If World War II Never Happened: A FIFA World Cup Timeline
- Thread starter NTF aka Seb
- Start date
Depends on what you mean by "simulated". I have drawn qualifying groups and predicted matches based on how I think they would have ended ITTL.
1994 FIFA World Cup - Group Stage
Part 63 - Three-For-All
1994 FIFA World Cup - Group Stage
1994 FIFA World Cup - Group Stage
Implementing three points for a win proved to be a genius move, as the goal-per-game ratio soared up compared to Germany '90. Group A was no different, though the opening game only saw two goals as hosts the United States drew 1-1 with Switzerland. A footballing backwater for decades, the U.S. had long waited to organize a major tournament. However, success would have to wait, as they also drew 1-1 with Colombia, but almost found the winning (own) goal when the Colombian defender Andres Escobar cleared an attempted cross just wide of his post. The American's 1-0 loss to Romania cemented the hosts' elimination. The Romanians ultimately topped the group thanks to defeating Colombia 3-1 on matchday one, despite suffering a shocking 4-1 loss to Switzerland. In the final round, Colombia found a crucial 90th-minute goal to run out 3-0 victors versus Switzerland to advance in second from this free-for-all group.
Group A of the 1994 World Cup.
Brazil topped Group B as expected, defeating the Soviet Union 2-1 and Cameroon 3-0 before being held to a respectable 1-1 against Norway. Long overdue returners Norway were solid, but suffered from an inability to score goals. Despite edging out Cameroon 1-0 on matchday one, the Soviet Union later inflicted that losing scoreline on Norway to eliminate them. Most notably of all, the Soviets obliterated Cameroon 7-1 to secure advancement. The match did see Roger Milla, 42, become the oldest World Cup goalscorer of all time, though.
Group B of the 1994 World Cup.
Just like in 1978, Bolivia failed to find success, albeit in a highly competitive group, as they lost 1-0 to Germany and Korea, and 3-1 to Spain. However, the group's true fiasco was Spain, who were eliminated after losing 2-1 to Korea and "only" managing a 1-1 draw against title holders Germany. However, despite advancing, the Germans suffered their own humiliation by dropping a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with the Koreans, who topped Group C against the odds.
Group C of the 1994 World Cup.
Canada's greater support from the stands was not enough to find success, losing 3-1 to Argentina, 3-0 to Bulgaria and 2-0 to Nigeria. They did find their first World Cup goal in their 3-1 defeat to Argentina in a game that's unfortunately more remembered for Diego Maradona's drug-fueled manic celebration. A subsequent drug test confirmed the suspicions and resulted in his expulsion from the tournament. Argentina's chances still appeared good, though, as they subsequently won 2-1 over debutants Nigeria, who previously announced themselves by brushing aside Bulgaria 3-0. However, in a shocking twist, this Hristo Stoichkov-inspired Bulgaria defeated Argentina 2-0 to advance ahead of them. Especially sensational given that Bulgaria had only qualified by the skin of their teeth at France's expense, following a last-minute winner.
Group D of the 1994 World Cup.
World Cup debutants Croatia sensationally defeated Italy 1-0 in the first round. This was followed by an unexpected 2-1 loss to Mexico. However, the Croatians still defeated Zimbabwe 1-0 to top Group E. Zimbabwe also made their debut and only conceded three goals, largely due to some great goalkeeping by Bruce Grobbelaar. They managed a 1-1 draw versus Mexico in the opener, but lost 1-0 in their other two matches. Italy shockingly failed to advance, as they also failed to break Mexico down in their 1-1 draw against them.
Group E of the 1994 World Cup.
The European champions Sweden sought and found redemption after their miserable 1990 flop, beating Saudi Arabia 3-2 before eclipsing Belgium and Morocco with 2-1 triumphs. Debutants Saudi Arabia bounced back to defeat Morocco 2-1 and Belgium 1-0 to reach the round of 16. Belgium's initial 1-0 win against Morocco was not enough for advancement.
Group F of the 1994 World Cup.
Serbia unexpectedly won the competitive group by beating Japan and the Netherlands 1-0 before holding Uruguay to a 1-1 draw. The Netherlands finished in second thanks to their opening 2-1 win over Uruguay and 1-0 victory against Japan. Uruguay's 1-0 triumph over Japan was not enough to reach the last 16. Japan's 48-year hiatus was not worth the wait, as they were pointless again.
Group G of the 1994 World Cup.
Following the tragic 1993 plane crash that decimated Zambia's squad, football was not the biggest focus of Group H. The Danish players barely celebrated despite outclassing debutants Zambia 5-0. However, the Zambians did bounce back to heroically defeat Iraq 2-1. Nevertheless, their penultimate 3-1 loss to Bohemia resulted in elimination. The Bohemians replicated that scoreline versus Iraq and defeated Denmark 2-1 to top the group. Denmark advanced too, following their 3-1 triumph over Iraq on the final matchday.
Group H of the 1994 World Cup.
Pundits and fans were intrigued by the knockout stage bracket, as Romania, the Soviet Union, Korea, Bulgaria, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia or Denmark would play in their first World Cup final.
Let me know your predictions:
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Credit to @Mildtryth for getting the most predictions right, but also a shoutout to @jycee for correctly predicting the upset in Group E.
Stay tuned for the round of 16 matches!
1994 FIFA World Cup - Round of 16
Part 64 - Independent
1994 FIFA World Cup - Round of 16
1994 FIFA World Cup - Round of 16
Amidst Independence Day fireworks, Romania and the Soviet Union kicked off the knockout stage. The match was blistering from the first minute, and saw Romania took the lead in the 11th minute. The Soviets equalized through a correctly awarded penalty five minutes later, only for the Romanians to add a second less than two minutes after that. The remainder of the opening half failed to see more goals, but in the 58th minute, Romania extended their lead. The Soviet Union found another goal of their own, but never a third. Romania were in the quarter-finals for the first time in history. They were far from the only team to manage that feat this summer.
In Dallas, Bulgaria went in front versus Korea after just seven minutes. The Koreans responded quickly and equalized less than 10 minutes later. Despite still being an entertaining match, it slowed down a decent amount and became characterized by more hesitation. No more goals. Not in the second half. Not during extra time. After a lacklustre penalty shootout, Bulgaria were ultimately victorious against favorites Korea.
East Rutherford saw a greatly anticipated rematch between Brazil and Colombia. This tie was not nearly as even as the 1990 battle, with the Brazilians scoring once in each half to win 2-0.
Reigning champions Germany brought down surprise package and debutants Nigeria back down to earth in Chicago. After just 12 minutes, the Germans led 2-0. The Nigerians found a consolation goal in the 25th minute, but Germany found a third before the end of the first half. Nigeria's 90th-minute consolation goal was too little too late.
Croatia and Saudi Arabia both played their first World Cup knockout match ever in Orlando. The Croats took an early lead and doubled it shortly into the second half. The Saudis found a blistering consolation goal in the 85th minute, but Croatia were in the quarter-finals.
After a goalless first half between Serbia and Denmark, the Serbs made it 1-0 in the 54th minute, only for the Danes to equalize less than two minutes later. Incredibly, Serbia restored their lead almost immediately after the subsequent kick-off, which ended up being enough to advance.
Sweden opened the scoring versus Mexico in the sixth minute. Before the first half ended, the Mexicans levelled the scoring. Sweden restored their lead in the 51st minute, but Mexico equalized again. However, two minutes before the amount of added time was revealed, the Swedes added a third to reach the quarter-finals.
In a replay of a 1990 semi-final, Bohemia played against the Netherlands. Just like four years prior, the Dutch took an early lead. However, the Bohemians found two goals in the second half to eliminate the 1990 runners-up.
Let me know your knockout stage predictions:
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Credit to @Looper for correctly predicting 7/8 round of 16 matches.
Stay tuned for the remaining knockout stage!
Pangur
Donor
The two July 4 games were in Pasadena and Dallas, the next round was in Stanford ('new' stadium" and then back to Pasadena which is not the pattern for any of the of the other play offs, why was that?
1994 FIFA World Cup - Remaining Knockout Stage
Part 65 - Serbs You Right
1994 FIFA World Cup - Remaining Knockout Stage
1994 FIFA World Cup - Remaining Knockout Stage
The first quarter-final was a rare World Cup derby between Bulgaria and their northern neighbours Romania. Both sides had, despite possessing strong teams, exceeded expectations and would for sure be devastated to exit now. The match was intense, both when it came to challenges, goalscoring attempts, and overall frenzy. However, the deadlock wasn't broken until Hristo Stoichkov eased in a superb free-kick in the 75h minute. Just a few minutes later, Yordan Letchkov doubles Bulgaria's lead with an arguably even more impressive diving header from right outside the penalty area. Romania also played well and did get on the scoresheet in the 88th, but a second goal never came.
Dallas, Texas. Another rare East European World Cup derby, though the stakes were incomparably different. Less than a decade ago, Croatia and Serbia were engulfed in a deadly war. Metaphorically speaking, the match was 'deadly' too. Croatia opened the scoring after exactly 20 minutes, while Serbia equalized in the 32nd minute. However, the Croats were given a huge advantage when Serbia's Zoran Mirković was given a straight red following a foolishly miss-timed challenge. Though he appeared somewhat regretful, the Croats were not happy. Perhaps this rage contributed to Zvonimir Boban being shown a second yellow by the Costa Rican referee a few minutes into the second half. The match remained fierce. Free-kicks. Challenges. Yellow cards. Inspiring efforts. But goalless. Extra-time was an identical story, though with more tired players. The Serbian goalkeeper became a hero in the shootout.
After a goalless first half, the greatly anticipated match between title holders Germany and the top all-time World Cup champions Brazil kicked into gear. The Brazilians made it 1-0 in the 53rd minute and doubled the advantage 10 minutes later, only for the Germans to score a consolation goal almost immediately after kick-off. Germany finished their comeback in the 76th minute, but Brazil were just a cut above the Germans, adding a third goal to secure advancement and exorcise their 1990 minutes.
The incredible set of quarter-finals was crowned by the most dramatic match of them all. A genius free-kick set piece put Sweden in front after 77 minutes, but they lost focus and suffered a devastating late Bohemian equalizer in the 88th minute. Things didn't become better for Sweden during extra time when they were reduced to 10 men. Bohemia's 102nd-minute goal appeared to secure them a sensational second consecutive World Cup semi-final, and cement Sweden's fate. However, a Hail Mary pass enabled Kennet Andersson to head in the equalizer in the 115th minute. Despite missing the opening penalty kick, heroic goalkeeping by Thomas Ravelli took Sweden to their first World Cup semi-final in 36 years and inflicted a rare shootout loss upon the usually emphatic Bohemians.
Before 1994, Bulgaria and Serbia had never reached the final eight of a World Cup, let alone the semi-finals. Nevertheless, the winner of their Pasadena match would reach the final. Serbia broke the deadlock in the 17th minute. However, Stoichkov's terrifying attacks forced Serbia into some risky defensive challenges within their penalty area. There were few protests when the referee pointed to the penalty spot right on the stroke of halftime. Stoichkov was never in doubt. Both sides were equally improved in the second half, ultimately cancelling each other out. Still, Serbia's squad was slightly more complete and saw them go in front in the 75th minute. Would Serbia face Brazil or Sweden in the final?
In the 1958 World Cup final, Sweden lost on home soil against Brazil, who then became world champions for the first time in history. Now the sides faced off again. Brazil and especially Romario had the upper hand versus the Swedes, who nevertheless played well. However, after being reduced to 10 men in the second half, they could no longer resist and Romario found the winner in the 80th minute.
Fortunately for Sweden, they emphatically obliterated Bulgaria 4-0 in the third place play-off to at least go home with silverware. Despite the big loss, the Bulgarians could be proud of their World Cup campaign.
Brazil were back in a World Cup final. Order was restored. But Serbia had no intention of respecting the status quo, impressively having the upper hand for the opening 15 minutes. The Brazilians were rattled, but assumed control after the opening onslaught seized. Seemingly inevitably, Romario put Brazil in front after 65 minutes and secured his country their fourth World Cup title, after a historically long hiatus of near misses. Serbia could take pride in their campaign, too.
Knockout stage of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
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Credit to @Looper for getting the most knockout predictions right! Stay tuned for the prelude to UEFA Euro 1996, which will be a really interesting tournament.
Prelude to UEFA Euro 1996
Part 66 - Head-to-Head
Prelude to UEFA Euro 1996
Prelude to UEFA Euro 1996
The format remained unchanged, with the 16 teams being divided into four groups of four, from which each winner and runner-up advanced to a knockout stage to decide the winner. This European Championship was, like the 1992 edition, also co-hosted by more than one country. Belgium and the Netherlands were awarded hosting rights in May 1992 over Portugal and a fellow joint bid with Austria and Hungary. England considered launching a bid before deciding against it due to having organized Euro 1980 relatively recently.
European title holders and 1994 World Cup bronze medalists Sweden shockingly failed to qualify, as did the 1992 Euro runners-up Denmark. Bulgaria, Norway and Switzerland were other notable absentees. Slovakia were painfully close to qualifying, finishing level with France and Romania on 19 points, only missing out on a spot because of head-to-head results. Turkey qualified for their first major tournament ever [1]. Croatia were notably emphatic in the qualifiers, being triumphant in all matches except one and winning home and away against Italy, who nevertheless also qualified.
The seeding method established for the previous Euros was maintained, with co-hosts Belgium and the Netherlands being automatically top seeded. The 14 remaining teams were seeded according to their UEFA coefficients (Sweden would have been top seeded irrespective of their coefficient if they qualified) [2].
Let me know your group stage predictions:
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[1] Turkey failed to qualify for the 1954 World Cup ITTL.
[2] Do you want an image of the team seeding for these Euros too and going forward, or is that besides the point?
Stay tuned for intriguing group stage matches!
UEFA Euro 1996 - Group Stage
Part 67 - Crowning Moments
UEFA Euro 1996 - Group Stage
UEFA Euro 1996 - Group Stage
After their Euro 1992 group stage exit and failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, this England team had a lot to prove. England's doubters weren't exactly silenced after they drew 1-1 with Ireland in their opener, and after holding Germany to the same result, The Three Lions needed a victory versus Serbia to advance. They did manage to win, 1-0. However, it was Germany who topped the group by defeating Serbia 2-0 and Ireland 1-0. Having reached the final of the World Cup just two years prior, Serbia suffered a disappointing group stage exit despite edging out Ireland 2-1.
Group A of UEFA Euro 1996.
Belgium's 3-1 premiere loss to Spain, in Brussels, set the tone for what would be a horrendous campaign for the co-hosts. They only managed a 1-1 draw with Scotland before suffering a humiliating 2-0 defeat to rivals France to finish dead last. Scotland's opening goalless draw with France lost any initial perceived importance after the Scots failed to beat Belgium and narrowly lost 2-1 to Spain, who won the group. France held Spain to a 1-1 draw and advanced as the runner-up.
Group B of UEFA Euro 1996.
Italy started their campaign with an entertaining 2-2 draw with the Soviet Union. This was followed by a 1-0 win over Romania, and the Italians had one boot in the quarter-finals. However, Bohemia managed an impressive 3-1 win to deny the Italians that privilege. Just like at the 1994 World Cup, Italy obtained four points and were eliminated in the group stage. Meanwhile, Bohemia previously edged out Romania 1-0 before featuring in a spectacular 3-3 draw with the Soviets to top the group. The Soviet Union secured advancement by defeating Romania 2-1 on the final matchday.
Group C of UEFA Euro 1996.
Similarly to their southern neighbour, fellow co-hosts the Netherlands didn't live up to the expectations, despite avoiding a group stage exit. The opening 1-1 draw with Croatia in Amsterdam left a lot to be desired, but the subsequent 3-0 demolition of debutants Turkey brought some sense of security for the Dutch. However, they weren't the number one attraction of the group. Since Euro 1984, Portugal didn't have a lot of fond major tournament memories. This summer they were unforgettable, though. The deceivingly close 1-0 triumph over Turkey was followed by a great 3-1 victory over Croatia. However, Portugal's true crowning moment came on the third matchday, when they won 3-2 over the Netherlands in Amsterdam. Nevertheless, the Dutch still advanced since Croatia could 'only' beat Turkey 2-0. The Turks suffered a disappointing winless and even goalless tournament.
Group D of UEFA Euro 1996.
Tell me your knockout stage predictions:
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Stay tuned for the historic knockout stage.