All To Play For - A Very British Football Redux TL

[QTXAdsy]

Have you earlier expansion of Euro in plans?

I found it ridiculous that it was much easier for European team to advance to the World Cup than to championship of their own continent until Euro 96.

I did have the idea of an early expansion of Euro 92 in the old TL, however I'm still wondering if I should go with the same idea or something different here.

 

[MatthewFirth]

Argentina vs Northern Ireland

Morocco vs Paraguay

Denmark vs Wales

Poland vs Belgium

France vs West Germany

Italy vs Soviet Union

Brazil vs England

Mexico vs Scotland

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 45
Two In, Two Out
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Following an eventful group stage, the four Home Nations had all made it to the knockout stage in which England would play Brazil, Northern Ireland would take on Argentina, Wales would lock horns with Denmark and finally Scotland would have the honour of playing the hosts Mexico in the opening match of the last sixteen. However as much as it sounded exciting to be playing in front of over a hundred thousand people in the legendary Azteca stadium against the hosts, things weren't all quite rosy for the Scots. As mentioned before, ever since the likes of Dalglish and Hansen withdrew from the Scotland squad prior to flying out to Mexico, it has been a strange World Cup for the Scots with expectations being low and the fact that the Scots had a difficult group didn't help much for confidence with the SFA had already booking for the team's flight back home to Glasgow. This might've sounded like a good idea but against the odds, the Scots had made it to the last sixteen and early booking the SFA had done had made them look rather foolish.

Worse was to follow was when this story was leaked out to the press and to say the SFA found itself getting a lot of stick from the vast majority of the British press for accusing them of having little faith in their team, but if that wasn't bad enough, somehow even more bad news followed when it was also found out that the players thought the same as they had all booked holidays taking place during the second phase of the World Cup and they all faced a backlash which threatening to damage the relationship between the fans and the team. In conclusion, Scotland's passage into the knockout phase was rather than being celebrated was now being treated as a PR disaster for all concerned. In strange twist of fate, Scotland flopping in Mexico would have been the best for all concerned. Nonetheless for the Scotland team, their mind wasn't exactly on the game but rather that after an earthquake that devastated the country that there was still a World Cup taking place.

Sadly, neither did have the time to think about it as the bus descended into the catacombs of the stadium as the players just make out from the windows seeing their fans waving flags at them right until they were out of sight. It was only now how big this was, it was the first game of the knockout phase and the hosts lay in wait and with more than an estimated one hundred thousand would be cheering them on, it wasn't going to be an easy time for the Scots . As the players disembarked from the bus, the air in the underground section of the stadium had a cool breeze blowing about which giving the amount of heat and humidity the players, staff, and various hangers on had gone through, it was a welcome thing that did remind them the cool air that always would surround Hampden Park .Things were most certainly different here. Despite that huge number of people crowded into the stadium may have looked impressive, it was a number that Hampden Park in it's heyday could have easily topped until much recently when the stadium was forced to reduce it's capacity.

The Scotland team prior to kick off with Mexico​

Even for the players who had played in big crowds in Europe thought that was a big deal but neither player in blue could hardly imagine the scenes as they walked out onto the pitch with the Mexican players and were blown away but the huge crowd that greeted them. All around them, ticker tape rained down and all the stereotypes of what Latin American football fans do prior to a big game was all apparent here, the players felt out of place in the middle of this mad atmosphere and even the thousand mere Tartan Army supporters who had made the journey over didn't know what to think either as before in this World Cup, the team had been playing in rather humble grounds that might have been no different to the many ramshackle grounds in the Scottish league. Nonetheless after the anthems were played, the Scottish players took part the typical team photo before the match in which the local press photographers surrounding them in a crescent moon shape.

Though being local, this didn't last long as they quickly scampered over to the Mexican players and went on to take individual photos of the players and the Scottish players could see that those people only cared for their team, everything was against them. Finally the Brazilian referee blew his whistle and the first match of the last sixteen began in earnest and right from the get go, the boiling temperature was playing to advantage to the hosts as they past the ball about without much trouble while the Scottish players struggled to get going, almost if they had concrete in their boots. It is all Mexico in the first half and it takes a full twenty-two minutes until Scotland finally come to life in this game when Steve Archibald nearly strikes home a goal with Scotland's first shot on target though it slams against the crossbar and goes out for a goal kick. The game is not turning into a happy picture for manager Alex Ferguson as he just quite understand why the team can't seem to play well, they have players who have played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe for heaven's sake and on paper could beat these Mexicans despite having this huge crowd behind them.

There are some moments of magic from the Scots as they work the ball about with several players doing their best to score a goal, but the Mexicans seem more happy to play defensive and causing more frustration for the men in blue. The stress does get to the players with Willie Miller making a tackle on Manual Negrete in the twenty-eighth minute and gets a yellow card for his actions. Then it all goes wrong in the 34th minute as Mexican forward Negrete from quite a distance fires an amazing volley that Scottish goalkeeper Jim Leighton can't do nothing about despite diving into the correct way of where the ball, but all he can do is glance as the ball bulges into the back of the net. A massive roar goes all around the stadium as the host country has taking the lead and their fans can't hold their delight with taking the lead and in truth, they deserve it.

Live Broadcast of Negrete celebrating his goal
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Despite taking the lead, Mexico don't do too much to extend their lead in the first half and the Scots are not only rattled by going down by the weight of such a large crowd roaring the Mexicans on doesn't exactly help matters as any Scottish supporter watching can only shake their heads in disbelieve at seeing their team helplessly chasing shadows around the pitch. Scotland try everything in their power to find an equaliser but sadly it never comes as soon enough, the first half ends 1-0 to Mexico though Alex Ferguson will tell the players that they still have it all to do in the second half and if the score remains 1-0 throughout the majority of the game then Scotland would have a chance to get something from it.

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At the start of the second half, Paul Sturrock is brought on to replace Nicol as Ferguson feels like he needs a striker that will help them get the goal that they need and quite amazingly, Sturrock's presence does make a difference as Scotland begin pushing forward into the Mexican half and many of the locals are now starting to look rather nervous for good reason. On the bench, Ferguson looks over to a section near their dug out where they can see a handful of Scottish fans situated all either looking hot and bothered and some taking the time to have a smoke. But then he notices that they aren't taking cigarettes or cigars but are actually of drugs, how did those fans get their hands on the stuff and what if they get caught by security? The Scotland manager doesn't know wherever to focus on the game or be concerned for the drugged induced fans having more than a football game on the minds.

Ferguson could be seen on the touchline fumbling his hands and looking rather uncomfortable which is very much unlike him, almost if he is aware that this is not going to be Scotland's day. A booking in the fifty-eighth minute then follows for David Narey after he tries to sneak the ball off Hugo Sánchez but only brings him down an he is shown yellow. Then two minutes later, Mexico are awarded a corner kick and all the players gather in the box awaiting to get something from this and it is taken, a few jump up, but Raúl Servín is the one to get his head on the ball and send it thundering into the back of the net to put Mexico up 2-0 and send the whole stadium into a delirious rapture. It is a bitter pill to swallow and now anyone can see that there is no way back for Scotland now.

Ultimately, it is is a fairly uneventful second half as Mexico never at any point looked liked losing, almost if perhaps that mentally before a ball had been kicked that the Scots had given up. Sturrock though would end up scoring late on in the eighty-seventh minute for Scotland but his goal is nothing more than a mere consolation and with that, Mexico are victorious over the Scots by progressing to the Quarter-Finals and sending the Tartan Army on the next flight home. Following this exit for Scotland, Alex Ferguson would end his time with the Scotland team in which he would become nothing more than a mere footnote for the national team, however next up for him would be the manager job at Manchester United and the rest they say, is history...

Just the general reaction of many Scots following their team's elimination at the hands of Mexico

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Following Scotland being put out from the World Cup, only three now remained and the following day would see Sir Billy Bingham's plucky Northern Ireland team preparing to take on the might of the current holders, Argentina. Interestingly this wasn't the first time the two sides had faced each other at a World Cup with the other being in 1958 and fittingly it had been a game that Northern Ireland manager and now knighted Sir Billy Bingham had been a part with though this time Bingham had wild thoughts that they could actually knock out the current holders. To think of a nation of just over a million could take down a football mad nation like Argentina who could boast by having the World's best player in their ranks seemed laughable, but then again Bingham had defied logic when they won Euro 1984; surely lightning wasn't going to strike twice?

Whatever the thought one thing was for certain; Bingham had pretty much immortalised himself on the emerald isle with much of the Green and White army (Northern Ireland's plucky travelling support) felt that the man could walk on water and winning the World Cup out here in Mexico would confirm that. The game itself is to be played in the rather humble surroundings of the Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla in which about five hundred Northern Ireland fans have made it here but the majority in the stadium are either Argentinians or local Mexicans who both want the South American nation to do well giving all the hype surrounding them and that man known as Diego Armando Maradona. It is during the handshakes between the captains before kick-off being being that of Maradona and Pat Jennings acting as the skipper for Northern Ireland that the thought dawned on many that one of the best forwards in the world would be playing against the best goalkeeper in the world and surely something of a interesting situation.

Soon after, the Italian referee gets things underway and the game begins. Northern Ireland are showing their typical stubborn attitude that proves to be a problem for Argentine to try and break down. It is said that the Ulstermen normally play better when they play some of football's bigger teams and hopefully Argentina will be no different, but they have one certain secret weapon that Argentina can use. It is after fifteen minutes of play in which neither side have scored, though Argentina are showing to be the better team, the little maestro himself, Maradona, starts to show off his skill of why he is worth all the hype as he begins to weave in and out of the Northern Irish defenders and Jimmy Nicoll himself can see in the flesh just how good this man really is. He is a man who doesn't trust television coverage of football as he feels it dilutes what is actually going on and he has thought the same for Maradona himself, but now seeing him work his magic in the flesh after pulling of a great turn on him, he is really is the real deal.

Maradona working his magic on Northern Ireland
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In the twentieth minute, Maradona nearly opens the scoring after first practically dancing around the defenders before getting into the box and would've been a wonderful solo effort had it not been for Pat Jennings standing between the sticks to knock that ball away to safety. It might sound like it is all going Argentina's way, but in all honesty, the Ulstermen aren't doing too bad themselves and start to push back them working as a team to try and get the ball up the field which the advice from Bingham is that, as long as Maradona doesn't get on the ball, they'd be fine, showing how much he feels for the talents for the rest of the Argentine team. In the ten minutes later, Steve Penny takes the ball up the field quite near the very edge of the penalty box where he makes a cross to Norman Whiteside to make something from it, but just after he sends the ball over to his teammate, he is barged over by Oscar Garré, too late to try and get the ball off him, and while he gets a booking from the referee for his actions, several of the Northern Irish players and fans around the ground yell out thinking that a penalty should be awarded given how close they are to the box. Yet instead the referee points for a free kick to take place right on the edge of the box were the amusing image of nearly all the Argentine backline all lined up in the box hoping to try and stop this shot from going in.

The referee blows his whistle for Whiteside to take the free kick but he has a cunning plan to score. Normally the person taking the free kick would lob the ball over the wall when the said defenders in the wall would leap up to try and divert the ball away and Whiteside believed that the Argentines were thinking of that idea too, so instead of firing over their heads, he simply knocked the ball forward over the ground with a bit of force and as he hopes, the Argentine wall leaps up and the ball goes right under their feet in which they can only look back in horror seeing the ball heading towards the bottom right side of the goal. It is only though the quick actions of Nery Pumpido, Argentina's keeper, to make a quick dive to the direction of the ball and stop it from going in. Thanks to him, Argentina have avoided the Ulstermen from taking a shock lead in this game and while Whiteside looks annoyed that he plan nearly worked, he feels gutted of how close it was.

Quickly, the Argentine keeper takes a goal kick and sends the ball up the field for where he hopes one of his fellow countrymen will get on the ball and it is Maradona and John O'Neil that are the one engaging in a minor battle to leap up and try and win possession of the ball. It is quite a dramatic game as the game enters the five minutes with the score still firmly deadlocked at 0-0, Pasculli attempts to volley from outside the Northern Irish penalty area but it is blocked by Mal Donaghy who leaps up to have the ball land on his chest before punting it up towards Whiteside who runs like the clappers down the field were he pulls of a run that seems to replicate anything that Maradona can do. He finds himself getting caught out by José Luis Brown in which forces Whiteside to cross the ball over to Billy Hamilton who wants to make up for his chance early and decides to thump that ball forward and sends it firing into the back of the Argentine net. Northern Ireland have taken the lead...or have they?

Jennings in action during the game with Argentina
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To their dismay, their celebrations are cut short when it is seen that the linesman has raised his flag up for offside, the Northern Irish players complain to the Italian referee that the goal is wrongly marked offside and the referee makes a beeline over to the linesman to discuss the situation in hand, the Argentina players are all looking rather shaken and nervous about the situation at hand and that nobody has any idea what is going on exactly. The talk lasts nearly a minute and the referee blows his whistle pointing towards the Argentine goal for a goal kick.

Relief washes over the Argentine players who know just how lucky they have been to get away from that, but the Northern Irish players in contrast complain once again to the referee about the choice and he instead instructs them to get back to the game. Even in the dying moments of the half just two minutes later, Pasculli nearly gives Argentina the lead in which the ball goes by Jennings and it is only the heart stopping efforts of O'Neil to header the ball upwards away from the goal and deny the champions to take the lead late on in this half. It is proving to be a classic match nonetheless.

The first half ends with the ball going back and forward like a ping pong match in which although neither side had scored, there has been very good chances for both sides and controversy too. The Northern Irish defenders themselves look utterly exhausted from that first half, no doubt caused by the skills of Maradona giving them hell out there and the thought of yet another forty-five minutes, or worse, extra time, to play out is a dreadful thing for them to think about, the deadlock was going to break soon, and it wasn't all that conclusive that Argentina would be the one to do that.

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The Second half begins in quite an explosive fashion in which Billy Hamilton and Luis Brown battle for the ball and it is the Argentine who makes a forceful challenge on the Ulsterman just over the half way section of the field and giving a booking after just 3 minutes of the second half alone. Hamilton's free kick though is pretty poor and quickly snatched up by Sergio Batista who sends it up towards Maradona to make something of it and after all the trouble that this Northern Irish defensive has given him, Maradona looks out to try and punish them for giving him a hard time. To his annoyance, they do keep him out, barely, as he makes no less that five shots on target with the shots either hitting the posts, crossbar or Leighton and the defenders trying their best to stop him from scoring. The game has become quite a tasty one for fouls as in the fifty-third minute, O'Neil brings down Maradona from a fabulous run he is making and the two captains don't show a good example as the two of them engage in heated argument without either sharing a common language and the referee steps in to break up the scene and books the Ulsterman for his tackle.

It does feel like that this game could end up with someone being sent off and in the sixty-first minute, Paul Ramsay is brought on to replace Steve Penny as Billy Bingham feels that he needs a fresh set of legs to get them over the line and take the game to Argentina with either side doing everything to get the goal to break the deadlock and the longer the game goes on, it is clear that a single goal will all be needed to decide the game. A tight defence holds firm and in the seventy-ninth minute, Pasculli crosses the ball over towards Maradona to make something out of it. The Northern Irish defenders all scrabble to get onto Maradona but this time, the Argentine star man is having none of it from them and with one powerful header, he sends that ball screaming past the hands of Jennings, into the back of the net and at long last, breaking the deadlock and surely putting Argentina through to the Quarter-finals. It is no surprise that the man himself had to score sooner than later, and in all fairness deserved it.

Northern Ireland finally lose heart and after all the hard work they put in to try and cause an upset, it has all come to nothing as Argentina are now set to qualify to the last eight and all the poor Ulstermen can do now is try and make sure the damage doesn't get any worse for them, though many would have to wonder what if they had taken their chances and how the game might've gone then. It almost goes worse for them near the end of the game when Pasculli volleys a shot towards goal in which it passes Jennings and looks set to make it 2-0, but instead the ball hits to top left corner to post and heads towards the pitch in which Nicholl has to knock the ball up the field and try and get his team to get a late equaliser. That itself proves to be an impossible task as soon after, the referee blows his whistle and Argentina are through and Northern Ireland are out of this World Cup but there is one heart-warming moment in which, after the battle they played with each other on the pitch, Jennings and Maradona congratulate each other on the game and swap shirts around showing the respect both now have for each other, as to do the rest of the Northern Irish players who now see that Maradona is the real deal. Two down, two to go...

Maradona after scoring the winner against Northern Ireland

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The day after Northern Ireland's elimination at the hands of Argentina, the next Home Nation up to play would be England in San Nicolás de los Garza who would perhaps have a real eye catching tie of playing Brazil. The Brazilians had started this World Cup very well in compared to the English who had a pretty lacklustre group stage that was made worse following their shock 2-0 loss to Denmark in the final group match despite having by that point already qualifying. After such performances, few did give England a chance to beat this Brazil team who while not being a vintage side unlike previous teams was still a team that no one should ever take lightly and England manger Bobby Robson was aware of this and to add more to the pressure with two fellow Home Nations already out, some hope that the UK would at least have one British team in the Quarter-finals.

There is barely over twenty-thousand in the stadium and even then the stadium is half full which is sadly been a common sight in this World Cup for games that don't have the hosts in it though nonetheless for the few that are in the ground, the game starts and things don't go quite well to plan as Brazil nearly open the scoring in the first few seconds as Sócrates knocks the ball up to Careca before he tries to make an ambitious shot on target with only England goalkeeper Peter Shilton have to make a full stretch in order to knock it out for safety and out for a corner kick. Brazil don't let up and on that corner kick, Sócrates nearly headers in a glorious shot which Shilton has to come to the rescue yet again and knock it to safety.

So far, it has been poor from the Three Lions as they have no woken up yet early on in this game though do wake up by the time the tenth minute comes around in which Peter Beardsley is the first to try his luck at scoring but only succeeds in sending the ball far over the bar in which the score remains being goalless though Brazil have been by far the better teams here. About five minutes later after that moment, England go on the run with a counter attack as Trevor Steven takes the ball down on the Brazilian left flank before nudging it up towards Gary Lineker who finds himself engulfed by Edinho and Braco barring his way and forcing him to pass the ball over to Steve Hodge. When he does get the ball some ten yards away from the penalty box, Hodge makes his shot to fire on target, but his shot cannons off the post and out for a Brazilian goal kick. While this is not starting to look better for England, they are still a long way off yet from really asking Brazil any questions.

The Brazil team prior before their match with England
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After ten minutes of play following that attempt by Hodge, England have yet to have another shot on target which might look bad on their part though the main difference now is that compared to earlier in the match, England are now starting to get a firm control of the game and Brazil aren't exactly tearing the English defence open as they had once did before. That all said, the lack of goals is quite a frustrating affair and main source of entertainment is that between the two sets of supporters up on the terraces in which England fans try to out chant their Brazilian counterparts while at the same time the Mexican police are keeping a eye out on them and it would only come as a shock to some that indeed quite a large number of policemen are focused on the English supporters; sadly it seems that the fears of English hooligans has struck Mexico.

Brazil nearly manage to find something in the twenty-ninth minute in when Sócrates gets his way past Shilton and has to scramble himself to aim onto the goal, but his shot hits the side netting and leaving that chance to go astray. A big let off for England there and two minutes later, England try to make a response of their own as Lineker tries to have a go and attempts a cheeky lob over the Brazilian keeper Carlos and looks like the ball will land into the goal, but the ball instead lands on the roof of the net and the small number of Brazilian fans cheer sarcastically as this happens. On the English bench, Bobby Robson has been pleased that his side have done well to keep themselves in this game though will be hoping that they'll be able to score soon enough.

As the first half goes along after that first goal, Brazil seem to be going slack while England are sensing that they have a chance. There is a saying though one lucky break is all you need and in the thirty-fifth minute, a break on from Glenn Hoddle takes the ball down on the Brazilian right flank before passing it up to Beardsley who then in turn crosses it up and over towards Lineker who lets the ball land on his chest before letting it drop and then making a wonderful volley that goes flying into the back of the net and to the stunned silence and perhaps run of play, England have open the scoring!

Live broadcast footage of the game just after the opening goal
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The Brazilians are left thunderstruck by this as after all the good work they were showing in opening half of the game, it has suddenly all gone wrong in one moment and now they only have themselves to blame for getting themselves into this situation. Brazil try everything they can to make a quick return to score with one attempt in the thirty-seventh minute coming quite close being from Careca nearly getting a great attempt to shoot but his shot ends up hitting the post and after that, England would hold on for the remainder of the first half in which after a battling performance, the first half would come to an end with England holding onto a slender and most unlikely 1-0 lead over Brazil.

What would happen in the second half, nobody knew...

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The second half begins like how the first half ended, Brazil acting the better team yet the score line would tell otherwise. One would think just how on earth England had managed to get in front but many were quietly confident that England's luck would soon run out and Brazil would get back into the game soon enough. Brazil come out with a point to prove in which after just five minutes of play, Sócrates attempts to try again as he makes a great volley on goal but can only witness it slamming the crossbar and robbing the chance for Wales to get an equaliser. Much like how the first half started, England do not start the second that well and it is unclear if the pressure of the game or the heat and humid weather of the Mexican summer is causing problems for them.

That all said despite England barely, if ever, getting up the field, they are more than happy to sit back and try and soak up the pressure of waves of Brazilian attacks and it is fair to say that England's style of football is not going to win many supporters over. Brazil keep sending wave after wave to try and break down England but just can't seem to do so by the sixty-fifth minute, the England fans have now started to chant to their Brazilian counterparts if they are Scotland in disguise. The best chance Brazil have in the game happens with just twenty minutes to go in which Zico (having come on a substitute) blast a shot on goal which looks like it will be the goal that the Brazilians have been craving for but once again, it is Shilton who has been the sole person keeping England in this game as he managed to get a fingertip on the ball as he dives to his left to keep the ball out.

Lineker during the game with Brazil
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By now, the Brazilian fans are starting to show their frustration at how bad the game is going for them as they just can't not seem to be able to break down England as for the latter, they have been defending stoutly all day and won't care what others will think of them. The minutes tick by and it looks like the game will be a victory for England but not before a heart stopping moment in which Zico tries to score again but alas he sends the ball well over the bar and yet another chance goes astray for Brazil. In the end, that is all they need as despite constant Brazilian pressure, they can't find the equaliser to take the game into extra time and England are thus victorious though it is fair to say that such a defence play wasn't going to win them much support.

With that though, England are through to the Quarter-Finals were at the very least there will be a British team going through and now for British eyes at least, all focus now turn to the other remaining Home Nation hoping to join England into the last eight...Wales.

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The day after England had defeated Brazil, it was finally the turn for Wales and it would be a most unusual match up in which they would take on World Cup debutantes and rank outsiders Denmark, the team that had beaten England in the group stage to win the group and in one way had Denmark not beaten England then there is a chance that in this that that Wales would have been facing England but alas, fate had other ideas. It was a strange encounter as the Welsh, despite being slight favourites, looked a little bit nervous as they had no idea how this Danish side would play to the point in which some of the players would've been more relieved if it were the likes of someone else.

The Estadio Corregidora is filled with a large mix of spectators all waiting to see a game of football to be taking and from the dug out, Mike England glances up towards a corner of the stadium to see a rather amusing sight of some fancy dress from the Welsh supporters with a group of five sitting together with three wearing large daffodil flower masks and the other two wearing full sheep costumes showing no shame in national stereotypes. That said though, he had to wonder how they weren't cooking to death in all what they were wearing, then again he noticed over towards the Danish fans in the ground with some dressing up as Vikings with the ubiquitous horned helmets.

Come to think of it, there was a carnival atmosphere about this game which seem to only add to the game's rather strange feel of the lined up teams. Nonetheless, the game would start and the surprise of the Welsh, the Danes got right into the game right from the start as they started to make life tricky as it seems that finishing top of their respected group, they might've fancied their chances at winning the World Cup. The real action was taking place in the defensive area of Wales as Denmark's forwards and several midfield players giving the Welsh defence a lot of work to do to try and keep out the Scandinavians.

Danish captain Morten Olsen during the early moments of the game with Wales​

Despite the odd chance from Mark Hughes and Ian Rush, the game is looking to be clearly in Denmark's favour with Clayton Blackmore and Joey Jones often looking over to the Welsh bench with looks of 'help us!' on their faces and things start to turn a little feisty as in the twenty-sixth minute, Danish defender Henrik Anderson makes a sliding tackle on Ian Rush which gives him a yellow card from the Dutch referee and the booking isn't the only thing that happens as just a mere minute later, Joey Jones also makes a petty trip with Michael Laudrup and he is shown yellow too. It isn't looking to be a pleasant game as fears it might turn into a dour or even bad tempered affair look set to be justified as in the thirty second minute, Preben Elkjær is just outside the box in which he makes a pass to his fellow forward, Klaus Berggreen, to which he runs near into the box in which Ratcliffe makes tackle to try and whip the ball of the Dane's feet, however the forward falls into the box and rolls somewhat over dramatically in which not only does give Ratcliffe a yellow card, but even worse, a penalty for Denmark.

After a minor argument from the Welsh players surround the referee trying to prove him that Berggreen fell outside the box, Olsen nonetheless steps up to take it and thus, scores to put the Danes 1-0 ahead. Mike England isn't happy with the game and feels like his side should be winning this game and yells out to the players to not lose hope and get back into the game. Indeed, the team do actually come into the game with the Danes starting to act somewhat cocky and arrogant thinking that they have this game in the bag already, yet any rational minded person will know never underestimate anyone especially in football. Ian Rush nearly gets Wales back into the game with a volley in the 38th minute which sadly just hits the crossbar and out for a goal kick for the Danes. Another saying is that opportunities come from unlikely places and Wales do get on in the forty-third minute thanks to an error from Olsen.

Down on the far right of the Danish defensive area, Olsen attempts to send the shot up to one of the defenders up to his left, however he hadn't anticipated Mark Hughes just so happen to be in that very area who in turn realised just what a glorious moment he had to equaliser and with a little sprint near the Danish box, Hughes fired home the shot into the bottom right of the box to put Wales level in this game. No more goals are scored in the first half, but the it ends with the Welsh now starting to play better than the Danes with it looking that Olsen's mistake might've knocked the stuffing out of the Danes which Mike England takes note of as he writes it down in his notebook for plans for the second half. The players both go off after the whistle is sounded, all that they need to do is score more goals and put this game to bed and as Ratcliffe walks by, the Welsh manager gives the defender a knowing look remembering their chat about Ratcliffe's fears of the Danes and that now it was starting to look rather silly.

"Good job lads," Mike England says to them as they go by. "Just keep it up, we're almost there."

Ian Rush lining up during the anthems before the match

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To the delight of the Welsh, the second half begins like how the first half ended, Wales playing as the better team here. Denmark though are still a dangerous team despite Wales' new found spirt and the Danes do nearly cause a scare in the forty-seventh minute when Berggreen after a run on the flank fires a volley at the Welsh goal but thankfully for the players in red the shot flies over the bar and Wales are let off the hook there. The Welsh forward line now starts to pepper pot the Danes and giving their defenders no chance to try and get out and in the fifty-sixth minute, a Hughes shot is diverted out by Anderson which goes out for a Welsh corner. Mickey Thomas is the one to take the corner and with the ball flying right over the heads of many, it falls for Ian Rush to make a diving heading which slams the ball into the back of the net and put the Welsh 2-1 in front and some of Danish fans in the ground who had been hoping for victory here are now starting to look concerned that it might all go wrong for them.

As it turns out, that turns out to be true, Wales now show the Danes no mercy as they begin to dismantle them playing a 4-3-3 system with Hughes, Rush and Walsh working up front and starting to work as a team to find another goal. There is nothing else to say about the match as the only thing to say about the game is that Wales, ever since that second goal, have been the team that look set to score again while Denmark have, for lack of anything to say, have utterly collapsed with their forward line having pretty much disappeared giving how much the second half has been played in their half. For all the hype that went into the Danes after they finished top of the group is starting to look like nothing more than a fluke of how they got here and now are being shown a masterclass performance by the Welsh.

The third goal does arrive after a long while in the eighty minute by Hughes who, after being assisted by Mickey Thomas with a cross, fires a long range volley that is worthy of a World Cup that not only puts the Welsh 3-1 in front, but proves to be the final blow for Denmark as the Welsh decide to defend for the rest of the game and prevent the Danes from trying to score, though given how broken and down hearted the Danes are. That said Denmark do pull a goal back right in the dying moments of injury time but all it is nothing more than a mere consolation. The game comes to a satisfying end in which the Welsh players and fans celebrate for reaching the Quarter-final stage and now there are two Home Nations through to the last eight; two in, two out.

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Finally time for an update and I will say it is not my best as for those who know my football loyalties, things are quite difficult in this moment in time if you know the whole story by now. Anyway good to get this update up all the same and as always, here is the fixture list coming up:
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Argentina vs Morocco

Wales vs Belgium

West Germany vs Soviet Union

England vs Mexico
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So who will get through and why? I will say happily that after TTL's 1986 WC that we will get a look in at doing something that the old TL didn't do...cover Euro 1988. Will things be different then? That's for another time but until then, catch you all later.

 

[MatthewFirth]

Argentina vs Morocco

Wales vs Belgium

West Germany vs Soviet Union

England vs Mexico

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 46
Breaking Some Hearts
​

No sooner had the host nation knocked out one Home Nation, they now had to face of another in the form of England who were pretty much expected to be a far tougher team than the Ulstermen were. All the same anyone will say that it is never easy when you are playing against the host nation with a huge partisan backing from their home supporters who all want to see their team do and Mexico had been at this point playing all their games at the Estadio Azteca in the capital city and it had been a fortress for them as it had all helped them on reaching the last eight of the World Cup. For England, it might have seemed a daunting prospect though it just so happened that they had a lucky break as for this game, the game would not be played in Estadio Azteca but rather the surroundings of the Estadio Universitario in San Nicolás de la Garza; the same place in where England had defeated Brazil.

Granted it may had not had the scale and 'wow' factor of the main stadium in this World Cup but all the same there was still a pretty active crowd there who wanted to see Mexico win and reach the Semi-Finals and in an England team that had been rather ropey in this World Cup, they might have thought that they had a point. England manager Bobby Robson was aware of this and knew that they had to do better in which after the joy of beating Brazil soon settled, some criticism came in with the English tabloid press now stating that the Three Lions were damn well lucky despite previously singing Robson's praises ("They changed their damn tune whenever they like it!" Robson would argue to one of his backroom team members regarding this fact during training.) That said though after some heavy training following that win over Brazil, the English players felt that they could lay better this time round and now felt rather comfortable playing in this ground.

Nonetheless on June 21st when the Columbian referee would blow his whistle the kick the game off, it was the Mexicans who came flying out of the traps being spurred on the crowd roaring them on and they did nearly open the scoring from Hugo Sánchez in the fifth minute in which Peter Shilton had to make a diving save into the top right corner to prevent the ball from going in and giving the hosts and early lead. Far from the best start for England and the small number of English supporters in the ground were far from happy from their opening and from the stories they had heard of the team training really hard, they had to wonder if they had been told the truth at all. England though would end up trying to reply to that moment in which just five minutes later from that attempt from Sánchez, Peter Beardsley tried to score for England but his shot ends up being blasted way over the bar

Sánchez during the early moments of the game with England
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The first opening minutes of the game were quite a frantic affair and it wouldn't settle down until the seventeenth minute in which the score was still 0-0 though things would start to heat up in the twentieth minute when Javier Aguirre was booked for a bad tackle on Gary Lineker and just seven minutes later with the heat and humidity getting to both teams, Fernando Quirarte and Lineker would get involved in a tangle and the two men had a bit of a scuffle in which both players were booked for their troubles. There was a rather tense atmosphere between both teams that if not careful might be in danger of boiling over the Columbian referee was trying his best to keep the game flowing to play as much advantage as possible.

England were starting to come into the game by the thirty-fifth minute (Mexico having made a substitute just three minutes before) but yet seemed unable to break down the Mexicans who were putting up a tough defensive performance in which their goalkeeper, Pablo Larios, was doing a lot to keep Mexico in the game and not to try and concede so soon. Despite English dominance, Mexico weren't out of the game and came close to giving the English a right scare in the fortieth minute in which a mistake from Terry Fenwick saw him lose the ball and pretty much handed it on a plate for Aguirre to get on the ball and looked set to score but unfortunately his aim would end up seeing the ball hit the corner post and out for a goal kick.

Eventually the first half ends as it started with neither getting a goal but nonetheless proving to be quite a tense affair in which the more this keeps going on into the second half then there is a feeling among certain supporters in the ground that this game might even spill into extra-time and even the dreaded penalty shootout that no one will want to take part in. For Bobby Robson, there is a lot to think about as not only has he to worry about where the goals might be coming from but that if his players will be able to cope more in the hot Mexican heat that might cause them collapse and see their opponents benefit from it. Whatever plans he had to share to the team, one thing was for certain, something big had to change...

Shilton giving out orders during the game with Mexico

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The second half would see the English come flying out of the traps this time in contrast to Mexico who seemed almost bewildered as to what to do next in containing England. That all being said much like in the first half, England couldn't use much of their possession of the ball to their advantage and frustrating would kick in for the English in which in the fifty-sixth minute Terry Butcher getting booked for a rather tedious foul on Hugo Sánchez which won the hosts a freekick some twenty yards out from the box but alas they failed to make the most of it and Shilton would easily save it. Despite the conditions that would never had suited any England team before hand, they seemed to be growing into the game and it seems as though things were looking up...

Then in the fifty-ninth minute, it all went horribly wrong for England. Kenny Samson would end up making a lunging challenge on Manuel Negrete that was so forceful that the referee had no choice but brandish him a red card and thus, England were now down to ten men and have given the Mexicans a glorious chance to make the most of the extra man advantage. This was all the last thing that Bobby Robson wanted but alas there was no nothing he could do other than they could somehow get a goal now or, most likely, take the game to extra time and regroup to try and figure out what needed to be done.

That all said despite Mexico being clearly lifted with that sending off from England, they went all out to try and win the game but it was only thanks to a dogged performance in defence by England, mostly by the hands of Peter Shilton who was having the game of his life that was keeping his country in the World Cup. Mexico would start to feel frustration in the half hour of the game in which several bookings were starting to occur with Carlos de los Cobos, who had only come on a substitute early on in the game, was booked in the seventy-fifth minute and not long later in the eighty-third minute, Raúl Servín was find himself being booked and that wasn't then including three minutes later when Peter Reid would also get booked for a challenge of his own. The game was looking like it was going to come crashing off the rails.

Sánchez during the final moments of the ninety
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When the referee blew his whistle after ninety minutes, the game was still at 0-0 and thus would have to be sorted out be extra-time. It had been a tense and brutal affair in which if this game was anything to go by in terms of cards being shown then it was more than likely that another red card would be shown and Bobby Robson knew that no matter if they managed to get through to the last four then he would be without Reid with him being suspended due to his red card. The heat though was getting worse and now with the mostly Mexican crowd roaring madly wanting victory at any cost for their team. Certainly the momentum had been with the Mexicans near the end of the second half and now were keen to get going again.

The opening minutes of extra time proved to be quite a cagey affair though as neither side really made much of an attempt going forward though it would be in the ninety-eighth minute that things would really take a turn. Mexican captain Tomás Boy would make a mistake when he had the ball but took a sudden slip that saw the ball go lose and right into the path of Glenn Hoddle who had the great good fortune to be in the right place at the right time and went racing up the field towards the goal in which he found himself almost unmarked and would slip the ball towards Beardsley who went to fire at goal...but the ball was punched away by the Mexican keeper but not before Lineker came rushing in to header the ball in on the rebound in which the ball would end up slamming into the back of the net and finally, the deadlock was broken by England.

After that, it all went worse for Mexico. Just a few minutes later, Aguirre would get a second yellow card for a tackle he made on Lineker to show his frustration only ended up getting sent off in which now both sides were down to ten men. Sánchez too would get booked just a few minutes later as his own frustration was starting to boil over not at just being behind but that as the longer extra time was played for then it became quite clear that the host nation was doomed at going out at this stage. Thankfully there would be no more cards being brandish about but the game would though come to an end to a muted silence from the Mexican supporters and several small cheers from the English supporters in the stadium over the fact that Mexico were out and England were through. Many hearts were broken regarding the hosts...

Terry Butcher celebrates following England's victory over Mexico
​

The question of how England were going to do in the next with the efforts of Peter Reid was something that would give a lot to think about for Bobby Robson over the next few days but for now, the England players and their fans would celebrate on getting the final four and their hopes of reaching another final. With England through, all eyes turned to Wales and their own hopes of joining the English on reaching the last four too...

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The following day following England's victory, it was the turn of Wales to see if they could repeat their heroics of 1982 here in Mexico. That said in contrast to the previous World Cup in which Wales were an unknown quality, the amount of interest in the Welsh team now was something of a culture shock; literally everyone in the British media descended on the Welsh team with now added pressure on them to try and do better than before made it all feel rather tense. Come to think of it, the Welsh team were riding on a crest of good fortune with the new Welsh league and with there even being murmurs of devolution for Wales, it was all happening for the little nation and many could point towards the Welsh football team playing a part in all this.

Puebla was the city in which the Welsh team were heading for their encounter with Belgium and Mike England was happy to see the players on the bus looking all so happy and confident that they were all up for this match, that being said Belgium had just won their last game with the Soviet Union in a thrilling tie with they won 4-3 in extra time, was something on the cards for this game...? The opening half an hour of the game were, other than a booking for Belgian player Demol in the twenty-fourth minute, a fairly dull and uneventful game and thanks to the hot Mexican sun, some eagle eye people would've noticed several Welsh fans (mostly sunburnt) had fallen asleep in their seats thanks to the combination of the heat and boring game on show.

Wales had started rather slow in this game and the Belgians (playing in white) were looking to be the more confident side as they past the ball about and the waken Welsh fans (if any) would've been twiddling their thumbs in worry pondering over something bad that was about to happen. Any confidence they had on the trip here seems to have mysteriously vanished. Five minutes later, it did. Neil Slatter attempted try passing the ball up towards Kenny Jackett who was up near the midfield area and hopefully out for his teammates to try out something for them to do. However in that very brief moment, he suffers from a lapse of concentration and his pass to Jackett is a weak shot in which from out of nowhere, Scifo comes from quite literally out of nowhere and takes the ball away with out ease and by the time the defender realises his grave mistake, it's too late as he can only watch helpless as Scifo gets into the Welsh penalty box and cross the ball towards Ceulemans who performs a diving header and guides the ball into the back of the net and send the Belgians 1-0 up.

Belgian captain, Ceulemans, during the Quarter-final with Wales​

There is disappointment that seems to wash over the Welsh bench as they witnessed that goal going in and watch the celebrating Belgians players enjoying the moment. Mike England feels something is wrong with the players, compared to the Denmark game, his side don't look like they are in to this and wonders if perhaps the sudden media interest in them has had an affect on them. Hopes of a Welsh fightback after going a goal down don't seem to come to anything as Belgium are more than happy to turn the screw on the Welsh and it's only thanks to the one-man army of Neville Southall standing in goals in keeping the now many attempts that Belgium rain down on the Welsh. For the any Welsh person watching the game, it proves to be a painful one as it seems that with the amount of attempts that Belgium seem to have on Wales, it looks increasingly unlikely as the first half nears it's ends that Wales will find a goal in this, never mind try and pull of a remarkable comeback.

However the more times that Southall keeps out the goals, the more confidence seems to slowly trickle into the hearts of the Welsh players with the now famous front three of Hughes, Rush and Walsh (nicknamed now the 'three musketeers' by the Welsh support) try to each help do their part in helping their side's chances. In the thirty-ninth minute, there is a booking on Jackett after he briefly gets into a minor fight with Veyt over the ball going out of play and only two minutes after that, Rush nearly scores an equalising goal which only just slams the crossbar and goes out of play, however that has been Wales' best chance so far and even though it'll go down as a miss, it does though help ease the fears of the Welsh support that they are far from out of this game. The bad news is that a few minutes later, the first half is brought to an end and despite a slight Welsh upsurge towards the end of the game, it hasn't been all that good for the Welsh and the Belgians certainly deserve their lead.

As the players head off the field, Mike England glances up seeing a group of motley Welsh fans sitting together all looking rather unimpressed, worried or depressed by that performance and the Welsh gaffer can't honestly blame their loyal support for looking like that. Those fans who have travelled thousands of miles and paid a lot to get here deserve something special. All that stands in the way of an exit from this World Cup is a 15 minute team talk with players and Mike England will now have his work cut out for the second half...

Mark Hughes during the game with Belgium

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While the first half started with the Belgians ruling the game and ending with the Welsh starting to get back into the game, the second half started with it being more of an open game with a lot more free flowing football taking place. It's unknown to the Welsh supporters in the Estadio Cuauhtémoc what had gone down in that dressing room, but whatever had been said had certainly brought this game to live. A lot of the open played nature of the game just so happened to the result of David Williams being brought on for the very start of the second half to replace Mickey Thomas and his arrival had added that extra bit of 'oomph' that they needed as chances were starting to come for Wales. Williams of course looked confident and there was a good reason why as over the summer he had just completed a contract to sign from Norwich City to Swansea and play in the new Welsh Premiership, who the Swans had won the inaugural season, and the European Cup awaited for Williams. But that was all in the future as right now he was trying to help get his side back into this game and nearly did in the thirty-third minute as he made a brilliant assist up to Hughes who looked to being in a good position as he struck the ball on target but it was knocked away by Belgian keeper Pfaff.

It wasn't however entirely going Wales' way, the Belgians also looked set for scoring in the fifty-seventh minute as Nico Claesen nearly scored with a header thanks to a corner but the ball only just went over the crossbar and the score remained 1-0. As the sixty-third minute came round, the last thing that any Welshman would've liked would have been to tamper with the forward three, but yet to shock of many, Mike England would make a substitute to bring off Walsh in favour of Malcom Allen in that minute. In all fairness, nothing changed for Wales either good or bad, but as the minutes ticked by, the Welsh had yet to score and were now on a slow and slippery slop out off this World Cup with nothing to show. The game went at quite a fast pace and both sets of supporters had one eye on the game and the other on the large clock wondering how long they had...five minutes or normal time remained, that is have frantic the pace in this match had been.

The Welsh players on the bench looked around nervously wondering what were they suppose to do as Mike England on the other hand had a thoughtful look on his face as he watched Williams on the flank being shadowed by Vervoot and decided to boot the ball up and over to Rush who managed to get the ball and after a little bit of moving around two Belgian defenders, he saw a rare opening in the defence and knew that this was his moment. So without warning, he blasted the shot into the bottom right corner of the net and Wales were back in this game with only a few minutes left. That was all that was needed to help get Wales back into the game and the Belgians looked rather disjointed at the back in reaction from that Rush goal, but rather than go in for the kill, the Welsh players seemed more than happy to hold on to end ninty minutes in which they do and the game will now have to be decided in extra -ime. In hindsight however, Wales' failure to kill of the Belgians in normal time becomes apparent as the brief rest before extra time helps regroup the Belgians and to the dismay of the Welsh, they start to stamp their authority on the game and begin to pull apart the Welsh.

Rush celebrates the equaliser​

Yeyt nearly finishes off the Welsh in the ninety-seventh minute when he almost gets the ball to sneak into the bottom right of the net and it's only by the hands of Southall that the ball is kept out. The extra time period goes past in a blur with neither side getting a goal, though the Belgians prove to be the much better team and in some ways are unlucky not to have scored with the chances they have gotten. But alas, with the game still firmly deadlock after one hundred and twenty minutes, the game will have to be decided by one way only...penalties. Mike England didn't like penalties, his Belgian counterpart Guy Thys didn't like them either and so too did the players on both sides. They had their chance to finish the game off, but despite all that, the game had been dragged out to this point and the dreaded shoot out was the only way to decide it.

Wales would need more than luck here, they'd need to be mentally strong, but since the majority of the players had never played in a shoot out, let alone for their country, it was a nervous experience and it didn't help that wales were to go up first and take their shot. First to go up for Wales would be the ever reliable Rush who knew that a good start in the shoot out was the way to do and after waiting for the East German referee to give him the all clear. It finally came and Rush ran up and struck that ball right into the top left of the net and sending the keeper the wrong way. Now it was Belgium's turn and up stepped Claesen, who sent the ball straight down the middle and put Belgium level. Now stepping up was David Phillips for Wales who noticeably had a nervous look on his face and didn't look comfortable at all, he sends the ball to right but the ball goes flying past the post it gets worse when next for Belgium, Scifo takes advantage of this to comfortable score and put Belgium 2-1 in front of the shoot out. Phillips looks distraught about his penalty but his teammates try to comfort him that it'll be ok.

"No worries," Hughes says as he prepares to run up to the spot and take his turn, "could've happened to anyone."

The Welsh forward tricks the Belgian keeper by making a dummy run and slams the ball into the top right of the net and sending the keeper the wrong way. Broos is next to take his turn for Belgium and he sends the ball into the top left in which Southall goes the right way but sadly only misses out on getting a save and Belgium go 3-2 up in the shoot out. David Williams is up next and he stares down the Belgian keeper and thinks about the best way to score. The whistle blows and he sends the keeper the wrong way to the right and the ball into the bottom left, though it only just sneaked through as it only went by Pfaff's boot.

Up next for Belgium is Vervoot and he makes a powerful shot which Southall can't do anything about as the ball goes right down the middle and he dives to the right. 4-3 for Belgium now. Up next to try and keep Wales in the game is Malcom Allen who can feel the pressure of his country on his shoulders as he walks up to the penalty spot and spots the nervous looking Welsh fans in the ground. He holds his nerve and places the ball into the top right corner of the net, though he did in a brief moment broke out in a cold sweat when Pfaff went the right way and only just missed getting his hand onto it.

Now it comes to this moment, if Van Der Elst can score this for Belgium, they are through to the semis and ludicrous pressure now lies on poor Southall to help Wales stay alive in this tie. But with a cheeky chip over the Welsh keeper as he dives to the left, it is a horde of white shirts rushing forward to celebrate and Southall can only lie on his back in dismay at the thought that now Wales are out of the World Cup in perhaps the cruellest way possible. Mike England then gathers his deflated team together and try and tell them that everything will be alright.

The Belgium players celebrate after their victory over Wales​

"I'm proud of you lads," Mike England beams at the red shirted players. "Penalties are a horrible thing, but keep your heads up as we'll all be able to build on this and some of you I can reveal have been offer big contracts with the biggest clubs in Europe wanting you."

The players now look stunned at this news as Mike carries on speaking. "Across Wales regardless, you have all inspired many kids to play football and for their country and a new league in place too. Without you and what you've done, all of that would never had happened so...just relax for now, we all did well."

The Welsh team would thus leave the heat of Mexico behind and back to the cold, damp but yet warm welcoming valleys of Wales and a sense that there was still much on offer for the beautiful game in Wales; from a new league that was growing from strength to strength after many problems to begin with had been sorted out to the hope that a quick return to another football tournament would be on offer for Wales for Euro 1988. While the former would happen, the same sadly would not be the case for Euro 1988 as following this, Wales would fail to qualify for the next European Championship with Mike England ultimately leaving the Wales job behind.

Nonetheless, he had laid the groundwork to future managers of the national team going forward and that it shouldn't be that long until the dragons would appear at another football tournament soon. For now though, three down, one to go...

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And there we are! So yeah, Wales' end is much like the old TL though England have done better so far compared to OTL without having facing a certain you-know-who just yet. Anyway, before I say anything, I would like to ask you for a big help in which as you know the 2022 Turtledove awards are taking place and I would really be grateful if you could nominate both this and my other TL 'A True World Cup' to be included for the 'Best Pop-Culture Timeline' as I feel both are far better than the original 'All To Play For' TL that I had nominated before. If you do so, thank you so much and for following me in general with my work.

So as always, the final four as it stands:
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Argentina vs Belgium

West Germany vs England
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Who will win and why? Until then, catch you later!

 

[MatthewFirth]

Argentina vs Belgium

West Germany vs England

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 47
Don't Mention the Shootout
​

June 25th would see both World Cup Semi Finals played on the same day with West Germany vs England being played first with Argentina vs Belgium be played later on the day, however for some the thought of a replay of the last World Cup final with a reunion with England and Argentina to take place. However that at this very moment was a distant thought for the English contingent as, dressed in their away kit of red tops and white shorts, lined up with their West Germany opponents for the anthems in the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara; a stadium and city that the West Germans had become very familiar with for having played all their knockout games in thus far, beating the likes of France and the Soviet Union to get to this point, and had gained the respect of the Mexican locals who had adopted them as 'their' team to go all the way.

This was far from being helpful for England for not only did it seem that a good number of the supporters in the ground were backing Die Mannschaft but that there was some lingering bad feeling for the English due to the fact it was England that had knocked the hosts out of the tournament in the Quarter-Finals. Incredibly, it for not a negative feeling for England over their hooligan problem for once that some might have expected which on that topic there had been very little happening regarding fights though sadly there some reports of English and German supporters having random fights in places around the ground in which while wasn't the worst action to have happened, it was still not pleasant to see.

After the anthems, the game would begin and the game would actually start of rather open in which in the opening five minutes saw a few half chances being created which honestly was quite a refreshing sight for both teams as much like England, West Germany hadn't exactly been flying in this tournament themselves in which despite winning games in the knockout stage, they had looked fairly average though now they, along with England, seemed to wake up at the prospect a World Cup final was up for grabs for anyone who wanted it the most and it would a wild opening which really starting to take effect in the eighth minute when Terry Butcher was lucky to avoid a yellow card for a tackle on Klaus Allofs but had given the West Germans an early freekick.

The West German team prior to their semi-final clash with England
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Allofs stands over the with the hope of trying to square the ball into the left side of the English goal but rather than go for it himself, he simply rolls it towards Andreas Brehme who fires the ball low in which Peter Shilton hopes to easily catch it by diving to his left, but to his horror, he makes a mess of the save as the ball fumbles out of his reach and the ball ends up slamming into the back of the net that after nine minutes of play gives West Germany the lead from a soft goal and poor old Peter Shilton knows he has made a right blunder there and could have done better though Terry Butcher himself will be kicking himself for being the one that was responsible for that freekick to happen in the first place.

Far from the start England would have wanted and curiously it is the first time that England have conceded a goal in the knockout stage of this World Cup and now England manager Bobby Robson can be seen on the touchline shouting orders for them to start to play more attacking football and sure enough, there is a response from the Three Lions as Gary Lineker comes close to making it level in the seventeenth minute but alas his shot is easily saved by Harald Schumacher standing there between the sticks for the Germans and the game remains 1-0 to them though it must be said England look more than up to get back into the game despite being a goal down.

England keep pressing forward showing that being a goal will not make them lose heart but if anything looked like not only would score next up honestly turn the game around. That said West Germany weren't going to roll over for in the twenty-third minute, Allofs weaves his way through a block of red shirted England players who couldn't stop him until he was in the box and let fly for what might have been a second goal for West Germany if it wasn't for Peter Shilton redeeming himself by leaping on his right to punch the ball away out for a corner in which England had to quickly clear before the Germans could take the chance to increase their lead. Truly, it was a game that anyone could win.

England vs West Germany during the Semi-Final
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After such an exciting opening thirty minutes in which the game could have swung either way, things would start to slow down somewhat when in the thirty-second minute saw the first booking of the game when West Germany's Norbet Eder would perform a crunching tackle on Steve Hodge that would give England a freekick from a good area and a chance to equalise but alas, they blew it in more ways than one when Peter Beardsley was to take it and only succeeded in blasting the ball way over the bar and up into Row Z and it would be a freekick that he would not want to look back on in a hurry. That said despite the terrible miss and the soft goal England had let in, they hadn't done too bad considering that they were without Peter Reid who was suspended for the game with Ray Wilkins taking his place though the English supporters were hoping that a goal could come sooner than later.

England would have another chance to go level in the thirty-sixth minute when Lineker raced through the German defensive line after being slipped the ball through thanks to Trevor Steven and would let one rip towards goal but his shot was just a little bit too high which saw the ball ending up clattering on the crossbar and out for a goal kick. Any lower and surely England would have been back in the game. Interestingly enough, the final ten minutes of the game would see England be the team coming into their own as the one looking likely to score and West Germany would find themselves now on the backfoot being stuck in their own half and struggled to get out of their own half and it was only a matter of time until the English would score.

Against all the odds however, England would fail to score by the time the first half came to an end in which West Germany would still hang onto their slim 1-0 lead though it is fair to say that the Germans were lucky to still be in front given that England had been pretty much pushing forward to find a goal that many would feel watching the game felt they deserved to have but alas, football is always not fair. As the teams left for the tunnel, England manager Bobby Robson felt frustrated that so far all their efforts seemed to have come to nothing and that now they would only have another forty-five minutes to turn it all around and hopefully be just that little bit closer to another final for the Three Lions...

Close encounters during the game...

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The second half would start of rather cagey with neither side really committing forward though it wasn't the main point of focus both sides had to deal with. The harsh and humid Mexican heat was really starting to get to both teams; exactly why there was to need to play the game in middle of the day when the heat was at it's worse was anyone's guess though it appears that broadcast demands wanted it for the benefit of viewers in Europe. Either way neither side were looking exactly sharp as they were in the first half with some rather basic mistakes being with one such poor moment happening in the fifty-eighth minute in which Wolfgang Rolff tried to pass the ball to Felix Magath up near the edge of the field but he was too slow to react and the ball ended up rolling out of play for a an English throw in.

To add more to Magath's woes just a minute later, he would be booked for a tackle on Glen Hoddle but nonetheless the Germans were still hanging onto their slender 1-0 lead as the game went into the final thirty minutes of the ninety and England was running out of time or else they'd be out of the World Cup. Then in the rather fitting and uncanny sixty-sixth minute, Lineker made his way towards the box and was right on the edge of it when Ditmar Jakobs made a badly timed tackled that send the Englishman tumbling to the ground and it seemed as though a freekick was about to happen...that was until the Italian referee blew his whistle and pointed to the spot. Penalty for England!

The West German players are furious complaining to the referee that he is wrong though despite this, Lineker is the one to take the spot kick and many an England either in the stadium and millions more watching on TV wait with baited breaths of hopefully getting the long hoped equaliser. Interestingly enough, this would be his first penalty he would be taking for his country. He slams it right down the middle and England are finally level and there is more than a good chance that at least one Englishman would be yelling 'Get it son!' Lineker scored. In truth despite some some debating if it really should have been a penalty at all, nonetheless most would agree that a goal from England was coming and that they probably deserved it.

Lineker during the game with West Germany
​

Following that goal, England had their tails up and now were going in for the kill to try and find a winner within the final twenty minutes of the game while the West Germans looked rather weary though it was unknown if from the heat or that they were starting to lose heart. Either way though, the game was starting to resemble of how the first half had ended in which England were the team on top though this time following that goal from the Three Lions, that they had the momentum within their favour to go out and make it to the final. The West Germans were now pressed into their own half and yet despite putting up with English pressure, it was something of a minor miracle that England failed to find a winner for that was the score after full time with both sides level at 1-1. Extra-time it would have to be then and something that the men in red weren't looking following to after having already done that with Mexico.

To England's dismay, they would be regretting not having used their attacking style of play far better in which the brief break prior before extra-time starting would give the West Germans a chance to regroup and get their act together in which extra-time would see the Germans play much better and this time saw the English stuck in their own half and just like that the game had turned on it's head in which now the men in white looked like the team who would win the game. Something which, much like England however they'd fail to thanks to some dogged defending from the men in red though perhaps the one notable event of extra time happened in the one hundred and seventh minute when Terry Butcher showing a bit too much passion ended up getting booked for a tackle on Rolff and the grim look on his face upon seeing getting a yellow card in front of him meant only one thing.

Even if England were to get to the final, Butcher, already on a yellow card from the previous game had gotten his second yellow here which meant that he would not play in the final and that was the last thing that Bobby Robson needed with him already without the presence of Peter Reid didn't want to be without the help of anymore players if they were to get to a final. Nonetheless, Butcher put all thoughts of 'what might have been' and kept trying to help England find any late winner themselves but much like West Germany, they would have no such luck themselves in which finally after one hundred and twenty long, hot and gruelling minutes in the Mexican sun, the game was over and now this game would have to be settled by the dreaded penalty shootout...the first for England.

Butcher just prior before his booking which ruled him out for the final
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After a coin toss, it would be England to go first in the shootout and Lineker would step up first in which must like before in the game, he would send his shot right down the middle to give them the first goal. West Germany would respond next with Allofs to level the shootout, then it came to Beardsley who put England back out in front again only for then Brehme, the man who had opened the scoring in the first place during this game, quickly levelled up things. Hoddle would go up next to make it 3-2 for England though his shot barely squeezed in under Schumacher who went the right way but couldn't keep it out. It would then be six perfect spot kicks when Lothar Matthäus fired in West Germany's third and it really was anyone's game...that is until Chris Waddle, who had come on as a substitute to replace Trevor Steven at the start of extra-time, would make a right howler in which he lost concentration and blasted the ball far over the bar and suddenly the game was swinging in favour of the Germans.

West Germany would gain the advantage in which Pierre Littbarski fired his shot into the lower left to make it 4-3 for West Germany though there were many hearts in the mouth in which Peter Shilton went the right way and managed to get a finger on it that with a little bit more luck could have saved it but alas the ball barely squeezed in and the England goalkeeper looked angry that he had come so close and now all the pressure mounted on one Steve Hodge who had to take England's next penalty in which he simply had to score to keep England in the shootout or thus if he missed, England would be out of the World Cup. Anyone watching could see though that he didn't look that comfortable and there was a feeling that something was going to go wrong next.

And in the end, it would. He would fire the ball into the bottom right of the goal which did send the West German keeper the wrong way but to every Englishman's despair, the ball clattered off the post just inches away from going in and bounced out and Hodge fell to his knees in despair while the white shirted West German players celebrated on reaching the final on winning the shootout 4-3 as well as getting revenge on the Three Lions following 1982. It is said that losing on spot kicks in a terrible way to go out and that mood was felt among the England players who would now have no chance on playing in the final.

West German players celebrate on reaching the final following victory over England
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That said, both would suffer mixed fortunes in which while West Germany would bask in the glory of reaching the final against fellow semi-final victors Argentina following their win over Belgium later that day, there would be no World Cup victory for the Germans in which they would lose to the Argentina 3-2 in which the latter successfully defended their crown and claimed their second World Cup. England meanwhile the day prior to the final would have to play in the Third Place game with Belgium in which the English would leave Mexico with some pride intact as they defeated the Belgians 3-2 after extra-time to win that game.

For all the Home Nations at that World Cup, it had been a fairly decent World Cup though playing in heatwave was perhaps something that neither nation wanted to undergo again. But as one World Cup ended, a new European championship would begin in West Germany for 1988 and the question was would any of the Home Nations not only qualify but actually do well in that tournament? Time would tell but that is all for another story...

Final results of the knockout stage of the 1986 World Cup

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And so we come to the end of TTL's 1986 and I know what you are all thinking...no Hand of God moment between England and Argentina?! Yeah, I did think about doing that game for the final but thought that maybe it was just a bit too easy and even cliché in some quarters, plus by this point ITTL, England and Argentina have already met a few times already in the WC ITTL so in terms of encounters it all balances things out. It does mean that it butterflies the Tartan Army's love/obsession for Maradona over that certain goal over England and that song but hey, you win some and lose some I guess. It was all a bit cringe the whole love-in thing was TBH.

So yeah, the final goes about pretty much the same as OTL so no change there and next update we will be getting something that the old TL never touched upon and that is ofc Euro 1988! Will things be any different here and who will make it for that tournament? We shall soon see!

Finally, For my Scottish watchers, I am seriously thinking about doing another football TL, this time on one regarding what if Rangers hadn't gone bust in 2012 being based on that video that some of you might have seen that I helped with. Seems an interesting POD that I'm surprised hardly anyone has touched really, oh well, that's where I come in and if anyone wishes to contribute to it feel free by sending me a PM for anything that might be added but in the meantime I have this TL to do first. So for now, see you all next time!

 

[jmmcb94]

Do those two goals at least happen in a different Argentina game here?

As for Euro 88, I expect Wales will probably qualify over Denmark this time, but I fancy Scotland will still miss out to Jackie Charlton's Ireland. Unless you're going to expand to 16 teams.

 

[QTXAdsy]

Do those two goals at least happen in a different Argentina game here?

As for Euro 88, I expect Wales will probably qualify over Denmark this time, but I fancy Scotland will still miss out to Jackie Charlton's Ireland. Unless you're going to expand to 16 teams.

Goal of the century goal from Maradona still happens against Morocco and does score the second though this time without his hand and just his head...yeah, no controversy this time which does make things sound boring I'll admit.

Euro '88 will still be 8 teams here but there will be a few changes to look out for in the next update.

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 48
Straight In, Straight Out

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For the final major football tournament to be hosted in Europe that decade, Euro 1988 was to be played in West Germany and there would be location of the tournament and like with all the other tournaments beforehand, there was to be British representation in the form of England and Scotland though it is fair to say that more could have turned up. Speaking of which, the defending European Champions Northern Ireland would much to the disappointment of many would fail to qualify as they would finish a distant third behind Yugoslavia and fellow Home Nation England, the latter being the one to qualify then. Scotland would qualify by the skin of their teeth ahead of the Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria though the Irish wouldn't have to wait long until they'd taste a tournament soon.

Perhaps the most heart-breaking moment for either of the Home Nation was Wales who came so close to qualifying but only just missed out by two measly points behind group winners Denmark in which their final two group games ended in defeat and thus their failure to qualify for Euro 1988. Such was the failure of not qualifying despite all the good work done by Wales in recent years in terms of qualification that their long standing manager Mike England would resign and the question of ever the Dragons would be back at a major tournament would linger as for them and Northern Ireland, they now had to focus their attention on the World Cup for 1990 next. In some ways the absence of Northern Ireland was perhaps one that stung the most of the Ulster faithful in which not only would they fail to defend their crown but also it would just so happen to be on the centenary of the IFA; if that wasn't pouring salt into the wounds then who knows what was.

That said for the Home Nations that had qualified, neither were looking to set the world on fire in which both sides had coming away with draws such as Scotland drawing to the likes of Saudi Arabia, Malta and Spain and like wise with England drawing with Israel, Netherlands and Hungary (though there was one 1-0 victory over the Swiss but that was seldom mentioned). Quite clearly, neither Home Nation were considered favourites going into the championship though there was the unique fact that both Home Nations had been drawn together, as with Euro '80, in the same group along with the Soviet Union and the Netherlands; but it was to be in Stuttgart that the auld enemies would face off each other in their opening game and with it, great fears.

England vs Scotland in their opening group game at Euro 1988
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For many German football fans, the memories of the now infamous Frankfurt riots of 1974 still caused much dread in which supporters from both sides, with neither team getting the victory that would have kept them in the tournament but ultimately saw them go out, would end up getting into a huge riot that were and are still some of the worst scenes of football hooligan violence ever seen at any major football tournament. Despite rumours of both nations being kept apart in the draw, it was a shock to seem them paired together and fears of another Frankfurt happening were keenly felt. Over fifty thousand supporters would cram into the stadium and there was a major police presence both in and outside the stadium which other than few isolated incidents, the day itself would pass without further trouble much to relief of many.

Once again, the calls of reinstating the annual England/Scotland fixture or even the Home Internationals raised their head again came again yet as always, a lot of noise was creating yet absolutely nothing came of it with Bert Millichip, the then FA chairman of the day, remarked that given the amount of times that the two nations had faced each other following the end of the annual fixture that there was very little point for this to happen as such as there was little to no space on the international calendar to allow for the Home International to return in this new world of football. He also noted that if he had a pound for every time someone had suggested both those ideas then he would have another to not only rebuild every football ground in England but also enough to help try and sort out all the problems that had blighted English football such as Heysel and the never ending scenes of hooligan violence.

That said regarding the game itself, the match would be a highly competitive in which the Three Lions would run out as 1-0 victors though only just and that didn't tell just how much better England were in which they could have scored a lot more; that all said it didn't stop most of the English press saying that the team didn't look all that impressive. For the Scots, the result was a disaster as now with only two games left to try and find a way out of the group stage with the Soviets next and in turn, England would play the Dutch in a game though would likely decide the fate of both teams in which the Dutch had gone down to a shot 1-0 loss to the Soviets in their opening game and another loss against England would be curtains for them.

Van Basten after scoring his hattrick

This time however, the Dutch would turn up in which Van Basten would open the scoring for the Dutch before the end of the first half though Bryan Robson would fire in the equaliser near the start of the second half and up until the final twenty minutes looked as though that England were going to hang onto a point and knock the Dutch out, that is until Van Basten would score a brace both in the space of about five minutes, completing a hattrick, and a crushing 3-1 victory over the Three Lions to not only get their European campaign back on track but now make England's own chances of progressing look rather worrying. Later on that day, Scotland would take on the Soviet Union in which anything but a loss would have seen Scotland heading home so early but it was fair to say that much of the criticism that the Scottish press had for the team was all levelled at the new manager, Andy Roxburgh.

Following Alex Ferguson stepping down from managing the national team, the hunt for a new manager for Scotland was on and the likes of Jim McLean, Kenny Dalglish and Billy McNeill were all suggested. What no one expected was that the SFA's choice was a man who had already been working on the inside of the SFA being the coach of the under eighteen's Scotland team, Andy Roxburgh. The famous newspaper headlines of 'Andy Who?' pretty much summed up most of the Scottish public over having no clue who he was despite what he had done for the youth team and not only was his different style of approach was vastly different to other Scottish managers of the day and things weren't helped that Roxburgh's own uncle had been part of the SFA board which had made the appointment which to many screamed nepotism.

Despite the heavy scepticism aimed at Roxburgh, he would lead Scotland to the European Championship finals and there was a sense that much of the questions about him being suited for the job seem to dissipate...that was until their opening match loss to England caused many of the press and public to put Roxburgh under pressure and it wasn't helped that with his more micro-management approach to the game trying to explain his attention to detail (something that he would end up being well known for) to play out the game didn't help matters either. To everyone else though it seemed, their response to Roxburgh's long painstaking detail for the game was simple; don't lose to the Soviets.

Andy Roxburgh, the Scotland manager for Euro '88
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Following England's defeat to the Dutch earlier in the day in which much of the Tartan Army in Hanover took great delight in the downfall of the English, their thoughts now turned to facing the Soviets who themselves knew that a victory for themselves would pretty much see them through to the next round and there was a great deal of worry among the Scots that if that team could beat a fancied Dutch side then who knows how bad things could get here with Scotland. At first, the Soviets didn't quite rip the Scots apart...as a matter of fact in the thirty-eighth minute, Ally McCoist would fire Scotland into the lead and this would remain the score line at the end of the first half and nearly the rest of the second half in which just as the Tartan Army were expecting a big win, the Soviets though would equalise with fifteen minutes yet to play and thus held on for a 1-1 draw.

Not the result the Scots wanted but it did mean that they still had an outside chance going into the final group game in which if they were to beat the Dutch and with some help of England also beating the Soviets then there was the chance that both Home Nations would reach the Semi-Finals which considering the poor start both had have before hand then it would surely turn things around for the better. Sadly everything that could go wrong all went horribly wrong. England would go down after just three minutes before getting a equaliser that in the end was to count for nothing as a further two goals from the Soviets would have them leading England to suffer yet another 3-1 defeat and thus, the first flight home.

Things weren't any better for the Scots who despite keeping the Dutch out from scoring from what was looking like a goalless draw, such a result would have them tied on goal difference with England and the Netherlands but goal difference would likely favour the Dutch regardless. In the end, any complicated way of working out the final rankings would not be needed as with just eight minutes left with Scotland having put on a plucky performance, the Dutch would ultimately score the winner to snatch the second place spot without any problems and Scotland were left rooted to the bottom with only just one point. What made it bad from a British perspective that both Home Nations had failed to reach the second round and a short end for Euro '88 for both teams.

English despair over their loss to the Soviets.

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As the old saying goes, straight in, straight out; that pretty much would be how to sum up the tournament for both nations and it was made more hurtful as both the Dutch and Soviets would reunite in the final with the Dutch winning Euro '88 and the prospect of what might have been an all British final would be something that would plague the mind of many supporters for both sides for a long time afterwards. But what matter in the moment though was that it was a failed campaign by both teams in which Euro 1988 was likely not going to looked back on fondly in years to come given how poor both sides were, however now both would have to focus their attention on the upcoming World Cup in Italy and the hope for better success there.

In conclusion, the tournament would come and go without much of a thought though given what supporters had seen, it was fair to say that not many, if any at all, held much hope for the upcoming World Cup and more tragedy was to befall on the English game within the next year but that is for another story...

Final results of England and Scotland's group results

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Well then, a short update for Euro 1988 which is pretty much how most will remember it unless you are Dutch and maybe Irish to an extent. Anyway, things are only slightly better here for England compared to OTL in which they do get a victory over Scotland (which is pretty much the same as OTL 1988 encounter at Wembley) but all the other results remain the same. However I do have sad new to tell you is that as of the time of writing this, I regret to tell that I have caught Covid and I'm currently isolating. I should be ok though though I'll wait to see what happens by the end of the week if I'm allowed out soon, though it does mean I get to write up more stuff such as this.

Anyway, next update will cover Italia '90 and there will be slight tweaks compared to the old TL and just in general a tidy up of it all together. So until then, take care, stay safe and see you all next time!

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 49
None Shall Sleep

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Summer sun, a football mad country being Italy hosting the World Cup with the soundtrack of the epic opera piece 'Nessun Dorma' (None Shall Sleep) sung by Luciano Pavarotti accommodating the World Cup (at least for BBC viewers) that really seemed to elevate the beautiful game to epic heights that many a football romantic felt had long since faded. With all this in mind what could ruin such a spectacle? Well, with hindsight, a tournament that would unfortunately be best remembered for low scoring games, bad fouls and many red cards that were hardly the short of image would expect of the beautiful game especially in a host country that lived and breathed football. However that wasn't the real fear going into the World Cup as it was pretty much on the fear of hooligans, mainly those coming in from the British Isles.

To put it nicely in the best possible sense, football in the UK was at best in confusion place and at worst, the very depths of utter hatred, shame and national disgrace and the last five years for the game in England especially had been a truly dark time. While Bobby Robson's boys had done fairly well in Mexico four years ago, it was only one good thing that had happened for football in England as it only merely covered the cracks over many disgraceful and tragic events that had blighted the game in the eyes of many. Following the ban of English clubs from UEFA competitions following the events of Heysel it had seemed that with hooligans causing trouble in the streets, terrible policing who's main object was to treat the fans worse than animals, crumbling and unsafe stadiums that were half empty, had cattle pens to prevent fans attacking on the field and for those in attendance were made up by mostly members of the far right that all seemed more dangerous than an actually battleground; the game seemed that it was destined to remain trapped in a downward spiral.

The year prior to the World Cup however would be a tragic event that rocked the football world in which during an FA Cup Semi-Final at Hillsborough between Liverpool and Nottingham Forrest, ninety-seven Liverpool fans were crushed to death and the whole story regarding the tragic event has been well documented but it was to be a watershed moment in what was to be a small ray of hope that things were about to change though it seems that the disdain many had for English supporters was rife in which the then UEFA president caused an uproar by calling the Liverpool supporters 'beasts' after wrongly believing it was down to hooligan troubles and not down to horrendous police that led to the disaster. To add more to this, the British government prior to the World Cup had gone as far as requesting to have England play their group games not on the Italian mainland by on the island of Sardinia and this meant for the England fans who went to Italy were to be greeted by armed police troops. Was it all really needed?

One Italian policeman and dug keeping an eye out on the English supporters prior to one game​

Of course England weren't the only British team going to the World Cup; Scotland and Wales were also joining on the great Italian adventure as were also would be the Republic of Ireland also joining in their first World Cup with sadly Northern Ireland just missing out. Unlike with the English though who were off the mainland, the other three were to enjoy this privilege though there was the fear hooligan trouble would affect them in turn in which for example, Scotland's famous Tartan Army supporters were to find out, much to their dismay, that an alcohol ban had been put in place to prevent such trouble taking place. The Irish would of course be one of the great highlights of that World Cup (other than some trouble prior to their hotly anticipated opening game with England) and endeared themselves to the Italian public.

However, it was the Welsh who were something of an unknown quantity in which other than being close to England, the average Italian knew very little about Wales other than the fact that they played rugby and it was a tediously typical factor for the Welsh that they had to put up with for many years and this was no exception. That all said by 1990, Wales' newly created football league had been coming on in leaps and bounds with that season seeing Cardiff City winning the league but had seen the year's previous winners Swansea City causing a shock by knocking out the mighty Real Madrid in the first round of the European Cup only for then to fall in the second round to eventual winners AC Milan, incidentally not the first time that Welsh supporters had been to Italy that season.

All in all compared to what was happening in England, football on Wales looked to be in better shape as while it did have hooligan problems, mainly in the fiercely contested South Wales derby matches with Cardiff and Swansea that were mostly title deciders, they were nowhere on the scale of madness that blighted the English game and in the years following the Welsh clubs based in the English football pyramid for many years to return 'home', many had started to feel that the Welsh clubs had all dodged a bullet as the hope for Welsh cubs and the national team reaching their fullest potential in the long term. Such was the goodwill in Wales that they possibility couldn't have believed their luck when they would find out that Wales would be drawn in Group A with hosts Italy and would play in the host nation in the opening match in Rome...

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Going into this tournament, Wales had been disappointed in missing out on qualification for Euro '88 that saw their long standing manager, Mike England, to finally call time with the national team though he was indeed a favourite among the Welsh support given for what he had done for the national team that the choice of who to fill in those big boots would be a difficult question to ask. The answer though would be Swansea City manager Terry Yorath who would take control on the national team on a part-time basis though would end up taking on a full-time basis which did at the time cause friction with Swansea over his loyalties and this was not including the many Cardiff fans who were not happy that one of the 'enemy' were taking control of the national team even though he was a man born in Cardiff ironically.

Nonetheless despite these troubles, Yorath would guide Wales to qualification finishing just behind the Soviet Union in their qualifying group in which their award would be the glamour tie of playing the hosts in the eternal city of Rome; a vastly more positive situation in contrast to the English many miles away off the coast. Wales was badly needing a feel good story sports wise for that year had seen the Welsh rugby team suffer a horrific whitewash in the Five Nations so anything in the World Cup would be welcomed. The day beforehand in the opening game between holders Argentina and Cameroon, it would be Cameroon that would humiliate the champions in a brutal game by beating them and this gave the Welsh hope that they would be able to embarrass the host nation in their opening match in Rome.

Despite the fact that many had Italy down to not only win this game but win it handsomely, Wales (while playing in their all yellow away kit) would put on a plucky performance to keep the Italians out and up until the final twenty minutes with the game still at a deadlock with no goals scored, the thought of Wales holding onto a draw of even shocking the host nation with a victory were starting to look promising...that was until that certain Italian known as Salvatore Schillaci who would break Welsh hearts with the sole winner in the seventy-eighth minute after having come on as a substitute after just a few minutes and thus Wales would start the World Cup with a loss though with it being the Italians, probably no shame there.

Wales vs Italy in their opening match, note Wales playing in their away yellow kit
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After that game, the Welsh team would move out to Florence where they were to play the rest of their two remaining group games against Czechoslovakia and the United States, the former being the team that Wales would face next and one that Wales simply had to pick up a result of some kind if they wanted their Italian adventure to carry on. Despite the best intentions, Wales would have bad luck in which the Czechoslovakians would be awarded a penalty in the thirty-first minute and would take the lead with Wales having it all to do to try and get back into the game...something that sadly Wales would fail to do and once again would fall to yet another 1-0 defeat in which now, even with the help of the best ranked third place teams, a victory in Wales' final group game with the United States might not be enough.

The game itself against an equally pointless United States team was pretty much just a game to avoid the wooden spoon though prior to the game, the Welsh team had come under harsh criticism from their own media who felt that with all the talent that Wales had that they would surely have more than enough to get out of the group yet had come up short in the most frustrating way possible with much criticism be labelled at the manager, Terry Yorath, for some of his tactics that had led for what had befallen on the Welsh. Nonetheless, some credit was restored in which Wales would defeat the USA 2-1 to put themselves in third place yet sadly this was not enough to put them through as one of the best ranked third-place teams and thus brought the curtain down on Wales' adventure in Italy.

All in all, Italia '90 would for many Welsh fans be looked on as nothing more than mere footnote that some even forgetting that they had even qualified for in the first place. Terry Yorath would keep the job of Wales manager though he now had to turn his attention to Euro '92 coming up and the hope that Wales will be back for another tournament in quick succession and more importantly is Wales doing much better in the next tournament. A lot to think about...

Final results of Wales' group at the 1990 World Cup

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After a fairly poor showing at Euro '88, many of Scotland's supporters were all expecting a much better showing though it didn't look promisingly when they found out that they were placed in a tough group with Brazil, Sweden and Costa Rica, the latter being the team that was expected to go out in the first round and fortunately for Scotland was a chance to pick up full points in their opening round which would set up the Scots nicely going forward. It is noted that during Scotland's time in Italy was that the BBC was filming a special that was to be broadcasted later on in the year for the show Rab C Nesbitt simply called 'Fitba'. The popular comedy show would see Rab and the gang head off to support Scotland at the World Cup though it would be mostly about the various misadventures they would get up in Italy.

Regarding the game itself, Scotland would take the lead after fourteen minutes via Paul McStay and it looked as though more goals were to follow. Except that plan didn't exactly happened as not only did Scotland seemed to struggle in trying to find the back of the net but Costa Rica were actually coming back into the game looking more promising and it would be a 1-0 score line to Scotland at the end of half time. The second half would see things go badly for Scotland in which Marena for Costa Rica went on a diagonal run near the box before sending it over towards Jara, who with a back heel, sent it over towards Cayasso and to the shock and dismay of the Scottish support, Costa Rica had equalised in just four minutes of the second half starting and with a large portion of the second half still to be played, who knows what might happen next.

Nightmares were now looking to be more likely as Scottish heads were going down and Costa Rica were going on with the offensive with Jara nearly scoring Costa Rica's second goal in the fifty-six minute which only just went crashing against the bar. Thankfully a substitute for Ally McCoist shortly afterwards would be the man needed to help Scotland find the winner just ten minutes before the end and while Scotland might have won the game, their tired and laboured performance had hardly impressed anyone in which the Italian press were mostly unimpressed by what they saw wondering if they could barely beat Costa Rica then how were they going to fare against the likes of Sweden and Brazil?

Scotland vs Costa Rica during their opening match
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Scotland's next game would be with Sweden in a game that both needed a victory in which victory for Scotland would pretty much put them through while Sweden simply needed a victory to avoid going out following an opening day loss to Brazil. Sweden were a tough outfit that were always expected to make a good show at any World Cup and looked like a team that could cause damage to the Scots, this time however saw Scotland turn up and would end up defeating Sweden 2-1 and thus brought the Swede's miserable time in Italy to an end (another 2-1 defeat at the hands of Costa Rica being the final sting in the tail) while the Tartan Army in Genoa that night following that game would celebrate long into the night and could actually relax for the final game with Brazil next.

Even though both sides had already booked their place in the next round and on the face of it there was nothing riding on it, it was pointed out by Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh that winning the group could be crucial in ending up with a soft route that could have them go deep into the tournament as compared to finishing in a runners-up spot. The Scotland manager was right to feel pleased with how things had gone for ever since he first got the Scotland job, he had been questioned for his views on how to be a manager and if he was even fit for purpose for the job; what had happened here in Italy was him proofing to everyone as to why he was there as Scotland could look forward to more sunshine in the Italian summer.

During the game, Scotland were drawing with Brazil for most of the and looked as though that they were actually going to not only get the draw but also top the group on goal difference as what Roxburgh had hoped for. The dream was looking promising up until the final ten minutes when in one of the World Cup's more infamous moments would have Scotland goalkeeper Jim Leighton spill the ball from his grasp that would see Brazil score the winning goal that would have them winning the group. It was a kick in the teeth but nonetheless Scotland were still through and their supporters could hardly wait for more adventures in Italy to follow and, whisper it now, World Cup glory perhaps...?

Final results of Scotland's group at the 1990 World Cup

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​

On the same day in which Scotland would play and beat Costa Rica, England would take on the Irish later on the day though it's fair to say that the following game between the two teams, with much heightened security for fears of trouble were unfounded but it was the game that was the main talking point was just how truly awful the game was. Unlike the rest of the tournament which was playing free flowing and positive football, the game with England and Ireland was pretty much a dreadfully turgid game of football that both sides played 4-4-2 that was clearly of a now backwards British style of play, even the weather seemed to be like that of a cold autumn night rather than that of an Italian summer in which it started to rain. The game ended 1-1 and much like in their criticism of the Scotland game in day earlier, the Italian media would brandish both games with the title of, 'No football please, we're British'.

With that, England's next match was to take on the European champions the Netherlands in a game that very few had down for England winning...that is until it turned out that England would be playing with a new 5-3-2 continental formation and ended up outplaying the Dutch which stunned everyone and were probably unlucky not to win the game as the game ended 0-0 and while there had been no goals unlike the last game, the game itself was by far a better improvement than that of the previous game with the Irish. England were unbeaten after two games but had yet to get a win which they needed in their final group game in which after a rather tough match with Egypt, England would prevail to win the group and make their way into the knockout stage and with it, access to the mainland.

With hindsight, it seems that everything to try and make life hell for the English team and mostly regarding their supporters on Sardinia had mixed results. The hopes that England would have a short stay as too would be their supporters was obviously a naïve thought as that situation had ended up being unfounded. The thought of more trouble on the mainland was a fear that the Italian authorities had to contained with. Who was to say that this could be a special year for England if all goes well, if they don't end up wrecking the whole country first that is.

Final results of England's group at the 1990 World Cup

---------
​

And so here we, World In Motion and all that...1990 is here! Before I say anything, I want to be serious for a moment to say that like many people out there, my thoughts are with the people of Ukraine in this very difficult time and I hope peace will triumph soon than later. I just don't want this to go political so I'll end it here.

Anyway then, a few changes you'll see here with perhaps the main change being that probably for the first time in any ATL football TL is Wales are here who pretty much take Austria's place here and with that, the same results happen though I want to mention I write this on St David's Day so for all the Welsh readers out there, hope you are loving the fact that Wales made it to Italia '90 here! I did seriously consider having Northern Ireland in the World Cup too with them taking the Czech's place but thought otherwise as we already had Wales and NI together in the last WC and thought I'd be repeating myself and I didn't want to be too much of a Home Nation wankfest already for TTL. Plus, with it being the last time Czechoslovakian team would play at a WC (not counting the team they had in 1994 IOTL) I thought it was better to give them their moment in the sun before they sign off.

Scotland's results you'll see are the same from the old TL so not much change there and yes, that Costa Rica result is butterflied away though they still played pretty crap here all the same. I decided to also add England to the mix in which their results are all pretty much the same as OTL. So as always, here is the last 16 as they stand going into the fixture list:
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Cameroon vs. Colombia

Czechoslovakia vs. Scotland

Brazil vs. Argentina

West Germany vs. Netherlands

Republic of Ireland vs Romania

Italy vs. Uruguay

Spain vs. Yugoslavia

England vs. Belgium
---------
So who will get through and why? See you next time for the next update folks!

 

[Unknown]

First, it's Colombia, not Columbia.

And here are my picks: Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Brazil, West Germany, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Belgium...

 

[MatthewFirth]

Cameroon vs. Colombia

Czechoslovakia vs. Scotland

Brazil vs. Argentina

West Germany vs. Netherlands

Republic of Ireland vs Romania

Italy vs. Uruguay

Spain vs. Yugoslavia

England vs. Belgium

 

[jmmcb94]

So Heysel and Hillsborough still happen here then; I thought maybe the events of 1974 ITTL might've seen England's hooligan problems nipped in the bud sooner and those two tragedies and the various other hooligan incidents of that era butterflied away.

Anyway, excellent update again as usual! I predict Cameroon, Scotland, Argentina, West Germany, Ireland, Italy, Yugoslavia and England will progress to the QFs.

 

[QTXAdsy]

So Heysel and Hillsborough still happen here then; I thought maybe the events of 1974 ITTL might've seen England's hooligan problems nipped in the bud sooner and those two tragedies and the various other hooligan incidents of that era butterflied away.

Anyway, excellent update again as usual! I predict Cameroon, Scotland, Argentina, West Germany, Ireland, Italy, Yugoslavia and England will progress to the QFs.

Yeah, the hooligan problem is still there which sadly no matter how well the national team did, the hooligan problem was an albatross that had been building up over the years that unfortunately means we can't can't a utopia TL regarding no hooligans but then again staying that there aren't would be going to ASB territory. As I mentioned before, a good performing England team is only covering over the cracks here plus given how football was run then, it is hard to see until the 1990's in which things start to change for the better.

So yeah, had to keep things realistic as much as possible and in some ways, the hooligan problem can be argued to be worse here if you remember TTL's 1974 WC regarding the almighty riot between England and Scotland fans which sadly would have likely happened during that time had the two meet then as too did the end of the Home Internationals which butterflied Wembley '77 and all that sadly from a Scottish perspective.

Once again though, thanks for your comment!

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 50
Too Close For Comfort
​

As whenever the Scots came to town to play football, the city of Bari in the southern half of Italy had been swamped by the large number of the Tartan Army all wanting to cheer on their side to go all the way. Andy Roxburgh and the rest of players were always ever grateful for their supporters who would quite literally follow their side to the ends of the Earth and back and for Roxburgh, he was hoping that he could keep the feel good factor going in which even what he had done, there was still a number of fans and even some in the Scottish football media who felt that his way of coaching was not the right way of taking the team forward. Whatever those who doubted Roxburgh might have thought, the Scotland manager didn't care just prior to their upcoming last sixteen match with the Czechoslovakians. The Czechs and on paper both sides looked to be fairly equal and in some ways to Roxburgh at least, finishing as runners up in their group would be a blessing in disguise as had they managed to finish as group winners, they would've been faced with the task of taking on Argentina in the last sixteen which was a team that Roxburgh had been hoping to avoid.

Of the near fifty thousand spectators in the ground, fourteen thousand of them are Scottish with the rest being made up with Czech fans and local Italians which it look like from the off field battle has been won by the Scots in terms of numbers and atmosphere, but it's never normally about just that. As the players lined up the anthems, Roxburgh still felt the humidity in the air even though it was late in the evening. This temperature wasn't what any Scottish player liked and the Scottish gaffer was wondering with the game being a late night kick off, he wonder if anyone at home would be watching the game at this time? No matter what thoughts he might've had, the game began and for the Scots, knockout football had begun. For the line up, Roxburgh had kept faith with the same team that had started when they played Brazil and felt that they were best line up he could choose from. To the delight of the Tartan Army, the Scots came flying out of the traps and begin to try and go on the counter and attack the Czechs.

Great teamwork is on show as the Scottish players happily pass the ball around to prevent the Czechs from getting a foot on the ball and in the seventh minute of the game, Stuart McCall threads the ball up towards McCoist who fires the ball home some fifteen yards away from the penalty area and Czech keeper Jan Skejskal does go the right way but the ball hits the post and goes out for a goal kick. It is the first chance of the game and Roxburgh hopes for more in the match. The Scots do hold a fair bit of possession on the ball, but haven't been able to score which does seem somewhat concerning for the Scotland bench but hope nonetheless they'll still be in this. Then in the twelfth minute, Czechoslovakia get a break away with Kubik making a run on the flank in which he gets in and out of several Scottish defenders trying to stop him. He then crosses the ball over towards Skuhravý who makes a brilliant diving heading to bury that goal into the back of the Scottish net and, out from the run of play, put the Czechs 1-0 up on the Scots with not even fifteen minutes played.

Leighton after the Czechs take an early lead
​

For the Scots, it's nothing sort of a sucker punch as all the promise they were showing early has come to nothing and the fact that the Czechs scored from their first shot on goal makes the sting worse. Roxburgh then runs up towards the touchline and barks orders for a new tactic for his side to be adopted and it so happens that he wants Paul McStay to play in an unnatural shadow striker position behind McCoist and Mo Johnston as they try and look for an equaliser so soon after going behind. Johnston nearly does get an equaliser in the tenth minute but his shot on target is a weak one and in comfortably saved by the Czech keeper who quickly takes a goal kick. The Tartan hordes up on the terraces all look on with nervous looks fearing about the situation in hand, there had been warnings in the Costa Rica game about how fragile the team were in places and it seems that the Czechs had done their homework and were gleefully pulling the Scots apart.

On the field with poor David McPherson trying to make a tackle on Chovanec but the Czech player has no trouble in get past him before, in the 14th minute, passes the ball up and over towards that man again, Skuhravý, who from 30 yards outside the box decides to try his luck and fires a volley towards the goal which looks like it'll be a second goal but luckily Jim Leighton goes the right way to punch the ball away and out for a corner kick in which Czechoslovakia fails to make the most of it and the Scots manage clear it away though the score remains 1-0 to the Czechs. As the game slowly rolls along following that opening goal, Scotland just can't seem to get any luck with any chance with the ball and even when a Scottish player gets a foot on the ball, most of the time they can't keep control of if in which the ball rolls out much to the frustration of their supporters.

The frustration does get to some of the players with such in the twenty-sixth minute with McPherson getting a yellow card after making a rather crunching tackle on Ivo Knoflíček on the right flank and the booking is made even worse for the Scottish defender that with him having already been booked in the group game with Sweden, he'll now be suspended for the Quarter-final game should Scotland get there, not that it seems like at this point they'd be going there anyway. More worrying for the Scotland fans fans who have been looking at the stats of this World Cup, the poor amount of low scoring meant that on average every game would finish as 1-0 and there was every chance that this game was going to fall into the same category unless something was to change.

Mo Johnstone during the game
​

The one bit of hope Scottish fans do have is with Ally McCoist and Mo Johnston trying everything they have in their arsenal to help Scotland final the equaliser in this game and together they have managed five shots on target to Czechoslovakia's two; though the difference being that the Czechs have actually scored from their chances. Not exactly encouraging news to say the least. That all said, Paul McStay is also trying to give the suffering Scotland fans some hope as in the thirty-second minute, he goes on a solo effort around three big Czech defenders and quickly lobs the ball towards McCoist on the right side of the penalty box in which the Rangers striker decides to volley it towards goal and to the and it looks like it is curling in but much to his annoyance, the ball just clips on the crossbar to go out for a goal kick, anywhere lower and that would have been the goal that Scotland would have wanted.

They may be still behind and with the first half starting to near it's end, but by this point Scotland are starting to control more of the game and even Andy Roxburgh has a smile on his face as at least they are starting to perform and he looks over towards the now rejuvenated Scottish fans, now feeling that there is hope for them yet, all singing away and the Scotland manager looks towards his tartan scarf and rubs it for comfort. For some, the idea of him wearing that scarf may seem rather silly in which for international audiences seems to play into the Scottish stereotype yet ever since he began wearing if after the Swedish game, he starts feel like it will be his lucky charm and wonders if it might somehow help them here.

Hope is further arise in the thirty-seventh minute when McStay gets a chance to fire on target and has every Scotsman holding their breath, but the Czech keeper saves it to send it out for a corner kick. The corner kick comes and go with no one getting a head on it and the game goes on for the rest of the first half without nothing happening as it as while the Czechs started off better, they haven't really done much since they took the lead and it has only led for Scotland to regain their confidence in which they start to end the first half better yet by the time the half-time whistle is blown, Scotland are still a goal behind and perhaps disappointed that there is no goal for them. The Scots are far from out of the game and surely much can change for the second half...

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​

There are no changes at the start of the second half as the teams prepare face off each other again with the Scots still having a lot of work to do in this game. That being said, the Scot's improved performance towards the end of the first half and Czechoslovakia's failure to find another goal to kill this game off has given the latter a cause for concern and Roxburgh in the half time team talk meeting to go all out offensive and try and expose any fears Czechoslovakia may have and use them to the Scots' advantage. What he and perhaps every other Scot watching both in the stadium and at home is what happens next. No sooner as the whistle is blown and the Scots kick off from the centre circle, and the likes of McStay and McCall work together passing the ball that seems to get rather close into the Czech half with the opponent's defensive looking rather slack.

With a low yet powerful pass from McCall, the ball is sent towards Johnston who is situated inside the penalty box as he raises his hand to motion his teammate to give him it. With a blind, side footed volley he thumps the ball into the back right of the net in which the Czech keeper can't get his hands on it and a massive roar follows as Scotland after just a minute of the first half gone have gotten back on level terms thanks to Mo Johnston. On the bench, Roxburgh and the others celebrate as Johnston races down towards the bench to embrace the Scottish manager in a moment of unbridled joy while for the Czechs, it is the worse possible start as any plan they had going into the second half has now gone up in smoke and the Scottish fans start goading any poor Czechoslovakian fan nearby.

It was the goal that the Scots wanted and perhaps even deserved in all fairness and now they seemed to have come to life in this game with them playing more positive football and it isn't long until Czech nerves start to go as in the forty-eighth minute, their captain Ivan Hašek is booked for a dangerous challenge on McCoist which nearly sent the Scot flying and sent the Tartan Army into uproar wanting a more stern punishment from the referee. That thought is only a taste of things to come for them for soon the wheels are now starting to come off the Czech bandwagon with even their sweeper Ján Kocian being booked in the fifty-sixth minute for another challenge on poor Ally McCoist once again and this time the Scots have a good position to score a free kick from with it being fifteen yards outside the box in which Johnston goes up to take it.

Johnston after scoring Scotland's equaliser
​

Sadly, his ambitious from that distance goes way over the bar and the game remains at 1-1 though it is clear from everyone now that the momentum is clearly with the Scots to try and get another goal in this game to turn it all on it's head. As the game now enters the hour mark and there is a throw in for the Czechs, John Collins is brought on to replace Malpas just to try and freshen up the side. Then just seven minutes later after a fair bit of open play from both sides, Collins makes his presence felt when he takes the ball into the Czech half, sends it to McCoist who after getting blocked by Kocian, knocks the ball back towards a running Collins who threads the ball through towards McStay who takes the ball into the penalty box and the noise levels from the Scots in the stadium rises with most, if not all of them, screaming at him to shoot in which he does...the ball is directed towards the left post but sadly for him the ball goes the wrong way and the score remains unchanged.

It is a huge let off the Czechs who are clearly starting to crack as it seems only a matter of time before Scotland find their second goal unless something outlandish happens sooner than later. It must be said that while the 1990 FIFA World Cup had proven to be one of nothing but cynical fouls and dour 1-0 results which all seem to be shaping up to be a pretty poor World Cup, this game might look like from the score line that it might be in the same cartography but ask any of the Tartan Army and they'll say otherwise. That said, the game isn't exactly all perfect and some elements that have plagued this World Cup do appear for example in the sixty-ninth minute, František Straka is giving a yellow card after a flying tackle to bring down McStay and the Scottish fans take great delight at the Czech's misfortune.

By the time the final twenty minutes of of the game appear, the Scots pretty much dominate the remainder of the game though in a twist of fate much like that of the Czechs towards the end of the first half, they haven't been able to find another goal and this in itself could come back to haunt the Scots in they are not careful. Sadly, that does happen. The Tartan Army have noticeable gone quiet as if they are aware that there is something about to happen for all the wrong reasons and in the 76th minute, Kubík makes a run into the Scottish box and is brought down by Alex McLeish and the East German referee with a second thought points to the penalty spot to award Czechoslovakia a penalty and to book McLeish. The Tartan Army and perhaps many Scotland fans back home can only cover their eyes in horror as their fears of a Scottish self-destruction looks set to happen now and that they only have themselves to blame for failing to add to their lead.

McCoist during the closing minutes of the game​

Kubík is up to take it and it is all down to Leighton to try and prevent the Czechs from regaining the lead and, given the amount of time left, possibly might even be the winner and a cruel things to befall on the Scots after everything they had thrown at them. As the ball is placed on the spot, a hushed silence falls around the stadium. The referee blows and Kubík takes his spot kick, with everything it seems going in slow motion as the ball goes to the bottom left. A huge roar goes around the stadium, though it's not for the Czechs, the Scots celebrate loudly as Leighton has guessed right and tucks the ball close to him to make sure no one from the opposing team can get at the ball, who said Scottish keepers were all that bad? Even more better on a personal note when he would have felt a sense of personal redemption following that blunder of save against Brazil

However he hasn't much time to think about it as without losing a second, he lobs the ball far up the field where several Scottish players rush forward to try and get something from it. In the eighty-first minute, McCall has the ball but loses it thanks to Hašek getting in the way and passes it up towards one of the Czech forwards, however his shot is a weak one and McCoist runs in to snatch the ball and make a mad dash up the field where he nears the penalty area with many Czech players near him. Then he pulls off what can be only describe as a tribute act to Gemmill's goal in 1978 as he pulls off a wonderful solo effort around the defenders before lobbing it over the keeper and sending the ball to land into the back of the net...its 2-1 for Scotland and surely the winner now!

Ally McCoist runs over towards the celebrating Scotland fans behind the goal and no one can blame them for the utter joy they are feeling, especially how fate could have had a different fate for them had the penalty gone in. On the other hand though, the Czechs are pretty much out of it and can't respond to it with some of their own supporters heading to the exits of the stadium feeling a mix of dejection and anger at how they have blown it. In the end, the referee blows his whistle and the Scots have made it to the Quarter-finals and while the Tartan Army would celebrate long into the night on the streets of Bari, in the cold light of reflection the following day, the game would be looked back on as a rather close one in which either side could have won it in which on this occasion it just so happened to be Scotland's day in the sun; all just too close for comfort.

The victorious Scotland team that would make it to the Quarter-finals
​

Of course, there would be some that wouldn't really care how Scotland won the game as long as the great Italian adventure keeps going on for as long as possible. During the present time following the blast of the final whistle, there is of course great cause of celebrations and Roxburgh heads over to the fans and holds aloft his tartan scarf and takes in the joyful crowd out there and finally seem to warming up to him; it might have taken him a long time to do so but the waiting had been worth it. Also in mind, he can't help but smile, maybe there is something in that scarf, nonetheless, they would need all the luck they could for their next game in a few days time, but for now, they could relax and bask in the glory of it all.

A couple of nights later, England would also join their fellow Home Nation companion as they booked their way into the last eight after a nerve shredding game with Belgium in which was won right on the death of extra-time. Few Scots were muted at that victory but the thought that maybe, just maybe, they could be on a collision course yet in this World Cup...

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​

Finally back with another update! Anyway you'll notice that the score here is different from the old TL and the reason for is rather how ASB it is for Italia '90 for what I mean is that any game that ends in a multiple goal thriller, especially in the knockout stage, is never going to happen so that 4-2 victory Scotland had in the old TL was something that breaks the rule whenever one does a TL on Italia '90 in which the knockout stage mustn't have much goals. Just keeps the TL a little bit more grounded if you know what I mean.

So yeah, England's game with Belgium pretty much is the same as OTL and I did think about writing it out but I thought, 'nah, no point really' though England will get a visit soon as you can probably imagine. But as always though, here are the Quarter-final fixtures as follows:
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Argentina vs. Yugoslavia

Republic of Ireland vs. Italy

Scotland vs. West Germany

Cameroon vs. England
----------
So yeah, you know what happens by now and I will say that the next update with Scotland will also have a few changes in contrast with the old TL so keep an eye out on that. Until then though, catch you all later and stay safe!

 

[MatthewFirth]

Argentina vs. Yugoslavia

Republic of Ireland vs. Italy

Scotland vs. West Germany

Cameroon vs. England

 

[Unknown]

My picks: Argentina, Italy, Scotland, and England...

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 51
That Scottish Luck...
​

In terms of performance from the last World Cup, Scotland had done better and reaching the last eight could be considered to be a success for Roxburgh and his team. The bad news was that lying in wait for their next game in Milan's famous San Siro stadium would be the favourites of the tournament, West Germany. It was fair to say that many simply rubbished Scotland's chances by saying that the next game would be their final one at the World Cup. For Roxburgh, he really thought there was still more for this side to go further if they just a had a little bit of luck going forward. There was also good reason to be motivated to get into the Semi finals as right after Scotland's game had ended, England and Cameroon would face each other later on in the same day and Scotland would face the winner of that tie. So was this that Roxburgh believed that either team would be a side that his Scotland team could beat. That said, he was getting ahead of himself as they had to take on West Germany first if they were to have any chance reaching the last four of this World Cup and even that wasn't the only problem that Roxburgh had to deal with.

The Scotland manager had to make two changes to the starting line up with David McPherson being replaced with Gary Gillespie due to the latter's suspension for this game following the last game and also Paul McStay was left on the bench thanks to injuries he had suffered following the Czechoslovakia game and Gary McAllister had to step up to take his place in the starting XI. As the teams lined up on the field for the anthems in the San Siro, Roxburgh knew pressure would be on the Germans to do well and that the Scots were the clear underdogs in this game and he had told his players this as a way of taking the pressure off their backs and had told them to play freely and not to worry for anything. From the start of the game, it seemed that this idea might have been not a bad mindset to go for as Scotland immediately got right into the West Germans' faces by playing pressing football and try as hard not to give them a chance of getting on the ball, all encouraging stuff for the ten thousand Tartan Army supporters roaring on the team with encouragement, all liking what they were seeing so far.

Such was a small burst of confidence from the Scottish players that Johnston attempted in the seventh minute to make a run into the box in which he was blocked by Buchwald before side passing the ball towards McCoist who looks set to score but he fluffs the shot and the ball skies over the bar in which the poor Scottish forward places his hands on his head in disappointment. To make matters worse for the Scots, it might've been the only chance they would be getting as McCoist's miss wakes up the Germans and they begin to push forward as in trying to put the Scots back in the place and Uwe Bein in the sixteenth minute nearly scores from the far right side of the penalty box, but thankfully Jim Leighton is there to knock it out for a corner kick. Even after twenty-five minutes with there being no goals being scored, it has been far from a dull game with chances for both sides happening at various times though admittedly more so by the Germans.

Scotland fans in the San Siro during the Quarter Final with West Germany
​

Despite Scotland missing some key chances, Roxburgh is nonetheless pleased of what he has seen so far as the main thing he has wanted for his players to do is simply contain West Germany and prevent them from scoring a goal. Of course, there is always something that goes wrong as that would be the case in the twenty-seventh minute when Kohler and McCall crash into each other while trying to win the ball as it landed near both of them. While it was just a simple coming together with no one really at fault here, the two players have though really hurt themselves as they crashed heads with each other during the collision and both lie there with their hands on their heads clearly needing help. Despite the referee being correct with not having to go into his pocket to bring out a card, both captains for either team race up to the Austrian referee demanding action to be taking but he rightly waves their protests off and orders them to get back into the game.

At that same time, both players both very shakily get back up and blood can be seen trickling down the sides of their head even though Roxburgh is getting ready to bring on John Collins to replace McCall, he is astonished when he see's McCall simply waving off their planned substitute and after a bandage job by the Scottish medical team he is back playing again which the Tartan Army can't help but applaud his never say die attitude. However, with this World Cup having already shown itself to be a rather cynical tournament so far, a card was never going to be far away in this game in the thirty-second minute, Gilliespie would get a straight yellow card on Klinsmann which sent the German flying off his feet and landing on his back following a sliding tackle.

The Scot tried to prove his innocence but there was no getting away from something like that and Roxburgh cold only pray things wouldn't get any worse for them, funnily enough though just a mere two minutes later, the two players would come together yet again though this time it would be Klinsmann who would be out of order after Gilliespie managed to knock the ball out of play, the German player lost his cool getting into a playground argument giving him a push and he myself getting a yellow card. The Scottish fans in the stadium roar in approval at seeing as what they think is instant karma for him and the German star player gives the Austrian referee a look of contempt thinking that it wasn't worth a booking.

Klinsmann during the Quarter final​

Towards the end of the first half, the game becomes quite a scrappy affair with neither side going for the goals and what looks like trying to wind up the other player by making crass sliding challenges to try and make either side lose their nerve. For both managers, the referee's whistle can't come quick enough as the first half ends goalless, but has been far from a boring affair with the cards shown. Either way, both managers will have to say a lot to both sets of players at half time of what to do next.

---------
​

For anyone who might've been lucky to have been in the German dressing room at half time would've perhaps seen their manager Beckenbauer rant at his players not getting the goal in the first half while in contrast, Roxburgh's team talk had been a pleasant one with the Scotland manager pretty much saying to them that they had done well and wanted them to keep it up for the second half. For some of the players, it seemed a little odd why he was wanted to take the game into extra time and maybe go for penalties? The shocking truth was that unlike the Germans, the Scots hadn't even considered the thought of penalties, let alone actually practice them. Didn't Roxburgh know how well those Germans were on a shoot out?

Regardless of what anyone might've debated, the second half began with West Germany trying to push the Scots back into their half with them showing much more deamination to score and for their supporters, it was what they expected their side to do by running over the Scots. The Tartan Army hordes around the San Siro were beginning to think that their failure to get something in that first half when they were the better team was going to bite them in the rear. However the combined performance of McCoist and Johnston was vital in helping get their side further up the field and trouble the German defence and thus in the forty-ninth minute, one heart stopping attempt arrives for the Scots when Johnston tries to cross it to McCoist but finds three German defenders getting in his way and thus has to back pass it towards McCall who quickly lobs the ball towards McCoist running towards goal in the box in which he does a superman leap to header to knock that ball in.

All that happens next is an agonizing groan from the Scottish supporters as they witness the ball just sneak past McCoist head by a mere whisker and the poor Scottish forward ends up landing flat on his face beside a now very much relieved Illgner standing between the sticks. The Germans don't have much luck either to be fair as just seven minutes later, Uwe Bein runs down on the Scottish flank and crosses the ball towards Riedle who quickly makes a short pass to Klinsmann and fires on target from the right side of the goal and poor Jim Leighton is sent the wrong way and with that, the ball ends up crashing into the back of the net and the deadlock at long last has finally been broken and the looks of dismay from the Scots really say it all.

German joy following that opening goal
​

Just a minute later following the restart, things might've gotten worse for the Scots when Klinsmann came up again to fire in a second to give them breathing space between them and the Scots, however the ball hits the foot of Jim Leighton in goals and the ball and heads skywards up into the air before landing on the top of the net in time for a German corner and that's not the end of the troubles for Scotland. A brown trousers (or kilts) moment follows from the corner kick in which Berthold nearly headers in the opening goal, but Leighton punches the ball forward where Scotland captain Roy Aitken collects the ball and takes it far up the pitch and away from Scotland's penalty area.

Roxburgh's plan of holding off the Germans had gone out the window and being a goal down they themselves now needed to be brave by going forward to find an equaliser to get back into the game. Question was though would who would be the hero and with time running out? In the seventy-eighth minute, after a oddly uneventfully part of the game, Scotland, after a rare charge into the German half, are awarded a corner kick and while the ball is knocked away by Bein, Mo Johnston finds himself on the right place in the right time as the ball lands near his feet and a group of panicked Germans charge at him to get the ball away from him and seeing he has nowhere to go, he volleys the ball towards the goal some 30 yards away and it hits the crossbar but heads downwards in which Illgner makes a frantic save as he lands on top of the ball but the Scottish players and fans are already celebrating scoring the goal that is surely going to take them through...or is it?

Things get confusing in which the referee is unsure if to award the goal or not and the German players are pleading for it to be a goal kick but the referee just isn't sure so instead he rushes over towards the assistant Danish referee in which after being in deep conversation for a while, the referee returns to make his final choice...goal given. The Scotland fans roar with delight and millions more back home across Scotland would have done the same while the Germans players on the other hand are complaining about how that goal should not be given. That said, replays of the goal for the millions across both countries watching would see the ball did land on the line but looked just a couple of inches over the line in which means the goal did count though it was a very close one that could have gone either way and for the Scots, they won't care how lucky they are.

Scottish players celebrate following the goal
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As the celebrations die down and the game is restarted, a feeling hits many of the supporters that things are just a little bit too good to be true and perhaps the first point that starts to look a little bit when West Germany then quickly end up charging up the other end to find a quickfire goal to stop any Scottish hope and Roy Aitken in the eighty-first minute has to make a tackle on Riedle that is so rough that no one is surprised to see him get a yellow card...something that little did anyone knew that things would get worse for him. However when the ninety minutes ended with mostly a lot of German pressure causing the Scots to have their backs against the wall and with that, yet another knockout game of this World Cup was about to go into extra-time.

At first during the opening minutes of extra-time, not much of note was happening but the Germans were starting to throw everything they could to find the next goal and in all honestly, Scotland had been so pinned back for so much of the game that it seemed certain that West Germany were going to find the next goal. It was in the ninety-eighth minute in which things really kicked off though for all the wrong reasons. It is when Klinsmann makes a run towards the box, much like how he and many of his fellow teammates have been doing throughout this game, in which Alex McLeish is hot on his tail as he tries to tackle him. As they near the box, he pulls back with his arms up and with him being close to the German however, Klinsmann does something rather dirty, he makes an absolute blatant dive in which when he hits the ground, he rolls about making it look dramatic.

McLeish, as well as the thousands of Scots in the stadium feels that Klinsmann will be shown a second yellow for diving and get his marching orders. But instead, the referee blows his whistle by showing McLeish a yellow card and pointing to the penalty spot. This surely can't be happening. The Scots argue with the referee for the good knows untempt time with him but the referee is wanting it and for the spot kick up steps is German captain Lothar Matthäus to take it. It is now down to poor Jim Leighton to stop the Scots suffering from more injustice, but the calm German captain thumps the ball home into the top right sending Leighton the wrong way and putting the Germans 2-1 up in extra-time and surely now on course for the last four.

The German players celebrating the goal that puts them in front
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At this point, any carefully thought out plans Scotland had going into this game all go off the rails. Despite Roxburgh crying out to remind his players to try and keep to the plan, but it's all going horrible wrong and worse still, Roy Aitken is gripped by a sense of injustice that perhaps many of his fellow countrymen feel over that penalty and throughout most of extra-time seems more interested in chasing the referee wanting answers rather than playing the match in question. This rather bizzare and for some rather amusing cat and mouse game with the Scottish captain and the Austrian referee becomes almost comical in a tragic way and in the one hundred and ninth minute, the referee has enough of his antics and to utter shock of everyone, thrusts him a second yellow card in the face of the captain and that can only mean one thing next; the dreaded red card.

Uproar; this leads to pretty much all of the Scottish players to surround the referee once again and even the Scottish bench become enraged by this. The Scots are now at boiling point well and truly having lost the plot and Aitken is forced to walk off the field presumably ending his World Cup on a sorry and dreadful note. The angry Scottish supporters are at the end of their tether too as they shout abuse one the German players and especially the referee. With them now down to ten men with not much time left, the game becomes one-sided with the Germans rushing forward to find another goal that will surely bury the Scots for good.

The game in the final minute of extra-time becomes a really bad tempered affair as with a Malpas tackle on Riedle nearby the dug outs gets both sides involved in a minor brawl in which is sadly in the end the last thing that happens for the Scots in this World Cup as the West Germans hold on to win 2-1 in a game in which while on paper they should've won quite easily, it was far from a fair one to most watching, especially the despaired ridden Tartan Army. Even the mostly Italian crowd in the San Siro can't help but feel sorry for the Scots as they begin chanting 'Sco-zia! Sco-zia!' in trying to help lift their spirts but alas, Scotland have dumped out of this World Cup and now the Scots will find themselves cheering on whoever will face the Germans in the next round either Cameron or even if it has to be the Auld Enemy; England.

Roxburgh following the final whistle which ends Scotland's adventure at the 1990 World Cup
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While to many Scotland's rather sad end might have summed up some of the cynical play and bad fouls that had plagued this World Cup or cursing that typical Scottish luck which often meant terrible. To Roxburgh at least, he would tell the players to hold their heads high as getting into the last eight was a good achievement for them and now the focus would be on qualification for the upcoming European Championship for 1992 and then hopefully a crack at the following World Cup in 1994; both of which Roxburgh was hoping to still be manager by then.

To add more to Scotland's frustration later that night, England would defeat Cameroon to face West Germany in the Semi-Finals and the thoughts of 'what-might-have-been' for the Tartan Army would be one that would haunt Scottish football fans for many years. For now though, Scotland were going home with much to think about for the future and with no idea who really to root for in that upcoming Semi-Final.

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And so much like in the old TL, Scotland's World Cup adventure ends at the hands of the Germans although with a few differences this time round but still get cheated out from a dive from a certain you know who. Anyway next update will be on England vs West Germany but will be different from the old TL with the many tweaks and improvements taking place and for anyone interested, yes, Italy vs Argentina ends the same way with Argentina getting into the final so that games ends the same as OTL.

Hope you enjoyed the update and what would you like to see in future chapters? Stay tuned for the next chapter as we are getting near to the end of 1990 and many things to follow next. Until then, catch you all later and stay safe!

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 52
One Night In Turin
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In the wake following Italy's elimination in the Semi-Final at the hands of a ropey Argentina in which some had labelled as the tournament's pantomime villains in the city of Naples, the whole of Italy it seemed to have gone into a meltdown over their failure of making the final of what they felt was their destiny to do so. Riots broke out across in the north of Italy with much of the Italian's hatred being aimed at one certain character; Diego Maradona. Such was the scale of the riots that night of Italy's defeat that it was revealed that there were more arrests that night to Italian hooligans than there were for all the English hooligans that had been either arrested or deported throughout the whole of this World Cup so far.

Speaking of which the day after that game, the other Semi-Final to take place in Turin, England were to play West Germany in a rematch of that other Semi in Mexico just four years prior in which even though it had an edge on it already, things were made more tense from an English perspective for Turin was the home of Juventus, the team that just five years ago in Heysel, many of their supporters died at the hands of Liverpool supporters and there had been many rumours that many Juventus fans were after English blood and on the evening of Italy's defeat, stories of camps with England fans staying at were attacked during the night. That in itself was just another factor that the England fans had had to put up with during this World Cup with their fans being either hated, herded all over the place like cattle, deported in which was heavily flawed with some having caused any trouble whatsoever and finally this.

Despite the glamour of playing in another Semi-Final, some fans who had put with all this for so long had finally given up and went home though some fans were secretly happy of the host nation's elimination which given which many fans had suffered throughout their time in Italy wasn't exactly hard to see. To add to the anti-Italian feeling that had been brewing among many of the English supporters, another factor was added in which a measly two thousand tickets would be issued to all English supporters in contrast to the huge numbers been offered to the German and 'neutral' Italians watching the game which just seemed to confirm to the supporters that everyone was out to get them and getting to Rome would be the ultimately middle finger at all of those who had it in for all of them.

The two teams lining up just before the game kicks off​

Getting away from the supporters, the England team had something of a rough ride themselves even before they had landed in Italy let alone kick a ball. The English tabloid press had seemly nothing but negative things to say about the team and in particular their under fire manager Bobby Robson ever since their poor show at Euro '88 and a draw during a friendly with Saudi Arabia in which the press demanded that Robson must leave and just prior to start of the World Cup, they all got their wish when it was leaked out that Robson would be leaving the England job after the World Cup was over to manage at PSV Eindhoven. Even though the press had gotten what they wanted, they then suddenly changed their tune by calling Robson a traitor with some of the most vile and preposterous accusations ever to appear in the printed press with no knowledge of what was the situation behind the scenes.

The FA had told Robson that his contract would not be renewed when it expired in 1991 and had given him the time to look out for a new job and would only announce it after the tournament was over. That plan went off the rails once the story was leaked and Robson, with all the dignity he could hold on to, finally cracked after years of abuse from the press in which he blamed them for trying to ruin England's World Cup hopes and would even sue one newspaper which would be settled out of court. That was pretty much the build up for England's 1990 World Cup campaign in which combined with a lukewarm support, tabloid press out for blood, a manager nearing the end of his contract and with fans being treated poorly by the authorities over the so called 'English disease' of their hooligan problem; it was just seemed that the world was all out to make life hell for the English.

Things didn't get better in their opening match with the Irish which ended in a drab 1-1 draw which to the surprise of no one by this point, the press went out with their knifes out to the point that the England team would now flat out refuse to talk to any journalists and with the fact that their second group game with be playing the European champions the Netherlands, it all looked as though it was all going to go wrong for them...only that it didn't. That game with the Irish would actually be the kick start the team needed and would hold a much fancied Dutch team to a 0-0 draw before getting victory over Egypt in the final group game which put them through to the next round in which not did the supporters start to dream but also the press would, slowly, change their tune.

Sight of England fans in Turin
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Following their qualification to the knockout stage, things would be rather touch and go for England in which their last sixteen game with Belgium had been a game that either side could have won but in the end would belong to England in which David Platt's volley right at the death of extra-time would send England through to face Cameroon in the Quarter-Finals, the latter having become the world's favourite team following their victory over Argentina in the opening match and becoming the first African team to reach the last eight. Despite English hopes of an easy victory, Cameroon were to give England their biggest scare as with ten minutes to go, Cameroon were leading 2-1 and on the verge of the last four though two penalties from Gary Linaker would see England make it to the Semi-Finals by the skin of their teeth.

In contrast to all of England's games, West Germany have had pretty much a trouble-free World Cup though their last game with Scotland of all teams had dragged them to extra-time before German might ultimately would get the better of them. It did though give some inspiration for Bobby Robson for thinking that if Scotland could trouble the Germans then surely they could do one themselves? In the England dressing room, there is was feeling of giddiness and some trepidation going into this match as the players pulled on their famous white shirts and right before the were called to come out into the tunnel to join the awaiting West German team, Robson stopped them briefly and had something to say to the players.

"Before this game starts, I want to say how proud I am of each and everyone of you of getting here and..." he pauses for a while with the players not knowing if he doesn't know what to say or if he is about to burst with pride.

"Gaffer?" Terry Butcher asks with some concern.

The England boss finally speaks up with one phrase only. "Make us proud, lads." With that, he lets the players leave the dressing room and into the tunnel to join the West Germans awaiting them for this huge game. He didn't know why, but something was telling him that tonight was going to be an action packed game, he didn't know who would come out of this on top, but there was certainly something in the air...

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As what was expected, there is only about three thousand English supporters in the ground (the FA had to beg to get more but alas to no avail) with the rest being either German supporters or curious locals though really it isn't a surprise why that's the case. Italian authorities were still wary of English hooligans and many have been turned away in fear of any trouble taking place and thus, the stadium is notably filled with many empty sections that could've been quite easily filled by their supporters and hardly looks good for a World Cup Semi-Final. Yet despite their small number, the English fans in the ground make themselves heard by sadly booing the German anthem and Robson can only shake his head at this, he give a look of symphony towards his German counterpart, Franz Beckenbauer. Nonetheless the game began and the within two minutes of the game, England come storming out of the traps surprising the West Germans who weren't expecting the English to come out fighting so soon and Lineker wins a corner on the right.

Beardsley is up to take it and it is half-cleared to the edge of the box, where Paul Gascoigne hooks the bouncing ball back where he manages to connect it with his left foot. However his attempt just goes swerving just wide of the near post, Illgner leaps to his left to palm it behind for another England corner which unfortunately nothing comes of it but yet still goes out for another England corner. Peter Beardsley is then played onside by Guido Buchwald who then breaks into the box from the left and has Lineker and Waddle in support and it what feels like a nanosecond, he debates with himself to go on his own and go for goal but with Buchwald on his back, he chickens out of the idea and passes the ball over towards Waddle and without fuss, he fires that ball towards goal that Illgner has to act fast to stop it from going in.

After just three minutes of this game, England have actually started off well playing like the Germans and the latter do not like that at all. After ten minutes, one would have thought that the Germans would've gotten back into this game after going down so soon but the utter astonishment for both sets of supporters, commentators and press folks alike, England had been by far the better team so far and the West Germans have failed to find anything into this game with perhaps those watching closely with the tactics would see that Des Walker and Mark Wright are keeping Völler and Klinsmann away from finding their footing into this game and thus disabling the Germans' main attacking threat.

The game underway during the early moments of the match
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Things don't get any better for the Germans for in the eleventh minute, West Germany nearly go a goal down when Beardsley breaks the offside trap on the right wing but with Gary Lineker supporting him and passes to him to make something off it. Sadly his shot shanks his cross wide of the near post and the Germans can take a sigh of relief from not suffering from more embarrassment. The game itself however within a minute later after that begins to open up a bit more with finally West Germany getting their first half-chance of the match with Hässler manging to cheekily dupe Butcher on the edge of the box before hitting a left-footed shot that spins off Stuart Pearce and doesn't go too wide of the far post. Something for the nervous German supporters to cheer about and maybe finally they can put the English in their place.

For Robson, he knew it was a reference to the now infamous dive Klinsmann had done in the last game that sent the Scots out in a dubious manner. Then again, the Scots had began singing the same tune about Maradona's hand of God goal from 4 years ago so for the England fans singing this was perhaps their way of showing karma perhaps? Robson wouldn't lie that the tune did make him grin a little bit while he looked back at the bench seeing that everyone was having a laugh about how funny the chant was and he did wonder if anyone from Scotland would be watching, though more likely they perhaps wouldn't know who to support.

The minutes drag on and nothing for the most part seems to happy with England still trying to find the opening goal but it seems that with every passing minute that England are starting to not be as impressive as before but Robson on the other hand will be happy to see how well they have started. That thought does become a reality though not for the right reasons as in the 30th minute, Völler runs down the right-hand side of the box on to an angled pass from the sweeper Augenthaler. Shilton tries to meet him unnecessarily and Völler moved away from him with Gascoigne coming in to block Völler's cross and thus the game remains without any goals though that doesn't tell the story of what has been a really exciting game of football.

Waddle during the game with West Germany
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But just three minutes after that attempt, Völler looks uncomfortable as he hobbles around like he’s pulled something in the back of his leg and he deliberately kicked the ball out of play and immediately waved to the physio for assistant. Despite some attention, he quickly gets on with the game but just four minutes, England nearly respond with a stunning strike from Chris Waddle hoping to try and get a second goal for himself from a whooping forty-five yards out, sadly it smashing against the crossbar with the deadlock still not broken. Even if it had gone in, it wouldn’t have counted as the referee had blown for a foul by Platt a split-second earlier, but that was an incredible effort nonetheless that shows that this game is turning into one hell of an encounter.

In the thirty-ninth minute though, some worried looks appear on the German supporters faces as Völler, having not really being himself following his injury earlier, can't take anymore thanks to his injury and thus has to go off with Riedle having to replace him and thus, brings the curtain down on his actions for this match. Despite his loss for the team, the West German supporters need not have worried as England find themselves now under the cosh and seemed to be getting pushed back and punished for getting the better of them earlier on the game and the tables are now turned on England here which only makes the game more tense for the English supporters; hard to imagine to think that at the start of the game, they had looked like they were going to score sooner than later.

Robson keeps checking his watch for how long half time will be, giving how much the Germans have pushed them back and trying to look to take the lead, they would very much want half time now giving how much the Germans are now swarming all over them. It takes a few scares and 'behind the couch' moments before the referee blows for half time and England can get a much deserved break but will be feeling dissapointed that all that good play they started of with earlier has all came to nothing so far. Nonetheless it has been a thrilling game so far and both sides will perhaps go into the dressing rooms at halftime feeling that they have a chance to win this game. Just another forty-five minutes to go...

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The Second half had started as how the first had ended, with the Germans dominating and England now on the back foot. It would seem all that hard work they had put into the game looked to have come to nothing and there had been many chances for the Germans to try and find the opening for themselves but so too have England at times, but most of the game is clearly with the West Germans. Both sides are refusing to budge but then in the 58th minute, West Germany are awarded a free kick thanks to Pearce fouling Hässler twenty-two yards from goal, to the right of centre. The free-kick is giving to Brehme to take it in which he does just that. It looks like it might hit the England wall but the shot takes a vicious deflection off Parker before looping high in the air with it looking it might go out of play, instead it falls down towards the goal and agonizingly Shilton can't back-pedal quickly enough and ends up backwards as he can only watch the ball land into the back of the net.

At last - the breakthrough and West Germany and that is an utter hammer blow for England for which their failure to take the lead earlier in the game has come back to haunt them and now they'll have to come out and turn the game on it's head with about thirty minutes left. Bobby Robson from the touchline keeps yelling at the players to keep pressing forward and don't give up now and the players take this to heart to put up a hearty performance to show the Germans that they aren't giving up already yet luck doesn't seem to go their way for a good ten minutes following that opening goal; That is until the sixty-ninth minute. Waddle, on the left of the box, swerves his way forward and then draws a tackle from Augenthaler with a swing of the hips and then shifts the ball to his left just before Augenthaler takes him down.

The referee blows his whistle and points to the spot, It's a clear penalty. The England fans erupt with joy that they have gotten themselves a chance to get back into this game though getting a penalty doesn't always mean that it will always lead to a goal as up steps will be Gary Lineker who up until this World Cup hadn't scored a penalty, then he would score twice in the game with Cameroon and now here he is about to take his third ever spot kick. The referee then blows his whistle and thus, Lineker steps up and slots the neatly past the hands Bodo Illgner who despite going the right way, fails to keep it out and England are level and the fans erupt with joy once again with now twenty minutes to go and whoever scores next will surely win the game.

Lineker takes the spot kick that puts England back into the game
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At this point the team who would have just coincided might lose their nerve and the other team would find themselves on the up but West Germany don't budge and instead carry on their pressure game as they go all out to quickly regain the lead but thankfully for England, the likes of Butcher, Wright and Walker all hold firm to make sure that any quickfire goal from the Germans will happen and in the seventy-eighth minute, a tireless Parker who, despite his blunder from that goal earlier, is making it up for it but putting on a brave performance and runs Brehme down the right to win a corner. It’s tossed deep by Beardsley and Wright’s looping header on goal for what he hope will be the winning goal is comfortably saved by Illgner.

On the bench however, Bobby Robson is about to roll the dice for the last time as Trevor Steven is about to come on for a now exhausted Terry Butcher and awaiting for a break in play for the substitution to happen. It is now or nothing for England if they are to take this game into extra time, though the Germans look comfortable with how things are going the way they are if such a factor will happen. Winning in these dying minutes will only do for the Three Lions. Then in the eighty-first minute, Parker swings a long cross towards Lineker from near the halfway line on the right to which it hits the thigh of Kohler, who is running towards his own goal, and as it bounces up Lineker knees it away from Augenthaler and Berthold before blasting forward an excellent left-footed shot across goal and into the far corner.

The roar from the England fans in the ground (and perhaps millions more back home) says it all...England have gone 2-1 up and are now a hairsbreadth away from the final in Rome! Such is the sudden turn of events that Trevor Stevens, who was suppose to come on for Butcher, is then told to return to the bench by Robson in which now the main course of action is to now sit and defend in the very little time that they have left to play and now the Germans are left stunned at what to do and will have to go all out to try and take the game into extra-time, ironic considering that was exactly England's plan just before that goal from Lineker. The England players start knocking the ball around happy to waste time while the West Germans are hellbent on getting a late goal and once again they start to build up from the back with intense pressure.

England players celebrate their joy of taking the lead during the closing moments of the game
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Even with England holding onto their lead with now less than three minutes of the game to go, most fans can't bare to look for the sheer tension that is building and the weight of history being created in the moment. Robson looks over at the referee wanting for him to blow that whistle and up on the terraces, there are several English supporters who are yelling at the referee for the same thing while even some start pointing to their watches to try and tell them to end the game. A set of West German throw-ins take place as the game enters the last few seconds of injury time and it is almost a dreaded feeling among the supporters of the Three Lions that fate has set another cruel trick up it's sleeve to place a dagger through the hearts of any Englishman.

Except, that doesn't happen. What does happen after something of a mad blur for many is the injury time reaching it's climax and the referee's shrill whistle being blown to finally end the match and thus, England have gotten revenge in this rematch of 1986 and are in what will be only their third World Cup final. Mad scenes of celebrations follow from the end of the game with Robson being dragged onto the field to celebrate with his players (not before giving the German manager, Franz Beckenbauer, a handshake at the end of the final whistle) and most memorably is when Paul Gascoigne gushes out tears of joy at what has just happened before racing over towards where a group of England fans are sitting behind the metal fences and punches his fist into the air like a boxer with the happy supporters trying to get over the fence and join their heroes in celebrating with them.

Italian police stop them from getting anyway, but what has happened has been a really dramatic game of football here in Turin and England have defeated the much fancied West Germany and have made it to the eternal city for the final in which will be a far contrast to the surroundings of the island of Sardinia. For Bobby Robson, the man who had suffered so much at the hands of the press has pretty much gotten the last laugh on them though even so he is not done yet and awaiting them in Rome will be Maradona and Argentina. The match of their lives is about to take place and for Robson, his final game as England manager that would either see him as a hero, or villain in English football folklore. For now though while July 4th will be a time for the average American to celebrate, this one for will have a taste of St George on as no one in England shall sleep the night and look forward for what might be something really special

Paul Gascoigne just after the final whistle in which the gravity of the situation dawns on him

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And there we are, a England beating West Germany in 1990 which honestly looking back on that game was actually more plausible then most would think had England been awarded that penalty during the ninety minutes then they might have gone out and won it and that does mean we don't get Gazza being booked and missing the final but I'll come on that topic for the next update. If you remember the old TL, the score line was a bit more crazy but I tamed it down here for not because of looking at the OTL game more and mentioning what I mentioned above, but rather being that this is WC 1990, any team that is high scoring other than that of the Germans or the Italians can be something of ASB stuff there. Have to make the TL just that bit more realistic if you know what I mean, haha!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed that update for next up, it is England vs Argentina in Rome, a final that honestly I would have loved to have seen IOTL just for the pure fireworks that could happen. Until then though, catch you all later for next Wednesday!