Brevity Challenge Cup 4 - IC Everything Thread

[PotatoFarmers]

The old players shoved out of the team for the friendly tournaments, the young players determined to make this an audition of their abilities. Two wins and 1 draw is what they presented to Adnan Suliaha, though the fans still remain worried about the defense heading into the knockout stages.

[Drawkland]

"You all are getting so old, and yet you haven't lost a step," Alexis Ford pondered aloud. "What's your routine? How do you stay healthy?"

Nicole Warren and Sarah Arrowsword gave each other a knowing glance. Nicole chuckled awkwardly.

"If we told you, you wouldn't believe us." Sarah replied simply.

[Dod Rava]

"Seba?"

"Yeah? What do you need?" 

"Your old."

"So what? I still play better football than you here and back home."

"Whatever you say, grandpa."

"You're just jealous that you haven't won anything for a looong time."

"Okay, let's quit it. Fine, you win. Let's focus on the next match."

[Banija]

WC winner Gitonga Kahara, this team's manager, sat down with his wife.

"Aren't you getting a little old for this, honey?" She asked him.

"Old for what?" He replied.

"The nerves! You've won a freaking World Cup."

But she could never understand- the nerves never go away with international football.

[Banija]

Fourth Cutoff of the Brevity Cup

It's the knockout stages! You've got to Pump it up to 11.

Quarterfinal Optional Prompt: We're getting to the latter stages of the tournament. Whoever's remaining has got to start having visions of a trophy start dancing in their eyes, right? The word of the day is pressure. Use it in a sentence. Talk about it. How is your team handling it? facing it? Where's the source? Etc...

Round of 16 Scores

Ceni 1–0 Tinhampton
Drawkland 1–0 Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom
Poafmersia 2–1 The Cordian Isles
Huayramarca 2–1 Lozho
Cassadaigua 0–0 Ketiou (1–1 AET) (3–4 pen.)
Dod Rava 0–0 Koronavia (0–0 AET) (4–5 pen.)
Tikariot 2–2 Zwangzug (2–3 AET)
Adab 1–0 Banija (Matchup scorinated by Quebec)

Quarterfinal Matchups

#1 Ceni v. #8 Drawkland @ The Stadium of the Restoration(cap. 91,835) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija.

#4 Poafmersia v. #5 #5 Huayramarca @ Mugisha III Memorial Stadium(cap. 49,000) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija

Above winners will compete in Semifinal match at The Stadium of the Restoration(cap. 91,835) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija.

#14 Ketiou v. #11 Koronavia @ Tiones Lumber Field at the Wolf’s Den(cap. 44,000) in Busembe, Kitara Region.

#15 Zwangzug v. #7 Adab @ Mavuto Field(cap, 75,000) in Hoima, Ankole, Banija.

Above winners will compete in Semifinal match at Mavuto Field(cap. 75,000) in Hoima, Ankole

[Tinhampton]

Ceni? Too much pressure. We were playing them in an era with one match per window, two World Cups a year and a Union of International Club Associations. They were not... by the logic of "fluid time." To borrow a cheeky little linguistic trick from the Zwangzugians: What the fuck.

[Ceni]

“Pressure turns coal into diamonds.”

At Club 24, the coaches beat this statement into Andrew Arrowsword. But now, he also remembered that pressure mashed potatoes. He didn’t want that to happen to his team, especially before a critical quarterfinal match.

Besides, didn’t DeBeers invent the myth of diamonds’ value anyway?

[Ketiou]

Penalties. A battle between player and mind as much as between player and their opponent. A rare chance for a goalkeeper to be the star of the show. Émeric Dubuisson’s pair of saves in the shoot-out against Cassadaigua, including from the last kick, certainly made him a star in Ketiou.

[Zwangzug]

GIONS may have finished second in the university bracket, but it was Jude McWaler's goal in minute 108 that lifted Zwangzug into the quarterfinals. Let's hope they have the guts for the next round. Not metaphorically--Lynn Ragnailt's intestinal bioflora have been keeping her up at night. That and her clipboard.

[PotatoFarmers]

There is no pressure if you don't have expectations. At least that is what the coaching team has said repeatedly at press conferences. The team wants to experiment with different play styles and see who should be the starting lineup for the IAC. The results are secondary to those goals.

[Drawkland]

Sarah Arrowsword and her half-brother Andrew only faced off once: the fateful friendly in Drawkland which directly preceded the Cenian national team's mysterious disappearance.

They never expected to play each other again, certainly not in these circumstances. A friendly tournament quarterfinal? Andrew a manager? No longer mortals?

Life is strange.

[Banija]

Fifth Cutoff of the Brevity Cup

It's the knockout stages! You've got to have Joy

Semifinal Optional Prompt: We're about to be at the last 4! Let's talk about Joy. What makes you happy? What makes you smile? Use joy in a sentence. Go!

Quarterfinal Scores

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Ceni 2–1 Drawkland
Poafmersia 4–3 Huayramarca
Ketiou 2–2 Koronavia (2–3 AET)
Zwangzug 4–2 Adab

Semifinal Matchups

#1 Ceni v. #4 Poafmersia @ The Stadium of the Restoration(cap. 91,835) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija.

#11 Koronavia v. #15 Zwangzug @ Mavuto Field(cap, 75,000) in Hoima, Ankole, Banija.

Losers will compete in Third Place Playoff at the Mugisha III Memorial Stadium(cap. 49,000) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija
Winners will compete in the Fourth Brevity Challenge Cup Final at The Stadium of the Restoration(cap. 91,835) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija.

[Drawkland]

The dust settled, the crowd began filing out of the stadium, the result was in the books.

Sarah Arrowsword reluctantly crossed the pitch to meet Andrew around midfield, but she had a genuine smile on her face.

"Hey dork, you better win it all now. I can't lose for nothing!"

[Zwangzug]

"Hey, get moving," said Sveta, with a backward glance at Julia. "Coach wants us warming up."

"I'm already warmed up," Julia pointed out, adjusting her neckstrap. Unfortunately the chromatic scale was not the kind of exercise Ragnailt had in mind.

[Ceni]

"Ode to Joy" starts out subdued, like an orchestra forced to play softly, reservedly. It signified nervousness, reluctance for Ceni before the quarterfinal against Drawkland. The second movement grows ever louder, mirroring the Cenian team's confidence after going up 1-0 at halftime. The crescendo marks victory, pure bliss for Ceni.

[PotatoFarmers]

For every win, there might be a short period of happiness, but everyone will start to calm themselves down and prepare for the next match. Cycle repeats. A loss would be sadness, especially the closer the team is to the trophy. That's why they say in sports, joy is short-lived.

[Banija]

Sixth Cutoff of the Brevity Cup

It's the semifinals. Everybody's got visions of Trophies in their heads.

Final/3PPO Optional Prompt: One more cutoff. Let's talk about Trophies(or Trophy). Everyone will be competing for silverware at the final cutoff. What's the value of this trophy? Do you have any? Will there be an outburst of joy?

Semifinal Scores

Ceni 2–2 Poafmersia (3–4 AET)
Koronavia 0–1 Zwangzug

Medal Round Matchups

Third Place Playoff: #1 Ceni v. #11 Koronavia @ Mugisha III Memorial Stadium(cap. 49,000) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija.

Brevity Challenge Cup Final: #4 Poafmersia v. #15 Zwangzug @ The Stadium of the Restoration(cap. 91,835) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija.

[Zwangzug]

Ryan Launds-Peterson's goal lifted Zwangzug into the final against Poafmersia, who made their international debut in our country during the Baptism of Fire years ago. This team may be college kids, but against the Red Panijas, they hope to show that the students have not surpassed the teachers just yet.

[PotatoFarmers]

18 years ago, the Red Panjias made their international debut in Zwangzug, with an aim of accomplishing history by lifting the team's first international trophy. While they didn't win the BoF, there years later Poafmersia won the IAC. Today, between Poafmersia and Zwangzug, we have a battle for another trophy.

[Ceni]

As brightly as the Cenian U-21 team’s star had shown during the tournament, its brief reign would come to an end with a devastating loss to Poafmersia. Ceni would root for Zwangzug to win the trophy, only if it wanted to claim the honor of having defeated the eventual champions.

[Banija]

Final Cutoff of the Brevity Cup

It's the medal round. Today, we crown a champion.

Medal Round

Third Place Playoff
Match played at Mugisha III Memorial Stadium(cap. 49,000) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija.

Ceni 5–3 Koronavia

Brevity Challenge Cup Final
Match played at The Stadium of the Restoration(cap. 91,835) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija.

Poafmersia 2–1 Zwangzug