2014 AFA Alliance World Cup

The 2014 Alliance World Cup was an international men's football tournament that took place in New Holland from January 4th to January 26th. It was the inaugural Alliance World Cup in the Alliance of Independent Nations.

The national teams of 20 countries took part in the finals tournament, with matches played in 11 cities and 12 stadia throughout New Holland.

On November 20th, the groups for the Group Stage were drawn. The 20 teams were split into five different groups of four teams each. New Holland as the Host was set for first spot in Group A.

The sale of tickets for the World Cup started on November 20th, 2013. In total 1.6 million tickets were made available with the majority being sold through the AFA's website.

In the final, Kingston and Boyce defeated Cattala 5–4 after a penalty shootout, with Joseph McAlister converting the deciding penalty giving Kingston and Boyce their first world title. Host nation New Holland lost the quarter final to the later second-placed Cattalians 2-1. Karasem was the only nation not to score a goal in the tournament, whilst Kingston and Boyce along with Neu Westfalen were the only nations to advance through the group stage without conceding a single goal. Kingston and Boyce and Asgard were the only nations in the tournament to remain undefeated, Asgard however leaving after the group stage, recording only three draws.

Host Selection
On November 1st, 2013 the AFA executive council agreed to give the hosting rights to New Holland. New Holland is home to the Headquarters of the Alliance Football Association and one of the strongest soccer teams in the Alliance.

Venues
The opening match was held in Seddon's King George Stadium, which is usually called Crown Current Stadium, but was renamed in the preparation for the World Cup.

Group stage
The are five groups of four teams each.

Group A
Group A is the host nation's group. New Holland was set on first place before the draw.

Quarter-finals
In this round, the best team of the group stage faced off against the eight best team, etc.
 * Kingston and Boyce vs. Lower Colmbia marked the 159th rematch of the West Coast Rivalry.
 * Neu Westfalen vs. Atlantic Federation was the first World Cup game to be decided in a penalty shootout.
 * Sainte-Croix' loss against New Duveland was the biggest comeback win in World Cup history, with New Duveland coming back from 3-0 down.
 * The red card to Lower Columbia's Takeshi Sato was the first ejection from a game in the World Cup.

Semi-finals
The Semi Finals sparked a large controversy following Cattala's Extra time winner against New Duveland, being awarded two undeserving penalties, eventually winning the game because of those two penalties. Kingston and Boyce secured their place in the final with a comfortable 2-0 win over Neu Westfalen.

Third Place Playoff
New Duveland scored five times to win over Neu Westfalen winning the Third Place Playoff. It marked the highest defeat to Neu Westfalen ever recorded and it also marked the highest win in a knock out stage game.

Final
The Final was decided by Joseph McAlister in a shootout, winning the game 5-4 for Kingston and Boyce, after the score was 1-1 after 120 minutes.

The Trophy was handed over by New Holland Prime Minister Grant Fredericks. King Olaf of Kingston and Boyce was in attendance as well as Duke George of Cattala, spouse to Queen Alexandra V.

Goalscorers

 * New Holland striker Rick Wellington was the first player to score a goal in the competition, in their 3–1 win over Soviyya, the opening game of the tournament.
 * Sainte-Croix defender Mark Pfertzel was the first player to record an own goal in a World Cup, in his side's 3-4 loss to New Duveland. His goal was eventually the game winner.
 * Sainte-Croix player Louis de Rouie was the only player to record a hat trick in this tournament, scoring three times in his side's opening game win against Islas Verdes.
 * New Duveland scored 11 goals in the Knockout stages, no other team has scored this many goals in the knock out stage. (Kingston and Boyce and Cattala are both second placed with 6 goals each)

Discipline
Two players were sent off in this tournament, Takeshi Sato of Lower Columbia after two yellow cards in one game and Jesse Smart of New Duveland in the semi final on a straight red card. Apart from that, five players had to sit out one game due to two yellow cards over the course of the tournament.

Awards

 * Golden Ball for the Tournament's MVP: Yannick Sprenger
 * Golden Boot for the tournament's Top Scorer: Louis de Rouie (7 goals, two assists)
 * Golden Glove for the tournament's best Goalkeeper: Tim Dalton (only two goals conceived)
 * Best Young Player: Kyle Lammock
 * AFA Fair Play Trophy:  Atlantic Federation

All-Star Team
The All-Star Team was decided by an online public vote, in which people were invited to select a team (in a 4–4–2 formation) and best coach. Voting was open until 23:59 on 26 January, 2014 with entrants going into a draw to win a prize.


 * Goalkeeper: Tim Dalton
 * Defenders: Konstantin Kirchner,  Thomas Richards,  Mark Ollivé,  Liam McDonald
 * Midfielders: Yao Mi-An,  Leni Aata,  Otto Klaus,  Yannick Sprenger
 * Forwards: Louis de Rouie,  Chris Hamilton
 * Coach: Lucien Favre

Forum Statistics

 * In 7 forums threads, a total of 185 pictures (plus 34 edited versions) have been uploaded and have received 204 replies.
 * The event marked the first sports event to finish since the AFL Futsal World Cup in August 2012.