World Cup 96 - Roleplay Thread

[Eshialand]

Powerless

"Can someone flip the lights on?"
"The power's still out Jerry..."

Such laments could be heard all across Eshialand, as the greatest power outage in the nation's history entered its fifth day. Nobody could read their favorite news blogs, browse cat videos on OurTube, or even access their favorite online nation simulator.

"What do you mean the power's still out?! It's been five days and you're telling me there haven't been ANY updates from the Department of Power?"
"They still haven't figured out the source of the problem..."
"What do you mean??? It's been 5 days!!!"
"It's... complicated..."

Meanwhile, the power outage was also causing a few issues for the Eshian soccer team, trying to make their way from Eshialand City to Keers, Mertagne.

"What do you mean we can't take off??"
"It's pretty simple Kenny..." the would-be pilot of the team's plane said, "even if everything is working on the plane, we can't take off if air traffic control can't get any power."
"What about the generators??"
"They broke down yesterday... there was a suspicious man leaving the airport mumbling to himself in Klysevian* afterwards but I doubt he had anything to do with it."
"You've gotta be kidding me... is there any way we can get to Mertagne?"

"Ahoy!"

The only way for the team to get to Mertagne, unfortunately, was through a suspicious-looking sea captain by the docks.

"So I heard ya needed a ride to Mertagne, eh?"
"Uh.... yeah?" Jake Harran said a bit timidly.
"Well, I can get ya there, as long as you let me stop off in Lahaira first, I've got some business there..."
"What kind of business?" Kenny asked.
"Don't check what's under the deckboards and don't ask any questions. Anyway, let's get going, shall we?"

"I really don't know about this..." Mel Carey told her coach.
"Well, it's all we've got... besides, a little bit of a boat ride never hurt anyone, huh?"

*OOC Note: this is Ivan Shakarov storming off after the Seagulls abandoned him in this RP.

[Yue Zhou]

YUEZHOU enter Group H of the ninety-sixth World Cup humbled by recent events. After they won all fourteen games of WC95 qualifiers, the first time anyone had managed perfection in well over a decade, the world #9s had assumed that Qualifying Group 11 would be similarly kind this time around. They thought wrong - when the dust settled, unranked and little-known Crpostran were sitting atop the group, while Yuezhou's backbreaking five dropped points to minnows Britonisea doomed them to the playoffs. Up against former manager Lu Jialan in the qualifying playoffs, a Leona Tsang goal early and a Pan Xilei goal late were enough to put away Poafmersia convincingly, ensuring that the Dragons would avoid the humiliation of being doomed to the Cup of Harmony by an unranked team and a manager they'd sacked.

REÇUECN will be the first to try the Dragons. As a Pot 4 team and one of the lowest-ranked sides in the tournament, this is on paper the easiest match of the group stage for the Dragons. Then again, Mytanija and Cassadaigua also took them lightly, and neither of them have made it to Anaia. Reçuecn boasts a stalwart defense that has left teams in much higher pots wanting before, along with one of the group's biggest personalities (no small feat in a group that has Farfadillis in it) in talented attacking midfielder Franky Adams. Combined with Yuezhou's recent history of being shown up by lower-ranked teams, and this has "trap game" written all over it. It could only take a few moments of carelessness for the Dragons to explode on the launchpad in this opening match. One key player on the Dragons' side of things could be young right-back Songwei Milosevic. Reçuecn's solid spine makes it likely that Elaine Ashdown will try to strike from the flanks, and with Luo Nanwei hardly a wide threat at this point in his career, getting adequate width from the right flank will be critical. The speedy fullback (who replaces longtime starter Dong Xiaowang after an electric qualifying campaign) could be the key to making that happen.

If I had a nickel for every time Pot 3 TIKARIOT played Pot 2 Yuezhou on Matchday 2 of the World Cup group stage, with both sides needing a win to secure their place in the Round of 16, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice in a row. Last time, Yuezhou won 2-1 behind a late winner from Kara Mingsdottír Zhang, and would eventually take second place in the group. In some ways, that win over the Snowy Owls could be the Dragons' peak in recent years, as it marked the last of sixteen consecutive wins before they lost the group lead to Kelssek and the Round of 16 to Valanora. But that won't stop Tikariot from looking for revenge when the two Pavolans next play. In another twist of fate, both sides run their high-octane offenses through a Græntfjaller dual national at attacking midfielder. As reductionist as it is to say, this match could very well come down to which of Þorgríma Vigdis Ástþórsdóttir and Kara Mingsdottír Zhang can do more damage. Expect a shootout.

After overcoming one former NT manager (Poafmersia's Lu Jialan) to qualify, and after potentially getting revenge on behalf of another (Cassadaigua's Chen Huikang, soon to drop the first word of that description) on MD1, the Dragons will encounter yet another former NT manager in Yuan Zilai of FARFADILLIS. Farfadillis will also be looking for revenge against Yuezhou after their Yue manager was seen congratulating Tumbran players after Farfadillis' WC95 semifinals defeat, in what has been universally agreed to be the worst thing Yuezhou has ever done to Farfadillis. Also, a few people might resent the time Yuezhou invaded Farolera under President Liang Ziyou, although far more Farves will have fond memories of that incident. In any case, Farfadillis's all-out attack is a terrible matchup for the Dragons, who leaked goals left, right, and center during the qualifying campaign, and who will be without Hu Jiewen after the starting center-back's abrupt international retirement at age thirty-three. Can Deng Daiyu, a solid defender but hardly on the level of past greats like Yuan Mingrong or Han Ruoyang, alongside a carousel of Esekíel Zeminsson Yao (inexperienced), Garrett Shangyuan (uninspiring), and Sha Jian (overly angry) hold the multiverse's best attack at bay? I mean, probably not. But unless Yuezhou can manage six points from their first two matches, they might just need to figure it out.

[Chromatika]

World Cup 96 Qualifying Fortnight 7 Results

Matchday 13: West Barack and East Obama 0-1 Chromatika
Goals: Xuen-Zhukov 71'
Starting XI: Fillar, J. (C); Coulibaly - Régine - Aimée; Fillar, G. - Larriet-Cortes - Fillar, B. - Fillar, E.; Kuznetsov; Xuen-Zhukov - Delaya.
Substitutes: Jackson-Jones -> Régine (61'), Hauser -> Kuznetsov (61'), Howard-Dawes -> Delaya (68'), Paterson -> Coulibaly (78'), Kruetzberg -> Fillar, G. (78')
Summary: To break a scoreless tie now spanning the length of almost three matches, it took Haley Hauser getting the ball to a waiting Xuen-Zhukov, who hammered home his only shot on goal in the match as the Anomalies clinched their group and a spot in the World Cup Proper. West Barack and East Obama's defense was stout, but the Anomalies were finally able to break through, clinching the group with a match to spare.

Matchday 14: Chromatika 2-3 Abanhfleft
Goals: Howard-Dawes 20', 62'
Starting XI: Do; Paterson - Harry - Nodis; Kruetzberg - Ju - Mesic-Mizayaki - Mátyás; Hauser (C); Howard-Dawes - Fucheux.
Substitutes: Jackson-Jones -> Harry (59'), Fillar, E. -> Mátyás (59'), Xuen-Zhukov -> Fucheux (79'), Fillar, G. -> Kruetzberg (84'), Coulibaly -> Paterson (84')
Summary: With the group clinched, the Anomalies decided to give the second/third string players another start, which Abanhfleft used to hand the Anomalies their only loss in the qualifying campaign. Although the team did put in a lot of the big guns in the last half hour, it was too late. Regardless, this will be remembered as one of the best qualifying cycles in Chromatik history, with the team in high spirits as they head to Huayramarca or Mertagne for the World Cup Proper.

---

Chromatik Roster - World Cup 96 Proper
Goalkeepers (3): GK Juxon Fillar (Montreal Koreana, QUE), GK Hailee Sourtois (Directus, EUR), GK Do Seung-Min (1923 Esca, MYT)
Defenders (7): DCR Ami Coulibaly (Chromatik, CMT), DC Klavida Régine (Serrapince, TMB), DCL Ipati Aimée (Lakewood United, TMB), DCR Paisley Paterson (Cazadores Cathair, AUD), DC Eileen Jackson-Jones (Avanoroch White Wings FC, TKT), DCL Cylie Nodis (Chromatik, CMT), DC Rowan Harry (Chamberley City, SYL)
Wingbacks (5): WBR Grayson Fillar (1896 Ebor MYT), WBL Edith Fillar (Myana, CMT), WBR Emilie Kruetzberg (Lakewood United, TMB), WBL Manda Iara (Alnio, CMT), WBR Ibayashi Haitou (Mipojoseon, QUE)
Central Midfielders (6): BWM Kaia Larriet-Cortes (La Nueva Avenida, FFD), AP Baillaire Fillar (Sivolvia Capitalizt, SRS), AP Haley Hauser (Spartangrad, EUR), AM Vasiliy Marten Kuznetsov (Herzegovina City FC, BNJ), CDM Amélie Ju (RGS Athletic, EFL), AP Evin Françine-Miklavivec (1923 Esca, MYT)
Strikers (5): AF Lavrentiy Xuen-Zhukov (Myana, CMT), AF Elaine Howard-Dawes (Couno Rangers, TMB), CF Candice Delaya (Holdenberg, EUR), AF Marietta "Marie" Fucheux (Perce Town, QUE), P Sandara Park (Montreal Koreana, QUE)

Matchday 1 Preview: Chromatika vs. Quebec and Shingoryeo @ Estadio Maritomo, Puerto San Carlos, Huayramarca

It is almost poetic that Chromatika's first opponent in this World Cup will be against a familiar foe in Quebec and Shingoryeo. The Quebecois are one of Chromatika's closest allies in terms of political influence, sharing both Korean and French cultures along with a good relationship with Banija. No less than four Chromatik players in the final twenty-six member roster ply their trade in Quebec and Shingoryeo, with Juxon Fillar being the biggest name. The Quebecois play a very offensive, flashy style of football that can produce many a highlight moment on a whim; the Anomalies will have to make sure to stay in their lane and not get sucked into the free-for-all that their opponents like to play.

It'll be the first time this cycle that Elaine Howard-Dawes gets the start over Candice Delaya. Though she's earned it with her consistent play throughout the qualifiers, it's an entirely different mission altogether to score at the highest level of the sport; Delaya will be available with the likes of Park and Fucheux just in case other things are needed from the arsenal. This World Cup Proper is the first for the likes of Rowan Harry and Evin Françine-Miklavivec - the former emerging as the best prospect at center back after Eileen Jackson-Jones and the latter bedazzling with many a decent cross during qualifiers. For those that thought that Alija Mesic-Mizayaki would get the nod first, this will be a surprise.

Getting a positive result to start the Group Stage is paramount; with only three matches to play and a game against the hosts still looming, getting off on the right foot is of the utmost importance. Although Huayramarca is technically the top seed in the group due to being hosts, Chromatika are the highest seeded team in the Group and the favorite to get out. As they learned the hard way last cycle, though, predictions only go so far - you have to prove it out there in the field of play, and that starts with Quebec.

With the possibility looming of this being Lev Repin's last season at the helm of the Anomalies, their journey begins anew.

---

Part 1 - Overview
Part 2 - Agriculture/Apiculture
Part 3 - Housing Infrastructure
Part 4 - Ecology
Part 5 - Fishing/Aquaculture
Part 6 - Manufacturing

THE REBUILD
VII: Financial Institutions - Chaos

So far in this series of looking at how the Abyssal Invasion of the eastern half of Myana Island and the subsequent occupation has affected Chromatika, we've focused on the physical aspects of what's been lost - from agriculture to housing to ecology to fishing and finally manufacturing. However, more than just physical objects were lost when more than a million Chromatiks were forced to run for their lives and take refuge elsewhere. Also lost in the process was the societal norm that those people had shared in their communities, the values of their everyday lives, and in some cases, the people themselves.

It should then come as no surprise that the invasion and occupation had a profound affect in the Chromatik financial institutional system. The stock market experienced the biggest prolonged crash since the days of the Rainbow Revolution in the initial week of the invasion; then, although some sectors like defense and research picked up immediately as the Chromatik government started to focus on getting things under control, other sectors - like fishing, agriculture, and the materials that the eastern half of Myana Island had been responsible for - stayed low for a very long time. In fact, some of those sectors still haven't fully recovered, only having gained about a quarter of what's been lost. This has brought unprecedented challenges to the Chromatik economy, and the government has had to be creative to combat the challenges as best as they can.

It is written into the Chromatik constitution since the Rainbow Revolution that the economy be regulated by a separate entity - the Financial Board. This Board does not answer to the government, but works with it. It took 36 hours before the Financial Board warned the Chromatik government that without direct intervention, the currently held exchange rate of 1.5 National Mark Standard to 1 NSD would fall apart. In other words, the Chromatik National Mark Standard was going to start losing value almost immediately. The Chromatik government responded immediately, and the initial days were spent using the country's treasury to keep the NMS afloat while they looked for other solutions.

The biggest solution came in the form of the Yesopalithans. Being a fairly isolated nation with access to different planes that other nations of the multiverse were not aware of, the Yesopalithans possessed a hefty amount of gold - to the point where their national currency is actually a gold coin. A direct deposit of Yesopalithan gold into Chromatik coffers helped right the market - a deal being made to loan the Chromatiks as much as is needed at no interest to be paid back later - which meant that at least, on paper, things were progressing using the same scale.

As for the other aspects of financial institutions - the housing market, loans, portfolios, stocks, and the like - things started to gradually try to reach a semblance of normalcy. Some companies that had been massive powerhouses took a dip as they tried to figure out what life would be like, all the while understanding that help was coming from the government, but not in the fastest manner; this gave opportunities for other companies to make ground, and a new economical structure of powerhouses and contenders started to emerge. Regulations that had been in place since the days of the Rainbow Revolution had to be looked at critically and loosened with conditions to allow for the economy to exist at all, and then reined back in as the country started to recover.

In fact, Chromatika will never be the same country it was before this ordeal, even from a financial perspective. Economists guess that it will take over two decades to pay back the Gold Coin that has been borrowed from the Yesopalithans, even with the no interest clause that's been given as well as the fact that the Yesopalithans are financing more than half of the rebuilding effort. Over a quarter of the biggest companies in Chromatika went out of business, and many other smaller companies also bit the dust.

If there is one good thing that's come out of this entire mess, it's the confirmation of the Chromatik spirit. No matter the difference in the environment, the circumstances that have befallen them, or the challenges to come, the Chromatik people have faced them all with the utmost gusto, looking for opportunities, asking for help as needed, and choosing to not complain about things that they have no control over.

It is this indomitable spirit that will end up being the reason why Chromatika will rise again from yet another tragedy. The creativity, the drive, and the ability to look at the rearview mirror and determine what could've been affected and what could not will be exactly what helps Chromatika push toward what will hopefully be a brighter, peaceful, glorious future to come.

[Tikariot]

OOC Disclaimer: Content warning - this true crime series may contain imagery (no actual images, just words) that some people may find disconcerting. Reader discretion is advised.

Good evening Tikariot, welcome back to The Tikariot Files, where we look at some of Tikariot's most outrageous, brutal, mysterious criminal cases the nation has to offer - all of them unsolved.

The picture cuts to the logo of the show while images of prison cells, blood spatter and other crime-related footage are shown in the background, with a lone, sombre piano melody playing.

Welcome to episode 8 of the Tikariot Files; I am your host Christoffer Akerbrandt, and today we will be looking at another case that is still in progress, with the latest victim dating back a mere five weeks.

When Avanaroch police received an emergency call one dreary autumn night in late October of 2022, little did they know that it would be only the beginning of a nightmarish series. A body had been discovered in a dark alley, which, while not necessarily an expected call, given the size of the city, was not something dramatically outstanding. However, the circumstances were. The body was naked and completely exsanguinated, with not a single drop of blood at the scene it was found, with the exception of a club. What they did find next to the corpse, though, were strange symbols scratched into the ground and the number 2 painted in blood next to the body. Almost as if to reinforce it, forensic technicians also found half of a playing card in the body's mouth, also a 2 of Clubs.

There were no clues or witnesses, which did not help things along, and Avanaroch police had to put the case on the backburner unless any new clues or leads might crop up. Something did pop up two weeks later; however, it was not a lead, but another body, this time near the waterfront in the port district, with a similar set-up: Naked, exsanguinated, with the only blood on the scene, a Club and a 3, the half of the corresponding playing card in the mouth and some more strange symbols etched into the ground. Over the next few weeks, three more bodies were discovered in different locations, all in the same situation and ascending card numbers, which was a very chilling prospect of a killer with a plan and a lot of cards to go.

What made the series more difficult to investigate was that there was seemingly no rhyme or reason to the victims, as there was no recognizable pattern between ages, genders, races or locations. One of the main takeaways was that the murders must have occurred at a different location due to the complete absence of blood. Forensics also showed that the bodies were expertly bled dry, likely with machine assistance, with the only wound a gunshot wound to the temple.

Experts tried to identify the symbols found next to the bodies, but they were not instantly recognizable, so they were not sure if they were the scrapings of a madman or had any deeper meaning that could give helpful hints as to the origin of or reason for the murders. In the absence of leads, the police ramped up the research into what they had, and long studies of the crime scene photos showed a pattern in the placement of the victims' limbs. At first glance, the positions seemed arbitrary, but the pattern became clearer upon closer inspection. Each victim's limbs were arranged in a specific configuration, resembling ancient symbols that a scholar from Paladon University managed to associate with mysticism and occult practices. The significance of these arrangements remained elusive, but they hinted at a deeper, ritualistic motive behind the killings and were at least some progress compared to the big emptiness before that.

Accompanying the macabre scenes were strange symbols etched into the ground, matching the victims' limbs. Investigators theorized that these symbols held the key to unlocking the killer's twisted psyche; however, what they actually meant was anybody's guess at that point. The playing cards felt like a sort of sinister countdown, or count-up if you will, indicating that there was the fear that many more victims were lined up already.

Despite the seemingly disparate nature of the clues, the investigators felt that they were getting a slightly clearer motive. The ritualistic arrangements of the victims' limbs and the cryptic symbols adorning the crime scenes pointed towards a perpetrator driven by a twisted ideology, perhaps rooted in a fanatical obsession with ancient mysticism or esoteric beliefs. However, unfortunately, it did not bring them any closer to finding any leads that could be used to identify or even stop the killer.

Then, a sudden twist happened that nobody could see coming. After there were no murders for almost four months, both police and the public thought that the killer had either died or was arrested for something else, as it was highly unlikely that he or she would just stop killing. However, this hope was proven for naught when news broke that a body was found in Kyethas in Dhaencunor. Naked, exsanguinated, with symbols etched in the ground, everything painstakingly arranged like the murders in Avanaroch, including details the police had never released to the public, ruling out a copycat. It seemed like the murderer had moved and was not finished as the 7 of Clubs indicated.

This was a worrisome development as a mobile killer would be even more difficult to track down and catch as it added another unpredictability factor to the proceedings. The spree continued to spread, with more bodies showing up every few weeks across the nation. As more researchers into ancient myths and cults joined the ranks of the investigators, they were able to use more of the clues and evidence to firm up the mystic connection and found records of an ancient organization only known as the Order of the Midnight Court, with the first mentions dating back centuries.

As with any cryptic and mysterious order worth its weight, there is only little concrete information available, but they are rumoured to still exist to this very day. According to old texts, members of the Order were and still are sworn to secrecy with a code of silence and are born into the Order. Its origins and purpose are shrouded in just as much mystery, but investigations of the symbols and other indices have revealed that the Order of the Midnight Court could potentially be tied to a multitude of other strange disappearances and deaths reaching back decades, even centuries, but records from that time are sketchy at best.

As we stand right now, the last body to date was found only five weeks ago, in the Frahulian capital of Guillarim, with the King of Diamonds found in his mouth, bringing the total death count to 27 and while the police are firm on the connection to the Order of the Midnight Court, they unfortunately don't have a lot of leads to pursue the killer or, as they are now wondering, potentially killers, which the spread of murders across Tikariot could allude to.

[Recuecn]

"Tell the story again, Papa."

"Well..." Gerauld Firaut cleared his throat as his daughter climbed onto his knee. Her birthday party was over and all of her friends had gone home. Only the hosts remained: Gerauld Firaut--the goalkeeper for the Reçuecian national team--his wife Samantha, and his daughter Rébecca, the birthday girl.

"It was just this time of year--obviously, I guess. The beginning of summer, ten years ago. At least, ten years ago as we count time in Reçueçn. Time across the multiverse is weird, and here in Reçueçn, although much more than a decade has gone by, time passes only whenever the LNRF plays another season of soccer. It's a strange phenomenon, but unless the domestic league is playing, no one seems to age at all, even though we can point to long periods of time between seasons where surely multiple years ought to have passed. But instead, time picks up just where it left off. That's why even though it was only ten years ago for us, in fact this particular day at the beginning of summer was more than fourteen World Cups ago. It's also why someone like me, who played for Reçueçn during the Baptism of Fire, is still young enough to be on the team."

Gerauld's mind wandered. "It really is strange, you know, the way the multiverse works. Plenty of other countries have their own irregularities too, you know. For example, just the other day in Audioslavia, they had a referendum--"

"Papa! None of these boring parts! That's not part of the story!"

"Okay, okay, sweetheart." Gerauld laughed. "Where was I. Yes, it was ten years ago by our calendar; the beginning of the summer before World Cup seventy-two. It was Reçueçn's first time--ever!--trying to qualify for the World Cup. We'd just finished the Baptism of Fire, and we did alright, although really, we should have won. We lost on penalties in the quarterfinals against Panem, the eventual champions, and no one else ever came close to beating them, so really we were finalists in my book..."

"Papa, you're doing it again."

"Sorry, chérie. What I was getting to was the fact that the schedule for our team was different then. Now we play our qualifying games over the course of the fall and spring, but back then, we started in summer. It made no sense, but it was just how we did it. It was as if some deity who controlled our every action had decided that soccer tournaments took place during the summer, since they knew nothing about the sport. Obviously the qualifying games were not the tournament itself, so they normally aren't during summertime, but back then, it was different. There's not really an explanation. Of course, we never qualified for World Cup 72. We did eventually go to the Cup of Harmony, but for our country, who had never participated in the World Cup before, the qualifying matches were a big deal. And the biggest deal of all--we had to play against Osarius."

"Who's that, Papa?" asked Rébecca. She'd heard the story before, but as much as that meant she knew who Osarius was, it also meant she knew which points of the story required a little audience participation.

"Osarius." Gerauld's voice was grave. "They were the best in the world. They'd won World Cup seventy. They won World Cup seventy-one. They were cruising for a three-peat, and everyone thought they were unstoppable."

"Everyone?"

Gerauld smiled. "Everyone... except for one man named Jacques Tremblay."

Gerauld's wife, Samantha, was sitting next to him, listening to him tell the story to their daughter. Now she interrupted. "Honey, did you think you beat Osarius? They beat you twice, four-zero on aggregate, two shut-outs."

"You're getting ahead of the story!"

"Sorry, you were just setting them up to be this Goliath figure, and I wanted to remind you before you got to the actual game that they did crush you twice. No goals against them. You got rolled!"

"You didn't watch the game, you were in labor!"

"Sheesh, it's your story, fine! Just keep it factual!"

"Sorry," said Gerauld, his tone a more mellow now, "I didn't mean to snap at you. Yes, they did end up beating us. But I hadn't gotten to that part yet. I'm just saying, they were a very strong team. A very difficult team to face."

"So what happened?" asked Rébecca.

"We'd been travelling a lot. We'd been to Jeckland and Lymantatia. We'd been to Skarosbrekka. But on matchday five, we had a home game--a home game against Osarius, the two-time defending world champions. For a little team from a small country, just out of the Baptism of Fire, it was a big deal. I'd been missing Mama each time we went to play abroad--" (here Gerauld interrupted himself to lean over and put an arm over Samantha's shoulder) "and now, even when I was back in the country, I couldn't be with her, because we were practicing day and night to get ready for this Osarius game."

"You haven't even mentioned--" began Samantha.

"And your Mama," continued Gerauld, "was very pregnant. Past due, I think?" He glanced at Samantha.

She rolled her eyes. "Now you're just making things up again. It was exactly her due date."

"Well," said Gerauld, turning back to face his daughter on his lap, "Mama was very pregnant. With you! You were just a little baby inside her belly. But even a little baby is a lot of work. I knew I had to be there, even if it was going to be the biggest game Reçueçn had ever played. But we weren't exactly sure when you were going to come. We were waiting for you, and we were very excited, and the doctors told us what day their best guess was, but of course we weren't sure. But it did seem it was going to be right around the time of the big game. I was hoping it would be after so that I could finish the game, and not have to worry about it when I came back to Mama and you. But that's not what happened. You were too eager to come into the world!"

"I wanted to watch the game!" squealed Rébecca.

Gerauld laughed. "Maybe! I remember I was already at the stadium--"

Samantha interrupted. "No, you were at home. Remember? You told me you 'screeched out of the driveway'."

"That doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't I have taken you to the hospital in the first place then?"

"You were out somewhere, so I took a taxi. And like you said, lots of things happened that didn't make sense."

"Well, fair enough. Anyway, I drove straight to the hospital--"

"No, you stopped to buy me flowers first."

"I did, you're right! I don't even know what I was thinking. Definitely not the right moment for flowers."

"It was sweet! I think a nurse found them after and put them in a vase in my room. But tell your story."

"Okay. I got some flowers, and then I drove straight to the hospital. On the way, I talked to Coach Tremblay. I told him I couldn't play; I had to be with my family; my wife was in labor. He had the game on his mind, and he was not happy to hear it. I think later Gracelle talked some sense into him, but he was not pleased with me, and I think a lot of the team wasn't very sympathetic either. To be fair, I didn't give them notice until the very last minute. I had to be very firm with Coach on the phone. But I told him my family was the most important thing and I couldn't sacrifice this moment."

Gerauld paused for a breath and continued. "Mama was already in labor--already pushing hard by the time I got there. The nurse told me the labor was taking longer than expected."

Samantha shuddered in horror. "Oh, don't remind me," she said. "Never again."

"I ran in the door," said Gerauld, "and Mama said 'You have a game!'" He laughed. "I didn't understand how she had the capacity to think about anything else at all in that moment. She kept yelling that I had to leave to get to the game on time, and finally the doctor made me leave the room because it was upsetting her too much."

"That's not what he told me," said Samantha.

"I'm sure he was trying to calm you down," said Gerauld. "You were really quite zealous. If you'd put as much energy into delivering Rébecca as you did into scolding me, she would have popped out just like that." He snapped his fingers. Samantha rolled her eyes.

"I had to wait outside the hospital room," continued Gerauld. Rébecca listened raptly, eyes wide. "I paced up and down the corridor, anxious the whole time. But really it was only a few more minutes until the nurse came and got me. And when I came back into the room, Mama was holding you, and you were the prettiest baby I'd ever seen in my life. Imagine how lucky I was! Married to the prettiest woman in the world, and with the prettiest daughter!"

"Papa! We can't both be the prettiest!"

"You were all wrapped up in a blanket, and you had a little pink face... Oh, I can't even describe it."

"Papa, I've seen the pictures. I was just a baby."

"Not just a baby. Maybe the photos look that way to you, but you were my baby... I think something changed forever the moment I first saw you. I'd never felt that kind of love before..." Gerauld trailed off, looking into his daughter's eyes.

"And what about the game!?" asked Rébecca.

"We lost," said Gerauld, plainly. Then he perked up. "But if I'd been in goal, I'm sure it would have been much different..."

"Every little team thinks a one-nil game against the world champion was a close one," said Samantha, "but it's another thing entirely, seen from the other side."

"Well," said Gerauld, "that was ten years ago, but that was just the beginning of the story. Soccer was always the most important thing in my life, but now every time the World Cup or the Cup of Harmony starts, I think of my little girl who I missed the soccer game for that day, and I remember that I have even greater blessings."

Samantha thought she could see his eyes faintly glistening.

"This past year," Gerauld continued, "when my leg was broken, and I couldn't play at all... I didn't have a lot to do. But having you two around still gave my life meaning." He paused to look both his wife and daughter in the eye, one by one. "I want to say thank you to both of you. You both mean the world to me."

Samantha leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for coming to the hospital that day, mon chou. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was really very glad you were there." Gerauld kissed the top of her head.

Rébecca threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around both her parents in a three-way hug. "But now you're healed, Papa! And you can have us, and play soccer again!"

"Yes!" said Gerauld. "And speaking of which, tomorrow is another very big day! I know we just had a big birthday and we don't want the fun to end, but we've got to go to bed early so we can all catch the flight to Mertagne early tomorrow morning!"

"I'm so glad the team finally has the budge to bring the families along to the tournaments," said Samantha.

"I get to watch you play in the World Cup, right, Papa?" asked Rébecca.

"Yes you do, chérie. And someday, maybe in another ten years, when you're older, if you keep practicing... you can play in one, too."

[Mertagne]

WORLD CUP FEVER AS FANS ARRIVE IN MERTAGNE FOR WORLD CUP 96
Mertagne will face Zwangzug, HUElavia, and Zenic in matches in Dannin and Ostosaide

The entirety of Mertagne is abuzz this summer as the nation welcomes 15 other lucky nations in forming the Mertagnian Half of the World Cup 96 Finals. The Finals, held in conjunction with near-enough-neighbours Huayramarca, have come at a fantastic time for the nation in lime - just a few months after the nation has ratified its entry into ACORN - a freedom of movement and trade area present across Anaia.

In relation to the tournament itself, ACORN has been of most benefit to the tourism industry, as a bloc-wide border has made it easier than ever for footballing fans to secure a visa and legal passage to Mertagne. While the Mertagnian Government have readily accepted ACORN visas, additional border checks have been present since before the tournament, to provide an increased security presence within the nation. The only ACORN nation in Groups E-H is Ko-oren, with fellow ACORN members Audioslavia being drawn into Group B, over in Huayramarca.

With many of the exciting tournament matches so close to hand, it's safe to say that Mertagne has well and truly caught "World Cup Fever", and a strong neutral presence is likely to be there at any of the matches that are held within the country. Businesses have pivoted with the event, with many offering promotional deals related to the World Cup, and more agile businesspeople attempting to anticipate the needs of World Cup fans by peddling merchandise outside of each of the stadiums, with t-shirts, flags, and scarves likely to be the big-ticket items that you'll find from less official vendors.

Mertagne find themselves in Group E, as is tradition, and will face off against three tough opponents in their best efforts to make it out of the group stage and put in a record performance in the modern era. First up on the docket is Zenic, a side very familiar to Mertagne as the two faced off no less than three times in the most recent edition of the International Confederations Cup, with Mertagne coming out ahead in their final meeting in the third-place play-off by a single goal scored in extra time. The two sides are fairly evenly matched, as although the Green Goblins are the better team on Paper, the Zenic side have had their excellent performance through the qualfiiers to hone their skills. The 3-5-2 employed by the Survivors could mean that Mertagne get overwhelmed in the midfield, but Mertagnian manager Luka Hazaluta is hopeful that the structure of his side will be able to create more scoring opportunities and provide support to the defence. The presence of the home crowd at the Ring Tank Stadium is also likely to provide a boon, and so the fans remain hopeful that the Anaian champions will be able to score another victory over the Rushmori champions.

Matchday Two will see Mertagne travel south to Dannin, where the Spectrum Stadium will provide more than enough colour and energy to dazzle the Monochrome kitted side of Zwangzug. The tenth ranked side are, while technically the Pot 2 team, the strongest side in this group on paper, and will be looking to pick up three points from the Green Goblins and ideally top the group. Mertagne will be fighting hard to stop this at any cost, of course, with priorities set on stopping potent striker Stephen Marcus, who is likely to sit solo up front, and slipping a goal or three past the opposing goalkeeper. Luka Hazaluta claims to have made contingencies for any option that Zwangzug field, knowing that against Mertagne they may be interested in rotating the squad due to the prevalence of stronger opponents in the group.

The final matchday of the group stage will see Mertagne back at the Ring Tank Stadium for their match against HUElavia. Ringo Honda's 3-5-2 is likely to present similar challenges to Zenic, with a similar philosphy running through both sides, and so hopefully Mertagne can learn from any of their mistakes on Matchday One and apply them here on Matchday Three. However, HUElavia will have likely gotten a handle on how Mertagne play by this point, and so the weaknesses in Luka Hazaluta's squad will need to be patched up by this point to ensure Mertagne's progression to the Round of 16, should they remain in contention.

---

WILDFIRES IN HARRIDAN AND BORDER DISPLACE HUNDREDS
Joint-Karodinian-Mertagnian task force set up to tackle forest fires during record summer conditions

An aggressive spate of forest fires have been seen across Harrdian province and the border with The Karodin Tetrarchy in recent weeks, causing hundreds of Mertagnians to be displaced from their homes.

The fires, which are believed to have been caused due to the high pressure warm weather system that is present over Mertagne and the Karodin Tetrarchy at present, have emerged as a series of localised blazes over the last two weeks. Firefighters in Harridan province have been working around the clock to identify and contain the blazes, with air support from local fire departments and aerial volunteers.

"Nobody wants to hear this right now, but this could get worse before it gets better," said Wendy Afternach, Chief of the Wersyll Fire Department, which sits at the edge of the forest between Harridan province and the Karodinian Province of Nevezant. "While we are doing our best to coordinate with the Karodinians, the labour effort can only go so far in the face of so much forest. The priority is evacuating people from their homes, particularly in the Tetrarchy, where there is a greater percentage of wooden-built structures. The lack of modern communication networks in Nevezant is also a problem, but right now we seem to be outmanoeuvring the fires with controlled cutback and a sound strategy."

Relations with the Karodin Tetrarchy had historically cooled to record lows during the Bostopian Conflict, as the Tetrarchy refused to allow Mertagnian vessels to use the port of Porzhiban, claiming neutrality. This has not stopped Mertagne from lending aid, however, and an aid package has been prepared by the National Forum to help rebuild and reinforce infrastructure across Yethal County and Nevezant, where the bulk of the wildfires have hit.

The effort to contain the fires remains ongoing, with volunteers from additional fire departments across the province volunteering to support.

[Sylestone]

ANAC: EVERY GAME IS A FINAL

LIMA, HUAYRAMARCA - Last time Mojmir Anac visited Huayramarca, the picture was pretty bleak. It was a few months past five years ago, during his inaugural World Cup Qualifiers with his now feared Sylestonean football team, and the entire country had just about given hope on qualifying for their first ever World Cup. No one had really expected to a top three finish in a group riddled with the likes of Kandorith, Eura, Jeruselem, New Gelderland, even Tjorl, but the lacklustre performance in the first playoff leg in Chamberley sent the entire nation’s lofty hopes - not expectations - crashing.

That was back in star striker Bryan Tello’s prime, the year he was shortlisted in what was then known as the Testiculos. A first leg hat trick in front of a shellshocked home crowd in a game that saw future captain and stud centre back Hugo Mornington earn his only international red card to date inside the first ten minutes of the match virtually put the game beyond the hosts, while Anac, still fairly new to the role and management in general, made some of the more glaring errors of his illustrious career at the helm. Which, obviously, comes from a strangely small sample size for someone coaching a single national team for six years.

Five years on from an eventual 3-2 (8-4 aggregate) loss in Puerto San Carlos, Anac and his Sentients set foot on Huayramarcan soil a far stronger side; one that has established themselves as one of the fastest improving sides in the world, with no apparent ceiling. From Sylestone’s World Cup 93 squad, only seven remain, including fewer still that actually stepped on the pitch in either Chamberley or Puerto San Carlos. Of course, a brutal reality check is inevitable but for now and the past few years, Sylestonean football fans have been nothing but joyous. Even without a trophy in their cabinet, last summer they came perilously close to picking up both the Campionato Esportiva and International Confederations Cup. And on the back of a dominant qualifying campaign that saw the Sentients go perfect at home and undefeated away, there are even a few who are tentatively believing that their side has a chance to do it here on Anaian soil.

Mojmir Anac isn’t looking at the bigger picture just yet, though. “We’ve struggled in the big games as a team,” he said in a press conference ahead of tomorrow’s kickoff against Audioslavia in Lima. “This is the World Cup, and we can’t be switching off at all. Every match, it’s like a final. It’s all about the mentality and it’s something that just hasn’t been there when it’s mattered before. There are times where it has, certainly, but we want to see that mentality in every game, in every big game.

“This is the World Cup. 90 percent, 99 percent, 99.9 percent, it’s no longer good enough. We have to be giving it at least 100 percent every game, and that is a minimum. This squad, they’re all capable of that, they’re here for a reason. They’ve all now played plenty of football with one another, now it’s just all about their mentality on the pitch tomorrow. Audioslavia, they’re a tough team to beat. They play football a lot like us, which will only make it harder. We’ve talked about it, we’ll have to adapt and find a way through. As much as the Sylestonean populace loves a nil-nil draw, that’s not how we’d play a World Cup final.

“We’re not here to fuck around. We’re here to win.”

---

MD1 Starting Lineup vs Audioslavia @ Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Lima, Huayramarca

Macleay; Wettenhall - Mornington - Blackall - Molineux; Ryland - Rodway - Lawson - Arnold; Sarcav-Jones; Eastwood

[West Barack and East Obama]

BBC OFFICIAL REPORT: Football Terrorism Showdown Looming as Obamen Tackle Ko-orenites

By Football Correspondent Gary Obamaniker

Keers, Mertagne - West Barack and East Obama will be returning to the greens of Mertagne tomorrow to kickstart their World Cup Finals campaign against former champions and group top seed Ko-oren. While an undoubtedly important match which could be the difference between a statement result for a deep run this cycle or an early exit, we will in fact not be encouraging you to catch this match, which will likely leave you in tears of boredom, anguish, or laughter if our impotent offence attempts to dribble the ball.

After overcoming Aphrilia with a 1-0 victory in Mertagne, West Barack and East Obama sealed their status as the premier Sonnelian footballing nation with back-to-back World Cup Finals appearances. After the slight success in Chromatika at the 95th World Cup, the world finally gave some respect to the Obamen, and have handsomely ranked them as one of the top 30 teams in the world. This is even above Eshialand, the lowest-ranked team in our group (which also contains Brookstation), who not too long ago made the Cup of Harmony final in a tournament where we finished winless. How time flies.

Now, back to tomorrow's opponents. We will be facing Ko-oren in the remarkably recyclable Box 2 Box Ballstadion, and we are so ready for it. Ko-oren have gained infamy - and results - with their unique style of football, also known as "post-football". The Ko-orenites' playing style emphasises maintaining possession at all costs because, after all, how can the opponents score without the ball? With our crop of amateurs, even with their experience of playing in a previous World Cup, we won't stand a chance in overcoming such a well-organised unit. Therefore, the only winning move is not to play. Just like every other game, but even more importantly, our focus is going to be putting every man and woman we have behind the ball at all times. Rough man-marking to make sure they can't hog the ball more than us. Never making a forward pass, only hoping that they accidentally pass it back. Tackling just hard enough to break their ankles, but not hard enough to get the referee's attention. Ko-oren have made ultra-defensive football into an art: it's our duty to rip it up and trash it with our brutal ugliness.

If West Barack and East Obama can prevent overwhelming favourites Ko-oren from victory - just like how we had prevented Chromatika and Mytanija from securing three points in the previous World Cup - we will we be in a very good position to qualify for our first ever World Cup knockout stages. While there is no guarantee of getting good results against Brookstation or Eshialand in the next tow matches, clearing the first hurdle will be a massive confidence-booster after a near scare of missing out on the finals entirely during the playoff match against Aphrilia. Where we lack in technical ability, physical fitness and football IQ, we make up for it with our mental strength and tenacity. It's out strongest weapon and we can beat any team on a good day. And no, Dr Flobbobbama, saying that isn't a symptom of delusions and you're just a hack. Oh, and I can basically write anything I want in the news these days because I'm the only one in the company who can stomach watching our games day in, day out. Isn't that fun?

[Valanora]

Success and failure are often the defining words of a team and how they are viewed by their fans and the public as a whole, a black and white binary system that allows for two answers and two answers only about the way a team has done and is perceived. Nuance and taking moral victories for what they are or finding the small victories among the difficulties of a campaign are often lost in the moment and even often after the moment when one might sit in retrospect and try to assess how a team or individual did in the event just finished. Thirty-two teams enter into the World Cup Finals, yet only a solitary one of those will be able to walk away after the tournament as the winner, as the champion, as the one who found the success that they had been seeking at the start of the tournament. Does that mean that all the other thirty-one teams are then failures because they were not able to be that team who happened to find the right mix of talent, tactics, form, and no small amount of luck across a month's time and those seven potential games that they would have to play to capture the trophy?

The simple answer is no, these teams and athletes who will fail to win the tournament and have to be witness to one of the other thirty-one teams to be able to have that triumph are not all failures. For a handful of teams, simply making it to the Finals in the first place is success in of itself, particularly those who have never made it this far before in their history and are getting that first taste of what the most exciting and intense tournament in sport is all about. Being here is the success that they were after at the start of the campaign, it is why they play the game and for a few of the teams they got here by defying the odds in their group and overcoming challenges that most would have thought too tall of an order for them to overcome. If they were able to come through their qualification groups in such a manner, then finding a result or two here in the Finals should not be so easily dismissed as being out of reach and beyond the talent that they are able to muster. Talent comes in all forms, shapes, and sizes as one need only look at the current holders who have no professional players among their ranks to realize the folly in assessing talent point blank.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have the Marauders, as they come into the tournament as the world's number one ranked team and having come one draw away in the last international window of qualifiers from having a perfect qualifying record, rather they come in as unbeaten instead of perfect. The team might have wanted perfection but the odds of such things are so miniscule that bemoaning a lack of perfection and overlooking the unbeaten record would be quite the folly, one that Millet was quick to play off in the post match interviews after the draw with Boring Paradise in the Hatire Memorial. She saw the draw as a lesson that the team could learn from, that no matter how well things are going, if you do not attend fully to your task that any team in the world can find a way to upend you and make all the hard work that you had put in beforehand come up for nothing. Regardless, the side performed quite well during the qualifiers and it afforded them the chance to assess the team moving into the Finals, and as a result Maurer has last her starting spot in the center of defense to Blom, coupled with the latter having quite a stellar season in Pasarga.

As for the group that the side has been drawn into and venturing into the depths of Anaia and Huayramarca to face off against, it is one filled with challenges big and small and the side will need to mind themselves if they are to proceed through the group. Millet has already put out the talk of chasing the ever elusive sixth title, as that sort of talk only leads to distractions and a risk of the side overlooking the task in front of them. It starts off both challenging and not for the Marauders, as they open with the group's fourth seed in Vdara, who will be likely receiving quite a lot of support from the crowd in being a fellow Anaian affiliated member. It is likely that the Marauders are not going to find a pleasant stay during their time in the Finals, as there have been political tensions with Anaia and the Empire in the past and though they have been put to bed for years now, resentment on both sides likely still lingers among the average citizen. On paper it is the easiest of the three matches and history shows that three points from the first match means you are more likely than not to make it out of the group, which is definitely the aim of the side regardless of what might come after.

Following on from the match with Vdara, the side will encounter another Anaian federation member in Saint Eleanor in the second match of the group and one that will increase the intensity a few notches. Saint Eleanor is poised to try and make a run at the knockout rounds and they will be wanting a result against the Marauders to do so, after facing the second seed in their opening match. The opening match for both sides will likely decide what order of magnitude both teams will be feeling the pressure on when the two meet and it is here where the Marauders might be at their most vulnerable and likely to drop points, as a draw looks like a likely result with both teams talent and where each will be in the middle match. To close out the group it shall be the most difficult match and the Marauders in an ideal world will have already wrapped up qualification by this point to avoid the most intense of matches before that knockouts begin, taking on second seeds United Mandaran States. The States are the former side known as Pemecutan, a side who knocked out the Marauders unexpectedly in the knockouts some editions ago, though they have fallen off and built themselves back up in that time. If qualification is on the line, the Marauders will likely be relentless in their pursuit of victory and could make for a very entertaining last match, though the side would rather it not be for qualification but rather who will top the group if they had it their way.

[Vdara]

Rockin’ All Over The World

[Note: Any words in *asterisks* can be replaced at the reader’s discretion.]

The playoffs had always been a very nervy prospect. They were never going to be easy, especially not with the opponent they had been put up against. Yet still, confidence was high going into the match versus Gnejs, confidence which was rewarded with an early goal from the mysterious yet prolific Windows XP. Vdara’s lead didn’t last long, however, as Thrasymachos Andersson swiftly levelled the match and brought back the aura of nerviness. Heading into extra time, some changes were made, just in case the game went to penalties. This wasn’t to be though, and all nerves were swiftly replaced with adrenaline as Grazzja Le Brun volleyed an absolute thunder*bolt* of a shot into the top right corner late into extra time, sending the players, coaches, and travelling fans into a state of elation. An even later effort from Gnejs sailed just over the crossbar, and the referee blew the whistle to send the blue, white, and gold contingent of the Estadio Olímpico de Sechura wild. Markos Moustakakos, the man behind it all with his glittering, golden gloves and his sharp, silver tongue, felt the need to congratulate his players for their efforts, before their five-day bender or whatever it is they get up to.

”Yaaaaaaaas! *Blimmin’* yas! I can’t quite believe we’ve done that - we’re through! We’re *hecking* through! Oh, god it feels so good to be back. I don’t actually know how yous keep it together, I’ll be honest - I never could when I was a player, bouncing off the walls like a wee boy full of energy. But yous! Yous were excellent, you all handled the pressure brilliantly, didn’t take any *nonsense* from anyone whatsoever, and ultimately got the job done. This is the sort of thing that folk will remember in the years and decades to come, so drink it in and enjoy it all. But don’t enjoy it too much, I’d rather have you all back for the next stage instead of having to drop a couple of yous for, ach, I don’t know, turning up in the streets of Chania with sick down your shirt. That would be *very* stupid. Anyways, yous have heard enough of me now - Windows, big man! Play the tunes!”

As everyone from the dressing room to the streets celebrated this outcome, a lingering thought remained in the mind of the doomposting punditry crews who were already crying out about how “kakurover” it was. Vdara’s record in group stages is unenviable, having won only one of their twelve group stage matches - and even that was a dead rubber match versus Ethane. But really, nobody was paying any attention to the gloom. For every ‘kakurover’, there were thousands more ‘backuro’s drowning them out. As a wise man once said: ”It’s time to Vdarapilled pointsmaxx.”

[Zwangzug]

The Spenson Star

Every generation sees previously unsung heroes rise to the occasion; Soumini Bano-Patil, for so long a backup to Mrunalini Zamani at club level and Ketevan Igreli internationally, shone as brightly as anyone in the playoff when he deflected Ilona Kárpáty's kick in the shootout. While not quite as dramatic as the two sides' World Cup 91 knockout match, the shootout was still a thrill, and one we shouldn't take for granted. With the aim of qualification met, Zwangzug can exhale...just long enough to return to the global spotlight once again.

Zwangzug are that anomaly, a "second seed" who are nevertheless favorites in their group, as Mertagne were drawn into Group E from a special pot by virtue of their position as cohosts. Also drawn into this group were HUElavia, who Zwangzug has faced in a couple of late nailbiters, and Zenic, our unexpected challengers for alphabetical non-supremacy. Between Yuezhou, Xanneria, the verbose West Barack and East Obama, and Vdara drawn alongside ever-present Valanora in Group D (as well as the United Mandaran States, formerly known as Pemecutan), this seems to be a particularly enticing World Cup for the back cluster of the alphabet. [You have procrastinated on this article long enough and are not permitted to go down any rabbit holes to back that up statistically. -ed]

Wouldn't dream of it. Um, let's see. Many nations, such as Quebec and Shingoryeo, Chromatika, and ourselves, display their commitment to social equality through a grand tradition of hyphenated last names. At first glance, HUElavia seem to be following in that tradition, with Mateo Rossi-Rigoni serving as captain, and Raphael Taylor-Calañas providing tilde support in midfield. But it gets better; among personal names, they boast Ji-Hu Mok in the net, Jean-Marc Gounelle on defense, and Anne-Sophie Auger in the midfield! It's the most dashing team we've seen since Qusmo! [plz no. -ed] It is hoped that Zwangzug will have ample traveling support among fans at the Spectrum Stadium for matchday one, although retired midfielder Subroto Parida has amplified an advisory from the Mertagne federation warning migraine-prone fans to avoid travel.

Zenic are somewhat ominously nicknamed the Survivors (of what, I'm not sure, but there's probably a melodramatic backstory somewhere). Like Zwangzug and HUElavia, they feature a crowded five-person midfield, and jostling battles for possession should be fierce. As champions of Rushmore, they earned the right to participate in the "International Confederations Cup," a tournament in the spirit of the bygone Eagles' Cup. Their only previous qualification occurred in World Cup 73, at a time when the Zwangzugian national team was inactive; as such, the two sides have little familiarity with each other.

Mertagne also contested the ICC, by virtue of their success in the Anaia regional competition. Midfielder Aislin Du Moucel is one of their key players, and Zwangzug defenders will be keeping an eye on her--if the Josifovo match displayed Zwangzug's vulnerability against larger and more physically dominant players, the legend of Xíxì Êns is a reminder that we can't slack up against short ones, either. The Green Goblins' vocal leader is Rhiannon Fawn, a goalkeeper from UICA Narrative bandwagon Starling. On the one hand, she has experience playing in the Zenith, so she's obviously a world-class athlete. On the other, her last known club is in the Zenith, so Zwangzug's path to success here is obviously psyching out an already-grieving goalkeeper about her adopted home going grey and white, in front of all her home fans, which is something that we'll be very good at and happy to do. [For the benefit of our international readership, this is sarcasm. -ed]

The good news is that since Mertagne are the tournament hosts, they will obviously get priority with their home kits when they play HUElavia. I wouldn't like to be the referee in charge of going "okay, you with the spiky yellows, you get to wear those, you other guys get the trippy blue--no no not that crazy blue, the other trippy blue, with the yellow..."

Penalty shootout order:

Salai, Lôrinc, Biró, Kárpáty (x), Jukić
Reed, Turmal-Hence, Hildegard, Fillmore-Gaul, McHeran

[Kelssek]

(Note: spoilers for the Kelssek domestic season)

Titan Pogbacar hoisted the Patriotes Cup trophy, fully enjoying the “whey!” from the fans each time he thrust it at the sky. Vindication! He’d get the social media person to make sure to GIF this and post it next time someone was trolling.

It had been a tough season, with Burnaby drifting around and scrabbling for a Champions League spot, rather than fighting for the league championship as the club was generally expected to do. But a national cup title would quiet the haters and push the Centurions onward. He hoped. Burnaby SC had long prided itself on its academy, and it was about time for their Rising Stars Cup finalist team, of which Pogbacar had been the stand-out, to come through for the senior side.

Titan hugged his manager, Ryan Potter. Ryan himself had faced these kinds of criticisms and pressure just a few years earlier. He’d built a Shearwater team into a top-three side, and murmurings that he was incapable of the final step dogged him when he was unceremoniously replaced, and Shearwater immediately won two league titles, the Patriotes Cup, and became the first Kelssek club to win the Champions League under new leadership. That was simmering in the background when he was offered the Burnaby job, with the scrutiny, pressure, and backbiting of one of the country’s biggest fanbases turned onto him. Then he delivered a league and cup double, and was rumoured to have turned down the Kelssek job.

“Can I have that, Pogs?” Ryan said.

“Of course, coach!” Titan handed over the trophy.

Ryan Potter hoisted it twice, and the third time, he held it up, getting a sustained cheer from from the Burnaby supporters. And the song, which continued as he walked around with it held high, looking for Agapeto Licea, who he knew had been simmering about not being brought off the bench.

Ohhh Ryan Potter’s magic, he wears a magic hat
And when he saw the Southside, he said I fancy that
He wouldn’t coach Kirkenes, or Coquie, ‘cause they’re shite!
He chose Burnaby S.C. ‘cause they’re f***in’ dynamite!

But Ryan Potter took the phone calls from Football Kelssek and knew something Agapeto didn’t. He handed the youngster the trophy, but before he released his grip, he added, “Listen, we don’t just win this in the final, okay? The fourth round, against Latrobe, we don’t have this without how you played that day. And you have big matches ahead of you this season still. Are you listening to me?”

Agapeto looked at his head coach quizzically. The Patriotes Cup final is the grand finale of the Kelssek football season, unless you were going to play for an international IFCF cup, but Burnaby been knocked out of those tournaments months ago.

“I’m not supposed to tell you, but Calen Reamsey told me you’re going to the World Cup.” Agapeto’s jaw dropped. “Pretend you’re surprised when they call, yeah?”

Great Sourness - @GSournessNSN
Pogbacar should enjoy showboating with a trophy while he can. Can't cover up the poor results this season. Very different at the World Cup, don't think he's up to it.

WAD LAD - @crymoreloser
@TitanPogbacar You really think winning a trophy makes you a good player? Enjoy failing out of the challengers cup next year you total loser

Fried-Alt Banksy - @FAB
A couple days ago I was walking back from the supermarket and a guy asked me for spare change. Being in a generous state of mind but not having any cash I dug out a can of beer from the six pack I’d just bought. Same guy stopped me on the street earlier today to tell me he’d traded it for a whole pack of smokes. Now that’s what I call effective altruism.

Obvious Sockpuppet - @TopKekism
oh great we definitely get to see this twat with kelssek at the world cup now, pogbacar is why our civilization is in delcine

article continues

While dí Völará is undroppable in the midfield, the question will be who joins him if Calen Reamsey continues to employ a double pivot. Titan Pogbacar is almost certain to make a World Cup debut, and Kaiden Pépin could join the squad though Reamsey reportedly has doubts about whether the CF Saint-Richard captain is effective in a more deep-lying role.

Goalkeepers have also been a major focus of debate this time. Jenas Maraipu has played much better in the national team shirt this year than for his club, where he’s made a number of high-profile errors contributing to a torrid year for Kirkenes FC. Should that count against him when he’s been reliable for Kelssek, or is it a sign that he might not be in a best mental shape for World Cup? That would mean coming back to Ryan Terlock, who has been solid throughout and has the international experience. And if club form is a factor, Latrobe Athletic’s Alison Troczynski has been spectacular and all but certain to be named the Golden Glove when the Team of the Season is announced next week. Yet she hasn’t been part of the national team setup much, and many question how much a good back four in front of her contributed to the least goals conceded in the league this year.

The team will hope that playing their first match against World Cup finals debutants Josifovo will work to their advantage. Getting three points on the board to start will be a vital boost that might lower the pressure for results against Audioslavia and Sylestone.

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

A STATEMENT FROM THE KRAZY KLOWN KOLLEGE

Dear Mundies,

We are now in receipt of the World Cup first round draw, and must express our disquiet at discovering that the other teams in our group are really rather quite good. THIS IS A DISGRACE!!!

If the World Cup draw was really FREE AND FAIR it obviously would have favoured us by drawing us against the three WEAKEST TEAMS IN THE WORLD CUP, and our group would have consisted of us, Crpostran, Zenic, and Indusse. Alright, so one of those teams is in fact in our group, but Crpostran - a nation that I'm not sure we've even heard of - isn't even in our half of the draw. This refusal to weight the draw in favour of the Holy Empire is a CLEAR SIGN OF BIAS by the World Cup Committee, the hosts, and the entire mundy multiverse, and proves why the World Cup can NEVER BE FAIR.

As it is, we look forward to ensuring that the World Cup Committee appoints appropriate referees to our matches to make sure that WE WIN EVERY GAME, in keeping with our NATURAL KLOWN SUPERIORITY over lesser races. This includes our inevitable victory over Tumbra, even though the latter nation are technically ranked above us via the UNFAIR RANKING SYSTEM that refuses to recognise that any team led by the Krazy Klown Kollege should be ranked number 1 in the multiverse, while the next closest team should be ranked 356th.

We think we're supposed to be playing Indusse in the first match day, and we have our custard pies prepared accordingly; but really, do klowns really need to do much to make more of a joke out of a team sponsored by FARTY AUTOMOBILES. The jokes write themselves; maybe we won't need the custard pies after all.

Signed:

Twinkle the Dunce
Yucko Jester
Stucco Stumble
Bubbles the Bafoon
Patchey Noodle
Mr Quarters
Doink Wambo
Booboo Tumble
Baffle Muckle
Doodles Von Honkerson
Dingo Shakes
Kimbo the Fool
Stinky Tubs
Giggles Bozo
Ziggy Pennywise

And captain Bojo the Clown




Attached brief handwritten note from Holy Empire Manager Juan Tzimisces:

Is this really still happening? Why aren't you ignoring them?

[Brookstation]

---

DENVER STAGS

It was the beginning of the 1900s, an era where football as a sport was still in its developing stages in the country. It was around this time when Denver county Cricket Club formed a football club, in an attempt to raise funds after observing the exponential growth of the game of football. Denver's success in the sport was only propelled by the large number of fans, who regularly attended games, giving a clear indication that it was high time to make football a mainstream sport in the county. Following a number of victories here and there, including the 5-1 win over Kars Club in their very first game, Denver became one of the founding clubs of the Brook Football League.

The Denver landlords, the owners of the club still didn't pay much heed into the development of the sport. To them, football was just a means to raise more money and nothing else. In 1909, the club cancelled an ornamental game against Bollonich's East Akush CF due to a race which was supposed to be held in the same grounds. The derby usually took place in the south and thus a derby day in the northernmost county of Denver was obviously something which would bring a substantial amount of profit compared to a football game and thus the race was given much more priority. Denver initially played its games in the Recreation Ground but following disputes over the ground with their cricket counterpart, the club finally made the decision to shift to a better location and there couldn't be a better spot than Bridge's Rugby Ground. Built over a 15 acre land, the Bridge's Rugby Ground was a small stadium, with most of its lands barren and the rest occupied by a rugby field. The stadium was built and owned by Sir Robert Bridge who built the infrastructure with the hopes of introducing the game of Rugby to the north but having failed miserably in mission, Bridge had realised that his best option at the moment would be to lease the stadium to the football club for a good retirement income. After using the stadium for half a decade, the club finally shifted to its current home, the Denver Stadium of the Who in 1994.

The club had started out wearing the colours of their famous cricket club- red and amber and later on changed to a reddish orange and brown colour combination, one which was pretty unique and elegant in those days. The elegant jerseys would live a short live and would soon be replaced by a boring conventional white and black kit, to signify their freedom from the cricket club. The white shirt and black shorts might not have looked good on the pitch but it did bring a lot of luck for the club and it was during the earlys 40s and 50s, that the club enjoyed their best period in the country's leagues. In 1970, the arrival of manager Dave Willis saw the replacement of black shorts with blue shorts, to make the kit look much better than what it used to. In the following years, the club would also experiment by reviving the club's original red and amber in the form of shirt stripes but the combination of the four colours would be too eccentric for a football club. Thus in 1989, the ice blue and white colours were returned to the club and have stayed their ever since, undergoing a series of modifications when it came to designs , over the following years.

As far as the stag is concerned, the history of the club's crest dates back to the club's initial stage of formation. The stags were already a part of the cricket club's emblem, the stag being the most prevalent and well known animal in the entire county. In order to draw some difference between their counterparts, the football club adopted the name "Stags" which has stayed with the clubs ever since. Over the years, the club's badge has certainly evolved transitioning from the formal stag on Denver's coat of arms to the robust stag in Denver's logo today but the stag has always been central to the club's identity, making it one of the most iconic mascots in Brook football. What makes the stag even more significant to the club's identity is its transient existence. Unlike other towns which possess lores based on fictional characters or mythical animals, Denver's history is associated with a stag, an animal which roams freely throughout the entire city. While other towns might only depict their mascots through stories or paintings, Denver's stag forms an integral part in the city's day to day life, roaming proudly across the mountains and countryside of Denver.

Denver as a city has certainly developed over the years, but the cold town of Denver has never shown much of an affinity towards modernisation and urbanization. Thus, contrary to one's ideal expectations, the club still takes prides in its culture, grooming the very stories and folklore written hundreds of years ago and that is what makes Denver so beautiful. There was one such folktale written quite long ago which involved the famous stag along with a fox, a young boy and a farmer. The young boy was displayed as a hero after saving a little stag from a farmer, using his fox to hunt down the stag. The story has been rendered over the years to even form a part of Denver's iconic home game chants even to this day. Stag meat used to be a delicacy in the country and the horns of the animals sold off at exorbitantly high prices. This naturally resulted in a sharp decline in the population of the stag over the years. Starting from the new millennium, the hunting of stags were officially banned and hefty charges are imposed on those who break the law. The results of these strict measures along with scientific breeding initiatives have yielded results and in the previous decade, Denver has seen an all time high stag population. Today, Denver as a city protects the stag with all its love and passion, both as a symbol of their rich cultural identity and as the famous mascot on their football club's crest.

[Huayramarca]

OOC: features AI generated images with edition made by me to feature what I expected to see as output, and to accurately depict the NS nations.

Huayramarquinos are one of its very own kind when it comes to do anything in a special manner, as we tend to be creative and pull something out of our sleeves, do unconventional and rather “weird” things to what others have expected. This is all part of what “living in scarcity of resources” could mean for us; we are expected to do something to achieve a result, we do it, and we try our best to have something functional that may achieve the desired outcome. We call it “ingenio criollo”.

Football is a great passion for people in the nation. It is always encouraged, since the early ages of a person, to engage with the community and play with friends and foes to relax, and forget for a brief moment, the problems and worries that we all have on our lives. You don’t need a professional football or high-tech cleats to play, give us a mountain, a desert, a beach, the edge of a fjord in the southern coast, or even the jungle, we will find the way to play. Football for us it isn’t only a game, its a way to unleash our creativity and happiness in the field, to liberate ourselves from our daily life burdens; give us a bottle to kick or a pretty old ball, a couple of stones to mark the goal for each side, and we will give it all.

Ingenio criollo and football, or fulbo, as we call it, meet once again in the big scene, where nations fight for glory at the World Cup scene. We have had sweet and sore moments, and although the sore ones have been recent such as the zero-pointer in World Cup 94 or missing qualification altogether the last World Cup, we are now back in a pretty unexpected way, as the World Cup has knocked our doors and we will be co-hosting the most prestigious event of football in the multiverse. As co-hosts, along with our Mertagnian neighbours, we can't just sit and be waiting for people to come and visit us, to the contrary, we will be doing something impressive and worthy to be remembered for quite a long time and for good reasons.

But what about if you combine all of this with a completely different sauce? One sauce that involves the symbols (animals or famous people) of a nation fighting in the World Cup arena by football and a bit of fantasy brawling? That's where our ingenio criollo kicks-off, and that's how the Dodge and Red Trail studios, two of the most important names in the videogame scene in Huayramarca, decided to join forces and design what it could be the "most unexpected" piece of World Cup memorabilia someone could have every thought of, as it combines fights in a rather fantastic way and also the sport we all are used to. For a bit of context, just think about hockey fights, but with a cosplay flare of people dressing something that represents their nation and football. That's how Super Multiversal Melee, World Cup action as never before, came to fruition.

The Dodge Studio, that has worked on famous videogames such as Crazy Karts, known for having a pretty wild competitive scene across the multiverse, and Red Trail who has some, if not, the best special effects and qualified workers in the local industry of gaming, have taken things to a different level when it comes to Super Multiversal Melee, as they intend to have every single nation that participates in the World Cup each year, emphasis given to specific nations that Huayramarca will be facing through time, that will have an extra background and abilities that can be unlocked. It will come through waves, the first DLC wave comes for this World Cup Finals, featuring the 32 nations, and also launching both a history and an online mode where players can fight and play with their preferred characters or their own nation, in a quest for gaming and national glory.

The release of the videogame will be done this week, through the main platforms and consoles available, as we work out in the mobile version of the game, which is a priority for us to release and give access to the game to as much people as possible. There’s a thing we can assure, rest easy and don’t think this will be a pay-to-win kind of game, we want this to be sheer technicality and skill from every single player, and that’s why we will have the first on-line tournament during the World Cup, so we can see who really is the master of the game, and which nation holds up as the strongest one in this.

But, to give you all a taste of how characters are, we decided to introduce Group A through a description of players, strategies and some abilities the character might have and help it to stand above the rest in this tournament.

Juvencus

Pomena is known for being the home seat for the Capella Suprema, one of the most majestic religious buildings in the multiverse, home of the pope of the Juven Church. Such an iconic symbol turned out to be a no-brainer choice for our representation of Juvencus, along with the bulky prancing horse, symbol of vigour and energy that the Juven have in plentiful amounts. The symbol of La Squadra will always go forward and attack, without a sign of fear, because they are decided to achieve their goal and fulfill any dream they might have.

There’s a reason why they are also called “the attackers”, they have clinical precision when it comes to attack, they’re strong and have a solid technique in the shape of Gilberto Soares, Ganímede García and Ceferino Audiol, especially the Serrapince centre-forward that is well known for how incisive he can be against defenders. The big task here will rely on Kevin Quispe and Aidar Armendáriz, who are the strong and tall defenders (respectively) of the team, to control any potential attack from Gli Attacanti.

Meanwhile, when it comes to defence, Carlo Callejón, Pau Puig and Carlos Coste could be some sort of weak links in the chain for us, as they could be speedy and strong, but the combination of Sayritupac + Mendoza + Tello could turn out to be decisive for the Condors, as there is a lot of experience and talent that outweighs what the defenders can do, that ingenio criollo can come useful when there’s need to play on closed spaces and use mental speed instead of sheer speed on the field, which is where Huayramarca excels.

Come the time, both teams are hot-headed, and there’s potential for fights and squirmish, then again, Blaas Aginsogno won’t hesitate to ask the players to attack and defend themselves against Juven provocation if needed, especially if there’s a whole home advantage to defend and impose against anybody. Huayramarca can find its path through aerial game and crossings, pretty much the main staple of the national team when it comes to game style, which can help to adapt quicky to the circumstances and play as they use to do.

Chromatika

Like a menacing knight, which is what they are in fact, The Anomalies are not an unknown team to World Cup Finals and their decisive instances. Being well known for their dedication and tactical discipline, they are a pretty dangerous team that will seek to populate the midfield and overload the attacking areas, similar in paper to what Huayramarca does, but with the difference of having even more experienced players and more cohesion than we already have.

They will actively seek to have five attacking players, which are as dangerous as a dragon blowing up fire and led by no more and no less than Lavrentiy Xuen-Zhukov and Candice Delaya, two young and exciting players to watch at the very top leagues in the Multiverse. LX-Z is a beast that averages a goal per game that breaks defences by pace, stamina and a good sense of acceleration that makes him look a candidate to be the best Chromatik forward in history. In this kind of situations is when we need somebody as Kevin Quispe to take the reigns and control attackers of this caliber, someone who is fearless and decided to lock them in a mental cage, by desperation and provocation, something that Quispe is pretty good at. Aidar Armendáriz can also be useful as a back-up, as he can control Delaya or LX-Z by air or force, something Armendáriz is well known in Tikariot, for being one of the strongest and most reliable defenders in the league.

Coming to the midfield, the key will be on how a Marcelo Huanca and Orlando Mina can avoid the transition from a 3-4-1-2 to a 3-2-5, which implies marking Grayson Fillar and stop him from linking with Kaia Larriet-Cortés. This situation will diminish the passing options and build-up of Chromatika, basically jamming up their attacking options if done. Huanca is a fast midfielder with a good positioning and vision sense, which can be decisive if he is guided to detect said pattern, being basically a stamp on Fillar or Larriet-Cortés in case of need; while Orlando Mina’s strength and good reasoning can be a back-up in case Huanca goes temperamental, which is one of his biggest weaknesses.

Defence-wise near the midfield, in the wings, Chromatika is also a flexible team, with side backs in defence being required to attack and provide extra help if needed, Grayson Fillar is the key here and the one the Condors should look to undermine his efforts, alongside Edith FIllar. Gabriel Sayritupac can be a great plan to erode Grayson’s strength by agility and speed, one that can be useful to desperate a physical player and force him to get carded, making him play with some extra caution or being at the risk of getting red carded.

Also, Coulibaly, Régine and Aimée are the three players on back, players that follow rivals like if they were hound dogs, that’s in the sense of determination and precision at doing so. These three players can be a pain for those strikers that may wander in a solo attack. That’s why the need to overflow them with three or more players and the importance of jamming up the Chromatik midfield, as in each case, we can see Ian Mamani, Abraham Mendoza, Gabriel Sayritupac and Bryan Tello on top moving the ball fast, with short and precise passes to let one of them being able to slot the ball to the net. Again, it’s a situation where Huayramarca can use its accurate reduced space passing and movements to break through.

Québec & Shingoryeo

Dear good neighbours, a well-known foe is here for the World Cup and there’s a lot we can talk about the academic, history and sports-loving neighbours of the north. They are crazy when it comes to playing football, they will seek to attack the rivals and outscore no matter what, even if we get a 6-5 scoreline, they will seek to get one more goal than their rivals. They can look calm and serene at plain sight, but don’t be fooled, they have every step calculated to attack you, in a variety of ways be it a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3, 4-2-4 and a popular 3-4-1-2, they wait the first droplet of blood and then they go all in. Shingoryeoite-takil, the usage of physical brutality and resilience, to the point of actively encouraging getting red-carded to avoid goals or because they got pissed with you, everything is valid in Québécois football.

A rival, of course, well-known as we have a pretty strong battalion of players in the Q-league, players used to how harsh they play, to their mindset on living football and who know every single player they might send to Huayramarca for the World Cup, even some ames as Giovanni Jurgen Berhalter and Oberon M’bah-Pinho that can prove to be deadly if given a chance to go on an onslaught against you (despite Berhalter is a defender, Québécois tradition dictates he can go up front and attack if he wants).

It all goes down on not being intimidated by them, just outplaying them in the best possible way, be harsh as they do, and take advantage of everything to take their heads out of the game, so we prepare them to get Mjölnir’d back at their home soil. This is not a mere thing based on skills, beating Québec means pulling a big collective effort to stop them and keep control of their chaotic game style, impose our tactics and be able to outscore them instead of they do so.

Now, to finish up this, we must announce that Huayramarca will be represented by the mighty Andean condor, to the surprise of absolutely nobody. We all love the condor, as it is a millenary symbol of dominance over the mountains, valleys, jungles, coasts, we soar and assert dominance with this symbol that can see almost everything. A bird able to fly at fast speeds and capable to hunt effectively, one that waits with patience for the right moment to capture its prey, that’s what we are, a team that waits for the right moment to punch and get our goals. This is our way to commemorate a memorable moment for all Huayramarcans, one that will, surely, live in our minds forever, the World Cup 96. ¡Vamos Huayramarca, carajo!

[Farfadillis]

El repechaje para entrar al mundial había resultado muchísimo más intenso de lo anticipado. StrayaRoos no estaba realmente en el radar del Farf promedio – no tanto como los de más equipos que podrían haber salido sorteados, al menos – pero al parecer nadie le avisó a los de StrayaRoos que el partido se suponía que fuera un trámite. Farfadillis venía clasificando al mundial ininterrumpidamente desde la edición sesenta y nueve!

A pesar de que la Vherderoja tenía un equipo muy heterogéneo en cuanto a talento se trataba, y a pesar de que habían algunos puestos en los que Yuan Zilai no lograba dar pie con bola a la hora de encontrar a alguien que los cubriese, era muy evidente que Farfadillis era el favorito. Las casas de apuestas pagaban muy poco la victoria de Farfadillis, el dirigente promedio de la FFFF ya se había felicitado a sí mismo por un trabajo (¿trabajo?) bien hecho, y ya toda la población de la isla estaba pensando en el mundial. Podrían llegar más lejos que las semifinales esta vez?

Porque la realidad es que no cabía en la cabeza de nadie que después de llegar a dos semifinales la selección se quedara afuera del mundial. Y no había razonamiento que pudiera hacer entrar en la cabeza del hincha, del dirigente, o inclusive de los propios jugadores, que estaban a un partido de volverse a sus casitas. Ni siquiera razonamientos sencillos como “venimos jugando como el ojete todo el puto ciclo, perdimos los dos partidos con Tarinthia y hasta nos ganó un Qusmo sin luces” o “bueno si estás en el repechaje porque quedaste atrás de Tanirinthia tanta potencia mundial no estarías demostrando ser” o inclusive “che, el repechaje es a un solo partido y hemos perdido partidos con equipos injunables”. Al final lo único que había era confianza desmedida.

¿Qué más no había funcionado? Las amenazas de Tuskoles Yagaras, de los pocos Farves que se veían venir que la clasificación iba a estar muy complicada este ciclo. Como presidente de la FFFF, director y cabeza de estado de Lithico™ y asistente técnico de la selección ya les había dicho, entre líneas pero no por esto sutilmente, una especie de “ganen o mueran, esto es Farfadillis”.

Y, ¿la verdad? Los bananas que pensaban que el partido iba a ser un chiste tuvieron razón por como treinta minutos. El partido arrancó con Farfadillis avasallando a su rival. Robineau metió antes del minuto diez, colgando del ángulo al primer toque un pase de Sürréo que había surgido de una muy linda jugada individual del delantero Rulandese. A los veintidós, Jàànsêlá agarró un rebote al borde del área y trató de pudrirla al ángulo. El tiro no salió tan bien dirigido como el del primer gol, pero los tiros del takilante de Rülândéá Kôstá son balazos, y uno no precisa apuntar tan, tan bien con una pistola.

La joda se acabó unos minutos después. El cuadro se apagó por completo, displicente por la comidad del resultado, y se dedicó a tratar de retener la pelota más que a generar peligro, algo bastante poco característico de la selección, históricamente, aunque bastante más común desde la llegada de Yuan Zilai como mandamás.

De a poco StrayaRoos fue entrando en el partido. Cada vez que Farfadillis perdía la pelota el equipo, que por supuesto tenía sus propias armas, buscaba inmediatamente hacer daño y acortar distancias. Para ellos había un mundial en juego, para Farfadillis no (aunque, en realidad, también). Un tiro de Kerr dio en el palo… y el otro palo, pasándole por atrás a Fórténté, pero ese fue el único aviso fuerte que el contrario le dio al equipo isleño en el primer tiempo. Al entretiempo ambos equipos se fueron sintiendo que el resultado era mentiroso: los jugadores de Farfadillis sentían como que pff, por supuesto que deberían estar ganando por más, mientras que los jugadores de StrayaRoos correctamente sentían como que habían hecho méritos como para al menos descontar. Farfadillis tampoco había logrado quebrar su línea defensiva tanto, tampoco.

El segundo tiempo siguió la misma línea, pero a medida pasaban los minutos y StrayaRoos se desesperaba, se abrían espacios en su defensa y Farfadillis… desaprovechaba oportunidad tras oportunidad. Valën Pídí erró uno gol abajo del arco, mientras que Robineau reventó el travesaño en un mano a mano poco fortuito casi inmediatamente después. Sürréo buscó colocar un mano a mano cuando podía definir como, no sé, una persona normal, y por más que el tiro salió muy lindo y casi se cuela por el ángulo, terminó saliendo afuera por centímetros. Ese tipo de jugadas se fueron dando a medida StrayaRoos buscaba – y lograba – acercarse al arco Farf. Kerr dio otro aviso, rozando el poste y dándole al costado de la red pateando de primera, a colocar, al primer palo. No entró de pedo.

Pasado el minuto ochenticinco, parecía que ya estaba todo cocinado. Dos a cero, un rival (en teoría, no más), ampliamente inferior, Farfadillis clasificando al mundial como la historia manda… y entonces Kerr mostró que a veces es cierto que la tercera es la vencida y agarró a Fórténté desprevenido con un tiro libre a su palo. Un envión anímico potentísimo para su equipo, y más importantemente uno que la Vherderoja ignoró por completo.

En lugar de buscar solidez defensiva para no complicarse en los últimos diez minutos de partido, Farfadillis se puso a buscar el tres a uno, en parte porque así lo dicta su historia, en parte porque sentían que al ser el equipo superior, correspondía una ventaja superior a un gol.

Minuto noventitrés (de noventicinco), Robineau revienta el travesaño de vuelta en un mano. Mala liga, sí, pero lo que no fue mala liga fue lo que pasó inmediatamente después. Pase largo de Morgan, que había llegado primero al rebote, línea defensiva alta, y el joven Ali Are, que había entrado por Cruz Kaiplo, de la nada tenía camino libre hacia el arco Farf porque la línea defensiva parecía haberse olvidado que el offside deja de valer llegada la mitad de la cancha. Con Fórténté adelantado, y Türrângel a punto de llevárselo puesto con su velocidad, Ali Are impactó a todo el público presente (y al televidente) pegándola al arco, de volea, habiendo pasado la mitad de la cancha por solo unos cinco, seis metros. Fórténté, confiado de más, no había retrocedido lo suficientemente rápido como para que la pelota no arqueara por arriba de él, directo hacia adentro del arco. No dio para mucho más después del festejo de los jugadores de Strayaroos y con eso pasamos al alargue.

¿Alargue? ¿Cómo que alargue? Alargue, sí, señoras y señores, porque uno de los equipos se confió muchñisimo y se olvidó que el otro también juega al fútbol.

Para el alargue los jugadores de Farfadillis ya habían bajado bastante más a tierra. Ahora sí entendían que si no hacían un goles se tenían que rifar el pasaje a Huayramarca y/o Mertagne con una tanda de penales. Pero ya era tarde. Anímicamente, los jugadores de StrayaRoos volaban. Si uno hubiese entrado a ver el partido recién en el alargue, hubiese pensado que los equipos tenían las camisetas cambiadas.

Más enfocados en el objetivo, ya no subestimando, la defensa de la Vherderoja bancó bastante bien. El primer tiempo extra pasó sin pena ni gloria, aunque ambos equipos tuvieron buenas chances.

Con el segundo tiempo extra recién arrancado – de hecho, literalmente en la primer jugada, sacando del medio – StrayaRoos le escondió la pelota a Farfadillis por nada más ni nada menos que tres minutos en una jugada colectiva magistral que terminó con el experimentado Laola entrando de improvisto al área para cabecear un muy lindo centro de Karmea. Nada que hacer para Fórténté, y de la nada a Farfadillis le habían dado vuelta un dos a cero y la racha de clasificación al mundial estaba en más peligro que nunca.

StrayaRoos, después de esto, cometió un grave, gravísimo error. Farfadillis había valorado la ventaja que había impuesto en el marcador demasiado poco, y por eso se le había escapado. Con una primer clasificación al mundial en el horizonte, los jugadores de StrayaRoos se replegaron, buscando aguantar lo que terminarían siendo más o menos catorce minutos de asedio constante.

Ahora genuinamente desesperados, Farfadillis tiró la casa por la ventana a la hora de buscar el empate. Los defensas eran mediocampistas, los mediocampistas delanteros, y los delanteros… buenos, delanteros todavía, pero se entiende. StrayaRoos podría haber tratado de liquidar el partido de contra, pero la diferencia de experiencia los llevó a limitarse a tratar de aguantar el vendaval. Y esto casi, casi, casi resultó.

Farfadillis buscó y buscó empatar, y tuvo no menos que cinco chances claras de gol en sus intentos desesperados: un cabezazo apenas desviado de Robineau, un tiro de afuera de Feêr que rozó el palo derecho de Yesak, un tiro rastrero de Sürréo después de sacarse de arriba a dos, que Yesak logró detener a duras penas, un hermoso enganche para adentro de la joven rue Cazade que buscó agarrar a Yesak desprevenido picándola de afuera, pero terminó en el techo de la red, y un tiro a quemarropa de Pídí, que definitivamente no estaba teniendo su mejor partido.

Llegado el minuto ciento dicienueve, finalmente logró empatar la Vherderoja, con una sustancial cuota de suerte. Byôrn especuló con un tiro muy lejano que se desvío en un oponente, dejando a Yesak descolocado. El golero hábilmente se recompuso y logró evitar el gol, pero el rebote quedó servido para uno de los delanteros con mejor olfato de gol en todo el mundo, que con el arco libre no dejó nada al azar y fulminó contra el arco, haciendo parecer, poco menos, que estaba buscando agujerear la red. Tres a tres, y ni un festejo. Se venían los penales y pasar era obligación.

StrayaRoos no se pudo levantar del golpe anímico. La tanda de penales fue cómica. Los primeros cinco penales fueron o bien errrados o atajado. Por el lado Farf: Robineau, que había rendido y hasta metido un doblete, sin mencionar el agónico empate, mandó la pelota de Huayramarca a, uno imaginaría, Farfadillis o algún otro país de su preferencia, mientras que Pídí, que había errado dos goles hechos, completó un hat-trick de calamia tirando suave al medio contra un golero que no se la jugó por ninguno de los dos lados.

El quinto penal fue una atajada providencial de Fórténté, y a partir de ahí Farfadillis no perdonó. Sürréo la colgó delicadamente del ángulo, Jáánsêlà le reventó el arco al pobre Yesak, que se tiró bien y hasta manoteó la pelota, pero nunca lo hubiese podido detener, Türrângel, rústico como pocos, le pegó fuerte y al medio, teniendo mejor suerte que Pídí y, finalmente, con StrayaRoos habiendo logrado meter los otros tres penales que le había tocado patear, en el decimosegundo tiro de la tanda, la hija de rue Cazade, Éspéráns, con solo dieciocho años, dijo “le pego yo” y se dispuso a patear uno de los penales más importantes en la historia de la selección.

Calmada y lentamente se acercó a la pelota, buscando divisar las intenciones del golero. En el penúltimo paso este hizo el gesto de que se iba a tirar a la derecha. Suavemente la colocó en la dirección opuesta, haciendo que la pelota acaricie el costado de la red. Cuatro a tres, tanda terminada. Clasificación asegurada.

Ninguna lección sería aprendida de este partido.

The playoff to qualify for the World Cup turned out to be much more intense than anticipated. StrayaRoos wasn't really on the average Farf's radar – not as much as other teams that could have been drawn, at least – but apparently, no one told the StrayaRoos that the match was supposed to be a formality. Farfadillis had been qualifying for the World Cup uninterrupted since the sixty-ninth edition!

Despite la Vherderoja having a very heterogeneous team in terms of talent, and despite there being some positions that Yuan Zilai couldn't find someone to cover adequately, it was very evident that Farfadillis was the favorite. The betting houses were offering very little for a Farfadillis victory, the average FFFF leader had already congratulated himself for a (work?) well done, and the entire island's population was already thinking about the World Cup. Could they go further than the semifinals this time?

Because the reality was that it was unthinkable for anyone that after reaching two semifinals, the national team would fail to qualify for the World Cup. And there was no reasoning that could get through to the fans, the leaders, or even the players themselves, who were one match away from heading back home. Not even simple reasoning like "we've been playing like crap throughout the whole damn cycle, we lost both games against Tarinthia, and we even lost to an umimpressive Qusmo team" or "well, if you're in the playoff because you finished behind Tanirinthia, you wouldn't be proving to be much of a world power, would you?" or even "hey, the playoff is a single game, and we've lost games against unremarkable teams". In the end, there was only unwavering overconfidence.

What else hadn't worked? The warnings from Tuskoles Yagaras, one of the few Farves who saw that qualification was going to be very complicated this cycle. As president of the FFFF, director and head of state of Lithico™, and assistant coach of the national team, he had already told them, between the lines but not subtly, "win or die, this is Farfadillis".

And, you know what? The idiots who thought the game was going to be a joke were right for about thirty minutes. The match started with Farfadillis overwhelming their opponent. Robineau scored before the tenth minute, firing top bins with his first touch after a very nice individual play by Sürréo. At twenty-two, Jàànsêlá got a rebound by the edge of the area and tried to put it in the top corner. The shot wasn't as well placed as the first goal, but Rulândéá Kôstá's takilante's shots are bullets, and you don't need to aim that well if you're using a gun.

The fun was over a few minutes later. The team completely switched off, complacent because of the result, and focused on trying to keep possession rather than creating danger, something quite uncharacteristic of the national team historically, although quite common since Yuan Zilai took over.

Gradually, StrayaRoos began to get into the game. Every time Farfadillis lost the ball, the team, which of course had its own weapons, immediately looked to do damage and reduce the deficit. For them, there was a World Cup at stake, for Farfadillis, not so much (although, in reality, there was). A shot from Kerr hit the post... and the other post, going behind Fórténté in the process, but that was the only strong warning the opposing team gave the Farf team in the first half. At halftime, both teams felt that the scoreline was misleading: the Farfadillis players felt like, "pff, of course we should be winning by more", while the StrayaRoos players correctly felt like they had done enough to at least score. Farfadillis hadn't managed to break their defensive line much, either.

The second half followed the same pattern, but as the minutes passed and StrayaRoos became desperate, spaces opened up in their defense, and Farfadillis... wasted chance after chance. Valën Pídí missed a sitter, while Robineau hit the crossbar in an unlucky one-on-one almost immediately after. Sürréo tried to place a shot when he could have finished like, I don't know, a normal person, and even though the shot was very nice and almost snuck into the top corner, it ended up going just wide by mere inches. Those kinds of plays happened as StrayaRoos tried – and succeeded – to get closer to the Farf goal. Kerr gave another warning, grazing the post and hitting the side netting with a first-time shot, perfectly placed, to the near post. It didn't go in, luckily.

After the eighty-fifth minute, it seemed like everything was settled. Two-nil up, an opponent (in theory, nothing more), vastly inferior, Farfadillis qualifying for the World Cup as history demanded... and then Kerr showed that sometimes the third time's the charm and caught Fórténté off guard with a free-kick to his near post. A powerful morale boost for his team, and more importantly, one that la Vherderoja completely ignored.

Instead of seeking defensive solidity to avoid complicating themselves in the last ten minutes of the match, Farfadillis went for a third goal, partly because that's what their history dictated they do, partly because they felt that as the superior team, a one-goal advantage wasn't enough.

In the ninety-third minute (out of ninety-five), Robineau hit the crossbar again in a one-on-one. Bad luck, yes, but what wasn't bad luck was what happened immediately after. Long pass from Morgan, who had gotten to the rebound first, high defensive line, and the young Ali Are, who had come on for Cruz Kaiplo, suddenly had a clear path to the Farf goal because the defensive line seemed to have forgotten that the offside rule no longer applies once you reach the halfway line. With Fórténté off his line, and Türrângel about to catch up thanks to his speed, Ali Are amazed everyone present (and the TV viewers) by striking the ball towards the goal, on the volley, having only passed the halfway line by just five or six meters. Fórténté, overconfident, hadn't retreated fast enough for the ball not to arch over him, straight into the goal. Nothing much happened in regular time after the StrayaRoos players' prolonged celebration, and with that, we went into extra time.

Extra time? What do you mean, extra time? Extra time, yes, ladies and gentlemen, because one of the teams got very confident and forgot that the other team also plays football.

By extra time, the Farfadillis players had come down to earth quite a bit. Now they understood that if they didn't score, they would have to risk their ticket to Huayramarca and/or Mertagne with a penalty shootout. But it was too late. Psychologically, the StrayaRoos players were flying. If someone had started watching the game only during extra time, they would have thought the teams had swapped shirts.

More focused on the goal, no longer underestimating their opponents, la Vherderoja's defense held up quite well. The first half of extra time passed without incident, although both teams had good chances.

With the second half of extra time just starting – in fact, literally on the first play, right after kick-off – StrayaRoos hid the ball away from Farfadillis for no less than three minutes in a masterful collective play that ended with the experienced Laola suddenly entering the box to head in a very nice cross from Karmea. Nothing Fórténté could do, and out of nowhere, Farfadillis had pissed away a two-nil lead, and the World Cup qualification streak was in more danger than ever.

StrayaRoos, after this, made a serious, very serious mistake. Farfadillis had valued the advantage they had imposed on the scoreboard too little, and that's why it had slipped away from them. With a first World Cup qualification on the horizon, the StrayaRoos players retreated, seeking to hold out for what would end up being about fourteen minutes of constant siege.

Now genuinely desperate, Farfadillis threw caution to the wind in search of the equalizer. The defenders were midfielders, the midfielders were forwards, and the forwards... well, forwards still, but you get it. StrayaRoos could have tried to finish the game off on the counter, but the difference in experience led them to limiting themselves to trying to weather the storm. And this almost, almost, almost worked.

Farfadillis sought and sought to equalize, and they had no fewer than five clear chances to score in their desperate attempts: a header just wide from Robineau, a shot from outside the box by Feêr that grazed Yesak's right post, a low shot from Sürréo after shaking off two defenders, which Yesak managed to barely save, a beautiful cut inside from the young rue Cazade who tried to catch Yesak off guard by chipping it from outside, but it ended up on the roof of the net, and a close-range shot from Pídí, who definitely wasn't having his best game.

By the hundred and nineteenth minute, la Vherderoja finally managed to equalize, with a substantial dose of luck. Byôrn tried his luck with a very distant shot that deflected off an opponent, leaving Yesak wrong-footed. The goalkeeper cleverly recovered and managed to prevent the goal, but the rebound fell to one of the best goal poachers in the world, who with the goal gaping, left nothing to chance and fired it into the net, making it seem, if anything, that he was trying to punch a hole in the net. Three-all, and not much of a celebration. Penalties were coming, and qualification was a must.

StrayaRoos couldn't recover from the psychological blow. The penalty shootout was comical. The first five penalties were either missed or saved. For Farfadillis: Robineau, who had performed well and even scored a brace, not to mention the late equalizer, sent the ball from Huayramarca to, one would imagine, Farfadillis or maybe some other country of his preference, while Pídí, who had missed two sitters, completed a hat-trick of calamity by softly hitting the ball down the middle against a goalkeeper who didn't commit to either side.

The fifth penalty was a providential save by Fórténté, and from there, Farfadillis didn't miss. Sürréo delicately hung it in the top corner, Jáánsêlá blasted the ball into the net, leaving poor Yesak diving well and even getting a hand to the ball, but he wouldn't have been able to stop it, Türrângel, as crude as they come, hit it hard and down the middle, having better luck than Pídí, and finally, with StrayaRoos having scored the other three penalties they had had to take, on the twelfth kick of the shootout, rue Cazade's daughter, Éspéráns, at just eighteen years old, said "I'll take it" and stepped up to take one of the most important penalties in the history of the national team.

Calmly and slowly, she approached the ball, trying to discern the goalkeeper's intentions. On the penultimate step, she noticed a tell that he was going to dive to the right. She gently placed the ball in the opposite direction, making it caress the side netting. Four-three, shootout over. Qualification secured.

No lessons would be learned from this match.

[Tanirinthia]

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OF FATES AND FORTUNES
Chapter Eight - There's no place like home

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It seemed that damned luck was on her side, managing to keep her head down and not attracting any attention and when she got to the entrance stile where her forged identification documents would be put under the greatest of scrutiny, a nearby argument broke out (in her broken understanding of the language it would appear they were fans of rival league teams, and thought not sure of the specific insult the other's mother was definitely mentioned) causing the officer to simply motion her through before looking too closely to deal with the ruckus. And that was that, she was in phase one complete.

She sat down in a seat having done a circuit of the ground to familiarise herself with the layout, where the Tanirinthia dugout would be and how she could possible get down to that level undetected, mirroring the tight control of the country she found herself in the stadium seemed under similarly restrictive control, there didn't appear to be an obvious way to get from the stands to where the Tanirinthia transport and her way back to her world lay. As she sat in her seat mulling her options it occurred to her that she may have to rely on either the same luck that got her into the stadium but on a massive scale occurs with something that would distract the security services, or she would need to face the cold hard fact that she either had to make a break for it at some point or she would most likely never see her world again, or her friend or her family.

The thought of family caused a well of emotion to rise in her that she had steadfastly pushed down ever since ending on on this other world, but with a return as close and yet as far as ever all she could think of over and over again is what her mum and dad must be going through, losing one child is a thing to destroy but if they had thought both children lost she couldn't bear to think of and once again but needing real force pushing back down her emotions. She had to get home, there was no try, she had to.

Now she wasn't one who normally watched or followed a lot of football, but even she was aware that this was not a usual scoreline in a match with both teams scoring four goals a piece, and with the clock counting down all three of them were desperately looking for an opening, the two teams for the winner and her for any break in the security line. A moment later she had her answer, one of the officers on a restricted staircase heading down was radio-d off somewhere and her breath caught in her throat when she realised that no-one had replaced them, this was her moment. Springing up from her seat, she rushed down as fast as she could, leaping over and jostling through the crowd to get there but just as she got there, turning into the stairwell her freedom down those stairs her heart sunk as she heard from behind her;

Halt!

[Saint Eleanor]

OOC: Fuck it, we ball... literally. I have been extraordinarily busy and NationStates extraordinarily faulty since the playoffs, so I only have time to dump this singular poem on you instead... a formula which ironically worked for me at WCQ94. (Not WCQ91. Sorry for lying to you in the original version of these OOC notes, Mert.) If, for whatever reason, you would instead prefer to read several thousand words' worth of travel diaries, those will have to wait until pre-MD2.

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Oneshot: The Group of Glory (by Kavezalea Felaraneta)

The time has come, it's nearly here
And time to say it loud and clear
We're playing in a tough Group D
But will we make it through? Let's see

Like all others, we play three games
Glory and perfection our aims
I think we've attained a fine draw
Now we need to lay down the law

We start by playing UMS
- once known as Pemecutan, yes -
Mahardika their biggest threat
All-out attack their biggest bet

But we need not fear them at all
Even though it seems they stand tall
We must drop back and push them hard
So we can play the winning card

Valanora, our second foe,
Will not stand to us toe-to-toe
For they are the very best side
And seldom have the rankings lied

But I think their ethos has changed
A more defensive boss arranged
I doubt they will fully cohere
So we could win - but I'm no seer

We play after this drama ends
Vdara, our Anaian friends
No soul an ego, or star name,
Bar their manager... yet again

They are also Group D's fourth seed
Against them, I expect a lead
If we attack through the centre
Three points we shall surely enter

A great campaign we will select
If our attitude is correct
We will glide through our great group
And in the knockouts tie the loop

But if we dare mishandle this
Then our campaign we will thus piss
Pardon my language, but I must
Argue that winning be our lust!

As Margaret just so willed it, Felaraneta wrote this in the space of about forty or forty-five minutes while hosting Lydia Sharp - manager of his beloved Independence 1975 - at his home in May 2010, a couple of weeks before leaving Saint Eleanor to join the national team setup in Huayramarca. He passed this onto her for her comment, despite having completely forgotten that she was a somewhat wordy, somewhat creative person.

"So, what do you think, Lydia?"

"Let me have a look through this..."

About ten more minutes later: "The cadence isn't exactly perfect, but if you're just looking at the written word, it's excellently-structured and stands a good chance of critical acclaim if every component is executed right. So a bit like the Eleanorian national team, really."

"Thank you. I will be sure to tell Esther, in particular. And maybe Georgia. They're the two most likely national team-mates of mine to read poetry anthologies in their spare time so, aside from my predictions, I'm interested in seeing what they think about what I've written."

"And what makes you think that about them?"

[Independent Athletes from Quebec]

Independent Athletes from Quebec (IAQ) - World Cup 96 Team
vs. Chromatika, Juvencus, Huayramarca

26-PLAYER ENTRY

GOALKEEPERS (3):
Marianne Oh-Ntare (Litala '93, MYT), Innes Sheppard (Urrheddiao, CMT), Devon Qalicho (Zenit Attawapiskat)

DEFENDERS (8):
Ghislaine Barbieri (Anormalies, CMT), Alain Delisle (Mipojoseon), Kira Dormann (FC Inter Nantwich, TMB), Kim Gyeong-Seok (Urrheddiao, CMT), Drake Lokombo-Ssektioleko (Lakewood United, TMB), Alexis Samurtok (Parakleion Firebirds FC, TKT), Serguei Sapozhkov (Daedonggang 3.26), Frederic Yabusele (Atletik, MYT)

MIDFIELDERS (8):
Giovanni Jurgen Berhalter (Jinja City FC, BNJ), Kweon Hyeok-Joon (FC Longview, VAL), Maude Le Tissier (Whitepool, SYL), Jordan Mah (Océanic C.F. Langlois, KSK), Samuel McTavish (Lakewood City, TMB), Pyo Seung-Hye (Avondale City, SYL), Juan Aurelio Redondo (Montreal Koreana), Rebecca Anne Wawanolett (Chromatik, CMT)

FORWARDS (7):
Billie Blue Hamisi (Urrheddiao, CMT), Anna Korniloff-Kouyate (Real Santa Mordana, KYP), Oberon M'bah-Pinho (Tihon, CMT), Corneille-Theophile Poulin (Avondale City, SYL), Amina Salihamidzic Beckie (Frenei Tor, CMT), Otis Tekaronhonte (Eivora Athletic FC, TKT), Odette Tsioui (Perce Town)

Songak
Praetorian
News Website of the Decade!

Team Quebec World Cup 96 squad named in likely last hurrah for veterans

JEAN-GUY ANTIGA
in JOONGYEONG, JOONGYEONG

Quebec and Shingoryeo senior football team manager, Ichi Tuzzio, has named his 26-player squad for the 2066 World Cup 96 set to represent the Tricolour Taegeuk in Huayramarca and Mertagne.

Tuzzio's selections, which were sorted from the qualification squad that had won their respective qualifying group with an impressive, 10-2-0 record, surprised nobody with known names in Oberon M'bah-Pinho, Rebecca-Anne Wawanolett and Pyo Seung-Hye all having made the team. The most interesting choice out of all possible options were the inclusion of centre-half Giovanni Jurgen Berhalter, whose selection brought significant debate over midfielder Camille Oh-Chainey, even more so after Oh-Chainey's convincing performance in the 1-1 post-qualification friendly against Terro al Disco away last Friday.

'It is never the easiest to make a final selection for any national team, let alone this World Cup squad for Team Quebec,' Tuzzio said to The Praetorian's Jean-Guy Antiga. 'As always we have to set aside priorities that matter for each and every World Cup team and make decisions accordingly. And it's not just the matter of individual players, but the team as whole, so we have to pick the 26 guys that suit the team the best, rather than 26 most talented guys.'

This World Cup squad, marking the sixteenth time the Reapers have qualified into the World Cup, consists of three goalkeepers (mandated per the WCC rules), eight defenders, eight midfielders, and seven forwards. This also marks a significant moment for both the Team Quebec squad, who have managed to qualify into the World Cup at least once with every manager outside of a disastrous Fabrizio Kaal tenure for the World Cup 90 cycle, and Tuzzio, whose feat would see him secure World Cup qualification with four different national entities.

With the minor laurels already won and secured, now the questions stand over the aging of the Reapers' squad that, in some ways, is due a retooling in near-future. With only two players under 23 years of age, compared to ten players with at least 30 years of age, this World Cup squad is generally considered to be among oldest squads, if not in the World Cup with 28.07 years of average player age.

The age question, while not as prominent in the qualification stage, is one that's inevitable to be asked. While the post-purge Reapers have exceeded expectations in the qualification stage, there have been noticeable signs of weakness with the Reapers closer to the end, as they would come to require three consecutive one-goal victories over Cardenaoan side that was in a state of disarray all cycle, as well as difficult Doubeia and a highly promising Vyktoria sides that have given them every bit of challenge.

In what is likely to be the last hurrah for several key pieces of this senior team, there will be questions as to how Tuzzio, the 2042 World Cup 84 winner with Farfadillis who has also attained significant success with Yue Zhou and the Commonwealth of Baker Park, will manage a heavily veteran-led squad that will be captained by Rebecca-Anne Wawanolett. With Berhalter's selection over Oh-Chainey, it is likely expected that Pyo move closer to the centre-midfield rather than her usual spot in the defensive midfield.

The Reapers' midfield squad will be the one worth watching with the decision made. It is almost certain that Rebecca-Anne Wawanolett will be a lock for one of the spots, and outstanding qualification form for Whitepool starlet Maude Le Tissier also suggests she most likely be slotted in there. The challenge, however, will be made at the final starting spot with Pyo, Langlois Oceanic's Jordyn Mah, and longtime Lakewood City star Samuel McTavish fighting for the final spot, with none of the three holding particular advantage over one another. With the relative age of the four of five possible starters, however, it is certainly possible for all five, as well as Juan Aurelio Redondo and Kweon Hyeok-Joon (if the general line of thinking is that Berhalter be used in the centre-half), to receive significant playing time.

As for the composition of the Grim Reapers' squad, there is noticeable departure from the past squads with the Q-League sending second-most number of players to the World Cup with five, just two behind the Chromatik Red League with seven. Outside of those two, the T-League and LN1 also see significant representation with three players represented, while Kweon Hyeok-Joon and Anna Korniloff-Kouyate respectively (re-)add The Kytler Peninsulae and Valanora into the fold as well. Among the clubs, Urrheddiao will be featuring three players to the World Cup, with Billie Blue Hamisi, Kim Gyeong-Seok, and Innes Sheppard included, while the cities of Avondale and Lakewood would feature two of their own as well.

The Reapers, currently ranked 25th in the multiverse, will be playing a familiar foe in no. 11 Chromatika in Puerto San Carlos for their World Cup opener. Their group stage would then be followed by facing no. 42 Juvencus in El Alto, before setting up for the literal and figurative do-or-die showdown against the hosts in no. 23 Huayamarca in Guayaquil. With the four-team Group A expected to feature three nations with history of hooliganism and other forms of organised violence, not to mention the relative state of disarray faced by the RQFA, travel advisories will likely be issued for average travellers to avoid areas and sections, both in and outside of stadiums, frequented by The Bubonic Plague.

[Huayramarca]

World Cup Finals MD 1 Cutoff

You better take your chances now, dance to the heartbeat and let it go!

[HUElavia]

Zwangzug 0–2 HUElavia
(Canchon 34', Rossi-Rigoni 82')
Spectrum Stadium, Dannin, Mertagne

HUNGRY HUNGRY HUELAVIANS!

HUElavia pull out a surprise victory in another historic rematch against Zwangzug!

For the 6th time, HUElavia anticipated another Matchday 1 at the World Cup, and for the 2nd time in team history, Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos faced off against Zwangzug to open up their campaign. While back then at World Cup 84, in the team's debut it was a David vs Goliath matchup, today it was much more even, with the HUElavians looking poised to make noise and take it up to Zwangzug. Playing at Spectrum Stadium in Dannin, half of the stadium was filled with passionate HUElavians, present to cheer on the A-Team as they looked to take on their toughest match of the Group Stage.

The match saw HUElavia attack patiently throughout the opening minutes, sending crosses in by Oh and Nascimento, met by punches by Bano-Patil, and headers by the defenders of McGovern and Fillmore-Gaul in order to take out the HUElavian attack. Marcus and Hildegard would take shots towards the HUElavian goal, but easy saves were made by Mok, along with the centers of Beuba and Alvarez sending out shots to earn much applause from the crowd. Despite chances from both teams, both goalies had solid saves and would send out for corners or clears to center circle to stop an attack dead on its trail. The opening goal came in the 34th minute, when Lobo got the ball from Hildegard, and sent a long pass to where Canchon got the ball and ran past McDonald to then go past McGovern and go one-on-one against Bano-Patil to send a low shot in between the legs and it rolled into the goal to make it 0-1. The HUElavians in the crowd jumped in eruption while Canchon was mobbed by her teammates for the goal. Scenes from back home in HUElavia saw the thousands, if not millions, of HUElavians cheering in the watch parties, throwing various drinks in the air, hugging and applauding at the goal. Back in the Stadium, Coach Honda hugged Canchon in celebration and the HUElavian crowd was rocking while the Zwangzug supporters were silenced and left concerned at being behind on the scoreline. At the half, HUElavia led 0-1 and there was much optimism of more to come.

In the second half, Zwangzug began to attack more and more, looking to open up the HUElavian defense, but the defense stood firm and sent shots out left and right to much applause and cheer from the HUElavians. Time ticked on and on, eventually with Coach Honda making changes, including Jacquet in for Nascimento, Caetano for Beuba, and Watanabe for De La Cruz, earning a few eyebrows being raised, but soon their speed and fresh legs earned a much needed freshness on the attack. with Zwangzug playing much deeper on the defense with how suffocating HUElavia's play was going. In the 82nd minute, a pass by Taylor-Calañas reached over to Rossi-Rigoni, who found an opening from 28 yards out, sending a shot past Fillmore-Gaul and past a diving Bano-Patil into the goal, sending the HUElavian crowd ablaze in celebration, while Rossi-Rigoni ran to the corner flag for a dance while being mobbed by his teammates. With some time-wasting later, HUElavia held on and pulled a surprise victory, with the bench coming out in joy for the victory.

With the victory, HUElavia sit in 1st Place in Group E with their 3 Points, followed by returning participants Zenic who pulled a surprise 1-0 victory over co-hosts Mertagne, who they themselves sit in 3rd while Zwangzug is in 4th. Thus, Matchday 2 between Zenic and HUElavia will be a match to possibly decide 1st Place and a possible spot to the Round-of-16 in a match with plenty of implications. Coach Honda reported saying "We're proud of the victory, but we can't let it get to our heads. We want to continue to give it our all against Zenic and not leave anything to chance. It's game two, but we want to put on a great show." The fans have been enjoying their time in Mertagne, enjoying jolly times with the locals, enjoying the cuisine, and taking the time to learn about the history of the country, especially with the war against Bostopia. The team continues to train well and study film, looking to make the most against Zenic. Regardless, it's only matchday one, and there is still plenty to play for among the 32 participants. Here's to hoping we can gain momentum and get another important and crucial result in this grand World Cup.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Delte]

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Xanneria 2–6 Delte
Sports Correspondent Kim Samrodd at Estadio Provincial de Nauta, Nauta, Huayramarca for the Skimpy Matchday Report & Negligible Detail Express (Sports Section)

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I won't dwell overly long on the finer details of this match but certainly mention should be made of the performance of General Capu-Quila Tomana of the National Guard, who despite his hard-pressed uniform, ceremonial sash and array of glittering medals showed his mettle and skills as an elegant mountain country cowpoke during a bizarre half-time display of cattle wrangling. I have no idea what that was about - these Huayremarcos have a peculiar idea of entertainment. I would've laughed hard and long at the comical show but (1) I'm a stoic, and (2) the altitude and thin atmosphere did not permit excessive displays of emotion. Fortunately for the more excitable Xannerians, this was not a problem as they had little to celebrate against magical midfielder Enor Perro, big young defender Pokey Fayle, and our magnificent striker Tai Cerotha, who bagged four goals as the Representatives made a statement of intent in their title defence up in the mountains. Valentin Fey and substitute Chipper Osgood got the others as the team in green marched into a potentially embarrassing 6-0 lead, before taking a bit of a breather, what with the air being so hard to come by. The Maroons restored a little pride with late goals from Gunnar MacLane and free agent Rylee Greerenbach, who was clearly rehearsing for a new job on the domestic football scene and with limited time as a late substitute did as well as one could expect with the five minutes she had available to her.

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The Bronzed Giants
1/6: Emlyn Normald

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Sporting Statues Explored

Who are the greatest Deltic players of all time? Who was the first professional footballer in the valley? Who is the player that we never mention any more in polite conversation? And who are the people who go to so much effort to immortalise them all - even the one we must not speak of?

Creating statues of celebrated personalities real and imagined is an obsession for the Delts - whether it be Prince Tyrbert the Deltic hero of the Uncivil Wars, or Lerena Ence the octagenarian dustcartwoman of Marshlock Spa - every town and village has a statue or two - there is even a Statue Makers School in Oswark to provide the valley with a continuous supply of in-demand sculptors. Naturally there are several footballers immortalised around the valley, and a trail map can be picked up at the Brewery Sports & Social Club exhibition in town, covering the whole valley for those who want a football statue odyssey. Don’t forget to visit The Garden of Regrets: where statues we wish we’d never sculpted of people we are no longer proud of have their final resting place. There’s at least one footballer in there, the infamous Chad Nayler. Oh dear me, what were we thinking?

We will come on to ‘Uncle Chad’ in a later episode, but begin here with a quick introduction to the man who sculpted him - Emlyn Normald. Oh dear me, what was he thinking? In his defence, at the time, no-one knew precisely what Nayler was up to and Emlyn, The Chiseller Laureate of the Delte Valley back in the day, was just doing what he was famous for doing - spectacularly impressive bronze action casts of great players (Deltic relative terms apply) in striking poses. He built his reputation on the back of representing such footballing legends as Johnny Chard, Polly Cerrough and of course Lance Corporal William ‘Trencher’ Tinnault, ‘the great sportsman of no-mans-land, one-mistlemas-day-in-the-morning’, …to quote the old song. In total there are thirteen footballers celebrated by the hand of Emlyn Normald across the valley, as well as twenty-three other Deltic heroes, making him the most prolific sculptor of all time. It certainly is a pity about ‘Uncle Chad’, a stain upon the reputation of the great sculptor, and questions remain about how much everyone knew and how much everyone ignored his, umm, shenanigans, so to speak. Emlyn certainly wasn’t the only one, and he certainly isn’t the only sculptor to have one of his pieces moved to the Garden of Regrets. Even in Eden there were a few rotten apples, apparently.

[Mertagne]

ZENIC OPEN THE GATES WITH A WICKED WIN IN OSTOSAIDE
Hazaluta’s Squad crumbles to Zenic’s fourth attempt to unlock the door

The Mertagnian half of World Cup 96 kicked off last night in a spectacular fashion, as the city of Ostosaide opened the proceedings as Mertagne themselves, the Anaian champions, took to the pitch against Rushmori champions Zenic. This meeting between the two teams, the fourth overall and within Mertagne’s last ten international games (including ICC), was set to be prolific. Zenic had previously faced Mertagne three times at the International Confederation’s Cup - twice in the double round-robin of the group stage, where both teams held each other to 1-1 and 3-3 draws, and once in the third place play-off of the tournament, where Mertagne managed to grasp a goal in the dying stages of extra time to clinch the bronze medal.

The last meeting naturally left a sour taste in the mouth of the Survivors, who have been on the road in a momentous campaign during the qualifiers of World Cup 96 while Mertagne have been hard at work on the training pitch, and in a smattering of friendlies against local Anaian sides. Zenic’s admirable 2nd place spot in Group 12 of the qualifiers, handily beating out proficient sides such as the Commonwealth of Baker Park, saw them head to the playoff and beat Valentine Z to claim their place here in the finals. Upon being drawn against Mertagne, it is likely that Geraldo Rys was less than agog to play against the Green Goblins again, but the side clearly had a lot of experience that they would be keen to utilise on the pitch, in the hopes that Luka Hazaluta’s squad would be a bit rusty on the night.

As the whistle blew to signify Mertagne’s kick off, you wouldn’t have thought that the performance of the Green Goblins was made of anything less than aluminium, as Mertgane displayed a commanding presence in possession. Both sides consolidated around the midfield, and while Mertagne on paper would be a person down here, Holly Eveson did a good job at dropping back slightly and being present to receive the ball from either Graham Ellerby or Jordan Will. Aislin Du Moucel was noticeably not present, with Hazaluta preferring to rest the young midfielder, alongside a smattering of first choice players, in preparation for the upcoming games. With Burro Curwood wearing the captain’s armband this match, as Callaghan Bauldry found himself in goal, the striker impressed with his ability to lead from the front, but crashed against the defence of the Survivors a few too many times. Kian Hodge went in with a tackle that saw him take a yellow card and Mertagne take a free kick, but Jordan Will’s overconfident attempt at a shot on goal from outside the box resulted in a wasted opportunity for the home side.

Zenic bit back three times towards the end of the first half, as Nakazawa Shuji made a breakaway move, confounding the defence and passing well to Cecil Maruscak in the box. The 26 year old got a good touch on the ball before making a shot on target, but Bauldry saw it coming and punched the ball out for a corner. The corner, taken by Undeio Dettmann, looked like it would find Faulkner Dejulio in the box, but Jordan Will managed to get a head on it and played the ball out to Burro Curwood. This attack was short lived, however, as Curwod lacked the support in the right place at the right time and had few options to field the ball out, resulting in a loss of possession. The Zenic counterattack from this found the through-line in the centre of the pitch, meaning another shot on target, this time from Giuseppe Allegri Gentile, whose ball was clutched by Callaghan Bauldry and this time gripped well to cycle the ball back out to the Mertagnian defence.

With the score tied at 0-0 after the first half, as Zenic kicked off, Mertagne were looking for any opportunity to set the record in their favour. Their greatest chance would come in the 48th minute, as Holly Eveson received a great ball right into the box from Stewart Bickley, that she smacked past the fingertips of Saúl Mosley into the back of the net. After rigorous analysis, however, the goal was deemed offside, much to the ire of the home fans.

Mertagne would continue knocking on the door of Zenic up to the hour mark, with three more shots, two of which skimmed the goal, and the third playing safely into Mosley’s hands. Substitutions around the hour mark saw Nazer Armenadriz come on for Burro Curwood, and the defence shored up a bit with Conwal Ibarborde coming on for Lloyd Seddon. Substitutions from Zenic a few minutes later saw the Survivors pivot to a more attacking strategy, confident in their ability to soften Mertagne’s attack in the midfield. Faulkner Dejulio came off, and Rys placed his faith in Wanyonyi Lawal to aid in delivering a goal for the side. His impact on the pitch was immediate - a fresh central fulcrum for the Survivors to hang some of their attack on, Lawal made a brilliant through pass out on his first touch of the ball to Gentile, past Karon Murell, that saw Gentile make a shot on goal. The shot was booted out of contention by Aato Irizarri, and went to a corner.

Shuji took the corner, which rocketed into the box with ease. The ensuing scramble saw the ball come to the feet of Dominic Moko, who made an attempt to clear it out to Nazer Armenadriz, but the young striker saw the ball coming too late, as Hank Devor was in the right place and the right time to make a brave shot into the top right corner of the net that Bauldry couldn’t recover and jump to quite in time. Zenic had scored the first goal of the Mertagnian half, and in a confident display had managed to put themselves in control of the match.

On the restart, Zenic appeared energised by their goal, and developed a commanding presence in the remaining 20 minutes of the match. Mertagne had just a single chance to equalise, but Nazer Armenadriz’s shot on goal pinged off the crossbar and into the crowd at the Ring Tank Stadium. Zenic dominated play in the final few minutes, and in the three minutes of additional time at the end of the second half, made a play for another goal which was luckily handily shut down by a combination of Conwal Ibarborde and Jordan Will.

As the final whistle blew, the Survivors and their fans were jubilant, having taken a vital three points from the hosts and cemented their position in the top half of the group. As the dust settled on the day’s matches, HUElavia would go on to beat Zwangzug at the Spectrum Stadium, leaving Mertagne 3rd in the group without a point.

Mertagne go on to play Zwangzug at the Spectrum Stadium in the next matchday, and Luka Hazaluta will be looking to claw back some points that he and the rest of the squad certainly felt they were owed at the Ring Tank Stadium. While the home fans were certainly devastated that Zenic finally got Mertagne’s number, support remains high for the Green Goblins in the hope that they will be able to improve from their Group Stage exit in the last World Cup. Needless to say, if there’s one thing that will help Mertagne against Zwangzug, it’s likely to be a sea of lime-coloured paraphernalia that will drown out any monochrome woes that the team is likely to face.

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GRAND REGENT TO CHAIR WILDFIRE CRISIS RESPONSE MEETING
Hope to be joined by Harridan Governor Linden Saloman

Mertagnian Grand Regent Brandon Hope is set to meet with the four leaders of the Karodin Tetrarchy this week, as both nations tackle a spate of wildfire events on the borderlands between the Tetrarchy and Mertagne.

The wildfires, which have displaced hundreds of people from their homes and are tracking towards closer to built-up areas such as Lindburgh and Nevezant, have mounted a serious challenge for the local governments to overcome, especially in the Karodin Tetrarchy, where the nation’s rural communities have homes made of more flammable material. It’s estimated that over 10,000 hectares of land have been burned in the fires so far, and while fire departments have been working tirelessly to stop the blazes, the uncharacteristically hot weather has enabled the fires to continue and spread.

In response to this issue, Grand Regent Brandon Hope has extended an invitation to the Princes of the Karodin Tetrarchy to meet in Lindburgh to formulate a national-scale strategy to tackle the wildfires from both the Tetrarchy and Mertagne, with items including increased communications between firefighters within both nations and unrestricted access to Nevezant airspace for the duration of the fires on the agenda for the Regent.

Brandon Hope will be joined by several political advisors, including the Councillor for the Environment. Hope has also made the decision to include regional government leader Linden Saloman in the discussions, seemingly leaving the gulf of political differences between the two at the door. Saloman, who is affiliated with the Mertagnian Conservatives (MC), the current opposition to Hope’s incumbent Worker’s Unions of Mertagne (WUM) party in the National Forum, has historically been a key voice against Hope’s policies, claiming that the Regent’s agenda in the National Forum hasn’t done enough for Mertagne’s rural communities and clashes with the priorities of the Conservative-led Regional Forum in Harridan.

With Regional Forum elections in Touchpoint and Harridan just six weeks away, as a part of Mertagne’s ongoing elections known as Das Karussell, it remains to be seen if Saloman will maintain his majority in the Regional Forum. Of Harridan’s 40 seats, the Mertagnian Conservatives have a plurality of 18 seats, which, in a confidence and supply agreement with the 2 Liberal League RFMs, allows them to maintain a majority over their main rivals in the WUM and Aurrerra!. However, according to recent polling data, the MC look set to take several seats in Harridan from the centrist Unified Mertagne Party (UMP) as voters change their first-preference candidate. While the WUM and Aurrerra! have not been involved in a National Fourm coalition since Aurrerra!’s electoral losses in the wake of the Bostopian Conflict, the appetite appears to be there for Harridan’s branch of the WUM to work with Aurrerra! in the event the two can snatch a coalition away from the Mertagnian Conservatives. Saloman, therefore, will be hoping that being an effective actor in the resolution of this ongoing issue will provide him with the optics that his party needs to secure the first preference votes he needs for a majority.

The National Forum has voted for emergency funding to be provided to an inter-agency task force for the duration of the wildfire season, which will work to coordinate fire departments and facilitate the difficult logistical operation of tackling the wildfires. Residents in Harridan province are to be subject to a province-wide hosepipe ban in order to conserve water, which is to be used to tackle the fires. Water is also to be shipped in from Lake Shoda via train to replenish supplies.

Other news from across the nation:

• NATIONAL: Man found 'half melted in bath' in sixth floor New Fligsive apartment
• POLITICS: Aurrerra! make bid for coalition with Worker's Unions of Mertagne based on polling estimates
• ECONOMY: Mertagnian economy recovering well in wake of Bostopian Conflict - ACORN membership sees GDP rise in last quarter
• BUSINESS: Mertagnian Energy Company Origas signs deal to supply Graintfjall with LPG for duration of Pavolan Energy Crisis
• SPORT: Indusse make The Holy Empire look... more like clowns than they already are, I guess, with six goal thriller
• MUSIC: Glass Goblins respond to fan protests after technical difficulties: 'at least we didn't scream about it like a weirdo'

[Audioslavia]

Are you a member of the NS Sport discord? If so, see how the referendum went down in "rEaL" time here

Audioslavia Votes for Two
'Daylight Savings' bill passes via referendum.
Audioslavia now using 'Rosemarian Time'

Audioslavia has voted to switch 'timezones' from Four-Years-Per-Cycle to Two-Years-Per-Cycle, following yesterday's referendum. It is, perhaps, the most seismic thing that has happened to the country since the Cherno-Bull disaster 200 years ago.

For the average Audioslavian, the result came as something of a shock. Although Audioslavians living abroad had voted heavily towards 2, as expected, the early results from mainland Audioslavia had put Four in the lead immediately, and the gap only appeared to widen with time. Nobody deciding to go to bed, rather than watch the night unfold, can be blamed.

For those that stayed up through the night to watch the results, they would have seen the gradually widening gap between Four and Two overcome at the last by the 151st and final region.

Audioslavia, for reasons not worth going into, has generally kept the pencil-and-paper model of voting. 149 of the 151 voting regions had used this method, with only International Citizens (via app) Cathair (via electronic voting) choosing alternate methods, with the latter agreeing to post its results only after results came in from everywhere else in the nation.

The thing is, everywhere else in the nation was divided into 149 blocks of around 400,000 people, while Greater Cathair is an area of 23 million eligible voters. They were always going to have the biggest say.

"It's not fair" said one prominent Four-per, Eva Rilípyia. "In a referendum, the majority should be able to drag the coolest part of the country this way or that at the behest of a 52-48 majority, regardless of how terrible the idea. It's not fair that the part of the country voting 60-40 the other way should get to win"

But win they did. It turned out that Cathair, the place with the most eligible voters, also had the highest turnout. Millions (or perhaps by this point in the night, thousands could hardly believe the footage they were seeing.

"As the returning officer for all districts of the city of Cathair, and in accordance with the Temporal Reform treaty of XXXX, I hereby announce the results of the Catharan district of the election" Nigel Grayman had said.
"Votes in favour of Four Years Per Cycle: Eight Million, One Hundred and Sixty Four Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Three. "Votes in favour of Two Years Per Cycle: Twelve Million, Seven hundred and sixty-five thousand, two hundred and seven"

In an instant, the four-million lead evaporated into a deficit of a few thousand votes. The chart at the bottom of everyone's television screen, which had been showing a large dark blue bar on the left and a small light blue bar on the right, suddenly moved more than it had all night. From 53.8%-46.2% to 49.3%-50.3%

And like that, Audioslavia went to bed in the year 3202 and woke up in the year 962.

The new calendar is simple. Like the departing A/SRPT (Audioslavian/Starblaydi Roleplay Time, used since time immemorial), it runs adjacent to the Cycle system. Unlike A/SRPT, and indeed most calendars, it is not in base ten. We are currently in the year 962, in that this is Cycle 96 and we're in the second year of it. Next year is 971, the first year of the 97th cycle. All years now end in a one or a two.

History is, of course, not affected. Those who have died at 90 years old did so at 90 years still, not 45, but dates may be changed. At four years per cycle, the four years of, say, Cycle 95 may well be referred to as 951, 952, 953 and 954 instead of 2294, 2295, 2296 and 2297.

Audioslavian domestic football will most certainly be affected, with a mooted switch back to a 13-team top flight - and with it, a 24-match season played over 34 weeks - expected to be announced for the season after next in an attempt to create space in what is notoriously an impossibly busy calendar for that majority of the football world that uses two years per cycle. Audioslavia's new 'Temporal Minister' does, however, believe that they have found a way through the weeds here.

You can find a guide to the new calendar here.

In the international game, a workmanlike nil-all draw against Sylestone got both sides off the mark, but players and fans alike are said to be anxious over recovery time between matches. Typically accustomed to an eight-day break between matches, the Bulls now, like everyone else, only get a four-day turn-around between fixtures.

The Bulls will kick off the new Rosemarian Time Era against Kelssek with the eye of the world upon them. The new calendar isn't the only reason the game has historical significance.

Over the last two cycles, the Bulls have lost every match they have played against big teams, recording defeats to Huayramarca (CAFA 7), Chromatika (CAFA 7), Ochre Islands (CAFA 7), Brookstation (WC95Q), Ko-oren (x2, CAFA , Flavovespia (x2, CAFA , and Ochre Islands again (CAFA . Our last win against a 'big' team remains a Matchday Three encounter in World Cup 94 with our next opponents, although the two-one win for the Bulls that day did not prove enough to qualify for the second phase of the competition.

A win over Kelssek would put the Bulls in great stead to reach the second round of the World Cup for the first time since the year 902 - Just 12 years before the current year of 962. It's okay. You'll get it.

The Real Baptism of Fire
Just how hard is it to do well in your first appearance in the last 32?

Crpostran, Josifovo, Xanneria and Indusse comprise the four teams playing in their very first World Cup finals. For Xanneria and Indusse, this berth comes after years of struggle, with the former having entered qualifying for the first time in World Cup 82 and the latter in 79. On the other end of the spectrum, Josifovo debuted in cycle 94, while Crpostran hadn't kicked a ball in earnest before their appearance in the Baptism of Fire before World Cup 96's qualifiers began.

In advancing to the finals at the first attempt, Crpostran join an exclusive club. In the KPB era (and as such ignoring the fact that 32 'new' nations qualified for World Cup 1, etc), the amount of teams qualifying on their debut is vanishingly small. Baker Park, now an integral part of the world game, despite their recent form, were the last team to do it, qualifying for World Cup 80. Drawkland had done it in cycle 77 and Bonesea and Savalen had both gone into World Cup 75 like buses, twenty cycles after the Chetkosk had made it to World Cup 56 at their first attempt. Only 24 teams in total have made their debut World Cup since the dawn of the KPB era.

Of those, only three have made it out of the group stage.

Every team to have qualified on their first attempt. Only three made it past their first round

Bonesea (WC75) made the second round, as did Peisandros (WC44), while you have to go back to cycle 17 before you find a member of this club to have reached the last eight.

Regardless of whether it's zero cycles or sixty between your first attempt at qualification and your first match in the World Cup, doing well first time is rare. In the KPB era, no team has won the World Cup in the first time they qualified for it. Free Republics were the most recent side to make the final, losing to Viltia in the World Cup 68 final. Having hosted the tournament, and therefore having qualified automatically, Free Republics have the rare accolade of having appeared in the World Cup final before having ever qualified for the tournament. Eura's famous final defeat to The Holy Empire in World Cup 60 had been in their only appearance in the tournament to date. They are the second team to have reached a final in their first cup.

Eight teams have made the semis of their first World Cup, including current hosts Mertagne (WC66) and Voodoo-Dice enjoyers Melmond, the only team of this group to have won their Third Place Playoff. Polar Islandstates, who first entered World Cup 55 and first qualified for World Cup 56, are another debutant semi-finalist, while deeply missed HopNation are our most recent, having played in the World Cup 70 semi.

Squidroidia and Poafmersia made the quarters in their first cup, back in the 80s, and you have to go back to the early sixties before you find another team doing the same thing (Farfadillis in cycle 63). Indeed, only 22 teams made the quarters or better in their first cycle, while only 58 of 315 debutants even made it past the first round.

The immediate future, therefore, might not look particularly rosy for the likes of Xanneria (pumped 2-6 in their opening game), Crpostran (0-1) or Audioslavia's matchday three opponents Josifovo (1-2) but Indusse have shown more content in utterly devouring five-time World Champions by a score of five goals to one. Should the side avoid defeat over their next two games, they'll become only the 59th team to avoid a first round exit in their debut cup.

The Bulls will be making a concerted effort to ensure Josifovo don't achieve the same feat.

Debut after World Cup 11? Find yourself in this chart, which plots where teams finished in their first ever appearance in the World Cup, whether in their Debut attempt, their 2nd, 3rd, 4th or, in the case of Gnejs, 60th cycle after their first attempt at qualifying.

[Indusse]

IFA Today
A New Beginning, New Identity?

The Indussean Football Association (IFA) has announced the adoption of a brand new logo for their National Team, signalling a new era in the country's football history. The unveiling of the logo was down by the Association President, Baskar H Kumar after the end of the World Cup Qualifiers.

The new logo, designed to embody the spirit and identity of the nation, features the colours of the flag and the national symbol. The Logo which seems to be of simple complexion and authenticity tries to express the unity or oneness that is shared by the Indusseans throughout the world.

In a statement released by the IFA, officials expressed their excitement about the new logo and its potential to attract the football community. They emphasised the importance of fostering a sense of national pride and identity through the sport, highlighting football's role as a unifying force in Indussean society.

The Statement also announced that the National Team will be officially adopting the new logo after the end of the team's journey in the current edition of the World Cup. The Team will be wearing the new logo in whichever tournament they're participating in the future.

The Change of the Logo has also been related with the first time qualification of the national team in the Nationstates World Cup. The Indussean Football Association has been inviting football enthusiasts across the nation to join them in celebrating this exciting milestone. The IFA has set up fan parks across the nation to get people to be part of this exciting beginning.

With the change of logo happening, the Indussean Football Association has also opened the tenders for a new kitmaker who shall produce the official kits for the team. These kits shall be used from the next international tournament the team participates in. The Kirola Kits would be worn last in the 96th Edition of the World Cup and shall go into the books of history to be the one that was worn by the Indusseans at the time of its first Proper World Cup qualification.

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SportsWatch

• Dushyant Kangappa •

The First Match of the World Cup Proper ended with a positive as well as surprising result for the Indussean National Team. No one would have thought that the flocking blues would end up crushing those from The Holy Empire for the score of five against one.

This isn't the first time Indusse has been playing against The Holy Empire, and is also not the first time they've been given tough competition. It's always The Holy Empire who gets to have such bad luck. It's so sad for them, this is what happens when you've got a bunch of clowns in the nation who think they are able to say whatever they want when they feel like.

This isn't anything off the discussion, but based on something that's been going viral for quite some time. A Statement by a group known as the Krazy Klown Kollege has been floating around for a while. This statement has been backed by signatures of sixteen individuals who obviously seem to be out of their mind.

Just as the group is named, they seem to be a bunch of Crazy Clowns. They seem to be pretty much disappointed that they've not been drawn with “weak teams” such as Crpostan and Zenic and their only relief is that they've got Indusse in the group which is one of the weakest according to them. They seem to be forgetting the fact that they've not won all the matches against this weakling.

What would've they done about the custard pies they prepared? Looks like they could've had it when they had nothing else other than soda water, cream filled pies and circus peanuts available in the stadium or did all those get crushed under the wheels of the so called “Farty Automobiles”? Pretty sure they would've loved the Circus Peanuts, because it's the “circus” where you find these clowns.