All To Play For - A Very British Football Redux TL

[MatthewFirth]

Scotland vs Wales
Germany vs France

 

[jmmcb94]

Honestly, I know everyone hated Portugal winning that tournament, and they didn't really deserve it given that they only played one good game in the whole tournament (against Wales, of all teams), but I am kinda pleased they did, mainly as it was justice for what happened twelve years earlier.

Anyway, Wales and France to reach the final...

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 97
Lions And Dragons
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In Décines-Charpieu, not only was it to be the first semi final of Euro 2016 but what also happened to be an all British affair in which whoever would win the game would guarantee there being a Home Nation in the final. The game would be between Scotland and Wales and this was to be the latest in their newly formed ongoing rivalry and while both sets of fans seem to get on well with each other in the streets the day before and on the day itself, there was understandable tension in the air that whoever won this game would be in the final. The Scots may have pulled of an impressive run during this tournament which was actually the best they had done since 2004 and dreams of glory might have been on the minds of many of the Tartan Army but Scotland manager Gordon Strachan wasn't wanting to think of that. He knew that Wales had amazed everyone to get this far too and had become the tournament darlings in the process were now the favourites to win this game and for good reason.

The Welsh had managed to win their group by finishing above England and had taken care of Ireland in the last sixteen, albeit through an own goal, before then pulling off their best performance of the tournament in which they humiliated a very impressive Belgian side. Wales were really fancying their chances in which if they could beat Belgium then surely they could easily take down a Scotland team that while good was nowhere near as good as what Belgium had and that was helped to having that man - Gareth Bale - in your side and had become a feared figure for the Scots as he had scored against the Scots during the qualification for the 2014 World Cup which had led to their only defeats in that group, earning the nickname as the 'Hammer of Scots' and it was fair that he wasn't going to be in the Tartan Army's good books.

Nonetheless the main thing to think about was that for Wales was that after this game, they would've had something of a repeat of the old British championship of playing all the other Home Nation teams within a matter of days. Now standing in Wales' way of getting to the final was Scotland and although Scotland may have been feeling more confident that they had history to show that they could do it giving that they had won it in 2004 which by chance happened to have featured the Welsh that Scotland had defeated to become European Champions which really set the rivalry up to new heights; the only thing the two nations had in common was a rivalry with England in which while both sets of fans had taken great delight at England's embarrassing exit, the Three Lions were starting to look like a irrelevance to them given how the games between the two Celtic nations had gone down in recent times.

Welsh fans in the stadium prior to the big game with Scotland for a place in the final​

That said, Wales had proven they were more than capable of giving a bigger team a bloody nose and from the moment the game started, they were more than happy to get right up in the face of the Scots with Bale leading the way. When the two teams emerged onto the field, they were greeted to a raucous crowd that had so much passion that could have quite easily caused the stadium to shake to its foundations and quite literally bring the house down. When kick-off did start, no one quite knew who would be more up for it though as it would turn out, Scotland looked a bit leggy and as of a result started off quite slowly in which the Scottish players could barely get a foot on the ball, never actually do something with it as the Dragons were looking to sink their claws into the heart of Lion ramparts.

Scotland did look rather frustrated with Wales looking keen and the Tartan Army didn't like this one bit as for that they lost their voice and the Welsh fans were making all the noise. However all this would only last for about ten minutes of the game and there was one thing that Strachan knew they had a slight chance in the game due to the fact that Wales had one key player suspended for the match being Aaron Ramsay who had proven to be a big player in helping in getting them this far. However, he was booked in the last game which meant he would not play again for Wales unless they got to the final so really, it was a game that could go either way and then in the twelve minute, a free kick would go the way of Scotland due to a tackle from James Collins on Oliver Burke.

Up to take it would be that man, Leigh Griffiths, viewed as a cheat to much of the world or a pantomime villain depending on who you asked, who found himself thirty yards away from the box on the right hand side and found himself facing a red way and prepared to take the free kick. With a blast on the whistle, he curled it beautifully over the wall and sent into the back of the net and the scenes of joy followed showed what it meant for the Tartan Army - now with their voices found again - as Griffiths found himself under a pile of bodies from his own teammates. First blood to Scotland, but over on the Welsh bench, Welsh manager Chris Coleman had been behind in a game like this before as seen in the last game and now it was up to them to try and turn things around.

Oliver Burke playing for Scotland in the semi, note the blue shorts being played in this game
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In all honesty, it was a goal that had been scored against the run of play and to be honest Scotland hadn't deserved to take the lead though try telling that to the many happy Scotland fans in the ground. That said, Wales did try and make a response almost immediately in the sixteenth minute when Robson-Kanu was given a brilliant cross from the left by Andy King and tried to fire it into the roof of the net but had too much power on it and thus it went flying upwards and into a section of gloating Scottish fans nearby. Another goal was clearly looking likely to happen, the question was 'when' and if it would be in this half or the second. Neither side looked to be in control and seemed to be running on adrenalin from their last respected games and it could almost be a likely chance than one or both might exhausted themselves out before the game was finished.

The Dragons tried many attempts to get back into the game though it was clear that the game with Belgium had left them exhausted, and the absence of Ramsey in the team did show how vulnerable they were and this had not gone unnoticed by those in blue and Scotland tried to exploit this further in the twenty-second minute when James Morrison attempted to thread the ball up towards Snodgrass to try and fire on target, however Welsh keeper Wayne Hennessey made a great save to deny him getting a second goal for Scotland. Disaster averted for sure but despite that it was not good viewing for the Welsh for just how things weren't going to plan and even for the Scots they felt that they should've been up by more despite the bad start they had in the game.

Gareth Bale would attempt to silence the Scots in the twenty-eighth minute when he fired in an absolute screamer which to his dismay it hit the post and poor Wales just couldn't seem to catch a break. Things would suddenly start to look up in the thirty-third minute when Wales won a corner and Ashley Williams nearly actually got a goal from a header like he did in the game with Belgium but alas this time perhaps in moment of panic he put too much power on it and sent the ball flying over the bar. Nonetheless, despite how Wales couldn't seem to catch a break, the good thing was for the Dragons was that Scotland for some reason seemed to take their foot off the gas and this would see Wales start to regain control in the game.

Bale looks on as his team trail 1-0 to Scotland during the first half
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There was nearly an absolute howler of a moment for Charlie Mulgrew in the thirty-ninth minute when he was trying to header up the ball towards the Scottish midfield to try and clear it from danger, however he would accidently get the timing of his header all wrong with it going backwards and this saw Andy King rushing on the counter to try and get a sudden goal and much of the Tartan Army held their breath fearing the worse, though instead the Welsh player only succeeded in hitting the side of the net. If only that had gone in then it would have been the goal to make the game level. Eventually after much pressing from Wales, the first half ended with the Scots holding onto their slender lead and although some of the players might've been walking off feeling like that they were one foot in the final, it was never over until it was over...

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Chris Coleman would have to make a major team talk during the break in which he lamented that they had let Scotland get in front and that if they didn't win then it was unlikely any of them or any Welsh team would be seen in a final in the near future so this was their only shot at glory and Bale would also fire up the team to try and lead them for victory and turn things around. The second half would be an odd one as neither side did really commit, though Scotland would make a substitute at the start of the half with for some reason would see Leigh Griffiths going off and replacing him with Chris Martin. This baffled many as to why Strachan would take off one of their best players, let alone the one who had scored, at this point in such a big match. It would appear that sometime near the end of the first half that Griffiths may had pulled something in his leg which despite trying to help during halftime, it didn't look too good which made things worse that even if Scotland got to the final, their star man might not even kick a ball then.

If that wasn't bad enough, Wales sensed a good chance to come at the Scots and their 5-3-2 formation began to tear into the Scots with Joe Ledley nearly finding space for a goal in the forty-seventh minute which ultimately didn't come to anything. However it was then after a stubborn Scottish defence that it all started to happen in the 58th minute. Joe Allen had been running down on the left Scottish flank with Andy Robertson chasing him down, but Allen would cross it over towards Robson-Kanu who collected in the box, then what happened would be a replicate move in the Belgian game only this time he would outfox Grant Hanley and Mulgrew in the box before pulling a Cruyff turn and slamming the ball into the back of the net to give the Welsh the equaliser. Game on!

Robson-Kanu celebrates scoring the equaliser
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The Scottish players as well as all their supporters are stunned and now their failure to add to their lead has surely now come to haunt them after just a few minutes since the start of the second half and now Wales now looked more alive than ever and with it just right into the early minutes of the second half they knew that they could do something with this half now. They were really wanting to win this game and punish the Scots for underestimating them and to gain the big bragging rights that might have been still been feeling left over following 2004 in which still caused many a Welsh fans to shudder at how close it was. Knowing that the defence could be at fault, Strachan would make another change, quite late it must be said, in the sixty-third minute by taking Mulgrew off and bringing on Christophe Berra to try and fix the back.

Incidentally during that time, Chris Coleman would make a change for Wales with Joe Ledley going off for Jonny Williams to take his place. Who knows what would happen now? By the sixty-eighth minute, the game was starting to swing in favour for Wales and Scotland looked like they were on the ropes and Strachan was fearing that any slip up such as another goal for Wales would cause Scotland to crumble and the fears were starting to become apparent for the Tartan Army as they had gone rather quiet as it was the Welsh fans were making all the noise and the whole game was feeling like that Wales were winning the game even though the score was level. Scotland did have an odd moment of glory such as the seventy-second minute when Snodgrass tried to make a volley on for goal but sadly it came to nothing.

There were more signs that this game was not going to go the way of Scotland for when in the seventy-six minute, James Forrest tried to get into the box but was challenged by James Chester causing the Scotland player to fall into the box and the Tartan Army roaring for a penalty in which for some reason the Swedish referee waved play on and thought it was a clean challenge. Wales though didn't care how the Scots felt as they were now pushing up to try and find the winner. And just three minutes after that penalty appeal, the roof caved in for Scotland. Wales won a corner and despite though the Scots clearing it out, the ball would curl over towards Neil Taylor who quickly headed it back into the box in which that man, Gareth Bale, broke Scottish hearts yet again when headed the ball downwards into the bottom corner of the net and the roar of joy that came from the Welsh fans really showed what that meant.

Scenes of contrast emotions after Wales take the lead
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Bale would play up his new villain role in the eyes of the Tartan Army in which during his celebrations, he ran to a corner in which housed a good number of Scotland fans by playing his hand it his ear as if mocking them as if he couldn't hear them becoming one of the most iconic images in football of seething Scotland fans clearly shouting abuse at the man who likely had won the game for the Welsh. Yes, Coleman's hopes of victory now looked to be a reality as Wales had turned it around and were now just over ten minutes away from reaching the final. What on earth were Scotland to do now with such little time remaining in this semi-final? Gordon Strachan now looked like a man frozen in shock at what had just happened as from what was looking like a victory at the start of the second half was starting to go horribly wrong.

Scotland had now all but collapsed and it could've gotten worse with five minutes of the game to go (minus injury time) when a frustrated and flustered Scotland team nearly caused a third goal to happen for Wales when Sam Vokes ran through the Scottish defence and if it weren't for the quick goalkeeping skills for Allan McGregor standing there between the sticks who had to act quickly, it would've been game over for Scotland though given how little time there was now it might as well been all but over. The Welsh players seemed more than happy to just keep the ball at all times and began passing the ball around much to the delight of their supporters who began to starting cheering 'ole!' every time the ball met the boot of a Welsh player and jeered whenever it touched a Scottish boot.

Into injury time, the Welsh fans began to singing Land of my Fathers loud and proud that victory was soon to be in their grasp and another booking would happen from Andy Robertson on Gareth Bale that was a stupid challenge that did no one favours and would get him a yellow card for his troubles. Despite Welsh fears that Bale might have gotten himself injured from that tackle, he quickly got up again and was back on his feet again and even now was trying to find a goal even at this late stage. Another goal didn't happen because soon, the full time whistle was blown and Wales were in the final of Euro 2016 and once again, Scotland had come up short and that there would be no repeat of 2004 here in France and the Tartan Army all looked crestfallen; bad enough to lose a semi-final but to your rivals is unthinkable pain.

Wales celebrate reaching the final of Euro 2016
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The same feeling could not be said for the Welsh fans; they were all on cloud nine. Welsh fans celebrated like crazy that they were in their first final for the first time since 2004 and victory over the Scots felt all the more sweeter, no including the fact that they had taken on all the Home Nations and were having the last laugh that they were the last man standing. As Welsh fans began almost as soon as the game was finished were now trying to find tickets for the final in Paris but not before many of them would party on the streets well into the early hours of the game after leaving the stadium and likely many more scenes were replicated across Wales. Questions weren't being asked if Wales were going to win the whole thing but rather who would be more suitable for the Prince of Wales; Coleman or Bale? That was the odd question.

As the shattered Scots would all make the journey home and to regroup in preparation for qualification for the next World Cup in England in two years time in which they knew they simply had to be there otherwise missing out on a major tournament on their doorstep would be something they'd never live down, it was felt across Wales that everyman and his dog were all going for Paris for the biggest game in Welsh football for many years in which the host nation would await for them there. Question was, could they reach the promised land and pull of something that many Welsh teams had all failed to do? They would soon find out in four days time...

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And here we are with the Welsh getting into the final in which honestly it would have been nice if they had made it IOTL, likely more better than what Portugal did (no disrespect if you are Portuguese ofc). So yeah, few changes here from the original with a bit more padding out and tweaks as usual to tidy it all up. Quite funny looking back on any old work you do and see how much you've come in improving in which this redux is a very different beast to the one before it. Anyway, next up is the final update of Euro 2016 so see you next week for the big finale!

Also, I'll be away this weekend on a holiday in Peebles with the family in which in a land that loves rugby at the time of the Six Nations is going to be a lot of fun, haha. Until then, see you soon!

 

[MatthewFirth]

France vs. Wales

 

[Unknown]

My pick: France...

 

[EvilJam]

Very cool

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 98
That Night In Paris
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10th July 2016; a day that had been built up in the Welsh media as a historic day not just for Welsh football but perhaps for the country as a whole as moment in history that no one would forget where they were as the whole country, a proud rugby nation no less, had gone football crazy as their unlikely Welsh side had got to the final against hosts France. There had been many during that Semi-final game with Scotland who had almost soon after the final whistle had been blown didn't celebrate like crazy like how everyone else did but had made the effort to get tickets for the final with many more leaving Wales to get to the French capital in anyway they could. Those who did stay behind in Wales spent most of the day getting ready for the evening either leaving work early and getting stocked up on drink and everything else needed for what looked set to be a mad night ahead. Nonetheless as kick off drew near, places like Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bangor and Wrexham were like ghosts towns with all the streets quiet with perhaps their large open aired parks being used as hastily built fan parks as no one wanted to miss the game.

While the Welsh supporters might've all been in High spirts the Welsh fans going into this game, there was the need for cool heads had to prevail as their opponent in the final just so happened to be the host nation and clear favourites for the final as France hoped to repeat their glory on home soil much like in 1998. It looked set to be a daunting task to think about and the French were under great pressure too as it wouldn't be the first they had taken on a team from the British isles in a final on their doorstep as 1984 brought a shudder to any French football fan. The memory of plucky Northern Ireland defeating the French on penalties to win still burnt in the souls of many French supporters who could remember that game clearly and many had hoped that this final might be a way to banish that nightmare once and for all. However with it being another British team in their final just seemed to make many think that surely lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice.

While Wales had a decent amount of Premier League players in their side that seemed more than capable on taking teams on, here they would be up against a French team stacked with talent that included Giroud, Griezmann, Pogba and Evra just to name a few. What was perhaps one intriguing was that two Arsenal teammates, Ramsey and Giroud, would be paying on opposing sides which this was certainly brought up a lot in the British media, but really it was just nerdy stuff to think about. Speaking of Ramsey, the good news was that he and Ben Davis would be back in the team following their suspension and no doubt they would be very much needed if they were to take on the might of this French side. Around the French capital that day, there wouldn't be a place in the city that had a Welsh flag somewhere or some very giddy red shirted Welsh fan enjoying themselves and trying to find directions to the stadium.

Just a mere handful of the many thousands of Welsh fans who invaded Paris on the 10th July 2016
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Though the FAW had been given something like just over twenty thousand tickets for the final, that didn't stop many more fans without tickets invading Paris all wanting to be part of the event; it would later be found out that well over one hundred thousand Welsh supporters went to Paris with the vast majority not having any tickets - the largest ever gathered number of Welsh fans for a major sporting occasion. It all just went to show though how much they all meant for them and there was more than a likely chance that there was at least one individual who had a story to tell with their time following the Welsh team around the world and for one older gentleman in that many thousands who happened to have a ticket for the final had one himself. Looking somewhat out of place from the rest of the young, red shirted, tanned shorts and some even slightly sun burnt Welsh supporters was one older grey headed gentleman somewhere in his mid to late sixties' wearing grey trousers, thick glasses, a flat cap hat, a long black trench coat and a retro 1962 Welsh football shirt under all that was a man called Martin Evans.

Born and raised in Swansea and a diehard Jack to the core, Evans had pretty much seen it all with his beloved Swansea City winning glory both home and abroad but yet had always wanted to his country win the World Cup and 1962 meant a lot to him and many of his countrymen, but perhaps meant more Evans for he had the lucky chance of actually being there in Chile. His farther worked in the Merchant Navy and had been doing well for himself with money and just so happened to be based out in Chile during the 1962 World Cup. When Wales reached the final, he managed to get tickets and then write home to his wife and a young eleven year Evans to fly them out to Chile - with him paying it all of course. It really felt like a once in a lifetime chance for Wales. Evans' own memories of the final are hazy, but he does remember a few things mainly that he and his family must've one of a few, if not the only Welsh supporters out there, how cold it was not knowing that it would be Chile's winter but most of all the final itself.

He remembers Wales' opening goal and how amazing it was to be ahead in a final of the World Cup, he also remembers the moment when Brazil equalised but perhaps the worst part of it was that he remembers the infamous ghost goal and that damn Scottish linesman. What was worse that he and his family had been behind the goal and had seen the ball cross the line and how it should've been the winning goal for Wales - alas it was to end in all tears and Brazil would strike back with their second and ultimately winning goal that saw them lift the World Cup. It had always been a painful memory of how Wales came so close but were, in his own views at least, cheated. He would then four years later as a teenager with a few friends follow Wales around England during the 1966 World Cup in which proved to be an ill fated experience as Wales flopped in the group losing out to Scotland of all teams and his last time following the national team had been in the Netherlands for Euro 1976 in which Wales came so heartbreakingly close to winning it but alas had missed out on glory once again - on the FAW's centurial year no less!

Somewhere in Wales, a fan park is already at fever pitch prior to the final of Euro 2016
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After that final and thinking that he'll never see his nation win anything like what England and Scotland had done, he would instead spend his time following his boyhood team Swansea City both home and abroad. Even that though would be an afterthought as he would eventually settle down and start a family; though the year 1962 would be something he'd never forget about and from then on he would bore his children and his grandchildren stories of how Wales were cheated of their rightful place of being World Champions that day in Santiago. However despite how he felt he never had a chance of getting to France, let alone the final, here he was as he climbed the steps of the steps of the Stade de France to find his seat, he had to smile at the large stadium as even though it was the first time the Welsh football team had played here, it was by no means the first time a Welsh team had been here for it had become a familiar place to visit for the Welsh rugby team over the years and there was a good chance that many among the large Welsh support here had been here while following the rugby side.

Once he did find his seat (one that was right up high in the top tier and not really given the best view of the game) and settled down to look around him, a sense of reflection followed as couldn't really believe he was here, both supporting his country and being alive at all. When Wales reached the final of 2004, he had very nearly went out to Portugal to go to be there at the final, however before hand he found himself with cancer and a battle followed to fight it which was more important than perhaps going to a football game in another country even if it was a rare chance for Wales to win glory. In hindsight given how Wales lost that final, it might've been a bad thing to stay behind. He would beat it just a year later but yet the fears that it would come back to haunt him lingered on within him.

He hadn't even thought - despite how much the Welsh team were impressing many in back home- that he didn't really think it was worth going, however all those endless moaning talks to his children about Wales being cheated seemed to have paid off for to his amazement, his family had all chipped in to get him a ticket for the final. It was an emotional moment for Evans as knowing how he wanted to see Wales win a trophy before he died along with the fears of his cancer coming back and not knowing the next time Wales will ever be in a final again - more than likely when he had long since kicked the bucket. He would take this chance and make his journey to France and hope his dreams would be realised and would seem to be reliving much of his younger days when he saw Wales play in finals.

Welsh fans inside the Stade de France prior to kick off for the final with France
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There was more than a few tears of pride being shed when the Welsh team appeared along the field walking alongside the French team and while many of the Welsh support had their eye on Gareth Bale as the one responsible for dragging Wales to get this far, Evans though had his eye on the Swansea players in the team being that of Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor playing in the game and the fact that a Swansea player was leading the side out in a final seemed to fill him with pride. Pride that could've burst when the Welsh national anthem began playing that nearly reduced him to tears, there was also the tribute for Gary Speed, the previous Welsh manager who tragedy committed suicide which resulted Chris Coleman to take over. No doubt that Speed would be looking down proud at the team of how far they had come. Wales were here to take on the best of Europe and show the world that they weren't some place in England that many would foolishly think. Time to make history...

No one said it was going to be easy and despite the fact that Wales had two key players back from suspension, France almost began from the start to pull and push the Welsh around the field and looked clearly in control with a corner kick for France taking place as early as the second minute that had to be cleared away by James Chester frantically before the French attacked again in the fifth minute when Pogba fired in a rocket of a volley from nearby the halfway line that would've gone in had it not been for the long arm of Hennessey to knock it over the bar to go out for a corner kick. Pretty much the first ten minutes of the final was dreadful viewing for the Welsh and while somehow they hadn't conceded just yet, the game felt like France could have already been up by two goals as Wales just seemed like a poor deer in the headlights; the inexperience of playing in a final for your country had seemed to catch up with those young Welsh players at long last.

From where he sat, Martin Evans could only groan and shake his head as France seem to dominate the game. How on earth were they going to get something out of this game? However he would soon see in the flesh how important Gareth Bale was for Wales for in the thirteenth minute he would help set up Wales' first chance of the game when he ran down on the left French flank and did an impressive run before crossing the ball over towards Neil Taylor he tried to header it on for goal but he would mistime his header and sent the ball hurtling away from goal and out for a French goal kick. Oh, how Martin Evans would have loved a Swansea player to score the winner here - and that wasn't him being bias of course, honestly. By the sixteenth minute, Wales knew that a goal for them wasn't going to happen so soon and manager Chris Coleman now settled the team to be more defensive to try and take on the endless attacks from the French to the point it could tire them out.

Wales vs France during the final
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It did seem to work for the most part but it did mean Wales getting stuck in their half while France tried to look for the opening goal and it wouldn't be until the twenty-sixth minute when France's next attempt at goal came when Greizmann fired in a long shot towards goal which looked to be curling into the top left corner of the post. It was yet another lucky break for Wales and it seemed a matter of time when France would get the opening goal and how long Wales could keep this up for. It was a relentless time for Wales as they tried to keep France out but the French's constant attacks would finally pay off as then in the thirty-second minute when Pogba ran into the box but was brought down by James Chester in a rather stupid challenge that saw the referee give him a yellow card and award a penalty for France. For many Welsh fans, it was a disaster for them and for Martin Evans it was the last thing he wanted as he shook his head watching Giroud stepping up to take it.

After a slight delay by the referee as everyone waited for whistle to be blown, Giroud ran up and sent Hennessey dive the wrong way heading left...however to the shock of many, the ball would hit the post, bounce back towards the field and Ashley Williams ran in quickly to kick the ball up the field far away from possible. It all happened all so quick that by the time it dawned on many of the people in the stadium what had happened, the Welsh fans cheered in relief about five seconds after Williams had kicked the ball away and Evans could breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know how on earth they seemed to have so much luck but he didn't care; as long as Wales could get to half time either without letting France somehow getting a goal, then all would be good to regroup for the second half. The French players after that penalty miss did seem to cause them to do some stupid tackles - likely frustrated how it had not gone their way - as such as in the thirty-seventh minute when Bale was tackled near the touchline by Sissoko in which saw him get a yellow card for his troubles.

However there was a moment for the Welsh supporters to hold their breath and look on in hush silenced as Bale looked to be in pain as the medical staff headed over to make sure he was ok. Thankfully after a nervous minute, Bale got up again and seemed ok by many. How much did Wales needed him to make something in this game to make it count as clearly so far they looked like a team that had let the occasion get to them. There would be another crazy moment in the forty- third minute when Pogba and Joe Ledley came together when either tried to collect a loose ball and saw them causing each other hitting the ground. A small playground style argument followed over who was to blame and that saw both teams rushing in to try and defuse the situation or maybe having a pop at the other just for the sake of it. The referee saw it was an accident but booked the two players nonetheless over their behaviour after both men like over grown children tried putting the blame on the other.

Bale attempts to try and get Wales up and running during the final​

All really childish when one thought about it as what Evans would think. Despite that though, the first half would end 0-0 which made either side frustrated and unhappy at how their fortunes in this game had turned out. France, despite being by far the better team, were left angry that they just didn't have a goal to show for their efforts and that penalty miss was going to annoy them like crazy. Wales had looked a flustered side that seemed to have simply turned up for the occasion rather than doing anything to contribute and were very lucky they weren't behind. That all being said up somewhere on the top tier, Martin Evans smiled to himself as he then remembered something that his equally Swansea crazed Dad had said to him as advice being that if the other team fail to score a penalty and score remains goalless at halftime then there was a good chance for the other team to win. Wherever his Dad's theory was wrong or right, Martin would have to wait an see when the second half began...

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The second half would start of with Wales look a lot more composed and while not exactly looking like side that would start banging in the goals, they did looked like they would be more in control in this game rather than be bullied by the French as before. It did though result it a lot of quick passes going sideways and many attempts at keeping the French away from the ball. Not exactly winning their awards for good football but many Welsh wouldn't care as long France didn't score and in the forty-ninth minute, there would be a rare breakaway in which Robson-Kanu was threaded the ball by Neil Taylor and went charging down on the counter and this caused many Welsh fans, Martin Evans included, to rise from their seats thinking something was about to happen. Indeed something did happen though not in the way they hoped for.

Robson-Kanu was brought down by Evra in the box in what seemed like, according to the referee at least, a clean challenged and waved play and both Welsh players and fans alike were furious that what seemed like a stonewalled penalty was not given and from even from the bad viewing point that Martin Evans sat at, he could see that seemed like a penalty claim for sure. He muttered curse words under his breath with much booing and whistling from angry Welsh fans directing their anger at the referee; the fact that the referee was English, Mark Clattenburg, of all nationalities only made the situation feel worse and the phrase 'cheating English bastard' could be heard among the supporters both in English and Welsh. No doubt same thoughts might've been heard back at home Martin Evans might've predicted.

Oddly, the blatant failure of that penalty not being given seemed to galvanise the Welsh team and began to slowly push back the French players, however this momentum was briefly halted when Payat went off for Coman in the fifty-eighth minute when France made a change. The change did see France gain control of the game - though only for five minutes as Wales manged to swing the game back into their favour. Then in the sixty-sixth minute, Wales were awarded a free kick from a challenge by Umtiti (who would be booked for it) on Robson-Kanu and this meant that Gareth Bale would take the free kick some thirty yards away from the French goal. Bale stared at the goal and knew exactly what he was going to do as he waited for the referee to give him to go ahead. With a shrill blast on the whistle, Bale fired in a wonderful curl that went over everyone and into the back of the French goal that caused absolute scenes, mainly Welsh supporters, all around the ground. Wales were in front!

Bale celebrates after putting Wales in front with a shock lead
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As the French were left stunned at what had happened, Bale ran over to the Welsh bench to celebrate while being dogpiled by his teammates and up in the stands, Martin Evans felt like his own heart was going to pack in from the moment. He knew he should be worried about his cancer, but his heart failing at a final? What a way to go indeed...he just hoped it would only pack in the moment Wales did win and he could die with a smile on his face by bowing out in blaze of glory. After the Welsh came down from cloud nine, France would get back to the game as they began to attack Wales again and now not only had found themselves behind, but now needed to find a way to get back with the game now nearly thirty minutes left. For many of the older French supporters there, memories of 1984 were coming true and they weren't meaning the book of the same name - though they might've had similar nightmare features about them.

Pogba tried to get the equaliser in the seventy-first minute in which he made a real impressive solo run past several Welsh players but was stopped in the end by the linesman flagging him offside. Surely the impossible was about to happen...? France looked frustrated despite looking really dangerous on the flanks. After one such attempt at goal by Giroud in the seventy-fourth minute, Chris Coleman would make a change to freshen up the team to last them until the end and off went Joe Allen to be replaced by James Collins as the defence was going to need some new legs as France's attacking line had battered the Welsh like nothing else. For Martin Evans as the game neared the final ten minutes, he had to wondered if all across Wales the street parties were getting ready if the score was to remain 1-0. That said it was a very slender lead he thought and it all seemed too good to be true. This couldn't be real, right?

Then in the eighty-second minute, a heart stopping moment for Wales when Coman was running on the counter and crossed the ball over towards the Welsh penalty box with Pogba sliding in to tap the ball in. It all happened in slow motion as Hennessey was woefully out of place which left the goal not open, but gaping for someone to tap the ball in. It looked certain to be a goal but what felt like by a fraction of a foot stud, the ball missed Pogba's boot and the ball went rolling carelessly out of play. The groan of agony from the French supporters really said it all as Pogba lay there on his back with his hands covering his face. Oh, what if that had gone in then this game might have been going to extra-time...not something that the Welsh supporters would have wanted.

Sagna tries to help France get back into the game
​

France by the eighty-fourth minute were now really pinning Wales back as they were now throwing quite literally everyone forward with no Welsh player getting a chance to get forward and you wouldn't put it past France to try and get not only the equaliser but also a late winner, though time was running out. To try and help the Welsh team to get forward or to hold onto their lead, they began to sing Land of my Fathers which gave a magical atmosphere and made many think that something special was happening, but fans could only do whatever they could. In the eighty-seventh minute, Robson-Kanu would go off to be replaced Sam Vokes in what seemed like a tactical change from Chris Coleman. Tension was in the air as time seemed to slow and the game went to grinding halt when Sissoko fell to his knees as it became clear that he might've pulled something and was unable to go on and had to be changed with Martial going on.

It was all looking to be a frantic finish with both sets of supporters looking absolutely tense of how quick things could change at the drop of the hat. Then it was found out how many more minutes remained...six minutes added on. France had everyone forward with their back looking suspect and in the third minute of added time, Wales found at last a rare break forward. The ball landed at the feet of Chris Gunter who flicked the ball up towards Sam Vokes who found himself all on his own with several French players caught off and now had to rush back to try and stop him. It became something like a try in rugby with Vokes running on his own and onwards for goal with the Welsh supporters roaring him on.

Martin Evans - heart racing at about hundred miles a minute - was on his feet shouting like the rest as Vokes was now forty yards away from goal. All they wanted him to do was shoot. He did, Vokes fired his shot just in the nick of time before Umtiti caught up with him and the ball went roaring into the top right of the roof of the net and Welsh supporters everywhere were sent over the edge as that goal pretty much confirmed that Wales were going to have two hands on that trophy. Martin Evans felt an emotion close to tears and memories of 1962 came back to him and how bad things had turned out then and wondering if he'd see Wales win again...was that childhood dream about to become true? It seemed like a mad dream that one couldn't believe was happening

Vokes and company celebrate his goal that sure hands Wales victory in Paris
​

Vokes ran over to the corner flag where a number of Welsh supporters were located and another mad dogpile followed by the Welsh players as victory was now in their grasp, though one had to cast a view over to the French players who all looked utterly dejected that Wales had given the hosts an almighty sucker punch that seemed to put an end to France's dreams of winning glory on home soil and Wales had become the ultimate party poopers. Then once the Welsh players got ready to pretty much kick off the very last kick of the game, a shrill whistle would soon follow after with one half of the stadium in stunned silence and the other in utter raptures. Against all the odds and perhaps one of the greatest underdog stories ever, Wales had become European champions! For Martin Evans, the memories of that moment become as hazy as all those years ago much like what happened in 1962.

All he can remember in that moment on July 10th 2016 was one of many tough grown men around him crying tears of joy, strangers hugging each other, beer being chucked everywhere and soaking everyone; God knows what the reaction was like in Wales. On the pitch, Bale punched the air like a man who had conquered his demons and the Welsh players went over to their fans and began to recreate the now famous Icelandic handclap that had taken the tournament by storm. Even after all that though, the moment did only seem to set in when video footage was being shown with the word 'Wales' being carved on the trophy. Only annoying thing for some hardcore Welsh folk was that the word 'Cymru' was not being carved on it instead. Pride would grip Martin Evans yet again when he saw Ashley Williams, Wales captain and Swansea player no less, leading the team up the stairs where he would proudly lift the trophy to show the whole of Europe of who Wales were.

The celebrations lasted well into the early hours of the following day with Welsh fans getting absolutely wasted around Paris and across Wales, street parties followed and given the fact that many Welsh football fans had watched their neighbours in England, Scotland and Ireland have titles to their name and had always been teased that they never had anything to say they had to their name. Tonight would finally shut them up once and for all. Martin Evans would return to Swansea as a happy man and could die happy knowing that he had seen Wales win something, and with the World Cup coming up soon and being across the border, who knows? The Welsh team would arrive at Cardiff airport to a heroes welcome and Chris Coleman would be knighted for his efforts - some argue that he should be named the new Prince of Wales - and no Welsh football fan would ever forget 10th July 2016...the day Wales took on Europe and won. As with Evan's thoughts about the World Cup, what a chance to try a double, but not before they had to play in the confederations cup...

Final results of the knockout stage of Euro 2016

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​

And thus, Wales win Euro 2016 in which given if they had their best players back, I think they would have had a decent chance at glory in that final given how much France seemed to struggle in that game and Portugal pretty much shithoused their way to victory; Wales I'm sure would have put on a better show IMO. Much like the old TL with some changes here to tidy it up and fix continuity issues given how different things are now. But yeah, Euro 2016 is done and the next update will be a special confederations table of what has changed up until its end in 2017 but should I include results from the South American tournaments? Then again, I had them likely being about the same as OTL as this TL is mostly European focused ofc in which much of the changes take place.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this update and until then, see you next time!

 

[QTXAdsy]

Intermission
The Confederations Cup
​

Though the Home Nations have all become familiar sides to appear at both the World Cup and European Championships, there is one other tournament that is a third that they have appeared at though very few and far between and that would be the FIFA Confederations Cup; a tournament that would invite the winners of each continent along with whoever was the World Champion then. Even though the Home Nations had several times won silverware, it would only be in 1992 that the tournament would begin when it would for the first two editions be known as the King Fahd Cup - named after the king of Saudi Arabia - though it would gain the name of the Confederations Cup afterwards and the first two would be retroactively be named under the Confederations Cup.

It would be in 1997 that England - fresh from winning Euro '96 at home - would become the first Home Nation to take part in the Confederations Cup in which it would be something a strange affair for the English players who likely had never experienced anything like it; playing in Saudi Arabia and playing a group featured with an unlikely group featuring Uruguay, South Africa and United Arab Emirates that all together likely would never been seen together in one place but such was the strange set up for this tournament that had seen this happen. The Three Lions would finish in second place behind Uruguay in which England would move onwards to a last four stage but in the end, England would lose out to the eventual winners Brazil though England would leave with some consolation by defeating Uruguay for the third place game.

It would be seen by many England fans as a strange one off tournament in a far off land and there would be no appearance for the Home Nations for several years afterwards until the 2005 edition in Germany in which would feature not one but two Home Nations in which would be England and Scotland, both having qualified having won the 2002 World Cup and 2004 European Championship respectably. As that would turn out, it would be a tournament in which both managed to reach the last four yet both lost out on the semi-final and the two rivals would actually face each other in what would be the only encounter between two Home Nations at the Confederations Cup. The two would face in a group of four in which the two teams would face off in their opening match in which here, England were the worthy victors coming out as 3-0 winners while Scotland in turn would flop in the group stage and make a dubious exit home.

Sadly, the Golden Generation of that time would fail to win a unique piece of silverware for England as they would lose out to Germany who in turn lost out to Brazil. England though would repeat their 1997 by winning the third place game by beating Mexico 3-0 though it would all be looked on as nothing more than a mere footnote for the Three Lions. For the next few tournaments. there would be no Home Nation involvement that was until 2017 in which that year's edition would be played in England with Wembley Stadium, Old Trafford, St James' Park and Villa Park would all be used as stadiums for the tournament and would be seen a warm up before England would take on hosting duties for the World Cup the following year.

As it would turn out, England would take part for being that they had hosting rights for the next World Cup but they were also to be joined by Wales following the latter's victory at Euro 2016 which saw them qualify as a result of that. Both sides faced in the group with Wales coming out as group winners with England following in second place. In the end though, the hosts would bow out in the last four again and would have some further salt poured into the wound when they lost out to Chile in the Third Place game which all didn't look good for what might happen the following year. Wales however would end up breaking that glass ceiling by winning their semi-final and would become the first - and as it would turn out last - Home Nation to reach a final of the Confederations Cup.

With Welsh football still on a high following Euro 2016 which saw the country gripped by football mania, many thousands would descend on Wembley with the rare hope of winning silverware on England's backyard which seemed too good to pass up in which Wembley Stadium (both for the old and new versions) had seen so many Welsh fans who were all hoping to see some history as the team prepared to take on the Germans. Sadly, the then World Champions proved to be a step too far for The Dragons as Wales were defeated 2-0 which from an English perspective might have been a sigh of relief that Wales hadn't won and likely the rare time your average England fans actually cheered for the Germans. As it would turn out, the Confederations Cup would end after that edition with more effort being put into the FIFA Club World Cup instead.

For the British teams that took part, with the Irish sadly being absence from it, it remains something of a forgotten footnote for many and even for those who took part it is something of blur to many. Nonetheless as the 2017 edition ended, it wouldn't too long until the eyes of the world would be focusing on England as football was coming home once again to its motherland...

Winners and Third Place teams of the Confederations Cup from 1992 to 2017

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​

And now for something very different, it is a nice wee change to try something different for this TL and this is one example. I had done a version for the old TL but didn't go into too much detail about it though doing it again did give me the chance to redo and fix some errors that I realised I did wrong at the time such as how in 2005 Argentina wouldn't have been there as since IOTL they qualified as the the runner's cup for the COPA America as Brazil were WC champions then, there wouldn't be that case in which Brazil qualify as the COPA champions here with England being the WC champions here. It does mean we lose that third place game with England and Scotland in which they would have met in the group stage had this happened though Scotland going out in the group stage isn't all far fetched...

So yeah, little update than normal but next up we move into 2018 in which was were the old TL ended, all different once again so until then, catch you all later!

​

 

[EvilJam]

Cool

 

[HesitatedEye]

The first time I heard of the Confederations Cup I have to admit was South Africa 2010 it's never been a major thing that football fans seem to care about.

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 99
Back Home

​

The new voting system that the British FA's had proposed turned out to be very much a worth while reward for them as by a clear landslide, England won the bid to host the 2018 World Cup with Australia being awarded to host the 2022 World Cup though many noted that some at FIFA weren't too happy that it had come to this as had the format to choose bids remained the same prior to all FA's voting then it's very likely that England and Australia would've have much success there. Indeed, there was the totally bizarre situation that Qatar wanted to host a World Cup in 2022, a World Cup in the middle of the desert and a country that didn't even had a shred of football heritage to is name other than controversial modern day slavery at play, imagine if that had happened...

Nonetheless, unlike other nations which had to build all their football stadiums from scratch such as South Africa which made hosting the tournament an expensive affair, there wasn't much to do with England's stadia requirements with it either at most being expansion and improvements on current grounds with only Bristol and Nottingham gaining new grounds. There was also the good news was unlike what had been witnessed after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, there wouldn't the fear that many of those grounds would end up becoming 'White Elephants' with them being under utilised and looking like they had been a waste of money, so it did look that the legacy from this World Cup would be there in the long term and likely an example to follow on for.

Finally with the fact that England were to host this World Cup, you could bet your home that Scotland, Wales and the united Ireland team would never live it down if either didn't qualify. With the experience on their side as well as Gordon Strachan's guidance, Scotland qualified as group winners, piping both the Russians and Slovenians from that group they were in and all of England could expect a Tartan invasion heading south. Wales too would finish top of their group and with the benefit of being European Champions, Chris Coleman's men now turned their attention to conquer England to invade from a westerly direction. Last but not least, Ireland too would qualify via the play offs against Switzerland, though the first leg in Dundalk saw controversy over a dodgy penalty that shouldn't have been given though justice would be done when a double strike from the ever reliable Kyle Lafferty in the second leg would help book their place in England.

This meant that for the first time in history, a united Ireland football team would play at a World Cup and with the success that been seen at Euro 2016, a even bigger Irish invasion was expected to be seen invading England too in what much be a strange situation in which in history it would have been the English invading its neighbours, now what was happening was the other way round in which some of a sadly anti-English mindset could argue that this was long overdue revenge for those nations; football and politics always made strange bed fellows. Nonetheless, it was all setting up to be a 'home' tournament for all the Home Nations concerned as Football did seem to be returning Home once again, and spare a thought for many having to listen to Three Lions in the run up to the tournament, much the annoyance for those in Scotland, Wales and Ireland who would all love nothing more than crash England's party...

Venues for the 2018 World Cup
​

Originally, fifteen stadiums were to be used with three in London and two in Manchester, though it was decided to cut this back to twelve with the final lot being Wembley for London, Old Trafford for Manchester, Stadium of Light for Sunderland, Anfield for Liverpool, St. James' Park for Newcastle, Villa Park for Birmingham, Stadium MK for Milton Keynes, Elland Road for Leeds, Home Park for Plymouth and Hillsborough for Sheffield. Only Nottingham and Bristol would gain new stadiums though there was serious proposals for a new stadium in Liverpool that was to be shared by both Merseyside clubs, alas the plan fell through and it was decided to expand on Anfield though in truth the stadium needed improvements to make it fit for international games such as the pitch being widened though thankfully these were all plans that had been made for the famous stadium over the past few years and the World Cup would be a perfect excuse to get the stadium ready for its makeover.

There was a noticeable shorter traveling distance between the stadiums which unlike the last tournament which meant thousand miles of travel, it was decided to make long distance travelled reduced as possible such as all of England's group stage games being played at either Wembley or Milton Keynes, though that did frustrate many England fans in the north wanting to see the team performing outside the so called 'London sphere of influence', though it was designed that would be the case, providing it England did get of their group and there was good reason to be concerned for England's point of view. For example, each group would have short travel distance for example, Group B would be the 'North West' Group featuring Liverpool and Manchester and Group G would be the 'South West' Group featuring Bristol and Plymouth and this pattern would carry on though some groups would see mixed regions such as Manchester and Leeds being in a group together.

Nonetheless, all was ready as the world would gather in England for the World Cup to make a grand return to the motherland of football for the first time since 1966 though for the host nation after a calamitous time in France two years ago, hopes weren't looking all that good...

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​

It was fair to say that the last few years for the national team had not been a good one for them as after a unexpected high of a World Cup campaign in 2014 to descend into a utterly embarrassing Euro 2016 adventure which came to an end at the hands of Iceland which not only saw manager Roy Hodgson losing his job to be replaced by Gareth Southgate, but for some feared that England's status as a major football power was waning and some even theorised that if England had not been hosting and had to qualify via the normal way, some feared that England might not have gotten to the 2018 World Cup. So when the inaugural game of the tournament started at Wembley on the 14th June against Saudi Arabia, in front of royalty no less with the Queen opening the World Cup, fair to say many were rather nervous wearing the Three Lions badge and many in that stand were fearful of another Iceland moment here at Wembley...

Kane after scoring in the opening match of the 2018 World Cup
​

Yes it was only Saudi Arabia, but that didn't mean to say the pressure was off the England team, especially when you had the Queen in attention to open the World Cup as well as the eyes of the world watching, perhaps half of them expecting another Iceland shock. In the end however, England utterly battered Saudi Arabia to claim a comfortable 5-0 win that got their World Cup to a good start. That said as much as it did settle a few nerves, things were going to get a little a hard when they headed a short distance north to Milton Keynes to play Egypt who had in their line-up was Salah who many expected to light up this tournament and give Egypt a fighting chance. However, Salah had gotten injured prior to start of the World Cup and even though he did get a goal over England, the hosts would win 3-1 in a tight game which saw Egypt score an own goal to add to their humiliation and combine that with a shock loss to Saudi Arabia in their final game of the group, pretty much sent the poor Egyptians out of the tournament much to the disappointment of many who hoped for more of them.

With two group stage wins done, England had pretty much booked their place in the next round though there was still the business of who would finish as group winners in their final group game with Uruguay who would also be going through with England. The final group game for England would be a rematch after the infamous brawl of a game in Brazil which saw Uruguay lose 2-1. While England had already assured of their place in the next round, Uruguay did expose England in many places, being the better team by far, and got the opening goal in the first half, however a goal from a Harry Kane header from a corner and Lingard stunner in the second half looked as though England were going to win the group but alas Uruguay got a goal back to make a 2-2 though England won the group thanks to goal difference. England's performance had surprised many of how well they had gone and could it be that the fourth possible...?

Final results of England's group at the 2018 World Cup

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​

Wales and Ireland were to be grouped together with the likes of Brazil and Costa Rica and with the exception of Costa Rica, it was almost a repeat of how the group was at the 1986 World Cup. Wales had gone into the tournament feeing very confident with their chances having done fairly well in the Confederations Cup only to lose to the Germans at Wembley the previous year and Ireland seemed happy to be there for the ride though they were worried as their opening game was to be with Brazil yet somehow Ireland shocked the South American giants to a draw which if that didn't gain them confidence then what would? Ironically, the stadium, Hillsborough, was the same one many years ago in 1966 when then named Northern Ireland drew in controversial circumstances to anther South American side, Argentina.

The Welsh began their campaign to Costa Rica in which the Dragons found it difficult to break them down and it was only thanks to a Gareth Bale free kick that managed to get the better of Costa Rica to set them up needing only for a draw in their next game to pretty much book their place through. The rematch or the Euro 2016 encounter with the Irish and Wales would be a strange game in which had shades of the infamous 'Shame of Gijon' on it in which both sides simply rolled the ball about in a rather pointless game that ended in a 0-0 draw and it wasn't long that claims of collusion, most loudly coming from the Brazilians (calling the game as the 'Shame of Sheffield'), came in saying that both sides had rigged the game in order for both British teams to go through.

Both the FAW and IFA denied such accusations as many of their fans who were just happy to have a fighting chance to go through. That all said, both needed a win to go through with Wales taking on Brazil, who oddly hadn't been all that good despite being favourites, and Ireland taking on an already down and out Costa Rica. The Welsh would put on a fine display showing the benefits of what had happened to them since becoming European Champions in which they defeated Brazil 2-0 in one of Welsh football's greatest nights. That all said despite the score, Brazil were still going to sneak through as it stood as when up until the end of the game they last heard that Ireland were drawing with Costa Rica 1-1.

Welsh players celebrate after going 2-0 up over a shellshocked Brazil​

Though it all turned to horror when news filtered through to Hillsborough to horrified Brazilian fans there that Josh Magennis had scored a dramatic last minute goal via a header from a corner kick that won them the game and qualify for the next round along with Wales. Many in Leeds that evening will remember the sight of many grieving Brazilian supporters in the streets around Elland Road at the fact that the South American giants had fallen to a humiliating early exit from the World Cup, their first since 1974 and to think it could all get worse from 2014. Magennis would become a hero to many on both sides of the Irish border - a rare achievement it must be said - even Argentine supporters who seemed more than happy to see their arch rivals fall to a humiliating low like that. Then again, Brazil were only to be part of list of shock exit of 'big teams' at this World Cup crashing at the group stage...

Final results of Wales' and Ireland's group stage at the 2018 World Cup

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​

The Tartan Army would be the second largest supporter at the World Cup behind England and they felt good that they could do some damage out in England in which it was said that over one hundred thousand would head south and would head to a part of England that likely many of them had never set foot in which was Plymouth it was likely with their loud and colourful support that the people of Plymouth had never seen anything like them before. Scotland's first match would be played in Plymouth too with their first opponent being Tunisia. Roared on by a huge support which seemed to outnumber the African support by three to one. It would all start off so well with Leigh Griffiths getting the opener and Scotland seemed to be cruising, however Tunisia would get a penalty and held on for most of the match until near the end when Griffiths, previously the villain or hero in the last World Cup depending on who you asked, banged in a late goal which spared Scotland's blushes and set them up with a game with Panama, a game that Scotland on paper should easily dismantle yet the Tartan Army knew that somethings would never always go well...

Thankfully In that game despite many of the Tartan Army fearing something embarrassing, Scotland would batter Panama 6-1 in what was their highest scoring match ever at World Cup though given the quality they were up against it shouldn't have been something to write home about. Indeed, Scotland would let in a rather unwanted record as they would become the first time that Panama would score against and it was a game that Griffiths, Snodgrass, McGinn and Fraser would all score in. After the game, the Tartan Army would celebrate for the rest of the day in Plymouth which had become something of second home for them as they would drink the city dry and covering the place in Saltire flags and pretty much taking the city as their own and leaving their mark in a very visual way.

With two victories in their opening games, they had knew that they had booked their way through to the knockout stages though their final group game would be with the favourites of the tournament, Belgium. Now Scotland would come up against a real team compared to the other two that they had faced. Despite it being a meaningless game in which both sides had qualified, the Belgians showed their class and defeated the Scots 2-0 though to be fair the Scots did put a good fight to prevent the Belgians scoring during the first half and just when many of the Tartan thought that they were going to hold onto a famous result, the Belgians would show who they were made of and why many felt that they were one of the favourites to win this World Cup.

Belgium celebrate with their second goal in the final group game with Scotland​

Who knows if the two were to meet again for either the third place game or, dare anyone say it, the final. Still, there was a long way to go yet in this World Cup in which given how many big teams had fallen from the likes of Brazil and holders Germany and of others who had failed to qualify such as Italy, there was a feeling that anyone had a chance in this World Cup which for any neutral was a great feeling to have. The Scots just hope for a team in their next game that wouldn't be a brutal side that wasn't going to kick the very lumps out of them. That said, all Home Nations had qualified for the knockout stage and the feeling of this being something of a British isles heavy felt World Cup didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the world, mostly by the still angry Brazilians over what had happened with them.

Regardless though, the road to Wembley was now about to begin...

Final results of Scotland's group at the 2018 World Cup

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Now then, first off this is a bit of change given how the usual Wednesday update is not happening here but is being put up on Tuesday. Reason being is that I have many things to do in my personal life and other commitments to do so it was better to get this out there. So yes, we now head into 2018 and so far things look mostly the same though some results are different and the presentation is cleaned up a lot with perhaps the biggest difference is that we have a united Irish football team taking part in their first World Cup, could you imagine even with OTL if England were hosting that year's WC and you had the other three Home Nations taking part, their fans would have turned the country upside down, haha! Expect some cheeky Tartan Army fans standing outside some random Iceland store and mocking English passer-by's over you-know-what...

Anyway, hoped you enjoyed that update and without further ado, the fixture list for the last sixteen:
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England vs Portugal

France vs Argentina

Wales vs Mexico

Belgium vs Japan

Spain vs Uruguay

Croatia vs Denmark

Sweden vs Ireland

Colombia vs Scotland
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Who will win and why? So until then (hopefully at the usual time) catch you all later!

 

[Unknown]

Good update...

It's spelled Colombia, not Columbia...

My picks: England, Argentina, Wales, Japan, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, and Scotland...

 

[MatthewFirth]

England vs Portugal

France vs Argentina

Wales vs Mexico

Belgium vs Japan

Spain vs Uruguay

Croatia vs Denmark

Sweden vs Ireland

Colombia vs Scotland

 

[jmmcb94]

England, France, Wales, Belgium, Uruguay, Croatia, Ireland and Scotland to progress.

Also, in the light of today's new from FIFA, will the WC be expanding to 48 teams ITTL as well?

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 100
Four Way Tests
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As what many of their respective supports and much of the British media (though arguably not the rest of the world for that matter) celebrated that all the Home Nations had made it through to the knockout stage though this would be where the rest test began. Starting off the British and Irish charge for Wembley would be the hosts England and while they may have won the group as well as a return to Wembley for the second match of the round of sixteen, the other being a 4-3 victory for the French over a lacklustre Argentina earlier that day, it was noted by many that other than having to play Uruguay, England really hadn't been tested. That was soon to change as their first knockout match of this World Cup would be against Portugal, a side that had only barely managed to squeeze through their group stage and had nearly blown it in their last match with Iran in which they could've nearly gone out though had avoid the fates shared like those of Germany and Brazil.

Many weren't fully sure who would win this one as while England hadn't been tested, Portugal had crashed along which pretty much led for many to think that this game could go either way, though with it being played in front of a packed Wembley stadium, The English players felt like that they could really perform and show the world that they had moved on from the Iceland debacle. England manager Gareth Southgate had replaced quite a few of the team that been humbled in France and now had quite a young team that was hoping to go out and prove their worth. That being said from the start of the game, England were looking rather tense with Portugal being quite happy to pass the ball around with a lot of team play and that nearly all went well for them when in the seventh minute, Ronaldo tried to score a rocket of a volley at goal which English goalkeeper Jordon Pickford had to knock out for a corner, though it did briefly clatter on the crossbar.

Portugal would have one corner...then another after another counter...and another. In fact to show how much Portugal were the better side, in just fifteen minutes of the opening half, they had taken all five corners of the half as well as three shots on target. Neither the English players or fans liked what they were seeing, not that it wouldn't matter for a excited Portuguese support. England's first decent chance came in the nineteenth minute when Harry Kane made a run down on the counter and saw Raheem Sterling up near the box and waiting for him to connect up with him. Kane fired over to give it to him but Pepe ran in front of him in which managed to clear the ball away before Sterling could get his head on.

Ronaldo tries to fire in a rocket of a volley
​

That first chance did lead for England to try and create more chances with another chance coming in the twenty-third minute, this time a brilliant shot on target by Ashley Young in which had to be cleared away by Patricio who had to dive to the bottom right to deny Young the opening goal. If there was one thing that England excelled at and that at set pieces and one would come for England in the 27th minute when Fonte brought down Dele Alli and Kieran Trippier would step up to take a free kick some 30 yards away from goal. He would fire it into the box in which a crowd gathered in the box, ultimately though it fell to Kane to jump the highest and header the ball into the back of the Portuguese net and give England an unlikely lead at this stage of the game which after a rocky start, England had been on the up as the half progressed and now had the goal they wanted.

Wembley was certainly rocking now as England tried to add to the lead though Portugal weren't wanting to give up so easily as in the thirty-second minute, Guedes made a brilliant solo run to try and bring his country back into the game but he would be cut short by a well timed challenge from Henderson. From that point onwards, England seemed more than happy to hold onto the slender lead and keep Portugal out, though there was one more attempt at goal in the thirty eighth minute in which Kane tried to make a solo run himself but he would be stopped by Pepe. The first half would seem to drag to some viewers as it became clear that neither side wanted to risk anything wherever it was England giving themselves a sucker punch of giving Portugal an equaliser or the latter finding themselves 2-0 down at the break.

Neither anything major of note happened and when the whistle for half time was blown, both would go into the dressing rooms knowing that it was early days yet and that more goals seemed possible, indeed one would think that Portugal had at least a goal in them somewhere. Who would be the hero...?

England players celebrate after taking the lead against Portugal

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Like how Portugal had started off the better team in the first half, England would be the better start right as the second half began and within sixty seconds from kick-off, England would play a brilliant team effort that saw the ball pass around the field from the likes of Henderson, Alli, Trippier, Sterling and finally onto Kane who nearly thumped in an absolute belter of a shot towards the roof of the net, however the ball would have too much power on it and be blasted high into the air in what could be described as an absolute howler. Even though if it had gone in, it was quickly noticed that Kane was slightly offside anyway. England pressed Portugal with the host nation giving their opponents nothing to try and get a foot in the game and it all seemed to be working...that is until the fifty-sixth minute.

While being passed the ball, Henderson had too much of a powerful touch on the ball which saw it roll into the path of Adrien who quickly wasted no time to make a brilliant slicing past that ripped right through the English back line and on towards Guedes. There were very few English player chasing him and he could've gone for goal himself but saw Ronaldo over on his left and he crossed it over to his teammate who would pull of a stunning one footed volley and sent the ball screaming into the back of the net. Portugal were back in it and not only was it a goal worth of a World Cup but surely a goal for the tournament. The Portuguese supporters at Wembley erupted with joy and Ronaldo ran over towards a section where a number of the Portugal supporters were located and even though that goal had come from against the run of play, they didn't care as now hopefully that could knock the stuffing out of England and maybe mount a comeback and, just maybe, defeat the English in their own backyard and knock them out of the tournament. How tempting indeed.

Despite Portugal hopes that they could push England back, the game became rather a cagey affair as no seemed to have an idea of what to do next with game being a midfield and only once or twice did the ball seem to get close to goal, though admittedly never on target. End to end the game went on and by the hour mark, many watching the game live either in the stadium or in some beer drenched fan zone must've wondered what might happen next. Then in the sixty-sixth minute funnily enough, Portugal would make a blinding attack into the England penalty zone in which William fired a shot thirty yards from goal and it evaded Pickford's grasp but it slammed on the crossbar which let out chorus of groans of agony from the Portugal fans of how close that was.

Ronaldo celebrates his goal
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No one knew who or when the next goal would be scored but it started to become clear that thanks to their home supporter roaring them on, England seem to have a grip on this game, all they needed was a goal from somewhere. Then in the seventy-sixth minute came a moment that - if it had one - blew the roof off at Wembley. A little pass from Lingard on towards Alli happened some forty yards from the box and even though he had options of Kane and Sterling in front of him, he did have several Portugal players staring him down and knew it was going to hard to try and get out of this one. Instead, he decided to do it alone and with a unlikely cross high up into the box that seemed odd at first, Portugal's keeper made a panic when the goal came down much further back than he thought in which saw him stumble and could only watch helplessly as the ball landed into the back of the net and that goal meant that England had retaken their lead.

Wembley erupted and many of those supporters were surely thinking now that they were on course for the next round. Portugal couldn't do anything as England pretty much shut up shop and began, much their own supporters amusement, passed the ball around to the cries of 'ole!' while the Portuguese supporters were silent and knew that it looked set to be over for them. That all said, Portugal did try and give England a scare in the eighty- third minute when Silva found himself in a unlikely chance to equalise but his brave attempt would be stopped by Pickford who had no trouble in getting it. A final chance for England came in the 88th minute via a corner in which Kane got his head on it but alas it all came to nothing.

A rather uneventful end would happen in the end as the referee would blow for full time with England marching onwards to the Quarter-finals and Portugal heading home. All in all despite some suspect defending, the hosts had been the better team and deserved the win and it was only a likely thing that England fans were to party long into the night with the first chants of the song 'Three Lions' starting to be played by the supporters. With one Home Nations team through, three more hoped to join England with the next team being Wales playing Mexico soon. For now though, this would be England's night and they knew things were going to get tougher as France lay in wait...

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Welsh fans sitting among many Mexicans fans prior to their game at Home Park in Plymouth​

Two days later following England's victory over Portugal, it would be Wales' turn to see if they could join not only their neighbour but also Uruguay and Croatia who had both made it through to the Quarter-finals the previous day. Regardless though, there was much expectations from this Welsh side and for good reason as it's funny what winning silverware can do for a country. Ever since Wales won the 2016 European Championship, the eyes of Europe, and maybe even the world, had their eyes set on Wales and the hopes of trying to snatch up players from clubs there and onto bigger places. Gareth Bale may have had the bragging rights among his teammates at Real Madrid but many of the teammates that won Euro 2016 were now leaving the British isles to begin new lives in foreign leagues where they all hope to improve on themselves.

'Welshmania' became a joke among football fans in the wake of Wales' victory and the amount of clubs buying Welsh talent and all this improving of each of the players would go a long way as Wales qualified for the 2018 World Cup and hoping to keep the good faith going. There was also the unlikely thought that now with a trophy in the bag, expectations were raised to strange heights that now with a World Cup quite literally on their doorstep, maybe they could really go all the way and win as their victory over Brazil in the group stage did make them think anything is possible - especially if you have Gareth Bale dragging this team forward. Wales' round of sixteen match was to be played at Home Park in Plymouth and for those in South Wales, it was an easy trip south where they were to play Mexico who had only just managed to scrap out of their group due to a series of crazy results which would be come a theme of this World Cup...

Home Park was nearly filled to capacity though despite many Welsh fans had made it down to Plymouth, they were all surprised by the large amount of Mexican fans who were the there and even seem to outnumbered the Welsh fans in sections of the ground and they all felt confident that they could beat Wales and progress to the next round. Sir Chris Coleman though didn't think so as Mexico may had started well but they had been lucky to get this stage when Wales felt that they had more going into this game after a big win while Mexico had suffered a bad loss to the Swedes and there was also the rather unfortunate record that Mexico had in which they could never seem to make it past the round of sixteen which gave the Welsh confidence. Still, who knows what was to happen as the two teams prepared to play.

Wales vs Mexico during the opening moments of the match
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Those thinking Welsh were going to easily roll over the Mexicans were left sweating in the fourth minute, an early shout for a penalty happened for Mexico after Lozano was taken down in the box by Ben Davis and after a lot of protesting, the Italian referee ran over to a monitor to check for a VAR call, the first that Wales would encounter. It was a tense moment as everyone waited for a penalty call or not, but after viewing the footage what felt like an age, the referee could see that Davis had just manged to make it clean just enough to warrant the shot being a goal kick instead. The Mexicans were, understandable, not happy with this with the crowd hissing and jeering and the players chasing the referee like a pack of angry bees.

It was really a tight call that could've gone either way but Wales were breathing a sigh of relief that they had gotten out of that one and that close call was enough to wake them up and start pushing forward; Mexico had been the better team in the opening minutes. Wales tried though to break through the Mexican lines but looked lacklustre and one could have thought that being European champions may have gone to Wales' head, however a lot of their games in this World Cup were games in which the Welsh made hard work of it. Wales' first chance came in the twelve minute when Joe Ledley tried to strike home with a volley on his own which despite having Bale nearby and the ball flew over the bar and Bale could be seen raising his arms up in disbelief at why his teammate didn't want to help.

Then almost in quick succession just three minutes later, Mexico nearly got an opening goal from a corner kick that Herrera tried to score from a header yet somehow Welsh keeper Hennessey managed to keep it out. Despite Wales trying everything they could to keep Mexico out, the men in green were here to win and as it stood, it looked like it was going to be a long day for Wales. There had been many who had, since their victory over the Germans in the group stage, had fancied Mexico to go all the way in this World Cup and here in the game with Wales they were showing some of that skill that had caught them the attention of many with poor Wales being stretched all over the place and hardly looked like they would be scoring anytime soon.

More action in the game with Mexico looking the more better team​

Wales' main man Gareth Bale hadn't really done much and many had wonder if having a 'one-man-team' mentality was going to end in tears for Wales despite manager Coleman telling his players to show their skills and in some ways Ledley had tried to do just that - just not very good at it. In the twenty-seventh minute after a stiff and plucky Welsh defence who it had felt like nearly all day had kept Mexico out nearly cracked wide opened when Connor Roberts failed to catch a loose ball which enabled Vela to snatch it and charge down on the counter where he hoped to break the deadlock as he went to fire on for goal. It missed the keeper but much to his dismay, crashed on the crossbar and headed up into the air. How close had that been for the Mexicans who despite being clearly a better team had seemly no luck which seemed to start with that controversy VAR call. Lord knows what were to happen if Wales somehow managed to win this game?

Then after that, Wales did slowly ease forward and they would win their first corner in the thirty-fourth minute and the ball would land on the head of one Welsh player, Andy King, before it aimlessly rolled in the air with no one knowing where it was going to land, until defender Connor Roberts saw it falling his way and with a little header from him, the ball found it's way past the stretched hands of Ochoa and into the back of the net to give the Welsh a shock lead. The Mexican fans and players were stunned, how could this happened after throwing what felt like everything and the kitchen skink? Wales didn't deserve to go in front, but that didn't matter to the Welsh players who all ran to the corner of the field to celebrate with a section of their fans; football is indeed a funny game.

With that, Mexico began to fight back like an angry beast and they weren't going to let a shock lead let their heads go down as they battled back with a wonderful chance for Mexico coming in the thirty-eighth minute when a linked up slicing pass from Marquez on towards Hernandez ripped through the Welsh back line and it was only thanks to a last second touch from Ashley Williams that sent the ball away just away that would've gone in surely and put Mexico back into this game. What on earth did these poor Mexicans had to do in order to score after how well they had play?

Welsh players celebrate the opening goal
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The Mexican onslaught carried on into the forty-third minute when Hernandez let one rip at goal which looked set to be going into the top left corner though it was punched away by Hennessey and yet again Welsh were hanging onto their slim lead and the Welsh fans in the ground were making all the nose knowing that they surely were going to win this as long as their luck held on and Mexico couldn't find the back of the net and the two managers in either dugout had very different expressions. Chris Coleman stood there while his counterpart, Juan Carlos Osorio, was cutting a frustrated figure yelling at his players to find the goal.

Despite everything though and to the amazement of most neutrals, the first half ended 1-0 to Wales and nobody could understand how it had come to this with one side perhaps underserved to be in front while the other had huffed and puffed all day. Then a sudden thought must've occurred to at least one Welsh fan there knowing that every time Mexico got to this stage they would always get beat. Maybe if you believed in football 'curses', perhaps that Wales were just another forty-five minutes away from reaching the Quarter-finals...then again some things are meant to be broken...

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As the second half began, it was notable that the frustration of Mexico being behind at this stage was starting to show as the Mexicans began the game looking not as good as before and this was when Wales were starting to look more like a relaxed team who were slowly but surely keeping Mexico back and most importantly keeping out chances for Mexico to try and get a goal. So much so that in the fiftieth minute, Wales had a great chance to double their lead when a crossed ball from Bale on the left was sent over towards Sam Vokes but his great shot only clipped the bottom of the post and bounced out and even a rebound hit from Daniel James failed to make amends as he sent the ball flying into the air.

Mexican and Welsh players towards the end of the first half
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If Wales might've been unlucky there, there was to be more VAR controversy for Mexico in the fifty-seventh minute when Herrera raced through an open gap in the Welsh defence though a few Welsh players before sending it up towards Vela who fired it sweetly into the bottom right corner of the Welsh net and it looked like that Mexico they had wanted and the players went off to celebrate. However joy quickly turned into confusion when if was soon noticed that the goal might have to go to VAR for a possible offside position that Herrera might've been in and tension is felt in the air as the Italian referee runs over to his monitor to review it. As the referee looks at it, it seems that Herrera seems would can only be described as a toe offside and most would not really think much of it - Not this this referee though.

As he runs back towards the field, he blows his whistle and points for a goal kick. The Mexicans are outraged and it would've been bad enough to suffer one bad VAR call in one match but two?! No doubt the Mexicans will feel a conspiracy by FIFA to give the British based teams a better chance of progressing and the jeering and whistling from the Mexicans really shows. Truth was that as harsh it was, it was just horrendous bad luck for the Mexicans and it seems that the curse of crashing out at this stage looks set to haunt them. If such a bad call was awful enough, surely it couldn't get worse? Alas football does have ways to be mean and it would all get worse in the sixty-second minute when after much pressing from Wales thanks to Mexico looking flustered since the VAR call, Daniel James was running into the box in which Ayala made a woeful challenge in the box that brought the Welsh player down and the referee made no mistake by awarding Wales a penalty and giving Ayala a yellow card for his troubles.

The Welsh couldn't believe their luck, if this went in then surely they were pretty much in the Quarter finals. The Mexicans? The less said the better about how they felt. Bale went up to the spot to take the penalty and when he was giving the go ahead, he thumped into the roof of the net and Wales were sitting pretty at 2-0 up. It wasn't going to be a vintage performance to remember for either side but the Welsh would never care for that for as a long they were going to win and after that goal, Wales began to simply keep the ball close and not let Mexico try and get at them; not that it wasn't going to matter as Mexico looked so frustrated that they couldn't seem to work as a team and a sense of resignation seemed to be creeping into the player's mind at this point.

A reaction to sum up Mexico's bad luck
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It would've surely been curtains in the sixty-eighth minute when Wales broke through the back line and had the chance to make it 3-0 via a Sam Vokes volley but the ball was knocked away for a corner which that in turn came to nothing in the end. Mexico did try to make a response shortly afterwards just five minutes later from a free kick from Vela which ultimately came to nothing and that was just yet another example of how it had not been Mexico's day and even that was enough to make the odd Mexican fan starting to leave the ground knowing how hopeless the situation seemed to be. A few tackles towards the final fifteen minutes with one coming from Wales in the seventy-seventh minute when James Chester tried to slide the ball off Guardado near the edge of the field but only ended up taking him out and got a yellow card for his actions.

This would be a sore one for Chester to take as because of a yellow card he had gotten in the game with Brazil before hand, he would miss out on the Quarter-final for being suspended. Not the best news that Wales wanted even if they were going to win this game. Mexico's horrendous bad luck would culminate in the eighty-sixth minute when a frustrated Santos, who had not been on for long remember, went in for a crazy tackle on a poor Ledley that looked painful mostly as Santos' studs seem to scrape the side of his leg and no VAR was needed for this as the referee branded a red card in the air to put Mexico down to ten men and one had to wonder if by now the Mexicans had hit rock bottom and it must've been such a bitter pill to swallow to think that they looked so good going into this game and it had been down to some dodgy calls and soft goals that would in the end see them crash out 2-0 to the Welsh and the men in red had made it to the Quarter-finals.

As the Mexican fans left Home Park in dismay, the Welsh fans there weren't going to move as they were here to spend a wild night in Plymouth and soak up the nightlife in the glorious summer evening - with much drink to consume of course. In the end however, were Wales lucky to win? Of course, no one would deny that but if you were Welsh of course, no one was really going to care about that and the night was summed up with a wonderful shot of manager Sir Chris Coleman being carried on the shoulders of his players as they gave the fans still in the ground a lap of honour. Next stop for Wales...Liverpool and a tough yet familiar opponent lay in wait...

Job done, Welsh players congratulate each other after making it to the Quarter-finals

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Over the last three weeks, Sheffield had become something of a home for the Ireland team and their supporters. Having played two of their group games here and now this last sixteen clash, it had become a common sight to see one boozed up Irish fan, from north and south, all roaming the streets of the Yorkshire city trying to find their way around. The combination of being such a plucky team and having fun supporters had endeared them to the city and had been adopted as the 'home' team for this World Cup thought it wasn't the first time such a thing had happened with a connection with the now gone Northern Irish football team and Sheffield. Back in 1966 during that World Cup, that team had won the hearts of the city then and more so in the controversial final group game with Argentina in which Northern Ireland narrowly missed out on progressing. Now in their place was a united Irish team who was hoping to make amends for what happened then.

As it had turned out, things had turned out better here for the team despite some impossible odds and the goods news was that the side standing in their way was Sweden; a team that had managed to win the group despite being in with the likes of Germany and Mexico and one that many Irish person believed they could turn over. Even better was the winner of the tie would have a trip down to Milton Keynes where they would face either Colombia or Scotland in the Quarter-final and who knows how that would go? Hillsborough was nearly filled the brim of supporters with while there were many Swedes in attendance but the vast majority were Irish fans who all wanted to be part of history of seeing a united Irish team progress in the knockout stage for the first time.

The first half would be tight as everyone expected, but a little too tight as not any did either side fail to get a shot on target but the game had been a drab affair which if someone at that game had fallen asleep then no one would blame them for it. It was almost if either side had spent forty-five minutes trying to probe a weakness in the either team yet in doing so had wasted everyone's time when it might've been more easier if they had only just watched videos of past games to judge on either side's game plan. Nonetheless things did pick up in the second half almost right at the start within seventy seconds from the moment Ireland started the second half from the centre circle when Will Greig did a back pass towards James McLean which stunned the Swedish team and McLean would run down on the counter before giving the ball towards Kyle Lafferty who tried to go for goal but his shot slammed on the post.

Martin O'Neil - the first manager of a united Ireland team - during a pre-match press interview prior to the game with Sweden
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As much as a miss as it might've been, that moment alone had been a whole lot better than anything in the first half had produced. Sweden would then respond with an attack of their own in the forty-ninth minute when Berg broke into a charge after a piece of horrendous defending from the Irish defence saw the Swedish player break through before he was ultimately stopped by the linesman raising his flag for offside. The men in green had been let off the hook and Irish manager Martin O'Neil wasn't happy with such open gaps in the team; they were clearly asking for trouble. Ireland did push forward and their efforts were rewarded with a corner kick in the fifty-eighth minute when McLean would be the one to take it. He swung it in and it went of the head of Swedish defender Lustig who had intended for the ball to get out of the box, alas it found it's way to head of captain Steven Davis who with a cheeky header back towards the goal that caused their keeper, Olsen, to fall back into the goal, Ireland were suddenly in front and finally the deadlock had been broken and the roar from their supporters really showed what it meant for them to get the lead at this point in the game.

Irish joy seemed to grip the stadium as the men in green and white began to try and double their lead but it only causes Sweden to increase their defence and prevent the leading team to get a double that could ultimately kill this tie off. The second goal for the Irish looked set to happen in the sixty-second minute when Lafferty swung in a brilliant cross trying to get it into the top left corner, however the ball was blocked by the hand of Olsen who did just enough to deny Ireland a second goal and bring it out for a corner kick. Another goal looked set to happen, but when and in what net? In the sixty-sixth minute, the game turned on it's head. Sweden won themselves the ball after some slack play from Ireland which saw Ekdal running down and the Swedish fans made a roar of noise to encourage him forward and he would see his teammate, Forsberg, giving him to the signal to cross the ball up towards him in which Ekdal duly replied.

With a powerful header that sent the ball down into the bottom left corner in which Irish keeper, Colin Doyle, could do nothing to stop it and to the stunned looks of the Irish fans in the crowd, Sweden had scored against the run of play and now it was game on. As the Irish were annoyed for not killing the game off with another quick fire goal, Sweden found inner strength from that goal and now began to use the opportunity of a frustrated Ireland team and try and get another goal themselves. Frustrations would flair up in the seventieth minute when Shane Duffy got into a scuffle with Svensson over a coming together in which was hard to make out who was to blame and the referee had no choice but to book both players. As the next five minutes wore on, everyone could feel the tension in the air that there would be a last minute goal, but from where?

Swedish players celebrate getting level with Ireland
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By the seventy-eighth minute, Ireland were on the ropes and despite holding on to keep their opponents out from scoring, it looked like the Swedes were going to go all out and try and win the game and no one knew how long the Irish could hold on for despite their large backing trying to help them on. There would be a few eyebrows raised in the eighty-first minute when Josh Magennis was taking off to be replaced by Shane Long which seemed rather strange considering the former player had actually been playing a good game despite not having the chance to score. Nothing happened by that point until the ninetieth minute when it was shown that four additional minutes would be played though it was here that drama would happen. In the third minute of added time after many mishaps of letting Sweden try and move down on the break, it would be for once the Swedes that would screw up in that moment when Granqvist, the captain no less, failed to collect a loose ball which saw Shane Long run in to snatch off him and saw him run into the Swedish penalty area and he like many one else was stunned at the lack of players in the area due to the fact many had been placed up the field in order to find the late winner.

Just as Long got into the box, he passed it over towards Lafferty were he fired the shot into the back of the net and ran off to celebrate the winning goal...or was it? A linesman had his flag up and the Swedes looked relieved that the game looked like it was going to extra time and that must've been a sucker punch for Ireland who felt like that had scored the dramatic last minute winner like they had done in the game with Costa Rica. However confusion soon followed when it was announced that the goal would go to VAR and see if Lafferty might've been in a offside position before he scored. For what feels like an age for a choice to be made with everyone not making a sound in case even that might change everything, it is found out that Lafferty that he was in indeed onside with a couple of inches to spare and the referee blows his whistle and indicate to give the goal.

More VAR madness in this World Cup and the Ireland fans erupted with joy that they were going into the Quarter-finals and won't care really that it'll bring for the team on the losing end and the dismayed Swedish players plead to the referee to try and change his mind but alas, even if he did, time is runs out after the ball kicks off from the centre circle and before anyone knows it, Sweden are out and the plucky Irish are through to the Quarter finals. The Swedish media would no doubt go into meltdown debating if they were cheated or if it was just pure bad luck, but nothing would help them that they were now out of this World Cup. For the Irish though, it was their first time moving into the last eight as united side and they were hoping to become the history makers...only one more Home Nation to go now...

Irish players celebrate following reaching the last eight

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The final Home Nation to take part would be with Scotland taking on Colombia in Nottingham, though it was fair to say the least said about it the better. If one was to describe the match in one word: Brutal. Colombia would be starting this game without their star player, James Rodriguez, and without him the South American side did look on paper like a team that could be there for the taking and Scotland throughout the match did put a whole lot of pressure on Colombia. However the match would go down as one of the most notorious matches of this World Cup mainly thanks to Colombian players preferring to kick lumps out of the Scottish players with no less than five of the Colombian players being booked for a series of stupid fouls. Despite not being given a chance to play their game, Scotland were the better team throughout and would win a penalty in the fifty-seventh minute in which Steven Fletcher put away and that looked the be the goal that would send the Scots on their way to the Quarter-finals.

However not being able to score another goal would come back to haunt the Scots when deep into injury time and trying to defend a corner kick, Mina would header in the ball that would drag the game into injury time and it was said that cheering would've been heard all the way in Colombia when that dramatic late equaliser went in. The Scots could only kick themselves as they really should've seen this game out but a lack of goals and the failure to add to their lead and come back to haunt the Scots; not to mention the thought of having to endure another thirty minutes of a brutal beatdown from the Colombians. Only this could happen to Scotland and it was a far contrast to that dull 1-1 draw when the two sides last played in 1994, though given how crazy this game had been, one wouldn't put it past anyone that more fireworks looked set to happen and if one could see the look of contempt in the eyes of Scotland captain Allan McGregor, it was going to be a hellish game.

Despite this, Scotland kept going at the Colombians with the large Scottish support here in Nottingham cheering them on though there was a large section of Columbian fans also there making a right din hoping to break Scottish hearts. Then in the ninety-seventh minute, Colombia from out of nowhere made a break on the counter with Falcao rushing forward and striking on for what looked like an underserved lead. However it was the hands of Allan MacGregor that made him the hero of the moment as he dived to the top left to deny the Colombian player his goal. Then in the one hundred and third minute, another bad challenge took place in which both Charlie Mulgrew and Carlos Bacca leapt into the air trying to get their head on a loose ball coming their way but both succeeded in slamming their heads in which both players fell to the ground and a roar of anger erupted from the crowd wanting action.

Strachan's reaction of the game says it all
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Bacca was already on a booking and the Scottish fans wanting him sent off while the Colombian fans felt that Mulgrew was to blame for it, Bacca was more worried given that he was already on a yellow card but the referee instead didn't book either and decided that it was an accident. Mulgrew did look bad though as he had to get a bandage wrapped round his head with some blood coming out despite the medics attempts to stop the bleeding and he did look like he was pulling a Terry Butcher with that look. Thankfully not long later, half time of injury time followed and the Scottish players looked battered and exhausted but yet had to find the goal that would hopefully finally end this game once and for all. The day would not be Mulgrew's day especially as in the one hundred and seventh minute, he and Bacca were at it again as the Colombian tried to get the ball of him as the Scottish player was defending.

Mulgrew would take a stumble and fall over, but not before an impatient Bacca decided to quickly get the ball by doing a stupid thing by stepping on the back of Mulgrew. There was no doubting of where this was going as the referee ran over and raised a red card into the air to send the Colombian player packing. Bacca knew he had done a very stupid thing and he could only walk away in tears knowing how bad things were going for his side now reduced to ten men. A sending off in this game given the amount of bookings that had taken place seemed more than likely and it would be in the end that Bacca would make the walk of shame. Now being a man down and with extra-time nearing it's end, Scotland were going to really go all out and put this horrid game to bed.

Scotland's pressing was become more and more relentless and it would've humiliating if they couldn't get the winning goal at this point and in the one hundred and thirteenth minute, Scotland won a corner kick with Callum Patterson to take it. He would swing it in and Griffiths tried to header it in but the ball would slam on the cross bar and James Forrest would try to follow up on a rebound but the ball would be quickly punch away to safety by Ospina. However it wouldn't take long before Scotland came back at the Colombians once again with Fletcher running at towards goal and could've quite easily fired at goal himself, instead he looks over at James Forrest nearby and Fletcher whacks the ball over towards Forrest who with a powerful volley sends the ball screaming into back of the net and Scotland having taking the, justified, lead deep into extra-time and that roar of delight from the Tartan Army really says a lot how many are feeling in Scotland that finally things might be going their way at last.

Bacca reacts at his sending off
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The game is now surely all but over for Colombia as they looked devoid of ideas as even their tackles seemed to have stopped with the growing feeling that the game was up for them. Right in the closing minutes of the game Scotland had a chance when Fletcher ran towards the penalty box however just before he got close he was brought down by Mina in quite a brutal fashion and more shocks were to follow as the referee ran up and gave him a red card. Mina, who had scored the goal to send the game into extra-time, had gone from hero to villain in that moment and it was at this point a near riot took place with the final moments of the game descending into a farce with the now nine man Colombian team starting to fight the other Scottish players soon as the final whistle went with the most notable of the night being Carlos Sanchez losing the plot and held Grant Hanley by the neck in which saw the referee acting like a boxing referee trying to end various brawls taking place.

The game, which become infamously known as 'The Battle Of Nottingham' as the most violent game at that World Cup and fines would be dished out on both teams by FIFA, mostly for Colombia over the failure to control their players at the end and while Scotland were happy to be in the Quarter-finals to play Ireland in Milton Keynes, this was a game that neither of them would forget in a hurry for all the wrong reasons. Allan McGregor would later say that this game was without doubt the most violent game he'd ever play at International level and would in some ways play a part in his choice to step down from international duties following this World Cup. For now though, the Scottish fans turned Nottingham into their own corner of Scotland and much celebrations would take place well into the early hours of the following day though one could imagine that the Scottish players were more licking their wounds rather than celebrating when it only dawned on them just how badly treated they had been out there...

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So that is a big update and which is now the 100th chapter in the story which is a time to celebrate so having a big bumper chapter seems like the way to do it! But yeah, mostly a tidy up of the old TL though we now have a united Irish team playing at a World Cup and its all fitting to get this update up just as the international break is about to begin and without further a do, here is the fixture list for the last eight:
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England vs France

Wales vs Belgium

Uruguay vs Croatia

Ireland vs Scotland
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So who will make it through and why? Find out next time and until then, see you then!

 

[MatthewFirth]

England vs France

Wales vs Belgium

Uruguay vs Croatia

Ireland vs Scotland

 

[Unknown]

My picks: France, Belgium, Croatia, and Scotland...

 

[EvilJam]

Very cool

 

[jmmcb94]

England, Belgium, Uruguay and Scotland to go through.

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 101
Three Out, One In
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At last it was time for the Quarter-finals for the 2018 World Cup and England would begin the list of games in which the team headed away from the comforts of Wembley stadium and this time towards Villa Park in Birmingham where the game in question would be a mouth watering Quarter-Final tie, the first of them for this World Cup, with the favourites of this tournament, France. It did look to be a very tough opponent to take on despite the home advantage as the French were not only one of the favourites but also a team that had ripped apart Argentina in their last match as well as winning their group so it was fair to say that there was more of a likely chance that there was an odd English supporter there being cautious about their chances. That all being said, most of this French team had only just two years ago been humiliated in their own backyard when Wales won the European Championship in the final...Speaking of which though the winner of this game would have a semi-final clash with either the much fancied Belgians or the plucky Welsh with both the French and the English wanted to play the latter with the former certainly for more personal reasons. Then again that was thinking ahead as this game was just as important if not more. The hosts verses the favourites was always going to attract great attention for sure.

The English fans were certainly making Villa Park rock on the new expansion on the ground was only helping make the atmosphere as intimidating as possible for the French though England manager Gareth Southgate knew that despite all that the supporters could do, is was down the men dressed in all white to make sure that the hosts didn't make a disappointing exit. No way didn't they want to let the French win their second triumph at Wembley within nine days, they'd likely never hear the end of it. But as the referee blew his whistle to begin the match, it was time to play. From the get-go, the French were probing and pressing and showing everyone why they were one of the favourites to win the tournament as despite England doing their bet to keep the French from scoring, it did look to be a matter of time until the French would et a shot on target and maybe even then a goal. The first shot on target for France would happen in the sixth minute when Giroud let rip a powerful volley at goal but Jordon Pickford had to act quickly to keep it out and in doing so gave the French a corner kick.

The corner kick in question would be a scare again for England as from it, Pogba got his head on it to send it into the bottom right corner of the England net and this time Pickford was unable to keep it out the ball this time as in just seven minutes, France had taken the lead and their supporters roared in delight and many an England fan could only look on in dismay at how they had let the French score so early on. It was not the best start for sure yet thankfully the Three Lions wouldn't give up so soon as in the tenth minute, England got a break in which Eric Dier would thread the ball up towards Harry Kane while on the counter and the mostly English crowd roared him on to score from what looked to be quite an open area, instead he would pass the ball over towards Raheem Sterling on his right in the hope he would tap it in. Sadly for England, Sterling didn't put enough force on the ball and the ball would be comfortably saved by Lloris who dived down to the right to get his hands on it.

English and French players shake hands before kick off
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By the twenty-seventh minute after how much France were outplaying the English and showing why they were the favorites, it was something of a minor miracle that despite being by far the more better team, Les Bleus had failed to score and more worse was they couldn't seem to get a shot on target thanks to England being a stubborn side that refused to let France get forward, however a minute later, there would be clash of heads of Pavard and Ashely Young when both tried to get their head on the ball and ended up knocking each other out briefly. No foul was given as it was purely an accident, though both players looked rather weary after that and did rather shaken from what had happened as they began playing again. Then from out of nowhere in the thirty-second minute, Pogba was passing the ball back up towards Varane who everyone expected nothing more than to simply collect the loose ball, however he would make a howler when he accidently let the ball slip from him and Harry Kane saw an opportunity and pounced on the ball in which a mad chase followed, along with a chorus of cheers from the English fans and groans from the French supporters, Kane raced down towards the goal with Varane trying to catch up with him.

Alas, he was too late as Kane fired home the shot into the back of the net and to everyone's amazement and from against the run of play, England were back in the game and the English support in which Villa Park roared with delight as the English support were more or less happy with the fact they were in front and it didn't matter they were the second best team in this match, what mattered is that they had got the equaliser at a crucial time and hopefully it could kick start something for England to fight for. France were angry about what had happened and just five minutes later, Pogba tried to get his side back into the game when he did a darting run through the English back line and managed to get inside the box to go one on one with Pickford, yet to everyone's amazement, Pickford made a wonderful clean save that saw the Frenchman stunned of how on earth the English keeper managed to keep that out.

The last big moment for the first half happened in the forty-second minute when, once again as pretty much as how this game had gone, France went on the attack again with Kante punting up a shot towards Griezmann who found himself in a good position to score from but yet his shot for some strange reason went wide of the goal and poor Griezmann looked towards the heavens wondering how on earth it was not going all of his side's way today despite really making England creak at the back. Looking over towards the bench, England manager Gareth Southgate had a look of caution on his face and was perhaps the only one of his fellow countrymen in that stadium who knew how lucky England were to be in level while his French counterpart, Didier Deschamps, gave the look of a frustrated character that seemed to be a reaction that would've been shared by many of his fellow countrymen in comparison of how they had not only failed to add to their lead but that England were alive and kicking.

Kane just before he scores the goal to put England level
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French frustrated did start to boil over just before the half time whistle when Umtiti went in for a bad challenge on Sterling and was booked without hesitation and there was no complaints from either as it was quite a foolish thing to do. Not long then afterwards, the referee would blow for half time and the English and French players would walk off to two very different emotions, one of joy and optimism and the other being of frustration and disappointment. Anything could happen within the next forty-five minutes, everyone knew that. However what would follow would be two very different team talks during the break from each manager. What was to happen next? Would England add to their unlikely lead or would France get back into this game? Villa Park would soon find out as the afternoon sun beamed down on those sun kissed supporters...

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Despite many thinking France would come out of the gates with all blood and thunder in their search to find the goal they felt they deserved, the Les Bleus seem to cut a rather fragile looking team which made it unclear what their team talk was either what the plan was or if they taking such a chewing out from their manager that the players were still shaken from it. England on the other hand didn't seem to have changed much as it was almost like from the get go that they would defend this very slim lead and if they managed to find themselves into the lead then that would be nothing more than a bonus. A really dangerous tactic to perform. Strangely though, it would be England that had the first good chance in the second half which fell in the fifty-third minute when Dele Alli tried to squeeze through a shot on target but his shot would be knocked clear by Lloris.

The French keeper and captain was not happy with what the team was doing and shouted at his teammates berating them to wake up as England went up to take a corner. From said corner, Harry Maguire would get his head on the ball to aim it at the goal and it looked liked it was going in, instead the ball crashed on the crossbar and went out for a goal kick. This was not the start the French were hoping for and now the momentum was with England and they suddenly looked liked the ones to score next and if they did then no doubt that it would make France's task more harder, even though this French side had managed to put four past the Argentines in their last game. France would try with another shot from Pogba in the fifty-seventh minute but it would fly over the bar and even more annoyingly, had been marked offside by the linesman even if his shot had somehow found the back of the net.

Some action just after the restart for the second half
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In the sixty-fourth minute, another booking came for the French with Kante seeing yellow following a barged from him on Dier that would hand England a free kick. Two minutes later, both managers decided this was the time to make a substitution with Eric Dier coming off for Jorden Henderson to come on while the French had Tolisso going off for Nzonzi to take his place in the hope that it might help get France back into the game. That had become an overused phrased for the French if one had noticed. In the sixty-ninth minute, a moment of controversy happened for England when while trying to weave through the French defence, he would be brought down by Pogba and their was a cry from the English for a penalty. At first the referee was unmoved but was soon called over to investigate on VAR if it was a penalty and both sides awaited the verdict to see what happened next.

The referee checked for a good few minutes and when he finished looking, he came back to give his verdict. Penalty for England. On replays it looked quite soft and any neutral would argue that it was dive and the French players felt this too as they were unhappy with the choice to award the hosts a penalty and the Argentine referee had to calm everyone down before Kane would step and take the spot kick that could put the hosts in front. By sending the French keeper, and ironically his Tottenham teammate, the wrong way, Kane would put England 2-1 in front and the English support around Villa Park and perhaps across the country were all on a high. The French though didn't give in and instead would buckle down to try and make sure that the host's moment of joy would be short lived and that is exactly what happened next.

The game would make another crazy twist yet again in the seventy-third minute when Pogba raced through after he was crossed the ball by Kante and without much thought, he fired his shot into the bottom right of the net and France had found the back of the net once again. oy could be expressed from the French players that they had scored at last, but suddenly joy turned into confusion when the referee was called over yet again for a VAR choice on the goal to see if it was in a offside position and he once again raced over to that monitor in which many awaited with baited breaths. Drama seemed to be happening everywhere in this match and all eyes were fixed on the referee. He didn't take as long this time round and he raced back onto the field to give his verdict. Goal given and the game was tied in a thrilling 2-2 encounter.

Deep into the middle of a crazy game at Villa Park
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This time is was the English players to express their displeasure with the referee while the French were just happy that they still had a chance to go through and after two VAR checks, everyone could agree that the referee was not bias to either side that was for sure but he was surely wasn't making himself liked by either. The second half from then on became something of a grind as both teams now looked frustrated that several choices had not gone their way and had either gone their way, the game would surely be sorted. But with everything still so very tight and the fact that anything could happen with the score still level. In the seventy-ninth minute, another booking followed for France with Nzonzi getting booked after a coming together with Henderson in which the Frenchman was at fault.

It was descending into a tense game in which one wrong move would surely decide the game and in the eighty-third minute of the game, that moment would arrive. Pogba was barely into the English half and had many white shirts around him and knew that it was going to be hard to get past many of them that he would have to try and risk it by doing something so outrageous to give France the lead. He would let fly a crazy volley of a shot that went screaming towards the English goal in which many felt it was going to at least hit the crossbar, post or be saved...what no one expected English and French supporters alike was that Pogba would score one of the most incredible goals ever seen at at the world cup would he score a thirty yard thunderbolt of a strike that left Pickford stunned and the French commenter descend into madness in which he didn't commentator but rather scream in delight while many English players and supporters left dumbstruck, so much so that several pieces of footage saw some actually applaud the goal in which given the reputation of English supporters that is really saying a lot.

If that wasn't a goal worthy of a World Cup then who knows what was? England in the end could have nothing to respond to that and in the end, France were 3-2 winners in one of the most incredible games of football seen at a World Cup in which that goal from Pogba would be talked about for years to come and the English were left heartbroken to fall at this stage at the World Cup on home soil and unlike 1966 and 1996, there would be no final appearance like on those two occasions and this game broke that streak though in truth, if they were to go down to any team at this World Cup, it would be to this French team who many expected to win the World Cup and England could say that at the very least that they went down fighting too though many English supporters were left heartbroken still. Next stop for Les Bleus was a trip up the road to the Stadium of Light in Sunderland where they would be there for the semi-final. Question was, who would they like to face as some prepared later that day to watch the other Quarter final that would the winner in that game would be their Semi-final opponent, Wales or Belgium...?

French fans in Paris celebrating over their victory over England in the Quarter-finals

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Following England's exit from their own tournament, it was fair to say the reaction of fans from the other Home Nations was one of great delight in cruel sense. No matter what happened now, they all knew that there would be no World Cup victory for England at Wembley within a few days and now the hope would be if any of the remaining three could make it into the last four with Wales being the next Home Nation to take part. They say coincidences can be a rare thing in football, yet the amount of coincidences surrounding this Quarter-final tie with Wales and Belgium pretty much took the cake. Just over two years ago on the 6th July, Wales would stun the Belgians winning 3-1 in that Quarter final tie at the Euros and some say that the game was the catalyst for their run to the final, plus in that game with the location of match being played near the Belgian border, many Belgium fans had made the short journey over hoping to see their side win but ultimately came away feeling disappointed.

Much like how the Belgian fans didn't have far to travel for that game, the Welsh supporters (mainly from North Wales) would repeat the same process in which they would make the short journey up to Liverpool in which they hoped to repeat the same feet twice and progress to the semis in which the winner would face France. Most of Merseyside was covered in red by both Welsh and Belgian fans and with the game being placed at Anfield, the home of one certain red team, the red jokes were endless. Nonetheless, the majority of the city would be backing the Welsh (at least the red half no less) in which was helped that Liverpool had a large Welsh population in which would have no trouble in backing The Dragons but everyone knew this was going to be an almighty struggle for the plucky Welsh.

The Belgians were the favourites of the tournament and their impressive performances had won the hearts of many and there was more or less at least one of the players and fans who wanted revenge on the Welsh for what they had done to them previously and they were out to make sure that lightning wouldn't strike in the same place twice. Welsh manager Sir Chris Coleman though thought otherwise of the notion that Belgium were unbeatable as only in their last game, they had gone 2-0 down to Japan for heavens sake and had managed to only win that game thanks to a last minute winner to get them to this point and that Japanese team didn't have any superstars to speak of unlike this Welsh side which did. Surely the Japanese had proved anyone could give the Belgians more to think about?

The Belgian team, playing in their away yellow kit, pose for the team photo prior to their Quarter final match with Wales
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From the moment the game started, Wales struggled to get their foot in the game and nearly gave the Belgians an early lead in the third minute when Ben Davis accidently let the ball slip and this saw an incoming De Bruyne snatch the ball off his feet and charge towards the penalty box in which he let fly and it was only thanks to the fingertips of one Wayne Hennessey that stopped the ball flying into the top right corner of the net to prevent an embarrassing early goal coming in. A Belgian corner followed which saw poor Wales being pushed, pulled and stretched as Belgium attempted to find an early goal which saw not find the back of the net despite being by far the better team in the early moments of the game. Another attempt for Belgium followed when in the tenth minute, Lukaku smashed the ball home towards goal but to his frustration saw the ball smash on the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

That was just a mere example of how much Belgium were dominating the game and it didn't help the poor Welsh fans, a lot of them being placed in the Kop end of Anfield watching the many Belgium balls flying their way and fearing that a Belgian goal was invadable, indeed most pundits who were predicting a comfortable Belgium win were feeling confident in themselves. Wales' first chance of the game would come from an unlikely source when Wales won a freekick in the twenty-fourth minute and Bale swung it into the box for Tyler Roberts to try and get his head on the ball in which he did...but only managed to aim the ball squarely at Belgium goalkeeper Courtois who saved it without much fuss. It was Wales' first shot on target in this whole game but it really wasn't much to write home about as Belgium carried on causing terror for the Welsh backlines who were creaking under the pressure from the yellow and black dressed terrors. It looked like it was going to be a long game for Wales...

Thankfully by the half hour mark, Wales did start to gain their footing in the game and even began to hold the ball for a good number of times trying to keep the Belgians out yet failed to get a shot on target during that time; to say it was a far contrast to the Mexico game would be an understatement but as long as they kept this up then surely Wales could build confidence from this. The first goal of the game looked to have finally happened for Belgium in the thirty-third minute when they won a corner and Lukaku would bang it in to the bottom left and it looked liked that at last Belgium had gotten their deserved goal...or did they? Joy turned to confusion and then worry for the Belgians when it was seen that a VAR call was needed as it looked as if there might've been something that had happened in the box during that header.

Bale tries his hand at scoring for Wales
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As the referee checked his monitor, he did see something. Kompany during the header did a shirt pull on Andy King which sent him falling to the ground and that was for the Dutch referee not a good thing as he ran back to the field to give his final verdict...no goal. The Welsh fans erupted with joy as if they had scored while the Belgian players surrounded the referee expressing their anger. Wales were lucky that VAR had helped them out for if it hadn't been there, Wales would be 1-0 down even if Belgium did deserve the lead. It was clear as the game neared it's end that the best Wales could do was keep the Belgians away at arm's length and that is what they did with Hennessey playing the game of his life as he was kept busy trying to keep the ball away as if every safe was added an extra half a million to his price tag for anyone wanting to sign him from Crystal Palace.

To the relief of the Welsh and the disappointment of the Belgians, the first half would eventually end goalless in a game that other the score saying one thing, the stats said a whole different game. Many were stunned at how Welsh had remained in the game by this point yet there was always that feeling that sooner or later Belgium would prove their worth and come out on top. How long could Wales ride their luck for? Even with a lot of Anfield backing the Welsh, many did expect Belgium to get that goal to break the deadlock and maybe then even add to it. Then again given how they almost blew it to Japan, who knew...?

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Neither side made any changes during the break and the idea that both managers said to their players was more of the same. Belgium went running out of the traps yet again yet Wales were more than happy to fend off the Belgium waves of attack as if this was the only way to beat the Belgians. Another wasted chance for Belgium happened in the forty-ninth minute when Fellaini tried to go on the volley after getting past James Lawrence but would send the ball flying way over the bar and into the row of frustrated Belgian supporters who all couldn't quite believe their bad luck at scoring. Perhaps the magic of Anfield that supported the 'home' team (as Wales were in this game) was at work here? Little did they know that they hadn't seen it yet.

Lukaku just before his goal is disallowed during the first half
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Two minutes after that, a goal kick would follow for Wales and it would be sent up the field in which Aaron Ramsay manged to get on the ball first before slipping it up on the left counter towards Gareth Bale who raced forward with Fellaini tagging as he went on the run. Bale knew he wasn't going to get any space moving forward so he crossed it over towards Sam Vokes who quickly captured the ball and made his way towards the penalty box with the Welsh crowd roaring him on as he neared it. He could've then scored from there and be the hero, but he was finding himself surrounded by many yellow shirts so he pulled a back pass towards Bale back on the left and with one mighty shot sent the ball screaming into the top right of the net and Anfield, mainly the Welsh side, erupted with joy.

Wales were 1-0 ahead in a World Cup Quarter-final and while it might've been totally against the run of play, they weren't going to care for that as suddenly they found themselves in the driving seat to get their foot in the semi final next. The Belgians were stunned to say the least and almost soon after that goal they began to fight back to save themselves from yet another embarrassing situation. Anyone could see how important Bale was for Wales but could he really singlehandedly do a Maradona and drag this Welsh side all the way to a final? As happy as many a Welshman might've been, it became quickly apparent that they had poked the hornet's nest and the Belgians began to rain terror on Wales and keeping them locked firmly in their own half in which not only couldn't they get out but also to the point in which Courtois had very little to do in that second half other than become a spectator.

Some tempers began to fly when in the fifty-eighth minute, Ashley Williams would make a tackle on Hazard and would get the first booking of the game and thus saw Belgium get a free kick which despite being in a good position some thirty yards away from goal, the ball landed on the roof of the net and yet another chance for the Belgians went amiss. A change followed for Wales in which in the sixty-third minute, Joe Ledley would go off to be replaced by Matthew Smith in which did raise a few eyebrows but seemed to be a change to give some fresh legs in to the team after putting on such a performance trying to hold off Belgium. That being said though, the Belgians carried on to make life difficult and in the sixty-eighth minute, their pressing would finally be awarded when Meunier would charge down on the right left Welsh flank and crossed it over towards Hazzard who was nearby the box and after pulling a dummy move on the likes of Ben Davis and Ashley Williams, he slotted it into the bottom right of the goal and finally Belgium could breath a sigh of relief that they had gotten the goal they deserved.

One happy Welshman after he scores the opener in the Quarter-final tie with Belgium
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To be fair, the goal for Belgium was long coming and it would've unfair if they hadn't scored. Now that they had done just that, it was a question if they would score a second and really punish the Welsh or if the latter team would try and hang on until extra time so they could regroup and figure out what to do. Sadly for Wales, that equaliser had really put the wind behind Belgium who were now pretty much throwing everything forward as they looked to find the winning goal that would surely decide the game as they game was reaching the final quarter of the match. Time and time again though despite Belgium finding many holes in what was looking like a really rattled Welsh team, they still couldn't quite find the second goal and there was even the odd chance in which sometimes due to the fact that most of the team was up front, gaps in Belgium's defence became glaringly obvious with Bale trying to go on a one man mission to get an unlikely winner for Wales.

Even in the seventy-sixth minute came very close in which he shot up a lovely cross towards goal but it narrowly whizzed over the bar and a groan of agony from the Welsh fans followed as they knew of how close that was for a goal and the look of Bale having his hands over his mouth really said a lot. Five minutes later, De Bruyne ran into the box but was given a clean tackle by Ben Davis who quickly cleared it out up the field far as possible even though a big cry from the Belgians followed claiming it was sure penalty but the referee was sure it was clean tackle and the Belgians could only grumble at this Welsh team's luck. As the game enter the final ten minutes, it became quite a tedious affair with both sides making life difficult and with a laid back referee to boot in which both sides felt the referee was waving off important calls with one for Wales coming in the eighty-seventh minute when Andy King was brought down in what looked to be a clear foul by Vermaelen yet the referee or even VAR did nothing to help.

After much huffing and puffing from Belgium and mad defending from Wales, the whistle for full time blew and now the game would be go to extra time with neither side happy that it had gotten to the point as there had been chances to win the game for either side, mostly with the Belgians of course. But as the players took their break and rallied round to hear what their respected manager wanted from them, it was going to be yet another long thirty minutes for either team. How could either side keep up with this? Only one would win. Those who were expecting Belgium to go all guns blazing in extra time were to be left stunned as Belgian didn't really do that and instead it was Wales who came out with their tails up and must've felt as if they had the belief they could win this game and they began to press Belgium and made many raise their eyebrows as to why this was happening.

Moments later after Belgium score the goal that puts them level with Wales
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Did the Belgians want to win this game or felt bad for the Welsh to let them have a chance? What no one knew at that time was that this was all part of plan to lead the Welsh into a false sense of security then attack them on the counter. The Welsh would get a free kick effort in the ninety-seventh minute of extra time with Bale as usual stepping up to take it where he hoped to get the shock lead for Wales. He sent in towards the box in which it did look like that it was going to curling into the top left corner, but the ball was knocked away in which Kompany collected it and began to charge on the counter in which Belgium could begin their lightning fast counter attack. Kompany ran past Aaron Ramsay who failed to stop him before passing the ball towards Lukaku who barrelled down towards the Welsh goal before he crossed the ball over towards Hazzard who with a cleanly taken volley, sent the ball into the bottom right and fire Belgium in front for the first time in this match.

It was a sucker punch for Wales to give away a goal like that so soon after they had taken a free kick but nonetheless Belgium's plan had worked and could feel some daylight between them and Wales as they hoped to finally win this game and move onwards to the semis. The best that Wales could do now it seemed was not let anymore goals be scored and maybe even pray for there to be an odd chance or two for them perhaps, though as the first period of extra time came to an end, it looked to be a hopeless dream that looked set to go down in flames. As the second half of extra time began, Belgium were out to get another goal to seal the game with a brilliant chance coming their way in the one hundred and sixteenth minute when Lukaku sent a wonderful shot screaming towards goal but to his dismay he put too much bend on the ball and it went curling away out for a goal kick.

Though the game looked to be over in these closing minutes but little did Belgium knew how vital that third goal would've been as right on the one hundred and eighth minute mark and with added time yet to be played, Wales managed to win a corner kick after a flurry of attacking football in a desperate attempt to find the goal needed to dragged the game to penalties. Everyone was brought up, even the goalkeeper as tension gripped everyone in that stadium as he whistle blew and Bale crossed the ball into box where one Daniel James would be the one to get his head on the ball and slam it into the back of the net and caused the scenes that every Welshman would be jumping for joy for as one of the most dramatic endings for a Quarter-final match surely as James would be dogpiled by his teammates while the Belgian players could only look on with dismay.

James after scoring the dramatic equaliser in extra time​

This Welsh team would just not give up and fight until the last moment in which not so long after that late goal, the whistle blew to end extra time and now what would follow was the dreaded penalties. The Welsh players were tried but proud that they had gone all the way and in that moment a crazy coincidence came to mind as back in 1986, both these teams met a Quarter-final then which ended with penalties then and saw Belgium winning in that one. Was the same about to happen or would Wales shock the world? It would all be down to luck as Wales would start of with the penalties first with Bale walking up to the penalty spot in front of the Kop end where most of the Welsh fans were and they would try and play their part in trying to distract the Belgian players...

If nerves had already gone in this epic match, God knows how things must've felt for any fan as the shootout began with Wales to go first. Bale would dispatch his penalty with ease giving them the lead in the shootout. Belgium followed next with Hazzard coming up and sending Hennessey the wrong way to put the Belgians level. Next for Wales would be Ramsay who managed to get the ball into back of the next despite Courtois going the right way and nearly stopping it. To close for comfort in which that gave Wales a 2-1 lead. The Belgians followed up on that with Fellaini smashing it down the centre to level Belgium once again. With the score at 2-2 in the shootout, Ben Davis would step up next for Wales though many weren't sure he was right having never scored a penalty for his country.

He sent the ball into top left corner but to his horror the ball hit the corner post and bounced out to which the Belgian supporters cheered in delight knowing that things looked to be in their favour. For Belgium next to give them an advantage, Kompany stepped up and would repeat the same move as Davis did, though unlike the Welshman, the Belgian scored to make it 3-2 for Belgium. Now the pressure rested on the shoulders of one Andy King who knew he had to score to keep Wales alive in the shootout...he proved to have nerves of steal in which he sent the ball into the right sending the keeper the wrong way and making it all square. Then for Belgium came the captain, De Bruyne who smashed it into the rood of the net, though Hennessey's foot nearly went off the ball in which might've gone off his boot if he had been lucky to deny the Belgians a goal. Finally it fell to Same Vokes, the hero of Euro 2016, to try and keep Wales alive in the shootout. Surely he could do it? Alas, he put too much pressure on the ball and sent the ball flying into the Kop into the middle of now dismayed Welsh supporters. Belgium had won the game and were into the last four.

Some scenes of jubilation following Belgium's dramatic shootout victory over the Welsh that show them move to the semi final to play France​

Now two Home Nations were out and while not many gave Wales a chance to beat this fancied Belgian side, they had taken them right to the bitter end to make many rethink that the Welsh would be a bunch of pushovers. Despite celebrating, the Belgians knew that they were lucky they hadn't blown it like with Japan and that alone would give any team that faced them ideas of how to tackle the Belgians. The Welsh would go home with their heads held high though it would be the end of the road for their manager Sir Chris Coleman who despite being offered an extension to his contract to last for the next European Championship, he would step down leaving a legacy of being the first Welsh manager to bring silverware to his country. Who knows what would happen next, but one thing that the Welsh team now had to focus on was to defend their European crown for Euro 2020, but that would be another story...

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Two down, two to go in which with both England and Wales out of the World at this point, both Scotland and Ireland were now the sole representatives from the British isles left at the World Cup though fate would have them drawn to play each other in which although it guaranteed there would be a Home Nation in the last four, it would mean that only one would remain. Ireland and Scotland were to play each other in Milton Keynes the winner of the match would head to Old Trafford in Manchester to face either Croatia or Uruguay in the semi-final. However, that was felt like a million miles away on that sunny afternoon in Milton Keynes as both sets of fan in the streets were having a party and hoping to turn Milton Keynes into either a small bit of Scotland or Ireland and this was the game that many were interested in seeing how it would turn out.

Traditionally Scotland held the better record other the Irish team though this would be the first time the untied Ireland team would play in World Cup Quarter-final in which for them getting this far was considered a victory. Both sides were playing in their usual home kit (though Scotland were playing in blue shorts instead of white) and the atmosphere in the ground was at fever pitch with it nearly full, plus add summer sun and draining beer supply dry, it could only go one way. From the start of the match, Scotland started off as the better team with John McGinn getting a brilliant shot on goal in the third minute which Irish keeper Colin Doyle having to act quick to knock it out to give Scotland a corner kick.

Irish fans in Milton Keynes prior to their game with Scotland, note some fans still having the original Northern Ireland name on the badge in which the cross would be still used for the United Irish team due to historical reasons.​

A frantic clearance in the box followed in which Andy Robertson tried to header it on goal but his header was horrendous it which he sent the ball flying way over the bar and out for an Irish goal kick. It was promising for the Scots early on but it would be an end to end game when in the seventh minute, Kyle Lafferty nearly scored at the other end in which he tried to make a long range shot on the counter curling the ball towards goal in which Scottish keeper Allan McGregor had to move near out of his box to get his hands on the ball. Was this game full proof for Scotland as many thought? By the tenth minute, Scotland were seeing more of the ball but yet weren't using their dominance to their advantage to try and the game became a battle in midfield trying to best the other.

Both sides were proving that they were an even match for either side with the bulk of the player on the field playing the Scottish and English leagues and thus knowing who was who and for example, Scottish player Ryan Jack was having to do battle with his Rangers teammates, Kyle Lafferty and Steven Davis, on the opposing side and it did lead to quite an interesting battle as both sides went all at it trying to find the opening goal. It would shortly turn into quite a scrappy game with fouls coming in and despite there being some big calls, most notably a penalty claim for Scotland in the fourteenth minute, the Dutch referee was more interesting in trying to keep the game flowing without having to stop it. Either a very lenient or poor referee some would say as jeers would follow whenever one of these challenges went unnoticed by the referee and somewhat even more bizarrely, also with VAR.

It wouldn't be until the twenty-third minute when the referee did show a yellow card for Shane Duffy for a bad sliding tackle on John McGinn which would see Scotland win their first free kick of the match to be taken on the left of the penalty box some thirty yards away. Leigh Griffiths would take it but rather than try and go for goal himself, he instead made an indirect freekick sending it to his left which caught the Irish wall off guard and into the path of Ryan Fraser who with an utter belter of a shot sent the ball roaring into the roof of the net to give Scotland the lead in which they felt they deserved. It was more frustration than heartache to lose a goal like that from a set piece, but there was still many more minutes to play and still time to find an equaliser.

Scotland players celebrate after getting the opening goal from Ryan Fraser
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Though as the Scots began to ramp up the pressure in their search to find a second goal, that might've been a million miles away to think that good things were going to happen. Scotland would dominate the game after that goal and many would've felt vindicated that they were going to be proven right, however it would be in the thirty-second minute that Scotland's domination would come to nothing as Ireland would get themselves slowly back into the game and began to probe the Scottish defence to get an unlikely goal and a glorious chance came for Ireland came in the thirty-fifth minute when while running on the counter, James McClean would cross the ball over towards Will Grigg who despite being an a great area to shoot on target, he would make a woeful shot that blazed way over the goal causing the Tartan Army supporters to cheer ironically. If that wasn't bad enough for Grigg for missing such a glorious chance to help his country back into the game, the Scottish fans began to gourd him with the infamous Will Grigg song to rub it into the poor lad even more.

That all being said, it wouldn't be until the thirty-ninth minute that the game would change on it's head. Ireland towards the end of the first half had now gotten themselves back into the game by pushing the Scots back and in that very minute of the game, another counter from Ireland followed in which McClean crossed it again though this time over to the captain, Steven Davis, who rather than pass the ball up towards either Grigg or Lafferty up top, went to fire on target for himself and before any Scottish defender had a chance to realise what was happening, the goal had slammed into the back of the net and To the Scots' shock, Ireland were very much back in the game. No one would deny that they did deserve the goal given how well Ireland had regrouped following falling behind the Scots and now it was the men blue who were looking flustered from that sudden goal.

If that wasn't bad enough for them, things nearly got worese for Scotand for in the forty-third minute when they won a corner and Grigg nearly managed to score from a header that would've gone into the top left corner had it not been for the quick hands of Allan McGregor who avoided seeing Scotland blow their lead at the end of the first half and the whistle for half time couldn't come quick enough which left both sides with much to think about. This game was surely not going to script as many would've liked and this feeling was felt more by the Tartan Army who were hoping they wouldn't end up like England and Wales before them...

Captain Steven Davis, who's goal helped Ireland get back on level with Scotland

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Scottish manager Gordon Strachan cut a very uncertain looking man in the Scottish dugout in which despite given his team a brutal team talk of what they needed to do, he couldn't help but feel that a twist was to happen in this game. His counterpart on the other hand had a more relaxed time in the dressing room with the message was to act more or less the same in which the more they did that then surely the Scots would crack open more or less. Even though in the second half Scotland did play a little better by getting a few chances, the best being a wonderful volley from Steven Naismith that had to be knocked over the bar by Colin Doyle which had he had more luck, it would've gone in. The corner kick that followed was terrible as it went over everyone and out on the far side for a Irish throw in but alas nothing for the most part seemed to be happening for either team at this point.

There would be a worrying moment for the Irish as in the fifty-second minute, a coming together from Charlie Mulgrew and Will Grigg in which the Scottish player made a good tackle to stop the Irish player in which got him a yellow card, however the sad thing was that poor Will Grigg looked to be in pain due to the funny way he landed and it become clear that despite help from the Northern Irish medical team, he would be unable to carry on and thus saw him being taking off and replaced by Shane Long. It would be a fairly tight game with nothing much happening for a while up until the sixty-third minute when the game suddenly went out of left field in which Magennis managed to get on the ball after a bad pass from Mulgrew saw him race down on the counter towards the goal and despite Jack Hendry stretching his leg out to try and stop him, the ball would cannon off his right knee and Allan McGregor was caught off his balance as he tried to catch the ball and stop it.

But it's awkward looping angle made him fail to get it and to his horror, he could only watch as the ball landed snuggly into the back of the net and the Northern Irish players and supporters were left on cloud nine while the Scots were left dumbfounded as the situation dawned on them...Scotland were 2-1 down in a Quarter final against Ireland and if that wasn't bad enough, it would go down as an own goal from Mulgrew. It was an embarrassing situation for Scotland and despite still showing more of the ball than the men in green and white, Scotland had utterly failed to take this game by the neck and an exit from the tournament seemed very real now. Strachan would make a double substitution in the sixty-eighth minute with Griffiths and Matt Richie coming off to be replaced by Oliver McBurnie and James Forrest to come on in the hope to give the Scots a kick up the backside.

"Aww Naw," Andy Robertson reacts after Northern Ireland take a shock lead​

It was a bit of an eyebrow raiser for Griffiths to come off but other than working that great free kick, he hadn't really done much in this game and it had proven to be not his best game for his country. The change though was looking good for the team as combined with fresh legs and a somewhat nervous looking Northern Ireland who didn't quite know what to do after taking the lead, Scotland began to lay siege on the Northern Irish backline and although it did look very likely that the Scots would score next, they were running out of time as the game had now twenty minutes left to play. Then in the seventy-third minute, luck fell for Scotland as with McBurnie trying to break into the box he went to try and cross it over to one of his teammates but instead of Aaron Hughes trying to block his way the ball would go off his hand as he tried to get it out off the way but it was too quick for him and to his bad luck with him being in the box, the referee saw the incident and pointed to the spot. Penalty for Scotland!

Naismith would step up to take it yet he felt like the weight of a country on his shoulders as many Scots watching wherever they were held their breathes knowing how big this moment could be in the game. Upon hearing the blast on the whistle, Naismith ran up and thumped it in into the top right corner of the net and Scotland were back on level terms, but many of them didn't celebrate as Naismith ran into the box to collect the ball and hurry back to the centre circle to kick the game off again soon as possible. What a thrilling game this was turning into for the neutrals watching. In the final ten minutes of the match, Scotland were now starting to pour all over the Irish team as not only had that second goal given them a lifeline but had given them the kick to try and find the winner in which the message from Strachan was simple; kill them off now!

They weren't hanging about now as Ireland were now the ones firmly stuck in their own half as they couldn't get a chance to break out as Scotland simply refused to take the game to extra time. Colin Doyle would have a hell of a final ten minutes in which he had to save many flying balls but as the more he saved, some feared that it couldn't last forever. Then in the eighty-seventh minute and with time really running out, Scotland won a corner and many were holding their breath in the hope that despite them getting no less that ten corners in this game so far, none had been successful and surely they would get a lucky moment soon? The ball would be taken from the corner by McGinn who sent it flying into the box and it would be Naismith that would be in the right place at the right time as he got his head on the ball and banged it into the bottom right of the net and this time it was the Scots celebrating like mad at the goal.

Some relief following the third goal from the Scotland team knowing how close it has been for them
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It had been nothing short of a crazy game and the relief on the faces of the Scottish players was there and so too was the look of utter despair from the Irish who were so close at reaching a first World Cup Semi-final as a united nation. It was the hammer blow that the Scots needed to put down the Irishmen as the men in green in white didn't have the willpower to try and grab a late goal as before long and after five minutes of added stoppage time, Scotland held on to win the game 3-2 and become the last Home Nation standing in this World Cup. The feelings from that match were mixed. Scotland although being happy that they had reached the semi final, they knew that they had been very lucky as they had come so close to throwing the game away and might've gone out if Ireland had just held their bottle towards the end.

Speaking of which with the other team, though sad of going out at this stage, they had won the hearts of many and they would do a lap of honour for their fans who gave them a standing ovation for not going getting this far but going out in blaze of glory, though one had to look at Martin O'Neil's face and wonder what his future would be after the World Cup with his contract due for renewal. Nonetheless as the Ireland fans prepared to make the journey home over the Irish sea, the Tartan Army prepared to move north (or south depending where they were coming from) to Manchester for their big semi final chance and the thought of a return to Wembley looked to be an exciting prospect. The only hope that the fans had going into this next game that it wouldn't be as daft as this game, though for those who have followed Scotland over the years will know that life is never quite so easy.

All that they knew that later on they would find out that Uruguay would defeat Croatia in the other Quarter-final match and it would be that the last remaining Home Nation team at this World Cup would take on the last remaining South American team left at the World Cup too. All the Tartan Army could do in all that time was dream of glory of returning to Wembley and getting the ultimate bragging rights for all time...

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And here is a major change from the old TL...there will be no England team in the final and that means I break the unofficial rule on these forums that if there is a ATL 2018 WC that England and Scotland always meet however I will admit the old TL was a bit of wishful and somewhat ASB despite how all the Home Nations are better off here. For example, that French team was always going to beat that England team even if they were slightly better or had home advantage so it is a bit more real here though on the other hand, England did at least go down fighting unlike other hosts nations *cough* Brazil *cough* so they have nothing to be ashamed off mostly if it is that French team. So yeah, the rest of the update is mostly the same as the old TL other than a united Ireland team taking part with Scotland nearly blowing it.

Speaking of which, I write this update just after Scotland beat Spain...wow, kinda called it first in the old TL of how they beat them in 2010 so funny how I call many results from my TL's from the past and a few have turned out to be true! So with that said, here are the fixtures for the last four:
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France vs Belgium

Uruguay vs Scotland
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So who will win and why...certainly all change here for sure! Until then, see you soon and hope to see you again soon!