World Cup 96 - Roleplay Thread

by **Ko-oren** » Sun Apr 21, 2024 11:27 am

Beyond the Third Division, for travel - that's money and time - purposes, the KFA has split the country in a few parts. Here's roughly where the lines are drawn:

Division 4 and 5

It's a clear north-south system, with a few regions in yellow who'll plonk their teams in north or south depending on where's a shortage. The years where Arboren and Serevne were oddly good, and half of Mahrkioren had their teams in the top few divisions, the yellow centre actually had its teams play in the south despite 60% of the population - if not more - are in the purple south. You can see from the very few map labels in the northeast that there aren't a lot of towns there, but coastal Mahrkioren and the capitals make up for that, a bit.

Nowadays, they mostly have their teams play in the north - even that yellow bit that extends so far south it cuts the purple into twine. The north is that short on decent-to-good teams. Some clubs you might have heard of from that far eastern yellow bit: Tanques AOE, Granon Altair. For some clubs you might have heard of in the far western yellow bit that's entirely enveloped in the oddly shaped purple state: Huthwich Et Iduloren FC, Cresthill United FC. Aside from Tanques, those are all clubs with extended stays at the 4th and 5th level, and they're often still there.

Remember: teams in division 4 are still among the top 60 squads in the country, which isn't too terrible!

Division 6 and 7

The two zones from before have been further split at the 6th and 7th level: northeast (green), southeast (red/pink), southwest (pink), and... central (yellow).

They're strangely unequal in population, with the yellow zone sending quite a few teams to other areas - mostly the red/pink southeast.

This far down the pyramid we'd be surprised had you heard of any time - but locally it can be important, especially for travel's sake. The teams travelling between those southeastern landmasses are not too happy, neither are the teams in the southwest that occasionally have to visit that archipelago all the way out west - good thing most of those islands are uninhabited. The green is unexpectedly well connected - but that's because settlements in nice, straight lines along the coast.

At this level is also where you see a lot of teams playing outside of their zone - a strict adherence to the basic law of 12 teams per league trumps the practicality of teams playing close to home.

Division 8, 9, 10, 11

Four zones turn into eight - if you've ever wondered what the little two-letter codes mean, they're ce (centre, yellow), ww (western, lime), nn (northern, green), ne (northeastern, grey), ee (eastern, red/pink), se (southeast, orange), ss (southern, purple), and sw (southwest, teal). Again, the shape of Ehnigo - the long yellow province in the middle - makes that some of its northern teams compete in the lime west and some of its southern teams play in the orange southeast, but generally this is how it works.

Do mind that all three ways to divide Football Ko-oren have two things in common:
- plenty of exceptions, where teams may be placed in geographically (slightly) illogical leagues
- the divides aren't used for anything else.

Look, if you expected that a match between Ko-oren and West Barack and East Obama would see more than a single goal, that's on you. In a way, the two teams entertained the neutrals in Scharfwick far more than, say, Tumbra and Tanirinthia, who were content playing out a 0-0 in Webster the next day. Every match except that one at least had a goal to liven up the highlights. For us, that would be Laza curving in a 37th minute winner, taking advantage of the melee of yellow-red defenders and green-blue attackers taking away Dwayne Obama's view.

The usual Mertagnian occupants of the New Brazier Stadium happily lent their pyrotechnics to the World Cup organisers, who were glad to put them to use in the stadium's opening game. Looking at the list of games to be played, they probably would have raised an eyebrow when the topic of the first two teams came on - what's the use of the pyrotechnics if you can't use them, say, if no goals would be scored - but the organisers rolled out the equipment anyway, and from then on they waited for the first goal, finger on the button. The technician didn't really care for the goal when it happened, but was chuffed to finally press that big red button. A flammable substance shot up, a spark was applied, and fire lit up the evening sky.

Maybe the technician should have checked said sky before pressing said button.

A poor bird found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time, was hit by the flame, went down, convulsed a few times, then stopped moving. Most missed it, but some members of staff quickly ran over, cleaned up, pointed out to the referee that the singed spot on the field was no big deal, and the whole ordeal was over by the time the teams lined up for the kickoff.

After the match, the Ko-orenite officials were quick to say that the equipment should never have been used. "It's mankind forcing itself into another domain of nature. It's stupid and childish, not to mention irresponsible." Laza certainly wasn't happy that his goal had consequences. Manguele, however, famously Farf, didn't seem to mind. "Good show, not enough fire - these Mertagnians have an alright idea but the execution lacked." When his comments were contrasted with what other Ko-orenites said, he said that "that's just what they're like," and that "you don't have to like it, they pay well, and they go the length for a good result - what more could I want."

Lijsbet Casselaer, head of the Ko-orenite Institute for Animal Health, has asked for the Mertagnians to feature the remains of the bird in a Koroa City exposition on the destructive results of man-nature meetings.

by **Tumbra** » Sun Apr 21, 2024 1:35 pm

MATCHDAY Magazine — World Cup Box Scores
Tumbra 0-0 Tanirinthia

TMB (4-3-3): 12 - Richard Russell; 2 - Annie Renton, 4 - Stephen Kerr, 14 - Christine Whitfield (5 - Wendy Pritchett, 87'), 19 - James Green (3 - Tracey Mercurio, 80'); 6 - Trudy Harrison, 8 - Ian Robertson (24 - Stella Harrington, 80'), 10 - Susan Monaghan; 7 - Valerie Wells, 9 - Lynne Crossley (21 - Audrey Pearson, 72'); 26 - Julie Hardaker (22 - Edward Maddison, 72')

TMB scorers: Nil

Player of the Match: Susan Monaghan [TMB]
A DISAPPOINTING RETURN to the World Cup for Tumbra, said the press after a relatively languid 0-0 draw with Tanirinthia, raises questions over whether manager Michael Campbell is being too cautious in his attacking selections for the World Cup; or just overly conservative tactically. More questions have been raised over Campbell's apparent allergy to declaring Tumbra the favoured side in any matchup, which has begun to seem like a way to dodge responsibility after a bad result, like the one that ended love-all at the Nine Star Arena in Mertagne.

"There's not much to say," said Campbell after the match. "This team were obviously going to be quite the enigma for us; we know they were good — nobody scores six points against Farfadillis without being some form of good — we know they were going to be fluid; but without an established tactical style it was never going to be possible to forecast how they played." Though Tanirinthia were held down by Tumbra for most of the game, who scarcely let a shot past their mostly three-person defence, Tumbra's attacking profligacy cost them two valuable points on a day when debutants Indusse beat World Cup stalwarts The Holy Empire 5-1. Tumbra had plenty of chances — fourteen, which is exceptionally rare for a Tumbra game — but came away empty-handed. The closest chance Tumbra got to breaking the deadlock ended up being when Susan Monaghan's shot directly on goal on the hour mark was saved by goalkeeper Elmer Marshall; the Tanirinthian goalkeeper pulling off several heroic saves from close range to keep the Mighty Oaks' clean sheet intact.

Monaghan would end up being Tumbra's best player — the advanced midfielder fresh off her first season with Lakewood City dominating play and creating chances that just weren't finished — but she spoke of her visible disappointment after the game. "But it's no matter; we move on, and we move forward, no matter what happens," was the quote of the game from her. Disappointment was the theme of the game; winger Lynne Crossley put in a somewhat below-par performance, as did striker Julie Hardaker; both were taken off at the seventieth-minute mark, but by then the damage had been done. The two combined for eight of Tumbra's fourteen opportunities, but ended up with just one shot between the two of them on target; and questions were raised over why they were not substituted off earlier. Manager Michael Campbell defended his choice to substitute the duo off so late; saying that he'd seen "very good movements" from the duo and wanted to give them "a little more time." Still, he acknowledged his missteps; and took the share of the blame for not being so adventurous with his tactics.

Otherwise, the game passed without much controversy, or much incident — there have been reports of incidents occurring throughout the two host countries, with some of the more outlandish ones involving freezing Huayramarcan weather and a frozen-over pitch, and three separate incidents involving fires across both countries — if not for many fluffed lines on Tumbra's part. The Black Eagles will be fervently hoping those incidents do not affect them — somehow, strange incidents in football matches always pass them by — as they look to double down on their preparations for the other two matches; first against the Holy Empire, still reeling from a 5-1 loss against Indusse, and then Indusse themselves, on a high after their debut win after the Holy Empire. Elsewhere in the World Cup, defending World Cup champions Delte got their title defence off to possibly the best start possible, by beating Xanneria 6-2 in Nauta; while Audioslavia and Sylestone, two titans of the modern defensive game, unsurprisingly ground out a 0-0 draw in Lima.

Mertagne
Webster

And breathe.

"Three minutes till we're live, Robin," said the producer to Robin Vaughn, who was seated on a couch with two other people, with a third sat behind a desk. Robin flashed a nervous smile back at the producer; who responded with her thumbs-up and a reassuring smile. He didn't think that he'd actually be flown out to Mertagne to cover the World Cup when he signed his contract; he assumed that the Tumbran Broadcasting Corporation, which aired every single match involving Tumbra live on free-to-air TV, would just plonk the commentary team in a studio with green walls in Straton and let him talk.

And yet.

For Robin, now 38 and without a club after having left Lakewood City in the summer, he'd thought that this — appearing on these special editions of Gameweek, the TBC's flagship footballing show — was a good way to pass the time while he pondered whether to retire or keep on going in some far-flung foreign league. Go on TV, patter a bit about actually having been to the World Cup — the status of football punditry in Tumbra was, quite honestly, abjectly horrendous, with few actual footballers bothering to leap into the punditry game — and try to inject some actual football know-how into the coverage. Who knew, if he did this well, he could be invited back; and a post-football career was secured. City had reached out to the TBC for him — everything had been done in secret, and not a soul outside the TBC knew that he was doing this — and everything had gone remarkably smoothly. He needed to deliver now, though; his 197 caps and 69 goals had never felt more useful and yet more useless at the same time.

He looked into a camera, and smiled. Though it evidently gave something away.

"Nervous?" joked the man next to him. This was Ed Chadwick, who usually colour commentated on games. He'd had a short career in the lower leagues, before his knee gave up the ghost at the age of 29; he'd been commentating since then, and was now 54. "It's alright. Everyone gets a bit nervous before their first. Remember mine well myself, if I'm honest." Chadwick, sporting a pinstriped suit and, crucially, a bowtie, which he fiddled a bit with it as he smiled, looking a lot more relaxed than Vaughn. "You'll be fine, Robin. Give the programme a bit of well-needed oomph. You know?"

"Yeah," replied Robin, who himself was wearing something more casual himself. "Yeah..." He looked at a black notebook that he'd brought with him; filled with scribbled notes on Tumbra's three opponents. Well, it was originally going to just be Tumbra's opponents, but then he found himself expanding it to include information on every team in Mertagne's half. Then he added Delte, because they were the defending World Champions and they were going to come up in conversation at some point. Then Valanora, because they were world number one and were probably also going to come up in conversation at some point. Then Saint Eleanor, because they'd taken four points from Tumbra out of a possible six during the qualification, and were bound to...

"Prepared, I see," Melanie Wright smiled at him, as he flipped through his notebook again. The sports journalist, 40, had never touched a football when she'd been able to — this was back when women didn't exactly have opportunities to play football — and had thrown herself into journalism as a result. She'd broken two barriers — colour and sex — when she first appeared on TV as a football pundit, but had become an integral member of the team since, and a lot of girls had cited her as a reason why they'd gotten into the sport. "As Ed said, you'll be fine. Really! We're all glad to have you on board."

"One minute!" shouted the producer, as the main man of the show — ex-Readale Wanderers, West Couno United, and Kingsbury striker, Lewis Jennings, strode onto the set. He nodded meaningfully at Robin, before taking his place behind the desk, and put on a smile. Robin gazed at him as the 64 year-old seemingly flicked a switch and let out a blazing smile; he'd met Jennings before, and they got on reasonably well, but he was always extremely different off-camera than he was on-camera. He looked around at the rest of the set, noticing how everyone seemed so ready, except for him. He breathed a little harder, but perhaps it was too obvious; he'd caught the attention of Melanie, who smiled at him again; she managed to put him at ease, and he allowed himself to sink into the sofa that the three of them were sitting around.

Ed leaned in and muttered in Robin's ear.

"We'll be with you. Don't worry. If you flub, we'll come in and take care of it. Just treat this as a vacation."

A red light came on; the studio lights harshened dramatically. Robin felt himself begin to sweat — now he understood why the makeup artists had been so insistent that he let them do what they needed — as Ed began to speak; his casual received accent shining through and overpowering his classic Northern accent. Robin was somewhat gobsmacked at how easily he codeswitched.

"Good evening, everyone, and welcome to a very special edition of Gameweek; where we're bringing live coverage of the 96th edition of the World Cup directly to you, back home, in Tumbra, plus wherever else we here at the TBC broadcast to. I'm your host, Lewis Jennings, live from Webster, Mertagne; and I'm joined by my usual crew of Ed Chadwick —" the camera turned to Ed, and he gave a small wave to the camera — "and Melanie Warren." Now it was Melanie's turn; she put on a giant smile for the camera and waved.

"But tonight, ahead of the Tumbran game against Tanirinthia, we've got a special guest here in the studio. We've hinted at it for weeks leading up to tonight's programme, and we're now officially ready to announce the fourth member of our Gameweek team for the World Cup. Joining us tonight — and, we hope, for the next month — is former Tumbran national team captain and one-time Diamond Tornado winner, Robin Vaughn!"

Robin smiled at the camera, considerably less nervous than he had been previously. Now he understood. Ed continued. "Now, I figure that viewers at home might know a bit or two about the three of us, or even a little something about you. But why don't you run down everything with us from the top?"

"Well," Robin began, feeling much calmer now that he was truly in the thick of it. "Let's start at the beginning, then. One more time. My name is Robin Vaughn, and I'm a footballer..."

MATCHDAY Magazine World Cup Previews — The Holy Empire
The Holy Empire
Previous Appearances: 64 First/Latest Appearance: 1/95 Best Result: Champions (5x — 48, 60, 62, 69, 90)
Manager: Juan Tzimices Key Player: "Bojo the Clown"
vs Tumbra: MD2 @ Kurtz
THE SOLE CONSTANT ABOUT THE HOLY EMPIRE IN THE WORLD CUP is its ever-changing lineup; and this time their entrants to the World Cup ended up being...clowns. Not just any clowns, mind, but clowns with an added level of jingoism into their play. Initially thought to be outside favourites for the World Cup underneath the stewardship of long-time manager Juan Tzimices, however, the old adage that a week is a long time in football applies here; their World Cup finals campaign got off to the worst possible start when they were stopped in their tracks by debutants Indusse, who knocked five past them in Kurtz, the very stadium that Tumbra will be playing them in on the next matchday. A commonly-touted tidbit is that they are the only team to have taken part in the first-ever edition in the World Cup that is still here today; but that has almost become a cliched call-and-response whenever the Holy Empire is mentioned in passing conversation. This current team only holds spurious connections to whichever team participated in World Cup 1 — the finer details of which have been lost to the sands of time — but it still partakes under that same name, and so are indeed the same team. But unlike previous teams, however, of which the reception to them has ranged from fairly muted to befuddlement, this team seems to have dominated discourse in quite a different way.

That is, of course, thanks to the Imperial captain, a clown named "Bojo the Clown." There have been reports that confidence in team captain Bojo the Clown — whose signature trick seems to be serving tea to people in unorthodox manners a bid to distract them from other matters — has been shaken by this opening day loss, but Bojo, ever keen to avoid giving a straight answer to anything and has even tried his best to avoid the media, allegedly having squeezed himself into a clown car after a match to avoid media scrutiny, has continued to harp on about how the World Cup's ranking system is unfair and refuses to entertain the prospect of a confidence vote being taken in him. There have been rumours that people have begun comparing Bojo's remaining tenure at the head of the Holy Empire national team to that of a lifespan of a lettuce; but given that the Empire is one of the most secretive countries in the entire world, and little information about it reaches Tumbra, if ever, that could be mere speculation. His personality has been by far the most-discussed thing in the lead-up to the match; and while details on his life are apparently very flickery and almost hagiographic in nature, rumours around him have almost dominated the lead-up to the match. Some of the more lurid ones include: his apparent success with women (allegedly having 8 children), continued rumours that he could go into Holy Empire politics (if that even exists) after the World Cup on a platform of "Getting Hexit Done," that his favourite colour is actually blue, and that he likes to hold extremely lavish parties behind closed doors.

Rumours also persist that the current lineup of the Krazy Klown Kollege is not actually their strongest lineup they could've sent to represent the Holy Empire, and that this team was only finalised after a lot of the supposedly "reasonable" wing of the Krazy Klown Kollege had water squirted on their face, which is allegedly a sign of dismissal from the Kollege. But perhaps the greatest rumour of all is that Bojo is apparently able to make money appear out of nowhere, and that he has a sort of "magic money tree" which he uses to make this trick happen. None of these, of course, can be substantiated to a reasonable, publishable degree; all statements made here are all taken with a heavy degree of alleging.

Whether or not the Empire will be able to level up their game against Tumbra is the question that will dominate the football-minded before this game. Having lost their opening game against Indusse, they will no doubt be looking for revenge; but Tumbra, too, will be looking to shake off a languid first game against Tanirinthia to prove their own chops for the second round. Renowned around the world as one of the foremost (and, some would say, the original) proponents of hyper-offensive football, the Empire are likely to play in their usual 3-5-2 formation which they have brought to their last sixty-four appearances in the World Cup. The clown situation aside, the Empire are still exceptionally dangerous opponents; and team manager Michael Campbell, in regular fashion, has made that very clear. "I'm not really in the business of speculating whether the team from the Holy Empire will commit any silly antics, and I'm certainly not in the mood to entertain that. Their displays will only serve as a distraction from the very dangerous, very attacking brand of football they will try and play, and that's what I'm ultimately focused on. We, and indeed the rest of the nation, would do quite well to ignore them." How they can be ignored, however, is proving to be a rather difficult question; several have already confessed that Bojo has a sort of "raw, untethered, scruffy animal magnetism" that naturally draws them to him. "I could have a beer with him, I feel," said a randomly-selected pedestrian who was interviewed in the lead-up to the match. "I feel that he's a very friendly person; and if Tumbra don't progress from the group, I'm sure that he can get the Holy Empire's Hexit done. I feel he'd be a great guy to go have a long drive up to the Springdream Castle with, you know?"

For the Black Eagles' third-ever time being matched up against Tumbra — the Holy Empire edges ahead in the two teams' head-to-head record, with one win for them and one draw — Tumbra is expected to field a more defensive lineup against the Empire, even as criticism mounts over the way that Campbell manages the attack of his teams may unnecessarily stifle offensive movement. The key line of thought being that the Holy Empire's attacking prowess must be stopped, first and foremost, especially as they try to recover from their loss against Indusse. Clown or not, the Holy Empire are still the second seeds in Tumbra's World Cup group — and after a wasted first group stage match against a team with no manager, this is a win-or-die game. Win, and Tumbra put themselves back in control of their own future at this tournament; lose, and shades of both World Cups 92 and 94, the last two times where Tumbra crashed out in the group stages, will be upon them.
TUMBRA v THE HOLY EMPIRE, WORLD CUP 96 MATCHDAY 2 — STARTING XI (Full Roster)
Starters: 12 - Richard Russell; 2 - Annie Renton, 4 - Stephen Kerr, 5 - Wendy Pritchett, 3 - Tracey Mercurio; 6 - Trudy Harrison, 15 - Lucas McCormick, 16 - Victor Leighton; 7 - Valerie Wells, 21 - Audrey Pearson; 11 - Charlotte Henshaw
Bench: 1 - Victoria Jones, 13 - Mike Hahn; 18 - Hazel Kennedy, 14 - Christine Whitfield, 20 - Yvonne Lawson, 24 - Belinda Proudfoot, 19 - James Green; 23 - Heather Hindmarsh, 8 - Ian Robertson, 25 - Stella Harrington; 17 - Erin Robertson, 9 - Lynne Crossley; 22 - Edward Maddison, 26 - Julie Hardaker

by **Tanirinthia** » Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:04 pm

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

Halt!

The cry rang out behind her, freezing her in place like roots had shot out from her feet. Ahead of her she could see her potential path to freedom, a dingily and partially lit concrete corridor, should she just make a break for it and hope to lose the person behind her? She had no clue of the layout of the corridors and tunnels that round around the stadium, there was no way she wouldn't end up running into a dead end, or a locked door, or even just a room full of more guards.

Put your hands where I can see them!

She remembered in that moment she had seen guns on all of the security officers she had seen in the ground, even if she could outrun this officer, she couldn't outrun a bullet. Her heart sank as she slowly turned around, this was the end she thought, she had tried gotten close but she wouldn't ever see home again, she might not even see the outside again with the stories she had heard about outsiders getting arrested here. She turned around a her eyes met the officer, a fairly young man probably just finished training, his gun raised straight at her slightly shaking.

Get on your knees!

Tears started to stream down her face as she dropped to her knees, she didn't even notice the rising noise of the crowd start to build around her until it finally erupted, jolted from her state she looked up to see a swell of people running through the stadium and carrying this officer along as if caught in the flow of a great river. Who know what happened in the match, she guessed something bad as the people didn't look happy, but she wasn't going to question her luck as she turned around and bolted down that corridor as the lights flickered around her and see was soon careering through a labyrinth of corridors and tunnels. Giving herself over to chance, she led herself be led by a sense of intuition, well perhaps it felt more like she was being led, but she didn't question it, given the lack of dead ends or people with guns. At last she burst into a room with familiar words on the door; Tanirinthia. She was one step closer to home, her heart began to soar until it plummeted to the ground when she heard a voice call out.

Clara Bonner, I've been expecting you.

by **Zwangzug** » Sun Apr 21, 2024 5:19 pm

The Kerlagrad Courier

Zwangzug were defeated by HUElavia, 2-0, providing feelings of disappointment and mild ennui to many fans. According to experts, however, such emotions should be kept in their proper perspective, because it could be a lot worse, even comparing to actual football countries instead of the dystopian hellholes that are usually brought out for comparisons like this.

"Look, I was also slightly frustrated watching Inka Canchon make short work of Soumini Bano-Patil," admitted Evan Fleurman, Professor of Eminently Practical Life Advice at Scholl College. "But then I said to myself, you don't need to go to Bigtopia to find people who have it worse than you. Look at the Audioslavians having to totally revise how they progress through the space-time continuum. Teams like Delte who progress at such a rate that they can barely leave the country. All the tryhards who have to expend effort on telling you what year it is, for that matter. And the other places are no better!"

"I don't know which is worse, having your nation represented on the world stage by a bunch of knuckle-dragging troglodytes, or being so reflexively cringey and ashamed of them that you can't consider the possibility that a stopped clock might be right once a day," said Elise Carpenter. "Actually, I do know, but I'm not going to tell you. The point is, they're both a lot worse than Juniper McGovern's lackluster defense."

"You know what they always say, we should be glad that we're in the World Cup because there's a lot of tough competition in the Cup of Harmony," said Parvati Shivaji. "Which is true. But also, some of those Cup of Harmony teams also have tyrannical governments or notorious crime sprees or whatever. Just like the caliber of football is deep across the world, so is the caliber of infrastructure in countries that manage to be developed enough to host qualifying matches but still kind of bleak and dismal."

"Consistently making people feel guilty about situations they have no control over is a normal and productive thing to do," Fleurman underscored. "Which is why we think it's important to make sure everyone knows what's going on with the power outages in Græntfjall, or whatever the bleep is a normal Sunday in Farfadillis. In addition to the latest coups in Maxtopia, of course, but that's the kind of thing they should be keeping up with anyway."

Fortunately, Zwangzug have two more matches left in the group stage, so there should be plenty more opportunities for the fans to feel bad for getting worked up about two teams of eleven guys kicking a ball around.

by **Chromatika** » Sun Apr 21, 2024 8:56 pm

World Cup 96 Proper Matchday 1 Result
Chromatika 4-3 Quebec and Shingoryeo
Goals: Xuen-Zhukov 32', Kuznetsov 45+1', Fillar, B. 66', Howard-Dawes 81'
Starting XI: Fillar, J. (C); Coulibaly - Régine - Aimée; Fillar, G. - Larriet-Cortes - Fillar, B. - Fillar, E.; Kuznetsov; Xuen-Zhukov - Howard-Dawes.
Substitutes: Hauser -> Kuznetsov (52'), Jackson-Jones -> Régine (52'), Paterson -> Coulibaly (71'), Ju -> Larriet-Cortes (79'), Kruetzberg -> Fillar, G. (79')
Summary: A late cross from Haley Hauser, who had been subbed in for Kuznetsov in the second half, found Elaine Howard-Dawes seven minutes after Oberon M'bah-Pinho had equalized as the Anomalies scored the final goal of a seven-goal banger to defeat Quebec and Shingoryeo to open up their World Cup Proper campagin. It was M'bah-Pinho that opened the scoring in the fifteenth minute as Rebecca Anne Wawanolett, a name well-known in Chromatika, was very creative; the Anomalies would equalize as Edith Fillar curved in a corner for Xuen-Zhukov, and then take the lead right before half time on a free kick by Kuznetsov. Delisle, Bailliare Fillar, and then Oberon hit up the scoreboard - and then Haley, who had come in off the bench per Repin's instructions, made the one cross that would finalize it.

It was a classic game of boing back and forth - and the Anomalies triumphed at the end over their longtime friends - scoring more points than they did all of last World Cup Proper.

It's just the start, though.

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 2 Preview: Chromatika vs. Huayramarca @ Estadio Olímpico del Oriente, Sechura, Huayramarca

One of the hardest things to do is to face the host nation, especially if they've not had the best result to begin the campaign. Huayramarca tied against Juvencus to start things off - and they will be chomping at the bit to try to get back on the wins column. Win this game, and it'll all but secure the Anomalies' berth in the Round of Sixteen; lose or draw and leave things for the final Matchday, where they'll face Juvencus.

Huayramarca is another hyper-offensive team - almost everyone in this group are - but with a game against Quebec and Shingoryeo in which the team actually outscored one of the most offensive teams in the multiverse in the rearview mirror, they are ready to go. It'd help if the defense held up just a bit more, but they've shown they can win in a variety of different ways.

Part 1 - Overview
Part 2 - Agriculture/Apiculture
Part 3 - Housing Infrastructure
Part 4 - Ecology
Part 5 - Fishing/Aquaculture
Part 6 - Manufacturing
Part 7 - Financial Institutions

THE REBUILD
VIII: Education - The Tragedy

Over a million inhabitants of the eastern half of Myana Island were displaced during the Abyssal invasion and occupation. Included in everything that was lost were all the educational institutions in the area - with more than a hundred thousand students going through everything from preschool to the University system. An entire conference of the Chromatik High School Sports system was closed, along with all the affiliated middle schools; Eyrods Tech had to abandon their main campus and move to the satellite campus in Lhor to continue existing at all. The cost of all the equipment that was lost in the educational sector totaled in the hundreds of millions of NMS, but it was the fact that over a third of the population lost during this incursion was children that would end up being the biggest red mark in the books in the aftermath.

Academy of the Jungle, Egren Academy, Bouveil Historical School, Inon School for the Arts, Eyrods Central High School, and Limonte High School were the six major high schools shut down. Both Academy of the Jungle (based in Eyrods) and Egren Academy rank in the top ten of best high schools in Chromatika, with the Academy of the Jungle specializing in ecology and Egren Academy in physics. Bouveil Historical School is the second high school ever founded in Chromatika with an emphasis on Chromatik history - the only other one being Chromia School of History. Inon School for the Arts specialized in drama, theatre, and film. Eyrods Central High School was the biggest high school in the city, and a major hub of students trying to live out their dreams; Limonte High School served a similar purpose in a much less populated area, almost serving a more important purpose. They will all have to be rebuilt from scratch - once the cities are created once again.

At least those schools can say with certainty that there is a plan to have them all exist again, probably in or around the areas that they were previously. Eyrods, Limonte, Bouveil, Egren, and Inon are all to exist once again once the rebuilding is complete, as the Chromatik government, and more specifically the government of Myana Island, has decided that they are "historically important" enough to make it back on the map. For many other localities and schools that were part of those localities, this isn't a given; in fact, there is a lot to be decided still about the fate of many other smaller schools around the country in the days to come.

With so many students displaced, high schools around the country swelled in population to accommodate the students. Some others are in the process of being created, with three already having begun construction and a half dozen other ones in the planning stage. There are worries about overpopulation in some cities, while other towns are starting to look at what kinds of infrastructure is needed in the education front to suddenly support the increase in populace in the appropriate age.

Another aspect of the educational system that will need to be addressed once schools start appearing again in the eastern half of Myana Island is the problem of teachers. So many educators had to move and find jobs elsewhere; most of them have found jobs across the rest of the country or even abroad, while others have become substitute teachers or changed careers altogether. Though some may have lingering attachments or good memories of their previous workplaces, many others may deem it better to stay at where they are now. How the different schools will be able to retain the teachers that they've lost or recruit others to join them will be a major part of the saga going forward in the realm of providing education at a sustainable level in the schools to be formed; the idea that there will be no changes is childish and ultimately unattainable.

Ultimately, education is an area that is heavily governed by supply and demand. If there are enough families, there will be enough students; enough students, enough schools, with enough staff and teachers to run them. The driving force is the number of citizens in the appropriate age that will reside in the new eastern half of Myana Island. Without facing that aspect of the issue head on, there may be some cart before the horse scenarios that may smack policy makers in the face. However, they can't just play it safe - if the timing doesn't work, then there won't be enough supply to meet the demand, and that won't be good either.

It is a complex problem of timing, need, and infrastructure - and one that will absolutely need to be taken into account for the good of the communities going forward as the eastern half of Myana Island look to move on from the tragedy that has befallen them. How to address these issues, and how much should be taken care of organically or helped along by policies, will be interesting to see in the upcoming years.

by **Kelssek** » Sun Apr 21, 2024 9:03 pm

KSK 2-1 JOS / Heer orchestrates opening win

It was no vacation for Kelssek and they needed plenty of natural energy to find goals against a determined Josifovo defence playing in its first World Cup match. Winger Julius Heer’s incisive ball across the penalty area was the crucial move that unlocked the gates after 74 minutes, with Rory Joseph adding a second goal with a cannon from the edge of the penalty box. A lapse saw Kelssek concede an injury-time goal which will raise questions for the coaching staff although the win never did look like slipping from their grasp in the end.

Josifovo gave Kelssek a physical contest, something Kelssek manager Calen Reamsey said he thought crossed the line at times. “We knew they’re big strong players out there, and you’ve got to keep the ball on the ground and be ready to take the body today. But I thought there should have been about six yellow cards for them just in the first half, personally. Some of those fouls the fourth official was also surprised there wasn’t any cards for. So it was a test of discipline and our players did well to keep their heads, mostly.”

Indeed, Kelssek ended up with more bookings than Josifovo. One of those went to Rory Joseph, who was tempting fate at one point by squaring up to Zdravko Kuzmanovski after a particularly spirited tangle of legs with the Burnaby winger steaming down the flank.

As expected Kelssek enjoyed the bulk of the possession, but had to be wary of the counter-attacking threat. There was an early scare as Jenas Maraipu had to be sharp to save at point-blank range when Milorad Kuzmanović got a free header off a corner kick in the 28th minute. Terence de Landa fluffed his chance to put Kelssek ahead at 40 minutes after Thor Ibrahim Ahmad had played him into space, and a sense of frustration from the Kelssek team was detectable with the match scoreless at half time.

“Sure, the stadium’s carbon neutral, but you can’t just waste energy like that,” commented Cassie Myrthe on the NSN coverage, clearly anxious to shoehorn that one in.

Titan Pogbacar came on to replace Eamon Breault as Kelssek sought to match their opponents for physicality in the midfield, but it was play out wide which ended up producing the breakthrough. Nacuemiró Buené seemed to be going nowhere when the full-back threaded a pass through two defenders for Julius Heer, who immediately struck a low cross that was perfectly weighted for Lionel an Deòir. The Spartangrad striker had been anonymous and marked out of the game to this point, but this time he’d managed to get a half-second of separation from his defender and that was all an Deòir needed to place the ball in the bottom left corner of the goal.

Heer took the player of the match award and emphasized the need for persistence in the match. “We knew they’d be difficult to break down defensively. We needed to be a lot sharper moving the ball on the ground, and we got better at that as the match went on. Opponents like that, you have to keep going at them and wear them down and keep your own edge, that was the challenge today.”

It was another key pass from Heer which made the difference. Conceding the goal had put Josifovo on their heels, and Heer was finding it easier to get through on the left flank. One of those forays saw him pick out Rory Joseph with a 70-yard pass across the field that wrong-footed the entire defence. Joseph still had plenty to do however, and showed great skill to dribble past Zdravko Kuzmanovski and find the far post from a difficult angle.

Josifovo pulled a goal back in just the way pundits had expected, with Dukagjin Bajrami beating Ingrid Lambert in the air to head in a floated cross, taking advantage of some complacent play up front to break on the counter-attack. Kelssek were able to choke off any further forays in the six further minutes of stoppage time however, and greeted the final whistle with satisfaction they have pass their first test of this World Cup.

KELSSEK 2 – an Deòir (74’), Joseph (83’)
Maraipu, Buené, Lambert, Bream, Usher, dí Völará (Pépin 90’), Breault (Pogbacar 71’), Heer, Joseph (Licea 90’), an Deòir (Goh-Lemaire 81’), Ahmad
JOSIFOVO 1 – Bajrami (90+1’)
Estadio Marítimo, Puerto San Carlos (attendance 23,056)

by **Yue Zhou** » Sun Apr 21, 2024 10:40 pm

THE NANGANG STAR
"I''M NOT EMOTIONALLY READY"
ZHENYASSON ZHANG SENT HOME AHEAD OF PIVOTAL MD2
LI Xiaobo, SPORTS

BRETSAAR, MERTAGNE -- Talented attacking midfielder Brynjólfur Zhenyasson Zhang has reportedly left the Dragons camp in Mertagne among rumors that the Græntfjaller dual national has been deeply emotionally affected by recent events in his country of origin. "I was excited to return to the World Cup with my beloved Dragons. However, after mutual agreement with Elaine Ashdown and the YFA, I unfortunately must admit that I am not emotionally ready to represent my nation in Mertagne. I apologize to all of my teammates and the fans, who I know I am letting down, but feel that this is the decision that is the best for us as a team. Go Dragons!" the midfielder noted in a social media post this morning. Both Ashdown and YFA representative Lin Sihao were able to confirm that Zhenyasson Zhang had left the Dragons camp, but did not elaborate.

Although he moved back to Yuezhou at age seventeen to play in the Yue Super! League, and currently lives in Chromatika (where he plays for Red League club Crossroads), Zhenyasson Zhang was born and raised in Græntfjall. The midfielder is known for being especially close with his father, former Dragons midfielder Zhang Zhenya, whose status (along with the rest of Zhang's family) has yet to be confirmed amidst reports of rolling blackouts in the Pavolan country. Previous reports noted that the recent crisis in the close Yue ally has reportedly affected multiple Yue NT players who were either born in the Queendom or moved there at a young age. While Zhenyasson Zhang is likely to be one of them, it is unknown who else amongst Kara Mingsdottír Zhang, Jason Yuanjunsson Ren, and Esekíel Zeminsson Yao feels similarly.

The midfielder's decision has already elicited strong opinions from Yue social media. While many have praised the midfielder's bravery and openness about his mental health, others have taken a different path. Most notably, former President Liang Ziyou took to liaotian to decry the move, stating that "Our national teams should only be thinking about one country when they're at the World Cup, and that's the United Republics. This recent scandal shows how an overreliance on the rest of Rushmore will only weaken Yuezhou in our efforts to take our deserved place on the world stage." On the pitch, this update leaves the Dragons without a clear backup to star attacking midfielder Kara Mingsdottír Zhang. However, Ashdown was adamant that the Dragons would figure it out. "We've lost players before, whether in previous Cups or in the qualifiers, and we've always adapted. I have full confidence that somebody is going to step up - whether it's a new face like [Guan] Teying or [Zheng] Hong, or an established player taking on a new role. Brynjólfur is a great player, but we're not going to let his absence hurt us."

After an opening day win against Reçuecn that was defined by two doubles - a brace from Leona Tsang, and a prematch performance from electronic artists Glass Goblins inexplicably being played at double-speed - the Dragons will next take on Tikariot in a pivotal MD2 clash, with the winner making huge progress towards a Round of 16 advancement.

by **Zenic** » Sun Apr 21, 2024 11:08 pm

“Well damn, off to a better start than I ever had.”

Luke Killian was seated in his office at the FZF HQ in Manacus, just shocked at what he had just witnessed. The final whistle had just blown for the World Cup group stage match between Zenic and co-hosts Mertagne and the scoreline felt standard yet alien: 1-0. Geraldo and his staff had introduced their tactic last cycle and once they got rolling, that scoreline almost felt like the default result of any Survivors match. And yet, Luke had not really prepared himself to have that scoreline be in the Empire’s favor to kick off their return to the World Cup. No matter how much faith Luke put into Geraldo, there was always that tiny voice in the back of Luke’s head telling him to not get his hopes up.

Now, after just one game, Zenic was once again in second place of a World Cup group with a shot at qualifying to the knockout stages. Deja vu striking once again this cycle. Fortunately, this go-around, the Survivors have much more control over their destiny. A win against HUElavia? Zenic has the H2H tiebreaker against two out of the three nations in Group E regardless of what happens on the final matchday. If Zenic get their second win against Zwangzug? At a minimum, they knock out their direct opponents and potentially leapfrog the loser (should there be one) of the other matchup to finish runner up in the group. Any which way he did the math, this was an infinitesimally better position than in World Cup 73. Luke slowly began to shift from incredulous shock to hopeful optimism.

Next up, HUElavia coming off of a 2-0 win against Zwangzug. This matchup pitted the winners of Group 13 versus the runner ups of Group 12 in a “Qualifying Group Neighbor match”. Zenic would have a slight advantage, despite the current standings, thanks to the fact that they would be staying in Ostosaide while HUElavia would need to make the trek from Dannin across Dannmarsh for the match. If the last few tournaments have taught Luke anything, it was that you take any advantage you can get, no matter how big or small it may be. That was definitely a lesson learned the hard way from the pre-hiatus era and the FZF would make sure it always applied at every instance possible.

“Huh, I should get the admin team to check prices for flights to Anaia just in case. What is the admin team’s extension again?”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hooting and hollering from the visitors' locker room could be heard a long ways away as the players and staff of the Survivors celebrated their opening win in the 96th World Cup during their cooldown period.

“All right, all right. Time to get down to business,” Geraldo Zys boomed with a glow radiating from him. “That was a phenomenal effort all around. I loved a lot of what I saw, only a few things we could work on but we can work on that during training. For now, we party.”

Cheers erupted once again. “For this momentous moment in our history, I’ve decided to award a game ball to the top player for this match.” A buzz spread throughout the room as they anticipated who would get said game ball. “This is a player who doesn’t always get the limelight of the news outlets or media pundits. They don’t normally score goals or make big saves. However, they are one of the best in the world at setting the pace, winning the ball, and throwing the opponent off of their game. The fact that he did ALL of that in this game is nothing short of astounding. Which is why it is my honor to award this game ball to none other than the one and only HANK DEVOR.”

Zys handed the ball to Devor before the players and staff started amassing around him and celebrating the much deserved recognition. Zys and a few of the older staff stood back and watched the joyous ruckus. They knew that eventually they would have to start focusing on HUElavia, their matchday 2 opponent.

But for now, they were content with living in the moment.

by **United Mandaran States** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 12:33 am

Road to Unification

Part VIII : The Election Result - Part I, Parliament

The 2026 United Mandaran States parliament election was held between 7 and 8 April 2026 with the second round specifically held in Manguwirajya held between 28 April and 1 March 2026. Only 7 electoral districts in Manguwirajya proceed to held its second round election. It was the first parliamentary election held after the transformation of the intergovernmental organization, The Mandaran Council into a sovereign state, United Mandaran States. A total of 170 councilors were elected to represent more than 36 million people from 8 constituent states and 2 territories.

2026 United Mandaran States Parliament Election


State                       UMNA       ManDeSA       Green     MMG       RCM     Non-Aligned   Total
Cakranegara               6 (PNS)      8 (PKR)                1 (PG)               1 (IND)      20
                          4 (PRS)

Gili Anakan               7 (PAR)      7 (ADK)                                     6 (IND)      20

Manguwirajya              9 (PSM)      8 (PKR)      1 (PBR)                                     20
                                       2 (PDM)

Pemecutan                 6 (PJG)      4 (PKA)      1 (PPA)                                     20
                          6 (PPN)      2 (PGS)      1 (MJS)

Petang Islands           11 (PPJ)      2 (PBP)                                                  20
                                       7 (PRB)

Rarungan                  5 (PGN)      6 (PDR)      2 (PHR)    1 (MGR)             1 (IND)      20
                          1 (PPN)      4 (PPR)

Soracana Islands          5 (PMJ)      6 (PKM)                         2 (PBM)     3 (PJB)      20
                                       3 (Karia)                                   1 (IND)

Toluiwa                   7 (PTB)      5 (PDT)                                                  20
                          3 (PRS)
                          5 (PMD)

Gili Tangkong             2 (PPN)      2 (PKA)      1 (PPA)                                      5

Jading                    2 (PMJ)      2 (PKM)                                                   5
                                       1 (Karia)

TOTAL                    79           69            6          2         2        12           170

On 16 March 2026, The United Mandaran Nationalist Alliance (UMNA) led by Eko Mastaji won the most seats in the Mandaran Council despite not secure the majority in the Parliament. The political group won in 4 constituent states, Cakranegara, Pemecutan, Petang Islands and Toluiwa. Mastaji was favored to become the first Speaker of United Mandaran States. However, based on UMNA's internal convention, Partai Petang Jaya's leader, Made Puja Prabawa was nominated as the Speaker. The decision was made based on the party's performance who won the most seat for UMNA with 11 seats in Petang Islands. To secure the majority, UMNA needs 7 seats more. Eko Mastaji approached MMG and RCM leader to establish a grand coalition. He also met the leader of Parte Jangga Bahiu and some independents councilors. By the end of May 2026, Mastaji confirmed the grand coalition which consists of UMNA, MMG, RCM and Parte Jangga Bahiu with the support from 3 independent councilors. The grand coalition composed of 89 seats of the Mandaran Council which securing their majority in the parliament.

by **Recuecn** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 12:56 am

Les licornes poured out of the team bus and into their hotel in Bretsaar, babbling and chattering to each other like excited schoolboys on a field trip.

"It's insane!" Franky Adams, équipe nationale center forward, was saying to Emanuele Cutrona, the centerback. "They literally have artillery on top of the football stadiums!" He gestured skyward to emphasize his point.

"I saw that," breathed Emanuele in a tone of shock. "It doesn't look like a war-torn country, but you see those huge guns on top of the arena and it really drives it home, how recent the Bostopian Conflict was. It's terrifying."

"Yeah, it looks so safe, now," said Franky, glancing backward over his shoulder as he pushed his way inside through the hotel's revolving door, as if he expected to see soldiers carrying rifles in the street. "Hard to believe this was a warzone just a year ago."

"You nincompoops." The pair of chatterboxes turned to see Maynard Hebron, the team's right midfielder, standing behind them. "Those were not 'artillery' on top of the stadium. Those were cranes--like, for construction. They put them there because the place was a military logistics base during the conflict. Which means if they had an entire army base inside the stadium, I don't think this place ever saw any of the fighting--which ended two years ago, by the way."

"Nuh-uh," said Franky, holding up a finger in protest. "I read one of the tourism brochures on the bus. It said they had artillery on top of the stadium."

"You're thinking of Cop Limy Stadium," said Maynard. "It doesn't have artillery, it has one anti-aircraft gun on it. And that's all the way in Neorudo. Unless you're thinking of Dannin City Stadium, where they used to have artillery, during the war. They did use a lot of the sporting infrastructure here for the war effort, that's for sure. But Mertagne is hardly the war-torn wasteland you two seem to picture."

"Well that's good," said Franky, again with a glance outdoors. Was he waiting for a tank to roll past? "I still think it's crazy that the WCC voted to hold the World Cup here immediately after the war. I can hardly imagine the size of the bribes that must have changed hands."

"Oh, take off your tinfoil hat, Franky," said Emanuele, "now even I think you're going too far. Everyone knows they won the vote on the wave of international goodwill after the conflict."

Franky raised an eyebrow. "'International goodwill' can line a lot of WCC pockets," he said.

"Maybe don't say that while we're literally here, in the country," Maynard.

"Reçueçn isn't even a WCC member," said Franky. "We have no idea what goes on during those votes."

"Shhhhh!" Maynard and Emanuele shushed Franky simultaneously. Heads turned toward the trio, but the hotel lobby was almost entirely full of their other teammates. Helibert Wolf, who played right wing, and was standing just to one side, stepped into the circle.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked.

"Well, besides Franky's insane conspiracy theories, we were talking about those crazy machines on top of the stadium we saw earlier," said Emanuele.

Helibert lit up with excitement.

"Oh, the cranes!?"

Maynard turned toward Franky to say "I told you so", but at the mention of his "conspiracy theories," Franky had rolled his eyes and stepped away.

"I can't wait!" Helibert continued. "I don't know if you followed the leaks from before, but apparently they have this huge glass stage that they are going to lower onto the pitch before the game, using those cranes."

"A glass stage?" asked Emanuele, incredulously.

"Yes!" Helibert's energy was almost contagious. "It's for the Glass Goblins concert, so it's part of the theme."

"Glass Goblins?"

"Yeah, you haven't heard of them? They're a Mertagnian electronic music group; I'm a huge fan."

"I've never heard of them," said Maynard. "What kind of music do they play?"

"Mertagnian Electronic."

"That's the name of the genre? It's kind of a mouthful."

"Oh, it's super avant-garde stuff, it's incredible." Helibert was gushing. "After we finish warming up before the game, they'll use the cranes to lower the glass stage onto the pitch, and then they'll play a set. They've got a crazy light show, and a real futuristic sound with synths and electronic instruments, and the whole thing is played by these huge holographic goblins they project through the stage. And then afterward, they can lift the stage right off the pitch with the cranes, just seconds before kickoff."

"That sounds like kind of a lot," said Emanuele.

"Yeah, and I still can't get over the fact that the stage is made of glass. Are we sure it's not going to crash spectacularly?"

"Oh no," said Helibert. "They do these kind of crazy shows all the time, and there's always some sort of stunt. They have plenty of practice. I'm sure nothing will go wrong."

The conversation was interrupted by Ägidius Heissler, the team assistant manager, walking through the group and handing out keycards. He gave them out, two at a time, to the players, who were all going to be doubled up in the hotel rooms. "Emanuele, you and Franky are sharing a room, right?" Ägidius confirmed. "He already has your keycard." He continued walking among the players in the lobby, handing out the other keys. "Go upstairs and get unpacked, boys," he announced, "and then we'll rendez-vous at dinner."

Ägidius had already started leading the way to the elevator, and most of the players had followed him, but Maynard, Helibert, and Emanuele lagged behind. "We won't all fit in the first elevator anyway," said Emanuele.

At that moment, the group's attention was caught by a food courier pulling up just outside the hotel on a motorbike. He hopped off his bike and pushed his way through the revolving door, carrying a large paper tote bag in one hand. He looked at the three players, still standing in the lobby, and assumed they were waiting there for a food delivery. He stepped toward them.

"I have a delivery for room 216?"

Helibert began to stammer something about them just having arrived themselves and not having ordered anything, but Emanuele looked down at the keycard in his hand. The keycard was inside a small, paper sleeve, and on that was printed in large, sans serif font, "216".

"Good lord, that boy is fast," he muttered. "That's me," he said, a bit louder, and stepped forward to take the bag from the courier. "Delivery for Franky Adams, yes?"

The courier glanced at his phone. "Yes, that's right," he said, and with a nod, made his way back out into the street. They watched through the door as he drove off.

"He's already at it again?" asked Helibert, raising an eyebrow.

"Dinner's in half an hour," said Maynard, "I don't know what he's thinking."

The sound of a second motorcycle pulling up outside the hotel called their attention again as a second delivery driver dismounted and made his way into the lobby. He looked at Emanuele, already holding one quite large bag, and his two friends, both empty handed. "Franky Adams?" he asked.

"Yeah," sighed Emanuele.

"Here you go," said the driver, fishing another large bag out of the boxy delivery backpack he wore, and handing it to Emanuele. "Enjoy," he said, and with that, he was gone.

"What is he even ordering," asked Helibert.

"Who knows," said Emanuele. "Normally every time he visits a new country he has some dish he's so excited to try and he talks my ear off about it, but he hasn't mentioned anything. Maybe he got a food video in his feed, or there was something on the TV in the hotel room when he got up there--there's no saying with him."

"Well take a peek," said Maynard. "I'm curious too."

"How am I meant to do that," said Emanuele, "my hands are full. This shit is heavy, too."

A third motorcycle pulled up outside.

"You've got to be kidding," said Helibert.

"Oh, he's just getting started," said Emanuele.

Maynard nodded. "This is your first World Cup with the team, Helibert, but Franky always does this. He thinks it makes him some kind of celebrity to have local delicacies delivered to him."

"And also he just loves eating," added Emanuele.

The third food courier had come into the lobby by now, hold yet another large tote of food, bigger than either of the first two. He addressed himself to the receptionist at the desk. The Reçuecians could hear what he was saying.

"I have an order for uh... F. Adams? In room 216. Do I just leave that down here, or... ?"

"Oh, uh, that's my friend," Emanuele spoke up. "I can take it up to him." He tried awkwardly to flash the "216" written on his keycard from beneath the large parcel of food he was holding."

The delivery guy walked over to the trio and handed them what was now the third tote of food. Helibert took it from him, since Emanuele's hands were totally full by now.

"Thank you," he said.

"Thank you," said the courier, and he went on his way.

A buzzing noise came from somewhere behind the bags Emanuele was holding. "Maynard, could you fish my phone out of my pocket?" he asked.

"Here, let me just take this," said Maynard, taking one of the bags from Emanuele so he had a free hand. Emanuele pulled out his phone to check his notifications. It was a text from Franky.

"I ordered a few things," Franky had written. "If ur still down there, can u bring them when u come up?"

"Oh my goodness, this guy," said Emanuele. He glanced over at Maynard. The midfielder was holding the bag with his thumbs, and pulling the mouth open with his fingers to peer inside. Emanuele rolled his eyes.

"Wow, this is a lot of dumplings," said Maynard.

"Wait, really?" asked Helibert. He was looking into the bag he was holding as well. "It's all dumplings in here, too."

"I told you guys," said Emanuele. "He gets on one of these kicks and he goes way too hard on just one things. Has to try a version from every different restaurant."

"But dumplings?" asked Helibert. "Is this because we're going to play Yue Zhou?"

"He probably read some magazine article about Mertagnian dumplings," said Emanuele.

"This has got to be forty, maybe fifty, sixty dumplings between all three of these orders," said Maynard.

A car pulled up out front and a forth food courier got out. Emanuele groaned.

Maynard didn't bother waiting. He walked to the door to meet the courier. "For Adams?" he confirmed, and relieved the delivery man of his load--a fourth, large food order. Maynard glanced inside. "More dumplings!" he sang out.

Helibert laughed.

"My whole hotel room is going to smell like dumplings," Emanuele moaned.

"Friend, you are going to smell like dumplings," said Maynard.

"Better than Franky," said Helibert. "If he eats all of these, he's going to become one."

"Oh, whatever," said Emanuele. "Let's take these up to the room." He began to lead the way toward the elevator. "Surely he won't eat all of these? He'll be sick for a week."

"I thought you said he has lots of practice?" said Helibert. "I'm sure nothing will go wrong."

by **Alasdair I Frosticus** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 3:12 am

OOC: Happy to recognise and accept all of the RL UK political references in Tumbra's RP; I've used some of them below

HOLY EMPIRE HERALD

HUMILIATION!
Krazy Klowns Lead Empire to One of Team's Worst Results In World Cup History

By Anna Comneno

The Holy Empire was humiliated last night as the Krazy Klown Kollege led the five-time World Cup champions to a 5-1 loss against group bottom seeds Indusse at Origas Arena, Kurtz. While the Empire took an early fifth minute lead through a Doodles Von Honkerson direct free kick, two sendings off in the first thirty minutes led to a crushing defeat that leaves the imperial campaign almost certainly over before it's barely begun.

The first sending off saw imperial defender Stucco Stumble shown the red card after tripping Indusse forward Goblin Grundjee in the penalty area with his oversized shoes, conceding a penalty in the process. "They're perfectly normal-sized clown football boots" fumed Stumble after the match "and besides, with a name like 'Goblin Grundjee' I thought he was on our side. Sources close to the Krazy Klown Kollege later let it be known through unofficial sources that the World Cup Committee's insistence on enforcing regulations over the standard acceptable size of footballing boots was "WCC-bureaucracy gone mad". Another source said "only by leaving the World Cup and freeing the Holy Empire via Hexit can we be free to have the football boots that we choose to wear. Next this so-called committee will be telling us that we can't have elongated curved yellow banana boots, and our boots will need to be short and straight! It's a slippery slope!"

The second sending off, however, was the real catastrophe as team captain BoJo the Clown was shown red for firing a cream pie cannon at the Flocking Blues bench while laughing uproariously at what the captain tried to convince the referee was 'nothing more than a hilarious jape'. Between squeezing himself into a clown car and then driving it into a large fridge after the match, BoJo was unavailable for media interviews after the match, but midfielder Booboo Tumble was sent out to to the media rounds, claiming that the referee's decision to send off the captain was 'a ludicrous overreaction to some good-humoured banter' and that 'if the hosts didn't want us to use those cream pies in a way that comes naturally to clowns, why did they stock the stadium concession stands with them?'. Unfortunately, Mr Tumble was withdrawn from media duties after this newspaper reported that he had spent most of the previous day's training watching mundy tractor porn on a local device known as a 'mobile phone'. BoJo was then defended by goalkeeper Twinkle the Dunce, who was halfway through telling this reporter that the captain had 'nothing to apologise for' and that 'the World Cup Committee seems to be intent in sucking all of the fun out of the modern game' when it was revealed that BoJo had in fact issued an apology for his 'unacceptable behaviour in getting slightly carried away' following an emergency conference with manager Juan Tzimisces - leaving Twinkle the Dunce looking more than slightly foolish in the process.

Further scandal eventuated when it was discovered that the Krazy Klown Kollege had held what some are characterising as 'a riotous booze-filled party' involving 'suitcases full of alcohol' in their dressing room after the match, despite a previous statement from BoJo swearing that the team would not hold any celebrations or parties after a loss or draw, instead reserving celebrations for wins.

Late last night, senior Holy Empire Football Association officials were doing nothing to deny reports in a recent Tumbran MATCHDAY Magazine World Cup Preview that BoJo was potentially facing a confidence vote, and that exasperated HEFA leaders had begun comparing Bojo's remaining tenure at the head of the Holy Empire national team to that of a lifespan of a lettuce. Manager Juan Tzimisces meanwhile refused to comment, but notably refused to retract his ongoing comments appended to KKK media statements indicating his concern that anyone was listening to what some have characterised as 'the increasingly desperate ravings of misguided culture warriors attempting to distract from the consequences of the proposed Hexit'.

OOC2: As noted in the WCDT, I'm going on holiday today, and it's unlikely that I'll be able to issue any further RPs this WC; my apologies to the other teams in the group.

by **Flavovespia** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 5:11 am

Crpostran 0 - 1 Flavovespia

Heartbreak for Crpostran but relief for Flavovespia as a late goal saw Flavovespia take all 3 points in this game. It was a brilliant effort by the debutants, who’ll feel they deserved something from this game. Flavovespia though, will be relieved they took on a tough test, and got 3 points in the end.

It was a sea of sapphire on one side of the ground, and a sea of yellow in the other. The atmosphere was electric in Parque del Fiordo, as World Cup 96 kicked off for both sides. No flurry of early attacks however, Crpostran looked to keep cool and composed in their World Cup debut, Flavovespia looked to build up and take the game away from their opponents.

Flavovespia had a golden opportunity to score in the 19th minute, when Jonathan Bagshaw jinxed past Thomas Martin, and was then tripped by a late challenge in the box. Nothing too cynical, but enough to cause a foul and a penalty. Michael Cole stepped up, he went for power but the penalty was too central. The penalty was saved by the palms of the goalkeeper diving to his left, keeping it goalless.

That missed penalty was the chance of the first half. Jonathan Bagshaw was in great form, but Amrik Singh and Michael Cole seemed a step off the pace in attack. Crpostran had their number, reducing the number of chances considerably. Nathan Crewe in the Flavovespia goal was tested on a few occasions, including a nice save from a Dominic Dubois volley. At the break, it was goalless, a fair score given the game, with the debutants happy with that.

Flavovespia would’ve liked a better start to the second half, but it was Crpostran who looked more likely to score. A flurry of free kicks and corners found their way into the box, with Stuart Cookson and Paul Taylor battling hard to clear the danger. However, Crpostran couldn’t quite muster a clear cut chance, the half chances not enough to get the lead. It wasn’t all one way traffic, but Flavovespia were more than matched for a fair portion of the second half.

As the minutes ticked on, a sense that Crpostran may be burning out grew. Flavovespia brought on Anthony Lane and Peter Langdon, and the Loxthorpe Rovers duo were lively, giving the Flavovespia attack more energy. Crpostran were finding in defence their clearances were rushed, and Flavovespia had more of the possession. But yet it was still goalless, as full time approached.

In the 92nd minute, and with the last big attack, Flavovespia finally broke the deadlock. A run down the right saw Jonathan Bagshaw whip in a fairly early cross. Substitute Anthony Lane swung his boot through the ball. His shot was parried away but only into the path of the onrushing Bagshaw, following his cross into the box. At fairly close range, he slotted into the bottom corner, the desperate attempt by the defender in front of him to block the shot was to no avail. Crpostran were crushed by the late goal, but it was jubilation for the Flavovespians in the ground and back home.

Elsewhere in Group C, it was a higher scoring game, with Xanneria’s World Cup debut ending in a 2-6 loss to holders Delte, a match also noted for a bovine intrusion. Flavovespia take on Delte next, both sides have long unbeaten records to defend, and both know a win puts them on the brink of the knockout stages. It should be a thriller.

by **Sylestone** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 7:20 am

"DISLOYAL" SYLESTONEANS OPEN UP OVER WORLD CUP FARCE

LIMA, HUAYRAMARCA - Seventeen minutes into Sylestone’s World Cup opener in Huayramarca with neither side yet to register a shot at goal, let alone on target, the game was suddenly paused for half an hour as two ball delivery machines - one after the other - were hacked and had begun to aimlessly roam the pitch. Just as the first had been finally cleared from the field by officials, a second broke loose to mixed cheers and jeers from the crowd who while entertained by the shenanigans in the midst of a game that had a nil-all draw written all over it, just wanted the game to continue so that they could go home sooner rather than later. Hours later, the culprits - three young men from Avondale who had made the journey to Anaia for the 96th edition of the World Cup - were identified.

The apparent leader, 23-year-old computer science student Ethan Lansdowne, has revealed his true intentions. “I’m a football fan”, said Lansdowne. “I like to watch football. Not this crap we’ve been seeing. It was meant as a stunt, which perhaps we took too far, but I’ve really had enough.

“We, Sylestone, we don’t play football. Football is for the fans, and what’s the fun in watching a boring nil-nil draw? We intentionally waited it out for a while, hoping that we’d see our farce of a manager actually try to score some goals. And of course, it wasn’t going to happen. Of course it wasn’t!

“It’s just so mind numbingly boring, yeah? I don’t see how people enjoy it.”

Naturally, Lansdowne’s comments actively triggered the entire Sylestonean football fanbase into action, as many took to social media to condemn their actions and more so, their words. In a sea of hostility, thousands of people steadfastly threw their support behind their players and management, knowing the incredible job they have done in nurturing the country’s astonishing rise to football stardom. Although no actual punishments have been handed down yet by Huayramarcan officials, it’s pretty safe to say Lansdowne and his colleagues will struggle to fit into society over the coming months.

The game finished as a nil-all draw, both Sylestone and Audioslavia beginning their campaign with a single point without either side registering a shot on target while in the other Group B game, Kelssek rounded out 2-1 winners over upstarts Josifovo to mark themselves as a very real threat. Despite resilience from the Sentients’ fellow Esportivan outfit - a side of whom have improved plenty over the last few years on the back of an exceptional Campionato Esportiva campaign and their inaugural World Cup qualification - Sylestone are now in desperate need of the three points in a must win game for both teams. With sixth-ranked Kelssek on matchday three, anything less than the full three could be detrimental against Josifovo. The Sentients have done it before, just last year in the Campionato Esportiva group stage where they ground out a regulation 1-0 win, this Josifovo side are at another level.

This is the World Cup. Every team is good enough to take points off you. You’ve got to be at your absolute best, or else you will be incinerated.

It’s the dark truth, and it’s where many dreams are made or broken. Can Mojmir Anac rally his troops like he did two years ago on home soil and take that step closer to round of 16 qualification? And hopefully, without excessive delays thanks to silly little boys playing their silly little games.

Sylestone vs Audioslavia @ Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Lima, Huayramarca

Sylestone (4-4-1-1): Macleay; Wettenhall ( 11’) (Holt 65’) - Mornington - Blackall ( 84’) - Molineux; Ryland - Rodway (Gallagher 65’) - Lawson - Arnold (Jones 83’); Sarcav-Jones; Eastwood (Strathfield 83’)

Audioslavia (5-4-1): Hélder; Malcom - Bolding ( 52’) (Dunbar 71’) - Harkness - Tibère - Pelle; Trigintillion - Buvalelli - Coorie (van Staveren 71’) - Bruhn; Lúnquerque (Zuiderwijk 87’)

Sylestone 0-0 Audioslavia

Starting Lineup vs Josifovo @ Estadio Municipal de Pando, Pando, Huayramarca

Macleay; Wettenhall - Mornington - Blackall - Statton; Ryland - Gallagher - Lawson - Arnold; Sarcav-Jones; Eastwood

by **Vdara** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 7:49 am

Mountain At My Gates

Vdara would kickstart their fifth World Cup group stage at Huayramarca’s Estadio de la Revolućion which, despite the familiarity of being in Anaia, was anything but familiar. For starters, the pitch they'd be playing on was not grass, but astroturf - a playing surface so detested back home that it was banned from professional football entirely. If that wasn't bad enough, the stadium itself was several metres higher than they'd ever played on, just 100 metres shy of the highest point in Vdara, that being the top of Mount Ida. Just to top it all off, they were going to be playing the best team in the multiverse. All in all, average circumstances an average fixture. Deep inside the stadium, in one of the dressing rooms, Markos put on a brave face whilst doing his best to keep hidden the fact that he, much like the players themselves, was absolutely bricking it.

”Ladies and gents, boys and girls, personal computers, we’ve got some gig on our hands today - and I don’t mean The Screwdrivers*. It’s gonna be a battle of wits, a battle of skill, and arguably most importantly, a battle of V’s. Some of you will remember our last match against Valanora, where we were absolutely pumped silly. None of that matters now. Tear that page out of your mind’s history book, burn it to a crisp, scatter its ashes in the Mediterranean. Or the Bekk. Wherever you can, it doesn’t really fucking matter in the end, so long as you’re thinking of anything BUT that game. It does not deserve to be dignified by any of your brain cells or hard drives, nor does it even earn the pleasure of being spat on. We simply do not need to recall such a thing, not now, not ever. Positive vibes only, you hear? Po-si-ti-vi-ty.”

Markos emphatically clapped his hands at each syllable, like an overexcited primary school gym teacher.

”Now that your minds are all clear, let’s talk about our game plan. I’ve once again enlisted the help of our good pal Windows over here, who’s whirred up an absolutely faultless strategy if you asked me. Whenever you’re ready, Windy.”

Windows emitted a delightful little chorus of beeps as he opened the file marked ‘Super_duper_tactic_never_tried_before_v2_final_(FINAL).doc’.

”The man thinks we ought to target Ismail Blom - if he even plays - because despite their impeccable record thus far, he thinks he can see a weakness in him, mainly due to his age. I mean, a variety of scouts, analysts, and pundits have tried their absolute damndest to work out any cracks in the Vanorian armour, and the vast majority of them have failed, but who am I to doubt technology. Clearly, it sees something that we can’t - and I like that. It’s ballsy, and he doesn’t even have any balls. I like you, Windows.”

Windows beeped with glee.

”Anyways, if we’re going to execute such a tactic, we’re going to need someone physical to really take it to them. Lambros - you’ve been playing up front in Ko-oren, right? It’s unconventional, but that’s where you’ll be here. You’ll be responsible for muscling Blom round and round the pitch, winning headers consistently, and just giving him an absolute headache in general. Let him know you’re there - throw in the odd boot to the shin, or graze of the elbow. Rile him up, get him angry, get him DISTRACTED. He's just finding his feet in international football, but you’re going to make him hate your guts. Only problem is, the moment they change their tactic - even minutely - we will likely be in for a kicking. Hence, we might need to lull them into a false sense of security and make them think it's all hunky-dory. Something like that. How we do that, I'm honestly unsure - I don't want to say we should gift them a goal or anything, but don't press TOO hard in the first twenty minutes or so, let them gel into the game as much as us before we try kicking out at them. It's bold, it's brazen, and it's downright bone-headed, but it might just work.”

A couple of the players murmured as they discussed the strategy at hand. It did sound stupid, but so did 'sub on a computer against The Holy Empire' and 'continually start a 21-year old left back', and both of those had worked rather well. The players nodded, and continued to listen.

”I haven't even mentioned where we're playing, have I? God, this is going to be an absolute game of attrition. It's gonna be like playing on Mount Olympus. Actually, scratch that, it's gonna be like playing several hundred metres HIGHER than Mount Olympus. I'm not quite sure what we did to deserve this, but if any of yous think you might struggle to breathe... I'm not sure what to tell you. Deep breaths, conserve energy, try your best to stay in the game. If you can't, I'm more than happy to make subs, and I really wouldn't blame any of yous for wanting to come off. I wouldn't want to play out there, that's for sure! Oh, and the astro. The fuckin' astro. Remember those pishy wee pitches you'd play on when you were kids? Y'know, the ones where you'd give your knee a good scrape if you tried to slide on it? Well, we're playing on one of them. The ball's gonna bobble strangely, no doubt passing will be an absolute pain, and if you catch your studs in a weak point you'll be stretchered off. Absolute fucking calamity. But hey, this is the World Cup, these things can happen. It's better than the ploughed field we played on in the East Leaf Islands, I suppose."

By now, Markos' face had gone red - partially because he was raging, and partially because the altitude of this place didn't really suit his style of 'more rant, less breathe' team talks. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath of his own, regained his composure, and rounded off his rant with some good old motivation.

"Remember - it’s not about what we CAN do, it’s about what we WILL do. Ignore the rank disparity, ignore the history, ignore everything that isn’t the plan. You’ve all got a job to do, and you’re going to do it fuckin' well, you hear?”

Markos coughed a bit before he opened the door leading out to the players’ corridor and looked back towards his players, his face redder than a tomato, but with a glint in his eyes and belief in his voice.

”It’s showtime, motherfuckers.”

As the players strode onto the pitch, the reality of what awaited them began to dawn. Walking onto the astroturf was like tip-toeing onto a fake hotel garden, and they only had to look over to the other end to see someone centuries older than them staring back. One of the youngsters turned to a player with much more seniority, and posed the question: "Erm, Manousos? Are we fucked?" As it turned out, they were - but it would not be entirely their fault.

*The Screwdrivers of Eastern Vdara, or The Screwdrivers for short, are a band originally conceived in the mind of Starblaydia, with their totally hip and tubular catchphrase of “Are you ready to rock?” engrossing the hearts and minds of Vdarans up and down the country.

by **Valanora** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 8:38 am

"Why in the seven hells was that stadium even picked and much less allowed to host a fixture of this sort of magnitude and then they could not even ensure the quality of the field as well as the safety of the players. This is quite the disgrace that this has been allowed to occur and the hosting body as well as the WCC need to explain the how and why this was allowed to happen in the first place." Some drunk fan who was getting caught up in the minutia rather than appreciating the victory at The Emerald Dragon with the rest of the patrons made the owner of the place simply roll their eyes from their spot in the second floor loft. This was an older building, built well before the Empire was forged in the first place and before building with steel and plasteel was the commonplace, before the multiple territory expansions, and when the choice of weapon was still the spear or the longbow. The original owners lived in the second story those many years ago, now it was a loft where the owner as well as VIPs could have a bit of more intimate setting usually without listening to the loud ramblings of those who had had a few too many.

"You see them down there, they are the reason why so many people have issues with Vanorians abroad, a prime example of one of the two most common complaints about our people that I hear from those who do not reside within the Empire. Either we are too stoic and seem cold and uncaring about what happens in the world around us and to the people closest to us or we are far to egotistical and we want for perfection rather than merely enjoying good or even great. The question though, is how do you change the mindset and culture of a people or how do you change the perception of your people to those from the outside when said preconceptions and notions seem quite prevalent?" The owner asked his pair of guests, the trio enjoying a drink while waiting for their food after having like the rest of those in the crowded establishment had watched the football match between the Marauders and the team from Vdara. The game itself had quite a bit of excitement and tension, had a lot of people anxious and nervous that the side was going to drop points in their opening match, but a late goal from local lass Hadi Lundström from Raynor City United made sure the side did earn the victory.

"Such notions are best combatted with neglect and a lack of appearant change to your usual demeanor and interactions. Changing how one behaves, speaks, or acts in front of others because of said preconceptions usually does nothing to change the minds of those who already hold those opinions, as it is far more difficult to change peoples minds, especially in the last decade or so. Once a person has an idea of truth in their heads, that is what they will often believe and argue with you about until you are both blue in the face even if they are provided evidence to the contrary. It is an unusual trend where people do not wish to admit that they are wrong no matter how little or how much consequence is tied to their ideas or beliefs and changing their mind means that they have to admit that they were wrong. If they are then wrong about a strongly held belief about a group of people or a single person, they then might have to reevaluate other strong beliefs that they have and might even shatter their perception of the world. Far easier to simply deny that you might be wrong than to have to struggle with those sort of reality shifting retrospections."

It was the guest to the left who spoke, a professor from Raynor University who taught anthropology at the school. It was at the university where the two had actually met, the owner having originally been a pupil of the professor, though that was long over a decade ago and the course was an elective one rather than needed for the degree in business that they had been seeking during their time at school. "That is certainly an interesting take and if it is true professor, I can understand why it would be difficult to try and change people's opinions but how do you change the perception and other such things if that sort of opinion is so engrained into their beliefs and world view? Surely there is some way that this can be combatted or are we as a people simply doomed for all of time for those abroad to find us cold, aloof, and or elitist and egotistical? It would be an awful shame if that is the case."

Stirring their drink slightly as they pondered the question from the owner, the professor took a sip of their drink before answering the inquiry. "It is neither easy nor a guarantee to actually have the desired outcome, but you introduce the emotions or behaviors that they believe you lack and continue to do them, provided they are not detrimental to your own mental or physical well being, and keep doing so. Eventually if they recognize this, that opinion might begin to drift towards the preferred one or if they truly have disdain for you or whatever it is they dislike, they will simply find a new reason as to justify their dislike and disdain. You hope for the former but unfortunately the latter is far more commonplace, especially as I said in the last decade or so. For whatever reason, these days people seem to cling to what they believe in more than truth and have tried to even redefine what truth actually is. It is as a former professor of mine once told me with little hesitation, a person may be brilliant, kind, and compassionate but people as a whole are generally ignorant, cold, and selfish. The world is worth living though for the few of the former you have and the more you have in your life, the more merriment and richer you are, in my own humble opinion."

by **Eshialand** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 10:51 am

Special Cargo
Brookstation 3-0 Eshialand

"Alrighty, here ya are, Keers, Mertagne..." the sea captain told the team as he docked his ship at the city's port.
"Finally, that journey felt like it took forever..." Jake Harran said with a sigh of relief, "and the smell in there was--"
"What did I tell ya about not asking about the smell?"
"Sorry sir-- I mean Captain."

As the team got off the ship, they were greeted by some unfriendly faces: Mertagnian customs officers.

"Hm, this is pretty interesting... an Eshian-flagged vessel? We've never had those show up on our shores..." The captain started to sweat bullets as one of the two officials began to ask him some questions. "I presume all of you have your passports?" the officer continued.
"Yes yes yes, of course..." the captain said nervously.
"Alright, well my partner will go check them out while I ask a few more questions about your ship.
"Oh, questions, of course! I'm sure there won't be any issues..."

Kenny and the team walked to the nearby customs office with the other customs officer as the captain led the first one onto the ship.

"So you only brought the team over here, nothing else I should know about?"
"No sir, just the team!"
"Well that's interesting, because I smell something a little... off. Mind if I check where that's coming from?"
"Oh, I don't know what you could be smelling..." the captain said, fully realizing his goose was probably cooked.

The captain kept on following the smell to an interestingly loose floorboard on the deck. "What could this be under here..." he mumbled as he lifted it up to find... nothing. "Huh, I could've sworn I smelled--"
"Nope, nothing here! So I hope I'll be allowed passage--"
"Not quite yet, I've got a couple more questions... so this ship is Eshian-flagged, right? I would assume that you came here from Eshialand then?"
"Eshialand City, of course, where else would I have picked up the soccer team after all?"
"And you didn't stop in any other countries along the way?"
"Nope, no stops! Well okay there was that one stop in Lahaira but like Aleirave is still as Eshian as Eshialand gets so no, no international stops."
"Uh huh, a stop in Lahaira, and what sort of business brought you there?"
"Just a resupply on a long trip, you know how it is on these long interregional boat journeys..."
"And you're sure it had nothing to do with the source of the smell?"
"No no no of course not..."

The officer began writing something down in his notepad as he told the captain "well, even if it did, it's not really my problem anymore... I'll send this over to Eshian authorities to make sure nothing suspicious was going on..."

"Uh, well..." the captain tried to say, his nerves jangling like Christmas bells... before he realized something. "Actually, can you even contact Eshian authorities? They've been in a pretty bad power outage for the past week now, they wouldn't have any way to receive a call..."

"Oh, I'm sure there's some way to get the word out..." the officer replied. "Anyway, we'll make sure your ship stays right here until everything's sorted. Until then, feel free to explore the city, and don't leave because we will know."
"Will do, sir. Have a lovely day!"
"You as well..."

As the captain nervously walked away from the docks, he noticed Kenny and the Owls running towards the stadium... clearly, they didn't have too much time to get there. It was a good thing there was that power outage back in Eshialand, otherwise they might've been stuck at the docks for hours while the customs officers called home...

by **Juvencus** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 12:25 pm

Welcome to Huayramarca, a diverse land full of people with different temperament and mentality. Writing about it might remind you of Juvencus, they even speak a bunch of languages, just like the homeland, one of which sounds almost identical to Sudjuven. The Juven team was entering its 4th World Cup and for the first time ever, they would bear witness to the opening game of all opening games. One that would surely leave its mark as one of the most fiery encounters la squadra has had with any squad on the pitch as well off of it.

The preparation before the game had been intense but not as intense as Gaetan would have liked, with not much time between the match against Sarzonia in Mertagne and the travel to Huayramarca. The team had strong chemistry between itself, but as always in this cycle, something was lacking. Whether some finishes were not there, whether a defensive structure was breakable or at times, the altitude was messing up with the players' stamina and heads. It was a scary situation to be in, but as the saying goes "In order to be the best,you have to beat the best."

The opening ceremony is not to be described, since there is more at hand for this matchup. The teams started off by shaking their hands as is customary. Juvencus had possession of the ball and entered the game looking for blood. A quick turn around by Conte and a swift through-ball to Ganymede Garcia saw the latter one on one against Juan Mamani. Garcia confidently chipped the ball over the Huayramarquino goalkeeper with the ball sweetly entering the net and the first goal of the Juven World Cup Campaign being scored. Extreme celebrations followed, the perfect start was achieved. The Juven side of the stands lit up its flares, red and golden smoke, the works and the chants flowed in instantly to support their team, the Huayramarquinos on the other did not seem to budge one bit for their team, sending boos to the Juven team's way alongside obscenities.

"Your fans are a bit mad, eh cabron?" said Ganymede Garcia to Orlando Mina, it startled the Huayramarceño midfielder at first but the latter used his superior height to intimidate Garcia, but he wouldn't feel it one bit.

"I'm in a good mood puto, you'll regret those words you just said."

"Oohhh, I'm so scared of you big guy. Bring it on."

As soon as Garcia and Mina were about to shove each other, the referee saw them and stopped them both before they escaled the situation, proceeding to give them a warning and to return to their positions so the game will start again and finally shape up. But with such a dramatic start, it is impossible not to guess the happenings of the game as it unfolded.

Both teams were playing a high-tempo kind of football, that is a fact they are known for. The hosts were not afraid to move the ball around with risky plays and strategies, even if the communication was not always there. Fulbo had a sort of beauty of its own and the way it squared up against the Pomenienze gave the game the type of flow that would be enjoyable to the neutral eye. Fulbo saw harsh Huayramarquinos using their bodies to try and overpower their Juven counterparts, the Pomenienze saw technical football that earnt la squadra a lot of fouls from early on.

Paolo Manco would see a chance to carry the ball forward and using his speed would make the one-two with Orlando Mina, the latter would pass it to Ian Mamani and Mamani would waste no time sending the ball to the top left side of the net, rendering Juan Carlos Ungaro unable to react. This time, Los Cóndores would have the mental upper hand as Mina would signal to Garcia to be quiet.

"Are you already tired, Ganymede? Is the altitude tiring you?"

Ganymede Garcia and Carlo Callejon would gang up onto Mina, obscenities would be exchanged. Callejon would be yellow carded for allegedly saying a slur to Mina, owing to his darker skin complexion. The entire teams' benches would try to split up the players, many of which were yellow carded themselves as they were contributing to a fiery ordeal. The first half surely got the action it was anticipating to have, maybe even more than it should have had.

Now the half-time itself was interesting, there was to be an elaborate folklore dancing session. It was going smoothly, the dancer was meant to play with fire on a torch in a traditional Huayramarquino way. Then suddenly, the dancer approached one of a goals, what was meant to be a spectacle of skill suddenly changed into a fear of a general fire as the net caught on fire. At first the people were in awe, then feared for the game's continuation but thankfully the fire was extinguished quickly enough.

With that out of the way, the teams entered the pitch ready to provide the -now shocked- crowd for yet another 45 minutes. The players' tense nature had not really receded and if anything, it was meant to get worse.

Garcia and Mina were staring at each other from their positions, their rivalry was unmatched in the game, both being important for their teams, though their temperaments would soon change.

"Te tengo en la mira cabron" said Garcia, his eyes glued onto Mina, who in turn was frustrated at the AC Pomena winger.

"Conchetumare maldito. See you on the pitch soon."

With both leaders fuming, the game would start off with both teams aiming to aggressively steal possesion of the ball and go for any attacks that would be possible. This would be taken advantadge of intially by the Huayramarquino team, as a Bryan Tello shot would be stopped right on the line thanks to Ungaro's cat-like reflexes. On the corner kick that followed, Callejon would be marking Mina.

"Mira me, puto." would whisper Mina to a grimacing Callejon. The corner kick was well-weighed and the ball entered the box in a sweet curve, Orlando Mina and Callejon would both jump high up in the end, much higher than everyone else. The former would manage to nail the ball in the back of the net, going through Ungaro's fingertips and turning the tides around. Huayramarca was now in front and la squadra desperately needed to avoid defeat now.

"I told you, fly back to your country. You're exhausted already hijo de puta."

"Watch your mouth, I ain't afraid to say what I said before to you once more. I don't care." Callejon would say without skipping a heartbeat. A fight was avoided after Aboubakar Sidibe, who came in Quaranta's place before the corner would hold Carlo.

"Hey hey Carlo, Carlo. Stop, enough. We need to play and we need you more than anyone else. Screw them."

And now, in typical Squadra fashion the team would push forward. A lot of one-two passes would be played, and the Huayramarquinos would be unable to stop them. Audiol came close to scoring, but his shot was deflected by Juan Mamani, who was in top form during the game.

Before the corner kick that ensued, the Juven fanbase was begging for a goal.

"PLEASE SQUADRA SCORE A GOAL. SCORE A GOAL. SCORE A GOOOOOOAL."

Sidibe would swiftly kick it in and Ceferino Audiol would finish the business. A thunderous roar of jeers and boos followed as the Serrapince striker would signal everyone to keep quiet in a calma celebration. The match was even now, at the 65th minute but something would eat the energy of the players from both teams. Now the fans of both sides would take the lead in the fights that had started from the pitch.

Juven and Huayramarquino fans would exchange obscene chants for one another, often with racist content. Fan fights would result in over 30 people being injured as the police wouldn't be able to stop everyone. The teams themselves seemed to be feeding off of the fan behavior, but their defences had tightened up now and nobody would be able to play the game the way it is meant to be played. By pushing the fuck forward.

Juvencus would be so close to getting its first World Cup proper victory, as Ceferino Audiol would shoot a rocket that would hit the Huayramarquino crossbar, much to the awe and sadness of the Juven fans present. He made sure to grab his hair at such a miss, proclaiming his frustation with a loud "CAZZO!"

The match would finish with a 2-2 scoreline as fans would maintain their violence outside the pitch, making it difficult for both teams to leave and damaging their busses severely. Gli attaccanti and Los Cóndores players would refuse to give a handshake, Gaetan and Blâás Âgínsôgnó would not though, showing a touch of class in such a crisis-stricken opening for the World Cup. Or so one would think, until the press conference.

"Embarassing display by the hosts tonight. You expect teams from all over the multiverse to feel welcome in this country? Do not get me wrong, there is quality in Huayramarca's team but where is the class in your players or fans now? I saw everything that unfolded with my very eyes. I'm disappointed and I'm expecting you to improve upon yourselves. As for our performance, I believe the team played we-"

A Huayramarquino reporter would not take it any longer, deciding to pour beer onto the Juven coach and flipping him off. Gaetan would shrug it all with a laugh.

"Is that all you have? To hell with it. Our team played well, our opponents had read our playstyle well however and such a performance won't repeat itself. We will get through even if we have to fight tooth and nail. Muchisimas gracias."

by **Farfadillis** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 12:29 pm

A Dénes Robineau nunca jamás le molestó estar bajo la lupa, constantemente siendo analizado y sobreanalizado por sus condiciones futbolísticas. Desde un principio se propuso que iba a llegar lo más lejos posible, y en ningún momento dudó de sí mismo en el proceso. Ahora, con veintisiete años, en el mejor momento de su carrera, las luces más encandilantes que nunca… la diferencia era muy poca para él. Ahora tenía algún truco bajo la manga, algunas picardías que le habían enseñado algunas eminencia del deporte con las que llegó a compartir vestuario. Conceptos sencillos, que en cualquier calle de Farfadillis te los podrían enseñar, usualmente, pero conceptos que igual está bueno internalizar.

Un primer partido de mundial no es poca cosa. Es fácil entrar dormido, pero marca el tono para el resto de la campaña. Jugalo mal, perdelo por algún detalle, y de la nada podés ser el mejor equipo del mundo que igual seguramente, en breves, te quedás afuera.

Lo importante, entonces, es dejar una marca. Y que sea lo antes posible. Como el mejor jugador en cancha (en su mente, por lo menos), Dénes sabía que tenía que imponer él su huella sobre el partido lo antes posible. Muy literalmente.

Cuatro minutos de partido, ambos equipos especulando, Dénes desobedece instrucciones y baja a presionar a mediocampo mientras Tikariot tiene la pelota. Säfqvist se la pasa a la única persona que Dénes conoce personalmente del otro equipo: Þorgríma Vigdis Ástþórsdóttir. A toda velocidad, fingiendo buscar una intercepción, Robineau va en su dirección y le clava los tapones en el tobillo izquierdo mientras esta gira para cubrir la pelota de él, inocentemente pensando que la pelota era el objetivo del jugador de Szoirsia.

Þorgríma Vigdis queda en el piso agarrándose el tobillo. Dénes tiende una mano pidiendo perdón. Es un acto deshonesto, lógicamente, pero van cuatro minutos de partido y mostrando buena disposición es muy difícil que el juez lo mande al vestuario. “La primera siempre fuerte, a lo sumo te sacan amarilla,” le habían dicho más de una vez. Era la primera en que lo ponía a prueba.

Amarilla. El VAR analiza y desestima expulsarlo. Si fuera el minuto ochenta no habría duda alguna. Dio una patada para roja, pero tuvo el cuidado de que no fuera una roja inapelable. Zafa, puede seguir jugando.

Dénes sabe que su compañera de equipo no se va a ir de la cancha salvo que el tobillo realmente no le dé para más. Se la llevan para afuera; al minuto vuelve a entrar, cojeando. Dénes agarra a Lêyêló, se tapa la boca para hablarle y le dice claro y conciso “el tobillo izquierdo se lo hice pelota, tenelo en cuenta al presionarla”.

Dicho y hecho. A los dicienueve minutos de partido Þorgríma Vigdis recibe un pase especulativo, muy corto y comprometedor, y el takilente ve la oportunidad de generar una contra demoledora. Va al tranque con toda. Su físico imponente y su velocidad desmedida suponen un problema importante para una jugadora que está jugando con un tobillo lastimado. Lêyêló gana el tranque; el pase había ido hacia el pie izquierdo de su oponente, por lo que no había forma de que no se llevara la pelota.

Mira hacia adelante y ve a sus oponentes completamente desordenados. Dénes preparado para picar en diagonal. Mete el pase y corre a toda velocidad hacia el área. Dénes controla tranquilamente, se dirige hacia el golero y, calmadamente, le hace un amague. Con el golero descolocado y Jáánsêlà habiendo ya logrado alcanzarlo, pasa la pelota a un costado y el takilante fulmina un arco vacío. Uno a cero y Þorgríma Vigdi ahora cojea más notoriamente. Ambos sienten un poco de lástima, pero en un partido de mundial uno tiene que estar dispuesto a vender a su abuela por un córner.

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Todo puntero tiene que ser atrevido. Al menos todo puntero que quiera realmente jugar de puntero y no de ninguna pelotudez moderna como falso ocho defensivo invertido o lo que sea que se ande inventando en el momento. Valën Pídí puede que sea inconsistente (¡casi le cuesta a Farfadillis una racha hemicentenaria de clasificación a mundiales!) pero nunca, nunca al terminar un partido se puede decir que no fue un atrevido. Constantemente busca comerle la espalda al que sea que le toque la ignominia de marcarlo. Pero a veces se muestra, agarra la pelota, y trata de eludir. Una vez. Dos veces. Tres veces. Seis veces. Y eventualmente te pasa, y eventualmente eso puede ser un problema grave por el que tu equipo te haga reclamos.

En definitiva, para enfrentarte en un mano a mano a Valën Pídí, no solo precisás buen posicionamiento y velocidad (¡es una bala!), si no que también fortaleza mental. Va a tratar de pasar mil veces y las mil veces tenés que estar al cien para evitar problemas.

Si está teniendo un buena día, no es alocado decir que ningún jugador del mundo puede evitar que genere peligro una o dos veces en el partido. Es cuestión de suerte. James Wintersham no tuvo nada de suerte en el primer partido del mundial.

Una finta, dos fintas, tres fintas. Piques cortos, largos. Pídí constantemente recibiendo la pelota en situaciones peligrosas y el jugador de Tikariot teniendo que hacer lo mejor posible por seguirle el ritmo. Para peor, con el mediocampo de Farfadillis imponiéndose físicamente, sobre todo con Lêyêló Jáánsêlà dominando el mano a mano contra Þorgríma Vigdis Ástþórsdóttir, a Pídí le llegaba mucho la pelota. Enganchaba para el medio y metía un pase en profundidad, metía un cambio de frente inesperado, le trataba de tirar un caño… no había límites a lo que podía intentar un atrevido como él.

Fue probablemente el jugador del partido, llevándose dos asistencias. La primera llegó en el minuto treinta. Jáánsêlà se lleva la pelota en el medio, pega un par de sus características zancadas para ganar metros, Pídí amaga una corrida por la espalda de Wintersham, y Jáánsêlà correctamente lee sus intenciones y le envía un pase unos metros hacía atrás. Pídí inmediatamente retrocede y recibe la pelota habiendo ganado distancia con respecto a su marcador.

En el mano a mano primero finge que va a intentar ganarle en velocidad por banda, pero rápidamente engancha a la izquierda, donde hay un vacío por estar en transición, y donde puede asociarse con Lêyêló. Wintersham lo sigue correctamente, con un instante de atraso. Pídí amaga un pase a Lêyêló. Acto seguido, pisa la pelota hacia atrás y la asoma de vuelta a la banda. En el proceso, Wintersham queda completamente descolocado, al haberse arriesgado buscando interceptar un pase que Pídí nunca efectuó. Ahora Pídí tiene una separación horizontal, y es más rápido. Wintersham es rápido, no se cansa… pero Pídí simplemente es más rápido, y sigue siendo el primer tiempo.

Avanzando con velocidad y control exquisitos (porque justo resulta que es uno de esos días en que Pídí decide jugar bien), se adentra al área a causar estragos. Es mucho más fácil, resulta, causar estragos en el área si hay alguien como Dénes Robineau para terminar la jugada que empezaste. Pase atrás, en dirección el punto penal. Dénes lo predice, llega antes que su marcado, le da de primera y la cuelga del ángulo. Dos a cero.

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Para Tihomir Misita esto de estar representando a la Vherderoja se seguía sintiendo surrealista. Sobre todo ahora, en un mundial. Había pisado Farfadillis, temerariamente, dos veces en su vida, visitando familia, antes de recibir su primer convocatoria. Inclusive había jugado para Kelssek en los juegos olímpicos. En mucho sentidos le pasaba como a jugadores como Nacuémiró Buené o Êsêkïl dí Völárá: se sentía más oriundo de Kelssek que de Farfadillis.

Pero cuando le llegó la oferta de representar a otra selección algo le despertó. No era un tema de disparidad entre las dos selecciones: ambas eran de alto calibre. Y se tenía confianza. Sabía que si rechazaba la convocatoria de Farfadillis, llegaría la de Kelssek. De hecho, el simple hecho de ser convocado por Farfadillis seguro lo pondría en el radar para la selección del país en el que vivió casi toda su vida.

Sin embargo, cada vez que se miraba a un espejo, había una parte de él que veía un Farf. Desde chico. Siempre se había sentido un poco distinto. Nunca se había integrado mucho a las comunidades Farf en Langlois. Pero siempre se había sentido distinto. Adquiría idiomas más rápido, su tono de piel era distinto, inclusive su personalidad, por cómo lo habían criado sus padres, chocaba frecuentemente con las expectativas culturales en Kelssek.

Jugar para Farfadillis podía ayudarlo a resolver un poco esa espina. No era una crisis de identidad, pero había algo que no terminaba de entender de sí mismo, y esto podía ser una buena forma de corregir eso. Además, jugar para una selección como la de Farfadillis conllevaba prestigio.

Integrarse al equipo le tomó cierto tiempo. Jugar para Farfadillis le hizo darse cuenta que no era un Farf disfrazado de Kelssekian, ni un Kelssekian disfrazado de Farf: vivía en un punto intermedio que pocos otros compartían. No terminaba de ser una cosa, ni la otra. Casi se sentía apátrida.

Pero había un lugar en donde se entendía bien con sus compañeros: la cancha. Si hay una cosa que siempre había entendido a la perfección era jugar a la pelotita. Para Tihomir, la vida era lo que pasaba mientras uno jugaba a la pelota.

Entonces, cuando sobre el final del primer tiempo, vio a Pídí enganchando para el medio, a pesar de estar jugando más retrasado, le resultó instintivo a dónde correr. Pídí buscó el pase largo a Sürréo, pero lo vio muy marcado. Con Tihomir metiéndose al área de sorpresa, y con Robineau arrastrando marcas con el magnetismo que implica su presencia sobre las defensas contrarias, Pídí tuvo que pensar poco para meter un pase entre líneas que dejó a Tihomir solo frente a la golera.

Su padre había sido futbolista amateur en Induja. Uno muy bueno, o eso decía él. No le había podido enseñar nada muy específico, dado que Tihomir terminó siendo mediocampista con un estirpe un tanto defensivo. Sin embargo, había un consejo que le había quedado grabado a fuego, quizás porque resultaba curioso, contraintuitivo: cuando se te encima el golero para un tiro a quemarropa, tirala suave y por abajo, porque le va a pasar por los caños.

Dicho y hecho. La golera se extendió lo más posible para evitar el gol, pero esto implicaba dejar un agujero por debajo suyo. Al no poder recurrir a los reflejos, era solo una cuestión de patear por abajo, y por abajo la pelota pasó. Tres a cero.

Un gol mundialista. Representando a Farfadillis. Lo único que se le pasaba por la cabeza es que su padre, en Langlois, de seguro lo estaba viendo por la tele de algún bar, jactándose de que él fue el que le enseñó a definir así.

Se seguía sintiendo todo muy surrealista.

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Þorgríma Vigdis Ástþórsdóttir cedió a la razón en el etnretiempo y fue sustituida. El esfuerzo sobrehumano que estaba haciendo simplemente no podía rendir frutos: la cínica patada que le había encajado su compañero de cuadro le había pasado factura.

Con su reemplazo Tikariot logró tomar control del partido, en parte también porque Yuan Zilai ordenó sacar el pie del acelerador, no fuera que buscando un innecesario cuarto, quinto gol, terminaran encajando seis o siete… lo cual sería alocado para las de más selecciones, pero Farfadillis tenía su historial.

El segundo tiempo terminó, como consecuencia, siendo bastante plácido. Aburrido. Tikariot tuvo más chances, debió meter uno, si no dos, goles, pero la victoria terminó siendo merecida. Los titulares internacionales, claro, estarían dominados por la salvaje falta de Robineau, y quizás también por el triunfo de Farfadillis. Pero lo cierto es que la Vherderoja había arrancado firme. Un tres a cero que marcaba intenciones muy distintas a las que habían mostrado en las eliminatorias.

Yuan Zilai estaba contento con eso. Tuskoles Yagaras, para su sorpresa, todavía más.

by **Huayramarca** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 1:08 pm

OOC: Image made by AI and edited by me. RP was made, originally, 90% Spanish and 10% English, that's why I translated it. There's a spoiler with the original text below.

Having the eyes of a big chunk of the Multiverse isn’t an easy task, being in an inaugural match of the World Cup implies that and more psychological loads that are hard to cope in the mind of players, but hey, that’s what being a “high-performance” player in any sport means. It also can be a mood boost, for those who love having the pressure and spotlight to perform even better than they are used to do; these are the two types of players in this kind of matches.

First time that Huayramarca was at the inaugural match in a World Cup, but not the first time dealing with hosts or ruining their parties, people can go back to the World Cup 90 and ask the few Vilitans existing after the Armageddon that hit their nation some years ago. The extra ingredient of the party was being the host of the party, a new sensation running in the mind of the players: “We can’t allow ourselves to cede to the pressure of the surroundings” said Bryan Tello while motivating his teammates prior the match, then he continued saying “We are living a scenario that anybody has dreamt of in a point of their lives, playing at a full stadium in a World Cup in your home soil. Family, friends, neighbours, everybody being there to support you in this instance… Do not dare to even think on disappoint them! Stand up and be capable to perform as is expected!”

It was interesting that the match was against Juvencus, a team that has worked out a lot to be where they are now, with an aggressive identity of football when it comes to attacking, but also for playing the game in the psychological way. Rowdy is the key word to describe the Juvens, the Condors were aware of this and they have prepared themselves to avoid being in skirmishes unless it is really needed, Blâás Âgínsôgnó continued with the talk and said “We need to stand as one. We are brothers, we are here to defend our home soil, we are going to a war against Juvencus, there’s no tomorrow here… We either kill their morale or they kill ours, which pill do you want to swallow? If you want to win, stand as one and fight them, fight with dignity and make them learn what Huayramarca is!”

The team walked to the pitch, nerves were racking up but watching the familiar faces of friends, parents, neighbours and all the sea of red and white shirts was reassuring, for sure. As soon as they walked, the fans in the stands of the Estadio Nacional threw confetti and a series of fire extinguishers were activated, hiding for a while the Eastern Tribune completely, the fans lighted up pyro and a tifo choreography was started with a gigantic banner of five boxers, all wearing red, white or blue, with the names of each of the five regions that compose Huayramarca: Sierra, Coast, Jungle, Isles, South, all of this as a manner of symbolising unity and also the desire to fight, as one, for a dream.

The scenes were out of this world, people completely ecstatic as both teams were fielding for protocol and photos prior the beginning of it. Fans crying, taking photos, screaming wildly were the most common findings in the stands, and that was only the beginning… After a brief pause during the Juven anthem, which a significant part of the stands booed profusely, then the time for the Huayramarcan National Anthem came and people started to scream, cry and even faint due to the feelings of the moment, the atmosphere was incredible for the moment, the players knew it and they also felt that while singing. It was like that, 36 million souls united for 90 minutes to support the National Team, but in a special day of inauguration of the World Cup.

And so began Huayramarca's adventure at the opening of World Cup 96. Ian Mamani began by haranguing his team: "Let's get fire in our veins! Let's start with long passes, no detours! As Ian Mamani envisioned in his mind, Huayramarca gained the initial possession in the match, and so he decided to hatch his plan to throw a long, diagonal pass diagonally to Gabriel Sayritupac. The skilful right midfielder controlled the ball and decided to dribble past Carlos Coste, but slipped and gave away a counter-attack for Juvencus, Ponce continued with the ball and filtered for Ganímede García, who controlled the ball against the unmarked Kevin Quispe, slotting the ball past Juan Mamani to silence the Estadio Nacional with just 12 seconds left in the match... It was not the start that even the most pessimistic Huayramarca citizen would have had in his mind.

Juvencus would take possession of the ball with the clear intention of further dampening Huayramarca's spirits, dampening the pace of the game with passes between Ponce and Conte, attempts by Oliveira and Quaranta to get depth into the game, but Aidar Armendariz and Paolo Manco would stop those attempts with anticipation or sweeps. The frustration was noticeable in the opposition players, Quaranta began to provoke Armendariz with gestures, but the left-back responded by laughing and ignoring him. As the minutes progressed, Orlando Mina would take a leading role, as his play-destroying duties meant that Ponce and Conte could not work at ease; and so notable was this that, in the 17th minute, Mina abruptly stopped Conte with a sweep and prevented Ponce from taking the ball by diving on her, something which caused annoyance from both, hurling expletives at each other... Orlando Mina replies "Take more vitamin and try again." As he walks away from the scene.

While this was going on, Huayramarca regained the intensity of the attack, as Mina had set up conditions conducive to possession. Around the 19th minute, Abraham Mendoza came into the box and passed to Bryan Tello, who failed to turn the ball on target. That hint was a warning to the, at the time, fragile Juvencus defence "Either you plug the gaps or a deluge of goals will come." Gabriel Sayritupac, who at the time was being as incisive as usual, was darting down the wing to attack, but was fouled by Carlos Coste, who didn't mince words in reprimanding the attacking midfielder "Get up and stop faking, you fucking highlander." Sayritupac, laughing, replied "Be careful and run more than you should, you can run out of oxygen and die."

With the provocation done, the foul was flagged and Sayritupac launched a cross into the box, where Orlando Mina and Bryan Tello were on hand, but it was Abraham Mendoza who received the ball and shot at Juan Carlos Ungaro's goal, he denied, but Orlando Mina swept in and sank the ball into the goal to put Huayramarca back in the match with the tie at one. Due to pre-goal tensions, both Mina and Sayritupac had a moment of venting and provoked Ponce, Coste and Conte with obscene signs, Sayritupac asked medical assistance for "an oxygen tank" for Coste, because "the night would be upon him for the rest of the match". Mina, on the other hand, laughed at Ponce and called her a "midget" (Consider that Mina is almost 2 meters tall though) to which Ponce hurled very serious insults against Mina's identity, which provoked a huge brawl between the two sides, resulting in multiple yellow cards for each team.

Orlando Mina was almost sent off after threatening to punch Ungaro as he tried to calm the waters. This situation undoubtedly conditioned the game too much in Juvencus' favour, as Huayramarca childishly succumbed to their opponents' provocation and were left with the desire to go all out and cause as much damage as possible to their opponents, neglecting key aspects such as defence. The mood of the fans was also strong, as numerous fans threw beer cans at Gael Gaetan, who requested assistance from the refereeing staff and the pitch delegate to ask for calm from the crowd; the Huayramarca players asked for calm, but to no avail, as the tension moved to constant whistling and booing whenever Ponce or Conte took the ball.

The game, since Los Cóndores' equaliser, was too rough and it was reflected in Juvencus' attacking attempts, as whenever Ceferino Audiol or Ganímede García tried to advance into the box, an imposing Kevin Quispe would appear to cut the play off with over-zealous sweeps, which included taunts or celebrations in the faces of their opponents, leading to constant brawls every 10 minutes. A match that was too hot to contemplate and, looking ahead, did not seem to settle down at any point in the game. Gilberto Soares had the first promising action for Juvencus, with a shot over Juan Mamani's crossbar, this through a dribble against Armendariz, managing to get into the box, but pulling before the mark of Kevin Quispe.

And, just before the end of the game, a shot straight at the post was all that separated Huayramarca from a 2-1 lead that could have changed everything, as Ian Mamani found a gap in midfield, which gave him enough time for a mid-range shot that hit the right post, and Bryan Tello failed to take the rebound for another chance to score. Despite all this, Huayramarca looked in good shape as the team tried to fight back to take the lead, but the pressure from their opponents and their way of looking to foul the game proved desperate for the players, to which Blâás Âgínsôgnó called for "get the opposition out of our heads before it's too late. We can't afford to have our morale beaten just like that." With those considerations, Huayramarca entered in more relaxed conditions for the second half, and without making changes due to the dominance shown during the match.

Unfortunately, we won't always get what we want, and this match was further evidence of the saying that "early goals breed overconfidence" Juvencus suffered this time through the genius of Gabriel Sayritupac, who got the better of Carlos Coste with a self-pass before firing the ball into the centre of the six-yard box; this was another day in the office for Bryan Tello, a day when he decides to jump decisively over Carlo Callejon and push the ball straight at goal with a powerful header into the top left-hand corner of the net.

Tello closes his eyes on the header, falls to the ground and hears the roar of the fans, at which point he didn't quite process that he had scored what was, perhaps, a mere anecdote to Juvencus' early goal ... It only took 12 seconds to send Juvencus into a state of total ecstasy, but Tello snapped it away with his header. Tello got up and began celebrating with his trademark aeroplane, also known as "Tello Airlines," a symbol of his innate talent for the aerial game. Abraham Mendoza jumped on his back for the celebration, Ian Mamani and the rest of his teammates joined in and knocked Tello to the turf in celebration.

As the fireworks echoed around, lighting up a cold winter night in Chuquiago, Blâás Âgínsôgnó did his usual thing, celebrating wildly and motivating his players to keep on scoring more. We have to extend the lead" he pressed, as the team returned to their positions. Juvencus, on the other hand, was noticeably surprised to have lost a rather strong symbolic lead, Gael Gaetan was visibly irritated and demanded answers from his players, even if defence is something Juvencus is seen to be lacking.

One of the most mentioned sayings, and we are already commenting on Huayramarca's football sayings, is "The rival is killed, not forgiven" and this is not said in vain, there are reasons and this match gives more validity to that argument. Huayramarca had another chance in the 57th minute, through Mendoza, who entered the area and gave a pass back to Ian Mamani, the captain controlled the ball, but shot too high, missing another chance to score the third goal for Los Condores. In the face of the significant miss, Juvencus continued to do their thing in midfield, with the aim of getting the equaliser, through the emergence of a so far rather discreet figure in the shape of Chimo Quaranta. Quaranta came close to the area in the 62nd minute, had a shot that went just past the left post of Mamani's goal.

Quaranta was the balance Juvencus needed, appearing at just the right moment to provide the missing depth for an attack that is normally quite lethal. In the 65th minute, Quaranta stole the ball from Marcelo Huanca, who decided to make a fancy move that failed, Quaranta took the ball and counter-attacked through the middle, passing to Ponce, who passed the ball to Audiol who shot and Ian Mamani was beaten... 2-2, the party was over and the stands became as cold as the atmosphere in the city of Chuquiago: fog, sleet, -3°C temperature.

With the psychological impact of this, Huayramarca did not manage to cause any more danger, as they let their opponents take on more spirit, allowing themselves to be intimidated by the insults and provocative signs of the Juvencus players, who spared no opportunity to insult and make monkey signals to Orlando Mina, who again threw himself at the players, but was stopped by Ian Mamani, as the team ran the risk of being sent off and having one player less. A very tight game needed no further complications, especially if Huayramarca were in need of a good World Cup debut, considering the absence of the World Cup in its last edition or the embarrassing participation of two years ago where we did not score points.

The match continued with pressure as Huayramarca tried everything they could, either through medium or long range shots, but Juvencus were looking to do the same through speedy forays into the box. Orlando Mina continued to cause havoc in the Juvencus half, either by psychological pressure or by the efficient work in which he nullified them.

In any case, the match ended in a bittersweet 2-2 draw, which in itself is enough to be better than Huayramarca's last World Cup appearance. For the next match, which will be played in Sechura, Los Cóndores will play a vital game against a neighbour of the region, Chromatika, in which they will have to show their best in what will undoubtedly be a difficult and high voltage match.

by **Brookstation** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 1:57 pm

Just two years ago, Brookstation was playing in their second world cup and if there is one memory which particularly stands out among the plethora of brilliant performances delivered by the team throughout the tournament, it has to be the win against Ko-oren in the Round of 16. One cannot discuss the game of football without mentioning Ko-oren, the World Cup winning nations who have revolutionized the game by introducing an entirely eccentric, unique style of defensive game. Ko-oren is a team, strictly known for their defensive brilliance and they say it is impossible to break through it and even if all of it might have sounded stupid, Brookstation had tasted the bitter taste of defeat after their first encounter with Ko-oren. Following that horrendous performance however, Brookstation would be back to face their familiar rivals, only this time in the World Cup. It was a match which demanded a win and even one minor slip-up could cost either of the teams a spot in the next stage. It was a great match, perhaps one of the most competitive matches in the nation's whole history and it was captain Robes' famous goal which had propelled the team to the next stage.

But now, circumstances have changed. It is funny to observe just how fast time flies by. The very hero Leon Robes, who had been a part of the squad ever since Brookstation's international debut and the very figure who had led the country to their first two World Cup qualifications, is no more a part of the squad. Robes might be back to haunt Ko-oren again, but this time not as a captain, but as a mere member of the audience.

But the good thing about this everlasting passage of time is the concept of change and this change can be very well reflected on the Brookstation football team. This year, the nation prepared a completely new squad for the World Cup, comprising of young, inexperienced players but the one thing which remained common between both the renditions of the team was the burning desire to achieve. It was definitely a risk but it is safe to say that the risk paid off. Brookstation had a brilliant start to the qualifiers, winning all six of their opening games with relative ease. The second half might have been quite a turmoil for the team but a handful of losses at the cost of experimenting with new strategies and formations was a risk Liangde He was willing to take. The disastrous second half of the qualification stage might have painted a false image in front of everyone but the beauty of He's brilliance lies in its deceptive nature.

As a team, Brookstation seemed to be sore, recovering from the numerous disaapointments throughout the qualifying stages but on the inside He had managed to conjure up the right spell in the right manner. Moving into the World Cup, no one had any expectations from Brookstation and if there was a poll to predict the World Cup winner, Brookstation would probably end at rock bottom but He could care less about other's perception. When He walked in through the gateways of the Box2Box Arena, he was calm and composed. This could very well be his last competition as manager, owing to his age. It was his last chance to truly achieve something in his life but these were thoughts for later. At that moment, He was concerned about nothing else but the game.

Eshialands were old rivals of Brookstation, the only two teams who had managed to thrive from their Baptism of Fire batch and thus it was obvious that there should exist a bitter-sweet relation between the two countries. Eshialand was the cause of one of Brookstation's biggest heartbreak back in the 85th edition of the Cup of Harmony, after knocking them out in penalties. Brookstation was back for revenge and this time, they went rogue. In as early as the 7th minute, Brookstation had dealt their first blow to Eshialand off a brilliant counter attack instigated by Butler in the defense. Robinson's pace was unmatched by any other Eshialand defender and after singlehandedly dashing his way past the Eshialand defense, he hammered the ball towards the near post and Robinson's partner Wague would find him at the perfect time and shoot the ball home from point blank range.

The stadium went silent, not because the goal was decently impressive but rather because of the coldness the entire team had displayed since the beginning. Liangde He didn't celebrate at all but stood calmly, observing the game as it continued. It was clearly implied that Brookstation was here to do their job and go back home and nothing else could matter to them. While the game itself was delayed by a detailed interview of the Eshialand squad who apparently arrived to Mertagne by boat and other bizarre events like the freezing of a pitch during the game or a pitch invasion by a Huayramarcan redneck surrounded the World Cup, Liangde He just wished such a circumstance didn't await Brookstation.

In the midst of this rogue nature however, Brookstation had seemed to entirely disregard the merits of Eshialand and this very pinch of overconfidence could be felt clearly when Brookstation stopped losing their control on the game. Slowly but steadily, Eshialand had been able to get a good hang of Brookstation's playing style and after the 30th minute, Brookstation managed only one more shot at goal before half time. On the other hand, in the period of those fifteen minutes, Eshialand had won themselves 3 corners. These fifteen minutes would change the rest of the game; the minutes were long enough to make He aware of his mistakes. He knew that his plan was not working. It was not another qualifier game, it was a World Cup game and he just couldn't let his eccentricity take over.

After half-time, Brookstation returned, this time in form. It was very obvious that the half time did have an impact on the team. A number of substutions were made in the period, most notably the inclusion of youngster Oakley Gamble to the playing eleven who managed to score his second ever goal for the national team, that too in a World Cup. Johnson had chipped a beautiful cross over to the youngster and the strong 6'3 striker held off the defense to find the bottom-left corner. This was exactly the impact He was looking for.

Eshialand on the other hand was also good enough and had it not been for their resilience towards the Brook team, the scoreline could've been much different. Every new tactic of Brookstation was quickly intercepted by the Owls and even He praised their football intelligence at the post match conference. Nevertheless, after a number of failed attempts at goal, Brookstation finally gained a good opportuinity after winning a free kick from pretty close range. Jacobus burst down the left alley and crossed the ball high. The ball was expected to reach Blackburn but he left it for Butterfield instead. Butterfield took full advantage of the deception and headed the ball powerfully into the right corner. It was the 84th minute and He knew that his job was done for the day.

However, He was very well aware that the main thorn still lay in his path, his very haters- Ko oren. He had done it once but will he be able to do it again ? Or would Ko-oren take their due revenge on the nation which haunted them ? This was definitely the question of the moment.

by **Tikariot** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 3:38 pm

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. Also, the logo of the Order of the Midnight Court was generated by Midjourney, it is merely included for added entertainment, not to gain any additional RP bonus.

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 9 of the Tikariot Files; I am your host Christoffer Akerbrandt. After our last episode on the Avanaroch Card Killer and the revelation about ties to the Order of the Midnight Court, we received a lot of messages and notifications about our viewers wanting to know more about this mysterious order, so we listened and did some more digging into the dark past of Tikariot and what we found was both captivating and murky.

The first mention of the Order we could find dates back to the year 1460 in a tome about "orders that promote the evil within man to cause harm," but depending on the theory you are looking at, some date them back to ancient civilizations that have long been lost to the mists of time, while others mark them down as having originated around 1460. What all of them have in common, however, is that they are said to have wielded power and influence from the shadows and were rumoured to have been formed by ranks of nobility and an occult elite who saw a synergy they could both benefit from.

Most historians also agree that the Order of the Midnight Court was tied to mysticism and ritualistic practices, whether it was to unlock hidden mysteries of the universe or access forbidden knowledge to reach ultimate enlightenment. Some, however, suggest that the Order pursued darker ambitions, trying to manipulate events to shape history to suit their own ends, with little regard for any nobler goals.

The Order is rumoured to practice arcane rituals to channel supernatural forces and commune with otherworldly entities to advance whatever their agenda was, and going with the annals of the centuries to follow, the Order managed to rise to formidable power and influence, leaving death and devastation in their wake.

While some attribute these rituals and power to their ascent, others view them as assassins and criminals operating in the shadows, keeping their cover through corruption and a reign of fear for those in their vicinity.

The membership of the Order of the Midnight Court itself has been shrouded in mystery, with nobody ever even able to estimate how large the Order was at any given time. Some rumours say it was ruled by members of influential noble families and occult leaders, others opine that they were drawing from all walks of life. Whatever their background was or is, everybody agrees that a code of silence and loyalty binds all members of the Order, their allegiance to the organization absolute and unwavering, with the prospect of a long and painful death if anybody tried to break ranks. The fact that nobody ever was officially revealed to have been a part of the Order is a sign that either their methods worked or that their network was so vast that anybody was under surveillance one way or another so they could be eliminated before uttering a sound.

Throughout the centuries, the Order of the Midnight Court has left its mark on history, its presence felt in the shadows of kingdoms and empires. Tales of their influence are plenty, from whispered rumours of royal assassinations to savage murdering sprees and inhumane rituals requiring the sacrifice of men and women alike. Yet, for all their power and influence, the true extent of the Order's reach remains a closely guarded secret, known only to those initiated into its ranks.

The Order had been quiet for decades, with many believing it had dispersed and died away. However, in recent years, this enigmatic presence has slowly crept back into the minds of those familiar with secret societies and history. Their ancient logo appeared in various parts of Tikariot, giving a sense of foreboding, especially with reports of mysterious disappearances and deaths resembling old MOs. From the remote villages of Tikariot to the busy streets of Avanaroch, it looked as if the long shadow of the Order of the Midnight Court was returning.

This became all but confirmed in their most recent chapter, as its eerie connection to the Avanaroch Card Killer became all but confirmed. As investigators dug deeper into the killer's clues, they found arcane symbolism that once was a hallmark of the Order of the Midnight Court, hinting at a sinister connection to centuries of mystery and terror.

To this day, the Order of the Midnight Court remains one of our time's greatest enigmas, with its true nature and purpose shrouded in mystery and speculation. However, the fact that it seems to have endured for so long and now seems poised to increase its presence once more intrigues historians and is a source of worry and terror for law enforcement and the general public.

by **Saint Eleanor** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 3:59 pm

OOC: I am absolutely sure that all of you want to read Lara's Cobrio-Osarius-Mriin-Flavovespia travel superjournal. (Or, indeed, the final account of her one-and-a-half-day escape to Yesopalitha.) Unfortunately, the Anti-Margaret has deigned to assign me an epic holiday of my own. In the past 48 hours, I have spent sixteen doing holiday things, sixteen fast asleep, fourteen doing various other things and just two writing this roleplay, which - as you can tell - is nowhere near enough time for me to do my storyline justice in any appreciable portion.

Alas, you therefore have to put up with the musings of Stephen, Bridget, that one newspaper for the roughly 1,000 people in Saint Eleanor who actually speak ~~French~~ Azertienne (Bridget being one of them, although she doesn't normally read it...), Gentle Breeze, and the other newspaper that mostly serves residents of the Dockside Cluster. I can assure* you that I will have sufficient time to continue Lara Torridge's Grand Tour of Anaia in time for MD3.

Also, EQS normally OOCly preclears the Group of Six reports that Gentle Breeze ICly writes. I have had to publish it without this happening first - both because I'm short on time and he's busy until after cutoff. If he requests any changes, they will be logged in this space.

Group of Six meeting (XVII) --- Tumbra 2-3 SAINT ELEANOR
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Sam Newbridge [ballot]
Location: somewhere in EXT

Busy; will do this later. TL;DR is that Saint Eleanor will stick with the 4-5-1 they played against Tumbra, with Hollenberg in place of Nicholls.

Group of Six meeting (XVIII) --- SAINT ELEANOR 1-1 Auprussia
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Tina Falconer [ballot]
Location: somewhere in HUA

Busy; will do this later. TL;DR is that Saint Eleanor will return to their conventional 4-2-3-1, albeit with Hart as striker and Felaraneta as playmaker.

Le Citoyen
Group D preview: Does Saint Eleanor have what it takes to survive challenging group?

Saint Eleanor: this is us!

You will note that this preview looks different to all of the other previews we have written. This is because it is the only one that will discuss our national team, Saint Eleanor! Some of us may come from Quebec or Aerágny or some other Azertienne-speaking country, or we may be native from Saint Eleanor and have spent many hours learning this language, but all of us should be united in supporting the country we actually live in for the duration of this tournament. It is truly a special thing - we have made the tournament only twice before, the 91st tournament in 2000 and the 94th in 2006, but did not make it out of the groups either time.

Could this really change with Gentle Breeze and Reniira Clevinger, the new manager and her new assistant? Some people don't think that their change is anything more than rhetoric, but the great mass of supporters believe that they have been working very hard to make Saint Eleanor a coherent side worthy of standing up against the best in the world. Amazingly, this is the task that will come before them in the next one or two weeks, as they play the former World Cup finalists of the United Mandaran States, the legendary Valanora and the underrated Vdara.

It is very hard for us to select a best player in the team as Eleanorians, as though that would be an easy task for an outsider.

Game 1: the United Mandaran States (ranked 13th)

We can call the U.M.S. a nearly-fallen giant. Once upon a time in the year 1998, when they were called Pemecutan, they surprised everybody by making the 90th World Cup final, losing only to The Holy Empire. In future years, however, they did not perform as well as people expected and fell far from the imaginations of many. In 2010, Pemecutan is just one member of the U.M.S., who merged together to enable the Mandaran community's participation in sporting and other events as a single nation.

Once again, few people expect the U.M.S. to do well. However, despite their recent challenges, they are still ranked higher than Pemecutan were in 1998. Dewa Putu Mahardika, the striker, and Surya Agung Pramana, the manager, are the main temporal links between the two sides, but this means that today's U.M.S. team is truly diverse. We should expect all defensive players to be on good form, given Pramana's current philosophy and style, but we think that all Eleanorians should watch out for Gede Purnama in midfield and Harun Muftadi elsewhere in the strikers' position during these games.

Our prediction: Saint Eleanor 1-3 the United Mandaran States: Saint Eleanor has not come into this campaign with false hope like in previous years, but they will get it early on as Rick Goldsmith scores early. Mahardika will return the favour within minutes, however, and the remainder of the match will be swamped as possession repeatedly reverts, attacks falter on both sides and defences buckle under pressure. Ultimately, it is left up to substitute striker Mikail Vidya and workhorse midfielder Satria Wiradarma to get the goals needed for the U.M.S. to pull ahead.

The group itself

We have already said how we expect Saint Eleanor to perform, at least to the best of our knowledge. But where will that leave them in the group? Obviously we do not hope that Vdara will have much of an impact, although we expect that they will spring a small surprise and hold the U.M.S. to a draw in the second round of games. After all, the U.M.S. have not been really good as of late, plus Vdara are overdue something on this stage against their current management, no?

Valanora, however, will almost certainly be the god-kings of Group D: they will roll over both of their other opponents on their way to winning the group and, if everything else goes to plan, will win the World Cup entirely, this year potentially seeing their record sixth win. Some of our experts disagree, however, as you will see in our previews of Groups A and H.

Our prediction: Another underwhelming group stage exit: We are very sorry to say this, especially given how much progress the White Stars have made under new manager Gentle Breeze, but we do not see Saint Eleanor making it out of this group. And not only that, but we anticipate that this exit will be a simple formality. Maybe Saint Eleanor could use this to help improve themselves for future performances on the global stage. As it stands, however, they are not at the level where they can really compete at the top of a World Cup group, especially one of this quality.

Group of Six meeting (XIX) --- SAINT ELEANOR 4-1 United Mandaran States
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Rachel McNamara [ballot]
Location: A beachside restaurant in Puerto San Carlos, HUA

MAJOR MATCH EVENTS: Hart 11, Coombe 37, Lawson 55 and 76; Muftadi 62. All players are available, despite Davies giving away a needless yellow card towards the end.

LESSONS LEARNED: "A complete and utter triumph!" (~ Bridget). It was agreed by all parties that this was a model performance which should be replicated early and often, although "I'm not sure this was much more than a flash in the pan; we should see how different players adapt" (~ Stephen).

RECOMMENDATIONS: The 4-2-3-1 has served us well throughout this cycle and there were no suggestions that some other formation be adopted. Hence we will field the same lineup as last time, albeit with some adaptations: Richardson; Winchester, Launceston, Newbridge, Davies; Coombe, MATSUDA; LAWSON, Felaraneta, Northend; Hart.
Matsuda's world-class touch is absolutely necessary for us to stand a chance against Valanora, although Stephen and Bridget vigorously argued that we stood a good chance with proper preparation and that fielding him was not an absolute means to an end. Lawson was "extremely commendable" (~ Rachel) as a substitute and it was felt that he would also do excellently as a starter. Felaraneta and Hart were "solid eight-out-of-tens" (~ Reniira) and will not be removed unless they perform terribly.

There isn't a consensus among players and staff about what Valanora will look like or how they'll perform, but people feel like there's no extra preparation needed except to master the zonal marking scheme we've had in operation, "run the ball wide; they don't have any immediate cover adjacent to centre mid, where I think you'd need at least something" (~ Reniira) and deploy the offside trap early and often - especially to take Laborious Hawk by surprise when he passes, or perhaps S.E. Barrientos depending on what happens with their strategy. "This is madness! The good kind of madness, though" (~ Cathy).
Bridget was, perhaps jokingly, surprised at the absence of Ottilia Berg - once of Olympic, now of Wexax - from the Vanorian national team. She was quietly reminded by others, of course, that the matter was totally immaterial.

MOVING FORWARD: Cathy will take notes for MD2 of WC96. It was agreed that I will be taking notes after MD3 or the Ro16 if we are eliminated in either round, the QF if we make it there, and the 3PPO/Final if we win our quarterfinal.

~GB

the ADVERTISER
Brian Wood: How could the experts have gotten it all wrong?
Nobody would call Lydia Nicholls a Pollyannaish commentator, but she was still rightly more optimistic about yesterday's match than almost any journalist

Much Eleanorian football journalism - at least in the newspapers, which have proven themselves to be far more fanatical than SESB, Channel 4 and Channel 5 - has veered between lacklustre and unserious for the roughly fifteen years or so in which Saint Eleanor has competed in international football. A quick look through the newspapers a couple of days ago, before Saint Eleanor's opener with the United Mandaran States, will have proven this for a fact. Of course, Jim Paterson with The News Letter was negative as always - "the smart money is on Sam Newbridge losing his calm and getting sent off before half-time; even if he does not, it will all go downhill from there" - but in an unusual turn of events, he was one of many rather than a lone voice of disdain.

The Evening News tried to avoid being biased, but were fairly gloomy: "Saint Eleanor are better, man-for-man, in every area of the pitch except up front and in central defence, where they are on level pegging - a fact which could cost them." The Reporter had James Warwick say that we were "headed for a loss by the most marginal of margins: an offside called or not called, perhaps a dubious foul," and then published a counterpoint from Esther Launceston in which she argued "this is perhaps the single biggest opportunity we have ever had, and we are damn well going to take it firmly!" (Relatively uncouth language of her, if I may say that.)

The Gazette were on the sunny side of things, arguing that Saint Eleanor were "the overwhelming favourites" and signalling out three Eleanorians and zero Mandarans as ones to watch. But that is where the optimism ends. Academy warned that "defeat, if not a turgid draw, is likely," although the University's students were wont to warn us that "everything could change rapidly if the White Stars plan ahead, plan judiciously and plan effectively." The Express called a 2-0 loss: "the first few minutes will be tough and hard. While Saint Eleanor will regroup and stop the decay eating further into the team's standing, their resistance will not be strong enough to mount a meaningful counter-attack."

The Morning Post erred on the side of caution, only suggesting a 1-0 defeat: "As most of Pemecutan's games were before their de-facto merger, this will be Mahardika's game to win or lose, and he will win it - although Saint Eleanor's margins in qualifying might defy him." The Journal thought we would lose 3-1, as well, with the main factors being "Saint Eleanor's relative defensive struggle at the end of qualifying" and "the UMS's refreshed, never-say-die attitude to football." Le Citoyen, the Azertienne-language newspaper, also fancied a 3-1 loss - and that after Rick Goldsmith gave the Eleanorians an early lead. èl Dîrì, to their credit, refused to publish any substantiative prediction at all, the Rulandese-language paper insisting only that "this will be an unpredictable game; every single area of the pitch will be hard to discuss in much advance detail."

Not even your favourite newspaper was immune. With your favourite columnist, the legend that is Brian Wood himself, not scheduled to publish for a few days, it was left up to Ryan Johnson to pronounce his thoughts in emphatic manner: "EXT 2-2 UMS. This will be a moral win for Gentle Breeze and her management team, if on fine grounds. Hart and Coombe will be the heroes, Lawson and Davies the villains. Richardson will occupy the moral grey area, as she sometimes does, although this time she will be taken in for a coffee with the rest of the team leadership, straightened out and arguably inspired to produce a clean sheet against those dratted Vanorians - the more you know... but what do I know?"

The players were rather more confident, although you would expect them to be. Launceston, of course. Kichiro Matsuda pronounced the match "an extraordinary opportunity - one I'm looking forward to." Rick Goldsmith asserted that "this is going to be huge" and, even more boldly, "I don't think we're losing, and not by more than one, so this should be a good one." Even Lydia Nicholls said that "we could win if the conditions are right, which I suppose they are, for what I know of it." Nicholls - the team's in-house austere depressive - fancying a win, against the expectations of almost every journalist of football in the country? Say it isn't so.

In the end, however, Saint Eleanor defied almost everyone's expectations, everyone's except maybe Lydia's: they surged into a quick 2-0 lead at half-time, made that three just after the half, held onto a three-goal lead for most of the game, and had their players earn 10/10 ratings from virtually anyone who's anyone in Eleanorian football. Except themselves; they're modest enough never to rate themselves more than an 8. Still, as people more interested in the match and less interested in its etymology and ex-post-facto analysis than I am can attest, this is surely one of the greatest results in Eleanorian history, and one which gives us a much-needed confidence boost ahead of the supreme challenge of Valanora.

But really - how could the experts have gotten it all wrong? It's convention to answer any headline question with a flat "no," but that would be an inappropriate response when we all know what actually happens. The truth is that I have no idea what could have possessed so many of our lot to write off our chances against the United Mandaran States, a nation which only two serious domestic columnists - Joe Wilson for The Gazette and Launceston (an active, fairly optimistic member of the national team who sometimes gets her thoughts published ad hoc) for The Reporter - even believed were our equal in the days leading up to the match. If not even yours truly, who has been writing on the Eleanorian game since 1991, can tell you what on earth is happening with our journalists... nobody can.

by **Mertagne** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 4:01 pm

World Cup Finals MD 2 Cutoff

Before this match, the possibilities are endless - enough to get lost in infinity...

by **HUElavia** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 6:48 pm

Zenic 1–2 HUElavia
(Maruscak 6' | Oh 30', Watanabe 90+1')
The Ring Tank Stadium, Ostosaide, Mertagne

WE'RE SO CLOSE, WE CAN ALMOST TASTE THE KNOCKOUTS!

HUEllavia edge a traditional late winner against Zenic to control their destiny into Matchday 3!

After the surprise upset 2-0 victory to open up the World Cup against Zwangzug, HUElavia continued onwards to Matchday 2, taking on Zenic, who pulled off their surprise 1-0 victory over co-hosts Mertagne to set up Matchday 2 with big implications for the knockouts. Now playing at the larger Ring Tank Stadium (54,000) in Ostosaide, more HUElavians flocked to the country, looking to take up their traditional endzone and cheer on Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos. Despite being one of the lowest ranked teams to qualify, Zenic were no laughing matter for the HUElavians, who were looking to clinch their spot with a victory. Prior to the match, there was a protest held by Animal Rights activists against the sea creatures held in the aquarium in the stadium. There were some HUElavian fans who gave their cheer and support for the cause, but the majority just moved on with indifference, just wanting to cheer on the National Team who was coming out with the A-Team to go all out for the 3 points.

Both teams were taking calculated shots to start out the match, looking to test the likes of Mosley and Mok, as both of them wanted to get the opening goal. That honor would fall to Zenic as in the 6th minute, Oe was defending the ball against Devor before sticking a leg out too far, tripping Devor and giving way for a Free Kick in a dangerous position. Dejulio took the kick, sending a shot that hit the crossbar, but fell down and out came Maruscak to tip the ball past Mok into the goal, making it 1-0, sending the Zenic supporters into a frenzy, while Maruscak went to the corner to do a dance with his teammates in celebration for the goal. Coach Honda was seen barking out orders, as well as Mok voicing his grief at the lack of defense to leave Maruscak open for the goal. HUElavia began to pressure more and more, with Rossi-Rigoni, Canchon and De La Cruz putting in efforts left and right, all led with passes from Oh, Nascimento and Taylor-Calañas in the midfield. HUElavia's persistence and patience would pay off as in the 30th minute, De La Cruz was on the ball being covered by Trac looking for a chance, when Oh appeared open and took a one-time low shot to go past a diving Mosley, hitting the post and ricocheting into the goal, making it 1-1. The HUElavian crowd jumped in joy and cheer, throwing drinks and confetti into the air and pitch, with the watch parties back home reacting the same way in jubilation for the goal. Oh was mobbed by her teammates as she did a celebration mimicking a camera shot for that spectacular goal. At the half, it was 1-1, with both teams wanting more and knowing they had to go out for the win.

The second half saw both teams still trading blows, but now the backlines were going in for the blocks, with Hodge and Alvarez making crucial blocks respectively in order to prevent another goal coming in. Eventually, Coach Honda made her substitutes, with Watanabe in or Canchon, Vaz for Beuba, and Guerricagoitia in for Taylor-Calañas. Pressure began to mount more and more, with Zenic falling more and more to the defensive as they were looking like they would want to hold out on a draw than try to play with fire for a victory. Time ticked away and the fans felt more and more restless as there was a feeling something was left to happen. Such would occur, as in the 90+1st minute, as a pass from Guerricagoitia got to De La Cruz, who ran along the side being covered by Shuji, before sending a low pass into the box, where Rossi-Rigoni left it to roll past him, only for Watanabe to be left all alone to slot it past the reach of Mosley into the goal, making it 1-2. The HUElavian crowd erupted once more, jumping and cheering around while Watanabe was mobbed by her teammates and the bench in celebbration for the goal. Back at home, the watch parties were in delirium, with hugs and applause being given around, people honking their car horns in celebration for the goal. Zenic tried to get some attacks in, but HUElavia deflected the shots and held out in the few minutes to get the crucial victory.

HUElavia leads Group E with 6 Points (2-0-0), while Zenic still sit in 2nd Place with 3 Points (1-0-1), Mertagne got an important 1-0 victory over Zwangzug, making them sit in 3rd Place with 3 Points (1-0-1), and Zwangzug sit in 4th with 0 Points (0-0-2). Despite these results, nobody has advanced and nobody has been eliminated. HUElavia controls the group's destiny, as their result could shake up the entire group. Coach Honda was quoted as saying "We're grateful for the result and we fought very hard for it. Still, we should have not have waited for the last minutes to decide the match, and we got plenty to work on. Our march against Mertagne will be one of the most important matches in HUElavian history, and we're determined to learn from our mistakes and give it our all for the advance to the Round-of-16." The fans continue to enjoy their stay, learning from the locals and partaking in cultural exchange. Back at home, the World Cup 96 Sticker Album sells like hotcakes, as fans look to complete the teams and enjoy what is considered to be a big, historic moment in HUElavia. Matchday 3 awaits, and there is still plenty to play for at this tournament. Here's to what can be a historic day for HUElavian football once more.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

by **Delte** » Mon Apr 22, 2024 11:25 pm

OOC: In the fashion of the day I have used Sixteen Bits AI to translate from the original Deltic, and it seems to have come out alright, if a bit one dimensional. The original text is in the spoiler at the bottom.

Flavovespia 0–2 Delte
Sports Correspondent Kim Samrodd at Estadio Marítimo, Puerto San Carlos, Huayramarca for the Skimpy Matchday Report & Negligible Detail Express (Sports Section)

I won't dwell overly long on the finer details of this match but certainly mention should be made of the performance of match day head of statistics García de Almería, from El Alto, who's careful improvisation with two thumbs, seven fingers and an abacus in the face of his colleagues frying their chips ensured that we know for sure goals from Enor Perro and Irki Mynster made a tally of two against zero for the Flavovespians. Believe me there are one or two in the valley who would've struggled with that, and our own stats collector back home Mr. Pantry the Maths Teacher wouldn've exploded in the head if his Casio watch-calculator had been deliberately sabotaged by disgruntled colleagues. No such dramas thanks to Señor de Almería, and we can confirm also that the Representatives have qualified with a game to spare following this tough victory over one of the multiverse's best sides.

The Bronzed Giants
2/6: Nya Tinnund

Exploring Sporting Statues Of The Valley

It would be fair to say that the NationStates World Cup series is generally accepted to be the most all-inclusive and liberal competition regardless of race, creed, religion, gender or species, but two rules seem utterly steadfast and irrefutible: (1) general elections must be held during a World Cup, and (2) pretty much anything goes but matches must start as 11-a-side. This has a discriminatory effect on the women of Delte - a controversial assertion that the NSWC EWCC would no doubt deny furiously, if they ever read such an accusation buried deep inside an irrelevant nation’s reporting stream. Allow me to explain:

Now, in the valley, 11-a-side is very much the inferior product but compare the main stadia for a clue about where the real passion (and skill) lies in the valley: Ildemorton Road, home ground of the top two Delte Valley Tuesday Evening & Sunday Afternoon Super League league teams - Oswarks Town & United - had a capacity 200, (boosted to 12,000 with World Cup cash); and The Oswark Parish Advertiser Arena, in Oswark, home of Friday Night & Saturday Morning Ultra Premier League powerhouse Oswark Statuettes - capacity 10,000 (which is 80% of the entire population of the town). The UPL of course is women’s 6-a-side fútsal, the far superior and much better supported technical indoor code. So forgive me if I have apparently cast this competition in the shadows, and blame that on the NSWC rules: the women of Delte would not lower themselves to play silly games of 11-a-side. And that’s why you have probably never heard of Delte’s greatest of all-time, Nya Tinnund, except as spouse to distinctly average men’s recently retired international defender Skelimino Bane. Not only is she the Nanny Goat, the best female, she’s also considered far better than the Billy Goat, your man ‘Forklift’ Johnny Chard (to be covered in a future entry). She’s the Over-Goat, so to speak.

Hardly surprising then, that even though she is still playing (admittedly in the twilight of her sparkling career), there have been several monuments constructed to celebrate her achievements already, including two statues and Cast-Iron Davey’s absurdist machine interpretation on Deltemouth harbour wall made up of scaffold poles, scrap cudgels and thirty thousand chugg nuts. My personal favourite is the more Realist-inspired figurative representation in her home village of Duskard, set on the riverbank and imagining the superstar midfielder in repose upon a park bench, in full kit, with a ball at her heel and five more in a dotted line down the bank and apparently floating on water - a reference to her famous double hat-trick in the 2013 Mixed Nines Cup Final.

time-saving note to host: you don't need to read this

Flavovespia 0–2 Delte
Sports Correspondent Kim Samrodd at Estadio Marítimo, Puerto San Carlos, Huayramarca for the Skimpy Matchday Report & Negligible Detail Express (Sports Section)

I won't dwell overly long on the finer details of this match but certainly mention should be made of the performance of match day head of statistics García de Almería, from El Alto, who's careful improvisation with two thumbs, seven fingers and an abacus in the face of his colleagues frying their chips ensured that we know for sure goals from Enor Perro and Irki Mynster made a tally of two against zero for the Flavovespians. Believe me there are one or two in the valley who would've struggled with that, and our own stats collector back home Mr. Pantry the Maths Teacher wouldn've exploded in the head if his Casio watch-calculator had been deliberately sabotaged by disgruntled colleagues. No such dramas thanks to Señor de Almería, and we can confirm also that the Representatives have qualified with a game to spare following this tough victory over one of the multiverse's best sides.

The Bronzed Giants
2/6: Nya Tinnund

Exploring Sporting Statues Of The Valley

It would be fair to say that the NationStates World Cup series is generally accepted to be the most all-inclusive and liberal competition regardless of race, creed, religion, gender or species, but two rules seem utterly steadfast and irrefutible: (1) general elections must be held during a World Cup, and (2) pretty much anything goes but matches must start as 11-a-side. This has a discriminatory effect on the women of Delte - a controversial assertion that the NSWC EWCC would no doubt deny furiously, if they ever read such an accusation buried deep inside an irrelevant nation’s reporting stream. Allow me to explain:

Now, in the valley, 11-a-side is very much the inferior product but compare the main stadia for a clue about where the real passion (and skill) lies in the valley: Ildemorton Road, home ground of the top two Delte Valley Tuesday Evening & Sunday Afternoon Super League league teams - Oswarks Town & United - had a capacity 200, (boosted to 12,000 with World Cup cash); and The Oswark Parish Advertiser Arena, in Oswark, home of Friday Night & Saturday Morning Ultra Premier League powerhouse Oswark Statuettes - capacity 10,000 (which is 80% of the entire population of the town). The UPL of course is women’s 6-a-side fútsal, the far superior and much better supported technical indoor code. So forgive me if I have apparently cast this competition in the shadows, and blame that on the NSWC rules: the women of Delte would not lower themselves to play silly games of 11-a-side. And that’s why you have probably never heard of Delte’s greatest of all-time, Nya Tinnund, except as spouse to distinctly average men’s recently retired international defender Skelimino Bane. Not only is she the Nanny Goat, the best female, she’s also considered far better than the Billy Goat, your man ‘Forklift’ Johnny Chard (to be covered in a future entry). She’s the Over-Goat, so to speak.

Hardly surprising then, that even though she is still playing (admittedly in the twilight of her sparkling career), there have been several monuments constructed to celebrate her achievements already, including two statues and Cast-Iron Davey’s absurdist machine interpretation on Deltemouth harbour wall made up of scaffold poles, scrap cudgels and thirty thousand chugg nuts. My personal favourite is the more Realist-inspired figurative representation in her home village of Duskard, set on the riverbank and imagining the superstar midfielder in repose upon a park bench, in full kit, with a ball at her heel and five more in a dotted line down the bank and apparently floating on water - a reference to her famous double hat-trick in the 2013 Mixed Nines Cup Final.

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