Hey guys, Merry Christmas and welcome to my Football Manager 2012 England World Cup special. With it been X-Mas I decided to rush through this post so I could offer you all a nice read after the the days festivities. So sit back, relax and grab what ever beverage you fancy (for myself it is a nice glass of red wine.) This post may be a long one but its worth reading, so lets crack on as I reveal what happened during England’s World Cup 2018. I’ll be taking you through the competition in stages. The group stage is done in one go, then we’ll examine every game from there on out. But to start with let’s see what the media had to say and which players followed me to Russia.
England squad selection and media odds
Due to the fact I try and play a 4-2-2-2 my selection had to include four strikers and at least three wingers…I also have a 4-5-1 formation on standby for when the morale isn’t quite there and I feel vulnerable. This leads me to need at least 4-5 CM’s, then I also like to have at least three CB’s and four full backs. All in all I think the mix is about right and you can see the most important players profiles by clicking their names just below the selection image.
England starting XI — GK: Joe Hart — DR: Kyle Walker, DL: Jack Robinson, DC: Ian Pepper, DC: Ryan Shawcross — MC: Phil Jones, MC: Jonjo Shelvey — RW: Jordan Henderson, LW: Jack Wilshere — ST: Wayne Rooney (C), ST: Theo Walcott
Other key players — DC: Chris Smalling — MC: Jack Rodwell — RW: Raheem Sterling — ST: Connor Wickham
As you can see the squad is quite strong, we’re very tough mentally and physically but as with all English sides we seem to lack a little technically. To be honest that doesn’t bother me too much as I think the mental toughness will help us greatly as underdogs. Talking of underdogs, the media have put us at 9-1 to become the next World champions. Spain, Portugal, Germany and Brazil are all joint favorites at 2-1 while Argentina and France have been priced at 5-2.
OK so now you know my formation, squad selection and media odds so it’s time to head onto Russia for the tournament itself. Before we start looking at results let me remind you of the group stage draw. England were drawn alongside Belarus, Cameroon and Honduras…a very easy group and to be honest I don’t see a group of death this year.
World Cup group stage
England vs Honduras
England started the tournament against what should have been easy opposition. My boys took a first half lead and Walcott turned his brace into a hat trick on the 58th minute…all seemed rosy until we got complacent. Honduras pulled one back and then another with minutes remaining, thankfully we held out for a 3-2 victory but that scare ended in a few harsh words come the full-time team talk.
Result: 3-2
England vs Cameroon
In my eyes Cameroon are the banana skin of group G but after handing my side two own goals and letting Shawcross head home from a corner, they soon lost that title. The match may have finished 3-0 to England but Sterling’s red card left a foul taste in my mouth…especially seen as it led to a three match ban :(
Result: 3-0
England vs Belarus
One more game to go and I wanted a high scoring performace to give the players confidence. However, I made a vital mistake with the team talk. I told the players ‘to do it for the fans’ in a calm voice, seemed OK at the time but on reflection I should have demanded victory because my boys were very complacent. We walked back into the changing rooms at half-time 2-1 down, I let loose on them and showed my disappointment. But instead of taking the game to Belarus, we conceded straight away to make the score 3-1! Thankfully a few super subs saved our day and pulled the scores back level at 3-3. Belarus then took the lead again before Jordan Henderson equalized one last time with minutes remaining. The game finished 4-4 and my side received a real dressing down at full-time.
Result: 4-4
Group G results roundup:
Two wins and a draw, not too awful but two of the performances showed terrible complacency which I hope has been wiped away by my harsh words during a few heated team talks. England finished top all the same and Belarus qualified for the second round as well.
World Cup Knockout stages
We now move onto the Second Round (or Round of 16 for you oldies.) The standout draw in this round has to be France vs Portugal, while the other matches seem to have an obvious outcome. My boys will be up against South Africa and still without our super sub Sterling.
Second Round — England vs South Africa
This was a very weird match, despite taking an early lead through Jordan Henderson South Africa fought back to make it 2-1. Theo Walcott then scored a worldly effort to keep the scores level going into half-time. The second half was pure domination from England and we got the winning goal thanks to a great Henderson strike just after the break. A deserved victory and the scoreline didn’t do my sides performance any justice…but hey, this is the World Cup so what do you expect.
Result: 3-2
Second Round results roundup
OK through to the quarter-final but how did the others fair out. Well no surprises really, the only notable departure was Portugal but then again they were up against France.
World Cup quarter-finals
Things are starting to get serious now and if I hadn’t noticed the quarter-final draw would have opened my eyes. Brazil are to play France, Scotland are against Uruguay, Ivory Coast are against Spain and England will play Germany…yeeesssss!!! It’s time for revenge (as long as we have a referee with glasses!!)
World Cup Quarter-final — Germany vs England
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Sochi
Attendance: 47,659
Starting formations:
OK so you won’t recognize any of the Germany players, as many will know SI don’t have the rights to show the actual national team but I haven’t bothered to correct that. What I can tell you though is that the Germans won the last World Cup and have an awesome side. They are the favorites going into this match but I fancy my chances. Lets jump straight into the match highlights shall we. Germany are playing in white and England in blue.
Match highlights: Click here to watch the World Cup quarter-final highlights
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Match stats:
Absolutely outstanding, we dominated this match and made Germany look like the underdogs. My attacking 4-2-2-2 seems to be doing the trick and our opponents are really struggling to hold us off.
Semi-final draw:
Brazil, Spain and Scotland all joined me in the semi-final draw, the latter of which left me dumbfounded. :) Unfortunately I missed out on the easy route and drew Brazil leaving Spain to thrash Scotland. :)
World Cup semi-final — Brazil vs England
Venue: Krasnodar
Attendance: 50,015
Starting formations:
Before we talk about Brazil, let me mention that my best player in Wilshere took a knock during the previous match and misses this tie. On the upside Sterling is back from his ban and fills in from the left. Looking at the Brazilian side they have a lot of talent including, Moura, Neymar, Ramires and one incredible regen at center back named Marcao. However, I held some hope as some players seemed a little out of their comfort zone (position wise) and the Brazilian tactic didn’t scream out attack. This led me to go all out attack and stick by my usual philosophy. Again we’ll just go straight into the highlights, but I must admit my palms were sweating before this one.
Match highlights: Click here to watch the World Cup semi-final highlights
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Match stats:
Yet another weird match, Brazil took the lead early on but we replied swiftly through Henderson. That goal led to our domination and while Brazil held the ball well their attacks didn’t lead to much. I always felt on the front foot and finally got my reward in extra-time as super sub Connor Wickham made a brilliant run down the left to assist Henderson. An outstanding performance and England are through to the final!!!
World Cup final opponent revealed
OK, so after beating two of the favorites my boys were in the final. But was it Spain or Scotland that stood between us and our first World Cup crown since 1966? I hear you laugh and so was I but wait for it……..
…what the *$%? Yes the image you see above is very similar to the face Ana will be pulling!! :) Spain were beaten 2-1 by Scotland, probably the biggest shock I’ve seen in FM 2012 but all to my gain I guess, or is it? Read on friends…
World Cup final — England vs Spain Scotland (sorry Ana, couldn’t help myself)
Venue: Gazprom-Arena, St. Petersburg
Attendance: 69,501
Starting formations:
Let me start by saying SCOTLAND???? Now that is out of the way I don’t have much to say for the opponents. Fleck is talented, Goodwillie and Griffiths can be dangerous on their day and Wilson is a solid center back but bar that they have nothing. However, I am heavily handicapped for this tie. Shawcross, Walker, Phil Jones and Theo Walcott are all missing due to bans and injuries. But having said that the England under 21’s should be beating Scotland. Let me explain the match in two halves, but prepare yourself for something extraordinary.
First-half: OK so the whistle sounded and the butterflies started to stir in my stomach. Scotland seemed hell bent on making a game of this. Chance after chance went begging until, on the 17th minute, McArthur put Griffiths through on goal and the striker slotted home. My defense were all at sea! England came back with an attack or two of their own but this match wasn’t going to plan. Then, just as I’d convinced myself ‘Scotland cannot win the World Cup!’ disaster struck!!! Fleck passed sideways to Wallace from the free-kick and what followed resulted in swear words I haven’t used since secondary school. Wallace struck a screamer from outside the box to make it 2-0 with minutes remaining in the first-half. However, those minutes were made to count as Wilshere made a nice run down the left before passing short to Wickham who hit a tame shot into the bottom corner….2-1 at the first-half whistle.
Second-half: Needless to say my boys got an absolute bollocking at half-time, their fourth of the tournament! I decided to keep things the same and see if they could sort out the mess they’d created. Of course we came out like a bull in a China shop, firing off shots left right and center. Scotland seemed to be struggling and I could feel their collapse just waiting for us to take advantage. Then, just as I had confirmed two substitutions Wayne Rooney scored a true poachers goal…of course he then left the field for Sturridge as Jonjo Shelvey also departed for Barkley. The clock was winding down and bar one Scotland attack it was all England. This really was a story of two halves and on the 76th minute an incisive blow was made. Micah Richards hit a typical English style long ball which left me cursing the right back…that was until Connor Wickham caught on the end of it and smashed home for the winner!!!!
Match highlights: Click here to watch the World Cup final highlights
Match stats:
Wow what a match, when Scotland went 2-0 up I just couldn’t believe what was happening but my boys fought back as they had done so many times before. I mentioned the mental toughness of this squad earlier and it did prove vital. The World Cup is so special because you never know what will happen and any team can rise to the occasion, but I think England deserved this World Cup crown and the stats below should demonstrate that. Not only did Theo Walcott win the golden boot but Wilshere smashed the assists list.
After our massive success the new ranking were announced and England had of course moved up from 5th to 1st. Please take a look at Scotland though, they moved up an incredible 14 places to 6th. I still can’t believe they reached the final and put up such a good fight…guess SI have been watching too much Braveheart. :)
With the World Cup over I was left to consider my options, to be honest I was going to resign from International duty altogether…but then these messages entered my inbox.
I wan’t keen on managing another European club so had to choose between Argentina and Brazil. After looking through both squads for what seemed like hours I chose Brazil. My decision came down to regens alone.
So England won the World Cup beating Scotland of all nations in the final. I then left sunny old England for the Samba style of Brazil. That is where we are on the International scene, but my next post will be on Malaga’s eighth season. I am having another squad clear out so hope you will join me then. Thanks for reading and please feel free to ask any questions below, I look forward to reading your comments as always. Hope you have a great Christmas day!!
P.S. I can’t leave without offering a present, for those who are interested, you can download my 4-2-2-2 here.
George Dobson
25 декабря, 2011 at 15:04
Brilliant Darren scotland in the final !!!!???? but they seemed to play well but great with England some very high scoring games and good luck with Brazil !!!!!
Darren Smith
25 декабря, 2011 at 16:23
Thanks George, I was shocked to get Scotland in the final but as you mentioned, they put up a real fight.
CsAtlantis
25 декабря, 2011 at 15:51
Merry Christmas Darren first of all
Group C looked like the closest to a group of death to me Darren, Chile, Mexico, Italy and Portugal are all very strong
You don’t seem to keep many clean sheets but luckily you do score enough goals to win, that final opponent was just bizarre (but there are some very good Scottish players in the game like Charlie Adam and Steven Fletcher, but still they managed to beat Paraguay, Uruguay and Spain too? Who is their manager? He’s done extremely well
Congratulations on winning the World Cup (and you did it against one of your hated rivals the Tartan Army so it must feel even more sweet)
Darren Smith
25 декабря, 2011 at 16:46
Merry Christmas mate, I agree that group C was the closest to the group of death. While we did concede quite a lot quality of defending seemed to go out the window a little for everyone. Most matches saw my defense get great ratings despite conceding and it just felt like that crazy atmosphere of the World Cup, where you just don’t know whats going to happen…hence Scotland going so far, their manager is Steve Clark who was last assistant manager at Liverpool. Still very nice to beat your rivals but dispatching Germany felt just as good :)
CsAtlantis
26 декабря, 2011 at 09:09
Yea Darren but too bad SI doesn’t have the license, quite hard to consider the German team as a real one with all those fake names (despite them having the same attributes), still great stuff in avenging that 4-1 loss (no thanks to the blind ref)
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 13:03
I know, the German team without real names did take a little shine off the victory but I kinda just ignored that :)
Kevin
25 декабря, 2011 at 16:14
Yeah!!!!!
England winning the World Cup though I kinda felt you would lead our boys to glory…but never in my wildest dreams would I figure against Scotland. Well down Darren and thanks for this extra Christmas present :)
Darren Smith
25 декабря, 2011 at 16:48
Thanks Kevin, I expected to reach the quarter-final then see what the draw was like. Looking at both Germany and Brazil I didn’t think England could beat both but then to get Scotland in the final was weird.
Kevin
25 декабря, 2011 at 18:11
I was going to metion something about Germany but it is Christmas after all..LOL!
Darren Smith
25 декабря, 2011 at 18:23
lol, yeah I couldn’t resist mentioning that. :)
TheZiggy
25 декабря, 2011 at 16:28
First thing, the semi-final highlights are incorrect. I thought that might give me time to find some adequate words, but no, I’m in total shock, and the game must be broken. Not only did Scotland make a rare visit to the World Cup but they advanced our of the group stages, which was shocking enough. I was already going to say this after seeing they had beaten Paraguay, but to get to the final and be ahead. Someone at SI needs to stop taking whatever mind-bending drugs they are on. :D
I live in Scotland, but as an Englishman I can’t imagine what it would be like if that really happened. I’d probably have to sneak back down south to save my life. ;) I get enough grief as it is during international tournaments.
Darren Smith
25 декабря, 2011 at 16:54
lol, I couldn’t agree more mate. As mentioned in the post SI seem to have watched Braveheart one too many times. Still nice to know the World Cup has that unpredictable nature about it though, maybe too much so but I’d rather it be that way than all predictable and boring.
malhar
25 декабря, 2011 at 16:59
Hey Darren,
I had a feeling you would win the world cup…your achievements are just crazy. Nice to see you join Brazil, i’m sure they would have amazing regens. 90% of the best regens come from South America, and mainly Brazil and Argentina from what I’ve experienced….do you mind putting up screenshots of some Brazilian regens that convinced you to join them as national coach? Cheers!
Darren Smith
25 декабря, 2011 at 17:17
Thanks Malhar, I will include some of the Brazil regens next post.
Nicholas Phipps
25 декабря, 2011 at 18:28
Merry Christmas!
Awesome post, for a moment I thought you had lost the final and you had me on the edge of my seat! Still cant quite believe that Scotland reached the final. Should be interesting to see you manage Brazil, is the Copa America in 2019?
Darren Smith
25 декабря, 2011 at 22:43
Merry Christmas Nick, the Copa America is in 2019 not that I noticed to be honest. I had my suspicions wasn’t 100% sure.
MRDNRA
25 декабря, 2011 at 23:40
Haha love it Scotland in the final. Reminds me of a time ages ago on good old Championship Manager 3 I had a game where the US won the world cup scoring about 2 or 3 goals in the whole tournament, getting through most rounds on penalties!
Good way to win it anyhow. And being part Scottish myself glad to see them doing so well in the World Cup!
And to finish off, a very late in the day Merry Christmas.
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 08:59
YEah FM can throw some weird ones into the mix but I find that all the more exciting. What really shocked me was going two down lol :)
denson
25 декабря, 2011 at 23:55
So funny to be playing scotland in the final but i can’t say anything as i am from wales, but again another exciting post and i wish you good luck with Brazil!
Happy Christmas!
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 08:58
Thanks Denson, Merry Christmas.
Sears
26 декабря, 2011 at 01:45
Lol Scotland in a WC final? They nearly surprised you too ;) Delighted you won the WC mate, another trophy added to that impressive CV of yours …. Good luck with Brazil. Bet they have some real quality regen’s yeah? I’ve already bought a few on my journeyman save :)
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 08:58
I know, couldn’t believe Scotland made the final either. :) There’s a lot of talent in Brazil and that was the deciding factor.
Lye
26 декабря, 2011 at 03:40
Hi Darren,
It can never be the same when we FM. Scotland in the final, in real times, they have a hard time in qualifying. Anyway Spain’s loss is England’s gain. Even though your team has complete dominance in the final but Scotland seemed to be very clinical in front of goal. It was a good campaign and all the best with your Brazil job.
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 08:57
Thanks Lye, it was a weird old tournament but very exciting.
Themightymcphed
26 декабря, 2011 at 10:09
Usually, I would congratulate you on your success, but not after beating Scotland! Haha
Another bit of success for you. Looking forward to an interesting post about your new tactic. I always learn something reading about how others think while making a tactic. Makes me think about creating a new one!
Oh, and to all those stunned at Scotland getting to the final, it reminds me of the old maxim «hard work will always beat talent if talent doesn’t work hard!» ;-). Just a shame that in real life we have an extreme lack of talent and the hard work we have is all focused negatively. Ah well.
Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays.
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 13:04
lol, Scotland put up one hell of a fight and what you mentioned about hard work crossed my mind before kick-off but I never imagined been 2-1 down at half-time. :)
Martin - F.M.J.S
26 декабря, 2011 at 13:12
Hi Darren
Merry Christmas, hope you and family had a good day
Well done mate. You had a very good World Cup. Scotland was a shocked to see but at the same time nice to see two British teams in the final. And I look forward to you next post. :)
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 13:36
Merry Christmas mate, the World Cup was a great tournament and by far my most exciting yet on FM12.
sachithyoda
26 декабря, 2011 at 16:39
congrats on wining the world cup
i never expected to see Scotland in the finals
good job
but when i use your brazil tactic, the formation is really different than the one shown in the screen cap can you upload the 4-2-2 that you used during your malaga save and world cup
and i need to sell kagawa or weiss, who would you prefer to sell
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 18:08
Sorry about that, I have updated the download link to the correct tactic. As for your winger issue I’d say sell Kagawa as Weiss has been awesome for me.
sachithyoda
27 декабря, 2011 at 10:30
thanks for the tactic
up front who should be proacher and complete forward, leanrdo damiao or mbaye niang/fierro
Darren Smith
27 декабря, 2011 at 14:20
Basically you want the complete forward to be an assist machine and the poacher to score lots. While Fierro works better as poacher he’d be the most obvious choice for complete forward because of his overall game.
Jack
26 декабря, 2011 at 16:41
On my game, morocco won the 2014 world cup, without Taarabt!!!!!
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 18:09
lol, nice to know my game isn’t the craziest.
nielsneutron
26 декабря, 2011 at 17:16
Another cup to add to your achievements. I remember that in the 2014 World cup Denmark came second and was beat by Brazil.
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 18:10
Thanks mate, SI do throw some weird ones out there ;)
Johnny Karp
26 декабря, 2011 at 19:08
Sensational tournament Darren, congratulations! You were a bit lucky to get Scotland in the final but you had already played two finals against Germany and Brazil so hats off for a massive achievement. Good luck with Brazil, it will be a bit easier to win the World Cup with them I reckon.
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 20:04
Thanks Johnny, I actually agree with you it did feel like an easy ride in the final but I still felt good about it as my finals were two rounds before. Brazil are proving an interesting team to manage, pulling off great results then flopping against easy opposition….I am using your 4-3-3 by the way, its proving very good especially the counter tactic.
Johnny Karp
26 декабря, 2011 at 21:21
Nice, I think that the 4-3-3 is suitable for a team like Brazil especially because of their excellent full backs and creative strikers.
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2011 at 21:27
I agree Alex Sandro has been immense at left back.
Bhargav
26 декабря, 2011 at 22:32
If only England could do this in real life . . . Great job Darren! I look forward to your future exploits!
Darren Smith
27 декабря, 2011 at 08:58
I know mate, if only England didn’t croak all the time.
vaibhavc
27 декабря, 2011 at 07:28
Scotland in the final! That would never happen in real life! I think taking Brazil on now would be the right choice, and now you have the Copa America next year. And amazing job in the world cup, even with the bollockings!
Darren Smith
27 декабря, 2011 at 08:53
I guess you’re right Vaibhav, its tough to imagine Scotland reaching the finals themselves let alone the actual WC final :) My boss always says its not about the mistakes you make its about how you put them right and my side did that so the bollockings were worth it. :)
Ana Garcia
27 декабря, 2011 at 21:29
LoL! My poor Spain!
I was gearing up for an England Spanish final but that was a very weird world cup! Especially with England winning it. ;)
I’m kidding of course!! (sorry England fans!!)
But congrats on winning it, I never have much luck in the world cup but its always a competition that I get quite excited to manage in! Weird I know LoL! Something about I guess.
I did manage to take Brazil and win the world cup and with the teams they can produce am sure you will have a very successful time as manager. :)
Darren Smith
28 декабря, 2011 at 17:40
lol Thanks Ana ;) To be honest most of my writing after the semi-final result was evolved around how I imagined you reading it so sorry to pull your leg so to speak…I just couldn’t help myself. :)
Must admit that the World Cup is a weird one for me too. I always dread the thought of it and an early exit but once the first ball is kicked its the best part of FM.
Rod
27 декабря, 2011 at 21:39
Hi man! I was following your story (like always) in silence, but this post was a real thriller. I’m dissapointed with Argentina’s tournament, and a lot more dissapointed with you declining the job, but i think i will support you anyways (as long as you lose against Argentina :D).
I think that group C was a deadly one. Incredible performance showed by Scotland, they proved to be a real challenge in that final. But i think that the best you can get from this Cup was how your players respond after showing some doubts at the beggining. England woke up and became the deserved champion. Theo Walcott was also great, he scored some important goals.
PD: i imagined you will be managing Brazil or you will be facing them in the final because there were a lot of ads like «Brazilian girls» or «100% brazilian» hahhaa, sorry!
Good luck, and i wish you an excellent 2012!
Darren Smith
28 декабря, 2011 at 17:37
lol, sorry for not taking the Argentina job…to be honest the fact that Messi is decreasing had an effect on my decision also. Hopefully the Copa America will be just as thrilling next year. :)
Deepak Nepal
4 января, 2012 at 18:57
when is the new part coming?
Darren Smith
4 января, 2012 at 19:32
Within 2 days mate.
kriggs
4 апреля, 2012 at 03:44
gud day mr smith marvellous achievement could u tell me ur tactics way u use as I’m struggling win england at the mo mixed balance down both flanks ect ect if u could help me pleeeeeez
Darren Smith
4 апреля, 2012 at 12:12
I just used a very standard 4-4-2 with wingers pushed to AM positons, fluid philosophy and attacking strategy. I also had one poacher upfront with a complete forward support duty.
kriggs
4 апреля, 2012 at 23:13
thanx very much darren great help thank u