dinner invitation. He wake up from the bed and goes to the bathroom. Washing his face makes him feel a bit fresh. He then walk to the drawing room. Open his laptop. He is scanning all related news about the referendum. Padmayoni's concern is right. The presence of military base is mention several times especially in local news. He already see a pattern which divide the western and eastern part of Cakranegara throughout his ministerial time. The division that have rooted a long time ago. Hundreds of years which once divided the country. He shudder to think if it is possible to happen again. He absolutely hope not.

The night has arrive and the Palace looks so crowded. Every staff hastily prepare for the dinner as the time tickling fast. Pemecutan delegations arrived. And as before, Salawi welcomed them. They are escorted to the left wing where the dinner will be held.
'Good evening, Mr. President,' greet Partayasa as the President approach the delegations.
'Welcome. I feel honored. How's the flight?'
President Ibrahim Pasha and Minister Nyoman Agus Partayasa involved in a small talks. Partayasa feel delighted with the President's reaction with their presence here. Very warm and welcoming. Then a staff whisper to the President. Dinner's ready.

It is almost midnight and Partayasa arrive at his hotel room. He can't believe a state banquet can be so exhausted. The President is really pour a lot of effort to serve them. Maybe they are doing this because he is from Pemecutan. Well, the country have a lot of investment here in Cakranegara. Or is it something to do with the referendum?

Partayasa remembering one sentence that was spoken by President Pasha earlier. Whatever the referendum result will be, we are still need guidance from Pemecutan. Partayasa massage his forehead. I'm thinking too much he thought. Tomorrow will be a hard day.

by **Milchama** » Mon May 09, 2022 8:49 pm

"Well that was a terrible start"

"Yep two teams we should beat and we lost to them"

"Just awful"

"Terrible"

"We can pack it in now, no World Cup for Milchama"

"Pretty much, it was cool to make it last time and now we can focus on our real objective"

"Winning the Cup of Harmony?"

"That's objective number 2. To become the best loser team ever would be excellent but not the main goal"

"So what's the goal?"

"To win the AO Qualifying Cup"

"The fake competition created by the Alexandria Times-Tribune-Sun-Moon-Sky-Picayune-Courier-Post-Pre-Forward-Current-Reader?"

"Yes!"

"Why do we care about that?"

"Because we want to win a trophy and that seems like the easiest bet"

"We can't beat Banija. We can't even beat a nation in the North Pacific in their first World Cup. We're screwed"

"And also look at the Banijans, they won their first two games bigly"

"Big league?"

"Yes"

"Ok, just checking"

"So we're screwed?"

"Basically, no chance to win anything at all"

"We could still win the CoH?"

"Not after some 1 seed screws up in qualifying and then descends upon the CoH to inflict misery on us all. I mean that's how we won all our Cups of Harmony"

"Cup of Harmonies"

"That's not how English works at all"

"Oh shut up"

"No you shut up"

"Irregardless"

"Oh don't you put that evil on me! You're not Ricky Bobby!"

"That's a terrible and idiotic reference"

"Why do you hate Will Ferrell?"

"Why do you hate improper English?"

"Because I hated linguistics class in college"

"You took a linguistics class?"

"No but the idea annoyed me"

"Should we not study language?"

"Oh we should but I figured it was the best way to talk about standard and non-standard varieties of English"

"So you did take a linguistics class"

"Yes but also doesn't ICly our conversation happen in Hebrew since Hebrew is the de facto language of Milchama so this exchange is meaningless?"

"Yes but look this cup is partially hosted by Zwangzug and you need to take this warning seriously: by construing meaning from this sequence of symbols, you have given implicit consent to the theory that words have noncircular semantic value and can be used to encode information about an external universe. Proceed with caution."

"Oh right"

"So like yes but also no but also yes"

"I'm glad we ended in a clear place"

"Yeah let's do the standings for the cup"

"Yep"

AO Qualifying Cup standings: 
Pts 
1 Banija                         2    2   0   0     8    5   +3     6
2 Quakmybush                     1    0   0   1     2    3   −1     0
3 Squornshelan Remnant States    1    0   0   1     3    5   −2     0

"That's not complete"

"Well not everybody has played yet so this is what we have so far"

"Oh yeah good point but it's looking good for Banija"

"Basically"

"Well then we need to make it good for Milchama"

"Yep we need a win a couple"

"Let's do it!"

"Ok say as I say and do as I do"

''Ringa pakia!''
''Uma tiraha!''
''Turi whatia!''
''Hope whai ake!''
''Waewae takahia kia kino!''
''Ka mate, ka mate''
''Ka ora, ka ora''
''Ka mate, ka mate''
''Ka ora, ka ora''
''Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru''
''Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā''
''Ā upane, ka upane''
''Whiti te rā, hī!''

"Now repeat after me!"

"Forini! Forini!"
"Finidi! Finidi!"
"George! George!"
"Oh Brother! Oh brother!"

*They strip and run around for 6 minutes*

"We pray the Margaret of SnubNose 38 and Random Number God that you may deliver us victory over Banija and any other infidels that we face in international play"

"Sacrifice the Rubber Chicken!"

*Swoosh of an axe and the chicken is dead*

"Margaret we pray that you take this sacrifice of a rubber chicken in good faith and that by your deliverance Milchama does well in all international competitions"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

by **Astograth** » Mon May 09, 2022 9:45 pm

Previously

Urti Kirna lived in fear.

Out of journalistic interest and a misplaced sense of duty, he’d gotten himself tangled up with the Ministry of Interior, the central organ of Astograth’s powerful security apparatus. It had all started quite innocently, with curiosity over the bureaucratic mix-up surrounding formerly-Astograthian right-back Itziar Lévêque, the official story of which seemed… off. So he’d followed leads to Lévêque’s home town of Uertza, all the way to his family home, and uncovered that his paperwork had been genuine… until it vanished, physically and digitally. A slip-up by border control had revealed to Lévêque that his ID number no longer corresponded to him, but to Tipi Izotzubia, his former teammate in Farfadillis. Lévêque could no longer prove Astograthian citizenship, and Izotzubia now had the citizenship he needed to play for Astograth. An operation like this – and especially the cover-up, silencing and surveilling Lévêque and his family – could only be carried out by the Ministry of Interior. Tipi Izotzubia was not a legitimate Astograthian citizen, and playing illegally for the national team.

There was, of course, nothing Urti Kirna could do with this information. Publishing it would mark him for instant arrest by Interior, the thought of which made him break out in tremors. Everyone knew the stories about Interior – ‘arrest’ should really be in quotes. It more resembled kidnappings, with plainclothes agents flashing their badges for an instant before shoving you into an unmarked van. Where they took you from there nobody was quite sure. Those who came back never spoke of it. Those who didn’t… sometimes the families got a letter saying that their relative had taken up a top-secret assignment with Interior, or had been placed under Witness Protection, and would no longer be able to contact them. Other times, Interior would, when questioned, produce paperwork and video footage that showed the person had been released and was no longer in custody. If they never went home, well, that was up to them. And yet other times, next-of-kin would be informed that their relative had tragically taken their life while in custody, or shortly after release.

Kirna had already made himself a target for surveillance, at the least. He took it for a given. He’d poked his nose where he shouldn’t, especially by going straight to Lévêque’s family home. Interior had almost certainly stolen documents from there and bugged the entire place to high heaven, so no matter how careful Kirna and Lévêque Sr. had been, it was safe to assume Kirna’s visit – and the reasons for it – had not gone unnoticed.

So Kirna had returned to his little flat in Urbizania. He’d turned the key with trepidation and flung the door open, expecting to find the place ransacked. It wasn’t. Everything looked to be in its place, including the basket of ever-shrivelling fruit and the forgotten mug of cold coffee. He still assumed the place was bugged, and that it would be a bad idea to freak out and start searching for the cameras. Those first few days were unbearable. His movements at home were robotic, trying to contain the unnerving sensation of being watched without knowing from where. Spending time outside was not of much help; every time he passed by a van or turned a corner he expected to be confronted by the men in black. It got a little bit easier with every day that went by. They weren’t coming for him, at least. He could live with being watched – and maybe they weren’t watching at all!

Then one day, months later, little things started to seem off. He’d come home in the evening and found a glass placed upside down in the cabinet. He never did that. There’d been no guests over to do that. Had he done that without thinking, maybe? A lapse while drying dishes. Then another day, while getting dressed, one of his sweaters was in a different colour than he remembered. He could have sworn it used to be maroon, but now it was burgundy. The spare lightbulbs and batteries switching sides in the drawer. The almost-full bag of brown sugar, nowhere to be found. The little things added up. He started seeing tiny black eyes around the flat. In the spines of books, the foot of the armchair, the corners of his closet, the toaster. But every time he spotted one of those and took a closer look, there was nothing. He tore up his books with scissors, looking for the bug, and found nothing. He took a hammer and chisel to what felt like a hollow floorboard, trying to pry it out. When that didn’t work he hacked away at its face, and covered his floor in a fine sawdust and chips of wood. But nothing electronic: no mic, no camera, no sensor or wire. Nothing. He knew there was something there, though. Somewhere. He knew he was being watched, sure of it, and because he’d started searching… they knew he knew he was being watched. That die was cast.

Urti Kirna had to do something.

by **Acastanha** » Mon May 09, 2022 10:50 pm

The Age Does Matter

Once again Acastanha test their football team in the most prestigious competition in the multiverse, The World Cup. After a tremendous finished in the previous edition and an invitation to Cup of Harmony, fans are wondering what could the team can offer again. Despite the slightest success on their last edition campaign, the team's manager was criticize for the team bad results in the few last matches on the end of the qualifying round. But the bad result was nicely covered with a modest run in Cup of Harmony (reached knock out stage) and a runner up at Melayu Archipelago Cup which is their first final after 6 editions. And the pressure to sack Garbano subside. Or is it?

When Garbano announced the country's selected players, some critics raise their eyebrows. Not because they are sceptical with the selection but by the lack of young talented player that are being called. From the 23 names, only 5 of them are under 25 years old.

It's not that we are underestimate Garbano's choice but is it really that hard for us to find a good young player. Until when we have to rely on this same names?

Simão Trabkhal
Sports critics

Some expert questioning how the association manage their young players. It is a crucial point in sporting field because managing the young player will ensure the regeneration of the sports itself. Then the 1-1 result against Gortolekua must become a wake up call for the association. If not, then we won't see Acastanha football team anywhere around next few years.

The association realized about the lack of regeneration. But we already have the plan for it. We are still rebuilding our sports atmosphere so it can't be done simultaneously. At the time, the association is focused on shaping out the league system beyond the two top level. While we are in close collaboration with state's government to help us with young development. We hope that our fans can understand that please be patient while the progress is walking towards it.

Rogerio Vakhaya
FFA spokesperson

by **Jeruselem** » Mon May 09, 2022 11:03 pm

Aaliyah Lust for Naked News Jeruselem in Pyazhnaya ...

Hey everyone! I'm Aaliyah Lust reporting for Naked News Jeruselem at the World Cup 91.
Today we're away from home, and we're in ... fuck ... I'll get this right ... Pyazhnaya!
Yes Pyazhnaya, I have enough issues with English as it is but some of these names are just like yeah.

Last qualifying round of the World Cup, was match day 1 - the first day of this cup.
We're here on the second qualifying match day, away from home and my first trip outside Jeruselem!
As a TV reporter that is, I've been around in my former job as a adult movie star so I'm no stranger to travel.
I just need to remind myself to stay dressed at work, overseas.

Just a recap of match day one because ... we have to.
Gortolekua hosted visiting favourites Trolleborg 1-0 at home. Not the ideal start for Trolleborg.
Britonisea hosted Commonwealth of Baker Park and got spanked 4-2. Kinda expected that.
Potenzia hosted Pyazhnaya but ended up losing 2-1. Of course, we're in Pyazhnaya now!
TotoMishin hosted Ranoria but lost to the visitors 2-0.
Jeruselem had a home game and beat visiting Tekatus 4-2. We won't have zero points hey ...
Acastanha had the bye! So they will be playing all games from now on until the next bye.

So now we have match day 2! Group 4
Ranoria after their win, had a bye and sat out this one.
Last round, we had one upset with Trolleborg losing. What would happen today?

Tekatus hosted their first game, but the home team got beaten up by the visitors TotoMishin 5-2.
That's after losing to Jeruselem 4-2.
They are trying, if that counts ...

Commonwealth of Baker Park were at home and should have had an easy time against Potenzia.
It was a bit of a struggle, winning 1-0 with Potenzia not exactly rolling over to the faves.
But 3 points is 3 points so they maintain their perfect record so far in two games.

Trolleborg's first outing was a loss and they needed to recover.
What better than a home game, and Britonisea were the visitors.
Well, they did learn something from the last game and won 3-1 to register 3 points.
I'm sure we are expecting them to get back into top gear from here ...

Acastanha off the bye and hosted their first game with visiting Gortolekua.
Gortolekua did beat Trolleborg so could they continue this success?
Acastanha seemed to pose a few headaches for Gortolekua and the game ended in 1-1 draw for the first draw in Group 4.
Which would lead most to conclude that Trolleborg just had a bad day when they lost.

Well, Pyazhnaya hosted the Princesses here!
There was some confusion about Kate Dallas at the airport - her name is Kate Annabelle Dallas not to be confused with Princess Kate Annabelle Dallas, who is a Princess. They figured out she was actually a different person to the Princess in the end.
A bit of disaster with the first away game as the home team beat us 4-3.
Not one of our better days with a rather awful defensive effort although we are prone to these lapses randomly as shown in the past.
The positives is we did score a few goals still which means our goal difference wasn't too smashed up.

So one home win and one away loss. Doesn't mean much as Trolleborg had a away loss and home win so you can't read much into it.
The table doesn't mean much either with two games, as but Commonwealth of Baker Park and Pyazhnaya are undefeated on 6 points.
Gortolekua on 4 points. Ranoria, Jeruselem, TotoMishin and Trolleborg on 3 points. Acastanha on 1 point. And the others have zero ... Potenzia, Britonisea, Tekatus.
Don't read much into those numbers hey!

Looking forward ... yeah ... some HUGE games ahead
Commonwealth of Baker Park visit Jeruselem on match day 3 and Trolleborg host us on match day 4.
Those games, yeah ... err ... pretty hard!
We would prefer if those games weren't so damn close together!
I know we kinda knew this was coming up but whether we're ready is another thing.

Because I'm kinda busy doing this football stuff, livestreams of my regular content on my web site will be rather limited.
And I have been rather busy learning foreign languages so I don't offend people in other countries ...
But I must get back home to cover the game against the Commonwealth of Baker Park!
That's just one game you can't miss, hopefully we do well. Although I wouldn't put money on that hey.

by **Drawkland** » Mon May 09, 2022 11:29 pm

E X P E D I T I O N . . .

The group had found the stream they were looking for, and sure as Jaxon Madison said, they came across a somewhat pretty falls in the river. It wasn't that tall, and not very big either. Still, it was probably the least boring or ugly natural scenery they'd seen since they arrived in TiSoFaH. The sun was just starting to sink in the sky, so they made camp at the top of the falls. There were even some fish in the river, which a couple of the more bold players attempted to catch to supplement the dinner.

With another long night's sleep and watch gone by without incident, Jaxon reminded them all before they finished packing up camp that there would only be one more good night's sleep left before they would all be in the maze. By the end of that day's hike, they were supposedly only a mile away from the entrance. After camp was made and dinner started, Jaxon stood to address the group again.

"Be sure you get plenty of sleep tonight. This is going to be your last night of truly mortal sleep. No matter what happens in there," Jaxon gestured in the approximate direction of the maze, "you life will never be the same, and neither will your sleep. I know the nerves are gonna get to some of us, and that's okay. We're all athletes, so we're probably used to handling pressure better than most. If you're too antsy to sleep then consider doing a watch shift then and then trying to sleep again. The nights here are long enough that you'll still have time to lie awake from stress for a few hours before succumbing to sleep."

"I don't think I've ever had a sleep coach before," Jack Hoy prodded Leo Cross in the ribs to see his reaction. Leo gave a cursory smirk but kept his attention on Jaxon.

"Alright, enjoy your night, everyone. See you at dawn." Jaxon sat down and everybody continued downing their stew.

Though many of the players, as Jaxon had predicted, tossed and turned for most of the night, everybody got some amount of shut-eye. Regardless of nerves, everybody knew that they needed to be alert when they got into the maze, and being fatigued would not help at all. Thankfully, Jaxon's prediction about the night being long enough for everyone to get sleep was also correct. By the time was sun was soon to rise, everybody had gotten up bright-eyed and quiet. As camp was getting broken down for the last time and the meager breakfast being served, Jaxon addressed the entire group one last time.

"This is it, right here. Your last chance to turn back, if you so desire. You can grab all our hiking supplies to get what you need and head back to the portal. It'll take you awhile and be a difficult road, especially alone, but you can cling to your mortality for as long as fate will let you. If you continue on this path, your destiny is decided one way or another."

There was no response. A few people in the group shifted uneasily on their feet, but nobody stepped forward. Nobody said a word. The gravity of their travel was beginning to set in.

"Alright. We're going to head to the entrance now. It's about a mile or two away, child's play by what we've been legging for this whole trip. We'll have an early lunch there, and then it's time."

Soon, the group finished their breakfasts, put away the rest of camp, and all stood together at the edge of their campsite. Everybody looked expectantly at Jaxon, who said nothing. Instead, he looked just as expectantly at Nicole Warren. She looked uneasy, still not prepared to lead a group into such a perilous undertaking. Despite her discomfort, she swallowed hard and nodded slightly.

"Let's get going then." She turned to where Jaxon had referred earlier, and the group of eleven athletes went on their way to the maze entrance.

Unlike the previous few days, where everybody had broken away from their starting cliques and interacted with some of the less familiar members of the group, this walk was in near silence, with each group of close friends sticking to each other. The mood was one of heavy anticipation and anxiety.

One of the few exceptions came from Jack Hoy about halfway through the short hike. He broke away from the other Grid Corps guys, trotting up to come alongside Nicole.

"Hey Nicole, I have a question." Jack tapped Nicole's shoulder to get her attention. "Well, it's more of a request, really."

"What is it?" Nicole had been wrapped in her own thoughts and was visibly annoyed at being disturbed.

"So you know the thing you talked about at our first meeting in the motel? You mentioned something about the maze having layers. Do you have a copy of that written down or anything? I kinda didn't think to take notes." Jack admitted. He was almost sheepish, which was bizarre behavior from the normally suave and ego-filled running back.

"Oh, well, I have it in my own notes." Nicole patted the notebook on the side of her pack. "I don't have a spare copy, if that's what you mean."

"Do you think you could write it down for me?" Jack looked to be earnest. "That seems to be the most important thing to remember, and I've already forgotten half of them. Like, I know there's darkness, the traps, the fighting..."

"Grab my notebook." Nicole sighed. "I have some spare empty pages in the back you can rip out."

"Thanks!" Jack carefully slid the notebook from its place and grabbed the pen hooked onto it. "Okay, so what were the layers again?"

"Flip to the tab labeled '6'," Nicole instructed. "It should be on that page or one over."

"Oh, sweet." Jack ripped out one of the spare pages and kept the notebook open with his thumb as he copied the notes. He murmured quietly to himself as he quickly scrawled the list down. "Okay, so darkness and disorientation, seems like the same thing anyway. Combat, traps, the arcane, survival, all a bunch of fighting stuff. Isolation, fear, spirit, it's all in the head. Sacrifice, then the center ... should be easy enough."

"Are you done yet?" Nicole was getting increasingly annoyed as Jack continued to talk to himself.

"Yeah, thank you!" Jack took his piece of paper and folded it into his pocket. He carefully put the notebook back where he got it from, and then he gave Nicole a pat on the backpack. "Sorry about that. Just wanted to make sure I was prepared."

"No problem, bro." Nicole let the last word come out a little too sarcastically, but she didn't care. She had other things to worry about. A little late to be 'preparing' yourself for this maze anyway, she thought to herself.

Soon enough, really too soon in the minds of the group, they approached the entrance to the maze. At least, they approached the outside of it. Jaxon indicated it was time to stop for lunch, and everybody else was grateful to procrastinate for just a little bit longer.

They sat on the edge of a small valley, more of a crevice in the forest. It was uncannily v-shaped, like a perfectly-formed gully. There were few trees in the crevice, unlike the rest of the forest, and it was misty and obscured towards the bottom. As each man and woman looked into it, they almost felt entranced.

"What's all that junk towards the bottom?" Andrew Arrowsword asked, squinting to see towards the bottom. "It looks like litter, almost." It was strange. The week prior had been filled with backwoods hiking in a strange land that nobody had ever seemed to set foot in. The junk at the bottom of the trench-like valley was their first reminder in awhile that many people had been here before.

"Some people call them 'the relics.'" Jaxon swallowed a bite of his sandwich and continued. "When people enter the maze, they leave something behind to mark that they went into the maze. It's usually a personal item, sometimes notes and letters to loved ones left behind, and sometimes just random crap they won't need in the maze. When we finish lunch you guys could probably pick something to leave behind."

Before long, everybody had rummaged through their packs, finishing their lunches, looking through their stuff to find something to leave behind. Most everybody was content to spend just a little more time before they had to finish their last break before the maze.

Jaxon didn't stand up, but he elbowed Nicole in the ribs to indicate it was again, her turn to lead the group. She sighed, but stood up to address the other ten.

"Alright, everybody. It's time to go. Grab your packs and we'll go into the gulch." Everybody obliged in silent reluctance. Nicole paused for a moment, hesitant to truly begin, but she took her first steps into the gulch for everybody to follow.

Everybody descended in single file, which seemed to make the most sense given the narrow pathway down the center of the crevice. As they started to get further in, a few got goosebumps, and everybody's hearts started to race.

"I don't know if it's a magical or psychological thing," Jaxon said suddenly, breaking the eerie silence, "but walking down here does something to you. You're probably starting to feel extremely panicked or paranoid, that's normal. Just take deep breaths, lean on a friend, and keep walking. It'll get worse the further we get."

Jaxon was right. Each step seemed to be a more difficult labor than the last, and each foot descended closer to the fog surrounding the entrance felt like sinking deeper and deeper into an ocean. The friends in the group walked a little closer together, hands clenched, and breathing harsh.

They reached the edge of the mess of relics on the ground. Most of them were barely visible, having decayed over time, or been mostly covered by dirt and dead leaves. Others still were eerily clean and fresh. Jaxon veered off the narrow path in the center of the gulch to a somewhat bare path among the relics.

"Let's drop our stuff here. We can put them together," Jaxon offered.

Everybody crowded to the spot, each person crouching to place their effects on the ground. Jaxon shed some supplies from his pack that he wouldn't need, and ripped the embroidered nametag off the side of the pack to place at the top of his pile of things. Cam Cross briefly considered dropping the scarf Jaxon had bought her in the one village, but decided she wanted to keep it. Instead, she dropped a ring of keys on the ground.

"These keys were for my old apartment. I don't know why I still have them," Cam laughed a bit, but nobody else joined her.

Sarah Arrowsword said nothing, placing a little Drawkland flag on the ground. She'd heard of the relics before, when Nicole talked over her notes and research, so she had brought the flag with her in anticipation.

Andrew Arrowsword and Liam Penderyn left a couple sweatbands they'd brought. They were embroidered with their names, and Andrew's had the Cenian flag on it. Liam tied them together before setting them on the ground.

Katie Madison left a charm from her keychain. It had "Madison" written on it. Katie Summers followed up with a pile of spare hairties, having nothing else on her person.

The Grid Corps guys put all their things together. Riley Hoyt had a leather belt in his bag, which he didn't use because he had gotten a belt for his cloak when they arrived in TiSoFaH. He dropped the belt on the ground, where it formed a circle. Leo Cross took off the one stud earring he was wearing, and placed it inside of Riley's belt. Jack opened the top of his knapsack and pulled out a pair of his cleats (which of course had his name and number listed on the side), which he also placed inside the belt.

"Why the hell do you have those on you?" Leo asked in complete bewilderment.

"Just in case I needed them for running!" Jack grinned. "You know that night we broke Katie and Allison out of that town? I was wearing these bad boys."

"You are a strange man." Leo rolled his eyes.

"Coming from whatever half-Drawkian, half-animal creature you happen to be," Jack snickered.

Finally, as everybody was wandering back to the path, Nicole left a photo in the center of the pile of everybody's relics. It was a picture of her and Mike Rodney, one they'd taken after a World Cup qualifying game a cycle or two ago. On the back was a simple note.

"For Mike. -Nicole"

She rejoined the rest of the group before they'd noticed she lagged behind a bit. She quickly walked up to the front, once they reached the edge of the fog surrounding the entrance. Sensing Jason would once again force her to take charge, she took the initiative and spoke before he could give her an expectant look.

"This is the last step." Nicole stopped, inclining her head towards a dark gap in the ground. "The entrance will open up to you, but first you have to speak this specific phrase. It's some ancient language. It means something along the lines of 'I accept the challenge.'"

"What's the phrase?" Andrew asked.

"Hold on." Nicole flipped through her notebook. "The phrase is 'Gentored lo fairir.' Wait, no, it's 'Gentored lo falrir.'"

The rest of the group repeated the phrase in murmurs to themselves.

"Sounds good to me." Jaxon nodded in approval, then looked to Nicole again.

"Let's get this over with." Nicole turned, and strode forward into the fog. Everybody followed, until they were clustered around a nondescript stone face with a small door-shaped indent in the surface. They stood in a hushed silence, waiting for somebody to go first.

"We won't be in one group for very long, once we're inside." Jaxon broke the silence to give some final advice. "We're going to be split up, and likely very rapidly. Being alone isn't a death sentence, but you should avoid it if you can. Stick together, and your chances of coming through are higher. The most important thing is not to panic, and keep yourself in control. I'll go first so that you guys don't have an excuse to stall any longer."

With that, Jaxon spoke the magic words, and the stone entrance slid open to allow him through. As soon as he walked through, it shut unnaturally quickly.

"Let's get a move on boys. Don't want Jaxon to get too far ahead!" Jack grinned, or maybe he was grimacing. Either way, he spoke the words, and strode into the maze. Leo and Riley followed.

The rest of the group followed suit, not wanting to be seen as the most reluctant ones to go in. Katie and Allison would go in, then the Cenians would follow. As Andrew spoke the words, he turned to look at Sarah. His half-sister gave a brave smile and nod to reassure him, and he went in. Sarah herself would enter a moment later.

Cam and Nicole were the last ones left.

"Cam-" Nicole started, but she couldn't finish her thought. She realized her throat had tightened, she was almost tearing up.

"It's alright Nicole." Cam rushed over and gave her best friend a hug. "There's no place I'd rather be than here to help you. No matter what happens in there, we're going to kick ass."

Nicole said nothing, but she could feel the tears starting to form.

"Just promise me you'll drag me to the finish line if we're close enough!" Cam grinned and slugged Nicole on the shoulder.

"I promise," Nicole mouthed, and that was enough for Cam. She would say the words and enter the maze, leaving Nicole alone.

Nicole took one last look through the fog at the gulch, gazing at the spot where she'd left the picture of her and Mike. Whatever she was about to face, she hoped it would be worth it.

With a sigh, she repeated the words. Gentored lo falrir. The stone slid open, Nicole stepped through, and she left her life behind.

The group will return in "Endless"

by **Aleirave** » Mon May 09, 2022 11:48 pm

"Are ye comin' with us Nikita?"
"On my way!!"

The ships were about to launch, the troops about to mobilize, Aleirave about to be stormed. For many of the soldiers boarding the ships in Kilavi, this was a proud day, one where they'd fight for their honor, their Klysevian bloodright... but for Nikita Annedov, the "charismatic leader" of this counter-coup, this was far from the case. He was not the sort of man who was anywhere near willing to go ahead with this... but he knew that he was in too deep, and that this was his only real choice. Why the hell did he listen to Anna? How did he let this go so far overboard? If he hadn't drank that in the bar, if he hadn't let her get into his head... would the invasion still be happening? How many lives would be spared if he had just said "no thanks"?

"C'mon Nikita, we don't have much time!" the flagship Bedisov's captain yelled down. As Nikita walked onto the ship, he knew that this was the point of no return. The ship weighed anchor, and the crew set off for Bestairitza on their way to Aleirave. No turning back now.

No. Turning. Back.

"So, Nikita, welcome aboard the Bedisov! I hope ye'll find everything just splendid here... it's a bit cramped, but I've reserved the finest quarters for ye..."

Nikita was captured by the scenes he was seeing on this ship. There weren't so many soldiers on the Bedisov, perhaps partly because the military higher-ups didn't want him to see the realities that most of the troops were facing in transit... or maybe it was because this ship was reserved for the best and the brightest, those troops who trained the hardest and earned their spot on the flagship. Actually, it was probably just a little bit of both.

"Nikita Annedov?" a voice yelled out. "Is that you?"
"I'm sorry, I'm not too sure I know you... who could this be?"
"My name is Mikhail Tadafirov... you won't know who I am, but I've been waiting to meet you for quite a while."

While the reason that Mikhail wanted to speak with Nikita may not have been known to the rest of the passengers on board this ship, there was a very simple reason why this conversation was so important to him. "And why could that be?" Nikita inquired, hoping to be clued in on what made all of this so interesting to Mikhail.

"Well... I'm not too sure if we can discuss this publicly... but I heard you had a private quarters? Perhaps we could get a bit of privacy there..."

The two headed up to Nikita's quarters, Mikhail seemingly chomping at the bit to ask his questions. When they arrived, what they found really wasn't much. A simply-made bed, a bit of space for personal belongings... but most importantly, four walls and a door. Perfect for the two to have a quick talk about Mikhail's questions.

"Okay, so what is it, why do you want to talk to me--"
"I don't want to do this."
"What??"
"I don't want to go to Aleirave. I don't want this to happen Nikita, I know you must be disappointed, but--"

Nikita paused for a moment as he parsed the words coming from Mikhail's mouth. This soldier was one of the blessed few who was privileged enough to travel on the Bedisov, the finest ship on the entire ocean to bear the Klysevian flag... and he did not want to be there?

"I know I'd probably get thrown overboard for mentioning this to anyone else, but I just wanted to know if there was any chance on the ocean of getting this ship turned around..."
"Look, Mikhail, I have to be honest here..."

Mikhail paused for a moment with the realization that the words he just spoke may have sealed his fate. If Nikita said the word to the captain, he'd be thrown overboard in an instant. Why did he say what he said, and why to--

"... I didn't want this ship to launch either."
"Wait, what??"

Mikhail was stunned. Nikita, the leader of this war, the figurehead who every soldier was following into battle, both on the sea and once they landed in the port of Lahaira, was against the war in the first place?

"I was stupid, I was taken to a bar someday by an old friend of mine who promised me the world if I just agreed to come along... before I knew it, I was this 'patriotic hero' leading hundreds, nay, thousands of innocent Klysevians to their deaths. I didn't want it to be this way Mikhail, but there's nothing we can do now..."

"But you're the leader of this war, can't you just say--"

"Hahaha, how naïve you are... I'm no more a leader than a whale is a fish. Yes, I'm here. Yes, I'm the face of the Aleiravan Reconquista. No, I do not have any power. I am but a talking head, all bark and no bite. I say the words that President Kyslyev wants me to say, and in return I get to be a face to this whole thing, the guy everyone turns to for that moral support they so desperately need. I am no leader, just a speaker, an amplifier. If I tried talking back to the captain or any of the military top brass, I'd be just as dead as you'd be..."

Mikhail froze up listening to what Nikita was saying. These two were so different on paper, one of them just a rank and file nobody in the bellows of the ship, the other one destined to be the Supreme Leader of Aleirave once all of this was said and done... but yet, they were practically the same person in all but name: the same views, the same attitude, the same inability to change what was destined to happen...

"Well, I suppose I'll try thinking of something..." Nikita told Mikhail, "but I can't guarantee anything. All we can do is hope for the best, hope that we -- and everyone in this fleet -- return home safe and sound. In return, I need you to shut up about this ever happening. We can keep talking here, but outside that door, we've never met each other. Neither of us have ever said a word about the revolution. I am the face of this fight, and you the arms. Loyal and unwavering. Got it?"

Mikhail nodded in agreement, and as he left Annedov's quarters, he couldn't help but think of what Nikita might be cooking up in there. Hopefully whatever it was could get this war called off sooner rather than later...

World Cup 81/82/83/84

© Sporting Times Daily 2022
Bees to face early test against Jeruselem
by Mindy Cartwright, National Soccer Editor

After a fast start to open up World Cup 91 Qualifying, with a pair of victories over Britonisea and Potenizia, Jennifer Prescott will bring a strong squad up for the matches against Jeruselem and TotoMishin in the second doubleheader of the 20 match series.

Baker Park will renew acquaintances with the Tiger Princesses at Dallas Dazza Stadium for the second time in three qualifying tournaments hoping for a repeat of their previous visit on matchday 9 of World Cup 89 qualifying, a 3-1 victory that kept the Bees in a tie at the top of the group at the halfway point with Polkopia.

The Princesses are in transition, as former NT player Kate Dallas replaces Pekora Dancer in charge of the side, and they have several new players coming into the team; Prescott has no illusions that the trip will be an automatic three points because of the situation.
"Kate will do a great job, I had a chance to speak with her after she was named manager, before we knew that we'd be facing them again, and I told her that she has a good foundation to build on, a strong history to draw from for motivation."

The opening two wins saw the BP boss bring some of the fringe pool candidates into the squad to shake off the rust for those not included in the AOCAF roster, as well as to establish a baseline for future evaluation. She'll continue to mix veterans and younger players in the lineup for this set of fixtures as the those players who helped the side win the Cup of Champions before falling in the Eagle's Cup Final to Tumbra are worked back into rotation.

TotoMishin were a participant in the Baptism of Fire and will face BP at the Salisbury City Stadium for MD 4, the third time the national team have played at the venue.

Lineup vs Jeruselem:

Johnston; Hutchins, Freeman, Harrison; Rizzo, Vuckovic, Milton, Altman; Craig; West (C), Pryor

Lineup vs TotoMishin:

Kelley; Flowers, Kucera, Schulman; Logan, Ryan, Nolan (C), Aguillar; D'Amico; Wasdsworth, Moorman

by **Srednjaci** » Tue May 10, 2022 2:21 am

official web site

WORLD CUP 91 -Farfadillis / Graintfjall/ Turori

Group 8

Srednjaci
Mertagne 
Gyatso-kai 
Polkopia
Brenecia
Maphidon
Omerica
Kuraita
Natanians and Nosts
Arjunnagar
Eura

KATANIJA , NATIONAL STADIUM : BLUE OYSTER

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

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

: @Srednjaci vs Mertagne - 3:1
: @Srednjaci vs Omerica
: @Srednjaci vs Arjunnagar
: @Srednjaci vs Eura

MELARIT

BLUE VOLCANO STADIUM - Melarit

HISTORY

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

:@ Srednjaci vs Gatso Kay
:@Srednjaci vs Polkopia
:@Srednjaci vs Natanians and Nosts
:@Srednjaci vs Kuraita

KULA

KULA GOLDEN EYE STADIUM

MD5: @Srednjaci vs Brenecia
MD6: @Srednjaci vs Maphidon

by **Brookstation** » Tue May 10, 2022 4:42 am

The 20 is a blog series where authors of Brookstation's biggest football blog, The Beautiful Game document the lives of some of the best players to have played in Brook soil. Aimed at inaugurating the 50th edition of the Harrison Shield, we document the lives of the players who define the top 20 football clubs in Brookstation.

ROGER BOYD:BORN TO SCORE

AC Dason as a club, gained fame in the mid 80s, a period where Brookstation found themselves in the midst of a society that experimentally wanted to develop and widespread protests against various norms and rules laid down by the government were a commonplace. This however didn’t prevent Brooks from playing the beautiful game and if there was one name that could represent Brook football in the 80s, it would be ‘Roger Boyd’.

AC Dason won their first title in 1983 under the captaincy of Joshua Davis and that year marked the beginning of AC Dason’s glorified campaign which would include 4 more titles within the next decade. Boyd’s father was a sprinter and it was obvious that Roger was going to follow his footsteps. It is rumoured that he was even faster than the then Brook champion sprinter, Erasmo Edmund. But instead of pursuing a career in track , Boyd felt an unusual attraction to football. Apart from his impressive physique, Boyd possessed other qualities which shaped him up as a lethal player. One of these qualities was obviously his ability to read the game at any point. He combined his two qualities in an attempt to break as many records as he could. He still holds the record for having the most goals in a calendar year, the most goals in the Harrison Shield and the most goals in a single match. He also held the record of the most goals for the national team but that record was broken by our current captain, Leon Robes just a few months ago.

In 1984, he was named the best player in Brookstation after a picturesque season which brought Davis’ side their second Harrison Shield in a row. But it was against the magnificent Other side of Paradise side comprising the likes of Tomaso Cohen, Simon Floyd and Anton Benedikt that he produced perhaps the defining moment of his career. In the semi finals of the 10th edition of the Harrison Shield, the emerging Dason side faced the most celebrated Brook club of that time, Other side of Paradise.

Both clubs had done their part in keeping the scores levelled at 0 all but someone had to take the initiative to break the goalless tie. The ball was passed to Boyd who was at that time positioned towards the centre of the field. The only thought that surrounded him at that point was the thought of scoring a goal at any cost. He carried the ball to a great extent and looked for assistance but his teammates were playing a more defensive game and thus finding someone who would march along with him was difficult. Thus, he continued alone. By the time he reached the edge of the box, Other side of Paradise had already created a bubble to surround the young Boyd but he didn’t pay any heed to it and simply slid his way through the defence before sliding the ball past Frank. This is the best I can do to describe the situation on paper but anyone who has witnessed the graceful dribbling of Boyd can affirm that it is perhaps one of the defining moments of The Beautiful Game in Brookstation. He had done it for his team and there was nothing that could’ve stopped him from earning the Player of the Year title that year.
Boyd returned with his form the following year but Dason didn’t manage to complete a hat-trick. Like any other player, even Boyd had a rough patch in his career. In 1986, Boyd suffered a nearly career ending injury which saw him miss the entire season. His return in 1987 wasn’t that impressive either and he often found himself sitting on the bench. He regained his form in 1989, the year AC Dason won their third shield.
1989-1993 marked the peak of Boyd’s career and in the span of these four years, Boyd scored an impressive 91 goals, winning another 2 titles with Dason. In the course of these few years, several clubs made an attempt to make a transfer deal with Boyd but Boyd never left Dason. And the community of Dason did their best to repay Boyd’s loyalty. Anyone walking down the streets of Dason can not help but notice the significant number of graffiti depicting Boyd. A bust of Boyd can be found greeting the audiences at the gates of the FBM Arena. In fact, even his life partner was a native supporter of Dason.

Roger Boyd playing for AC Dason

One of Boyd's abilities that made him such a celebrated player was his ability to adapt to any formation and tactic. As I mentioned, football was going through an experimental period at that point of time and as a result, Dason saw numerous managerial changes over the years but Boyd's relation with all 5 managers were upto the mark. All these managers brought new strategies and new tactics along with them but none of that had the slightest impact on Boyd's performance. Boyd kept scoring goals for Dason.

"Boyd was born to score goals"- Jeffrey Anderson (AC Dason coach 1984-87)

"If there is someone who can teach football to the entire team in a day, it has to be Roger." -Donald Williams (AC Dason coach 1989)

" When we used to play Dason, there was always this fear factor surrounding us, especially me. The only aim was to prevent Boyd from scoring." Hassan Khan (Halebid Warriors goalkeeper, 1986-1990)

Like any other player, Boyd's age began to reveal its effects. At the age of 33, Boyd suffered yet another injury and that perhaps marked the end of a legend's career. Boyd did make his return but he had lost his charisma, his strength and most importantly his speed. Not being able to perform, he himself left his club Dason and ventured for the last years of his career in Moukamthorpeles, a club which struggled in the Cup at that point of time. He was welcomed as a hero in Moukamthorpeles but he was not able to live up to his expectations. His career was pretty much at its dead end but irrespective of the rough patch in the latter part of his career, his career spanning over a decade is going to be remembered by Brookstation throughout. The number of goals he has provided is not going to be levelled anytime soon and the impact that he has left on Brook football will last forever.

MORE FROM THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

Should Brookstation give up football? An analytical study of Brookstation's series of defeats
The Drawbacks of being a Brook football fan
How the World Cup in our neighbouring nation is going to affect football in Brookstation
Despite a Johnson double,Aleirave humiliate Brookstation

by **Cabo Azure** » Tue May 10, 2022 5:09 am

Kimi-Suomi 1–2 Cabo Azure
Starters: Antunes | de Lima, Medeiro, Moniz, Branco | Ferreira, Maciel, Serra (off 60') | Gouveia (off 45'), Corte-Real (off 45'), Silveira (goal 51')
Substitutes: Botehlo (on 45', goal 58'), Cardoso (on 45'), Lobo (on 60')

A strong start to qualifying, and a reason for fans to trust in Paulinho. The match had the usual first-match jitters, culminating in an ultimately fruitless series of corners which the big body of Corte-Real managed to direct into the goal, but with insufficient pace to beat Loukamaa each time. Both teams would muck about in midfield for the better part of the next twenty minutes, until Salo found Airo in space at the top of the area. The Kimi-Suomi striker rocketed the ball in off the half-volley, catching Antunes flat-footed and making the score 1-0.

That scoreline would hold until halftime as the Huuhkajat's robust backline kept Nicodemo Corte-Real out of scoring position (maybe those Sanford defenders aren't that good after all?). Two new forwards came on at halftime with fresh legs; fan favorite teenager Vasco Cardoso and the tall Villa Arboles man Nelson Botehlo. The duo quickly proved to be a better match for the tired Kimi-Suomi centerbacks, with Cardoso threading a pass to Cleto SIlveira to bring the teams to level terms.

Botehlo would give the Macaricas the lead less than ten minutes later, but Paulinho was taking no chances. Bringing on defensive specialist Marco Lobo, he directed a compact, defensive gameplan to see out the win.

Cabo Azure 2–1 Al Qurija
Starters: Antunes | de Lima, K. Brandão, D. Brandão, Costa | Lobo (off 67'), Maciel, Rathbone | Gouveia, Corte-Real (goal 78'), Cardoso (goal 28')
Substitutes: Silvestre (on 67')

With a heavily rotated squad for the second fixture of qualifying, Paulinho may have tipped his hand that he expects to get at least one more result this window, against either HUElavia or Saltstead, both of whom look like sure losses on paper. Either way, fans were excited to see not one, but two of the most talked-about pairings finally start alongside each other: the brothers Brandão as the two centerbacks in the four-at-the-back, and "Os Dos Vascos" starting on either side of young target forward Nicodemo Corte-Real up top. Both combinations would prove to be fruitful, though Al Qurija's first and only goal came on an easy error by the elder Brandão.

The early minutes of the match set the tone, with the aggressive 4-3-3 keeping the Broken on their heels despite the absence of Amilcar Branco and Marciano Ferreira. Marcelinho Costa hit the crossbar in the twelfth minute, but neither side sniffed the other goal again until almost the half-hour mark, when a slow buildup found Corte-Real with both Vascos in space in the box. Corte-Real chose Cardoso, laid the ball out for him, and the young Whitepill striker buried it in the upper ninety.

The 1-0 score would hold until halftime. Al-Qurija threatened occasionally on the counter, but the Brandão brothers proved surprisingly staunch given how little faith Paulinho has shown in them. Shortly after halftime, however, the backline made one mistake too many as young Marco Lobo was caught out of position and neither Brandão could provide cover, giving Modevideo Carpi an easy one-on-one with Gomez.

Thus equalized, the Maçaricas buckled down and executed their gameplan, with Joel Silvestre coming on to provide fresh legs. Several impressive buildups were stopped by impressive saves from Han, but the writing had been on the wall for awhile when Corte-Real finally popped his national team cherry, sending an absolute bullet into the back of the net off a cross from Seth Rathbone.

Renegade, Act I, pt 1
“Well-behaved women seldom make history”
-Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

The drumbeat of the helicopter’s rotors rattled the windows on the freighter’s bridge as it hovered above the deck. Ropes emerged from the sides, and black-suited commandos began sliding down them, landing soft and fanning out to form a perimeter. Princess Alexandra watched from the bridge, sipping a lukewarm cup of coffee. She knew they were a Coast Guard interdiction unit, best of the best, the same organization from which the royal guards were recruited. She wondered whether they knew the cargo of the ship they were seizing.

The captain had ordered his men to throw it overboard, but Alex had stayed his hand. When they cut the locks on the containers, she knew they would find cases of black-market birth control pills hidden among the legitimate cargo. She was prepared to stake her reputation as a princess and physician to ensure they weren’t punished for providing a necessary service and a human right to the people of Cabo Azure. Birth control was legal in the islands, but SilvaHealth, the dominant pharmaceutical corporation, had always refused to import it.

A team of three commandos broke off and headed for the bridge. Alex drained the remainder of her coffee and turned in her chair to face the door. Her heart pounded in her ears, but she breathed deep, trying to maintain her calm demeanor. She reminded herself the “raid” was almost certainly ordered by Federico Bravo, the Azurean prime minister and a Silva pawn. The Silvas would win a bit of political theater, but Azurean royals had always held sovereign immunity; Alex could be punished only if her brother, King Manuel, said she could. The Silvas would win the battle, but Alex would win the war.

Heavy footsteps sounded in the stairwell leading up to the bridge, and Alex could feel herself wince with each one. The door swung open, and the three masked commandos entered. Their leader surveyed the room and, seeing no threat, removed his balaclava. Reaching into a pocket of his fatigues, he presented the captain of the ship, seated to Alex’s left, with a folded sheet of paper. The captain’s hands shook as he took it, but the commando kept his attention focused on Alex. He was handsome, late thirties with salt-and-pepper hair, and even under his gear she could see his physique was formidable.

“What do you need from us?” the captain asked, his voice wavering.

“Get on the PA system and direct your crew to come above decks with their hands in the air. Who is on watch in the engine room?”

“Renita, my first engineer,” the captain answered.

“Do you trust her?”

“With my life.”

“Direct her to stay aboard. We will provide a Coast Guard crew sufficient to navigate your vessel to port without risk of damage. Once we reach Sao Simone, your cargo will be inventoried and all contraband seized. We have no reason to harm your ship or your crew unless you give us one.”

The captain closed his eyes and nodded, then made his way slowly to the public address system to direct as the man had said. Alex felt her dread give way to cold fury; if the commandos weren’t treating the captain as a threat, that meant they knew he wasn’t really in charge, which meant they knew exactly who she was and had come aboard anyway. She fixed the leader with her steeliest stare, a look she’d seen her mother give her father during their rows when she was a child.

“And you, ma’am,” the man said, as if seeing Alex for the first time.

“Do you know who I am?” Alex spat, her rage suddenly overcoming her. Shaking, she got to her feet. “Do you know what you’re doing, you-you-you fucking pawn?”

The man gave her the mild smile of a disappointed schoolteacher. He seemed to consider for a moment, then said, “You’re not my problem,” in as dismissive a tone as Alex had ever heard. He gave a pointed look to one of his companions, the shorter of the two, who must be a woman by her shape and the sweep of blond bangs above her eyes.

The woman removed her balaclava, and it took Alex a moment to recognize her younger sister, the Princess Veronica. Ronnie had gone to the Maritime University after secondary school and joined the Coast Guard as an officer, but she was an engineer, not a commando. It seemed impossible that she was here, dressed in the same black fatigues as the others, but when she spoke, her voice was unmistakable.

“Alex,” she said quietly, “Come with me. It’s time to get you home.”

The second half of the September 2017 qualifying window looks to be among the most difficult stretches the Maçaricas will play this campaign, with an away tie at HUElavia and Salstead at home back to back. Paulinho will likely look to field his strongest eleven vs. HUElavia, with a return to the 5-3-2 in the interest of preserving any chance at a result.

Projected starting XI vs. HUElavia: Antunes | de Lima, Medeiro, Moniz, K Brandão, Branco | Lobo, Ferreira, Maciel | Corte-Real, Silveira

Versus Saltstead, Paulinho will likely look to play a bit more aggressively in the hopes of stealing a win.

Projected starting XI vs. Saltstead: Antunes | de Lima, Medeiro, Moniz, K Brandão, Branco | Maciel, Ferreira, Alves | Corte-Real, Silveira

by **Turori** » Tue May 10, 2022 5:23 am

Turori Take Early Group 14 Victories, Prepare for Peril

Almintora National Stadium, Almintora, Turori :: The Turori National Team kick started their World Cup 91 Qualifying campaign with a 2-1 victory over Gadria, a nation that was visiting Turori for the first time in their history. While the narrow advantage Turori held in the 2-1 victory may have been underwhelming to some fans, particularly considering that Gadria are a nation that many pundits have projected to finish at the very bottom of Group 14, the critical tally for Tarek Edgeli and the Turori National Team is the three points they have collected toward the standings in one of the most difficult groups in paper in the World Cup 91 Qualifications. The result was also a relief for fans in attendance and those watching remotely as the Eels trailed for a large stretch of the game after a 16th minute penalty kick scored by the visitors after Cuoabaza Orani’aoa was adjudged to have committed handball inside the area while defending an early Gadrian corner. Out of an abundance of caution, head coach Tarek Edgeli immediately removed Orani'aoa from the match - substituting in the veteran midfielder Daliora Toru'u to mitigate the risk of a rogue second yellow card putting the Eels at a disadvantage and setting the stage for a potential upset result at the Almintora National Stadium.

Despite the early set back, Turori's National Citizen Squad did control the majority of the possession and went into the half time break looking like the side more likely to prevail and score the next goal, despite the fact that they were trailing at the time by a 0-1 scoreline. Despite having the better of possession, however, what the Eels were lacking was quality shots on goal, with a number of chances going wide or over the net and never really troubling the Gadrian netminder or registering as a shot on goal. That would all change in the 63rd minute after yet another shot attempt missed the net completely - though this time due to the deflection it had earned the Eels a corner kick. First half substitute Daliora Toru'u would deliver the ball in from the corner flag and it met perfectly to the well-timed jump of Planio'o Nrujsa, the Euran based defender heading the ball home to level the scores and wake up the sleeping fan base in Turori's capital city. The injection of energy as both players and fans alike came to the realization that Turori had finally decided to take advantage of their skills on the night and put a ball in the net began to flow throughout the arena as pent up fans broke out in song for the first time in nearly an hour. The chants were still going when they transitioned to cheers once more less than five minutes later when Naraiaz Ruaplal of the Westwood Sprites in the Commonwealth of Baker Park unleashed a monster of a shot from 25 yards out that whirled its way through the traffic and into the back of the net, giving Turori the lead for the first time all game.

With the complexion of the game having changed, the coaching staff would make one change that was nearly missed by the celebrating fans whose songs drowned out the aging stadium's Public Address system announcement of the substitution that would see earlier goalscorer Planio'o Nruja make way for the fresh legs of Kinabo Telio. Having made just two substitutions with the match winding down and not looking to make any additional tactical changes, Head Coach Tarek Edgeli signaled for 40-something year old netminder Wiyauw An'maude to get on the gloves and would send the long-time Cedniavella and Turori National Team goalkeeper into the action marking off the netminders 99th career appearance for the Turori National Team. While An'maude is no longer a first choice keeper for the Turori National Team, it is believed that Edgeli and the Turori National coaching staff are supporting of ensuring that the World Cup 88 Hero reaches the triple digit 100 appearance milestone for the National Team before hanging up their gloves for good. When the final whistle blew, An'maude and the Turori National Team applauded the fans including Nigel's Army placed right behind the Cedniavella Netminders goal, knowing full well that they may not have put in their best performance on the day - but they still did just enough to get the job done.

 Turori 2 - 1 Gadria	
	Turori Goals:	:: 63' Planio’o Nrujsa:: 52' Loala Inkabu             
	Stats :: Turori 	:: Possession: 57%:: Shots: 4:: Corners: 7 :: Gadria :: Possession: 43%:: Shots: 6:: Corners: 12
	Turori Lineup :: 	Derizi Amatopa (Wiyauw An'maude 83'), Biliki Rona'atu'i, Moumouni Verre'elali, Amakli Inuro'o, Planio’o Nrujsa (Kinabo Telioa 67'), Cuoabaza Orani’aoa (Daliora Toru'u 21'), Naraiza Ruaplal, Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, Tulaki Rauogba, Nua'oma Aikiki, Turakia Diijelhma

The morning after their victory over Gadria, the Turori National Team would head out to the Forbidden Territories where a packed crowd entered the Motorad Stadium with alot more confidence than they should have had entering the stadium to face the top team in the Group and second highest ranked nation in the multiverse at the start of the 91st World Cup Qualification Cycle. That confidence, however, was well placed as the Forbidden Territories added to Savojarna's World Cup Qualifying misery with a surprise draw in Savojarna on the opening matchday of the campaign. It didn't take long for the optimism in the Motorad Stadium to quiet down to a mere murmor as the home side barely even had possession over the opening fifteen minutes of action. As first reported by local outlet "FT News" - it is estimated that Tarek Edgeli's Turori National Team held an impressive 80% of the possession over the course of the match and at times in the first half that number may have been even higher. Despite all the possession in a dominating midfield display - Turori continued to struggle at finding quality goal scoring opportunities and in capitalizng on those to get on the scoreboard. This time around, Edgeli was not about to wait to make changes and switched Turori into a rare three-forward formation in the 37th minute introducing Nua'oma Aikiki in place of Cuoabaza Orani'aoa. Despite the change, Turori were still held without a goal in the first half for the second consecutive game.

At half time, Edgeli put all the chips in the middle going all in utilizing the final two substitutions in their quiver. Defender Cusaram Sakeri would be replaced by midfielder Lati'ala Giaoka putting Turori in an uncharacteristic 3-4-3 formation as they attempted to tear down the Forbidden Wall. Edgeli would also make a like for like substitution bringing on Kiidallen Aeroluzzi for fresh legs and sending the Eels back into battle. Whether it was the half time changes or just the persistent possession and pressure being applied by Turori's National Citizen Squad, they would finally break through and get on the board in the 52nd minute thanks to a free kick from Loala Inkabu. With Kentu Umaka'a now retired from international play, it was a rare opportunity for a new set-piece taker for the Eels and Inkabu made the most of their opportunity to give Turori the 1-0 lead. It appeared as if Inkabu had added a second goal just over ten minutes later but in a brief moment of controversy, Inkabu was adjudged to have been offside by the lines judge at the moment the ball was played and the potential 2-0 goal was called back. Despite the minor setback, Turori continued to dominate possession and were at no danger of losing the lead so long as the Forbidden Territories continued to forbid themselves taking a shot on goal. The Eels would secure the ball and secure the three points to complete their opening two-match stanza of World Cup 91 Qualifying with six points before heading back to Turori.

 Turori 1 - 0 Forbidden Territories	
	Turori Goals:	:: 52' Loala Inkabu              
	Stats :: Turori 	:: Possession: 78%:: Shots: 6:: Corners: 8 :: Forbidden Territories :: Possession: 22%:: Shots: 0:: Corners: 3
	Turori Lineup :: 	Derizi Amatopa, Amakli Inuro'o, Biliki Rona'atu'i, Karek Edgeli, Cusaram Sakeri (Lati'ala Giaoka 45'), Naraiza Ruaplal, Kinabo Telioa (Kiidallen Aeroluzzi 45'), Cuoabaza Orani’aoa (Nua'oma Aikiki 37'), Daliora Toru'u, Turakia Diijelhma, Loala Inkabu

TURORI NATIONAL ✓

@TuroriNat
Loala Inkuba with the game winning free kick as the #Eels take a 1-0 victory and three points from the Forbidden Territories Follow the Story Here...

#WC91Q - #TURvFBT - #Group14

With their opening warmup behind them, the Turori National Team will now head home for what could be the most critical match of the qualifying campaign against a team which never truly developed as a full-blown Rival despite having all the right ingredients to stir one up. The Eels and the Purple Peril both made their debut on the World Cup Qualifying circuit during the 15th World Cup Qualification cycle. While Turori were off battling against actual rivals Krytenia in the Baptism of Fire Cup, however, the "other" nation that started in World Cup 15... the one that would eventually go on to win Five World Cup Titles in a span where Turori and Krytenia combined for exactly zero - would instead build their own rivalry with Turori's colonial neighbors the Tropics of Vilita. The history between Turori and Starblaydia is little more than a footnote - at least on the scale of the World Cup. Unlike the long-standing rivalry with another so-called "Strait of Champions" nation - Audioslavia, whom have eliminated Turori from the World Cup on no fewer than 1093 occasions, neither Turori nor Staryblaydia have ever actually directly eliminated the other nation from the World Cup. In fact, the two nations have met just four times in their history during a World Cup Campaign - twice during the Group Stage of the World Cup finals as in World Cup 25 and World Cup 73 - and once during qualifications - the 69th World Cup Cycle. Of course, while it was just another cycle for the Turori National Team - just another knockout round defeat at the hands of Audioslavia, World Cup 25 was slightly more important in the history of the team in Purple. What may have seemed at the time as an inconsequetial 1-1 draw would actually be critical to ensure that Starblaydia would advance from Group G over their lesser rivals Nova Britannicus. From there it would be a string of one goal victories over some of the biggest names in sport - a pathway of giants including Casari, Bettia, Squornshelous and finally Rejistania en route to the first of Five World Cup Titles.

63 Cycles later, Turori would finally get their turn and so now the two nations who each got their start during World Cup 15 Qualifying, will clash head to head for the first time as former World Cup Champions. The match will take place at the Cednia Beach Centre in Cednia Beach, Turori - a venue which may not be high on the list for fans of the Purple Peril to return after having previously become the first Nation to ever lose a World Cup Final to Audioslavia at the venue during World Cup 63. For those that do attend the critical Group 14 Matchup they will be greeted by the statue of famed Turorian goalkeeper Milauo Slietah. Of course while Slietah is considered one of the great all time goalkeepers for the Turori National Team, Cednia Beach AFC and the Yeaddin Owls, there is no question that the Turorian goalkeeper's popular legacy rests in one particular matchup against Starblaydia, where the netminder turned an improbable performance into a legendary hat-trick the story of which is still told to this day. The scene was the Vimesbairn National Stadium in Cockbill Street for the opening matchday of the Cup of Harmony and it started as little more than a goalkeepers gaffe - Starblaydi netminder Rodriguez Da Silva had been poorly positioned to anticipate the overly-ambitious goal kick from Slietah which landed clear of all the field players on the pitch but bounced in the gap ahead of Da Silva. Backtracking to anticipate the trajectory, there was nothing Da Silva could do as they leapt in desperation to redirect the ball but only ended up helping it to the back of the net. It was an incredible scene - a goalie scoring a goal from their own half and it was instantly set to be highlight reel material for years to come.

However, what followed from that moment turned Milauo Slietah's performance from a highlight reel add-on to a legendary day that would transcend generations and ultimately become immortalized in statues and dioramas. The real madness started when the Turori National Team earned a corner kick deep into first half stoppage time. Knowing that it would likely be the final kick of the first half, Slietah dashed up to get into the mix of the delivery from Cuolia Tuirma. Slietah's late arrival - even as the Turorian staff urged the netminder back into their half - actually served as a critical distraction as the Turorian defense did not pick up the netminder sprinting in at the near post. The tall netminder was the first player in the path of Tuirma's direct delivery and redirected the ball with bullet like precision, glancing off the near post and into the net - Just like that Slietah had two goals - and perhaps more importantly on the day, had given Turori a 2-1 lead. Naturally, when Kaboafo Iobabao was fouled by Robert Cole during the second half and awarded the Turori National Team a penalty kick, there was no player on the field going to step in the way of Slietah completing a magical hattrick that would be remembered for generations to come and in many ways remains the defining moment in the history of matchups between the Eels and the Purple Peril. While it is unlikely there will be any repeat magical moments on the field in Cednia Beach, it will still be the most important matchup between the two nations in recent memory with early control of Group 14 as the prize for the winner.

Cednia, Turori
Postcard:

Fixture :: World Cup 91 Qualifying Matchday 3 v. Starblaydia

Location :: Cednia is the Vacation Center of the Island Emirate boasting the best Coastlines, nightlife and business opportunities within Turori in a sprawling coastal city.

Capacity :: 103,000

Stadium :: The Cednia Beach Center is one of the purest examples of capitalism and expansion in the Vilitan Leagues. Originally a modest plot for a modest team, the stadium has risen along with the rise of the club. Now, a world class stadium capacity wise, there are concessions that were made. The training grounds outside the center are second rate, and parking is virtually non-existent at the complex. Public transportation - including your own two feet, would be required for fans to access the stadium. Thats alright though, plenty of lodging surrounds the local area within walking distance.

The Cednia Beach Center has been home to International competitions for many seasons including the Cup of Harmony 53 Final contested between Darmen and New Montreal States. New Montreal States ran out 4-2 winners on the day in what was an otherwise quiet and successful day at the park for fans attending at the Cednia Beach Center, showcasing the ability for Cednia to host the marquee matchups of International Sport despite the close confines of the stadium with its Cednia surroundings. Just two cycles later, the Cednia Beach Center would be home to one of the the most talked about World Cup Finals of its era, when Atlantian Oceania powerhouse Starblaydia in search of their record 6th World Cup took on an Audioslavia side that had made more World Cup Finals without ever winning than any other nation. In that game, Audioslavia finally prevailed to earn their first World Cup title while Starblaydia still seeks that elusive 6th title.

Primary Tenants :: Cednia Beach AFC currently compete in the Vilitan Stellar Division. Cednia Beach AFC remain the only Turorian club to ever win the Vilitan Stellar Division Title and can also boast the UICA Globe Cup, Atlantian Oeania Champions League and Vilitan Cup (3x) among their honors.

by **Gortolekua** » Tue May 10, 2022 7:31 am

previously.
It was high noon. The cloudy skies said otherwise. Cash and René were out once again, standing on the shores of a still chilly Point Foothill. It was a somewhat quick turnaround; they spent last night listening some politician ramble to them, singing the Rangers' praises. That man called them innovators and foremost experts on fostering whatever the hell it is they were fostering—they didn't know yet, if ever. Sure, this man talking to them is the country's premier. But to two 18-year-olds, he was just another politician.

René was handling the chilling sea breeze comfortably. Oztapoa isn't known for being the warmest of towns in his home province. Cold has another meaning up there, and this wasn't it. If it wasn't for the fact he was at a Ranger training moment, he would have loved to run into the ocean and just swim. He swam in cold lakes growing up—Cerati is the only landlocked province in the country. The beach was something René was always eluded by, having never seen the ocean until he got stationed. Being able to enjoy the ocean and its saltiness sounded peaceful. Ethereal, even.

Cash loathed the cold.

Everything about where he was right now and what was around him. The uniformity, the chills, the order, the rigidness. None of it spoke to Cash. Then again, none of it needed to. He knew he was there to get out of what could have been a hellish situation behind bars. Ninety-nine patriots and me, he thought. That he can deal with, but ninety-nine patriots, him AND frigidness? That was something he didn't want to deal with. Cash never experienced the cold growing up; 74 Zuhaitz is a warm place, with its main street lined up with seventy-four of the most beautiful palm trees anyone could find. That was where he wanted to be, but granted: anywhere warmer would have sufficed.

But the two of them were there, on Point Foothill's sandy beaches, ready to do whatever they had to do as "the finest youth our country has to offer," to quote that stupid politician from last night. When Trainer Hooper ordered the recruits to jog around the base for an initial fitness assessment, everyone did.

Cash broke out ahead of the pack while running. If there was one thing he was good at, other than smuggling goods in, it was running. He lived and breathed for running. Finding the right rhythm to his gait before he entered a groove was what made him truly feel free. If nobody could catch up to him, Cash would be on his own—just how he likes it. Even if there was that dread of knowing the rest of the pack would eventually catch up to him and he'd still be a Ranger recruit, this brief moment of being by himself is all he needed to get his fix of feeling free. Plus, he could finally warm up.

René, however, ruined that moment for Cash. He's a quick guy too. Not surprising when you happen to be a cross country star in prep school.

The pair, now leading the pack, realized that company at top was rare. "Might as well embrace it," an iron-lung René told Cash in between breaths. For some of the run, Cash had that slight edge, but René would catch up and have his own edge over Cash. It was the story of their whole run as they jogged up and down the coastline, around the base camp's perimeter, and back to start with Trainer Hooper. By the time Cash and René made it back, the two were neck-and-neck but well ahead of the rest of their recruit class. They both fell to their knees as soon as they made it back, exhausted from holding themselves to their limits, it seems.

"You two are quick, but damn do you recruits need to pace yourselves better," Hooper told the duo, impressed and slightly concerned. René and Cash were both gasping for air from how exhausted they were. Sand was in their shoes, and the wind picked up so much that it was entering their eyes two. That made the coughing just a wee-bit more intense. Great, they thought. Just what they needed following a run that turned into a race.

As they picked themselves up, finally recovered enough to not be out of breath, the rest of the recruits started filing in. Some unfazed by their run because, surprise, they paced themselves, others a bit winded from how intense their run was. Cash didn't care about what was going on, René wasn't too keen either on everyone else filing in. They made it through the endurance run, and were finally able to return to the Rangers' base camp. "It was going to be an easy first day," Hooper told everyone that morning. Why would today have been so easy?

The football was going on—and not far from Point Foothill. Fort Arcata in Goudini was hosting the first ever home match of the Gortoleki national team. It was a late afternoon kick-off, for whatever reason (Fort Goudini had floodlights, so no reason not to play at night), against a Trolleborg team that was 38th in the rankings. There were some big football fans among the recruit class, but Cash and René were casual fans. They had other stuff to worry about, but might as well watch the game.

Hooper seemed very excited for it, they both thought. She was ecstatic when, in the 34th minute, Catrine Mäkinen's cross to Darby Innes led to the game's lone goal and a victory for the country. "I love nationalism," Cash told René straight-faced, as everyone else celebrated the victory. The two bursted in a fit of laughter as everyone else wooped.

"Alright everyone, that was a great win in all! Good to see some national unity and good football," Hooper told the recruits, still giddy from the football win. "I'm glad today was a fun experience for you all!"

"Tomorrow will be a little bit different. Tomorrow—and the rest of your Ranger training from here on out—will be hell, so let me be the first to personally welcome you to it!"

Total silence now.

Shit, they both thought.

Gortolekua 1-0 Trolleborg
Gortolekua goalscorers: D. Innes '34 (a - C. Mäkinen)
Trolleborg goalscorers: n/a
Gortolekua subs: A. Travieso ⇄ J. Partanen '65; L. Pilgrim ⇄ K. Lynton '80
Trolleborg subs: H. Nordenfjord ⇄ M. Knopper '70; J. Du Riis ⇄ W. Schendel '70 and K. Gould ⇄ M. Kroonquist '75

Acastanha 1-1 Gortolekua
Acastanha goalscorers: D. Gothrado '1 (a - D. Yushankar)
Gortolekua goalscorers: D. Douglas '66 (a - I. Esteban)
Acastanha subs: G. Papal ⇄ J. Vidshav '74; B. Dillakar ⇄ P. Adondare '85
Gortolekua subs: I. Esteban ⇄ M. Randal '60; J. Berge ⇄ D. Douglas '70; G. Fishman ⇄ J. Saarinen '80

GORTOLEKUA'S ROSTER SELECTION FOR MDs 3&4
Starting XI
T. Allan
A. Echevarría - M. Randal - C. Mäkinen
M. Salinas - R. Terry
G. Fishman - A. Travieso - F. Robertsen - A. Saunders
(C) M. Newport (GK)
Substitutes
P, Heikkilä (GK) | G. Saunders | L. Lindsey | E. Linna | I. Esteban | A. Echevarria | J. Berge | D. Douglas
MATCHDAY 3
BYE
No match this matchday
MATCHDAY 2
Gortolekua v. Britonisea
Home match at Butcher’s Shield in Rakkaudeton, Kenkuijo province, Gortolekua (61,991)

by **PotatoFarmers** » Tue May 10, 2022 9:14 am

Poafmersia 0-1 Nyowani Kitara
Poafmersian Goalscorers: None
Poafmersian Lineup (4-3-3): Shirou Amatore; Mitchel Rosales, Diamond Byan, Huangdi MacRae, Natalia Abbott; Michael Jackson (c), Lesia Astrauska, Aapeli Shea; Janelle Frederick, Jordan Huerta, Leontiy Seet
Poafmersian Substitutes: Agapito Murphy (Huerta 55'); Magreta Rym (Shea 70'), Onesimos Jain (Seet 82')

Poafmersia 2-1 Football Tiger
Poafmersian Goalscorers: Dagur Lawrence 17', 40' (assisted by Janelle Frederick)
Poafmersian Lineup: Shirou Amatore; Mac Rojas, Diamond Byan, Huangdi MacRae, Natalia Abbott; Michael Jackson (c), Min Berg, Erle Sartini; Janelle Frederick, Dagur Lawrence, Bolívar Tamura
Poafmersian Substitutes: Jacqi Equine (Abbott 70'), Cindu Oriol (Byan 83'), Leonara Hall (Frederick 86')

Editor's note: In this series on youth football in Poafmersia, there could possibly be some tear in the time fabric. Changes about the Poafmersian youth football happened in the IFCF 10 season, which happens around 2-3 years prior to the current World Cup Qualifiers. Since then, the PDL is only onto its 2nd league season, following the cancellation of the 14th season of the PDL which happened alongside IFCF9. Every section of the RP, separated by a horizontal line, will indicate to you when it was published, to facilitate movements in the time fabric.

Time: Alongside IFCF10. Note that the IFCF season lasted 2 years.

Professional Development League: Sweeping changes inbound as league returns to one league format
Report by Sporting Daily

Jacquilton - It seems to be a sad day for youth football in Hitimatias.

Results finally caught up with both of the clubs in Jacquilton, with both Kavalti River FC and Kavalti Rangers closing their academies following a massive reshuffle in the Under-19 youth football system in the nation. This was after a year-long review of the Under-19 Professional Developmental League (PDL), which followed after Season 14 of the PDL with many clubs unable to fulfill their required fixtures.

Poafmersia, for quite some time, has been neglecting its youth league. With the transition to the Apex and the push for a World Cup proper spot, there has been a focus on bringing in foreign talents to boost the domestic league, while selling our talents to ply in foreign leagues to boost their capabilities. This has largely resulted in a neglected youth scene, including the lack of participation in U18 World Cups, Di Bradini Cups (for U21 national teams), as well as a PDL which is lagrely dominated by around 8 to 10 clubs. With the various academies struggling to churn out young players consistently, it has resulted in a renewal problem, both in the national team and in the domestic league. With that in mind, as well as the academy-gate problems last year, the Poafmersia Football Association cancelled the 14th season of the PDL, declared it null, nominated the Fiskadaha FC U19s for the IFCF RSC, while it reviews the 30 academies that have been in the PDL.

The reduction to 20 clubs follows a series of reforms in the style of the league. Teams are now permitted to name up to 5 Under-23 players in the PDL, giving bigger academies an opportunity to give play time to fringe players while increasing the overall ability of the league. Players of age 19 are now freely allowed to remain in the academy team, provided that a maximum of 3 players above 18 can be in one side on the field at one time. The reduction in the number of academies also allowed every academy to absorb more people, giving teams more flexibility. Combined with the closure, the 20 youth academies are now required to give their academy players an opportunity to switch to another club when signing for the senior football contracts. The most important change was the last one - that foreigners 18 and below are finally allowed to play in the PDL for the first time in 14 seasons.

Season 15 will kickstart with just 20 teams in 1 league. Gone were the days of conference football. Gone were also the days of having promotion and relegation. What happens now is a modified split-league system. Teams will now play once against each other, for a total of 19 games. At the end of these 19 games, the league will be split into 2 halves, namely the Championship half, and the Challengers half. Teams will play each team in their half twice, namely, home and away. This will form a total of 18 games. Combined with the 19 games before the split, teams will now play a total of 37 games a year - giving youth teams simply enough games to get themselves used to the tempo of senior football. With the new format, a total of 10 academies will be wiped away from the face of Poafmersian Under-19 football. This will include: Jote United Development Team, Kisha Agureo U19s, Forche United Juniors, Honas FC U19s, Kavalti Rangers U19s, Kavalti River FC U19, Offsdi Dalas Junior Development Squad, Offsdi Galaxy Junior Development Squad, Donbester U19s, as well as Jottim Juinors team.

Time: Present day, after match against Football Tiger

It may not be one of Poafmersia's best performance, but Dagur Lawrence can pride himself on scoring 2 goals on his senior debut, albeit against a relative unknown.

The Red Panjias was certainly looking for a result following a surprising 1-0 home loss against Nyowani Kitara, something which left many Poafmers particularly upset about. A o[ening game loss for the first time in history of the Red Panjias - surely they are capable of winning the game at their peak. WCQ84 was a 6-2 trashing in Squornshelous. WCQ85 featured a win at Brenecia. WC86 was in Audioslavia. WCQ87 was a home win against Bongo Johnson. WCQ88 was Audioslavia again, but at home. WCQ89 was 2-0 against Hapilopper. WCQ90 was against Treekidistan.

But we seemed to have deviated off course eh? The point here was about Dagur Lawrence, on how he managed to score 2 early games to save the Red Panjias' skin. It would certainly have been a disaster should Poafmersia not end the first 2 matchdays with at least 3 points, and unranked Football Tiger was not someone you drop points to. With Jordan Huerta being rested, Dagur Lawrence was given the starting position, and he spun a really nice goal from 40 yards as the opposition keeper was caught off guard by the screamer. It was a nice opening to his tally, and one which certainly puts the 1,000 Poafmers in the stands in a happier mood for the entire game. A superb collaboration with Janelle Frederick was going to produce the team's second goal of the match.

It marked a boost of confidence for the player, who became the first Poafmer to play in Tumbra following the move to Serrapince FC. And while not featuring that often, he had his bright spots, which earned him his call up for the national team squad today. For a national team looking to look at more younger players, he certainly fits the bill.

by **United Adaikes** » Tue May 10, 2022 9:34 am

Adaikesians' World Cup Qualifier opener rated 5-stars for the five goals scored against football newcomer Kamisato Ayaka Nation.

The 65 255-strong Adaikesians were cheering for the home team in the full-packed Main Stadium of the New Thraproy Sports Complex in Steskia. FW Kolton Dale started the goal barrage in his first starting gig in the World Cup Qualifiers in the 7th minute (1-0) with a right-footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner. Fellow FW Collin Maddox assisted in that goal.

Maddox, in turn, scored four minutes after (2-0), with a left-footed shot from the same range Dale scored, kicking the ball in the same place Dale put the ball in the last goal. The dominance in the final third by the Adaikesians was evident in the shots-on-target statistics, with the hosts getting 11 shots on target from 16 shot opportunities. At the same time, the visitors only had one shot on target out of 5 opportunities.

The visitors kicked one for goal in the 22nd minute (2-1) when Kamisato Ayaka (X) had a right-footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner, assisted by Kamisato Ayaka (XI). While the visitors did not find good opportunities to score, they had more crosses than the hosts, especially on both sides outside the penalty area, 26-7.

In the 26th minute, Kamisato Ayaka (II) won a free kick in the right wing when DF Van Burgess gave up a foul. However, the referee thought it was a bad foul, giving Burgess his 1st yellow card in this new campaign of the World Cup Qualifiers.

Three minutes after, Dale got his second goal of the match (3-1) with a through ball assist from Joanne Lane, kicking the ball with Dale's right foot from the center of the box to the center of the goal.

Three minutes before the first half was expected to end, DF Peter Knight got his 1st yellow card in this campaign, giving the Adaikesians their second and last in the match, after the referee thought Knight was defending aggressively against Kamisato Ayaka (IV) in the attacking half. In this match, the Adaikesians may have been aggressive in defense, with the referee calling 11 fouls from the hosts compared to the visitors' 5 fouls.

Six minutes after the hosts' 2nd yellow card issuance, three minutes after the 45th minute in the first half, Dale got his hat-trick (4-1) with a right-footed shot from a difficult angle on the right to the center of the goal. This goal came after GK Abby Kidd tried to assist MF Charmaine Maldonaldo, getting a right-footed shot from the box's center; however, Kamisato Ayaka (I) saved in the center of the goal.

With a less-than-stellar performance in the first half, MF Billy Jordan was replaced by MF Vincenzo Sweeney before the 2nd half started. Before the substitution, Jordan only had one tackle won and one interception. Sweeney ended the match with two apiece in the same statistics.

MF Lorie Marsh substituted Lane in the 62nd minute, after a good performance and contribution in the attacks of the United Adaikes starting in the midfield.

FW Raelyn Weston replaced Dale in the 78th minute. Dale finished with three shots on target from 6 shot opportunities, two crosses, and two interceptions.

In the 89th minute, Maddox got his 2nd goal in the match (5-1), completing the Adaikesians' scoring rout with a left-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner. Maldonado was credited for the assist following a fast break.

DF Elaina Braddock also showed her defending prowess, getting five interceptions, the most among all players in that match.

Dale got the Man of the Match award for getting a hat trick.

New Thraproy Sports Complex Main Stadium (Attendance: 70, 000)
United Adaikes 5 - 1 Kamisato Ayaka Nation
Kolton Dale (7', 29', 45+3'), Collin Maddox (11', 89') - FT - Kamisato Ayaka (X) (22')
HT 4-1

A lackluster performance from United Adaikes in their first match away from home against Valentine Z in the World Cup 91 Qualifiers dropped them to 3rd place in the group standings.

Fate Stadium (Attendance: TBA)
Valentine Z 4 - 1 United Adaikes
Holly Annemiek Gerrieke Van De Hoogte (45', 79'), Štěpánka Caitlin Madeline W. Sedláčková (50'), Emerson Jamie Taylor Erin Scott Maddox (61') - FT - Kolton Dale (25')
HT 1-0

by **Tjorl** » Tue May 10, 2022 9:49 am

TJORL 3 - 5 VALENTINE Z

One can only stare in awe when observing the home atmosphere in Tjorl's first ever home game. Massive and beautiful tifos, loud chants, bright flares, and overall just a pretty amazing environment to be in. It was definitely good to own a sports bar that day, as bar attendance rates seemingly skyrocketed on the day Tjorl met Valentine Z in Matchday at the Morsteinstadion. Like most other times, head manager Viktor played a 4-2-3-1 lineup with the typical starters. While they were only ranked 277th (which served as good inspiration for the squad to do better), De Frostkjemper hoped to capitalize on this being their debut campaign in the World Cup, being a bit more unpredictable and ready to take opponents by surprise if they make even the most minor of errors.

While they could have asked for an easier first matchday opponent, Mandel's players were ready to do their best against a tough 82nd-ranked Valentine Z. The Valentians were definitely a familiar opponent, just not in international football. After a few minutes of blocked shot attempts and gradual build-up play, Tjorl unexpectedly struck first thanks to Martin Breiner, after a deflected pass fell right into his feet, an opportunity which he would gladly take. One-nil to Tjorl. Predictably, what already seemed to be a loud atmosphere turned even louder after the goal. Even Prime Minister Lis Gunnarsson was seen enjoying the Tjorlish celebrations. Meanwhile, Mandel was a bit more reserved, seemingly telling the team to slow down and to not be complacent, as the Kittens were still a dangerous side.

Not even ten minutes after the opener, the visitors duly restored order as Valentian top scorer Holly Annemiek Gerrieke Van De Hoogte got past Elisabet Kruse and Harald Giehl to net an easy finish against Tjorlish goalkeeper Johanssen. One-all. This time, the home fans in attendance immediately turned silent, while the Kittens' fans were ecstatic. Mandel was obviously unhappy about how the Tjorlish defense quickly fell apart. With still 75 minutes left to play, anything could happen.

And it's Tjorl with the lead again. With the Valentian defense not paying a lot of attention to her, left-back Karoline unleashed a shot all the way from 30 yards out, putting just the right power and placement on it to get it past Valentine Z's goalkeeper Dawson Joshiah Davidson Brooks Marshall. Two-one to De Frostkjemper. Understandably, the Valentians were disappointed in giving that goal away, and looked to redeem themselves before halftime. The fierce offensive certainly put a lot of pressure on the Tjorlish defenders, as they were making clumsy tackle after clumsy tackle, giving away crucial set pieces for the Kittens. The two Tjorlish center-halves were even booked with yellows before half-time.

The conceded set pieces expectedly bit Tjorl in the butt, after Štěpánka Caitlin Madeline W. Sedláčková grabbed the parried free-kick and was able to slot it home. Two-all.The rest of the first half didn't see too much action, aside from a few on-pitch incidents. After trying to turn and get to a Valentian counterattack, Giehl suffered a minor leg cramp but was able to continue. Meanwhile, the Kittens' Daina Allison Leela Phon Seng Sreynuon and Sammie Arif Raihan Bin Mohamamad Andika slipped, nearly colliding with one another. While Mandel didn't look too pissed at half-time, he certainly wasn't too cheery either, as he knew there were a lot of playstyle aspects that could have been improved.

De Frostkjemper was able to quickly gain momentum in the second half, getting decent attacking opportunities in the 18-yard box. However, the Valentian defense remained rock-solid, preventing any sort of shot from even threatening the goalkeeper. The most notable of the stopped Tjorlish attacks was when Kevin Olssen looked to be on course to scoring a third for Tjorl in the 48th. Fortunately for the away team, Marlene Isabelle Lisa Roselyne Pasquier was able to shut down the attack before it could really worry anyone.

However, the stubborn Tjorlish attack just kept going at it, until a breakthrough finally arrived at the 55th minute. Thanks to some smart build-up play and good passing, Hans Beringer found just enough space to toe poke it past the goal line. Three-two to De Frostkjemper. After Beringer's goal, play was a lot more hectic as the game could still go either way with 35 minutes remaining. Tjorl definitely looked in danger play after play with 60 minutes on the clock, as the Valentians kept coming close to equalizing a third time.

To the away fans' delight and the home fans' gloom, the Kittens put the game in deadlock again, thanks to a second goal from Holly Annemiek Gerrieke Van De Hoogte, who powered through the Tjorlish defense. Three-all. After Van De Hoogte's brace, De Frostkjemper started to look like they couldn't keep up with the Valentians. This was proven only two minutes later, when Helen Jennifier Hiroto Morishita Chiyumi launched a surprise shot on goal which got past Johanssen. Three-four to Valentine Z. Even after their fourth goal, the visitors kept threatening the Tjorlish goal, only stopped by aggressive defending. This aggressive defending resulted in a third Tjorlish yellow card, handed out to Elisabet Kruse. On the other side, Emerson Jamie Taylor Erin Scott Maddox also received a yellow card after an ill-judged tackle on Nikolaj Eriksen.

Eriksen tried to claw Tjorl back in the game, but was constantly halted by the defense or easily parried by Dawson. In the final ten minutes, the Valentians continued to exert extreme pressure on the Tjorlish center-halves to hopefully score a fifth goal which would seal the three points in their favor. After five minutes of tough Tjorlish defending, Katarzyna Violetta Zofia Aleks Polańska attempted a powerful effort, yet suffered a light sprain after skidding. Fortunately for Polańska, she was able to continue but her presence was less felt in the dying minutes. Two minute before the end of normal time, Van De Hoogte sealed her hat-trick with a good curling short coming in from the left flank. Three-five, Valentine Z. Van De Hoogte's goal did seal the three points for the Valentians, a perfect start to their World Cup qualifying campaign. Meanwhile, Mandel's squad knew they had work to do in their next match against Mercedini to regain momentum.

Full Time: Tjorl 3 - 5 Valentine Z

Venue: Morsteinstadion, Afoln, Tjorl

Tjorl's Starting 11 (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper:
#1 | Stefan Johanssen

Defenders:
#2 | Harald Giehl
#3 | Franz Kaufer
#4 | Erich Karjalainen
#5 | Karoline Steinssen

Midfielders:
#8 | Johan Kalbfleisch
#20 | Hans Beringer
#24 | Elisabet Kruse

Forwards:
#7 | Martin Breiner
#9 | Nikolaj Eriksen
#10 | Kevin Olssen

Valentine Z's Starting 11 (3-3-4)
Goalkeeper:
# 1 | Dawson Joshiah Davidson Brooks Marshall

Forward:
# 3 | Holly Annemiek Gerrieke Van De Hoogte
# 6 | Štěpánka Caitlin Madeline W. Sedláčková
# 7 | Emerson Jamie Taylor Erin Scott Maddox

Midfielders:
# 14 | Katarzyna Violetta Zofia Aleks Polańska
# 20 | Sammie Arif Raihan Bin Mohamamad Andika
# 31 | Daina Allison Leela Phon Seng Sreynuon

Defenders:
# 50 | Helen Jennifier Hiroto Morishita Chiyumi
# 55 | Nathaniel Orla Hayden Johnstone McMahon
# 60 | Marlene Isabelle Lisa Roselyne Pasquier
# 70 | Vanuza Poliane Elaine Castro dos Reis

Scorers: 10' Breiner [TJL 1-0], 15' Van De Hoogte [VEZ 1-1], 26' Steinssen [TJL 2-1], 34' Sedláčková [VEZ 2-2], 55' Beringer [TJL 3-2], 62' Van De Hoogte [VEZ 3-3], 64' Chiyumi [VEZ 3-4], 88' Van De Hoogte [VEZ 3-5]

Player of the Match: Holly Annemiek Gerrieke Van De Hoogte [VEZ]

MERCEDINI 0 - 1 TJORL

After losing the crucial opening game, De Frostkjemper looked to gaining maximum points in their second match. Easy to say, very difficult to actually do. This time, Mandel's squad will be facing 29th-ranked Mercedini at their home stadium in Zoloroni Sports City Stadium. Tall order to topple the Pot 2 team in your group, but the Tjorlish were ready for this challenge. Off the bat, Tjorl faced some challenges in possession and ball retention. However, Tjorl adapted to play on the counter, just like what they did against the Valentians. Goalkeeper Stefan Johanssen kept the home team at bay, successfully parrying shots from the likes of Adrian Talisky, Ben Chillotov, and Christian Armani. Mercedini struggled with their early corners, after all of which went nowhere. De Frostkjemper were able to keep the score at nil-nil as the halftime whistle sounded.

The second half saw more proper attacks from the visiting team. Tjorl's second-half offensives were characterized by constant passing, taking advantage of open passing lanes, and using speed to get past Mercedini's full backs. While most shots were still off target, the Tjorlish attack was clearly getting somewhere. After 78 minutes, fans finally saw the opening goal of the game. After Hans Beringer's shot was dealt with by Mercedini's goalkeeper Frederick Wandai, a corner was given to De Frostkjemper with a chance of netting the first goal. Johan Kalbfleisch took the corner beautifully, flying past Mercedini's defender and reaching Nikolaj Eriksen, who powerfully headed the ball past Wandai. Nil-one to Tjorl. Considering how Tjorl managed to be vulnerable every single time after they scored in their previous match, it seems like they have taken extra care to make sure it doesn't repeat. Despite Mercedini's efforts, it wasn't enough to salvage a point, as Tjorl grabbed a crucial victory. The Tjorlish ultras cheered, with the players celebrating Tjorl's first ever World Cup victory with them.

Full Time: Mercedini 0 - 1 Tjorl

Venue: Zoloroni Sports City Stadium, Zoloroni Sports City, Northeastern Zoloroni, Mercedini

Tjorl's Starting 11 (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper:
#1 | Stefan Johanssen

Defenders:
#3 | Franz Kaufer
#4 | Erich Karjalainen
#5 | Karoline Steinssen
#13 | Paul Mathiasen

Midfielders:
#8 | Johan Kalbfleisch
#20 | Hans Beringer
#24 | Elisabet Kruse

Forwards:
#7 | Martin Breiner
#9 | Nikolaj Eriksen
#10 | Kevin Olssen

Mercedini's Starting 11 (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper:
GK | Frederick Wandai

Defenders:
LB | Joaquim Santorino
CB | Jordan Brindliev
CB | Lyon Dalamai
RB | Thomas Di Sansev

Midfielders:
LM | Giorgio Gucci
CM | Johannes Nymark
CM | Johan Karlovic
RM | Christian Armani

Forwards:
ST | Adrian Talisky
ST | Ben Chillotov

Scorers: 78' Eriksen [TJL 0-1]

Player of the Match: Stefan Johanssen [TJL]

by **Adab** » Tue May 10, 2022 10:17 am

Tuesday, October 5, 2038
Legalese 0-2 Adab
Adab scorers: Akaptaha (40’), Barzani (68’)
Tuesday, October 12, 2038
Adab 3-2 Sajnur
Yargab (38’), Akaptaha (62’), Barzani (78’) | Taylor (89’), Siafik (90’+1)

KickTheBall.com
Bringing you the latest news and rumors in football, in Adab and abroad

Tuesday, October 12, 2038 / 6 Ramadan 1460 / 6 Tishrei 5799
Adab 3-2 Sajnur
Yargab (38’), Akaptaha (62’), Barzani (78’) | Taylor (89’), Siafik (90’+1)

NEWS | WORLD CUP 91 QUALIFIERS
By: Elymur Amwan

Adab survive Sajnur scare in World Cup Qualifiers

Adab established a commanding lead in their second World Cup Qualifiers match at home against Sajnur but nearly threw it all away in the closing minutes of the match as their defense faltered.

Playing before a relentlessly loud home crowd at Adab City Stadium, the Adab team drew on their support as they quickly imposed themselves on the visitors. Both teams played attacking, free-flowing football, their style lending itself particularly well to box-to-box action which had both the home crowd and the visiting fans on their feet from almost the first minute, but it was Adab who gained the upper hand in the first half, with Naram-Sin Samanu and Emma Arthur showing exemplary conduct under pressure as they dominated the midfield, outmaneuvering the likes of Jessica Siafik and consistently delivering balls to the Adabian front three.

Several missed chances early in the match – Enlilbani Yargab sent the ball onto the crossbar in the 23rd minute and Kastiliasu Akaptaha’s shot in the 37th minute was overpowered and sailed way above the net – had the Adabian fans wondering if their team would ever score, but the 39-year-old Yargab was finally able to convert their dominance on the pitch into a lead on the scoreboard just a minute after Akaptaha’s shot, making his way into the box and feinting a pass to Akaptaha only to turn and produce a stunning volley which landed on the back of the net and was greeted with a standing ovation by his adoring masses.

Adab’s dominance continued in the second half and was further solidified as Akaptaha finally added his own name to the scoreboard in the 62nd minute. Nadia al-Maliki’s long ball found Rebekah Yissakar in the box, and as Sajnur keeper Alex Khadur launched himself forward at Yissakar she passed the ball to Akaptaha to her left, who then struck the ball home with a powerful strike into the empty net.

Sajnur themselves refused to bend to the pressure and had their own opportunities. Ella Ciuru’s close-range shot in the 58th minute was only blocked by the quick action of Yousif Issou, sliding in front of the ball and clearing it away as keeper Satchit Chandrasekar was drawn wildly out of position, and Siafik’s left-footed strike from outside the box in the 68th minute only missed slotting into the upper corner of the net by a hair’s breadth. As usual, Yargab was replaced by Nadje Barzani in the 71st minute, and a worn-out Ciuru – who had been the target of marking by the Aabians for virtually the entire match – was substituted in favor of 22-year-old Indigo Taylor shortly thereafter as both teams looked for that extra firepower at the front. Barzani delivered just that, putting the ball past Khadur in the 78th minute, and the match looked all but sealed in the Adabians’ favor.

But it was not over yet for Sajnur.

The Adabian players – many of whom had been fasting during the day during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan – began to slow down as the match drew to its close, and although they themselves were showing signs of strain Sajnur made the most of the opportunity. A lapse in concentration on Issou’s part in the 89th minute saw him pass to an empty space, and though al-Maliki sped to the ball Siafik just barely beat her to it. Siafik then strode across the pitch almost the box as the Adab defenders scrambled to catch up with her, and as Tansu Altun got in front of her Siafik blasted the ball past her. It found a sprinting Taylor, who found no one between her and Chandrasekar and promptly sent the ball into the net as the keeper stumbled.

Suddenly the momentum was with Sajnur, and even though they were still leading there were grumblings of discontent from within the Adabian camp. Manager Saad Kaykali and his staff became more animated, urging the players on as the home crowd shouted and chanted. But for now Adab still had a healthy two-goal lead and it was more than reasonable to assume they could simply wait out the match.

Until the two-goal lead was reduced to one.

Just two minutes later, with the Adab defense under increasing pressure, Siafik stepped forward to take the corner. Her shot flew high, then began to curve, and curve it did until it slipped into the left corner of the net. The Sajnur fans, seeing a rapidly brightening glimmer of hope, exploded in a deafening chorus of chants. An infuriated Kaykali gesticulated wildly from the dugout, instructing his players to stand firm and attack to once again widen the lead. He made his displeasure known in another way; with only a few minutes left in the match, he pulled Issou out, replacing him with Sarrugi Akshak.

But the Sajnur offensive continued, and the Adabians continued to weather the storm until it reached a dangerous tipping point. In the 94th minute, Akshak tackled Ciuru inside the box when trying to regain the ball and sent her stumbling onto the grass. Akshak was given a yellow card for his troubles, and Sajnur a penalty. Ciuru stepped up to take the penalty, and millions of hearts across the country beat loudly as it fell on her to decide if Adab would leave the stadium with all three points, or if both teams would have to share the spoils with one point each.

Ciuru sent the ball to Chandrasekar’s right. Chandrasekar guessed correctly. He leapt in that direction. He did not get the ball. It was just a little too far away from his grasp. But the ball did not go in either. It hit the crossbar with a thud, and bounced away.

No words could adequately describe the inhuman noise that enveloped Adab City Stadium.

At the sounding of the final whistle Kaykali stood still with a stony face.

They had won, but it was a lucky escape.

Adab lineup for World Cup Qualifiers MD3 (October 19, 2038 vs. Ceni away)

Starting lineup: Chandrasekar, Altun, Enmerkar (VC), Issou, al-Maliki, Arthur, Samanu, Orlev, Akaptaha, Yissakar, Yargab (C)

Substitutes: Shulgi, al-Tikriti, Akshak, Thomas, al-Muntar, Emmita, Uhwan, Zambiya, al-Kufa, Barzani

by **Savojarna** » Tue May 10, 2022 10:20 am

SavojarSports.sj - inside reports from all Savojarna
Northlights bounce back to secure dramatic away draw

By Jaukka Halanen

Savojarna’s tendency to stumble when they really should not has struck again earlier this week, as the Northlights didn’t manage to score despite controlling the pace against Forbidden Territories. Finishing was the big issue at the Bjurman as Dima Lijushkin mixed things up at the front, starting Hedenberg alongside an offensive winger duo of both Hartikainen and Trikhichev; and while it led to the boys in blue controlling the game for pretty much the entirety of the match against a defensive 4-4-2 set up by the Forbidden Territories, they failed to score. That should change yesterday night in Jhanna.

Lijushkin opted for a significantly more finishing-focused setup, focusing his efforts in the offence on a single striker - and he surprised by forgoing the Euraleague superstar Sven Ehlers and opting for Partisan’s Lars Alvesen instead. He also opted to go for a little experiment on the left side, as Kaisa Gyldenström is set to play as an inverted winger on the left side, and the right side in the hands of Mikhail Jashkin. With no surprises in the midfield, except perhaps the choice of Niskanen over Klaebo in a more defensively focused pivot, Savojarna seemed poised to challenge the group’s second seed for the playoff spot that the team is aiming for. On the other side, Starblaydia came in well rested after having an off-day on MD1, and came in with an unsurprisingly offensive lineup with no surprises at all. With Joe Mason as the spearhead of the home side, Zirkova and Nymark were always going to have their work cut out for themselves; most concern was going to be on Alvin Strid, however, as the Libertas Bergheim rightback was going to challenge the mobile Fiola. In goal, Aleksandra Virulainen was going to square off against Cristaldo Sarro, both sides with a lineup that is inexperienced at the international level.

No nerves could be seen on the Starblaydi midfield and offence, however. Carried by a fanatic crowd in Jhanna, they quickly brought the ball forward to Al Faizan, but the winger failed to convert as Viipuri managed to block the shot to a corner controlled by Virulainen. However, ten minutes later, there was no control anymore as Fiola did escape Strid for the first time and play together with the overlapping Shevchenko beautifully, resulting in the ball coming inwards to Mason, who could knock it on past Virulainen for the lead. Savojarna’s attempt to respond was shut down expertly by the Starblaydi defence, with a little bit of luck on the side of the hosts as a Gyldenström attempt from nineteen metres out grazed the post. On the other side of things, Starblaydia had no more need to push overly aggressive, but came close to the 2-0 as Virulainen punched out a shot by Fiola. With no more goals before half time, it didn’t necessarily seem too good for Savojarna; the experiment with Gyldenström on the left did not appear to work as the winger seemed uncomfortable on the position, and Morten Poulsen was neutralised thoroughly by Henry Whittaker.

Accordingly, Lijushkin reacted for the second half, substituting Kaisa Gyldenström for the more natural left winger Kimi Hartikainen from CASK Thorsborg. The Sumani winger got a good chance eight minutes in but couldn’t control a long ball from Niskanen. Shortly after, he was in focus again as a physical charge from Soule was ruled legal by the referee, and cost Hartikainen the ball as Starblaydia can counter, and after a long ball played by the very strong Stefania Clarke, Al Faizan made good on his missed chance from the first half for the 2-0 on Starblaydia’s side with 34 minutes to go. Savojarna never slowed down, however, and most neutral visitors would have agreed that it was very much justified when Poulsen’s through ball finally reached Alvesen for a goal with a bit under twenty minutes left. Savojarna then got the golden opportunity for the victory as Jashkin’s cross grazed Tassidis’ arm, more by accident than anything else, but enough for a penalty… which Morten Poulsen promptly missed, shooting the ball a few centimetres wide.

That meant Starblaydia were still leading 2-1 with five minutes to go when Lijushkin made his last change, bringing on Hedenberg for Nymark and resulting in essentially three strikers on the field now, after having switched to a two-top formation earlier already. This all-out attack resulted in a flurry of shots against a Starblaydia just holding on, but it was not enough to beat Sarro until injury time. In the 91st minute, Savojarna were granted their seventh corner of the game; it was here that they could strike. With Jashkin bringing the ball inwards, Alvesen managed to block off some space for himself and headed the ball down; however, it was not quite enough to get the goal through Starblaydia’s blocking defenders. Here, however, Hedenberg was key as the striker managed to find the loose ball and knock it in, securing a dramatic 2-2 in the final minutes of the game to win a point for Savojarna.

On face, a point away against the second seed of the group is a good result; however, with the circumstances of Savojarna being on the back foot already after the scoreless draw against the Forbidden Territories, it does leave a sour taste. Next up, the Northlights will have a bye before hosting Turori at the Bjurman in a clutch game.

by **Darmen** » Tue May 10, 2022 10:22 am

Elliot Elected New Leader of National Labor Party
-Dominique Delaney, Political Correspondent

Candidate        Votes  Percent
Sebastian Elliot 33,966 56.18%
Candyce Greene   16,681 27.59%
Kailyn Durand     9,791 16.20%
Spoilt Votes         17  0.03%
Total Votes      60,455 62.62%

The National Labor Party will have a new leader as it prepares for the upcoming municipal elections next year. Sebastian Elliot, formerly the Secretary of State for Labor from 2049-53 under the Rademacher administration, has ridden the support of the labor unions to see off his challengers in Candyce Greene and Kailyn Durand.

Greene, Elliot's former colleague in the Rademacher administration as Secretary of State for Health, represented the right-wing of the party and spent much of the leadership campaign touting her plans to reform Darmen's healthcare system. Her plan would have lowered the current National Health Insurance annual deductible of $500 to $250 for individuals making less than $60,000 a year. Greene had also expressed her support for a ban on coal exports; while Darmen is only a few years away from completing its transition to 100% renewable electricity generation, Darmen's coal companies are still able to find a market for their commodity overseas via exporting. Greene's plan to end coal exports and essentially relegate Darmen's coal industry to the annals of history drew the ire of Darmen's coal miner's unions, who then vigorously threw their support behind Elliot.

Durand, currently the Regional President of the devolved government recently established in the Southeast Region and formerly the Mayor of Rogerton, represented the status quo of the outgoing party leader, Dean Alamilla. Without proposing any new policy positions for the party, Durand emphasized her experience as a leader in hotly contested political environments and her ability to work with other parties in coalition governments to represent the interests of the unions and workers. In her current position as Regional President of the Southeast Region, Durand leads a coalition with the Liberal Party, Progressive Greens and Republican Party and the coalition has been praised by many for the stability it has both exhibited itself and brought to its uneasy region. Despite her record as a leader however, Durand was unable to reach out to and draw support from the labor unions.

With neither of his challengers being able to secure the support of the labor unions, Elliot sailed easily to victory, receiving just shy of 34,000 votes from eligible party members. His record as Secretary of State for Labor already made him a huge favorite heading into the election, while his disapproval of a ban on coal exports as well as his support for a raise in the minimum wage to $12 an hour only further increased that support.

Elliot will now have to prepare the party for its campaign in the municipal elections next April. During his leadership campaign, Elliot indicated that the party's campaign would largely focus on two aspects: the reversal of the growing trend in privatization of municipal services and an increase in housing subsidies to low income families. Elliot and the NLP will be hoping to use the municipal elections to springboard their way to victory in the 2057 general elections just like President Alexander Woodrow and the Republicans did just a few years ago.

2055 Municipal Election Polling
Republican Party          37.3%
National Labor Party      26.9%
Liberal Party             14.8%
National Patriotic Party   4.8%
Progressive Greens         3.8%
Partido Valladar           2.1%
Fascist Union              1.8%
People's Communist Party   1.2%
Others                     2.2%
Undecided                  5.1%

When Woodrow first assumed the leadership of the Republicans, who were drifting aimlessly following former leader Tor Tong Lee's departure, he led the party into the 2051 Municipal elections with a campaign focused on privatizing municipal services in order to lower property tax rates. The Republicans won that municipal election in a landslide, while the 2053 general election that followed marked the first time that the Republicans, or any party for that matter, received more than two million votes. Since then however, opposition to the privatization of municipal services has grown, as the lower property tax rates have largely benefited only the upper and middle classes, while a rise in unemployment caused by the elimination of municipal jobs has caused many former municipal employees to flock to the NLP in the hopes of regaining their jobs.

Current polls indicate that support for the NLP has increased in recent months, but the Republicans remain the the most popular party with only a slight decrease in support from their 2053 high.

Other Headlines

President Woodrow applauds treaty between Græntfjall and Bollonich, "Stability in Pavola of paramount importance"
Poll finds most Darmenis support Unified Patriotic Front in Nyowani Kitara elections
One goal victory over Ancherion completes opening weekend of World Cup Qualifiers
Woman in Oldtown fined for operating illegal "Cat Café", Health Inspector says "It was disgusting"

by **Barunia** » Tue May 10, 2022 10:43 am

The Barunia Suns welcome 5 new players to their 23-player squad as they prepare for a shot at qualification for World Cup 91. They are Gareth Allard, Jarrod Bradley, Nicola Lum, Declan Henderson, and Josh Tyrell. There is no word yet on a likely 6th debutant to replace Melissa Hunt, who was forced to leave the squad for personal reasons.

Exciting young defender Gareth Allard is expected to be moved into starter very quickly. The Tildos Ravens rightback is known for his harassing marking ability and massive clearances. The other new defender, Jarrod Bradley, comes from the Ravens' great rivals, Delmars FC. He wears unlucky 13, and will need some luck to get a game, with the experienced Bentley and Elliot also options for Liesel McLelland.

Nicola Lum comes in as backup for Juliette Whistler in the crucial defensive midfielder role. Lum usually plies her trade with Porthaven United, where she has become a mainstay of their lineup since her debut four years ago. Also new to the team, from the Northern Tridents, is Declan Henderson. Henderson is an "all-position" player, being equally useful across the park. His well-balanced skill set means he slots well into the midfeild, nut gives McLelland options should she need to use him elsewhere.

The last new face is from the Trinity Reds, and their star striker, Josh Tyrell. Known for the goal of the year last season in the X-League, Tyrell is a clever technician with a creative flair who has an uncanny way of finding the back of the net. While he will likely see a game at some point, it will likely be when McLelland chooses to rest both Moorhouse and Cross. There is a possibility that he could run out in one of the two attacking midfield roles, especially given the absence of Hunt.

This is the first time ever Barunia has used more than one attacking midfielder, and it comes after the retirement of one of their key players in the role, Neville Swan. Swan had been sharing the duties with Hunt, whose loss is a huge blow as the team run out the new formation. Instead Anthony Vera and Louise Cartwright will cover the positions

It's a long campaign this time around, with 11 teams per group all vying for a single automatic spot at the top. Second place will go through the dreaded play-off phase. As for Barunia's group, it is a well-balanced group: neither a cake walk, nor a group of death. The top seeds are the legendary Pasarga, while below there is a handful of smaller, established teams that are constantly circling around qualification. These include TJUN-ia, Tikariot, Bollonich, Schima Bas and of course Barunia.
Then there's the smaller teams, just starting out: República Guanacasteca, Muralos, and Ziwana. Plus as always, a few new nations straight from the Baptism of Fire. Cardenao came third in their group and didn't make it past the group stage, while Kyhun failed to win a point and as such, have a KPB of 0, making them the lowest ranked team in group 9. Barunia's ranking of 55 makes them fourth seed, behind Pasarga (15), TJUN-ia (32), and Tikariot (40).

by **Saint Eleanor** » Tue May 10, 2022 11:01 am

World Cup 91 - second matchday of qualification
No matches scheduled for Saint Eleanor

The Dockside Cluster - so called because of the docks in Trident and Wellington districts (and later the ferry port in New Bayside) - constitutes Trident, Wellington, Silverton, New Bayside and Marketplace. They are the southernmost five districts with stops on the Red Line of the Saint Eleanor Metro. Trident is also the southern terminus of the Orange Line, which runs to the airport through Parkside district, where Occidental Olympic play. The Cluster's local newspaper is called The Advertiser.

The sale and purchase, distribution, possession and use of marijuana, including edibles, by those aged eighteen and over has always been legal in Saint Eleanor.

Exandra Davies: "I was quite honestly asking myself what the fuck I was doing there"
Chief Football Correspondent Jamie Rodgers maps out the trials, tribulations and occasional successes of possibly the most controversial woman in Saint Eleanor
Originally published on Wednesday 3rd February 1999

Go to any major social venue in Trident district, where the dockworkers are, and they'll tell you that the local Good Hope Club has produced many good footballers. Do not, however, try and convince them that it's churned out more than one great footballer. Some of them appreciate her honesty; others complain that she's too in-your-face for their likings; a few, socially conservative - even for Saint Eleanor - as they are, absolutely hate her guts.

On the face of it, Exandra Davies had a fairly atypical working class upbringing in Trident that most people wouldn't bat an eyelid at in other parts of the city: her parents went from job to job in the south-eastern Dockside Cluster, occasionally falling into unemployment - which pays 500 dollars per month, less than 10% of the average wage, in an effort to save government money and promote a return to work. Their most recent callings are as till attendants, her father at a local fuel station and her mother at Trident's branch of OPAL (Saint Eleanor's largest supermarket chain by almost any metric). She recounts that "my parents went all over the local area - thank goodness for free subway tickets these days - took up jobs as receptionists or toilet cleaners or those people who sort boxes at warehouses, and what they were doing was basically making life better for people, doing what nobody else wanted to do, probably because they were fucking desperate for a job. The conditions weren't the best and I think they wanted to make them bearable enough to cope rather than so bad they couldn't carry on; they could be pretty annoying and sarcastic when they were off duty, I'd say, pretty much, and... I think I picked that up, I guess?"

Davies liked going off the beaten track herself, even down to the fundamentals: she was actually born Alexandra for "some reason; I got bored and asked people to call me Sandra at the start of community school." She won't deny being a traditionalist in matters of style - "when it came to school uniform I very much preferred the classic frilly skirt and knee-high socks - I stopped seriously pulling them up in the League because it was too much effort - over whatever they were calling trousers, those fancy shoes you get to tie up and of course the iconic light-blue polo top, although I just put on whatever out of hours; the proper buildings they still have over in Saint Eleanor are better than the glass monstrocities you see everywhere else; milk your coffee after you dump the water in, double bacon cheeseburger with no extras at Torch, marijuana should be smoked and not eaten, et cetera, whatever" - but that thankfully never extended to her thinking.

She insists that her favourite school subject was Terranean, the literature aspects in particular: "give me one source of a hundred-ish words and I'll probably be able to coax a fully-blown essay out of the bloody thing, going over every single phrase of importance and making up interpretations that hardly anybody else thought of. People thought for years that the Terranean department was biased towards me because their top set, along with History's, was the only one I was good enough to be in - and I was really good!" Her loquacity doesn't come as a surprise in light of this: "I got into trouble for a lot of things - getting into fights, blowing gum in class, making allegedly unwelcome off-hand remarks to my shoulder buddy, generally clapping back at people, thankfully not all at once - but my worst habit was talking over the teacher whenever he or she was supposed to be presenting. I once had to spend the whole of Friday in detention because I ran my mouth too often!"

She distinguished herself in three other notable ways. First was her long, curly blonde hair, itself something of an Eleanorian institition, which she brewed up over a few weeks in the summer of 1987 "because I thought it would look good. Most people tell me it does!" Second was her relationship with classmate Charlotte Bryant, five weeks her senior "and somehow far more sensible then I could ever hope to be" - itself a bold move in a country which prides itself on every family having a mother, a father, and two-and-a-half children. Although most parents would be hesitant to fully accept their only child as gay or lesbian on first sight, "my Mum and Dad only heard I was with Lottie when the Advertiser ran an article on their front page back in '89 about this young lady called Exandra Davies punching a bully in the face for being rude to her girlfriend. Yeah, it was tacky and it was bloody well homophobic, but I saw it first as an attack on my friend - who I think was still eating lunch, thank goodness - and felt I had to respond in kind. It's always a good sign when your parents say they're proud of you for standing up for yourself and your rights, or at least I think it was."

Number three, and perhaps most infamously, was her love of football, where she claims to have the "same story as Cathy [Winchester], almost: good at defending, actually okay at going forward, liked stopping players, getting the ball rolling, trying my luck from ridiculous distances, setting up chances, everything - could have quite honestly played anywhere on the pitch but I was arbitrarily assigned to rightback by the head of the PE department. We made the quarters that year [1991's Charles Trump Shield] but I didn't play in the last sixteen game - about halfway through the second half of round two, opponent closing in on goal, I just ram myself into his side, bring him down just outside the area and then all of a sudden I get sent off! At least he got taken off the pitch after breaking his arm, too, or else it would have been for nothing." What of the infamous half-satsuma? "Yes, I still have it every game. It started when I got back from that suspension and Millie Carter, still just a PE teacher, gave me that as... something of a perverse reward for being able to play, I suppose. We might have lost but I liked it - and now I'm the one who starts eating and the manager who has to have the rest! Not always the manager, however; I just give it to a teammate some of the time. I've never met anyone who didn't like it, too."

After that came a spell with her home team, the Good Hope Club. When I ask her what the three defining matches of her career were, her first choice is easy - their 2-2 draw at Grand Beach in 1994. "I'm surprised I remained on the pitch all that time, given how big this game usually is - more atmosphere than Indy vs Athletic, that much I can tell you. Goal number one was a good penalty, Jack Smith to his right after a horrible foul by Sam Newbridge - one of the good guys, bless him - then big Pat Budd over there did the trick twice after half time, I get booked for repeatedly trying to get on his tail, all of a sudden it's eighty-seven minutes gone, 2-1 to those bastards in orange, much better than we could have dreamed of and yet another defeat. At that time, we get a corner and, as is the form, I try and swing it in but Alex Martins snatches the ball and tries to clear it out. Pity she swings over to my side, cops a deflection off... Joe Marcus, I think? And then I end up getting the easiest interception I've ever seen, roll my boot over the ball, it clatters the inside of the post and in. That was fun, wasn't it?"

Second would be the 3-2 win against Independence 1975 at the National Liberation Arena - still the only time the Seasiders have ever accomplished this - in 1996. "This was yet another comeback - they were up 1-0 at half time, Joe Folsom wanders about and fails to clock an unexpected Donald Hutchings as he swings one into [Henry] Green and I was like 'good grief, you lot, we're bad but surely we can't be this bad. Come on - what are you thinking?' Millie Carter didn't really say anything but I think what I did worked: they got out there, scored three goals in half an hour, everybody in the stands is looking about asking themselves what the hell is going on, and I don't really think I put a foot wrong in anything I was being asked to do that day. I was in the national team by that point and I thought hey, I'm actually good enough to play at a top level, I can actually motivate my teammates - not just piss them off no end for whatever reason - keep at it and the good stuff will come in no time."

In contrast to those visions of future glory, Davies remembers that 1996 "was crap, wasn't it? That was a fluky win in a bad season, I'd argue. People who I thought were my friends were pinching my bum in the dressing room and generally making fun of me in particular for no reason other than they thought I'd just roll over - I was ruled out for the 1-0 loss to Nova Aegis after I just straight-up bitch-slapped Peter Simpson for saying that someone in a wheelchair would play better than I did against Occidental Olympic - and it was a horrible environment. Charlotte tried to defuse the situation, Mary Kirkport, the former captain, was excellent as she usually is, but for the most part... oh my God, it was terrible. The worst thing about it all was that they had Carter as manager and she knew so many of us but just didn't listen to any of our complaints. I was quite honestly asking myself what the fuck I was doing there, pleaded for a move out and then I got moved onto Olympic, of all teams, on the other side of the Orange Line. Naturally, Lottie's stuck about and is trying to deal with the fallout from this nonsense every now and then."

This leads to her third choice, Olympic's glorious 7-3 triumph against Sword and Shield last year - this time at the more familiar Parkside Stadium. "By this point, I was at a club where people liked me - I don't have a problem with any of the other players, there or in the national team, although I've told a couple of the lads to cut out the crap sometimes. Pazzo [Melcheta Pazorzal] even thinks I should be the captain, although I respect Liam West far too much to dream of that. Also, Steve Pilchard - one of my best friends, great bloke, no nonsense, took us 3-0 up that day after I robbed Hugh Roanoke and then whacked it forward as hard as I possibly could for him to chase it. Stan Longley took the reins like elastic in the second half for the opposition and he almost cut the lead by a good portion, but I literally slid the ball to the post - it almost hurt! I'm not going to recount the whole match here, it would take far too much time, but I think everyone had a good part to play in stopping them from winning, putting ourselves in the driving seat as title competitors instead, and I think my role was to hold up the back, co-ordinate it, show what I could do as the youngest player there and of course to get it up there, somehow. I did that well, but that's just me speaking."

Although Davies' rant to Margot Plouffe-Dion about the long-running Starblaydi rainbow laces campaign being a "completely irrelevant political issue" has attained notoriety since she delivered it six months ago, she emphasises that "I play football to have fun and bring glory to whoever I'm playing for, not to take part in obnoxious preening about inclusivity or white privilege or whatever Tumbra's doing in the Northlands or that fancy buzzword they made up the other week. I know everybody talks about how Lottie and I are the only two gay people in the League or something like that, I think that's perfectly okay - of course I would, we do actually like each other - but I don't think it really affects how I play that much. I think if you ask anyone in Saint Eleanor, they'll tell you that we're not in the business of forced diversity quotas, we just choose the right people for the job and don't make a huge song and dance about 'oh, this is important because Exandra would have been sentenced to death a hundred years ago' while we're doing it. That's not true, by the way."

Happy together - sounds believable enough. But how happy? "Quite. I know you probably meant that as a bit of a joke in the official roster leaflet but I do play the electric guitar from time to time - the neighbours don't mind - and I'm thankful she's helped me with the learning process over the years. I'd say we have a shared interest in football, of course, good novels, good culture, current affairs, that kind of stuff. We also have a pet tortoise called Mary who we adopted a few years ago; most people in Saint Eleanor don't have pets, so we figured she's special - and honestly, she is. So we named her after Miss Kirkport, who is still an excellent person even if she isn't the footballer she was. I can't possibly express just how much she cares for her players and wants the best for them, both on the pitch and off it. Go and ask Charlotte."

Most people look at Exandra Davies, read about her for a few minutes and come to the conclusion that she's a bona fide oddball who barely passes for a rightback, somehow manages to put together a vaguely consistent performance every week, loves swinging out at her opponents for no obvious reason, and is only seriously kept in check by her girlfriend. She is, in fact, variable - but, whether or not you get on the wrong side of her, not that variable.

World Cup 91 [roleplays]

Expedition, Episode 11

WC91Q MD1/2: v. Gadria & Forbidden Territories

Exandra Davies on Exandra Davies

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