⚽ UEFA Nations League ⚽ - Discussion Thread

[red4slash]

An interesting situation in Group A2  
Incidentally, there is a nuance: unlike the first three editions of this tournament, two teams now advance from the group stage instead of just one (as was the case before), so theoretically, even Serbia has a chance. Of course, I’d like Klopp to be successful, but there are only two spots available, and the Netherlands and Greece are looking pretty good too. On October 4th, it’s Greece - Germany, and it seems to me that Germany can’t afford drop even 2 points (draw).

On paper we'll all be in the Netherlands and Germany. That's what I did in my last 2 bets in this group but the result was completely out of control.
The win against Germany and the draw against the Netherlands were not my initial expectations of seeing Greece. For the current condition, Germany is in decline especially by looking at how they performed at the World Cup some time ago but seeing the continued results when Greece faced the Netherlands it seems that for now it is not only about the decline of the big national team but the Greek team is in good shape at the moment.

Their defense is quite solid especially when they try with 4 midfielders where double pivot and 2 more midfielders are assigned as playmakers. It became effective for Greece.
The first Leg ended with a pretty good result for Greece and we will wait for how they finish the rest of the matches for Leg 2.

[Mayor of ogba]

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.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who doesn't like staying on the bench if he's fully fit to play alongside his teammates, so since Jorge Jesus had the intention of not playing Cristiano Ronaldo to see how Portugal will perform without him, he shouldn't have called him up for Portugal Nations League matches, l blame Jorge Jesus for Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Portugal camp after their match with Norway.

[Merit.s]

Italy created more goal opportunities than France but France dominated the game. Italy had the opportunity for an early lead but Kane lost that beautiful opportunity as Maignan deprived him the goal.

I must say this is one of the best games that I have watched so far, because both teams are equal and the game is balanced. France only had one goal chance by Olise and the ball hit the top bar of the goal post.

[yudi09]

Italy created more goal opportunities than France but France dominated the game. Italy had the opportunity for an early lead but Kane lost that beautiful opportunity as Maignan deprived him the goal.

I must say this is one of the best games that I have watched so far, because both teams are equal and the game is balanced. France only had one goal chance by Olise and the ball hit the top bar of the goal post.

In the first 45 minutes, Italy deserved the credit—not France—since Italy faced France as the underdog. This was certainly due to Italy’s performance and the momentum they built.

The statistics from the first 45 minutes were enough to signal to fans that they would soon make a comeback. A total of 8 shots, with 1 on target, was a figure shared equally by Italy and France. While France had a higher percentage of ball possession, that merely indicated they were dominating. Ball possession percentage means nothing if you can’t win.

[Rgram]

Italy created more goal opportunities than France but France dominated the game. Italy had the opportunity for an early lead but Kane lost that beautiful opportunity as Maignan deprived him the goal.

I must say this is one of the best games that I have watched so far, because both teams are equal and the game is balanced. France only had one goal chance by Olise and the ball hit the top bar of the goal post.

France have had a lot of difficulty scoring goals in the nations league. One would have expected that they would have it easier but, it seems without Mbappe the team is f’cked. They’ve being winning their games by share luck despite being dominant in their game. Their fixture with Italy at the moment isn’t looking any easier too although, Italy isn’t the only exactly an easy team. Italy already has a disallowed goal due to offside else, France would have being fighting for an equalizer. Are we going to see a win in this game or they would settle for a draw, it’s looking very likely.

[Merit.s]

Italy created more goal opportunities than France but France dominated the game. Italy had the opportunity for an early lead but Kane lost that beautiful opportunity as Maignan deprived him the goal.

I must say this is one of the best games that I have watched so far, because both teams are equal and the game is balanced. France only had one goal chance by Olise and the ball hit the top bar of the goal post.

In the first 45 minutes, Italy deserved the credit—not France—since Italy faced France as the underdog. This was certainly due to Italy’s performance and the momentum they built.

The statistics from the first 45 minutes were enough to signal to fans that they would soon make a comeback. A total of 8 shots, with 1 on target, was a figure shared equally by Italy and France. While France had a higher percentage of ball possession, that merely indicated they were dominating. Ball possession percentage means nothing if you can’t win.

Olise has just scored with a superb free kick which Donnarumma did not see coming. The goal was scored on the 55th minutes to break the deadlock and put France on a 1-0 lead.

 France started the second half with unlimited aggressive attacks on Italy defense. After much saves from Donnarumma, Olise free kick put them upfront. Italy should be careful because France is looking for the second goal because they haven't stopped their aggressive attacks.

[Ahli38]

Italy created more goal opportunities than France but France dominated the game. Italy had the opportunity for an early lead but Kane lost that beautiful opportunity as Maignan deprived him the goal.

I must say this is one of the best games that I have watched so far, because both teams are equal and the game is balanced. France only had one goal chance by Olise and the ball hit the top bar of the goal post.

The French national team has just scored a goal with a stunning strike by Michael Olise. French fans are overjoyed thanks to this goal, where it gives them the lead over Italy in this match. I personally think the French national team has a strong chance of winning until the final whistle blows by considering they just need to defend as well as possible to keep a clean sheet in the second half. And I think the French national team will be able to win by maintaining a solid defense and controlling possession so they won’t give the Italian national team any openings. However France must be very careful because the Italian national team could launch a full-scale offensive to even the score against France so they must be on high alert against an aggressive attack that could penetrate deep into the heart of their defense. But I predict that Italy won’t be able to score until the final match because they seem to be losing the battle for possession which makes me doubt that they’ll be able to score against France.

[yudi09]

In the first 45 minutes, Italy deserved the credit—not France—since Italy faced France as the underdog. This was certainly due to Italy’s performance and the momentum they built.

The statistics from the first 45 minutes were enough to signal to fans that they would soon make a comeback. A total of 8 shots, with 1 on target, was a figure shared equally by Italy and France. While France had a higher percentage of ball possession, that merely indicated they were dominating. Ball possession percentage means nothing if you can’t win.

Olise has just scored with a superb free kick which Donnarumma did not see coming. The goal was scored on the 55th minutes to break the deadlock and put France on a 1-0 lead.

 France started the second half with unlimited aggressive attacks on Italy defense. After much saves from Donnarumma, Olise free kick put them upfront. Italy should be careful because France is looking for the second goal because they haven't stopped their aggressive attacks.

What’s impressive about Zidane, in my opinion, is that he knows exactly how to deploy his players when facing different teams.
Upamecano started this match, whereas in the game against Belgium, Lacroix played at center back. Olise, who scored the lone goal to beat Belgium, came off the bench in that match but started this one.
Italy is fortunate to have a goalkeeper of Donnarumma’s caliber, who inspires the team to give their all thanks to his saves.
Well, Italy has equalized now. The score is now 1-1.

[blomen]

belgium is leading against turkey thanks to de bruyne’s goals. de bruyne scored two fantastic goals in both the first and second halves, and it looks like belgium is going to win the match. turkey’s play isn’t good again. turkey actually created a lot of chances but still can’t win the match, or even score a goal.

as i’m writing this, belgium has scored their third goal. it was scored by lukaku.

[Taricoins]

Italy created more goal opportunities than France but France dominated the game. Italy had the opportunity for an early lead but Kane lost that beautiful opportunity as Maignan deprived him the goal.

I must say this is one of the best games that I have watched so far, because both teams are equal and the game is balanced. France only had one goal chance by Olise and the ball hit the top bar of the goal post.

I think you meant Moise Kean, I didn't watch the first half of the game so I don't know what happened but tuning into the second half, it has been real good, I won't say it the nest I have seen this far in the qualification matches, but it's one of the top tier as the both teams seem to be coming out more, unlike the first half where it felt defensive.

[Audrey Simmons]

Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who doesn't like staying on the bench if he's fully fit to play alongside his teammates, so since Jorge Jesus had the intention of not playing Cristiano Ronaldo to see how Portugal will perform without him, he shouldn't have called him up for Portugal Nations League matches, l blame Jorge Jesus for Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Portugal camp after their match with Norway.

I love Ronaldo but I think its time we come to terms that the Portugal team is better without Ronaldo. He has lived an unforgettable legacy with his countryside and does not deserve the treatment he is getting now, but it's clear that Portugal are confused on the ball when Ronaldo is on the pitch.

Jorge Jesus in a recent interview cleared the air on this issue. [Source: https://x.com/ELLIOTTTTFC/status/2105576250739675194]

[Pandorak]

(...)

The French national team has just scored a goal with a stunning strike by Michael Olise. French fans are overjoyed thanks to this goal, where it gives them the lead over Italy in this match. I personally think the French national team has a strong chance of winning until the final whistle blows by considering they just need to defend as well as possible to keep a clean sheet in the second half. And I think the French national team will be able to win by maintaining a solid defense and controlling possession so they won’t give the Italian national team any openings. However France must be very careful because the Italian national team could launch a full-scale offensive to even the score against France so they must be on high alert against an aggressive attack that could penetrate deep into the heart of their defense. But I predict that Italy won’t be able to score until the final match because they seem to be losing the battle for possession which makes me doubt that they’ll be able to score against France.

It must be acknowledged that the French team has played quite well so far, they’re still dominating in terms of possession and shots on goal against Italy, but the match isn’t over yet and anything can happen. In fact, in the 68th minute, the Italian team managed to tie the game thanks to a goal scored by Bastoni. As i type this, the match is in the 88th minute, and the French team is still trying to break through the Italian defense to extend their lead. Well, we’ll soon see the final result together.

[Etiquette.exe]

France vs Italy is the most interesting game tonight. Italy are not the team they once were but it is still a really intriguing game.

19 minutes gone and France are marginally the better team but there has been very few clear cut chances so far. I guess that will change as the match goes on.

Now it will be some exciting final minutes of the game. Italy being able to hold France to a draw for such a long time has been against expectations in my opinion, but now they have a chance to win this game since France received a red card. This is not what Zidane was hoping for.

It is not packed with big names, but the game Poland against Romania is seeing lots of goals and the oldtimer Lewandowski has done his homework. Three goals so far for him. It is not that hard of course against a team that had a red card for a long time in that game, but I think he is still at a good fitness level, good enough to score three goals.

[promise444c5]

Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who doesn't like staying on the bench if he's fully fit to play alongside his teammates, so since Jorge Jesus had the intention of not playing Cristiano Ronaldo to see how Portugal will perform without him,

TBH.. I don’t really like how Ronaldo handled this situation.. all these  could have just passed silently  without getting to the medias.  It won’t cost him anything if he had just discuss it behind with Jesus or wait till the break is over, that was just a single game.

he shouldn't have called him up for Portugal Nations League matches, l blame Jorge Jesus for Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Portugal camp after their match with Norway.

How are you so sure he isn’t going to play him all through? Like i mentioned, it was just a single game.. waiting to see how the entire matches turns out could have been much better, IMO.

[programmer3666]

Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who doesn't like staying on the bench if he's fully fit to play alongside his teammates, so since Jorge Jesus had the intention of not playing Cristiano Ronaldo to see how Portugal will perform without him, he shouldn't have called him up for Portugal Nations League matches, l blame Jorge Jesus for Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Portugal camp after their match with Norway.

I love Ronaldo but I think its time we come to terms that the Portugal team is better without Ronaldo. He has lived an unforgettable legacy with his countryside and does not deserve the treatment he is getting now, but it's clear that Portugal are confused on the ball when Ronaldo is on the pitch.

Jorge Jesus in a recent interview cleared the air on this issue. [Source: https://x.com/ELLIOTTTTFC/status/2105576250739675194]

The media circle is rigged against Ronald since the early days of his career, I won't blame the manager for calling him up because he has worked with him before and he knows his worth. But the media thrives entirely on creating a very toxic circus around CR7's name. The internet podcasters and bloggers are just editing their own scripts and agenda to hammer him. The coach was only trying to secure a very balanced squad, it is just unfortunate that things turned out in this very chaotic manner.

[Marykeller]

Italy created more goal opportunities than France but France dominated the game. Italy had the opportunity for an early lead but Kane lost that beautiful opportunity as Maignan deprived him the goal.

I must say this is one of the best games that I have watched so far, because both teams are equal and the game is balanced. France only had one goal chance by Olise and the ball hit the top bar of the goal post.

France have had a lot of difficulty scoring goals in the nations league. One would have expected that they would have it easier but, it seems without Mbappe the team is f’cked. They’ve being winning their games by share luck despite being dominant in their game. Their fixture with Italy at the moment isn’t looking any easier too although, Italy isn’t the only exactly an easy team. Italy already has a disallowed goal due to offside else, France would have being fighting for an equalizer. Are we going to see a win in this game or they would settle for a draw, it’s looking very likely.

A draw is what France and Italy settled for. The absence of Mbappé has affected France's chances of beating Italy. France received a red card in the last minute of the match. This comes at the end of the group stage, France topped Group 1 with 7 points, followed by Belgium, which had 6 points. On that note, France and Belgium are the ones we are seeing in the next round of the UEFA Nations League

[Btcdeybodi]

France vs Italy is the most interesting game tonight. Italy are not the team they once were but it is still a really intriguing game.

19 minutes gone and France are marginally the better team but there has been very few clear cut chances so far. I guess that will change as the match goes on.

Now it will be some exciting final minutes of the game. Italy being able to hold France to a draw for such a long time has been against expectations in my opinion, but now they have a chance to win this game since France received a red card. This is not what Zidane was hoping for.

Italy couldn't take advantage of France 10 men as they could only settle for a 1:1 draw. This result was contrary to how many gamblers vision the result. All I see from this match is that the France national team has lost their speed, they are not the France we used to know anymore. From their performance they showed no zeal to win.

It is not packed with big names, but the game Poland against Romania is seeing lots of goals and the oldtimer Lewandowski has done his homework. Three goals so far for him. It is not that hard of course against a team that had a red card for a long time in that game, but I think he is still at a good fitness level, good enough to score three goals.

Lewandowski continues his goalscoring spree even at his age. Poland will sure miss him when he retires from the national team. Poland result was what I expected in the match of France against Italy. The early red card that Romania had was what killed their gameplay but even if they were without a red card Poland could have still won but probably not with this huge win because Romania also have a squad that can resist attacks.

[JeromeTash]

Italy created more goal opportunities than France but France dominated the game. Italy had the opportunity for an early lead but Kane lost that beautiful opportunity as Maignan deprived him the goal.

I must say this is one of the best games that I have watched so far, because both teams are equal and the game is balanced. France only had one goal chance by Olise and the ball hit the top bar of the goal post.

Maybe I am being too hard on Zidane given the quality of teams in the the same group with France but I feel like it's a rocky start for him. They are barely scoring and goals and the win margins are so thin. With such a star studded team, I would expect lots and lots of goals even with Mbappe's absence.
The biggest victim of the group is certainly Turkey and I feel so bad for them. 3 losses in a row doesn't look good at all.

[SmartCharpa]

belgium is leading against turkey thanks to de bruyne’s goals. de bruyne scored two fantastic goals in both the first and second halves, and it looks like belgium is going to win the match. turkey’s play isn’t good again. turkey actually created a lot of chances but still can’t win the match, or even score a goal.

as i’m writing this, belgium has scored their third goal. it was scored by lukaku.

Belgium comfortably won against Turkey. It was a game I expected Belgium to win because Turkey has not been in their best recently. They conceded a lot of goals in this tournament. I don’t understand why Turkey becomes weak in the national team, that what they did in the World Cup and couldn’t even pass through the group stage. De Bruyne with a brace tonight, and Lukaku delivered as usual, coming off the bench to scored the last goal.

It is not packed with big names, but the game Poland against Romania is seeing lots of goals and the oldtimer Lewandowski has done his homework. Three goals so far for him. It is not that hard of course against a team that had a red card for a long time in that game, but I think he is still at a good fitness level, good enough to score three goals.

Romania player got a red card in the first half, and Poland used the opportunity to score many goals and win the match. I believe if they had played against 11 men, Poland would’ve struggled to win the match. But I expected them to win since Romania have not won a single game, they’ve lost their first three matches so far. Lewandowski with a hat trick tonight to secured their first victory.

[Ruttoshi]

Donnarumma saved Italy from losing the game because he stopped a lot of balls and he deserves to be the MVP of the game. I didn't expect that Italy will be able to draw this game because I thought France will not find it difficult to the back of the net but Donnarumma proved me wrong.

If not for that free kick from Olise, I don't think that France would have been able to score any goal. Donnarumma didn't see that free kick because they was perfectly taken. Italy is alive again.