⚽ UEFA Nations League ⚽ - Discussion Thread

[Slow death]

Today's match results didn't surprise me at all at least not the games involving strong national teams. It was expected that Spain and England would win comfortably. I know Croatia is a strong side, but against Spain, they aren't the kind of opponent likely to cause major headaches. However, in this group, they could still beat England; they play England on October 3rd and have a chance of winning. If they lose, they'll remain in third place in Group C nothing would change for them. That’s why only a win, or at least a draw, would be advantageous for them.

Tomorrow, Portugal plays against Denmark. Cristiano Ronaldo did not train for Portugal's match against Denmark, but controversy has already arisen before the game even begins; it seems Ronaldo is unhappy with the direction Jorge Jesus is taking regarding his role in the team.

"He came out onto the pitch then suddenly disappeared": the secret behind Cristiano's absence from Portugal's training

source: https://www.goal.com/en/news/he-came-out-onto-the-pitch-then-suddenly-disappeared-the-secret-behind-cristiano-s-absence-from-portugal-s-training/blt508309d8ea26a8a9

He is an excellent player a living legend but he should have retired from the national team when the World Cup ended to make way for younger players. I see no reason for him to keep playing for the national team, given that he has already won everything there is to win; this competition isn't a big deal, and he won't be able to play in the next World Cup anyway. So why does he keep playing for the national team?

[B-BossMan]

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.

Even if a team like England had struggle before with countries like Czechia but it shouldn't justify any reason for us to believe they will struggle whenever they are meeting this kind of country. Already from the onset I knew that this was going to be there victory and fortunately they won the match with a clean sheet and claiming their first three points of the table. The match that would mostly look uncertain for England will be there last match with Croatia because the country also have some valuable players so actually England second position will also depends on there winning because any country that lost will be on the third position.

Let aside the previous matches or performances from both teams or countries. I see this particular game as something different and I actually doubted if the Czech could won England easily, thier match was quite okay and I was impressed with the England's performances to some extent. Already when it comes to squads qualities or squads players in a country, I actually respect the England in that aspect, though too much squads in a team are what leads some teams to poor performances, and that's exactly what happens to England in thier just concluded FIFA world cup tournament performances, the country is full of defenders, attackers and Midfielders and that alone can make thier Coach chose or do a wrong substitute. Well England has defeated Czech Republic.
England-2 Czech Republic-0

[laijsica]

No one seem to be able to touch Spain, they are playing good football and winning games, the third goal what something out of a text book, Pedri and Lamine Yamal already knows the drill.
Croatia is just not on the same level as Spain and it was obvious today, I think I have watched all the big teams and aside Portugal I don't think there would be any contender strong enough to match Spain and even Portugal doesn't have what it takes to beat them.

Croatia played good football, the problem was they weren't able to score. That's not a bad performance overall, but only if they had scored more and used every opportunity, Spain used more of it that is why the scores ended in their favor. Spain played like a World Champion, the squad is still the same, active and ready to compete.

Last when Spain lost a game was in the Nations League final that happened last year, ever since, their poorest result has been a draw.

Croatia always takes the field as a good team, and they were good today too you certainly couldn't call their performance poor. The only issue was that they were up against Spain. Spain started the match by scoring a goal right away Yamal found the net almost immediately after kickoff. Spain is currently playing with a unique generation of talent there isn't a team they can't dismantle.

Yamal's goal at the beginning of the match was great and they were ahead in winning, but there was a fear that the opponent Croatia might come back, but the Spain team is at a unique height at this time. The current performance of the Spain team is capable of destroying the defense of any strong team and scoring goals. After winning the trophy by defeating the Argentina team in the World Cup, their performance has become even more impressive. It was not easy to beat England in the previous match, but the team won that match too.

[Pokapoka124]

Lamine Yamal is improving day by day and showing it to everyone. He scored two goals in today's match and is enjoying a similarly strong run of form with Barcelona. Despite his young age, he has become a magnificent player in my opinion, a world-class one. Croatia is not a weak team, but Spain is incredibly strong as the reigning World Cup champions, they dominate every opponent they face.

Yes Lamine Yamal, He's a very good and talented player no doubts, but there's nothing special about what he's doing now that's differently from what the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina Lionel Messi didn't do when they were at his age.  

How many players can you say the same thing about? In my opinion, Lamine Yamal being compared to Messi and Ronaldo makes him a very special player. He currently holds the record as the youngest player to score 50 club goals. That should tell you that this kid has the potential to become one of the greatest player of all time.

I predicted Spain to win but didn’t expected them to score four goals. Lamine Yamal would have scored an hattrick if he wasn’t subbed off, the kid is indeed the future of football.

Who else is having a good roll in the nations league?

[Solokan]

After defeating England in their first match, Spain has now defeated Croatia in their second match. In my opinion, the Spanish players really enjoyed the match. Spain managed to score four goals against Croatia, while Croatia unfortunately only managed to score one goal against Spain, ultimately winning the match 4-1

Lamine Yamal performed well in this match, scoring two goals against Spain and providing one assist. Nico and Pubill also performed very well in this match, also scoring one goal against Croatia. It's no wonder Spain can win the World Cup because their teamwork and attack are very good. I think there's great potential for Spain to win the Nations League. What do you think?

[Ale88]

Lamine Yamal is improving day by day and showing it to everyone. He scored two goals in today's match and is enjoying a similarly strong run of form with Barcelona. Despite his young age, he has become a magnificent player in my opinion, a world-class one. Croatia is not a weak team, but Spain is incredibly strong as the reigning World Cup champions, they dominate every opponent they face.

Well, he has all the platform he needs. Starting at such a young age with all the admirations from fans and managers, getting support from team mates, playing from one of the best sides both national and club side, being matched with one of the greatest to have ever played the game (Messi) and the free hand they give him on his roles on the team, he’s just got to be better.

As I said several times I'm not a Lamine Yamal fan because I don't like his attitude but I think you are trying to diminish his abilities and his achievements: he's not there because of the "platforms" or because the "admiration", he is there because he is freaking good at playing football. He potentially is a generational talent. He is only 19 years old and he has already played 35 matches for his national team winning a Euro Cup and a World Cup. It's insane.

[Solokan]

As hosts the Czech unfortunately suffered a 2-0 defeat against England ultimately failing to secure all three points This was undoubtedly a disappointment for Czech fans England boasts a wealth of strong players so it's understandable they should have won against the Czech Republic gordon scored with a fine header and capitalized on a chance Harry Kane also performed well scoring against the Czech

england currently sits second in Group C tied with first-place Spain Unfortunately the Czech Republic sits bottom of Group C However the Czech still has a chance to improve and all teams have a chance to bounce back I'm curious to know if you were successful with your bets on this match?

[GIF-JOBS]

As hosts the Czech unfortunately suffered a 2-0 defeat against England ultimately failing to secure all three points This was undoubtedly a disappointment for Czech fans England boasts a wealth of strong players so it's understandable they should have won against the Czech Republic gordon scored with a fine header and capitalized on a chance Harry Kane also performed well scoring against the Czech

england currently sits second in Group C tied with first-place Spain Unfortunately the Czech Republic sits bottom of Group C However the Czech still has a chance to improve and all teams have a chance to bounce back I'm curious to know if you were successful with your bets on this match?

They actually lost the first match yesterday, that is, when Pavel Šulc was sent off in the 23rd minute, they were weakened, and they started with a pretty good performance. If they had not received a red card, England would have had a chance to win, but not so easily, because the Czechs tried to do well even with a team of 10 men. Anyway, the Czechs lost 2-0 at home, which is definitely a disappointment for them.
On the other hand, Spain won the match again brilliantly, Lamine Yamal's first goal in the England match was just 2 minutes old, and in the last match, Lamine Yamal scored the first goal against Croatia and that too in just 2 minutes. Spain is quite strong in attack, and at the same time they maintain very good control of the ball, after Croatia equalized in the 28th minute they did not have any more chances to score, and after that Spain became more aggressive and scored one goal after another, and in the end they secured the match victory with a huge margin of 4-1. It seems that Spain will win every match in the group stage.

[püsür]

After defeating England in their first match, Spain has now defeated Croatia in their second match. In my opinion, the Spanish players really enjoyed the match. Spain managed to score four goals against Croatia, while Croatia unfortunately only managed to score one goal against Spain, ultimately winning the match 4-1

Lamine Yamal performed well in this match, scoring two goals against Spain and providing one assist. Nico and Pubill also performed very well in this match, also scoring one goal against Croatia. It's no wonder Spain can win the World Cup because their teamwork and attack are very good. I think there's great potential for Spain to win the Nations League. What do you think?

It seems like there is nothing Spain can't win right now. A flawless machine. With the match against Croatia, they also hold the record for the longest unbeaten run in national team football. Everyone wants their own national team to play like this and win. If the opponent play aggressively, they punish them with two goals. If they sit back in defence, the ball doesn’t touch their feet for 90 minutes. If you play cautiously, they lull you into a false sense of security and score instantly. They have an answer for every tactic the opposition employs. You know how sometimes you play really well but still can’t win? Well, that doesn’t happen with them. They just keep winning. Spain create chances so easily that they could score 8–10 against any opponent. They play very well as a team.

[Arenga pinnata]

After defeating England in their first match, Spain has now defeated Croatia in their second match. In my opinion, the Spanish players really enjoyed the match. Spain managed to score four goals against Croatia, while Croatia unfortunately only managed to score one goal against Spain, ultimately winning the match 4-1

Lamine Yamal performed well in this match, scoring two goals against Spain and providing one assist. Nico and Pubill also performed very well in this match, also scoring one goal against Croatia. It's no wonder Spain can win the World Cup because their teamwork and attack are very good. I think there's great potential for Spain to win the Nations League. What do you think?

In that match, Yamal truly demonstrated that he has become an increasingly mature player. He’s getting better and better over time. In the past, he was only good at setting up assists, but now he’s also good at scoring goals. Spain, with its abundance of young talent, is truly fortunate, because it’s certain that in the long run, the Spanish national team will be able to maintain its current level of performance.

But as for whether they can become champions or not, that’s still unclear. We know other teams are just as strong. Although Spain does always display a style of play that looks effortless, their players seem to be dancing on the field because they clearly enjoy every match, I still think winning the title will be very difficult. That said, I do agree with those who say Spain has a great chance of winning, because their strength certainly suggests as much.

[SatoPrincess]

Lamine Yamal is improving day by day and showing it to everyone. He scored two goals in today's match and is enjoying a similarly strong run of form with Barcelona. Despite his young age, he has become a magnificent player in my opinion, a world-class one. Croatia is not a weak team, but Spain is incredibly strong as the reigning World Cup champions, they dominate every opponent they face.

Well, he has all the platform he needs. Starting at such a young age with all the admirations from fans and managers, getting support from team mates, playing from one of the best sides both national and club side, being matched with one of the greatest to have ever played the game (Messi) and the free hand they give him on his roles on the team, he’s just got to be better.

Either way, Spain did what was expected of them today, scored lots of goals and remained dominant in their performance the entire game, Croatia did their bit but, the result was just inevitable.

To be fair, Lamine Yamal may just be as good as they say. He has great PR but bear in mind he also inherited haters from Messi and Barcelona. I could even argue that the Lamine Yamal hype isn’t much different from what we would expect from any 17-19 year old that’s on that level. Rooney, Mbappe, Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar were all exceptional at that age, only two names on the list have won ballon d’Ors, so it’s not a matter of skill or hype, it’s about longevity.

[Uhde]

yeah. German team is desperately missing the days of Klinsmann and Oliver Bierhoff... imo even if they bring in the world's best manager, it's unfortunately impossible for them to succeed without catching a golden generation...

Good analysis here, it is true, you could bring in any coach, Guardiola, Klopp, I don't know, and they couldn't change a thing. Germany's offense is catastrophically bad and their defense sucks likewise. One can only be jealous of Spain, watching them bring on one talent after the next, one generation without interruption being connected to the next, and the next, and the next. They have a system, Germany doesn't. When I watch matches of Germany, it is as if they don't know whether they want to play counter attacks, whether they want to play high ball possession, or whether they want to play with very active wing players and cross balls or try to find their way through the center. It has become boring to watch them and they used to be one of the teams that promise a lot of action beforehand.

I thinks this crisis will take them years, Klopp can't build a competitive team strong enough to play a successful European Championship in 2028. This is in less than two years. They have a few great talents who are very ambitious, but I think that is not enough to deal with Spain, France, England.

I was kind of confused when I saw Klopp taking over the national team because he is usually very good at assessing the player quality he has at his disposal. I think he must have known that it is not looking good, but perhaps he thought that the advantage of the timing, his age and everything, outweighs the persisting quality deficit.

yes,imo root cause of these failures is the problem with talent production in German football...
in fact, Lahm offered a great critique on this subject when Klopp took charge. Concepts like a defensive culture and one on one duel techniques are simply not being taught in youth academies. in terms of sheer fighting discipline it falls far behind South American football discipline. and that's not something you can teach during a brief 3 to 5 day national team camp anyway.

[Cyber_warrior]

As hosts the Czech unfortunately suffered a 2-0 defeat against England ultimately failing to secure all three points This was undoubtedly a disappointment for Czech fans England boasts a wealth of strong players so it's understandable they should have won against the Czech Republic gordon scored with a fine header and capitalized on a chance Harry Kane also performed well scoring against the Czech

england currently sits second in Group C tied with first-place Spain Unfortunately the Czech Republic sits bottom of Group C However the Czech still has a chance to improve and all teams have a chance to bounce back I'm curious to know if you were successful with your bets on this match?

England sits second but they are not tied with Spain, but rather Croatia. It was a good game from England, but they benefited it from the red card, the red card made it very easy for them to get a win against Czech. England will now play their last game against Croatia, it always an entertainment game when those 2 nations play against each other. The first half was a goalless draw, I knew after that red card that England was going to win.

I still feel England will qualify from that group, they will beat Croatia. England have a good team, so winning against Croatia should be easy, but it not going to be a easy win for them.

[Lannakosa]

After losing to Belgium, Italy managed to get a very convincing 4–1 win over Turkey in their second match. I didn’t expect Italy to score so many goals, but I’m glad they were able to get such a convincing victory. Their next match will be away against France. This will probably be their toughest test, because France are in excellent form, and I think that even a draw in this match would be enough to show that Italy are doing well.

[hmbdofficial]

After defeating England in their first match, Spain has now defeated Croatia in their second match. In my opinion, the Spanish players really enjoyed the match. Spain managed to score four goals against Croatia, while Croatia unfortunately only managed to score one goal against Spain, ultimately winning the match 4-1

Lamine Yamal performed well in this match, scoring two goals against Spain and providing one assist. Nico and Pubill also performed very well in this match, also scoring one goal against Croatia. It's no wonder Spain can win the World Cup because their teamwork and attack are very good. I think there's great potential for Spain to win the Nations League. What do you think?

I know Spain were capable of winning Croatia even before the match started. But what I didn’t expect was much goals from the match, I use to know Croatia at also being good with the ball so I expect a tight game with lesser goals. My prediction for the match was 2-1 win to Spain, but that ended up being the exact score at Half time, then I thought we might likely see a goal draught at the second half but the young lad (yamal), was on fire and said no to my prediction.
In all Spain looks great and I think they do deserve the result they are getting I’m sure every other Nation are envying their team work together with the quality they’ve got. The most amazing thing about the team is that they are bunch of young players who still have much time to play more game for years to come.

[Sim_card]

England won but, I sure did want them to do that from the first half, lots of hard luck shaped their game on goal scoring today, had some balls on the post and what a season Rogers is having, man has being getting better and better.

We would have seen a tougher game for England assuming that Czech didn't get a red card in the first half and even with the red card England couldn't use that as an advantage to get a goal. Not until, the second half that Tuchel has talked a lot of sense into their heads and gave them the clue on how to overcome Czech defending tactics. However, the results came out as expected for both Spain and England.

[satscraper]

~
Tomorrow, Portugal plays against Denmark. Cristiano Ronaldo did not train for Portugal's match against Denmark, but controversy has already arisen before the game even begins; it seems Ronaldo is unhappy with the direction Jorge Jesus is taking regarding his role in the team.

In my view there will not be too much risk for me to place the ticket on Portugal because even without Cristiano Ronaldo playing, they have definetely stronger squad. I have high hopes for Joao Felix and think he will score at least once. So my prediction for this match is 1-0 or 2-1 with Portugal win.

[Majestic-milf]

 I will keep saying it, England are not a big team. They might have all the big names but it doesn't stop them from being flops. Their game against Spain revealed how poor they are and I'm very certain that if it weren't for the red card gotten by Czech, England would have found it hard to beat them. I seriously don't get why England will be struggling to win games easily when almost all their first eleven play for top European clubs. Is it that these players prefer to give their best at their clubs than in their country.

[Daniel91]

No one seem to be able to touch Spain, they are playing good football and winning games, the third goal what something out of a text book, Pedri and Lamine Yamal already knows the drill.
Croatia is just not on the same level as Spain and it was obvious today, I think I have watched all the big teams and aside Portugal I don't think there would be any contender strong enough to match Spain and even Portugal doesn't have what it takes to beat them.

Croatia played good football, the problem was they weren't able to score. That's not a bad performance overall, but only if they had scored more and used every opportunity, Spain used more of it that is why the scores ended in their favor. Spain played like a World Champion, the squad is still the same, active and ready to compete.

Last when Spain lost a game was in the Nations League final that happened last year, ever since, their poorest result has been a draw.

I don't think Croatia played a good game.
Okay, we all agree here that Spain, the current world and European champions, are currently the best team in the world and "a class above the rest", but England showed a few days ago that a team can play against Spain and have a chance to win, with the right approach, strategy, aggression on the pitch, etc.
It seems to me that the Croatian players were too impressed with Spain, not aggressive enough on the pitch and too slow, and Livakovic probably played the worst game ever for Croatia.
He simply had to react better to the first goal of the Spaniards, which set the game in motion.
For Croatia, the game against England will be a "match of truth" and Spain continues its incredible unbeaten streak, currently 40 games without defeat, which is a world record.
I predict that Spain will continue to win trophies in the next 4-8 years and be the main favorite in all competitions in which they participate. Yamal is already fantastic and on his way to being the 'new Messi' and maybe even better.

[KTChampions]

Well, he has all the platform he needs. Starting at such a young age with all the admirations from fans and managers, getting support from team mates, playing from one of the best sides both national and club side, being matched with one of the greatest to have ever played the game (Messi) and the free hand they give him on his roles on the team, he’s just got to be better.

As I said several times I'm not a Lamine Yamal fan because I don't like his attitude but I think you are trying to diminish his abilities and his achievements: he's not there because of the "platforms" or because the "admiration", he is there because he is freaking good at playing football. He potentially is a generational talent. He is only 19 years old and he has already played 35 matches for his national team winning a Euro Cup and a World Cup. It's insane.

No one (it seems) disputes that Yamal is good. The problem is that the hype surrounding him far exceeds the level of his actual output. Two seasons ago, everyone was sick to death of that "he's only 17" slogan - back when Barcelona threw Rafinha (who was clearly better that season) under the bus and hyped up Yamal for the Ballon d'Or. Intrusive advertising is annoying even when the product is good  As for titles, no matter how you look at it, football is a team sport, it is impossible to deny that some players have an incredible advantage over others simply because of the team they play for. Take Ronaldo Nazário, for instance - he was incredibly talented, even genius, but we all remember the team (national) he played for, it would be hard to claim that he single-handedly carried his team and that nothing would have happened without him.