In Group 1 of UEFA’s 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification, two central traditional forces in Italy and Switzerland qualified ahead of Portugal and Scotland.

With the dissolution of Yugoslav, Czech and Soviet states, this kind of group now would be impossible, especially with the expansion from 24 to 32 teams, but if it popped up now, this result would be shocking for Portugal’s absence.

In 1994, the bigger shock perhaps came as Scotland failed to qualify for their first World Cup since 1970.

Switzerland had been at one fewer World Cup and, under the stewardship of Roy Hodgson, qualified instead in second place, whilst Italy never failed to qualify for a World Cup and did so in top spot.

Although, that isn’t to say that their position at the tournament was confirmed matchdays in advance.

Going into the final matchday, Portugal travelled to the San Siro whilst Scotland and Switzerland were expected to pick up the wins over the group’s whipping boys Malta and Estonia respectively, and did so.

The win took Switzerland onto 15 points and even in a world of two points for a win, the task was simple for both Italy and Portugal: win.

A draw would be enough to send Italy through on goals scored, the same method that split Ireland and Denmark, and barred the European champions from the tournament.

Meanwhile, whoever lost were to stew on it for another four years.

Dino Baggio flagrantly stuck the ball in the net 7 minutes from time in an offside position. It was adjudged to be a valid goal, somehow, despite the midfielder being a few yards offside and Italy would go all the way to the final.

Portugal, meanwhile, would have to wait until 2002 to play in a World Cup and have yet to play in a World Cup final.

#Portugal #FIFAWorldCup


JOIN THE TEAM! Donate to our Patreon page for just £1, for bonus 5 days a week content such as your what if ideas made a reality, football podcasts and Football Manager videos: http://patreon.com/whatiffootball

WHAT IF FOOTBALL IS PART OF THE SPORTS SOCIAL PODCAST NETWORK: You can find our Noughties Nostalgia Podcast and other bonus podcasts, three days a week on the Sports Social Podcast Network, and everywhere else where you consume podcasts!: https://podcast.sport-social.co.uk/podcast/what-if-football/

FOLLOW US!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatIf_YouTube

Voice: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Illustrations: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Words: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Edit: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)

What If Football is a form of footballing storytelling that takes the audience down a different path to our current reality.

What If Football covers football in all forms, from the Premier League to the Champions League, European football and the EFL as well as international tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championships.

What scenarios would you like What If Football to cover? Please let us know in the comments section.