Angirisian News Agencies

[Aerandariel]

ANGIRISIAN NEWS NETWORK
The Angirisian Empire's #1 Source for News and Commentary for 84 Years
21 OCHTYR, 1582



PRAYERS ANSWERED
Angirisian Empire's national football team finally captures their first World Cup Championship after a historic final

CATHEDRIUM - It finally happened. The moment Angirisian football fans have waited decades for. The moment that Angiris as a country has waited for for generations. A moment that was geared for since 1566. A moment that finally seemed real after Jurgen Baumann came on the scene. That moment has come at last. Today, after a historic World Cup Final match with Severyane that for a while didn't seem to want to end and after so many twists and turns that put Angirisian hopes in doubt and gave Severyanians a case of the willies, the Angirisian national football team finally hoisted the SIFA World Cup Championship trophy high in the air to the glee of almost 100,000 Angirisian faithful inside the Arena at the Capitol Complex and millions across the country and around the world.

The way to the Final was not easy. The Angirisian team, despite cruising to two straight group stage victories over Ceribia and Magentina, ran into a brick wall thanks an embattled Akitsu side that had to wonder what could happen back home if they lost. Despite the loss to Akitsu, Angiris was poised to make a deep run. It started with a battle against Nyland that was almost too much for Angirisian manager - and former Nylander manager - Jurgen Baumann. Perhaps it was too easy considering Baumann knew Nyland's strategies inside and out and it showed with a 2-1 victory over a side that was in the World Cup Final four years prior in a loss to Angirisian rivals Kyrzbekistan. That test became overshadowed by an even bigger test: Lanlania in the quarterfinals. An important match to win if not for the fact it meant a berth in the semi-finals, it was a chance to exact a bit of revenge on the squad who put the final nail in the coffin on Angiris's disaster-striven 1566 World Cup campaign. A shutout over the Lanlanians helped quench  that thirst. Next came the surging A'sir side, who had made some fair noise in recent years. This semi-final match was Angiris's roughest match yet, as it went to extra time. That win punched the most important ticket to the most important match in Angirisian history.

The final match with Severyane was one that was topsy-turvy all day long. Severyane led most of the way in regulation time, but with two minutes to go the Angirisian side replied after an earlier miss and a goal that was then redacted due to an offsides penalty. That brought the score even and threw things into extra time for the ninth time in World Cup history. Severyane looked very strong in extra time, scoring two straight goals in the matter of a few minutes. Those goals silenced the massive crowd in the Arena at the Capitol Complex and put Angirisian hopes of victory on life support. But those hopes were suddenly given new life again after the Angirisians pulled out two quick goals to make things even again and send the match into penalty kicks. What transpired became historic. Nineteen penalty kicks between the countries resulted, leading both sides deep into their rosters to break the deadlock. It came down to the respective goalkeepers. Severyane's Belinsky missed just off the outside, keeping things at 9-9. Angiris's Steven Dorsey came next, with the hopes of 70 million on his shoulders. The kick that followed will forever be ingrained in Angirisian football memory. It was the kick that finally brought about the moment.

The second it happened, the Arena exploded into jubilation. The Imperial City exploded into jubilation, as did Westmarch City. As did Caldeum, still reeling from the Nerysian riots. As did Lut Gholein, and Tristram, Aiur, and so many more cities where crowds of thousands and perhaps tens of thousands gathered. Even the natives of Mount Arreat were moved to celebration. It was an amazing moment. Instead of riots several days prior in misery, streets were filled with thousands of people jumping up and down, screaming and hollering at the top of their lungs, tears running down many of their faces. It was a moment that in many respects validated the work of generations of Angirisian leaders hoping to bring the Empire away from a past filled with death, destruction and disaster.

Some may say it sounds over-dramatic but so many Emperors, Chief Ministers, Advisory Council members, Senators and later Chancellors did all they could to repair the wounds left in the nation after civil wars, political unrest, and instability in government. To make a story short, the Angirisian Empire nearly collapsed numerous times. That was a time many people want to forget. This World Cup victory today, even though it was a sporting event, finally united the Empire in ways politics and government could not.

At first glance, it may seem Angiris's path to a World Cup title seemed all too easy. The big powerhouses - Nerysia, Oslanburg, Kyrzbekistan - all fell in the round of 16 or quarterfinals in matches they should have easily taken. It can be said that if Angiris came up against any one of those three teams, it would never have made it to the final. For that matter, nobody gave Angiris really all that much of a shot to go very deep in this tournament. Everyone - the experts, people on the street and otherwise - was proven completely wrong. And for many Angirisians, that is an amazing feeling.