The UEFA Nations League 2020/2021 Discussion Thread

[slaman29]

Come on Spain! You can do it again. They weren't the favorites before, and they again are not the favorites in the final, but I think they play now without fear, and their youngsters are so excited and so hungry, we can see a big game ahead of us. What do you think guys? 2-0 win should be easy if we can stop Mbappe right?

I know the French have better players of course but Spanish flair to win!

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[buwaytress]

So we all thought it was going to be a yawn fest in the semis, but they sure showed us different, didn't they?

Can't remember who said Spain was great odds at 4/1 and today they're 3/1 but I think I want to squeeze out some value from corners, so Spain for the win and both teams to get 3+ corners each, looks like a good one no?

[MinoRaiola]

In the Italy - Belgium match, I bet on the victory of the European champions. The Belgians played a good first half in the match against France, but in the second they were completely smashed. This can be bad for their morale and confidence. There is no need to convince anyone about the strength of the Italians team. Their additional advantage is that the final phase of the tournament is played in Italy.

The starting lineup is fixed. Mancini is also giving players a go who have not yet been played so often. That was to be expected and it's okay. Jorginho and De Bruyne will not play from the start. It will be similar to a strong training game. I'll take a look. Both played a great quarterfinal at the European Championships in the summer, which Italy won 2-1.

[Swordsoffreedom]

In the Italy - Belgium match, I bet on the victory of the European champions. The Belgians played a good first half in the match against France, but in the second they were completely smashed. This can be bad for their morale and confidence. There is no need to convince anyone about the strength of the Italians team. Their additional advantage is that the final phase of the tournament is played in Italy.

The starting lineup is fixed. Mancini is also giving players a go who have not yet been played so often. That was to be expected and it's okay. Jorginho and De Bruyne will not play from the start. It will be similar to a strong training game. I'll take a look. Both played a great quarterfinal at the European Championships in the summer, which Italy won 2-1.

I think I guess Belgium will win this. Belgium has got the name for choking at crucial times, we just saw that after France came back against them in the second half but there is no doubt that this Belgium side is stacked with quality players. Lukaku or Hazard on a good day will single-handedly win the match for them. They also have a very good midfield combination. Also, Italy is a very strong team to play against and also very hard to score against as they are very well structured on the defense.

[KTChampions]

I don't understand why there is such a big skew in the odds of Italy winning in live bets.
2,05 - 2,65 - 5,00
Belgium looks like an equal opponent and in the first half they even hit the crossbar (in fact, the Italian team was lucky). I do not see such a big advantage for the Italian national team on the field, which is reflected in the odds.

[Minor Miner]

Come on Spain! You can do it again. They weren't the favorites before, and they again are not the favorites in the final, but I think they play now without fear, and their youngsters are so excited and so hungry, we can see a big game ahead of us. What do you think guys? 2-0 win should be easy if we can stop Mbappe right?
I know the French have better players of course but Spanish flair to win!

I have to say that this Spain team is highly motivated and they are full of young talented players like Pedri, Gavi, Ferran Torres. But in this very match, I think that France will win it. The combination of Benzema and Mbappe upfront is very deadly and lethal and Pogba is a magician in the midfield. This season, his assisting capability seems to have flourished a lot so I'm hoping that Spain cannot contain both Benzema and Mbappe at the same time and one of them will make the difference in the match and make France the winner.

[W Jr.]

The third place match is being played in the Nations League. There was no goal in the first half of the Italy-Belgium match. Italy has 9 shots in the first half. Belgium was able to shoot 4 shots. Although Belgium has more possession of the ball, Italy should be playing more attacking. In the evening we will watch the Spain-France match. I think the champion team will be France.

[Masplanc]

A very tough game between Italy and Belgium,the home side defending very well, more of the possession been held by the visitors.
A possibility for Belgium scoring one goal here if they continue with such pressure on the home side... European champion's actually defending very well,may they expected much more,lukaku and hazard absent has actually be felt.
I'm certain the total number of goals won't exceed two or three goals.

[laurenB7742]

The third place match is being played in the Nations League. There was no goal in the first half of the Italy-Belgium match. Italy has 9 shots in the first half. Belgium was able to shoot 4 shots. Although Belgium has more possession of the ball, Italy should be playing more attacking. In the evening we will watch the Spain-France match. I think the champion team will be France.

Italy was able to score in the first minute of the second half. Italy is now leading by 1-0 goal. thanks to Nicolo Barella's goal. Belgium is not playing well in today's match. But Italy is playing well enough and attacking a lot better. However, in the match I bet on Italy winning. I think I will not lose money today.

[CLS63]

We have left really nice and competitive semi-final games behind in the UEFA Nations League.

First, Italy played against Spain in Giuseppe Meazza. Having an home game would be an advantage for them but it turned out that it wasn't. Italy were struggling a lot against Spain. I expected a boring game plan from Spain but they were actually pretty good. They had the control of the game and this helped them get a 2-1 win here. Of course I know that Italy got a red card but there was still no hope for them as their performance was poor.

After that, there was a Belgium - France game. This was even more delightful because France made an unbelievable comeback and won by 3-2 after Belgium ended the first half 2-0 ahead. This is really not easy task to do for any team. After seeing this, I already see France as the favourite team to win the title also.

Tonight in Giuseppe Meazza again, Spain and France will play a huge game against each other in the final stage. Like I said, my favourite side is definitely France. But still I expect a very competitive game.

[Altryist]

Italy was able to score in the first minute of the second half. Italy is now leading by 1-0 goal. thanks to Nicolo Barella's goal. Belgium is not playing well in today's match. But Italy is playing well enough and attacking a lot better. However, in the match I bet on Italy winning. I think I will not lose money today.

The score is already 2:0 at 65 minutes, I think that the Italian national team can be congratulated with the victory! About this victory for them will be a small consolation after the defeat in the match with the Spanish national team. Belgium play very well with middle-class teams, but still cannot learn to play with the strongest teams. Probably it takes more time to gain experience. I don’t know what to expect in the match between Spain and France, I think both teams will score goals, but the match can be without a lot of goals. The French team looks stronger for me, but they are too unpredictable in recent matches to expect a confident victory from them.

[Ebede]

Favourites for this game won actually, despite all of the possession from Belgium.
Italians defense was Superb although they had one at the back of there net.
They be doing pretty good,they deserve all three points from this game.

[dwminer1]

In the final match of the UEFA Nations League, I bet on the victory of the French. Their performance in the second half of the match against Belgium was really impressive. They completely smashed Roberto Martinez's team, which certainly gave them a lot of confidence. I admit that the victory of the Spaniards in the match against Italy was a surprise for me and I believe that they will succumb to their rival this time.

[LGD2Business]

Favourites for this game won actually, despite all of the possession from Belgium.
Italians defense was Superb although they had one at the back of there net.
They be doing pretty good,they deserve all three points from this game.

After being eliminated in the semi-finals, the third place match was not so important. In fact, this tournament replaces the friendly matches so I don't think the players care too much. Nobody gave 100% to the game. Italy was the favorite and won. But the most important game is the final game, which will be played in three hours. The odds are close there, but France seems to be a narrow favourite. It looks like whichever side's forwards do the most will win the game. France is more experienced team but Spanish young players achieved important things in past years too.

[snipie]

Favourites for this game won actually, despite all of the possession from Belgium.
Italians defense was Superb although they had one at the back of there net.
They be doing pretty good,they deserve all three points from this game.

Indeed there was no surprise here and EURO champion made it through Belgium with 2 goals to 1 especially that Lukaku wasn't playing with his team due to muscle overload, same goes for Hazard.
Approximately 3 hours left to the final game with France being the favorite vs Spain!

[skarais]

After being eliminated in the semi-finals, the third place match was not so important. In fact, this tournament replaces the friendly matches so I don't think the players care too much. Nobody gave 100% to the game. Italy was the favorite and won. But the most important game is the final game, which will be played in three hours. The odds are close there, but France seems to be a narrow favourite. It looks like whichever side's forwards do the most will win the game. France is more experienced team but Spanish young players achieved important things in past years too.

Every competition played between countries has prestige at stake so I don't think any of the players will not 100% play for their country. If indeed the players have that mindset then I believe they are really unprofessional as someone who defends their country. The UEFA National League is more than just a friendly match because of course this competition is one of the competitions organized by UEFA whose goal is to eliminate the number of international friendly match. But it's true that there may always be pros and cons to the format used.

Portugal was the first country to host this tournament and also became title winners in 2018-2019 when they beat the Netherlands in the final 1-0. This year Spain vs France will be fighting for the title which will take place a few hours from now in Italy. Spain will win this title and I think I will also support them compared to France.

[LGD2Business]

Every competition played between countries has prestige at stake so I don't think any of the players will not 100% play for their country. If indeed the players have that mindset then I believe they are really unprofessional as someone who defends their country. The UEFA National League is more than just a friendly match because of course this competition is one of the competitions organized by UEFA whose goal is to eliminate the number of international friendly match. But it's true that there may always be pros and cons to the format used.

I don't agree that, it's not unprofessional behavior, it's a known fact that some players don't give their best in national matches. I find it pretty normal as they don't do it for the money and considering long and hard fixture they have to face in club matches we can't blame any of them. They need to stay healthy and get as less damage as possible in national games. It's very frustrating to see your best players get injured in these matches and your club lose points because of that. Long distance travels in short time frames also hurt players. Anyway back to final match discussion, I think Spain will win it. Ferran Torres will be the top goalscorer, he already had 6 goals but having one more put him alone at the top.

[DIA7]

Belgium lost to Italy with two goals to finish fourth in the European Nations League.
This generation that owns De Bruyne, Lukaku, Courtois, Hazard and many other names in the best leagues in the world came out empty-handed from all his participation almost 10 years ago, the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup and then the quarter-finals of the Euro 2016 then third place in the 2018 World Cup and a new quarter-final in Euro 2020 The last chance is the Qatar World Cup 2022,
But with Roberto Martinez I doubt we will achieve something different from what has been achieved since 2014.

[skarais]

I don't agree that, it's not unprofessional behavior, it's a known fact that some players don't give their best in national matches. I find it pretty normal as they don't do it for the money and considering long and hard fixture they have to face in club matches we can't blame any of them. They need to stay healthy and get as less damage as possible in national games. It's very frustrating to see your best players get injured in these matches and your club lose points because of that. Long distance travels in short time frames also hurt players.

It's true that we have the fact that some players don't play 100% for their country and that's actually a huge loss for their own country. It doesn't matter if they are concerned with money and their careers at their respective clubs, but nationalism must come first. But I think that's just a bonus of a few things that could be the reason why sometimes the top-ranked countries in the world don't make it to the title in a tournament.

Anyway back to final match discussion, I think Spain will win it. Ferran Torres will be the top goalscorer, he already had 6 goals but having one more put him alone at the top.

I will also be with you as a supporter of Spain today to win the title. I just hope France isn't as crazy as the second half against Belgium a few days ago. Ferran Torres only needs 1 goal or at least playing well to be selected as the top scorer of the tournament because Haaland also has the same number of goals as him.

[onecall123]

Italy 2-1 Belgium
In the second half, both teams compete, but it is Italy that prevails and they take third place. The trouble with Belgium is not the lack of high-quality players, but the absence of a winning mentality. It may differ, but there is no winning mentality in the Belgian team. Congratulations to Jorgi and his teammates. Poor Belgium. The world number one should drop. Belgium may now step down and hand over the top position to Italy.