Scovern national football team

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Scovern
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Jernene ("The Irons")
AssociationRoyal Scovernois Football Federation (KSFF)
ConfederationFIEF (Euclea)
Head coachKent Haugli
CaptainHallvard Søndergaard
Most capsIvar Kirk (141)
Top scorerRafael Jahnke (68)
CodeSCO
First colours
Second colours
World ranking
Current7 Increase (14 August 2023)[1]
Highest4 (1968–70, 1981–82)
Lowest34 (1997)
First international
Cislania 1–2 Scovern Scovern
(Weisstadt, Werania; 16 April 1900)
Biggest win
Scovern Scovern 31–0 South Kabu South Kabu
(Rimso, Scovern; 19 September 1981)
Biggest defeat
Ardesia Ardesia 12–1 Scovern Scovern
(Rémont, Ardesia; 9 June 1997)
Coupe du Monde
Appearances16 (first in 1939)
Best resultRunners-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 beat Ansan 1–0 in extra-time after a 116th-minute goal by Eilífur Arnkelsson, but fell in the round of 16 with a 3–2 defeat to the Asterian Federative Republic, also in extra-time.

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

2023

Management

Coaching staff

As of 30 October 2024.

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

Current squad

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Torfinn Sorlie (1987-10-03) 3 October 1987 (age 37) 99 0 Scovern Heum FK
1GK Joachim Kvist (1995-06-19) 19 June 1995 (age 29) 17 0 Etruria AS Tyrrenhus
1GK Ditlev Olsen (1995-01-28) 28 January 1995 (age 29) 4 0 Scovern IM
1GK Eivind Alme (1993-09-15) 15 September 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Scovern Slangeby IF
2DF Stanislaw Kuklinski (vice-captain) (1990-04-06) 6 April 1990 (age 34) 110 6 Scovern Gamst 1919 FFK
2DF Mark Nikolajsen (1991-11-30) 30 November 1991 (age 32) 88 4 Scovern Heum FK
2DF Lennart Boysen-Riis (1997-05-11) 11 May 1997 (age 27) 53 5 Template:Country data Estmere Harbrough 92
2DF Svein Ebbesen (1992-10-17) 17 October 1992 (age 32) 74 10 Amathia Astrul Arciluco
2DF Till Bøhm (2003-05-10) 10 May 2003 (age 21) 7 0 Scovern IM
2DF Sjur Rendahl (1987-12-08) 8 December 1987 (age 36) 23 0 Piraea PAS Voula FC
2DF Lars Piltz (1993-03-20) 20 March 1993 (age 31) 8 0 Scovern SKB
2DF Tord Thorkelson (1994-07-01) 1 July 1994 (age 30) 1 0 Vinalia Orlavo Red Stars
2DF Adam Hutto (1992-02-24) 24 February 1992 (age 32) 0 0 Scovern SKB
2DF Cato Koppang (2002-10-14) 14 October 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Rizealand McDowell Bulls
3MF Hallvard Søndergaard (captain) (1990-08-09) 9 August 1990 (age 34) 85 13 Template:Country data Estmere Tower Athletic
3MF Abdul Eljalali (1994-01-10) 10 January 1994 (age 30) 71 25 Scovern Gamst 1919 FFK
3MF Ronny Rask (1997-09-30) 30 September 1997 (age 27) 64 15 Rizealand Camden Patriots
3MF Pål Helgeland (1991-03-20) 20 March 1991 (age 33) 43 5 Scovern SKB
3MF Chris Gulsvig (1999-06-17) 17 June 1999 (age 25) 19 3 Scovern Inviktus Helganes
3MF Karl Stohl (2001-01-28) 28 January 2001 (age 23) 13 4 Etruria GNK Galižana
3MF Ivar Opheim (1995-06-13) 13 June 1995 (age 29) 5 0 Soravia Afrodita FSK
3MF Jonas Awli Ewendi (2005-10-09) 9 October 2005 (age 19) 4 2 Scovern Bolmerod ISK
3MF Jarle Hassel (2000-11-29) 29 November 2000 (age 23) 0 0 Amathia Regala Cluzia
3MF Gizur Dofrason (1996-06-01) 1 June 1996 (age 28) 0 0 Scovern Tonder FFK
3MF Are Aas (1989-04-03) 3 April 1989 (age 35) 2 0 Lavana Dabadonga FC
4FW Eilífur Arnkelsson (1998-07-13) 13 July 1998 (age 26) 22 9 Scovern IM
4FW Ruben Wollan (1999-10-26) 26 October 1999 (age 25) 35 16 Gaullica CA Verlois
4FW Ingmar Gudmund Falla (1995-03-08) 8 March 1995 (age 29) 53 19 Scovern Gamst 1919 FFK
4FW Kristian Setter (2001-01-20) 20 January 2001 (age 23) 23 19 Etruria San-Marco Povelia
4FW Michael Svendsen (1991-06-02) 2 June 1991 (age 33) 35 14 Scovern Heum FK
4FW Arvid Ingebritson (1994-09-22) 22 September 1994 (age 30) 101 34 Paretia 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 30 October 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 Stanislaw Kuklinski 110 6 2011–
7 Ståle Salberg 107 3 1998–2014
8 Arvid Ingebritson 101 34 2013–
9 Hugo Tanck 99 51 1936–1951
Torfinn Sorlie 99 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
Werania 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
Scovern 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
Hennehouwe 1963 Group stage 3 1 0 2 2 6 Frede Smidt (1)
Laurens Heck (1) 		Faerber
Satucin 1967 Did not qualify
Werania 1971 Quarter-finals 5 4 0 1 11 2 Frede Smidt (5) Gilger
File:Eldmark.png 1975 Round of 16 4 2 0 2 7 7 Ronald Lovland (4)
Paretia 1979 Group stage 3 0 2 1 2 5 Ronald Lovland (2) Onsager
Nuvania Satavia 1983 Runners-up 7 6 1 0 17 6 Rafael Jahnke (9) Smidt
Azmara Borland (Kylaris) 1987 Quarter-finals 5 4 0 1 13 4 Rafael Jahnke (6)
Senria 1991 Round of 16 4 2 1 1 7 6 Rafael Jahnke (3)
Ardesia 1995 Did not qualify Munch
Zorasan 1999 Did not qualify Westergaard
Gaullica 2003 Group stage 3 1 0 2 3 4 Bård Herre (2) Owe
Rizealand 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)
Satucin 2015 Group stage 3 1 0 2 3 3 Axel Gregersen (2) Dinesen
Piraea Galenia 2019 Did not qualify Vinther
Ardesia 2023 Round of 16 5 3 1 1 13 9 Kristian Setter (4) Haugli

References

  1. ↑ "Official IFF rankings" IFF. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
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