aragon47
12-29-2006, 05:06 PM
(Playing for Canada, PRO difficulty)
This is more a story of my final kick at the can, so-to-speak. Now at age 34, my once-elite skills are waning and my opportunities for world footballing glory are few. Though there was reasonably little to prove having played key roles on two World Cup winning sides (2010 and 2014), I wanted my home nation of Canada to not only compete in the tournament but to move beyond the group stages and battle in the elimination rounds or, with luck, even book a date in the finals. With my abilities in decline and a squad of young and unproven teammates, I can only hope for the best.
We enter the World Cup competition drawn with Cameroon, Turkey and Germany in Group G. While Cameroon and Turkey are not odds-on favourites to raise the cup, the Germans are well-favoured as I'm anticipating them fielding a skilled side.
Game on...
Game 1 - Turkey 1 Canada 1
The match left little to choose between each respective team; it was a close, tense game with neither side giving up much. Perhaps my nerves were playing a factor but my youthful and skilled years seemed a particularly distant memory -- I felt sluggish on the pitch, an observer at best. Thankfully, my strike partner, Abdelkader Duke, is still in his prime and he surges us ahead 1-0 after 31 minutes with a soaring volley. The Turks pull even on a late goal as suspect defense and an accurate strike combine to see our 3 points cut down to one. A lamentable and woeful late-game break-down. Not the best start but there's little in it but to accept the result and move forward.
Game 2 - Cameroon 4 Canada 3
The first game was a snorer but this match was a classic and its a game we needed to win particularly with the Germans in the books as our next opponent. A full 3 points from this match would likely secure our survival in the Group Stages.
Cameroon open the scoring on an awesome blast from just beyond the 18 yard area at 16 minutes and I can feel the anxiety begin to eke its way into my psyche. The Indomitable Lions then tally again at 22 minutes and the once-mild anxiety is now a deluge of panic. Down 2-0, we have little recourse but to battle on. Our world cup destiny now seems to be forged by forces out of our control and it leaves us demoralized.
But fortune smiles on us at the 29 minute mark as I slip a pass through the defense on to Duke's boot. He fires it home and our scoring account is open. With our waning confidence now bolstered, the final moments of the first half are glorious. We create opportunity after opportunity and bulge the onion bag not once but twice more. Our 18 year old midfielder, Leslie Dwight smokes a cannonading drive into the top corner from 30 yards at 34 minutes and, not to be outdone, Philiben LaPlante heads one in from my curling corner at 44 minutes. We head to the 2nd half up 3-2 and a treasured 3 points seems within our grasp.
Unfortunately, the second half sees our good fortunate vanish. The Cameroonians take advantage of our tactical changes, exploiting the gaping holes on the wings of our 4-3-3 formation. With the formational change, our coach had hoped to deal the knock-out blow but Cameroon wouldn't have it. They tally at 69 and 83 minutes. Our 3 points evaporated, my nerves shot, we stump off the pitch 4-3 losers and regret only taking 1 of a possible six points in the Group. Dark days to be sure.
Game 3 - Canada 4 Germany 1
Desperate and much daunted by our highly-skilled opponents, I roll up my sleeves and dig in to this match -- this is truly do or die. We "do".
I take charge and score my first three goals of the tourney at 8, 16 and 27 minutes. The first two are headers. LaPlante fires in cross after cross and I meet two, notching both with authority. Its a dream start!
Uncertain of my striking ability, I nonetheless start taking shots from every angle -- regardless of the distance. I fire a scorcher in at 27 minutes that increases our lead. It is now that I start to feel like the striking threat of old; like we are unstoppable.
Germany appear to make a game of it at 51 minutes on a low-drive that finds the mark but Dwight nets his second of the game and tourney at 76 minutes and puts the match out of reach. We down the Germans and barely secure a 2nd stage seed.
Final Standings are: Cameroon - 6pts, Canada - 4pts, Germany - 3pts, Turkey - 2pts
2nd stage Canada 6 Poland 1
After squeaking into the elimination rounds and with my confidence on the rise, I notice our next match pits us against an opponent we know little about: Poland. This will be our first match against them.
We start the game at a frenetic pace, making darting runs down the wings and forging chances in the middle of the pitch and Poland seem like they can do little to counter our momentum. I open the scoring at 7 mins through a header off of a lovely arcing cross from Dwight. We're off and running, our good fortune carrying over from our previous match.
Four minutes later, I tally once again through a headed strike from a Dwight cross into the area. Capitalizing on Poland's disorganization, I put our side up by 3 goals after a graceful, curling bender from 30 yards eludes the 'keeper. We're up 3-0 at the half.
At 49 minutes, Poland finally solves our defense with an intimidating volley but our team performance is simply too strong and we put them away with 3 more goals. Duke, a hammerblow from 10 yards at 62 minutes; I score again after a creative pass from Duke sends me in on a breakaway at 72 minutes and Vincas Ford provides the exclamation point with a formidable strike from outside the penalty area at 89 minutes. We rout Poland 6-1 and we're through to the next test.
Quarter Finals: Czech Rep 0 Canada 4
We draw yet another unfamiliar opponent in the quarter finals: the Czech Republic. Not having faced them before, the inherent unfamiliarity casts a shadow over our momentum. However, I soon discover that there appears to be a certain ease in dispatching them.
From the outset, I'm eager and I feel like I'm starting to roll having contributed 4 goals in our last game. More importantly, my earlier doubts have now ebbed away and I get a sense we have a real chance of being crowned World Cup champions for the 3rd time.
As the game begins, I'm punished for being a tad over-eager and shown a yellow card after 1 minute as I inflict a needless and vicious tackle upon a Czech midfielder and see him crash to the turf. I decide to ease up on the throttle and play an attacking midfield role and let Duke foray into the opposition box. Wise decision as it turns out.
Duke is on world-class form; he puts us up 1 - 0 after 6 minutes with a cheeky chip from inside the penalty area after I work the ball to him. Not to be outdone, he rifles in his second at 13 minutes and we're up by 2. We attack and put the pedal to the floor. We cross, we pass, we dominate possession and control the pace of the game. Leslie Dwight lobs in a beautiful corner cross and I bury it. 3-0 feels right and we're in cruise-control.
Duke supplies the exclamation point with a low 30+ yard drive and suddenly, 4 goals in, I'm already thinking about the semis. I hear the call of a third world cup victory...
Semi Finals: Brazil 4 Canada 5, ET
Without question, this was the Crown Jewel of memorable matches. A previous victory over the Brazilians in the semis of the 2010 World Cup does little to disuade thoughts that this would be an uphill struggle. They are young, fast, skilled, fast, tireless and fast; yellow blurs thundering about the pitch leaving our team to counter with our best stuff which still isn't as good as Brazil's mediocre stuff.
Having been the national hero of this version of the World Cup, there’s little question that Abdelkader Duke is the rising star on our squad. I'm much slower than I was back in the day, I rarely find room enough on the pitch to line up a shot, seldom find time enough to set up a pin-point cross and almost never out-run a defender. I've been passing to Duke and letting his skill carry us to the promised land. He definitely delivered as hyped on this day.
Duke opens the scoring at 6 minutes despite being shadowed by three fast yellow-shirted defenders. A lovely shot from just inside the box gives us an amazing start. Sadly, the confidence it instills lives only for 3 precious minutes. The Brazilians march up the pitch and tie it through a low strike after 9 minutes. Strengthened, they then make it 2-1 after 17 minutes. Again lacking the speed and skills of yesteryear, I settle on playing an attacking midfield, laying up to Duke when the ball finds me. I daren’t linger as I'm easy prey in my slowed state.
Leslie Dwight, like Duke, is playing his face off and knots the contest at 2-2 with a 23rd minute strike the leaves me gobsmacked. We’re proving we can clearly play with these guys. Not so fast…
Brazil, spurred by our stead-fast and stubborn play, surge ahead at 39 minutes with a brilliant run of play: tic-tac-toe passing and a 10 yard drive from short range. We’re down 3-2 at the half but the breathless moments await.
Our opponents double their lead two minutes after the 2nd half kick-off and deservedly so: the pair of strikers wheel up our end of the pitch, one-touch passing, leaving our defense in shambles, finally beating our hapless ‘keeper. Upper-hand to Brazil. Down now 4-2, the pendulum then swings in our favour.
At 53 minutes, I finally figure into this goal-fest by slotting home after a thoughtful pass from Duke. It’s a close-range “gimme” but it gets us within striking distance, one goal adrift at 4-3.
Duke, our goal-machine, nets again on the 63rd minute and we’ve miraculously tied the affair. After a stretch that saw our midfield direct the flow of play, Duke got on the end of a LaPlante cross and volleyed into the cage inside the penalty area. 4-4 is almost too much to handle.
The final 27 minutes of regulation time sees a stalemate develop; almost like each side had played his best cards. The game turns sloppy and the closing moments give way to extra time which only seems fair with both sides playing creative and hard-fought football.
The initial extra period is a defensive duel with neither side dominating. It seems to be unsettling calm before the storm. Aged 34 and my stamina in the red-zone, I fear I won’t last the additional 15 minutes of the 2nd extra period; desperate to see our side through, I limit my movement and make long passes to the wingers with the intention of forcing the ball into Brazilian territory.
However, our patient manoeuvring pays off. In the 116th minute, Brazil has a defensive breakdown and relinquishes the ball. I pounce on the opportunity and run full-out and send a curling pass to the right wing. Sensing the potential, the winger runs on to the long pass and finds space on the right hand side, making the by-line. Duke and I charge for the penalty area in the hopes of meeting the cross and winning us a trip to the final match. LaPlante launches a beautiful lob into the box that coasts well over my head. Duke, however, is Johnny on the spot as he beats two defenders to meet the ball, the ‘keeper dives for the ball but it soars just out of his reach. Duke takes the cross and heads home a first-class goal. Jubilation! We’ve outlasted the sure favourites Brazil: we win 5-4 in extra-time. Definitely the most entertaining and satisfying match I’ve played since installing NSS3.
Final Game: Sweden 5 Canada 3
In our third World Cup final contest, we are matched against Sweden. The Swede’s are yet another unknown competitor as this represents our first game against them. We feel that with Germany and Brazil out of the picture, we have a clear field; can the “Blagult” up-end our momentum and steal our final moment in the sun? In true anti-climactic fashion: they can…
Right from the opening kickoff, the blue and yellow-clad footballers out-hustle us. Three quick goals at 6, 9 and 17 leave us completely gobsmacked. Had we endured and fought so hard only to be soundly thrashed? I’d find out in the closing moments of the first half.
Already 3-nil up, Sweden appear to seal the deal by firing home two more arcing headers at 32 and 41 minutes respectively. We’re down 5-nil after the opening half and I feel winded. It’s a nightmare opening frame and I can’t imagine that we have it in us to tie it let alone win the contest outright.
As the second half starts, we come out of the gates in an aggressive 4-3-3 formation hoping for early goals. Duke, who has clearly been our star, makes a darting run up the centre of the pitch and finds me open with a lovely, low pass. I take it on the run and blast it into the net from in tight at 49 minutes. Still down by 4, it’s a good start. Our early goal doesn’t translate into 2nd half domination as I’d hoped. Instead, our midfield seem intent on surrendering possession the moment its gained thereby wasting precious time.
LaPlante closes the margin from 4 goals to 3 with an 82nd minute strike but it wasn’t enough. I score my final goal of the tourney at 89 minutes but we ultimately come up short. The Three Crowns are crowned the World Cup champions of 2022 and our only consolation is a runner-up medal. While I am awarded the Golden Boot with 10 goals in the tournament, I am still disappointed to have only come so close. Our guys fought bravely but fate ultimately denied us the grand prize. What a memorable and exhausting ride.
Thanks to those who managed to chug through this story. It was definitely a long-winded effort but fun to write nonetheless.
Happy New Year to everyone!;)
Cheers,
A47
This is more a story of my final kick at the can, so-to-speak. Now at age 34, my once-elite skills are waning and my opportunities for world footballing glory are few. Though there was reasonably little to prove having played key roles on two World Cup winning sides (2010 and 2014), I wanted my home nation of Canada to not only compete in the tournament but to move beyond the group stages and battle in the elimination rounds or, with luck, even book a date in the finals. With my abilities in decline and a squad of young and unproven teammates, I can only hope for the best.
We enter the World Cup competition drawn with Cameroon, Turkey and Germany in Group G. While Cameroon and Turkey are not odds-on favourites to raise the cup, the Germans are well-favoured as I'm anticipating them fielding a skilled side.
Game on...
Game 1 - Turkey 1 Canada 1
The match left little to choose between each respective team; it was a close, tense game with neither side giving up much. Perhaps my nerves were playing a factor but my youthful and skilled years seemed a particularly distant memory -- I felt sluggish on the pitch, an observer at best. Thankfully, my strike partner, Abdelkader Duke, is still in his prime and he surges us ahead 1-0 after 31 minutes with a soaring volley. The Turks pull even on a late goal as suspect defense and an accurate strike combine to see our 3 points cut down to one. A lamentable and woeful late-game break-down. Not the best start but there's little in it but to accept the result and move forward.
Game 2 - Cameroon 4 Canada 3
The first game was a snorer but this match was a classic and its a game we needed to win particularly with the Germans in the books as our next opponent. A full 3 points from this match would likely secure our survival in the Group Stages.
Cameroon open the scoring on an awesome blast from just beyond the 18 yard area at 16 minutes and I can feel the anxiety begin to eke its way into my psyche. The Indomitable Lions then tally again at 22 minutes and the once-mild anxiety is now a deluge of panic. Down 2-0, we have little recourse but to battle on. Our world cup destiny now seems to be forged by forces out of our control and it leaves us demoralized.
But fortune smiles on us at the 29 minute mark as I slip a pass through the defense on to Duke's boot. He fires it home and our scoring account is open. With our waning confidence now bolstered, the final moments of the first half are glorious. We create opportunity after opportunity and bulge the onion bag not once but twice more. Our 18 year old midfielder, Leslie Dwight smokes a cannonading drive into the top corner from 30 yards at 34 minutes and, not to be outdone, Philiben LaPlante heads one in from my curling corner at 44 minutes. We head to the 2nd half up 3-2 and a treasured 3 points seems within our grasp.
Unfortunately, the second half sees our good fortunate vanish. The Cameroonians take advantage of our tactical changes, exploiting the gaping holes on the wings of our 4-3-3 formation. With the formational change, our coach had hoped to deal the knock-out blow but Cameroon wouldn't have it. They tally at 69 and 83 minutes. Our 3 points evaporated, my nerves shot, we stump off the pitch 4-3 losers and regret only taking 1 of a possible six points in the Group. Dark days to be sure.
Game 3 - Canada 4 Germany 1
Desperate and much daunted by our highly-skilled opponents, I roll up my sleeves and dig in to this match -- this is truly do or die. We "do".
I take charge and score my first three goals of the tourney at 8, 16 and 27 minutes. The first two are headers. LaPlante fires in cross after cross and I meet two, notching both with authority. Its a dream start!
Uncertain of my striking ability, I nonetheless start taking shots from every angle -- regardless of the distance. I fire a scorcher in at 27 minutes that increases our lead. It is now that I start to feel like the striking threat of old; like we are unstoppable.
Germany appear to make a game of it at 51 minutes on a low-drive that finds the mark but Dwight nets his second of the game and tourney at 76 minutes and puts the match out of reach. We down the Germans and barely secure a 2nd stage seed.
Final Standings are: Cameroon - 6pts, Canada - 4pts, Germany - 3pts, Turkey - 2pts
2nd stage Canada 6 Poland 1
After squeaking into the elimination rounds and with my confidence on the rise, I notice our next match pits us against an opponent we know little about: Poland. This will be our first match against them.
We start the game at a frenetic pace, making darting runs down the wings and forging chances in the middle of the pitch and Poland seem like they can do little to counter our momentum. I open the scoring at 7 mins through a header off of a lovely arcing cross from Dwight. We're off and running, our good fortune carrying over from our previous match.
Four minutes later, I tally once again through a headed strike from a Dwight cross into the area. Capitalizing on Poland's disorganization, I put our side up by 3 goals after a graceful, curling bender from 30 yards eludes the 'keeper. We're up 3-0 at the half.
At 49 minutes, Poland finally solves our defense with an intimidating volley but our team performance is simply too strong and we put them away with 3 more goals. Duke, a hammerblow from 10 yards at 62 minutes; I score again after a creative pass from Duke sends me in on a breakaway at 72 minutes and Vincas Ford provides the exclamation point with a formidable strike from outside the penalty area at 89 minutes. We rout Poland 6-1 and we're through to the next test.
Quarter Finals: Czech Rep 0 Canada 4
We draw yet another unfamiliar opponent in the quarter finals: the Czech Republic. Not having faced them before, the inherent unfamiliarity casts a shadow over our momentum. However, I soon discover that there appears to be a certain ease in dispatching them.
From the outset, I'm eager and I feel like I'm starting to roll having contributed 4 goals in our last game. More importantly, my earlier doubts have now ebbed away and I get a sense we have a real chance of being crowned World Cup champions for the 3rd time.
As the game begins, I'm punished for being a tad over-eager and shown a yellow card after 1 minute as I inflict a needless and vicious tackle upon a Czech midfielder and see him crash to the turf. I decide to ease up on the throttle and play an attacking midfield role and let Duke foray into the opposition box. Wise decision as it turns out.
Duke is on world-class form; he puts us up 1 - 0 after 6 minutes with a cheeky chip from inside the penalty area after I work the ball to him. Not to be outdone, he rifles in his second at 13 minutes and we're up by 2. We attack and put the pedal to the floor. We cross, we pass, we dominate possession and control the pace of the game. Leslie Dwight lobs in a beautiful corner cross and I bury it. 3-0 feels right and we're in cruise-control.
Duke supplies the exclamation point with a low 30+ yard drive and suddenly, 4 goals in, I'm already thinking about the semis. I hear the call of a third world cup victory...
Semi Finals: Brazil 4 Canada 5, ET
Without question, this was the Crown Jewel of memorable matches. A previous victory over the Brazilians in the semis of the 2010 World Cup does little to disuade thoughts that this would be an uphill struggle. They are young, fast, skilled, fast, tireless and fast; yellow blurs thundering about the pitch leaving our team to counter with our best stuff which still isn't as good as Brazil's mediocre stuff.
Having been the national hero of this version of the World Cup, there’s little question that Abdelkader Duke is the rising star on our squad. I'm much slower than I was back in the day, I rarely find room enough on the pitch to line up a shot, seldom find time enough to set up a pin-point cross and almost never out-run a defender. I've been passing to Duke and letting his skill carry us to the promised land. He definitely delivered as hyped on this day.
Duke opens the scoring at 6 minutes despite being shadowed by three fast yellow-shirted defenders. A lovely shot from just inside the box gives us an amazing start. Sadly, the confidence it instills lives only for 3 precious minutes. The Brazilians march up the pitch and tie it through a low strike after 9 minutes. Strengthened, they then make it 2-1 after 17 minutes. Again lacking the speed and skills of yesteryear, I settle on playing an attacking midfield, laying up to Duke when the ball finds me. I daren’t linger as I'm easy prey in my slowed state.
Leslie Dwight, like Duke, is playing his face off and knots the contest at 2-2 with a 23rd minute strike the leaves me gobsmacked. We’re proving we can clearly play with these guys. Not so fast…
Brazil, spurred by our stead-fast and stubborn play, surge ahead at 39 minutes with a brilliant run of play: tic-tac-toe passing and a 10 yard drive from short range. We’re down 3-2 at the half but the breathless moments await.
Our opponents double their lead two minutes after the 2nd half kick-off and deservedly so: the pair of strikers wheel up our end of the pitch, one-touch passing, leaving our defense in shambles, finally beating our hapless ‘keeper. Upper-hand to Brazil. Down now 4-2, the pendulum then swings in our favour.
At 53 minutes, I finally figure into this goal-fest by slotting home after a thoughtful pass from Duke. It’s a close-range “gimme” but it gets us within striking distance, one goal adrift at 4-3.
Duke, our goal-machine, nets again on the 63rd minute and we’ve miraculously tied the affair. After a stretch that saw our midfield direct the flow of play, Duke got on the end of a LaPlante cross and volleyed into the cage inside the penalty area. 4-4 is almost too much to handle.
The final 27 minutes of regulation time sees a stalemate develop; almost like each side had played his best cards. The game turns sloppy and the closing moments give way to extra time which only seems fair with both sides playing creative and hard-fought football.
The initial extra period is a defensive duel with neither side dominating. It seems to be unsettling calm before the storm. Aged 34 and my stamina in the red-zone, I fear I won’t last the additional 15 minutes of the 2nd extra period; desperate to see our side through, I limit my movement and make long passes to the wingers with the intention of forcing the ball into Brazilian territory.
However, our patient manoeuvring pays off. In the 116th minute, Brazil has a defensive breakdown and relinquishes the ball. I pounce on the opportunity and run full-out and send a curling pass to the right wing. Sensing the potential, the winger runs on to the long pass and finds space on the right hand side, making the by-line. Duke and I charge for the penalty area in the hopes of meeting the cross and winning us a trip to the final match. LaPlante launches a beautiful lob into the box that coasts well over my head. Duke, however, is Johnny on the spot as he beats two defenders to meet the ball, the ‘keeper dives for the ball but it soars just out of his reach. Duke takes the cross and heads home a first-class goal. Jubilation! We’ve outlasted the sure favourites Brazil: we win 5-4 in extra-time. Definitely the most entertaining and satisfying match I’ve played since installing NSS3.
Final Game: Sweden 5 Canada 3
In our third World Cup final contest, we are matched against Sweden. The Swede’s are yet another unknown competitor as this represents our first game against them. We feel that with Germany and Brazil out of the picture, we have a clear field; can the “Blagult” up-end our momentum and steal our final moment in the sun? In true anti-climactic fashion: they can…
Right from the opening kickoff, the blue and yellow-clad footballers out-hustle us. Three quick goals at 6, 9 and 17 leave us completely gobsmacked. Had we endured and fought so hard only to be soundly thrashed? I’d find out in the closing moments of the first half.
Already 3-nil up, Sweden appear to seal the deal by firing home two more arcing headers at 32 and 41 minutes respectively. We’re down 5-nil after the opening half and I feel winded. It’s a nightmare opening frame and I can’t imagine that we have it in us to tie it let alone win the contest outright.
As the second half starts, we come out of the gates in an aggressive 4-3-3 formation hoping for early goals. Duke, who has clearly been our star, makes a darting run up the centre of the pitch and finds me open with a lovely, low pass. I take it on the run and blast it into the net from in tight at 49 minutes. Still down by 4, it’s a good start. Our early goal doesn’t translate into 2nd half domination as I’d hoped. Instead, our midfield seem intent on surrendering possession the moment its gained thereby wasting precious time.
LaPlante closes the margin from 4 goals to 3 with an 82nd minute strike but it wasn’t enough. I score my final goal of the tourney at 89 minutes but we ultimately come up short. The Three Crowns are crowned the World Cup champions of 2022 and our only consolation is a runner-up medal. While I am awarded the Golden Boot with 10 goals in the tournament, I am still disappointed to have only come so close. Our guys fought bravely but fate ultimately denied us the grand prize. What a memorable and exhausting ride.
Thanks to those who managed to chug through this story. It was definitely a long-winded effort but fun to write nonetheless.
Happy New Year to everyone!;)
Cheers,
A47