⚽ UEFA Nations League ⚽ - Discussion Thread

[*Ace*]

Portugal without Ronaldo earned another win. This time over Norway. There have been some rumours/fears about Haaland getting injured, as he was limping and got substituted in the 66th minute, but apparently he's alright.

After Cristiano Ronaldo is not in the squad, Portugal looks better now. Do any of you feel the same?

They are on a positive run, four wins out of four games, something I hadn't previously seen from the Portugal national team. To be frank, I think it is time for Cristiano Ronaldo to retire from national team, if he remains in the national team, it will hinder the team's generational transition.

Well, of course Portugal are winning, now the are playing with 11 players on the pitch instead of 10
I have a huge respect for Ronaldo of course but he should have retired from the national team even before the World Cup. Of course he wanted to play to break another record, but I wonder how the teammates lived that situation, I would bet many of them very quite tired of him but of course they can't say it loud.

I think you're absolutely right! But I think the decision to be present at the World Cup wasn't his, but the coach's. Despite his age he was still a player, and still is a player of great quality. Now, however, Portugal can make room for young players, hope to have a new talent in the team, but it will never be the same for Portuguese fans, the anguish will remain for some time.

[MorganaX]

After today's England and Czechia match, Harry Kane is breaking a new record for the national team.

Harry has now scored 91 goals for England in his 125th appearance. He has now equaled Peter Shilton's all-time England most appearances record. He scored a brace against Croatia and has also scored a brace today against Czechia.

This record is incredible. Averaging 0.73 goals per game for England, almost 1 goal per game.

Unfortunately for some reason, it seems Harry kane is somehow not rated the way I feel he is supposed to be rated. There are so many great strikers that the game of football has seen and Harry kane is up there at the top tier levels because the guy is a total freak of nature and has scored so many unbelievable goals. I think this season Harry kane actually deserves to be given the golden ball trophy, I know manz would disagree but this guy has been absolutely genuine and his consistency is another to look at.

[EL MOHA]

His experience alone is invaluable for the Portuguese players. Cristiano Ronaldo is a football legend who has achieved so much for Portugal. In my opinion, the way this situation has unfolded is unfair to him. Do you know if he has retired from his national team career yet? I hope he hasn't, and that Portugal organizes a proper farewell match for him.

Let’s be honest will be farewell be anything more meaningful at the moment, I do think this saga already has created the dent and I don’t think any farewell will be able to curtail the damage done to his image. Probably a national honor in Portugal that no other footballer in the country has ever won or something like a statue in the Portuguese national team main office or a stadium named just after him. Maybe all this could help but still they won’t repair this dent on his legacy.

When I look at this situation also from another perspective I usually do think that Ronaldo himself brought this upon himself because for me he should have exited international football immediately after the World Cup, that was when the ovation was still loud not now

[yudi09]

Spain doing what they do best. It was always comings, Spain has been cooking since the start of the second half and Croatia let them get into their groove which is a very big  mistake.
It's not been the best Spanish dominance but it's been a match where Spain has won all the statistics.
There is still more goals in this for Spain although if they ignore the Croatian threats they will get punish.

Croatia was no longer a force to be reckoned with after Merino scored the equalizer that tied the match at 1-1. I think it was Merino’s goal that leveled the score and completely changed the situation for Croatia.
The referee has just ended the match with Spain staging a comeback. Spain remains undefeated, while Croatia has yet to win in three consecutive matches. Croatia also failed in its mission to defeat Spain at home after previously losing to Spain on the road.
Merino reminded many who watched the France game of Olise. Coming off the bench to become the team’s savior—that’s incredible.

[blomen]

Another bad game and it turned out just as we expected. Türkiye lost all 4 matches. We still can't understand why Montella hasn't resigned. He's literally staying on as head coach just to collect his compensation. How many head coaches are there who keep their jobs after such terrible results?

In today's game Montella once again had the team play with a ridiculous tactical formation and player selections. What is İrfan Can still doing on this team? He's playing without a striker, he put Yunus in false 9. You can't win any big matches with this tactic. Hasn't he figured that out yet? I think he's deliberately sabotaging the team. He must be thinking, no matter how bad I manage the team, they can't fire me.

montella says all the responsibility lies with him. but i think someone who takes full responsibility should have resigned after so many failures. i don’t like people who refuse to step down from their positions whether in soccer or anywhere else. why would someone stay in their position when they know the fans don’t want them? i wonder what he’ll say now that turkey has failed to earn a single point in the group stage. we’re continuing to make fools of ourselves in front of the whole world.

[kizilhare]

Spain extended their unbeaten run to 42 matches. Croatia took a 1-0 lead through Perišić in the 17th minute, but Mikel Merino—who came on in the second half—scored two goals to secure the win for Spain. I liked both of Merino's goals; he struck the ball cleanly the moment it came to his feet, and there was nothing Livaković could do about those shots.
In my opinion, Spain failed to play the kind of football they wanted in this match. Cucurella once again faced a negative reaction from the crowd; fans jeered whenever the ball came to him because of his role in Perišić receiving a second yellow card—and subsequently a red. With this victory, Spain has concluded their international fixtures.

[Joy- maker]

His experience alone is invaluable for the Portuguese players. Cristiano Ronaldo is a football legend who has achieved so much for Portugal. In my opinion, the way this situation has unfolded is unfair to him. Do you know if he has retired from his national team career yet? I hope he hasn't, and that Portugal organizes a proper farewell match for him.

What do you mean he should not retire from the Portuguese National team yet? Like after all that is happening, the hate, the critics, and the  insults on him, and you still suggest he should not retire yet? Either a farewell match or not it won't change the fact that he's the face of the Portuguese National team now and in years to come, so the Portuguese FA and Jorge Jesus should bounce, he's bigger than them and that's final, they can equally wait for Bruno Fernandes to retire so they will play him a farewell match, as for Cristiano Ronaldo he's gone and gone for good.

@Silence Scream never said Ronaldo should not retire from the Portuguese national team yet, he was hoping that Ronaldo has not retired yet because of the recent incident that happened with the national team. I'm also on his side, it doesn't make sense if he retires without a proper farewell match, come on, that dude is a legend for crying loud.  Retiring in such manner would be a disappointing way for such a legendary career to end. Ronaldo deserve a proper farewell and the chance to say goodbye to the Portuguese fans on his own terms.

[welovebit]

Last day of international soccer with no surprise from any team. Croatia has a good comeback after a humiliating defeat against England. They resist enough against the best Spanish side things have never been easy in the last few minutes, as the World Champions have done a good comeback and scored two goals; with these goals, they have a good end 4 out of 4 wins.
England is also picking good momentum they are having 10 goals with 2 clean sheets impressive job from them but still they needed to be have improvement against big teams Portugal and Spain only undefeated teams in 4 games Italy also done good comeback after having defeat in first game at home against Belgium.
After one month again things are going to be started; it's going to be interesting because few teams have a good chance of a comeback, and few are losing their momentum. This could be having good, interesting soccer to watch at the top level.

[SUPERSAIAN]

His experience alone is invaluable for the Portuguese players. Cristiano Ronaldo is a football legend who has achieved so much for Portugal. In my opinion, the way this situation has unfolded is unfair to him. Do you know if he has retired from his national team career yet? I hope he hasn't, and that Portugal organizes a proper farewell match for him.

What do you mean he should not retire from the Portuguese National team yet? Like after all that is happening, the hate, the critics, and the  insults on him, and you still suggest he should not retire yet? Either a farewell match or not it won't change the fact that he's the face of the Portuguese National team now and in years to come, so the Portuguese FA and Jorge Jesus should bounce, he's bigger than them and that's final, they can equally wait for Bruno Fernandes to retire so they will play him a farewell match, as for Cristiano Ronaldo he's gone and gone for good.

@Silence Scream never said Ronaldo should not retire from the Portuguese national team yet, he was hoping that Ronaldo has not retired yet because of the recent incident that happened with the national team. I'm also on his side, it doesn't make sense if he retires without a proper farewell match, come on, that dude is a legend for crying loud.  Retiring in such manner would be a disappointing way for such a legendary career to end. Ronaldo deserve a proper farewell and the chance to say goodbye to the Portuguese fans on his own terms.

Look at what Ronaldo is still doing to keep playing. And the truth is, he deserves to play a player of his legendary status who remains so hardworking and driven needs to be given playing time. According to him, the manager made a promise but failed to keep it it is simply not right to lie to such a legendary player. He is physically fit, and even just 10 or 20 minutes of playing time would satisfy him.

[Versatile_choice]

His experience alone is invaluable for the Portuguese players. Cristiano Ronaldo is a football legend who has achieved so much for Portugal. In my opinion, the way this situation has unfolded is unfair to him. Do you know if he has retired from his national team career yet? I hope he hasn't, and that Portugal organizes a proper farewell match for him.

What do you mean he should not retire from the Portuguese National team yet? Like after all that is happening, the hate, the critics, and the  insults on him, and you still suggest he should not retire yet? Either a farewell match or not it won't change the fact that he's the face of the Portuguese National team now and in years to come, so the Portuguese FA and Jorge Jesus should bounce, he's bigger than them and that's final, they can equally wait for Bruno Fernandes to retire so they will play him a farewell match, as for Cristiano Ronaldo he's gone and gone for good.

Perhaps you don't understand what  @ Silence Scream Said in his previous comment, he's asking a question I did not see where he Said that Ronaldo should not retire he's still saying that Ronaldo hasn't retired from his national team. Although according to what I heard it's actually a rumour though that Ronaldo has retired from national team but I'm not sure about that I was planning to do some research to see if what they are saying is actually true then I came across this discussion, well whatever the case maybe be I think we need to watch and see what will be his final decision.

[MK-74]

I said that Spain and England would score at least one goal in the second half and both teams did.

Merino was the star of the night. He played a big role in the win by scoring two goals for his team and helped them win the match.
We saw just how right the decision to bring Mikel Merino on was.
We also shouldn't forget that Spain played with more pressure in the second half, they did everything for to win.

[Spaceman1000$]

France 4 - 1 Belgium

France had won previous match against Belgium 1-0. It was highly competitive match. I was fairly certain that France would win this match as well. However, it was unexpected that Belgium would play so poorly.
Looking at performance of Belgian player, it didn't even seem like they wanted to win this match. Their gameplay, especially in second half was extremely frustrating.
Belgium scored the opening goal and led 1-0 at halftime. Bommel likely thought that adopting defensive strategy in second half would allow him to hold off France. That proved to be disastrous decision. They gave France opportunity to attack. And conceded four goal after 75th minute.

Today's match between Croatia and Spain promises to be very entertaining as well. match is live now. Spain had won their home match 4-1. Croatia will certainly be looking for revenge today. But performing well against this Spanish squad and Coach de la Fuente's tactics is extremely difficult.

That Belgium match against France took a tramatic turn when Zidane had to make those three changes of Desire Doure, Rayan cherki
And Michael Olise around 76 minutes of play, this guys literally changed the entire game, and I was thinking it was going to either be 1-0 or at best 1-1 given where the time had reached, Micheal Olise alone came with a different vibe. Outside any other thing I will also say that the France team were lucky at a point, if the time had gone far a little and those changes were not made, it would have been difficult for them to later win that game.

[Davidloki]

Unfortunately for some reason, it seems Harry kane is somehow not rated the way I feel he is supposed to be rated. There are so many great strikers that the game of football has seen and Harry kane is up there at the top tier levels because the guy is a total freak of nature and has scored so many unbelievable goals. I think this season Harry kane actually deserves to be given the golden ball trophy, I know manz would disagree but this guy has been absolutely genuine and his consistency is another to look at.

Harry Kane is one hell of a striker who is not given the accolade he deserves, even while playing at such high level with consistent performance each season. The most amazing side about Harry is that he can play even as a midfielder, because he has great passing skills as well, quite a difficult potential to find in a single player.

Hopefully, we could see that he wins the Ballon D'or this season after all his hardwork, he has being relentless and really deserves the award.

[IceLincoln]

After today's England and Czechia match, Harry Kane is breaking a new record for the national team.

Harry has now scored 91 goals for England in his 125th appearance. He has now equaled Peter Shilton's all-time England most appearances record. He scored a brace against Croatia and has also scored a brace today against Czechia.

This record is incredible. Averaging 0.73 goals per game for England, almost 1 goal per game.

Unfortunately for some reason, it seems Harry kane is somehow not rated the way I feel he is supposed to be rated. There are so many great strikers that the game of football has seen and Harry kane is up there at the top tier levels because the guy is a total freak of nature and has scored so many unbelievable goals. I think this season Harry kane actually deserves to be given the golden ball trophy, I know manz would disagree but this guy has been absolutely genuine and his consistency is another to look at.

For me he’s the greatest English footballer, I don’t care about what they say about winning trophies, this lad is making incredible numbers and he plays not just as a goal poacher but also a creator too, he plays passes like a great midfielder too, man is an intelligent striker, a phenomenon of his kind. He may not win the Ballon D’or but he’s one of the greats.
Croatia gave it a fight today but they were eventually beaten by the amazing goal poacher midfielder Mikel Merino, and so Spain continue her unbeaten run.

[Silverstonez]

His experience alone is invaluable for the Portuguese players. Cristiano Ronaldo is a football legend who has achieved so much for Portugal. In my opinion, the way this situation has unfolded is unfair to him. Do you know if he has retired from his national team career yet? I hope he hasn't, and that Portugal organizes a proper farewell match for him.

I don't really like how he was treated, but I begin to reason that in football you are only admired if you are giving them what they want at that particular moment. Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player which I believe he should be respected, even though he is no more playing again, due to what he has achieved for the Portuguese national team. I don't know what is wrong with the young Portuguese player that are eager to be left alone without Cristiano Ronaldo. I don't know how others will feel, but the way I was seeing their reaction even when he was on the pitch is absolutely bad, because I believe one day they will be in this position which if they are treated this way, they will definitely feel bad.

The Portuguese national team and the coach should learn from the Argentines, they don’t joke with their legend Messi, no matter what he does they always treat him with respect and love because of what he has achieved so far in the national team and for himself. During the FIFA World Cup, the Portuguese players were behaving anyhow which really upset me, but that outside. Now, they’re playing in the UEFA Nations League and Ronaldo is still being treated badly to the extent that he left the team. What on earth is the problem with the players?

[Somto9Light]

I said that Spain and England would score at least one goal in the second half and both teams did.

Merino was the star of the night. He played a big role in the win by scoring two goals for his team and helped them win the match.
We saw just how right the decision to bring Mikel Merino on was.
We also shouldn't forget that Spain played with more pressure in the second half, they did everything for to win.

Croatia red card weakened them but gave Spain the confidence they needed. If not for that red card Croatia would have fought till the end. This is not the first time that Mikel Merino is coming true for Spain, he did it at the world cup too. Another great comeback for Spain, they did a comeback when they played against England.

Croatia learnt a big lesson in the last match they lost to England, they played more carefully against Spain and avoided conceding many goals tonight.

[Joca97]

I said that Spain and England would score at least one goal in the second half and both teams did.

Merino was the star of the night. He played a big role in the win by scoring two goals for his team and helped them win the match.
We saw just how right the decision to bring Mikel Merino on was.
We also shouldn't forget that Spain played with more pressure in the second half, they did everything for to win.

Croatia red card weakened them but gave Spain the confidence they needed. If not for that red card Croatia would have fought till the end. This is not the first time that Mikel Merino is coming true for Spain, he did it at the world cup too. Another great comeback for Spain, they did a comeback when they played against England.

Croatia learnt a big lesson in the last match they lost to England, they played more carefully against Spain and avoided conceding many goals tonight.

Spain is just really good from behind and they keep on coming back and still cannot lose a single match. They have lost i think more then 40 games in a row and that is just insane and its no shock that they are the european and world champions. They might even be perfect in this group and win all 6 matches the main match will be surely against England.

[pawel7777]

Great performance by England and Harry Kane. A comfy 3-0 win over Czechia, who didn't make a single shot on target today. England also didn't break a record when it comes to shots attempted, but they could convert that into a convincing win.

Croatia was out of luck tonight. It looked like they were on a good way of getting a surprising win over Spain. They took an early lead, but couldn't hold it till the end. Spain equalised after an hour of play, then Croatian goal scorer, Ivan Perisic, got sent off allowing Spain to finish the job and go home with another 3 points.

Spain and Portugal are the only teams with 100% of their group-stage games won after 4 rounds.

The average number of goals per game (2.6) was much higher than yesterday, and we only had one goalless draw.

We're going to have a bit of a break as the next round is scheduled in a little over a month from now, on 12th November.

[Majestic-milf]

I said that Spain and England would score at least one goal in the second half and both teams did.

Merino was the star of the night. He played a big role in the win by scoring two goals for his team and helped them win the match.
We saw just how right the decision to bring Mikel Merino on was.
We also shouldn't forget that Spain played with more pressure in the second half, they did everything for to win.

Merino has proven beyond doubt that he's a good player and he seems to excel when he comes from the bench. In the WC,  he scored in two games to give Spain the win and now he's done the same thing. Croatia seemed to pose a threat to their opponents to the point they were getting frustrated and if it wasn't for the red card given to Ivan Perisic, which wasn't supposed to even be, it would have been hard for Spain.

[Plutomanian]

Great performance by England and Harry Kane. A comfy 3-0 win over Czechia, who didn't make a single shot on target today. England also didn't break a record when it comes to shots attempted, but they could convert that into a convincing win.

Croatia was out of luck tonight. It looked like they were on a good way of getting a surprising win over Spain. They took an early lead, but couldn't hold it till the end. Spain equalised after an hour of play, then Croatian goal scorer, Ivan Perisic, got sent off allowing Spain to finish the job and go home with another 3 points.

Spain and Portugal are the only teams with 100% of their group-stage games won after 4 rounds.

The average number of goals per game (2.6) was much higher than yesterday, and we only had one goalless draw.

We're going to have a bit of a break as the next round is scheduled in a little over a month from now, on 12th November.

Croatia have fallen off really bad if you ask me. How can a country like Croatia that played the 2018 world cup final against France be losing back to back? It doesn't make any sense or are they not improving? First it was England that humbled them 7-0 now Spain did an epic comeback against Croatia that was leading 1-0 from first half. The federation in charge of Croatia just have to do better because this is just not happening. They're not having any good time.

Luis de la Fuentes knows his team and the players to bring on, Merino is such a rare gem in the Spain national team. He come off the bench and scored a brace, this is to tell how much valued he is for the team and I can remember vividly how he deliver Spain in the world cup this year. Spain are the best team in the world because they know how to handle their oppositions.

Meanwhile Harry Kane keeps adding to his G/A. He's having one of the most outstanding season of his football career, he's a strong contender for the Balon D'OR this season.