Silver Road and Golden Stripes, Yet Another Football TL

[Wings]

Two confrontations on two different continents, that was the summary of the Nations League Semi-Finals this year. And, a hemisphere apart, both teams would find similar conclusions. In South America, Brazil triumphed over Chile despite the Chilean team making them sweat for it in Santiago. On the other hand, Portugal were never worried against a Danish team that failed to reproduce the feats of the 1990-91 squad which lifted the trophy in Los Angeles. The final would thus be 100% Lusophone, and for many, this was the confirmation that this was the year CR7 struck back.

Chile in action against Brazil in Santiago's Estadio Nacional. Despite not advancing to the final, they would win the Di Stefano trophy of the best "small" team in the competition.

 

[Wings]

The final of this edition of the Nations League was supposed to take place in Beijing, but the domestic situation of the country, in the middle of COVID problems, stopped this. The alternative was chosen on the other side of the world, in the Ivory Coast, despite Qatar wishing to host it. However, two finals in a row in Qatar, and in June to boot, would not have been the best option. Despite these problems, 50000 fans still showed up in Abidjan for the Lusophone final.
While Cristiano's Portugal was definitely favored for the storyline, it was not Portugal who took control of the game. Brazil took possession of the ball early, and were soon rewarded as Rodrygo opened up with a shot from outside the box. Portugal were stunned, and Raphinha took advantage of a perfect pass from Casemiro to make it 2-0. Brazil would not let up, and soon enough Diogo Costa would have to save Richarlison from getting one in.
The Portuguese reaction was lethargic, but it did eventually manage to come. Rafael Leao eliminated Casemiro to serve a good ball for Bernardo Silva to make it 2-1 before half-time. With the game back in play, it was expected for Portugal to react soon after half-time, but yet again, Brazil played spoilsport. After Bruno Fernandes lost the ball to Raphael in the middle of the field, the Brazilian winger sprinted down the field and served Rodrygo to make it 3-1 for Brazil.
The South American Selecao then controlled the pace of the game for thirty minutes. Portugal did try to inject new blood with the entries of Joao Felix and Ruben Neves, to no avail. Two minutes before the end, Fernandes was fouled 25m from the box, with Cristiano attempting the direct free kick. Although Ederson saved it, he could not hold onto the ball and Bruno Fernandes was there to make it 3-2. Unfortunately, this would be the end scoreline. Brazil mostly held onto the ball and Portugal couldn't get the ball back, meaning the Brazilian national team won their first title in more than twenty years!

Spoiler

Brazilian players celebrate scoring the first goal of the game

Portugal equalize just before half-time

Neymar celebrates as Brazil win their 10th title in Abidjan

 

[Wings]

Winners: Brazil - 10th title
Top Scorer: Rodrygo (10 goals)
Top Assists: Raphinha (7 assists)

2023-24 Participants:
Europe: France (52), England (67), Belgium (30), Croatia (28), Netherlands (50), Italy (68), Portugal (40), Spain (67), Switzerland (20), Germany (69), Denmark (37), Sweden (47), Ukraine (16), Serbia (9), Poland (29), Austria (23), Scotland (31)
South America: Argentina (67), Brazil (69), Uruguay (49), Colombia (29), Peru (11), Chile (23)
North America: United States (26), Mexico (45)
Africa: Morocco (8), Senegal (10), Tunisia (13)
Asia: Japan (14), Iran (7), South Korea (8)
Oceania: Australia (5)
Note that from the next edition (2024-25) on, the winner of the FIFA World League will get an automatic slot into the Nations League, and the winner of the Conference League will get a slot into the World League.

Final Location: Allianz Arena, Munich
Groups & Seeding
Group A: Argentina, Germany, Colombia, Poland
Group B: France, Spain, Peru, Serbia
Group C: Netherlands, Mexico, Japan, Scotland
Group D: Croatia, United States, Senegal, Australia
Group E: England, Switzerland, Iran, Austria
Group F: Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Chile
Group G: Brazil, Morocco, Ukraine, Tunisia
Group H: Belgium, Uruguay, Denmark, South Korea

 

[Wings]

Group A: Norway, Canada, Venezuela, Jamaica
Group B: Australia, Turkey, Burkina Faso, Slovenia
Group C: Costa Rica, Greece, Paraguay, Northern Ireland
Group D: Cameroon, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Panama
Group E: Algeria, Ecuador, Slovakia, Iceland
Group F: Egypt, Scotland, Romania, Finland
Group G: Hungary, Mali, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia
Group H: Austria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Ghana

1. Norway 2. Canada 3. Venezuela 4. Jamaica
1. Australia 2. Turkey 3. Slovenia 4. Burkina Faso
1. Paraguay 2. Costa Rica 3. Greece 4. Northern Ireland
1. Panama 2. Ivory Coast 3. Cameroon 4. Ireland
1. Ecuador 2. Algeria 3. Slovakia 4. Iceland
1. Scotland 2. Romania 3. Egypt 4. Finland
1. Bosnia 2. North Macedonia 3. Mali 4. Hungary
1. Saudi Arabia 2. Qatar 3. Ghana 4. Austria

Winners: Romania (1st title)
Top Scorers: Sebastien Haller & Antonio Sanabria (6 goals)

2023-24 Participants:
Europe: Wales (32), Hungary (36), Czechia (13), Turkey (29), Norway (28), Slovakia (21), Romania (31), Greece (47), Ireland (34), Finland (28), Slovenia (20), Bosnia and Herzegovina (12), Northern Ireland (34), Albania (14)
South America: Ecuador (25), Paraguay (39), Venezuela (18)
North America: Canada (17), Panama (13), Costa Rica (23), Jamaica (22)
Africa: Algeria (33), Egypt (47), Nigeria (32), Cameroon (40), Mali (23), Ivory Coast (37), Burkina Faso (16), Ghana (39), South Africa (19)
Asia: Saudi Arabia (28), Qatar (10)

Final Location: Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa, Quito
Groups & Seeding
Group A: Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela, South Africa
Group B: Nigeria, Norway, Greece, Jamaica
Group C: Algeria, Panama, Mali, Qatar
Group D: Wales, Cameroon, Finland, Ghana
Group E: Hungary, Costa Rica, Ireland, Slovenia
Group F: Egypt, Slovakia, Burkina Faso, Albania
Group G: Czech Republic, Canada, Ivory Coast, Northern Ireland
Group H: Turkey, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia

 

[Wings]

Group A: El Salvador, Bulgaria, Zambia, Uganda
Group B: South Africa, Bolivia, Guinea, Palestine
Group C: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Vietnam
Group D: Cape Verde, PR China, Syria, Belarus
Group E: DR Congo, Gabon, Haïti, Luxembourg
Group F: Montenegro, Oman, Curacao, Kyrgyzstan
Group G: Albania, Israël, Georgia, Armenia
Group H: United Arab Emirates, Honduras, Jordan, Benin

1. El Salvador 2. Bulgaria 3. Zambia 4. Uganda
1. South Africa 2. Guinea 3. Palestine 4. Bolivia
1. Iraq 2. Vietnam 3. Uzbekistan 4. Bahrain
1. Syria 2. Cape Verde 3. PR China 4. Belarus
1. DR Congo 2. Luxembourg 3. Gabon 4. Haïti
1. Kyrgyzstan 2. Montenegro 3. Oman 4. Curaçao
1. Georgia 2. Israël 3. Albania 4. Armenia
1. Honduras 2. United Arab Emirates 3. Benin 4. Jordan

Winners: Georgia (1st title)
Top scorers: Cédric Bakambu & Evidence Makgopa (7 goals)

2023-24 Participants:
Europe: Iceland (1), North Macedonia (2), Montenegro (3), Israel (3), Bulgaria (3), Georgia (3), Luxembourg (3), Armenia (3)
South America: Bolivia (3)
North America: El Salvador (2), Honduras (3), Haiti (2), Curacao (3)
Africa: Cape Verde (3), DR Congo (3), Guinea (3), Zambia (3), Gabon (3), Equatorial Guinea (1), Uganda (3), Benin (3)
Asia: Iraq (3), United Arab Emirates (3), Oman (3), Uzbekistan (3), China PR (3), Jordan (3), Bahrain (3), Syria (3), Vietnam (3), Palestine (2), India (1)
Oceania:

Final location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington
Groups and Seeding
Group A: United Arab Emirates, El Salvador, Bahrain, Uganda
Group B: Iraq, Georgia, Bolivia, Palestine
Group C: Cape Verde, PR China, Haïti, Benin
Group D: Montenegro, Honduras, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea
Group E: Iceland, Bulgaria, Jordan, Vietnam
Group F: DR Congo, Guinea, Luxembourg, Armenia
Group G: North Macedonia, Israel, Curacao, India
Group H: Oman, Uzbekistan, Gabon, Syria

 

[Wings]

In Group A, Germany disappointed heavily. Expected to make Top 2 behind Argentina, they did not manage to perform up to par. However, the Germans at least did not disappoint as much as Poland. Lewandowski's squad only grabbed a single win in six games and finished dead last. Germany was thus knocked down to the World League, with the two South American teams advancing.

No surprises in Group B. France and Spain occupied the two top spots, with Peru and Serbia fighting for the scraps. Spain managed to achieve first place thanks to their 3-1 win over France at home, with France picking up second place. Peru logically beat Serbia to take third place and get a second shot in the World League.

Group C was much more open, and did not disappoint. Mexican fans rejoiced as their team cleared the group in first place, giving a lot of hope for the Round of 16 to get an easier seed and a potential ticket to Quarters. The Netherlands for their part got a shock. With two draws against Japan, they failed to advance to the Round of 16 and instead let the Asian team through. The Oranjes would instead have to try and run the gauntlet in the World League.

Group D was just as open as the previous one, with each continent placing a big hope in their squad. Croatia proved that they hadn't lost any of their magic by topping the group with notably three wins at home. As for the rest of the teams, it was a brawl, but Australia, thanks to two wins against Senegal, moved to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2010-11, with the United States moving down to the World League.

Mexican players celebrate qualifying for the Round of 16

To World League:
Germany (9), vs Mali
Peru (35), vs Ecuador
Netherlands (6), vs Romania
United States (16), vs Slovenia

 

[Wings]

No surprises in Group E. England easily topped the group with room to spare, playing its B squad against an already eliminated Iran at Anfield. Behind the Three Lions, Switzerland were logically superior to Austria and booked their ticket to yet another Round of 16, while hoping they'd get past this round this time.

Italy's fortunes still did not improve. After the disaster of not qualifying for the World Cup, the Squadra Azzura felt the pain of being eliminated without even making it to the World League. Instead, Portugal took first place, topping a surprising Sweden and last year's Semi-Finalists Chile.

Titleholders Brazil had an easy group, and delivered. Despite a loss to Morocco, the Selecao topped the group without being truly worried, with the African team finishing second, thus representing their confederation in the Round of 16. Ukraine finished 3rd, dropping to the World League above Tunisia.

Group H was a shock for many. While Belgium finished first as expected, dark horses and 2023 semi-finalists Denmark were knocked down to the World League after a poor performance in the Group Stage. Likewise, Uruguay also failed to make it through, letting the surprising South Korean squad to qualify for the knockout stage.

South Korean players celebrate advancing to the Round of 16

Transfer to World League:
Austria (24), vs Czech Republic
Chile (24), vs Slovakia
Ukraine (17), vs Cameroon
Denmark (38), vs Norway

Round of 16:
South Korea v Spain
Japan v Belgium
Sweden v Croatia
Australia v England
France v Portugal
Switzerland v Argentina
Colombia v Brazil
Morocco v Mexico

 

[NTF aka Seb]

How come Sweden are so "much" better ITTL?

I think we'd get 3 points tops in that group in our current state.

 

[Wings]

How come Sweden are so "much" better ITTL?

I think we'd get 3 points tops in that group in our current state.

Upsets happen. And never underestimate the power of Italy to bottle things up.

 

[Wings]

This edition's Round of 16 saw three AFC teams advance, but, unfortunately, this is as far as they were going to go. South Korea convincingly lost to Spain, but both Japan and Australia resisted. Japan won 1-0, with Belgium winning 2-1 at home. However, with the new rule that stated that away goals did not count, Japan were the first team to endure the consequences. Extra time came, and Belgium pushed to a 4-1 win to make it to Quarters.
It was a similar story for Australia. After a 2-1 victory at home, England won 1-0 at the Emirates, but did not automatically advance. Though here England pushed through with another goal in extra time.
Luckily, upsets still happened. Colombia beat Brazil 5-0 in Bogota to smash their hopes of a back-to-back title and make it to Quarters. Similarly, Morocco beat Mexico to be the last representative of a non-UEFA/CONMEBOL team in Quarters and be the 6th CAF nation to make it that far in the competition. Sweden almost made the upset happen with a 3-1 home win over Croatia, but Luka Modric's squad annihilated Sweden in Zagreb 5-1 to push to the next round.
Switzerland once again fell in the Round of 16, again to Argentina, despite a high-profile 3-3 draw in Buenos Aires. As for the clash of titans between France and Portugal, it went France's way with a 5-2 victory for the French in Lens and a 3-2 victory for the World Finalists at the Estadio da Luz.

Moroccan players celebrate their victory over Mexico, allowing them to qualify for the Quarter-Finals for the first time.

Quarter-Finals:
Spain v Argentina
England v France
Morocco v Colombia
Croatia v Belgium

 

[Wings]

The 2021 edition of the World Challenge came back to Japan for the first time since 2016. Being the highest ranked team in the AFC, the Japanese thus avoided the first round, which was a blessing for New Zealand! The Kiwis defeated Iran, and while Japan would wipe them, they would get their best result since 2015 by defeating Senegal in the match for 5th place. The Senegalese had lost to the United States, who ended third in the tournament, beating hosts Japan who ended on two losses, including a nail-biter against Belgium. The Red Devils themselves won their third consecutive World Challenge with another win over Brazil. The Selecao had lost for the fourth consecutive time, and it would have to deliver at home the following year in order to avoid a fifth loss in a row...

New Zealand players relaxing after defeating Senegal.

 

[Wings]

For Brazil, the 2022 World Challenge was just another painful edition to add to the previous ones. At home, the Brazilians reached the final after dismantling Morocco in the Maracana, but the final would be no different from the four previous ones. In the upper bracket, their rivals Argentina had already been defeated by the United States (preventing a rematch of the WC final), setting the stage for what should have been Brazil's coronation, despite the Americans failing to replicate the upset against France, though they'd take third place by defeating the CAF representatives for 3rd place.
But in the Maracana, once again, disaster struck. France played their best football, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick even before half-time. Luckily, there would be no repeat of the 7-1 disaster of 2014. However, with only a late goal by Vinicius to keep them afloat, Brazil saw the title slip past them once more. And this would be the last time that Brazil could get a shot at the title in the World Challenge, or, at least, in this format...

French celebrations after winning the final in Rio de Janeiro

 

[Wings]

For this last edition of the World Challenge in this format, titleholders France chose a different strategy. Instead of sending their main squad, they chose to send their U23 squad, with coach Thierry Henry, to Morocco in order to prepare for the Olympics. In Rabat, France faced off against Japan, who had destroyed the USA in the second round. The youngsters did not exactly do well against Japan, owing to a shoddy defence, and lost in extra time. On the other side of the bracket, Morocco defeated their continental counterparts Senegal to make it to the Semi-Finals, where they were dismantled by Argentina. Morocco would satisfy itself with third place at home, with Argentina moving on to face Japan. But with Otamendi sent off after only 10 minutes, the Albiceleste were defeated in the final by the Asian squad, who scored their second victory in the tournament.

Japanese celebrations after their victory in the final.

There would not be a 2024 edition of the World Challenge. Instead, we would see the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental cup, a similar format, but with less games and games played at home or away, with only the final and final accession match being on neutral ground.
Instead, FIFA decided to organize the World Challenge every four years, similarly to the World Cup. Nations League winners of the four previous years won automatic qualification along with the hosts, and a ranking based on points across the Nations League, World League and Conference League of the previous four years would determine the next qualified teams.
The 2025 edition would be the first, with the United States hosting, and Brazil, Argentina and Belgium having already automatically qualified. UEFA thus has 11 slots to fill (12 but Belgium took one automatically), CONMEBOL has 4 (6 but Brazil and Argentina took 2 automatic slots), CONCACAF has 4, CAF has 4, AFC has 4 and OFC has 1.
As of March, with Quarter-Finals still to play in all three leagues, only CONCACAF and OFC, who have no more representatives in play, have validated their teams.
OFC, by virtue of no teams having qualified for any of the competitions, would send New Zealand to the World Challenge, as first in the FIFA rankings.
The CONCACAF ranking, for its part, would qualify Mexico (1st), Canada (2nd), Costa Rica (3rd) and El Salvador (4th).

 

[Wings]

The 2022 FIFA Super Cup took place in Sydney, and would be unique in the fact that for the first time since 2005, it pitted two South American nations against each other. Over 70,000 attended the game, which was also a first since 2016, when 77,000 distraught Germans saw the Mannschaft lose to England in Munich. Here however, most were neutrals who had the opportunity to watch Lionel Messi play, though he would not manage to win the title. Uruguay, as the annoying neighbour, denied them the opportunity by being a lot more realistic in their play, and facing an overall exhausted Argentine squad, winning their second title.

The 2023 FIFA Super Cup moved to Tel Aviv, which had organized the 2020 edition prior. The stadium was likewise packed, with around 25,000 fans watching the showdown between Brazil and Romania. And while most expected it to be a one-sided game, Romania did hold fairly well, but lost nonetheless. Brazil thus joined France, England and Germany in teams having won four Super Cups. The festive atmosphere of the stadium on August 16th would be a stark contrast to the country's atmosphere just two months later, when much more tragic events took place.

The 2024 FIFA Super Cup will be hosted at Toronto's BMO Field.

 

[Sevsdast]

The 2023 FIFA Super Cup moved to Tel Aviv, which had organized the 2020 edition prior. The stadium was likewise packed, with around 25,000 fans watching the showdown between Brazil and Romania. And while most expected it to be a one-sided game, Romania did hold fairly well, but lost nonetheless. Brazil thus joined France, England and Germany in teams having won four Super Cups. The festive atmosphere of the stadium on August 16th would be a stark contrast to the country's atmosphere just two months later, when much more tragic events took place.

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The 2024 FIFA Super Cup will be hosted at Toronto's BMO Field.

At least Romania put up a good fight against Brazil.

 

[Wings]

The road for the South American teams in the Nations League would stop in the Quarter-Finals. With two 4-1 defeats, it was almost mission impossible for both Argentina and Colombia to come back. Argentina did almost manage to make it, but were missing the last goal which would have given them the final. As for Morocco, they made history by tying Colombia and becoming the second CAF nation after Senegal to make it to the Semi-Finals.
For England, the curse seemed to continue, with two defeats to France meaning their adventure stopped there. There would be no revenge against Croatia, who managed a 1-0 victory in Brussels to make it through to face France in the Semi-Finals, hoping to reach the Final for the first time since the 2000-01 season, when they lifted the trophy.

Belgium's Romelu Lukaku looks on as Croatia save another one of his attempts during the return leg of their confrontation.