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Anyone had an unexpected World Cup winner in their save game? Mine is one I really was surprised by. First African nation to win a World Cup! You'd probably expect Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon or any of the stronger nations in Africa to win a first World Cup for Africa.... but Mali... and in 2022??

As an avid Football Manager player, there's one thing that has always annoyed me. I am from Norway, and usually play in the Norwegian divisions. In the beginning it's all fine and dandy but as the years drag on, I become superior in Norway and tend to either develop or purchase the best norwegian talents in order to fulfill the requirements when registering players for the division (16 out of the 25 players have to be trained in Norway for three years before their 21st birthday). I honestly don't mind this either as it promotes a good national side, but the only downside is that during the World Cup and the European Championships most of my squad is out on international duty but the games in the Norwegian top division remains as the schedule is from March throughout November. This leaves me without a squad and I know what most of you will think. "Can't you just use Under 21 players as they shouldn't need to be registered?" That's the issue with the Norwegian league as I cannot use anyone outside of my 25man squad (other than cupgames). So I ask of the possibility to apply for a postponement of matches in the circumstances I don't have enough eligible players. I've included two screenshots of two different matches during the same European Championship where I've been absolutely destroyed by the players on international duty.

1. Dynamic & group 2. Parternship in starting 11 3. Effects of World Cup 4. Supporters, Media & Board (5. Legends, Icons, Top 11 & records) We all know that National managing needs an huge revamp at least to have the same options we have in club (like training and staff): Football Manager 2022 will go out with the next World Cup so it will be amazing to have a great improve for that edition. 1. Dynamic & Group Dynamic here will be important mostly to 'drive' the Manager's team selection. So the most important player can push the Manager to call their teammates (if similar level) or veto a controversial player. With the help of group section you will can select a bunch of player of the same team to have a better cohesion (like have all defenders from the same team for example) 2. Parternship in starting 11 Parternship link in National Team are harder to create, but you could use the ones exististing in the club. 3. Effects of World Cup World Cup should be the most important competition in game. Now it shared the crown with Champions League, but I think that WC should be the alone king by far. Messi and CR7 would change for sure all their CL for a World Cup. So, the season before this great events would affects players depending their personality: for example, a player who isn't regular in his club could want find a new team to play more and gain a call for the World Cup. Other players could refuse to get injection or play out of form for club to avoid injuries for the World Cup. 4. Supporters, Media & Board Some National Team should have a playing identity so if you manage Brazil, you cannot use a defensive style and even if you win, many will contest you (see the 'european' Brazil the win World Cup in 1994). While in team like Italy, win would more important than the syle of playing so if you attacking tactics brings poor results, media & supporter will push you to play more cautious. About the selection: the most of supporter will often ask you for their beloved players, while the media push for the who performed better. (5. Legends, Icons, Top11 and records) That's very important for me. Maybe this point affects the game-core very little, but it has (at least for me) an huge impact on the enviroment, on the atmosphere. But, well, i will make another post 'cause 1) it will be long 2) it will be for both national and clubs.

Hello I want to report for a 3rd time an error who is always here in FM 2019 Mobile but an error who I reported since FMM 2017 and FMM 2018 and really hope to see this finally fixed for FM 2019 mobile for make the game more realistic. The World Cup (32 teams) final table is uncorrect and 2 quarter-finals are not like the real life: - On the game, the winner of round of 16 "1st Group A vs 2nd Group B" plays against the winner of the round of 16 "1st Group D vs 2nd Group C" in quarter finals (W51 vs W52 in the screenshoot). But it's incorrect...... In the real final table (so in real life) the winner of round of 16 "1st Group A vs 2nd Group B" must be play against the winner of round of 16 "1st Group C vs 2nd Group D" in the quarter-finals (so W49 vs W50 in the screenshoot) - The same for the winner of the round of 16 "1st Group B vs 2nd Group A" who plays against the winner of the round of 16 "1st Group C vs 2nd Group D" in the quarter-finals on the game (W49 vs W50 in the screenshoot) instead of to play against the winner of round of 16 "1st Group D vs 2nd Group C". I made a screenshoot here with the uncorrect things who are present in the game (in red and orange) and I hope it will be fixed soon. Thanks for reading.

There are obviously 32 teams in the world cup and it's frankly world cup fever right now! So I am going to load up the "real" groups of the Russian World cup and see how far I can get with each of the teams. Some teams are obviously better than others. With the likes of Brazil and France going to be easier then Panama or Saudi Arabia! I will use a random wheel to decide which teams I use and begin from there. And if anyone wants to play along and try it with me these are the settings I am using. Steam Workshop Golden Flame's real world cup. I have Japan and Germany playable. I am starting the game in Finland the April 2018 start and I have loaded all international, top players and national reputation players from every continent (roughly 80,000 players). I am setting these rules: 1) Scoring system. Eliminated 4th in group = 1 point (you tried!) Eliminated 3rd in group = 2 points top 16 knocked out = 4 points Quarter Final Knocked out = 6 points 4th place = 7 points 3rd place = 8 points 2nd place = 10 points World cup winner = 12 points! 2) No save scumming, you get 1 attempt per nation. If you cheat, shame on you! 3) No using the same tactic for every team. Don't be lame. ----------------------- https://www.randomnamepicker.net/spin-wheel Set the 32 nations and let destiny await.

Panama’s road to glory Panama finished third in CONCACAF's Hex to reach first World Cup Roman Torres scored vital late winner against Costa Rica *Collective team effort vital to qualification* Before the final matchday of CONCACAF’s qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, Panama had never even occupied one of the direct qualifying berths. In order to do so in the final round of games, they needed to beat Costa Rica at home and hope Trinidad & Tobago could do likewise against USA. And that is precisely what happened. Despite going behind to Costa Rica, Los Canaleros stayed patient and fought back. The winner, secured just two minutes from time by Roman Torres, made history for Panamanian football, with USA losing at the same time in Couva. It would be hard, however, to single out heroes now the campaign has concluded. Their success has rather been built on the collective efforts of a group of players who believed in their dream and fought tooth and nail to realise it. Throughout a rollercoaster campaign, the team never stopped battling. *The road to Russia 2018* Panama began their campaign in Round 4 of the regional qualifiers. Drawn in Group B with Costa Rica, Haiti and Jamaica, they finished second behind Los Ticos on 10 points. They then kicked off the Hexagonal final phase with a priceless away win over Honduras, only to then go six games without a victory – albeit picking up four draws. In the final two months of the campaign, Hernan Dario Gomez’s side secured their passage to Russia thanks to a draw with Honduras combined with home wins over Trinidad & Tobago and Costa Rica. The spine of the team Jaime Penedo: With more than 100 caps for his country, the 35-year-old goalkeeper drew on his vast experience and showed nerves of steel when it mattered most. Felipe Baloy: A versatile defender who can make his presence felt up front but rarely leaves spaces at the back. He is also a fine header of the ball with the kind of contagious energy and encouraging nature that has seen him captain his side on many occasions. Gabriel Gomez: A midfield orchestrator who can put his foot on the ball and find precious time. He is also a tireless worker with a gift for winning back possession, and frequently sets attacks in motion with his excellent vision. Gabriel Torres: With Luis Tejada and Blas Perez in the latter stages of their playing careers, Torres has bravely and effectively stepped forward and looks to be a natural replacement for either of those strikers. The quote “It's a really significant achievement and something we deserve. We’ve been striving for this for a good while now and it all worked out. We’ve been working very well together and, despite what happened in the USA [Ed’s note: a 4-0 defeat in the penultimate matchday], we never lost faith or gave up.” Roman Torres, scorer of the decisive goal against Costa Rica The stat Panama will be the 13th different side from the CONCACAF Zone to participate at the World Cup. Los Canaleros had been trying to reach the global finals since the qualifiers for Argentina 1978. Mexico lead the way in the region with 16 appearances on the global stage.

A few preliminary/provisional squads have been announced already: Argentina: Nigeria: Russia: South Korea: Egypt: Iran: Australia: Iceland: Poland: List of squads: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44083365

Are the number of slots per confederation for the World cup dynamic?

Hi Si, Loving the game as ever. 100s of hours played. It's the 2018 World Cup around the corner. I have a few FM 2018 HOTFIX requests that will hopefully improve the experience for managing National teams. Primary request: Introduce the 'rest' function into International management: This will be especially useful in World Cups etc. At the moment you can only access 'rest' through the training function. Ideally that will mean bringing in training. (which is realistic as an International window is 2 weeks and there is much longer for the full tournaments. However, if that's not possible to add the training function please add 'rest'. Expand 'rest' to be 1 Day, 2 Days, 3 Days, 4 Days, 5 Day, 6 Days, 7 Days - rather than, the 1, 2 miss a few, 7 days Secondary requests: Boost morale with International call-ups: No player should start a World Cup with abysmal morale. Tactic familiarity: As there is no training can you please artificially boost the tactic familiarity. These are top quality players, they should be more familiar with more tactics. Delay International call-ups if there are end of season finals: Happened a lot with my super successful team in FM 17 where I lost players from end of season club cups due to being called up to the national sides, when the national teams weren't weren't playing for a week or so. Ability to play knock-about friendly prior to World Cup against a minor local side: Helps with team cohesion, tactics, fitness. (back to that training function again). Ability to move shirt numbers around on tactics screen without having to move player and thus the role etc,: This applies to International friendlies, club preseason friendlies, Non league teams (all season). This also has the general function of helping in game when you switch tactics in the drop down and you hadn't realised (due to squad numbers) that tactic 1 effectively has number 6 on the right wing and tactic 2 number 6 is the centre-half. If you stick to the same tactic you won't notice, it only comes to light if you switch tactics in game from the drop down. More team meetings: When the World Cups are on you often here players say, in today's meeting. Need tools to be able to boost morale after a loss. Remind them of a target (in group stages) etc. Every player you have ever called-up is automatically added to a special short list: If you are an International manager for a while you can quickly see who you have used. Ability to see the same for u21 and other younger sides would be great. An average club rating, can miss a class act International. Rare but happens. When you take over an international team there is a shortlist that lists all players called-up in the last 12 months: A helpful tool when you start with a nation. Match reports not always available. At the very least it would be brilliant if the primary request can make it on a HOTFIX for FM2018. Thanks guys Happy gaming

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my world, or at least the international part of it. I've modded things for many a year, but this is probably the most polished thing I've done and the most accessible for other players, so here it is. World Cup A new 64 team format. Still groups of four, with the addition of a first round, instead of just a last 16. World Cup Qualifying Isn't it really bloody boring at the moment? Well, not anymore. Now it's two (or three in the case of Africa and Asia) rounds of head to head qualifying games. Two legged, proper cup ties. Lower ranked teams should enter first (let me know if that's not the case) but the luck of the draw can still mean some lesser teams going through and some bigger teams missing out. Brings the drama back to qualifying. The other big change is that there are now only four regions. Europe, Africa, Asia & Oceania, and the Americas. Continental Cups These are now all synced up, so no more players disappearing in the middle of the European season to play in the ANC. All on a four year rotation, all with qualifying done in the same manner as the World Cup above. Again, it's split into four sections, European Championships, African Cup of Nations, Asian Cup (Including Oceanic teams), and Copa Americas (Containing North and South America). So what about all that spare time? If teams are playing just a couple of qualifiers, what the hell are they doing all the time? That's a good question, I should answer it. All international teams now play in regionalised tournaments. (Pan-Pacific, Mediterranean, Balkans Nations, East African and so on...) These all have relatively similar setups, between 12 and 20 teams split into different groups etc. The idea being that people would much rather watch their team play their neighbouring nations every four years, rather than some offcut of what was once the USSR or whatever. The winners of these tournaments then qualifying for... The Confederations Cup 32 Team tournament, first running in 2021, the year before a World Cup as it does now. The regionalised nature of the qualifiers means that you will get some smaller teams getting the chance to turn out in an international tournament. Finally... The Olympics I nearly pulled this, because the Olympics aren't really a massive football event, but I like the Olympics as a whole, and so it stayed. It's still an Under-23 tournament. The only thing I can't seem to fix, is the English u-23s becoming Great Britain U-23. If anyone knows what I've done to make that happen, and how I can fix it, then please do. ***Known issues*** Cup tie mapping. It's in there, for the World Cup, but I'm not 100% sure it's working. i've been messing with it for a couple of weeks, and can't get it to work. If anyone can fix it, have at it, just post the update below. Also - there is no cup tie mapping in the Continental Champiionships, because some third place teams qualify, and I don't know how to map with that sort of variable. It's simply above me, but if anyone else knows, seriously, feel free to fix it! COPA AMERICA HAS BEEN KNOWN NOT TO GO BEYOND GROUP STAGE APPARENTLY. I'VE HAD IT WORK AND NOT WORK, SO BARE WITH ME ON THS!!! If anyone else sees anything, let me know. I've holidayed it and it's worked well so far, but I will do my best to fix things as and when people spot them, just not next week, as I'm going Wrestlemania. EDITED FOR ISSUE WITH THIRD PLACE PLAY OFFS! 5ac6860268649_BruceysInternationalExpansion.fmf

Hi guys, I have used the advanced editor to recreate the 48 team World Cup for 2026 and Qualifiers, however I have not been able to figure out how to exclude the host nation from qualifiers. I have looked at previous threads about creating a hidden stage but have not found a definitive solution. I'm attaching my file, please take a look at let me know what I am missing. World Cup.fmf

Hi guys. Since the group stages for the World Cup is out, I'm curious if there is a way to choose the nations for the next world cup in the game, being the 2018 World Cup. I don't mind if I cannot set the groups as they are in real life, but I just want the right nations to qualify for the world cup in the game. I think I remember playing the world cup with real qualified nations back in 2010 or 2014. I know how to edit leagues and cups for club competitions, but I just can't figure out what to do with international competitions, so I have no idea where to look and what to do in the editor.

Doin an experiment, not a save that i acc manage in I will be trying to see what my home country, Northern Ireland can do when everything is maxed out, youth facilities being key, i will also max out all the finances of the top 2 divisions clubs in northern Ireland, can the GAWA win the world cup? I will be providing consistent updates regarding this, I hope you enjoy!!!

Need of a lot of fixes for national teams competitions, 1) WORLD CUP FINAL TABLE ERROR World Cup final table (since round of 16) this is a programmation error. In the image, this is the correct table, with the red line, the wrong inversed schedule on the game to fix. This error make the game unrealistic infortunately. 2) HOST COUNTRY FOR SOME NATIONAL TEAM COMPS We want to look host country for Oceanian Cup, Copa America, Asian Nations Cup, North American GoldCup, and for the Nations League final 4 (semi finals and finals schedule) in the competition menu, like it's already done for World Cup for example (3th screenshot) 3) INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS HOST COUNTRIES ON THE GROUP A ! EURO Championship, Africa Nations Cup, Copa America, North American GoldCup: host country must be ON THE GROUP A ! For a more realistic gameplay. I don't have screenshot, but Cameroon hosts African Nations Cup 2019 and the draw can put them in a random group (can be the C, the B or other). But ecause they are host country they always must be on the group A for the 2019 edition (and Guinea always on the A for the 2023 edition) and not another group like is now posible actualy on the game. The EURO Championship have the same problem with host countries. Only World Cup have the correct and realistic group A schedule for that (I talked about this on the 1st point but the problem of World Cup is the final table schedule who is not realistic). The North American GoldCup, Copa America, Asian Nations Cup have the same problem too but in worst because they dont have host country. 4) PROBLEM WITH AFRICAN NATIONS CUP 2019 MODULO 4 (---> 2023, 2027, 2031 ETC...) WINNER CAN'T PLAY CONFEDERATIONS CUP 2 YEARS LATER Please fix too, African team for Confederations Cup must be the African Cup winner and not a substitute team. I suggest African Nations Cup must start on the middle of July and end on the middle of August for not interact with Confederations Cup. Because like you can watch on this 2 screenshoots, Algeria won African Cup of Nations 2019 but Cape-Verde is qualificated for substitute Algeria because Algeria plays African Cup of Nations 2021 and cannot play Confederations Cup in the same time. 5) Please fix Confederations Cup 2021, must be in the same country of the World Cup 2022 I dont have screenshot but in my database, Confederations Cup 2021 was in Qatar and World Cup 2022 in Australia. I would be more realistic if Australia hosts Confederations Cup 2021 and World Cup 2022. 6) RUSSIA AND UKRAINE UEFA POLICY Ukraine and Russia cant be on the same group because of political problems (UEFA Policy) 7) EURO 2024: WILL BE HOSTED BY GERMANY OR TURKEY CANDIDATE COUNTRY (OFFICIALY CONFIRMED BY UEFA) The EURO 2024 will take place in Germany or Turkey candidate country (officialy confirmed by UEFA who will choose host country in September 2018) but on the game we have Spain host country possible. It's not realistic and it must be fix. Thanks for reading ! If you have any other suggestions you can post it in commentaries.

Qatar is hosting the World Cup in 2022. Questions of legitimacy and bribes are being thrown around everywhere, but the big concern for the Qatari FA is performance. The national team is, well to be plain, a bit rubbish, and something needs to be done if the country isn't to embarrass itself on football's biggest stage. So Qatar does what it knows best, it throws money at the problem. Can they attract enough high calibre players to improve the league and national team in time? Yup I'm giving every club in Qatar megabucks in Football Manager 2015 (My favourite version, and most recent version owned). Sugar daddy status, massive sponsorship, heavy league bonuses. With a few promises thrown around, even the rest of the Gulf is in on it, with a £150-200M prize pot being stumped up for every edition of the Gulf Champions League. Now I know a lot of this is wildly unrealistic and that's kind of the point, but there are some limits. Reputation starts at the original levels, you can't sway people's opinion overnight regardless of who you sign. And obviously the league structure remains the same, no real need to move away from old fashioned values, right? For those of you unfamiliar with the Qatari league structure (basically everyone), the main league system only contains 18 teams. 14 in the Stars League, and the other 4 in the second tier, with 14 Reserve teams also in the second tier to pad it out to a full structure. 2 teams move automatically between the leagues through promotion and relegation, whilst 11th from the Stars and 3rd from the second tier battle it out for a place. These are then accompanied by 3 cup competitions: The Princes cup between all 18 teams, the Crown Princes Cup between the top 4 of last season, and the inevitable Super Cup, the Sheikh Jassem Cup. Top slots in the Stars league allow two teams into the Gulf Champions League, and 3/4 teams into the Asian Champions League. And that's the boring explaining part done. You may be thinking that 2022 is a bit soon to see any investment come through in the form of talented Qatari players. You'd be right, so the Qatari government have allowed some flex for this special occasion. 1 Years continuous residence as a professional footballer and you've got yourself a shiny new passport. Let's face it, based on other sports that's not actually that unrealistic? So the stage is set, the stacks of cash are primed. Can Qatar become a global force on the domestic and international front? 2014/15 League Winner: Al-Gharrafa Cup Winners: Al-Arabi, Al-Jaish Continental Performance: Asian CL - Group Stages, Gulf CL - Winner Major Transfer: Abdelhak Nouri - Ajax to Al-Arabi - £3.4M National Team World Ranking: 94th Nothing major this year, Qatari teams slowly begin to hoard money from league results but have yet to open their wallets. Lekhwiya are already in the top 20 of the world financially, but not even megabucks can reel people into the "retirement league". The world has changed very little from the real version. The Qatari national team does about as well as can be expected in the Asian Cup, topping their group before being knocked out by eventual finalists South Korea. The Koreans end up losing to Australia. 2015/16 League Winner: Al-Jaish Cup Winners: Al-Jaish, Al-Arabi Continental Performance: Asian CL - Second Round, Gulf CL - Group Stages Major Transfer: Tiago Silva (Regen) - Marseille to Al Sadd - £9M National Team World Ranking: 80th The world is beginning to see some of that Qatari cash as legends like Jem Karacan and Obi Mikel head to Al-Sadd in a £35M spending spree. The rest of the league sticks to their tight ways, and Al-Jaish somehow manage to keep the big spenders out of the Champions League with a double. Continental performance was still rubbish, so it's clear teams have yet to get out of the QPR phase with their new signings. Elsewhere Hull finished 6th, United won the CL but finished 11th, and Benitez is managing Barcelona. So maybe the world is falling apart. Euro 2016 holds it's realism briefly as England capitulate and exit at the Group Stages. From there on out it turns into wild fantasy, with Holland beating Serbia 4-0 in the final, and Scotland making it to the semi-finals. Like that would ever happen. 2016/17 League: Lekhwiya Cups: Al-Sadd, Al-Jaish Continental: Asian CL - Semi Final, Gulf CL - Semi Final Major Transfer: Divock Origi - Juventus to Lekhwiya - £19.75M World Ranking: 74th Spending continues to escalate as other teams join the cash frenzy. Al-Arabi and Lekhwiya both spend £35M each, but it's the star signing of Origi that brings home the title. The outside world has finally begun to pay attention as 12 of the richest 40 teams in the world now sit in Qatar. The lax nationality laws entice their first convertee, with Imoh Ezekiel proudly taking his place as the best Qatari national player. This seasons versions of things I don't understand: Mancini takes charge of Hoffenheim. 2017/18 League: Al-Shahaniya Cups: Al-Sadd, Al-Sadd Continental: Asian CL - Quarter Final, Gulf CL - Final Major Transfer: Vittorio Parigini - Al-Rayyan to Al-Sailiya - £28.5M World Ranking: 73rd Unsurprisingly the top transfer fee keeps rising, although for the first time ever it's between two Qatari teams as Al-Rayyan make a £22M profit from Parigini. Al-Sadd have become the living definition of a cup team, whilst a surprising league win comes from Al-Shahaniya, a team that only reached the top tier 2 seasons previously. Mancini gets his life back on track by moving to Porto. The World Cup manages to maintain some realism with both Spain finishing bottom in their group, and a final between Argentina and Belgium, the former winning 4-0. Having qualified legitimately (kind of), Qatar win a grand total of 0 points in the group stages. 2018 in transfers, some legendary Qatari names moving around. 2018/19 League: Al-Sadd Cups: Al-Jaish, Lekhwiya Continental: Asian CL - Quarter Final, Gulf CL - Winner World Ranking: 91st Even a title doesn't guarantee safety in the Cash League, as Al-Shahaniya go from celebrating to preparing for life in the second division within a year. Al-Sadd finally shake off the "cup team" name and win, coincidentally the same year Arsenal win the Premier League. Maybe there's something in the air. On the topic of Arsenal, Giroud becomes the first "big name" to take top scorer in the Stars League with 16 goals, having signed for Al-Arabi a few seasons before. Puncheon finds a new lease of life at Al-Rayyan, setting a league record for most assists in a season with 14. Transfers have reached a point where it's constantly £15-25M for regens, so won't be listed anymore. The national team suffer disappointing performances in both the West Asian Championship and the Asian cup, seeing them drop to 91st in the world. The trophies go to Iran and Japan respectively. Belgium beat France to take the first ever Nations League title. 2019/20 League: Al-Sadd Cups: Al-Sailiya, Al-Sadd Continental: Asian CL - Final, Gulf CL - Winner World Ranking: 88th Franco Di Santo leads Al-Sadd to their second title in a row, with Arda Turan and Erick Torres also setting the league alight. Every team is now full of recognisable names and it is beginning to pay off as 2 teams get into the Asian Champions League semi finals. Chico Flores takes over the throne as the top Qatari national player after declaring the country his home and becoming a Sheikh. The turn of the decade breaks the world, with Reading finishing 6th, Sampdoria winning Serie A and Köln cementing a top 4 slot in the league alongside a Europa title. France win Euro "everyone's a host" edition, thanks to a penalty shootout victory over reigning champions Holland. 2020/21 League: Al-Sadd Cups: Al-Shahaniya, Al-Arabi Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 3rd World Ranking: 88th Al-Sadd start to take their domestic success global, claiming both Champions League titles before falling to Corinthians in the Club World Championship. The rest of the world's days are now numbered. For the first time since the start of the experiment the biggest transfer of the season is the wrong way. With the Saudi League also profiting from the Gulf Champions League handing out an entire country's GDP, Al-Hilal fork out a whopping £43M for a promising regen from Al-Shahaniya. Despite converting (paying for) Qatari nationals such as Lestienne, Parigini and Lucas Mendes, the team still manages to completely suck at the Confederations Cup. On the plus side, England manage to get their hands on silverware by winning the Nations League. As it's the off-season for that competition though, I'm not actually sure it counts. 2021/22 League: Al-Sadd Cups: Al-Ahli, Al-Sailiya Continental: Asian CL - Final, Gulf CL - Final, Club World Champs - 3rd World Ranking: 79th The league has become a bit of a routine, with Al-Sadd taking their fourth title in a row. Not even the entrance of Mitrovic, Romeu and countless incredible regens can change the tune. Continental performance reminds strong, albeit with no wins. In the Club World Championship, Al-Arabi somehow manage to sneak in (with a bribe) due to the hosts qualifying as winners of the Asian Champions League and finish an reasonable 3rd. The miracle of the year happens in Köln, with the new German legends somehow stopping Bayern getting a 10th title in a row. And their regen left midfielder wins the Ballon d'Or. An all round amazing year in western Germany. But the MOST important thing, the World Cup in Qatar. Crunch time for the whole country, with countless workers quite literally worked to death to lead up to this moment. And the team did... (drum roll please)... absolutely ****. Despite having a ridiculously easy group of Mexico, Ecuador and Bosnia, they still manage to suck balls and get 0 points. What a waste of time. I guess this whole thing is now just for my entertainment. At least someone is happy, as Portugal managed to 1-up their real life performance to beat France 2-0 in the final. Hooray. The epitome of absolute disappointment. 2022/23 League: Al-Sadd Cups: Lekhwiya, Al-Markhiya Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Final, Club World Champs - 5th World Ranking: 86th The winner is no surprise, Origi leads his team to title number 5. Behind them a £126M spending spree sees Al-Arabi manage to take 2nd, whilst Leighton Baines manages to set a new league record of assists in a season at 15, despite using a zimmer frame. In the Champions League, titles are becoming an expectation as the Qatari League becomes the most reputable in Asia. It won't be long before the global domination starts. Athletic Bilbao run out of Basque children to harvest and get relegated. Asia tries the "maybe if we ignore them they'll go away"and refuses to let Qatar into the Asian Cup. South Korea take the trophy over Australia, in an exact reverse of the result from 8 years ago. Qatar sulks. 2023/24 League: Take a Guess (It's Al-Sadd) Cups: Al-Mesaimeer, Al-Sadd Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 3rd World Ranking: 64th The 10th season of the sugar daddy playpen brings Al-Sadd their 6th title. . They get nothing from the Champions Leagues however as Al-Ahli manage to clinch both titles in the same year, before once again getting 3rd in the Club World Championship. On the shores of not so distant Europe, Köln continue their meteoric rise with a Champions League win. France have their traditional national team break down after doing well for a period and go out of the Euro's at the group stages. Belgium beat their big brothers Germany 1-0 to take a first ever title. 2024/25 League: Al-Arabi! Cups: Qatar SC, Al-Sadd Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 5th World Ranking: 54th AND THEY'VE DONE IT, Köln win the world! Uh-hum I mean... It seems Carlos Fierro was the kryptonite for Al-Sadd all along. A £5M transfer to Al-Arabi brings the end to the Al-Sadd domination, and Al-Arabi cap it off with an Asian CL win. Not even the signing of Anthony Martial can save Al-Sadd's title chain. Köln do in fact win the Club World Championships to become the best EVER, whilst FC Lorient bemuse the world by winning the Europa League and getting relegated from Ligue 1 at the same time. 2025/26 League: Oh... Al-Sadd Cups: Al-Sadd, Al-Arabi Continental: Asian CL - Final, Gulf CL - Winner World Ranking: 26th The world quickly corrects its error from last season and gives the title back to Al-Sadd. Gulf CL wins have paid off and Al-Sadd also become the richest team in the world. Now only reputation is in the way of world domination. In the outside world, Saint-Etienne win Ligue 1, Köln win the German League (Wooooooo) and Real Madrid beat Brighton in the final of the Europa League. That's the future for you folks. 2026 means a World Cup, and Qatar qualifying beating New Zealand in the playoff, giving them another chance to hilariously disappoint. This time they get bested by the mighty Canada in the Group Stages. Holders Portugal don't even qualify, as they get humbled by Scotland in qualification, whilst England beat Denmark in the Final to end 60 years of hurt. This year really was THE year, The Sun called it. 2026/27 League: Al-Sadd Cups: Al-Sadd, Al-Arabi Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 5th World Ranking: 22nd With nobody caring about league performance, clubs start to focus on Continental results. In the Asian Champions League, 4 clubs make it an all-Qatari western half of the Quarter Finals, with Qatar SC coming out on top for the right to face Jeonbuk and eventually take the title. They then get battered by Monterrey in the Club World Champs. Valencia finally stop the big 3 taking all the La Ligas, Catania bizarrely win the Europa, and Spurs absolutely smash Roma 6-1 to take the Champions League. COYS! In the Asian Cup, Qatar pulls out a result that makes me oddly proud. They ride luck and good results all the way to the final, where they stick it to long time bogey-team Oman with a 2-0 win. Qatar has actually won something, albeit not a World Cup and about 5 years too late. It's coming home! 2027/28 League: Al-Sailiya Cups: Qatar SC, Qatar SC Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 3rd World Ranking: 13th Newly promoted Al-Sailiya create a cash loaded fairytale by immediately winning the league. There will probably be a film about their old-ish lead striker soon. Al-Arabi once again take both champions leagues, a performance which improves the reputation of the league up to a similar level as the Serbian and Egyptian leagues. Ok that's not so great actually. Tottenham become the best in the world (naturally). Suck it Gunners. The national team is becoming something of a force, a top 15 ranking followed by a complete shutting out of Japan in the second round of World Cup Qualifying shows that something in this might be working. At least I bloody hope so. Lowly Ukraine beat Holland 2-1 in the Euro Final. 2028/29 League: Al-Mesaimeer Cups: Al-Arabi, Al-Jaish Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 4th World Ranking: 16th Al-Mesaimeer become the newest winners, claiming the title for the first time in their history and show the league is truly out of the clutches of Al-Sadd. They manage to add an Asian CL to their collection, but ultimately make no extra headway in the Club World Champs. No Qatari team has ever made the final. Over in the European CL, Spurs claim their second title in three years. Screw success for Qatar, this is the real story. The national team continues its impressive record, winning the West Asian Championship by winning every game. The confederations cup offers sterner opposition and it's here that Qatar suffer their first defeats since 2027. The team still manages a strong 4th place finish, and keeps every result respectable. This national team is honestly going places. 2029/30 League: Al-Sailiya Cups: Al-Sadd, Al-Jaish Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 2nd World Ranking: 24th The big news comes from the Club World Championship, as Al-Arabi have a delightful run to get themselves into the Final before falling to Tottenham. As it is Tottenham I'll allow it, Brendan Rodgers has done amazing stuff in his 12 years there. For Qatar it's finally a step of progress. In other news, Qatari legend Vittorio Parigini becomes the national team's best ever scorer, and then retires from the game. Another 4 years another World Cup. Qatar finish top of their qualifying group to book their ticket to Spain. The team continues its good form to top a group with Portugal and Turkey, but fall on penalties to Germany in the first knockout round. To be honest, I'll take it especially considering Portugal eventually reclaim their title with a win over Germany. That's a draw with both finalists, solid. 2030/31 League: Al-Sailiya Cups: Al-Sailiya, Al-Arabi Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 5th World Ranking: 15th Al-Sailiya win another title to exert their recent dominance over the Stars League. Al-Mesaimeer take their turn at a double Champions League win, but for the most part Qatar does nothing special this year. Instead the big news (for me) comes from both Tottenham and Köln winning their respective leagues. I swear I'm not actually a fan of Köln, but 2031 is definitely a good year. Qatar face another Asian Cup, and obviously they take home the title once again. I say obviously, but god damn they're exceeding my expectations by so much. A 8-1 smashing of China caps off a brilliant tournament for the Qatari team. A (probably the) high point for Qatar, the 2nd win in a row. 2031/32 League: Lekhwiya Cups: Al-Sailiya, Al-Arabi Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 4th World Ranking: 18th Lekhwiya win the league, Al-Arabi win the Asian Champions League once again to keep the alternating pattern with Al-Mesaimeer, and the world changes very little. Financially the Qatari teams have leveled out, so it remains to be seen whether any further improvements will occur. At least the national team looks like it still has some untapped potential. Holland once again suffer the pain of being runner up in the Euros, this time to their German big brothers with a 4-2 scoreline. 2032/33 League: Al-Sailiya Cups: Al-Rayyan, Lekhwiya Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 3rd World Ranking: 37th Al-Sailiya have become the new Al-Sadd, taking yet another league title and sweeping up both Champions League titles. Over in the national team, another West Asian Championship trophy gets added to the collection thanks to a 1-0 win over Iran. Even in the Confederations (Redundant) Cup, the team retains its high level of performance to grab themselves a Bronze medal. The 1 year residence has seriously paid off, with almost every player being born outside Qatar. But you know, it's the passport that counts. 2033/34 League: Al-Sailiya Cups: Qatar SC, Al-Kharitiyath Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Final, Club World Champs - 2nd World Ranking: 33rd 20 years in and the experiment looks like it may have reached its peak. The Stars League gets overtaken by the Japanese League as the best league in Asia, despite the continued Qatari dominance of the Asian Champions League, and only 6 Qatari teams remain in the top 40 financially. Al-Sailiya continue to greedily steal every trophy under the sun, taking the lead and the Champions League, before becoming the second ever Qatari team to reach the Club World Championship Final. Norwich finish 3rd in the Premier League, huh. The national team also seems to have reached its peak, struggling through qualifying for the World Cup with a win over New Zealand in the playoffs. The misery is further deepened with a group of Croatia, Brazil and Germany, that they predictable finish bottom of. A shock occurs in the final, with Mexico beating Italy 4-1. Tacos all round. 2034/35 League: Al-Arabi Cups: Al-Sailiya, Al-Gharrafa Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 2nd World Ranking: 28th The Stars league overcomes its minor blip to jump back to the number 1 league in Asia. Qatar SC make their way to the Club World Championship and clinch a fantastic win over Valencia in the semis, before falling to Corinthians in the Final. Still no win on the world stage. Oman come back for revenge, breaking Qatari hearts with a victory in the final of the Asian Cup of penalties. The national team is looking further and further from its peak, also losing in the West Asian semi finals to Iran. 2035/36 League: Al-Arabi Cups: Al-Arabi, Al-Arabi Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - 2nd World Ranking: 22nd Al-Arabi claim every trophy known to man on the domestic front, but it's Al-Sailiya who have put their league hopes on the back-burner to focus on the Continental challenge. Once again they make it to the final, thanks to a win over Benfica, but this time Sao Paulo steals the trophy away. That final goal is so close, everyone can literally taste it. It tastes of champagne if you weren't aware. Wait that's alcohol, scrap that. 2036/37 League: Al-Sailiya Cups: Qatar SC, Al-Mesaimeer Continental: Asian CL - Winner, Gulf CL - Winner, Club World Champs - Winner World Ranking: 25th QATAR RULES THE WORLD. Al-Sailiya have what can only be described as a miraculous season, taking the league and both champions leagues. But no-one gives a **** about those, as it's the incredible victory in the Club World Championship that takes the headlines. Victories over Zamalek, Cruzeiro and Chivas write Al-Sailiya into history books, and it's confirmed that Qatar have the best team in the world (well not really but you know). Oh and the national team lose to Lebanon in the West Asian semis, but everyone is too busy partying to really care. The players dry their tears with spare notes. The road to victory Objective Complete! And with that victory the only real objective I set myself after 2022 is complete. It took absolutely no time for Qatar to dominate Asia, but the World proved a much tougher nut to crack, taking 23 seasons for a single Club World Championship title. What next? Despite that (incredibly lucky) victory, things have really plateaued for Qatar at this point. Even with chucking billions at it, the league still faces some sort of reputation ceiling for Asian Leagues, and breaking into the European dominance has proved tough going. I took a look at some of the behind the scenes numbers (cheated), and surprisingly it did seem like Qatar was still rising, albeit at the rate of a snail. So for the sake of interest, how about we speed things up for the next few years... 2037 to 2040 Al-Sailiya have taken complete control, winning every league title up for grabs. This leads to very little headway outside of Qatar, and every under performance in the Champions League puts the reputation of the only team looking likely to become a Global force at risk. The national team takes back the West Asian title, but fails miserably at both the World Cup and the Asian cup. The glory days have well and truly gone. 2040 to 2045 Every single title within this window goes to Al-Sailiya, whilst Qatar SC come second. Every. Single. Time. Al-Sailiya even become the record holder for the most Asian Champions League titles ever. The most unpredictable thing to happen is a non-Qatari team winning the Asian CL for the first time in 18 years, which is an absolute shock to the footballing world. The national team manages nothing of note except a single solitary Western Asian trophy, but still manage to somehow climb (bribe) back into the top 20 in the world. 2045 to 2050 Surprise! Al-Sailiya only win 3 out of the 5 titles, the other two going to Qatar SC. The two have fully established themselves as the elite teams in Qatar, with Al-Rayyan just about keeping them on their toes. The two also move on to hogging both the Asian and Gulf Champions Leagues, albeit with 1 trophy from each going to a different country. Honestly it's like Asia isn't even trying. Becoming a dominant force seems to pay off though, as Al-Sailiya once again become best in the world, beating Pumas in the Club World Championship. The national team manages to grab on of each of the Western Asian and Asian trophies, but still cannot get any further than the second round of the World Cup. Stars League winners from 2037 to 2050. Al-Sailiya absolutely dominate. The reputation of the Qatari league hasn't moved a single point in the last 10 years, so with the conclusion of the 2050 World Cup the experiment is finally terminated. And basing it on the ambitions of turning the national team into a World Cup winning said, it's safe to say the experiment was a failure. In Asia the investment of cash was an undoubted success, with Qatar taking 26 of the last 30 Asian Champions Leagues, and the national team having 10 actual trophies to put in their dusty trophy cabinet. But on a global scale cash just isn't enough. Europe is woven into the very heart of football, and not even an enormous stack of money can change that. I think we've learnt a very useful lesson today, heart is just as just as important as cash in the beautiful game. Unless you want to become pretty damn good very quickly, then it's very useful. The state of the world England After a short stint trading titles, Man City dominate from 2020 to 2030. They are soon deposed by their noisy neighbours, with United taking 14 of the 20 titles. All of the big six take a title at some point, and remain at the top of their game. Tottenham string together 7 second places in 9 years with Brendan Rodgers becoming one of the world's top managers thanks to two Champions League wins with Spurs, before retiring in 2035. Spain Up until the late 2030's it's very much the elite 3 of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico that keep everyone else away from the top. From that point Valencia muscle their way in and begin to dominate, including taking every title from 2046 to 2050. Malaga rise to join the elite ranks in the 2040's and take second in every season of Valencia's title chain. Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal are the biggest two teams to visit the Liga Adelante. Germany With Bayern staying at the top of their game, Dortmund fade into a mid table team and Leverkusen very quickly slip to 2. Bundesliga team. Taking over the mantle of title challenger is Köln who finish 5th or above in every season after 2015/16. Schalke and Bremen take a single title, whilst Wolfsburg being their resurgence in the 2040's to add a few titles of their own. Italy Juventus start strong before Sampdoria come in to disrupt their title chain, and the two continue to trade blows for several years before AC Milan decide enough is enough and takes 6 titles in a row until 2035. From that point Juventus and AC Milan take turns having chains of titles. Catania become a European candidate for several years including winning a Europa League, before fading back to mid table. Fiorentina and Roma also take a title each. France PSG take 25 out of the 36 titles, with Lyon take 5 as second best. Monaco takes an incredibly strong liking to 2nd place, whilst Nantes become a consistent top 4 team in the last 10/15 years. Nice are probably the biggest team to relegated in real life terms. Portugal Easiest described as split into three sections. Porto take the first decade of the era, Benfica take the second and then hand back to Porto to finally get the 10 titles in a row both were chasing. Sporting and Braga both grab a title or two each, but the latter becomes more of a relegation battler towards the end.. Europe No real consistency or tend with the winners up until 2030 apart from maybe 7 English winners in a row, after which United manage to take an incredible 11 titles in 20 years. Including 4 pairs of wins. Köln and Sampdoria become perhaps the "oddest" winners. Down in the Europa league the biggest surprises are wins for Lorient and Catania, as well as a win for Real Madrid over Brighton. Man United's Champions League record from 2030 to 2050. International Not many surprises in the international community. Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago somehow win the Gold cup, whilst Ecuador take a single Copa America in a win over Mexico. Oh and England winning a World Cup. Lets face it no-one in their right mind expects that. One final test Let's go all out and give everything in Qatar maximum reputation. Clubs, Cups, Leagues, Country, all of it. It only takes until 2015 for things to kick off, including Al-Sailiya making the Club World Championship and second division Al-Markhiya bringing in Julian Brandt for £81M. By 2017 Lekhwiya take the Club World Championship thanks to Marco Reus. The national team gaining the highest reputation in the world instantly gives them amazing greyed out players, meaning they steamroll the Asian Cup and the Confederations Cup, before taking 3rd in the 2018 World Cup. Despite then recruiting talent like Kempf, Brandt and Emre Can, most players actually make the team worse, which leads to second round exit at the crucial 2022 World Cup. Yet another failure. Don't say I didn't try. Final thoughts I actually expected this to go way better than it did, at least from a Qatari point of view. Whilst I wasn't expecting big names to flood over, I figured the cash might stimulate a good generation of solid regens that the national team could take advantage of. The 3 Asian Cup's were not bad, and obviously the utter domination of the Asian Champions League was decent, but I guess continental strength also plays a part and Asia just doesn't compare. Sorry China, it's not going to be that easy. Anyway it was a fun one to write about, and a fairly easy one to set up which hopefully starts me off on bigger and better experiments. I love doing this sort of thing, and making a 5000 word essay gives me the extra motivation to try it. If there's any specific scenario you want me to try, it can be football related but could literally be anything, on any game, do let me know. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and or even that it flows in some followable way. If you got this far, then thanks, you must be very bored. Fancy carrying on from where this ended? Go to this link to download the save: Download This is also part of an ongoing series I've posted in other places. I'm sharing it here because it's led to some interesting discussions elsewhere, as well as some great extra ideas, so I'd love to get more of that kind of thing going.