If World War II Never Happened: A FIFA World Cup Timeline
- Thread starter NTF aka Seb
- Start date
Prelude to the 1958 FIFA World Cup
Part 13 - Revolutionaries Wait
Prelude to the 1958 FIFA World Cup
Prelude to the 1958 FIFA World Cup
Despite a country from the Americas being next in line to organize the World Cup, Sweden were awarded hosting rights over Chile and Mexico [1] on 23 June 1950, largely thanks to diligent lobbying [2]. The 1958 FIFA World Cup was played from 8 to 29 June. Maintaining the previous format, the 16 participating teams were drawn into four groups of four, with each group winner and runner-up advancing to a knockout stage to decide the winner. The only change was that goal average was used instead of goal difference [3]. Ethiopia entered the World Cup qualifiers for the first time [4] but were eliminated against Egypt in the first round. Egypt and Sudan later withdrew from the second round due to refusing to play against Israel [5], leaving just the Israelis and Koreans [6] left to compete for a spot at the World Cup [7]. Korea defeated Israel on aggregate to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup. Northern Ireland notably qualified at Italyâs expense. However, Benito Mussolini wouldnât have gotten to see his Italy play even if they did make it to Sweden, as he had died in 1955. Wales secured their World Cup ticket thanks to a literal coin toss, having finished on the same points as Portugal and drawn 1-1 with them in a third play-off match on neutral soil. The Republic of Ireland most crucially hammered the Netherlands 4-1 in Amsterdam to make their World Cup debut. The Soviet Union finally also qualified for their first World Cup.
The Slovak Republic
The Slovak Republic [8], established in 1939 following Germanyâs invasion of Czechoslovakia, unsuccessfully tried to qualify for three World Cups from 1942 before being banned in 1952 along with fellow pro-Nazi regimes Germany and Bohemia-Moravia.
Anti-Nazi uprisings
Following the death of Bohemia and Moraviaâs pro-Nazi prime minister - Jaroslav KrejÄĂ - in 1956, the protectorate saw a series of uprisings, most notably in Prague. This inspired protests - and riots - in Austria and Slovakia, though to a lesser extent. Nazi Germany ultimately suppressed the attempted revolutions, though only narrowly. The regime appeared to be bursting at the seams but remained intact. For now.
Here are the groups. Let me know your predictions!
Venues. Graphic created by jycee.
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[1] As Argentina hosted TTLâs 1942 World Cup, itâs unlikely they would have bid for another tournament with such a short interval.
[2] It wouldâve been intriguing to explore alternative hosts - Chile or Mexico - but I canât think of anything that butterflies away Swedenâs lobbying, not to mention that the Swedes have launched an additional bid in TTL.
[3] I thought about butterflying away goal average since goal difference is more established with the additional World Cups in TTL, but ultimately decided against it since it was used at three World Cups in OTL. I think FIFA would still implement it in TTL, though I would veto the hell out of that decision if I worked there.
[4] Ethiopia were denied entry in OTL.
[5] In OTL, as (almost) everyone in the CAF/AFC qualifiers refused to play against Israel, and FIFA required a team to have played qualifying matches to be allowed participation at the World Cup, they set up an inter-confederation play-off between Israel and Wales, who were victorious and qualified, despite originally being eliminated in the qualifiers.
[6] Korea were denied entry in OTL due to losing the application form if my sources are accurate. With a united Korea - and no Korean war - I can imagine their FA being richer so they can hire people who donât make such an absurd mistake. Lol.
[7] Africa and Asia had joint qualifiers.
[8] For some reason, Iâve neglected to talk about the Slovak Republic in TTL. Better late than never.
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1958 FIFA World Cup - Group Stage
Part 14 - Closed to Criticism
1958 FIFA World Cup - Group Stage
1958 FIFA World Cup - Group Stage
Argentina topped Group 1, drawing 1-1 with Spain before edging out Northern Ireland 3-1 and hammering Korea 4-0 in the final match. Northern Ireland, who defeated the Koreans 3-0 in their opener, gave Spain a run for their money on the final matchday. However, the 2-2 draw was enough for La Roja to advance, having previously beaten Korea 5-1. The Koreans had a tournament to forget but did score their first World Cup goal.
Group 1 of the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
Hungary managed to win Group 2, which was highly competitive [1]. The defending champions started by narrowly beating Scotland 2-1, followed by an entertaining 3-2 victory over France. Despite the defeat to the Mighty Magyars in the second match, Le Bleus' long overdue World Cup return saw them start with a brilliant 7-4 win against Paraguay [2], who later beat Scotland 3-2. The subsequent 2-2 draw versus Scotland [3] was enough for the French to reach the quarter-finals, even though it came down to goal average [4] thanks to the Paraguayan's unexpected 3-3 draw with the Hungarians.
Group 2 of the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
Hosts Sweden got the perfect start in the match against Mexico, winning 3-0. This was followed by a critical narrow 2-1 triumph over Yugoslavia, who previously drew 1-1 with England. The Three Lions defeated Mexico 3-1 on matchday two. Despite the intense match, Sweden and England were highly criticised for their 0-0 draw in the final round. The result favored them both and rendered Yugoslavia's 4-0 demolition of Mexico irrelevant.
Group 3 of the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
After two failed qualification attempts, the Soviet Union were finally at the World Cup. Their campaign started with a close 2-1 triumph over Wales, in which Lev Yashin crucially saved a late penalty. But the main conversation piece was Brazil, who won every match without conceding a goal; 3-0 against the group's second debutants Republic of Ireland, 1-0 against Wales and 2-0 versus the Soviets, whose 2-0 win over Ireland still ensured advancement. Wales' only win was the 2-1 against the Irish, who had no luck this time around.
Group 4 of the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
Let me know your predictions for the quarter-finals (and the rest of the tournament if you feel like it):
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[1] Hungary are better in TTL since the 1956 revolution doesn't happen, which saw great players like SĂĄndor Kocsis and Ferenc PuskĂĄs leave their homeland and by extension the national team.
[2] France won 7-3 in OTL.
[3] France won 2-1 in OTL.
[4] Play-offs were used to separate second-placed and third-placed teams tied on points in OTL.
I mean, the only thing that could happen in this universe that could cause a exodus close to OTL is a civil war upon MiklĂłs Horthy's death (1957 in OTL), but that doesn't seem too likely - he'd be probably suceeded as regent by his son, whose death would probably be butterflied away without World War II.
In any case:
Brazil x England
Hungary x Spain - Spain is better than in the last cup, so it'll be probably tough, but Hungary'll probably pass.
Sweden x Soviet Union
Argentina x France - Argentina's got a decent team there, but with Kopa and Fontaine in the other side, it's going to be a particularly hard one, though not impossible.
I presume that in case of ties on extra time on the knockouts, there is still a extra match, right?
However, the's the question of how many African nations there would be participating - there not being a World War II means that Britain and France's colonial empires stick around for longer. Of course, them being colonies doesn't necessarily mean they can't get affiliated to FIFA - Indonesia was affiliated to FIFA while it was still a colony. That might serve as a precedent.
Speaking of Indonesia, it's probably still under Dutch rule too TTL.
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I wonder when the US is going to make its third World Cup appearance; seeing as we didn't make it in 1950 ITTL.
OTL's United States were quite fortunate that a lot of European countries weren't interested in the 1950 World Cup. Had that not been the case, it's highly improbable that North America would've had two berths.
Honestly, I don't see anything in TTL that would enable the USA to appear at a World Cup before 1990, as in OTL.
Plus, even in 1990, they only managed to qualify over Trinidad & Tobago in the last match, which was a direct confrontation. If the Trinidadians had had better luck then, the Americans would have to wait until 1994.
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Well, Argentina did it better in this TL, but now we are at hands of Raymond Koppa's France...so, it was good as long it lasted đ
Was sad to see that Superga wasnât butterflied here; would have been fascinating to see what that group could have done on the world stage
All caught up! I love this TL so far, really interesting way to explore this isea
For 1958 Iâll say it goes down to Hungary and Sweden in the final with Sweden narrowly pipping a very worthy Mighty Magyars on home soil
For 1958 Iâll say it goes down to Hungary and Sweden in the final with Sweden narrowly pipping a very worthy Mighty Magyars on home soil
1958 FIFA World Cup - Knockout Stage
Part 15 - Weakness in Numbers
1958 FIFA World Cup - Knockout Stage
1958 FIFA World Cup - Knockout Stage
June 19th, 1958 was known as thrilling Thursday, with a mouthwatering set of quarter-finals all being played on the same day. Even the least blistering match between Brazil and England - who produced a five-goal nail-biter in the 1954 bronze match - was intense and entertaining to watch. Nevertheless, the Brazilians were victorious thanks to a single goal late in the second half [1].
Spain had suffered defeats to Hungary at the two preceding World Cups and were hoping to break that trend, but they only managed to decrease the gap. The defending champions went in front early and added a second later in the first half, while the Spaniards did find an equalizer right on the stroke of half time. But the Hungarians were hardly fazed, maintaining control and making it 3-1 in the 54th minute. This prompted Spain to play with greater risk, which gave the match a new dimension of life, but ultimately just a consolation goal.
After a goalless first half, Sweden arrived into the second one with new-found determination and order. The hosts went in front in the 49th minute and doubled the advantage as added time was approaching. The 1946 champions made a semi-final return.
Argentina were hoping to find success after three disappointing World Cups. Things did look bright as they went in front less than three minutes into the game. However, they couldn't quite bring this lead into half-time. France equalized. The French tones took completely over in the second half. By the 68th minute, Le Bleus had assembled a monumental 4-1 lead. Argentina did reduce it, but couldn't find the two additional goals to take the game to extra time. France were in a World Cup semi-final for the first time in history.
The Solna semi-final started ferociously, with Brazil opening the scoring, Hungary equalizing and going in front before 10 minutes were played. Despite plenty of time remaining, it looked to many as if Brazil would suffer yet another devastating late World Cup exit. But the Brazilians fought back and made it 2-2 exactly 30 minutes later and become even better in the second half. Pele in particular, who bagged a hattrick. Hungary found an additional goal to make his side lose 5-3 to the Brazilians, just like in 1950 interestingly enough.
At the last World Cup, Sweden narrowly beat France 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals. Now the stakes were different, with a World Cup final on the line. Accordingly, the match itself was also vastly different from the one in 1954. France took the lead in the ninth minute thanks to Just Fontaine, who was on an unparalleled goalscoring rampage that summer. Lennart Skoglund also had a good tournament, equalizing in the 32nd minute. The second half saw increased intensity in an already entertaining match. A reckless challenge saw France go down to 10 men in the 73rd minute and not long thereafter, an injury - in an age before substitutions - saw Le Bleus become even fewer in numbers. Unsurprisingly, the Swedes made it 2-1 in the 81st minute. However, the ravaged French squad found a second goal less than two minutes after. Sweden kept making use of the extra men, though, securing the win in the 88th minute.
The bronze match was arguably the most thrilling of them all. A replay of a group stage tie, which Hungary was expected to win. Regardless, this brilliant French team went in front early on, only for the Hungarians to restore order shortly afterwards. Fontaine reinstated France's lead before the referee whistled the end of the first half, and added a third shortly into the second, while Hungary scored a consolation goal in the 52nd minute. However, France were always a couple of steps ahead, making it 4-2 in the 78th minute. Regardless, it goes without saying that the defending champions were no pushovers, proven by their third and fourth goals, scored within five minutes to completely even the odds. Fontaine's fourth goal of the game and 13th of the tournament still ensured his France won their first World Cup medal, though.
In 1950, Brazil suffered a heartbreaking loss on home soil in the final. Four years later, they went out in an almost equally horrible fashion in the semis. Would Brazil's demons finally be exorcised? It seemed unlikely when hosts and 1946 champions Sweden took the lead in the fourth minute, but Brazil maintained their footing and equalized five minutes later. Ten minutes into the second half, Brazil were in front for the first time. Brazilians dared to dream, but only cautiously. If Uruugay can score twice at the Maracana, surely Sweden can do so at RĂ„sunda. They eventually did - once - albeit after Brazil had already scored an additional goal. Regardless, the Brazilians' 90th-minute goal extinguished any hope of a Swedish comeback [2]. Finally, Brazil were world champions.
Knockout stage of the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
Infobox created by jycee.
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[1] Brazil and England faced off in the group stage in OTL, drawing 0-0.
[2] Brazil won 5-2 in OTL.
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I'm really enjoyng your TL! I love it! and the way you are developing it, not only in terms of football! Talking about my country, Argentina, I hope that in this timeline they will not suffer the consequences and traumas of the disastrous elimination of 1958, OTL, which would prevent the Argentinian national team from plunging into a spiral of disorganization, improvisation and managers that last only months (and that will last until 1975 when manager Menotti create the statute of national teams, and it was approved by the AFA, to regulate the loan of the players by the clubs, which used to be denied, because that spiral of mediocre results, made that sometimes even the players did not want to go, because they felt devalued, or returned to their clubs and had lost their place in the lineup) , and that was enough to beat their South American rivals, but later on these untidy things manifested themselves in the world cups, like in 1962.
The 60s are interesting, as at the club level, and when the Copa Libertadores de América began, the Argentinian clubs were the dominant, except for Peñarol, at the beginning and Pelé's Santos in 1962-63, and with good players, but that later, due to that disorganization in the national team, could not manifest itself positively in the world cups. One watches as Argentina beat Portugal, Brazil with Pelé, and England, in the 1964 Nations Cup in Rio, but then they go on a disastrous pre-1966 tour of Europe.
Looking forward your next update!
The 60s are interesting, as at the club level, and when the Copa Libertadores de América began, the Argentinian clubs were the dominant, except for Peñarol, at the beginning and Pelé's Santos in 1962-63, and with good players, but that later, due to that disorganization in the national team, could not manifest itself positively in the world cups. One watches as Argentina beat Portugal, Brazil with Pelé, and England, in the 1964 Nations Cup in Rio, but then they go on a disastrous pre-1966 tour of Europe.
Looking forward your next update!
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Prelude to the 1962 FIFA World Cup | 1960 European Nations' Cup
Part 16 - The Death of Adolf Hitler
Prelude to the 1962 FIFA World Cup | 1960 European Nations' Cup
Prelude to the 1962 FIFA World Cup | 1960 European Nations' Cup
After Europe organized two World Cups in a row, the American federations threatened to boycott the 1962 tournament if it wasnât staged on their continent. In the end, Chile were awarded hosting rights over Mexico, despite the latterâs vastly superior stadium capacity [1]. The 1962 FIFA World Cup was played from 30 May to 17 June. Maintaining the previous format, the 16 participating teams were drawn into four groups of four, with each group winner and runner-up advancing to a knockout stage to decide the winner.
The Death of Adolf Hitler
Following the death of Adolf Hitler in 1960, Germany and its pro-Nazi ally states - Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia - spiralled into political turmoil which eventually resulted in the abolition of their Nazi regimes and restoration of democracy. It also led to Austria being allowed an independence referendum, which passed in early 1962. At the FIFA Congress in Santiago later that year, the now four countries were allowed to rejoin the governing body. Former Bohemia and Moravia now competed as just âBohemiaâ [2].
1960 European Nationsâ Cup
UEFA launched a new competition between the FIFA World Cups of 1958 and â62. The tournament was not as popular as hoped, with many notable absentees: The British Home Nations, Italy, Belgium, and Netherlands to name some. Sweden and Switzerland originally also declined entry, but decided to join following some persuasion by UEFA to bring the number of qualification participants up to 16. The Soviet Union won the final against Yugoslavia, while France won bronze on home soil against the Republic of Ireland.
1960 European Nations' Cup.
Denmark qualified for their first World Cup [3], albeit from the easiest qualifying group, which also contained Iceland and the Republic of Ireland. Interconfederation play-offs were used for the first time, in which Spain and Yugoslavia defeated Morocco and Korea respectively. As a result, Africa and Asia were left unrepresented in the final tournament. France and Sweden notably failed to qualify, while Colombia would make their maiden World Cup appearance [4].
Just two new teams, but there are still some interesting deviations [5]. Stay tuned for the next part and let me know your group stage predictions [6]:
Venues. Graphic created by jycee.
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[1] Also happened in OTL, but with Argentina. Chile had a great promotional campaign.
[2] I consulted @Mildtryth regarding what the country would be called and agree with her assessment:
"In Czech, the word that's now used for the country is Äesko, while the word of Bohemia is Äechy. Around the turn of the millenium, there was a running argument over there over which name was the more appropriate - usually most Silesians and Moravians objected to using Äechy for the whole country the way that the Welsh or the Scottish object to being lumped in with "England", while others, especially older people, rejected Äesko because it sounded too similar to Tschechei, which was a slur used by Germans against the Czechs during the period of the Protectorate.
I presume that with a longer-lasting protectorate, and fresh off Nazi occupation, Äesko might be even more rejected, but there'd still be the problem of how to name the country without offending the Moravians (who have had equal billing for a quarter-century now TTL) or maybe the Silesians (if the Sudetenlands are restored to them somehow).
I think that the likelier option is them using Bohemia as the short name and working the name(s?) of the other region(s?) iton the official name.
Just in case, i think that in English, the denonyms would be "Czech" for the country and "Bohemian" for those of Bohemia proper, but that's in English - in Czech, they're the same word."
I presume that with a longer-lasting protectorate, and fresh off Nazi occupation, Äesko might be even more rejected, but there'd still be the problem of how to name the country without offending the Moravians (who have had equal billing for a quarter-century now TTL) or maybe the Silesians (if the Sudetenlands are restored to them somehow).
I think that the likelier option is them using Bohemia as the short name and working the name(s?) of the other region(s?) iton the official name.
Just in case, i think that in English, the denonyms would be "Czech" for the country and "Bohemian" for those of Bohemia proper, but that's in English - in Czech, they're the same word."
[4] As in OTL.
[5] Side note: Whether Italy are still fascist in TTL or not, I think that flag would still be used. It predates Italy's fascist government by decades.
[6] Hungary are seeded instead of Italy in TTL, meaning the Italians can be in seeded England's group.
No irony, double entendres or puns in the title. That's how you know it's a serious one! Again, see ya in the next one.
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