⚽ UEFA Nations League final four ⚽

[alastantiger]

Spain definitely had a great luck when it came to penalties, because in that situation anything could happen and they were the lucky ones. Croatia definitely deserved to win as well, both teams played like champions so I definitely congratulate them both. It's sad to see Croatia not win anything here as well, they keep getting close and they keep losing, I really hope that they will do better.

I think it's quite important to remember that this team has done as well as hoped for and I think it will be very important for them in the future. It's a small nation with a small population but they keep on providing football legends to the game and keep playing good football, that should be a roadmap to all those smaller nation for their future and see what they have done and replicate it.

Spain was just lucky. In comparison to Croatia, they are a match. Irrespective of their win, it must be said that Spain lacks wingers who can beat someone and a striker who can score goals. There are too many players who are technically gifted and have a great shot from outside the box like Olmo, Asensio, Fabian, but then it seems like they deliberately avoid playing it simple. That's why I commend Ansu during the game because he tried to dribble on the wings and looked to play it simple with his teammates on the inside. He almost scored too.

For Croatia, they missed this title again having been runners up in 2018 World Cup, third place in 2022 World Cup and now runners up again. Majority of their main players are already in their 30s someone like Modric who is already 37yr old, this looks like the last outing for him. Hopefully the younger generations who will take after them will bring the title home.

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[hahay]

Croatia have zero titles achieved in team history. This must be really sad for such a capable team. I know that they haven't been impressive in Euro tournaments for years. But they got very close to winning another solid title in the 2018 World Cup and this year's Nations League. Back on the day of the World Cup finale France upset them.

And now Spain have caused an upset to them after a really tight competition during the final match. Croatia have been really trying but they just don't have the skill to finish the job after getting too close to success. Of course playing finales is a really good job. But this shows at the same time that they can do better with a special move. It would have been lovely to see Modric happy with a title won before his retirement from national football.

Indeed, Croatia are quite unlucky although the skills shown by the players. This generation is a golden one and hopefully the next one will be capable of maintaining the achievement done right now and why not win something. We should said that Croatia profited also from the decline of many teams such as Germany and Italy. These teams will be better in the future for sure.

Croatia was unlucky to be able to get a trophy but for me, with Croatia being able to reach the final match, of course it was already a good achievement for them too. Even though, I also realize that at this moment Croatia also has a good squad, but that doesn't mean they can get a trophy easily. Because after all, Croatia almost won anyway, because Croatia only lost on penalties which basically Croatia can show and or Croatia still has a great performance and style of play too.

[MarjorieZimmermanGinger]

In my opinion, Croatia didn't create more chances and didn't play better than Spain, everyone had chances in regular time, but the defense was stronger than the attack that evening, so we didn't see a single goal. Moreover, I think that Spain could win at the end of the match, but Croatia's defense was reliable. At the same time, the match was not boring, because the teams created interesting moments, this is the case when 0-0 did not become a boring match.

In extra time, it seems to me that the teams created even more dangerous chances, everyone wanted to score and finish this match without a penalty, but this did not happen, and the penalty was already a game of luck, more lucky was Spain, congratulations on their victory!

That's true and indeed Croatia didn't get many chances and played far below Spanish standards, but I actually saw their ability to defend made it difficult for the Spanish players to score goals, so that until the end of the match no goals were created. Spain tried to increase the tension of the game and tried to attack with a much more measured scheme in the second half, but they failed to take advantage of it because Croatia's defense was still quite solid.

Losing on penalties doesn't hurt too much and it's much more difficult to predict a shootout match. But at least we can see that Croatia have shown extraordinary abilities against Spain and they also managed to hold a draw until the match ended in normal time and extra time, for me this is very extraordinary for Zlatko Dalic's men.

[Fuso.hp]

Croatia was unlucky to be able to get a trophy but for me, with Croatia being able to reach the final match, of course it was already a good achievement for them too. Even though, I also realize that at this moment Croatia also has a good squad, but that doesn't mean they can get a trophy easily. Because after all, Croatia almost won anyway, because Croatia only lost on penalties which basically Croatia can show and or Croatia still has a great performance and style of play too.

Croatia have also been beaten in the finals of major tournaments like the World Cup. Croatia certainly deserved the 2023 UEFA Nations League trophy but here too they were defeated in the final. Penalties basically decided their fate. Despite playing well throughout the match, Croatia eventually lost on penalties. A number of Croatia's senior players would have retired from the national team, and if Croatia had won the UEFA Nations League trophy, their careers might have been somewhat fulfilled, but in the end, their careers remained unfulfilled.

[emrecemsan]

Spain was just lucky. In comparison to Croatia, they are a match. Irrespective of their win, it must be said that Spain lacks wingers who can beat someone and a striker who can score goals. There are too many players who are technically gifted and have a great shot from outside the box like Olmo, Asensio, Fabian, but then it seems like they deliberately avoid playing it simple. That's why I commend Ansu during the game because he tried to dribble on the wings and looked to play it simple with his teammates on the inside. He almost scored too.

For Croatia, they missed this title again having been runners up in 2018 World Cup, third place in 2022 World Cup and now runners up again. Majority of their main players are already in their 30s someone like Modric who is already 37yr old, this looks like the last outing for him. Hopefully the younger generations who will take after them will bring the title home.

Spain must have changed their coach 4 or 5 times in the last 5 years if I'm not mistaken. But there is still not much thing changed about their playing style. Spain really like to make things harder for themselves in some matches. Although they capture the full control of such matches they still insist on playing smarter. Maybe this match was also one of that kind. They could have used their dangerous attacks much more effectively and scored a goal much earlier to make the match more entertaining to follow.

Anyway Luis de la Fuente must be really happy to win a title for Spain only 6 months after he started his job here. 

[shogun47]

Spain was just lucky. In comparison to Croatia, they are a match. Irrespective of their win, it must be said that Spain lacks wingers who can beat someone and a striker who can score goals. There are too many players who are technically gifted and have a great shot from outside the box like Olmo, Asensio, Fabian, but then it seems like they deliberately avoid playing it simple. That's why I commend Ansu during the game because he tried to dribble on the wings and looked to play it simple with his teammates on the inside. He almost scored too.

For Croatia, they missed this title again having been runners up in 2018 World Cup, third place in 2022 World Cup and now runners up again. Majority of their main players are already in their 30s someone like Modric who is already 37yr old, this looks like the last outing for him. Hopefully the younger generations who will take after them will bring the title home.

Spain must have changed their coach 4 or 5 times in the last 5 years if I'm not mistaken. But there is still not much thing changed about their playing style. Spain really like to make things harder for themselves in some matches. Although they capture the full control of such matches they still insist on playing smarter. Maybe this match was also one of that kind. They could have used their dangerous attacks much more effectively and scored a goal much earlier to make the match more entertaining to follow.

Anyway Luis de la Fuente must be really happy to win a title for Spain only 6 months after he started his job here. 

They are not the Spain from a decade ago in regards to their player material. The coach doesn't even matter. When the coach was still del Bosque, it wasn't all that success because he was a much better coach than others. He was great yes, but the players he had available and that he could choose from were all exceptional. It was a golden era and if that golden era stops at some point it is never simple for a successor to deliver the same performances.

[Merit.s]

Croatia was unlucky to be able to get a trophy but for me, with Croatia being able to reach the final match, of course it was already a good achievement for them too. Even though, I also realize that at this moment Croatia also has a good squad, but that doesn't mean they can get a trophy easily. Because after all, Croatia almost won anyway, because Croatia only lost on penalties which basically Croatia can show and or Croatia still has a great performance and style of play too.

Croatia have also been beaten in the finals of major tournaments like the World Cup. Croatia certainly deserved the 2023 UEFA Nations League trophy but here too they were defeated in the final. Penalties basically decided their fate. Despite playing well throughout the match, Croatia eventually lost on penalties. A number of Croatia's senior players would have retired from the national team, and if Croatia had won the UEFA Nations League trophy, their careers might have been somewhat fulfilled, but in the end, their careers remained unfulfilled.

I don't think that Croatia lost was the fault of the players. It was their fate that they will be defeated by Spain because Croatia played brilliantly and I didn't expect such performance from them. Penalty is a game of luck and shouldn't be used to judge a team when they lost in PK. This was why I said it was their fate. On the other hand Spain was lucky on that day as the match favored them in the Penalty stage. Spain wouldn't stop surprising the world with the quality football from world class players. Destiny can't be changed but delayed,those players that will resign in Croatia national team was not destined to win the trophy.

[borovichok]

I don't think that Croatia lost was the fault of the players. It was their fate that they will be defeated by Spain because Croatia played brilliantly and I didn't expect such performance from them. Penalty is a game of luck and shouldn't be used to judge a team when they lost in PK. This was why I said it was their fate. On the other hand Spain was lucky on that day as the match favored them in the Penalty stage. Spain wouldn't stop surprising the world with the quality football from world class players. Destiny can't be changed but delayed,those players that will resign in Croatia national team was not destined to win the trophy.

Croatia loses the national league championship to Spain. It was a challenging game characterized by excellent performances from both parties; everyone was concentrating on the title and put in all they had on the field; nevertheless the game ended in extra time and penalty shootouts with brilliant performance fulltime. That was a completely another level, and we all know how nerve-racking taking penalties is. Those who scored were ecstatic, while those who failed to score were booed by the supporters. Spain won the current champions of the national league trophy.

[mvdheuvel1983]

Croatia loses the national league championship to Spain. It was a challenging game characterized by excellent performances from both parties; everyone was concentrating on the title and put in all they had on the field; nevertheless the game ended in extra time and penalty shootouts with brilliant performance fulltime. That was a completely another level, and we all know how nerve-racking taking penalties is. Those who scored were ecstatic, while those who failed to score were booed by the supporters. Spain won the current champions of the national league trophy.

The goalkeeper of the Croatian national team, every time he plays against Spain, turns into a calamity with legs and gloves. He didn't stop any penalties, they scored five goals against him in the Euro, it's that ancestral fear that some goalkeepers have when playing against certain opponents. Spain lost on penalties 2018, 2020 and 2022. Why they had to be so good and confident now, when Croatia had a chance for first trophy? And mind you, Croatia have good record on penalties.

[Daniel91]

Croatia loses the national league championship to Spain. It was a challenging game characterized by excellent performances from both parties; everyone was concentrating on the title and put in all they had on the field; nevertheless the game ended in extra time and penalty shootouts with brilliant performance fulltime. That was a completely another level, and we all know how nerve-racking taking penalties is. Those who scored were ecstatic, while those who failed to score were booed by the supporters. Spain won the current champions of the national league trophy.

The goalkeeper of the Croatian national team, every time he plays against Spain, turns into a calamity with legs and gloves. He didn't stop any penalties, they scored five goals against him in the Euro, it's that ancestral fear that some goalkeepers have when playing against certain opponents. Spain lost on penalties 2018, 2020 and 2022. Why they had to be so good and confident now, when Croatia had a chance for first trophy? And mind you, Croatia have good record on penalties.

Honestly, I also expected that Croatia would be more successful in penalty shootouts than Spain, especially considering that Croatia has been very successful in penalty shootouts lately and Spain has been very unsuccessful.
However, this time the players of Spain were very well prepared for penalties, both mentally and physically, and did not give Croatia's goalkeeper Livaković any chance.
Penalties are always a lottery in a way and you can't expect to win every time like that. Realistically, even in the regular part of the match, Spain was closer to victory and deservedly won.
It's a pity for Modric and maybe the last chance for him to win a trophy with the national team.

[KTChampions]

Yes, a penalty is not completely a lottery, since the skill of goalkeepers + analytical training of the headquarters is of great importance. But we all understand that there is definitely a part of the lottery (where everyone has a chance) - for example, Liechtenstein will never (well, or once every 100 games) beat Brazil in a serious match, but I'm sure that if you take the penalty shootout competition, they will win 20- 30% games minimum.

I wouldn't overestimate the analytical part because choosing a side to which you shoot or jump is still a lottery. If I am a penalty shooter and I know that I pick one side 8 out of 10 times over the other side, I could change my decision and use the other side and I wouldn't even have to be as accurate because the goalkeeper decides to stick with the 80% and haas no chance to defend the shot. There are some extraordinary penalty takers and it doesn't even matter whether the goalkeeper knows where the ball will hit. But there are also some weak penalty takers who really make it 50:50, trusting that the goalkeeper chooses a wrong side early. It is more about the shooter to make it a gamble than the goalkeeper. But I need to say that the Spanish penalties were really strong.

Yes, the priority is on the side of the penalty taker, because if the penalty is taken perfectly, then even the ideal goalkeeper will not be able to make a single save. But even if we discard goalkeepers and analysts, then when evaluating penalty shooters, we will see they have different levels of skill and different levels of psychological stability - which undoubtedly affects the result and cannot be attributed to chance (lottery).

[rdluffy]

Unfortunately, Croatia once again missed a great opportunity, but I think that to win against the biggest ones you still need to play at a much higher level. I honestly expected a much better game by both teams with a lot of goals, but this new Spain is not yet as good as the one from the last European Championship when it beat Croatia in extra time.

Penalty kicks are always a lottery, and this time luck was on Spain's side. Still, being in the finals for a small country of 3.8 million people is also a great success, especially if we take into account all the successes in just over 30 years of existence of the modern Croatian state.

I was so sad that I forgot to post it here.
I lost the bet because I thought Croatia would win, but not only the bet, I wanted to see Croatia champion to crown a great job they did during these last years
Despite not being the media's favorite team and not being as highlighted as other teams, Croatia played very well, took all the competitions they played seriously and the work of all players and coaching staff should be recognized
The results in the last few years are better than many favorite teams that have not been able to play well for years

The final match was not a great match as we expected, and when it went to penalties I confess that I was "almost sure" that Croatia would win
A curiosity, it had been 15 years since Croatia lost a penalty shootout, since Euro 2008.

All in all, the team is a great pride for Croatians. I hope they continue with this constant good results and now they have to qualify for Euro 2024

Note - I still managed to profit with the final phase of the championship because the odds of Croatia were very good, and if it continues to be like this, there are good profits to be made in the next championships 

[Juggy777]

Unfortunately, Croatia once again missed a great opportunity, but I think that to win against the biggest ones you still need to play at a much higher level. I honestly expected a much better game by both teams with a lot of goals, but this new Spain is not yet as good as the one from the last European Championship when it beat Croatia in extra time.

Penalty kicks are always a lottery, and this time luck was on Spain's side. Still, being in the finals for a small country of 3.8 million people is also a great success, especially if we take into account all the successes in just over 30 years of existence of the modern Croatian state.

I was so sad that I forgot to post it here.
I lost the bet because I thought Croatia would win, but not only the bet, I wanted to see Croatia champion to crown a great job they did during these last years
Despite not being the media's favorite team and not being as highlighted as other teams, Croatia played very well, took all the competitions they played seriously and the work of all players and coaching staff should be recognized
The results in the last few years are better than many favorite teams that have not been able to play well for years

The final match was not a great match as we expected, and when it went to penalties I confess that I was "almost sure" that Croatia would win
A curiosity, it had been 15 years since Croatia lost a penalty shootout, since Euro 2008.

All in all, the team is a great pride for Croatians. I hope they continue with this constant good results and now they have to qualify for Euro 2024

Note - I still managed to profit with the final phase of the championship because the odds of Croatia were very good, and if it continues to be like this, there are good profits to be made in the next championships 

@rdluffy I was upset too when I saw that Croatia lost because I felt that they would win it for Modric and give him a proper send off as he definitely deserved to win this trophy. Furthermore you’re right when it goes into penalties nothing really is guaranteed but yet I thought that Croatia would prevail because of their winning mentality but in the end destiny had other plan’s and Spain ended up winning the tournament.

[shogun47]

Yes, the priority is on the side of the penalty taker, because if the penalty is taken perfectly, then even the ideal goalkeeper will not be able to make a single save. But even if we discard goalkeepers and analysts, then when evaluating penalty shooters, we will see they have different levels of skill and different levels of psychological stability - which undoubtedly affects the result and cannot be attributed to chance (lottery).

Indeed and that is why those penalty takers who don't think as much are often the best. They have their plan for execution and don't change it halfway towards the ball again. Haaland and Ronaldo are brutal in their execution, they plan and then strike with maximum power. They can fail as everyone else, but they usually don't. There have been several examples in huge games like finals or semi finals when it was obvious that the taker was nervous and then failed. Strong penalties are mostly those when you can see that the taker doesn't care about the goalkeeper. They don't care where the goalkeeper will jump because they decide that the ball is going to hit the corner at the maximum. But a lot of penalty takers are making almost a comedy or entertainment show out of their shots and I hate it.

[Litzki1990]

Croatia have zero titles achieved in team history. This must be really sad for such a capable team. I know that they haven't been impressive in Euro tournaments for years. But they got very close to winning another solid title in the 2018 World Cup and this year's Nations League. Back on the day of the World Cup finale France upset them.

And now Spain have caused an upset to them after a really tight competition during the final match. Croatia have been really trying but they just don't have the skill to finish the job after getting too close to success. Of course playing finales is a really good job. But this shows at the same time that they can do better with a special move. It would have been lovely to see Modric happy with a title won before his retirement from national football.

Indeed, Croatia are quite unlucky although the skills shown by the players. This generation is a golden one and hopefully the next one will be capable of maintaining the achievement done right now and why not win something. We should said that Croatia profited also from the decline of many teams such as Germany and Italy. These teams will be better in the future for sure.

Croatia was unlucky to be able to get a trophy but for me, with Croatia being able to reach the final match, of course it was already a good achievement for them too. Even though, I also realize that at this moment Croatia also has a good squad, but that doesn't mean they can get a trophy easily. Because after all, Croatia almost won anyway, because Croatia only lost on penalties which basically Croatia can show and or Croatia still has a great performance and style of play too.

Croatia fans probably deserve a trophy from Croatia as they have been beaten in several finals. Croatia has no notable trophies so far. Croatia lost to Spain in the UEFA Nations League final thanks to just one missed penalty shot. Undoubtedly, Croatia is a strong team because without a strong team, they could not have played the semi-finals in a tournament like the World Cup. I expected maybe Croatia to win against Spain and Croatia was the favorite but in the end Croatia lost on penalties. Croatia might have a full squad this season but Croatia might not get a full squad next season as some of the senior players in the team might retire soon.

[Queentoshi]

Croatia fans probably deserve a trophy from Croatia as they have been beaten in several finals. Croatia has no notable trophies so far. Croatia lost to Spain in the UEFA Nations League final thanks to just one missed penalty shot. Undoubtedly, Croatia is a strong team because without a strong team, they could not have played the semi-finals in a tournament like the World Cup. I expected maybe Croatia to win against Spain and Croatia was the favorite but in the end Croatia lost on penalties. Croatia might have a full squad this season but Croatia might not get a full squad next season as some of the senior players in the team might retire soon.

Yes exactly for the Croatian team, time is not on their side and this Nations league may be their second to last chance before new and younger players take over the team completely. Just like Spain, Belgium and other countries known for football to be very good that have strong teams, at one point when the key players in the strong team leave and they struggle to find replacements, the team struggles during that time until they finally get. This is the kind of period that Croatia team will enter. They will seek players as good as the players in the team now. While finding these replacement, the team will struggle.

[Lucius]

~snip~

Life is made up of victories and defeats, and this defeat should still be viewed as one transient thing that will quickly become a matter of past. I have no doubt that Croatia will be on the Euro 2024 and that it will show good games there, but if it wants to make a good result again, it will need something more than luck.

The fact is that we are missing something that can push us to the end, and it is up to the coach and the expert staff to analyze the team and try to maybe introduce some new players into the game. Croatia must prepare for the fact that in the future they will play without some very important players, and it is still unknown whether Luka Modric will continue to play for the national team.

[Daniel91]

~snip~

Life is made up of victories and defeats, and this defeat should still be viewed as one transient thing that will quickly become a matter of past. I have no doubt that Croatia will be on the Euro 2024 and that it will show good games there, but if it wants to make a good result again, it will need something more than luck.

The fact is that we are missing something that can push us to the end, and it is up to the coach and the expert staff to analyze the team and try to maybe introduce some new players into the game. Croatia must prepare for the fact that in the future they will play without some very important players, and it is still unknown whether Luka Modric will continue to play for the national team.

I just read the news that Modrić rejected a very rich offer from Saudi Arabia and a salary of several hundred million dollars, and that instead he decided to play another year at Real, and he wants to play for the national team at the EURO and try to win the first historic trophy with the national team.
If this news is confirmed, it will only be an additional argument of what kind of man and character he is.
As for the national team, what we miss the most, since Mandzukic left in 2018, is a real and deadly striker.
We have a great defense and the team is very difficult to concede goals. The midfield with Modric, Brozovic and Kovacic is one of the best in the world, but what good is a great game in defense and midfield when you don't have strikers who will regularly score goals?
In any case, Croatia will be a very difficult and unpleasant opponent for everyone at the EURO.

[rendravolt]

Croatia fans probably deserve a trophy from Croatia as they have been beaten in several finals. Croatia has no notable trophies so far. Croatia lost to Spain in the UEFA Nations League final thanks to just one missed penalty shot. Undoubtedly, Croatia is a strong team because without a strong team, they could not have played the semi-finals in a tournament like the World Cup. I expected maybe Croatia to win against Spain and Croatia was the favorite but in the end Croatia lost on penalties. Croatia might have a full squad this season but Croatia might not get a full squad next season as some of the senior players in the team might retire soon.

Yes exactly for the Croatian team, time is not on their side and this Nations league may be their second to last chance before new and younger players take over the team completely. Just like Spain, Belgium and other countries known for football to be very good that have strong teams, at one point when the key players in the strong team leave and they struggle to find replacements, the team struggles during that time until they finally get. This is the kind of period that Croatia team will enter. They will seek players as good as the players in the team now. While finding these replacement, the team will struggle.

Croatia has been endless in recent years and it has proven that they are very consistent compared to other strong countries in reaching the finals of the nation's league. However, even though there is a lot of talent available now, it will not last long and indeed Croatia must find the next successor so they can win trophies in the next competition. On the other hand, teams like Spain and Belgium are also in the current regeneration stage. It's just that Spain was able to top them first because it had a fairly long process since 2010 and if you look at the depth of the current Spanish squad it will certainly be a threat to other European teams in the nation's league.

[KTChampions]

Yes, the priority is on the side of the penalty taker, because if the penalty is taken perfectly, then even the ideal goalkeeper will not be able to make a single save. But even if we discard goalkeepers and analysts, then when evaluating penalty shooters, we will see they have different levels of skill and different levels of psychological stability - which undoubtedly affects the result and cannot be attributed to chance (lottery).

Indeed and that is why those penalty takers who don't think as much are often the best. They have their plan for execution and don't change it halfway towards the ball again. Haaland and Ronaldo are brutal in their execution, they plan and then strike with maximum power. They can fail as everyone else, but they usually don't. There have been several examples in huge games like finals or semi finals when it was obvious that the taker was nervous and then failed. Strong penalties are mostly those when you can see that the taker doesn't care about the goalkeeper. They don't care where the goalkeeper will jump because they decide that the ball is going to hit the corner at the maximum. But a lot of penalty takers are making almost a comedy or entertainment show out of their shots and I hate it.

This is Lewangdowski  His execution of the penalty in my opinion is very miserable. And in general it looks like unfair - I think some kind of change should be introduced in the rules so that we do not see these caprine twitches:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1wcWRB_jGv8

The toughest penalty taker in my memory was Chilavert. Everyone knew that he would most likely hit in the center, but he had such a strong shot that it was impossible to reflect it.