Alternate WC : Continental Cups are Qualifiers (1962-?). A Football TL

[Wings]

Group H was one of the hardest of this WC, with all teams capable of advancing. Spain would quickly prove to be above the rest, beating Nigeria in the first game of the group.

Sweden would also pick up their first win of the tournament by slamming Uzbekistan in the first game.

Sweden force a draw on Spain, who cannot manage to break the Swedish defense to score the final goal that would have gotten them the three points.

Nigeria relaunch themselves in the race towards the Round of 16 by beating Uzbekistan, who look completely lost.

Uzbekistan drop their third game in a row against Spain, who really wanted to secure first place.

Nigeria wouldn't be able to replicate the glory days of 10 years past and qualify for the next round as second seed.

 

[Wings]

Messi scores in the opening game of the World Cup in Argentina

Cristiano Ronaldo in action against Japan

Russian players battle with South Korea to qualify for the Round of 16.

French players rejoice as their win over the US opens the gates of the Round of 16

Thomas Muller is exhuberant after scoring his 7th goal of the World Cup

Tim Cahill scores the opener for Australia against defending champions Uruguay

Italy's Immobile organises a counter-attack against Honduras

David Villa gives Spain the lead over Uzbekistan

Round of 16 Matchups :
Argentina v Japan
Paraguay v USA
Germany v England
Italy v Sweden
Portugal v Mexico
France v Russia
Australia v Panama
Spain v Ukraine

 

[MatthewFirth]

Predictions:
* Argentina
* USA
* Germany
* Italy
* Portugal
* France
* Australia
* Spain

 

[Wings]

The Round of 16 of this 2014 World Cup of course kicked off with hosts Argentina going toe to toe with Japan. Despite the Japanese putting on some strong resistance, the Argentinians were the better team on the day, and led by a Messi ddesiring to get his second WC at home, easily pushed through to the quarters.

The US got the better end of the deal while facing the Paraguayan squad. However, the Americans were taken aback at the Paraguayan resistance, and had to go the distance to finally make quarters after a disastrous 2010 campaign.

Mexico finally made it to the Round of 16 after some time trying, however they were quickly struck by Portugal in the Round of 16. The Iberians ran over the Mexican squad, totally left to dry, and only reacted once down 3-0. Despite valiantly trying to come back, it was too late for Mexico who were knocked out of the tournament.

France finally rose from the ashes of their 2010 humiliation, led by a fresh generation, rolling over Russia and heading towards the Quarter-Finals, with the intent of taking down Portugal to prove that they were back in the game.

Germany v England was a major confrontation that many ticked to be the biggest game of the Round of 16. And indeed it was quite a spectacle. Germany opened the score quite rapidly, and started controlling the game. Everyone thought it was over, however Gerrard, substituting for Wilshere, took a free kick three minutes before the end, sending it flying into Neuer's upper left corner. England took it to overtime, and started dominating, however bad luck struck them when Germany started to wake up. A corner kick taken by the Germans is deviated by Lahm into what was thought to be out of bounds, however Shaw surged forward and sent it into the net, close to the right post, effectively eliminating England.

It wasn't as close a game between Sweden and Italy, as Italy completely stomped Sweden in a one-way game.

The same story could be told for Australia v Panama, as Australia cut down the first timers handily.

Spain had more trouble taking down Ukraine, as the Eastern Europeans were very resilient against the calculating Spanish, but eventually ran out of breath as the Spanish slowly choked the game out of their control, sending themselves to the Quarters.

 

[Wings]

Di Maria opens up the scoreline against Japan

US players celebrate as they head towards the Quarter Finals

Cristiano Ronaldo seals the deal as he pushes a penalty against Mexico, making the score 3-0 in favor of Portugal

Benzema lights up France as he scores two against Russia

Schurrle, Muller and Khedira celebrate Shaw's own goal which would eventually send them into the Quarter-Finals

Pirlo takes a free kick against Sweden. The Italian midfielder would score two goals in this encounter.

Australia celebrate their first World Cup Quarter-Final in what seemed like an eternity for the Socceroos

Ukrainian players try desperately to stop Spain from aggravating their lead, with little success


QF Matchups :
Argentina v USA
Portugal v France
Germany v Italy
Australia v Spain

 

[Wings]

The Quarter-Finals of the 2014 WC are finally here and the competition starts getting rougher from now on.
Germany and Italy kicked it off in the Estadio Monumental, and it was much closer than expected. The Germans struggled against Italy, but finally found the opener when Hummels headed in a corner right before half-time. Italy then could not come back, and Khedira sealed it definitevely at the 84th minute, sending Germany yet again into the final four.

Argentina headed to La Plata to face off against the USA. Expecting an easy victory, Argentina came into the match confident, but were quickly brought back to reality when the americans started threatening the argentine goal, and got a penalty early on. It took 50 more minutes for the Albiceleste to come back, and even so, they went into overtime. There, Argentina's experience paid off, and Enzo Perez sent Argentina through on a rogue strike the US could do nothing about.

In Rosario, the clash between France and Portugal was the most spectacular of the Quarter-Finals, although it was never really close. The first half was quite close, with Portugal and France trading shots. France striked first, with Greizmann scoring his first goal at the WC. From then on, France had control of the game, with striker Benzema being on fire, scoring two, while Pogba sealed one. Nani did bring one back but France always had the answer as Portugal collapsed. Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't do much more than an assist on Varela at the last minute. France made it through this time, but Portugal would get revenge two years later.

Spain was expecting an easy victory over Australia, however just like Argentina, it was not to be. Although Spain quickly got the advantage in the first half, Australia striked back, scoring two and leaving Spain speechless. However, Spain once more tired their opponents and Australia couldn't match Spain's offensive vigour in the twenty last minutes, sending themselves to the semi-finals.

 

[Wings]

After a remarkable Quarter-Finals, the hype was there for the Semi-Finals, with two big clashes leading towards the final. Argentina and Germany were the first to clash, with the host nation going up against the German wall, one of the best attacks and defenses of the tournament. Argentina were the ones to strike first, in front of their home crowd, with the captain Lionel Messi striking one home after less than 20 minutes of play. However, it was not long till the Germans managed to get back at them, right after half-time. Both defenses held strong and well into overtime. None of the teams managed to get a decisive advantage, as the game headed into the penalty stage. Lionel Messi took the first shot, however, Neuer saved it, silencing Buenos Aires. While every single German scored, Argentina wobbled twice, first with Messi, then with Aguero, who striked the right post. It was all on Draxler to send Germany into the Final, and the young midfielder did not crack under the pressure, sending the ball into the goal and sending Germany into the Final.

Spain on the other hand had an easier time against France, playing a slow and controlled game. The Spanish easily dominated France, and kept possession of the ball, as France couldn't match them in any way. However, Spain would let their guard down at the last minute, when they thought it was over. A corner kick taken by France goes out of the box and into Giroud's waiting right foot, who sent France to overtime. Spain wouldn't get fooled twice however, as they pushed two into the net during overtime, ensuring France could not come back, securing the Final against Germany.

 

[Wings]

Khedira faces off against two Italian players during the Quarter-Finals

Argentine players celebrate in front of the home crowd after eliminating the US

France's Matuidi is calmed down by his teammates after being brought down by a Portuguese defender

Villa opens the scoreline against Australia as he puts Spain in the lead in the Quarter-Finals

Lionel Messi arms the shot that would send Argentina in the lead against Germany

Schweinsteiger congratulates Messi after Germany qualifies on penalties

France struggle to break the Spanish rugged defense during overtime in their semi-final

 

[Wings]

Most of the wind had been blow off of Argentina's sails after the crushing defeat to Germany in the semi-finals on home soil. France on the other hand were quite happy with their performance after a difficult four years and were looking to finish on the upswing. Without Lionel Messi and with most of their A squad disheartened, Argentina played a mix of substitutes and A team players, with no real success, as they were wiped by France who secured a good third place finish for their return to the competition.

The third place match done with, it was time for the Grand Final in Buenos Aires' Estadio Monumental between Germany and Spain. Both teams were quite dominant throughout the competition, except for one or two missteps in the knckout round, which made the final very interesting indeed. Spain tried their old tactic of just holding on to the ball and running away with the game, but it wasn't working over Germany, who managed to take the ball back quite easily thanks to Schweinsteiger and Khedira's masterful performances to keep up with the Spanish midfield. Due to this, the German counterattack could proceed easily and after much trying, Mario Gotze found the far post of Casillas and put Germany in the lead right before half-time. Spain came into the second half with another plan in mind, using Xavi and Iniesta's speed to outrun Germany. Although this seemed to prove ineffective at first, Howedes and Lahm found themselves unable to keep up which led to Villa finally finding an equalizer after Xavi sent him a delightful pass. The holes in the gaping German defense started to form with Iniesta scoring another, again aided by Xavi. Joachim Low quickly swapped out Howedes and Hummels, who were overrun in both of the goals, placing in Mertesacker and GroBskreutz, but it was too late, the damage had been done, and Spain controlled the game from then on. A desperate German attack close to the end of the game sealed the deal for Spain, as their fast counterattack launched Torres who crucified Neuer and gave Spain their first star.

Spoiler

 

[Wings]

No luck for Higuain as his last minute goal is disallowed by the referee for offside

French players celebrate their third place finish with their fans in the stadium

Gotze scores the opening goal of the final

Iniesta brings Spain back in it by scoring the second goal for Spain.

Spain brings the third home for Spain

Casillas and his tammates celebrate their first WC victory in their history.

 

[Wings]

Top Goalscorers :
1. Muller (GER) - 9 goals
2. Benzema (FRA) - 8 goals
3. Jedinak (AUS), Nani (POR) & Balotelli (ITA) - 5 goals

Best Attacks :
1. Germany - 20 goals scored
2. France - 18 goals scored
3. Australia & Spain - 17 goals scored

Best Defenses :
1. Venezuela - 2 goals conceded
2. Nigeria - 3 goals conceded
3. Greece & Croatia - 4 goals conceded

Worst Attacks :
1. Denmark, Tahiti, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde & Peru - 1 goal scored
2. Honduras & Burkina Faso - 2 goals scored
3. Nigeria, Croatia, South Korea, Ghana & Czech Republic - 3 goals scored

Worst Defenses :
1. Tahiti - 16 goals conceded
2. Cape Verde - 11 goals conceded
3. Honduras - 10 goals conceded

All-Time Goalscorers as of 1994 :
1. Fontaine (FRA) - 21 goals - 2 WC (1958, 1962)
2. Klose (GER) - 20 goals - 4 WC (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
3. Pelé (BRA) - 19 goals - 4 WC (1958, 1962, 1966, 1974)

 

[Wings]

Spain and Portugal (hosts) are qualified automatically

Via Euro 2016:
France (2nd)
Wales (3-4)
Germany (3-4)
Italy (5-8)
Poland (5-8)
Iceland (5-8)
Belgium (5-8)
Switzerland (9-16)
England (9-16, beat Albania in European playoff)
Ireland (9-16, beat Turkey in European playoff)
Croatia (9-16, beat Hungary in European playoff)
Northern Ireland (9-16, beat Slovakia in European playoff)

Via Copa America 2016:
Chile (1st)
Argentina (2nd)
Colombia (3rd)
Peru (5-8, beat Papua New Guinea in Intercontinental Playoff)

Via Gold Cup 2017:
USA (1st)
Jamaica (2nd)
Mexico (3rd)

Via Asian Cup 2015:
Australia (1st)
South Korea (2nd)
Iraq (3-4)
UAE (3-4)
Iran (5-8, beat Costa Rica in Intercontinental playoff)

Via Oceania Cup 2016:
New Zealand (1st)

Via African Cup 2017:
Cameroon (1st)
Egypt (2nd)
Burkina Faso (3rd)
Ghana (4th)
Senegal (5-8, beat Tunisia, Morocco & DR Congo in African RR)

 

[Wings]

Best & Worst possible Groups :
Bookmaker Hype Group :
Spain - Colombia - England - Mexico
Bookmaker What the f ? group :
Wales - New Zealand - Jamaica - Iraq

Group A : Spain - New Zealand - Egypt - Iran
Group B : Portugal - Poland - Australia - Senegal
Group C : Italy - Colombia - England - South Korea
Group D : Argentina - Switzerland - Ireland - Ghana
Group E : Chile - Iceland - Jamaica - Northern Ireland
Group F : France - USA - Croatia - UAE
Group G : Wales - Belgium - Cameroon - Mexico
Group H : Germany - Peru - Burkina Faso - Iraq

 

[Wings]

In addition we will have the voting for WC2026 which will last until Sunday evening. The candidates are:
A. United States-Canada-Mexico
B. Morocco-Tunisia-Algeria
C. PR China
D. Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore-Thailand
E. India

 

[Chocolate Raines]

A

 

[shadow]

A

 

[scretchy]

D

Sad germany didnt get it. And Spain really got lucky in groups compared to otl.
Netherlands had a really strong side, them not getting there because of their bad euro really sucks.
But man switching in mertesacker because the others couldnt keep up

 

[QTXAdsy]

A

Always a gut punch seeing the Home Nations except Scotland at a tournament, ah well.

 

[MatthewFirth]

D

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

D

Spain did surprise me...