España ‘42: Round of 16

This post describes the continuation of a fictional scenario in which there was a World Cup in 1942. The scenario background is described in the previous post, and the method used to develop the scenario is given in the one before that.

Game Results

These are the results of the games simulated by Predictotron, using an approach outlined in an earlier post.

Full Match Reports

Jubilation After Wait For Hosts

Saturday 2nd May 1942 - Estadio Chamartin, Madrid (Attendance: 22,408)

Spain 1, Romania 0

In an unexpectedly close match, Spain managed to beat Romania with a goal from Edmundo Suarez. Mundo, as he is affectionately known to his Spanish supporters, sparked rapture in the home crowd after he headed home from close range in the 63rd minute. The Basque native turned immediately to shake the hand of his teammate, Paco Campos, who had supplied the cross for his goal. The pair had looked likely to score on several occasions throughout the first half, but were denied by the Romanian skipper and goalkeeper, Dumitru Pavlovici. The Romanian performed a series of miraculous saves, frustrating the majority of those inside the stadium. He set the tone early in the game when he dived bravely at the feet of the onrushing Mundo, snatching the ball just as the Spaniard was about to unleash his shot. Pavlovici might count himself unlucky to be on the losing side after a performance such as the one he gave. However, the honours were destined to be Spain’s, following Mundo’s smart header. The scenes leaving the Chamartin stadium resembled a fiesta, with hordes of Madrilenians dancing on the street as they departed the scene of their team’s opening victory.

Hungarian Dance Drowns Out Old French Song

Saturday 2nd May 1942 - San Mámes, Bilbao (Attendance: 12,352)

Hungary 3, France 2

A lively match in Bilbao saw the lead change hands three times, as momentum swung back and forth between Hungary and France. After only four minutes, the Hungarians cut a swath through the French defence with a burst of rapid passing. After beating his man, left winger, Mátyás Tóth, crossed along the ground teeing up the ball for Gyula Bodola to sweep it home into the French net. The French responded 10 minutes later, following an uncharacteristic error from Hungarian goalkeeper, György Tóth, which allowed Henri Arnaudeau to pass the ball into an empty net.

France took the lead early in the second half when they were awarded a penalty following a foul on André Simonyi. The Ukrainian born striker rose to convert the ensuing spot kick. This seemed to wake the Hungarians up, who responded by peppering the French goal with shots from all distances and angles. Hungary drew level with a thunderbolt from Bodola midway through the second half. Bodola completed a splendid hat-trick with another long range shot, vindicating his decision to switch his footballing allegiance to Hungary from Romania following the recent territorial changes brought about by the Second Vienna Award.

World Champions See Off Emotional Argentina in Battle of Barcelona

Saturday 2nd May 1942 - Camp de Les Corts, Barcelona (Attendance: 28,765)

Italy 2, Argentina 0 (aet)

Controversy marred what promised to be the biggest game of the first round. An ill-tempered match saw numerous fouls and appalling behaviour by both teams. With neither side able to make a breakthrough in regulation time, the match went to extra time. The Argentine inside forward, José Moreno, received particularly brutal treatment from the Italian defence throughout the whole game. In the early phases of extra time, he was subject to a heavy challenge from Alfredo Foni, and had to limp off the pitch, unable to continue the match. A melee ensued, in which the Argentine, José Salomón, struck Foni and was sent off. Argentina, after having left the pitch briefly in protest, were overrun in the remainder of the match with only nine players on the field. Italy exploited their advantage and managed to score two late goals both through Silvio Piola. After the match, the Argentine manager, Guillermo Stabilé, told reporters that “the Italians came to fight more than play football” and that “if they showed half so much aggression on the battlefield they wouldn’t need help from the Germans all the time.”

Roundup

Sweden Throw Down An Early Gauntlet

Saturday 2nd May 1942 - Estadio de Nervión, Seville (Attendance: 18,918) - Portugal 1, Sweden 3

An impressive Sweden swept aside Portugal with goals from Arne Nyberg, Malte Mårtensson and Gunnar Gren. Portugal scored a late consolation goal through veteran inside left, Artur Pinga. With this victory and the manner within which it was achieved, Sweden have now established themselves as a potential winner of this tournament.

Germany Show Mettle

Saturday 2nd May 1942 - Atocha, San Sebastian (Attendance: 16,880) - Germany 2, Bulgaria 1 (aet)

This game was 1-1 after 90 minutes, with Karl Decker scoring in the first half for the Germans, and Krum Milev equalising for Bulgaria immediately after half-time. Germany had numerous chances to win the game in extra time, and eventually broke through with a late winner from Fritz Walter, who fired in a free kick from the edge of the box.

The Surprise from Santiago

Saturday 2nd May 1942 - Estadio Bardín, Vigo (Attendance: 5,607) - Finland 2, Chile 3

Finland and Chile played an exciting match with two contrasting halves. Finland entered half-time two goals up thanks to a brace from Erik Beijar. In the second half, Chile levelled things up with two goals in two minutes from Alfonso Domínguez and Guillermo Casanova. Finland tried gamely to hold on, but Casanova would eventually break Finnish hearts with a second strike in the 80th minute.

Nothing Rotten in the State of Denmark

Saturday 2nd May 1942 - Estadio de Sarrià, Barcelona (Attendance: 12,111) - Denmark 3, Switzerland 3 drawn after extra time

Replay - Tuesday 5th May 1942 - Estadio de Sarrià, Barcelona (Attendance: 5,653) - Denmark 3, Switzerland 1

At the second time of asking, Denmark were able to overcome a stubborn Swiss team. The dramatic first game saw both teams share six goals. In the replay, the Swiss were unable to cope with the great Danes, who ran out 3-1 winners. Johannes Pløger and Kaj Hansen scored three goals each across the two ties for Denmark, making them the joint top scorers for the tournament so far.

Croats Delight With Extra Time Winner

Saturday 2nd May 1942 - Estadio de Mestalla (Attendance: 12,344) - Slovakia 1, Croatia 2 (aet)

Croatia had to wait until extra time to see off their Eastern European rivals. Slovakia took the lead in the first half following a header from defender Stefan Fabian, but after that it was all Croatia. Soon afterwards, Zvonimir Cimermančić levelled things up with a shot from close range. Cimermančić would go on to score again in extra time, winning the game for the Croats.

Quarter-Finals

The situation after the Round of 16 is shown in the diagram below. In our next post, we’ll present the results of the quarter- and semi-finals.