Craitland national football team
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| Nickname(s) | The Unconquered |
|---|---|
| Association | CrFA |
| FMF member | 2006– |
| Confederation | EMUFA |
| Captain | Manta Pellegrino |
| Most caps | Yaqin Senovichi |
| Top scorer | Freddie Gaärsen |
| Home stadium | Oesst Whiteside |
| FMF code | CRA |
| FMF ranking | 1 |
| First FMF intermicronational | |
Craitland  2–1  New-Empire | |
| Biggest win | |
Incontinentia  0–11 Craitland | |
| Biggest defeat | |
Craitland 0–4  New Brittania | |
| FMF World Cup | |
| Appearances | 7 (first in 2006) |
| Best result | Winners |
| EMU Championships | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2007) |
| Best result | Winners |
| Website | CrFA |
The Craitland national football team is the football team which represents the micronation of Craitland. The team is a founding member of both the FMF and the EMUFA, and is run by the CrFA.
The team is the most successful national side on Micras, having won the FMF World Cup on four occasions (2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011), and also the EMU Championships in 2011. Alongside Alexandria and Toketi, the Craitish national side is one of only three nations' teams to have appeared in every edition of the FMF World Cup finals to date.
History
Craitland was one of the founding members of the FMF when the organisation was created in October 2006 prior to the first FMF World Cup. The national team competed in the tournament, reaching the quarter-finals before being knocked-out by Nova England on penalties.
After a successful qualifying campaign in 2007, Craitland advanced from their finals group on goal difference. After beating Alexandria and Passas, a 1–0 win in the final against co-hosts Tokidoki brought the team its first ever title. Later in the year, Craitland competed in the first EMU Championships, where they finished third.
After gaining automatic qualification to the 2008 FMF World Cup, Craitland topped their group before continuing with a successful knock-out stage culminating in a 4–1 win over Passas in the final. Prior to the World Cup, Craitland also competed in the first ever MicrOlympics, where the team won the football tournament by beating hosts Vanderveer in the final.
The following year's tournament was less of a success for the Craits, with a semi-final loss to hosts Alexandria meaning that the third-place play-off would be the furthest they would go. However, a 5–2 victory over Beaugium sealed third place for the team. The 2009 EMU Championships were played prior to the World Cup, where Craitland improved on their previous result by coming second after losing to Passas after extra time.
In 2010, Craitland had to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2007, doing so by virtue of goal difference in their group. In the finals, the Craits eased their way into the knock-out stages, in which they conceded no goals on the way to their third World Cup title, beating hosts Hamland in the final.
Craitland hosted its first ever international tournament in 2011; the third EMU Championships. In doing so, the national team sealed its first EMU title with a comfortable win against Hamland. After yet again receiving automatic qualification to the World Cup, Craitland came through their group, despite losing their last match to Tellia, before a nervy knock-out stages which included penalties against Alexandria. Craitland sealed their fourth title in a closely contested final against hosts Shireroth thanks to a last-minute goal.
The team will compete in both the 2012 FMF World Cup and EMU 2012 after gaining automatic qualification by winning the previous versions of the two tournaments the year before. In the World Cup, the team finished second in their group with four points, ahead of Mercury on goal difference, before being well-beaten 3–0 by eventual runners-up Alexandria in the quarter-finals. In EMU 2012, the team topped their group on goal difference ahead of Nova English Korea before losing in the semi-finals to Hamland, but beat Interland 4–3 in extra time in the third-place play-off.
Chronological competitive participation
- 2006 FMF World Cup
- 2007 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2007 FMF World Cup
- 2007 EMU Championships
- MicrOlympics
- 2008 FMF World Cup
- 2009 EMU Championships
- 2009 FMF World Cup
- 2010 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2010 FMF World Cup
- 2011 EMU Championships (hosts)
- 2011 FMF World Cup
- 2012 FMF World Cup
- 2012 EMU Championships
Honours
- MicrOlympics: Gold
Flag
Craitland has used the following flag during the entirety of its FMF affiliation:
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