Copa Rushmori XLIX | IC thread

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

This is the IC thread, to be used only by participants and, if needed, moderators; OOC queries go in the OOC thread.
OOC / signup thread | Last time at the Copa Rushmori... | Rankings

Welcome to Rushmore's premier association football competition, returning once more to The Kytler Peninsulae but now with neighbouring Kwrpania!

24 teams will compete in four groups of six. Top two to the single-elimination knockout stage. Simple-format Kytlerian tournaments. They'll never catch on. Here are those teams:

GROUP A Kwrpania Eastfield Lodge Savojarna Pasarga Kordavia Oberour Ar Moro

GROUP B Olastor Captina Island Yuezhou Darmen Valladares Concordia

GROUP C The Kytler Peninsulae Bohr Norrhem Mytanija Tikariot Gatchingerrak Union

GROUP D Three Golden Kingdoms Sargossa Pridnestrovia Montagne Noire Qusmo Zenic

DATES
The scorination window opens at 2000 EDT on the listed date; for those east of the Atlantic, that is on the following day.
9 September - Group MD1 (1v6, 2v5, 3v4)
11 September - Group MD2 (5v3, 6v4, 1v2)
13 September - Group MD3 (2v6, 3v1, 4v5)
15 September - Group MD4 (1v4, 2v3, 6v5)
17 September - Group MD5 (4v2, 5v1, 3v6)
19 September - Quarterfinals (A1 v B2, B1 v A2, C1 v D2, D1 v C2)
21 September - Semifinals (winner QF1 v winner QF2, winner QF3 v winner QF4)
23 September: Bronze final and FINAL

This is the place to put your rosters: please note that a roster is required to have any rank at all, and also counts as 20% of the RP bonus throughout. (The average grade counts for 40%, with 20% for the most recent RP and 20% for the highest-graded RP.)

A roster post is also the place to put your RP permissions. Here is a template you can (but don't have to) use:

Code: Select all

[box][b]My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:[/b]
I would prefer you choose these scorers:
Godmod scoring events: Yes/No
RP injuries to my players: Yes/No
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes/No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes/No
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes/No
Godmod other events: Yes/No[/box]

AI POLICY

AI-generated images or other non-text content are okay if clearly attributed. Using AI to translate text into English is also okay, as long as the original text is provided. Any AI-generated text must be very clearly indicated and be accompanied with an explanation of how it was generated. Roleplays with significant AI-generated text that is meant to substitute for human-generated text will receive no bonus. Violations of the policy may result in anything from no bonus being given to that matchday, to the user’s scorination rank being zeroed out, to disqualification from the remainder of the competition.

Good luck, have fun... and may Margaret be with you.

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Welcome to The Kytler Peninsulae!
The Federal Republic of The Kytler Peninsulae and the Soccer Organisation of The Kytler Peninsulae (SO-KP) are delighted to welcome you for the 49th edition of the Copa Rushmori! We hope you enjoy your stay!

The Kytler Peninsulae, as a nation, is arguably characterised by being a relatively ordinary place in an extraordinary world. This has been the basis of moral panics over the years that - especially after international incidents at the Games of the IX Olympiad in Zube and Kytler Bay City - led to decades of isolationism where Kytlerians did not participate in international sport at all, fearful of the effects of "Recognised Performance Drugs" (RPDs) whose use in high-level international sport is not only legal but actively encouraged. The day that formally put an end to the Kytlerian Isolation is referred to as Reopening Day, and its anniversary is now a national holiday.

Overall, the country is democratic, liberal, and capitalist - in that order, for the most part, though you wouldn't always know it in some rural areas. The population has been defined by various immigration waves, and the two titular peninsulae have their own origin story in that regard as well as their own character. The north is noted for its rolling chalk hills dotted by traditional villages and the windswept Komodo Channel coast. The southern peninsula (which tends to be defined as anywhere south of Kytler Bay even though most of that area really isn't much of a peninsula) has rockier, spikier terrain with some areas scarred by uranium mining.

However, most Kytlerians today live in the eastern part of the country between the two peninsulae, known as the Eastern Corridor - an area which, by its oldest and narrowest definition, has the colonial capital Kytler Bay City at one end and the purpose-built modern capital Zube at the other, but which quickly ran against a tightly drawn border with Albundania before that nation ceased to exist. The newly added Kytlerian land following fresh treaties after the Albundanian Collapse is referred to as the Eastern Corridor Expansion, and is effectively a fourth defined region of the country - a mixture of modern planned cities and a more rural area in the foothills of the Græntfjaller Alps, with a large Kytlerian-Græntfjaller population.

Stadium Information

Alaer | Clituleng Giisost Stadium (56,984)
Alaer - pronounced al-eye-AIR - is the largest city on the southern peninsula and the third largest in the country, with many of its 450,000 inhabitants being descendents of Vephra immigrants from the former Vircais (now Sabine and Caddonia). One of them is Clituleng Giisost. Not only the most famous manager of perennial Kytlerian soccer powerhouse FC Alaer, he is inarguably the most influential man in recent Kytlerian history - the sporting figure who became not just a politician, but the Prime Minister who led the country out of decades of sporting isolation. Upon his resignation as PM following an epileptic seizure on his return from World Cup 97, the government declared the anniversary of the passing of the legislation that ended the isolation as a public holiday, Reopening Day.

The open corner at the heart of this design is partly a reflection of FC Alaer's old ground (which had a glass opening to one corner facing onto Alaer’s city streets) but also symbolic of Giisost’s legacy to the country. It now also faces onto one of the "wings" of the newly-built Angel of Liberation Park, the largest Kytlerian baseball venue and soon to play host to the WBC61 Championship Series. It will only host one match at this Copa Rushmori - partly as a result of the baseball presence, partly being geographically detached from the rest of the host venues - but it's a big one, the second semifinal.

Games hosted: Semifinal (winner QF3 vs. winner QF4)

Carroll Lewiston | The Wonderland (41,054)
As mentioned, the entire name of the nation as The Kytler Peninsulae is increasingly a misnomer now that the majority of its 23 million inhabitants do not live on either of them, but in the highly urbanised “Eastern Corridor” that connects the two. Carroll Lewiston was the largest of the purpose-built cities in the Eastern Corridor Expansion, and with around 425,000 people it is now the country’s fourth most populous city.

It is perhaps still best known as the site of the Kytlerian Wonderland theme park, the largest in West Pavola and known to thrillseekers across Rushmore for the Margaret’s Revenge “gigacoaster” with its 109.3m drop at a beyond-vertical 98.4 degrees. A 23,500-seat stadium was built on the edge of the theme park itself, and named after it; it has since been expanded significantly, first when main tenants AFC Carroll Lewiston became the first and so far only team from the Expansion area to win the Kytlerian league title with their pioneering “Girl Power” mixed-gender team, and latterly for World Cup 98.

Games hosted: Group C (Bohr v Tikariot, Gatchingerrak Union v Mytanija, Norrhem v The Kytler Peninsulae, Bohr v Norrhem, Norrhem v Gatchingerrak Union)

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

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

Games hosted: Group D (Pridnestrovia v Montagne Noire, Three Golden Kingdoms v Sargossa, Montagne Noire v Qusmo, Sargossa v Pridnestrovia, Qusmo v Three Golden Kingdoms)

Kytler Bay City | Carva Dock Arena (53,116)
The colonial-era capital of the predecessor Kytlerian nation, “Bay City” - as it is universally shortened to locally - remains the largest city in the country, with over a million people within the city limits and many more in nearby dormitory towns that spill out north towards Zube and east towards the Eastern Corridor Expansion. An ongoing process of regenerating the city’s central docks - once notorious as a hub of illicit trade - was accelerated by Bay City and Zube hosting the Games of the IX Olympiad, with the Carva Dock being transformed into the foundations of an entirely new district jutting out to Kytler Bay along two strips of land that formed not only the site of the Olympic Village but shelter for a lake that staged rowing, canoeing, and open-water swimming.

The shoreline also featured a temporary 21,093-seat beach volleyball arena (referred to as Carva Beach Arena) that staged part of the pioneering split-site opening ceremony; this site was turned into a public beach initially, but now holds a stadium befitting the status of the city and its Bay City United club (who claimed the pan-Rushmori Copa de Campeones before losing four key players to the tragedy of Flight 134). The capacity of Carva Dock Arena is no accident, for it is double the 21,093 of the old Beach Arena plus 10,930, and nor is its design, built around an opening to two corners provides a clear path of light between the bay and the city that bears its name - and in particular the Margaret Bridge, a 10.93m-wide pedestrian bridge linking the Carva Dock shore with the Bay City Olympic station at the end of the Olympic Maglev line that connects Bay City to central Zube in under 15 minutes and has helped turn the Eastern Corridor into effectively one large polycentric metropolis.

Games hosted: Group C (Norrhem v Mytanija, The Kytler Peninsulae v Bohr, Bohr v Gatchingerrak Union, Gatchingerrak Union v Tikariot, Mytanija v Bohr), quarterfinal 4 (D1 vs. C2)

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

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

Games hosted: Group D (Sargossa v Qusmo, Zenic v Montagne Noire, Pridnestrovia v Three Golden Kingdoms, Three Golden Kingdoms v Sargossa, Pridnestrovia v Zenic)

Roddens | Roddens Stadium (53,500)
The “capital of the north,” Roddens is by far the largest city on a northern peninsula dominated by rolling chalk hills and small market towns where cricket is the summer sport of choice. It likes to call itself “Birthplace of Kytlerian Sport” on the grounds that the first ever Kytlerian international sporting home game was a World Lacrosse Championship pool phase game on the Roddens University Field, and the grass amphitheatre at the Roddens Winter Gardens has been a renowned public viewing fan zone for generations of supporters.

The first of the new wave of Kytlerian stadia following the Giisost Reopening, Roddens Stadium (a naming rights deal with Kytlerian insurer Barstone has been elided for this competition) is notable for its glowing facade, usually the red of Roddens City but capable of any colour. It also has a retractable roof, but a plan to use this as the basis for making it double up as the national cricket stadium (thus preventing any matches from being rained out) were thwarted due to the way this would have compromised the seating arrangements for soccer use. Instead, the old soccer ground was renovated and reconfigured into an oval to fill this role, with its former built-in stage at one end becoming the pavilion (and its role as a concert venue transferred to the new stadium). This was briefly the temporary home of Atletik Težia in their Champions’ Cup title defense in exile from Mytanar political violence - either due to the retractable roof being seen as a security feature against potential drone attacks, the relative isolation of Roddens geographically, or simply Atletik’s existing ties with Roddens City. No coincidence that Mytanija's two biggest matches are here, both to sell tickets and to provide better security...

Games hosted: Group C (Tikariot v Norrhem, Mytanija v Tikariot, The Kytler Peninsulae v Mytanija), Group D (Three Golden Kingdoms v Zenic, Montagne Noire v Sargossa), quarterfinal 3 (C1 vs. D2)

Zube | Zube Olympic Stadium (61,093)
Zube - pronounced ZOO-buh - is the purpose-built Kytlerian capital, known as “Snowflake City” for the aerial appearance granted by the light colours used for roof and road surfaces in order to reduce the urban heat island effect. It was built following the Zube Agreement that formed the constitutional basis for the modern nation and named after the former village immediately to its south in which it was signed; the Jamison Farmhouse, the actual building where that happened, is a protected national landmark and was the finishing point of the Olympic marathon and triathlon routes.

As the name rather gives away, Zube Olympic Stadium also held some events that month. Expanded to around 70,000 for those Games, internal modernisation (and the removal of temporary seating) since then has reduced its capacity to the symbolic 61,093 it seats today. The stadium is best known for its suspended upper bowl with a pillar-supported gap around each bend of the athletics-led oval shape; almost certainly the most well-known architectural symbol of the country (and another protected national landmark in itself), the space between the pillars provides views out across the Olympic Park, and once memorably held a temporary ramp that WSRC rally cars used to literally jump into the stadium at the end of a West Pavola Rally stage.

Games hosted: Group C (The Kytler Peninsulae v Gatchingerrak Union, Tikariot v The Kytler Peninsulae), Group D (Qusmo v Pridnestrovia, Sargossa v Zenic, Zenic v Qusmo), final

[Kwrpania]

Bezpem myb Kwrpanrwz! Welcome to Kwrpania!
The Riverine State of Kwrpania and the Kwrpan Football Federation are delighted to welcome you for the 49th edition of the Copa Rushmori! We hope you enjoy your stay!

Kwrpania is a nation of approximately four million in northwest Pavola, and emergent on the international stage, having only entered international sporting competition with the qualification cycle for World Cup 99. Everyone may say it, but it's really true here - Kwrpan people are welcoming and friendly with the best of them, and it isn't just hospitality. A long history of collective tragedy has created an extremely collectivist society, which manifests itself not only in a strong public state but a universal "eyes on the street" attitude. This attitude is not only kept by the populace, but in the very design of Kwrpan cities and towns, as a societal de-emphasis of cars has led to a country that is extremely safe and relatively standardized, though somewhat lacking in the permissiveness towards personal expression that other countries may have.

Stadium Information

— National Stadium, Tydebwg (40,000) —

Tydebwg is the largest city in Kwrpania, boasting a population just shy of a million, and forms the centerpiece of the Capital Metro that contains almost half of the Kwrpan population. Tydebwg means "old meeting hill" in Kwrpan, as befitting its status as the historic leader and then capital of the Kwrpan people. They have a stadium fit for the purpose, too. With 40,000 seats, it remains the largest stadium in Kwrpania, and plays host to rivals Ironworks and Central in the Bright League, the Kwrpan Cup Final, and famously, the site of the national team's qualification for World Cup 99 in their first ever cycle. Tydebwg is well-connected to the rest of the world, with Tydebwg International Airport offering numerous flight options through Kwrpan Air, though your best bet is probably flying through Zube in the neighboring Kytler Peninsulae.

Games hosted: Group A (Kwrpania vs. Oberour Ar Moro, Kordavia vs. Savojarna, Eastfield Lodge vs. Oberour Ar Moro, Kwrpania vs. Pasarga, Pasarga vs. Eastfield Lodge), Quarterfinal 1 (A1 v. B2), Bronze final

— Dynamo Arena, Tydebwg (11,000) —

The host of eponymous Bright League club Dynamo (the third wheel of the Tydebwg Derby), Dynamo Arena is a modern yet cozy arena right along the river in downtown Tydebwg. Located in a dense and heavily pedestrianzed (even by Kwrpan standards) neighborhood, it isn't quite as convenient for visitors as the heavily-served National Stadium, but a Capital Region Metro stop nearby connects it to the broader city, and the vibrant surroundings make it an excellent place to watch a match.

Games hosted: Group A (Savojarna vs. Pasarga, Kwrpania vs. Eastfield Lodge, Pasarga vs. Kordavia, Oberour Ar Moro vs. Kordavia, Savojarna vs. Oberour Ar Moro)

— Capital Park, Kwrpanmap (24,000) —

Built as part of the broader city-building project of the planned capital of Kwrpanmap, Capital Park is in relatively unique surroundings, sat on an island across a narrow channel from the city's downtown. While historically solely accessed by ferry, a service which still runs and serves many thousands on matchdays, Capital Region Metro expansion has connected the stadium to the national rail network, allowing for speedier and simpler access. Host to Railways and KNAF in the Bright League, the stadium only contains seating on three ends, with the end facing across the channel open to provide picturesque views of the city.

Games hosted: Group A (Eastfield Lodge vs. Kordavia, Oberour Ar Moro vs. Pasarga, Savojarna vs. Kwrpania, Eastfield Lodge vs. Savojarna, Kordavia vs. Kwrpania), Quarterfinal 2 (A2 vs. B1)

— Sunset Coast Arena, Bezbenpam (32,500) —

The Sunset Coast is the tourism and nightlife hotspot of Kwrpania, with development of the region's beautiful weather and soft, sandy beaches leading to a boom in the local economy. A glamorous city needs a glamorous stadium, and the Sunset Coast Arena fits the bill, as a modern palace within spitting distance of the ocean. Host to the Bright League's Sunset Coast as well as occasional games for DTSclub from nearby Frjálshöfn, this is very much the venue of choice for most visiting players and fans. Sunset Coast International Airport serves the surrounding region, and while not available for this tournament, plans are progressing towards Kwrpania's first high-speed rail connection, with a direct line to Zube anticipating completion in the coming years.

Games hosted: Group B (Olastor vs. Concordia, Valladares vs. Yuezhou, Captina Islands vs. Concordia, Olastor vs. Darmen, Darmen vs. Captina Islands), Semifinal (winner QF1 vs. winner QF2)

— Thundering Falls Arena, Tygnad (19,400) —

The Mist Valley is a hidden gem, where the combination of weather, climate, hydrology, and physical geography have created a valley of near-permanent mist and fog. While rather gloomy to spend your life in, the mist creates an enchantingly beautiful effect as it thickens and thins and swirls through the air, especially in the morning or evening light. The floodlights at Thundering Falls Arena are noted for getting the most use of any Kwrpan stadium, as home side Mist Valley's Bright League matches often require them regardless of the time of day, but renewable wind and water energy in the surrounding region has given this beautiful and unique stadium a green footprint. New hydrofoil ferries have cut time off the several-day boat journey up Mother River, at least for those wishing to avoid the wet and windy roads that lead in and out of the Valley - it barely needs saying that a place as consistently foggy as this cannot have an airport.

Games hosted: Group B (Captina Islands vs. Valladares, Concordia vs. Darmen, Yuezhou vs. Olastor, Captina Islands vs. Yuezhou, Valladares vs. Olastor)

— Lake Park, Mebfygme (7,400) —

Mebfygme translates to "tranquility", and there could be no more apt descriptor of the large, glass-still lake that the city sits beside. With a unique one-stand setup providing great views of the lake, Lake Park's smooth curves and use of wood and glass let it fit in perfectly with its peaceful surroundings. Home to a Tranquility side that finished as runners-up in both the most recent Bright League and Kwrpan Cup, a visit to this part of the South is always a pleasant endeavor, though don't expect to journey across the lake - boating is banned, per provincial order.

Games hosted: Group B (Yuezhou vs. Darmen, Olastor vs. Captina Islands, Darmen vs. Valladares, Concordia vs. Valladares, Yuezhou vs. Concordia)

[Montagne Noire]

Club Canin de Montagne Noire
Black Mountain Kennel Club
Club Canino de Montaña Negra

Montagne Noire (Black Mountain) is a landlocked nation located in Rushmore who has recently been discovered by Rushmoran explorers.
The nation is inhabited by sapient dogs who speaks French as their mother language and English as their second language.
Some dogs can aslo speak Spanish as a third language.

Staff

Note: Players don't have an assigned position, they just like running after the ball. One dog is assigned goalkeeper duties by the coach for a certain time, then the coach assign another dog to the goalkeeping position.

Players are well trained and are not overly aggressive.

Manager	                Viking	        M	Siberian Husky
Assistant manager	Jazz	        F	Yorkshire Terrier
Assistant manager	Rosie	        F	Papillon Dog
Doctor & Physio	        Doc	        M	Newfoundland

Player pool

Notes:

The Starting XI, bench and scratches are selected randomly every matchday.

One dog is assigned goalkeeper duties by the manager for a certain time, then the manager assign another dog (from the starting XI or a sub) to the goalkeeping position.

Players don't have an assigned position, they just like running after the ball.

Players are well trained and are not overly aggressive.

Alan Belmore	M	Border Collie			Named after one of the best footballer in NS history
Belle	        F	Saint-Bernard			
Captain Jack Sparrow M	Borzoï (Russian Wolfhound)	Team Captain
Chef	        M	Rottweiler			
Citrouille	F	Pomeranian Dog			
Colonel Moutarde M	Pembroke Welsh Corgi			
Coyote	        M	Hungarian Shorthaired Pointer			
Croquette	F	Bedlington Terrier			
Fripouille	M	Dachshund (Wiener Dog)			
Frisette	F	Poodle			
Gandalf	        M	Bearded Collie			
Glouton	        M	Pug			
Gribouille	F	Chow chow			
Lucy	        F	Irish Wolfhound			
Luna	        F	Cavalier King Charles Spaniel			
Loki	        M	Karelian Bear Dog			
Maggie	        F	English Bulldog			
Max	        M	Chinese Crested Dog			
Maya	        F	Whippet			
Millie	        F	Shetland Sheepdog			
Milou	        M	Bichon Frisé			
Olaf	        M	American Eskimo Dog			
Princesse	F	Maltese Bichon			
Soleil	        F	Australian Shepherd			
Vadrouille	M	Afghan Hound			
Whisky	        F	Golden Retriever			
Wookie	        F	Brussels Griffon

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my scorers: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y
Godmod injuries to my players: N
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Y
Hand out red cards to my players: Y
Godmod other events: Y

Style Mod: +5

[Zenic]

The Empire of Zenic National Futbol Team

Nickname: The Survivors
Formation: 3-5-2
Style Modifier: +2

Federation President: Luke Killian (63 years old)
Minister of Sports: Alaia Dimi (62 years old)
Deputy Minister of Sports: Heung Soo-min (55 years old)
Manager: Geraldo Zys (49 years old)
Asst. Manager: Mara Tapi (40 years old)
GK coach: Toms Elwin (42 years old)
Doctor: Dr. Dina Mihail (68 years old)

Starting XI
GK - Saúl Mosley (#1, 34 years old, Gehrenna FC )
RCB - Thuan Byford (#4, 34 years old, Emerald Coast Raiders FC )
CB - Kian Hodge (#3, 32 years old, Deportivo San Valerie )
LCB - Burley Trac (#2, 34 years old, Golden Eagles )
RWB - Undeio Dettmann (#7, 30 years old, Riuwiee United )
RCM - Nelson Seamons (#6, 31 years old, Tovaca Thunder FC )
CM - Faulkner Dejulio (#8, 31 years old, Real Anasb )
LCM - Hank Devor (#5, 30 years old, Tsear FC )
LWB - Nakazawa Shuji (#11, 29 years old, Heart of Saguenay )
RF - Giuseppe Allegri Gentile (#9, 32 years old, Passerine )
LF - Cecil Maruscak (#10, 33 years old, Clayquot City )


Bench:
GK - Landon Hope (#12, 28 years old, Hawthorne United )
CB - Floryan Dubravko (#15, 29 years old, Coohen City FC )
CB - Ohara Satoshi (#14, 32 years old, Emberton Hibernians )
CB - Gopal Pekko (#13, 28 years old, Olympique Yvesmont )
RWB - Maximon Nance (#18, 30 years old, Golden Eagles )
CM - Abdullah Vasil (#17, 31 years old, KF Qastyr )
CM - Wanyonyi Lawal (#19, 30 years old, Gimnasia y Bala )
CM - Lew Anton (#16, 34 years old, Gimnasia y Bala )
LWB - Altwidus Aeneas (#22, 30 years old, Torbay Thunder )
RF - Sumida Nori (#20, 32 years old, Omnio )

Kit (Provided by Barrengeka)

LF - Pilypas Aldhard (#21, 29 years old, Moncloa )


Kick Takers:
Left corner - Undeio Dettmann
Right corner - Nakazawa Shuji
Free Kick - Faulkner Dejulio
Penalty - Giuseppe Allegri Gentile

Captain: Faulkner Dejulio
First Backup Captain: Burley Trac
Second Backup Captain: Saúl Mosley


Tactics:
Manager Geraldo Rys and his assistants Mara Tapi and Toms Elwin have decided to implement a slightly aggressive 3-5-2 formation during their tenure as Zenic's national team staff. This formation is intended to maximize the wingbacks' strengths without neutralizing the rest of the team's impact. The young wingbacks' stamina allows them to go forward and cautiously assist in attack to create goal-scoring chances while still being able to get back and provide numbers to stop opposition scoring opportunities. Meanwhile, the Center-backs, Central Midfielders and Forwards create a solid pillar through the heart of the pitch that is intended to both be an alternative route to goal scoring and a multi layered obstruction to the opponents.

Home Stadium:
Philosophia Colosseum
Location: Manacus
Capacity: 106,255

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:

Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod scoring events Y
RP injuries to my players Y (within reason)
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out yellow cards to my players Y (within reason)
Hand out red cards to my players Y (within reason)
Godmod other events (TG me first)

[Tikariot]

Football is the by far most popular sport in Tikariot. The Tikariot Premier League is the highest tier of the Tikariotian football pyramid and is one of the most competitive leagues in the multiverse.
With ten World Cup participations, including third place at World Cup 97, Tikariot is part of the rising Rushmorean sub-region of Pavola. After a whole slew of first knock-out-stage exits, Copa Rushmori 42 turned into what the whole nation hopes to be the turning point in their fates when they beat their neighbours and rivals of Græntfjall in the final for their first victory in a big tournament, followed by winning the most recent editions, Copa Rushmori 47 and 48.

After their first appearance at Copa Rushmori 41 and again 47, Tikariot's ladies have returned for the third Ride of the Valkyries.

The fans of the Snowy Owls, called the Dark Tide, also deserve particular mention. Not only are they renowned for their chants, but they are also bringing the Thunder Clap (Click here for example) to the stadium, something that the players join in as a pre-game ritual that has left an impression on the opponents and opposing fans more than once (OOC: similar to the Haka of the New Zealand All Blacks). The players will form a triangle near the kick-off circle and lift their arms, which the fans do as well. Then a lone drum will start to signal the rhythm and both players and fans alike will move in unison, each clap accompanied by a loud cry, the claps (and cries) speeding up, creating an overwhelming sense of impending doom.

Brian McAllister - 54
After having been assistant to now-former coach Stuart Ekstrom, Brian McAllister made the move to Sargossa and enjoyed a lot more success than his former mentor, having two Copa Rushmori victories under his belt. With him, the Snowy Owls continue to utilize their flexible 4-3-3, in which the fullbacks can push forward and the wingers drop back depending on the game situation, adding unpredictability. With this formation, he also won Tikariot's first and personal third Copa Rushmori at CR42 and a second one at CR47, followed by a third at CR48, making him one of the winningiest coaches in Rushmore with five total Copa Rushmori victories.

GOALKEEPER

GK | Magdalena von Yxkull | 27 | Fort Viljan Northern FC | 17 caps | 4 clean sheets

DEFENDERS

LB | Ildefontsa Iturrain | 25 | Miruan City FC | 5 caps | 1 goal | 1 assist

CB | Tanis Hemingway | 25 | Carathyr Emeralds FC | 48 caps | 4 goals | 3 assists

CB | Solfrid Frøya Fiskerstrand-Kyvåg | 22 | Port Rhovanyon AFC | 4 caps | 1 goal | 0 assists

RB | Anna-Sofia Nørregaard-Hjelmborg | 20 | Fort Viljan Northern FC | 5 caps | 0 goals | 1 assist

MIDFIELDERS

LM | Léonie-Alexandra Dufour-Vandenberghe | 19 | Bul Khungur Miners FC | 7 caps | 1 goal | 2 assists

CM | Jadranka Esma Škrlec | 22 | Vna-Chuhul Ravens FC | 0 caps | 0 goals | 0 assists

RM | Andarra Belfrage | 21 | Port Rhovanyon AFC | 31 caps | 6 goals | 14 assists

FORWARDS

W | Wiołeta Motyka | 21 | Crimsonhawke FC | 26 caps | 19 goals | 4 assists

CF | Mirae Robichaud-Carrier | 21 | Avanaroch White Wings FC | 0 caps | 0 goals | 0 assists

W | Lucretia Fioravanti | 24 | Bul Khungur Miners FC | 0 caps | 0 goals | 0 assists

GOALKEEPERS

GK | Athena Talwaney | 22 | Miruan City FC | 0 caps | 0 clean sheets

DEFENDERS

LB | Esca Griffiths | 21 | Miruan City FC | 5 caps | 0 goals | 0 assists

CB | Veronica Lai | 22 | Miruan City FC | 0 caps | 0 goals | 0 assists

CB | Cassandra Löwenhjelm | 23 | Port Rhovanyon AFC | 0 caps | 0 goals | 0 assists

RB | Cassiopeia Hawthorne | 19 | Oriannor Mountaineers FC | 7 caps | 0 goals | 3 assists

MIDFIELDERS

LM | Taaina Pyhäranta | 26 | Veriasod Wolves FC | 3 caps | 0 goals | 0 assists

CM | Francesca Hennessy | 25 | Miruan City FC | 1 cap | 0 goals | 0 assists

RM | Calliope Vespera | 21 | Oriannor Mountaineers FC | 0 caps | 0 goals | 0 assists

FORWARDS

W | Elia Molyneux | 24 | Miruan City FC | 30 caps | 13 goals | 13 assists

CF | Geneviève de Verronneault | 22 | Port Tacassam FC | 15 caps | 6 goals | 2 assists

W | Cassandra Cresswell | 26 | Ceramadhion Lynx FC | 13 caps | 6 goals | 8 assists

Home Jersey:


Away Jersey:

+4

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes-ish (TG me and I can give you the names for scorers, assists and more, but we'll figure this out one way or another)
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes (just please be reasonable)
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (again please be reasonable)
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes (same deal)
Godmod other events: No

[Zenic]

"You ever notice how we are always going North or East for sporting events but never go West or stay in the South?"

Geraldo Zys looked up from his notebook and looked over to his assistant manager Mara Tapi. "Huh?," he replied to his row mate on the flight to The Kytler Peninsulae, home of Copa Rushmore 49. Mara turned a little to talk more directly to Geraldo. "I've been looking back to the start of our journey on the Survivors and I noticed that little tidbit. The last Copa not held north of us was our first one back, Copa Rushmori XLIV, back when our neighbors Naixi were hosting it. Throw in World Cups 97 and 98 and that means we're about 5 cycles removed from the last time we went to any tournament in Rushmore that wasn't directly North of us."

Geraldo Zys replayed the last few years in his head. Everything added up: Naixi, Graintfjall, Yue Zhou, Pasarga & Eastfield Lodge, Pasarga alone, the Xandrian Sea bid, The Kytler Peninsulae alone, and now The Kytler Peninsulae & Kwrpania. She was absolutely right. Almost. "Wait, we've never gone East for a tournament. I remember the original generation going as far east as Saintland but right now, we've never traveled eastbound except for friendlies." Mara nodded in acknowledgement. "To be fair, I did lump in ALL Zenician sports in that original statement. Olympics have only been Liventia, Electrum and Ceni in regards to Rushmori hosts and the latter two in regards to tennis. Though, Liventia is technically both North and East of us so it falls into several categories."

"I guess that counts. But now that I think on it a bit more, Pasarga is technically west of us, right?," ask Geraldo. "NORTHwest," Mara replied, putting emphasis on the North. "I'm talking about truly Western or Southern nations hosting something. When's the last time a Copa was in Mytanija or Astograth? How about down here near Cassadaigua or Mapletish? How about combining both and going heavily Southwest to Rea San Vegas or Captina Island? Even Darmen would probably count in the grand scheme of all things Rushmore. Hell, what about us?"

Geraldo Zys froze for a moment. A rush of thoughts entered his head before he responded. "It would have to be a joint bid but I could potentially see it. Like a Southern Rushmori celebration for the 50th Copa." The two of them looked at each other with looks of intrigue in their eyes, confirming that this was something they would need to consider bringing up to Killian and Minister Dimi the next time the pair see them. "We've got time before we land in Pavola so I'll keep on workshopping this before we need to get to work." Zys nodded as Mara went back to her pre-pre-preplanning and analysis.

Zys himself went back to his notebook. Three Golden Kingdoms, Montagne Noire, Sargossa, Qusmo, Pridnestrovia. Those were the Survivors' Group D opponents and the exact order they would be playing against them. As the number 3 ranked nation in the regional rankings, Zenic were hoping for a perfect 5-0-0 record to win the group but life has never been so easy, especially in Rushmore. Zys calculated that a 3-1-1 would be the absolute lowest record his team could afford in the elongated group stage and still make the truncated knockouts. And considering it could lead to a potential rematch with Tikariot, the more momentum the Survivors could build, the better.

But Zys and the rest of the Zenic national team were going to give the Three Golden Kingdoms their full, undivided attention for now: whether they want it or not.

[Oberour Ar Moro]

Dominion of Oberour Ar Moro
National Football Team


Copa Rushmori XLIX Roster

Basic Information
Nation: Dominion of Oberour Ar Moro
Denonym: Oberours
Team Nickname: Dragoons
Association: Ministry of Culture Football Management Committee (FMC)
Trigramme: OAM

Style Modifier: +5

Staff
Manager: Lunen Margas, age 50
Assistant Manager: Laurens Desainctvictori, age 55
Assistant Manager: Aleaune Cerenceresse, age 44

Players
Regular starters in Bold

Goalkeepers

1 Brivel des Aloz, age 32
12 Adrian le Maitre, age 24
24 Gurthiern de Seyssel, age 28

Left Back

2 Claude-Antoine de Paillard, age 23
14 Anatole-Georges Clausse, age 27
25 Iestin de Gallardon. age 24

Right Back

3 Loys Roty, age 32
15 Berin le Passeeur, age 28

Sweepers

10 Andre Decastilhon, age 32
11 Jacques-Maurice Destelan de Saint-Joseph, age 29
22 Brandan Mauclerc, age 24
23 Kerrian Hue, age 23
27 Kenelm des vii Clefz, age 22

Left Midfielder

5 Mathurin-Nicolas de Gounesse, age 30
17 Morgan de Saintyon, age 24

Right Midfielder

6 Geon de Grant-Pont, age 29
18 Geoffroy de Baieus, age 24

Center Midfielder

4 Jozef 't Veld, age 24
16 Jullien Bauer pour Fessart, age 25
26 Robert Huilecoc, age 20

Left Wing

7 Aloire des Cartes, age 27
19 Sécaire le Gascoing, age 26

Right Wing

8 Blaise Leboeuf, age 33 CAPTAIN
20 Pierre Vuide-Rue, age 23

Striker

9 Daniel Demisserriche, age 28
21 Jean Rault, age 23

Formation

First-Choice, Second-Choice, and Goalkeeper Kits

Kits by Mercury Sports

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my scorers: Yes
Choose my scoring events: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes, but please TG or message me on Discord beforehand
RP injuries to my players: Yes
Godmod Injuries to my players: Yes, but please TG or message me on Discord beforehand
Give Yellow Cards to my players: Yes
Give Red Cards to my players: Yes
Godmod other events: Yes, but please TG or message me on Discord beforehand

Style Modifier: +5

[Darmen]

National Football Team of Darmen
presented by the
Darmeni Football Association

Record (Modern-era only, since Copa Rushmori 24): 657 matches, 308 wins, 122 draws, 227 losses, 1345 GF, 1149 GA, .531 Win %

Caps
 1 Hyman Campo          284
 2 Silver Abbey         267
 3 Craig Blackwood      255
 4 Víedharr Svendsen    215
 5 Riley Mac Pharlain   212
 6 Alberich Goldschmidt 204
 7 Aurelio Di Stefano   169
   Feliciano Espinosa   169
 9 Juanito Stafford     165
10 Bill St. John        164

Goals
 1 Craig Blackwood      168
 2 Felix Lucanus         80
 3 James January         71
 4 Marianne Lee          56
 5 Skylar Hurst          49
 6 Víedharr Svendsen     48
 7 Kennard Hale          46
 8 Darnell Halle         42
 9 Daniel Norton         38
10 Riley Mac Pharlain    33

Coaching Staff

Position          Name                  Age
Co-Manager        Tor Tong Lee          81
Co-Manager        Alberich Goldschmidt  55
Assistant Manager Tryggvi Gunnarson     43
Goalkeeping Coach Marcellus Ahenobarbus 61
Fitness Coach     Gudfrod Kristóferson  40
Psychologist      Pétronille Deforest*  55

26 Player Roster

#  Pos Name                Age Club                  Caps Goals
 1 GK  Morris Mathews      29  Scott City FC          14   0
 2 LB  Ferdy Adkins        29  Scott City FC          40   2
 3 LCB Amias Shelby        29  Royal PFC              61   3
 4 RCB Comgán MacGowan     30  Romanopolis United     37   1
 5 RB  Markus Thomasson    31  Tempala United Saints  89   3
 6 LM  Walter Goddard      25  Rogerton Whitecaps     17   3
 7 CM  Dwayne Loritz       30  Tempala United Saints  92  13
 8 RM  Kara Falkner*       29  MTK Kingsville         82   7
 9 LF  James January       35  Scott City FC         152  71
10 CF  Marianne Lee*       34  Tanques AOE (KOR)     126  56
11 RF  Torger Woodward     30  Scott City FC          82  30

12 GK  Corina Mendoza*     33  Rogerton Valladar CF    7   0
13 LB  Bjarni Haraldson    23  Eau Claire United       1   0
14 LCB Tóra Isakson*       23  Tempala United Saints  12   0
15 RCB Olegario Orellana   28  Rogerton Valladar CF   13   0
16 RB  Rósa Holt*          24  Royal PFC               1   0
17 LM  Christel Erikson*   23  Chuckio FC              3   0
18 CM  Kaila Parker*       26  Brham United           12   2
19 RM  Butch Palmer        23  Darmen City United     11   2
20 LF  Idonea Santiago*    30  Rogerton Valladar CF   46  17
21 CF  Vera Omdahl*        23  Royal PFC               8   2
22 RF  Signy Warner*       25  Guard FC               10   2

23 GK  Teresa Thompsett*   28  Royal PFC               1   0
24 LB  Kyro Perrin         30  Rogerton Whitecaps     31   0
25 CM  Silvester Fairburn  31  Royal PFC              37   2
26 RF  Karter Clayton      29  Johnho United          33  11
*Female player

Tactics
Formation: 4-3-3
Style Mod: +2.5
In attack, Darmen will employ one of two tactics: the first involves the team playing down the flanks while the second is a possession oriented short-range passing style that closely resembles tiki-taka. The later tactic is normally only employed against weaker opponents or when Darmen has a multi-goal lead and involves connecting many passes together to slowly advance the ball towards the opponents 18-yard box. It is not uncommon for 30+ passes to be completed in the sequence, especially against weaker opponents.

Darmen's primary tactic however is a heavy emphasis on flank play, with the wide midfielders (also referred to as flankers in Darmen) being the linchpin of Darmen's attack. Upon gaining possession, Darmen will look to distribute the ball to one of the two wide midfielders as quickly as possible. After receiving the ball, the wide midfielders will look to advance the ball as far down the flanks as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the forwards and the central midfielders will crash the box, hoping to be on the receiving end of the wide midfielder's cross. The wide midfielder (or sometimes even the fullback) on the opposite flank will linger behind waiting to collect the cross should it overshoot the box. While scoring via headers is the primary goal, a player may also look to score by volleying or half-volleying the ball if they're in open space. Should the first attempt at goal not be collected by the goalkeeper, Darmenis are more than willing to take advantage of the ensuing chaos in the box and poach a goal as well. If the wide midfielder's path forward down the flank is blocked, they are not averse to cutting inside and taking a shot on goal themselves.

Defensively, the defenders have one job... to defend. They rarely venture out of their own half, but if they do it will only be one of the fullbacks (see above). Darmen will employ zonal marking when facing the counter-attack and man marking in all other situations.

Team Roles
Captain: James January
Vice-Captain: Markus Thomasson
Left Corner: Amias Shelby
Right Corner: Kara Falkner
Penalties: James January
Free-kicks: Dwayne Loritz

Team Personality
The Darmeni team will never argue with the referee. Indeed, if anything needs to be brought to the attention of the referee it will be done by either the Captain or Vice-Captain in a respectful manner (or to the fourth-official by the Manager). With regards to foul/dirty play, the Darmeni team will not provoke, or retaliate against any opposition player. Darmeni's expect each team to keep to itself and deal with its own trouble makers; any opposition player who attempts to prevent a conflict by pushing or pulling a Darmeni away from the scene will be promptly told off, as that is the duty of the Darmeni Captain.

Nonetheless, Darmen will play in a relatively aggressive manner. Tackles will be conducted in a way which ensures the opponent ends up on the ground, but causing injury will be avoided as much as possible. On set pieces, Darmenis will stand their ground and will not be easily pushed around. However, they will not engage in hugging. In fact, if any opposing player tries to push past them, it is not uncommon for the Darmeni player to feign resistance before simply stepping aside and watching as the opposing player stumbles past on their way to ground. This occasionally backfires however, as the referee may mistake the incidence as having been a foul in the box.

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: YES PLEASE! If you name your goal scorers, please also name mine.
Choose my scoring events: YES
Godmod scoring events: YES. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
RP injuries to my players: YES, no more than one per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Godmod Injuries to my players: NO
Give Yellow Cards to my players: YES, no more than two per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Give Red Cards to my players: YES, no more than one per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Godmod other events: MAYBE. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Style Modifier: +2.5

If you need to contact me, TG's are preferred over Discord DM's. As a matter of fact, I've not downloaded Discord onto my new laptop, so Discord DM's would be useless.

[Pasarga]

Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players N
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y

Pasarga Roster
Nickname: Wanderers
Most Caps: Mór Császár (196)
Most Goals: Ingþór Auðbjörnsson (124)

Kits

Home Away Third
Modifier: +1

Manager: Ingþór Auðbjörnsson, age 58
Assistant: Jürgen Eisenhower, age 56

Goalkeepers
GK: Rudolf Klarić, age 34, Hellinic Rouge
GK: Óskar Aronsson, age 23, Algolia AC (F)
GK: Maja Topić, age 34, Brantisvogan (F)

Thor has brought in accountability to the team and that takes the shape in taking players who are in form rather than just being a big name playing at a big club. After capitulating in the knockouts at the Finals, Topić has been dropped to the third choice keeper and could very well be on her way out of the pool once the next set of Qualifiers begin. Rudolf Klarić is the biggest benefactor, having come off quite a good season with the Spartans, helping the team to the SuperLiga title, though being the same age as Maja he does not represent the long term solution in goal. That might be Óskar Aronsson who has seen his stock explode since his move to Squornshelous and having done exceptional there after being given the starting job at Algolia. He always looked like he had a lot of promise and seems to be starting to hit that potential, which mean he might be the number one in the next year or so if he continues his upwards growth and delivers well at club and country when called upon.

Defenders
L/CB: Ratimir Stojanović, age 26, Sardin United
LB: Slava Jakšić, age 34, Megabrantid (F)
CB: Zétény Szatmári, age 30, Burnaby SC
CB: Kamil Schneider, age 28, Duke of the North
CB: Bertuska Balázs, age 30, CA Paulinthal (F)
CB: Gazsi Mátyás, age 27, Baskita FC
CB: Thorsten Hertzog, age 26, TSV Marzig
RB: Lubomír Mašek, age 26, Sardin United
RB: Nilda Guajardo Longoria, age 25, Santos Luega (F)

This is a unit in transition, much like the entire team is as well. Leftback looks to be a bit of problematic area as the best players are definitely too long in the tooth like Slava Jakšić and with Thor looking to bleed in the next generation of players that's why Stojanović gets a nod. A more defensive minded fullback but that's what you expect from a player from Sardin, which is quite the same with Mašek over on the right side. Zétény Szatmári does provide elite level defense and leadership there in the middle and will be the player that the rest of the team looks to, which is probably why he has the captain's armband. Kamil Schneider has seemingly really come into his own over the last year and has earned his promotion from the bench to the starting rotation, though he needs to have a look over his shoulder as Thorsten Hertzog has gotten significantly better over the last two seasons at Marzig. Winning titles seems to do that though and you could see a world where Hetzog will be splitting starts with Schneider in the qualifiers. The major detraction from this set of defenders is few enough of them feel comfortable moving up into the support positions of the attack, which might be asking a bit much from the midfield.

Midfielders

LW/ST: Katinka Fazakas, age 26, Langlois Océanic (F)
ST/LW/AMC: Mór Buday, age 26, Herzegovina City FC
A/MC: Zágon Schmid, age 29, Tanrısal
A/MC: Áron Gombos, age 32, CA Paulinthal
A/MC: Tarján Ságy, age 23, Royal Jam FC
D/MC: Borsala Takácz, age 30, Galatica (F)
MC: Petra Lázár, age 30, Megabrantid SC (F)
RW: Pista Benedek, age 30, Galatica
RW/MC: Joska Rác, age 26, Tanrısal

It is known that the best Wanderers teams are built off the back of good midfield that can win and retain possession fairly well and also have the creativity to create opportunities for the attack. Despite retaining a lot of the players who were in Arrosia for the Finals, the side has finally seen talismanic winger Asztrik Biró retire from the national team, opening up a bit of competition on the left. The team does seem to lack some depth at the more aggressive ball winning midfielders, though Takácz does a fairly good job there. Schmid is an exceptional playmaker, much like Gombos whom he had replaced in the starting lineup during the last qualifying campaign and provides the link between the midfield and attack. He will have a go on set pieces but will more often look to place a ball into the mixer. Katinka Fazakas and Pista Benedek both provide attacking options off the wide areas, with Fazakas adapt enough to play as a striker if needed, though Thor will be hoping both are assisting more than scoring goals themselves.

Strikers

AMLC/ST: Bogdan Laszlo, age 27, Algolia AC
ST: Járngrímur Náttúlfsson , age 28, CA Paulinthal
ST: Orkény Szegedi, age 29, Galatica
ST: Csenger Orbán, age 30, CA Paulinthal
AML/ST: Melinda Sultész, age 30, Avidë (F)

With age having caught up to Bazzi towards the end of last cycle, Járngrímur steps up as the tip of the spear and the Wanderers have to be counting their lucky stars that such a talented player fell into their lap. Graintfjall's collapse allowed this remarkable striker to file a nationality switch and four straight seasons of dominating the SuperLiga has showcase his clinical finishing and superb attacking abilities, as well as having a clutch factor that should prove resourceful. Partnering will be Laszlo who is far less consistent than his partner but has quite the high ceiling and when on form is a deadly striker in his own right, having honed his craft in both Audioslavia and Squornshelous. The first option off the bench if it is needed will be Orkény Szegedi, who was a bit of late bloomer but back to back seasons being among the top scorers in the SuperLiga has earned him that right. A pure goal scorer, he know where to be and how to make the most of his opportunities when he gets there. The other options are not likely to see the field much but Melinda Sultész' versatility might just have her with the edge as the most likely to see significant playing time among the other four options in the pool currently.

Tactics

Bringing back the four four two, even if the midfield roles were shaken up a little has brought the Wanderers back into a sense of familiarity and comfort that has allowed the team to progress forward towards turning the team back around to contenders. The more defensive midfielder will be responsible for screening the backline and providing passing options for both the attack and defense. Playmaking duties will fall squarely on the number eight who will have two striking options playing off the shoulders of the backline or attacking wingers to build an attack with. The wingers are not expected to be experts in marking and tackling but they are expected to track back and provide support in at least terms of bodies and numbers, which means they are going to be endurance based players with the amount of running they are going to do. The same will be true of the fullbacks, who will need to be competent enough on the ball to make overlapping and underlapping runs in the attacking third when the team has prolonged bouts of possession.

Captain: Zétény Szatmári
Corner Taker: Katinka Fazakas
Set Pieces: Zágon Schmid
Penalties: Járngrímur

[Three Golden Kingdoms]

Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players N
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y

Three Golden Kingdoms Roster
Nickname: Imperial Guard

Home Away

Modifier: +2

Imperial Names are written in the Eastern Naming System.

Manager: Tian Jiang, age 53
Assistant: Deng An, age 51
Physio: Xu Jiahao, age 50

Starters
GK: Xun Jiahao, age 32
LB: Kang Xinyue, age 24
CB: Liao Xiaosi, age 31
CB: Du Wu, age 33
RB: Geng Jianhong, age 25
DMC: Pan Yuhan, age 27
LW: Qian Zhi, age 32
RW: Zhou Xiuying, age 24
ST: Zhao Zemin, age 26
ST: Xu Zihao, age 31
ST: Chang Hui, age 33

Reserves
GK: Gao Li, age 35
GK: Kong Yijun, age 27
LB: Liang Hai, age 33
CB: Shi Yi, age 24
CB: Lang Cai, age 27
RB: Lai Xue, age 26
DMC: Hou Bo, age 23
LW: Wu Zhihao, age 24
RW: Yin Yazhu, age 33
A/MC: Li Yi, age 35
ST: Feng Xiuying, age 28
ST: Dai Bao, age 24

[Pasarga]

Thor looked at the group that his Wanderers had been given to try and navigate out of, thinking about what sort of record needed to happen in order to ensure that the team progressed through to the knockout stages. Thor knew he really had to make sure that the team progressed if he wanted to continue on as the manager after the next cycle, with his contract being up at the end of World Cup 100. While there had been definite improvements in the team since he started his tenure, he had failed to produce the consistently good results that he had been so well known for at club level and then with his time with the Graintfjall national team. The qualifications to the past two Finals had been by the skin of the teeth and it was far from the most convincing effort, especially after failing to impress in the home world cup during World Cup 97. Thor did not want to be remembered as the manager who simply steadied the ship for the national team, he wanted to be remembered as the manager who got the Wanderers back to competing with the best in the world and having a real chance at winning trophies again.

The Copa two editions ago had been a good start to that momentum, again at home and saw the team make a highly unexpected run to the semifinals before being derailed there and eventually claiming third place with the win in the playoff. A quarterfinal loss against Yuezhou in the following edition was not exactly the continued momentum that the Wanderers had hoped for, especially as it was seen as a bit of an upset with the streaky performances the opponent had suffered through that edition, losing in the next round to Oberour Ar Moro, who in turn lost in the Final. Thor had belief that the team had been poised to contest against the likes of Zenic and Tikariot for the regional title last edition and yet it all sort of fell away despite having sent a fairly strong team to the tournament. While a knockout stage appearance did see the team continue to return to form in the regional championship after having missed three knockouts in a row, it was not the step forward that Thor and indeed much of the fans of the national team had been hoping to see with such a talented group.

This team was going to be his legacy, with so many of the best players in the national team starting to age out with either a decline in their natural skill and talents or by simply retiring from international football, Thor was left with a lot of tough decisions. This was the missing generation that he had spoken to the PFA head about before he took the job, a whole generation of players who had failed to live up to their promise and were career backups at SuperLiga sides or not competing at the highest levels abroad. Fortunately a few of them had turned into late bloomers and really developed a little later and there seemed to be a fairly good crop of players coming in behind them, but the pool was still extremely shallow. The left back and left wing spot were both problem areas and likely would continue to be for a few more years unless someone came out of the blue as a stand out there. Thor thusly had called up a team that was in transition, a team that he hoped would find the time to gel in the first match of the competition so that they could go into the rest of the tournament with momentum and confidence.

With a resurgent Eastfield Lodge in the group, alongside the aforementioned Oberour Ar Moro, and one of the hosts in the new outfit of Kwrpania, the group was laden with plenty of difficult obstacles for the team to try and navigate. Conventional wisdom said that at least ten points was going to be needed to get out of the group, meaning they could afford to lose or draw to Oberour Ar Moro as long as they held firm against the rest of the group and got wins. Starting with a Savojarna side that was just dipping its toes back into international competition after a intermittent absences over the last decade likely provided the sort of early game to gain confidence and momentum that Thor was hoping for. If they could get a confident, perhaps even dominant victory to start off the group, they could then springboard that into a positive performance in the next match against the top seeded Oberour Ar Moro side. Having the most difficult game as your second game was not kind but at least it was not the first game and there was an opportunity to get the new players bedded into the system and gelling with their teammates before the tilt. What would really help things along is if Laszlo or Járngrímur could find the net consistently with the national team much like they did at the club level, as if one or both of those strikers could get hot the team would look a lot more dangerous and capable of living up to expectations.

[Captina Island]

The Captina Company Football Agency

The Captina Company Football Agency (TCCFA) controls all levels of football in the nation, issuing licenses to groups wishing to form teams. The Captina Company Super League consists of 14 teams playing every opponent once between April & June then following a 2 month break, play every opponent again between September & November.

Captina Island come to the Copa Rushmori on an upswing in terms of the National Team, as World Cup 99 marked the first ever qualification for the Finals for the Rosso e Oro and they will look to build up on the momentum of the achievement with a strong performance in the regionals. While the roster remains unchanged the newer generation are expected to play a larger role in Jonas Yarborough's selection process.

STYLE: +1.77
Tactics: 4-3-3 Captina Island makes a leap into the third generation of the National Team by looking to continue down the path of offensively oriented football while still maintaining the commitment to defense that is part of the nation’s sporting DNA.
Nickname: Rosso e Oro (Red & Gold) is the official designation, although there have been rare instances where “Peacocks” has been used in reference to the national animal; 'Peahens' was adapted for the Women's team that played in the Jenna Raven Cup 3 and later in Tea Cup 2.
All Time Record: 75 wins, 82 defeats, 40 draws (197 matches)

Current Rushmore ranking: 14.70 (9th)

Manager-- Jonas Yarborough (record: 52 wins, 49 losses, 26 draws as NT boss, 11-9-1 as Women's NT Manager)
Assistant--Rueben Fiorentino,
Coaches—Pietro Sacchetti, Calvin Redfern, Tamara Berardinelli

GK
Donatella Jaconelli 	GK  	27  	Geneva United Ladies
Giovanni Rizzolini  	GK  	23  	Port Genoa Calcio
Alfonso Parmander	GK  	24  	Flint AC   
 
DEF
Marco Santangelo 	CB  	25  	Punto Nord AC
Davide Zaccardo         RB    	25  	AC Geneva City
Enrico  De Rosa         LB    	25  	IMA Port Genoa
Severance Romero	R/CB    25  	Clarksburg FC       	
Tonia Sue Ellington	LB  	25  	Port Genoa Ladies
Tonia Esposito      	CB  	24  	North Point Ladies
Lalia D'Isabella     	CB  	25  	South Fairmont Ladies
Andrea Quatrocchi       LB  	24  	Geneva United Ladies
Analiese Rossetti   	R/CB    24  	North Point Ladies
 
MID
Charleston DiCanio	W/RM    28  	TBG Big Flint
Barnabas Morningstar    DM/W    27  	SEC Fairmont
Tobias Coleman    	LW   	24  	AC Geneva City     	
Wilmington Blackwood	CM      25  	Club RON
Clarence Bonneville     R/CM    24  	Port Genoa Calcio
Marcella Lillywhite 	LW 	28  	Port Genoa Ladies 	
Edith Ann DiStefano     W/CM    27  	Clarksburg City Ladies
Vincenzo Capaldi   	R/CM    23  	Calcio Captina
Chastity Dell'Oro   	L/RW    24  	South Fairmont Ladies
Emilia Nunnaro          RW      23  	Port Genoa Ladies
Allegra Gregory         DM      25  	Clarksburg City Ladies

 FWD
Guiseppi Overstreet     ST  	28  	Fairmont City SC
Patience Wedgewood      ST  	28  	Geneva United Ladies
Giorgina Donati         WF   	24  	Port Genoa Ladies
Claire Longfellow  	WF 	23  	Big Flint Ladies
Natalia Zucchi	   	CF  	24  	Clarksburg City Ladies
Ciro Hammersmith	CF  	23  	SEC Fairmont
Oliphant Santoro   	ST 	24  	TCC Geneva

starters in Bold

Captina Island is the southernmost nation in Rushmore, made up of 6.3 million people of which approximately 31% are ethnic Captini--the native Polynesian type peoples who occupied the island prior to discovery--and 42% Italini, descendants of the settlers who arrived after 1922, with about 20% identifying themselves as mixed. The remainder are of other ethnic backgrounds and nationalities.

Captina Island thrives in all aspects of life thanks to the rigorous discipline of “The Plan” (officially known as The Captina Island National Community Operation Master Plan [CINCOMP]) which organizes the priorities, agenda, and the day to day running of proper society within the Armed Republic.

All economic affairs are controlled by the five major privately owned corporations that operate under the provisions of The Plan, holding exclusive license to conduct the nationwide administration of the following areas:

Captina National Organization (CNO)--Defense/Health & Medical/Education
State Economic Corporation (SEC)--Retail/Banking/Transportation/Technology
Industrial & Manufacturing Alliance (IMA)--Production/Raw Materials/Wholesale
The Captina Company (TCC)--Social/Entertainment/Utilities
Brandstadter Corporation Authority (BCA)--Food/Agriculture/Construction

Any remaining areas that would be under the control of a constituted government are handled by The Burkett Group, which is owned in equal shares by the five main corporations and a public ownership scheme funded by a 50 crown (about NS$10) per week deduction from the wages of all citizens. TBG functions as a bureaucratic administrative body, coordinating inter-company affairs in addition to providing the personnel for things like police/fire protection, vital statistics record keeping, public spaces maintenance, and other public services.

TBG operates from the National Capital District of Big Flint which has a population of 84,000, while the other corporations each have their own headquarters city, although they have nationwide operations; within each major city, the 'affiliated' companies have satellite offices to handle the daily business.

In the event my opponent RPs first, they may...

Choose my goalscorers: YES
Godmod scoring events: YES
RP injuries to my players: YES, but those that would be for just the duration of the match (TG in advance would be appreciated as well)
Godmod injuries to my players: See Above
Hand out yellow cards to my players: YES
Hand out red cards to my players: YES, but again, a heads up in advance is appreciated, as I would do for you.
Godmod other events: TG what you have in mind, I'm easy to come to an understanding with

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

THE KYTLERIAN NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM FOR COPA RUSHMORI XLIX
Manager: Thomas HOOKER
Assistant manager: Aaron WILSON-COOPER
Clubs are KYP unless stated.
Players with an asterisk* are considered the more aggressive on this team. They are more likely to pick up yellow cards, and are the only players who should pick up red cards.

1 Peter DE BEUKELAER GK, Aardswood United
A former U21 international who has been a central part of his club's startling rise to what must now be considered perennial title contention after three straight top-three finishes and two straight final-day title deciders. Solid in all aspects of goalkeeping, a previous streak of youthful inconsistency is increasingly behind him.

2 Ársæll EINARSSON* LB/LWB, AFC Carroll Lewiston
After being out of sight, out of mind for a while in Kelssek, AFC Carroll Lewiston picked her up in the transfer bargain of the season and watched as he completed the team's defensive rebuild and carried the team all the way to only their second ever NSL title. Now he's locked in at what was a problem spot for the national team too.

3 Oliver VANDOME* CB/RB, Carathyr Emeralds FC (TKT)
The defensive heart of this team. Has thrived at right-back since his big-money move to the TPL - part of the Team of the Year in his first season and the "B Team of the Year" in his second - but is typically deployed centrally in Hooker's 4-1-4-1. Either way, he's an enforcer with a sneaky creative streak (14 assists in those two TPL seasons).

4 Liz OKNEY CB, AFC Carroll Lewiston
Long hyped internally as a potential saviour to the Magicians' long-held defensive frailty, she started truly living up to those expectations in the last two seasons,

5 Katla ANDERSDÓTTIR RB/RWB, Bay City United
Key defensive cog - and occasional creator - in Chen Huikang's legendary CdC-winning Bay City United side has been not quite the same since the heart of that team got ripped out by the Flight 134 tragedy. Frankly, we shouldn't have been expecting any Kytlerians to be.

6 Zachary EDWARDS-HILLIER* CDM/CM, Galatica (PAS)
At the heart of this team's rebuilt midfield thanks to being one of the foreign-based players who weren't in the doomed squad, Edwards-Hillier is an enforcer who will chase after anyone and anything to get the ball and then distributes it nicely once he does.

7 VICENTE Bautista Oleandro CM/CAM/LM, Miposojeon (QUE)
Has been the face of this national team since it was refounded. Usually lives in the left half-space, where he's a threat to curl the ball directly goalwards with his right foot or into the danger zone with either. A Q-League champion with Miposojeon, he's the one Kytlerian who truly might be amongst the best players in the multiverse.

8 Stijn BEVERWIJK CM/CAM, Florley Garden City
A true number 8 wearing the right number, his combination of first name and ability to read the game has given him joking comparisons to Kytlerian chess star Stijn van Dijk. The difference is that Beverwijk hasn't taken a step back in the last couple of years like van Dijk has.

9 Charles PACKARD ST/CF, Aardswood United
The first of two big NSL repatriations this transfer window, Packard thrived at Olympia Borograd - but the team were a defensive disasterclass (99 goals conceded in a 30-game season!) and have been relegated from S&T's Superklasse despite scoring a credible 51, 20 of them Packard's. A tall, physical striker with well-rounded skills, he is the no-doubt Kytlerian number 9 for the foreseeable future.

10 Hjördis SIGURDSDÓTTIR CF/ST/CAM, Aardswood United
Fun-sized forward who has operated as Aardswood's "false 10" to devastating effect since being signed by Thomas Hooker shortly before getting the call to manage the post-Flight 134 NT. Always a difficult player to track with her elusive movement in the final third, and not just because of how tall she isn't.

11 DINO AZAR* LW/ST, Florley Garden City
Quebecois-Kytlerian-Tamazghan tri-national who loves bangers. And also sausages. And also other food. But mostly bangers. Has taken entirely too many long-range shots in his career, but quite a few of them have turned into memorable goals. Most often deployed as a weapon off the bench for the NT.

12 Vanessa ANDREWS GK, Florley Garden City
First female goalkeeper in the NSL, then the first to represent her country, and showed plenty of signs of warranting it in the last couple of seasons. At 175cm, her relative lack of height and reach can be exploitable but her excellent positioning and reflexes help offset that, and she's also impressive on the distribution front.

13 PARK Si-Woo LWB/CDM/LB, Capitolians
Missed the fatal Flight 134 squad through injury and has arguably been suffering on some level with the survivor's guilt ever since, but still a highly valued member of the squad with his ability to play as either an attacking left-back or his now-established club role at the base of midfield. Has mostly played the former role under Hooker, but now likely the second-choice option at both spots.

14 Tinna RAGNARSDÓTTIR CM/CAM, Foothillers
After being part of an elite tandem with the late Blær Patreksbur at Foothillers, she has now become simply the heartbeat of the team herself, forming another elite tandem last season with Kelssek loanee Renée Batori as the Climbers secured a stunning IFCF spot. A box-to-box midfielder at a high-altitude club, unsurprisingly stamina is her calling card.

15 Alex ELLINGTON RW/RM, AFC Carroll Lewiston
A late-blooming talent perhaps held back in the past by the emotional vortex of gender dysphoria, they have taken a big leap in recent seasons to become a central part of this stunning Magicians ascent and now the typical first choice at what has looked a weak spot in the post-Flight 134 NT.

16 Stephen HUNTER CB/CDM, Roddens City
The twin brother of Flight 134 victim Brad. Feeling the urge to build on his lost brother's legacy, he has settled in as a core piece of the national team squad as a versatile option who can be deployed as a ball-playing defender or a holding midfielder.

17 Joke FELTKAMP RW/ST, FC Alaer
Pulled out of that trip to Arrosia to settle in with her new teammates at FC Alaer, unsurprisingly struggled mentally at first, but now looks close to the level that allowed her to survive seasons plural in the Red League as a wide poacher who can do the dirty work too.

18 Liam KEMPNER RB/RWB, Aardswood United
Having played under Hooker for the Aardvarks, he's continued to thrive in the same system since Amelia Ibsdóttir took over. It's not a coincidence that there's this many Aardvarks in the squad, though Kempner's more of a solid depth option who might not be an obvious pick but for that system familiarity.

19 Davíð SVENSSON RB/CB, Foothillers
The opposite of Vandome in a way; has generally been seen as a right-back but his thriving club career has been central, albeit on the right of a back three. Either way, he's quality cover for Vandome and the two might plausibly play together in something like their club roles, with Vandome pushing forward from the right and Svensson covering as a wide centre-back.

20 Joanne WALGRAVE LW/LM/ST, Bay City United
The other homecoming of this window, and an emotional one it was as she returned to her teenage club (rejecting a move to Katzeburg in the process). Forever to be remembered for the memorable, chaotic injury-time winner against Aphrilia that kickstarted the Kytlerian WC97 breakout, which actually was an apt illustration of her ability to find pockets of attacking space.

21 ZORNO-ZORNO Bux LB/CB, Florley Garden City
The Qusma-Kytlerian teenager is the sole member of the most recent U18WC side to make the step up to the senior squad. Their name might sound like a particularly dubious cryptocurrency, but with their strong defensive instincts they're a key part of the Gardeners' block chain.

22 Mario MANGIONE* SW/CB, Calcio Carmina Burana
Plunged into notoriety with his career-ending tackle on Quebecois star Anna Korniloff-Kouyate in the Cross-Strait Derby with Real Santa Mordana, but he has proper talent to go with his merciless aggression against anyone he has a grudge against. Positively lethal as a last line of defence, he can also play killer balls to hit you on the break.

23 Dennis ODINSSON GK, Foothillers
Some have seen him as the key to the Climbers being able to take the unexpected leap to the top five and the IFCF spots. He's certainly the key to why this squad - unthinkably even a few years ago - has zero Big Four goalkeepers.


Potential starting XI (4-1-4-1): de Beukelaer; Andersdóttir, Vandome, Okney, Einarsson; Edwards-Hillier; Ellington, Beverwijk, Sigurdsdóttir, Vicente; Packard.

Kits: All Margaret green (RGB 10,90,3) with yellow and dark blue trim for the home kit; all white with Margaret green trim for the away kit; all yellow with dark blue horizontal stripes on the shirt and Margaret green trim for the third kit.

If my opponent RPs our match first, I give them permission to:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes, but tread carefully and perhaps TG/DM first.
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes, but mostly to the players marked.
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes, but only to the players marked.
Godmod other events: No

Style modifier: -0.984

[Kwrpania]

Players

Manager: Dobgazoz-bof (Reptokmwt, 57, 17W 8D 8L, +11 GD)
Style modifier: +4

#   POS Name                                            Hometown    Age Ft  Club                      Caps    Goals
1   GK  Pykpyzwba-nam   Pykpyzwba-masrynropeka-namys    Ropekwbros  19  L   Tranquility             2       0
2   RB  Synydwb-pyt     Synydwb-masegdwb-pytag          Mebfygme    26  R   Dynamo                  25      1
3   CB  Bezypman-bof    Bezypman-masvenzemsw-bof        Kwrpanmap   21  R   AFC Edencliff           4       0
4   CB  Fandwrsw-vyz    Fandwrsw-masvenzemzwb-vyzwf     Tydebwg     24  R   Ironworks               21      4
5   LB  Mamzwb-bab      Mamzwb-masfakswr-babez          Bezbenpam   19  L   Sindvpore FC            25      1
6   RM  Fyrek-nam       Fyrek-masynydwb-namys           Vańmybom    20  R   Tranquility             0       0   
7   CM  Magnws-rab      Magnws-masdenrefwp-rabka        Bezbenpam   22  L   Bay City United         24      4
8   CM  Vabwpetob-zok   Vabwpetob-masgagwpwt-zokoz      Tygnad      25  L   Central                 26      5
9   LM  Pabofen-nam     Pabofen-masatwmpetob-namys      Gwfezpep    23  L   Central                 4       1
10  ST  Magnws-rym      Magnws-masreńebme-rymon         Tydebwg     25  L   Wolfsberg FC            25      22
11  ST  Rynropeka-gyv   Rynropeka-masmepesw-gyv         Gypedovat   20  R   Roddens City            0       0
12  GK  Pytwr-map       Pytwr-maspykpytyr-maprws        Tydebwg     22  L   Ironworks               1       0
13  GK  Fakswr-rof      Fakswr-masgagwpwt-rofaf         Megbwg      27  R   Mist Valley             26      0
14  FB  Pykpytyr-byz    Pykpytyr-maspabofen-byzop       Kektynenza  20  R   Mist Valley             0       0
15  FB  Fyrek-nam       Fyrek-maskonosw-namys           Debfyzpep   19  R   River Society           0       0
16  CB  Petobsw-nam     Petobsw-mastaftyr-namys         Kwrpanmap   25  R   Sunset Coast            25      1
17  CB  Magnws-pes      Magnws-masrynropeka-pesmo       Fwdrenybed  20  R   KNAF                    0       0
18  WM  Pykpytyr-myf    Pykpytyr-maspetobzoz-myfe       Sazdobsed   23  R   National Fisheries      19      3
19  WM  Nenzabyv-nor    Nenzabyv-masdomov-nornap        Tygnad      23  L   National Fisheries      0       0
20  CM  Vabwzyb-kes     Vabwzyb-maspykpysw-kesym        Fwdrenybed  20  R   AFC Carroll Lewiston    0       0
21  CM  Venzemzwb-myf   Venzemzwb-masrynropeka-myfe     Gwfezpep    21  L   Central                 2       0
22  ST  Denrefwp-bok    Denrefwp-masmepezwba-bokdo      Bezbenpam   20  L   Capitolians             0       0
23  ST  Vabwpro-pyt     Vabwpro-masfakswr-pytag         Bezbenpam   22  R   Emerald Coast Raiders   25      13

---

Style

Deriving from the fast-flowing and powerful river that dominates the nation, Kwrpan football aims to be equally rapid – players will most often look to get their head up and drive forward as quickly as possible whenever they receive the ball. Kwrpan fullbacks are especially a point of pride – a truly rigorous developmental process creates the stamina required to make overlapping runs dozens of times per game while still maintaining defensive duties - but Kwrpan players are extremely positionally flexible, and generally capable of playing across their entire line. Kwrpan fans have little patience for defensive football – while some managers have seen success in the Bright League with more pragmatic strategies in the past, fans have repeatedly made clear that they would rather lose 4-3 than win 1-0. This leaves Kwrpan teams extremely exposed on the counter-attack, especially against higher-level opposition.

---

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:

Choose my scorers
Godmod scoring events
RP injuries to my players* (please TG/DM me to let me know, I determine severity)
Give yellow cards to my players
Give red cards to my players* (up to 2, please TG/DM me to let me know)
Godmod other events* (TG/DM me if they're interesting, I'll usually approve)

(Also available for contact on the NSSports discord)

Notes:
Kwrpan naming convention is [given name]-[House prefix] for shortened names, and [given name]-[patronymic]-[House] for formal names. You should not use the formal names in any RP, except when referring to government ministers and politicians, but referring to e.g. GK #1 as "Fakswr" is not acceptable - it must be "Fakswr-rof".

[Tikariot]

PRESENTS

Hello! My name is Andarra Belfrage and I am a footballer in Tikariot. You may have heard of me, some have called me the "Silver Phantom" or Tikariot's biggest hope or hyperbole like that. What I actually am is, well, me.

Why are we here? Okay, where is "here" in the first place? Here is Alcassar. Capital of Tikariot's westernmost province, Acrassia. Hot, humid, basically the Antichrist of preparation for a football tournament. See, it's Copa Rushmori time again, and the last two editions, Tikariot won! Yay us. Last one I was a part of, when our federation decided to give the "Ride of the Valkyries" a second shot, a team of all girls. Guess who's back?

So, this 49 Copa is taking place in The Kytler Peninsulae and Kwrpania and the peninsulae just happen to be right across the border from here, so our homebased is actually on home soil. Riveting, right?

The plan is to attempt a threepeat, which, so far, only Nephara have managed, so no pressure at all, right? Our group is, once more, a doozie. The Kytler Peninsulae, Bohr, Norrhem, Mytanija and Gatchingerrak Union. Also known as 8th, 12th, 23rd and 25th, with Bohr being the only unranked team. Maggie really knows how to pick them.

Are we a very experienced team? Hell no! Seven girls haven't had a single cap, I have the second most with 31 and I'm 21. You do the math. The only one who has more caps is Tanis with 48. But, we have something that other teams, hopefully, don't. A spirit of "I don't give a crap what people expect from us, we'll just do our thing." Hey, it worked last time.

-----

God, it is hot here... I thought Port Rho was bad during summer, but this is like next level. Humid, muggy, why would anyone willingly live here?

The distance from the bus to the training complex, where we also sleep, is not far, but stepping off the bus is like walking into a wall of Ugh. The fans don't seem to mind, so, they're waiting out here, autograph and selfie time!

-----

Coach Brian McAllister: "Alright, ladies, here's the room plan, you're paired two by two. Belfrage, you're with Motyka. You are the most patient of all of them, good luck."

Wioɫeta walks up. "Come on, I'm not that bad!"

May I introduce, the young lady who caught the hearts of an entire nation last time. Wioɫeta Motyka, dubbed "Chaos Incarnate." Why? Oh man, where to begin... Imagine, hm, imagine honeycomb. All uniform, orderly, pretty. Now, imagine the exact, polar opposite and you have Wio. Or as some now seem to be calling her, Wiolence. Where most footballers are like a perfectly catalogued library, wonderfully in order, she is absolute chaos theory. Her coaches have given up trying to include her in any tactics because she'll break them anyways.

Oh! Oh! When you prepare for a shot. You try to weigh, how big is the chance of it actually going in, should I even try. Wio is "fuck it, one way to find out." And it works. Terrifyingly well. You know those players where the commentators always say are a nightmare for defenders because they have no idea what she'll do. Yeah, us teammates don't know either. In one training match last Copa, she tackled me to get the ball. I was on her team!

-----

There is a board with the starting eleven for the first game against Bohr. Let's see who we got. Magda in goal, yeah, that was a given. Defence. Ildy, most taciturn person you'll ever find. But by the gods, if she's on to you, she'll follow you to the changing room. Tanis and Solfroy, the red wall. Two of the cutest and sweetest girls in football, but may the gods have mercy if you have to play against them. You'll feel it the next day. And then Annsof. Where you can barely get a word out of Ildy, you will try to find a mute button with Anna. She just won't shut up.

Who's with me in the middle. Leo. Our equipment guy's nightmare. Imagine having to fit "Dufour-Vandenberghe" on the back of a jersey. Bubbly, fun, one of the metalheads on the team. Jadra in the middle, one of the debutantes. Finally escaped the Carathyr bench and will start for Vna-Chuhul next season. She deserves it. Going to be interesting to see the game against Mytanija, since she's half Mytanar.

Upfront, Wio, there's no way she wouldn't start. Mirae, another newbie, half Quebecois. Or Shingoreonite something...? She's a fierce one. If there's a chance she might somehow get to the ball, she'll try. And then Lucretia. She's the girly girl around, but she's just as happy to get dirty, too. Lucretia. Do we actually have a nickname for her? I don't think so... Strange.

-----

Oh, the World Baseball Classic folks are stationed here in Alcassar, too, maybe we can meet up at one point. Would be cool. But tonight, let's explore. And hope nobody gets arrested...

"Hey, Tanis, Taaina, Cass? I'll count on you to help me keep those spring chickens at least somewhat under control, okay?"

Tanis almost chokes on her water. "Spring chickens? Does that make us the mother hens or what?"

"Hm. Good question, maybe?"

Cass rolls her eyes. "You make it sound like we're in our 40s..."

"Sorry, but hey, you three are the most responsible, so pretty please? I don't want them to run riot before the first game."

Taaina nods, "Yeah, yeah, we'll keep an eye on them. But you get Wiolence."

I sigh, "Okay, guess I'll be her chaperone. Someone's gotta do it. Do we have leashes anywhere...?"

-----

I love old towns. This is beautiful here, so many little street vendors and carts, yards and terraces. If only it wasn't like a sauna, but hey, we can tell the fitness coach that we got a good sweat session in. Now, where is food?

"Leo? LEO! Find anything yet?"

Léonie-Alexandra has climbed onto a lantern post to scan. "Over there by the gate! I see skewers galore!"

Immediately all the girls, who had been scattered about, descend upon the poor vendor. Well, someone's going to be doing good business tonight!

-----

"God, I think that last skewer must have been bad or something," Geneviève groans as we're on our way back to our compound.

Elia snorts, "Viève, you had like 20 of them! Where did you put all of those?"

Geneviève swallows hard. "I'm sure two of them are down in my calves and..."

Where is Motyka? Shit! Did we forget her somewhere? I wish I had a leash on that woman! "Leo, Tanis, Solfroy, search party! Wiolence is missing!"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Tanis rolls her eyes.

We turn around and try to retrace our steps. "She has been unsupervised for at least 20 minutes, she could be anywhere."

Leo perks up. "Wait, I hear something. That's Awaiting the Last Dawn. I bet, she's there. Let's go!"

I have no idea what on earth she is hearing, but we follow her to a club in the basement of a strip mall. Good LORD, this is loud! How are we supposed to fi-- Ah, there she is. On stage. Of course.

We push our way through the crowd. No, no, NO! Don't!

She jumps off the stage and into the crowd. She's dead. No, crowdsurfing. Why... Why... WHY???

Tanis and Solfroy intercept her halfway across the crowd and carry her to the exit

Wioɫeta complains, "Hey, we're not done with the gig!"

The two redheads don't let go, though. Solfrid sighs, "Wio, just because you managed to get on stage does not mean you are part of the band!"

With a groan, Wioɫeta admits defeat by going slack, letting the two defenders just carry her out. "Fine."

This is going to be a long tournament...

I need a leash!

[Norrhem]

Style modifier: +3

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes (just please be reasonable)
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (again please be reasonable)
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes (same deal)
Godmod other events: Maybe? (Please TG in this case)

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Group stage MD1 results

NOTE: All Group A/B scorinations are by The Kytler Peninsulae; all Group C/D scorinations are by Kwrpania; this will remain the case throughout

GROUP A
Kwrpania 1–0 Oberour Ar Moro
Eastfield Lodge 0–0 Kordavia
Savojarna 1–3 Pasarga

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Pasarga                 1    1   0   0     3    1   +2     3
2 Kwrpania                1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
3 Eastfield Lodge         1    0   1   0     0    0    0     1
  Kordavia                1    0   1   0     0    0    0     1
5 Oberour Ar Moro         1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
6 Savojarna               1    0   0   1     1    3   −2     0


GROUP B
Olastor 3–0 Concordia
Captina Island 1–1 Valladares
Yuezhou 1–1 Darmen

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Olastor                 1    1   0   0     3    0   +3     3
2 Captina Island          1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
  Darmen                  1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
  Valladares              1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
  Yuezhou                 1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
6 Concordia               1    0   0   1     0    3   −3     0

GROUP C
The Kytler Peninsulae 3–0 Gatchingerrak Union
Bohr 1–3 Tikariot
Norrhem 2–1 Mytanija

                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The Kytler Peninsulae    1    1   0   0     3    0   +3     3
2 Tikariot                 1    1   0   0     3    1   +2     3
3 Norrhem                  1    1   0   0     2    1   +1     3
4 Mytanija                 1    0   0   1     1    2   −1     0
5 Bohr                     1    0   0   1     1    3   −2     0
6 Gatchingerrak Union      1    0   0   1     0    3   −3     0

GROUP D
Three Golden Kingdoms 5–4 Zenic
Sargossa 2–2 Qusmo
Pridnestrovia 2–0 Montagne Noire

                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Pridnestrovia            1    1   0   0     2    0   +2     3
2 Three Golden Kingdoms    1    1   0   0     5    4   +1     3
3 Qusmo                    1    0   1   0     2    2    0     1
  Sargossa                 1    0   1   0     2    2    0     1
5 Zenic                    1    0   0   1     4    5   −1     0
6 Montagne Noire           1    0   0   1     0    2   −2     0

[Yue Zhou]

THE UNITED REPUBLICS OF YUEZHOU
COPA RUSHMORI 49 ROSTER
月州联合共和国 - 国际足球队

It was supposed to be a new era for the Dragons after Elaine Ashdown's nine-year tenure in charge of the national team, which brought the Dragons third place in the Copa Rushmori and their first-ever quarterfinal appearance at the World Cup. Legendary Mytanar manager Lev Repin, last seen bringing Chromatika within ninety minutes of the World Cup, was brought in to finally turn Yuezhou into consistent winners. In the first cycle, they came within a hair of defeating Farfadillis in the World Cup octofinals and making the Copa Rushmori final. But both times, they fell at the final hurdle - half-Lit™ Jia Luka Siski winning, then stealing, then missing a penalty against Farfadillis that would've completed a historic octofinal comeback raised so much uproar that the young striker was dropped entirely. And this was followed up by a humiliating failure to qualify for WC99. CR49 represents Repin's last tournament at the helm before his contract runs out - and it's unclear where Yuezhou can go from here.


Badge and kits designed by Txakhaxi's Tahuatxi Storefront.


Home, Away, and GK kits designed by Tahautxi. See the video reveal here.

FAST FACTS

Nickname: The Dragons
Manager: Lev Repin (MYT)
Captain: Zhao Deliang
Vice Captains: Kara Mingsdottír Zhang, Huang Han
Penalty Takers: Kara Mingsdottír Zhang -> Songwei Milosevic -> Dong Yichun -> Leona Tsang -> Zhu Tianming
Formation: 3-4-1-2
First-choice Starting Lineup: ZHAO Deliang (Atletik); Esekíel Zeminsson YAO (Ararat), ZHAO Fan (Mazinaw Vanorian), JI Wenwei (Myana); Gía Ansdottír LIN (Tekstil), ZHAXI Jianzan (Serrapince), DONG Yichun (Kirkenes), Songwei MILOSEVIC (Felsenkirchen 1879); Kara Mingsdottír ZHANG (Liria); Leona TSANG (Myana), ZHU Tianming (Beian Bats)
Surnames: Generally written before given names except for certain dual nationals; e.g. Wan Sheping's surname is "Wan" and his given name is "Sheping". The Chinese characters are also listed for starters' names.
Style Modifier: +2.25

RP Permissions:
Preferred Goalscorers: None preferred, feel free to consult the below guide for help
Godmod scoring events: TG/DM before doing so
RP injuries to my players: Yes (I determine severity)
Godmod injuries to my players: TG/DM before doing so
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes, TG/DM if more than one
Godmod other events: TG/DM before doing so
Other: If you plan to RP the match extensively, please mention by players by name (as opposed to “the Yue striker…” or similar). Please consult me before using images meant to represent my players.

MOST LIKELY TO...
Score a Goal - Leona Tsang, Kara Mingsdottír Zhang, Songwei Milosevic
Score from Distance - Kara Mingsdottír Zhang, Songwei Milosevic, Zhu Tianming
Assist a Goal - Kara Mingsdottír Zhang, Huang Han, Leona Tsang
Score off a Header - Esekíel Zeminsson Yao, Zhaxi Jianzan, Leona Tsang
Win a Free Kick/Penalty - Leona Tsang, Kara Mingsdottír Zhang, Songwei Milosevic
Get Sent Off - Zhaxi Jianzan, Esekíel Zeminsson Yao, Gía Ansdottír Lin
Get a Yellow Card - Zhaxi Jianzan, Esekíel Zeminsson Yao, Zhao Fan
Come Through in the Clutch - Kara Mingsdottír Zhang, Songwei Milosevic, Leona Tsang

thanks to Mytanija for providing this information.

3-4-1-2 – IN POSSESSION
In possession the 3-5-2 becomes almost a 3-2-5 with the wing-backs pushing high up the pitch to operate in what would almost be traditional winger positions. They are tasked with staying wide to provide the midfielders with options out on the flank, this should also keep the opposition players stretched across the pitch in their defensive shape which would open up spaces in more central areas. The two strikers will rotate in dropping in between the opposition defence and midfield whilst the left-sided central midfielder will look to push into spaces that are vacated by opposition defenders. This is done in this way because the striker who drops deep may drag an opposition defender into a midfield area and leave space for the left-sided central midfielder to run into. The central midfielders will be tasked with recycling possession and trying to pick passes from the middle of the pitch, they will also make late runs into the penalty area to try and pick up any loose balls around the edge of the box. The three central defenders will push high up to the halfway line to squeeze the pitch and keep opposition forwards far away from the goal in case of a loss of possession. Defenders that are comfortable in possession will be allowed freedom to dribble forward if the opposition stand-off them as this could make it easier to progress the ball and could commit opposition defenders which would create space for other players.

3-5-2 – OUT OF POSSESSION
If the ball is lost, both wing-backs will work hard to immediately get back into defensive positions, almost forming a back five with the three central defenders. Both strikers will work hard to press opposition players, willing to give away fouls to prevent the opposition from counter-attacking at speed. Whoever plays as the left-sided central midfielder midfielder may join in with this pressing but against strong opposition they may also drop deep to form a midfield three with the other pair of central midfielders to try and stiffen up the centre of the pitch. Towards the halfway line both the central midfielders will press and try to push the opponent into wider areas with the aim being to either trap them on the sideline or to encourage an aimless pass from the wide position into the middle of the pitch where there are more players. If the opposition manage to counter quickly then the wide central defenders will look to engage any players breaking down the sides of the pitch whilst the man in the middle of the three will shift across to cover them. The central midfielders will also tend to drop very quickly leaving only the attacking midfielder and strikers higher up the pitch.

COACHING STAFF

Manager: Lev REPIN, 71 (MYT)
The YFA moves from one legend of the game to another: Repin, after 177 caps with Mytanija as a fullback during his playing career, has become one of the multiverse's best-known managers. After returning his home country to the World Cup, he then moved to Chromatika, where he took the Anomalies to the World Cup Final. Both incredibly passionate and tactically innovative, Repin will hope to bring a third national team to success as he takes over the Dragons on a two-cycle contract.

Assistant Manager: YUAN Mingrong, 42
A legendary center-back for Ararat and the Yue national team, Yuan now makes his coaching debut with the national team he captained for several cycles. He'll be expected to focus on the defense and the locker-room, although unnamed sources have suggested he's also being groomed to be the next Dragons manager.

Assistant Manager: CHEN Haixuan, 56
The up-and-coming Chen Haixuan earned the job after managing Beian Rovers from lower midtable to the heady heights of...also lower midtable. He's at least a likeable guy who should help communicate Repin's vision and keep things friendly in the dressing room, and will serve as a valuable bridge between the Ashdown and Repin administrations.

Goalkeeping Coach: Ursula GAVARIS, 49 (NPH)
Yue National Team Goalkeeping Coaches have been very in-demand lately, with Lu Qiang headed to the Red League and Ming Xilang off to Quebec. The Dragons will hope that the Zenith veteran who last kept goal for Alliance Barossia won't follow in their footsteps too quickly.

GOALKEEPERS

#01 - GK - ZHAO Deliang (赵德亮) - 37 - Atletik Thessia (MYT)
A former goalkeeping phenom who won a historic Golden Ball (both in terms of position and age) en route to Jiangdong's first league title in years before becoming even more successful abroad. A cool, confident, and physically imposing general on the pitch, albeit a bit traditionalist in playstyle.

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substitutes are listed in descending order of likelihood of starting.
#12 - GK - Elaine XU (f) - 32 - Newark Argyle (TMB)
Known for her distribution as well as her heroics outside of the penalty box, Xu's family escaped to Tumbra at the outbreak of the Yue Civil War, but the young, flashy goalkeeper is now back. She was expected to present a long-term challenge to Zhao Deliang's starting spot, but Zhao's ascension into a higher level, combined with the emergence of a number of other young goalkeepers, threw her future with the national team into question despite steady success at the club level. Continued strong play in Tumbra has, for now, kept her as the steady #2 to Zhao.

#79 - GK - Timofei TRISCHUK-HUANG - 29 - Z'ai'ai (CMT)
The son of former South Newlandian NT captain Mikhail Trischuk, Trischuk-Huang is a lanky, athletic shot-stopper with flashes of passing talent. Calling him up early ensured the Newlandians wouldn't get him for the Campionato, but he's now a solid starter abroad and a genuine threat to take one of the spots on the World Cup Proper roster.

CENTER-BACKS

#36 - CB - ZHAO Fan (f) (赵範) - 30 - Mazinaw Vanorian (KSK)
Excellent on-ball skills for a defender, with her passing especially solid, but can be overly rash to tackle. Still, despite her aggression, she's rapidly grown into a key piece for the surprise Tumbran champions before moving to Kelssek, and she's quickly grown into an integral part of the Yue defense.

#27 - CB - JI Wenwei (纪文薇) - 28 - Myana (CMT)
A young but surprisingly polished center-back who anchored Royals' title-winning defense before heading abroad, Ji has well-honed defensive instincts and positioning. There are concerns that he's a high-floor, low-ceiling prospect who lacks the athleticism needed to become a world-class defender, but he's managed to overcome his relative slow-footedness with smart tackling and elite situational awareness.

#44 - RCB/RB - Jason Yuanjunsson REN - 28 - CF Outineau (KSK)
A sturdy, hard-working right-back known for his tactical fouls. Theoretically has the ball skills and tools to be useful on the attack, but hasn't quite put them together. Has taken the number 44, the first Yueren to ever do so on the national team, after his initial request to take #4 was flatly denied by the YFA.

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substitutes are listed in descending order of likelihood of starting.
#05 - CB - Esekíel Zeminsson YAO (姚真君) - 30 - Ararat Severyan (MYT)
While he's not quite a BFG, Esekíel Yao is still quite physically imposing, and compensates for average speed with strong defensive instincts, good short-range passing, and the ability to perform under pressure. Does have a prospenity to foul in dangerous areas and overrate his own passing instincts, but one can hope that'll go away in time. Idolized Yuan Mingrong growing up, and was given Yuan's #5 after playing by his side for two seasons at Ararat.

#30 - CB - Paris HUANG (f) - 26 - Century Mertagne (MRT)
A smooth operator across any defensive position, the Mertagnian dual-national finally makes her Dragons debut after an extended pressure campaign from the YFA. Huang's greatest asset is her versatility, both in position and in playstyle, making her the ideal defensive super-sub.

#26 - CB - Aldar Yuansson GUO - 27 - Bay City United (KYP)
Half-Yue but still quite the BFG, with a strong intuitive ability to get in the right place at the right time. Leveraged a strong season with Korsbach to join half-countryman Chen Huikang in the Peninsulae.

FULLBACKS

#02 - LB - Gía Ansdottír LIN (f) (林积仁) - 28 - Tekstil (MYT)
A very athletic, talented young fullback, but one with much stronger defensive than attacking instincts. Her leadership and sense of positioning could make her future club captain material, but she'll need to cut down on fouls and develop a crossing game to reach her full potential. Has been through a lot in her young career, from double-relegation as a teenager in Ko-oren to blatant sexism in the Kytler Peninsulae, but enjoyed a breakout campaign in Mytanija.

#13 - RB/RWB - Songwei MILOSEVIC (米松伟) - 29 - Felsenkirchen 1879 (STL)
Born to Mytanar steelworker parents in Beian, Milosevic is industrious off the field but made waves with a high-flying, attack-minded take on the rightback position. While still raw, his incredible endurance and strong ball skills could make him a great modern fullback. Since taking over from the retiring Dong Xiaowang, he's entrenched himself as a premier starting right-back who - despite Kara Mingsdottír Zhang's plaudits - might quietly be the team's best player.

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substitutes are listed in descending order of likelihood of starting.
#14 - LB/LWB - HUANG Han - 34 - Istria City FC (BNJ)
An energetic, pacy wingback who thrived as a crosser in Olympic Nangang's three-at-the-back system, before excelling both as a winger and as a fullback in the proving grounds of Kelssek, where he earned consideration for Young Player of the Year with Torbay Thunder. Now in the S-FPL, the only remaining questions around his game are how well it will age.

#38 - RB/RW - LI Xiangyu - 32 - Nangang Royals
A pacy fullback whose penchant for pushing forwards with the ball helped add a new dimension to Royals' title-winning attack. Somewhat weaker defensively, but will present a nice change of pace from the more methodical Yuanjunsson Ren.

#19 - CAM/CM/RB - Maximillian WEN - 28 - Miruan City FC (TKT)
A swiss-army-knife of a player that has quickly endeared himself to his team's fans and Elaine Ashdown alike. Wen's biggest strengths are his versatility and tenacity. But he's far from a high-motor, low-skill player, having shown advanced playmaking talent in Tikariot.

HOLDING MIDFIELDERS

#29 - CDM/CM - ZHAXI Jianzan (f) (扎喜坚赞) - 33 - Serrapince (TMB)
A hard-nosed defensive midfielder who will do anything on the field to win - and who has the athletic ability and field vision, if not a full suite of on-ball tools, to make it happen. Not related to Zhaxi Nanlei.

#17 - CM - DONG Yichun (f) (董依纯) - 28 - Kirkenes (KSK)
A metronomic presence in midfield from a young age, with some flashes of creativity. Has quietly become one of the best Yue midfielders in the world after a surprisingly good season with Kirkenes, with an inability to be pressed that the Dragons sorely need from their midfield options. Made her breakthrough to the starting lineup under Repin in his first cycle.

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substitutes are listed in descending order of likelihood of starting.
#28 - CM - GUAN Teying - 29 - Millsburgh Revolutionaries (TMB)
A smooth, metronomic presence in the center of the pitch, Guan's next developmental step will be to hone his defensive instincts - something he's already made great strides at in Nephara before heading to Millsburgh.

#80 - CM - Brynjólfur Zhenyasson ZHANG - 30 - Crossroads (CMT)
Born and raised in Græntfjall, but the son of Yuezhou NT midfielder Zhang Zhenya, it was anyone's guess who Zhang was going to declare for. Just like Kara Mingsdottír Zhang (no relation), though, he opted for the side with a paucity of talented young midfielders. After returning to Yuezhou at his father's urging and surprising everyone by becoming the linchpin of Royals' attack at a young age, he headed to Chromatika to further prove himself. A dynamic 8/10 hybrid who moves quickly with and without the ball, and who offers relentless energy on the defensive end. Dropped out of the NT midway through World Cup 96 due to the stress of the situation in Græntfjall, but seems to be back to full strength - and now has a Red League title under his wing as well.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS

#08 - CM/CAM - Kara Mingsdottír ZHANG (f) (张白兰) - 33 - Liria Prizren (MYT)
The YFA spent a lot of time and effort convincing Karolíná Mingsdottír to declare for Yuezhou's national team instead of Græntfjall's, but it's become apparent that the young midfielder was worth the trouble. A well-rounded midfield prospect whose speed and technique makes her devastating on the counterattack, and who has a propensity for scoring wondergoals. At Liria, she became one of the world's premier midfielders - but her progression as a player has stalled somewhat in recent years, and she'll be looking for a legacy-defining cycle before hanging them up.

---

substitutes are listed in descending order of likelihood of starting.
#10 - CAM/SS - YAO Liwei - 28 - TK Korp Mynda (BNJ)
An excellent runner on counterattacks and a dynamic and willing passer, somewhat in the Tao Beiliang mold. Similarly to Tao, doesn't do much on defense, and was moved progressively upfield by his coaches after starting his career as a #8.

STRIKERS

#09 - SS/LW - ZHU Tianming (朱天明) - 33 - Beian Bats
A versatile attacker most at home in a false-nine role, Zhu's physicality lets him hold up the ball before using his surprisingly good passing chops to distribute to teammates. He's not blazing fast, but he's quick and shifty enough to also play an inside-forward role on the wings, popping up when you least expect it to latch onto a cross or head home from close range.

#21 - ST - Leona TSANG (f) (曾巧珠) - 28 - Myana (CMT)
GS+'s best young player in the world is now a Dragon, accepting Elaine Ashdown's callup in controversial fashion two caps short of being tied to the Cormorants. Her speed, dynamic off-ball runs, and ability to score from anywhere make her difficult to pin down, especially with Kara Mingsdottír Zhang feeding her a steady diet of through-balls for the foreseeable future - as long as she can stay on the field, having already dealt with a succession of ankle injuries during her national team tenure.

---

substitutes are listed in descending order of likelihood of starting.
#11 - ST/RW - ZHENG Hong (f) - 33 - Jinja City FC (BNJ)
A hardworking and athletic attacker, Zheng still lacks a bit of finesse and can look quite awkward at times. Still, she always seems to get the ball where she wants it to be, and she's actually quite the composed finisher if you look at the xG.

#31 - RW/CAM - Liljan Álfarsdottír ZHOU (f) - 28 - Kirkenes (KSK)
Not especially fast, but agile and skilled: Zhou can be a bit predictable at times, loving to cut inside, but has all the ability you'd want in a modern winger. Her surprisingly good playmaking has earned her a second look as a rotational #10 in Repin's system, in addition to a potential starter if the Mytanar opts to change formation.

#33 - ST - Sienna LI (f) - 30 - Rolalas FC (VAL)
A Nepharan dual national, Li grew up idolizing Liu Huiying and definitely adopted some of the ex-Corvistone star's game to her own. Stronger, less agile, and more of a traditional nine than Liu, but still likes to drop deep and distribute when the opportunity presents itself.

[Savojarna]

Savojar Roster for Copa Rushmori 49

RP PERMISSIONS

STYLE: 1.5

Choose Goalscorers: Y
Godmod Scoring: N
Injure Players: Y (no longer than the rest of the tournament)
Godmod Injuries: N
Yellow Cards: Y
Red Cards: Y - not more than one
Godmod other events: N

I am open to discussing all RP permissions via TG or Discord, if you have a specific plan.

TEAM

STAFF
Coach: Nikolai Kruul Jensen (54)
Assistant Coach: Morten Poulsen (47)
Nikolai Kruul Jensen has led Partisan Sjoedrhavn out of a difficult rebuild back into the light, using a three at the back that he has experimented with in the youth outfit. Now, he brings similar tactics to Savojarna, demanding his players pressure the opponent and try to win the ball back in midfield. Kruul Jensen has managed to bring together an underperforming Partisan and showed in the SFS that he is adept at managing the different egos and playstyles in a team with expectations, but it remains to be seen whether he can form a stable Savojarna after a lengthy absence from the international scene. He is joined on the bench by a legend of the Savojar game: Former Northlights playmaker and captain, and Partisan Sjoedrhavn one-club-man and legend, Morten Poulsen followed his mentor and former coach Kruul Jensen to the national team. The duo survived the SFFB’s ban from the international game, and were re-hired to lead the Northlights once again.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers

Nr.	Pos.    Name	        Club                 	M/F	Age
1	GK	Jonas Hilde	Libertas Bergheim	M	32
12	GK	Andrei Hattanen	Dynamo Sjoedrhavn	M	23
23	GK	Ilja Lysenko	Lokomotive Jarnstad	M	28

Jonas Hilde has been mightily unlucky in his national team career. Having served as number two in waiting behind Partisan legend Aleksandra Virulainen first and then CASK’s Olga Valujev second, he was set up to take over the Northlights goal right as the SFFB copped its three year suspension from international play. Now, he is already late in his career but more motivated than ever, ready to take on the world with his smart positioning and strong play with the ball on his foot. Measuring 196 cm, he isn’t the quickest, but can leverage his long arms for great shot-stopper moments.
Behind him, it’s an open race for the number two slot between Andrei Hattanen - U21 keeper at the time of the suspension, and starting goalie for Dynamo - and Ilja Lysenko, Lok’s last man coming off a strong season with the Jarnstad side.

Defenders

Nr.	Pos.	Name                	Club                 	M/F	Age
2	LB	ODGEIR Halldorsson	Dynamo Sjoedrhavn	M	27
22	LB/LM	Anastasia Mitrjusjkin	Libertas Bergheim	F	25
4	CB	Kenneth Röysveit	CASK Thorsborg         	M	30
3	CB	Hedvig Riksdal  	Tihon United (CMT)	F	27
20	CB	Sören Kjaeresund	Partisan Sjoedrhavn	M	26
13	CB	Boris Nazarenko        	Lokomotive Jarnstad	M	29
14	CB	Alvar Karlsson   	Lokomotive Jarnstad	M	20
5	RB	Valtteri Virtanen	CASK Thorsborg         	M	30
15	RB/RM	Jekaterina Ivanov	Traktor St. Andrei	F	24

The name standing out the most here is a name from the pre-ban days: Savojarna captain Kenneth Röysveit. Röysveit, who played at AFC Treason before the end of Nephara’s Zenith and then returned to CASK Thorsborg. Used to playing at the highest possible level, he remains a leader. His physical presence is usually coupled with players who are more comfortable with the ball on their foot. Standing out here are Hedvig Riksdal, the only other player with international experience, as well as Partisan defensive leader Sören Kjaeresund. Nazarenko mainly backs up Röysveit’s role, whereas Alvar Karlsson is a talent from Lok Jarnstad’s defensively minded youth program.
On the wingback positions, Savojarna have a talented and clean, balanced option in Odgeir Halldorsson of Dynamo Sjoedrhavn, and a more offensively minded one in Mitrjusjkin. Expect Odgeir to start against more offensively strong teams, and Mitrjusjkin or even a left midfielder against defensive opponents. On the right, Jekaterina Ivanov is a mainstay of the SFS who has been long expected to move to a top team, but stayed with her youth club over the years. She is expected to start for the most part, with Virtanen being an experienced shutdown option.

Central midfielders

Nr.	Pos.  	Name            Club             	M/F	Age
6	DM	Knut Bö         Lokomotive Jarnstad	M	32
16	DM	Rjurik Olsson	Lokomotive Jarnstad	M	20
8	CM/DM	Anton Vitol	Libertas Bergheim	M	27
17	CM	Elina Vantanen	Admiral Storevik	F	26
19	OM	Kjetil Holm	Partisan Sjoedrhavn	M	26

Knut Bö is the bane of every creative midfielder playing against Lok Jarnstad. Known as “the bulldog”, he runs after every opponent he can see and won’t let go until he has the ball or his opponent is on the ground. Despite his comparatively short stature at only 173 cm, he is a relentles fighter and can easily go a full 90 minutes at full speed. Alongside him, Anton Vitol and Elina Vantanen both provide ball carrying and distributing options, with Partisan playmaker Kjetil Holm being the only primarily creative central midfielder in the lineup. Rjurik Olsson is a backup to Bö and provides a physical addition, but is primarily here to collect experience at the international level.

Wingers and forwards

Nr.	Pos.	Name                	Club                 	M/F	Age
7	LM	Arkadi Kornilov  	Partisan Sjoedrhavn	M	24
21	LF	Arnstein Greidshov	Libertas Bergheim	M	20
11	RF	Björn Dageby    	Libertas Bergheim	M	23
18	RM	Helene Falk      	Admiral Storevik	F	30
9	ST	Tarje Eggeshöv  	Partisan Sjoedrhavn	M	25
10	ST	MY MÄKELÄ       	Lokomotive Jarnstad	F	25

On the left side, Savojarna will likely rely primarily on Arkadi Kornilov, the creative dynamo of Partisan. Running up and down the left side, he is known to collect balls deep in the midfield or even on a wingback position, and good at finding clever passes to his colleagues; scoring has never been his strongest suit. Behind him, young breakout talent Arnstein Greidshov provides an option for that. A player who can shoot well with both feet and whose raw speed and talent is enormous, Greidshov has emerged as a constant threat, but sometimes struggled with finding his place in a system. On the right side, Helene Falk is a mainstay of this side. The Admiral Storevik winger impresses with very accurate crosses and passes, and a good backtracking record. She, too, has a more offensive alternative in Björn Dageby, who can play as a striker in a pinch.
Talking of the strikers, My Mäkelä has been breaking into the national team as a young talent at the time of the ban. Now, the speedy Lokomotive forward is back as a more well-rounded player, not only able to use her pace to beat defenders but having added a clinical finish to her game as well. Partisan’s Tarje Eggeshöv can add some brawn to the equation. Playing the physical target man to a hanging striker in his club, the Partisan forward has the skills to win balls and play a more defensive role as well as the ability to punch through a tenacious defence.

STARTING XI:

ROLES
Captain: Röysveit - Riksdal - Falk - Hilde
Free Kicks (direct): Kornilov or Mäkelä (depending on situation)
Free Kicks (long): Vitol
Corners: Falk
Penalty Kicks: Mäkelä

KITS

Designed and manufactured by S-style

[Oberour Ar Moro]

beep, beep, beep-

The left hand of Bartholomew Jeanteaud fumbled out from under the covers and silenced the alarm. The seven-segment LED read 4:10.

4:10 in the morning. Not a single photon leaked through the window of his small room.

Being a morning person was, in Bartholomew’s mind, a kind of superpower. It made him more capable than the "don't bother me until I have my coffee" types who finally got in gear around 10:30. Still, even he recognized that this was an absurd time to get up. But hard-earned lessons got him up this early. Otherwise, he couldn't get to use the shared bathroom first.

Shower caddy in hand, he stepped out into the hall. It was silent and empty. The shower was his to luxuriate in.

The cost, he thought as he lathered shampoo into his brown hair, was being in bed with lights out at 8 PM sharp each night. His co-workers still asked him if he wanted to do karaoke, or join a trivia night team, or just have a few drinks in the evening. But no. Freakishly early to bed. Freakishly early to rise.

Teeth brushed, face shaved, he returned to his room. Day 67 of 92. Two-thirds the way through his shift.

As he emerged from his room again, now in polo, slacks, comfortable shoes, and his oh-so-important ID badge on a Sericia University of Science and Technology lanyard, some of his co-workers were starting their days. He said some hellos to the weary faces he passed on his way to the cafeteria. A television tuned to Antenne News murmured the day’s news to the early risers as Bartholomew picked up a plate and grabbed scrambled eggs and ham, and a cup of coffee.

He found himself sitting across from his co-worker Meric Rocque, as dreary as always. Meric wore a Floor 6 badge that indicated he worked on “Chronometric Stabilization” three levels deeper than Bartholomew. They chatted about the Copa Rushmori that had kicked off the day before in Kwrpania. Oberour Ar Moro lost, which was no surprise to Meric, a known cynic about the Dragoons.

At 7:00 sharp, Bartholomew threw away the cold remains of his breakfast, returned his tray, and made one last trip to the restroom. He grabbed his gray, waterproof, facility issued coat and a messenger bag from his room and headed outside for the waiting bus.

He was halfway up the bus steps before he realized. He’d forgotten his lunch. He apologized to the line behind him, then turned and hurried back to the cafeteria. He grabbed a box lunch: Turkey and cheese wrap, pasta salad, apple slices, sugar cookie, and a bottle of water.

"You'd hate to be in The Yoke without that," laughed the armed guard at the top of the bus stairs when he got back. Bartholomew sighed without humor.

“‘Morning, Nomen,” Bartholomew said in response, pulling off his ID card and handing it to the guard. The guard looked over the ID card, ran it through a handheld scanner, observed the result, and handed it back. As Bartholomew stepped past, Nomen made a mark on his clipboard.

Bartholomew gave the man and the loaded sidearm on his hip as wide a berth as possible.

As the bus slowly set off on a tight mountain road, Bartholomew slipped wireless earbuds into his ears and queued up music for the ride.

"Long wum hum, I don thin hm hm hm," he half-sung along with the rock song under his breath while he read his tablet. The sun briefly attempted to peer through the bus window before it was hidden by another peak.

The bus finally shuttered to a stop outside a metal building abutting a mountain side. From the bus' front windows Bartholomew could see the taillights of the night-shift bus receding into the mountains for the long trip back to the residence. He stood up and waited in line until the guard could scan his ID again and let him off the bus.

And then into the facility. He found his assigned locker along the wall, hung up his coat and bag, and stored his oh-so-precious lunch in the enclosed cooler. He then got into the line to pass through check-in and enter the mountain through the 0.96695 by 2.29337203 meter door carved into the rock.

The door led to a rectangular room inside the mountain. According to the last internal report, it measured 2.92254291 meters tall, 124.77402 meters wide, and 64.0030007274 long.

A stairwell at the far end of the room led to another 2.92254291 meter tall, 124.77402 meter wide, 64.0030007274 meter long, rectangular room. Identical to the first room.

A stairwell at the end of this room led to a further 2.92254291 meter tall, 124.77402 meter wide, 64.0030007274 long, rectangular room, exactly identical to the two rooms above.

And on it continued.

For 100 floors.

That they knew of.

[Zenic]

That was less than ideal.

Those were the words repeating in Geraldo Zys' mind. The Survivors had just arrived in Ranford and were settling into their hotel accommodations a few days before their game against Montagne Noire. Yet the game against the Three Golden Kingdoms in Roddens was still on his mind.

What should have been a strong start to another potential deep run in the Copa Rushmori turned out to be one of the biggest shocks in the tournament since......well, since Zenic won the tournament as the lowest ranked team ever at 38th. Was it a guaranteed win? No, nothing in the Copa is ever a given but Zenic should have done better. Maybe it was the unique implementation of a traditional formation that threw off the Survivors' balance? Or the slightly more balanced ages across the starting lineup that gave just the right amount of youth and experience? Did the squad not get enough time to adjust to The Kytler Peninsulae compared to their opponents?

Zys was having a bit of trouble finding answers partly because it wasn't a blowout or shutout. In one of those situations, the answers would be pretty obvious but a 5-4 back-and-forth was a bit harder to diagnose what went wrong. They didn't even get off to a bad start: Cecil Maruscak must have been motivated by rumors of a potential move as he struck first in the 18th minute to put Zenic up early. They followed it up shortly after with a header from Thuan Byford for a 2-0 lead heading into the 30th minute. Soon after, the Three Golden Kingdoms struck back with a Zhao Zemin 3 minutes later. 1 minute into stoppage time at the end of the first half, Chang Hui collected the ball in Zenic's box and found Xu Zihao for the equalizer.

Were Zenic a bit stunned going from 2-0 up to tied at 2-2? Yes. Had they been in similar situations before? Of course. Could they recover to get the win? Geraldo Zys sure hoped they could. And for awhile, it looked like they would. Nakazawa Shuji managed to get a cross off into the box where it found Nelson Seamons, of all people, who managed to put it away rather haphazardly for the 3-2 score. Then it went all downhill from there. A poor pass from Hank Devor allowed Pan Yuhan to lob the ball forward to a recently subbed in Feng Xiuying on the counter. A bit of fancy footwork on an one-on-one against Burley Trac gave the striker just enough space to get a shot off and past Saúl Mosley to tie the game again.

After a few like-for-like substitutions (Pekko for Trac, Anton for Devor, Vasil for Seamons), Zys believed they had gotten enough fresh legs in the midfield and defense to afford to go forward and go for the 4-3 win. Tian Jiang had other ideas for their squad. A sloppy tackle from Kian Hodge, forced by the aggressive push by the Three Golden Kingdoms, gave Xu Zihao their second goal of the game thanks to a penalty. Before Zys could do anything to equalize the match again, Wu Zhihao was able to get some space near the edge of the box and use the mass of humans in front of goal as a wall to block Mosley's vision and net his squad's fifth goal of the game. In the waning minutes of the match, Sumida Nori was able to take advantage of the Three Golden Kingdom's sluggishness in setting up after a wave of substitutions and bring the game to within 1 goal.

Unfortunately, Zenic could not get that vital 5th goal to at least salvage a draw and are forced to start the group stage in 5th place. Luckily, their two most dangerous opponents, Sargossa and Qusmo, drew so they hadn't fallen too far behind but did need to make sure that Pridnestrovia did not run away with one qualifying spot and force a three team race for the other spot. Now, he was forced to learn from his squad's mistakes as soon as possible and prepare for Zenic's next game against Montagne Noire. Good news: they'll be able to understand anything their opponents say. Bad news: their opponents are sapient dogs that know how to play futbol. Zys had seen a lot since becoming the national team manager but it always felt like something new would get thrown at him every cycle. He had faced a few sapient animals and objects but he never recalled dogs.

He wondered if he could exploit the heigh disadvantage in their favor somehow.

[Savojarna]

OOC: This happens a short time after Cup of Harmony 89, the last international tournament Savojarna have participated in.

SavojarSports.sj - Savojarna's Sports News Website

Savojarna Out!

Written by Simon Karlsson

Sjoedrhavn - Savojar football fans are no strangers to a shocking 90 minutes or slightly more. Last minute defeats to Vilita, overtime heartbreak in the Copa Rushmori finals, and plenty of WCQ heartbreak has made the Savojar fandom more than familiar with spending that time getting a sinking feeling in their stomachs. But rarely has it felt as bleak as this noon, when the shock didn’t come on pitch, but in the press room of the Palais Gyldenkrans, the seat of the Executive Commissioner on Culture, Education, and Sports. Rarely is the last one in focus, but it was today when EC Magdalena Erlander (KPS-I) shocked the Savojar football community at exactly 11:02.

“Over the past year and a half, our Commission has investigated repeated reports of corruption, nepotism, and rule-breaking in the Savojarsk Futbalförbundet. The results of this investigation have been sent to the Commission last week. Our report, which will be released to the public in the next month, has revealed shocking patterns of abuse of power. Statements made by witnesses strongly suggest that both current SFFB chairman Grigori Simunov and his predecessor Kristian Ullqvist have spent millions of Kronor to get their position, and several club leaders have indicated that this investment has paid off in the form of bribes, invitations, and shoulder-rubbing required to gain any sort of resources from the SFFB. Multiple high-ranking offices have been given to people with previous connections to the Chairman. We have opened criminal proceedings against Simunov and Ullqvist on multiple charges of corruption and embezzling of public money related to the promotion of youth football, the construction of the National Centre for Football Development, and the renovation of the Nationalstadion Carl Gustaf Bjurman. In relation to these findings, we have officially suspended the SFFB’s membership in the National Council of Sports. This means the SFFB ceases to be the national representative of football in Savojarna”.

It was just a short statement of about ten, maybe fifteen minutes, but it felt like the equivalent of conceding two or three goals in the first fifteen minutes of a match. The rest of the press conference consisted of a mad scramble of questions from sports journalists in attendance, and the sinking realisation that as of now, Savojarna has no national football authority and as a consequence, no national team. What are the consequences of this unprecedented move for Savojar football?

Will Savojar football continue to operate?

The good news for fans is that the SFFB is not directly involved in running the professional game. The Savojar Football League, split off in 1991 as a consequence of full liberation and professionalisation, is organised as an independent collective under the control of the professional clubs in Savojarna. While the SFL leadership has already announced their collective stepping down and the SFFB’s voting rights in the SFL Council have been suspended, the authority will keep operating, and so will the professional game. They also have agreed to take over operation of the Nationalligaen, which is currently under the SFFB’s operation.

The amateur game likewise will continue to operate, as it is mostly organised by local and regional authorities that are, as far as we know now, untouched by the corruption at the top of the SFFB. But it is as of now unclear whether the Savojar Cup will be played next season, or whether the Regional Finals - organised by the SFFB - can go through. The Regional Division 1 has also been under the SFFB’s leadership, but the Chairpeople of four of the five regional associations already announced intention to cooperate to organise the RD1.

What’s happening to the National Team?

As of now, the national team will likely have to miss out on the following World Cup. It’s both unclear who would be qualified to govern the national team, and unclear whether the appointment of the National Team leadership - in particular, General Manager Anton Ljungberg, Sports Director Tanja Houtiainen, and the coaching team - has been done according to good governance standards. Commissioner Erlander has stated a strong commitment to maintain as many activities of the SFFB as possible by directly controlling some of its operations, but the international footballing authorities already signalled this would risk Savojarna a suspension from international play. The IFCF has also already threatened suspensions of Savojar clubs due to persistent issues with fan violence and financial misrule, both of which are likely affected by bribery in the leadership of the SFFB.

What comes next?

Erlander has announced that the SFFB is currently suspended as the official representative of Savojar football. While the government does not have the ability to stop it from operating as an independent entity, multiple powerful people within the footballing scene - including multiple club leaders, who now have control of the SFL, and the two leaders of the Adyatska and Southern Vestrholm Regional Federations - have indicated a willingness to work with the government to create a new, more clean federation. Erlander presented two tentative plans. One aims to implement a civil servant as a caretaker Chairman of the SFFB while internal reforms and investigations are ongoing, with the hope of electing a new independent leadership in two to three years. The alternative is to have the SFL and the regional federations create an entirely new association, which would apply to represent football in the Savojar sports structure. This is a more risky approach that might take more time, but has the advantage of creating a fully independent structure.

Either way, football in Savojarna is about to be shaken, and likely will have to do without international involvement for at least one, if not two World Cup cycles.

[Captina Island]

Captina open new era with CR draw
The Captina Company Press Association

The Captina Company National Team have kicked off their latest campaign with a 1-1 draw against Valladares, signaling the beginning of the next phase of Manager Jonas Yarborough's tenure.

While the veteran backbone of the squad remains listed on the team sheet the new generation of players that will carry the Rosso e Oro into the future are getting the minutes in the starting lineup.

Natalia Zucchi scored the lone Captina tally while Alfonso Parmander saved 7 of the 8 shots that found the target, but the side failed to get a second score that would've brought all three points; as it turned out they trail only Olastor in the Group B table--who are next up on the schedule--with the top two seeds Darmen and Yuezhou also drawing their opening match.

[Pasarga]

It felt good to get the competition started out with a win, especially against a foe who looked far more tricky than their pot might have indicated. Thor knew first hand that the Savojar people were a proud lot and would not stand about to be pushed around like a minnow fresh to the scene, they would put up as stern as fight as they could and make you earn everything from the match. That they had done, keeping the Wanderers pegged level for almost an hour despite the side from Dual Islands getting out to an early lead thanks to a goal from Katinka Fazakas in the fourth minute, a goal that might have been the start of a snowball against lesser foes. Yet three minutes later the opposition bared their teeth and striker Tarje Eggeshöv managed to put a goal past Rudolf Klarić in net to bring the two sides level. It had been on a counter attack and seemed to shake the side up, caught them perhaps while they were still in the midst of celebrating the early goal and stopped that impetus that might have otherwise taken place. The gauntlet had been thrown, it was up to the Wanderers to find a way to overcome it.

Thor had to admire the effort of the Savojar team, to go two cycles between appearances and having had to shake off a major corruption scandal in order to get back to playing in international tournaments. Few associations are able to recover from that sort of major blow to the heart, usually a corruption scandal is the first step on the road to complete and total sporting and even political isolation that usually never seems to lift. Here they were though, defying the odds in being able to overcome such an obstacle and to put forward a team that was quite worthy of competing at the regional championship. They might not have the talent to be a bookies favorite to win the tournament or even make it out of the group but they had shown incredible heart and resilience to even be standing on this pitch and competing against the Wanderers and the rest of the group. Though the odds might have said that they were favorites to be leaving at the end of the group stage, they had already won by being able to compete in this tournament in the first place and Thor was sure that in the coming years they would return to being a regional power once more.

Yet that would be a time that was not now and in the second half, shortly after the hour mark, both of his starting strikers would grab a goal within five minutes of each other to put the Wanderers ahead by two. The team would never look back and missed out on an opportunity to add another goal or two in the last few minutes when the tired legs of the Savojar outfit really started to show, their lack of playing at the highest levels the last few years and for the better part of the last decade had betrayed their efforts. While they had the fighting spirit to continue on, their legs were not at the place they should have been for an international game and the Wanderers simply began to overrun them in the midfield and then keep the possession away from them. While another goal or two would have done wonders for the goal difference and give the team even more of a good look after their first game, it was not to be with veteran keeper Jonas Hilde ensuring that the Savojar side would escape their encounter with their pride in tact even if they were not coming away with any points from the tie.

Now came the hour of doom though, the hour of which Thor knew that a judgement was going to be made about him and his tenure at the helm of the Wanderers, as they prepared to take on the top seeds in Oberour Ar Moro. The pot one side was stunned by the host nation in a one to nothing game that started the entire tournament and has put them behind the eight ball, having perhaps already had the only game they could afford to drop points in and still advance in the first game. The Wanderers meanwhile had nearly a perfect start to the campaign, getting three points and doing so fairly comfortably in the end. Thor did not have the best track record thus far in his tenure at getting results against other top ranked sides, side who were as good if not better than his own. This match was pivotal not just for the group and ensuring that the Wanderers would have the inside track towards getting out of the group but also towards his chances of getting an extension after the end of the World Cup. The team needed at least a draw but Thor felt like he needed a win to show the big wigs at the PFA that he had the program moving in the right direction and was building the team back up to be championship contenders once more.