“Open wide for some soccer!
“The Fairer World Cup Final is coming to Fuller FM! It’s all here – fast-kickin’, low-scorin’, and ties? You bet!
“You’ll see all your favourite soccer stars – like Bellingham, Bellingham II, Sanabria, and Enciso – and they’ll all be signin’ autographs!
“This match will determine once and for all which nation is the greatest on Earth – Ireland or Paraguay?”
[Clears throat] Anyway… welcome to the final chapter of the Fairer World Cup.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve used Football Manager 2024 to find out what would happen at a World Cup where players represented the weakest national teams they were available for. You can revisit all the previous chapters right here.
After four fierce Quarter Finals and two thrilling Semi Finals, we now have our Finalists. Today, we will crown the new kings of international football…
3RD-PLACE PLAY-OFF: NIGERIA vs ARGENTINA
(18 July – Monterrey)
…but first, we have Victoria Coren Mitchell’s favourite match in any series of “Only Connect” – the 3rd-place play-off. Nigeria and Argentina had arguably been the two best teams at this Fairer World Cup, yet only one of them could leave with a set of medals – and bronze medals at that.
With both sides obviously gutted to have missed the Final, the first half was not a classic by any means. Argentina had more possession but only one shot – an Alexis Mac Allister effort that was blocked by Bright Osayi-Samuel. At the other end, Nigeria had four lower-quality shots, but the only one to seriously worry Emiliano Martínez was a header from Karim Adeyemi.
When the second half got underway, it was the Super Eagles who soared highest. Five minutes after coming on as a half-time sub, Joshua Zirkzee kick-started his late (if unsuccessful) dash for the Golden Shoe by tapping in his fifth Fairer World Cup goal from an easy Bukayo Saka cross. Credit also to Ebere Eze for that juicy through-ball to Saka beforehand.
Argentina could’ve been forgiven for wishing they could’ve just gone home after the Semis, but they did at least put up a fight later on. 20-year-old winger Santiago López had a decent scoring chance caught by Nigerian keeper Noah Atubolu before another of La Albiceleste’s emerging talents – Dylan Aquino – won a penalty off Osayi-Samuel. Up stepped Lautaro Martínez, with the chance to banish his penalty demons from the previous week…
…but history repeated itself when Atubolu saved! Lautaro’s probably never taking a penalty again after this. His 12-yard horror shows summed up this Argentinian anti-climax, as Nigeria pulled out a deserved 1-0 win to finish 3rd at the Fairer World Cup.
THE FINAL: REPUBLIC OF IRELAND vs PARAGUAY
(19 July – Atlanta)
This might not be the Fairer World Cup Final many of you predicted, but it’s certainly a Final that befits a truly bizarre tournament. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta – which is only the 7th-biggest stadium at this tournament, by the way – would host a showdown between two teams who only just scraped through into the knockout rounds after finishing 3rd in their groups.
The Republic of Ireland – and their band of English-born superstars – headed to North America with high hopes. Those expectations were somewhat tempered when they drew with Suriname, lost narrowly to Italy, and then fell behind in a must-win Group J decider against DR Congo. The Boys in Green were 20 minutes away from finishing bottom of the group until Harry Kane’s late double turned the match around and sent them through.
That earned them a Round 2 clash with co-hosts Mexico, which they were on course to grab a 2-1 win from until they conceded an injury-time equaliser. However, they held their nerves to beat the Mexicans 8-7 on penalties, before ruthlessly ending Thailand’s fairytale run in the Last 16.
Ireland continued to steadily improve from game to game, with a 2-1 win over fellow dark horses Türkiye setting up a Semi Final against an all-star Nigeria team who had been in devastating form. Even without the suspended Declan Rice, Lucien Favre’s boys got off to a flier and ultimately won 3-1 – taking them to the cusp of achieving Irish sporting immortality.
The Boys in Green line up in an aggressive 4-2-4, and they like to press high before attacking with pace. Blessed with the creative talents of Jude Bellingham, James Maddison and Conor Gallagher, they would now strongly fancy their chances of bringing that World Cup trophy to Dublin.
Meanwhile, Paraguay were probably the unlikeliest World Cup finalists in history, but they were definitely the luckiest. After failing to qualify automatically, they needed to beat Trinidad & Tobago in an intercontinental play-off just to make it to the tournament. Even once they arrived, they were far from convincing.
After scraping a 3-2 win over Saudi Arabia, and then losing their next two matches in Group J, Paraguay narrowly made it to the knockout rounds as statistically the 29th-best team in the Group Stage. They then rode their luck against Canada before knocking them out on penalties, after which Luis Amarilla gave them an extra-time win in an ill-tempered Last 16 clash with the Netherlands.
Perhaps Paraguay’s best performance came in the Quarter Finals, when Antonio Sanabria’s brace got them past Egypt 2-1. Then came a Semi Final against their big neighbours Argentina, who almost completely dominated the match… and yet La Albirroja refused to yield. Goalkeeper Carlos Coronel made a vital penalty save late in the second half before Adam Bareiro’s header right at the start of extra-time clinched an unbelievable 3-2 win over the holders.
This clearly is a team greater than the sum of its parts. Argentine head coach Daniel Garnero deploys a basic 4-4-2 and likes his team to soak up pressure before hitting the opposition on the break.
Prior to the tournament, Paraguay had about as much chance of winning the World Cup as Leicester City had of winning the Premier League… in 2026. And yet here they were – one step away from completing an international smash-and-grab to rival Greece at Euro 2004.
So this was it: the Republic of Ireland versus Paraguay, for all the marbles. One of these teams would leave the Fairer World Cup as the new, true champions of global football.
Favre made some big calls with Ireland’s line-up before kick-off, with neither Bellingham brother starting. Jude made way for James Maddison on the right wing, while Declan Rice came back from suspension to partner Conor Gallagher in the midfield double pivot. Ireland’s wily Swiss coach also reshuffled his defence, which had already conceded nine goals in seven matches.
As for Paraguay, Garnero made SEVEN changes to the team that beat Argentina – retaining only the two centre-backs and the two wingers. Juan Espínola started in place of regular keeper Carlos Coronel, while Adam Bareiro’s extra-time winner was rewarded with a start up front alongside four-goal man Antonio Sanabria.
After the playing of the Paraguayan and Irish national anthems, Japan’s Ayano Yanagi – the first woman to officiate a men’s World Cup Final – blew her whistle to start the match. It was pretty slow to get going, as the first few attacks from either team were flagged offside, before Rice and centre-half Andrew Omobamidele flicked a couple of early Irish headers over the bar.
The first significant moment came after 21 minutes. Irish left-back Liam Scales – one of many mid signings from my equally mediocre FM24 Millwall series – made his biggest contribution to Fuller FM yet when he was fouled by Sanabria 25 yards from the Paraguayan goal. Up stepped Maddison, who bent his free-kick plum into the postage stamp.
The Republic of Ireland had scored the opening goal in the World Cup Final, and perhaps there would be more to come? Just six minutes later, a fantastic through-ball by Evan Ferguson presented Maddison with the chance to score again… but he bent it agonisingly against the upright.
Ferguson set up another great chance for the Boys in Green in the 38th minute. Paraguay’s defence were caught napping by a brilliant long ball from Irish keeper Caoimhin Kelleher, which broke through the offside trap and sent Ferguson virtually clean through. The young forward patiently waited for his strike partner to join him in the penalty box before squaring the ball his way, and Harry Kane did the rest. 2-0 to Ireland!
Only then did Paraguay start to wake up. Almost straight from the kick-off, Pepe surged down the right wing before crossing to Sanabria, whose header flew horribly off target. That was a blow to La Roja’s psyche, but an even bigger setback came when midfielder Richard Sánchez went down injured just before half-time. Substitute Damián Bobadilla and his compatriots would face a huge challenge if they were to get back in contention following the interval.
Paraguay started decently enough, with left-winger Alejandro Romero Gamarra (aka ‘Kaku’) fizzing a drive inches wide in the 55th minute. The introductions of strikers Luis Amarilla and Isidro Pitta and left-winger Julio Enciso had also brought some much-needed energy to a stale Albirroja attack, though they were still struggling to test Kelleher.
Favre also freshened things up as Ireland closed in on a historic triumph. Jobe Bellingham was one of their five substitutes, but Jude was not – instead being left on the bench. Mind you, the older Bellingham was clearly delighted for his kid brother when Jobe finished off this neat one-two with Jack Grealish in the 77th minute. Paraguay’s defence had been ripped open again, and now it was 3-0.
The Guinness was now flowing freely in Irish pubs across the Emerald Isle – and, indeed, the United States. The Republic of Ireland were about to complete Jack Charlton’s USA ’94 legacy and win their very first World Cup on American soil.
Paraguay, to their credit, had fought valiantly and kept on doing so until the end. But having ridden the crest of a wave to the Final, they ultimately had been no match for their opponents – failing to muster even a single shot on target against a solid Irish defence who, incredibly, kept their first clean sheet of the tournament.
And so the referee blew for full-time with Ireland running out 3-0 winners. Kane, Rice, Maddison, Grealish, Gallagher, the Bellingham brothers, Anthony Gordon – all magnificent Englishman who could all call themselves world champions. Football had indeed come home, albeit to the tune of “Irish Rover” rather than “Three Lions”.
All that was left to do was for Gianni Infantino to present the World Cup trophy to Irish captain John Egan – or, rather, let his buddy Donald do the honours. Because FM24’s trophy presentation graphics are a bit naff, I have recreated the moment in a more modern-looking graphics engine.
Let the world’s biggest St Patrick’s Day party begin! [Erm, it’s the middle of July. -Ed]
WORLD CUP STATISTICS & RECORDS
STATISTICS
RECORDS
WORLD CUP AWARDS
GOLDEN BALL
Harry Kane (Republic of Ireland)
GOLDEN SHOE
Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
DREAM TEAM
BEST YOUNG PLAYER
Evan Ferguson (Republic of Ireland)
YASHIN AWARD FOR BEST GOALKEEPER
Caoimhin Kelleher (Republic of Ireland)
GOAL OF THE TOURNAMENT
#3. Mohamed Belloumi (ALGERIA, vs Angola – Round 2)
#2. Angel Gomes (ANGOLA, vs Uruguay – Group Stage)
#1. Davide Calabria (ITALY, vs Suriname – Group Stage)
EPILOGUE
After 104 matches, 325 goals, five red cards, zero appearances from Lionel Messi, and unprecedented levels of ticket touting, the Fairer World Cup has now ended. The last few weeks really have been an incredible ride.
When I came up with this Fairer World Cup idea at the start of this year, I wanted to find out what would happen if the playing field was levelled out a bit more – with more players being made available to lesser nations. Of course, part of me also worried that we’d wind up with just another Argentina vs France Final, and that this experiment would feel a little pointless.
But it didn’t turn out that way at all. In fact, France didn’t even qualify for the tournament! Neither did Belgium, or Portugal (though Cristiano Ronaldo’s sudden retirement might have screwed them, to be fair).
There were more surprises in store once we got to the tournament itself. Mali and Poland both floundered in the Group Stage, and Chile fell apart after leaving their most experienced players at home. By contrast, Jamaica flew through the group phase and looked unstoppable… until they contrived to lose their first knockout game on penalties to debutants Thailand, who enjoyed an unbelievable run to the Last 16.
The three co-hosts – the United States, Canada and Mexico – all fell short at Round 2, with the latter two losing penalty shoot-outs while the Americans conceded a late winner against Egypt. Nigeria lit up the tournament with a couple of thrilling victories over DR Congo and Algeria before blowing Germany away at the Quarter Final stage.
Argentina enjoyed serene progress to the Semi Finals – swatting aside Senegal, Denmark and bookmakers’ favourites Spain. Once there, they should have made light work of a Paraguay side who’d grafted through the tournament, never looking much more than average. But then Lautaro Martínez forgot how to score penalties before La Albiceleste’s challenge crumbled in extra-time.
Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland pulled themselves from the brink of an early exit and – like any good tournament side – upped their game with every passing round. Having accounted for Türkiye in the Quarters and a very talented Nigerian side in the Semis, the Boys in Green saved their very best for last with a dominant Final victory.
In the end, Ireland are deserving winners of the Fairer World Cup. They might have failed to qualify for the real-life finals this year, but this proves how strong they could be if they could make full use of their Irish diaspora. Troy Parrott and Sammie Szmodics are decent footballers, but they’re hardly Kane or Grealish.
Oh, and full disclosure – I am 1/8th Irish (my mum is technically eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland through an Irish grandma). There may well be allegations of favouritism at Fuller FM HQ, but I obviously did not edit any player data outside of their nationalities. Besides, Declan Rice is already the best player in world football, and I firmly reject any arguments to the contrary.
And for all FM24’s match engine annoyances and other quirks, I’ve actually enjoyed following this tournament all the way through from its opening game to the Final. It might even have served up more entertainment than the actual World Cup, which will probably just be won by whichever team scores the most set-pieces.
And yet I feel the ‘Fairer World Cup’ could have been fairer still. The fact that some teams had two days’ more rest than their opponents before the Quarter Finals undoubtedly made a big difference to the results – not least when Nigeria thrashed Germany 4-0.
Both Finalists making it all the way despite only finishing 3rd in their groups only confirmed my dislike of the expanded 48-team format. I have always preferred the old 32-team Group Stage, with just the top two teams in each group progressing. With a bit more time, and more knowledge of FM’s cumbersome pre-game editor, I would probably have found a way to change back to that.
Likewise, limiting players to only representing the weakest national teams available to them wasn’t always the fairest approach. For example, Dominic Solanke didn’t get a look-in with Nigeria and actually would’ve been better off if he’d simply remained English. Likewise, Belgium maybe would’ve stood more chance of qualifying if they could’ve picked Dodi Lukébakio and Julien Duranville, who won zero caps for DR Congo between them.
If I was to run another Fairer World Cup in the future, I’d take any suggestions that would make more teams competitive, while also getting more top-level players involved. Perhaps I could allow each nation to ‘protect’ one or two star players who would otherwise have to switch allegiance? Or maybe I could restrict the number of ‘naturalised’ citizens who can play for a certain country, which would stop Spain filling their squad with South Americans?
I could maybe have run the FWC on Versus Mode (like Adrian does for the Draft World Cup) to limit the impact of older players retiring before the tournament. However, this would likely have involved me personally managing some if not all the teams, which is not really practical or fair. Also, Versus Mode has been removed from FM26 and won’t be coming back any time soon, so it’s a non-starter for any future FWCs anyway.
Any and all suggestions are welcome. Feel free to leave a comment below, or message me on Threads or Bluesky.
Thanks to everyone who has followed the Fairer World Cup over the past six weeks.
This is the third season in a row in which I’ve written content on Football Manager 2024, but I swear this time that I am definitely, DEFINITELY done with it now. I can’t be doing another year of this.
Despite the recent World Cup update, Football Manager 26 is still in an unacceptably poor state, so I don’t know what my next project on Fuller FM will be, let alone when it will be. I’ll probably take an extended break from blogging, and then maybe come back for Football Manager 27 – if it’s any good, that is.
In the meantime, enjoy the real-life 2026 World Cup – if you so wish. I’ll see you around.
Fuller FM 