Copa Rushmori XLI — Everything Thread

[Darmen]

Randall Elmwood Launches Campaign To Become Next DFA President

SCOTT CITY - Speaking to the press in the nation's capital yesterday, Randall Elmwood, Vice-Chairman of the Darmeni Football Association's Strategic Studies Committee, announced his candidacy in next year's election for the presidency of the DFA. Elmwood claimed it was time to bring fresh leadership to the organization which he claims has "grown stale" under the leadership of its current president, Peter Bates. Elmwood, who played an instrumental role in the DFA's recent report on the financial troubles potentially facing Darmeni clubs in the years to come, claims that he has the answers to help steer Darmeni football.

"The DFA needs to take a more active role in assisting clubs around the country financially," stated Elmwood. He continued, "The DFA has ample resources to provide additional funding to clubs, particularly at the grassroots level, who are facing financial troubles. The future of Darmeni football depends on it."

Elmwood further laid out his plans for his presidency, claiming that he would first eliminate Bates' flagship program, the controversial Invigorating Indigenous Football (IIF) Program that has seen the DFA spend $3 million to promote football to Darmen's indigenous peoples. "To be clear, research shows that the popularity of football among Darmen's indigenous peoples has increased in recent years, but only marginally. The Aboriginal FA still has a grand total of zero affiliated clubs, despite having been founded almost two decades ago, which frankly is unacceptable."

To replace the IIF program, Elmwood has proposed the Grassroots Football Assistance Program (GFAP), which he says would provide every amateur football club in the country located in a municipality of less than 20,000 people with $40,000 annually, while clubs affiliated with the Aboriginal FA would receive twice that amount. "In discussions I've had with the Aboriginal FA, they've told me that the number one reason there aren't any football clubs representing Darmen's indigenous population is lack of funding. The IIF was meant to promote football in general, not to create a sustainable and representative football community among the indigenous peoples. That needs to change."

Elmwood is also proposing the Debt Alleviation Program (DAP), which would be an annual $12 million fund clubs could access to help reduce their debts. The fund would be structured so that all clubs in debt who applied for funds would receive some amount of money, but that amount would be proportional to the debt held by clubs.

"Neither of these two programs are designed to simply pay off a club's entire debt, but rather to help the clubs along and put them in better financial situations so that they would be able to pay off the debts on their own," stated Elmwood when pressed by the media on whether the proposals would be effective in helping Darmeni clubs avoid any potential financial crisis. Elmwood further stated, "For instance, clubs receiving funds through the Debt Alleviation Program would not be able to sign new players during the transfer window except free agents. This funding is to help alleviate club's debts, hence the name, not to fund expensive transfers or wage bills."

Elmwood is likely to be the only opponent to incumbent DFA president Peter Bates, who, in response to Elmwood's announcement of his candidacy, claimed that he would "undoubtedly have the full support of the DFA Congress when it meets next spring" to elect the president for the 2056-2060 term.

[Ceni]

Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey
Chapter 12: Denouement, Part Two

To the foreigner's eye, Whitehaven Beach didn't look much like a beach, it certainly didn't look white, and could be a haven for perhaps a wayward crab but hardly not a human being.

But Luke Longstar, and many a Cenian, enjoyed Whitehaven's calm breeze and battleship gray sand nonetheless. Chalk it up to being one of the few beaches within spitting distance of the big cities, and the general Cenian distaste for cross-continental journeys just to sit on a beach and get sunburned.

There, on the nondescript beach underneath the usual cloudy sky, Luke Longstar formulated a political plan to defend Andrew Arrowsword from the people in the Cenian FA who hated his guts. Well, from the person, and the traveling undersecretary or whoever that he had in his thrall who had told him to leave Arrowsword off the team.

The first order of business: Tell the undersecretary to fuck off. He had no right to interfere in Longstar's managerial decisions; Arrowsword was an icon, near a Drawkian's physical prime, and the only one of the team who was in mental shape to play football. He could lift the team's spirits, bring them up mentally; firing Andrew would have the opposite effect.

What would be the second order of business? Pace around Whitehaven beach; pace around some more? As he kept telling himself, he wasn't a politico.

He knew he wasn't a politico! So why did he keep telling himself that? And why did it seem too much like a circular system: Nothing got done; he justified it by saying he wasn't a politico; the cycle went on and on again in his head?

Luke kicked the sand, and it sprayed in all directions. Underneath the spot he kicked, Luke found a broken oyster shell; he picked it up and tossed it into the ocean aimlessly, hoping it wouldn't end up in a whale's blowhole like Kramer's Titleist in Seinfeld.

Just as that thought exited his brain, his phone rang. It was Jaina Ende-Dogor: that physicist who had told them about the time warp stuff that had got them into this mess in the first place.

He picked it up.

"I have something that you might want to see," she said. "When and where do you want to meet?"

***

Jaina Ende-Dogor had wanted a deus ex machina, the laziest of literary tropes, to fall into her lap to solve the case. Otherwise, she had reached an impasse.

But she didn't get her deus ex machina. She would have to settle for calculating the time that it would take for AT7093 to reemerge from its slightly inflected orbit around the center of the portal, and that wouldn't take long at all. Not long at all. Plug a few numbers into a computer program she had written, and the relativistic calculation would spit out a time.

Of course, the program spit out some errors. Some of the data just didn't make sense, even though she had confirmed everything with the simulation that she had run in Stratosphere City. Jaina looked over the data again and entered it manually instead of having the computer extract everything; the same error came up. Odd. She wasn't an expert in numerology, not that numerology counted as a science or anything, but the numbers repeated in a pattern with seven as a core...

Jaina plowed on. It took all through the night to get through all the permutations, but she plowed on. And she got a result: Twenty-two years. The fucking assholes had stolen twenty-two years from the people who had flown on AT7093.

And that was the last progress she made on the case for 22 years. In the intervening time, she had earned some repute for her work on AT7093, but otherwise, she mostly forgot about it.

Until just after AT7093 arrived back. She briefed the passengers on the basic physics of the matter and her suspicions, but then again, her suspicions had been mostly poppycock twenty-two years earlier and were now decades-old poppycock.

And then she saw someone in the back of the room wearing the same patch that the anonymous informant had given her all those years ago. The exact same patch. So she raced back to her apartment, threw everything in her desk to one side or another, and found that damn patch. She held it in her hands, looking at it more closely: Did it have anything distinctive on it, something to identify the wearer as opposed to hundreds of other people who probably had that same patch?

Not to her untrained eye, but she figured that Luke Longstar might have an answer. And he might have a name for the shifty FA guy in the back.

So she called him up. "I have something that you might want to see," she said. "When and where do you want to meet?"

[The Isles of Avon]

It's the last cutoff of the group stage. What's the name of the game tonight?

Group E
Nyowani Kitara 0–0 Ceni
Pridnestrovia 2–1 San Isidro Labrador

. Group E              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ceni                   3   1  2  0    5   3  +2    5
2 Pridnestrovia          3   1  2  0    5   4  +1    5
3 San Isidro Labrador    3   1  0  2    5   7  −2    3
4 Nyowani Kitara         3   0  2  1    3   4  −1    2

Group F
Astograth 2–7 Eura
Captina Island 0–1 Darmen

. Group F              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eura                   3   3  0  0   12   4  +8    9
2 Darmen                 3   1  1  1    3   3   0    4
3 Astograth              3   1  1  1    4   7  −3    4
4 Captina Island         3   0  0  3    0   5  −5    0

Group G
Cassadaigua 0–1 Gnejs
Tikariot 3–3 Oberour Ar Moro

. Group G              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Cassadaigua            3   2  0  1    6   4  +2    6
2 Tikariot               3   1  1  1    8   6  +2    4
3 Oberour Ar Moro        3   1  1  1    6   6   0    4
4 Gnejs                  3   1  0  2    1   5  −4    3

Group H
Gatchingerrak Union 0–1 Savojarna
Southwest Eastnorth 0–0 Isle Noire

. Group H              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Savojarna              3   2  0  1    7   6  +1    6
2 Southwest Eastnorth    3   1  1  1    4   4   0    4
3 Isle Noire             3   1  1  1    5   6  −1    4
4 Gatchingerrak Union    3   1  0  2    4   4   0    3

Round of 16 draw
Ceni vs Darmen @ New Oxford Coliseum, New Oxford
Cassadaigua vs Southwest Eastnorth @ Volatus Millennium Stadium, City Centre
Eura vs Pridnestrovia @ Estádio International de Santiago, Santiago de Ceni
Savojarna vs Tikariot @ Southeastern Ceni Stadium, Whitehaven

[Greater Sanford]

“This was supposed to be my Copa.” D. Tommy Sanford seethed.

“I put together a national team for this Copa. I bid for this Copa. I did everything. And now — this?”

“Sir, our developers are working as hard as they can for as long as they can. We’re already on crunch. They’re working seventy, eighty hours a week—”

“Then why the hell don’t I see a product in front of me right now? A finished product?”

The developer Sanford hired stammered. He pounced. “I’m not paying you to make a video game worthy of God. I’m paying you to get the PREMIER name out there. We got a Juvenil, big whoopee, who the hell cares about a Juvenil? I’ll tell you how we can make an impression: we can put out a game. Do you know how many young people will see our brand? How many new customers we could get? How much money we could make over these customers’ lifetimes?”

“Tommy, please, there’s just no way we can—”

“How do you not understand yet that I don’t care?” Sanford screamed. “You’re telling me that Sanford could be eliminated by the time you publish this game! You’re telling me that half the nations in Rushmore could be eliminated by the time you publish this game! Well, I’m telling you to put this game out. I don’t care what fucking licenses or players or features you have. Don’t make a fucking career mode, don’t expand the grass textures, don’t make a fucking create-a-team or edit screen. If it’s just PREMIER teams, the SPL, and the Copa, get it out. Get it out of there and onto store shelves tonight. Get it fucking done, whatever the fucking cost.”

---

Overview: PFS! is meant to be a stand-in of sorts for PES. The developers don’t have the licenses to use official names, logos, or crests, or player or manager names, images, or likenesses.

Season mode: The season mode comes preloaded with a single licensed league: the Sanford PREMIER League. The mode features a full season of league play and all official club names, crests, and players. The Sanford PREMIER Cup and all international competitions, as well as any other nations’ leagues, have not been coded into the game, even in an unlicensed way. More than a single season cannot be played in a given save.

Quick matches: Quick matches can be played between two clubs or two national teams. Any two national teams can be selected to play each other in a quick match. Any two Sanford PREMIER League teams or other PREMIER-owned team outside Sanford can be selected to play each other in a quick match. Quick matches are the only opportunity to play with teams on team licenses, rather than the Sanford PREMIER League’s league license. Aside from the game’s Sanford PREMIER League leaguewide license and PREMIER club licenses, the game is completely unlicensed.

Tournament mode: Tournament mode features WCC and regional tournaments for national teams. Licenses are not needed for countries — neither the nations themselves nor their names are trademarked — but the game cannot use federation crests or other similar material, as those images are trademarked. So, real national teams — without actual player names, of course — are included in the game, simply without recognizable players or official crests.

Tournament selection: ICly, the Gold Cup, Silver Cup, and Bronze Cup are meant to represent non-trademarked knockoffs of the World Cup, Cup of Harmony, and Baptism of Fire, respectively. Likewise, the Goose Cup, Fox Cup, Tortoise Cup, Tiger Cup, Cobra Cup, and Leopard Cup represent non-trademarked versions of the regional championships of Rushmore, Anaia, Atlantian Oceania, Esportiva, Mandalanusa, and independent associations, respectively — a goose and a fox because they are, effectively, those regions’ de facto official animals; a tortoise, because it’s the longest living land animal; a tiger, because it fits with Esportiva’s colors; a cobra, because it’s native to South East Asia; and a leopard, because it’s a famously solitary animal.

Goose Cup team selection: The Goose Cup features all thirty-two nations participating in Copa Rushmori XLI. However, instead of the Ceni/Avon format, it adopts the Sanford format. The game was created to promote Sanford’s Copa Rushmori tournament, so Sanford’s format was left in place. Distinctive phrases like “Pavolan zone” or “panregional stage” may have been trademarked, so generic names are used instead, but the draw was geographic and the format is what the tournament would have looked like had the Sanford bid won. National federations may not agree to be included in a game such as this — perhaps particularly with a format they may not agree with — but the developers did not seek licenses, approval, or permission from any national federations. A federation cannot withdraw its permission if its permission was never sought. This is meant to be IC, but if anyone is upset by this, please feel free to talk to me about it.

Scorination information: Teams’ ranking points were used, with no RP, roster, host, or other bonuses included. I used a maxrank of 49.8 — the maximum possible regional ranking, if a nation somehow won every competitive match they played in World Cup Qualifying, the World Cup, and the Copa Rushmori for three consecutive cycles running — rather than a maxrank like 31.46 — the ranking points of the current highest-ranked team — to allow for greater variability, since RPs and rosters — and corresponding increases in the maxrank — will not give lower-ranked teams more of an opportunity against their higher-ranked opponents. Group stage matches had home advantage, and knockout matches were held at a neutral site without home advantage. I used the NSFS formula with style modifiers disabled for all Goose Cup simulated matches.

Miscellaneous: Let me know if you’d like access to any of the graphics I created, and I can get it to you. All unofficial national team crests are transparent and can easily be enlarged. All teams are ranked from one to five stars. For national teams, unranked teams are assigned one star; ranked pot four teams have two stars; pot three teams have three stars; pot two teams have four stars; and pot one teams have five stars.

Future: Let me know what you think of this and if you’d like to see any more along these lines. I’m not sure if I will make a sequel in the PREMIER Football Star! series, but if I do, I will likely open applications for any interested leagues, clubs, or national teams to be officially licensed. If there’s enough interest, I’ll probably start a forum thread in the next few days, just in case.

Enjoy.

Subregion allocation
Path A: Terranea (6), The Vatmark (1), Unknown (1)
Path B: Terramidia (3), The Goose Coast (3), The Southern Oceans (1), Unknown (1)
Path C: Tempalia (3), Oygruppen (2), Branta (2), Unknown (1)
Path D: Pavola (8)

Path allocation

Path       Avg.  Pt1  Rkd  Ttl
Path A     20.9    2    6    8
Path B     20.0    1    8    8
Path C     21.0    2    8    8
Path D     18.3    3    7    8

Group allocation

Group      Avg.  Pt1  Rkd  Ttl
Group A1   21.3    1    3    4
Group A2   20.5    1    3    4
Group B1   18.5    1    4    4
Group B2   21.5    0    4    4
Group C1   21.3    1    4    4
Group C2   20.8    1    4    4
Group D1   17.3    1    4    4
Group D2   19.3    2    3    4

Matchday One

Group A1
Ceni 0–2 Gatchingerrak Union
Valladares 1–4 Eura

  Group A1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Eura                     1   1  0  0    4   1  +3    3    —    —    —    — 
2 Gatchingerrak Union      1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    3    —    —    —    — 
3 Ceni                     1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0    —   0–2   —    — 
4 Valladares               1   0  0  1    1   4  −3    0   1–4   —    —    — 

Group A2
Cabo Azure 0–0 Nephara
Darmen 0–0 The Isles of Avon

  Group A2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Cabo Azure               1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1          —  — 0–0 — 
  Darmen                   1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1          —  —  — 0–0
  Nephara                  1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1          —  —  —  — 
  The Isles of Avon        1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1          —  —  —  — 

Group B1
Cassadaigua 1–0 San Isidro Labrador
Soldera 2–0 Yuezhou

  Group B1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Soldera                  1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    3    —    —    —   2–0
2 Cassadaigua              1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3    —    —   1–0   — 
3 San Isidro Labrador      1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0    —    —    —    — 
4 Yuezhou                  1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0    —    —    —    — 

Group B2
Captina Island 1–0 Mytanija
Xinhua 1–3 Astograth

  Group B2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Astograth                1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3    —    —    —    — 
2 Captina Island           1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3    —    —   1–0   — 
3 Mytanija                 1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0    —    —    —    — 
4 Xinhua                   1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0   1–3   —    —    — 

Group C1
Sargossa 2–1 Isle Noire
Eastfield Lodge 1–3 Oberour Ar Moro

  Group C1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Oberour Ar Moro          1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3    —    —    —    — 
2 Sargossa                 1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3    —    —   2–1   — 
3 Isle Noire               1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0    —    —    —    — 
4 Eastfield Lodge          1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0   1–3   —    —    — 

Group C2
Southwest Eastnorth 0–1 Pasarga
Brookstation 3–3 Gnejs

  Group C2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pasarga                  1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3    —    —    —    — 
2 Brookstation             1   0  1  0    3   3   0    1    —    —   3–3   — 
  Gnejs                    1   0  1  0    3   3   0    1    —    —    —    — 
4 Southwest Eastnorth      1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0   0–1   —    —    — 

Group D1
República Guanacasteca 1–2 Tikariot
Bollonich 2–2 Pridnestrovia

  Group D1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Tikariot                 1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3    —    —    —    — 
2 Bollonich                1   0  1  0    2   2   0    1    —    —   2–2   — 
  Pridnestrovia            1   0  1  0    2   2   0    1    —    —    —    — 
4 República Guanacasteca   1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0   1–2   —    —    — 

Group D2
Sanford 1–1 Græntfjall
Nyowani Kitara 1–0 Savojarna

  Group D2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Nyowani Kitara           1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3    —    —    —   1–0
2 Græntfjall               1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1    —    —    —    — 
  Sanford                  1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1    —   1–1   —    — 
4 Savojarna                1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0    —    —    —    —

Matchday Two

Group A1
Gatchingerrak Union 0–2 Eura
Ceni 2–4 Valladares

  Group A1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Eura                     2   2  0  0    6   1  +5    6    —    —    —    — 
2 Gatchingerrak Union      2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3   0–2   —    —    — 
3 Valladares               2   1  0  1    5   6  −1    3   1–4   —    —    — 
4 Ceni                     2   0  0  2    2   6  −4    0    —   0–2  2–4   — 

Group A2
Nephara 4–2 The Isles of Avon
Cabo Azure 0–2 Darmen

  Group A2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Nephara                  2   1  1  0    4   2  +2    4    —    —   4–2   — 
2 Darmen                   2   1  1  0    2   0  +2    4    —    —   0–0   — 
3 The Isles of Avon        2   0  1  1    2   4  −2    1    —    —    —    — 
4 Cabo Azure               2   0  1  1    0   2  −2    1   0–0  0–2   —    — 

Group B1
San Isidro Labrador 1–2 Yuezhou
Cassadaigua 2–1 Soldera

  Group B1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Cassadaigua              2   2  0  0    3   1  +2    6    —   2–1   —   1–0
2 Soldera                  2   1  0  1    3   2  +1    3    —    —   2–0   — 
3 Yuezhou                  2   1  0  1    2   3  −1    3    —    —    —    — 
4 San Isidro Labrador      2   0  0  2    1   3  −2    0    —    —   1–2   — 

Group B2
Mytanija 0–1 Astograth
Captina Island 1–1 Xinhua

  Group B2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Astograth                2   2  0  0    4   1  +3    6    —    —    —    — 
2 Captina Island           2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4    —    —   1–1  1–0
3 Xinhua                   2   0  1  1    2   4  −2    1   1–3   —    —    — 
4 Mytanija                 2   0  0  2    0   2  −2    0   0–1   —    —    — 

Group C1
Isle Noire 2–0 Oberour Ar Moro
Sargossa 2–1 Eastfield Lodge

  Group C1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Sargossa                 2   2  0  0    4   2  +2    6    —   2–1   —   2–1
2 Isle Noire               2   1  0  1    3   2  +1    3    —    —   2–0   — 
3 Oberour Ar Moro          2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3    —    —    —    — 
4 Eastfield Lodge          2   0  0  2    2   5  −3    0    —    —   1–3   — 

Group C2
Pasarga 2–1 Gnejs
Southwest Eastnorth 4–1 Brookstation

  Group C2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pasarga                  2   2  0  0    3   1  +2    6    —    —   2–1   — 
2 Southwest Eastnorth      2   1  0  1    4   2  +2    3   0–1   —    —   4–1
3 Gnejs                    2   0  1  1    4   5  −1    1    —    —    —    — 
4 Brookstation             2   0  1  1    4   7  −3    1    —    —   3–3   — 

Group D1
Tikariot 2–3 Pridnestrovia
República Guanacasteca 2–0 Bollonich

  Group D1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pridnestrovia            2   1  1  0    5   4  +1    4    —    —    —    — 
2 Tikariot                 2   1  0  1    4   4   0    3   2–3   —    —    — 
3 República Guanacasteca   2   1  0  1    3   2  +1    3    —   1–2   —   2–0
4 Bollonich                2   0  1  1    2   4  −2    1   2–2   —    —    — 

Group D2
Græntfjall 0–1 Savojarna
Sanford 2–4 Nyowani Kitara

  Group D2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Nyowani Kitara           2   2  0  0    5   2  +3    6    —   1–0   —    — 
2 Savojarna                2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3    —    —    —    — 
3 Græntfjall               2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1    —   0–1   —    — 
4 Sanford                  2   0  1  1    3   5  −2    1   2–4   —   1–1   —

Matchday Three

Group A1
Valladares 4–1 Gatchingerrak Union
Eura 3–1 Ceni

  Group A1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Eura                     3   3  0  0    9   2  +7    9    —    —    —   3–1
2 Valladares               3   2  0  1    9   7  +2    6   1–4   —   4–1   — 
3 Gatchingerrak Union      3   1  0  2    3   6  −3    3   0–2   —    —    — 
4 Ceni                     3   0  0  3    3   9  −6    0    —   2–4  0–2   — 

Group A2
Darmen 2–4 Nephara
The Isles of Avon 0–2 Cabo Azure

  Group A2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Nephara                  3   2  1  0    8   4  +4    7    —    —    —   4–2
2 Darmen                   3   1  1  1    4   4   0    4   2–4   —    —   0–0
3 Cabo Azure               3   1  1  1    2   2   0    4   0–0  0–2   —    — 
4 The Isles of Avon        3   0  1  2    2   6  −4    1    —    —   0–2   — 

Group B1
Soldera 2–0 San Isidro Labrador
Yuezhou 2–2 Cassadaigua

  Group B1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Cassadaigua              3   2  1  0    5   3  +2    7    —   2–1   —   1–0
2 Soldera                  3   2  0  1    5   2  +3    6    —    —   2–0  2–0
3 Yuezhou                  3   1  1  1    4   5  −1    4   2–2   —    —    — 
4 San Isidro Labrador      3   0  0  3    1   5  −4    0    —    —   1–2   — 

Group B2
Xinhua 1–0 Mytanija
Astograth 2–1 Captina Island

  Group B2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Astograth                3   3  0  0    6   2  +4    9    —   2–1   —    — 
2 Captina Island           3   1  1  1    3   3   0    4    —    —   1–1  1–0
3 Xinhua                   3   1  1  1    3   4  −1    4   1–3   —    —   1–0
4 Mytanija                 3   0  0  3    0   3  −3    0   0–1   —    —    — 

Group C1
Eastfield Lodge 2–3 Isle Noire
Oberour Ar Moro 1–0 Sargossa

  Group C1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Isle Noire               3   2  0  1    6   4  +2    6    —    —   2–0   — 
2 Sargossa                 3   2  0  1    4   3  +1    6   2–1   —    —   2–1
3 Oberour Ar Moro          3   2  0  1    4   3  +1    6    —   1–0   —    — 
4 Eastfield Lodge          3   0  0  3    4   8  −4    0   2–3   —   1–3   — 

Group C2
Brookstation 0–0 Pasarga
Gnejs 1–4 Southwest Eastnorth

  Group C2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pasarga                  3   2  1  0    3   1  +2    7    —    —    —   2–1
2 Southwest Eastnorth      3   2  0  1    8   3  +5    6   0–1   —   4–1   — 
3 Brookstation             3   0  2  1    4   7  −3    2   0–0   —    —   3–3
4 Gnejs                    3   0  1  2    5   9  −4    1    —   1–4   —    — 

Group D1
Bollonich 1–2 Tikariot
Pridnestrovia 4–2 República Guanacasteca

  Group D1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pridnestrovia            3   2  1  0    9   6  +3    7    —    —   4–2   — 
2 Tikariot                 3   2  0  1    6   5  +1    6   2–3   —    —    — 
3 República Guanacasteca   3   1  0  2    5   6  −1    3    —   1–2   —   2–0
4 Bollonich                3   0  1  2    3   6  −3    1   2–2  1–2   —    — 

Group D2
Nyowani Kitara 0–1 Græntfjall
Savojarna 0–1 Sanford

  Group D2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Nyowani Kitara           3   2  0  1    5   3  +2    6    —   0–1   —   1–0
2 Græntfjall               3   1  1  1    2   2   0    4    —    —    —   0–1
3 Sanford                  3   1  1  1    4   5  −1    4   2–4  1–1   —    — 
4 Savojarna                3   1  0  2    1   2  −1    3    —    —   0–1   —

Matchday Four

Group A1
Gatchingerrak Union 2–2 Ceni
Eura 1–1 Valladares

  Group A1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Eura                     4   3  1  0   10   3  +7   10    —   1–1   —   3–1
2 Valladares               4   2  1  1   10   8  +2    7   1–4   —   4–1   — 
3 Gatchingerrak Union      4   1  1  2    5   8  −3    4   0–2   —    —   2–2
4 Ceni                     4   0  1  3    5  11  −6    1    —   2–4  0–2   — 

Group A2
Nephara 2–1 Cabo Azure
The Isles of Avon 0–2 Darmen

  Group A2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Nephara                  4   3  1  0   10   5  +5   10    —    —   2–1  4–2
2 Darmen                   4   2  1  1    6   4  +2    7   2–4   —    —   0–0
3 Cabo Azure               4   1  1  2    3   4  −1    4   0–0  0–2   —    — 
4 The Isles of Avon        4   0  1  3    2   8  −6    1    —   0–2  0–2   — 

Group B1
San Isidro Labrador 1–5 Cassadaigua
Yuezhou 0–2 Soldera

  Group B1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Cassadaigua              4   3  1  0   10   4  +6   10    —   2–1   —   1–0
2 Soldera                  4   3  0  1    7   2  +5    9    —    —   2–0  2–0
3 Yuezhou                  4   1  1  2    4   7  −3    4   2–2  0–2   —    — 
4 San Isidro Labrador      4   0  0  4    2  10  −8    0   1–5   —   1–2   — 

Group B2
Mytanija 2–1 Captina Island
Astograth 2–1 Xinhua

  Group B2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Astograth                4   4  0  0    8   3  +5   12    —   2–1  2–1   — 
2 Captina Island           4   1  1  2    4   5  −1    4    —    —   1–1  1–0
3 Xinhua                   4   1  1  2    4   6  −2    4   1–3   —    —   1–0
4 Mytanija                 4   1  0  3    2   4  −2    3   0–1  2–1   —    — 

Group C1
Isle Noire 0–2 Sargossa
Oberour Ar Moro 0–1 Eastfield Lodge

  Group C1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Sargossa                 4   3  0  1    6   3  +3    9    —   2–1   —   2–1
2 Isle Noire               4   2  0  2    6   6   0    6   0–2   —   2–0   — 
3 Oberour Ar Moro          4   2  0  2    4   4   0    6   1–0   —    —   0–1
4 Eastfield Lodge          4   1  0  3    5   8  −3    3    —   2–3  1–3   — 

Group C2
Pasarga 1–0 Southwest Eastnorth
Gnejs 1–1 Brookstation

  Group C2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pasarga                  4   3  1  0    4   1  +3   10    —   1–0   —   2–1
2 Southwest Eastnorth      4   2  0  2    8   4  +4    6   0–1   —   4–1   — 
3 Brookstation             4   0  3  1    5   8  −3    3   0–0   —    —   3–3
4 Gnejs                    4   0  2  2    6  10  −4    2    —   1–4  1–1   — 

Group D1
Tikariot 1–1 República Guanacasteca
Pridnestrovia 4–1 Bollonich

  Group D1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pridnestrovia            4   3  1  0   13   7  +6   10    —    —   4–2  4–1
2 Tikariot                 4   2  1  1    7   6  +1    7   2–3   —   1–1   — 
3 República Guanacasteca   4   1  1  2    6   7  −1    4    —   1–2   —   2–0
4 Bollonich                4   0  1  3    4  10  −6    1   2–2  1–2   —    — 

Group D2
Græntfjall 3–0 Sanford
Savojarna 3–2 Nyowani Kitara

  Group D2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Græntfjall               4   2  1  1    5   2  +3    7    —    —   0–1  3–0
2 Nyowani Kitara           4   2  0  2    7   6  +1    6   0–1   —   1–0   — 
3 Savojarna                4   2  0  2    4   4   0    6    —   3–2   —   0–1
4 Sanford                  4   1  1  2    4   8  −4    4   1–1  2–4   —    —

Matchday Five

Group A1
Eura 2–2 Gatchingerrak Union
Valladares 4–0 Ceni

  Group A1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Eura                     5   3  2  0   12   5  +7   11    —   1–1  2–2  3–1
2 Valladares               5   3  1  1   14   8  +6   10   1–4   —   4–1  4–0
3 Gatchingerrak Union      5   1  2  2    7  10  −3    5   0–2   —    —   2–2
4 Ceni                     5   0  1  4    5  15 −10    1    —   2–4  0–2   — 

Group A2
The Isles of Avon 1–2 Nephara
Darmen 1–0 Cabo Azure

  Group A2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Nephara                  5   4  1  0   12   6  +6   13    —    —   2–1  4–2
2 Darmen                   5   3  1  1    7   4  +3   10   2–4   —   1–0  0–0
3 Cabo Azure               5   1  1  3    3   5  −2    4   0–0  0–2   —    — 
4 The Isles of Avon        5   0  1  4    3  10  −7    1   1–2  0–2  0–2   — 

Group B1
Yuezhou 3–1 San Isidro Labrador
Soldera 2–1 Cassadaigua

  Group B1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Soldera                  5   4  0  1    9   3  +6   12    —   2–1  2–0  2–0
2 Cassadaigua              5   3  1  1   11   6  +5   10   2–1   —    —   1–0
3 Yuezhou                  5   2  1  2    7   8  −1    7   0–2  2–2   —   3–1
4 San Isidro Labrador      5   0  0  5    3  13 −10    0    —   1–5  1–2   — 

Group B2
Astograth 1–1 Mytanija
Xinhua 1–1 Captina Island

  Group B2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Astograth                5   4  1  0    9   4  +5   13    —   2–1  2–1  1–1
2 Captina Island           5   1  2  2    5   6  −1    5    —    —   1–1  1–0
3 Xinhua                   5   1  2  2    5   7  −2    5   1–3  1–1   —   1–0
4 Mytanija                 5   1  1  3    3   5  −2    4   0–1  2–1   —    — 

Group C1
Oberour Ar Moro 0–0 Isle Noire
Eastfield Lodge 1–4 Sargossa

  Group C1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Sargossa                 5   4  0  1   10   4  +6   12    —   2–1   —   2–1
2 Isle Noire               5   2  1  2    6   6   0    7   0–2   —   2–0   — 
3 Oberour Ar Moro          5   2  1  2    4   4   0    7   1–0  0–0   —   0–1
4 Eastfield Lodge          5   1  0  4    6  12  −6    3   1–4  2–3  1–3   — 

Group C2
Gnejs 1–3 Pasarga
Brookstation 2–1 Southwest Eastnorth

  Group C2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pasarga                  5   4  1  0    7   2  +5   13    —   1–0   —   2–1
2 Southwest Eastnorth      5   2  0  3    9   6  +3    6   0–1   —   4–1   — 
3 Brookstation             5   1  3  1    7   9  −2    6   0–0  2–1   —   3–3
4 Gnejs                    5   0  2  3    7  13  −6    2   1–3  1–4  1–1   — 

Group D1
Pridnestrovia 2–0 Tikariot
Bollonich 2–2 República Guanacasteca

  Group D1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pridnestrovia            5   4  1  0   15   7  +8   13    —   2–0  4–2  4–1
2 Tikariot                 5   2  1  2    7   8  −1    7   2–3   —   1–1   — 
3 República Guanacasteca   5   1  2  2    8   9  −1    5    —   1–2   —   2–0
4 Bollonich                5   0  2  3    6  12  −6    2   2–2  1–2  2–2   — 

Group D2
Savojarna 2–0 Græntfjall
Nyowani Kitara 3–0 Sanford

  Group D2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Nyowani Kitara           5   3  0  2   10   6  +4    9    —   1–0  0–1  3–0
2 Savojarna                5   3  0  2    6   4  +2    9   3–2   —   2–0  0–1
3 Græntfjall               5   2  1  2    5   4  +1    7    —   0–1   —   3–0
4 Sanford                  5   1  1  3    4  11  −7    4   2–4   —   1–1   —

Matchday Six

Group A1
Gatchingerrak Union 0–5 Valladares
Ceni 0–4 Eura

  Group A1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Eura                     6   4  2  0   16   5 +11   14    —   1–1  2–2  3–1
2 Valladares               6   4  1  1   19   8 +11   13   1–4   —   4–1  4–0
3 Gatchingerrak Union      6   1  2  3    7  15  −8    5   0–2  0–5   —   2–2
4 Ceni                     6   0  1  5    5  19 −14    1   0–4  2–4  0–2   — 

Group A2
Nephara 3–2 Darmen
Cabo Azure 2–0 The Isles of Avon

  Group A2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Nephara                  6   5  1  0   15   8  +7   16    —   3–2  2–1  4–2
2 Darmen                   6   3  1  2    9   7  +2   10   2–4   —   1–0  0–0
3 Cabo Azure               6   2  1  3    5   5   0    7   0–0  0–2   —   2–0
4 The Isles of Avon        6   0  1  5    3  12  −9    1   1–2  0–2  0–2   — 

Group B1
San Isidro Labrador 0–3 Soldera
Cassadaigua 2–0 Yuezhou

  Group B1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Soldera                  6   5  0  1   12   3  +9   15    —   2–1  2–0  2–0
2 Cassadaigua              6   4  1  1   13   6  +7   13   2–1   —   2–0  1–0
3 Yuezhou                  6   2  1  3    7  10  −3    7   0–2  2–2   —   3–1
4 San Isidro Labrador      6   0  0  6    3  16 −13    0   0–3  1–5  1–2   — 

Group B2
Mytanija 1–1 Xinhua
Captina Island 0–2 Astograth

  Group B2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Astograth                6   5  1  0   11   4  +7   16    —   2–1  1–1  2–1
2 Xinhua                   6   1  3  2    6   8  −2    6   1–3   —   1–0  1–1
3 Mytanija                 6   1  2  3    4   6  −2    5   0–1  1–1   —   2–1
4 Captina Island           6   1  2  3    5   8  −3    5   0–2  1–1  1–0   — 

Group C1
Isle Noire 0–1 Eastfield Lodge
Sargossa 0–2 Oberour Ar Moro

  Group C1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Sargossa                 6   4  0  2   10   6  +4   12    —   0–2  2–1  2–1
2 Oberour Ar Moro          6   3  1  2    6   4  +2   10   1–0   —   0–0  0–1
3 Isle Noire               6   2  1  3    6   7  −1    7   0–2  2–0   —   0–1
4 Eastfield Lodge          6   2  0  4    7  12  −5    6   1–4  1–3  2–3   — 

Group C2
Pasarga 0–0 Brookstation
Southwest Eastnorth 3–0 Gnejs

  Group C2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pasarga                  6   4  2  0    7   2  +5   14    —   1–0  0–0  2–1
2 Southwest Eastnorth      6   3  0  3   12   6  +6    9   0–1   —   4–1  3–0
3 Brookstation             6   1  4  1    7   9  −2    7   0–0  2–1   —   3–3
4 Gnejs                    6   0  2  4    7  16  −9    2   1–3  1–4  1–1   — 

Group D1
Tikariot 2–1 Bollonich
República Guanacasteca 0–5 Pridnestrovia

  Group D1               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Pridnestrovia            6   5  1  0   20   7 +13   16    —   2–0  4–2  4–1
2 Tikariot                 6   3  1  2    9   9   0   10   2–3   —   1–1  2–1
3 República Guanacasteca   6   1  2  3    8  14  −6    5   0–5  1–2   —   2–0
4 Bollonich                6   0  2  4    7  14  −7    2   2–2  1–2  2–2   — 

Group D2
Græntfjall 0–3 Nyowani Kitara
Sanford 2–5 Savojarna

  Group D2               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
1 Nyowani Kitara           6   4  0  2   13   6  +7   12    —   1–0  0–1  3–0
2 Savojarna                6   4  0  2   11   6  +5   12   3–2   —   2–0  0–1
3 Græntfjall               6   2  1  3    5   7  −2    7   0–3  0–1   —   3–0
4 Sanford                  6   1  1  4    6  16 −10    4   2–4  2–5  1–1   —

Path Semifinals

Path A Semifinals
Eura 1–0 Darmen
Nephara 2–0 Valladares

Path B Semifinals
Soldera 0–1 Xinhua
Astograth 0–3 Cassadaigua

Path C Semifinals
Sargossa 3–2 Southwest Eastnorth
Pasarga 1–1 Oberour Ar Moro (1–1 AET) (3–2 pen.)

Path D Semifinals
Pridnestrovia 0–3 Savojarna
Nyowani Kitara 3–0 Tikariot

Path Finals

Path A Final
Eura 1–1 Nephara (1–2 AET)

Path B Final
Xinhua 2–1 Cassadaigua

Path C Final
Sargossa 0–3 Pasarga

Path D Final
Savojarna 1–0 Nyowani Kitara

Goose Cup Final Stage

Cup Semifinals
Nephara 1–1 Xinhua (2–1 AET)
Pasarga 2–2 Savojarna (2–2 AET) (4–5 pen.)

Third Place Match
Xinhua 1–1 Pasarga (2–1 AET)

Goose Cup Final
Nephara 2–2 Savojarna (2–3 AET)

---

[Cabo Azure]

Cabo Azure 4 - Xinhua 2

Starters:		Substitutes:													
Gomez			Valente												
Branco (C)		K Brandao (on 60')											
Medeiro			Costa												
Moniz (off 60')		Rego (on 80')											
de Lima			Cunha												
Rathbone		Silveira													
Lobo (off 80')		Fonseca												
Ferreira															
Gouveia (goal 11', 67')														
Corte-Real (goal 41')														
Cardoso (goal 56')

A strong effort leading to several firsts: Amilcar Branco's first match starting with the captain's armband, after Silveira was benched in favor of Os Dos Vascos; Marco Lobo's first start and Vitor Rego's first cap, both after Paulinho elected to rest Narciso Maciel; and Cabo Azure's first time winning a group in the Copa outright, discounting the statisticians' dream (or nightmare) that was Group D in CRXXXIX where Cabo advanced in first place based on head-to-head goal difference, the third tiebreaker.

Xinhua's counterattacks were sufficient to overwhem Cabo's defense, catching the wingbacks out of position on two occasions leading to the team's two goals. Their first game in answer to Gouveia's cracker of a goal in the eleventh minute, as Lim Tingyu burned de Lima badly and buried one in the top-left corner. The teams would remain gridlocked at 1-1 for most of the first half until Nicodemo Corte-Real got on the end of a cross from Ferreira and headed it past Sun.

With the score 2-1 coming out of the locker rooms, Cardoso managed to double the lead with a crafty full-volley that would have been deemed ill-advised had he not landed it; evidently a season in the Euran top league has taught the young man to take his chances where he can. No sooner had he finished celebrating, however, than the usually staunch Adao Moniz was caught flat-footed by Ng and gave up an easy shot at goal, putting the score at 2-3.

The teams reversed roles in the last half-hour, with Cabo Azure bunkering and Xinhua attempting to break them down. Gouveia scored again, a classic Gouveia meaningless goal, though in this case it served the function of allowing Azurean fans to breathe again. The Azureans will face their old foes Bollonich in the round of sixteen, on a team which may include several of the U18 players against whom Cabo Azure played its first friendly years ago.

”A Calma”, pt 4
Canarinho, Cabo Azure
“Uma Mah-ka-ree-ka, por favor,” the baby-faced Quebecois marine requested, his voice slightly giddy, as if he’d never ordered a beer before.

“Maçarica,” Amanda corrected.

“I’m sorry?” asked the marine in English. “Could I get a Mah-ka-ree-ka, please?”

“I heard you the first time,” Amanda told him evenly. “It’s pronounced Maçarica.”

“The young man would like a Maçarica,” said one of the other marines. This one was a little older and gave his buddy a rebuking look as he shouldered up to the bar.

“Coming right up.”

Amanda stooped to retrieve one of the ubiquitous golden cans emblazoned with the sandpiper. Brewed in Lagostim, the beer hadn’t been a symbol of Cabo Azure until the football team, apparently starved for inspiration, had adopted it as a mascot. Weak in flavor and low in alcohol, Maçarica’s main appeal had always been its ubiquity, to the point there were bars on smaller islands where it was all they served. Its color and water content offered comparisons to urine, but Quebecois marines lined up to drink it at the dive bars outside Camp Canarinho, and Amanda had to admire the hustle of the hawkers who’d taken to putting the logo on everything from trucker hats to metal signs and selling for marines to take back as souvenirs.

Thirty minutes later, Amanda had enough of baby marines ordering their ritual first Maçarica and stepped out the back with cigarettes in hand. The bar where she worked, the Ziggurat, was one of the few establishments in town that predated the arrival of the marines. The original owners had cashed out, selling the location and liquor license to a firm connected to the Silvas, which had in turn expanded the premises, adding an outdoor bar and a number of televisions showing Quebecois channels via satellite. Amanda had been a second-year at Maritime when the camp was established and had changed her major to real estate in an attempt to cash in on the subsequent boom. By the time she’d arrived, though, she’d found the Silvas had bought everything and were making a killing on leases while property values continued to skyrocket.

Unable to make ends meet, she’d seen a “help wanted” sign at the Ziggurat soon after it had sold and thought what the hell. She showed up to her interview in the high-waisted jeans, black block heels, and bright patterned blouse that were the uniform of the professional Azurean woman, which made her stand out from the teenagers in short shorts and tank tops, and they hired her on the spot. The promotion to “assistant manager” came soon after, which meant being the woman who told the new girls not to hook up with marines and then let them cry on her shoulder when they did anyway. In the intervening years, she’d seen thousands of marines come and go, but she’d grown attached to her one-bedroom apartment, her cat, and her daily jog past the boardwalk that had been under construction since she’d arrived.

“I’m sorry about them,” came a voice over her shoulder. “This new crop is especially young and retarded.”

The slur grated against Amanda’s nerves, and she fixed her eyes forward into the dimly-lit parking lot. Before she’d been coaxed by the bright lights and steady work in Canarinho, Amanda had been set on a career as a special educator, and she still hoped to return to it one day.

“Need a light?” asked the voice, now a dark shape in her peripherals. Padding the pockets of her jean shorts, she realized she did; she’d left the bar in a hurry and hadn’t grabbed one, leaving her standing outside mouthing an unlit cigarette like a fool. The flame appeared before she could request it, igniting the end of her cigarette in a puff of smoke.

“Thank you,” she said grudgingly. She didn’t need to look to recognize the marine from earlier, the one who’d ordered for his buddy. He smelled of beer and aftershave, though his speech was clear and he was keeping a respectful distance away from her. Years in Canarinho had honed her instincts where men were concerned, but she didn’t sense he was a threat. Lighting his own cigarette, he puffed out a mouthful of smoke in a resigned sigh.

“Thomas,” he offered.

“Amanda.”

They smoked for a minute in silence, Amanda taking a seat on the curb and watching brightly-lit pedicabs streak past, leaden with drunken marines. Pedicabs had overtaken the motor-driven variety when the density of traffic had squeezed out all but the most necessary of motor vehicles. A series of buses made loops around the camp, delivering marines to the front gate, where they would get on waiting pedicabs to start their nights out. Privately-owned vehicles, “pee-oh-vees” in the marines’ jargon, were an uncommon sight, limited to those with the rank and privilege to live off-camp.

When her cigarette was halfway burned down, Amanda asked: “What do you tell your friends?”

Thomas didn’t understand. “About what?”

“About this place. When you go back to Quebec, what do you say?”

“Just the boring stuff,” Thomas admitted. “PT, go to the field. Try to get promoted. Nobody needs to know their son or daughter is going hard three nights out of the week.”

“Why do you?”

“What, lie? Or omit?”

“No, why do you all go so hard?” Amanda heard herself ask the question before it was fully formed in her mind. It was something she’d always wondered; what drove the marines to the bars night after night, week after week?

Thomas took a long puff on his cigarette to disguise his thinking. “It’s hard to explain,” he hedged. “Part of it is that we’re here–the weather is nice, we’re away from home, and there’s nothing else to do. Nobody brings their families here.”

“What’s the other part?” Amanda prompted.

“There’s a sense,” he began, then trailed off. “Sort of like an undercurrent. Like we know something’s happening. Cassadaigua’s moving north, Pasarga sounds like it’s going to shit. We all kind of feel like we’re going to be going soon, and we have to get it in now, while we can.”

[Nephara]

Catch-up. They were left playing bloody catch-up from the off.
Chuck Dow was the main they had to keep quiet, and Radeka Lind did so, standing on his head for most of the game and attacking when she could. But Katherine Hall had been overlooked. No end product, said the scouts. Just a pace merchant; might have a future in a decent league someday, but not at 20.
But anyone can hit the right ball at the right pace, under the right circumstances. And Richard Marking gave Hall that right ball on a silver platter, denied a shooting angle but able to thread the ball into space vacated by Schrader. Hall's first touch simply had the velocity to beat Provost, and clanked in off the inside of the far post.
Didn't take long for reality to find a way to assert itself, though Sanford put up a bold fight to keep their result. Fossum was partnered by Ellen Bensom, a Nephar in the disconcerting position of playing against her homeland. Bensom had never been called up for Nephara at any level; indeed, her professional career had been in question at one point, and she'd opted to play university football abroad before returning to the lower tiers of the Nepharan pyramid. But she was hard-bitten and resilient, and more than willing to dig in and give Cassander Southsea a good kicking. No sign she had any split loyalties tonight. Maybe she wanted Cantor to get the job, too.
Unfortunately for her, it was from one of those kicks that Nephara found their way back to the game. The foul lead to a set piece that Severine Reed dropped on Scales' head, the Brinemouth centre-half overpowering Spitznagel to nod the ball past Matthius.
Lind made it two not long after, taking a brief break from shepherding Dow to link up with a Crowcombe cutback and lash it low past Matthius. The PREMIER goalkeeper rallied, an excellent double save denying Vetiver, then Harper in quick succession, and just before half-time he was called into action to help a perfectly-weighted, dipping strike from Southsea over the bar.

Look, they needed to win, and they were winning. It wasn't their most fluid performance, but it was getting the job done. Right up until the hour mark - where neither side had particularly threatened to add to the scorecard - before, on the hour mark, Marking chalked up his second assist of the game. This one was easier than the other; he just needed to fall over, with a helping hand from a Clevinger ankle-tap. Clever movement induced a rare error from the defender, and it was ruthlessly punished, Gullickson having... his penalty saved, actually, but the referee saw plainly that Provost had snuck about half a yard off her line and booked her for dissent in the aftermath. Gullickson went the same way a second time, and Provost saw it coming, but with a better strike from Gullickson and Provost's heels now glued to the goalline, the scores were level once again.
Now both sides sent on the players they hoped would make them a difference. A double-substitution from Sanford was followed up by a triple-substitution from Nephara, which somehow involved four Nepharim arriving. Uther Johnson lumbered on, another Nephar from the third-tier looking a little bashful to be here. Unlike Bensom, he accomplished nothing. Fredrickson replaced Fossum and made a few tidy passes.
Koeller had a bit more muscle on the bench. Anharbour had already come on just before the goal - hadn't actually had a touch before it was converted - but she was now joined by Kvasina on the other flank, out of her natural position, March in the centre and the oft-maligned Davor Kurtishi up front. At least he was on for Harper, this time, not Vetiver.
Koeller had fifteen minutes to keep her job, and she was going to do it as herself, damn it.
All three hit their marks. March ran the show in midfield, easily skipping past teal shirts. Kvasina, playing a drifting, flexible role, unsettled Broin, a very different prospect to the conventional Marinca or the direct Crowcombe. She quickly tested Matthius with a couple of low drives, fairly well and reliably repelled or blocked by shirts.
Ultimately, though, as time ticked away - seven minutes left! - Kvasina looked up and saw what Koeller prayed she'd see: not the opportunity to play heroine, but to play the right ball instead.
She found it. Drove inside Broin, twisting the poor man's blood, before a diffident little chip that seemed as slow as anything but somehow was weighted perfectly for Davor Kurtishi, a fast, powerful man who was not about to let anyone get in his way with momentum on his side, to hit it down with his chest, keep up with it as it rolled and lamping it past Matthius before Spitznagel could close him down.
3-2. 3-2, at blessed last. Sighs of relief. Albatrosses off necks.
Well, all but one, until injury time. Vetiver got on the mark, too.

Nephara 4 - 2 Sanford
(4-4-2) 1 - Provost; 2 - Schrader, 5 - Clevinger (18 - Copperhead 86'), 6 - Scales, 3 - Lind; 13 - Reed (7 - Anharbour 61'), 4 - Constantine, 19 - Southsea (8 - March 76'), 16 - Crowcombe (23 - Kvasina 76'); 21 - Vetiver, 10 - Harper (9 - Kurtishi 76')
Goals: Scales 19', Lind 33', Kurtishi 84', Vetiver 90+1'

Suspensions: Constantine, Scales

Lineup vs. Yuezhou
(4-4-2) 1 - Provost; 2 - Schrader, 5 - Clevinger, 24 - Sevet-Stokes, 3 - Lind; 13 - Reed, 19 - Southsea, 8 - March, 11 - Marinca; 21 - Vetiver, 10 - Harper

[Mytanija]

MYTANIJA 2-1 BROOKSTATION
MYT: Skara 19’, Prpic-Bosanac 62’

MYT: 12. Puzin; 14. Kapetanovic, 15. Radozevic (c), 16. Pestotnik (sub. Sulejmanovic 81’); 13. Bajalica, 18. Aganovic (sub. Zmiric 81’), 19. Urbanc (sub. Ozmec 65’), 17. Vujovic; 20. Shishkin; 21. Prpic-Bosanac, 22. Skara

Dzvezdan Kitanchev could be satisfied with his team’s group stage performances. A much rotated Mytanija went 2-0 up against Brookstation before conceding a late consolation goal from Johannes Kehr. Drazen Skara and Fran Prpic-Bosanac, the young strike pairing which appeared to be the future heirs to the Ocokoljic-Gannot partnership, both got themselves on the scoresheet – continuing fine form which saw them hit 18 in 33 international appearances between them up until then. One more apiece did the strike rate no harm and Kitanchev could be especially confident in that area of the pitch with the personnel available to him going forwards.

There were international debuts for Anton Puzin and even for Ismet Zmiric off the bench as Kitanchev looked to give some of the big names a well-deserved rest following the no-nonsense 2-0 victories over the Isles of Avon and Sargossa. The new manager didn’t want to see any of his big names injured for the knockout rounds, but it also gave him the opportunity to cast an eye over the likes of Dordo Urbanc and Edin Aganovic. Svetoslav Radozevic got a chance to captain the national team, too, with all the usual wearers of the armband off the pitch. Maks Shishkin and Slobodan Vujovic got assists, it was a real chance to get a feel for who could play a pivotal role in the latter stages of the Copa Rushmori.

Mytanija would play Soldera in the Round of Sixteen, a match-up which had the sports media back home salivating. It seemed one of the easier potential ties and there was a growing feeling that this could be a chance for Mytanija go on a deep run in the competition, although that feeling had existed many times before and only ever led to one triumph in the Copa. Supporters were hungry for success but nobody wanted to get ahead of themselves either. Kitanchev relayed all the old adages: that the team would take it one game at a time, that they wouldn’t look beyond their next opponent and that they had a long way to go.

Kitanchev definitely preferred his team’s side of the draw, though. A win over Soldera would leave Mytanija up against the winners of Cabo Azure versus Bollonich. That’s a path which anybody would have taken coming into the tournament, even despite Cabo Azure upsetting the Hoops in very recent memory. Græntfjall and Sargossa was a tantalising encounter at this stage of the tournament; and then the Nepharans would try to avoid being upset by a difficult Yue team. Kitanchev didn’t mind not having to play any of those four teams.

He shook his head gently, no point worrying about them at this stage. Soldera were next up and the days he had before then were an opportunity to work on the slightly more direct style which he wanted to implement. His second-string did it expertly against Brookstation, with the wing-backs bombing forward and causing all manner of issues. However he would now need more performances like the Sargossa one, where in the decisive moments a player in a hooped shirt made the difference. His team played with no pressure against Brookstation because there was none. There would be a lot more in every game that Mytanija would play from here on. Digging out the Sargossa blueprint could be the key.

---

Elena Katalenic had aged a fair bit since her seminal journalism on the Gentleman Thief Tomica Vjeranovic had rocked the Policija’s investigation into the Central Art Museum heist, where four of Mytanija’s most famous artworks were stolen in the dead of night. That had been over fifteen years ago, Katalenic was no longer the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young reporter who was eager to make it at one of the country’s most read publications. It had sent her star soaring into the night sky, her editor adored her and she became one of very few journalists who were actually known by their name instead of their stories.

She had aged, but Elena was quietly happy with how she looked physically, at least. She looked over her face carefully in the mirror, there were a few wrinkles around the eyes and mouth but her skin was very healthy and she rather liked how the lines made her appear a little older and wiser. She had seen a lot over the years, it was only right that her body started to show it. Elena hadn’t stayed at Gazeta Mytanija ever since the Gentleman Thief story, she had been head-hunted by the Thessia-based weekly investigative journalism magazine Epoha. They had been impressed with her work at the more regularly tabloid Gazeta Mytanija and felt that she could be a good fit.

It turned out to be the best decision she had ever made. In the years since she had broken several stories, but perhaps the most high-profile were an investigation into the corrupt sale of the Akademija sports club’s football arm by the Provisional Government and FSM; an exposé on the hypocritical sexual practices of several politicians who promoted anti-LGBT policies; and a long read on the substandard working conditions experienced by employees at Vatasva automobile factories across the country which led to record-breaking fines for the company from the sectoral regulator. Elena was proud of her work at Epoha, she had been offered promotions to roles such as Contributing Editor, but each time the offer came she just asked to be given more freedom as a Features Writer. Epoha were only too happy to oblige, even apologetic that they couldn’t give her a larger pay rise given the quality of the pieces she continued to produce.

That was how she now found herself researching Mytanar organised crime to a level which she hadn’t since the Gentleman Thief days. Over the past couple of weeks she had trawled the internet, academic books and newspaper articles to learn as much as she could about the structure of the Mytanar underworld, the key groups and big names from all over the country. It was quite a disparate system, varying by city and region, but she felt a little more confident in her knowledge now to where she had been a couple of weeks back. That was something, at the very least. Elena looked down at her notes, shuffling the pages a little, she read the handwritten titles on each piece of paper: ‘Thessia’s Five Families’, ‘The King of Ebor’s drug scene’, ‘The Esca Administration’, ‘Miago’s Preloznjak family’, ‘The Mytanar Mafija overseas’.

It didn’t matter where in the country she looked, a phrase seemed to come back to the fore every time organised crime came up: (ta / ova) naša stvar, ‘this thing of ours’. She had read about brutal punishment beatings and revenge killings, audacious attempts to raid rival territory and an atmosphere of fear which the politicians and Policija either couldn’t or wouldn’t do anything about. Elena had lived a highly middle-class lifestyle over the years, she knew that it was unlikely that she would normally notice any of these things, more common experiences in the poorer neighbourhoods of Mytanija’s major cities. The closest she came to it were friends who dabbled in party drugs calling their dealer to a flat party or something of that ilk, but the effect of these organised crime groups was enormous and there was a culture of silence which made it very difficult to know just how deep and far-reaching their influence went.

Were politicians on the payroll? Policija chiefs? Customs and immigration officers? It was impossible to know, though Elena believed that there would be many in those sort of roles who definitely were being paid to turn a blind eye to things. It was common sense.

The reason why Elena had been put onto all this was perhaps the most interesting thing of all. An anonymous tip-off, the sort of thing which Elena had tried to rely upon less and less as she became more established, but the sort of thing which really whet her appetite all the same. It had set out how the Mytanar Mafija – in as much as it was a Mafija, rather than the manifold separate groups that operated in a similar way – had ramped up overseas operations in the last five years, particularly in Rushmori nations with large Mytanar immigrant communities. Eura was one nation which was specifically affected, with the organised crime groups involved in various moneymaking schemes… illegal drugs, gambling, you name it.

The interesting part of the tip-off was about how these organised crime groups maintained internal discipline. In Eura, where most major cities have a large Mytanar population, the criminal organisations draw their membership mainly from those immigrant communities. They prefer to keep things among themselves, using language and culture as something of a mask and policing themselves to monitor anybody who doesn’t toe the line. If a member of the group did something which the bosses / higher-ups disagreed with they might send them for a punishment beating or kneecapping and people would be too scared to report them to the local police. That was more or less the same as what happened in Mytanar cities.

The real interesting part of the tip-off was about how the crime groups dealt with those who were understood to have done something ‘unforgivable’. It set out how the supposed wrongdoer would be kidnapped, taken from their home and straight to an airport. The supposed wrongdoer would be told that they were returning to Mytanija with other members of the criminal enterprise, that they should cooperate and pretend that it is simply some Mytanar pals or family going for a holiday back home. If they fail to do so they are made to understand that their family members still in Eura would be tortured and murdered. When back on Mytanar soil they would be punished for their supposed wrongdoing, usually by being killed and buried in some Mytanar Conflict mass grave. Occasionally they may be asked to commit a particularly brutal crime as part of the retribution taken against them. The tip-off didn’t mention any specific examples but simply said that some of the very worst crimes in Mytanija in recent years had been carried out this way.

But the most interesting part of the tip-off was the part which suggested that the Mytanar organised crime groups in Eura had felt so emboldened in recent times – thanks to the failures of policing and border control in both countries – that they were starting to kidnap even Euran-born Mytanars this way. Euran citizens. Politicians in Eura might not give a flying fuck about a cheap Mytanar immigrant who was there to do a job which a Euran would prefer to avoid, who made a bit of cash on the side through illicit means and ended up crossing the wrong person. But they surely would care about Euran citizens of immigrant origin being kidnapped, taken overseas and ending up dead or forced to commit heinous crimes. That would be something of a stain on their supposedly integrated multicultural society.

Elena was intrigued, something which made her feel a little disgusted at herself, but it certainly felt like there was something to get to the bottom of here. She had done it many times before, but part of her wondered if this was a story which perhaps didn’t need to be told, she was in her early 40s now and there was the old line about people getting older and beginning to understand danger better. She shook her head. That wasn’t what she was in this job to do. She rummaged among the stacks of paper and picked up her phone, finally she located what she was looking for, a torn piece of paper with an old friend’s number on it.

Elena typed it into the phone. She would need all the help she could get with this story, she didn’t even know if there truly was a ‘story’, but her old friend could perhaps at least get her to the start of it.

[Southwest Eastnorth]

Hostile Ultras at odds with SWNFA head
excerpt from http://www.swensport.com

CENI - There's danger looming over the Southwest Eastnorth national team and it's not a Round of 16 match-up versus Cassadaigua. There are reports coming from Auberlein that Southwest Eastnorth might withdraw from the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers. Alfonso Bryant has openly stated that if fan behavior doesn't improve, Southwest Eastnorth will withdraw from the upcoming World Cup 92 qualifiers. During a game a handful of days ago, the Southwest Eastnorth Pioneers played a game versus the National Team of Savojarnia. Several years ago during the Copa Rushmori XXXVII, a last second shot off the foot of Jekaterina Smolov sent Southwest Eastnorth packing for home with a third place finish in their group. Had the game ended in a 0-0 draw Southwest Eastnorth the Pioneers would have made it to the Ro16 for the second time in their fourth ever CR and third in the modern age. Needless to say this had mad fans bitter and angry towards the Savojarna national team, but at the same time, this was an incident that took place a long time ago and in fact can even measured in a measurement of "a dozen".

For several SWEN Ultras, this 12 year old memory is still fresh in their brains and the second the groups were announced fans went one of two directions. Most fans were happy for a re-match, and said they wanted to see SWEN complete some "unfinished business" and in fact #unfinishedbusiness was a common hashtag on twii.tur. The issue lies with the fact a large chunk of fans, who would for all intents and purposes be considered a "vocal minority", were vehemently chewing out Savojarna and most went as far as saying that Savojarnia and Tikariot had colluded together to knock out Southwest Eastnorth. This theory was easily disproven, but it's still a common held theory amongst fans as former SWEN head coach Jayson Rox, but as we know, Jayson Rox is the "unreliable narrator of Southwest Eastnorth football".

This lead to Alfonso Bryant calling out the Ultras in public and the fans fought back calling for his resignation. This meant little though, as Bryant still has the larger support of the SWEN national team fanbase, but the Ultras have yet to back down. It all came to a head during the Savojarna versus Southwest Eastnorth when before the start of the game the Southwest Eastnorth ultras, having unified in their ticket purchases had gotten all the tickets across the way from Alfonso Bryant's press box. When they got their they all brought out Mosiac boards that formed a giant middle finger and had the caption "Alfonso this is for you -The True SWEN fans". The ultras named "True SWEN fans" has always been one of the biggest lies in SWEN history.

The game ended in a 4-3 loss for the Pioneers, a fitting egg on the face of the ultras. While there were no confirmed reports of bad behavior, especially given the game was a bigger blowout than the scoreline indicates and that is exactly the game many were sadly expecting. A lot of talk and unfulfilled promises from SWEN's fanbase. But in the end this Copa Rushmori does end better than CR XXVII. A 0-0 draw with Isla Noire saw the teams draw for second place and with the Goal Difference in Southwest Eastnorth's favor they will head to the Round of sixteen, where they will be greeted by defending champion Cassadaigua.

Harbors 52' 84' Barnett III 90+2 Southwest Eastnorth 3-4 Savojarnia Ehlers 22' 64' Poulsen 59' Warnbush 73' (OG)

Southwest Eastnorth 0-0 Isle Noire

[Cassadaigua]

Fillies Must Save The Online Chat Community,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Up next for Cassadaigua as they try to defend their Copa Rushmori championship is the nation of Southwest Eastnorth, a nation that defeated Cassadaigua 3-1 in the quarterfinals of Copa Rushmori 35. Naturally, this was a great result for the still young nation at the time. However, I’m told that people who frequent online chats often that fans of Southwest Eastnorth constantly mention this result, even with it having happened over a decade ago. Sarah Discordia, of Brattleboro wrote in that, “You would try to have a conversation with one of them, even if it was not about the Copa Rushmori and lo and behold, the result of that particular Copa Rushmori always seems to come up. They think about it constantly while personally, I have long forgotten about it because we have done so many great things since then." Xander Appareia, or Concord Heights, agrees, “I think it is just a case that they have not done much in international sports, but yet have this result against us, that they use it as a sort of pride. You don’t have as many wins under your belt, so that one means a lot more. But to keep mentioning it is kinda silly, especially when you see how far we have gone in pretty much every Copa Rushmori since that one.” Both agree, and say that many will share the thought, that if Southwest Eastnorth defeats Cassadaigua again, that their fans will double down on mentioning the result at every possible moment. Discordia went on to say about the game that, “The sanctity of online international sports chats is at stake with this result. It’s not just about a game and not only about us. It’s about the sports fans of all nations, nations that would normally be neutral in a game like this, or even want to support the underdog. It’s about saving them from having to read continuous reminders of the game, over and over again for decades. Please, Fillies, do it for all of us!”

Cassadaigua comes into the match with following a 1-0 loss to Gnejs. We did not officially cover the game prior to it to international readers (though local readers knew where to get coverage), due to it being very busy here at the Concord Heights Times offices, and a general feeling that “we should probably beat Gnejs, so if we don’t beat Gnejs, it’s because the powers to be (often referred to as Margaret) we never going to be nice and decided they were going to screw around with us regardless, and any little boost we may have gotten before the match would not have been able to stop that”. So, since we were way too busy here, our management decided to take the approach that we did. Since Cassadaigua had wrapped up (realistically) their advancement prior to the match, manager Brittany Byers went with a very conservative lineup, giving both Chloe Anderson and Rachel Boldin the game off from starting, and allowing Allyson Perry and Carly Patterson a chance to start up front. On the middle, Marquis Miles and Lori Garland started in place of Kelsey Werth and Krystal Sherwin. While it was good to see players get a chance to play, it was very clear that they were not used to playing together as the passing was not crisp. Cassadaigua controlled ball possession in the first half, but did not do much with it. Things did not improve in the second half. After the game, Byers told reporters, “If you want to put this on me, go ahead. But we have to give a chance to other players, and this was a golden chance to do so. Sometimes, when you do that, you get a result like this. It’s not because of a lack of ability, but several players that have not had a chance to play with one another all that often. And that matters. It matters a whole lot, because if you are half second too late to make a pass, for example, then that can be the difference between the defender getting their to stop the play, or the pass getting through. Timing comes with playing together. I am aware of the risk, but if you don’t give them the chance to play together, then you’ll never get that rhythm.” The expected starting lineup will be back on the field against Southwest Eastnorth, so expect no confusion about the direction of passes, or any other little things that go into a match.

Meanwhile, our political writers here at the Concord Heights Times are preparing to write pieces about Princess Brianna and Queen Cassie III declaring the annexation of the northern territory to be fully complete. I won’t get in the way of that article, and certainly it does not mean peace and stability are fully in place, but it would mean that they feel the border is secure. We have not heard much from “The River Republic” since Brianna was put in charge of the Northern Territory, so that is good news for us. I have had fans write in to me and wonder about the sports programs that will come into play up there, and honestly I have no idea. There is a lot of infrastructure improvements that need to be done before we can think about building sports stadiums, but it should be exciting. With the North Cassadaigua entry coming in the World Baseball Classic, we will get a little chance to see the sporting ability that exists up there. More than likely, though, Cassadagan coaches would have to commit to going up north and starting programs from scratch. We’ll see what all comes with it.

[Sargossa]

The atmosphere was electric. Although that may have been partly due to the nearby trans dimensional portal, which doused one side of the Gateway Stadium in an eerie blue glow. Within the metal and glass construct the crowd were having a wonderful time. Most of them at least. The look on the face of Sargossa coach Slavko Jelic as he stalked back to his dugout was not that of a man having a lovely time. His side had looked home and dry. Then the Ceni based Scottie Chambers had breezed in from the right hand side before unleashing a rocket into the top corner with what is presumably his weaker left foot. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, let’s rewind just a tad.

The match between co-host nation The Isles of Avon and Sargossa was effectively a straight win or die shootout to determine who would join Mytanija in advancing from Group A. The Mytanars had already beaten both nations to secure their own passage, and Brookstation were playing now for mere pride. The Eagles, despite their status as hosts, had no real Copa pedigree. The Corsairs were five time champions of Rushmore. They played like five time champions too, with Mateo Manzanares twice denied in the opening stages by some smart work from Travis Bride. But there was little Bride could do about Manzanares’ third effort. Which owed huge thanks to Juan Esteban Collazo and a slice of fortune. The CDSA midfielder made a powerful run down the centre, all the way into the penalty area. As he shaped to shoot the experienced Jake Elway Jr slide in to knock the ball off of Callazo’s toe. But he and Bride could only watch as the ball rolled into the path of Manzanares, who duly tapped in the opener.

It was comfortable for Jelic’s side. As perhaps it should be given one side was the five time champions of Rushmore and the other was selected via social media. Adrian Soriano opened his international tally with a smart header from Pablo Alarcón’s corner to make it two. There could have been a couple more as the half ticked on but some of the social media picks weren’t half bad as it turned out. But the first half ended with Sargossa in control and with one foot in the last sixteen.

Then it happened. Four minutes into the second period, and possibly with coach Harrison di Angelis’s words still ringing in their ears, the Eagles got right back into the tie. Scottie Chambers, whose day would be truly memorable, was causing issue down the right flank. He beat Alfonso Barrueco all ends up before whipping in a devilish cross. Big Iván Franco stuck out a boot but got his angles all wrong and instead diverted the ball past Alejandro Martínez and into the net. Still, no need to panic. The side were still ahead against a national team that had been, if I may remind you, crowd sourced. But the goal had woken up the crowd, who’d seemed a little subdued at two goals down. Now they were enjoying it again. Pretty soon they’d be really enjoying it. Because eight minutes later Scottie Chambers had his second big moment and suddenly everything looked different. Everything looked rosy, albeit with a blueish tinge. Suddenly it was The Isles of Avon who were advancing into the last sixteen. With their national side that had been, once again, voted on by social media users.

But this was senior international fixture number one thousand one hundred and thirty for Sargossa’s national side. You don’t compete for that long without appreciating the fluid nature of this game. It was a game of peaks and troughs. The Eagles were soaring above a peak. But there was a trough hurtling towards them. Jelic hauled off Martín de la Cavallería and replaced him with Marcos Águila. It signalled a tweak in system as the midfield destroyer Águila planted himself next to Callazo, allowing Enrique González to push forward into he number ten position. And previous number 10 position incumbent Pablo Alarcón to partner Manzanares in a front two. The switch worked and Manzanares got a second after Águila had robbed Ron Hampson in the centre and found González who threaded a perfect ball forward for the Dínamo Maturín frontman.

Now the mood turned sombre again. Now The Eagles had to find another gear. Forward they flocked but Barrueco and Tobías Figueroa on the flanks were dropping back to make a very familiar looking defensive five. The attacks become more desperate, until that oh so common tale that had been repeated on a thousand football pitches across several dimensions. As The Isles of Avon pushed forward they got caught cold on the break. The Corsairs had a three man to two advantage as the clearance found Manzanares. While González peeled away with one defender in tow the striker played he ball across for Gustavo Alcocer to calmly finish beyond the reach of Bride. It was impressively calm given the teenager had only replaced Alarcón mere moments earlier and had yet to register a senior international goal. Until that moment just then.

With the coup de grâce administered Sargossa could now look ahead to the knockout stages, where the full ramifications of that defeat to Mytanija now come sharply into focus. While the Mytanars are rewarded with a last sixteen tussle with Soldera (there are no easy fixtures, et cetera yadda yadda yadda and so forth. But that is an easy fixture), Sargossa are crashing headlong into reigning champions of the sportiverse Græntfjall. The hope is that the appointment of new coach Ingþór Auðbjörnsson leads to a tiny bit of a departure from their World Cup winning momentum of not that long ago. Although given the ease with which the Snow Wolves breezed through the group stage that seems unlikely.

[Trans-Dniesters]

“Is the parabolic microphone ready?” Major Kumilyova asked over the radio.

“Up and running, Major,” replied Senior Lieutenant Ravil Ivanovich Yanenko. He and Sergeant Boris Nikolayevich Sorbariyev were located on another hill overlooking the same village that Major Kumilyova and Captain Klimov had been observing for the past few hours. Yanenko and Sorbariyev had a large dish the size of an umbrella mounted on a stand in between the two Airborne troopers, and that dish was connected to a device similar to a laptop computer that was recording all of the audio being captured by the parabolic microphone. Yanenko and Sorbariyev themselves had on a pair of earphones each to listen in on the conversation.

“Remember, make sure that neither the Colonel nor his lady think that they’ve been followed here,” Kumilyova reminded her men. “We need to keep them at that place until our Ceroatian friends have fully assembled their forces. Call me or Slava at the first hint that Ovchinnikov thinks that something is up.”

“Yes, Comrade Major,” Yanenko nodded before turning his attention back to the parabolic mike. “Fifteen years we’ve been doing this shit, Nikolay’ch,” he said to Sorbariyev. “Fifteen years we’ve been doing this, and no matter where we go, we still end up doing pretty much the same thing in the end.”

“What are you complaining about now, Rav’ya?” Sorbariyev asked back. “If you ask me, I prefer these stakeouts and snatch-and-grab ops to the last one we just did.”

“The last one started off as just a simple snatch and grab too, remember,” Yanenko said. “That was before we found out Chudovsky was actually one of those fucking alien things. And even then, that was still one slippery son of a bitch that we were after. Remember when we tried to nab him in Novy Nish? All the intel said that he was going to be at that house. We compartmentalized almost every single part of that op, and we even took into account the inclusion of the Ceroatians. He might as well be a ghost given how easily he managed to slip through the cracks! Although, if you think about it, Chudovsky is a ghost now because that’s not even the real Chudovsky anymore but the alien who took over his body.”

“Da, that’s certainly messed up no matter how you look at it,” Yanenko agreed. At that moment, the vehicle that Yanenko had been tracking with his own field glasses stopped in front of an unremarkable single-story building that looked similar to all of the other buildings in the village. A person stepped out of the vehicle and looked around, as if trying to search for potential eavesdroppers in the area. Yanenko used that moment to take pictures of the individual. The camera immediately uploaded the pictures onto the laptop, and Sorbariyev compared those to official images of Leander Ovchinnikov. “Positive ID,” he said. “We’ve got Ovchinnikov.”

As Ovchinnikov went into the building, Sorbariyev turned to Yanenko and said, "I'm telling you, Ravil, I don't want to see another alien again so long as I live! I've had enough of those slimy bastards. I don't want to see them anymore, I don't want to fight them anymore, and I don't want to even think about them anymore!"

"Join the club, Nikolay'ch," Yanenko muttered as he slid his earphones back on. "This might sound very weird or even downright crazy but I actually like it that we're back to fighting other humans again. Probably makes me sound like an alien myself, I know. But at least we know how to fight against other people because that's what we've been trained to do. We were never trained to fight aliens! Heck, we didn't even know aliens were actually real until we made contact with those tripod things in the Southern Province. And we've never trained to fight those things before! Heck, we still don't know how to beat them without those microwave weapons from the KGB or the GRU. I know that apparently Commander Riley has some sort of deal going with the aliens to stop the fighting, but we should be doing something, anything, to prepare in case the aliens go back on their word."

"How much damage can they do to us if they did?" Sorbariyev asked. "The EMP that Rina called in on Duboynye did an absolute number on the aliens' tripods. I heard that they can't even get those things moving again, which is why they were so quick to sue for peace with the Ceroatians. Even if they wanted to backstab us, the aliens just don't have the equipment to do it. And if they did, we'd just turn them all to goo anyway."

“Quiet!” Yanenko suddenly said, raising a hand to shush Sorbariyev. "I think they're talking to each other." He increased the volume on his earphones even though he knew that the subjects were talking in Ceroatian. Ceroatian and Pridnestrovian were two distinct languages, but there were enough similarities between the two that someone who was fluent in Pridnestrovian could understand almost half of what a native Ceroatian speaker was saying. That being said, Yanenko still wished that they had an interpreter with them for this part of the operation, but those would be coming in with the main Ceroatian force assigned to bring in Ovchinnikov with as little bloodshed as possible.

Sorbariyev made a few more adjustments to the parabolic microphone before putting on his earphones as well and listening in alongside Yanenko. "What are they talking about?"

"Why are you asking me? I'm not a translator!" Yanenko shot back, but despite that he increased the volume a little more. "I think the Colonel is asking about… his rock? No, that can't be right. No, his son! Of course he's asking about his son. Why would he ask a question about his rock?"

The two of them listened in on the conversation between Colonel Ovchinnikov and Kseniya Yevdokiyeva, and while both of them spoke rapid-fire Ceroatian, Yanenko could still piece out a few bits and pieces. Colonel Ovchinnikov had come down to this village at the request of Yevdokiyeva after the latter had told the Colonel that their son Randall had been picked up by the "invaders from the mainland," the Movement for a United Ceroat under the command of Miroslav Riley. The Colonel was understandably concerned about the welfare and condition of his son, but he was also concerned that the invaders were using his son to lure him out of hiding and away from his base in the northern part of Rabely Island. Thus Ovchinnikov had repeatedly asked Yevdokiyeva if she had been followed to this village, to which the woman said that she was sure that she didn't have a tail before initiating contact with the Colonel. The discussion between Ovchinnikov and Yevdokiyeva had shifted back to Randall Ovchinnikov and how the Colonel was starting to think about hatching an escape plot for him when Yanenko and Sorbariyev heard soft footsteps coming up from behind them. Yanenko turned around with his AKS-103 ready but was relieved to see two familiar faces walking to their position. "Captain, Lieutenant," Yanenko said in greeting as he and Sorbariyev saluted the Ceroatian newcomers.

"Lieutenant, Sergeant," Captain Rachel Kirilenko and Lieutenant Eduard Vladislavovich Lambert said, returning the salutes. "Do you have confirmation that Colonel Ovchinnikov is in that building?"

"Affirmative," Sorbariyev nodded. "The Lieutenant here made the positive ID. Here are the pictures if you want to see them for yourself." He fiddled with the laptop and put up the gallery of pictures taken from Yanenko's camera and put them up alongside the pictures of Leander Ovchinnikov taken from the official database. As Kirilenko examined the pictures, Lambert knelt down on the ground beside Yanenko and asked him, "What are they talking about right now?"

"I think they might be talking about how the Colonel can break Randall Ovchinnikov out of wherever he's being held by the Movement," Yanenko replied. "However, my Ceroatian is rusty so I can't be too sure about that. You can listen to it yourself and tell me if I got it right or wrong," the Pridnestrovian said as he offered his earphones to Lambert.

"Yes, that is indeed Leander Ovchinnikov," Captain Kirilenko said once she was finished with the pictures. "Looks like we've finally got him where we want him."

"Where's the rest of your men, Captain?" Sorbariyev asked.

"They're moving out to their own positions, Sergeant," Kirilenko replied. "They should be making contact with Major Kumilyova and Captain Klimov and the rest of your men."

"Good," Sorbariyev nodded. "We'll need all the help we can get. I hope that your men can keep up with the Airborne Forces."

"That shouldn't be too hard," Kirilenko said confidently. "We've already fought alongside one of your motor rifle regiments. We should be fine."

"Captain, I think you should hear this!" Lambert suddenly called out. Kirilenko walked over to him and asked, "What is it?"

"I think Ovchinnikov is getting antsy," Lambert replied, and then he offered to Kirilenko the earphones that were given to him by Yanenko. "He's getting more and more suspicious," Lambert added.

Kirilenko listened to the audio being picked up by the parabolic mike, and she wore the earphones for only a minute or two before she tore them off and said, "He's getting suspicious. We need to move quickly before he slips out of our grasp. Lieutenant, where's your radio? I need to talk to Major Kumilyova."

Yanenko picked up the field radio beside the laptop and handed it to Kirilenko. The Ceroatian captain pressed the push-to-talk button and called out, "Major Kumilyova, this is Captain Kirilenko."

"This is Major Kumilyova," the commander of the Pridnestrovian unit said back. "Go ahead, Captain."

"The colonel is getting suspicious, Major. He sounds like he wants to bolt. I need you to tell the men to get ready because we are getting ready to come in."

"Understood, Captain," Kumilyova said. A few minutes later, the radio crackled again. "All units, prepare to move in on the target building. The subject is getting ready to leave. We need to keep him here at all costs. Do not open fire. I repeat, do not open fire. Fire warning shots only outside the building. No firing inside. If either subject tries to escape, do not open fire on them. Use your weapon as a club to push them back inside. Remember, the Ceroatians want him alive."

"Roger, understood."

"Eddie, tell the men to get ready," Kirilenko ordered, and Lambert ran off to follow that order. She then looked at Yanenko and Sorbariyev and said, "Eddie and I will lead, and you two will follow. Understood?"

"Yes, Captain," both Yanenko and Sorbariyev nodded as they cocked and chambered a round into their rifles.

Kirilenko waited for Lambert to return before she gave the fateful command: "Move out."

[Graintfjall]

Græntfjall – 4 (2)
Björnólfur; Alyssia, Eyvar (64’), Arinbjörn, Jasmijn; Amanda, Tinni (60’ Tom ), Johanna (c); Vanessa (12’) (63’ Röskvi ), Jason (58’) (76’ Ásvarður (80’)), Sara (33’)

República Guanacasteca – 1 (0)
(84’)

Why don’t Græntfjall use three-at-the-back formations? As they prepare to meet Sargossa, a team that traditionally does, the question has come to the fore again. Græntfjall’s traditional surfeit of quality center backs has meant there’s never been a squad that couldn’t suit up a first choice XI with three international calibre center backs in the lineup; Arinbjörn Markusson, who got a run out against the República Guanacasteca as Grímúlfur Gunnþórsson was rested to avoid aggravating a niggling back injury, and Tom Ernestisson, who appeared as a substitute defensive midfielder, are two such players who might have double the national team caps to their name had there been an extra CB spot available. Yet outside Eagle’s Cup experimentation or the odd youth tournament, Græntfjaller national teams have rarely taken to the field with three-at-the-back, even as the formations have become very popular in the GPL, helped by the success Baker Park’s Will Barnard has had playing a 3-4-2-1 variant at Gunzlach. The only major tournament where the Snow Wolves played with three-at-the-back throughout was CR37. The controversy then over dropping Emeli Vilbertsdóttir overshadowed the admitted truth that they didn’t play that badly, going undefeated through the group stage, but a third straight Round of 16 departure, to Nephara, effectively spelled the end of the experiment.

Discerning observers consider Vilbertsdóttir one of Græntfjall’s greatest ever players, but with her having retired, the next spate of full-backs appear more suited to wing-back roles, with both Jasmijn Spiderlair and Alyssia Noahsdóttir comfortable going forward. With traditional wingers like Robin Harrysson and Lana Mensdóttir seemingly still out of favor, it raises the question of whether three-at-the-back could return. Though there’s little in Ingþór Auðbjörnsson’s coaching history to suggest he’d resort to such formations, he does have plenty of options at center back, with much anticipation for the promotion of Asbjørn Vilbjörnsson in particular. Counting against it, perhaps, is Græntfjall’s second traditional strength, defensive midfield. At CR37, the use of three defensive midfielders in front of three center backs (Álfar Ásvaldursson, Kalle Bjørnsson, and Jade Miansdóttir) arguably proved overkill. There are plenty more options there, too, but the newly attacking brand of football under Thor doesn’t seem an obvious fit for a formation that would pack eight defensive players behind the ball. Besides, Tinni Grímólfursson has been genuinely world class since graduating to senior football and is a better option than any third center back, for now.

The question comes at a moment of unwanted uncertainty at the position for the Snow Wolves. Assuming Gunnþórsson is fit again for Sargossa, he will have a new partner, either Markusson or Ernestisson, because Eyvar Matthiasson showed a touch of inexperience in picking up a needless cheap booking in the blowout win over Los Cerdos and will be suspended for a game. That moment aside, Mathiasson has played very well and looks like a captain in the making, so it will be frustrating for Thor to enter the gauntlet of the Round of 16 – a stage that the Snow Wolves boast an 0–5 record in, never having advanced to a CR quarterfinal despite having won every other major football tournament – without his first choice XI, a worry that will be compounded if Kæja Finnvarðsdóttir, who also sat out the game with an ankle bruise, does not clear fitness. Græntfjall and Sargossa have met only once before, surprisingly. That came in CR38, when the Corsairs claimed a 2–0 win in the Round of 16 (of course). Ominously, that came after the only other time Græntfjall have won all three games in their CR group stage.

Two center backs have worked well enough for the Snow Wolves to make it this far with a 100% record; two center backs worked well enough to win a Baptism of Fire, a Cup of Harmony, and a World Cup, too. But if the battle of three-versus-two goes on historic form and the Round of 16 once again bests a Græntfjaller coach, except the next World Cup cycle to see renewed questions about formations. Change could be coming, even to a conservative country that seems to be deep in a cycle of reaction and retreat at the moment.

---

Græntfjall delivers ultimatum but “will not act before AOCAF MD1”

The Emirate of Jabal Akhdar must surrender Prince Hakim el-Masri to Græntfjaller custody, with the White Winter Queendom formally naming the Akhdari royal as the “mastermind” of the Steinaux terror attacks. But Prime Minister Kaija Michaelsdóttir has also indicated she will not engage in a “response” should the Emirate fail to deliver the terrorist ringleader, who is the cousin of Crown Prince Siddeeqi Ghaazi, prior to MD1 of the AOCAF Cup. In remarks delivered in front of an increasingly crumbling fourth wall, the Prime Minister said she was “prepared to give Jabal Akhdar time to muster a response, and maybe get a roster in too”, while also denying that military plans could be frustrated by “our chronic inability to get past the Round of 16” in the Copa Rushmori. With rumors the Prince may already have fled to Kkaputtstan, she further clarified that she “was not waiting two sodding years for the next Campianato, bugger that”.

The Græntfjaller Intelligence Bureau last night released video footage of Abdulaziz Mahmudov [sometimes referred to as Abdulaziz Mahmudsson], the Kkaputtstan-born ringleader of the Steinaux terror cell, meeting with Hakim el-Masri, purported leader of the el-Masri terror network (also known as Wahash Bahriun ’Usturiun) a shadowy organization whose very existence has been the subject of some debate in the intelligence community. The group has been blamed for terror attacks on civilians as well as on Græntfjaller and Ha’Yaroki military and security personnel, but hard proof of its operational structure remains elusive. “The many tentacles of Wahash Bahriun ’Usturiun have extended throughout the international community, striking with terror wherever they land, and last month, they landed in Steinaux,” said GIB Deputy Director for Dodgy Dossiers Michael Gilbertsson. “This video footage clearly establishes a link between [Hakim] el-Masri and the Steinaux attackers.”

Siddeeqi Ghaazi el-Masri came to power in Jabal Akhdar nearly 8 years ago, seizing control while his father, the Emir Abdul Hakeem al-Masri, was in Kotzellach for surgery. He detained and executed many members of the government and extended royal family, including his half-brother, the Emir’s designated successor Prince Abdul Jabbaar, Minister for Economic Development, Infrastructure, and Oil. Prince Bassaad, formerly Head of the Akhdari Development Bank, was exfiltrated purportedly with the assistance of Græntfjaller intelligence personnel and has since led a government-in-exile of sorts from Græntfjall, fiercely critical of his brother’s actions. Despite this, Jabal Akhdar has become a reasonably well established member of the international community under [Siddeeqi Ghaazi] el-Masri, including hosting international football tournament AOCAF Cup 66 and buying, through its AOPIC investment arm, a football club in fellow Atlantian Oceanian nation Banija. Despite rumors of repression orchestrated by the Crown Prince’s personal Shurib security guard, the Emirate has mostly been able to assert its place at the international table.

Controversial anti-terrorism reform bill passes Thing after Left-slate rebellions

Over fifty members of the Left-slate parliamentary grouping crossed the aisle to vote with the government on the Securing Quality Uniform Intelligence Regarding Terrorism (SQUIRT) Act, dooming leader Ingiberg Leifsson to a lonely vote against with a handful of loyalists. The crushing majority for the legislation will ensure it will pass “without due scrutiny” according to critics from the Græntfjaller Civil Liberties Union, who said they were “heartbroken” that a former member of their organization [Prime Minister Kaija Michaelsdóttir] was now “abandoning her principles” to pursue “a deeply disturbing course of violation of civil liberties”. Michaelsdóttir said the SQUIRT Act was “an incredibly important step” in addressing terrorism, pointing out that Græntfjall’s anti-terror legislation had “never been adequately reformed” following the fall of the Union. “The Union’s regressive State Security Law was justly disestablished but the Thing never got around to passing new comprehensive terrorism legislation,” she said in introducing the bill.

The SQUIRT Act codifies new standards defining terrorism and criminalizing acts in support of terrorism, creates special new penalties for attacking mass transportation systems, and creates the first national definition of “cyber-terrorism”. It also greatly reforms the intelligence apparatus of the Græntfjaller state, gives police, military and intelligence authorities new powers in detaining and interrogating terror suspects, and creates a financial sanctions regime that Michaelsdóttir says is “sweeping and progressive in one”. Even critics of the current bill have in the past agreed that the “piecemeal” nature of Græntfjall’s existing terrorism legislation is badly outdated and that the Kitaran Crisis, during which attempts to legally sanction Nafuna Akongo and KPWC bank accounts foundered, had exposed the need for reform. “But the SQUIRT Act goes too far, eroding crucial protections of civil liberties against unjust search and seizure and inching us towards a surveillance state,” says Leifsson.

The Left-slate leader led a lonely battle to oppose the legislation, but said he was “not totally unsympathetic” to the plight of his party members who rebelled against him. “We have the tabloids saying everyone opposing this bill is unpatriotic, I have members receiving letters from grieving widows and children, the state of public debate on this has been woeful,” he said. “I can understand some of the votes in favor, but I fear that in time they will have cause to regret granting the government such broad and unchecked powers.” He also argued that it was not Michaelsdóttir himself he feared, but that “whoever came next” would inherit “the same broad legal latitude”. He scathingly asked his party members how they would feel if a Blue-Green or NDF government came to power with the powers contained in the SQUIRT Act encoded in law, but was able to persuade few to join his cause. With the Blue-Greens voting in lockstep with the government, and only two libertarian rebels leaving the Liberal-Conservative Alliance caucus to vote against, the bill faced no serious opposition and will be swiftly signed into law by the Queen.

Uncertainty over holding terror suspects on Queendom soil sets eyes roving abroad

Justice Minister Kamí Himinljómadóttir has admitted it “may be difficult” to effectively detain and interrogate “international terror suspects” in the Queendom, leading to suggestions Græntfjall may seek out foreign sites as holding facilities. “Perhaps some land between the rivers, a nice little Bay,” she added, impromptu. Himinljómadóttir referenced the heightened security at the Black Rock castle in Hofvinger Bay, where KPWC general Gustav Isaksson is being detained for a life sentence. “We have daily patrols, significant technological infrastructure, and it all adds up to a major investment to imprison one man. If we start detaining hundreds of terror suspects, that may quickly move beyond our means of securely holding them in the Queendom proper.” She later clarified that “hundreds” was “just a turn of phrase”. While Græntfjall has previously detained Bundoko terror suspects from the Dara Islamic Liberation Front (DILF) in Græntfjaller Multinesia, the long distance and unclear location of the archipelago which isn’t even on the Rushmori map, I mean jeez, makes it a less than ideal location. Himinljómadóttir denied such sites would be used as an attempt to circumvent national laws on torture adding that that was “merely a delightful bonus”.

• NEWS: Prime Minister meets with Cabinet to discuss Akhdari situation
• BUSINESS: Airline stocks continue tumbling as travellers exhibit wariness
• POLITICS: Left-slate MTs burned in effigy by protestors and counterprotestors alike
• SCIENCE: First GANAX launch resumes from cosmodrome
• SPORT: Pavolan Hockey League announces Sanford expansion

[Ceni]

Copa Rushmori 41: Group Stage Roundup

San Isidro Labrador 0-2 Ceni
Glasvyrn; Windtide, Lorechian (c) ('52, Sontebren ), Guri-Montague; Kymeri, Renning, Kirchner; Koromin, Santa Oria ( '60); Cyn-Penzag, Falkenrath ('75 Arrowsword, '90+3)

Even though Ceni came into the Copa Rushmori without any ranking points at all, manager Luke Longstar decided to rest his key players for the tougher matches against Pridnestrovia and Nyowani Kitara and send mostly youngsters out into battle. Longstar had previously reiterated his stated goal to experiment with formations during this CR, but for this match, Longstar stuck with the same old, same old 3-3-2-2 that he had utilized during the World Cup, figuring that the two wingers up front would help to defuse the defensively-oriented 3-5-2 that San Isidran manager Eliseo Alguacil would employ.

From the get-go, Ceni aimed to harry the Isidran defense as much as possible. But the first half proved largely uneventful as San Isidro largely suffocated Ceni's attempts to get the ball past their wide-ranging midfield. Forays usually worked like this: Avi Renning, Zane Kirchner, Asher Koromin, or Marco Santa Oria would spend an inordinate amount of energy showing off their youthful exuberance in front of Novoa and Fonseca, only to run into Moret, Godoy, or Lombardi in the second line. Then Moret and Godoy (the two wingers in the Isidran formation) would try to advance forward, only for Renning and Kirchner to quickly retrieve the ball with their ball-handling skills. By this account, both teams looked "insane": doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

During halftime, though, Longstar gave his midfield a passionate talk about the meaning of said word, so the offensive tune changed. Now, Koromin and Santa Oria would try to position themselves at the same level as the Isidran second line to receive a pass; Renning, Kirchner, and Kymeri would do their best to advance the ball to Koromin and Santa Oria, even if that meant conceding some possession and some space on the pitch to an advancing Isidran attack. This strategy started to prove dividends until Liam Lorechian collapsed on the pitch (figuratively, not literally), giving San Isidro an opportunity on goal (which Leo Glasvyrn thankfully saved). To preserve the aging Lorechian's stamina, Longstar substituted the youngster Zarel Sontebren, and the game went on.

Things picked up from there, and only seven short minutes after Lorechian exited the field, Longstar's rejiggered midfield strategy paid dividends. On the left side of the pitch, Ariana Guri-Montague successfully intercepted a pass from Masimiliano Moret. She quickly passed it to the center to cut off the swarming Isidran midfield, which had advanced somewhat; Avi Renning passed it up to Asher Koromin, who had occupied Moret's usual haunts on the field. Koromin and Marco Santa Oria then advanced up the field, finally engaging the Isidran defensive line; quick and short passes were the name of the game. Suddenly, Santa Oria found himself in front of the goal. Taking his time, Santa Oria launched a missile to the right edge of the goal — and it rocketed past goalkeeper Kalikrates Sorriqueta. And Andrew Arrowsword added a second goal after he replaced a largely ineffective Sascha Falkenrath, deftly weaving around the Isidran midfielders who had proven an obstacle in the first half, rushing past Sorriqueta, and tapping the ball into an open goal.

With the team largely not relying on the older stalwarts and the younger players in the midfield holding their own, the game showed that younger players like Marco Santa Oria and Leo Glasvyrn can take the heat — so they'll probably get a chance to stay in the kitchen. But it also showed that perhaps Ceni's youth pipeline could develop more strikers, given that the younger players seem to stack up in the midfield. Ultimately, though, it gave Ceni three valuable points — and a confidence boost — ahead of two tougher matchups.

Ceni 3-3 Pridnestrovia
Morales; Turich-Albertson, Lorechian, Morroghany; Kymeri, Valaran ('45, Renning '55), Swan ('45, Kirchner); del Toro, Onasi; Lorennion ( '23), Arrowsword (c) ( '74) ('75, Corvalán)

If the Cenian team in the San Isidro Labrador match represented a bold, young crop of talented Cenians, the starting lineup in the match against Pridnestrovia represented the "old fogeys" with an average age of just under 30. Cenian players have tended to peak physically younger than other nations, so this relatively old starting lineup did worry some pundits beforehand. But then again, Pridnestrovia had the same problem, so Cenisport wouldn't have the youth versus experience trope to play up: It would be one wizened team playing against another wizened team. (It should be said, though, that Pridnestrovia does not compete in the World Cup, only regionally, so their "wizened" team might be a little less wizened than Ceni's wizened team.)

In contrast to the San Isidro Labrador match, which saw a first half largely devoid of action, the Pridnestrovia match saw action right from the get-go as the midfield started swarming the Cenian defensive line as opposed to the Isidrans, who proved more content to simply absorb Cenian attacks. Maksim Gurkin started off matters after the Pridnestrovian midfield sliced through the Cenian defense like a hot knife through butter, setting him up nicely for a one-on-one shot after four interlopers left the Cenian defense overstretched. (With apologies, Cenisport will not be using the Pridnestrovian patronymics in this article.) But another similar attack in the first half backfired on Pridnestrovia as Miri Windtide blocked Ivan Tereschenko's weak attempt and sent the ball into a now suddenly barren midfield. This time, the Cenian midfield overwhelmed the Pridnestrovian defense as Jasper Valaran's pass found Ben Lorennion, who touched the ball into the goal.

Halftime saw one substitution as Avi Renning replaced Valaran, despite the latter's assist to Lorennion. But Valaran had started to look more and more sluggish as the midfield battles intensified, and manager Luke Longstar suspected that some youthful energy might aid the midfield. In the same vein, Longstar substituted Alison Swan for Zane Kirchner. The switches paid off as Kirchner and Renning, teammates from previous Di Bradini Cup campaigns, paired off exquisitely to avoid the Pridnestrovian defense and establish a 2-1 lead for Ceni. But that quickly evaporated as Pridnestrovia quickly recovered, enough to notch a goal by Vladislav Fokin. (Let's hope the Pridnestrovians don't pronounce it like its... slightly unsavory homonym in English.)

The final goal exchange came with more than 15 minutes left in the match. Andrew Arrowsword notched his second goal of the tournament and then immediately requested to be subbed out, with Longstar picking César Corvalán, who had otherwise not seen much action; Pridnestrovia retaliated with a strike from Ivan Tereschenko, coming out from the midfield. And just like that, the final whistle blew. Ceni had not won the match outright, but it had not lost either (well, that's what a draw is, folks). Against a smaller team like San Isidro Labrador, it might have been a crippling blow; against the number six team in the Rushmori rankings, though, it was a sigh of relief.

Ceni 0-0 Nyowani Kitara
Morales; Windtide, Lorechian ('45, Farthen ), Guri-Montague; Kymeri ('80, del Toro ), Valaran, Renning, Swan; Koromin, Santa Oria; Arrowsword (c) ('45, Cyn-Penzag )

Unfortunately, Cenian fans got their least favorite kind of match to round out Ceni's group stage match: a scoreless draw. Would a Nyowani Kitara victory have been preferable? Perhaps, if it had been a goalfest and the Pavolan nation had won by exactly one goal. So perhaps Ceni had an incentive to park the bus, but that certainly would have gotten boos in the packed 85,000-seat Halcyon National Stadium. And so they did what they always did: attack like no tomorrow. In this match, though, Longstar trotted out his long-awaited formation rejiggering by replacing forward Ben Lorennion with an additional midfielder, Avi Renning in this case.

Perhaps this change explained the lackluster attacking performance in the first half, as the ball lingered in the midfield more than it usually does in the Cenian attack. Perhaps the explanation came from an unusually strong defensive performance from Kitaran right back Omollo Ayange, who had recently returned to the national team after several years of banishment for political reasons. Indeed, Ayange proved more than a match for Asher Koromin, his coeval on the left of the Cenian midfield. Or perhaps Andrew Arrowsword sank the team with several wild misses, prompting Longstar to substitute him out for Iain Cyn-Penzag at halftime.

Unfortunately, the substitution did not do much to revive Ceni's sagging fortunes. Felix Farthen had also replaced a wilting Liam Lorechian on the defense, and he led several spirited pushbacks against Kitaran offensive maneuvers. Despite Farthen's best efforts, though, Nyowani Kitara had several close attempts on goal that either slightly missed the mark or forced Juan Pablo Morales to make a diving save. By the eightieth minute, Longstar had tired of the stalemate, so he replaced defensive midfielder Miri Windtide with attacking midfielder Adrián del Toro with hopes of forcing a resolution to the game, preferably in Ceni's favor.

Well, as you know, dear reader, that did not force a resolution. Twelve minutes later, the final whistle blew; nobody had scored. Nevertheless, Ceni had advanced to the Round of 16. Thanks to a last-minute goal by San Isidro Labrador in their game against Pridnestrovia, Ceni would emerge as the top team in the group.

[Eura]

COPA RUSHMORI 41 GROUP F - MATCHDAY 3
Astograth 2–7 Eura
Scorers:
Robson 20, 44, Woodman 22, 63, Sharp 38, James 78, West 85
Lineup:
30. J Hewitt
4. J Menard
15. K Sherwood
5. T Green
8. V Robshaw (sub Stewart 65)
16. O Vincent
11. B Malone (sub James 72)
7. M Woakes (sub West 70)
18. A Woodman
17. A Sharp
9. S Robson

---

The Spartan:
EURANS CROWN GROUP STAGE WITH DISPLAY OF MAJESTY

It was a right royal rumble at the Lake Cenial Stadium as Eura anointed themselves as the winners of Group F with a heavy victory over Astograth, the second such beating of one of Eura’s oldest Rushmori rivals since Rushmore’s great aristocracy returned to international football. An initially quiet twenty minute period starting the game was rudely interrupted when Directus striker Stewart Robson powered his way past Irakusne Hecharri and Alarabi Labeaga to fire home the opener. Just two minutes later, Adam Woodman proved his credentials for a return to the starting lineup with a superb volley, after being set up nobly by Alex Sharp, who was in a good scoring position himself. Lajuno right back Oxarra Peira kept Eura’s sovereign dominance of the game under question with an abrupt intervention in the 27th minute, rifling home from outside the area for Astograth.

However, barely ten minutes later Eura’s two goal lead underwent a great restoration as Sharp was rewarded with a deserved goal, even if it was just a tap in. An imperial Eura made it 4-1 before half time when Robson bagged his second, heading in from a beautiful Vincent Robshaw free kick, as Eura’s choice of two conquering kings in the central midfield (rather than a defensive option like Jermaine Gates) was rewarded. Almost as soon as the second half had begun, Astograth were fighting back again and had another goal back via the right foot of Yokin Erdokiain, but Woodman put this rebellion to bed in the 63rd minute with his second. Owen James and Ben West would later come on as substitutes to score two more – West getting his first on a journey to becoming Euran footballing royalty – securing a 7-2 win and a place in the knockout stages. If they perform well there you’ll be getting more puns from this author, though if I make you cringe too much the editor might send me to the guillotine.

---

The Brigham Herald:
CHADWICK CONDEMNS STEINAUX HORROR, BUT GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO CHALLENGE HATTMARK’S TROUBLING DIRECTION

Foreign Secretary Eloise Chadwick has condemned the “appalling, senseless act of murder” that was the Steinaux terror attacks in Graintfjall and expressed the sympathies of the government for Graintfjaller Prime Minister Kaija Michaelsdóttir and her entire nation. She made the comments to the media during a press conference about a new Euran trade deal with Austroslovakia last night and was clear that Bastion was open to any requests for “assistance” made by the Hattmark regime. When challenged on apparent disputes between the two countries in recent years, Chadwick denied that her comments represented any change in outlook, noting that Eura would always back Rushmori countries against the spectre of international terrorism, and dismissed previous Eura-Graintfjall tensions as “relatively insignificant…and irrelevant to this [terrorist] horror, which can affect any one of us.”

The Euran Prime Minister, Harry Barnham, is thought to have expressed private condolences to Michaelsdóttir through the embassy in Hattmark, but the Euran government has been quieter on the growing calls in Nyowani Kitara’s northern neighbour for a military response, with sources in Blackhall indicating the Euran state wants to steer well clear of the issue beyond the usual calls for diplomacy and restraint. Graintfjall blame the attacks on a senior royal in the Emirate of Jabal Akhdar – and, in effect, that state as a whole – and are reportedly contemplating using force to resolve the situation. Some analysts fear that would start a devastating and unnecessary conflict driven by ulterior motives, with Hattmark alleged to be looking for reasons to create regime change in the emirate. Such an eventuality could also cause instability in Atlantian Oceania and conflict between powers across regions, with Banija having significant economic links to the emirate.

There is also criticism in the Euran parliament from some opposition politicians for the lack of comment on the passing of new and potentially worrying authoritarian legislation in Graintfjall. Civil liberties groups, libertarian and left-wing politicians in the country have denounced the newly introduced Securing Quality Uniform Intelligence Regarding Terrorism (SQUIRT) Act as a blunt tool, nominally required to fight terrorism, but actually representing a disproportionate attack on personal freedoms. Even some backbench MPs from the governing Social Party have reportedly told Barnham that Eura should be doing more to defend human rights abroad.

However, such a stance from this or any Euran government should not be surprising. Aside from Eura’s own controversial record in policing annexed Sameba, this country’s political culture has normalised heavy handed security policies and mass surveillance over the years, to the point that human rights group Liberty! described Eura as “the most sophisticated surveillance democracy in Rushmore”, adding, “therefore, most Euran politicians and the wider public will sadly be looking at Graintfjall’s backwards steps and thinking ‘good’, rather than sounding the alarm”. And with the Social government looking to push a flagship set of health and welfare reforms through parliament, they will have little appetite for challenging their core voters and backbenchers on such views.

---

The Red Star:
RIVER REPUBLIC STRIKES FURTHER BLOWS AGAINST DAGAN IMPERIALIST RUNNING DOGS

Grovelling servants of the empire of Cassadaigua that make up the ranks of their baby-killing military were dealt a deadly shock yesterday, as a Dagan military helicopter was destroyed by the anti-fascist resistance of the River Republic. The heroic rebels of the Cooper River region, who have been fighting a small insurgency against Dagan rule since revealing themselves to the world a year ago, have so far been unable to mount many large-scale attacks on the imperialists. Now, though, they have upped the ante. A cell of rebels struck down the aircraft with a man portable air defence system (MANPADS) near the regions northern coastline.

Dagan sources claim the incident was only possible due to the supply of a Euran-made weapon to the locals, which the milquetoast liberal centrists in Bastion deny, almost certainly untruthfully. For now, those committed to the people’s cause must stomach our reservations about the role of our decrepit and deceitful regime, which sows chaos abroad only for the interests of the capitalist class at home. This is because their interference plays right in to the hands of those abroad who share the cause; by arming the River Republic for short term gain, they are simply fuelling a people’s revolt in the Cooper River region that will soon end with a socialist republic established by Cooperites themselves.

Leading the Cooperites is a man who all of us can admire, Alain Poitou, reportedly the figurehead of the Republic - and target number one for the pink-clad butchers and their masters in Concord Heights. Poitou has reportedly amassed tens of thousand of followers and, fuelled by hand-me-down Sameban and Euran arms, has mounted a brave resistance with little other than sheer willpower and the workers blood, sweat and tears. Just last week the Republic was visited by comrades from Eura’s Civil Federalist Party, the leading voice of the Left in Eura, though they were unable to meet Poitou for his own security.

CFP representative on International Affairs, Beth Payborough MP, called for the immediate withdrawal of Dagan forces from the region and a referendum to allow Cooperites to choose an independent state. She made no reference to the subject of “arms for Cooperites”, but did say that the international community must continue to “enable the revolution” by all means possible. We can only hope they do so, that the Republic are successful in their quest, that their new country will then be able to be taken under the wing of socialist forces, and for such an event to revitalise the Left in Rushmori politics.

---

The Capital Herald:
CRIME DOES PAY UNDER LEFTY BASKET CASE “COMRADE” BARNHAM!

Honest patriots were OUTRAGED across the land as the Ministry of Law and Justice released new data showing a SHOCKING increase in crime across Eura. Minister Shelly Pyle, who is facing demands to resign, reported to Parliament an APOCOLYPTIC 1.2% increase in recorded crimes in the last quarter, meaning that LITERALLY DOZENS of proud Eurans are being subjected to heinous crimes such as copyright infringement and golfing. The METROPOLITAN LUVVIE currently holding the reins of the Federation, Harry Barnham, has clearly been found to be asleep at the wheel - when he’s not BETRAYING our troops for maintaining law and order in Sameba and PISSING AROUND over much needed tax cuts for tabloid newspaper proprietors!

This GREAT COUNTRY naturally has inherited strong laws on all types of crime thanks to previous sensible governments, unlike these BOLSHEVIKS who are flushing us down the toilet as we speak. Eura has some of the toughest laws and enforcement practices on drug production and dealing, for example, and strict controls on firearms to prevent them getting into the hands of LOONY ANARCHISTS like the editors of the Directus Post. Sadly, the non-entities we call a government have let things slip, by abolishing almost all remaining controls on marijuana usage and decriminalising most forms of drug use in the past decade, undercutting our BRAVE BOYS IN BLUE taking on the dealers at source.

Even worse, they have failed to control the influx of SAMEBAN DEATH MACHINES from the battlefields of the great war, with Sammie rifles and machine guns now being traded about between gangs like some kind of militia, all under the noses of the mighty Euran state in our OVERCROWDED cities, full of VAGRANTS who refuse to work for a living. With so many people, even the intelligence services are ill equipped to police our increasingly degenerate society below the highest levels. That leaves the job to public services managed by LAZY BUREAUCRATS that call themselves local and metropolitan government. What stops us from dealing with this PANDEMIC of violence and vice? This publication argues that, even if we were to finally rid ourselves of the TRAITORS occupying our offices of state, it would take years to get back on track thanks to the worst crime of them all – uncontrolled, unwanted immigration.

This country has been FLOODED with economic migrants over the years who want to take our glorious, hard-earned Cleaning Technician and Bar Greeter jobs. They come from everywhere, taking advantage of the exodus of REAL EURANS during the war; WORKSHY, FECKLESS Samebans who fled their regime! VIOLENT, THIEVING Mytanars who still haven’t buggered off decades after we BAILED OUT their failed country, and now practically run Brigham and Callodown! PEVERTED METROSEXUALS in the white-collar professions from nearby wealthy democracies such as Nephara, Ceni and Electrum, who are here to leech off jobs from deserving upper class Euran men in order to fund their sex parties! And that’s to say nothing off the INFILTRATORS from our classic enemies around the region and the multiverse, who continue to VIGOROUSLY PENETRATE our society in order to tear it down from the inside! The only way to tackle this growing problem is a change in government – and it’s the fine chaps in the UNIONIST PARTY who are willing to do what needs to be done to make Eura STRONG again!

[Tikariot]

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

The group stage is over at the 41st edition of the Copa Rushmori and the Tikariotian national team has qualified for the knock-out stages, even though a little more by the skin of their teeth than everybody likely would have wanted to, after a dramatic 3-3 against Oberour Ar Moro. But in the end the only thing that really matters is that they are through to the Round of 16, where they will be facing Savojarna, who won group H.

Now the big question is: Quo vadis, valkyries? Across different sports, not just football, Tikariot has a history of Round of 16 exits, with the Copa Rushmoris 38 and 40 the only two exceptions, where the quarter finals have been the end of the line. So the question, well, one of the questions, is, how will the Valkyries fare?

I know that we're moving away a bit from the behind the scenes here, but standing at these crossroads we feel that it definitely warrants a look and discussion. Back in the studio with me is former national team captain Rory McNair, Rory, you've been there yourself, how tough is it to process a really right qualification out of the group stage?

Rory McNair: Well, it is a lot easier to process than not making it out of the group stage, I can tell you that. [laughs] But seriousness aside, once you know that you're through, you don't think anymore how you made it, the only important thing is that you did make it through. Sure, the coaching staff will go over the games and analyze and all, but that's no different than going over any game. It's more the press and media overall--

Winston Curtis: I apologize in the name of our profession.

Rory McNair (laughs): --thank you. But yes, it is more the media and even more so the social media that put a lot more emphasis on that. But if you look across the last few years, yes, it's a noticeable thing that we seem to be good to very good in group stages, but then somewhat fizzle out.

Winston Curtis: Is there a curse on the Snowy Owls team? Now this is not a question from me, but one that has been floating around the internet, haha.

Rory McNair: One could start wondering, right? There are so many factors that play into this, nerves, experience, luck (or lack thereof) of the draw, I would rule out a curse, though. The biggest difference between the group and the knock-out stage is that it's, well, knock-out, take one step wrong and you're gone, while in the group stage you'll have some chances to remedy a wrong step.

Winston Curtis: So how are we looking here tonight against Savojarna to start things off?

Rory McNair: It's been a while since we met them last, the Copa Rushmori 37, but they have been struggling a bit of late, so if we can keep our focus I believe that we have a fairly realistic chance to go through. The team has incredible talent, just needs experience and a bit of luck of the moment. Now don't get me wrong, never ever underestimate an opponent, no matter who it is, and Savojarna are a very dangerous team at any stage of a tournament, no matter if they have struggled or not, because like I said, we've reached the stage where you only have on shot.

Winston Curtis: Playing devil's advocate. Should our team lose against Savojarna, would the "Ride of the Valkyries" be seen as a disappointment after all the media attention?

Rory McNair: No. A plain no. As we had talked about earlier, it's a Tikariotian "tradition", so they would not be doing worse than many teams before them, so it definitely wouldn't be a disappointment. To be honest, despite all the media ballyhoo they managed to get out of the group stage, everything else now is just icing on that cake.

Winston Curtis: So I guess you won't want to speculate further than the Savojarna game?

Rory McNair: No, because as I said, we have to look at this match for match now and not get ahead of ourselves.

Winston Curtis: For those of you who are wondering why we have not heard from our ladies tonight, we tried, but technical issues have prevented us from connecting with them, unfortunately. We hope to be able to have another opportunity, and reason, to do so again two days from now, before the quarter finals.

Thank you very much, Rory, for your usual welcome insight, this is all from us tonight, thank you for tuning in and let's hope for the best for our Valkyries' match against Savojarna, which you will be able to catch over at Tikariot Sports TV as well, stay safe!

[The Isles of Avon]

Take a chance with your team tonight. The playoffs begin!

Round of 16

Ceni 0–0 Darmen (0–0 AET) (4–2 pen.)
New Oxford Coliseum, New Oxford

Cassadaigua 3–3 Southwest Eastnorth (3–3 AET) (4–2 pen.)
Volatus Millennium Stadium, City Centre

Eura 1–0 Pridnestrovia
Estádio International de Santiago, Santiago de Ceni

Savojarna 3–3 Tikariot (3–3 AET) (1–3 pen.)
Southeastern Ceni Stadium, Whitehaven


Quarterfinal Draw
Ceni vs Cassadaigua @ Bicentennial Stadium, Cenial
Eura vs Tikariot @ Lake Cenial Stadium, Cenial

[Ceni]

Do you want me a victory today? Cutoff!

---

Mytanija 1–0 Soldera
East Bay Stadium, New Stratford

Cabo Azure 3–2 Bollonich
The Pier Park, Sellen Cove

Græntfjall 1–0 Sargossa
Military Field, Fort Roy

Yuezhou 0–1 Nephara
Field of Gold, Gold Villa

---

Quarterfinal Draw
Mytanija vs Cabo Azure @ Stadium-of-Northampton, Northampton
Græntfjall vs Nephara @ "Old" Capital Field, Lancaster

[Mytanija]

MYTANIJA 1-0 SOLDERA
MYT: Ocokoljic 84’

MYT: 1. Besak; 3. Savicevic, 4. Mbala-Ekakia, 5. Sulejmanovic; 2. Ovcina, 7. Atsev, 8. Smajic (sub. Aganovic 57’), 6. P. Odonelec (sub. Vujovic 64’); 10. Kuhar-Arh (sub. Skara 76’); 9. Ocokoljic (c), 11. Gannot

Occasionally – when faced with a determined and hard-working opponent who is willing to sit deep and frustrate you – you simply have to roll the dice, select chaos mode and hope for a moment of inspiration. That was what Dzvezdan Kitanchev ended up relying upon in Mytanija’s Round of Sixteen match versus Soldera. His usual approach emphasised verticality, getting the ball from back-to-front as quickly as possible, quick inter-play in central areas and width from his full-backs at FK Arsika and now wing-backs with the national team. Against Soldera that all went out the window, they were solid, frustratingly so, with two banks of four sat in their own half and two forwards who would saunter into pressing positions and then explode into life to hustle and harry a Mytanar player.

To his players’ credit they tried to stick to the plan. They would use Nemanja Ovcina and Patrik Odonelec to get the ball down the flanks, the 3-2-5 shape in possession forcing Soldera into what was at times a back six. The extra player ensured Mytanija found it difficult to ever find space, a key resource which Lev Repin had always desired and Dzvezdan Kitanchev was no different to his predecessor in that regard. The issue facing his team was that they couldn’t find it and that necessitated a change in approach. The manager consulted his assistants, querying what they thought, his natural instinct was to perhaps remove a central defender, add another body in midfield and go four at the back. ‘That might make the problem worse,’ came the response.

It was a fair point. Things were already getting congested in the middle. Although another midfielder would potentially create a different angle of attack to breakdown the well-drilled defensive unit. It was an idea. In the end they chose to make a couple of minor changes less than ten minutes apart, but even at the time Kitanchev didn’t have much faith that merely changing the personnel would unlock the door. Edin Aganovic came on for Mersudin Smajic, a slightly more creative presence who would play higher up the pitch. It would definitely leave them more vulnerable defensively, Aganovic and Atsev were both playmakers rather than midfielders who would control the game, but that was perhaps what they needed with the way the game was going.

Patrik Odonelec was withdrawn for Slobodan Vujovic too. This was Kitanchev almost doubling-down on the direct approach. Sacrificing control and consistency for chaos and ingenuity. Soldera had been difficult enough that Mytanija had to do something to try to win the game in 90 minutes, Kitanchev didn’t want to face extra time and it was – in theory – a game the Hoops should be winning relatively comfortably. Unusual how those sort of matches seem to turn into wars of attrition whenever you believe in the given narrative too much, Dzvezdan noted wryly. Vujovic helped, bringing a desire to get to the by-line and into the Soldera penalty area every time Mytanija had the ball, but there was still something missing.

In the end Kitanchev went for the most rudimentary solution: an extra striker. Omer Kuhar-Arh came off, Mytanija lacked a number ten, but now Soldera had to contend with a front three of Skara, Ocokoljic and Gannot. Ocokoljic dropped in, almost acting as a pseudo-number ten in his trademark false nine style, but Skara and Gannot would constantly challenge the Soldera defence in-behind. It also added an extra degree of physicality, Drazen Skara enjoyed the fearlessness of youth still and was willing to put his body on the line when necessary – in between the defender and the ball; jumping up for headers; winning fouls. This was turning the chaos up to ten, there were no defensive-minded Mytanars on the pitch apart from their three central defenders, if Soldera countered successfully they could find joy relatively quickly.

The new Mytanar coach had chosen this route for a reason, however, he wanted to show that directness could have joy even against teams who want to make it impossible. Bigger Mbala-Ekakia brought the ball out of defence for what felt like the hundredth time, eyed up his options and then his a diagonal ball towards the corner of the penalty area where Drazen Skara backed into his marker. The pass was measured to perfection, Skara rose up and nodded the ball back across the penalty area, trying to flick it into a dangerous position for a hooped shirt. Jezdimir Ocokoljic was drifting into the box, Damien Gannot wasn’t quite there to meet it but Slobodan Vujovic – the right-sided wing-back of all people – was and he brought the ball down with a single touch before threading a delicate pass between two of the central defenders.

Ocokoljic had been dropping deep since Skara came on, but this time he had gambled, sensing an opportunity as soon as the longer pass was hit. He had ghosted into the penalty area and as the ball had come across to Vujovic he was suddenly on the move, trying to beat the offside line and get behind the defence. He timed his run perfectly and Vujovic’s pass was excellent, beautifully weighted, Ocokoljic didn’t have to break stride to strike the ball with his right boot – steering it into the right corner and finally breaking the deadlock. The Soldera defence was finally beaten. Ocokoljic wheeled off towards the bench, pointing at the new manager, a vote of confidence if ever there was one. His changes had eventually won the game for Mytanija. It might have taken 84 minutes to get there, but they would play in a Copa Rushmori quarter final.

---

“Have you seen this shit they’re writing about us?!” Zineta exclaimed, thrusting the newspaper towards her father Mensur. “‘Violent, thieving Mytanars’… How are they allowed to get away with this?! And they’ve a cheek to say we ‘still haven’t buggered off’ after bailing Mytanija out. They left Mytanija as a bloody basket case. And those that fled to here have spent years building Eura for them, or doing all the jobs that Eurans don’t want to do. You’ve spent most of your adult life emptying bins for them, Dad! Are you not annoyed about all this?!”

“Annoyed?” Mensur sighed, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes. “I wouldn’t say I’m annoyed darling. Tired is probably the right word. Do I like them writing that stuff about us? Obviously not. Will they stop writing that stuff about us? Never, because it’s better for them to use us as a scapegoat than it is for them to try to sort out the lives of everybody who lives in this place. What can we do Zineta? I’m tired of it. I want to live my life, do my job, keep my head down and try to help you all have a better life than what I have had. I don’t have time to get annoyed anymore. Maybe if I was younger… I don’t know.”

Zineta was momentarily taken aback. Her father always entertained her political conversations, it was what had piqued her interest in the subject so much ever since she started to wonder what they were talking about on the news. This was a slightly unusual response from him. He had always spoken of trying to change the world, rather than just interpreting it. That was always the starting point of course, but he had said to be ambitious and idealistic, he had engendered that side of her personality. To hear him sound so downbeat, so downtrodden and dejected was a real surprise – but then he had been on the receiving end of this kind of thing for over thirty years. Zineta closed her eyes briefly, perhaps she shouldn’t be surprised.

“Look love, that probably sounded a bit worse than I intended it to, but I think we can use our energy more wisely than getting annoyed at right-wing rags telling lies about us. Mytanars have been here for years now, a lot of Eurans know that the stereotypes aren’t true, there’s Mytanar-Euran bankers, doctors, teachers, lawyers, you name it, and we’ve integrated reasonably well considering the hostility back in the day. Look at the work you do in the community, the outreach stuff, educating kids and helping them to look past that sort of nonsense.” Mensur gestured towards the newspaper. “What do I always say? Looking at the world and understanding it is great, but really what we need to do—”

“…Is change it. Yeah, I get it Dad, I really do.” Zineta interjected, smiling. “It’s just so frustrating to go out and do the stuff I do, trying to help kids understand difference and all that sort of thing and then to come back to read nonsense like that to try to divide us. But I guess that’s what I’m trying to change.”

“Exactly darling and that’s great.” Mensur smiled. “Now would you mind getting me another coffee? This one’s gone a bit cold.”

“Dad!” Zineta laughed. “I can’t keep giving you free refills just because you bring all your waste disposal pals here for breakfast. Klara’s already mentioned it to me once!”

“Klara should know that those lads spend a fortune here every day! And they’ve told their partners about this café, I bet she’s making a pretty penny from me bringing the lads here. What do they call it these days? Marketing? I could have a second career, love.”

“You’re a chancer, Mum always said the same thing.” Zineta laughed sheepishly. Some children ran a bit close to an old couple’s table and Zineta quickly changed from Mytanar to Terranean, the third and fourth generation youngsters often learned the local language first. “Oi you two! Be more careful! You nearly sent Mr and Mrs Drazenovic’s coffee flying there!”

As Zineta fussed over Mr and Mrs Drazenovic’s table, moving the crockery in from the edge and apologising for the exuberance of the children, Mensur allowed himself a chuckle. It was just like being back in Mytanija.

***

“So what do you have?” Dalibor, Elena’s editor, asked.

“At the moment it’s not really a story, honestly.” Elena replied. “It’s a bit murky. I got this tip-off about organised crime groups in Eura kidnapping Mytanar-Eurans, bringing them to Mytanija and then killing them or forcing them to commit crimes here under duress – usually saying they’d kill their families, things like that. So I’ve spent a couple of weeks researching Mytanar organised crime, how the different groups operate here in Mytanija, how they operate overseas, the political climate in Eura… All that sort of thing.”

“And? Is there a story there?”

“Well, there might be? I don’t know, like I said, it’s murky. There’s no proof that these kidnappings are occurring. It seems to me to be a lot of effort to do that rather than just offing someone in Eura, their population is nearly 3 billion, one person can easily get lost when there’s that many people. Especially if it’s an immigrant. Even second and third gen… Would they really care that much? There’s always been that superior attitude towards Mytanars, looking down their noses at us, hasn’t there? But then again, if it’s a Euran citizen – whatever their heritage – then they’d surely have to care. It would make a mockery of any concept of integration or multiculturalism that the Eurans have – it would be super damaging politically.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Dalibor said, stroking his chin. “Have you spoken to the person who gave you the tip?”

“No, it was anonymous. And it’s such a mammoth task to even know where to start. I’ve done this research on it and it’s just such an enormous area. Understanding the Mytanar side of it is one thing, like just the organised crime stuff that actually goes on here, it’s enormously complex and there’s so many differences in each region. That’s before understanding what the fuck is going on in Eura! It’s a little overwhelming, really, but then it’s interesting and I get the feeling that even if the tip-off isn’t the story that there is a story here somewhere. I was reading a news article about how the major crime groups in Mytanija – Thessia’s Five Families; the Grmek-Kabrovsek firm in Ebor; The Administration in Esca; and the Preloznjaks in Miago – all lost their shit because of the amount of unrecovered guns from the war the Eurans had with the Samebans. It disrupted a major money-making scheme for all of them, Mytanar crime groups had a bit of a monopoly on illegal guns in Eura up until that war but it all crumbled, basically overnight. They’ve had to ramp up drug production and supply as a result, to cover their losses, now that’s interesting, isn’t it?”

“It could be. I need something a bit more concrete than that though, Elena. You know I like to give you freedom and the scope to write what you want to write, but you’ve got to admit that this is a bit fluffy at the moment, right?”

“It is, but I think I could stumble upon something here, Dalibor. Whether it’s something in Mytanija, Eura, somewhere else in Rushmore… I don’t know yet. There’s so much to go at, so much to investigate and that’s what I’m here to do really, isn’t it?” Elena smiled. She had done the job for years, was Dalibor’s best writer and she knew exactly which buttons to press.

“Alright.” Dalibor laughed. He couldn’t say no to Elena. “But I’m only giving you another couple of weeks. I need you writing stories for me, we’ve got magazines to sell. Your stories help us do that, I can’t have you out of action for too long.”

“Cool,” Elena knew he’d let her continue. “Two weeks should be fine. I’m speaking to a law and criminology professor from the University of Thessia later today. I want to look into things on this side, what the practices are, if there’s anything which would be happening in Eura that we might know about here already. He should have contacts too, in the Policija, in the crime world… Hopefully he can give me a hand. And if not, I guess he’ll be able to tell me a bit more about the different groups and what they get up to.”

“Drugs, gambling, prostitution, trafficking, money laundering I expect? It’s the same everywhere for these large gangs, isn’t it?”

“Pretty much, but hearing someone say it to me is definitely preferable instead of having to read another few thousand word article about it!”

[Cabo Azure]

Cabo Azure 3 -2 Bollonich

Starters:        Substitutes:                                                    
Gomez            Valente                                                
Branco (goal 90’+1)        K Brandao                                                
Medeiro            Costa                                                
Moniz            Rego                                                
de Lima            Cunha                                                
Rathbone        Cardozo                                                    
Lobo            Mendonca (on 50', goal 65')                                            
Ferreira                                                            
Gouveia (off 50')                                                        
Corte-Real (goal 71')                                                        
Silveira (C)

A hard-fought match over a worthy opponent to tie Cabo Azure’s best finish yet in the Copa Rushmori. The teams entered the locker rooms at halftime level at 0-0, but the match quickly came alive, with goals from Bryant Marshall and Hazel Andrews finding Bollonich briefly up by 2 before young Pio Mendonca subbed in and began to boss the right side of the pitch. Pio’s persistence paid off with a goal just past the hour mark, and with the game back in reach, dynamics shifted. Corte-Real and Branco did what they each do best, scoring on a set piece and a bombing run up the right side, respectively, to sent the Macaricas through to the next round.

“A Calma”, pt 5
Assembly Hall, Sao Simone
Sonia Vargas took no small amount of pride in the fact that she had never set foot on the island of Aho until she’d arrived to take her seat as an assemblywoman. She’d been born on Dulce Muerte, only because there was no birthing ward in the tiny clinic on Sao Cristobal, where she’d been brought after her birth and where she’d remained, with rare exception, ever since. Out of the few dozen children who’d been her peers in the island’s rundown little school, only a handful remained a decade later. Most had left, a few for Maritime University, more for jobs in Sao Simone or service on merchant ships or even abroad in Pavola or Quebec. Sonia herself had sworn never to abandon her home, but recent events had convinced her that she could do more good in Sao Simone, so off she’d gone.

Getting elected had been the easy part, all told. She was twenty-nine and well known among her fellow islanders. Her parents owned the hardware store in the little village, which made them one of the Cristobaleros’ main conduits to the outside world, since they could receive parcels at their store. She’d been popular at school, dated most of the boys at least once, and been working at her parents’ store since a teenager. So when one of the gray-bearded old mariners who’d represented Sao Cristobal since before O Interregno retired, Sonia had only to announce her intention to run for the majority of her village to get behind her.

She sat with her knapsack between her knees on the top deck of the little ferry that connected Sao Cristobal to Sao Simone and therefore the rest of the world. She’d never lived anywhere other than with her parents on Sao Cristobal; their house had been in the family for generations, and her grandparents had lived there while they were alive. Her campaign manager, a savvy young woman newly home from the University of Montague-Hawksbury in Ceni, had arranged a furnished apartment for her in a working-class part of town. She’d offered to have meals sent, as well, but Sonia would hear none of it; no self-respecting Azurean woman would eat a meal in her own home that was cooked elsewhere unless she were pregnant or grieving.

The same woman was seated next to her on the ferry, toting a much smaller bag and scanning the horizon as if looking for something important. At a seemingly arbitrary moment as the boat drew closer to the marina, she said, “Now.” Unsure what she meant, Sonia turned to look at the younger woman, who gestured almost impatiently at the little boat’s gunwales in the direction of Sao Simone.

“We need to take a picture,” she told Sonia, as if it weren’t the first time. “It’ll play well on socials.”

Sonia’s relationship to social media had been somewhat ambivalent before the start of her political campaign. People left Sao Cristobal and used social media to keep in touch with their loved ones, an urge Sonia understood and empathized with, but they also used it to try influencing things back home once they were gone. Villagers who’d gone abroad on cargo ships didn’t have any business commenting on a price change at her parents’ shop or the result of a local charity football game, yet they all lined up to get in their comments.

Nevertheless, little Rut had not steered Sonia wrong yet, so she dutifully took up her place on the gunwales and smiled her best, camera-ready smile. Rut would post the photo with a caption like “First time in Sao Simone–can’t wait to get to work” at a time that evening selected to get the most traffic. It would likely draw the same types of comments her other posts had been drawing recently; a mixture of familiar, “so proud of you”-type posts and people from other parts of Cabo Azure asking her to bring “a measure of common sense” to Sao Simone.

From the docks, Rut hailed a cab, which took them on a dizzying trip through the wide boulevards of Sao Simone to a small apartment building, where Sonia’s apartment was on the second floor. It was small, she decided, but adequate; two bedrooms, one to use as an office, and a kitchen half the size of the one in her family’s house in Sao Cristobal, but with gleaming modern appliances. Azurean lawmakers made only a modest stipend for their efforts; most of her expenses while she was here would be covered by her parents, including her rent and groceries.

“The groceries you requested are in the refrigerator,” Rut told her. “I’m a phone call away if you ever need anything. See you at the office tomorrow?”

[Nephara]

The Cormorants' orders were pretty clear: get physical.
That wasn't to say that Lili Marinca was to grind up against 利朵拉, otherwise known as Sabrefell-born and -raised Diadora Reeve - a second straight match against fellow Nepharim! - but rather get stuck in. In the red lights scene, they were 'pit fight' more than 'nightclub'.
The Dragons were a skilful side, but their golden generation was getting old. The Li Jing of today was not quite the Li Jing of five years ago, and Wen, Liu, Jiawei and indeed Reeve were all the wrong side of 30. Nephara, meanwhile, was notorious in world football for taking even legends older than 32 out back to shoot them. Being tough, physical and fresh was pivotal to the Cormorants' identity.
So... a lot of kicking. It worked. Nephara didn't get much fluidity in the first half, but Yuezhou didn't find any fluency at all. Though they did end up coming the closest to scoring, albeit in faintly farcical circumstances. Liu had a snap-shot from the middle of nowhere that caught an awkward bounce and required a sharp bit of redirection on the fly from Provost to bat away two-fisted, and for Sevet-Stokes to be quick on her feet to clear before Jiang could crash home the rebound.
Plan 'just kick them' was not an unqualified success, mostly because once it became clear the referee was taking a loose hand towards officiating, the Yue were free to retaliate in kind. Jiawei went in hard on Severine Reed, getting some of the ball but plenty of Reed, sending her to the floor.
The Cormorants didn't call for a red card; yellow was about right. Which was profitable for the Dragons, since it took Reed out of the game and, likely, the tournament.

Nephara had sowed, which was great. Then they had reaped, which sucked and was bad. So after largely shutting down the first half but not seriously testing Zhao, Koeller told them to get it together and score a goal, but with more profanity.
The first twenty or so minutes of the second half was the only period of the game Nephara truly felt superior, but it was enough, and probably enough to deserve it on the night. From the kick-off, Vetiver wanted to make a statement of intent, taking the ball from Harper and driving right down the Yue throat. She passed through the front three, jinked past Li and Wan and shot...
It would have taken the perfect strike. It wasn't. It flew a couple metres wide and, anyway, Zhao had it covered regardless if it wasn't right in that bottom corner. But it was a statement of intent, and a flurry of other shots followed. March did test Zhao, who was up to the task, before a crisp cross from Anharbour was whipped in and only narrowly failed to find Harper's forehead.
Koeller bellowed for patience. Perhaps counter-intuitively, but it worked out on the counter-attack, as Liu's attempt to charge through the centre and secure the game on her own ended unceremoniously by being blindsided by Southsea. Ida Sevet-Stokes, who had a quietly magnificent game, picked up possession, trotted into midfield as Southsea stepped into defence to cover, played a slick one-two with March - finding herself at the centre circle, now - before curling a pass down the wing that looked meant for Marinca, could have been contested by Reeve but was intercepted by Lind, who drove into the area behind the exposed veteran fullback. Suddenly, there was a yawning chasm at the back, as Wan sprinted back to try and contest Lind; unfortunately, his desperation betrayed him, tricked as Lind shaped for the cross, let him slide into nowhere, and then simply cut back for Felixe Vetiver on the edge of the area.
Fans called for her to shoot, but she found the pass, drawing in Yuan but dinking an almost insolent ball ahead for Bravura Harper to race into the space and hammer the ball past the hopelessly exposed Zhao.
It wasn't a vintage performance. It was defensive, cynical, pragmatic above all else. Vetiver was on one goal in five games, clearly a disgraceful return and a symbol that Nephara was doomed. But on the day, they got through. And that was surely what mattered.

Yuezhou 0 - 1 Nephara
(4-4-2) 1 - Provost; 2 - Schrader, 5 - Clevinger, 24 - Sevet-Stokes, 3 - Lind; 13 - Reed (7 - Anharbour 39'), 19 - Southsea, 8 - March (25 - Tapper 70'), 11 - Marinca (16 - Crowcombe 64'); 21 - Vetiver, 10 - Harper (26 - Archer 70')
Goal: Harper 52'

Suspensions: Schrader
Injuries: Reed (ankle)

Lineup vs. Græntfjall
(4-4-2) 1 - Provost; 17 - Meadows, 5 - Clevinger, 6 - Scales, 3 - Lind; 7 - Anharbour, 4 - Constantine, 19 - Southsea, 23 - Kvasina; 21 - Vetiver, 10 - Harper

[Cassadaigua]

Secured, but not yet safe,
By Kelsey LeClair, Concord Heights Times, Current Events

Yesterday evening, Princess Brianna, who is in charge of the Northern Territory, declared that the region is now completely secured and in collaboration with Queen Cassie III, they will begin the next phase of the mission. That would be improving the infrastructure of the region. Here is a snippet of the declaration of Brianna, which came just hours before the reappearance of “The River Republic.”

“Gentlemen and ladies of Cassadaigua, I can now say that our forces have fully secured the northern border, as well as to the west and that our peacekeeping troops have been to all of the villages within the region to keep them secure. This phase of the annexation of the Northern Territory is now complete and we can confidently move on to the next phase, which will be to improve the infrastructure of the region. This will be a massive project that will include the construction of many new roads which will lead to the growth of these villages to become towns, or even large cities. We will look to add businesses to this region, and encourage Cassadagan companies to consider opening new locations within this region. During this process, we will also look to construct a rail network and open up airports. This is truly an exciting time, and will naturally create jobs for Cassadagan citizens within this region.”

What should have been an exciting day turned tragic a couple hours later after reports of a downed helicopter just 17 miles within the northern portion of the new land. There had been hopes that the terrorist group known as the “The River Republic” were not going to strike again, but they may have been motivated by Brianna’s announcement to send a message that they had not gone anywhere. Two soldiers perished in the incident: Jezebel Grier, a 21-year old from Northbury, and Kurtis Flanagan, a 24-year old from Sheffield, were aboard the helicopter. A second helicopter in the area, piloted by 23-year old Jenna Finlayson, of Northbury, was hit as well, but was able to make a safe crash landing in an open field. Finlayson said of the incident that, “The attack came swiftly and they were well camouflaged. To me, it seemed like something that had been planned for a while, so I don’t think it was in response to the announcement of Brianna.” The attack certainly shows that there is still a need for peacekeeping forces in the region.

Princess Brianna upon hearing the news, immediately made a declaration, “Sadly, there was an incident in the northern territory, and my heart goes out to Jezebel Grier and Kurtis Flanagan and their families for this tragic loss. Let us share a moment of silence. (Brianna pauses for about 60 seconds). This is the work of terrorists, and as we move on to the next phase of the annexation, any action of this group known as The River Republic will be considered an act of terrorism within the borders of Cassadaigua.”

Queen Cassie III, in her own announcement, took things to the next level, since it is her (and not really Brianna), who speaks for the nation as a whole, “I’m here listening to Foreign Secretary Eloise Chadwick condemning “appalling, senseless act of murder” that the Steinaux terror attacks were, and listening to her claim that ‘Eura would always back Rushmori countries against the spectre of international terrorism’, yet her own nation, that is Eura, has supported the terrorists known as The River Republic. It is time for Prime Minister Barnham to realize that, first and foremost, the Cassadagan monarchy is never going to go away despite his wishes for it to do so, and secondly, the hypocritical message that his own leadership is sending. You can’t condemn the Steinaux attacks while supporting the terrorists, through weaponry, in what is now Northern Cassadaigua. We are moving on in the north, making that land to be great for all those that inhabit it. We have paid reparations to those that were able to be located, to those that we moved out of their homes, and/or provided them transportation back to their homes. There is no positive mission that The River Republic would be undertaking at this point other than an attempt to keep us out of the Northern Territory. Well, that part is over. We’re there. Unfortunately, these terrorist antics will require us to keep a large amount of troops near the border.”

Secured, but not yet safe,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

In their recent round of 16 match, Cassadaigua needed penalties to defeat Southwest Eastnorth, but it would get the job done as the Fillies secured their quarterfinal berth. There’s still plenty of strong opposition in the way, and the next game for the pink and black will be against the hosts from Ceni. The match will be held in Cenial at Bicentennial Stadium. With a potential showdown against the terrorist supporters from Eura, it will be important for our team to not be looking ahead. Thankfully, as we saw in the Cup of Harmony, the team does an excellent job of tuning out politics and current events. Captain Morgan Rosenblatt said of that, “Even if we did get distracted by that, we’re going into Bicentennial Stadium to play the host nation. I don’t care what the ranking of a host is, in a tournament like this they are always dangerous. Ceni is a great sporting nation, perhaps recently they have not been as impactful on the international scene, but we know what they are capable of. So, yes, that alone is why we would never have to worry about a political distraction. But this is no different than the Cup of Harmony. We have a ‘no politics’ rule on the team, where the topic is simply forbidden. We’re worried about the game against Ceni. And if we win, it may very well be Tikariot that’s next for us."

Both the match against Ceni and the Eura match against Tikariot are being held in Cenial, so that does mean that right now Cassadagan and Euran supporters are inhabiting the same city even if they are playing in two completely different stadiums. It probably will not be a problem, since of course, the nations are not at war, just a lot of tension between the two. Perhaps, if rival fans are sitting at neighboring tables at a Avaerilonian restaurant in Little Lyndainium they may give one another dirty looks, but that is likely about it.

We almost had this head to head matchup in the Cup of Harmony final, and now we’re a game away from it in the Copa Rushmori. As fans and journalists, we can think about it’s potential but the players are certainly focused on the opponent that matters. For Cassadaigua, that will be Ceni.

[Graintfjall]

Græntfjall – 1 (1)
Björnólfur; Alyssia (16’) (45’ Sigurbergur ), Tom, Grímúlfur, Jasmijn; Danny, Tinni, Amanda (54’); Vanessa (83’ Röskvi ), Jason (c) (7’) (82’ Ásvarður ), Sara

Sargossa – 0 (0)

This rather tame 1–0 win actually represented a historic victory for Græntfjall, so rather than ruining that moment by sulking about what comes next at the end, let’s get the whingeing out of the way at the start. Græntfjall finally won a CR Round of 16 game at the sixth time of asking, only to have as their reward a date with… Nephara. The team that accounted for fully half of those defeats, for the biggest defeat in national history, and in fact, the team that has beaten them more often than any other in international football. As an example of the kind of psychological trauma the Cormorants have wrought on the Snow Wolves, among the outfits worn by members of the popular horror metal band Hlykkjast during their stage shows are straightjackets, murder victim costumes, zombie make-up, bloody surgical bandages, werewolf bar mitzvah suits, and, most horrifying of all… a Chimera Moxham shirt.

But that is to come. For now, Thor can reflect happily on having accomplished what every Græntfjaller manager prior has failed to do. For neutrals, Græntfjall’s historic insecurity about their Round of 16 record did contribute to a pretty leaden game of football: once they’d gained an unexpected early lead, Danny Oddkellsson beating Iván Franco and dragging a pass back that Jason Þórhallursson placed powerfully low to Alejandro Martínez’s right, all the pre-tournament fanfare about a more attacking flair was quickly abandoned and they sat, hard, on their lead, with Tinni Grímólfursson doing his best impression of a bulldozer, the defensive line taking up a position somewhere behind Björnólfur Ernestisson, and Þórhallursson returning to the ‘power forward’ role used in the World Cup with more emphasis on taking out opponents than getting into scoring positions.

The stats thus ended up somewhat unflattering to the Snow Wolves: the Corsairs led in shots, passes completed, and possession, all by wide margins. Græntfjall were probably lucky to pick up just two bookings. In their defense, they were creatively strangled by the absence of Kæja Finnvarðsdóttir, who failed to recover from her ankle injury in time, while Sara Kristoffersdóttir, who had earlier taken to twii.tur to pout over her exclusion from PREMIER Sports’s Gold players longlist, was in one of her characteristically ‘off’ moods. The Corsairs came close to equalizing and given Græntfjall’s total abandonment of interest in going forward, would probably have flipped the result had they done so: young Juan Esteban Collazo hit the post and sent another shot inches wide, while Ernestisson came off his line well a couple of times to deny Mateo Manzanares. His brother, Tom, played well, but will probably give way to the exciting young talent Eyvar Mathiasson; if Kæja is fit, she could slot back in for Johanna or Amanda. Alyssia Noahsdóttir was substituted at half-time but it seemed to be more about preventing her picking up a second booking than anything more serious, despite looking obviously winded by an Alfonso Barrueco elbow.

---

“91%.” Jason whistled. “Ninety. One. Percent.”

“We heard you the first ninety one times,” said Amanda, unimpressed, stirring her coffee. They were meeting for a late drink in the hotel in Lancaster.

“How does a politician get a ninety one percent approval rating? A hundred, I understand. It’s just fixed, right. Like in the Union, they used to come out with these polls, a hundred percent of the loyal citizenry…. But ninety one percent is somehow even stranger.”

“My you’re in a philosophical mood tonight,” she observed. “Might want to spend a little time worrying about how to get past Reniira Clevinger.”

“She took on the unions, reformed the tax code, business booming, new investment in schools and children, and her approval rating was, what, forty, fifty percent, maybe, on a good day? And now it’s ninety one percent?”

“You’ve been following all these political developments with forensic insight?”

He shrugged. “I like to take an interest.”

“Oh, since when?” Amanda frowned. “Jason, I need to ask you something. Are you sleeping with the Prime Minister?”

“I resent that comment! Absolutely not! On my daughter’s life! How dare you!”

“OK. Jason, have you ever slept with the Prime Minister.”

Sip. “Damn, this is good coffee, huh?”

She threw her spoon at him, and he deflected it with the copy of the Harbinger he was holding, on which was printed the headline reporting the new approval ratings: in the wake of the Steinaux attacks, Kaija Michaelsdóttir was polling at 91% approve/disapprove. Ingiberg Leifsson’s polling since his “krakens coming home to roost” comment was in the single figures.

---

The woman currently polling at 91% among Græntfjallers (and at 50% among ageing Snow Wolves stars) was in Defense Department Emergency Room (A), generally known as “ADDER”. She was not wearing the look of someone buoyed by political fortunes: in fact, she looked, if ‘haggard’ would be an unkind term to use about a young woman, then at least, ‘weary’. She looked like she’d spent the last month substituting coffee and adrenaline for food and sleep. Arrayed around the table were admirals and generals, intelligence officials and senior ministers. On the far wall, a huge map of Jabal Akhdar was projected on an electronic screen. Numbers scrolled around the bottom, arrows pointed in all different directions. An area was barred out in red (any passing geologist would notice a shocking degree of overlap between the area’s demarcation and the boundaries of the Emirate’s petroleum fields).

The Queendom’s ultimatum had gone unanswered, but there was still time to respond. There was still, technically, the chance that the Emirate could deliver up the Prince on a plate. The whole situation resolved peacefully and placidly. There was also a chance that krakens could fly. Whatever public messages she was sending about waiting, Kaija had no such intentions of delaying a response until the Emirate had had time to stick the Prince on a plane to some forgotten corner of the multiverse and then plead ignorance. Operation Storm of the Light’s Bane was already underway: as the electronic screen clearly indicated, Phase One: Operation Fathomless Depths had already been completed. Græntfjaller Navy vessels had been deployed to the border of Jabal Akhdar’s territorial waters, ready for the incursion on the stroke of midnight once the deadline elapsed.

“We call this next phase Operation Night’s Blood. On the stroke of midnight, special forces will begin an assault aimed at taking out key infrastructure and communications serving the el-Masri network.”

“And we’re sure there’s been no military build-up?”

“The Akhdaris either don’t know, or don’t care.”

“This will avoid us getting sucked into some desperate desert war?”

“There may be skirmishes…”

“But,” cut in an intelligence officer, “Yes, it’s our best bet at dodging that scenario.”

“Prince Bassaad?”

“He’s secure.”

Kaija nodded.

“All we need is the go order.”

“Then it sounds,” said Kaija, her voice fraying slightly from having given so many speeches in the past days, “Like I need to go see the Queen.”

She pushed back from the table and rose to her full commanding height of slightly over five foot, or about medal-height to most of the assembled generals. “Thank you. I’d like to take a moment to…”

Her voice tailed off. The sharp-eyed Prime Minister cocked her head; a couple of GIB staffers shuffled aside when they realized she was trying to look past them. On a completely different electronic display screen, on the side wall, a red light was blinking.

“General… what’s that?”

[Ceni]

Mytanija 0–0 Cabo Azure (0–1 AET)
Stadium-of-Northampton, Northampton

Græntfjall 2–0 Nephara
"Old" Capital Field, Lancaster

Semifinal Draw
Cabo Azure vs Græntfjall @ Westport Park, Westport

[Tikariot]

OOC: Imagine a purely instrumental version of Na Lama-sa as the background music

Twilight has broken, dusk has put out its fingers, pulling the sun beneath the horizon. Nature feels like it is in a suspended state with the diurnal animals already silenced and their nocturnal counterparts not yet active, creating this eerie kind of equilibrium between the two worlds. The waters of Lake Cenial are a perfect example of this stillness with the dying glow on the horizon reflecting in the almost perfectly smooth surface. The droning sound of a bagpipe pierces the silence, soon joined by a second and third, as the last remaining daylight quickly continues to fade.

Along the lakeshore three torches have sprung to life, each faintly outlining a piper from behind, highlighting the oddly shaped silhouette. The slow and measured sound of footsteps can be heard and turning around, a hooded shadow can be seen standing on a small outcropping reaching into the lake, a torch in hand, facing outwards towards the still waters, while the bagpipes settle into a low, harmonious, melancholic melody befitting the tranquil mood of the scene.

"The world is at ease, yet there is something in the air, something that had not been there before. Can you feel it? This faint sense of change that is moving in like a gentle breeze blowing across the still waters of Lake Cenial that had not been there before."

Almost as if summoned by the words, a faint ripple of waves begins to show across the lake's surface and the tall grasses that line the shore start to ever so lightly sway in a breeze coming in from the expanse of the lake, causing the light of the torches to flicker accordingly.

"It feels insignificant, barely even worth wasting a thought on, but just like every journey begins with the first step, just like every painting starts out with that first brush stroke, every change begins with a faint ripple across the canvas of time, no matter if you heed it or ignore it. It is like a tiny little sapling that has cracked the hull of the seed and has breached the surface, as it is carefully nurtured through its first few moments, small, vulnerable, seemingly lost in the big, loud world around it."

Again, as if the words transform into reality, the wind becomes stronger, the ripples in the lake's surface bigger.

"For decades, if not centuries, Terranea has been the heart of Rushmore in politics, in sports, in economy. The pulsating behemoth that almost everything rotated around like a centre of gravity. But things have slowly been shifting. A new force had appeared on the horizon, one that has slowly been growing. Nothing more than a pestering mosquito at first, but there was more behind it than just a mild annoyance that could be swatted away easily. And they could feel the strength that was behind it and they did not like it."

The bagpipes' melody shifts a bit from the low, melancholic melody, to a more powerful sound behind it, signifying the shift that the shadowy figure is referring to. All the while, the wind is picking up more strength, with the ripples on the lake turning into waves.

"The new force began to grow, starting to eat away from the momentum that Terranea had been controlling for the longest time, slowly, yet inexorably, just like the sapling continued to grow, drawing strength from the fertile soil around it. What seemed like just another blade of grass in the wide field that is Rushmore turned out to be far more than just grass. What once had been fallow land now suddenly was quickly sprouting saplings."

Drums set in, while the bagpipes also pick up in power. The wind is still coming in from the lake, steadily increasing in power.

"The trickle of water from a well far away had turned into a creek at first, then a river. And now a tide is beginning to move towards Terranea, threatening its status as the centre of Rushmore for everything. A potential gravitational shift that might not topple the kings of the hill from their mighty throne, but create a second force in the region, a direct rival where once there was nothing."

The figure turns around and the face underneath the hood has the flag of Tikariot crudely painted across its features, like some sort of war paint of someone ready to ride into battle, the winds buffeting the robe, sending hissing sparks flying off the torch in his hand.

"Look at the Copa Rushmori. Nephara already has fallen to Græntfjall, now it is Eura's turn with the Valkyries of Tikariot riding into battle, gathering momentum, taking the force of the Dark Tide following it onto the pitch of Lake Cenial Stadium. Terranea, are you ready? Pavola has arrived!"

The picture zooms in towards the eyes amidst the black paint, the flickering light of the torch reflected in them before everything fades to black.

[Eura]

COPA RUSHMORI 41 - ROUND OF 16
Eura 1-0 Pridnestrovia
Scorers:
Mason 33
Lineup:
1. E Palmer
2. A Mason
4. J Menard
15. K Sherwood
5. T Green
3. L Almwood (sub Reeve 77)
6. J Gates
16. O Vincent (sub Stewart 64)
12. D Bowman (sub West 82)
10. C Atkinson
9. S Robson

---

The Emplor:
EURA AVENGE COPA 40 DEFEAT TO PRIDNESTROVIA WITH NARROW WIN

On a night of simmering heat in the Football Estádio International de Santiago, Santiago de Ceni, Skorji Oslograd’s Eura booked their place in the quarter finals of the Copa Rushmori with a hard-fought win over Pridnestrovia. Eura were knocked out of the last Copa in a baffling semi final defeat to the Pridnestrovians, 4-5 after extra time, having previously only conceded three goals in six games in the tournament. Eura appeared to learn a lesson from that game, where they widely considered to have played far too aggressively. Oslograd opted for wingbacks instead of wingers this time around and played a full-strength backline to offset their opponent’s attacking prowess.

Eura’s tactics were vindicated in making these changes during the first half. Basil Santa Cruz’s side found themselves suffocated by an oppressive Euran defence and unable to create chances, which in turn allowed Eura’s in-form midfield pairing of Jermaine Gates and Oscar Vincent to pull the strings with little pressure. Pridnestrovia started to open up as Gates and Vincent dragged the opposition midfield from pillar to post in search of the ball, creating opportunities for the Eurans, the first of which they ruthlessly exploited in the 33rd minute.

A gradual build up drew Pridnestrovia forward until right wingback Ana Mason was played in on the right flank; Mason jinked left past Daniil Lvovich Polyakov, thundered a shot toward the far side of the goal from just inside the box, and wheeled away with glee as it clipped the inside of the left post and went in. Eura did not let themselves rest after taking the lead, pressing hard for a second in the run up to half time, coming closest to doubling their tally when Christine Atkinson met a Damion Bowman cross and turned a volley toward goal, sending it just inches wide.

Half-time offered an opportunity for Pridnestrovia to recompose themselves and take the fight back to Eura. Yet the early stages of the second half saw Eura assert themselves even more so against their northern almost neighbours - Vincent even struck the post with a wild 35-yard effort that rattled the goalframe enough to be heard clearly on the television coverage. As the game wore on the Pridnestrovians did come into it a little more but rarely threatened, their best chance coming from a Maksim Nikitovich Gurkin strike at close range that Elliot Palmer dealt with quite easily.

A final opportunity for Eura to wrap the game up was missed when Ben West’s through ball set away Stewart Robson, only for the striker to slice his finish wide of goal. Nevertheless, what Eura did manage on the day was enough, and they now progress to a quarter final with Tikariot.

---

The Brigham Herald:
UNIONIST BENSON PROMISES TO CLEAN UP CITY AFTER BYELECTION TRIUMPH

Newly elected Unionist Party MP for Brigham Central-East, Conor Benson, has declared he will launch a “crusade” against a perceived crime wave in the heart of our city. Benson, 37, moved into politics after a highly successful career in prestige brand marketing, joining the Unionist Party after rejecting what he calls the “urban liberalism” of the Social Party that traditionally dominates one of Eura’s largest megalopolises. He and his party took advantage of the retirement of Social MP Oliver Taddington (and the national administration’s mid-term blues) to secure this valuable swing sweat, winning 325,673 votes and a majority of 5%.

Benson’s controversial right wing social views were a source of constant criticism during his campaign, with opponents accusing him of disinformation and dog whistle attacks on minority communities, but the new MP has nevertheless anointed himself as the ringleader of a new push to rid Brigham of a series of alleged societal ills. Benson says that his first act in office will be to meet the Metropolitan Mayor of Brigham, Social politician Sue Bolton, and press her to increase funding to the Brigham Metropolitan Police by as much as 25% over the next year. Bolton has promised a rise of 5% with fresh funding from the central government in Bastion, but Benson gained much support in his path to parliament by claiming this would be tantamount to “throwing pensioners and vulnerable people…into the arms of gangsters and the underworld”.

These claims stand in stark contrast to the facts, with experts and political fact checkers pointing out crime has fallen in the city year-on-year for the last decade. Benson has also dismissed Bolton’s proposed approach of better funding for existing social programs and job creation schemes instead of more police funding as “welfare opiates for the masses”, despite himself calling for a new unemployment scheme similar to one already provided by the Metropolitan Council. This is almost certainly just the beginning of a long campaign from Benson to clear up Brigham – or, more likely, position his local Unionist colleagues for capturing more Social seats in the next election.

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The Eastern Eagle:
GOVERNMENT HAILS MILITARY, INDUSTRY, NEPHARAN INPUT TO NEW MISSILE SYSTEM

The skies over Falourr were treated to a show last night as the Euran Army carried out a widely publicised test of a new missile system. SAM-100, or “Viper”, is a new long range surface-to-air missile with a claimed additional anti-ballistic missile capability. It that can locate, lock on to and destroy multiple fast-moving targets at ranges of up to 450 miles. The system is a joint development between Euran aerospace giant Mansley Systems and Nepharan military manufacturer Ebonhawke, who were both represented in a ceremony at Falourr docks alongside spokespeople from the Euran and Nepharan governments and militaries. They then watched the test, carried out over the Endemian Ocean, where the SAM-100 successfully intercepted five drones simulating fighter jets of an unspecified enemy.

Onlookers were treated to a spectacular glow as the targets were vaporised at high altitude, lighting up a clear night without a cloud in the sky, before fading away like twinkling stars. Mansley and Ebonhawke claimed in a statement that the missile has already been tested numerous times with a high success rate, and that this test simply served to justify the project to develop the missile in the face of “skepticism from some quarters”. This was a subtle reference to a Euran parliamentary committee, whose recent report on defence spending concluded that the SAM-100 programme had been tarnished by massive overruns in cost. However, the two countries seem to stand by the project in spite of spiralling costs, and appear confident that these close allies now possess a crucial system that will give them an undisputed edge against peer competitors.

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The Steelman:
COOPER RIVER RECAPTURES ATTENTION OVERSEAS AS REPUBLICANS INCREASE ATTACKS

Cassadaigua’s Princess Brianna has been the de facto head of the so-called “Northern Territory” that Cassadaigua claims as its own for nearly a year. In recent days she triumphantly declared that the region, known as the Cooper River region by many in Cassadaigua and abroad, has been pacified by Dagan forces and that her administration can now move on in its nation building project. But, as the saying goes, even the best laid plans often go awry. Within hours of her announcement local rebels of the River Republic, an insurgent organisation campaigning for self-rule, had mounted attacks on two Dagan army helicopters, shooting down both and killing two Dagan soldiers. Although analysts have suggested that the timing of the attack was a coincidence, it does suggest that Brianna’s speech may have been an exercise of reassurance to her backers in Concord Heights, rather than being spoken from a position of real security.

The Republic appears to have conducted relatively little in the way of offensive military action against the Dagans since announcing themselves to the world, doing so with a brutal ambush on a Dagan patrol last year. However, under the leadership of a previously unrecognisable Dagan-born rebel called Alain Poitou, military experts now think this lull was a deliberate strategy on the part of the group as it grew, trained its forces and bedded itself into society across the Cooper River region. Exact numbers of combatants the group now has are unknown, but a senior source at the Euran Ministry of Defence has told this paper that they think the figure is “easily in five figures”.

The Republic confirmed their renewed intentions to wage violent struggle with fresh attacks as this story was being written yesterday, with three Dagan troops reportedly killed in a series of ambushes outside five different villages. Clement Poldrey, Professor of War Studies at the University of the Holden, spoke to us shortly before this edition of the paper went to print. ‘I think what we are seeing now is the beginning of a sustained campaign of political violence by this River Republic group. They are conventionally outgunned and outnumbered by the Dagans, but a determined insurgency is always a nightmare to fight against, and from what I’ve seen there’s considerable evidence of many locals aiding their cause.’

Turning to the Dagan perspective, Professor Poldrey said, ‘The government in Concord Heights will no doubt feel confident they can see off the Republicans, but they should heed the experience of such asymmetric conflicts throughout history – you have to balance winning hearts and minds and winning battles. If enough Dagans are sent home in body bags, the domestic population are going to start calling for withdrawal. It’s a tale as old as time.’ He also highlighted that the helicopter shootdown with a handheld surface to air missile indicated that the Dagans faced a serious risk of a high-casualty incident should a transport helicopter or plane be shot down, complicating their efforts to reinforce occupying troops in the region.

Republican access to such weapons has prompted a serious diplomatic dispute between Cassadaigua and Eura. Concord Heights claims Bastion is funnelling weapons to the rebels and that the River Republic is essentially a proxy group being used to attack Cassadaigua, allegations that the Euran government has strongly rejected. The facts of war are, as ever, hard to ascertain. Professor Poldrey elaborated for us: ‘Is it the case that there are Euran and ex-Sameban weapons showing up in this conflict? Absolutely. And there’s got to be questions asked about how the Republic are getting stuff like shoulder launched missile launchers – it would not surprise me one bit if the Euran government is using PMCs and so on to arm these people. But this rebellion didn’t come from nowhere – it started with a Dagan slaughter. If I were one of Brianna or Cassie’s strategists, I’d be less worried about Euran guns and more focused on how to uproot an insurgency that they have allowed to fester and dig in for a whole year.’