⚽ UEFA Nations League ⚽ - Discussion Thread

[Slow death]

When international breaks come around, I’m often unsure about which matches to watch, as national team games can be tedious to both watch and bet on in certain competitions. However, for this particular tournament, I’ve decided to place a few bets because I’m really curious to see how the new managers fare in their new roles especially given that so many national teams have appointed prominent figures from the football world:



source: https://x.com/UEFAEURO/status/2102692222101803015

Netherlands - Germany

This will be a very interesting match to watch. On one side, we have the Netherlands with their new coach, Xavi Hernandez, making his debut as a national team manager, regarding his club coaching career, he has managed only two teams: Al-Sadd and Barcelona. His performance as coach of those two teams was acceptable. Now, however, he faces a much greater challenge; achieving good results with a national team is no easy task especially with the Netherlands, a side that hasn't won the World Cup or the Euros in a long time. So, if Xavi manages to win a trophy, it would mark a major step forward in his career.

On the other side, we have Germany with a new coach Jürgen Klopp. He is also making his debut as a national team manager specifically for his home country and he is in for a real headache. Germany was once viewed as a powerhouse but has been a disappointment in recent years, so his task will be complicated, and this match will serve as his first real test. For this match, bookmakers have the Netherlands as the favorite with odds of @2.35, while Germany has odds of @2.65. But I have to admit I find it very strange that the Netherlands is being favored, especially since Germany came out on top in the head-to-head between the two teams:



source: https://footystats.org/international/germany-national-team-vs-netherlands-national-team-h2h-stats

Italy - Belgium

This is another interesting match. On one side, we have the Italian national team, which has been a disappointment in recent years having fallen so far as to miss out on World Cup qualification entirely. Any coach looking to protect their reputation would typically avoid the Italy job, yet Roberto Mancini accepted the role. I believe he is fully aware of the high risk involved in this decision, I say this because he previously managed the Italian national team in 2018, and after leaving the post, he failed to secure a job with any major club. On the other side, we have Belgium, which also has a new national team coach: Mark van Bommel. He is set to make his debut as a national team manager, though his coaching career to date lacks major achievements. Bookmakers are making Italy the favorite for this match with odds of @2.18, while Belgium has odds of @3.05.

Portugal - Wales

The Portuguese national team heads into this match with its new head coach. The Portuguese federation made a great choice; Jorge Jesus has achieved success across various leagues and is known for instilling a beautiful style of football something he has accomplished with every team he has managed and will likely implement with the national squad as well. Bookmakers have installed Portugal as the favorite with odds of @1.19, while Wales is listed at @12.00.

[Ahli38]

Andorra x3.56 Vs Malta x2.41; Draw x2.76
Portugal x1.22 Vs Wales x13.90; Draw x6.40
Austria x1.42 Vs Israel x6.80; Draw x4.93
Norway x1.74 Vs Denmark x4.42; Draw x4.09
Netherlands x2.40 Vs Germany x2.73; Draw x3.81
Liechtenstein x11.40 Vs Lithuania x1.31; Draw x4.76
Serbia x2.64 Vs Greece x2.73; Draw x3.33
Kosovo x2.44 Vs Republic of Ireland x3.14; Draw x3.11

4.42 on Denmark, what a robbery. Norway is good, but I don't think they are that good. Best to place a good old BTTS and you're settled. Other games for me to consider BTTS are Kosovo vs. Ireland and Netherlands vs. Germany. Other than that, I'm not sure about the rest of the games. Maybe put a surprise goal on Liechtenstein. They haven't scored in ages, and Lithuania can be the kind of opponent they could score against.

Perhaps Norway’s status as the host of that match makes them the clear favorites. And the absence of several Danish players further increases the odds against Denmark. On the other hand Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as the captain of the Danish national team reportedly feels that they need to reintegrate with the new faces on their squad (Source). So I personally think it’s reasonable for Denmark not to be considered the favorites in this upcoming match. And Norway’s national team lineup looks solid with several key players who are very convincing contenders to win the match. Norway is actually a pretty great team considering they made it to the quarterfinals in the last World Cup even though they were eliminated by England. But I don’t think Norway’s performance should be underestimated given that they’ve also defeated Brazil. I think betting on a Norway victory is a more likely win than choosing any other bet for this match.

[Lucius]

I read on online portals that the Czech coach has a lot of injured players and big problems in putting together the team.
If this news is confirmed, Croatia should have an easier path to victory, although you never know with the Croatians.
They play great against the best teams and win, but then lose against the weakest teams.
I remember that in this very competition they lost on their home turf against Austria a few years ago and then beat Denmark and France away.
In any case, if they want to avoid last place and relegation from the elite class of this competition, Croatia simply has to be better than the Czech Republic.
This is also a condition for Croatia to have the status of a seed in the draw for the next European Championship.

I don't know about the injured, but I know that several important players have decided to end their national career, so that the Czech Republic may look weaker, but the new coach still announces that they are only interested in winning.

I like that Bilic has corrected one of Dalic's great injustices and finally called Misic to the national team.
Misic has long been the best player in the Croatian football league, and in his position we are the weakest in the national team.
I would say that Bilic has called up all the best players Croatia currently has and I read that he wants Croatia to play more offensively and for the defensive players to be more offensive and further away from their goal.
~snip~

It's hard for Bilic to correct anything when it comes to Zlatko Dalic, who won two World Cup medals (in a row) in nine years and played in the Nations League final. Bilic is a classic loser who has done bad things for the Croatian national team for years, except that he was the only one who failed to lead the national team to the world championship, and he didn't even have the morals to retire after Croatia's tragic relegation to the Euros in Austria.

Slaven Bilic on the bench of Croatia is two steps back in every sense - but it is important that he employed various relatives, godfathers and the like in his team.

By the way, the Croatian Football Association is currently under investigation for some possible criminal acts, and considering the investigations of many sports associations in recent months, it was time for them to arrive at this address as well.

[NewRevelation]

Since this is a year for the FIFA World Cup Uefa should have just shifted the Nations league.
~snip~

You may not know it yet, but football is played for money these days - which means that FIFA or UEFA don't care whether the players manage to rest or not - because if they did they wouldn't have invented this competition. This is in a way a version of the European Football Championship, and because of that it doesn't have much resonance in other parts of the world.

I do know that football is about money, but a year without the Uefa nations league won’t make UEFA broke.
Football is played for money but also doing it with the consideration of the players a bit can even make more money as players will be fit and not miss matches.
Besides the UCL is a giving good money to Uefa and they can sacrifice the nations league this year.

Surely, they will always make there money from so many ways while the competition lasts. And for the sake of the money, they wouldn't want to skip the competition. But I get your point, and I really support it, but there is nothing we can really do. Sometimes, I really feel for this players. Even though they are making a hell of money, but the big question is, do they really have time to enjoy this money they are making? It's either they are playing league matches, league cups, champions league, world cup which just finished and now the nations league. They are always battling. And this is the reason why fatigue sets in at anytime, and we still want them to be at there top performance always. If they have skipped this year, then it would have been better for the players.

[yudi09]

source: https://x.com/UEFAEURO/status/2102692222101803015

Netherlands - Germany

This will be a very interesting match to watch. On one side, we have the Netherlands with their new coach, Xavi Hernandez, making his debut as a national team manager, regarding his club coaching career, he has managed only two teams: Al-Sadd and Barcelona. His performance as coach of those two teams was acceptable. Now, however, he faces a much greater challenge; achieving good results with a national team is no easy task especially with the Netherlands, a side that hasn't won the World Cup or the Euros in a long time. So, if Xavi manages to win a trophy, it would mark a major step forward in his career.

On the other side, we have Germany with a new coach Jürgen Klopp. He is also making his debut as a national team manager specifically for his home country and he is in for a real headache. Germany was once viewed as a powerhouse but has been a disappointment in recent years, so his task will be complicated, and this match will serve as his first real test. For this match, bookmakers have the Netherlands as the favorite with odds of @2.35, while Germany has odds of @2.65. But I have to admit I find it very strange that the Netherlands is being favored, especially since Germany came out on top in the head-to-head between the two teams:

The Netherlands, under Xavi, will be quite different from the team we’re used to seeing under Koeman. We know Xavi as a coach who favors possession-based play, just as he did during his time at Barcelona.
Klopp is a different kind of coach from Xavi in terms of the style of play he develops. During his time with us at Liverpool, Klopp demonstrated an aggressive style that relied heavily on the wings, featuring fast wingers.
The odds at @2.35 and @2.65 aren’t far apart. Based on this, I predict this match could very well end in a draw, since both Xavi and Klopp are set to make their debuts in this game.

[Majestic-milf]

 England and Spain in the same group? Yeah, that's like trying to put them together since they missed playing against each other at the WC right? True, the groups A1-4 are pretty interesting but there's possiblity of some of the games being boring. Matches where you'd expect high touching and goals, they might be playing it safe. Anyways, it's just for us to find out tomorrow right?

[Adbitco]

I learnt that the England national team coach Thomas Tuchel finally called Cole Palmer and Mainoo for the Nation's League matches but it these players turned it down. Some people will argue for or against the players, saying they were wrong or right for the decision. Here I will give my opinion, personally, I feel these players has the right to say no as well, especially Mainoo, the young lad was called up for the world cup but didn't get a single minute. Like Mainoo didn't play a single second in the whole of England matches, these guys made it up to the last 4. It's even funny how this young man played and acted so maturely. No press conference, no tweets, no post about him not being selected all through the WC without playing. He came and resumed duties for his club. He refused a call up and the coach is already talking about it.

[Black Mbaye]

England and Spain in the same group? Yeah, that's like trying to put them together since they missed playing against each other at the WC right? True, the groups A1-4 are pretty interesting but there's possiblity of some of the games being boring. Matches where you'd expect high touching and goals, they might be playing it safe. Anyways, it's just for us to find out tomorrow right?

The match between England and Spain isn't tomorrow. So we won't see it tomorrow, but we will in three days, that's right. We know that both England and Spain have two of the best squads in the world. Considering how talented the players are, it will be more like a final match than a warm-up tournament. It will be a highly anticipated match, and I'm curious to see how England will play against Spain. Because this will be their most serious test. The reigning world champions, on the other hand, have the opportunity to show themselves better against England. They will want to show in England why they are World Cup champions.

[Rruchi man]

I'm personally just excited to see how the new coaches will do with the new team they are managing.

For most of the coaches, we have seen them manage clubs, but this will be the first time seeing them with national teams. Club success will not translate to national team success; it is a different challenge, and they will all adjust differently.

I would like to see if and how Klopp will repower the German machines.

[tiCeR]

I learnt that the England national team coach Thomas Tuchel finally called Cole Palmer and Mainoo for the Nation's League matches but it these players turned it down. Some people will argue for or against the players, saying they were wrong or right for the decision. Here I will give my opinion, personally, I feel these players has the right to say no as well, especially Mainoo, the young lad was called up for the world cup but didn't get a single minute. Like Mainoo didn't play a single second in the whole of England matches, these guys made it up to the last 4. It's even funny how this young man played and acted so maturely. No press conference, no tweets, no post about him not being selected all through the WC without playing. He came and resumed duties for his club. He refused a call up and the coach is already talking about it.

It is an immature decision by Cole Palmer. Emotionally it is completely comprehensible, rationally it is utterly stupid.

First of all, England played an amazing World Cup without him. This must be respected. Tuchel made mistakes against Argentina, but other than that England hasn't achieved a result like that for many decades and they have played really amazing matches.

Now in two years Great Britain will be hosting the Euro 2028 an Tuchel now send a signal to Palmer that times can change and he will get his chance. What people forget is when you complain about not getting nominated, you also complain about your colleague getting nominated for you instead. It is a question of respect and getting nominated now should not be turned down. As a fan I would approach this rationally and not emotionally. If I was a Cole Palmer fan, I would say go for it now and prove Tuchel wrong, prove that you could have added value for your World Cup team and become the superstar when GB hosts the Euro 2028. I wouldn't like it if was one of those buying his merchandise and then he says no to an invitation to the national team.

It would earn him a thousand times more respect from everybody, not just his own fans, if he now returned to the national team, communicates smartly, says he respects the decision the coach made in the past (he does not of course), and plays like a god. Tuchel would have no choice but to nominate him for the Euro because he would cross a red line if he then didn't.

[Comeacross]

Norway x1.74 Vs Denmark x4.42; Draw x4.09

4.42 on Denmark, what a robbery. Norway is good, but I don't think they are that good. Best to place a good old BTTS and you're settled.

It's a tricky bet but I think the odds are still fair if you consider both teams recent individual and team performance. Norway is playing at home and they had a decent performance in the just concluded world cup. Denmark hasn't played in any competive tournament recently since they lost against Czechia in the world cup qualifiers on penalty shootout. Their last friendly opponent was African team (Dr Congo) but they played draw. I'm not trying to justify bookies decision but Norway seems to be the better side for now. But I won't go for direct winner if I'm betting on this game. Like you said, both teams to score is the smartest bet than picking a winner based on the odds allocated.

[Uhde]

Not sure why Turkiye is more favored compared to other teams below them. I assume the market for this UEFA Nations League winner is not that interesting yet or people are still waiting. The implied probability is not accurate yet.

It’s always nice to see that Italy is promptly ruled out as a potential winner; by now we’re on the fringes of European football thanks to the old politicians who run the league. We won Euro 2021 by sheer miracle, then we faded into obscurity and found ourselves short of players; now some talented youngsters are coming through, let’s hope for the best.
We’re certainly not favourites against Belgium or France, but we will give it a go against Turkey; if Mancini can restore some balance to the team, then we might just spring a surprise.

imo Montella has called up a physically weak squad. there are injured players, players who aren’t getting any playing time and players who are out of form...
Turkey will probably get thrashed by France in first game.

[W Jr.]

Not sure why Turkiye is more favored compared to other teams below them. I assume the market for this UEFA Nations League winner is not that interesting yet or people are still waiting. The implied probability is not accurate yet.

It’s always nice to see that Italy is promptly ruled out as a potential winner; by now we’re on the fringes of European football thanks to the old politicians who run the league. We won Euro 2021 by sheer miracle, then we faded into obscurity and found ourselves short of players; now some talented youngsters are coming through, let’s hope for the best.
We’re certainly not favourites against Belgium or France, but we will give it a go against Turkey; if Mancini can restore some balance to the team, then we might just spring a surprise.

The match between Turkey and Italy will be very exciting. I think Italy is a team strong enough to beat us, Turkey. Even though they didn't qualify for the World Cup, I believe Italy has a quality squad. Of course, compared to the past, it's necessary to say that today's squad has a lot to improve. Because in the old Italian team, there were players who played with heart and whose defense was very good. Today, there are almost no players in Italy who play like that. As Turkey, we have many talented players, but two important players like Kenan Yıldız and Hakan Çalhanoğlu are injured. Therefore, having these absences in our squad will affect us.

[meser#]

Not sure why Turkiye is more favored compared to other teams below them. I assume the market for this UEFA Nations League winner is not that interesting yet or people are still waiting. The implied probability is not accurate yet.

It’s always nice to see that Italy is promptly ruled out as a potential winner; by now we’re on the fringes of European football thanks to the old politicians who run the league. We won Euro 2021 by sheer miracle, then we faded into obscurity and found ourselves short of players; now some talented youngsters are coming through, let’s hope for the best.
We’re certainly not favourites against Belgium or France, but we will give it a go against Turkey; if Mancini can restore some balance to the team, then we might just spring a surprise.

The match between Turkey and Italy will be very exciting. I think Italy is a team strong enough to beat us, Turkey. Even though they didn't qualify for the World Cup, I believe Italy has a quality squad. Of course, compared to the past, it's necessary to say that today's squad has a lot to improve. Because in the old Italian team, there were players who played with heart and whose defense was very good. Today, there are almost no players in Italy who play like that. As Turkey, we have many talented players, but two important players like Kenan Yıldız and Hakan Çalhanoğlu are injured. Therefore, having these absences in our squad will affect us.

Our squad consists of players who are out of form. Uğurcan will likely be in goal, but his form is poor. The defense is weak. The midfield is capable, but the attack features players who are also lacking form.
France will likely beat us, and while I’m not certain about Italy, I lean towards an Italian victory. I expect both the France and Italy matches to be high-scoring; France will score more goals, but the match against Italy will see goals from both sides.

[IjawMan]

The Croatia and Italy coach are not brand new in this list. My top interest is to watch how Zinedine Zidane and Jorgen Klopp will fare in their impact with their national teams and this will serve as a test to how far they can go on in their career with their team down to the world cup.

The Portuguese coach has a big task as well, he has to decide to give the young talents more playing time or depend more on the old legs, but what result he gets will justify it all.

[LTU_btc]

When international breaks come around, I’m often unsure about which matches to watch, as national team games can be tedious to both watch and bet on in certain competitions. However, for this particular tournament, I’ve decided to place a few bets because I’m really curious to see how the new managers fare in their new roles especially given that so many national teams have appointed prominent figures from the football world:

I'm not very excited about international breaks, especially when it's such long like this time. But all these new managers is what makes this window interesting. I'm most excited to see Klopp and Zidane working with their national teams. Xavi choice for Netherlands looks interesting too. Jesus in Portugal probably isn't going to make revolution. While Bilic in Croatia, he have very difficult task to replace Dalic, I wish him success.

[RaltcoinsB]

Not sure why Turkiye is more favored compared to other teams below them. I assume the market for this UEFA Nations League winner is not that interesting yet or people are still waiting. The implied probability is not accurate yet.

It’s always nice to see that Italy is promptly ruled out as a potential winner; by now we’re on the fringes of European football thanks to the old politicians who run the league. We won Euro 2021 by sheer miracle, then we faded into obscurity and found ourselves short of players; now some talented youngsters are coming through, let’s hope for the best.
We’re certainly not favourites against Belgium or France, but we will give it a go against Turkey; if Mancini can restore some balance to the team, then we might just spring a surprise.

The match between Turkey and Italy will be very exciting. I think Italy is a team strong enough to beat us, Turkey. Even though they didn't qualify for the World Cup, I believe Italy has a quality squad. Of course, compared to the past, it's necessary to say that today's squad has a lot to improve. Because in the old Italian team, there were players who played with heart and whose defense was very good. Today, there are almost no players in Italy who play like that. As Turkey, we have many talented players, but two important players like Kenan Yıldız and Hakan Çalhanoğlu are injured. Therefore, having these absences in our squad will affect us.

Our squad consists of players who are out of form. Uğurcan will likely be in goal, but his form is poor. The defense is weak. The midfield is capable, but the attack features players who are also lacking form.
France will likely beat us, and while I’m not certain about Italy, I lean towards an Italian victory. I expect both the France and Italy matches to be high-scoring; France will score more goals, but the match against Italy will see goals from both sides.

Unfortunately, we have no chance against France. I wish I could talk about better things, but we might experience a similar slump to the one we suffered against Spain in the World Cup qualifiers. I hope that doesn't happen, but I think it's coach Montella's fault for persistently fielding a team of out-of-form players. Berke Özer, who had a fantastic period in France, is still not being called up to the national team. Uğurcan concedes goals in every situation, but he's in the national team. I just can't understand Montella's national team choices.

[mandown]

You could ask a 15-year-old to pick our squad, and they’d come up with the same lineup; it’s been the same predictable roster for the last 3–4 years.
Adil Demirbağ only made the cut because of his performance—and even then, it was due to public pressure. As long as Montella is in charge, Samet Akaydın will be included in the national team, even if he were to retire.
It’s as if there’s a bond between them that goes beyond a mere father-son relationship.
He’s a substitute at Trabzonspor, yet he was still included in the squad.
Berke Özer, for instance, could be forgiven. Many people—myself included—know he was left out because he walked out of the national team camp, but no one actually knows why he left or what exactly happened.
I think these four matches are going to go poorly for us. It’s also a blow that Hakan and Kenan aren't in the squad due to injuries.

[Jewan420]

The Croatia and Italy coach are not brand new in this list. My top interest is to watch how Zinedine Zidane and Jorgen Klopp will fare in their impact with their national teams and this will serve as a test to how far they can go on in their career with their team down to the world cup.

The Portuguese coach has a big task as well, he has to decide to give the young talents more playing time or depend more on the old legs, but what result he gets will justify it all.

Like you, I am also interested in Zinedine Zidane and Jurgen Klopp. They have taken charge of their respective national teams and of course they have to prepare their national teams for the upcoming World Cup. While the task will be easy for Zidane, it will be a bit harder for Klopp. Because France is already in a good position and their performance is also quite good, there is no shortage of star players.
But Klopp will have to find star players to improve his team and bring the team back to its 2014 form. After winning the 2014 World Cup, Germany's performance started to deteriorate and they ensured their exit in the next three World Cups with shameful performances. They will have to make a comeback from this position, so there will definitely be some pressure on Klopp.

[Rikafip]

While Bilic in Croatia, he have very difficult task to replace Dalic, I wish him success.

Repeating Dalic's success will probably be impossible, but what keeps me positive nevertheless is the fact that we played our most eye pleasing and exciting football under Bilic. It was really fun to watch Croatia back in the day with him at the helm, but the team simply wasn't mature and ready enough for the big success that came later.

Anyway, all of us are really curious to see how it will look under him.