Lions WC 25 Campaign

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This article pertains to the performance of Nedalia's national football team (the Nedalia Lions) in the twenty-fifth edition of the football World Cup.


The Squad

THE GAFFER:

Randy Gamman: Insane amount of pressure is now on the Lions' only ever manager to perform after the disappointments of the qualifying rounds. If success in the Cup of Harmony is not achieved, then Gamman will most likely be asked to resign.


GOALKEEPERS:

Derrell Lynch (94 caps): Captera Athletic GK, 34 years old. The Three Time [b]Premier League GK of the Year[/b] finally began to show glimpses of his age in the WC25 qualifying rounds, although he is bar far still the best GK in Nedalia. There has been talk that this and the AOCAF XI tournament might be his last international escapades.

Jim Brown (8 caps): Rappor FC GK, 27 years old. Beat out Hard Dans for the priviledge of backing up Lynch. Solid GK, potential candidate to replace Lynch when he retires.


DEFENSE:

Gradd Corona (22 caps/0 goals): Brickell United LB, 20 years old. Solid contributor in the qualifying stages, has already figured out the international game despite his young age. Potentially could be the best left back to come out of Nedalia ever.

Cole Zenith (81 caps/1 goal): Bronkstone FC CD, 34 years old. Most likely the CoH and the AOCAF will be his last international tournaments. "The Captain" since the Lions first international game, his leadership has been vital to the team. His age, however, means that he cannot run like he used to, and that turned out to be a bigger liability than originally expected in the Qual. rounds. Still, one of the best defenders Nedalia has to offer.

Mohammed Khadra (48 caps/4 goals): Shoreland United CD, 26 years old. The current [b]Premier League Defender of the Year[/b], Khadra is touted as Zenith's replacement in the backline. His partnership with "The Captain" has been streaky, but Khadra's individual defensive abilities are second to none. Played in every game during the qualifying stages.

Hans Lamm (63 caps/2 goals): Honsfield Athletic RD, 27 years old. Can make a case for being the Lions most consistent player. Solid in every aspect, whether going forward or taking care of his defensive duties.

Jorgem Ruff (18 caps/0 goals): Edensanne United LD, 26 years old. Solid defender, could not make the left back position his, with the youngster Corona being favored over him.

Stevenson (12 caps/0 goals): Brickell United CD, 26 years old. Always reliable, has been on the national team since he was in his teams, but has never shown enough to play consistently. Phenomenal pace coupled with good tackling always makes his a good choice for a substitute in case a defender goes down with injury.

Ben Turner (15 cap/1 goals): Rappor FC RB, 19 years old. The youngest defender on the squad, enormous potential. Has played consistently for his club, and Gamman surprised some by calling him up. Still, has the ability to impress in the upcoming World Cup.


MIDFIELD:

Nene (84 caps/32 goals): Inland Peaks (Vilita) LM, 26 years old. Nedalia's highest rated player, bought for $30 million by Vilitan club Marine Coast United before making his move to Inland Peaks. Scored 6 goals in 16 appearances during the qualifying stages, as well as handing out 9 assists.

Trent Hardman (59 caps/6 goals): Akani Sands (Bettia) DM, 27 years old. Most popular candidate for the captaincy one Zenith calls its quits. Solid as they come, with exceptional ball skills to go with his tough defensive abilities. Finds the net with suprising consistency as well.

Innit Point (75 caps/10 goals): Internashionale (Starblaydia) AM, 26 years old. The first ever player to make the move out of Nedalia, has been one of the better performers in the Starblaydi league in recent years. The Lions' premier passing machine, he appeared in all 18 games in the qualifying stages, scoring 2 goals to go with 11 assists.

Constantine (35 caps/5 goals): Shoreland United RM, 22 years old. More was expected from the youngster during the qualifying campaign, but he only managed to score 1 goal in 16 appearances. At his best, this right winger can make a mockery of any defender standing in his way.

Don Downing (47 caps/6 goals): Carlesa FC LM/RM, 28 years old. A great talent that could start on nearly any team he played for, yet finds himself on the bench because he plays the same position as Nene. Still gets a lot of playing time because of his versatility, able to slide in anywhere in the midfield. Played well when he appeared for the Lions during the qualifying rounds.

Houdini (18 caps/4 goals): Shoreland United DM, 20 years old. The most flamboyant of the Nedalian players is a defensive midfielder. After his performance during the qualifying stages, some are questioning his defensive abilities. Still time to grow.

Khalil Jamhurra (30 caps/2 goals): Rappor FC AM, 25 years old. The reigning [b]Premier League Midfielder of the Year[/b], consistent in every aspect with an insane left footed shot. Only reason he doesnt start is because of Innit Point. Gamman's most reliable substitute.


FORWARDS:

Tim James (51 caps/30 goals): Caledon Simpson (Krytenia), 23 years old. The reigning [b]Premier League Striker of the Year[/b] and [b]Premier League Player of the Year[/b], he was Nedalia's best player during the qualifying campaign. He appeared in all 18 games, scoring a team high 14 goals. Nedalia's premier offensive weapon.

Chris Yamtech (58 caps/13 goals): Shoreland United, 30 years old. Didnt perform at the level many fans expected him to this last qualifying round, scoring only 4 goals in 16 appearances. There has been talk about him being relegated to the bench despite his predatorial instincts around the goal area.

Mattan (60 caps/16 goals): Butetown Dragons (Bettia), 28 years old. Cleaned up his act and was a suprising contributor, scoring 4 goals in most substitute appearances. Was impressive enough to force Gamman to think about relegating Yamtech to the bench and give him his former starting job back.

Bader Tayarra (28 caps/6 goals): Gabalfa City (Bettia), 26 years old. Impressed at Gabalfa City after making a $4 million move, leading to his callup to the national team. Didnt play a big part in the qualifying rounds.

Andrew Blod (25 caps/9 goals): Cockbill Street club, 28 years old. Very inconsistent the last qualifying rounds, and will be hoping to make better use of his time on the pitch.


Overview

After the infamous redraw which Total n Utter Insanity forgotten, the Lions were put into a difficult Group 9, which ultimately caused the qualifying campaign to end in disappointment. After an expected Matchday One victory over RyukyuDaitoKazanNampo (which the Lions won 4-1), talk about qualifying for the second World Cup in a row intensified in Nedalia. However, things started to drift out of control for the Lions.

Matchday Two saw a loss infront of the home crowd at the Kafra International Stadium to Spaam, with the final result being 2-1. Although disappointing, many Nedalians brushed it aside and hoped for better next go around. They would have to wait for a while. Matchdays Three and Four saw losses to Total n Utter Insanty and Eauz, respectively, home and away. Four games into the campaign, and the Lions were sitting at the bottom half of the group table. It wasnt until Matchday Five that they got their act together, defeating Da WhoseLine People 3-1 at home. By then, however, pressure had already started to mount on the team, and especially on the shoulders of manager Randy Gamman.

It appeared the the pressure, which the Lions never had to live with before, caused perhaps the lowest point of the qualifying campaign: a 1-0 home loss to lowly Adam Island. That had the critics, media, and the fans reeling with anger, and the Nedalian FA demanded that results improve. A 4-1 home win against Andossa Se Mitrin Vega caused some of the anger to quell a bit, but there was still a heavy sense of disappointment in the air, and things were not helped by the result on Matchday Nine. Hoping to have turned the corner, the Lions went to Hockey Canada with hopes of snatching 3 points. Instead, they conceded 3 goals and came away with nothing in a 3-1 loss. Rumors started springing up about the match costing Gamman's job, but he ended up keeping it, despite the fact that the team were heavily underachieving. The table at the halfway mark looked like this:

 Pos  Team                  P  W  D  L  F   A   GD   Pts
 1  Total n Utter Insanity  9  6  2  1  15   9    6   20
 2  Hockey Canada           9  5  3  1  13   5    8   18
 3  Eauz                    9  4  3  2  13   8    5   15
 4  Spaam                   9  3  5  1  12  10    2   14
 5  Da WhoseLine People     9  3  4  2  10  10    0   13
 6  Yafor 2                 9  3  3  3   9   7    2   12
 7  RyukyuDaitoKazanNampo   9  3  2  4  12  14   -2   11
 8  Nedalia                 9  3  0  6  19  18    1    9
 9  Adam Island             9  2  1  6   4  15  -11    7
10  Andossa Se Mitrin Vega  9  0  3  6   9  20  -11    3


It was obvious that the offense was there, but the defence was the 2nd worst in Group 9. This was highlighted in Matchday 10, when careless defending caused RyukyuDaitoKazanNampo to equalize in the final minutes in an away match, adding only more frustration to the Lions and their supporters. The frustration would not stop there, however: another 1-1 draw to Spaam in Matchay Eleven all but eliminated hope of qualification for the Lions, and all but signaled to the NFA that their needed to be some changes at the end of it all.

With a sense of desperation behind them and the feeling of fading hope taking over, the Lions rallied around their rumored soon to be gone manager, and pulled off a terrific performance infront of the home crowd on Matchday Twelve, defeating Total n Utter Insanity 2-1. This would prove to be the turning point in the Lions campaign, as they finally seem to have clicked together. Matchday Thirteen saw a solid away victory against Eauz, and all of a sudden, hope began to rise in Nedalia.

With a victory against the Da WhoseLine People on Matchday Fourteen, Nedalia now found themselves in 4th place, 7 points behind 3rd placed Eauz. Though qualification seemed to be near impossible, the Lions continued to play like the Lions of old, grabbing a 2-0 victory away to Adam Island on Matchday Fifteen.

Qualification hopes would all come to an end on Matchday Sixteen, when a draw to Yafor 2 mathematically made it impossible for the Lions to get higher than 4th place. Although expected, it left Nedalia completely gutted, and not even a 4-0 over group leaders Hockey Canada managed to cheer the nation up.

Although Randy Gamman did not lose his job, he remained under the very watchful eye of the NFA. The only manager the Lions have ever known has a long way to go if he wants to earn the trust of the fans and the FA back. The final table standings ended like this:

 Pos  Team                  P   W   D  L   F   A   GD   Pts
 1  Hockey Canada           18  12  3   3  32  18   14   39
 2  Total n Utter Insanity  18  10  4   4  26  18    8   34
 3  Eauz                    18   9  5   4  27  17   10   32
 4  Nedalia                 18   9  3   6  36  24   12   30
 5  RyukyuDaitoKazanNampo   18   7  3   8  28  26    2   24
 6  Yafor 2                 18   6  5   7  19  16    3   23
 7  Da WhoseLine People     18   5  7   6  23  27   -4   22
 8  Andossa Se Mitrin Vega  18   5  3  10  17  28  -11   18
 9  Spaam                   18   3  7   8  19  31  -12   16
10  Adam Island             18   2  4  12  10  32  -22   10


Stars of the Tournament