⚽ UEFA Nations League ⚽ - Discussion Thread

[red4slash]

Spain is intimidating because they win by a wide margin. I thought Croatia would play a very good match and that it would be difficult for them to beat, but it wasn't like that. I didn't like that they didn't put Modric in from the start. Coaches these days are very strange in their decisions; I don't understand them. If you have your best star player on the field, you should put him in to make the difference. If he comes on and can't continue from fatigue, then take him off, but don't wait until the 80th minute to put him in and try to salvage a game that's completely lost.

It was a mistake but I can understand why they did it because with Spain's tempo fast enough, forcing Modric from the start could drain all the stamina he has especially with the age of Modric who is 41 years old it is a little difficult to rely on this player from the start so Croatia tried to set a more extreme strategy by rotating from the start.

But the impact was felt because when Croatia lost the figure of the captain in midfield made them a little hassles in chemistry that made Spain outperform them from the start.
The result was not very good for Croatia but looking at what happened it was not a setback just that the level is now different when Spain dominated by young players with a combination of tiki taka a new version of Luis de la Fuente is a little scary for anyone who becomes their opponent.

[Altryist]

According to Marca Cristiano Ronaldo has left the Portugal training camp after a tension between him and Jorge Jesus, for no playing him against Norway. This small conflicts made the president of the Portugal national team to travel to Copenhagen in order to settle the rift, but it looks like it didn't end well. Ronaldo is the causing this issue to himself, and alot of Portuguese on X are complaining about his attitude. Like this saying goes You either live long enough to become a hero, or die a villain. Now he is looking as Villian in the Portugal team, even his teammates doesn't regard or give him appropriate respect. At 41 years, he should have retired, and level the national team at the hands of the new generations. Leo Messi left because he realised that he can't do it for the Argentina team anymore and pass the mantle to the younger generation, now he will playing his farewell match soon, where he will be celebrated as a hero. Even Ronaldo should know that he can't do his magic anymore. I just hope he makes his decisions to retire after this hero, so that this disrespect can stop.

I think that at his age, he needs to understand he cannot be on the pitch for every game. I believe his call-up to the Portugal squad was a gesture of respect towards him. And provoking conflicts with Jesus simply because he wasn't fielded is behavior that does him no credit. His decision to leave the training camp on his own accord only makes matters worse for him. And I think the Portugal national team won't lose anything by his departure.

[Jewan420]

Here I completely agreed with you because now its right time to have changes and bringing new blood who can handle things with balance and also improve quality and consistency of Portugal team his presence is surely good but now they needed to be change his role from only player to be mentor player.
41 years old done enough for his team but surely now thinking about future and giving enough space to players for giving their best will be boost their performance he is now having not potential like he play few years back its always cycle every great player having his day so its also time for thinking about this surely going to be helpful for all stakeholders.
His presence is also bringing not good results as well because sometime its feel not good specially ego issue is surely needed to be settled.

I agree with you, Cristiano Ronaldo should either stay in the team as a consultant player or he should completely give up his position to a younger player. He could have brought good results if he was in the team a few years ago, but recently he has been bringing negative results, due to which we also see criticism of him.

While he is in the team, it is necessary to create a good alternative and bring changes to the team. The national team cannot run on emotions in any way, but rather, it has to be based on statistics and performance. But the current Ronaldo has neither of these two qualities. The reality is that he is a 41-year-old, tired player who is not able to run the entire match.

[Zaguru12]

I agree with you, Cristiano Ronaldo should either stay in the team as a consultant player or he should completely give up his position to a younger player. He could have brought good results if he was in the team a few years ago, but recently he has been bringing negative results, due to which we also see criticism of him.

While he is in the team, it is necessary to create a good alternative and bring changes to the team. The national team cannot run on emotions in any way, but rather, it has to be based on statistics and performance. But the current Ronaldo has neither of these two qualities. The reality is that he is a 41-year-old, tired player who is not able to run the entire match.

You want us to be honest with each other? Cristiano Ronaldo should have respected himself and stay far away from the national team because let’s be honest the disrespect he brings to himself is just too much. In the last World Cup they played him all throughout the World Cup and then had a bad World Cup and many people complained about it been him that is keeping the team back. I was expecting that after the World Cup he would gladly step away to actually allow them do there thing but here he is again back with them chasing what I don’t know again.

All this talks of him sticking with the team to help or do anything is something I will never agree with because realistically it is not what it’s to be, he should be far away and sending support. There is a saying that the best time to leave a stage is when the standing ovation is in its loudest. Ronaldo should simply retire, he has offered almost everything that he can offer so what’s remaining again.

[AYOBA]

Italy cannot win France even in the absence of Kylian Mbappe. I know that France has been very poor in goalscoring recently, but that doesn't mean that they will allow Italy who is still managing to get up from their slumber. Even without Kylian Mbappe, France still makes a perfect squad because they have Bradley Barcola, Ousmame Dembele and Michael Olise who can still cover up for his absence. France is dangerous in attacking, I don't think Italy can contain the pressure that will come from France attacks. The reason why Italy won Turkey in their last game was because they were very quick to score a lot of goals in the first half. When it got to the second half they literally lost their strength and couldn't continue with same energy anymore.

I also agree with you Italy to win France that will need happen because France are a great country that are full with keys players, reason why some people are hope for Italy that they can able to win France is because of their previous match Turkey that they where make it to have a chance to score many goals. But people need to understand that France aren’t like turkey they don’t tolerate nonsense.

Italy don’t really have the strength to contain the powerful force and pressure that will come from France, I will not say they won’t score a goal since the football is unpredictable, but winning the France that is what they will find very difficult in that their upcoming match.

[Shineup]

italy is playing far better than turkey. today, turkey can’t even string together a decent pass on the field, and italy has created scoring chances time and time again. it seems to me like this match could end with a historic margin of victory. i thought italy was the team turkey could compete with the most in their group, but right now, this match is going even worse than the one against france. i don’t know if turkey will pull it together in the second half, but it seems impossible for them to make a comeback in this match.

I’d say everyone was expecting a swift response from Italy following their defeat against Belgium. And now they’re leading the match 1–4 against Turkey. But as an Italian, I don’t really feel that euphoria of victory that used to run through my veins, because I’m convinced this result is just a flash in the pan. Against the more technically gifted teams, Italy loses badly, and I don’t think Turkey have an unbeatable side, given that they also failed miserably at the World Cup.

I love italy even though i am not italian, i have been following napoli for 14 years, and i generally love Italian football because it is played with the head and the heart. Believe me, these are also the wins that matter and that are in a way a "stepping stone" for what comes next. italian football is in a crisis at the moment and every win in competitions like this matters. The group is tough, but i believe italy can stay there and show that they belong in division a, which also gives benefits for the qualifiers for the next euro.

I wish I could be as optimistic as you are. But unfortunately, I now see the glass as half empty, if not completely empty. What we’re experiencing isn’t just a temporary crisis, but a genuine decline in Italian football! We’re no longer able to produce young talents as we once did; now we only have good players who are overrated, and that, sadly, is the grim reality. If the FIGC has no intention of taking action, we’ll witness an incredible collapse

I think the Italian national team are of same stage with Juventus of the Italian sería A, like these two were the king that once ruled the jungle, but now they are prey to the least animal on that same jungle, I think this started the very year they lost a final to Argentina in the year 2022, in the Finalissima UEFA cup of champions, after that lost that was when Italy decline on the game of soccer, since then they have been struggling even to qualify world cup, but never the less I still believe they will bounce back stronger, it's only but a matter of time.

[katanic97]

~

I wish I could be as optimistic as you are. But unfortunately, I now see the glass as half empty, if not completely empty. What we’re experiencing isn’t just a temporary crisis, but a genuine decline in Italian football! We’re no longer able to produce young talents as we once did; now we only have good players who are overrated, and that, sadly, is the grim reality. If the FIGC has no intention of taking action, we’ll witness an incredible collapse

It’s not such a collapse when you look a little further back in history. You won the 2006 WC, then finished second at EURO 2012, reached the quarter finals in 2016, and won EURO 2021. That’s simply the situation at the moment. It’s a fact that Italy has missed three WC in a row, but that dark streak will come to an end soon as well. You have to stay optimistic.

[Cryptoprincess101]

Spain is intimidating because they win by a wide margin. I thought Croatia would play a very good match and that it would be difficult for them to beat, but it wasn't like that. I didn't like that they didn't put Modric in from the start. Coaches these days are very strange in their decisions; I don't understand them. If you have your best star player on the field, you should put him in to make the difference. If he comes on and can't continue from fatigue, then take him off, but don't wait until the 80th minute to put him in and try to salvage a game that's completely lost.

Luka Modric is already old, you don't expect the coach to him because he might get tired before full-time. Besides, Luka Modric is not as he used to be when he was very much younger, even if he was to be a starter, he would have probably not make any difference. We should just accept the fact that Spain was stronger, more experienced and more tactical.

Croatia is not a difficult team to defeat because most of those players that were performing incredibly well for them in the past are no longer in the squad. Spain is just becoming an unstoppable team in recent years, they are so formidable.

[Hypnotizer]

-snip

I think that at his age, he needs to understand he cannot be on the pitch for every game. I believe his call-up to the Portugal squad was a gesture of respect towards him. And provoking conflicts with Jesus simply because he wasn't fielded is behavior that does him no credit. His decision to leave the training camp on his own accord only makes matters worse for him. And I think the Portugal national team won't lose anything by his departure.

I thought he’d retire from the National team immediately after the World Cup but surprisingly Messi was the one that retired. Ronaldo is past his prime sometime ago and right now younger players like Goncalo Ramos can offer more than what he does on the pitch if they play instead of him, so this is he’s very best time to retire from the National Team.

He made a post after his departure from the National team training camp saying “he'll tell the truth to all the Portuguese people about the reason that motivated him to leave the camp in due time”. Maybe he’ll probably announce his retirement from the National team next, and that would be the best decision he’d make.

[Promocodeudo]

~
I wish I could be as optimistic as you are. But unfortunately, I now see the glass as half empty, if not completely empty. What we’re experiencing isn’t just a temporary crisis, but a genuine decline in Italian football! We’re no longer able to produce young talents as we once did; now we only have good players who are overrated, and that, sadly, is the grim reality. If the FIGC has no intention of taking action, we’ll witness an incredible collapse

It’s not such a collapse when you look a little further back in history. You won the 2006 WC, then finished second at EURO 2012, reached the quarter finals in 2016, and won EURO 2021. That’s simply the situation at the moment. It’s a fact that Italy has missed three WC in a row, but that dark streak will come to an end soon as well. You have to stay optimistic.

I could remember them winning the world cup in 2006 and EURO 2021. Back them they were a very tough nation especially in the world cup but they suddenly started declining four over a decade which was very surprising. However their football federation needed to be queried for that. Well i see they're trying to improve and go back to being one of the best teams in the world, although it might take a while but they'll never have bad performance forever hopefully there would be changes concerning developing future world class players.

[Muba20]

Now Italy will be playing their next game against France, they will need to do so much if they really want to beat France. With Mbappe out injured, France looked less threatened In front of goal, they could only scored one.

Italy need to keep this performance up, in the past few years, they have been disappointing, they even missed out in the World Cup. So let see if they can prove there is improvement with the new coach.

Italy cannot win France even in the absence of Kylian Mbappe. I know that France has been very poor in goalscoring recently, but that doesn't mean that they will allow Italy who is still managing to get up from their slumber. Even without Kylian Mbappe, France still makes a perfect squad because they have Bradley Barcola, Ousmame Dembele and Michael Olise who can still cover up for his absence. France is dangerous in attacking, I don't think Italy can contain the pressure that will come from France attacks. The reason why Italy won Turkey in their last game was because they were very quick to score a lot of goals in the first half. When it got to the second half they literally lost their strength and couldn't continue with same energy anymore.

There is no other team to beat France in Group A. France is undoubtedly a strong team. The rest of the teams in Group A are much weaker than France. So France victory in these matches is very natural. Mbappe is a good player but his narcissistic attitude at times which creates a lot of pressure on the team. If he is in a bad mood, France can concede goals even from weak teams due to this pressure. France will never be weak without Mbappe. Because they have a balanced team with fast strikers. Which can easily beat at least Belgium, Italy and Turkey. Maybe the upcoming matches will be a little more interesting but the final result of the match we will see France winning. So I am not worried about the upcoming match.

[SmartCharpa]

Now Italy will be playing their next game against France, they will need to do so much if they really want to beat France. With Mbappe out injured, France looked less threatened In front of goal, they could only scored one.

Italy need to keep this performance up, in the past few years, they have been disappointing, they even missed out in the World Cup. So let see if they can prove there is improvement with the new coach.

Italy cannot win France even in the absence of Kylian Mbappe. I know that France has been very poor in goalscoring recently, but that doesn't mean that they will allow Italy who is still managing to get up from their slumber. Even without Kylian Mbappe, France still makes a perfect squad because they have Bradley Barcola, Ousmame Dembele and Michael Olise who can still cover up for his absence. France is dangerous in attacking, I don't think Italy can contain the pressure that will come from France attacks. The reason why Italy won Turkey in their last game was because they were very quick to score a lot of goals in the first half. When it got to the second half they literally lost their strength and couldn't continue with same energy anymore.

France performance is very disappointing for some people in this tournament, they are not scoring goals the way a lot of people expect. France scoring just one goal in each of their last two games is not their kind of football. France is a team that is known for scoring goals against any opponent. I thought it was due to the strength of their opponent, which is why they struggled to win against Belgium, ended up winning by one goal but the same result against Turkey.

France might be stronger than Italy, but anything can also happen. Italy destroyed Turkey, the same team France struggled to beat, even when they were down to 10 men. In my opinion, Italy is better than France in term of midfield, France midfield is one of their major problems. They usually struggles against other teams with quality midfielders.

[Jaycoinz]

~

I wish I could be as optimistic as you are. But unfortunately, I now see the glass as half empty, if not completely empty. What we’re experiencing isn’t just a temporary crisis, but a genuine decline in Italian football! We’re no longer able to produce young talents as we once did; now we only have good players who are overrated, and that, sadly, is the grim reality. If the FIGC has no intention of taking action, we’ll witness an incredible collapse

It’s not such a collapse when you look a little further back in history. You won the 2006 WC, then finished second at EURO 2012, reached the quarter finals in 2016, and won EURO 2021. That’s simply the situation at the moment. It’s a fact that Italy has missed three WC in a row, but that dark streak will come to an end soon as well. You have to stay optimistic.

Honestly I agree with the guy from the previous post, the Italian football use to be terrifying and now they can't even compete and they are not even showing signs of producing the next players that would dominate, just check the big clubs in there domestic league and count how many Italian players are there. That small stat tells us alot about the nation. Missing 3 WC is a row is an abomination while teams like Bosnia & Herzegovina made it through, same with Serbia.

[Pandorak]

According to Marca Cristiano Ronaldo has left the Portugal training camp after a tension between him and Jorge Jesus, for no playing him against Norway. This small conflicts made the president of the Portugal national team to travel to Copenhagen in order to settle the rift, but it looks like it didn't end well. Ronaldo is the causing this issue to himself, and alot of Portuguese on X are complaining about his attitude. Like this saying goes You either live long enough to become a hero, or die a villain. Now he is looking as Villian in the Portugal team, even his teammates doesn't regard or give him appropriate respect. At 41 years, he should have retired, and level the national team at the hands of the new generations. Leo Messi left because he realised that he can't do it for the Argentina team anymore and pass the mantle to the younger generation, now he will playing his farewell match soon, where he will be celebrated as a hero. Even Ronaldo should know that he can't do his magic anymore. I just hope he makes his decisions to retire after this hero, so that this disrespect can stop.

Retiring from the national team is indeed the best choice right now. Even though he’s still in good enough shape to continue contributing to the team, it must be acknowledged that, given his performance, Cristiano Ronaldo has more than earned his retirement. Besides, many of his teammates don’t appreciate him enough and that’s not good. More than that, there’s one thing that Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t lost to this day, in fact, it continues to grow and flourish and that is his popularity. Wherever he goes, fans and the media are sure to follow him, perhaps this is also why the Portuguese national team continues to call him up.

[9ja Amaka]

According to Marca, Cristiano Ronaldo has left the Portugal training camp after a tension between him and Jorge Jesus, for no playing him against Norway. This small conflicts made the president of the Portugal national team to travel to Copenhagen in order to settle the rift, but it looks like it didn't end well. Ronaldo is the causing this issue to himself, and alot of Portuguese on X are complaining about his attitude. Like this saying goes You either live long enough to become a hero, or die a villain. Now he is looking as Villian in the Portugal team, even his teammates doesn't regard or give him appropriate respect. At 41 years, he should have retired, and level the national team at the hands of the new generations. Leo Messi left because he realised that he can't do it for the Argentina team anymore and pass the mantle to the younger generation, now he will playing his farewell match soon, where he will be celebrated as a hero. Even Ronaldo should know that he can't do his magic anymore. I just hope he makes his decisions to retire after this hero, so that this disrespect can stop.

Cristiano Ronaldo has to quit national football because he is tired of the team's weakness. The team doesn't play to his standard. If Cristiano Ronaldo were at his prime, none of the Portuguese players could match his ability on the pitch. Age is not his problem at the moment because Cristiano Ronaldo worked hard to get to this level. The problem is that each Portuguese player wants to score and get fame instead of doing teamwork.

The Portuguese football fan should not forget the pride and respect Cristiano Ronaldo brought to their national team. No amount of attitude he shows is enough for them to see him as a villain. This is not the way to show respect to the greatest Portuguese player to ever set foot on earth.

[Queen uloma]

Jorge Jesus actually disrespected Ronaldo and it is very bad of him. I was not expecting him to act this way towards Ronaldo. If he knows he was not willing to use Ronaldo he shouldn’t have called him up, it is a big embarrassment for a player like Ronaldo to be called up just to keep him on the bench.
My anger right now is that the coach is making this kind of statement and I don’t see the reason why he should be making this kind of statement. It is very bad of him.
Let see if his going to win the trophy.

[pawel7777]

We had a little break today but some more action is returning tomorrow.
Fixtures and 1win.com odds for all tomorrow's matches of matchday 3:

Azerbaijan x1.14 Vs Liechtenstein x20.50; Draw x7.60
Wales x6.60 Vs Norway x1.46; Draw x4.84
Germany x1.23 Vs Serbia x13.10; Draw x6.40
Denmark x3.54 Vs Portugal x2.04; Draw x3.70
Greece x3.47 Vs Netherlands x2.08; Draw x3.65
Malta x1.29 Vs Gibraltar x11.70; Draw x5.20
Republic of Ireland x3.54 Vs Austria x2.17; Draw x3.30
Israel x3.24 Vs Kosovo x2.25; Draw x3.39

It's hard to make any predictions here as a lot of the games look really even so could go either way, but I think Norway is a fairly safe choice.

The big news is that Cristiano Ronaldo has left Portugal's camp, so don't expect to see him tomorrow.

[Juicyhome]

Jorge Jesus actually disrespected Ronaldo and it is very bad of him. I was not expecting him to act this way towards Ronaldo. If he knows he was not willing to use Ronaldo he shouldn’t have called him up, it is a big embarrassment for a player like Ronaldo to be called up just to keep him on the bench.
My anger right now is that the coach is making this kind of statement and I don’t see the reason why he should be making this kind of statement. It is very bad of him.
Let see if his going to win the trophy.

I'm surprised by the statement of the Portugal coach Jorge Jesus,  him and Ronaldo won the league together with Al-nassr,  Ronaldo help him secured the Portugal coaching job, only for him to make such a statement on the symbol of Portugal football,  this is not the best way to resolve the issue,  Ronaldo deserves respect and honor for all he did for Portugal, Jorge Jesus will have a challenge with the nation team,  the fans are not happy with him for benching Ronaldo in 90 minutes,  that's disrespectful. Is good Ronaldo leave the national team camp, anywhere where there's disrespect leave that place,  don't endure, just walk out, and that's exactly what Ronaldo did.

[LGD2Business]

It's strange that Ronaldo left the camp. At this stage of his career he may be frustrated that he's still being left out. The coach decides who plays. No one's place is guaranteed. Ronaldo should accept that it's time for him to retire. Portugal plays better without him. If Jesus wants to play with someone else, Ronaldo has to respect that. Every player should respect the coach's decisions. What Ronaldo did was wrong. The national team is not a place for anyone to throw a tantrum.

[coinlary]

I only see what Ronaldo did as something that doesn’t make any sense. You haven't had your last party yet and all you do is get annoyed for not playing you in a game that your nation eventually won? C'mon, he's a figure and can do better than what he just did.

There's absolutely no problem with showing support in a cheerful manner when the games are ongoing, even if you will eventually protest later.

He just keeps making things worse for himself before he retires. I wonder how he wants his national team to give him a retirement party after what he just did. Well, no one can't  tell their view on this but still , it doesn’t look good for a player like Christiano Ronaldo.