Cup of Nations VI

[Michael McBride]

The teams in the Final 16 for Cup of Nations VI:
1. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/EPIflagsmall.png[/img] Empire of Pravus Ingruo
2. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallengland.png[/img] England
3. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallCommonwealthofAfrica.png[/img] Commonwealth of Africa
4. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallCeylon.png[/img] Corporate Republic of Ceylon
5. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallMarscurianSiberia.png[/img] Marscurian Siberia
6. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallVaule.png[/img] Serene Republic of Vaule
7. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallSlavorussianEmpire.png[/img] Slavorussian Empire
8. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallmonaco.png[/img] Principality of Monaco
9. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallAthens.png[/img] Athenian Federation
10. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallZargathia.png[/img] Zargathia
11. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallGermany.png[/img] Germanic Union
12. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallAustrianEmpire.png[/img] Austrian Empire
13. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallleRoyaumedelaLumire.png[/img] le Royaume de la Lumière
14. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallGrandPapua.png[/img] Grand Papua
15. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallSelenarctos.png[/img] People's Republic of Selenarctos
16. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallWestAfricanRepublic.png[/img] West African Republic

[b]Group A[/b]:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallengland.png[/img] England
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallCommonwealthofAfrica.png[/img] Commonwealth of Africa
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallZargathia.png[/img] Zargathia
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallSelenarctos.png[/img] People's Republic of Selenarctos

[b]Group B[/b]:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallAthens.png[/img] Athenian Federation
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/EPIflagsmall.png[/img] Empire of Pravus Ingruo
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallSlavorussianEmpire.png[/img] Slavorussian Empire
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallGrandPapua.png[/img] Grand Papua

[b]Group C[/b]:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallAustrianEmpire.png[/img] Austrian Empire
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallVaule.png[/img] Serene Republic of Vaule
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallmonaco.png[/img] Principality of Monaco
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallGermany.png[/img] Germanic Union

[b]Group D[/b]:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallCeylon.png[/img] Corporate Republic of Ceylon
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallleRoyaumedelaLumire.png[/img] le Royaume de la Lumière
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallMarscurianSiberia.png[/img] Marscurian Siberia
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallWestAfricanRepublic.png[/img] West African Republic

[b]Day 1[/b]
Zargathia v. Commonwealth of Africa 1-1 --- Estadio Riazor ( A Coruna )/ 45,000 seats
England v. People's Republic of Selenarctos 0-0 --- El Molinon (Gijon) / 42,000 seats
Empire of Pravus Ingruo v. [b]Athenian Federation[/b] 1-3 --- La Romareda ( Zaragoza ) / 50,000 Seats
Grand Papua v. Slavorussian Empire 0-0 --- Stade Louis II(Monaco) / 35,000 seats
Germanic Union v. [b]Principality of Monaco[/b] 0-1 --- La Romareda ( Zaragoza ) / 50,000 Seats
[b]Austrian Empire[/b] v. Serene Republic of Vaule 1-0 --- Stade Louis II(Monaco) / 35,000 seats
[b]le Royaume de la Lumière[/b] v. West African Republic 1-0 --- El Molinon (Gijon) / 42,000 seats
[b]Corporate Republic of Ceylon[/b] v. Marscurian Sibera 3-1 --- Estadio Riazor ( A Coruna )/ 45,000 seats

[b]Day 2[/b]
[b]England[/b] v. Zargathia 2-0 --- Estadio Riazor ( A Coruna )/ 45,000 seats
[b]Commonwealth of Africa[/b] v. People's Republic of Selenarctos 2-0 --- Stade Louis II(Monaco) / 35,000 seats
Grand Papua v. [b]Empire of Pravus Ingruo[/b] 0-1 --- Estadio Riazor ( A Coruna )/ 45,000 seats
[b]Athenian Federation[/b] v. Slavorussian Empire 3-1 --- Stade Louis II(Monaco) / 35,000 seats
[b]Austrian Empire[/b] v. Germanic Union 3-0 (forfeit) --- La Romareda ( Zaragoza ) / 50,000 Seats
Principality of Monaco v. [b]Serene Republic of Vaule[/b] 0-1 --- La Romareda ( Zaragoza ) / 50,000 Seats
Corporate Republic of Ceylon v. le Royaume de la Lumière 1-1 --- El Molinon (Gijon) / 42,000 seats
West African Republic v. [b]Marscurian Siberia[/b] 0-2 --- El Molinon (Gijon) / 42,000 seats

[b]Day 3[/b]
[b]Zargathia[/b] v. People's Republic of Selenarctos 2-0 --- Estadio Riazor ( A Coruna )/ 45,000 seats
Commonwealth of Africa v. [b]England[/b] 0-1 --- El Molinon (Gijon) / 42,000 seats
[b]Empire of Pravus Ingruo[/b] v. Slavorussian Empire 2-1--- Stade Louis II(Monaco) / 35,000 seats
[b]Athenian Federation[/b] v. Grand Papua 1-0 --- La Romareda ( Zaragoza ) / 50,000 Seats
Germanic Union v. [b]Serene Republic of Vaule[/b] 0-3 (forfeit) --- Stade Louis II(Monaco) / 35,000 seats
[b]Principality of Monaco[/b] v. Austrian Empire 2-1 --- La Romareda ( Zaragoza ) / 50,000 Seats
[b]le Royaume de la Lumière[/b] v. Marscurian Siberia 1-0 --- Estadio Riazor ( A Coruna )/ 45,000 seats
West African Republic v. [b]Corporate Republic of Ceylon[/b] 1-2 --- El Molinon (Gijon) / 42,000 seats

[b]Quarterfinals[/b]
Serene Republic of Vaule v. [b]England[/b] 0-3 --- Estadio El Sardienro ( Santander )/ 60,000 Seats
le Royaume de la Lumière v. [b]Athenian Federation[/b] 0-4 --- San Mames ( Bilbao) / 65,000 Seats
Commonwealth of Africa v. [b]Austrian Empire[/b] 0-1 --- Estadio El Sardienro ( Santander )/ 60,000 Seats
[b]Empire of Pravus Ingruo[/b] v. Corporate Republic of Ceylon 1-0 --- San Mames ( Bilbao) / 65,000 Seats

As the Quarterfinals have been concluded, the Semifinal matchups are as follows:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/CoN6S.png[/img]

Semi Finals:
Austrian Empire v. England --- Stade Velodrome ( Marseille ) / 80,000 Seats
Empire of Pravus Ingruo v. Athenian Federation --- Estadio Mestalla (Valencia) / 75,000 Seats

With great fanfare, the sixth Cup of Nations Tournament kicks off in Europe, this time heading to the Principality of Monaco. Due to a higher demand this year, an eight-team play-in tournament will be conducted. We had ten new nations sign up for this Cup of Nations, and it is from those ten that the play-in tournament will be conducted. By random drawing, the Austrian Empire and Commonwealth of Africa have automatically qualified for the final group of 16. The teams participating in the play-in tournament will be:

Group 1
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallleRoyaumedelaLumire.png[/img] le Royaume de la Lumière
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallGrandPapua.png[/img] Grand Papua
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallMoGCorp.png[/img] MoG[Corp]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallNewSpain.png[/img] New Spain

Group 2
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallSelenarctos.png[/img] People's Republic of Selenarctos
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallWestAfricanRepublic.png[/img] West African Republic
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallPeoplesRepublicofAfrica.png[/img] People's Republic of Africa
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/That_Bum/Flags/smallNewRepublicofIreland.png[/img] New Republic of Ireland

Here is the schedule for the play-in games:
[b]Day 1[/b]
le Royaume de la Lumière v. New Spain 1-1 --- Stade Mayol (Toulon) / 20,000 Seats
[b]Grand Papua[/b] v. MoG[Corp] 1-0 --- Stade du Ray (Nice) / 20,000 Seats
West African Republic v. People's Republic of Selenarctos 0-0 --- Stade Mayol (Toulon) / 20,000 Seats
New Republic of Ireland v. The People's Republic of Africa 1-1 --- Stade du Ray (Nice) / 20,000 Seats

[b]Day 2[/b]
Grand Papua v. [b]le Royaume de la Lumière[/b] 1-3 --- Stade du Ray (Nice) / 20,000 Seats
New Spain v. [b]MoG[Corp][/b] 0-2 --- Stade Mayol (Toulon) / 20,000 Seats
New Republic of Ireland v. [b]West African Republic[/b] 0-1 --- Stade du Ray (Nice) / 20,000 Seats
[b]People's Republic of Selenarctos[/b] v. The People's Republic of Africa 1-0 --- Stade Mayol (Toulon) / 20,000 Seats

[b]Day 3[/b]
[b]le Royaume de la Lumière[/b] v. MoG[Corp] 1-0 --- Stade Mayol (Toulon) / 20,000 Seats
New Spain v. [b]Grand Papua[/b] 1-2 --- Stade du Ray (Nice) / 20,000 Seats
West African Republic v. The People’s Republic of Africa 2-2 --- Stade Mayol (Toulon) / 20,000 Seats
[b]People's Republic of Selenarctos[/b] v. New Republic of Ireland 1-0 --- Stade du Ray (Nice) / 20,000 Seats

Edited August 13, 2011 by Pravus Ingruo

[Shan Revan]

The atmosphere was electric during the practice sessions - it had taken a lot of hard work but the team acted in perfect unison. Morale was high due to their great form and growing confidence.

The news finally came down..

The team coach and manager stood before the team, clearing his throat the couch began his speech.
"Our first opponent will be those dirty Spaniards, in Toulon. They are a very defensive team and will be a hard nut to crack, however just because they're heavy on defense doesn't mean we can ignore our own defence. There is a reason why we have a bunch of you in the backfield, to save our ass. Stay alert, stay focused and dominate.

Our second opponent are those new Papuans. They are a new team much like ourselves but have adopted a very generic and boring strategy. We don't know what to expect from them though and there is a reason that their layout is one of the most popular - it's effective. Be on guard, dominate and obliterate!

Our third and final opponent for the round will be Mogatopia. They are known to be quite aggressive, but not as much as ourselves.We must not let them get control of the ball. Once again if we can dominate we can win.

Gentlemen, we are new team, we a strong, confident and ready to win. I have every faith in you. however I want you to remember that we should expect setbacks. Anticipate them even. Be prepared to take advantage of them.

I believe you have offence well and truly taken care of, we have trained long on hard, and I know you are more than capable of penetrating the strongest defence, and shooting past the most vigilant goal keeper. It's time to brush us all up on a little bit of defensive play though. Every person on the team should understand and be capable of mounting part of a unified defence, just as much as every man should know their place in an effective offence.

Finally, the manager has some amazing news to share with us all"

After the coach steps aside, the team manager begins to speak up

"Thank you for your inspirational speech. As you said I have some good news. In honour of RdlL competing in its first international sporting event, the government has seen fit to purchase 5,000 seats at the stadium. You friends and family will be flying to watch you play and represent our nation on the world stage. The rest of the tickets are being raffled out to lucky fans within our nation.

So do your best out there, for your country, for your friends and for your family. When you step out onto the field to hear the roar of thousands of your countrymen, remember that we are here to support you, win or lose we are proud!

Now go out there and show those stinking Spaniards how to play football".

A roaring applause was generated by the team. Their spirits were higher than ever, their determination and will forged into the strongest steel. Their training was imbued into every filament of every muscle of every body. They were ready to be tested and come out best.

[iKrolm]

[b]Manila Sports Report:[/b]

"Though this is the first time Selenarctos has ventured the realm of international sports, we here at the studio are cautiously optimistic for the Selenarctan team. Futbol has a good sized following in Selenarctos, though nowhere near as large as some countries, and has a well developed program throughout the Philippine islands. The Selenarctan team was assembled from the best players Selenarctos has to offer, and they have been training together for months in preparation for the Cup.

"We estimate that many fans from Selenarctos have made the trip to see the games live, however given the distance to the host nation the turnout is likely to be small in comparison to other nations. We spoke with some of the fans who arrived earlier today, and I would have to rate the mood at ecstatic. The fans proclaimed that though the Selenarctos was unlikely to make it into the finals this year, they expected an excellent debut performance from the team.

"This was Sinesio Ornelas, reporting from the Principality of Monaco."

[Michael McBride]

[center][font="Palatino Linotype"][size="5"][u][b]Play-in Day 1 Results[/b][/u][/size][/font][/center]

le Royaume de la Lumière v. New Spain 1-1
Goals: NS: Kirkpatrick (1) 43’; RL: Hunt (1) 35’
Yellows: RL: Bond (1)

[b]Grand Papua[/b] v. MoG[Corp] 1-0
Goals: GP: Elizah (1) 32’
Clean Sheets: GP: Posman (1)
Injuries: MoG: Chan (1 match)

West African Republic v. People's Republic of Selenarctos 0-0
Yellows: WAR: Gratiane (1)
Clean Sheets: WAR: Straiange (1); PRS: Fierro (1)

New Republic of Ireland v. The People's Republic of Africa 1-1
Goals: NRI: M. Guinness (1) 75’; PRA: D’amaja (1) 44’

OOC: For those of you new to the Cup, unlike the past, you now RP what happened during the matches. I merely post the scores, who scored, yellows, injuries, etc. Everything else is up to you.

Edited July 10, 2011 by Pravus Ingruo

[Owned-You]

[center][font="Book Antiqua"][size="2"][img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TXZGnDS5dKs/SwtdZoZmfJI/AAAAAAAACEk/ajnSAK6swBQ/s1600/PP+256+hostile+natives.jpg[/img][/size][/font][/center]
[font="Book Antiqua"][size="4"]Castillos Inaugural Match[/size][/font]

A Draw was the result of the first match in the Play-In marks the first match the Castillos have ever played in with the current club set-up. While the Castillos did not pull out a victory against RdlL they did the next best thing by pulling a draw against arguably their most dangerous opponent who proved to be an antithesis to the Castillos very defensive play style. Les Vainqueurs play a very offensive play style in a 3-1-3-3 formation, the team played a high-pressure game against the Castillos which produced many nail biting moments for the Castillos defenders and eventually caused an early goal off a counter-attack in the 35' minute of the game that caused some early dread. Though in an uncharacteristic move for Nigel Kirkpatrick, a full-back on the right wing ended up taking a header from a corner kick giving them the goal to even the score in the 43' minute of play. After that however it became a drawn-out match where the Castillos defense produced some good plays by smothering the Vainqueurs offensive attack; but the Castillos offence simply couldn't produce any further results. There are some glaring concerns after this first match with the Castillos offence being somewhat ineffective in their play, while Eru Gomez holds their attack together for most of the time his supporting wings simply cannot produce offensively leading to Eru forcing some errant shots that would have many Spanish citizens scratching their heads. Manager & Head Coach of the Castilos Charles Figarone had this to say in a post-game interview.

"I'm very pleased with the performance, we played solid defense and kept this very dangerous Vainqueurs team from getting the better of us. While our offensive play wasn't the best by any means it sufficed giving us enough production off of set plays; we need to improve on our offensives and that goes without saying. However I think going into our next game against MoG[Corp] we should fair well enough. We held off the Vainqueurs to very little scoring for 90' solid minutes giving up a single goal in the early portion of the match off a counter-attack that had us caught off guard. We will make it a focus to not get caught off the back lines on counters and if we do this I feel we should be able to hold MoG[Corp] to limited goals. While our offensive game still hasn't shown up from Eru Gomez in practice this week we'll be focusing on getting the mid-field and forwards on page offensively as there was simply not enough communication or cooperation between them in this last match. We hope to give MoG[Corp] a solid match and should things play out in our favor pull out a win from this next match.

Looking at the tape from Tripoli Tigers against the Kapuls we have seen some real holes in their play-style which had some major problems penetrating the Kapuls defensive play-style which isn't as focused on defensive play as our own which leads me to believe our defense should be able to produce similar results in the next match. Should this be the case we need only get our offense on cue to produce some real results from our 4-2-3-1 formation to give us a victory."

[Amyante]

"We wish the nations competing in the play-ins good luck. May the best team win!"

Edited July 10, 2011 by Amyante

[Sargun II]

[center][font="Garamond"] [b][size="6"]The Irish Independent[/size][/b]

[img]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2008/05/29/RobbieKeaneEmpicsPATonyMarshall.jpg[/img]

[size="5"]HAVE A PINT! Capt. Guinness puts Ireland in control of their destiny
[/size]
[b]NICE, France[/b] - The Enbarrs took a big step in the direction of qualifying for the Cup of Nations VI by scoring an equalizer to tie the People's Republic of Africa Revolution. During the final game of the Play-in tournament's first day, the Enbarrs took control after a misstep that kept them from victory. The game began with a heavy Irish offensive, with the Guinness twins taking multiple shots at the Revolution's seemingly infallible keeper. After a half-hour of relentless shots with no luck, Manager [b]Antonello Riordan[/b] substituted [b]Amhlaoibh Duncanson[/b] with keeper [b]Braden Donne[/b]'s brother [b]Uinseann Donne[/b]. [b]Donne[/b] continued the attack but made a critical mistake when he was called for offsides on an illegal score 43 minutes in. Capitalizing on the mistake, the Revolution pressed forward and the demoralized Enbarrs allowed their first and only goal of the game when keeper [b]Donne[/b] let a perfect shot slip just over the tips of his fingers. The goal put the Revolution ahead heading into halftime.

At halftime, [b]Antonello[/b] gave a furious speech, daring "each and every one of you [i]redacted[/i] to put their best foot forward or we're out of here before we begin". His plan, the Independent has learned from a source, was to "lull those black [i]redacted[/i] into a sense of security for half an hour and strike like no tomorrow". It was later learned that defensive substitute [b]Suibne O'hara[/b] formulated a plan of attack for the 75 minute mark that required Captain [b]Mícheál Guinness[/b] to take control and lead a decisive charge right into the back of the net.

That plan, however, was altered dramatically when [b]Guinness[/b] was fouled inside the penalty box - curiously, the ref refused to issue a yellow card. The strange twist of fate notwithstanding, the rough contact was enough for a free kick and thus enough for a penalty kick. Captain [b]Guinness[/b] took a minute to line up the shot and then hammered it to the left with resounding force, equalising the score 1-1 with the Enbarrs now in control. The rest of the game ended without incident, although the Enbarrs came close to scoring with several more shots in extra time. The game ended, however, on a promising note with a 1-1 tie and the Enbarrs firmly in control of their own destiny. [/font][/center]

[Michael McBride]

[center][size="5"][font="Palatino Linotype"][u][b]Play-in Day 2 Results[/b][/u][/font][/size][/center]

Grand Papua v. [b]le Royaume de la Lumière[/b] 1-3
Goals: RL: Flavum (1) 13’, Hunt (3) 55’, 86’; GP: Moyap (1) 67’
Yellows: GP: Fred (1), Lepani (1), Tuhiana (1)

New Spain v. [b]MoG[Corp][/b] 0-2
Goals: MoG: Yamauchi (1) 26’, Fayiz (1) 31’
Yellows: NS: Swanson (1); MoG: El-Mofty (1)
Clean Sheets: MoG: Yamamoto (1)

New Republic of Ireland v. [b]West African Republic[/b] 0-1
Goals: WAR: Carent (1) 87’
Clean Sheets: WAR: Straiange (2)

[b]People's Republic of Selenarctos[/b] v. The People's Republic of Africa 1-0
Goals: PRS: Cavazos (1) 58’
Yellows: PRA: Miatoke (1); PRS: Romo (1)
Clean Sheets: PRS: Fierro (2)

Edited July 11, 2011 by Pravus Ingruo

[Axolotlia]

[font="Courier New"][size="5"][center]The People's Chronicles [/center][/size][/font]
[center][img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WgFK6hjVO8o/ThJnzK811LI/AAAAAAAAALI/A5YKxWq9A64/s320/SpartanGoalieUpset.jpg[/img][/center]
[center][size="4"][font="Courier New"]PRA Loss In Last Ten[/font][/size][/center]

[font="Courier New"]Toulon - After a brutally close game earlier today the PRA Revolution was defeated 1-0 by the Manila Osos of Selenarctos. With the game tied most of the give, despite many aggressive attempts by Ndale D'amaja, who has been the rising star for PRA, with his goal in the first game of the qualifiers, which brought the PRA to a 1-1 tie. Despite the best efforts of the aggressive offense, the defense was on the edge the entire game, which can be seen by the yellow card issued to Chijioke Miatoke 15 minutes into the 2nd half. While frustrated, the PRA defense maintained a fairly solid back-field until Boleslao Cavazos made a tremendous breakaway through the defense, managing to score in the last ten minutes of play. With less then 10 minutes remaining, the PRA Revolution was unable to come back, ending the game at a 0-1 loss. While none of the coaches wished to give any comments after the game, team captain and goal keeper Jaja Jarawa made this comment, "That was one hell of a shot by Fierro. I hate that it was against me, but I have to give him credit. As for the game as a whole, we tried our hardest, but they had a stonewall defense. We just have to pick it up for our next game against the West African Republic. We can go far, we just need to get past this next game." The PRA Revolution is set to play the West African Republic's Les Lions Indomptables. Make sure to tune in for the game, which will be broadcasted live from PRN.[/font]

[Mogar]

[center][size="4"]Tripoli Tigers Stun New Spain Castles[/size][/center]
[font="Times New Roman"]Toulon, Monaco - The MoG[Corp] Tripoli Tigers gave an upset to New Spain today, winning 2-0, Sajjad Yamauchi shocked the Castles goalie by managed to score in the first 4 minutes, leaving New Spain scrambling to try to score. The Tigers defense held up throughout the first half, the Castles seemingly unable to penetrate Souta Yamamoto's defense. The second half was a back and forth game until 15 minutes in, where Hameed Fayiz managed to score another goal, leaving the Castles in a hole they were unable to recover from. Shun El-Mofty was given a yellow card with ten minutes remaining for unsportsmanlike conduct, after swearing at a referee, he was pulled from the game by Coach Sankar Jerrard, and replaced for the final minutes.

After the game Jerrard said "Our guys really pulled through this match, our last match against Grand Papua was our first on the world stage, we got the jitters out, and now we're looking like we still have a shot at making it into the Cup, our next match against le Royaume de la Lumière will be challenging, they're on fire right now, but I am hopeful my boys will use this confidence boosters to pull through once again and get us into the Cup."

Captain Majid Watanabe, talked with MoG[News] after the game "We did great, I'm proud of this game, El-Mofty was the only blemish on the match, but He's going to work on controlling his intensity for the next game, none of the Tigers want to see another of pour players get penalized, but we're all very psyched to even be in the tournament in the first place, I'm positive he didn't intend to go as far as he did.

MoG[TV] will be televising the match tomorrow against Royaume de la Lumière from Toulon, tune in and support your corporation's team![/font]

Edited July 12, 2011 by Mogar

[Shan Revan]

Nice - RdlL had soundly crushed the Papuans and continued their fine form. Flavum chieving a goal within the first fifteen minutes and proving why he was captain. The second half became more intense with another goal for Les vainqueurs ten minutes in by Russel Hunt. The Papuans finally seemed to get their act together around an hour into the game culminating in a goal seven minutes later by Moyap. This would be their first and last however as dominance returned to Les vainqueurs. Hunt, who's aggressive play style earned him his spot on the team proved his worth again, scoring a third goal for Les vainqueurs in the final minutes of the game.



Finally, they would be up against Mog[Corp] tomorrow. Whilst the team's previous opponents had been very defensive, the Mogs were the first offensively minded team they would encounter. It was hoped that their much milder offensive doctrine would give way to the outright dominance that had served RdlL well so far.
Some speculated that it would result in a match with both teams achieving many goals.Time would tell but the confidence, skill and cooperation that had gotten them this far was only growing. Morale was high for the team and the nation was cheering them on with a fervour rarely seen.

[Sargun II]

[center] [font="Garamond"][size="6"][b]The Irish Independent[/b][/size]
[/font][font="Garamond"]

[img]http://static.givemefootball.com/gmf/files/f2/f2621c76-7751-42ea-8f9e-4558ca61383e.633567257480000000.jpg[/img]

[size="5"]Braden's blunder dooms Ireland in second game[/size]

[b]NICE, France[/b] - The Enbarrs dropped into a tie for third with the People's Republic of Africa with their loss to the West African Republic. The goal came 87 minutes into a very hotly contested game and was a result of keeper [b]Braden Donne[/b]'s completely shocking error. The WAR's [b]Carent[/b] made a long, almost effortless shot from about a third way from midfield; Donne, apparently thinking the high shot wouldn't make it in the goal, dropped his hands and started running to get another ball - but as he dropped his hands the ball sailed just under the crossbar and found its way to the back of the net. The Enbarrs, who had been forced to play very defensively over the course of the game, had hunkered down and used substitutions to put a more defensive-oriented play to end the game in the last 15 minutes. The shocking goal doomed the Enbarrs, who were unable to recover from the super late goal.

The Enbarrs must now defeat the People's Republic of Selenarctos to advance - a win puts them at 1-1-1, tied with Selenarctos but with a tiebreaker courtesy of a win. [/font][/center]

Edited July 15, 2011 by Sargun

[VigilantWatcher]

[size="3"][u][b]West African News[/b][/u][/size]


The West African Republic has gone wild with joy as their team continued to get good results in their first Cup of Nations. The nil-nil draw with the People's Republic of Selenarctos had been better than had been hoped seeing as the team had been nervous beforehand but had been willing to give a good performance. The unexpected one-nil win over the New Republic of Ireland had sent the country into joyous rapture with flags appearing in every neighbourhood and the sound of singing filling the streets. However they knew that this was only the preliminary round, with the Peoples Republic of Africa to meet next. The country was holding its breath, hoping their team can advance into the main tournament and face the biggest teams on the planet.

[Michael McBride]

[center][size="5"][font="Palatino Linotype"][u][b]Play-in Day 3 Results[/b][/u][/font][/size][/center]
[b]le Royaume de la Lumière[/b] v. MoG[Corp] 1-0
Goals: RL: Bond (1) 74’
Yellows: MoG: Fayiz (1); RL: Hunt (1)
Clean Sheets: RL: Greene (1)

New Spain v. [b]Grand Papua[/b] 1-2
Goals: NS: Carranza (1) 75’; GP: Davani (1) 54’, Komboi 68’
Yellows: NS: Chavez (1)
Reds: NS: Swanson (2 matches)

West African Republic v. The People’s Republic of Africa 2-2
Goals: WAR: Ndamne (1) 63’, Gdambe (1) 42’; PRA: D’amaja (2) 47’, Rakata (1) 86’
Yellows: PRA: Makema (1), Rakata (1)

[b]People's Republic of Selenarctos[/b] v. New Republic of Ireland 1-0
Goals: PRS: Almonte (1) 77’
Yellows: PRS: Vasquez (1)
Clean Sheets: PRS: Fierro (3)

le Royaume de la Lumière, Grand Papua, People's Republic of Selenarctos, and West African Republic advance to group stage. New Spain, MoG[Corp], The People's Republic of Africa, and New Republic of Ireland are eliminated.

[Michael McBride]

OOC: Schedule and group analysis will be posted tomorrow at the earliest.

[iKrolm]

[b]Manila Sports Report:[/b]

"After a 0-0 tie against the West African Republic and a 1-0 victory versus the The People's Republic of Africa, the Manila Bears once again pulled together to defeat the New Republic of Ireland in a 1-0 victory and qualify for the final 16. An early goal by Cripín Almonte from 23 meters put Selenarctos in the lead and the Selenarctan defense held strong the Irish team's offense. A spectacular effort by keeper Quint Fierro ended the third straight game without single point scored on him, leaving Selenarctos as the only team in the play-in no goals scored against it.

"The final 16 schedule is expected tomorrow, and we'll be right here with our continued coverage of the Cup of Nations VI, reporting everyone to you as soon as it happens. From the Principality of Monaco, this has been Sinesio Ornelas."

[Michael McBride]

[size="4"][font="Garamond"][u][b]The Crimson Roar[/b][/u][/font][/size]
[i]Your Source for All Things Pravus Ingruo Football[/i]
AFIS Correspondent: Matt Irwin

Ah yes, it's that most wonderful time of the year. The time when, once again, the Crimson Lions head out into the harsh, cruel world to reclaim what is rightfully theirs: The Cup of Nations. But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. There's another group to look at first.

[b]Group A[/b]
A delightful assortment greets us with Group A. Headlining the group is last tournament's champion and current world number four, [b]Zargathia[/b]. The defending champs were the surprise of the last tournament, and are out to prove their success wasn't a flop. Their biggest challenge will come from [b]England[/b], currently number nine in the world. Still, I'm picking a dark horse to make the Quarterfinals from this group. I predict the [b]Commonwealth of Africa[/b], currently ranked 20th, will triumph over England is their Day 3 matchup in Gijon, and advance. Expect Zargathia to win the group, England to finish 3rd, and the [b]People's Republic of Selenarctos[/b] to finish dead last.

[b]Group B[/b]
Oh good, I can actually talk about what I wish to talk about now. The [b]Empire of Pravus Ingruo[/b], and current world number one, headline this group, but will face a relatively stiff challenge. The [b]Athenian Federation[/b], currently number five in the world, is also in the group, and is bound to get a lot of support from the fans in Monaco, being a regional neighbor and all. Those two teams are the obvious favorites, and their Day 1 matchup should be an absolute spectacle of amazing football to watch. AFIS recognized this as well, placing it in the biggest stadium for the group stage, in Zaragoza. Whoever wins that match, wins the group. Book it. A challenge to these two behemoths could come in the form of [b]Grand Papua[/b], who played exceptionally well in the play-ins. I don't expect any upsets, just some hard fought matches, but you never know on the international level. The [b]Slavorussian Empire[/b] will, once again, be left behind sadly in the dust.

[b]Group C[/b]
It would be tough to overshadow excitement for the hosts in a group, but somehow it's managed to happen. Though the [b]Principality of Monaco[/b] is being talked about incessantly in their home nation, as well they should being 12th in the world, the buzz has been all about the Day 2 matchup between the [b]Austrian Empire[/b] and the [b]Germanic Union[/b]. We've had regional rivalries before (see: Republic of Tahoe v. United States of America), but never two neighbors at war with each other meet on the pitch. AFIS recognized this as well, placing the Austria/Germany match in the largest stadium for the group stages on Day 2. By far the weakest group, with Monaco ranked 12th, the [b]Serene Republic of Vaule[/b] ranked 13th, the Germanic Union 19th and the Austrian Empire 27th, it's pretty safe money that the hosts will advance. However, don't count out the Austrian Empire. Their players will be playing on emotion more than skill, but sometimes that can make even the most inexperienced team better than they really are. If they pull an upset over Vaule on Day 1, I expect them to win the match against Germany and cruise into the Quarterfinals. Their run will probably end there, but it should be an uplifting story for a war torn nation.

[b]Group D[/b]
Easily the toughest group in the entire tournament, Group D earns the rather un-coveted "Group of Death" moniker. With number two [b]Marscurian Siberia[/b] and number three [b]Corporate Republic of Ceylon[/b] both occupying the group, it seems like death for the [b]West African Republic[/b] and [b]le Royaume de la Lumière[/b]. However, I wouldn't count out one of those two teams trying to steal a spot from the powerhouses, especially RdlL. The Day 1 matchup between Ceylon and Siberia should prove to be simply spectacular, but the loser will be in real trouble. Still, I don't see a dark horse coming out of this group... the top two teams are simply too good to fail.

[b]Quarterfinal Predictions[/b]
Zargathia v. Austrian Empire
Principality of Monaco v. Commonwealth of Africa
Empire of Pravus Ingruo v. Marscurian Siberia
Corporate Republic of Ceylon v. Athenian Federation

Zargathia, unfortunately, will end the Austrian Empire's dream run into the Quarterfinals, destroying the dreams of a nation for a "Miracle on Grass", but the Austrian players will have already lifted the hearts and spirits of their embattled countrymen. The hosts, in a shocker, will be upset by the Commonwealth of Africa, sending the 20th ranked team in the world to the semi-finals. The Empire of Pravus Ingruo will avenge a Quarterfinal defeat in the last Cup of Nations tournament and handle Marscurian Siberia in their matchup, and the Corporate Republic of Ceylon will advance over the Athenian Federation.

[b]Semifinal Predictions[/b]
Zargathia v. Commonwealth of Africa
Empire of Pravus Ingruo v. Corporate Republic of Ceylon

Zargathia will end another dream run, putting down the Commonwealth of Africa to restore order to the football universe and make their second consecutive finals. And the Corporate Republic of Ceylon will send the Empire of Pravus Ingruo packing once again, and quite possibly end the Crimson Lions' run as the number one team in the world.

[b]Finals Predictions[/b]
Zargathia v. Corporate Republic of Ceylon

Zargathia will be attempting back to back championships, something not seen since the Republic of York (now the Empire of Pravus Ingruo) did it in Cup of Nations II and III. However, they will be stopped short in their quest by the Corporate Republic of Ceylon, continuing the keep the Cup on Asian soil and adding a new name to the trophy.

OOC: All predictions done before any game is simmed out. Nothing should be taken from these except these are what I think will happen based on team rankings and personal biases. Toodles.

[Markus Wilding]

[b]Commonwealth National News - Excerpt from Sports Section[/b]

...the Commonwealth soccer team, the Commonwealth Cannons, will face their first match against the world-renowned Zargathia team. Experts within the Commonwealth predict a victory, if only slight, against the Zargathian team, and many others predict a loss. Players predict a win as well.

[Lynneth]

[size="6"][u][b]Ceylon National[/b][/u][/size]
[i]From the Cup of Nations VI in the Principality of Monaco[/i]

The Republic stands ready to compete in the sixth Cup of Nations, its first since the devastating terror attack which resulted in a change of government.

But, away with politics for the time being. Let's look at Group D, in which the Republic stands against Marscurian Siberia on the very first day. Both teams are expected to give their very best, but the winner is unclear. Taking previous cups into account, Ceylon might be seen as the better team, but we wouldn't be surprised if the match ends in a draw or even loss for us. Siberia's got some tricks up their sleeve, and they're not going to hesitate using those if it becomes necessary, especially in such a match between football giants. We expect it to be nothing less than spectacular, regardless of the outcome. Anything less would be a great disappointment.

On the second day, we go against le Royaume de la Lumière, a newly established nation, and our close neighbours. But despite the friendship, it'll be a hard match for them, having relatively little experience in international football. Picard's very offensive strategies might offset some of Ceylon's strength and attempt to take advantage of Ceylon's slightly lacking defense, but even then the end result will most likely not favour our neighbour. This will be a win for Ceylon.

On day three, it's against the West African Republic, a team estimated to be similar in general strength as the RdlL, but from Africa. While there have been strong football nations on the continent - just look at Transvaal, one of the best there ever was - they haven't performed as well in previous cups, unfortunately. In addition, the West African players are far away from Southeast Asia, likely knowing relatively little about Ceylon's playstyle - though this applies vice versa as well, our boys are excellent at adapting to unknown strategies with relative ease. This may be the WAR's undoing in the end, and leave us as victors - thus likely in first place of the group. Just how hard we'll win against Lumiére and West Africa remains to be seen. But it's likely that we will win.

We're not going to speculate further than that for the moment. Let's prepare for the first match day.

[Kaiser Martens]

Due to the trouble in the homeland, few Germanic Union supporters were able to show up for the matches. This mirrors Germanic Union's position in the world, isolated, and the players have got to try and make the best of their chances to try to give their country hope. Some have reportedly lost family members and friends in the war, and for a moment it was considered simply going home, yet in the end the fighting spirit prevailed, and it was decided that they would remain no matter what, and do their best.

[Sir Keshav IV]

[quote name='Kaiser Martens' timestamp='1312334162' post='2770576']
Due to the trouble in the homeland, few Germanic Union supporters were able to show up for the matches. This mirrors Germanic Union's position in the world, isolated, and the players have got to try and make the best of their chances to try to give their country hope. Some have reportedly lost family members and friends in the war, and for a moment it was considered simply going home, yet in the end the fighting spirit prevailed, and it was decided that they would remain no matter what, and do their best.
[/quote]

The Principality of Monaco wishes the Germanic Union luck for their match.

[Kaiser Martens]

"We are honored to have an opponent that knows the meaning of Sportsmanship."

[Michael McBride]

[center][font="Palatino Linotype"][size="5"][u][b]Day 1 Results[/b][/u][/size][/font][/center]
Zargathia v. Commonwealth of Africa 1-1
Goals: CoA: Chiemenam 55’ (1); Z: Xiao 34’ (1)
Yellows: CoA: Auger (1)

England v. People's Republic of Selenarctos 0-0
Cleans Sheets: PRS: Fierro (1), E: Henshaw (1)

Empire of Pravus Ingruo v. [b]Athenian Federation[/b] 1-3
Goals: AF: Xenos 13’, 44’ (2), Tocci 88’ (1); EPI: McDonald 63’ (1)
Yellows: AF: Idraulico (1); EPI: Bramwell (1)

Grand Papua v. Slavorussian Empire 0-0
Yellows: SE: Boricov (1); GP: Fred (1)
Clean Sheets: SE: Anisim (1); GP: Posman (1)

Germanic Union v. [b]Principality of Monaco[/b] 0-1
Goals: PoM: Vela 76’ (1) (penalty)
Yellows: PoM: Louis-David (1), Vela (1)
Reds: GU: de Vries (2 match suspension)
Clean Sheets: PoM: Rousseau III (1)

[b]Austrian Empire[/b] v. Serene Republic of Vaule 1-0
Goals: AE: Vince 32’ (1)
Yellows: AE: Feierabend (1)
Clean Sheets: AE: Mateta (1)

[b]le Royaume de la Lumière[/b] v. West African Republic 1-0
Goals: RdL: Hunt 57’ (1)
Yellows: WAR: Ktoga (1)
Clean Sheets: RdL: Greene (1)

[b]Corporate Republic of Ceylon[/b] v. Marscurian Sibera 3-1
Goals: MS: Weiss 7’ (1); CRC: Kroos 11’, 75’ (2), Thuwan 49’ (1)
Yellows: MS: Aaronivich (1); CRC: Mishu (1)

[Centurius]

[center][color="#FF0000"][size="5"]Surprising Win for Ethniki[/size][/color][/center]

[b]Zaragoza -[/b] While every analyst had expected the Athenians to reach the quarter finals it came as a surprise when Ethniki today defeated the Empire of Pravus Ingruo with an effective 3-1.

Starting strong with the support of both Athenians who had come from the Athenian territories nearby and Monegasque supporters Xenos managed to make the first goal in the 13th minute. The Empire while very effective in its game was unable to prevent a second goal by Xenos in the 44th minute just as the first half ended.

When the second half started Ethniki was too confident making several mistakes, combined with a decisive game by the Empire the latter managed to get a ball through the defense and score a goal in the 63rd minute. Brought back to reality Ethniki went back to its original game and went into the defensive to retain their advantage. The game would be finished with another goal by Tocci in the 88th minute.

Throughout the streets of Zaragoza and indeed the Athenian Federation itself crowds have begun partying. For one night Ethniki can do nothing wrong. It has been rumored that this win was a much needed one for Santos after his failure in the last Cup. It was expected the HFA would not extend his contract if he didn't finish the group stage this time.

[Lynneth]

[size="6"][u][b]Ceylon National[/b][/u][/size]
[i]From the Cup of Nations VI in the Principality of Monaco, Day One[/i]

[b]Corporate Republic of Ceylon[/b] v. Marscurian Sibera [b]3-1[/b]
[b]Goals:[/b] MS: Weiss 7’ (1); CRC: Kroos 11’, 75’ (2), Thuwan 49’ (1)
[b]Yellows:[/b] MS: Aaronivich (1); CRC: Mishu (1)

In what many consider a great surprise, the match between the Corporate Republic and Marscuria ended up being far more one-sided than expected.
Despite the early goal of Sibera in the seventh minute, the Yellows used their offensive style to break through the Tigers' defenses a mere four minutes later, with Kroos evening the score.

The second goal would have to wait until the second half had barely begun, with Thuwan scoring the 2-1 in minute 49. From then on, the game continued as a struggle, neither team able to keep the ball long enough in their possession to score - the Tigers unable to bring a 2-2, the Yellows failing to widen the gap.
That is, until the 75th minute, when Kroos got a magnificent flank from Silva, turning it into a clear lead of three against one for Ceylon. This seemed to break the spirit of the Tigers, and they barely attempted further attacks despite possessing the ball for almost 70% of the time during those last 15 minutes.

A great surprise, but one that Ceylon is celebrating.