Bedistan national football team

History

The Bedistan national football team played its first international match against Svecia in 2005, losing by a score of three to one; however, it was merely the first stepping stone to a very long and glorious sporting history.

Bedistan qualified for their first World Cup in 2006 in an unconventional way, doing so by means of a special eight-way playoff created to fill the gap left by the former Al Quds, who was originally to host the Cup alongside Tanah Burung. Despite a lack of experience, the Bedistani team was able to obtain two points in the group stage, achieving draws against both Ravenspire and host nation Tanah Burung. World Cup 6 was met with similar results, but in World Cup 7, the Lions made the world take note by advancing all the way to the semifinals, finally losing there to Errinundera and then again in the third-place match to Svecia. The team's performance in that Cup helped to greatly strengthen the Bedistan Football Association's bid to host World Cup 8 alongside Oglethorpia, which ultimately succeeded.

World Cup 8 marked the first instance of a host nation reaching the final, Bedistan doing so after a one-nil win over Europa Britannia in the semifinals. Their opponents were the team from Liverpool England, distinct underdogs in the match. However, the Liverpool England team was very much underestimated and shocked the world by defeating the Lions in front of a packed house at Holmes Stadium and lifting the Cup right from under the very noses of the host nation. World Cup 9 only served to add insult to injury after the Lions lost again in the semifinals, this time to old foes Ravenspire, again facing Liverpool England in the third-place match. And again Liverpool England won, this time 2-1 instead of 3-1.

After being humiliated again by Liverpool England, the Bedistan national team fell into a slump. Despite being ranked fourth in the world, they only managed to reach the second round of World Cup 10, losing to relatively unknown Antaeus Rising, and then the team hit rock bottom shortly afterward, failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first (and so far only) time and missing out on a trip to Total n Utter Insanity and/or Warnocks Wizards. Instead the team participated in the third running of the Cup of Harmony, putting on a mediocre performance before losing to Iansisle in the quarterfinals.

Having now fallen into the mid-twenties in world rankings, a much chagrined Bedistani team rallied to gain entry to World Cup 12 before bowing out in the first round with a win and two losses. When World Cup 13 came around, though, the Bedistani team of old seemed to be back in business, powering their way once again to the semifinals before being crushed three-nil by Eauz and returning again to the third-place playoff. For the first time, though, the run would end in a win, the Bedistan national team taking third place over Lemmitania.

Though World Cup 14 saw the Lions chalk up an impressive 15-2-1 record in qualifying, the Cup itself was eminently forgettable for Bedistan, who failed to move on to the second round after earning just two points and scoring only one goal in the group stage. The next Cup saw Bedistan take the full nine points in the group stage for the first time before ultimately losing to Squornshelous in the quarterfinals.

Many Bedistani football fans saw World Cup 16 as something of a renaissance of the sport for Bedistan. The Lions came out of the gate with a vengeance in a 7-0 away victory over ASSKICKEN, tied for the largest victory in Bedistani history, and ultimately went all the way to the final for the first time in thirty-two years, but they were again denied the Cup in a 1-0 loss to Eauz. But it was to be a while before Bedistan would see that level of success again, as they fell into an extremely predictable pattern. In each of World Cups 17, 18, and 19, the Lions earned exactly four points in the group stage with a win, a draw, and a loss, and each time they were knocked out in the second round. In the case of World Cup 18, it resulted in the first time a Bedistani national team had ever allowed four goals in a match, losing 1-4 to the Eagle's Nest. However, after World Cup 18, the Lions managed to win their first ever trophy by defeating Audioslavia in the final of Eagle's Cup 4, held, ironically enough, in the Eagle's Nest.

World Cup 20 saw renewed hope for Bedistan as they finally managed to get two wins in the group stage and defeated host nation Starblaydia in the second round after extra time. They would, however, fall to Audioslavia in the quarterfinals.

During World Cup 21, many feared that the team had slipped back into their style from a decade ago, again getting a win, a draw, and a loss in the group stage. But there was much rejoicing when the team successfully defeated long-time rivals Liverpool England in the second round, marking the third time in three years Bedistan had defeated the team that caused them to miss out on their first World Cup trophy. The World Cup 21 quarterfinal match against Vilita holds the distinction of being the highest-scoring match ever in a World Cup (qualifying included), as the Lions eked out an 8-7 victory over the Jungle Cats to advance to the semis. There, a 1-0 win over Cockbill Street in their own territory gave the Lions a third attempt to take the Cup. Their opposition this time: Total n Utter Insanity. Neither team had successfully won a World Cup before, even though Bedistan had attempted seventeen times and TnUI twenty times. As a result, it was no surprise when the score remained deadlocked at 1-1 after 120 minutes, sending the World Cup final into a penalty shootout. There, the team exercised its great skill at the penalty mark to overcome the Insanicians 5-3 and finally secure the World Cup for Bedistan after sixty-five long years.

An attempted repeat performance in World Cup 22 proved unsuccessful, as eventual winners Sarzonia defeated the defending champions 1-0 in the semifinals; Bedistan was, however, able to win the third-place match against Rejistania.

The team has been ranked in the top 10 of the KPB World Rankings almost without interruption since the late 2030s; its highest-ever rank was 2nd, from 2046 through 2050 and again from 2054 through 2058.

World Cup record

• World Cup 5 - Group stage
• World Cup 6 - Group stage
• World Cup 7 - 4th place
• World Cup 8 - 2nd place
• World Cup 9 - 4th place
• World Cup 10 - Second round
• World Cup 11 - Did not qualify
• World Cup 12 - Group stage
• World Cup 13 - 3rd place
• World Cup 14 - Group stage
• World Cup 15 - Quarterfinals
• World Cup 16 - 2nd place
• World Cup 17 - Second round
• World Cup 18 - Second round
• World Cup 19 - Second round
• World Cup 20 - Quarterfinals
• World Cup 21 - 1st place
• World Cup 22 - 3rd place

Head coaches

• Jim Parker (2005-18)
• Gene Barber (2020-29)
• Johnny Lewis (2030-42)
• Jeff Whitehurst (2044-??)
• Morris McGarity (20??-??)
• Mike Davidson (20??- )

Selected famous players

coming soon

Former players

coming soon