All To Play For - A Very British Football Redux TL

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 38
The Many Groups Of Death
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Much like with the previous two World Cups, there was to be a second round of group stages though there was to be a difference here and this wasn't down to the fact that all four Home Nations had reached the second round together for the first time since 1958. Unlike two groups of four, there would be now four groups of three teams which meant each team would only play twice and only the group winner would progress to a straightforward knockout last four and it meant that there was now no room for error; one loss and baring some absolute miracle you were pretty much out of the World Cup. If that wasn't enough, the four groups were all eye watering to look at at just how stacked they were in which Group B alone had the likes of England, Spain and West Germany all thrown together while Group C had Argentina, Italy and Hungary placed together. Fair to say it was hard to say who would make the last four.

With that, the British teams would prepare for what all looked like really daunting tasks in mind. The first Home Nation to start would be Wales in Group D who by chance had fellow Home Nation Northern Ireland in it along with an Austrian team that had become one of the pantomime villains of this World Cup over the now infamous 'Shame of Gijon' in which they are West Germany had engineered a result to deny Algeria, who had finished on four points themselves, a place in the second round for what would have been their first and all of Africa's first too. It was just be a great good fortune that the Welsh were to play the Austrians in their opening game in Madrid and Wales knew that a victory would pretty much put them within a hairsbreadth away of reaching the last four of the World Cup for the first time since 1962.

According to many bets, it was really hard to call as this group was considered the weakest and most open out of all the second round set of fixtures but there was some thinking that Wales might just nick the win; whatever they might've thought, the good thing was that it was likely that with the backing of their own large travelling supporters who had swamped everywhere Wales had played with Madrid being no different on this day in their match with Austria, it would seem that they had the backing of the locals too, though this was likely over the fact that the Austrians had gained a villain tag due to recent events. Either way the Welsh team would take that backing any day of the week.

Kevin Ratcliffe lining up during the anthems in the game with Austria
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Despite some hope that Wales would have a good game, it would turn out to be something of a slugfest in which neither side seemed able to break the other day with Wales' attacking strength from Ian Rush and James Leighton seemed to be muffled out from creating any sort of chances. Truth be told, a draw in that game might have been good for both sides but as mentioned, anyone who won the opening group game was more or less set for the last four, all this game needed was someone to break the deadlock. Nothing really happened of note in the first half though it was in the second half in which things began to get feisty in which in the sixth minute, Austria's captain Erich Obermayer would end up getting a yellow card for a tackle and just a few minutes later, Brian Flynn would get a yellow card himself after getting into an altercation with Ernst Baumeister.

Still, there were no goals and it looked it the breakthrough would never come...that was until the sixty-ninth minute. From a Welsh corner kick, it would be a bullet header in the box from Carl Harris that would not only be the goal everyone had been waiting for but also the winning goal that would decide the game and thus, Wales had taken a major step forward in progressing in the World Cup, all they needed in their final group game was a point to be absolutely sure. The scene that is remembered from that game is not during the game but rather after the final whistle in which frustrations boiled over and the Austrians seemed to have beef with the Welsh team in which can only be described a playground argument between the two sides happened. Not the best image to show from the World Cup.

Of course, Wales weren't the only Home Nation in the group, also joining them in the group was Northern Ireland who would end playing their first group game a few days later against a Austrian team who simply needed to win to have any shred of chance to go through to the next stage, it was just the fact that they were playing a fired up Northern Ireland team who were still on a high from their first round heroics and looked at this Austrian team as a team to beat and it did look like that this was going to happen when Billy Hamilton scored first in the twenty-seventh minute and all seemed good for the Ulstermen as they led at the end of the first half.

Goal celebrations when Northern Ireland score first​

Northern Ireland's own hopes of victory did take something of a bad turn in which early in the second half, Austria scored to equaliser after just five minutes played of the second half and to make things worse for the Ulstermen, Austria scored a second minutes later to suddenly lead and now Northern Ireland's World Cup hopes looked to be as good as dead. Thankfully for them though, Hamilton would strike again with just fifteen minutes later to snatch an equaliser of their own which in the end would be the goal needed to snatch a point for Northern Ireland and thus pretty much send Austria out of the World Cup.

It might have not been a win for the Ulstermen but it didn't matter as they knew that if they could win in their final group match then they would be the team in the Semi-Finals, an incredible thought for a team of their size though some did forget that they had stunned many when they reached the last four in 1958 in that certain World Cup. With all that said, the final group game on July 4th was to be the one for much of the British public to watch as this game would be between Wales and Northern Ireland in what was to be a truly exciting battle of Britain clash which was pretty much a winner takes all game as the victor would be in a Semi-Final.

Prior to the start of the game, Spanish police had been worried that the two sides would end up having fans fighting each other in the street though thankfully such scenes never did happen as both sets of fans were enjoying mingling with each other and over the fact that one of the two sides would be in the knockout stage. It would be the first time since the two sides had faced each other in the old Home International Championship in 1975 in which on that occasion it was a victory for Northern Ireland that time; how those in green would have loved to have such another moment in the sun like that though one that might be far more greater in more ways than one. With all that though, it was time for perhaps the biggest game either nation had undertaken.

Wales and Northern Ireland clash in Madrid​

In the end, the game would be something of an anti-climax in which Alan Curtis would open the scoring for Wales in the eighteenth minute and it would remain that way for the rest of the first half as Northern Ireland tried and failed to find a goal in that first half, but little did they and the good number of fans who had travelled out to Madrid knew then that things were about to get worse for them. Northern Ireland's all out attack to find a equaliser in the second half of the game left them wide open at the back which would lead to disastrous consequences for them as goals from Rush and Peter Nicholas would end up killing of the tie and pretty much all of Northern Ireland's World Cup hopes.

Thus, the game ended 3-0 to Wales and the plucky Welsh were into a World Cup Semi-Final for the first time since 1962 and the country was truly gripped by football fever like never before and for a team that had not graced a World Cup since 1966, it wasn't a bad return for the Welsh in the slightest. Northern Ireland on the other hand weren't home but they were by no means disgraced as they were greeted to a warm welcome back in Belfast and that was quite something for the city in which in their need to find something positive in a sea of bad news regarding The Troubles, the football team had done it's part and for their manager Billy Bingham, his eyes were now on Euro 1984. Could they make it...?

Final results of Wales and Northern Ireland's second group stage results

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When Scotland reached the second round, their fans might have hoped that things might get easier but as everyone knows such a thought is laughable as it only gets more harder from here and when the Scots found out who they'd be playing, their hearts sunk. They'd be paired up with, for the third time in a row, the champions Brazil and for the second time, they'd encounter Poland with the latter being a team that the Scots had been frustrated to by a draw in Argentina two years ago. Brazil though was a team that the Scots didn't want to play as following their stunning victory in West Germany over the then World Champions in 1974, the next occasion four years later would end up being the darkest moment for any Scotland team in the World Cup as they would suffer, and still do to this day, is their worst ever defeat being a 5-1 battering which saw Brazil complete their revenge in fine style.

It didn't help that not only was this Brazil team considered to be one of, if not the best, Brazil team ever to be assembled for a World Cup that had blown all over opponents away so far, but also they would be the team that Scotland had to face in the opening match on July 1st in Barcelona. As the players walked out onto the field of the legendary Nou Camp in Barcelona, the traveling Tartan Army had come in huge numbers yet it would seem the rest of the Spanish (or Catalonian to be more accurate) crowd were all here to see Brazil and for good reason. Everyone loves to see the World Champions and this Brazilian side had played much exciting football with many thinking they were big favourites for the winning the World Cup for a record fifth time and that in this game, the Scots would be nothing more than mere cannon fodder.

If that wasn't bad enough, the Brazilians had the benefit of having already played Poland a few days before and in doing so had beaten them though it must be said that the Poles did give the Brazilians a scare towards the end as they fought from 3-0 down to claw it back to 3-2 but alas it was too late to snatch a point and Brazil held on to win. That being said though, Scotland manager Jock Stein had noted to his players that this Brazil team wasn't quite what many had been raving about as their defence was quite questionable at times and all the Scots needed to do was to try and score first and see what happens.

The teams lining up prior before kick-off

Despite the fears of a Brazilian storm raging over Scotland in which the former did flood the Scottish defence, however the Scots were holding on to their own and even began to thread a few chances of their own but the finishing for both sides was not all that good for the opening period of the game. Then in the eighteenth minute of the game came a moment that turned the whole game on it's head; David Narey would fire Scotland in front and suddenly the group was now wide open though as the Scotland fans celebrated, a fear was creeping into the hearts of the Scottish players in which was that of thinking that by scoring so early on that they might have angered the South Americans and this would turn out to be very much justified.

Brazil of course would not have long to wait until they hammered in the goal to bring the game level which was thanks to that of a certain Zico in the thirty-third minute. In truth following the opener from Scotland, Brazil had pressed the Scots to high heavens and could've even score a few more had it not been for that Scottish defence but it was only going to be a matter of time until it finally broke. That all said, the first half ended 1-1 and Scotland still had a chance to get something from this game but what they needed was a strong opening to the second half and sadly that was not going to be the case as just a few minutes after the restart, Oscar blasted in Brazil's second to complete the turn around and now Scotland had to press if they wanted to get something from the game.

Alas, it was to be a doomed affair for them as then in the sixty-third minute, more bad luck for the Scots followed in which Eder scored Brazil's third and the game looked pretty much done and dusted, or so people thought as five minutes later after Eder's goal, Kenny Dalglish, who had only come on as a substitute, would score a goal that came from against the run of play and suddenly Scotland had a lifeline. Sadly it was to be nothing more than a mere consolation to make the score line less embarrassing for Scotland as in the eighty-seventh minute after such hard work for the Scots to find a vital equaliser, Falcão scored Brazil's fourth goal and thus, the Brazilians completed another rout over the Scots winning 4-2 and pretty much killing Scottish hopes of further progression as Brazil would be the one to play in the last four.

The victorious Brazil team in their game with Scotland
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It was a bitter pill for the Scots to swallow and such was as their game with Poland was now nothing more than a dead rubber to see who would avoid the wooden spoon, many Scottish fans headed for home and there wasn't much of an appetite to play the Poles having just recently played them in the last World Cup in that draw then. There was nothing riding on this game as Poland too had nothing to play for themselves but here was when the Scots did restore some pride in which a Dalglish double would help lead the Scots winning 2-0 to sign off from the 1982 World Cup on a positive.

Now the focus for the Tartan Army was the hope that a trip for Euro 1984 in two years time and the players too wanted to show that they could do better than what had happened to them in the game with Brazil. For now though, no more Spanish sun for the Tartan Army.

Final results of Scotland's second group game results at the 1982 World Cup

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The final group with a Home Nation in it was England and while their fans had been delighted to see them winning the group in the first round, they would then wish that with hindsight that they had ended up in second place as they were to be placed in a brutal group featuring European champions West Germany and hosts Spain which didn't look like the sort of group that anyone would have wanted to play in. That all said however with the fact that England would have to play the Germans in their opening match, there was still the chance of getting revenge following that final two years previously. After all, if Algeria could beat West Germany then surely England had more than a chance to get a win themselves?

The game was built up a revenge game in England over that final though they would get an unlikely yet welcome bit of supporter from some of the Spanish locals though this wasn't just because they had become their favourite team or something like that, but rather the stench of the 'Shame of Gijon' hung over the Germans like a bad smell and they were more than willing to back a team that would give West Germany their comeuppance. It would've been any team the locals would have picked; it was just that it just so happened to be England. With that, the match would begin and despite high hopes of an gripping game of football, it would end up being something of a disappointing affair as the Germans would end up trying to suffocate the English attacks.

This play though would thankfully be broken in the twenty-third minute when Bryan Robson headed in the opener to give England the lead and despite this goal which finally brought the game to life, the rest of the game that followed other than a late chance from the Germans with a shot that rattled the English crossbar just a few minutes before the end, England held on to win the game and complete that revenge tie though to be honest it didn't really feel that satisfying giving how poor the game had been. Nonetheless following this game, West Germany would beat Spain 2-1 in their second game to take them to the top of the group on goal difference which meant that all England had to do was hang on to a draw and they'd be through.

Robson's header which helps England get victory over West Germany in the opening game​

Indeed in what was yet another rather dull game of football, England held onto a 0-0 draw that they wanted though it might have been better for England had Kevin Keegan, who would for some reason be benched for the start of the game and would come into the game late on as a substitute, scored with a certain header in the second half that would have made the performance look better. With that though one thing was certain, England would be back in the last four a a World Cup for the first time since 1970. With that though, the second round of fixtures came to an end and England manager Ron Greenwood could be happy in the knowledge that he had led England to last four of the World Cup and with the experience made from winning the third place play-off game, maybe this time round they could go one step further.

Indeed, the scenes that followed that draw with Spain which booked England's place in the last four saw all of England celebrating over what they felt might be their year, though with three other teams that awaited England in the third stage of this World Cup, some felt no fear that their team could really do it this time and that the World Cup would be returning to English shores within a few days at this rate. From four British teams that started in the second round, only two remained and few did know of the collision course that lay in wait...

Final results of England's second group stage results at the 1982 World Cup

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And there we are, 1982 is nearly done here and there are some changes done compared to the old TL in which I had to do this time make a few changes to try and make it all sound a little bit more plausible so that it's not much of a British wank fest like before. I can tell you that 1986 will be one that'll differ greatly from the old TL but that is another story and for those who are interested in Group C, here are the results from that group...

Pretty tight stuff, huh? And as always, here is the last four fixtures as they stand:
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Brazil vs Argentina

Wales vs England
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So, who is going to win now? Always love to hear from you from not just predicting scores but also I love to hear what you have to say about the TL so far and what are you looking forward to next, Euro 2020(1) will be something to behold when that time comes, hell, a few tournaments I missed out in the old one will have their moment in the sun here.

Until then, catch you all later and stay safe!

 

[GeorgeUK]

Brazil vs Argentina

Wales vs England

 

[jmmcb94]

Argentina vs England in the final...

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 39
Just Like A Set Of Buses​

After two group stages, it was something of a relief to some that a straightforward knockout stage in which the last four would battle it out for a place in the final in Madrid. Interestingly enough, both Semi-Finals were to be played on the same day, June 8th, in which in Barcelona, Argentina and Brazil would play first and then after that England and Wales would battle it out to see who would join either side in the final. The first Semi-Final between the two South American giants was a truly epic clash that ended 3-3 and had much controversy, so much so that it requires it's own section to describe what happened on that balmy night in the Nou Camp. In the end though with the score still at 3-3 after extra-time, the match was decided on penalties (the first in World Cup history it must be added) in which Argentina would end up winning 5-4 on spot kicks and thus not only made it to the final but also gained revenge on the now dethroned World Champions for winning the World Cup in their backyard four years ago.

With such a mad game that had happened, it was always going to be tough for the other Semi to match it though with it being a British derby match between England and Wales, anything was possible for sparks to fly though what made this more interesting was that how after facing each other in the group stage that they just so happened to be facing each other yet again and given how they had never faced each other since the end of the old Home Internationals for a few years now, they had in a matter of a few weeks ended up having the strange fate of being drawn to play each other. It really was like the old joke of a set of buses in which you wait for one then suddenly two come at once; how oddly fitting was it for the English and Welsh in the moment.

Nonetheless, their game was to be played in Seville and it must be said that the Spanish police had been dreading of yet another meet up with the two in fears of hooligan troubles even though the last meeting of the two had for the most part gone without much incident. Thankfully for all concern, there was no major trouble to speak of that would be likely be exploited in the tabloid press but nonetheless as the swarms of English and Welsh supporters descended on Seville on that hot and humid evening, there was a great deal of tension in the air between both sets knowing that more than just bragging rights at stake, there was the reward of whoever won would be in the final and this made the rivalry have an extra edge here that likely had never really been felt before.

Some England fans camped out somewhere in Spain prior to their big game with Wales
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The tension was spread to the players and managers on both sides yet both had conflicting thoughts on it. The one with the biggest pressure on their back was England manager Ron Greenwood who knew that this was without question perhaps the best chance that England had on reaching the final and the pain of how close they had come to making the final in 1978 still pained him. The team who had prevented them from reaching the final was none other than Scotland in which a joke among the England players were that there are still Scotland fans still celebrating that victory to this day over the fact they ruined England's chances of reaching a final. Granted Greenwood would make amends by leading England to a European Championship final shortly after in which they fell to West Germany, but 1978 was still something that irked Greenwood after all this time.

Now in a bizarre twist of fate, England had another chance of reaching the final and all they had to do was simply beat another British neighbouring team, Wales. To England support, it was bad enough losing to the Scots then, but for lightning to strike twice and fall to the Welsh with the latter making it to the final at their own expense...? A nightmare thought that many wanted to avoid. In contrast, Wales' ironically named managed Mike England didn't have as much pressure though the ambition to do well against the English was there. He had only been in the job for the last two years and not only had he ended Wales' long wait to return to a World Cup but had incredibly managed to lead them to the last four and were now only one game away from the final. To say that it had all gone so perfectly for him would be an understatement though he did wonder if their luck was due to run out soon.

The fact was that this was on the twentieth anniversary of Wales' now legendary run to the final in Chile just game a feeling that the stars were lining up for something major and while they did reach another final not so long ago, the spirt of 1962 and 1958 were still felt strongly among a certain generation of Welsh football fans but nonetheless 1982 had everything in it's favour to top that should they managed to topple the much fancied English team who many felt were fated to play Argentina in the final. Yes, one would say that if tradition would go then surely England would get the better of Wales but the beauty of football was that anything was possible in a World Cup, that was no exception for Welsh hopes of causing an upset.

Welsh manager Mike England, pictured obviously not in Spain due to the rain and holding an umbrella...
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The game itself was to be played late in the evening in Seville's Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium and for a stadium that held just over sixty-eight thousand, the English and Welsh supporters had no trouble to fill it up, helped by it being such a massive game for both concern. While major hooligan trouble may had been avoided, the rivalry was still felt even though both sides had rarely faced each other as when the anthems were being played, both sets of booed each other's anthems which wasn't exactly what many would have liked by then again given the long history between England and Wales outside of football, what did many expect? With that though, the Dutch referee soon blasted his whistle and the game could begin.

As many across England and Wales watching on TV with bated breathes over how things might end up, one of the things though people wanted to see was another encounter between the two Liverpool teammates Ian Rush and Phil Neal as those two in the previous group stage game had both had a brilliant game of football and thankfully here for those who were hoping for another great encounter were to get their wish as both players made a right go at trying to show who was best with Neal pulling out all the tricks he knew to stop Rush from getting an early goal in the fifth minute. This great personal battle taking place would nearly come to a head not long later right into the eleventh minute in which after a somewhat bad untimed tackle by Neal brought the Welsh forward down, the two Liverpool players got into a heated argument with some school yard pushing and shoving taking place and both sides and the Dutch referee had to step in to try and calm the situation down.

One thing was for certain that this so called dull game was now looking to be anything but that and even though it was early days, anything was likely to happen in this game that was for sure. After the arguing was over or at least calmed down, Wales were awarded a free kick from thirty yards outside the box and Rush is up to take it, but even with his ability, he can see it's going to be difficult to try and score from that far out and that's not including the swarm of English players trying to surround him. When the whistle is blown, he lobs the ball over to Leighton James who fails to get a head onto the ball but instead lets the ball lands on his chest before letting the ball fall and then taking an thunderous volley shot that Peter Shilton has to make perfect save to knock the ball away and deny the Welsh and early attempt at goal and thus, the score reamins deadlocked.

Rush prior to his freekick
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From the early moments of the game, it is clear that the Welsh are the ones more keen to win this game rather than the English who look really poor here as if they have turned up to think that victory is a foregone conclusion. A huge mistake to make as England look unable to find a way to get out of their own half and the England fans watching are all not that happy in compared to their Welsh counterparts who are all loving what they are seeing; all that is missing is a vital opening goal. That said after some lively action from the England dugout from Greenwood yelling at the players to wake up, it is only then in the fifteenth minute that England finally do start threading a few passes together to try and push the plucky Welsh back.

It seems now that Wales' positive play in the opening ten minutes of the match looks to be rather wasted as England start really piling pressure on Wales and some are now regretting over that missed free kick that Wales had such a chance to take the lead with. Not to be downhearted however, Welsh captain Brian Flynn in the twenty-third minute tries to perform a nutmeg move on Kevin Keegan being the one he decides to pick. Unfortunately what follows next is perhaps one of the great World Cup screw up moments in which he doesn't quite get the whole technique right as right as the ball scuffles off Keegan's legs and does go through his legs, he spares his blushes by making a quick turn and taking the ball with him up the field in the other direction.

Flynn now looks quite embarrassed that instead of trying to make the England star man look silly, it has backfired and instead has happened to him and thus, he has quite literally given the ball to England. No doubt in that moment, millions of watching Englishman would have laughed and cheered at watching such a sight on TV but all the same there is still a long way to go until then. If that wasn't bad enough, the English start to batter the Welsh like a hurricane when right into the twenty-seventh minute, where the Welsh have been defending desperately for that period of the game, Steve Coppell rips through the Welsh defence by passing the ball straight up to Trevor Francis who makes a great solo effort on goal where he makes no mistake and chips the ball towards the goal, England's first sight of goal for the game, but the hands of Dai Davis end up punching the ball over the bar and, much to the relief of the Welsh fans, the game remains goalless.

England vs Wales in Seville
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Despite avoiding conceding to the English them, things aren't getting any better for Wales by the time the half hour mark is reached as England keep on pressing the Welsh players around the pitch to try and prove a point as they start looking for the opening goal that if scored before the break would give them a foothold in this fairly mad game. Yet anyone knows that in any British derby is that it is rarely easy to finish off an opponent so easily as despite how much the English are showing what they are made off, Wales are not going to give up so easily; bragging rights and pride are at stake here. Incredibly in the thirty-seventh minute after so much English domination, Ian Rush takes the ball into the penalty box and as he quickly passes the ball towards Mickey Thomas who lets set to score, but to any Welshman's horror, he panics in a brief moment and he and his players can only watch helplessly as the ball balloons over the crossbar and into the bitterly disappointed Welsh fans behind the goal.

England have dodged a bullet there and it proves that no matter how good you are going forward and your opponent looks like that they can't seem to get out of their own box, they can always hurt you on the counter attacks and that there was one such moment in which England nearly avoided embarrassment after all the hard work they have put in but yet they are still without putting the ball into the back of the net and for some England fans, this would be of a worry as how they have been unable to get an opening goal in this first half alone. It must be said that England's lack of goal scoring has been rather poor as other than that 3-1 thrashing of the French, most of their wins have been 1-0 or 2-0 victories; not quite the sort of team that one would think who could win the World Cup.

The final five minutes of the first half end up being a rather cagey and somewhat tedious affair as neither side wants to give away a goal right at the death of the first half and when the whistle is blown to end the first half at 0-0, it is greeted by a section of jeers from the crowd mainly for the last few minutes of the game which neither side would want to look back on but in the meantime both managers will have to go over their plans with either team to discuss on what to do for the second half. For everyone who had hoped for an epic clash, it has all just been a little bit of a flat affair, surely it has to get better than this surely?

More action between the teams in the Semi-Final

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It's unknown as to just what went on between both managers said to their teams, but when the teams did emerge to begin playing for the second half, it turns out that much to the annoyance of the viewing public, not much seems to have changed in whatever game plan there is, it seems as if nothing has changed in which both sides have started off rather cagey with the fear of failure gripping both teams and even so early on in this second half, it isn't a far fetched thought that this game could go to extra-time or even penalties. A rather tedious fate for both sets of supporters. Thankfully for most, something happens in the fifty-sixth minute in which Nigel Stevenson takes down Graham Rix in a challenge that has the England midfielder to be sent tumbling over in which causes the England bench to rise up and yell out for the referee to get involved.

The referee of course wastes no time in booking Stevenson who doesn't complain about the yellow card as he knows how dangerous the tackle was and that he overdid it. Rix does get up but he does look quite shaken that he could've quite easily broken his neck. He then gives the Welsh defender a cold glare as he hopes they don't cross paths again. That all said, England are awarded a free kick and the kick itself is a pretty bad one that finds no one in particular and goes out of play for a Welsh goal kick. It is a rather strange game that amidst all of the rather poor play going on, there are some random moments of magic or madness as it does seem like a game that is a screaming to burst into life despite some of the actions that has happened.

For anyone watching, the right thing for England to do is the game reaches into the final thirty minutes and the more it seems certain that whoever scores now will win the game, they give the Welsh no mercy. But oddly, Ron Greenwood makes the strange choice to let the English players to take their foot off the gas and as the game goes along, England start looking very complacent with Wales slowly and surely finding their way forward and the Welsh section of the crowd begin cheering on their team louder by every passing minute. In the seventy-first minute, Brian Flynn prevents Keegan from getting the ball anywhere near the Welsh half and lobs the ball up to Ian Walsh who quickly goes on the counter with several English players taking chase on him.

A frustrated looking Keegan with the score still 0-0
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He has no chance to make anything from the ball so instead he crosses it over towards a charging Ian Rush who with an absolutely thunderous strike that could break a hole in a brick wall, Rush sends the ball right under the hands Shilton who hits the deck though the brief glance from his gloves that only just causes the ball to be narrowly diverted past the post and let England off the hook once again. Had that gone in, Wales would be heading to the final. Incidentally though, that moment of madness turns to be the catalyst for the Three Lions to take the game by the scruff of the neck and really lay into the Welsh.

It is then in the, rather ironically numbered, eighty-second minute of game and with little time to go, England are award a freekick thanks to Welsh captain Flynn giving away a freekick for a tackle on Rix and it is placed in a decent area just outside the box and thus, Keegan steps up to take it. It must be said that up until this point, the star England man hasn't really added much to this World Cup in compared to his great performance in the last tournament but nonetheless here was a great moment for him to make amends. He awaits the blast on the referee's whistle and when he hears it, he blasts it over the Welsh wall into the left side with a delicious curl and despite Dai Davis diving the right direction, he can't keep it out as at long last, a goal has arrived and it is England who break the deadlock.

The English fans are in raptures, the Welsh are in despair and the referee wants the game to get going again. With it being this late in the game, there is nothing else the Welsh can do and now they have to go on damage control to prevent further despair and the English players, mercifully, don't try to make the score line more glossy and instead decide to hold on and not make any stupid mistakes as they are now so close to reaching the final. The Welsh seem to look like a team that has just come out of a doomed love affair and the English players look weary and the gravity of the situation as the game reaches it climax. Finally after what feels like an age, the referee blows his whistle to end the game and thus, England are on their way back to a World Cup final for the first time since 1970.

Some last minute defending from Wales towards the end as the game neared it's end
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Utter joy is felt by all Englishman as they have done one step better than before and will not suffer heartbreak like before with Scotland though some more rational minds will point out that Wales gave it their all and if things had gone differently then it might have been joy for the Dragons and not the Three Lions. There is though some heart warming scenes of certain players on both sides who know each other at club level handing over jerseys and wishing one and the other well going forward. The Welsh fans, though sad about how they will not be heading to a final, they nonetheless give their players a standing ovation for giving them what has been a really memorable journey around Spain that hardly anyone will forget and honestly, a 1-0 defeat to your nearest rivals is something that could've been worse in all honestly.

With that though, Wales' World Cup adventure is over, though not before they have to head to Alicante, a day before the final, to face of Brazil in the third place play-off in what would be a repeat of the 1962 final, just twenty years after the event and much like then, it ends in a 2-1 victory for the Brazilians though this time Wales did drag the Seleção to extra-time before finally they got the better of the Welsh then. Nonetheless despite their adventure ending on something of a downer, the Welsh team returned home to Cardiff airport to be greeted by thousands at the airport and that was nothing compared to the homecoming parade the team would encounter scenes not seen since perhaps Beatlemania with an estimated two hundred-thousand people lining the streets or Cardiff to welcome their heroes back, now all hopes were pinned for a quick return for Euro 1984, but until then, it was good to enjoy the moment.

That said, Wales's run in 1982 had brought much attention on the Welsh both positive and actually negatively that would in terms of the latter ultimately lead to a radical change for the game in Wales, but that in itself would be another story. For now though as Wales time in Spain came to an end, England's though was about to reach it's climax and so, Greenwood and his men were on their way to the Spanish captain to be reunited with Argentina for a tilt at the World Cup. The question was now, could thet do it? Three down, one to go...

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And so we are getting to the end of WC 1982 and a final is to follow. Interestingly little titbit from OTL, with the Falklands War having just finished, Argentina and England were deliberately placed far apart in the draw in which the only way they could meet was if they made it to the final, giving all the drama around the war, that nightmare scenario for FIFA never happened as both ended up going out in the second round. ITTL, there is no Falklands War and thus, no such situation here.

Another change is that this great Brazil team does home with something and rather nothing as what happened to them IOTL and what will happen with Wales you might ask as what I'm hinting at? Well, I think some of you might know though that'll be covered soon. Until then, look out for the next update which may or may not be out after Christmas but certainly before the new year.

Until then, catch you later in Madrid in which Argentina and England prepare to lock horns to battle for the World Cup!

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 40
Conquest Of The Old World
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After just over a decade after losing their defence of the World Cup in a the sweltering heat of Mexico against the great Brazil team of 1970, England were back in a World Cup final after so long. Their opponents though, Argentina, had been in the most recent World Cup final in which they suffered a heart-breaking loss in their own backyard against, rather ironically and coincidently, the team that had caused England heartache in Mexico City before being Brazil. While neither side had much in common other than loving football, they did share a common enemy and mindset that Brazil had broken their hearts and that it was of great relief that they weren't here in the final. That said though, both were desperate to win and probably more so with the Argentines given how raw the wound still was from their loss four years ago.

It was quite a strange set of circumstances that seemed to have both England and Argentina locking horns in every World Cup barring 1970 as they had faced each other at least once from 1962 onwards. It was unusual to have something of an intercontinental rivalry in football though it was really a thing with these two and while there was a bit of politics thrown into the rivalry, mainly regarding a certain set of islands in the South Atlantic, it was mostly out of events on the field from that sorry state of affairs in 1966, the rough and tumble match in 1974 and the hostile atmosphere the England team experienced when they played in Argentina's backyard during the 1978 tournament. Even without the World Cup matches the two had faced, the rivalry had gotten to such a state that it wasn't even clear of how exactly how many games the two had faced of each other from the friendly games over the years.

No matter what though, there was no debating on what was happening in this certain encounter; it was the first time the two would face each other in a World Cup final inside the legendary Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. The location of the final actually meant quite a fair bit for the Argentinians as Spain was for many in Argentina was the location of the Old World and what better way was for the New World of Argentina to conquer the latter by winning a World Cup here in the Spanish capital? The implications of such a situation prior to the match hadn't really gotten to many of the fans descending on Madrid as what was more important, mainly for the police, was to make sure that there was a riot between both sets of fans which the mere thought of that happening on a World Cup final was a nightmare scenario for FIFA for the world to see. Thankfully with the help of much police checkpoints, that was avoided though many were critical of the policing for being too over the top.

The teams making their way onto the field​

When the players did appear on the field and line up for the anthems, there was all the tension there one would have with the weight of a country on your back and this was very evident with Argentine manager Luis Menotti. Having been the man who had overseen the loss to Brazil four years ago, he knew he had to make amends here by winning the World Cup here; failure to do so for the second time in a row would likely see him lose his job and worse was perhaps going down in infamy of Argentine football history as the man who went to both World Cup finals and won none of them. Unbeknownst to him, his English counterpart Ron Greenwood was actually well aware of the pressure Menotti was under and given the pressure that is often branded around the England job, Greenwood could take some comfort that it was nothing compare to the madcap hysteria around the Argentine job.

Pretty soon though, the game began and from the start, England started off the more positive though some felt that was always going to happen as given Argentina had to undergo a gruelling period of extra-time and penalties in contrast to England who managed to win their game without any of that, Argentina were going to a tired going into this match. The English were putting pressure on the Argentines in which by the seventh minute they had pressed them back into their box and just two minutes later, they win the first corner of the game and it is only thanks to the goalkeeper heroics of Ubaldo Fillo who is doing all he can to keep his side in the game. The corner kick is taken and thanks to a powerful header from Woodcock, the ball slams into the bottom left of the goal and after just ten minutes of play, England are in front.

The Argentinians watching the game could watch in dismay as they saw this happen; the worst possible start they could hope for, or so it might have seemed as to what happened next. Right after the restart, Argentine kick-off once again though what happened next is the stuff of legends. Diego Maradona takes the ball for himself and begins dashing his way towards the English goal and passes and avoids get caught by four English outfield players: Kenny Samson, Phil Thompson, Terry Butcher (twice) and Trevor Francis. Maradona finishes off the move with a feint that would leave England goalkeeper Peter Shilton to fall the wrong way and thus, Maradona simply rolled the ball into an empty net. In just a minute from that opening goal, Argentina have halted the English celebrations and have equalised in a moment that many will dub as the 'Goal of the Century' and a moment worthy of any World Cup final.

England players celebrate the opening goal, all before a moment that changes everything...
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This time, the Argentine fans celebrate the goal and anyone English and perhaps the rest of the world are all left bewildered as to what has happened; it turns out that Maradona has not only scored perhaps the said goal of the century but also has recorded the fastest equaliser ever scored at a World Cup. With such a dramatic twist of fate so soon, Greenwood is furious at how the team have let in a goal so soon and now they have to drag themselves forward to regain the lead though it turns out that such an idea is one that is more easier said than done as Argentina now are the team playing with their tails up. Ardiles then in the fifteenth minute nearly turns the game on it's head to try and have Argentina take the lead from a powerful header thanks to a cross from Maradona though it is down to Shilton having to come out to prevent that from happening.

From the neutral point of view, the final couldn't have started any better with both teams going hell for leather in order to find that vital goal for either side to help take the lead though it is quite clear that ever since Argentina's equaliser that the English defence looks ropey and seem unable to comprehend of what has just happened so soon and this has not gone unnoticed by La Albiceleste who are starting to pick holes from this style of play from England and it just seems almost certain that Argentina are going to find a winner soon than later; hardly the stuff that any England fan would like to see. That said there is some hope for in the twenty-fifth minute when from out of nowhere, Keegan fires a shot target but his shot is knocked over the bar by Fillo. Nonetheless it shows that there is still some bite in the England team wanting to win the game.

It turns out that Keegan's failed attempt actually does more than some think as it does just enough to galvanise the England team to press forward and what happens is a tough battle in midfield which is especially noticeable as when in the twenty-ninth minute, Terry Butcher gets involved with his own personal battle with Maradona to prevent him from doing another run like before and to make sure that Butcher won't get caught off guard this time round though his battle with the little Argentine end up getting him the first yellow card of the game following a rather brutal tackle on Maradona. Despite it looking rather brutal, Maradona gets up and carries on playing as if nothing happened which just goes to show how tough the little man really is.

Snapshot of Maradona flying through in the game in more ways than one...​

That's not meant to say that Butcher is the only player to see yellow as then in the thirty-sixth minute, the yellow card is brought out again, this time for Argentina's Luis Galván for a crunching tackle on Woodcock which ends up having England being award a corner some thirty yards out but alas they fail to make the most of it. That said, those two moments are far from the only tackles being taking place as through the remainder of the first half, the game becomes quite a tetchy and raw affair with tackles starting to take place all over the field and despite some being worse than others, the referee is trying all he can to keep the game flowing though some have to wonder if he really as the game under control; a red card does seem like a real possibility.

Mercifully, there are no more cards shown as soon, the first half is over the with tied a 1-1. It has certainly been a eventfully game that has seen many twists and turns than more can ask for though it will be said that Ron Greenwood will likely be the more annoyed manager of the two mainly over that quick goal that England coincided that let Argentina get back into the game and ultimately will feel that the South American side have finished the half better. Now with only fifteen minutes to plan out the next set of ideas for the team for the second half, he certainly has a lot to think about...

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It is unknown as to what Luis Menotti told his players during the break but whatever it is well and truly felt. From the off, Argentina are like an angry bull attacking the wall of English shirts and are out to show them no mercy as they look to find that second goal to put them back into the lead. In fact in the 47th minute, Bertoni nearly scored yet again with a shot in which was, much to England's relief, marked offside though many on the Argentine bench would feel was wrongly ruled offside. Nonetheless, this allows for the Three Lions to get a goal kick and finally get the ball up the field after being stuck in their area which feels like forever. England's midfield area does what it can to try and keep holding the ball and give short passes to teammates as they try to slowly ease the ball up towards the Argentine half.

Maradona during the final
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What becomes more apparent as the second half goes on, Diego Maradona himself is playing like a man on a mission for his country as he pepper pots the English penalty box with the want and desire for his side to go on and win this match. His efforts have not gone all unnoticed with the crowd as with many of the crowd captivated by his solo skills, they start to cheer him on and the large Argentinian contingent in the stadium start to chant his name throughout the second half whenever he gets on the ball. No matter how optimistic any English fan might be about their side's chances, they are clearly on the backfoot and Argentina are throwing everything to not only find the next goal, but win the game in impressive fashion.

Ron Greenwood is showing a frustrated figure on the touchline as any plan he had given for the team seems to have gone out of the window though this not because of the team being bad but rather Argentina have not given their opponents a chance to get into their stride. Frustrated by how the team is playing, Greenwood makes a substitute in the fifty-fifth minute in which Trevor Brooking is brought on to replace England's goal scorer which does raise a few eyebrows but then again given how Woodcock's form has dipped since that opening goal, it might not be a bad thing. Despite this change, it turns out that it makes little difference and Argentina carry being a relentless team hellbent on wanting to win that World Cup.

It is during, rather ironically, in the sixty-sixth minute of the game is that Argentina win themselves a corner kick and it is by this point it is their fifth of the game which goes to show how much the South Americans have been putting their thumb under the English. The players are all surrounded in the box and the corner is quickly taken in which out of all of them, it is Argentina's captain, Daniel Passarella, who ends getting his head onto the ball and thumping it into the back of the net in which Shilton is rooted to the spot and with that, the score is now 2-1 for Argentina and no one can deny that they have deserved this lead while Greenwood bemoans to his assistant that they have been outdone by a mere set piece. Though given what was happening in the game, the goal was coming sooner or later.

Maradona taking on England defenders
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Whatever what anyone might have thought, it is painful for the English who have no time to think about what has gone wrong and now have to try and pull the game back though anyone will tell you as just how horrible it is for someone to turn the game around when you are on the losing side. All that England can do now is try and get that goal and hope the damage doesn't get worse. To England's credit, they do nearly pull something of in in the seventieth minute in which Bryan Robson for England fires the ball at the goal though instead of it going in, instead clatters off the crossbar and Keegan tries to knock it in on the rebound though sadly for him it ends up all being wasted. Time is now running out for the Three Lions and their fans known it.

The Argentine supporters in the stadium can sense victory is near and they are starting to make a racket often goading their English counterparts and some regarding Brazil and that the thought of not only knocking out their arch rivals who just so happen to the World Champions but actually taken the crown for themselves is well and truly a sweet thought for many Argentines though. By the seventy-third minute, Argentine now make a change of their own in which turns out to be Ramón Díaz going on to replace Bertoni which becomes a sign that Argentina are not only wanting to win but to get enough a goal that would surely seal the game for them. To make matters worse for the English supporters, it becomes clear on the field that the players seem to have lost heart.

Then in the seventy-ninth minute, it all finally goes wrong for England. Díaz has made an instant impact in the short time he has been on and dribbles his way towards the English goal though admittedly it's not quite as spectacular as what Maradona did earlier in the game, funnily enough the latter is the player that Díaz is wanting to link up with and just as it looks as though he is about to go one-on-one with Shilton, he chinks the ball over towards Maradona inside the box who cunningly slips the ball through the legs of the England goalkeeper which in the end gives Argentina the much needed third goal and surely victory now. What follows are two of perhaps the most famous images of that World Cup being one of them is of Maradona running off to the side celebrating like a madman while Shilton is on his knees and punching the ground in anger.

Passarella scoring the second goal for Argentina
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By now, even the most optimistic of England fans now realise that the game was now away from them and the only thing they could do now was just to sit there and take it though sadly there are a few English supporters who are far from happy with how badly things have gone wrong for England as some are wanting to fight someone though this is when the Spanish police have to act quickly to make sure things don't spill out on the field. Despite that though right on the eighty-fifth minute, the Three Lions do strike back with a goal from Keegan and despite there being some false hope of this being the start of a comeback, it nothing more than a mere consolation as before long, the game is finally over and thus, Argentina have managed to win their first ever World Cup and the joy and relief expressed by the new world champions is very evident.

For England, the loss is a bitter pill to swallow. The pain of losing to the West Germans two years ago was still a bad one for the team but this one to happen so soon after is without question a bigger kick to the teeth than the last one and some can't bare to watch the delighted Argentinian players holding aloft the World Cup though deep down, some can't help but feel a little bit happy for the South Americans given the trauma of losing the World Cup on home soil, it is rather nice to give their supporters some joy here in the Spanish captain and with that, the team from the New World has gone out and conquered the Old World. The aftermath for England is a mixed bag, though some are happy that they made it to a final, losing is something that nobody wants but there is hope for going forward with the new decade now here.

For Ron Greenwood, he would finally call time with his tenure as England manager and in the years that have followed, his time era as England manager has been looked back on with some mix views as while he did well in lead England to tournaments and making it to back-to-back finals, something that the great Sir Alf Ramsay couldn't have done, however on both occasions he would lose them and as of a result, he would be known as England's 'nearly-man' for those occasions. Ipswich manager Bobby Robson would be the one to replace Greenwood and who knows how well he would get on. For now though, another World Cup was over and eyes now focused on the upcoming European Championship and the question if all four Home Nations would be there...

Final knockout results of the 1982 World Cup

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And that's that, 1982 is over and is pretty similar to the old TL for it's outcome though there have been changes made here and there. Anyway, before we move onto Euro 1984, would anyone be interest in getting an update on talking about how the British leagues are getting on for the 1983/84 season? Thought some might be interested in how your domestic team is getting on.

Anyway with that, hope you enjoyed this update and hope to hear from all of you soon for the next update. Until then, catch you all later!

​

 

[Yülia]

Thank God England lost.

Was worried I'd have to unfollow the TL

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 41
The UK vs The Rest of Europe

They say that football and politics shouldn't be place together, but at times the two have ended up with each other in many countries and the United Kingdom this factor was no different as other the years, the Home Nations had, unintentionally, played a part in shaping British politics. In the 1970 General Election, Harold Wilson's Labour Government wold lose to the Conservatives though with the fact that Wilson had decided to delay the election to after the World Cup Final in the hope that an England victory would see them re-elected. Neither of those happened and it made the whole plan foolish plus some were critical of trying to use the country's love for football as pawn for playing politics though in recent years, some have noted that Wilson's government not matter if England managed to defend their World Cup crown were already doomed to fail though the jury is still out on if this is true or not.

However, it was clear that if all the Home Nations did well in football then the whole country could also feel a boost of confidence and having the teams not only qualifying for tournaments but also sometimes making finals which was also a feel good story in 1970's Britain in which the tales of industrial action, strikes, loss of heavy industry and inflation were all to common and having the likes of the England and Scotland football teams doing well during that decade did help make the public feel that there was still pride that could be found in the country. Such confidence thanks to the Home Nations would force the then government to put forward a referendum in 1972 to join the European community for the following year. The final tally would see the nation vote no by fifty-three percent as it was felt by the majority of the public that they could go it alone (both Denmark and Ireland also joined the UK's lead to go it alone too) and any hopes of Britain being in Europe seemed to have gone and instead, the UK would grow closer with the Commonwealth though the debate about this outcome in hindsight has led to many to wonder if perhaps joining would have helped the country.

Nonetheless, not many think about it though that is far from the only one that has seen football played it's hand in politics. Perhaps the main effect of politics playing a part in football has always been with the Scotland national team and it's part of the rise of Scottish nationalism. For many years for many Scottish nationalists, the only way many could vent their nationalist frustrations out on the English was whenever Scotland played England (some extent applied with the rugby team too though it always was felt far more in football) and victory over the auld enemy would have stories written about them such as the Wembley Wizards of 1928. However, all things do change and this was to happen in 1979 when Scotland would vote by fifty-six percent on devolution (a similar referendum happened in Wales though this was flatly rejected with a No vote) in which for the first time since the act of Union, Scotland was to have it's own assembly.

While at first glance this would have been the road that would lead to eventual Scottish Independence, it wasn't all quite as it might seemed as the Scottish National Party or SNP for short were quite conflicted on it being as while some did believe in the former, some felt that it would be a distraction to said goal while others felt that the assembly might outright kill it off. Indeed while Scotland might've been tempted to vote for such a future, it seem the majority of the country simply wanted to improve the country as Scotland started benefiting from the oil boom taking place to make it one of the smallest rich countries out there by the time the mid-eighties had arrived. No matter which side of the independence debate one sits on, both sides do share the common love of football and wanting to see the national team do well.

While things in Scotland seemed fairly level, the same could not be said for Northern Ireland. Even since the 1970's, the infamous 'Troubles' had plague the country with battles between the Protestant and Catholic communities of Northern Ireland always at each other's throats. Things had calmed somewhat by the mid '70's though following the death of Bobby Sands in 1981, they all faired up again and it seemed like there was no hope for joy for both sides of the divide...that is until the Northern Ireland team qualified for the 1982 World Cup and the timing could've have been perfect for all concerned. Granted the team had made it to several tournaments before, even made a final on one occasion, but the happy feeling surrounding what that team did cannot be underestimated. This was a huge example of how football can, if done correctly, could be used for a positive case and if you were to ask someone either catholic or protestant, they'll tell you that the national team did far more for peace in Northern Ireland than any politician before or since. The feelgood factor would roll along just two years later when the team would qualify for the 1984 European Championship in France.

Special pin made for Northern Ireland for the Championship Finals, note the St Patrick cross being used instead of the hand of Ulster​

Finally, there was the small matter of Wales in which while compared to their fellow Home Nation companions had very little to talk about in recent years though their decade long absence from the international wilderness was ended with qualification for Euro 1976 which by chance coincided with the FAW's centenary year and though Wales did reach a final which ended in defeat, it had all felt with some hindsight as anti-climatic as Wales would fail to qualify for the next World Cup under some controversial circumstances at the hands of the Scots and all the goodwill surrounding the team seemed to fizzle out and be looked on as nothing more than them being one hit wonders. However this would change when the team would end up making their long awaited return to the World Cup in 1982 in which proved to be a most memorable year for the Wales in which they reached the last four of that tournament and came home as national heroes though their appearance had led to some side effects both good and bad.

The good was that the Welsh could finally be seen as their own nation and not as some place mistaken to be part of England though there was a small problem that some other FA's wanted to exploit the question of if Wales should have their own seat on the FIFA board and for good reason. Unlike the other Home Nations which had their own leagues, the Welsh didn't have any national league other than their own cup competitions and that wasn't including the major issue that all of their teams played in the English football pyramid. Such a factor would only really get noticed following the 1982 World Cup and there was a real fear that the FAW would be forced to merge with the FA over this and the fear was felt among the Scots and Northern Irish who predicted that this would see them all forced in to make a UK football team and the question was what to do to prevent this.

Between the years of that World Cup and the upcoming European Championship, there was much activity in Wales regarding on forming their own national league to help fight off those wanting to end the FAW and while the idea had been floated around for many years, it was that World and the quickfire qualification that sealed their place for the 1984 European Championship that gave the FAW a trump card for making their dream of a Welsh football pyramid and national league into a reality. All that was needed to bring the Welsh clubs in England 'home'. Though many clubs both north and south of Wales would all jump ship to the new league, the FAW had always hopes that the big five of Cardiff, Swansea, Barry Town, Newport and Wrexham would join as it was felt that the new league would only work if they were in it.

Understandable, each of their owners were concerned about the move for fearing about losses they could make if they left the much more financially secure English league. With Wales having qualified for a second tournament in a row, calls for the 'exile' clubs in England to play in Wales again only got more louder and it was anyone's guess as to what would happen if this Welsh side were to win at this year's European Championship, and even that wasn't including the calls for Mike England to receive a knighthood for what he had done for Welsh football alone. In the end at the end of the 1983/84 season, the news came that all the Welsh clubs based in England were to join the new Welsh league and the FAW's dream of their own national league had become a reality though it would turn out the timing couldn't have been more perfect as what was to happen to England the following year, but that is another story...

Swansea vs Cardiff in 1984 during their last ever season in the English football pyramid and something that was to become very familiar in the new Welsh league.
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By 1984, the UK was to say in conclusion in a fairly comfortably place in which while it wasn't exactly the utopia that many would have liked to have seen, it was far from being the sick man of Europe that it once was and many that year all over the country were looking forward for the upcoming European Championship in which only for the fourth time would see all four Home Nations at a major tournament together. The fact all four had made it to a European tournament was treated with some amusement by some given how the stereotype on the continent of the British having look upon Europe with a complicated relationship with them wanting to have no part in the European project with that well said 'Part of Europe but not IN Europe' view shared by many. Apart from that with the tournament having since been expanded to eight teams since the last one, in truth it only be technically just the UK, Portugal, Spain, Romania and hosts France in the tournament as half of the qualified teams were all made up from the Home Nations.

Such was this strange situation which would lead to a now infamous tabloid picture in Daily Mirror newspaper just prior before the opening match with France and England with a Dad's Army style picture of four arrows with the flags of the four British teams heading towards France with the headline saying 'Britain vs. The Rest of Europe!' With half of the berths going to the British teams, there were calls from other FA's such as Belgium, West Germany, Denmark and Yugoslavia (who just happened to the ones that Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales had knocked out respectably during qualification) who bemoaned that the United Kingdom had an unfair advantage of having four teams with their hopes that a single United Kingdom team would be used instead. In response to this, all four British FA's replied with a resounding no and instead floated the possibility of expanding the tournament from 8 to 16 teams. One that had some merit in it...

For the romantics of British football though, 1984 did bring with it a rather bittersweet feeling that had the mourned Home International Championship had carried on for this year then it would have celebrated it's centenary; one that on the face of it got nothing more than a passing mention though behind the scenes though, there was a serious consideration to at least bring it back as one off throughout the 1983/84 season to mark the occasion though due to various reasons involving security concerns and schedule congestion it was dropped. However, fate would play a hand in making sure that it would be celebrated at Euro 1984 in which during the draw for the group stage in January that year would see England, Scotland and Wales all placed in Group One along with hosts France with poor Northern Ireland left out and stuck in the other group along with Portugal, Romania and a reunion with Spain. The fact that three Home Nations had ended up in the same group made many in attendance laugh at the outcome though not all were laughing, mainly the French police.

The good old Panini sticker album for every football tournament​

The fear of hooligan trouble at the tournament was something that the French police had wanted to avoid and the that fact that a full invasion from the British isles was unavoidable, but the mere fact that three of them had all been placed in the same group which meant for a high chance for hooligan violence was pretty much the worst nightmare scenario that they had wanted to avoid and this wasn't including the fact that the opening game of the tournament would see France taking on England and it was evident that for all games that involved the British teams, mainly with England though it must be said, would feature heavy police presence and many checkpoints leading to the stadium which had been used to relative success in Spain. In conclusion despite some unfortunate squabbles that were to follow with fans, violence though was thankfully stamped out though some fans were heavily critical of the over zealous handling by the French police which would lead one person from the Tartan Army who was there at that tournament to claim years later that the top the French police were so over the top that it was like that you weren't allowed to even breathe.

Of course it wasn't down to what fans did but rather what happened on the field and in the opening game with France and England, it would turn out to be quite an eventful game. It was to be a reunion of the encounter in Spain when England battered the French 3-1 though from the early stages of this match in Paris proved to be a much more tougher affair with the French pinning the English back in their own half and often getting a few chances with England having not woken up in the early moments of the game and though they would come into their own after about twenty minutes when Trevor Francis takes the ball up the field on the left flank with Le Roux chasing him down before he pulls back to catch the French centre back off guard before he crosses the ball up and over towards Tony Woodcock who runs into the box in the hope of getting a head to the ball.

With no one mark him, he looks sets to score the opening goal of this tournament, however he headers the ball too hard and the ball goes way wide off course and Woodcock can only shake his head in disappointment of wasting a glorious chance to open the scoring. The French respond also by pushing the English back yet again and in the twenty-seventh minute, Lacombe tries his hand at scoring, but he doesn't get enough power onto the ball and his shot is comfortably saved by Shilton. It's clear though France are out to not only win this game but also the whole tournament as after a rather ill-fated World Cup experience two years ago. As the first half drifts along at a comfortable pace, the game becomes more even as at last, England have gotten their act together and are stopping to cause the host nation problems.

The captains meeting before kick-off
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England are now very much alive and in the thirty-first minute, England are awarded a corner. Much scrambling in the box takes place from the moment the ball is kicked and in all that jumbled mess of white and blue shirts all battling to get the ball, it falls to Ray Wilkins to jump higher than the rest of the field to get his head onto the ball and send it into the bottom right of the net to give England the lead at long last. The traveling England fans roar with delight as French security take nervous looks at the supporters and at seeing that their team is now losing; for them it's hard to tell what's worse. On the bench, Robson is delighted at this and now wants them to add to their lead as they for the rest of the first half though at this point one of the more memorable moments of that game wasn't exactly on the field up on the terraces in which the joyful English fans begin mocking their French counterparts by chanting them to surrender as they're French.

The first half ends with the English leading 1-0 in which despite starting rather poorly, they have come back fighting though a name is never won in a first half and that would become a sure thing in which the second half would see a furious French team get their own back on the English as they went out in that second half all out to fight to prevent the English getting that victory and pretty much dominated the second half though it is not without some controversy for the English in which in the fifty-second minute when England have a freekick some thirty yards outside the box, Francis is up to take it and when he is given the all clear from the referee, he fires his shot, but the ball crashes off the French wall and the ball takes a rolling tumble through the air right into the path of a charging Tony Woodcock who makes no mistake and, despite French players raising their hands for offside, he thumps the ball into the bottom right of the net and celebrates putting England 2-0 ahead against the run of play...or so he thinks.

Though the referee points to the centre circle, the linesman has his flag up and there is confusion all around with nobody having any idea what is happening, is it a goal or not? The English players and fans are all damn sure of it yet there is something in the air that all's not right as the referee heads over to the linesman to discuss the situation. After the final choice is made, a massive roar rings around the stadium, but it's not from the English supporters, the French are delighted that they have somehow avoided a bullet and despite mass protest from the English players over the choice, the goal is not allowed and before any Englishman has the chance to make any further protest, France have already taken their goal kick and now the French are on the offensive.

The opening match of Euro 1984 being hotly contested​

It is quite clear as the second half progresses that that controversial choice from the officials has really knocked the stuffing out of England as now they are both reduced to either figuring out how that has happened to either fending off waves of French attacks. From Robson's point of view, even he can admit that France will get a goal here, his only hope though is that England don't lose this opening match. Then at last for France in the sixty-fourth minute, Platini awards France it's much deserved goal that to many watching has been a long time coming as thanks to a double worked out cross from Lacombe and Giresse, Platini makes an excellent volley that rockets past the hands of Shilton and thus, France are back in this game.

With all that said, neither side can find the winning goal with both ending up sharing the spoils though both will feel good that they have avoided defeat in their opening game in which both sides would claim that this match was to be both side's most toughest match and everything after this would surely see them both get positive results on both the Scots and the Welsh. Speaking of which, the following day over in Lens, both were to face off each other for the first time since that infamous game at Anfield in 1977 and it was fair to say that the Welsh had a bone to pick with the Scots. While relations between Scotland and Wales might not have been so vicious unless you are looking at it from a Welsh perspective, there was that flair to it that made it quite a tasty affair. Curiously, this was only Scotland's second time at this tournament in which their first appearance in 1968 was one in which they won it. Could they do it again here in France?

Things had also been good for the Scots this season as not only had they qualified for this tournament, but that in the Cup Winners Cup that season Scottish holders Aberdeen would meet Rangers in an all Scottish Semi-final in which were a truly tense set of games, Rangers would eventually squeeze past Aberdeen by a single goal in the second leg, though they'd eventually be defeated 2-1 at the hands of Juventus in the final. However, that year also saw another Scottish team in another European final, Dundee United would take on Liverpool in a truly classic battle of Britain match in Rome in which was decided in the end on penalties that went in Liverpool's favour after the game ended in a thrilling 2-2 match after extra-time.

Scotland vs Wales in Lens during the opening period of the game​

Despite having both Scottish sides failing the win any silverware in Europe this year, there was good optimism that the Scots could win the tournament this year as they felt that they had learnt from their Spanish adventure two years ago, however they knew this Welsh side was going to be more than a handful as they lined up for the anthems at the Stade Félix-Bollaert stadium in Lens. The stadium itself was a mix of red and blue up on the terraces with the Scottish Saltire and Lion Rampart flags mixing in with the Welsh Red Dragon and St David's Cross flags though the opposing fans were given each other a cold shoulder or glare.

What followed in the first half was a game best left to forget for the Welsh in which Scotland captain Souness would put Scotland in front after just four minutes in which Strachan added to this by scoring the second goal for the Scots in the thirty-third minute and leaving the poor Welsh with a mountain to climb. By the end of the first half, the score was 2-0 for Scotland and it might have been a good thought for the Scots to think that they were on course to win their opening group game then things were about to take a turn for the worse when it came to the second half in which a more fired up Welsh side came storming back into the game leaving the Scots seem taken aback and the first problems happened in the fifty-six minute in which John Hughes ends up firing in Wales' first goal and what hopefully for them is the start of an unlikely comeback.

That goal ends up rattling the Scots in which things go from bad to worse for them in which in the seventy-six minute, Roy Aitken makes a challenge on Ian Rush inside the Scottish penalty box which unfortunately for him he gets it all wrong put sending the Welshman crashing to the ground and the Swedish referee to point for a penalty, much to the Scots' horror. Ian Rush ends up to take the spot kick and blasts it down the middle to give Wales the vital equaliser in the rather fittingly numbered seventy-seventh minute in which any Welshman will know the connection to it; nonetheless what matters is at this point the Welsh have come back from the dead and the Scots have only themselves to blame for it as that would end up being the final score, though Wales nearly did have a chance near the end to win the game.

Welsh joy after they turn the game on it's head
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That result for Scotland was to truly haunt them for just the manner of how they blew it and it wasn't going to get easier for either side as next Scotland had the daunting prospect of taking on the French while Wales had the chance to face England. For Scotland, that was with the French was to be one best left forgotten about as still feeling rattled over what had happened with the Welsh, Platini would score after four minutes himself with both Giresse and Fernandez letting bagging in the second and third goals respectably in which by the end of the first half with Scotland 3-0 down, the game was pretty much over already. That said, Scotland would give away a penalty late on in which Platini would convert in which saw France win 4-0, Scotland's heaviest defeat at the European Championship and a result that pretty much ended their hopes.

Ask anyone of the Tartan Army about the game, the less said the better though in the other group game that day between England and Wales would be quite an eventful one in which both sides were playing a rematch of the last two World Cup games in which England got the better of the Welsh on those two occasions. This time though things were to be a mixed bag for both teams as the first half would be played to a dull 0-0 draw in which the best way to describe the game was a cagey affair in which both sides seemed more afraid to lose rather than to go out to win and it was a half that was best left to be forgotten about. Things improved in the second half being a much more end-to-end half though when Ian Rush scored in the sixty-fourth minute via a header a corner kick, it looked like Wales might cause a shock on the cards.

However the Welsh dream took a blow when just four minutes later, Woodcock came to the rescue for England to fire in the equaliser that brought the Three Lions back into the game though they would be unable to find the winner as the game ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw which for both sides, especially England who had expected to win the game, it was a disappointing affair and it meant that in the final group game for both had to win those games if they had any chance to go through to the next round and things weren't getting easier in which had the Welsh facing off an already qualified French team while England would meet up with Scotland in a winner takes all decider in which all three Home Nations were battling it out for second place.

England vs Wales in Lyon
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Any game between England and Scotland is always special but this one had that extra bit of flair in which both sides knew a draw wasn't good for both of them; win and with the hope that the French would do both a favour by beating the Welsh, then the auld enemies would have a chance to go through. For the French police, this was the game that they were the most worried for as no one wanted another Frankfurt and this game would see a massive display of police officers both outside and inside the stadium which while they were there to make sure that no trouble would take place in which thankfully there was no riot this time though their presence only caused both set of fans to feel more intimidated by it all.

That all being said, the opening half of this first half between England and Scotland was a tense and frustrating affair as neither side seemed to be able to start off well which sadly for both sides in this tournament was pretty much a common theme of starting off poor and with the French/Welsh match being played at the same time, many ears were being focused on that game too and while after seventeen minutes of play, a horrible chill was felt around the stadium of news filtering through...Wales had taken the shock lead over France. This was not part of the plan for either of them but neither team knew that they couldn't keep relying on France for help but all the same neither side by the twentieth minute have even gotten a shot on target which would pretty much describe how insipid this match had been.

Meanwhile over with the Welsh, their supporters could hardly believe their luck of taking the lead and the many French supporters in the ground can't quite believe the crazy situation that has happened. However that goal from the Welsh would pretty much wake the French up and it wouldn't take long for things for the Welsh joy to be shot down as just a few minutes later in the twenty-second minute, Platini ends up whipping the smile of the Welshmen's faces as after coming to his country's rescue as after getting the ball from a worked pass by Dominique Rocheteau and Alain Giresse, he takes a shot on goal from forty-five yards out from the box and sends the ball flying through the air past Neville Southall who, after make a succession saves so far in this game, can't do nothing about that and the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard erupts as France celebrate getting an equaliser so soon but also that goal is without question the goal of the tournament. It was all too good to be true...

Meanwhile with England and Scotland, the less said the better​

The only cheer that has happened in that game had been from both supporters as news filtered through that France had gotten the goal back which had given both sides chance though that only cheer of the game really did say of just how bad this game had been. To make matters worse for Scotland, England seemed to be slowly finding their style of play which started to look more positive and Tony Woodcock nearly scored a goal in the twenty-sixth minute though his shot would end up blasting over the bar. The Scots had been let off the hook there big time and if the English were to score sometime soon, they'd only have themselves to blame for it. As the first half had gone along, the game itself was a strange one in the history of the clashes between the two sides and normally there would be a case bragging rights at stake and a big atmosphere, yet oddly, there was a feeling of the unknown in this game as nobody had a clue how the group stage was to form and the players themselves couldn't have the chance to think what the outcome of this game could be.

Then in the thirty-third minute after a fairly dull period, the game came to life when Gordon Strachan came to close to taking the lead for Scotland where Shilton only managed to keep the ball out and thus giving the Scots a corner kick. The corner kick is taken and after a mad scramble, neither one can get it and goes out of play for an England goal kick. Back and forward the ball goes with hopes from either side to try and break this dreaded deadlock but alas after forty-five minutes, it remains 0-0 when the referee blows to call it half time in which both fans jeer at just how poor the game has been and the players walk down the tunnel thinking that there is still a lot to do in the second half. Surely an England/Scotland match deserved better than this.

At that same time when Wales had their own game first half ended 1-1, it was by far a more entertaining game and the good thing for Wales was if either England and Scotland couldn't find a goal in the second half and Wales could hold onto this result then they would sneak through on goal difference but then again many hopes and dreams can easily be crushed within a matter of moments though when the Welsh team returned to the field after half-time, there was hope that they might be just be able to do it and carry on with a stout defence. But as the second half began, the French were taking no prisoners as they started to push the Welsh around almost if they were trying to show Wales that they were going to pay for scoring that opening goal.

In the forty-seventh minute, Joey Jones tried to halt Didier Six in getting close to the box as he blocked his way forward and not giving him a chance to get forward, but the referee didn't like this negative style of play and thus he blew his whistle and pulled out a yellow card for the Welsh defender. His teammates tried to defend him to say that he did nothing wrong but the Swiss referee wasn't having none of it and to rub salt in the wound for Wales, awarded the hosts a free kick. Welsh manager Mike England wasn't happy with that stupid booking and wondered if perhaps maybe a case of match fixing could be at play?

Mark Hughes during the game with France
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It was just a crazy theory that would be laughed at into oblivion, yet considering the complaints that had been directed at the Home Nations over them taking up half the spots at this tournament, it didn't seem all that far fetched when he thought about it more. His mind however was million miles away as Platini stepped up to take the freekick in the fifty-seventh minute and sent the ball curling down to the left of the goal in which Southall dived in to try and save it, though thankfully for him the ball slammed against the post and went out of play for a Welsh goal kick. The French supporters weren't happy with this and began jeering and screaming at their side to find another goal and finish off the Welsh. Mike England smiled as he saw all this, at least the pressure would be on the hosts he thought and hoped his boys could use this to their advantage.

Despite putting on a brave show in the face of impossible odds, it was all bound to end for the men in red soon enough and sure enough not long afterwards in the sixty-second minute, Platini would come to make life hard for the poor Welsh as he struck home France's second goal which he managed to sneak it through Southall's legs and at last, the hosts and favourites were in front. News of France's second goal soon filtered through to the other game between the two auld enemies which was still by this point at 0-0 and the news was greeted by cheers by the England supporters who knew now as things stood, they would be going through by a single point. That cheer however had been perhaps the only thing of note in this second half in which the Scots who seemed more interested in frustrating England than actually trying to beat them which was something that no Scotland team had tried to do in previous encounters before.

Then in that moment the moment that Platini had scored, at last the goal in this came would finally happen. John Wark made a pass for Willie Miller to take, but it was a weak pass in which Tony Woodcock would run in and snatch from the surprised Scottish players and would take it deep into the Scottish half. Despite Alex McLeish trying his best to stop him, Woodcock would lob the ball over towards John Barns on his left where the Watford player would simply stroke it in past Jim Leighton and at long last, England had taken the lead against the Scots and while it might've not been the best goal ever scored, it didn't really care for any Englishman and manager Bobby Robson leapt from the bench and celebrated with several players in the dugout as now, they could finally think of the second stage of the tournament. For the disappointed Scottish fans sitting behind the goal, it was heartbreak for them.

Barns scores England's goal in front of the Scottish supports behind the goal
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Then just seven minutes later, the English fans were celebrating yet again and while it wasn't another goal, the news was now that Wales in the other game had all but collapsed as Platini had scored his hat trick goal on the Welsh putting his side 3-1 up and sending the Welsh now crashing out of the tournament surely. After all the hard work Scotland had put into that opening first half only for it to go all badly wrong, it was a bitter pill to swallow and the players just seemed unfocused and wouldn't seem to work as a unit as they had before. With how bad Scotland were playing, England should've gotten another goal or two, but Bobby Robson on the bench could see how gutted the Scots where and headed over to the touchline to yell at his players to go easy as with the Welsh losing, they were already through regardless what happened here. The English players followed their manager's orders but yet even with England now not trying to fire on all cylinders to make things worse for the Scots, they'd perhaps never had bothered as the Scots were playing so bad that the England players could've been blind folded and even then they might've gotten a goal somehow.

It was all too much for some as some depressed Scottish fans began leaving the ground, even just goal down and still with seventeen minutes left to find something, they had seen quite enough and the English fans couldn't help but take great delight in this and began gloating them with chants of 'cheerio!' and 'We can see you sneaking out!' being thrown at the Scottish supporters like rotten fruit. Then in perhaps one of the more famous moments in not only this game, but in all England/Scotland games was towards the end of the game, John Barns would recreate Baxter's famous keepie-up routine that he did in 1967 as Strachan tried to get the ball off him and this went down a treat with certain English supporters who remember that moment very well and practically applauded wherever they were the ground or watching the game live on TV as to them it was good old fashion karma.

The game would go in blur with nothing of note really happening (interestingly not one card would be shown in the game) and the game ended 1-0 for England which booked their place into the last four to finish behind France while the Scots and the Welsh would be sent home to think again. With that, Bobby Robson and Jock Stein would shake hands and wish each other all the best though little did anyone knew then that the moment right there would be the last time the two of them will ever see each other on a football field but that in itself is a rather tragic story for another day. While the English were looking forward to make it to another final, the Scots were on their way home and the Scottish press reaction to how poor the tournament had been for Scotland was quite vicious from all angles with perhaps their most dismal tournament on record with the Daily Record newspaper summing it up well it's headline saying, 'Thank God That's Over.' Now all thoughts now were on the World Cup in 1986...

Final results of England, Scotland and Wales' group stage results at Euro 1984

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While much of the attention had been on Group One, it had meant that Group Two didn't get quite much of the attention though if you were to ask anyone who was Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese or Northern Irish then it was a group that meant a whole lot for their hopes of reaching the Semi-Finals. With thanks to another qualification so soon after the World Cup, there was a great deal of excitement of doing one better in France for this tournament and with tensions between Protestants and Catholics now being greatly reduced thanks to the performance of the national team, calls of Billy Bingham to receive a knighthood for this just like what many were calling for him in 1970 but didn't come to nothing in the end. Bingham had guessed that if he was to get a knighthood he'd have to win this tournament to get it, though he much preferred it privately if it was for healing the religious divide in his native country and that surely had to be something to consider.

That all said, he didn't have the time to think of what if and what maybe as here in Strasbourg's Stade de la Meinau on June 14th, Northern Ireland prepared to duel with Portugal in both their first group game of the tournament. As the game began, the Iberian nation looked like that they had a point to prove as they did get the better of the Irish earlier on, but Northern Ireland seemed happy to hold of an early storm as they in turn kept punting it up the field almost as they were trying to waste time while annoying their Portuguese opponents. However, this plan nearly falls apart as in the ninth minute after Portugal are awarded a corner kick in which good old Pat Jennings punches it away out of the penalty box and surely away to safety, but he hadn't anticipated a charging António Frasco to run in a blast in a shot towards goal from right outside the penalty box.

Thankfully for the Irish, the ball clears the top left of the goal but nonetheless, it does show that the Ulstermen will need to move forward if they are to stop the Portuguese trying to score, never mind Northern Ireland hoping for a victory. Gradually, Northern Ireland do come out of their comfort zone and start to begin to trouble their opponents thanks to Norman Whiteside and Ian Stewart with one brilliant attempt taking place by the former in the seventeenth minute that smashed against the corner post and wasn't really all that far for the Irish to score. In the thirty-third minute, Álvaro performs a hard tackle on Billy Hamilton and the referee almost in a split second to pull out a yellow car even before the Irish player has hit the deck.

Portugal before their game with Northern Ireland at Euro '84​

The Portuguese left back and several of his teammates try to reason with the Scottish referee but with a language barrier and making no excuses, the referee has made his choice to awarded the Northern Irish a free kick. Sadly, the Whiteside's free kick, from 25 yards out, is yet another wasted shot that is shot nowhere near the goal and the game could descend into not only a bad opening for both teams, but a farce if the game carries on the way it is. After pretty much nothing, and really nothing of note to give how poor the game has been, the first half is brought to an end and the mix of Irish, Portuguese and French locals are mostly silent on how unimpressed they've been as the players walk down the tunnel, surely a tournament opener for both teams should be far better than this?

After witnesses a dull goalless draw at the end of the first half, most were hoping for a much better performance though a certain few didn't hold onto that optimism as years later, one Northern Irish fan would claim that game had been so boring at that point that he saw a spectator next to him had fallen asleep on his chair from what had been seen. However, what the fan didn't know was that the person that he saw sleeping was none other than a heavily bearded George Best who was almost unrecognisable from what everyone thought of him and had turned up hoping to see his country do well. If that wasn't an embarrassing enough, then what was? Thankfully for the sheer relief of everyone's concerned, the game was starting to come to life as during the fifty-seventh minute, O'Neil attempted to cross the ball over towards Sammy Mcllroy to deal with only for him to get knocked over to his side by António Lima Pereira who sends the Ulsterman forward to land rather badly on his right arm and like before, the Scottish referee comes out with yet another yellow card and this time many of the Northern Irish team get involve both to help their fallen teammate and to have a shoving match with the Portuguese.

The whole arguing match last for about two minutes and after the dust is settled, the Irish are awarded a free kick with the ball being placed just some 20 yards outside the box and Whiteside is up to take it and this time, he wants to make up for his dreadful attempt earlier on in the game. The whistle goes and he runs and lobs that ball flying over a wall of red shirts and Manuel Bento tying to grab onto it, alas, he fails to do so. In that fifty-ninth minute of the game, a goal has finally been scored and it has gone to Northern Ireland and Whiteside is the man to indulge in the praises being directed at him by his teammates and the grateful supporters in the stands. From that free kick, it's fair to say that the wind is really knocked out of the Portuguese team and they probably cannot believe they have fallen behind this little nation that shouldn't really be a trouble to them.

Northern Irish manager Billy Bingham at Euro '84
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That all being said, the goal itself is a gift from the football Gods as from then on, it turns out to be Northern Ireland's only chance of a goal in this game and they don't score again, but then again neither does a stunned Portugal in which after a fairly comfortable game for the Irish who seem more than happy to hold the ball for large parts of the game, the plucky Irish have began their European campaign with a 1-0 victory. While some will argue that it was poor game and than the Irish were lucky to win with some saying that Portugal should've gotten a point from it, no one in Northern Ireland cares really for that. Next up for Bingham's plucky and swashbuckling team, there was the second group game to play Romania.

The outcome is simple enough, beat Romania and Northern Ireland would be pretty much all but through to the knockout stage. It sounds easy enough but this Romanian side had held the Spanish to a 1-1 draw in their opening match and that raised a few eyebrows that the eastern European team will be more than just push overs. The game started with the Ulstermen going flying in hoping to something early in this game with Whiteside, O'Neil and Ian Stewart were all hoping to help get an early goal and despite their positive attacking football, the Romanians were holding back and causing early frustrations to stop the plucky Irish from getting an early goal which after seven minutes, was working a treat as despite scoring four shots on target, Northern Ireland had failed to find the back of the net which despite this set backs was still a good thing for the supporters seeing that they had started the game with promise.

Romania however nearly strike on the counter in the thirteenth minute with a worked cross from Rodion Cămătaru towards Gheorghe Hagi who attempts to volley the ball in with great force towards the left hand side of the goal, but the ball is knocked away to the side by the grateful hands of Pat Jennings who is hardly troubled by it. While he has no trouble with that shot, a few minutes later however, Romania have been on a bit of a positive time during the game in which it is them who start troubling the Northern Irish backline and Hagi inside the box tries to pull off an ambitious side footed volley. Jennings comes up with the goods yet again to stop it from going in, but he nearly makes a blunder as after he saves it, the ball slips from his grasp and he has to drop to the deck and land on the ball to make sure no Romanian player can get it.

Jimmy Quinn during the early moments of the game​

Gradually, Northern Ireland manage to ride out Romania's brief spell of ruling this game over them when slowly the Irish began to turn the game on it's head yet again as the men in green and white began to pass the ball around in the hope that they can find that early goal which would help them get on them on their way and the scattered fans in the stadium start cheering them on hoping for just that. In the twenty-fifth minute, Gerry Armstrong goes on the run down the right flank and gets quite far until his is forced to pass it up and over towards Jimmy Quinn to make something out of it. As the ball lands to him, he is pretty much surrounded by nearly half of the Romanian team despite being right on the edge of the box. Knowing he has no other choice other than to shoot, he thumps the ball forward towards the top left side of the goal in which it hits the post and for a brief moment, it looks like the ball will go off the post and spare the Romanians going a goal down.

But yet despite that, the ball instead goes the other way and heads towards the right side of the net and the players and the small number of fans in the stadium celebrate the moment of going 1-0 and surely on course to making the next round. Thanks to that goal though, Northern Ireland begin to relax a bit and look like they'll be going into cruise control, but things are never what they might seem ever in football. Just a minute later after that goal, Jimmy Nicholl becomes rather cocky and makes a rather foolish choice to make a tackle on Hagi just thirty yards outside the box and to the surprise of nobody, he is given a yellow card for his actions and the Romanians are awarded a free kick in quite a good position and the hopes of scoring an equaliser so soon after going down like that. After a four man wall of Irish players get into position to defend this freekick, the referee blows his whistle and Cămătaru goes up to fire the shot way up and over the wall and the ball goes right over everyone and to the horror of the Ulstermen, it is coming down towards a goal.

Jennings does his best to try and defend but can't do nothing about it this time, but he and his teammates are spared as the ball instead crashes against the crossbar and lands eventually on top of the net and out for an Irish goal kick. A chance for Romania passes by and Jennings would later claim that the ball hit that crossbar with such force that he swore the bar vibrated for the rest of the game. Nonetheless after that brief moment of madness, Northern Ireland get their foot back on the pedal and start to push back the Romanian players and the Irish players seem more interested in keeping the ball than scoring more goals in which their fans must be wanting and the first half becomes pretty much one way traffic with Northern Ireland totally ruling the roost over the half right up to the moment where it ends and the men in green walk off feeling fairly comfortable and satisfied over how the first half has gone and now they hope to put the game to bed for the second half, no trouble at all...

Live broadcast of the game
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No changes were made to the Irish team at the start of the second half, but Romania's manager, Mircea Lucescu, saw fit to bring off Hagi in exchange for Ion Adrian Zare which did raise a few eyebrows among a few of why he would bring of their forward player. Still, a minute after that, it would seem that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all. No sooner had Zare had been brought on, Romania got the game restarted from the centre circle and managed to catch the Northern Irish players off guard by threading it back over towards Zare who goes down on the Irish left flank and the men in green all scramble to try and stop him. The substitution quickly sends the ball over towards Cămătaru who takes it quite close to the box, but with Nigel Worthington and John O'Neil barring his passage, he instead makes a clever back pass towards Marcel Coraș who kicks the ball right on the far left of the field right onto goal and surely to score for Romania.

But once more, the hands of Pat Jennings comes to the rescue yet again as he knocks the ball up and over the crossbar and out for a Romanian corner. The corner kick itself is, at least for an Irish perspective, a good one...in the case that Zare tries to header the ball on target and woefully missing it and thus allowing Pat Jennings to make a goal kick. Pretty soon afterwards, Northern Ireland get back into the game and start to outplay the Romanians and know that a second goal from then would kill this tie off, question was, who was going to step up for it? By the sixty-fifth minute, nothing is going right for the Romanians but they are going all to plan for Northern Ireland with perhaps the only problem of not scoring another goal to help give them a cushion. So in that minute when the Irish are awarded a throw on the side lines, Bingham decides to bring on Billy Hamilton for Jim Clearly in the hope of adding more of an attacking line. For Hamilton, it is quite surreal to think that from playing in the humble surroundings of Oxford United, here he was out in France playing in a European Championship and a chance to gain glory.

A minute later, Hamilton decides to help do his part for country and takes the ball from Romanian defender Rednic who makes the mistake of being a bit too slack with the ball and allowing for the substituted player to seize the chance to snatch the ball of his feet and races down that right flank where he eyes up Norman Whiteside shadowing him on his right and see's his in a better postion to strike for goal, so thus without any selfish need, he crosses the ball up and over to Whiteside who collects the ball with no problem and with the goal in his sight, he fires him that shot into the left side of the goal out of the grasp of Silviu Lung who can do nothing as the ball slams into the net and put Northern Ireland 2-0 into the lead.

Whiteside putting Northern Ireland 2-0 up against Romania
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From then on, Romania's self confidence all but collapses and they cannot respond to the challenge that Northern Ireland has laid before them to try to get back into the game. The Irish aren't troubled too much for the rest of the match and to top it off with how confident things are for them, Bingham decides to bring Linfield midfielder Lee Docherty in for Sammy Mcllroy and it gives him the chance to experience a tournament football match. An uneventful period follows right up to the final whistle in which Northern Ireland win 2-0 and have made it to the last four of the European Championship for the first time since 1972.

It was a great time for the team and supporters and yet despite losing to Spain in their final group game 3 days later (Spain would win by a last minute goal and get revenge over that game at the World Cup), Northern Ireland had finished top of the group with Spain in second place, a bizarre repeat of 1982. Now the team were excited as to who they'd face in their Semi final clash, it was going to be an good one. Two out, two left...

Final results of Northern Ireland's group at Euro 1984

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Well here, the first update for 2022 and boy isn't that a large update with much to unpack! Before I say anything, happy belated new year for all you lovely people out there! Hope you are all doing well in this crazy times but I hope this TL is given you some joy. Anyway once again, all four have made it here though in fact Northern Ireland and Wales came within so close (Wales especially losing out within seconds to Yugoslavia to fail to qualify for Euro '84) to making the tournament and given the talent both had at that time then it is quite a shame neither made it. Anyway as always, here is the last four line up as it stands:
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France vs Spain

England vs Northern Ireland
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So you know the routine, who'll make it to the final and why? You'll remember the old TL but there will be a few changes here and there so look out for that. Until then, catch you later as England and Northern Ireland prepare to battle it out for the final!

 

[MatthewFirth]

France vs Spain

England vs Northern Ireland

 

[Coulsdon Eagle]

Lengthy post - not sure '84 England would be anywhere near '84 France. No English Platini.

Nitpick - John Barnes not Barns.

 

[QTXAdsy]

Lengthy post - not sure '84 England would be anywhere near '84 France. No English Platini.

Nitpick - John Barnes not Barns.

True, then again the England team is slightly better here compared to OTL.

 

[Jan Olbracht]

Must say football ATLs (except for these done by me ) makes me thinking, that OTL history of football is massive Poland-wank.

 

[EvilJam]

Chapter 41
The UK vs The Rest of Europe

They say that football and politics shouldn't be place together, but at times the two have ended up with each other in many countries and the United Kingdom this factor was no different as other the years, the Home Nations had, unintentionally, played a part in shaping British politics. In the 1970 General Election, Harold Wilson's Labour Government wold lose to the Conservatives though with the fact that Wilson had decided to delay the election to after the World Cup Final in the hope that an England victory would see them re-elected. Neither of those happened and it made the whole plan foolish plus some were critical of trying to use the country's love for football as pawn for playing politics though in recent years, some have noted that Wilson's government not matter if England managed to defend their World Cup crown were already doomed to fail though the jury is still out on if this is true or not.

However, it was clear that if all the Home Nations did well in football then the whole country could also feel a boost of confidence and having the teams not only qualifying for tournaments but also sometimes making finals which was also a feel good story in 1970's Britain in which the tales of industrial action, strikes, loss of heavy industry and inflation were all to common and having the likes of the England and Scotland football teams doing well during that decade did help make the public feel that there was still pride that could be found in the country. Such confidence thanks to the Home Nations would force the then government to put forward a referendum in 1972 to join the European community for the following year. The final tally would see the nation vote no by fifty-three percent as it was felt by the majority of the public that they could go it alone (both Denmark and Ireland also joined the UK's lead to go it alone too) and any hopes of Britain being in Europe seemed to have gone and instead, the UK would grow closer with the Commonwealth though the debate about this outcome in hindsight has led to many to wonder if perhaps joining would have helped the country.

Nonetheless, not many think about it though that is far from the only one that has seen football played it's hand in politics. Perhaps the main effect of politics playing a part in football has always been with the Scotland national team and it's part of the rise of Scottish nationalism. For many years for many Scottish nationalists, the only way many could vent their nationalist frustrations out on the English was whenever Scotland played England (some extent applied with the rugby team too though it always was felt far more in football) and victory over the auld enemy would have stories written about them such as the Wembley Wizards of 1928. However, all things do change and this was to happen in 1979 when Scotland would vote by fifty-six percent on devolution (a similar referendum happened in Wales though this was flatly rejected with a No vote) in which for the first time since the act of Union, Scotland was to have it's own assembly.

While at first glance this would have been the road that would lead to eventual Scottish Independence, it wasn't all quite as it might seemed as the Scottish National Party or SNP for short were quite conflicted on it being as while some did believe in the former, some felt that it would be a distraction to said goal while others felt that the assembly might outright kill it off. Indeed while Scotland might've been tempted to vote for such a future, it seem the majority of the country simply wanted to improve the country as Scotland started benefiting from the oil boom taking place to make it one of the smallest rich countries out there by the time the mid-eighties had arrived. No matter which side of the independence debate one sits on, both sides do share the common love of football and wanting to see the national team do well.

While things in Scotland seemed fairly level, the same could not be said for Northern Ireland. Even since the 1970's, the infamous 'Troubles' had plague the country with battles between the Protestant and Catholic communities of Northern Ireland always at each other's throats. Things had calmed somewhat by the mid '70's though following the death of Bobby Sands in 1981, they all faired up again and it seemed like there was no hope for joy for both sides of the divide...that is until the Northern Ireland team qualified for the 1982 World Cup and the timing could've have been perfect for all concerned. Granted the team had made it to several tournaments before, even made a final on one occasion, but the happy feeling surrounding what that team did cannot be underestimated. This was a huge example of how football can, if done correctly, could be used for a positive case and if you were to ask someone either catholic or protestant, they'll tell you that the national team did far more for peace in Northern Ireland than any politician before or since. The feelgood factor would roll along just two years later when the team would qualify for the 1984 European Championship in France.

Special pin made for Northern Ireland for the Championship Finals, note the St Patrick cross being used instead of the hand of Ulster​

Finally, there was the small matter of Wales in which while compared to their fellow Home Nation companions had very little to talk about in recent years though their decade long absence from the international wilderness was ended with qualification for Euro 1976 which by chance coincided with the FAW's centenary year and though Wales did reach a final which ended in defeat, it had all felt with some hindsight as anti-climatic as Wales would fail to qualify for the next World Cup under some controversial circumstances at the hands of the Scots and all the goodwill surrounding the team seemed to fizzle out and be looked on as nothing more than them being one hit wonders. However this would change when the team would end up making their long awaited return to the World Cup in 1982 in which proved to be a most memorable year for the Wales in which they reached the last four of that tournament and came home as national heroes though their appearance had led to some side effects both good and bad.

The good was that the Welsh could finally be seen as their own nation and not as some place mistaken to be part of England though there was a small problem that some other FA's wanted to exploit the question of if Wales should have their own seat on the FIFA board and for good reason. Unlike the other Home Nations which had their own leagues, the Welsh didn't have any national league other than their own cup competitions and that wasn't including the major issue that all of their teams played in the English football pyramid. Such a factor would only really get noticed following the 1982 World Cup and there was a real fear that the FAW would be forced to merge with the FA over this and the fear was felt among the Scots and Northern Irish who predicted that this would see them all forced in to make a UK football team and the question was what to do to prevent this.

Between the years of that World Cup and the upcoming European Championship, there was much activity in Wales regarding on forming their own national league to help fight off those wanting to end the FAW and while the idea had been floated around for many years, it was that World and the quickfire qualification that sealed their place for the 1984 European Championship that gave the FAW a trump card for making their dream of a Welsh football pyramid and national league into a reality. All that was needed to bring the Welsh clubs in England 'home'. Though many clubs both north and south of Wales would all jump ship to the new league, the FAW had always hopes that the big five of Cardiff, Swansea, Barry Town, Newport and Wrexham would join as it was felt that the new league would only work if they were in it.

Understandable, each of their owners were concerned about the move for fearing about losses they could make if they left the much more financially secure English league. With Wales having qualified for a second tournament in a row, calls for the 'exile' clubs in England to play in Wales again only got more louder and it was anyone's guess as to what would happen if this Welsh side were to win at this year's European Championship, and even that wasn't including the calls for Mike England to receive a knighthood for what he had done for Welsh football alone. In the end at the end of the 1983/84 season, the news came that all the Welsh clubs based in England were to join the new Welsh league and the FAW's dream of their own national league had become a reality though it would turn out the timing couldn't have been more perfect as what was to happen to England the following year, but that is another story...

Swansea vs Cardiff in 1984 during their last ever season in the English football pyramid and something that was to become very familiar in the new Welsh league.
​

By 1984, the UK was to say in conclusion in a fairly comfortably place in which while it wasn't exactly the utopia that many would have liked to have seen, it was far from being the sick man of Europe that it once was and many that year all over the country were looking forward for the upcoming European Championship in which only for the fourth time would see all four Home Nations at a major tournament together. The fact all four had made it to a European tournament was treated with some amusement by some given how the stereotype on the continent of the British having look upon Europe with a complicated relationship with them wanting to have no part in the European project with that well said 'Part of Europe but not IN Europe' view shared by many. Apart from that with the tournament having since been expanded to eight teams since the last one, in truth it only be technically just the UK, Portugal, Spain, Romania and hosts France in the tournament as half of the qualified teams were all made up from the Home Nations.

Such was this strange situation which would lead to a now infamous tabloid picture in Daily Mirror newspaper just prior before the opening match with France and England with a Dad's Army style picture of four arrows with the flags of the four British teams heading towards France with the headline saying 'Britain vs. The Rest of Europe!' With half of the berths going to the British teams, there were calls from other FA's such as Belgium, West Germany, Denmark and Yugoslavia (who just happened to the ones that Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales had knocked out respectably during qualification) who bemoaned that the United Kingdom had an unfair advantage of having four teams with their hopes that a single United Kingdom team would be used instead. In response to this, all four British FA's replied with a resounding no and instead floated the possibility of expanding the tournament from 8 to 16 teams. One that had some merit in it...

For the romantics of British football though, 1984 did bring with it a rather bittersweet feeling that had the mourned Home International Championship had carried on for this year then it would have celebrated it's centenary; one that on the face of it got nothing more than a passing mention though behind the scenes though, there was a serious consideration to at least bring it back as one off throughout the 1983/84 season to mark the occasion though due to various reasons involving security concerns and schedule congestion it was dropped. However, fate would play a hand in making sure that it would be celebrated at Euro 1984 in which during the draw for the group stage in January that year would see England, Scotland and Wales all placed in Group One along with hosts France with poor Northern Ireland left out and stuck in the other group along with Portugal, Romania and a reunion with Spain. The fact that three Home Nations had ended up in the same group made many in attendance laugh at the outcome though not all were laughing, mainly the French police.

The good old Panini sticker album for every football tournament​

The fear of hooligan trouble at the tournament was something that the French police had wanted to avoid and the that fact that a full invasion from the British isles was unavoidable, but the mere fact that three of them had all been placed in the same group which meant for a high chance for hooligan violence was pretty much the worst nightmare scenario that they had wanted to avoid and this wasn't including the fact that the opening game of the tournament would see France taking on England and it was evident that for all games that involved the British teams, mainly with England though it must be said, would feature heavy police presence and many checkpoints leading to the stadium which had been used to relative success in Spain. In conclusion despite some unfortunate squabbles that were to follow with fans, violence though was thankfully stamped out though some fans were heavily critical of the over zealous handling by the French police which would lead one person from the Tartan Army who was there at that tournament to claim years later that the top the French police were so over the top that it was like that you weren't allowed to even breathe.

Of course it wasn't down to what fans did but rather what happened on the field and in the opening game with France and England, it would turn out to be quite an eventful game. It was to be a reunion of the encounter in Spain when England battered the French 3-1 though from the early stages of this match in Paris proved to be a much more tougher affair with the French pinning the English back in their own half and often getting a few chances with England having not woken up in the early moments of the game and though they would come into their own after about twenty minutes when Trevor Francis takes the ball up the field on the left flank with Le Roux chasing him down before he pulls back to catch the French centre back off guard before he crosses the ball up and over towards Tony Woodcock who runs into the box in the hope of getting a head to the ball.

With no one mark him, he looks sets to score the opening goal of this tournament, however he headers the ball too hard and the ball goes way wide off course and Woodcock can only shake his head in disappointment of wasting a glorious chance to open the scoring. The French respond also by pushing the English back yet again and in the twenty-seventh minute, Lacombe tries his hand at scoring, but he doesn't get enough power onto the ball and his shot is comfortably saved by Shilton. It's clear though France are out to not only win this game but also the whole tournament as after a rather ill-fated World Cup experience two years ago. As the first half drifts along at a comfortable pace, the game becomes more even as at last, England have gotten their act together and are stopping to cause the host nation problems.

The captains meeting before kick-off
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England are now very much alive and in the thirty-first minute, England are awarded a corner. Much scrambling in the box takes place from the moment the ball is kicked and in all that jumbled mess of white and blue shirts all battling to get the ball, it falls to Ray Wilkins to jump higher than the rest of the field to get his head onto the ball and send it into the bottom right of the net to give England the lead at long last. The traveling England fans roar with delight as French security take nervous looks at the supporters and at seeing that their team is now losing; for them it's hard to tell what's worse. On the bench, Robson is delighted at this and now wants them to add to their lead as they for the rest of the first half though at this point one of the more memorable moments of that game wasn't exactly on the field up on the terraces in which the joyful English fans begin mocking their French counterparts by chanting them to surrender as they're French.

The first half ends with the English leading 1-0 in which despite starting rather poorly, they have come back fighting though a name is never won in a first half and that would become a sure thing in which the second half would see a furious French team get their own back on the English as they went out in that second half all out to fight to prevent the English getting that victory and pretty much dominated the second half though it is not without some controversy for the English in which in the fifty-second minute when England have a freekick some thirty yards outside the box, Francis is up to take it and when he is given the all clear from the referee, he fires his shot, but the ball crashes off the French wall and the ball takes a rolling tumble through the air right into the path of a charging Tony Woodcock who makes no mistake and, despite French players raising their hands for offside, he thumps the ball into the bottom right of the net and celebrates putting England 2-0 ahead against the run of play...or so he thinks.

Though the referee points to the centre circle, the linesman has his flag up and there is confusion all around with nobody having any idea what is happening, is it a goal or not? The English players and fans are all damn sure of it yet there is something in the air that all's not right as the referee heads over to the linesman to discuss the situation. After the final choice is made, a massive roar rings around the stadium, but it's not from the English supporters, the French are delighted that they have somehow avoided a bullet and despite mass protest from the English players over the choice, the goal is not allowed and before any Englishman has the chance to make any further protest, France have already taken their goal kick and now the French are on the offensive.

The opening match of Euro 1984 being hotly contested​

It is quite clear as the second half progresses that that controversial choice from the officials has really knocked the stuffing out of England as now they are both reduced to either figuring out how that has happened to either fending off waves of French attacks. From Robson's point of view, even he can admit that France will get a goal here, his only hope though is that England don't lose this opening match. Then at last for France in the sixty-fourth minute, Platini awards France it's much deserved goal that to many watching has been a long time coming as thanks to a double worked out cross from Lacombe and Giresse, Platini makes an excellent volley that rockets past the hands of Shilton and thus, France are back in this game.

With all that said, neither side can find the winning goal with both ending up sharing the spoils though both will feel good that they have avoided defeat in their opening game in which both sides would claim that this match was to be both side's most toughest match and everything after this would surely see them both get positive results on both the Scots and the Welsh. Speaking of which, the following day over in Lens, both were to face off each other for the first time since that infamous game at Anfield in 1977 and it was fair to say that the Welsh had a bone to pick with the Scots. While relations between Scotland and Wales might not have been so vicious unless you are looking at it from a Welsh perspective, there was that flair to it that made it quite a tasty affair. Curiously, this was only Scotland's second time at this tournament in which their first appearance in 1968 was one in which they won it. Could they do it again here in France?

Things had also been good for the Scots this season as not only had they qualified for this tournament, but that in the Cup Winners Cup that season Scottish holders Aberdeen would meet Rangers in an all Scottish Semi-final in which were a truly tense set of games, Rangers would eventually squeeze past Aberdeen by a single goal in the second leg, though they'd eventually be defeated 2-1 at the hands of Juventus in the final. However, that year also saw another Scottish team in another European final, Dundee United would take on Liverpool in a truly classic battle of Britain match in Rome in which was decided in the end on penalties that went in Liverpool's favour after the game ended in a thrilling 2-2 match after extra-time.

Scotland vs Wales in Lens during the opening period of the game​

Despite having both Scottish sides failing the win any silverware in Europe this year, there was good optimism that the Scots could win the tournament this year as they felt that they had learnt from their Spanish adventure two years ago, however they knew this Welsh side was going to be more than a handful as they lined up for the anthems at the Stade Félix-Bollaert stadium in Lens. The stadium itself was a mix of red and blue up on the terraces with the Scottish Saltire and Lion Rampart flags mixing in with the Welsh Red Dragon and St David's Cross flags though the opposing fans were given each other a cold shoulder or glare.

What followed in the first half was a game best left to forget for the Welsh in which Scotland captain Souness would put Scotland in front after just four minutes in which Strachan added to this by scoring the second goal for the Scots in the thirty-third minute and leaving the poor Welsh with a mountain to climb. By the end of the first half, the score was 2-0 for Scotland and it might have been a good thought for the Scots to think that they were on course to win their opening group game then things were about to take a turn for the worse when it came to the second half in which a more fired up Welsh side came storming back into the game leaving the Scots seem taken aback and the first problems happened in the fifty-six minute in which John Hughes ends up firing in Wales' first goal and what hopefully for them is the start of an unlikely comeback.

That goal ends up rattling the Scots in which things go from bad to worse for them in which in the seventy-six minute, Roy Aitken makes a challenge on Ian Rush inside the Scottish penalty box which unfortunately for him he gets it all wrong put sending the Welshman crashing to the ground and the Swedish referee to point for a penalty, much to the Scots' horror. Ian Rush ends up to take the spot kick and blasts it down the middle to give Wales the vital equaliser in the rather fittingly numbered seventy-seventh minute in which any Welshman will know the connection to it; nonetheless what matters is at this point the Welsh have come back from the dead and the Scots have only themselves to blame for it as that would end up being the final score, though Wales nearly did have a chance near the end to win the game.

Welsh joy after they turn the game on it's head
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That result for Scotland was to truly haunt them for just the manner of how they blew it and it wasn't going to get easier for either side as next Scotland had the daunting prospect of taking on the French while Wales had the chance to face England. For Scotland, that was with the French was to be one best left forgotten about as still feeling rattled over what had happened with the Welsh, Platini would score after four minutes himself with both Giresse and Fernandez letting bagging in the second and third goals respectably in which by the end of the first half with Scotland 3-0 down, the game was pretty much over already. That said, Scotland would give away a penalty late on in which Platini would convert in which saw France win 4-0, Scotland's heaviest defeat at the European Championship and a result that pretty much ended their hopes.

Ask anyone of the Tartan Army about the game, the less said the better though in the other group game that day between England and Wales would be quite an eventful one in which both sides were playing a rematch of the last two World Cup games in which England got the better of the Welsh on those two occasions. This time though things were to be a mixed bag for both teams as the first half would be played to a dull 0-0 draw in which the best way to describe the game was a cagey affair in which both sides seemed more afraid to lose rather than to go out to win and it was a half that was best left to be forgotten about. Things improved in the second half being a much more end-to-end half though when Ian Rush scored in the sixty-fourth minute via a header a corner kick, it looked like Wales might cause a shock on the cards.

However the Welsh dream took a blow when just four minutes later, Woodcock came to the rescue for England to fire in the equaliser that brought the Three Lions back into the game though they would be unable to find the winner as the game ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw which for both sides, especially England who had expected to win the game, it was a disappointing affair and it meant that in the final group game for both had to win those games if they had any chance to go through to the next round and things weren't getting easier in which had the Welsh facing off an already qualified French team while England would meet up with Scotland in a winner takes all decider in which all three Home Nations were battling it out for second place.

England vs Wales in Lyon
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Any game between England and Scotland is always special but this one had that extra bit of flair in which both sides knew a draw wasn't good for both of them; win and with the hope that the French would do both a favour by beating the Welsh, then the auld enemies would have a chance to go through. For the French police, this was the game that they were the most worried for as no one wanted another Frankfurt and this game would see a massive display of police officers both outside and inside the stadium which while they were there to make sure that no trouble would take place in which thankfully there was no riot this time though their presence only caused both set of fans to feel more intimidated by it all.

That all being said, the opening half of this first half between England and Scotland was a tense and frustrating affair as neither side seemed to be able to start off well which sadly for both sides in this tournament was pretty much a common theme of starting off poor and with the French/Welsh match being played at the same time, many ears were being focused on that game too and while after seventeen minutes of play, a horrible chill was felt around the stadium of news filtering through...Wales had taken the shock lead over France. This was not part of the plan for either of them but neither team knew that they couldn't keep relying on France for help but all the same neither side by the twentieth minute have even gotten a shot on target which would pretty much describe how insipid this match had been.

Meanwhile over with the Welsh, their supporters could hardly believe their luck of taking the lead and the many French supporters in the ground can't quite believe the crazy situation that has happened. However that goal from the Welsh would pretty much wake the French up and it wouldn't take long for things for the Welsh joy to be shot down as just a few minutes later in the twenty-second minute, Platini ends up whipping the smile of the Welshmen's faces as after coming to his country's rescue as after getting the ball from a worked pass by Dominique Rocheteau and Alain Giresse, he takes a shot on goal from forty-five yards out from the box and sends the ball flying through the air past Neville Southall who, after make a succession saves so far in this game, can't do nothing about that and the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard erupts as France celebrate getting an equaliser so soon but also that goal is without question the goal of the tournament. It was all too good to be true...

Meanwhile with England and Scotland, the less said the better​

The only cheer that has happened in that game had been from both supporters as news filtered through that France had gotten the goal back which had given both sides chance though that only cheer of the game really did say of just how bad this game had been. To make matters worse for Scotland, England seemed to be slowly finding their style of play which started to look more positive and Tony Woodcock nearly scored a goal in the twenty-sixth minute though his shot would end up blasting over the bar. The Scots had been let off the hook there big time and if the English were to score sometime soon, they'd only have themselves to blame for it. As the first half had gone along, the game itself was a strange one in the history of the clashes between the two sides and normally there would be a case bragging rights at stake and a big atmosphere, yet oddly, there was a feeling of the unknown in this game as nobody had a clue how the group stage was to form and the players themselves couldn't have the chance to think what the outcome of this game could be.

Then in the thirty-third minute after a fairly dull period, the game came to life when Gordon Strachan came to close to taking the lead for Scotland where Shilton only managed to keep the ball out and thus giving the Scots a corner kick. The corner kick is taken and after a mad scramble, neither one can get it and goes out of play for an England goal kick. Back and forward the ball goes with hopes from either side to try and break this dreaded deadlock but alas after forty-five minutes, it remains 0-0 when the referee blows to call it half time in which both fans jeer at just how poor the game has been and the players walk down the tunnel thinking that there is still a lot to do in the second half. Surely an England/Scotland match deserved better than this.

At that same time when Wales had their own game first half ended 1-1, it was by far a more entertaining game and the good thing for Wales was if either England and Scotland couldn't find a goal in the second half and Wales could hold onto this result then they would sneak through on goal difference but then again many hopes and dreams can easily be crushed within a matter of moments though when the Welsh team returned to the field after half-time, there was hope that they might be just be able to do it and carry on with a stout defence. But as the second half began, the French were taking no prisoners as they started to push the Welsh around almost if they were trying to show Wales that they were going to pay for scoring that opening goal.

In the forty-seventh minute, Joey Jones tried to halt Didier Six in getting close to the box as he blocked his way forward and not giving him a chance to get forward, but the referee didn't like this negative style of play and thus he blew his whistle and pulled out a yellow card for the Welsh defender. His teammates tried to defend him to say that he did nothing wrong but the Swiss referee wasn't having none of it and to rub salt in the wound for Wales, awarded the hosts a free kick. Welsh manager Mike England wasn't happy with that stupid booking and wondered if perhaps maybe a case of match fixing could be at play?

Mark Hughes during the game with France
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It was just a crazy theory that would be laughed at into oblivion, yet considering the complaints that had been directed at the Home Nations over them taking up half the spots at this tournament, it didn't seem all that far fetched when he thought about it more. His mind however was million miles away as Platini stepped up to take the freekick in the fifty-seventh minute and sent the ball curling down to the left of the goal in which Southall dived in to try and save it, though thankfully for him the ball slammed against the post and went out of play for a Welsh goal kick. The French supporters weren't happy with this and began jeering and screaming at their side to find another goal and finish off the Welsh. Mike England smiled as he saw all this, at least the pressure would be on the hosts he thought and hoped his boys could use this to their advantage.

Despite putting on a brave show in the face of impossible odds, it was all bound to end for the men in red soon enough and sure enough not long afterwards in the sixty-second minute, Platini would come to make life hard for the poor Welsh as he struck home France's second goal which he managed to sneak it through Southall's legs and at last, the hosts and favourites were in front. News of France's second goal soon filtered through to the other game between the two auld enemies which was still by this point at 0-0 and the news was greeted by cheers by the England supporters who knew now as things stood, they would be going through by a single point. That cheer however had been perhaps the only thing of note in this second half in which the Scots who seemed more interested in frustrating England than actually trying to beat them which was something that no Scotland team had tried to do in previous encounters before.

Then in that moment the moment that Platini had scored, at last the goal in this came would finally happen. John Wark made a pass for Willie Miller to take, but it was a weak pass in which Tony Woodcock would run in and snatch from the surprised Scottish players and would take it deep into the Scottish half. Despite Alex McLeish trying his best to stop him, Woodcock would lob the ball over towards John Barns on his left where the Watford player would simply stroke it in past Jim Leighton and at long last, England had taken the lead against the Scots and while it might've not been the best goal ever scored, it didn't really care for any Englishman and manager Bobby Robson leapt from the bench and celebrated with several players in the dugout as now, they could finally think of the second stage of the tournament. For the disappointed Scottish fans sitting behind the goal, it was heartbreak for them.

Barns scores England's goal in front of the Scottish supports behind the goal
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Then just seven minutes later, the English fans were celebrating yet again and while it wasn't another goal, the news was now that Wales in the other game had all but collapsed as Platini had scored his hat trick goal on the Welsh putting his side 3-1 up and sending the Welsh now crashing out of the tournament surely. After all the hard work Scotland had put into that opening first half only for it to go all badly wrong, it was a bitter pill to swallow and the players just seemed unfocused and wouldn't seem to work as a unit as they had before. With how bad Scotland were playing, England should've gotten another goal or two, but Bobby Robson on the bench could see how gutted the Scots where and headed over to the touchline to yell at his players to go easy as with the Welsh losing, they were already through regardless what happened here. The English players followed their manager's orders but yet even with England now not trying to fire on all cylinders to make things worse for the Scots, they'd perhaps never had bothered as the Scots were playing so bad that the England players could've been blind folded and even then they might've gotten a goal somehow.

It was all too much for some as some depressed Scottish fans began leaving the ground, even just goal down and still with seventeen minutes left to find something, they had seen quite enough and the English fans couldn't help but take great delight in this and began gloating them with chants of 'cheerio!' and 'We can see you sneaking out!' being thrown at the Scottish supporters like rotten fruit. Then in perhaps one of the more famous moments in not only this game, but in all England/Scotland games was towards the end of the game, John Barns would recreate Baxter's famous keepie-up routine that he did in 1967 as Strachan tried to get the ball off him and this went down a treat with certain English supporters who remember that moment very well and practically applauded wherever they were the ground or watching the game live on TV as to them it was good old fashion karma.

The game would go in blur with nothing of note really happening (interestingly not one card would be shown in the game) and the game ended 1-0 for England which booked their place into the last four to finish behind France while the Scots and the Welsh would be sent home to think again. With that, Bobby Robson and Jock Stein would shake hands and wish each other all the best though little did anyone knew then that the moment right there would be the last time the two of them will ever see each other on a football field but that in itself is a rather tragic story for another day. While the English were looking forward to make it to another final, the Scots were on their way home and the Scottish press reaction to how poor the tournament had been for Scotland was quite vicious from all angles with perhaps their most dismal tournament on record with the Daily Record newspaper summing it up well it's headline saying, 'Thank God That's Over.' Now all thoughts now were on the World Cup in 1986...

View attachment 707840
Final results of England, Scotland and Wales' group stage results at Euro 1984

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While much of the attention had been on Group One, it had meant that Group Two didn't get quite much of the attention though if you were to ask anyone who was Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese or Northern Irish then it was a group that meant a whole lot for their hopes of reaching the Semi-Finals. With thanks to another qualification so soon after the World Cup, there was a great deal of excitement of doing one better in France for this tournament and with tensions between Protestants and Catholics now being greatly reduced thanks to the performance of the national team, calls of Billy Bingham to receive a knighthood for this just like what many were calling for him in 1970 but didn't come to nothing in the end. Bingham had guessed that if he was to get a knighthood he'd have to win this tournament to get it, though he much preferred it privately if it was for healing the religious divide in his native country and that surely had to be something to consider.

That all said, he didn't have the time to think of what if and what maybe as here in Strasbourg's Stade de la Meinau on June 14th, Northern Ireland prepared to duel with Portugal in both their first group game of the tournament. As the game began, the Iberian nation looked like that they had a point to prove as they did get the better of the Irish earlier on, but Northern Ireland seemed happy to hold of an early storm as they in turn kept punting it up the field almost as they were trying to waste time while annoying their Portuguese opponents. However, this plan nearly falls apart as in the ninth minute after Portugal are awarded a corner kick in which good old Pat Jennings punches it away out of the penalty box and surely away to safety, but he hadn't anticipated a charging António Frasco to run in a blast in a shot towards goal from right outside the penalty box.

Thankfully for the Irish, the ball clears the top left of the goal but nonetheless, it does show that the Ulstermen will need to move forward if they are to stop the Portuguese trying to score, never mind Northern Ireland hoping for a victory. Gradually, Northern Ireland do come out of their comfort zone and start to begin to trouble their opponents thanks to Norman Whiteside and Ian Stewart with one brilliant attempt taking place by the former in the seventeenth minute that smashed against the corner post and wasn't really all that far for the Irish to score. In the thirty-third minute, Álvaro performs a hard tackle on Billy Hamilton and the referee almost in a split second to pull out a yellow car even before the Irish player has hit the deck.

Portugal before their game with Northern Ireland at Euro '84​

The Portuguese left back and several of his teammates try to reason with the Scottish referee but with a language barrier and making no excuses, the referee has made his choice to awarded the Northern Irish a free kick. Sadly, the Whiteside's free kick, from 25 yards out, is yet another wasted shot that is shot nowhere near the goal and the game could descend into not only a bad opening for both teams, but a farce if the game carries on the way it is. After pretty much nothing, and really nothing of note to give how poor the game has been, the first half is brought to an end and the mix of Irish, Portuguese and French locals are mostly silent on how unimpressed they've been as the players walk down the tunnel, surely a tournament opener for both teams should be far better than this?

After witnesses a dull goalless draw at the end of the first half, most were hoping for a much better performance though a certain few didn't hold onto that optimism as years later, one Northern Irish fan would claim that game had been so boring at that point that he saw a spectator next to him had fallen asleep on his chair from what had been seen. However, what the fan didn't know was that the person that he saw sleeping was none other than a heavily bearded George Best who was almost unrecognisable from what everyone thought of him and had turned up hoping to see his country do well. If that wasn't an embarrassing enough, then what was? Thankfully for the sheer relief of everyone's concerned, the game was starting to come to life as during the fifty-seventh minute, O'Neil attempted to cross the ball over towards Sammy Mcllroy to deal with only for him to get knocked over to his side by António Lima Pereira who sends the Ulsterman forward to land rather badly on his right arm and like before, the Scottish referee comes out with yet another yellow card and this time many of the Northern Irish team get involve both to help their fallen teammate and to have a shoving match with the Portuguese.

The whole arguing match last for about two minutes and after the dust is settled, the Irish are awarded a free kick with the ball being placed just some 20 yards outside the box and Whiteside is up to take it and this time, he wants to make up for his dreadful attempt earlier on in the game. The whistle goes and he runs and lobs that ball flying over a wall of red shirts and Manuel Bento tying to grab onto it, alas, he fails to do so. In that fifty-ninth minute of the game, a goal has finally been scored and it has gone to Northern Ireland and Whiteside is the man to indulge in the praises being directed at him by his teammates and the grateful supporters in the stands. From that free kick, it's fair to say that the wind is really knocked out of the Portuguese team and they probably cannot believe they have fallen behind this little nation that shouldn't really be a trouble to them.

Northern Irish manager Billy Bingham at Euro '84
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That all being said, the goal itself is a gift from the football Gods as from then on, it turns out to be Northern Ireland's only chance of a goal in this game and they don't score again, but then again neither does a stunned Portugal in which after a fairly comfortable game for the Irish who seem more than happy to hold the ball for large parts of the game, the plucky Irish have began their European campaign with a 1-0 victory. While some will argue that it was poor game and than the Irish were lucky to win with some saying that Portugal should've gotten a point from it, no one in Northern Ireland cares really for that. Next up for Bingham's plucky and swashbuckling team, there was the second group game to play Romania.

The outcome is simple enough, beat Romania and Northern Ireland would be pretty much all but through to the knockout stage. It sounds easy enough but this Romanian side had held the Spanish to a 1-1 draw in their opening match and that raised a few eyebrows that the eastern European team will be more than just push overs. The game started with the Ulstermen going flying in hoping to something early in this game with Whiteside, O'Neil and Ian Stewart were all hoping to help get an early goal and despite their positive attacking football, the Romanians were holding back and causing early frustrations to stop the plucky Irish from getting an early goal which after seven minutes, was working a treat as despite scoring four shots on target, Northern Ireland had failed to find the back of the net which despite this set backs was still a good thing for the supporters seeing that they had started the game with promise.

Romania however nearly strike on the counter in the thirteenth minute with a worked cross from Rodion Cămătaru towards Gheorghe Hagi who attempts to volley the ball in with great force towards the left hand side of the goal, but the ball is knocked away to the side by the grateful hands of Pat Jennings who is hardly troubled by it. While he has no trouble with that shot, a few minutes later however, Romania have been on a bit of a positive time during the game in which it is them who start troubling the Northern Irish backline and Hagi inside the box tries to pull off an ambitious side footed volley. Jennings comes up with the goods yet again to stop it from going in, but he nearly makes a blunder as after he saves it, the ball slips from his grasp and he has to drop to the deck and land on the ball to make sure no Romanian player can get it.

Jimmy Quinn during the early moments of the game​

Gradually, Northern Ireland manage to ride out Romania's brief spell of ruling this game over them when slowly the Irish began to turn the game on it's head yet again as the men in green and white began to pass the ball around in the hope that they can find that early goal which would help them get on them on their way and the scattered fans in the stadium start cheering them on hoping for just that. In the twenty-fifth minute, Gerry Armstrong goes on the run down the right flank and gets quite far until his is forced to pass it up and over towards Jimmy Quinn to make something out of it. As the ball lands to him, he is pretty much surrounded by nearly half of the Romanian team despite being right on the edge of the box. Knowing he has no other choice other than to shoot, he thumps the ball forward towards the top left side of the goal in which it hits the post and for a brief moment, it looks like the ball will go off the post and spare the Romanians going a goal down.

But yet despite that, the ball instead goes the other way and heads towards the right side of the net and the players and the small number of fans in the stadium celebrate the moment of going 1-0 and surely on course to making the next round. Thanks to that goal though, Northern Ireland begin to relax a bit and look like they'll be going into cruise control, but things are never what they might seem ever in football. Just a minute later after that goal, Jimmy Nicholl becomes rather cocky and makes a rather foolish choice to make a tackle on Hagi just thirty yards outside the box and to the surprise of nobody, he is given a yellow card for his actions and the Romanians are awarded a free kick in quite a good position and the hopes of scoring an equaliser so soon after going down like that. After a four man wall of Irish players get into position to defend this freekick, the referee blows his whistle and Cămătaru goes up to fire the shot way up and over the wall and the ball goes right over everyone and to the horror of the Ulstermen, it is coming down towards a goal.

Jennings does his best to try and defend but can't do nothing about it this time, but he and his teammates are spared as the ball instead crashes against the crossbar and lands eventually on top of the net and out for an Irish goal kick. A chance for Romania passes by and Jennings would later claim that the ball hit that crossbar with such force that he swore the bar vibrated for the rest of the game. Nonetheless after that brief moment of madness, Northern Ireland get their foot back on the pedal and start to push back the Romanian players and the Irish players seem more interested in keeping the ball than scoring more goals in which their fans must be wanting and the first half becomes pretty much one way traffic with Northern Ireland totally ruling the roost over the half right up to the moment where it ends and the men in green walk off feeling fairly comfortable and satisfied over how the first half has gone and now they hope to put the game to bed for the second half, no trouble at all...

Live broadcast of the game
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No changes were made to the Irish team at the start of the second half, but Romania's manager, Mircea Lucescu, saw fit to bring off Hagi in exchange for Ion Adrian Zare which did raise a few eyebrows among a few of why he would bring of their forward player. Still, a minute after that, it would seem that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all. No sooner had Zare had been brought on, Romania got the game restarted from the centre circle and managed to catch the Northern Irish players off guard by threading it back over towards Zare who goes down on the Irish left flank and the men in green all scramble to try and stop him. The substitution quickly sends the ball over towards Cămătaru who takes it quite close to the box, but with Nigel Worthington and John O'Neil barring his passage, he instead makes a clever back pass towards Marcel Coraș who kicks the ball right on the far left of the field right onto goal and surely to score for Romania.

But once more, the hands of Pat Jennings comes to the rescue yet again as he knocks the ball up and over the crossbar and out for a Romanian corner. The corner kick itself is, at least for an Irish perspective, a good one...in the case that Zare tries to header the ball on target and woefully missing it and thus allowing Pat Jennings to make a goal kick. Pretty soon afterwards, Northern Ireland get back into the game and start to outplay the Romanians and know that a second goal from then would kill this tie off, question was, who was going to step up for it? By the sixty-fifth minute, nothing is going right for the Romanians but they are going all to plan for Northern Ireland with perhaps the only problem of not scoring another goal to help give them a cushion. So in that minute when the Irish are awarded a throw on the side lines, Bingham decides to bring on Billy Hamilton for Jim Clearly in the hope of adding more of an attacking line. For Hamilton, it is quite surreal to think that from playing in the humble surroundings of Oxford United, here he was out in France playing in a European Championship and a chance to gain glory.

A minute later, Hamilton decides to help do his part for country and takes the ball from Romanian defender Rednic who makes the mistake of being a bit too slack with the ball and allowing for the substituted player to seize the chance to snatch the ball of his feet and races down that right flank where he eyes up Norman Whiteside shadowing him on his right and see's his in a better postion to strike for goal, so thus without any selfish need, he crosses the ball up and over to Whiteside who collects the ball with no problem and with the goal in his sight, he fires him that shot into the left side of the goal out of the grasp of Silviu Lung who can do nothing as the ball slams into the net and put Northern Ireland 2-0 into the lead.

Whiteside putting Northern Ireland 2-0 up against Romania
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From then on, Romania's self confidence all but collapses and they cannot respond to the challenge that Northern Ireland has laid before them to try to get back into the game. The Irish aren't troubled too much for the rest of the match and to top it off with how confident things are for them, Bingham decides to bring Linfield midfielder Lee Docherty in for Sammy Mcllroy and it gives him the chance to experience a tournament football match. An uneventful period follows right up to the final whistle in which Northern Ireland win 2-0 and have made it to the last four of the European Championship for the first time since 1972.

It was a great time for the team and supporters and yet despite losing to Spain in their final group game 3 days later (Spain would win by a last minute goal and get revenge over that game at the World Cup), Northern Ireland had finished top of the group with Spain in second place, a bizarre repeat of 1982. Now the team were excited as to who they'd face in their Semi final clash, it was going to be an good one. Two out, two left...

View attachment 707893
Final results of Northern Ireland's group at Euro 1984

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Well here, the first update for 2022 and boy isn't that a large update with much to unpack! Before I say anything, happy belated new year for all you lovely people out there! Hope you are all doing well in this crazy times but I hope this TL is given you some joy. Anyway once again, all four have made it here though in fact Northern Ireland and Wales came within so close (Wales especially losing out within seconds to Yugoslavia to fail to qualify for Euro '84) to making the tournament and given the talent both had at that time then it is quite a shame neither made it. Anyway as always, here is the last four line up as it stands:
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France vs Spain

England vs Northern Ireland
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So you know the routine, who'll make it to the final and why? You'll remember the old TL but there will be a few changes here and there so look out for that. Until then, catch you later as England and Northern Ireland prepare to battle it out for the final!

Hmm…

1) Nice for Wales to have their big clubs back - albeit said clubs will likely regret it once the Premier League occurs (and I see no reason for it not to occur, the outdated nature of the FA and backwards actions made it an inevitability)

2) Northern Ireland beating England would be interesting, extremely unlikely but still interesting

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 42
One Night In Lyon​

On the night of June 23rd, hosts France would defeat Spain 3-2 after a gruelling period of extra-time in the first Semi-final and would move into the final to await the victor of this Semi-final. What would make this certain game all the more important was that it would see England and Northern Ireland would be playing it out for a place in the final. Interestingly enough among several of the travelling Northern Irish fans in France was the discovery that many of the French locals were hoping it would be Northern Ireland and not England that would make the final, not because they supported an underdog but they thought that the Ulstermen would be the easier team to beat and that they wouldn't have to deal with more hooligan trouble; was hard as to what those fans thought of those statements. Northern Ireland manager Billy Bingham was, at the time, unware of this feeling among the French and even if he did know, he'd likely wouldn't care what they thought for he had a job to do.

Throughout that day, both the English and the Northern Irish fans got on well with each other wishing each other well, though both sides weren't looked on fondly by the ever watchful French policemen making sure no trouble was to arise though given the reputation of one side having a horrendous hooligan problem and the other being known for all the wrong reason of bombs going off in the street and it was a case among the police forces there joking among each other of not knowing who was worse. Speaking of which regarding the latter, there was a rather tasteless joke among the French police in which that should they have to hit a Northern Irish fan with a baton then they'll suddenly blow up like a suicide bomber; a joke that was kept hidden for many years until revealed years later in 2012 through some various sources which not surprisingly caused uproar in Northern Ireland of how they had been thought of then, even if sadly only negative things seemed to come out of Northern Ireland.

At that time though, such thoughts were oblivious to both the English and Northern Irish teams as they lined prior to the start of the game; both of which badly wanting to win the match. It must also be said that it had been a hot day in Lyon (in fact good weather would be seen throughout this tournament) and the evening was no better with the warm temperature still swirling around the inside of the Stade de Gerland stadium with both sets of fans looked tired from spending a whole day in the French sun and with some even sporting bad sunburns, it all gave a hilarious stereotype of British working class men all getting bad burns on holiday. Even when the players lined up for the anthems, the player's shirts were glistering with sweat and if they hadn't even started playing yet, Northern Ireland goalkeeper Pat Jennings would remember this especially saying that by the time of the anthems that they were already tried without even kicking a ball. How on Earth were they going to cope for ninety minutes or more?

Jennings with manager Bingham in Belfast just prior before flying out to France
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With England winning the coin toss to kick off the match, the game began and with it came much of the English getting much of the ball and hardly given the Ulstermen a chance to find any sort of footing into the game. Despite England taking quite a lot of the ball, the men in green and white weren't lying down so easy as they pressed up the field to trouble the English the best they could, then again, always with the now abolished Home Championship, the Irish always wanted to play at their very best whenever it was the English they were taking on. Away from the field and up on the terraces, Bingham couldn't help by chuckle as some of their supporters in one corner of the stadium suddenly unveiled a large white banner that read out in bold green letters, 'Northern Ireland - 1984 Champions.'

There was no prizes as to guessing as what they were hoping to achieve from this tournament; total victory on French soil. To many the mere prospect of Northern Ireland even being thought out in the same mindset as one of the favourites for the tournament seemed utterly laughable that some of their supporters would even have the audacity to boldly claim such a prospect though in all honestly, they might not have exactly their heads in the clouds. Much of the team here was very much the same that had done well in the last World Cup which topped the hosts before in qualification for Euro 1984 ended up doing the double on the much fancied West Germans to pip them to the post to qualify and since they had arrived here, they had once again topped a group which just so happened to feature Spain in it again. So in truth their hopes weren't exactly all that crazy...

Meanwhile back to matters on the field, as much as Northern Ireland were causing problems on England's flanks with Martin O'Neil and Norman Whiteside showing their worth, England though were holding firm and were determined to make another final and not lose to the plucky Ulstermen of all teams. In the eighth minute, after a lot of pushing an shoving by both sides, a young Gary Lineker (making his tournament debut) fired a dangerous shot which only just flew over the Irish crossbar and let the men in green a big let off and it wasn't what Bingham wanted to see them lose a goal so soon. The young England striker hadn't given up so easily as just six minutes later, he tried his luck again and this time he tried to slot it low, but that man, Pat Jennings, would come to his country's aid yet again to knock it out for a corner kick for the English.

Jennings kicks Lineker's ball away out for a corner
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The corner kick would happen and Woodcock would hammer home the ball towards the goal, but Jennings make light work to knock the ball up and over the crossbar. They hadn't even played fifteen minutes and yet already some were putting down for Jennings to be the man of the match with how well he was doing as pretty much without him, Northern Ireland would no doubt be struggling. In addition to that, Northern Ireland's promising start had quickly deflated and the English seemed keen to get into that final by zipping the ball around the field once again, Bingham was thinking that surely that they had to put up at least a fight? In the twenty-sixth minute, frustration was starting to grip the Northern Irish players and in a moment of stupidly, Nigel Worthington was make a bad tackle on John Barnes that sent him flying.

The incensed English fans roared at the referee wanting action and judging by how harsh it was, it looked like it could've been a sending off. Bingham had his heart in his mouth then, but mercifully, the Czech referee would instead brandish a yellow card and a relieved Worthington walked away breathing a sigh of relief though he knew of how very lucky he had been to get away there. No doubt many of his teammates were hoping to avoid further such antics that could spill disaster for them. Despite a ropey performance from the men in green and white, they started to slowly get back into the game as they simply held the ball for periods of the game and passed it around and while it wasn't leading to any goals, Bingham did know that this was a way of frustrating their opponents and when the time came, they'd strike out.

Amazingly enough, this plan nearly worked when in the thirty-second minute, Gerry Armstrong was given a pass from Jim Clearly from about twenty yards out and with him right on the edge of the penalty box, he looked set to score but his shot sadly would crash against the left hand post and that had been the only real chance the underdogs had managed to conjure up in this first half along. Even the English players were starting to look rather agitated at how things hadn't gone to plan as they and their supporters thought they should've been at least a goal up and in the thirty-seventh minute, Terry Butcher brings down Armstrong in a tackle that yells 'frustration' on how it was and to nobody's surprise, Butcher is shown yellow and the Ulstermen are awarded a free kick with Norman Whiteside to take it.

Typical image of Jennings making his saves in the first half
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The ball is placed right on the edge of the field with the goal being 50 yards away and Whiteside knows it will be an impossible task to score from where he is and so focuses his attention on any players near the box and motions for some of them to get together. He lobs the ball up towards Gerry Armstrong who manages to land the ball on his chest before he passes it over towards Ian Stewart who without a second decides to thumb the shot towards the goal, there the ball screams forward past the stunned hands of Peter Shilton and slams into the back of the net. To the stunned shock of many, Northern Ireland have only gone out and scored to take the lead in the thirty-ninth minute! Bedlam erupts from the Northern Irish supporters up in the stands and while they know they've been second best in this first half, no one will really argue that it was a well taken free kick and several disbelieving Irish and English supporters glance up towards the scoreboard where it reads the following...Angleterre 0 - Irlande du Nord 1

The Northern Irish joy however is almost snuffed out as soon as it all began as the English take advantage of a Northern Irish team currently stuck on cloud nine who seemed caught up in the moment as Lineker and Woodcock teamed up to race down up the field in which they outrun the Irish defenders and look set to score. But that certain goalkeeper for Northern Ireland is on alert and Woodcock in the fortieth minute fires in a long range shot in which his Arsenal teammate knocks up and over the bar to land on the roof of the net and thus keep the English out from scoring so soon. The corner is taken but thankfully the ball lands to no one and rolls out aimlessly and goes out for a Northern Irish goal kick. The English though are not given up so easily and despite the other team's resistance, the favourites were banging on the door right before the end of the first half.

The Three Lions now pretty much throw everything they can at the Ulstermen to try and find that goal to bring them back into the game though the rock solid Northern Irish defence thanks to the likes of John O'Neil, Nigel Worthington, Jimmy Nicoll and Paul Ramsay and of course the great hands of Pat Jennings, they manage to hold their nerve and the first half would then come to an end with them leading 1-0. Not surprisingly, the English fans let their feelings known with an almighty boo that rang around the stadium and the Ulstermen were more than happy to get down the tunnel in case some random bunch of hooligans might take their anger out on them. If they could keep this up for the second half then there was the unreal possibility that Northern Ireland could be in the final for Euro 84. That is, if England had anything to say about it...

The moment before Stewart fires his goal for Northern Ireland

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After a glowing half-time team talk in which everyone was on a high, the Northern Irish team returned to the field of play to find the English players awaiting them with steely determined looks that showed that they really wanted to not only win this game but win it by a landslide and prove why they are favourites to win the game. As England pressed forward throwing everything forward to find the goal to help save themselves, Pat Jennings was showing everyone why he was one of the best keepers in the UK and for some greyhead folks, the spirt of Harry Gregg seemed to flow through him as in the space of seven minutes into the second half, he had made a total of nine saves to deny the likes of Woodcock, Lineker and Trevor Francis a chance to try and score.

By the fifty-fifth minute over on the English bench, England manager Bobby Robson sat there with his right hand rubbing the side of his face with a growing feeling as the minutes ticked by with the thought this game that no matter how hard they tried was going to be one of those certain games in which England could play all night and yet the goalkeeper would play an absolute blinder to stop them from scoring. That feeling was shared by the thousands of English supporters in the stadium now chanting and yelling for their team to get back in it. With nearly all the English players up in the Northern Irish half, they hadn't seemed to have anyone in defence and Billy Bingham noticed this glaring flaw with England and wonder if he had discovered an Achilles heel for England that his team could exploit.

In the fifty-ninth minute with Northern Ireland still leading by a single goal, Gerry Armstrong managed to get the ball off from Ray Wilkins and lobed it up over everyone in the box and hoped it would meet with Jim Clearly to make something from it. The ball does make it to the Glentoran player and he makes a lightning fast run on the counter with much of the England team stumbling backwards as they tried to catch up with the charging Ulsterman Midfielder. There is a massive roar from the Northern Irish support that greets Clearly as he makes his run with many England fans covering their eyes fearing the worse as not one of their players are near him and with the last line of defence being Shilton in goals, who throughout this second half has done frankly nothing with the team so far up the park.

More of the action taking place during the second half
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From about twenty yards out, Clearly has to think fast as he attempts to volley the shot and glances behind him to see a mad Terry Butcher, with all the spirt of St George raging through his body, running at him as if he was going to rugby tackle him or worse. With now no time, he takes his shot from the left side of the field where his heart hammers in his chest as the ball seems to be heading towards the far right of the net with Shilton making a dive in that direction to try and stop it. To the dismay of many for the Northern Ireland contingent holding their breath thinking that the miracle is going to happen, Shilton performs a wonderful save to deny Clearly his chance to inflict humiliation on England and can only watch the ball go out for a corner kick. The corner kick is just as impressive soon as Armstrong gets his head onto the ball to fire it towards goal, but Shilton has to make another save to knock it over the bar and deny the Ulstermen any goals.

No matter how hard England have tried in this game, Northern Ireland are without question not going down without a fight and with them in front still by a single goal by the sixty-fifth minute, they are going to show the world what they can do despite their size. With classic end-to-end action taking place for the remainder of the second half, it is turning into a classic for neutrals and a tense one for both sides as the clock seems to go slow for the Northern Irish as they fear the English could score while their opposing side feel the clock is going fast with them now running out of time to find an equaliser, let alone the winner. Both sides had actually come close to score with Northern Ireland in the seventieth minute as Whiteside came within ten yards of slotting it past Shilton, only for his nerves to go and send the ball agonisingly whizzing by the post which cued about a thousand or so hands being placed on the heads of the Northern Irish players, fans, those on the bench and the fans as they all reacted in disbelieve at such a wonderful chance to win the game go like that.

Not long after that though, England should've tucked away an equaliser just two minutes later in which Lineker had done a run down on the counter and had made a brilliant pass into the box for Woodcock to slide in and slot the ball into the back of Jennings' net, but in a cruel twist of fate, he seemed to miss that ball by what looked like an inch and everyone is stunned of how that has not gone in, even Jennings thought it would be going in as he had notice the referee was one the verge of pointing to the centre circle and blow his whistle for what should've been a goal. Nonetheless, Jennings being the ever helpful person that he is, helps the stunned Woodcock back up on his feet again after lying there on his back with his hands over his face over that miss.

Jennings prepares for a goal kick
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By the time the game rolled into it's final ten minutes with Northern Ireland still hanging onto their 1-0 lead, the tension is now starting to grip the players as both sides know that anything could happen and whoever was to score in the last few minutes would be a rather cruel person to break nerves of the poor fans who that weren't chanting or singing but rather just watching in suspended silence and some had even prayed not about how the game should go, but rather to put them out of their misery such was how it all was feeling. So tense was is that there have been many rumours around that game that some Northern Ireland even fainted near the end of the match though the same couldn't be said for the English supporters who weren't only not best pleased of how poor their side had been but deep down knew that they hadn't deserved anything from this game and honestly wouldn't really begrudge their fellow Home Nation to make it to the final in Paris.

It's hard to put into words how the final moments of how everyone felt in that final minute of the game as the score line still read 1-0 for Northern Ireland as nothing more than a powder keg feeling that had gripped everyone. Things didn't improve when it was heard that three minutes of added time would be played and Bobby Robson knew that he just had three minutes to save his side from a rather dubious exit from Euro '84; surely to him that the runners up in the last tournament couldn't go out like this, right? England desperately pushed forward for an equaliser in the hope of bringing the game into extra time but the Irish would park the bus on the favourites and were going onto that slim lead even if it was going to kill them.

Then in the last minute of added time, Lineker tried to lob the ball into goal but Jennings punched it away but found itself directly into the path of a charging Woodcock who looked determined to bury a goal and make up for that horrendous miss early on. He did however looked to be in a offside position and some of the Northern Ireland players raised their hands up to alert the referee about this, but Woodcock thumped that ball into the back of the net and it seemed that right at the death, England had saved themselves and their overjoyed fans couldn't contain themselves and so much so that some were trying to attempt a pitch invasion out of sheer ecstasy. But Northern Ireland captain, Martin O'Neil, knew that it was an offside goal and while the English players were racing over towards Woodcock to celebrate, O'Neil and several of his teammates surround the referee to complain in almost a frenzy state.

Gerry Armstrong during the final moments of the Semi-final
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The Czechoslovakian referee, despite being swarmed by green shirted Ulstermen as if they were a horde of angry bees, calmly nodded to them and then headed over towards his assistant referee, who hadn't raised his flag during the goal, to find out what was going on. The longer the conversation took between the two men, the more it felt like something was up and the jubilant English players stopped their celebrations and nervously waited to hear what was to happen with the goal with a hushed silence falling around the stadium. Up in the stands, English and Northern Irish supporters held their breaths while the same was on the benches with only Bingham looking confident, he was sure it was offside and after all they had done, they surely weren't going to have their moment of glory snatched away like that?

Finally, the referee ended his conversation and he blew his whistle and pointed...towards, Jennings' goal. A number of things happened in the space of a few seconds, the English players complaining about the goal being disallowed, a small number of jubilant Northern Irish fans who invaded the pitch to celebrate their historic victory before being forced back up onto the terraces by the security and finally that of Bingham's beaming smile as he and the rest of the bench made a beeline to the players to celebrate but there was still a little bit more time still left to play. When the English players finally stopped their protesting and reluctantly went back to play out nothing more than dead rubber time, it wouldn't be long until the referee would blow his whistle for the final time and thus, England were out and plucky little Northern Ireland had reached the final for only the second time in their history!

It was the biggest shock of the tournament thus far though far from the first giant killing that the Ulstermen were famed fore in recent years now; first Spain in 1982 on their backyard, then West Germany who'd they beat in the qualifiers both home and away to get here and now England who they had finally gotten the better off and in doing so was actually their first victory over the English for the first time since 1972. Bingham didn't celebrate too long as he quickly made his way over towards the now defeated Bobby Robson who looked like a man who had all his prize possessions stolen. Bingham couldn't help but feel sorry for him for it had been a damn good game that could've gone either way and the two men shook hands and congratulated each other.

Scenes of joy from the Northern Irish team following their victory over England that sends them to the final
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"Good luck in the final," Bobby Robson spoke with a hint of pride in his voice. "Bring the trophy back home remember."

The colourful Irish manager smiled and replied with, "Don't worry, we'll do it. but you take care now, alright?"

The two managers exchanged more final words with each other before going their separate ways, Robson no doubt about to get a grilling from the vicious English press over what had happened yet for Bingham, he was now pretty much set to get a free pint in any bar in Belfast that was for for sure. The fans celebrated long into the night and across Northern Ireland, it was a victory that saw both sides of the divide could celebrate, not that it was against England of all teams. And now, they were on their way to Paris for the final in a hugely difficult match with the host nation.

Some felt that the final would be the end of the road for their brave adventure but certainly with this Northern Ireland team, one could never be that careful when in regards to the write them off. From that night, they would be known by man of their supporters as the 'Lions of Lyon'...look out France.

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And here is the next update for Euro 1984! Pretty much the same as the old TL though there are several tweaks and revisions done here and it isn't far off to think that Northern Ireland could have done this to England as if you were to compare their OTL games with England in the final two years of the Home International then you can see those games were very close so it is a very plausible thing that they might have been able to do this.

Anyway hope you liked that and the next update is that we are all off to Paris to see plucky NI take on the mighty French team of that era, I do wonder now...

 

[Coulsdon Eagle]

A little like the Republic's win in '88.

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 43
Take The Moment
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A sense of disbelieve had only just gripped the Northern Irish players as they sit down for breakfast in their hotel some thirty miles away from Paris as it was only then that the major significance of what they had managed to do had only just sunk in. For the number of hotel guests who were there at the time, they would have recognised some of these players who were due to take on the hosts in the final, yes, that final, the European Championship final of 1984. It had only been now that the players had the chance to reflect on their unreal qualification which had saw them shock everyone by knocking out the Germans in qualification to get here and finally beating England in the Semis, the latter was said to have been such a huge moment that some in Northern Ireland were still celebrating the victory. They had won a lot of praise for how well they had gotten this far and had won the hearts of being the classic underdog that everyone wanted to see be victorious. That being said, none of the pundits nor any member of the general public seemed to think that Northern Ireland had no chance against France and that the latter would thrash the plucky Ulstermen good and proper and in some ways, they had good reason to think that. Despite having a poor World Cup two years ago in Spain which funnily enough their downfall was caused by two other British teams, England and Wales, there was no doubt that the Les Bleus would be fired up to make amends and do it right in front of their home fans.

The one-sided predictions by many on who would win did anger many of the players, didn't they know what Northern Ireland were capable of? In 1970 they became the fourth best team at the World Cup and just two years later, reached the final or Euro '72 though ended up losing to West Germany in which the latter won as many expected. This wasn't including the fact that in 1982 Northern Ireland would beat the host nation then and during the qualification for Euro '84 stopped West Germany from going to France. For Northern Ireland's old but nonetheless important goalkeeper Pat Jennings as he finished his breakfast, his thoughts were on that night in 1972 in which he had been part of the team that almost did it but couldn't. A sense of melancholy gripped him as he remembered that he was the only one from that team had played then who was here today. He knew that whatever happened this would likely be his last chance to win silverware for his country and yet he felt sorry for the likes of George Best, Pat Rice and Sammy Nelson who just couldn't do it and that was the last chance they had to win something before they were well past their prime. Ideally, Jennings would've loved it if his former teammates from that year could return to play for one last time in this final and be rid of their demons, but they had all had either retired from international duty or had retired from the game altogether.

Still, he knew that this new generation of players would be there to hopefully go one step better than that brilliant team of the early '70's. Just as Jennings was about to finish his breakfast of bacon and sausage, a gentleman entered the dinning room and cleared his throat for attention.

"Gentleman, may I have your attention, the manager will want to speak to you now in the boardroom." The man in question is Harry Cavan, president of the Irish FA and even the senior Vice president of FIFA. No doubt he'll be extremely pleased with how things have been going in Northern Irish football and he motions the players to follow him down the corridor to meet up with the manager. One by one, the players enter the room to take their seats as Bingham stands beside a whiteboard in which is shown on the board he will be playing a 4-3-1-2 formation at first glance. As soon as everyone is in the room and they all go silent, Bingham doesn't say anything at first, but then he smiles and giggles like a cheeky school boy.

Though later on in the day, some keen Northern Ireland fans in Paris for the final
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"Well then, you've all done very well to get here for your first time, well done. And for some of us..." he pauses as he looks over to Jennings who is sitting near the front, "here we go again."

A little chuckle is heard from some of the players before Bingham carries on speaking. "But anyway, here we are in the final and we're playing that lot, France. But we're not going to let them walk over us like what they did with us in Spain, we're here to win."

Some sceptical looks were exchanged among the players who wonder if their manager was thinking about their chances, could they really do it? "I know what you're thinking," Bingham adds. "You're thinking we can't do it and, maybe you're right. We can't go toe to toe with them for ninety minutes, so what we'll do is simply, frustrate them and drag them game over a hundred and twenty minutes 'till we get to a penalty shoot out."

More stunned reactions among the players were noted as battling for ninety minutes with this impressive French team was always going to be a challenge, but to add another thirty minutes to it and a penalty shoot out? The thought that their manager had gone mad might have gone through their minds though it had only dawned on the players why their manager had insisted they practiced taking penalties prior to their encounter with England, now it all made sense why.

"Remember this," Bingham also adds. "When it comes down to a shoot out, anything can happen and that's when anyone can win and thus...that's our best shot at winning this championship will come from."

The players and some of the staff members all have looks like they have been told to scale Everest and climb back down again, an impossible task, but their colourful manager isn't quite done yet with his talk. "I also thought you would need some form of help to get inspired to go for it, so I dragged an old friend of mine to come out here...with the promise of drink afterwards."

Martin O'Neil is confused as Bingham turns his gaze towards the door behind the players in which he motions for the mystery person to come in. "Sir, who exactly...?"

But before he can finish his sentence, all eyes are then turned towards the door in which many of the players have looks of shock, excitement and amazement, for there freshly shaven and wearing a black leather jacket, is the legend that is George Best walking into the room to shake hands with Bingham, who in turn looks absolutely delighted to see him here.

"How do folks?" Best then turns to look back and the stunned players before he gives an equal stunned Pat Jennings a pat on the shoulder. "Well done lads, you all did deserve it. Before you think anything, don't be scared about playing France, they are just some other team that have fancy names."

Bingham stands in the corner of the room with his arms crossed as he watches Best encourage the players. "If there is anything I regret is that I didn't win the Euro's in 1972 and I did think I'd have another chance, but you don't get that, you only have one shot. So my advice don't let this past you by as you'll likely never get another chance ever again, so go out there and take the moment. It can be yours, no one is saying you aren't allowed to win now, aren't they?" A murmur of agreement is heard from around the players with a sense of belief being installed into them.

"And one thing we can make a deal on," Best adds. "If France wins, I'll buy you lot a drink and if you win I...well, I promise I'll quit drinking, I mean it." The players are stunned at Best's promises, well, mostly the latter which they all knew about his relationship with alcohol and the fact he was willing to quit if they were to win was surely something to help spur the players on.

Best outside the hotel on the day of Northern Ireland's final with France in 1984
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The rest of the morning had Bingham go over their plans with Best coming along to act as moral support for the team. As the team left the hotel to board the bus to take them to Paris, they were greeted by a motley group of Northern Irish fans who cheered on them as they boarded the bus, as well as a bunch of curious and interested French locals, most of them being young teens who probably never thought they could get this close to this group of players, though there was no doubt many of them were stunned to see George Best coming out of the hotel with the team. Once everyone was on board, they took for the trip to the Parc des Princes for their date with destiny.

The players, staff and members of the IFA all had newspapers from the UK which all were, to the surprise of no one, were only talking about the big game and them all giving their best wishes for the final, which was a strange thing for the English based papers to be cheering them on considering that just a few days they had defeated England (and the team had gotten much stick for their defeat too) and that wasn't including the fact that the normally hostile way the press seemed to go to the England team; was it something about the underdog aspect of Northern Ireland they seemed to admire?

It was anyone's guess about that but for Bingham, any form of encouragement was all they needed as the neared the suburbs of Paris, they would see a random group of Northern Ireland fans (hitchhiking to the game apparently all the way from Belfast) by the roadside and cheering them on as they drove past them. There was something in the air that no matter what the result would be, this night was going to be special.

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As the two teams lined up in the tunnel awaiting to head, Northern Ireland captain Martin O'Neil was nervous. True he had played in finals with Nottingham Forrest which should've helped him, but this all a completely different kettle of fish playing the hosts in their backyard and in a final. Glancing up ahead, he could see a vast sea of French supporters waving flags while chanting and singing with pride and passion. As the two sides stood there awaiting the all clear from the Czechoslovakian referee to make it out onto the pitch. Looking over their shoulder towards their French opponents and it was more than likely that the French players were thinking how such a mismatch the two sides were to be playing in a final. The long waiting the tunnel was both annoying and tense to the Northern Irish players, playing tonight in their away white kit with green shorts, as they kept hoping that the referee would let them on their way. It just seemed to go on when finally, the referee gave the all clear and led the two sides out into a stadium that was a roar of sound with colours of red, white and blue all fluttering around the stadium, the atmosphere was so thick with French nationalism that one could not only cut it with a knife but practically taste it too (not from snails or garlic thankfully.)

Martin O'Neil looked around the stadium to see any sign of their own supporters and he noticed in the far corner of the ground were a cramped group of Irish supporters as just about five thousand of them who had made the journey over and were trying to make themselves heard. To their credit they were putting up a spirited performance but yet despite their efforts they were drowned out by the overwhelmingly French crowd all here to cheer for one and one team only. After the anthems were sung and the team photos were taking, O'Neil would shake hands with his opposing captain and the star of the tournament, Platini, and the full magnitude of how massive this game was only beginning to hit everyone across the UK, it was time for the plucky Ulstermen to go out there and make a name for themselves. As some possibly expected, France were clearly the better team in the early minutes of the game and their supporters had no trouble in cheering them which seemed to only make the French unstoppable and at times the poor Northern Irish team were reduced at times to chasing shadows which didn't bow well for the fans in the ground.

Right in the fourth minute. Platini nearly opened the scoring for France as he sent a high crossed shot over to goal in which Jennings had to extend to full height to knock the ball out for a corner kick. Despite France playing by far the better football on the field, there was a sense of hope for the Ulstermen as they did show a lot of character to keep the French at bay as it seemed that the main goal was to, as quoted in the Rocky movies, to go the distance. In the tenth minute, a corner kick is awarded to the French and once again the Northern Irish players are pushed into their box and the ball flies over the heads of many players and Jennings punches the ball forward and hopefully to safety, but in his horror, the ball lands near the feet of Bellone who thumps the ball towards goal. Thankfully, his shot clears wide over the bar and the score remains nothing each, however it is clear that perhaps the Northern Irish are just perhaps riding on their luck a little too much.

The Northern Irish team having their team photo taking just before the final with France​

Despite the powerful French trying everything to find that opening goal, slowly but surely Northern Ireland somehow manage to get themselves back into the game and in the eighteenth minute, Whiteside goes on the counter down the right side where he spots Armstrong some thirty yards away from the penalty box and notices that there is no other French player nearby him and surely a chance to score. With that thought, he performs a low cross over towards Armstrong just as Roux and Battiston manage to catch up with him and Armstrong gets ready to receive the ball. With a moment of luck, he makes an ambitious volley on his left foot which much to his amazement, sends the ball going forward towards goal and his heart hammers in his chest feeling like it might go into the top left hand corner of the goal, but sadly it hits the very corner of the net and the ball is directed off the pitch and Armstrong places his hands over his mouth knowing just how close he was to help his country take the lead in this game and looking over to the bench, Bingham and the overs have looks of dismay all feeling how close they were to take the lead.

Apart from the likes of Armstrong and Jennings both doing their part for Northern Ireland to try and keep their heads above water, one of the stand out players in this game has been Irish captain Martin O'Neil who has been playing the game of his life and truly is leading by example as he makes several good tackles and fasts runs on the counter, but perhaps there is a fear that he might suffer from fatigue the longer he keeps running. However it is perhaps a little too much as later on in the twenty-sixth minute, O'Neil tries to snatch the ball off the feet of Tigana so he can pass it up towards Billy Hamilton but instead he brings down the French centre midfield player and the French crowd roar for discipline to take place. Not a second sooner, the Czech referee has no choice but to bring out a yellow card to the Northern Irish captain in which he can't complain about knowing how he was at fault, but yet now knows he'll have to be careful now not to get a second yellow and receive marching orders.

The mostly French crowd don't have long to wait for another yellow card as just four minutes later, Luis Fernández and Billy Hamilton suffer a coming together just fifteen yards outside the box in which the latter player was about to score. While the referee at first was going to only show the French defender a yellow, Hamilton got into a spat with Fernandez as infuriated of losing his golden chance to try and take the lead, he gave the Frenchman pretty stupid playground shove and this only incensed the large French crowd who wanting action and just as they wanted, the Northern Irish striker was shown yellow and the two players walked away from each other with a dirty glare on each other. Nonetheless, Northern Ireland had been awarded a free kick.

Platini during the first half
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Armstrong lined himself up to take the shot and when he was given the all clear from the referee, he sent the ball flying over the French wall and it looked like the ball might land into the bottom left of the goal, but the hands of French keeper Joël Bats only managed to stop the Irish from scoring the first goal of the game. Northern Ireland were also awarded a corner kick from there, but sadly no player managed to get a foot on the ball and it simply rolled off out and play and for a goal kick. Over on the Northern Irish bench as they watched Joël Bats kick the ball up the field, Billy Bingham was reflecting on some past games such as his time as player when he first went to the World Cup in 1958 and how close they had come to a final and of course those days in the early '70's when Northern Ireland were being dragged by a force of nature known as George Best who could have quite honestly all on his own dragged his country to a World Cup final if it weren't for that great Brazil team that year.

Looking over towards the bench, there sat the great man himself though by now his glory days were far behind him now and had the sad fate of being haunted by drinking which had led to his downfall of his playing career. George Best, now wearing a suit and tie for the game, watching intently as his countrymen held off the French armada and deep down wished he could put on the famous green shirt and help out the team though his last time playing for his country in 1974 had been a flop and thus his time with the National side had ended on a whimper. As the first half neared it's end, the stats weren't looking all that good for Northern Ireland with them only managing eleven shots on goal while the French outnumbered them by a ludicrous thirty-two shots in just that half alone and one had to imagine just how much more that number would up into the second half.

That said, Northern Ireland hadn't done too badly as they kept the French out from scoring and Pat Jennings was showing his worth and that age was just a number being that he was thirty-eight years old for this match. There were no changes to either side as the first half was brought to a close and it was clear neither manager, as was the frustrated French crowd, were happy with how it had gone with Bingham feeling that had to go out of their safe zone to make an impact while Hidalgo wasn't happy that they hadn't been able to make the most of their dominance, who was to say it might go past ninety minutes?

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The second half would start as how the first half ended with the French clearly being the better team here with Platini and Lacombe being exceptionally impressive as they toyed around with their underdog opponents and went all out trying to find that goal to get this game started. That being said, the French crowd had expected their team to delivery with the talent they had in that squad and they should've not only had scored by now, but be up by a comfortable amount. Quickly, the Ulstermen found their rhyme yet again and began to play a simply game of passing the ball around in an attempt to try and deny the hosts a foot on the ball. This went down well with the good number of hardy Northern Irish fans in the corner of the ground who really hadn't much to celebrate so far, though this style of play didn't go down well as in the fifty-fourth minute, Yvon Le Roux would make a stupid tackle on Armstrong as the ball came towards him and the referee once again had to bring out the yellow card yet again and with the amount of cards being shown, one had to wonder if either side would finish with eleven players by the end of the game.

The Northern Irish were awarded a free kick, but it was poorly taken and Platini would pop up just two minutes later when he outwitted Jimmy Nicoll and Paul Ramsay before he fired up a low cross ball that Jennings could do nothing about and at long last, the deadlock had been broken, though not in the way the Irish had wanted. The stadium erupted as French tricolour flags started flying all around the ground and there was a sense that it was now going to be a victory for the hosts and they couldn't be stopped. Knowing he was needing a spark of more firepower, Bingham made a sub change in the sixty-first minute as he would bring off Jim Clearly to replace him with Jimmy Quinn and much to the amazement of many, his arrival into the game was felt almost immediately.

The French might've thought they were going to climbing the steps to collect the trophy, but yet the Les Bleus seem to become very slack and this was only encouraging the Northern Irish players to try and have a go as they now had nothing to lose. Quinn in the sixty-seventh minute was handed over a pass by Martin O'Neil and he found himself into a open part on the right side of the box where he went for it and fired the ball into the hands direction of goal where their keeper tried to stop it, but the ball slipped past his hands and to the utter amazement of many, Northern Ireland had equalised...! Or had they?

The game in full swing just after France had taken the lead
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The stadium, with the exception of the celebrating Northern Irish fans, had fallen silent as the locals couldn't believed what had happened. However confusion followed as although the linesman hadn't raised his flag to mark the goal offside, the referee ordered for a goal kick for France. At first the Northern Irish players looked on bewildered, then rushed forward to angrily confront the referee about this and the stadium found it's voice again with them knowing that they were still leading this game with no much time now left to go. On the bench, Best was greatly unhappy with this and he leapt to his feet and yelled out 'Cheating bastards!' Bingham was undecided, he wasn't too sure if the goal was marked offside or if there was something dirty going on behind the scenes, but he knew that his team were slowly going up in the ascendency and there was still chance for another goal, just the only downside was that they were running out of time.

Things though were now starting to get heated and after seeing how much the men in white and green were starting to take the game into their own, the French players were getting frustrated that they hadn't added to their slender lead and in the seventieth minute, Patrick Battiston is shown a yellow card for a badly timed challenge on O'Neil but yet he still looks angry with how things are going and just three minutes later, he brought off to replaced by Manual Amoros for fears that he might get a second yellow by the way he is acting. But during that substitute change, Bingham notices O'Neil bending over placing his hands on his knees and looking quite exhausted which isn't surprising considering how much he has ran all game, but wants to hold off making a change until he feels it is the right time to do so. The remaining of the second half shows a fairly even game with Northern Ireland being the ones who have their tails up and with the better chance of getting something from this game and then in the eighty-fourth minute, it all happens.

Whiteside is on the right half of the French half as he prepares to try and fire his shot from twenty yards out from a tight corner, but just as he is about it, he is brought down by Le Roux who, still on his yellow card and feeling annoyed like his teammates, makes a dangerous sliding tackle that sends Whiteside flying and crashing down onto his right arm which looks painful for anyone watching. The Northern Irish players, fans and the bench all at once cry out wanting acting for such an awful attacking and as the referee makes a beeline to the scene, the French supporters feel a sense of dread as the referee places a hand into his pocket for a card. He shows a yellow card and then a red card before motioning him off the field. Le Roux has to make the walk of shame and while he knows what he did was wrong, none of his teammates help him but instead can only shake their heads in disbelieve as he walks by while the supporters aren't happy with them going a man down with just six minutes of time remaining.

Live broadcast of the final​

But now, Northern Ireland have a chance to score from a free kick. As this happens is that Whiteside, who to everyone's amazement gets up as if there was no problem at all, prepares to take the free kick as he plans his idea of what to do and notices Armstrong in an open space near the penalty box and gives him a nod for a plan they've worked out on the training field. The whistle blows and rather than lob it over a defensive wall in which the French players have gathered, he flummoxes them by sending a low cross to his left in which the men in blue scramble hurriedly to stop the ball, but it finds the feet of Armstrong who, with all his might, sends the ball flying into the back of the net and this time, it counts. No one who is Northern Irish there can't contain themselves and with the goal being nearby where the majority of Northern Irish fans are placed in the corner, the players run over to celebrate with them and on the bench, Bingham and Best hug each other with total joy written all over their faces and John Motson, commentating for the game live on for the BBC, would famously say, "Whoever would've believed it? Write Northern Ireland off at your peril...name on the trophy surely!"

He might've gotten carried away with the so called 'neutral' BBC policy going right out of the window there though to be fair being in the moment there with his prediction, but as the game off underway yet again, he might've had a point as Northern Ireland held the ball for the rest of the game and the French desperately tried to get a last minute goal to avoid further embarrassment and to stop the game going into extra time. The French couldn't find another goal as the plucky Ulstermen seemed more happy to waste time right up to full time, but right before the whistle was blown and in the very last kick of the game, Paul Ramsay had been handed the ball back by O'Neil and saw Platini racing towards him to try and had a cheeky idea to rub more salt into the wounds and decided to nutmeg the French star man.

He didn't quite get it right as the ball went off his legs but the effort would've no doubt gone well with those cheering on back home and before anyone had time to react, full time was up and extra timed loomed. A massive boo rang round the stadium from the French supporters who couldn't believed that their side had failed to take off this stubborn Irish team who had no intention of giving up so easily and for the men in white, it was time to catch their breath and take it easy, it had been one hell of a superhuman effort for them but now it was clear that another 30 minutes of this plus penalties might've been just a step too far. On a more amusing note, the players looked over to their French counterparts in which their manager was giving them a right telling off for no doubt their failure to win this game in normal time and it did somewhat relax the nerves of the Irish players who couldn't quite believed just what they had managed to do.

The French team prior before extra time is played in the final​

Eventually the first half of extra-time arrived and it seemed that the French had found their mindset again and began to boss the game around like what they had done at the start of the match. As Bingham watched this, part of him regretted his choice of not asking his players to go in for the kill after that equaliser as France looked rattled and could've been beaten by a last minute goal perhaps had they not been so careless towards the end. He had though no time to think of what might've been as watched his players trying with every last ounce of effort and energy that they might've had to prevent the Les Bleus from scoring in extra time. It is a tense fifteen minutes alone as in both the sixth and ninth minutes of extra-time saw Platini try his luck scoring at goal, but good old Jennings was doing his part in keeping the French out as he was aware of Bingham's plan of dragging this game out to penalties, come to think of it, a shoot out might not be a bad thing as it would bring the French down to their level.

In the eleventh minute of extra time, the hearts are in the mouth of every French fan when Joël Bats makes a goal kick, but his shot is a poor one and is caught by O'Neil who finds himself with a lot of space and a heart stopping chance to score for his country, but he has grown weak over the game and his shot is a weak one and Bats dives in to make a comfortable save and deny the Irish a moment of glory. Bingham can now see that his captain is starting to stumble along as he is now clearly suffering from the early stages of fatigue and the Nottingham Forrest player is even baring his teeth together in attempt to fight through the pain barrier, all he and his fellow countrymen can hope for is that he can hold onto the end of first period of extra time. Thankfully for him he does and as soon as the whistle blows for the end of fifteen minutes of extra-time, O'Neil falls to his knees and Steve Penny and Nigel Worthington rush to his side for fears that he might faint from exhaustion.

As he is helped off the pitch to be swapped for Terry Cochrane, the Northern Irish fans gave the departing captain a standing ovation for the effort he has put into this game and know he'll deserve a long rest after this. Before he left the field however, he passes over the captain's armband to Pat Jennings in which he says, "Take it, it'll mean more to you than maybe me." The goalkeeper is blown away by this statement and, remembering the sadness he felt in 1972, he takes the armband and prepares to take charge of the team as they take rest before the final fifteen minutes can begin. Bingham asks his players during the team talk to drag the game onto the shoot out and with the very last bit of any effort they have.

Jennings joins the fans in applauding O'Neil as he leaves the field before he is given the captain's duties​

The players accept this and are probably playing on an rush of energy that should hopefully just be able to get them over the line and as Bingham heads back to the dug out, he is so certain that they make it that far that he starts writing down who will go up to take part in the shootout. The final fifteen minutes of the game are, for lack of a better word, tiring. Not only are the Northern Irish players nearly out of energy but so too are the French who look like they want the game to finally end, there is nothing else to say about how dull and tiresome the final minutes of match has become with some French supporters actually starting to admire the determination of the Ulstermen to carry on this far. That said, the host nation's supporters are all far from happy from what they have just watched and the fear grows that this game is going straight to penalties.

And the despair of the French supporters who wanted this game to be over far soon is that with no more goals scored and the final score line reading 1-1 after one hundred and twenty minutes, it is time for the shoot out and just what Bingham had wanted. A massive boo once again engulfs the stadium as they cannot believe it has come to this and Motson reacts after the whistle is blown saying, "Well, here are then. We have now gone to the shoot out and now it's a matter of luck of who'll hold their nerve."

A coin toss is awarded for the French who are the ones to make the start on the shoot out with Jennings rushing into the goal, interestingly, the goals are nearby the corner of Northern Irish fans who are now looking nervous for how this game could go. But it's Jennings they have in goal, one of the best goalkeepers from the British Isles and that at least would give the supporters a glimmer of hope. First to step is Bellone who awaits the for the referee to blow his whistle. He shoots and sends Jennings the wrong way as the French take an early lead in the shoot out. As much as Bingham knew that a shoot out could be helpful for his side, in truth, he didn't like penalties and perhaps everyone else didn't but alas, here they were to decide on the fate of this game. Up next to take the first spot kick for Northern Ireland was Billy Hamilton who looked nervous as he placed the ball on the spot; when given the all clear he raced up, but his ball smacked against the crossbar and the French supporters roared with happiness that they had a chance to win this. Hamilton walked away looking gutted but Jennings ran up to him, "don't worry, early days," he said before running up towards the box to take his place between the sticks where he was to face off Platini.

The French star struck his shot and this time, Jennings went the right way but sadly for him the ball just missed his grasp and France were now 2-0 up in the shootout and Northern Ireland looked dead and buried. Up next was Armstrong who knew he had to score to keep his side in the shoot out and many Northern Irish fans dreaded the worse. Without any worries, he dispatched the penalty into the top right corner of the net in which Bats went the wrong way; 2-1 the score now read. Next for France would be Jean Tigana who raced up to the penalty spot as Jennings raced over to the goals. A goal for France would be all they needed to be uncatchable in this game. The whistle blew and Tigana raced up, but Jennings guessed correctly by diving to the left and knocking the ball away from goal and he punched his fist into the air like a boxer as the celebrating Northern Irish fans was starting to feel a little bit delirious about what might happen next. Whiteside would be next to take his penalty and without any problems there, he sent it straight down the middle to bring Northern Ireland 2-2 in the shootout. It was all square now!

No one had any idea how this game was going to end and even as Jean-François Domergue went up for France and as cool as you'd like he would score to make it 3-2, the match was still all on a knife's edge. Northern Irish hearts were then shocked to see defender Jimmy Nicoll to take the next penalty and from the looks of the fans and players alike, him being selected was a strange one as he had never taking a penalty in his life. But with a cheeky run which made Bats dive quickly in a panic, Nicoll knocked the ball right down the middle to bring the game to 3-3 and for his first penalty, it wasn't effort at all. But now came the crunch, if France were to score here and Northern Ireland were to miss their next penalty, France would win the championship, if neither scored then the shoot out would go into sudden death but if France missed and Northern Ireland scored...

The tension was unreal from everyone there and to take France's next penalty, up stepped Alain Giresse who Jennings stared down the Frenchman in attempt to try and make him lose his cool. He takes his shot but Jennings is sent the wrong way and fears the worse, but looking over to the lined up players, he is stunned to see his teammates celebrating and the French looking shocked and upset, glancing over he can see Giresse burying his face in his shirt and looking over to the Northern Irish fans, they are jumping for joy and even some hats flying into the air. Jennings soon realises that Giresse hit the post and now it has given the Ulstermen a huge chance to win this game and the question is who will it be? Jennings feels butterflies in his stomach about what might happen and he then notices Jimmy Quinn racing up to the spot while Bats makes his way into the goals with a worried expression on his face, the pressure is on both men but Quinn takes some deep breaths as he awaits the referee to blow his whistle. The 38 year old keeper joins up with his fellow teammates in which he and the rest of them place an arm around each other's shoulders to help support each other no matter what might happen next. Quinn looks towards Bats as he readies himself with perhaps the most important kick in both British and Irish history.

After what feels like an age, Quinn runs up and takes his shot into the top right, in which the French supporters can't bare to watch, in which the French keeper guessed correctly but the ball goes flying just above his diving body and in a split second, Quinn notices the back of the net bulging as what he fears has become a reality. Everyone has different memories of what happened next; Quinn getting dogpiled by his teammates, Bingham nearly getting trampled over by everyone on the bench as he fell over in a stampede to run over to the players, the utterly eutrophic Northern Ireland fans with many grown burly men in tears as they all cannot believe what has happened and on a more sadder note, the utterly defeated looking French players and supporters and stunned over what has just happened. Yes, Northern Ireland have become the new champions of Europe by winning it 4-3 on penalties!

"What about that?!" Bingham's reaction after the shootout victory
​

After picking himself up, Bingham has to quickly encounter a live camera crew wanting his reaction to their shock and historic victory. Bingham doesn't have much time to talk when he suddenly grabbed by his players who start giving him 'the bumps' as they start throwing their manager up in the air over and over again with a look of admiration and joy written on their faces. Jennings is more reflective of what has happened and even as he is picked for an interview by an BBC crew, his voice is noticeably croaky and his eyes are glazed with tears, he just can't believe what has just happened as is perhaps many of his countrymen in which it has only just dawned on what has happened in perhaps what is the greatest shock in European football. After enjoying the bumps by his players, Bingham races over to give his French counterpart to congratulate him over an epic game.

He is though sorry to see Hidalgo standing there with an air of resignation on his face, it was bad to go out in the last World Cup at the first round but to lose this final in front on their own fans...? Nonetheless Bingham decides to give the depressed Frenchman a good handshake and the two men give each other accolades for each other and the French manager even wishes Bingham well in the next World Cup. But the moment arrives in which Jennings leads the players up the stairs to collect the Henri Delaunay Trophy, many Northern Irish fans are reduced to tears as there is more than a likely chance that are some of them who were there in 1972 and now, their hopes of having another chance at winning the cup has been answered and it really has been worth it. Once Jennings lifts the vase shape trophy above his head, something in the back of mind is saying that this was indeed his last chance of winning silverware for his country and just as George Best wanted, they grabbed the moment and speaking of George Best, true to his word about if they were to win it, he would never drink any alcohol further again and would want to get involved with coaching.

The aftermath was crazy to say the least, Belfast airport was swamped by thousands, actually no, the whole of Northern Ireland seemed to be there to welcome them home the day after their victory and it was no surprised that they would be awarded the 'BBC Sport Personality Team of the Year' later on in 1984 which was warmly well received, however later on that, it didn't stop just there for them. Billy Bingham, for his services for Northern Irish football and playing something of a small part in the peace progress in the troubled country, Bingham was to be awarded a knighthood in that year's New Years Honours List which many would say he was long overdue, but nonetheless as the old saying went, better late than never.

The aftermath of what happened in Northern Ireland cannot be underestimated for the country to move on from the troubles that blighted it and the victory could be argued as a watershed moment in British and Irish history and talks were brought up on other factors such as better integration between the two religious sides of the divide and maybe a new flag. Whatever was to happen, there was much to go on for. It was however well documented that when the Queen awarded his knighthood and then asked him what his future plans were, the colourful Northern Irish manager got a glint in his eye and replied saying, "Simple your Majesty, we're going to qualify for Mexico and win the World Cup over there!" He didn't know exactly if they were going to actually do it, but one thing was for certain, they were going to do what they always liked to do...have a go and grab the moment.

Final results of the Knockout Stage of Euro 1984

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Arise, Sir Billy Bingham! Yeah, much like in the old TL, Northern Ireland are victorious here though I have had to make a few tweaks here and there but I'm happy with it. But yeah, well know how well Northern Ireland did in 1982 and how they should've qualified for Euro 84 and if they had done, it isn't hard to think that they might've done something amazing as reach the final. Could they have won it though? Hard to say, but one thing is for certain, knowing that team of the early 80's, it would've been anything but dull.

Anyway, before I go further, I have ideas going forward with Northern Ireland in this TL though it is spoiler territory but I need some advice if should I do it...

Spoiler: Possible Spoiler

So yeah, I have been thinking that after the victory in 1984 that as part of a somewhat early Good Friday agreement here that Northern Ireland from here on out would end up not using the hand of Ulster flag here but a return of the St Patrick's Cross as an attempt to bring the two sides together. That said I know some will say the St Patrick's Cross is more connected to Unionism but if you were to pick that or the Hand of Ulster then the former might be a little bit more suitable, however I'll only go with this if you think that this might be appropriate.

Anyway, next update will be a brief intermission in which we'll cover the domestic game in the four Home Nations and see what differences have been happening there as of 1986 just prior before the start of the World Cup that year. So thanks for reading and hope to see you in the next update as your club might get good ITTL!

 

[Coulsdon Eagle]

Feel that no-one outside Ireland should really stick their oar in, but here goes...

Without revealing the spoiler, I would think this is a rational, well-thought-out idea - so it will surely be cursed by all sides in Ulster!

 

[QTXAdsy]

British Leagues and Club Football Recap
Part 1

England

Following England's World Cup victory in 1966, fortunes for the England team as of 1986 have been something of a mixed bag to say the least. The Three Lions had managed to reach three finals since then but in all of them ended up leaving empty handed and this had frustrated supporters of the national team that they knew that their country was very close in gaining more silverware but it was only a question of when it would be; hopefully in the not too distance future that is. That said there had been several low moments such as 1974 and failure to qualify for two European Championships through the 1970's had made following the National Team a frustrating affair and those were days in which English supporters hoped they wouldn't have to put up with again. That all said when it came to the domestic game it had been a glorious time in which it seemed that almost any club could win the league mostly during the 1970's and that wasn't including the fact that English clubs had been dominating in Europe in winner honours and no stranger for this was none other than the mighty team of Liverpool who by 1986 had taken on four European Cups of their own and it looked as though their dominance of the continent was set to continue.

That was until that fateful night at Heysel stadium in Brussels in which prior to the start of the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus, thirty-nine Juventus supporters were killed after Liverpool fans chased them into a wall that collapsed and sadly killing them. Though it was noted that stadium was in a woeful condition to host a major final which led to the wall given way, the Liverpool supporters were said to be blamed for this disaster which would see fourteen of them charged for manslaughter and face six years imprisonment. But worse was to follow in which in the aftermath, Liverpool and all English clubs would be banned from playing in European competitions for an indefinite time though the England football team was affected by this though there was serious consideration about this. Truth be told, this was pretty much a culmination moment for English football that was going to happen sooner or later thanks to the well documented problem English football had with hooligans who's rampaging had ultimately led to this sorry state to happen with this problem being best known as the 'English Disease'.

Even without hooligan trouble, English football was having a rough time for also in 1985 just prior before Heysel was the tragic occasion of the Bradford City stadium fire in which part of the stadium caught fire that quickly became an inferno and fifty-six people lost their lives. Almost like with Heysel, the condition of the stadium was in a dreadful state as was with many others across the country which in many ways did reflect on how damaged the beautiful game was in England and this would lead to improvements being made across the country though it was far from solving all the problems that seem to blight English football. That all said, there was a feel good story that the England team had qualified for this year's World Cup in Mexico and hopefully maybe then England could do some good there...

English League Winners from 1970 to 1986

1970 - Everton
1971 - Arsenal
1972 - Derby County
1973 - Liverpool
1974 - Leeds United
1975 - Derby County
1976 - Liverpool
1977 - Liverpool
1978 - Nottingham Forrest
1979 - Liverpool
1980 - Liverpool
1981 - Aston Villa
1982 - Liverpool
1983 - Liverpool
1984 - Liverpool
1985 - Everton
1986 - Liverpool

FA Cup Finals from 1970 to 1986

1969/70 - Chelsea 2-1 Leeds United (AET Replay)
1970/71 - Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool (AET)
1971/72 - Leeds United 1-0 Arsenal
1972/73 - Sunderland 1-0 Leeds United
1973/74 - Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle Untied
1974/75 - West Ham United 2-0 Fulham
1975/76 - Southampton 1-0 Manchester United
1976/77 - Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool
1977/78 - Ipswich Town 1-0 Arsenal
1978/79 - Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United
1979/80 - West Ham United 1-0 Arsenal
1980/81 - Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Manchester City (Replay)
1981/82 - Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Queens Park Rangers (Replay)
1982/83 - Manchester United 4-0 Brighton and Hove Albion (Replay)
1983/84 - Everton 2-0 Watford
1984/85 - Manchester United 1-0 Everton (AET)
1985/86 - Liverpool 3-1 Everton

League Cup Finals from 1970 to 1986

1970 - Manchester City 2-1 West Bromwich Albion (AET)
1971 - Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Aston Villa
1972 - Stoke City 2-1 Chelsea
1973 - Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Norwich City
1974 - Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Manchester City
1975 - Aston Villa 1-0 Norwich City
1976 - Manchester City 2-1 Newcastle United
1977 - Aston Villa 3-2 Everton (AET Replay)
1978 - Nottingham Forrest 1-0 Liverpool (Replay)
1979 - Nottingham Forrest 3-2 Southampton

1980 - Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Nottingham Forrest
1981 - Liverpool 2-1 West Ham United (Replay)
1982 - Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur (AET)
1983 - Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United (AET)
1984 - Liverpool 1-0 Everton (AET)
1985 - Norwich City 1-0 Sunderland
1986 - Oxford United 3-0 Queens Park Rangers

Scotland

Much like with England, club level football and the National team have both had mixed fortunes. Ever since that major high of become European champions in 1968, there has been very little for the Tartan Army to celebrate as the Scotland team has failed to reach the last four a major championship ever since that great victory while in contrast they have watched with envy as their fellow Home Nations have all made the last four more than once; Northern Ireland's shock victory in 1984 had only poured more salt into the wood and many of Scotland's fans wondered if a last four appearance would ever be seen again. However, when it came to the club scene then it was a completely different story in which probably every club had their own stories to tell. Following Scotland's brief adventure in Brazil during the 1950 World Cup, a lot was learnt from that experience and as such various investments were poured into the game to help develop players for the national side.

All of this helped to improve playing performances and Rangers would in 1961 become the first British side to play in a European final and this would be added on in 1963 in which Bob Shankly (brother of the legendary Bill Shankly of Liverpool) would lead his plucky Dundee FC side to glory at Wembley to become the first British side to win the European Cup. Following Scotland's heart-breaking fall at the final hurdle of the 1966 World Cup final, much happened through the later part of that decade with Scotland become British champions in 1967 a year later though that wasn't the only thing to happen that year in which Celtic would defeat Inter Milan to lift the European Cup and just a few days later, city rivals Rangers would defeat Bayern Munich to lift the Cup Winners Cup. For the first time in history, two clubs from the same city had won a European trophy in the same season and if that didn't put Glasgow well and truly on the football map then who knows what would.

The mixed fortunes of the 1970's would be evident in the Scotland team's fall from grace but impressive performances on the continent from their club sides. The European Cup final of 1970 would see Celtic lift their second European Cup which seemed to show that Scottish football was not willing to stay in the shadow of it's much larger southern neighbour however in rather unfortune circumstances, that great Celtic team were to become a victim of their own success. Them winning that final had not gone unnoticed by the rest of the continent in which many of Celtic's prized players would end up being on the wish list of many clubs such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich just to name a few. The money being offered to the Celtic board was something they couldn't refuse and the likes of Billy McNeill, Tommy Gemmell, Bertie Auld and Bobby Lennox would be tempted to either playing in England or going to the continent which not only ripped out a major backbone of Celtic but most shockingly of all was this was without Jock Stein being aware of it.

It seems the story went that that Celtic board were so easily won over by the huge amount of money on offer that would not only pay off all the debt they had in the background but there were many crazy rumours from Celtic supporters that the money was being spent on many outlandish vacations for the Celtic board members. Whatever the reason, Stein was utterly furious with all this taking place behind his back and with it being down near to the start of the season which left him with a near skeleton squad to pick from and this would play into the hands of a certain Aberdeen who during the 1970/71 season would end up taking the league title that season, only their second since 1955, and thus breaking Celtic's dominance of Scottish football and their chance to claim six in a row. A year later, Rangers would win also their second Cup Winners Cup triumph in Barcelona in which sadly a pitch invasion followed by jubilant Rangers supporters which saw their team banned from playing in Europe next season.

Ironically, it would be another Scottish side that would win the trophy the following season, Hibernian FC would in a thrilling final with AC Milan who incidentally also managed to win the league that season to also gain a unique double. It wouldn't be until 1976 in which the European Cup would return to Scotland, this time by Rangers at a packed Hampden Park against Bayern Munich (in which a recorded breaking crowd of 139,671, the largest number ever for a UEFA match, came to watch the game) and came close to defending the European Cup the following season until they lost in the final of the first all British European final with Liverpool. In Europe, things were quiet for a spell up until 1983 in which Aberdeen would join an exclusive club when they'd win the Cup Winners Cup in Sweden and would become the first Scottish club the next season to win the UEFA super cup against Hamburg.

Since then, the likes of Aberdeen and Dundee United would rise up to challenge the might of the Old Firm to create what was known as the New Firm which have both put their money where their mouth is to taking silverware for themselves and with the 1986 World Cup around the corner, the Tartan Army are hoping for big things though the tragic demise of Jock Stein hangs over many...

Scottish League Winners from 1970 to 1986

1970 - Celtic
1971 - Aberdeen
1972 - Hibernian
1973 - Celtic
1974 - Celtic
1975 - Rangers
1976 - Rangers
1977 - Celtic
1978 - Rangers
1979 - Celtic
1980 - Aberdeen
1981 - Celtic
1982 - Celtic
1983 - Dundee United
1984 - Aberdeen
1985 - Aberdeen
1986 - Heart of Midlothian

Scottish Cup Finals from 1970 to 1986

1969/70 - Aberdeen 3-1 Celtic
1970/71 - Celtic 2-1 Rangers (Replay)
1971/72 - Celtic 6-1 Hibernian
1972/73 - Rangers 3-2 Celtic
1973/74 - Motherwell 1-0 Dundee United
1974/75 - Celtic 3-1 Airdrieonians
1975/76 - Hearts 2-1 Motherwell
1976/77 - Celtic 1-0 Rangers
1977/78 - Rangers 2-1 Aberdeen
1978/79 - Rangers 3-2 Hibernian
1979/80 - Celtic 1-0 Rangers (AET)
1980/81 - Rangers 4-1 Dundee United (Replay)
1981/82 - Aberdeen 4-1 Rangers (AET)
1982/83 - Aberdeen 1-0 Rangers (AET)
1983/84 - Aberdeen 2-1 Celtic (AET)
1984/85 - Dundee United 2-1 Celtic (AET)
1985/86 - Aberdeen 3-2 Heart of Midlothian

Scottish League Cup Finals from 1970 to 1986

1969/70 - Celtic 1-0 St Johnstone
1970/71 - Rangers 1-0 Celtic
1971/72 - Partick Thistle 4-1 Celtic
1972/73 - Hibernian 2-1 Celtic
1973/74 - Dundee 1-0 Celtic
1974/75 - Celtic 6-3 Hibernian
1975/76 - Rangers 1-0 Celtic
1976/77 - Aberdeen 2-1 Celtic (AET)
1977/78 - Rangers 2-1 Celtic (AET)
1978/79 - Rangers 2-1 Aberdeen
1979/80 - Dundee United 3-0 Aberdeen (Replay)
1980/81 - Dundee United 3-0 Dundee
1981/82 - Rangers 2-1 Dundee United
1982/83 - Celtic 2-1 Rangers
1983/84 - Rangers 3-2 Celtic (AET)
1984/85 - Rangers 1-0 Dundee United
1985/86 - Aberdeen 3-0 Hibernian

Wales

Out of the Home Nations, Wales was the one that probably suffered the most of being the one that suffered from being stuck in England's shadow while the likes of the Scots and Northern Irish could make their own identity and for good reason. Even though they had their own cup competitions, they were the only ones not to have their own league (perhaps maybe the one country not to have one in fact) which meant as of a result, all of their clubs played in the various leagues in the English pyramid. That all said following Wales' run to the World Cup final in 1962, the first thought of having a Welsh league were discussed but nothing came of it and when Wales also qualified for the 1966 World Cup, the debate carried on though if the clubs based in England should return 'home' to create a new Welsh league. However combined with failure to qualify for the following World Cup and various problems within the FAW due to the fact that they didn't fully control the whole Welsh game due to the infamous north/south divide in Wales that wouldn't really be resolved until the 1970's.

Speaking of which in 1976 on the FAW's centenary, the Welsh team would finally qualify for their first major tournament in a decade in which they would reach the final, indeed as the only British representative at Euro '76, but sadly came up short from winning it. Still, the question about a Welsh league would arise again and despite failure to qualify for the 1978 World Cup, the thoughts of a Welsh league this time round didn't go away, if anything, they seemed to get stronger. It was only when the Welsh team would qualify for the 1982 World Cup that the talks became serious about having a Welsh league in place and helped on by a plucky run to the Semi-finals saw the Welsh public appetite grow at such a prospect. That said, many of the Welsh clubs, mainly the big two of Cardiff City and Swansea City weren't keen on the idea of leaving the more established and wealthy English football system but they were in the minority. Plus, Wales' performances at major tournaments had finally given the Welsh the attention they wanted but unfortunately it would come with some side effects.

With Wales gaining more notice from the rest of the football world, so too was the glaring lack of a league structure and during the early eighties when Britain's special status with four separate football associations was under threat with pressure to merge them into one body with the Welsh example of no national league being a main criticism levelled at them. With Wales qualifying in quick succession for the 1984 European Championship, the calls became louder and it was pretty certain that something had to give and the thought of losing a vital piece of the Welsh identity struck a chord with many and so after much negation among the chairmen of the many Welsh clubs out there, it was announced that before the end of the 1983/84 season, the watershed moment happened in which the FAW announced that the following season would be the inaugural season of the new 'League of Wales' (later renamed to Cymru Premiership in 2003) in which the likes of Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham, Barry Town, Newport, Merthyr Tydfil and Bangor City just to name a few would finally leave the English leagues and into a new Welsh national league though rumour has it that it only happened because the owners of Cardiff and Swansea were promised that they had a better chance of qualifying for the European Cup than they could ever had ever in the English league system.

The first season of the League of Wales was a mixed bag though to say the least. To the surprise of no one, the big three of Swansea, Cardiff and Wrexham would all finished in the top three with it clear that the two giant South Wales teams were the most likely to dominate the Welsh game much like how the Old Firm would dominate Scottish football with Swansea winning the league at a canter and thus would become the first Welsh team to play in the European cup for the 1985/96 season however the aged old problem of the north/south problem in Wales raised it's ugly head when to came to attendances. While games involving the bigger Welsh clubs would attract some good numbers, there were some woeful numbers with fans from the smaller clubs barely travelling in number to venture either north or south when some games having attendances as low as five hundred showing just how lopsided things seemed to be.

That said, it was all trial and error to see how things were and thus at the end of the season, it was decided to host a vote to reduce the size of the league from twenty to sixteen teams with the rest of making their place in the lower joint second tiers which would be called Cymru North and Cymru South which as the names suggested were to contain the teams from north and south Wales respectably and thus reduce the need to make a long travel going north or south of the country and just remaining in their own regions which went down well however thanks to certain events over in England, the Welsh League was about to get an unlikely boost. Following the ban of English clubs following Heysel, many of their vacant spots were up for grabs with several countries interested in gaining those sports though the formation of the League of Wales was with the benefit of hindsight, one of those moments that happened to be in the right place at the right time as there would be two UEFA cup spots that would go Cardiff and Wrexham (Bangor City were already guaranteed a place in the Cup Winners Cup following a Welsh cup victory) while Swansea would take up the English spot in the European Cup in which the latter would play Belgian champions Anderlecht in the first round.

It would thought be a mixed bag affair as Swansea City's first adventure in the European Cup would be over before it even started in the first round when they lost 4-2 on aggerate in the first round to the Belgians with their lack of experience of European football on display while with Cardiff and Wrexham, they would suffer the same fortunes in which both sides reached the second round of the UEFA Cup with Cardiff going out to West German side Borussia Monchengladbach while Wrexham would fall at the same stage of Spanish giants Real Madrid. As anticlimactic as a major impact of European the Welsh clubs had turn out to be, the hope of doing good in the next World Cup in Mexico will be one to keep and eye out on and seeing how well the Welsh team can keep this good work up...

Welsh League Winners from 1985 to 1986

1985 - Swansea City
1986 - Swansea City

Welsh Cup winners from 1985 to 1986

1985 - Bangor City 2 - 1 Cardiff City
1986 - Wrexham AFC 1 - 1 Swansea City (Wrexham win 3-2 on Pens.)

Northern Ireland

​

Undoubtedly the most troubled of the Home Nations which is not to do with football but rather relating to events off the field. The Troubles had been a dark cloud that had hung over Northern Ireland for many years though the football team had ended up being something for many to look forward too and seeing the team do well in main tournaments was often a sign of pride that many could get behind. Things would really take centre stage when in 1984, Northern Ireland would pull off the unthinkable and go on to win Euro 1984 and thus enter not just Irish football folklore but perhaps maybe all of Irish folklore full stop and the wave of euphoria following this historic victory would lead for some side effects for the country. The thoughts of devolution like with Scotland were brought up and how to better integrate the protestant and catholic communities across Northern Ireland and the question was just how to do it.

For some bizarre reason, it would all start of with the topic of the official flag for Northern Ireland which had always been a source of serious debate on both sides of the religious divide in which the Ulster banner had been used as the flag to represent the country in sporting tournaments but was seen by the catholic community as a symbol of pro-protestant, loyalist and Unionist connections and the quest to find another flag to be neutral was on. It is unknown who came up with the idea or where it came from but following Northern Ireland's victory in 1984, it was announced that a new 'neutral' flag would be adopted for the country and many were curious to see what it would be though in the end, it was a shock to see that the flag chosen would be none other than the St Patrick's Cross, the previous flag used when Ireland had been united.

Both sides didn't like to put it mildly; the catholic community stated that it was connected to Unionism while even the protestant community would rather fly the Ulster banner than that flag stating that they were out to show their loyalty to the crown. Ironically, it was because of this rare shared disagreement between the two sides of the divide would be the reason in which why from 1984 onwards that the St Patrick's Cross would be adopted officially as the flag of Northern Ireland with the flag being first seen during Northern Ireland's first home qualifying game for the 1986 in Belfast against Romania in which neither side knew what to think about it. In the end, the catholic community would reluctantly accept it as it was said that between that flag and the Ulster banner, the St Patricks Cross would be the somewhat more preferably flag to use.

Despite this, that hasn't stop several Northern Ireland fans still flying the Ulster banner at games though with the fact that Northern Ireland would also qualify for the World Cup in Mexico, the feel good factor around the National team was there and it would be out in Mexico, funnily enough in the same country in which the Ulstermen had perhaps their greatest ever World Cup adventure, would return and with it would be the sight of the new flag on display. That said with that sorted out, there even some talks that if relations could be mended with the south then maybe cross border games or even a full league could become a reality, even the return of Derry City to play in the North and the return of a certain lost legendary team that was last seen in 1949. How many would laugh at that at first...

All league winners and cups results remain the same as per OTL

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Back again and this time something a bit different for those who are interested in the domestic game! Thought I might get this out just before we get into the 1986 World Cup as the latter will be far different from the old TL in which the rankings of the Home Nations are very different from what we had before. I'll cover the European results in a future update but this will do for now.

You'll notice that things are looking very different for the history of Northern Irish football and what this might mean going forward as we get into the next decade ITTL which I'll let you speculate on how that might go. Anyway hope you all enjoyed that as next update we are all off to Mexico and see how well our Home Nations will get on, can any of them go all the way? Find out next time!

​

 

[QTXAdsy]

Chapter 44
Return To Mexico

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For the first time in this history in the World Cup, a tournament would be hosted by a nation that had hosted the tournament previously; Mexico, though it had never been this idea to begin with. The original idea as part of the rotatory policy of the World going between Europe and South America meant that for 1986 would see the tournament return to the latter with Columbia given the honour of hosting duties. However as many things can go, things didn't go all to plan but due to economic problems saw them withdrawing from hosting and Mexico was hurriedly brought in to take on the 1986 World Cup though this was not without controversy as both the United States and Canada had put forward bids themselves that were arguably better yet it seemed that FIFA wasn't willing to dip their toe into new territory. This would add to more problems that seemed to plague this World Cup with just a year prior before the tournament was to take place, a major earthquake devastated the country and despite fears that the tournament would have to be moved yet again, Mexico was still ready for the biggest show in the World to arrive.

Yet perhaps they hadn't expected four certain teams from the British isles coming over. British football and perhaps most especially Northern Irish football was on the up after the nation's shock victory at the last European Championship and the pride and excitement following their success led to then recent and now famous Good Friday agreement of March 1986 (ironically tying in with the UN's aim of making 1986 the year of peace in which that year's World Cup would see many logos promoting this). This had also led to the plan of hosting a referendum in 1987 for the creation of a new Northern Irish assembly following the lead of the Scottish one but there was another important step in which the previously guarded and troubled borders between the north and south of the Ireland would finally be opened up which would allow people to travel freely between the two halves. After so much turmoil the little country had suffered over the last few years, things were finally looking up and with the team making the journey to Mexico for the next World Cup, many thought that the sky was the limit for the team.

The Home Championship tournament was long gone and now was becoming nothing more than a distant memory and calls for the tournament to bring it back were always ongoing but this wish was to be somewhat granted when Northern Ireland and England were drawn together in their World Cup qualifying group with Wales and Scotland being drawn together in their respective group too, and with the sides happened to play together at the last European championship not so long ago, it was almost if the football Gods were trying to hint at those in charge of the game of bringing back the tournament. While the English and Northern Irish booked their passage to Mexico, the group with the Scots and Welsh would prove to be a dramatic and heart-breaking one. While the other UEFA groups had the top two progressing automatically for the World Cup, Scotland and Wales' group would only have the top team automatically qualifying with second spot having to make do with a thankless play-off round with Australia.

The game was more important as with memory of Heysel still in air and with English clubs banned from Europe, it was said that the British government were looking for an excuse to bring similar laws to the Scottish and Welsh teams and a highly charged night in Cardiff with everything to play seemed like a perfect setting for action to happen. In the end and thankfully there was no major crowd trouble; the Welsh would finish top of the group in a dramatic game in Cardiff with the Scots in which a controversial handball incident by the Scots would lead to a penalty for them to help them bring the game to a draw and help them finish in second place. But the game would be remembered in tragic circumstances as Scotland manager Jock Stein suffered a from Pulmonary edema attack and would sadly lose his life, some saying that the stress from the Scottish media to qualify contributed to his death. A giant of the Scottish game had passed away.

The shock news that Scotland would wake up to following their dramatic game with Wales
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Without anytime for a replacement, Stein's assistant coach, Alex Fergusson, was given the task of taking charge of the national team temporally for at least the World Cup and after winning 2-0 at home and then drawing 0-0 over in Melbourne, Scotland were the last to join their fellow British teams for the trip to Mexico, though the death of Stein still hung over the squad with Fergusson feared might harm their chances. The shock of Stein's death had effected Welsh manager Mike England in which it is stated that in the Welsh dressing room when the team was celebrating their qualification for the World Cup, England had been alerted to the news and tearfully had to tell the team the bad news that had happened. According it Ian Rush in his own words, the dressing room's atmosphere quickly became that of a funeral and the thoughts of wanting to win the World Cup were felt with the Tartan Army summing it up best: 'We'd rather be out of the World Cup and have Big Jock back.'

Despite the sadness over the death of Jock Stein, the Home Nations were all on their way to Mexico and with the fact that both England and Wales would go into this tournament as seeded teams due to reaching the last four of the 1982 World Cup, they would soon find that fate seemed to have a habit of wanting to pair of the Home Nations constantly, though some conspiracy theories at the time figure that the reason for this was a way to boost television ratings though it seems that is highly unlikely and instead that it was due pure coincidence that this had to happen. With that though, the World Cup was to begin...

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Wales and Northern Ireland were both to be placed in Group D along with France and Algeria with the former to kick off with France while Northern Ireland had to play Algeria first. Despite Welsh hopes of doing something good to start off their World Cup, and with the game with France being a rematch of their encounter at the last World Cup, the Dragons would underestimate the French who would pretty much out play the Welsh with the men in red pretty much chasing shadows throughout the game. That said the French couldn't find the back of the net by the time the first half was over with the score line still reading 0-0. The second half saw Wales play better but still didn't look like a team that was going to score and that the only hope Wales had was to get a point from the game.

A point that with about ten minutes to go seemed a certain possibility but alas, it was not to be. Papin would end up netting in the winner right on seventy-ninth minute to give France the win and a lot for Wales to take in. A few days later, Northern Ireland would take on Algeria and things couldn't have gone any better for them in which Gerry Armstrong would strike home the opening goal after just six minutes with a second for the Ulstermen to follow in the fourteenth minute to put them 2-0 in front and look set for the win. However things are never easy and Northern Ireland would not only lose steam by failing to add to their lead by the time the first half ended but also would give Algeria a lifeline when they scored in the fifty-ninth minute to make it 2-1 and it would be a nail biting ending in which Northern Ireland would barely win the game.

That meant that Northern Ireland and Wales were to face each other in the second group match which would have huge pressure for both teams, mainly for Wales. Despite going into the tournament with great confidence, their loss in their opening coupled with Northern Ireland winning their opening match with France getting their second victory a day before this match meant that if Wales wanted to remain in the tournament then they'd simply have to beat Northern Ireland in this game or they'd be most likely heading home. Northern Ireland on the hand simply knew that a draw would likely be enough to send them through as this tournament would employ a new best third-place ranked teams in which the best four third place teams could move into the knockout stage.

Live broadcast of the match with Wales and Northern Ireland
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The match itself would of course gather much attention in the UK with perhaps the tension being greatly felt by the average Welshman and this tension was to be reflected on the field in which the first half would end goalless though that didn't tell half the story in which the match was a cagey and somewhat tedious affair in which neither side wanted to lose rather than win and this was not looking good for Wales though incidentally it was going well for Northern Ireland which as things should knew that they would be going through. Plus it didn't help that neither side looked comfortable in the blazing heat which was only going to add to the many issues with how this match had gone so far.

The second half though would see a much better performance from Wales in which in the forty-ninth minute, Mark Hughes netted in the opening goal to give Wales the lead and the relief was keenly felt by the Dragons in which just fifteen minutes later from a corner kick, Ian Rush would header in the second goal to put Wales 2-0 up but alas, Northern Ireland were willing to make life hell for the Welsh in which just seven minutes to go, Colin Clarke netted in what might have been a consolation goal but it gave the Ulstermen to keep going forward to find a late goal to snatch a point and any fan watching would find that game hugely tense. In the end, Wales held on to victory the victory and despite Northern Ireland's disappointment of the loss, they knew that they still had a chance to through if results went their way.

The final group game for both would be Northern Ireland taking on France while Wales would take on Algeria, the latter knew that victory would pretty much send them through to the next round and they would achieve this by putting on what was honestly Wales' best performance at the World Cup in which a double from Mark Hughes and a goal from Mickey Thomas would have Wales roaring into a 3-0 victory over the Africans and thus, their place in the knockout stage. Things though for Northern Ireland were not so rosy in which they'd let in three goals from the French with Gerry Armstrong only able to net in a late consolation goal to try and make the score look less bad. They had to hope now that they could go through as one of the best third-place teams in the tournament but it would have to be a long and tense wait...

Final results of Wales and Northern Ireland's group at the 1986 World Cup, note the new flag adopted by Northern Ireland

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There was to be a great deal of excitement when it was found out that England and Scotland were to be placed in the same group with each other along with Denmark and Uruguay though as it turned out for Scotland, even the thought of playing the auld enemy at the World Cup did very little to prevent some shock withdrawals. The likes of Dalglish and Hansen withdrawing from the Scotland squad prior to flying out to Mexico didn't really help things in which after the whole experience with Jock Stein, it was not hard to see why some didn't want to be there. It would be 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. So much so that prior to their final group game with Uruguay that the SFA had already booked for the team's flight back home to Glasgow; it all seemed that the Scots were preparing for failure right before a ball had been kicked though it seemed that there was good reason for it.

In their opening match with Denmark, Scotland would end up losing 1-0 to the Danes though there was some hard luck on the part of the Scots in which that they had a goal chalked off that would have tied the game in which that was the last thing needed going into the second group game that would be with England. Speaking of which, the Three Lions had started off their World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Uruguay though despite the victory, the players weren't happy with how violent the South American side had been with Terry Butcher claiming that the team seemed more interested in trying to beat them than trying to win but was happy that the better team won. With that though, both British sides had much riding on the next game in which added an extra edge to the already fierce rivalry.

England and Scotland prepare to face off each other for their second World Cup match
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Interestingly enough, this was to be their second match played on Mexican soil with the first being in that now legendary match in which England would battle to a 4-3 victory though it was hardly unlikely that such a score would be repeated here. It was however in eighteenth minute of the first half that Gordon Strachan would fire Scotland in front and his now infamously laughable goal celebration in which he tried to get over one of the billboards but couldn't and instead just rested his leg on it. However England were not going to let Scotland have their moment of glory in the sun so easily as just a few minutes later, Gary Lineker would hammer home England's equaliser in which left both sides to go into the first half with the game all square and what had been a surprisingly entertaining game without much issue.

However things were to end up going worse for Scotland as just a few minutes into the second half, Chris Waddle would end up scoring England's second goal to help complete the turnaround and one that Scotland was unable to try and get something out of it and thus, England would book their place into the next round with Scotland looking dead and buried unless they could get something out with the game with Uruguay in which only victory would do in order to get on of the best ranked third-place spots. In the end, Scotland would get the victory winning 2-0 however the game would become infamous as to being one of the most bad tempered World Cup matches In just which fifty-five seconds of the match, José Batista chases down Strachan like a madman and cuts him down sending him to the ground and in one of the most memorable moment of the World Cup, for all the wrong reasons, Batista is shown a red card which goes down as the fastest red card in history.

A goal from Nicol and a penalty (in which Uruguay got another man, Victor Diogo, sent off with a second yellow for a bad challenge in the box) in which Davie Cooper would fire in that would help Scotland get the much needed victory that hopefully did more than enough to send them through. That said, the aftermath of the game would become more akin of brawl in which the angry and frustrated Uruguay fans pretty much lost the plot as some run forward to the chain fence trying to break it down to get onto the field and some poor Scottish fans are caught up in the mayhem up in the terraces as they find themselves on the receiving end of the angry fans and TV footage shows several Scottish fans trying to run away to the other end of the stadium.

A moment that does not go unnoticed by the FIFA higher-ups fearing about stadium safety. In the end, few had much sympathy for Uruguay with many feeling that they got what they deserved. Oddly enough despite how shocking things would turn out in that game, it did somewhat pale in comparison in which the previously thought no hopers of Denmark would stun England defeating them 2-0 though some were quick to point out that the English had fielded a weakened team having already known that they had booked their place into the next round. Still, it was a pretty disappointing situation to see England failing to win the group and that it might see them end up in a pretty hard path towards the final.

Final results of England and Scotland's group at the 1986 World Cup
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The good news for Scotland and Northern Ireland was that after much tense waiting, it was found that the two Home Nations had just done enough to squeeze into the last sixteen though it really was by the skin of their teeth regarding goal difference, mainly with Northern Ireland who having scored more goals did more than enough to put them through at the expense of Bulgaria and Hungary. With now all four Home Nations through to the next round, the World Cup had opened up for all of them though it was to get far more difficult not just in terms of the level of opposition they were to play but with the blazing Mexican heat to contend with; question was who would be the one to go the more further? All would be revealed soon enough.

Final results of best third place ranked teams of the 1986 World Cup

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Greetings all and hope you are all doing well. First off, thoughts go for the sad events that happened in Cameroon and I know it might seem rather poor timing putting this up but I had it planned to go up tonight regardless, I just those who managed to get out can make a recovery soon enough. I must confess the last few days have been rather challenging for me as in my own personal life, I have become a bit more anxiety ridden which I have always had and something I have revealed to you guys but probably best not to hide anything if I'm going to be honest, but it seems to be getting more challenging.

I won't reveal much more as it is quite personal and you are wondering why don't I take a break...I can't. On the contrary, writing is what keeps me occupied as not only do I have this TL to do but also some other writing fictional work which I hope to publish someday. Yes, I can't stop writing, I need to keep going so thank goodness I found AH history in which I could be able to do work like this and find an audience in you wonderful people which I hope you all enjoy.

On a more positive note, I'm pleased that TTL's World Cup is much improved from the old TL and one that is very different after I realised that I made a great error regarding the seeding of the teams so I have fixed it here and have completely changed who is in what group with this for example:

That is just one example as I couldn't be bothered to do the rest. Anyway, as always and for something for you to enjoy, here is the fixtures for the round of sixteen:
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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
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Quite a different selection from OTL, anyway who will win and why. Anyway that'll be that, hope you are all keeping well and I'll see you soon, until then see you all soon.

 

[GeorgeUK]

Argentina
Morocco
Wales
Belgium
West Germany
Italy
Brazil
Mexico

 

[Jan Olbracht]

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.