Craitland national football team
 | |
| Nickname(s) | The Unconquered |
|---|---|
| Association | CrFA |
| FMF member | 2006– |
| Confederation |
EMUFA (2007–14) WMFA (2014–) |
| Head coach | Zyx Dermäna |
| Captain | Freddie Gaärsen |
| Most caps | Freddie Gaärsen (154) |
| Top scorer | Freddie Gaärsen (97) |
| Home stadium | Oesst Whiteside |
| FMF code | CRA |
| 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 | 10 (first in 2006) |
| Best result | Winners |
| Benacia Cup | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2016) |
| Best result | Third place |
| EMU Championships | |
| Appearances | 6 (first in 2007) |
| Best result | Winners |
| Website | CrFA page |
The Craitland national football team is the football team which represents the micronation of Craitland. The team is a member of the WMFA, after originally being affiliated to the EMUFA, of which it was founding member. It is also a founder of the FMF, 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, the Craitish national side is one of only two nations' teams to have appeared in every edition of the FMF World Cup finals to date, and was the first to appear in the finals of two separate confederational championships.
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 competed 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.
Craitland competed in the 2013 qualifying rounds; their first since 2010, where they topped their four-team group unbeaten with 14 points, sealing the team's place in both the World Cup and EMU 2013. In EMU 2013, the team finished second in their three-team group after drawing both of their matches; the first time Craitland failed to progress past the group stage of a tournament finals. The team's fortunes improved in the year's World Cup, as they topped their group with three wins, and advanced through the quarter-finals on penalties against North Antarctica. The team lost their semi-final on penalties to Mercury, however, before also being beaten in extra time in the third-place play-off by Alexandria.
In the 2014 qualifiers, the team topped their four-team group unbeaten with 16 points to reach their ninth World Cup finals. The team also qualified for EMU 2014, but again went-out at the group stage after finishing second behind Passas by virtue of a 2–1 loss. In the World Cup, the team topped their group after winning their three games before overcoming Birgeshir in the quarter-finals. After losing 1–0 to Hamland in the semi-finals, the team beat Senya 3–1 to place third. Soon afterwards, Craitland switched its allegiance to the WMFA confederation.
Craitland successfully bid to host the 2015 FMF World Cup, and therefore gained automatic qualification to the tenth staging of the tournament. Despite losing their opening match, the team topped their five-team group with nine points and advanced directly to the quarter-finals, where they were narrowly beaten 1–0 by eventual champions Hamland to be knocked-out.
The team's first qualifiers since switching confederations saw them finish top of their six-team group unbeaten with 26 points to advance to the finals. In their Benacia Cup début, Craitland advanced from their group with three points, but lost on penalties to hosts Elwynn in the semi-finals before beating Karalakh 3–0 to finish in third place.
In late 2016, Craitland co-founded the Treesian Memorial Cup and competed in the inaugural edition prior to the 2017 World Cup qualifiers, where they finished first by virtue of goals scored.
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
- 2013 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2013 EMU Championships
- 2013 FMF World Cup
- 2014 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2014 EMU Championships
- 2014 FMF World Cup
- 2015 FMF World Cup (hosts)
- 2016 Benacia Cup qualification
- 2016 Benacia Cup
- 2017 Treesian Memorial Cup
- 2017 FMF World Cup qualification
Records and statistics
Due to Craitland's FMF affiliation dating back to the organisation's foundation in late 2006, the national team is one of the most experienced on Micras, having played more than one hundred and fifty official intermicronational matches. As such, to date, over seventy individual players have represented Craitland in both competitive and friendly fixtures combined. Since Craitland's début match, three managers have taken control of the team, all of whom are also Craitish.
Results and player records
Managerial history
| Duration | Manager |
|---|---|
| 2006–12 | Zyxveldt Pellegrino Jan-Marc Yaqinsen
|
| 2012–13 | Zyxveldt Pellegrino
|
| 2013– | Zyx Dermäna
|
Kit
Craitland's traditional home colours are those used on the nation's flag. The team's home kit has always been predominantly all-white, with trim of blue and red being most common. The team's away kits have changed the most since being first used in 2006, but have remained primarily shades of either red or blue, or both. Goalkeepers have worn an array of different colours, including green, yellow, black, purple and turquoise, with none particularly standard throughout the years of the team's FMF affiliation. Craitland used kits supplied by Nike between 2006 and 2015, with Macron succeeding manufacturing rights from mid-2015 onwards.
Past kits
Honours
- Benacia Cup: 0
- 2016 – Third place
- MicrOlympics: Gold
Flag
Craitland has used the following flag during the entirety of its FMF affiliation:
| 2006– |
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