If World War II Never Happened: A FIFA World Cup Timeline
- Thread starter NTF aka Seb
- Start date
Prelude to UEFA Euro 1980
Part 38 - Don't Hold Back
Prelude to UEFA Euro 1980
Prelude to UEFA Euro 1980
The format of Euro 1976 was maintained, with each group winner and runner-up advancing to a knockout stage to decide the winner. England were awarded hosting rights in November 1977, beating out Italy’s bid which was held back by the Italians organizing the upcoming World Cup [1].
Just like four years prior, Poland notably failed to qualify despite being World Cup runners-up. Greece sensationally qualified ahead of Hungary, Finland and the Soviet Union to make their major tournament debut. France and Italy secured their Euro tickets by the skin of their teeth, earning superior goal differences than Bohemia and the Republic of Ireland respectively.
Let me know your group stage predictions:
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[1] Italy hosted Euro 1980 and Spain hosted the 1982 World Cup in OTL.
UEFA Euro 1980 - Group Stage
Part 39 - Campaign Trail
UEFA Euro 1980 - Group Stage
UEFA Euro 1980 - Group Stage
Hosts England started their campaign with a convincing 3-1 win over France. This was followed by a narrow 2-1 triumph over the Netherlands and an easy 3-0 demolition of debutants Greece to comfortably top Group 1. The fight for second place was close between France and the Netherlands, who drew 1-1 with each other. In the end, France's 3-1 victory against Greece - whom the Dutch could only defeat by a single goal - was enough to secure advancement.
Group 1 of UEFA Euro 1980.
Group 2 was especially competitive. Defending champions Germany barely finished in first by drawing 1-1 with Belgium and Italy before brushing aside Spain 2-1 in a game where the scoreline was misleadingly narrow. Having acted as whipping boys for years prior, Belgium was not fancied. However, just like in 1972, they showed it's foolish to underestimate them. The stalemate with the Germans was followed by a crucial 2-1 triumph over Spain. The subsequent goalless draw with Italy ensured the Azzurri were also undefeated, but it was Belgium who advanced to the semi-finals. It's doubtful whether anyone even remembered Spain and Italy's goalless draw on the first matchday.
Group 2 of UEFA Euro 1980.
Let me know your knockout stage predictions:
UEFA Euro 1980 - Knockout Stage
Part 40 - Yours Truly
UEFA Euro 1980 - Knockout Stage
UEFA Euro 1980 - Knockout Stage
England were in their third consecutive Euro knockout stage, where they'd rematch a foe from the 1972 tournament - Belgium, who had not made it this far since then. The Three Lions went in front in the 26th minute, only for the Belgians to join the scoresheet before the half-hour mark. Despite occasional sparks from Belgium, the second half belonged to England. They found the second goal in the 79th minute. Title holders Germany ran out 2-0 victors versus 1978 World Cup semi-finalists France with unexpected ease to advance.
England were hoping to win their first Euro title - in front of tens of thousands home fans at Wembley - and exorcise their 1972 final demons, while Germany intended to retain their trophy no matter the cost. If that wasn't enough, the two featured in a spectacular World Cup match just a couple of years prior. The stakes were truly set, and Wembley was truly silent when Germany opened the scoring in the 10th minute. However, with the first half nearing its end, England nicked a crucial equalizer. The Germans defense failed to maintain crucial meticulousness inside their box, resulting in an English penalty which was converted in the 75th minute. But 15 minutes later, Wembley was again stunned silent when the Germans levelled the scoring. Again 2-2. Just like in 1978. And also just like four years ago, extra time failed to produce goals. England fans created an electric, terrifying atmosphere which was enough to disturb two Germans in particular, causing them to miss. England were champions. Wembley created an earthquake.
Knockout stage of UEFA Euro 1980.
[1] Credit to @KingSweden24 for correctly predicting the semi-final winners mere minutes before I posted this part.
Stay tuned for the prelude to the 1982 World Cup!
Prelude to the 1982 FIFA World Cup
Part 41 - Cold Feet
Prelude to the 1982 FIFA World Cup
Prelude to the 1982 FIFA World Cup
Italy were awarded hosting rights way back in July 1966, making them the second country in history to stage more than one World Cup, after Argentina organized the previous edition. The Italian bid was ultimately unopposed, as Spain were assigned the 1974 World Cup at the same FIFA Congress, while the Netherlands withdrew their bid. The 1982 World Cup was played from 8 June to 8 July, with the previous format being maintained. The 12 group winners and runners-up advanced to the knockout stage along with the four best third-placed teams.
The tournament saw many debutants: Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, New Zealand and Kuwait. Northern Ireland and Wales qualified for the first time since 1958. Denmark’s hiatus was four years shorter and would have been even longer had it not been for Yugoslavia's withdrawal. Korea failed to qualify for the first time since 1962. Other notable absentees were Mexico, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Withdrawal of Yugoslavia
In the years following the death of King Peter II in November 1970, Yugoslavia became more and more unstable, with economic crises and deteriorating national unity. The tipping point was reached in early 1982, when Croatia and Slovenia declared independence, prompting the predominantly Serbian Royal Yugoslav Army to invade.
On top of the humanitarian crisis, this raised serious questions regarding Yugoslavia’s participation at the 1982 World Cup, which they had qualified for in late 1981. FIFA stated that Yugoslavia would be allowed to participate under the name “Representation of Yugoslav Peoples” (RYP). However, following the Yugoslav Army’s invasion of Croatia, the Croatian players - who made up the biggest plurality and almost half of the preliminary Yugoslav World Cup squad - withdrew from the team, and it was unclear whether there was enough time to replace them in time.
1982 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 5.
The Yugoslav FA ultimately decided to withdraw their team from the World Cup, citing concerns about the “departure of such a big and important core of the team”, fear of “internal division within the squad”, and “previous recent poor performances at major tournaments”. The qualifying group’s third-placed team Denmark instead took Yugoslavia’s spot at the World Cup, replacing them in Group E [1].
Let me know your group stage predictions:
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[1] Pretty "hilarious" coincidence that Denmark ended up being a beneficiary of Yugoslavia's withdrawal here too, just like with Euro 1992 in OTL.
Stay tuned for the group stage!
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Italy, Spain
Germany, Arg
Belgium, Poland
Brazil, Austria
France, Honduras
England, USSR
Germany, Arg
Belgium, Poland
Brazil, Austria
France, Honduras
England, USSR
@NTF aka Seb - what are you using to make these infoboxes? Just Wikipedia sandbox or something else?
