Reporter: Hello and welcome back to our coverage of the World Cup 2018 in Russia. We have seen all the favourites survive so far, but this is where the competition gets really heated, in the quarter-finals stage. Before we reveal who will play who, here is a link for anyone that has missed the group stages and second round.
With the likes of Argentina, Spain, France, Italy, Brazil and Holland still in the competition, we’re destined to find at least one tasty tie. As you all know the World Cup is unique in that every country can see its path through the tournament and therefore predict which opponents they may face. Well, for those of you who don’t know, lets see who will play who in the quarter-finals.
Eric Cantona: Looking at the nations left over, I can’t see any easy games. Having said that, Argentina are probably the one nation I’d rather miss. Its going to be a tough quarter-final, full of flair and attacking intent, with France walking away victorious of course!
Reporter: There you have it, the quarter-final draw. Within those eight nations lies the 2018 World Cup champions. Chile and Holland will be counting their blessings having been drawn against each other. While I see an interesting tie in Italy versus Spain. Scotland must surely see their dream end against Brazil, but the Argentina versus France game is very tough to call. After dispatching England in the second round, Smith certainly hasn’t enjoyed much luck with his quarter-final draw.
World Cup quarter-final — Argentina vs France
Darren Smith’s team talk: Right lads, we have one foot through the door. Beating England was a big success and should really boost your confidence. However, France are a slightly different opponent, you can’t go into this match thinking its won already. We’ll be sticking with the 4-5-1 that has seen us unbeaten so far. Everyone is fit so lets start with the usual line up. Messi, I want some magic from you today and the same goes for you Becerra. The wings will be our danger point so get it out wide fast, don’t be afraid to hit the ball long either as we hold an advantage in pace. We’re getting so close to final boys, ‘do it for the fans’.
Argentina line up (click name to view profile) GK: Romero — DR: Simon, DL: Ortiz, DC: Galeano, DC: Otamendi — CM: Mascherano, CM: Millemaggi, CM: Pastore — RW: Messi, LW: Becerra — ST: Aguero
Reporter: What an amazing match this promises to be. With world class players like Messi, Aguero and Benzema this match should provide some fancy football. Both nations line up with a similar formation, but Argentina do seem a little more attacking. This quarter-final tie could come down to a moment of brilliance. Look above for an interactive look at the Argentina starting XI and after the break kick-off!!
Reporter: France really didn’t turn up today, they looked like the losing side from the first whistle. Having said that, you have to admire Argentina. Darren’s team are playing some amazing football, just summed up by the first goal. This is all down to pure technique, every pass is made with precision and leads to some fast, flowing football. While the match stats show an even game, reality showed France missing chances Argentina finished.
Darren Smith’s post match comments: The lads were outstanding today! We passed the ball well and had France hanging by their puppet strings. The first goal was stunning and the second showed off our diversity from set pieces. The semi-final is the worst possible round to be eliminated, so I’m trying to keep the squad grounded. I was shocked to see Spain lose their quarter-final tie against Italy and can’t bare the thought of an upset happening to us. The rest of this rounds ties went as expected. I could see Holland and Brazil making it to the semi’s. Besides, I am desperate to meet Brazil in the final and thrash them for a fourth game running!
Semi-final draw live: The World Cup is really down to its business end now. We have four nations left and probably the strongest line up for decades. The only real upset so far is the favourites Spain, exiting to an ageing Italian side. The semi-final has produced an interesting draw. An unpredictable Holland will play the flair of Argentina. While the shock winners in this years quarter-final, Italy, will face another stern test in Brazil.
World Cup semi-final — Argentina vs Holland
Reporter: Holland and Argentina have only met once in the last four years. A friendly match finished 2-1 to the European nation, but both sides have changed a lot since then. Holland have a solid back four that leaks very few goals and they hold the best right back around in Van Hintum. While Argentina boast the best attacking players of all time. Holland are yet to concede in this years competition but have only scored 7. While Argentina have conceded 3 but scored an impressive 13 goals. The question still remains, who will be victorious.
.Argentina line up (click the names to view player profiles) GK: Romero — DR: Musacchio, DL: Insua, DC: Galeano, DC: Pereyra — MC: Rivero, MC: Cavallo, MC: Gonzalez — RW: Vella, LW: Pacheco — ST: Higuain
Darren Smith’s pre-match team talk: OK lads, I need you to have complete faith in me today. We are against a strong Dutch side but they don’t hold much of a threat upfront. Therefore, I am taking a risk to give us the best possible chance should we make the final. A lot of you are shattered after our quarter-final tie with France, that is why I’m making some massive changes. Today, Pereyra, Insua, Musacchio, Rivero, Cavallo, Gonzalez, Pacheco, Vella and Higuain will make the starting XI. I prefer a fit squad to a tired one and also hold the utmost confidence in all of you. Please don’t let me down and ‘do it for the fans’.
Darren Smith’s post match comments: That was a tough test and on another day we may have lost. I did take a big risk by resting a lot of key players, but I think the gamble paid off. The lads defended valiantly and our extra fitness came in to play during extra-time. While its upsetting to lose Cavallo, Rivero’s injury doesn’t look too serious. The only negative came in bringing Messi on just to get injured. He will be touch and go for the final.
Reporter: After three weeks in Russia, we finally know who has made the World Cup final. Smith’s men faced their toughest test yet against Holland, but fitness played apart as the South American nation qualified. In the other semi-final we were all hoping for a Brazil victory to set up the dream final. But Italy created another upset by winning 2-1. The European giants have now dispatched the hosts Russia, the favourites in Spain and a fearful Brazil. While Argentina have beaten the European Champions England, France and a resilient Holland. One things for sure, this years final opponents have had a tough run to get here.
World Cup final — Argentina vs Italy
Reporter: The World Cup final is upon us, the greatest show on earth has reached its climax as two of the best nations compete for glory. This is the first time Argentina and Italy have clashed in over eight years. The European nation have a very experienced squad averaging an age of 29. While Argentina boast some exciting talent and have an average age of 26. Darren Smith is looking for a clean sweep after winning the Confederations Cup and Copa America prior to this competition. Though you have to go as far back as the 2006 World Cup for Italy’s last success.
Argentina line up (click players names to view profile) GK: Romero — DR: Simon, DL: Ortiz, DC: Galeano, DC: Otamendi — CM: Rivero, CM: Millemaggi, CM: Pastore — RW: Vella, LW: Becerra — ST: Aguero
Reporter: After a quick glance at the formations and starting line ups, it is obvious which nation prefers defence to attack. The Italians like to get bodies behind the ball and could prove difficult to break down. Kick-off is almost upon us and the World Cup final venue is packed out. Lokomotiv’s stadium holds less than 30000, but the atmosphere is incredible. Argentina seem to have brought the biggest support and are drowning out the Italian chants. Songs for their hero’s echo around the stadium as the players emerge from the tunnel. We have managed to place a microphone near Darren Smith’s dugout and are hoping to broadcast his reaction as the game goes on. Click the below link to here the man himself rather than our commentary team. The referee has blown for kick-off and the World Cup is just a few hours away from its conclusion.
World Cup 2018 final — Argentina vs Italy_part1 (Podcast)
World Cup 2018 final — Argentina vs Italy_part2 (Podcast)
Reporter: What a result and an amazing match to go with. Despite going down to ten men, Argentina still added a further three goals. Winning the World Cup 6-1 against a nation that has defeated both Spain and Brazil is just incredible. The fact Argentina have done the clean sweep too probably makes them the best squad of all time. Smith set his side out to defend deep and counter the Italians. This seemed to draw them forward and leave gaps to exploit at the back. The Argentine’s incredible pace and technique proved too much on the break and Italy just fell to pieces. Vella picks up man of the match and deserves it with 3 goals and an assist.
Darren Smith’s post-match reaction: I am over the moon, the lads were simply sensational and executed my instructions perfectly today. After seeing Ortiz red carded at 3-1, I wondered how the lads might react. Then they go and score three more goals, what a day, probably the happiest moment of my life. I am now just left with one question, should I bow out of international management on a high? I am not sure, so will leave this in the hands of my followers.
OK I am back guys, no more third person. :) I hope you enjoyed my first post after merging with Football Manager Story. I’d just like to take this opportunity to say thanks for all the kind messages we’ve been receiving and also thanks to Johnny for making this move possible. We both have lots of plans and hopefully will provide you guys with a much better FM experience. On a parting note, do you think I should carry on as Argentina coach or resign and concentrate on my club career with Chelsea and the Ultimate European Challenge? Bye for now and thanks for reading. ;)
Johnny Karp
26 марта, 2011 at 20:32
Fantastic stuff Darren, you made a very courageous move in the semi final and it surely paid off in the last match. I can’t play the podcast for some reason but I’m downloading the file for later. About the job, I guess I would resign at this point because there is nothing left to be won with Argentina. Maybe you’ll take over an European team and try to win the Euro Champs.
Darren Smith
26 марта, 2011 at 21:35
Thanks Johnny, it was a stressful tournament and a lot tougher than I had imagined. However, picking a weak team in the semi to benefit against Italy was very satisfying :) The podcast is frustrating and I didn’t want to upload it the way I did but its almost 200mb and the max upload for media files here is 8mb. So I can’t upload it directly to the site which would work fine. I think I will be resigning as Argentina manager tbh, theres nothing else to do.
Johnny Karp
26 марта, 2011 at 21:50
The file size is quite big, what’s the running time? I have recorded a three-page text at work on Friday, broadcast quality in a professional studio, and the file was just 50 MB.
Darren Smith
26 марта, 2011 at 22:01
Yeh thats my bad really, the running time is more than 20 minutes. Couldn’t believe how many highlights there were along with me pausing the match to talk in more detail.
Johnny Karp
26 марта, 2011 at 22:09
20 mins is quite long but still, that shouldn’t result in a 200 MB file in my view. I guess we’ll talk more about this via email :)
Birdy
26 марта, 2011 at 20:37
Hey Darren
Awesome work mate and you have to be on top of the Rankings by now. I did notice Messi’s injury but it did not faze you. IMO you should resign from Argentina finish chelsea because don’t like em and try and take a smaller country and club to great things
Darren Smith
26 марта, 2011 at 21:36
Cheers Birdy, thankfully Messi’s replacement is probably just as good in Vella :) Quite apt that Messi missed the final but his replacement scored a hattrick. :)
Daniel
26 марта, 2011 at 20:40
great work darren you turned an ageing argentina squad to a young world cup winning squad your football manager skills never cease to amaze me.
p.s can i start writing again as i have a bit of free time now
Darren Smith
26 марта, 2011 at 21:37
Thanks Daniel, Argentina kind of do the work themselves, such an amazing line up. :)
ps I have emailed you about writing again.
Sayam Khan
26 марта, 2011 at 22:30
Well the risk you took in the semi final certainly paid off! What a great way to win the final!
And like Johnny, I also suggest you manage a european team and win the euro national comp.
Darren Smith
26 марта, 2011 at 22:33
Thanks Sayam, it certainly was a great result. So weird but the World Cup felt like a full season. I analysed every nation in every game even when I wasn’t playing. So the detail going into every match was a lot and took tonnes of time. Very rewarding to win the competition this way though. :)
Sayam Khan
26 марта, 2011 at 23:09
Well, great to know you was rewarded by the ammont of much effort you put. I wish i win the world cup in FM also but I doubt it if my saves keep going corrupt!
So do you agree you should manage a European nation?
Darren Smith
26 марта, 2011 at 23:23
I certainly want to leave Argentina but not sure about taking another job yet. If Spain come calling I’ll have to accept but we’ll see how it goes.
David Wiggins
26 марта, 2011 at 23:04
I guess it would be best to bow out in style but I keep thinking about keeping the Argentine’s sweet so you can buy them for Chelsea and your French team after you’ve completed the English part of this challenge!
very interesting idea with the podcast! Good hearing the reasoning behind the tactics particularly about your defensive line. I have noticed in a couple of my games that I seem to leave big games in the middle of the park so I now know how to combat that! Would it be best to use the shouts push higher up/drop deeper or to use the slider bar in team instructions?
ps. I didn’t realise just how many people are playing this UEC and how popular it is! Seen quite a few people in fmcrowd.com mentioning it!
Darren Smith
26 марта, 2011 at 23:22
Thanks Dave, I think leaving Argentina is probably best to concentrate on Chelsea. Besides I am a favoured personal with most of my players already :)
The podcast was my first and I did hold back a little to be honest. Its weird recording yourself but something I want to get better at and eventually let loose and show my emotions towards the game a little more. Must say I wanted to scream when we scored the third goal, but felt it may be inappropriate. Then listening to it back I realise that sort thing is what was missing, we’ll see for next time. :)
I would say its vital to get the defensive line correct before kickoff as in the slider bars, I have noticed some games were not effected by my changes after kick-off. Though using the defend deeper shout is useful late on when defending a lead and push higher up shout should be used vice versa. Use the slider bar in the first half though.
ps I also didn’t realise how popular the UEC and become until Sears emailed me a while ago. Tbh I only came up with this for myself until realising it may be good for other gamers…so its nice to see others getting involved. :)
Alex
26 марта, 2011 at 23:17
Wow, winning a World Cup final by five goals! I don’t think anybody can doubt the quality of Argenitna, and obviously their world class manager :)
You made a very good management decision for the semi final, against a better team and it might have cost you but you knew that you could win, but I bet your ‘backups’ could make it into most nation’s first XI.
Great work, I look forward to seeing your Chelsea update :)
Darren Smith
26 марта, 2011 at 23:26
Thanks Alex, the semi decision was a big one but paid off! My back up players are just incredible though and as you say would walk into any side. The Chelsea update will be ready soon and be ready for a flood of transfers!!
Alex
26 марта, 2011 at 23:30
Did you manage to find anything to help me get started here? Do I just send my blogposts to footballmanagerstory and they will show up?
Darren Smith
26 марта, 2011 at 23:44
I have just sent you an email about this mate.
hils
27 марта, 2011 at 09:35
Hi Darren,great world cup there!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats on winning the world cup!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!
Darren Smith
27 марта, 2011 at 10:13
Hey Hils, must admit I’ve been anticipating your famous explanation marks. ;) Cheers mate
Kevin
27 марта, 2011 at 09:44
Hi Darren
Excellent first post and that is totally insane winning the World Cup Final 6-1! Absolutely brilliant stuff. Your 4-5-1 tactic is practically unstoppable. I don’t think there’s much point in staying with Argentina as you’ve now won everything though personally I’d love to see you start a fresh and journeyman your way to becoming England manager :)
Darren Smith
27 марта, 2011 at 10:17
Thanks Kevin, after struggling through the latter rounds I was shocked to breeze through the final. Tbh, my 4-5-1 has been made to look unstoppable by amazing players so far, I’m not sure how it will do when managing a weaker side. But thats the fun part of FM, having to adapt like a real manager. :)
When you say start a fresh, I assume you mean a new game. First I need to finish the Ultimate European Challenge as I’m so close, and it would be weird not to complete it seen as I created the challenge :) Then I don’t know what to do. I’ve switched clubs so much with this challenge I might settle down into my Newcastle game again for a bit. We’ll see though. Thanks for the kind words mate
Kevin
27 марта, 2011 at 12:31
I forogt about your Newcastle game :)
CsAtlantis
27 марта, 2011 at 11:21
Wow which De Jong is that in the Holland team? Nigel De Jong or Siem De Jong?
A bold move during the semis, paid off handsomely in a very convincing win in the World Cup Final
The only thing that you could do with Argentina now is to break the Brazil record of 5 world cup wins :P but it’ll take a while
Still you do have Chelsea and one more team left in the French league to go so it’s up to you, I think going for the Euros with an European team and to win the World Cup with them, even better if you can do it with a team like Holland who haven’t won the World Cup before
Are you top of the hall of fame now?
Have fun with completing the rest of the UEC Darren
Darren Smith
27 марта, 2011 at 11:32
It is Nigel De Jong on his last legs :) I was feeling adventrous in the semi, but started fearing the worst when we hit extra time. Thankfully it paid dividence.
I think I’ll be resigning from Argentina and just see what happens. I’m eager to finish the challenge now. If a nation comes calling I’ll asses and see what happens. As for the hall of fame, I’m second, only 200 points below Sir Alex so we should top that by the end ;)
Laxeyman
27 марта, 2011 at 13:53
Brilliant job Darren, the Argentina squad you had must have been the best ever, but you’ve still got to go and win the World Cup, which is a fabulous achievement. Looking forward to seeing how you get on with Chelsea now, good luck!
Darren Smith
27 марта, 2011 at 14:28
Thanks Laxeyman, Argentina graced me with the best squad I’ve ever seen. But like you say the World Cup is a one off and tough to win no matter who you are.
Lye
27 марта, 2011 at 14:27
Hi Darren,
You absolutely demolished Italy in that final. It was a great journey to the end and your team worked hard to get past Holland. I agree you should resign and maybe look for another national team, maybe this time England. Congrats Darren for the outstanding achievement.
Darren Smith
27 марта, 2011 at 14:35
Thanks Lye, I was in shock during the final. Having Ortiz sent off at 3-1 made me a little nervous, but to score three more was simply incredible. We’ll see what happens with my international career, but Argentina will probably be dropped.
Vaibhav C.
27 марта, 2011 at 15:19
Hey Darren,
What a fantastic achievement, you must be really happy after winning the world cup. I still can’t believe you won the final 6-1! I saw Higuain’s and all your other player’s stats. I thought he would 20 finishing but he is still really good. Anyways, congratulations on your win. I think you should just retire and manage a European team.
Darren Smith
27 марта, 2011 at 16:44
Hey Vaibhav,
I must admit I was over the moon with that last match. To just sit back and watch such great football in a biggest match you can enter is great. You would expect Higuain to be better, but he seems to have dropped since hitting 29 years of age. Its back to Chelsea next post. :)
Sears
27 марта, 2011 at 15:43
Wow, that must be one of the most one sided WC finals ever! Well done buddy, that was one hell of an achievement, especially when you consider you were down to ten men. Looking forward to your Chelsea post, I don’t think I’ll be able to read it until Friday so I’ll have plenty of updates to catch up on :-) Good luck pal.
Darren Smith
27 марта, 2011 at 16:46
Thanks Sears, the scoreline was very one sided, but the possession certainly wasn’t. In fact Italy may have had slightly more possession than me. Which to be honest was my game plan. Their formation was so defensive I had to find a way of drawing them onto me so I could hit them on the break. It worked wonders. :) Have fun at the barracks and we’ll talk soon mate. :)
Ana Garcia
27 марта, 2011 at 19:53
Italy! :(
Thanks for beating them by five goals for knocking out Spain!
If I was you I would resign from Argentina and focus on Chelsea, you set out to win the world cup and you did with ease!
Anyways good luck your new season and am looking forward to your next post! :)
Darren Smith
27 марта, 2011 at 21:06
lol I’m so glad Italy beat Spain and not my Argentina side…I’d hate to have you to answer to ;)
btw next up is my Chelsea career and your boyfriend might like the signings so make sure he stays tuned :)
Excessive
28 марта, 2011 at 14:27
Well done Darren, great achievement there with Argentina. Just had a look at your regens over on the forum and now I can see why you won it, fabulous amour of talent available in Aguero, Messi and Pastore. Coupled with your excellent tactical knowledge and it was a given that you were going to get there sooner or later ;).
Yeah I agree, drop them now.. You have done all you can do, and focus on Chelsea!
Looking forward to the next post, good luck pal :)
Darren Smith
28 марта, 2011 at 17:42
Thanks Jake, the players really are special and to have three or four regens the same standard as Messi and Aguero is great. I think Argentina will probably be left so I can try finishing this challenge quicker.
the-dutch-fm-god
29 марта, 2011 at 16:18
Brilliant final Darren, winning 6-1 is unbelievable. I also loved your reaction on Giovinco’s goal: pfffffffff….. Typical. They scored… LOL :D
Darren Smith
29 марта, 2011 at 19:35
Cheers mate, it was a really special final and one of those games you play FM for. :)
lol, glad you liked the podcast. I was waiting for Italy to get the free-kick ready and they took an age. Of course I said the free-kick was 40 yards out and they’ll never score…a second later the ball is in the net :) I just couldn’t believe it.