The UEFA Nations League 2020/2021 Discussion Thread

[alpamar99]

Spain with a solid and good game. Won against the Czech Republic and now top of the table. Pablo Sarabia did after 3 minutes what Spain tried to do the whole game. It was 2:0 and after that nothing much happened. Portugal lost against Switzerland, so Spain is now number 1. The next match is against Switzerland on 24.09.

At the moment they seem to be confident with some of their young players but on the other hand it looks like Portugal will not let things like this go easy especially they lost a match with most of the rotation players who are focused on making their mental and flying hours increase.
I think it will be very good to see the next match of this group.

[EdenHazard]

It was a really bad day for Portugal indeed. Switzerland weren't a very challenging opponent for them normally but they managed to surprise Portugal a lot by this 1-0 victory. The winning goal came in the 2nd minute already and I'm still surprised how Portugal weren't able to answer in the whole game. Ronaldo's absence also affected them badly surely but they still had very good players in the team though. Spain didn't experience a similar result against Czech Republic at least and it was an easy win by 2-0.

Any international games should not taken seriously when you see the bookies favorited the one with better squad .. there is no guarantee as national team had limited competition which makes them won't perform efficiently unless of course a world cup where everybody wanted that trophy .. they would perform in maximum effort.

I always avoiding this type of games , because i know something like this often happened , i prefer betting on the oposite with higher odds!

[lulumiya]

I really appreciated Spain's effort in this game. I expected a tougher game than this truthfully but they got a comfortable win by 2-0. When it comes to Portugal, they weren't very good and this cost them three points at the end. Spain are leading the group now while Portugal are following them right behind. Tomorrow we have a really nice game between France and Croatia. France are still moving on without a victory in their group and this is a tough game too. I still think they will finally get that win.

[AndySt]

It was a really bad day for Portugal indeed. Switzerland weren't a very challenging opponent for them normally but they managed to surprise Portugal a lot by this 1-0 victory. The winning goal came in the 2nd minute already and I'm still surprised how Portugal weren't able to answer in the whole game. Ronaldo's absence also affected them badly surely but they still had very good players in the team though. Spain didn't experience a similar result against Czech Republic at least and it was an easy win by 2-0.

I think that in addition to the factor of the quick goal scored by the Swiss national team at 55 seconds, I also think that the time and number of matches played a big role in the relatively sensational results in this League of Nations draw, when the head coaches of the teams are forced to apply the principles of rotation of the squad. Also, do not forget that many of the leading players of the national teams are already tired after the last season and their thoughts are already on a long-awaited vacation. Specifically about these matches, that Switzerland, that Spain unsuccessfully held the first matches and are now trying their best to catch up and fix the situation. Spain, for example, has already come out on top in the group.

[Jody.Drummer]

No Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal are losing to Switzerland by a goal and we are still in the first half, in my opinion I believe Portugal even without Cristiano Ronaldo has the fire power squad to challenge any team in the world, but there is more thing he and his like (Leonel Messi) brings to every team they play for, I don’t know the reason for his absence today and even if Portugal would end up turning the game around, the vide Cristiano Ronaldo brings to Portugal can never be matched.

I think that in this match Santos really wanted to rest a lot of his players because this kind of rotation is also important, apart from maintaining fitness it is also good for young players to have more experience there.
I don't think this is a big problem because this defeat didn't really have a big impact because they are still in 2nd position but the positive side is that the confidence of the young players who are given the confidence to play will obviously increase even if they lose this match.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Cristiano Ronaldo was not in the team, and Portugal lost. I am not saying that Portugal played badly. They played very well and attacked a lot. But still they could not able to score. Players are more confident when Ronaldo is in the team, which makes their overall gameplay more beautiful. Although Ronaldo's performance has been poor, Ronaldo's presence in the squad has had a profound effect on Portugal's team performance.
They won the first match against Switzerland 4-0. The Czech Republic won 2-0. And Ronaldo was absent from two matches, and Portugal failed to win both.

[bering]

2 total shot on goals during the match from Swiss and one of them has successfully makes Swiss get the goal i think if we look at the statistics Swiss slightly lucky because from only 2 attempts to score goals they can win the match and Portugal also seems losing their focus because early goal and no Cristiano Ronaldo in the team makes them cannot created good opportunity to equalized and after this result Swiss has just open their chance to survive in this competition

[hd49728]

Cristiano Ronaldo was not in the team, and Portugal lost. I am not saying that Portugal played badly. They played very well and attacked a lot. But still they could not able to score.

When Ronaldo is in, and Portugal lose, people say it is because of Ronaldo. Now, they lose without Ronaldo, and people say they lose because lf his absence. I would like to see a fairer recognition for Ronaldo. He is human and can have bad and good matches. To be fair, people should not blame all bad things that cause defeats on Ronaldo. As a single player, he is not responsible for success or defeat of a whole team.

Players are more confident when Ronaldo is in the team, which makes their overall gameplay more beautiful. Although Ronaldo's performance has been poor, Ronaldo's presence in the squad has had a profound effect on Portugal's team performance.

I agree. It is like what Ibrahimovic did in AC Milan. His return boosts the general confidence of young players there. Then after three seasons, they just won their first Scudetto after one decade. Ibrahimovic is an important catalyst for their success.

Portugal fans should treat Ronaldo with same respect AC Milan fans treat Ibrahimovic.

[onecall123]

Cristiano Ronaldo was not in the team, and Portugal lost. I am not saying that Portugal played badly. They played very well and attacked a lot. But still they could not able to score. Players are more confident when Ronaldo is in the team, which makes their overall gameplay more beautiful. Although Ronaldo's performance has been poor, Ronaldo's presence in the squad has had a profound effect on Portugal's team performance.
They won the first match against Switzerland 4-0. The Czech Republic won 2-0. And Ronaldo was absent from two matches, and Portugal failed to win both.

Ronaldo is paramount to the party, so no Ronaldo, no party! A few days ago, Portugal beat the same Switzerland by 4-0 scoreline, but now Portugal cannot beat the same Switzerland team. Switzerland is nothing to be underestimated, and they seized the opportunity when Ronaldo was absent. It is the result that counts, not how you play the game. I am sorry for Portugal.

[indah rezqi]

I really appreciated Spain's effort in this game. I expected a tougher game than this truthfully but they got a comfortable win by 2-0. When it comes to Portugal, they weren't very good and this cost them three points at the end. Spain are leading the group now while Portugal are following them right behind. Tomorrow we have a really nice game between France and Croatia. France are still moving on without a victory in their group and this is a tough game too. I still think they will finally get that win.

Statistical records Spain won 3 and drew 1 over Czech Republic from 4 matches. The efforts of the Spanish team in the UEFA Nation League tournament are indeed extraordinary. They came back after two games with a draw to be able to control the group standings because in the other match Portugal suffered a surprise defeat against Switzerland.

In the match against the Czech Republic, Spain performed very well and was able to control the game up to 75%. I think the efforts of the Spanish players to win over the Czechs cannot be separated from the lessons learned from the previous match.

[Mr.right85]

Other matches saw Erling Braut Haaland scored twice as as Norway won Sweden 3goals to 2. Slovenia and Serbia played out a 2:2 draw... northern Ireland and Cyprus played a 2:2 draw... Greece were 2:0 winners over Kosovo... Georgia and Bulgaria played out a goalless draw... Northern Macedonia were 4:0 winners over Gibraltar..and Malta won San Marino 1:0.. it was a night of drama and excitement..

[hahay]

I wonder why every time Portugal played whether it was a win or a loss, they would always associate it with Ronaldo. Whereas, football is about many players and not just one player, this is the Portugal team and not Ronaldo's team. Whether there is Ronaldo in the squad or not, Portugal is still a football team, instead of always linking it with Ronaldo why can't we accept a good game from Switzerland. I hope this era or dependence can end because after all, every team will always have times where they are good and bad and that will happen.

[joker_josue]

I wonder why every time Portugal played whether it was a win or a loss, they would always associate it with Ronaldo. Whereas, football is about many players and not just one player, this is the Portugal team and not Ronaldo's team. Whether there is Ronaldo in the squad or not, Portugal is still a football team, instead of always linking it with Ronaldo why can't we accept a good game from Switzerland. I hope this era or dependence can end because after all, every team will always have times where they are good and bad and that will happen.

Of course, Portugal is not just Ronaldo. But making a comparison between the two teams, from Portugal and Switzerland, we can see that Portugal has a better set of players. What we unfortunately see is that Portugal has an attitude on the pitch, which does not reflect the quality of the players they have. And unfortunately this is even more noticeable when Ronaldo doesn't play.

And of course we have to congratulate Switzerland for having played a good game.

[Gianluca95]

Swiss has done a good match yesterday evening, a really defensive match.

Anyway, Portugal is not only CR7 (is also ridicolously to say it because Ronaldo is at the end of his career), they were only unlucky, so, maybe will go better next time.

Congratulation anyway to the switzerland 

[3meek]

I've lost more money than I've made since the Nations League matches began because it's such a bad competition, the players don't seem to be taking it seriously, and the managers frequently do squad rotation, making predictions impossible, just look at France, England, and Italy. It's insane, lol.

It is probably possible to use predictions in reverse... For example, today the leader of the standings, Portugal will play against the underdog Switzerland... I dare to guess that Switzerland will win this game... By the way the bookies know something and give very high odds for Portugal's win 2.2...

Portugal is the only serious team in the competition, playing as if they want to win every game. Switzerland is a good team, but I doubt they will be able to get past Portugal.
Portugal to score first @ 1.73

LOL... My method of picking a winner worked perfectly... Which is surprising exactly in the match between Switzerland and Portugal... But no kidding, I found such a high odds on a Portugal win suspicious, I'm sure a lot of people fell for this bookmakers trick and lost money...

[suryana]

It was a really bad day for Portugal indeed. Switzerland weren't a very challenging opponent for them normally but they managed to surprise Portugal a lot by this 1-0 victory. The winning goal came in the 2nd minute already and I'm still surprised how Portugal weren't able to answer in the whole game. Ronaldo's absence also affected them badly surely but they still had very good players in the team though. Spain didn't experience a similar result against Czech Republic at least and it was an easy win by 2-0.

maybe this day was a nightmare for Portugal where they had to lose to hosts Switzerland with a narrow score of 1-0 even Portugal had to concede in the first minute through Haris Seferovic's goal where the goal lasted until the end of the match which made Portugal have to go home with a head down, where in the other match Spain managed to beat the Czech republic with a score of 2-0 the result made Spain successfully climb to the top of the standings by one point ahead of Portugal in second place

[muratsink]

No Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal are losing to Switzerland by a goal and we are still in the first half, in my opinion I believe Portugal even without Cristiano Ronaldo has the fire power squad to challenge any team in the world, but there is more thing he and his like (Leonel Messi) brings to every team they play for, I don’t know the reason for his absence today and even if Portugal would end up turning the game around, the vide Cristiano Ronaldo brings to Portugal can never be matched.

I think that in this match Santos really wanted to rest a lot of his players because this kind of rotation is also important, apart from maintaining fitness it is also good for young players to have more experience there.
I don't think this is a big problem because this defeat didn't really have a big impact because they are still in 2nd position but the positive side is that the confidence of the young players who are given the confidence to play will obviously increase even if they lose this match.

Portugal's defeat in the Swiss clan was not surprising, especially since Fernando Santo had reserved the core players and even Cristiano Ronaldo was not on the bench. Moreover.UEFA nations like was only a friendly tournament organized by UEFA, so it is only natural that the core players did not play fully in the tournament. this match, however Portugal could avenge their defeat when they met Spain where they are currently only one point adrift in the standings table because at the same time Spain also managed to beat the Czech republic where they are currently only one point adrift in the standings table because in the same match during the same match Spain also managed to beat the Czech republic

[uswa56]

It was a really bad day for Portugal indeed. Switzerland weren't a very challenging opponent for them normally but they managed to surprise Portugal a lot by this 1-0 victory. The winning goal came in the 2nd minute already and I'm still surprised how Portugal weren't able to answer in the whole game. Ronaldo's absence also affected them badly surely but they still had very good players in the team though. Spain didn't experience a similar result against Czech Republic at least and it was an easy win by 2-0.

maybe this day was a nightmare for Portugal where they had to lose to hosts Switzerland with a narrow score of 1-0 even Portugal had to concede in the first minute through Haris Seferovic's goal where the goal lasted until the end of the match which made Portugal have to go home with a head down, where in the other match Spain managed to beat the Czech republic with a score of 2-0 the result made Spain successfully climb to the top of the standings by one point ahead of Portugal in second place

and again something unexpected happened, on paper Portugal should have won the match because the quality of their players was better but the results were different. conceded in the early minutes and Portugal was unable to reply, no goals were created again until the end of the match 1-0 for Switzerland's victory.
I lost my bet again.
I really don't understand why strong teams lose so often in this UEFA Nations League tournament.

[leea-1334]

Cristiano Ronaldo was not in the team, and Portugal lost. I am not saying that Portugal played badly. They played very well and attacked a lot. But still they could not able to score. Players are more confident when Ronaldo is in the team, which makes their overall gameplay more beautiful. Although Ronaldo's performance has been poor, Ronaldo's presence in the squad has had a profound effect on Portugal's team performance.
They won the first match against Switzerland 4-0. The Czech Republic won 2-0. And Ronaldo was absent from two matches, and Portugal failed to win both.

They already thought they had some important points I guess from when he played,,, 2 goals and an assist in his last appearance. What a nice problem to have though right? Keep the most important goalscorer and prevent the team from trying out new formations with new players? Or train the team for the future but risk losing out on a tournament.

I believe being Nations League, the second option was more attractive

[Boristhecat]

and again something unexpected happened, on paper Portugal should have won the match because the quality of their players was better but the results were different. conceded in the early minutes and Portugal was unable to reply, no goals were created again until the end of the match 1-0 for Switzerland's victory.
I lost my bet again.
I really don't understand why strong teams lose so often in this UEFA Nations League tournament.

Same thoughts. And to be honest, I thought that maybe without Ronaldo, the Portuguese team would show a more relaxed game and win again.
On the one hand, such results allow you to make money on bets on outsiders, but apart from betting, you want to watch intense games of motivated teams, and not friendly games where teams play poorly even if the game is of great tournament importance.