The UEFA Nations League 2020/2021 Discussion Thread

[3meek]

Pity my multi bet lost because Spain beat Portugal... I was sure Portugal would be the winner of this match, as was Switzerland against the Czech Republic... But luck was not on my side... I also liked the game of Armenia and Ireland... It was probably the most interesting match yesterday... The Armenians are a hot, mountainous nation and it's a shame they lost at the end of the match due to red cards...

[Jody.Drummer]

England played well. But unfortunately, due to some mistakes, they could not get full points. England's defense was not strong enough. Maguire's performance in particular was worse. If the England team is not able to strengthen their defense, then it seems that we will not get a good performance from them in the next World Cup. England coach Gareth Southgate should continue to strengthen his defense and midfield. England's attack is still quite strong.

What I wonder why England continue to entrust their defense to Harry Maguire? Is there no other player better than him? Lol
We all know what Maguire's performance at Manchester United was like, and slowly his position was replaced by a new pair, but strangely he was always trusted. I wouldn't say this final result was absolutely Maguire's fault, but at least the coach knows the needs of the team and what to do with their defence. Without a win and having to be the country with the lowest points is something disappointing.

[Yurkov]

Pity my multi bet lost because Spain beat Portugal... I was sure Portugal would be the winner of this match, as was Switzerland against the Czech Republic... But luck was not on my side... I also liked the game of Armenia and Ireland... It was probably the most interesting match yesterday... The Armenians are a hot, mountainous nation and it's a shame they lost at the end of the match due to red cards...

Spain had more of the ball in their possession. However, given the quality of Spain's play, they should have scored more goals, which they failed to do. But Portugal tried their best. Ronaldo is unable to return to his previous form and this off form has affected their team. Portugal also missed some chances. Spain's fortunes changed at the last moment.

[KTChampions]

Regardless poor performance by Maguire indeed England has almost made epic come back because after conceded 2 goals they can scoring 3 goals only in 12 minutes but unfortunately they weren't lucky enough and Kai Havertz can equalized the score but overall compared to England performance from previous matches i think this is one of their best performances in this competition although they needed to improved their defense because upcoming competition will be more hard for them and it's time to Southgate to find other players instead of Maguire because it is not wise to put the player into starting eleven while that player is not at his best performance

Müller said after the game that Real Madrid is the main role model for the German national team. This was said due to the fact that Germany was able to bounce back after they conceded 3 goals. As a Real Madrid fan I am pleased to hear this plus Müller really deserves respect as he says what he thinks and not what he should because of corporate solidarity or as a Bayern player which is always a direct competitor of Real.
In general, this is a good result for Germany, I hope they are starting to return to their usual level.

[n0ne]

Finally with good performance from every team the UEFA Nations League for this year have come to an end. The next set of games were scheduled to take place during the month of june 2023. This time every match is close and nothing can be said a one sided game. Also more unexpected results have come out of the matches. Even in the last match more people expected win from Portugal, and the last minute miracle changed everything.

[CryptocurencyKing]

Pity my multi bet lost because Spain beat Portugal... I was sure Portugal would be the winner of this match, as was Switzerland against the Czech Republic... But luck was not on my side... I also liked the game of Armenia and Ireland... It was probably the most interesting match yesterday... The Armenians are a hot, mountainous nation and it's a shame they lost at the end of the match due to red cards...

Spain had more of the ball in their possession. However, given the quality of Spain's play, they should have scored more goals, which they failed to do. But Portugal tried their best. Ronaldo is unable to return to his previous form and this off form has affected their team. Portugal also missed some chances. Spain's fortunes changed at the last moment.

Spain had the whole possession to themselves but weren’t playing with enough attacking power. Portugal were just hoping on counter attacks. Their attackers weren't also clinical. Ronaldo hasn’t been in form for a while now and it reflected yesterday on international duty was was as a result of his lack of game time at club level.
Honestly if Portugal coach Santos keeps fielding Ronaldo when he is poorly performing, he should just forget about winning any major tournament. Sometimes he needs to drop him and let the young players do the job for him.

[Franctoshi]

The coach knows the ability of his players more than you guys do and who to use, when and where not to use a particular player at any given time they got match. Regardless of Christiano Ronaldo's age and poor performance recently , I still believe in him when it comes to delivering and scoring goals in a Crucial matches, However at some point the Coach gets a bit confused as regards to when to play, substitute and when not to play a player like Ronaldo in a match when his present in a match and fit too because of his past records.

[snipie]

-snip-

It's never over until it's over as I don't think both Lionel Messi and Ronaldo are finished player's already. Portugal are my biggest country to take the World Cup. If hard way is the best way then, I believe in the hard way.
You don't write a teams off completely. And also, it hasn't been all about Ronaldo lately, how many goals has he scored? It has been all round the club and team, I think he is still not fit completely since he missed out on the pre season game's.

They shouldn't have defended too much but the pressure from Spain was just too high, immediately I saw the cross to Williams the Athletico Bilbao player I knew it was going goal, Morata was clearly onside as he slotted the ball in.

Judgment doesn't come from a single player or a game but from the overall environment.
Qatar has its wild characteristics although all they done to make it affordable, otherwise World Cup wouldn't be delayed. South America teams, mainly Brazil and Argentina are in top performance while Europeans dropped, yet some of them remained quite good.
When you see how Portugal succeeded to get a ticket for the World Cup and the way they are performing you know they will not get to the finals that easily. Of course many surprises happen but I can't place Portugal in the first contenders nations. It is not about my feelings but stats mainly. Meanwhile there isn't an exact science in football.

[ILuckyGuyI]

Croatia, Spain, Italy and Netherlands are going to be competing against each other in the playoffs.

Spain's end was really dramatic in their group as Portugal were very likely to finish the group stage as the leader. In the Portugal - Spain game, Portugal found so many goal chances and wasted all of them generously. I wish Ronaldo was able to play a little better than this. He was really ineffective in the game even though he found very important chances to score. He could have made a nice assist also but he was too slow and bad at first touch. I understand this of course. He can't play like in the old times anymore. But Portugal really needed his help there.

[MinoRaiola]

There's no chance that Ronaldo will not play the entire 90 minutes really. There's so much pressure from everyone to see him play. I don't think they will put any younger player instead of him, specially since this will probably be his last appearance in the world cup.

It's time he understood that his best days are over. He dont playing not the total 90 minutes and give the youngstats the time. He still wants to go on, but he is reaching his limit. I think if he understands that, it will be better for his team. That goes for the national team and Manchester United. He is a very good player, but he can play full power for 45-60 minutes, not 90.

[Alanaz]

If you're watching the match between Portugal vs Spain, you can see how Portugal is controlling the game than Span. I think Portugal will do Wonder in Qatar , this game will end well in favour of Portugal.

What do you say by controlling the game? are you sure you watched this game?
They actually struggled with the Spanish players and even they defended and only relied on counter attacks to attack.
Although in terms of chances they were quite balanced but when you saw at the end of the game for ball control it was clear that Spain was far superior.
It's a shame when in fact they can still get away with a draw in this match and top the standings in the group stage.

[JeromeTash]

If you're watching the match between Portugal vs Spain, you can see how Portugal is controlling the game than Span. I think Portugal will do Wonder in Qatar , this game will end well in favour of Portugal.

What do you say by controlling the game? are you sure you watched this game?
They actually struggled with the Spanish players and even they defended and only relied on counter attacks to attack.
Although in terms of chances they were quite balanced but when you saw at the end of the game for ball control it was clear that Spain was far superior.
It's a shame when in fact they can still get away with a draw in this match and top the standings in the group stage.

You are blaming your friend for not watching the match, but it looks like you also didn't watch the match to the end.  What draw are you talking about?

Alvaro Morata scored an 88th minute goal giving Spain the victory over Portugal.

[martyns]

Ronald Araujo will be out for 2-3 months after picking up an injury in country game. He's key player in the club and have so many potential as defender. Getting an injury, at this time is very critical but he will survive   this difficult phase. Wishing him fast recovery and hopes he join his teammates soon. Seems like many players are having injury during this international break and some coaches would be so dissapointed whenever their favorite player get injured.

[terrorJR]

If I look at the goal that was created for Spain in the 88th minute, at least it proves that Portugal is only targeting a draw. But unfortunately, their plan failed because Morata managed to score at least towards the end of the match, with this goal it would be difficult for Portugal to score in a match with only a few minutes remaining. If Portugal manage to score early then it will be a definite result for Portugal to qualify, I bet for Portugal to win and also both teams to score and it is a mistake that keeps repeating.

But only towards the end would it make sense to want such a result (a drwa). It was clear that Spain would reach the semifinal by a win. Portugal was too passive towards the end and Spain took advantage of it. It also looked to me like Portugal was hoping for a draw. But that was a big mistake from Portugal.

With that game they actually failed, towards the last minute they did look passive and only in their own defense area because they thought this would be a draw and was very good for them but it turned out to be a crucial minute for them.
I prefer them to play like in the first half than to see them play in the second half. Portugal's strategy is totally wrong in this match.

[nara1892]

I really can't believe how Portugal lost this match 1-0. They found so many goal opportunities. Jota's attempt was saved by the goalkeeper superbly. Especially Ronaldo wasted very big opportunities. If we had the young Ronaldo he would score at least one of them.

I still don't understand why the Portuguese coaches choose to start Ronaldo when they can give better opportunities to the younger players in the squad who are hungry in front to prove themselves before the world cup to boost their confidence. Ronaldo is still a great player but we all know that he's not in his prime and for Portugal, it will not be in their best interest to depend on him during the world cup. Ronaldo should still be in the squad but should have reduced playing time to give opportunity to other younger players especially since he's going into retirement soon and they will need younger players to carry the National team forward.

Actually this is quite reasonable because Ronaldo is still iconic for Portugal. On the other hand he already has good enough experience against Spain which made him play from the start.
But it should be if they want to start regeneration from now on because we know Ronaldo will soon end up in Portugal and this will certainly be a problem if there is no regeneration later and young players are still quite difficult later to fill the role up front.

[CLS63]

I think that Ronaldo has made the right decision by leaving the national team after this World Cup.

After watching his really poor performance against Spain it seems like he wouldn't be too beneficial for the team from now on. I know that this was a Nations League match but in the end he found opportunities to score. He didn't seem like he wasn't caring about the match either. He was one of the most important factors playing a role in their losing their lead and missing the chance to qualify for playoffs. I hope to see a more determined Ronaldo in the World Cup to say goodbye to his national team in a nice way. Portugal can be one of the favourites if especially he plays effectively.

[Jody.Drummer]

I think that Ronaldo has made the right decision by leaving the national team after this World Cup.

After watching his really poor performance against Spain it seems like he wouldn't be too beneficial for the team from now on. I know that this was a Nations League match but in the end he found opportunities to score. He didn't seem like he wasn't caring about the match either. He was one of the most important factors playing a role in their losing their lead and missing the chance to qualify for playoffs. I hope to see a more determined Ronaldo in the World Cup to say goodbye to his national team in a nice way. Portugal can be one of the favourites if especially he plays effectively.

The problem is that Portugal's dependence on Ronaldo is still very large, so sometimes I am quite confused by the way F. Santos seems to be reluctant to give directions because Ronaldo is on the field.
If indeed they still want to compete, it is certain that this dependence must be removed immediately because Ronaldo is now quite old and it is the right decision to actually leave Portugal after the world cup title is over because it can be said that there are still a lot of young players there who want to prove themselves. but still hindered by the presence of Ronaldo.

[CryptocurencyKing]

There's no chance that Ronaldo will not play the entire 90 minutes really. There's so much pressure from everyone to see him play. I don't think they will put any younger player instead of him, specially since this will probably be his last appearance in the world cup.

It's time he understood that his best days are over. He dont playing not the total 90 minutes and give the youngstats the time. He still wants to go on, but he is reaching his limit. I think if he understands that, it will be better for his team. That goes for the national team and Manchester United. He is a very good player, but he can play full power for 45-60 minutes, not 90.

Portugal do now have an array of attacking options, though, including Rafael Leao and Joao Felix which would produce more results than Ronaldo. But I don’t understand why Portugal coach won’t make decisions to benefit the team. His game time has been limited this season and that says a lot about his form and it will determine their fate in the World Cup. I hope Santos knows what to do when the World Cup games starts. Respect and high profile doesn’t win trophies, it’s the ability to produce result on the field of play that does.

[joker_josue]

I think that Ronaldo has made the right decision by leaving the national team after this World Cup.

Ronaldo did not make that decision, on the contrary, he has already said that he hopes to be at Euro 2024.

Portugal do now have an array of attacking options, though, including Rafael Leao and Joao Felix which would produce more results than Ronaldo. But I don’t understand why Portugal coach won’t make decisions to benefit the team. His game time has been limited this season and that says a lot about his form and it will determine their fate in the World Cup. I hope Santos knows what to do when the World Cup games starts. Respect and high profile doesn’t win trophies, it’s the ability to produce result on the field of play that does.

The problem sometimes is not even having Ronaldo on the field. It's the choices that players make in general.
In Portugal most people don't understand how some players, who are in a good moment of form, don't even want to be called to the team or how they don't play. On the other hand, we see players being holders who in reality never showed much in the national team. But they continue to be holders.

Portugal must give all the credit to Fernando Santos, having managed to win Euro 2016. But his tactical strategy is no longer working and he continues to insist on it. It's been 8 years, and players change and new players emerge. You have to renew the team and change strategies.

[Minor Miner]

England played well. But unfortunately, due to some mistakes, they could not get full points. England's defense was not strong enough. Maguire's performance in particular was worse. If the England team is not able to strengthen their defense, then it seems that we will not get a good performance from them in the next World Cup. England coach Gareth Southgate should continue to strengthen his defense and midfield. England's attack is still quite strong.

Regardless poor performance by Maguire indeed England has almost made epic come back because after conceded 2 goals they can scoring 3 goals only in 12 minutes but unfortunately they weren't lucky enough and Kai Havertz can equalized the score but overall compared to England performance from previous matches i think this is one of their best performances in this competition although they needed to improved their defense because upcoming competition will be more hard for them and it's time to Southgate to find other players instead of Maguire because it is not wise to put the player into starting eleven while that player is not at his best performance

England's performance in this match is very good. The performances of their midfield and forward players in particular were excellent. Performances from Luke Shaw, Jude Bellingham, Foden and Harry Kane were excellent. Due to good performances from midfield and strikers, England managed to draw the match despite a poor defence. If England's defenders had been able to play well in this match then England would have controlled the match and could have won.