What if... England qualified for the World Cup in 1994?

29 June 1994 Washington D.C.
Saudi Arabia - Belgium 1-0

29 June 1994 Orlando, Florida
England - Morocco 3-1

Team-Pld-W- D - L - GF-GA-GD-Pts
ENG - 3 - 2 - 1 - 0 - 7 - 2 - +5 - 7
SAR - 3 - 2 - 0 - 1 - 3 - 4 - -1 - 6
BEL - 3 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - +0 - 4
MOR - 3 - 0 - 0 - 3 - 2 - 6 - -4 - 0


If the results in the other groups go OTL this would set up England v Ireland in Orlando's boiling temperatures for the next round, but of course we'll have to wait and see what match and opponent Romantic Nihilist comes up with. :)

Either way, keep up the good work, I'm really enjoying this storyline! ;)
 
Either way, keep up the good work, I'm really enjoying this storyline! ;)

Glad you like it :) There's gonna be some butterflies on the other group results. Although Ireland's victory over Italy will not be changed like Al-Owairans classic goal (I'm not that cruel!!! aha).

I'll get it sorted in the next post :)
 
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. You are so cruel. Sweden vs Belgium? Thats a harder game than Saudiarabia. Damn you.:p:p:eek:
 
Group Stage Roundup


Group A


Group A began with a draw between the US and Switzerland while Columbia lost against a plucky Romania squad. However, a draw against hosts United States and a win against the Swiss saw them through along with Romania who won all their games. The Swiss qualified in third place despite their loss and the US became the first host nation to be dumped out in the first round.


Group B


Brazil finished top with perfect points while Sweden saw off Cameroon and Russia to finish second. Cameroon lost heavily to Russia though it was not enough to see the Russians through. Roger Milla became the oldest ever scorer at the World Cup at age 42, thanks to his consolation goal during the 6-1 drubbing.


Group C


Favourites Spain surprisingly lost to a resilient South Korea squad before avenging their loss with a 1-0 win over champions Germany. Germany rebounded with a victory over Bolivia. However, the Germans could only draw 2-2 with Korea which meant Spain finished as leaders with black horse Korea in second. Germany’s exit was the worst showing for a champion in World Cup history.


Group D


In one of the tightest groups in history, three teams finished with six points though Bulgaria finished top with a superior goal difference. Nigeria finished second with Argentina clinging to third. Only one goal separated Bulgaria from Nigeria who were two minutes away from a dream finish as World Cup debutants.


Group E


The only group in World Cup history to ever finish with equal points saw Italy finish top with Ireland second despite the formers loss to the latter. Mexico finished third even after losing to shock package Norway who were dumped out of the competition after a draw with the Irish.


Group F


England topped their group after defeating Saudi Arabia and Morocco. Saudi Arabia finished second despite their early heavy loss against the Three Lions and Belgium impressed despite their loss to an Al Owairan goal. Morocco were dumped out after failing to gain any points from their matches.
 
I need help sorting out the knockout stage. Plus, I didn't put too much thought into the third place in each group... hopefully it's clear - I tried to make the same groups have the same third place qualifiers (even if they are different teams).
 
With having USA out in the groupstage you create TWO major butteflies. One is that MLS might not get started and TWO is that without Colombia getting thrown out in the group stage Escobar might still be alive

Romania
Colombia
Switzerland in that order? Unsure about the points for Switzerland since you havent told all scores

In group B there is not change
Brazil
Sweden
Russia 3 points

Group C
Spain
South Corea
Germany 4 points

Group D
Bulgaria
Nigera
Argentina 6 points

Group E
Italy
Ireland
Mexico. Unsure about the points for Mexico

Group F
England
SAR
Belgium 4 points

4 of the 6 third placed are to go through to the next round so we need points for all third placed. ATM i see this

Argentina 6 points
Belgium 4 points
Germany 4 points
Russia 3 points
what about the points for Mexico and Switzerland?

Round of 16 will be played like
1. Romania vs top placed third team
2. Sweden vs SAR(no changes from OTL)
3. England vs Ireland
4. Brazil vs third placed third team
5. Italy vs Nigeria
6. Spain vs Second placed third team
7. Bulgaria vs forth placed third team
8. South Corea vs Colombia

Quater finals
1 vs 2 match a
3 vs 4 match b
5 vs 6 match c
7 vs 8 match d

Semifinals
match a vs match b
match c vs match d

now go ahead and create more butterflies
 
Ohh thanks :) wanna help me decide on the remaining teams? I'm a little burnt out from work.

Since you said that Germany was out and they had 4 points and Russia went out on 3 points then Switzerland and Mexico are the teams that advances to as third placed team, but at what order?
 
First Round

With all the pre-match hype, England were favourites to beat a plucky Rep. of Ireland side. With the rising stars of Matt Le Tissier and Andy Cole, it was difficult to argue the point. Taylor kept quiet though it was hard to hide his satisfaction as his side had suppressed all odds.

England vs Rep. of Ireland

World Cup winner Jack Charlton faced off against his national squad lead by Graham Taylor in a second round match at Orlando. Despite the crippling heat, both teams started with defiance which was rewarded with a 12th minute Alan Shearer goal after a clever cross from Gasciogne. Though, at the 27th minute mark, John Aldridge almost equalized with a strong header that was palmed away by David Seaman effortlessly. 1-0 to England. The rest of the half was an improvement of the '88 encounter as both sides traded chances in succession. When the whistle for half time sounded, the crowd roared almost frustrated as one of the most entertaining matches came to a temporary close.

The second half continued with the same intensity as Andy Cole almost doubled England's lead within minutes as he cleverly evaded the Irish defence to deliver a scorching strike that could only be parried away. But his tenacity was rewarded as he scored a similar strike later on. 2-0 to England.

Gascoigne was substituted later on as Matt Le Tissier was brought on in his place. Taylor's faith was not misplaced as Le Tissier scored at the 79th mark with a volley that made his name at Southampton. 3-0 to England.

Though Ireland kept England fighting till the last second, their attack could not penetrate the defence organized by Stuart Pearce. Full time was almost lost in the cheers of the English fans for whom felt was their greatest victory so far. With the enthusiasm of the Three Lions, it was hard to argue otherwise.
 
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