Independent Associations Championship 23 [Everything IC]

[Saterun]

Kit Power Rankings: IAC 23 Edition, Part 1

We're reviving an old JRC tradition today, and here at STVSport we will be be (unofficially, of course) ranking all the best kits of the IAC. We've seen some very pretty colors on display over the matchdays, and it wouldn't be right to let them go unnoticed. Hope you enjoy!

10. Edsmontik 3rd
Although a little simplistic, the colors work well here and it's perfect for a third kit. I feel like this is what most people in Saterun identify as "Edsmontik". As an Abasb FK fan, I can tell you that Maartin Stuero definitely looks good in it. It's made prettier by the crest, which is very well done, especially for a national team logo.

9. Rasalin Home
For some reason, the green and white really do it for me. The subtle pattern also helps, causing the shirt to appear as if it's rippling when the players are running. It does kinda look like something a lower-league Saterun club would throw together for a 50-year anniversary kit, but for some reason it makes it even better. The neon green stands out, making sure you always know where the Ritteyri are on the field.

8. Crpostran Home
Again, not the most complex or bold kit, consisting mainly of a darker camo pattern on blue, but it does it's job very well. National team kits should be one solid color with accents, which is exactly how Nerio approached this one. Saterun could learn a lesson or two, although (spoiler alert) they also put out some very good designs this time. The red and yellow accents on this kit are especially pretty.

7. Reçueçn Away
We're sticking with the simplistic theme here, at least for now, but Reçueçn's away is probably the best done. Purple and grey have never looked so good together, and although it could be argued that this looks like one of those form-fitting athletic kits you can get off any sportwear site it is at least designed well. If the Reçueçn football governing body did order their kits off of one of those sites, they at least chose the right colors.

6. Saterun Home
I'll be straight up: the only reason this isn't higher is because it would feel irresponsible to have two Saterun kits in the top five. I love the gold motif for the historic 10th cycle, and the sleeves are very well done. A little busy for a national home kit, yes. However, this is definitely one that will fly off the shelves here in Saterun, and for the most point I think it's justified.

[Dhemixia]

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The Columbus Dominion(Est.1873)

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We're so back.

Ladies and gentlemen, somehow, some way, Dhemixia is leading their group. Much like the group in CoH 90, there appear to be three main frontrunners. At the helm, it's surprisingly Dhemixia. With a +4 GD, the Serpents double second place's GD, albeit having one more game played. Should an upset come against the hosts, they'd be all but guaranteed to get through to the Ro16. For Reçueçn, it's a bit more difficult. Having a bye on MD1, it should be a good thing that they control their destiny, unlike Dhemixia, but it simply provides more opportunities to choke. In third, a little farther off, sits Indusse. They seem to be in the best spot strategically, having already played Dhemixia and Reçueçn, splitting a win and a loss respectively. Regardless of incoming results, a three-side race with two spots is shaping up to be a great battle, and Dhemixia's going to need all the help they can get to beat the hosts Reçueçn in what is practically a home game.

Doug McMahon, although serious about training, showed just about how serious his team was against the United States of Devonta. Not scoring until the second half and laying less goals than against Vaishnavaria down is troubling if McMahon wants to go anywhere close to the Ro16. We begin in the 56th minute, where weirdly enough, DEFENDER Dominic Sanford is pushed all the way into the penalty box on a corner. As a centerback, it's one thing to get a scoring opportunity at all, but it's an entirely different beast to actually score it. Despite this fact, Sanford stayed calm and collected, and redirected the corner into the far post. 1-0 Dhemixia on a defender goal, but it gets sillier.

Realizing that Devonta essentially can't get the ball out of their half, and not content with a 1-goal lead, Doug McMahon makes the keeper play outfield with 5 minutes left. What's better, Wesley Williamson fires a tactical strike from halfway and actually scores it over everybody. Recording his first international goal playing goalkeeper in the 93rd, there was no saving Devonta. 2-0 Dhemixia, game sealed, GOALKEEPER GOAL.

As if things couldn't get better for the Serpents, they find themselves having a bye on MD4, preceding their legendary showdown with the host of the tournament, Reçueçn, to decide the group stage. It is imperative for the side that they train and get ready for the physical and mental battle that it will be to overcome these heavy odds. An almost perfect balance of unstoppable force vs. immovable object in terms of offensive schemes and defensive schemes, the purer form of football truly will win. If nothing comes of this, at least they can't lose to a bye week again, the assistant was forced to bag check everyone for any and every alcohol source in existence as a preventative measure from last time.

____███ - - - - - - ███

_United States of Devonta__0 - 2_'_Dhemixia

___'___________________''_'_"| Sanford 56'
___'______________________''| Williamson 90'


MotM: DHE GK Wesley Williamson

Schedule

MD1: @ Indusse, Stade National L 2-3 (5th)
MD2: vs. Vaishnavaria, Stade National W 4-1 (1st)
MD3: @ United States of Devonta, Stade National W 2-0 (1st)
MD4: Bye
MD5: vs. Reçueçn, Stade National

[Taxhavn]

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Chobotan 1–0 Taxhavn
Stroek Dumb!

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Own Goal Nightmare Proves Decisive

Perhaps overestimating their chances coming into this match, the Shillingmen failed to produce the spark that would set their tournament alight and whilst creating plenty of half-chances against this unknown opposition, they were effectively and dramatically shut-out with the decisive goal being Florens Klein-Stroek's comedic 52nd minute own goal that settled matters to Chobotan's advantage. Nelis Fijnwever's charges had ten shots on target in the game but rarely were they of consequence with the Chobokeeper up to the task of keeping them out, while in every other metric the Shillingmen were disappointingly inferior to their opponents in a match which failed to come to life. A Chobodefender received two yellow cards for poor tackles and was sent off in the 59th munute with his team holding that narrow lead, but Taxhavn were unable to make the numerical advantage pay off. To add to the general frustration substitute Christiaan van der Riet got a straight red card for a hospital challenge on a Chobostriker and will miss the next two games, while Reggy van Buiten's tournament looks over after he fell in a heap when clashing for a corner and popped his ankle on impact. It has been a disappointing start to Nelis' time in charge as matches are likely only to get harder from here.

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Taxhavn 5-1 Omerica
Five Alive!

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Shillingmen Kickstart Their Tournament

Nelis Fijnwever called for more blood and thunder from his team following their limp opening match and he certainly got that in a feisty affair with former champions Omerica, Zubi Zuberbühler providing the example with a player-of-the-match shift, scoring twice and providing an assist for Luis Glücki in a command performance. It wasn't looking so promising early on with the Omerican winger slipping in unmarked at the back post to give his team a second-minute lead. But the Shillingmen soon got a grip on the game despite that set-back, Super-Zubi playing in Glücki - a replacement for injured Reggy van Buiten - to equalise just after the half-hour mark. From the restart Zubi intercepted a panicked pass back to defence and scored the second just under a minute after the previous one to completely turn the game on its head. An hour in, Rik Dam got in on the act with a brilliant individual effort as the Shillingmen turned the screw, and the game was effectively over as a contest. Late goals from Super-Zubi and sub Arrigo Napoleoni added some gloss and vital plusses to the goal difference column as The Shillingmen prepare for their final two games, critical pairings against Ralsalin and group favourites Edsmontik.

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Taxing Football
SoccerLand

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Continuing our series on the development of Taxhavnite football, we look at how the domestic scene has entered its ‘fourth age’ - internationalism.

Back before IAC-21, when the internationalism of the SteuerLig was beginning to gain momentum and the league was able to get some old vets and some young kids attracted to the huge earning potential of life in Taxhavn, the national team was established more to keep the local professionals quiet - worried that their places were at risk from the incomers, they were offered the chance to go play in the Indies. As we explored last time around, Taxhavn hosted the first ever indie final - a fact lost on most people even in Taxhavn - so it seemed like a nice way to ‘pay off’ the discontented pros.

And then, against all expectation, the Shillingmen (or the Bankers as they were then, pre- official rebrand), performed rather well. We almost dare not mention the thumping opening day victory over former champions and our present hosts Reçueçn and will skirt vaguely over that and all the way to the quarterfinal, where a heartbreakingly narrow defeat to the fancied Sudilia concluded a hugely popular campaign. FA-Tax suddenly got all excited by the potential of a national team. Roped in on a part time basis to help out, the league’s most admired head coach Bradley Kemerer-Lascelles (of Quebec and Shingoryo) excited them even further by suggesting a national centre of excellence could be established, with age group teams to compete in the under-18 and under-21 brackets, establishing a model for the progress of young players into a national set-up. More importantly, according to the accountants at FA-Tax, it would cost a fortune. That’s good money down the scrubber, and in Taxhavn, that’s music to an accountant’s ears. Because Taxhavn.

Many years before an eccentric billionaire, Hakon von Arnold, had purchased a small marshy bump of land in St. Bernadine harbour, had spent his fortune reclaiming a little bit of land around it, and began building his personal castle with a whole dedicated town of employees to work for him. The project was thirty five years in and only half completed when he died, an old and crazy lunatic with no heirs, and von Arnold Island sat abandoned for another twenty years. Only refugees and illegal immigrants coming in on boats from catastrophic termination events around the multiverse inhabited the concrete and rotting steel mess of a place. About a million of them, by the time FA-Tax sent its first team off to the Indies and BKL suggested they should find a place to raise some kids for the national team. With great fanfare, FA-Tax announced they had bought von Arnold island off the government for one whole Taxhavn shilling.

That was four years ago. Now, von Arnold - rechristened SoccerLand - is almost ready. The junior teams, including an under-15 team hastily assembled when the Sarzonian FA declared it was reanimating the long dead under-15 World Cup, will be moving in soon (they presently base themselves at the community pitches in Jason Park, in the north of St. Bernadine city). Private partnerships are also in place - a new club financed by some Bonesea pirates is also building a stadium on von Arnold Island, and Polarian national team defender Aslak Hrafninnsson, who plays in Taxhavn for Orchideeën, has established his School of Hard Kicks for the resident refugee kids (quite a lot of Vilitans, one imagines). And the hugely expensive training centre for the national teams - SoccerLand. Next step, apparently, is the national youth elite league. Just how expensive will that be to arrange? The accountants are rubbing their hands with glee.

In the next episode, we consider how FA-Tax allowed the creation of a superteam in the SteuerLig - Taxhavn City - with the aim to build a serious challenge in the IFCF for the enhancement of the league’s international reputation, and how they conspired with the Triple-A clubs of Athletic, Accountants and Amateur to make it happen. Because Taxhavn.

Selection news: Taxhavn vs. Edsmontik
Nelis Fijnwever will not be resting his key players for this critical match against the group favourites, although he will be without Reggy van Buiten (injured) and Christiaan van der Riet (suspended). Luis Glücki was superb as Reggy's replacement against Omerica and will feature again in the advance midfield role, while the rest of the starting eleven remain in place.

Flexney; Klein Stroek, Kampermann, Seuper [C], Aerle; Horsman, Moroff, Fey, Glücki; Zuberbühler, Dam

[Recuecn]

Rébecca Firaut was a soccer prodigy. Perhaps it was her genes—her father, Gerauld, was widely accepted to be Reçueçn's best player, and had started in goal for the ÉNRF ever since the Baptism of Fire, fifteen years ago. That was the same year that Rébecca was born. Now the fifteen-year-old was playing in her own right, although in one respect she did not take after her father—she had no interest in playing in goal, preferring the fast-paced, flashy role of striker.

Unfortunately for young Rébecca, professional soccer in Reçueçn was not open to women, or anyone other than men. Every player in the LNRF's history, and everyone who had ever been called up for the équipe nationale, was a man.

It had been the default assumption in Reçueçn, when the FNRF was founded (referred to back then, in English-language publications, as the RNFA), that sport was something that needed to be segregated by gender. Like every other nation on the planet, Reçueçn was (and is) a patriarchy, and it was believed that men were inherently superior to women, at least in a sporting context. Men, it was believed, were stronger and faster than women. Given these beliefs about the sexes, it was claimed that sport segregation by gender was in fact for women's own good—because of course if they were to compete against men on an equal footing, they were sure to lose.

With this justification, every country on Earth—that is, Earth in this timeline where Reçueçn had come to exist—had made a similar division between men's and women's sports. And of course, although the claim was that this separation was good for women, the result was that women's sports suffered. It is not even appropriate to say that women's sports suffered "disproportionately." The difference was hardly even comparable. While sporting tournaments for men flourished, with male sports players becoming celebrities and millionaires, women's leagues lacked funding, and their events drew no attendance or attention. Women's sports, with a couple exceptions, were seen as an uninteresting, low-stakes, low-skill affair.

When the FNRF was created and began to put together plans for a national soccer league, the idea of women playing was never even considered. It was unthinkable that anyone besides men could join the highest tier of professional soccer, and if a separate women's league was created, "no one would watch it." Although women continued to play soccer and other sports in Reçueçn, they never received any publicity. Not a single article published in Reçueçn's sports newswires ever discussed women's leagues. Years later, when the new Ministry of Sport forced the FNRF to rewrite its constitution in an effort to modernize Reçuecian soccer and pull it out of a hiatus, the federation's new executive board was assigned one (1) representative for all of women's soccer in the nation. Every other member of the board—whether they represented amateur players, professional clubs, youth teams, or the équipe nationale, represented male players. While women had one vote on the federation's executive board, men had thirteen. Anyone who fell outside the gender binary had no representation whatsoever.

However, while the patriarchy established these institutions and systemized its policies of segregation and prioritizing male athletes, Reçuecians' views on the matter were shifting. When the FNRF created the équipe nationale as a male-only organization, it created the team with the express purpose of entering the NSWC. For the first time, Reçueçn forayed into the NS multiverse.

In the multiverse, things were—and are—entirely different. Women and men competed on an equal footing. Gender, race, age, and species were no longer barriers to competition. Not only did multiversal sports entirely lack restrictions on who could enter, but Reçuecians found that in the multiverse, there was no difference between a man's strength and a woman's. It seemed that the prejudices carried by Reçuecians and their old world only held them back. Other nations who shed their preconceptions found themselves liberated and able to participate freely in sports of all kinds. Even as the governing bodies of sport in Reçueçn codified their old views, the people of the nation began to look forward to a day when Reçuecians, like the people of the NS multiverse, would all be able to compete and play with each other as equals.

It is easy to look at this bird's-eye-view of history with a sense of cautious optimism. From such a scale, progress seems inevitable, and the long arc of the moral universe seems certain to bend toward justice. But for those without the luxury of such a removed viewpoint—those living through this time—nothing is certain. Progress toward justice is slow, painful, and dangerous for those who fight for it. When the authorities double down on their position, upholding the status quo despite whatever harm it may inflict, it is hard to cling to hope. Far from inevitable, progress may instead seem impossible.

This was where Samantha Firaut, the mother of the young soccer prodigy Rébecca, found herself. She was watching her daughter grow up in a nation where if she wanted to play soccer, she had no future. Rébecca's father was the nation's most skilled athlete, the captain of both the équipe nationale and the nation's largest, most successful professional club. The Firauts were friends with the nation's most popular celebrity, ÉNRF striker Franky Adams, who had connections with the Ministry of Sport. Rébecca had learned the sport from the best teachers Reçueçn could offer. And yet, despite all this privilege, Samantha felt she had no influence. Her daughter's entire life, Samantha had done her best to prepare her for a career in sport, should that be something she wished to pursue. And now, at the moment when Rébecca ought to be signing a lucrative contract with one of the LNRF's best teams, she was running straight into a dead end. No matter what Samantha might do for her, there was no path for her to advance within the system. After a decade and a half of trying to find some path forward, Samantha had finally despaired.

Rébecca, however, with the innocence and optimism of youth, seemed unfazed by the obstacles before her. She had never spoken much about the lack of opportunity for women in Reçueçn. To her parents, Rébecca had always expressed her desire to be a professional soccer player when she grew up, and although she knew that women couldn't play in the équipe nationale or the LNRF, she never dwelt on that problem.

It had been last year, on her birthday, that Rébecca had broached the subject for the first time. Franky Adams, who, as mentioned, was a good friend of the family and of Rébecca in particular, had pulled some strings at the Ministry of Sport, where he had some connections, to get Rébecca invited to the Ministry for a tour. Franky and Rébecca's dad Gerauld hadn't been able to come along on the tour, since they'd been away in Valanora at the Cup of Harmony, but Rébecca and Samantha had gone together to visit the Ministry, located in an old tower of the citadel that housed Reçueçn's archaic government.

The tour had been mostly uneventful. The minister himself had shown the mother-daughter duo around, pointing out some of the history of the building, as well as the different branches of the ministry that operated within it. But at the tour's conclusion, Rébecca had taken the opportunity to speak her mind to the minister in a way that only a fourteen-year-old could be brazen enough to do.

"I'm going to be old enough to play professional soccer in two years," Rébecca had said. "You have that much time to give women the same access to the game that men already have in this nation."

Jean-Luc Lassalle, the Minister of Sport, had been astonished. The Firauts had left him speechless and returned home for leftover birthday cake.

On the way home, Rébecca had thought she might receive a scolding from her mother. Instead, Samantha had gushed with pride and joy in her daughter. Samantha had been just as shocked as Lassalle, but the moment she realized what Rébecca was saying, she had been ready to back her girl up one hundred percent.

"I'm so glad you said something, Rébecca," Samantha had said. "There's nothing in this world I want more than for you to achieve your dreams. I don't know how we'll do it, but I have faith in you. You can make that minister do the right thing. And whatever you need from me, I'm here to help you do it."

Samantha had encouraged Rébecca to follow up her in-person remonstration with a letter to Lassalle. The teen had followed through, and both of them hoped that maybe this time, they'd finally found a way to get someone to listen—someone who could do something. For the first time in years, progress had seemed possible, even to the disillusioned Samantha.

But then, all that progress had come to a screeching halt.

It was the best thing to ever happen to Reçuecian sports, the papers had said. "The most glorious day Reçuecian soccer has ever seen." And yet for Rébecca and Samantha, it had been the worst possible outcome.

Reçueçn had won the Cup of Harmony.

Immediately, there had been a nation-wide upswell of support for the ÉNRF. The fans enthusiasm, tempered during an ill-fated attempt at World Cup qualification, had steadily been recovering over the course of the Cup of Harmony, and with the final victory, reached an all-time high. New amateur and semi-pro clubs and leagues had been founded across Reçueçn. New stadiums had been started, and new initiatives begun. The Ministry of Sport had been totally swamped with new responsibilities, and that was before Reçueçn had won the host bid for the IAC.

In short, Rébecca never heard back from her letter to the Minister.

Now, a year later, she had not given up. Rébecca felt she'd set herself a deadline—after all, she'd been serious when she'd told Lassalle that in two years she wanted to be playing professional soccer on an equal footing with any man. Now, half that time had already gone by, and there was no sign of either the Ministry or the federation being any closer to opening up the league to women.

Not that Rébecca had given up. She'd been planning, assembling allies. She'd written to Eveline Martel, the representative for women's soccer on the federation's executive board. Martel said she was "enthusiastic about the idea" and "behind Rébecca all the way", but Rébecca felt that perhaps instead of taking up a place behind, Martel, as an FNRF representative, should be taking the lead. Eveline agreed to meet with the teen for coffee, and they discussed their strategy. Martel said she believed a young, charismatic figure with name recognition, such as Rébecca (thanks to the Firaut surname), could do far more as the cause's figurehead than Martel could.

"They see me as a hostile, aggressive, sexually repressed feminist," said Eveline. "But they'll love you."

"If I succeed," said Rébecca, "my dream goal is to put you out of a job. I don't want women's soccer to need a "representative" on the board anymore. I want all soccer to be women's soccer. I want the distinction to disappear entirely."

Martel had connections. The word spread through women's leagues and clubs. The movement was now. Quietly, while most of the country was distracted preparing to host the IAC, momentum grew.

It was Rébecca who decided that the IAC was the opportunity she needed. "The eyes of the entire multiverse will be on us during the tournament," she told her mother one evening as they sat at the dining room table going over their plans. This effort had brought them much closer together over the course of the past year as Rébecca had come to rely on her mother for help navigating systems and situations she found herself blocked out of as a fifteen-year-old. Samantha was happy to be the adult to sign off on things, but she found that her daughter constantly surprised her with her endless ideas. Rébecca was always ready with a new innovative angle or a new approach.

"Let's work with what we have," she told her mom. "We can get papa to get the team on board. All of Reçueçn and all of the Independents will be watching the tournament. We can be in the stadium with signs, making sure we're seen on TV cameras. The team loves me—they've thought of me as their mascot ever since I was born the year after the Baptism of Fire. We can get them to pitch in. Maybe wearing armbands or protesting in some way before the match."

"The federation will never allow it," said Samantha.

"Maman..." protested Rébecca. She hesitated for a moment, but then blurted out her thoughts. "Fuck the federation!"

"Language, Rébecca!"

Samantha made sure to write to Eveline Martel again before she went to bed that night. The plan was in motion. The fight for equal sporting rights was on. And the IAC would be its battlefield.

[Calgasia]

Historical win over Britonisea gives Die Adlers hope

Matchday 3 - IAC23
Britonisea 1 - Calgasia 4
Stadium:Hôtel Chapelle-Pré, Reçueçn
Man of the Match: Károly Hajós (CGS)

Goals:

Britonisea Striker 80'

32' Novák
52' Hajós (Webern)
68' Renner (Szabó)
83' Moser (Sedlácek)

Stats:

Yellow cards: 2
Possession: 24%
Shots: 5
On target: 3
Saves: 5
Corner kicks: 5

Yellow cards: 2
Possession: 76%
Shots: 17
On target: 10
Saves: 2
Corner kicks: 7

Die Adlers yesterday scored a convincing 4-1 victory over Britonisea. After a few minutes of mutual armistice Calgasia soon took control of the game. The new 3-5-2 system implemented by coach Sedler is so far bringing out the best in many players, and it seems that the team has finally found a balance between attack and the traditional weak point, our defence.
It was in the 32nd minute that striker Novák, much more active than in the first few games, took advantage of the confusion in the box after a corner from Szabó to make it 1-0, the result with which both teams went in at half-time.

It was in the second half that the team brought out all its arsenal, scoring chance after chance on goal. Hajos in the 52nd minute made it 2-0 after coming in unnoticed on the right flank and Renner in the 68th minute from Szabó's pass. Britonisea scored the consolation goal in the 80th minute, but three minutes later Zoey Moser made it 4-1.

This win gives Calgasia, who have made it 2 wins out of 2 games, a very good place to qualify before playing the toughest opponents in the group, Aphrilia and Valentine Z. While they are formidable opponents, with better rankings than Die Adlers, a positive result in at least one of these matches would put our boys with lots of options to qualify for the final rounds for the first time ever.
In that respect there is an air of cautious optimism in the squad after the win over Britonisea.

"Well, this result is better than we expected, and we see qualification closer than ever. We will try to finish the job" said Gábor Szabó after the match.

"We are happy, the result is positive, we are where we wanted to be before facing the heavyweights of the group. These two games will be a good opportunity to measure the level of the team against superior opponents. Physically the boys are feeling very well. We'll see." commented coach Sedler.

[Grand Exultia]

Salutations and greetings once again from me, your host, Patsy and I bring you another Pitch Perspective with another exclusive interview following some bittersweet results that mean our IAC journey is all but over.

Let us start with a positive and that is we won! We have successfully gained some points and it won’t be a whitewash. The bitterness in your mouths will be the fact that The Elder Lands managed to scrape a 1-0 victory over of the Golden Harp and are now beyond our reach and with just two teams making it out of the group stage we would need Crpostran to drop points to even have half a chance of progression, we would need to recover a 12 goal swing to gain a better goal difference and with final matches against The Elder Lands then Wedich it seems unlikely that the top ranked team won’t pick up just a single point to kill any dreams of a decent cup run.

On a cheerier note though we can welcome to the hospitality suite today Duskstriker who is our player of the match following a brace of assists and being the catalyst for the win today.

“Thank you for joining us today Rikecos, your first time with us so congratulations and welcome”

“It’s truly a pleasure to be nominated for such an award”

“So a back and forth game, we had to weather the storm a bit but we came through, how was it for you?”

“Yeah we had to stay sharp and just remember to do our jobs, everyone pulled together and did their part and that’s how we can produce results”

“Well said, your assists were pivotal in the game, is that something you’ve been working on?”

“I didn’t do a lot to be fair, Brambles and Gilly did most of the work, actually beating their defenders, a couple of lucky slips for us, and obviously they did the hard job of finishing. But yeah I work on my passing a lot, it’s especially important in a setup like this where there’s only really two of us in midfield you can’t let a stray pass kill the momentum.”

“of course, do you like playing in this shape?”

“It’s different, I’m more used to the 4-2-3-1 we play at Zerynthia so there’s a bit more support in the middle but it’s always good to stretch the legs and get moving and it’s a huge honour to be able to consistently play for our national team”

“Not that we’ll be playing much more this tournament eh?”

“Well it’s not looking good, it’s not over just yet and we aren’t definitely out yet but you’re right it’s not looking good, we needed an earlier upset and it just didn’t come about unfortunately”

“How are you finding Apollinaris’ style of management?”

“I’m not getting in between your guys beef. He has picked me for the national team and given me my debut, for that I’m forever grateful and he will make us train hard and push ourselves to be the best we can be, I can’t fault him”

“So your final thoughts on the game?”

“We won, we did the job we needed to. We got caught by surprise with Keselars early shot and goal and slowly ground down the team and produced the goods.”

“Well thank you for joining us, we will have a quick rest as the rest of the group are back in action then we have the final group matchday, don’t forget to attempt to appease Margaret that the results may go our way and offer a glimmer of hope of qualification. We will be back to cover the penultimate results before our final match but until then, keep sporty!”

[Crpostran]

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[Ralsalin]

Sometimes, life can deliver the most strange and bizarre situations to you. Those situations when the reality feels unreal. The same thing was experienced by Ralsalien national team in the first two opening rounds of Independent Associations Championship. The second match against Edsmontik was almost identical to the first match against Omerica... but it went completely opposite. If in the first match Ralsalin won 4-3, then in the second, The Knights lost... 3-4. Even the course of the match was scaringly similar.

27. IAC 23. MATCHDAY 2.
Edsmontik 4-3 RALSALIN

Goals:
1-0 Stuero (Bervaign) 6'
1-1 Von Erlaid (Menon) 13'
2-1 Bervaign 37'
2-2 Von Erlaid (Kirtiman Asier) 56'
2-3 Menon (von Erlaid) 62'
3-3 Stuero 74'
4-3 Norseden (Jervanois) 88'

GK Gosens
LB Meine 
CB Rantika ↓ 76'
  (Shindeberg ↑ 76')
CB Tõru 
RB Aniko ↓ 65'
  (Bougakov ↑ 65')
CM Astafjevs
CM Heen 
CM Kirtiman Asier - 1A
LW (C) von Erlaid - 2G ↓ 76'
   (Titov ↑ 76')
RW Sengendwara
CF Menon - 1G, 1A

Bench: Maiyenkar, Handinyu, Suta, Mungain-Dehane, Veerman, Ainwal, Minsen-Dwarasen, Tikhonov, Blagonadeždins, Gokio

In their first matchday, Ralsalin scored first and in the first 50 minutes, twice clinched the lead. Now, it was the Ralsalin who was in the role of the one who needs to catch up, as Edsmontik scored first and then took the lead again before the end of the first half. We don't know which words Seibold vn Niermann said in the locker room during halftime, and if he said any curse words to his players, but in the beginning of the second half, we saw completely different Ralsalin. In just 17 minutes, they turned the tide, making 1-2 into 3-2 thanks to goals from Dietrich von Erlaid and Kasyan Menon. Again, a completely opposite situation to match against Omerica, where Ralsalin went from winning 2-1 to losing 2-3 by 71th minute.
Despite leading, not everything was good in Ralsalien performance. The intencity of this match could be compared to intencity of the inaugural match against Omerica, after which players didn't have enough time to recover. Even Viktor Aniko, the vice-captain, looked tired and completely failed this game, and this lead to him being subbed for Andrey Bougakov in the 65th minute. It was Bougakov's second game for Ralsalin, so his both games were... against the same opponent.

If you think that was bad, you're wrong. From this moment, things started to turn even worse. Even if he played against Edsmontik before, Bougakov couldn't do anything with the worrying from playing in his first official match on a official tournament, and it brought huge problems to Ralsalin later.

On the 74th minute, Edsmontik scored after failing to score a penalty kick, and equalised. By the way, Ralsalin also had a penalty kick in the first half, but Dietrich von Erlaid failed to score it completely. If von Erlaid just scored his penalty on the 26th minute, the outcome of the match could be different for The Knights. But still, the draw against the opponent from the pot one is still good.

But after the third conceded goal, usually insane von Niermann actually stopped being insane, being worried about the result. If in the game against Omerica, he ordered the team to went into attack mode while losing, today the head coach decided to defend this draw, ordering the team to go in full defence mode, subbing tired Makar Rantika to more experienced Oleg Shindeberg.

The denouement came on the 88th minute. You all know, that in the match against Omerica, Ralsalin earned a corner on 90th minute, and this corner lead to a winning goal by defender Dhidhen Tõru. This time, everything went by same pattern again. Edsmontik earned a corner on a 88th minute, but, unlike Ralsalin, managed to score directly thanks to...

Defender Norseden. Yes, the defender scored a winning goal again. He easily outplayed worrying Bougakov and didn't let him clear the ball.

And history repeats inself, but in an unfavourable manner for Ralsalin. 3-4.

Edsmontik-Ralsalin, 26th minute. Dietrich von Erlaid failed to score a penalty kick. His two goals didn't help Ralsaliens to clinch even a draw.

Edsmontik-Ralsalin, after match. Kasyan Menon scores crucial goals, but today, his goal gave Ralsalin only temporary lead.

On the other hand, this was still a game against the nation from the pot 1, and Ralsalin showed a honorable resistance. The next two games against Chobotan and Taxhavn are, probably, more important for The Knights, as they would have slightly more chances to win points here. And moreover, after two very intence games, Ralsalin will have a bye and an additional days of rest just in time, to recover their strength and be ready for crucial games.

After the games of matchday 3, where Ralsalin didn't participate, The Knights fell to the 4th place. But don't let the group situation fool you, as the situation for Ralsalin is actually not bad. Only one point separates the first place from the last, and it's still everyone's game. Two nations, Chobotan and Omerica, already played 3 games, while Ralsalin played only two and still have an opportunity to clinch additional 6 points.

THE MATCHDAY 4 VS. CHOBOTAN SQUAD.

FR: vs. Edsmontik #8 (H)         | 0-1

MD1: vs. Omerica #32/#96         | 4-3 | 1st 
MD2: vs. Edsmontik #6/#8         | 3-4 | ↓ 3rd 
MD3: bye                               | ↓ 4th 
MD4: vs. Chobotan UR 
MD5: vs. Taxhavn #18/#189

MD4 vs. Chobotan: Gosens - Meine, Shindeberg, Tõru, Mungain-Dehane - Astafjevs, Heen, Kirtiman Asier (VC) - von Erlaid (C), Minsen-Dwarasen, Menon.
Substitutes: Maiyenkar, Handinyu, Rantika, Suta, Aniko, Bougakov, Veerman, Ainwal, Titov, Sengendwara, Tikhonov, Blagonadeždins, Gokio

[Recuecn]

Matchday 4

Group A
Games played at Stade National, Reçueçn
Reçueçn 1–0 United States of Devonta
Indusse 0–0 Vaishnavaria

  Group A                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Reçueçn                       3   3  0  0    3   0  +3    9     Q
2 Dhemixia                      3   2  0  1    8   4  +4    6
3 Indusse                       3   1  1  1    3   3   0    4
4 Vaishnavaria                  4   0  2  2    4   8  −4    2     E
5 United States of Devonta      3   0  1  2    3   6  −3    1     E

Group B
Games played at Hôtel Chapelle-Pré, Reçueçn
Valentine Z 4–3 Calgasia
Aphrilia 0–0 Oscioru

  Group B                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Valentine Z                   3   3  0  0   12   7  +5    9     Q
2 Calgasia                      3   2  0  1    9   6  +3    6
3 Aphrilia                      3   1  1  1    7   5  +2    4
4 Oscioru                       4   1  1  2    2   5  −3    4     E
5 Britonisea                    3   0  0  3    1   8  −7    0     E

Group C
Games played at Siegstadion, Zimmerich
Of the Golden Harp 0–1 Wedich
Crpostran 3–2 The Elder Lands

  Group C                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Crpostran                     3   3  0  0   12   4  +8    9     Q
2 The Elder Lands               4   3  0  1    7   4  +3    9     Q
3 Wedich                        3   1  0  2    2   3  −1    3     E
4 Grand Exultia                 3   1  0  2    4   9  −5    3     E
5 Of the Golden Harp            3   0  0  3    1   6  −5    0     E

Group D
Games played at Champ de Sport, Renwyll
HUElavia 0–0 Sel Appa
Natkr 3–3 Delaclava

  Group D                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Delaclava                     4   1  3  0    8   6  +2    6
2 Sel Appa                      3   1  1  1    2   3  −1    4
3 HUElavia                      3   0  3  0    3   3   0    3
  Natkr                         3   0  3  0    6   6   0    3
5 Poafmersia                    3   0  2  1    4   5  −1    2

Group E
Games played at Stade de la Reformation, Genève
Abanhfleft 3–3 Woodsmere
Saterun 0–4 Visayas Islands

  Group E                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Visayas Islands               4   4  0  0   11   0 +11   12     Q
2 Seeberg                       3   2  0  1    7   5  +2    6
3 Saterun                       3   1  0  2    6   6   0    3
4 Abanhfleft                    3   0  1  2    4  10  −6    1     E
5 Woodsmere                     3   0  1  2    4  11  −7    1     E

Group F
Games played at Stade Carl III, Reçueçn
Drawkland 5–2 Beefsteak City
Adab 3–0 Sajnur

  Group F                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Drawkland                     3   3  0  0   11   4  +7    9     Q
2 Juvencus                      3   2  1  0    7   1  +6    7
3 Adab                          3   1  1  1    4   3  +1    4
4 Beefsteak City                3   1  0  2    6  10  −4    3     E
5 Sajnur                        4   0  0  4    4  14 −10    0     E

Group G
Games played at Arena der Alpen, Heldingen
Yuugria 0–0 Tanirinthia
Sudilia 1–2 Ile de Richelieu

  Group G                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ile de Richelieu              4   3  1  0   11   3  +8   10     Q
2 Sudilia                       3   2  0  1    3   2  +1    6
3 Tanirinthia                   3   1  2  0    5   3  +2    5
4 Yuugria                       3   0  1  2    1   8  −7    1     E
5 Vixette                       3   0  0  3    2   6  −4    0     E

Group H
Games played at Stade de l’Alliance, Genève
Edsmontik 0–0 Taxhavn
Ralsalin 1–2 Chobotan

  Group H                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Chobotan                      4   2  1  1    4   4   0    7
2 Edsmontik                     3   1  2  0    5   4  +1    5
3 Taxhavn                       3   1  1  1    5   2  +3    4
4 Ralsalin                      3   1  0  2    8   9  −1    3
5 Omerica                       3   1  0  2    6   9  −3    3

---

RP Prompt (Optional): Non-violent protesters are making appearances at tournament stadiums during games, holding signs and speaking out against policies of the Fédération Nationale Reçuecienne de Football which forbid women from playing in the nation's soccer league or national team. Do your players and fans react? How?

[Visayas Islands]

---

NEXT ROUND, HERE WE COME!
by Lorenzo Miguel Entrata
Genève, Reçueçn

Another big day for the Bulls as the Sky Blues qualify to the next round with a big win against a team with the most World Cup appearances, Saterun. Before the match begin, there were some "non-violent" protests happening about a situation in the Reçueçn football association forbidding women to play in the men's national team and in the national league. "Reçueçians need a women's league and a women's team, just like us!", says a fan. "I know women can play football too, but they need to have their own league, not theirs!" As the La Banda del Toro sang a "misogynistic" song against these protestors which can be translated to just leave the guys alone and mind their own business. After the protestors escorted out on the field, the match have started with some little Saterunian defense coming. Some Saterunians are now attacking the Sky Blues but the defensive duo of Zaldarriaga and Robles came out to take them out, leading to Viray passing on to Cheon to score his first goal in the team. The visiting Visayans were wild about that. "It was an amazing experience to score a goal!", says Ezequiel Cheon. Then Banaag came down the wing to take out both Saterunians then Viray went on to score his own goal against them, and then score another to end the first half. Into the second half, Ortega shows the Saterunians how to defend like a wall when he save several shots and then a penalty made after a Saterunian fouled himself and then, Zaldarriaga went on to score the penalty for himself. The crowd were in absolute chaos, and into the final whistle, the crowd ran to the pitch and celebrate the qualification of the Sky Blues to the next round in IAC. "I never knew that we made it!", says captain Pascual. "After all the hardwork and all the pressure, we have overcome some difficulties!" "Thanks to my players' sacrifices, we have qualified to the next round!", says Ayala. "All the hardwork was done with some of my players' efforts made to make the crowd going. Next is we're gonna train for the second round, and hope our future rivals would give us a good game." The Visayans will have to train and wait for their next opponents in the next round of IAC. Will they put off a miraculous run? Maybe, but let's pray for the Bulls that they will win no matter what.

[Indusse]

OOC: The Copyright message at the end of the post has been used from the standard copyright message from multiple books.

LexiRead™ > Web Edition

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The Half Blood Saga II
Chapter II
Time Foretold?

---

Previous Edition
Chapter I

The training grounds of Jehnara were unlike anything Adael had ever seen. Platforms of pure light suspended in mid-air, shifting and changing with each movement. Ethran stood watching as instructors from the Luminary Council began Adael's first lesson.
"The Sphere responds to intention," explained Lyria, a silver-haired trainer with eyes that seemed to store the galaxy. "It is not merely a weapon, but an extension of your own will." Adael concentrated, willing the Sphere to float. Instead, it trembled slightly and dropped to the ground with a soft thud.

Ashear, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but laugh. "Some chosen one you are," she teased. "Concentration," Ethran reminded him. "Remember what I told you about the balance between Janara's discipline and Jehnara's magic." Adael closed his eyes, feeling the Sphere of Balance pulse against his palm. Suddenly, a beam of light shot out, connecting the floating platforms in an intricate web. "Better," his father nodded, "but not perfect." Ashear surprised said, "He's learning quickly," she looked at the Quetzal.

As Adael tried again, flashes of the vision he'd experienced in the Council chamber kept interrupting his focus. His mother and Kael fighting. Azahl searching. The dark energy gathering. "I can't just sit here and train while they're in danger," Adael burst out suddenly. Lyria's expression softened. "Patience is its own form of power, half-blood. Your connection to both worlds gives you abilities beyond simple combat."

Suddenly the training was interrupted by a messenger, "The High Luminary requests your presence," he said to Adael.
In the Hall of Light, the Council looked more concerned than during their previous meeting. The High Luminary, whose name Adael had learned was Aria, held an ancient scroll. "The prophecy speaks of a moment when the half-blood must choose," she said, unrolling the parchment. "A moment that approaches faster than we anticipated." The scroll depicted a figure standing between two worlds – one of light, one of darkness – with shadows converging from all sides.

"The Shadowblades are not just seeking entry," another Council member explained. "They're gathering power. Our spies report dark energies emerging near the original portal site in Janara." Adael leaned forward. "What does that mean?" Ethran's face was grim. "They're trying to create another way in. And they won't stop until they breach Jehnara's defenses." Aria turned to Adael. "Your mother and the Guardian Kael are the only things preventing a full invasion. But they cannot hold out forever."

"I want to go back," Adael said firmly. "I can help them." "Not yet," Ethran interrupted. "You're not ready. One wrong move could compromise everything." A heated discussion erupted among the Council members. Adael could feel the Sphere of Balance responding to his rising emotions, its light pulsing in sync with his heartbeat. Suddenly, Miha let out a sharp cry. "Something's wrong," the Quetzal said, her feathers standing on end. The room's magical lights flickered. For a brief moment, darkness seemed to seep through the walls like smoke.

"They're probing our defenses," Aria whispered. "The shadow grows stronger." Adael felt a strange sensation – a pull from the Sphere, a connection to something beyond the immediate moment. Fragments of memory and vision flashed through his mind: his mother fighting, Azahl wounded but determined, dark figures gathering at the portal's remnants. "I need to go back," he repeated, this time his tone changed. Ashaer had never seen Adael raising his voice against anyone like this.

Ethran placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Not alone," he said. "And not unprepared." Ashear stepped forward. "I'm going with you," she declared. The Council exchanged glances. Aria spoke, her voice carrying the weight of prophecy. "The half-blood must walk between worlds. But the journey will change everything." Suddnly, the Sphere of Balance began to transform. Its surface rippled, revealing glimpses of the world beyond Jehnara – a landscape torn between reality and shadow.

Ethran told Adael, "We have little time." Outside, the city of Jehnara seemed to hold its breath. The floating islands trembled slightly, as if sensing the approaching conflict. Adael looked at the Sphere, then at his father, then at Ashear. Whatever was coming, they would face it together. The next phase of their journey was about to begin.

To be Continued...

---

Copyright © Akiho Banwari.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

http://www.lexiread.org

[Grand Exultia]

Welcome back once again to pitch perspectives, I’m your host Patsy and with that the final nail in the coffin falls and we have been eliminated from this years IAC with even playing a game and with a game still to play thanks to Crpostrans 3-2 win over The Elder Lands.

It’s hard to look back fondly over a competition like this when ultimately we haven’t lived up to our billing and we have underperformed as far as we, the fans, would consider. Take our group standing for instance, we currently sit fourth, we were seeded third in the group thanks to our improving ranking and there is a very valid possibility that we may not reclaim third. A final group game against Of the Golden Harp is what we have left to look forward to with Wedich facing off against Crpostran so if results fall how one might expect some semblance of balance and honour can be restored but with the goal difference we have I cannot reasonably look at our performances with any form of pride.

It is my personal opinion that our defence has let us down heavily in this tournament and each and every one of them needs to take a long hard look in the mirror and evaluate whether they want to be a national team member let alone whether they deserve to wear the shirt.

Patsy “It is my pleasure though to introduce our special guests, yes you heard that right, we have not one but two players to interrogate today, I jest of course but there are some serious talking points to cover today, please welcome Sable Gillyflower and Sigunda Steiner…. Thanks for joining us today”

Gilly “Thank you for having us on”

Siggy “Yes thanks I guess though not too sure I want to be here after that introduction”

Patsy “well am I wrong? we have failed to keep a clean sheet and conceded an average of 3 goals a game”

Siggy “I thought you were jesting about the interrogation”

Gilly “If I may interrupt I do feel Patsy’s interpretation of our results is a bit harsh, but we players do recognise that our performances have been substandard and there is no harsher critic than oneself”

Siggy “Yes maybe Patsy got a bit carried away with her hyperbole and sensationalism”

Patsy “Yes I do apologise for any offense but I need to call it how I see it. But let’s move on to our major talking point and the reason you two volunteered to come on today, the protests. Now my French isn’t what it used to be in school but the general gist is that the women of Reçueçn are not permitted within the professional game, mon dieu, that is a travesty is it not?”

Siggy “a huge travesty, think of where our national team would be without our female presenting players. I can’t believe a nation can be so backward as to still have this level of segregation.”

Gilly “it’s baffling, not just on the ethical level, which I would like to think any rational person would understand and comprehend that treating individuals differently is inherently wrong, but also on the basis of ability, there are a few of us female presenting players on the national team, even more playing in the top flight of the domestic league and we only add to the overall level of the game.”

Patsy “impassioned speeches as I expected and welcome views to hear, now if I may touch on your vocabulary, you use the phrase female presenting, why is that”

Gilly “Well I guess I’m best to answer that, it doesn’t take a genius to see that some of our players look very masculine and some are rather feminine, then you have those of us in the middle. Some of us may be transitioning, some of us may not associate with either side of the spectrum and some may just like wearing whatever they like. All of us though would be blocked from playing in the Reçueçn set-up.”

Patsy “Thank you for clarifying. I guess that’s why we, as a society, use a lot of gender neutral terminology so as to be as inclusive as possible”

Siggy “Exactly, it doesn’t take a brain scientist or rocket surgeon to not offend someone, just imagine you’re in their shoes and how you would want to be treated, simple really”

Patsy “Very…um…wise words there Siggy, so if we had a message to the Fédération Nationale Reçuecienne de Football what would it be?”

Siggy “Let them play ball, who’s it going to hurt other than maybe an ego or two of men who aren’t quite as good as they think they are?”

Gilly “YES! Let them eat cake! Most of us live in a modern society that understands whilst there are differences between the genders there is no reason to treat those genders differently. Heck in many places back in Grand Exultia this type of exclusion is tantamount to discrimination and punishable with fines and even custodial sentences”

Patsy “Very good, well thank you for joining me today on this girly vers…. Sorry female presenting version of pitch perspectives. I remember when I was coming through into the football pyramid, I never played as high as you guys but it was an honour to be counted as an equal amongst the men even back then and our game has only come on even further and I wasn’t one of the first to play though I was the first woman to make it as a manager of a top flight team, not because we had limitations I place just at the time the men were tactically better”

Siggy “Maybe that’s why you’re not a manager anymore”

Patsy “Can someone please cut their mikes, thank you for joining us and remember, keep sporty”

[Taxhavn]

---

Edsmontik 0–0 Taxhavn
Zubi Out!

---

Legend Injured In Bore-Draw

When Super-Zubi Zuberbühler limped off in the 59th minute, he seemed to take with him any chance of a goal for the Shillingmen as these two rather nervous-appearing teams slogged out a dull nil-nil in front of a yawning Reçueçn crowd at the Stade de l’Alliance, Genève. Perhaps afraid to make a mistake, neither side ventured forward with much intent but with the Chobotanis pulling off another surprise win to top the group, the result will favour Edmonstik more than it will Taxhavn going into the final round. When all the maths is done, the simple fact is Taxhavn will have to beat upredictable dark horses Ralsalin on the final day to progress. Anything less will probably see them going home, and they will have to do it without top scorer and national team icon Super-Zubi. Jeroen Blenkers will step up and is a good bet himself on the right day, but he will need wild-child strike partner Rik Dam to be more energetic than he's shown so far in this tournament, where he has been something of a tired-looking disappointment.

---

Taxing Football
The Superclub

---

Continuing our series on the development of Taxhavnite football, we look at how the domestic scene has entered its ‘fourth age’ - internationalism.

In the beginning, there was the Triple-A. At the dawn of football on the island, 150 years ago, were the clubs St. Bernadine Athletic, St. Bernadine Accountants, and St. Bernadine Amateur. They practically invented football on Taxhavn.

(There are so many things not true about that previous statement. Firstly, there’s St. Bernadine Academical. The fourth of the Triple-A. Then there’s Five Star St. Bernadine. The, um, fifth. Not to mention St. Bernadine Astronomical. And St. Bernadine Apollo. St. Bernadine Arsenal. ASMV St. Bernadine. Oh, and Schwänenclub - perhaps the oldest club in St. Bernadine. So many other clubs! But they say the victors write the history, and as the three most successful of the old clubs, your St. Bernadines Athletic, Accountants and Amateur are officially the Triple-A. To be fair, they did run football too. Probably still do).

Anyway.

It’s fair to say that for the Triple-A, things went a little downhill after the formation of the SteuerLig back in the 50s. At that time those three clubs were kings of the old Southern League, and the Southern League was the top of the football pile. But when the Triple-A formed an FA to rule over all football, the first thing FA-Tax wanted to do was create a new pan-island league. It would give the three teams a chance to prove finally, undisputed, that they were better than the noisy neighbours up north - the likes of Orchideeën, Tijhuis Archimedes and Kierhuizen Boys of the OranjiLig. But it didn’t work out that way. Though still half decent, the Triple-A were only half decent. And frankly, getting worse. Not only had the northern clubs overtaken them, but a western club Raven Thöni was well on the way to overtaking them, and even some of their old southern colleagues were getting the best of them - Standard Lily and FC Städeli in particular. From the Triple-A’s perspective, the pan-island SteuerLig had only proven how mediocre they had become.

That’s when someone hit on the idea of the Triple-A forming a new club, pooling the considerable resources of each, and making one St. Bernadine club to rule them all. Taxhavn City, they called it. FA-Tax loved it for other reasons - maybe here was a project that would win things in the IFCF, it was so vast and wealthy. So far, at that point, Taxhavn clubs weren’t setting the world alight at interregional level. They weren’t generating the kind of turnovers, and losses, that everyone loves in a tax-washing principality like Taxhavn. Taxhavn City might get the SteuerLig to the pinnacle of international domestic soccer. FA-Tax could hardly greenlight the project fast enough. A few years of legal challenges were seen off with incredible legal expenses - brilliant! Last season, Taxhavn City was inaugurated straight into the top flight, while the three old masters of Taxhavn football - Athletic, Accountants and Amateur - disappeared to the lower reaches of the old Southern League, where their reserve teams continue to play. What did the fans think? Well, who cares. This is Taxhavn. Money, is all.

And how did City get on in their first ever season, with the combined might of the three teams that formed them? Well, in their first game, they lost 5-1 at Raven Thöni. In their second they lost 7-1 at Orchideeën and were firmly rooted to the bottom of the division. Everyone apart from FA-Tax were loving it. Instant cult status beckoned. They sacked their first ever manager, Adam Ackeret, after ruining his promising career inside half a season. Eventually they rallied to finish twelfth out of twenty under Nelis Fijnwever, before losing their entire coaching staff to the Taxhavn national team when Bradley Kemerer-Lascelles stepped down before IAC-23. Though not the epic disaster they initially promised to be, they fought for the type of disappointing mid-table obscurity they had inherited from their founding clubs. Business as usual. Hardly a superclub. FA-Tax, perplexed, is considering what to do next to bring glory to the league. Good luck with that. Because FA-Tax.

In the next episode, we consider how FA-Tax are moving the SteuerLig in the direction of super-rich franchise clubs to compete with (or out-compete) Taxhavn City, beginning with the inclusion of former World Cup-winning refugees and instant champions Deltic FC, and set to continue with the controversial future enrollments of Boldsea and 4b.FC Irregulars. Who?

Selection news: Taxhavn vs. Ralsalin
With everything still to play for Nelis Fijnwever would not want to be resting anyone for a must-win match, but he has two forced changes with Florens Klein Stroek and Zubi Zuberbühler out injured. Jonas Spori and Jeroen Blenkers will fill in, and the good news is, if there is to be a knockout appearance for the Shillingmen, Super-Zubi should be back.

Starting line-up: Flexney; Spori, Kampermann, Seuper [C], Aerle; Horsman, Moroff, Fey, Glücki; Blenkers, Dam

[Edsmontik]

streggvalkligges.eds
YOUR Edsmon Sports Hub

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5/19/2031

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EVENTS

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FDVL
FDVL CHAMPION: AUSTRANVIIGE CKINQ

---

INTERNATIONAL
IAC23 GROUP STAGE MD4

Edsmontik 0-0 Taxhavn @ Stade de l’Alliance, Genève, Reçueçn
None | None

---

CHANNELS

DROWNING HOPES

Edsmontik was looking for a quick win over Taxhavn to seal their entrance to the knockouts.
Instead, they rammed right into a wall.
The entire Edsmontik-Taxhavn game was filled with nervous players, who all wanted something after Chobotan plowed through them.
Chobotan won against Taxhavn via an own goal, and they drew Edsmontik from a penalty kick.

With the weight of potentially not making it on their shoulders, the teams avoided chances and played it as safe as possible.
Taxhavn had tried an attack, but after their superstar Zuberbühler was injured, there was no hope.

Additionally, just to strengthen the defense, der-Ghavyr subbed out Stuero and Rehcikt for Fotserr and Javarqa.
This formed a five-defender position and cut it down from three forwards to two.
And with that, no team could pass the other's defense.
That was how the game ended; a sleepy crowd, no goals, and a bland performance.

Moving onto Group H, it is pretty much chaos.
All teams have a chance at qualification.

In first place is Chobotan, who has to hope that Edsmontik and Taxhavn lose their games.
Chobotan has finished all four of their group games, and will be waiting for something to happen.
The Chobotanians have been a huge threat; they've defeated the largest teams of Group H, and proved to be strong.
However, their entire roster is redacted, with no information on any of their players at all.

Edsmontik, who sits in second, is basically guarantee qualification as long as they win.
Even better, if they win and Taxhavn wins by a large margin, Chobotan can be pushed out.
The Eagles haven't 100% lived up to their #8 in the world rank, but they hope to against Omerica.

Taxhavn, who's sitting in third, has to defeat Ralsalin and hope that the Eagles lose.
After that, they'll be in.
If both teams win though, Chobotan will be knocked out by goal difference.

Ralsalin and Omerica are in similar situations.
Both have 3 points, and are stuck at the bottom of the table.
The only way that either team advances is if Edsmontik and Taxhavn take a hit and lose.

Group H is the only group besides Group D where everyone still has a chance at qualifying.
The only difference is that Group D is filled with draws and Group H has wins and losses.

Which teams will prevail?
Who will we see in the knockouts?
We'll be seeing very soon on Matchday 5 of the Group Stage.

---

Next Lineup: GK -- LB, CB, CB, RB -- LM, CM, RM -- LCF, RCF, ST

E. der-Stoiuben -- R. Dalsen, I. Javarqa [C], B. Norseden, J. Vikral -- L. Fruedenne, O. Zeukalmen, O. Reuhans -- M. Svaardaen, S. Fotserr, V. Reiovus

[Seeberg]

Nessuno was quite so eccitato about The Horkenheimers doing some passo out on the campo da calcio as the middle-aged Giovanni Gramsci as he was just about finishing up preparazioni for the festa he was throwing to festeggiare The Horkenheimers’ prossima partita down in Reçueçn because he was fairly certo that his figlio young Giovanni Gramsci would get to either start the game o almeno come on as a sostituto somewhere down the linea when they needed some energia extra which tu often do and specialmente when you’re facing such avversari duri as other national teams with all their stelle and tradizioni and patriotism and so on and così via and it was certo equally vitale that di-mezza-età Giovanni and his guests that would start arrivo imminente also had the energia adeguata needed to uphold acclamaziones for an entire game but allo stesso tempo reserve some extra of the stuff for when giovane Giovanni came on if it would infatti be the case that he would soltanto come on later and non avrebbe iniziato which was probabilmente the most likely scenario tutto sommato.

Abbamele! Affogato! Amaretti! Arancini! Aranzada! Assabesi! Baicoli! Barbajada! Berlingozzo! Biscotti! Buccellato! Camporelli! Castagnaccio! Cavallucci! Ciaramicola! And that was just A through C! There was more! There would be no fine to the torte e dolcetti! Senza end! Eccesso! Ricchezza di sapore! Cornucopia! Corno dell'Abbondanza! The Generosità of it all!

And then improvvisamente the living room was filled to the brim with amici e familiari from far and wide both from il quartiere and around Rothaus but also membri della diaspora from down fair Brinterberg and Little Casa Rossa in the St. Paulina area proprio adiacente to the river and the massive Zentrum for Reitsportdisziplin or The Centro for le Discipline Equestri like many would call it quassù but also down there since the diaspora was infatti pretty considerevole and now all the ospiti were stuffing their face with the sweetness of middle-aged Giovanni’s offerte but as they were about to start the trasmissione televisiva from Reçueçn it quickly became apparente that The Horkenheimers were indeed not giocare football at all because of something called a “bye-giorno” and instead they had to make due with watching Edsmontik and Taxhavn play out a molto noioso and almost sleep-indurre 0-0 draw.

Bye-giorno! Who has ever heard about una cosa del genere! With all this torte e dolcetti! Lo spreco di tutto questo! And most all of it gone già! L'anticlimax of it all!

It was all molto tragico.

[HUElavia]

HUElavia 0–0 Sel Appa
Champ de Sport, Renwyll, Recuecn

Precarious, Dire Straits

HUElavia's scoreless draw against Sel Appa sets the team into a must-win situation with many factors needed to secure the advance.

Matchday 4 was upon IAC 23, and HUElavia's first two games resulted in draws, which had them sitting in 3rd place coming into their 3rd Group Stage match. Now, taking on Sel Appa for the early match of Group D, a rotation to the squad was made, with mainly the B-team starting for the match, only with Arruda from the main lineup starting up front. Once more a sold out crowd would be present at Camp de Sport, which truly has been a battlefield where HUElavia has tried to get victories, only to get draws, essentially stalemates, so far.

The match couldn't have been more dull and boring. Sel Appa chose to play more defensively and really suffocated the HUElavian offense from making plays and attacks to get a good chance at goal. It's not to say that HUElavia did not have chances. Twice were passes from Go and Asano that got to Arruda, who would get past REDACTED to send the ball into the goal, only for the first to be called off offside by the assistant referee in the 30th minute, followed by one called off by VAR in the 65th minute. Sel Appa would get their chances, best one coming in the 57th minute when REDACTED would get a pass from REDACTED, get past Cocha to take a shot towards Collazo, who would get her fingertips to the ball to send it out for a corner. TIme passed on and on, and Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos were getting desperate with their chances, trying desperately to get a goal in. The more they tried, the more Sel Appa was getting towards their box, just suffocating the chances, knowing a draw favors them well at that point. After two minutes of additional time, in the dying seconds of the match, a pass from Milano (in for Angeli) would reach to Cavalcanti, who would take a low, blistering shot to narrowly go out for a goal kick. From there, the referee blew their whistle and it was yet another draw, with the Sel Appa players being more pleased with the draw while the HUElavians were down and exhausted.

The other Group D match saw Delaclava and Natkr end in a thrilling 3-3 draw, another one in the group once more. Delaclava has played all their matches in Group D and now await for other matches at this point, as they lead with 6 Points. Behind them in 2nd is Sel Appa with 4 points. HUElavia still struggles in 3rd with 3 Points, Natkr in 4th with 3 points as well, and Poafmersia in 5th with 2 Points. Thus, every match at this point is an elimination game for Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos. To advance, HUElavia must win against none other than Poafmersia, and must be a beatdown of 3 goals or more and hope that there is not a winner between Sel Appa and Natkr to have the best odds to advance. A draw or loss will send them home for the first time in 72 years, since they had the very lackluster appearance at IAC 5. Coach Casillas was quoted saying "We take responsiblity for how poor we've played in these three matchdays. First, we had the lapse in judgement that resulted in Natkr drawing with us. Then we were outclassed by Delaclava that we were fortunate to scrape by with the last gasp draw. And today, we were unlucky to not get a goal against Sel Appa. Still, we have one last chance against our familiar rivals in Poafmersia to get a victory and advance to the knockouts, should things go our way. We still can't take this for granted though. Poafmersia is a strong, respectable team that we have history with and our chance to get into the knockouts goes through them. We intend on training well and studying film, really practicing our defending, going all out for the win and advance. We hope to count on our fans to pull up in full force like this is back in Curumba, Sao Salvador or San Rafael." The A-Team is expected to return, with likely Girard starting over Pavlona thanks to her great performances in these past two games. It's also rumored that Narita will be starting over Arruda, due to her experience on the team. Still, it will be a very anxious matchday for everyone involved, especially where anything can happen with the group still being very wide open. One can only hope this can be a good moment for the team and at least extend their stay in this country for another few days into the Round-of-16. Here's to the final matchday.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Ralsalin]

Do you feel it again? Yes, it is the feeling that Ralsalin had in the pre- von Niermann era, when the team was so shit, that a victory was like a holiday. That feeling returned, as Ralsalin lost the match against Chobotan, the team from the pot lower then Ralsalin. After the national team got used to victories and sensations on the international stage, it is even more painful to fall.

39th minute. Randin Kirtiman Asier just scored an opening goal. Everything seemed alright...

28. IAC 23. MATCHDAY 4.
RALSALIN 1-2 Chobotan

Goals:
1-0 Kirtiman Asier 39'
1-1 ? 57'
1-2 ? 79'

GK Gosens
LB Meine 
CB Shindeberg
CB Tõru 
RB Mungain-Dehane ↓ 60'
  (Aniko ↑ 60')
CM Astafjevs
CM Heen ↓ 60'
  (Sengendwara ↑ 60')
CM Kirtiman Asier - 1G
LW (C) von Erlaid 
RW Minsen-Dwarasen
CF Menon ↓ 83'
  (Blagonadeždins ↑ 83')

Bench: Maiyenkar, Handinyu, Rantika, Suta, Bougakov, Veerman, Ainwal, Titov, Tikhonov, Gokio

THE FACES OF THE MATCH.

The pain and sorrow among all 860 Ralsalien fans who visited that match. There were not too many of them, because not every Ralsalien could afford going abroad.

Kosma Minsen-Dwarasen was almost injured, but now, nothing threatens his health.

Wilhelm Meine also felt pain, both physically and mentally.

The “Kubrick Stare" is one of Stanley Kubrick's most recognizable directorial techniques, a method of shot composition where a character stares at the camera with a forward tilt, to convey to the audience that the character in question is at the peak of their derangement..

Dietrich von Erlaid, as a captain, was enraged.

Dhidhen Tõru comforts Nikolai Gosens after a match. The goalkeeper especially needs support, as there is still one match left.

MATCHDAY 5 LINEUP VS. TAXHAVN.

The night before the Taxhavn match, Andrejs Astafjevs had constant nightmares about the depressive Ralsalien team that existed before Seibold von Niermann became the head coach. Those nightmares were even more vivid, because Astafjevs was actually the part of that team. The pictures from the past years and past defeats, especially the 0-9 defeat to Kanmer in 2018 (Astafjevs first match in the Ralsalien NT) haunted Andrejs. And when the player was woken up by those nightmares, another painful thought crossed his mind. What if successful Cup of Harmony campaign was just an anomaly? What if opponents got used to the tactics from Absolutely Insane Grandfather? What if Ralsalien team is still on a low level?
Haunted by nightmares and bad thoughts, Astafjevs han an absolutely terrible night, and by the morning, he was completely exhausted. He absolutely couldn't play in this mental condition and needs a proper rest. When Seibold von Niermann heard Astafjevs story in the morning, everyone thought that the coach would scold a player, saying something like "You are fucking imbecile, Andrejs! Calm youself fucking down and do not let the team down!". But instead, Seibold actually decided to give Astafjevs a rest and Aristarkh Diogen Veerman, The patriot of Kagepara, would play instead of number 6.

Seibold von Niermann was probably the only person, who was not affected by the matchday 4 defeat. In an interview, the head coach said, that he always knew that his players could bottle everything. "It's just a fucking Ralsalien mentality!" — he says.

FR: vs. Edsmontik #8 (H)         | 0-1

MD1: vs. Omerica #32/#96         | 4-3 | 1st 
MD2: vs. Edsmontik #6/#8         | 3-4 | ↓ 3rd 
MD3: bye                               | ↓ 4th 
MD4: vs. Chobotan UR             | 1-2 | 4th 
MD5: vs. Taxhavn #18/#189

[The Elder Lands]

One Week before IAC23 Matchday One
*As the fey whom this story concerns would reckon the time, which by this time is well established to have only passing relation to how the presumably mortal reader experiences it

Swindle peered nervously between tall pines, standing this time atop Yoick's head, using two of the gnome's topknots to steady herself. The dense canopy overhead dimmed the light of the midday sun, and the dense carpet of fallen needles beneath their feet muffled their footsteps between the closely spaced trunks. From somewhere up ahead came a grunting sound, then a deep thud, their objective was not far off now.

Jareth had not reunited with the three travelers when, as if waking from a dream, they had emerged from the Allknower's tower, leaving Hallar, Yoicks, and Swindle to carry on with their quest. Despite her cryptic delivery, the two had been in agreement about their objective. The Allknower's reference to the striker of the ball and the land's greatest need had been obvious to Swindle. Only a great victory in football could heal the land, restoring its vitality and spirit. As for the mightiest, there was only one denizen of the Elder Lands who could properly fit that description. And so Yoicks and Swindle sought out more of their teammates.

Swindle's idea had been to go straight for Tarvos. The Elderlander fullback had become a key member of the team, and was by all accounts highly esteemed by the Crowned Bull. His support would surely carry great weight with the Eldest. The archfey's reputation for pride and stubbornness, however, gave Yoicks caution, and so the two first approached the sisters Nuada and Bodua. They were not numbered among the Crowned Bull's disciples, preferring to choose their own path rather than follow another's. Their joint reputation for strength and cunning was well known across the lands, however, and they were among the few on the team who had Tarvos's respect.

Hallar's presence had certainly helped to persuade the two. Many archfey, particularly those not found among the courts of the eldest, take little notice of other fey, and consider them to be fleeting, unimportant beings, nearly as insignificant as mortals. But archfey to archfey, though some might disdain each other's tastes or choices, they will at least consent to speak, and as fey do not lie, the serious nature of the quest was quickly made plain to the sisters.

"I trust not this riddle-rhyme of the scholars. It reeks of hidden meaning and trickery, but we've little choice but to go on as you say, if we're to stop this Silence," thin, wiry Nuada gripped her chin in one hand, seated on a crumbling log.

"You were wise to seek us out first. Tarvos would as soon tread on you as hear your voice, little pixie," Bodua loomed behind her sister, looking as hefty as the fallen bole that Nuada sat upon. She grinned widely and continued, "and he hates you, Hallar, as does his patron, stubborn beasts that they both are. Best you take your leave afore we meet either, lest your bow put them off their breakfast." With both sisters along, it was a simple matter to convince Tarvos, who placed more stock in the voice that spoke tidings than the content of their words.

Now, he led the group out between a final pair of spindly pines into an open space in the forest. A circular space in the center had been swept clear of pine needles and the sun shone down through the gap in the trees to light the ring brilliantly. Within its boundaries, two burly figures grappled, each trying to throw the other to the ground, or else force their opponent from the ring. Not waiting for the bout to finish, Tarvos took long strides forward into the clearing, raising his arms. He was barrel-chested, with a head of thick, bristly hair and the tusks of a boar protruding from his mouth. Nuada and Bodua flanked him, keeping a step behind while fanning out to either side. Yoicks and Swindle remained in the back, hoping to remain unnoticed a Tarvos spoke in a loud, clear voice.

"Hail Black Bull, mightiest of the fey!"

Across the ring, a tall figure sprang up from a rudely wrought stool, from which he had been watching the wrestling match. His broad chest was bare, his limbs powerful, and black hair was thick upon his body, most of all atop his head and in his beard. Above each ear, the thick curved horn of an aurochs protruded from his tangled locks, and atop his head was a woven crown of dried, thorny vines. Well met, Tarvos! Glad am I to lay eyes on you once more. Have you tired at last of this gnomish folly? At this last, the Crowned Bull's eyes flicked briefly to where Yoicks had padded softly up to stand a few paces behind Tarvos.

"Alas, but I bear grim tidings, and must therefore beg a boon of you, a feat that none but you can perform."

Speak your tidings, if they be so grim. What manner of feat would you have of me, old friend?

"These," Tarvos gestured carefully at Yoicks and Swindle, "bear news of some queer affliction of the land, a blight that silences bird and best, crumbles root and stem to dust, and drains away life and spirit both." Murmurs arose around the clearing as the Crowned Bull's followers drew closer, peering with new curiosity at the gnome and pixie bold enough to enter their midst. "They sought out the Allknower, who spoke a prophecy," Tarvos looked adoringly up at the Crowned Bull as the Eldest stepped closer. "Only you can stay this blight, but to do so you must join us at the next mortal tournament, so that we claim the final victory."

Indeed it is no small thing that you ask, Tarvos. The Crowned Bull lifted one massive hand, resting it on Tarvos's shoulder as he leaned down to press their foreheads together. Yoicks realized for the first time just how massive the Eldest was, that even Tarvos looked somewhat small in his presence. I must ponder your words for a time. Come, let's retire and watch the matches, your companions shall come too. Yoicks flinched as a foot nearly as large as herself landed next to her. Fear not, little ones, for you have my countenance and none among my company shall harm you. We shall watch the matches, whilst I think on your tidings, then we shall rest and on the morrow shall you have my answer.

[Sel Appa]

Sel Appa National Football Team
"The Turtles"

Style Mod: -1
Form: 4-4-2 or 4-3-3

ROSTER:

FFSA President:
Gérard Duceppe - Recently elected president of the Football Federation of Sel Appa, Duceppe an accomplished businessman who owned Côte Athlétique for years before joining the FFSA Board. His stern nature was felt needed at the Association helm.

Coach:
Marek Löwy - An unorthodox pick of a former player for Anila City FC, who was selected from outside Sel Appa. Löwy prefers a defensive style, but is known to get more aggressive when that fails to produce results.

GOALKEEPERS
Bobby Boyd - Starting keeper
Kenny Rounds - Backup
Ian Rash - Third

DEFENSE
Danny Lagrotte - Starter and sturdy defender, Lagrotte doesnt quit.
Johnny Montana - Starter and heavy duty defenseman, who rarely lets a ball past him.
Kal Muosa - Starter from Natives Province and star player of Natives FC, Muosa is a brutal defender. (Captain)
Tobias Hart -Starter who can be a bit gun shy, but reliable and loyal.
Sam Valencia - An all around defender known for his sweet demeanor off the pitch.
Tyler White - The erratic White is a hard worker in play.
Tristan Wick - Wick enables quick turnaround on defense and often straddles the midfield.

MIDFIELD
Jesse David - Starter who doesnt mess around and does what needs to be done.
Finnley Bernard - Starter with a tough nature, who gets plays going and will turn around a difficult play without a second thought.
Myron Barnes - Starter commonly seen with Rivers on and off the pitch, the two work together well in moving the ball up to the forwards.
Elmo Rivers - Starter friend of Barnes, coordinating easily to get the ball where it needs to go.
Tino Rouleau - Rouleau can always be counted on when needed, and plays a straight midfield style.
Stéphane du Bois - Reliable at times, but known for being distracted during important plays, du Bois can snipe some goals when least expected.
Andy Ayak - Despite mental health struggles, Ayak plays well and moves things forward or helps protect the defense when needed.

STRIKERS
Lucien Barthélemy - Starter who pairs well with de la Rue, the two have played together since childhood and have a fantastic chemistry to score set pieces.
Henni de la Rue - Starter who is never without sandbox buddy Barthélemy, the duo are thought to be twins and function as a contiguous unit on the pitch.
Gary Tyson - Tyson is known off the pitch as a party animal and claims about his nights with numerous women, his play is sturdy but laid back.
Dmitri Ram - Aggressive and unpredictable, Ram is not a striker any defender want to face.
Kris Welck - Hardworking and reliable, Welck is injury-prone, leaving him to alternating plays.
Allan Reddy - Supportive forward who has an independent streak, but never fails his team.

Schmeck Travel Guide - Sel Appa (incomplete)

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
I would prefer you choose these scorers:
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: No
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: No, but ask.
Godmod other events: Yes/No
Generate stadium happenings: Yes, if realistic

[Saterun]

Kit Power Rankings: IAC 23 Edition, Part 2

We're back with part 2! At this point it's just a way to distract us here at STVSport from what's happening Saterun-wise on the pitch, so instead we'll just look at pretty football shirts! That'll definitely stifle the pain! In all seriousness though, we really have seen some very nice kits over the group stage, and it's time for the top five.

5. Drawkland GK
Yes, I know, it's weird to have a goalkeeper kit on this list. But it just looks so well done. The blue is perfect for differentiating between the black home and white away, and this kit does something really well that Drawkland's main shirts don't: it has simple beauty. The subtle triangle pattern gives this kit a little more flair, but at the end of the day it's a solid GK kit that also looks alright.

4. Juvencus Away
While not the flashiest kit on the list, something about it is so elegantly Juven. The crest looks perfect on it, and the cream-white with red accents is a classy statement piece. I honestly prefer it to the home kit. I've loved watching Juvencus play in it, and I'm pretty sure they've worn it against us. Back when Saterun was actually decent at football, of course.

3. Crpostran Alternate
I'm an absolute sucker for blackout kits, and this one is perfect. The logo was monochromized nicely, and the subtle pattern is just chef's kiss. It isn't higher only because it lacks a bit of the creativity we've seen elsewhere. Although black doesn't seem a very Cprostran color, it's an alternate kit. It really doesn't have to be related to the nation, just look pretty.

2. Indusse Home
Oh my days. I'm pretty sure I ordered this as soon as the kits were revealed. Indusse is like my second nation, and Nerio (who have a pretty significant presence on this list) have outdone themselves this time. It looks so good on the pitch, and the pattern is one of the best I've ever seen. It is also just Indusse. The orange away strip is OK, I guess, but it doesn't hold a candle to the home shirt.

1. Saterun Away
Yes, we put ourselves on this list twice. Yes, we put ourselves top. Give us a break, okay? Things have been rough. But really, Novos outclassed the competition here. The gold logo and lettering, the gold sleeve accents, the "Semper Populus Pax" written in the center? (Saterun's motto, by the way). Just amazing. Unfortunately, we likely won't be seeing much more of it in this IAC. At least it'll be back for WCQ.

*****

Matt Saez had only cried twice during his entire life.

The first time had been when he was seven. His favorite toy, a movie action figure, had fallen out of his hands while boating on the Rescondenso River. He had loved that toy, and his seven-year-old self couldn't accept the loss. The second time, he had been 12. While driving to visit his cousins for a family trip, his father had missed a turn and, in the desperation to try to get back to it, had been blindsided by an oncoming car. Matt's mother and sister had sustained relatively light injuries, but he and his father had been hit pretty bad. After two days, Matt was discharged from the hospital. For the next 5 days, he remember going to his father's hospital bed as he inched closer to death. The night before surgery, Matt had lost self-control and cried for over an hour, alone in the room with just his father. By a miracle, Matt's dad had pulled through the surgery, although now he needed a cane to walk.

Tonight, after the game against Visayas Islands, alone in his hotel room, he cried again. Matt had experienced significant losses before, but none like this. Needing a win to reroute after a less-than-optimal start, Saterun had completely collapsed. Especially the defense. He felt like he had failed his country. It was now very unlikely that Saterun would progress past the group stages, for the first time in a decade. It was an awful feeling. It was nights like these that made him question if he ever wanted to play football again.

Gradually, however, as he fell asleep, the tears dried. The only thing the Claws could do now was give it their all in the final group stage game against Woodsmere. That was the only thing they could control. Although this hadn't gone the way they wanted it to, the worst thing they could do now was give up. They owed it to their nation, and themselves, to be the best they could on matchday five. The only way they could truly lose was to give up before the match even began.

[Dhemixia]

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The Columbus Dominion(Est.1873)

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The Plot Thickens

The drama, the drama, the drama. In group one of the IAC, it came down to a three horse race pretty quickly, but resolving that was not. In a shocking result, Indusse drew Vaishnavaria on MD4, with Reçueçn beating Devonta to propel themselves into the Ro16, all while the Dhemixians were sat in their hotels, watching the madness unfold live. With one MD to go to decide the group, we've got two games, both of which could decide the second cutoff spot.

At present, here's the group situation.

1. Reçueçn, 3-0-0, +3, 9 Pts, QUALIFIED
2. Dhemixia, 2-0-1, +4, 6 Pts
3. Indusse, 1-1-1, 0, 4 Pts

While it may look advantageous for the Serpents, after all, they've got second secured and have a 2-point lead over third, it can go very wrong, very fast. Dhemixia has to drag themselves to Stade National to face none other than the hosts of the tournament, Reçueçn, while Indusse gets to play Devonta. In a likely world where the Dhemixians lose, they'd be leaving the door WIDE open for Indusse, having to play bottom-table and -3 GD Devonta. Should Dhemixia lose, all Indusse would need is a win, but there's still a chance for Doug McMahon and company.

If somehow, some way, Dhemixia upsets the hosts on their home soil, it's over right there. Already having a lead, they'd just need to get the maximum possible points in one MD to automatically be in, not impossible by any stretch of the imagination, but a very hard thing to do nonetheless. In the weird situation that Dhemixia would draw Reçueçn at home, the Serpents would just need to pray that Indusse does anything but win by 4+.

For the Dhemixians, what would already be a hard matchup at Reçueçn turns into an absolute nightmare in IAC 23. Standing with a massive 30,000 seats, Stade National, the host site of the IAC final, will house what could be one of the best games in the whole tournament. Given the fact that it's the nation's biggest venue and in the capital, you can put your mortgage on the fact that it will be filled to the brim with patriotic supporters.

Just to think, all of this adversity being listed, and we haven't even got to the actual problem player part yet. To start with the front, an arrogant, attention-grabbing, and showstopping center forward, much like the archetype of Franky Adams, has the blueprints to WREAK HAVOC on the Dhemixian line. Having a good offense is already bad enough for Dhemixia's defense, but a good defense? You might as well just pack it up at that point, which is exactly what the wingbacks Paulin Bourgouignon and Eric Konig bring to the table.

All things considered, it will be a challenge and a gauntlet for both sides involved, and there's no better place to decide a group than the largest stadium in the country. We'll just have to see which way the luck shines.

TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP
TSP>TWP

Schedule

MD1: @ Indusse, Stade National L 2-3 (5th)
MD2: vs. Vaishnavaria, Stade National W 4-1 (1st)
MD3: @ United States of Devonta, Stade National W 2-0 (1st)
MD4: Bye W 1093-0 (2nd)
MD5: vs. Reçueçn, Stade National

[Aphrilia]

Okay... Not bad, but not good either.

The scoreless draw against Oscioru really wasn't the best result possible for the team, but it certainly could have been worse. The new defensive tactics were... Working somewhat. Having the backline and midfield be instructed to be more proactive to ensure offside traps occur whilst still pressing often exhausted the players quicker, but with the team's depth it shouldn't be an issue as long as Leonardo Bianchi knows who to switch out for who.

But this brought the team into a precarious situation. Four points, a 1 - 1 - 1 record, and one more match left. Coincidentally, the match was against Calgasia, who just lost a hard fought game against Valentine Z. This is what Aphrilia found themselves in. Either win against Calgasia to enter the knockouts, or head back home. The win was necessary.

It felt like a bit of a turning point, you know?

If Aphrilia somehow make it through, the team perhaps have a chance to fully recover by the time the next World Cup Qualifiers roll around. It'd be some time after this edition of the IAC sure, but plenty of the player should grow. Some may need to be replaced, again, but that's just part of the cycle isn't it? You rise high, you fall harder. You recover, then try to reach up where you were last able to go to. The Anchors can surely do it, they have the ability and means to do so afterall.

But on the other hand, Aphrilia failing here would force the team to try and figure it out during the off-season... Up until the next World Cup Qualifiers. There'd be no matches for the team to evaluate themselves from unless they did some friendlies throughout the time between this IAC and the next WCQ. But it'd give them a blank slate to really try and dig around, no? Even if The Anchors get eliminated here, they can look forward to the next time international football rolls around. Take a complete break to truly re-invent themselves without having to deal with a tournament time crunch. And yet despite that, this team is still going to try and fight.

You can't tell the result of a match before it even begins you know.

Bianchi knows that this IAC isn't meant to be a tournament where Aphrilia gets a super deep run to one-up the 4th place finish they got. The first thing the NAFA Board told him when he was coming in to take charge was that, and quote, "This edition of the IAC is to ensure you get a basic grasp on how the team currently works and functions." There wasn't any requirement for the team to somehow perform better than their last IAC, considering the situation that they are still in right now. But even then,

It's the Aphrilian mentality to try your hardest no matter what (Or something by the lines of that).

[Omerica]

Omerica under-23s
Manager: David Eaton (he/him) · age 50
Assistant Manager: Troy Wentworth (he/him) · age 54
№1—GK Helinand Beauvais (he/him) · age 23
№13—GK Benniga Guiziou (she/they) · age 22
№24—GK Donncuan Ó Carra (he/they) · age 21
№2—RB James Baillie (he/him) · age 22
№14—RB Nadège Vérany (she/her) · age 20
№3—CB Atessatia Bernier (she/her) · age 21
№4—CB Heilyn Griffith (he/him) · age 23
№15—CB Catherine Sullivan (she/her) · age 19
№16—CB Medard Baillairgé (they/he) · age 23
№25—CB Carantilla Besson (she/her) · age 19
№5—LB Alexandre Charles (he/him) · age 21
№17—LB Evroult Charbonnier (he/him) · age 21
№6—DM Fionnuir Mhic Cianaigh (she/her) · age 22
№18—DM Ophélie de Challon (she/her) · age 22
№7—CM Benjamin Wells (he/him) · age 22
№8—CM Gélique Staunton (she/her) · age 22
№19—CM Alexandra de Guignes (she/her) · age 21
№20—CM Violet Hughes (she/her) · age 21
№26—CM Dwysil Lightfoot (she/her) · age 22
№9—AM Anastacia Elizaga (she/her) · age 22
№21—AM Prudence Travers (she/her) · age 23
№10—ST Riwanon Kerleau (he/him) · age 23
№11—ST Sébastien Appell (he/him) · age 20
№22—ST Mercher Chawncey (they/he) · age 21
№23—ST Caoimhinn Alleine (she/her) · age 19
№27—ST Pascal Kerjean (he/him) · age 19

RP permissions: Yes

[Drawkland]

Expectations could not have been more ambiguous for the Kick Corps going into IAC-23. After the worst qualifying cycle in team history, the manager getting fired, a third tournament final loss in two cycles, then getting a new manager with no international experience? There was no telling how Drawkland's national soccer team would be performing. Would they rise to the occasion? Would the negative momentum from last cycle snowball into a worse crashout in the regional tournament? Would new managerial hire Diana Levitt figure things out quickly enough?

It turns out that Levitt did have a handle on things. She had about the same amount of time to prepare for the new role as the previous hire, Francesca Wells, and the prep time showed. Even though Fran Wells is now notorious for her botched managing of the World Cup 98 qualifiers, the Kick Corps fanbase was quite optimistic after the IAC-22 run to the final in her first tournament as manager. That being said, the fact that Levitt has led the Corps to 3 straight wins and a clinched knockout berth even before the final matchday is quite promising. The last game of the group stage against Sonnelian rivals Juvencus will be the most telling, however. A tough matchup against a higher-ranked squad is sure to prove the mettle of this squad going into a doubtlessly difficult playoff bracket.

It wasn't yet time for playoff thoughts, though. The Kick Corps was fresh off their 5-2 thriller against Beefsteak City, and sitting in the team bus waiting for pedestrian traffic to clear so they could make their way back to the hotel. Given the aforementioned 3-game win streak, spirits were obviously high and the girls on the bus were chatty as they waited to move.

"How are there still fans out here?" Sarah Arrowsword grumbled. "The game ended well over an hour ago. Go clear out and be tourists instead of clogging up the stadium block."

"Good question." Cam Cross peered out one of the bus windows, inspecting the people milling around in the plaza outside Carl III Stadium. "Honestly? I'm not sure how many of these people are fans. Look, they're holding up signs."

"Oh, like fans have never done that before." Sarah rolled her eyes.

"No, seriously, look." Cam tapped her index finger on the glass. "Half of them are in franch, or whatever that language is called, but I can read a few of them."

"They look more like protesters." Nicole Warren pointed out, eyes narrowed as she looked out the tinted glass of the bus windows. "Some are still wearing soccer kits, though."

"Well, what are they making a ruckus about? Couldn't they do that, I dunno, literally anywhere else but here?" Sarah sighed, squeezing next to Cam to take a look. "I'm in dire need of a drink- uh, a shower."

"Smooth." Cam glared at Sarah. "It looks soccer-related, at least. Something about women playing football."

"Oh, great." Sarah groaned. "Not those weirdos again. Can't they accept that the Drawkian standards are different? Our women play soccer. That's just the way it is."

"No, no." Nicole stopped Sarah before she could continue ranting. "I think they're in favor of it. I guess the Reçueçian soccer scene doesn't accept women, or something. Just based on what I'm reading from these signs, at least."

"Good thing we lit up Beefsteak City, then." Cam chuckled. "Put on a good show to prove that women can handle it just as well as guys can."

"Well, it is a little different for humans, you know." Sarah looked at the crowd a moment longer before sitting back in her seat. "Obviously for us Drawkians the muscle margin between the genders is a lot slimmer. And our endurance is much better on average, compared to the female human ratio to human men in that category. We're lucky to have biology on our side."

"True, it's easy to forget that now that we're playing domestically in Drawkland again," Nicole conceded.

"Speak for yourself." Sarah was the only one that was currently playing in a foreign league, and she had the most international experience out of all the girls.

"Human girls do have a much larger hill to climb to be able to stack up." Cam chewed on her bottom lip in thought. "At least we can set a good example while we're here. I'm sure it's weird for humans to deal with us anyway because of the height and all, so maybe they don't think about the gender as much. But either way, I'm glad we're actually doing well this time around."

"It's nice to be on the rebound." Nicole agreed. "I'm impressed with Diana so far. We'll see how things go when we're playing in actual playoff games, though."

"Ugh, don't get me started." Sarah groaned.

"Fine, we won't." Cam jabbed Sarah in the ribs with a smile. Suddenly, the bus lurched forward. Evidently they'd gotten enough of a break in the crowd to move towards actually functional roads. "Ooh, looks like we're on our way."

"Wonderful." Sarah folded her arms in an attempt to guard her ribcage from further teasing ire. "Y'know, if they care about women in soccer so much, they should've been escorting us out of here rather than blocking our way."

"They're not being rowdy or anything, beyond your typical protest loudness," Nicole observed. "Could be worse."

"I'd almost prefer that. At least that'd be interesting. This is boring AND time-wasting. Double whammy."

Cam sighed. "Sarah, we know you're thirsty, but could you at least try to hold your temper?"

"Fine, fine, I'll shut up."

[Recuecn]

Reçueçn Clinches Advancement Amid Protests
By Georges Quint, Sportswriter

Reçueçn, Reçueçn—Vaishnavaria held IAC 13 champions Indusse to a scoreless draw at the Stade National this evening, to the delight of the Reçuecians in attendance, who are now guaranteed a spot in the round of sixteen after their win over Devonta last night.

Matchday four of the twenty-third IAC came to a close with hosts Reçueçn as one of seven teams who have already secured a berth in the knockout rounds with a group stage matchday left to play. Due to a lack of suitable venues in our small nation, the scheduling of the tournament has some weird quirks. Notably, games from a single tournament matchday are played out over the course of forty-eight hours, meaning some teams know the results of their groupmates before beginning their matches, and others, like Reçueçn, have to wait a day to watch their fate be decided in someone else's game.

Les Licornes' match yesterday was clinical and precise. A goal by Laurent Lapix early in the first half gave the hosts the lead, and from there, the doughty Reçuecian defense took things the rest of the way. If anyone wasn't convinced when he won the Cup of Harmony for Reçueçn, it's clear now that manager Hyron LeBouffe, guiding the ÉNRF through its second tournament under his leadership, has hit his stride. Yesterday's game was the third victory in three matches at the IAC, each won in the same manner.

The Reçuecian M.O., as seen against Indusse, Vaishnavaria, and now Devonta, is to score one goal early and then park the bus. Les Licornes have always been a defensive team, but they're in their finest fettle now, perhaps thanks to the confidence boost from the fresh memories of Cup of Harmony medals around their necks. The ÉNRF has been playing its best soccer at the IAC so far, and that means that the defense, led by captain and goalkeeper Gerauld Firaut, is setting the pace and the scoreline of the team's matches.

Not only has Reçueçn's équipe nationale won the last three games 1-0, they're also running a ten-game win streak that includes the Cup of Harmony championship and goes all the way back to being knocked out of qualifying for World Cup 98 in a playoff loss against Katzeberg. Since that unfortunate defeat, Les Licornes have not drawn or lost a single game.

Despite the team's dominant performance over the past year—and in the game against Devonta last night—the real story of matchday four are the protests being organized both outside and inside of the tournaments hosting the IAC matches. Led by Firaut's fifteen-year-old daughter Rébecca, protesters have rallied outside host venues and attended matches holding signs calling for the end of Reçueçn's gender segregation for soccer. (Women and non-binary athletes are excluded from participating in the Ligue Nationale de Reçueçn de Football (LNRF) as well as the équipe nationale by FNRF policy. Women's leagues exist but are underfunded, underattended, and underprivileged. No major news outlet has ever provided dedicated reporting for any women's soccer in Reçueçn.)

During the game against Devonta, Rébecca Firaut attended alongside her mother Samantha, FNRF representatives for women's soccer and the Ministry of Sport Eveline Martel and Jeanne Chartray, and other protest leaders. Several celebrity athletes attended, including the brother-sister tennis duo of Camille and Inès Fournier, tennis star Abelie Fontana, and hockey stars Lynn Kern and Berthe Arcenaux. Before kickoff, as well as later on at various moments during the game, the group held up a large banner, written in English, and bearing the message "LET GIRLS PLAY".

As the teams lined up to sing their nations national anthems, TV cameras showed Rébecca Firaut at the fore of the group of protesters in the stands, holding a sign reading "Honte à la FNRF." (In English, "Shame on the FNRF", referring to Reçuecian soccer's governing body, the Fédération Nationale Reçuecienne de Football.) The cameras zoomed in on the young teen's face to reveal tears in her eyes, before cutting away as the Reçuecian national anthem began to play. But the clip has gone viral on social media, because when the cameras cut to Les Licornes singing the national anthem, the team captain, Rébecca's father, Gerauld Firaut, followed by the rest of the team, pulled out pink and black armbands. Les Licornes proceeded to put on armbands and wear them during the national anthem, standing in silence for the duration of the song.

The clip of the young, tear-stained Rébecca, juxtaposed with a team of eleven men, including her father, standing in support of her, was seen by tournament viewers across the multiverse, and has been viewed millions of times on the internet.

The game referee, directed by the FNRF, instructed the players to remove the armbands before allowing the match to proceed. In an interview after the match, Gerauld Firaut said: "We believe that anyone should be able to play soccer. The équipe nationale is meant to represent all Reçuecians, regardless of gender, orientation, or race, but right now the squad is twenty-three white men. I believe in a Reçueçn where anyone—not just me, not just my daughter—can play for Les Licornes."

Asked what the pink and black armbands represented, Firaut explained, "The two-colored armbands were chosen with pink and black stripes, pink to represent the half of the nation barred from participation—women across Reçueçn—and black to represent our grief at their exclusion."

When pressed to defend the stereotypical use of the color pink to represent women, and the lack of a color on the armband to represent non-binary athletes, Gerauld pushed back. "This is our first high-profile protest. The movement is young, and we're still learning how to talk about the change we want to see. I don't think the colors of the armband are important—they were chosen by a teenager. The point is that we are here to promote inclusion."

Firaut also called out the FNRF for its actions. "The lack of action from the FNRF over the past fifteen years is inexcusable. But not only has the federation failed to stand up for progress and inclusivity, they have taken steps to actively fight against it. The rechartering of the federation by the Ministry of Sport only served to codify the exclusion of women and non-binary athletes from the sport, and today, when the federation ordered Yuri [the referee] to instruct us to take the armbands off, they actively struck a blow against women's rights. The FNRF is choosing to take the side of the patriarchy, and as my daughter said today, they ought to be ashamed."

News outlets from other nations participating in the tournament have remarked on the situation in Reçueçn brought to light by the protests. Grand Exultian center-back Sigunda Steiner described the segregation in Reçueçn as "A huge travesty." But not everyone agrees. A fan interviewed by the Visayas Islands publication Islavision was quoted as saying, "[Women] need to have their own league." It is unclear whether popular opinion in Reçueçn favors the protesters or the status quo.

The last word in the conversation so far was from the protesters. Overnight, vandals spray-painted the entrance to the Stade National, so that when fans turned up for the game between Indusse and Vaishnavaria today, they were greeted with large red letters reading "Accés au sport pour tous!"

Access to sport for all!