Swamp Soccer World Cup III (Everything Thread)

[Wight]

.

[Free Swiss States]

FSS With Chance to Qualify
"This is terrible news," announced Jonah Nizzy, the team's coach. "Our team as a collective has already been responsible for three deaths, not counting gypsies. I dare to think what would happen if we qualified and had to stay here for longer!" The team, which apparently has had a great time discussing arms smuggling and introducing kindergartners to crystal meth, will be playing their hearts out tomorrow and will also probably be high on something. We interviewed one of the players, who had only this to say. "You know... its like my man Goodie Feels says... b@!!$ to the wall..." he then wandered off and at press time had fallen down a laundry chute. We look forward to reporting to you again, this has been Basil Broadcasting Company... get the vibe, pay us a bribe.

[Mashiki]

Late:

Dwek was an angry character: getting mad at the slightest thing, or just over-reacting to anything that seemed even vaguely offensive. He and his brother Buglo often has disputes, both at home and on their travels (as they found out last time). He loved Swamp Soccer, it was his career, his life you might say. And for him, missing it or a whole year would be the most devastating thing that could happen to him. And that's what almost happened to him at the airport

What he thought would just be a quick airport snack turned out to be a complication just waiting to happen. At De Bralliak Inter-Rushmori Airport, The Swamp Soccer team were waiting to board their flight to the Icemark. The majority of the team wanted to wait in the lounge, but young Borili Duba was nervous, and felt as if he needed to be on the plane with bags of time to spare. Dwek was incredibly thirsty and hungry though, after not having any breakfast back home. Naturally, he went to the nearest shop to buy himself a bite to eat. What he didn't expect to find was the Phoenigetuzsthan Swamp Soccer Appreiation Society waiting there on their tour of Rushmore. This was unexpected. Dwek tried to hide himself, but was instantly recognised by the avid fans and their cameras. He was swamped by their requests for autographs and pictures.

30 minutes later, they left. But Dwek had got sonengrossed in his fans, that his flight to the Icemark was on its final call. Leaving in a hurry, he sprinted all the way to his get, constantly avoiding the masses of people that recognised him, he reached the boarding mark, and realised suddenly that his brother Biglo had the pass. He fumbled furiously through his jacket pockets for the key to the World Cup but to no avail. Lučkily for him, he found Digna Twaqulu standing in the gangway waiting for him with his ticket. Reality restored.

Now, midway through the cup after the third game against Slembana, he'd left it late again, but this time in a better way. Dwek had scored a last gasp goal to win Mashiki the match after a tight game. His teammates were ungrateful for him before the flight had taken off, and maybe would have rathered to leave him at home. But now they realised he was crucial just like every other component of the team. Now the only team not to concede a goal in the competition so far, Mashiki were still leaving it late.

[The Icemark]

Matchday 4 Results

Group A
Yesopalitha 2–0 Vahvanti
Free Swiss States 1–0 Michael VII
Great Bohemia 0–0 Lymantatia

  Group A                                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Yesopalitha                                  4   4  0  0   12   2 +10   12
2 Free Swiss States                            4   3  0  1    7   4  +3    9
3 Michael VII                                  4   2  0  2    7   4  +3    6
4 Vahvanti                                     4   1  1  2    3   5  −2    4
5 Lymantatia                                   4   0  2  2    3  10  −7    2
6 Great Bohemia                                4   0  1  3    1   8  −7    1

Group B
The Icemark 1–0 Slembana
Felix Terra 0–2 Mashiki
Free South Califas 4–0 Licentiapacisterra

  Group B                                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Free South Califas                           4   4  0  0   14   1 +13   12
2 Mashiki                                      4   4  0  0    6   0  +6   12
3 Licentiapacisterra                           4   2  0  2    6   9  −3    6
4 The Icemark                                  4   1  1  2    2   6  −4    4
5 Felix Terra                                  4   0  1  3    0   7  −7    1
6 Slembana                                     4   0  0  4    3   8  −5    0

Group C
The Most Serene Republic of Alex Morgan 3–1 Soviet Canuckistan
Darmen 1–0 Gluecows
Equestrain States 0–2 Farfadillis

  Group C                                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Farfadillis                                  4   4  0  0   10   1  +9   12
2 Equestrain States                            4   3  0  1   11   5  +6    9
3 Darmen                                       4   2  0  2    5   6  −1    6
4 Gluecows                                     4   1  1  2    5   6  −1    4
5 The Most Serene Republic of Alex Morgan      4   1  0  3    5   9  −4    3
6 Soviet Canuckistan                           4   0  1  3    4  13  −9    1

Group D
Wight 1–0 Western Cuba
Maklohi Vai 1–0 Taqud
Nopspri 1–0 Taijan

  Group D                                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Wight                                        4   4  0  0    9   2  +7   12
2 Maklohi Vai                                  4   3  0  1    7   4  +3    9
3 Taqud                                        4   2  0  2    7   5  +2    6
4 Western Cuba                                 4   2  0  2    5   6  −1    6
5 Nopspri                                      4   1  0  3    2   6  −4    3
6 Taijan                                       4   0  0  4    1   8  −7    0

[Free Swiss States]

FSS Wins Match Despite Two Players Being Arrested Mid-Match
The Swiss Swamp Soccer team almost suffered calamity when, after being up a goal at halftime, almost suffered a dehabilitating loss after officials marched onto the field and led away the team's lead striker in handcuffs. One of the team's defenders rushed to his aid, pulling out a machete and attempting to assault the captors, but was tazored and taken away too. After that, the opposing team fired shot after shot, but miraculously failed to score.

We interviewed lead coach Jonah Nizzy on what the possible causes for the arrest could be. He said, "Now, if it was a normal guy, I'd say rape, but you know, I know the kid, he's a nice guy, really. He probably just tried to blow up a restaurant or something."

[Maklohi Vai]

Swamp Soccer has taken Maklohi Vai by storm! After originally not being scheduled to be televised, each of the remaining games is now on the lineup for UVSN, Maklohi Vai's leading sports channel. The sport has also become popular among young children. A 7 year old playing in the suburbs of Wokani was quoted as saying, "I like mud." Although the sport has not yet reached widespread following, some suspect that a good showing by the team will make that happen.

[Farfadillis]

A conversation between Sereno and Dandalleion:

RS: Well, Equestrian States was harder than I expected.

FD: To tell you the truth, I thought that after we eliminated them last time, they would seek revenge. However, this was clearly not the case, as we won by a margin of 2 goals.

RS: You know? A match shouldn't be analyzed solely by the result.

FD: I know, I know, but we still were superior to that bunch of magical creatures. I scored twice in 4 minutes.

RS: And can you tell me what happened before those last 4 minutes?

FD: A match where a bunch of humans were superior to a bunch of magical creatures.

RS: Fine, keep on thinking like that, as long as we win....

---

Farfadillis advances with 1 match left

It's been a year since last SSWC, where we managed to win the bronze medal defeating impressive teams like Ipeland and Wight. But, this time, it wouldn't be that much of a surprise: the team is doing much better than last time (so far). Today, Dandalleion scored twice to defeat Equestrian States, a team we had eliminated last time during the group stages, with a win 5 - 4 in the last match. The team started being better than Equestrian States, continued being better until Half Time, continued being bette rduring Half Time and ended up being better at the end by scoring 2 late goals: 1 header and 1 counterattack. The team has shown to be really united, with Danadlleion still having his Swamp Soccer talent intact.

Possible Rivals in the QF:
Wight: Almost impossible to play against Wight, we must lose against Alex Morgan and Equestrian States must win, with at least one of this results being by a margin of more than 1 goal.
Maklohi Vai: The most possible, currently candidate to end up 2nd, we're candidates to end up 1st.
TaQud: It'd be difficult for TaQud to qualify, but certainly not impossible, they're 3 points away from Maklohi Vai and 1 goal away when it comes to goal differential.
Western Cuba: This one is also hi9ghly unlikely, having a worse goal differential than TaQud.

[Mashiki]

Through:

Signa Twaqulu sat in his make-shift office in the Icemark waiting for the next match to come around. He thought for a while about times of past and times of trouble, such as the events earlier that year in Ossidiacqua and Iturributa. He knew he shouldn't really think about these things, as they were in the past and he knew that but he just couldn't get them out of his head.

Earlier that year in the Baptism of Fire, Signa had taken over the Mashik National Football Team, but had now decided to stay with Swamp Soccer. He had been encouraged to take the senior position in the sporting body of Mashiki, after his success with the Swamp Soccer team only a few months earlier that year. However, things did not go as planned back then, and Masjiki ended up going out in the group stages with only a few points to their name.

Back in Mashiki, people had been discouraged by Signa, and questioned the choice immediately re-instating his role of the Swanp Soccer manager. Yet all these people were proved wrong when they came back to the Icemark. With our 100% record still intact thus far in this tournament. He enjoyed watching the team play and was especially impressed by the defence this year to their 4th successive clean sheet. This has ensured their place in the next round. They were through.

Free South Califas are also through in Group 2, with them leading due to their superior goal difference. However, all this can change next match when we take them on, and a win will reward us with 1st place and not to play reigning champions Yesopalitha in the quarter finals. Signs thought about this for a while and then began to nod, agreeing with the thoughts that passed through his mind. And with that, he dozed off in his chair, waiting for another day.

[The Icemark]

Matchday 5 Results

Group A
Lymantatia 0–3 Yesopalitha
Michael VII 4–2 Great Bohemia
Vahvanti 1–2 Free Swiss States

  Group A                                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Yesopalitha                                  5   5  0  0   15   2 +13   15
2 Free Swiss States                            5   4  0  1    9   5  +4   12
3 Michael VII                                  5   3  0  2   11   6  +5    9
4 Vahvanti                                     5   1  1  3    4   7  −3    4
5 Lymantatia                                   5   0  2  3    3  13 −10    2
6 Great Bohemia                                5   0  1  4    3  12  −9    1

Group B
Licentiapacisterra 1–5 The Icemark
Mashiki 2–1 Free South Califas
Slembana 2–1 Felix Terra

  Group B                                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mashiki                                      5   5  0  0    8   1  +7   15
2 Free South Califas                           5   4  0  1   15   3 +12   12
3 The Icemark                                  5   2  1  2    7   7   0    7
4 Licentiapacisterra                           5   2  0  3    7  14  −7    6
5 Slembana                                     5   1  0  4    5   9  −4    3
6 Felix Terra                                  5   0  1  4    1   9  −8    1

Group C
Farfadillis 1–0 The Most Serene Republic of Alex Morgan
Gluecows 0–0 Equestrain States
Soviet Canuckistan 1–5 Darmen

  Group C                                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Farfadillis                                  5   5  0  0   11   1 +10   15
2 Equestrain States                            5   3  1  1   11   5  +6   10
3 Darmen                                       5   3  0  2   10   7  +3    9
4 Gluecows                                     5   1  2  2    5   6  −1    5
5 The Most Serene Republic of Alex Morgan      5   1  0  4    5  10  −5    3
6 Soviet Canuckistan                           5   0  1  4    5  18 −13    1

Group D
Taijan 0–2 Wight
Taqud 3–1 Nopspri
Western Cuba 0–1 Maklohi Vai

  Group D                                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Wight                                        5   5  0  0   11   2  +9   15
2 Maklohi Vai                                  5   4  0  1    8   4  +4   12
3 Taqud                                        5   3  0  2   10   6  +4    9
4 Western Cuba                                 5   2  0  3    5   7  −2    6
5 Nopspri                                      5   1  0  4    3   9  −6    3
6 Taijan                                       5   0  0  5    1  10  −9    0

Quarter-Final Matches
Yesopalitha Vs Free South Califas
Farfadillis vs Maklohi Vai
Mashiki vs Free Swiss States
Wight vs Equestrain States

[Maklohi Vai]

After a poor first game, the Vaian squad has turned it around and will now play Farfadillis in the QFs. Said commentator Wolmoto Likani, "We've come a long way, and this might be as far as we come. Farfadillis is a tough team and we'll have trouble beating them. However, I know there's fight in this group. They're quite close knit and they really have got their best game on right now. If we're going to win, now is the best time possible."

[Farfadillis]

He took a sheet of paper, he HAD to write what had happened and what he thought was going to happen, as well as analyze their chances, their way here and much more things.

Writing my Mind on paper:

We're through, well, we were through before this match, but we now have the ideal total of points, and have successfully avoided playing against Wight, which would've been a serious problem for the entire squad. Specially inexperienced players. The Most Serene Republic of Alex Morgan was a tough opponent, I can't believe we actually thouhgt this was going to be easy for us. No match has been easy so far, no match has been easy for us even counting last SSWC. We're far from invincible, however, I've got to confess that I think we're going to win against Maklohi Vai, a team which is kinda the surprise of the tournament and doesn't seem to fear us at all. Also, by analyzing the groups I can say that last time semifinalists will probably repeat, as Mashiki and us have conceeded only 1 goal and Yesopalitha and Wight have conceeded just 2. And like if that wasn't enough, the only one that hasn't scored more than 10 goals is Mashiki, a team famous for their mixed style, which is recognized worldwide by anyone who likes this sport. They play just as us.

The Match:

We started well, being better at moments, however, The Most Serene Republic of Alex Morgan also was better at moments. Numbá, Kander, Sereno, Alexandro, Mejulus and I were really surprised, we weren't expecting a difficult match, they were eliminated, and we were just playing for fun. But we really didn't expect it when they hit the post, it was like a shock, we were taken back to reality. Up to that, we had been thinking kind of highly of ourselves, but when they hit the post, we were all surprised. Now, the team had to play better, The Most Serene Republic of Alex Morgan had shown us that they were well capable of scoring and defeating us. We had to play just as in any other important match to keep our honour intact. Fayuds entered for Kander, and he started passing the ball to me, I managed to outrun an Alex Morgan player just once, and that's when we managed to score: I dribbled the keeper, somehow, as we were playing on mud, and chippe dit to make sure it would cross the imaginary line. Relief, relief at last, we had scored and now we weren't the ones seeking for a goal, we had already scored it. Thinking of how that match was gives me the shivers. The Most Serene Republic of Alex Morgan was the best team after that, after Half Time, we couldn't get even one shot, while The Most Serene Republic of Alex Morgan managed to make Mejulus the Man of the Match. Mejulus stopped everything, simply everything, and got us through with 15 points out of 15. Now, we must play much better against Maklohi Vai, but I'm happy they're not Free South Califas or Free Swiss States teams that have shown they're candidates.

Prediction: Farfadillis 2 - 2 (4 - 2 AET) Maklohi Vai

I predict a win in Extra Time, as usual, we have yet to win before extra time in the SSWC.

[Free Swiss States]

Free Swiss States Advance After Epic Shoot-out
After a tense 90-some minutes, the Vahvanti team finally conceded defeat and was led out on stretchers. The Swiss players, who had been firing again and again, reined victorious. We interviewed some of the players afterwards as to what kind of gun they were using, and the our lead striker confessed he had brought a bazooka to what had been agreed to as a pistols-only football duel.

Despite our goalie suffering a serious head wound and almost dying of internal bleeding, the Vahvanti strikers only managed one goal, while they conceded two after one of our defenders took out half the pitch with a Gatling gun. Says Coach Jonah Nizzy, "Well, I'd say that the Vahvanti team learned an important lesson," he said. "Never bring a pair of cleats to a gunfight!"

[Mashiki]

Sweep:

Friki Lamchakla liked being a keeper, but a back-up keeper was definitely not in his plans when he was younger. He wanted to be playing every game, and in proper football as well, not Swamp Soccer. He used to hate the sport, despised it when he found out he would be warming the bench. He didn't see the point in the whole game the first time he came to the Icemark and was just there to keep the team company. Yet he found renewed faith within his new friend Frenzi Ikalok, the only other over-30 in the squad. When they went sky-diving in that cave last year, it really strengthened their bonds together. So when they came so painfully close in that tournament, Friki found that he thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

Back home, even though he may only be a substitute keeper, he was looked up to by a new generation of fans. In light of this, he created a new training scheme for the youngsters of Mashiki to enrich and enjoy the newly popularised sport. But there was still a bit of doubt within him about being on the bench, and this irritated him. He went to have a word with Signa Twaqulu when he got back from the BoF. Signa said to him that he could leave when he wanted to, all he had to do was say the word. But Signa's words encouraged him, and the enjoyment of the sport and being with his newly-found friends was too much for him to let go. He stayed.

Now he sits in his room, thinking about all the possible outcomes of the next rounds, after a magnificent 2-1 win over Free South Califas. They may have conceded their first goal of the tournament, but at the same time, it had been only a small sacrifice in order to finish off a clean sweep of wins, with the maximum of 15 points. Now in the next round, we face Free Swiss States, who have a strong side as a debutant. They sort of remind us of ourselves last time out, plucky and optimistic, and then getting into the latter stages of the tournament. They also have a habit of getting into trouble on the pitch, with 3 deaths off the pitch, and 2 arrests and a so-called 'epic' gun face-off last match. But being the second seed now, we should see them off, with control though, we mustn't be over-confident.

Other teams through include all the other three semi-finalists from last year Yesopalitha, who we lost to in the final last year and are overwhelming favourites, Wight, who we beat in the semis last time out, and Farfadillis, a team much like us, who had the potential to reach the final last time out, but were defeated by a stronger Yesopalithan side. Maklohi Vai, Free South Califas and Equestrian States also made it through, coming second in Group 4, 2 and 3 respectively.We have avoided Yesopalitha, and we can only now play them in the final, and with a semi final against Wight looking to be on the cards, a repeat of last year may beckon, hopefully beating Yesopalitha in the final this year if we get that far.

[The Icemark]

Quarter-Final Results

Yesopalitha 2–0 Free South Califas
Farfadillis 1–1 Maklohi Vai (3–1 AET)
Mashiki 4–2 Free Swiss States
Wight 1–1 Equestrain States (1–1 AET) (7–8 pen.)

Semi-Final Matches
Yesopalitha vs Farfadillis
Mashiki vs Equestrain States

[Mashiki]

Wight 1–1 Equestrain States (1–1 AET) (7–8 pen.)

OOC: It says here that Equestrian States beat Wight, but in the semi-final draw, it says Wight are through.

[The Icemark]

OOC: It says here that Equestrian States beat Wight, but in the semi-final draw, it says Wight are through.

OOC: Sorry. My mistake. Typo error edited

[Farfadillis]

OOC: It says here that Equestrian States beat Wight, but in the semi-final draw, it says Wight are through.

OOC: Sorry. My mistake. Typo error edited

It also says EquestrAIn States, not EquestrIAn States.

[Farfadillis]

"Once again", he thought. "Fate is quite predictable, there was no other way for this to end; against Yesopalitha."
"I do have a better feeling of how tomorrow's match will end, however. Is it just a coincidence, or are we going to win", he continued thiking.

He suddenly heard another voice, more like his analytic and pessimistic side.

"You really think that after defeating Maklohi Vai in Extra Time you stand any chances against Y-E-S-O-P-A-L-I-T-H-A?"

He stopped thinking of the match against Yesopalitha, he was obviously becoming mentally ill. He continued to write, it had become sort of a tradition now, to attract luck.

Against Yesopalitha:

We're going against Yesopalitha, again, Free South Califas stood no chance against the Vampires and lost 2 - 0, rather humillatingly. Last time, they defeated us 2 - 1, after we played our best game that World Cup. Those vampires are going to be hard as hell to beat, they seem to be better every year, and they have won every single game they have played. I'm still hoping we qualify for the so much sought after final; I'll do anyhting that is needed. Heard that God?

Farfadillis - Maklohi Vai

And the match ended almost as I predicted it: Winning by a 2 goal margin, in extra time. It's ALWAYS after extra time. Maklohi Vai even took the lead after they score 4 minutes after the beginning of the match. Monumai HEADED in a cross. Let's emphasize that it was a header, as Serenp and Alezandre are short, not as short as the Mexandeliou twins, who were 14 last year, but really short. Then, Numbá managed to equalize with a penalty kick, but during the 8th minute of the 2nd Half. We were really relieved, we weren't eliminated with that goal, however, we'd still have to go through extra time in order to advance. Happily, we kept our record: always wining on extra time. I scored a counterattack 2 minutes from the penalty kicks, the pressure was gargantuan, I even felt like I couldn't run for the 1st time of my life. The goalkeeper was impressive....ly bad so I managed to score regardless of the weak shot. And then on the last minute, with Maklohi Vai completely in our imaginary box, Sereno sent a long pass, I outran every player and went on to score without any goalkeeper, who was also attacking at that time. We played one of the worst games of our lives, but Maklohi Vai's bad defense against counterattacks allowed us to score, that along with the idiotic fould they commited to Kander, I can't blame them, though, the "sweepball" was too classy for them and they couldn't control themselves, not even inside the box.

Yesopalitha 2 - 0 Free South Califas

I'm not going in-depth with this match, Yesopalitha was simply superior, Raoul Tibez played really well and Emmanuel Laret wreaked havoc in the Califan defense. We mustn't fear them anyways, as last time we were pretty close to a tie, and anything can happen when it comes to penalties.

Prediction: Farfadillis 0 - 0 Yesopalitha (0 - 0 AET) (4 - 2 pen.)

I'm optimistic about tomorrow's match, I think we'll win without deserving it and I'm sure it will be exciting.

He stopped writing as Kander called him to start training, he said the manager had something important to say.

During the training session:

"Charlens Ricardensonschwein Migarfa looks like if he hadn't slept all night, is he as nervous as me?", he thought.
"God, I hate that name, it's too long.", thought his pessimistic counterpart. "He also sucks as a manager, why can't he make you guys win at least one knock-out match before extra time?", it continued.
"Well, that's simply because it's not meant to be, maybe we're meant to be tired for every match. Playing swamp soccer and going to extra time is really exhausting. Maybe it's meant for Yesopalitha to win....", said his optimistic part.
"Wait, let's not switch sides!" said the pessimistic counterpart.

He stopped thinking for a moment, he was getting worried about talking to himself. Migarfa, the manager, called him, he had seen him distracted. He gathered the team and started speaking:

"Well, guys, I think you all know about Yesopalitha."

He stopped for a moment, everyone looked extremely serious and that had got him nervous.

"Uhmm... well, so, we, uhmm.... know they're the bets team around. And so, I've decided to change the tactic for tomorrow's match. You should, uhmm... remember that this is subject to change during the match, as substitutions are limitless. The formation is the following."

He proceeded to show the Muddy Jellyfishes a drawing of the tactic, this was what could be seen:

------------------------------------Mejulus------------------------------------

Sereno---------------------------Kolinkens------------------------Alexandro

------------------------------------Numbá--------------------------------------

---------------------------------Dandalleion-----------------------------------

It did seem a bit random to leave Kander out whenn he had been playing so well, but it was all subject to change. And using 3 defenders could be useful against Yesopalitha, against the all-winning vampires. Switching places between Dandalleion and Numbá coud totally work out if they were going to counterattack. Dandaellion felt happy for this.

That night, he slept 10 hours, he was really excited about playing against Yesopalitha, and he wanted time to pass quickly.

[Free Swiss States]

Entire Swiss Team Commits Seppuku After Loss
After losing 4-2 in their quarterfinal match and being knocked out of the tournament. the entire squad returned to their hotel and then committed ritual seppuku in their rooms. "I tried to talk them out of it," a tearful coach, Jonah Nizzy told us. "But they were so set on it! They just told me goodbye.. and locked the doors." Apparently, the game had started off well for the burgeoning team before the opponents rallied. "They just had more experience than us," Nizzy admitted. "We need to come back next year and - oh, wait..." He then burst out into tears again.

At press time, we had interviewed one of the former members of the squad as to why he and his teammates had chosen such a drastic course of action. "Well, you know... we all have a dozen years or so in the slammer back in the States, so we decided it would be alright to just fake our deaths and lay low for a little bit. Oh, except for that millionaire guy, he didn't want to go through, so we actually did kill him."

[Mashiki]

Restored:

Tshaka Rashbata was one of the pillars of this team, and he knew it. Even before the tournament began he knew he was a natural-born goal scorer, in both football and Swamp Soccer. In a way, he felt like he was a sort of leader of the team, and in times of trouble, this was partly true. Everyone mostly looked to Frenzi for advice when times were tough, but during those times, Frenzi sometimes looked to him to produce.

After the last tournament, Tshaka came home to a boom in popularity of himself, as dodo all the other players in the squad. But Tshaka was especially popular, as his five goals during the last tournament had earnt their place in the final. However, there was a nit-picking problem that bugged Tshaka, and this was about the future. In the tournament happening now, the Mashik fans didn't hope that he would score, they expected him to.

In the first couple of matches, things weren't going his way, as he had scored no goals thus far. With two tight 1-0 wins going Mashiki's way, Tshaka needed to be produce. Those wins could have been a lot more comfortable if he had put his chances away. Leading up to the quarter final against FSS, a lot of people doubted he would be in the starting 6. But if there's one thing Signa Twaqulu does have, it's faith.

After the match Tshaka was on a new high. His faith with the fans had finally been restored, and he had almost certainly made up for his goal drought, scoring all 4 goals for Mashiki against Free Swiss States. And now, the semis approach. There was very nearly almost a complete replica of the semis last year, with Yesopalitha and Farfadillis competing in the other half of the draw. But on this side, Equestrian States will play Mashiki in the semi-final after a nail-bitingly close penalty-shoot out, which the States won in sudden death. Tshaka had renewed confidence that his side could progress into the final, yet there was a still possibility of it going the States way. But fate has yet to have its say, and we will see what they will say when the time comes.

[Yesopalitha]

Les Imortales?

Yesopalitha's Swamp Soccer World Cup team, the Vampires, are considering a different nickname: The Immortals. As they are the two-time defending champions and look in excellent shape to take the third title as well, the nickname would signify the nature of a vampire's immortal life as well as the fact that they just won't go away.

Cason Viccen, the do-it-all goalkeeper. Emmanuel Laret, an all around player. And finally, Raoul Tibez, the player-coach that makes them tick.

If they do decide to go with the new nickname... It may be that they have finally recognized themselves as being masters of this sport.

[The Icemark]

Semi-Final Results

Yesopalitha 2–2 Farfadillis (2–2 AET) (4–5 pen.)
Mashiki 3–0 Equestrian States

3rd Place Play-Off
Yesopalitha vs Equestrian States

Final
Farfadillis vs Mashiki

[Farfadillis]

"It's.... this.... one.... moment....", he thought. He was getting really good with predictions, he had predicted a draw, he hadn't predicted the exact result, but he had predicted a draw, after which Farfadillis would advance in the penalty shoot-out. It now depended on him if his prediction was true or not. It was no more a prediction for him; it was fate.

He stepped in and took the ball with his hands, he was more nervous than ever, he dropped it towards his foot and loosened-off a perfect shot towards the upper-right corner. Needless to say, Cason Viccen couldn't stop it. They had advanced! They had defeated the undefeatable! They had done the impossible!

"I think it's all just a dream", said his pessimistic counterpart. "Such a horrible team can't defeat Yesopalitha."

But his pessimistic counterpart soon faded, the joy of winning was too much. To the Farfs, defeating Yesopalitha was like becoming world champions, they soon forgot they had to play the final afterwards.

As soon as he got back to the hotel, he wrote about the match, this "kabbalah" had given them luck.

Yesopalitha 2–2 Farfadillis (2–2 AET) (4–5 pen.)

How nice is that? We defeated the undefeatable. The almighty vampires. I still can't believe it, so much work to reach the final and all hopes had been blown out because of the unlucky draw of having to face Yesopalitha. However, the team never feared them and, with some luck, managed to defeat them in penalties. I almost forgot for a moment we have to face Mashiki, another team which is really good, just as Yesopalitha.

When the referee blew the whistle I couldn't feel my legs, the pressure was too much, probably because I love the game and I certainly wanted revenge for what happened last world cup. But I was quickly forced to react, I wasn't sure of how to play as a false striker. Tibez shot from afar, Mejulus gave a rebound, the imaginary box was certainly messy, I was there due to the fear of conceeding an early goal, that'd have sucked. I suddenly saw Laret shooting the ball and Mejulus standing like a statue not being able to react, without thinking, I headed it out, it was relieving to see the ball out, not inside, the goal. However, we weren't calm at all, less than one minute and Yesopalitha had already had a very clear chance to score. But we'd afterwards get a nice surprise. After a match that was played brutally (and I mean it, as Kolinkens was playing), and both teams could've got a player or two sent out. Anyways, I almost forgot to write about the nice surprise. On the sixth minute, to be precise, Sereno would kick a ball out of yet another messy imaginary box for like the fourth time, and we all know what would happen, with me as a striker, after a long pass, or, in this case, a clearance that wouldn't go out. I outran the vampire that was defending but couldn't get a nice position to shoot, I waited for him and tried the "sweepball", and, to everyone's surprise, I got out with it, facing the goalkeeper one-on-one. I left tricks aside, scoring that goal would give us the lead and I was sure as hell that I didn't want to miss it. I shot to the left side of the goalkeeper Cason Viccen, but elevating the ball a bit to prevent it from stopping before crossing the imaginary line. I fell to the floor, without knowing whether I had scored or not, I'd soon find out when all my teammates ran all the way across the muddy field to celebrate. We had taken the lead. It was the sixth minute, however, so we still had to face Yesopalitha for the rest of the match. The vampires were clearly superior after that, afterall, they were in danger of losing their crown for the first time. We somehow managed to finish the first half without conceeding any goals.
After half time, Kander substituted Numbá, who was tired after running through the entire field, on mud. It didn't help that he was out of position either. Quickly, we'd be surprised. Laret would cross a perfect ball that Alexandre would not be able to clear and Tibez would then bicycle kick to the upper left corner of Mejulus, who couldn't do anything in order to stop it They had equalized and we had to fight against our own nerves once again. Bad news wouldn't stop there. Two minutes after Tibez's second minute goal, on the fourth minute, Laret would dribble both Alexandre and Kolinkens, then chip it over Mejulus. Sereno would quickly react and save it just outside the goal. The bad news were that we certainly weren't going to win that match if the vampieres continued playing like that. Seven minutes later, Laret would try and shoot from afar, and, as luck would have it, Alexandre would be in front of the shot, it would change its direction after hitting Alexandre's knee and would leave Mejulus completely out of position. The ball had entered the goal and all of a sudden we were down. Story was repeating itself. But, you know what they say: "Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it". However, I remembered every single second of last year's match and I certainly knew what to do to equalize. I then called Migarfa and told him to send in Vacani and Fayuds for Kolinkens and Alexandre. He unbelievably obveyed me, and in just seconds we had three strikers and a playmaker for the last minute of the match. These substitutions would prove themselves useful on the last minute, as Fayuds would send a through ball to me, then, I'd heel it towards Vacani's head (I still don't know how I managed to do that) who would head it over Cason Viccen, effectively equalizing, and effectively managing to chip the ball with the head. The funniest thing was that a 12 year old player had equalized against Yesopalitha, the best team, on the last minute. The match had ended 2 - 2 after regular time and we were bound to extra time. But I knew more of it, I knew we were bound to winning, we had always won after regular time, and there was no reason for this to change now. Extra time was a bit dull, with both teams waiting for each other, with only Vacani and me trying to generate chances for Farfadillis and only Laret and Tibez for Yesopalitha. On the last minute of extra time, the only exciting chance of it happened. Tibez shot from afar, seeing as the game would soon finish. The ball would hit Sereno, I was soon lying on the floor covering my face when all of a sudden I heard Fayuds shouting, "He did it!", it was like reviving for me, people told me that Mejulus had stopped it just in the imaginary line, and that the referee could've perfectly given the goal mistakenly. Mejulus had been out of position, but he somehow, heroically, managed to stop the ball. He then cleared it out and the game finished. We were bound to the penalty shoot-out, and I knew that before the match.
After that, I knew we weren't going to lose, we just had all the odds for us and it certainly hadn't been Yesopalitha the luckier side.
I lived every penalty as if they had taken a century.
Tibez would score, obviously, he just shot to the upper-right corner of our goalkeeper.
Kander shot strongly to the head of the keeper, dirty play indeed, but Viccen didn't dare lose his face, so he let it in.
Titton scored by shooting strongly to Mejulus' left.
Fayuds would send the ball, calmly, to the left side of Cason Viccen, who wouldn't react on time.
Viccen shot towards Mejulus' left, who couldn't react on time.
Vacani fulminated the ball to the right side of Cason Viccen, who would just let the ball pass, it's not like he could do anything else, though.
Now it was Numen who had to shoot, he'd score it by simply shooting strongly towards Mejulus' right side.
Sereno would chip it, if I had been right next to him, I would've killed him, however, the Yesopalithan goalkeeper would try to predict the shot for the first time, and the ball would enter the goal.
Laret would shoot strongly to Mejulus' right, who would somehow stop it. I felt like I was going to pass out.
And then, it was my turn. I felt sure of myself, I knew I would score, I knew I would put ourselves into the final, the last step before the trophy we all wanted so much.
I stepped in, and took the ball with my hands, I was really nervous, more than ever, I then loosened-off a perfect shot towards the upper-right corner. Happily, the vampire goalkeeper wouldn't be able to stop that magnificent shot, and we would become the first swamp soccer team to defeat Yesopalitha.

Prediction: Farfadillis 1 - 1 Mashiki (2 - 2 AET) (7 - 6 pen.)

I say we'll win, this will be the most important match in my life so far, and I'll give the 100%, just as all my teammates.

He stopped writing and glanced at what he had written, he had written more than ever in his entire life. Would he become a writer later one, obviously, after retirement? He was certainly considering it.

Fayuds called him for the training session, he had forgotten that they hadn't won the SSWC yet.

[Mashiki]

Judgement:

Frenzi Ikalok had been given the captaincy of this team for a reason. He was respected. Everybody loved Frenzi, both in the team and back home. He was just generally a nice character to be around, and he knew it. He didn't like to admit it out loud, because this could be seen as over-confident, but inside he felt that whenever he talked to someone new, he had one more friend. He was also very out-going, and adjusted to people's tastes depending on what sort of person they were.

After the debut, he returned home as the most famous sportsman in all of Mashiki. He was the leader, the flame and the fire that lead them onwards. For future tournaments he would be that key figure in the squad, the representation of Swamp Soccer in Mashiki. But he didn't feel that . He felt normal. While with his friends, it was just like any other day or any other night. It was only when he was with his teammates that the sparks began to fly.

During this tournament, there had been highs and there had been more highs. He just couldn't put his finger on a low point they had had during their time in the Icemark. Their 100% record was still intact, they had scored 15 goals in the 7 games, and only conceded 3. Their team was looked at as one of the strongest in the competition beforehand, and this had been proved after a magnificent performance all the way through. But it was not over yet.

Equestrian States had been a surprise semi-finalist. Everyone had expected Wight to beat them. They may have suffered a grave defeat in the last match, and knew they were coming in as the underdogs, but they came positively, and Frenzi respected that. In the other semi final however, the so-called 'Les Imortales' of Yesopalitha were proved to be not so immortal, after suffering a defeat on penalties to third seed Farfadillis. So we play them in the final, and we can say that us and them are very similar sides with a similar playing style. Frenzi knew it would be close, very close, but whoever wins will win, and whoever loses will still go home with their heads held high. Aspirations will be achieved or dismissed, disputes will be settled, judgement will come. The final will arrive.

[Yesopalitha]

The Freedom's Altar Daily
Serving the capital for twenty years

'LES IMMORTALES'? NOT QUITE.
Team suffers first loss in a long time, out of tournament

Note: The Freedom's Altar Daily was allowed to write this report due to the loss.

There is a sport that few people know in Yesopalitha - a sport that most people don't really care about. It is Swamp Soccer, and it is the livelihood of a few Vampires who have been representing Yesopalitha very well in the first three editions.

Although they did lose their first semifinal game in history, a narrow loss to the nation of Farfadillis due to penalty kicks, "Les Immortales", reflecting upon their race and the fact that they are very good, have proven to the world that they aren't to be taken lightly in this sport. The likes of Cason Viccen, Emmanuel Laret, and the player-coach Raoul Tibez are still the only team to make it to three straight semifinals and can clinch a third straight top three finish with a win over the Equestrian States.

From this point onward, the adventures of this team will be documented by the Daily as part of an endorsement deal.

Will the Vamps recover? Or will they claim fourth place?