NationStates Jolt Archive

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The top 8 seeds each get placed into a group of their own.

Seeds
1 Starblaydia
2 Jeruselem
3 Sarzonia
4 Fmjphoenix
5 South Osettia
6 Nedalia
6 Rejistania
8 Hockey Canada

Group A
Starblaydia (1)
Spruitland
Krytenia
East Lithuania

Group B
Nedalia (6)
Giant Zucchini (17)
Bedistan (14)
Formal Dances

Group C
Sarzonia (3)
Hypocria
Druida (23)
Gaian Ascendancy (15)

Group D
Jeruselem (2)
Corneliu (22)
Cockbill Street (18)
Pacitalia (13)

Group E
Fmjphoenix (4)
Oaker
Lovisa
Liverpool England (20)

Group F
South Osettia (5)
Vilita (9)
Crystilakere (16)
Legalese (21)

Group G
Hockey Canada (8)
Kzuu Mai
Euroslavia
Sjwitz (19)

Group H
Rejistania (6)
Stumperia (10)
Fimble loving peoples (10)
Chicanada (12)

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The Starblaydi Under-21 Squad for Defending their Championship
Get your flithy eyes off our title, creeps!

The Staff
Khim Azanulbizarn, Manager, 35
48 Caps, 5 Goals (10 Caps, 4 Goals at Under-21 Level
His first ever attempt at management of a team, at club or international level. This Dwarven Left-Back legend takes over from Simeone Di Bradini, though will surely be calling up his long-time friend for any advice he needs. Was also Captain of Starblaydia in World Cup 22.

The Goalkeepers
1. Corominas, GK, 20 - Riandu Anum (Rejis 1st Div)
Uncapped (8 Caps, 2 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Best known for being the most attack-minded player at Riandu Anum, Corominas' "crazy" antics include free-kicks and penalty taking, plus he's the only goalie ever to have scored for Starblaydia at any level.
12. Nicholas Mathias, GK, 17 - Jhanna United
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Jhanna United's sometime reserve 'keeper, Nicolas is a good shot-stopper.
19. Ahab Maestas, GK, 15 - Hallad Reavers
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Commanding in the net at the Reavers' youth team, Ahab is growing up big and strong.

The Defenders
2. Albert Graydon, R/LB, 21 - Vilisorma Locals (Vilitan Declasse)
Uncapped (9 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
A two-footed full-back, Albert stepped into the spotlight in Vilita, though only in the Declasse Division. Still undecided as to whether he can really progress to the senior team.
3. Justin Hawke, C/LB, 20 - Tuncastle Rovers
Uncapped (7 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Plays for one of Nova Britannicus' best sides, which is no mean feat.
5. Nunzio Gre, Captain, CB, 21 - Inkatil Seli-Veran (Rejis 2nd Div)
Uncapped (16 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Returns as Captain for a largely-unchanged Under-21 Team, made it to the World Cup 22 Qualifiers Squad and learns his defensive art in the nation that invented Karela.
6. Joe Kippenberger, CB, 19 - Jhanna United
Uncapped (2 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Only a subsitute last time out, Joe comes in for the overage Bedistan-bound Alex Vidal.
13. Raymundo Hernandez, CB, 18 - Internashionale
Uncapped (1 Cap, 0 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Inter's defence has needed some propping up of late, and in Ray they have a good man for the future.
14. Leopoldo Lopez, L/CB, 18 - Iskara Daii
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Following in the footsteps of Ceri Salisbury, Leo is a solid left-back who can deliver a helluva good cross.
20. Danzir Garahildim, R/CB, 15 - Tabeck FC
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 Level)
Another of the Dwarves to come out of the Tabeck-D'Ragh skills academy, Danzir cites Khin Azanulbizarn as his hero.

The Midfielders
4. Alejo Cuevo, C/DM, 21 - Hersch Albion
1 Caps, 0 Goals (10 Caps, 1 Goal at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
ALmost certainly the future of Starblaydia in the defensive-midfield role, Alejo is rumoured to be Cockbill Street-bound.
7. Juan Santiago, RM, 20 - Vimesbairn United (Cockbill Street)
Uncapped (14 Caps, 1 Goal at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Following directly in the footsteps of his role-model J.J. Stark, Juan fills the same role at United that the great J.J. did.
8. Itechton Matranga, AM/SC, 20 - Jhanna City
Uncapped (14 Caps, 5 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
The Matranga footballing genes are as good as any in Starblaydia, and Itechton - named after the Pedrianan city where father Aiden scored his first international goal - is up there with father Aiden and brother Nick in the talent stakes.
11. Surachai Buathiang, L/CM, 20 - Eastal Lunar (Vilitan Stellar)
4 Caps, 1 Goal (11 Caps, 5 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
The latest Starblaydi Wunderkind, Surachai is only 20 yet has already won the Under-21 Cup and the 2nd Four Nations Invitational. His ego, however, knows no bounds.
15. Ernesto Fortuna, DM, 19 - Internashionale
Uncapped (2 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
A worthy replacement for Cuevo, Fortuna is another part of the defensive revival at Inter.
16. Lazaro Rivera, A/LM, 18 - Corinthian Spirits
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
The Spirit of the Spirits is well nd truly with Rivera, as his quick feet and quicker brain can pull off some amazing tricks.
17. Juan Miguel Aguilera, C/AM, 21 - Vecchio Victors
Uncapped (4 Caps, 1 Goal at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Not quite up to the usual talent of the much-vaunted Vics Youth Academy, Miguel is, nevertheless, a real try-hard player.
21. Augusto Diaz, R/CM, 18 - Jhanna City
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
A solid right-sided player, Diaz links up well with Matranga at 'JCFC'
22. Jamal Nguyen, CM, 16 - Hallad Reavers
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 Level)
The Reavers are looking to Jamal to be the solid core of another tough and strong team of the future.

The Fowards
9. Florencio Zaragoza, CF/SC, 21 - Tabeck FC
8 Caps, 1 Goal (11 Caps, 6 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Four goals two years ago helped Starblaydia to the crown, he is expeced to weigh in with more this time.
10. Christian Macia, SC, 19 - Vanguard Eagles (Fmjphoenix)
Uncapped (7 Caps, 2 Goals at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
The first Starblaydi to play in Fmjphoenix, he's an ambassador for his country.
18. Giovanni Lopez, RW/SC, 16 - Internashionale
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 Level - Defending Champion)
Despite the new defensive-mindedness of Inter, their future attack will be as hot as ever as long as Giovanni reamains at the club.
23. Raul Diaz-Arca, SC, 15 - Corinthian Spirits
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 Level)
Already a classic finisher, Raul's movement and strength still need work for him to become a real great.

The Kit
Home: Starblaydia play in a traditional all-white with some purple trim.
Away: Starblaydia play in a traditional all-purple with some gold trim.
3rd Strip: In case anyone else decides to play in white-and-purple, Starblaydia will play in gold shirts with black shorts and socks.

The Starting XI's Formation
http://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Images/StarU21WC15.jpg

Lambs To The Slaughter?
Starblaydia Face Three Unranked Teams

The Group A draw for the 15th Under-21 World Championship has gifted Starblaydia what could possibly be their easiest Group Stage ever, on paper at least.

But As we all know, football games are rarely played on paper. Neither Spruitland, Krytenia or East Lithuania have been given a seeding for this Championship, while defending Champions Starblaydia are far and away the best Under-21 team on the planet, having been so for around a quarter of a century.

Starblaydia have finished in the top-three of the last four Tournaments, coming Third, Third, Second and finally First. We've all seen the stats. Fifty wins in just sixty-eight games and thats not even counting the few times Starblaydia have won on penalties. Just under three goals a game scored, combined with just over a goal a game conceeded over the past twenty-nine years shows just how good Starblaydia's Under-21 programme is.

Great talent, great coaches, great fans and great involvement has propelled Starblaydia's young guns all the way up the rankings. And Number-One is precisely where they plan to stay.

Crystilakere Crystils Under-21 15
HEAD COACH: Boubacar Dragov
ASST. COACH: Liali Munavelli

GK Alcir Barbara*
D Francesco Schiavon*
D Salvatore Redaelli*
D Alpha Siboldi*
M Respito Laracca*
M Massimiliano Rosi*
M Giuseppe Zucco*
M Giovanni Quira*
F Reidulf Piao*
F Noel Adiguzel*
F Toader Pold*

SUBSTITUTES
D- Rene' Niljssen*, Abdelilah Escobar*
M- Kale Vellazi*
F- Michael Baker*


http://www.dirt-racing.com/3wide/sites/ao/cryskit.gif


OOC: Starblaydia could you make me another one of those lineups for this team?

Crystils drawn in local group

The Junior Crystils have been drawn in a group with a bunch of familiar faces for Under 21 World Cup 15 with a group with only teams from Atlantian Oceania. The Crystils have limited experience against South Osettia and Legalese, but have a long time rivalry with Vilita and will be hoping to get revenge for some past results when they face the cats.

Most of the squad will remain the same from the last Under-21 cup where the Crystils performed well, and Hazem Emam will remain as the coach. Crystilakere will have a tough task to qualify from this group with all 4 nations well known for their talented players, and any single loss could be the end of the line. All the attention will be on Reidulf Piao who will have it all to play for after being released from his club in Melmond.

Pacitalia returns to the U21 WC with a new outlook on life

The Pacitalian U21 boys return to the world soccer stage out to make a surprise run; although sitting in thirteenth seed doesn't help their chances, the general consensus among the players is that they are going to play hard in their new AOA format and work as hard as possible to get past the second round.

The roster remains the same, of course, from WC14, as it hasn't been long enough for any of the players to go over the age limit.

Roster

Coach: Marapazzo Santo Castorini
Assistant Coaches: Lindifeu Zeitrescu, Arturo Pazzatto

FORMATION
G
D D D
S
F F F F
F F

Goalkeeper (x 1, G)
Defenders (x 3, LD/CD/RD)
Sweeper (x 1, S)
Attackers/Forwards (x 6, BOL, BOR, BIR, BIL, FL, FR)

ROSTER (starters in BOLD)

GOALKEEPERS:
#1 Romano Cristiano Santi, Age: 20, Sex: M, Height: 6'2", Weight: 181
#34 Martano Pauleristo, Age: 19, Sex: M, Height: 6'1", Weight: 185
#19 Vicenze Vittorio, Age: 20, Sex: M, Height: 5'9", Weight: 179

DEFENDERS:
#5 Aldo Innocenzo, Age: 20, Sex: M, Height: 5'11", Weight: 180
#10 Primo Giacinto, Age: 19, Sex: M, Height: 5'11", Weight: 171
#9 Geronimo Leandro, Age: 18, Sex: M, Height: 5'9", Weight: 178
#6 Timotaio Ellasteas, Age: 20, Sex: M, Height: 6', Weight: 181
#12 Iancu Valeriu, Age: 17, Sex: M, Height: 5'11", Weight: 170

SWEEPERS:
#2 Nicusor Petru Vasilica, Age: 19, Sex: M, Height: 6'3", Weight: 187
#3 Herberto Ovidio, Age: 20, Sex: M, Height: 5'10", Weight: 179

FORWARDS:
#16 Andreos Charisteas, Age: 20, Sex: M, Height: 5'11", Weight: 181
#22 Massimo da Scupeta, Age: 20, Sex: M, Height: 5'10", Weight: 179
#4 Vespasiano Sebastiano, Age: 20, Sex: M, Height: 6'2", Weight: 180
#7 Bertrando Massimatto, Age: 19, Sex: M, Height: 5'11", Weight: 179
#14 Eusebio Pancrazio, Age: 17, Sex: M, Height: 6', Weight: 176
#11 Eligio Wilfredo, Age: 21, Sex: M, Height: 6'3", Weight: 181
#15 Dario Pasquale, Age: 18, Sex: M, Height: 5'10", Weight: 175
#8 Stelios Aniketos, Age: 21, Sex: M, Height: 6'1", Weight: 172
#25 Salazaro Bastacano, Age: 18, Sex: M, Height: 5'9", Weight: 168

Spruitland youngsters to U21 World Cup!

In a press conference earlier today, SFA President Martin Backer could not hide his delight when he announced that the Kingdom of Spruitland will be sending a squad to the 15th Under-21 World Cup Football.

“This is a great day for our nation,” Backer said, starting a twenty minute speech about national pride, honor, ambassadors of something-or-other, and more of that bullywhack.

When asked if it wasn’t too soon for our young nation to be getting involved in the international football scene when our pitiful excuse for a First Division hasn’t even completed its very first season yet, Backer nearly threw a fit.

“Firstly, we only have one matchday to go in the First Division!” he yelled. “Secondly – “ And off he went on another twenty minute rant about gaining experience, broadening horizons and establishing international something-or-others.

When he was done, no reporter present wanted to risk asking another potentially rant-inducing question, so we moved on to more practical matters: who will be coaching the team?

Backer’s gleeful smile was positively alarming and several reporters in the room suspected he had elected himself for that task, so when he spoke the name “Cor Bensen”, there was a genuine collective gasp of surprise.

“Cor has accepted the offer and officially resigned from referee-ing this morning,” Backer said. “He will commence his new duties tomorrow.”

When an incredulous reporter dared to question whether it was a good idea to appoint someone without any previous coaching experience, Backer seemed ready to throw another fit, but then he took a deep breath and explained.

“In the first official match he refereed, Cor Bensen proved – beyond any shadow of a sliver of a doubt – that he’s a man with balls!” (related article in archive (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=8707760&postcount=783))

“Furthermore, picking a referee makes sense. If we’re to have any chance at all of making it past the groups stage, we need to think outside the box. Cor Bensen knows every dirty trick in the book! Seems to me, that could come in very handy…”

Cor Bensen was unwilling to comment at this time, but promised to make himself available for an interview in the near future.

*********************


After the groups were drawn, expectations for the Under-21 team in their first international tournament rose dramatically in Spruitland. Drawn in group A, together with Starblaydia, Krytenia and East Lithuania, our youngsters indeed have very little reason to complain. While top seed and defending U21 champions Starblaydia may be well out of Spruitland’s league, both other teams are – like us – unseeded. This would – in theory – give our team at least a long-shot at surviving the group stage.

At least, that’s what the average Spruitlander seems to think. Newly appointed U21 coach Cor Bensen was more careful in his predictions.
“Let’s not get over-confident,” he cautioned. “This is our first ever showing on the international football scene. We’ll try to walk first, run later.”
Though Bensen did agree that he’s quite happy with the draw.

“Obviously we don’t expect a miracle against Starblaydia,” Bensen shrugged. “We’ll try to score a goal, that would be a huge success already. Krytenia and East Lithuania – well, let’s just try to play good football. If we can achieve that, who knows, anything can happen.”

Bensen released his squad selection for the World Cup, but – except for Bensen, hopefully – it’s rather hard to evaluate them, as most of the names are thoroughly unknown, even in Spruitland.
Only 6 of the 22 selected players come from the Spruitland First Division, the others have been drafted from various regional competitions throughout the nation.

FC Albertine starlet striker Dirk Jools is one of the most notable players in the league and stands a good chance to win the Man of the Season award, so all Spruitland eyes will be on him to leave his mark.
Thiel United’s central defender Nico Van Dyck is another up and coming star, and one of the few Spruitlanders who seems to have more than a vague idea what the meaning is of the word “defending”.

Two New Brux FC players made it into the selection: right full back Stan Hondts and central midfielder Steve Huck – both solid in their position – and Sativa Stoners’ Lee Beck, while not impressing in the First Division, will be Bensen’s first choice on the left wing. 20-year old goalkeeper Simon Briers plays for the Stoners as well, but he did not see any action this season.
The remaining 16 are big question marks, though with Spruitland’s First Division expanding from 4 to 10 teams next season, they’ll all be more than eager to play themselves into the picture.


Goalkeepers

1. Simon Briers 20 Sativa Stoners
12. Polle Melk 17 regional
22. Tristan Verelst 17 regional

Defenders

2. Stan Hondts 20 New Brux FC
3. Chris Yugo 19 regional
4. Nico Van Dyck 20 Thiel United
5. Jakke Budts 21 regional
15. Koenraad Opdebeeck 17 regional
16. Fritz Wigmeister 18 regional
19. Detlef Weber 16 regional

Midfielders

6. Steve Huck 18 New Brux FC
7. Gary Mariano 17 regional
8. Ziggy Wilander 19 regional
11. Lee Beck 19 Sativa Stoners
14. Samson Trouwel 21 regional
17. Ulrich De Ridder 20 regional
20. Eddie Engels 17 regional
21. Richard Prutzer 19 regional

Forwards

9. Juri Kocarov 17 regional
10. Dirk Jools 19 FC Albertine
13. Harry Ooyevaar 18 regional
18. Mark Custers 20 regional



I Give My Opponents Permission To:

Choose Scorers: Y
GodMod Goalscoring Events: Y

Injure Players: N
GodMod Injury Events N

Red Card Players: N
Yellow Card Players: Y
GodMod Other Events: Y

I Give My Opponent Permission To:
====================
Choose Scorers: Y
GodMod Goalscoring Events: Y

Injure Players: Y
GodMod Injury Events Y

Red Card Players: Y
Yellow Card Players: Y
GodMod Other Events: Y
====================


http://www.dirt-racing.com/3wide/sites/vilita/vn/ttov.gif






GOALKEEPERS:

[ 95 ] Jawz Oaker [ - Lopinka - ]
------- GK ( AGE: 16 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )
Jawz Oaker is the son of Colonial Sile and Oaker national midfielder Arthin Oaker, who moved to Vilita early in his career after his impressive performances for Oaker in past World Cups. Jawz was called up to the Vilita Under 21 squad as Oaker did not participate in the Under-21's, qualifying through his residency and his Mother, a Vilitan. The young keeper spent most of Season 15 on loan to Mavaloiao, before being recruited by Doug Freech's Lopinka side, Declasse champions looking for a starting keeper for their return campain in the Stellar Division.

DEFENDERS:

[ 67 ] Ade Hinds [ - Eastal Lunar - ]
------- D LC ( AGE: 20 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )
Ade Hinds transferred to Turoki Isle for Vilitan Season 14 after the Islanders made a surprise shift towards Vilitan based talent, offloading foreigners Alejandro Vantrease and Henrik Bastale

[ 63 ] Dene Shaw [ - Lopinka - ]
------- D LC ( AGE: 19 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )
Dene Shaw was the first player to ever receive international recognition from Turoki United after being called the the Under 21 squad in Under 21 World Cup 12. However, Turoki United's failure to promote from the Declasse division saw Shaw ultimately leave the club, as his stock rose so did his ego and there was no better place for his ego than Lopinka Rovers, controlled by Liverpool England's Doug Freech, newly promoted in Season 16 to the Stellar Division

[ 65 ] Timmy Leaburn [ - Liguon Valley - ]
------- D C ( AGE: 18 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )


[ 60 ] Ricata Tivalan [ - Siji~e Xkora (Rej) - ]
------- D C ( AGE: 17 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )


DEFENSIVE MID:

[ 34 ] Daniel Oram [ - Yeaddin Owls AFC - ]
------- DM C ( AGE: 21 GOALS::SR: 2 U21: 0 REG: 0 )
Oram made one of the most predictable transfers in season 15, covering the gaping defensive midfield spot at the Yeaddin Owls after attracting attention by being called to the Under-21 Squad and being named captain while playing for Non-League Alikki-Corra

MIDFIELDERS:

[ 51 ] Jonjo Hulyer [ - Marine Coast United - ]
------- M LC ( AGE: 19 GOALS::SR: 2 U21: 0 REG: 0 )
Jonjo Hulyer is one of the most exciting prospects to come out of the Marine Coast academy in many seasons. He is expected to challenge for a place in the Marine Coast Lineup at just 16 years of age, Preferring to attack down the middle or on the left flank.

[ 78 ] Brent Obwinyi [ - Turoki United - ]
------- M RC ( AGE: 17 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )


[ 51 ] Rowan Majara [ - Internashionale (STR) - ]
------- M LC ( AGE: 17 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )
Majara trained at the Arcticala Inlet Youth Academy before being snapped up by Starblaydian side Internashionale when he was old enough for his first professional contract.

[ 78 ] Toby Tzikas [ - Basian Valley (STR) - ]
------- M RC ( AGE: 17 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )
Tzikas moved with his family to Starblaydia and was accepted to the Basian Valley squad on a non-contract basis after spending many successful years as a youth trainee for Arcticala Inlet of Vilita

[ 79 ] Contall Rumaoa [ - Tournetas (STR) - ]
------- M LC ( AGE: 18 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )


FORWARDS:

[ 49 ] Tika Massa [ - Makosile - ]
------- F C ( AGE: 17 GOALS::SR: 1 U21: 3 REG: 0 )
Tika Massa was thrust into the Vilitan Spotlight after netting on his debut performance in the Jurassic Invitational Tournament after coming on as a sub. Massa's late goal sent Vilita into the Semi Finals of the inagural Jurassic competition. Massa's performances earned him a transfer to the admitedly more high profile club of Eastal Lunar, from Makosile where he trained as a youth. Massa was an instant hit at Eastal lunar netting 7 times in 18 games and helping them to the Season 15 Vilitan Cup title.

[ 46 ] Julian Lisbie [ - Arcticala Inlet - ]
------- F C ( AGE: 20 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )


[ 41 ] Kris Wrice [ - Inland Peaks FC - ]
------- F C ( AGE: 17 GOALS::SR: 0 U21: 1 REG: 0 )
Wrice made 10 appearances for Inland Peaks in Season 15, and his 5 goals helped propel the team to the top 5 in the table at the halfway point. The young striker's potential did not go unnoticed, and Turoki Isle opened up their pockets to make an offer the smaller Inlands club could not refuse, bringing the Under-21 International to Turoki Isle.

[ 48 ] Tristam Bumbar [ - Yutzie Sorma - ]
------- F C ( AGE: 17 GOALS::SR: U21: REG: )
Tristam Bumbar added his name to a very short list of recognized internationals from the Yutzie Sorma acadamy by being called up to the Vilitan Under-21's for The 14th Under 21 Championships.

http://www.dirt-racing.com/3wide/sites/vilita/vn/ttov.gif





Kecker to Lead Jungle Kitties

-----------------Legendary Vilitan Midfielder Santo Kecker has been given full control of the Vilitan Under-21 squad after their failure to overcome rivals Starblaydia in Under-21 World Cup 14. Still considered a world threat, the Vilitan's have never reached a Semi-Final in the competition, bar their two visits to the final in Under 21 World Cup's three and seven, being crowned champions in the Seventh edition in extra time against Bedistan thanks to Mauro Baraza's goal.

Opponent Preview: Crystilakere

-----------------It was that Seventh Under-21 World Cup that first saw the Jungle Kitties square off against the Crystilakere Under-21's, in a match that would end 4-3 in favor of the Vilitan's leaving it late thanks to a rare Tulio Arizmendi goal, that barely allowed Vilita to even advance for what would ultimately be their championship winning run. The two long-time rivals squared off again in Under 21 World Cup nine, but Vilita's 1-0 victory was overshadowed by the ultimate rival matchup that would take place just days later against the Island Emirate of Turori. The Rivalry took center stage in Under-21 World Cup 10 when the Jungle Kitties were once again drawn with their regional counterparts and faced with a "Win or Go Home" situation. The bursting talent of Riccardo Appolloni was too much for the Crystils to handle, and Vilita easily won to maintain their perfect record at the junior level against the Crystils with a 4-1 triumph. The Two rivals have not met at any level since this match, and Vilita will be looking to extend their winning ways against their rivals.

Fmjphoenix Junior Vikings

Head Coach: George Rush
Assistant Coach: Zyri Slova

Goalkeepers:
#6 Franklin Cabrillo* - 19 yrs old
#11 Harlem Selam - - 17 yrs old

Defenders:
#18 Jay Perry* - 15 yrs old
#3 Jesus Ramirez - 19 yrs old
#14 Miguel Martinez* - 20 yrs old
#12 Charlie Hulo* - 20 yrs old
#15 Larry Lamar - 19 yrs old

Midfielders:
#2 Juan Espinoza* - 18 yrs old
#7 Trowa Notrab* - 19 yrs old
#10 Batri Conixta - 14 yrs old
#13 Brady Wayne* - 19 yrs old
#9 Van House - 17 yrs old
#4 Brian Berry - 16 yrs old

Forwards:
#1 Arien Vogel* - 18 yrs old
#5 Bruce Chen* - 20 yrs old
#16 Jarod Howell - 19 yrs old
#8 Brigan Dougood* - 15 yrs old
#17 Frigan Fracken* - 16 yrs old

The Oaker Sharks Under 21

Stadium: Pinealla International Stadium

Roster:

Torry Oaker (GK)
Orion Oaker (D)
Tabby Oaker (D)
Dieter Oaker (D)
Rollee Oaker (M)
Kelvin Oaker (M)
Raven Oaker (M)
Nickel Oaker (M)
Cats Oaker (F)
Pond Oaker (F)
Float Oaker (F)

U21 Daily News

12th Places Gets No Favors in Loaded Group

Chicanada will be seeing some familiar faces as the u21Kodiaks look to progess further than the Round of 16 in their third u21 Cup.

Placed in Group H, Chicanada has the following to look forward to:

Rejistania (6)
Stumperia (10)
Fimble loving peoples (10)
Chicanada (12)

In what could be considered the hardest grouping of the field, Chicanada will get to take on a team they have some experience with: Rejistania, who the Kodiaks tied 2-all in WCXIV. Considering the defensive format Rejistania plays its expected that the Kodiaks' more aggresive style might be in for a tight match.

Less is know about the FLP or Stumperia although the closeness in rank between Chicanada and the other two teams suggests close matchups for the Kodiaks to run into.

B'zlovb K'amjnj, National u21 Coach and Head Coach of CanaLiga Rosa FC, said that the team is more than ready to prove their mettle and take on their commers in hopes of advancing. K'amjnj did express caution due to a lack of knowledge of the other teams, but Chicanadan betting parlors aren't as cautious as the team sits as co-favorites to win their group with Rejistania at even odds. The Kodiaks are also at even odds to win the tournament, with the current favorite being Sarzonia at 1-12 odds. We shall see how things happen as the tourney progresses if the bettors are better guessors than last time.

The Nedalia Lions


COACHES

- Brent Vent: 50 year old head coach. Was assistant coach for the finalist team that was led by Randy Gamman at U21 World 14.

- Opit Newman: 46 year old assistant coach. Was also an assistant coach for Randy Gamman at U21 World Cup 14.


GOALKEEPERS

- Hard Dans: 18 years old Strundanne keeper. Calm and poised, he is great with his hands and when defending crosses and corner. Despite his young age, has had a superb season for Strundanne this year. Was a reserve in U21 World Cup 14 but did not play.

- Ulder Cross: 20 year old Momesta keeper, he is the reserve goalkeeper of the squad. Also featured as a reserve keeper of Jim Brown in the U21 World Cup 14 that did not play.

- Dana Harris: 17 year old reserve keeper for Rappor. This is his first international tournament.


DEFENDERS

- Mohammed Khadra (7 U21 caps/0 goals): 20 year old Riviera FC central defender, he is extremely poised and professional. Was a starter in the U21 World Cup 14 squad, playing very well. Has impressed this year a starter for his team, averaging 7.43 and winning a MotM award through 10 games.

- Gary Stewart (7 U21 caps/0 goals): 19 year old Andestranne central defender, is the opposite of his partner Khadra. Extremely intense and volatile, known for his hard tackles. Starter on the U21 World Cup 14 squad alongside Khadra. Has been consistent for Andestranne, averaging 7.22 through 10 games this season.

- Ken Demme (7 U21 caps/0 goals): 19 year old Captera left defender, known for his explosiveness and his offensive runs. Featured in U21 World Cup 14, being one of the top defenders in the tournament. Having an up and down season with Captera, averaging 7.09, but continues to show huge signs of potential.

- Emmanuel: 18 year old Porasse right defender. Was picked for the U21 World Cup 14 squad but did not play. Not frequent starter for last placed Porasse, but impresses when he does. Very agile and athletic, his toughness could be upped a notch.

- Craig Xanudo: 20 year old reserve central defender. Plays for Carlesa, was also a member of the U21 World Cup 14 squad.

- Fred Onno: 17 year old reserve left defender. Back up on the Woodston squad, has not seen large amounts of minutes this year. Is considered, however, to be one of the brighter prospects of Nedalian football.

- Waleed Ahmar, RD: 16 year old reserve right defender. Features on the Nurpert side with, usually logging the last 20 minutes of a match. Tough tackling defender who needs to work on his agility.


MIDFIELDERS

- Khalil Jamhurra: 20 year old Aanjar left winger. A tough player with phenomenal stamina and speed. Has played well for the team this season, averaging 7.41 and scoring 2 goals in the process.

- Udrich Jansen: 17 year old Kimstronne right winger. Selected for the U21 World Cup 14 but did not play. Has gotten a fair amount of starts for his team this season, impressing with his crossing ability.

- Carpard Nutting (2 U21 caps/0 goals): 20 year old Groftanne defensive midfielder. Another who was selected for the U21 World Cup 14 as a reserve behind Trent Hardman. Tough player who never backs down, has done well in the league, averaging 7.28.

- Constantine (4 U21 caps/2 goals): 17 year old Momesta attacking midfielder. Was a big player in the teams U21 World Cup 14 run to the finals. Perhaps the most gifted player on the squad, has done exceptional in the league so far, averaging 7.66, scoring 3 goals, and handing out 6 assists.

- Fred Fox: 17 year old Zupera reserve left winger. Has barely featured in the senior squad this season, but has shown flashes of brilliance when he as played. Exceptional pace, good on the ball.

- Montell Drums: 18 year old Riviera reserve right winger. Has been an impressive sub for his team, even managing to score 2 goals.

- Sammy Ewene: 18 year old Edensanne reserve defensive midfielder. A good passer with decent pace, has a lot of potential.

- Jameer Khzairan: 20 year old Rappor reserve attacking midfielder. Extremely consistent and an adequate passer.


FORWARDS

- Dennis Howard (2 U21 caps/0 goals): 20 year old Aanjar FC striker. Also featured in the U21 World Cup 14 squad. Has averaged 7.19 and scored 4 goals for his team this season.

- Lumiere: 16 year old Nurpert striker. Still comes off the bench, but has shown incredible goal scoring ability, hitting the net 3 times already this season.

- Sean Townsend: 18 year old Rappor reserve striker. Has scored 2 goals in limited action for his team, but still hasn’t broken into a regular on the first team.

- Peter Merhi: 19 year old Dorpar reserve striker. Has seen only limited action, but is expected to make a bigger impact next season. Tonnes of potential.

FLP have been drawn into the closest group of the U21WCXV. With all 4 teams within 6 ranks of one another it could be a close finish. The only team FLP have met in competition of these teams so far is Stumperia, where the two teams played out an exciting 5-5 draw. This may be an indication of how close the group will be.

The FLP squad to be used in the cup is as follows.

Head Coach:
Michael Marx - 45 - During the main season he is the assistant manager of FLP's most successful football team Earlsford Rangers. He is doing this out of the kindness of his own heart.

Coaches:
Jonathan backwater - 41 - Backstaffen United Goalkeeping coach and ex-player, notching 7 caps between the stick.
Andy Suffers - 58 - Talestown youth coach.
Zach Moore - 49 - Lyton head coach.

Goalkeepers:
Casper Johnson - 19 - Backstaffen United - Widely toted to be the next Earl Brians. Impressed as he held fast for his team to finish as Runners-up in the NSFA cup. 6 games. 20 conceded.
Dominic Fuller - 15 - Denton Rangers.
Tom Rand - 19 - Earlsford Rangers. 1 game. 2 conceded.

Right Backs:
Gavin Back - 20 - Lyton - Already chasing the captaincy of his struggling club. 6 games.
David Lichen - 18 - Holytooth Rovers. 1 game.
David Jones - 16 - Backstaffen United.

Left Backs:
Gerald Rigger - 16 - Scyth - Despite his age he has already made an appearence at this level and is a major member of his teams first line-up. 2 games.
Tony Porthouse - 14 - Holytooth Rovers. 1 game.
Lewis Daft - 17 - Scythe. 1 game. 1 game.

Centre Backs:
Harry Flansburgh - 17 - Earlsford Rangers - Established in the first team of the nations best team. 7 games. Captain.
Reg Money - 18 - Lyton - Another member of Lytons young defence. 2 games.
Robert Jordan - 17 - Talestown. 2 games.
Graham James - 20 - Glentombs City. 1 game.

Right Wingers:
Nathan Hornblower - 19 - Denton Rangers - Established winger with a decent record. 5 games. 1 goal.
Michael Ingram - 14 - Skelton united. 2 games.

Left Wingers:
Jeff Isaacs - 18 - Backstaffen United - Produced by Earlsford City, he was bought for over a million by Backstaffen. He turned down a more lucrative off from Earlsford Rangers out of loyalty to his old club. 6 games, 2 goals.
Harry Tap - 15 - Backstaffen united. 1 game.

Central Midfielders:
Martin Simon - 20 - Lyton - First team regular trying to keep the team in top flight football. 6 games,1 goal.
Frank Thurman - 19 - Talestown - After a long time on the bench he finally has the recognition he deserves at club level.. 6 games.
William Bowen - 15 - Denton Rangers. 3 games. 1 goal.
James Deacon - 13 - Earlsford Rangers. 2 games. 1 goal.

Strikers:
Martin Fuller - 19 - Backstaffen United - Finishing as one of the highest scorers in the NSFA cup has just made this young goal machine even stronger. 6 games, 6 goals.
Reg Aiken - 17 - Holytooth Rovers - The future looks bright for this team so long as they produce players of this calibre. 6 games, 8 goals.
Ron Mulligan - 20 - Lyton. 4 games.
Sean Davis - 19 - Earlsford Rangers. 1 game.

The two men took their positions behind the desk and faced the members of the media who had gathered for this important announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen”, Alex Scott, head of the Hypocrian FA began, “We have taken the first step in achieving our goal of making Hypocria a force in the international football arena”.

“Hypocria will soon be competing for the first time on the international stage. As you may know the draw for the group stage of the Under-21 World Cup 15 has taken place and we have been drawn in Group C alongside Sarzonia, Druida and the Gaian Ascendancy. These nations have all competed at this level before so we are very much the underdogs but we do have one thing in our favour, our opponents know little or nothing about us and I am confident Hypocria will be able to spring a surprise or two”.

“You all know Matthias. I’ll now hand over to him and he will talk to you about the squad”.

The second man, Under-21 coach Matthias DiMarco, now addressed the assembled journalists.

“Myself and my staff have been trawling the ranks of the HSL for several months now putting together a squad that we feel can compete in TnUI. We have finally narrowed the squad down to 22 players. You should all have a copy of the final squad in front of you”.



Hypocria Under-21 Squad for Under -21 World Cup 15


Goalkeepers
1. Alex Derevko (Hypocrium City)*

13. Stephen Drakes (Tarsis Wonderers)

22. Kelvin Smyth (DLO)


Defenders
2. Peter Costanzo (Pylos City)*

3. Ricky Poskas (Hypocrium City)*

5. Andy Mulryne (DLO)

6. Karl Nalepka (DLO)*

12. Alexei Brazier (Thraxus Rangers)*

14. Chris Golla (FC Pydna)

16. Sergey Kreska (Partizan Drissa)*

20. Benedict Mikos (Partizan Drissa)


Midfielders
4. Marcus Baxter (DLO) (C)*

7. Luca Bryant (Dynamo Rasium)

8. Roberto Braganza (Pylos City)*

11. Robert Hulse (Jydon Athletic)

15. Luc Sinclair (DLO)*

17. Bora Burdali (Pylos City)

21. Brian Dos Santos (DLO)


Attackers
9. Danny West (Hypocrium City)*

10. Karsten Disgaard (Athletico Thraxus)*

18. Victor Blanco (Pylos City)

19. Thomas Matthews (FC Hypocrium)



Alex Scott turned to the crowded room once more. Hands were raised in the audience.

“Thank you for your time ladies and gentlemen. There will be a press conference tomorrow morning to answer all your questions”.

Jeruselem Government News

U12 XV ... the sequel!

It's the U21 Championship XV, and Jeruselem will attempt to score it's 3rd championship after finishing 3rd, losing only to the eventual winner Starblaydia in the semifinal in XIV.

As 2nd seed, we have clumped with Corneliu (a Greater Prussian-type ally of sorts), Cockbill Street (perenial entrants) and Pacitalia (another Christian nation). All are seeded but Jeruselem should make the 2nd round pending the usual disasters.

Corneliu - 22nd seed but we've never played them. We should have the experience to overcome them though.
Cockbill Street - Always here and there, can't write them off although they never seem to feature in the semis.
Pacitalia - Fellow ex-ACN member. It's weird to they are 13th seed, lucky! We can't remember our last encounter.

(A) - Active
(R) - Reserve

Roster
GK (A) - John Stanford
GK (R) - Notha Goldstein
D (A) - Baal Seten
D (A) - Himie Grissom
D (A) - Bittime Silverstein
D (A) - Rogan Josh
D (R) - Richard King
M (A) - Joseph Becks (Captain)
M (A) - Corpus Christi
M (A) - Maximus Impact
M (A) - Dave le Puy
M (R) - Valerian Shack
A (A) - Ged Med
A (A) - Chicki Babe
A (R) - Benedict Sixteenth

Let's check ou the top 8 seeds!
Seeds
1 Starblaydia - Winner of XIV. They can win again.
2 Jeruselem - That's us again, if you have bad memories.
3 Sarzonia - A team to watch and potential champion after finishing 4th in XIV.
4 Fmjphoenix - A once champion, but who we beat on the way to 3rd. Dangerous.
5 South Osettia - Always close, but run into bigger nastier opponents at the wrong time.
6 Nedalia - The Lions rookies who roared. Can they repeat the fairytale?
6 Rejistania - Thrice champs, but late form has lagged. Will they recapture their form?
8 Hockey Canada - A hockey team who can kick a ball! We think.

Group D
Jeruselem (2)
Corneliu (22)
Cockbill Street (18)
Pacitalia (13)

Bunnies* battle bravely!

Starblaydia – Spruitland: 2 - 0

In their very first international match, the Spruitland youngsters were unable to slay the Starblaydian Goliath. In a mostly one-sided match, the difference in quality and experience was painstakingly evident, though the brave Spruitlanders managed to avoid a complete slaughter and could leave the field with heads held high.

“Of course we’d liked to have scored a goal,” central defender and team captain Nico Van Dyck says, “but if you only concede two against the defending champs and title favorites, you can’t really be disappointed.”

Van Dyck himself had a lot to do with keeping the score for Starblaydia as low as possible, organizing his defense with the authority of someone who’s been doing it all his life.

Goalkeeper Simon Briers was another pleasant surprise, staking his claim for a starter position in the Sativa squad, after a season on the bench. Briers may have conceded two, but he saved nine more shots on target – not always entirely orthodox, but quite efficient nonetheless. Yet, despite the pat on the back from teammates and coach, Briers did not seem pleased with his game.

“I let two get by me and we lost,” he grumbled before disappearing into the dressing room. “How could I possibly be pleased about that?”

The only Spruitlander who seemed even more displeased than Briers was striker Dirk Jools, who couldn’t hide his frustration after the game.
“One good chance, that’s all I wanted,” was all he had to say, after spending most of the game in the firm lock of Starblaydia’s defense, led by captain Nunzio Gre.

Jools did infact create Spruitland’s best – and only – scoring opportunity when he launched a screamer towards the top right corner from 25 yards, half-way into the second half, but Corominas saved in style. After that, the Starblaydian goalie could get back to sleep.

Starblaydia started the match confidently, knowing only a major slip up could cost them any points today, and they used their experience and superior technical ability to their advantage, keeping possession of the ball, making the Spruitlanders chase it.

As the first half progressed, their pace increased and they managed to find more and more holes in the sturdy Spruitland defense. Last ditch tackles, bodies thrown in the paths of the shots, inaccurate targeting, and an outstanding Briers only managed to delay the inevitable. After 39 minutes, attacking midfielder Itechton Matranga connected with an inch-perfect cross from the left wing and headed the ball into the net from close range.

The second half started where the first had left off, with an eager Starblaydian side, obviously not satisfied with a mere one goal margin. Again, Spruitland defended with all hands on deck, risking life and limb to prevent conceding a second goal, and taking several bookings in the process.

As time went on and Briers saved a few certain goals in style, once aided by the post, it looked to be a frustrating evening for the defending champions, but a flash of genius from Florencio Zaragoza in the 71st, as he skipped around two defenders and curled it into the net, inches out of the goalie’s reach, finally gave them their well-deserved breathing room.

Starblaydia eased off a little on the pressure after that, giving the Spruitlanders a bit more room to maneuver, but apart from Dirk Jools’ long-distance shot, they were unable to raise Corominas’ blood pressure even a notch.

Except, perhaps, 5 minutes before full time, when 17-year old Spruitland striker Juri Kocarov went down in the penalty area, but his performance wasn’t quite Oscar-winning material, as the closest defender – and the ball – were at least three meters away. The referee was not impressed and showed Kocarov his second yellow card of the match.

Overall, Spruitland coach Cor Bensen was pleased and had nothing but praise for his team.
“For a bunch of young amateurs that has only been training together for a few weeks and has never played a match, opening against a team like Starblaydia could have been a thoroughly humiliating experience,” Bensen said, “but we held our own. True, there was never any doubt who was the better team and would take away the three points – but at least we made them work for it.”

Goals: 39’ Matranga 1-0, 71’ Zaragoza 2-0
Red Card: 85’ Kocarov

* Recognizing the need for an official nickname, the delegation of Spruitland journalists covering this World Cup has decided upon “The Spruitland Bunnies”, referring to our nation’s national animal, the rabbit.

http://www.dirt-racing.com/3wide/sites/vilita/vn/ttov.gif




-----------------

Opponent Preview: South Osettia

-----------------Santo Kecker's Vilita Jungle Kitties have never been paired up against the rising footballing threat from South Osettia, nor have any of the Vilitan footballing sides come up against this nation in it's current form. However, long before the government coup in South Osettia, there was the opressive rule of Maserrat, and they too fielded for a short period of time, a team in both the World Cup and Under-21 World Championships. The first meeting between Vilita and the former rule of Maserrat occurred at the senior level, with Serge DuPont's goal not enough to secure victory for Vilita on home turf, coming out with a 1-1 draw. However, in the return qualifying leg, the Jungle Cats made an easy round up of their time in Maserrat, a trio of goals resulting in a 3-0 victory for the favored Vilitans. One of the last matches before the fall of the nation of Maserrat came in this very Under-21 competition, when Maserrat met up with the Jungle Kitties in the knockout round. Vilita looked off to a good start after goals from Inaki Soler or Mauro Baraza, but the Maserratans sprung back to a 3-2 victory. The Jungle Kitties will now be looking forward to their match against South Osettia in hopes to avenge the loss suffered at the hands of Maserrat and propel their current campaign at the expense of those that once halted their former one.

Maserrat H 1 1 D DuPont
Maserrat A 3 0 W Banda Nerni DuPont
Maserrat N 2 3 L Soler Baraza

Boiled!
Starblaydia turn up heat on Bunnies

Starblaydi fans wanted more than two, but three points is all they're asking for through these three games.

Spruitland's fist foray into the international scene saw them smashed 2-0 by the best Under-21 team in the world, Starblaydia. There is, of course, nothing new or spectacular about losing games to World Champions, or even losing your first ever competitive matches. Those with especially long memories will remember Starblaydia's first international match, which, funnily enough, was at Under-21 level: A 4-2 defeat to Europa Brittania in Under-21 World Cup 3.

Just look how far you can come from losing your first ever match in the Under-21s by two goals.

For the Starblaydia/Spruitland game itself, Itechton Matranga and Florencio Zaragoza provided the Starblaydi goals that saw off the debutants. Both of these players are expected to perform well him this tournament and they've got themselves off to a great start. Even Corominas hasn't done anything remotely crazy yet, except the fact he's had the imperial eagle of Starblaydia shaved into the back of his hair, of course...

Sarzonian Junior Stars

Coach: Valentin Kienzl. A member of the inaugural U21 World Cup team, Kienzl has been tapped to replace the legendary Cal Trottier as head coach and is only the third coach in the history of the Sarzonian Under 21 side. He is bringing in an attacking style that he believes is better suited to the squad he has in camp.

ROSTER (starters in BOLD)

(4-4-2 formation)

GOALKEEPERS:
39 Blaine Wilcox (Portland Timbers): Wilcox led the way for the Junior Stars to yet another semifinal appearance, but is being counted on to lead the team to its first World Cup title at any level. At 20 years old, his time is now.
40 Frank Handley (Saugerties Snakes): At 16 years old, he's the youngest of the Junior Stars, but he's also the brightest goalkeeping prospect to come up through the ranks of the Sarzonian youth program.

DEFENDERS:
13 Ettore Salivani (no affiliation): This emigre from Pacitalia made the team by being a dogged defender and can play either halfback position. This 21 year old is not well-suited to play sweeper.
38 Chris Willingham (San Pedro Junior College): At 21 years old, is switching back to the zone marking style he's more comfortable with.
48 Candi Croshetti (Portland City College): She was such a dominant force on the women's team at City College that Trottier gave her a look. The 20 year old earned a roster spot and may find her way in the starting 11.
33 Jonas Thompson (no affiliation): Signed originally to provide defencive depth, takes over in the starting 11 with age-related eligibility claiming a starting defender. He can play any one of three defencive positions in Kienzl's new, more attack-oriented style of play. He's 19 years old.
37 Brian Sandt (New Praeton College): At 17 years old, he's the youngest field player on the national side, but he's got bloodlines to his advantage, being the younger brother of senior starting goalkeeper Horace Sandt.

MIDFIELDERS
4 Jenna Raven (Paleuma High School): Though she's only 19 years old, she won a starting job with her skill and her maturity and starred in the previous World Cup.
19 Jarret Sanderson (Woodstock Wild): Labelled as a malcontent, Sanderson has prodigous talent but a bit of a temper. He'll have to curb that to stay on the Junior Stars. He's 18 but has shown signs of maturing quickly.
22 Larry Cole (St. George): Is able to play defender or defensive midfielder. At 21 years old, he'll have a role on the team for a while.
8 Ben Traber (Woodstock Wolves - semipro): This 20 year old left high school and didn't catch on with a college side, so he decided to play semipro ball instead. He caught on as a natural at possession football and may trigger a more offensive-minded approach in future Cups.
24 Roger Lipscomb (Joe Gibbs University): Previously added to the roster for depth at defensive midfielder, Lipscomb has become known as a rugged force, especially for a 20 year old.
29 Alexei Nemenoff (Woodstock Wolves): This 19 year old emigre from The Island of Rose showed up with some of the best ball skills of anyone on the team, but his match fitness isn't where it needs to be to play more than a half at a time.

FORWARDS:
17 Marshall Hendricks (Woodstock City College): He's the second youngest player on the Junior Stars, only nine days older than Sanderson, but he couldn't be any more different in terms of maturity. He may be on the national team for a long time.
35 Carson Peeters (Rypien College): At 20 years old, he's just finding his way in the starting 11 after a position change.
44 Karen Belgrade (Stephen Stills High School): At 17 years old, she has a future ahead of her after dominating her high school's football leagues, both girls and boys.

Shark Attack

Stadium: Pinealla International Stadium

Roster:

Torry Oaker (GK), Orion Oaker (D), Tabby Oaker (D), Dieter Oaker (D), Rollee Oaker (M), Kelvin Oaker (M), Raven Oaker (M), Nickel Oaker (M), Float Oaker (F), Cats Oaker (F), Pond Oaker (F)

Group E
Fmjphoenix (4)
Oaker
Lovisa
Liverpool England (20)

Sharks in with a shout

The Sharks under 21 team are prepared for battle and prepared to use their momentum from world cup 21 where Oaker made it to the quarter finals for the first time in history, before losing out in the end to Rejistania. A handful of the Sharks under 21 players were a part of the team that did so well in world cup 21 which will ensure that Oaker will not be an easy team to beat this cup. The Sharks have been drawn into group E for under 21 world cup 15 and they will have some tough competition if they are to make it past the group stage. The sharks are not expected to beat former champions Fmjphoenix, but with wins against Lovisa and Liverpool England this Oaker side has a chance to progress. There has not been a schedule released yet but the sharks would like to get the game with Fmjphoenix out of the way so they can concentrate on the important matches against Lovisa and Liverpool England. If Oaker does not win against Fmjphoenix then they must beat Lovisa and Liverpool England or they probably will not advance. Interest in the Oaker national team has been on the rise after a period of downtime when the Sharks failed to reach the finals of the world cup. Now after the great performance in world cup 21, nationalism is at an all time high and Oakers from far and wide are expected to travel to see their team compete in the under 21 world cup.

Junior Stars worried about draw

Forget their third ranking overall and forget the fact the Sarzonian under 21 national team is expected to breeze through qualifying in Group C against newcomers Hypocria and veterans Gaian Ascendancy and Druida. New Coach Valentin Kienzl didn't like the draw when it was announced.

"We're playing former region mates Druida like our seniors are supposed to be doing if it weren't for the [senior World Cup XXII] organisers [screwing] things up," Kienzl said. "That alone is bad. Then you add Gaian Ascendancy into the picture and who knows if Hypocria is the next Nedalia?

"We're going to have our work cut out for us, that's for sure."

Kienzl brings in a new, more attack-oriented offencive system after the Stars made defence their calling card under former Coach Cal Trottier. With Trottier retiring, the team turned to one of its original heroes from its first World Cup and one of the mainstays behind a team that advanced to the World Cup finals for the only time in its history.

"He's part of our tradition and he'll be a part of molding the future of Sarzonian football," Incorporated Football Federation Chairman Terry Mangione said. Mangione was the coach when Kienzl played for the Junior Stars and said the decision to pick his former playmaking midfielder as the coach was a "no brainer."

Kienzl "has a mind for football and has since I coached him," Mangione said. "He's young so he can relate to the players, but he's also not afraid of letting them know when they need to bust their [tushes]."

"He's pushing us out there," midfielder Jenna Raven said. "He expects us to play our best at all times and he's not happy unless we've done that."

Kienzl favours short, crisp practices and believes that teams practice like they play. He also is paying close attention to the weather conditions in Total 'n Utter Insanity, hoping that the team can deal with the harsh conditions near their hotel and on the football pitch.

"We come here all the time, we should be pretty used to it," midfielder Jarret Sanderson said.

Yes, it is official: The Nedalia U21 Lions will be going for gold in their 2nd go around, hopefully offsetting the current World Cup 22 campaign for the senior side which has been somewhat disappointing. The finalists last go around, the U21 World Cup 15 poses as the perfect scene for some glory to bestowed upon our growing nation.

In between the posts, it will be World Cup 14 reserve GK Hard Dans who will get the starting nod after starter Jim Brown was promoted to the senior squad. He hasn’t earned any U21 caps as of yet, but his impressive performances with his club Strundanne have merited head coach Brent Vent’s decision to start him. Dans’ backups will be 20 year old Ulder Cross of Momesta, and Dana Harris, the 17 year old keeper from Rappor.

The defensive line kept most of its starters from the last tournament, the only exception being right back Lamm, who now plays for the senior squad. In his place, Vent has opted to start WC 14 reserve Emmanuel. The 18 year old Porasse right back will be looking to make a name for himself, hopefully winning a full time starting job for his club in the process. In the middle, the two central defenders remain unchanged from WC 14, fielding 20 year old Mohammed Khadra of Riviera, and 19 year old Andestranne defender Gary Stewart. They will also be joined by Ken Demme, the 19 year old Captera left back who also started for the WC 14 squad. The experience presented by this group should be vital, and they will form the backbone of the team, hopefully causing the team to concede less goals than the last tournament. In response to this array of experience, head coach Vent has named Khadra as his captain for the campaign.

The midfield’s story is the opposite of the defense; zero starters from the previous WC will be playing in this one, and only 3 players from WC 14 will be present. Constantine, the 17 year old Momesta attacking midfielder, turned a lot of heads playing as a reserve in WC 14, even managing to score 2 vital goals in the process. It is predicted that the offense will run through him. Joining him is Carpert Nutting, the 20 year old defensive midfielder from Groftanne. His experience will be relied upon in the midfield now that Trent Hardman has moved up to the senior squad. On the left wing will be newcomer Khalil Jamhurra of Aanjar. The 20 year old has featured in his club side, and has impressed with his performances. On the right wing will be Udrich Jansen, the third and final player from the WC 14 squad featured in the midfield. The reserves are all newcomers: Fred Fox, Montell Drums, Sammy Ewene, and Jameer Khzairan.

The forward unit will start 20 year old Aanjar striker Dennis Howard, and 16 year old Nurpert striker, the sexily named Lumiere. Both were in the WC 14 squad, although only Howard played. Their backups are new to the scene, having not played a single U21 game between them. Sean Townsend, the 18 year old striker from Rappor, will presumely be the first substitute of the bench, and the other reserve striker is 19 year old Dorpar striker Peter Merhi.

The talk from the training camp in TnUI is that this team does not possess the sheer talent of the WC 14 squad, but does possess more maturity and experience, as well as a more controlled feel to the game. This time around, the players have been coached and have been playing in the Nedalia Premier League all season long, so they are conditioned and in shape. However, having said that, other than Constantine, there does not appear to be a bonafide star on the team, something the previous squad contained plenty of. Players like Dennis Howard, Lumier, Jamhurra, and Khadra will be looking to make names for themselves, however, and prove they are just as capable as the stars of the previous squad.

While not being drawn into the toughest group, the number 6 seeded Nedalia Lions squad definitely does not have it too easy in the group stages. Group B will be the site for the battles that will take place between 3 teams that Nedalia has yet to face. The most anticipated one, ofcourse, will be against our neighbors to the northeast, the country of Bedistan. The number 14 ranked Bedistan also carries the Lions as their nickname, and it should prove to be a tremendous match between us, perhaps even the beginning of a rivalry. Also in the group are the Giant Zucchini, who are ranked at number 17, a game that if the Lions don’t prepare for will surely give them fits. Rounding out the group is the unranked team of Formal Dances. Nothing is known about them.

The bookies have stated that they favor Nedalia to come out as leaders of the group, but it will not be an easy task. Bedistan and the Giant Zucchini are both tough teams, and one slip against either one could cost Nedalia advancement to the 2nd round. Let us hope that our boys will do us proud and humble those overly confident Starblaydians.

DiMarco paced the room for seemingly the hundredth time. Sure he had dealt with fan expectations before but never like this, never from an entire country. It was clear from those ludicrous press conferences and sport shows that Hypocria expected big things of its Under-21 side. How many times had he heard it?

“Nedalia got to the final”

Yes Nedalia got to the final and yes it was their first tournament but the chances of Hypocria doing the same . . . He had given up after a while. No one was listening.

But it wasn’t just national expectations weighing him down, oh no. The FA had announced that Hypocria would be signing up for World Cup 23 [should 22 ever actually finish]. This meant a national coach for the senior side would be needed and rumours were abound that a good run in the Under-21s would mean Matthias DiMarco would land a very attractive promotion. But what counted as a good run? Surely they too didn’t expect a place in the final?

He looked again at the Group C table. Sarzonia, the number 3 seeds and 4th placed side at the last competition. He couldn’t expect much help from them. But the other two sides, Druida and the Gaian Ascendancy, had both gone out in the group stages two years ago. It would be those two matches that would surely decide Hypocria’s, and his own, fate.

And with that thought Matthias DiMarco, national coach of the Hypocrian Under-21 side, resumed his pacing.

OOC: Were do i see the scores and such. It's usually posted on here, but i guess not this time.

OOC: Were do i see the scores and such. It's usually posted on here, but i guess not this time.

OOC: You'll have to wait for about another day or so until everyone knows that it's started. :D

IC:

Hockey Canada's U21 Roster

Goalkeepers
Kyle Thomas :: Age 14
Dean Smart :: Age 15
Steve Tavares :: Age 20

Defenders
Nick Dunvegan :: Age 17
Andrew Aberdeen :: Age 17
Michael Feznak :: Age 19
Derek McKormick :: Age 20
Alexander Spanolpolis :: Age 16
Vince De Chicco :: Age 20
Oscar Alba :: Age 14

Midfielders
Mark Tavares :: Age 20
Rahul Kulkarni :: Age 17
Mike Ko :: Age 15
Josh Noble :: Age 18
Carlos Chuta :: Age 18

Forwards
Mike Statzewski :: Age 21
Jeremy Wagner :: Age 15
David Kulas :: Age 20

Coach: Toe Blake

OOC: You'll have to wait for about another day or so until everyone knows that it's started. :D

OOC: Unless you're on mIRC, since TnUI announces them there a lot.

OOC2: Hee! Bunnies!

IC:

Chicanada u21 Official Roster

Head Coach: B'zlovb K'amjnj (Rosa FC)
Assiant Coaches: Kimball L'egton (Rosa FC), Tzik Oliven (AS Risa)

Goalkeeps
(s) Porten Klibzin (19, Livingston University)
(r) Paris Asmilov (18, Bishop East FC)
(r) Ruslan Omejende (20, Star Point)

Defenders:
(s) Garrison Keblen (20, Paradiso Development)
(s) Lavin Bastan (20, Verde Mund)
(s) Ikinl Predvola (19, Oma FC)
(r) Grajz Loike (Cananite)
(r) Biondi Klizinglton (South Coast)

Midfielders:
(s) Roman Fjzrile (19, Karington High)
(s) Visnui Westinhaus (20, Sani College-Colombo)
(s) Mariel Florientin (18, Territories Union College)
(s) Predence Loeri (19, North Shore)
(r) Grozj Flinne'liveos (18, Cerealian Tech)
(r) Livingston O'Mier (19, Livingston University)
(r) Fastione Kloemi (18, Narobi)
(r) Roman Hightower (19 South Cape Prep)

Forwards:
(s) Oliven Prade (17, North Coast)
(s) Helix Adamton (18, Territories Union College)
(s) Kreli Prghton (19, Cana National)
(r) Terrence Millenson (18, Acadia)
(r) Eriche Yojaten (19, Ashley)

South Osettia U21 Roster

Manager
Jeff Meeks (Ekranas Ashtarak)

Goalkeepers
Thomas Duhon (Dinamo Tblisi) :: Age 20
Antonio Chaney (Zimbru Ts'khinvali) :: Age 18
Matthew Garfield (Lietuvos Gori) :: Age 19

Defenders
Earl Reese (Torpedo Kutaisi) :: Age 21
Larry Breeding (Militaritzin Corbaz) :: Age 20
Jerry Olivas (Torpedo Ts'khinvali) :: Age 18
Manuel Lesko (Lokomotivi Tblisi) :: Age 20
Donald Pitt (Pyunik Ashtarak) :: Age 19
Ralph Southerland (Lietuvos Gori) :: Age 17
Vincent Foxworth (Torpedo Kutaisi) :: Age 20

Midfielders
Paul Lunt (Zimbru Ts'khinvali) :: Age 19
Donald Ingersoll (Dinamo Tblisi) :: Age 16
Edward Goldstein (Ekranas Ashtarak) :: Age 21
Peter Edmiston (Militaritzin Corbaz) :: Age 18
Gregory Millner (Torpedo Kutaisi) :: Age 20
Carlos Herrington (Dila Gori) :: Age 19
Ernest Vanpelt (Pyunik Ashtarak) :: Age 21

Forwards
Martin Hage (Torpedo Kutaisi) :: Age 19
Ronald Prior (Lietuvos Gori) :: Age 20
Jonathan Bingham (Dinamo Tblisi) :: Age 21
Frank Goldman (Lokomotivi Tblisi) :: Age 17

Day 1
Group A
Starblaydia 2 Spruitland 0
Krytenia 1 East Lithuania 3
Group B
Nedalia 3 Giant Zucchini 2
Bedistan 5 Formal Dances 3
Group C
Sarzonia 3 Hypocria 2
Druida 4 Gaian Ascendancy 5
Group D
Jeruselem 4 Corneliu 0
Cockbill Street 5 Pacitalia 2
Group E
Fmjphoenix 3 Oaker 3
Lovisa 1 Liverpool England 1
Group F
South Osettia 0 Vilita 2
Crystilakere 0 Legalese 0
Group G
Hockey Canada 2 Kzuu Mai 0
Euroslavia 2 Sjwitz 6
Group H
Rejistania 1 Stumperia 0
Fimble loving peoples 2 Chicanada 3
Group A
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
East Lithuania 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3
Starblaydia 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
Krytenia 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0
Spruitland 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Group B
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Bedistan 1 1 0 0 5 3 2 3
Nedalia 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 3
Giant Zucchini 1 0 0 1 2 3 -1 0
Formal Dances 1 0 0 1 3 5 -2 0
Group C
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Gaian Ascendancy 1 1 0 0 5 4 1 3
Sarzonia 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 3
Druida 1 0 0 1 4 5 -1 0
Hypocria 1 0 0 1 2 3 -1 0
Group D
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Jeruselem 1 1 0 0 4 0 4 3
Cockbill Street 1 1 0 0 5 2 3 3
Pacitalia 1 0 0 1 2 5 -3 0
Corneliu 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0
Group E
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Fmjphoenix 1 0 1 0 3 3 0 1
Oaker 1 0 1 0 3 3 0 1
Lovisa 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
Liverpool England 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
Group F
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Vilita 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
Crystilakere 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Legalese 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
South Osettia 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Group G
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Sjwitz 1 1 0 0 6 2 4 3
Hockey Canada 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
Kzuu Mai 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Euroslavia 1 0 0 1 2 6 -4 0
Group H
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Chicanada 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 3
Rejistania 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 3
Fimble loving peoples 1 0 0 1 2 3 -1 0
Stumperia 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

(OOC: This was done before I saw the scores, so my prediction was pretty accurate.)

"And that's how you make a potato puppet."

"Fascinating, sir. Now if you'll just turn your attention to the green piece of paper."

"Which one's the green one? You should know that I'm colourblind by now!"

"Oh...sorry sir. It's the one next to the yellow one."

"...well that clears it up. Thanks."

"The draw for U21WC15 has been completed."

"Yoo-too-wun-wuck fifteen, you say? Interesting. Well...what happened? Did we get a good group?"

"Well it depends on how you define 'good'."

"What do you mean?"

"If 'good' is a group where we can expect some tough demanding games, possibly resulting in our very early elimination, then you're in luck."

"That's not what I meant by 'good'."

"Then it's a crap group - Vilita, Crystilakere and Legalese."

"Wow...that's pretty crap!"

"Indeed."

"Who do we play first?"

"Vilita."

"...and?"

"Well, the rankings say we should win this game...so we'll almost undoubtedly lose this game."

"That makes sense."

"Wait - something's coming through on the fax."

"What's it say?"

"We lost."

"That was a good trick. I liked the way you said we would lose, and then a fax came through saying we lost. It'd almost be funny if I wasn't on the verge of losing my job."

"Should I run into that cactus in the corner?"

"Please do."

Junior VIkings only score 3 goals, draw with Oaker U21s

Playing their first Under 21 Worlc Cup match, the Junior Vikings showed rust from the early start. Normally high scoring is involved when it comes to Under 21 and Fmjphoenix. But Oaker played brilliantly and kept up with the powerhouse of George Rush, and Fmjphoenix drew with Oaker 3-3.

Arien Vogel started off scoring for the Junior Vikings, hitting a hard shot at the 11th minute to pass Oaker goalkeeper Torry, and go up 1-0. But an equalizer came by not even 5 minutes later when Float Oaker went into the box and defeated a sluggish Franklin Cabrillo and tied it up 1 each. The next 25 minutes saw both teams going back and forth, clearing shot after shot, until finally Oaker got another one past thanks to Cats Oaker. As the final minutes of the first half were coming, Brady Wayne managed to get a shot in and past Torry Oaker again to draw it at 2 each going into the half.

Both teams came out, and Oaker started with the ball.the first twently minutes looked like a a textbook Karelan effot by the Oaker U21s. Finaly, after nearly a half hour of non-scoring football, Oaker came up and pressed. They brough 3 men into the box, and it was much more than Cabrillo could handle. Cats ended up being the one to gain the goal again, putting Oaker up 3-2. Time was coming down to the wire for the Junior Vikings, and Bruce Chen produced for them, scoring a game tier in the first minute of time stoppage. The goal preserved one point for the Junior Vikings, and saved them their first loss to an unranked team.

Next match is against Liverpool England, the only other ranked team in the group. Coach Rush has begun drilling into his team that they need to play consistantly at a high level to perform well and win. Look for an improvement over Liverpool England.

Fmjphoenix: 3 - Oaker: 3
Vogel 11, Wayne 44, Chen 90+ - Float 15, Cats 40, 65

Starblaydia Draw 0-0! What is going on?!
East Lithuania becomes first team in 7 years to get clean sheet

Seven years ago, in the Semi-Final of Under-21 World Cup 11, Rejistania beat Starblaydia 1-0. Today, like then, the Starblaydi Under-21s failed to score.

As if it wasn't bad enough that Starblaydia aren't on top of their group after one or even two matchdays, Starblaydia were held goalless by an unranked team. Starblaydia's defence were kept busy with the East Lithuanians attacking style, but they just couldn't get it together to create a goalscoring chance.

"This would never have happened under Simeone Di Bradini," said an interested passer-by, "I think Azanulbizarn's defensiveness has gone to his brain."

Despite the appearances of extra strikers Giovanni Lopez and Rauk Diaz-Arca, Starblaydia just couldnt break down the Lithuanians and the game ended 0-0. Now come Krytenia, who's young calecelestials, or whatever they are at the moment. Starblaydia will need at least a point form this game, though three points would make certain of Starblaydia's progression and leave their mark on this group before heading to the knockouts.

East Lithuania Wins First Game


After years of East Lithuania not even winning a game, this year the first game became a W for there record. It was a great day for the Great Whites! This just in, East Lithuania made history by keeping number 1 ranked Starbladia goaless in 7 years! The game ended in a 0-0 draw. And, (finnally) we can announce the rosters for this years event!
(Bold are starting ppl)
Couch: Ray Discolo


Forwards:

Tyler Albright- 20 years old, #31

Steve Gaden- 19 years old, #82

James Grabow- 19 years old, #62

John Londono- 16 years old, #41

Midfeilders:

Andrew McGrath- 19 years old, #55

Steve Murphy- 20 years old, #11

James Rojas- 19 years old, #9

Matt Ray- 20 years old, #65

Peter Shearer- 19 years old, #69

Defenders:

Eric Villhauer- 19 years old, #47

Mark Sell- 20 years old, #21

Michael Tello- 19 years old, #5

Mike Mongoij- 17 years old, #66

Goaltenders:

Jibreel Weaver- 20 years old, #88

Dillon Wagner- 19 years old, #2

~ A chip the size of bricks ~

GANN Sports Desk: ~ "We got dropped to fifteenth before we even got here. We're pissed." ...a blunt statement from coach Ni Morisato, after learning earlier this year of their seed rank. Almost to the core, the U21 team this time around has far more anger driving their campaign than normal.

"After being so high up last time around, and then losing out like we did, that was one thing that contributed to our fall. But to drop another spot before we even start the next tourney got us riled.

In our own saying, pull an angel's feather without permission, expect armagedoon." ...the coach commented.

Group C
Sarzonia (3)
Hypocria
Druida (23)
Gaian Ascendancy (15)

Two serious challenges in Druida and Sarzonia and a newcomer squad from Hypocria should make for an interesting three days of qualifiers, but the real question will be if the Gaians will avoid the ignominious dump out like last time, due to the inability to hold off a new team.


Under 21 National Team Roster: (24 Players)
Nickname: Soft Wings

Coaches:
Head: Ni Morisato (38)
Assistants: Corla Masaki (32), Nen Dendar (33)

Goalies:
00. Shan Nisaki (Infinity Tower) (21)
02. Gwenar Masaki (Minas Jurai`alheim) (21)
05. Parr Clark (Rhur Eternus) (19)
07. Ash Kerensky (Seraphim Prime) (18)

Forwards:
11. Peter Andersen (Minas Destinus) (21)
15. Freeze Kerensky (Archonis Oracalii) (17)
16. Endo Billings (Opal Diamond) (20)
19. Allan Lamar (Hilton Head) (19)
20. Bayless McKenna (Entwinar I) (17)
21. Haim Morisato (Rhur Eternus) (18)

Midfielders:
26. Maeko Cannon (Archon) (21)
22. Vik Curtis (Ithillii Goddessa) (21)
29. Drew Taney (Blue Diamond) (19)
31. Creed Hazen (Minas Jurai`alheim) (20)
34. Ortho Masaki (Emerald) (20)
36. Sionek Rara (Entwinar I) (19)
37. Dalaa Grend (Sien) (17)

Defenders:
42. Bryan Millard (Marble) (20)
45. Tor Sha-Fir (Rhur Eternus) (19)
51. Arik Nir (Strana Mecha) (20)
53. Eli Levi (Ithillii Goddessa) (19)
55. Ido Kerensky (Minas Destinus) (19)
61. Ma Meng-Dan (Clan Home) (18)
62. Jacob Morisato (Opal Diamond) (17)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

U21 National Team Starters:

Keeper: (Home Guard)
GK: Shan Nisaki

Defenders: (Shield)
RD: Tor Sha-Fir
LD: Bryan Millard
CD: Arik Nir

Midfielders: (Armor)
LM: Creed Hazen
RM: Drew Taney
CFM: Maeko Cannon
CRM: Vik Curtis

Strikers: (Sword)
LF: Endo Billings
RF: Peter Andersen
CF: Haim Morisato


This will be the last year for this current squad before age finally catches up to the team. However this may be a good thing as several players from the NSFA and Champions Cup teams and their development squads will be coming to the fore. However the team for now is agitated like nothing else.

-----

MD1 Summary:


Group C
Sarzonia 3 Hypocria 2
Druida 4 Gaian Ascendancy 5



Group C
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Gaian Ascendancy 1 1 0 0 5 4 1 3
Sarzonia 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 3
Druida 1 0 0 1 4 5 -1 0
Hypocria 1 0 0 1 2 3 -1 0


The anger was taken out on Druida in a flurry of nine total goals, with the Gaian Soft Wings taking the upper hand in this one. The Sarzonians took the early lead in the 12th minute, but the Gaians replied with two of their own at the 17th and 18th minutes, and the Soft Wing supporters liked the 2-1 lead.

Then it turned into a 2-3 deficit, as Druida struck back viciously at the 30th and 34th minutes of play. The Gaian crowd looked worried that the sudden goals would be be too much for the Gaians to react to.

They needn't have worried. A late 44th minute goal put the Gaians back in a tie going into the half, a 52% possession rate also going for them, heading into the second half.

...which led to a 4-3 lead literally 43 seconds into the second half, the goal stunning Druida rather bad. That led to a 49th minute attack by the Soft Wings that pushed the ball past too quickly for Druida to react to. The Keeper remained stunned as the ball was put away and the Gaians celebrated a 5-3 lead.

Druida however remained true to form and they struck back at the 64th minute with a brilliant series of passes that tripped up two of the Gaian defenders, Tor Sha-Fir and Arik Nir, giving a clear shot that Keeper Shan Nisaki couldn't stop. The 5-4 reduction made the Soft Wing fans very j8ittery with 26 minutes remaining.

However for some inexplicable reason, the play litteraly dropped from that point, as Druida managed only two more chances on goal, despite some strong attempts. The Gaian defense fell into place and held off the assaults up past three minutes stoppage time. The match more ended with a sigh of relief.

"I think we got away with one, Druida could have struck back easily, but our defenders managed to pull together after that trip up incident. They accorded themselves far better." ..Soft Wing Striker Peter Andersen said, the author of the 17th and 30th minute goals.

"We did well today, but we also are essentially in the same position as last time around. We 'have' to play harder if we don't want to end up with the same result." ..Morisato commented. "..if Druida was like this today, Sarzonia will be even tougher. But we 'can' beat them. After seeing what our other National and Republic Worlds squads have done, we can do the same.

I believe in our team, and they deserve more than just a early out this time. We'll be there for the long run, I swear it." ..a strong comment coming from the soft spoken Coach, but with recent history playing against them, they feel they have something coming back to them.

Sarzonia and Hypocria had better worry, because the Soft Wings don't have that crutch.

U21 Daily News

Kodiaks Start Right, Beat #10-A

The u21 squad made certain they stared out right, as Forward Kreli Prghton gained two goals and SubKeeper Paris Asmilov made a desperate save in the waining minuted to give Chicanada a 3-2 victory over co-#10 Fimble Looking People today.

The match was peppered with goals from both sides, as the teams combined for 39 shots on goal. The fact this match did not become a shootout speaks highly on Asmilov and the Fimble (what's a fimble? asks the press) goalkeeps.

B'zlovb K'amjnj, National u21 Coach, praised the play of Asmilov, Prghton and fellow Forward Terrence Millenson, who scored a goal in the first period, calling the gameplay superb and that it continues a high quality of play the Kodiaks managed in the previous u21 Cup.

The win gives Chicanada a techincal lead in Group H over Rejistania based soley on goals scored. Rejistania won today over co-#10 Stumperia 1-0. The Kodiaks play one of those teams tonight in Total n Utter Insanity. If it's Rejistania, most expect a tie match. If it's Stumperia, most Chicanadan betters give the Kodiaks a slight edge to beat the other tenth-ranked team. Regardless, a win tonight could shore up a playoff slot for the Kodiaks and bring them one step closer to their goal of an actual title.

FLP played the first match of their U"! campaign today. They found themselves on the worse end of a 3-2 scoreline and the fans will be gutted.

The defences of both teams were failing as FLP had 17 shots on goal, and the Chicanadans 22.

FLP took the lead early on with some superb play. A lovely pass by Thurman set up Aiken who was quick to slot it past the opposition goalkeeper. However they began to faulter as goals in 32 and 44 minutes put the Chicanadans into the lead.

They kept up the barrage in the second half and had claimed a third before the hour was up. FLP weren't going to lie down and accept defeat however and began to fight back. The equaliser came on 78 minutes from Fuller, who blasted his shot into the top corner after a dazzling run.

Despite shooting almost non-stop the keeper held out the shots from the FLP forwards. Chicanada claimed the win and will prepare for their next match with those 3 points safely tucked away. FLP, however, have it all to work for.

In related news, it was found in reports from the Chicanadan press that FLP has been renamed as 'Fimble looking people', atleast in the eyes of the press in that nation.

So Close

Hypocria 2 - 3 Sarzonia
West 50
Burdali 81

It was a case of so near and yet so far as the Hyppos narrowly lost to Group C favorites Sarzonia by the odd goal in five.

Something of a rout was feared when the Group C favorites Sarzonia met the Hyppos in match day 1 of the Under-21 World Cup. These fears increased as Sarzonia took just 7 minutes to break the deadlock. Sarzonia continued to pile on the pressure and a second goal duly followed on 32 minutes. Although Kreska headed narrowly wide from a corner 4 minutes later there was very little for Hyppos fans to get excited about and half time couldn’t come quick enough.

Hypocria emerged with much more purpose after the interval and Baxter began to spray passes around with much more confidence. Sure enough, on 50 minutes Baxter played a glorious past forward that bisected the Sarzonian defense and Danny West raced onto it and fired low and hard past the onrushing Wilcox. The Hyppos pushed forward looking for the equalizer but were caught out on 68 minutes by a textbook Sarzonian counterattack, from one end of the pitch to the other, as the favorites reestablished their two goal advantage. Now it was the favorites who looked to kill of the game once and for all but Derevko refused to be beaten again, making and number of good saves. And on 81 minutes it was Hypocria who again narrowed the deficit. Big defender Kreska again caused chaos from a corner, the ball was cleared as far as substitute Burdali on the edge of the box and his shot through the crowded penalty area somehow found its way into the back of the net. Again the Hyppos poured forward looking for an equalizer and they nearly got it on 89 minutes. Again it was Kreska from a corner, he rose highest but his header just shaved the post. It wasn’t to be.

Despite the result coach DiMarco remained upbeat.

“Today we narrowly lost to a better team and there is no disgrace in that. My players performed brilliantly and can be proud of themselves. We showed we can go toe to toe with one of the best teams in the tournament. Although we lost we can gain a lot of confidence from this performance, confidence I hope we can take into our next game”.

In the other match Gaian Ascendancy just edged Druida in a nine goal thriller to sit on top of the group, separated from Sarzonia on goals scored, after the first round of matches.

Group C
Sarzonia 3 Hypocria 2
Druida 4 Gaian Ascendancy 5


Group C
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Gaian Ascendancy 1 1 0 0 5 4 1 3
Sarzonia 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 3
Druida 1 0 0 1 4 5 -1 0
Hypocria 1 0 0 1 2 3 -1 0

The Nedalia Lions

LIONS STIRFRY COMPETITION (not really)

The Nedalia Lions have started their U21 campaign on the right foot, albeit they were very close to tripping over themselves. A highly entertaining affair against the Giant Zucchini ended with a thrilling 3 – 2 scoreline in favor of the Lions.

“This is a team with many new faces, especially in the midfield, and Giant Zucchini is a highly experienced team, so I’m happy to come away with the 3 points,” stated manager Brent Vent. “We’ve got to win one more to win one more to seal our fate in the 2nd round, and I’m optimistic we can achieve that. We got one hell of a scare against this Giant Zucchini team, but in the end, we played hard enough to deserve the victory.”

The highlights started in the 24th minute, when a counter attack, initiated by central defender Mohammed Khadra quickly developed through the midfield, and ended up with a fabulous strike from Dennis Howard, who netted in his first U21 goal. The assist came from attacking midfielder Constantine, who dribbled by 2 players before dishing the football over to Howard.

The Giant Zucchini, however, wasted no time striking back, capitalizing on a defensive mistake by Gary Stewart to equalize the game in the 31st minute. Not 5 minutes had passed however, when Dennis Howard struck again in the 35th minute, another wonderful strike the saw the net, giving him his second goal of the match and a scoreline that read 2 – 1 going into the half.

The second half continued exciting the fans, especially the 5,000 plus Nedalians who had made their way here to witness their team play. The Lions, despite their lead, did not sit down and die; instead continuing their famed attacking style of play, pressuring the Zucchini defense any chance they got. Finally, in the 65th minute, Howard got his hat-trick, much to the joy of the Nedalian fans, off of a simple tap in set up for him by Constantine. The Giant Zucchini got one in the waning seconds of the match, but it did no good for their chances of salvaging a point. The Lions came away with all 3 points.

In the other Group B match, Nedalia neighbors Bedistan (also called the Lions) won convincingly against Formal Dances 5 - 3, although one would have expected less goals to be conceded by Bedistan. In any case, that leaves Bedistan at the top position with Nedalia second thanks to the goal difference. Both teams have 3 points, and it looks like both teams will be advancing to the 2nd round unless Giant Zucchini can pull together 2 big wins over Bedistan and Formal Dances. Last placed Formal Dances dont look too capable of pulling off an upset and advancing from the group stage, although thats what people were saying about Nedalia last time around.


NEDALIA LINEUP (Match Rating)

GK: Hard Dans (8)

LD:: Ken Demme (7)
CD: Mohammed Khadra (8)
CD: Gary Stewart (6)
RD: Emmanuel (8)

LM: Khalil Jamhurra (8)
DM: Carpert Nutting (7) subbed 78th for Sammy Ewene
RM: Udrich Jansen (7)
AM: Constantine (9), 2 assists, subbed 88th for Jameer Khzairan

SC: Dennis Howard (10), 3 goals, subbed 85th for Peter Merhi
SC: Lumiere (7)

The Apprentices - back for more young fun!

Goalkeepers:

1. Tom Ricketts, aged 19, av rating 5.52, Jotneheim Mountains AFC
13.Olaf Axethwackersson, aged 18, av rating 5.60, Grakh'nakh K'druz'ba*

Defenders:

2. Alexander Boiling, aged 20, av rating 5.81, central defender, Roegrow Athletic*
3. Tridymite, aged 18, av rating 5.46, central defender/left back, Jotneheim Mountains AFC
4. Bjorn Olafslayer, aged 21, av rating 5.71, left back, R'dhuz'lith K'druz'ba*
5. Thorstein Stonelover, aged 21, av rating 5.78, central defender, K'haz'bak K'druz'ba
14.Kevin Cowan, aged 19, av rating 5.60, central defender, Jotneheim Mountains AFC
17.Chris Adcook, aged 19, av rating 5.68, right back, Vimesbairn United*

Midfielders:

6. Iret Hiria, aged 19, av rating 5.66, winger, A'grah'wah K'druz'ba (half Turorian)*
7. Keith Hancock, aged 21, av rating 5.73, left winger, Jotneheim Montains AFC
8. Steinari Stonelover, aged 20, av rating 5.44, attacking midfielder, Likh'gokh K'druz'ba
11.Bjorn Spearwielder, aged 19, av rating 5.71, left winger, K'haz'bak K'druz'ba
15.Irene Miller, aged 18, av rating 5.80, left winger, Vimesbairn Athletic*
18.Succinite, aged 21, av rating 5.76, right winger, Rizh'peith K'druz'ba
19.Vegard Stronginthearm, aged 18, av rating 5.41, right winger/central midfielder, Rizh'peith K'druz'ba
20.Percy Beswetherick, aged 18, av rating 5.66, defensive midfielder, Chesham Rangers*

Strikers:

9. Liam Williams, aged 18, av rating 5.60, striker, Roegrow Athletic*
10.Alan Johnstone, aged 19, av rating 5.77, striker, Grakh'nakh K'druz'ba*
12.Mark Cooper, aged 21, av rating 5.67, forward, R'dhuz'lith K'druz'ba*
16.Stuart Pickup, aged 20, av rating 5.60, forward, Harewood FC
21.Olivia Peterson, aged 17, av rating 5.54, striker, Chesham Rangers

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football

This just in: there's an U21 World Cup going on!

TOTAL N UTTER INSANITY -- Much to the surprise of the people of Bedistan, not only has Under-21 World Cup 15 started, the Cubs* have already played a match! The match was against the pretty much unknown nation of Formal Dances, and it resulted in a 5-3 victory for Bedistan.

When BFA president Sam Bacon was asked why even he didn't know the Cup had started, he mentioned something about "subscriptions", "new threads", and "not on IRC". The best we can make of this is that Bacon was apparently ordering new clothes through a catalog, and not through the Bedistani television shopping channel IRC (which he apparently is a fan of). What this has to do with international football has yet to be determined.

That said, here is Bedistan's team sheet for this Cup. None of the players from last year's competition have aged enough to be promoted to the senior squad yet, so it should look pretty familiar. None of these players are currently playing in the BPL or BFL.

GK - Tom Ford, age 20
D - Bobby Underwood, age 17
D - Sanmo Arístiko, age 19
D - Opal Browne, age 19
D - Greg Moon, age 18
M - Theo Reid, age 20
M - Bonnie Capp, age 17
M - Zack Vincent, age 18
M - Agustín Ramírez-Cervantes, age 20
F - Todd Wipp, age 19
F - Logan Anderson, age 18

* While Bedistan's senior squad is called the Lions, the U21s are called the Cubs. Makes sense, right?

Hockey Canada down Kzuu Mai. Scouting reports on teams released.

A 2-0 win out of the gate for Hockey Canada was a good warmup when they faced newcomers Kzuu Mai. The started out looking strong in the pre-game warmup and brought that hype into the game with them. A quick goal 4 minutes in scored by late add-on Mike Ko catapulted Hockey Canada into an early lead and didn't look back.

The amazing defence by Hockey Canada kept all shots no where near the net, or the 18 year line for that matter. A yellow card by Mike Feznak int he 42nd minute scared the Hockey Canadians a bit but keeper Kyle Thomas dove across the net to get the save. Halftime energized the Hockey Canadians and they played very well for an all-defensive team.

In the 70th minute, Miko Ko scored his second goal of the game on a free kick 22 yards from the net. The post-game celebration resulted in showers of beer and an avalanche of media reporters. But the celebration was overcome when they heard of Sjwitz's 6-2 bashing of Euroslavia. They'll pick up the pace as the tournement wears on, as for now... Euroslavia and Sjwitz are waiting.

Scouting report


Top 8 teams:

1 Starblaydia - The previous winners will try for a repeat
2 Jeruselem - Going for revenge will be sweet for Jeruselem
3 Sarzonia - The Junior Stars will light up the tournement
4 Fmjphoenix - They'll be silent but deadly
5 South Osettia - These guys will not stop at anything... well, hopefully us
6 Nedalia - The Lions won't give up in their wild group
6 Rejistania -
8 Hockey Canada - Soon-to-be champions (yeah, maybe in 2092!)

Sjwitz- 19th ranked Sjwitz will be Hockey Canada's most dangerous threat in the group. They're in front for now, but will watch out for us.

Kzuu Mai- Rookies that'll prove themselves in the near future, they'll try for the best in their first U21WC.

Euroslavia- Another team of rookies going out to give their best. An early loss to Sjwitz won't daunt them.

So as we prepare for our next game, Hockey Canadians will enjoy their moment in the sun.

Group G
Hockey Canada 2 Kzuu Mai 0
Euroslavia 2 Sjwitz 6

Group G
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Sjwitz 1 1 0 0 6 2 4 3
Hockey Canada 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
Kzuu Mai 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Euroslavia 1 0 0 1 2 6 -4 0

HCNN: Sjwitz don't know when to say "stop" when they walked all over Euroslavia 6-2. Sjwitz will need to watch out for defensive Hockey Canada if they advance later on, because there are muhc better teams to look out for. HC shuts Kzuu (who?) Mai out in our opener. This asks the question "Can we shut out every team in Group G?". Maybe.

Bunnies not happy!

As they’re preparing for their next group match, the Spruitland players have reacted furiously to the nickname they have been given by the media. Though it was meant in an affectionate way, the players feel that “Spruitland Bunnies” is thoroughly belittling and lacks the necessary air of authority for a team that wants to compete on an international level.

“Don’t get me wrong, like all Spruitlanders, we love rabbits,” captain Nico Van Dyck, elected by the players as their spokesperson, explains. “But there’s this thing called self-confidence, and with a name like The Bunnies, no opponent is ever gonna take us seriously!”

The players have filed an official complaint with the Spruitland Football Association, demanding that the nickname be changed to – in order of preference – the Killer Rabbits, the Lions, or the Wolverines, and threatening to retreat from the U21 World Cup if the SFA fails to comply.

The SFA has not yet responded, but it will be interesting to hear their view on the matter, as they already initiated the production of two million “I’m a Bunny-freak” t-shirts.

Coach Cor Bensen is not concerned by the commotion and continues his preparations for the match against Krytenia as if nothing happened.
“Let them get all worked up,” he smiles. “A ticked off team is a team that’ll give it all on the field, and then some.”

Bensen announced that the starting line-up for the second game will mostly remain the same, with two changes. Forward Juri Kocarov is sitting out a one match ban after his sending off, and will be replaced by Ooyevaar, while right winger Gary Mariano has come down with a cold – Samson Trouwel will take his place.

The Disgruntled Bunnies are still looking to score their first goal on an international level, but Bensen hopes for more than that.
“We’ll need the three points if we want to survive the groups stage,” he says. “Preferably with something like an 8 goal difference, but I’ll settle for a few less.”

Matchday 1 results:

Starblaydia – Spruitland: 2-0
Krytenia – East Lithuania: 1-3

Group A
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
East Lithuania 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3
Starblaydia 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
Krytenia 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0
Spruitland 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0

Junior Stars slip past debutants 3-2

It's only one match, as Sarzonian Under 21 national football team Coach Valentin Kienzl continually reminded media in the press room after the Junior Stars' opening 3-2 win over Hypocria, but the attacking brand of football Kienzl brought to the Junior Stars isn't getting good reviews.

"We've only had one real match under our belts with this system," Kienzl said. "We still have to adjust and look for ways to support [goalkeeper Blaine] Wilcox and our back four. It was fortunate that we faced an inexperienced side but it's going to get a lot harder from here on."

The team debuted their attack-oriented style of football that is essentially the senior national team's possession offense after a short training camp that Kienzl said was by design.

"We wanted to make sure the players got sharp and followed their fitness programme," he said. "I was mostly pleased with the results."

Midfielder Jenna Raven opened the scoring just seven minutes in after winning a loose ball just outside the 18 yard box and bouncing a shot just past the goalkeeper.

"It wasn't pretty but I'll take it," Raven said. "You don't get more points for style goals." The Junior Stars continued to pour on the pressure, seemingly looking to put the Hyppos out of their misery early and seemed to turn the trick in the 32nd minute thanks to forward Marshall Hendricks's first goal of the tournament.

However, the Hyppos were undaunted with the 2-0 scoreline at the half. Forward Danny West took advantage of shaky marking by the "entire back line," Kienzl said, cutting the Junior Stars' lead in half 50 minutes in. Kienzl began pacing the sidelines, clearly impatient with the defence, but midfielder Jarret Sanderson settled his coach down by starting and finishing a counter attack in the 68th minute that seemed to put the match out of reach.

"We let up a bit after that goal," Sanderson said. "I'm not happy because that's on all of us [field players]."

Reserve forward Burdali cut the gap to 3-2 thanks in part to a penalty area scramble started by defender Kreska, who Wilcox said "doesn't attack like any defender I've ever seen." The Hyppos continued to apply desperate pressure in an effort to steal a standings point from a now exhausted Junior Stars side, but the final whistle sounded with Hypocria's best chance hit off the woodwork after beating Wilcox.

"We damn near gave away two points," Wilcox said in disgust. "We can't afford that against either Gaian Ascendancy or Druida." Especially with comments like, "Sarzonia and Hypocria had better worry, because the Soft Wings don't have that crutch," coming from the Gaian media. Kienzl wouldn't comment for the record on the Gaian media outlet's comment, but a Junior Stars player said, "you can bet your bottom dollar we'll have that plastered on our locker room walls."

AOA fails its first test: devastating loss to Cockbill Street ensues

With a renewed confidence and a different type of playing style, we watched as the U21 boys entered their first match under the All-Out Attack formation, with six forwards, one sweeper and three defenders.

Things started off great with two quick goals by the blitz-like offence that was brought up on the Cockbill Street side, one from Massimatto and one from Charisteas, but after the 30th minute, the game started to shift to the favour of the opponent, and the AOA formation fell apart after four straight goals by the Cockbill Street U21 boys.

After that fourth goal, coach Santo Castorini changed back to the normal 2-4-1-3 formation of the past and on that, didn't score any further but let in a fifth goal, sealing the loss in this opening match.

It is certainly hoped that a quick study review and further practice with the AOA formation will help the Pacitalian boys in their second match, and if another loss is coming, that it isn't as devastating as this one.

Luckily, though, that venerable old opponent, Corneliu, lost by 1 more goal in a 4-0 shutout, so Pacitalia stays in third place in Group D.

Vikings enjoy offensive explosion lead by two hattricks in routing Liverpool England

When talking about highly-explosive, offensive juggernauts, the Junior Vikings are normally placed in that catagory. Not since Under 21 World Cup 13 that saw the Junior Vikings trounce The Eagles Nest U21s 11-3 have they enjoyed such easy scoring. But against an underperforming Liverpool England U21 squad, the Junior Vikings exploded. Lead by hattricks by Arien Vogel and Bruce Chen, Fmjphoenix routed Liverpool England 7-1.

The Junior Vikings showed how much they wanted this one from the start. They came right out of the gate with their guns flairing. Liverpool England started with the kickoff, but lost possesion early on when a challenge by Brady Wayne left the LE forward stuck in his tracks. Two minutes later came the first goal by Bruce Chen. On the ensuing kickoff, the LE side looked like they were ready to strike back. They marched up the Junior Vikings side of the pitch, and finally got a shot off in the box that managed to get past Franklin Cabrillo. Thus only after 12 minutes, it was already 1-1. But Arien Vogel was ready to play today. The Junior Vikings all out attack was too much for Liverpool England to handle. Vogel went into the box and his header put Fmjphoenix up 2-1 at 16 minutes. But they were not done this half. When Liverpool England kicked off, they managed to hold onto the ball for a little while, prompting Fmjphoenix to have to play back and wait for a press by LE. Finally after 10 minutes, they got tired and went on a rush to go after the ball. It worked because Juan Espinoza ended up sneaking up behind a LE midfielder and knocking the ball loose. The ball was again saved by Arien Vogel, who ran up flanked by 5 teammates. It took a gritty 5 minutes, but they managed to get into the box and Vogel ended up with a tough shot that managed to get past the goalkeeper for a 3-1 lead. The Junior Vikings would add one more goal by Vogel in the first half when Vogel made a penelty shot after being hit hard by one of the defenders. Without much of a fight, Fmjphoenix ran their way to a 4-1 lead at the half. They were looking like the championship team of Under 21 World Cup 13, and looked ready to keep playing.

With Arien Vogel scoring a hattrick in the first half, Coach Rush decided to let the star rest for the second half. Even with him sitting down, Bruce Chen showed he is still able to run and score goals for the team. Not even 5 minutes into the second half, Chen put a header in for a 5-1 lead. It came right off of the kickoff, with a pass from Trowa Notrab to Jarod Howell, who passed to Chen. Finally, it looked like the Junior Vikings were done scoring goals. The nexy twenty minutes were spent playing on their side of the pitch, with Cabrillo tipping out 4 shots, playing very aggresive defense. Finally after a shot that Cabrillo caught in the gut, the Junior Vikings pressed forward again. Chen lead an attack with Brady Wayne and Brigan Dougood. The three were met by two defenders, and with a few fancy passes, it was Dougood alone in the box against the goallkepper. And in line with Chen and Vogel, Dougood scored his first goal as Junior Viking at the 65th minute. With the match well in hand, Coach Rush put his team into a 1-4-5 defensive formation, with only Chen on the field as a striker. Despite being the lone attacker, Chen would still add one more goal against a tired Liverpool England side. Finally after a brutal 90 minutes, the Junior Vikings onslaught was over with a 7-1 victory that left Liverpool England feeling battered and bruised.

"I am extremley proud of the way the boys handled the match today. They went out and were relentless on the attack and played exceptional defense to boot. They showed the proud tradition the Junior Vikings have with their Under 21 team. This is a solid group of guys and I think they have a legitimite chance of regaining gold in this tournament."

Fmjphoenix: 7 - Liverpool England: 1
Chen 7, 48, 75: Vogel 16, 31, 41: Dougood: 65 - Unknown 12

At the FA Headquarters in Hypocrium a senior member of the association is looking over the Sarzonia match report with his assistant.

“You know Jenkins it’s a real shame we lost, a point against Sarzonia would have been a huge result”, the older man began.

“Yes sir”, his assistant replied.

“Look at this, the first goal was scored by someone called Jenna. Funny name for a bloke. I beat he got teased at school.”

“Actually sir I don’t think . . .”

“Mind you we are part of the international sporting community now we should expect these little cosmopolitan idiosyncrasies now and then.”

“But sir that particular player is actually a g . . .”

“I mean for all I know Jenna could be a perfectly common mans name in Sarzonia.”

“Sir, I really think you should know . . .”

“And what’s wrong with that any way? If Sarzonian parents want to call their boys Jenna who are we to argue about it. We should respect them for the proud nation they are not giggle at their football player’s girly names. Frankly Jenkins I’m appalled at your attitude towards this subject.”

“But you brought it up and . . .”

“That is what’s wrong with this country Jenkins. Too many people share your backward attitude. I personally pride myself on my forward thinking.”

“Sir, that player was in fact a girl.”

“Oh dear god!”

Unnamed helper: "Sir, apparently there's another Under-21 World Cup on. Number Fifteen, apparently."

President Smith: "Fifteen? What happened to Fourteen?"

Unnamed helper: "Apparently, it happened about two years ago. We forgot it was on, so a bunch of dwarves from Cockbill Street played for us instead."

President Smith: "And..."

Unnamed helper: "We didn't get past the group stage."

President Smith: "Damn."

Unnamed helper: "The DFA have been onto us saying that those players missed out on a vital stageof their development by missing out that cup."

President Smith: "Oh. Well, uh, what exactly can we do about it?"

Unnamed helper: "Well, it may have escpaed your attention, but Oglethorpia are back on the World Cup scene."

President Smith: "Yeees..."

Unnamed helper: "And what are they famous for?"

President Smith: "Coloured surnames?"

Unnamed helper: "No, you fool! Time travel technology!"

President Smith: "And how are we supposed to get our hands on that?"

Unnamed helper: "We already have! Please enter the U21WC14 Druida Spectrums MkII!"

President Smith: "They're still useless!"

Unnamed helper: "That's as may be, but at least they can prove to the world that they're useless properly now!"

President Smith: "Indeed."


And here's who they are...

1) Trevor Willis (18, GK, Kirkanden)
2) Trefor Lewis (17, LB, Druid Tribune)
3) Jarno Gol (21, RB, Les Schløñuski)
4) Paul Evans (19, CM, Trontby)
5) Trevor Harris (21, CB, Newton Vale)
6) Jan O'McSchoefov (20, CB, Les Schløñuski)
7) Trevor Helick (20, RM, Mawr City)
8) Garth Pork (18, CM, Garth Wanderers)
9) Trevor Bent (21, CF, Vecchio Victors [Starblaydia])
10) Andrade Keshulonevski (21, CF, Dinamo Neodzki)
11) Trevor Fredsaw (19, LM, Cefn Bus Station)

Subs:

12) Pete Renfrew (18, CB, Inter Dave)
13) Trefor Thomas (17, GK, Corwich Point)
14) Tommy Peters (16, CF, Cranbury United)
15) Bob Porter (17, CM, Coleford Town)
16) Trefor Underwood (18, LM, Druid Tribune)
17) Colin Graham (18, RM, Cefn Albion)
18) Owen Trevor (17, LB, Bessburg)
19) Tony Carter (17, RB, Brallton)
20) Michael Williams (18, CB, Coleford Town)
21) Trevor Tobias (18, CF, Bessburg)
22) Bob Resting (19, CM, Cefn Albion)
23) Terry Jones (18, GK, Llllllllllcwllllllll Juniors)

Bunnies victorious!

Spruitland - Krytenia: 2 - 0

The Spruitland Bunnies celebrated their first international win, their first points, their first goals, and their first clean sheet, with three victory laps around the pitch, for a largely neutral TnUI crowd that couldn’t care less, but applauded obligingly just the same.

“What a rush!” striker Dirk Jools exclaimed, obviously in a much more positive state of mind than after the Starblaydia match. “Did you see my goal? Man, what a beauty! Goal of the Tournament, no doubt about it!”

Perhaps a slightly rash statement – in line with Jools’ temperament – though we can’t deny that his diving header well into the second half was quite spectacular. Even more spectacular was the outburst of joy that followed, with every player rushing off the substitute bench and onto the field for a 22-man pile up, goalkeeper Simon Briers on top, singing the national anthem from the top of his lungs.

Coach Bensen stood by and watched it all with nothing more than a slight smile on his lips, while the referee and linesmen tried desperately to break up the bunch so the game could continue.

It took all of seven minutes before there was anything resembling order again, and an equal amount of yellow cards, four for players that weren’t even in the line-up, but nobody really cared. Dirk Jools, upon receiving his yellow card, grabbed the referee’s ears and kissed him full on the lips – it took an impressive amount of self-control from the man to refrain from pulling out red.

The realization that full back Chris Yugo had lost consciousness while being stuck in the middle of the pile up put a small damper on the celebrations, but luckily it didn’t turn out to be too serious and he was quickly on his feet again. Coach Bensen didn’t want to take any chances with a groggy defender, however, and replaced him with 16-year old Detlef Weber – Spruitland’s youngest player in the selection. After a 12 minute interruption, the game could finally continue.

The match had been fairly balanced up to that point, with very few chances on either side. Jools had the best chance of the first half with a shot from a tight angle that narrowly missed, and Spruitland goalie Simon Briers had to stretch to punch a direct free kick out of the mouth of his goal, but the main battles were fought on midfield.

The second half saw a more eager Spruitland side, putting pressure on the Krytenia defense, though not immediately resulting in a lot of chances. But after a few tentative attempts, Trouwel broke away on the right wing and centered the ball towards Jools, who dived himself into Spruitland immortality.

The 12-minute interruption broke the pace somewhat, and Krytenia came close to a fast equalizer, but Briers showed quick reflexes to keep his sheet clean. That was all the warning the Bunnies needed, and they kept a firm lock on the game from then on, even though scoring opportunities were still few and far between.

With less than a handful of minutes remaining, Samson Trouwel saw an outstanding game rewarded when he headed the ball into the net on a corner kick, securing Spruitland’s first ever international victory.

While the players went off into the city’s nightlife to celebrate, each armed with a bottle of champagne and a pack of condoms, coach Cor Bensen stayed behind in the hotel to analyze the East Lithuania vs. Starblaydia match, which ended in a surprising scoreless draw.

“Not what we had hoped,” Bensen admitted. “We were counting on a heavy win for Starblaydia, but obviously the East Lithuanians didn’t feel like obliging us. They’ve been playing better football than anyone expected.”

“Still, it’s in our own hands. All we have to do is win. That may be a tough nut to crack, but either way, we’re still playing for stakes in the last group match. Win or lose, this tournament is a success for us.”

Goals: ’62 Jools 1-0, ’87 Trouwel 2-0


Group A Matchday 2 results:

East Lithuania – Starblaydia: 0 – 0
Spruitland – Krytenia: 2 – 0

Group A
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
East Lithuania 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4
Starblaydia 2 1 1 0 2 0 2 4
Spruitland 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
Krytenia 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0

Jeruselem Government News

We keep our promises

Match day I of U21 Championship XV. We made some obscure promise to thrash the living daylights out of Corneliu to the nation of Formal Dances. Our first game happened to be against Corneliu, and we won 4-0. The 22nd seed was supposed to be a difficult opponent but the 2nd seed make them look 22nd rate running out with an easy win. Although the team for XIV is totally different from XV, the well-established system used in XIV worked and our new team showed why we are 2nd seed.

Cockbill Street also got into the goal-fest with a thrashing of 5-2 of Pacitalia. It was clear the two lower teams have some work to do to match the undeniable class of Jeruselem and Cockbill Street from the results of Match day 1.

The Jeruselem coach said "Not a bad result for the 1st game, but we have keep up this kind of form. Our real competition is coming, and if we are to make finals again there's no letting up on getting things right. With the lights of Starblaydia and Sarzonia around, there are no half measures."

Group D
Jeruselem 4 Corneliu 0
Cockbill Street 5 Pacitalia 2


Group D
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Jeruselem 1 1 0 0 4 0 4 3
Cockbill Street 1 1 0 0 5 2 3 3
Pacitalia 1 0 0 1 2 5 -3 0
Corneliu 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0

Day 2
Group A
East Lithuania 0 Starblaydia 0
Spruitland 2 Krytenia 0
Group B
Formal Dances 2 Nedalia 2
Giant Zucchini 2 Bedistan 0
Group C
Gaian Ascendancy 2 Sarzonia 4
Hypocria 3 Druida 0
Group D
Pacitalia 1 Jeruselem 3
Corneliu 4 Cockbill Street 6
Group E
Liverpool England 1 Fmjphoenix 7
Oaker 1 Lovisa 3
Group F
Legalese 0 South Osettia 0
Vilita 4 Crystilakere 1
Group G
Sjwitz 1 Hockey Canada 2
Kzuu Mai 3 Euroslavia 1
Group H
Chicanada 2 Rejistania 0
Stumperia 2 Fimble loving peoples 2
Group A
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
East Lithuania 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4
Starblaydia 2 1 1 0 2 0 2 4
Spruitland 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
Krytenia 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0
Group B
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Nedalia 2 1 1 0 5 4 1 4
Giant Zucchini 2 1 0 1 4 3 1 3
Bedistan 2 1 0 1 5 5 0 3
Formal Dances 2 0 1 1 5 7 -2 1
Group C
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Sarzonia 2 2 0 0 7 4 3 6
Hypocria 2 1 0 1 5 3 2 3
Gaian Ascendancy 2 1 0 1 7 8 -1 3
Druida 2 0 0 2 4 8 -4 0
Group D
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Jeruselem 2 2 0 0 7 1 6 6
Cockbill Street 2 2 0 0 11 6 5 6
Pacitalia 2 0 0 2 3 8 -5 0
Corneliu 2 0 0 2 4 10 -6 0
Group E
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Fmjphoenix 2 1 1 0 10 4 6 4
Lovisa 2 1 1 0 4 2 2 4
Oaker 2 0 1 1 4 6 -2 1
Liverpool England 2 0 1 1 2 8 -6 1
Group F
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Vilita 2 2 0 0 6 1 5 6
Legalese 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
South Osettia 2 0 1 1 0 2 -2 1
Crystilakere 2 0 1 1 1 4 -3 1
Group G
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Hockey Canada 2 2 0 0 4 1 3 6
Sjwitz 2 1 0 1 7 4 3 3
Kzuu Mai 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
Euroslavia 2 0 0 2 3 9 -6 0
Group H
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Chicanada 2 2 0 0 5 2 3 6
Rejistania 2 1 0 1 1 2 -1 3
Fimble loving peoples 2 0 1 1 4 5 -1 1
Stumperia 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1

Junior Stars earn revenge, stop Gaian Ascendancy

With bulletin board reminders of disparaging comments by Gaian media about them, the Sarzonian Under 21 national footballers set to work immediately to remind their opponents that they were the third ranked team in the world and they had every intention of drilling that point home. After a 4-2 win over Gaian Ascendancy, the Junior Stars effectively clinched a spot in the knockout rounds for the seventh consecutive time and for the 11th time in 12 tries.

"We were mad and we played mad," midfielder Jarret Sanderson (two goals, two assists) said. "We wanted to make Gaian Ascendancy eat their words."

Did they ever. The Junior Stars (2-0-0, first place, Group C) did so by jumping on top 4-0 before the half hour mark, applying the relentless pressure that new Coach Valentin Kienzl expects from his side. Midfielder Jenna Raven, the source for much confusion on the part of the Hypocria Hyppos, started the scoring with her second goal of the tournament just two minutes in, while much of the crowd hadn't even settled into their seats.

"We wanted to bury them," Raven said. "We came in to send a message."

Gaian Ascendancy did their best to withstand the pressure, finally getting one goal back in the 42nd minute on a counter attack that Kienzl blamed on too fancy passing from Raven.

"She'll learn," Kienzl said. "They [Gaian Ascendancy] got the better of the play in the second half, but we weathered the storm," after Gaian Ascendancy scored in the 77th minute. The team (1-0-1, three points) made offencive substitutions in a desperate attempt to crawl back into the match, but Junior Stars goalkeeper Blaine Wilcox was up to the task, making three saves in the second half and five overall.

Sarzonia plays a disappointing Druida side, who has been eliminated from contention for the knockout stages after a 3-0 loss to the surprising Hyppos. The Junior Stars aren't saying which of the two teams they would prefer to see in the next round.

"We aren't playing them immediately, so it doesn't matter," Kienzl said. But the team will go in having already clinched a spot in the knockouts and will give several of their bench players a chance to play.

"We need to get a good look at some of our young players," Kienzl said. "It's game that means nothing to Druida and will mean nothing unless we get embarrassed out there."

Jeruselem Government News

U21s looking good, Cockbill Street qualify as well

Match day 2 of U21C15. As predicted Jeruselem and Cockbill Street booked their seats for the 2nd round and are also undefeated. The two other teams will have to wait until XVI for redemption.

Jeruselem oversome a slow start trailing Pacitalia 1-0 early, but cruised home with a 3-1 win to confirm they were not going to crash out early. Pacitalia were a harder opponent and tried upset their more experienced opponents by denying them possession. In the end, it failed as the Jeruselem midfield put a stop that nonsense and allowed the strikers to do their job.

Cockbill Street won their game, but had to fight. Unlike the Jeruselem defense who have been just "Karelan" so far, the Streetians let in 4 goals from Corneliu who have been trashed first up by four goals. However the Streetians had a fully loaded six-gun, and need it. Their six goals against the Corneliu defense put them through.

The battle for top spot is next. It's us vs Cockbill Street, who will win? Whose soccer will reign supreme! Find out tomorrow here in JGN, soccer for the soul.

Group D
Pacitalia 1 Jeruselem 3
Corneliu 4 Cockbill Street 6


Group D
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Jeruselem 2 2 0 0 7 1 6 6
Cockbill Street 2 2 0 0 11 6 5 6
Pacitalia 2 0 0 2 3 8 -5 0
Corneliu 2 0 0 2 4 10 -6 0

Street Turn Around
Apprentices Recover Well

After going down early to Pacitalia's AOA team, trailing 0-2 after 20 minutes, the fifteenth U-21 championship has been a good dream for the Streetian U-21 side. Putting five goals past Pacitalia, Mark Cooper top-scoring with three while Irene Miller and Percy Beswetherick (poor bloke) scored one each. Riding on a 5-2 victory, the Apprentices went into their match with Corneliu confident, despite the fact that Corneliu were also a seeded side and could upset them. In a close game, Cockbill Street prevailed on better stamina, as most of their players are already regulars in the Compound League. Trailing 3-4 after 66 minutes, Irene Miller rushed down the left-hand side and ruled that completely. Two crosses to the head of substitute Stuart Pickup, and they resulted in two goals, before Cooper added another to his goal-tally.

Cockbill Street are already through, but still go into the fight with Jeruselem hoping to steal a point. It will be tough, given that Jeruselem are seeded second in the tournament, and always give it all in Under-21 championships.

The Nedalia Lions


Hi, and welcome to NNTV Real Broadcast, from the streets of TnUI. We just saw our famous U21 side draw with the funnily named nation of Formal Dances 2-2, and unfortunately, no one is laughing after this event. I interviewed some people coming out of the stadium after the match. Here’s what they had to say:

“An embarrassment! I’m ashamed to be Nedalian! What kind of performance was that?? Let me tell you something, this team better start performing or else they’re going to be on the same flight I am back to Kafra!”

“People just need to chill out. They keep focusing on the negatives. We had a few lapses on defense, but come on, since when don’t we? Our offense still looks as fluid as ever, and in all honesty, it was just luck playing on the side of Formal Dances. They should’ve lost by atleast 2 or 3.”

“Quite frankly, I’m growing sick and tired of being disappointed by our teams. First, we have the horrible display by the national team…and now we might not even qualify out of our group! This is a sad day…”

“Listen, we played shit, yes…but just one matchday ago, Starblaydia, the champions, drew 0 – 0! Its not the end of the world, we just got to bring the game to our neighbors whom we have no relations with and no nothing about, Bedistan!”

“F***ing b*llsh** team cant f***ing put a damn f***ing sh***y run together! I hate this f***ing sh***ty team and their f***ing c*ck attitude towards this f***cking game! Someone should shoot these f***ing s***heads!”

So there you have, the opinions of the Lion fans straight from the streets of TnUI, mostly disappointed ones. Now on to the opinion on the man himself, head coach Brent Vent:

“It wasn’t that the boys performed without any effort, because they did. Its just that these defensive mistakes keep costing us. Constantine and Lumiere did a fabulous job for us tonight, each scoring a goal, but the liabilities we cause ourselves in the defensive half needs to be reprimanded. We cant expect to win if we cant atleast be adequate on that end. We have a huge match against our neighbors Bedistan, basically one that will decide if we move on or stay behind. We have to be able to learn from our mistakes and stop making them. Otherwise, this will be the second consecutive early exit for a Lions squad. We cant muck about now, because I know for sure Bedistan will make us pay.”

The finalist last U21 WC will now face a daunting task against a Bedistani team that lost 2 – 0 against Giant Zucchini on Matchday 2, which puts them in a ‘win the next win or go home’ position. They will be playing their hearts out, so only the same should be expected from this Lions squad. For NNTV, reporting live from TnUI, this is Vern Tap.

NEDALIA LINEUP (Match Rating)

GK: Hard Dans (7)

LD:: Ken Demme (7)
CD: Mohammed Khadra (7)
CD: Gary Stewart (7)
RD: Emmanuel (6)

LM: Khalil Jamhurra (7)
DM: Carpert Nutting (6)
RM: Udrich Jansen (7)
AM: Constantine (9), 1 goal, 1 assist

SC: Dennis Howard (7), 1 assist, subbed 77th for Peter Merhi
SC: Lumiere (9), 1 goal, subbed in the 89th for Sean Townsend

"I know why we're doing so badly."

"You mean you've only just worked it out?"

"People are blaming us for the World Cup, so they putting us off with mirrors and other shiny things."

"Did you not wonder what all those flashes were before?"

"I thought they were just our adoring fans wanting to capture the moment with a photograph."

"Well...they weren't."

"I mean it wouldn't be so bad if we weren't the only team in the top eight to be knocked out in the group stage. I mean it just had to be us, didn't it? Again!"

"What are you talking about? We've got one game left, and if we win and Vilita don't lose, we go through."

"Yes, but let's be honest, are we going to win?"

"Well, we're ranked highly above them, so we'll probably lose. Hmm...guess you were right after all."

"We'll see, shall we? Now, do me a favour and jump out the window - I need some entertainment, and there's nothing better than a trip to casualty...for somebody else, that is."

King Alfons declares national holiday

NEW BRUX – After the Bunnies’ glorious 2-0 victory over Krytenia, the nation erupted in a flurry of wild celebrations. The scenes in the streets of New Brux resembled something like a Mardi Gras on steroids, with free alcohol in every bar, free drugs on every street corner, and free love pretty much everywhere you could see. Reports from other major cities confirmed similar scenes.

Most of the celebrations remained peaceful, though the NBPD arrested a few hundred people for minor incidents, only to release them again in the morning when King Alfons I officially declared April 27 a national holiday. His Majesty also ordered Spruitland industry – except for bars, restaurants, casinos and brothels – into inactivity for as long as the Under-21 team remains in the World Cup.

But the news that was received with the most enthusiasm was King Alfons’ decision to award striker Dirk Jools – scorer of the first ever international goal for Spruitland – an Honorary Rabbit. *

Jools, whose perspicuous arrogance has made him one of the most notable players of the First Division, has stolen the hearts of the Spruitland people, with women all over the nation making no secret of their desire to give birth to his children.

The Spruitland Bunnies face surprising group leaders East Lithuania tomorrow to decide who will move on to the final 16. The Bunnies will need a win, but the Spruitland population is vocally confident, predictions ranging from 3-0 to 8-1, with a hattrick for Jools considered a near-certainty.

Group A
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
East Lithuania 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4
Starblaydia 2 1 1 0 2 0 2 4
Spruitland 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
Krytenia 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0

* Honorary Rabbit: one of the highest honors one can receive in Spruitland, can only be awarded by His Majesty. The next newborn Rabbit in the Royal Breeding Nest is named after the honored – preceded by Sir or Dame – and gets a permanent staff of 4-6 servants to take care of Its daily needs. After Its passing, the Royal Taxidermist preserves Its beauty for eternity, and It receives a special place in the Royal Palace.

First Ever Victory Sets Up Soft Wings Showdown



Hypocria 3 - 0 Druida
Kreska 41
Baxter 61
Burdali 87


Fans across Hypocria celebrated as the Hyppos kept their qualification hopes alive with a tremendous victory, their first in international competitions, over former champions Druida who cannot now qualify. Following the opening round defeat to Sarzonia coach DiMarco told his players to remain confident and that confidence showed in this one sided encounter.

Almost from the first whistle the Hyppos were at their opponents, strong in the tackle and scrapping for every loose ball. Despite the high tempo, the first half became a source of frustration for DiMarco, his staff and the millions watching back home as chances were created and spurned. Braganza had a long ranged effort well saved and West shot narrowly wide after good work from Poskas down the left but still the goal wouldn’t come. At the other end a tame backpass from Nalepka nearly let Druida in for the opener but Derevko reacted well, diving at the feet of the attacker. Finally, on 41 minutes, the deadlock was broken as Baxter’s corner was headed firmly home by defender Kreska. As the first half finished it was advantage Hypocria.

The second half started in much the same way as the first with Sinclair and Baxter dominant in midfield allowing Braganza to break forward at will. It was just such a break that lead to the second goal as Braganza’s run was clumsily ended 25 yards from the Druida goal. With 61 minutes on the clock Hypocria’s captain, Marcus Baxter, curled the resulting free kick over the wall and into the top corner. Druida offered little in reply, the attack that put four past the Gaian Ascendancy was conspicuously absent, and were largely restricted to long range efforts. With the seconds ticking away the Hyppos grabbed a late third as Baxter released Poskas down the left who pulled the ball back the substitute Burdali, again replacing the tiring Braganza, who fired low past the keeper for his second goal of the tournament.

After the match coach DiMarco was understandably delighted,

“This was just the result we needed after the Sarzonia game. I thought Baxter and Sinclair were magnificent today and Burdali is certainly pushing for a starting place. We took our goals well and defended brilliantly. This clean sheet means we now have a better goal difference than the Gaian Ascendancy and that could prove crucial.”

Midfielder Braganza left the team celebrations to add,

“I bloody love you. (hic) You’re my best mate you are”

Gracious words indeed. In the other match Sarzonia maintained their 100% record with a 4 -2 victory over the Gaian Ascendancy. The result guaranteed the number 3 seeds a place in the next round and, barring a disaster against bottom side Druida, virtually assures them of finishing as group winners.

The results have set up a mouth watering final match between Hypocria and the Gaian Ascendancy with the Hyppos needing just a draw to qualify for the second round. Nothing but a win will see the Gaian Ascendancy through.

Group C
Gaian Ascendancy 2 Sarzonia 4
Hypocria 3 Druida 0

Group C
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Sarzonia 2 2 0 0 7 4 3 6
Hypocria 2 1 0 1 5 3 2 3
Gaian Ascendancy 2 1 0 1 7 8 -1 3
Druida 2 0 0 2 4 8 -4 0

Hockey Canada notches win number 2

Hockey Canada leads Group G and are not going to let it slip away now after they beat 19th seed Sjwitz 2-1 in U21 Action yesterday. Mike Ko scored twice in the first half to make his tally at 4 in the tournement while Sjwitz scored an unlucky goal against Hockey Canada late in the game. The win put Hockey Canada through to the next round. The reasons are these:

1. Hockey Canada 6 pts. (vs 4. Euroslavia 0 points). If Hockey Canada loses they advance.

2. Sjwitz 3 pts vs Kzuu Mai 3 pts. Winner of game advances, if tied, Sjwitz advances due to Goal Differential.

Group G
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Hockey Canada 2 2 0 0 4 1 3 6
Sjwitz 2 1 0 1 7 4 3 3
Kzuu Mai 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
Euroslavia 2 0 0 2 3 9 -6 0

Now that it settles in for Hockey Canadians, we'll recap highlights of the game.

Game plays showing big goals and saves from the last week with all the other teams in the U21WC

Thank you for watching HCNN Sports, now onto Cherry Cup action...

Starblaydia Top Group A
Lopez Brace Sneaks Starblaydia in Front

Giovanni Lopez's third substitute appearance in three matches finally came of as he bagged two goals to send Starblaydia through as Group A Winners

Starblaydia's crushing 4-1 victory over Krytenia, coupled with the plucky Spruitlanders managing to put two past East Lithuania in a 4-2 win for the Lithuanians puts Starblaydia on top of Group A on goal difference.

Corominas was beaten for the first time this tournament by the Krytenian forward line, but it was Christian Macia, Surachai Buathiang and two from substitute Lopez that gave Starblaydia better goal difference over their East Lithuanian 'rivals', a team Starblaydia beat 4-1 just two years ago.

Khim Azanulbizarn's natural defensive game is obviously having an effect on Starblaydia, as a goals for/against record of 6-and-1 this time compares with the 13-and-3 record at this stage two years ago, under Simeone Di Bradini in the title-winning seven game unbeaten streak.

Starblaydia's opponents in the Second Round will be the Runners-up of Group C who, at this moment, could be any of the four. Knowing our luck, of course, it will be Sarzonia.

Group A
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Starblaydia 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7
East Lithuania 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4 7
------------------------------------------------------
Spruitland 3 1 0 2 4 6 -2 3
Krytenia 3 0 0 3 2 9 -7 0

U21 Daily News

Kodiaks Slides Into The Second Round, Routs Rejistania

That 12-th place ranking? Might not be lower than that after this torunament if the Kodiaks continue to show their promise with a 2-0 victory over the more defensive Rejistania and punching their card to the second round.

Kreli Prghton led the Kodiaks again with two goals as he continues to gain SuperLiga notice. The senior at Cana National College looks to be headed to Bishop FC, Ashley or AS Risa if the rumor mills are right. Paris Asmilov continued his spectacular run in goal for the National Squad and many pundits expect him to make the leap to the Bishop FC squad during the 1924 Season from minor team Bishop East.

The win today sends the Kodiaks into the second round with only a game against co-#10 Stumperia remaining. A win or tie will give the Kodiaks their second Group victory (joining their Group D win last tourney) and move them on against what is expected to be Legalese from Group F. A loss and a Rejistani win (based on GD) could move them on against Vilita. Of course, we love speculation so we won't be assured until after tommorow's match.

"It's not important for them to know, it's important for me to know."
~ Patton, commenting on his character to his aide. Acting the subject.

---

~ WC14 all over again. ~


Group C
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Sarzonia 2 2 0 0 7 4 3 6
Hypocria 2 1 0 1 5 3 2 3
Gaian Ascendancy 2 1 0 1 7 8 -1 3
Druida 2 0 0 2 4 8 -4 0


GANN Sports Desk: ~ "Is it our fate to have high hopes dashed tourney after tourney? I mean U21WC13 looked like a really good start for us, and then U21WC14 was a dashed hope no one should be subjected.

..and now...

..and at this rate, we'll be stuck at rank 20 or not even ranked at all, considering we seemed suddenly the ugly duck of the U21 circuit, not to mention our own nation.

Did we miss the fine print that indicated we'd be the (censored) of U21WC in only three attempts?"

Soft Wings Midfield starter Maeko Cannon was restricted to grounds and, strange as it may sound, forbidden use of any Gaian ameneties till after the next match. "It was out of place, and we do not condone behavior other nations may think fine and well. If our standards are that low, then we 'must' be a team as poor as indicated."

..Coach Ni Morisato commented, indicating also that he was considering a serious change of tactics by U21WC16, since almost a new team will be starting next time around.

But it's obvious where the comments came from. For the second straight u21 tourney, the team that started MD1 with group lead, now is being threatened with elimination, and again at the hands of a new team that won a suprise match the day before.

If anyone believes in karma, this.. is.. it.

"Yes we can feel the dissapointment our team is enduring, as well as what kinds of teams we are facing. But my players are correct in one regard. We might as well be unranked next time around, since we seemed fated to that end result no matter what we do.

The one insut I cannot abide for my squad, is to see themselves seen by the rest of the world/universe, as far less than 'I' know they are. If nothing else, we 'will' show up tomorrow, and we will do the opposite of what history is indicating to us.

We came here to win. We came here to improve. We came here with honor.

At least two of the three will result, no matter who wants to think how little we are. We don't say things to insult other teams.

We say them to push ourselves hard. We don't say empty words.

Tomorrow, there won't be an enmpty team either."

When asked about the 2-4 loss to Sarzonia. "They beat us. Flat. But Gaians don't panic. Even though we feel the raw waves of emotion, we are not controlled by them as the Sarzonia media might think.

Their team is honorable, and deserved that win. But we 'didn't' need to hear that we were panicking whatsoever. If our warriors can die with honor and dignaty in war and battle, our players can act no less. They go through military training as well, as 'all' our citizen souls know that we may be attacked by everything and everyone at the same time, and we may 'all' be consumed in the fire of genocide.

Dramatics? Emotion? No... we are a reality with that at our doorstep, and we live with the possibility every day.

Can people such as ours then say we can panic with much lesser things such as a football match? We do not panic..

...we train... No one else may believe it if they wish, but we have souls dying right now. And dying is risk far less than losing a match. So we know the priotirty we made those subsitutions with, and it was 'not' panic.

And we will not seek damages, or bother with legal nonsense. We'll take the words and reply with our own. Interpretation is the key, and that obviously is an even 'greater' art to master.

..no less than we seek to master having a whelp squad try to upstart the world. The final winner of this U21WC15 is that, the ultimate whelp upstarts with every reason to bask in their earned glory.

One day, we will be thw whelps doing just that.

As for now, we just want to avoid repetition of history. If Hypocira wins? We'll give them all the glory of honor they deserve. We would ask no more, of no less.

So, let the talk end, and the final qualifer come. We will be ready."

...a very lengthy voiced Morisato finished, as his team indeed tries to avoid the annoyance of the losing repeat. As for fans, they still give their loyalty regardless. Let us hope that helps carry the day for MD3.

..and if by the goddess, even farther.

Bunnies busted.

Spruitland – East Lithuania: 2 - 4

TnUI – The Spruitland Bunnies were unable to qualify for the second round of the Under-21 World Cup after a disappointing 2 – 4 defeat at the hands of a lethally finishing East Lithuania.

“Perhaps I should’ve said no to that last Bloody Mary,” was Samson Trouwel’s explanation. The right winger had thrown up next to the corner flag less than thirty minutes into the game, and it was clear that he was far from the only one who was suffering from a hangover.

East Lithuania started the match with great determination, and the Spruitlanders had trouble keeping up with the pace from the get-go. Barely 4 minutes in, they were ruthlessly punished for a sloppy pass in the defense as Albright broke free and scored.

Albright scored again 7 minutes later, this time with a header from an indirect free kick, rising two feet above the normally headstrong Van Dyck, who barely got his heels off the ground. East Lith midfielder Rojas made it 0 – 3 from a direct free kick, though Briers did not go scot-free, letting the ball slip through his fingers like a bar of soap in a prison shower.

Dripping sweat and pale as ghosts, the Spruitlanders disappeared into the dressing room for the intermission, and the neutral observer couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for this ragged bunch.

“I wouldn’t wanna be the one cleaning out that dressing room,” a TnUI official posted down in the catacombs said, describing “ghastly noises” coming from behind the closed door. Apparently it helped though, because the Befuddled Bunnies started the second half a lot fresher than they did the first, and an early goal from left winger Lee Beck brought back a sliver of hope.

But the Spruitlanders were unable to follow through, missing their scarce chances. East Lithuania retained sufficient control over the match, and when Steve Gaden scrambled one in from close range, making it 1 - 4 with 20 minutes to go, the match was effectively played. Dirk Jools’ lethal header off a corner, late in the match, was no more than a consolation goal – though it did turn out to cost East Lithuania the group lead to Starblaydia on goal difference.

So the Bunnies hop on home after one win and two defeats, pretty much within expectations, though one might raise the question whether a bit more moderation in the consumption of alcoholic beverages wouldn’t have increased their chances against East Lithuania somewhat.

“Perhaps,” was coach Cor Bensen’s reply, “but we look for no excuses and we have no regrets. After all, what good is winning a match if you can’t go out and celebrate it with lots of booze and lots of women?”

“Football is just like real life,” he added. “You have to set priorities. I’m sure the folks back home will understand.”

Goals: ‘4 Albright 0 – 1, ’11 Albright 0 – 2, ’38 Rojas 0 – 3, ’49 Beck 1 – 3, ’72 Gaden 1 – 4, ’86 Jools 2 – 4


Group A
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Starblaydia 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7
East Lithuania 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4 7
------------------------------------------------------
Spruitland 3 1 0 2 4 6 -2 3
Krytenia 3 0 0 3 2 9 -7 0

Matthias DiMarco rubbed his aching temples, who knew international football management could be so stressful? He had been reading a Gaian news report when the team physio had come in with some unwelcome news.

“He’s got a hangover?”

“Yes boss, a bad one by the looks of it.” Said the team physio. “I watched him training this morning and he could barely stand up straight”

“Well I’m not having him on the pitch for such an important game in that state. Send the drunken idiot to me, I’m going to have to drop him, Burdali can start instead, god knows the boy deserves it.”

The physio left, leaving DiMarco alone with his thoughts.

The tension was really starting to get to him. The next ninety minutes of football would mean the difference between qualifying for the next round and going home. And he really didn’t want to go home just yet. But ninety minutes would decide Hypocria’s fate. Where would they finish? As things stood it could be top and it could be bottom, it was that close. He ran through the various scenarios in his head.

Sarzonia needed a point against Druida to win the group and are expected to get at least that. But if both Druida and Hypocria were both to win Hypocria would finish on top on goal difference. A Druida win coupled with a big victory for the Gaians could see the Ascendancy finish top and Hypocria on the next flight home.

Perhaps it would be easier to assume that the number 3 seed will not slip up against bottom side Druida, which makes the Hypocria/Gaian Ascendancy match a straight fight for second place with Hypocria needing just a point to be sure of that elusive second round place. The tone of the report in front of him suggested that the Gaians were not particularly optimistic about their own chances. Apparently they had been in much the same situation two years ago when they lost out to unranked Hockey Canada in the group stages.

And what a prospect awaited the group runners up. The winners of Group A, the reigning champions, the mighty Starblaydia would be their opponents in the next round. If that wasn’t incentive enough . . .

DiMarco was woken from his day dream by the door opening. Midfielder Roberto Braganza stood there, looking distinctly unwell and swaying slightly. DiMarco sighed and gestured to a chair.

“Sit down Roberto, I’m afraid I have some bad news . . .”

Day 3
Group A
Starblaydia 4 Krytenia 1
Spruitland 2 East Lithuania 4
Group B
Nedalia 4 Bedistan 2
Giant Zucchini 2 Formal Dances 1
Group C
Sarzonia 5 Druida 2
Hypocria 0 Gaian Ascendancy 7
Group D
Jeruselem 2 Cockbill Street 2
Corneliu 1 Pacitalia 4
Group E
Fmjphoenix 4 Lovisa 3
Oaker 4 Liverpool England 3
Group F
South Osettia 1 Crystilakere 0
Vilita 1 Legalese 0
Group G
Hockey Canada 1 Euroslavia 0
Kzuu Mai 4 Sjwitz 8
Group H
Rejistania 1 Fimble loving peoples 2
Stumperia 5 Chicanada 3
Group A
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Starblaydia 3 2 1 0 6 1 5 7
East Lithuania 3 2 1 0 7 3 4 7
Spruitland 3 1 0 2 4 6 -2 3
Krytenia 3 0 0 3 2 9 -7 0
Group B
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Nedalia 3 2 1 0 9 6 3 7
Giant Zucchini 3 2 0 1 6 4 2 6
Bedistan 3 1 0 2 7 9 -2 3
Formal Dances 3 0 1 2 6 9 -3 1
Group C
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Sarzonia 3 3 0 0 12 6 6 9
Gaian Ascendancy 3 2 0 1 14 8 6 6
Hypocria 3 1 0 2 5 10 -5 3
Druida 3 0 0 3 6 13 -7 0
Group D
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Jeruselem 3 2 1 0 9 3 6 7
Cockbill Street 3 2 1 0 13 8 5 7
Pacitalia 3 1 0 2 7 9 -2 3
Corneliu 3 0 0 3 5 14 -9 0
Group E
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Fmjphoenix 3 2 1 0 14 7 7 7
Lovisa 3 1 1 1 7 6 1 4
Oaker 3 1 1 1 8 9 -1 4
Liverpool England 3 0 1 2 5 12 -7 1
Group F
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Vilita 3 3 0 0 7 1 6 9
South Osettia 3 1 1 1 1 2 -1 4
Legalese 3 0 2 1 0 1 -1 2
Crystilakere 3 0 1 2 1 5 -4 1
Group G
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Hockey Canada 3 3 0 0 5 1 4 9
Sjwitz 3 2 0 1 15 8 7 6
Kzuu Mai 3 1 0 2 7 11 -4 3
Euroslavia 3 0 0 3 3 10 -7 0
Group H
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Chicanada 3 2 0 1 8 7 1 6
Stumperia 3 1 1 1 7 6 1 4
Fimble loving peoples 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 4
Rejistania 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2 3

Under 21 World Cup 15
Top
2nd Round Quarter Finals

Starblaydia (1) ------------
| ----------------------------
Gaian Ascendancy (15) ------

Nedalia (6) ----------------
| ----------------------------
Cockbill Street (18) -------

Sarzonia (3) ---------------
| ----------------------------
East Lithuania -------------

Jeruselem (2) --------------
| ----------------------------
Giant Zucchini (17) --------

Under 21 World Cup 15
Bottom
2nd Round Quarter Finals

Fmjphoenix (4) -------------
| ----------------------------
Sjwitz (19) ----------------

Vilita (9) -----------------
| ----------------------------
Stumperia (10) -------------

Hockey Canada (8) ----------
| ----------------------------
Lovisa ---------------------

Chicanada (12) -------------
| ----------------------------
South Osettia (5) ----------

Jeruselem Government News

Truce on Cockbill Street

The final qualifier of U21C15, not much to play for except top spot in Group D for the top two teams.

Pacitalia ended their campaign caning Corneliu 4-1 to show what they could have done and Corneliu had a nightmare qualifying overall. It was a really good win, but all too late for making the next round of U21C15.

Jeruselem took on Cockbill Street for the honour of being top dog. Cockbill Street had to win due to Jeruselem's superior goal difference, but just failed in a 2 ALL draw. Both teams were pretty much equal although Jeruselem subbed out their star players in the 2nd half and gave the reserves a run. It was tough but fair game. In fact the Streetians tripled Jeruselem's against goals for the group, and did have the better attack statistically. Conceding 3 goals in 3 games showed Jeruselem's defense is working.

Jeruselem's opponents in the 2nd round? Here's a hint - Big veges.
Yes, it's Giant Zucchini again. Who said they don't stalk us!

The other games -
Starblaydia (1) vs Gaian Ascendancy (15) - Gaian Ascendancy will be tested by the only team ranked above Jeruselem!
Nedalia (6) vs Cockbill Street (18) - The Streetians held the 2nd seed to draw. Can they beat the LIONS? The Lions are hungry for victory.

Sarzonia (3) vs East Lithuania - If the stars don't win this one, it will be a shock. East Lithuania are a much improved team these days, can they cope? If you draw with Starblaydia, you can.

Fmjphoenix (4) vs Sjwitz (19) - Here come the Vikings! They look good and Sjwitz are in for hard time.

Vilita (9) vs Stumperia (10) - Hard to pick. We normally pick the Jungle Kitties, but they have this strange habit of falling over early. Will the Kitties be stumped? The Kitties have won all games so far, so they SHOULD win.

Hockey Canada (8) vs Lovisa - Canadians who can play soccer? Lovisa have upset some mighty opponents in the past, but guys on the soccer field with hockey sticks aren't allowed so at least they will have teeth left after the game.

Chicanada (12) vs South Osettia (5) - SO got embarassed by Vilita in their group, and the 12th seed are showing form. Hard to pick.

Shockers
Druida - hopeless, what happened them to them?
Rejistania - Triple-champs failed to qualify. Oh dear, too much defense?

Group D
Jeruselem 2 Cockbill Street 2
Corneliu 1 Pacitalia 4


Group D
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Jeruselem 3 2 1 0 9 3 6 7
Cockbill Street 3 2 1 0 13 8 5 7
Pacitalia 3 1 0 2 7 9 -2 3
Corneliu 3 0 0 3 5 14 -9 0

u21 News Report

Kodiaks Drop Final Group Match, But Knock Off South Ossetia In The Round Of 16

The Kodiaks had some good and bad news out of Total n Utter Insanity today.

The Bad News? They Kodiaks got smacked down by co-#10 Stumperia 5-3 in their final Group H match. Comming after Rejistania's shocking loss to the Fimble Looking Peoples, Chicanada was assured the Group H title slot but came out sluggish against a determined Stumperian team. Goalkeep Paris Asmilov played his worst game, allowing 4 goals from 11 shots with backup Goalkeep allowing one goal out of ten shots in the Second Half.

Stumperia dictated the action early, streaking out to a 4-1 lead. The Kodiaks got it to 4-3 before Stumperia put the final nail in the coffin in the 83rd minute.

The Good News? Besides winning their second Group Stage, Chicanada is making it's way to the Quaterfinals after a resounding 1-0 victory over #5 South Ossetia. The quick turnover from last night's knockoff game to today's round-of-16 game played much better than last session's 6-5 loss to Nedalia and helps solidify the play of Asmilov in goal as well as Foreward Oliven Prade, whose goal goes along with the two he scored last night.

The victory sends the Kodiaks off to take on the winner of the #8 Hockey Canada/Lovisa Game which looks to be a fun matchup for the Chicanadan offense against two very defensive teams.

Under 21 World Cup 15
Top
2nd Round Quarter Finals

Starblaydia (1) ------------
| Starblaydia (1)--------------
Gaian Ascendancy (15) ------
Nedalia (6) ----------------
| Nedalia (6)------------------
Cockbill Street (18) -------
Sarzonia (3) ---------------
| Sarzonia (3)----------------
East Lithuania -------------
Jeruselem (2) --------------
| ----------------------------
Giant Zucchini (17) --------
Fmjphoenix (4) -------------
| ----------------------------
Sjwitz (19) ----------------
Vilita (9) -----------------
| ----------------------------
Stumperia (10) -------------
Hockey Canada (8) ----------
| ----------------------------
Lovisa ---------------------
Chicanada (12) -------------
| Chicanada (12) -------------
South Osettia (5) ----------

Looking at the other matchups, CFF analyists see some very interesting games remaining in the Round of 16, especially the #2 Jerusalem/#17 Giant Zuccini match.

Chicanadan Betting Parlors have improved the Kodiaks' chances of a u21 title with their advancement to the Quaterfinals. The Kodiaks are now at 3-1 odds, still well behind Jerusalem at 1-9, Starblaydia at 3-7 and Nedalia at 4-5. Chicanada also sits behind Fmjphoenix (at even odds) in the role of winning the lower group.

Streak continues, 5-2

The Sarzonian Under 21 national team concluded the group stage by giving second choice goalkeeper Frank Handley the start and giving some key players a rest before their match against Group A second place team East Lithuania in the knockout stages. Even though the team's reserve players were getting a chance, the Junior Stars didn't miss a beat, pummelling Druida 5-2 to finish 3-0-0 in Group C.

"Winning groups is nice, but that's not what we want," Coach Valentin Kienzl said. "We want the big Cup at the end."

The Junior Stars looked every bit the part of a team that is title starved, dominating their former regional rivals from the opening kickoff until the final whistle. Only a couple of defencive blunders prevented Handley from notching his first-ever clean sheet.

"That's the one thing I think we need to tighten up," defender Brian Sandt, playing in place of team captain Ettore Salivani, said. "We're not playing sharp defence and we need to realise things get a lot tighter in the knockouts."

The Junior Stars are not looking past East Lithuania, even though perennial nemesis Jeruselem lurks around the corner as that team faces Giant Zucchini. Sandt noted that East Lithuania earned a draw against Starblaydia and the only reason the Atlantian Oceania side won Group A was a better goal differential.

"There's not much that separated those two sides, it was only one goal," midfielder Jenna Raven said. "We know how good Starblaydia is and if that team couldn't beat those guys, we know they're going to be tough."

Kienzl said the team would not tighten its defence up and play a different style of football in the knockout rounds, saying the team needed to become accustomed to the new system, but said the team would focus more on defence during training for this match.

"We're going to have to play better defence, there's no question," Kienzl said. "But we can't change the fundamentals about how we play the game."

Soft Wings Plucked
Starblaydia progress to Quarter-Final

Giovanni Lopez did it once again for Starblaydia, coming off the bench to sink Gaian Ascendancy's hopes of a place in the last-eight.

Two young managers went head-to-head in this game, one a relative unknown from Gaian Ascendancy: Ni Morisato, the other an international superstar and former national captain: Khimn Azanulbizarn.

For most of the match a distinct tactical battle was fought between the two managers. Though they each had success in shutting down their opponent's forwards, the match was not a particularly exciting one. The majority of midfield and defensive action was broken up by short passages of penalty-area play.

Haim Morisato and Maeko Cannon both came close with their efforts, shooting just wide and forcing Corominas to tip over the bar respectively. Shan Nisaki, the 'Home Guard' of the GA team was marginally more busy, though apart from a finger-stinging shot from Itechton Matranga, never really being forced into a difficult save.

As in the Matchday 3 game against Krytenia, Giovanni Lopez came onto the field for the final fifteen minutes and changed the face of the game. This young sixteen year-old has all the makings of a really great player. Fittingly, it was Lopez who scored the goal that put Starblaydia into Second Round. With Surachai Buathiang intercepting a misplaced pass from Drew Taney, Buathiang slotted it neatly for Lopez to run on to. Jinking past the nervous-looking Bryan Millard, Lopez glimpsed an unguarded part of the net and flashed iot across the face of goal and in off the far post.

Improvements only take you so far

The East Lithuania Under 21 national football team has made a dramatic improvement over previous World Cups, notching a 0-0 draw against perennial contenders and defending champions Starblaydia in the group stage and advancing to the knockout stages with seven points on two victories and that 0-0 draw.

However, they ran into a Sarzonia team that was used to the knockout stages and that experience pushed the Junior Stars past the postseason neophytes 5-3 in one of the highest scoring matches the Junior Stars have played in recent years.

"That was a bit nevewracking," Coach Valentin Kienzl said. "I almost pulled [goalkeeper Blaine] Wilcox, but he settled down when he had to. We'll take the win and move on to the quarterfinals like we expected to."

The Junior Stars (4-0-0) continued to thrive in their new attacking style, getting five goals for the second consecutive match. The team scored 12 goals during the group stage and have notched 17 goals while conceding nine.

"We're not happy with the defence we've been playing the last few matches," midfielder Jenna Raven said. "We're still a rather young side and we're going to have to learn to put it all together."

The Junior Stars will face either longtime nemesis Jeruselem or Giant Zucchini, but the team will not face Rejistania, as the Orange Blues finished last in Group H. One player who asked not to be identified said the team is "delighted" that the three time champions was eliminated.

"We hate those bastards," he said.

Junior Vikings eclipse Lovisa 4-3, qualify first in group

With 2 goals apiece from Bruce Chen and Arien Vogel, the Junior Vikings stomp into the second round with athority, defeating Lovisa 4-3. With the victory, Fmjphoenix has a second round matchup with Sjwitz, whis is an improving side. There has been some interesting developments from Coach George Rush, who is currently being detained for sports fraud and gambling. More on this as it develops.

East Lithuania Knocked Out, But Still Proud Of Accomplishments


The East Lithuania team ran out of luck yesterday, losing 5-3 to Sarzonia, 1st place team of Group C and 3rd overall seed. Unlike many people thought, many consider it not a blow-out. Espesially for a team that had ran into the luck of not winning any games in the group stages. Here's the story of the game yesterday.

First Half: East Lithuania started strong by having Forward Albright scoring at 20 minutes. Then, midfielder Rojas came in out of no where and headed a goal slightly passed the Sarzonian Goaly Wilcox to make it 2-0. Then, Sarzonia came back with a strong charge and had Forward Hendricks score to make it 2-1. Then, to finish the half at 45+, Forward James Grabow flew past the defence to score and finish the half at 3-1. It seemed then as if East Lithuania would advance.

Second Half, the begining of the end: The trouble started at 47 minutes, when a hard shot by Sarzonian midfielder Cole curved, causing Goaly Weaver to misjudge the ball, which curved straight into his face. He grabbed the ball, but was in horrible pain with a broken nose. Not only that, when Weaver tried to stand up, he clumsly fell over, conferming he had a concussion. A time-out was called, and Weaver was walked off the field and replaced with back up Wagner. 2 minutes later, Sarzonian midfeilder Sanderson shot up high and scored to make it 3-2. At 67 minutes, Sanderson scored again to tie the match 3-3. At 87 minutes, Sarzonian midfeilder Sanderson scored a hat trick to silance the East Lithuanian crowd and make it 4-3. At 90+, Forward Peeters sealed the match with a goal to make it 5-3 and now has Sarzonia advanceing.

It was a tough lose for East Lithuania, but Coach Discolo reassured his team that they did amazing in the groups and in this game. They had just lost to a better team.

"Sarzonia is an outstanding team." Doscolo said later that day. "I wouldn't be suprised if they went all the way this year. I'm still very proud of my team and hopefully next year we could go further." The team will be flying home tommorrow to a welcoming party from the entire country.

Junior Crystils also knocked out but not proud

The junior crystils got knocked out of an all atlantian oceania group after a very dissapointing loss to South Osettia on matchday three. Crystilakere started off with a draw with Legalese before the match against long time rivals Vilita. The junior crystils were just not prepared for the match and Vilita won 4-1. Other results had gone in Crystilakere's favor giving the junior crystils a decent shot at qualification if they could just beat South Osettia on matchday three. Again players showed up in Crystilakere shirts but it was not a performance worthy of a former world cup winning nation. South Osettia won the match 1-0 and the crystils unfortunately missed out on competing in the knockout stage. An announcement about the future of the junior crystils should be coming in the near future.

Soft Wings Flying High as Hyppos Crash and Burn


Hypocria 0 – 7 Gaian Ascendancy
(OOC. Ouch!)


Following good performances against Sarzonia and Druida confidence was high in the Hypocria camp in the run up to the final Group C game. Unfortunately with a second round place within touching distance the Hyppos froze and their opponents took full advantage a Hypocria’s tournament ended in abject humiliation. Across Hypocria millions watched as the Hyppos were ripped apart by the Gaian Ascendancy who empathically exorcised the demons of their loss at this stage two years ago.


After the match coach DiMarco appeared in a state of some shock,

“What the hell just happened?”

When events had finally sunk in he had this to add,

“I genuinely thought we could do it so this result hurts, a lot. We were outclassed from start to finish in every area of the pitch. We were woeful today but take nothing away from our opponents, they were magnificent. I don’t think i’ve ever seen a team so lethal in front of goal.”

“But there are plus points that can be taken from the tournament as a whole. Now we know what it takes to compete at this level and in two years time we will be back and much stronger for this experience. The players preformed magnificently against Sarzonia and particularly Druida and I think we can return home with a lot of pride. We did after all beat a former winner of this competition. Finally I’d like to wish both Sarzonia and the Gaian Ascendancy the best of luck for the remainder of the tournament.”

~ "We have grown" ~

GANN Sports Desk: ~ "We have grown. It simply came down to that, and we did end the idea that we were victims of history. As much as we respect and honor Hypocria, we couldn't allow a second come about of the past.

As for Starblaydia, we got the honor of playing the best. And we did it even losing with a great measure of honor and dignity. Any team that plays the best, and walks away 'not' being routed, attests to the character of a team.

We wanted to grow, and in two days, we have done so. We may not have improved off our first U21WC, but we improved our team. Even with many of the players leaving us for their home squads, and a nearly new team for U21WC16, those players saw us verses Starblaydia.

They will have long memories of this tourney, and we'll be back."

A long statement from the defeated Soft Wings squad Coach Ni Morisato, as they return home after their new experiences in another attempt at the knockout stages. The makjor morale booster, as well as one that reinforced the Soft Wing's belief in themseles, was the 7 - 0 win over Hypocria. Nio less than five players scored goals (Haim Morisato (8, 66), Endo Billings (15, 36), Peter Andersen (44), Maeko Cannon (53), Arik Nir (81) ) and their defense finally proved their worth.

"Heading back to my Squad in Strana Mecha, that last goal was something, even if we didn't get past Starblaydia. Heck, good luck for the team that actually manages that feat." Commented Soft Wing Central Defender Arik Nir, indeed that match even allowing the Defenders to get into that match.

"We'll be ready next time, and hopefully in a better position to bring even more glory home for our fans." Morisato finished, now heading back to help the National Team while it fights for a qualifying spot for the World Cup.

"There's always something to do in our little corner of the Existence."

The Nedalia Lions

Lions Advance Past Cubs and Cockbill On Way to Quarter-Finals


Two neighbors, both with the same nicknames, clashing on one grass field for the rights to qualify for the U21 WC 15 2nd round. A great storyline, which was undeniably followed by a cracking game that saw the Nedalia Lions chalk one up against their larger and more intimidating neighboring country of Bedistan. The scoreline at the end of the match read 4 – 2, but in all honesty, it was just a magnificent affair and a joy to watch and experience. The highlight of the game came towards the final minutes of the match, when Nedalian supporters created and began chanting “Bedistan ,Bedistan!” and applauding the efforts given by the Bedistanian players. The Nedalian goals were scored by Dennis Howard, who had a brace, Constantine, and Lumiere.

Advancing out of the Group stage and into the 2nd round meant a face-off with Cockbill Street and their storied history in the footballing world, but in the end, despite having played back to back games, the Nedalia Lions were able to overcome their opponents, winning a very close encounter by a single goal. With the final tally reading 4 – 3, Nedalia now faces champions Starblaydia, who defeated the Nedalia team in the Finals of U21 WC 14 in that memorable match. This is a matchup for the ages, and coach Brent Vent made no doubt about the fact the Nedalia is out to redeem itself.

“We’re looking for victory, no less, and I don’t think we will accept anything less. The Starblaydians are no doubt the favorite to win the entire tournament, but you would be hardpressed to find a player in the Nedalian camp who doesn’t think that the Lions are also capable of lifting the trophy. We firmly believe that.”

The face-off against Cockbill Street was perhaps the best place to prove the point made by the manager. Quickly getting off to a 2-0 in the first 25 minutes, thanks to goals by Jamhurra in the 11th and defender Mohammed Khadra in the 24th, putting the Lions up with a nice cushion approaching the final 15 minutes of the first half. However, what came up next was the biggest meltdown in Nedalia’s young footballing history.

In the final minutes of the first half, Cockbill Street took advantage of an increasingly lax Nedalia team and struck back, making the score going into the half 2 – 1. One would think that the Lions would take that halftime break to motivate themselves and come back pressing harder in the 2nd half, but for whatever reason, they did not. Cockbill Street came out to a blistering start, and by the 65th minute, the scoreline read 3 – 2 in favor of Cockbill Street. The Nedalia fans could not believe what was transpiring in front of their eyes. Then, in the 69th minute, it all changed.

Sensing he needed to make a change in the team before it was too late, manager Vent took out his frontline of Howard and Lumiere, who up till now had been completely uneffective in the 2nd half, brought in Peter Merhi and left midfielder Fred Fox, shifting Jamhurra to the frontline to join Merhi. The move paid off almost immediately. In a brilliant solo effort, Jamhurra dribbled by 3 defenders and equalized the game in the 72nd minute, making his tally for the game 2 goals. Six minutes later, Peter Merhi joined him on the scorers’ sheet, heading the ball off of finely done corner kick. Nedalia continued pressuring the Cockbill defense till the final whistle, sealing the game in their favor 4 – 3.

Now, the Lions have to prepare themselves for the competition ahead. Starblaydia and South Osettia are the only teams to have defeated the U21 Lions, but the players are not envisioning a quarter-final exit from the tournament.

“We have to train hard. Its obvious our offense is intact, but from what I’m told, the last time Nedalia played Starblaydia, they were pretty successful in stopping our attack. We cannot allow that to happen this time,” said man of the match Jamhurra. “We must keep our attack rolling, we can’t afford another meltdown like the one we had today.”

The whole country of Nedalia is behind you, boys, and the Starblaydians are gonna have one hell of a time trying to shut out the barrage of fans that will be pouring into the stadium to cheer their team on. Give us one for the record books and make us proud.



NEDALIA LINEUP (Match Rating)

GK: Hard Dans (6)

LD:: Ken Demme (7)
CD: Mohammed Khadra (8), 1 goal
CD: Gary Stewart (7)
RD: Emmanuel (7)

LM: Khalil Jamhurra (10), 2 goals
DM: Carpert Nutting (7)
RM: Udrich Jansen (7) 1 assist
AM: Constantine (9), 2 assists

SC: Dennis Howard (6), subbed 69th for Peter Merhi
SC: Lumiere (6), subbed in the 69th for Fred Fox

SC: Peter Merhi (8), 1 goal, came in 69th for Howard

Kzuu Mai Took Part in Under 21 World Cup 15!

Much to the shock of Kzuu Mai, it turns out that we entered our first ever international sports competition, and won one match before being knocked out! Having been defeated 2 – 0 by Hockey Canada in their first under-21 world cup match, our Kzuu Maian youngsters went on to defeat Euroslavia 3 – 1. However, we were soon put back in place by an astonishing 8 - 4 loss against Sjwitz.

The team are already on their way home, but it was certainly an exciting tournament for those Kzuu Maians observant enough to realise it was taking place. However, have no fear – team manager Iri Jilayan promises we will return next time.

ooc: There's not much point in posting my roster now, is there? :D

U21WC14 Final Repeated
Starblaydia look to defeat Nedalia again

Thanks to a cracking victory over Cockbill Street, surprise-finalists from last time Nedalia meet reigning Champions Starblaydia just two years after their epic clash.

Starblaydia's team, barring Joe Kippenberger in for over-age Alex Vidal, is exactly the same, so ten of the eleven Starblaydi players out on the pitch in the Quarter-Final will know exactly what they're up against.

"This isn't the same situation as last time," Khim Azanulbizarn, the brown-bearded manager of the Starblaydi Under-21 team and probably the most athletic Dwarf you've ever seen since Cockbill Street's legendary 'keeper Jorn Axewielder, "everyone knows our game, especially, but we're not blind to what Nedalia have achieved, or how they've managed it."

Whether the 'plants' in the Nedalian Premier League such as Julio Matis or David Bentley have been able to provide any tips about how to defeat the Nedalians again, however, is open to debate...

ooc: There's not much point in posting my roster now, is there? :D

Well you still get RP Bonus for it. If you've done it you might as well post it.

Current Seedings for U21WC16
1 Starblaydia
2 Sarzonia
3 Fmjphoenix
4 Jeruselem
5 Nedalia
6 Chicanada
7 Hypocria
8 Spruitland
9 Vilita
10 South Osettia
11 Hockey Canada
12 Crystilakere
13 Gaian Ascendancy
14 Cockbill Street
15 East Lithuania
16 Fimble loving peoples
17 Oaker
17 Pacitalia
19 Druida
20 Bedistan
20 Kzuu Mai

There is no need to remind any Nedalian about the epic U21 WC 14 finals which pitted our beloved Lions against the Starblaydians. The Blades have been the only team to have managed to contain the famous Nedalia attack, but this time, it seems like the Lions have other plans. Speaking outside the training facility, Constantine, the backup for current senior squad member Innit Point (who, incidentally, plays his professional football in Starblaydia) in WC 14, had some strong words for his opposition:

“I believe we are fully capable of winning this match. It seems everyone’s been running scared of Starblaydia, but we are going to face them head on, and hopefully press the defense back, not giving them any opportunity to attack us. That is the goal. Yeah yeah, I was there when they beat us, I remember. This time, its going to be different.”

-----------------------------------

In the coach's hotel room....


“Ay, these kids in our country nowadays. Their mouths don’t stop running.”

“Ha, yeah. But what do you think, coach Vent. Think we can do it?”

“Ofcourse we can do it. Its just a matter of playing our game….although the Starblaydians seem to a whole lot about our style of play….”

“What do you mean, coach?”

“What I mean, my good friend, is that they seem to possess knowledge that you cannot get from watching a game or two on TV.”

“I’m still not following…”

“Ay, you’re the cheetah today (Nedalian saying). I sent spies to their training facility, and they came back with reports that the Starblaydians are practicing plays to counter ours.”

“Which means…”

“Which means that, in order for them to be able to counter them, they must have played against them first, and its no secret we incorporate style of play from all over the Nedalian Premier League.”

“Dear Lord…they’ve…they’ve….coach, what have they done?”

“I think they’re getting inside help. From their Starblaydians who play in the Nedalia Premier League. Its gotten me all paranoid. Im starting to believe they bought Honsfield simply because they were waiting for a moment like this…..”

Hockey Canada skims into the quarter finals to play Chicanada

It took all the way to sudden-death shootout, but Hockey Canada prevailed in the end to beat Lovisa 9-8. The game did not have much action seeing how Hockey Canada contained Lovisa the whole game. But it wasn't until overtime where Hockey Canada applied what little pressure they could muster. Mike Ko couldn't extend his scoring streak in this game to help Hockey Canada for the win and ended up forcing a shootout.

It started off with both goals for each team, but before long, it was notched at 5 goals apiece. Then it was 8 goals each when Kyle Thomas made a save to open the door for a win. Mike Feznak punted a hard shot hitting the crossbar to land behind the Lovisa keeper to get Hockey Canada through to the quarter-finals. Now the worst they can do is 8th, just like last time.

Under 21 World Cup 15
Top
2nd Round Quarter Finals

Starblaydia (1) ------------
| Starblaydia (1)--------------
Gaian Ascendancy (15) ------
Nedalia (6) ----------------
| Nedalia (6)------------------
Cockbill Street (18) -------
Sarzonia (3) ---------------
| Sarzonia (3)----------------
East Lithuania -------------
Jeruselem (2) --------------
| ----------------------------
Giant Zucchini (17) --------
Fmjphoenix (4) -------------
| ----------------------------
Sjwitz (19) ----------------
Vilita (9) -----------------
| ----------------------------
Stumperia (10) -------------
Hockey Canada (8) ----------
| Hockey Canada (8)-----------
Lovisa ---------------------
Chicanada (12) -------------
| Chicanada (12) -------------
South Osettia (5) ----------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Hockey Canada dressing room

"Way ta go boys! Ya made it where we did 2 years ago!"

A loud roar comes up.

"Only this time... we're gonna go farther! All the way to the finals!"

An even louder roar comes up.

"Only to lose to Starblaydia!"

"What?" The whole team says collectivly/

"Well... we gotta have limits."

Junior Vikings unbeaten through 5 matches, prepare for winner of Stumperia and Vilita

Thanks to another hattrick by Arien Vogel, Fmjphoenix rallied behind coach George Rush and produced a 5-2 victory over Sjwitz. With the victory, Fmjphoenix has won 4 in a row and has been undefeated for the entire qualification. Now they await the results of the Vilita-Stumperia match.

The Vikings scored all 5 goals in the first half. The first goal was scored by Trowa Notrab at the 7th minute. After that, it was the Vogel show. He scored three consecutive goals at the 15th, 21st, and 29th minutes which put the Junior Vikings up to a 4-0 early lead. Bruce Chen scored his lone goal at the 38th minute on a penelty shot when he was intentinally pushed by a defender. After the 5th goal was in, it was the reserve game. Two late goals were conceded in the second half, but the match was well out of reach for Sjwitz.

Fmjphoenix: 5 - Sjwitz: 2
Notrab 7: Vogel 15, 21, 28: Chen 38 - Unknown 59, 82

u21 Kodiak News

Kodiaks Eye Move To Top Six, Prep for HC

It may have took the Kodiaks three tries to make it to the Quaterfinals but they are not wasting any time in prepping for their next opponent - the extremely-defensive set of Hockey Canada - with an eye on both a semifinal birth as well as locking down a top 6 ranking in the u21.

"Last year we were in 9th place before we lost (to Nedalia) and we fell backwards. None of us want a repeat performance of it." Coach B'zlovb K'amjnj said today after a practice which saw the Kodiaks bouncing around different attact approached to handle the sticks and patterns those Canadians run.

CFF analyist Joe Smuckerson said today that the matchup between the high powered Chicanadan offense and the steely defense could make this a very long match, one that could even outlast the length of the #1 Starblaydia/#6 Nedalia rematch of the u21 14th World Cup Final. He also said that if the Kodiaks win this match, they may have the bracket break just right with four possible champions - Starblaydia, Nedalia, Sarzonia and expected winner of their match Jerusalem - essentially playing knockout and with Fmjphoenix considered the best team ibn the lower half, it could work to the Chicanadan side for advancement all the way to the Grand Final.

Mind you, they have to win to continue their own path.

Under 21 World Cup 15
2nd Round Quarter Finals

Starblaydia (1) ------------
| Starblaydia (1) -------------
Gaian Ascendancy (15) ------
Nedalia (6) ----------------
| Nedalia (6) -----------------
Cockbill Street (18) -------
Sarzonia (3) ---------------
| Sarzonia (3) ---------------
East Lithuania -------------
Jeruselem (2) --------------
| ----------------------------
Giant Zucchini (17) --------
Fmjphoenix (4) -------------
| Fmjphoenix (4) --------------
Sjwitz (19) ----------------
Vilita (9) -----------------
| ----------------------------
Stumperia (10) -------------
Hockey Canada (8) ----------
| Hockey Canada (8) ----------
Lovisa ---------------------
Chicanada (12) -------------
| Chicanada (12) -------------
South Osettia (5) ----------

In Rejistania, few people care about the U21, but the few people are from both sides, xkora'ta'ny and lehiju'ny. Both sides are armed with memetic weapons: va'karela and va'takil. No success is assumed... the country has other severe problems.

Nedalia Take Honours
Apprentices Bow Out In Style

The Cockbill Street Apprentices held out for 70 minutes against the Nedalia Lions, but collapsed towards the end of their second round clash. After Jamhurra and Khadra had given Nedalia a comfortable 2-0 lead, they seemed to give up slightly, and Cockbill Street could recover thanks to a goal just before half-time by Hiria, which served as a morale-booster.

With a quick motivation speech, the Apprentices came out the better side, rushing down the wings and taking full control there. Olivia Peterson came on at half-time, and she took full advantage of a very lax Nedalia side - scoring two goals in the space of five minutes. However, the Apprentices started to dream of a quarter-final way too early, it seemed, and their stamina ran out. Nedalia took over comfortably, scoring an equaliser in the 72nd minute before a header gave them the win in the 78th.

So, yet again, Cockbill Street's Apprentices bow out at an early stage. One has to wonder, if these players are already stars in the Compound League, what that says about the senior team's chances of succeeding - especially when pillars such as Sarah Cawdron, Rhianna Peters, Simon Qurat and Philip McLavish retires, which is expected to be after the next World Cup. We shudder to think of the consequences.

Meanwhile, the few Apprentice fans left can enjoy a hopefully attacking match between Starblaydia and Nedalia - and ponder why no team below seed 12 seem to have any chance in this tournament any more.

Jeruselem Government News

Extra-time veges

Now, Jeruselem played their vege friends,Giant Zucchini, in the U21C15 2nd round. Jeruselem were kind of expected to win and they did. The amazing thing was they did in extra-time, yes, you heard it extra time. The score was 2-1 and it was not the prettiest game but a win is a win. Giant Zucchini did challenge the 2nd seed but was unable to pull off a famous win.

Our next opponents? The 3rd seed Sarzonia. The game has been reported to have been sold out long ago and it is the game of quarterfinals to watch. Rarely do the 2nd and 3rd seed crash into each other so early, but it does happen. Some pundits predict the winner of this tournament will be determined by this match.

Exciting times are ahead with most of the top 10 again making a statement except for South Ossettia who was knocked over by Chicanada, the 12th seed. We do not know the outcome of the Vilita vs Sjwitz game yet.

The JGN has sacked a junior reporter who kept in reporting the Round 1 as qualifiers, the same one who almost brought a law suit from Praying2God about the World Cup 22. He has been moved into the Department of Defense where telling lies is normal. His first press release was about Jeruselem not possessing Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Jeruselem 2 Giant Zucchini 1 AET

Everything new is old again

The Sarzonian Under 21 national team is preparing to face an old foe in the quarterfinals of World Cup XV, and a team that could be called the Junior Stars' nemesis with Rejistania out of the running following a last place finish for the Young Orange Blues: Jeruselem.

The Junior Stars have never defeated Jeruselem in a World Cup match, either senior or junior, and Coach Valentin Kienzl is hoping his bunch can turn the tide of their meetings this time.

"We never figured those guys out in my playing days and we still haven't," Kienzl said. "Defensively, we've been shaky in this World Cup, so that's something we're going to have to tighten up on, especially against those guys."

The Junior Stars have scored goals in bunches, notching 17 in the four matches heading into this contest against Jeruselem, but the team has also conceded nine goals in that time, an average of 2.25 per game that Kienzl said "is just way too high. We can't expect to win a championship playing that poorly on defence."

At least the team won't be facing System Karela or their other archrivals in Rejistania this time.

Kzuu Maian Losers Welcomed Home!

As he got off the plane this morning, the most promising member of the Kzuu Maian Under-21 Squad, Rani Izal, spoke with the Gazette about his experience.

“Well, you know, we can hardly be expected to, you know, win the competition on our first ever time, you know,” the 16-year-old striker who scored four of Kzuu Mai’s seven goals during the tournament said. “This is my first ever international competition, you know, and I’m pleased with how I and the rest of the team, you know, performed.” When asked about his goals – particularly the hat-trick against Euroslavia – Izal laughed. “Well, you know, like I said, you know, I’m pleased with how I performed. I don’t really remember what I was doing, you know, it just kind of, you know, came to me.” The striker refused to comment on the current rumours of contract negotiation with Kzuu Maian Football League high-fliers Jun FC, saying that he thought he "was here, you know, to talk about the World Cup.”

The Gazette also caught up with the coach, one-time Kzuu Maian superstar Iri Jilayan, to see what he had to say. “Well, the lads tried their best, and I’m proud of ‘em for that. They got a good taste of what international sports competitions are like, and next time we’ll be back, and better than ever!”

Here is the team, as well as their performance:

Kzuu Maian Official Roster (Goals/Assists)

GK: Kuyaro Piyal (0/0)

D: Onaari Gayin Dan (0/0)
D: Tala Gayin Dan (0/1)
D: Ikaziri Yan (0/0)
D: Qalara Yuran (1/0)

M: Akashi Iyishi (0/1)
M: Arilan Raigishi (0/2)
M: Uyalara Tan (1/1)
M: Hiyila Haila (0/0)

S: Rani Izal (4/0)
S: Viralai Giyasha (1/2)

Second Round
Starblaydia 1 Gaian Ascendancy 0
Nedalia 4 Cockbill Street 3
Sarzonia 5 East Lithuania 3
Jeruselem 2 Giant Zucchini 1 AET

Under 21 World Cup 15
Top
2nd Round Quarter Finals

Starblaydia (1) ------------
| Starblaydia (1) ------------
Gaian Ascendancy (15) ------

Nedalia (6) ----------------
| Nedalia (6) ----------------
Cockbill Street (18) -------

Sarzonia (3) ---------------
| Sarzonia (3) ---------------
East Lithuania -------------

Jeruselem (2) --------------
| Jeruselem (2) --------------
Giant Zucchini (17) --------

Penalty Drama Sees Off Nedalia Lions
Starblaydia gain 5th-straight Semi-Final place

A Dramatic 7-6 sudden-death Penalty Shootout win gave Starblaydia a second win over relative-newcomers Nedalia.

Though Nedalia's Constantine and Christian Macia both got on the scoresheet, Starblaydia and Nedalia were forced into the nail-biting, pant-wetting traumatiser that is a penalty shootout.

This may set up the most anticipated and hardest-contested Semi-Final in Under-21 history as top seeds and defending champions Starblaydia will face either second-seeded U21WC9 Champions Jeruselem or third-seeded perennial challengers Sarzonia. In the other Quarter-Finals played, former Champions and fourth-seeded Fmjphoenix look to be the true class of the bottom-half of the draw which includes teams such as Hockey Canada, Stumperia and Chicanada.

A Look Back


As the Hypocria team set of for Under-21 World Cup 15 no one back home really knew what to expect. What they got was several days of excitement, drama, heartache and one severe battering.

Match Day 1

Hypocria 2 - 3 Sarzonia

Drawn in Group C, alongside three sides experienced in this competition, the Hyppos started their campaign against group favorites and number 3 seeds Sarzonia. For periods of the game the debutants matched their illustrious opponents and very nearly snatched a point before eventually succumbing to a 3-2 score line. The match will be remember for Hypocria’s first ever international goals courtesy of striker Danny West and substitute Bora Burdali.

Match Day 2

Hypocria 3 - 0 Druida

The undisputed high point of the tournament. When Hypocria met Druida the confidence gained from the Sarzonia game shone through as the Hyppos dominated against the former champions. This game saw a number of firsts, first win, first points and first clean sheet. It also added three more goals to the Hyppos total thanks to defender Sergey Kreska, midfielder and captian Marcus Baxter and Burdali’s second of the tournament.

Match Day 3

Hypocria 0 - 7 Gaian Ascendancy

The undisputed low point of the tournament. With only a point needed against the Gaian Ascendancy to secure qualification to the second round the Hyppos froze and their opponents took full advantage. In a humiliating, one sided game no less than five Gaian players got on the score sheet. At the final whistle the Soft Wings were going through and the Hyppos were going home.

Tournament Scorers

Burdali 2
Baxter 1
Kreska 1
West 1


Final Group C Table

Group C
Name P W D L F A GD Pts
Sarzonia 3 3 0 0 12 6 6 9
Gaian Ascendancy 3 2 0 1 14 8 6 6
Hypocria 3 1 0 2 5 10 -5 3
Druida 3 0 0 3 6 13 -7 0

Junior Stars slay old demons, 3-1

There's a first time for everything. The Sarzonian Under 21 national team had never beaten Jeruselem in Under 21 World Cup play, or at any level for that matter. The team was facing the world's second ranked team in a quarterfinal matchup that many observers thought should have taken place no earlier than the semifinals.

The Junior Stars got inspired performances all across the field with midfielder Jenna Raven leading the way, and they defeated Jeruselem 3-1 to advance to the semifinals where they face yet another longtime nemesis, defending World Cup XIV champions and Atlantian Oceania regionmates Starblaydia.

"We're relieved to have beaten Jeruselem for the first time," Coach Valentin Kienzl said. "We've got our work cut out for us to beat Starblaydia for the first time at this level. They're defending world champions and it's going to be hard, but we're hungry and we're familiar with them and their style of play."

Raven started the scoring when she won a ball in midfield and sent a diagonal cross to forward Marshall Hendricks. Hendrix then drew two defenders on him, made a move to cut between them, and then sent a wall pass to Raven cutting in. She easily beat goalkeeper John Stanford to give the Junior Stars a 1-0 lead 28 minutes in.

"Shell and I know how to read each other," Raven said. "He did a great job drawing their defence off of me and I took it from there." The Junior Stars very nearly made it 2-0 just six minutes later, but Hendricks's one time bid sailed over the crossbar, just over the outstretched glove of Stanford.

However, it was Jeruselem who equalised before the half. Defender Brian Sandt, coming in for a hobbled Chris Willingham, whiffed on an attempted clear and midfielder Dave le Puy made Sandt pay for his mistake, burying the shot past goalkeeper Blaine Wilcox as first half stoppage time came to a close.

"I told the guys to suck it up, that they had 45 minutes to history," midfielder Jarret Sanderson said. He helped ensure that the Junior Stars would make that history, stealing the ball from le Puy on a nearly identical play to the one that victimised Sandt. This time, it was Sanderson hitting paydirt in the 58th minute, giving the Junior Stars a 2-1 lead that loomed much larger with the way Sarzonia was operating Kienzl's attack-oriented offense.

Hendricks capped off a dominant night for the Junior Stars in the 84th minute when he corralled a long goal kick from Wilcox and sprinted past the tired Jeruselem defence and buried onetime bid past Stanford for the backbreaking -- and curse breaking -- goal.

"It felt great to get that monkey off our backs," Hendricks said. "Now we have another 800 pound gorilla to get off our backs in Starblaydia.

SARZONIA (Raven 28, Sanderson 58, Hendricks 84)
Jeruselem (le Puy 45+)

The Calm Before the Storm

With Hockey Canada waiting for the Chicanada attack, we all wonder one thing. The thing we wonder about is just what will they throw at us to try and get into the semi-finals, a feat that niether team has successfully done. But what is Hockey Canada going to do to win the game? It's simple really, keep up what they've been doing all tournement and score the odd goal to win the game.

Easy as it sounds, it won't be for the defensive Hockey Canada. They've made it to this point before, only to get eliminated. Having not played powerhouses such as Jeruselem or Starblaydia, Hockey Canada may lack some experience, but have the defence and know-how to shut down the Kodiak attack. The Canucks will have their 7-2-1 formation as always, and the trap will be brought back for the first time since the first game against Kzuu Mai.

Not quitting for a moment in the next game(s), Hockey Canada's fans will be supporting them fully as they go for their first U21 title. They're goal is the semi-finals or finals in the tournement. But they know they have a very slim chance they'll win (because Starblaydia will just beat us as always, considering we never played them in any international sport).

Pacitalia loses, then wins, then fails to qualify

A dejected Pacitalian team will try again in U21WC16 after a sad third-place finish on AOA format. Rumour has it that our home side will switch back to the traditional NOR format - better results have been received on that style of play.

Pacitalia lost on Match Day 2, with a 3-1 loss to Jeruselem, then followed that up with a 4-1 win over Corneliu. It wasn't enough to get out of third place, where Pacitalia stayed the entire round-robin, and thusly the U21 boys from La Repubblica were swiftly eliminated, continuing the Curse of the Samparatto, in which Pacitalia has never gotten past the second round in a U21 tournament.

As said earlier, the boys will return in WC16, probably under the NOR format.

The Orange-Blues of U21WC15:

The ASR-building was under siege at the start of the tournament. Myk Linkosa was in the building and due to that unable to leave, as was the selected team, because they were there for some reason when the Takilists attacked. Kansu Lyku and the youth team of Hades Lavamje were able to stand in. That way the Rejistanians only have a bad tem, but they have one team at least.

Goalkeepers:
Xadi Le, 18
Inite Se-La, 19

Defenders:
Nija Hata, 17
Ira Kansu, 17
Syku Nema, 20
Haka Inik, 19
Lyku I Jy, 21
Sani Kansu, 18

(Veku Syku, 18)
(Inik Omeh, 19)
(Inra Sa-I, 20)

Midfielders:
Lyku Jen, 18
Sama Ve, 19
Janek Tari-Kansu, 20

(Syku Linis, 17)
(Haseti I Sa, 18)
(Xeki Sala, 17)

Forwards:
Taki Sala, 18

(Hana I Taka, 16)

Jeruselem Government News

Out of frying pan into the fire for Sarzonia

We have bad news, Jeruselem was defeated for the first time by Sarzonia. Sarzonia won the quarterfinal of the U21C15 3-1, to break a long held curse in not beating Jeruselem. The anticipated 2nd vs 3rd seed clash was sold out and it was thrilling game. The scores tied at 1 ALL in half time, Sarzona scored twice in the 2nd half to finally break their bogey.

The bad news for us is also bad news for Sarzonia in a lesser way. The 3rd seed remove Jeruselem (2nd seed) but meet the 1st seed StarBlaydia who slew the Nedalian lions. They won 7-6 on penalties to escape from the Lion's cage and make the semi-final.

So it's Starblaydia vs Sarzonia in one semi-final. This game is just as big and we expect all Jeruselem fans to turn up and watch a great game. As for our loyalties, Sarzonia are our friends but Starblaydia are deserving defending champs. You choose.

The results which determine the other semi aren't in yet, but we fully expect 4th seed FMJPhoenix to make the semi-final. They are lucky, the top 3 seeds were not in their draws.

As JGN is the foreign official broadcaster for the Nedalian Premier League, we will be screening games for those Nedalian fans who want to relive their teams performances in U21C15, and the U21C15 final.

SARZONIA (Raven 28, Sanderson 58, Hendricks 84)
Jeruselem (le Puy 45+)

"Whatcha gonna do, brothers, when an eight-hundred pound gorilla runs wild over you?!"
Starblaydia set up for Sarzonia Semi - in Style!

Sales of Gorilla fancy-dress outfits in Total n Utter Insanity have skyrocketed, with many specialist clothes shops reporting to be sold-out of anything remotely monkeyequse.

Starblaydi fans appear to be latching onto a comment made by Sarzonian forward Marshall Hendricks, where he compared Starblaydia to 'another 800 pound gorilla'.

In two Under-21 meetings between the Regional Rivals, Sarzonia have come out on the losing end both times, with Starblaydia netting six goals in those matches for only two in reply. Quite rightly, Starblaydia are confident going into the Semi-Final as the defending champions, best team in the world and having also got an Under-21 edge over their opponents.

Whoever can win this crucial match will surely go on to take the title, unless an Fmjphoenician piece of luck or an upset of Nedalian proportions is on the cards for the Final.

"Sea of Red"

Hockey Canadian fans will be asked to bring red Bristol Board with them when Hockey Canada plays against Chicanada. All the red clothing and red bristol boards will give the impression that the stadium is completely red on the inside. Players commented that it proves that the fans support them in their run to the cup.

Hockey Canada will give the fans free bristol board and free "Go HC Go" t-shirts before the game to promote the team. Heading into this quarter-final game, the fans believe Hockey Canada can prevail against the 12th seeded Chicanada. They're a good attacking team, but we're better defensively. It'll be a great match to watch.

Second Round
Fmjphoenix 5 Sjwitz 2
Vilita 2 Stumperia 4
Hockey Canada 0 Lovisa 0 AET
Hockey Canada won 9 - 8 on penalties
Chicanada 1 South Osettia 0

Under 21 World Cup 15
Bottom
2nd Round Quarter Finals

Fmjphoenix (4) -------------
| Fmjphoenix (4) -------------
Sjwitz (19) ----------------

Vilita (9) -----------------
| Stumperia (10) -------------
Stumperia (10) -------------

Hockey Canada (8) ----------
| Hockey Canada (8) ----------
Lovisa ---------------------

Chicanada (12) -------------
| Chicanada (12) -------------
South Osettia (5) ----------

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Vilita 2-0 South Osettia
http://www.dirt-racing.com/3wide/sites/aofiles/rp/bar.gif
Vilita Goalscorers::
85' Tristam Bumbar
87' Julian Lisbie
http://www.dirt-racing.com/3wide/sites/aofiles/rp/bar.gif

-------------------Santo Kecker opened his reign as head coach of the Vilitan Under-21 squad on the right foot after a late victory over their Atlantian Oceania rivals South Osettia.

-------------------It was the first meeting ever for the two teams ever since the lands of South Osettia were first formally recognized by the international congress. The two nations had previously clashed before on the ice in the Atlantian Oceania Ice Hockey Champions. As previously reported by the Vilita Nationals, both the Jungle Cats and Jungle Kitties had previously squared off with the South Osettians under their former regim, when they were known as Maserrat. However, the international asanctioning body recognizes South Osettia as a completely seperate and independant nation of their fformer selves, and the two sets of records will be forever held independant.

-------------------There was once again an uprising on the brink in the Northern Atlantian Oceania nation at the time of the match, but the full effects were not immediately seen as the Osettians were well prepared in there temporary Total n Utter Insanity based training ground.

-------------------The two sides entered the pitch with neither knowing what to expect from their well known, but still first time opponents at this level. The match itself started out slow with both sides pressing to keep chances to a minimum. Oaker protege Jawz Oaker made a big save however 39 minutes into the match when Tilanli' Olinailanianoinadinaoapepaig-nikov had a first time effort from 20 yards out but the half-Vilitan got a hand on the effort and sent it beind for a corner kick.

-------------------The teams went into the break level at 0-0 and no one would have been surprised to see the match end in exactly the same manner. Kecker made a pair of changes and the Jungle Kitties started to slowly overpower their Osettian counterparts. Their hardwork paid off 85 minutes in when Yutzie Sorma's Tristam Bumbar opened the scooring to give the 9th seeded Jungle Kitties the 1-0 lead. No sooner did match restart did Vilita find themselves up another goal, as Julien Lisbie intercepted a short pass deep inside the Osettians end, out paced his marker and calmly flicked over the goalkeepers out swinging legs.

-------------------Vilita are off to a dream start to their Under-21 Campaign, leaving the newswires open to predicting great thigns for the future from Vilita and Santo Kecker.


Full Time Analysis:

Vilita

Best Player: Jonjo Hulyer
Worst Player: Daniel Oram
Shots on Target: 7
Corner Kicks: 15

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Vilita Jungle Cats (3-5-2) ::
[GK] Jawz Oaker, [D] Dene Shaw, [D] Ade Hinds, [D] Ricata Tivalan, [DMC] Daniel Oram, [ML] Brent Obwinyi, [MC] Contall Rumaoa, [MC] Jonjo Hulyer, [MR] Rowan Majara, [FC] Tika Massa, [FC] Kris Wrice,
BENCH::
[FC] Julian Lisbie, [FC] Tristam Bumbar, [M] Toby Tzikas, [M] , [U] , [D] Timmy Leaburn, [GK] ,

Vilita Substitutions::
(19) - Kris Wrice >>> Julian Lisbie
(45) - Tika Massa >>> Tristam Bumbar

u21 Kodiak News

Kodiaks Slip Up On PK, Drop QF Match

Playing a tough defense led to a 0-0 for 90 minutes and extra time, so the Kodiaks had to face Hockey Canada in the one thing they haven't done: penalty kicks in extra time.

And that did not work out well, as the Kodiaks only scored twice on the HC goalkeep while Paris Asmilov let three by to let Hockey Canada advance to the u21 semifinals.

Up to the Penalties Asmilov had played his most brill match of the tourney, stopping 18 shots on goal while the Kodiak offense struggled to get past the swarming defense that HC set up. "Ya know, we trained against this set up and yet when ya face the thing in competition it's damn frustratin'," Helix Adamton said after the match.

"It's an extremely bittersweet loss," National Coach B'zlovb K'amjnj said at the press conference when the team arrived back in Eastentown, "but we have made some impressive gains and look foreward to the next u21 Cup to finally break on through."

Hockey Canada advances to face either Stumperia or Fmjphoenix in the semifinals while reigning champion Starblaydia takes on Sarzonia in the other matchup.

Under 21 World Cup 15
Quarter Finals Semifinals

Starblaydia (1) -------------
| Starblaydia (1) -------------
Nedalia (6) -----------------
Sarzonia (3) ---------------
| Sarzonia (3) ----------------
Jeruselem (2) --------------
Fmjphoenix (4) -------------
|
Stumperia (10) --------------
Hockey Canada (8) ----------
| Hockey Canada (8) -----------
Chicanada (12) -------------

Junior Vikings slip past Stumped Stumperians, prepare to face Hockey Canada in semis

Powered by goals from Bruce Chen, Arien Vogel, and Brady Wayne, the Junior Vikings managed to stump the Stumperian side with a narrow 3-2 victory to put them into the semi-finals again. Franklin Cabrillo had a major role in the final minutes though, deflecting a shot that would have sent the match into extra time.

Against like their last match against Sjwitz, the Junior Vikings jumped to an early lead scoring all three goals in the first half. Chen scoring the first at 10 minutes with a Stumperian equalizer 5 minutes later. Vogel would provide an equalizer again at the 24th minute. Cabrillo saved great shot with a dive than nearly saw his head crash into the goalpost. In the 41st minute, Wayne scored his lone goal of the match with a nice shot that curled right over the goalkeepers hands that made the shot look very pretty. With a quick 3-1 lead in the first half, Coach Rush decided to pull back into a defensive formation, leaving only two forwards in to play with 5 defenders and 3 midfielders. Stumperia managed to produce a second goal with a header in the 64th minute, but after that goal, the Viking defenders tightened up and did not let any Stumperians reach the box until the final shot.

With another clutch victory, the Junior Vikings prepare for the Hockey Canadians, who although they primarily play hockey, have shown they can play football too. Fmjphoenix will be looking for the chance to return to the big stage for a chance to win their second Under 21 World Championship. They are currently the only team in Fmjphoenix ot win a major international championship.

Fmjphoenix: 3 - Stumperia: 2
Chen 10, Vogel 24, Wayne 41 - Unknown 15, 64

Sea of red prevails, Fmjphoenix up next

The Hockey Canadians played hard and prevailed in Penalty Kicks for the second straight time to advance through to the semi-finals to play the Fmjphoenix Junior Vikings. The game was relatively boring besides the odd chance from the Chicanada strikers, not to mention the overtime where Hockey Canada's conditioning paid off as they got a few shots off.

Mike Feznak, the hero from the last game put in a goal for Hockey Canada in the shootout, as well as Dave Semenko (who is resting from his Cherry Cup games). The hero prevailed as Yanic Perrault tacked his 7th goal of the tourney before the Chicanada player took his shot to be blocked by keeper Kyle Thomas.

"The Kodiaks played very well. They'll be back in the next U21WC and will be fighing hard for that title. They'll be the team to watch, keep an eye on them." Kyle Thomas said in the post-game interview.

Under 21 World Cup 15
Quarter Finals Semifinals

Starblaydia (1) -------------
| Starblaydia (1) -------------
Nedalia (6) -----------------
Sarzonia (3) ---------------
| Sarzonia (3) ----------------
Jeruselem (2) --------------
Fmjphoenix (4) -------------
| Fmjphoenix (4) --------------
Stumperia (10) --------------
Hockey Canada (8) ----------
| Hockey Canada (8) -----------
Chicanada (12) -------------

The next team ahead of Hockey Canada is 4th ranked Fmjphoenix, a team that isn't afraid to hit you with all they have. Beating Stumperia 3-2, the Junior Vikings proved that they're going for the cup and won't let anything stand in their way to get it. They're a good team and won't quit as the game wears on.

The remaining teams' rankings are 1, 2, and 4. This won't daunt the Hockey Canadians as they go for the finals. The game against the Junior Vikings will be used as an opportunity for the Hockey Canadians, who will see how they measure up against some of the better teams in the world. With the worst they can do at 4th, 4 places above where they were when they started, they can't complain. Promised 2 more games to play, Hockey Canada is going to make it the Championships that they play in.

Junior Crystils in search of new coach

After a terrible performance in under 21 world cup 15 the Crystilakere FA have fired head coach Boubacar Dragov. Dragov was well liked by the fans after leading the junior Crystils back in to the semi finals of the tournament. But Dragov was not get any victories in an important group in world cup 15 with three rivals from Atlantian Oceania, and the team only ended up scoring one goal. This change in fortunes was looked down upon by the Crystilakere FA and the fans who we're extremely dissapointed with the performance. The rumors had started when the Junior Crystils suffered a heavy defeat against long time rivals Vilita, and became serious after the loss to South Osettia that eliminated Crystilakere from the competition. Assistant Coach Liali Munavelli will retain their position with the national under 21 team and is a candidate for the head coaching position. There are many other potential candidates and the Crystilakere FA will be taking applications via telegram only.

After the Stumperia match:

Kansu Lyku (coach): Good match, you had no time to prepare you are surely not the first selection, but you played and you won! Well done!

Taki Sala (forward): i hope the Takilans did not yet seize power in Rejistania, after this match, we'd be executed by them!

KL: Chances are low. Yesterday the rejistanian navy sunk a boat full of va'takil'ny. va'karela'ny are produced domestically.

TS: Gah!

KL: May I ask what that means?

TS: I am a striker, no defender.

KL: Strikers are also needed in System Karela, They need to score from the one chance in the entire match!

TS: One single chance, eep! i want matches to end double digit, this is not chess, for slani's sake!

KL: Try to calm down and then meditate until you realize the beauty of this system!

Jeruselem Government News

U21C15 semi-final previews

Starblaydia (1) vs Sarzonia (3)

Hard to pick as both team deserved to be here. Sarzonia had to beat Jeruselem (2nd seed) to get here, which was a very tough ask. They can beat the Starblaydia, but their record against Starblaydia like one against Jeruselem is less than fantastic. Having beaten Jeruselem for the first time, can the Sarzonia also beat the Starblaydia hoodoo as well.

Starblaydia have excellent records against both Jeruselem and Sarzonia, so from history - Starblaydia is one to pick. However, history also said the semi should have been Starblaydia vs Jeruselem.

We choose Starblaydia, but only on past history.

Fmjphoenix (4) vs Hockey Canada (8)

Former-champs Fmjphoenix are back and face a strange team, one from a nation which plays Hockey. Fmjphoenix run has been easier as they did not face off with any of the top 3 but the 4th seed looks the goods.

Hockey Canada make the semi in the "easier" part of the draw, but had to remove difficult opponents to get here. On ranking, the former champs will be favourite but unranked teams have made the finals before. Hockey is tough physical game so the Canadians will also be ready for tough match. Will they have the skill too?

We have two U21 winners against two yet-to-be winners. Will the former champs rise and take something to their trophy collection or will be have another new champion from chasing pack? It was noted only one multiple champion made the quarter-finals, that was Jeruselem.

After the 0:2 loss against Chicanada:

KL: I am disappointed with you! Did you forget everything I told you? Don't concede! Why did you play in a that disgracefull way?

Janek Tari-Kansu (midfielder): They are a real national team, we are a bunch of reserves of reserves...

KL: No excuse, you could at least have attempted to play better!

JTK: Well, there was something... this night...

KL: What?

JTK: we were brought to a room by some dark persons and they showed us a video.

KL: Showed you a video?

JTK: Yes, and then they let us go.

KL: What was on the video?

TS: No idea whether you know it... it is called 'attacking football'...

KL: What the hell? Takilan terrorists! Why did no one say anything?

JTK: Because we liked the video.

KL: Oh my god, they used va'takil'ny! I call the police!

After the last match, which eliminates the Orange-Blues. Kansu Lyku kept on telling the team what a disgrace that match was and that what the team needs is a change of mind with the help of va'karela'ny. Taki Sala did not care about that, he is no Karelan and never will become one. He will go to Rejistania and fight for the Takilan revolution. When all are about to leave, Xadi Le shouted to turn on the TV. Taki did and saw a lesbian porn on the first channel. He decided that despite the quality, his teammate did not mean that and changed the channel. On the next channel, he saw an insanican game show where the one wins 100 Meeps who can smash his head against a wall most often, he switches the channel again. This time, he sees a newschannel. the anchorman tells something in Insanican, he can not understand, he just wants to switch the channel again but then he sees the film in typical rejistanian quality: Priest Taxada apparently killing the opposition leaders, yellow-clad people celebrating on the streets. He understood what they where chanting: "Sanja'il Hanta! Sanja'il Karela!" He decided that he can not live in a country where Hanta-Inikresaism and System Karela are state religions. He tells his teammates that he is just away to buy cigarettes for his insane brother. Without thinking much he goes to the port, he climbs on a container and waits until it is brought on a ship, there he climbs off and hides. He has no idea where he is going to but it can only be better than the country of Karela.

Dragov heading for Hypocria

Just days after being fired as head coach of the Junior Crystils, Boubacar Dragov looks set to be named as the head coach of the Hypocria Under 21 team. While nothing has been confirmed yet Dragov is believed to be a favorite to be the new head coach in Hypocria. The Hypocrians were not happy with their recent performances and were looking for a head coach with more experience on this level. Dragov brings with him many seasons of experience and a successful resume after leading the Junior Crystils to the semi finals on more than one occasion.

Dragov will certainly be looking forward to being drawn against the Junior Crystils if he were appointed as head coach for Hypocria. Dragov was especially upset and losing the Crystilakere coaching job and will be looking for revenge.

Applications for Junior Crystils coach lacking

The Crystilakere FA were hoping for more of a response when they made the first public announcement that they would be accepting applications for the Junior Crystils head coaching job. Crystilakere fired former head coach Boubacar Dragov after a poor performance in Under 21 world cup 15 and Dragov already looks like he'll be going to coach in Hypocria. Currently only three official applications have been received. The leading candidate for the job of the three candidates would be former Crystilakere goalkeeper Emiliano Addis. Addis lead the Crystils from between the sticks and earned most valuable player awards on the way to winning World Cup 19. Since then, the fans have cherished his every step, and interest in the Junior Crystils would skyrocket if Addis were to be appoint coach.

The leading choice tactically might be current Junior Crystils assistant coach Liali Munavelli, who knows the players as well as anyone having been assistant for many seasons. Munavelli has not shown any desire in the past to become the head coach, but would certainly be supported if they were given the job. Many expect that of the three applications already received, these are the only two that the Crystilakere FA are considering. Crystilakere would like to keep Munavelli in the role of Assistant Manager and are hoping some more applications are received.

Quarter Finals
Starblaydia 1 Nedalia 1 AET
Starblaydia won 7 - 6 on penalties
Sarzonia 3 Jeruselem 1
Fmjphoenix 3 Stumperia 2
Hockey Canada 0 Chicanada 0 AET
Hockey Canada won 3 - 2 on penalties

When the luxury passenger ship “King Alfons I” left the harbor, the Under 21 World Cup was far from over. A few of the players wanted to stick around to watch the second round matches, but the general consensus was to return to Spruitland, where they would undoubtedly be welcomed home as heroes. Sure, they may not have survived the group stage, but they won a match, and that was more than anyone had expected beforehand. Reports from the crazy festivities at home after the 2-0 victory against Krytenia had reached TnUI, and the young Spruitland internationals were more than eager to be the focus of an exuberant Welcome Home party, with plenty of scarcely dressed women.

Two days into the journey, the players started to get bored. The ship’s string quartet was not up-to-date on the latest heavy metal songs, and the onboard theatre only showed one movie non-stop – Titanic, which was not benificial for the team’s moral. Right winger Samson Trouwel was running a poker game from his suite, which was popular for a bit, but after he cleaned out most of the team, only a few die hard gamblers remained. The others were utterly bored.

Coach Cor Bensen provided the solution: the ship’s swimming pool was drained and would be used as an impromptu football field. A few of the players went down into the cargo hold to fetch a ball and their outfits out of the packing crates.

“Isn’t this a bit silly?” Simon Briers muttered. “You’d think we could find some other way to enjoy ourselves.”

“Hey, if you don’t wanna play, nobody’s forcing you.” Nico Van Dyck, the team captain, urged one of the crew members to hurry the hell up already and open the cargo area. The crewman seemed to agree with Briers that this was a bit silly, but that probably had something to do with the fact that he had been interrupted in a perfectly good boozing session in the boiler room when he was summoned to accompany the Spruitlanders. He opened the cargo bay door.

“Like hell,” Briers said. “I’m the goalie. How are you gonna play without a goalie?”

The crewman stepped aside and let them into the cargo area, wondered for a moment whether his job was done and he could get back to his bottle, but then followed them inside anyway.

“We do have two backup goalies, you know,” Van Dyck suggested, pulling a crate off a stack and opening it.

“Those two? One of them’s blind as a bat and the other is only 166 centimeters tall!” He opened a crate as well, started rummaging through it.

“Bah, wrong crate, it’s the coach’s dirty underwear!”

“This one ain’t it, either. The coach’s collection of porn magazines.”

“Could you fellers hurry it up a li’l?” the crewman said, impatiently waiting near the entrance. “I gots like plenty other stuff to do, ya know.”

“Yeah yeah, keep your pantyhose on, mister.” Van Dyck looked at the stacks and stacks of crates. “Next tournament, we’ll bring one of those magic markers.”

“Let’s try those crates in the back,” Briers suggested. Van Dyck nodded, and they headed down the aisle, stacks of crates on both sides, rounded a corner –

– and tripped over a sleeping figure on the floor.

Briers and Van Dyck landed hard on the cargo deck floor. The figure jumped up, startled. He shouted something in some kind of odd language, then ran off.

“What did he say?”

“Dunno. Something about karela and slani or something.”

A crash from the other side of the deck. Briers and Van Dyck quickly got to their feet and hurried after the stowaway.

He was down again, out cold on the floor. The crewman was down as well, but not unconscious – he was rubbing a big bruise on his forehead.

“Where did tha’ bugger come from?!’ he muttered.

* * * *

An hour later, the stowaway was sitting in the ship’s dining hall, stuffing himself with anything the restaurant crew served him. He wasn’t bothered about which course was supposed to come first, he just stuffed whatever was closest into his mouth – a bite off a piece of lemon pie, a spoon of caviar...

The entire Spruitland team – even Samson Trouwel and his poker mates – were watching him from a distance.

“He’s a football player, you say?” Coach Bensen was looking at the young man thoughtfully. Van Dyck nodded.

“Has to be, Coach. Look at those calves – you don’t get those from sitting behind a desk.”

“Hmmm. Has he said anything?”

“Just some jibberish. And once we brought him inhere, his mouth has been too full to speak.”

“Right. Well, let him eat, we’ll see what – “

The door to the dining hall swung open, and the ship’s Captain stormed in, obviously thoroughy annoyed. A few nervous crewmen did their best to keep up with him.

“Where is that damn stowaway?!” the Captain bellowed. One of his crewmen pointed towards the kid at the table, but it wasn’t quite necessary. The Captain’s glare was already focused in the right direction.

“Higgins!” A crewman scurried over to the Captain’s side. “Toss him overboard!”

“Sir?”

“You heard me! There will be no stowaways on MY ship! Get rid of him!”

The Spruitland players exchanged nervous glances. The Captain’s will was law on a ship, but this seemed a bit harsh.

“Coach, we gotta do something,” Van Dyck whispered. Bensen nodded, but he seemed as nervous as the rest of them. And the crewmen didn’t seem to be doing much better.

“Move it, Higgins!”

“Err, yes Sir!”

Higgins motioned a few others to follow him, and went up to the kid, who seemed oblivious to what was happening, still stuffing his face as if he hadn’t eaten in days. Which he probably hadn’t.

Taki Sala's english was not good but he understands what is happening. he stops eating and starts talking in an excited voice and due to the situation in even worse English than normal: "No! I am fleeing Karela from! I have not a place in my home! I am no divensi'he, since the civil war did end, they force me to karela-become, they would! I can not return Rejistania to, as heta... err forward!" He paused a moment then continues "I am asking for asylum!"

u21 Kodiak News

Kodiaks Goes 0-2 Against Stumperia, Settles For 7th Place Match

Returning from some conditioning sessions in Eastentown to Total n Utter Insanity for the Consolation Semifinals, the Kodiaks had hoped for any type of success against #10 Stumperia.

Instead, Chicanada suffered their second straight loss to the squad in a 3-2 defeat that sends them to face either #6 Nedalia or #2 Jerusalem for 7th place.

National Coach B'zlovb K'amjnj said that the team was satisfied with the play of the match, which saw Stumperia take home a victory off a very off corner shot in the final minute of action. Paris Asmilov had been set right in goal for the kick but his deflection appeared to be just a tad off as the ball bounced off his hand into the goal - by no means a shame for the Kodiaks but did leave a basd taste in Asmilov's mouth, as he went into a very open rant during the Chicanadan press conference after the match. No word if he will be starting in goal for the Kodiaks during the 7th place match.

Forward Helix Adamton led the Kodiaks with two goals, one in the 18th minute, one in the 62nd minute.

OOC: [sour grapes] Do my RPs suck so much that I have lost twice to a team that hasn't RPed since the first game?[/sour grapes]

FA Headquarters, Hypocrium


Alex Scott, Head of the Hypocrian Football Association glanced at the clock. Any second now. Right on cue the intercom on his desk buzzed. “Mr DiMarco to see you sir”, the tinny voice of his secretary announced. He reached forward to push the button, “show him in please”. The door opened and in walked Matthias DiMarco, coach of the national Under-21 side.

“Ah Matthias, please pull up a chair”, Scott greeted his guest.

“Let’s cut to the chase shall we”, said Matthias ominously, casting down a news report he had brought in with him. “I think I know what this is about.”

Scott glanced at the report. It was from Crystilakere and detailed the approach made for their recently sacked Under-21 coach Boubacar Dragov. Scott cursed silently, the news had got out much quicker than he had expected.

“So I’m fired am I? And this is how I find out”, DiMarco said indicting the report.

“Calm down Matthias we don’t want to sack you. We see it as more of a reshuffle.”

“A reshuffle?”

“Yes. Mr Dragov has a wealth of experience coaching at Under-21 level but he doesn’t know our players, whereas you do. We want you to stay on to assist him.”

“As his assistant you mean?”

“Well yes. We can’t have two national coaches, that would just confuse things.”

“So I’m being demoted?”

“As I said before we see it as more of a reshuffle. Look Matthias, we see you as an essential part of the national team set-up but when the qualifiers for World Cup 23 start the only players we will have with any kind of international experience will be our Under-21 squad. That is why we want to bring in a coach with considerable experience and success at that level to help shape our young players into international footballers of the highest calibre. Of course when the World Cup campaign starts we will need a national coach for the senior side.” Scott paused for a moment to let that last part sink in. Finally he got the answer he wanted.

“Ok”, DiMarco conceded grudgingly. “I’ll work with this new system.” He wasn’t at all happy about it but he didn’t want to risk the wrath of the FA, that would almost certainly cost him any chance of landing the top job when it became available. Plus, even as assistant, he was still around. He wouldn’t let them forget about him.

“Excellent. This new arrangement is going to be of great benefit to Hypocrian football. You just wait and see.”

Hockey Canada rallying behind team.

We're gonna win
Don't wanna be a loser - gonna win
Cuz winnin' really is the only thing
Get out of the way we're comin' in
If ya wanna fight just step inside the ring
Does anybody wanna take a swing?
It's gotta be all or nothing
Oh we're gonna be the champions
Ya we're goin' all the way - we're gonna win win

We're gonna win
Forget about a draw - we're gonna score
And then we're gonna get a few more
Maybe another one just to be sure
We'll make ya look just like an amateur
Until the final whistle it's a war
And then we're gonna pick ya off the floor
We wanna hear the crowd really roar
Ya - we're comin' in we're gonna win win

We're gonna win - we wanna win
Cuz number one is everything
We're gonna win - we wanna win
We're gonna be the champions
We're gonna win

In recent games, Hockey Canada has given their best and skipped by in shootouts. But the game against Fmjphoenix won't be an exception to their efforts. The song will be played throughout the game in the "sea of red" to inspire the Hockey Canadians to let them know the nation is fully supporting them.

TOTAL N UTTER INSANITY- Recent releases of scouting reports have caused Hockey Canada to study tapes of all of Fmjphoenix's games up until this point in the tournement. Here is a breif summary of the games Fmjphoenix has played:

Game 1:

Fmjphoenix 3
Oaker 3

Every team in the group tied, so due to their higher ranking, stayed in first on group.

Game 2:

Fmjphoenix 7
Liverpool England 1

A total offensive explosion which saw Vogel and Chen score 3 times. Containing those players will be key.

Game 3:

Fmjphoenix 4
Lovisia 3

The win clinched 1st in the group, Chen and Vogel scored twice in the game. Vogel and Chen will have to watch out for defenders in the next game.

Round of 16:

Fmjphoenix 5
Sjwitz 2

Vogel notched 3 again making him the top player to stop. Chen added a goal on a penalty shot.

Quarter-Finals:

Fmjphoenix 3
Stumperia 2

You can pretty much guess who scored for the Junior Vikings in this one. Chen starts off the scoring 10 mintues in while Vogel helps with his 24th minute goal.

______________________________________________________________________

Now that Hockey Canada knows what they're up against, we've got some practising to do for our next game.

OOC: [sour grapes] Do my RPs suck so much that I have lost twice to a team that hasn't RPed since the first game?[/sour grapes]

RPR (RolePlay Ranks) doesn't work like that. RPs in one U21 Cup affect your rank for the next U21 Cup.

So basically you're just unlucky. Or of a lower rank than them :p

Taki Sala's english was not good but he understands what is happening. he stops eating and starts talking in an excited voice and due to the situation in even worse English than normal: "No! I am fleeing Karela from! I have not a place in my home! I am no divensi'he, since the civil war did end, they force me to karela-become, they would! I can not return Rejistania to, as heta... err forward!" He paused a moment then continues "I am asking for asylum!"

Everybody had stopped moving – and breathing – while the kid spoke. After his last words – “I am asking for asylum.” – the Captain cursed. Coach Bensen knew why. The kid had said the magic words. Anyone’s request for asylum had to be considered, by Spruitland law. The “King Alfons I” may have been in international waters, but it was registered as a diplomatic vessel.

“Bugger it, toss him overboard anyway,” the Captain shrugged.

“No!” Coach Bensen shouted, stepping forward quickly. The Captain turned around, glaring at the balding coach like a drill sergeant glared at a new recruit who had dared to interrupt him.

“This is my ship – “ he started. But Bensen had been a referee, not so long ago. He could match glares with the best of them. The top of his head only barely reached the Captain’s chin, but he stood on his toes, arms akimbo, and pressed his nose as close to the Captain’s as was physically possible without touching him.

“Nobody tells me what to do!” the Captain shouted, but Bensen didn’t give an inch. He let the silence hang in the air for a few seconds, and then spoke, his voice as calm as if he was asking for a cup of coffee, making it all the more effective.

“Captain, let me make this clear to you. I am an Ambassador of Sport. We all are – “ The 22 young Spruitland internationals murmured an agreement, and moved behind Bensen, all trying to look as cocky and confident as their coach.

“ – which makes us your superior in this matter. As His Majesty’s official representatives, we order you to accept this kid as a refugee and take him home to Spruitland, where his case will be presented before the Minister of External Affairs.”

“You order me!? You – you dare…” The Captain’s voice wavered, all the blood had disappeared from his face. Bensen nodded slowly.

“That’s right, Captain. And let me make this very clear to you – if you even attempt to fight me on this, I’ll personally make sure that the only vessel you’ll be able to command from now on, will be a garbage hauler on the Backwater River.”

The Captain opened his mouth to say something, but no sound was coming out of his mouth. After a few gasps of breath, he turned his gaze away from the coach and nodded. A collective sigh of relief went through the dining hall. The Spruitland players gathered around the stowaway, who smiled gratefully. Simon Briers slapped him on the shoulder.

“Welcome to Spruitland, fellow. Now tell us, who’s this Karela dude that’s after you?”

* * * * *

By the time the ship arrived in Spruitland waters, most of the people on board had grown quite fond of the peculiar young man from Rejistania – Taki Sala was his name. The Captain hadn’t shown himself any more. Of the Spruitland Bunnies, only striker Dirk Jools didn’t much care for Taki. But that was quite obviously envy.

The team had played quite a bit of football in the drained pool on the trip home, and Taki had made quite an impression on the young Spruitlanders. He could dribble around the best of them until they were cross-eyed, and he had a power in his shot that even Dirk Jools couldn’t match. Goalkeeper Simon Briers had had to ice his wrist for three days after trying to stop one of his cannon balls.

But, despite his dislike for the fellow, even Dirk Jools was present when Taki Sala was brought before the Minister of External Affairs, where his request for asylum would be officially considered.

Most of the rest of the government was present as well. This was the very first foreigner to request asylum in Spruitland, so the case was regarded with interest.

After Taki explained his situation – a civil war in his country, where the evil Karelans would force him to become a defender, while he wanted to be an attacker and score many many goals – the consensus seemed clear. Spruitlanders were pretty touchy in the civil rights department – they felt that, hell, if someone wanted to do anything, even something crazy like standing on his head all day, or playing cricket, he had a right to do so. So if this fellow wanted to be an attacker and score goals, the Spruitland football competition would be happy to provide a place for him to do that. Only Thomas Vanderbeeck, the Minister of Defense, had a slight objection.

“These Karela dudes sound like they mean business,” he said. “If we’re gonna piss them off by taking in one of their – erm – traitors, we should immediately quadruplify our Defense budget and prepare for the possibility of war.”

“War?!” Worry began to show on the faces of the peaceful Spruitlanders, who didn’t like the prospect of blood and gore too much. But Taki Sala settled the matter for them.

“Oh no! Karela only defend! They no attack, never!”

A sigh of relief went through the audience room, and the Minister of External Affairs shook Taki Sala’s hand.

“In that case, welcome to Spruitland, Mister Sala.” An excited cheer went through the room. “I’ll issue an official press release, so the kid’s family back home in Rejistania knows he’s safe. Coach Bensen – “ The coach stepped forward.

“ – I trust you can find this young man a team to play for, and can take care of all the practical details?”

“Of course, Sir. Under the new Spruitland policy towards international football players, he’s entitled to a free villa on a location of his choosing, and membership to the best Spruitland brothels.”

“See to it, Mister Bensen.”

With a chorus of jubilant cheers, Taki Sala was hoisted onto several shoulders at once and carried out into the New Brux streets, where a curious crowd had gathered to greet him.

So basically you're just unlucky. Or of a lower rank than them :p

And in my case, it would be both :p

Oh well, maybe next cup ;)

The part of the city KaMaRi is known as Hades even though that is no real name. Hades was the part of the city, which is between Hanin and Desnike, at least ethically. In that 'kalesa' live Xames and Dyji Sala, with daughter Inik and formerly with son Taki. When they heard in the news, that Taki was missing, they were worried, and that did not change after they heard that he was granted asylum in Spruitland. They are good believers, at least since they have this Taderekansa statue in their house, which was sent by the local temple. They were angry when they heard that their own son is a traitor, angry enough to 'counter-attack' (him fleeing was an attack on the honor of the family). They discussed until an evil plan was developed.

The Rejistanian government is not longer existant in the way, it was before, now the temple has all the power and might in Rejistania. Of course the temple reacted to the provocation, they sent a long letter to the government of Spruitland, which has the advantage of not being provisional. The letter was full of the vague and colorful speech of the Hanta-Inikresaists, which reminds one of thick fog in Vegas. If one does not indirect the mail to the next recycling bin, but really takes the time to read it and figure out, what was being said, he or she would have come to the conclusion that:
* The rejistanian government is not very pleased with the reaction
* The rejistanian government plans to defend the country against Spruitlandian products
* Defense is supreme and the will to attack can be 'fixxed' by a device called "va'karela". In severe cases, this can and will be implanted.
* Taki Sala is such a severe case.

The Conference

In a conference room on the top floor of the hotel where the Hockey Canadian U21 is staying. Coach Toe Blake is in the room with the director of Hockey Canadian Soccer, Mike Barton. Also in the meeting is Captain Vince DeCicco, defender Yanic Perrault, and keeper Kyle Thomas. On a screen for a video conference is Hockey Canadian Prime Minister Ondrea Di Lorenzi from Otnorot in Hockey Canada.

MB: What are we going to do? The game's coming fast and we're not sure what to expect.

VD: We don't know. We've been undefeated this whole tournement, why do you doubt us now.

MB: You've beaten teams with lower ranks! What do you expect?

YP: We expect to be treated as equals with the scouts from other teams. The worst we can do is 4th, think of it as an upside.

VD: I'd rather make sure the worst we do is second before we see an upside.

KT: Look people, I think you're blowing this all out of proportion. An AOD team like us knows what we gotta do. Watching Chen and Vogel is your job. Keeping the shots out of the net is mine.

YP: We know that, and we're confident in you. It's just the scouts that we're worried about who are saying we're unranked.

KT: Give it up already! What more do you want? A sign that says "WE'RE RANKED! 8TH IS RANKED!" We're going out there tomorrow to give it our best. Guaranteed a game if me win or lose isn't something to argue.

OD: I've been silent so far and not like what's going on. Why don't you look at this as the style of government we have back here in Hockey Canada. What Toe Blake says goes, no arguments. All players are treated as equals, and if anyone protests they're sat.

The Whole room: I love it.

OD: Good, now that it's settled; what do we do about the Starblaydia- Sarzonia

TB: Let's wait until we play the first game. Then we'll worry about that.

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Vilita Leave Rivals in Ruins
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Vilita Goalscorers::
20' Toby Tzikas
23' Dene Shaw
34' Tika Massa
46' Daniel Oram
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-------------------Starblaydia based midfield Toby Tzikas shone as the Vilita Jungle Kitties extended their impressive record against rivals Crystilakere in recent matches between the two Atlantian Oceania powerhouses. The Jungle Kitties were looking to shake their Under-21 group stage slump where they've recently failed miserably at performing in the opening trio of matches, only to scrape through at the very last minute.

-------------------Tzikas, who plays for Starblaydian side Basian Valley, netted for the first time twenty minutes into the match to open the scoring. Tzikas then made a great run into the box, only to see his close range effort tipped over the bar for a corner by the Crystilakere goalkeeper. From the resulting corner, defender Dene Shaw picked up a deflected ball just outside the box and fired a grass cutter that somehow found the back of the net, doubling the Vilitan's advantage.

-------------------Tika Massa got on the scoreboard ten minutes later after he was set through by the unstoppable Tzikas who was having the game of his life, and certainly catching the eye of National Team head coach Helmut Vilkaus who was on hand to watch the exciting match.

-------------------The score was 3-0 at the half, and Santo Kecker made it obvious, perhaps at the request of Vilkaus who joined the youngsters in the locker room, that the team would be backing off a bit in the second half. Jonjo Hulyer, a regular selection on Vilkaus's Jungle Cats, was taken off at the half and Turoki United's Brent Obwinyi made his way onto the field.

-------------------Despite indicating they would be backing off, Vilita netted with the first shot of the half, a 30 yard wonder strike off the foot of Daniel Oram. Man of the Match Toby Tzikas was removed after 67 minutes, with no signs of an injury, the youngster could be inline for his first national team appearance in the coming days. Crystilakere managed a late goal to put a blemish on Jawz Oakers record for the cup, but Vilita still ran out impressive 4-1 winners on the night.


Full Time Analysis:

Vilita

Best Player: Toby Tzikas
Worst Player: Contall Rumaoa
Shots on Target: 19
Corner Kicks: 22

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Vilita Jungle Cats (3-5-2) ::
[GK] Jawz Oaker, [D] Dene Shaw, [D] Timmy Leaburn, [D] Ade Hinds, [DMC] Daniel Oram, [ML] Jonjo Hulyer, [MC] Rowan Majara, [MC] Toby Tzikas, [MR] Contall Rumaoa, [FC] Tika Massa, [FC] Tristam Bumbar,
BENCH::
[FC] Kris Wrice, [FC] Julian Lisbie, [M] Brent Obwinyi, [M] , [U] , [D] Ricata Tivalan, [GK] ,

Vilita Substitutions::
(45) - Jonjo Hulyer >>> Brent Obwinyi
(67) - Toby Tzikas >>> Julian Lisbie

The part of the city KaMaRi is known as Hades even though that is no real name. Hades was the part of the city, which is between Hanin and Desnike, at least ethically. In that 'kalesa' live Xames and Dyji Sala, with daughter Inik and formerly with son Taki. When they heard in the news, that Taki was missing, they were worried, and that did not change after they heard that he was granted asylum in Spruitland. They are good believers, at least since they have this Taderekansa statue in their house, which was sent by the local temple. They were angry when they heard that their own son is a traitor, angry enough to 'counter-attack' (him fleeing was an attack on the honor of the family). They discussed until an evil plan was developed.

The Rejistanian government is not longer existant in the way, it was before, now the temple has all the power and might in Rejistania. Of course the temple reacted to the provocation, they sent a long letter to the government of Spruitland, which has the advantage of not being provisional. The letter was full of the vague and colorful speech of the Hanta-Inikresaists, which reminds one of thick fog in Vegas. If one does not indirect the mail to the next recycling bin, but really takes the time to read it and figure out, what was being said, he or she would have come to the conclusion that:
* The rejistanian government is not very pleased with the reaction
* The rejistanian government plans to defend the country against Spruitlandian products
* Defense is supreme and the will to attack can be 'fixxed' by a device called "va'karela". In severe cases, this can and will be implanted.
* Taki Sala is such a severe case.


Spruitland Minister of External Affairs Hans Custers was staring at the copy of the seven-page letter from the Rejistania ‘government’ when one of his aides came in. He looked up.

“You better have some good news for me,” Custers sighed, “cause I can’t make heads or tails from this.”

“Translation complete, Sir,” the aide said with obvious satisfaction. “The SIA put their best codebreakers on the job. They had to get some help from an autistic kid by putting a contest in a puzzle magazine – but anyway, that’s not important. Here’s the translation, Sir.”

He put a piece of paper on the Minister’s desk. Custers took it, looked at it, turned it around a few times.

“That’s it? Seven pages of jibberish, and it translates to ten lines of English?” He quickly read the message, then shrugged. “Well, that’s not too bad. They’re a bit ticked off with us and are boycotting our trade goods. Heck, their loss, I’d say. I’m not sure what that stuff about the va’karela device means though.”

“Far as we can tell, it’s a sort of brainwash device, Sir. I believe they are trying to say that, if they ever get their hands on Taki Sala again, they’re going to implant one of these devices –“

“My God! What kind of barbarians are these people!?” He glanced at the sheet of paper again, then threw it away in disgust. “How’s Taki holding out?”

“Under the circumstances, reasonably well, Sir,” the aide replied. “He signed a contract with the Fonstown Rovers, started training with them to prepare for the new season, and has moved into a villa on the beach. He misses his family an awful lot, but the daily visits to the Saggy Titty Club seem to help a bit.”

“Hmm, alright. Let me know if there’s anything else he needs.” With a quick bow and a nod, the aide disappeared, leaving the Minister to write his reply…


To: The Government of Rejistania (or whoever bloody else is in charge over there)

From: Hans Custers, Minister of External Affairs, Spruitland

Dear Whoever,

Thank you for your eloquent response. It has been a pleasure reading your message out loud to my children and watching them swiftly fall asleep.
We can understand that you’re a bit huffy about losing one of your most promising attackers, but we must object to your threats to resort to inhumane brainwashing tools. We must inform you that Mr. Taki Sala is now under official protection of the Spruitland government, and if you attempt to carry through those threats, we will see to it that every member of this so-called Karela ‘government’ of yours will be provided with an implant in a location that is slightly more painful than the brain area. You have our word on that.
As for your trade embargo against us – we would like to suggest that you reconsider. Spruitland’s export goods include agricultural products and narcotics, and we feel that a sizeable shipment of the latter may help ease the tensions in Rejistania, and increase your general level of amiability. Please think it over.

If nothing else, however, we would like you to consider allowing Mr. Sala’s family to move to Spruitland, if they so desire. Taki is feeling a bit lonely here, and a few familiar faces would undoubtedly help to ease the integration process. I’m sure you uptight sons-a-bitches will say no to this, but we had to ask.

Diplomatically yours,
Hans Custers

Junior Vikings enthusiastic about semi-finals return

Many reports have been given to Fmjphoenix Junior Vikings coach George Wash showing that Hockey Canada is targeting in on Arien Vogel and Bruce Chen. When asked if he thought the extra pressure on those two will cause problems for the high scoring power.

"What everyone fails to realize is that Arien and Bruce are not the only ones who score. They are the ones that we go to because they love to score. Thats all they do. Every single player on this squad is a major factor. Even if they manage to shut down them, Brian (Dougood) and Brady (Wayne) that have scored many goals. I don't even need to get into it all, every player is a threat. We specialize in scoring. There is no telling who will step up on this squad."

The Junior Vikings have been practicing hard and are more than prepared for any challenge. Their all out attack has been extremly tough to stop. It has not been seen who will stop them yet, but you can count on a good match for whoever they play.

Shark Attack

Stadium: Pinealla International Stadium

Roster:

Torry Oaker (GK), Orion Oaker (D), Tabby Oaker (D), Dieter Oaker (D), Rollee Oaker (M), Kelvin Oaker (M), Raven Oaker (M), Nickel Oaker (M), Float Oaker (F), Cats Oaker (F), Pond Oaker (F)

Group E
Fmjphoenix (4)
Oaker
Lovisa
Liverpool England (20)

Sharks win but lose as well

The Sharks under 21 kept improving after a loss and a tie and won a very exciting game against Liverpool England. Nickel Oaker scored a hattrick from midfield in a high scoring game against the 20th ranked team. No team would be able to keep a lead for more than five minutes at any point in the game. Oaker scored first 25 minutes into the game, but Liverpool England scored their first goal 2 minutes after that. There would be no more goals in the first half, but it would set up a very exciting second half. Oaker again scored first in the second half and it was the second goal of the game for Nickel. But it took Liverpool England just 5 minutes to tie the game again. Pond Oaker scored in the 72nd minute and the fans were hoping that that would be the turning point in the game. Again Liverpool England scored right back again and everyone thought then that it would be a tie. Nickel scored his hattrick in stoppage time, and the Sharks thought they might have done enough to get to the knockout round. Unfortunately, they missed out on goal differential and will wait for the next cup to try again.

Xames and Dyji Sala had the chance to visit their son in the non-karelan country of Spruitland. The temple at first wanted to hinder them but after a long discussion, they are allowed to come. Only daughter Inik stays at her grandparents' because her career is at risk if she moves. The main temple sends a letter as reply to the government of Spruitland, this time shorter and more 'adjusted':


Hejida,

As I saw, your country lacks a sense of style, but reading our letter to your children is a good step in this direction. Maybe this utter lack of style is a reason for your country to be that unkarelan. Normally education and va'karela'ny help against this ethical disease.
Despite your clear insults, which were not even disguised, we will allow the parents of Taki Sala to travel to your country of lacking spirit, lacking esthetics and lacking soul. We are not happy to allow that, but we have compassion with the poor misled person.
Our politics on trade remain unchanged.
May your country return from its unenlightened ways!
Sa Ven,
Priest Sukadana

PS: I am actually getting compensation due to having to write that spruitlandish.


Some time later, two small, black persons, a man and a woman both clad in yellow leave an aeroplane in New Brux, Spruitland. The customs and security checks do find a few interesting things, but nothing is considered dangerous. This might have something to do with the fact that a va'karela is not known in Spruitland. Without problems, they reach Fonstown and get to Taki Sala. A bit later, an encrypted letter reaches the temple of Hanin and Desnike. unencrypted, it says:

Success. va'karela installed under the bed and working fine. Results will be seen soon.

FA Headquarters, Hypocrium


Silence descended over the crowded media room as a single figure walked in a sat down behind the desk at the front of the room.

FA Chief Alex Scott turned to the assembled reporters and started to read his prepared speech.

“I am delighted to confirm the appointment of Boubacar Dragov as the new head coach of the Hypocrian Under-21 national team on a four year contract. Mr Dragov brings with him a wealth of coaching experience at international Under-21 level and during his time in charge of the Crystilakere Under-21 side he achieved much success, most notably a third place finish at Under-21 World Cup 13. Former national coach Matthias DiMarco has agreed to stay on as assistant to Mr Dragov and we believe that they will form an effective and successful managerial team.”

“I spoke to Mr Dragov this morning and he said he is looking forward to this new and exciting challenge in his career and is eager to get started. He also emphasised his great desire to bring success to Hypocria at international level. A sentiment I’m sure we all share.”

“Questions?”

The reporters started to find their voices.


“Why is DiMarco being replaced? It was our first ever tournament surely you couldn’t have expected much more from him?”

“It was the manner of the defeat to the Gaian Ascendancy that prompted this change. It wasn’t a football match, it was a massacre. Plus Matthias will still be involved”


“You have appointed a foreign coach. Were there no Hypocrians capable of doing the job?”

“We have appointed a man with exceptional experience at that level and we don’t see why his nationality should come into the equation at all.”


“What is your favourite sandwich?”

“Chicken and bac . . . What? Oh its you. Could somebody remove that man please? Ok, next question.”


“This seems like a rushed appointment. There is another two years until the next tournament why make the decision so quickly?”

“Mr Dragov had all the qualities in a coach we were looking for, when he became available there seemed little point in stalling.”


“Do you like cheese?”

“Seriously would someone please kick him out? And make sure he doesn’t get back in this time. Thank you. Any more questions?”


“Do you feel Mr Dragov will be a success?”

“If I didn’t he wouldn’t have the job. He has a proven track record having taken Crystilakere to quarter finals, semi finals and third place finish in his time in charge.”


“How do you feel Hypocria will do at Under-21 World Cup 16?”

“I feel we will be much stronger. The current standings have us seeded 10th and that is a huge jump from where we were. All in all our prospects are quite good.”


“Any further questions? No? Thank you ladies and gentlemen and here’s to the future.”

Success. va'karela installed under the bed and working fine. Results will be seen soon.


Fonstown Rovers coach James Luger was not a happy man. Oh, things could be worse. Things could always be worse. But they were bad enough as they were.

If there was one thing Luger hated, it was strikers with an attitude. The Board of Directors had forced him to make a transfer offer for Dirk Jools in the off-season. Luger hadn’t liked that. Sure, Jools was a great player, but he was way too arrogant for his taste. Still, the Board had a point – Fonstown Rovers badly needed a striker, so they had made him an offer. Luckily for Luger, Jools had rejected them with vigor.

That was why this Rejistanian kid had seemed like a gift from heaven. He was twice as talented as Jools, but didn’t have a grain of arrogance in him. He was modest, kind, compassionate – a coach’s dream. And he could score easier than a lingerie model in a single’s bar.

He had been sensational in the opening match of the season. Fonstown had beaten RFC Godiva 3-2, and Taki Sala had scored two. Luger hadn’t been able to stop himself from dreaming about the championship title for days after that.

But today, after the second match of the season, that dream was far gone. Sala had not been in form, and that was an understatement if there ever was one. Hell, the kid had barely left their own half of the field. No matter how hard his teammates had tried to get him to move forward, Sala just didn’t want to leave the penalty area. The whole team tactic fell apart because of it, not to mention morale. The result, 2-2 against friggin’ Lepus FC, which was generally considered the worst team in the First Division, only added to the league to make it an even number of ten teams. And they’d been bloody lucky to get away with a draw, even.

He wondered what the kid’s problem could be. Sure, it wasn’t easy to leave your home country and start a new life somewhere else. But Sala had seemed to handle it pretty fine. Especially since his parents arrived here.

A knock on the door. Taki Sala came in, glancing nervously at his coach. Luger concentrated on his paperwork for a few more seconds, forcing himself to scribble something down, just to increase the tension a bit. Football players this young, you had to handle with authority. When he finally looked up at Sala, he immediately felt sorry for the kid. The young Rejistanian seemed about to burst out in tears.

“You wanted with me talk, coach?”

Luger put down his pen and nodded slowly. He had planned on shouting the kid’s ears off, taking the strong route of discipline. But seeing him standing there, genuinly distressed, he couldn’t bring himself to it.

“How are you doing, Taki? You didn’t seem to play your best, today.”

Sala burst out in tears with such intensity that Luger got scared for a moment.

“I’m sorry, coach! I play today bad, I know! Two goals concede, disgrace, it is! Is my fault, yes, I defend not good! I –“

“Wow, hold it right there, son. Calm down for a moment, will ya.” He looked at Sala, who tried desperately to stop his tears, but didn’t succeed. “Taki, it’s not your job to defend. You’re a striker, you should – “

“Defend is great honor! Me attacker not wanna be! Is disgrace!”

Luger’s mouth almost fell open. Then his mind started racing. This was not a case of being home sick, it was something far more serious. He nodded slowly.

“Ok, Taki, if you say so… Go home, get a good night sleep. I’ll see you on training tomorrow.”

“Want tackles to train, coach! And marking! No more train attack, is bad!”

“Alright, alright, we’ll figure something out, kid.”

After Taki had left his office, coach Luger immediately made a phone call, a concerned look on his face.

* * * * *

The best Spruitland doctors had been examining Taki Sala for three days, but they hadn’t been able to find anything. Every inch of his body had been thoroughly searched, neuro-surgeons had taken dozens of scans of his brain, but no anomaly had been detected. They were at a loss.

The Spruitland Intelligence Agency had arrested Xames and Dyji Sala and interrogated them non-stop, but they hadn’t admitted to anything. Still, Minister of External Affairs Hans Custers was sure they had something to do with it. He swiftly ordered them to leave Spruitland and put them on the first plane to Rejistania.


To: Priest Sukadana
From: Hans Custers, Minister of External Affairs, Spruitland

Aloha, or Hejida, Priest

We’re not sure what’s going on, but we’re sure you have something to do with this. Once we can prove it, you better be watching your back. We’re a little pissed off.

Regards,
Hans Custers

P.S. You just wait til we meet in the World Cup.

The priest decides for a reply in style:


Hejida (I won't say 'aloha'* because I fear you have bad breath),

You have no proof, but arrest and interrogate citizens despite that. Is that what you call human rights? We protest that the parents of Taki Sala are sent out of the country only due to unproven allegations. Taki Sala is alone in a foreign country, far away from home. It is not our fault if he returned to enlightenment.
I am sure that he changed his mind in the time in your immoral place and now wants to return to the Rejis as fast as possible.

Sa Ven,
Priest Sukadana

PS: "You can get it if you really want, but you must try, try, and try... till you succeed at last"


*iirc 'aloha' means 'share my breath' and refers to the Hawaiian way of greeting.

Jeruselem Government News

Jeruselem Knights not scared of the Lions

As JGN is the official foreign broadcaster of the Nedalian Premier League, we had to the latest World Cup game for the benefit of our local and Nedalian soccer fans. It was Jeruselem vs Nedalia in the U21C15, playing for pride as both did not make the semi finals.

In fact, Jeruselem and Nedalia did make the semis of U21C14 and could have been in the final except Starblaydia got in the way for Jeruselem. For the record, Jeruselem won another overtime game, beating the Lions 2-1. This was the final that could have been and Jeruselem U21C15 team showed it's potential once again.

The U21C14 team was good, losing only 1 game (the semi) and this is same team playing the World Cup XXII right now. They have won 8 games losing only 1 to the higher seeded Turori. From the looks of it, this U21C15 will match the current U21C14s in ability and if we mix them for World Cup XXIII, it will be better team!

Hockey Canada U21 Team to challenge Jeruselem team.

OTNOROT, HOCKEY CANADA- Released just a few minutes ago, is the challenge offered from the Hockey Canadian U21 Soccer team to play against the Jeruselem U21 team for a friendly match. The match is to offer excitement to the Jeruselem fans who saw Jeruselem eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Due to the fact that Hockey Canada has never played Jeruselem in competition, the Canucks will look forward to play a team who they strived to play against. A game has been proposed to play against the Starblaydia team, but was rejected when the point was brought up that they might face them in the championship finals or consolation finals.

We've Only Won It One Time! We're Gonna Win It Two Times!
Starblaydia set up 3rd straight Final with win over Sarzonia

An 800-pound Gorilla ran wild on Sarzonia as Starblaydia picked up a 2-1 win to send them into yet-another Under-21 World Cup Final.

Starblaydia's 'Golden Generation' of Under-21 football have come up trumps once again as they progressed into a third consecutive Final appearance, with Fmjphoenix to await them.

Christian Macia got the party Started early when he fired home a crisp volley, while Itechton Matranga sealed it with a neatly-taken indirect free kick after the Sarzonian 'keeper, Wilcox collected a backpass from Jonas Thompson with his hands. Buathiang shaped up to pass left to Zaragoza, but instead knocked it right for the unmarked Matranga to smash it into the top of the net.

Junior Stars' subsitute Karen Belgrade was the one hope for a navy-clad crowd as she hit back late on in the game, but after a tense finish, Starblaydia emerged as the victors. Starblaydia will now be looking for revenge for the penalty-kicks defeat inflicted in the Final of U21WC13, but surely Starblaydia are the better team this time out?

Attack beats defense, Junior Vikings return to finals against current champs

Despite challenges and talks of the Hockey Canadians stopping and containing Bruce Chen and Arien Vogel, they still scored. And the defense was played by Fmjphoenix, primarily with the supreme goalkeeping of Franklin Cabrillo as the Junior Vikings convincingly defeated Hockey Canada 2-0 en route to their second finals appearence in 12 years.

The first half of the match saw lots of defensive plays. Neither squad could get past the others defensive formations and challenges for most of the half. Noone broke through until Hockey Canada's Mike Statzewski broke through and recieved a pass from Josh Noble that was over the head of Brady Wayne. Statzewski took a shot from just outside of the box that was on target, but it was kicked away by Cabrillo. That was the most exciting action of the first half. Fmjphoenix had the possesion the most at 61%, but only managed one shot to Hockey Canada's 2.

The second half saw the Junior Vikings explode fast in the fashion that they do. Bruce Chen scored the first goal when he and Vogel were in a two man wrecking crew. The ran from midfield to the box, passing back and forth and leaving players in their wake. Vogel attempted a shot, but it was deflected by Kyle Thomas right to Chen, who beat Thomas out to put Fmjphoenix up 1-0 at the 58th minute. Hockey Canada came back, with Mike Ko taking a penelty shot, but it was caught by Cabrillo. The Junior Vikings came back though, with a 6 headed monster combining Chen, Vogel, Dougood, Wayne, Trowa Notrab and Frigan Fracken all on the charge. All 6 players overwhelmed the Hockey Canada defnders, and after a little chaos, Vogel was alone in the box against Thomas. A fake left and a move right ended up with another goal on the board, and a 2-0 lead with only 10 minutes left in the match. Hockey Canada could not recover from the 2-0 deficit, managing to only take one shot in the final minutes of the match.

With the victory, Fmjphoenix has secured their third overall trip to the finals. This is a rematch for Starblaydia from Under 21 World Cup 13, when The Junior Vikings pulled out the victory in penelty shots. This will be an intense match and should be one for the record books. Which ever squad wins will win their second championship. Will the young Starblaydians repeat, or will Fmjphoenix return to the glory of championship gold.

Fmjphoenix: 2 - Hockey Canada: 0
Chen 58, Vogel 80 - None

Hejida (I won't say 'aloha'* because I fear you have bad breath),

You have no proof, but arrest and interrogate citizens despite that. Is that what you call human rights? We protest that the parents of Taki Sala are sent out of the country only due to unproven allegations. Taki Sala is alone in a foreign country, far away from home. It is not our fault if he returned to enlightenment.
I am sure that he changed his mind in the time in your immoral place and now wants to return to the Rejis as fast as possible.

Sa Ven,
Priest Sukadana


Spruitland Minister of External Affairs Hans Custers decided not to reply to Rejistania’s ludicrous claims about human rights infringements. He figured he had done enough to antagonize a country of three and a half billion people that was ruled by religious fanatics. Like any good politician, you had to know when it was time to wash your hands in innocence and let one of your colleagues take the blame.

So he informed Olav Nett that the first time the Spruitland football team would meet the Rejistania football team, the match would be the equivalent of a war, and defeat was not an option. Honor, freedom, and Olav Nett’s job as Minister of Sports would depend on it. Satisfied with how he handled that situation, Custers moved on to other, more important tasks, like clipping his toenails.

Addendum:
Spruitland doctors never did find out what caused Taki Sala’s obsessive defensive behavior. He would become a defender for the Fonstown Rovers and – despite Fonstown’s mediocre results in their first season in the First Division, due to a lack of a decent striker – would be named in Spruitland’s Team of the Season.

Some time later, Taki Sala would mysteriously be cured and return to the striker position, scoring many many goals in the Spruitland First Division. The link with a burglary in his house, some days before his recovery, would never be made.

Fanatic Fonstown Rovers supporters, robbing Taki’s house in search of sports memorabilia, would clean out his underwear drawer, steal his football shoes, and every electrical appliance in the house, including a peculiar looking orb-shaped device they found under the bed, which they installed in the dressing room of their local football club to provide mood lighting.

Not too long after that, Fonstown City would arise and promote to the First Division, in no small part thanks to their notorious defensive play. Derby matches between Fonstown City and the Fonstown Rovers would become legendary for years to come…

After a while, a letter reaches the Minister of Sport of Spruitland.


Hejida Sir or Madam,

We have read the comments of your organisation about Rejistania, Rejistanian soccer and giving 100% whenever the teams meet in your press. We want to give you a chance for a friendly match of our U21 sides. mainly because many of our reserves of reserves played in this cup (the ASR-HQ was under siege while our scheduled U21 team was there) and we want to give our talents a chance to show their class internationally. Since you are yearning to play us, we thought you were the best opponent. We will get a real match and you the chance to either get another unenployed minister or revenge. Since you might fear va'karela'ny in our stadium, which of course don't exist, we can even accept a neutral location as venue.

Yours sincerely,
Teke Daran, president of the ASR

To: Teke Daran, President ASR, Rejistania
From: Olav Nett, Minister of Sports, Spruitland

Greetings,

We find it highly amusing that you blame your poor results in the Under 21 World Cup on your civil war. Surely you can come up with a better excuse than that?
Naturally, we accept your challenge. We intend to utterly obliterate your defense. Our honor (and my job) depends on it – and I’m quite a likeable chap, so you can be assured that our players will be extremely motivated!

Naturally, we wouldn’t trust you as far as we could kick you, so we most definitely want this match to take place on neutral ground. We suggest that our Under 21 teams return to TnUI immediately and – jet lag be damned – have this “friendly” match parallel with the World Cup Final.

We’ll see you there.

Olav Nett

Hockey Canada down by loss to Fmjphoenix. Win in friendly over Jeruselem.

Mixed feelings were felt all over Hockey Canada today. Feeling bad about the loss to Fmjphoenix forced to play against Sarzonia in the consolation finals, it was overshadowed by the 1-0 win over Jeruselem today. The Hockey Canadians played a tough game against the Junior Vikings, but Chen and Vogel were too tough to contain as the Canucks lost 2-0.

The loss will have them facing 3rd-ranked Sarzonia, who lost 2-1 to 1st ranked Starblaydia yesterday. The winner of the consolation should recieve 3rd place, a place which will prove invaluable in the U21WC16. Both Mike Statzewski and Mike Ko should return to play.

In the game news, Hockey Canada and Fmjphoenix battled hard in the first half, mainly chances for the Junior Vikings. Statzewski broke free in the 36th minute from a pass from Josh Noble which skipped over Brady Wayne's head. The shot was a nice hard but Franklin Cabrillo managed to make the great save.

No goals were scored when a beautiful play by the Junior Vikings saw Vogel break behind the trap play and take a shot but Thomas managed to get a glove on it. The attempt was good, but a player of Bruce Chen's calibur wouldn't have missed the shot at all as he tapped it in behind Thomas. The lead was almost taken back when Mike Ko was tripped in the penalty in the 79th area to take a penalty shot. Cabrillo was hot and wouldn't let Ko equal the score as he caught the ball and booted it downfield.

Defenders swarmed the lone Vogel but broke alone on the 14 year-old keeper in the box and wouldn't be denied as he faked a shot and blasted a shot into the right corner to put it away for the Junior Vikings. The Hockey Canadians played valiently in the dying moments but couldn't break the shutout as they settled for the 2-0 loss.

After the game, Thomas went out to midfield to shake Chen, Vogel and Cabrillo's hand, hoping to see them in the next U21. A cheer from the crowd arose as they walked off the field. In other news, Hockey Canada beat Jeruselem in a friendly today after a game to get them ready for training for the next U21WC.

The game stayed in Hockey Canada's half most of the first half, the Canucks containing the Knights well. In the second half, Mike Ko made up for his miss in the Fmjphoenix game by scoring on a break from midfield. A fake shot was all he needed to bring the Jeruselem keeper down before kicking it over him.

We expect to return to the next world cup in 4th or 5th, whichever, it's a bonus for Hockey Canada who will rise 3 or 4 places.

To: Teke Daran, President ASR, Rejistania
From: Olav Nett, Minister of Sports, Spruitland

Greetings,

We find it highly amusing that you blame your poor results in the Under 21 World Cup on your civil war. Surely you can come up with a better excuse than that?
Naturally, we accept your challenge. We intend to utterly obliterate your defense. Our honor (and my job) depends on it – and I’m quite a likeable chap, so you can be assured that our players will be extremely motivated!

Naturally, we wouldn’t trust you as far as we could kick you, so we most definitely want this match to take place on neutral ground. We suggest that our Under 21 teams return to TnUI immediately and – jet lag be damned – have this “friendly” match parallel with the World Cup Final.

We’ll see you there.

Olav Nett


Hejida Nett'he,

In contrast to you, we are not that used to failing that we do not need 'excuses' or as we would say 'explanations'. The civil war did have many problems for us, especially lehiju'ny with their tactics against the most glorious tactic ever. The immorality of the lehiju'ny was emphasized by the fact that they did not care about how the U21 team does, or any team in the H1SR.
I do not see why this distrust and hate, do you still not realize that Taki Sala doesn't want to attack anymore? But okay, the ASR will organize the venue in TnUI.

Sincerely Yours,
Teke Daran

That other final: Evil vs. Good

Rejistania – Spruitland: 0 – 0

TnUI – The upcoming final between defending champions Starblaydia and fourth seeds Fmjphoenix at the 15th Under-21 World Cup is of very little interest to Spruitland supporters. The nation’s attention has been entirely focused on another face-off, as the Spruitland Bunnies returned to TnUI for a “friendly” match against the Rejistania Orange-Blues, to resolve an international conflict that had been building up for weeks.

“You can call them the Black-and-Blues once we’re done with them,” were Spruitland striker Dirk Jools’ words before the match. “We’ll teach these Karela pussies what football is all about.” Jools, regularly scolded for his overly rash statements to the press, for once had the whole team – coach Bensen included – in full agreement with him.

“This is more than a football match,” Bensen said. “This is a fight between Good and Evil, between Freedom and Oppression. Our honor is at stake here, and we would rather be neutered than lose this match.”

Luckily for Bensen and his Bunnies the chopping knives could remain sheathed, because they didn’t lose the match – though they didn’t win it either. After ninety minutes of gruesome battling, the match ended at a scoreless draw.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying from the Spruitlanders though. The Bunnies played their most offensive match ever, with the wingers spending more time near the opposition’s corner flags than near the middle line. Of course, with a Rejistanian side that barely left their own half, that wasn’t too much of a problem.

Breaking through that wall of Rejistanian limbs, however, did turn out to be a problem. Spruitland forwards and midfielders tried vigorously to find a hole, but the Rejistanians defended their area as if possessed by an evil spirit – which they probably were.

Midfielder Ziggy Wilander had the best chance of the first half with a shot from the 16 yard line that clipped the outside of the post, and Dirk Jools nearly managed to connect his foot to a deflected corner kick, but found his toes about a centimeter short.

The Spruitland defense had very little to do, though a sudden Rejistania counter attack nearly took them by surprise – luckily, goalkeeper Simon Briers did not let the Spruitlanders down and saved in style.

The second half saw more of the same, and then some. The unrelinquishing Spruitland attack only occasionally managed to create scoring opportunities, though the Rejistanian defense had to resort more and more often to questionable tackles and unquestionable fouls. Frustration grew, resulting in an increasing amount of yellow cards on both sides. By the time the match was over, the referee had earned his pay, totaling eleven bookings and one send-off.

The red card was for Spruitland forward Juri Kocarov – his second in three international matches – after kneeing a Rejistania defender in the groin. Kocarov claimed innocence, but the referee was relentless, and the after-match video images would prove him right. In the several minutes it took for the Rejistania defender to get back on his feet, Spruitland coach Cor Bensen was ordered off the field by the fourth official for “excessive protesting in a profane manner”. It was clear this was a confrontation where emotions ran high.

But all the passion in the world could not change the outcome, and the Rejistanians celebrated the 0 – 0 as if they had just won the World Cup. The Spruitlanders were less pleased with the result, but refused to droop their heads as they left the field.

“Obviously we’re not ecstatic about the result,” Spruitland team captain Nico Van Dyck said at the post-match press conference. “You have to score goals to win the game, and we failed to do that. But at least we tried. That’s more than you can say about those fu-- erm, about those darn Rejistanians. They crossed the middle line, like, what, twice?”

“It’s a disgrace!” was Coach Bensen’s comment, not referring to his team, but rather to the fourth official’s decision to send him off the field. “If you can’t take a bit of friendly criticism, you have no business in football. That bleep bleep bleep-ing bleep of a bleep should be bleep bleep bleeperdableep bleep bleep! And that’s all I have to say about that!”

Spruitland Minister of Sports Olav Nett, who watched the game from the VIP lounge in the company of a full squadron of security guards, announced that he was “not concerned about his job” but would “trust the people’s judgment”.

“We can be proud of our Bunnies,” he said. “We faced Evil, but showed no fear. We need bold warriors like that if the world is ever going to win the fight for Freedom.”

When asked if he didn’t consider the result a defeat, Nett replied “It’s no defeat. It’s no victory either, but definitely no defeat. I suppose we could call it – hmm, a draw, maybe?”

“If you really think about it, maybe this result is for the best,” Nett concluded. “If Rejistania would have lost the game, that might have led to a new civil war. We certainly wouldn’t want that on our conscience.”

Sarzonia forced to settle for third best

After a 2-1 loss to Starblaydia in the semifinals of the 15th Under 21 World Cup, Coach Valentin Kienzl promised changes, namely, a more defencive-oriented system in World Cup XVI. The team gave a sneak preview of that system with a 1-0 win over Hockey Canada to salvage third place in a tournament that left the team wondering what might have been.

"We beat Jeruselem for the first time and the Evil Empire [Rejistania] didn't even make it to knockouts, but we still can't beat Starblaydia," Kienzl groused. "Our defence has a lot of changing it has to do."

The team noted the media report of Spruitland's 0-0 draw with Rejistania with bemusement as it painted the friendly as a battle of good versus evil.

"Guess we're not the only ones who think of Rejistania as the Evil Empire," midfielder Jenna Raven said. "At least we finished ahead of them in this tournament."

Some rivalries never seem to go away, and the Junior Stars-Young Orange Blues rivalry seems to be one of those. Incorporated Football Federation Chairman Terry Mangione, the first-ever coach of the Under 21 national team, bristled at suggestions the team is "obsessed," with Rejistania.

"We've got better things to do than worry about their System Karela. System Karela, System Karela, that's all I hear. You watched this last Cup. It's System Abysmali."

Never mind that Sarzonia's senior national team conceded one goal in World Cup qualifying to beat out System Karela. Sarzonians are tired of hearing about it, midfielder Jarret Sanderson said.

"We've been looking for ways to beat it by using the attack," Sanderson said. "We need to start taking our matches one at a time and going from there. We still haven't won the World Cup and we need to do that."

That other final: Good vs. Evil

Rejistania - Spruitland: 0 - 0

The Young Orange-Blues did not concede against the forces of evil. It was a glorious (not-quite) victory.

Of course security was really high for this match since Spruitlanders have the irrational fear that va'karela'ny might improve their tactics. Every rejistanian fan was completely searched, even though Insanican security has no clue what a va'karela actually looks like. Among the confiscated things are flashlights, masks in Orange and Blue, pens, exedika'ny (rejistanian rhythm instruments), hats in hedgehog (rejistanian national animal) shape and a baguette sandwich.

The match was unbelievable exciting: The esthetic defense of Rejistania coped with all chances of the Spruitlanders without problems. The Spruitlandish 4-2-4 could not match a Rejistanian 6-3-1 (with defensive midfielders and wingers). Striker Syku Tak~ha had the only chance to score for Rejistania, but the Spuitlandish goalie Simon Briers could narrowly save. The few chances of Spruitland were no 100% chances, it is even questionable wether to call them chances at all.

In the second half, the match became less esthetic and more physical. Many rejistanians and spruitlanders were booked, but in a friendly, that means nothing.

After a well-earned 0:0, coach Kansu Lyku was satisfied: "We did not lose, we did not concede, you can not prove the superiority of Sistenha Karela more effectively."

u21 News

Kodiaks drop 3 straight, Satisfied with 8th Place finish

Considering it's the Kodiaks' third trip to the u21s, some had hoped for a tad more success.

Instead, the Kodiaks have to settle for 8th place with yet another overtime loss to Nedalia.

The Kodiaks are overall happy with their performance, which saw them beat #5 South Ossetia, #6 Rejistania and #10 Fimble looking peoples before close losses to #8 Hockey Canada and #10 Stumperia (twice) led them to their final match against the other #6 in the field. It was a tight 3-3 match throughout but the Kodiaks seemed to falter yet again in the extra time, giving up one goal after six minutes of play to give the Lions the victory and a 2-0-0 record on the Kodiaks.

The CFF has been very impressed with the team, and several players are expected (now that the new year has began and most have become a little old) to be very competitive for NSWC slots.

ummmmmmmm, BUMP

Deciders
Nedalia 1 Jeruselem 2 AET
Stumperia 3 Chicanada 2

Semi Finals
Starblaydia 2 Sarzonia 1
Fmjphoenix 2 Hockey Canada 0

Seventh Place Playoff
Nedalia 4 Chicanada 3 AET

Fifth Place Playoff
Jeruselem 2 Stumperia 1

Third Place Playoff
Sarzonia 1 Hockey Canada 0

Final
Starblaydia 1 Fmjphoenix 2 AET

Final Standings for next Cup
1 Starblaydia
1 Fmjphoenix
3 Jeruselem
4 Sarzonia
5 Hockey Canada
6 Nedalia
7 Chicanada
8 Rejistania
9 Vilita
10 Crystilakere
11 Hypocria
11 Spruitland
13 South Osettia
14 Gaian Ascendancy
15 Cockbill Street
16 Pacitalia
16 Oaker
18 East Lithuania
19 Fimble loving peoples
20 Kzuu Mai
21 Druida
22 Bedistan

Junior Vikings need extra time, but makes sure thats all there is with second Under 21 Championship

Time was running out in the match. The reigning champions Starblaydia are up 1-0. The Starblaydi squad drops back into a defensive formation looking for a final stop to end the match. But they were not prepared for a 10 man rush, as everyone but the keeper rushed forth in an effot to provide someone with a shot to keep them in it. Somehow, Bruce Chen was open in the box. After several stops, the ball gets knocked off of Brady Wayne's head over to Chen. With only time stoppage left, Chen shoots and scores!!! In a tough struggle, the Junior Vikings manage to stay alive in the hopes of stopping Starblaydia from repeating as Under 21 Champions. The match would go into extra time. Franklin Carbillo was challenged hard with many shots by the fierce Starbladyians, but he did not falter. In the end, it was Arien Vogel who carried the team with his lone goal of the match, and his 15th of U21WC15. When it went in, half of the stadium erupted in cheers for there was almost no time left for a Starbladyian comeback. The Starbladyia dream was deflect harmlessly towards Wayne and the match was over. It was a fierce match that would end in great fashion for one and bitterness for the other. For the second time it was the Junior Vikings from Fmjphoenix that put an end to Starblaydia's run. In the two times these teams have meet in the finals, the Junior Vikings have triumphed both times. Fmjphoenix will be looking to defend its championship again, and will do so with a Fmjphoenix 1st, a number one ranking, as they are tied with Starblaydia as the top Under 21 squad. U21WC16 will promise to be an extremly competitive matchup.

Hockey Canada sends gifts to champions and runners-up

In congradulations to both Fmjphoenix and Starblaydia achieving the the prestigeous #1 rank. It is positive that this will help them considerably in the U21WC16. The gifts sent to the Junior Vikings were wolfskin coats with "Junior Vikings" in green sewn on the back. Among the other gifts brought to Fmjphoenix were 100 gallons of Maple Syrup, a food Hockey Canadians take pride in making, an orca whale (very rare in Hockey Canada and only the prestigeous own), and 50,000 soccer balls for minor soccer in Fmjphoenix.

Starblaydia is going home with wolfskin jackets with "Rayzors" in purple sewn on the back. Not going home with just that, they're recieving endorsement contracts in Hockey Canada, where they can make individual or team appearances for a disclosed sum of money.

Winning the award for worse World Cup, with all the votes coming from people who weren't even here during World Cup 6 are Kingsford and Spaam.

Kingsford and Spaam representatives were here to accept this award, but it appears they have disappeared, so we will just post them the award.