Poafmersia 7–4 Magnecia
Goalscorer: Leontiy Seet 3' (assisted by Aapeli Shea); Cindy Oriol 17'; Tessa Bjarnesen 30', 70' (assisted by Leontiy Seet); Jordan Huerta 42' (assisted by Bjarnesen), 52' (assited by Michael Jackson); Jimmy Couch 90+1'
Lineup (4-3-3): Aleksander Malloye; Jimmy Couch, Cindy Oriol, Nikkita Alfaro, Jacqi Equine; Michael Jackson, Erle Sartini, Aapeli Shea (c); Tessa Bjarnesen, Jordan Huerta, Leontiy Seet
Substitutes: Diamond Byan (Alfaro 64'); Sylvia Fusco (Sartini 78'); Liina Williamson (Huerta 78'); Taliah Alcock (Bjarnesen 87')
West Barack and East Obama 0–2 Poafmersia
Goalscorer: Jordan Huerta 1' (assisted by Michael Jackson), 89' (assisted by Dagur Lawrence)
Lineup (4-3-3): Nicole Potts; Kilikina Lee, Diamond Byan, Cindy Oriol, Xenophon Robson; Michael Jackson, Min Berg, Aapeli Shea (c); Tessa Bjarnesen, Jordan Huerta, Leontiy Seet
Substitutes: Taliah Alcock (Bjarnesen 62'); Dagur Lawrence (Shea 75'); Sylvia Fusco (Berg 86')
Sporting Daily
Playoff tie against Kandorith away will be Poafmersia 200th WCQ game
The last time Poafmersia played Kandorith, the Red Panjias was just a brand new team, off from clinching 3rd place behind Nephara and Siovanija & Teusland, and was considered the rising star of the WC80s. After all, the team performed ahead of expectations, and if the current format was adopted back then, the Red Panjias would be in the play-off and the rest of the team's history might have been changed. It was the first match for the team at the Cup of Harmony, in Lwanga City Arena, in the city the stadium was named after. That day, Shakira Handris scored the team's first goal in the Cup of Harmony, but they eventually lost 1-2, which was basically a reflection of the Red Panjias' lack of experience against much better teams. Poafmersia eventually fell out of the Group Stage of the competition, to date, the only time Poafmersia never made it past the Group Stage in a World Cup Committee competition (of course we don't talk about the WCQ).
The two-legged tie between Poafmersia and Kandorith will be the second and third time the two teams have faced each other in any match. With the team surviving a scare from Cap Nord to make it into the Play-offs, Adnan Suliaha was extremely careful about the way he worded his expectations for the team. "To say we aren't interested in regaining entry into the World Cup Qualifiers is a lie, but we haven't have a good run on the way to the playoffs, and our playoff record isn't fantastic," said the coach at the pre-match press conference. This is Poafmersia's 4th playoff in total, and the last 2 playoffs have ended in heartbreak for the team (in WCQ90, when they lost to Vdara, and WCQ92, when they lost to Cassadaigua).
Adnan would probably be less worried about their offence, with Jordan Huerta netting a brace in the last 2 games against Magnecia, as well as West Barack and East Obama. Playing the first leg at home, Adnan said that their goal was to get a reasonable lead at home, so as to gain some advantage ahead of a tough return fixture in Kandorith. "If we can get some cushion here, the players would not be as stressed, and all is well for us. Right now, the most important thing is to take things one step at a time, and make sure we win the game in front of us."
Most fans are eager to see the Red Panjias return to the World Cup, and hope that they would be able to see these players play the Red Panjias' 10th World Cup Proper game next year in Chromatika and Tumbra. "Nothing beats seeing our players in the World Cup, its the most prestigious sports tournament in the multiverse," said a fan. Another fan pointed out that the underdog mentality is something the Red Panjias have embraced all this while, and this represents a really good opportunity to show the world how underdogs perform in the World Cup. "Remember World Cup 87? We trashed Omerica at home and then drew away to earn the opportunity to play in our first Proper at the fourth attempt. And against all odds, we defeated Audioslavia, sneaked into the Round of 16, defeated Brenecia, and basically did what many national teams dream of doing - getting into the top 8 on their first try. The last time we are in a World Cup proper was almost 10 years ago, hopefully we can get back in there again and show the world the Potato Way of Football," said 56-years old Johnathan Smith, who bragged to the Daily about his experiences with the team since the very beginning.
This play-off tie would be exceptionally important for this team, given that they would celebrate their 200th World Cup Qualification game in Kandorith. A win there would be a good story for the team and for the press, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary since being founded to contest the World Cup some 20 years ago. Head Coach Adnan Suliaha, the architect behind the team's formation and progress over the years, have downplayed the occasion, saying that the team have crossed milestones "without this much fanfare". "I think we have crossed the 400th game overall sometime in the IAC or one of the friendly tournaments, and yet we didn't make such huge fanfare about it. 200 games in the WCQ is nothing as well, it just shows we have been here for some time, not too little, and not as much as teams like Audioslavia and Krytenia who have been here since god-knows-when."
Poafmersia's game against Kandorith will be held tonight, 7.30pm, in Libira National Stadium, with live broadcast on major Television networks in the country.