Into the Cincoverse - The Cinco de Mayo EU Thread and Wikibox Repository

[KingSweden24]

Sewanee University, officially the Sewanee University of the South, is a private research liberal arts university in Sewanee, Tennessee that is regarded as one of the most prestigious private universities in the Confederate States. Founded in 1857 by the Polk family and other Tennessee notables and affiliated to this day with the Episcopal Church in the Confederate States (ECCS), after independence it emerged as an elite institution first for the sons of Tennessean planters and businessmen and, by the start of the 20th century, the entire Confederacy, as was the original vision of its founder and longtime President Leonidas Polk who pledged it would be "the Cambridge of Dixie."

The university was badly affected during the Great American War, losing most of its enrollment (the entire undergraduate class of 1914 would perish in combat) and would not reopen until 1923, after the end of the United States' postwar occupation, with substantial damage done to its old Gothic-style campus, and it was not included in the subsidized reconstruction plans offered during the first Long administration as it was a private institution. Thanks to the tireless efforts by a small cadre of alumni, the campus and academic programs were restored and by the early 1950s, it had recovered its status as the leading member of the Roundtable of private Confederate universities, famed for its rigorous liberal arts curriculum (particularly in history), and for graduates of its postgraduate law school. Sewanee, despite its reputation as a bastion of the Confederacy's conservative aristocracy and orthodox Episcopalian campus life, was the first member of the Roundtable Schools to admit female (1971) and Black (2004) undergraduates. Alumni include six justices of the Confederate Supreme Court, four Confederate Senators for Tennessee, a Speaker of the CS House of Representatives, five Governors of Tennessee, over a hundred Tennessee state legislators and over 120 Tillman Scholars.

(Hat tip to @SWS for this idea)
(D’oh it says “US” not CS 🤦‍♂️)

 

[KingSweden24]

Long Thanh International Airport (IATA: LTH), commonly known as Saigon-Long Thanh, is a major international airport in Long Thanh, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam. Approximately 40 kilometres from Saigon, it opened after considerable delays in 2016 to replace the overcrowded Tan Son Nhat (IATA: SGN) as the main airport for Vietnam's largest city and main financial, business and cultural center. It serves as the flagship global hub of Vietnam Airlines, the flag carrier of Vietnam.

The rapid growth of Saigon during the late 20th century and Tan Son Nhat's dramatic overcapacity (it was designed for at most 25 million, a number it exceeded in 2001) and physical constraints near the city center led to the approval of the new international airport of Saigon in the rural community of Long Thanh by the National Assembly of Vietnam in 2004. Construction started in late 2009 with an initial target completion of March 2014; the Asian Spring protests of 2012 interrupted its timetable and it was delayed until May of 2016. It opened with one terminal and two runways; the second passenger terminal, as well as a high-speed rail connection to the airport, was opened together in November 2020. With the opening of Terminal 1, Tan Son Nhat was reserved only for low-cost carriers or airlines not in Vietnam Airlines' SkyFleet airline alliance, with all affiliated airlines making the switch between airports entirely in one day. Beginning in January of 2021, Tan Son Nhat is exclusively to serve as a low-cost carrier hub. When Long Thanh Airport is fully built out, it will have four passenger terminals, four runways and a capacity of approximately 100 million passengers per annum.

 

[KingSweden24]

 

[KingSweden24]

James Baird Weaver (June 12, 1833 - February 6, 1912) was an American statesman from Iowa who served as a United States Senator from 1891 to 1909 and was a two-time Presidential candidate for the left-wing People's Party, better known as the Populists, after two brief stints in the House of Representatives as an Independent affiliated with the splinter Greenback Party. Weaver was among the most successful and influential third-party candidates in history, earning 22% of the vote and 74 electoral votes in 1892, near the height of the early 1890s depression and the zenith of Populist agitation. Weaver was known as the "Messiah of the Prairie" and helped build Populist machines across not just the agricultural Great Plains states but also in much of the Mountain West, and after 1900 led the Populists into the Democratic Party, establishing much of the country west of the Mississippi as the so-called "Western Wall" that would largely persist into the late 1960s. Weaver's core policy platforms - direct elections of Senators, regulation of trusts and corporations, the maintenance of a bimetallic standard for currency, and a progressive income tax - were largely passed into law between 1905-1911 as part of the Fair Deal coalition under President William Randolph Hearst, with whom Weaver had a personally icy but politically fruitful relationship with. With much of his long-promoted political program passed into law and in declining health, Weaver retired after three terms in the Senate and returned to Iowa, where he died in February of 1912, ironically on the same day as reactionary French Prime Minister Georges Boulanger. Weaver was Iowa's choice for inclusion in the Capitol Statuary Hall in Philadelphia and has been cited as the greatest Iowan in the state's history; he is also regarded broadly as perhaps one of the most important figures of the American Left, despite his general lack of notoriety in present day.

 

[KingSweden24]

Matsuyama Airport, also known as Taihoku Matsuyama Airport, is the secondary airport for Taihoku, the capital and largest city of the Japanese island of Taiwan. Opened in 1936 as a military airbase, it was until 1984 the primary airport for all of Taiwan; due to its location in central Taihoku City and the lack of space to expand, Matsuyama was made a secondary airport with the opening that same year of Osono Airport in rural Shinchiku Prefecture to the southwest. Matsuyama's proximity to the city center and convenience, however, made it a popular site for domestic and charter flights, as well as cargo operations. Its proximity to the city center and growth on all sides of the airfield has led to noise and flight time restrictions that further hamper its use as a major commercial facility.

Today, Matsuyama is a focus city for Japanese low-cost carrier Peach Airlines and serves a small domestic and intra-island route network for Japanese flag carries JAL and ANA; it hosts six international routes to nearby cities in China and the Philippines. The airport is slated to end all commercial air travel in 2035 with the completion of the first phase of Osono's third terminal which will give that airport a capacity of 55 million passengers per year by 2050, and it will be exclusively used for cargo and military operations.

 

[KingSweden24]

Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the Merrimack River northwest of Boston. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 119,067; at only seven square miles, Lawrence is a highly densely populated municipality.

Lawrence was one of the original cities of the American Industrial Revolution, with its location on the Merrimack excellent for water-powered factories and textile mills, and as such it was a magnet for immigrants - at one point it was the most diverse city in the United States. It was the site of a famous textile workers strike in 1912 that brought national attention to the deplorable conditions of the mills and for a moment helped reinvigorate the Industrial Workers of the World, but it would hit a temporary peak in population at the 1920 census after the Great American War and subsequently sharply decline economically and demographically as the New England textile industry collapsed over the subsequent two decades. The city reached a nadir of population at the 1980 census with only 65,000 inhabitants - down 35% from its 1920 peak of 99,769 - and was regarded in the early 1970s as one of the most impoverished, depressed places in the country.

Like the entire Merrimack Valley around it, however, Lawrence was at the center of the Information Revolution of the late 1970s thru the early 2000s; American and international companies alike were attracted to the large floor-plans of its abandoned factories and cheap housing in the area, and the Massachusetts state government worked aggressively to nurture the industry in the region. By the late 90s, "Silicon Valley" in northern Massachusetts and southwestern New Hampshire was one of the most innovative and fastest-growing areas in the United States, and Lawrence's population has nearly doubled in forty years. While the outsized influence of Silicon Valley in New England on the American advanced technology industry has declined since the turn of the century, Lawrence remains a key research, development and manufacturing center for a variety of innovative companies including Atrix, Systema, Digitek and ONSemi, and since 2014 has been the US headquarters of British data firm Analytical Engines Ltd.

Culturally, Lawrence's recovery from the early 1980s recession has brought with it an unprecedented investment into the city and its rebirth has seen a tandem of economic but also demographic change. Lawrence's dense, walkable and bikeable milieu and high-technology culture has made it described as a mix of technoliberalism, technosocialism and greenism in its urban planning and development; it has some of the lowest car ownership rates in the United States and also some of the highest levels of affluence in the country, and is easily accessible to Boston via the Haverhill rail line and connected to the rest of Massachusetts' Silicon Valley by ValleyRail, a light rail system inaugurated in 2007 that sees two lines pass through Lawrence proper. In the late 2010s, affordability issues in the city were broached by state leaders, and an effort to respond to a crisis of the country's highest aggregate housing costs not just in Lawrence but most of eastern Massachusetts came to the fore.

 

[KingSweden24]

Dan Hamburg (born October 6, 1948) is an American environmentalist and politician who has served as the Congressman for California's 1st Congressional district since 1993. Elected in the 1992 landslide as a Democrat after falling less than a hundred votes short in 1990, Hamburg was a leading voice on environmental issues during the Robert Redford administration and was one of the principal authors of the 1995 Energy Independence and Innovation Act. Following the adoption of ranked-choice voting in Congressional races via the [CENSORED] Amendment in 1996, Hamburg announced in early 1998 that he was switching his partisan affiliation to the Green Party to better represent his views but would continue to support Democratic congressional leadership; he thus became the first Green Congressman and was one of two Greens elected in the 1998 elections. Following the 2008 elections, when the Greens won seven Congressional seats, Hamburg became the first Green Congressional Caucus Chair; he resigned that position following the 2014 midterms, when the Greens were reduced to only two seats. In 2022, Hamburg announced his retirement after thirty years in Congress and as the last sitting Green in the chamber

Spoiler: Spoiler - Current-ish Politics

Hamburg is an advocate of various environmental causes and has been referred to more than once as "the Conscience of Congress" - nearly every major environmental or energy reform bill of the past thirty years was passed with his support or input. He holds the record for most arrests at protests by a sitting Congressman, and he was a vocal critic of the Roger Goodell administration and introduced three articles of impeachment in late 2009 against President Goodell, one of which largely mirrored the articles of impeachment drafted by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee the following year ahead of the 2010 midterms. Hamburg, along with six other Congressmen, was censured in late 2019 for lying about investments in two bankrupt British solar energy firms, and he publicly apologized on the floor of the House; an investigation by the House Ethics Committee eventually cleared him, as did a formal audit by the Federal Securities Commission.

(This one is way down in the weeds with a very obscure entry and some serious spoilers, just want to give a taste of where US politics is headed around present day)

 

[KingSweden24]

Daniel Kahikina Akaka (September 11, 1924 - April 6, 2018) was a Hawaiian political figure who served 38 years as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hawaii, from 1976 until his resignation shortly after his 90th birthday in 2014. Akaka's forty-year period as the chief of Hawaii's government at the Chairman of the Democratic People's Party saw Hawaii's continued emergence as a center of communications, trade and finance at the heart of the Pacific Ocean. Akaka was a member of the Royal Guards who after the 1954 Hawaiian Revolution that overthrew the Anglo-Canadian economic oligarchy rapidly rose in the ranks of the now-ruling HDPP and was appointed minister of defence in Masayuki Matsunaga's cabinet in 1968 and his minister of finance in 1972; after Matsunaga's resignation in 1976 due to a corruption scandal, Akaka, a Native Hawaiian, outmaneuvered the favored Ken Inouye of the Japanese-Hawaiian faction within the party to take over the chairmanship and was appointed Prime Minister the next day by King Kawananakoa I.

Akaka's government saw the HDPP shift away from its left-populist and democratic socialist roots to a more developmentalist direction; having already accomplished land reform and other policies, the party focused instead on developing Honolulu as an entrepot and offshore financial center for the Asia-Pacific, deepening its ties to Japan and the United States as opposed to its longstanding reliance on the British Commonwealth for trade and economics, and maturing its growing tourism sector without threatening Hawaii's environmental reserves, which Akaka quadrupled in size in the name of conservation. Despite this shift to the center, Akaka continued to pursue a strictly protected agricultural policy, and government welfare benefits were expanded dramatically in the early 1990s. Politically, Akaka favored Natives over Asians, a controversial position in a party long reliant on the Japanese-descended working class for support; Hawaiian was added as an official language of the Kingdom alongside English, its teaching in secondary schools was mandatory for most of the 1980s and 1990s, and Native chiefs were appointed to his Cabinet. His relationship with his brother Abraham, an influential Presbyterian preacher, was also highly controversial. The Akaka family personally lived frugal lifestyles, but the HDPP held a firm supermajority grasp on power through a system of graft, machine politics and voter intimidation, and the government was largely regarded as a flawed or illiberal democracy by international observers despite ostensibly holding free elections every four and then five years. Among Natives, Akaka enjoyed a substantial personality cult; among haole non-Natives, his reputation was considerably more controversial.

Following the 2002 global financial crisis, which hit Asia disproportionately hard, the Hawaiian economy collapsed and unemployment rates went as high as 30%, and its expensive reliance on imports triggered riots over food prices and other consumer goods as well as severe brain drain. Hugely unpopular, Akaka's HDPP barely survived the fall 2009 elections despite the economy having begun to recover from the nadir of the depression and his government was largely run thereafter with him purely as a figurehead; at his televised 90th birthday celebration five years later, with the party heading towards a landslide defeat in the polls, Akaka announced his retirement from politics in favor of his longtime deputy John Waihe'e; less than a month later, the HDPP was defeated after sixty consecutive years in power. Untouched and not implicated by subsequent corruption investigations, Akaka retired to a small family compound near Honolulu, where he died in 2018.

 

[KingSweden24]

The Quebec-United States Energy and Trade Agreement, often known by its acronym QUSETA, is an in-force bilateral trade agreement between the United States and Quebec, signed on March 11, 2007 at a ceremony at the Montreal City Hall, by United States President Roger Goodell and Quebec Prime Minister Gilles Duceppe. The agreement eliminated a number of tariffs and set all remaining tariffs with a ceiling of 10%, but most critically it guaranteed Quebecois electricity from hydroelectric and nuclear sources access to the American wholesale electricity market, thus creating the first open transborder electricity market in North America and grid synchronicity, a novel policy for a free trade agreement.

Quebec, since its independence from Canada in 1991, had suffered a severe and prolonged economic malaise, including capital flight, emigration and high unemployment for most of the 1990s, and a brief recovery in the early 2000s had been arrested by the 2002 Asian financial crisis and subsequent global credit markets collapse. However, one economic advantage enjoyed by Quebec was one of the cheapest electricity markets in the world, thanks to its heavily-financed and robust state-owned hydroelectric provider, Hydro-Quebec, which established starting in the late 1950s one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world and on top of that constructed eight nuclear reactors with megawatt ratings in excess of the Westinghouse base, creating an electricity surplus that was exported to the rest of Canada and, starting in 1994, the state of New Hampshire. However, additional interconnections were blocked by economic issues in Quebec and incompatible regulations. Facing having to close several electricity stations due to a surplus, joining an energy market with the United States became a question of economic development in Quebec and was the key issue in the 2000 general elections. Duceppe, Prime Minister starting in 2001, negotiated the agreement starting in early 2005 after the election of Goodell and after winning a mandate to sign such an agreement in the 2006 elections - fought exclusively on the question - drafted and agreed to the policy in 2007.

The agreement has been controversial in Quebec. QUSETA made Quebec considerably more economically dependent upon the United States than it was pre-2007, and its removal of a number of market protections for certain Quebecois industries was said to exacerbate elevated unemployment in the late 2000s and early 2010s; most controversially, the government of Quebec agreed to subject Hydro-Quebec's pricing to floating rates rather than price-setting, and allow international investment in the firm while retaining a majority stake and golden share. Cree Natives have complained that it financed even more habitat destruction as three new high-voltage connection lines were run into the Northeastern United States, and electricity prices in Quebec, while remaining extremely low by global standards, have risen higher than the typically low rate of inflation since the agreement. South of the border, however, the act has been thought to have accelerated the ongoing American energy transition and helped cement New England's position as a major information technology hub with its access to cheap hydro, nuclear and wind power on both sides of the border, and analysts have argued that the increase in trade, particularly in wholesale electricity that rationalized Quebec's production and transmission glut and ended Hydro-Quebec's practice of temporarily shuttering facilities for over-production, has increased the GDP per capita of the transborder region substantially since 2007. Quebecois proponents of the act further suggest that accessing wider markets for Hydro-Quebec helped avoid its potential privatization, as was seen as a likely case for the government in the mid-2000s.

 

[KingSweden24]

The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the 19th and most recent edition of the Rugby World Cup, hosted primarily in Ireland with some venues in Scotland, making it the second joint bid after the 2009 edition in England/Wales. Ireland had previously hosted the World Cup in 1981, and it was the first World Cup in which every previous champion and runner-up qualified for the tournament, and Australia entered as a two-time defending champion.

The pool stages proved a major shock, as the only three countries to win a World Cup dating back to 1987 - Australia, the United States, and the Confederate States - were all eliminated prior to the quarterfinals, creating the most open knockout round in recent history, especially after traditional rugby powers South Africa and Argentina failed to advance to the semis. Of the semifinalists, only Texas (as 2017 edition's runner-up) had appeared in a semifinal in the previous three editions; England advanced for the first time since 2005, France appeared in a final four for the first time since 1981, and Ireland advanced to the semis for the first time in their history. With the advance of England and Ireland to the final, it guaranteed the appearance of a European squad in a final for the first time since 1993 when Italy was defeated by the United States and the first European champion since 1981, when England had emerged victorious. Ireland defeated England 38-12 to win their first World Cup title in history at Stadium Ireland.

Besides its rampant upsets, the 2021 edition was known for its high scoring, particularly by the Texas team that placed fourth, frequent penalties, and surprise advances to the quarterfinals by Hawaii and Samoa, both of whom were making their knockout round debuts.

 

[KingSweden24]

VfB Königsberg is a German sports club based in Königsberg, East Prussia. Its football club is currently part of the first division of the German football league, the Reichsliga 1. The team, famous for its minimalist black and white uniforms, has won the Viktoria (German national championship) eight times, the Deutsch-Pokal six times, and earned the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1988 while advancing the the European Cup final twice, falling short both times. It plays home matches at the Neu-Sportplatz Maraunenhof in the suburban quarter of Maraunenhof, having built the 48,000-person stadium to replace their original grounds at the same location in 1997 in anticipation of the 2000 FIFA World Cup hosted in Germany.

 

[KingSweden24]

2020 FIFA World Cup (French: Coupe de Monde 2020; Spanish: Copa Mundial de 2020) was the 25th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organized by FIFA and hosted by Mexico between 11 June and 12 July 2020, after it was awarded the hosting rights at the 2012 FIFA World Congress. It was the second time Mexico had hosted the World Cup, having previously hosted the 1960 edition, and the fourth time it was hosted in North America. Fans and pundits alike regard this tournament as one of the best ever held.

31 national teams advanced via qualification hosted by their respective confederations to appear, along with Mexico qualifying automatically as host; Venezuela and Nicaragua were debutants in the tournament, appearing in their first-ever World Cup. 64 matches were played in total across 12 venues in 11 host cities in Mexico. 11 of the previous 13 title holders appeared in the tournament, one shy of the record 12 in the previous iteration in 2016. The defending title holder, Germany, became the fifth consecutive defending champion to be eliminated at the group stage, while the other ten previous champions were able to advance. The runner-up of the previous tournament, co-favorite and top-ranked national side in FIFA rankings, Italy, was defeated in the first game of the Round of 16, creating what was thus regarded as one of the most open knockout stages in recent history; Britain, Brazil, and the Netherlands were also eliminated at this stage, while Spain, France and Sweden were eliminated in the quarterfinals. The United States was defeated in the semifinals by host nation and 2019 Confederations Cup champion Mexico, but consoled itself with a third-place victory over Denmark in the bronze medal game.

In the final, Mexico defeated three-time champion Argentina 2-1 with a goal by Hirving Lozano in the 88th minute to become the first and only country to win five World Cup titles (they already were the only country to have won four); with the win, it also gave Mexico three titles in the four North American World Cups. It was the first time that a quarterfinal did not feature at least one of Britain, Germany or Italy. The World Cup also featured some remarkable statistics, such as Italy earning a goal differential of ten in the group stages before exiting in the round of 16 goalless (including the top scorer of the tournament, Ciro Immobile, accruing all his goals in the group), as well as Mexico winning the World Cup having scored only 9 goals and not allowing a goal until their quarterfinal match with France despite the high-scoring nature of the tournament.

(Reposted to reflect the correct flag for Italy, which is not meant to be a Republic in 2020. Groups and knockouts to come, if I can manage the wikiboxes lol, and then we'll do a tour of Mexican infrastructure, etc, ahead of the tournament)

 

[KingSweden24]

Inspector Jacques Clouseau is a fictional French criminal investigator. First appearing in the BBC telefilm Panthers, Clouseau is the central character of a further eleven telefilms and miniseries since the 1960s, and has been described as an iconic figure of late 20th century British dramatic detective fiction. A senior investigator with the Brigade Criminelle of the French National Police, Clouseau is characterized as a womanizing, cynical and egocentric detective assigned to sensitive cases and has a reputation as the best criminologist in France, despite his numerous flaws. Over the course of six Clouseau telefilms between 1964 and 1978, he was portrayed by Peter Sellers; he was later portrayed in the late 1990s and early 2000s by David Suchet in four appearances, and in 2019 in an eight-episode miniseries starring Paddy Considine.

Filmed and written by Britons, the Clouseau series nonetheless pays special attention to its particular setting and is often viewed as a commentary by Britain on France itself, one of a piece of other programs and films common in Britain that were set in various continental locales and viewed through the eyes of locals rather than more adventurous "travelogue" style escapist entertainment. The original six Clouseau films, starring Sellers, were set in the French State (1938-93), at the time a military dictatorship led by General Raoul Salan fighting an insurgency to preserve its hold on Algeria, and his jaded acceptance of the conservatism of French society, the corruption of the French political and judicial system, and paranoia around Algerian terrorism or state violence is in many ways a microcosm of the discomfort of many British artists with the generally politically reactionary culture of 1960s and early 1970s Europe, including their home country. The Suchet run of Clouseau entries is an updated reworking of the series, setting it instead against the backdrop of France's recent democratic transition and struggle to put its chaotic 20th century behind it, while the miniseries Clouseau is set in present day's polarized, unstable social climate in France. Arbitrary behavior by Clouseau's superiors, including falsification of evidence, bribery, torture and even extrajudicial killings is a common theme, and Clouseau has an antagonistic relationship with his superior Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus as a result; the series has often been described in many cases as a neo-noir due to its often gritty focus, particularly the 1990s reboot.

The series has received considerable praise throughout the Anglosphere but is met with mixed reviews in France, where a number of domestic films since democratization have dealt with similar themes from directors and writers with first-hand experience living under the tyranny of the French State. French actor-director Marion Cotillard in particular famously dismissed the 2019 reboot as "a collection of crude British stereotypes about the French," and further noting, "We are capable to tell our own stories about our experiences rather than watching some Englishman's violent fantasies about the Surete shooting Algerian children for sport."

 

[KingSweden24]

Host Selection

FIFA announced Mexico as the host of the 2020 edition of the World Cup tournament at its 2013 Congress, held at Curacao in the German Caribbean. The vote at the October 2013 Congress was influenced in large part over heavy criticisms about the previous entry in China's infrastructure problems and concerns about public safety and to a lesser extent political instability that coincided with the tournament and both the FIFA Executive Committee and Tournament Host Committee expressed an interest in focusing primarily on "mature, experienced and developed" footballing cultures. As Europe was to host the 2016 edition in France and FIFA had adopted a policy of not hosting consecutive tournaments in the same continent after controversy over back-to-back European tournaments in the 1970s, that meant that every confederation save UEFA was eligible to bid.

As the United States had hosted the 2008 edition, CONAFA consolidated around a Mexican bid as early as 2011, but Mexico was initially thought a potential underdog as CONAFA would be hosting a tournament again just twelve years after its previous one and before a return to South America. However, the relative recency of several South American tournaments worked as a disfavor. Colombia had hosted most recently in 1980, while Argentina even more recently in 1988 and would have been a third-time host if selected, weakening their bids; Chile, which had been meant to host on two occasions (1956 and 1968) but been forced to drop out due to the cancellation of the former and its economic inability to host the latter following the devastation of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake and concurrent South American "lost decade" of the 1960s, expressed a desire to "finally welcome the world" and emerged as South America's choice. Australia, previously the host in 1968, announced a bid of its own, and from Africa came a joint bid between South Africa and the USAR as well as individual bids from Morocco and Egypt, which were both regarded as potentially strong contenders for the first-ever African World Cup. Colombia announced it would drop its bid in January of 2013 and support Chile, while the South Africa/USAR bid collapsed shortly thereafter and consolidated behind Australia, creating a major and controversial rift inside CAF.

Despite Chile's appeal in one of football's heartland confederations and having never hosted before, the country's sclerotic economy and lack of major stadia were points against it after the negative experience FIFA had just experienced in China and, to a lesser extent, Brazil in 2004 despite that country's long footballing culture, and the 2010 earthquake that devastated the country was widely seen as a major concern for the Host Committee. Australia, thanks to recent strong World Cup performances, became a dark horse favorite for European voters, thought to be in part influenced by Britain's strong support for its fellow Commonwealth member. Mexico was able to present a package, however, that featured stadia that would only need partial renovation for the most part to come up to FIFA standards and two major infrastructure developments planned to be finished by 2020 - the Texcoco International Airport in Mexico City, one of the world's largest, and the completion of the high-speed TAV rail service from its present terminus in Queretaro on to Leon, Aguascalientes and Guadalajara, thus uniting much of the Bajio region of Mexico where the majority of venues would be located. Australia was further affected by some complaints about the time difference in China by several UEFA, CONAFA and CONAME members who had found "3am knockout games unwatchable." Australia surprisingly placed third on the first ballot behind Mexico and Morocco, and Mexico won an absolute majority on the second ballot. Mexico would become the eighth country to host the World Cup tournament twice.

Venues

Mexico featured 12 stadia in 11 cities, most of which were new since Mexico's previous time hosting in 1960 but established by 2020. Only three stadia, the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, the Nuevo Estadio Leon in Leon, and Estadio Chivas in Zapopan were purpose-built for the World Cup (or at least built with it in mind). Most other stadia, however, received renovations and in many cases significant modernizations and expansions including modern roofs, or increased seating and concession areas. The original bid package proposed 16 stadia that would be whittled down to 12; in the end, stadia in Mazatlan, Torreon, San Luis Potosi, and Aguascalientes were set aside.

Much like in 1960, the majority of stadia save the two in the Monterrey area were all located relatively close in the Altiplano/Bajio region of central Mexico, and a premium was placed on proximity for group matches; Group B played exclusively in the two Monterrey stadia, while Group F had all games in one of the two Guadalajara-area stadia or in Irapuato. The Estadio Azteca and Estadio Jalisco hosted the most games with seven each, with the former hosting the final and the latter hosting both the opening match and the third-place game.

The host cities and their affiliated stadia:

Mexico City - Estadio Azteca - 87,000
Guadalajara - Estadio Jalisco - 55,100
Mexico City - Estadio Olimpico Universitario - 48,300
Zapopan - Estadio Chivas - 48,000 (new)
Toluca - Estadio La Bombonera - 31,000
Queretaro - Estadio la Corregidora - 38,000
Monterrey - Estadio BBVA - 53,500 (new)
Puebla - Estadio Cuauhtemoc - 51,500
San Nicolas de los Garza - Estadio Universitario - 42,000
Leon - Nuevo Estadio Leon - 38,500 (new)
Morelia - Estadio Morelos - 35,000
Irapuato - Estadio Irapuato - 34,800 (expanded)

Infrastructure

Mexico invested billions of pesos in improvements to national infrastructure to host the World Cup. Prominently, the TAV-3 network of high-speed rail capable of traveling at top speeds of 300kmh was completed in 2019, connecting termini in Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosi and Guadalajara to Mexico City via Irapuato, Leon and the previous terminus in Queretaro, which had been opened in 2008; improvements to the two-branch TAV-2 high-speed connection to Toluca city and Toluca Airport that was opened in 2014 were also made, such as expanding station access areas, on-site accommodations and opening a promised express rail track. An improved conventional-speed passenger rail service from San Luis Potosi to Monterrey was also completed, improving Monterrey's access to the passenger rail network operated by Ferrocariles Mexicanas at a lower cost than running a full TAV project north, which could not have been financed or built in time.

Public transport infrastructure was also made a priority, with the completion of the Texcoco Airport Line of the Mexico City Metro, three new Metrobus BRT lines in Mexico City, and the inauguration of the TRIU rapid commuter rail network in the Valle de Mexico a mere month before the World Cup kicked off. New fixed-rail and BRT metro lines were also opened in Guadalajara, Puebla, and Leon.

One centerpiece of the World Cup was the completion of the long-promised, long-delayed Texcoco Airport northeast of Mexico City's center, which was opened for traffic in 2015, and new terminals were built at Toluca Airport, Monterrey-Nuevo Leon Airport and Guadalajara International Airport with new routes inaugurated to several international destinations after a slight decline in domestic air travel coming with the completion of the TAV-3. As part of a promise made by the Ebrard ministry in the planning phase of the World Cup, Mexico also created in its urban areas (including those not hosting any games) nearly a million acres of new metropolitan parkland, built 125,000 purpose-designed temporary hotel and accommodation rooms across the country that were converted to social housing following the World Cup, and invested billions of pesos of revenues into upgrading youth football facilities including community-owned stadia, dressing rooms and school pitches.

 

[KingSweden24]

High-speed rail in Mexico refers to the network of electrified passenger rail routes that travel on a mix of upgraded and purpose-built tracks in excess of 200 kilometers per hour in the country of Mexico. As of 2023, the country of Mexico has a high-speed rail network of four routes on a total of ___ kilometers of rail, with a fifth route under construction. The services are operated under the brand of TAV, for Tren Alta Velocidad, by FCM, the state-owned rail operator and regulator for the Mexican rail system. In addition to its four high-speed routes, a number of "accelerated rail" routes are run with top speeds under the 200kmh limit.

FCM (Ferrocariles Mexicanas) embarked in a major project starting in the late 1960s to electrify all of its trunk and secondary rail routes, particularly ones that saw more than once-daily passenger routing, a project that was considered complete in 1991. Following the mid-1990s recession, Mexican policymakers began discussing the possibility of a high-speed rail network to reduce congested roads and airports, and the Strategic Rail Project (PSFC) was drawn up by the Ministry of Transport and FCM in the spring of 1999. Following the simultaneous election of Vicente Fox's conservative government, the Fox ministry chose the PSFC along with the new Mexico City Airport as its two primary "proyectos grandes" it would pursue over the first decade of the new millennium to enhance Mexico's economy in the new century and passed new laws accordingly. The TAV-1, TAV-2 and TAV-3 projects were the three largest construction projects in contemporary Mexican history, with TAV-3's simultaneous build of three extensions out of Queretaro regarded as one of the most ambitious infrastructure endeavors of the century.

The trunk segment of the TAV system is the routes constructed under the aegis of TAV-1 and TAV-3, which upgraded existing rail to high-speed standards and also built 700 kilometers of dedicated track along with tunnels and viaducts, which in 2008 opened the 210 km route between Buenavista Station in the capital and Central de Queretaro, and then the "trident routes" that were completed in phases throughout 2019, with a direct route to San Luis Potosi from Queretaro and then routes to Aguascalientes via Leon and Guadalajara that split off from one another after Irapuato. The TAV-1 and TAV-3 segments completed 918 kilometers of high-speed rail across the following five segments:

Mexico City-Queretaro - 210 km
Queretaro-Irapuato - 105 km
Irapuato-Aguascalientes - 175km
Irapuato-Guadalajara - 240km
Queretaro-San Luis Potosi - 188km

The completion of these routes, with trains capable of top speeds of 300 kmh and an average travel speed of behind 220 to 225 kmh, allowed travel between Mexico City and Queretaro in an hour, and then from Queretaro to Potosi in 50 minutes, Queretaro to Aguascalientes in an hour and 15 minutes, and Queretaro to Guadalajara in an hour and a half. Since the opening of the Mexico City-Guadalajara TAV service in early 2019, the busy corresponding airplane route has seen a greater than 40% reduction in traffic, with hourly service by train replacing much of its capacity. Mexican transport planners estimate that the completion of the TAV network in the Altiplano has taken the equivalent of 3 million cars per annum off the roads and forty thousand flights per annum.

TAV-2 is a separate project not interlining with the rest of the TAV network, and has come under considerable criticism for its inclusion with the rest of the project as well as for its cost overruns. TAV-2 was a project to make the commuter rail line from the Toluca region (Mexico's sixth-largest metropolitan area) to Observatorio Station in southwestern Mexico City capable of running trains up to 250 kmh, as well as an express spur to Toluca Airport's new, modern terminal on the revamped eastern side of its airfield. The tunnels through the mountains separating the Valle de Mexico and Valle de Toluca were over-engineered to include express tunnels; as of 2023, only the Toluca Airport express train utilizes these tunnels, stopping at Santa Fe Central in the new Santa Fe business and residential district and then terminating at Observatorio, which is meant to serve long-term as a secondary metro center to Buenavista. Upgrades to the commuter rail line to allow faster travel and express routes directly to Toluca should be done by 2024, thus completing TAV-2, which has been criticized as a white elephant and "train to nowhere," as it does not integrate with the TRIU suburban rail network in the rest of the Valle de Mexico, though plans to eventually run a TRIU line to Observatorio and Santa Fe are in the planning stages.

TAV-4 is, as of 2023, regarded as the final planned and funded stage of the TAV expansion. Breaking ground in November 2022 and using the upgraded TRIU network and its express tracks through the northern Valle de Mexico, this high-speed rail connection will be a 200 km route with a top speed of 300 kmh connecting Puebla to Mexico City via Teotihuacan, Sahagun, Apizaco and Tlaxcala, thus tying in the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Mexico to the capital. TAV-4 is expected to be completed by spring of 2027. While discussions have been raised about extending TAV-4 to Tehuacan, Cordoba or even Veracruz, no such plans are in place yet and the latter two would pose substantial engineering challenges. A popular "TAV-5" hypothetical is an extension of the existing Altiplanense network to Morelia, though the precise routing is subject of considerable debate and there are no substantive plans in place as of yet. As such, it is anticipated in Mexico that the TAV network is "mature" and unlikely to see considerably more expansion until the mid-to-late 2030s at the earliest.

 

[KingSweden24]

Group A

The first game of the tournament was held in Guadalajara in the opening match between Mexico and Ireland. The match went goalless for the entire first 86 minutes of the match, a testament to the strong defensive legacies and strategies of both sides, until Andres Guardado's header in the 87th minute put Mexico up 1-0. In the other Group A opening game, South Africa and Iran drew 1-1, with a goal by Ashley du Preez at the 10th minute to put South Africa up 1-0 only to see Iran equalize through Mehdi Taremi in the first minute of stoppage time to steal a point. The second round of Group A matches were entirely scoreless, chalked up to four teams renowned for their defensive prowess in back, goal and strong midfields; sports commentators in the US and UK came to refer to the round as "the Group of Eggs" for two dull, goalless draws. The third match, thus, saw a tight group with Mexico leading with only 4 points and Ireland threatening to be eliminated after having advanced to seven straight knockout rounds dating back to 1992. The streak was kept alive thanks to Ireland scoring on a header from their captain Shane Long at the 60th minute over Iran, while meanwhile at the Estadio Azteca reserve midfielder Giovani dos Santos came off the bench after a scoreless first half to score a brace with goals at 66' and 80' and power Mexico into the knockout round.

Mexico 1-0 Ireland
South Africa 1-1 Iran
-
Mexico 0-0 Iran
Ireland 0-0 South Africa
-
Mexico 2-0 South Africa
Ireland 1-0 Iran

Mexico 7
Ireland 4
South Africa 2
Iran 2

Group B

Italy entered the group stage with the top ranking in world football, having served as runner-up to Germany both at the 2016 FIFA World Cup and two years later at the UEFA Euro 2018 played on German soil, and the 2018 Euro final had indeed been the last game they had lost. As such, they were heavy favorites, and demonstrated why in the Group B matches. Italy began their World Cup with a 4-2 demolition of Serbia, with Ciro Immobile scoring a hat trick and striker Daniele de Paolini adding a fourth for good measure. In the opposite group stage match, Texas and debutants Venezuela faced off, with Texas winning 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Jordan Owens, adding to the controversy around Texas being drawn into the group with matches exclusively held in close proximity to their border in the Monterrey agglomeration. The biggest point spread of the tournament would occur in the next match, at the Estadio Universitario in San Nicolas, where Italy defeated Venezuela 7-0. Immobile scored his second hat trick of the tournament, making him only one of two players in World Cup history to score two hat tricks in one tournament and the first to accomplish it in consecutive matches or in the Group Stage; Marco Verratti scored an additional goal at 88' to complete the second-biggest victory by margin in World Cup history, and the largest since 1976, and one that made Italy the first side to guarantee a place in the knockout round. The opposite match, pitting Texas and Serbia against one another, was no less lively; in a penalty-heavy game in which each side was shown red cards, a 1-1 draw concluded the match. Italy defeated Texas in the last group stage game 1-0 with Immobile's seventh goal of the tournament, placing him on pace to break the World Cup single-tournament scoring record, while in the other match the eliminated Venezuela denied Serbia a small but mathematical chance to advance with a 2-1 victory, coming from behind after Aleksandar Mitrovic's second goal of the tournament at 11' with a brace from star player Salomon Rondon, who equalized at 55' and then scored the go-ahead goal at 86' to give Venezuela their first goals in a World Cup and first victory.

Italy 4-2 Serbia
Texas 1-0 Venezuela
-
Italy 7-0 Venezuela
Texas 1-1 Serbia
-
Italy 1-0 Texas
Serbia 1-2 Venezuela

Italy 9
Texas 4
Venezuela 3
Serbia 1

Group C

For the second World Cup in a row, France was placed in a group with Denmark and Australia, with France once again opening against Denmark, in a 1-1 draw even after an unusual seven minutes of stoppage time. In the other group, Australia and Morocco also drew 1-1, leaving the entire group on 1 point after the first match. This deadlock would be broken quickly in the second round, as France decisively defeated Australia, scoring three goals including a brace from Antoine Griezmann in the first half, while Denmark and Morocco both inched up to 2 points apiece with a second 1-1 draw for both. This meant that, despite Australia's loss, the group was wide open heading into the third match. However, Denmark demolished Australia, with star Christian Eriksen scoring his third and fourth goals of the tournament in a 4-1 victory, while thanks to a late score from Olivier Giroud France broke its deadlock against Morocco to top the group.

France 1-1 Denmark
Australia 1-1 Morocco
-
Denmark 1-1 Morocco
France 3-1 Australia
-
Australia 1-4 Denmark
France 2-1 Morocco

France 7
Denmark 5
Morocco 2
Australia 1

Group D

Britain and Croatia saw a 2-2 draw for their first match, with Gareth Bale and Harry Kane both landing goals in the first half before Mateo Kovacic scored twice for Croatia at 80' and 82', stealing a point off Britain. This would later prove crucial as the group advanced; Nicaragua had defeated China 1-0 in its first-ever World Cup game but was thoroughly outclassed by Britain, but nonetheless managed to hold the Red Lions to only a late Raheem Sterling goal in the 77th minute, while Croatia put two goals into net against China. The last game thus was crucial with Britain and Croatia still even on points and Croatia only ahead thanks to fair play; goal difference would make the difference as Croatia annihilated Nicaragua 3-0 with a hat trick by Kovacic, who now had six goals in the group stage, while Britain's late allowance of a Chiu Fei-tsun goal at 84' minutes denied them a clean sheet and placed Croatia first on goal difference despite equal points.

Britain 2-2 Croatia
Nicaragua 1-0 China
-
Croatia 2-1 China
Britain 1-0 Nicaragua
-
Croatia 3-0 Nicaragua
Britain 2-1 China

Croatia 7
Britain 7
Nicaragua 3
China 0

 

[KingSweden24]

Group E

Group E got off to a famous start with Sweden's comeback against Spain in the first match; after Spain went up 2-0 in the first twenty minutes of the game behind scores by Alvaro Morata and eventual Best Young Player Borja Mayoral, Sweden fought back with a header by Emil Forsberg, followed by a corner kick that slipped past David de Gea from captain Marcus Berg, and finally in stoppage time a distance-strike by Viktor Claesson that earned Sweden the upset win over the No. 3 team in the world FIFA rankings. In the other match, Liberia and Peru fought to a goalless draw, putting Spain at the bottom of the group on points.

In the second round of matches, Spain revenged itself upon Peru, with Morata scoring again off an assist by Mayoral and then a late added goal by Marco Asensio. Sweden, meanwhile was held to a 1-1 draw by Liberia; despite an early goal by Berg, Liberia's stiff defense held Sweden out of goal when a Forsberg strike was deemed offside by VAR and after a controversial handball penalty awarded against Joel Andersson, Timothy Weah converted the penalty kick at 86' to draw up the game and earn a second point and theoretically keep Liberia's chances of advancing to the knockout for the first time since his father George achieved the feat in 1996 alive. This was not to be, however; Spain secured second place in the group thanks to a Mayoral goal over Liberia at 33' in their last game, while Sweden decisively defeated Peru 3-1 behind goals from Forsberg, Kristoffer Olsson, and Marcus Rohden.

Spain 2-3 Sweden
Liberia 0-0 Peru
-
Spain 2-0 Peru
Sweden 1-1 Liberia
-
Spain 1-0 Liberia
Peru 1-3 Sweden

Sweden 7
Spain 6
Liberia 2
Peru 1

Group F

The opening match saw a shocker, as traditionally mediocre Switzerland leapt out to a 3-0 lead over defending World Cup champions Germany, with only late goals from Julian Brandt and Thomas Muller rescuing Germany from humiliation. In the other match, Costa Rica shocked with two goals over favorites Colombia after a scoreless first half, with both coming from Joel Campbell on penalties. The following match, however, proved the genuine stunner in the group, as five different Colombia players scored goals against Germany in the first half, and despite, once again, two late goals to tighten the scoreline - this time from Brandt and Julian Draxler - the result sent Germany out as eliminated, the fifth consecutive World Cup champion to be eliminated at the group stage. Costa Rica continued its march to the knockouts by going three clear with a guaranteed place in the Round of 16 thanks to a three-goal defeat of Switzerland, with Francisco Calvo, youngster Anthony Contreras and Johan Venegas all finding the back of the net while the defense clamped down aggressively on a Swiss attack that had lost all potency since its match with Germany. In the final matches, Germany was able to deny Costa Rica full points thanks to Muller's late goal after a mostly scoreless game, and Colombia pipped Switzerland to the second spot after the Swiss went down to ten men and James Rodriguez scored his second goal of the tournament on the ensuing penalty.

Germany 2-3 Switzerland
Costa Rica 2-0 Colombia
-
Germany 2-5 Colombia
Costa Rica 3-0 Switzerland
-
Germany 1-0 Costa Rica
Switzerland 0-1 Colombia

Costa Rica 6
Colombia 6
Germany 3
Switzerland 3

Group G

Group G was widely regarded as the "Group of Death" coming into the tournament and lived up to its reputation; any of USA, Brazil or Portugal were thought to be potential semifinalists in the tournament and Egypt was regarded as the most talented, dangerous African team in Mexico. A record of 34 goals were scored in the group play; not a single clean sheet was kept. In the opening match, Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo opened scoring at 5' only to watch USA dominate the rest of the game, with goals from Josh Sargent, Christian Pulisic, Andrew Luck, and Marshon Lattimore. Meanwhile, in the following match between Brazil and Egypt, a hat trick by Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah was negated by three goals by Brazil in the space of ten minutes late in the second half, all from different players. It was the game between the United States and Brazil which would be the "instant classic" of the group stage, however; after the USA jumped out to a 2-0 lead early after a brace from Tyler Adams, Brazil surged back to take the lead in the beginning of the second half with a brace from Neymar Jr. and a third goal by Gabriel Jesus. Mere moments after the Brazilian goal, however, a handball was called against captain Thiago Silva resulting in Pulisic converting a penalty to draw the game up again at 3-3 at 68'. Four minutes later, Neymar completed his hat trick to put Brazil up 4-3, and five minutes thereafter Kris Dunn tied the game up once again on an assist from Sargent. With the match tied and the clock ticking down, the game appeared to be likely to end at a draw when Luck caught a long ball from Adams, bounced it once on his knee, once off his foot, and then slammed it in from twenty meters out into the top corner of the net, powering through Brazil goalkeeper Alisson's fingers, an instantly iconic goal in the United States. In the other game, meanwhile, an injury to Ronaldo after his first goal and a brace from Salah allowed Egypt to come back from a 1-0 deficit to win their match 3-2.

The final round of games thus saw Portugal eliminated on no points and Brazil needing a win and an Egypt loss to be assured of advancing. Brazil earned the win they needed, running roughshod over Ronaldo-less Portugal, with Neymar scoring yet another brace and Fabinho and Casemiro adding to the totals along with Gabriel Jesus. In the USA-Egypt match, Salah earned his sixth goal of the group stage - tying him with Neymar Jr. and Kovacic, and one behind Immobile, an unheard-of scoring proficiency by multiple players for a group stage. However, goals by Adams and Luck after the halftime break assured the United States of 9 points, the only side besides Italy to accomplish this, and despite Salah's heroics Egypt were eliminated on goal difference.

USA 4-1 Portugal
Brazil 3-3 Egypt
-
USA 5-4 Brazil
Egypt 3-2 Portugal
-
Brazil 5-1 Portugal
USA 2-1 Egypt

USA 9
Brazil 4
Egypt 4
Portugal 0

Group H

What was anticipated to be a competitive group between Argentina and Netherlands opened with a matchup between the two traditional powers, ending in a 1-1 draw after a Kevin de Bruyne strike at 20' was levelled by Argentina's Sergio Aguero at 68', preserving Argentina's point and keeping the group level with every side at 1 point after Japan and Nigeria drew without a score. Argentina and Netherlands would jump ahead to four points apiece by dispatching the opposition 2-0 and 3-0, respectively, in the ensuing matches, with a particularly famous volleying score by Frenkie de Jong against Nigeria. However, Netherlands inability to maintain full points in their opening match came back to haunt them again in the final game against Japan, where Takumi Minamoto scored at 87' to deny Netherlands three points and first place in the group on goal difference; Argentina took care of their end of things, with a single Leo Messi score over Nigeria and holding tight for the win giving them first place in the group.

Argentina 1-1 Netherlands
Japan 0-0 Nigeria
-
Argentina 2-0 Japan
Netherlands 3-0 Nigeria
-
Argentina 1-0 Nigeria
Japan 1-1 Netherlands

Argentina 7
Netherlands 5
Japan 2
Nigeria 1

 

[KingSweden24]

(Author's Note - I planned out who would win each game both in the group stage and knockouts before the recent edition of the World Cup ended. Thus, the US triumphing over Netherlands here is not me getting sweet revenge on those cheese-mongering Oranje but rather reflects a world where the US is a second-tier footballing powering with a star over its badge that can reliably do well in knockout stages from time to time)

Round of 16

The Round of 16 opened with the hosts Mexico defeating CONAFA rivals Texas 2-0 in Puebla in a controversial match; Texas was awarded a penalty taken by Jordan Owens, which while missed was heavily protested by Mexican players for a "phantom handball" even after VAR review. Curious refereeing decisions went against Texas shortly thereafter, when a goal by Julian Brooks was ruled offside and a red card was given out to Omar Gonzalez for a foul, after which Mexico converted the ensuing penalty thanks to Hirving Lozano with his first goal of the tournament. Striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez added another goal at the 80' minute as a substitute to close out the game. In a classic European rivalry, France and Britain faced off in a World Cup for the first time in 20 years, when France had defeated Britain in the 2000 FIFA World Cup semifinal in Germany. France once again got the best of their longtime rival; though Britain opened scoring at 33' with a goal from Jordan Henderson, Pierre Chevriot equalized at 89', which took the energy out of the British crowd in San Nicolas; at 102', France scored the winning goal on a penalty from Griezmann to go ahead, and after a header from Andrew Robertson went high at 120+2', the game was decided in France's favor. No such drama occurred between Sweden and Colombia in Guadalajara, as Marcus Berg's 25' goal was never relinquished over the next sixty-five minutes and Sweden secured advancement to the quarterfinals for the third time in four attempts. A tense game emerged for USA in Monterrey - Netherlands went up behind an early Jan Vertonghen header, but USA fought back to tie the game on a shock goal from Matt Miazga with an assist from Dunn at 90'+3', with literal seconds remaining in stoppage time, to force added minutes. Goalkeeper Zach Steffen saved two potential goals from de Bruyne in quick succession and then it went to penalty kicks. All five US penalty takers - Pulisic, Luck, Musa Jones, Adams, Haji Wright - got past Andries Noppert, who had been surprisingly subbed in instead of starting goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, who had started for Netherlands as first-choice since UEFA Euro 2014, where he had won two penalty shootouts; while Netherlands converted their first three penalties from de Bruyne, Frenkie de Jong, and Viktor Janssen, the penalty taken by Luuk de Jong was deflected by Steffen and with substitute Haji Wright's successful fifth penalty for USA, Netherlands were out.

The other half of the bracket saw its knockout round start with one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport. Ireland, famed as a "giant killer" for improbable group stage and knockout victories in the past, lived up to her reputation with a defeat of Italy in Zapopan. After holding the potent Italian attack of Immobile, Verratti and Paolini at bay for ninety scoreless minutes, Ireland at last triumphed off a header put just behind Gianni Donnarumma by longtime defensive stalwart and added time substitute Paul McShane at 119', stunning Italy and putting Ireland into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2008. Croatia and Denmark went at it at the Estadio Azteca, with Croatia opening scoring at 10' behind Luka Modric's goal from a Kovacic assist, but Christian Eriksen scored his fifth goal of the tournament at 67' on a sliding kick off Nicklas Bendtner to slot the goal in and send the game to added minutes, where excellent goalkeeping brought it down to the last penalty of five with things tied up 2-2, with Andreas Christensen coverting the last penalty to put Denmark in a quarterfinal for the first time since 1992. In Leon, Joel Campbell's bold first goal at 7' looked like it could set the tone for yet another disappointing early knockout exit by Spain, but the 2012 World Cup champions successfully fought back, with a goal at 50' by Mayoral to tie up the game followed by Ferran Torres' sensational late goal headed in off a long volley from Sergio Ramos, playing in his final World Cup, past Costa Rica's mighty Keylor Navas. In the final Round of 16 match, held at the Olimpico in Mexico City, Argentina fell behind 2-0 to Brazil off of goals by Thiago Silva and Vinicius Junior, but fought back with a brace by Lionel Messi before he was subbed off due to cramping and a dazzling goal by Leandro Paredes at the death to put Argentina into the quarterfinals rather than their favored archrivals.

Mexico 2-0 Texas
France 2-1* Britain (aet)
Sweden 1-0 Colombia
USA 1-1* Netherlands (USA pen 5-3)
Italy 0-1* Ireland (aet)
Croatia 1-1* Denmark (DEN pen 3-2) [1]
Costa Rica 1-2 Spain
Argentina 3-2 Brazil

Quarterfinals

With the upsets in the group stage and Round of 16, it was the first time that a quarterfinal had not featured one of Britain, Italy or Germany, and thus the tournament's latter stages would be regarded as unusually open. Mexico, now emerging as a favorite thanks to their rugged defensive play and collected countering, faced France in Leon, where an early Jordan Veretout goal was the first time that an opponent had made their way past Guillermo Ochoa in the tournament. Mexico regrouped and struck back at 75', however, even when it seemed like the hosts were about to face yet another infamous quarterfinal exit, when substitute Chicharito came out onto the field again and scored an equalizer. After a scoreless extra time, Mexico and France faced off on penalties; Mexico converted all but their first, taken by Lozano, while Ochoa denied France and thus allowed captain Guardado's penalty kick to be the one that put Mexico in a semifinal for the first time since 1996, when they last won the World Cup. Meanwhile, in Zapopan, USA faced Sweden at El Chivas and once again fell behind initially, thanks to a goal by Rohden shortly after the half. With the clock ticking down to elimination and yet another improbable semifinal run by Sweden four years after having done it in France, American fortunes changed with Andrew Luck's shocking equalizer at 86'. At 106', having seen an Emil Forsberg goal disallowed as offside, the United States got a break on the counter and Pulisic scored his third goal of the World Cup to put the United States ahead and push them into the semifinals for the first time since 2008, when they won on home soil. [2]

On the other bracket, the two miracle teams of the tournament in Ireland and Denmark squared off at the BBVA in Monterrey, where a tense goalless draw that saw Irish winger Robbie Brady sent off with a red ended in extra minutes thanks to Christian Eriksen's bicycle kick into net at 110', sending Denmark to their first-eve World Cup semifinal. Spain's effort to make it two championships in eight years ended shortly thereafter as well at the Olimpico came to a sudden end, where after leading for much of the game thanks to Torres' goal, Nicolas Otamendi and Aguero each scored once at 82' and 86' to go ahead with a dagger to Spanish hearts, the first Argentinean semifinal appearance since 2004.

Mexico 1-1* France (MEX pen 4-2)
USA 2-1* Sweden (aet)
Ireland 0-1* Denmark (aet)
Spain 1-2 Argentina

Semifinals

Exhausted after two consecutive added minute games and with Pulisic picking up an injury in the quarterfinal triumph on his goal, when USA faced Mexico in Puebla it was running on fumes and played accordingly. Jonatan dos Santos scored at 23' to put Mexico ahead and the hosts subbed in defenders starting at 60' to take advantage of noticeable American fatigue at the high elevation and press their advantage. With the 1-0 victory, Mexico advanced to its sixth World Cup final and maintained its perfect 6-0 record in semifinal matches. Despite five shots on goal by Christian Ericksen, Argentina took advantage of similar Danish fatigue and ran up the score, with Messi, Paolo Dybala and Angel Di Maria all finding the net in the first half and Argentina cruised into its first final since 2004, maintaining her similar perfect 6-0 semifinal record.

Mexico 1-0 USA
Argentina 3-0 Denmark

Third Place

USA and Denmark would face off for the bronze in Guadalajara; for the fourth straight game in the knockout rounds, the United States fell behind thanks to Bendtner's header off an Ericksen assist at 38'. However, shortly thereafter, Lattimore scored on a Luck cross and Adams picked up his fourth goal of the tournament, bringing him level with teammate Luck, on a header off of corner kick from the same at 90+1'. With the win, USA won its third bronze medal, and Luck would go on to add to his three Man of the Match honors (including for the third-place playoff) the Silver Ball as the second-best player of the tournament with four goals, four assists and several crucial plays.

USA 2-1 Denmark

Final

(Dedicated update on Final to come)


[1] Croatia IOTL, of course, thrives on penalty kicks, so this is maybe a bit ASB haha
[2] I'm excited for when I eventually work my way backwards to this one... hehe

 

[KingSweden24]

The 2020 FIFA World Cup Final was played on July 12, 2020 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, and was the final match of the 2020 FIFA World Cup, the 25th edition of the tournament. The match was contested by Mexico, the host nation, and Argentina.

Both countries were among the most decorated in the history of the tournament; coming into the match, both were playing in their sixth final, having defended their perfect records in semifinal games. Mexico held the record for most FIFA World Cup titles with four, having won previously in 1948, 1960, 1968, and 1996; Argentina was attempting to match that record, having long been tied at three with Italy and Britain, having previously won in 1928, 1984, and 1988. Mexico had been a losing finalist only once, to hosts Brazil in 1940, while Argentina had collected silver medals on two occasions, 1992 in Italy and 2004 in Brazil, meaning that both sides had only ever lost to a host country in the final. Both had previously won on home soil, Mexico in 1960 and Argentina in 1928 and 1988; they were facing each other at a World Cup for the first time since 1996, when Mexico eliminated Argentina in the Round of 16. As such, the game was highly anticipated, with two traditional powerhouses returning to form, as Mexico had not appeared in a final since their last championship in 1996, whereas Argentina had last appeared in 2004, when they were defeated in added time to host and archrival Brazil.

The teams had arrived in Mexico City playing very different styles of football. Mexico, the hosts, had placed first in their group on seven points with three goals for and zero against, a stout defensive performance anchored by captain Andres Guardado and goalkeeper Guillermo "Memo" Ochoa that called back to their famous strategies that earned two World Cups in the 1960s. They had triumphed over Texas 2-0 in their Round of 16 game and then conceded their first goal of the tournament in the quarterfinal to France, requiring penalties which Mexico won 4-2. In the semifinals, they had avenged their 2008 quarterfinal exit to United States 1-0. As such, the team had scored a record-low seven goals ahead of the final while conceding only one the entire tournament, and were criticized for cautious and defensive play typically associated with North American football. Argentina, meanwhile, had enjoyed a more free-flowing style of play, wining their group with 7 points as well but emerging behind an open attack starring long-veteran players Sergio Aguero and Leo Messi as well as younger players such as Paolo Dybala and Leandro Paredes. Their knockout round had opened with a brilliant comeback against archrivals Brazil 3-2 followed by another comeback over Spain to win 2-1 after trailing for the first 82 minutes, and then a ruthless domination of Denmark in the subsequent semifinal. The teams were thus viewed coming into the game as fairly evenly matched, with Argentina playing more loose and open and thus having required two comebacks to arrive at the semifinal, while Mexico was considered stout and disciplined but highly reliant on scoring on the break.

The match was hosted at Mexico's iconic Estadio Azteca, one of the largest football stadiums in the world and home of the national team, in Mexico City. The stadium had undergone substantial renovations and modernizations ahead of the match, and a full capacity of 87,520 spectators was present. The referee was Nicola Rizzolo, of Italy.

The match started evenly, with Mexico dominating possession in midfield but failing to capitalize on a huge chance by striker Hirving Lozano at 27' when he was alone against Emiliano Martinez but sent his goal off the top bar. Argentina caught the break thereafter and Aguero appeared to have scored a goal at 31' but was ruled offside controversially. However, six minutes later, Argentina finally did find the back of the net with Dybala scoring at 37' on an assist from Nicolas Otamendi, and with that Mexico trailed for only the second time all tournament. An attempted chance by Lozano again at 45+2' went wide left and Argentina went into the dressing rooms at the half up 1-0.

However, shortly after the half, Raul Jimenez scored at 48' after catching the long ball from defender Luis Reyes, dribbling past Otamendi and slicing the ball into the far right corner of the net as Martinez leapt out for it but fell inches short of blocking. An outstanding chance for Messi at 60' was saved by Ochoa, who deflected it up and over the crossbar. Shortly thereafter, a second opportunity, this time for Aguero, went wide after Guardado got his ankle into the ball and bounced it off course. Aguero was controversially substituted off at 78' despite his excellent form, and within minutes Argentina's aggressive attack seemed to flounder; on the break, Lozano made up for his earlier miss when he received a close-in assist from substitute striker Henry Martin and drove his goal straight into the back of the net, putting Mexico ahead 2-1 at the 88th minute. Only three minutes of added time were granted, and Argentina failed to press in them.

The victory extended Mexico's record of World Cup titles from four to five and made them the fourth side, along with Britain (1924 and 1964), Brazil (1940 and 2004) and of course Argentina (1928 and 1988) to win two World Cups on home soil. Pavel Pardo, a defender on the 1996 champions, also became the first man to win a World Cup as both player and manager. Hirving Lozano, for converting the winning goal, was named Man of the Match.

Following the win, an estimated six million people took to the streets of Mexico City to celebrate the victory and a similar number was present for the team's championship parade on the Paseo. The team attended a luncheon at the Chapultepec Palace with Emperor Maximilian II, who had hosted the 1996 world champions as well, as well as the entire Imperial Family, before being honored separately the next day by Prime Minister Marcelo Ebrard and the Legislative Assembly of Mexico, where they received a five-minute standing ovation in honor of their fifth World Cup victory.

 

[KingSweden24]

Seattle City College is an institution of tertiary education in the city of Seattle, Washington. Located on Capitol Hill and First Hill, it sits on a dense, urban campus of 45 acres and sports a student population of approximately 42,000 full-time and part-time students in two, three, or four year degree or continuing adult education programs. It is part of the Washington Colleges Association, and like all county, vocational and city colleges in Washington state, it does not charge tuition fees. At the heart of one of the most densely populated neighborhoods on the West Coast, SCC provides subsidized student housing for about a fifth of its student population in on-campus housing.

The college traces its history back to the 1960s, when non-four year degree campuses were established across the state without tuition costs for "non-traditional tertiary education needs." Since then, it has grown rapidly, particularly during Seattle's major economic boom from the mid-1980s to early 2000s, nearly doubling in enrollment between 1990 and 1999. Due to its location and often-transient student population, SCC has developed a reputation for student radicalism and its Associated Student Union has often been at the center of campus protests since its founding. The college in particular is known for its three-year nursing degree program with strong connections to nearby hospitals (it is adjacent to one of the largest hospital concentrations on the West Coast).

(As I keep feeling out what the international vibe will be, I wanted to go in a different direction - some city-specific updates across the US to give everyone a sense of what modern America is like ITTL. A lot of this will revolve around my hometown of Seattle, but we'll go all over the place, too)