Silver Road and Golden Stripes, Yet Another Football TL

[Wings]

Germany were eager to try and get a second title in a row as they beat Russia twice in a row. Seeing as the Germans made it, Argentina were eager for revenge as they brushed Uruguay aside for a rematch of the 2014 final. Colombia and Brazil completed a South American trio as Colombia crushed Belgium and Brazil defeated Spain at home in Porto Alegre.

Messi and his teammates celebrate knocking out Uruguay as they get to face Germany in the Semi-Finals for a rematch of the World Cup final.

Unknown 3 (8)
Choc 3 (8)
Red 4 (8)
Rennse 3 (9)
Matthew 2 (7)

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

I predict a victory of Germany vs. Colombia in the final.

 

[Unknown]

My final picks: Germany vs. Brazil...

 

[Chocolate Raines]

My final picks: Germany vs. Brazil...

same

 

[MatthewFirth]

Germany vs. Argentina
Colombia vs. Brazil

 

[Rennsemmel]

Germany vs. Argentina
Colombia vs. Brazil

 

[Wings]

Germany and Argentina's clash was highly expected, and delivered as both teams drew 2-2 in Munich. The return leg at Estadio Monumental saw Argentina barely inch past the Mannschaft thanks to a free kick from Lionel Messi, who carried his team towards another final. On the other hand, the South American confrontation saw Colombia defeat Brazil before drawing in Sao Paulo, reaching their second final.

Brazil's Neymar and Colombia's Zuniga battle in the midfield during the return leg of Brazil versus Colombia.

Red 1 (9)
Unknown 0 (8)
Choc 0 (8)
Matthew 0 (7)
Rennse 0 (9)

 

[Unknown]

OK, I'm picking Colombia to win the final...

 

[Chocolate Raines]

Holy fuck...gonna go with Colombia too

 

[MatthewFirth]

Argentina vs. Colombia

 

[Rennsemmel]

Argentina v Colombia

 

[Wings]

We waited till 2015 to have an all-CONCACAF final, and interestingly, Brazil wasn't one of the finalists. Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, looked for their first title since 2002, while Colombia looked to score their first ever win, only having achieved the final in 1993, when they were defeated by France, while Argentina's last final dates back to 2008 and their defeat to Italy.
Colombia started off well, with captain Mario Yepes putting in a dangerous header cleared by Romero. This prompted an Argentine reaction, with Rojo passing a clear ball for Messi. The star striker cleared three colombian defenders to give a perfect ball to Higuain. The argentine would score this one, making it 1-0 for the Albiceleste. Colombia tried to react, but Rodriguez's shot went clear over the bar. However, the Colombians managed to equalize not long before the end of the first half anyways. Cuadrado found Armero alone, who managed to run through the weak Argentine defense to find Rodriguez. Although the colombian star striker would see his shot parried, Gutierrez was there to make it 1-1 on the rebound.
The second half wasn't as open, with neither team being able to get an advantage, despite Messi finding several opportunities in the Colombian defence. At the 85th minute, Messi found an easy opening, striking at Ospina, who pushed the ball back straight into Higuain's net. 2/2 was too much for him, as he shot the ball wide off the post despite an open net. In added time, Perez found Lavezzi, but the Argentine winger also missed by a few metres.
Things went into added time, but no one found any openings despite the three substitutions bringing in fresh blood onto the pitch. Sensing desperation on the Colombian side, Argentina launched an all-out attack, where Messi's shot was parried by Ospina. With 9 Argentine players in the Colombian side, Ospina cleared the ball towards Cuadrado, who started running at full speed. He sent the ball towards Rodriguez, who was unfortunately covered by Gago, winning his 1v1 against Romero to send the ball into the goal. Since Gago covered, the goal was not offside, and would give Colombia their first title as Argentina failed to score any more after this point.

Spoiler

Colombian and Argentinian players in action during the second half

James Rodriguez celebrates scoring Colombia's extra time goal

Colombian celebrations as the final whistle is blown

 

[Wings]

Winners: Colombia - 1st title
Top Scorer: James Rodriguez (COL), Teofilo Gutierrez (COL) & Thomas Muller (GER) - 10 goals
Prediction winner: @Unknown (10, 5-3-0-2) - 3rd title & @Chocolate Raines (10, 5-3-0-2) - 4th title

2015-16 Participants:
Europe: Belgium (22), Germany (61), Portugal (32), Romania (27), England (59), Wales (4), Spain (59), Netherlands (43), Croatia (22), Slovakia (6), Austria (17), Italy (60), Switzerland (12), Czech Republic (18), Albania (1), France (44), Iceland (1), Denmark (31), Bosnia and Herzegovina (5), Ukraine (9), Russia (19), Scotland (30)
South America: Argentina (59), Colombia (22), Brazil (61), Chile (15), Uruguay (40)
North America: Mexico (37), United States (18)
Africa: Algeria (2), Ivory Coast (10), Ghana (8)

Final Location: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Groups & Seeding
Group A: Belgium, Chile, Ivory Coast, Scotland
Group B: England, Slovakia, Uruguay, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group C: Portugal, Spain, Albania, Denmark
Group D: Germany, Netherlands, Iceland, Russia
Group E: Romania, Italy, Switzerland, United States
Group F: Argentina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ukraine
Group G: Brazil, Wales, France, Ghana
Group H: Colombia, Austria, Algeria, Mexico

 

[EvilJam]

Poor Messi...

Does having Messi or Ronaldo give an additional + to the teams roll? I feel like they're good enough that it should

 

[Wings]

Poor Messi...

Does having Messi or Ronaldo give an additional + to the teams roll? I feel like they're good enough that it should

They do. International-class players can add between 1-10 points to a team's chances of winning a match. Messi rolled a 9 for the final.

 

[EvilJam]

They do. International-class players can add between 1-10 points to a team's chances of winning a match. Messi rolled a 9 for the final.

So I imagine he had an amazing game but Argentina still lost then?

 

[Wings]

Group A: 1. Peru 2. Tunisia 3. Poland 4. Congo
Group B: 1. Jordan 2. Ireland 3. Bulgaria 4. Hungary
Group C: 1. Slovakia 2. Armenia 3. North Macedonia 4. Guinea
Group D: 1. Slovenia 2. Uzbekistan 3. South Korea 4. Benin
Group E: 1. Australia 2. Ghana 3. Libya 4. Finland
Group F: 1. Egypt 2. Montenegro 3. Angola 4. Panama
Group G: 1. Mali 2. Nigeria 3. Azerbaijan 4. Iceland
Group H: 1. Oman 2. Cameroon 3. South Africa 4. Austria
Group I: 1. Wales 2. Israel 3. Norway 4. Albania
Group J: 1. Czech Republic 2. Bolivia 3. Iran 4. Senegal
Group K: 1. Japan 2. Burkina Faso 3. Paraguay 4. Trinidad and Tobago
Group L: 1. United Arab Emirates 2. Sierra Leone 3. Cape Verde 4. Honduras

Burkina Faso v Czech Republic 2-1 / 1-4 aet
Tunisia v Slovenia 0-0 / 0-5
Ireland v Greece 2-0 / 0-2 aet 2-3 pen
Armenia v Japan 2-3 / 0-0
Uzbekistan v Egypt 4-3 / 1-1
Ghana v Venezuela 3-0 / 1-2
Montenegro v Switzerland 2-1 / 2-1
Nigeria v Peru 1-0 / 2-1
Cameroon v United States 1-1 / 0-1
Israel v Oman ISRAEL WIN BY FORFEIT
Bolivia v Jordan 3-0 / 1-0
Sierra Leone v Wales 0-1 / 1-4
England v Mali 2-1 / 0-0
Bosnia and Herzegovina v Slovakia 0-2 / 0-0
Ukraine v United Arab Emirates 0-0 / 3-0
Costa Rica v Australia 3-1 / 2-0

Czech Republic v Slovenia 2-0 / 0-4
Greece v Japan 2-1 / 1-3
Uzbekistan v Ghana 1-1 / 3-0
Montenegro v Nigeria 2-0 / 2-3
United States v Israel 2-1 / 0-0
Bolivia v Wales 2-1 / 0-2
England v Slovakia 2-0 / 5-2
Ukraine v Costa Rica 2-1 / 0-1

Slovenia v Japan 2-1 / 1-1
Uzbekistan v Montenegro 2-0 / 0-1
United States v Wales 5-2 / 1-1
England v Costa Rica 1-1 / 1-3

Slovenia v Uzbekistan 0-1 / 1-2
United States v Costa Rica 0-0 / 2-2

Uzbekistan v United States 3-0
Winners: Uzbekistan - 1st title

2015-16 Participants:
Europe: Poland (25), Hungary (29), Sweden (19), Northern Ireland (28), Greece (39), Turkey (22), Slovenia (13), Israel (37), Ireland (9), Serbia (5), Norway (21), Bulgaria (39), Faroe Islands (1), Montenegro (4), Estonia (3)
South America: Ecuador (19), Venezuela (12), Peru (31), Paraguay (32), Bolivia (13)
North America: Costa Rica (18), Jamaica (14), Trinidad and Tobago (14), Panama (7)
Africa: Tunisia (32), Senegal (13), Cameroon (32), Congo (3), Cape Verde (6), Egypt (40), Nigeria (26), DR Congo (19), Guinea (15), Equatorial Guinea (1), Mali (15), Gabon (5), Burkina Faso (8), South Africa (13), Zambia (24), Uganda (4), Togo (7)
Asia: Iran (34), South Korea (38), Japan (16), United Arab Emirates (2), Uzbekistan (11), PR China ()
Oceania: Australia (32)

Final Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
Groups & Seeding
Group A: Sweden, Nigeria, Mali, Uzbekistan
Group B: Northern Ireland, Turkey, Japan, Estonia
Group C: Cameroon, Peru, Guinea, Zambia
Group D: Tunisia, Venezuela, Norway, United Arab Emirates
Group E: Poland, Israel, Bolivia, Faroe Islands
Group F: Iran, Egypt, Gabon, South Africa
Group G: Hungary, Jamaica, Paraguay, Bulgaria
Group H: Costa Rica, South Korea, Equatorial Guinea, Montenegro
Group I: Congo, Slovenia, Panama, Togo
Group J: Greece, Cape Verde, Australia, Uganda
Group K: Senegal, Ireland, Serbia, Burkina Faso
Group L: Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago, DR Congo, PR China

 

[Wings]

So I imagine he had an amazing game but Argentina still lost then?

Despite Messi adding 9 to Argentina, Colombia still had higher points for the final.

 

[MatthewFirth]

Group A: Belgium, Chile, Ivory Coast, Scotland
Group B: England, Slovakia, Uruguay, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group C: Portugal, Spain, Albania, Denmark
Group D: Germany, Netherlands, Iceland, Russia
Group E: Romania, Italy, Switzerland, United States
Group F: Argentina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ukraine
Group G: Brazil, Wales, France, Ghana
Group H: Colombia, Austria, Algeria, Mexico

 

[Chocolate Raines]

A: Belgium. Ivory coast
B: England, Uruguay
C: Iberia
D: Germans and Dutch
E: Italy, USA
F: Argentina, Croatia
G: Brazil, France
H: Colombia, Mexico