Scovern national football team

Scovern

Nickname(s)	Jernene ("The Irons")
Association	Royal Scovernois Football Federation (KSFF)
Confederation	FIEF (Euclea)
Head coach	Kent Haugli
Captain	Hallvard Søndergaard
Most caps	Ivar Kirk (141)
Top scorer	Rafael Jahnke (68)
Code	SCO
First colours Second colours
World ranking
Current	8 (20 May 2023)
Highest	4 (1968–70, 1981–82)
Lowest	34 (1997)
First international
Cislania 1–2 Scovern (Weisstadt, Werania; 16 April 1900)
Biggest win
Scovern 31–0 South Kabu (Rimso, Scovern; 19 September 1981)
Biggest defeat
Ardesia 12–1 Scovern (Rémont, Ardesia; 9 June 1997)
Coupe du Monde
Appearances	16 (first in 1939)
Best result	Runners-up (1983)

The Scovern national football team (Mescon: Skoverns herre-fodboldlandshold, Vestelian: Skoverns herrelandslag i fotball, Frellandic: Skóþjóð karlalandsliðið í knattspyrnu) represents the Kingdom of Scovern in international association football. The team is overseen by the Royal Scovernois Football Federation (KSFF) and is a member of the Euclean International Football Federation (FIEF).

Formed in 1900, Scovern qualified for the first Coupe du Monde in 1939. It reached the quarter-finals in the 1971 Coupe du Monde but were eliminated by eventual winners Gaullica. The team of the early 1980s is usually considered as the height of Scovernois football, reaching the final of the 1983 Coupe du Monde but losing to Rizealand. Scovern went through a slump in the 1990s, however, failing to qualify for both the 1995 and 1999 Coupes and falling to a record-low 34th place on the IFF rankings in 1997. Scovern has also seen mild success at the Invictus Games, having won two bronze medals in football.

History

1900–1948: Beginnings and professionalisation

Scovern had fielded a number of unofficial national teams in the 19th-century, but the first professional game played as Scovern was against Cislania, one of the federal states of Werania, in Weisstadt in 1900, which they won 2–1. These early teams were predominantly amateur, though Scovern sent football teams to the Invictus Games when it was first introduced at the 1914 Summer Invictus Games in Liberty City. The national team of the 1900s and 1910s drew heavily from dockworkers and ironmongers in Rimso, the origins of its modern nickname "The Irons" (Jernene). Scovern joined the International Football Federation in 1917, and by the 1930s the national team was comprised of professional or semi-professional players.

Joar Urness was Scovern's top-scorer for almost 40 years, as well as its first player to sign for a foreign club.

After the Great War, Scovernois football experienced a boom, with its domestic leagues being centralised and its top flight fully professionalised along with the national team. It was one of the 16 participating nations at the 1939 Coupe du Monde in Werania, but was defeated in the first-round by Etruria 4–1, with a single goal scored by Vincent Richel. The team had a forgotten golden era in the 1940s due to the suspension of the 1943 and 1947 Coupes, with the team led by the likes of prolific goalscorers Hugo Tanck and Joar Urness, who amassed over 100 international goals between them. Urness became the first Scovernois footballer to play abroad professionally when he signed for SS San Marco in 1948.

1948–1959: Post-war coupes

Scovern hosted the 1951 Coupe, the first to feature the group stage. The tournament further popularised football in the country with a commendable exit in the round of 16 to Gaullica, losing 3–2, led primarily by striker Torben Thrane who scored four in the tournament. The Asterian Federative Republic lifted the trophy in Rimso. At Estmere 1955, the country sunk to a low point, drawing a group of Satucin, Champania and Azmara, whom they lost to 2–0, 1–0 and 2–0 respectively. Scovern exited with zero points and zero goals scored, still the only tournament in which this occurred in national history. Manager Carl Simonsen, who had coached the team since 1943, resigned and was replaced with the Paretian Juan Antonio Dávila, who became Scovern's first international manager. Dávila was relieved when Scovern failed to qualify for the 1959 Coupe, suffering humiliating losses to Etruria (8–1) and Soravia (6–0) in the qualifying rounds.

1959–1979: Climbing the international ladder

Scovern was a founding member of FIEF in 1960, and its footballing homes were reigniting by the emergence of the young striker Frede Smidt. At 22, Smidt scored a single goal for Scovern against Champania in the 1963 Coupe, but ultimately the team were knocked out in the group stage. A disappointing failure to qualify for Satucin 1967 was met with an inspiring run to the quarter-finals in Werania 1971, with Smidt scoring five in the tournament, breaking the domestic record for goals scored in a Coupe du Monde. Scovern reached its highest-ever IFF rankings between 1968 and 1970, sitting fourth.

Scovernois forward Ronald Lovland dribbles past Rizealand defender Logan Barr at the 1975 Coupe du Monde.

The country had high expectations for Eldmark 1975. Competition in Euclea was relatively weak as many of its top countries were in a talent slump. Scovern was regarded as one of the continent's best teams, led by forward Ronald Lovland and midfielder Herman Houge. The team had an exceptional start, beating the titans of the AFR 2–0 in the first game of the group stage with a brace by Lovland. They fought a hotly-contested second match with Aucuria to the very end, an injury time winning goal from Leiv Wangberg secured a 4–3 victory, meaning the team had already qualified for the knockouts before the final game. Scovern went goalless in the final match with a 1–0 defeat to Hennehouwe. In what became known as the "competition's earliest final" in Scovern, the team drew Ardesia in the first game of the round of 16, who were considered the best team in the Asterias. Lovland opened the scoring in the 17th minute to put Scovern a goal ahead, but goals from Ângelo Hernandes, Dionísio and Miguelinho saw the team lose 3–1 with a disappointing early exit, though Ardesia ultimately went on to win the tournament.

By the late 1970s Scovern was considered one of Euclea's "big six" teams, along with Estmere, Gaullica, Etruria, Werania and Paretia. A change of management had ex-goalkeeper Andreas Onsager take up a managerial role in 1976, and had Scovern play quick, attacking football with Lovland at the helm. Though heading towards the end of his career, Lovland remained the central attacking outlet in the team in a 4-5-1 formation. The team faltered under Onsager at Paretia 1979, with Lovland scoring the team's only two goals. Houge and a young Ivar Kirk were also standout players.

1979–1995: Golden generation

Onsager left in 1980, and his role was taken by ex-forward Frede Smidt. Smidt's footballing philosophy was similar to Onsager, but introduced an at-the-time unconventional 4-3-3 formation, with a single holding midfielder and wide wingers. Reidar Ruud was Smidt's quintessential wide player, known for his pace and explosive acceleration, he came to provide invaluable service to the young forward Rafael Jahnke. Scovern once again rose to fourth in the international rankings under Smidt in 1981 and 1982.

At the 1983 Coupe du Monde, the team got off to a goalscoring start with a 2–2 draw against Amathia and goals from Jahnke and Ruud. The group stage was concluded by comfortable victories: 4–0 against Garambura and 5–1 against Eldmark. Jahnke led the goalscoring across the tournament with 6, two clear of Daniele Sinibaldi in second-place. The team drew Werania in the round of 16, drawing 1–1 in normal time but edging out with a 113th-minute penalty converted by Jahnke to win 2–1. Scovern met Etruria in the quarters, touted to be a goalscoring frenzy with the teams led by the top-scorer Jahnke and second-placed Sinibaldi, who was fresh off a double in the round of 16 against Blostland. Sinibaldi opened the scoring in the 9th minute with a well-taken strike, bringing himself equal with Jahnke in the race for the golden boot. A header by Kirk in the 43rd minute from a Ruud corner brought the team level going into half time.

Rafael Jahnke's iconic volley capped off a second-half hattrick against Etruria in the 1983 Coupe du Monde quarter-final and earned him the nickname "Det Kongen" (The King).

The second-half saw Jahnke explode for a quick two goals in the 56th and 60th minute to put Scovern in firm control of the game. Etruria opted to go for a more attacking approach in the 75th minute, still needing at least two goals to send the game to extra time. An overextended Etrurian back line was hit with a counter-attack after a misplaced corner, which ended with Jahnke scoring an iconic volley off of Reidar Ruud's cross in the 81st minute to put the game out of Etruria's reach at 4–1 and securing his own hattrick. The goal is still remembered as one of the Coupe's greatest ever goals, and back in Scovern earned Jahnke the moniker of "Det Kongen" (The King) at only 23 years old. Scovern had advanced further than ever before, and the team faced holders Satucin in the semi-final. The game was relatively uneventful, with a 0–0 draw resulting in a penalty shootout. Kirk, Jahnke, Ruud and Owe converted their penalties, before a crucial miss on the last Satucine penalty by Max Neri sent Scovern through to the final 4–3 in the shootout. Scovern faced Rizealand in the final, who had gone through the tournament undefeated. Smidt named an unchanged lineup for the final, and the teams went into half time goalless. In the 67th-minute, Brian Marks capitalised on a defensive error to put Rizealand up 1–0. A relentless Rizealander defense prevented Scovern from scoring, and the Asterians won the final by a single goal. Scovernois press lauded Smidt and his team for a historic performance, which remains the country's best performance in a Coupe du Monde to date.

Scovern was unable to replicate its success in 1983, being knocked out in the quarter-finals in 1987 and then in the round of 16 in 1991, after which Smidt stepped down as manager of the national team. He was replaced by Thomas Munch, who inherited a mainly aging squad as stars like Jahnke, Kirk and Ruud were reaching the end of their careers. Scovern failed to qualify for the 1995 Coupe for the first time since 1967.

Tindri Gunvaldsson is Scovern's top goalscorer of the 21st century.

1995–present: Modern football

Many of Scovern's golden generation stars retired from international football after 1995, leaving the squad an unorganised mess of mostly younger players. Scovern did not qualify for another Coupe until 2003, when Frank Owe's side, led by Bård Herre, Ståle Salberg and the young forward René Møller, but this team still exited in the group stages. Møller and the emerging star Tindri Gunvaldsson took Scovern out of the group stage for the first time in 20 years in 2007, under the management of Henrik Bech, but lost the round of 16 game 2–0 to Werania. In 2011, Scovern crashed out of the group stage with no wins and only one goal scored – the lowest tally since 1955.

The national team slowly recovered from this tumultuous period through the introduction of centre-half Stanislaw Kuklinski and forward Arvid Ingebritson, and the introduction of young stars in Ruben Wollan and Kristian Setter has seen Scovern once again break the top ten in IFF rankings for the first time since the 1990s.

In the 2023 Coupe du Monde in Ardesia, Scovern opened their campaign with a famous 4–4 draw against Eldmark, with goals from Ruben Wollan, Ronny Rask and a brace from Arvid Ingebritson. Kristian Setter and Abdul Eljalali scored in a 2–1 win over West Miersa in their second group stage game. Scovern capped off the group with a 4–1 win over Padaratha, with goals from Setter, Wollan, Eljalali and Ingebritson, to top Group F with seven points. Scovern are due to face Ansan in the round of 32.

Home ground

Venue	City	Years	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	Points per game
Asserboparken	Rimso	1903–1982	277	152	39	86	481	317	1.79
Tonbyparken	Rimso	1982–	107	64	31	12	181	76	2.08
Jamtlia Stadion	Kalstad	1999–	43	20	11	12	66	40	1.65
Gamst Stadion	Rimso	1987–2004	20	8	4	8	19	24	1.40
365fun.com Arena	Lagerup	2003–2017	14	9	1	4	31	9	2.00
Risakirkja	Mosfell	2004–2012	9	5	3	1	20	7	2.00
EIOLparken Selvik	Selvik	1996	1	0	0	1	0	2	0.00
Totals		1903–	471	258	89	124	798	475	1.83

Results and fixtures

The following lists match results over the last year, in addition to any future scheduled fixtures.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2022

Scovern v Sabaw

16 September 2022 Friendly	Scovern	2–2	Sabaw	Rimso, Scovern
20:00 CET	Wollan  16' Setter  85'		Amin  29' (pen.), 38'	Stadium: Tonbyparken Attendance: 28,716 Referee: Yevdokim Amaliyev (SOR)

Soravia v Scovern

24 September 2022 Friendly	Soravia	0–0	Scovern	Samistopol, Soravia
20:00 WET (22:00 CET)				Stadium: Pobedastadion Attendance: 40,007 Referee: Go Buncho (SEN)

Scovern v Asterian Federative Republic

29 September 2022 Friendly	Scovern	2–1	Asterian Federative Republic	Rimso, Scovern
20:00 WET (22:00 CET)	Setter  60' Eljalali  76'		Florencio  89'	Stadium: Tonbyparken Attendance: 37,116 Referee: Vaidas Marozas (RUT)

Scovern v Garambura

18 November 2022 Friendly	Scovern	1–1	Garambura	Rimso, Scovern
19:30 CET	Boysen-Riis  54'		Magoué  33'	Stadium: Tonbyparken Attendance: 22,680 Referee: Minnas Zannoglou (PIR)

2023

Scovern v Asterian Federative Republic

27 January 2023 Friendly	Scovern	1–2	Asterian Federative Republic	Precea, Paretia
16:00 CET	Setter  6'		Balbinho  3' Eutímio  62'	Stadium: Estádio Jan Ferrer Attendance: 7,018 Referee: Fabien Asselineau (GAL)

Piraea v Scovern

31 January 2023 Friendly	Piraea	0–1	Scovern	Alikianos, Piraea
19:00 CET			Rask  65'	Stadium: 5 July Stadium Attendance: 24,161 Referee: Ali Golzar (ZOR)

Scovern v Tengaria

4 March 2023 2023 Coupe du Monde qualifying	Scovern	4–2	Tengaria	Côte Serène, Gaullica
20:00 CET	Svendsen  28', 45+5' Helgeland  66', 88'		Hristov  61' Karapetrov  68'	Stadium: Stade de Serène Attendance: 10,880 Referee: Aiden Williamson (EST)

Scovern v Kesselbourg

8 March 2023 2023 Coupe du Monde qualifying	Scovern	6–0	Kesselbourg	Westbrücken, Werania
20:00 CET	Setter  1', 22' Ingebritson  13' Eljalali  31' Wollan  44' Falla  81'			Stadium: Rentenbank Stadium Attendance: 12,190 Referee: Armin Hencke (WER)

Scovern v Satavia

5 June 2023 Friendly	Scovern	1–1	Satavia	St Avelines, Estmere
20:00 CET	Kuklinski  43'		Carney  83'	Stadium: Weyford Mews Referee: Abdul Baasid el-Ayoob (NIS)

Scovern v Eldmark

4 July 2023 (2023-07-04) 2023 IFF Coupe du Monde Group F	Scovern	4–4	Eldmark	Rémont, Ardesia
19:00 CAST (UTC+12)	Wollan  12' Ingebritson  32', 49' Rask  39'	Report	Hellquist  4', 22', 86' Austenaco  57'	Stadium: Estádio Zapote Attendance: 56,900 Referee: Shadmehr Shojaii

Scovern v West Miersa

10 July 2023 (2023-07-10) 2023 IFF Coupe du Monde Group F	Scovern	2–1	West Miersa	Porto Belo, Ardesia
15:00 CAST (UTC+12)	Setter  5' Eljalali  34'	Report	Janiec  69'	Stadium: Estádio Luzelês Attendance: 44,119 Referee: Leandro Lacerda

Scovern v Padaratha

16 July 2023 (2023-07-16) 2023 IFF Coupe du Monde Group F	Scovern	4–1	Padaratha	São Agostinho, Ardesia
18:00 CAST (UTC+12)	Setter  12' Wollan  31' Eljalali  48' Ingebritson  77'	Report	Poolla  85' (pen.)	Stadium: Estádio dos Santos Attendance: 60,777 Referee: Charles Baldwin

Scovern v Ansan

23 July 2023 2023 IFF Coupe du Monde R32	Scovern	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Ansan	Porto Belo, Ardesia
12:00 CAST (UTC-12)	Arnkelsson  116'	Report		Stadium: Estádio Luzelês Attendance: 44,300 Referee: Velio Cipolla

Scovern v Asterian Federative Republic/Paretia

29 July 2023 2023 IFF Coupe du Monde R16	Scovern	v	Asterian Federative Republic/Paretia	São Agostinho, Ardesia
20:00 CAST (UTC-12)				Stadium: Estádio dos Gausanos

Rizealand v Scovern

16 September 2023 Friendly	Rizealand	v	Scovern	Camden, Rizealand
20:00 ACT (UTC-10)				Stadium: ALF Field

Management

Coaching staff

As of 2 November 2024.

Position	Name
Manager	Kent Haugli
Assistant coaches	Arnfinn Anda
	Magnus Sundahl
Goalkeeping coach	Bjørn Brevig
First-team doctors	Alf Stromme
	Gro Hegge
	Willem Wolthaar
Fitness coach	Auðólfur Elíasarson
Physiotherapist	Uffe Gram

Current squad

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Torfinn Sorlie	(1987-10-03) 3 October 1987	98	0	Heum FK
	1GK	Joachim Kvist	(1995-06-19) 19 June 1995	16	0	AS Tyrrenhus
	1GK	Ditlev Olsen	(1995-01-28) 28 January 1995	4	0	IM
	1GK	Eivind Alme	(1993-09-15) 15 September 1993	0	0	Slangeby IF
	2DF	Stanislaw Kuklinski (vice-captain)	(1990-04-06) 6 April 1990	108	6	Gamst 1919 FFK
	2DF	Mark Nikolajsen	(1991-11-30) 30 November 1991	86	4	Heum FK
	2DF	Lennart Boysen-Riis	(1997-05-11) 11 May 1997	51	5	Heum FK
	2DF	Svein Ebbesen	(1992-10-17) 17 October 1992	74	10	Astrul Arciluco
	2DF	Till Bøhm	(2003-05-10) 10 May 2003	6	0	IM
	2DF	Sjur Rendahl	(1987-12-08) 8 December 1987	22	0	PAS Voula FC
	2DF	Lars Piltz	(1993-03-20) 20 March 1993	7	0	SKB
	2DF	Tord Thorkelson	(1994-07-01) 1 July 1994	1	0	Orlavo Red Stars
	2DF	Adam Hutto	(1992-02-24) 24 February 1992	0	0	SKB
	2DF	Cato Koppang	(2002-10-14) 14 October 2002	0	0	McDowell Bulls
	3MF	Hallvard Søndergaard (captain)	(1990-08-09) 9 August 1990	83	13	Burgo Coroa
	3MF	Abdul Eljalali	(1994-01-10) 10 January 1994	69	25	Gamst 1919 FFK
	3MF	Ronny Rask	(1997-09-30) 30 September 1997	62	15	Camden Patriots
	3MF	Pål Helgeland	(1991-03-20) 20 March 1991	42	5	SKB
	3MF	Chris Gulsvig	(1999-06-17) 17 June 1999	19	3	Inviktus Helganes
	3MF	Karl Stohl	(2001-01-28) 28 January 2001	12	4	GNK Galižana
	3MF	Ivar Opheim	(1995-06-13) 13 June 1995	5	0	Afrodita FSK
	3MF	Jonas Awli Ewendi	(2005-10-09) 9 October 2005	2	1	Bolmerod ISK
	3MF	Jarle Hassel	(2000-11-29) 29 November 2000	0	0	Regala Cluzia
	3MF	Gizur Dofrason	(1996-06-01) 1 June 1996	0	0	Tonder FFK
	3MF	Are Aas	(1989-04-03) 3 April 1989	2	0	Dabadonga FC
	4FW	Eilífur Arnkelsson	(1998-07-13) 13 July 1998	21	9	IM
	4FW	Ruben Wollan	(1999-10-26) 26 October 1999	33	16	Fauglia Calcio
	4FW	Ingmar Gudmund Falla	(1995-03-08) 8 March 1995	52	19	Gamst 1919 FFK
	4FW	Kristian Setter	(2001-01-20) 20 January 2001	22	17	SS San Marco
	4FW	Michael Svendsen	(1991-06-02) 2 June 1991	34	13	Heum FK
	4FW	Arvid Ingebritson	(1994-09-22) 22 September 1994	100	34	SC Precea

Player records

Rafael Jahnke is Scovern's all-time top goalscorer, with 68 goals between 1982 and 1995.

Ivar Kirk is Scovern's most-capped player, with 141 appearances as a defensive midfielder and centre-half.

As of 2 November 2024. Players in bold are still active with Scovern.

Most capped players

Rank	Player	Matches	Goals	Career
1	Ivar Kirk	141	10	1977–1996
2	Finn Mauss	130	48	1913–1927
3	Reidar Ruud	127	17	1980–1998
	Rafael Jahnke		68	1982–1995
5	Andreas Onsager	115	0	1948–1968
6	Ståle Salberg	107	3	1998–2014
7	Stanislaw Kuklinski	107	6	2011–
8	Hugo Tanck	99	51	1936–1951
	Arvid Ingebritson	99	34	2013–
10	Torfinn Sorlie	98	0	2008–

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Matches	Ratio	Career
1	Rafael Jahnke	68	127	0.54	1982–1995
2	Joar Urness	57	75	0.76	1940–1949
3	Harry Mengelberg	54	88	0.61	1960–1974
4	Hugo Tanck	51	99	0.52	1936–1951
5	Finn Mauss	48	130	0.37	1913–1927
6	Isaac Huber	47	37	1.27	1900–1912
7	Frede Smidt	44	70	0.63	1960–1973
8	René Møller	43	86	0.50	1994–2009
	Tindri Gunvaldsson		79	0.54	2000–2016
10	Ulf Kjær	40	67	0.60	1989–1999

Competitive record

Coupe du Monde

Coupe du Monde record									Manager(s)
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Top scorer
1939	Round of 16	1	0	0	1	1	6	Vincent Richel (1)	Tarr
1943	Tournaments suspended due to outbreak of the Solarian War
1947
1951	Round of 16	4	2	1	1	8	4	Torben Thrane (4)	Simonsen
Template:Country data Estmere 1955	Group stage	3	0	1	2	0	5	N/A
1959	Did not qualify								Dávila
1963	Group stage	3	1	0	2	2	6	Frede Smidt (1) Laurens Heck (1)	Faerber
1967	Did not qualify
1971	Quarter-finals	5	4	0	1	11	2	Frede Smidt (5)	Gilger
1975	Round of 16	4	2	0	2	7	7	Ronald Lovland (4)
1979	Group stage	3	0	2	1	2	5	Ronald Lovland (2)	Onsager
1983	Runners-up	7	6	1	0	17	6	Rafael Jahnke (9)	Smidt
1987	Quarter-finals	5	4	0	1	13	4	Rafael Jahnke (6)
1991	Round of 16	4	2	1	1	7	6	Rafael Jahnke (3)
1995	Did not qualify								Munch
1999	Did not qualify								Westergaard
2003	Group stage	3	1	0	2	3	4	Bård Herre (2)	Owe
2007	Round of 16	4	2	1	1	11	6	Tindri Gunvaldsson (6)	Bech
Template:Country data Estmere 2011	Group stage	3	0	1	2	1	4	Thomas Babo (1)
2015	Group stage	3	1	0	2	3	3	Axel Gregersen (2)	Dinesen
2019	Did not qualify								Vinther
2023	Round of 32	3	2	1	0	10	6	Arvid Ingebritson (3)	Haugli