Football Manager 2012 England World Cup Special 2018

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.