Chapter 101
Three Out, One In
At last it was time for the Quarter-finals for the 2018 World Cup and England would begin the list of games in which the team headed away from the comforts of Wembley stadium and this time towards Villa Park in Birmingham where the game in question would be a mouth watering Quarter-Final tie, the first of them for this World Cup, with the favourites of this tournament, France. It did look to be a very tough opponent to take on despite the home advantage as the French were not only one of the favourites but also a team that had ripped apart Argentina in their last match as well as winning their group so it was fair to say that there was more of a likely chance that there was an odd English supporter there being cautious about their chances. That all being said, most of this French team had only just two years ago been humiliated in their own backyard when Wales won the European Championship in the final...Speaking of which though the winner of this game would have a semi-final clash with either the much fancied Belgians or the plucky Welsh with both the French and the English wanted to play the latter with the former certainly for more personal reasons. Then again that was thinking ahead as this game was just as important if not more. The hosts verses the favourites was always going to attract great attention for sure.
The English fans were certainly making Villa Park rock on the new expansion on the ground was only helping make the atmosphere as intimidating as possible for the French though England manager Gareth Southgate knew that despite all that the supporters could do, is was down the men dressed in all white to make sure that the hosts didn't make a disappointing exit. No way didn't they want to let the French win their second triumph at Wembley within nine days, they'd likely never hear the end of it. But as the referee blew his whistle to begin the match, it was time to play. From the get-go, the French were probing and pressing and showing everyone why they were one of the favourites to win the tournament as despite England doing their bet to keep the French from scoring, it did look to be a matter of time until the French would et a shot on target and maybe even then a goal. The first shot on target for France would happen in the sixth minute when Giroud let rip a powerful volley at goal but Jordon Pickford had to act quickly to keep it out and in doing so gave the French a corner kick.
The corner kick in question would be a scare again for England as from it, Pogba got his head on it to send it into the bottom right corner of the England net and this time Pickford was unable to keep it out the ball this time as in just seven minutes, France had taken the lead and their supporters roared in delight and many an England fan could only look on in dismay at how they had let the French score so early on. It was not the best start for sure yet thankfully the Three Lions wouldn't give up so soon as in the tenth minute, England got a break in which Eric Dier would thread the ball up towards Harry Kane while on the counter and the mostly English crowd roared him on to score from what looked to be quite an open area, instead he would pass the ball over towards Raheem Sterling on his right in the hope he would tap it in. Sadly for England, Sterling didn't put enough force on the ball and the ball would be comfortably saved by Lloris who dived down to the right to get his hands on it.
English and French players shake hands before kick off
By the twenty-seventh minute after how much France were outplaying the English and showing why they were the favorites, it was something of a minor miracle that despite being by far the more better team, Les Bleus had failed to score and more worse was they couldn't seem to get a shot on target thanks to England being a stubborn side that refused to let France get forward, however a minute later, there would be clash of heads of Pavard and Ashely Young when both tried to get their head on the ball and ended up knocking each other out briefly. No foul was given as it was purely an accident, though both players looked rather weary after that and did rather shaken from what had happened as they began playing again. Then from out of nowhere in the thirty-second minute, Pogba was passing the ball back up towards Varane who everyone expected nothing more than to simply collect the loose ball, however he would make a howler when he accidently let the ball slip from him and Harry Kane saw an opportunity and pounced on the ball in which a mad chase followed, along with a chorus of cheers from the English fans and groans from the French supporters, Kane raced down towards the goal with Varane trying to catch up with him.
Alas, he was too late as Kane fired home the shot into the back of the net and to everyone's amazement and from against the run of play, England were back in the game and the English support in which Villa Park roared with delight as the English support were more or less happy with the fact they were in front and it didn't matter they were the second best team in this match, what mattered is that they had got the equaliser at a crucial time and hopefully it could kick start something for England to fight for. France were angry about what had happened and just five minutes later, Pogba tried to get his side back into the game when he did a darting run through the English back line and managed to get inside the box to go one on one with Pickford, yet to everyone's amazement, Pickford made a wonderful clean save that saw the Frenchman stunned of how on earth the English keeper managed to keep that out.
The last big moment for the first half happened in the forty-second minute when, once again as pretty much as how this game had gone, France went on the attack again with Kante punting up a shot towards Griezmann who found himself in a good position to score from but yet his shot for some strange reason went wide of the goal and poor Griezmann looked towards the heavens wondering how on earth it was not going all of his side's way today despite really making England creak at the back. Looking over towards the bench, England manager Gareth Southgate had a look of caution on his face and was perhaps the only one of his fellow countrymen in that stadium who knew how lucky England were to be in level while his French counterpart, Didier Deschamps, gave the look of a frustrated character that seemed to be a reaction that would've been shared by many of his fellow countrymen in comparison of how they had not only failed to add to their lead but that England were alive and kicking.
Kane just before he scores the goal to put England level
French frustrated did start to boil over just before the half time whistle when Umtiti went in for a bad challenge on Sterling and was booked without hesitation and there was no complaints from either as it was quite a foolish thing to do. Not long then afterwards, the referee would blow for half time and the English and French players would walk off to two very different emotions, one of joy and optimism and the other being of frustration and disappointment. Anything could happen within the next forty-five minutes, everyone knew that. However what would follow would be two very different team talks during the break from each manager. What was to happen next? Would England add to their unlikely lead or would France get back into this game? Villa Park would soon find out as the afternoon sun beamed down on those sun kissed supporters...
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Despite many thinking France would come out of the gates with all blood and thunder in their search to find the goal they felt they deserved, the Les Bleus seem to cut a rather fragile looking team which made it unclear what their team talk was either what the plan was or if they taking such a chewing out from their manager that the players were still shaken from it. England on the other hand didn't seem to have changed much as it was almost like from the get go that they would defend this very slim lead and if they managed to find themselves into the lead then that would be nothing more than a bonus. A really dangerous tactic to perform. Strangely though, it would be England that had the first good chance in the second half which fell in the fifty-third minute when Dele Alli tried to squeeze through a shot on target but his shot would be knocked clear by Lloris.
The French keeper and captain was not happy with what the team was doing and shouted at his teammates berating them to wake up as England went up to take a corner. From said corner, Harry Maguire would get his head on the ball to aim it at the goal and it looked liked it was going in, instead the ball crashed on the crossbar and went out for a goal kick. This was not the start the French were hoping for and now the momentum was with England and they suddenly looked liked the ones to score next and if they did then no doubt that it would make France's task more harder, even though this French side had managed to put four past the Argentines in their last game. France would try with another shot from Pogba in the fifty-seventh minute but it would fly over the bar and even more annoyingly, had been marked offside by the linesman even if his shot had somehow found the back of the net.
Some action just after the restart for the second half
In the sixty-fourth minute, another booking came for the French with Kante seeing yellow following a barged from him on Dier that would hand England a free kick. Two minutes later, both managers decided this was the time to make a substitution with Eric Dier coming off for Jorden Henderson to come on while the French had Tolisso going off for Nzonzi to take his place in the hope that it might help get France back into the game. That had become an overused phrased for the French if one had noticed. In the sixty-ninth minute, a moment of controversy happened for England when while trying to weave through the French defence, he would be brought down by Pogba and their was a cry from the English for a penalty. At first the referee was unmoved but was soon called over to investigate on VAR if it was a penalty and both sides awaited the verdict to see what happened next.
The referee checked for a good few minutes and when he finished looking, he came back to give his verdict. Penalty for England. On replays it looked quite soft and any neutral would argue that it was dive and the French players felt this too as they were unhappy with the choice to award the hosts a penalty and the Argentine referee had to calm everyone down before Kane would step and take the spot kick that could put the hosts in front. By sending the French keeper, and ironically his Tottenham teammate, the wrong way, Kane would put England 2-1 in front and the English support around Villa Park and perhaps across the country were all on a high. The French though didn't give in and instead would buckle down to try and make sure that the host's moment of joy would be short lived and that is exactly what happened next.
The game would make another crazy twist yet again in the seventy-third minute when Pogba raced through after he was crossed the ball by Kante and without much thought, he fired his shot into the bottom right of the net and France had found the back of the net once again. oy could be expressed from the French players that they had scored at last, but suddenly joy turned into confusion when the referee was called over yet again for a VAR choice on the goal to see if it was in a offside position and he once again raced over to that monitor in which many awaited with baited breaths. Drama seemed to be happening everywhere in this match and all eyes were fixed on the referee. He didn't take as long this time round and he raced back onto the field to give his verdict. Goal given and the game was tied in a thrilling 2-2 encounter.
Deep into the middle of a crazy game at Villa Park
This time is was the English players to express their displeasure with the referee while the French were just happy that they still had a chance to go through and after two VAR checks, everyone could agree that the referee was not bias to either side that was for sure but he was surely wasn't making himself liked by either. The second half from then on became something of a grind as both teams now looked frustrated that several choices had not gone their way and had either gone their way, the game would surely be sorted. But with everything still so very tight and the fact that anything could happen with the score still level. In the seventy-ninth minute, another booking followed for France with Nzonzi getting booked after a coming together with Henderson in which the Frenchman was at fault.
It was descending into a tense game in which one wrong move would surely decide the game and in the eighty-third minute of the game, that moment would arrive. Pogba was barely into the English half and had many white shirts around him and knew that it was going to be hard to get past many of them that he would have to try and risk it by doing something so outrageous to give France the lead. He would let fly a crazy volley of a shot that went screaming towards the English goal in which many felt it was going to at least hit the crossbar, post or be saved...what no one expected English and French supporters alike was that Pogba would score one of the most incredible goals ever seen at at the world cup would he score a thirty yard thunderbolt of a strike that left Pickford stunned and the French commenter descend into madness in which he didn't commentator but rather scream in delight while many English players and supporters left dumbstruck, so much so that several pieces of footage saw some actually
applaud the goal in which given the reputation of English supporters that is really saying a lot.
If that wasn't a goal worthy of a World Cup then who knows what was? England in the end could have nothing to respond to that and in the end, France were 3-2 winners in one of the most incredible games of football seen at a World Cup in which that goal from Pogba would be talked about for years to come and the English were left heartbroken to fall at this stage at the World Cup on home soil and unlike 1966 and 1996, there would be no final appearance like on those two occasions and this game broke that streak though in truth, if they were to go down to any team at this World Cup, it would be to this French team who many expected to win the World Cup and England could say that at the very least that they went down fighting too though many English supporters were left heartbroken still. Next stop for Les Bleus was a trip up the road to the Stadium of Light in Sunderland where they would be there for the semi-final. Question was, who would they like to face as some prepared later that day to watch the other Quarter final that would the winner in that game would be their Semi-final opponent, Wales or Belgium...?
French fans in Paris celebrating over their victory over England in the Quarter-finals
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Following England's exit from their own tournament, it was fair to say the reaction of fans from the other Home Nations was one of great delight in cruel sense. No matter what happened now, they all knew that there would be no World Cup victory for England at Wembley within a few days and now the hope would be if any of the remaining three could make it into the last four with Wales being the next Home Nation to take part. They say coincidences can be a rare thing in football, yet the amount of coincidences surrounding this Quarter-final tie with Wales and Belgium pretty much took the cake. Just over two years ago on the 6th July, Wales would stun the Belgians winning 3-1 in that Quarter final tie at the Euros and some say that the game was the catalyst for their run to the final, plus in that game with the location of match being played near the Belgian border, many Belgium fans had made the short journey over hoping to see their side win but ultimately came away feeling disappointed.
Much like how the Belgian fans didn't have far to travel for that game, the Welsh supporters (mainly from North Wales) would repeat the same process in which they would make the short journey up to Liverpool in which they hoped to repeat the same feet twice and progress to the semis in which the winner would face France. Most of Merseyside was covered in red by both Welsh and Belgian fans and with the game being placed at Anfield, the home of one certain red team, the red jokes were endless. Nonetheless, the majority of the city would be backing the Welsh (at least the red half no less) in which was helped that Liverpool had a large Welsh population in which would have no trouble in backing The Dragons but everyone knew this was going to be an almighty struggle for the plucky Welsh.
The Belgians were the favourites of the tournament and their impressive performances had won the hearts of many and there was more or less at least one of the players and fans who wanted revenge on the Welsh for what they had done to them previously and they were out to make sure that lightning wouldn't strike in the same place twice. Welsh manager Sir Chris Coleman though thought otherwise of the notion that Belgium were unbeatable as only in their last game, they had gone 2-0 down to Japan for heavens sake and had managed to only win that game thanks to a last minute winner to get them to this point and that Japanese team didn't have any superstars to speak of unlike this Welsh side which did. Surely the Japanese had proved anyone could give the Belgians more to think about?
The Belgian team, playing in their away yellow kit, pose for the team photo prior to their Quarter final match with Wales
From the moment the game started, Wales struggled to get their foot in the game and nearly gave the Belgians an early lead in the third minute when Ben Davis accidently let the ball slip and this saw an incoming De Bruyne snatch the ball off his feet and charge towards the penalty box in which he let fly and it was only thanks to the fingertips of one Wayne Hennessey that stopped the ball flying into the top right corner of the net to prevent an embarrassing early goal coming in. A Belgian corner followed which saw poor Wales being pushed, pulled and stretched as Belgium attempted to find an early goal which saw not find the back of the net despite being by far the better team in the early moments of the game. Another attempt for Belgium followed when in the tenth minute, Lukaku smashed the ball home towards goal but to his frustration saw the ball smash on the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
That was just a mere example of how much Belgium were dominating the game and it didn't help the poor Welsh fans, a lot of them being placed in the Kop end of Anfield watching the many Belgium balls flying their way and fearing that a Belgian goal was invadable, indeed most pundits who were predicting a comfortable Belgium win were feeling confident in themselves. Wales' first chance of the game would come from an unlikely source when Wales won a freekick in the twenty-fourth minute and Bale swung it into the box for Tyler Roberts to try and get his head on the ball in which he did...but only managed to aim the ball squarely at Belgium goalkeeper Courtois who saved it without much fuss. It was Wales' first shot on target in this whole game but it really wasn't much to write home about as Belgium carried on causing terror for the Welsh backlines who were creaking under the pressure from the yellow and black dressed terrors. It looked like it was going to be a long game for Wales...
Thankfully by the half hour mark, Wales did start to gain their footing in the game and even began to hold the ball for a good number of times trying to keep the Belgians out yet failed to get a shot on target during that time; to say it was a far contrast to the Mexico game would be an understatement but as long as they kept this up then surely Wales could build confidence from this. The first goal of the game looked to have finally happened for Belgium in the thirty-third minute when they won a corner and Lukaku would bang it in to the bottom left and it looked liked that at last Belgium had gotten their deserved goal...or did they? Joy turned to confusion and then worry for the Belgians when it was seen that a VAR call was needed as it looked as if there might've been something that had happened in the box during that header.
Bale tries his hand at scoring for Wales
As the referee checked his monitor, he did see something. Kompany during the header did a shirt pull on Andy King which sent him falling to the ground and that was for the Dutch referee not a good thing as he ran back to the field to give his final verdict...no goal. The Welsh fans erupted with joy as if they had scored while the Belgian players surrounded the referee expressing their anger. Wales were lucky that VAR had helped them out for if it hadn't been there, Wales would be 1-0 down even if Belgium did deserve the lead. It was clear as the game neared it's end that the best Wales could do was keep the Belgians away at arm's length and that is what they did with Hennessey playing the game of his life as he was kept busy trying to keep the ball away as if every safe was added an extra half a million to his price tag for anyone wanting to sign him from Crystal Palace.
To the relief of the Welsh and the disappointment of the Belgians, the first half would eventually end goalless in a game that other the score saying one thing, the stats said a whole different game. Many were stunned at how Welsh had remained in the game by this point yet there was always that feeling that sooner or later Belgium would prove their worth and come out on top. How long could Wales ride their luck for? Even with a lot of Anfield backing the Welsh, many did expect Belgium to get that goal to break the deadlock and maybe then even add to it. Then again given how they almost blew it to Japan, who knew...?
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Neither side made any changes during the break and the idea that both managers said to their players was more of the same. Belgium went running out of the traps yet again yet Wales were more than happy to fend off the Belgium waves of attack as if this was the only way to beat the Belgians. Another wasted chance for Belgium happened in the forty-ninth minute when Fellaini tried to go on the volley after getting past James Lawrence but would send the ball flying way over the bar and into the row of frustrated Belgian supporters who all couldn't quite believe their bad luck at scoring. Perhaps the magic of Anfield that supported the 'home' team (as Wales were in this game) was at work here? Little did they know that they hadn't seen it yet.
Lukaku just before his goal is disallowed during the first half
Two minutes after that, a goal kick would follow for Wales and it would be sent up the field in which Aaron Ramsay manged to get on the ball first before slipping it up on the left counter towards Gareth Bale who raced forward with Fellaini tagging as he went on the run. Bale knew he wasn't going to get any space moving forward so he crossed it over towards Sam Vokes who quickly captured the ball and made his way towards the penalty box with the Welsh crowd roaring him on as he neared it. He could've then scored from there and be the hero, but he was finding himself surrounded by many yellow shirts so he pulled a back pass towards Bale back on the left and with one mighty shot sent the ball screaming into the top right of the net and Anfield, mainly the Welsh side, erupted with joy.
Wales were 1-0 ahead in a World Cup Quarter-final and while it might've been totally against the run of play, they weren't going to care for that as suddenly they found themselves in the driving seat to get their foot in the semi final next. The Belgians were stunned to say the least and almost soon after that goal they began to fight back to save themselves from yet another embarrassing situation. Anyone could see how important Bale was for Wales but could he really singlehandedly do a Maradona and drag this Welsh side all the way to a final? As happy as many a Welshman might've been, it became quickly apparent that they had poked the hornet's nest and the Belgians began to rain terror on Wales and keeping them locked firmly in their own half in which not only couldn't they get out but also to the point in which Courtois had very little to do in that second half other than become a spectator.
Some tempers began to fly when in the fifty-eighth minute, Ashley Williams would make a tackle on Hazard and would get the first booking of the game and thus saw Belgium get a free kick which despite being in a good position some thirty yards away from goal, the ball landed on the roof of the net and yet another chance for the Belgians went amiss. A change followed for Wales in which in the sixty-third minute, Joe Ledley would go off to be replaced by Matthew Smith in which did raise a few eyebrows but seemed to be a change to give some fresh legs in to the team after putting on such a performance trying to hold off Belgium. That being said though, the Belgians carried on to make life difficult and in the sixty-eighth minute, their pressing would finally be awarded when Meunier would charge down on the right left Welsh flank and crossed it over towards Hazzard who was nearby the box and after pulling a dummy move on the likes of Ben Davis and Ashley Williams, he slotted it into the bottom right of the goal and finally Belgium could breath a sigh of relief that they had gotten the goal they deserved.
One happy Welshman after he scores the opener in the Quarter-final tie with Belgium
To be fair, the goal for Belgium was long coming and it would've unfair if they hadn't scored. Now that they had done just that, it was a question if they would score a second and really punish the Welsh or if the latter team would try and hang on until extra time so they could regroup and figure out what to do. Sadly for Wales, that equaliser had really put the wind behind Belgium who were now pretty much throwing everything forward as they looked to find the winning goal that would surely decide the game as they game was reaching the final quarter of the match. Time and time again though despite Belgium finding many holes in what was looking like a really rattled Welsh team, they still couldn't quite find the second goal and there was even the odd chance in which sometimes due to the fact that most of the team was up front, gaps in Belgium's defence became glaringly obvious with Bale trying to go on a one man mission to get an unlikely winner for Wales.
Even in the seventy-sixth minute came very close in which he shot up a lovely cross towards goal but it narrowly whizzed over the bar and a groan of agony from the Welsh fans followed as they knew of how close that was for a goal and the look of Bale having his hands over his mouth really said a lot. Five minutes later, De Bruyne ran into the box but was given a clean tackle by Ben Davis who quickly cleared it out up the field far as possible even though a big cry from the Belgians followed claiming it was sure penalty but the referee was sure it was clean tackle and the Belgians could only grumble at this Welsh team's luck. As the game enter the final ten minutes, it became quite a tedious affair with both sides making life difficult and with a laid back referee to boot in which both sides felt the referee was waving off important calls with one for Wales coming in the eighty-seventh minute when Andy King was brought down in what looked to be a clear foul by Vermaelen yet the referee or even VAR did nothing to help.
After much huffing and puffing from Belgium and mad defending from Wales, the whistle for full time blew and now the game would be go to extra time with neither side happy that it had gotten to the point as there had been chances to win the game for either side, mostly with the Belgians of course. But as the players took their break and rallied round to hear what their respected manager wanted from them, it was going to be yet another long thirty minutes for either team. How could either side keep up with this? Only one would win. Those who were expecting Belgium to go all guns blazing in extra time were to be left stunned as Belgian didn't really do that and instead it was Wales who came out with their tails up and must've felt as if they had the belief they could win this game and they began to press Belgium and made many raise their eyebrows as to why this was happening.
Moments later after Belgium score the goal that puts them level with Wales
Did the Belgians want to win this game or felt bad for the Welsh to let them have a chance? What no one knew at that time was that this was all part of plan to lead the Welsh into a false sense of security then attack them on the counter. The Welsh would get a free kick effort in the ninety-seventh minute of extra time with Bale as usual stepping up to take it where he hoped to get the shock lead for Wales. He sent in towards the box in which it did look like that it was going to curling into the top left corner, but the ball was knocked away in which Kompany collected it and began to charge on the counter in which Belgium could begin their lightning fast counter attack. Kompany ran past Aaron Ramsay who failed to stop him before passing the ball towards Lukaku who barrelled down towards the Welsh goal before he crossed the ball over towards Hazzard who with a cleanly taken volley, sent the ball into the bottom right and fire Belgium in front for the first time in this match.
It was a sucker punch for Wales to give away a goal like that so soon after they had taken a free kick but nonetheless Belgium's plan had worked and could feel some daylight between them and Wales as they hoped to finally win this game and move onwards to the semis. The best that Wales could do now it seemed was not let anymore goals be scored and maybe even pray for there to be an odd chance or two for them perhaps, though as the first period of extra time came to an end, it looked to be a hopeless dream that looked set to go down in flames. As the second half of extra time began, Belgium were out to get another goal to seal the game with a brilliant chance coming their way in the one hundred and sixteenth minute when Lukaku sent a wonderful shot screaming towards goal but to his dismay he put too much bend on the ball and it went curling away out for a goal kick.
Though the game looked to be over in these closing minutes but little did Belgium knew how vital that third goal would've been as right on the one hundred and eighth minute mark and with added time yet to be played, Wales managed to win a corner kick after a flurry of attacking football in a desperate attempt to find the goal needed to dragged the game to penalties. Everyone was brought up, even the goalkeeper as tension gripped everyone in that stadium as he whistle blew and Bale crossed the ball into box where one Daniel James would be the one to get his head on the ball and slam it into the back of the net and caused the scenes that every Welshman would be jumping for joy for as one of the most dramatic endings for a Quarter-final match surely as James would be dogpiled by his teammates while the Belgian players could only look on with dismay.
James after scoring the dramatic equaliser in extra time
This Welsh team would just not give up and fight until the last moment in which not so long after that late goal, the whistle blew to end extra time and now what would follow was the dreaded penalties. The Welsh players were tried but proud that they had gone all the way and in that moment a crazy coincidence came to mind as back in 1986, both these teams met a Quarter-final then which ended with penalties then and saw Belgium winning in that one. Was the same about to happen or would Wales shock the world? It would all be down to luck as Wales would start of with the penalties first with Bale walking up to the penalty spot in front of the Kop end where most of the Welsh fans were and they would try and play their part in trying to distract the Belgian players...
If nerves had already gone in this epic match, God knows how things must've felt for any fan as the shootout began with Wales to go first. Bale would dispatch his penalty with ease giving them the lead in the shootout. Belgium followed next with Hazzard coming up and sending Hennessey the wrong way to put the Belgians level. Next for Wales would be Ramsay who managed to get the ball into back of the next despite Courtois going the right way and nearly stopping it. To close for comfort in which that gave Wales a 2-1 lead. The Belgians followed up on that with Fellaini smashing it down the centre to level Belgium once again. With the score at 2-2 in the shootout, Ben Davis would step up next for Wales though many weren't sure he was right having never scored a penalty for his country.
He sent the ball into top left corner but to his horror the ball hit the corner post and bounced out to which the Belgian supporters cheered in delight knowing that things looked to be in their favour. For Belgium next to give them an advantage, Kompany stepped up and would repeat the same move as Davis did, though unlike the Welshman, the Belgian scored to make it 3-2 for Belgium. Now the pressure rested on the shoulders of one Andy King who knew he had to score to keep Wales alive in the shootout...he proved to have nerves of steal in which he sent the ball into the right sending the keeper the wrong way and making it all square. Then for Belgium came the captain, De Bruyne who smashed it into the rood of the net, though Hennessey's foot nearly went off the ball in which might've gone off his boot if he had been lucky to deny the Belgians a goal. Finally it fell to Same Vokes, the hero of Euro 2016, to try and keep Wales alive in the shootout. Surely he could do it? Alas, he put too much pressure on the ball and sent the ball flying into the Kop into the middle of now dismayed Welsh supporters. Belgium had won the game and were into the last four.
Some scenes of jubilation following Belgium's dramatic shootout victory over the Welsh that show them move to the semi final to play France
Now two Home Nations were out and while not many gave Wales a chance to beat this fancied Belgian side, they had taken them right to the bitter end to make many rethink that the Welsh would be a bunch of pushovers. Despite celebrating, the Belgians knew that they were lucky they hadn't blown it like with Japan and that alone would give any team that faced them ideas of how to tackle the Belgians. The Welsh would go home with their heads held high though it would be the end of the road for their manager Sir Chris Coleman who despite being offered an extension to his contract to last for the next European Championship, he would step down leaving a legacy of being the first Welsh manager to bring silverware to his country. Who knows what would happen next, but one thing that the Welsh team now had to focus on was to defend their European crown for Euro 2020, but that would be another story...
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Two down, two to go in which with both England and Wales out of the World at this point, both Scotland and Ireland were now the sole representatives from the British isles left at the World Cup though fate would have them drawn to play each other in which although it guaranteed there would be a Home Nation in the last four, it would mean that only one would remain. Ireland and Scotland were to play each other in Milton Keynes the winner of the match would head to Old Trafford in Manchester to face either Croatia or Uruguay in the semi-final. However, that was felt like a million miles away on that sunny afternoon in Milton Keynes as both sets of fan in the streets were having a party and hoping to turn Milton Keynes into either a small bit of Scotland or Ireland and this was the game that many were interested in seeing how it would turn out.
Traditionally Scotland held the better record other the Irish team though this would be the first time the untied Ireland team would play in World Cup Quarter-final in which for them getting this far was considered a victory. Both sides were playing in their usual home kit (though Scotland were playing in blue shorts instead of white) and the atmosphere in the ground was at fever pitch with it nearly full, plus add summer sun and draining beer supply dry, it could only go one way. From the start of the match, Scotland started off as the better team with John McGinn getting a brilliant shot on goal in the third minute which Irish keeper Colin Doyle having to act quick to knock it out to give Scotland a corner kick.
Irish fans in Milton Keynes prior to their game with Scotland, note some fans still having the original Northern Ireland name on the badge in which the cross would be still used for the United Irish team due to historical reasons.
A frantic clearance in the box followed in which Andy Robertson tried to header it on goal but his header was horrendous it which he sent the ball flying way over the bar and out for an Irish goal kick. It was promising for the Scots early on but it would be an end to end game when in the seventh minute, Kyle Lafferty nearly scored at the other end in which he tried to make a long range shot on the counter curling the ball towards goal in which Scottish keeper Allan McGregor had to move near out of his box to get his hands on the ball. Was this game full proof for Scotland as many thought? By the tenth minute, Scotland were seeing more of the ball but yet weren't using their dominance to their advantage to try and the game became a battle in midfield trying to best the other.
Both sides were proving that they were an even match for either side with the bulk of the player on the field playing the Scottish and English leagues and thus knowing who was who and for example, Scottish player Ryan Jack was having to do battle with his Rangers teammates, Kyle Lafferty and Steven Davis, on the opposing side and it did lead to quite an interesting battle as both sides went all at it trying to find the opening goal. It would shortly turn into quite a scrappy game with fouls coming in and despite there being some big calls, most notably a penalty claim for Scotland in the fourteenth minute, the Dutch referee was more interesting in trying to keep the game flowing without having to stop it. Either a very lenient or poor referee some would say as jeers would follow whenever one of these challenges went unnoticed by the referee and somewhat even more bizarrely, also with VAR.
It wouldn't be until the twenty-third minute when the referee did show a yellow card for Shane Duffy for a bad sliding tackle on John McGinn which would see Scotland win their first free kick of the match to be taken on the left of the penalty box some thirty yards away. Leigh Griffiths would take it but rather than try and go for goal himself, he instead made an indirect freekick sending it to his left which caught the Irish wall off guard and into the path of Ryan Fraser who with an utter belter of a shot sent the ball roaring into the roof of the net to give Scotland the lead in which they felt they deserved. It was more frustration than heartache to lose a goal like that from a set piece, but there was still many more minutes to play and still time to find an equaliser.
Scotland players celebrate after getting the opening goal from Ryan Fraser
Though as the Scots began to ramp up the pressure in their search to find a second goal, that might've been a million miles away to think that good things were going to happen. Scotland would dominate the game after that goal and many would've felt vindicated that they were going to be proven right, however it would be in the thirty-second minute that Scotland's domination would come to nothing as Ireland would get themselves slowly back into the game and began to probe the Scottish defence to get an unlikely goal and a glorious chance came for Ireland came in the thirty-fifth minute when while running on the counter, James McClean would cross the ball over towards Will Grigg who despite being an a great area to shoot on target, he would make a woeful shot that blazed way over the goal causing the Tartan Army supporters to cheer ironically. If that wasn't bad enough for Grigg for missing such a glorious chance to help his country back into the game, the Scottish fans began to gourd him with the infamous Will Grigg song to rub it into the poor lad even more.
That all being said, it wouldn't be until the thirty-ninth minute that the game would change on it's head. Ireland towards the end of the first half had now gotten themselves back into the game by pushing the Scots back and in that very minute of the game, another counter from Ireland followed in which McClean crossed it again though this time over to the captain, Steven Davis, who rather than pass the ball up towards either Grigg or Lafferty up top, went to fire on target for himself and before any Scottish defender had a chance to realise what was happening, the goal had slammed into the back of the net and To the Scots' shock, Ireland were very much back in the game. No one would deny that they did deserve the goal given how well Ireland had regrouped following falling behind the Scots and now it was the men blue who were looking flustered from that sudden goal.
If that wasn't bad enough for them, things nearly got worese for Scotand for in the forty-third minute when they won a corner and Grigg nearly managed to score from a header that would've gone into the top left corner had it not been for the quick hands of Allan McGregor who avoided seeing Scotland blow their lead at the end of the first half and the whistle for half time couldn't come quick enough which left both sides with much to think about. This game was surely not going to script as many would've liked and this feeling was felt more by the Tartan Army who were hoping they wouldn't end up like England and Wales before them...
Captain Steven Davis, who's goal helped Ireland get back on level with Scotland
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Scottish manager Gordon Strachan cut a very uncertain looking man in the Scottish dugout in which despite given his team a brutal team talk of what they needed to do, he couldn't help but feel that a twist was to happen in this game. His counterpart on the other hand had a more relaxed time in the dressing room with the message was to act more or less the same in which the more they did that then surely the Scots would crack open more or less. Even though in the second half Scotland did play a little better by getting a few chances, the best being a wonderful volley from Steven Naismith that had to be knocked over the bar by Colin Doyle which had he had more luck, it would've gone in. The corner kick that followed was terrible as it went over everyone and out on the far side for a Irish throw in but alas nothing for the most part seemed to be happening for either team at this point.
There would be a worrying moment for the Irish as in the fifty-second minute, a coming together from Charlie Mulgrew and Will Grigg in which the Scottish player made a good tackle to stop the Irish player in which got him a yellow card, however the sad thing was that poor Will Grigg looked to be in pain due to the funny way he landed and it become clear that despite help from the Northern Irish medical team, he would be unable to carry on and thus saw him being taking off and replaced by Shane Long. It would be a fairly tight game with nothing much happening for a while up until the sixty-third minute when the game suddenly went out of left field in which Magennis managed to get on the ball after a bad pass from Mulgrew saw him race down on the counter towards the goal and despite Jack Hendry stretching his leg out to try and stop him, the ball would cannon off his right knee and Allan McGregor was caught off his balance as he tried to catch the ball and stop it.
But it's awkward looping angle made him fail to get it and to his horror, he could only watch as the ball landed snuggly into the back of the net and the Northern Irish players and supporters were left on cloud nine while the Scots were left dumbfounded as the situation dawned on them...Scotland were 2-1 down in a Quarter final against Ireland and if that wasn't bad enough, it would go down as an
own goal from Mulgrew. It was an embarrassing situation for Scotland and despite still showing more of the ball than the men in green and white, Scotland had utterly failed to take this game by the neck and an exit from the tournament seemed very real now. Strachan would make a double substitution in the sixty-eighth minute with Griffiths and Matt Richie coming off to be replaced by Oliver McBurnie and James Forrest to come on in the hope to give the Scots a kick up the backside.
"Aww Naw," Andy Robertson reacts after Northern Ireland take a shock lead
It was a bit of an eyebrow raiser for Griffiths to come off but other than working that great free kick, he hadn't really done much in this game and it had proven to be not his best game for his country. The change though was looking good for the team as combined with fresh legs and a somewhat nervous looking Northern Ireland who didn't quite know what to do after taking the lead, Scotland began to lay siege on the Northern Irish backline and although it did look very likely that the Scots would score next, they were running out of time as the game had now twenty minutes left to play. Then in the seventy-third minute, luck fell for Scotland as with McBurnie trying to break into the box he went to try and cross it over to one of his teammates but instead of Aaron Hughes trying to block his way the ball would go off his hand as he tried to get it out off the way but it was too quick for him and to his bad luck with him being in the box, the referee saw the incident and pointed to the spot. Penalty for Scotland!
Naismith would step up to take it yet he felt like the weight of a country on his shoulders as many Scots watching wherever they were held their breathes knowing how big this moment could be in the game. Upon hearing the blast on the whistle, Naismith ran up and thumped it in into the top right corner of the net and Scotland were back on level terms, but many of them didn't celebrate as Naismith ran into the box to collect the ball and hurry back to the centre circle to kick the game off again soon as possible. What a thrilling game this was turning into for the neutrals watching. In the final ten minutes of the match, Scotland were now starting to pour all over the Irish team as not only had that second goal given them a lifeline but had given them the kick to try and find the winner in which the message from Strachan was simple; kill them off now!
They weren't hanging about now as Ireland were now the ones firmly stuck in their own half as they couldn't get a chance to break out as Scotland simply refused to take the game to extra time. Colin Doyle would have a hell of a final ten minutes in which he had to save many flying balls but as the more he saved, some feared that it couldn't last forever. Then in the eighty-seventh minute and with time really running out, Scotland won a corner and many were holding their breath in the hope that despite them getting no less that ten corners in this game so far, none had been successful and surely they would get a lucky moment soon? The ball would be taken from the corner by McGinn who sent it flying into the box and it would be Naismith that would be in the right place at the right time as he got his head on the ball and banged it into the bottom right of the net and this time it was the Scots celebrating like mad at the goal.
Some relief following the third goal from the Scotland team knowing how close it has been for them
It had been nothing short of a crazy game and the relief on the faces of the Scottish players was there and so too was the look of utter despair from the Irish who were so close at reaching a first World Cup Semi-final as a united nation. It was the hammer blow that the Scots needed to put down the Irishmen as the men in green in white didn't have the willpower to try and grab a late goal as before long and after five minutes of added stoppage time, Scotland held on to win the game 3-2 and become the last Home Nation standing in this World Cup. The feelings from that match were mixed. Scotland although being happy that they had reached the semi final, they knew that they had been very lucky as they had come so close to throwing the game away and might've gone out if Ireland had just held their bottle towards the end.
Speaking of which with the other team, though sad of going out at this stage, they had won the hearts of many and they would do a lap of honour for their fans who gave them a standing ovation for not going getting this far but going out in blaze of glory, though one had to look at Martin O'Neil's face and wonder what his future would be after the World Cup with his contract due for renewal. Nonetheless as the Ireland fans prepared to make the journey home over the Irish sea, the Tartan Army prepared to move north (or south depending where they were coming from) to Manchester for their big semi final chance and the thought of a return to Wembley looked to be an exciting prospect. The only hope that the fans had going into this next game that it wouldn't be as daft as this game, though for those who have followed Scotland over the years will know that life is never quite so easy.
All that they knew that later on they would find out that Uruguay would defeat Croatia in the other Quarter-final match and it would be that the last remaining Home Nation team at this World Cup would take on the last remaining South American team left at the World Cup too. All the Tartan Army could do in all that time was dream of glory of returning to Wembley and getting the ultimate bragging rights for all time...
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And here is a major change from the old TL...there will be no England team in the final and that means I break the unofficial rule on these forums that if there is a ATL 2018 WC that England and Scotland always meet however I will admit the old TL was a bit of wishful and somewhat ASB despite how all the Home Nations are better off here. For example, that French team was always going to beat that England team even if they were slightly better or had home advantage so it is a bit more real here though on the other hand, England did at least go down fighting unlike other hosts nations *cough* Brazil *cough* so they have nothing to be ashamed off mostly if it is that French team. So yeah, the rest of the update is mostly the same as the old TL other than a united Ireland team taking part with Scotland nearly blowing it.
Speaking of which, I write this update just after Scotland beat Spain...wow, kinda called it first in the old TL of how they beat them in 2010 so funny how I call many results from my TL's from the past and a few have turned out to be true! So with that said, here are the fixtures for the last four:
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France vs Belgium
Uruguay vs Scotland
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So who will win and why...certainly all change here for sure! Until then, see you soon and hope to see you again soon!
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