World Cup 98 | RP thread

by **Delaclava** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:20 pm

Untimely meltdown leaves Phoenixes on brink of WCQ elimination

BRITONISEA 4 — 2 Delaclava
Castello 48' 55' (pen.), Jack 57', Sampson 59'| Vonn 15' Korda 83'
Tkachuk; Johansson (RC 55'), Crosley, Peterson, Nunez; Pavia (Desgagnes 60'), Artakian, Wright (St. Pierre 56'), Ty. Amundsen; Th. Amundsen, Vonn (Korda 25')

Delaclava's hopes of qualifying for its first World Cup in fourteen years took a massive hit as unheralded Britonisea scored four goals in 11 minutes to hand the Phoenixes a woeful 4-2 loss with just two rounds remaining in the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Off the back of a promising scoreless draw against Zwangzug, Delaclava went into Britonisea with the two teams tied for third, with the Phoenixes having a prospective edge in the matchup. Ninety difficult minutes later, it is Britonisea, not Delaclava, with its grasp on a playoff berth.

The Phoenixes looked in control throughout the first half, and all business seemed as usual when Jeremy Vonn headed in a corner kick to chalk a characteristic early goal. The first bump in the road came on Delaclava's next setpiece, when Vonn clashed midair with Tomas Martense, opening a nasty gash on Vonn's forehead. Owing to the wound and to the concussion protocols, manager Vera Dohnanyi opted to remove Vonn from the game permanently and bring in Charlie Korda, rather than wait for Vonn to be cleared. The injury and personnel change seemed to somewhat take the wind out of Delaclava's sails, but they nevertheless held firm through the first half.

The real trouble began quickly in the second half, when a failed clearance led the ball to bounce around the Delaclav 18 before it fell to the star Britonisean striker Gabriel Castello, whose quick strike to the far post sailed past David Tkachuk. A few minutes later, chaos erupted when Castello took a run through the outside of the penalty area and was met by Taag Johansson. Castello went to ground and the referee blew the whistle almost immediately. Pleas from Dohnanyi and the video evidence that clearly showed no contact by Johansson were of no use, and Castello buried the penalty. To make matters worse, Castello's showy celebration as he approached Johansson was a stroke too far and Johansson took a swing at Castello's face, earning a well-deserved but frustrating ejection. Britonisea would score twice more in quick transition, from Morris Jack and Nate Sampson, before the Phoenixes defense and tempers could stabilize. From there, the Phoenixes showed few signs of life in the concluding half-hour and Korda's crafty goal in the 83rd minute was merely academic (tiebreakers pending).

Dohnanyi did not make herself nor the Delaclav team available to media after the game, although reports of furied shrieks and the sound of a smashed reusable water bottle surely conveyed the same message that they could have given in words. For a team that has rebutted the criticisms of a lack of merit and experience time and time again to win many games in both the Independents Cup - those games in Britonisea, of all places - and the World Cup qualifying process, their first real setback was untimely, drastic, and threatens to stunt a year's worth of excellent progress.

Delaclava now sits in fifth place in Group 16 with 19 points, with Britonisea holding the crucial third spot at 22 points. Zwangzug is fourth with 21 points. Gnejs has qualified automatically for the World Cup and stands at 29 points following a win against The Holy Empire, who still sits in second with 25 points and is the prohibitive favorite to claim the other automatic berth to Xandria.

The Phoenixes will hopefully have an easy outing at home against winless Gopnikea, but will now almost certainly need a productive result in its finale in The Holy Empire to have a shot at qualification. Britonisea visits Osterhalten before hosting Zwangzug, while Zwangzug hosts Gnejs before the Britonisea clash.

by **Tanirinthia** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:22 pm

OF FATES AND FORTUNES
Chapter Twenty Six - The Offer

Ms. Bonner, I presume?

Clara squinted, trying to get a better look at who was behind that voice, as her eyes adjusted a man in a suit came into focus.

You may presume what you will, Mr...?

The man stepped further into the cell and took a seat.

Of course and rude and presumptuous of me. My name is Michael Cross, and I am here with an offer. But let's not get ahead of ourselves shall we. Let's take an inventory of how we got to this place before talking of the paths ahead. Your brother bravely sacrificed himself to save a great many lives, however the nature of his work being classified meant the truth of his death could not be given. The lies you are told don't add for you, they stick in your craw, nagging at you. This thought grows ever larger, until you dedicate more and more of your time digging into what really happened. One summer's night you get a break, someone reaches out and guides you to take a closer look at a sporting event of all things. You carry on digging until you end up digging right through this universe into another. You end up stuck there, but being the resourceful young woman you are, you persevere and with a streak of luck find yourself in a position to return home, and this is where you cross paths with Jasper Poole, a man who knew your brother, the one who reached out simply wanting you to know that your brother died a hero. All the while not knowing he was playing into the hands of the entity. His journey in this affair starts long before your entanglement, a young and bold researcher who ended up releasing the entity itself.

Clara was trying to keep her feelings hidden, but could not help her heart skipping a beat noticing that he wasn't using the past tense for Jasper, and hope flared deep within her.

Since I've spoken about your paths to this point, it's only fair I should tell you of mine. It begins a little bit later than Mr Poole's but before yours. After the entity was found and released from one confinement, not all of those were in agreement of what to do, and there was those who not only urged caution but feared what this was and meant. Then the accidents happened and I received a video from one of those who had perished in the so-called accident and tasked me with monitoring the situation and intervening if there fears were found to be true, and the accidents weren't so and were in fact the design of this entity. Similar I suspect to yours and Mr Poole's experiences I found this task frustrating, like trying to hold water in your hands. That was until it disappeared during the World Cup, along seemingly with it's designs upon Tanirinth, I was able to move freely but given yours and Mr Poole's strong involvement with this entity I could not trust that you weren't still unwitting pawns. Hence your confinements this past year, to try to ascertain the truth, to see if any "accidents" happened, any doors just happened to have been left unlocked. But yet, you both remain incarcerated after a year. Which leads me to the paths ahead

Although this entity's seeming direct involvement in Tanirinth, over the last year we have measured an increase in the background chaos levels, not just on our world but across the multiverse it's on the rise. We believe that you and Mr Poole were indeed working on trying to find our more about our opponent with the aim of destroying or and the very least re-imprisoning it. And we would like you to work with us to achieve the same, both you and Mr Poole who has made it abundantly clear that unless you are freed we can and I quote "Take this offer and shove it where the sun doesn't shine"

Clara let out a snort of laughter, and a big smile grew across her face

Chapter One | Chapter Two | ~~Chapter Three~~ | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve | Chapter Thirteen | Chapter Fourteen | Chapter Fifteen | Chapter Sixteen | Chapter Seventeen | Chapter Eighteen | Chapter Nineteen | Chapter Twenty | Chapter Twenty-One | Chapter Twenty-Two | Chapter Twenty-Three | Chapter Twenty-Four | Chapter Twenty-Five

by **Drawkland** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:26 pm

SADEG, DRAWKLAND
"Can I just say something real quick?" Ross Hunter broke the silence of several minutes in the darkened room.

"Go ahead," Elias Keys granted immediately.

"Two things, actually." Ross corrected himself. "First of all, I know this is our nerd cave, but do we really need to keep it constantly dark? I mean maybe we don't need to open the shades, but at least flick on a light or something. I feel like a goblin if I spend too long in here."

"I thought you liked it dark." Elias shrugged. "I figured if you wanted the light on, it would've already been on when I walked in."

"I try to follow the day/night cycle to keep myself grounded." Ross sighed. "That leads me to my second point. Being an investigator sucks. I hate staying up all night following all these dead leads and finding nothing. It's unbelievably exhausting."

"You were already going to be staying up all night," Elias pointed out. "If anything, at least this gives you something constructive to do."

"It's been two months of this shit, Eli. Two years, altogether." Ross lightly thumped one of his computer monitors with the back of his hand. "It's just like the last three times we supposedly had a piece of evidence to follow. I work myself to the bone, you and Jaxon and the others chip in a bit, and we collectively find absolutely nothing. It's a red herring, followed by a wild goose chase, concluded with a snipe hunt. It's frankly ridiculous."

"Do you have a point to this, or are you just whining?" Elias leaned back in his chair, the faintest smirk playing on the edge of his lips. "And if we're being technical, it's been more like a year and a half-"

"Don't test me, boy." Ross raised a finger defiantly. "All I'm saying is, why are we even bothering here? Do you really think we're gonna catch whatever stupid shadow cabal is trying extract information from us? It's obvious that they know how to cover their tracks, even when dropping some information publicly. Either they're gonna take their shot at us, or they're gonna keep leaking random shit in tabloids, but either way we're big enough to tank through any of that."

"It's not about us." Elias shook his head. "It's the girls. They're still within their mortal lifespan. Sure, they've got the benefit of keeping their playing careers alive when they'd normally be retired, but it hasn't really sunk in yet. You know how it felt the first go-around. The feeling of immortality doesn't truly kick in until your mortal loved ones pass, and you see the world changing around you. This sort of stuff scares them. It makes them feel vulnerable, even if they aren't. We're trying to get them peace of mind."

"I don't think it's that bad." Ross pondered for a moment. "When we've hung out the last couple months, they still seem pretty chill."

"They aren't." Elias answered coldly. "You can take my word for it, which is really taking their thoughts for it. And even if you think I'm exaggerating, you can see it on the field. Their confidence has flatlined. Their game impact is minimal. Our defensive line consists of two immortals and a perennial all-pro, but they've only allowed fewer than 2 goals in one game out of the last eight. We've got two great striker prospects and another immortal on the forward line, and they've only produced convincing winners against Lisander. Cam, Nicole, and Sarah aren't playing their game. This whole situation has clearly been a psychological drain on them."

"Nicole seemed pretty shook up about the original recording device in Britonisea, but the team still played well in those playoffs," Ross countered.

"Oh yeah, the playoffs where they 2-nil to HUElavia in the final? Yeah, they were really in top form there." Elias scoffed. "I know you're frustrated about not getting any results from your investigations, but don't act like this isn't important work we're doing."

"Uh huh." Ross narrowed his eyes. "If it's really that important, then maybe Jaxon should get the stick out of his ass and let me do things that might actually yield results."

"You don't mean trying out your cracks?" Elias raised his eyebrows.

"Our cracks," Ross corrected.

"Right." Elias hesitated. "You know why we can't do that either. Jaxon doesn't want to draw too much attention. If you open a hole, it creates a trail that leads right back to us. Cover is blown, then they know we're looking, back to square one or worse."

"You know what, Eli? That's bullshit. And let me tell you why." Ross, now incensed, stood up from his seat, bringing a hand down on the desk hard. "If we truly are dealing with professionals, then why aren't we getting professionals to handle this situation? Why should Jaxon insist that you and I bang our heads against the wall with mundane tactics in the name of secrecy and security? If it's really that big of a deal, get Lerocav to actively work the case again. Tell Lerocav to get some of the tech heads with the Accords to try their hands at it. Get Iarocav to put a government agency on it."

"Ross-" Elias started to warn, but Ross brushed him off and continued to rant.

"Because if we're really dealing with professionals, then they probably already noticed us poking around on every public site and property we can find. I can only dance around with VPNs and spoof browsing patterns so much. You think after a year and a half they wouldn't have caught on by now? If anything, the fact that it's so clean we can't find anything is testament that they know to cover their tracks. And if they know to cover, that means they know they have reason to cover. If they're proficient enough to track a hacking breach back to us, then they have enough resources to already know that we're trying to follow them. It's like trying to run play-action when we're tipping run or pass before the snap. They already know where the ball's going, so why bother wasting valuable time and energy trying to disguise it?"

"You raise a fair point." Jaxon Madison emerged from the shadowed doorframe, entering the room suddenly.

"Thanks for the warning, Eli." Ross then paused, realizing that Elias had tried and been ignored. "You know what, I'm glad. I didn't want to have to repeat all that anyway."

"I don't bite, and my word isn't law." Jaxon folded his arms. "If you have a legitimate grievance, you should maybe bring it to me instead of stewing in bitterness for weeks. Also, maybe you should turn the light on in here once in awhile."

"That it, I'm gonna lose it." Ross spun around in frustration, then took a moment to collect himself. "Jaxon, I am serious. We've gotta try getting into a back end somewhere. The public paper trail is going nowhere, and there's only so many ways to use quotation marks in a search engine. If you're serious about us handling it ourselves, then we've got to legitimately handle it. If not, then we need to pass this off to somebody who can."

"I hear you." Jaxon stared at the floor for a moment in consideration. It was a tense beat of silence, Elias watching curiously and Ross expectantly. "Fine. But we still have to be smart about it. Let's run it remotely, preferably out of town or even overseas if we can get away with it. If we're gonna accidentally lead them back to us, let's at least not leave a trail directly to our home servers."

"Overseas, you say?" Elias raised an eyebrow. "What about off-world?"

"Run it during the Cup of Harmony, maybe?" Ross rubbed his chin. "Whoever it is may be distracted, or focused on trying to pull another one on the girls. It may be our best chance at going undetected."

"I like that." Jaxon nodded. "Get a mobile setup ready so we can bring it with us. Whatever we need."

"Where even is the Cup going to be held?" Ross asked.

"Beats me." Elias chuckled. "I also love how we immediately defaulted to the Cup of Harmony before anything else."

"Well the girls certainly aren't making it to the Xandrian Sea," Jaxon grumbled.

"I'm just asking because we may have to deal with customs. A big computer setup might trip some alarms."

"We'll just take our plane instead of flying commercial." Jaxon grinned. "Do a little smuggling, perhaps."

"Aren't you the one that says we need to keep our record squeaky-clean so we don't run into any issues for future tournaments?"

"Sure." Jaxon shrugged. "Let's just be better at covering our asses than they are at sniffing us out."

"I don't like the combination of those metaphors," Elias wrinkled his nose.

"Tough shit," Jaxon finished. "Really, though. Do what you need to do, Ross. Let me know if you need anything from the rest of us."

"Yes sir, captain." Ross saluted casually, then turned to a cabinet full of computer peripherals. It was time to really get down to business.

by **The Martian Independent Republic** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:32 pm

Politics of Mars
aka where you'll find unnecessary infrastructure and where you'll find picketers protesting the FPTP system

The Martian Independent Republic is, for now, a democracy, although truly radical parties are mostly cracked down upon. There are three major parties, the Socialists (left-wing), the Progressives (right-wing) and the Movement for Freedom, or M4F (libertarian).
Socialists
Advocates for increased government control and more infrastructure connecting bases, the Socialist Party draws most of its support from small bases in the north and west where everyone there is necessary for the base to function. They get the biggest benefit from the 'every base gets at least one representative' rule, where they rack up victories in seats with populations in the high hundreds to low thousands.
Progressives
Successors of the UMP that crashed and burned with John Kenton's attempted coup, the Progressives support building up Aeolis and the southeast and giving tax breaks to advanced industries, which they say will help the technological development of the Republic. They often win seats by narrow margins, and although they have the most seats in Parliament, they won the least votes last election, where they won two Aeolis seats by less than half a percentage point.
M4F
Originating as a Huygens regionalist party, the M4F likely would have been deemed 'radical' had they rose to prominence at any time other than the civil war. As it was, they have grown into a proper third party, often winning a majority of the votes in Huygens Base and the southwest, and occasionally flipping seats in the southeast from the Progressives and in the north from the Socialists. In regards to policy, they advocate for leaving most matters up to the bases.

Last election, the Progressives were unable to form a coalition, and the Socialists and M4F formed a government, although not without disagreement. The next election is in 3 years, and although the Progressives seem on the rise, independents will cause chaos everywhere.

by **Saint Eleanor** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:32 pm

OOC: Read and approved by Sylestone. The additional amount is TBD as I am still workshopping the prequel roleplay with StrayaRoos, so therefore I can't RP about Lara's escapades there nor go into detail as to her spending.

Group of Six meeting (LIII) --- SAINT ELEANOR 2-1 Saterun
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Keith Barnett [ballot]
Location: somewhere to be decided in Saint Eleanor

BOOOOOOM!!!!! Just when everyone doubted us, WE COME UP WITH A SMASHING PERFORMANCE!!! This was not your typical squeaker - every single person on our team worked hard, played fair and DELIVERED THE GOODS. We did an amazing job, and my thanks in particular go to THE LEGENDARY GRAHAM LAWSON for scoring twice, tracking back as much as you'd expect, annoying just about everyone in the process, and very very nearly burning himself out. I know Antonsen got his goal, but we CAN work on it, we CAN improve defensively, we CAN actually attack these days AND WE CAN QUALIFY WELL IN ADVANCE!

So with the Claws defanged... how can our position be CLINCHED AND RESCUED?
Bridget: "By outperforming Saterun"
Keith: "We just did that, wouldn't be shocked if it happened again"
GB: "Focus on the C&R game, please, not the Patriotlandia game"
Bridget: "She means all of the Patriotlandia games"
Stephen: "Yes. What say you the good old one to eleven today"
Keith: "Game's a few days away, what are you talking about"
Stephen: "Okay whenever"
Bridget: "Yes"
Me: "Reluctantly, yeah, but keep an eye out for the subs"
Cathy: "Yes, we can easily swamp their midfield"
Keith: "You use 'swamp the midfield' so much, but please just think about the subs"
GB: "What, you have something else going on?"
Cathy: "Please stop being sassy, we have an important meeting here"
Stephen: "Okay, that's sorted, we are going to enter the gaps in midfield, press out wide, be strong up front"
Bridget: "You mean be strong everywhere"
Keith: "Sorry Stephen but you forgot ''try to stop their ball from entering the net,' almost happened last time"
Stephen: "Yes, point well taken"
Me: "Ain't that damn right, put on a good show or no show at all"
GB: "If we somehow don't make the World Cup from THIS position..."

TAKING THE ROAD TO SUCCESS
THEY ARE NICE AND PASSIONATE, WE SHOULD BE TOO
AVOID BEING THE BASTARD - FOCUS ON ENTERING GAPS
ASSUME THAT YOU ARE COMPETENT AND CAPABLE
THIS IS OUR STRONGEST TEAM - MAKE SURE YOU ACT LIKE IT!

4-2-3-1:
___________ ARIELLE _________
CATHY - LYDIA - ESTHER - RACHEL
____ BRIDGET - WUNDERBAR ____
ANGELICA - KAVEZALEA - GRAHAM
___________ OLYMPIA __________

Reniira Clevinger is hard at work trying to book everyone's tickets to Rushmore

The Grand Tour of Anaia - Avorago: Where "fun for all the family" is the moral code

by Lara Torridge - March 23rd 2006

People have occasionally told me during my travels - only twice, however - that Collegiate district's high street, or collections thereof, is rather famous for containing an eclectic range of businesses. In turn, I've bumped into a couple of people from far beyond Saint Eleanor during my spare time back at the University, one of them being Avoragoan national cricket team captain (and former football team starting striker) Eberegbulam Onwuamaeze. He's a cult legend among the locals and cricket fans worldwide, and quickly proves to be one of my favourites as well.

Exchange rate: not applicable

He is nothing if not helpful, dragging me from Osimiri - the Beach; site of some of his team's great successes - past the Igber Creek, through the spiders, between a couple of well-supplemented trees, and over a couple of screams before we reach Nke Doro Anya. It is, by and large, a residential town. Business, as you would imagine it in Saint Eleanor or elsewhere, does not exist; people look out for themselves. I spot one woman who is trying to help her family recover from a recent treehouse collapse that destroyed almost all the other possessions they have; she's surrounded by a couple of other isolated men who identify themselves as experts. I tell her that I'm sorry for her loss and that I'm reporting on Avorago for Academy, one of the largest newspapers in Saint Eleanor. She tells me that the Avoragoans do not need newspapers because, with everything happening here and the community being fairly close-knit, there is not exactly a pressing need for the news to be recapped.

A short walk away, a man is fishing for his own family, who are in a rather more comfortable position. I ask if there's anything he'd like to share about life. However, he comes up to Onwuamaeze and talks to him for a while about the cricket team's heroics, which I am enraptured by. Does anybody here like football? Yes - there is an entire clan-based league of what the locals will always call "pigball" - although this particular fisherman counts himself thankful that he is dealing with a fellow Black Snake, rather than one of those forsaken, squabble-ridden Bears or Red Crabs. Thankfully for all parties involved, nothing much is going on in the league right now.

Another man, trying to exchange the coconuts he has found in the local wilderness for whatever useful things the other locals have - sometimes fruit, sometimes wood or other goods, very rarely a good lesson about international football - is more than happy to divulge that he trusts all the leaders, he is concerned about Saint Eleanor's relative isolation from the world, and he is annoyed that some of his fellow citizens have been slacking, stealing or wasting instead of doing a hard day's work every day. He points to what he's doing right now when asked about how he's helping to solve these societal problems.

One thing that strikes me about Nke Doro Anya is that, for all its size, it is not where the leaders meet; I rapidly become thankful it is not. They are instead at Sausia Hill, a few hundred metres south, where they are apparently discussing a cherry theft that has enraptured the nation in recent days. When I ask, Onwuamaeze quickly reminds me that nobody on the island would much appreciate me trying to intrude on their meetings. So with all the sights seen, all the experiences taken in, and nothing much to do other than potentially die in the forest, I get led back to my boat under his supervision once again. He expresses his thanks to me for being a kind, patient visitor. I tell him that, if he ever needs to visit Saint Eleanor, he can get in touch with me, but will probably have better luck asking Bridget Coombe or Esther Launceston instead. I know where they both live (although just about everybody does); I hope he will be similarly tolerant of them should they ever interact.

Single-day visit (effectively a week): Summary

What I wore: a short-sleeved shirt, normal jeans and a pair of trainers
What I spent: nothing!
What I've got left over: 95 Eleanorian dollars for emergencies; {some additional amount TBD depending on what goes down in StrayaRoos}

Group of Six meeting (LIV) --- Carpathia and Ruthenia 2-4 SAINT ELEANOR
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Katy Wilson [ballot]
Location: somewhere to be decided in Saint Eleanor

Stephen here. Everyone was delighted that, after our recent struggles, we have secured the full nine points with an overall scoreline of 9-3, and not only that but our place in the World Cup Finals - certainly nothing to be sniffed at! This was a more defensively relaxed performance, in keeping with the general quality of teams in the group. This was not a "lucky" win, as some would have it, like our first meeting: both teams had a really good go at it, but our quality shone through, we broke them down consistently, and their response was largely patchy. To be sure, there were a few slips and I'd like to get to work on correcting them with the team, but given our situation I think pre-finals training would be a better place for this.

With all that said, Eshialand are still at the top of the table and we need the full six points against Paringo and Island Fusion in order to overtake them (Patriotlandia and Dhemixia are the other two teams we have dropped points against, so I would not be surprised if Eshialand followed suit). While they are at the feet of the table, nobody should underestimate their ability to pull off a surprise result. The World Cup is still a good few months away, so there is a general consensus that the first named eleven should start and play as usual against Paringo. Island Fusion, given their pecularities, will be discussed closer to the time but I expect a more flexible approach similar to what we planned prior to our last game there.

by **West Vdara** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:34 pm

Channel 2 Kanaria

"Glorious comrades, our revolution is half-way to completion! We have resoundingly won our group, and with just two games to go, our revolutionary heroes will do everything in their power to strike these evil capitalists down with all their might, for the good of our people! Praise be! A fantastic 32-0 victory against capitalist heathens located in the Free Republics has firmly cemented our place at the head of world football. Such a victory for peace, justice, and our very specific brand of West Vdaran Socialism, which is not to be confused with Socialism of West Vdara. Please direct your eyes towards your television screens to see our official group standings."

Group of Peace and Socialism     Pld    W   D   L    Pts
1 West (and true) Vdara           12   12   0   0    36    
2 Agazul                          12    7   0   3    21
3 Free Republics                  12    5   5   2    20
4 Al Quds                         12    5   4   3    19
5 Brazilico                       12    2   4   6    10
6 Dremotia                        12    1   5   6    8    
7 Spaam                           12    1   3   8    6    
8 West Barack and East Obama      12    0   0  12    0

"We have two games left, but it matters not - World Cup victory seems a certainty to come to the glorious Western Vdaran Territories!"

by **Dhemixia** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:37 pm

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

The Columbus Dominion(Est.1873)

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

Playoff hopes clinging on by a thread for Dhemixians

Dhemixia is still alive for qualification somehow. In a complete reversal of form from the first half of the group stage, the Serpents have not lost in four games, including a huge draw at Saint Eleanor (thanks right post), and an enormous win at home against Carpathia and Ruthenia. Sitting in the last place that is still alive, 6th, tied with C&R for points at 16 but lower on GD, it would take a lot for Dhemixia to get into that critical third spot, but it's by no means impossible. Should Saterun lose/draw out, and Patriotlandia draw/lose out, Dhemixia would have a chance to get in if they win out. Against Patriotlandia and Saterun, it will almost certainly not be easy, but doing things that aren't easy is why Dhemixia is here in the first place.

In another odd finish with Paringo, Dhemixia finally ended up on the right side of a 3-2, getting their revenge and staying alive. It appeared everyone got the memo but Dominic Sanford, who had two own goals and almost tied the game. However, It's just a show of strength that Dhemixia can dominate a game like that and score all of the goals. Getting the three against Paringo was CRUCIAL, and this momentum helped lead into their rematch with Island Fusion.

This time at home, the Serpents used that momentum almost perfectly, sweeping Island Fusion in the group stage and being 3-0-0 against them all time. Marvin Bolton once again stepped up, putting another multi-goal game on the board in the first half alone. With Baker scoring in the 67th on a filthy skill move in a 1v1 with the keeper, the Serpents perhaps got a little too complacent, and almost choked their playoff hopes away. Ryden Winkelmann was in another state of being, scoring two in the last 15 minutes for Island Fusion, but ultimately missing the penalty that would've equalized it in the 94th. In yet another close one, the Serpents walked away with 6/6 and somehow stayed alive.

These last two games are setting up to be absolute cinema as a whole for group 9. With 4 teams all gunning for one last playoff spot, each intertwined and playing eachother, everyone, including the Dhemixians', controls their own destiny. If Dhemixia can get revenge against Patriotlandia and sweep IAC 22 rivals Saterun, they set themselves up the best they can for playoffs, so we'll have to see how they handle the pressure.

__________███ - - - - - - ███

_____________Paringo__2 - 3_'_Dhemixia

Sanford (OG) 30', (OG) 72'| Clarke 13', 53'
_______________'_______| Obisana 34'

MotM: DHE CAM Grant Clarke

___███ - - - - - - ███

_____Island Fusion__2 - 3_'_Dhemixia

__Winkelmann 78', 90'| Bolton 22', 45'
___________''______'_| Baker 67'

MotM: DHE ST Marvin Bolton

Schedule

~~@ Eshialand, Eshialand City SuperDome~~ L 2-3 (6th)
~~vs. Saint Eleanor, Brigantine Park~~ L 0-2 (7th)
~~@ Carpathia and Ruthenia, C&R Home Stadium~~ L 1-2 (7th)
~~vs. Paringo, Brigantine Park~~ L 2-3 (8th)
~~@ Island Fusion, Island Fusion Home Stadium~~ W 2-1 (7th)
~~vs. Patriotlandia, Brigantine Park~~ L 3-4 (7th)
~~@ Saterun, Saterun Home Stadium~~ W 1-0 (6th)
~~vs. Eshialand, Brigantine Park~~ L 0-5 (6th)
~~@ Saint Eleanor, Saint Eleanor Home Stadium~~ D 0-0 (7th)
~~vs. Carpathia and Ruthenia, Brigantine Park~~ W 2-0 (6th)
~~@ Paringo, Paringo Home Stadium~~ W 3-2 (6th)
~~vs. Island Fusion, Brigantine Park~~ W 3-2 (6th)
@ Patriotlandia, Parc du Nord
vs. Saterun, Brigantine Park

by **The Kytler Peninsulae** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:47 pm

This is the MD13/14 cutoff

by **Oberour Ar Moro** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 7:07 pm

One day of snow is just snow. Snow day after snow day becomes a way of life.

Some days its light specks. Some days it's giant flakes. Some days feature no wind, some days feature near gales. Day after day, week after week the residents of Regium became acquainted with every manner of snow.

While many of the Farf languages in Farfadillis have over 50 words for snow built in, Regium's citizens had almost no vocabulary to describe the conditions. Initially you would have to get by with "That's a huge drift of snow along the street," or "I had to clear the snow off my car again today," or "There's a lot of slush at the crosswalk today," or "No one bothered to clean up the snow covering the slide on that playground, so that pile has to be 20 meters high."

At first, people got by with simple phrases: "That's a huge drift of snow along the street.” "I had to clear the snow off my car again today." "There's a lot of slush at the crosswalk today." "No one bothered to clean up the snow covering that statue, so that pile has to be 20 meters high."

Faced with the endless deluge, Regium's citizens turned to creativity, crafting not new words but new personas for all the snow that surrounded them.

For example, there was Saura du Neige-Étreinte, the snow that wrapped around trees and houses. She was said to be affectionate, seeking to hold people and things in her embrace. But her hugs could be too much, leading to collapsed roofs and unopenable doors.

Then there was the artist Kerrien des Flocons-Fins, who left patterns in the snow at night, the patterns that disappear once the day breaks, as the day could break in constant snowstorms. The growing legend said that it was deeply impolite to tread over Kerrien's work and ruin it.

Thuriau du Neige-Sauvage was a rebel. Thuriau piled up snow in inconvenient places, striking a blow against mundanity. But he had his own sense of justice—his heaviest drifts blocked the doors of government offices, while playgrounds remained clear for children.

The swirling snow where people meet was Briegen aux Flocons-Murmures. She's gathering gossip and rumors along with everyone else. If you shout4r a secret into the snow, they would say, it will be passed to who needs to hear it

The worst of them all was the horrid Edernig des Glaces-Renfrognées. He was the hard icy snow and frozen drifts left where it's needed the least. Edernig was the enemy of toes and tires alike. Cruel, unyielding, and sure in his ability to ruin a morning commute or a trip back home.

As the year went on you could hear people laugh about Thuriau du Neige-Sauvage dropping snow on self-serious types or swear up and down that Edernig des Glaces-Renfrognées could be charmed with a joke or a small kindness, leading to a small thaw in the ice. Some may have felt silly personifying an (unnatural) natural phenomenon. But snow day after snow day becomes a way of life after all.

by **Qusmo** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 7:16 pm

Qusmo playoff venues

Qanz
Mastad Qastyra (74 758)
Qanz is not just Qusmo’s largest city and capital. It is the political, economic, geographic, historic, cultural, and mythological heart of the nation and of its people. Qanz proper was originally constructed on an island in the caldera of an extinct supervolcano. Qusmi’y from all across the country take immense pride in their legacy as a people which emerged from the caldera, but they also wish that Qanz didn’t dominate the priorities of its various institutions.

Mastad Qastyra is the nation’s second-largest stadium and one of its finest. It is also one of its most historic. It is the home of KF Qastyr, the only club to ever win the Pug Qusmyra or qualify for the UICA Champions’ Cup. Neither of those competitions exist anymore, but Qastyr has endured as a symbol of its city, as the only top-tier club based in Qusmo’s capital and largest city. It has inherited some of the wealth and power of that city, as well, and its grandeur is evident throughout the stadium. Its recent renovations were designed with the plan of hosting a World Cup quarterfinal, but plans were changed to allow a broader list of cities to host the tournament. Given a single match on a smaller stage, Qastyr will seek to put on a show to make organizers regret not allowing it a brighter spotlight.

Atlem
Mastad Atlanta (56 431)
Atlem is Qusmo’s third-largest city, and it is currently undergoing a metamorphosis. Long a working-class city built by the city’s dockyards, a burgeoning tech sector has been attracted to Atlem, seeking a city with a large population and both cheap land and labor. The city has been gentrifying as a result, with long-tenured, deep-rooted members of local communities being priced out by new-money newcomers. The government accepts this as the necessary cost of growth.

Mastad Atlanta is home to KF Atlant, which used to be the city’s only top-flight club but now is evidently the weaker rival to new powers KF Atlov. The club’s situation mirrors that of its supporters, with wages stagnating and job disappearing in the nation’s industrial base as its government has prioritized other sectors. Mastad Atlanta doesn’t have the same gleaming veneer that some of its counterparts might have, then, but it does have history and passion on its side, and Atlem’s working class intends to celebrate their moment in the sun to the fullest - as long as monied Atlov supporters don’t price them out of their own venue, of course.

by **The Kytler Peninsulae** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 7:43 pm

The Kytler Peninsulae playoff venues

Florley Garden City
Florley Field (30,420)
The Eastern Corridor Expansion has numerous purpose-built “new cities” to account for population overspill from the heavily crowded Zube-Bay City sprawl prior to the border change sparked by the Albundanian Collapse. Florley Garden City, located 30km east of Zube and hence on the northern side of the Expansion, was explicitly conceived as an environmentally-friendly one, filled with green spaces and connecting cycle paths that encourage active travel. It retains its distinctive appearance and ethos despite having now grown beyond the 150,000 population threshold of its original master plan, and many of those residents are retirees from the northern peninsula that have contributed to making this a hub of Kytlerian cricket and (rather awkwardly sitting with that eco-ethos) golf.

Indeed, Florley Field’s usually referred to by another name courtesy of a naming rights deal with locally-based FourD, the leading company in the thriving Kytlerian market for golf simulators; their flagship facility is built into the bowels of the venue itself, which is is a relatively conventional bowl design but with the first all-over “green roof” of any Kytlerian stadium (several others have one over just one or two stands) and a southern facade almost entirely filled with solar panels.

Ranford
St Margaret's Park (31,093)
The twin seaside resort of Ranford and Willsbrook is the largest urban area on the northern shoreline of Kytler Bay, the “North Bay Coast” as it is known locally. Historically separate towns that have indirectly merged but largely retained separate identities, Ranford is the larger and more raucous of the two and has long been a tourist hub thanks to its sandy beach and proximity to Zube, whereas Willsbrook to its west is predominantly residential and has a substantial retired population.

The renowned St Margaret’s Church lies straight up a short steep hill from Ranford Pier - the entire conurbation, like most of the North Bay Coast, is essentially hemmed in by the chalk hills of the Northern Downs - and Ranford & Willsbrook’s stadium was essentially built around it, with the church standing in the northeastern corner and an entirely deliberate capacity. With the steep local topography, it’s often joked that the pitch slopes, but it doesn’t; the southern Seaside End is actually built several metres above ground level with a car park underneath, so as you take that steep walk up St Margaret’s Hill (which itself has been an international sporting venue in the past, as the end of the first stage of the Kytlerian Big Weekend cycling stage race) the stadium actually looks a lot bigger than it is.

Vengife
Taa'kai Memorial Stadium (24,128)
When settlers from the former Vircais surged onto the Xandrian Sea shoreline of the southern peninsula, they paid all too little respect to those who were there first. The Kytlerian Aboriginal population were largely enslaved - or worse. The former Taa’kai tribe of over 9,000 people were entirely ethnically cleansed in the dash for mining resources (most worryingly uranium) in the area around what is now Vengife, a town built explicitly as an Aboriginal capital as part of the reconciliation process upon the formation of the modern Kytlerian nation.

That explains the name of this stadium, which does indeed feature a large memorial to the Taa’kai outside. There is more positive history for this venue though; it staged the final of a World Lacrosse Championship that the Kytlerian team, inspired by Vephra-Aboriginal local hero Ock Fils, famously won on home soil. It was the first major title ever won by a Kytlerian team, and remains a cultural touchstone even as lacrosse has long since lost its one-time status as a unifying national sport. Someone else will claim a memorable triumph on this ground and clinch a World Cup berth; who will it be?

by **Aphrilia** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:19 pm

OOC: All of this was agreed between me and Crpo in Discord DMs, and I'm certain Saterun has also been notified. Crpo, if there's anything else that needs to be added or changed, let me know!

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THE APHRILIAN NATIONAL TEAM

After a disappointing World Cup Qualifying cycle where The Anchors saw themselves perform worse than during their debut year, changes must be made.

Joseph Alan is to step down from the role of interim manager and return to his original role of assistant manager with immediate effect. Whilst NAFA deem Joseph Alan to be competent as a professional in his role, assessment from the last few matchdays of World Cup Qualifying has deemed him unsuitable to be a proper replacement for Christopher Vermont. However, despite the bad performance, he has somewhat salvaged the team from completely breaking apart and will be allowed to return to his original position.

With the next Independents Association Championships coming up soon, the board have scouted and assessed multiple managers that were available to take up the mantle of managing the Aphrilian National Team. Throughout this process, our primary qualifications were experience and cooperativeness with the team and NAFA itself.

And after tumultuous grading and assessment, we hereby announce that Leonardo Bianchi is to take the reigns as the Aphrilian National Team manager from here on out.

As ex-coach of the Crpostranian National Team, he has taken them to the World Cup during their debut cycle in 96 and during 97. This is what we deem the experience required to bring this team back to shape and take them as far as possible. Bianchi has also shown domestic prowess, bringing Crpostown City to three domestic titles and has brought Saternalian club Xaiv 1919 from table-end finishes to consistent challenges for IFCF spots. NAFA has also deemed his reputation and tactics to be helpful for Aphrilia in the long run.

We welcome him to the Aphrilian National Team as a family, and we wish him good luck with his endeavors as the Aphrilian National Team's new manager.

Signed, Clark Thompson.

by **Tikariot** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:53 pm

Tikariot playoff venues

Bul Khungur
Temple of the Crow (26,000)
Bul Khungur is a mining city in Dhaencunor, in the shade of the mighty Khazagh range. It also is the location of the most iconic stadium in all of Tikariot: the Temple of the Crow.

Built entirely from black basalt, tight and steep, creating a uniquely dense and eerie atmosphere that has helped decide games in the past. Located on the outskirts of Bul Khungur, the Temple of the Crow has an impressive facade resembling a crow with spread wings.

Eivora
Melnock House (43,000)
Eivora is a tradehub near the border between the Emerald Coast and Dhaencunor and prides itself on beingn a very green city, both in terms of vegetation and also ecology.

Melnock House is one of the TPL's most beautiful stadiums. Located on the edge of Eivora, it is nestled into a large park and while a quite modern stadium, it doesn't feel out of place. The flowing lines continue inside the double-tiered stadium that allows for a great atmosphere.

Pyathora
Southside Docks (49,500)
Pyathora in the south of the Acrassia province is the largest base of the Tikariotian Navy and the city has an extremely close connection to the base, with many sports teams and other companies either having been founded by former officers or with other connections to the Navy.

Located next to the Tikariot Navy base of Pyathora, Southside Docks is not a very modern stadium with many amenities, but it is gritty and loud. Add to that a raucous crowd and you get an atmosphere that can influence a game.

by **Yue Zhou** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 9:19 pm

Yuezhou playoff venues

Beian
Beian Dongguang Stadium (51,000)
The largest city in the northern province of Beiyun and the historic capital of pre-socialist Yuezhou, Beian was initially sidelined in the United Republics era but has recently seen a cultural revival. Modern Beian is an eclectic mix of traditional architecture (like the Yinghua Complex, the former seat of the Yue monarchy) and soulless modern architecture.

Dongguang, named after a local automotive company, falls in the latter category. Home of Beian City, once a strong team who have underperformed recently, it's a huge, glass-and-metal monstrosity that birds keep flying into. Still, its impressive size and central location have earned it a number of high-profile hosting assignments in the past, most notably the third-place playoff of the forty-sixth Copa Rushmori.

by **Sel Appa** » Wed Jan 15, 2025 10:17 pm

Second Turtles Win Turns Qualifiers Around, But Questions Arise

World Cup 98 Qualifying - Post Matchday 13

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NEMNENAIT—A second straight home side win went into the books against Sangti and the Filindo Isles. The 3-1 scoreline was an energetic showing of Sel Appan football, with Elmo Rivers nipping it in net 12 minutes in. Right up against half time, Sangti and the Filindo Isles bagged an equalizer. After the break, the Turtles came out guns blazing and full of energy. Dmitri Ram broke thru the Yellow Eagles defense and ripped a shot typical of his aggressive nature. It was 2 to 1 for the rest of the match until Allan Reddy found himself an opportunity in extra time. A raucous crowd lit up with joy at another two-goal win as the whistle blew from the pitch. While not as dramatic as in Anila City, the fans again streamed down to the field to celebrate their team. For the first time in these qualifiers, there seemed hope. While the Turtles had long been eliminated, this is what fans had expected to see going in, not the horrific ten game losing streak they got.

Unlike their sister city, Nemnen Police were adequately prepared, swarming the area around the arena with a mix of uniformed and riot geared officers. But nothing happened. The party was inside Turtle Stadium as the players and coach were serenaded again. Fans streamed out calmly, cheering and chanting as they ambled in every direction. It was a beautiful scene that only served to embarrass the capitals rival even more. One can only predict the next Nemnen Turtles - Anila City FC game will have some clever taunts, even if the formers fanbase are just as prone to hooliganism.

But not everyone was so upbeat. Jeremy Bates of SportsCentre was heated all night on the postgame. "Where was this in the first ten games? We saw absolute rubbish football after game one. Two goals to four, then a single goal against five, and then eight straight blank sheets. And now we go 2 and 2? Marek Löwy has to answer for this. I know everyones all in for him now, but I have to question his coaching if he can bung everything up, get threatened with firing, and then magically the team can win. I dont buy it." Arguing with the other hosts the entire evening, who had to settle him down on several occasions. While they didnt agree, he may have a point. Depending on the results of the final game, a lot of questions are going to be asked. One win gave hope, two wins makes one wonder. A third win would almost hurt more, to know this team had wasted potential. No doubt a serious post mortem is going into effect as the inevitable Cup of Harmony comes around and a look towards the 99th World Cup.

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by **Kanzlia** » Thu Jan 16, 2025 5:13 am

Kanzlia to head back home

A contentious 3-3 draw against Kamijiro followed by a tense 3-2 defeat against Flavovespia, Karl Schmidts men drops down to fourth place in the final standings of Group 10. This marks the 2nd 4th place finishes in a row for the Kanzlian National Team as their WC97 qualifying campaign also ended in 4th.

Memorable victories against Qasden, Yuugria, and Flavovespia brought plenty of joy to the spectators at home and in the stands. Paulo Tiyan riles up the home crowd, Ardentius van Coevorden makes fluke tackles that somehow didn't get him sent off, and Evert van Selm continues to make laser guided passes through the midfield. Whilst the national team failed to qualify, they can raise their heads up high as they showed the world what Kanzlian football is about. The only way to go is up now.

"It's a tough loss, but considering what we've been through, I can atleast board the plane back home with a smile - a bitter smile, but a smile nontheless." states Karl Schmidt after his team lost the crucial 14th matchday to Flavovespia.

by **The Ko-orenite Constellation** » Thu Jan 16, 2025 6:20 am

A draw against the Squornshelan Remnant States, two wins over Xanneria, two wins over Bostopia, a point against Legalese - it was only Audioslavia that had the answer to the Constellation's ever-changing cast by handing us two defeats. And all that means that the Constellation is going for their first playoffs - a remarkable rise given the humble beginnings and the near absent information sharing between the various national teams that make up the strange configuration.

Ndugutisaoren was given the two toughest games, away at the pot 1 team and Audioslavia. It wasn't a huge surprise that they'd escape with two losses, but at this point the Ndugutisaoren team hasn't gained a single point for the Constellation across this campaign and the previous. They're still the biggest constituent national team, but at some point they'll have to win something.

Shahrbanoren was given more difficult games than last cycle, but first they were scoreless in Audioslavia's visit and they could only muster a draw away at Vetrahjart. The expectations might have just been a little too much for them.

Chanmingoren claims to be on par with Ndugutisaoren in national team quality, and there might be something to it, even if nobody outside Chanmingoren is likely to say it. They beat Bostopia 2-0 away, but then let Legalese claw to a 2-2 draw in matchday 13. Still, four points out of six, not bad!

Isidoren is a mixed bag. They were employed as a clean-up crew against teams from the middle pots, but they did exemplary in their 3-0 win at Xanneria and then a 2-1 win at home against Bostopia.

Tarören was given a relatively light schedule and got the six out of six as expected. They lit up the scoreboard in a 4-1 win early on, but couldn't score more than 1 against Hmmland later on. Still - two wins is two wins.

Irithoren was a late addition as the best-of-the-rest national team within the Constellation. They had the unenviable task to play Legalese and were scheduled against Xanneria, but their Campionato Esportiva experience shone through with their win over Xanneria. Let's not talk about the Legalese game.

Cang Prathoren is new to the Constellation schedule, but they got the best result imaginable! A 4-1 win over Hmmland followed by a 1-1 draw against the Squornshelan Remnant States.

The sixteen territories with the 'best national teams' as perceived by an organisation in Tarören were invited to play the inaugural Constellation Championship. That way, they could claim to host the tournament as well, preventing anyone else from snatching that milestone from them. Competition isn't strange to the Taröreni. Three venues in the city of Tergan, three in the city of Sülüzer, one more in Namankand, and one in Belki - eight stadiums in total for the first round.

A random draw happened, pitting, among others, Campionato Esportiva's Irithoren to the supposedly best team in the Constellation, Ndugutisaoren, but also allowing Tarören a very easy draw against Arhoren (though nobody dared to shout 'rigged' to not stir the pot) and also letting one of Galnoren or Synephoren into the quarterfinal - the two teams widely regarded as the weakest in the competition.

Round 1
Aymenoughshire-about-Oren 1–2 Isidoren @ Terganspor Stadium, Tergan
Arhoren 0–1 Tarören @ Samanaspor Stadium, Sülüzer
Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren 2–0 Uruashoren @ Namankand
Galnoren 3–4 Synephoren @ Belki
Chanmingoren 1–2 Zakhoren @ Karanbey Stadium, Tergan
Shahrbanoren 2–3 Antakodrandavoren @ Akdaler Stadium, Tergan
Tonboren 0–3 Cang Prathoren @ Bularhisar Stadium, Sülüzer
Irithoren 0–1 Ndugutisaoren @ Sülüzerspor Stadium, Sülüzer

There were hardly any sellouts, though the small-ish stadium in Namankand was nearly at capacity and the home team obviously sold out the Samanaspor Stadium weeks in advance. We were treated to a pretty good game in the Akdaler as Antakodrandavoren made a case for them to be included in the World Cup qualification campaign by beating Shahrbanoren in a high-scoring game. Isidoren had a late winner in their game, Tarören got away lucky with a penalty against Arhoren, Uruashoren looked horrible against Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren with nerves getting the better of them so far from home. Chanmingoren were upset by Zakhoren, hurting their claims to be the class of the Constellation but the eventual winners did come away with a fair few lucky breaks. The highest scoring game was a 3-4 Synephoren win in Belki - viewed by almost nobody, unfortunately. The TVs were tuned to Irithoren and Ndugutisaoren in their huge clash, looking more like a tournament final than a Round of 16. Cautious, both teams didn't want to give away anything, but it was indeed Ndugutisaoren who won in the end - can we call them the best already?

Round 2
Synephoren 3–4 Isidoren @ Samanaspor Stadium, Sülüzer
Cang Prathoren 1–0 Zakhoren @ Karanbey Stadium, Tergan
Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren 5–3 Ndugutisaoren @ Bularhisar Stadium, Sülüzer
Antakodrandavoren 0–0 Tarören (1–0 AET) @ Terganspor Stadium, Tergan

Just Sülüzer and Tergan left as host cities, there was a random draw for the quarterfinals. Tarören again had a very favourable draw, against the remaining weakest team in Antakodrandavoren - but the Davids took Goliath to extra time and there it was a chaotic mess that favoured the team with the best stamina in the end - Tarören out. That's not what they expected from their home soil advantage. Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren survive another round, with a 5-3 win... over Ndugutisaoren! After their defensive showing against Irithoren, they stared at a 2-0 deficit early and from there on out it was a shootout. 2-0 went to 2-2 at the halfway point, and then Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren just kept scoring. 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, and there was time only for a consolation goal. Isidoren knock out Synephoren in a high-scoring affair, and Cang Prathoren get a business-like 1-0 over Zakhoren to close out the round.

Round 3
Antakodrandavoren 3–3 Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren (3–3 AET) (3–5 pen.) @ Samanaspor Stadium, Sülüzer
Cang Prathoren 1–1 Isidoren (1–2 AET) @ Bularhisar Stadium, Sülüzer

All teams in Sülüzer for the semifinals - we would say there was a great atmosphere and parties in the streets but honestly, after the hosts went out, hype around the tournament disappeared, at least locally. We can report viewing parties in the nations involved, but as very few fans made it to Tarören to cheer on their teams live, there's empty sections in the Samanaspor and Bularhisar everywhere. Creative camera angles try to hide that fact, but it was kind of inevitable. That said, there was some great football on offer - both games went to extra time. Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren also found Antakodrandavoren incredibly difficult to dispatch, allowing a last-minute equaliser, but righting the ship in penalties. Isidoren and Cang Prathoren were seen as outsiders for the title and they played like it: scrappy though with solid fundamentals that betray two pretty damn talented teams. Isidoren won with a goal right at the start of extra time - couldn't they have done that a few minutes earlier?

Final
Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren 2–2 Isidoren (2–3 AET) @ Terganspor Stadium, Tergan

What a final it was! There was some lackluster football played in some quiet surroundings earlier in the tournament, but with two fairytale runs - Isidoren had a fairly easy run but perhaps they played down to their opposition, while Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren went through Uruashoren and Ndugutisaoren to get here - and all of the favourites out, the first edition of the Constellation Championship is one to remember. Breakneck scheduling - trying to get this 'friendly' tournament over in a week and a half - means that there were some rotations and mild injuries, so it came down to the little things. Isidoren, again, fought and kept things close, while Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren were sharpened by iron and were too good to let the simple things upset them. That left Ostfalen-Hinterpommoren to open the score, double it, but also let Isidoren back into it with poor defending on a corner kick, not marking a winger a few minutes later for the 2-2. In extra time, the crowd went mild as Uxia Cancio slid in the winning goal. After that, there were a lot of shots on goal to try to get back into it, but Isidoren held and - much like in their World Cup qualifiers - got way more of a result than anyone gave them credit for. Has a new footballing powerhouse arisen in the Constellation?

by **Sel Appa** » Thu Jan 16, 2025 1:10 pm

Post Qualifiers Analysis, The Future of Löwy and Duceppe

World Cup 98 Qualifying - Post Qualifiers

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NEMNENAIT—Sel Appas long-awaited return to international football was a grueling fit of endurance as the novice team fell in ten straight games before a seemingly lucky break at home against fourth-ranked Farfadillis made their first win. They would go 1-0-2 in the remaining three matches, picking up another win against Sangti and the Filindo Isles, also at home. The question on everyones mind is what, if anything changed? In the opening leg, Sel Appa scored only three goals and twenty against, with zero wins. It was so bad, they went five straight games with no answer. As the midway point emerged, calls increased for heads to roll targeting both the coach, Marek Löwy, and Federation President Gérard Duceppe. Löwy ended up nixing his defensive style for a more aggressive one, and the results seemed to be immediate in Match 8 against Mytanija. Hard drives against the team ended up as own goals, but the Turtles did most of the work. Even with the game still a loss, something seemed to have changed.

It would not be for another three matches that they got a win, but the intervening two saw a similar improvement in play. Whether it was a style change, or the team finding their footing, or maybe both, it changed the mood. By the time, the win came around, the feeling in the locker room and in the stands had changed. Despite the riots and hooliganism that marred that win, it was a sign of things to come. The team seems ready now in ways it wasnt before and will have a good shot at the Cup of Harmony and future qualifiers. As they say, no one makes the first cup. Fans are still disappointed, knowing not too long ago, the Turtles won a third place match and a lot of unexpected glory. It wasnt the win everyone wanted, but it was a win in many ways. That long remembered team, which went all the way to the Semifinals. A dream many hope is now rekindled. This team has a lot to look forward to, a young bunch of lively sprogs. We as a nation can look optimistically at the chances they will one day hoist the greatest trophy of them all.

Meanwhile, with these wins and his continued success on the domestic front, Federation President Duceppe seems more than secure. Coach Löwy on the other hand, seems less assured. While he did get the wins to save his chances, many are still blaming him for the losing streak. It may not be fair to him, but this is the way with sports. Fortunately, theres always a sense of "what have you done for me lately?" and the skipper has done a lot, earning good will with a .500 record in the last four. Almost, just almost, enough to make people forget the other ten. Nevertheless, he faces the FFSA Board in a post Cup inquiry, that is, after the Cup of Harmony and World Cup. This is routine, of course, but he has to e sweating it a bit. Stern questioning is expected. The odds are he will be upped for another cycle, but there will be a need for accountability. Until then, we wait for Harmony.

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by **Libesia** » Thu Jan 16, 2025 3:05 pm

Libesia responds to World Cup qualifying results:

by **Kimi-Suomi** » Thu Jan 16, 2025 5:15 pm

Fourth. FOURTH?!
We were practically dead for half of this campaign and we need up Fourth?
Huh.
It was a distant fourth, sure, but it still counts as 4th...and that might mean something.
This campaign died a grizzly death in the middle...and we could never recover.
But hope still remains...hope that maybe, the Cup of Harmony (wherever it is) will take us?

We'll be back.
NOSTA KUIN HUUHKAJAT!

SCHEDULE/AJOITTAA (Group 4)
MD1: vs Darmen (54) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki W 1-0 (T-2nd)
MD2: @Hispinas (142) D 1-1 (3rd)
---------
MD3: vs Chromatika (32) - Galaktien Colosseum [Colosseum of the Galaxies], Lumikukkulat L 0-1 (4th)
MD4: @Bir Matras (UR) - Yamal Community stadium, Yamal(?) D 2-2 (5th)
---------
MD5: vs Kronbinen [Kronbia] (82) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki D 0-0 (5th)
MD6: vs Tumbra (2) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki D 1-1 (T-4th)
---------
MD7: @Marsin Itsenäinen Tasavalta [Martian Independent Republic] (177) - Aeolis Stadium, Aeolis Base L 0-1 (T-5th)
MD8: @Darmen (54) - Northumberland Stadium, Oldtown L 1-4 (6th)
---------
MD9: vs Hispinas (142) - Galaktien Colosseum [Colosseum of the Galaxies], Lumikukkulat D 2-2 (6th)
MD10: @Chromatika (32) - RCK Field, Alnio L 0-2 (6th)
---------
MD11: vs Bir Matras (UR) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki W 3-0 (5th)
MD12: @Kronbinen [Kronbia] (82) - Estadio Cerro del Sol, Ciudad de Halcon W 1-0 (5th)
---------
MD13: @Tumbra (2) - Bencoolen City Stadium, Bencoolen L 0-4 (5th)
MD14: vs Marsin Itsenäinen Tasavalta [Martian Independent Republic] (177) - Galaktien Colosseum [Colosseum of the Galaxies], Lumikukkulat W 1-0 (4th/4-5-5/17pts/-4GD)

by **Panay Islands and Guimaras** » Thu Jan 16, 2025 6:59 pm

WE WON 2 MATCHES, BUT AT WHAT COST?
Iloilo City, Federal Canton and Bni Drar, Al-Tamazgha

This is it, the last resort for the Blue and Whites. It's the chance that could enter the World Cup. The whole stadium is loaded in blue. A lot of Panayenses got their tickets on while the whole nation celebrates the festival of Sto. Niño, with a game between the Cobrians and the Panayenses. The first goal came by Ricalde via a penalty with a Panenka after a Cobrian committed a foul. But the Cobrians responded with a volley of their own. It was a goal galore where Tiu suddenly did a hattrick against them, with free kicks, long shots, and a simple goal for the least. But two Cobrian players also scored a goal of their own. But there's no chance that the Cobrians would win after a monstrous save by Ibarra, that led to Martinelli's own goal against the Cobrian goalkeeper. Next is in Bni Drar, not a capital but it's the final match of the boys in blue, now wearing white. The Panayenses started off strong with goals by Ricalde and the captain, Rodriguez. But in the last minute, the Tamazghs scored their own goal to seal the hopes of coming to the World Cup are now over. "We say thank you to all of the fans cheering us, and we hope that we can be qualified to the Cup of Harmony.", says Avila. Will the Panayenses got a chance of their lifetime at the 90th edition of Cup of Harmony?

by **HUElavia** » Thu Jan 16, 2025 7:30 pm

HUElavia 1–0 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison
(Narita 29')
Estadio Santiago, Puerto Santiago, HUElavia

Equestrian States 1–4 HUElavia
(REDACTED 8' | Arruda 15', 72' (P), Diaz 37', Go 83')

Overall Record:
12-2-0, 37 GF, 10 GA, +27 GD, 38 Points
1st of 8 in Group 8, 1st of 144 teams in Qualifiers

Confessione

A mobster's confession of his family's sins.

Once the papers were signed, Agent Coutinho looked over all the pages to make sure not a single signature was left missing. "Alright Dino, you've signed off on everything. I'd like to thank you for your time today and for doing not only a good service for us, but for your country as well." Dino sat back with a face of guilt and discomfort, knowing there truly was no going back. Claudia hugged him and gave support saying "It's okay baby. We needed this chance, all we can do is hope for the best for now." Agent Coutinho spoke once more, saying "Now that you've signed these papers, you're now officially part of the witness protection program. We'll be organizing movers to come to your house in two days to start moving things to your new apartment in Ourao, so please start packing up things with boxes you may have. Once the trial is done, the movers will come again to help you move your stuff to Sudilia once the your witness testimony is through." Dino picked up, feeling concerned asking "How can we trust these movers that they wouldn't come to harm us?"

"Well, since you're part of the program, we do vet the employees from the company to make sure nobody will be likely to harm you and your family in any way. We've contracted with this company to help witnesses to various crimes to move and start a new life somewhere different." Agent Coutinho handed over a pamphlet of the moving company where Dino and Claudia began to browse through the pamphlet. "Besides, you'll be assigned different undercover agents who will be by your house round the clock to make sure nobody comes close to you guys. But I'd like to advise on not moving so much during this period." Dino and Claudia were surprised by this request, with Claudia picking up with "Why not? We can't be cooped up in our house like this! Plus, we'd have to take the kids to school." "I understand that, and you can go out to get the essentials and do what needs to be done, but don't linger out for too long. If the Torellis know what Dino did, you all are at risk of getting ambushed, and we can't be following you all around as personal bodyguards. Plus, it'd raise suspicion for them and we want to catch them by surprise. At this point, you two are free to go."

It was a quiet drive for both Dino and Claudia as they got back home. It was late, but they knocked at the door of the neighbors and took back a sleepy Mauro and Emilia back to their house and tucked them into their beds. Once done, they got to their bed room and sat on the side of the bed. "Claudia, I hope you're not mad at me. I feel terrible, absolutely gutted..." "No Dino, don't feel and think that way. I'm proud of you. It's the strongest feat you've ever done, more than that macho stuff you'd do when we started dating." Dino and Claudia smiled and gave each other a hug and kiss. "I just want the best for you and the kids. I just had to do it." "I know, I know. And you did well." The next morning they broke the news to the kids they had to move, with the kids crying and sobbing, having to coax them to calm down and give them support through the change in their life. Next day after, the movers began coming in, and they noticed the undercover agents in the background in their car eyeing them, making sure they were safe. Within a few days, everything was folded up and packed up as they sold their home to the HBI, who paid them to leave with a whopping 5 Million Hueks. A very nice amount for them to use once in Sudilia, as Agent Coutinho had instructed them.

A week after moving, the news broke out how all the members of the Torelli Family that Dino had ratted on were caught and arrested by the HBI and the Police. One member in particular was caught in a Soapland in Sega, in what was viewed as an embarrassment for him and the family. Once the time had come, Dino was flown to Canternico for the trials, testifying against each one of them. Their looks ranged from bewilderment to rage to sadness. The worst look of all was of the boss, Coronato Torelli, who had a scornful look that if they were bullets, Dino would've been wacked without a second thought. All of the men were convicted, put into long sentences in prison, some including getting life sentences. From there, Dino, Claudia and the kids were packed up again and this time their possessions were shipped to Sudilia, with the kids once more bawling over moving again, but this time it was for real.

Life was somewhat different in Sudilia compared to HUElavia. The people were nice, but not to the jovial, touchiness that was common back home. People were a bit more cold at points, being more to themselves than the nosiness that some HUElavians could be. For once, that was a welcomed change from HUElavia. The HBI had given them a pretty big home on the outskirts of Manchbury, about the same size as what they had back in Canternico. While the kids were having fun, even learning French in their classes, which they seemed to pick up thanks to knowing English and Italian, Claudia had befriended local housewifes in the area and they seemed to get along. While Dino was working as a manager in a local video store that paid decent that was closeby to where he now lived, Dino still had anxiety dwelling in him.

Dino was suspicious of people, especially those who looked Tallian, but every interaction was friendly and good. Still, such was the fears he had to live with as Dino McDougal. Such is the life he must have as an HBI Informat. Such is his life as a rat. He had to keep an eye out on suspicious people, for he didn't know if one of them would clip him. Like a famous wise guy once said "You never hear it coming." Regardless, he was with a new life in a new country. At the end, he got what he wanted for himself and his family.

END

by **The 14 Stars** » Fri Jan 17, 2025 6:51 am

Starsian Dream

It was an important evening for the Starsian Wolves, their team played against the tough opponents of Zenic and there was alot at stake as a win could mean a big step towards qualification to the world cup.
Ofcourse the match being last minute relocated to the Helix stadium was odd but the Starsian Wolves had no problems with this, they knew how to adapt and they knew the association here sometimes had their weird quirks if anything, there was always little bit of surprise.
Zenic would roll out the heavyweights tonight but so would we playing our experienced players who we knew would do good and knew how to go with pressure and tough situations like the ones they would face tonight.

Our line-up consisted of Davis, Saturn, Zaratti, Nightwalker, Edwards, Hansen, Sol, Raharinaivo, Phillips, Nuñez and Blade a balanced but very experienced squad which would be able to rise to challenge.
As the stadium filled itself with an amazing 250,000 fans and hundreds of millions watching live on television this was without a doubt the most important game of the qualification cycle because losing here would mean a likely end of the world cup dreams.
After the formalities such as the national anthem it was the team of Zenic that took the kick off and started a match that they had wished they never started because the Wolves were here to win and they would not back down easily.
Sol easily stole the ball passing to Raharinaivo who sought Blade with a long pass behind the defensive lines and as she gave the assist the ball from Nuñez barely missed the goal.
Our message had been clear no messing around and mere minutes later it was clear why as Nuñez shot again on goal but the goalkeeper Mosley of Zenic blocked it only to be defeated by the second attempt from Layla Raharinaivo who sent it home.
First goal only 8 minutes into the game the Wolves took the early lead, from now on the game would become more balanced and right before halftime it was Gentile with a goal after a chaotic moment following a corner.
During halftime where it was 1-1 on the scoreboard coach Walcott took out Kira Blade and subbed in Kimora Frazier and also was Grace Edwards replaced by Eva Weber who needed to bring in more offensive energy.

It seemed the Wolves had to find their rhythm back case after a free kick Dejulio from Zenic scored a beautiful free kick allowing Zenic to momentarily take the lead to the frustration of many Starsian fans.
Though it was only the beginning, following this the Starsians got back up and as the kick off was done Nuñez and Frazier went forward and with an incredible combination play Frazier scored only moments after kick off in the 51st minute, the equalized was here and 2-2 was now on the scoreboard with the Wolves very hungry for more now.
With the new players in the speed of the game was higher and the combinations quicker and younger players were less known and predictable and the Zenic team would often find themselves unsure what to do as they didnt keep up with the flow of the game.
After a corner it was once again Kimora Frazier who scored her second goal of the evening making it 3-2 and putting us into the lead once again and people would question whether Frazier would go for the hattrick yes or no.
In the end the answer was no, Kimora did give an assist late in the game a high cross pass but it was to Nuñez who with a very impressive volley kick got it behind keeper Mosley sealing the game and putting it to bed, the entire team ran onto to field after this 81th minute goal as if they had won the cup itself but they had not but certainly made a big step towards qualification.
Not much later the referee would end the game with a 4-2 final score, our side had risen to 3rd place enough for the playoffs and with a possibility for direct qualification if Megistos would somehow beat Zenic.

After the match coach Walcott would comment ''Well im a bit dissapointed in the Zenic team if you look at it, you know you're playing against our team we have a reasonable world ranking certainly capable of beating them easily.
To then have the nerve to come out with a bunch of reserves and a handful starters is pretty much is disgrace for your country, i put in diffrent players too but i had a reasoning on it, this to me just looked at Zenic trying to give rest to their starters and honestly in my opinion thats an insult to the Starsian team and today we earned that win and deserved it way more than them.''

Cheetahs and......reptiles?

In the plane to cheetahs and reptiles game coach Walcott would drop an idea that the whole team would be shocked about, however Walcott knew what she was doing and honestly given it was the last game she knew she could afford it.
All team members gathered around they could not see the sheet Walcott was writing on but when she was done the coach looked to the players with a smile as she started speaking to them for the next game.

''Guys we played a great game against Zenic and i know we arent safe yet but im gonna do something insane, we will do a special crazy line-up that no one will expect and it will even throw our opponents off guard here.
We all have the quality, each one of us are the best of the best all good players so we dont really have to worry about being weaker as a team since we really wont be very much weaker then when we come out with our strongest players, besides that we likely have to play a playoff game and you will understand that i want to have my best players well rested.

Without further delay the line-up for tonight will be, Dahl, Flores, Zaratti, Williams, Hendricks, Caruso, Fiore, Koch, Collins, Lauritzen and Huber and thats all for tonights line-up.''

alot of starters would find it risky but the ones playing werent pushovers either and alot of them young and eager to prove themselves such as Hendricks, Flores, Koch and Huber all of them really were still young.
For Liv Dahl this would be her second time in the goal understanding that shes now basically the backup goalie for Davis but still important in her own right and a good goalkeeper with alot of qualities that make her very capable.
As they landed they drove to the stadium and as the people on TV saw the line-up they would be shocked as all of the players lined up were usually reserves and alot of people would say Walcott was crazy for taking such risks with qualification on the line.
However they would soon be silenced by a goal in the 3rd minute by Lukas Lauritzen followed by in the 18th minute Justin Collins putting the second goal on the board taking a decisive lead for the Starsian Wolves.
During halftime Sarah Huber would be swapped out for Kira Blade and in the second half goals respectively from Alessio Caruso in the 60th minute and Kira Blade in the 88th minute would make it clear even the backup team was strong, only one goal got behind Dahl a penalty in minute 78 following a foul and a yellow card for Flores.

People were relieved to see the back up team doing its work but still they didnt like the sudden changes of coach Walcott, now they would be facing Zwangzug in the playoff as Zenic had sadly beaten Megistos making the Starsian Wolves 3rd in their group.

by **Recuecn** » Fri Jan 17, 2025 7:20 am

The last four games of Reçueçn's qualifying campaign began with two difficult, important matches against strong teams--Aleirave and Ko-oren. The last two would be less important--against Riena and Grand Exultia, the ÉNRF expected a brace of victories, and neither opponent was deemed a threat. Miraculously, Reçueçn won the first two games, assuring the fans of the team's skill. They were sure now that the nation would sail through the last two matchdays to qualify directly for the World Cup.

This hadn't always seemed like a guarantee. The federation had been arguing about who it wanted to coach the team for the tournament, and meddling with the current interim manager, Ägidius Heissler. In the end they let him go entirely, and decided to have four different coaches for the last four games as a sort of test to see who as best prepared to take over the team. The federation didn't seem worried about the potential consequences of shuffling around the coaching staff so haphazardly in the middle of a qualifying campaign. And when Les Licornes won against Aleirave and Ko-oren, any remaining doubts were washed away.

Then the chickens came home to roost.

One point in two games. Reçueçn fell out of the qualification places. It would come down to a playoff.

Thomas Büchel and Hyron LeBouffe had coached the first two games, and they were replaced by Jean-Pierre Boulet and Giusto Palermo. The latter two wanted to show off what made their coaching styles unique, in hopes that the FNRF would be persuaded, so each of them totally changed up the strategy he used in his match. This had disastrous effect. Les Licornes were confused, unused to the formations and the tactics. Passes went wide. Players found themselves cut off from their teammates, looking for help that never came. The confusion was disheartening and frustrating. So was losing. When the final whistle blew against Riena, the mood at the Stade National was somber. Just one more goal in either of the last two matches would have been enough to send Reçueçn to the World Cup. But it hadn't happened.

~~~

A few days later, the WCC announced the playoff draw. Reçueçn would be flying to Yuezhou to face off against Katzeburg. Ninety minutes would be all that was needed to decide the fate of the two teams. The FNRF decided to bring back LeBouffe and have him manage the game--he'd done well against Ko-oren. Michèle Simon wanted to push for Jean-Pierre Boulet, the manager from her club, Association Genève, but after his abysmal performance against Grand Exultia, the idea was summarily dismissed by the rest of the FNRF representatives.

Yves Sabatier, now working for Michèle (under the threat of some light blackmail) felt that he cared more than she did about the results the équipe nationale was getting. Simon had resolved both of her two goals: first, finally getting the FNRF into gear on the manager decision (which had been successful) and second, getting them to pick Boulet as their final choice (which had not). Now that Michèle didn't urgently need Yves for her own plans, he managed to convince her to let him help LeBouffe as he prepared the team for the playoff.

The pair met at the clubhouse at the ÉNRF training facility in the Reçueçn City banlieue. Yves had chosen a time the players weren't there--he knew they resented the federation's meddling, and he didn't want to put up with the fuss they would cause over it. LeBouffe, on the other hand, had to follow the FNRF's every whim, beck, and call if he wanted to secure the manager position. Yves liked that dynamic better.

"I know it's not going to be easy for you to win this playoff," he told LeBouffe. LeBouffe nodded, and Yves continued. "I want to help you out, and I got some time off from federation business to do that. My plan is to go to Katzeburg to try to spy on them and glean what I can before our match."

LeBouffe raised an eyebrow. "I've already had the boys start preparing by watching footage of their games from Group 5. Which, by the way, are incredibly entertaining. What a great group that was. So exciting... but I digress. My point is we've seen them play, if not in person. I don't know what you hope to gain by going in person, but I question whether it's worth the risk of being caught doing something as unsporting as 'spying.'"

"Never question me," Yves snapped. And so it was decided.

The Nervous Kitten, Present Day
The unpredictable Katzestadt weather was unseasonably warm today, driving people off the hot streets of the center city and into a deceptively unremarkable, squat brick building. Many found themselves blinking as they entered the dingy interior, their eyes adjusting from the bright summer sun outside to meet the gaze of the regulars within who regarded the newcomers with idle curiosity. There was always an adventure afoot at The Nervous Kitten, but you never knew who would be the one to carry it through the door.

A young man entered. He seemed obviously foreign, even before he opened his mouth and gave himself away with his accent. He made his way to the bar in the center of the establishment and perched himself on an ancient stool, then addressed the bartender.

"It's awfully hot out... there's no chance you happen to serve ice cream here, is there?"

"Can't you damn well read?" growled the bartender, and tapped the sign.

'NO ICE-CREAM SOLD HERE, DON’T EVEN ASK.'

Yves (for it was indeed our surreptitious Reçuecian FNRF staffer) gulped, taken aback. Somehow he seemed to have started off by saying the one thing he shouldn't have. "I-I'm sorry," he stammered. "I didn't see that." The bartender seemed unimpressed by this excuse. "What should I order? I'm not from around here, I don't know what's good."

The bartender raised an eyebrow at him. "The pie's good."

Yves thought he saw the bartender smile in a way he didn't quite like. "Euh, I think I want something cold. Maybe just a beer to start."

The bartender shrugged in a way that seemed to indicate that this had been the inevitable outcome of this conversation from the beginning, then turned and selecting a pint glass, began to run beer into it from one of the row of taps behind the bar.

Yves turned away too, spinning around as well as he could on his actively-collapsing barstool to get a look at the rest of the tavern. It was still only mid-afternoon, but already the establishment was quite full. Yves could tell there were other tourists there, and passers-by driven indoors by the heat, but the majority of the crowd were clearly regulars. They thrived in the pleasant hubbub of this ancient sanctuary of drink, the melodies of their conversations rising and falling across each other in harmony. Every now and then a table might distinguish itself from the general chorus with a solo--a peal of loud laughter, or a drunk, angry yell--but the tune would always rejoin the cadence. A kerfuffle of some sort broke out at the billiard table in the corner, but no one paid it any mind. The tavern had been here for centuries, and it would outlast whatever petty squabble today could bring.

Yves heard the unmistakable sound of a beer being set down on a hardwood countertop and turned back to the bartender to claim his drink. There were two on the bar, but before Yves could wonder whether the second beer was also met for him, a hand grabbed it. The hand was attached to an arm, and the arm belonged to a rosy-cheeked man two seats over with a large belly, who reached in to take his drink. He made eye contact with Yves as he did so, and raised his glass to him with a nod.

"Cheers, guv," said the man.

Yves was once more taken aback--he hadn't expected this fellow, clearly 30 years his senior, to address him as "guv", but he returned the gesture, raising his glass. "To your health," he said, then took a swig from his beer, the foam settling on his upper lip.

His new drinking partner took a long draft that drained half the glass before he set it back down. "Your accent sounds foreign," he said, although to Yves the man's own accent sounded like a thick brogue. "Where y'from?"

Yves reminded himself he was on a spy mission. "Uh... Omerica," he said, naming the first French-speaking place he could think of.

The man laughed in a way that made his belly shake. "Come to drown your sorrows then? Can't say I blame ye. If ye had beaten us in that second match, 'stead of the other way 'round, then ye would have the playoff against Reçueçn, and we'd be in your place--shit out of luck." The man laughed again. "Nay, can't say I blame ye."

The thought crossed Yves' mind that this man might be as old as The Nervous Kitten itself, but he pushed it out of his mind. He had to focus now. He'd just been handed the perfect intro to the conversation. "You're confident you can beat Reçueçn?" he asked. "They're a strong team."

"Sure," admitted the man, drawing the word out almost into a low whistle. He paused only half a moment. "But we're a better one." He clapped Yves on the back with another laugh. "Jokes aside, I do believe that. I've seen the way those Reçuecians play. No gumption. They don't know how to attack, just hangin' back all the time. Haberkorn may not be perfect, but I'll admit she knows how to launch a good challenge. We'll have Reçueçn on the back foot from the moment the whistle blows and there won't be a worry."

Yves had to admit that this stranger in a Katzeburgian pub seemed to have done--halfway through what was certainly not his first pint of the day--what five separate Reçuecian managerial candidates had been unable to do over fourteen matchdays. A quick identification of the key weakness. A practical strategy in response. The whole thing in just a few seconds. Maybe this random Katzeburgian ought to manage for Les Licornes, thought Yves. If he could do the same for the Blue Cats, which seemed likely, that would be all Reçueçn needed.

"Don't you think Reçueçn will have planned for that?" he asked. "What do you think their strategy will be?"

"If they're smart, they'll strike first. I watched the tape of their last game after the draw was announced. They have a couple players who could put together a good attack--I hate to admit it but Lapix is brilliant, and if he and Franky work together, they could do some damage. If they get into our back line before we can launch an attack, it might not go well. Knepp is great, but Howland and Clarkson are a little green yet and we can't defend as well as the Reçuecians can. Which again, is why we need to attack first."

Yves nodded. "Sounds like you know your stuff, old man. I can't say I did any research on Reçueçn. I'm mostly thinking of the Cup of Harmony at this point, since that's where we're headed." Yves winced as he said that out loud. He hoped it wasn't going to be true soon, but he wasn't sure he was confident of that.

"Well, now that our nations aren't in a group together anymore, I can wish ye the best of luck!" The Katzeburgian raised his glass to Yves once more, before draining it dry and setting it down. With a large sigh, he stood up. "I'd best be headin' out. But it was a pleasure talkin' with ye. I hope ye enjoy your stay in Katzeburg." He threw out an arm in a large sweeping gesture toward the rest of the tavern. "This is as good a place as any to start with, you're lucky ye found it. The Nervous Kitten is a piece of history, but more than that, it's alive in a way, if ye take my meaning. This place is who we are in Katzeburg. Ye've done well to find it." With a final nod, the man departed, leaving Yves to ponder his wisdom.

Yves couldn't pretend he knew any better. But it seemed to him the old man spoke true. The Nervous Kitten was a perfect representation of Katzeburg. When Yves got caught up in a tavern brawl and ended the evening by being thrown out on his face, he decided that was a bad omen. If Katzeburg could kick Reçueçn's ass as easily as The Nervous Kitten could kick his, the team was in for a bad time.

by **HOT-DAMN** » Fri Jan 17, 2025 9:40 am

Mastad Atlanta, Atlem, Qusmo
The morning of the World Cup 98 Qualifier: HOT-DAMN v. the Ko-orenite Constellation

The grimness of the HOT-DAMN football team, formerly known as Kensington Town Soccer Club, continued as the players entered the locker room of Mastad Atlanta to prepare for the playoff match against the Ko-orenite Constellation. The last two matches hadn't gone exactly according to plan: While they won their last match against the North Oharan Valley Union, tying with Crpostran wasn't going to give them the points they needed. But still, they got further than anyone would have expected, and they got further than, realistically, they should have gone.

These were not professional football players. These were men that, until about a week and a half ago, worked regular 9-to-5 jobs in a variety of fields, brought together by a bar and an amateur soccer team. And together, somehow or another, they had gone up against players that, theoretically, should have beaten them every single game so badly, the World Cup Committee would have implemented a "mercy rule" that would have ended matches early. But yet, the players held their own, playing competitively and beating national squads. These beer leaguers were beating the prides of a number of nations. And they had done so well, too. Nobody had really expected they'd go this far, but yet, here they were.

But yet, all was not well. Jimmy Eaton, head of the HOT-DAMN national team, felt as if he had backed himself into a corner. He was losing a flexibility that had come with running a team of beer leaguers. And he felt as if he was starting to lose the essence of what made the Kensington Town Soccer Club so much fun to be a part of. It used to be that he could find regulars from the bar to sign up to play soccer, they'd pay a nominal fee and they'd get to hang around on Sundays, maybe take the field and have some fun. If they won, cool. If they lost, oh well, at least the beer was flowing freely. Now, he was hearing from certain individuals who had moved to HOT-DAMN - professional footballers, no less, indicating they wanted to be a part of the HOT-DAMN squad.

He felt if he took them in, it would lose the essence of what made the beer league squad so great. As he looked at many of the players in the locker room, he realized that they were more than just a team; they were a family. These were people that had gotten together on a regular basis, almost nightly, for years. They did their own thing in the day - regular jobs that people like you or I might have - but at night, they'd get together, have a few cold ones, watch a sporting event, regale each other with the stories of the day, and enjoy each other's company. These professional players trying to contact Jimmy had no idea about any of that.

And likely, they had no idea about the camaraderie that made Kensington Town so successful.

There were still some flashes of it. When told the HOT-DAMN team would play the Ko-orenite Constellation, members of the squad, including Jimmy, suggested that if the match was still tied after extra time, and after a certain number of penalty kicks, that it be decided in a beer-drinking contest. Some media types took that seriously and it made print in a few newspapers across the multiverse.

The players, who had sworn off drinking until after the World Cup qualifiers, looked forward to getting together at the new Laughing Pup bar across the street from Brewery Park in New Hap City to enjoy a night of celebration. If they got blitzed, fine. At least they all lived within walking distance of the bar and of the stadium. And at least their adventures, or misadventures, if you will, could continue.

But right now, it was all business. You could hear a pin drop in the locker room as the players got ready. It was the same attitude the players had before the Crpostran match, the same attitude before the North Oharan Valley Union match. No jokes. No pranks. No stupidity. To win this match would put the beer leaguers in the World Cup Proper. To lose the match would send them home, likely to prepare for the Cup of Harmony. This was, to be blunt, the biggest match of their entire lives.

The players sat there, just staring at each other. This was the kind of staring that said they knew what needed to be done, don't belabor the point, just do it. The thing about the Ko-orenite Constellation is you didn't know who you'd face. It wasn't just one team, it was multiple teams from a bunch of territories in the Constellation. Because of that, players watched film and took scouting reports from six different teams - about the biggest cram session a person could deal with. And the players weren't sure if they got the right one.

The cram session had taken its toll, too. Zack Webster, the kind of person that can put any sort of knowledge into his brain like nothing else, had not slept in three days and was relying on about six cups of coffee to keep himself awake. Jimmy Clifford swore he could see Ko-orenites of different shapes, sizes and species - if that even existed - reaching out to get him in his sleep. And Randy Russell, the defenseman that is banned from every jukebox in the territory, said after the match was over, he'd pledge his allegiance to the Halcyon Archipelago of Ko-oren, with all he had learned about Ko-orenites.

Whether he was joking or not remains to be seen.

Either way, it seemed as if the stress levels were off the page. And justifiably so. The ramifications from this match would be just as serious. Win or go home. World Cup or Cup of Harmony. Simple as that.

But even then, among all the seriousness, a little levity. Something to relax the nerves.

Tyler Swanson, the assistant coach for the HOT-DAMN squad and head bartender at Laughing Pup, brought out several bottles of Mark Taylor's 20-year Aged, one of the smoothest whiskies made in Hapilopper, the kind of whiskey one reserves for a milestone.

"Boys, let's calm down. It's a game," Tyler said. "Whoever the Ko-orenites bring out, they're humans too. They can be beat. So let's take some shots and a toast - to a fun game, the best god damn 90 minutes and change we can give, and hell, to the impossible dream."

"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM!" the players shouted in unison, just before taking a shot.

World Cup 98 | RP thread

a hit

Lara Torridge's Grand Tour of Anaia: episode 22

World Cup 98 | RP thread

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