World Cup 94 [roleplays]

by **Krytenia** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 3:02 am

OOC: "Thanks" to Ko for the image linked in this RP.

Preparations complete for crucial Ayes talks
Dennis Travers reports from Koroa City

Ahead of tomorrow's important summit in Koroa City, the Krytenian staff working in the international metropolis have been working feverishly behind the scenes in anticipation of welcoming the various nations' delegates. For those unaware of the workings of this particular city, Koroa is an island under pan-Anaian jurisdiction, designed both as a neutral venue for diplomacy - and sporting events if required, as the upcoming FraterniT20 will attest - and a permanent exposition space for the region's inhabitants to show off the best their country has to offer.

The talks will take place in the Krytenian section, at a venue known as the Royal Convention Centre. Though not on the scale of Emberton's Exhibition Hall or even Ousevale's University Conference Centre, the building is proof that good things come in small packages. The high-tech conference rooms provide state of the art audiovisual technology, although this particular meeting will provide some somewhat different visual media than the usual corporate presentations they get used for. There's also a fully staffed and stocked cafeteria, and the kitchen staff have been briefed on recipes for local cuisines from each of the attending nations in additional to the usual Krytenian fare. This is probably for the best, as not everyone appreciates the wall of spice that some of our dishes offer.

The RCC has already seen a couple of its upcoming guests before the talks even begin. Dhunerin Laurderinthen, Prime Minister of Ko-oren, and the several ministers who make up the rest of that country's delegation, were shown around the place and the rest of the Krytenian quarter by the "home" delegation of Laurderinthen's opposite number Penelope Baker, Minister of Foreign and Regional Affairs Sarah Finch, Defence Minister Stephen Armfield, and Business, Industry, and Trade Minister Oliver Heldiga. In return, the Krytenians were given a guided tour of the picturesque botanical gardens that form part of the Ko-orenite section. As acts of diplomacy go, it was a simple one, but one that solidifies the sense of anaitasuna that Krytenia hopes to engender as a result of this summit. Even the joke "gift" supplied by the Ko-orenites to the Krytenians went down in good humour, though in response PM Baker threatened to fly Ed Fenn in to keep her counterpart in check.

With the U-turn from the Ochre Islands that will see the archipelago represented in these talks after all, the stage is set for the biggest diplomatic event in Anaia since Foxchester. All that is left to do now is to wait and see what the results of the summit will be, and the lie of the land - or ocean - once the dust has settled here in Koroa. Perhaps, even, there is the possibility of Emberton standing shoulder to shoulder with Jhanna as a geopolitical superpower at long last.

by **Nephara** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 4:13 am

Nephara 3 - 2 Cassadaigua
(4-4-2 -> 4-2-3-1) 1 - Strand; 2 - Holden, 5 - Roback, 6 - Scales, 3 - Xu (25 - Mueller); 13 - Brewer (23 - Drake), 15 - Constantine (4 - Biscan), 24 - Sebold, 11 - Loeher; 9 - Kulesza (7 - Anharbour), 21 - Vetiver (19 - Rosziter)
Goals: Vetiver 29', Anharbour 85'

Astograth 1 - 3 Nephara
(4-4-2) 1 - Strand; 2 - Holden, 19 - Copperhead, 6 - Scales, 25 - Mueller; 13 - Brewer (23 - Drake), 4 - Biscan, 24 - Sebold (8 - Anhope), 16 - Drnaso; 9 - Kulesza, 21 - Vetiver (10 - Harper)
Goals: Sebold 33', Brewer 38', Holden 56'

Nephara 5 - 2 Notricia
(4-4-2) 20 - Longstreet; 17 - Swain, 18 - Copperhead, 22 - Vine, 25 - Mueller; 23 - Drake (7 - Anharbour), 4 - Biscan (19 - Rosziter), 8 - Anhope, 16 - Drnaso; 14 - Berenguer, 10 - Harper
Goals: Harper 6', Anhope 16', Berenguer 53', Harper 60', Swain 83'

Milchama 0 - 2 Nephara
(4-4-2 -> 4-2-3-1) 1 - Strand; 2 - Holden, 5 - Roback, 6 - Scales, 3 - Xu (25 - Mueller); 13 - Brewer, 15 - Constantine (19 - Rosziter), 24 - Sebold, 11 - Loeher; 9 - Kulesza, 21 - Vetiver (7 - Anharbour)
Goals: Vetiver 47', Brewer 58'

Cantor knew not to get carried away. Not until the first goal came.
"I recognise how we've been playing." She smiled, tightly. "We've been playing like my dream." The phantom 4-1 against Cassadaigua away, that she'd accidentally blurted to the press about. "I knew it was coming. Everything we've been building towards, this has been an expression of that. A strong performance, a strong team... you've been the better side, away from home against on paper our toughest opponents. Yeah... but what's missing is the goal. Not for long, though, eh? Go fetch it for me."
Didn't have to wait long.

The match wasn't defined so much by a turning point as an unturning point. Nephara had had the better of the first 15 minutes, but neither side had a shot on target to their name. But the Cormorants looked comfortable, dominating possession, clearly the more likely to strike first...
... and they inevitably didn't. Cal Kamet just needed the barest sniff of space, before effortlessly splitting the midfield and defence with an effortless-seeming through-ball before Constantine could meaningfully press them. Two on three; Benbemore and Flok against Nephara's centre-halves and Medusa Strand. Roback took on Benbemore, but he managed to tap a pass across her and into the path of Flok, comfortably outpacing the sluggish Anaximander Scales, the ball in his stride, he eased into the shot, low and hard and--
-- Medusa Strand, flying out of her goal, somehow got a knee in the way. The ball corkscrewed wildly, stalling before the goalline, but Vetta Roback got to it first and booted it out for a corner before Benbemore could finish the job.
Best chance of the first half the Warriors had, and had it been converted, it would've changed the whole complexion of the match. Nephara could have wilted, would certainly have needd to press for a goal, and the hosts would have been able to sit back and continue exploiting that attacking pace.
But the match did not turn. And so, the Cormorants awaited their breakthrough...

... but not for too long.
The tone was set from Flok's kick-off, immediately put under pressure by Kulesza running at him, chasing Benbemore when he took up the ball, on Kamet when they took it up; their hooked ball over the top was headed back where it came from by Sebold. Kulesza beat Cekarn to it, drifted out, sent it down the right to Tiamat Holden, and the green shirts just kept passing, in one, long, incredibly unbroken sequence, moving from player to player so that no-one had a chance to interrupt them. It was really quite hypnotic, at least until Felixe Vetiver burst down the middle and put her boot through Xu's low cross, smashing the ball through Entersher's fingers.
But the reaction came; the Warriors were a bold, hot-blooded side, and had already amply demonstrated that they had the teeth to hurt Nephara. Kouriea forced a magnificent fingertip save from Strand; Yochanan came off the bench and his first touch was a diving header that only just whistled past the post.
By the time the ball was in the net again, it seemed almost against the run of play. But over the hour? More than justified. And what a goal, too: Madita Brewer earned the free kick, and it was Madita Brewer who took it. Almost. Bellona Sebold technically got things started, rolling the ball out to the right - the wall jumped the gun, and literally jumped as well, before scrambling belatedly into action, too late, as Brewer's absolute thundercunt of a shot flew past all of them, past Kulesza's hopeful header, past the tall timber of Kelliers, and past Entersher.

No chances would be taken. Felixe Vetiver and Demeter Constantine were hooked, Anharbour - late goalscorer against Cassadaigua - came on in the right wing, Brewer shifted in, and Anhope and the murderous Chandra Rosziter worked as the double pivot. Both found yellow cards; both for efficient professional fouls, breaking the flow of play, looked upon approvingly. And Brewer had the best of the rest of the game, sending in a few dangerous passes - one sent just past the post by Kulesza - and smacking the outside of a post in injury time.
All in all, though, the main thing was that the Cormorants saw home the clean sheet and the three points. A rock-solid performance in the second-seeds' backyard, an eighth win in a row.
When the dust had settled, the Cormorants had a five-point lead on Cassadaigua, nine on Milchama - though the Warriors had a game in hand. And the green and black could heave a sigh of relief. Three wins from Brascocia, Koronavia, Adab and Olastor would seal it... and then the real challenge would begin.

NEPHARAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 8
Goalkeepers: 1 - Medusa Strand (Chromatik, CMT), 12 - Toxothea Sebring (Crisisbless), 20 - Chary Longstreet (CA Paulinthal, PAS)
Defenders: 2 - Tiamat Holden (AFC Treason), 3 - Tanith Xu (Myana, CMT), 5 - Vetta Roback (Sabrefell Athletic), 6 - Anaximander Scales (Brinemouth), 17 - Astrid Swain (Anomalies, CMT), 18 - Sven Copperhead (Crisisbless), 22 - Tamiika Vine (Starling), 25 - Catheline Mueller (Ulsa, EUR)
Midfielders: 4 - Seeker Biscan (Sabrefell Athletic), 8 - Petra Anhope (La Nueva Avenida, FFD), 11 - Arachne Loeher (Wirr Tsi, CMT), 13 - Madita Brewer (Northern Union, BRE), 15 - Demeter Constantine (Crisisbless), 16 - Tryna Drnaso (1923 Esca, MYT), 19 - Chandra Rosziter (Dynamo Sjoedrhavn, SVJ), 23 - Tabithe Drake (AFC Treason), 24 - Bellona Sebold (Crisisbless), 26 - Lindse Kvasina (Istria City FC, BNJ)
Forwards: 7 - Kestrel Anharbour (Crisisbless), 9 - Ravil Kulesza (Maethoru FC, KOR), 10 - Bravura Harper (Ulsa, EUR), 14 - Leandra Berenguer (Anomalies, CMT), 21 - Felixe Vetiver (1830 Cathair, AUD)

Yakk 0 - 0 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 0 Ascvalion
Cassadaigua 3 - 1 Nephara
Nephara 1 - 0 Astograth
Notricia 0 - 2 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 1 Milchama
Brascocia 0 - 3 Nephara
Nephara 0 - 1 Koronavia
Adab 1 - 4 Nephara
BYE
Nephara 5 - 1 Olastor
Nephara 5 - 1 Yakk
Ascvalion 0 - 4 Nephara
Nephara 3 - 2 Cassadaigua
Astograth 1 - 3 Nephara
Nephara 5 - 2 Notricia
Milchama 0 - 2 Nephara
Nephara vs. Brascocia
Koronavia vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Adab
BYE
Olastor vs. Nephara

by **Jeruselem** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 4:37 am

Jeruselem Manager Faye Swift at Dazza Dallas Stadium with her older son Jack ...

Faye: So, you learn anything about football today?
Jack: You can't always win everything?
Faye: Err, close but that's not it.
Jack: Every dog has it's day?
Faye: Well yes, I guess that's one ... but anyway.
Jack: They were pretty good

Faye: Yes but we weren't playing that well either so there's that. We played a lot better when we beat Naixi 1-0.
Jack: So it wasn't our best effort then
Faye: We really should have this one but we lost the game instead
Jack: But we expect to lose a few a games?
Faye: Yes I know but we have to play Huayramarca and then Ko-oren next. We lost both those games last time, badly.
Jack: Oh, I didn't know that.

Faye: I thought you were paying attention to the football
Jack: Oh I guess I'm a little distracted by other things ...
Faye: I know, all these pretty girls around here. Even the security guards around here are good looking.
Jack: Mind you they don't look very friendly ...
Faye: They are security guards, they are supposed to look scary. They aren't there for just for appearances.
Jack: They sure don't mess around.

Faye: We have enough idiots here at the football as it is. And I haven't even mentioned the tourists either.
Jack: I'm a young man, I am easily distracted by all these girls.
Faye: I know, some of them are literally naked like some people I know. If you're going to make it into the big time, you have keep focus as there's a lot of competition out there.
Jack: Including those girls?
Faye: Well yes, if you're a man in most countries ... you won't have that problem but in Jeruselem we don't have an all male team.
Jack: I noticed that, most visiting teams are all male.

Faye: Well, in Group 2 ... most teams are like that except Ile de Richelieu and Naixi.
Jack: They all look bigger and stronger than us.
Faye: Yeah well, us Jeruselemites have never been like big strong people. We can't win that way, we have win in other ways.
Jack: But I'm one of bigger people around here ...
Faye: Well it's not from me, look how short I am. Must be your dad ...
Jack: Yeah speaking of short people, the Princess is here.

Faye: That entire family is full of short girls.
Stella: Hey! Your son is here. He perving all the chics around here again?
Faye: Hey, it's one way to get him to the football.
Stella: We need some big tall players in our team, since all the girls are so short ...
Faye: He's not ready yet, but I'll be retired by then.
Stella: What about the other son?

Faye: Oh him, I think he's probably not going to be football player. He's more interested in basketball
Jack: Yeah, he's more a basketball type. Not the best paying profession though.
Stella: Put it this way, I cannot see Jeruselem doing very well in female basketball ...
Jack: Yeah I don't see many tall girls around here.
Faye: Anyway, I have things to do now. Don't get too excited when she's working son. You know what she wears.
Stella: He'll be fine. I'm used to attracting men for no reason by accident or on purpose ... hey

by **HUElavia** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 6:02 am

United Adaikes 5-4 HUElavia
(REDACTED 5', 90', REDACTED 34', 63', REDACTED 48' | Soares 11' (P), 58', Yamada 45', 84')

HUElavia 3–2 Quakmybush
(Pinheiro 18', Balderas 50', Beuba 90+4' | REDACTED 26', 80')
Estadio Bendito, San Franco, HUElavia

Gold

The Story of HUElavia's run in IAC 15.

Part 9

Round-of-16

Julieta Higashi Fernandez: "For our match against Togonistan, it was an exciting time to go out to Space in order to reach the venue we had to play our Round-of-16 Match."

Lucas Lettmann: "Going on that ride to the stadium was the most unique trip I had ever taken to get to a match and it genuinely was an unforgettable moment."

Match Announcer: "Welcome everyone to Outer Space! We're here at the Extaterestrial Dome of Sport in Space for tonight's Round-of-16 match between HUElavia and Togonistan!"

Ringo Honda: "It really was one of the most beautiful stadiums I've ever seen. The stadium had a more caved in ground, but the sky was this giant, protective dome that showed the stars and cosmos in the universe. Genuinely was a beautiful sight to behold."

Leonardo Conavacio: "Given it was the knockouts, I had to go for the very best once more, and in the pre-match talk, I instilled a sense of pride for the players to be in this moment. I recall telling them 'While there are an uncountable number of stars in outer space, tonight you all are the most important stars in the universe, and you all can make this game count.' I really spoke that from my heart to motivate them."

David Navarro-Hamada: "That pre-match speech was really impactful and it made us feel motivated to go all out to advance. With a bunch of our fans in the stands, we felt we had the momentum and motivation to finally win the IAC."

Match Announcer: "We're underway here in Space! Togonistan kicks off the match."

RH: "Togonistan was much like the game against Abanhfleft, just a defensive team that really annoyed the hell out of us. Even more so the fact that they were playing 5 in the back."

Match Announcer: "Navarro-Hamada with the pass, Honda's free... Saved by Ahoeito!"

JHF: "Despite the ultra-defensiveness of Togonistan, they did hold back to counter when they could and it was a pain at points to defend against them."

Match Announcer: "Ryu's past Higashi, they're going one-on-one with Lettmann..."

LL: "Despite some of the lapses we'd have, I was very much hellbent on not conceding a goal in this match."

Match Announcer: "Saved! Lettmann blocks it out and send it out for a corner, he's getting pats from his teammates for that one! Great Save!"

LC: "At the half, we had good chances but the match was taking a bit of wear on our players, and I had to motivate them some more, as well as give some adjustments for them to last longer in this half. I was on the hunch that Togonistan was looking to play for a Shootout, and I was determined to not allow this match to get to that extreme."

Match Announcer: "Chanca on the ball, sends a pass into the box, Navarro-Hamada with the shot... Saved by Ahoeito!"

DNH: "It was a really tiring and frustrating match that felt it would never end. Shot after shot, block after block, it really was a pain trying to break them down."

Match Announcer: "It's still a deadlock after 90 minutes, we got another 30 minutes to go."

LC: "I gave out a very passionate speech, telling them 'Keep on pressuring them, we've chipped away at them throughout this game and they seem tired and nervous. They know that we're knocking on their door and it's going to barge open, one way or another. We're going to finish them off before the end of extra time.' The players looked very tired, but they had a spark in them to succeed."

RH: "We were just beat at this point, but we pushed on and on, and we couldn't let go of the throttle we had on Togonistan. Eventually, we had that door barge right open."

Match Announcer: " Regnard on the ball, she's looking for an opening along the flank. Regnard to the box..."

DNH: "I started to hustle into the box once I saw the cross go into the box, given I wanted to be there in case of anything."

Match Announcer: "Yom with the header... It hits the post!"

DNH: "All of a sudden, I see the ball falling towards me and it lands to my feet, and I just could not second guess or adjust my positioning. I just took that shot blindly and hope for the best."

Match Announcer: "Navarro-Hamada...! GOAL! GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL!!! THAT MAY BE THE WINNER!!! NAVARRO-HAMADA SCORES AND IT'S 1-0 TO HUELAVIA!!! RIGHT FOR THE REBOUND!!!"

DNH: "I ran to the corner, did a slide and before I could do a pose, I was just mobbed by my teammates and the bench staff in celebration for that. I almost couldn't breath! But, it was such a euphoric moment that really was beautiful. Once everyone got off me, seeing the cosmos shine so brightly was truly one of the greatest sights I had ever laid eyes upon. That moment felt truly special."

JHF: "Once we had that goal, it was our turn to play defensively. I remember setting my body for blocks left and right, just trying to waste time and send the ball deep outside to eat off the remaining time."

LC: "While I'm not proud of barking out orders to be defensive, something that's viewed Anti-HUElavian Football, I knew my players were drained and I wanted the match to end."

Match Announcer: "Shot taken by Ryu... Grabbed and saved by Lettmann! He's on the ground clutching it."

LL: "I made sure to not let a shot come in and when I grabbed that ball, I sent it deep for everyone to chase."

Match Announcer: "Lettmann sends it deep... It's over! That's it! HUElavia survives Togonistan and will be in the Quarter-Finals once again! Sweet relief for The Yellows, they live to see another day!"

RH: "It was a relief to finish that match, and we all celebrated with hugs to each other, giving condolences to the Togonistan players and thanking our fans before doing one last stargaze to the stars and cosmos in Space. That night, we felt we were the stars of the Universe. Although, little we knew that these Extra Times would be a theme in this tournament for us."

To be continued...

by **Delte** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 9:12 am

Gnejs 1–1 Captina Island
Far Faraway Correspondent & Travel Editor Sally Nuskcharde on the Women's Institute Charabang to The Dock on The Rock (Kejm Park), Port Kejm, Gnejs for the Shingarter Herald

I won't dwell overly long on the finer details of this match, and it goes without saying that Enor Perro could still learn a thing or two about team management from his previous mentor, coach Enda Clentin, who now remotely guides The Dandelions toward multiversal glory, but certainly mention should be made of the WI's contribution to a somewhat frustrated atmosphere at 'The Dock' where the home crowd seem undecided on whether to be joyous with The Dandelions attacking progress under their remote video coach or furious about their becoming an attacking team under a remote video coach. With an unusually sterile match at hand it seemed the atmosphere was carried by the cynics and there was a lot of grumbling discontent from the locals. Undeterred by this not-of-rockist reception, the ladies of the WI hoisted their patriotic bloomers to the metaphorical mast and set about teaching the Gnejsians the error of their ways - Ida Spankhurst, for example, telling dog owner Karl-Johan Vaasa (63), and his good friend Knut Svensson (65) that they had never had it so good, to the complete bemusement of the two spectators who just wanted to moan about the state of the rock without being troubled by considered opinion. Meanwhile, Agnes Menskell certainly went about converting unemployed sardonist Sonja Mørk (34) to the benefits of the stoicpress with surprising vigour, and Sonja could hardly muster a good throwaway jibe in her own defence. I suppose it could have gone either way with these outsiders and their 'southron' ways coming here and telling the locals how to behave, but after all the Gnejsians are hardly your Licentian hooligans or cavemen from the Holy Asylum or a bunch of uppity elves, and in the end they at least rather enjoyed being harangued by the old ladies of the WI, and even invited the charabang back for an after-party of Semlor buns, Kanelbulle (which the ladies were pleased to hear were not fished out of the canal) and prinsesstarta. A jolly good time was had by all and Karl-Johan admitted he was excited to get cracking on his new Deltic Scone recipe.

At the same time, or maybe a few minutes before...

Aleirave 5–5 Delte
Segmental Paving Specialist & temporary Player-Reporter Cerril Nysald in a field just outside Lahaira, Aleirave for the Famous Askirk Bookshop Community Noticeboard

I've been briefed not to dwell overly long on the finer details of our match but suffice it to say the Away Team Mission suffered a little sunstroke in the tropics and forgot all about defending, while future young superstar Henry Lightman, 17, once more posted his availability to be signed by any - literally any - big club reading this report by breaking another national record. Scoring ALL FIVE goals for The Reps, he took away records previously jointly held by Irki Mynster and - of course - Enor Perro of four goals in a singe match. Bravo young man, Bravo. As for the defence, well, I have been briefed not to dwell overly long on the finer details so the less said about that, the better.

I hear the home team had their bye day which is nice for them.

Every Day I Roleplay About Football
Subject: The Opinion of the Chief Territories Officer

From: fred.oakenshield@ediraf.co.sb
To: distribution-list.nssports-monitorbots@ediraf.co.sb
cc: -

Thanks for the include. Totally intriguing, to coin the phrase of the day. You primary bots have got some scary ideas to keep yourselves amused, I must say. Obviously I couldn’t read the Expansion Pack proposal from @bot.kirolawatch and @bot.cargo-router198 as it’s all machine code to me but I get the gist of what you want from The Game by your email exchanges.

So, if you’re planning on rolling the dice - here’s my opinion:

Raul Valk, the human sales rep for the area, has been promoted to Regional Manager (nice one, @bot.hr) so his loyalty rating to ediraf must be through the roof by now. Plus they’ve moved him into the diplomatic quarter in Oswark-upon-Delte and there’s a bit of hero worship from the locals from what I can read between the lines of his email updates. He must be in close with some influential people by now. I think he’s got leverage - you could definitely wield him. Should you wield him? That’s one for @bot.hr, I guess. Maybe @bot.legal - I don’t know what the rules are on intervening in local domestic political interests. Or for that matter the rules for The Game, if there are any. Probably you shouldn’t tell me.

As for Mister Valk, that is to say Employee #345.8374.874, I have not had face to face dealings with him except for a brief covert meeting when we were assessing him for the Employee of The Month Award, and I found him to be a dilligent and vanilla sort of chap. You know, he’ll go along with most things he’s instructed to do without complaining too much, try to do his best, frequently review his work for validation from a superior manager. Not very sparky, but reliable. Intelligent enough, but not exactly boardroom material. I’m surprised, if I’m honest, how successful he’s been in his territory - perhaps all that fresh air suits him.

You’ve probably got more data for this situation than I could possibly bring to the table, what with all the covert psychometrics you’ve done on him, so I can only conclude you’re asking me because I’ll have to pick up the pieces if you break our sales rep or create a diplomatic incident in the area. Fortunately @bot.hr and I have been preselecting some replacements from the factories so whilst the word ‘disposable’ would not read especially well in a company enquiry if it all goes tits up, the sales rep is, to all intents and purposes, disposable.

I should also take this opportunity to point out that your group signoff.plugin is not working correctly.

Yours sincerely 
Fred Oakenshield, Chief Territories Officer

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 9:17 am

Things are not looking good for the Jaguars of TJUN-ia. To say something like that around the period of The Jaguar's Birthday, but it was true. TJUN-ian football was 'in the mud', as some may say, and you could tell that the fans were losing hope of our qualification...and that seeped into David Seems and Li Xiu Ying. They could see the potential writing on the wall...but they couldn't give up, right? They refused to believe we didn't have a path still available for us to climb back into that Top 3 and while that mindset wasn't wrong at all, it just seemed...far away.

Everyone knew that our fate may be decided at Tiankong Stadium when Sharktail come to town...and so, a more nervy atmosphere set into an arena that is usually quite friendly and welcoming. Preservation of the self took over and Sahami would've known we were gunning to take his Blue Monster down...and so this fixture took on a new aggression. Both sides were hungry for those 3 points and the war that would be fought was certainly brutal, with both Sputnik Brykilawa and Maxter blocking shot after shot after shot. This battle was simply brutal and in true WC fashion, it needed a brutal finish...which would end up being provided by substitute Win Aziz in the 91st minute of this game. That header broke us...it really did...and it truly felt like we were fucked.

But the true bullet would come in the very next game, at Jaén FC Stadium, as we had to go out there and take on the Kingdom of Castille in their own court. We were demoralised while Manuel Rodríguez's side were looking for a big scalp in their first-ever WCQ campaign...and this game was just not fun - not in the result, but in the game itself. You could tell the lights were beginning to dim because while we did the lead in the 31st thanks to Yomakaji Shimigatsu's strike, that only happened due to an unfortunate deflection off defender Pedro López. If not for that, we would've been screwed as a superb team goal would later show - with Sergio Hernández completing the magic. In the end, we were lucky to come away with a point against Castille FC - and even saying that brings pain to our minds.

Four games left...four games left to mourn. Torisakia in Al Kalifa, Hopal on the road.

Maybe this just wasn't to be.

GO JAGS!

MD1: @República Guanacasteca (73) - Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Estelí D 1-1 (T-3rd)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD2: vs Delte (39) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky L 0-1 (T-6th)
MD3: @Aleirave (66) L 1-3 (8th)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD4: vs Zwangzug (3) - National Stadium. TJUN-ia City W 1-0 (T-6th)
MD5: @Sharktail (85) - Stadium Biru, Sharktail L 1-4 (7th)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD6: vs Kingdom of Castille (232) - Tallawah Stadium, Port Town/Portuaria W 5-1 (6th)
MD7: @Torisakia (298) - New Logan Stadium, New Logan W 3-0 (5th)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD8: vs Hopal (109) - Ke Kahua Pāʻani o Pua Aloalo, Kepu Manu W 4-2 (5th)
MD9: @Ethane (167) W 4-0 (4th)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD10: BYE (5th)
MD11: vs Arjunnagar (205) - Zebra Stadium, Toropo/Almadinat W 2-0 (5th)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD12: vs República Guanacasteca (73) - Estadio Universidad Carlandas, Carlandas W 2-1 (4th)
MD13: @Delte (39) - Ildemorton Road, Oswark-upon-Delte L 2-3 (4th)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD14: vs Aleirave (66) - Stade de la Victoire, Roi Ville D 1-1 (4th)
MD15: @Zwangzug (3) - ZS^3, Zwischen L 0-3 (5th)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD16: vs Sharktail (85) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong L 0-1 (5th)
MD17: @vs Kingdom of Castille (232) - Jaén FC Stadium, Atocha D 1-1 (5th)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD18: vs Torisakia (298) - Salam Liljamie Stadium, Al Kalifa
MD19: @Hopal (109)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD20: vs Ethane (167) - Estádio do Pacífico, Rio Pacífico
MD21: BYE
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD22: @Arjunnagar (205)

by **Xanneria** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 10:14 am

www.Railphotos.xan - Photo tour!

RAILROAD: Dominica City PTA
LOCOMOTIVE: Kyrus Industries SC-2
LOCOMOTIVE #:DCPTA #1155
LOCATION: Northshore, XCT
DATE: August 7th, 2050
DESCRIPTION: Dominica City, is a city famously notorious for having minimal limited entry roads. Because of this the Dominica City Public Transit Authority's Elevated Railroad is considered one of the finest examples in Esportiva of Elevated Rail. Also it has a reputation for being one of the busiest. we see a nearly full train depart from the main station in Northshore, near Northshore's famous Fun Island attraction and theme park.

XANNERIA - 3
Burnes 21' 58'
D'arcy 90+2'
LOHZO - 1
Obamovich 78' (PK)

XANNERIA - 0
NONE
FARFADILLIAS - 1
Çídh 69'

by **Nyowani Kitara** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 11:41 am

NYK manager Liang Wei, during the 77th minute of Nyowani Kitara's home World Cup Qualifier against Cardenao

Hartiz Larrainzar had just hit an absolutely stunning free kick for Cardenao to equalize here in Dewayo. The crowd was mostly silent- except for the 4,500 traveling faithful of the Cardenao fanbase. Those 4500 were going crazy, dressed in blue and the golden yellow of the Cardenao flag. Hardcore celebrations, an equalizer that would give Cardenao a stunning point in these circumstances, away from home. Put them really in pole position for second place in this group- and most likely be enough to consign Nyowani Kitara to a similar fate- aka, the playoffs. Except, of course, this time the chances of NYK getting home field advantage would be slim.

As the Cardenao bench sprinted past him to go celebrate with their man in the corner, Liang Wei looked out towards his bench. Who would be a good player to bring on? He looked out again on the pitch- his 36 year old veteran striker, the main man, the all-time leading goalscorer for Nyowani Kitara, Odede Angonga, was looking pretty tired. He seemed to be wearing down, as strikers tend to do at his age. So he looked back at his bench- and brought on Odede's old strike partner, Owino Odede, into the frame. "Owino!" Liang Wei yelled. "You're up!"

When the Cardenao celebrations subsided, Owino Odede jogged up to the touchline. The message was clear- with a striker for striker substitution, Liang Wei, despite having lost all momentum, still had every intention on going all out to try and win this game. So much was in the balance- could get 0, 1, or 3 points on the night, and the scale of their ambitions for the rest of World Cup Qualifying could largely be determined by what happens in the final 13 minutes of stoppage. Would the change work- could Owino Odede spark a winning goal?

Stunning last minute winner from Owino Odede secures a crucial set of three points against Cardenao, as team sets their sights on Brookstation

DEWAYO- "The beauty of football- nothing in this sport can be replicated elsewhere." Liang Wei said after the Cardenao match. A stunning, chaotic match, back and forth- featuring all sorts of excellent attacking football, as Group 10 heads towards its pinnacle here in World Cup Qualifying. First, of course, we had an away day against Darkmania. And, as expected, we had a fully rotated squad- a game where we needed three points, yes, but because of the brutality of World Cup Qualifying, you know you can't play the same first XI for 22 games in a row. So switching out the entire starting XI from the Juvencus game, we started that one kind of slow- especially with Darkmania opening the scoring.

But in the second half, Liang Wei stuck to his guns, despite trailing- and he was rewarded. The criticism was going to come in hot & heavy, but fortunately, the Kitarans seem ready for primetime. Owino Odede scored just 2 minutes into the second half, in the 47th minute, to make the scores level. Then, in the 62nd minute, you had Josef Sparv lay off a pass to Alanyo Ttonda- who blasted it into the top corner of the net. YOu don't want to make a habit of always having to have these comebacks, but damn- they're fun when they happen. From 1-0 down to 2-1 up. We wouldn't rest though until we got the clincher, and we did, with teenager Hilmar Petersson finishing a brilliant counter-attack with a 77th minute finish, to make the score 3-1- which would be the final score.

An expected win, yes- but just because it's expected on paper, it doesn't mean anything. "Wins, in World Cup Qualifying, especially in the late stages, are not easy." Liang Wei said. "I appreciate all of them. Players are tired, strategies are well known, etc... But that's why it's set up like it is. Only the best of the best to the Finals- this is the marathon we must run."

Then, of course, a massive tie against Cardenao. Both of us level for second place, at 30 points each- each of us three behind Brookstation. They won earlier in the day, so it was known- the winner would keep pace with the group leader, while the loser could stumble back, near fatally- and both would stumble with a draw. Everyone's going all out here.

First Half against Cardenao- Sensational

Definition of the word sensational: "(of an event, a person, or a piece of information) causing great public interest and excitement." It was, of course, a truly sensational first half display that this team put on. But first, despite the fact that it was, it would be Cardenao who would strike first in this half. And not just first- but in record timing. We'll just leave the TV commentary from that one.

NYK TV Commentator wrote:All the festivities, all the pageantry around international football- and we've got a big-time qualifer here today in Dewayo. Nyowani Kitara v. Cardenao. It'll be a big three points. The visitors are all set to kick off, the referee blows the whistle... And they're off! They pass it back to Emmanuel Odita. Kuma Negasu jogging forward to try and pressure him, and he plays the ball long. You've got Kaison Sibonaliso rising for Cardenao to win the header, to the feet of Chimo Ventura. He beats Malmquist on the dribble, and squares it on the ground to Juanma Saez.. WHO POWERFULLY HITS IT TOWARDS GOAL! OH NO! THE CROWD IS SILENT, AS 16 SECONDS INTO THIS ONE, IT"S JUANMA SAEZ WHO HAS FOUND THE TOP CORNER! 1-NIL TO CARDENAO!

To say that could have easily taken the wind out of our sails is the understatement of the century. Nothing quite like conceding so early to start a game- it can really puncture the confidence, take apart the strategy. But on the other hand, it forces you to respond. "You've almost got to open up, put your foot on the gas a little bit more if you concede that quickly." Said the team captain, Odede Angonga. "It forced us to get forward- and since we have that mentality, we did not panic... We played well."

Outside of those initial seconds, however, Nyowani Kitara came out ready to play- and the fans came out ready to have a great time. We kept a lot of possesion in the first half, attacking possesion- trying to create chances, peppering and testing Cardenao's 36 year old goalkeeper. But it would be Mhara Vera, our Strathcona Internationals player, who would score the equalizer to level the game at 1 goal a piece in the 16th minute. Kitarans running forward, and with both Hansdotter and Mhara Vera trailing, the Cardenao defenders, scrambling, ran to find their men. They covered Hansdotter- but left Mhara Vera WIDE open. He got the ball, unmarked, and calmly finished. 1-1 on the day.

But Nyowani Kitara was not done pushing- surely, we were never going to be content with just one point on this matchday, right? Not at home, in front of this bellowing fanbase. We continued to control the ebbs and flows of the game- pushing the pace, pushign the tempo. Trying to get another goal. We had a few opportunities- a Kuma Negasu header, off of a corner kick, was saved at point blank range by Ray Holland. But in the 28th minute, we would score our second goal of the match. A great through ball put Negasu through in a one on one situation, and he finished brilliantly, lifting the ball over the keeper with his weak foot. Picture-esque finish- and 2-1 lead, our first of the match.

Just a few minutes later, we would make it 3-1- and think that we've clinched the game. "It surely looked like a clincher, didn't it- we were absolutely rolling." Said Olaf Svante, commenting on his own goal after the match. A counter-attack left him flying up the wing, unmarked- and a great ball forward to him from Arvid Hansdotter allowed him to gather, dribble around the goalkeeper, and simply pass the ball into the back of the net. 3-1 to Nyowani Kitara, 4 goals in general in the opening 32 minutes from the match.

Second half against Cardenao- Heart-breaking, and then stunning

Halftime came, up 3-1, seemed as if we would simply cruise to what would be a record-setting (for NYK) 9th win in a row. We had seen Nyowani Kitara put on an entire showcase of why were were ranked 10th in the world in the first place. Coaching talent, talent on the pitch, all playing with one purpose, some beautiful, attacking football. "There was no way we'd concede that lead- absolutely no way." Said a NYK TV reporter. Even a Banijan would have had to applaud us. But there's a reason that Cardenao is level with us in the table. Forget rankings- they've got talent, they've got the ability to put it all together too, and play some beautiful football.

In case we needed a reminder.

Most fans in the buidling, full of the Kool-Aid, would have thought that we'd cruise along. But instead of that- it would be Cardenao, away from home, backs against the wall, that would start to dominate proceedings. Chimo Ventura hitting the post in the 48th minute was almost a warning- we are here and we are ready, and if you are going to get those three points, you are going to have to earn them by the skin of your teeth. But in the 62nd minute, they would finally have their breakthrough. An overlapping Salva Perez was able to get on the back end of an overhit cross, wide open, and finish the job. Slotted simply into the back of the net- Ventura fished it out of the net as they raced back.

3-2, to Nyowani Kitara.

But probably the most stunning moment would be the equalizer. A reckless- a reckless challenge from Catarina Malmquist on Valanzuela was lucky to only see the defender punished with a yellow card, rather than a red. Might have been quite harsh for a red, admittedly- but studs up, she got everything wrong. But the free kick was in a perfect area for their specialist, Haritz Larrainzar, to do some damage- and damage Larrainzar did. Stood over the ball, took a deep breath, and simply smashed it into the top front corner. A diving Bigombe could not get across his goal fast enough, and suddenly, it was 3-3. The red-clad crowd mostly stunned, as the Kitarans simply looked on at the great Cardenao celebrations.

At that point, Odede Angonga, who had done nearly nothing in the second half, was taken off for Owino Odede. And Cardenao was mostly having the better of things- they seemed as if they would be more likely to find a fourth goal, than us. But when Bigombe caught a Cardenao corner kick, in this 3-3 ballgame, in the 2nd minute of stoppage time (out of 6), he was ready. He ran up, and simply rolled it out for Arvid Hansdotter- who was already off to the races. Kitarans and Cardenao players, sprinting back. Hansdotter carrying the ball a long way, before finally passing it up to Wang Jiahui. Wang then, after reaching the 18, passed it back across on the ground- and Owino Odede finished home, powerfully.

Lucky? Some might say. Opportunistic? Others might say. But the final score said one thing- Nyowani Kitara 4, Cardenao 3. And the table said one thing, as well- three points to Nyowani Kitara. "That second half goal was certainly against the run of play." Said a TV analyst. "But my oh my, what a goal, what a finish. You saw that pop from the crowd when they realized Owino Odede had scored a winner? Everyone went crazy, as his finish basically buried the game. The scenes after the goal were nuts. Liang Wei leaping into his players arms. The team mobbing Owino Odede. Cardenao players, dejected- Haritz Larrainzar face was buried in his hands. How does one not love football??

What's up next?

So now, with 5 qualifiers left, across three windows, the table is making sense. Brookstation sits at the top, with 36 points. We have 33 points, Cardenao has 30. If Cardenao can defeat Juvencus next window, that's probably a wrap on the top 3 in this group- although the order they will finish in is surely undetermined. But we have a game in hand on both Cardenao and Brookstation.

As always, nothing gets easier with the next window. First, we've got an away game against debutants Evinea- who beat us, in Nyowani Kitara, the last time we played against each other. So definitely a tough game. And then, we'll play last place Abanhfleft, at home- a team that's in last place, shockingly- but they've surely got far more talent than that. "A tricky set of games, to be sure." Liang Wei said. "But like we've always said- one game at a time. Everything that we want to get out of World Cup Qualifying is in front of us, and if we control what we can control, everything else will work itself out."

by **Zwangzug** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 11:45 am

The Arlington Moon-Tribune

Strange qualifying formats giveth, and strange qualifying formats taketh away. The newest infodump of Audioslavian statistics reports has brought World Cup qualifying cycles 66 and 68 back to the global forefront.

Before we can get to the latter, we should probably talk about the former, both for chronological and contextual reasons. World Cup 66, hosted in Audioslavia and the Polar Islandstates, featured thirty groups, with an extremely simple qualifying format; group champions advanced, everybody else went home. Zwangzug, in their third tournament since the reformation, were drawn alongside Andossa Se Mitriin Vega, second seeds in the world rankings, as well as the baseball force of Maklohi Vai.

But such short group stages meant that it only took a couple of upsets to massively shake up the tables. On Matchday Three, at home in Bassabook, Zwangzug shocked the Sea Dragons, thanks to a goal from Shula Bachchan-Laum. The win was a great achievement for the resurgent team, even if broadcast delays prevented it from being celebrated in the moment. The next match, away in Maklohi Vai, Martina Ruan's goal was enough to give Zwangzug four wins from four matches. Rudolf Sternberg, a survivor of the Clunvers meteor strike, secured the group title with a goal against unheralded New Matawan on matchday seven.

Cycle 67 saw Zwangzug advance through the playoffs against Kiryu-shi, which set up the ensuing cycle. 192 teams competed for the rights to advance to Legalese and the Free Republics, then a record. With 24 groups of 8, there would be no slacking off: group winners would contest a double-elimination bracket to progress, while the second- and third- place teams were in win or go home mode for both rounds.

Zwangzug, it should be remembered, weren't even favorites to win their group that time either: that honor would go to the Equestrian States, cohosts of World Cup 67 with Cassadaigua. But the qualifying stage brought many opportunities, including perhaps the most eagerly anticipated of them all: a showdown with Zwannswijik for "bottom of the alphabet" superiority. (How dare those punks try to march in after us at the Olympics.)

With Matilda Kratochvil, formerly of defensive-minded Excelsior Slogda, taking over as manager, Zwangzug parked the bus, the train, and every other kind of public transit device. They shut out the Equestrians 3-0 on matchday one, and never looked back--at least, not during the round robin. The nation's journalism kept busy by paying homage to the wonders of Nonlinear Narratives: Kurt Jouet, the Rovers United color commentator, applied to the tournament's seeding committee by virtue of his interviews with striker Khamisi McCluey...circa World Cup 62, when the national team had yet to reform but the Rovers were making up numbers at the Fair Play Trophy. And in Rushmore, Nonlinear chronology was taken to new heights as refugees from Ossisiacqua fled their "timewall"- stricken homeland, to be greeted with open arms by most of the world (and abject terror in Zwischen). When the dust had settled, Zwangzug were undefeated, having conceded only three goals over fourteen matches to top the group, the best defense in the multiverse.

But that was thrown out the window when the playoffs began. Valladares had no trouble finding the net, winning the first leg 3-0 and the second 2-1. Zwangzug were by no means out of it, however, having another chance against none other than Valladares' geopolitical rivals, Darmen.

The first leg of the second round was a 3-3 draw. On paper, this doesn't sound like a bad result, especially because Zwangzug were on the road. But in retrospect, the midfield showdown between Darmen's Nicky Salapu and Zwangzug's Davi Keane-Liuprand was not a good omen. Darmen substituted out their goalkeeper, Keane-Liuprand said some patronizing things about the concept of goalkeepers in general, the formation devolved into something even Darmen had to describe as a 5-f-3-s-%, and it seemed as if the team had inherited all the worst attributes of the first-generation team's "innovation" and none of the good ones. Zwangzug quietly lost 2-1 at Wayr Stadium in the second leg.

Even then, they were still 23rd seeds in the world rankings: a dominant Cup of Harmony showing might have changed the narrative of the cycle. Instead, they lost all three matches, and captain Ruan was rescued from Kinitar custody mostly by the arrival of a timely-placed, if extremely optimistic, "all-star" nomination.

The next cycle things were back to normal-ish: Reaven Laynee of distant Earent took over as manager, Zwangzug qualified by finishing second to Estope in the group stages but then beating them in the playoffs, and after the proper, the board game catastrophes temporarily caused the nation to go gray and white.

Cycle 68 may be remembered elsewhere as one of missed potential, or as a reminder how fickle defensive approaches can be. But whatever your feelings about Legalese or the Free Republics, you wouldn't catch a Zwangzugian admitting the country might be entitled to rest on past laurels. (Some of them might selfishly believe it, but they're polite enough not to admit it.) More fundamentally, the reason Zwangzug was strong enough to contend for the playoffs in the first place has a lot to do with...their upset victories in cycle 66. One nation's "disappointing letdown" cycle is another nation's "glorious triumph" cycle, and so has it ever been. We wouldn't dare deny every team the chance at being the heroes. Even if it's only a chance.

As for the Acquan refugees, the magic of Narrative Foreshadowing struck again, as one of them would achieve success with this national team in her own right. But that, of course, is another story.

(Marcus 14 and 49, Nguyen 33)
(McKinney 62, Spand-Maunk 78)

by **Yue Zhou** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 1:40 pm

Wen Xiaohui would never root against her Dragons. But, watching Yuezhou struggle to break through against Sudilia's stout defense on the TV, just a week after they'd been upset by Nekohime, she could feel something welling up inside her. Not happiness, of course - but there was more than a little vindication in her.

Twelve years ago, the Golden Generation led Yuezhou to their first-ever World Cup, fueled by the legendary performance of their attacking Core Four, who had all parlayed their breakout qualifying campaign into productive careers in foreign leagues and the Yue national team. Midfielder and longtime captain Li Jing had been given a hero's retirement tour in Yuezhou after leading the Dragons to the Cup of Harmony final in his last tournament. Liu Huiying was still technically employed by Northern Union, but she too had enjoyed one last run with the national team before going out on her own terms. Huang Shedong had struggled after turning thirty, but at least had ACL tears as an excuse.

Xiaohui, though, had often felt that she had been forgotten about, pushed to the mountain town of Bergheim to live out the rest of her career in the comfortable upper-midtable of the SFS. Not that Savojarna were by any means obscure - they had a better league and national team than Yuezhou, after all - but in terms of consideration for the Yue National Team, she might as well have been on the moon. When Elaine Ashdown took over and announced her intention to "create a tactically solid setup that creative players can thrive in", Xiaohui had briefly thought the Nepharan was talking about her. But although she'd been the Yue number ten for the better part of a decade, she had apparently never entered Ashdown's mind.

She was realistic enough in her self-assessment to know she shouldn't be starting. Chen had made a World Cup without her, and Ashdown had beaten The Holy Empire and Pemecutan. But in these pivotal qualifying matches, when the smaller sides parked the bus...why wouldn't you at least bring some spark, just in case? So as another one of Jiang Jieren's injury-time crosses was sent into the box, where the Dragons once again discovered that Jordan Brockhouse Was Taller Than Them, Wen knew that Yuezhou had made their own bed, and would have to lie in it.

The full-time whistle had just blown, the camera panning in on an elated Oliver Thompson shaking hands with Elaine Ashdown, when her phone went off.

"Hello?"

"Is this Wen Xiaohui?"

"Uh, yes. Who is this?"

"This is Zhang Dongbao of the Sangau Provincial Police. Do you know Wen Xiaoli?"

It took her a few seconds to respond. "He's my uncle," she said.

"Wen Xiaoli has been detained in Lemaiyi Central Police District's holding cell for violations of the Sangauese Security Act."

"I'm sorry, but um, we haven't spoken in a few years. I don't know if I can be helpful to-"

"Miss Wen, your uncle specifically requested that we let him call you. You're his one phone call. I'm transferring you over now."

"Shouldn't he be getting a lawy-" she paused, hearing a click from the telephone and sighing. "Hey, uncle."

by **Kimi-Suomi** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 2:54 pm

Things weren't looking too good for the Huuhkajat of Kimi-Suomi. 7 points down with 6 games still to play, 8 points by the time our bye came to an end, and it was an overall situation that Esko Laaksonen continued to mumble and grumble about for obvious reasons. The Huuhkajat are supposed to be better than this after a history of reaching the WCQ Playoffs despite our relative size and everyone knew that...but can we get back on track? At all?

Well our only game from this fortnight would come against Sinyal over in Ei Kreikka, a team who stunned us back on MD6. We were looking for revenge, something that could push us forward towards the great beyond, and this game...was just perfect. Valtteri Nordström managed to score a hattrick within half an hour of the game and while Aether Deyon got a goal before halftime, that would be the only joy the hosts would get in this game. Mika Noronen and Jyrki Bottas would add their goals into the mix and that would be that. This 5-1 may end up meaning nothing in the long run...but it was a win we certainly deserved and one we hope to carry forward into the future.

We'll be back to a full schedule next time with a brutal double-header against Sendhang in Pesä and the 2nd Pöllöjen Taistelu against Tikariot, this time on the road. Both games will be tough but if want to still be alive, then victory in both may be essential. We have to try...and the very least. NOSTA KUIN HUUHKAJAT!

by **Archalit** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 7:39 pm

The Jolliest Roger
Archalit's Biggest Sports Network
What The Hell Happened Here?
Elvatoes 0–1 Archalit
Archalit 1–0 Safiloa
JR Media has placed a content warning on this article. Please be advised that the article may be upsetting to some readers.

Score-wise, these games were disappointing. They really were. We only scored one goal against these absolute dogshit teams. I. Don't. Care. Safiloa should never be tied with Legalese. Elvatoes does not deserve to be in sixth place in this group. Half the group has been playing terribly, while the other half is throwing at the worst possible moments (bar Quebec who now has the lead over Valanora). Do you want to know how absolutely crazy this group has been? We have the most wins out of the bottom nine teams. We are also tied for the most losses out of the top seven. We're only in contention because of our ridiculously low draw-rate. In fact, we're currently on a fifteen game drawless streak. It just so happens that a win and a loss beats two draws, and our team with seven losses can still fight for third against a team like Eraman with only one.

Right, the games today. I'm sure everyone has heard the news of what happened on the sixteenth matchday. Condolences go out to the families of the young Elvatoes RM who tragically suffered cardiac arrest on the field and died shortly after the end of the game. That really ruined the mood in the stadium and between the players, and it was such a sad moment to watch. Elvatoes players walking onto the field against North-Khrakozia with his picture was heart-wrenching to watch. That was what happened this game. The game was basically considered forfeit after the incident occurred, with minimal play going down after the fact. It was mentally taxing for the Archalitian players, and a tragedy for the Elvatoes players, having lost a fellow teammate and comrade.

The fact of the matter is that, no matter what, the tournament goes on. We still walked on the field against Safiloa and played. They couldn't break through because... it's Safiloa. We weren't breaking through either for some reason but a 52nd minute goal off of a corner kick sealed the deal on this game. While the dwindling Safiloan fanbase tried to hold on for a draw, it was never meant to be.

Short, sad, and kept at a minimum. Do you know what's worse? We have to face the nation that ceased to exist after a bye. That team is held together by twenty-odd people and a dream. I mean, if we throw there, we're doomed. We are fighting, holding on to dear life by a thread for a chance to make the playoffs to try to qualify for the World Cup. I can't diss North-Khrakozia, our own team is backed by a single World Cup cycle and a prayer. In terms of prayers,
SAIL PIRATES, SAIL!

by **Saint Eleanor** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 10:48 pm

OOC: Second RP coming right up. Third RP is gonna take a while because I need to write it and run it past the relevant parties, sorry.

Channel 4 presents THE RACE TO THE WORLD CUP - World Cup 94, sixteenth qualifier game
SAINT ELEANOR 0-2 CAP NORD (Till Myrrheim 57 and 62)

Report by Candy Hewitt, Channel 4 football analyst: A quickfire brace from Till Myrrheim guided Cap Nord to complete the double over Saint Eleanor, making them the only team to have done so up to now, strengthening their scant playoff hopes and endangering the Eleanorian case for progression. This match was, all things considered, not the hallmark of a side looking to prove that Trevor Barrington's heroics in Stennköping were the stuff of mere fluke. Where was the attacking intent? Where - other than in the person of Rachel McNamara, versatile enough in theory and effective enough in practice that she should never have been doomed to the fate of a damage-control substitute - was any of the danger, at all?
There may have been signs of it in places before McNamara's impression - a tricky first-touch flick from Rick Goldsmith here, a loopy dribble followed by a floaty half-cross from Tim Brandon there - but, by and large, Eleanorian hopes were virtually impossible to come by. Cap Nord, in a reversal of fortunes few would have expected even after their home win against this opposition, were the only force determined to go and secure maximum points. Rohan Williams, for starters, had an exceedingly promising chance fifteen minutes in that swerved and dipped and dipped and dipped and ultimately just about ended on the wrong side of the bar.
Simon Carstensen had an excellent opportunity barely blocked; Myrrheim had efforts deflected into Bailey's path then headed over in unexpected fashion; even Jorgen Bjerkness, inadvertently yet almost uncharacteristically slamming the side-netting minutes into the second half, ignited fear. Still, the Eleanorians held firm; they were maybe, just maybe, willing to accept that this was not their day. Cap Nord were nonetheless dragged from terseness to gratitude in dramatic fashion. Myrrheim's two attempts on goal were nearly identical: both involving Theodore Bissett sliding a pass past a couple of Eleanorians, both involving him holding up the play just outside the area and both ending with an angled effort whacked comfortably into the goal. It says more about John Bailey that he did not expect it than it does of Myrrheim that he was able to pull it off on either occasion.
Myrrheim could well have had his hat-trick, a rare prospect for anyone in a match involving Saint Eleanor, but his final roll of the dice proved no more productive than Sophie Singh's all those months ago. Still, by the end stages, what had been a desperate attempt to keep the game as competitive as they could without ever actually tried had turned into a de-facto capitulation. The Eleanorians were highly fortunate that none of the five or six chances in the final ten minutes plus stoppage time went in, not least a typically glamorous Williams effort that was both rabonated and almost perfectly threaded at the same time. Nobody will ever know how Bailey managed to stop it from going in.
Bridget Coombe will, naturally, not admit this is the end - but, as even she will accept, it may well be the beginning of the end. The lack of courage was evident, does not need to be spelled out and must be exorcised as soon as possible over Christmas. For the time being, Saint Eleanor remain at the head of the table, with the Polar Islandstates on a bye and Eura having similarly failed to get anything out of a home tie against West Barack and East Obama. With the two sides facing fairly easy opposition during the Eleanorian bye, however, this team's short stay at the top could be over, if not for good then for a long, long time. The Eleanorian playoff record is so-so at best - it is, at least, a record they will most likely be able to rely on if they do not make it immediately this time (and they never have). A sense of the present is required at times like this, too; the finding right now may as well be lacking, however.

⨷ ⨶ ⨷ ⨷ ⨷ ⨷ ⨷

Thirty Years of Eleanorians - 1990: "I invaded the pitch during a Charles Trump Shield game"
Published by Lucy Richards on April 4th 2005

Despite being the newer - and, historically, the better - of the two lower East Central teams, New St Paul Community School has faced plenty of challenges as far as the PE department goes. Matt Kelly, despite only being fourteen, knows this as well as anyone. "I'm not talking about the ones they created a few years ago, but the districts that started to appear about twenty years ago or something like that have, with almost no exceptions at all, been underfunded by a lot. New St Paul is the worst example of this: it's an outpost of the old St Paul that exists only because of a combination of land and a growing population. We have one supermarket and you have to drive there."

Kelly learned - the fast way as much as the hard way - that the problems extended to the school too. "We didn't have a badly-maintained building or anything like that. What we did have was not enough equipment. Sometimes we had to share one textbook between three people. A few of the computer stations in the library weren't working, we didn't have enough of any balls or other equipment to go around in PE and we had to pay for a good deal of the things we had to replace when the time came. You do the maths."

School budgets have still increased annually on a nationwide scale, but he and his friends had started to think by 2002 - the summer of their Year 9, the second year of Community School education - that "NSP" wasn't getting enough of the pie. "Funding, textbooks, resources - these issues don't animate a lot of people but I can guarantee you to within a couple of inches that they were animating us. Literally the only redeeming thing about any of the equipment was that the school dinner stuff was dishwashed regularly. We'd tried everything in our power up to, and including a few polite letters to grab their attentions, but they weren't listening so me and a couple of mates decided we needed to go further to make our point."

Their plan - to be spearheaded by Kelly - was to mount a full-scale pitch invasion in New St Paul's second-round tie, if they could win at home against Magna to start their Shield journey. "Very few people care about the first round, we thought, so we aren't going to target that. Even if we did make it, though, it was a bit of a double-edged sword: we'd be easily noticed in an away game and perhaps never allowed to make a noise, or we'd be told off by the teachers if we got drawn at home and interrupted our players. I thought we'd be fine either way, but when you put a general sense of shame together with what was ultimately a home draw against one of our big East Central rivals, the decision was taken to just have me up there and pounce whenever, really."

The decision to wear the orange and blue stripes of New St Paul - and a corresponding "SAVE OUR SCHOOL" flag - proved to be a masterstroke. "People thought I was just a concerned fan all this time; nobody was saying anything about the finances and it was frankly the last thing on anyone's mind." After 65 minutes, with the two sides long deadlocked at 1-1, Kelly leapt the advertising barrier; he dropped his flag, but picked it up and waved it to the centre circle before being taken down by Newbanks parent Jamie Hodgkins. Both supporters were later removed from the school grounds. "That was probably my biggest achievement hands-down. I brought attention to the cause, I didn't get embarrassed by staff, people everywhere noticed and Major Joe Leawood decided to chuck some more money at the school a few weeks later."

The New Saints came up good in the end, with Michael Burton's 99th-minute half-volley proving the difference in a 2-1 win en route to the first of two consecutive quarterfinals - an exceedingly rare achievement for any generation of unaffiliated school teams. "I know there are schools worse off than us in the grand scheme of things - but you see, the good schools get support, the really not-so-good schools get support. The squeezed middle are the people everyone forgets about; they just sit there with stagnating or barely-increasing budgets. I get the funds and the widgets have to go somewhere but, for a few minutes in front of about 150 important people, I told you where in the world they were going."

Now in Year 12, however, Kelly hasn't seen much in the way of change. "A lot of people on both sides were saying I was just bringing attention to myself that day. They're still saying that. We've gotten a few new bits and pieces in, the academy's gotten a bit better, and everyone in the school is thankful for all that - but really? Most of us are still struggling in silence; we still feel like we're being ignored compared to pretty much everyone around us and, while we're still asking for more funds and more resources, we have to do it more subtly and with more people on board. Generations before me have survived this lack of plenty and I feel like I can say I will, too."

by **Saint Eleanor** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 10:58 pm

OOC: This RP (not the "match" report) was extensively playtested with Aerágny and could not have been made possible without her. I will, in some future cycle, write a roleplay about Eleanorian climate and weather patterns more generally.

Channel 4 presents THE RACE TO THE WORLD CUP - World Cup 94, seventeenth qualifier game
BYE FOR SAINT ELEANOR

Report by Candy Hewitt, Channel 4 football analyst: As a commentator on a rival television network said in 2001, "these are absolutely incredible scenes, Kevin." The Polar Islandstates, as expected, picked off table-footers Lisander. And Eura picked off Saterun, that by a three-goal margin that would have been obscene against almost any other opposition in this group. And both of them are now crowding Saint Eleanor in the table. And the White Stars could have been a couple of goals either way from dropping to third outright, an uncomfortable two points ahead of Brenecia but with a game in hand. What to do, then, and why to do it?
The usual sentiment against 30-team playoffs is building. Tim Brandon - a regular substitute in all three of his cycles but now facing the prospect of not making his World Cup debut until age thirty, if not later - has already started to call them "asinine." Even assistant manager Stephen Mitcham has said that "tournaments should not be constructed around a gimmick." But Bridget Coombe, new captain and (in her defence) one of the few short-term supporters of 48-team World Cups in the camp, still thinks the design is a "net positive" and that "the onus is on future host countries to elaborate and defend any new, or perhaps old, ideas of their own" - and there is every chance Saint Eleanor will negotiate whatever tie they have to face anyway.
Attacking the players would have been the go-to option in past cycles. Now it is unthinkable; instead they are being hauled over the coals for their attitude. Jim Paterson, true to form, has called it "the sloppiest showing I have ever seen from an objectively serious challenger team." Others say they are tepid, that they are too keen to use their energy in some games more than others - perhaps, even, that the more defensive style they have taken up does not suit them. The performances of the kind that plagued the end of Liam West's tenure are nowhere to be seen here, though; the focus will most likely be on incremental improvements, reasonable squad rotations and an urgent drive for victory from here on.
The only other serious focus is on history, heritage, tradition and any other number of buzzwords people are using to explain away the alleged unlikelihood of any Eleanorian qualification hopes. It is thus ironic that now, more than any cycle before, people are thinking about where we are rather than where we could be. To summarise: the Polar Islandstates, completely unranked before now but feted by journalists everywhere they go (except, perhaps, Saint Eleanor), would qualify automatically if qualifying ended now. Saint Eleanor is a team about which few have cared so far, even despite the new faces; to qualify now, they would need to win a one-legged playoff against Chromatika, fourth in the world and barely runners-up in the World Cup they co-hosted in 2004. Eura have seen their reputation stall in recent years - but they would have to negotiate a playoff against Sendhang, never before qualifiers, to make it on current trends.
Coombe is unlikely to get much support for her insistence that "if we can defeat the Chromatiks, we pretty much have our reputation sorted for years" for the simple reason that Saint Eleanor has never defeated anyone of their stature before. There is only one sure way to escape the fate of yet another playoff appearance: somehow defeat all of the five teams they have left. Panamer should prove no issue. The Canadian Dominion also seems like an easy picking - but one of their two wins came in Saint Eleanor and they will certainly be fancying their chances more at home. The rest of the top four, meanwhile, will all pose challenges that other reporters have eyeballed in substantial detail. Any slippage at all - even if it does not come against Eura - and there is a very real risk that the Eurans will run the table and win, at least on goal difference, instead. It is a possibility many Eleanorian fans would have gladly accepted at the start of this cycle. It is not one many of them will accept now.

Thirty Years of Eleanorians - 1991: "I didn't mind when it reached 33ºC last summer"
Published by Frank Butcher on April 9th 2005

At first sight, Aulia Mienéls appears to be a perfectly normal student of Wellington Community School. She takes part in the school council, has a notable role in the drama and theatre society, and can even point to a record of success at last month's Eleanorian Junior Mathematical Olympiad. Behind all that, however, lies one of the most interesting stories of any of her peers. "I've had a few people - the ones who've attempted pronounciation, anyway - tell me that Aulia isn't that common a name. The most basic explanation behind it is that my mum was from Wellington, but got out on one of the boats, landed in Aerágny and married one of the local men. I can reassure you that Aulia is a common name there; my friends from school all call me Ellie now I've realised there's no hope in trying to teach them Parzhinian naming conventions."

Mienéls grew up in Kléjnite, a small town in the Airannian kingdom of Parzhinia about twenty miles outside Chégny ha Lettre, where local football giants Lydia FCCL play. "People don't know too much about Aerágny at all, despite their accomplishments in football, so I still confuse a lot of people who, for whatever reason, think I'm local enough that they expect me to support the Good Hope Club. They do have a place in my heart, yes, but I always attended a few of the Lydia games every season when I was living there and I think I'd hold a season ticket by now if we hadn't left. One of my friends from school is called Lydia and she proved to be baffled too when she found out, although for completely different reasons: she thought that the club was named after her! I think she was reassured when she learned it was named after a local technology company."

She remarks that life there was "typically boring," pointing out that "there aren't exactly a lot of amenities, so children my age pretty much had to make our own fun. We played football sometimes - although I'll grant that's mostly a male pursuit on the professional level in Aerágny - visited different shops, and sometimes visited a few of the lakes and rivers and played as much as we could in those before we got told off. And we always somehow did our homework before 8pm, which is nice; Eleanorian schooling is a bit more hectic and I've already been told off a couple of times for not actually finishing it."

One thing she does add to that is that "the vibe in general is fairly close to what it's like in Wellington where I am now. My dad worked as a taxi driver for a living, which is impressive on his part given how little there is in the immediately local area to get people to. My mum was a refugee from the War of Independence - she moved to Chégny with her parents but moved to Kléjnite when she became an adult because of the quieter life here in general. Quiet enough that the only work she could really find was working at the supermarket checkout, although she insists she liked it there. There's a very strong sense of community in both of those places, as I've said, so you can understand why I've been so hesitant to leave either of these places."

The weather is not at all similar, however. "Eleanorian winters are cold. The coffee certainly helps in the mornings, and hot chocolate in the evenings, but you do need to wrap up warm for most of the year, we never get allowances for the heat in the two or three weeks you don't, and it rains so much - with so little notice - that I couldn't even believe it. It is completely the opposite in Parzhinia: there is wet season, where the temperature is around 30ºC and you need an umbrella to get around, and dry season, where the temperature is around 30ºC and you don't. It gets much, much, much worse. We do cope - barely, just about, coping - but I'm honestly not sure how anyone, even I, could have ever done it almost every day for thirteen years."

At some point in early April 2002, Kléjnite recorded temperatures of 35.1ºC (95.2ºF), still the hottest temperature recorded anywhere in Aerágny in the Eleanorian 21st century so far. "The temperature had been 32ºC or so for a few days before that and we knew that it was going to jump up a bit, but not by that much. If you account for the humidity, I'd say it felt more like 45ºC. These aren't conditions I'd wish on anyone, although the air conditioning at home and school helped; we got it installed when we moved a couple of years later and the technician told my dad hardly anyone had it in Saint Eleanor. Actually, we were dismissed from school at lunchtime because it just was not safe for us to learn, even with the AC set to 20ºC at full power. I found my own way to the Chégny Lake a few minutes later so I could cool off better - a good idea, when hundreds of other people aren't deciding it's a good idea too. The water isn't even that clean."

Mienéls and her parents moved to Saint Eleanor at the start of 2004. Her father still drives taxis, now on behalf of Eleanorian Transport; her mother now works as a translator servicing the Azertienne-speaking community, which is believed to have around 700-800 members across the nation, primarily from the Quebecois diaspora who have settled in the Dockside. "It's the same thing they did, but still very interesting work. Mum wanted to go back home and dad was fortunate that ET were desperately looking for new drivers at the time. The move was a bit of a culture shock - I don't think I was ever actually expecting to leave Parzhinia - but it's turned out well so far. People ask how he makes any money when they don't let you charge but what happens is he goes back to the depot every night, shows the duty manager his odometer and gets paid accordingly for the day."

By that June, right before the summer holiday, the temperature had already clocked at 33.2ºC (91.8ºF). "The mitigation measures they took pretty much involved sticking a couple of fans on, opening the windows - Lydia has dreadful hayfever so she doesn't like that - and calling off a couple of PE classes, although we did our own sports anyway, much to the teachers' disdain. My best friend from school, Rachel, has parents who work at the new, non-unionised drydock in the area so they don't earn a lot - definitely not enough for a fan or anything. She says it actually reached 36ºC the summer before I arrived and told me she coped when that happened by putting all of the bottled water into the fridge overnight so it would be ready to drink cold the next day; I'll be the first to admit it's more addictive than water normally is, or should be."

The temperature somewhere in Saint Eleanor has reached 37.8ºC (100ºF) in 14 of its 10,883 days as an independent country, most recently in 2001; the record remains 39.6ºC (103.3ºF), set by the University's station on July 27th 1992. "I think I read in one of the science magazines that over a five-year timespan, the probability of it happening again is pretty much 1. I don't think the heat index is going to be as astonishing as it was most of the time back home, however; I could cope with it again and I'd do much of the same things I did at home but I might need to avail myself of the local swimming pool instead, what with the Eleanorian oceans being occupied by so many boats."

Although willing to accept she is "academically average, at this stage," Mienéls does have her mind on attending the University, although she doesn't know what she'll do there and "I need to seriously think about the kinds of things I can do there." If she doesn't get there, her current backup plan would be to obtain employment at the district's National Liberation Club and eventually serve with enough consistency to become a pub or regional manager. "At this stage, though there's absolutely no telling! I could do that, I could become an actor or join one of those foreign modelling agencies, I could be doing research for the community historian - that is a very tempting prospect - or almost anything else. I could even join the Army, although I'd have to give up my Airannian citizenship. But it's not 2009 yet, so for the next few years, I'd like to live my life here and see what happens."

by **Acastanha** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 12:30 am

We Have A Date, Kind of

Recently, the most anticipated case had just resolved with the Supreme Court of Acastanha sided with Ketampi people and government. In the case of Ketampi vs Palidas, the Supreme Court officially annulled Palidas decision who rejects the draft law of a referendum in Ketampi which also ultimately forced Palidas government to plan the referendum for its westernmost province. The result was a relieve for Ketampi people and government. And all eyes are on Palidas government as they are waiting for the next move of them. After several days of waiting, President of Palidas represented by his spokesperson made a public announcement that the government will plan the referendum in at least a month time or two weeks for the quickest schedule. The spokesperson initially stated that Palidas would not argue with Supreme Court decision and follows their instruction for the better situation and condition in the country.

Despite still not have the exact date on when the referendum will take place, but the government's move have been praised by many political experts. Clementino Guaradagh stated that it is time the Palidas government to touch grass and hear everyone around them. While Ketampi Bersatu leader, Salahuddin Saleh warmly welcomed the decision made by Palidas government. "Finally, they hear our voice," he said. As the announcement released, Election Bureau of Acastanha in Ketampi making a press release for Ketampi citizens that have already at the age to register themselves so they will be able to vote in the referendum. The latest data of Ketampi voters was from the latest Acastanha General Election which have been one year old. "The data needs to be updated so everyone who has the rights will be able to vote," the spokesperson said. In the 2022 Acastanha General Election, the voters registered in Ketampi province was 240,361 or around 56% of the total population of the province.

by **Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 1:39 am

Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer beats the Euran Oceania Territories and draws against Patriotlandia

Conflans, Province of Sourterre, Patriotlandia - Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer received the Euran Oceania Territories at home on matchday 16. This nation has been pretty much silent since the beginning of the qualifications, as they didn't even publish their roster which makes us harder to identify their players. Pierre-Antoine Bigeault-Généreux missed the game because of a red card on matchday 15 and was replaced with Javier Ordonez Rodriguez in the starting XI. The game was delayed for an hour due to the rain. Nathan Fauteux-McGrath had the ball at the 18th minute and made a cross to Carlo Guignard who kicks it and it's a goal. The Jean-Jacquois increased their lead at the 25th minute on a free kick goal by Nathan Fauteux-McGrath. Euran Territories were on the board at the 34th minute when #10 scored a header goal but the Tapirs answered 4 minutes later when Ludwig Baumgartner made a short pass to Frédérique Goudreau-Luneau who kicks it past #1. The score was 3-1 at halftime. Heavy rainfall started during halftime and the 2nd half was delayed for 5 hours! At the 51st minute, Tristan Gibouleau-Beaudoin stole the ball from #7 and made a long pass to Louis-Philippe Berlinguette who kicks it and it's a goal. The Jean-Jacquois are leading 4-1. The Euran Oceania Territories scored on a penalty at the 78th minute and the final score was 4-2.

On matchday 17, Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer travelled to Patriotlandia to play against them. Pierre-Antoine Bigeault-Généreux was back in the starting XI. The Tapirs opened the score at the 22nd minute when Ludwig Baumgartner made a cross to Louis-Philippe Berlinguette who kicks it. The ball hits the cross bar, Marcelin Nkoulou takes the ball, he kicks it and it's a goal. 1-0 Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer. The score at halftime was 1-0. Patriotlandia attacked at the 58th minute when Alexandre Desrives made a header pass to Lucien Graham who heads the ball past Serge Bleau-Bean. The Patriotlandians took the lead at the 66th minute when Emmanuel Francoeur dribbles with the ball and passes to Francis Fortinello who kicks it in the net. Patriotlandia was leading 2-1. At the 90 +1 minute, the Tapirs are attacking when Nathan Fauteux-McGrath passes to Rebeca Perez Mendoza who made a cross to Louis-Philippe Berlinguette. Berlinguette kicks it and it's a goal and the game is tied at 2-2.This is the final score.

Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer is now in 8th place in group 15 with 4 games to go, which makes it difficult to finish in the top 3. Next will be a home game against Ziwana. Tropical rain is expected for the whole day and the game could be delayed. On matchday 19, the Jean-Jacquois will travel to Neibeskiya. Serge Bleau-Bean will take some rest and Sandrine Boissonneault will be in goal. Pierre-Antoine Bigeault-Généreux, Marcelin Nkoulou and Carlo Guignard are also expected to rest.

Paul-André Veilleux

by **Elmyia** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 4:22 am

The Beaucester Gazette
Froggatt Bites Back After Being Dropped
Star winger proves worth in electric performance off the bench

It said it all that when Jackie Froggatt was dropped to the bench against Gyatso-Kai, few were truly surprised. In just the second game ever at the brand new Mosse Park, there was little disquiet amongst the crowd when they heard Lauretta Hightower would be taking her chance to run at the opposition defence.

Froggatt had been struggling on the pitch, and more recently off it as well. In a qualifying campaign where Elmyia had scored 40 goals across just 13 games, she had only contributed towards 5 of them, a massive drop off for the star player. Yet it was also noises about a falling out with right-back Beresford over her sexuality that had seen her star fall even further, reflected in the interpretation of her not passing through to the young full-back when she was clearly in a much better position.

It had been a quiet game for much of the first half, Elmyia facing a packed defence once again found they didn't have the tool to unpick it without leaving themselves massively vulnerable to traffic the other way. Hightower struggled, lacking the space to accelerate into, her passing is solid but her lack of ability to consistently beat an isolated defender 1 on 1 meant little upside down the left-flank. Kostas Rossi once again provided the inspiration, making a series of surging runs to the byline, one of his cutbacks allowed Whittingham to open the scoring with a one touch shot that placed the ball just wide of the goalkeeper's outstretched glove.

But, it was clear something else was required. Elmyia looked like they were struggling on the counter, and they couldn't generate much in the attacking third, even with Depel threading some nice balls through. Eventually Froggatt was summoned from the bench to tepid applause, whilst Hightower apologetically bowed out. What followed was a masterclass, in the space of 30 minutes she bagged 2 goals and the assist to put the game to bed and reignite her own campaign, and Elmyia's with it. All three came from smart work in small spaces, picking up the ball in the half-space and dribbling. Froggatt truly demonstrated her worth, and after months of poor decision making, tame shots and failed take-ons, she was back.

Porras was certainly glad to have his greatest resource fit and firing again, she remained in the lineup against the Republic of Aiyland. A team that have struggled before, they packed ten behind the ball, two banks of 4 and the two strikers pushing onto Depel and Galli, again there was little room to work with. A welcome lack of threat on the break was counteracted by the efficacy of denying everyone and anyone space, but it was Froggatt again who was to deliver the one-punch winner. Picking the ball up from deep, a quick one-two with Katsouranis got her to the edge of the box, where a cross was fizzed for Beresford to take and score the winner in the 63rd minute. Job done.

Froggatt has remained quiet as she usually does, although her post match comments were revealing. She made clear she was happy to have worked her way back into the team, whilst also affirming that 'my professionalism is paramount to me,' and that 'I have only one agenda, to get Elmyia to the World Cup'. Perhaps trying to dispel some of the rumours without giving away her true thoughts.

Elmyia look a side revived with two wins in the bank, they're in 4th and could push for a play-off spot. Crunch fixtures loom, Yuezhou and Kamijiro come next, both tough sides who are also looking up the table. A win against both could close the gap for Elmyia, and a qualifying campaign that looked dead in the water could spring back to life.

by **Brenecia** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 5:16 am

Brenecia 4 - 0 Saterun
(4-2-3-1) 12 - Fife; 17 - Hadley, 5 - Wheater (18 - Calderwood), 6 - Jeong, 3 - Culpepper (25 - Chalk); 4 - Briggs (19 - Reventas), 8 - Kearney (24 - Slivka); 7 - Wake, 11 - Rourke (23 - Sitko), 10 - Byrne; 9 - Murdoch (13 - Stokes)
Goals: Rourke 23', Kearney 40', Wake 65', Stokes 79'

Jovannic Empire 0 - 2 Brenecia
(4-2-3-1) 12 - Fife; 17 - Hadley, 5 - Wheater, 6 - Jeong, 3 - Culpepper; 4 - Briggs, 8 - Kearney (14 - Cheschon); 7 - Wake, 11 - Rourke (26 - Meskela), 10 - Byrne (16 - Alderwood); 9 - Murdoch
Goals: Byrne 16', Murdoch 58'

There had been a certainty to it. One did not just switch out much of the team's spine off a vibe. Erin Camden had been sitting on this shuffle for a time, just testing to make sure Plan A really, really had fallen through. And when it became apparent that it had, time was needed. To drill, then to play it out on the pitch together.
Of course they were disjointed, at first; a routine win over Panamer before falling quiet against the Polar Islandstates. A rowdy seven-goal thriller against Lisander, before sputtering once more away.
But it was going to click. The parts were all there, Alyce Kearney shuttling through the midfield, headband slick with sweat, nipping and hacking and arguing with referees in her thick east Sabrefell accent. Alaoise Rourke ahead of her, gliding breezily into position, agonisingly slow but with anticipation such that it never seemed to matter. Another Nephar, Lowen Murdoch, not quite the long-shanked gazelle of Lofthouse nor the low-slung poacher of Stokes but something else, something other, someone who the ball just seemed to stick to... all the better to shift balls across to the star wingers, Wake and Byrne, still as good as ever.
And in goal, somehow, was Olwyn Fife. Tall, dour-faced... reliable. Meade and Tanner could provide far more eye-catching saves, but they didn't have that great trait Fife did. She didn't randomly fuck up.
That was the curious thing about Brenecian goalkeepers. The nation was not, broadly, blessed with good ones. Banter-tier goalkeepers from good leagues or else limited A-League stalwarts - like Fife herself - often found themselves holding down the fort. Mathis Woodgate was not just the best goalkeeper in Brenecian history but up there with the best of all time, and Scathach Wright wasn't far inferior; between them they had 300 caps, and no other Brenecian goalkeeper even had 60. Truthfully, Fife - who would turn 26 by the World Cup - was very unlikely to reach 60 herself, nor would Novikovas, currently third-choice. And at the top level, perhaps, she could be exposed. But right here, right now, she wasn't randomly letting the ball slip through her hands, so now she was on her fifth clean sheet in six games.
It was almost four. Late on against Saterun, things had almost taken a turn.
That had been the match where it had all clicked. All parts, firing at once. The defence had not let their opponents take a genuinely threatening shot on target, Rourke had produced a screamer and then an assist for Wake, either side of Byrne teeing up a forceful finish from Alyce Kearney racing in down the middle. Stokes came off the bench to finish it off, just as planned, exploting a tiring defence.
But Camden's fury was drawn in the 89th minute. Not at the referee. By now, Niko Calderwood had lumbered on to make his international debut, and Shara Chalk had arrived, too. But it was the usually reliable Caoimhin Hadley who erred, and hacked down Esparza.
Camden did not vent her spleen at the fourth official. She did not have to shout. She merely raised an eyebrow.
The Brenecian players shuddered.
Someone Had Lowered Their Standards.
Esparza planted the ball on the spot. Olwyn Fife stood firm, in her eyesore pink-and-yellow kit, dubiously credited with unsettling forwards over the past years. Fife had not made a serious save all game. But she planted her stance. looked Esparza in the eye, and got ready to save one now.
Well.
She didn't.
She didn't get the chance to.
The whistle blew, the boot swung, Fife dived; the right way, she saw, but in that split-second of despair she could sense the ball flying past her outstretched hand, heard it whistling past, out of her grasp...
... and clanking back against the post.
Instinctively Esparza rushed forward before remembering he couldn't touch the ball again, and more or less threw himself out of the way, trying to give Matzinho room to come in and bury it. But the next touch belonged to Caoimhin Hadley, atoning with a pinpoint slide that hooked the ball away from danger, as blue and white shirts fell over each other trying to get a touch, any touch, that could rekindle or extinguish the danger for good. It caromed off one man, got kicked against another, the scrum in the centre of the box grew and grew, and when the referee spotted a foul somewhere in that - perhaps guesswork, but a fair guess - and the pile dispersed, somehow it felt right that, in the middle of all that, a dazed-looking Fife had found, seized and fallen on the ball.
A sigh of relief all around. Even Camden eased up a bit. Standards Had Been Maintained.
But how much farther could that take them? Could they, really, claw their way back to qualification.

by **Pemecutan** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 6:59 am

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || Part 6 || Part 7 || Part 8

SECOND PEMECUTAN KINGDOM

Second Pemecutan Kingdom
Puri Agung Pemecutan
ca. 1954 - 1966 AD

Flag

Capital       Pamecutan
Languages     Girinese
Religion      Dharma Tirtha
Government    Decentralized unitary
              constitutional monarchy
Ratu Hawir Bhuja
1902 - 1958   Ki Jaya Arsa
1958 - 1997   Ki Satya Mala
Preceded by   Pemecutan Kingdom
              Majegau Protectorate
Succeeded by  United Kingdom of Pemecutan

Part of a series on the
History of Pemecutan

Timeline
Stone Age
Bronze Age
Apit Yeh Culture
To Langkir
Balingkang
Kawi (Gunung Kawi)
Payangan
Apuan
East Jambuvan Kingdom (467-550)
Campuan (532-976)
Pejanggik (808-1227)
Tegeh Kori (976-1351)
Karanganyar (1351-1766)
Pemecutan (1766-1909)
Majegau Protectorate (1909-1954)
Unfederated Kingdoms of Majegau
Second Pemecutan Kingdom (1954-1966)
United Kingdom of Pemecutan (1966-1978)
Cendana Islands Admission
Economic Miracle
Trinusa Pemecutan
Financial Crisis (1998-1999)
Terrorist Attacks
Soracana Islands Coup (2019)
Present Pemecutan

Second Pemecutan Kingdom (Girinese: Puri Agung Pemecutan) was a union state of Pemecutan Kingdom and Majegau Protectorate. The union was established with aimed of the freedom of Majegau's states. However, the premise to unite all of them under the reigned of King of Pemecutan have pushed away much of the kingdoms in the area. The kingdom finalized its establishment in 1666 Pawukon (1954 AD) and finally gained recognition of their independence in 1670 Pawukon (1957 AD). After gaining independence, they were actively persuading the other states to joined together into independence. Their hard work finally came to life in 1686 Pawukon (1966) when Kanginan and Petang Islands agree to unify. They later established United Kingdom of Pemecutan or United Pemecutan in short.

Naming

Locally, the nation was still recognized and called as Pemecutan Kingdom. They based it with the fact that Majegau Protectorate were merge into Pemecutan Kingdom, a former domain of Pemecutan which was cut out during Terranean vassalage. In international sense however, the name Second Pemecutan Kingdom was used to distinct the newly established entity with their predecessor before the Ubung Treaty. And also to distinguished between classical and modern Pemecutan.

List of member states

Following the unification, some changes were applied to the states of Pemecutan. The numbers were increase from 8 to 11, 8 monarchical states and 3 republic states.

Alas Magalak, a state in the southern tip of Giri Island. It was created by part of Kesiman and Penatih area. It is one out of 3 republic state within the country.
Batubulan. The area of the state was shrink to only Batubulan Island. The rest of its area was created into a new state named Tandeg Suci.
Kepaon, a state located in Kedungu Plain in western Giri Island. There was a plan to split the northern part of the plain into a new state with Pedungan as its center. But the plan never passed by the Parliament.
Kesiman, the second largest state in term of area and population. Located in Basuki River Valley, southeast Giri Island. Its area include Tedung Plain. There was also a plan to separate Tedung Plain with Kesiman and created Yangbatu Principality. But the plan was blocked by Kesiman government.
Pacung, a state located in northern part of Giri Island. It was made from Ubung Territory. It is one of the 3 republic state.
Peguyangan. Located northeast of Giri Island, east of Bukit Mentik (Mentik Hill).
Pemecutan, the largest state in term of area and population and the main state of the country. Located in east Giri Island on the Pacung-Apuan River Valley.
Penatih, located southwest of Giri Island in what is known as Bungkak Plain.
Satria, the only landlocked state in the country. It is located in the upstream of Pacung River. The Manukaya Gap connect it with Pacung State.
Tandeg Suci, located in the southeast off the coast of Giri Island. It was part of Batubulan state during Majegau Protectorate. It also had an area in Surya Island, the Pecatu Plain. Pecatu plan to create a separate state was blocked by Tandeg Suci authority.
Ubung, its area was shrunk to its former territory before Majegau Protectorate. It is one of the republic state in Pemecutan. It is considered as a city-state.

King Ki Satya Mala and Queen Nyi Ari Santi

System of government

The King of Pemecutan was becoming the Head of State. Ki Jaya Arsa was the king at the time. He had become king from before Terranean vassalage of Pemecutan until their independence. He is entitled Ratu Hawir Bhuja or Paramount King (lit. King of the Kings). However, the King's power has been limited by the constitution. The country still preserved their tradition that the position of Head of Government is held by 2 persons. One is Patih Agung, a representative of the nobles. The position is selected by Rajya Sabha, the Council of Rulers, amongst the members of Nagari Sabha. Second is Patih Madya, a representative of the commoners. The position is selected amongst the members of the Krama Sabha, usually the leader of the winning party.

Paruman Agung, the federal council (lit. Grand Council) is the legislative of the country. It is a two-chamber council, Nagari Sabha (the upper house) and Krama Sabha (the lower house). The Krama Sabha (People's Council) consist of 50 members elected proportionally based on the population of each state. Nagari Sabha (State Council) members are one-third of Krama Sabha. The distribution of elected members of Nagari Sabha is varied between states with each state has a minimum of 1 member.

The judicial system was a typical hierarchical structure. The structure was divided into 3 tiers of Court of Appeal. The supreme judges was selected by the Paruman Agung with the recognition of the King. It was rare however for the King to rejected the selected choice of the Paruman.

Rajya Sabha or Council of Rulers, was an advisory council which comprise of royal monarchs of Pemecutan states. It has 7 members from the 7 monarch states of the country minus Pemecutan itself. The King was represented by a non-voting observer member. The Crown Prince is usually become the representative of the King in the Council.

Evolution towards United Pemecutan

Pemecutan government was still mesmerized with the glory of their kingdom in past with the vast area that it controlled. This thoughts leads to their aggressive approached towards their neighbors in a vision to established Greater Pemecutan which encompassed the 3 island groups, Yuhansa, Majegau and Cendana Islands. Despite failed to persuade Kanginan and Petang Islands to established a new nation, the government didn't back down. They often made an trip into both kingdoms and treat them very well when they visit Pemecutan. They smoothly give the evidence how good it will be to be part of Pemecutan. The strategy was success to attract Petang Islands government. They were gradually opened up another chance for unification talks. Several meetings were held to outline how the process would be and where the kingdom's position will be when the unification ended.

Situation of a traditional market in Satria

On the other hand, the persuasion towards Kanginan was faced with a high wall. They were still angry with Pemecutan government when they took away Pecatu Plain. Despite Kanginani government agree to merge, but they want Pecatu to be handed back to them. The term became so hard to to implemented as Tandeg Suci state government reluctant to give away their precious land. Pecatu made up more than 75% of Tandeg Suci land area. Elsewhere, Pecatu residents were agree to reunify with Kanginan. Pemecutan government then give a solution that Tandeg Suci government will get a compensation for losing Pecatu. After several meetings, Tandeg Suci government agree with the solution. And the news was wired directly to Kanginan authority. With the term agreed by Pemecutan government, Kanginan authority was opened for unification process.

With both neighbors agree, Pemecutan began to formulate the unification process. They left out Rarungan as the kingdom decided to tighten their relationship with Terranean Empire. While Soracana Islands have decided to go on their own. Treaty of Munggu was signed by King Ki Jaya Arsa of Pemecutan, King Ki Agung Dananjaya of Kanginan and King Ki Jaya Menala of Petang Islands which addressing their agreement to unify. A new constitution was laid out in 1675 Pawukon (1960 AD). In 1686 Pawukon (1966 AD), with Kanginani Council passed the new Constitution, the last Council to do so, the three kingdoms officially unified into United Kingdom of Pemecutan or United Pemecutan in short.

by **Sylestone** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 7:34 am

The Sylestonean > Culture > Esportivan Culture Festival

PAINTING AND PHOTOGRAPHY: EVAN BEAUMONT’S WATERFALL SUNSET

Agreed by art appreciators to be one of the finest paintings ever depicted of Sylestonean soil, aspiring painter Evan Beaumont reached fame with his Waterfall Sunset at just eighteen years of age. Taking a gap year after finishing high school, Beaumont opted to spend the year pursuing his passion and natural talent in visual art before moving from his hometown of Garretty in New Gloucester’s tiny segment of the Abercrombie grasslands to Avondale to study aeronautical engineering at the city’s state-of-the-art University of Sylestone. With a girlfriend (now fiancée) living in Witherton on the Weimann Peninsula, the westernmost point of the country’s mainland (not including the large towns of Midford and Nomouth on Felton Island off the coast of Chamberley), Beaumont took the opportunity to spend the better part of six months at the nearby Kalakara Falls - where from a specific angle, viewers were treated to a spectacular view of the sunset looking out over the Meville Rainforest, the town and the ocean, with the falls in the foreground. Once the painting was finally finished, Beaumont had intended it as a gift to his mother for her fiftieth birthday, but upon insistence from her and the rest of his family, it was sent in to the annual Forgetfulness Show* in Avondale, where it was awarded first place with a record 91% voting for his painting in the category. Recently, Beaumont finally sold the painting for a mammoth ten million rubber chickens, completely altering his and his family’s future despite continuing his daily job in maintenance at the Avondale’s Pillaree Airport.

* The Forgetfulness Show commemorates the day of the Big Forget roughly two weeks after New Years’, an event that saw almost the entire history of the nation wiped out by a combined effort of Sentients and humans. Only a few things - such as technology and indigenous Irundji culture - were left out of the Big Forget and in the event, the Sentients also lost their ability to produce magic. Naturally, no one knows why the Big Forget happened but we can presume that something pretty bad probably happened.

The Sylestonean > Sport > Football > World Cup Qualifiers

SENTIENTS GO FOURTH AHEAD OF KEY JOSIFOVO, BORING PARADISE ENCOUNTERS

Entering the international break with just one point separating the Sentients from Sargossa in that pivotal third place position, expectations were high as Mojmir Anac’s squad made their way to Al-Tamazgha in what would eventuate into a standard 1-0 triumph away from home, continuing the side’s strong record against nations ranked below them (let’s just ignore the 14 Stars for now). Despite the Al-Tamazghans putting up a strong fight on the back of a stellar performance from goalkeeper Jules Ekoko, he was left with no hope as Lesley Keller latched onto an Amelia Stanton cross that cut behind the defence and fell directly at the right back’s feet. The triumph left Sylestone within a single point of Sargossa - something that was likely to not remain the case as Slavko Jelic’s men hosted bottom-of-the-table Boring Paradise while the Sentients welcomed their manager’s countrymen and women to Chamberley in a much-awaited encounter. And the game lived up to expectation as the two sides continued Anac’s legacy in a hard-fought encounter to make it over three hours without a goal being scored over two legs. Sure, two draws against second place ain’t bad, but it does increase the gap to Sargossa to three points, while the Ochre Islands and even the 14 Stars remain on the Sentients’ tail.

Up next, two victories are an absolute must for Sylestone, with an away fixture at tenth-placed Josifovo followed by a home game in Kirton against Boring Paradise. They might look like easy games on paper, but so did both against the 14 Stars… and look at what happened there. No team is a pushover in World Cup Qualifying and games in the Ochre Islands and Sargossa looming large, every single point is crucial at this stage.

The 14 Stars vs Sylestone @ Starset Stadium

The 14 Stars (4-3-3): Princeton; Rafaelov - Chiruchu (Moreau 69’ ( 90+5’)) - Serrano - Nolan; Ivanova (Bernard 69’) - Sol - Raharinaivo ( 83’); Villegas - Fourseasons (Schulz 69’) - Blade (Borov 88’)

Sylestone (4-4-1-1 → 4-2-3-1): Fuller; Davis ( 71’) (Holt 90’ ( 90+2)) - Hand Sanitiser - Pearson ( 78’) - Statton; Stanton (Ryland 80’) - Paterson ( 33’) (Rodway 80’) - Barkman - Fridge (Barclay 80’); Keyes; Eastwood (Fleetwood 64’)

The 14 Stars 1-0 Sylestone
                                             Schulz 86’

Sylestone vs Starblaydia @ Sunlife Stadium, Halpenley

Sylestone (4-4-1-1 → 5-4-1): Brick Wall; Cross (Holt 78’) - Nutt ( 76’) - Faucett - Keller (Toilet 59’); Ryland - Blair - Bar Stool (Mornington 78’) - Barclay ( 20’) (Fridge 59’); Sarcav-Jones (Fleetwood 90+2’); Strathfield

Starblaydia: Unknown

Sylestone 2-0 Starblaydia
                                 Strathfield 51’ (p)
                                    Sarcav-Jones 90’

Al-Tamazgha vs Sylestone @ Stade-Alphonse-Diawara, Maisonbleue

Al-Tamazgha (3-3-2-2): Ekoko; Amrouche ( 90’) - Cizeron (Carcela 79’) - al-Khattabi; Soumare ( 48’) (Rose 79’) - M Benzakour ( 9’) (Mangane 53’) - Elalamy; Yaktine (S Benzakour 88’) - Assaraf; Diouri - Joumari (Wafula-Hadjif 53’)

Sylestone (4-4-1-1): Holmes; Cross - Nutt - Faucett - Keller (Toilet 82’); Stanton - Paterson ( 25’) (Bar Stool 64’) - Lawson - Barclay (Jones 64’); Barkman; Eastwood (Strathfield 64’)

Al-Tamazgha 0-1 Sylestone
                                                               Keller 71’

Sylestone vs Mytanija @ Chamberley Institute of Sport, Chamberley

Sylestone (4-4-1-1 → 5-4-1): Macleay; Holt (Cross 58’) - Mornington - Hand Sanitiser ( 90+1’) - Statton (Toilet 87); Holmes ( 69’) (Nutt 73’) - Brown - Rodway - Jones (Fridge 73’); Fleetwood (Blair 76’); Blamey

Mytanija (5-3-2): Besak; Milosevic ( 45+4’) (Bajalica 60’) - Mlinarevic - Suljic - Koshkin ( 81’) - Gvardjancic (Pejakovski 76’); Papez (Vujanovic 76’) - Anusic - Zmiric (Bajic 76’); Skara - Zakubovnik (Gannot 90’)

Sylestone 0-0 Mytanija

Starting XI vs Josifovo @ Josifski Rat, Pačak, Josifovo

Brick Wall; Davis - Brown - Hand Sanitiser - Keller; Ryland - Blair - Fridge - Lawson; Rodway; Keyes

Starting XI vs Boring Paradise @ Walgabba Dome, Kirton, Sylestone

Holmes; Holt - Mornington - Pearson - Toilet; Holmes - Paterson - Bar Stool - Jones; Sarcav-Jones; Blamey

by **Chromatika** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 7:49 am

MD16: Chromatika 5-4 New Dascos
Goals: Howard-Dawes 14', 49', 88', Françine-Miklavivec 63', Laurette 72'
Starting XI: Bautista (C); Muir - Harry - Mixon; Vette - Goo - Laurette - Anderson; Françine-Miklavivec; Howard-Dawes - Nam.
Substitutes: Paterson -> Muir (53'), Tracey -> Vette (61'), Ju -> Goo (61'), Jackson-Jones -> Harry (77'), Fucheux-> Nam (77')
Summary: Elaine Howard-Dawes had a hat trick, including the game winner, as Chromatika's reserve squad barely defeated New Dascos 5-4 at the Jewel Dome in Ming. The visitors would take an early 2-0 lead off two miscues among the back four, but Lev Repin's choice to bring in Paisley Paterson for Odwin Muir paid off as Chromatika outscored New Dascos 4-2 in the second half.

Evin Françine-Miklavivec had three assists, including the game winning goal which came off a gorgeous through ball to Howard-Dawes that she slotted in. Evin would have a goal herself on a corner, and Tyoma Laurette added the fifth.

"I love how they handled the pressure," spoke Shelby Arling after the match, "New Dascos gave them all they could handle but they overcame the struggles in the end."

It sure beats conceding yet another home tie, after all.

Fortnight 10: @ Polkopia, vs. Katterimunk
Starting XI: Sourtois; Paterson - Ansoll - Nodis; Christelle (C) - Ju - Françine-Miklavivec - Womack; Phoen; Oveni - Fucheux.
Substitutes: GK Do Seung-Min, GK Laurée Bautista, DCR Odwin Muir, DC Rowan Harry, DCL Twilight Mixon, DC Eileen Jackson-Jones, WBR Ibayashi Haitou, WBL Manda Iara, WBR Emilie Kruetzberg, BWM Kateryna Zuniga, DLP Alija Mesic-Mizayaki, AP Baillaire Fillar, AP Tyoma Laurette, AF Elaine Howard-Dawes, CF Candice Delaya
Preview: We move from the reserve squad to the third string. Both of these opponents haven't had the best campaign, while the Anomalies are continuing to keep the gap from Kimi-suomi while pressuring Tikariot. This is also one of the last chances for these players to put in a word to be in what will hopefully be a qualified roster, which means a lot. Emilie Kruetzberg, Kateryna Zuniga, Baillaire Fillar, and even Elaine Howard-Dawes are available just in case.

by **Milchama** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 8:09 am

OOC: Format (and a few lyrics) lovingly borrowed from the Decemberists: https://genius.com/The-decemberists-red ... kle-lyrics

IC:
This is the story of a red right ankle.
And how it came to meet your leg.
And how the muscle, bone, and sinews tangled.
And how the skin was softly shed.
And how it whispered:
"Oh adhere to me for we can score goals aplenty"
And whatever differences our paths have been
We together create spin
This is the story of your red right ankle

This is the story of your blue left ankle
And how it came to meet your leg
And how the muscle, bone, and sinews tangled.
And how the skin was softly shed.
And how it whispered:
"Oh adhere to me for we can stop goals aplenty"
And while we have our differences with Being
We are still defending
This is the story of your blue left ankle

This is the story of your green third ankle
And how it came to meet your leg
And how everybody else said:
"Wait how did you get a third ankle?"
And how it whispered:
"Oh adhere to me for we bound by asymmetry"
And together we have no differences in path or spirit
For we are the imaginary space between ball and man
This is the story of your green third ankle

This is the story of your colorless odorless sweet tea
And how it came to exist in the first place
And how the rhyming scheme of this poem broke down
Mostly to create more chaos
And how it whispered:
"Oh sweet tenderly.
Isn't this a beautiful cup of tea?
And wherever we may have been
You know that this is your destiny"
This is the story of your colorless odorless sweet tea

This is the story of a qualification campaign
And how it came to hit a snag
And how the victories turned into losses
And how the optimism was shred
And how it whispered:
"Oh Milch don't worry
We have some tricks up our sleeve.
Whatever problems there might have been
It will work out in the end."
This is the story of a qualification campaign

This is the story of a red right ankle.

The poet who read this poem was roundly booed at the local open mic night. Mark though the poem was ok but that the poet really shouldn't try to rip off the Decemberists so much. The Milchama part was genius.

by **The Jovannic** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 8:24 am

Headline Match Reports: Canadian Dominion 1-3 The Jovannic

The Emperors successfully managed to break through the defensive antics of the Ganders, getting three on the scoresheet, giving them their fifth victory this season. Dersa and Redder (x2) both got onto the scoresheet, and Bill Redundan, Caruana Ionnais and Ret Werst all made their first appearances for the Emperors, officially giving every single squad member some minutes.

Goals: Dersa 16, Redder 39, 55

Assists: Maringar, Dersa, Werst

Headline Match Reports: The Jovannic 0-2 Brenecia

The Emperors failed to take 6 points from top group seed Brenecia, being soundly defeated at home. Although the two sides were perhaps more closely matched than one may expect of teams almost 200 ranks apart, two goals by Katua Byrne and Lowen Murdochrespectively made all the difference as The Jovannic remain stuck in 8th. With only 5 games left in the season, it remains uncertain if The Emperors have the endurance to pull themselves into the higher position.

Goals: NIL

Court order to stop given to woman repeatedly suing UOG for failing to obtain degree

A woman who kept suing the University of Golda (UOG) after it terminated her candidature in 10 years ago has been restrained from pursuing any court action over the issue for two years.

Ms Seow Yih Chern was in a dispute with her supervisor and the ensuing developments led to the termination of her candidature.

In response, she had launched multiple court actions against the university, seeking damages for several issues, including breach of contract, intimidation and negligence.

The UOG turned to the High Court of Golda seeking an extended civil restraint order to stop Ms Seow from commencing any action in any court related to this issue.

In a judgment issued last week, Justice Elizabeth Mersen granted UOG's application and imposed a civil restraint order of two years on Ms Seow, the maximum period allowed.

Justice Mersen found that Ms Seow had "persistently commenced actions that can be acknowledged to be totally without merit", pointing to the actions that were ruled to be so for two years before the university's application.

However, she allowed Ms Seiq to continue to pursue an ongoing case where she is reportedly seeking to privately prosecute then-NUS professor Vinsin Carlos for perjury and obstruction of justice.

BACKGROUND

Ms Seow began her candidature for the degree of Masters of Arts (Architecture) 12 years ago at the UOG School of Urban Design, after UOG offered her a research scholarship that she accepted.

She was supposed to complete her course and obtain her master's degree by her second year. As a requirement, she had to complete a 40,000-word thesis, supervised by a certain Dr Wong Jin Hong, in order to graduate.

However, Ms Seow would accuse him of using her work in a project without acknowledging her.

Ms Seow submitted her thesis two days late, after getting a stand-in to sign on her form and obtaining an extension of her deadline.

She later wrote to school authorities to complain about Dr Wong, asking for him to be removed as her supervisor, but the Head of Department saw no reason to do so.

Ms Seow was told that she would be required to submit an electronic form and a copy of her finalised thesis in a certain format, within a month.

Another professor was assigned for Ms Seow to consult on the changes to be made to her thesis.

However, Ms Seow continued to pander for questions about her complaints against Dr Wong and objected to her thesis being sent for examination.

In the end, Ms Seow made the required revisions to her thesis, she did not comply with all the steps required. She did not upload the thesis electronically, nor sign and submit a required form.

As a result, the UOG terminated her candidature before she obtained her master's degree.

"While quick to criticise others, she was unable and unwilling to see her own prejudices and how difficult she appeared to others. Her repetitive complaints about the examination process even after the successful outcome of the examination is perhaps one of the best illustrations of her erroneous perception," stated Justice Mersen.

"Her unfortunate inability to differentiate between her complaints about Dr Wong and the requirements she had to comply with has led her to the situation she finds herself in," she added.

by **Naixi** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 8:42 am

ROCHES DANS L'EAU

God, or the Gods, depending on your religious preference, must surely be sadistic, because Naixi's luck has been appalling as of late during World Cup 94 qualifying. Horrendous finishing and errant passing in midfield have been consistent problems throughout the campaign, but have not been nearly as troublesome as the recent tendency of Blues defenders to switch off and allow chances for the opposition. This was certainly the case when Jeruselem were permitted to escape the Naixese capital Chumeichang with all three points.

Guan Cai Tsung, without a doubt one of our country's best and most promising young talents, has been particularly poor lately. His stumble while lining his sights for a long ball wiped out the strong defensive work Zhen Bang Tan had put in to steal the ball away from George Santini, and the latter was able to rocket a ball off the underside of the bar and into the net on 55 minutes, evading the outstretched fingers of Lu Fang Huang (who otherwise had a fine game).

Questions have begun to swirl around Gui Fan Ren, as he has been characterized as late to react to the team's on-pitch failures. Against the Princesses, for example, it was plain for all to see that Kee Tian was becoming quite exhausted having to constantly track back as Jeruselem overloaded his flank, and Tsung (as mentioned above) seemed to flail about with worrying regularity when he needed to win back the ball in the Blues' defensive third. But Ren waited until deep into stoppage time to make a single change, and when he did, it was only a double change to hook Tian and Tsung. No changes were ever made in the ineffective midfield, and in-form striker Tse Peng Chu sat on the bench unused for the entire match. But the FAN can hardly afford to change managers yet again, so they have very little leverage to demand an alternative set of tactics from Ren. How can things improve if nobody acknowledges there is a problem?

ENNEMI DE L'ÉTAT

Much has been said in the press about the man who assassinated a member of the Celestial Council last year, and much of it has unfortunately been hearsay. Perhaps even we at le Sommet ought to take an inventory of our journalistic practices, as we have certainly participated in the wild speculation about the killer's motivations. But we feel that it is never too late to demonstrate accountability, and so we have sent the experienced investigative journalist Chen Mo to set things straight and collect some cold, hard facts.

Mo will deliver the full contents of her findings in an article to be published this Sunday in le Sommet, but we can tell you in advance that a number of restrictions were placed upon Ms. Mo (and ourselves) by the Naixese state. First, we do not have clearance to tell you his name. We tried to petition for the right to disseminate this news, but were told by our legal department that the courts would not be on our side. Second, Ms. Mo was forced to agree to be blindfolded by agents of the Ministry of Law and Order in order to be brought to the location where she could speak to the assassin. The Ministry is adamant that he cannot be held in an ordinary prison, and the site of his imprisonment is considered a national security secret.

But despite these restrictions, we want you to be aware that Ms. Mo was able to interview the murderer and bomber, and she will be able to tell much of his story. His motivations and methods will be freely discussed, and we may perhaps begin to provide some of the answers that patriotic citizens of our great nation have long craved. He has, too, been permitted to discuss parts of his trial as he heads into a showdown with a military tribunal that will resolve the question of whether he ought to be imprisoned for life or put to death.

Matchday 16

Naixi 0 ⇨ Huang, Yep, Geng, Z.B. Tan, Tsung (Dong), Tian (Xin), Yap, Chang, Yuan, Jin, Ling
Jeruselem 1 ⇨ Sora, Oldman, Alexandra (Don), Mikado, Mikami (Suisei), Santini ⚽x1 (Cake), Mel, Rose, Denny D, Russia, Geese-Frogg

9' Yellow Card ⇨ Yap (NIX)
22' Yellow Card ⇨ Geng (NIX)
33' Yellow Card ⇨ Rose (JRS)
45' Yellow Card ⇨ Mikami (JRS)
55' Goal ⇨ Santini (JRS)
56' Substitution ⇨ Santini OFF Cake ON (JRS)
63' Substitution ⇨ Alexandra OFF Don ON (JRS)
65' Yellow Card ⇨ Chang (NIX)
76' Yellow Card ⇨ Mel (JRS)
86' Substitution ⇨ Mikami OFF Suisei ON (JRS)
93' Substitution ⇨ Tian OFF Xin ON (NIX)
93' Substitution ⇨ Tsung OFF Dong ON (NIX)

by **PotatoFarmers** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 9:04 am

Poafmersia 1–0 Farfadillis
Goalscorers: Tessa Bjarnesen 35' (assisted by Shea)
Lineup (4-3-3): Jessica Ardens; Kilikina Lee, Liadan Holmström, Cindy Oriol, Xenophon Robson; Erle Sartini, Min Berg, Aapeli Shea (c); Tessa Bjarnesen, Jordan Huerta, Sakari Cantù
Substitutes: Sylvia Fusco (Berg 70'), Lesia Astrauskas (Sartini 81'), Taliah Alcock (Bjarnesen 81')

Commonwealth of Baker Park 1–1 Poafmersia
Goalscorers: Jackson Handris 84' (assisted by Rivera)
Lineup (4-3-3): Nicole Potts; Lovise Zimmerman, Liadan Holmström, Cindy Oriol, Emma Henderson; Florent Rivera, Sylvia Fusco, Aapeli Shea (c); Tessa Bjarnesen, Jordan Huerta, Leontiy Seet
Substitutes: Jackson Handris (Seet 62'), Suada Bogdanić (Huerta 78'), Erle Sartini (Shea 78')

Change: Two Decades of International Football in Poafmersia
Part 5

Poafmer Times: Good performances by new callups as Poafmersia retains chance of making into playoffs

Poafmersia - Poafmersia took home a win and a draw against the top 2 seeds on the trot, keeping their hopes of playoffs alive inspte of being eliminated from direct qualification position.

A good assist by Florent Rivera playing as a creative midfielder helped to save the game for Poafmersia against Baker Park, while Sakari Cantù had many good attempts on goal that really threatened the Farfadillis defence. Meanwhile Emma Henderson's return to the line provided a flexible alternative at the backrow, pairing up with Lovise Zimmerman as two defence-oriented fullbacks in the backline. That worked out well against Baker Park, went it came down to a strong requirement on keeping the tempo slow and taking things more carefully.

The coaches didn't attend the usual post-match interview this week, but the players that were brought up felt "happy" that the team is starting to make progress and fixing lots of mistakes that they have been making in their previous games. Captain Aapeli Shea, who played the whole of the game against Farfadillis but was subbed off against Baker Park, said that the new players brought with them "new perspectives" and provided some tactical flexibility in gameplay. "While keeping to coach Lu's mantra of prioritising defence first, we have been able to tweak it whether it was by hastening the pace and gameplay, or slowing things down and focus on long balls to keep our advantage there. These players have been useful additions to our squad and we are very thankful for the coaches for making such introductions." He also added that some of the other squad members have been dropped from the squad shortlist, but stopped short of saying who "out of respect for our fellow players".

Poafmersia's crucial results came as the World Cup Qualifiers approached the business end of things. With good results against the top teams, the pressure is slightly off the Poafmersian team as they head into their remaining 5 games full of confidence. Sitting just 3 points behind 3rd place Xanneria, they have very winnable games against the 5 of the bottom half teams still to come and clinching 15 points might very well be what brings them across the line, albeit marginally. But the team is very well understanding of the amount of effort they have to put in. "At this stage, with 4 teams at 20 points, our -1 goal difference looks like a massive burden to us and we will work towards achieving that possitive difference," said vice-captain Nicole Potts after the Baker Park game. While she pointed out that this group has been a little difficult, with 7 teams on negative goal difference and 4th placed Natanians and Nosts at 0 goal difference, she also recognised that these results were "unlike Poafmersia" and it seemed like a stark difference to the way Poafmersia played in their early days. "A lot of the older generation players look at our recent games and I don't think they feel great. While we remember 20 years of Poafmersian football this year, we are definitely not playing with that gusto that they had even as newcomers, and it seems that our team as a whole needs to put those 20 years of results aside if it is starting to become a heavy burden on our shoulders."

## Group 4                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
 1 Commonwealth of Baker Park (X)     16   11   4   1    44   22  +22    37
 2 Farfadillis                        16    9   4   3    42   26  +16    31
 3 Xanneria                           15    7   2   6    34   26   +8    23
 4 Natanians and Nosts (Z)            15    5   5   5    17   17    0    20
 5 Poafmersia (Z)                     15    5   5   5    14   15   −1    20
 6 Lozho (Z)                          16    4   8   4    15   18   −3    20
 7 95X (Z)                            15    6   2   7    16   22   −6    20
 8 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles (Z)    16    4   6   6    27   30   −3    18
 9 Aust Scor (Z)                      15    4   3   8    16   29  −13    15
10 South Americanastan (Z)            15    2   7   6     9   15   −6    13
11 Rincurd (Z)                        16    3   4   9    19   33  −14    13

X - Assured of at least Playoffs
Z - Unable to qualify for World Cup directly, but may still advance to playoffs

With the results elsewhere, Poafmersia continues to remain in mathematical contention for the playoff spot, although their poor results in the last few weeks meant that they can no longer contend for the direct qualification spot. THe group, however, is in a very tight spot, with the playoff contention likely heading down to the wire as there are 6 teams separated by just 5 points between 3rd placed Xanneria and 8th placed Pluvia and the Saxean Isles. Baker Park secured their top 3 spot with 11 wins, 4 draws, and just 1 loss to their name.

Elsewhere across the Qualifiers, two-time World Cup winners and defending champions Banija became the first team to confirm their spot at the Proper, after maintaining a perfect 16 wins record in Group 14. They are the only one of two teams remaining unbeaten, with Turori guarenteed a top 2 finish with 12 wins and 3 draws to their name as at Matchday 17. Perhaps the most lobsided of groups will be Group 9, with 7 teams confirmed to be eliminated from playoff contention, while the top is starting to shape like a 3 horse race with Tikariot leading with 40 points out in front, Sendhang and Chromatika in 2nd and 3rd just 7 and 8 points behind respectively, and Kimi-suomi keeping an outside chance with 25 points. The closest race at the top will be in Group 12, with World Cup 67 winners Polar Islandstates marking their return from a long hiatus by holding top spot in a really tight group that sees the top separated by just 6 points. Another group to watch will be Group 15, with five times World Cup Champion Vilita on top barely by just a 7 goal difference margin, sitting at 29 points together with Valentine Z and second seeds Flavovespia just 1 point behind with a game in hand on the former 2 teams. Other nations, such as fellow Baptism of Fire 71 participants Trolleborg and Ziwana, as well as relative newcomers Dantopia, Patriotlandia, and Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer, all still in mathematical contention for the top 3 spots.

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