Eternal Harmony - Cup of Harmony 90 Everything Thread

by **Omerica** » Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:17 am

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by **Eraman** » Sat Jan 25, 2025 9:14 pm

Persatuan Sepakbola Eraman
Eraman Football Association

Eraman National Football Team
Trigramme: ERM
Demonym: Eramanian
Nickname: The Monkey Kings
Style Modifier: 3.17

Staffs & Tactics

Head Coach: Agung Suryanantha (Pemecutan)

Agung Suryanantha took charge of the Eraman national team before the 82nd Cup of Harmony. He is the former head coach of the Pemecutan national team. Under his guidance, Pemecutan qualified for the World Cup for the first time. He resigned from the Pemecutan national team after bad results in the 9th Melayu Archipelago Cup.

He guided Eraman to the knockout stage of the 82nd Cup of Harmony in his first competitive tournament as the head coach of Eraman national team, led Eraman to their first-ever Melayu Archipelago Cup title a few months after that but fell short of qualifying for the World Cup after finishing 4th in the 91st and the 92nd World Cup qualifiers and 3rd in the 93rd World Cup qualifiers.

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Formation : 4-2-3-1

Players

Team Line Up
Starting Line Up in bold
Goalkeeper

Kilau Janggut, (31/GK) - Royal Pasirpura
Bijaya Puteh, (27/GK) - Royal Daulapura
Putra Muda, (27/GK) - Royal Puncakpura

Defender

Along Widana, (32/RB) - Royal Daulapura
Anton Mora, (37/DC) - Royal Daulapura
Mahar Mina, (37/DC) - Royal Daulapura
Uri Kesiman, (34/LB) - Anara
Tanggang Jaya, (29/RB) - Royal Pasirpura
Andik Kesum, (33/DC) - Anara
Jebat Derhaka, (30/DC) - Royal Pasirpura
Deraman Bulat, (31/LB) - Royal Pasirpura

Midfielder

Karipa Senawang, (36/MC) - Royal Daulapura
Nyoman Jelantik, (36/MC) - Soma
Nyoman Widya, (36/AM) - Mitra
Milo Kaulawi, (35/MC) - Pesjem Jematang (Pemecutan)
Kinta Biru, (37/MC) - Royal Daulapura
Bongsu Desa, (28/AM) - Royal Pasirpura

Forward

Samara Grawira, (36/RW) - Malkan
Era Hitam, (33/LW) - Royal Daulapura
Putra Daulapura Wikra Petara, (33/ST) - Royal Daulapura
Perda Nasar, (36/RW) - Royal Daulapura
Adi Putra Surya, (34/LW) - Damaisari
Bandi Neraca, (32/ST) - Siasari

Kits

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by **Captina Island** » Sun Jan 26, 2025 5:39 pm

Captina fall just short of World Cup dream, head to Valanora for COH
The Captina Company Press Association

The Captina Company National Football Team fell at the final hurdle in their bid to qualify for the World Cup as the Busoga Islands defeated the Rosso e Oro 3-2 in Qusmo, bringing to a close the most successful tournament in Captina's footballing history.

Reflecting positively on the improvement of the development process of TCCFA, the third placed finish in their qualifying group with a point total that would've seen them finish in the top two in 13 of the other 17 groups has proven to be a catalyst towards optimism that the squad are on the verge of moving into a new era of success on the international scene.

Captina parlayed an improvement in offensive efficiency into a rise to 62nd in the provisional KPB+ rankings post WCQ, an increase of 21 spots and their second consecutive invitation to to the Cup of Harmony could push them higher with a similar run of good results. They will face Baptism of Fire 85 winners Grand Exultia on matchday 1 and will close out group play against another BOF participant Vetrahjart on matchday 5 at the White Fortress in Gladerial while playing their other two Group C fixtures across town at Tiradir versus Aleireve and Oberour Ar Moro; OAM and Captina played to a 2-2 draw at the most recent Copa Rushmori in Pasarga prior to the World Cup cycle, a tournament that served as a precursor to the current improvement of the team.

Having had time to let the magnitude of the accomplishment set in has been important to the NT squad's outlook as they traveled to Arrosia ahead of the competition, as Manager Jonas Yarborough explained.
"We have been a competitive side through all of our previous World Cup qualifying appearances even when we've fallen victim to a lack of grace under pressure due to our players' relative lack of international experience. I think it speaks volumes about how far this cycle has seen us rise that three opponents we played tough are all still in the World Cup Finals. I don't think it's a coincidence that two of them are near neighbors of where we are at currently (in Valanora) and share a domestic league. I believe and want our squad to also believe that Captina are gaining ground in international football and that we can make a further statement through our performances here in Valanora."

by **Indusse** » Mon Jan 27, 2025 9:21 am

Hind Tribune
Is this the one?

By Subrato Shahla

Indusse’s national football team may have missed out on qualifying for the World Cup group stage, but there is still reason for hope and excitement. The team has secured a spot in the 90th edition of the prestigious Cup of Harmony, which will be held in Valanora. This tournament presents a hugee opportunity for the team to showcase their talents and compete for glory, with fans rallying behind their squad, eager for a victory.

The last edition of the Cup of Harmony saw Indusse finish fourth, after suffering a tough loss to Audioslavia in the Third Place Playoffs. Though disappointing, the team’s performance was a sign of their potential, and now they are determined to push further this time. Fans are optimistic that this could be the tournament where Indusse finally clinches a major title under the World Cup Wing.

Indusse has been placed in Group B for the competition, as a Pot 2 team. The group consists of a varied range of opponents, including Saterun (ranked 42), Patriotlandia (ranked 95), Omerica (ranked 127), Kanzlia (ranked 75), and of course, Indusse itself (ranked 48). On paper, Indusse could face some tough competition but with their strong history and determination they could very well be the one's ending up in the top spot.

However, it won’t be a walk in the park. Saterun, ranked 42, is the highest-ranked team in the group and could pose a significant challenge. Patriotlandia and Kanzlia are also not to be underestimated, as both teams can bring up upsets against the home team. Omerica, ranked 127, will likely be the underdogs, but their unpredictability and years of history in World Cup competitions could also be a factor.

Indusse’s supporters are confident that their team has the ability to overcome these opponents, but the competition remains tough. As the tournament draws closer, all eyes will be on the eumour that new faces have joined the national team camp. While the names of the new players have yet to be disclosed to the media, their inclusion in the squad has stirred excitement among fans. These newcomers are suposedely to be the replacements for Butea, who is all set to retire with this edition. Will these fresh talents bring the spark Indusse needs to claim victory? Only time will tell.

by **United States of Nova Calania** » Tue Jan 28, 2025 6:10 am

Cup of Harmony 90 Preview

Capri, Valanora - Nova Calania failed short to qualify for the World Cup, finishing fifth in their group two points behind the third place, but we've been invited to the Cup of harmony. This year, we have an unusual format with 5 groups of 5 teams for 25 nations. The Tapirs are in group D with Milchama, Reçueçn, Eraman and Bohr. Games will be played on the Capri Island in Capri and Kareen, located close to each other, which means very short train rides and if you know me, you know that I love train rides! Did you recognize me? I'm the Di Bradini Cup writer because the senior team writer just left to Ko-oren for vacations. I'm so excited to be here in Valanora to cover the senior team, there's many faces that I've met during the first Di Bradini Cups I've covered. My first Di Bradini Cups as a journalist were the 55th one in Banija and the 56th Cup in Valanora and if you look at the senior team roster, everyone currently at 24 and 23 years old, I've met them during these two editions of the Di Bradini Cup! I'm still good friends with Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin and Lily-Rose Malboeuf since.

On matchday 1, the Tapirs will receive Eraman in Capri. Despite we're ranked higher, it will be a tough one. First game of a tournament is always harder because we have no momentum. We travel to Kareen on matchday 2 and play away against Bohr, another opponent that we can't take slightly. Day off on matchday 3 and we stay in kareen for matchday 4 to play a home game against Milchama. Milchama is the best team in the Cup of Harmony and ot will be a loss for sure. We travel back to Capri to play against Reçueçn on matchday 5 in our black and red away uniform.

Starting XI vs Eraman @ Hatire Memorial, Capri, Valanora
GK Bleau-Bean - LB A. McCaskill - CB Wolkowicz - CB T. Gibouleau-Beaudoin - RB N. McCaskill - DCM Fauteux-McGrath - LW M. Q. Xiong - RW S. McCaskill - ACM C. Gibouleau-Beaudoin - S Guénette-Velazquez - S Goudreau-Luneau

Chloé Bellefleur

Sophie-Charlotte Gingues named co-consul of the United States of Nova Calania

Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer - As expected, our 5 state governors announced their choice for co-consulship and Sophie-Charlotte Gingues was unanimously seleted as the co-consul of the United States of Nova Calania. She was the only candidate after Dobroslaw Trumski's candidacy was declared invalid after he said he wants to annex 3 nations located in Anaia. It's worth noting that co-consuls are not elected, instead, they're selected by the governors of Nova Calania's 5 states. 3 of them governors came in power hereditary, another one after he made a military coup and the other one is the leader of the sole political party in her state. You may call Nova Calania an oligarchy.

Sophie-Charlotte Gingues said she's very thrilled to be chosen one of the co-consuls of Nova Calania and she intend to work with other Anaian nations to improve our relations with our neighbors. She also stated that Nova Calania is a " safe nation " and all of our cities are "safe cities " and all refugees who runs away from war, poverty, starvation or ethnic, sexual or religious discrimination are welcome in Nova Calania. Sophie-Charlotte Gingues is your co-consul from august 2027 to august 2031. Our other co-consul, Wlodzimierz Pruszkowski, said he's very thrilled to work in hand with Mrs. Gingues " who has great values ". He's in office from january 2027 to august 2029.

Anne-Charlotte McDermott

by **Delaclava** » Tue Jan 28, 2025 2:47 pm

Phoenixes look to cap off upstart year at CoH

After bringing a brand-new roster to an IAC quarterfinal and keeping in World Cup qualification contention until the very last round, the Delaclava national team will look to cap off a positive season in a place that has traditionally been a boogeyman for the Phoenixes: the Cup of Harmony.

"This is an important tournament in our schedule," said manager Vera Dohnanyi at a pre-tournament press conference organized in Mar Sara, Valanora. "The Cup of Harmony is a classic and prestigious tournament in our sport, and remains a valuable opportunity to get match play against teams ranging from experienced squads on the bubble of qualification, to up-and-coming squads with fresh talent."

The Phoenixes surprised observers by taking an entirely green squad to the Independents Cup in Britonisea and proceeding to score wins against HUElavia, Recuecn, and Crpostran to reach the quarterfinals. Going into the World Cup qualification campaign against formidable sides like The Holy Empire and Zwangzug, the Phoenixes held form against the lower-ranked sides but struggled to get any traction against the higher-ranked sides that would enable it to get the traction in the top three that it needed. But just when they finally got a crucial draw against Zwangzug, a second-half meltdown against Britonisea knocked Delaclava down the standings and significantly diminished its qualification chances. Nevertheless, Delaclava went into the final round with an outside chance if they could only win...in The Holy Empire. Predictably, they did not.

Still, a 7-1-6 record was a massive improvement over the 4-2-10 record and seven-game losing streak it strung together in the last go-round. Plus, the Phoenixes hit a big milestone: its Round 13 home victory against Gopnikea was its 200th victory in WCC play (World Cup qualification and finals, Cups of Harmony, and Baptism of Fire, but not including regional tournaments, friendlies, and other competitions).

Now, the Cup of Harmony. The Phoenixes have attended nine previous times. They have compiled a 13-8-20 record in those competitions and were eliminated in the group stage the first six times. In recent years, the tides have turned, at least in part buoyed by the home support when it reached the quarterfinals in its home Cup of Harmony 84, before reaching the Round of 16 in the 86th and 87th editions, the latter of which was also in Delaclava. In the last three editions, the Phoenixes are 8-3-4.

For better or worse, Delaclava's road to the knockouts once again goes through 37th-ranked Zwangzug, although the Phoenixes will certainly be buoyed from having held a draw against the Zebras, one of the strongest sides in Valanora. Delaclava currently has a 1-1-2 record in all WCC play against Zwangzug. The 67th-ranked Phoenixes also square off against 51st-ranked Bears Armed, 98th-ranked Vaishnavaria, and 154th-ranked Ralsalin. Bears Armed has won all three matches against Delaclava, all in the pre-isolation era. The Phoenixes will play Vaishnavaria and Ralsalin for the first time. The road forward is also steep, with only the top two teams in each group of five reaching the knockouts. However, the Phoenixes may be encouraged that they outperformed the other three group foes aside from Zwangzug in qualifying. Delaclava's 7-1-6 record was good for 22 points compared to 19 points each by Bears Armed and Vaishnavaria, and 18 points by Ralsalin.

Delaclava's participation in Valanora may carry extra undertones for some, after it was reported that the Delaclav Department of Sports and Games was dissatisfied with the Vanorian tournament proposal, to the point that it considered mounting a competing bid. Dohnanyi, as the manager, was present for talks regarding the potential Delaclav bid as well as Delaclava's participation in the tournament, but she came out firmly in support of the Vanorian organizers, hailing Valanora as "one of the iconic places and programs of our sport."

Another consideration for any Cup of Harmony is whether it is worthwhile to participate at all given the tournament's decreased importance in the world rankings after the KPB+ formula overhaul. That wasn't a factor either. "With a young squad, you want to give them experience but not push too hard," Dohnanyi said. "I asked for their thoughts. The hunger and desire to play on was unanimous."

Delaclava's opening match against Vaishnavaria will be played at Donna Cathedral in Mar Sara.

by **Zwangzug** » Tue Jan 28, 2025 4:48 pm

The Spenson Star

When Gregor Courtenay took over as national team manager at the beginning of the cycle, his credentials were undisputable--Ephesian had enjoyed a run of dominance in the domestic league. Kate DiMarini, it's worth remembering, had been the manager of Trebuchet Cham before taking this job; with the 1./'s current quasi-isolation, there isn't really anyone who can blend local familiarity with international open-mindedness.

Courtenay was always going to be an awkward fit unless he was given the freedom to reforge the team after the style of Ephesian, or, more to the point, the first-generation "symmetry" approach. You might realistically say that's impossible; if the team had done better in the qualifiers, the federation might have claimed that as a sign they were doing something right and forced Courtenay to stick with the program. Since they didn't, he's out in a huff.

But maybe that's only the case because someone else was around to fill the gap (more on whom in a moment). If Ephesian, under Courtenay's successor (Mallory Clighbar), had dominated season 49...maybe they would have had no choice but to reluctantly invite him back, after they chased him down from, I don't know, locking Blanche Coogan-Bucknell in a padded room for her own safety.

The pundits' favorites for breaking the Ephesian stranglehold, if anyone could, were Coogan-Bucknell's Sporting Esper, and a Rovers United side who are--if not the most norm-respecting either--at least vaguely acquainted with the rules of football. But it was the Canbix Muses who emerged as an unexpected threat, led by Emily Kuiper, a former striker. On the one hand, defenders and midfielders are supposed to be better team-players, communicators, future leaders; on the other, she has a cool name, so what are you going to do about that.

Kuiper's changes have actually been relatively light, considering (although that probably says more about how little room Courtenay got to remake the team in his image). Stephen Marcus, a brainy forward who has the chops to be a manager someday but was really old, is out; Virginia Aksnes gets the #26 jersey that looks nice but never actually gets use. Perhaps more relevantly, Awidlyon Reed, the hyped prospect from Canbix' local rivals of Keppal Cosmos, finally gets a chance to emerge from Marcus' shadow. Talk about the cool name bonus. On defense, Camille Sibelius leaps immediately to the starting eleven, in place of Ernst Guthnick-Wolf, whose Trebuchet Cham are on a down streak. Eileen Gainsborough, of the Rovers, replaces Marcus as captain.

It must be said that Sporting Esper didn't, objectively, have that good a season, although they'll still sneak into the UICA slots. You can hear Courtenay raging from here--are we going to let Coogan-Bucknell stay on as the starter, or would it be even worse for her psyche to dethrone her? The fact is, she's still youthful enough, and none of the experienced alternatives did even better either. And while Kuiper would be entirely within her rights to call up someone from Canbix or elsewhere (Ephesian were runners-up, but...you know), it's probably true that overreaction is a greater danger than complacency at this point.

The real issue is not that Gnejs were markedly better at football than us, nor that The 14 Stars were narrowly so over the course of two hours-plus; unpredictability in sports is a feature, not a bug. The issue is that after years, decades, or possibly centuries of this, we're still not confident at drawing lines between team ineptness and individual catastrophe, poor luck or event horizons, cracking athleticism and melodrama. But, I mean, it's only Valanora, what could possibly go wrong?

Those of you who have been doing this for decades, or perhaps centuries, will no doubt be thrilled to hear that this Cup of Harmony features five groups of five, for a total of 25 teams, which is probably a good omen because of our success in Cup of Harmony #25. Zwangzug will rematch against Delaclava, who they faced in the qualifiers aaaand nobody actually reads this part, based on completely unfounded speculation just given their position/home club/name etymology, which of these players do you think have the best sex life? I have thoughts. Or what if, hypothetically, you had to assemble a small group to carry out an arcane ritual in the realm of the immortal elves? I mean, sneaking around without a car wouldn't be a problem, but--[I think we're done here -ed]

by **Kanzlia** » Tue Jan 28, 2025 7:20 pm

how kanzlians reacts to the Cup of Harmony hosted in the Eternal Empire
brought to you by: Centraal

This edition is hosted by: Avdrey Kristen

Kanzlia has been drawn in Group B, together with Saterun, Omerica, Indusse, and Patriotlandia. Based on rankings alone, Kanzlia is the 3rd strongest team in the group. Here's what national team captain, Ardentius van Coevorden has to say about the draw and the tournament in general.

AK: "Mr. van Coevorden, thank you for joining us today in the Kanzlians and the Cup of Harmony 90's first ever edition. Welcome, welcome."

AvC: "Thank you for having me, Centraal and Kristen of course."

AK: "How's the weather over there?"

AvC: "Warmer than home, thats for sure."

AK: "I see, well, let's get straight to business Mr. van Coevorden-"

AvC: "You can just call me Ardentius by the way, its fine."

AK: "Alright Ardentius, Kanzlia has been drawn into Group B alongside Saterun, Omerica, Indusse, and Patriotlandia. Based on rankings alone, Kanzlia is the third-strongest team in the group. What are your thoughts on the draw?"

AvC: "It is what it is. It'll be tough. Rankings may be a useful reference, and based on that alone we wouldn't even qualify past the group stages. I don't really believe in rankings however. We lost to supposedly weaker sides and we won against supposedly stronger sides. We'll face each team as if they are equals to ours."

AK: "Saterun and Indusse are the two sides with a higher ranking than Kanzlia's 75 - how would you envision the games against them?"

AvC: "They are strong sides no doubt. Though, I wouldnt single them out as the only threats in the group. Omerica and Patriotlandia are more than worthy opponents and could cause trouble if we are too lenient."

AK: "Speaking of Patriotlandia, you have faced them in the previous Cup of Harmony. The game ended well for Kanzlia as they won 4-2. Do you expect a tougher showing from Patriotlandia today?"

AvC: "Ah jeez, I forgot about that. Well, yeah of course. Everyone learns from their losses, I have no reason to think Patriotlandia didn't."

AK: "This is a question most supporters would want to hear from you as the captain, just how far do you think Kanzlia will go for this edition of the Cup of Harmony?"

AvC: "As far as we deserve to go."

AK: "Ooh cryptic, I like that."

Ding-ding! "And now... time for a little offside chat!"

AK: "Oh well thats the jingle for a shift of topic, away from sports. You have been briefed about this have you?"

AvC: "No actually. What is going on?"

AK: "Ah well, when that jingle rings, we'll talk more non-sports... and for today the topic chosen is... animals!"

AK: "Say, Ardentius, do you have pets at home?"

AvC: "..I do actually - 2 tortoises and a rabbit"

AK: "...woah what? really?!"

AvC: "Yep. My father gave each of his children a tortoise"

AK: "Vassilis? Why would he give you two though?"

AvC: "It was an odd number of baby tortoises, so whilst Sylverio, Reiner, and Alissa got one, I got two. Probably because I'm the oldest. I never asked about it to my father. The tortoises are Leopard tortoises by the way, lovely guys."

AK: "What are their names?"

AvC: "John and Mayor"

AK: "Oh wow.. well, I bet not everyone knew about this. Don't tortoise live long?"

AvC: "Yeah, they can live for 100 years, they two would probably outlive me and you."

AK: "Do you think they can witness Kanzlia lifting a major international trophy?"

AvC: *chuckles* "I hope so anyways."

AK: "I think this is a good time to end this interview. Once again Ardentius, thank you very much for dedicating your time with us here in Centraal."

AvC: "It's a pleasure, not everyday I can talk about my tortoises."

by **Grand Exultia** » Wed Jan 29, 2025 2:01 am

The groups are drawn and we now know our battleground, ironically not the battleground recently frequented by our under 21s but The White Fortress which will play home to Group C and see us facing off against some familiar oppositions and some less than familiar faces.

Our order of play will be Captina Island, Oberour Ar Moro, Vetrahjart, Bye and finally Aleirave

In our short history on the multiversal stage we are yet to face Captina Island or Oberour Ar Moro. Both teams fell just short of qualifying losing the qualifying playoffs so definitely astute opponents.

Vetrahjart were a victim to our path to Baptism glory, in a tight fought group the last matchday for the Exultians saw the Gyrinxes kill any hope for the Käsklalas. This match itself tightly fought as the Exultians fought back from behind to win 2-1 igniting a charge that would culminate in ultimate glory.

A welcome break will then precede another face-off against Aleirave, a high ranked team that the Exultians have never lost to. An early home victory followed by a draw in the return fixture saw a big positive in an otherwise underwhelming qualifying campaign and we will have to hope we can continue being their boogeymen coming into this competition.

We have an exclusive interview to end our preview of this competition with none other than Apollinaris himself, the man who has led from the front and taken our national team onto the multiversal stage, to minor glory with some silverware in just our second competition and proving we have the mettle to hold our own.

“Apollinaris great to see you and thank you for coming on our podcast”

“Pleasure to be here, it’s always interesting to hear your thoughts on the team and performances Patsy”

“Well we’ve all got our jobs haven’t we”

“Yes and some are better than others, do you have a team for next season yet?”

“I’m without a team currently but you aren’t here to ask me questions, it’s me for you. How have you approached the build up for this competition compared to previous”

“Much the same we’ve approached each competition so far, plenty of fitness training so we can remain sharp in the end stages of each game and some fun technical games to work on some smaller dynamics and try and implement these skills on a larger aspect”

“and what about the other teams, surely there’s a lot of game watching to prepare?”

“Obviously there’s some film watching, especially on set pieces but, and I don’t want to sound big headed, I don’t want to be focusing on the other teams, that won’t serve us well. We know most of the teams we face are going to be better than us on paper but at the end of the day the game isn’t played on paper so rather than wallowing on teams being better than us and how we need to stop them playing their game I want us to focus on playing our game and inviting these big teams to have to try and stop us. That’s how I intend to disrupt the status quo.”

“So you’re saying we’re on level with everyone in our group”

“Let’s try not to put words in my mouth now but on our day we can hold our own. I mean look at what we did with Aleirave in the qualifiers, a team ranked 33 in the multiverse, a win and a draw, unbeaten against a top 50 team! It’s a funny game sometimes”

“So are we winning our group, what’s your prediction?”

“I can’t really see the future and anything can happen”

“Oh come on boast a little”

“Oh fine I’ll play your game. It’s only four games in the group and anything can happen, I’d love to see us pick up a surprise win or two and somehow get into second, that would at least give us a chance at the quarters”

“There you have it we’re finishing second in the group and that’s straight from the horse’s mouth itself, stay tuned on this channel as we follow the team to each venue and report back the highs and the lows, the good and the bad, the simply divine and the torrid ugly and some surprise exclusives available only here on the Patsy’s Pitch Perspectives”

by **Aleirave** » Wed Jan 29, 2025 1:12 pm

The Die, Cast

Yekaterina Olayeva signed her ballot, dropped it into the box, and took a deep breath as she walked away. She did her part, cast her vote –- naturally for herself -– and the rest was all up to the other 40 thousand or so eligible voters on the island.

This had been a tough election campaign, the first contested one Aleirave had ever had. There were definitely some twists in the road, and the Lahaira Papers scandal still loomed large over the island… but it was all over now. Election Day meant there was nothing more she could do. It was between her and Malako Eterena now. Whichever one won, there would be no hard feelings, since they agreed the loser would still be Vice-Governor, but that didn't mean there was nothing left to play for.

As for Malako, he cast his ballot earlier in the morning, and now he was relaxing on his couch flipping between TV channels. “Election, election, more election… is there anything on this thing to help me take my mind off this vote??”

knock knock knock…

Mr. Eterena ran to his front door, only to find a familiar face behind it. “Katya? What are you doing here?”
“Well, uh, I figured I might not be the only one on this island who doesn't wanna hear about this election anymore…”
“You're definitely right about that part, heh… glad to hear it's not just me. Did you have any ideas?”
“Ideas for?”
“Things I could do to take my mind off it?”
“Oh, right, um… I guess some good food always helps out.”
“Are you asking me to have lunch with you?”
“I mean, why not? We should probably get to slamming out some details about what we're gonna do with the island’s government, right?”
“Whatever happened to no election stuff?”
“Oh right, uh… well I'm sure there's a few other things we could talk about.”
“Like?”
“Like, uh… we'll figure it out I'm sure.”

“...so, uh… what do you do apart from the whole politics thing, Malako?”

It was hard for Katya to figure out any sorts of questions she could ask, knowing from their past meeting that her opponent was still a little suspicious of her. How could she find much common ground with him?

“I’m going to be honest with you… not that much as of late. You would think that it would be easy finding work as this ‘hero of the nation’ type figure, but basically every Klysevian on the island is suspicious of me, and on an island where everything is about unity now… I’m not the sort of face people want to have around anything. Can’t work in an office because coworkers would see me and hate me, can’t work at this restaurant because customers would worry I poisoned their food…”

“Oh come on now, you seriously can’t believe that. You killed one guy who was objectively evil, they can’t really believe you think all Klysevians are like that!”

“You would be surprised how many Klysevians still think Tereyev did nothing wrong… I know you aren’t like that, but I’ve seen some of the looks I get and it’s just… I don’t even know how to explain it to you, it’s like they want me dead.”

“First up, nobody’s ever told me Tereyev did nothing wrong, and second, riddle me this! I’m sorry for mentioning it in advance, but if you can’t get any jobs because of how people supposedly hate you, what are you doing running for the most important job on the island? Everyone will see you and hear about what you’re doing every single day.”

“I don’t know, I guess I just needed an opportunity to show them who I am now. That I’m not just some guy with a gun like I was back in 2023. You know how it is when people typecast you as ‘that guy’? It’s impossible to break free without doing something big.”

“Malako, you don’t even have to ask me that question. I know everything about what it’s like to be typecast. Look at me, I spent 8 years kicking around a football professionally. Everyone saw me and thought, ‘it’s that girl from the Seagulls’. That was my life for so long… yeah, I know how you feel, and I know how hard it is to do anything else.”

“I suppose we’re both here for a bit of a life restart, huh…” Malako said, staring off towards the ocean.

Somewhere on the other side of that ocean, a boat in the Eternal Empire of Valanora, bringing the Seagulls back to the Cup of Harmony.

While Haulafo had hoped that they could come back to the World Cup again, it wasn’t meant to be, and instead they would be in the hunt for a different trophy. As the second-highest ranked team in the competition, they were in a very good position to win it, but it would take a lot of work with how this group stage was looking.

For starters, they would be having a bye day. A bye day on MD1 is always a weird thing to have. You’re already well-rested, so it doesn’t work well as a rest day, and then you’re stuck playing four matchdays in a row, which isn’t a great amount of turnover… but it would be fine regardless.

After that, they’d be up against Captina Island and Oberour ar Moro, both of whom missed out on their debut qualification in the playoffs. These would be the toughest matches out of the bunch, so they would have to use their bye day well to prepare for them.

Next up would be Vehtrajart, a debutant team, fresh from their BoF, whom the Seagulls knew nothing about, and… the champions of that same BoF, once again, Grand Exultia. This was the big boogieman for them. Their matches in qualifying went 0-1-1 in favor of the newcomers, and the feeling on the team was pretty universal when they heard about the draw. “Dear Margaret, not them again…”

Luckily, this time around they had experience. They knew what went wrong, and they had time to get ready for it. With the bye day, they had time to get ready for everything. This was the perfect chance for them… they just had to not mess it up.

by **Dhemixia** » Wed Jan 29, 2025 10:05 pm

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The Columbus Dominion(Est.1873)

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Dhemixians gain new life after failure to qualify

Good news: The Dhemixian national team will not be watching the WC from their couch. Bad news: They'll be watching it from the field at the CoH. While the Cup of Harmony isn't exactly the most desired ending for this Dhemixian side, it should nicely wrap up one of the most anticlimactic finishes in a group, Dhemixia and Patriotlandia drawing on MD13, knocking themselves out, and Saterun winning, ending the race for the last spot before it was even over. Granted, a new team in a group like that was all but destined to be grouped, but it dealt the Serpents a better hand as a result, being in a relatively low-ranking group with a nonzero chance to pull off an upset or two.

This unlikely band of teams in a Cup of Harmony group demands an introduction, being no better place to start at than Cobrio. Being the only lower-ranked team than Dhemixia, they're looking to be a kind of warmup match before they go into the belly of the beast Doubeia. That's not to discount Cobrio though. Their 1-2 punch of Clarence Burke and Sherwin Gilmore is as good as any other, and with a team that struggles with defense as much as the Serpents do, that could spell trouble for the young side.

Moving next to their first challenge of a game in Doubeia, both teams are looking to make a splash after a poor group performance. Focusing on counterattacking wide, the Doubeinese do the same, needing to beat each other on pure principles and fundamentals. With this offensive bias, both sides struggle with defense at times, a major problem for both sides, and one that will most likely decide the match. Creed Lyapunov and his practically endless group of strikers will make their presence known early to catch the defense off-guard, almost the exact same of which Marvin Bolton and Doug McMahon's game plan was, making it a true shootout.

Moving again to The Ko-orenite Constellation, the conversation will again be about utilizing depth. The Dhemixian bench is relatively short with Bolton, Obisana, and Burns, but the Ko-orenite bench is as deep as it can get, having six forwards and midfielders to deal with a gassed army of Dhemixians. If the Serpents can effectively target their lack of chemistry in those positions and exploit the counterattack well, they very well would have a shot at upsetting.

Last and very much least, Drawkland. In all seriousness, the Kick Corps finally meeting the Dhemixians is an amazing group draw, especially to decide the group in MD5. Being the first time either nation has squared up against the other, not counting domestic leagues or NSCF, it's safe to say whoever loses that one will not live it down. Cam Cross and Riley FIelds on the Drawkian front line will join the long list of forwards exploiting the wide weakness of the Dhemixian defense, acting as the delivery service to generational talent Cecilia Benbow. On the other hand, the Dhemixians can do the same thing. Their strongsuit being in counterattacking, getting into the offensive third and taking advantage of wide spaces is how the Serpents will get most of their chances. At the end of the day, the only goal is to send the Kick Corps back home to Rawkland carrying a comically large L.

While the World Cup Qualifying might not have gone as well for Doug McMahon and Dhemixia, the Cup or Harmony gives them a second chance. Domestic season being over, Marvin Bolton and Jonathan Obisana can finally work on the chemistry and cooperation required of them earlier in the tournament, and Doug McMahon will be hounding over that, should he get it. With how much the team has changed through the qualifiers, Doug McMahon just needs to keep his boys resilient and collected to have a shot at an upset in the group stages.

Schedule

MD1: Bye
MD2: @ Cobrio
MD3: vs. Doubeia
MD4: @ The Ko-orenite Constellation
MD5: vs. Drawkland

by **Bohr** » Wed Jan 29, 2025 10:20 pm

“So run it by me again how would you pay for roads without taxes? Or, like, schools that aren’t for obscenely rich kids?” Lee Brunner and Herb Schuyler had had this argument about once a day during the World Cup qualifiers, and now that the team had reformed for the Cup of Harmony, they were picking up exactly where they left off. The two were a fine midfield duo, with Brunner as Bohr’s best “destroyer” and Schuyler as a deep playmaker with poise way beyond his years. Unfortunately, his political positions were exactly of his years, and Lee was the only person who always took the bait.

“It could easily be done in an efficient and economic manner. Besides, the more important thing is freedom-”

“Freedom to do what, put a shot over the bar from thirty yards out?” Most of the table laughed at that one. It was a large table; twenty or so of the best football players in the country, a couple wives, a couple girlfriends, and one brother/agent in an otherwise-empty cafe. Simon Thatcher chuckled a bit, then took another bite of his sandwich (pork, peppers, slaw, Casari cheese, and a fried egg-good enough that he didn’t mind if it messed up his macros for a few days). As Herb tried to regain control of the argument, Simon turned away from the two squabbling midfielders and towards Alexandr Korystov sitting across from him.

“You seen Cap around?” Simon asked.

“Jaxon? Think he said he was running late.”

“Wasn’t he the guy who put this whole lunch thing together?” Alexandr just shrugged in response. “Weird.” As he contemplated, the door opened, and Jaxon Girard walked in with Orlan Healy, both of them wearing exquisitely-tailored suits. Girard still looked about the same as he did as a 22-year-old, with his big chin and superheroic build; it made people forget that his body was being held together by money, duct tape, and hope. Meanwhile, the (significantly) shorter Healy had a look on his face like he was being dragged through Becis in handcuffs.

“Sorry, y’all.” Jaxon gave a sheepish smile. “Orlie was having issues with a sponsor of his and asked me to help out with some of the details.”

“Jaxon, can you help me out here? Lee clearly hasn’t read any of the academic material-”

“Shut up, Herb.” Still smiling, he continued. “Anyway, I hope all of you have enjoyed the food, just wanted to get almost everyone in one place before we get on our practice schedule. We’re going to be training and playing all our group games in Capri this time-it’s the same island that we played Valanora on in qualifying, so y’all should have at least basic familiarity with the area. The crowds won’t be nearly as large as when we played them, but there should still be plenty of fans from both teams. All the hotel and flight information should be available by the end of the week. Any questions?”

“Yeah.” JP Sullivan, his star striker brother’s mouthpiece, stood up. “How much is Jamie getting paid for this?”

Orlan glared daggers at JP as Jaxon put together a response. “I assume you’re aware this meeting was supposed to be off-limits to coaches and agents?”

“I’m a brother first and an agent second, boss-don’t see you getting mad at Arnold’s boo. You know business better than anyone here-love the cars, by the way-so I assumed you of all people would understand the question.”

Eli Sheve jumped into the conversation. “I’ve heard about that deal that you’re working on with Pyramid; seems to me like Jamie doesn’t need more cash.” Murmurs of agreement came from the table, while JP spread out his arms.

“I appreciate the compliment, but it’s not a done deal yet. Still got a few more suitors to deal with-do the words ‘Raynor City’ mean anything to you?” This was obviously bullshit, although it wasn’t bullshit that the deal was large; from the leaks, it was being marked at 3-4 million more than any sporting professional had ever been paid before in Bohr.

“There will not be direct payments, no, but declining to play because of money will massively hurt your brother’s endorsement incomes. Unless there’s something that you-sorry, your brother-needs the money for immediately?”

JP put his hands up. “Nah, just a question. Appreciate the food, appreciate all that you do, all glory to God.” The rest of the lunch passed mostly-uneventfully, as the team mentally prepared for another-hopefully more successful-international run.

by **Recuecn** » Thu Jan 30, 2025 5:23 am

Hyron LeBouffe was thrilled to have gotten the job as head manager for the équipe naionale de football de Reçueçn (the ÉNRF). He struggled to reign in his enthusiasm, and for weeks, everywhere he went, his presence was always that of a bubbly sprite of energy. Unfortunately his players were not all on the same page.

"It feels like he's a substitute teacher who's just been handed a remedial class and been told to get the kids into shape," Emanuele Cutrona whispered to Franky Adams as they sat in the back of the locker-room during one practice session. Coach LeBouffe was up front, gushing about the new training regimen that, in his own words, he was "so enthused" about. "He's trying to be all smiles and encouragement because he's worried if he allows any cracks in that mask, all the tough students will see how unprepared and what an easy target he is."

"You think he's just pretending?" asked Franky, raising an eyebrow. "He seems pretty genuinely ecstatic to be here to me."

"Then maybe he really is that naive," returned Emanuele. "But if you talk to him one-on-one, you'll get the feeling that behind his big smile, he's actually really nervous, and trying desperately to hide it. Trying too hard, maybe. It feels like he's a bit too over the top."

"I see what you mean," said Franky. LeBouffe's presentation style felt childish. He would often ask rhetorical questions, then stop to wait for an answer. It was kind of annoying.

"This new training regimen is supposed to show results in just three weeks," LeBouffe was saying. "Which is perfect for us! Because what is happening in three weeks?" He stopped to wait for an answer, a wide grin plastered on his face. The players looked at each other. Was he serious?

Kayserling was the good student. "The Cup of Harmony," he said.

"That's right, the Cup of Harmony!" said LeBouffe.

"I don't know how Kayserling doesn't roll his eyes when he gives those answers," whispered Franky. "I wouldn't be able to stop myself."

"I'm sure he's just trying to move things along," replied Emanuele. "And honestly, I'm thankful. I wanna get out of here."

Helibert Wolf stood up. Suddenly the players looked up and started paying attention. "With all due respect, coach," Helibert said, "We're all very aware that the Cup of Harmony is coming up so soon. We've been getting ready for about a year. That's not new information. You've presented the training you want us to do, so we're going to do it... is there any other point you're trying to make? If so, could you hurry up and get to it? We're wasting valuable time."

Franky and Emanuele snickered. Some of the other players looked shocked that Helibert would address the new manager that way. Most of them, however, nodded in agreement. LeBouffe's face briefly flickered with pain, but just for a moment, and then his big smile was back.

"Of course, Helibert, thank you," he said. "With that out of the way, I want to talk about what our schedule will look like when we get to Valanora. I think you know who's in our group, but I'll give you the rundown on what order we're playing them, and where, as well as what our daily routine will look like during the tournament. I want us to be ready to continue training once we get there, while also getting enough rest, and being ready for all the logistical things that might come up. So we have a lot to go over..."

Franky and Emanuele looked at each other. It wasn't as if they hadn't been to a tournament before. Did LeBouffe think the whole team consisted just of kids?

On the other hand, what was there for them to do? Franky had already caught the stern look Gerauld Firaut, the team captain, had shot at Helibert when he so rudely stood up and interrupted the manager. Franky knew that Wolf was going to get a gentle but firm talking to from Firaut later, and didn't envy him. Franky certainly wasn't going to try to do the same thing himself. And so instead, he settled himself in his seat, preparing for a long lecture. Indeed, with this manager, no matter how quickly Reçueçn was eliminated, it was going to feel like a long tournament as well...

by **Doubeia** » Thu Jan 30, 2025 8:19 am

Part 1
Part 2

Creed had never felt so much comfort in his life before.

He snuggle ever deeper into the bed he was lying down on in spite of the alarm ringing incessantly. Soon, someone — his friend Zane's mom — had to forcefully wake him up.

"Creed! You'll be late for work!" she chided. Creed almost ignored her instruction, but the word "work" was enough to jolt him awake.

Oh, right. He had a job now.

It wasn't anything special, really. He had walked around downtown a few days after his initial incursion, looking for places to be hired at. He could distinctively remember the faces of all the staff in all those stores that looked at him: pity, disgust, confusion. Shouldn't a lad this young be at school? Why is he asking for employment on a Thursday morning? Most stores instantly rejected him, while others tried to lure him into buying their products even if he didn't have money.

It took him about twenty stores before someone finally picked him up: Mr David, a burger chef. Creed remembered the exact conversation he had.

"Hey sir, I was wonde—"

"Are you here to buy food or buy a job?" Mr David interrupted bluntly.

"A job, sir." Creed's voice shook in timidity. Why was Mr David so intimidating? Mr David merely sighed at Creed.

"Y'know, kid, I've received many people who wanted to work for me, only for them to walk away disappointed because they didn't know how to cook," Mr David explained, "Don't tell me you ca—"

"I can, sir," Creed responded. Mr David suddenly looked shocked, and then a doubtful expression creeped onto his face.

"Sure? Burgers aren't the easiest to cook," he warned Creed, but Creed wasn't lying at all. Creed himself had also temporarily worked at a makeshift burger stand a year back; it was for a school event, and they needed a burger maker. Thankfully, Creed was also adept at cooking. Cooking was essential for survival when you had a deadbeat for a father.

"I could show you, sir," Creed persuaded, "I promise I know my stuff."

Creed then proceeded to make a decent burger. It wasn't really to the standards of Mr David, but good enough that he eventually took Creed in as an "apprentice".

Since then, Creed had been working in downtown Queensland, now for three weeks. He moved into one of his only friends' house. His friend's mother had notice his precarious family situation and decided to take him in. Creed happily obliged. It wasn't as if his dad would notice anyway. The pay was kinda ass: 9 gin per hour, and Creed worked for five. 45 gin was enough for a fast food meal, but with the staff meals he'd be getting every day, fast food was really not an option anymore. It was, however, enough for him to finally get some of those kale chips he really liked. In fact, he bought them almost every day. Money really was the key to happiness.

As time moved on, Creed started to gain some weight. It had been a while since he last played football, and the eating he did surpassed the exercise he was doing.

"Bro, you've gotten fatter," Zane commented during dinner.

"I know, man," Creed lamented, "Not much I can do anyway."

"You should go back to footballing, bro," Zane suggested, "You can't let your talent go to waste."

"Where can I go, though?"

"Darling, I just might have an answer for you," Zane's mom chimed in, "I heard there's a youth team near where you work that's looking for players." Creed's eyes shone upon hearing that.

"Really?" Creed squealed, "Ma'am, I really need to go there right now!" He was practically bouncing on his seat, and Zane's mother had to put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Now, now, Creed, you'll choke on your food if you don't behave at the dinner table," she nagged, "I will tell you once you've finished your food." Creed had never waffled a plate of chicken and veggies so fast in his life. It turned out the youth team was called "Martha Park Kickers", and they played at the eponymous park opposite Mr David's burger shop. It was way too convenient.

Creed's routine then gradually adapted to accommodate both work and football. Mr David was starting to really enjoy Creed's burgers, going so far as to brag to a regular about his new hire.

"This Creed guy, his burgers have been getting better and better every day, it's wonderful!" Creed couldn't help but beam upon hearing that.

On the footballing side, Creed had adjusted really well to his new team. The players were generally nicer, although he could sense a sort of patronising vibe whenever his teammates spoke to him.

"Whoa, you're real good! I can tell you come from the suburbs, all you guys do is play football!" was a backhanded compliment he would usually get. Whenever he told someone he came from the suburbs, he could tell their impression of him had already changed. Maybe to these downtown dwellers, all suburb kids do is skip school, play footy and get into stupid fights. Creed could attest to the first two himself, but he sure as hell wasn't one to provocate. Still, it didn't matter much to Creed. His life had been going far better than he had anticipated, and he finally felt like someone capable of independence. Long gone were the days he was neglected by his own father, and long gone were the days where he dreaded waking up everyday.

Creed had really impressed in the youth league as he propelled Martha Park Kickers to the top spot in his youth league. He had bagged 15 goals and 6 assists in 9 games, a crazy record that no one else could replicate. One match in particular would soon stand out.

It was a cloudy day in Martha Park as the skies beckoned for rain to fall. Creed was rushing to the football field; he had been released 15 minutes late from his job. The game was supposed to start soon, and Creed really didn't want to be late for it. When he finally reached there, he noticed how much more spectators there seemed to be. Usually there'd only be a few people along the touchlines, but now there seemed to be a crowd forming behind the field. He also noticed how most of them were carrying something in their hands. Was that a clipboard? Or a pen? What was that? Creed didn't really care about it, though, and set his mind on the game.

When the game finally kicked off, Martha Park Kickers went on with their usual game plan: run down the sides and cross the ball into the middle. It had worked for previous teams, but their opponents then were far trickier to break through. Any play along the flanks seemed to be efficiently stopped by the opposing defenders, and by half-time, the scoresheet remained blank.

"Lads, we need to change some things up," the coach said during the half-time break, "They've done really well to block us along the sides, and that's really costing us. We need to find other ways to get the ball to the goal. Creed, you need to come back deeper to receive the ball. You'll need to dribble more this game, but I assure you, you can beat these defenders." Creed seemed a bit worried at the coach's instructions. He had never been the best at carrying the ball, and now the entire game plan was for him to run towards goal and hope he wouldn't lose the ball? Definitely a tough ask.

Still, Creed decided to take his manager's advice (like he wasn't forced to) and play as a false 9, and that game he realised just how important the manager was. Whenever Creed held the ball, all the defenders who knew he was crazy good would start to crowd around him, and he abused the space created to ping the ball to his winger. With that tactic, he had assisted two goals. As he looked over to his manager, he could see a smile forming on his face. However, their opponents had finally figured out his gameplan, and all they needed to do was to mark their man and Creed suddenly couldn't manage to land as many passes. They had also scored two goals back, equalised, and were looking to win the game.

In the dying minutes, the ball was cleared and landed on Creed's feet. He looked at the clock: 15 more seconds. Time was running out for a winner. Creed, for a second, was torn between passing and dribbling. It was too far to shoot, but none of his teammates were alongside me. Between him and the goal stood two defenders eager to steal the ball from him, and Creed took the chance. He started gunning for the goal, and when the first defender came in, all he had to do was to fake his movement and kick the ball between the defender's legs to make it past him. The second defender was much more bullish, and as he charged towards Creed, Creed suddenly realised how doomed he was.

"What are my options?" he thought. His teammates were still way behind him, and with the game just seconds away from ending, Creed had only one option.

With a ferocious kick, Creed punted the ball towards the goal. The hapless goalkeeper, having been taken surprised, could only look as the ball beautifully landed on the top right corner.

Creed immediately ran to his teammates in jubilation.

"Top right bins!" he yelled, "Top fucking right bins!" His esctasy was through the roof as he and his teammates celebrated a sure win. With three seconds left on the clock, a win was all but secured. Creed had never felt so pumped before. That shot to score the goal came from an inner spirit in his body that had just awoken. A striker's spirit, if you will.

After the game, Creed was ready to help himself to two bags of kale chips when suddenly, two men in gray tracksuits walked up to him. Creed felt scared for a moment as flashbacks of the Red Square bullies reemerged in his mind.

"Excuse me, kid, would you mind a really quick conversation?" one of the guys asked. Creed was hesitant but nodded anyways.

"Okay," the other guy pulled out his wallet and fished out some card. He showed it to Creed. Ethen Samoyev, youth scout, District 14 Football Club. Creed looked at the two men in confusion.

"We're from District 14 FC, a professional football club in Queensland. You played really well just know, y'know?" the man known as Ethen Samoyev told Creed.

"Enough with the rhetoric already!" the other man scolded, "I'll just get straight to the point: we want you. We've been watching your games for some time, and we think you have what it takes to be Doubeia's star."

"Yep," Samoyev hedged, "While you don't have to agree with us right now, think of this as an unofficial offer. Go back and think about whether you want to play professional football with us, and after your next game, tell us your decision and we'll figure things out."

"Are your parents around?" the other guy asked, looking around the field for Creed's parents. Creed shook his head.

"What about guardians?" Creed nodded.

"Great," the other guy said, "Ask them to come to the next match. If you decide to accept our offer, we will discuss with your guardians about the contract and all the boring things, hmm?" Creed didn't know what to say, and uttered a soft "okay".

When Creed went back to his friend's house, he told the story of what happened to Zane and his dad.

"District 14?" Zane's dad commented, "I've heard of them. They're quite good for a club in Queensland, but if you compare it to the rest of Doubeia... I mean, they're a legitimate club! You should definitely consider it!"

"Yeah, bro!" Zane chimed in, "It'd be sick to see you play footy!" Zane had already signed a youth contract with Red Square and was playing for their U16s. Creed thought about it long and hard. He had no idea what was gonna come if he signed, but at the same time, a professional team? Offering an official contract? It sounded like an opportunity he had to take.

The next game couldn't have come sooner. After it ended, Creed agreed with Ethen and the other man (who turned out to be called Andrei). Ethen and Andrei had a talk with Zane's parents, and it took another week before they finally presented Creed with the contract. He put pen to paper, and suddenly, Creed had become a professional (youth) footballer.

by **Ralsalin** » Thu Jan 30, 2025 10:06 am

Yes, it is still going. After an impressive start in the World Cup 98 qualification with 4 victories in 7 games and 3rd place in their qualifying group after matchday 7, the Ralsalien football team drew some attention in the Order, even from the people who always thought that the football in this country is shit. Untill the 10th matchday Ralsaliens managed to have an equal number of wins and losses, sensationally fighting for the 3rd place that gives chances to qualify for the World Cup, while still being the team from the lowest, eighth, pot. However, the Ralsalien team didn't have an experience of playing in such long tournaments and at the end, we saw the deterioration of the results, as Ralsalin failed to compete with more experienced teams at this long distance. Before the last qualifying window, the Knights had a chance to secure 4th place, but at the end finished only 6th, with 6 wins and 8 losses.
Suddenly, this was not the end of the Ralsalien international campaign, as the unranked side's performance was noticed by the international community, resulted in Ralsalin's sudden invitation to the Cup of Harmony, the tournament where the nations who failed to qualify for the World Cup, are competing for the prize. It could be called "The second chance".
Athough, this "second chance" was given to the Ralsalien national team, the situation is not easier than at the World Cup. In the new international football rankings, Ralsalin strongly improved its position, going from the unranked to...

154th place. This saved Ralsalien Order from being the lowest-ranking side in the Cup of Harmony (which is 159th ranked Bohr), but not saved from being in the lowest pot, pot 5, being the lowest-ranked side in their group. If the Order wants some points, then the team need to have a 200% performance, because it is possible the only way to compete against the group opponents.
Ralsalin was drawn into group 5, where they will face 37th ranked World Cup 92 winner Zwangzug, 51th ranked several times World Cup finalist Bears Armed, 67th ranked Olympic Games winner Delaclava, and 98th ranked Vaishnavaria.

Before the beginning of the tournament, Seibold von Niermann, the "insane grandfather" thought how he could strenghten the team and what players could improve the situation. For several nights, von Niermann thought about the squad of the team that will go to Valanora. Many brain cells were spent and many pencils were broken by von Niermann while he was in his thoughts. At the end, national team's coach made some changes to the World Cup qualification squad and decided to test it in a friendly match. Ralsalin was lucky to become a part of Indusse's friendly tour, playing an away friendly match on the Arena de Riveria. The Ralsalien team lost 0-2, but von Niermann was more than satisfied with conclusions he made from this match. In the second half, three players made their debut in the Ralsalien national team as the part of von Niermann's experiment, but only 30-year old Peeter Ainwal managed to perform alright to impress the coach and being named in the Cup of Harmony squad as a reserve player. 20-year old Nikita Gokio failed to impress von Niermann. The same goes for 26-year old Konrad von Kanker, whose mistake led to Indusse's second goal scored by Rahul B Kumar. Nikita, Konrad, sorry. Maybe sometimes in the future...
The conclusions that Siebold von Niermann made from that match were both satisfying for him and very unlucky. He successfully watched the players he wanted to watch, but on the other hand, the squad that played in the World Cup 98 qualification is currently the strongest squad that Ralsalin has. The new national team members mosty were so shit compared to the main squad, that three potential national team candidates, Akindins Dūda, Michael Kayserling and naturalised Kanmerin goalkeeper Mikalai Handinyu were left on the bench. Moreover, on the 84th minute, a strange thing happened, as Ralsalin suddenly had not 11, but 10 players on the pitch. Oh no, sorry, there were 11, just Dietrich von Erlaid was subbed for Reiko Titov. Wait, who the hell is Reiko Titov?

PRE COH-90 FRIENDLY
Indusse 2-0 RALSALIN

GK Gosens
LB Meine 
CB Shindeberg ↓ 70'
   (von Kanker ↑ 70')
CB Tõru
RB Aniko 
CM Astafjevs ↓ 46'
   (Ainwal ↑ 46')
CM Heen
CM Kirtiman Asier
LW (C) von Erlaid  ↓ 84'
   (Titov ↑ 84')
RW Sengendwara ↓ 46'
   (Gokio ↑ 46')
CF Menon ↓ 46'
   (Blagonadeždins ↑ 46')

Reserves: Maiyenkar (GK), Handinyu (GK), Dūda, Veerman, Tikhonov, Kayserling.

In the first match of the Cup of Harmony, the Ralsalien national team will play against the second highest-ranked team in a group, Bears Armed, as a nominal home team. We don't know which thing gave von Niermann more food for thought: the fact that Ralsalin is going to play against humanoid bears, or the fact that before the start of the CoH Bears Armed thrashed 102th ranked Jeruselem 6-0.

MD1 vs. Bears Armed: Gosens - Meine, Shindeberg, Tõru, Aniko (VC) - Astafjevs, Heen, Kirtiman Asier - von Erlaid (C), Sengendwara, Menon.
Substitutes: Maiyenkar, Rosengarten, Suta, Mungain-Dehane, Gaikar, Veerman, Ainwal, Titov, Minsen-Dwarasen, Tikhonov, Blagonadeždins, Muktupāvels

by **Bears Armed** » Thu Jan 30, 2025 10:43 am

(Here are Some more entries from the diary of footballer Steffannee Bruin, although with exact dates omitted due to the difficulty of matching calendars bearing in mind differing time-flows in different nations… Also, please remember that for the Bears the CoH takes place in the year after the second half of the World Cup qualifying process.)

(about six weeks after the end of the World Cup qualification games)
Well, I spoke with some people from management today about my needing to take about a year’s break because I plan on getting pregnant, and they not only accepted this — as my contract, and the basic rules of BAAS, said that they had to anyhows – they said that I should start it this year hrrather than next year: Apparently, despite the short notice involved, this should be better for the team because of hwho else is scheduled to take breaks or to retire or to move up from the juniors into the main team during those years…
Ur’rmm, I suppose this means that my break from the Belles will start this much earlier than I’d expected, too. Good news, I should have longer in hwhich to recover fitness between giving birth and [hopefully!] selection for playing in the next World Cup’s qualifiers; Bad news, I’ll have to miss playing in the Cup of Harmony… On the hwhole, probably better than my original plans.

I’ll tell Hrrobb tomorrow, hwhen he gets back into town from that family business upriver. I’m sure that he’ll be willing to start trying to father a child straight away…

(Three days after the previous post)
Today I met with the Belles’ management, and explained the situation to them. They’d already known that I planned on the break, of course, and were hokay with the fact that it would start this much earlier than I’d previously suggested would be the case.

(One week [of eight days] after the previous post)
Heard from the Belles’ management this morning. They’ve been kind enough to send tickets for me to attend all of ourr team’s Cup of Harmony matches, hwhich Hrrobb would be doing anyhows because of his job of course, and are even covering travel costs and basic hotel expenses… staying in the same as the team, so I won’t be separated from my friends there.
They’re not covering room service charges, though…

(about two months later)
Urrah! Doctor WhittBear ran enough tests to confirm the hrresult that I got from the home testing kit yesterday, and agrees that I’m preggers. Yay! URRAH!
Hrrobb managed to find the time to accompany me to that appointment, so now he knows already. I’ll phone mum this evening to let her know as well… Can’t get up to the Groves tomorrow to meet with her, unfortunately, because it’s the annual PoliceBears’ Ball and I promised Hrrobb that absolutely we would go to this event. Should be able to fix a day to meet mum on soon, though, during the phone call.
Oh, and Doc. W offered to supply me with a verry effective medicine to deal with morning sickness, if & hwhen I need it, too. From how she hinted about this, it’s probably of ‘wizarding’ manufacture — a “magic potion”, as they say—but that doesn’t bother me… Not half as much as the idea of how bad morning sickness could be, anyhows, Hr’rmm, I wonder hwhether mum took the same potion hwhile she was pregnant with the twins? Have to ask her…

(just a couple of days before Yule, the Mid-Winter Festival)
Collected the goose today, all plucked & trimmed & gutted rready to cook. Somebearry I don’t know hwho was also in the poulterers hwhile I was there was saying that apparently the “fashionable” Yule dinner now, if you have a large enough family to justify it, is actually an ostrich stuffed with a goose — the latter already de-boned, so that fitting it inside the larger bird will work — which in turn contains a more traditional stuffing.
Busy, busy, busy!

(Three weeks after Yule)
We’re going to the Belles’ friendly match against Jeruselem, courtesy of the Belles. 
It’s being played in Sarzonia, at their new ‘Nicole Lewis Stadium’ at a place called Woodstock, as neutral ground for a ”decider” because of how we each won our home game against the other during the qualifiers… Sarzonia agreed to host this because they want to show off that stadium, and maybeso they were curious after their team had played against both of ourrs during the qualifiers as well. The Belles will be fielding the same squad that they plan to employ during the Cup of Harmony, hwhose differences from the one used in the qualifiers extend beyond my own absence across midfield… Harroya is only going to be on the bench, now, with Arra and Ermaladina moving up to take over as the starting midfielders instead.

Some idot writing an opinion piece in the WestPort Times for this morning claimed that uurs changing our squad for the Cup and for this game instead of sticking with the line-up from the qualifiers was somehow disrespecting the other teams involved… URRGAH! Does he expect a pregnant woman to play?!? Admittedly he wouldn’t know that I’m expecting TWINS, but the basic news of that I’m preggers should be obvious if he did any research…
Talking of the fact that it’s going to be twins, I asked mum hwhether there had been a history of those in the family before she bore hers and she said not that she knows of. Oh well, I suppose ‘traditions’ have to start somehwhere after all.[/box]

(late evening, just after the friendly match)
Bears Armed 6 — 0 Jeruselem.
Yes, that’s hrright. Our side’s opponents triedhard, but they just couldn’t stop urrs of get through our defences & into the net.

Goal #1: Karra-Surey Norr-Vurra, free kick from just outside the box, she was trying to pass it to one of our players nearer the goal but it bounced unexpectedly off the left shoulder of Jeruselem’s Thea Ashwood (Don’t we have people ‘Ashwood’ somehwhere back home, too?) and slipped past their goalie Cherryl Dallas… Ting girl, the latter is, hwhich didn’t help her then. (7th moment)
Goal #2: Rusana, hwhom the other side probably thought would pass to one or another of our forwards hwhen she ran in from the wing. Maybeso our forwards expected that as well… (21st moment)
Goal #3: Marra O Redbank, with an assist (this time) from Rusana, with her right foot into the roof of the net. (30th moment, just before end of regular time for the first half)

__________________________________________________________

OOC notes

I successfully resisted the temptation to replace “management” with “bearagement”

.

‘City’ in this context means Wiston City F.C., the team for which Steffannee plays when not on international duty.

“One week [of eight days]” _ I’ve explained the Urrsish calendar before this…

“Can’t get up to the Groves” _ Steffannee lives in Wiston City, when not active with the Belles, but her mother Krystall now lives in Council Groves instead, and unfortunately those two cities are too far apart for quick-&-easy travel between them.

The ‘WestPort Times’ _ a reasonably important newspaper, published in WestPort (of course) which is in the territory of Clan WestWoods as also is Wiston City.

I’ve got the Belles’ other goals from the friendly against Jeruselem worked out as well, but unfortunately don’t have enough onlime time left today for typing them out.ran out of

by **Drawkland** » Thu Jan 30, 2025 11:00 am

RAYNOR CITY, Valanora Most Drawkian soccer fans can agree on one thing: DISC made the wrong choice. It was no secret that fans of the Kick Corps, Drawkland's national team, were wholly dissatisfied with the team's performance over the last two cycles following their failure to qualify for World Cup 97. Drawkian International Sporting Council, the organization responsible for managing Drawkland's national teams (among other duties), were forced to make a decision. The great Drawkionel Ellzidan, known for her long-time exploits in the footy world, was essentially forced to resign from her position as Kick Corps manager.

The Elf had been managing the Kick Corps since the Elite Eleven were fired and the female Kick Corps roster was reinstated. At the time, it was seen as a more temporary measure. The Elite's firing came late in the cycle, far too late for a normal manager and team selection process. Ellzidan offered to head the team, which was convenient as she already had experience at that level and many connections across DLK to ensure the Corps roster could be filled in time for World Cup 94's qualifiers. The Kick Corps may not have made it to the World Cup in that rushed first appearance of the "new era," but they came a penalty shootout away from qualifying. One cycle later in World Cup 95, the Corps not only qualified but earned the third Round of 16 berth in their history. Ellzidan's tenure was now seen as less of a stopgap and more of the beginning of a true new era of success. Her contract was extended as Kick Corps manager, and things seemed to be looking up for the soccer nationals.

Ironically, that time of perceived stability was not the beginning of sustained success, but rather a peak of Ellzidan's managerial tenure for the Kick Corps. The qualifying campaigns for World Cup 96 and 97 both ended in heartbreaking playoff defeats, dropping the Kick Corps to consecutive Cup of Harmony appearances when the national fanbase were expecting to see actual World Cup knockout contention. It says a lot about the history of Drawkland's national team that consistent qualifying playoff appearances are seen as utter failures, regardless of the end result, but the fans were dissatisfied either way. The second-place run in Cup of Harmony 89, though it was by far the best result the Kick Corps had achieved in the invitational, was not enough to save the Elf's job. She avoided an outright firing by declaring her intent to "retire" from the position immediately following the tournament, but everybody knew she would've stayed much longer if she was really in control of the situation.

This was seen as a win by many fans. The oldheaded and stubborn leader was now gone, and this was a chance for a breath of fresh air. Francesca Wells, notable for piloting a surprisingly effective rebuild from the oft-ailing Shire-Port Pirates franchise, was hired to manage the Kick Corps ahead of the Olympic Games in Hamilton, Electrum. A quarterfinal exit to Crpostran was not what the team hoped for, but it was their best performance at the Games, and understandable given the short turnaround from Wells' hiring. The Corps followed this up with an impressive run in the Independents Cup, though that also ended in a second-place heartbreaker to HUElavia, just like the prior Cup of Harmony. It was still Drawkland's best result since IAC-15's final loss to HUElavia, and the first time the Corps had reached the indie semifinals since IAC-17. Things appeared to be looking up going into the first qualifying campaign of Francesca Wells' tenure.

Then came a curveball nobody expected. Rather than melting into the background or returning to her business running the forests of the southeast, Ellzidan got another managerial job. This wasn't some bounceback job in a smaller nation with lower expectations. This was the mother of all golden parachutes: Ellzidan had been hired to manage the Marauders, the national team of Valanora. That's #1 ranked, annual title contenders Valanora. Fresh off a World Cup final appearance Valanora. 5-time champions, in constant hunt for their 6th title Valanora. The expectations literally could not be higher, but the Elf still signed to manage the elves of Arrosia.

Some Drawkians laughed derisively at this hiring. Ellzidan couldn't manage to pull a half-decent Kick Corps squad into the World Cup more than once. Surely she'd fail to bring Valanora to their coveted tiebreaking 6th title. If anything, the fact that she was willing to take this job showed her mental faculties were suffering, and DISC had cut her loose at the perfect time. Meanwhile, Francesca Wells showed incredible promise as the head of the Kick Corps. This mindset couldn't be further from the truth. Valanora fell short of their typical qualifying expectations of routing their group, but Ellzidan calmly piloted them to an automatic qualification without any fatal incidents. Meanwhile, Drawkland had their worst-ever qualifying performance under the direction of Wells. This is not an exaggeration: the 4-4-6 record, 5th place in the group, and 7 points behind a potential playoff spot were all by far the worst in Kick Corps history. Francesca Wells looked completely lost on the sideline, both her preparation and tactics were lacking. All but one of the teams in Group 12 managed to take points off Drawkland, even the unranked and pitifully-ranked squads. There were two words to describe the Kick Corps performance this cycle: utter failure.

Even DISC was smart enough to pull the trigger. The moment World Cup 98 qualifiers concluded, Francesca Wells was given a pink slip and likely told to never venture within 10 miles of a Kick Corps event. Former assistant and current interim manager Wendy Parsons now tries her best to right the ship ahead of Cup of Harmony 90, hosted in none other than Valanora. Fate truly tells the sickest jokes. The Kick Corps flounders for a third straight cycle in the second-best tournament of the World Cup Cycle, and this time they have to do it in the very same nation where their former manager is seeing nothing but success. The average pessimistic Vanorian fan would be quick to point out that the Marauders hardly scraped through the World Cup 98 group stage and look far from a repeat title appearance thanks to a stacked bracket, but Ellzidan is the one laughing.

The one silver lining is that, yet again, Drawkland is a pot one team and one of the favored nations for title contention in this Cup of Harmony. Of course, this is much less of an accomplishment now that the World Cup is accepting 48 entrants. Another twist of irony that the Kick Corps, who are normally a reasonably fearsome opponent in World Cup Qualifiers, have turned in their worst two performances when the bar has been at its lowest. Regardless, this is a chance for the Corps to rebound and prove that one bad qualifying cycle does not define a team. Time will tell if this tournament is a turning point or merely another stop on the most vicious downward spiral in team history.

by **Omerica** » Thu Jan 30, 2025 11:12 am

by **Valanora** » Thu Jan 30, 2025 11:21 am

Matchday 1

Group A
Cobrio 0–1 Drawkland
Doubeia 2–0 The Ko-orenite Constellation

Group B
Patriotlandia 6–2 Indusse
Omerica 2–1 Kanzlia

Group C
Captina Island 1–3 Grand Exultia
Oberour Ar Moro 2–1 Vetrahjart

Group D
Nova Calania 2–1 Eraman
Milchama 0–4 Reçueçn

Group E
Ralsalin 2–2 Bears Armed
Delaclava 2–4 Vaishnavaria

by **Milchama** » Thu Jan 30, 2025 2:02 pm

A man opens up a paper, he looks up the score of the Milchama game. He says, "We lost 4-0! God we're terrible why would I want to think about that anymore" closes the sports section and reads the news. It has happier things to say.

by **Kanzlia** » Thu Jan 30, 2025 6:28 pm

how kanzlians reacts to the Cup of Harmony hosted in the Eternal Empire
brought to you by: Centraal

This edition is hosted by: Avdrey Kristen

F. Arrowsmith 8', C. Lémery 31' // P. Tiyan 44'

Kanzlia's opening game ended in defeat with the Exiles losing 2-1 to Omerica. Clearly the Kanzlians have not put on their shooting boots as they missed a penalty in the 2nd half alongside with other chances. Here's what travelling supporter Krystoff te'Maritz have to say.

AK: "Thank you for agreeing for this edition of Kanzlians and the Cup of Harmony 90, Mr. te'Maritz. Kanzlia is off to a bad start in the cup, losing 2-1 to an admittedly thrilling side. We're kind of expected to win this game did we not?"

KtM: "Yeah. For goodness sake. It was a disaster up front."

AK: "Indeed Mr. te'Maritz, Paulo Tiyan missed 2 golden chances in the second half and Sylverio van Coevordens penalty was saved by N. Lagadec. We're the team nervous or something? Clearly somethings not right"

KtM: "They're awful. Plain awful. Not sure what Sylverio was thinking when he shot it straight at the goalkeeper - Paulo Tiyan is just not good, I never rated him"

AK: "Woah okay thats an opinion and a half. Paulo Tiyan did score in the first half though."

KtM: "Yeah and?"

AK: "Thats more goals than Sylverio so far?"

KtM: "Are you a Tiyan fangirl by any chance?"

AK: "No of course not, I support NSFC - how could I?"

KtM: "Right.. how's the director job?"

AK: "..let's take this back to where we left off.. Mr. te'Maritz, the defence also didn't play too great today don't you think?"

KtM: "They're dreadful, bar perhaps Verhoeven and even Ardentius. Verhoeven really locked the left side of the pitch, I think Delaplace is still in his pocket."

AK: "Fair assessment, Rick Verhoeven is by far the standout in defence today, intercepting 7 times, made 4 succesful tackles and has a passing accuracy of 95% - not bad!"

Ding-ding! "And now... time for a little offside chat!"

AK: "Oh well thats the jingle for a shift of topic, away from sports. You have been briefed about this have you?"

KtM: "I watched the first edition."

AK: "Very well, for todays topic its... the economic climate of Kotr..?"

AK: "I'd get a new on-"

KtM: "No, no no no no, actually, this is something I have A LOT TO SAY"

AK: "W-well let's have it then.."

KtM: "First things first, the Shipyard Privatisation Act of 2018 is a disaster - SRC has now effectively controls Kotr's shipyards to a point of near monopoly."

KtM: "I think they own like nearly 60% of all shipyards in Kotr"

KtM: "Innovation has stagnated in Kotr as SRC seemingly relegates Kotrs shipyards for lower value construction such as smaller liners and cargo ships."

KtM: "This is evident when they moved the construction of the warship Resolution to Szbedansk - what was meant to be a big project for Kotr shipyards is instead moved by the SRC to Szbedansk"

KtM: "Now SRC isn't the only offender bleeding the city dry, Centraal-"

AK: "Ok I think we'll have to cut it here, thanks for participating Mr. te'Maritz!"

by **Grand Exultia** » Fri Jan 31, 2025 4:47 am

Welcome back to our pitch perspectives, I’m your host Patsy and today we will be covering the perfect start to our Eternal Harmony campaign here from The White Fortress having just beat Captina Island in our opening game of the competition. A high-octane game that demonstrated our youthful exuberance and showcased high calibre skill from two national teams that are moving strength to strength with each competition.

A back and forth first half that saw us take the lead only to concede not long before the half time break, a second half that displayed more character and ultimately proved fruitful with some clinical finishing saw the final whistle bring about a 3-1 victory.

We have a match exclusive with our player of the match, none other than Sable Gillyflower.

“Thank you for speaking with us Sable, I’ll try not to hold you for too long so you can get back out and finish your warm down”

“Yeah cheers that’d be great”

“So first game, first win, couldn’t really ask for a better start”

“Yeah, no, it’s a great start, the squad really pulls together when we need to and everyone knows their jobs so it really works when it works, y’know”

“I do, so not the most decisive first half we’ve seen so far what were your thoughts”

“Well we drew first blood so that’s always good, puts us on the front foot and in control especially against these tougher opponents but then conceding like we did is always a blow and you can feel that momentum shift so we have to work twice as hard to get it back”

“Yes, there was a few early chances, Gimli, Lupold and yourself all testing Jaconelli, a hard fought game against some, I mean no offense, but stronger opponents”

“Yeah, no, it was tough, we knew we were going to come up against some bigger lads and they really pushed us around when they could but that’s where you need the right mentality to find the gaps and take your chances playing your own game”

“Quite right, what did you think of the goals?”

“Well as always Gimli leading from the front and I mean what a ball from Loruruk, perfectly weighted to beat the defenders for Brambles to get after, you never get over how quick they look like they’re moving and then firing that ball across the box for Aria to tap in, poetry in motion”

“and the Captini goal?”

“always disappointing to concede, especially after taking the lead and when you know our guys can do better than what they did. That cross should have been dealt with, we shouldn’t have let it get into the box, Nepthys knows they shouldn’t have been beaten by Ellington but Overstreet just got up before Siggy and Eds and there wasn’t much Elandor could do”

“So we’re going in level with a tough opponent, surely we would take that?”

“Normally but we felt like there was something different and we were letting it slip and big Apol knew it and made sure we knew it”

“What did they say?”

“Don’t think I can repeat it word for word to be honest”

“I get ya, so inspired you come out after half time to regain the momentum, just how do you do that?”

“Well I don’t know, you just have to focus on your own game and trust those standing on the pitch with you will do the same”

“oh I see so you didn’t try doing anything different?”

“yeah, no not me personally, I felt I was playing well so just kept doing what I do”

“of course, well the team did turn it up and you even got yourself on the scoresheet, tell us about the second half as it looked good”

“yeah, no, it was good, we really came together, the training ground work is starting to show and we were tight in what we tried to do. Once more Brambles showing the initiative straight from the off, I think we weren’t even 10 minutes into the half and Brambles makes this run behind that wall of defenders and somehow Rikecos has not only seen them but pulls out that filthy chip, Brambles takes it down and slots it in a sick finish.”

“and your goal?”

“yeah, haha, that was the icing on the cake for me really. Y’know Captina really gunning for us, pushing to find that equaliser but we knew if we held our shape and did our jobs we’d come good and sure enough Loops was down that left quicker than a Gyrinx, I was barely keeping up on my side and then that ball into the box just out of reach of the keeper that I was desperate to get to at the post, all I could think was keep the f#cking thing down, oop sorry about that”

“haha don’t worry about it, you got excited it’s to be expected. So what do you think of our next opponent Oberour Ar Moro?”

“I try not to get too hung up on who the others are, big Apol always says we can compete with the best and sometimes you feel like it’s true. We haven’t played them before and they haven’t played us so we’ll have to see as they know as much about us as we know about them”

“Well put, well thank you for your thoughts and I’ll let you get back to your warm down”

“You’re very welcome”

“So there you have it, we’re top of our group and our Gyrinxes can take on anyone and won’t back down from the challenge. I would just like to apologise for the fruity language and any offense that may have caused and finally I would like to thank our sponsors today….”

by **United States of Nova Calania** » Fri Jan 31, 2025 6:16 am

Nova Calania won their Cup of Harmony opening match

Starting XI vs Eraman @ Hatire Memorial, Capri, Valanora
GK Bleau-Bean - LB A. McCaskill - CB Wolkowicz - CB T. Gibouleau-Beaudoin - RB N. McCaskill - DCM Fauteux-McGrath - LW M. Q. Xiong - RW S. McCaskill - ACM C. Gibouleau-Beaudoin - S Guénette-Velazquez - S Goudreau-Luneau

Capri, Valanora - It's Cup of Harmony time and, on the opening match, Nova Calania played against Eraman and beat them 2-1 in an hard fought match. Both teams were studying each other in the 1st half and the score was still 0-0 at halftime. Nova Calania attacked at the 54th minute when Mei Qi Xiong had the ball and passed to Rodrigo Guénette-Velazquez just outside the penalty area. Anton Mora tackles him too hard and receives a yellow card. It's a free kick for the Tapirs, Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin kicks the ball and it goes in! Eraman tied the game at the 77th minute when Perda Nasar, who subbed in earlier, passed forward to Putra Daulapura Wikra Petara who kicks it past Serge Bleau-Bean and the score is at 1-1. Nova Calania attacked at the 83rd minute when Rose Van der Jagt made a cross to Rodrigo Guénette-Velazquez and he scores with a bicycle kick. The score was 2-1 and this is the final score.

In the other group D match, Reçueçn easily beat Milchama 4-0 and Bohr had a bye. On matchday 2, the Tapirs will travel to Kareen to play against Bohr while Eraman and Milchama will play each other. Bohr is one of the lowest ranked team but they play well and are very pesky for a low ranked nation. The starting XI remains unchanged.

Game Summary

54th    GOAL NOVA CALANIA     Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin (free kick)
77th    GOAL ERAMAN     Putra Daulapura Wikra Petara assisted by Perda Nasar
83rd    GOAL NOVA CALANIA     Rodrigo Guénette-Velazquez assisted by Rose Van der Jagt

Starting XI vs Bohr @ Rose Gardens, Kareen, Valanora
GK Bleau-Bean - LB A. McCaskill - CB Wolkowicz - CB T. Gibouleau-Beaudoin - RB N. McCaskill - DCM Fauteux-McGrath - LW M. Q. Xiong - RW S. McCaskill - ACM C. Gibouleau-Beaudoin - S Guénette-Velazquez - S Goudreau-Luneau

by **Indusse** » Fri Jan 31, 2025 6:40 am

Hind Tribune
Humiliation in Valanora

By Subrato Shahla

Indusse had a tough start to their CoH 90 campaign, suffering a heavy 6-2 defeat to Patriotlandia. It was a game that left fans disappointed and worried about the future. While there were some moments of hope, especially from players like Mersias and Grundjee, the final score was a huge reminder of the challenges the team faces. Mersias scored in the 12th minute and Grundjee added another in the 76th, both with assists from veteran player Butea. However, despite these goals, the team couldn’t handle the pressure, and Patriotlandia took full advantage. The loss raised a lot of questions, particularly about what will happen after Butea retires at the end of the tournament. It has to be seriously noted that the team is facing a lot of unnecessary defeats in the recent times.

Butea has been a key player for Indusse for many years. His leadership and skill on the field have been a major plus point to the team's perfomance. In this game, his two assists highlighted just how prominent of a player he still is. However, with his retirement coming up, many fans are anxious about what the team will look like without him. Will Indusse be able to handil his departure? Coach Newman acknowledged these concerns and added that Butea wouldn't be the only player retiring after the tournament, which only increased the uncertainty about the team’s future. The combination of an embarrassing defeat and the upcoming retirements left fans feeling uneasy about what comes next.

To help ease those worries of the fans, Coach Newman introduced three new players to the squad, hoping they can bring a fresh energy and improve the team’s performance. They have been pretty good in the recent seasons of Induse's Primary league, Liga Prime. The new faces include Michael Djenkzo, an 18-year-old striker from Dhalopura FC, Akshay Adhaan, a 17-year-old defender from Sindvpore FC, and Dhananjay Bhattacharya, an 18-year-old midfielder from Southbay Riveria FC. These young players are seen as the future of Indusse, and while it’s still the start of their mainstream career, their potential has fans feeling hopeful.

Michael Djenkzo, the young striker, comes with a reputation for his speed and goal-scoring ability. He’s quick on the ball and has a special skill for finding space in the box, making him a threat to any defense. With Butea eventually retiring, Djenkzo could become a key part of Indusse’s attack, taking up where butea left off. His style of play should help provide a spark for the team’s offense, especially after a performance like the one against Patriotlandia, where creating chances was a huge issue.

Akshay Adhaan, the 17-year-old defender, is another exciting prospect. Known for his defensive awareness and strong tackling, Adhaan could help shore up Indusse’s defense, which was widely expused in the opening match. Finally, there’s Bhattacharya, the young midfielder from Southbay Riveria FC. Bhattacharya is known for his creativity and vision on the field, often looking to make passes that break down defenses. He’s a player who can control the tempo of the game, which is something Indusse has been missing. With his passing range and technical ability, Bhattacharya could become the key link between the defense and attack, helping to create more opportunities for the team.

These three newcomers bring a lot of potential to Indusse, but there’s no doubt that they’ll need time to settle into the squad. It's not even sure whether they will be able to play any matches in the CoH. The pressure on them will be high, especially after a tough start to the tournament, but if they can adapt quickly, they could be the key to turning things around. Their arrival gives fans some much-needed optimism, as they represent a new generation of players who can help carry the team into the future. Newman claims that they may be given chance in the games individually through substitutions.

Despite the excitement around the new signings, it’s clear that Indusse’s future in the tournament won’t be easy. The team still has a lot of work to do, and with the retirements of Butea and other senior players on the horizon, the challenge of rebuilding will be even greater. Coach Newman will need to integrate these young players into the team while also finding ways to replace the experience and leadership that will be lost. The match against Patriotlandia showed just how much work is left to do, but the hope is that these young players will develop quickly and fill the gaps left by the veterans.

by **Aleirave** » Fri Jan 31, 2025 12:08 pm

The People have Spoken

"Are you sure we didn't miscount?"
"Valeria, I think I would know if we miscounted."

The answer to the question "why are Aleirave's votes still counted by hand" was just one of those intangible things in the world whose answer was about as clear as the water... after being chummed by fishermen, that is. The reason usually given was that "voting machines are expensive" but everyone on the island knew that wasn't the real reason. Perhaps it was because some segment of the population always thought there was something about computers that made it easier for things to go wrong... or that the Great Eshian Internet Outage made the Eshian Elections Commission realize that if something could go wrong, it would, and they needed to make sure it couldn't. Regardless, ballots were counted by hand, and that meant there would always be a possibility of an error... but unless it was close, that wouldn't become a problem, and surely that would never happen, right?

The votecounters looked back at their totals, and things... were not looking good.

Yekaterina OLAYEVA - 19,546
Malako ETERENA - 19,521
Kalaio PAHOTEKA - 63
Sergei ALINOV - 24
Refilene ADARI'ENA - 2

It was time for a recount. As much as nobody on the island wanted more time with the ATC at the helm, they would have to deal with it for the time being. This count was so close that no candidate received a proper majority, meaning Kalaio would ultimately decide who would win between Katya and Malako, at least as far as the counters knew... and if Kalaio couldn't cut a deal with either side, Sergei and the completely absent Refilene, should he risk his own arrest to come back, had barely enough votes to decide this by one. Obviously, this would have to be recounted, as much as a dragged-out counting process helped nobody. The island, and the candidates they voted for, would just have to learn to be patient for a while.

In the meantime, Haulafo Paka'ula and the Soaring Seagulls were having a difficult time being patient for their first match. They watched MD1 play out in their group and, if they were being honest with themselves, were a bit worried for how the rest of things would play out. Oberour Ar Moro beating Vetrahjart, sure, that much was to be expected. But as for Grand Exultia beating Captina Island by 2 goals... that sent a message, and it was a message that the demons of the Seagulls' qualifying campaign looked to be coming back to bite them.

The Seagulls were going to open their Cup of Harmony campaign on MD2 against Captina Island, a team that, based on that multi-goal Grand Exultia upset, clearly had a few weaknesses for them to exploit, should they be able to find them. This match would be a good litmus test for whether Aleirave could perform well out the gate in this tournament, something that clearly wasn't going their way in the qualifiers. Oberour Ar Moro vs. Grand Exultia would also be an important match for them to keep an eye on, with OAM being Aleirave's next opponents and Grand Exultia obviously being the biggest threat for the Seagulls as things stood.

"So, did we miss any votes this time?"
"Nope, not a one. Low and behold we didn't miss any in the first pass through them either... sometimes we just have to trust our counting, I suppose."
"I told them we didn't need computers to do this, this only proves my point."
"Face it Rahava, the computers would be better than locking ourselves in here for two weeks with nothing but food, water, and ballots. You know that and I know that."
"Come on Valeria, there's nothing like the human touch!"
"This human is about to touch you and you aren't going to like it... let's just get these results published and we can finally get on with our lives."

The two sent their vote totals off to the Elections Commission for ratification before announcing it on their own. It was time for coalitions to form and the Governor to be decided. Kalaio, upon realizing that this count favored him and allowed him to be the king (or perhaps, queen)maker, began asking both of the main candidates for concessions that would earn his support. To the surprise of nobody, neither of them were on board with his plan to subsidize the production of Aleiravan liquor that would just-so-happen to benefit his own bar in particular. Who knew?

Instead, both Katya and Malako stepped up on a stage set up at the Old Grounds -- which of course still had some kids playing football on it, so they had to dodge their fair share of rogue shots -- to make the announcement nobody except them had seen coming. They were putting aside their differences and teaming up with each other, Katya becoming the 2nd Governor of Aleirave, and Malako its first Vice-Governor. With the vast majority of valid votes between them, nobody could do anything to challenge this, even if they were completely taken aback. It was now onto them to forge the future of Aleirave for the next four years.

Eternal Harmony - Cup of Harmony 90 Everything Thread

An excerpt from the Drawk City Gazette

Edition 2

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