⚽ UEFA Nations League ⚽ - Discussion Thread

[Tonimez]

Portugal with a big 4-2 win over Denmark. This doesn't look great for Cristiano Ronaldo. It seems like Portugal's attack has improved post his departure. But it's hard to judge after only 2 games.

Cristiano Ronaldo should accept the reality of life; he is not a young player anymore, he is almost 41 years of age, he don’t expect his performance to be at the highest level and expected to start all matches when if he is in the field he can be considered as a minus player because his impact is not much in the team anymore, he should have just did as Messi did since he even tried in the World Cup and he couldn’t win anything, he should avoid all these dramas if he retires from football since he has won almost everything, and no matter what, he will remain there because the memories they bring are mean to be remembered.

It is true that Ronaldo is of age and needs to bow out of the game as soon as possible to avoid further drama. I expected him to retired ll from national football immediately after the world cup but we all know that he has a mission of achieving his 1000 goals target which I think lured him into accepting to return to the national team coupled with the fact that Jorge Jesus is someone he has worked with at Al Nassr and doesn't think he will get any ill treatment from someone he worked closely with. Messi is still fit but decided to retire honourably, but he was deceived by fans love and he wanted to try more and now his reputation has suffered backlash.

Now the team has won a match without him, they should just focus on building their team and stop relying on individual performance, so that when one is not there, the team can survive.

Winning a game is what any team can always do. That Christiano Ronaldo is no longer in the team does not Automatically mean they wouldn't win anymore games. But then does this justify the treatment that Jorge Jesus gave to Christiano Ronaldo, No! It was a total act of betrayal and you have to understand that Christiano Ronaldo is someone with pride and doesn't like being disrespected publicly because of his fanbase.

I'm sure no real football fan would ever support the coach because to cap it all, just less than some hours after Ronaldo left the camp, he handed over his Jessy number to Rafael Laeo. The Portuguese football federation need to apologise to Ronaldo because no matter what, he carried the nation when they didn't have the hope of coming to the limelight.

[IjawMan]

Portugal with a big 4-2 win over Denmark. This doesn't look great for Cristiano Ronaldo. It seems like Portugal's attack has improved post his departure. But it's hard to judge after only 2 games.

Cristiano Ronaldo should accept the reality of life; he is not a young player anymore, he is almost 41 years of age, he don’t expect his performance to be at the highest level and expected to start all matches when if he is in the field he can be considered as a minus player because his impact is not much in the team anymore, he should have just did as Messi did since he even tried in the World Cup and he couldn’t win anything, he should avoid all these dramas if he retires from football since he has won almost everything, and no matter what, he will remain there because the memories they bring are mean to be remembered.

It is true that Ronaldo is of age and needs to bow out of the game as soon as possible to avoid further drama. I expected him to retired ll from national football immediately after the world cup but we all know that he has a mission of achieving his 1000 goals target which I think lured him into accepting to return to the national team coupled with the fact that Jorge Jesus is someone he has worked with at Al Nassr and doesn't think he will get any ill treatment from someone he worked closely with. Messi is still fit but decided to retire honourably, but he was deceived by fans love and he wanted to try more and now his reputation has suffered backlash.

Should it be said that Ronaldo is making or has made one of the biggest mistakes in his career and this should not have been considering how recognised his achievements in football is. I wish he had retired from international football just after the world cup it would have been honourable to his career. Now no one is talking about all his long time achievements cause of a short moment act of unprofessionalism which I believe was bursted out of emotions.

We know he loves the sport and will want to play till death if it was possible but this is not, and the quicker he realises that still playing for Portugal at his present age is a privilege and not about how good he is the quicker he will learn to stay calm and work with his teammates and coach decisions.

Scoring one thousand goals in a career is not going to be a record breaker feat from all I know a player in the name Pelle has attained that feat and did not do it by despising his national success and placing his own personal success above the team. It time people who advises Ronaldo needs to do better to help him remold his image before he destroys every good imagination he has created in fans head  through our the time of his career.

[SatoPrincess]

Despite what Ronaldo has done for Portugal, there are people who believe Portugal is better without Ronaldo, and are using yesterday’s game as evidence. This narrative is being pushed by the media with headlines like “Ronaldo-less Portugal Prospers” e.t.c.

Neymar is washed but still went to the World Cup. The fans wanted him there because they felt they owe him that for the many years Neymar served the national team. As far as I can remember, Ronaldo carried Portugal for the longest, and now that they have good players, Ronaldo is suddenly the one holding the team back.

[Daniel91]

Despite what Ronaldo has done for Portugal, there are people who believe Portugal is better without Ronaldo, and are using yesterday’s game as evidence. This narrative is being pushed by the media with headlines like “Ronaldo-less Portugal Prospers” e.t.c.

Neymar is washed but still went to the World Cup. The fans wanted him there because they felt they owe him that for the many years Neymar served the national team. As far as I can remember, Ronaldo carried Portugal for the longest, and now that they have good players, Ronaldo is suddenly the one holding the team back.

I don't think anyone here disputes that Ronaldo, along with Messi, is the greatest footballer of the last 20 years.
His individual, club and national team successes are undeniable, and so is his legacy.
The main question is not whether Ronaldo has indebted Portuguese football, but whether any footballer can be more important than Portuguese football and the national team and play based on past merits and not the current quality of his game?
Is Ronaldo the one who should determine when and for how long he will play or should the Portuguese coach have the right to decide on that?
As far as I know, Ronaldo is still just a footballer and not a team coach, for now.
As for yesterday's matches, Portugal played an excellent game against Denmark, as did Germany against Serbia.
I'm a little surprised that Norway lost against Wales and the Netherlands managed to avoid defeat against a fierce Greece in the last minute.

[SatoPrincess]

Is Ronaldo the one who should determine when and for how long he will play or should the Portuguese coach have the right to decide on that?
As far as I know, Ronaldo is still just a footballer and not a team coach, for now.

So when/if he becomes a manager, he can sub sub himself in matches. How ridiculous! I don’t know any player who is that good that will be happy to sit on the bench. Also, where’s your evidence that Ronaldo had problems with Jorge Jesus over game minutes? No one knows what really happened in the training session, it could have been anything. Celebrating Jorge Jesus for benching Ronaldo as if that’s an achievement just shows how much the media hates Ronaldo.

Personally, I can’t wait for Ronaldo to leave the national team so I can stop supporting Portugal.

[Pablo-wood]

Is Ronaldo the one who should determine when and for how long he will play or should the Portuguese coach have the right to decide on that?
As far as I know, Ronaldo is still just a footballer and not a team coach, for now.

So when/if he becomes a manager, he can sub sub himself in matches. How ridiculous! I don’t know any player who is that good that will be happy to sit on the bench. Also, where’s your evidence that Ronaldo had problems with Jorge Jesus over game minutes? No one knows what really happened in the training session, it could have been anything. Celebrating Jorge Jesus for benching Ronaldo as if that’s an achievement just shows how much the media hates Ronaldo.

Personally, I can’t wait for Ronaldo to leave the national team so I can stop supporting Portugal.

A good player should first learn tolerance and respect for their coach. If a coach chooses not to feature a certain player regardless of how good they are the player should learn to respect that decision. We shouldn't forget blames and praises return to the coach based on the teams performance. Ronaldo is an iconic player but he isn't as energetic has he was years back the coach had a tactic he wanted for his last game which turned out positive to me Ronaldo shouldn't have acted furious but rather celebrate their win regardless of him being benched.

[Daniel91]

Is Ronaldo the one who should determine when and for how long he will play or should the Portuguese coach have the right to decide on that?
As far as I know, Ronaldo is still just a footballer and not a team coach, for now.

So when/if he becomes a manager, he can sub sub himself in matches. How ridiculous! I don’t know any player who is that good that will be happy to sit on the bench. Also, where’s your evidence that Ronaldo had problems with Jorge Jesus over game minutes? No one knows what really happened in the training session, it could have been anything. Celebrating Jorge Jesus for benching Ronaldo as if that’s an achievement just shows how much the media hates Ronaldo.

Personally, I can’t wait for Ronaldo to leave the national team so I can stop supporting Portugal.

Please don't twist my words and give them a different meaning.
The coach is responsible for the team composition and results in every team, not individual players, even if it was the football legend Ronaldo.
I don't need any evidence about what Ronaldo discussed with the coach, and whether or not there is a problem between them, the only important thing is the fact that he left his national team and that cannot be justified by any arguments.
Portuguese football has existed for 105 years (since 1921), and will exist for the next 100 years, and Portugal is more important than Ronaldo, and in the past it also had superstars, like Eusebio, and it will not collapse because of Ronaldo's departure.
Ronaldo is a great football star, but that doesn't give him more rights than other football players. In a football team, there is a hierarchy and it is known who makes the decisions and the fittest and best players should always play at a given moment. How long do you think Ronaldo should play for Portugal? Until he is 50 or 60? Or longer?

[kizilhare]

Is Ronaldo the one who should determine when and for how long he will play or should the Portuguese coach have the right to decide on that?
As far as I know, Ronaldo is still just a footballer and not a team coach, for now.

So when/if he becomes a manager, he can sub sub himself in matches. How ridiculous! I don’t know any player who is that good that will be happy to sit on the bench. Also, where’s your evidence that Ronaldo had problems with Jorge Jesus over game minutes? No one knows what really happened in the training session, it could have been anything. Celebrating Jorge Jesus for benching Ronaldo as if that’s an achievement just shows how much the media hates Ronaldo.

Personally, I can’t wait for Ronaldo to leave the national team so I can stop supporting Portugal.

Jesus is a wild manager. It is not always easy to predict what he will do, but I think he was right regarding Ronaldo.
Jesus is the team's manager. Ronaldo's age is a known factor. He might succeed in the Saudi league—since it is an easier league—but he might not succeed with the Portuguese national team, because the level of difficulty in European football is higher.
Ronaldo should have respected the manager's decision, but instead, he chose to leave the national team camp.

[katanic97]

~.
The coach is responsible for the team composition and results in every team, not individual players, even if it was the football legend Ronaldo.
I don't need any evidence about what Ronaldo discussed with the coach, and whether or not there is a problem between them, the only important thing is the fact that he left his national team and that cannot be justified by any arguments.
Portuguese football has existed for 105 years (since 1921), and will exist for the next 100 years, and Portugal is more important than Ronaldo, and in the past it also had superstars, like Eusebio, and it will not collapse because of Ronaldo's departure.
Ronaldo is a great football star, but that doesn't give him more rights than other football players. In a football team, there is a hierarchy and it is known who makes the decisions and the fittest and best players should always play at a given moment. How long do you think Ronaldo should play for Portugal? Until he is 50 or 60? Or longer?

Exactly, no player is bigger than the national team, the players, etc... Ronaldo can always help his national team, give advice to younger players, and be a role model in the dressing room. As a player, it is getting harder and harder for him to make any significant contribution. And the fact that he left the camp is something none of us expected. We will see what happens next, one thing is certain, Ramos will finally get his chance to shine.As for Ronaldo, i would like him to achieve his goal of 1,000 goals and then retire

[SatoPrincess]

A good player should first learn tolerance and respect for their coach.

You’re right. Ronaldo is not a professional, he’s just been doing this for 30 odd years at the highest level.

I don't need any evidence about what Ronaldo discussed with the coach, and whether or not there is a problem between them

Alright then.

Portuguese football has existed for 105 years (since 1921), and will exist for the next 100 years, and Portugal is more important than Ronaldo, and in the past it also had superstars, like Eusebio, and it will not collapse because of Ronaldo's departure.

Of course the team will continue to exist. It’s not Ronaldo’s fault that the media always make everything about Ronaldo and much less about the team. Even when he’s retired, the media will still be talking about Ronaldo Portugal.

[Cryptmuster]

Exactly, no player is bigger than the national team, the players, etc... Ronaldo can always help his national team, give advice to younger players, and be a role model in the dressing room. As a player, it is getting harder and harder for him to make any significant contribution. And the fact that he left the camp is something none of us expected. We will see what happens next, one thing is certain, Ramos will finally get his chance to shine.As for Ronaldo, i would like him to achieve his goal of 1,000 goals and then retire

He still has 21 goals to go before reaching 1,000. On the one hand that’s not that many, on the other hand, I don’t know if you really need to reach certain milestones before deciding to retire if you feel that you can no longer play at the same level as before. I think it would make sense for him to retire after the World Cup, that would be a logical way to end his career. And if he still wanted to reach 1,000 goals, he could comfortably score the remaining goals he needs in Saudi Arabia.

[B2Z]

Regarding Ronaldo leaving the camp, I think this is good because the sooner they learn how to win without him being in  squad, the better for Portuguese national team.

It is true that a player does not always play for a team, but it must be admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo is a legendary player and the best player of all time for Portugal. I was surprised to see that they did not take more than 24 hours to change Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic number 7 jersey. While there are many things going on within the team and among the fans about who will give the jersey of such a legendary player next, in the case of Portugal, this issue was not noticed, but because of their decision, it seemed that they were very happy to exclude Cristiano Ronaldo from the team.

Although Portugal lost in the last match, they did not get the respect from the opponent, but the opponent's players understood that Portugal had wronged Ronaldo, which is why they did Ronaldo's iconic celebration after scoring a goal and did not think it was right to shake hands with the coach at the end of the game.

Such behavior towards Ronaldo really hurt me a lot personally.

[As-Soon-As]

Neymar is washed but still went to the World Cup. The fans wanted him there because they felt they owe him that for the many years Neymar served the national team. As far as I can remember, Ronaldo carried Portugal for the longest, and now that they have good players, Ronaldo is suddenly the one holding the team back.

Cristiano Ronaldo has made Portugal known to the whole world, I can say with courage that Ronaldo is the only one who has brought the Portugal team forward the most. Where he has been helping the team with all his hard work so far, but without Ronaldo, Portugal is very terrible and I don't know if he will be able to participate in the next World Cup.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo may not be able to perform as well and play as aggressively as he used to because of his age, but his advice and perfect planning are capable of taking the Portugal team to a higher level. But in this last World Cup, I saw Ronaldo's performance in the World Cup being neglected.

[liasbaa]

~.
The coach is responsible for the team composition and results in every team, not individual players, even if it was the football legend Ronaldo.
I don't need any evidence about what Ronaldo discussed with the coach, and whether or not there is a problem between them, the only important thing is the fact that he left his national team and that cannot be justified by any arguments.
Portuguese football has existed for 105 years (since 1921), and will exist for the next 100 years, and Portugal is more important than Ronaldo, and in the past it also had superstars, like Eusebio, and it will not collapse because of Ronaldo's departure.
Ronaldo is a great football star, but that doesn't give him more rights than other football players. In a football team, there is a hierarchy and it is known who makes the decisions and the fittest and best players should always play at a given moment. How long do you think Ronaldo should play for Portugal? Until he is 50 or 60? Or longer?

Exactly, no player is bigger than the national team, the players, etc... Ronaldo can always help his national team, give advice to younger players, and be a role model in the dressing room. As a player, it is getting harder and harder for him to make any significant contribution. And the fact that he left the camp is something none of us expected. We will see what happens next, one thing is certain, Ramos will finally get his chance to shine.As for Ronaldo, i would like him to achieve his goal of 1,000 goals and then retire

Everyone expects him to achieve his target. Some critics are very keen that he does not reach the ultimate goal of 1000 goals. But he should definitely retire after achieving it. It is not yet clear whether he has any tension with the national team, but he needed to be with the team for his own needs.

Portugal won 4-2 without Ronaldo against Denmark. The young players in the team are performing well, especially João Félix, who has scored 3 goals in 3 matches and is a very hardworking and talented player. Ronaldo can certainly be a mentor to his national team footballers but he should not leave his home country's training camp at this time.

[swogerino]

I watched the game Greece vs Holland yesterday and am shocked at how bad the play was from Netherlands in the first half especially the second goal they conceded. In the second half they tried new things and managed to equalize although the goal called off from the referee was absolutely not the correct decision at all. This decision impacted the game and it made all my tickets losing ones just because a bad decision of the referee.

[Kol:on]

https://talkimg.com/images/2026/10/02/UlXzL1.jpeg

Despite what Ronaldo has done for Portugal, there are people who believe Portugal is better without Ronaldo, and are using yesterday’s game as evidence. This narrative is being pushed by the media with headlines like “Ronaldo-less Portugal Prospers” e.t.c.

Neymar is washed but still went to the World Cup. The fans wanted him there because they felt they owe him that for the many years Neymar served the national team. As far as I can remember, Ronaldo carried Portugal for the longest, and now that they have good players, Ronaldo is suddenly the one holding the team back.

Ignore them, those Portugal players don't know what they have done because it clear they planned the whole thing. I mean right from the world cup it was glaring and obvious I mean why the hate? Why the jealousy? They should be glad they have a player like Cristiano in their midst, they will surely regret this disgusting act of theirs especially Bruno because to me he is the architect of this whole issue.

[JiiBs]

Despite what Ronaldo has done for Portugal, there are people who believe Portugal is better without Ronaldo, and are using yesterday’s game as evidence. This narrative is being pushed by the media with headlines like “Ronaldo-less Portugal Prospers” e.t.c.

Neymar is washed but still went to the World Cup. The fans wanted him there because they felt they owe him that for the many years Neymar served the national team. As far as I can remember, Ronaldo carried Portugal for the longest, and now that they have good players, Ronaldo is suddenly the one holding the team back.

Ronaldo simply is the kind of player that refuses to fade into history, his good no doubt, he believes in hard work and certainly has a mind for it, put in work but, it’s not working as he expected obviously. It’s okay for him to leave the scene as it is and focus more on playing the Saudis.
With him on the team, it creates some dependency and their would be a lot of expectations from the fans to get the ball to Ronaldo whom isn’t making proper use of the ball due to pressure and the defense that would be built around him, resulting in the difficulty for the team to get results.

For Neymar, the fans obviously wanted him for the show boy he was and still constituted a huge threat but, the miss calculated the injury prone Neymar he has always being. Ronaldo has carried the team enough, he should pass the baton.

[AprilioMP]

I watched the game Greece vs Holland yesterday and am shocked at how bad the play was from Netherlands in the first half especially the second goal they conceded. In the second half they tried new things and managed to equalize although the goal called off from the referee was absolutely not the correct decision at all. This decision impacted the game and it made all my tickets losing ones just because a bad decision of the referee.

Just like Germany, which is now managed by Klopp, the Netherlands, with Xavi, need time to find their feet as the new manager in charge of strategy and tactics.
In my opinion, the Netherlands, Germany, and several other teams, such as Italy and France, can't be directly measured as good or bad because they are still developing more mature preparations for highly anticipated tournaments like the European Championship and the World Cup.

If the Netherlands were considered bad yesterday in their match against Greece, Italy will play against France. So far, no one has criticized France because Zidane managed to win. If they lose against Italy, the discussion will inevitably turn to Zidane.

[danadc]

I also didn’t expect Croatia to lose by such a big margin. But Spain were fantastic yesterday, and Croatia simply had no answer to them. Lamine Yamal put in an outstanding performance, and he is really developing as a player. When he is in form, nobody can stop him.

I have no doubt that Spain will win the Nations League. Now, with the way they treated Cristiano in Portugal, that team could fall apart. Both the federation and the coach himself, who I think was also a friend of Cristiano's, betrayed the player, and he left. Now, only Germany and Italy remain, who I saw playing very well and who can stop a Spain team that's coming on strong. They're playing very well.

[Cossyblack]

I don't understand why you guys are always quick to criticize Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo doesn't have any nonchalant attitude, I think you people are sometimes too quick to judge his reactions without considering the emotions and competitiveness involved in the game.

Just in case you have forgotten who Christian Ronaldo is,  let me quickly remind you.  Ronaldo is a passionate player who wants to contribute whenever he is on the pitch, so it is understandable that he may feel disappointed whenever he is substituted.

Being frustrated or reacting some how whenever he is being substituted doesn't mean that he doesn't respect his coach.  You people need to put yourselves in his shoe to understand why he feels frustrated whenever he is substituted.

I wasn't quick to judge Ronaldo but we have to call a spade a spade when we see one.  This kind of an attitude is exactly what Ronaldo should be advising upcoming players and those who look up to him not to do. But when he is seen doing the opposite, what message do you think he is sending to younger players in the team? If his team mates start displaying the same behaviour, what do you will happen to the team? I understand that he was angry because he had something more to give but he should have walk out amicable without showing he was angry.