Under-21 World Cup

The idea for the Under-21 World Cup (U21WC) was thought up by Liverpool England, however, every installment of the cup has been hosted by Total n Utter Insanity, originally to be a testing ground for the RPR ranking and RP-bonus system. Ironically enough, original creator Liverpool England has never made it beyond the quarterfinals.

It has become known for its innovative approach to match result generation, incorporating tactical variations for each team. With many teams opting for extreme attacking formations - scientists in Kaze Progressa once cloned their famous striker Faiwe Irafma over twenty times and made each of the clones teenagers, using this as their Under-21 team - goals are never far away and ten goals in a game - which did not happen in any of the first sixteen senior World Cups until Rejistania's 10-1 demolition of Ravea in World Cup 17 - is not uncommon in this tournament. However, there are also plenty of low-scoring games as defensive formations are also possible.

An interesting scenario also developed in U21 World Cup 20. Like in version 19, Fmjphoenix, Hockey Canada and Pacitalia all made it to the semifinals. The same result occurred: the Blue Foxes and the dark horse team (in U21WC19, Bettia and in U21WC20, An archy) were defeated, while Fmjphoenix and Hockey Canada advanced to the final. In version 19, Fmjphoenix beat Hockey Canada while Pacitalia defeated Bettia. And in version 20, the proverbial podium was filled in exactly the same way, with Fmjphoenix defeating Hockey Canada and Pacitalia defeating An archy for a second-straight 1-2-3 from those three nations.

What it is

The U21WC, run by Total n Utter Insanity, is for the younger Football (or 'Soccer') players of nations and uses its own ranking system, a spinoff tournament of the World Cup. It is a good place to create and mould your World Cup players for the future, plus it's fun as scorelines can get quite high. The U21WC is seperate from the 'official' World Cup and does not count towards KPB Rankings (any more) as it is considered unfair for Networms with too much time on their hands to gain a substantial advantage over those who enter only the World Cups. Thirty-Two nations send their youngsters to Total n Utter Insanity every two years (going by the accepted norm that World Cups happen every 4 years, as in real life) to compete for glory.

In the grand scheme of the Nationstates World Cup the U21WCs start at the end of the WC Qualifiers and again at the end of the WC Finals, giving two U21WCs for every WC.

How it Works

The thirty-two teams are divided into 8 Groups of 4, designated A-H. Each of the top Eight seeds are 'given' their own group, so the best teams are not able to knock each other out at the Group Stage. In this Group Stage, each team plays the other three teams in their group once, and the top-two go on to the Second Round where it becomes a straight 16-team knockout competition. Not only are the 1st and 2nd placed teams decided in the Final, but a Third-Placed Play-off match also occurs for the two losing Semi-Finalists.

Styles of Play

The U21WC is almost unique in Sports Roleplaying as it allows teams to choose their Style of play from a list of six which will then impact upon their performance. You can choose a style to suit your nation's footballing-mentality, to match up performances with the formation your team would use, or perhaps just picking the 'best' Style to work the scorination system, the choice is yours. The styles (and their basic effects are as follows:

• AOA - 'All Out Attack' - You may score a lot of goals, but your opponent will practically have an empty net to shoot at. Suitable if you RP your team in a 2-3-5 formation, for instance.
• ATT - 'Attacking' - Your team is inclined towards attacking play, scoring more but conceeding more. 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 is a good representation of ATT.
• NOR - 'Normal' - Most likely a standard 4-4-2 or similiar formation for a balanced style of play.
• DEF - 'Defensive' - A defensive-minded team. 5-4-1 or similar formations here
• AOD - 'All Out Defence' - If you like to sit in front of your goal and not take the ball into the opposition's half, this is for you. 8-1-1 perhaps?

And there is also the very random and near-suicidal (unless you have a high rank) mystery-style of:

• KAM - 'Kamikaze' - Just. Plain. Weird. Perhaps if your team have no idea what a football match is, or if they're just psychopathic, try KAM.

Roleplaying

Roleplays in the U21WC have a huge impact on the Championships, although not in the 'usual' manner. Using a special system called Roleplay Ranks. Roleplaying in the U21WC increases a nation's rank for the following tournament, rather than providing an immediate ranking bonus as is the norm.

Current rankings

As of the end of World Cup XIX, these are the top 10 national squads in the Under-21 circuit.

1. Fmjphoenix
2. Hockey Canada
3. Spruitland
4. Pacitalia
5. Hypocria
6. Starblaydia
7. Bettia
8. Jeruselem
9. Milchama
10. An archy

Former Winners