Luthori

[Ligbruderkrieg]

---

Live - Terrorist Attack in Fort William | Luthori
Police launch full-scale assault on Hamilton Tower; PM declares “victory” as final terrorists are apprehended or killed by law enforcement.
March 15th, 5726

---

Following the refusal from terrorists to stand down from their position at the Hamilton Tower, it has been reported that law enforcement officers launched a full-scale assault against the compound at 3:05 PM (GMT-9) - aiming at using the element of surprise to take terrorist forces aback. What followed was an intense 27-minute-long battle between the terrorists and the law enforcement officers, with hostages being taken into the crossfire.

Following this, the Police confirmed that the building has been secured, in a publication on social media. The Metropolitan Police Department later confirmed that out of the 13 terrorists within the building, 8 have been killed and 5 others have been neutralized, with all having sustained heavy injuries in the fighting. Furthermore, the Police reported that 7 policemen had unfortunately died during the fighting, others are currently injured and some are between life and death. In a statement, the Home Secretary, Alistair Woods commanded the “courage” and “utmost honour” of the Metropolitan Police that was demonstrated during this shootout, while paying his respects to the seven deceased agents.

Rutania Yard refused to comment on the status of the hostages – stating that a “more detailed” statement on the matter will be released “shortly”.

The Luthorian Prime Minister, Jay Parkford has hailed a “victory for the laws and customs of our beautiful nation” in a televised speech from Number 10’s front door. Moreover, the Prime Minister said that the terrorists’ main aim of “dividing a nation” had “resoundingly” failed in the face of “unprecedented national unity in the face of adversity.” Parkford also paid tribute to the seven fallen policemen and policewomen who, in his view, “gave away their lives in the defence of liberty, equality and justice for all, values that all Luthorians are believing in.”

PM Parkford’s speech was warmly received by most, with his approval ratings likely to benefit from his recent crisis management. Although, it must be stated that Parliament, as called HPP Leader Issac Stewart recently, will likely launch an inquiry to point out the failure of Luthorian counterintelligence and domestic intelligence operations, as many begun to blame the DIA for “slacking off” their duties to protect the Home Territory.

The attack takes place in the context that Luthori is preparing for the 5726 World Cup, will be opened on 11 June with the match Luthori-Kafuristan, both His Majesty the Emperor and the Prime Minister are expecting to be present at the opening day of the competition and security detail are likely to be reinforced following this attack, which lately claimed the lives of 198 people and caused 521 injured.

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Three months following the devastating terrorist attacks on Luthori’s capital, Fort William, which left hundreds dead and wounded, doubts have been raised upon Luthori’s capability to host the international football tournament, due to security concern following this attack. Luthorian Prime Minister Jay Parkford rejected these claims, stating that Luthori “was perfectly ready” to host the 5726 World Cup. The Luthorian government engaged increased security detail for international teams and raised the number of policemen mobilised for the event by 3.000, passing from 10.000 policemen mobilised for the event to 13.000.

The day came and the nation was in total euphory. Football mania had taken over the streets, which were filled with Luthorian flags, numerous individuals wearing the Lions’ kit in support of the national team. The Imperial Mall, standing before the Orange Palace, saw the numerous Luthorian flags being replaced by the flags of some competing nations in the tournament. The opening game was held at the Crystal Stadium of Fort William, seeing host nation Luthori playing Kafuristan on the opening day of the tournament.

The opening ceremony was designed by Todd Sharp, Emily Atkinson, and Evelyn Lowe. According to the organisers, it was aiming at “celebrating Luthorian values of openness, love, diversity and freedom in the time of great strife”, it saw a vibrant and energetic show being laid forward, divided in four parts, each representing a particular value. The first part was when a child holding a dim light advanced towards the centre stage, amid sounds of angry politician speech, bombing, screams all around him, in addition, dancers worked in cohesion, yet were divided, all of these emotions were notably conveyed helped by raw, tense musical instruments.

Then this anxious atmosphere shattered with a single violin playing Luthorian folk music, around the child, numerous people arrived, a symbolism of Luthori’s place as a “land of opportunity”, each immigrant community was represented in this second part of the ceremony, each of them, carrying a suitcase alongside them and then the stadium was filled with warmth as each of the suitcase were thrown off, revealing music instruments of different types – then on the large screen, faces of ordinary people living in Luthori were shown to represent Luthori’s diverse nature.

In the third act, a large statue of intertwined hands was placed at the centre of the pitch, then people of all colors and sexual orientation entered the pitch and begun to dance together, rival football fans, same-sex couples, elderly couples, heterosexual couples, disabled dancers, parents with children, all of them dancing in celebration of love – with a single message “No one belongs here alone.”

To conclude with the climax, Luthori’s artistic and rebellious culture was celebrated, with artists, gay rights activists, youth culture representatives, anti-establishment activists and those who challenged the system to make it adapt to the new realities of the nation were celebrated. Finally, skateboarders, BMX riders, street footballers all flooded the pitch as a live collaboration between the Imperial Philarmoanic Orchestra and DJs was playing, concluding this very impressive opening ceremony.

His Majesty the Emperor addressed the crowd before officially opening the 5726 World Cup. The octogenarian monarch said that the “values that bring us all of us today have been defied by those who do not wish that these values be celebrated today, around the beautiful sport of football [...] It is my sincere honour to see that our nation and the world have rejected these violent methods and has instead joined us in the celebration of this sport, in peace and harmony.”

“I hereby declare open the 5726 Male World Cup, organised by the International Football Federation, celebrating the glorious sport of football and bringing the world in harmony behind sports, throwing away weapons of destruction in favour of athletic skills and competition”, the monarch said among the crowd’s heavy applause.

The match wasn’t that interesting, the Luthorian national team easily overpowering the Kafuri selection, winning 6-1, the Luthorian side was already winning 4-0 by halftime, with leading goalscorer being Raja Sultan, who by the 45th minute, had already scored a hat-trick. This victory led to heavy celebration as Luthori takes the first place in its group, although the Luthorian national coach, Jeremy Falkwell aimed at remaining “cautious” after this victory.

“We might have won, and by a large margin, I do agree. But it’s not a reason to slack off of our efforts to win the tournament before our fans and the nation [...] winning 6-1 shouldn’t get us overconfident about our chances, as there are other teams out there that are going to play tomorrow or the next day and we might face them in the future...”

Luthorian fans were excastic after the victory with many saying that it might be “coming home”.

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Matchday 1 ends with surprises; Egelion, Lourenne and other favourites see disappointing performances creating surprise.
June 5726 (backdated)

The first matchday of the World Cup ended today and observers and fans alike agree that some of the results of matches were “deeply surprising”, some nations pulling an upset against others which were widely believed to be stronger and heavy favourites to win the competition in early July.

The first surprise was Dundorf’s defeat at the hands of the Hutorian national team, the latter winning against the former 2-0, pundits agree that while the result was “surprising”, the Hutorians’ performance on the pitch warranted such a victory, as they pointed out to “severe defensive weaknesses” for the Dundorfians. Hutori’s leading striker Mark Marshall scored the two goals for the Hutorians against Dundorf’s low defensive formation. The Dundorfians still has a chance to qualify for the next round of the tournament if they manage to beat both Luthori and Kafuristan in the next matchdays of the World Cup.

For the other groups, in the Group B, Cildania and Valruzia ended their match with the score of 1-1, and Istalia unceremoniously beat Amudim with the score of 3 to 1. Valruzia and Istalia stand among the heavy favourites to be contenders to win the tournament, but Valruzia’s draw against Cildania surprised many as in paper, the Valruzian team would have been able to trounce against the Cildanians, although the Majatran nation’s 5-4-1 defensive formation proved to be difficult to break for the pressing Seleyan team.

On Group C, Lodamun was unceremoniously defeated by New Verham with the score 3 to 0. Some analysts describe Lodamun’s defeat as having been “hanged, drawn and quartered” by the Dovanian team, a reference to one of humanity’s cruellest execution forms to understand the severe beating that they got, meanwhile Nadiya and Baltusia finished their match at 0-0.

On Group D, Jelbe and Noumonde parted ways after another draw, this time 1-1 while the real sensation was the Egelion-Mordusia match. Egelion entered this match as one of the heavy favourites, as a top contender among others to win the tournament, Egelion entered the tournament with one of the best teams in the entire world, with exceptional individuals players playing the best clubs in the world, meanwhile while Mordusia is also considered a favourite, due to its heavy football culture exported from Luthori, it wasn’t held in the same regard as Egelion was. Prediction markets bet for Egelion’s victory at 54%, while Mordusia’s victory was only at 22%.

The match was held at the Dwayne Stadium in Northminster, and Egelion’s Luthorian-born striker Francisco Lloyd scored the opening goal in the 57th minute, after an intense match during the first period, but Mordusia struck back and equalized at the 69th minute with midfielder Archer Hamblin scoring an header after a freekick. While all seemed set for the match to conclude with a draw, an absolute defensive error on Egelion’s side allowed Nathan Clair, Mordusia’s right winger to score the victory goal at the 96th minute, allowing Mordusia to win the match with the score of 2 to 1 and crusing her way to the first place of her group, while Egelion was sent at the bottom of her group, a situation that can easily be turned around by Raul Ascencio’s teammates if the win their matches against Jelbe and Noumonde.

On Group E, Kundrati defeated North Dovani with the large score of 7-2 while Ikradon and Hulstria and Gao-Soto drew 1-1, on Group F, Likatonia defeated Kanjor with the score of 3-1 while another favourite, Dorvik unexpectedly drew against Yerrawa, 1-1. Dorvish head coach, Leopold von Herzen stated that while the defeat is a “disappointing blow in light of our preparation ahead of the match [...] I’m still confident that we’ll be able to turn the tides in our favour in the later confrontations”

Finally, on Group G, Alduria and Barmenistan finished their match unable to score anything against one another while other favourites Vanuku were defeated in their match by Bianjie with the score of 1-0. On Group H, while New Englia defeated the Dual Republic’s national team 2-0, another upset in this sea of upsetting performances for the favourites of the tournament, the real surprise was when Vascania defeated Lourenne 3-2, after a highly competitive match between the two formations, one in which the Vascanian team emerged victorious, winning their first match against one of the greatest footballing nation on Terra and emerging as a new contender for the title of World Champions.

The group standings are as follows following the conclusion of the first matchday:

Group A: Luthori (3), Hutori (3), Dundorf (0), Kafuristan (0)
Group B: Istalia (3), Valruzia (1), Cildania (1), Amudim (0)
Group C: New Verham (3), Nadiya (1), Baltusia (1), Lodamun (0)
Group D: Mordusia (3), Jelbe (1), Noumonde (1), Egelion (0)
Group E: Kundrati (3), Ikradon (1), Hulstria/Gao-Soto (1), North Dovani (0)
Group F: Likatonia (3), Dorvik (1), Yerrawa (1), Kanjor (0)
Group G: Bianjie (3), Alduria (1), Barmenistan (1), Vanuku (0)
Group H: New Englia (3), Vascania (3), Lourenne (0), Narikaton and Darnussia (0)

[Ligbruderkrieg]

The second matchday of the most awaited international football competition of the century has finally concluded and already some nations have their ticket to the rest of the competition, qualifying for the Round of 16. In this matchday, some favourites reassured their fans after their disappointing performances during Matchday 1, although other nations are packing their bags to go home after another defeat or draw which will likely hamper their chance to qualify for the rest of the competition.

In Group A, Luthori defeated Hutori 3-1, qualifying for the Round of 16 after their previous large victory against Kafuristan in the opening match, validating their ticket to the Round of 16, the other match was Dundorf v. Kafuristan, where the Dundorfians finally secured their victory of the tournament by winning 2-1 against the Majatran team, officially knocking them out of the tournament after two defeats against both favourites of this group. Now Luthori is qualifed with 6 points, Hutori is second with three points, Dundorf is third with three points as well and Kafuristan is dead last with 0 points. It seems that the last matchday will finally decide which team between Hutori and Dundorf will squeeze their way out of the group stage to go to the Round of 16 alongside Luthori.

In Group B, while widely expected to bounce back from their draw against Cildania, the Valruzian team’s hope for a victory against Amudim were crashed as the Majatran team used the defensive weaknesses of the Seleyan team at their advantage, and then concluded by winning 2-1 against Valruzia, greatly hindering the Valruzian national team’s ability to qualify for the rest of the tournament. While still possible, the fact that this defeat was coupled with Istalia trouncing over Cildania with the ridiculous humiliation of 7-0 means that Valruzia can only be qualified if they win their match against Istalia and Amudim lose their match against Cildania in the next matchday to be qualified for the Round of 16.

In Group C, New Verham validated their ticket to the Round of 16 by defeating Baltusia 4-1, in this stage of the competition, they will face the second placer of the Group D, meanwhile the Lodamese national team has seemingly recovered and shown a new face following their previous humiliation at the hands of the New Verhamese in Matchday 1, defeating Nadiya 3 to 1, likely knocking them out of the tournament as their next match will be against New Verham, who has shown an impressive strength since the tournament started. 

Right now, New Verham is first and already qualified with 6 points, Lodamun is second with three points, and Nadiya and Baltusia are third and fourth respectively with one point each. That means that the question of who will join New Verham as the second representative of Group C is still up in the air.

Onto Group D, where arguably one of the biggest surprise of the tournament happened, after their close defeat against Mordusia in the first match, many believed that Egelion would, surely, learn from their mistakes and train to beat the next team and be less terrified of the prospect of being knocked out in the group stage, which would be a total humiliation for one of the best teams in this tournament. They did so, training relentlessly at their training centre at their base for the match against Noumonde, who stalled Jelbe 1-1 in the first match.

Unfortunately, it was another disappointing performance from the Egelians, who merely succeeded in drawing against Noumonde 1-1. The first half went well for the Egelians who dominated the Noumondian national team throughout their confrontation, unfortunately one defensive error led to a penalty which led to Noumonde’s Narisoa Rasalama equalizing at the 87th minute. Meanwhile, the Mordusians validated their ticket for the Round of 16 by defeating Jelbe in an intense defensive match where the Mordusians were only able to score 1 goal by freekick, winning 1-0 against the Majatran nation.

In Group E, Kundrati validated its ticket for the tournament by comfortably defeating Hulstria 2-0. Furthermore, the Ikradonians secured a headfirst by securing a large victory against North Dovani, the Artanian formation winning 4-0 against them, offering them the opportunity to join Kundrati in the Round of 16, if emerging victorious of their confrontation with Kundrati or if Hulstria fails to defeat North Dovani.

In Group F, one of the biggest upsets in this tournament happened live, with Yerrawa, with one of the lowest-ranked teams in this tournament, beating Likatonia 1-0 after a last-minute goal at the 94th minute. Meanwhile, Dorvik once again drew, this time against Kanjor, 1-1. Yerrawa currently stands at the first place of its group, with 4 points, Likatonia is second with three points, and Dorvik is third with one point and finally Kanjor is dead last with zero points and already eliminated from the tournament after two consecutive defeats.

Finally to conclude this recap, let’s take a quick look at Group G and H, in the first one, the Vanukeans, after their disappointing first defeat against Bianjie completely crushed Barmenistan 8-1, this strong performance from the Majatran powerhouse seems to place them in great shape before their last match against Alduria, who for their part were defeated by Bianjie 4 to 3 after an hardfought struggle that saw both teams reaching their limits, unfortunately for Alduria, it was Bianjie who came out on top and qualified for the Round of 16. Right now, Bianjie is first with 6 points, Vanuku second with 3 points, Alduria third with 1 point and Barmenistan with 1 point and likely eliminated from the tournament.

In Group H, all the teams drew, with Narikaton and Darnussia drawing with Vascania 1-1 and New Englia drawing against Lourenne 0-0. This state of affairs reinforces Vascania’s status as the frontrunner with 4 points, alongside New Englia who has 4 points as well, Lourenne is third with 1 point and finally Narikaton and Darnussia stands at last place with 1 point as well. This state of affairs lead us to the conclusion that the unthinkable has happened and that both Lourenne and Narikaton and Darnussia have been knocked out in the group stage.

After Matchday 2, here are the standings:

Group A: Luthori (6), Hutori (3), Dundorf (3), Kafuristan (0)
Group B: Istalia (6), Amudim (3), Valruzia (1), Cildania (1)
Group C: New Verham (6), Lodamun (3), Nadiya (1), Baltusia (1)
Group D: Mordusia (6), Noumonde (2), Egelion (1), Jelbe (1)
Group E: Kundrati (6), Ikradon (4), Hulstria/Gao-Soto (1), North Dovani (0)
Group F: Yerrawa (4), Likatonia (3), Dorvik (1), Kanjor (0)
Group G: Bianjie (6), Vanuku (3), Alduria (1), Barmenistan (1)
Group H: Vascania (4), New Englia (4), Lourenne (1), Narikaton and Darnussia (1)

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Matchday 3 concludes with big surprises; Valruzia, N$D, Egelion, Lourenne eliminated in first stage, marking stunning turnaround of chances; Dorvik, Dundorf, Istalia qualified for Round of 16.
June 5726 (backdated)

The last matchday of the group stage concluded with heavy hitters being eliminated and another smaller nation being qualified for the Round of 16. Described as a “total earthquake” in footballing world, the conclusion of the group stages has laid the way for an interesting Round of 16. Some nations have already qualified for the Round of 16 following the conclusion of the Matchday 2, such as Luthori, Istalia, Bianjie and others. Some favourites were on track to potentially qualify for the next stage of the competition, if and only if some conditions were met.

In Group A, the real match which would determine Dundorf and Hutori’s future qualification was also the most awaited confrontation of this group. Dundorf and Luthori are two true football powerhouses in Artania and their placing into the same group drew excitement from worldwide fans, who were hoping that quality football would be played between the two teams and the most recent confrontation hasn’t disappointed them at all. Dundorf successfully validated its ticket for the next stage of the tournament, as Hutori unexpectedly collapsed against Kafuristan 2-1 and as they secured a close victory against the unbeaten Luthorian national team, winning 3 to 2 after two last-minute goals at the 87th and 91st minutes after two successful counterattacks who broke the Luthorian defensive line at Dundorf’s advantage. Luthori and Dundorf are the two qualified nations of the Group A, each with 6 points.

While Valruzia unexpectedly secured a victory against favourites and already-qualified Istalia 2-0, winning three points in the process and raising from 1 to 4 points, at least before the Amudim-Cildania match, they were qualified for the Round of 16, the thing is, the Valruzian team needed Amudim to falter against Cildania to pass through to the Round of 16. Unfortunately, it seems that their hopes were destroyed by Amudim’s stunning 4-0 victory against the Cildanians, effectively knocking Valruzia out of the tournament since they received three additional points to rise to six points, after their victory against Valruzia in Matchday 2. Istalia is first and will confront Dundorf in the Round of 16 while Luthori will face Amudim in the Round of 16.

New Verham continued with its streak of impressive victories, winning against Nadiya 2-1 and confirming its qualification for the Round of 16. Meanwhile, Baltusia successfully squeezed its way out of the group stages by beating Lodamun by the smallest margin of 1-0, taking with them three points to become second. New Verham remains one of the only unbeaten selections during the tournament, easily topping the group, with nine points while Baltusia is second with four points.

In Group D, Egelion’s last hope was to defeat Jelbe to advance into the Round of 16, yet for the Jelbeks, it was only necessary to secure a draw against Egelion as it would mean that they would pass through to the Round of 16. However, both teams needed Mordusia to win its match against Noumonde to even consider this possibility, thankfully, the confrontation at Rocky Stadium was able to assuage their concerns, as Mordusia easily beaten Noumonde 4 to 2, eliminating the only representative of the Temanian continent in the process. The match between Jelbe and Egelion was described as a game of “haramball vs halalball” (haram = forbidden in Ahmadi), where the Egelion was going in the offence while being stopped by Jelbe’s 5-4-1 low defensive bloc formation, which was exactly aimed at stopping these kind of offensives and using opportunities to counter-attack. It concluded with the unfortunate score of 0-0, concluding that Jelbe was qualified for the Round of 16 while one of the best teams in the world was eliminated in the first round.

Group E, Kundrati defeated Ikradon 2-1 while Hulstria and North Dovani tied 1-1, this score effectively qualifying Kundrati and Ikradon for the Round of 16 while North Dovani is eliminated in one of the worst showings of this year’s World Cup.

In Group F, while Yerrawa was on track to be top of their group for the Round of 16, their fortunes completely faltered after one of their worst-ever performances against Kanjor, who was already eliminated, but successfully defeated the Yerrawans 5 to 0, a total humiliation for those who already salivating at the prospect of validating their ticket, furthermore, the Dorvish won against Likatonia 2-0, taking over first place while Yerrawa narrowly avoided being eliminated due to Likatonia’s defeat at the hands of the Dorvish.

In Group G, Bianjie unexpectedly lost against Kafuristan 2-1 and Vanuku lost against Alduria 1-0. This defeat effectively knocked up Vanuku out of the tournament while Bianjie’s defeat didn’t change much to the current standings, with Bianjie topping the group, and Alduria second. Finally in Group H, while Vascania and New Englia were already qualified, their confrontation cemented Vascania’s number 1 spot, as they secured a victory against the New Englians 2-0, meanwhile Narikaton and Darnussia secured their first win against Lourenne, but it wasn’t enough to threaten New Englia’s second spot, eliminating them from the tournament.

Following the conclusion of the group stage, here are the showings of the Round of 16.

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Round of 16 filled with knockout matches from heaven, Luthori qualified to quarterfinals, to meet Kundrati, Mordusia passes through, Bianjie vs. New Englia see fans fighting.
June 5726 (backdated)

The Round of 16 of the 5726 World Cup have concluded, following the impressive group stages that have seen some of the largest nations in the football world being knocked out in the first round, the round of 16 saw some peculiar nations taking part in the first round of the knockout race, notably, Yerrawa achieving qualification alongside Jelbe or even New Verham who showed an impressive form during the group stages. Meanwhile, other nations such as Luthori, Istalia or Dundorf aimed at affirming their place as “favourites” as so many of their peers had faltered during the first round. So, how did these go? Let’s look at each of the matches individually.

Luthori vs Amudim wasn’t the most exciting match out there, the Luthorians have succesfully managed their way out of their group with honourable fashion, winning two out of three matches and getting six points, their only loss being against the Dundorfians who beat them 3 to 2 after an exciting match and a last-minute goal for Dundorf which trashed the Luthorian expectation of an unbeaten run. 

Meanwhile Amudim is one of the great surprises of the tournament, getting into the “group of death” alongside favourites Valruzia and Istalia, they managed to capitalise on Valzurian weaknesses to qualify for the Round of 16. Unfortunately for the Majatran nation, it seems that this wasn’t enough to break the Luthorians, who managed to beat them with the smallest margin possible, 1 to 0, after a match described as “boring” by analysts. The Luthorians scored in the 5th minute, and nothing worthy happened afterwards, both teams’ defences avoiding any large-scale attack sequences.

Alduria vs Vascania was an outsider match, but one which wrote itself in the wider context of the penalty's showdown. Indeed, most of the matches of the Round of 16 were resolved by penalties shootout, this match was no exception as the score of 0-0 was the one at full-time, during the extra time each teams scored one goal each, culminating in a penalty shootout session in which the Vascanians emerged victorious with the following score: 1-4. The Vascanians will meet Luthori in the quarterfinals.

Another match that concluded with a penalty shootout saw the Kundratis successfully qualifying for the quarterfinals by winning the penalty shootouts in their match against Yerrawa. The match ended with the score of 2-2 at normal time, with extra time seeing goal attempts by each side that were unconclusive, at the end, the Kundratis qualified for the quarterfinals where they will face against Mordusia, which crushed the Baltusians with the score of 3 to 1.

Meanwhile in another humiliating defeat, the New Verhamese secured their tickets for the quarterfinals by obliterating the Jelbeks with the score of 6-1, this match was described as a “festival for the New Verhamese and a total humiliation for the Jelbeks”, the Dovanian nation is joined by Ikradon, who defeated Dorvik after an impressive match which remained inconclusive at the end of extra time with the score of 3-3 and yet another penalty shootout, which the Ikradonians won with the score of 5-3.

Finally, the two last confrontations were: Bianjie vs New Englia and Dundorf vs Istalia, arguably two of the most awaited matches in this stage, they sure failed to disappoint their fans. For the former, the Dovanian confrontation saw neither team break the defensive wall that the other had created to counter their attacks, with normal time ending with a tied score, 0-0, at extra time, no goals were scored, and yet another penalty shootout was organised, in which Bianjie emerged as the winner with the score of 4-1, meanwhile the other match, Dundorf vs Istalia was described as the “most exciting match of the decade”, with each team scoring four goals each during normal and extra time, ending with the tied score of 4-4, even the penalty shootout was intense, Dundorf only winning 4-6 after the goalkeeper scored the last penalty to send them to the quarterfinals against Bianjie.

Unfortunately, incidents have erupted between Bianjie and New Englians amid the penalty shootout, with some supporters forcibly removed by security from the stadium and taken under police custody. The Northminster Police hasn't yet made comments.

After this intense session of matches, here are the teams that will partake in the quarterfinals.

[Ligbruderkrieg]

The World Cup’s quarterfinals have finally concluded and after these impressive and catch-breathing matches, we know which teams among the Final 8 will advance to the semifinals of the competition. After key surprises in the group stage and the round of 16, the quarterfinals were filled with outsiders which surpassed expectations to rise themselves to the point that they were in. New Verham, Vascania, Ikradon, Kundrati, Mordusia, Bianjie have all a point in common: all of these states are outsiders in the wider footballing world and for many, it’s actually a good thing that these nations are the one we are seeing in the quarterfinals.

“New Verham played excellent aggressive football, Ikradon, Kundrati, Mordusia and Bianjie have excellent player connection and agility and Vascania has a very impressive low bloc tactic that made a lot of teams suffer under their defensive playstyle, focused on counterattacks. [...] I believe that it’s far better to see other nations than the one we normally see in international football, it adds some diversity to the sport, allow us to see more regions shine in this field and we can some players shine during this tournament.” said Times’ sports editorialist Jake Baxter.

Luthori battled against Vascania and secured a two-null victory over the Vascanian selection, knocking them out of the tournament in what is described as the best performance from the Vascanian national team in football. Vascania-Luthori drew over 97 million people domestically and over 900 million abroad in front of their television or other devise to watch the match. Vascania opened the match with numerous attempts to score between the 1st and 25th minute, breaking from their traditional defensive style to compare with more balanced Luthorian team tactic. Unfortunately, the Luthorians used the fact that Vascania wasn’t used to this style to score one goal at the 37th minute and another one at the 69th minute, when the Vascanians had returned to their more traditional playstyle.

Luthori’s qualification has drawn enormous crowds in the streets to celebrate the qualification of the national team, pubs ran wild until 6 am in the morning as street parties were improvised in celebrations. The Mall was filled with people waving flags and expressing their joy at seeing Luthori at the semifinal of a World Cup that the nation organised, these scenes were in sharp contradiction with the image of disputes and fights during the New Englia-Bianjie match, which led to some supporters to both nations being taken into custody and forcibly evicted from Luthorian soil.

Speaking of Bianjie, the Bianjie team was facing the Dundorfian team, which in its match against Istalia (4-4, 5-3 tab) arguably offered the best that football could possibly give, while Bianjie was also coming off strongly from both the group stages and the round of 16, their mid performance against New Englia casted some doubts upon the Bianjiae team’s ability to defeat Dundorf. These fears were proven real as Dundorf scored two goals against Bianjie in the 5th and 8th minutes, and proceeded to dominate the Bianjie team for over 66 minutes, until the Dovanian selection scored a goal by freekick at the 71st minute, then Bianjie midfielder Koyazu Hiroshi was tackled by Dundorfian defender Damian Berkamp on the penalty area, leading to a penalty being awarded and then transformed by Bianjie attacker Ota Iwao. At full-time, the score was of 2 against 2, leading to extra time, during these, the Bianjie successfully exploited a weakness of the Dundorfian defence during a corner, and by a headbutt, Bianjie defender Mura Shuji scored the last goal at the 117th minute, sending Bianjie to the semifinals against...Ikradon or New Verham?

Both teams were unexpected, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t give their all during this match, Ikradon and New Verham are what many considered as “outsiders” - those who were not favourites by any points, and had an interesting, yet still weak squad. Yet both of these teams far surpassed the expectations laid before them to stand at the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, it seems that New Verham’s luck finally ran out as they were defeated by the Ikradonian team 3 to 1, Ikradon joining Bianjie in the semifinals as the second representative of the Artanian continent alongside Luthori, a place where nobody had expected it to be.

Finally, onto the last confrontation that we will cover, Kundrati vs Mordusia, also an outsider confrontation, it revelaed itself to be far more balanced and far more competitive than the Ikradon vs New Verham confrontation. While Mordusia would eventually come up on top with 3-2 in their favour, it wasn’t until Bob Dyles scored a last-minute header in the 84th minute that Mordusia would effectively be qualified for the semifinals, where they will face host nation Luthori.

Celebrations also erupted amid news of Mordusia’s qualification, Mordusian-Luthorian diaspora celebrated across Luthori and at home as well, notably with the solidarity of Luthorian fans in the Home Territory. 

“I’m happy for them,” said an anonymous Luthorian supporter, “but we’ll still kick their asses in the semifinal, I’m sure of it” he said while drinking a pint of beer. This statement translates the prevailing sentiment; rivalry mixed with a feeling of brotherhood.

It’s been announced that Luthorian Emperor and Mordusian King, Richard II will attend the semifinal between the two nations, the first football match in the competition that the monarch will personally attend, excluding the opening match. The Prince of Orange, for his part, attended all matches of the Mordusian and Luthorian selections since the beginning of the competition.

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Attendees to World Cup final known as Final 4 teams give their all-in semifinals.
July 5726 (backdated)

It’s not every single day that your team will be playing a World Cup final. Indeed, this World Cup has proven to be the competition of outsiders, with most favourites being either knocked up early or being eliminated in the knockout stage. This year’s semifinals saw Ikradon battling against Bianjie and Luthori confronting Mordusia, each of these teams aiming at winning to successfully reach the final.

Luthori’s match against Mordusia was attended by His Majesty the Emperor himself, as both of his realms were confronting themselves in the football pitch, as the match started, Mordusia immediately went into the offence, aiming at scoring against Luthori in the early stage and later shift to a defensive strategy that some would call “haramball”. Mordusia’s Haylan Ramsey scored at the 19th minute after a 15-meter freekick that Luthori’s goalkeeper Jon Parsley failed to stop from hitting the goal’s nest. Fortunately, the Luthorians were able to come back at 1-1 after Matt Odion transformed a penalty in the 41st minute. 

At half-time, the score was of 1-1 and that score remained as such during the second half, until the Luthorians scored in the 90th minute, with Conor Dean scoring what was widely considered as the “victory goal” on the Luthorians’ behalf, unfortunately in the 93th minute, defender Roger Parksley made a handball in the penalty area, causing Haylan Ramsay to once again equalize to bring the score to 2-2 at full-time.

Unfortunately for each time, extra time saw numerous attempts at unlocking the goal counter in either teams’ favour, but these efforts were unsuccessful – causing a penalty shootout filled with tensions as each team transformed their penalties, 1-0, then 1-1, then 2-1, then 2-2, and so on and on, each teams successfully scored every single time, at some point, the score was 6-6, until Luthori’s midfielder, Travis Poole saw his penalty being stopped by Mordusia’s GK Lloyd Flandin. Following this, Mordusia’s defender Robert Hunt scored, sending Mordusia to the final with the following score 2-2 (6-7 pen)

But who will join Mordusia in the final? Will it be Ikradon or Bianjie? In their match, both teams focused on ultra-offensive football. At halftime, the score was of 3-1 in Ikradon’s favour, many predicted that the Artanian formation would be qualified for the final, but Bianjie had other plans, scoring three goals in the 51th minute, another one in the 68th minute and finally the last goal, sending them straight to the final against Mordusia in the 87th minute.

After their qualification, both the Mordusian and Bianjie teams’ supporters celebrated while the streets of Fort William and other major cities were more silent than usual as the nation coped with the fact that Luthori was knocked out of its own tournament by Mordusia in a penalty shootout. Streets in the national capital of Randworth were filled with celebrating supporters as the Mordusians have the chance to bring the trophy home, same in Bianjie’s Gemun.

Luthori and Ikradon will fight for 3rd place in the “Little Final” on July 13th while Mordusia vs. Bianjie will be on July 14th. Stay tuned to know who crowned World Champions will be.

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Bianjie or Mordusia? Who to become World Champions?

Bianjie has claimed the spot as world champions after defeating Mordusia in the final. The small Dovani nation wasn’t in the favourites to win the tournament, but thanks to their team’s good result, camaraderie and absolute loyalty from their fans, the Dovani nation will claim its first world cup. 

Bianjie vs Mordusia wasn’t exactly the most exciting final that anyone would have placed forward, after all, there were more exciting teams on paper, but it seems that the shocking elimination of numerous “favourites” in both the group stage and then later in the knockout stage have paved the way for both teams to claim their spot in the final.

The match started following the Closing Ceremony which celebrated the recent World Cup and all its participants. Both teams played aggressively, with defenders not being afraid of violentely tackling their opponents. Mordusia’s Brian Roger was handed a red card after a foul on Bianjie’s midfielder Taiji Kenzoku, leaving his team in a numerical disadvantage at 10 vs. 11. Nonetheless between Roger being sent off at the 32nd minute, the Mordusians held their own during the next 30 minutes, narrowly avoiding catastrophe as the Bianjie pressed forward. The Mordusians already narrowly scored in the 65th minute, but Bianjie’s goalkeeper made a last-minute save on the goal line. 

Unfortunately for the Mordusians, Bianjie’s Ota Iwao scored the first and only goal of the confrontation at the 82nd minute, sealing Bianjie’s victory in front of the entire world.

When the final whistle blew, Bianjie had won and were crowned World Champions as their entire nation celebrated their landmark achievement. The match has been watched by over 1.3 billion people worldwide and in the streets of Gemun, crowds celebrated their national team’s victory.

The match was notably attended by the Emperor of Luthori, in his capacity as King of Mordusia, the Mordusian Prime Minister and the Bianjie Khan.

Meanwhile, the Luthorians have defeated Ikradon with the score of 2-1, at least securing third place after their surprising and shocking elimination against Mordusia.

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Government Blames Intelligence Head Amid Questions Over PM’s Own Policies
April 17, 5726 (backdated)

The immediate aftermath of the Fort William bombings was expected to be “bloody”, an informal term used in reference to government “purges”. The very first victim of this was Domestic Intelligence Agency Chief, Jonathan Blythe, who was promptly relived of his duties as Director-General of the DIA by the Prime Minister, a statement from Number 10 confirmed.

The Prime Minister, while assessing the terrorist attack as a “victory” for the “forces of legalism and constitutionalism in the nation” has privately been said to be “fuming” over the circumstances of the attack, which caught Luthori’s well-oiled national intelligence apparatus off-guard and Mr. Blythe was the very first victim of the purge that will strike over Luthori’ security agencies. 

The statement from Number 10 stated the following: “Mr. Blythe served the Luthorian people for 25 years, first as a young bureaucrat in the Home Ministry and now as the Director-General of the Domestic Intelligence Agency. His life in public service was a symbol of dedication and his professionalism at every position he was entrusted with, serves as an example of patriotism and rigorous dedication to his nation and the protection of our citizens. It is with great sadness that we announce that Prime Minister Parkford has accepted his resignation as Director-General of the Domestic Intelligence Agency, and we wish him the best in his future endeavours.”

While the statement from 10 Crown Street was positive about Mr. Blythe’s resignation, dressing up the sacking as a resignation, informal sources within the Prime Minister’s Office describe him as an “angry, bitter man, who accepted his resignation in a heartbeat [...] while tossing his resignation letter in the bin.” These allegations weren’t confirmed by anyone close to the Prime Minister or any members of the Cabinet in a formal capacity, meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s own Chief of Staff, Sara Raeisi described the allegations as being “ludicrous”, adding that the Prime Minister “strongly respects and commands the work of Mr. Blythe as Director-General"

Meanwhile, Blythe turned down offers for interviews following his abrupt departure from his post. His silence being interpretated as a form of “tacit agreement” between him and the rest of the government. Neither Blythe nor his representatives have accepted our offers for an interview. The Prime Minister has now the responsibility to appoint a new Director-General for the DIA. Potential appointees for the role include former IFIA Director-General Walter Crawford or former Home Secretary Julia Levinsky. 

Mr. Parkford is seemingly headed towards a “total makeover” of his administration, as the fates of Home Secretary Alistair Woods and National Security Minister Adam Lieberman remain in jeopardy, as according to political columnist Stephen Lu “heads will roll for this tragic failure”

The terrorist attacks in Fort William claimed the lives of 149 people and wounded 732.