Gianatla national football team (Pacifica)
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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see GI-Land women's national football team.
The GI-Land national football team (Alman: Gianlucische Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents GI-Land in men's international football since 1897. The team's governed by the Gianlucian football association (Gianlucischer Fußballbund (GIF)) founded one year prior. Before the incorporation of Atlantis in 2011 the countries of Gianlucaland and Atlantis got both represented by their own respective national teams. The current national team has inherited all records of the former Gianlucian team, but not of the Atlantic one.
GI-Land was recently one of the more successful teams on the international stage, having won the IUFA Football World Championships two times (2017, 2018) and having been runner-up an additional two times (1996, 2016).
History
In 1896 Emperor Gianluca III passed the Gianlucian sport association law (Gianlucisches Sportbundgesetz), which founded also, along to nine more sport associations, the GIF, the Gianlucian football association. The original goals for founding these associations were on the one hand to prevent sport clubs from becoming too powerful and deciding in a monopoly position about how a sport progresses inside the Gianlucian borders, and on the other hand, to set the path for national teams. The emperor envisioned "Gianlucaland asserting dominance all over the world through sports". Therefore he wanted to create experts in different sports that would compete internationally.
On 1 October 1897 GI-Land made its first appearance on the international stage, when they played in Frost City against a selection from the Frost Empire. Their first game ended in a 2-4 defeat, much to the dismay of the Gianlucian emperor. However in the Frost Empire the game was a catalyst for the popularisation of football.
In the following years the national team played irregularly against other international teams, mostly focusing on their direct neighbours. Up until now the team they played against the most was the Snovian team, against which they played 42 games.
After the Great War, Queen Charlotte I's brother Peter was the driving force for Gianlucaland joining the IUFA and partaking in the 1956 IUFA FWC, where GI-Land got knocked out in the group stage after losing against Ryccia and Sedunn.
In the 1964 IUFA FWC Gianlucaland reached the knockout-stage for the first time. They got into the semi-final, which they lost 2-3 after extra-time against Karnetvor. On this followed a 0-6 defeat against Terra, still the highest defeat a team has ever experienced in a FWC bronze medal match.
In the 1996 IUFA FWC Gianlucaland reached the final for the first time, where they lost 0-1 after extra-time against the hosts from Omega. The team got nicknamed Silver Boys (Silberjungs) and the team, who played in the final, got honoured by Queen Charlotte I herself.
The first victory in a world cup was celebrated in the 2017 IUFA FWC. One year after once again ending up as the runner-up, they managed to get into the final another time, where they defeated the Frost Empire with 1-0. The success got repeated once again one year later at home, where they won over Bruuma in the final with a score of 5-2. The team playing both world cups got nicknamed The Lucky Charms (Die Glücksbringer) and were also honoured, this time by King and Leader Gianluca IV.