An International Story

[ashton321]

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I love International Football for me its the best football. With the World Cup coming I thought it would be good to get an International Story going.

There are two kings of the World Cup from a longevity point of view Carolos Alberto Parreira who has been to the World Cup 6 times with 5 different teams, Brazil twice, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. This is a great record and love the wide range of the teams he has managed to the World Cup.

The other man is Bora Milutinovic who has lead 5 teams to biggest spectacle on earth. He has led Mexico, Costa Rica, USA, Nigeria and China. Again I love the wide range of Nations he has managed.

My aim is to beat the record of 6 appearances at the World Cup, obviously I would like to do a little better than what these chaps have done. I would look to also win the odd one or two.

Its difficult to start at a National Team so I will be taking one over from the outset and seeing how we get on. I will not be doing many updates but a yearly update will be happening. I hope you all enjoy it especially with the World Cup coming up.
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[ashton321]

2017 - Singapore


I decided that my International Career would start of at the lowly Singapore National Team. We had a busy year this year with qualification for Asian Nations Cup. In our Group we have Bangladesh, Oman and Philippines Ideally I would like to get into the Asian Cup as it would be excellent for our little Nation.

We started off against Vietnam in a friendly we did very well and got a decent result. We then began our qualification campaign against Bangledesh. We followed this up with a good friendly win over Myanmar before a draw against Oman in qualification.

We lost to Jordan in a friendly before a win over Philippines, we then a got beaten by Oman in the qualification group. We beat Northern Marina in a friendly before loosing to North Korea. Going into the last game we faced Bangladesh in our last game of the year knowing a win could qualify us. We did our part and won and this sealed qualification to the Asian Cup with a game to spare.

Year                   Nation                   Notes

2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

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[ashton321]

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2018 - China

I went into this year full of hope with Singapore, that quickly ended when China sacked their gaffer, I thought I would approach them and offer my services, I did so and I was given the job.​

I took the job as it was a much bigger nation and that they are hosting the Asian Cup. I was only charge for 3 games all of which were friendlies which I won.

The main thing this year was the draw for the Asian Cup, it came right at the end and we got a tough draw with Japan, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. I am not sure if we will qualify but I hope I do because if I don't I will be sacked I think.

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations
2018                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

 

[ashton321]

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2019 - China

It was a busy year for us this year and one that I went into knowing that a run of bad results would leave me without a job.

We started in the Asia Nations Cup, we faced Thailand first and in a game we should have won we drew. Next up was Saudi Arabia we were much better as put them to the sword. We then faced Japan they beat us in a very close game but it was enough to put us into round 2. We faced Oman we were awful and at the end of the 90 minutes it was 2-2, we scored 4 in extra time but I was not pleased. In the quarter finals we got beat by South Korea in a game that we were outclassed in.
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It was then time to start the World Cup Qualifying Campaign. We went on a great run beating Iraq and Thailand twice, these being our most dangerous rivals it was nice to get them gone. We also beat Nepal and Bhutan to secure qualification at the earliest possible time. What was most pleasing was that we only conceded 3 and scored 24 which was amazing.

We finished the year of with the East Asia Championship. We began with a defeat to South Korea, before beating North Korea and securing a memorable draw against Japan. This was enough for us to be runners up.

We will continue our qualifying campaign next year and should we get the luck of the draw we may stand a chance at getting into the World Cup. Fingers crossed

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up   [/FONT][/COLOR]

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[ashton321]

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2020 - China

The main aim for this year was to continue our progression towards a potential World Cup berth in the 2022 World Cup in Australia (Not Qatar has been moved)

We finished off our initial group with further wins over Bhutan and Nepal. This put us through to the next round with relative ease. In the next group we have put ourselves in a decent group with Japan and South Korea, we began this with a defeat to Japan. Two wins against Lebanon and Oman put us in a decent position. We then faced South Korea a team I had not beaten thus far in this save, this time we did it. We followed this up with a huge win over Japan to put us in pole position.

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

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[Matt G]

Never attempted to manage an international team in FM - how is it different to club management?

 

[ashton321]

Never attempted to manage an international team in FM - how is it different to club management?

Lack of transfers would be the main difference and a lot of Scouting for players and less matches would be the way I would sum it up

 

[ashton321]

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2021 - China

We won four of our last 5 World Cup Qualifying games to smash us through to the World Cup. We managed to secure top spot in the group above the excellent Japan and South Korea. I am amazed and thrilled to have taken China to the World Cup it was not something I expected.

We played again in the East Asia Championship and something happened I have no idea what but something did. We smashed North Korea, South Korea and Japan to win the title, it was unreal I have no idea what happened but I am glad it did.

Then the World Cup draw came we managed to secure some big boys with Argentina, Belgium and Holland. I am not expecting much but this is the World Cup and what its all about.

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

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[ashton321]

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2022 - China

This year was all about the World Cup nothing else.

We played a few friendlies this year to lead us to the World Cup but I was aiming to focus on the World Cup.

We started against Argentina amazingly we won, god knows how but we battled hard and managed to sneak a 2-1 win in the biggest game in history of Chinese football. Next up was Belgium in a bit of a ding dong battle we secured a 2-2 draw. We played Holland in our last game and got absolutely nothing out of it as we were beaten in another close game. We managed to get into the 2nd Round where we would face …….Brazil. No shocks we were beaten and we were out of the World Cup.

After the tournament I was offered the jobs of Algeria and Uruguay I decided to turn both of these down in favour of staying with China until the Asian Cup comes round in January

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

[B]2022             China                Rnd 2 World Cup[/B]

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[ashton321]

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2023 - China

Going into this year we had the Asian Cup and I wanted to win it.

Our group was Kuwait, Thailand and Iran. I was not worried about this as I knew I had it in us to beat them all and that's exactly what we did. We then faced Lebanon in the next round and absolutely took them apart in a huge win, I was feeling very confident. We then faced Saudi Arabia in the 1/4 finals, we should be smashing a team like this but in the end we drew 4-4 and lost on penalties.

I was gutted as I thought this could have been our year, I decided that after this tournament I could not carry on with China. I decided to leave and as I was leaving I noticed the Greece job was open as they had an awful Nations League campaign. The job was mine.

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

[B]2022             China                Rnd 2 World Cup[/B]

2023             China             Asian Cup 1/4 Final

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[ashton321]

2023 - Greece

This was tough as I had to qualify for the Euros from what was a very tough group.

We began against England and got battered 4-0 we never looked like we were in the game. Defeats to Colombia in a friendly and Albania and Georgia in the qualifiers left us in big trouble, I needed to change my tactics I did and it and got an immediate turnaround.

We beat Montenegro before loosing to England in a much closer game than the last one. We then beat USA, Albania, Montenegro and Georgia. This was enough to qualify us for the Euros by finishing 2nd and being the last of the 2nd place qualifiers literally qualifying by a goal.

Next year will be the Euros and I am fairly confident that we can do ok with these new tactics.

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[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

[B]2022             China                Rnd 2 World Cup[/B]

2023             China             Asian Cup 1/4 Final

2024             Greece            Qualified for Euros

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[ashton321]

2024 - Greece

This year was about the Euros for us.

Having had the draw I tried to pick some friendlies against similar teams. We started with Scotland who we dispatched off with ease. Then up was Spain we had a very close game but in the end got edged out. We finished our friendlies with a superb win over Croatia.

Into the Euros and we started off with a derby against Turkey, in what was always going to be a tough match no team could come out on top and we drew 2-2. This was followed with a superb win over Wales which all but secured our place in the next round. We finished the group with a defeat to Portugal. Into the next round we faced Czech Republic we had a man sent off in a 2-1 defeat in a match that we should have really won.

Into the Nations League next and we got relegated last time out so faced Israel, Moldova and Slovenia. We won every game to easily gain promotion to the league above for next time out.

Next year will be qualification for the World Cup and we face Andorra, Cyprus, Moldova, Portugal and Turkey. We should get through this group but to have Cyprus, Greece and Turkey in one group is certainly interesting.

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[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

[B]2022             China                Rnd 2 World Cup[/B]

2023             China             Asian Cup 1/4 Final

2023             Greece            Qualified for Euros

2024                Greece              2nd Round Euros

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[ashton321]

2025 - Greece

I really tried to qualify for the World Cup and I thought I would manage to do it.

We managed to beat Moldova and Andorra twice which was probably to be expected. We swapped wins with Turkey and drew one and lost one against Portugal.

Going into the last game against Cyprus a win would see us through to the World Cup it was not to be as we drew. We could still do it if Portugal beat Turkey. It didn't happen as amazingly Turkey managed to win. I was gutted as I really thought we would do it.

In the end I was allowed to stay on but the job with the Ivory Coast came up and they were already in the World Cup so I took it. We will play Ecuador, England and Switzerland. If we get through that we should get a favourable 2nd round draw so I would be gutted with we got any less than the 1/4 finals.

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

[B]2022             China                Rnd 2 World Cup[/B]

2023             China             Asian Cup 1/4 Final

2023             Greece            Qualified for Euros

2024                Greece              2nd Round Euros

2025            Greece                Failed to qualify for World Cup

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[ashton321]

2026 - Ivory Coast

A nice little surprise for me was that we would be playing in the CHAN before the World Cup. This is a tournament for African teams where players must be picked from the domestic league. Apparently this is a way of trying to improve the nations.

Ethiopia and Senegal were dispatched with ease and secured qualification for the next round. I played a lot of reserves for the Gabon match in which we were beaten. We smashed Egypt in the next round before beating Cameroon and Nigeria to secure the title.

We won a couple of Nations qualifiers before heading to the World Cup. We were a joke in the World Cup loosing to Switzerland and England in games that we just did not turn up for before Ecuador were put to the sword in which we actually played as we could, but it was not enough as we were out.

I was so annoyed that despite being told I would be keeping my job I could not continue, I decided to join Mexico who had just hosted the World Cup. They had been knocked out in a poor group.

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/m04RWOK.jpg?1[/IMG]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

[B]2022             China                Rnd 2 World Cup[/B]

2023             China             Asian Cup 1/4 Final

2023             Greece            Qualified for Euros

2024                Greece              2nd Round Euros

2025            Greece                Failed to qualify for World Cup
[B]
2026        Ivory Coast         CHAN Winners, Knocked out of Group Stage of World Cup[/B]

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[ashton321]

2027 - Mexico

Coming into this year I knew the World Cup Qualifying would start this year in North America but more importantly we would have the Gold Cup to contest.

We won 3 of our 4 friendlies only loosing to France. We entered the Gold Cup in a group with Costa Rica, Curaco, and Panama. Not the easiest of groups we could have got but good enough for us as we battered each team.

We scored 5 against El Salvador and Honduras, to put us into the final against the USA. In a game which we dominated we managed to secure my first major International Tournament.

We finished off by winning our first two World Cup Qualifiers. I am enjoying it in Mexico as I am doing well and I am looking forward to taking them to the World Cup, the only way this would not happen is if a major European job comes up after the Euros but even then I am tempted to stay and take this decent team to a World Cup.

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

[B]2022             China                Rnd 2 World Cup[/B]

2023             China             Asian Cup 1/4 Final

2023             Greece            Qualified for Euros

2024                Greece              2nd Round Euros

2025            Greece                Failed to qualify for World Cup
[B]
2026        Ivory Coast         CHAN Winners, Knocked out of Group Stage of World Cup[/B]

2027         Mexico                  Won Gold Cup

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[ashton321]

2028 - Mexico

Not a lot would happen this year other than continuing to head towards qualification for the World Cup.

We continued to win all of our games in our World Cup Qualification, this included Costa Rica, Honduras and Curaco. This put us into the next stage, in this stage we began with Canada and Haiti

As we do not get many challenges in North America I thought it was important to play some European teams to try and get some experience as no doubt we will meet some in the World Cup, we beat Albania, Romania and Croatia and drew against Greece

I was offered jobs with Denmark, Poland, Ukraine, Portugal and Italy. ​I decided to stay to continue my work with this team.

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

[B]2022             China                Rnd 2 World Cup[/B]

2023             China             Asian Cup 1/4 Final

2023             Greece            Qualified for Euros

2024                Greece              2nd Round Euros

2025            Greece                Failed to qualify for World Cup
[B]
2026        Ivory Coast         CHAN Winners, Knocked out of Group Stage of World Cup[/B]

2027         Mexico                  Won Gold Cup

2028           Mexico

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[ashton321]

2029- Mexico

We finished off qualification by winning every game we played. We beat everything North America had to offer us. We also won the Gold Cup again.

I can honestly say this was probably the most boring season I have had in International football we just smashed everyone.

Next year however is what I have been building towards the World Cup, we face France, Paraguay and my old team Greece. I cant wait.

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

[B]2022             China                Rnd 2 World Cup[/B]

2023             China             Asian Cup 1/4 Final

2023             Greece            Qualified for Euros

2024                Greece              2nd Round Euros

2025            Greece                Failed to qualify for World Cup
[B]
2026        Ivory Coast         CHAN Winners, Knocked out of Group Stage of World Cup[/B]

2027         Mexico                  Won Gold Cup

2028           Mexico      


2029             Mexico               Won Gold Cup, Qualified for World Cup

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[ashton321]

2030 Mexico

We got to the World Cup this year and I was excited as I felt that we were good enough to go deep into the competition.

We began with a huge win over Greece. Before France came to town and we managed to squeeze a win out this to. We beat Paraguay to secure top of the table. Serbia were next up in the 2nd Round, we absolutely smashed them.

Spain awaited in the quarter finals in a huge game. We managed to secure a really good win. In the semis we faced the other surprise team Switzerland. They were no match for us as we took them apart. Into the final we faced hosts Italy. It was to much for us as we were beaten by a much better team.

I cannot stay with Mexico any further as I find the qualification process and the like of challenges really poor. I have been offered a raft of jobs after the World Cup but where next.

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Year                   Nation                   Notes[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]2017                    Singapore             Qualified For Asian Nations

2018                    China    

2019                    China                   Asian Cup 1/4 Final, East Asia Runners Up  


2020                    China        [/FONT][/COLOR]

2021             [FONT=Verdana]China                   Qualify for World Cup, East Asia Champs[/FONT]

[B]2022             China                Rnd 2 World Cup[/B]

2023             China             Asian Cup 1/4 Final

2023             Greece            Qualified for Euros

2024                Greece              2nd Round Euros

2025            Greece                Failed to qualify for World Cup
[B]
2026        Ivory Coast         CHAN Winners, Knocked out of Group Stage of World Cup[/B]

2027         Mexico                  Won Gold Cup

2028           Mexico      


2029             Mexico               Won Gold Cup, Qualified for World Cup   

[B]2030                  Mexico                     World Cup Runners Up[/B]

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[Matt G]

You made the World Cup final - with Mexico! Wow!

 

[coolmcool]

What does your Mexico squad look like, i can imagine very different from the current one, have you got any big stars?