⚽ UEFA Nations League ⚽ - Discussion Thread

[Halifat]

Ronaldo still playing for the Portuguese National team is not actually his making, at least he's not the one making the calls on players, for the coach to call him for this competition, there must be a reason behind it, so why do we keep stressing ourselves over nothing, if they win match on his absence on the pitch people will talk about him, if they lost while he's on the pitch he will be the one to take all the blame as if the rest ten men are there for decoration, if they still win while he's on the pitch they will give the glory to someone else and still talk about Ronaldo, like they should let him breath, left with him, he could has retired long ago, but the national team don't want to let go of him, it's not his fault.

I have watched some clips of the coach putting more emphasis on importance of Cristiano Ronaldo presence in the squad, remember he coach him in Saudi League and he testify that whenever Cristiano Ronaldo is not in the squad, the fans don't turn up and that is why they usually put him on the pitch even though they know you cannot do it like before, whenever is around there is a lot of turn up from the fans, and that alone is a big motivation for the players on the pitch, we all know that Cristiano Ronaldo is not strong again but is inference still move the Portuguese national team.

[Cgrexp]

I actually predicted Italy winning on that game, I don't know how people analyze football now, the Turkish national team is strong yes no doubt, but you can't compare them to that is the Italian national team, the odds was in favor of Turkey but when I looked back I get to understand that, in years past Turkey was not a match for Italy, then I looked at their current form, I still noticed Italy was quite in a better form than they are, so I picked Italy winning on that game, though it was Ukraine that actually cut the ticket, because I equally predicted them winning over Georgia.

To be honest, Italy performed very well, Türkiye had a very good chance against Italy, just like they performed against France in their first match. Because in the first match, Türkiye had a very strong offensive performance as well as a very strong defense, which is why a strong team like France won the match there with only a 1-0 goal difference, and so the chances were in favor of Türkiye compared to the previous match. But the huge 4 goals that Italy scored against Türkiye was not expected in any way, Italy did better than expected, and the match was won with a huge score of 4-1. so those who expected Türkiye to win, they are disappointed. And today's Spain vs Croatia match, here I expect both teams to score, but Spain will win the match.

[KTChampions]

~
I’m expecting Spain to win the match and I’m also expecting England to win their match.
This too matches, a lot of people are going to go with my prediction, and that is because England is actually very inform I Spain is also very inform and this two countries have very good squad and experience players playing for big teams and performing well.
The difficult I’m seeing between these two is the one between Spain and Croatia however, I still expect Spain to win Croatia.

Lets see if I can win some money with this 2 matches, my prediction, Spain win and England win.

The balance of power in these pairs is obvious, but the odds are not at all favorable for betting on the favorites. England is priced at 1.32 against the Czech Republic, while Spain is at 1.22 against Croatia. If I were placing a cash bet, I’d most likely wait for live betting opportunities, for instance, betting on the favorite if the first half ends 0-0. And for some reason, the Croatia Double Chance bet at odds of 4.10 looks interesting to me, too. Surely Spain's streak has to come to an end at some point?

[leea-1334]

Klopp is a manager with a good record managing different football clubs so i don't doubt his competence, this is a new phase of his career and one thing about such situation is that it might not start well but might get better going forward, he's a good coach and just like Schweinsteiger tweeted, he has the quality to take the German team forward.
 Although people might be disappointed at the results and based on his personality it's normal for expectations to be high but they should give him time to organise the team, i believe they'll do better with time.

It did not need to be Klopp. Any new manager who comes in and realizes the national team and identity needs to be revamped will need time. It is almost impossible to start well,,, this is the first time he met most of them (in their stage of career) and the first time they have a really different idea as a team.

Germany stagnated for so long this is a system shock for them to lose so early but remember, Nations League has no prestige at least to those who take football seriously, perfect for testing  

[knowngunman]

I have watched some clips of the coach putting more emphasis on importance of Cristiano Ronaldo presence in the squad, remember he coach him in Saudi League and he testify that whenever Cristiano Ronaldo is not in the squad, the fans don't turn up and that is why they usually put him on the pitch even though they know you cannot do it like before, whenever is around there is a lot of turn up from the fans, and that alone is a big motivation for the players on the pitch, we all know that Cristiano Ronaldo is not strong again but is inference still move the Portuguese national team.

Can you please share the link to watch the clips? I would appreciate that.

To me, it does not make sense for the coach to make such revelation publicly or in front of camera for many reasons. Statement like this divide the team because other players might feel less useful and think their efforts don't matter at all except Ronaldo. If the clips you watched are real and not AI generated, then the coach acted unprofessional for publicly saying he wants Ronaldo on the pitch for fans turn up and motivation for other players.

Ronaldo is a great player with great influence on both the fans and players but it's wrong for any coach to utter such statement about him publicly knowing the consequences.

[AprilioMP]

About 17 hours ago, Bastian Schweinsteiger posted a tweet on his X account @BSchweinsteiger—not a scathing critique, but a way of showing that he cares about the German national team. A new era for German soccer. Not perfect yet, but full of energy and belief 🇩🇪

📸: DFB/Philipp Reinhard.
Klopp has only had two matches so far. The first ended in a draw, and the second was a loss. This isn’t a sufficient benchmark to judge Klopp, so I still believe that Germany is currently in a new era, thanks to the development of the new players he’s building.

Klopp is a manager with a good record managing different football clubs so i don't doubt his competence, this is a new phase of his career and one thing about such situation is that it might not start well but might get better going forward, he's a good coach and just like Schweinsteiger tweeted, he has the quality to take the German team forward.
 Although people might be disappointed at the results and based on his personality it's normal for expectations to be high but they should give him time to organise the team, i believe they'll do better with time.

Fan expectations regarding performance and results are natural, considering Klopp isn't a coach with zero achievements while managing teams at the club level. At the very least, fans need to be patient and not overly pushy, as this could impact the development of the squad being built.
This statement doesn't mean I'm a German fan or a Klopp fan, but I believe in both at the international level.

Unlike France and the Netherlands during the UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE tournament, Zidane and Xavi received a warm welcome.
Zidane won twice by narrow margins, while Xavi didn't.
In the Nations League, not many bettors have enjoyed wins. Can you believe it?

[Lucius]

~snip~
Today, the most interesting match will be between Spain and Croatia, and although the Spaniards are the favorites, I think they will face a tough match against the Croats.

~snip~
Tough game tonight for Croatia vs Spain. No one gives us any chances, but that wouldn't be the first time that we perform well and surprise the favorite when yiu least except, Having said that, we either gonna need a really good game to beat the world's best team at the moment.

Realistically, if we take into account the game against the Czech Republic, then Croatia's chances of not losing the game against Spain are very small. When you look at the fact that Modric and Perisic, who are 78 years old together, are the best individuals in that match, the question remains whether the younger players are just of lower quality or still insufficiently experienced.

Today, the Croatian defense and goalkeeper Livakovic will be tested to the limit - and although I have no doubt that Livakovic can be up to the task, our defense is bad regardless of the names that make it up.

If we look at the past, one of Croatia's heaviest defeats happened in this competition against Spain, on September 11, 2018. As the home team, Spain won even 6-0.

[Rikafip]

Realistically, if we take into account the game against the Czech Republic, then Croatia's chances of not losing the game against Spain are very small. When you look at the fact that Modric and Perisic, who are 78 years old together, are the best individuals in that match, the question remains whether the younger players are just of lower quality or still insufficiently experienced.

I know that if you realistically look at the current situation, Spain is a big favorite but I'm just saying that it wouldn't be the first time we surprise a big favorite.

The first game that comes to my mind (when no one gave us any chances) is Brazil–Croatia at the 2022 WC. We struggled in the group stage and only because of Lukaku missing a few great chances we went through, while we barely beat Japan on penalties in 1/8 final. Brazil, on the other hand were huge favorites and playing great football until then. Bookies were giving us similar chances as they are now against Spain, and we know how that one ended.

That of course doesn't mean the same will happen, but one can hope for a positive result. 

[SFR10]

If I were to bet, it would be on France Double Chance, and definitely not on Total, because it is not in France's interests to force the game and take risks - it is more profitable for them to leave the decision to the home game. So, we might even see a dull draw here.

You would've won if you placed that bet ^{[I hope you did]}

Brother, it seems you lost the bet, I can't believe that Belgium won't score any goals, they should have scored at least 1 goal, and at the same time France had a lot of attacks, but they only managed to score 1 goal.

Yes, I indeed lost the bet ^{[I should've gone with a moneyline bet]}, but it's fine ^{[you win some, you lose some]}. You're right... France was quite unlucky not to score two or three more goals ^{[e.g., Doué hitting the post in 1H and coming close in 2H, Da Cunha's shot hitting the post and the clearance from Belgium's last defender when Lammens was out of position in 1H]} and on the other end, Maignan made a great save to deny Lukébakio from scoring in an almost 1v1, or rather 2v1 situation.

Let's see how my next bet goes... Croatia is always a worthy opponent, but I don't think they can beat an in-form Spain team on their own ground ^{[they might score a goal, but I'm picking Spain to win]}.

[programmer3666]

I actually predicted Italy winning on that game, I don't know how people analyze football now, the Turkish national team is strong yes no doubt, but you can't compare them to that is the Italian national team, the odds was in favor of Turkey but when I looked back I get to understand that, in years past Turkey was not a match for Italy, then I looked at their current form, I still noticed Italy was quite in a better form than they are, so I picked Italy winning on that game, though it was Ukraine that actually cut the ticket, because I equally predicted them winning over Georgia.

To be honest, Italy performed very well, Türkiye had a very good chance against Italy, just like they performed against France in their first match. Because in the first match, Türkiye had a very strong offensive performance as well as a very strong defense, which is why a strong team like France won the match there with only a 1-0 goal difference, and so the chances were in favor of Türkiye compared to the previous match. But the huge 4 goals that Italy scored against Türkiye was not expected in any way, Italy did better than expected, and the match was won with a huge score of 4-1. so those who expected Türkiye to win, they are disappointed. And today's Spain vs Croatia match, here I expect both teams to score, but Spain will win the match.

The past match format for France is useless to analyze because the system has changed, Zidane has taken the wheel and that changes the entire international games landscape. The clear issue under the old coach was just a lack of creative spark among the players once they get to that final box of the opponent. Look at how Olise came in and did his magic as soon as he got a clear chance. I am sure Zidane will likely build his entire transition offense around him and Mbappe.

[Italian Panic]

It was a very poor performance from Turkey yesterday, I couldn't believe my eyes seeing them losing 3–0 in the first half. Let's not forget that the captain Hakan Çalhanoglu and Kenan Yildiz were injured, and these are two key players for Turkey who would have impacted the game positively. Despite these two players being out, I didn't expect Turkey to be so easy to beat. Altay Bayindir has still not improved, now I see why he's not getting any playing time in Manchester United.

Last night, Italy put in a good performance, whilst Turkey played really badly, lacking in ideas and intensity, relying almost solely on the skills of their star players. Italy fielded a lot of young players who were keen to make a difference, and they did just that. So, given the embarrassing blunders they’ve made, I find myself wondering whether it would have been enough simply to field the young players instead of the usual old has-beens.

[Samlucky O]

🤔 Was it the right call, or should Ronaldo have been given a chance?

I can see that you are a big Ronaldo fan and I agree with you that Ronaldo is a great footballer but biology and age are working against him.
Ronaldo was born on February 5, 1985 which means that he is now 41 years old.
Until when, in your opinion, should Ronaldo play? Until he turns 50 or 60?  
Ronaldo is no longer as fast as he used to be, he is no longer as effective in attack, and he does not play defense so he is always a player less for his team.
Realistically, Ronaldo is a great player who has not yet realized that his time has passed.
The fact is that Portugal plays better without Ronaldo in the team, which was also evident in their last match.

I think it is right for Ronaldo to retire from international duties, or maybe be coming in as a super sub. G. Ramos is a better option now, he's faster and more adaptive to the game since he's more younger and more energetic. Ronaldo is a great player, he brings good leadership and experience to the team, but age is telling on him now and he has to admit it. The coach made the right call by not adding him to the starting XI. Whether we believe it or not, his exclusion was instrumental to the victory. He is an idol and would be remembered, but his glory days are over, he may want to go into coaching now.

Meanwhile, I like your merit count, reminds me of an important year in my existence .

Ronaldo still playing for the Portuguese National team is not actually his making, at least he's not the one making the calls on players, for the coach to call him for this competition, there must be a reason behind it, so why do we keep stressing ourselves over nothing, if they win match on his absence on the pitch people will talk about him, if they lost while he's on the pitch he will be the one to take all the blame as if the rest ten men are there for decoration, if they still win while he's on the pitch they will give the glory to someone else and still talk about Ronaldo, like they should let him breath, left with him, he could has retired long ago, but the national team don't want to let go of him, it's not his fault.

You understand the agenda against him, it's simply to make him look bad while he isn't, if the performs badly it's Ronaldo that's dragging the team backwards and if they win they won with ten men, I have also seen statements like this some were worse than this. Ronaldo should have retired after the world cup to give space for the other players, he announced that's he will retire. I was surprised to see him called up again, it was after that I saw a news that the coach was the person that called him. It's believable because players don't call themselves or add themselves to team sheets, it's the coach who does that and Ronaldo cannot add his name to the team if it's not the coach who did. These people should cut him some slacks, he has tried for Portugal as a person.

[Roseline492]

I’m expecting Spain to win the match and I’m also expecting England to win their match.
This too matches, a lot of people are going to go with my prediction, and that is because England is actually very inform I Spain is also very inform and this two countries have very good squad and experience players playing for big teams and performing well.

I Concord to this prediction because it looks very obvious that Spain and England will have the victory, most especially England because to the volume and competent players they have is more than Czechia squad and right now Czechia  do not have a point because they have lost the only match they have played to Croatia, so this is why I also believe that is on the Spain match we are going to be experiencing more fierce and resisting match because there isn't time you wouldn't see Croatia in a good form but however Spain will always be at advantage because of their indisputable team.

[BIT-BENDER]

prediction because it looks very obvious that Spain and England will have the victory, most especially England because to the volume and competent players they have is more than Czechia squad and right now Czechia  do not have a point because they have lost the only match they have played to Croatia, so this is why I also believe that is on the Spain match we are going to be experiencing more fierce and resisting match because there isn't time you wouldn't see Croatia in a good form but however Spain will always be at advantage because of their indisputable team.

For me England struggles in this sort of games, I won't be surprised if the game starts and England ends up not scoring and the game ends in a draw.
Spain and England are expected to win but still I am not certain about it because their opponents could just prove too stubborn and will give them problems.

[ChocolateBitcoinK]

Let's see how my next bet goes... Croatia is always a worthy opponent, but I don't think they can beat an in-form Spain team on their own ground ^{[they might score a goal, but I'm picking Spain to win]}.

In today's match, I also definitely think that Spain will win the match, Croatia's form is not too bad, they are capable of scoring goals, but first of all, the game is at Spain's home ground, and besides, Spain is in very good form at the moment, and so I definitely think that no matter how good Croatia is in form, and besides, Spain beat England brilliantly in the last match, and Croatia is not a much stronger opponent than England, so Spain has a high chance of winning the match in the end.
i think that if bet on the both team to score in this match, it will not be bad. 

And at the same time, the England vs Czech match will start, what do you think will happen in this match? England lost to Spain in the last match, and so they will definitely get points in this match, England tried to do quite well against Spain, and we have seen how strong England is, and so England should definitely win this match. The match is at Czech's home ground, but despite being an away match, I don't think that there will be any weakness in England's game, despite being an away match, they will win the match, England is much stronger than Czech.

[Halifat]

Can you please share the link to watch the clips? I would appreciate that.

To me, it does not make sense for the coach to make such revelation publicly or in front of camera for many reasons. Statement like this divide the team because other players might feel less useful and think their efforts don't matter at all except Ronaldo. If the clips you watched are real and not AI generated, then the coach acted unprofessional for publicly saying he wants Ronaldo on the pitch for fans turn up and motivation for other players.

Ronaldo is a great player with great influence on both the fans and players but it's wrong for any coach to utter such statement about him publicly knowing the consequences.

Point of correction he was asked why he have to invite him. You are asking of the clips here is it.

https://youtube.com/shorts/6HzJZXmCEMw?si=DadHPmZ91fq6VX2V

[l99l]

After yesterday's performance, I don't think we can get even a single point. What difference would it make if Fatih Terim came back? I don't think anything significant would change. They are playing terrible football, even if you brought in the best manager in the world, they couldn't turn the situation around.
We failed to advance from a group containing Australia and the USA last summer what exactly were we expecting? We’re actually celebrating a 1-0 loss to France that’s how far football in our country has fallen.

[Balmain]

As for the Germans, what is actually wrong with them?
Because I was really surprised that they lost to an inferior team like the Greek team, no disrespect to them, but the Germans shouldn't be losing this game on their own turf, no matter how bad they are.

Germany isn’t as bad as it seems, even though they lost to Greece. Klopp is doing something that will make this squad more solid going forward. He’s testing out several new players who seem different from the Nagelsmann-era squad. The current German squad is very different in terms of its players, and Klopp has already explained what he’s doing: if you want to criticize, direct your criticism at him—not at the new players who are projected to develop, as reported by Fabrizio Romano. I support that.

Bastian Schweinsteiger disagrees with you, he says Germany is now just an ordinary team and they are. Granted, the individual quality hasn't completely vanished, but the team's overall level and approach are a far cry from the Germany of the past. It is quite clear that German football is in need of restructuring and significant change.

I came across a comment that went like this: “Most of the players in Germany’s squad wouldn’t have been able to make the starting eleven even in the 2. Bundesliga between 2000 and 2015.” Germany urgently needs a number 10 who can dribble well, take free-kicks, and cut inside to shoot, as well as midfielders as strong as tanks. Because of a system that stifles individual talent, those magnificent players are no longer being produced in football. In this particular match against Greece, they failed to establish overwhelming dominance at any stage of the game. Even Klopp was laughing on the line towards the end of the match, as if to say, ‘What on earth are these boys doing? Where are they passing the ball to?’ It was a crucial match in terms of determining who wouldn’t make the first-team squad.

They didn't call the German national team the "German Panzers" for nothing back in the day. They boasted a rock-solid midfield and effortlessly controlled the game through precise passing and dribbling. I am certain that during yesterday's match, Klopp was left wondering what to do, likely watching in disbelief at the quality of the squad. The current lineup genuinely wouldn't have been good enough to compete in the 2. Bundesliga back in the 2000s or 2015; it is baffling how German football has declined so sharply in such a short time and why there is a lack of top-tier players now.

[Son Of Blockchain (SOB)]

In today's match, I also definitely think that Spain will win the match, Croatia's form is not too bad, they are capable of scoring goals, but first of all, the game is at Spain's home ground, and besides, Spain is in very good form at the moment, and so I definitely think that no matter how good Croatia is in form, and besides, Spain beat England brilliantly in the last match, and Croatia is not a much stronger opponent than England, so Spain has a high chance of winning the match in the end.
i think that if bet on the both team to score in this match, it will not be bad. 

And at the same time, the England vs Czech match will start, what do you think will happen in this match? England lost to Spain in the last match, and so they will definitely get points in this match, England tried to do quite well against Spain, and we have seen how strong England is, and so England should definitely win this match. The match is at Czech's home ground, but despite being an away match, I don't think that there will be any weakness in England's game, despite being an away match, they will win the match, England is much stronger than Czech.

Spain currently seem invisible, it takes extra efforts to beat them, the team is filled with talents that are fast and adjust to whichever strategy you use or switch against them, see how they did a comeback against England, it would be very tough for Croatia to bet them expect they're lucky to get a draw.
 England would channel the anger from the lose to Spain againt Czech, that was a very painful lose, cause they nearly won but Spain suprised them with a comeback.

[Unsoldier]

Let's see how my next bet goes... Croatia is always a worthy opponent, but I don't think they can beat an in-form Spain team on their own ground ^{[they might score a goal, but I'm picking Spain to win]}.

In today's match, I also definitely think that Spain will win the match, Croatia's form is not too bad, they are capable of scoring goals, but first of all, the game is at Spain's home ground, and besides, Spain is in very good form at the moment, and so I definitely think that no matter how good Croatia is in form, and besides, Spain beat England brilliantly in the last match, and Croatia is not a much stronger opponent than England, so Spain has a high chance of winning the match in the end.
i think that if bet on the both team to score in this match, it will not be bad.  

And at the same time, the England vs Czech match will start, what do you think will happen in this match? England lost to Spain in the last match, and so they will definitely get points in this match, England tried to do quite well against Spain, and we have seen how strong England is, and so England should definitely win this match. The match is at Czech's home ground, but despite being an away match, I don't think that there will be any weakness in England's game, despite being an away match, they will win the match, England is much stronger than Czech.

Spain are clear favorites, but Croatia are an unpredictable opponent. I believe Spain will win, although I certainly don’t expect it to be an easy game for them. I also think Croatia should be able to avoid a heavy defeat.

Czechia will definitely put up a fight at home, even against a team like England. However, England are stronger than the Czechs in every area of the pitch, and I have no doubt they will win. Even with home advantage, I don’t think Czechia will be able to do enough to earn a draw.