Alternate WC : Continental Cups are Qualifiers (1962-?). A Football TL
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Group C 1970
Group C was considered the group of death, considering all three squads present could go through to the quarters. It was composed of three european teams : Spain, Italy and Scotland, as well as south american side Uruguay.
The first game pitted European champions Italy against a decaying Spanish side. Both teams looked strong and in the end none of them could find a decisive strike to win them the game, ending it in a tie.
Same result for Uruguay vs Scotland, none of the teams could find a decisive advantage, once again resulting in a tie.
This time there would be no tie, led by an envigorated Denis Law, Scotland pulled off an impressive victory against Spain, completely at a loss during the entire game.
Italy and Uruguay however both drew again, in a game much like OTL
Uruguay would push through and tie for the third time in a row, becoming the first team to be knocked out of a World Cup while having conceded no losses.
With a final victory in Brisbane against Scotland, Italy took the first seed out of Group C. Scotland, who showed an impressive football against the Squadra Azzura, manage to cling on to their second seed and also qualify.
* Scotland advance on goal average
The first game pitted European champions Italy against a decaying Spanish side. Both teams looked strong and in the end none of them could find a decisive strike to win them the game, ending it in a tie.
Same result for Uruguay vs Scotland, none of the teams could find a decisive advantage, once again resulting in a tie.
This time there would be no tie, led by an envigorated Denis Law, Scotland pulled off an impressive victory against Spain, completely at a loss during the entire game.
Italy and Uruguay however both drew again, in a game much like OTL
Uruguay would push through and tie for the third time in a row, becoming the first team to be knocked out of a World Cup while having conceded no losses.
With a final victory in Brisbane against Scotland, Italy took the first seed out of Group C. Scotland, who showed an impressive football against the Squadra Azzura, manage to cling on to their second seed and also qualify.
* Scotland advance on goal average
Coulsdon Eagle
Monthly Donor
Quite right - mea culpa - now realise I was thinking of the Berlin Olympics in '36. That absence of a tournament and their WC win in 1954 would make them my choice ahead of Spain - so can I change my vote now?
Group D 1970
The last group of this WC comprised of favourites the Soviet Union, the south american squad of Argentina, the first timers Sudan and a shaky Hungarian side. Anyways, the pressure was on the titleholders the Soviets to perform.
The first game was between Argentina and Hungary, both favourites to get second place, it seemed as the group would be therefore decided on the first day. However, this was in no way a fair fight, as Hungary quickly took control of the game and never let it go, getting their first win of the tournament. However, the Hungarians had a hard time turning control into goals, and only succeeded in doing so very late into the game, resulting in a relatively low scoreline
While bookmakers predicted a crushing Soviet victory, the Soviet squad had a lot of trouble in breaking open the Sudanese defense, and showed weakness at nearly every level of play, opening the group once more to a possible upset.
Argentina on the other hand had no problem at all sweeping the Sudanese squad.
Hungary continued on their good push, beating the USSR in what can only be described as an upset. The titleholders looked helpless as the Hungarians overran their defenses. It did not help that most of the team was inexperienced and therefore not present during the 1966 victory. The Hungarians therefore wrecked havoc and ended up cleaning house and officially qualifying. The USSR would have to beat Argentina in any case to advance.
On June 10th, 1970, the USSR made history. They became the first titleholders to be eliminated during the first round of a World Cup. Completely at a loss, the Soviets could not prevent Argentina's duo of Bernao and Artime to shred through their defence. Artime went on to score his second hat-trick of the tournament, sending him to the top of the goal-scorer standings.
The last result wasn't a shocker for anyone. Hungary confirmed their place at the top of Group D by destroying Sudan 10-0.
The first game was between Argentina and Hungary, both favourites to get second place, it seemed as the group would be therefore decided on the first day. However, this was in no way a fair fight, as Hungary quickly took control of the game and never let it go, getting their first win of the tournament. However, the Hungarians had a hard time turning control into goals, and only succeeded in doing so very late into the game, resulting in a relatively low scoreline
While bookmakers predicted a crushing Soviet victory, the Soviet squad had a lot of trouble in breaking open the Sudanese defense, and showed weakness at nearly every level of play, opening the group once more to a possible upset.
Argentina on the other hand had no problem at all sweeping the Sudanese squad.
Hungary continued on their good push, beating the USSR in what can only be described as an upset. The titleholders looked helpless as the Hungarians overran their defenses. It did not help that most of the team was inexperienced and therefore not present during the 1966 victory. The Hungarians therefore wrecked havoc and ended up cleaning house and officially qualifying. The USSR would have to beat Argentina in any case to advance.
On June 10th, 1970, the USSR made history. They became the first titleholders to be eliminated during the first round of a World Cup. Completely at a loss, the Soviets could not prevent Argentina's duo of Bernao and Artime to shred through their defence. Artime went on to score his second hat-trick of the tournament, sending him to the top of the goal-scorer standings.
The last result wasn't a shocker for anyone. Hungary confirmed their place at the top of Group D by destroying Sudan 10-0.
Final standings for WC 1982 vote :
2 for Spain A, 3 for West Germany B and 2 for Italy C
West Germany gets it !
Next vote will be for WC 1986, OTL it was b4 WC 1974, so we will have it after WC 1970 final.
Sidestory : this is the new USSR FF logo :
When the USSR collapsed, the title passed on to Russia, who had the most players in the Soviet team when they won the tournament
Several other federations with a player in the squad were allowed to keep a small golden star inside their logo but not outside.
2 for Spain A, 3 for West Germany B and 2 for Italy C
West Germany gets it !
Next vote will be for WC 1986, OTL it was b4 WC 1974, so we will have it after WC 1970 final.
Sidestory : this is the new USSR FF logo :
When the USSR collapsed, the title passed on to Russia, who had the most players in the Soviet team when they won the tournament
Several other federations with a player in the squad were allowed to keep a small golden star inside their logo but not outside.
Pictures of Group Stages 1970
Group A : English players power through the Bulgarian defense during their second game of Group Stage
Group A : Australian players continue to pressure Bulgaria even when having taken the lead 3-2. Their style of play seduced audiences all around the world, as they continued the tradition of host teams getting past the first round
Group B : Dzajic opens the score against France in Melbourne.
Group B : Two iranian players look on as Kalani heads the ball into the Yugoslavian net, making it 3-4 in one of the most epic games in World Cup history
Group C : Domenghini opens the score against Spain
Group C : Scottish fans celebrating after their 3-0 victory against Spain in Group C
Group D: Soviet players look distraught after Hungary's Farkas gets pulled down close to goal. The Hungarian striker would then score the penalty, making it 4-2 for Hungary.
Group D : Argentina's Artime is brought down by a Soviet defender in both teams' last game of the group. The Argentine striker scored three goals in the quarter-final which saw a world cup titleholder get eliminated in the first round for the first time ever.
Thanks to the last picture, you can guess why USSR lost to Argentina. White strips vs. Blue and white stripes = confusion?
Quarter-Finals 1970
The Quarter-Finals kick off in East Melbourne with England versus France ! Not much resistance was opposed by the French upon the English side, who took an easy victory and made their way to the semi-finals.
The second semi-final wasn't much of a contest either, with Italy having a much better showing than during the group stages, easily beating Argentina 2-0.
Hosts Australia were up against a strong Yugoslavian squad in Melbourne's Olympic Park. Even with a quick goal from Dzajic, things didn't go quite as planned in the following minutes for Yugoslavia. McColl equalized as Australia kept moving the ball forward. However, the Australia squad kept leaving big holes in their defense, giving an edge that the Yugoslavians wouldn't lose. The Australian fighting spirit however, would inspire many throughout the world, as they became the first oceanian nation to make it to the quarter finals.
The last semi-final saw Scotland face off against Hungary. The Hungarians however could not keep their status as first seed, and dropped against the Scottish after a gruelling battle lasting 120 minutes.
The second semi-final wasn't much of a contest either, with Italy having a much better showing than during the group stages, easily beating Argentina 2-0.
Hosts Australia were up against a strong Yugoslavian squad in Melbourne's Olympic Park. Even with a quick goal from Dzajic, things didn't go quite as planned in the following minutes for Yugoslavia. McColl equalized as Australia kept moving the ball forward. However, the Australia squad kept leaving big holes in their defense, giving an edge that the Yugoslavians wouldn't lose. The Australian fighting spirit however, would inspire many throughout the world, as they became the first oceanian nation to make it to the quarter finals.
The last semi-final saw Scotland face off against Hungary. The Hungarians however could not keep their status as first seed, and dropped against the Scottish after a gruelling battle lasting 120 minutes.
sad to see australia go out but they just werent good enough.
Also interesting to see australia playing in the smaller of two stadiums in Melbourne.
And a question about the starting times, is that local time or some overall time?
I dont think planners would put the quaterfinals all on the same time. Its also bad for television since you only can show one game or conference not all games.
Best solution i think would be two games a day and like one afternoon and one evening game.
Also same time would explain low attendance in the mcg game since most australian are somewhere whatching their team.
Also interesting to see australia playing in the smaller of two stadiums in Melbourne.
And a question about the starting times, is that local time or some overall time?
I dont think planners would put the quaterfinals all on the same time. Its also bad for television since you only can show one game or conference not all games.
Best solution i think would be two games a day and like one afternoon and one evening game.
Also same time would explain low attendance in the mcg game since most australian are somewhere whatching their team.
It is local time, but I didn't change anything from the 1970 WC times, so in Mexico, they must have played all games at the same time as in ITTL.
Scotland in the semi finals? Last underdog still standing and one step closer to becoming World Champions!
Would be a hilarious thought that after England lost it previously after coming so close that the Scots winning it here would gain bragging rights!
To be fair, they were on par with Hungary. Hungary only got lucky that they were the least worse team in the group. The real underdog challenge starts now.
Interesting didnt know that about the mexico wc, this would never stand against the commercial interest in todays planning. But even just planning for a better viewer experience would get them to spread out the games.
Also not sure if they would adjust play starting times to compensate for timezones. Not sure where the core viewers were in 1970. I would tip to south america and europe. The games would start 2am cet.
To have decent European times you would have to have games at either 10PM (so they can be early in the morning in Europe) or 8AM (so they can be in the evening there too). So my guess would rather be late at night, and I doubt the Australians would heve the infrastructure for a nocturnal World Cup...
Semi-Finals 1970
The first Semi-Final opposed England and Italy, the two European powerhouses. Italy got off to a good start, putting early pressure and concluding their dominance by a goal from Boninsegna. Riva quickly escalated this dominance via a second goal. England did bite back however, after a corner kick finds Peters who slides it back to 2-1 before half-time. The second half was English-dominated but the Three Lions couldn't force anything decisive. They had to wait for the 78th minute for Moore to pass the ball to Lee who fires it into Albertosi's left corner, equalising. Italy couldn't counter this come-back and took it to extra time. Extra time went back and forth but at the 98th minute, Hurst managed to push into the Italian defense and score a liberating goal. From the on, England hung on to their 1 goal advantage to force themselves to their second final in a row.
The second final was that of the underdog Scotland, facing against the Yugoslavian giant in Melbourne. This would be later be known as "The Miracle" or "Melbourne Madness Match". As expected, the Yugoslavian squad quickly soared above the Scottish side, gaining a 4-0 advantage at half-time. The Scottish side looked completely aghast, as the Yugoslavian already saw the Final heading for them. This was made worse with Spreco scoring the 5-0 goal at the 62nd minute. The Yugoslav coach then decided to replace Dzajic to preserve him for the final, replacing him with Musemic, playing for the first time. Scottish coach Danny McLennan, asked by the Scottish FA to coach the Scottish squad after Euro 1968, decided to change his tactics, going back to a 3-5-2 he knew most of his players were most familiar with, playing around Denis Law, and a very young Celtic forward, playing his third world cup game, Kenny Dalgish. These two actions would prove decisive in turning the game around. Bremner first scored from a free-kick soon after the change, while Law made it 5-2 soon after. The tide had changed, Denis Law played the game of his career, getting a pass down to Spurs striker Gilzean who pushed it into the net. 5-3. The Yugoslavs panicked, another foul gave Johnstone the opportunity to head it in after Bremner kicked it into the pack. 5-4. The Yugoslav coach was screaming from the bench, there would be only defence from then on, and it worked, for a time. However Musemic wanted to prove that he deserved to be in the final as much as Dzajic did and broke off formation, trying his luck against Scottish keeper Bobby Clark in the final instants of the game, thinking even if he missed, the game would be over, the rest is history :
Here is Musemic, he is going to strike, is it in ? No, Clark saved it ! The Scots still have a couple seconds ! Law has the ball, he gets past Milosevic ! He has a good run, pass to Johnstone, really good ball here, Dalgish, can he do it ? Oh my goodness ! It's in ! Dalgish scores his first goal for Scotland and equalizes ! I must be dreaming, Scotland are going to extra time at the last second !
With Dalgish's equalizer, Scotland compeltely annihilated the Yugoslav spirits. In extra time, right before the first half, a corner kicked by the young prodigy ends up having a good curve :
Dalgish will take the corner kick it seems, takes it, oh its right onto McNeill, he scores ! Scotland have the lead after one hundred and two minutes !
In the second half, Law danced around the extinguished Yugoslavian defenders to put the final nails in the coffin :
Law, keeps the ball, he's going through this defense like it is butter ! Passes to Johnstone... oh this might be it ! Yes it's in !
[...]
Law has the ball once again, dribbles through, good job by Law still....he's gone through, he's a madman, someone must stop him... oh my goodness ! Law scores ! This is unbelievable !
Scotland managed to dig itself back from a 5-0 deficit to a win to secure a final at the World Cup against eternal rivals England. While people remember this game as "The Game of the Century", the 1970 final could have challenged that title.
The second final was that of the underdog Scotland, facing against the Yugoslavian giant in Melbourne. This would be later be known as "The Miracle" or "Melbourne Madness Match". As expected, the Yugoslavian squad quickly soared above the Scottish side, gaining a 4-0 advantage at half-time. The Scottish side looked completely aghast, as the Yugoslavian already saw the Final heading for them. This was made worse with Spreco scoring the 5-0 goal at the 62nd minute. The Yugoslav coach then decided to replace Dzajic to preserve him for the final, replacing him with Musemic, playing for the first time. Scottish coach Danny McLennan, asked by the Scottish FA to coach the Scottish squad after Euro 1968, decided to change his tactics, going back to a 3-5-2 he knew most of his players were most familiar with, playing around Denis Law, and a very young Celtic forward, playing his third world cup game, Kenny Dalgish. These two actions would prove decisive in turning the game around. Bremner first scored from a free-kick soon after the change, while Law made it 5-2 soon after. The tide had changed, Denis Law played the game of his career, getting a pass down to Spurs striker Gilzean who pushed it into the net. 5-3. The Yugoslavs panicked, another foul gave Johnstone the opportunity to head it in after Bremner kicked it into the pack. 5-4. The Yugoslav coach was screaming from the bench, there would be only defence from then on, and it worked, for a time. However Musemic wanted to prove that he deserved to be in the final as much as Dzajic did and broke off formation, trying his luck against Scottish keeper Bobby Clark in the final instants of the game, thinking even if he missed, the game would be over, the rest is history :
Here is Musemic, he is going to strike, is it in ? No, Clark saved it ! The Scots still have a couple seconds ! Law has the ball, he gets past Milosevic ! He has a good run, pass to Johnstone, really good ball here, Dalgish, can he do it ? Oh my goodness ! It's in ! Dalgish scores his first goal for Scotland and equalizes ! I must be dreaming, Scotland are going to extra time at the last second !
With Dalgish's equalizer, Scotland compeltely annihilated the Yugoslav spirits. In extra time, right before the first half, a corner kicked by the young prodigy ends up having a good curve :
Dalgish will take the corner kick it seems, takes it, oh its right onto McNeill, he scores ! Scotland have the lead after one hundred and two minutes !
In the second half, Law danced around the extinguished Yugoslavian defenders to put the final nails in the coffin :
Law, keeps the ball, he's going through this defense like it is butter ! Passes to Johnstone... oh this might be it ! Yes it's in !
[...]
Law has the ball once again, dribbles through, good job by Law still....he's gone through, he's a madman, someone must stop him... oh my goodness ! Law scores ! This is unbelievable !
Scotland managed to dig itself back from a 5-0 deficit to a win to secure a final at the World Cup against eternal rivals England. While people remember this game as "The Game of the Century", the 1970 final could have challenged that title.
Scotland in a final...amazing! not bad for a side that in '54 and '58 failed to get out of the group stage and win a game.
Plus I must ask, did Scotland reach Euro 1968 ITTL? As I think they need some momentum from that to make the progress from there.
Plus I'm looking forward for the final here...something tells me the '70's Scotland team might do better ITTL.
not bad for a side that in '54 and '58 failed to get out of the group stage and win a game. Plus I must ask, did Scotland reach Euro 1968 ITTL? As I think they need some momentum from that to make the progress from there.
Plus I'm looking forward for the final here...something tells me the '70's Scotland team might do better ITTL.
Scotland in a final...amazing!
Plus I must ask, did Scotland reach Euro 1968 ITTL? As I think they need some momentum from that to make the progress from there.
Plus I'm looking forward for the final here...something tells me the '70's Scotland team might do better ITTL.
QF I believe.