Tikariot national football team

The Tikariotian national football team is the representative team of Tikariot in international association football. It is currently organised by the Tikariot Football Federation, the current governing body for football in Tikariot.

The team has won the first edition of the IFC and has reached the Round of 16 in World Cup 87 as well as the group stages for World Cup 88 and World Cup 89.

History
The history of the Snowy Owls is surprisingly short as despite a rich and long-standing domestic history of the Tikariot Premier League they only were formed during cycle 86. Their first international matches were at the first edition of the IFC, beating Sylestone 1-0 in the finals, remaining unbeaten throughout.

Their entry into the Baptism of Fire 73 saw them win their group ahead of Græntfjall, who would end up beating them in the quarter finals to move on to win the tournament. The 2-3 loss was the Snowy Owls' first loss after 18 unbeaten games to start their international career.

The 14th Olympic Summer Games saw them pitted against Græntfjall once again and despite two wins in the other two games the second defeat against the Snow Wolves in a row meant that the group stage was the end of their medal dreams.

Their first ever entry into the World Cup qualifiers pitted them against international powerhouses such as Mriin, Port Ember and South Newlandia and against all odds they remained in the competition for one of the much coveted playoff spots until the very last match day where a draw against TJUN-ia meant that they lost out by one point only, finishing in third position.

Following the elimination from the World Cup qualifiers the Tikariot Football Federation accepted an invitation to participate in the Cup of Harmony 78, where the Snowy Owls managed to reach the Round of 32 before being eliminated by Northwest Kalactin.

After being eliminated in the group stage of the Copa Rushmori 36, the draw for the qualification campaign of World Cup 87 placed them into the same group with Vilita, Newmanistan, Tequilo and Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom, but against all odds they managed to reach the playoffs of the second-placed teams against Huayramarca. They qualified with one win and a draw and for the first time reached the World Cup proper, where their were drawn with Nephara, Drawkland and Astograth. They sensationally won their group ahead of Nephara, but were eliminated by Farfadillis in the Round of 16.

Their second entry into the Copa Rushmori 37 saw them advance from the group stage in second place behind Savojarna before getting eliminated by Eura in the Round of 32. The qualifying campaign for World Cup 88 also pitted them into a difficult group with teams such as Starblaydia, Kohnhead, Darmen or surprise returnee Wight. After a somewhat rocky start they finished strong, edging out Kohnhead on the last match day and meeting Drawkland in the playoffs, beating them narrowly 5-5 on aggregate on away goals, qualifying them for the World Cup proper for the second time in a row. They were drawn into a group with Banija, HUElavia and Pasarga, but were eliminated with 1 win against Pasarga and two losses.

For the group stage for the Copa Rushmori 38 the Snowy Owls were drawn with East Neutralia, Kalosia and Mytanija, beating the first two and drawing the last, advancing as second-placed team. In the Round of 16 they managed to beat Valladares, but the quarter final was the end of the line after a narrow 0-1 loss to Astograth. Tikariot was directly qualified for the group stage of World Cup 89 as hosts together with South Newlandia, once more meeting Pasarga as well as Tumbra and Omerica in the group stage, but after only securing one point against Pasarga were eliminated as last of the group.

The Copa Rushmori 39 proved to be a second very disappointing tournament for the Snowy Owls, with an opening draw against San Isidro Labrador proving to be the only point, followed by two losses against Nephara and Brookstation, leading to discussions about Stuart Ekstrom's future, but the TFF decided to enter the qualifying campaign for World Cup 90 with him. Some of the opponents in the group stage were Audioslavia, Abanhfleft, Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom and Hapilopper and after another weak start the team recovered to hold second place, and with that the qualification to the final playoffs, until the match day, when a loss against Audioslavia meant that they would be out of the World Cup tournament itself, which then led to the dismissal of Stuart Ekstrom as coach of the national team.

Former assistant coach Brian McAllister, who had won two Copa Rushmori titles with Sargossa, returned as head coach for the Cup of Harmony 82, where Tikariot will face Muralos, Geektopia and Cabo Azure in the group stage.

Uniform
As the national team only was founded during the early WC86 cycle, there has only been one set of kits to date.

The home kit has a black jersey with a purple framed white stripe through the middle and a white owl head on the right front shoulder, black shorts and black socks.

The away kit is all white with some purple swirls and a black owl head on the right front shoulder.

The alternate third kit is all purple with white stripes along the arms.

The manufacturer has been Ferideia since the inception of the national team. The jerseys have proven to be very popular among the fans both domestically and abroad.

Nickname
Named after the national animal of Tikariot, the team is called the Snowy Owls, which also is part of their jersey.

Rivalries
The biggest rivals are Rushmori neighbours Græntfjall and South Newlandia from Esportiva.

Style of play
The Snowy Owls traditionally play a 4-3-3 formation with high fluidity. The wing backs push forward in attacking situations, while the wingers drop back in return when the team is being pushed in the defensive. While nominally playing with a classic two winger-one central forward formation, the forwards frequently switch sides in an effort to make their tactics harder to predict. Coach Stuart Ekstrom's motto is "I'd rather win 5-4 than 1-0."

Supporters
The Tikariot side has a very loyal and fervent following that will travel with the team in large numbers. The fans are known for wearing black hooded robes, often with black and purple facepaint. They also are part of the Snowy Owls' pregame ritual, which has the players take up a triangular formation near the centre circle and then led by a drum from the fan block clapping their hands in an increasing rhythm while yelling "huh" as a war cry.

Home stadium
The Tikariot national football team plays in rotating stadia, but their two main homebases are the Oceanview Stadium in Port Rhovanyon, Rhovannyr, home of the Port Rhovanyon AFC and the Dhaencunor Arena in Tikariot City, Dhaencunor, home of the Tikariot City FC.

Honours

 * IFC
 * Winners: IFC 1