Silver Road and Golden Stripes, Yet Another Football TL

[Pragmatic Progressive]

I would guess:

Spain v Argentina (Barcelona, La Plata)
France v Brazil (Lyon, Sao Paulo)
Paraguay v Sweden (Asuncion, Solna)
Italy v Croatia (Rome, Zagreb)

 

[Unknown]

My semi-final picks: Argentina, Brazil, Sweden, and Italy...

 

[MatthewFirth]

Spain v Argentina
France v Brazil
Paraguay v Sweden
Italy v Croatia

 

[Wings]

The Quarter-Finals were all much closer than the previous round. Every confrontation ended with a single goal lead for the qualified side. The first confrontation was considered by many to be a final before the final, between tournament favorites Spain and Argentina, and these games delivered, with action all around. In the end however, Argentina managed to score away while Spain failed to do so, advancing to the Semi-Finals as a result. France eliminated Brazil after a solid performance at home, while Sweden came back from a 2-0 loss in Paraguay to qualify as well. Italy weren't the most solid, but manage to scrape a goal against Croatia and make it to the Semis as well.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores Sweden's third goal against Paraguay, allowing his squad to make it to the Semi-Finals

Red 3 (9)
Unknown 4 (10)
Matthew 2 (9)

Semi-Finals:
Argentina v France (Buenos Aires (Monumental), Saint-Denis)
Sweden v Italy (Gothenburg, Milan)

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

I predict:

Argentina v France (Buenos Aires (Monumental), Saint-Denis)
Sweden v Italy (Gothenburg, Milan)

with France winning the final.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

Argentine-Italian final: gonna go with the Argentines

 

[MatthewFirth]

Argentina v France
Sweden v Italy

 

[Unknown]

My picks: Argentina and Italy...

With Argentina winning the final...

 

[Wings]

No chance for the underdogs this time around. Argentina completely dominated France in both rounds despite small leads every time, while Italy conceded their first game to Sweden, before completely turning the tides in San Siro a week later.

Argentine celebrations as they head towards their 7th final.

Red 0 (9)
Choc 2 (2)
Matthew 1 (10)
Unknown 2 (12)

 

[MatthewFirth]

Argentina vs. Italy

 

[Wings]

Coming into this final, many thought the odds were stacked against the Squadra Azzura. With an easier route to the final, the Italians hadn't been tested against world-class teams, while Argentina were already favourites along with Spain, who they beat in Quarters. Seemingly unstoppable against France, the Albiceleste came into this final full of confidence. And indeed, it was the argentines that set the pace of the match, having several opportunities to open the score in the first-half. Most notably, Veron saw his shot be saved by Buffon not once but twice, Messi hit the post on a direct free-kick, and Tevez saw his shot go wide off the post. Despite having no occasions of their own, Italy held strong and kept the 0-0 draw at half-time.
Argentina kept pushing in the second half, with Cambiasso hitting the bar just five minutes after kickoff. However, Italy also started creating chances of their own, with Daniele de Rossi putting the first italian shot on target at the 66th minute as Abbondanzieri had to come up with his first save of the game. Frustrated at the low defense of the Squadra Azzura, though, some Argentines lost their cool in the later stages of the game as they failed to produce any significant chances, with Italy playing for time. After a blatant dive by Chiellini after Carlos Tevez had barely touched him, the Argentines grew angry, and a small brawl erupted only three minutes before the end of regular time. Amidst the melee, Mascherano punched Aquilani in the face. While seven yellow cards were handed (four to Italy and three to Argentina), Mascherano got a red, forcing Argentina to play the rest of the game on 10 men.
Aquilani, who suffered a black eye and a broken nose, had to be taken off the pitch, and replaced with Alessandro del Piero, who was still recovering from an ankle injury he recieved against Sweden and therefore didn't start. The first half of extra time started as the game had, with Argentina in possession while Italy defended low, but the Albiceleste were not nearly as dangerous as before. Being on 10 men started costing them despite the arrival of Milito, Gonzalez and Higuain on the pitch, and at the 112th minute, the worst happened. Alone on his flank, Ambrosini ran all the way to the argentine area, only to deliver a perfect cross to Del Piero, who scored with a smashing header.
Argentina didn't give up though, as a corner kick two minutes later nearly had Heinze equalizing on a header, but Buffon stood strong, and in a second counter-attack right before the end, as the Albiceleste had thrown everything they had forward, it was too easy for Di Natale and Grosso, with the left back scoring yet another in extra time, giving Italy a totally unexpected title.

Spoiler

Argentina's Lionel Messi encourages his teammates as he points out the minutes remaining in regular time of the final.

Fabio Grosso scores as his teammates erupt in joy. 2-0 up, Italy had no chance of being tied now.

Italian celebrations after winning the title

Note: All results are RNG-based, with an initial chance out of a 100 of winning the final. This is the second-lowest chanced team to win, as Italy only had 2/100 chances to win in regular (7/100 to draw) and 8/100 in extra time (26/100 to draw, penalties are then coin toss for each shot, so 50/50.). The only lowest chanced was...England against West Germany in 1984, with the Three Lions only having 1/100 in regular and 3/100 to draw (I don't remember the specifics in extra time, but it was lower than 8).

 

[Wings]

Winners: Italy - 4th title
Top Scorer: Alessandro del Piero (ITA) - 8 goals
Prediction Winner: @Unknown - 1st title (12, 6-4-2-0)

2008-09 Participants:
Europe: Spain (52), Germany (54), Italy (53), Netherlands (36), Croatia (15), Czech Republic (13), Portugal (25), Romania (24), Russia (12), France (37), Turkey (8), England (52), Scotland (27), Bulgaria (8), Greece (7), Israel (2), Sweden (37), Ukraine (4), Norway (11), Poland (21)
South America: Brazil (54), Argentina (52), Paraguay (11), Colombia (18), Uruguay (33)
North America: United States (12), Mexico (30)
Africa: Cameroon (7), Ghana (4), Egypt (7), Ivory Coast (3), Nigeria (8)

Final Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
Groups & Seeding
Group A: Croatia, Portugal, Bulgaria, Nigeria
Group B: Spain, France, Paraguay, United States
Group C: Argentina, Cameroon, Israel, Sweden
Group D: Italy, Turkey, Greece, Ukraine
Group E: Netherlands, Russia, Uruguay, Poland
Group F: Brazil, Scotland, Ghana, Ivory Coast
Group G: Czech Republic, England, Egypt, Mexico
Group H: Germany, Romania, Colombia, Norway

 

[Wings]

Group A: 1. South Korea 2. Zambia 3. Iran 4. Norway 5. North Macedonia
Group B: 1. Ecuador 2. Tunisia 3. Albania 4. Uzbekistan 5. Switzerland
Group C: 1. Finland 2. Venezuela 3. Guinea 4. Trinidad and Tobago 5. Hungary
Group D: 1. Ghana 2. Egypt 3. Belarus 4. Togo 5. Peru
Group E: 1. Slovakia 2. Australia 3. Belgium 4. Chile 5. South Africa
Group F: 1. Ireland 2. Costa Rica 3. Senegal 4. Cape Verde 5. Iraq
Group G: 1. Canada 2. Japan 3. Israel 4. Panama 5. Honduras
Group H: 1. Morocco 2. Bolivia 3. Mali 4. Saudi Arabia 5.Angola

Guinea v Canada 3-0 / 2-1
Iran v Finland 3-0 / 0-2
Mali v Slovakia 1-1 / 0-2
Israel v Morocco 1-2 / 1-3
Belarus v South Korea 1-0 / 0-1 aet 2-4 pen
Colombia v Tunisia 1-0 / 1-1
Denmark v Bolivia 2-0 / 2-0
Mexico v Egypt 0-3 / 0-1
Ukraine v Costa Rica 4-4 / 2-1
Ivory Coast v Australia 2-1 / 4-0
Albania v Ireland 2-1 / 2-0
Senegal v Ecuador 2-0 / 3-0
Belgium v Ghana 1-3 / 0-0
Cameroon v Japan 1-4 / 1-3
Germany v Venezuela 1-0 / 1-0
Turkey v Zambia 2-1 / 1-3

Guinea v Iran 4-1 / 0-4
Slovakia v Morocco 1-0 / 0-2
South Korea v Colombia 3-1 / 1-1
Denmark v Egypt 5-0 / 2-0
Ukraine v Ivory Coast 1-1 / 1-2
Albania v Senegal 3-1 / 1-1
Ghana v Japan 1-1 / 0-1
Germany v Zambia 7-1 / 0-0

Iran v Morocco 0-1 / 1-3
South Korea v Denmark 1-2 / 2-2
Ivory Coast v Albania 5-1 / 2-1
Japan v Germany 1-1 / 0-3

Morocco v Denmark 1-4 / 2-3
Ivory Coast v Germany 2-1 / 1-5

Denmark v Germany 0-3
Winners: Germany - 2nd title


2008-09 Participants:
Europe: Northern Ireland (25), Serbia (2), Denmark (16), Ireland (24), Finland (15), Switzerland (25), Belgium (21), Moldova (2), Hungary (24), Wales (25), North Macedonia (3), Belarus (4), Lithuania (6), Cyprus (1), Slovakia (11), Latvia (3)
South America: Chile (31), Ecuador (15), Venezuela (5), Peru (27), Bolivia (7)
North America: Honduras (19)
Africa: Morocco (30), Guinea (9), Senegal (8), Tunisia (25), Mali (9), Angola (8), Burkina Faso (2), Togo (4), Zambia (18), DR Congo (18)
Asia: Japan (12), Iran (28), Saudi Arabia (18), South Korea (32), Uzbekistan (6), Bahrain (3), Qatar (4)
Oceania: Australia (28)

Final Location: National Stadium, Abuja
Groups & Seeding
Group A: Guinea, Tunisia, Hungary, Belarus, Bahrain
Group B: Chile, Iran, Wales, Venezuela, DR Congo
Group C: Japan, Mali, Uzbekistan, Angola, Bolivia
Group D: Denmark, Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Togo
Group E: Morocco, Belgium, Ecuador, Lithuania, Qatar
Group F: Australia, Finland, South Korea, Burkina Faso, Peru
Group G: Northern Ireland, Ireland, North Macedonia, Slovakia, Latvia
Group H: Serbia, Switzerland, Moldova, Honduras, Zambia

 

[MatthewFirth]

Group A: Croatia, Portugal, Bulgaria, Nigeria
Group B: Spain, France, Paraguay, United States
Group C: Argentina, Cameroon, Israel, Sweden
Group D: Italy, Turkey, Greece, Ukraine
Group E: Netherlands, Russia, Uruguay, Poland
Group F: Brazil, Scotland, Ghana, Ivory Coast
Group G: Czech Republic, England, Egypt, Mexico
Group H: Germany, Romania, Colombia, Norway

 

[Wings]

The World Challenge was a competition imagined by FIFA to be hosted during the winter break. It consisted of each of the top teams in the FIFA ranking for each confederation, with the UEFA and CONMEBOL squads being given a bye to the Semi-Finals. The first edition was organized in Japan, highest ranked Asian nation. Already, upsets happened with both Cameroon and most importantly, rank 7 Mexico, who were cleared by Japan and Australia. Both Pacific nations proceeded to the Semi-Finals, where Japan held strong but eventually lost to Brazil on penalties, while Australia actually managed to beat the rank 2 Czechs to advance to the final.
At least Mexico saved face by beating Cameroon for fifth place, the African squad joining the Czechs, who lost 2-0 to Japan, in a winless run. Brazil on the other hand easily handled Australia in the final, and finally had a title to celebrate in the Nations circuit.

Kaka in action during the final.

 

[Wings]

The group stages started off without a hitch for both favorites Croatia and Portugal, who battled for first, with Croatia clunching first on goal average thanks to their 6-0 win over Bulgaria. Nigeria, considered one of the dark horses of the tournament, didn't manage to upset any of the top european squads, but would have a shot at the title at home in Abuja in the FIFA Cup.

Spain easily topped Group B in a relatively easy manner, leaving the rest of the group to fend for themselves for the last slot in the Round of 16. The US, despite a miserable away round, managed to snag three wins at home, including one against favourites Spain at Foxborough's Gilette Stadium, as well as wins against France in Chicago and Paraguay in Kansas City. Paraguay clinged onto their FIFA Cup spot thanks to their draw against Spain, while France continued their downwards spiral after a disastrous Euro.

Disaster also struck Argentina. The ex-finalists completely ran out of steam, their two losses against Israel shocking the world, while also conceding a game against Cameroon. Israel wouldn't even make it to the knockout stages, instead dropping to the FIFA Cup, while Cameroon and Sweden took this chance to battle for first, with Samuel Eto'o's squad taking first seed over Sweden.

Titleholders Italy wouldn't sink like the Albiceleste though, with the Squadra Azzura easily topping their group, while Ukraine finished dead last. The Greco-Turkish rivalry was revived for the last slot in the knockout rounds, with Turkey coming out on top, Greece having to take their chances in the lower competition.

Cameroonian players Eto'o (9) and Emana (10) celebrate a goal against Argentina.

Transfer to FIFA Cup:
Nigeria (19), vs Serbia
Paraguay (29), vs Morocco
Israel (33), vs Bolivia
Greece (33), vs Wales

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

Disaster also struck Argentina. The ex-finalists completely ran out of steam, their two losses against Argentina shocking the world, while also conceding a game against Cameroon. Israel wouldn't even make it to the knockout stages, instead dropping to the FIFA Cup, while Cameroon and Sweden took this chance to battle for first, with Samuel Eto'o's squad taking first seed over Sweden.

Argentina managed to lose against herself? Trully impressive! That's two looses, but also two wins!

 

[Chocolate Raines]

OMG, ARGETINA IS OUT!!!! 😄😄😄😄😄

 

[Wings]

Argentina managed to lose against herself? Trully impressive! That's two looses, but also two wins!

Fized. I of course meant Israel.

OMG, ARGETINA IS OUT!!!! 😄😄😄😄😄

They won't be alone in their misery.

 

[Wings]

This time there wouldn't be any missteps for the Netherlands. The Oranje topped their group handily, while Uruguay came up strong, winning 3 home games to pick up second place in the group. The 2 remaining UEFA squads, Russia and Poland, ended with the same amount of points, but Poland snatched it, scoring one more goal than the Russians.

Brazil easily dominated Group F, scoring 6 straight wins, leaving the rest of the group to fend for themselves. While many expected Scotland to drop, the Scots managed to snatch a FIFA Cup slot, while Drogba's Ivory Coast dominated Gyan's Ghana to secure a spot in the Quarter-Finals.

The Europeans also dominated Group G, with both the Czech Republic and England easily advancing over Mexico and Egypt, the latter being knocked out of the FIFA Cup as well. The Czechs finally played to expectations and managed to haul themselves to first place.

The years go by, but something never changes, and that is Germany underperforming in the Nations League. Despite being one of the heavy favourites, the Mannschaft failed to make it out of groups yet again, finishing third behind Colombia and Romania, and only finishing a point ahead of Norway.

Rozenhal and Sionko celebrate scoring another Czech goal against Egypt.

Transfer to FIFA Cup:
Poland (18), vs Northern Ireland
Scotland (24), vs Mali
Mexico (19), vs Denmark
Germany (6), vs Bahrain

Round of 16:
Ivory Coast v Cameroon
Sweden v Brazil
Romania v Italy
Portugal v Colombia
United States v Netherlands
Turkey v Czech Republic
Uruguay v Spain
England v Croatia