The Underlying Lands Network

[Clarke]

The Underlying Lands Network is a new service for the citizens of The Underlying Lands supplying them with the information relevant to the nation.

The network is also available in foreign nations. 

 

Status of Network: Operational

[Clarke]

Match of the Day FOFA World Cup II: Day 5

Emily Thorne: Hi I’m Emily Thorne and Welcome to the first show on Orbis which analyses everything related to football. Joining me today to discuss the current world cup events from left to right is Dorner, Tris, Korra and Aela.

 

Emily Thorne: This is the first world cup for The Underlying Lands which is currently ranked 2nd in the world. Without being too bias since I am from The Underlying and also play on the team we will avoid glorifying The Underlying Lands too much.

 

Emily Thorne: To begin I would like to talk about the favourite teams poised to win the world cup. Going into the world cup there was only about 10 teams who had a chance to win however that number is probably smaller.

 

Dorner: Quite, in the end all it comes down to is how a team performs in the weeks leading up to the world cup. Anyone in the top 8 teams has a decent shot at winning and being in the top 3 doesn’t guarantee winning the world cup.

 

Aela: Resvernas, The Underlying Lands, Lantean, Dacia, Rage, MWK's Zlatan FC, Dutch, Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace are all those teams who have a fighting chance with cut off mark being 2000 score. I don’t think anyone below or around 2000 score has much of an opportunity to progress far into this world cup.

 

Tris: Yeah it’s unfortunate really, I think the biggest problem for most of these low ranked nations is that they don’t know how to build a successful team, which should be blamed on the management and infrastructure available for the team.

 

Korra: It will be interesting to see how the ratings during the world cup affect teams as well, if a top team was to say lose to a lower ranked team in the final matches of the group stages then their chances to win the world cup will be lowered by a margin that could play a role in the knockout-stage.

 

Emily Thorne: Dacia is an example of what you describe, they lost an important match against a significantly weaker team and lost that vital strength that could have aided them in the knockout stage. Really any top 8 team that lost or loses a match will be disappointed and that is something lacking overall in this world cup, there is barely a group of death.

 

Aela: I can agree but we do have group C, it has the rank #3, #10, #13 and #15 nations which is the closest thing to a group of death we will get. But it seems the hot favourites in that group Lantean will progress into the knockout stage anyway since they already faced the toughest teams having 1 won and lost 1 leaving them with a clear path to finishing in 1st or 2nd of the group.

 

Dorner: I wouldn’t be so quick to count off Terpistan, Lantean is clearly struggling for victories and could very easily fall victim to a major upset.

 

Aela: Group D saw Dacia stumble on Day 1 however it looks like Dacia will progress as well which will make it so all the top 8 ranked teams will progress into the knockout stage which isn’t surprising.

 

Korra: Don’t fully agree with that stance since the underdog always has a chance no matter how small and the underdog always wins eventually. This could be the time.

 

Emily Thorne: Yes the knockout stage is probably when we will have to wait to see a result hurt one of those teams who have a good shot to win. Europa is one team that has a good chance to cause an upset.

 

Tris: It seems like the most unpredictable thing about the group stages is who will finish second behind the favourites to win. Rekishstein Dragons (Group A), Cothroime (Group b], Senland (Group E) and Europa (Group F) already ensured their places in the knockout stage and they will want to finish 1st in their respective groups to avoid facing a top 8 ranked team who would surely trash them and send them home.

 

Dorner: I’m not sure if it is how things were likely to play out but Group A, B and F have being the easiest groups for the top 2 teams, in those groups with both teams finishing with the full 6 points before they go head to head against each other.

 

Tris: I think that is the best part of those groups, if one of those teams lose tomorrow they will not be happy at all with the result and it could just cost them the world cup.

 

Emily Thorne: Last thoughts, best team of the tournament so far?

 

Korra: Dutch

 

Dorner: Norma Jean's FC Arrgh even though they have no chance of winning

 

Tris: I’m just going with The Underlying Lands

 

Aela: Same as Tris, fancy score lines and underdog wins aren’t all that matter. The best team is one that holds a certain degree of elegance which I think The Underlying shows best, especially considering how new the team fielded is to the sport. It is something to be admired considering how little time there was for The Underlying to get themselves up to form to be able to compete.

 

Emily Thorne: And with that I think that is all we got time for, join us next time on the show when we will be talking about the team with best chance to win which will air shortly after the result of the first round of the knockout stage. If the Underlying Lands still remains in the world cup we will explore their current line-up and what makes them so successful.

 

Edited July 11, 2015 by Clarke

[Dwemyrn]

I like the photoshop work.

[Saruman]

Cool, nice pics and word changes lol. 

[Clarke]

Match of the Day FOFA World Cup II: Last 16

 

 

Natalie Dormer: Welcome to match of the day, I’m your host Natalie Dormer and I will guide you through the matches over past days along with the help of my guests in the studio today. You may have noticed Emily Thorne and Korra are no longer present due to commitments to the national team of The Underlying Lands. From left to right is Selena, Tris, Arterton and Aela.

 

Natalie Dormer: The Tournament just entered the quarter finals today after a thrilling last 16 round with some major upsets across the board, setting up the remaining fixtures to be more intense and ultimate champion of this world cup to be less predictable. To kick off however we will start with the last matches of the group stage. 

 

Natalie Dormer: First up is group A, Rekishstein Dragons and Resvernas were 2 teams battling for the 1st position and only one was going to come out on top in this all deciding match for the group, a lost for either side would mean a tough battle ahead and in the end quality and investment payoff with the Resvernas.

 

Tris: Yeah Rekishstein Dragons got trashed by the host nation 12 – 0, they never stood a chance. They won two easy matches against lower ranked teams but that is about as good as the tournament will be for them.

 

Selena: Yeah it was a sure win for Resvernas, one doesn’t just beat the best team in the world atm with medicore players. The best they had to hope for was luck but luck is rare in these games and doesn’t come in large doses. Needless to say they didn’t have any for this match. 

 

Selena: The story is much the same for Groups B, E and F which all had the highest ranked teams in those groups go through to the groups.

 

Aela: The final match in Group B was supposedly tight but I don’t think The Underlying Lands were ever going to settle for anything less than a win, every time they conceded a goal they just stepped the game up and scored another. Cothroime were never going to hold a lead over a hungry team like TUL.

 

Arterton: But it is showing warning sides for the TUL side, they weren’t playing at a world class level and they will be punished in the knockout stages if they play this type of football against an elite opponent. Cothroime is not elite and is one least favourites to win the world cup.

 

Natalie Dormer: I can agree on that TUL needs to step up their game if they want any hope of lifting this trophy, there is much tougher challenges ahead in the next 4 matches.

 

Tris: I’m not surprised by the results in any of the mentioned groups so far, I’m not sure it is worth our time to talk about groups E and F as they’re just more of the same results, Rage #7 and MWK's Zlatan FC #5 go through easy enough without any defeats. Europa and Senland go through in second with decent wins but they didn’t have to the quality to beat the highest ranked team in their group. 

 

Selena: Yeah it’s being a run of the mill generally for groups A, B, E and F.  But E and F had good possibilities for upsets and diversity but in the end quality became the only factor in who finished the groups in 1st and 2nd.  By no means am I complaining, higher ranked team’s means a more competitive knockout stage with nail biting matches being played every day. 

 

Arterton: That is what we can agree on, a low quality team getting through just means someone in the knockout stages will have a much easier time progressing through to the final by beating them. And all the bottom tier of teams present have being knocked out in the groups already so there is no chance of someone having an easy knockout match. 

 

Natalie Dormer: Any further thoughts?

 

Aela: The favourites will win most of the time and that is what happened which as Selena says is mostly a good thing for competition. 

 

Natalie Dormer: Ok so groups G and H. Group G had Dutch finish with the full 9 points and Nassckonia United Soccer go through on goal difference since every team in the group won at least one match. 

 

Selena: I’m not sure how Nassckonia United Soccer (NUS) managed it, I guess their defence didn’t such as much as the others. 

 

Aela: I actually find it humorous, everyone wins something and in the end because of that the worst team imaginably gets through. Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace who will face them in the last 16 has truly gotten it easy.

 

Selena: Dutch managed to finish 1st blowing all opposition away which was quite impressive, they may just make this the highest scoring world cup from now until the end of time with their performance. In some matches you could swear the other team’s goalkeeper was on toilet breaks, we can only assume his stomach wasn’t feeling well. 

 

Tris: Dutch are the hot favourite’s performance wise so far then, they’re destined to face TUL in the quarter finals which will be the first testament to other team if they win their last 16 match. 

 

Arterton: I’m slightly worried for TUL, Dutch are not a team to be messed with at all as they have proven so far against reasonable ok opponents compared some of the other groups which had even weaker teams in them and less overkill results like the Dutch had. 

 

Natalie Dormer: Group H had some quality in the top 3 teams as well and ultimately ended with all 3 teams on 6 points and goal difference being a deciding factor on who goes through which favoured Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace #8 and Austria-Hungary #11 over Imperial Russian FC #13. 

 

Aela: Yeah a very close round of games and it was really anyone’s call with this group but in the end luck went the right way for Austria-Hungary who scrapped their way into the knockout stage in 2nd position. Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace naturally being a more defined team ended on top with goal difference which is all down to a good defence through the groups and a strong attacking force. 

 

Selena: Groups G and H certainly had the potential for upsets, surprisingly it was more sure win groups that were the actual challenge for those top 8 teams looking to progress into the knockout stage. 

 

Natalie Dormer: Moving onto group C we have Lantean and Evenstar Broadswords going through with 6 points apiece and yet again the goal difference deciding the top spot of the highest ranked team.

 

Selena: It’s safe to say 9 times out of 10 the highest ranked team in a group will win on goal difference in the tie breakers which shouldn’t be surprising since they have more quality throughout and stumble a bit but never completely lose their footing. Group C was no doubt was of the toughest groups on paper like group H.

 

Arterton: Evenstar Broadswords has being a miracle story so far going into this world cup, they conquered higher rated teams and boy did they do it in style. I’m going as bold to say that they could make it to the semi-finals if they keep this up, with each victory their morale rises and so does their competiveness to push further which will definitely help them. 

 

Tris: That is quite a stretch but nah I think the quarter finals at this point is as good as it will get for them. I’m not sure if it was already said but luck doesn’t last forever and neither does performance. Both run out eventually and I don’t think Evenstar Broadswords will be the underdog success story. I thinking we’re ignoring Lantean here, #3 team they have a good shot to win the world cup on paper but their performances so far have being shabby so they will have to turn up the gear for the knockout stage.

 

Aela: Yeah it wouldn’t surprise me to see a top team with shaky beginnings in the groups go on to perform solidly and win every match from here on out. The question remains though if they can actually pull it off when they meet the stronger team who will test them thoroughly. 

Selena: Luck runs out but it also comes back, perhaps Lantean will get their share of it but I have my doubts. 

 

Natalie Dormer: Reviewing all the teams that were knocked out so far in the groups discussed, any thoughts on them?

 

Selena: Not much, the only real shocker was Liber Freedom Eagles but even then it was always up for grabs in that group and it’s not like they had high odds to go far into this tournament anyway. 

 

Tris: Desolum is one alliance we should take note of, they were co-hosts but couldn’t grab the 2 wins required of them to qualify for the groups. They can however go home proud with their performance and I have no doubt that they will become a major power in the footballing arena in the future. 

 

Arterton: Yeah they’re at the fringe now, from here on out it should be clear sailing to the top elite alliances for them if they keep it up. 

 

Natalie Dormer: And finally that leaves group D, Norma Jean's FC Arrgh! 1st, Phintopia 2nd and Dacia 3rd. Dacia #4, gone and dead in the water, they leave completely empty handed with nothing to be proud of except not failing to also lose against TUGTopia.

 

Selena: What can we say Norma Jean's FC Arrgh and Phintopia were barely serious opponents prior to their match with Dacia but somehow Dacia managed to lose to both ending their world cup run. Those teams received a huge morale boost from that victory which will benefit for some time to come. There’s nothing else really to say, just complete failure for Dacia.

 

Tris: It always happens that one team fails when they had real hopes to win the entire competition, lady luck attended the matches, and she just wasn’t there to support Dacia. 

 

Natalie Dormer: Is there anything Dacia can take away from their defeat and being knocked out in the groups?

 

Selena: I’ll be blunt Dacia hasn’t invested a penny into their national team to improve it, if there is heads to role it is of the upper management for not getting support from their nation to improve the team and the facilities players have access to. The youth of Dacia have no hope of competing with such a terribly run national team. 

 

Arterton: Yeah there will be no tears shed over their exit. 

 

 

 

Natalie Dormer: And that brings us up to date with the last 16 round, 8 matches in total were played which means that only 8 teams would go through to the quarter finals. We’re going to discuss each match starting with Resvernas vs Cothroime. 

 

Selena: Shocking match, unbelievable result and general anarchy ensured from this match. This was the upset of the tournament and the only upset that matters that happened or will come since nothing can beat the hot favourite from beat knocked out by a medicore team.

 

Aela: This was the team to beat and they went out without scoring a single goal against a team who is lucky to be even still playing, Resvernas must be hanging their heads in shame, unfortunately they can’t go home and forget about their performance that led to their knockout. The world cup is being held in their nation so they must endure the torture even more painfully. 

 

Tris: This result leaves with both hosts of the world cup being knocked out early on, needless to say home advantage is not. 

 

Selena: The only war I can use to describe Resvernas is shame, but it could have being worse if they had of conceded more goals. With just conceding one goal they don’t have to spend too longer recovering from their defeat.

 

Arterton: Resvernas will recover and there is always the next world cup and the next after that, this was their best opportunity in my opinion for them to win it. They will always have the highest chance at winning though, they just need to perform which they did not do here. 

 

Natalie Dormer: Evenstar Broadswords 2, Phintopia 1, thoughts on the match?

 

Selena: There’s not much to say, two ok teams battling each other one wins and the other loses, the only noteworthy thing is it builds on the success of Evenstar Broadswords who came from small beginnings to win their last 16 round match with the same strong performances they did in the group stages to get their hard earned victories.

 

Arterton: Evenstar Broadswords have great potential to go far in this tournament and will be the team that all football fans can support to win, they have an uphill battle but nothing worth winning is ever easy and greatest success stories are those hardest earned. 

 

Natalie Dormer: We’re running out of time now so we will try to hurry up on these next results. Rage: 1 Europa: 2, Dutch: 10 Austria-Hungary: 0. one favourite going through and one favourite going out, that seems to be the theme of this world cup, no one is guaranteed a position in the final no matter how high they rank in the world.

 

Selena: Yeah that seems to be a trend but focusing on Rage, they’re not a team deserving of the progressing far anyway, they invested very little into their national team. Neither does Europa mind you but only one can go out. If I’m being honest if you don’t help the youth and footballers with funds then you do not have to spend any time wondering where it all went wrong when you lose like this. 

 

Aela: A bit harsh but yeah these teams haven’t helped their footballers much at all, which won’t win them world cups. Rage just didn’t have quality and style deserving of the world cup.   

 

Tris: Dutch are the one that stands out the most, they have performed excellent in every match they played scoring a ridiculous amount of goals that will put other teams to shame. The question is whether they can continue that I think not. 

 

Selena: I think Dutch are the favourites to win or at least make it to the final in the Desolum bracket, they beat the previous world cup winnings and knocked them out here. I think that is sign of football taking note of the quality of the team and deserving of winning the world cup. I don’t know too much about Austria-Hungary but it seemed success in the last world cup went to their and thought this would be a breeze as well, it didn’t turn out that way for them and they went home packing. 

 

Arterton: I don’t see Europa going far, Lantean will probably enter the semi-finals having dispatched Europa with ease. 

 

Aela: Europa does seem like it is a team just there to be there, pretty forgettable overall but I could be wrong and they could beat Lantean as they already removed Rage. I think it is too much to ask for them to repeat knocking out a higher ranked team that them again. 

 

Selena: The Desolum bracket is generally like that unlike the Resvernas bracket, since they teams haven’t developed their teams much you can’t really say who will have a good chance against who. But this world cup has shown us that the mighty fall a lot. 

 

Natalie Dormer: Lantean: 2 Norma Jean's FC Arrgh!: 0, Senland: 2 MWK's Zlatan FC: 4, Nassckonia United Soccer: 2 Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace: 4.

 

Tris: Mostly not so surprising results in these 3 matches, Lantean redeemed their earlier performance in the groups and pulled a decent win over Norma Jean's FC Arrgh. The common theme seems to be that the favourites win their matches in this grouping but it makes for a more exciting quarter finals with so many even opponents facing each other. 

 

Selena: Yeah that is what I mentioned earlier on, better opponents go through then a more intense knockout stage which is what we’re heading towards with plenty of unpredictable matches to be played following these results. 

 

Aela: Nassckonia United Soccer run ends and they were fortunate to get as far as they did but the writing was on the wall and there was no saving them being knocked out. 

 

Natalie Dormer: They only won a single match in the groups, I wouldn’t even classify them as an underdog. They’re more like scrapping the barrel. 

 

Selena: The guys are probably clueless and have no idea how they ended up in the knockout stage which is a question on everyone’s mind. All I can say is lucky that their run ended when it did but there was no doubt it was going anyway.

 

Arterton: They gave a decent fight though but Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace was too strong and didn’t get put off by conceding goals against an inferior side. Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace is a team to watch in the next rounds, I would bet my money on them doing something interesting and making it to the finals. 

 

Tris: True, the Resvernas Bracket is considered the clearest path for any team to the final.

 

Natalie Dormer: MWK's Zlatan FC? One of last 4 elite alliance left in the knockouts with a clear path much like Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace to the final. How will they fare now? 

 

Selena: They have a fair shot, their only major obstacle comes in the form of Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace who they’re predicted to meet in the semi-finals and really that match is anyone’s guess, they’re both great teams and either one of them could go walking out victorious.

 

Aela: I can see one of those two teams lifting the cup in the finals, but they need to perform and keep performing because the Desolum bracket has the #2, #3, #6 and #9 teams remaining in them. This sets the world cup final up to be a real cracker. 

 

Selena: There is no escaping it now, any team in the top 10 rankings left here has a good opportunity to win the entire world cup. Arterton would put money on Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace, I wouldn’t disagree with her because they’re a solid side. They lost to the last world cup winners in the groups but I won’t hold that over them.

 

Natalie Dormer: And finally onto Rekishstein Dragons: 0 The Underlying Lands: 10, TUL destroyed the Rekishstein Dragons from group A in a goal frenzy sending them flying out of the world cup. 

 

Selena: Solid win by TUL again leaving them with 4 straight victories and good chance to go all the way having not settled for anything less than a win. 10 goals? I think this is a message they mean business for all the elite alliances left in the tournament. Its tough matches all the way to the final from here, I think we can say that anyone who makes it to the final in the Desolum bracket deserves to be there given the odds they faced. 

 

Tris: I’m impressed but it’s an uphill battle from here, competition was light and this is the first test. TUL need to show up now and show the Dutch they’re the true masters of football, if they can do that then I see them going far. 

 

Aela: It’s anyone’s game with TUL having the slight advantage. I think TUL has a good chance to prevail given that. 

 

Arterton: TUL need to put it in full throttle now and don’t let the Resvernas shocker cloud their minds as I’m sure it is for some teams who think they’re the next champions now. You need to get to the finals first and then win it. 

 

Natalie Dormer: We’ve went through all the results from today, what about tomorrow, any predictions as to who will win based on what we’ve seen so far?

 

Tris: Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace and MWK's Zlatan FC wins in Resvernas, Lantean and The Underlying Lands wins in Desolum. 

 

Selena: Tris: Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace and MWK's Zlatan FC wins in Resvernas, Europa and The Underlying Lands wins in Desolum.

 

Arterton: Tris: Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace and Evenstar Broadswords wins in Resvernas, Lantean and The Underlying Lands wins in Desolum.

 

Aela: Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace and MWK's Zlatan FC wins in Resvernas, Lantean and The Underlying Lands wins in Desolum.

 

Natalie Dormer: And with that we ran out of time, we will be here tomorrow again to follow the results of the quarter finals. In a few seconds you will see the current line-up of The Underlying Lands squad. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2015 by Clarke

[Nicklas]

I really enjoy these. thanks for writing them

[Clarke]

Match of the Day FOFA World Cup II: Quarter Finals

 

 

Natalie Dormer: Welcome to match of the day, I’m your host Natalie Dormer and I will help guide you through the matches played today in the quarter finals. Joining me in the studio from left to right is Selena, Tris, Arterton and Aela.

 

Natalie Dormer: The quarter finals were played earlier today with some exciting fixtures, expect upsets, thrilling matches and more upsets. To kick off we will start with the Resvernas bracket. Cothroime vs Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace was first match of the Resvernas bracket.

 

Selena: The Resvernas bracket will go down in world cup history now I think following this result, Cothroime put 2 early goals past Hero-Shima's Crystal Palace and Crystal Palace never had a response befitting of them. They scored a late goal but it was only a consolation prize. I’m not sure if Cothroime was good or if Crystal Palace just didn’t show up today.

 

Aela: Crystal Palace wasn’t the strongest side so it’s not like they were favourites to win and they performed less than perfect, they conceded goals to very poor sides. They lost a match against another average team Austria-Hungary. They only had 1 match where they actually dominated and that was against PigSkin. We actually built them up a lot on the show yesterday because well I think everyone here figured experienced quality would beat underdog performances and end the streak of Cothroime. That didn’t turn out to be the case which shouldn’t have being surprising considering how Cothroime knocked the co-host nation and number 1 in the world rankings Resvernas.

 

Selena: Looking at Cothroime, they didn’t perform all that well in the early group stage, they conceded a lot of goals against weaker opponents. The one match that stands out was against TUL where they gave a good fight against #2 in the world. They put 3 goals behind TUL and barely lost out, TUL certainly didn’t not get imitated by the high scoring Cothroime team on that day.

 

Aela: We wrote it off as TUL performing badly but as it turns maybe not the case, Cothroime has being amazing in their past 3 matches and I can see that continuing.

 

Tris: Yeah I think we can say Cothroime are the real underdogs of the tournament now, the matches they faced, the performances they given. It all looks like it is going to pay off for them. Their biggest challenge now sits in the semi-finals as Evenstar Broadswords who were also underdogs and managed to win our hearts as well but not in the same style and not against same high level of opponents to overcome.

 

Natalie Dormer: Evenstar Broadswords and MWK's Zlatan FC, much the same as the other match the Resvernas bracket has underdogs of this fixture win out yet again leaving the bracket as elite free with all 3 of the elite alliances running home with their tail between their legs.

 

Arterton: I support these results, they just how dynamic the game can be. We all thought the final was going to be 2 elite teams facing off in dramatic showdown. And now with these results and the favourite MWK's Zlatan FC to win the Resvernas bracket being removed by a stellar performance by Evenstar Broadswords beating them 3 goals to 1.

 

Natalie Dormer: Evenstar Broadswords much like Cothroime is a wine that seasons with time.  Evenstar Broadswords suffered a heavy defeat in the first game of their group stage, beat the rank 2 lantean in the second game and managed a slight victory over Liber Freedom Eagles. They went on to beat Phintopia in the last 16 and now this.

 

Selena: Again there were signs that we ignored due to thinking their luck would run out and they would fail to perform well enough to beat these teams that we consider more experienced and superior. I don’t have too much to say on them but I think Cothroime are favourites to beat them and possibly win the world cup as the underdogs beating the remaining elite alliance in the final whoever it may be.

 

Aela: I guess we should say something about MWK's Zlatan FC, they played well enough but did concede a little more goals than they should have against much weaker opponents. Surprisingly their best performance was against the best team they faced in the tournament but that didn’t help them here.

 

Tris: They won all their matches and I suppose we can’t ask for anything more than that but it was always shaky with the amount of goals they were conceding and they were eventually going to get punished. I can see why they didn’t perform well today, their performances so far have less than perfect and with teams upsetting the favourites so much it just wasn’t their time.

 

Selena: We had them down for reaching the finals but the underdogs win and it makes this tournament all the more exciting as you say. I have no doubt the final will still be thrilling even with these results.

 

Natalie Dormer: Next up is Europa vs Lantean, is anyone else as uninterested as I am?

 

Arterton: Yeah it’s not exciting but it’s still an important result.

 

Selena: Europa, performed pretty badly despite ending in 2^nd with 6 points, none of their victories were convincing and they lost to a team now out that wasn’t performing to great either. It’s the same story for Lantean but in their last 2 matches now they picked and have being performing better. Europa bet a seasoned Rage so I thought they could have managed a win but alas it was not to be.

 

Aela: That covers it mostly, Lantean now are one of the favourites to win as they performances seem to be getting better. However they haven’t faced tough competition yet so TUL will be their ultimate test in this tournament so far and possibly their only test.

 

Natalie Dormer: And finally the match we’ve all being waiting for The Underlying Lands vs Dutch. The mostly tightly contested match yet in the tournament pitted these two high ranking and high scoring nations against each other. TUL goes by with the tightest of victories putting only 1 goal past and the Dutch and conceding none.

 

Selena: We all had our money on TUL going through and we were not disappointed in that, while the Dutch performed well in this competition it was just not to be against a more solid TUL team that wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

 

Aela: The Dutch did do well, they score 65 goals and conceded 4 goal over the course of the 5 matches they played. I don’t think we will ever see that record beat. A goal difference of 61, simply amazing. Most teams did ok in the groups but the Dutch performed amazingly consistently which probably made them think they could go all the way but TUL wasn’t going to have any of it.

 

Selena: Any team would have feared facing the Dutch and that would played to the advantage of the Dutch but credit to TUL they kept their heads up and played the game and got the only thing that mattered on the day, a victory.

 

Tris: The world cup hasn’t being all sunshine and rainbows for TUL in comparison, they conceded in every group match but did score a barrage of goals as well just nowhere near the performance of the Dutch.

 

Arterton: Unlike the Resvernas bracket this bracket has being more straightforward except for one upset in the last 16 round. People thought the Resvernas bracket was going to be easy for the top teams, which would have being the case if the top teams actually stayed in it, they went out in thrilling games of football. The Desolum bracket was looking to be more destructive for the top teams as had 4 of the top 6 teams in the world but I think they’re lucky now they were in that bracket because Resvernas hasn’t not being kind to the favourites at all.

 

Natalie Dormer: The final is being held in Resvernas as well, I’m not sure anyone in Desolum wants to go there, they would much rather play the final in Amsterdam.

 

Selena: TUL performance so far hasn’t being amazing but it has being consistent and it only got better as they moved into the knockout stage having conceded no goals so far. I can see them beating Lantean as well.

 

Aela: Desolum definitely had the toughest path to finals for the teams involved in the bracket and two favourite teams no face off. A smart man would bet on TUL going further and reaching the finals as well. Lantean are tough opponents but TUL showed it had no problem with dispatching of quality teams.

 

Natalie Dormer: So what’s the results going to be tomorrow?

 

Aela: Cothroime and The Underlying Lands go through to the final.

 

Selena: I’m going to agree with Aela that seems to be the way the finals is being set up to end.

 

Tris: Evenstar Broadswords and The Underlying Lands win their matches and progress through.

 

Arterton: I want TUL to win but I think it will be Cothroime and Lantean as it could go either way in each semi-final.

 

Natalie Dormer: It is amazing despite all the bumps that the semi-finals matches have teams that are so closely matched, one match with teams looking to get to the top and another with teams already at the top. It makes for an interesting next round of football.

 

Selena: Cothroime won’t stop here I think, they showed they have the drive to continue and I don’t think Evenstar Broadswords can stop them. They performed excellent in their last 3 matches against strong teams so I think they can brush Evenstar Broadswords off even though Evenstar Broadswords had a similar story in their world cup so far.

 

Natalie Dormer: This might seem crazy but amazingly every team in every group except group B and C are knocked out of the world cup.
That’s right, The Underlying Lands finished 1^st in group B and Cothroime finished 2^nd, Lantean finished 1^st in group C and Evenstar Broadswords finished 2^nd.
What are the chances of that happening? I don’t want to even know.

 

Natalie Dormer: This could set us up for some interesting rematches of the group stage if the results go a certain way. Perhaps the world cup final will be a rematch, we can only wait and see.

 

Selena: Yeah it seems like there was something special about group B and C, the most unlikely of outcomes got us to this point. Truly this is what football is all about, you couldn’t write this in a script.

 

Aela: The runner up in group B vs the runner up in group C and vice versa for the victors of those groups for matches in the semi-finals. I don’t even have words to describe this.

 

Natalie Dormer: And with that we ran out of time again, we will be here tomorrow again to follow the results of the semi-finals. We hope you enjoyed the results today and from all the team here we hope you have a good one. 

Edited July 12, 2015 by Clarke

[Clarke]

Match of the Day FOFA World Cup II: Semi-Finals & Third Place Playoff

 

 

Natalie Dormer: Welcome to match of the day, I’m your host Natalie Dormer and today we will be discussing the world cup semi-finals and the third place playoff. Joining me again in the studio from left to right is Selena, Tris, Arterton and Aela.
 
Natalie Dormer: The semi-finals were played yesterday and third place playoff was played earlier today, we will look at each match in the semi-finals before moving onto the third place playoff. Later tonight we will have a special show centred around the world cup final tomorrow. We start with the Resvernas bracket. Cothroime vs Evenstar Broadswords at the Blackwater stadium.
 
Natalie Dormer: These two teams faced off together in the all deciding semi-final match on whether they would make it or break it. There couldn’t have being two more closely matched sides to play in the semis. This semi-final gives us the two teams that defied all the odds to get where they’re and they did it by knocking out and beating some of the best teams in the world. Cothroime bet 2 of the top 10 teams including arguably the best team in the world Resvernas and did very well against TUL though was not able to win the match. Evenstar Broadswords bet 2 of the top 10 alliances to get to the semis and had a much closely matched group stage than Cothroime. Both teams had equal challenges to get to semis so I don’t think we can say one of them worked harder than the other and are more deserving of going through to the world cup final.
 
Selena: Two underdog teams that were expected to fail but managed to grow stronger with each game now one has a chance to win the world cup final, that’s really being the theme of this world cup. Football is never predictable and the underdog teams of this world cup showed that by knocking many of the top 10 teams in the world that we fully expected to completely dominate this world cup by shutting out everyone completely. In the end only 1 underdog could enter the final and that was Evenstar Broadswords winning by a narrow 1-0 victory. We missed a rematch for both final games but I think we will still be in for a thrilling world cup final.
 
Aela: I don’t think Cothroime can go home disappointed, sure they lost their best chance at winning the world cup despite never having a chance in the beginning. They can go home proud because we never expected them to go past the first knockout stage. It wasn’t their time, this was the only match in the last 4 that they played where they were actually facing favourable odds to win but it seems Cothroime are best being the underdogs.
 
Selena: These two teams really defined a lot of the world cup in the knockout stages, I think they were everyone’s favourite teams after they caused upsets and boy did they cause so many upsets. Combined they caused 4 upsets in total, 2 each. I have nothing but praise for both teams as they have being fantastic teams throughout this world cup.
 
Arterton: No matter what happens I expect both to be major footballing teams in the coming future, especially Evenstar Broadswords with their amazing success and a chance at the world cup final tomorrow. This will be a team to watch for sure.
 
Tris: What is there to say that hasn’t being said already, two amazing teams that made for an excellent semi-final which pitched two of the last underdogs against each other. Whoever won would be the underdog again in the world cup final against either the #2 or the #3 ranked team in the world. I don’t think they’re feared of that though, they play one game at a time and both have proven they have what it takes.
 
Aela: Yeah it was a closely matched semi-final, both teams played well and in the end only one could go through. I don’t think this result makes any difference for the world cup final, it won’t be any harder or easier for the underdog to pull off a win in my opinion.
 
Natalie Dormer: We may discuss it more tonight but moving on, Lantean vs The Underlying Lands at the Amsterdam stadium. This was the thrilling semi-final in the Desolum bracket that placed the #2 in the world TUL against the #3 in the world Lantean. This match on paper was hard to call considering the pedigree of both teams but in the end Lantean got pulverised by the high scoring TUL side which put 5 goals past Lantean while Lantean only managed a late goal to try and save face.
 
Selena: Definitely not a good result for Lantean but not at all surprising considering their lacklustre performances, all their challenges were matches they were favoured to win until this game and they failed to show up. They made it to the semi-finals which is better than what most teams can say but they still disappointed and I don’t their fans will be too happy with an embarrassing 5-1 defeat so close to the final. It could have being worst but I don’t think it would have made much of a difference, it’s still a bad exit and nothing to be proud of.
 
Aela: How did The Underlying Lands do, they completely dominated this game against another top team for the second time in a row now.
Natalie Dormer: I think we will save talk about The Underlying Lands for tonight. So just some thoughts on Lantean and also on the third place playoff.
 
Selena: I have nothing good to say about Lantean, they were favourites to do well and technically they did do well in this world cup but they were boring to watch and if they did somehow managed to make it to the world cup final I think all of us would be hanging our heads. There was teams that played better than deserved to go further in the competition than Lantean.
 
Tris: As for the third place playoff match I think Cothroime will be disappointed they didn’t win against Lantean, if they did it would have meant all 3 of the other semi-finals beat Lantean. The fans were definitely behind Cothroime but unfortunately it looks like they ran out of steam after their last defeat to Evenstar Broadswords but they still managed to put up a good fight in an attempt to finish third.
 
Selena: I suppose Lantean will still be happy with the result despite missing the world cup final. They didn’t go home empty handed which is something better performing teams in the tournament couldn’t say.
 
Arterton: It was a close match which was good, there have being a lot of close matches in the knockout stage so it’s good that this lasted even up until the end with such different sides playing here.
 
Aela: A shame for Cothroime, I thought they were more deserving since they were the underdogs in the tournament but I think it has being a good tournament for them anyway. They shouldn’t go home feeling bad about the defeat, they have a bright future ahead. They finished 4^th which is no more feat.
 
Tris: As the others say both of these teams can go home with some honour.
 
Natalie Dormer: That about sums it up for the matches played so far and we will cover a bit about the world cup final tonight in case you were wondering why we haven’t talked much about TUL. You will find the official semi-finals summary here, semi-finals match reports. The third place playoff match summary can be found here, third place playoff match report.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Clarke

[Clarke]

Match of the Day FOFA World Cup II: World Cup Final

 

 

Natalie Dormer: Welcome to match of the day, I’m your host Natalie Dormer. The world cup officially came to an end a few days ago after a great final match between two teams new to the football scene. The Underlying Lands, a team that quickly climbed the rankings to the top vs Evenstar Broadswords, a team that started from the bottom in this world cup but rose quickly in rankings with each win against seasoned teams. The Underlying Lands bested Evenstar Broadswords by 4 scores to 1 grabbing the world cup for themselves by shutting down the offensive capabilities of the Evenstar Broadswords and breaking down their defence that they held for most of the duration of the tournament.

 

Natalie Dormer: Joining me to talk about the world cup final from left to right is Selena, Tris, Arterton and Aela. I know guys will have lots of opinions on the match and of TUL’s path to glory, what is the significance of this win?

 

Aela: The stars were aligned for TUL yesterday and every other game they played throughout the tournament. They won every game they played and our citizens predicted they would win as well so the prize money for winning FOFA world cup II is all the higher.

 

Selena: TUL were deserving champions, more so than any other team at the world cup finals. In the end they beat all 3 of the other semi-finalists, they beat Cothroime in the groups, Lantean in the semis and Evenstar Broadswords in final. When you beat the teams that finished 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th then you know you were the better team.

 

Tris: Surprisingly TUL’s last two matches were not their hardest matches, that titles goes to Dutch and Cothroime who gave TUL more of a challenge that both teams from group C, Lantean and Evenstar Broadswords. We all thought they could go all the way and they did just that.

 

Arterton: I don’t think it was a foregone conclusion, TUL were not sure what they would be facing and considering how Evenstar Broadswords also beat the teams who finished 3^rd and 4^th, they posed a serious challenge and were not to be taken lightly.

 

Natalie Dormer: The game had all the makings for a close call and possibly even an upset given the record of the teams playing in this world cup. I think it is fair to say it wasn’t Evenstar Broadswords day but they didn’t go home empty handed so I don’t think they will be too disappointed.

 

Natalie Dormer: What does this world cup win mean for TUL football team and who were the standout players on the TUL side?

 

Selena: I think this is just the first step of many to the continued success of an unexperienced young team that The Underlying Lands is fielding. With this major victory under their belt after such short time spent playing in they will receive a great boost.

 

Aela: I can see this TUL team at the forefront of nation for many world cups to come.

 

Arterton: It just shows that the team is world class and can go head to head with some of the best. As for who I think performed the best I’m going to say Korra, she played all 7 matches and conceded 9 goals in total most of which were in the group stage. The knockout round was really when she shined and only let 2 goals go past her. Not exactly the best but she kept the most aggressive attacking team from scoring a single goal in the match which put TUL through to the semi-final.

 

Selena: I was going to say Lightning or Azula but I feel obligated to say Korra for those reasons as well, but I think the striking force deserves credit for being able to capitalize on the strong defence supporting them.

 

Aela: I think we can all agree Korra was by far the best performing player in TUL and possibly in the entire tournament as well. Other notable players were Azula, Lara and Lighting as Selena said for being a strong trio attacking force.

 

Arterton: Miranda was up there as well but we didn’t see her a large part of the attacking force, she was more of a midfielder supporting the other forwards along with Kara and Emily.

 

Tris: Kara and Emily were definitely weak links and responsible for some of the tougher matches by their bad form, mostly Kara but Emily frequently makes blunders as well. Miranda helped boost midfield in the knockout stage.

 

Aela: No one mentioned the defensive players yet, for me both Clarkes and Demi were the heart of the defence will be present there for some time. They performed amazingly in being able to shut down the Dutch defence.

 

Natalie Dormer: I figured everyone would be praised, I mean they all contributed heavily to win the world cup and beat some of the best teams in the world. It would be hard to dis one of them.

 

Selena: They can still be dissed, Elena for example was sometimes letting things happen around her before making a decision to commit to challenges. This resulted in goals being conceded by TUL.

 

Natalie Dormer: What do you think is going to happen now with TUL?

 

Selena: We will see a lot of investment into the sport of football I think, to produce a more seasoned team of players by supplying them with better facilities to train and make them better athletes.

 

Natalie: The viewers may already know but me, Selena, Aela are also reserves on The Underlying Lands football team but due to the way TUL plays football there is only ever the same 11 players being used in every match TUL plays. So with that I hope to see TUL being more expansive to include more players in their main team.

 

Aela: That is certainly an issue but I doubt I am ever going to play on the team, I imagine Tris and Arterton also have absolutely no chance.

 

Selena: From my contact with team, Clarke decides who plays and at the moment Natalie and I are the closest to being on the main team.

 

Arterton: Yeah I’m not surprised to see us being excluded.

 

Tris: I hear millions is going to be invested into football from now until the next world cup, so it is safe to say TUL will be a major force dominating the FOFA scene.

 

Selena: Looking to pick up consecutive world cup titles no doubt, TUL already proven their worth and they will be building heavily of their recent world cup victory.

 

Natalie Dormer: Now that the world cup ended, there is talk of implementing a region system, possibly for deciding how teams go through to the world cup and their groups stages also.

 

Tris: I would like to see it in action though there is some concerns that I’m not totally convinced on. For example for some continents are severely under represented such as Australia, Asia and South America.

 

Arterton: Tris makes a good point but I think those issues can be combated by incorporating different regions into each other such as merging North America and South America together until both of them have enough teams which is what I think is being planned.

 

Selena: Another one would be merging Australia and Asia together as well as that is again under represented. So that would leave us with four major groups, Europe, Africa, Americas, Asia&Austraila which is fair groups from what I can see.

 

Tris: Well I think this is a major issue for The Underlying Lands since they’re the only major team from South America so they would want a closer grouping for competitive play.

 

Selena: I think they will prefer to keep South America the way it is since they’re sure to win any competition, however that’s not fun and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind the challenge since nothing that is easy is never rewarding.

 

Aela: At least for the moment, I’m sure South America is sure to pick up once FOFA grows in the number of nations participating.

 

Tris: There is a lot of doubts either way of the significance this idea of regions will have but we can be sure to see it grow and we can wait and see how far it will extend to influence FOFA over the next while.

 

Natalie Dormer: Europe, North America and Africa are all heavily represented in the top tier of teams so those regions will probably be the quickest to take off. I think that is all we got time for, catch us next time on MOTD when we will be reviewing the world cup. This is also the last time we will be presenting from our current studio in Blackwater.

 

Natalie Dormer: I’d also like to apologize to our viewers for Demi Lovato being excluded from world cup celebration image. Upon investigation we learned the buffet opened right at the conclusion of the match which is something that won’t happen again. Demi will definitely be included in further celebrations throughout the tour of the TUL team around the nation.