Alternate Football Scores

[Spens1]

Lets not have Italy get away with their cheating:

2006 World Cup (Australia Perspective):


Round of 16:

Australia 0-0 Italy (5-4 Penalties)

As the title would suggest, the referee doesn't fall for Grosso's tricks and fails to award a penalty. The game would come to a standstill for 5 minutes with several italian players surrounding the ref. Eventually Grosso himself would be sent off for dissent. Despite this, Italy would have the upper hand over extra time but Australia would hang on, with Australia going through on penalties.


Quarter Finals:

Australia 2-1 Ukraine

Australia would prove to have too much quality with Kewell, Viduka, Breschiano and Schwarzer all on top form. Shevchenko was unlucky not to have had a hattrick but it would be Australia who would prevail in this matchup in a rather close affair.

Semi Finals:

Germany 4-0 Australia

The dream run would end however, with Germany proving to be far too good for the underdogs, who had done very well to get to this stage.



Third Place Playoff:

Australia 2-2 Portugal (4-2 Penalties)

Australia would pull off another huge upset, with the exciting game producing end to end football by both sides. Australia, much like a year earlier, would rely on an Aloisi penalty to win the game and send the country in raptures of celebration.


Final:

Germany 3-2 France

Germany would win their first world cup as a united country and what a fitting way the game would end, with a last grasp wondergoal from 40 yards out by captain Michael Ballack to win the game and win the world cup to the joy of the homecrowd.

 

[QTXAdsy]

World Cup 1982 - Group 2

West Germany 1-1 Austria

After playing in a rather cynical game in which West Germany winning meant both they and Austria would go through at the expense of Algeria, Austria lure the Germans into a false sense of security and in the dying moments of the game, shock the Germans by scoring and the game would end 1-1 meaning that Austria would finish top of the group and West Germany would crash out in the group stage and Algeria would finish second and go through to the second round. Algeria become the first African team to make it out of the group stage, much to the delight of everyone who were happy to see the cynical West Germans get their comeuppance.

For the Austrians in the second round, they'd find themselves placed in a tough group featuring England and Spain with them being defeated by England and drawing with Spain would see them finish bottom of the group. In contrast, Algeria prove a stir in a group featuring France and Northern Ireland which saw them to everyone's amazement saw them defeat France and Northern Ireland and make history as the first African team to reach the Semi-final, there they play England but luck runs out for them as they lose 2-1 in that game. Nonetheless, the team return home as heroes and for the next World Cup, more African teams are allowed in from then on and all will point out that Algeria helped lead the way for them.

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Would've been nice if Algeria did somehow go all the way and if Austria could've helped in some way.

 

[Ruperto Pesto]

Let's suppose an scenario, where in the drawing of the qualifications of the UEFA for Argentina'78, England falls in the group of Sweden, and not of Italy's (with Norway or Switzerland, then, in the group of Italy)? remember that the seeds of that qualification were those who had qualified to the previous world Cup, except for Hungary, the Soviet Union and Greece, that the winner would play a playoff with the third best of the Conmebol

In that case, it is not difficult to suppose that England if it qualifies for Argentina '78, a fact of chance that would change everything. In that case, with all the world champions present, except Uruguay, the double-header status of Argentina-Italy in Group 1 could not be possible, but it would change the fact that Italy does or does fall within the group of Argentina or Brazil, and thus the condition of playing at the Buenos Aires-Mar del Plata venue, asked by Italian federation, due the big italo community in there still present at that time, would be fulfilled (Buenos Aires had two stadiums, River and Velez). Therefore, virtually all groups would be altered. Except, the group from West Germany, Poland, Tunisia and Mexico. Of course, if England qualified, their manager would remain ... well, Don Revie ...

Note: The results of the West German Group would also be the same ... that's why I did not put wikibox related

GROUP 2 RESULTS ARE THE SAME IN OTL AND IN ATL.

In some cases, some of the results are given by the yield curve. In the first round, Italy's performance was high, but Brazil is always Brazil, despite their low first-round performance, and more in those years, so the result here is a draw, and not a Brazilian victory like in the OTL third place match. That's why the result England vs Scotland here ... because Scotland is going to have the same problems as in OTL, but the classic of the isles is a separate issue. Peru will not be so lucky here

The same in the case of Argentina vs Italy, the Argentinian performance of the second round was higher than at the beginning and that of Italy was decreasing, hence the draw ... although in fact the result in this case is the same as the Italy vs Argentina, played in Rome in 1979. In the case of England vs Hungary, the result is the same as in Wembley in May 1978, although the English manager was OTL Ron Greenwood, and I think England would have done a better job in this ATL and in OTL if Greenwood would have been the manager, that's why the result of Brazil vs England was that and not like the 1-1 OTL of April 1978

The result of the third place match and the final match will be the same in ATL as in OTL ...

THIRD PLACE MATCH

Brazil 2 - Italy 1

FINAL

Argentina 3 - Netherlands 1 (A.E.T.)

Well, actually I did this as a catharsis, the today's afternoon match between Spain vs Argentina hit me low, and this is like my football chocolate to raise my spirit

 

[curby235]

Wales 3 Romania 1 WCQ 17 Nov 1993
Paul Bodin smashes the ball into the roof of the net to put Wales 2-1 up. Romania throw men forward and Wales kill the game on the counter with a goal from Dean Saunders to make Wales the only British team to qualify for the 1994 world cup in the USA. Wales qualify from their group drawing with Colombia and Switzerland before beating the hosts USA with a superb Mark Hughes volley which wins him goal of the tournament. Ian Rush gets 4 goals just 2 behind the eventual golden boot winners and a young Ryan Giggs dazzles on the world stage

ARISE SIR TERRY YORATH!!!

 

[CharlestownChiefsESC]

2010 MLS Cup Playoffs

The New York Red Bulls come home up 1-0 on aggregate vs the San Jose Earthquakes. Early in the game, Bobby Convey shanks a shot over NY's keeper. However late in the 2nd half Convey scores to tie the series at 1 on aggregate. 2 minutes later however Juan Pablo Angel scores for NY to put them up 2-1 on aggregate, late in the game newly acquired Thierry Henry is subbed in and blasts home a shot to give the Red Bulls the series 3-1 on aggregate.

In the conference finals the Red Bulls meet the Colorado Rapids at home on a cool November Saturday afternoon. In what was a game that saw Colorado try to bunker the NY attack the Red Bulls go ahead on a Tim Ream goal in the 42nd minute. In a repeat of the San Jose game Thierry Henry is subbed in and scores in the 86th minute to send the Red Bulls to their 2nd MLS cup final in 3 years vs Fc Dallas at BMO field in Toronto.

In the MLS cup final which was played in frigid conditions at bmo, the Red Bulls got off to a slow start. Fc Dallas got on the board first on a David Ferreira goal. However in the 57th minute NY would tie the game on a Juan Pablo Angel goal. Despite back and forth action the match ended tied. Unlike past matches Thierry Henry wasn't an option off the bench as he had started the match. Late in the first half of extra time Henry was subbed off for young striker Juan Agudelo. This plan would prove to be the difference as in the 107th minute Agudelo would dribble the ball into the box and chip home the go ahead goal. Despite constant pressure from Fc Dallas the Red Bulls held them off as the final whistle sounded to give them their first MLS cup and cap off a dream worst to first season at Red Bull Arena. Despite Angel's efforts he was given his walking papers in the off-season as the team felt they could build around Henry and Agudelo up top.

 

[Emperor of Panama]

UEFA Champions League 2009-10 Semifinal - 28 April 2010
FC Barcelona 2-0 Internazione Milano
Barça is winning one of the laps to the final when in minute 87' Xavi pulls a rifle out of the area against a disconnected Júlio César scoring the long-awaited goal of comeback. Finally the match ends and The Barcelona gets into the final in Madrid.
In the final with goals from Zlatan to bounce in 32' and Messi to free kick in 68'. They finish crowned champions consecutively in the house of his rival serrated against Bayern Munich.

 

[QTXAdsy]

World Cup 2018 Qualifiers - UEFA Group F (10th June 2017)

Scotland 2 - 1 England

In one of the most dramatic games finales in the history of the 'Auld Enemy' clashes, England first took the lead via a Oxlade-Chamberlain goal in the 70th minute but Scotland responded with two stunning free kicks thanks to Griffiths. England were then awarded a free kick right near the Scottish penalty box and thankfully, Scotland clear it forward with the ball landing to Armstrong who instead trying to send the ball up to his right, decides to knock it out of play to waste time. It works and the game ends with Scotland not only scoring a famous victory, their first over England since 1999, but also break England's unbeaten qualifying record since 2009. The utter euphoria in the aftermath of the victory helps get Scotland's qualification hopes back on track after suffering a disastrous start for qualification.

They would eventually secure the second place sport in a 1-0 victory over Slovakia in their penultimate group game at Hampden and despite only getting a point in their final group game with Slovenia, The Scots would only just make it into the plays-offs at the expense of the Irish, there the Scots would be group in to face Denmark. With utter confidence, the Scots defeat the Danes 2-0 at Hampden before playing away to a dull 0-0 draw which doesn't matter because in the end, after 20 long years in the footballing wilderness, Scotland are finally back at a tournament!

The draw would for the group stage would see the Scots placed in group C along with France, Australia and Peru, the latter team giving the Scots bad memories of Argentina '78.

Despite odds being stacked against the Scots, here is hoping they do well in Russia as there will be a Tartan Army in Moscow this summer...

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If Only!!! That bloody England result will give me nightmares of how damn close we were of getting to the World Cup, only losing our bottle! Anyway, would it be nice to have seen the Scots make it the WC this year? I bet some you hope that they were going, but alas, we're stuck at home to watch the WC now, ugh...bloody Armstrong...

 

[GeorgeUK]

Ironically, I was, that day, on my way back from a rail holiday in Scotland.

 

[Ruperto Pesto]

That would have been a decent final. Argentina just didn't show up; anyone could have beaten them.

First, it is not true that Argentina's team was beatable by anybody ... West Germany in the final, dominated but did not generate any real situation of danger, and that Argentina played with 4 less liners up (Olarticochea, Batista, Giusti and CANIGGIA ) ... The Argentine team came very decimated to the final, Maradona had his ankle destroyed as you can see in the photo, the referees barely protected him and also added a stomp that destroyed one finger toe. In fact Maradona trained without tying the boots

"This is how Diego played (however, he was Maradona) " said "El Gráfico" , in a picture taken after match against Brazil

Not Only, midfield Batista was injured as well, he only put in their feet after some injections and massage...and stayed most of his time sit...Ruggeri never recovered from athletic pubialgia. Burruchaga always played on the edge of worsen his injury. Not to mention Nery Pumpido that broke everything, and replaced Goycochea, a stroke of luck ... Except Troglio, Caniggia and Goycochea no player was going without some kind of injures as the tournament progressed. Argentina played badly against Cameroon, Bilardo did not put Caniggia and Troglio for discipline problems (he first found them smoking and then playing Mario Bros at 2 am) ... with today's rules, Cameroonw would have not be able to end the match, just as against the USSR ... it's fine, maybe it was Maradona's hand, but it was not intentional because if you see the image, Diego reacts instinctively bringing his arm to the body, as if he realizes the act ...

But after Maradona's ankle injury, it gets worse, with a very strong fouls from the Soviets and the Romanians. Against Romania was a separate game, hard Romanians, when they draw, it is like both agree that with the draw passed the zone... and we played Brazil. Brazil did not play better than us, they danced us very badly !, is remembered in Argentina that game for the incredible luck we had the bralizian hit in the post noises.... then there is the matter of the drum of Branco ... several brazilians took water from the same place and Branco is the only one who had stomachache?

And against Brazil, the genius of a hurt Maradona, enabling Caniggia ... maybe the goal that I shouted most in my life. Argentina had a free kick from Maradona, which gk Taffarel took with great effort

Against Yugoslavia, Argentina, with many injured, played to not let play ... it was not bad played...Yugoslavia wasn't superior to Argentina, both had situations and a wrong disallowed goal by Burruchaga in extra time. After that, the penalties and Goycochea

Against Italy it was the best match that Argentina played ... it's more, if you want, when the shot goes off Goycochea, and Schillachi takes the ball and scored... Schillachi was offside at the time of starting the play, well, maybe the bounce enabled him....but who would disallow an italian goal?...remember Italy vs England at 3er place match?

During extra time, the referee Vautrot, additioned 9 minutes !! and he handed out yellow cards for the Argentinian team but he couldn't ... I admit that Caniggia had a foolish yellow card.

So Argentina arrives to the final, decimated and with 9 donkeys on court ... later, the "fault" of Sensini is charged as a penalty by the referee Codesal five minutes to the end...Calderón had a penalty as well, made by germans...clearer and wasn't decreed ... The red cards...let's see, Monzón was fine, Dezotti, I don't know

In Argentina, that world cup is remembered almost as if we had become world champions, the heart and soul they put, (and the luck against Brazil) ... just what the current Argentine team lacks

So I don't think anybody could win to that Argentina, they made to them 4 goals in the whole tournament.

If Argentina had finished first in their group ... guess who would have faced in Quarter Finals?

 

[Enigmajones]

2017. Minnesota Vikings defeat Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville, for title, 13-3

 

[QTXAdsy]

Here's more of a set of Alternate football games, rather than results, as to what if Scotland actually decided to go to the 1950 World Cup than decide against it as in OTL, which also marks the POD in my football TL. With them joining the World Cup at the last minute, the Scots are placed in Group 4 along with Bolivia, Urugauy and France, the latter eventually withdrawing due to financial reasons.

List of Matches:

Final Group Table:

Despite the Scots failing to get beyond the first round, they are much more the wiser after their Brazilian adventure in which they put on a better performance for the following World Cup and thus...​

 

[Airesien]

FIFA World Cup 1990

Semi-Final #2

West Germany 1–1 England (3–5p)
Stuart Pearce buries his penalty confidently, Illgner stretching out to his left but unable to get anything more than a finger-tip to it. Olaf Thon, ready to take West Germany's fourth penalty with the scores at 4–3, hits his own penalty weaker than anticipated. Peter Shilton manages to get a hand and tip it onto the post and England are one spot kick from the final. Chris Waddle steps up, he doesn't look confident, but his penalty in the bottom right hand corner is well placed and Illgner dives the wrong way. Waddle looks in disbelief as his team sprints over to him, celebrating victory in their first ever penalty shoot-out. The West Germans, usually clinical in most aspects of the sport, are surprisingly beaten.

Third-place play-off

Italy 2–1 West Germany

Final

Argentina 1–0 England (aet)

Despite defeat in the final, Italia '90 will always be remembered fondly by English fans for reinvigorating passion and spirit in the Three Lions. England would go on to fall below expectations in Euro '92 and a poor start to qualification for the 1994 World Cup would see Graham Taylor resign. He would be replaced by Ron Atkinson, who led England to the quarter-finals at USA '94 and victory on home soil at Euro '96, defeating the Czech Republic on penalties in the final after a goalless 120 minutes. West Germany reformed as Germany ahead of Euro '92, but too would fall at the group stage in the competition, before losing in the quarter-finals in the United States. Euro '96 was a tournament to forget for Germany, stumbling their way into the knockout stage with a win, draw and a loss in Group C before losing to Portugal on penalties in the quarter-finals. With a youthful, inexperienced but undeniably talented squad, expectations for the 1998 World Cup in France are high for the European champions. The Germans meanwhile struggled to even qualify for the tournament, only getting there by defeating the Republic of Ireland in a scrappy play-off.

 

[Neoteros]

May 18, 1997

Juventus 0 - 1 Parma

Amoruso does not score the goal that would, in OTL, draw the match and eventually give Juventus the championship, just two points ahead of Parma.

Therefore, Parma wins the Scudetto for the first ever time in its history, a rightful coronation for a team that punched well above its weight for the entirety of the Nineties. Most of the players, that are welcomed back in the Emilian town as heroes, are able to stay in Parma, and are not poached by the other teams of the league, mainly Juventus itself: Buffon, Cannavaro, Chiesa, Crespo, Dino Baggio and Thuram keep playing for the squad in blue and yellow, and are eventually joined by other players of worlwide fame. Parma steals a few Scudetti from the Milan teams and Juventus in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the butterflies caused by a stronger Emilian team cause Lazio and Roma to grab a few more championships at the expense of the three big teams as well.

In Europe, Parma wins the 1997/98 Champions' League by beating Real Madrid in extra time.

The bankruptcy of Parmalat is a great blow to the team, but less so than in OTL - the key players of the team are able to keep it afloat, and by the end of the 2000s the team is back in shape; in 2006, two Parma players - Buffon and Cannavaro - are nominated for the Ballon d'Or, with Buffon eventually winning the prize, the first goalkeeper since Lev Yashin.

 

[GeorgeUK]

1998 World Cup
Romania 1-1 England
Graeme Le Saux's blushes were spared at the death when his Chelsea team-mate Dan Petrescu skewed a shot wide which would have won the match for Romania. England defeated Colombia 2-0 to finish top of the group, while Romania finished second.

England then overcame a stubborn but spirited Croatia side 2-1 in the round of 16, before beating a surprisingly poor Germany 2-0 in the quarter final. However, they were beaten 2-1 by host nation France in the semifinal. They did, however, beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the third-place playoff.

Euro 2000 saw England draw with Portugal and Romania while beating Germany 2-0, although a 2-1 loss to Italy in the quarter finals prevented them from emulating the heroics of four years previously. They ended up in Pot 1 for the 2002 World Cup, coming top of a group containing Slovenia, Paraguay and South Africa before beating Ireland 2-0 and South Korea 3-1. However, a semifinal date with Germany went to penalties, with predictable results, although England did beat Spain 2-1 in the third place playoff.

Euro 2004 would see England top their group ahead of France, Croatia and Switzerland, before a 3-0 win over Greece and a 1-0 victory over Holland saw them face Portugal in the final. England came out on top, winning 2-0, and putting them in good stead for the 2006 World Cup.

 

[GeorgeUK]

1998/99 Premier League season
West Ham United 1-1 Chelsea
Towards the end if this match, Pierluigi Casiraghi pulled out of a 50/50 challenge with West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop. (In otl, Casiraghi suffered a career-ending injury as a result of the challenge.) He went on to be a regular presence in the Chelsea first team, scoring several vital goals and winning player of the year as Chelsea beat Manchester United and Arsenal to the title in practically a photo finish.

 

[QTXAdsy]

1974 World Cup - Group 2 (18th June 1974)

Scotland 1-0 Brazil

Billy Bremmer manages to tap in the ball that helps give Scotland a famous victory over Brazil and perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament which ultimately see's the World Champions crash out of the first round. After a 1-1 draw with Yugoslavia in their final group game, Scotland finish on top of the group and progresses to the second stage for the first time, there they find themselves in a group featuring host West Germany, Poland and Sweden. Playing with nothing to lose, they hold the Germans to a 0-0 draw despite being utterly battered by the host nation.

They follow up with yet another draw with Poland scoring 1-1 before they achieve victory over Sweden 2-1 in their final group match with Joe Jordon scoring in the 87th minute to send the Scots to the final. Despite going 1-0 to the Dutch after just 2 minutes, they rally round to win the game 2-1 thanks to goals by Jordon and Dalglish and thus, create a huge upset winning the World Cup. The victory is huge with the Scots making it to the final of the following World Cup but sadly lose out to Argentina in the final. Scottish has come a long way since that famous victory over Brazil with that not being the only thing the Scots would win, they would succeed at Euro '96 in which they would win the tournament at Wembley much to the dismay of the English and would beat France in the final of 2018 to claim their second World Cup.

All of this not being possible had Bremmer missed that easy chance in 1974...

---------

Scotland wank there! That miss by Bremner is for Scotland fans what Gazza's miss for England fans is. Who knows what might've happened had Bremner only tapped it in...

 

[levigu]

West Germany 1-1 Austria
1982 World Cup Group Stage

FRG: Hrubesch 10
AUT: Förster 88 (og)

Algeria's stunning win over the Germans on the opening day, coupled with later results, meant that West Germany stood on the brink of a humiliating exit from the World Cup. On the final matchday, the North Africans played their final game, a 3-2 win over Chile, before the clash between West Germany and Austria, leaving both teams secure in the knowledge that a West German win by one or two goals would send both teams through.

After ten minutes' ferocious assault on the Austrian goal, West Germany took the lead through Horst Hrubesch. Following this, the pace of the match dropped dramatically. Both defences would play the ball back and forth between themselves, much to the dismay of the watching crowd. Angry Algerian fans waved money at the players while some commentators refused to continue their coverage of the match in disgust.

Late on in the game, with the established pattern of play being followed invariably for the entirety, German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher saw a pass from his centre-back Förster bobble up and over his foot and into the net for an own goal. There was scarcely time for the match to get going again before Scottish ref Bob Valentine blew for time - ignoring the furious protests from the West German bench that the game had at least a minute and a half still to run...

Austria qualified top of the group with five points, Algeria second with four. For the North Africans, the second group phase was a step too far and heavy defeats against England and Spain saw them crash out in third place.

England qualified for the semi-final on goal difference only to lose to France on penalties. Terry Butcher skied the crucial spot-kick; the start of things to come for England. Italy beat France 3-0 in a very comfortable final, but France's Patrick Battiston did escape the tournament unharmed.

 

[CharlestownChiefsESC]

2010 MLS Cup Playoffs

The New York Red Bulls come home up 1-0 on aggregate vs the San Jose Earthquakes. Early in the game, Bobby Convey shanks a shot over NY's keeper. However late in the 2nd half Convey scores to tie the series at 1 on aggregate. 2 minutes later however Juan Pablo Angel scores for NY to put them up 2-1 on aggregate, late in the game newly acquired Thierry Henry is subbed in and blasts home a shot to give the Red Bulls the series 3-1 on aggregate.

In the conference finals the Red Bulls meet the Colorado Rapids at home on a cool November Saturday afternoon. In what was a game that saw Colorado try to bunker the NY attack the Red Bulls go ahead on a Tim Ream goal in the 42nd minute. In a repeat of the San Jose game Thierry Henry is subbed in and scores in the 86th minute to send the Red Bulls to their 2nd MLS cup final in 3 years vs Fc Dallas at BMO field in Toronto.

In the MLS cup final which was played in frigid conditions at bmo, the Red Bulls got off to a slow start. Fc Dallas got on the board first on a David Ferreira goal. However in the 57th minute NY would tie the game on a Juan Pablo Angel goal. Despite back and forth action the match ended tied. Unlike past matches Thierry Henry wasn't an option off the bench as he had started the match. Late in the first half of extra time Henry was subbed off for young striker Juan Agudelo. This plan would prove to be the difference as in the 107th minute Agudelo would dribble the ball into the box and chip home the go ahead goal. Despite constant pressure from Fc Dallas the Red Bulls held them off as the final whistle sounded to give them their first MLS cup and cap off a dream worst to first season at Red Bull Arena. Despite Angel's efforts he was given his walking papers in the off-season as the team felt they could build around Henry and Agudelo up top.

After coming off a dream 2010 in a new stadium, the New York Red Bulls were looked as the new force in MLS. Despite losing their captain Juan Pablo Angel NY was looked as the team to beat in 2011 with a tandem of Thierry Henry and Juan Agudelo up top. After storming out of the gate NY stated to struggle. Despite switching the lineup around the team was in the middle of the pack all season. AS the season marched on, Agudelo struggled and was eventually replaced in the lineup with striker Luke Rogers. A trade during the season which brought Dwyane DeRoasrio in was eventually neutralized as De Roasrio was shipped to DC after a month for Dax McCarty. All the struggling eventually saw the team hanging on for dear life to a playoff spot, and their last home game vs Philadelphia would determine if they got in. The team won vs Philly and found itself in the Western bracket for the playoffs. In their play in game vs Dallas the team was able to get 2 2nd half goals from Joel Lindpere and Thierry Henry to advance to the next round. The next round of the playoffs would be a 2 game aggregate series vs the LA Galaxy. The Red Bulls lost the 1st leg 1-0 at home and despite going up 1-0 in leg 2 the wheels fell off as the Galaxy sent them home early and won 2-1 and the series 3-1 on aggregate. Many fans lamented 2011 as one of the most disappointing seasons in team history, after finally winning a cup the previous year fans expected a double and instead got another early exit.

 

[Tales Weaver]

Korea vs Germany
2002 world cup semifinals
0:0(1:0 panelty)

The korean semifinals went without a hassle. But aside from Michael Ballack's near-miss in 75', there were no significant goal attempts. This continued until extra time. This ended with lee chun-soo's golden goal in 100', ending the match..

 

[levigu]

(A different sort of AH football match - how this comes about is left as an exercise for the reader!)

Catalonia 1-2 Yugoslavia
2018 FIFA World Cup Semi-Final

CAT: Fabregas 7'
YUG: Modrić 78', Džeko 104'

A series of unusual results in the group stage, including the elimination of defending champions Germany, meant that one half of the World Cup finals bracket included only one team from the top 10 of the world rankings (pre-tournament), namely England, who fell to a limp quarter-final defeat against the Catalans.

Both of these teams came into the game looking to reach their first World Cup final, but Catalonia were widely favoured by the world media and certainly made their mark on the game early doors, Cesc Fabregas curling a 25-yard free kick past Yugoslav keeper Jan Oblak after just seven minutes.

Catalonia looked to impose themselves further but were unable to improve on their bright start. Despite a couple of half chances, most notably from Gerard Deulofeu - who was unlucky not to make more of a half-chance midway through the first half - the hunger of the Yugoslav side soon started to show and they ended the first half in the ascendancy. They had a very strong appeal for a penalty when Pjanić was hauled down by Bartra, but Catalonia were able to survive to half time.

The second half involved more of the same intent and maybe a little physical play from Yugoslavia, and it soon became clear that Catalonia were overwhelmed, their signature sharp passing play given no space to maneuver by the harsh but fair tactics of Yugoslav boss Mladen Krstajić.

Despite having Catalonia pinned back in their own half, Yugoslavia couldn't fashion a breakthrough until twelve minutes before the end when Rakitić's ambitious long shot was palmed by Kiko Casilla, rather fortuitously, into the path of Modrić, who couldn't miss such a simple chance.

Extra time it was then, even though Catalonia barely seemed to have the legs for it. The first half looked as though it would pass without incident, until substitute Sergej Milinković-Savić saw his penetrating cross swept home in style by Džeko.

There was to be no Catalan response, and Yugoslavia advanced to their first World Cup final. Although they were rather tamely swept aside by France, 3-1, their heroics had united a nation which had previously seemed to be simmering with ethnic tension, and they returned home to be feted in the streets in a series of parades in Belgrade, Zagreb, and Ljubljana.