28th of June, 2016
Authored by TNC Media Writer, Kasch. IndieGirl 3 - 3 True Sebland
Amongst today's most anticipated games, fans were excited to see whether IndieGirl and True Sebland would be going through or would be going out of the tournament. The game began very quickly, with True Sebland midfielder David Delieto sending long through balls into the box for open strikers to take. One of these passes ended up being the opening assist, when in the 16th minute, David Delieto sent a long ball over the defense to the pouncing young striker Rodrick Felle to tap down and smash it into the far corner. IGU responded with haste and immediately got the ball back up towards the opponents net. From a corner, IGU defender Kenneth Carroll headed the ball down and beyond the keeper. At 39 minutes, IGU striker Lincoln Teller rushed past a bewildered True Sebland defense and passed it into the net. Just after the first half, True Sebland striker Richard Rensicky was subbed on and managed to score two goals within the space of 10 minutes. One at 53 minutes and the next at 58 minutes, bringing the lead to True Sebland. In the 79th minute, IGU midfielder Matthias Tellington smashed the ball high into the top corner of the net, bringing the game to a stalemate.
Antarticeuropa 0 - 1 Kaschovia
This game was between the underdogs and one of the group's strongest... If Kaschovia won, they'd go through to the next round, having watched the first game of the day beforehand. They pulled out all that they could and tried to win the game early on, but this plan came to a quick halt when AE almost scored, hitting the crossbar once and hitting the post again. The game ticked on, until the 93rd minute, when Kaschovia decided to launch a last ditch effort attack, with even the goalkeeper joining in. They had every single player forward for the final corner of the game. The ball was whipped with pace across the box, meeting the head of an AE defender. The ball landed out at the edge of the box, to midfielder Walter P. Jason's feet. He lined up a shot and struck it with power at the net. It swerved in mid-air, confusing the keeper. The ball flew like a majestic eagle towards the net, the reflection of the setting sun on the dew-soaked ball. Time froze as everyone in the stands watched the ball rise high into the air but then dip like a rollercoaster into the bottom left corner of the net. The reaction to the goal could've matched the intensity of an earthquake. All 51,975 Kaschovian fans roared and cheered as the players and managers flooded the pitch, celebrating with the game winner.
Aragnatim 3 - 2 Ceretis
Another contender for game of the day, this match was so highly broadcast that it reached over 5,750,291 people across the planet. With 90,000 people in the stadium, it was highly predicted that Aragnatim were going to win this game easily, and up until the 50th minute, things were looking that way. The Aragnatimian team started the game easily, scoring a goal through a crucial counter-attack. After the second half, Ceretis caught the Aragnatimians off guard and scored two goals. One through a header and one through a nicely dug-out shot into the top right corner. Aragnatim however, were not ready to lose their final game and miss out on the knockouts. At 82 minutes they won a penalty and scored again with ease. In the 92nd minute, a low pass into the box was driven in by one of the strikers, giving Aragnatim the lead late on.
Serwall 1 - 0 Naizerre
Serwall have long been favourites of Group B, ever since day one. Their strong attacking force is unmatched so far in the tournament. They've had the most possession and the most shots on target so far. Yevhen Levic was playing his third game in a row this afternoon, and he was going for the top goal scorer position. It was a pretty laid back game, with Serwall getting off to a brilliant start. Just before the first whistle, Yevhen Levic rushed into the box and met the exquisite cross from winger Oleg Yarschenko. He made a great connection, the ball floating over the keeper and into the back of the net like a flying ball of victory. Following this win, Serwall is the only team in the tournament to have won every single one of their games.
Malphe 2 - 0 The Unliving Experiment
This game had been called pointless all day before the match. Everybody knew that Lorbank and Sadakoyama were going to play it out until the very last second to try and score and they also knew that they probably wouldn't, so Malphe, trying to get something out of the game, decided to make the game theirs and win it for their country. The dark green wave of fans in the crowd knew that even if they won, they might still have a chance of going through, should late goal come along in the other game. But it didn't, and that meant that both of Malphe's goals were not enough to take them through into the knockout stages.
Lorbank 0 - 0 Sadakoyama
A pretty boring game, both teams were playing for the draw. By the looks of it, they did not want to take many chances and decided to stick at the back and keep possession. Both teams wanted to draw, knowing that if they did, they would for sure go through. There were still some chances, but nowhere near as many as the matches that have been on today. One chance came in the 85th minute when Lorbankian striker Javi Guerra narrowly missed the inside of the post as the entire team watched the ball hit the post and bounce back out into open play.
Northern Scovia 4 - 4 Praeceps
The definite winner for match of the day, this game was so intense that not even the helicopter news coverage team wanted to fly away! Everyone was captivated, hoping that the ultimate underdogs, Praeceps, would pull something magical out of their hat and win the game. Unfortunately, Northern Scovia came prepared for these situations. They knew that Praeceps would be on full attack to try and clinch a second-placed finish. For almost the entire game, everything was silent. There were no interesting attacks, there was nothing left to show for it, but it was after the first goal when everything changed.
The first goal came at 49 minutes when Harry Lajoie sneaked a shot beyond the confused keeper. The second was almost instant in reply to Praecep's opener. Gavin Polanska, a young central midfielder, scored two stunning goals, just five minutes apart at 51 minutes and 56 minutes. Praeceps needed a strong response and that was what they gave. Two more goals brought Praecep's goal count up to 4. Northern Scovia didn't want to go out so easily. They threw everyone forward towards the end of the game and boy did they perform. A fairly won penalty was scored, and then again in the 88th minute, a stunning free kick was scored by the Northern Scovia midfielder George DeVires, bringing the game to a draw.
Xentherida 2 - 4 Kialga-Lourti
Kialga-Lourti came into this match confident of their team's ability to score big goals. That is what they did today. Xentherida started off strong with five very good chances within the first half. Kialga-Lourti managed to get two goals within the first half, with Xen only managing to get one goal. All of the goals were below average and not of the quality we would expect, but it was the second half that turned the game around. Kialga-Lourti thrashed Xen with their pacy wingers and great passing. They scored two goals before the final whistle and finally Xen scored a scrappy tap-in goal towards the end. The ref blew his whistle and that was it for the group stages. We now find out who makes it into the knockouts.