Apox national football team

Apox national football team

Shirt badge/Association crest
Association	Apox Football Board (AFB)
Head coach	Template:Country data PIS Magnus Fjelden
Captain	Template:Country data APX Matthias Sindelar
Most caps	Template:Country data APX Olim Benzari, 110
Top scorer	Template:Country data APX Dravid Scott, 50
Highest KPB ranking	23rd (Post WC65)
Lowest KPB ranking	273rd (Pre BoF48)
Team Kits
First international
Romili 1-1 Apox Template:Country data APX
Biggest win
Template:Country data APX Apox 8-0 Slembana
Biggest defeat
Template:Country data AGU Aguazul 4-0 Template:Country data APX Apox
World Cup
Appearances	3 (First at World Cup 64)
Best result	Round of 16, WC67
Campionato Esportiva
Appearances	5 (First at CE III)
Best result	Winners, CE IV & V
Cup of Harmony
Appearances	4 (First at Cup of Harmony 53)
Best result	Runners-up, Cup of Harmony 58

On this page, everything you could want to know about the Apox National Football Team can be found.

History

Early History

The Apox National Football Team made their debut in the first Romili Cup, where we they finished 3rd after a good show. A poor finish in the 48th Baptism of Fire, meant that they just missed out on a spot to the knock out rounds, after a draw in the final match left them 3rd. However they recovered to finish 4th in a tough group 6 in the World Cup Qualifiers which enabled them access to 53rd Cup of Harmony.

After performing admirably in the Campionato Esportiva III, they then went into the World Cup Qualifiers full off confidence. They recorded impressive wins over much higher ranked Aguazul and Thatius, and smashed Nopspri and Slembana, 7-1 and 8-0 respectively. Unlucky not to qualify for the tournament proper, the team went into the Cup of Harmony 54, as a second ranked group seed, and managed to progress out of their group. However, Saugeais was too strong and they were knocked out in the Round of 16.

We went into the Campionato Esportiva IV as hosts but definitely not favourites. However, after the usual group stage stumbles we beat highly ranked 19th Century Beards and The Great Dandish Empire before facing a tricky, and previously underrated Kirigawa in the semi-finals. It went to penalties but we were through, and facing top ranked Asadur in the final match. Despite the supposed difference in quality, we managed a resounding 3-1 victory over the struggling Asadurians to give us our first international football title!

Upwards?

After a relatively poor showing in the first half of the mammoth qualifiers for World Cup 63, the team couldn't recover enough to gain a place in the Finals, even after a good run in the season half of qualifying, including a draw against the top team, Bears Armed. As a result the team went to the Cup of Harmony in Hutt River/Taeshan hoping to do well, and hopefully do well. The team finished top in group C, with a series of straightforward 1-0 or 2-1 wins. However, we met the hard match of Legalese in the Round of 16, continuing a chain of tough opponents in the CoH and as a result lost 1-0, to see the teams Cup of Harmony end.

Establishing Ourselves & Fendergéson Numbá

After failure to qualify for World Cup 63, and failure to progress beyond the Round of 16 of the Cup of Harmony, John Grigia was sacked, and a new manager, Fendergéson Numbá from Farfadillis was brought in by the AFB. He started well, winning the 5th Campionato Esportiva without the team losing a match, and making Apox the only country to win two Campionato Esportiva's and retain the trophy. All this at his first attempt.

The team then entered the Qualification for World Cup 64, chasing our first qualification. We were drawn into Group 9, with the top seeds being Mytannion, and strong team's such as Western cuba and The Inevitable Syndicate. After having a 9 point lead with 5 games to go, a loss to Mytannion and draws to the lowly ranked German-American States and Tyrants meant that we might not finish first at the end of qualifying. We only managed a draw, 3-3 with Western cuba, but thankfully Tyrants held Mytannion to a draw to see us take the top spot and see the team book it's first ever spot in the World Cup finals.

We were drawn into Group C with Audioslavia, Vilita and Osarius. We managed to draw to Audioslavia and Vilita, both of whom were ranked more than 25 places above us, but unfortunately we succumbed to a 3-1 loss to Osarius to see us crash out of our first World Cup.

Númba's second WC cycle in charge of the team as manager saw Apox qualify again for the world cup, finishing first in Qualifying Group 17, just ahead of top seeds The Sylvanaes Queendom. However, the team dropped points to lower opposition, losing to the unranked The Icemark and 120 ranked Hyskigland, though performing admirably otherwise. In the finals, Apox were drawn against New Montreal States, Boring Paradise and The Holy Empire in Group F. The team lost against NMS and were eliminated against Boring Paradise before pulling off a surprise and one of the team most important wins agaisnt The Holy Empire in the final group match.

A New Manager

With Fendergéson Numbá resigning in the 3rd Place Play-off of the 7th Campionato Esportiva, the selectors made a bold decision in appointing Dravid Scott, hero of the national team, but very inexperienced to be manager of the side. He initially struggled, and this weren't looking all that hopeful going into a short World Cup 66 qualifying campaign.

Things got worse in the Qualifiers, with the National Team losing twice to second seed Mapletish, and dropping many points against some of the smaller teams. Thus, we went to the Cup of Harmony on the back of one of our worst World Cup qualifying campaigns, especially when qualification was definitely the expected finish. In the Cup of Harmony, things looked bad to start with, opening the Group Stage with a loss to Welsh Cowboy. However, we then won our next 3 group stage games, before facing the very tough opponent of Taeshan in the Round of 16. Thankfully, we squeezed past on penalties. Our next two knock-out stage game were against slightly easier opponents, in Barunia and Eastfield Lodge, and suddenly, we found ourselves in the final, facing Saugeais, a team we had a friendly rivalry with. The team lost, badly, 3-0, but Scott's position was safer, after a great run, our best in a WCC tournament.

However, in the 8th Campionato Esportiva, one which Apox was hosting, we performed abjectly, having a bye to the Round of 16, before losing to a lower ranked Sangti side. Dravid Scott knew when to go rather than be pushed, and resigned a couple of hours after the match, after a very inconsistent time in charge.

Generation 2

With Magnus Fjelden arriving, the entirety of the original Apoxian team who had taken part in the Romili Cup had left the team, or retired, leaving behind a new generation of stars. On his first attempt, Fjelden returned the side to the World Cup, qualifying just ahead of Boring Paradise after a last matchday bye, beating out renewed rivals Saugeais in the group. In the group stage, the team played well, drawing with Valladares and Astograth, and beating the Blouman Empire to become the first Esportivan nation to progress to the group stages of the World Cup. However, we drew Polar Islandstates in the round of sixteen, and we lost to them in extra time, meaning that our most successful world cup run had come to an end.

Team Records

World Cup

World Cup record										Manager(s)
Year	Ranking	Round	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA
World Cup 1 to 60	Unranked	Did Not Enter
Template:Country data VAL World Cup 61	273rd	Did Not Qualify								Template:Country data APX Steven Frew
Template:Country data ASG Template:Country data CAR World Cup 62	106th	Did Not Qualify								Template:Country data APX John Grigia
Template:Country data AGU World Cup 63	47th	Did Not Qualify
Template:Country data NMS World Cup 64	34th	Group Stage	3	0	2	1	1	3	Template:Country data FRF Fendergéson Numbá
Template:Country data PAS Template:Country data SAU World Cup 65	30th	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	4	4
Template:Country data AUD Template:Country data TIS World Cup 66	23rd	Did Not Qualify								Template:Country data APX Dravid Scott
Template:Country data CDG Template:Country data EQS World Cup 67	33rd	Round of 16	4	1	2	1	4	3	Template:Country data PIS Magnus Fjelden
TOTAL	-	3/67	10	2	4	4	9	10

Cup of Harmony

Cup of Harmony record									Manager(s)
Year	Round	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA
Cup of Harmony 1-52	Did not enter
Cup of Harmony 53	Group Stage	3	0	3	0	4	4		Template:Country data APX John Grigia
Template:Country data NMS Cup of Harmony 54	Round of 16	5	3	0	2	13	10
Template:Country data TAE Template:Country data HUT Cup of Harmony 55	Round of 16	5	4	0	1	5	2
Template:Country data APX Cup of Harmony 56	Qualified for World Cup								Template:Country data FRF Fendergéson Numbá
Template:Country data CDG Template:Country data EQS Cup of Harmony 57	Qualified for World Cup
Template:Country data FAC Cup of Harmony 58	Runners-up	8	6	0	2	8	6		Template:Country data APX Dravid Scott
Template:Country data VAL Cup of Harmony 59	Qualified for World Cup								Template:Country data PIS Magnus Fjelden
TOTAL	4/59	21	13	3	8	30	22

Campionato Esportiva

Campionato Esportiva record									Manager(s)
Year	Round	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA
CE I-CE II	Did not enter
Template:Country data CYB CE III	Quarter-Final	5	2	0	3	9	7		Template:Country data APX John Grigia
Template:Country data APX CE IV	Winners	7	5	2	0	17	12		Template:Country data APX John Grigia
CE V	Winners	8	5	3	0	14	8		Template:Country data FRF Fendergéson Numbá
CE VI	Did not enter								Template:Country data FRF Fendergéson Numbá
Template:Country data TGC CE VII	Fourth	9	5	2	2	13	3		Template:Country data FRF Fendergéson Numbá
Template:Country data APX CE VIII	Round of 16	1	0	0	1	0	3		Template:Country data APX Dravid Scott
TOTAL	5/8	30	17	9	6	53	33

Individual Records

Most Capped

Most Caps
Rank	Name	Position	Caps	Sub Caps	Goals
1	Olim Benzari	Right Midfielder	110	7	16
2	Jack Forster	Right Defender	91	3	6
3	Will Fich	Centre Midfielder	85	4	19
4	Dravid Scott	Striker	80	1	50
5	Fran Gracie	Left Midfielder	76	5	8
6	Chris Maarsden	Striker	70	8	32
7	Fronden Abel	Centre Defender	63	6	5
8	Will Hewitt	Goalkeeper	62	1	0
9	Chris Neguwa	Centre Defender	59	8	4
10	Dan Weekes	Centre Defender	58	5	3

(Players in bold are still playing for the national team)

Most Goals

Most Caps
Rank	Name	Position	Goals	Caps	Goals per Game
1	Dravid Scott	Striker	50	80	0.625
2	Chris Maarsden	Striker	32	70	0.457
3	Keri Ularu	Striker	27	54	0.500
4	Tolgus Tregajorran	Striker	21	37	0.568
5	Marlon Vetta	Striker	20	47	0.426
6	Will Fich	Centre Midfielder	19	85	0.224
7	Olim Benzari	Right Midfielder	16	110	0.145
8	Jack Moses	Centre Midfielder	13	55	0.236
9	Ken Rickwright	Centre Mdfielder	10	51	0.196
10	Matthias Sindelar	Defensive Midfielder	8	42	0.190

(Players in bold are still playing for the national team)