IAC 26 - EDSMONTIK/CRPOSTRAN - EVERYTHING THREAD

by **Seeberg** » Thu Jul 30, 2026 3:44 pm

Snippets from the Seebergundian, or, rather, the Brinterbergian, press after the Horkenheimers’ historically successful IAC26 group stage.

Brinterbergundia Daily

FußBall

Horkenheimers crush opponents in display of pure Seebergundian dominance!

By: Helmut von Ostermann

The shining path of Seebergundian superiority continues to burn brightly and illuminate the darkened minds of lesser nations and civilizations!

Jawohl!

Once again, the might of Alfred Schmidt’s men, and the young giant Andreas Vollmer first among them, has proven to the world that the proud men of Brinterberg are unmatched in the ways of FußBall.

In der tat, the truth and prudence of fielding a team made up exclusively of men and boys from fair Brinterberg can no longer be questioned. Alfred Schmidt has shown, without any doubt, that this is the way, as taste and decency dictates it should be.

The folly of Ludvig Adorno’s previous miscarriages has never been as evident. If you mix dirt and gravel into finely grained flour, your Sunday loaf will cripple your teeth and grind your jaws to a halt! And that is precisely what Adorno has done with Seebergundian FußBall by encouraging the integration of provincial and capital players into a common unit.

Wahnsinn and Verrücktheit!

Glücklicherweise, those days are gone!

Now, the forceful 4-3-3 Brinterbergian-Horkenheimer phalanx showed no mercy in dispatching the feeble grunts of Croblade, as they had done to Saterunites and Vonumites before.

And courtesy of wunderkind extraordinaire - Andreas Vollmer - the Horkenheimers added another three strong and righteous goals to their total tally. With four goals in each of the first two matches, young Vollmer has now scored 11 goals! Surely this must be some kind of magnificent Global FußBalling record!

Truely, Horkenheimer dominance makes the remainder of this little tournament a pure formality and…

The Brinterberger Beobachter

FußBall

Despite progression, Vollmer’s heroics fail to hide a team in shambles

By: Jürgen Schlosser

The Horkenheimers continue to collect points at the 26th IAC.

After having already secured group stage progression with victories against Vonum and Saterun, the mannschaft managed to snag another three points in their final match against Croblade, and thereby end their group stage journey undefeated.

This is of course grounds for cheering with joy.

While The Horkenheimers have survived IAC group stages before, never have the team done so undefeated and with an impressive 11 goals scored.

However, for anyone who has been paying attention, it is easy to see that were it not for the sheer grace of Lady Fortuna, capable goalkeeping and the fearsome left foot of Andreas Vollmer, we would all be witnessing a very different set of results.

It is painfully obvious that Seebergundian FußBall at large struggles greatly with keeping up with the tempo and physical requirements of Global FußBall.

11 goals scored is no doubt miraculous, but it is perhaps rather the 7 goals conceded - and the embarrassing 8 yellow cards - that we should concern ourselves with.

The Horkenheimer midfield is sluggish and outright feeble in trying to gain and keep possession. The defending four are far too slow and too often get caught off guard.

Friedrich von Hohenberg’s goalkeeping has at times been outstanding, and with 7 goals conceded that should surely be enough to tell everything you need to know about the state of the Horkenheimer defense.

Andreas Vollmer is a force of nature. It is truly remarkable and inspiring to see a Seebergundian FußBaller give such performances at the stage of Global FußBall, but how far can one boy carry a team of substandard level in…

Algemeine Newspaper

FußBall

Ludvig Adorno to take charge of VfB. Brinterberg in upcoming 11th Seebergundian SuperLiga

By: Helga Schroll

It was announced today that Ludvig Adorno, the former Horkenheimer coach, will be taking over coaching responsibilities at the Pentagram of Slopes, as the club from the northeast of fair Brinterberg aims to build on their successful 6th place finish in the 10th Seebergundian SuperLiga…

by **Rovenza** » Fri Jul 31, 2026 3:35 am

Four-Goal Masterclass Sends Rovenza Through

Tristan de Cunha 2-4 Rovenza
Goals:
Tristan de Cunha: 16’, 38’
Rovenza: Ugetha 52’, 89’, Arnolds 73’, Wilan 80’

The Republic of Rovenza has written a remarkable new chapter in its footballing history, completing an extraordinary comeback to defeat a Tristan de Cunha side 4–2 and secure a place in the Round of 32 of the IAC.

“We just kept on believing,” said the manager, David Alfrederick. “We never faltered even when 2-0 down, we just thought it’s not over yet and we managed to comeback. We never give up, no matter how hard it seems.”

At half-time, hopes of progression appeared to be fading. But Rovenzans never give up. Trailing by two goals and facing elimination from the tournament, Rovenza returned to the pitch with renewed determination. What followed was one of the greatest forty-five minutes the national team has ever produced. Four unanswered goals-two from Zayne Ugetha, one from Zachary Arnolds and one from Alex Wilan- transformed despair into celebration as supporters watched their side overturn a seemingly impossible situation.

Interview with Zachary Arnolds

Reporter: What changed during the second half?

Arnolds: We focused, switched on, and began believing. I think the fact we were 2-0 down helped us, because it gave us something to fight for. We realised just how much we wanted to win.

Reporter: What was it like in the dressing rooms after the final whistle?

Arnolds: Elation. Pure elation. No-one thought we would reach the knockouts and we did, so we were happy to prove them wrong. It was a party there.

Reporter: Thank you for you time.

The victory completed an impressive group-stage campaign for the tournament debutants. Having been drawn from Pot 4 asan unranked nation, expectations were modest. A narrow 1–0 defeat to the top seeds was seen as an excellent result was followed by a disciplined 0–0 draw against the Pot 3 side, a game which failed to meet expectations, leaving Rovenza with everything to do in the final group match.

The dramatic victory, coupled with Libesia's 2–0 defeat elsewhere in the group, lifted Rovenza into second place on goal difference and booked an unexpected place in the knockout stage.

Zachary Arnolds:
“It means so much to represent Rovenza and all the fans watching us at home. All the players are so proud to have delivered a Round of 32 game for the supporters.”

Only days earlier, questions had been asked about whether the national team could translate its attacking philosophy into tournament football. Those doubts have now been emphatically answered. After drawing a blank in the opening two fixtures, Rovenza erupted for four goals in the match that mattered most, underlining both the resilience and attacking quality that the Rovenzan Football Association has long sought to develop.

Across the nation, celebrations continued long into the evening. Town squares filled with supporters waving green, white and gold flags, while car horns echoed through city streets as news of qualification spread. At Northern River Stadium, where fans gathered to follow events from afar, chants celebrating the national team continued well after the final whistle.

From the Stands
Charlie Dark, football fan: It’s incredible. When we were 2-0 down I was disappointed, thinking that we could’ve down more. But to win 4-2… it’s absolutely incredible.

Harry Rech, football fan: To reach the Round of 32 surpasses all our expectations, we would’ve been happy with just scoring a goal. In our first international competitive tournament as well, it’s crazy.

Tom Yan, football fan: Of course everyone here’s looking forward to the knockout stage. A chance to prove ourselves against a team who made it past the groups. And it doesn’t matter how strong the opponent is, just how they perform in that 90 minutes.

Rovenzan football analysts such as Xander Harrison, Richard Elfwick and Michael Alli have already described the result as a defining moment in the nation's sporting history. More than simply reaching the Round of 32, the comeback demonstrated a quality that every successful football nation requires: belief under pressure. Facing elimination at half-time, the players refused to accept defeat and instead produced a performance that will be remembered for years to come.

The attention of the nation now turns to the Round of 32. Rovenza enters the knockout stage with confidence restored, a growing reputation on the international stage, and the knowledge that this young team has already shown it can rise to the occasion when everything is on the line.

David Alfrederick, team manager:
“We will celebrate this achievement, of course, but we will soon focus on the next match, because that match is incredibly important. Anything can happen, so we’ve got to arrive in full focus.”

One thing is certain: the football world can no longer dismiss Rovenza as merely an unranked newcomer. The nation has announced its arrival, and its tournament journey is far from over.

Squad for the Round of 32:
GK Sebastian Yorkeł

LB Matthew Langarth
CB Victor Athe
CB Edward Igerson
RB Richard Erthwight

CM Tom White
CM Zachary Arnolds (Captain)
CM Dorian Amia

LW Patryk Pezza
ST Zayne Ugetha
RW Alex Wilan

Substitutes First XI:

GK James Davidson

LB Adolf Pharel
CB Austin Kansa
CB Xander Lo
RB Harold Trethcall

CM Ivan Torris
CDM Edward Leth
CM Charles Markon

LW Finn Grotheros
ST Alexander Soțh
RW Carlos Quinya

by **Choppyhausen** » Fri Jul 31, 2026 3:53 am

"So, who's fault is it?"

"That we're out of the IAC already?"

"Yes."

"We could blame Aamathyr..."

"Why?"

"They didn't score enough goals against Tumnia for us to have a better goal difference than the Tumnians."

"How did they play against Tumnia?"

"2-1"

"How did we play against Tumnia?"

"1-1"

"Hm."

"We could also blame the hosts."

"Edsmontik and Crpostran? Why?"

"They used the amounts of goals scored as a tiebreaker in the groups which favors offensively minded teams."

"Like Tumnia?"

"Exactly."

"How many goals did they score?"

"Three."

"In three matches?"

"Yes."

"How many did we score?"

"Two."

"In three matches?"

"Yes."

"I think its our fault."

"It's our fault."

IAC 26 - Matchday 3

Safiloa
Choppyhausen

0
1

⚽︎ Haferkreis 63’

by **Aphrilia** » Fri Jul 31, 2026 6:14 am

MATCHDAY 3: BEAUTIFUL PERFORMANCE
Libesia 0 – 2 Aphrilia
(Ogot = 61' | Hosokawa = 15', Forrestal 30', M. Aston 79')

THROUGH AND CLEAR FROM HERE
A solid 2-0 victory over Libesia's Cheetahs puts Aphrilia atop of Group O and as the 10th seed for the knockout rounds. Truly a strong performance from The Anchors.

Though the match started out rather tame, things immediately heated up as Aguri Hosokawa was booked due to a bad challenge fifteen minutes in. As it was on the counter, Hosokawa likely made the tackle to compensate for her weaker defensive capabilities and to kill the momentum of Libesia's counter-attack. Fortunately, that wouldn't be Aphrilia's sole highlight for the first half of the match. Ines Forrestal scored to give The Anchors the lead with her signature 'go wide, cut inside' trick that she has become known for.

Half-time arrives, and Aphrilia were 1-0 up. Despite the fact that many people were worried at Aphrilia's potential seeding due to goal differential being the first tiebreaker (And with The Anchors being one of the most defensive-minded teams in this tournament), Aphrilia came out in the second half without any worry about it along with some substitutions. Yet despite Libesia's Jaramogi Ogot getting red carded due to a horrendous tackle substitute Kevin Lacey sixteen minutes in, it took another eighteen for Aphrilia to capitalize.

One of the other substitutes, Mike Aston, scores a free kick from just outside the box by going low. The wall jumped, and keeper Thusago Mothanka didn't react to the free kick going low. Aphrilia got the free-kick in the first place thanks to the tempo switching by Edward Elliot, who commanded the team to move quickly when they were moving on the offense. One rash tackle due to the speed change, and The Anchors got themselves a free kick that well could have been a penalty if Aston had moved any faster into the box.

Thus, victory was secured. Three wins atop the group and through alongside Rovenza as they claim victory over Tristan de Cunha in a great display, with Libesia fully eliminated.

And with that, Aphrilia would be placed within the Top Right half of the knockout bracket, which may prove to be a tough one. Defending champions Recuecn, consistent competitors Solgavden and Calgasia, and tournament hosts Edsmontik were placed in the bracket alongside the likes of Lionsroar, Serdtgyu, and Aphrilia's Round of 32 opponents Archalit. The Pirates survived what could be described as a chaotic group consisting of them, The Republic of United Marble Tribes, Bostopia, and Polaxia. They finished second in said group with six scored for and six scored against in the span of three games, finishing with a record of 2-0-1. Their sole loss came against Marbleland.

The Pirates themselves will prove to be an interesting foe, as they use an interesting 3-4-3 formation with a diamond midfield. Their team is known for having a relentless and aggressive pace, thus, many are attempting to predict how Aphrilia's own 4-4-2 Diamond will play out. In the post-match interview, team manager Leonardo Bianchi was given the question of what Aphrilians should expect in the upcoming knockout match against Archalit. Looking to rebuild the team's form after their Round of 16 World Cup exit, he answered:

"The Pirates are a team in their own rebuild, and I'm certain they're hungry for a result. But we'll do our best as a team, regardless of our opposition. As we always should."

OOC: My take on a Saint Eleanor styled Group of Six meeting, as I was quite inspired except it's much shorter and with only five people... Hope you don't mind it much, Tin!

Convergence of the Pentagon (I)
Participants: Leonardo Bianchi, Joseph Alan, Amelia Haze - - - Jessica Rhine-Faust (C), Edward Elliot

TAKEAWAYS AFTER LIBESIA
* HOSOKAWA does well when: A. Given the opportunity to drive forward and B. Has someone reliable to finish her chances. LACEY was subbed in somewhat too late for that.
* GRACE-HOLTZER remains invaluable, adapting well to Christonson's destroyer style of play. Good performance and further solidifies her starting position.
* Solid goal from ASTON. One of our best players late into the game, may prove to be useful in Extra Time matches.
* Past two games proves it was right to start KEIKAIN to allow him to adapt into the national team better. Competitive matches serve that purpose far above friendlies.
* FORRESTAL on form as always. Must make sure she doesn't mentally exhaust herself, however.

TAKEAWAYS ON ARCHALIT
* Runners up from their Baptism of Fire, Cup of Harmony 86 Bronze Medalists. Currently in a rebuilding phase after 3rd place in the Kovatsk Cup.
* Team captain and star forward Madeleine Olson remains their best player. The rest of their line-up has been regarded by some as a mixed hand.
* Plays highly aggressive and fast football, all in the unorthodox but expected 3-4-3 Diamond.
* Exploits space and relies on capitalizing on possession, with their creativity placed upon a deep lying playmaker.
* Whilst certainly an interesting line-up, it is one that shouldn't be underestimated. Somewhat similar playstyles mean they may know how to counter us.

CANVAS AND BOTTOM-LINE
* BIANCHI believes the team should make sure to be able to maintain their defensive integrity. Handle the pressure, and make sure nothing gets past. GRACE-HOLTZER/CHRISTONSON duo to start again to mark certain threats and to have the man-to-man/zonal switching fluidity.
* ALAN holds some woes in regards to the full-backs, but believes the team can handle this challenge. BURNS starts for solidity.
* HAZE wants to ensure that The Pirates do not get any time or space for their creativity to flow. ALGRAVE-SCALESE to fulfill a situational man-marker role and ARTHUR-MORGAN to make sure that there is support for the former in the case our formation is blown wide open.
* RHINE-FAUST believes that the team can take advantage of the fact that Archalit uses a back three. SAUNDERS over KNACKE and HOSOKAWA for forward going and defensive soundness.
* ELLIOT has a feeling Archalit's offense may get a great shot or two. They surely have experience dealing with our type of backline. KACHEL in net for her shot-stopping.

FINAL STARTING XI v Archalit (L to R)
Kachel; Burns - Grace-Holtzer - Christonson - Saunders; Arthur-Morgan - Rhine-Faust (C) - Algrave-Scalese - Elliot; Forrestal - Villa

by **Tumnia** » Fri Jul 31, 2026 9:50 am

TBS Tumnian Broadcasting System

Welcome to IAC 26 at group matchday 3

were up against Tumnia vs Aamathyr

And we start

The aamathyr player Shovot gets the ball ambushing Kozlov and Shovot shoots it over semyonovov and their first goal

Tumnian fans boo

The President of Tumnia, Linichenko, Minsiter of Foreing Affairs, First Lady, Minister of Education and Chairperson of Tumnian Football Association do a thumbs down and boo at the aamathyr players to heckle them

Then
Olaatire has the ball in possession until Bas the Jawa screamed "UTTTTTTIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"

and charged into Olaatire injuring Olaatire

Bas gets a red card

Halftime
Sunthyrice subsitutes olaatire, Kozlov shoots and it gets into the goal pit they had one goal 1-1

TUMNIAN fans cheer, the tumnian vips cheer all tumnians in the stadium which is just 1500 people cheer

Time is nearing
Aamultire is charging,NIkolaev tries to tackle him ,shovot goes around and shoots the ball and they win the game
2-1

Tumnian fans scream and theyre angry they boo, jeer, the vips boo, jeer and say a lot of bad words about Aamathyr

Coach Smirnov screams NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

People cry

Semyonovov breaks things and goes to confront with shovot, kovalenko, makarov also titut the jawa, and nikolaev, popov and novikov, they argue with the other aamathyr players, bas tries to punch shovot but assitant coach yuri mazkarov cools down and escorts the tumnian team

A very bad day for Tumnia, the probabiltiy of war onAamathyr is increasing, Minister of Foreing Affairs Konstantin Kozalowsky believes IAC is rigged for Choppyhausen and Tumnia

BOOO Edsmontik and Crpostran

by **Sel Appa** » Fri Jul 31, 2026 11:40 am

The Turtles lined up in the tunnel of Olympikstadion for their third and final group stage match. They had already beaten Calgasia here to secure a place in the round of 32. This match would only be determining group place and seeding for the 32. The team was well-positioned, but another win would help secure or advance them further up. That said, coach Daviande decided to rest the starters for the knockouts.

Oddly, the team from Low income housing environment was not lined up next to them. In fact, no one could recall seeing any of the opposing players at all. It was strange. If they hadnt played Calgasia here and stood next to that team, they would have thought maybe they entered from another tunnel.

"Coach, uh, where is the other team?" asked Tobias Hart, the backup defender who was wearing the captains armband. Walter replied, "Thats a good question, I have no idea." He tried to ask some of the stadium personnel, but they didnt seem to know either. They could hear the muted cheers of a crowd in the stadium, but it sounded quieter than the last match.

The referee crew arrove and made their way to the front. The Sel Appan coach tried to get their attention, to no avail. This is getting weird, he thought. He had never seen something like this in his entire career. If they had not been here against Calgasia just ten day prior, it would have made sense. Perhaps the Low income housing environment team hadnt made it. They would have to forfeit, they clearly were at the other matches because none of the scorelines were 3-0.

Suddenly, they were all signalled to head out and began their march to the walkout music, the flag bearer at the lead. The crowd cheered, but again, it sounded quieter than ever before, maybe half as loud. As they came out into the light, and looked out onto the pitch, they were stunned to see that half of it was taken up by a massive array of rusted metal and rotten wood shacks tightly packed together. "What the hell is going on here?" "What the fuck is that?" "That is, how in the world?" The players looked around, confused. The stadium was half full of Sel Appan and other fans, who seemed to not notice or care that anything was amiss. But a little less than half of the stadium was empty. Playing before half a crowd would be embarrassing, and why couldnt those tickets go to people who wanted them.

The players looked to coach for guidance and he said "Lets go to the bench and talk to the refs." He told Tobias to go ask the referees what was going on. Shy as he was, he worked up the courage and strode over. "So what is the deal here?" The head referee looked at him and responded "Your guess is as good as mine, but there is a goal on the other side, and you have a goal here. Youll have to play unless you want to forfeit." Tobias looked around "But where is the other team?" The referee replied "I have no idea, but they have a low income housing environment set up, thats for sure. Lets get ready for kickoff."

Tobias ran back to the bench and explained what happened. "Are you serious?" "How are we supposed to play against this?" "If theres no other team, we should be scoring easily." They looked towards the shantytown again. "Im not so sure about that." Tobias warned. "It looks...a bit dangerous." While apparently unoccupied, the place was a labyrinth of metal and wood and other scrap materials hammered or laid together into the most horrid-looking hovels. Sel Appa had rough areas, but not this rough. And most poor, rural areas had been developed more and more over the years.

They did their warmups, but were jarred by the whole situation. Maybe the fears were right. Coach Daviande, ever the statistician was trying to figure out if this is what the other teams dealt with and how no one had told them. And also, how Calgasia had conceded a goal if this is what they had been up against too. After warmups, the referee blew a whistle and the team lined up in their positions. Tobias came forward for the coin flip, wondering how that would even work. "Heads or tails?" "Tails." Sel Appans always picked tails because the heads in most circumstances weighs slightly more and should land down. Whether it worked in the long run was debated by sports math researchers for years.

The coin landed on heads. Tobias was confused and then laughed, wondering how that would work. The referee whistled and then tossed the ball into the Low income housing environment end. Nothing happened. Tobias looked back and the team started moving up, curious and confused. "Alright, lets find that ball I guess." Nervously, they entered the ghetto, as it were, cautiously walking around and checking corners behind every dilapidated hut. "Hey, lets pair up." he called out, and they did so. He joined with Alex Cécile. Winston George with François Jean. Jimmy Kim backed up Vinny Perrault, while George Kingsford went with Clement Anders. That left Billy Orange and Olivier Roche.

Splitting up, they would cover more ground. They had to at least find the ball, then figure out how to score. It seemed like it would be easy, but whatever sicko came up with this had other plans. Each pair took a different route, looking up and down the alleys and roads. It was totally abandoned, but no one could shake the eerie, unsettling feeling of being there. It felt greasier and sketchier than anywhere any of them had ever been. Broken windows, dirt and grime, mud, litter everywhere. It was filthy. Ratty clothes hung up on lines in sideyards and backyards. Outdoor cooking areas, walls and doors patched up with cloth or tarps. What a wretched place.

Wandering around, it soon became clear this would be like finding a needle in a haystack. The ball could be literally anywhere. "What if its inside one of these...places?" Jimmy Kim called out. There was no response for a moment, and then the captain hollered back "Lets just look outside first. Well see about going in." Carefully, row by row they looked. Tobias realized they probably should have been marking their paths. "Hey, everyone grab a stick or something and drag a line where youve been, so we all know." One by one the player pairs picked up pieces of wood and metal and began to scrape the paths they took. It was rudimentary, but it worked.

Looking at the clock, it was already almost twenty minutes. How did time go so fast? Back on the bench, the other players were chatting, wondering what was going on. The entire Sel Appan half of the pitch was deserted, except for Cal Baleer, lonely and bored in his net. A vast expanse of empty grass lay in front of him. He was alternating between pacing around, doing more exercises, and leaning against one post or the other. He had absolutely nothing to do, but they had to protect the net just in case.

"Shouldnt someone have stayed with him?" Karlo Metassis asked. "Probably, but Tobes captain today." Sam Sabesić, the starting goalie responded. "Boys, this is the craziest shit Ive ever seen," the coach added. They watched helplessly as they heard muffled shouting in the distance from the on field players, and saw dust kick up on occasion. They couldnt see much, but the screens alternated between overviews of the players from the spidercam.

"Honestly, Im glad that isnt us, haha." Adam Bittler said. One by one, they all sighed and agreed. "I wonder who well be up against next," Arthur Cahse pondered. Daviande noted "Weve been looking this over and with seeding as they do these days, its difficult to say. Hopefully, they figure out a way to score. But as long as we stay in the top 16, we are in a good position, but ideally, better than that." He paused "You know, I wish I could sub one of you guys, so we could find out whats going on out there." The third string goalie, Manny Hamm, offered to replace Cal "He looks like hes going to lose his mind." "I might take you up on that for the second half, or if it gets really bad. Well see what he says at half time." And indeed, the clock was ticking thru the 30s.

The third official was standing at the midline, waiting for any action. It wasnt exactly clear how a player could be offside in a situation like this, but as with everyone else, he was obligated to be there. Meanwhile, the second official at least got to watch as the players quested for the ball in this morass. He wasnt sure where it was either. The referee had just tossed it in. Maybe it landed in a tight alley. Maybe it went into one of the structures. Maybe it disappeared completely.

The referee himself tried to maintain his diagonal pace, weaving around all of the derelict...buildings. He wondered where the ball was too, but the players would have to find it to score. He figured it was lost somewhere inside one of the ruins, and they would end up playing to a nil-nil draw. Boring, but it was a result. And with that, it was time to blow the whistle. No stoppage time would be needed.

"Ok, what was happening out there?" coach Daviande asked. Tobias reported back "Well, I lost the coin toss. I called tails, it was heads. So the ref just tossed the ball into the...uh...low income housing environment, and we, uh, went in to look for it." The coach was rubbing his chin in bewilderment. "And you couldnt find it?" "Nope, we split into pairs and marked where we went, covered just about every part, no luck." Walter inquired further, "What was it like in there? We got the overhead view, but that didnt show much." The skipper replied, "Pretty much the same as you see from the outside. Its so weird, a complete ghost town."

"Alright, so I guess we start with the ball second half. Get in there and score a few goals and well put this one away. When this is over, Im gonna call Rocky and tell him to find out what twisted bastards put this together. I cant believe Crpostran would allow this." He paused, "Cal, how are you holding up? You look bored out of your mind out there." The keeper stared back for a moment, before saying "Im conditioned at least, and I guess not facing any shots is a bonus." The coach offered "Manny said hed be willing to take the second half if you want a break."

Baleer thought about it and said "Sure, cant hurt. It wasnt the end of the world, but maybe leave him someone to talk to. That wouldve been nice, but I had no way to ask." Daviande slapped his shoulder and said "You got it," and then turned to the other players, "Ok, Im subbing in Manny for Cal, and then I want one of you to stay back with him. Itll also help in case we need an extra man back there. I shouldnt have left him alone. Hmm, François you stay with Manny. Anyone else need a sub?" The players all said no, they werent even that tired, just a bit traumatized and frustrated they couldnt find the ball in forty-five whole minutes.

The players drank their Turtleade and chatted about the whole situation, the active players letting the bench know all the sordid details. The captain and coach worked out a strategy to split into three groups of three: Hart, Cécile, and George; Kim, Kingsford, and Anders; and Perrault, Orange, and Roche. The strikers would move the ball in from center, and the other two triads would back them up on the sides. They werent sure what could happen, but wanted to have it all covered.

"Wait a minute," Tobias started, "if we score, the ball goes back to Low income housing environment, and then we have to find it again." Coach responded, "Thats a good point. Hmm, is that really so bad, if we score, then we win. You know what, dont score right away, give it a little time, and have the boys go for it when theyre ready, maybe around 60 minutes." The captain agreed to the plan and went back to tell the others. By that point, it was time to return to the pitch for the second half.

The team made their way back out to the pitch, and when they arrived, they were taken aback. The low income housing environment had been moved to the opposite side of the pitch. "How did they do that in fifteen minutes?" "I dont know, boys, lets just stick to the plan. If you need anything, send someone out and let us know. Manny, you good with Francky?" "Yeap!" "Alright, lets make this happen."

The bibbed players walked to the bench and the referee was informed of the substitution, as the eleven men strode out to their starting positions. What was a 4-4-2 became more of a 1-3-3-3. The ref got ready for kickoff and set the ball up with Vinny Perrault, blew his whistle, and Vinny kicked it to Billy Orange, who passed it to Olivier Roche. Finally, he thought, it felt good to kick the ball after so long. They passed it back and forth as they made their way in. Each took a few paces dribbling before sending it to the next one. It felt like warmups, and it was awkward having no one to stop them, but the low income housing environment loomed before them. They still had to make it thru that hellscape.

As they reentered the slum, they realized everything had been shifted to different locations. Whoever moved everything scrambled it all. The thought on everyones mind was What the hell is going on here? and they hesitated to go further. "Come on, lets take it slow. Remember, coach said we dont have to score for a bit." Vinny tried to reassure his teammates. The entire place looked like a horror movie set. At any moment, a demon or entity or zombie could pop out, or maybe one of the denizens of Low income housing environment.

There was more trash on the ground, making it difficult to maneuver. They had to dribble individually before they could pass. Every time they turned a corner, it seemed like they werent getting anywhere. How could this be so difficult? It was downright insane. The trio kept moving, trying to keep the clock and jumbotron in sight, which would at least guide them to the goal, but some of the sheds were taller and blocking the view, especially in narrow alleys. And every time they made progress, the maze took them back the other way.

"We should be marking out routes again." Olivier said "Hey, Tobe!" he waited for a callback. "Yea?" "Shouldnt we be leaving a trail again?" "Yea, youre right, shit. Well, lets start now." Each group picked up a piece of junk and began to leave a trail, as best they could around the debris. Ducking thru alleys and under clotheslines made it less than easy. If they were kids, this might have been fun. Most Sel Appans played football wherever they could, often using their mothers clotheslines as goallines. The mothers would be frustrated at their childrens antics, but also proud and hopeful they might become a star.

Nearly fifteen minutes had passed and they were still lost and only somewhat closer to where the goal should be. How Calgasia were able to score four times in this...environment was mind-blowing. Tobias and his triplet were mapping out their sector. They all thought it would be a fairly straightforward journey to score one damn goal, but after awhile, it felt like they were going in circles. If not for the trails they left, they would have thought they were. And it didnt help with rubbish piles strewn about, making it more difficult to navigate. They cut thru an alley thinking it would get them closer, and could help the strikers. As they were about to exit the alley, they heard a creak. "Wait," Alex Cécile said softly to the other two defenders. "What the hell was that?"

"Has to be the others." Tobias responded "Hey, who was that?" he called out. A long pause preceded a reply from the strikers, "Who was what?" Vinny replied. Not the answer they were hoping for. "Uh, guys." Winston George started, and then shoved the other two defenders forward as an avalanche of sheet metal and plywood cascaded down on top of them. "Shit, what the hell." Tobias wailed as he twisted the junk off of him. He looked over to see Alex trying to get a piece of corrugated metal roof off of himself. "Hold on, I gotcha," and together they were able to remove it. "Wheres Winston?" Alex asked, looking at the jumble.

They saw some movement and groaning and began tearing thru all of the collapse. Finally, they found an arm. "Hold on, Winst." In the distance, a voice echoed forth "What in the world was that? Are you guys ok?" Tobias shouted back, "Not sure, something collapsed on us, and were trying to get Winston out. Alex and I are fine." He paused and turned to Alex "This is so dangerous, who put all of this together?" Billy Orange called out again "Well come find you." The pair kept digging and got more of the remains off of Winston. Finally, they uncovered his face.

He winced, "My leg hurts like hell. Get this stuff off of me." They moved as fast as they could. Tobias worried "Its probably broken." "Well get me out of this dump." "The others are coming. Well get the trainers as soon as they get over here." By the time, they got him free, the others managed to find them, and had dribbled the ball the whole way. "Hes under a bunch of rubble and you guys are still playing football?" Tobias asked with annoyance. "Yea, we didnt want to lose it again. Then, we wouldnt have a chance at all." Before they could finish bickering, the referee and trainers appeared. "Where did you guys come from?" Alex asked, and then looked up at the spidercam hovering over them like a voyeur. With all of the adrenaline, none of them noticed the crowd had gotten dramatic, and started chanting "Winston! Winston!"

The medics got him onto a stretcher and carried him out of the low income housing environment. When he got to the bench, Chris Nelson was at the sideline warming up, already prepared as a substitute. Winston looked up, relieved to see him, and they pawed off before Chris entered the pitch. He made his way in to go help the team finish what they started.

The five players discussed what to do. There were about ten minutes left, and they were increasingly unsure they could even find their way out to the goal. "What about Jimmy, Clem, and George?" Alex asked. The midfielders were on the complete other side, somewhere. "Thats a good question, I wonder if they even know whats going on," Olivier replied, and then yelled "Jimmy? Clem? George? Where are you guys?" There was no response. "Maybe they didnt hear you." "Maybe they got injured also." "No, then the ref and trainers would be helping them, and they didnt say anything."

"We have to find them." Tobias said, but Vinny countered, "No, we have to score that goal." "Are you crazy? We cant even find it." Vinny pointed to the clock, barely visible above the assorted taudis, ticking into the eighties. "We dont have much time, but I have an idea." The rest of them looked at him. "Who takes set pieces best?" They all looked at each other, and their eyes fell on the Rock from Damacq: Olivier Roche. "You cant be serious." Vinny retorted, "Its our only chance, lets find a good clearing and angle, you can curve it in." "Thats...crazy. How?" Oli was skeptical, but the others started to pump him up. Tobias adjusted his armband, "I hate to admit it, but hes right. If we can pull this off, it would be huge, and well be able get out of here."

"Yea, but if I miss..." he trailed off. "You wont, Oli." Tobias cut him off, "You take pieces for the Serpents all the time, and we all hate you for it." He smiled and said "Ok, sure, lets find a good clearing." There wasnt much space in the way things were staged, but he explained his preferred angle and how much space he would need. Banking a shot high and curving it in would basically be a miracle shot, but it wouldnt be the first time he netted from a weird angle. Usually, a free kick on goal had a wall of players to kick over or around. Here, he faced a wall of low income housing. They found a workable site which he liked and with five minutes to go, it would have to do.

Pacing it out, he lined up the ball as the others watched gleefully. If this worked, it would be the shot of the tournament, easily. They egged him on as the crowd started to root "OLI! OLI! OLI!" It felt creepy that the crowd could see them on camera, but they couldnt see the crowd. But it didnt matter, he had to do it. He rotated the ball how he wanted and positioned it where he wanted. None of them could touch it by hand, he had to tap it all with his feet. Even for a well-trained, talented national player, that was somewhat of a feat. Especially with the superstitions of placing a ball.

He stepped back, breathed, his heart racing, sweat starting to drip like he had been running a full match. Four minutes remained. It was now or never. He charged and went for a kick, but choked and missed. His nerves got the best of him. "Come on, Oli!" "You got this!" "Just try again." He tapped the ball a little over and reset his position. It was a little tighter than he liked, but corners dont even offer much space. He focused on the ball, imagined himself launching it into the net perfectly, dug his cleats in, and took off. Pace by pace, he closed in, this was it. He booted the ball up high with a downward, angled curve. The crowd oohed and ahhed as the spidercam flew towards the net following the ball. The ball zenithed and began to come down, turning towards the goal, as intended. The crowd got louder as it approached the net, and then, just like that, it...went in.

The fans leapt into the air screaming and cheering. The goal music started. The players looked at each other, stunned. They couldnt run to the corner, but Olivier hammered underhand a victory symbol. He couldnt believe he did it. The rest of them jumped on him, hugging him, and slapping his back. "You did it, dude! That was incredible." "I cant wait to see that on replay." "Ok lets get out of here." Tobias interjected, and they skipped their way back out, following the trails they had left. As they emerged, the crowd lit up completely, and they saw the midfielders across the pitch. The benched players ran out and everyone piled onto Olivier. He choked back tears of joy, having all but won the match.

The ref signalled them to line up for a kickoff. It was the 89th minute and they still had to finish playing the match. He whistled and threw the ball into the Low income housing environment end, but it bounced off of a wall and rolled back out, and back down the pitch. "Oh shit!" someone yelled, and the blue shirts started after it. They werent positioned well for this, and it started making its way on goal. They chased after it, but the ball got closer and closer. Manny lined up to stop it, leaving the goal and lunged forward, trying to catch it, but missed. The ball kept going. He doubled back, and took a dive on it, just as it was almost at the goal line, and curled it in tight to his chest. The referee whistled for a goal kick, as the fourth official held up the sign indicating five minutes of injury time.

Manny rolled the ball to Chris, who passed it off to François, who passed it further up field. Vinny called out to Oli, "You want to try another?" "Not a chance, Ive had my fun." For the rest of the time, they kicked the ball back and forth to show off to the crowd. It would have been awesome to get a second goal, but none of them wanted to go back into that monstrous place. They were all relieved to be out of there. And now, they could at least play some proper football. They whittled down the time, waiting, waiting. Mercy finally came as the referee blew his whistle. The bench cleared, the crowd cheered. It was as loud as could be. The Sel Appan fans stormed the pitch, as they do, to hail their heroes. Somehow, they did it, they did the impossible.

Walter Daviande smiled, he couldnt believe it, but this was his team that he trained and led. He joined them on the pitch and shook hands with the referees. This was the most bizarre experience in Sel Appan football history, but they won, and that was all that mattered. Nine points, five goals, one concession. A second consecutive group win at the Independents. They were on top of the world. They were ready for whatever it took. They were the Turtles.

I think this just might be my masterpiece

by **Lionsroar** » Fri Jul 31, 2026 12:35 pm

Welcome to the Sports World of Großlöwenburg!
a proud germanic nation on the RP Map of Valsora in The East Pacific
See the roster here: viewtopic.php?p=43805500#p43805500
See the introduction here: viewtopic.php?p=43812759#p43812759
MD1: viewtopic.php?p=43817929#p43817929
MD2: viewtopic.php?p=43821921#p43821921

>Großlöwenburg<

MATCHDAY 2: "DAS WUNDER!!! (The wonder)"
Großlöwenburg 4 - 3 Edsmontik

In Emprijaal, Fortensthegr - PreMatch
They are back... once again. Dulle looks out at the familiar water park. They were last here two weeks ago, and today, June 25th, marks their second visit. It is warm, pleasantly warm, once more. It is almost inspiring to see how the tables have turned so quickly. Löwenburg drew their first match and actually won the second against the other underdog. Löwenburg sits at the top of Group A, something we never would have imagined before the opening matchday. After 19 years away from professional international football, Löwenburg has returned and is making a strong showing. Will it last though? Now Löwenburg is facing the 5th ranked team of Edsmontik, a giant in international sports. Having won the BoF 84, having once placed Fourth in a Worled Cup. The White-and-Blues, sporting an almost martial-looking crest, are certainly aiming to secure a second consecutive victory and, as befits the hosts, want to advance to the next round as group winners.

Großlöwenburg
(4-2-3-1)
unchanged from the match against The Golden Harp and Arklanda. 
==================================================
                      [9]
            Ludwig v. d. Linden
           (Johannes Anton Lab.)

                      [10]
                 Vincze v. Tibor
                 (Martin Balderu)

  [15]                                  [11]
Johannes Franzisk.                Georg Christopher
  (Jan Alcove)                  (Ludwig Western-Ho.)

              [6]             [18]
        Willi Zanzokavic  Stefan Ziegler
     (Samuel v. Lerida-B.) (Norbert Wilhelm-Mar.)


  [2]          [3]            [21]          [17]
Moritz Heiß  Victor v. Meine  Harold v. W.  Niklas Weise
(E. Ballester) (R. Dominik)   (F. v. Singen) (L. v. Lautern)


                      [1]
              Ingen-Liechtenstein
             (Philipp von Glauben.)
==================================================

In the stadium

'1
The ball rolls. The match for the first spot of Group A. Löwenburg vs. Edsmontik, the underdog vs. the giant. Löwenburg, having played a difficult preparation before the IAC, has surprised with a 0:0 draw against The Golden Harp and a win against Arklanda. With heads held higher and higher, they are going into this match.

'7
But so the match doesn't begin. Edsmontik grabs the posession early on and plays strong using the two sides. The ball rolls in between the two teams for 5 minutes in the middle of the field, without both teams starting a bigger advance yet.

'17
It remains the same. Both Löwenburg and Edsmontik have now had a chance each, cancelling each others out quite well. Except a few scared pidgeons, no ball has gotten close to danger yet.

'20
As if listening to this match, Edsmonstik once again start a quest using the sides. The venture further and further into Löwenburgs half, until, with a clever trick, the ball passes a row, gets relayed and boom, goal. With one of the earlier chances in the match, using pure class of their striker, Edsmontik set themselves off once.

'26
Using this comfortable feeling, Edsmontik continues to press onwards. For now Löwenburgs line manages to hold again though.

'31
And spoken to early. To beautiful passes, drawing out Meine, opens a gap, one clicker through and zack, the second goal for Edsmontik. Is Löwenburg at the end already?

'41
As much as Edsmontik now presses for a third and presumably final goal, Löwenburgs defense doesn't budge and remains active.

'42
And the opposite actually, as Christopher receives the ball from Weise, drawing out the outest defenders. He springs to the full line, pulls back and tricks the defender into a straddle. Now having space he locates Ziegler coming from the middle and passes the ball. Ziegler, having full field overview and sees two defenders attacking him, lets the ball through his legs to Zanzokavic behind him, who, by having Ludwig in front of him draw away another defender, simply shoots and brings in the goal! 1:2, the come back?

'45 +2
For now definitely not, as the referee blows halftime.

HALFTIME
Unfortunate for the current momentum of Löwenburg, but also good to have some switch up and a break. As usual, Peter von Neustein does not change.

'50
The second half starts strong from Löwenburg. With new found motivation, Löwenburg attacks.

'52
And immediately succeeds. Ziegler from the center, sees Franziskus running on the left side, passes the ball through a defender gap and without hesitation Franziskus brings the ball in the middle where Ludwig rises up and simply heads the ball in. Goal for Löwenburg, 2:2! The minory of the stadium, the yellow wall, errupts.

'61
Now the match is more equal again.

'64
Both teams still having their well played chances. Edsmontik once again starts an attack, this time from the left side. Outplaying Weise, Weg-Immerschoß needs to move out, gets overplayed and with a beautiful curve ball conceives a third goal.

'68
Edsmontik, taking the chance on the tiring Löwenburger, increases pressure once more.

'77
For long minutes, this pressure remains heavy on Löwenburgs defense. Corner ball after corner ball follows. Most of the storm and midfield of Edsmontik gets drawn into or near the box. A corner ball follows but Meine rises up and heads the ball out of the box. Directly into the path of Zanzokavic, who proceeds to full sprint. With Ludwig heading the attack, the counter occurs quickly. Ludwig, drawing more to the left side lets Zanzokavic draw to the right side, letting Ziegler backwalk him. With a quick backpass, Zanzokavic lays the ball to Ziegler, who sees Ludwigs gap on the left side and plays on him. Ludwig, calmly and collected, accepts the ball and goes into 1vs1 with the defender. An overstep and an overtaking to the left later, he is free and shoots the ball into the net. 3:3, once again an equalizer! [box]'?

'86
And now with last forces, Löwenburg continues to attack, for the first proper time in the match increasing pressure on Edsmontik themselves. The hardened veterans from the games before, continue their fight.

'90+4
And so it results in a last corner kick for Löwenburg. With almost all people at front, Zanzokavic brings it far. Where Ludwig lurks. The tall blond beasts rises up, accepts the header and shoots it in the opposite corner. 4:3 and everyone escalates! The referee closes the match. Peter von Neustein and the bench storms the field, the yellow wall behind the goal celebrating frenetically

The SportsStudio
It has happened, miracles do exist. It will surely go down in international Löwenburg history as the "Miracle of Empiron." Our great footballing nation, albeit completely unknown on the global stage, has managed to topple the giants ranked fifth in the world. In its first proper international tournament, our unranked team advanced straight to the knockout stage, and as group winners, no less. Defeating the hosts! While the achievement was perhaps more lucky than dominant, it remains an incredible, historic feat. Löwenburg played five warm-up matches before the tournament, managing only one draw and losing the rest. The criticism was scathing: "How could they pick such a weak squad?", "How can they play so terribly?", and "What kind of tactical system is this?" Mind you, once the setup was shifted from a fluctuating -1, 0, and 0.5 to a clear, defensive -3, things suddenly started going much better, so well, in fact, that questions about the squad composition barely arise anymore. After a defensive masterclass resulting in a 0–0 draw against The Golden Harp and an attacking spectacle against Arklandia, the team could already be proud of itself. Yet, they managed to top even that, driven by an almost indomitable will, the players succeeded in scoring a goal in the final minute of play. It was truly incredible. Such goals are a rarity in Löwenburg football; the 04/05 derby final between King's Team and Legio Löwenburg comes to mind, but otherwise, they happen far too seldom. This is especially remarkable for a team that hasn't made a single substitution. Granted, they have a solid squad and plenty of time between matches, but the players have proven themselves to be workhorses and have truly made a case for their inclusion in the upcoming Löwenburg season following the winter break.

Looking ahead now, Löwenburg stands as the winner of Group A, taking first place with three matches played, resulting in two wins and a draw. They have amassed 7 points and scored 7 goals: three against Arklandia and four against Edsmontik. They conceded goals in only one match, three against Edsmontik. Consequently, they hold the 15th seed for the knockout stage. Löwenburg now heads into their first knockout match against Calgasia, who finished 18th overall and second in their group; Löwenburg certainly has no reason to shy away from this challenge. Onward and upward!

And with this momentary capture, we end the broadcast!

Group A
The Golden Harp 1–3 Arklanda
Lionsroar 4–3 Edsmontik

  Group A                              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Lionsroar                              3   2  1  0    7   3  +4    7
2 Edsmontik                              3   1  1  1    9   8  +1    4
3 Arklanda                               3   1  1  1    6   7  −1    4
4 The Golden Harp                        3   0  1  2    2   6  −4    1

by **The Sernetian Empire** » Fri Jul 31, 2026 1:29 pm

SERNESPORTS TV

contents:
1) Sernet top Group D
2) Pre-match analysis

SERNET TOP GROUP D
Damian Weslom

Sernet are through to the knockouts after a hair-raising 3-2 win over Imoto, with the 3 points reinforcing our first place position in Group D at 7 points, with Natkr taking second with 5 points following a draw with Delphinon.

The Bramley Road stadium in Brugstadt was swarmed with the usual Sernetian crowd, thirsty for some good football from the Steamers. As they emerged from the tunnel, they were met with a colossal cheer from the crowd, voices from across the Sernetian Empire chipping in. Both of the anthems were played, and then came kickoff.

We didn't have to wait long for some action. Sporius Bolsting scored an early goal at the 5th minute, charging ahead at breakneck speed and blasting the ball just under the crossbar. Shortly afterwards however, a free kick for Imoto led to an equaliser at the 9th minute. Then, from out of the blue, another Imoto goal at the 13th minute. Everyone was shocked, but the stands didn't go silent.

Until they did when Imoto were awarded a penalty and Samir Dottman was sent off with a red card for a second yellow. The striker, whose name was not present on the shirt, stood on the penalty spot, his country on his shoulders. Tomasz Pasarowski stood his ground, staring into his soul. The striker glances at the stands with the Imotoan supporters. He takes his sweet time, and then shoots. On target. But straight into Pasarowski's gloves! The crowd cheered as if they had won the world cup.

The Imotoan lead wouldn't last long, with Wasori Oluwawa's header from a corner by Stefan Jatrowski leveling the score once more at the 21st minute. 2-2, 4 goals in 20 minutes. The remainder of the firsr half was pretty much devoid of shots on target, with the Sernetian Midfielders dropping back to assist the defenders in forming an impenetrable defence with 10 men, although Sernet didn't get any shots either.

After the break however, the Steamers finally broke the ice, with Stirius Mantrostem scoring a header from a corner by Rami Alforez at the 52nd minute, bringing the lead back and sending the Sernetian fans into celebration. Sernet were back. After the goal, the 10-man Steamers played defensively with a tinge of haramball, only to preserve the scoreline in the face of the unexpectedly potent Imoto, who were attempting a last ditch attempt at qualification, to no avail. Before we knew it, the full-time whistle blew, and the Steamers stormed the pitch and the wall of blue and orange shirts built of the supporters in the stands erupted in joy. A slightly precarious match, but a win nonetheless. Sernet are through to the round of 32.

Final Score:
Sernet 3 - 2 Imoto

Goals:
Sernet: Bolsting 5', Oluwawa 21', Mantrostem 52'
Imoto: 9', 13'

Pre-match analysis: RO32 vs Auprussia
Bobby Boltings Senior

P.s. We're keeping the lineup the same.

Table:

Group D                              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sernet                                 3   2  1  0   12   7  +5    7
2 Natkr                                  3   1  2  0    7   5  +2    5
3 Delphinon                              3   0  2  1    5   9  −4    2
4 Imoto                                  3   0  1  2    5   8  −3    1

Sernet advance to the round of 32 to face Auprussia, who came second in Group I. We advance with the joint highest amount of goals scored in the Group stage, of which there were 12, a number matched only by Drawkland. We face them in at Merqaza Whole foods stadium in the city of Neurejn in Edsmontik. The winner of this match will face the winner of HUElavia vs Eriadni in the Round of 16. Unlike the two nations we could face if we win the round of 32, Auprussia are a new opponent and they are ranked similarly to Sernet. They seem to be a strong attacking side, so the Steamers must not give in to pressure from Auprussia. Anyways that's it, good day to you from wherever in Sernet you are

OOC note: slightly limited RP due to RL constraints

#thepowerofsernet

by **Saterun** » Fri Jul 31, 2026 2:51 pm

@dannyman237's blog

Top 5 Beginner CUT cards you need right now

Welcome back to the blog y'all! Sorry if I've been a little less productive on this side of things lately, I've been pretty busy over on the video side of things with my CUT playthroughs and streams. But it's great to be back, and I'm glad I'm able to get this out to you all right before the new Indie Hero drops. I've gotten a lot of comments, both here and on my videos, about which cards people should go for when they're just starting out CUT. I've done a lot of card quests over the course of my career, and today I'm gonna be sharing with all of you which ones I recommend for this years game.

5. A Liga POTS Hank Devor

I'm starting off with this one because it's the easiest 90 OVR card to get. You simply go into SWAPS, complete a few challenges, and once you get 3 A Liga TOTS (also not hard to do) you can just swap them in for this card. And this card is easily the best 90 OVR I've ever played with. His Pinpoint Ability is completely overpowered against 3-in-the-back defenses, and this card was a big part of my run to the Creator Cup quarterfinals. It's also dirt cheap on the marketplace. Like 25,000 coins maximum. I'm pretty sure it's also very easy to complete the Evolutions targets, which can bring this card up to a 92. It would definitely start in 90% of current squads.

4. Champions Oakley Gamble

Besides just looking sick, the key thing that makes this card so great is it's curved shooting stat. At just 92 OVR, there's plenty of better striker cards in the game, but Gamble's 98 Curved Shot rating makes finesse shots almost automatic. This was another card that I used for a long time, and against lower-tiered keepers I could literally just bang it in from wherever I wanted. The best part is that for some reason the CUT Challenge for this card is still open, even though it was released several games ago, which means you can still get your hands on it. It's not as easy as Devor, but still shouldn't take longer than a few days of grinding.

3. TOTS Rabi Wafiq Koury

This card makes the list because of a pretty major CUT bug: three letter names are released more during their primetime. For whatever reason, as long as CUT has been a game mode, any player with either one or three names has had an extended release during their primtime stint. In other words, far more of their cards came out. This makes TOTS Koury dirt cheap. Like 30k for a 93-rated beast center-back. Pretty much everyone has this card, and if you don't, it should be at the top of this list. I've personally never used it, but I've heard that his physicality is something else. Like this card will literally run though other players and it will still somehow come away clean. In other words, go buy it.

2. Indies Heroes Aleksander Vivić

Ok, if you live under a rock and missed the free release of this 94-rated card, you might just be in luck. The CUT team recently announced that it would be available again for a short time after the tournament, and just by looking at the current swaps on the Exchange any casual player should be fine. My advice would be to stockpile Breakout Stars or lower-rated TOTS cards if you can, because those seem to be the main currency that the Exchange relies on. This card does have one major downside, however: they're actually quite expensive. You wouldn't expect that from a free card, but almost no one has a squad good enough to make this card irrelevant. So make sure you go out and get this one while you still can.

1. Indies Legend Baskar Kumar

Ok, so technically this card hasn't been released quite yet, but once it does, this is what everyone's gonna be going for. First of all, it'll be the best striker card in the game, besides the Tero Sjölund Heroes card they just released. Second, the requirements are gonna be laughably easy. Just win 2 (two!) ranked online games, with infinite tries, then swap in one Indies Heroes card as well as 30,00 coins. I could literally do this ten times over (if I had 10 Heroes cards. I wish). The second this card drops on the exchange, be prepared for everyone and their nan to have this on their team. You might as well be able to fight fire with fire.

by **Auprussia** » Fri Jul 31, 2026 4:25 pm

Remarkable or Not, Here We Go

The past match against Lankeshmati was a bit more what the Auprussians wanted to see after the dreadful 5-2 disaster against Tanirinthia. The defense held up very well this time. Suffocating the Lankeshmati attack in an uncharacteristic display of defensive prowess from the Auprussians. In the attack Huberdeau Audac had tapped in an early goal off of a wonderful team play which saw Perin De Ferrander of all people make the incisive pass to Ven Pirennes who then squared the ball to Huberdeau Audac for the goal in the 11th minute. After that, it was a bit of a slog. The usually fast-paced Auprussians kept possession for a long time but never could break down the Lankeshmati defense again during the half. The Auprussian commentary had noted there wasn't really a change in playstyle but that their attacks after the first goal were just ineffective.

That changed very quickly out of the second half. This time it was Herraire Brisaxe-Gamblaife with the goal from a really long pass by Trothaire deu Fornae-Saiy. The Lankeshmati attacks were so ineffective that the Auprussians didn't really feel the need to attack more afterwards. Perin De Ferrander after the nightmare match last time had stepped up and put in a great effort to hold down the fort. In the end, the Auprussians will move on to the Ro32 against Sernet with a whelming performance all things considered.

Sernet are an interesting opponent. Not as aggressive as the Auprussians and play a 3-5-2 to overload the midfield, BUT the key matchup here is that same midfield. If Auprussia comes out to a fast start it can get really ugly really fast as Auprussia play a faster game overall than Sernet. The wings are also liable to be overloaded thanks to Brisaxe-Gamblaife, Pirennes, Nithaire, and Guldeaxe. They can all run with the ball and break down the Sernet defense and overwhelm the flanks for crazy pressure. However there is an issue, if Sernet turns the game into a rock fight it can get a bit dicey. Brusselstein already punched the Auprussians in the mounth but the Auprussians came back to win 4-3. Tanirinthia managed to stay level after the half and completely ran over their Auprussian opposition in the second half. Sernet can survive an Auprussian onslaught and counter which will really test this side.

What also can help is Jean-Loc D'Irtellind's ability on the ball. He can travel with it and throw off the shape of Sernet and can also put their midfield under pressure under the right conditions. Do not be shocked to see an uncharacteristic 3-4-3 if Jean-Loc decides to go on a run as well. The biggest strength of the Auprussian side is nearly everyone can competently attack, which can spell disaster for an unprepared side. It will be interesting to see how they contain Huberdeau Audac, who has scored in all 3 matches he has played so far. Most defenses have found him unstoppable thanks to his clean finishing and positioning.

Eleo Vicard's interview after the game had been reserved (and thankfully, Perin did not get an interview this time). "I feel we can compete with anyone on any day. We did what we had to do which is move on to the knockouts and we face a very good team in Sernet. I am confident we can play to our strengths and if we do that we can get through anyone." Huberdeau Audac voiced the same sentiment: "We have been up and down but we can compete with anyone anywhere, that's the position you want to be in the knockouts and I feel we can do that". The interviewer asked Huberdeau how he felt that some have been calling the Auprussian tournament so far underwhelming to which he responded: "Underwhelming is a stretch, we had a bad game, a good game, and a game where we fell behind and came back. I think we just need to take it one match at a time".

Later that night Huberdeau went to sleep, not a nightmare but a hazy dream.

A smoke filled field with lakes just spawning nonsensically across them. Huberdeau does his best to avoid falling into the lakes and soon, he comes face to face with that Obsidian Staircase again. This time in its spiral form but no voice to accompany it. He began to climb it before a torrential downpour stopped his ascent. It poured heavily, bouncing off the staircase and flooding the plains soon the rain stopped but the flooding did not subside. He tried to ascend the staircase but it did what it always did, it kept building and building to impossible heights every time he climbed it. There was no top of it.

Then he woke up in a sweat.

by **Republic of Jaliserra** » Fri Jul 31, 2026 9:14 pm

Blessing of the Three
Conclusion of Jaliserra v/s the Elder Lands

"YES!" Lao excitedly shouts, "do you know what this means?"

"We've made it to the Round of 32!" Lao, Malaluan and Russo say excitedly together.

"Mind you," Russo interrupts, "the last time I've been this excited was when Riandera made it to the quarter-finals of the 87th Baptism of Fire last year."

"Wait, what?" Lao's face changes from sheer joy to shock.

"So, are you from Riandera?" Malaluan asks.

"Yeah, I am," Russo replies, "I might not look Rianderan but I come from Pantai Emas. That town has a lot of Romantic country-influences, so that sums it up."

"Cool. Are you Italian by chance, as well?" Lao questions.

"My parents are Rianderan, but my father has Italian ancestry. If I remember correctly, he told me that his grandparents moved from Italy to Riandera around the 1940's. It was around that time when Pantai Emas was starting to open up."

"Fascinating information," Malaluan says.

"It is fascinating."

Lao realises something. "Hold on. Look at the score. 1-3."

"What's the matter, Agustin?" Lao questions.

"Well," Lao replies, "the last three games the Diamonds have played, they all won with three goals."

"Wait a second," Russo says, "you're correct. But don't forget that Mike's been doing a pretty good job at goalkeeping."

"Pretty good?" Malaluan disagrees, "he's doing great!"

"Speaking of great players," Lao points out, "Gonzalez is on fire. Literally. He scored not just one, not two, but SIX of the goals Jaliserra has scored so far. That's two thirds, I repeat, two thirds, of all nine goals."

Malaluan and Russo's jaws drop. "TWO THIRDS?!"

"Yes," Lao replies, "I'm serious."

Malaluan is still is disbelief. "That's impressive for a 22-year-old playing for a nation that is just making their debut at the IAC."

Russo joins in. "Mateo's right. But I think we're forgetting that he led Estreco City out of the Beta League and into the Ace League."

"I'm glad I chose him for the team," Lao smiles.

"Well, aren't we all?" Malaluan asks.

Lao, Malaluan and Russo all laugh.

"Well, if Fausto and the other Diamonds can push through and defeat Rovenza at the Round of 32, that would be great," Russo says,

"With enough determination and practice, they can." Malaluan replies.

The three men get into a group high-five.

Goals
The Elder Lands (1)
Swoopstake 14'

Jaliserra (3)
Fausto Gonzalez 56', 73' (assist from B. Troyo)
Dimitri Cereza 78' (assist from F. Gonzalez)

by **Snestar** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 12:12 am

(AI Generated image in the background)
IAC26 Group N, Matchday 3: Hafamarimët 0-0 Snestar
Player of the Match: the fourth official

The Viola qualifies to the Round of 32 after concluding the Group Stage with another goalless draws

Once again, Edoardo Di Palma's squad was protagonist of another 0-0 result. This time, however, there were no significant refereeing or VAR shenanigans: the Snestaryans apparently weren't that interested in playing for a win: they were simply trying to lose, as they only needed to secure at least a draw to confirm qualification to the Round of 32 of the IAC. This disappointing performance has justifiably sparked debate among fans in Snestar, who saw the choice of playstyle as a lack of passion for the ball.

Hafamarimët 0-0 Snestar: Match Summary

To be honest, this match was rather uneventful, so there ins't much to summarize. When Snestar entered the pitch of the Montelago International Stadium, preparing to face off against the already qualified Hafamarimët, it was clear that neither team wanted to tire themselves too much. Yet Snestar still needed the result: sure enough, Abahnfleft was three points behind the Viola, and there was a 5-goal gap in the goal difference between the two teams, but Edoardo di Palma had no intention of gambling and letting Snestar lose... So the two teams started playing. They juggled their ball around, got a few shots on target each, made a few fouls... A typical, totally entertaining match that fans were completely ecstatic and eager to watch. Most notably, Snestar's attack greatly underperformed, to say the least: despite needing some form of offense to prepare for a comeback in case Snestar went down, at halftime Di Palma ended up subbing off Baldriga and Sjölund, the two arguably best players of the National Team, for their abysmal performance compared to past results. Still, substitutes Martinelli and Gagliardi weren't able to prove themselves either, resulting in lackluster attacks by the Snestaryans. The only true danger that the Viola faced was Sït Ničïh, the striker and captain of the Hafamarimët National Team, who in the 60th minute had managed to find a tight gap in the defense of the Viola (in particular, between Barami and Shurdaqi) to land a powerful shot right towards the Snestaryan goal, though Federico Calvaresi wasn't fooled by the foul trajectory of the ball, and caught it safely in two tempos. When the triple whistle echoed throughout the stadium, the Snestaryans seemed to celebrate the qualification to the RO32 quite faintly, being more concerned about their disappointing display of football rather than the opponent they'd need to face next.

After the match, this time we did not decide to interview Edoardo di Palma. As a matter of fact, we decided to simply not interiew anybody this time. We're just tired of seeing everybody try to avoid the press, so this time we wanted to give them a taste of their own medicine. To be fair, what is there to even report about? Snestaryans are already used to 0-0 matches, especially within Division Alpha: they know how boring the match reports and the interviews end up being, so why even bother...? Instead, we chose to interview a random citizen of Crpostan we found on the streets next to the stadium, who we assumed had just left the stadium. Let's see what he had to say about the Viola and Snestar as a whole:

"This match was hot garbage. Genuinely, one of the worst matches I've ever seen in my life. It looked like both teams were just warming up... Is it always like this in Snestar? ...How the hell have you gotten used to constant goalless draws? It's not even football at that point!"

Round of 32 vs Seeberg
4-3-3 Formation
GK 1 Federico Calvaresi (C)
LB 5 Riccardo Cavaliere
CB 3 Giulio Maritan
CB 4 Stefano Shurdaqi
RB 2 Marta Camilla Barami
CDM 6 Davide Scognamiglio
CDM 26 Angelica Malavoglia
CM 10 Martin de Roux
LW 11 Mattia Castelletti
ST 7 Tero Sjölund
RW 27 Elisa Baldriga

by **Recuecn** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 2:13 am

Cameras flashed as Rébecca Firaut descended the steps of the ÉNRF team bus. She flashed a smile and a small wave to the television camera that was pushed into her face, her stride never slowing. The small swarm of paparazzi buzzed around her like a cloud of flies, following her as she made her way into the Sauftunderarena, but mostly ignoring the rest of her teammates who filed in behind her. As she made her way further into the tunnels beneath the stadium, the television cameras, held at the entrance, kept her in the shot as long as they could, zooming in further and further as she walked away.

Rébecca was getting used to celebrity treatment at this point. Five years ago, when she was still just 16, she had been the face of the protests that earned women the right to play in the Ligue Nationale and on the ÉNRF. Protest organizers had helped make sure Rébecca had been able to preserve some modicum of privacy in her personal life, but even before her career began, Rébecca was accustomed to being in the center of a media circus.

Things had only gotten crazier recently. At first, when Rébecca started playing professionally, she’d thought maybe things would normalize. Of course as a soccer star it was nice to get attention, but she thought that maybe it would just be a regular amount. But that was not how things worked out.

Franky Adams, Reçueçn’s most famous striker, (who also happened to be a close family friend of the Firauts after spending so much time on the équipe nationale with Rébecca’s dad) retired after the 100th World Cup, when Rébecca was 18. The next season, Rébecca surprised everyone by leaving Reçueçn FC, the team her father had played for his whole life, to move to Association Genève, their biggest rivals, essentially taking the position left open by Franky’s retirement. If Franky had been Reçueçn’s most famous striker, playing for the nation’s most attacking team, now Rébecca inherited that claim to fame. Before even turning 20, Rébecca was among the most famous Reçuecian athletes.

Dark times were ahead for her. Her narrative would take an unfortunate turn, albeit one that only further increased her celebrity status. During the 25th IAC, Rébecca, a victim of her own intense emotions and anger, injured her ACL. Furious at being forced to the sidelines and impatient to start playing again, she returned to the pitch too soon and reinjured it during qualification for World Cup 100, meaning she would miss more than a year of playing.

Far from forgetting about her, sports media in Reçueçn began to obsess over her injury and recovery. Every week, it seemed, a new headline or rumor would surface, speculating about when Rébecca would once more take to the field. As Association Genève’s team doctors gave vague or mixed reports, every new update was taken to mean Rébecca was on the cusp of playing again. It became a running joke, and when the story broke that she was finally going to play again, people were skeptical, and then began to joke that they still didn’t believe it. People still post memes claiming that the Rébecca Firaut apparently playing games for Association Genève and the ÉNRF is in fact a decoy or simulation, while the real player has not yet recovered from her injury.

With all the discussion around her injury, when Rébecca returned to the game, it was inevitable that millions tuned in to watch her play. She did not let them down. In the part of the season for which she was healthy, she scored on average more than one goal every game. Bandwagon fans flocked to Association Genève. As the IAC approached, the marketing team for the IAC television coverage in Reçueçn chose Rébecca to be the literal poster child of the ÉNRF. Every TV spot promoting the IAC coverage featured her. Magazines and TV channels interviewed her. She signed sponsorships and commercial deals. Rébeccamania had set in. She was no longer only Genève’s mascot, but now the star of the entire nation.

During half-time of Reçueçn’s opening IAC game against Tolampia, during a 7-minute commercial break, every consecutive advertisement featured Rébecca Firaut. New and casual fans took to twii.tur and cica.da to express their confusion.

“WHO is this girl?” asked one poster. “The RF1 coverage would have me think she is God’s gift to football.”

The more the papers and TV channels used Rébecca to promote the sport and the tournament, the more people wanted to watch her. She didn’t disappoint—she scored three goals in the first two games. Now, with the IAC in full swing and the group stage about to wrap up, all of this had culminated in an unprecedented media focus on the young woman.

Rébecca joked about it with Héloïse Asselineau as they entered the locker room.

“They’re obsessed with you, girl,” said Héloïse.

“Great,” laughed Rébecca. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

“Seriously though, it doesn’t annoy you at all?”

Rébecca sat on a bench and bent down to put on her cleats. “I’ve faced worse distractions. I just try to use it as a reminder of how much people are expecting from us. The whole nation is watching. I think before I was such a big star I used to forget that sometimes.”

“Wow, listen to you, so wise,” chuckled Héloïse. “You’ve come so far since you were that angry teenager.”

Rébecca glared jokingly at Héloïse. “Not too far,” she said, “so be careful.”

Once the game started, Rébecca found herself more relaxed than she expected to be. Perhaps she was just starting to feel used to the vibe of the tournament. Maybe it was playing in the same stadium back to back. Certainly, part of it was that Reçueçn were practically guaranteed to advance, regardless of their result against Komunist Turkiyem, and this wasn’t a knock-out game, so the stakes were low. But Rébecca wasn’t happy to be feeling relaxed.

“I need to put more pressure on myself,” she thought. “Coach Büchel emphasized how much goals matter in this group stage. I need to make something happen.” But Reçueçn was playing more like its traditional style than it had the last two matches—instead of leading three or four to zero, the game was still nil-nil, and Les Licornes were starting to sit back on defense.

At half-time, Büchel gave his speech again about how important it was to be aggressive, even in a game that might be a dead rubber for group G. “Remember, we’re not just competing against group G, but the entire field. Our seeding going into the knock-out rounds depends on our goal differential, and even our Goals For. Indusse played two days ago, and they’re ahead of us right now by one goal. Tanirinthia plays tomorrow, HUElavia the day after that, and Drawkland two days after that. They can all pull ahead of us if they score one to three goals. Now go back out there, and KEEP ATTACKING!”

Rébecca looked at her teammates’ faces. Büchel’s speech seemed to have less of an effect on them the second time. She couldn’t read any urgency in their expressions. I’ll have to do it myself, she thought.

In the tunnel, she pulled aside Théophile, her captain. “I’m not sure Coach got through to them,” she whispered. “But will you help me?”

Théophile looked confused. “Bec, of course I’m helping you, we’re on the same team.”

Rébecca grabbed his wrist and pulled him down, closer to her, so she could look him in the eyes. “No, Théo. You’re on my team every day. But today I need you to give me everything.”

Théo looked almost scared, but he nodded. Rébecca didn’t have time to say anything else; at that moment the two teams began to walk out for the second half. All she could do was give Théophile a meaningful look.

Twenty minutes into the second half, Rébecca could see that Théophile was trying his best. He glistened with sweat, he’d been running more than ever, and he was panting, trying to catch his breath. From the sidelines, Büchel noticed the same thing. He signaled to Théo and yelled, “Do you want to come off?”

Rébecca gave Théo a wide-eyed look. “Stay,” she murmured. “We’re so close.”

Théo gave her a slight nod, then gave a thumbs up to Büchel and waved him away. “I’m still good,” he yelled. “This better be worth it,” he said quietly to Rébecca.

It was the seventy-second minute when they finally had their chance. Rébecca had fallen back and the Komünist Türkiye defense was pressing forward, but Noémie was still pretty far up the field with the ball. She kicked it past Théophile and he and Rébecca both ran forward together. As Théo arrived at the ball, he looked to his left to see Rébecca parallel to him, in a gap between two defenders who’d been pulled out of position trying to intercept the pass. She was onside, just barely. He kicked the ball forward and left, into space in front of her, continuing his own run to her right.

The stadium erupted as Rébecca and Théophile both ran toward the goal, no defenders left between them and the Komünist Türkiye goalie. The goalie ran forward, trying to cut off Rébecca’s angle. For a moment she paused, unsure what to do—unable to shoot, and unable to pass to Théophile without the offsides whistle being blown. But just then one of the Komünist Türkiye defenders came barreling in from behind trying to cut off her pass. Théo stopped and took a step back, and suddenly he was onside again. Rébecca found him and once more ran forward—Théophile put the ball at her feet and she slotted it into the empty net.

The crowd cheered frantically while Les Licornes ran to the corner to celebrate. Rébecca hammed it up, mewing and pretending to wipe sweat from her forehead. But the referee’s whistle cut short the celebrations. “Possible offsides,” the referee said. Immediately the entire ÉNRF began to protest, surrounding the referee. The match official ushered away all the players except Théophile, the captain, who remained in front of him, pleading his case. But the ref was dispassionate.

The goal was held for review for several minutes while VAR looked at all the potential offsides leading up to it. But every pass had been perfectly timed. The referee stood there for a couple minutes with his hand on his earpiece, but in the end he gave the goal, blowing his whistle and pointing to the center circle. The stadium cheered once more, as Les Licornes celebrated a second time.

Büchel subbed Théophile off only a minute or two later, and there were no more goals in the last fifteen minutes of the game. But Rébecca felt that she had done her duty. Reçueçn had gotten the win. And with a goal differential of +7, they were sure to be seeded highly, setting them up for success as the tournament entered its most dangerous phase… the knockout rounds.

by **Serdtgyu** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 3:17 am

Onir Savinsk: We only need a point to win the group. You know what that means, right Vur?
Vurlib Dersinip: No, what does it mean boss?

FORMATION OF DOOM AND DESPAIR
10-0-0
GK Just Milhurn
LWB John Frelog
LB Va Amonstun
LB Terrence Reag
LCB Rikard Egul
CB Nort Sembul
CB Gigantu Exalargos
RCB Demos Veris
RB Kul Hyster
RB Nik Hyster
RWB Tetroni

Kick Off

36’
Serdtgyu looking to build out from the back here a rare moment of possession for them. Reag passes it to Frelog. Switches play to Tetroni. He has space and will carry it up to the halfway line. Good bit of skill to get past Johansson. He’s in a foot race now with Vargas, chops it past him, taken down by Park, could be a penalty here. Ref will go to the monitor. Pen given. Yellow Card awarded to Park.

37’
Nik Hyster to take the penalty. He steps up and smashes it past Mercier, 1-0 Serdtgyu.

Half Time: Deleclava 0-1 Serdtgyu

Stats
Deleclava|Serdtgyu
Possession 79|21
Shots (on goal) 7(5)|1(1)
Fouls 3|6
Offsides 1|0
Corners 6|0

Second Half

Substitution for Serdtgyu
Sembul off
Exalargos on

46’
Serdtgyu starting us off in the second half of this final group stage match in group P. Ball passed to Veris. He scans the pitch, bombs it long looking to try and catch Mercier off guard, the goalie struggling to track the shot, TOUCHES IT INTO THE CROSSBAR! The ball has stayed in play here and has somehow found Tetroni, fires it at goal and Mercier can’t react in time! 2-0 Serdtgyu!

Full Time: Deleclava 0-2 Serdtgyu

Deleclava 0-2 Serdtgyu
……………………………. 38’ N. Hyster (Pen)
…………………….……… 46’ Tetroni

by **Saperetia** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 4:23 am

Through By The Skin Of Our Teeth
Saperetia 1-1 Greater Vakolicci Haven

Heading into the last matchday, everything was possible if the results go exactly right. We could be through. We could be out. And that went for all four teams. We were the "lucky" ones who technically had it in our hands. A 4-0 victory or more and we would be through. Win 3-0 and a 2-0 Sajnur victory sees the top 3 tie. We have to beat Sajnur's result by 1 goal. Whether that means win by 1 more, lose by 1 less, or win if they draw or draw or win if they lose, we have to see. For now, the focus is on the match ahead, the final one of the group stage. The fans are hoping that the team gives it their all. Silivia, whether it was overconfidence or a genius play we will see, decided to bench most starters and play the backup team. He did not give a reason as to why. Some doubts were raised with the announcement of the lineup, not with the conviction of the players, but more with the ability to turn that conviction into a victory. The questions and doubts were about the be answered as the SAP 4-3-3 lined up against the VKL 4-4-2:

Saperetia: GK Rafael DEF O'Connel, Simon, Ante, Simmage MID Shah (C), Govind, Nord ATK Hardin, Kauko, Friedhelm-Rodolf

Greater Vakolicci Haven: GK ? DEF ?, ?, ?, ? MID ?, ?, ?, ? ATK ?, ?

Despite being on paper the stronger team, Silivia still decided to continue his defensive strategy. The issue this time round was that while the defence was experienced in their roles, the attack was not. This was the first time the front three played in this configuration and the first time since the 0-0 draw against Warkus in MD9 of WCQ 100 that Jacques was not the left-winger, only the second time in his career. Hardin had also never played left-wing, bringing the team at an even bigger disadvantage. In the midfield, Shah and Govind had experience while Nord had not, with Shah as the only realistically viable attacking option, as Govind fell back at Silivia's order. The first minutes of this new attack were chaotic, to say the least. The defence at least did hold up against the onslaught as the midfield and attack kept on losing the ball without creating strong chances. The opposition on the other hand, failed to penetrate the defensive line despite these many attempts. Slowly, the attackers' chemistry (and ability) improved as they learned how to play together, leading to less ball loss. But it would eventually be the midfield which caused a breakthrough in this match, although not in a good way. Despite having 5 people in the line, Nord took it upon himself to also help out back. This had an adverse effect and disrupted the delicate balance of the defence. It would eventually be him who, ten minutes before half-time, failed to take on the ball correctly, instead putting it right at the feet of an attacker who sprinted through the line and crossed it into the area, allowing for a header past a flailing Rafael, who also probably should have had it, putting the Crimsonites behind for the second time in two matches. After going up 1-0, the Greater Vakoliccians decided to take their foot off the gas and refrained from any further attacks for the remainder of the half. Despite having free reign to attack, the crimson still failed to create any good chances.
--------------

"What the heck is going on?" asked Silvia to the men in the dressing room.

No-one had an answer.

"We beat people above our rank, and now we cannot beat them?"

"Well" spoke up one voice, "We aren't used to this."

"What do you mean you are not used to this? You have played a football match before?"

"Not for a while..." murmured Nord.

"And what about the rest?"

"We are not used to such a match" spoke, out of all people, Dirtwizard.

"What."

"In the Cup of Harmony, none of our goals were... normal. We cannot seem to live with it."

"Why, out of all people, are YOU the one to come up with excuses?"

"Pardon me?"

"You haven't played a match."

"Yes, but I am young. So you will be stuck with me for a while. This is your 51st match. This is my 28th in the squad. You are past your career. I haven't really started me."

Silivia sat down across from his men.

"You have pulled of crazy stuff before. Why not now?" asked Jacques

"If I could, I would. I can't, otherwise I'd get in big trouble. Not with the federation, they would love it, but with other authorities."

"Why not try?"

Silivia thought for a while. "Too late for this tournament. I don't have the stuff here. But... We could make moves for when we're back at the Nationals. For now, let's prevent something crazy by not losing this game and advancing."

The men raised a shout in support.

--------------
The crazy thing was not bringing off Nord. It was fielding him in the first place. At least, that is what people said after the game, but as we all know, hindsight is one hell of a drug. On came the most experienced player of the roster, which people still forget is Jacques. He would switch places with Hardin to stay on the left side and give the attack some help, while Hardin would return to his usual position of midfielder. And so, the second half kicked off as the Crimsonites hoped to prevent an embarrassment in the group. They were, for the first time in their history, expected to go through. The pressure seemed to work adversely on them in the first half, but now they had regained some form of composition and they had a proper attack going for the first time, helped by the efforts of Jacques. It would be pretty quick for effects to come the Crimsonite way as multiple big chances were created that were either saved, blocked, or barely missed. Sixteen minutes into the half, Jacques put one into the penalty area where Kauko took a shot from just inside the goal area, where he put it straight into an unfortunate Friedhelm-Rodolf, who had no time to react. This unintentionally helped Kauko as both the goalie and the defender dived to where the ball was going anyway, giving him an open shot which he converted into the match equalizer. Silivia, to prevent another goal from being conceded, put in Damjan and Carloza three minutes after the goal to prop up the defence and to take off the tired Simon and Ante. Just seven minutes into their stint, Carloza managed to pick up a yellow, with Damjan following less than ten seconds later. After this though, the men managed to stop their aggression and prevented themselves from getting more cards in different colours. Silivia decided to complete the standard front three by putting Seppel and Seppo in ten minutes before time to attempt to win, instead of drawing. Unfortunately, eight minutes from time, O'Connel managed to grab a card aswell, a direct red, bringing the Crimsonites down to ten men and suspending him for the next match. Despite the card, the attack continued their steadfast advance on the goal, but failed to convert any of their chances. This ment that the match ended in a relatively disappointing 1-1, which players admitted was "probably the deserved outcome."

The draw, alongside the other result of SAJ 0-2 INS, means we are through on 1 point. The four points and our GD mean we are seed 30, third from the bottom. This means we should face the third seed from the top, who, with a perfect 9 points, are group E winners Indusse. To prevent a repeat of the group stage, tournament officials decided to instead switch us with seed 29 Tumnia, meaning they played Indusse and we are heading off to Crpostad in Crpostran, where we are facing Tanirinthia, who we played twice in the most recent World Cup Qualifiers, results being 1D 1L (3-4 and 1-1). Aside from the worrying display during this match, another point is that we do not have a winning record against teams we have played thrice or more. Only against The Osnari Federation did we even manage to win once for a 1-1-1 record, but the others are also worrying: 0-1-2 vs Al-Tamazgha, 0-0-3 vs Indusse, 0-1-2 vs Patriotlandia, 0-2-2 vs Xanneria. Can Silivia double the amount of wins in this category? Fans are skeptical, while the players have simply said that they will "give it everything." All anyone can do is wait and see.

by **Indusse** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 6:15 am

28/6/2034 01:15 AM EKT, Neurejn
A private hall in the team hotel alloted to the Indussean National Team at Neurejn. All the players, staff and officials with the squad is present in the hall. There seems to be a cake in the center of the hall that has been sliced and eaten in half. Almost everyone in the hall had a cake in their hand or a plate with the dinner that was alloted to them. The staff were busy sitting in the corner chitchatting and having a sip of the champagne they got from the hotel. In another corner sits Mersiás with his face full of cake, who seems to be in a conversation with Paulson and Grundjee.

Paulson: This is already my last international tournament with you all, memories are flooding in and makes me not to leave.
Grundjee: Memories must be flooding in for sure, but i am very sure that you are fully hyped to shift to Taxhavn soon.
Paulson: *chokes on his drink*, Taxhavn?! It's fun out there especially since i am doing pretty well with my coaching stint at NSB.
Mersiás: That's it Pauly? We do have ears everywhere. We did hear that you have somewhat confirmed purchase of property at St. Bernadine.
Paulson: Who? Me?! Probably rumours you know.

(Suddenly, Djetson moves past the group with a cup of soda. He couldn't stop overhearing the conversation.)

Djetson: It's true that i am now in Kanzlia for domestics, but Pauly you do forget the fact that i was very well in Taxhavn and does know a lot of things.
Grundjee: Ha, hear hear! We all know what the reason is Pauly, it's pretty much public.
Paulson: I ain't understanding anything you guys are saying. The cake we brought is pretty nice Jet! We should buy one more before we leave the city.
Mersiás: Let the cake wait Pauly. Tell me more about Emma Town, your partner at St Bernadine.
Paulson: oh, Emma is the head coach at NSB. She's been doing wonders recently. Y'all should atleast play under her while she is the coach.
Djetson: Pauly is absolutely right! She has been doing wonders especially with our dear Pauly out here. See how red he is turning into.
Grundjee: We all know Pauly, it was even on the flash news that y'all are more than just coaching partners.

(Grundjee, Djetson and Mersiás giggles looking at the red-faced Paulson)

Paulson: Hey, come on! We are here to celebrate something else, it's oru skipper's 400th international match. This is not the time to talk about these silly matters.
Djetson: Well that is absolutely right, but you know what i remember something really important. There are more cake pieces waiting for me at the table. Bye!

(Djetson sprints across the hall trying to reach out to another piece of cake. Suddenly, Pierre appears and starts to scold him for eating too much cake. The whole hall burst into laughter and Djetson retreats to another group in the hall.)

Grundjee: This guy never changes, he has been this way since the day i have been seeing him.
Paulson: Didn't he join with you Grundjee? Both of you are also getting close to retirement.
Grundjee: meh! Djetson maybe retire in a season or two but don't expect me to. You all are ageing like that old banyan tree at the Darbar Road, i am not a human and i don't have to worry about ageing.
Mersiás: Well he's right on that one. We end up with joint pain one after another, but what does this guy need to worry about? Missing screws and loose wiring?
Grundjee: Hey! Don't make fun of me that way. After all i am keeping the legacy forward.
Paulson: Talking about legacy, Antonio has now played as much matches as Butea. He remains to be the only player to be in the squad that is from the Batch of 85 after i leave.
Grundjee: You know what that means, Antonio? It's time for you to plan for retirement too. Pauly has already planned his with Emma.
Paulson: You seem to be forgetting the reason we are in here Grundjee, or is it because you are just a bunch of wires who could not find the perfect significant other?
Grundjee: Hey! That's enough with that personal attacks. We have no idea who Emma is and what you want to do at Bernadine.
Paulson: That does sound smart! I guess the robots are not that stupid like i thought.
Grundjee: Ah you are going to regret that statement old man. Soon it is going to be us ruling over you. *Grundjee laughs hysterically.*
Mersiás: Ahh well i am pretty much thinking of retirement already. I may stay around the domestics for a while since i am enjoying Banija but my career in the blue jersey may end within a season or so. My Missus has been asking me to give way for the youngsters.
Grundjee: Like me!
Mersiás: meh man, you have started to rust!
Paulson: yeah Grundjee is as young as the big bang you know.
Grundjee: Well i did hear that the management has already started looking for replacements for you Pauly. Also for some of us too. The camp is soon going to be way bigger.
Mersiás: It's now their time Grundjee, let them take the stage and shine brighter than us.

(The group continues to have their conversation. Pierre comes in and asks everyone to wind up their partying since it's already two in the morning. The team seems exhausted and rest seems essential. The win against Sajnur has now paved way to the next stage. Indusse is now all set to face Tumnia in the round of sixteen match at Empironstadt, Emprijaal. The squad's stay at Neurejn is coming to end and they must travel to Emprijaal for their training and match up. Emprijaal seems pretty far, so a good night sleep would let them have the peace they want.

Sajnur 0 - 2 Indusse

Playing XI: Shehzad (GK), Cyrus, Paulson, Adhaan, Bhattacharya (All Defenders), O'Shaughnessy , Grundjee, Djetson (All Midfielders), Mersiás (c), Rahul, Djenkzo (All Attackers)
Substitutions: None
Goals: Djetson (12'), Adhaan (76')

by **Calgasia** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 6:32 am

The Czech minority in Calgasia

Czech Calgasians (Czech: Calgazští Češi), also referred to as Bohemian Calgasians, are one of the three primary ethnic groups of Calgasia, representing around 15 to 20 per cent of the population. This community, arriving primarily during the opening of the Portal between the Earth and Calgasia between spring 1916 and November 1917, has had a very important role in the construction of this country, especially in the fields of industry, education, science, research, culture and politics.
The Czech language (čeština) is one of the three official languages of Calgasia alongside German and Hungarian. The majority of Czech Calgasians are concentrated in the autonomous region of Kleine Böhmen, with significant Czech populations in the capital Goldstadt, as well as the coastal regions.

Prague heavily influenced Melperk architecture.

Between Spring 1916 and November 1917, thousands of Czechs crossed the portal, primarily from Bohemia. They were selected due to their industrial skills, with glassmakers, craftsmen, teachers, intellectuals, and labourers. They initially settled around Goldstadt. In 1920, the conservative government tried to enforce German as the only language in schools, revoking the promises that were given to the Czechs about their language being used in academic instruction. The population responded with a general strike and numerous protests, paralysing the nascent industry of Calgasia. They were supported by intellectuals and working-class Austrians and Hungarians. After violent clashes with even some civilian casualties, Kaiser Leopold I intervened directly, firing the conservative cabinet and restoring the language rights. The new government granted the Czechs lands to settle along the banks of the river Mel, forming what would be later the Kleine Böhmen land, or Little Bohemia.

The Czechs were fundamental in the industry of the nation, with mines, foundries and factories across the country, especially in the state of Kleine Böhmen. They have also usually been at the forefront of the political movements and protests, fighting for more civil and political rights over the decades. During the Glorious Revolution of 1965 that set the extensive rights that the Calgasians now enjoy, Czechs were very active in all fronts, with strikes and demonstrations.

Demographics

The majority of the Czech Calgasians live in Kleine Böhmen, where they are the ethnic majority, around Goldstadt and in the Meeresregion. Melperk is the capital of the region, and home of the Charles University of Melperk, the most prestigious academic institution in the country. Bohunice is one of the industrial hubs of the country, with numerous factories.

Settlement	Region	Population
Melperk	Kleine Böhmen	397,000
Bohunice	Kleine Böhmen	204,000
Goldstadt	Inner Calgas	97,000
Lílov	Kleine Böhmen	43,400
Ocheron	Meeresregion	41,600
Lipsko	Kleine Böhmen	37,100
Horní Voda	Kleine Böhmen	35,500
Ausnes	Meeresregion	21,400

Main settlements with Czech population in Calgasia. Melperk is undisputedly the biggest settlement of this community, with Bohunice also having a large population. In other regions, Goldstadt and Ocheron boast sizeable Czech populations. The population is concentrated in the hubs of Melperk and Bohunice, while the rest of the settlements in Kleine Böhmen still remain quite small in comparison.

Language status

Czech is one of the three co-official languages of Calgasia, and in Kleine Böhmen, it is the primary language of administration and public education. It is used on an everyday basis as well. Czech is offered as an optional language in the rest of the country. Virtually all pf the Czech Calgasians are also fluent or conversational in German, which is the lingua franca in the country. The Calgasian dialect is recognisable for its use of old words that in the standard Czech have faded, as well as some loanwords from German and Hungarian, creating a distinct accent.

The Old Library of the Charles University of Melperk (left). Novák and Sedlácek, star players of the national team (right)

Politics and Society

Politically, the Czech community tends to lean toward progressive and social democratic positions, with the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party traditionally enjoying good results in the elections in Kleine Böhmen and in the Czech population. They tend to have more republican views compared to Austrians and Hungarians.

Culture and Sport

Numerous elements of the Czech culture now form part of the Calgasian culture, like the architecture. Numerous cities, not necessarily in Kleine Böhmen, were built using Prague and its monuments as a model to replicate in the new world. Numerous artists of Czech origin have created several of the most celebrated art pieces of Calgasia, like the film director

Beer is one of the key aspects of Calgasian culture, and Pilsner-style beers, brought by Czech settlers, remain the most popular option in Calgasia, with big exports to other countries.

In cuisine, although not as powerful as the Austrian or Hungarian heritages, some Czech dishes like dumplings filled with various meats and soups are consumed across the nation, in homes as well as taverns. Beer is of course the most famous Czech contribution to the national identity, with numerous breweries like Zlatý Lev and Královské enjoying massive success in Calgasia and abroad.

We also have to mention the Žerotín group. Antonín Žerotín, one of the 1916-17 settlers, started soon after the Settle to produce sodas and refreshing beverages, using local herbs to infuse them. His Zero Cola quickly became one of the most popular drinks in the country, and along with their other sodas and cold teas, it is still widely consumed in Calgasia. His enterprise evolved into the Žerotín Group, nowadays one of the largest food conglomerates that expanded into dairy, processed foods and baked goods. Because of his fundamental contribution to raise the moral of the colonists during the hard, early days of Calgasia, Antonín Žerotín was and still is the only commoner to be elevated to nobility, being Baron Žerotín afterwards.

This community has an enormous influence in the country’s academic circles and scientific output. As mentioned, the Charles University of Melperk, or Univerzita Karlova, is Calgasia's best academic institution, with leading research in biotechnology, medicine, law, physics and chemistry.

Sport is also an important part for this community, with numerous successes and athletes over the decades. Melperk SV and Bohunice FC, the two big football clubs of this community, have 12 and 10 Bundesliga titles respectively, being second and third in the titles palmarès. Ice hockey is very important for Czech Calgasians, forming the bulk of the EisLiga players and teams. Of course, Melperk Löwen and Bohunice EH are the most successful clubs in national hockey, with 16 titles each. In the Olympics, this community has contributed with numerous athletes, with champions like Jana Kopecková, current gold medal in Women's road race, or Hedvika Navratilová, gold in biathlon. 10 out of the 61 olympic medals came from Czech Calgasians.

People

In politics, Václav Mareš, was a labour union leader during the Czech Revolt of 1920, and later worked as one of the leaders of the Social Democratic Party, serving as a MP for five terms. Lenka Havel is the current Deputy Prime Minister of Calgasia and leader of the Social Democratic Party.

Dr. Eliška Váně is a biotechnologist, famous for her research in genetics, and Tomáš Beran is a renowned civil engineer, responsible for designing the cable-stayed Jubilee Bridge.

In the arts, we find Miloš Holub, an award-winning film director, one of the pioneers of the "New Wave" in the national cinema, Klára Ježková, considered one of the best classical violinists in the Multiverse, Matej "MAJO" Novotný, one of Calgasia's most famous DJs and music producers, with numerous hits,
Zdena Kopecká, novelist, journalist and essayist who wrote a blockbuster saga of books, or Dominika Svobodová, a famous top model who has headlined for numerous fashion houses in Goldstadt and across the Multiverse.

In sports, Katharina Bohm is a legendary hockey player and captain of Bohunice EH, already considered the best hockey player in the country's history. Karel "The Prophet" Polásek is a renowned former football player, now manager of Bohunice FC. His tactics have revolutionised national football, taking Bohunice, traditionally an underdog, to dominate the Bundesliga in the last five years. Jan Novák and Emil Sedlácek are considered the best players of the football national team.

by **Eriadni** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 6:55 am

Match Report - IAC MDs 2 and 3
Drawkland 2-0 Eriadni
Eriadni 5-2 Kaulkia

An expected loss to Drawkland and a thriller 5-2 win over Kaulkia have sent Eriadni through to the Round of 32 in the IAC 26!

While the result against Drawkland is disappointing, many fans were expecting the result, with the Drawkland Kick Corps a tremendous side and one well worth their accolades. Grouped together in WC101 qualifiers, and previously drawn twice, this new result takes the head-to-head record into negative territory for Eriadni. Despite the loss, the team was happy to be playing against such an accomplished opponent, and there was nonetheless moments of great promise for the Eagles. Whether the lessons learnt can be converted into better results is a different question, but post-match, there was little to do except get ready for the next one.

Bouncing back in style, the Eriadnians gave everything in their match against newcomers Kaulkia. In a wild, seven goal thriller, the Eagles channeled every ounce of skill, tenacity and determination they had to win. Taking the game to their opponents, the team played far more aggressively. Full-backs bombing forward, shots from outside the box, the team appeared determined to turn the game into an attacking drill. Controversial? Surely. Appreciated by the fans? Mostly! Many Eriadnian hospitals reported alerts from heart rate monitors, as both teams traded goals in the first half, with little thought given to keeping a clean sheet. Bai Yanyu opened the scoring, before Kaulkia put one on the board ten minutes later. A superb cut inside and shot from outside the box gave Zeng Da her first goal of the competition, sending the Eriadnians ahead. With minutes to half time, the Kaulkians struck back with a superb display of finesse, as the striker fired the ball into the net on the half-volley.

Coming back after the break, the Eriadnians appeared to have settled down. The back four played as a back four rather than a back one-and-a-half again. Was it going to be patient build-up that gave the Eagles the win? It seemed it might be until, after winning back possession, the team put together a series of hard and fast passes. Moving the ball up the pitch with a blur, the accurate and quick passing leaving the Kaulkian midfield in the dust. Vindication arrived after just ten minutes, as winger Shen Lanfen scored with a great curling shot into the top right corner, before Zeng Da added a second a mere five minutes later with a superb near post header. With a 4-2 lead, the team was able to settle down, and was largely content to hold on to the ball and run down the clock. One final link up between Zhu Xiaofan and Bai Yanyu took the Eriadnian's lead to three and booked them a spot in the Round of 32.

As ever, the Eriadnians face a significant challenge, being drawn against 6th seeded Huelavia. Another match against an established and highly competent team is a sign of how far the Eriadnians have come, but will also show how far they have yet to go. While fans are hoping desperately for an upset, the odds do appear to be against the Eagles. This however, has not deterred the squad, who remain cheerful and upbeat, and appear to be relishing another challenge. A victory here would mean playing either Auprussia or Sernet, another two excellent sides posing another significant challenge. But strange things do happen, when you're going 'round the twist, and the Eriadnians will certainly give the upcoming matches their all.

by **Archalit** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 7:34 am

(before the match)

Pirates With Draw Odds After Marblelanians Defeat Polaxia 5-3

"It was loud," Madeleine Olson said in the hours leading up to the Archalit vs Bostopia match. If Polaxia had won earlier that day against the Marblelanian delegation, the Pirates would be forced into a must-win situation against the Bostopian side, the first seed from the group and a former World Cup contender. "It's not like we had a safe spot or anything if the Marblelanians won," she said, "but draw odds going up against a team on a two game draw streak meant a lot."

However, the Polaxian delegation ultimately went down, but not without fireworks. 8 goals in 90 minutes came out of the intense back-and-forth, with the rookie teams pushing insanely hard for the win. "It didn't really matter where you were. If the Marblelanians or Polaxians scored, you could heard the shouts."

Archalit's upcoming opponent in Bostopia is 2-for-2 in draws this tournament and is also in their own must-win situation to qualify for the knockout stage. Unlike the Pirates, they don't have the option to push for a draw. However, they are the more experienced team by far and has had much better results lately on the international stage.

(after the match)

Pirates Defeat Bostopia, Advance to IAC Knockouts

The match against Bostopia was just as aggressive as the match earlier that day from the same group. As soon as the match began, you weren't even given time to blink before the ball already found a net. Indeed, in the 3rd minute of the match, Ethan San drilled a cross towards Madeleine Olson who managed to connect with the ball for a quick finish. With an extremely early lead, this goal set the tempo for the rest of the match. If Bostopia were to get out of the group stage at this point, they needed to score at least 2.

The next goal would come in the 22nd minute. Bostopian LM Van Lincley made a long shot attempt that was deflected away by Tyler Aboya, but striker Logan Grindle managed to find the ball as it bounced back into play and sent it in to tie the game.

1-1 at halftime, the Bostopian playstyle became even more desperate. Shortly after the break, however, this aggressive playstyle paid off. In the 48th minute, A corner kick by Duncan Kurtis connected with Jules Nortton's head to tip past the Archalitian goalkeeper before he could react,

The Pirates were now losing for the first time this match, and they needed to find a goal to keep their playoff dreams alive. In the 77th minute, after a lot of near-misses, Jeder Khan received the ball from Jodie Griffiths and quickly sent it, finding the equalizer at 2-2.

Once again, the Bostopian side had to play aggressively to keep their own playoff hopes alive. In the 90+1st minute, a bad tackle by defender Mick Langholm gave up a late game penalty kick to the Pirates. Madeleine Olson, the team's overwhelming scorer, took the penalty and slammed an excellent shot to the right of the net. The 31 year-old Patrick West would guess right, but it was just a fraction of a second too late, as the ball flew past his hand to make it 3-2.

The whistle blew minutes later, securing the victory for the Archalitian side. The Pirates had not only secured their playoff position, but were hopeful that their upcoming opponents wouldn't be too difficult given their seed.

Their next opponent will be Aphrilia from group O. This is, perhaps, the worst case scenario for the Pirates. An IAC champion two cycles back, two World Cup quarterfinals appearances (including at the crowded World Cup 100) in recent memory, sporting a similar 4-4-2 diamond formation to the Pirates' 3-4-3 diamond, was the 3rd seed coming into the tournament, and went undefeated in their group. Nevertheless, the Pirates are fighters through-and-through. If there are any chances at all, they are sure to find them.

by **Valentine Z** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 7:53 am

Part 2 – Dreams are made of stellar stuff.

Sigfreður Gamalíel Onyx Jason Steinason: For the absolute record, I am NOT sponsored by them, and neither is anyone else. Valentian companies often times do not need the sponsors and exposure. With that said, there is always a first time that you want to have your dreams filmed. Back then, there were several concerns with this: It used to be that dreams that were recorded weren’t yours per se; it was generated by the programs that were in the module. Now of course, these machines can record your brain waves and actually interpret them pretty damn well. The accuracy went as far as 80%. And of course, there is the concern of privacy. While there are a lot of dreams that you would like to have recorded, there were also times when you rather not. You probably know what I mean. Anyway, that was quickly addressed from the get-go, that these will be stored locally and only you and you alone can send and share it with others. It comes as no surprise to us, but I do understand the possible woes from the others. There we have it – the dream recorder. And you might ask, what is the first dream that you have ever recorded on it?

Well, there is this one. It looked like I was going for one of Eveline’s travel packages but no; this is clearly a dream. So, I found myself in a large pagoda, somewhere in Yangon’s Chinese Garden. I was there alongside a few of my relatives – some of whom are my actual relatives, but others were random people… you know, dream stuff. I was waiting for a procession to happen, which consisted of envoys from South Korea – monks, nuns, even a queen of theirs, the type. In this dream, the South Koreans were a monarchy, who knew? Anyway, the envoys sat on the mats on the ground, preparing for their usual prayers and to talk to us about some subject matter. Before that could happen, however, something a little bizarre happened. My “relatives and friends”, for the lack of a better word because like I said, they were not exactly people I fully know, they started approaching these entranced envoys and snapped their necks in one quick but gentle motion. After they did their deed, the nuns and monks were left behind in a sitting position, despite the fact that they were indeed dead from the deed. The queen was killed last, which then prompted the people around me to look at me. “Put those on,” they ordered, “You are to go to the tower and lead the procession.” Okayyyy, I thought to myself. I wanted to question them, but I rather not because I don’t want to know what would happen if I did question them. Though more importantly, I literally could not; this wasn’t a lucid dream episode. So, I took off the clothes from the South Korean monarch, with some make-up applied onto me.

I looked the part, I probably even played the part. It was soon time for me to go to a tower. It is situated 200 meters away from the main building of the pagoda, connected with a (thankfully) air conditioned walkway for the entire length. The walk was rather uneventful, but there were a lot of people looking at me, at us. My relatives and friends tried to reassure me, saying not to worry, and that they were just looking at me because hey, it’s rare to see a queen from Korea around these parts; it’s not really so much that they know that it’s me. It was… okay, let’s just put it that way. Along the way though, I got these two ladies poking my hair at the back, though it was unintentional. As it turns out, they were pointing at the hair bun and the way it was braided together, or something like that. It just so happened that they tripped and poked me. I mentioned this because those two were also a little familiar, like people that I knew, but were complete strangers here. That has always been a thing with dreams, it’s not the first (and the last) time that our brains have different people we met as placeholders, in places that were not very fitting.

After a few more minutes, we reached the tower, to which I was supposed to be simply standing there, looking queen-like. Easy task, I thought to myself. I did not have to say anything, did not need to address the people of Yangon or whatever. All I have to do is to be there, wait for the procession. It happened just like any other Buddhist procession, nothing out of the ordinary. Except the part whereby the audio system cut off, a mere technical issue. That by itself was not extraordinary but then what came up next? I could never anticipate that. From where I am standing, from the top of the tower I am on, we were looking at another similar tower in the distance, another 200 meters. From there, came a giant man – 10 meters tall, as tall as the tower itself. He emerged from behind the tower, wearing a t-shirt and a longyi, and walking towards an AV site. “Hey, the microphone is out of battery, could you? Yeah, thanks,” was what he said, and then back to that tower from where he came. It was a normal procedure, except for the fact that there was a 10 meters tall guy, of course. And… yeah, it went on normally. We finished it off with a military style dismissal, and then we were heading back to the main part of the pagoda. Certainly an experience, no one knew about the dead envoys, which I am not sure why we did it. I can give a recording if you want to watch.

by **Tanirinthia** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 8:16 am

DEAD WRONG
A Percival Hawthorne mystery
Chapter Three - Following the trail

I’d been reviewing the security footage for several hours at this point, in part I admit due to my reticence to leave this lovely cooled room, but mostly due the lack of security cameras focused on the stands themselves and the sheer volume of people in attendance. Given there were a myriad of ways for someone to get to that seat and that’s even if the fellow actually came and watched the match. It also didn’t help that there was no identification as of yet, so I didn’t have a proper photo to match up with. Luckily for my strained eyes and fogged up brain Elearnor came in the office with a much needed and gratefully received offer of coffee. The intoxicating aroma alone enough to rejuvenate my senses.

Shortly thereafter whether through the performance enhancing properties of the delicious elixir or just a coincidence, I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be the fellow. I rolled back the footage to get a better look as he was mostly obscured by the crowd, scrolling back I managed to get a good clear shot of them. Same clothes, same hair and as far as I could tell this was the same fellow. Now I’d found them in the footage it was time to see what they did while they were here, any clues as to how they ended up with their tragic end, could I see if someone was following them, anyone they met here who might be able to identify them, or even if they just bought something with a card at any of the food places here. Better get a print out of this image first though just in case I didn’t find anyone to get an identification here, something to show people on my inquiries.

Scrolling back and forward through the footage two things became clear, one that there was a reason he’d not spotted the fellow sooner; he seemed to be making a great effort to avoid the cameras and given that it was generally very hard to do so in the main areas trying to use the crowd to obscure himself from them. The second thing was they were clearly waiting to meet someone at an agreed time, as they were constantly checking their watch and scanning the crowd looking for someone. Whoever it was appeared to be running late and as people started to move their way towards the stands for the start of the match and the cover of the crowd was being lessened and he seemed to be considering moving with them as not to be left out on the concourse on his own. Just as he was about to do so, his mysterious meeting partner arrived, the opposite of the fellow who’d been waiting, not only clearly did care about being caught on camera but dressed like a sore thumb in a dark suit.

Clearly this didn’t help of the mood of our fellow, how immediately blew up on this new guy, now himself not caring about the cameras and the red mist descended, unfortunately there was no audio on the feed so I couldn’t tell what they were arguing about, but it was clearly very heated and with that our fellow stormed off all the way out of the stadium. The new mystery fellow made a call moments after they had left, before leaving themselves. Unfortunately they weren’t hungry or thirsty themselves either, leaving their identity a mystery too at this point, printed off a picture of this new mystery fellow as well. At least the footage was good quality, perhaps someone at my next stop will recognise them as well.

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

Matchday Three

Group Table

by **Crpostran** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 10:13 am

[*]All images used are from the web

by **Aamathyr** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 12:00 pm

4 takeaways from the League of Aamathyr (and 6 bonus ones from the IAC)

1. Nanwacj AA on fraud watch
Best team by far. Going to win the double. Won't lose a single game. All of these things were said about Nanwacj AA, but they didn't win a single thing. Yes, they made it to the final of the League of Aamathyr, but they never looked like they were going to challenge Olaati for the win. They need to get more used to playing on pitches that aren't their own.

2. League form isn't cup form
In the first round of the King's Cup, only one group winner advanced. Luumint were destroyed 4-1 by a Sapshru team that wasn't even playing amazing football, and their closest challengers RAC lost by multiple goals to Usthia. Olaati, who would go on to win the league title, lost by multiple goals at home to Ferrymen, of all teams. Harbormen, who had such a great group stage, lost to Nwatwish at home. Blues fell to a bottom-feeder Rravoon side. Only Nanwacj AA made it out, defeating a quite good Dockside team 2-0, but they would fall in the quarterfinals anyway.

3. Underdogs can only go so far
Sunthyri were everyone's darlings. 7-1 against Sjorda in the first round, 3-1 against Sapshru, 4-2 against Usthia, and they'd made it to the semifinals. But there they would fall, facing Traders, who themselves would lose the final. It's almost as if when you have a super easy draw, you collapse against any competent team.

4. Bogey teams exist
Nanwacj AA lost to two teams this season, but they lost 5 games. Twice to Olaati, starting and ending the final phase. Three times to Coalyards, twice in their group and once in the cup. Some teams just have your number.

1. Unranked teams are scary
Look at the top of the seeding table, and you'll see some familiar faces. Drawkland, Reçueçn, Indusse, Tanirinthia, all teams in the top ten of the regional rankings. But then you get to Jaliserra, who hadn't played a single competitive match before this, although they do have connections to Riandera who have, and two spots below them there's Serdtgyu, who had last competed at WC91 (and there they went 2-1-17 in qualifying) - not exactly blue bloods. Overall, eight teams in the knockout bracket - that's a quarter of them! - are coming in unranked.

2. The IAC has ignored any sort of standards for entrants
Most teams in Edsmontik and Crpostran have been well-behaved, on and off the pitch, behaving as you would expect teams to behave. Not Tumnia. After losing one match, their players attacked the Aamathyr side that had simply outplayed them. Their foreign minister, Konstantin Kozalowsky, even threatened war, despite being unable to point out Aamathyr on a map. It's like the entire country is populated by children with severe anger issues who are repeating third grade for the fifth time. It's certain that their leaders are, anyway, considering their complete and utter lack of maturity. To be honest, it's impressive they have a Minister of Education considering all of their people seem to be uneducated idiots. There doesn't need to be a morality test, but some basic "do you have any intelligence whatsoever" wouldn't hurt (although in the case of Tumnia, you'd likely have to do that test on their leaders as well, though they'd probably fail)

3. Comebacks, comebacks, comebacks
Sernet against Imoto. Archalit against Bostopia. Rovenza against Tristan de Cunha. Löwenburg against Edsmontik. All four of these teams went behind on matchday 3 before winning, and that's out of the few games we have detailed goalscoring data for. For Rovenza and Archalit, they wouldn't have made it through if they lost, while for the other two it was just about placement (Löwenburg could technically have been knocked out, but they would have needed to lose by four or five, depending on how many goals they scored). Still, it's impressive that so many national teams across the multiverse have such resilience to deal with going down by a goal (sometimes multiple, as Rovenza did) and coming back to win.

4. Cities can be large
Yes, I know this isn't about football, but hear me out. Aamathyr has a population of three hundred and seventy-nine thousand. Edsmontik has a population of one hundred and ninety-eight million - over five hundred times as large as Aamathyr. You could fit all of Nanwacj into any of the stadiums that this tournament is being held in, except for Montelago. Aamathyr isn't very urbanized - only a quarter to a third of its population lives in cities or towns, depending on how you define it - but even if all of its population was in one city, it wouldn't be anywhere near the size of somewhere like Touve.

5. Goals for continues to be a bad tiebreak
Last time around, in IAC25, it was Aamathyr ourselves who got screwed over by goals for, being knocked out in the third place table. This time, it was Choppyhausen. Despite undoubtedly being the better team, their tally of two goals for was worse than the three the idiots of Tumnia got, and so out they went. This just plainly disadvantages teams that have a more defensive style - like our 5-3-2 instead of Tumnia's 4-2-3-1 (though we beat them anyways, the braindead bastards). Maybe if Aamathyr ever hosts something, we can have the tiebreaker be least Goals Against. Be good to see HUElavia go out on that, or Tumnia.

6. Substitutes!
This one is more specific to Aamathyr, yes, but it is still true. Substitutes can be very useful - it was Njammoos, after all, who scored the goal that won the Swovacjaaspeal the decisive match against Choppyhausen (who, once again, I will maintain deserved to advance). It was also a substitute, this time Lovon, that prevented a Safiloa goal that would have made the disappointing draw into a terrible loss. If Cjarilla is doing one thing well this tournament, it is her excellent management of substitutions.

by **Edsmontik** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 12:18 pm

OOC NOTE: Graphics to be produced for the Ro16, most likely not for this cutoff because of how busy I am prior to my Vietnam flight.

✶Round of 32✶

TOP LEFT
Drawkland 1–1 Komunist turkiyem (4–1 AET)
@Touve Suberarenae, EDS

Aamathyr 3–1 Hafamarimët
@Touve Suberarenae, EDS

Seeberg 2–4 Snestar
@Bellafonte multi-Purpose Stadium, CRN

Sel Appa 3–1 Natkr
@Beechstadt Kalse, EDS

BOTTOM LEFT
Tanirinthia 1–0 Saperetia
@Olympikstadion, CRN

Crpostran 2–1 The Elder Lands
@Ankester Stadt, EDS

Jaliserra 0–1 Rovenza
@Pyskastadt, EDS

The United Empires of the Seven Seas 3–3 Valentine Z (3–3 AET) (4–3 pen.)
@Montelago International Stadium, CRN

TOP RIGHT
Reçueçn 1–0 Solgavden
@Crpostair Arena, CRN

Lionsroar 1–1 Calgasia (3–1 AET)
@Sauftunderarena, EDS

Serdtgyu 2-3 Edsmontik
@Vaanstross-Keisar, EDS
*Scorinated by Kwrpania*

Aphrilia 3–1 Archalit
@Stadio Della Florentina, CRN

BOTTOM RIGHT
Indusse 3–3 Tumnia (3–3 AET) (3–1 pen.)
@Empironstadt, EDS

The Republic of the United Marble Tribes 2–3 Saterun
@aurell Stadium, CRN

HUElavia 4–1 Eriadni
@The Bramley Road, CRN

Sernet 1–3 Auprussia
@Merqaza Whole Foods Stadt, EDS

✶Round of 16 Matches✶

TOP LEFT
Drawkland v. Aamathyr
@Empironstadt, EDS

Snestar v. Sel Appa
@olympikstadion, CRN

BOTTOM LEFT
Tanirinthia v. Crpostran
@Vaanstross-Keisar, EDS

Rovenza v. The United Empires of the Seven Seas
@The Bramley Road, CRN

TOP RIGHT
Reçueçn v. Lionroar
@Merqaza Whole Foods Stadt, EDS

Edsmontik v. Aphrilia
@Crpostair Arena, CRN

BOTTOM RIGHT
Indusse v. Saterun
@Ankester Stadt, EDS

HUElavia v. Auprussia
@Montelago International Stadium, CRN

by **HUElavia** » Sat Aug 01, 2026 7:39 pm

Ro32:
HUElavia 4–1 Eriadni
(Serra 13', 40', 80', Valdovinos 69'| Da 88')
The Bramley Road, Brugstadt, Crpostran

A Serenade for Serra!

Serra seals the advance for HUElavia with a hat-trick against Eriadni to set up a Round-of-16 match against Auprussia!

HUElavia returned to the knockouts of the IAC, now for the 18th consecutive edition that Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos were in said stage. With more and more teams appearing in the IAC, there was once again the Round-of-32, another knockout round for a tournament that really felt like anyone could win it. Half the teams that registered for the tournament were eliminated at this point and the field would go down to a quarter of the registered teams after the Round-of-32. HUElavia came in as the No. 6 seed after their impressive sweep of Group J, taking on No. 27 Eriadni, who came out of Group M as the runners-up. It was a mainly HUElavia-majority once again in the stands, as the team came out with the A-team in full force, as selected by Coach Narita.

HUElavia attacked with force and conviction, looking to draw first blood once again in their match. Controlling possession, pressing Eriadni more and more into their box trying to get the opening goal. In the 13th minute, a cross from Gavicaechebarria went into the box, where it reached Arruda, who took a shot in the box that got deflected by Shan, only to land at the feet of Serra, who took a chip shot past the reach of Xiaolian into the top corner of the goal, making it 1-0. The HUElavian crowd erupted in joy and glee at the sudden goal, while Serra did The Cross and ran to the corner flag to dance with her teammates and the bench that came to celebrate with her. Eriadni began to pressure more and more, trying to get something going, but the HUElavian defense stood strong, not allowing any chance to get near Morterero. Even in the few chances the ball would get towards her, Morterero would grab the ball and quickly pass it to a teammate or kick it deep towards center circle. In the 40th minute, España dispossessed Yun, and began to run with the ball in a counter-attack, where she passed it to Kaba, who then sent a pass to Serra, who gave a one-time low, but powerful shot to get past the reach of Xiaolian into the bottom corner of the goal, making it 2-0. The HUElavian crowd jumped up with joy and passion while Serra did The Cross and danced at the corner flag again with her teammates joining her. At the half, it was a strong and resounding 2-0 lead, one that had HUElavia hungry for more goals.

In the 2nd half, Eriadni tried to put some more pressure and take more shots, now with it directly going on target and having Morterero come out to make blocks and saves, with much of the HUElavian crowd applauding at her performance. In the 69th minute, a pass from Menéndez (in for Kaba) would reach to Valdovinos (in for Sartori), getting past the coverage of Ting, giving a blistering, curving shot past the reach of Xiaolian into the top corner of the goal, making it 3-0. The HUElavian supporters jumped up with surprise and joy at the fantastic golazo, while Valdovinos did The Cross and hugged his teammates in celebration for the goal. At this point, it was a certainty that HUElavia was going to advance at that point, with such relatively little time for Eriadni to respond. In the 80th minute, a free kick was won after a foul by Qingzhao (in for Liqin) over Xirau (in for Llancay), where a cross was sent in by Valdovinos into the box, where Serra won a diving header over Chen and headed the ball past a sprawling Xiaolian into the goal, making it 4-0. The HUElavian crowd jumped with joy and glee, applauding the hat-trick and chanting Serra's name, as she did The Cross and was hugged by her teammaets for the hat-trick. In the 88th minute, a corner was won by Eriadni where a corner was taken by Pengfei into the box, where Da won the header over Vidal (in for Pillihuaman) to head the ball past the fingertips of Morterero into the goal, making it the definitive 4-1. Da was hugged and patted by their teammates, while the Eriadnians celebrated with cheers and applause. Shortly after, the match ended and HUElavia had their advance to the Round-of-16 once again.

In the other Round-of-32 match of note, Auprussia defeated Sernet 3-1, setting them up in a rematch from the World Cup a few years ago. In the post-match conference, Coach Narita was quoted saying "It was a fantastic match from the team once again. Big kudos to Serra for her performance today, she came out wanting to make a statement and did just that. Morterero was fantastic, despite it being a shame we couldn't keep the clean sheet, but that's how games can just go when it comes to defending. It's a well-earned and deserved victory and we look forward to our next match against Auprussia for the Round-of-16. We got plenty to still train and study film for, so we have to give some good practice in the coming days to get the advance against the Auprussians. They may have beat us at the World Cup some years ago, but we have a score to settle and we want to go all out for the advance to the Quarter-Finals. We count on our fans to show up as always and make it loud and passionate, just like in HUElavia." HUElavia will meet Auprussia in 10 days at Montelago International Stadium (50,000) in Montelago, Crpostran. The smallest of the venues in Crpostran, HUElavians will be coming in droves to cheer on the team once more, in hopes for yet another return to the Quarter-Finals. Here's to what can be another advance in this wonderful IAC.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

IAC 26 - EDSMONTIK/CRPOSTRAN - EVERYTHING THREAD

Who is online