Gaming Matters: FIFA16 World Cup 2018

A few years ago I used to read blogs by players of the Football Manager series who would do weekly or monthly diaries of their progress with their Career Modes. I loved the community aspect of sharing their successes and failures with other gamers and as you read along you'd think whether you would or wouldn't do the same things. With the ascension of YouTube came the plethora of 'FIFA YouTubers' who now do daily videos with highlights of their career mode matches. What I'm trying to do here is somewhere between the two. A diary of FIFA Career Mode with YouTube videos for highlights.

I've been doing a career mode with AFC Wimbledon for three seasons now and have taken them from League Two to the Premier League in successive seasons. I took over Wales just before the World Cup and decided to use the tournament as a chance to practice a diary and highlight video format which I've presented below. The next three articles on this subject will be summaries of the first three seasons before we see how the Wombles get on in the BPL.

World Cup 2018

Group A – Spain, England, Uruguay, Bulgaria

Spain 5-0 Bulgaria

Uruguay 1-2 England

Uruguay 2-2 Spain

England 1-0 Bulgaria Bulgaria 1-0 Uruguay

Spain 2-0 England

Team W D L F A Pts

Spain 2 1 0 9 2 7

England 2 0 1 3 3 6

Bulgaria 1 0 2 1 6 3

Uruguay 0 1 2 3 5 1

Group B – France, Colombia, Mexico, Hungary

Colombia 4-0 Hungary

France 3-0 Mexico

Colombia 1-0 France

Hungary 0-1 Mexico

France 2-0 Hungary

Mexico 2-0 Colombia

Team W D L F A Pts

France 2 0 1 5 1 6

Colombia 2 0 1 5 2 6

Mexico 2 0 1 3 3 6

Hungary 0 0 3 0 7 0

Group C – Italy, Chile, Slovenia, China

Chile 0-0 Slovenia

Italy 3-0 China

Chile 1-3 Italy

Slovenia 2-0 China

China 0-2 Chile

Italy 2-1 Slovenia

Team W D L F A Pts

Italy 3 0 0 8 2 9

Slovenia 1 1 1 3 2 4

Chile 1 1 1 3 3 4

China 0 0 3 0 7 0

Group D – Brazil, Norway, Denmark, India

Brazil 3-0 Norway

India 2-1 Denmark

India 1-1 Brazil

Denmark 2-2 Norway

Brazil 5-1 Denmark

Norway 1-0 India

Team W D L F A Pts

Brazil 2 1 0 9 2 7

India 1 1 1 3 3 4

Norway 1 1 1 3 5 4

Denmark 0 1 2 4 9 1

Group E – Netherlands, Czech Rep, Cameroon, Northern Ireland

Cameroon 3-1 Czech Rep

Netherlands 2-0 Northern Ireland

Cameroon 0-1 Netherlands

Czech Rep 0-0 Northern Ireland Netherlands 1-1 Czech Rep

Northern Ireland 0-0 Cameroon

Team W D L F A Pts

Netherlands 2 1 0 4 1 7

Cameroon 1 1 1 3 2 4

Czech Rep 0 2 1 2 4 2

N Ireland 0 2 1 0 2 2

Group F – Portugal, USA, Egypt, Wales

Portugal 3-1 USA

Egypt 0-3 Wales

Wales 3-0 USA

Egypt 0-0 Portugal

Portugal 2-0 Wales

USA 2-1 Egypt

Team W D L F A Pts

Portugal 2 1 0 5 1 7 Wales 2 0 1 6 2 6

USA 1 0 2 3 7 3

Egypt 0 1 2 1 5 1

Group G – Germany, Sweden, South Africa, Australia

Germany 2-1 Australia

South Africa 3-2 Sweden

Sweden 3-0 Australia

South Africa 0-2 Germany

Australia 0-3 South Africa

Germany 2-0 Sweden

Team W D L F A Pts

Germany 3 0 0 6 1 9

South Africa 2 0 1 6 4 6

Sweden 1 0 2 5 5 3

Australia 0 0 3 1 8 0

Group H – Argentina, Ivory Coast, Switzerland, Romania

Argentina 4-1 Romania Ivory Coast 2-2 Switzerland

Switzerland 2-0 Romania

Ivory Coast 0-2 Argentina

Argentina 1-1 Switzerland

Romania 2-2 Ivory Coast

Team W D L F A Pts

Argentina 2 1 0 7 2 7

Switzerland 1 2 0 5 3 5

Ivory Coast 0 2 1 4 6 2

Romania 0 1 2 3 8 1

Round 2

Italy 2-1 India

Spain 3-1 Colombia

Germany 1-0 Switzerland

Netherlands 1-5 Wales

Brazil 3-0 Slovenia

France 2-1 England

Argentina 4-0 South Africa

Portugal 3-0 Cameroon

Quarter Finals

Italy 2-1 Spain

Wales 1-3 Germany

France 1-2 Brazil

Portugal 3-2 Argentina

Semi Finals

Brazil 2-0 Portugal

Italy 2-1 Germany

Third Place Play Off

Germany 3-1 Portugal

FINAL

ITALY 1-2 BRAZIL

Wales Squad

(Player/Positions/Age/Rating/Club)

Wayne Hennessey GK 31 74 Crystal Palace

Boaz Myhill GK 35 71 West Bromwich Albion

Adam Henley RB 24 74 Blackburn Rovers

Adam Matthews RB 26 75 Sunderland

Ben Davies LB 25 78 Tottenham Hotspur

Neil Taylor LB 29 74 Swansea City

Ashley Williams CB 33 81 Swansea City

Tom Lockyer CB 23 72 Preston North End

James Chester CB 29 72 West Bromwich Albion

Joel Lynch CB 30 70 Celtic

Shaun MacDonald CM/CDM 30 84 Bournemouth

Aaron Ramsey CM/CDM/RW 27 84 Arsenal

Lee Lucas CM 26 80 Swansea City

Joe Allen CM/CDM 28 76 Liverpool

Emyr Huws CM/CDM 24 74 Wigan Athletic

Jonathan Williams CAM 24 75 Crystal Palace

Joe Ledley CM/CDM 31 73 Crystal Palace

Gareth Bale RW/RM/ST 28 89 Real Madrid

Sam Vokes ST 28 72 Wigan Athletic

Tyler Roberts ST 19 72 West Bromwich Albion

Tom Bradshaw ST 25 69 Walsall

Tom Lawrence ST/LM 24 66 Leicester City

Marley Watkins ST/RM/LM 27 64 Barnsley

GROUP GAMES

Wales 3-0 Egypt

Bale 15, MacDonald 59, Bradshaw 73

Wales: Hennessey / Henley, Williams, Chester, Davies / Ramsey, MacDonald, Lucas / Bale, Vokes, Roberts – Subs: Allen, Bradshaw, Huws

Egypt: El Shanaway / Emam, Hegazy, Tarek, Hafez / Gomaa, Morsi, Eleny / Salah, Kahraba, Ashrad – Subs: Saad, Meteb, Hassan

Stats: Shots – Wales 9, Egypt 4 On Target – Wales 7, Egypt 2

Possession – 46/54

Shot Accuracy – Wales 77%, Egypt 50% Pass Accuracy – Wales 88%, Egypt 78%

Man of the Match - Bale

Wales began their World Cup 2018 campaign with a convincing group win over Egypt. In the two friendlies leading up to this match it was all about Gareth Bale who scored one against Canada and three against England (match highlights here). It wasn't just the Real Madrid forward who shone against Egypt but he did open the scoring on 15 minutes after missing a glorious chance just three minutes earlier. This time his shot took a slight deflection off of the inside thigh of centre back Tarek which wrong footed the keeper El Shanaway. Half an hour into the match Egypt's best chance to score was Wales' own making. As a cross looped towards goal Wayne Hennessey came to either tip it over or tip it away but instead nearly palmed it into his own net and it was only the lightning instincts of James Chester on the line that saved a goal as he headed it away. Wales had two more good chances to double their lead before the break with Sam Vokes heading onto the bar and Bale's long range shot being tipped wide.

Egypt came out better at the start of the second half and an attack down the right nine minutes in saw a low cross to the far post where substitute Hassan was sliding in but put the ball the wrong side of the woodwork. Wales doubled their lead five minutes later with a fantastic goal from star midfielder Shaun MacDonald (Goal replay ). Mo Salah passed back to El Shanaway but the Egyptian keeper's clearance only landed in vacant space outside the box. MacDonald was the first to react and took a lob shot from over 25 yards which looped over the goalkeeper and into the net.

Wales completed their rout on 73 minutes when Walsall's Tom Bradshaw picked up a bad back pass from Kahraba, turned his marker Hegazy and fired a powerful left foot shot into the net. There was nearly a fourth goal as Emyr Huws had a thirty yard shot saved and with five minutes to go Bradshaw was set clear on El Shanaway for his second by Sam Vokes only to fire a weak shot from distance which was easily saved. Both Chester and Huws were booked late on and will need to behave themselves in future matches.

Wales 3-0 USA

Matthews 12, Lucas 27, Watkins 90

Wales: Hennessey / Matthews, A.Williams, Lockyer, Taylor / Allen, Huws, Lucas / Lawrence, Bradshaw, Roberts – Subs: Watkins, J.Williams, Ledley

USA: Guzan / Yedlin, Brooks, Miazga, Garza / Zardes, Bradley, Cameron, Johnson / Altidore, Johannsson – Subs: Diskerud, Rubin, Agudelo

Stats: Shots – Wales 11, USA 5 On Target – Wales 8, USA 1

Possession – 47/53

Shot Accuracy – Wales 72%, USA 20% Pass Accuracy – Wales 77%, USA 86%

Man of the Match - Watkins

It looked like Wales would face a much tougher test in their second match but had a great start by opening the scoring after just 12 minutes. They had a free kick on the right wing and Leicester City's Tom Lawrence laid the ball off to Tyler Roberts to shoot. His powerful shot was saved by Brad Guzan but he couldn't hold onto it and the rebound fell to Wales' right back Adam Matthews as the Sunderland defender was the first to react to score, beating Brooks to the ball. (Goal Replay).

Wales doubled their lead fifteen minutes later with more great work from West Brom forward Roberts as this time the 19 year-old was put through down the right flank by Lawrence. He soon found himself running into a dead end near the corner flag so turned back towards goal, evaded the challenges of Garza and Johnson and squared the ball for Lee Lucas. The Swansea midfielder was on a rare foray forward and pulled away from his marker Brooks to fire a first time shot past Guzan who was in for a busy day (Goal Replay ). Before the break the score could have been higher as Roberts forced another save from Guzan and Lucas nearly added a second for him but fired wide. USA's only real chance came when Welsh centre back Tom Lockyer cleared poorly and the ball fell to Jozy Altidore but his powerful shot clipped the bar on its way over.

Barnsley's Marley Watkins came on at half time and was soon running the USA defenders ragged with his pace. He saw a 20 yard drive cannon off of the bar within ten minutes of joining the action and was the brightest player in the second half. USA had a chance to pull one back and make it a nervy end for Wales with seven minutes to go but Brooks' volley went over the bar. It was Man of the Match Watkins who added a third to rub salt into the American wounds just before full time. USA had committed pretty much everyone forward for a corner including Guzan and when Wayne Hennessey punched the ball clear to Watkins they knew they were in trouble. The 27 year-old striker turned the patchy defence and outpaced Garza down the right side of the pitch until he was close enough to be certain of scoring. Guzan had no chance of getting back and Watkins put the ball into the unguarded net to grab a goal in the World Cup ( Goal Replay ). Wales had qualified for the second round with a match to spare. The highlights of the match are here.

Wales 0-2 Portugal

Ronaldo 62, 86

Wales: Myhill / Henley, Lynch, Chester, Davies / Ramsey, Ledley, Huws / J.Williams / Lawrence, Watkins – Subs: Allen

Portugal: Rui Patricio / Semedo, Josue, Vezo, Ferreira / Carvalho, Pereira, Moutinho / B.Silva, A.Silva, Ronaldo – Subs: Nani, Oliveira, Palhinha

Stats: Shots – Wales 2, Portugal 10 On Target – Wales 1, Portugal 5

Possession – 44/56

Shot Accuracy – Wales 50%, Portugal 50% Pass Accuracy – Wales 74%, Portugal 90%

Man of the Match – Ronaldo

With the team already through to the second round it seemed wise to rest the key players and field the 'reserves' for the final group game with Portugal. Although winning the group would be valuable for a seeded second round draw it was more important to ensure that the best players had the legs for such a match. There was no point in winning the group (or worse using key players and still not doing) and then having to play back-up players in the first knockout round. So Myhill got his only outing of the World Cup between the sticks and Celtic's Joel Lynch was next to James Chester in the heart of the defence for his only game. It was also a chance for players like Joe Ledley and Marley Watkins to get a rare start.

Unfortunately along with the reserve players on the field I was also playing a reserve-quality game and by the end had three players sent off. The first to go was Aaron Ramsey after 23 minutes for a tackle from behind in Ferreira. Before that both nations had chances to open the scoring as William Carvalho fired high and wide and Watkins cross-shot was punched away by Rui Patricio. Before the break Jonathan Williams shot from way outside the box and saw the ball reach the stands without nearing the goal. The match remained goalless at half time.

Straight after the break Wales saw red for a second time. This time it was Wigan's Emyr Huws who was late on half time substitute Nani. To be fair it could just as easily have been a yellow and a straight red was harsh in my (biassed) opinion. Wales had their best chance of the match soon after despite having only nine players on the field. Watkins was nearly the hero as he ran the full length of the right wing before cutting inside to shoot, only to see his shot turned away with a diving save. Jonathan Williams was then booked on the hour marked for a late and pretty rough tackle which sent Ferreira cartwheeling and led to Portugal's opening goal. Ferreira took the free kick from the left wing and lobbed it towards the penalty area. Ronaldo rose not far from the penalty spot to head the ball goal-wards but Myhill was already rushing off of his line and saved the header from point blank range. Unfortunately the ball bounced up and was still heading towards the six yard box. As it came down James Chester was thankfully in the right place at the right time to clear the ball to safety.......only instead he slipped at the wrong moment, missed the ball completely and hindered Myhill's attempt to get back for it too. Ronaldo was left with an open goal and the world's best player (arguably) doesn't miss chances like that (Goal Replay)

With twenty minutes to go Portugal had two successive chances to double their lead. First Myhill dived to push Oliveira's shot wide after the striker had beaten Lynch to the ball and then when Nani put the loose ball back into the mix there was a scramble in the box and it was Oliveira to shoot again, this time hitting the woodwork. Lynch was the third and final Wales player to receive his marching orders after he was adjudged (again harshly) to have brought down Oliveira as the last man after Ronaldo played the striker through on goal. The Celtic centre back was admittedly a fraction of a second late and did foul Oliveira but Allen was close by and may have been able to tackle him and it was not a certain goal scoring chance in my eyes. With Wales down to eight men the match was pretty much over and it was totally over once Ronaldo scored from the resulting free kick with one of his speciality shots. The Real Madrid striker did miss a chance for a hat trick just before the final whistle though, proving he is human after all by shooting high and wide after Moutinho's pass. Highlights are here.

SECOND ROUND

Wales 5-1 Netherlands

(Bale 4, 24, 45pen, Lawrence 64, 76)(Huntelaar 21)

Wales: Hennessey / Matthews, Williams, Lockyer, Taylor / Allen, MacDonald, Lucas / Bale, Vokes, Roberts – Subs: Watkins, Ledley, Lawrence

Netherlands: Cillessen / Van der Wiel, St Juste, Martins Indi, Blind, Willems / Wijnaldum, Strootman / Sneijder / Huntelaar, Van Persie – Subs: De Jong, Depay, Robben

Stats: Shots – Wales 9, Netherlands 7 On Target – Wales 8, Netherlands 3

Possession – 51/49

Shot Accuracy – Wales 88%, Netherlands 42% Pass Accuracy – Wales 79%, Netherlands 93%

Man of the Match – Bale

Before the tournament started I always said my aim would be to reach the second round and with Egypt and USA in the group draw I thought that might be possible. Having achieved my goal anything more would be a bonus but the Netherlands match was like a bonus with a cherry on top. I knew the second round would be tough whoever we pulled out of the hat and I thought Netherlands would be a tough match although I was glad it wasn't a Brazil or Argentina. In the end it was the sort of match which would see another Dutch manager failed for abject failure. Going out of the World Cup in the second round is one thing but going out to Wales must be pretty bad and losing 5-1 probably says “don't come back with the squad, get a plane to a different country and stay there”.

It was a Gareth Bale master-class in the first half as he scored his second, third and fourth goals of the tournament before the break. The first was all down to the great work of Swansea left back Neil Taylor as he was played down the wing on the overlap by Roberts, went past St Juste and jinked away from Blind in the box. He spotted Bale open in front of goal and crossed the ball for the Real Madrid forward to score. (Goal Replay ) . Netherlands were next to score and it looked like they were going to make a fight of it as Wesley Sneijder worked his way down the left wing and beat Shaun MacDonald to cross the ball back into the box. Huntelaar rose above both Ashley Williams and Wayne Hennessey to head the ball towards goal and equalise. Wales struck straight back though and just two minutes later they were back in front thanks to Bale's second goal. I say Bale's goal but he knew nothing about it as it was really Sam Vokes' shot which took a wicked deflection off of the 28 year-old's back and totally wrong-footed the keeper as the ball went in. (Goal Replay)

Bale completed his hat-trick on the stroke of half time with a penalty. Van der Wiel's clearance from the by-line fell to Adam Matthews outside the area who played a first time pass inside to Joe Allen. The Liverpool midfielder went around Wijnaldum and shot at goal from 20 yards and Cillessen saved the ball by palming it to his right. Tyler Roberts was first to the ball and was fouled by Van der Wiel before he had chance to turn and shoot or cross. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Bale fired high and left to make sure he'd be taking the match ball with him after the game. (Goal Replay)

After the break Bale nearly had a fourth, running at the Dutch defence from the kick off and bringing a save out of Cillessen which must have stung his palms despite the padding in modern gloves. The Dutch had chances to get back in the games and six minutes into the second half Taylor headed the ball off of the line from a Wijnaldum header and three minutes later Huntelaar put another headed chance wide. The goal which put the nail in the Dutch coffin came on 64 minutes after some excellent team passing reminiscent of the great Holland side in the 1970s. Matthews was heavily involved as he first played the ball to Bale down the right wing but continued his run and took the ball back before exchanging passes with substitute Marley Watkins. The Sunderland full back then into the box for Vokes and although Martins Indi got a toe on the ball first the Wigan striker was able to retain the ball, beat Wijnaldum and cross for Tom Lawrence to score. (Goal Replay)

Leicester City striker Lawrence added his second goal of the game twelve minutes later after being sent through on goal, past the offside trap and when one on one with Cillessen he kept his composure to score. The game was over now and Wales were through to the Quarter Finals of the World Cup. (Goal Replay)

Match Highlights here

QUARTER FINAL

Wales 1-3 Germany

(Watkins 83)(Gundogan 27, 76, Muller 55pen)

Wales: Hennessey / Matthews, A.Williams, Lockyer, Davies / Ramsey, MacDonald, Lucas / Bale, Vokes, Roberts – Subs: Watkins, J.Williams, Bradshaw

Germany: Neuer / Lahm, Hummels, Boateng, Durm / Bellarabi, Gundogan, Kroos, Reus / Ozil / Muller – Subs: Goetze, Schurrle

Stats: Shots – Wales 7, Germany 7 On Target – Wales 6, Germany 4 Possession – 41/59

Shot Accuracy – Wales 85%, Germany 57% Pass Accuracy – Wales 76%, Germany 88%

Man of the Match – Gundogan

In reality the match was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests. The defining difference was the quality of the strikers and the goalkeepers as we had more chances on target yet scored with just one of our six shots while Germany scored with three out of their four.

Shaun MacDonald tested Neuer early with a shot from outside the box on 3 minutes and Ramsey did the same from inside the box four minutes later. Both times the Bayern Munich keeper was equal to the task, just as he would be until nearly the end of the match. Germany took the lead by opening up the Welsh defence with some excellent passing the would defeat a secure fortress. Kroos played a one-two with Muller and fed Gundogan who played his own one-two with Reus to find himself free in front of goal. He wasn't going to miss from there and made it 1-0 to Germany.

Germany could have doubled the lead before the break with Kroos firing wide when he should really have scored and then four minutes before the break he had another shot saved. It was Muller who scored the second in the end though as nine minutes into the second half Preston North End's Tom Lockyer brought down Lahm who was on a surging run forward. It wasn't deliberate, it was just clumsy. The Bayern striker scored from the spot kick and Wales needed to go all out in attack for a chance of staying in the tournament.

As Wales pushed forward they were caught on the counter attack with just fourteen minutes to go and Germany scored a beautiful goal. Muller went down the right wing and crossed in to Gundogan who controlled the ball with his chest and volleyed in for possibly one of the goals of the tournament. Marley Watkins came off the bench to score Wales' last goal of the campaign as he collected Lucas' pass and turned away from both Lahm and Hummels to shoot and beat Neuer at his near post.

Highlights of the match

Given that the aim was to get Wales to the second round of the World Cup then I can only regard this as a massive success and in particular the 5-1 win over Netherlands with the ratings of some of the players in the Welsh squad was fantastic. Bale was obviously a class act but I was also impressed by 19 year-old West Brom striker Tyler Roberts, 27 year-old Barnsley forward Marley Watkins and 29 year-old Swansea left back Neil Taylor.

Wales Stats

(Player/Position/Played/Scored)

Wayne Hennessey GK 4 0

Boaz Myhill GK 1 0

Adam Henley RB 2 0

Adam Matthews RB 3 1

Ben Davies LB 3 0

Neil Taylor LB 2 0

Ashley Williams CB 4 0

Tom Lockyer CB 3 0

James Chester CB 2 0

Joel Lynch CB 1 0

Shaun MacDonald CM 3 1

Aaron Ramsey CM 3 0

Lee Lucas CM 4 1

Joe Allen CM 2(2) 0

Emyr Huws CM 2(1) 0

Jonathan Williams CAM 1(2) 0

Joe Ledley CM 1(2) 0

Gareth Bale RW 3 4

Sam Vokes ST 3 0

Tyler Roberts ST 4 0

Tom Bradshaw ST 1(2) 1

Tom Lawrence ST 2(1) 2

Marley Watkins ST 1(3) 2