The 83rd Cup of Harmony — Roster/RP/Scores Thread

[Gnejs]

Excerpt from News at Seven

…and in other news, many were surprised yesterday when Prime Minister Tangeus Oxwald and Minister for Foreign Affairs Grethe Fjell confirmed rumors about the Union participating in a two-nations contest determining «Superior Culture and Couth» in Prescott, Electrum, competing in judo against our Friends in Baggieland. The surprise grew even larger today, as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Culture, Sports and other Charitable Activities, Magnus Sund, in a joint statement confirmed that the Union Champion would be none other than former MP, Gertrude Molineux. Mrs. Molineux has been completely out of the public eye after she was expelled from the Storting and the Moderate Party last July, and her new party initiative The League of Extraordinary Couthness failed miserably to gain any seats in the municipal and county elections last fall.

While Mrs. Molineux today is perhaps mostly known for her crusade to have Baggieland’s Rock of Friendship revoked last year, she has been a long-time Storting representative before that. Elected for multiple periods from the Moderate Party’s list in County Dælengen in the northeastern parts of Ängby, she was a prominent supporter and ally to Johannes Dahl’s Moderate/Center Party coalition government in the 1980’s. Acting as a political adviser to the Prime Minister, she was a spearhead in trying to implement many points on the sweeping reform agenda the coalition government had in these years. Known as a fierce and cunning power player, she also commanded respect in the political community due to her ruthless effectiveness. While working to implement the privatization of the Union Postal Service (UPS), she came under heavy fire from the anarchical crowd in the Libertarian Nazi Party and was forced to live under police protection during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.


Gertrude Molineux in 2015, when she campaigned for banning electrical scooters.

Now in her late 70’s, many have questioned her appointment as Union Champion, citing her old age and fragility as grave risks when competing in a martial art. Foreign Minister Fjell confessed that Moineux’s appointment was indeed made to fulfil Baggieland wishes – and one does not deny a Friend – but assured everyone that despite her old age, sources close to the Minister maintained Mrs. Molineux was actually in surprisingly good form and fought with a disturbing ferociousness. Mrs. Molineux is apparently already travelling to Prescott, and the contest will be under way shortly. So now, it only remains to be seen whether Mrs. Molineux will triumph, or get trampled. Speaking of getting trampled, Peter, the Dandelions played their opening game of the Cup of Harmony down in Mertagne this morning.

Yes, Hannah, they did indeed. It was never going to be easy, facing teams like Cabo Azure, Poafmersia and Starblaydia, but Bjørnstjerne Eriksen’s men pulled off a respectable showing against the aforementioned Azureans on MD1 and all but had an opening draw in the bag. Eriksen’s Wall stood its ground for most of the game, but came up short after Azurean forward Cleto Silveira headed in the only goal of the game 60 minutes in. In the other games of Group H, Poafmersia and Kimi-Suomi left the field with a point each in their 1-1 draw, whereas Fort McKinley produced quite the upset in their 2-1 win against Juvencus. The undisputed behemoth of Group H – Starblaydia – had a bye on MD1, and they enter the tournament properly on MD2. The opposition? Our very own Dandelions. Coach Eriksen said he was pleased with most of what the Dandelions produced in their opening game, but confessed they without a doubt needed to step up their game in several aspects if they hope to contend for one of the top four spots in the group. Adding to that headache, Eriksen saw his preferred forward Vasco Clavell of Kejm BK leave the game early due to hamstring pains. Cornelis Ceder of IFK Nordstiernan replaced him, and will likely play against Starblaydia, should Clavell not recover in time.

In other sports news, Arne Oxwald and Georg Heraklit managed to walk way victorious in the doubles final of the Antillia Masters down in Costa de Ouro, besting Tena Špiričić and Alina Koreleva of Srednjaci in two straight sets. We now go live to Henrik Blixt in Antillia, to speak with the Union’s new doubles champions…

[Eura]

WORLD CUP 91 QUALIFYING – PLAYOFF SECOND LEG
Eura 2-4 Delaclava (4-4 AET, 4-5 PENS)
Scorers:
Malone 20, Woakes 51
Lineup:
30. Mick Key
4. J Menard
15. K Sherwood (sub Almwood 98)
5. T Green (sub Coles 67)
6. S Erskine
8. V Robshaw
11. B Malone
7. M Woakes
12. A Woodman (sub Coffey 75)
10. C Atkinson
9. S Robson

CUP OF HARMONY 83 GROUP D – MATCHDAY 1
Eura 1–0 Tjorl
Scorers:
Vincent 32
Lineup:
1. E Palmer
2. A Mason
15. K Sherwood
25. Q Phillips
5. T Green
23. E Reeve (sub Almwood 45)
24. J Gates
16. O Vincent (sub Stewart 78)
20. R Marshall
17. A Sharp
26. T Vivier (sub Singh 63)

---

emplor.eur/main/sport/football
OSLOGRAD SURVIVES DESPITE ANOTHER EURAN BOTTLE JOB
EFA avoid repeat of panicky World Cup 87 reaction but doubts grow

Euran national team manager Skorji Oslograd has survived a widely expected defenestration by the Euran Football Association, after Eura’s World Cup 91 qualifying hopes were dashed by a disastorous play off second leg against Delaclava.

Eura have now been forced to settle for the Cup of Harmony for the second time in five WCC cycles, having previously qualified for the World Cup twenty-eight times in a row. This was confirmed after Eura blew a 4-2 advantage after the first leg of their playoff tie with Delaclava, one of the lowest ranked teams in the playoffs, losing 2-4 at home and then being defeated via penalty shootout – again.

A key factor of course was a spirited, once-in-a-lifetime performance from a Delaclava team who pulled off one of their greatest ever results, with Delaclav media rightly shifting focus to the performance of their team rather than burying their success under a narrative of “Euran failure”, especially given that most have acknowledged the Euran national team is going through a lean period compared to its legendary forebears.

However, the Euran media was still merciless in its assessment, variously describing Oslograd, the players and the EFA as “fraudsters”, “useless pricks”, “a stain on the motherland” and “not very good”. Sources close to Oslograd say he expected to be dismissed after a review meeting with the EFA board, only to be told that – with two years left on his contract – he would be spared for now.

This is most likely an acknowledgement of several things. Firstly, that unlike World Cup 87, Eura had a fair degree of bad luck; rather than falling out of the top two of the group altogether, this team ran as second seed and finished second, in a World Cup format that forced even the best second placed teams in each group to enter the playoffs. This is not the first time Eura have gone through the playoff lottery over the years and they were bound to lose one eventually.

It was also recognised that the margins had been incredibly tight; one EFA source tells this paper that “had he not beaten Brenecia home and away, Oslograd might be looking at job adverts by now”, and that defensively speaking – until the highly charged lottery of the playoffs – Eura looked as strong as they have in a long time. Some even blame the “footballing gods” for the result, making outlandish claims that Eura had been “screwed over by a bullshit random spreadsheet machine fucking us roundly for all our efforts”. The Emplor has consulted scientists who have dismissed the utterly ludicrous notion that we might all be living in a simulation or writers dream, and we’d best all sleep soundly tonight, and forget the idea altogether.

Most importantly, it seems the EFA’s decision has been driven by the fact that many hold them responsible for the outcome rather than Oslograd or the players available to him. Many commentators, ex-players and influential coaches have put the blame squarely at the feet of the EFA for presiding over the unstoppable commercialisation of Gold League and its dominance by imported foreign players, squeezing the traditionally strong Euran talent pool. Therefore, it is in their interest to give Oslograd a last chance in the coming Cup of Harmony (and possibly next World Cup qualifiers, hoping that he can get good enough results to stay off inevitable calls for heads to roll and reform to sweep through the association itself.

[HUElavia]

Astograth 1–2 HUElavia
(Sarasketa 63' | Honda 28', Nascimento 90+2')
Bencoolen City Stadium, Bencoolen, Bencoolen, Tumbra

Starting XI vs Chromatika:
1 Lettmann, 4 Vargas, 2 Lavezzi, 3 Higashi, 5 Rosado, 6 Font, 8 Brousseau, 10 Navarro-Hamada, 11 Chanca, 7 Honda (C), 9 Nascimento
Home Uniform will be worn.

Match Highlights

Pre-game: Welcome to the opening game of Group C here in Bencoolen, as Astograth takes on the defending IAC Champions, HUElavia, in what is one of the more enticing matches of the Group Stage.

5': Navarro on the ball, he's giving a pass to Chanca, she gets past Martel to take the shot... Uuuf! And it narrowly goes wide of the post for a goal kick.

21': Astograth has a free kick here, with Zumalakarregi taking the kick. He's taking the kick... And off the crossbar! Cleared out of safety by Lavezzi, I don't think Lettman was expecting the ball to come so close to come in.

28': Font has taken the ball from Bailo, she's running on the pitch looking for help, passes it to Chanca, she's being covered by Martel, gives a pass to the center... AND HONDA SCORES!!! LIFTOFF FOR HUELAVIA!!! AND THE CROWD IS LOVING IT! It looks as if Labeaga was not aware that Honda was by them and the pass was low enough to make Goyenola scramble to try to get the ball, only for Honda to slot it into the bottom corner to make it 0-1.

44': Astograth needs to respond before the half, here's a pass from Sarasketa to Zumalakarregi, taking the shot... Ooooh, just narrowly wide! A little more, and that would have been the equalizer.

63': Corner kick to Astograth, it's still 0-1 for the team. Muhaburu take the corner... AND SARASKETA HEADS IT INTO THE GOAL!!! WE'RE ALL TIED UP AND THE ASTROGRATHIANS ARE LOVING IT!!! Simply put, Muhaburu just put the ball in and Sarasketa won the header over Higashi to head it past a diving Lettmann to make it 1-1.

85': Astograth on the counter attack, they're really wanting to put this game away, Nekoi sends the ball into the box, Legarra with the header... Uuuuf, just narrowly past the corner of the goal, going out for a goal kick. Just a few more inches in, and Legarra would've put that in past Lettmann.

90+2': This may be one of the last plays of the match, HUElavia are really looking for the kill here with this free kick. Navarro-Hamada will whip it into the box... NASCIMENTO!!! AND IT'S IN FOR A GOAL!!! HUELAVIA MAY VERY WELL HAVE THE WINNER THERE!!! AND THE CROWD IS LOVING IT!!! HE WON THE HEADER FROM HECHARRI AND THERE WAS NOTHING TO DO FOR GOYENOLA!

Post-Match: What a dramatic start to the Group of Death, HUElavia get yet another miraculous victory against such a historical opponent in Astograth.

[Milchama]

Despite the 5-2 over Electum this is how most Milchamian feel about the team right now (Based on the lyrics of No Hope Kids by Wavves):

Got no goals.
Got no defense.
I got nothing, nothing, nothing, not at all.

Got no god (wah-wah-wah)
Got no girlfriend (wah-wah-wah)
And I know, I know that Margaret hates me now

No hope kids in Milchama.

Got no time (wah-wah-wah)
Got no offense(wah-wah-wah)
I got nothing, nothing, nothing, not at all.

Got no starters(wah-wah-wah)
Got no bench (wah-wah-wah)
Just a bunch of people all just running around me.

No hope kids in Milchama.
No hope kids in Milchama.

Got no goals (wah-wah-wah)
Got no FA (wah-wah-wah)
I got nothing, nothing, nothing, not at all.

Got no goalie(wah-wah-wah)
Got no NT (wah-wah-wah)
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know.

We're angry! We demand better!

"You know this is a weird sentiment after a 5-2 victory"

"Yeah but when everything else is falling apart it's hard to feel good about one good thing"

"I mean we didn't qualify for one World Cup after a long Isolation, we're doing pretty well"

"Overall true, but I'm still annoyed"

"Fair enough"

"So what will change it?"

"Mostly getting a new job"

"Getting some money"

"Getting a girlfriend"

"Getting some time"

"Getting some friends"

"Getting some family"

"Getting a job"

"Getting a girlfriend"

"Getting some time"

"Ok stop it"

"That was both of us"

"We don't need to quote the original song"

"Whatever"

"Yeah whatever"

"So what should we do?"

"Win"

"Yeah that's a good idea, let's keep doing that"

"Yep"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

[Chartistan]

"Lads, it's Audioslavia. I couldn't have asked for a more feared team to open up the Cup of Harmony even if I tried." Doctor Lucas Combbrush addressed the Chartistan team at their first tape session of the tournament, locked down away at the Chartistan training camp in Marray. The players, all 25 of them if you count Wank Hesky and Slimy Weebs Gone, sat in their chairs overlooking their manager, his Chartistan pin on as he went over to the whiteboard, illuminated in white, red, blue, black, green and that one other Audioslavian color as he was on the first slide. "They are undoubetly one of the favorites to go all the way and win it all. They're the 2nd best team in this tournament behind only Cassadaigua. All of their players play in the best leagues known to man and woman. These are bonafide pros and in a universe not far enough from where we are..."

A raised hand from Alice Wonderworld appeared.

"...No you did NOT visit that universe in your travels Alice..."

Her hand went down again.

"...These lads would have probably won the World Cup. But alas they finished 4th in one hell of a qualification group, and here we are."

"Here we are indeed", said John Harry, 2nd in the pecking order behind only Smiler. "Back in World Cup 87 I used to run outside freely and now look where we are, trapped inside a group in the Cup of Harmony with Audioflippingslavia."

"Good news Harry, we can qualify if we finish in the top 4 in our group. The better news is that these Yuezhou kids know their number." Doctor Lucas flipped over to the game tape from Audioslavia's first match, against a plucky Yuezhou team that took extra time in their playoff tie to knock them out of World Cup qualification and send to the Cup of Harmony. "I want you to look at Jiang Jieren and Giacomo Duran. You see Duran over there? He's given Jiren way too much space. Making space is key to breaking down this Audioslavia team. The more space you have, the more creative you can be. The less you have, and you're not going anywhere. Now look at Liu Huiying, look at how she gets Huang Shedong's ball, and just look at the trajectory that ball took! Hook them high and drop them low.

"Now the attack is where some of you defenders, looking at you Dollarsigns Ago, may have trouble coping with how attack minded this defense is. They PREY on the counter. As soon as they have a chance they will go on you and try to make you pay for your mistakes. Mark these guys tight, which the Yue defense didn't do, and you will, hopefully, not let them have a golden chance to score. Simple as that." Doctor Lucas sighed and looked back at the team. "Any questions?"

"Yo, Combbrush, are we going to do the same things we did when we last faced a big team in The Holy Empire and apply these insights?" Little Exnash said.

"...Essentially yeah. Last time you played an exceptional team, it was Cup of Harmony 81 against Banija. I know you can pull out a result like that against this team, so let's get a crack at it!"

Oh yeah. Alice raised her hand again. "Combbrush, can I just... Get back to training?"

"You all can. I'll meet you in a few."

The team proceeded to file out to finish their preparations for the Audioslavia game. Boy what a doozy that will be...

[Krytenia]

Nothing To Divide Us
By Rami Niblick in Claviers, Mertagne

AS neighbours, Krytenia and Mertagne are very much in the "of course you can borrow my lawnmower" stage of proceedings. The governments in Emberton and Dannin have a healthy working relationship, and trade between the two nations is booming. Mertagnian investment in tourism has also not gone unnoticed by those to their immediate south. It stands to reason, then, that these true anaiak of Anaia would share the points, though in truth the nil-nil scoreline doesn't tell the whole story.

The pre-match pleasantries were just that, the exchanged handshakes having a genuine warmth and authenticity sadly all to rarely seen in the modern game. Contrast this, however, to the dugouts. In one technical area, we had Brelk-Xeral Erv and Graham Lawton deep in conversation - what our cricket-loving fellows might call "scheming over their chicken"* except the game hadn't started - whilst in the other, Ázëwyn Fëanáro stood and scowled, seemingly offended at the concept of anyone being cordial to the Krytenians. Kristie Ettrick also had a murderous look on her face, but there again, that's most likely because Kristie Ettrick.

The early exchanges of the match saw the ball largely encamped in the centre of the park. Both sides lined up seeking to press their opposition on a high line off the ball and push forward on it, the combination of tactics combining to squeeze the game into a narrow strip of midfield. Sadly for the neutral, this doesn't make for good football. Neither Savannah Quinn nor Scott Stringer could find - or create - the space they ike to operate in, whilst Naron Everdell and Pia Aziz were coming up against the same issue for the team in green. Indeed, the people having the most exercise were the assistant referees, as attempt after attempt to break the respective high lines were met only by the raising of the offside flag.

That's not to say there weren't chances. Carlos Senna had the bright idea of starting a run in his own half to beat the offside trap, but came under pressure from Simoslaw Bresic, who had seen the danger. The Olympique de Rimouski full-back might not have been able to prevent Senna getting the shot away, but did enough to cause the Krytenian to rush his effort, sending it high and wide. At the other end, a misplaced Quinn pass allowed Claudio Vantula a free run on goal, but he too was wasteful, hitting his shot straight at James Orwell.

As the first half drew on, the relentless pressure simply couldn't hold. The defensive press from both sides became a little more lax, with both managers realising the constant banging of collective heads against walls would get them nowhere. This didn't, however, cause the game to open up terribly. Although there was more room for both the Krytenian and Mertagnian midfields to spread the ball around, their defences were still able to neutralise any threats heading their way. Alexander Devereux, especially, must have felt he spent the entire first half being passed from pocket to pocket of the Mertagne defenders. The referee blowing for the break was a walcome break to all involved; time for the real chicken scheming to begin.

BXE's response was to switch to a 3-4-3 to 3-2-5 flex, sacrificing Paul Vonn for Jason Whitmore and putting Owen Pedersen into a more central role with the intent of overloading the Mertagne back line. It looked for all the world to make the difference. With Whitmore and Montalban overlapping the channel between the centre and Devereux, Krytenia began to gain control of the game. Simon Masari should have put the Dragons in front on fifty-two minutes but smashed his volley against the post, whilst both Devereux and Whitmore forced good reaction saves from Rhys le Besco as the Mertagne goal led a charmed life. The host nation were in danger of being overwhelmed completely as the game passed the hour mark.

Fëanáro, though, is not a naïve soul. She switched her charges to four at the back, bringing on Roxane Rossi and steadying the ship. Mertagne hit back with a couple of chances of their own, most notably a curling effort from Heather Gell that Orwell managed to push away at full stretch. As the game wore on, though, even these efforts began to peter out. The pace of the game saw a lot of tired legs, and the last fifteen minutes were punctuated by substitutions for fresh legs and players on both sides pulling up with cramp. The attritional race, post-football with a pre-football mentality, ended with players dead on their feet and grateful for the final whistle. The bonhomie of pre-match had been replaced with sheer exhaustion as the two teams trudged off the pitch, a point apiece to show for their efforts.

As it turned out, a point was nowhere near a disaster for either side. All three matches in Group E finished even, so with the exception of Darmen, who are bottom by dint of having Matchday One off, everyone is level at the top of the table. Next up for Krytenia is a match that they really should be winning, as they travel to Dannin to face Eshialand. Three points here will give Krytenia the advantage they need to get themselves into the top four as they search for their second Cup of Harmony title. Onward!

KRYTENIA - 0
- no scorers -

MERTAGNE - 0
- no scorers -

*Note: to "scheme over one's chicken" is to change tactics following a break in play, so called as in Krytenian cricket this often occurs following a meal break.

[Saterun]

The Promised Land: A Journey Through Saterun Football
By Kalvin Hsemer

Part 2, Chapter 4: The Second Half

Context-At least read the most recent post

They were halfway. So far, the league had run without any major hitches. The only notable incident was a controversial VAR decision between Xaiv FC and Sandre FC, but Xaiv were already winning 3-0 and that extra goal being disallowed didn't hurt them that much. So how did our previous teams fare. Did Ajac keep hold of their upward scramble? Did AC finally beat FC? And did Real Anasb choke? Well, some things are obvious.

To start, let me put it straight: Tsear FC won. Albeit by only 6 points, they had two more wins than 2nd Anasb FC and double the GD. They sealed the title on the second-to-last matchday with a narrow win at home to FC Coppola. Although they may have looked like narrow winners at that time(and some others), they were actually very impressive. The squad was top notch, with several internationals. They had brilliant showings at the Tsuperdome, including a 5-1 systematic hammering of rivals Tsear AC and a 3-1 routing of challengers Mieteng City. Efik Crauss was a good man-manager, but also played to his team's strengths. In short, there was no stopping them. Another important facet of this squad was their age. Sure, they had veterans like Jonathan Post and Rajani Holgersson, but most of this team was between 27-29. In fact, seven out of their eleven starting lineup players were in this range. But this was a two-edged sword. On the surface, this was a team that could continue playing for a while. Unfortunately, they had a lack of young players. They youth academy was substantial, but they would look at the summer transfer window to fix this issue. Which is all well and good, considering Crauss has a rumored §150 million to spend.

So how was it going on the other side of Tsear? Not so well. AC had continued their run of poor form late into the season, and only last-day heroics saved them. Somewhat. They finished 15th with only eight wins from 30 games, including several 3+ goal losses. Justin Villa was on the ropes. He had taken over at the halfway point for Howard Jiang, and had managed to do slightly better, but things weren't looking good. A bright spot was his attack, the 28 y/o duo of Mikael Armstrong and Bruno Ball. Fabian Cruz, his RB, was also highly touted, even being on Football Monthly Report's "5 For The Next 5", a list of the five best upcoming defenders for the next five years. So how could a team of this strength fail? Their midfield was their main problem. They had ageing, sub-par players, and it showed. The ball was regularly given away at the halfway line. They ended terribly. Justin Villa managed to keep his job, and has spoke about targeting midfielders. "We are definitely looking to improve that[the midfield] part of our team...we have some decent youth prospects coming through." But this season wasn't all bad. They still had the Copa Nacional to look forward too. And look forward they did.

Across the country, in Anasb, Los Leones were extremely happy. The Leeuwenpark had the largest post-season celebrations, with 46,000 fans packing in to cheer on their team a few days from the final whistle. And they didn't even win the league. Fireworks were displayed, many with slogans like, predictably, "Lions Rule!" and "Hasta Leones". You could also find some not-so-subtle attacks at cross-town rivals Real Anasb, with a plane towing a large banner reading "Lions Eat Horses." The horse is the (unofficial) mascot for Real. Ashton Nichols had sealed a deal for two more years. Along with this fine catch, the Leones had also managed to hold on to Mitzinho, who was terrific for club and country. And how about some fine numbers. AFC had finished with 59 points, a good seven ahead of 3rd. Actually, Anasb had second in several things. Second highest GD, second lowest number of losses, etc. And for a team who, at the beginning of the season, was placed at fifth, second was good. At least for now. During an interview, Ashton Nichols said, "We got second this season. We will probably hover somewhere around here for the next season. But come the last year of my current contract, we'll be taking first." Nichols, along with his other positive traits, is very financially savvy. Top target include the aforementioned Fabian Cruz, City's Yósef, and Tsear FC's Saveli Holst. All would booster this already strong team.

While AFC undoubtedly succeeded, their rivals have a murkier position. Sixth wouldn't be considered bad, but it was to Realistas. The fans thought the main problem was the lineup. To be fair, that is usually where the problem lies, but Real's lineup wasn't bad, it was very good. So what were the fans complaining about? What fans always complain about: a lack of star, standout players. Yes, Real had a few NT players, but no one that was objectively brilliant. That's what fans craved. And that's what they put down as the reason for the team's low finish. Real has a high transfer budget, and so could fall into the pressure and buy a superstar. But they shouldn't. This isn't a football advice book, but Real should focus on developing their youth. Additionally, Racetrack Road had fallen a bit into disrepair, and it will cost an estimated §2,000,000 to fix the damage. Real need to put all of this behind them, however, if they are to succeed next season. They have a wide age range, and need to utilize this. Despite what fans might think, this was just an unlucky season. Real need to pick themselves up. They can do much better next season.

Ajac Football Club had a phenomenal start. They won all five of their first five games, and were top of the table. Unfortunately, reality hit back quickly. By halfway, they were at sixth. By the end of the season, they had dropped another place and ended seventh. It was one higher place than expected, and the fans are happy, but it was surely disappointing to fall like that. So much hope had been present during the first five games. Hakim Alif has a very young squad, with the oldest topping out at 25, so he has time to build. Donald Whitaker, Richard Lee and Andrew Hansen are all very good players, not to mention Dominic Rivera. Next season, Ajac might be able to hold on to an early lead.

Futsworth was...well, they didn't have much excitement around them. They were winning, sure, but in drab 1-0 and 2-1 affairs. There isn't much to talk about. Except for one thing. They were playing at home against Sandre FC, and all was going well. They were up 1-0. It was the 86th. Suddenly, a red flare came shooting from the crowds. Police were never able to find who did it. But the flare landed right next to Futsworth's goalie. Rahul Marković quickly ran to stamp it out, but Sandre had suddenly burst on a counter-attack. SFC forward Jakob Becker hammered the ball in from long range, the gaping goal a clear invitation. There was quickly an on-field argument about the validity of the goal. Eventually, the ref let Becker take a penalty, which he scored. The game ended 1-1. Futsworth fans still complain, even though one more win wouldn't have given them a higher place.

Mieteng City was one of the few teams that actually did better in the second half than in the first. Handrix Casfo was able to rally his men back to an upwards charge that ended in 4th place, just inside IFCF Challengers' Cup qualification. The transformation was shown on the final day, where Mieteng and Qeuthun were battling for Challengers' Cup qualification. Mieteng managed to narrowly snatch it 2-1, and definitely deserved it. They played much better than Qeuthun. Next season, they'll be looking at the top.

So Tsear was colored red this season. FC topped the league, while AC almost rocked the bottom. Real Anasb also severely underperformed. They missed an expected Challengers' Cup appearance. Mitzinho of Anabs FC won the golden boot, and Thiago Esparza of Tsear FC won Player of the Year. Anasb FC did much better than expected, and much better than their rivals. With the first season wrapped up, it was time for the Copa Nacional.

[Tikariot]

-- The Tikariot Premier League is covered by Simon Nighthorse and Sakari Pernfors --

There are only two more match days in the Tikariot Premier League and when looking at the title race, the fight for IFCF spots and the battle against relegation, literally only one team is locked in so far, which once again is one of the beautiful things about this league.

Let us have a look at the standings after match day 40:

The Pyathora Mariners are still holding on to the top spot of the table, but their lead has melted down to one single point ahead of the Tikariot City FC after at times having been six points ahead. Five points behind the burgundy and gold sits another big surprise of the season, the Ancarea FC, who's best position so far had been a ninth spot last season, which already had been what many people thought them punching way above their weight, but still have an at last mathematical chance to snatch their first ever title, but beyond purely theoretical thought games they are no longer in the running, making this a two-horse race. Three points further down we find Xanark City, rounding out the IFCF qualification spots at the moment.

Three more teams have at least at least some, again, mathematical chances to slide into one of the much-coveted IFCF positions, with the Valnohar Rovers one point behind Xanark, the Oriannor Mountaineers five points behind and six points behind Dhun Lagarr FC. The only factor that keeps Dhun Lagarr's chances from being at least somewhat less theoretical than Ancarea's is Xanark's bad goal difference, which could be a decisive factor in the end.

Now looking at the other end of the table, the Bul Khungur Miners are officially relegated to the Tikariot Second League after 104 seasons in the league, so they are out of contention, but above them things are hot. Baraldhur's much needed 1-0 away win in Vantanoch sees them three points off the safety of 18th position, while the Ysgrann Bay Eagles and Emerald Coast Raiders are two points ahead of them, keeping them just one point behind the Guillarim Blades, whose IFCF run early in the season was definitely something that did not sit well with them for the rest of the season, as a couple of key players either suffered injuries or decisively ran out of steam towards the later stages, putting them into a very precarious position.

Three points ahead of them we have the Vantanoch FC and, also very surprisingly, Port Rhovanyon AFC, who are in a similar position as Guillarim and if one looks at their performance after their last TPL title, they were near the relegation zone for parts of that season as well, so it is almost like some sort of IFCF curse that is hovering around them. Another point ahead of these two we have the Avanaroch White Wings, Miruan City and Eivora Athletic, five points clear of the relegation zone and one more point as buffer to make it six the Carathyr Emeralds and Vilharady Owls, so while mathematically still within the danger of the red zone, these teams should be safe.

So, the Pyathora Mariners and Tikariot City FC are going to be battling it out for the title and here is what their last two match days are going to look like:

Pyathora have two tough fixtures ahead of them, at first away in Xanark and then finishing off at home against Oriannor, while the Snowy Owls are facing Eivora at home and then Parakleion on the road. Both teams have been pretty even in the home/away situation, so with Xanark still fully embroiled in a fight to hang on to their IFCF spot and Oriannor with an outside chance on the one hand and on the other Parakleion in no-man's land and Eivora basically (almost) safe, Tikariot City look like having the better chances to prevail and become kings of the mountains once more.

Ancarea look fairly safe, being four points ahead of Valnohar, even though the Rovers have the vastly superior goal difference, with their last two matches in Kyethas and at home against Miruan. Xanark, as mentioned, host Pyathora on match day 41 before traveling to Guillarim for a tightly fought northern derby that could have implications on both ends of the table. Valnohar themselves will be in Vilharady this coming match day and then finish their season at home against Kyethas. They do, however, have the by far best goal difference, which could definitely play in their favour in the end. Finally Oriannor play Parakleion at home at first before traveling to Pyathora, making hem a somewhat unlikely option to recover lost ground in time to still qualify, a fact that is lent further weight when looking at the table of the second half of the season so far.

Now when looking at the bottom end, this is where things can get quite dicy for some teams that nobody had expected to be in these areas to begin with, starting with Baraldhur AFC, who, as mentioned earlier, are coming off a vital win in Vantanoch before the final two weekends. Their last two match-ups will be at home against direct opponent Ysgrann Bay and then away in Port Tacassam and this is one factor that makes it so much of a do-or-die affair (and the win in Vantanoch so much more important):

A look at the home/away chart reveals that Baraldhur have been the third worst team on the road (worst before the Vantanoch game), which is a potential harbinger of doom, given that Port Tacassam is the best home team of the league, making this an extreme test of Baraldhur's resilience and team spirit, where the one thing they can hope for is that Port Tacassam are basically playing for nothing more than the Golden Pineapple [a Tikariotian expression for a team that has nothing specific to play for anymore]. Ysgrann Bay's last game is a home bout against Dhun Lagarr, who may or may not still be in mathematical contention for an IFCF spot, and are one of the league's best teams on the road.

Now the Emerald Coast Raiders will face the Guillarim Blades in a dramatic clash on match day 41 and then finish the season away in Bul Khungur, which also is intriguing, as the Miners players might very well make use of the last two games to present themselves for potential suitors to retain TPL status next season. Guillarim, however are the worst away team, which does not bode well, but their strength at home against Xanark could be a factor in their favour, while their horrendous goal difference definitely is not.

So as you can see, even though there are only two match days left, there still is a lot up in the air and we can't wait to see how things unfold, make sure to keep an eye out for our continued coverage of the TPL!

[Tjorl]

Tjorl suffers a defeat at their debut CoH game

Ever since making their debut on the big stage at IAC 15, De Frostkjemper has enjoyed a pretty good spell, save for their Baptism of Fire appearance in which they crashed out of the group stage. Despite the disappointing BoF run, their campaign in the World Cup 91 qualifiers went better; after winning 4-2 against the United Adaikes and Kamisato Ayaka Nation, Tjorl signed off their World Cup 91 qualifying campaign with a seal on fifth place, a good-enough debut for the debutants. A few days after, the Tjorlish Football Federation confirmed that they have received an invitation to the 83rd Cup of Harmony, which they were honored to accept. There were zero changes to the squad or the staff for the CoH. A few hours later, they arrived in Tumbra, where they will play their Group D matches against Pluvia and the Saxean Isles, Eura, Milchama, Garifunya, Ranoria, and Electrum. The first squad they faced is 21st-ranked Eura, who was defeated on penalties by a Delaclava side that came back from a 2-4 deficit.

Eura started off pretty well in attack, as the Tjorlish failed to both close down passing lanes and to give the Euran midfield not much to work with. As a result, Oscar Vincent found the space to strike his seventh international goal for Eura, giving them the one-nil advantage. Despite no goals scored in the rest of the first half, errors from Tjorl kept resulting into clear-cut chances for Eura, which were denied by goalkeeper Stefan Johanssen. After the break, De Frostkjemper's defense finally made some good defensive stops, though it didn't Christine Atkinson from hitting the upright in the 56th minute, a huge relief for Johanssen and the rest of Mandel's players, who could only watch. Tjorl's best opportunity came in the 78th minute, when Harald Giehl got big and nearly scored an equalizer. Fortunately for Eura, Elliot Palmer pushed the shot onto the crossbar with his fingertips. The last big chance came at the 86th minute for Eura. A shoddy tackle by Erich Karjalainen gave Moira Woakes the chance to seal the three points. However, she was unlucky as her free-kick hit the wrong side of the post. However, Skorji Oslograd's squad have done enough to grab their first victory.

A lot of work must be done by De Frostkjemper to stay in contention. The main source of debate right now is whether Mandel should replace Karoline Steinssen with Martha Sieger as the starting left-back for now. Steinssen is currently in a horrendous slump; she has failed to properly defend Tjorl's left flank in her past few international caps, and now many fans are wondering if Sieger will get her chance to shine in the young squad. In the post-match conference, Mandel said "It certainly hasn't been a good few games for her (Steinssen), but I think she'll just need some time to recompose herself so she can hopefully get back to top form. I certainly won't deny nor guarantee anything, but if changes to the starting eleven have to be made, then so be it." Another, some pundits have debated whether Tjorl should stick with their fast-paced attacking playstyle or they should adjust to play more conservatively to prevent any high presses catching out the defense when the opponent goes on a counterattack. In De Frostkjemper's next match-up, they'll face 50th-ranked Milchama. The usual starters are expected to be fielded again, with only the Steinssen-Sieger decision as a 50/50. Will De Frostkjemper bounce back, or will they drop points again in what might turn out to be another 'meh' campaign?

[Chromatika]

Cup of Harmony 82 Matchday 1: Chromatika 2-1 Baggieland
Goals: Kuznetsov '3, Hauser '65
Starting XI: (4-2-3-1) - Fillar, J. (C); Fillar, G. - de Aea - Anbient - Ighv; Zuniga - Larriet-Cortes; Kruetzberg - Hauser - Kuznetsov; Killian.
Substitutes: Vitan -> Fillar, G. ('51), Baum -> Kruetzberg ('72), Oveni -> Killian ('80)
Summary: With Kuznetsov hammering in early and Hauser converting halfway through the second half, the Chromatiks started off their title defense with an unimpressive victory. They looked still shell-shocked from missing out on the playoffs, and it was not the best performance, but three points is three points.

---

Cup of Harmony 82 Matchday 2: HUElavia vs. Chromatika @ Fletcher Park, Kingsbury, Georgia, Tumbra (45,000)
Predicted Starting XI: (4-1-4-1) - Fillar, J. (C); Fillar, G. - de Aea - Anbient - Ighv; Zuniga; Kruetzberg - Hauser - Fillar, B. - Kuznetsov; Killian.
Reserves: GK Kathie Begley, GK Lorée Bautista, RB Raul Vitan, CB Klavida Régine, CB Moira Ansov, LB Ipati Aimée, RW Martha Baum, DM Kaia Larriet-Cortes, DM Mare Si, AM Alissar Phoen, LW Edith Fillar, ST Kara Oveni

New Official Map of Chromatika
OOC Credit to Tumbra, IC Credit to the Chromatik Geographic Institute

[Efnakia]

Eraman 0-1 Efnakia
Nine Star Arch, Webster, The Forkelands - Attendance: 66,482
Lineup: M. Kacceo - F. Kasef, U. Katla, S. Kacceda, K. Kaddaske - Ss. Katemam, B. Katefess, T. Kanla, K. Kalafhaf - U. Kahelto, L. Kamosspeffe
Goals: Katemam 73'

---

IN THE BEGINNING – THE FOREIGNER'S GUIDE TO EFNAKIA – HISTORY: PRE-HISTORY, DECLARATION, AND THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT
A hopefully slightly more entertaining version of every Efnak 4th year’s least favorite lesson.

Archaeology is not a major focus of any academic research in Efnakia, and alongside the long-standing hostility to foreigners displayed throughout most of national history, this means that little is known about the two major and several minor islands which comprise the state of Efnakia prior to approximately three thousand years ago. Records and other writings since that time are relatively well-documented, up until approximately 800 years ago being in a language known in modern times as “Old Efnak”. This language, while maintaining similar patterns in consonant-vowel cluster, grammar, and other basic forms to modern Efnak, had significant differences in vocabulary, as well as in orthography. Old Efnak was written with an alphasyllabary, with a base character indicating consonant sounds, a marking above the symbol denoting certain consonants as derivatives of others (which has been carried into modern Efnak through the letters “Cc”, “Dd”, and “Ff” in modern alphabetical Efnak orthography), and either one or two markings below, denoting the vowel sound and (often) other consonant sound surrounding the vowel. The field of anthropology in Efnakia has only recently undertaken the task of mass translations of Old Efnak writings – without the ability to transcribe the language, Old Efnak is a purely oral language, handed down through the oral tradition of the spiritual leaders of the Traditional Efnak Faith, the various folk religions practiced by the Efnak population.

Curiously, the introduction of an alphabet with the transition to modern Efnak does not match directly with the earliest date that is understood by Efnak historians. This is explained due to the fact that, following the introduction of said alphabet, “scholarly organizations” undertook the task of both writing immense amounts about everything in modern Efnak as well as translating Old Efnak writings, being directly adjacent to those with knowledge of the language or perhaps even possessing it themselves. These organizations, often funded by the local feudal governments of the time, were largely comprised of young men, who spend almost the entirety of their time transcribing older texts as well as entering current histories into their records. However, due to events that will become apparent later, this knowledge did not survive to the present day, nor has any Old Efnak writing been discovered that appears to translate directly to a modern Efnak piece of writing from the translation period, which lasted from approximately 600 to 800 years ago (200-400 DA).

The Efnak Declaration of Nationhood and the Establishment of a State, known as the Declaration of Nationhood or simply the Declaration for short, is the primary founding document of the Efnak state. Beginning with the simple statement “We, the collective Efnak people, declare the foundation of a state to unite our nation and our islands under a single banner”, the Declaration was modest in its scope, detailing the initial goals and intentions for the new Efnak state to pursue and the basic framework of the state, which differs from the modern structure created following the end of the Unification War (with both being detailed in the next History edition of this column). This document stands alone in significance in Efnakia, to the point where “Declaration”, the first day of the year when the Declaration of Nationhood was signed, marks the starting point in the Efnak calendar – all dates following it are After Declaration, or Monnu Ahukacc (MA), and dates before are Before Declaration, or Du Ahukacc (DA), with the current year being 406 MA.

For hundreds of years prior to Declaration, the islands now known as Efnakia were ruled in a series of city-states and regional feudal states, depending on the local terrain. Agricultural areas along the major rivers on the island created numerous diverse cities, each ruled individually and competing via trade rather than conflict. In the interior, however, war was constant and ongoing, with local feudal rulers fighting for control over various bits of territory in small skirmishes which never grew larger due to the scarcity of resources available in the Efnak interior at the time. Declaration did not unite the entire island – far from it. A series of city states along the Odra River and the Fishermans Coast, with the then largest city of Odra at their head, were responsible for Declaration, uniting with various feudal leaders in the immediate interior of what is now the province of Anddof to create the most powerful state on the island – an ethnic Efnak state.

To understand the wars that occurred in the Period of Conflict, one must look deeper than the basic framework of history promoted by the Efnak state education system. The Efnak Declaration of Nationhood was not the only one of its kind within the island – just the only one that has survived in full and which remains relevant to an existing state. From the fragments of other declarations which have survived, and eyewitness accounts from the time, it is apparent that at least seven other similar documents were signed around the island – thus leading to the creation of at least eight major states amid the numerous minor states, all of which seemed to begin to war with every other state simultaneously. This development, which began the Period of Conflict, does not fit the national narrative that the Efnak nation has always been to the extent that it is (how that came to be will also be touched upon in a further episode), but does explain the broad-ranging and highly destructive war which affected almost all of the largest island of Efnakia, with the notable exceptions being Beffhubass Island in the north, and an area comprising roughly the modern borders of the province of Melham in the East, partially due to the relatively thin bottleneck which comprises that province’s connection to the rest of the island. (This latter fact is highly relevant to later events).

It appears that in contemporary accounts from the time period, the name “Efnak” only applied to the state centered in Odra which became Efnakia – the other numerous states around the island definitively did not consider themselves to be Efnak, though the names of those states and alternate ethnic identities have been lost to time. What is primarily theorized, at least by those brave enough to challenge the existing national narrative, is that at least 10 distinct ethnic groups existed across the island of Efnakia, speaking relatively similar but distinct languages (or perhaps dialects of the same language) and having enough cultural similarities to be considered in the same light by outsiders but with certain differences, primarily related to clothing and food. Thus, the stage was set for the Period of Conflict, and the gradual unification of those disparate states into the modern state of Efnakia. However, that part of the story will have to wait.

[Fort McKinley]

FORT MCKINLEY VICTORIOUS IN CUP OF HARMONY
(FMNA) KURTZ, MERTAGNE--The Fort McKinley National Football Team opened the 83rd Cup of Harmony with a 2-1 win over the imperialist vermin of Juevencus. Our Heroes of the Revolution displayed their skill and spirit in the match where Comrades D.G. Young and S.J. Allen scored the the goals that were enough to brush aside the opponent.
The next foe will be Cabo Azure here in the same city, as the side will represent the People's Republic against the capitalist oppressors for the glory of Fort McKinley as Comrade Dr Allen wills it.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

David Guy Allen began laying the groundwork to convince the FMFA to allow for the players to have up to 4 guests permitted to join the squad for the final two matches in Mertagne; he pointed out that the COH was an unplanned opportunity for the nation to obtain more visibility for the Revolution and show the superiority of the People's Republic, and that the team had exceeded expectations in both the Baptism of Fire and the Qualifying tournament.

He also got his father to come around to the same way of thinking, and suggested that maybe Michael could put in a word of support to the Party Central Committee at the next meeting, which would come after the squad had left for Anaia.

Dave had researched the fixture schedule, which would see the Mackies play two matches each in three cities, none of which were the same as the venues they'd played in during their earlier trip for the BOF; back to back matches in Kurtz on the first two matchdays and the same in Papillio sandwiched around trips to Neorudo--the first capital of the nation--which is where the final match against Kimi-Suomi would be played at the Cop Limy Stadium. This would be where the four dissidents would make their break.

The opener against Juvencus seemed like a dream to David for he was not as mentally prepared as he would normally be; in fact he was brought off with 20 minutes left after a lackluster effort that had manager Chris Gray concerned afterwards in the dressing room.

"Everything OK Dave? You didn't look like yourself tonight."
"I...I'm sorry boss, I didn't play anywhere near my capability. I thought I was excited for these extra matches, but I just felt like the tank was on empty. I probably shouldn't have even played. I'm sorry."

"We've got a few days before the next match, let's see how you're feeling before we make any decisions on the lineup, OK? We got three points without our best player being 100%, so no damage was done."

[Ceni]

Andrew Arrowsword sat, staring at the Sanford Falls sunset into the sensessly interminable plains. His penthouse apartment unfolded around him, with the glass windows providing a clear view out into the small prairie town.

He still didn't quite know why he had decided to move there. When a club in the backwater town offered a big glop of cash for him in the transfer market, Andrew didn’t quite know what to think. On the one hand, Holdenberg City had started to play him less and less, so he had sat on the bench more and more. Liam* rarely came to his matches any more given the total lack of playing time, although the times he had come, his husband had said he spent more time staring at the “hunk of meat on the bench” than the actual game. Hopeless romantic, Andrew thought.

On the other hand, playing (or sitting around) with Holdenburg had its advantages. Andrew was reasonably close to home, closer to Liam, and in a bigger city. Of course, while a decently large city itself (n Sanfordian standards, since the city was the big shit in the country (and utterly uninteresting by Cenian or Euran standards), Sanford Falls definitely did not have a reputation for its cultural glitter, and it would lack the creature comforts that Andrew had expected.

It didn’t have many gay bars either, for that matter, although Andrew had no need to pick up local guys.

But Andrew decided to move anyway. Rumor had it that Holdenburg wanted him gone, anyway, and he didn’t want the Sword of Damocles (er, the sword of Holdenburg) holding over his head. Of course, if Liam wouldn’t watch too many games when he played at Holdenburg, he would probably watch exactly zero out in Sanford. At least it was in Rushmore.

The big Sanfordian tycoon who owned Sanford Falls PREMIER (he could never remember the guy’s name or what, exactly, he had made his money from) invested way too much money into the club, and so he paid Andrew way too much money, too. And since the town was so dinky, well, Andrew’s money went a little further, into renting a penthouse at the top of a building designed by a locally renowned architect with views of the river. Andrew picked the place for its windows, smitten by the view. This led him, unfortunately, to overlook the undulating floors with all too many levels and mezzanines and weird inclines.

Oh well, Andrew thought. He spent his time mainly in the circular living room with the views, or the bedroom next door.

As he lounged on the minimalistic furniture that the owner had picked to maximize the mid-century-modern space, Andrew had flashbacks to his penthouse apartment back in Azuris. He was on top of the world then, both figuratively and literally. He and Liam had started dating, so they hadn’t developed relationship problems yet (and Andrew desperately hoped that they would not develop marital problems, although he figured that every couple did so at some point). From the penthouse, they had ventured out into Azuris dressed as cowboys. In retrospect, Andrew thought the whole getup looked ridiculous, but what can you say about young love? (And kinks, Andrew thought. Liam definitely had a kink for cowboys.)

And Andrew would win a Champions’ Cup -- one of the few Cenians to have actually done so -- and appear on the Galacticos shortlist. Ah, good times.

Now he was a washed-up NT player plying his trade in a rural Rushmori backwater with more cows than people (or, as the tourism brochures described it, “paradise”). It didn’t help that the Cenian national team had literally disappeared for more than twenty years and the Cenian FA had decided to suspend international play as a result. Andrew had rumors it had to do something with sidelining him personally. But he couldn’t comment on that at all.

So when Andrew got Luke Longstar’s phone call inviting him back to the team, Andrew jumped around the curves and indentations of his Sanford apartment. Did the downstairs neighbors hate him for that? Probably. But he would play national football on the big stage again. It was a big fucking deal.

In that moment, then, Andrew felt like he could have free reign to jump up and down the apartment.

Of course, the next few months would bring hard work and inevitable disappointment. Ceni had never done particularly well in the World Cup; at least nobody would expect them to do particularly well now.

But Andrew relished the challenge.

*Liam Penderyn, Andrew’s boyfriend and now husband (they get married after finishing the quest described in Drawkland’s RP line this cycle; to be RPed in due course!)

[Ochre Islands]

Page 64

EIGHT IS GREAT
THOUGH WE'D PREFER THEM ALL FOR US

Dannin City, Mertagne Despite five Ochre Islanders scoring, they were still held to a 4 - 4 draw against Xanneria. Blue Gibson's early own goal from a defensive corner was an early setback for the Ochres.

Gibson, who is only rarely sent back to defend corners, filled in after centre-half Louis D'Entro was forced off the pitch after receiving treatment for a minor ankle twist whilst clearing the dangerous Xanneria cross which led to the corner Gibson had to defend. The corner, taken by the dangerous Allison Burnes, was sent toward the near post and Gibson's apparent attempt to clear it only sent the ball fizzing past Louis Wilson and into the Ochre net, sending Xanneria to an early lead.

Copse Clearedway equalised in the 34rd minute with a placed finish from the penalty spot following Builder pulling the ball back towards him and leaving a practically empty net to put the ball into. Whilst the Ochres went into half-time in the ascendency, a poor start to the second half called into question Valens' team talk, as it appeared the Ochres weren't paying much attention when Burns slalomed through the defensive line to see Xanneria ahead for the second time in the game.

After young Lucy Featherborn replaced Leonard Burke at right-back, this saw the Ochres move to a more wing-back style of play rather than a more conservative full-back system and greater attacking impetus from the wings. Builder and Gibson combined to put D'arcy in the Xannerian midfield under pressure, who turned and played a long ball back to Xanneria's goalkeeper, Jefferson Jr, without checking where the goalkeeper was. Unfortunately for D'arcy, Jefferson Jr had pushed up a little expecting a backpass of some sort, but not one with the pace or height hit by the panicing D'arcy.

With the Ochres now ahead for the first time in the game, Rory Builder continued his club form into the summer, hitting a powerful shot past Jefferson Jr following a slick through ball played by Copse Clearedway. At 4 - 2 up with 18 minutes to go, the Ochre squad took their foot off the gas a bit, with Harry Sandman and Arlo Newcomer coming on in defense leading to the first time an all-Ochreborn back four had played on the international stage at the same time.

Unfortunately, they didn't fill themself with early success and it was a mistake by young Sandman at left back that allowed the unplayable Burns in behind him and able to place the underneath Wilson to make it 4 - 3. The veteran Gasey equalised for Xanneria in the 92nd minute, with a superb header earning Xanneria a well-earned point, to the consternation of the Ochre fans who had made the trip to Dannin.

Up next for the Ochres is a game against Darmen where they will be looking for a win.

[Kelssek]

ALL
FOR
NOTHING?


ISSAC LAFRENIERE: “Collo, okay. It takes a lot of effort to find my exact same boots one size bigger. Kudos, okay, kudos? Felicitations. Now, please, stop f***ing around? This is not funny. Give me back the right ones.”

COLM O TUATHAIL: “It really wasn’t me. Really.”

ISSAC LAFRENIERE: “Mine are customs, you know? The ones in the shop, they look the same. Sponsor puts my name on them. They are not the same. I need my own boots back, Collo, please.”

COLM O TUATHAIL: “Issie, really. I didn’t take your boots. I didn’t hide them. I didn’t touch them.”

RYAN TERLOCK: “Someone messed with my gloves, too.”

COLM O TUATHAIL: “And it wasn’t me.”

TARA GATLAND, Equipment manager: “They were so convinced it was one of the players doing it. And that there was only one person doing the pranks. I thought this one would be really obvious. I’m not sure why they never figured it out. I suppose they will, once this thing comes out.”

* * *

NARRATOR: “Jorge Guardia brings in Thor Ibrahim Ahmad for a private conversation. He thinks the young striker’s getting too comfortable on the bench, and wants him to reawaken the competitive fire.”

JORGE: Tell me what’s it like at Directus? What’s your role there? It’s one of the biggest, biggest clubs in the world, yes? You must be very proud to play there.

THOR: Yes. It’s been a big experience for me...

JORGE: Two Champions League titles.

THOR: And they won a TQCC too. So three world championships.

JORGE: Great strikers there too, yes?

THOR: Robson... and Loic, of course...

JORGE: Here’s the thing, I think you’ve gotten used to being a supporting player. Loic is going to be the starter for now, no coach can ignore him while he’s fit and in form. But you’re the future of this team. The role Loic plays now, you are going to be in that role. But I want you to start getting in the mindset now, or that future won’t just happen. You can’t wait for Loic to move on, and it’s not going to be given to you. You’ve got to step up and claim it for yourself. You understand what I’m trying to say?

THOR: Yeah...

JORGE: You’ve been the leading striker before, though. Les Castors. That’s how you made your big move, right? Promotion, and then you scored like three-quarters of your team’s goals that year.

THOR: Well... it was not so good. We got relegated and it was, like, record-breakingly bad.

JORGE: Hah. Ok, so forget that part, remember what it’s like when the team looks to you to score the goals, when shit goes down, you have to lead. You’ve forgotten that. You’re a better player now than you were then.

- - -
NARRATOR: “...but as the match wears on, Kelssek are still struggling to break down the Bollonich defence.”

Two assistant coaches are gesticulating wildly on the touchline while Jorge Guardia simmers on the bench, muttering something the microphones don’t catch. The substitutes have been limbering up and come back to their seats, but Jorge reaches out to tap Thor Ibrahim Ahmad on the elbow. He’s being sent on. The footage cuts to show this moment, overlaid by voiceover from an obviously retrospective interview.

THOR IBRAHIM AHMAD: “Yeah, it was normal, throughout qualifying he will sub me on. No, I wasn’t thinking about anything he said before. That’s not what’s in your head during a match, you know.”

COMMENTATOR: “dí Völará... and Macon-Petrualt has come deep for that one. Nice interchange and Kelssek could be in here! Hartpoach has been absolutely clattered but referee plays advantage! MACON-PETRAULT!...”

Macon-Petrault has absolutely belted it and the ball speeds towards the far post from 20 yards. The Bollonich keeper dives to get a hand to it. There’s nothing Halliday or any keeper can do to stop such a shot entirely. One just tries to block it from going into the goal and hopefully direct it wide, out of play, somewhere less dangerous. It seems for a moment that will do.

COMMENTATOR: “Ahmad gets there first!...”

The footage goes to slow-motion and has added sound effects. In real time, the quick touch and shuffle of feet that Thor Ibrahim pulls off is hard to see as he places it in exactly the right spot from a sharp angle. Halliday is still on the ground and desperately throws up an arm, getting a glancing touch on the ball that serves only to add spin and drama to the shot. The roar of the crowd, which has a full second to see that the ball will absolutely cross the goal line before it actually does, would have drowned out any ‘ball nestles into net’ swishing noises that the documentary producers added.

COMMENTATOR: “Clinically done! And finally, Kelssek has the breakthrough! An almost instant impact from the sub!”

KELSSEK 1 – Ahmad (83’)
BOLLONICH 0
Kelssek: St-Gerlais, Buené, Auiloquet, Lozic, Douglass, Lapierre, (dí Völará 72’), Ducharne, Hartpoach, Ó Tuathail (Lafrenière 85’), Maçon-Petrault, Taleb (Ahmad 79’)

[Brookstation]

United Adaikes 4-3 Brookstation
Dale 14', 43'      Jacks 22'   
Maddox 29'         Veum 50'   
Maldonado 81'      Onfroy 90+1'

Starting lineup vs Saterun 
Logan   
Harlow-Caceres-Ali-Dutta
Veum-Vassell-Mignolet
Onfroy-Robes(c)-Kehr

THE SUCCESSOR

I

Mr. Andre Helmut was perhaps one of the most famous men of his time and his priceless wealth combined with his flamboyant nature made him well known throughout Kenville. Although nobody in the entire state had any idea of how Mr. Helmut gained the huge amount of wealth, everyone had a profound respect for him deep down their hearts. There was obviously reason for that as well. Mr. Helmut barely spent his time in his enormous mansion situated in the outskirts of Dason, in an area surrounded by various beauties of nature. He frequently paid visits to orphanages and other charitable institutions and donated huge sums of money for the needy. According to rumours, no other landlord had such a generous heart as that of Mr. Helmut and the 21 servants who worked for Mr. Helmut never failed to spread the news of his treatment towards them. Unlike most rich men of the era, Mr. Helmut didn't have any attraction towards alcohol nor women, there wasn't any reason to either.

Helmut probably had the most beautiful and loving wife one could. Helmut had met her in his college years and it didn't take long for them to fall into each other's charm. And within a matter of time the handsome couple would be welcomed by their father, Mr. Shaun Helmut to their enormous mansion where the couple would reside for 40 more years. But as a matter of fact, all of us know that life isn't that comfortable as it seems and even if it would seem that Mr. Helmut had a remarkable life, in reality he didn't. Being a mere mortal, even he was a victim of the hardships of life.

Mr. Helmut's first child was supposed to be born when he was 29 but the child died during birth and it was god's blessings that saved Mrs. Helmut from the grasps of death. There was some sort of curse on the couple and all their kinsmen died in quick succession of diseases that affected a handful or from the most unexpected accidents. Following their first child's unfortunate death, the couple decided to spend the rest of their lives caring for each other. The two of them spent a peaceful life as their heartfelt love prevented them from worrying about other matters. That was until one dark night in June, Mrs. Helmot died suddenly. For some reason her heart stopped beating and while the entire world held on its course, only this poor little breast suffering with love, time stood still for ever. This incident had a devastating impact on Mr. Helmot and the only words he could manage that night were the instructions that he gave to his servants. It was obvious that Mr. Helmut had been struck drastically by this sudden incident but more worrying was the fact that it was now time for him to decide a successor to his throne, something that he had never thought of before.

Mr. Helmut didn't want to attend his wife's funeral and neither did he intend to turn this tragedy into some sort of event. The decision was taken, his servants would bury the poor soul at a suitable place near the valley and none of the locals are ever getting to know about it. The last marks of Mrs. Helmot was supposed to be eradicated from this cruel Earth. Mr. Helmut locked himself in his room for almost a week without getting out except when he required food. Nevertheless, the four servants set out to locate the suitable burial ground to bury the last remains of the lady whom they all respected. Quite far from the mansion, there was an abandoned hut and a huge tree. It was evident that nature had treated the tree very poorly and only a handful of leaves remained on it's branches. Taking the coffin into the hut, the four men sat down to wait for someone to get up and bring the necessary things required for the burial. As mentioned, the area where Mr. Helmut resided was isolated from human population and it were nocturnal animals that resided the area. Furthermore, none of Mr. Helmut's servants were quite educated and thus the fear of ghosts were well instilled among them. Thus, none of the servants was willing to fetch the items. The time seemed so long that all of them grew restless and at the end, two servants decided to take up the arduous task and go themselves while the other two sat guarding the coffin while playing a game of cards.

It was a dark and gloomy night. Heavy clouds hung in a starless sky. The two men sat silent in the dark room. The number of matches they lighted created a cloud of smog over them yet their companions had not arrived. After a long silence, one of them said, "Man, it would be better if we go to look for them."
"Who would guard the body then ?" replied the other.
"I am pretty sure that no body will trespass at this hour of the night and again who would be interested in stealing a dead body ?"
"Alright, as you say but run as fast as you can. We should enter the house before sunlight. "
The pair had walked quite far before meeting their companions.
"Bloody hell, where have you two been ?"
"You know right that it takes time to gather woods and other stuff. We are far from the city."
"Whatever, let's hurry now."
On reaching back, the group was welcomed by an unpleasant scene. Sitting right on top of the cedar funeral was an owl with its large spherical eyes staring right at the group of servants but it soon flew away on seeing the group. The owl is considered a symbol of bad luck in Brookstation and thus it seemed that all hell had broke lose that day.
"Fuck it. I knew something like this was going to happen. It's all your fault, Brian."
"We can't waste a minute further. Before, Mr. Helmut gets to know about it, we should bury the coffin fast."

The coffin was buried and the servants did reach home just before sunlight but Mr. Helmut's condition worried them further. Such was the tragedy of Mr. Helmut. A man who strongly believed in prejudices never got to know the ill omen that surrounded his deceased wife.

Almost two weeks later, Mr. Helmut gained conscience. He finally understood that it was high time that he found his successor. But having an exuberant nature, Mr. Helmut was convinced that finding the next successor would be a very difficult task. He didn't want to pass the piece of heritage that defined the Helmut family into unsafe hands. He wanted to find a man who had a similar nature and who cared for the people. Thus in his last years, he decided to set out to roam around the country to find out the worthy proprietor.
" During the time of my absence, Lance Morris, my dear manager shall look after the property. My cousin might come and stay here for a few days and if he does, you all shall take care of him. I believe in all of you and thus I am leaving the last piece of me in your hands for the time being."
" For how long will you be gone sir ?"
Mr. Helmut chuckled, "I wish I knew."
And thus the old man set out on his last journey at the age of 71, leaving everything behind to look for his successor but no one knew what was in store for him.

[Starblaydia]

World Cup 78 Part One: Takeaway | Two: Duchess | Three: Fidget | Four: Torque | Five: Omen | Six: Leap | Seven: Screams | Eight: Iota | Nine: Death | Ten: Wrong | Eleven: Happy | Twelve: Together | Thirteen: Sweat | Fourteen: Taken | Fifteen Ice cream | Di Bradini Cup 41 Part Sixteen: Stunned | World Cup 79 Part Seventeen: Fame | Eighteen: Weird | Nineteen: Sheep | Twenty: Grave | Twenty-one: Gather | AOCAF Cup 55 Part Twenty-two Device | Twenty-three: Evil | World Cup 80 Part Twenty-four: Sure | Twenty-five: Basic | Twenty-six: Telescope | World Bowl 35 Part Twenty-seven: Sacrifice | World Cup 81 Part Twenty-eight: Library | Twenty-nine: Amateurs | Thirty: Two Ks | Thirty-one: Mirrors | Thirty-two: Germinate | World Cup 82 Part Thirty-three: Party | Thirty-four: Lights | Thirty-five: Fleet | Thirty-six: Pandemonium | World Cup 84 Part Thirty-seven: Idiom | AOCAF 61 Part Thirty-eight: Outline | Thirty-Nine: Wham | Forty: Cock | Forty-one: Mercenary | World Cup 86 Part Forty-two: Facility | Forty-three: Ego | Forty-four: Chimeras | World Cup 88 Part Forty-five: Exist | Forty-six: Motivate | Forty-seven: Whimper | Forty-eight: Geopolitical | Forty-nine: Crossword | Fifty: Something | World Cup 90 Part Fifty-one: Crunch | Fifty-two: Grift | Fifty-three: Simpler | Cup of Harmony 82 Part Fifty-four: Thank you

OOC: For the people who haven't been keeping up with my RPs since 2004 (guaranteed to be 100% of readers, I'm sure), there's been a few loosely intertwined threads to an overall, grander story of Starblaydia as a nation: it's become worldbuilding via football RPs. I appreciate that just providing a whole bunch of links going back god-knows-how-many cups isn't particularly helpful to dissect this story, as some of the (necessarily immortal) characters have been developing over the course of 75 in-character World Cups over almost 15 RL years. The TL:DR grand picture, however, looks something like this:

World Cup legend (and author avatar) Simeone Di Bradini has lived for the past 50 World Cups as an immortal construct of the Dreamed Realm, thanks to Arch's IC and OOC generosity. In this time, he's saved the multiverse on several occasions, and has also traveled in time, accidentally becoming Starblaydia's version of King Arthur, the once-and-future King Oberyn Starblayde, in his country's ancient past. The Starblayde family, who currently rule Starblaydia, have all been killed off through various ways and means by the evil vampire Viannor, who is currently masquerading as Lady-Protector Korra Starblayde, the hitherto completely imaginary daughter of the former Lord-Protector Julius Starblayde, and is ruling the nation as tightly as a constitutional monarch who was once the head of the secret service and covert intelligence agency can. This is the second time she has been in control of the nation, and the first time did not go well at all.

Simeone has been informed, by the late "Best in the World" goalkeeper and prophet Lucas Cable, that Korra Starblayde is actually Viannor, and will enslave the entire nation/world/universe/multiverse. Simeone, together with ex-Starblaydia national team manager Ázëwyn Fëanáro the elf, along with time-travelling dwarven scientist from the future Dalnir, plans to stop Viannor by recruiting a rag-tag band of commandos, via the process of essentially making their own Dreamed Realm constructs of some characters from the past, including Lucas Cable.

Tons of stuff has come before, which one day I will put all together in one place as the grand story arc of Starblaydia across the ages, but World Cup 78 was the start of a specific arc with a vague plan in mind, rather than just going wherever the narrative happened to take me on a given day.

"Well," Ázëwyn said quietly, falling in step with Simeone as the pair walked slowly through the large atrium of the finest hotel that Leorudo had to offer, "that was certainly an interesting meeting."

High above them the large square skylight, some thirty feet across each side, illuminated the great marble floor of the building's interior, deliberately kept clear of all furniture and clutter, bathing the two World Cup Hall of Famers in an even, diffuse light that had an almost holy quality to it. They made a slow pace, giving hotel staff and some guests a clear view of them from the edges of the atrium, some instinctively concealing themselves behind the decorative shrubs and thin trees that lined the outer edge, bordered by a chalky white gravel strip inset into the floor.

"I don't know about the financial side of things," Simeone said, raising his eyebrows as he still tried to mentally digest everything he'd seen on the fancy presentation, "but a breakaway like that takes some doing. I can barely imagine the fallout from it when the news breaks to the public."

"Do you think it could work," Ázëwyn looked around casually, seeing if she recognised any of the faces that were observing them, "the way they actually intend?"

"If it's actually profitable, then sure," Simeone shrugged, "money brings a success all of its own."

The two legends had come to a halt in the centre of the atrium. The natural spotlight from above lit them as artfully as any fashion photographer. Simeone in his dark suit and pristine open-necked white shirt with cuffs clearly on display, while Ázëwyn was equally professional yet entirely more sartorial in her flowing high-necked ivory top with waistcoat and suit pants, subtly flared at the ankle to further accentuate her height. They chatted in low voices, barely audible to those standing outside the atrium, which tended to reflect the sound upwards and away from the ears of passers by. It was entirely clear, though, to the figure that approached them. Tall and slender, wearing a sleek v-neck navy sweater over his shirt and tie, matching the deep v shape of his widow's peak, dark hair slicked back behind his pointed ears. With the sunlight beaming down on him, his smile was the same shape, a vicious-looking grin of self-satisfaction. There could only be one owner of that uniquely-punchable smirk.

"Valrauncion," Ázëwyn said over Simeone's shoulder, announcing the elf's presence before Simeone said anything untoward, "this has your fingerprints all over it. You seem rather pleased with yourself."

Valrauncion came over and stood beside them, towering over Simeone and Ázëwyn, neither of whom were known for being short. Though Valrauncion was, at first glance, by no means an imposing figure due to his slender frame, there was something about sheer height so close up that made Simeone think of two words. Not 'social distancing', but rather 'melee range'. The elf stood and looked at them directly in turn, taking his time to form the most cutting response he could possibly think of.

"Winning is the best thing," he said, with a face that made it abundantly obvious that he thought that was some kind of slam-dunk witticism.

"Not so much for those who get left behind," Ázëwyn said, crossing her arms in front of her and tilting her head to the side slightly, "who does get to 'win', exactly, other than you?"

"Oh," Valrauncion mocked, mimicking her posture, "nobody I care about, I'm sure."

He genuinely did have the most punchable face in the multiverse, Simeone thought. Somehow being the leading scorer for one of the most hated and feared teams in history at the peak of their powers had not been enough for Valrauncion, he had to go and then join their most hated rivals, to prove exactly how despised he really could be. Did anyone genuinely like the man? Simeone doubted it. Valrauncion moved like a panther, always fixed on his next goal - which for a long time had been the literal goal of whichever team Starblaydia were happening to play when the World Cup was in its 40s. 116 goals in 242 games was a phenomenal record and unlikely to ever be broken by any mortal Starblaydi player, but Simeone couldn't stop a smile of his own when he realised he had a better strike ratio than his fellow wearer of the white-and-purple number 10 shirt, with 44 strikes in 84 appearances.

"Something funny, imaginary man?" Valrauncion looked down and sneered at Simeone.

"Yeah, actually, it's-" Your face. Simeone immediately thought, but didn't say. Your grandad's sweater. The bald patch you're hiding with that hair. No actually it is your face; I'd like to knock your fu-.

"How dare you," came a stern, familiar voice from behind Valrauncion, interrupting Simeone's train of thought before it derailed into something rather unfortunate, "this power play will not stand, Valrauncion."

Valrauncion artfully turned slightly and took a step back, revealing the President of the Starblaydi Football Association, Tororin Halatyrion, striding towards them. His face was a thunderous scowl, with his long naturally platinum blond hair flowing behind him in the wake of his steps to match that of his long well-fitted coat. All three of those standing together had seen Halatyrion angry, even furious. But they had never seen him look murderous. His shoes echoed on the marble with the telltale regular click of wooden heels as he made a beeline directly for them. It was clear who he was aiming for. Ázëwyn and Simeone had been invited to the meeting for many reasons. Star power, potential buyers, influencers and opinion-makers in any one of the thousands of interviews they did each year. What they weren't, however, was part of the planning of it all. The pair took a discreet step back as Halatyrion squared up to Valrauncion, directly in front of his face.

"If you think you will be successful in your coup d'etat, you will find yourself woefully incorrect," Halatyrion snapped. Valrauncion only looked down at him with that supremely smug grin of his.

"May the best elf win." He sidestepped and nodded gently to the onlookers before departing. "Ázëwyn, imaginary man; always a pleasure. Tororin."

Halatyrion almost growled. He glared at Simeone and Ázëwyn, before spinning on his heel and striding away in the opposite direction to Valrauncion.

"Well that was new," Ázëwyn offered, raising her eyebrows. Simeone couldn't think of anything irreverent to respond with.

[PotatoFarmers]

Poafmersia's squad for CoH83

Other name: The Red Panjias (Panjia is the Poafmerian equivalant of a horse)
Kit Colours: Red, Orange

Poafmersia will present the following 23 players for CoH83. Caps & Goals will be updated over time.

Num  Player Name        Age Pos(s)   Sex  Current Club                 Caps        Goals   Assists
1    Nicole Potts        33  GK       F    St. John's Arsenal (QUE)     36 (2)         0       0
12   Shirou Amatore      32  GK       F    Kistina Galaxy               9 (1)          0       0
23   Jessica Ardens      26  GK       F    Mancodas Athletic FC         0 (0)          0       0

2    Mitchel Rosales     34  LB       M    Crisisbless (NPH)            56 (3)         4       0
3    Natalia Abbott      34  RB, DM   F    Dury FC                      60 (1)         1       0
4    Diamond Byan        29  CB       M    Bikarish                     5 (2)          0       0
5    Ali Berger          32  CB       M    Mancodas City                16 (5)         0       0
13   Mac Rojas           33  LB, RB   M    Ausharmuj Marusi (FFD)       9 (4)          0       0
14   Kelefe Hans         28  CB       M    Mancodas Athletic FC         0 (2)          0       0
15   Nacro Astro         30  CB       M    Bakartirla Buccaneers (ASG)  0 (0)          0       0
16   Jacqi Equine        28  RB       M    Mancodas City                0 (0)          0       0

6    Michael Jackson     30  CM, ACM  M    Mancodas City                26 (3)         2       7
8    Min Berg            31  DM, CM   F    Mancodas Athletic FC         14 (3)         0       1
10   Aapeli Shea         27  CM, AM   M    Dalaris City                 0 (2)          0       0
17   Magreta Rym         29  CM       M    Mancodas City                5 (1)          1       2
19   Lesia Astrauskas    30  CM       M    Trimidau Rukiya              4 (2)          0       0
21   Erle Sartini        25  CM       M    Adab United (ADB)            0 (0)          0       0

7    Janelle Frederick   31  LW       F    Dury FC                      6 (0)          10      3
9    Jordan Huerta       31  CF, AM   M    Sarim Potato FC              16 (4)         14      1
11   Leontiy Seet        27  RW       M    FC United of Mancodas        4 (1)          2       3
18   Tessa Bjarnesen     23  LW       F    Barossia United (NPH)        0 (3)          0       0
20   Agapito Murphy      30  CF       M    South Laithland (NPH)        0 (2)          0       1
22   Bolívar Tamura      25  CF/RW    M    Dury FC                      2 (0)          0       2

Note:
*Stats might take some time to be updated.
*Player ages are as though the qualifiers are held during the start of the 13th IFCF cycle, as it is in our calendar.

Captain: Nicole Potts
Vice-Captain: Michael Jackson
Penalty Taker: Jordan Heurta
Free Kick Taker: Michael Jackson
Corner Takers: The prevailing LB/RB (in the case of a 4-3-3) or LM/RM (in the case of a 3-4-3)

Head Coach: Adnan Suliaha, 63
Assistant Head Coach: Katiri Hedge, 69
General Playing Style: Being a nation which emphasises on fast paced attacking football, Poafmersia would prefer to attack rather then defend. The players can be quite aggressive in getting back the ball, yet they do not keep high amounts of possession and they are very good at making use of mistakes by the opposition team to punish the opponents. Although this team has a weakness in defending set pieces, they are more fond of scoring through set pieces. Another way of scoring is often pressuring opponents through high defensive lines. This team, however, is likely to push forward even more attack, going even further to try to score more goals. The more goals, the better.

Formations: 4-3-3
Style Modifier: +3.142
Note: Please refer to preview before match to know the predicted lineup for the day. If one is not posted, you may utilise the last posted lineup, and make any enforced changes as you like. (due to injuries, suspensions, etc.)

Recent International Records
BoF 71: 3rd place, with a W-D-L ratio of 9-0-1, GF/GA of 34/12
WCQ 84: 3rd in Group 5, with a W-D-L ratio of 10-4-6, GF/GA of 45/36
CoH 76: Group Stage (3rd in Group 7), with a W-D-L ratio of 2-12, GF/GA of 14/12
IAC 9: 4th place, with a W-D-L ratio of 5-1-1, GF/GA of 22/13
WCQ 85: 5th in Group 15, with a W-D-L ratio of 13-6-5, GF/GA of 62/43
CoH 77: Round of 16, with a W-D-L ratio of 2-2-2, GF/GA of 10/11
IAC10: Champions, with a W-D-L ratio of 6-1-1, GF/GA of 18/9
WCQ 86: 3rd in Group 6, with a W-D-L ratio of 9-5-4, GF/GA of 36/30
CoH 78: Round of 32, with a W-D-L ratio of 2-3-2, GF/GA of 11/11
IAC 11: Champions, with a W-D-L ratio of 7-1-0, GF/GA of 19/9
WCQ 87: 2nd in Group 7 + PO Winners, with a W-D-L ratio of 13-4-3, GF/GA of 55/36
WC 87: Quarterfinals, with a W-D-L ratio of 2-0-3, GF/GA of 9/10
IAC 12: Quarterfinals, with a W-D-L ratio of 5-0-2, GF/GA of 26/5
WCQ 88: 1st in Group 5, with a W-D-L ratio of 14-3-1, GF/GA of 46/24
WC 88: Round of 16 with a W-D-L ratio of 2-0-2, GF/GA of 8/8
IAC 13: Quarterfinals, with a W-D-L ratio of 5-3-1, GF/GA of 19/10
WCQ 89: 3rd in Group, with a W-D-L ratio of 12-2-4, GF/GA of 40/24
CoH 81: Quarterfinals, with a W-D-L ratio of 7-3-2, GF/GA of 9/6
IAC 14: Group Stage, with a W-D-L ratio of 2-0-3, GF/GA of 10/12
WCQ 90: 2nd in Group 14 + PO Losers, with a W-D-L ratio of 9-3-4, GF/GA of 39/29
CoH 82: Quarterfinals, with a W-D-L ratio of 4-1-1, GF/GA of 17/11
IAC 15: Round of 16 (skipping Round of 24), with a W-D-L ratio of 4-1-1, GF/GA of 24/17
Overall: 169 wins, 56 draws, 72 losses. 720 goals for, 499 goals against.

First Match: Poafmersia 8-2 Barfleur, BoF 71 Group Stage Matchday 1 @ Zwangzug
First Win: Poafmersia 8-2 Barfleur, BoF 71 Group Stage Matchday 1 @ Zwangzug
Biggest Win:
(Only WCC-sanctioned) Poafmersia 8-2 Barfleur, BoF 71 Group Stage Matchday 1 @ Zwangzug
(All) Poafmersia 8-0 North Alezia, IAC 12 @ Almuzahara
Heaviest Defeat:
(Only WCC-sanctioned)
Farfadillis 5-0 Poafmersia, WCQ 87 @ Farfadillis
(All)
Poafmersia 2-8 Commonwealth of Baker Park, International Friendly @ Poafmersia
Baker Park 6-0 Poafmersia, International Friendly @ Baker Park
Highest Scoring:
(Only WCC-sanctioned)
Poafmersia 8-2 Barfleur, BoF 71 Group Stage Matchday 1 @ Zwangzug
Shokpos 3-7 Poafmersia, WCQ 85 @ Shokpos
(Everything else)
Poafmersia 2-8 Commonwealth of Baker Park, International Friendly @ Poafmersia
Qasden 4-6 Poafmersia, International Friendly @ Qasden

Fans
Poafmersian fans are crazy about football, and their loud cheers ring about in the stadiums they visit. They are very willing to disturb the peace in the area to celebrate their win after matches, so matches are best held in the afternoon or early evenings. You can spot Poafmers booking large meeting rooms in hotels, going to bars in groups. Apart from that, they do pick up after themselves, and prevent causing much trouble apart from celebrating. You can be assured, however, that they would be traveling around to support their team, so do reserve half the spots in stadiums for them because they would pack it to the brim.

Home Stadium
For the entire duration of the qualifiers, Poafmersia will be playing their home games at the Libira National Stadium. To accommodate a rising interest in football, there was a slight layout change and stand refurbishment being done prior to the qualifiers, and as such, the stadium capacity has been increased to 70 thousand seated pax. The stadium is located in Fiskadaha City, capital of Poafmersia. To travel to the city, direct flights are provided from many major capital cities around the world. Within Poafmersia, however, public transport, such as trains and buses, are the preferred mode of transport, and there are rail lines available between Fiskadaha and many major cities in the country.

RP Permissions
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers - Yes
Godmod scoring events - Yes (Realistic events only, such as long range shots)
Roleplay injuries to my players - Yes (You determine what happened, I decide the severity.)
Godmod injuries to my players - Yes (As above)
Hand out yellow cards to my players - Yes
Hand out red cards to my players - Yes (1 more than what you give yourself)
RP any pandemic-related events - No pandemic exists in Poafmersia, or on Poafmers.
Godmod any other events - Yes (TG/Inform me before hand)
Note: If your RP permissions are more restrictive than mine, then I will take your RP permissions. (With the exception about the pandemic events)
I am very open to cooperative RPs, such as joint press conferences, match-side drama, out-of field events, etc. Do drop me a Telegram in-game (to this account or Poafmersia) or a DM on Discord (You can find me on the NS Sports Discord - Freg#0420).

[Acastanha]

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And The Result Is?

---

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President Joao Makarin have arrived at the capital, Amarelda after attending the leaders meeting at Daulapura. The meeting which was initiated by Eramanian Bendahara, Tun Rendra Usin seems like becoming something useless.

Tun Rendra Usin was being the highlight in Acastanha after his statement about Putrasian referendum. Fortunately, not other nation.ask for the same thing. That is a rash statement from a respected country leader say André Sadrade, Acastanha political expert. He is also criticize about the whole meeting which seems to be pointless as it is only touch the surface. For example the Cakranegara issue. They bomb a military base. Shouldn't they be given warning or sanction or something? They disrupt the region's peaceful atmosphere. Sadrade add.

On the other hand, opposition leader, Benigno Karpanyo criticize Joao Makarin's position in the region. He said that the meeting clearly saw how Acastanhada president influence is. Karpanyo highly doubt Makarin's capacity and capabilities in regional level to gain respect and influencing the neighbors. However, government-side politician, Leon Kandaka response to Karpanyo's statement. He said that Karpanyo's is too cocky the he himself can't see his own flaws.

No matter what the conflicts and critics arise domestically after the AMAN Leaders Meeting, the government have its capacity to abide to the meeting result. The main result is the change of region's name into Mandalanusa. The change will come into effect in 30 days prior to the agreement. This will make the government need to amend any laws and regulations that mention the region name into its current name.

[Sendhang]

"Our first match will be against Cassadaigua,"

"Wait a second. Are we in the World Cup?"

"No. Cassadaigua is in the Cup of Harmony."

"Huh?"

That was the conversation between two KS Tapaklaboh teammates, Teuku Hassan Al-Qari and Teuku Salahuddin during their club's training session a day after the Cup of Harmony draw was made a few months ago.

Teuku Salahuddin was right to be shocked at the presence of Cassadaigua in the Cup of Harmony. Sendhang was no match for Cassadaigua as they failed to register a single shot on target in their opening match of the 83rd Cup of Harmony against the world number 7. Sendhang was forced to park the bus as Cassadaigua was in total control of the match at the George Bowen Stadium in Tumbra. However, with 11 men behind the ball, Sendhang managed to frustrate Cassadaigua in the first half as they hold on to the 0-0 scoreline.

Then in the second half, Cassadaigua managed to break the deadlock just 8 minutes after the restarts through Jenna Frontiera who lashed on a through ball from Morgan Rosenblatt to beat Sendhang's experienced goalkeeper, Albertus Wageo. Cassadaigua then doubled their effort after the goal and found their second goal in the 76th minute, again through Jenna Frontiera who was very sharp on the night. She almost got her hat-trick but was denied by the post in the 85th minute.

The score remained 2-0 until the full-time whistle. A routine victory for Cassadaigua and an expected defeat for Sendhang.

[Cabo Azure]

Os Canários, pt 2
João found Colonel Song in his office, dressed in his camouflage utility uniform and deep in conversation with the chief and a man João didn’t recognize, but whose camouflage scrubs marked him as a Quebecois military doctor. Though the base had an infirmary, it was little more than another modular trailer like the gym with a reefer truck parked out front to keep ice and medicine cold. João knew he could go to sick call there if he ever needed, but he never needed care beyond annual fitness exams, which he took at the barracks on Portelo.

The conversation fell silent as soon as João entered. Colonel Song looked up at him, seeming very old somehow with his thick glasses and salt-and-pepper hair. The doctor looked between the commander and the chief, as if willing one of them to speak, but both remained stoic, staring unblinkingly at João.

“Captain, uh, Capitão Cabral,” the doctor mispronounced João’s rank, but kept speaking, “It’s come to our attention that, uh”

“Allow me,” interrupted the chief. “One of our marines came up pregnant, and the father is an Azurean.”

João stood stunned for a moment, then his head began brimming with questions. There was nothing in the hodgepodge of memorandums and handshake agreements under which the base operated to cover a situation such as this; João knew this because he’d read all of them upon his arrival at the base, looking for some shred of guidance as to what he was supposed to be doing here. The details around the base’s origins were arcane, but he’d been able to piece together most of the story.

Toward the end of O Interregno, as the future Queen Abigail consolidated her support and began applying public pressure on the Gang of Seven to abdicate power peacefully, the Gang had grown increasingly paranoid. Seeking any port in a storm, one of their number, Daniela Texeira, had extended an offer to the Royal Kingdom of Quebec to station troops in Cabo Azure as a staging point for operations elsewhere in Rushmore. At that moment in time, the Gang’s greatest fear was an invasion from Cassadaigua, and the hope was a presence of Quebecois troops would stay Queen Cassie’s hand and buy the Gang more time. Unfortunately for Texeira and the rest of the Gang, Cassie had never formally committed to support Abigail, and so there was no conflict with Quebec stationing troops forward.

Quebec had, for various reasons, not gotten directly involved in the crisis de jure, and so had not needed its “unsinkable aircraft carrier”, but the offer had remained on the table as the Gang stepped down and transferred power peacefully back to the monarchy. When the Quebecois Ministry of Defense once again began looking at force projection options in Rushmore, the agreement with the Gang of Seven resurfaced, and government ministers began making tentative overtures to their Azurean counterparts. The difficult part had been finding a suitable location; local governments on Aho and Dulce Muerte bristled at the idea, Portelo simply didn’t have the room, and none of the smaller islands had the infrastructure to absorb more than a token force of Quebecois. The government of Canarinho, one of the smallest of Cabo Azure’s inhabited islands, had agreed only with the stipulation of tax breaks and other benefits which amounted to bribes.

None of that knowledge benefited João now, except insofar as he knew there was no legal framework for what happened next. The child would be an Azurean citizen, provided it was born in Cabo Azure and the mother was not shipped back to Quebec; otherwise, it could only apply for citizenship by establishing a residency on the island as an adult. There was no hospital in town; the camp’s infirmary was the most robust medical facility on the island, and anything above primary care had to be sent by boat or helicopter to the military hospital on Portelo. Thus far the doctors had not balked at caring for Quebecois marines with sprained ligaments, contusions, and concussions, but delivering a child was another story.

Nor was sending the mother back to Quebec a perfect solution; the Azurean public, already weary of the foreign soldiers on one of their islands, would be easily swayed by a story of a child being spirited away from its father and its Azurean family by the evil Quebecois government. This was not a hypothetical that João had to imagine; the tearful reunion of an Azurean sailor with the child he had fathered on a foreign woman in port, often after protracted attempts to gain custody of the child, was a common trope in Azurean media. João was never sure what the woman was expected to do–move to a foreign country, while pregnant, to be with a man she’d met once?

“Who is the father?” João decided to ask the obvious question first, to narrow down the decisions from there.

“Do you know a Soldado Peron?”

[Mertagne]

Mertagnian national football manager Azewyn Feanaro was lightly flambéd by the press last night, after the Cup of Harmony kicked off properly for the host nation in a tough game against southern neighbours Krytenia. The match, held at the Crater Field in Claviers after a sanctimonious edict from the Ministry of Sport in an effort to increase tourism to Harridan, ended as it started, in a 0-0 draw that echoed the tone of the Group E performances so far. The cyan side created many opportunities for themselves during the match, but couldn't quite shut the door on the home side that, according to their Starblaydi manager, "Is benefiting greatly from the groundswell of local fans".

"I've personally had a respectful rivalry with Krytenia for as long as any of you would remember, and it was great, albeit a bit frustrating, to be out there on the sidelines against them. Bekkside nations have such a strong footballing tradition, and I'm doing everything I can to give our side the tools to weave a thread of success into the tapestry.", Feanaro replied, when questioned as to the team's performance in the opening match. "A draw isn't what we wanted, for sure, but against a fully fired up Krytenian side, it was the best we could manage on the day. Both sides were passionate, and will carry that into their future matches."

Krytenia have also benefitted from the installation of a manager from outside the national box, in the form of Brelk-Xeral Erv, the Qusmi former manager of Brenecia. Erv, or "BXE" as they are becoming known down south, has a head full of tactical genius that they are applying liberally to a souped up Krytenian side, and is looking to show Dragons fans that they deserve the place in the driving seat. A strong performance in this Cup of Harmony, a tournament that the Dragons are no strangers to (which is not to diminish from their World Cup achievements), would go a long way to build up the street cred for the recently acquired manager - A familiar story for several sides in this tournament, Mertagne included. Feanaro was once again reminded by some of the more cutting Mertagnian media that she had been dropped from management of the Starblaydi team, and was asked once again, this time in front of international media, if she felt that her management of the Mertagnian side was a demotion.

"This comes up a lot, and my answer is the same every time. I see a lot of the same themes in this team as I saw when I took the reins at Starblaydia - passion, determination, and a lot of talent. I am nurturing those qualities in this squad, and the trophies will come in their own time."

The national team have a matchday to rest now, before entering matchups against Eshialand and Xanneria as the group stage rolls on. Many sports pundits have called Group E the "group of life" of the tournament, owing to Mertagne's low footballing coëfficient relative to its other top pot teams. While this may be true, the closer-knit competition is sure to result in a tumultuous group stage, even with the advantage that a home crowd can bring to the atmosphere of a game, and the nation is looking expectantly to the squad to show a good result and battle it out in the knockouts with other teams that are vying to lift the trophy. This iteration of the Cup of Harmony has seen strong teams, that would usually grace the halls of the so-called "World Cup Proper", enter the tournament with a steel focus and a single goal in mind (and in the case of Audioslavia, as few other goals as possible) - to lift the trophy at the end. If Mertagne are lucky enough to use the boost a home crowd can provide to hit the escape velocity of the group stage, they'll need all the remaining fuel in the tank to bring them to the lofty heights of the upper knockouts.

[Eraman]

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Day 7 - Month 6 - Year 10

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SPORTS

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ERAFA needs to take defeat against Efnakia seriously

Pasirpura: Following the unexpected defeat against Efnakia in the 83rd Cup of Harmony campaign, the Eraman Football Association (ERAFA) was urged to figure out how to improve the national team's performance.

The Bendahara of Eraman, Tun Rendra Usin said the 1-0 loss against an inexperienced team should not be taken lightly, and the appropriate parties should find ways to improve the national team's performance and quality.

"Football is the most popular sport in the country but we look weak at the international level. ERAFA and everyone who loves the sport should work closely to find ways so that we can avoid such defeat and start to challenge internationally," he said when met by reporters after officiating the new headquarters of the Tennis Association of Eraman in Pasirpura today.

The national team opened the 83rd Cup of Harmony campaign in Webster, Mertagne with a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Efnakia at the Nine Star Arch, last night.

[Gortolekua]

Winter Lynxes battle Sargossa in electrifying 4-4 draw to open Cup of Harmony
by Lempi Rey

Not many matches have the pleasure (or misfortune for fans of either nation) of being called a slobberknocker, but Sargossa and Gortolekua certainly delivered to the Mertagnian fans present at the Nine Star Arch with their opening match finishing in a 4-4 draw.

Corsairs manager Alejandro Echeverría may have looked the part of a collected manager, but Sargossa's frantic play during the first half may prove otherwise. The Corsair attack was extremely direct (more direct than what we're used to seeing from them), indicative of a gaffer on the hot seat. But that directness manifested into an early 1-0 lead thanks to Mateo Manzanares and playmaker Martín de la Cavallería. The classic No. 10 player lived up to his last name, providing the resoluteness of a cavalry to set Manzanares up for a shot no keeper could beat—especially not Rigmor Ragnvaldsson.

While the Winter Lynxes were able to level it thanks to winger-on-winger play from Darby Innes and Catrine Mäkinen in the 34th minute, Sargossa reclaimed the lead thanks to another stalwart performance from de la Cavallería, this time setting up Eliseo Fonseca for a goal that would put the Corsairs up at half-time.

Prior to the second, Staffan Petit was subbed on for Lía Lindsey, a decision Bárbara Sanderson said was done to "give ourselves more breathing room in defense." It was an intelligent on Sanderson's part, because that 4-4 scoreline could have been 6-4, or even 7-4, were it not for Petit's black hole of a left foot. He was pivotal in suffocating the Corsairs' attack, and set up some long-balls of his own. One of those came in the 52nd minute toward Myra Randal, who was fouled by Agustín Soria to give the Winter Lynxes a free kick. Randal converted the free kick magnificently, sending the ball underneath Sargossa's jumping wall to level it out at two.

But the back-and-forth continued between Sargossa and Gortolekua, with a 59th minute goal from the same duo as the Corsairs' last: beautiful play from de la Cavallería, wonderful finish from Eliseo Fonseca. Two goals on the day for Fonseca, three assists for de la Cavallería, one hell of a ride for the two.

But Gortolekua was able to capitalize yet again with a goal from teenage superstar Judith Berge in the 64th minute. Cutting inside after luring the Corsair opposition by doing work as a winger, a quick one-two pass between Berge and Karissa Lynton set up the former to slot the ball past Alejandro Martínez and level it at three.

The back-and-forth continued with substitute striker Mauricio Sainz making an instant impact to give Sargossa the lead again at 4-3, but surprise goalscorer and new captain Jessica Partanen was able to level it out again for Gortolekua thanks to a belter of a goal from 30 yards out. It was a goal fit for a 29-year-old defensive midfielder who's not used to scoring goals at all.

The final ten minutes of regular time and four minutes of stoppage time was a masterclass in what not to do when you're looking for a match-winner. Both squads were frantically looking for the match-winner, but neither of them were able to capitalize thanks to misplaced passes, subpar crosses and off-the-mark shots. The points were split at the end of 90 and change.

"It was a pity we finished like that, given how well we—and our opposition, I don't want to forget them—played that rest of the match," manager Bárbara Sanderson said in a post-match press conference. "We'll take a few days to reflect before we get at it again."

Gortolekua has a bye day on Matchday 2. They return to action on Matchday 3 against fellow Baptism of Fire medalists Efnakia at the New Brazier Stadium in Scharfwick, Keld. Kick-off is set for 03:00 Gortoleki Standard Time (20:00 local time).

Match Recap - Cup of Harmony 83, Group F
Sargossa 4-4 Gortolekua
played at Nine Star Arch, Webster, The Forkelands
Goalscorers
Sargossa: M. Manzanares '19 (a - M. de la Cavallería), E. Fonseca '39 (a - M. de la Cavallería), E. Fonseca '59 (a - M. de la Cavallería), M. Sainz '72 (a - A. Soria)
Gortolekua: D. Innes '34 (a - C. Mäkinen), M. Randal '52 (free-kick), J. Berge '64 (a - K. Lynton), J. Partanen '80 (a - V. Olguín)
Substitutes
Sargossa: J.S. Varela ⇄ E. González '65; M. Sainz ⇄ E. Fonseca '70; J. Sarmiento ⇄ M. de la Cavallería '80;
Gortolekua: S. Petit ⇄ L. Lindsey '46; A. Hallman ⇄ D. Innes '65; I. Esteban ⇄ J. Partanen '81

DIG DEEPER
>OHOREKUNNIA: What can we expect in Season Three? A way-too-early preview, for one.
>GORTOLEKUA: Seinät Fire Dept. says ad agency fire caused by "faulty wiring" despite conflicting evidence
>POLITICS: Salonen's approval ratings dip slightly, Varraskura's rise significantly in wake of fire
>MUSIC: Tetra Racekeri - "I'm tired of being the pop star they want me to be"

[Tumbra]

Matchday Two - Mertagnian Half

Group E
Eshialand 2–0 Krytenia
Xanneria 1–2 Cardenao
Darmen 0–2 Ochre Islands

. Group E              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eshialand              2   1  1  0    2   0  +2    4
  Ochre Islands          2   1  1  0    6   4  +2    4
3 Cardenao               2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
4 Mertagne               1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
5 Xanneria               2   0  1  1    5   6  −1    1
6 Krytenia               2   0  1  1    0   2  −2    1
7 Darmen                 1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

Group F
Efnakia 2–2 Sargossa
Kelssek 0–1 Eraman
Savojarna 0–0 Bollonich

. Group F              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Efnakia                2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
2 Eraman                 2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
3 Kelssek                2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
4 Sargossa               2   0  2  0    6   6   0    2
5 Gortolekua             1   0  1  0    4   4   0    1
  Savojarna              1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
7 Bollonich              2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1

Group G
Mercedini 2–1 Tikariot
Acastanha 3–2 Ceni
Srednjaci 2–1 Oberour Ar Moro

. Group G              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Acastanha              2   1  1  0    5   4  +1    4
2 Ceni                   2   1  0  1    5   4  +1    3
  Srednjaci              1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
4 Tikariot               2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
5 Mercedini              2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
6 Oberour Ar Moro        2   0  1  1    3   4  −1    1
7 Wreckeria              1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0

Group H
Juvencus 2–4 Poafmersia
Cabo Azure 1–1 Fort McKinley
Starblaydia 1–0 Gnejs

. Group H              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Poafmersia             2   1  1  0    5   3  +2    4
2 Cabo Azure             2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
  Fort McKinley          2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
4 Starblaydia            1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
5 Kimi-Suomi             1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
6 Gnejs                  2   0  0  2    0   2  −2    0
7 Juvencus               2   0  0  2    3   6  −3    0

The next cutoff window will occur approximately 48 hours from this post.