⚽ UEFA Nations League ⚽ - Discussion Thread

[Big Dirams]

I think it’s too early to talk about the team adapting to Klopp’s system after only a few competitive games under a new manager. I think they need a bit more time to understand exactly what Klopp expects from them. Germany are in a difficult situation right now, and I think that could put additional pressure on them. On the other hand, it could also give them extra motivation for this match. If you look at the situation, they really need to win today.

Greece will most likely play a more defensive style of football, but since they are playing at home, their fans could give them extra motivation to push forward. It’s a difficult match, I think Germany won’t lose today, but I have some doubts about whether they will actually win.

No matter how good a coach is sometimes it takes time for players to adapt to a new coach system so it's normal for a team to struggle at first when a coach is newly appointed. Germany has a few problems and so it won't be easy for anyone not even Klopp to just come and change things instantly. It's a gradual process so I also believe it's too early to start criticizing the team under Klopp. They need time to improve and this competition is a good opportunity to show some improvement. I don't expect much from them this time around but I expect better performance in upcoming competitions after this one.

Greece is a stubborn team so it won't be an easy game at all. They need to be at their best to win this one. We can't say for sure if they'll win or not, it will depend on their performance in this game.

[Oluwa-btc]

I swear Croatia’s coach needs to be arrested ASAP, cos WTF😂.

How do you concede 7 goals without being able to answer back with atleast 1 or 2 goals?, nah c’mon, they had a very horrible performance right from the defense to their attacking and as it is now, they’re in a very difficult position due to the two back to back losses they have faced.

Good performance from England though, they had good chemistry in that match, although i was more impressed with Jude Bellingham’s performance more.
I have said it many times that the guy is a spectacular player but most people just like to lie about him because they are too focused on aesthetics rather than results.

I dare to say that Bellingham is currently the best England player IMO. Infact he’s better than Pedri and Bruno Fernandes(argue with your keyboard).

I thank the heavens this calamity did not happen to Cristaino Ronaldo and his Portuguese side otherwise, the media like they always do would have gracefully pushed for one of these ugly narratives around him.

I thought this might be Bukayo Saka',s chance of getting his first career hat trick but we did not see that. He's hardworking and will always give his for for the badge. He should keep his head down and keep up with consistent performance.

Are you going nuts? Better than Pedri?! Then you obviously do not know how to watch football. Not to even say play. You're ignorant asf if you think your thoughts are everything.

[HajiBagi]

I think it’s too early to talk about the team adapting to Klopp’s system after only a few competitive games under a new manager. I think they need a bit more time to understand exactly what Klopp expects from them. Germany are in a difficult situation right now, and I think that could put additional pressure on them. On the other hand, it could also give them extra motivation for this match. If you look at the situation, they really need to win today.

Greece will most likely play a more defensive style of football, but since they are playing at home, their fans could give them extra motivation to push forward. It’s a difficult match, I think Germany won’t lose today, but I have some doubts about whether they will actually win.

No matter how good a coach is sometimes it takes time for players to adapt to a new coach system so it's normal for a team to struggle at first when a coach is newly appointed. Germany has a few problems and so it won't be easy for anyone not even Klopp to just come and change things instantly. It's a gradual process so I also believe it's too early to start criticizing the team under Klopp. They need time to improve and this competition is a good opportunity to show some improvement. I don't expect much from them this time around but I expect better performance in upcoming competitions after this one.

Greece is a stubborn team so it won't be an easy game at all. They need to be at their best to win this one. We can't say for sure if they'll win or not, it will depend on their performance in this game.

Germany problem is not only about the new coach, it is also about the absence of some old players that retired from football, Germany have a good midfield back then but not now, they have Toni Kroos who can decide how the game is going to be played, he is the type of player that every coach will want to have in his team, although Germany still have a lot of young talented midfielders but they can not perform consistently in matches.

Jurgen Klopp have learn from his mistakes after he lost one game against Greece, he played Florian Wirtz in the last game and he performed well, that guy is very talented and he always play better in international games, there are some players that are system players, they can only play for their club, that kind of player is Adeyemi, he played many games Germany and missed a lot of chances, and if he is playing for Barcelona he will score goals, Jurgen Klopp is the only that can change his team by using those former players that have been playing from day one.

[yudi09]

Overall, it's a logical result: Croatia's golden generation is gone, while England, on the contrary, is seeing a rise, but the score is certainly too brutal for any pair, especially with such big names. It looks like the day after tomorrow, if Spain beats Croatia and England beats the Czech Republic, the fight for a playoff spots will officially end and England and Spain will face off in a head-to-head match in November to decide who will take first place. It will be interesting to see if Croatia can bounce back for the match against the world champions. Two consecutive home defeats would be extremely painful.

England still has three more matches to play following yesterday’s big win over Croatia. In their next matches, England will face the Czech Republic (home), Croatia (home), and Spain (away).
Spain also has three more matches: Croatia (away), the Czech Republic (away), and England (home).
Overall, England and Spain can be considered secure in first and second place, while Croatia is not yet safe unless there are surprising results in the remaining three matches. Croatia is certainly embarrassed by the 7-0 loss and certainly does not want to go through the remaining three matches without earning any points.

[Cossyblack]

If he actually said that, then he disrespected Cristiano Ronaldo, and it is a shame that someone like him would be saying those things.
From what I heard there was an agreement between them and Cristiano Ronaldo. They agreed that Cristiano Ronaldo was going to play half of the matches and again Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to retire from the national team, but they begged him to stay and he decided to stay, so why would they be treating him this way?
Cristiano Ronaldo is supposed to retire from the national team as a hero not this way, they should reconcile and make things work the right way.

Judging by what you said,did the coach said something that was disrespectful to Cristiano Ronaldo? Because from my end, there's nothing disrespectful in his speech. What he told Ronaldo Cristiano was nothing but the hard truth. Jorge Jesus may have promised Cristiano Ronaldo full time in all their matches but he still their coach and he has every right to substitute him if he isn't playing fine on the field. Cristiano Ronaldo was promised regular playing time but the agreement didn't cover that he can't be substituted. The coach has made it clear who is the real boss, Ronaldo isn' bigger than the coach,so whatever the coach wants to do,he does and he owns no one an apology.

[Inwestour]

England still has three more matches to play following yesterday’s big win over Croatia. In their next matches, England will face the Czech Republic (home), Croatia (home), and Spain (away).
Spain also has three more matches: Croatia (away), the Czech Republic (away), and England (home).
Overall, England and Spain can be considered secure in first and second place, while Croatia is not yet safe unless there are surprising results in the remaining three matches. Croatia is certainly embarrassed by the 7-0 loss and certainly does not want to go through the remaining three matches without earning any points.

Everything in this group is going pretty much as expected. Spain and England are currently in the top two positions, and I think it’s already obvious that Spain will finish top of the group because they managed to beat England away, and ost likely they won’t lose to them at home either. The Czech Republic and Croatia are definitely not in their best form right now, so in my opinion, everything in this group is already decided.

[Rashlyowl]

Yes, I have had no luck during this current International break window. Aside from teams like England, Spain, and maybe Germany that want to prove a point, other teams aren't inspired enough for them to fight. I believe it's the reason why Croatia was able to take such a beating at home. Not to say such a scoreline doesn't happen in club football, but it's usually at the favourite's home.

Score like that wouldn't really be a problem if the team England were facing was like San Marino, Andorra or Liechtenstein. Croatia is at a higher level than the teams I mentioned, they remain one of the top 20 strongest teams in the world, so they shouldn't have lost by a scoreline like that. They really need to learn from their last two games.

[Lucius]

~snip~
Losing to England by this wide margin is surprising. It shows that there might be some tactical problems, since they still have some good players. Anyway, in football, anything can happen; after all, Germany lost 6-0 to Spain in November 17, 2020.

The main problem is that the trophy-winning coach Zlatko Dalic left, and the incompetent loser Slaven Bilic, who has already destroyed the Croatian national football team in the past, was brought in. A man who after such a defeat has no need to offer his resignation shows that he is not a man - and I think that most of the players with the defeats against Spain and England are telling him that they don't want him.

I wrote in previous posts that his choice was at least two steps backwards, but perhaps I was too lenient in my assessment. On Tuesday against Spain, nothing but new embarrassment should be expected - especially if Spain is in a good mood

[Derekfunds]

England still has three more matches to play following yesterday’s big win over Croatia. In their next matches, England will face the Czech Republic (home), Croatia (home), and Spain (away).
Spain also has three more matches: Croatia (away), the Czech Republic (away), and England (home).
Overall, England and Spain can be considered secure in first and second place, while Croatia is not yet safe unless there are surprising results in the remaining three matches. Croatia is certainly embarrassed by the 7-0 loss and certainly does not want to go through the remaining three matches without earning any points.

Honestly England embarrassed Croatia to the point they used goals and spell Croatia, the extreme at which England went was very crazy and I will say they utilized the opportunity given to them yesterday very well. I don't know how many goals Spain has now but I think these goals can be another advantage for England. I was not expecting that performance from Croatia because they use to be very strong team. The England vs Spain is another strong fight but I still think Spain will defeat them but I heard Yamal had injury and this can affect Spain .

[BluebloodCXVI]

I dare to say that Bellingham is currently the best England player IMO. Infact he’s better than Pedri and Bruno Fernandes(argue with your keyboard).

Are you going nuts? Better than Pedri?! Then you obviously do not know how to watch football. Not to even say play. You're ignorant asf if you think your thoughts are everything.

I find people who can’t pass across their points without using offensive words as un-intellectual and shallow-minded and i’m not even saying this because i’m triggered or anything trust me.
Because  look at you now, you used a whole lot of foul language in your response but didn’t even make any single point to back up your counter argument and yet you expect me to take you seriously? lol.

Normally i wouldn’t even engage with your post after seeing that you made no convincing argument but i’m doing so now for the sake of clarity and also to serve as a reminder for you to be more parliamentary with your arguments and your opinions in the future.

I said what i said and that’s my opinion, if you think what i said is too absolute or incorrect, then prove me wrong with proof and i will also provide stats to back up my own claim too, simple, that is proper proper  intellectual argument.

[cocadalcan]

England still has three more matches to play following yesterday’s big win over Croatia. In their next matches, England will face the Czech Republic (home), Croatia (home), and Spain (away).
Spain also has three more matches: Croatia (away), the Czech Republic (away), and England (home).
Overall, England and Spain can be considered secure in first and second place, while Croatia is not yet safe unless there are surprising results in the remaining three matches. Croatia is certainly embarrassed by the 7-0 loss and certainly does not want to go through the remaining three matches without earning any points.

Honestly England embarrassed Croatia to the point they used goals and spell Croatia, the extreme at which England went was very crazy and I will say they utilized the opportunity given to them yesterday very well. I don't know how many goals Spain has now but I think these goals can be another advantage for England. I was not expecting that performance from Croatia because they use to be very strong team. The England vs Spain is another strong fight but I still think Spain will defeat them but I heard Yamal had injury and this can affect Spain .

The group stage is underway and Spain is leading the group with 9 points and England is in second place with 6 points. A big win against Croatia would have given England an extra advantage if they had the same number of points as Spain. Spain is not on a very high goal difference against the other teams in the group but they are winning by multiple goals and are showing impressive performances. Before the England vs Spain match, both teams will have to play against Czech Republic and Croatia. Spain defeated England 3-2 in the first match of the league. The match between the two teams on the field is likely to be more enjoyable once again.

[shinratensei_]

Score like that wouldn't really be a problem if the team England were facing was like San Marino, Andorra or Liechtenstein. Croatia is at a higher level than the teams I mentioned, they remain one of the top 20 strongest teams in the world, so they shouldn't have lost by a scoreline like that. They really need to learn from their last two games.

They have to sack Slaven Bilić. The huge score lose like that is a shameful result, and i can see him to be fired when they also lose against Spain very soon. The longer they keep him, the lower their rank in the FIFA football men. Aside that all of their players are also deserving the blame, inability to deliver proper progressive passes combined with horrible defense lead them to conceded so many goals. I understand they land some young players, but it should not be an excuse because they were at the top ranks of FIFA rank.

My only hope to see them to replace Slaven Bilić, then the new coach will be overhauling to their club. This the only way to fix their underperformance at UNL, then build a better prep for next EURO.

[Humblevirus]

Sometimes home advantage doesn't favour home teams. The first leg was a close win and I think England will reinforce against their second leg with Spain. This should be one of the most anticipated return game in the Nations League as we watch either England try to reclaim their pride or Spain take all 18 points. Currently England has the highest goals scored in a single match which should be enough threat to Spain.

At first, I thought maybe Croatia had received a red card, which was why England were scoring so many goals. I didn’t watch the match and was only following the score live in an app. But when I went to watch the highlights, I saw that Croatia didn’t have anyone sent off. England were scoring with almost  every attack that ended with a shot on target. And I honestly don’t understand how that happened. Although England’s attack looks very impressive, I think that if they can catch the courage, they can score as many goals as they want.

Even though Croatia had a red card and one of their players was sent off, I still didn’t expect to see them lose the match to England by so many goals like this,it is really worst of Croatia.It really surprised me how they ended up conceding so many goals. Seven goals conceded is a lot goals which I don't expected even team that don't have player like Croatia will not conceded, and the worst thing is that Croatia was not even able to score a single goal in the match.Croatia performance has dropped seriously with this result they are gotten so far. At this moment, I don’t have any hope for Croatia again. I expected the match against both Spain and England to be difficult for them, but those matches were so easy for Spain and England to win.Even in Croatia’s next match against Spain, I expect Spain to win that match easily.

[SUPERSAIAN]

I think it’s too early to talk about the team adapting to Klopp’s system after only a few competitive games under a new manager. I think they need a bit more time to understand exactly what Klopp expects from them. Germany are in a difficult situation right now, and I think that could put additional pressure on them. On the other hand, it could also give them extra motivation for this match. If you look at the situation, they really need to win today.

Greece will most likely play a more defensive style of football, but since they are playing at home, their fans could give them extra motivation to push forward. It’s a difficult match, I think Germany won’t lose today, but I have some doubts about whether they will actually win.

No matter how good a coach is sometimes it takes time for players to adapt to a new coach system so it's normal for a team to struggle at first when a coach is newly appointed. Germany has a few problems and so it won't be easy for anyone not even Klopp to just come and change things instantly. It's a gradual process so I also believe it's too early to start criticizing the team under Klopp. They need time to improve and this competition is a good opportunity to show some improvement. I don't expect much from them this time around but I expect better performance in upcoming competitions after this one.

Greece is a stubborn team so it won't be an easy game at all. They need to be at their best to win this one. We can't say for sure if they'll win or not, it will depend on their performance in this game.

Greece is set to play against Germany again today. Greece is doing wonderfully in every sense of the word. Their only blemish is a draw against the Netherlands; apart from that, they have two wins. They have proven that their success is no fluke, though that doesn't mean they will keep winning indefinitely.

Even if Germany isn't the Germany of old, they still possess a certain level of quality and will do what is necessary to win this match. And Greece, as you put it, is a truly tenacious team.

[Unsoldier]

I think it’s too early to talk about the team adapting to Klopp’s system after only a few competitive games under a new manager. I think they need a bit more time to understand exactly what Klopp expects from them. Germany are in a difficult situation right now, and I think that could put additional pressure on them. On the other hand, it could also give them extra motivation for this match. If you look at the situation, they really need to win today.

Greece will most likely play a more defensive style of football, but since they are playing at home, their fans could give them extra motivation to push forward. It’s a difficult match, I think Germany won’t lose today, but I have some doubts about whether they will actually win.

No matter how good a coach is sometimes it takes time for players to adapt to a new coach system so it's normal for a team to struggle at first when a coach is newly appointed. Germany has a few problems and so it won't be easy for anyone not even Klopp to just come and change things instantly. It's a gradual process so I also believe it's too early to start criticizing the team under Klopp. They need time to improve and this competition is a good opportunity to show some improvement. I don't expect much from them this time around but I expect better performance in upcoming competitions after this one.

Greece is a stubborn team so it won't be an easy game at all. They need to be at their best to win this one. We can't say for sure if they'll win or not, it will depend on their performance in this game.

Greece is set to play against Germany again today. Greece is doing wonderfully in every sense of the word. Their only blemish is a draw against the Netherlands; apart from that, they have two wins. They have proven that their success is no fluke, though that doesn't mean they will keep winning indefinitely.

Even if Germany isn't the Germany of old, they still possess a certain level of quality and will do what is necessary to win this match. And Greece, as you put it, is a truly tenacious team.

Germany are the favorites against Greece, but I wouldn’t rush to bet on a German win. Greece have already shown that they can defend very well, and playing at home with the support of their fans, they are certainly capable of causing Germany serious problems. Moreover, Germany still don’t look fully settled and are continuing to look for the best combinations in the squad. So I think Greece are quite capable of avoiding defeat at the very least.

[Adbitco]

No no no, stop there: I never said Ronaldo was pissed off because the team won without him. I said that he's behaving like a kid after Portugal managed to win the game. So I can maybe, and that's a huge maybe, understand a complain from Ronaldo in case Portugal lost the game and he didn't play like "hey, if I was on the pitch we would have won", but complaining after a victory makes no sense at all and it really shows his true nature: he doesn't care whether the team wins or loses, he only cares about himself and his numbers. Why on earth would somebody create this situation after winning a match against one of the best teams in Europe? What he did has no excuses. He must understand that he's not above the team nor the country.

He could have waited until the national matches were done and then tell everybody his problems. Doing in the middle of the matches only damages the spirit of the team. But he doesn't care.

Firstly, the spirit of team is never damaged because most of them had always wanted him gone from the team for reasons best known to them. I won't say it's because of this or that is the reason why they dislike him, it's only speculations and opinions. So after his departure, I guess they were all happy because take a look at their performance when his around Vs these games they have played, tell you self the truth, didn't you notice anything different the midfielders on how they were releasing ball forward instead of their usual backward pass. I hope they continue playing like this and win all available trophies since according to them the person holding them back has left.
Furthermore, it's clear you're still not aware of why he left the camp. It was not because he was left out of the squad, this isn't the first time he was left out of the squad but did he leave the camp, of course not. According to sources, he and the coach had a talk after the match and the coach apologised to him behind the scenes and said he was going to rectify it at the press conference, only to get to the press conference and he threw Ronaldo under the bus, that was the anger. And if you think that's not enough reason for him to leave, when it gets to your turn and you're thrown under the bus, you can smile and say thank you.

[Queentoshi]

Germany are the favorites against Greece, but I wouldn’t rush to bet on a German win. Greece have already shown that they can defend very well, and playing at home with the support of their fans, they are certainly capable of causing Germany serious problems. Moreover, Germany still don’t look fully settled and are continuing to look for the best combinations in the squad. So I think Greece are quite capable of avoiding defeat at the very least.

Germany Favorites? Is it not the same German team that lost to this Greece team at home some few days ago to this same Greece, why do you think that they would now be able to turn game around and win this time where they are the away team. I think the hope the German team has is that one of the creators for the Greece side Tzolis is injured now and will not play, but I will not underestimate his replacement because these present Greece team are showing signs of a golden team, a Greece team that is capable of bringing back the Greece nation into the limelight of football because they have not lost any game in this international break from the record I have seen. Germany can lose again.

[YUriy1991]

Score like that wouldn't really be a problem if the team England were facing was like San Marino, Andorra or Liechtenstein. Croatia is at a higher level than the teams I mentioned, they remain one of the top 20 strongest teams in the world, so they shouldn't have lost by a scoreline like that. They really need to learn from their last two games.

I saw Croatia perform very poorly in that match, resulting in a 7-0 victory for England. I didn't see the high fighting spirit of Modric time with the Croatian national team. They just waited for the ball and ran out of stamina too quickly. In contrast, England played a very dominant game playing very compactly. Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon played very well creating plenty of space for their team to score. I see with the result of 7-0, England is currently one of the favorites to win the championship for the country that will compete in Euro 2028. They are very strong especially since they are currently coached by Thomas Tuchel one of the top elite coaches in the worl who has made England game develop taktic so much that they were able to beat Croatia with a landslide score.

[SFR10]

Greece will most likely play a more defensive style of football, but since they are playing at home, their fans could give them extra motivation to push forward. It’s a difficult match, I think Germany won’t lose today, but I have some doubts about whether they will actually win.

Despite Tzolis's replacement ^[Masouras] doing well against the Netherlands, I also think Greece will take a cautious approach to invite pressure and try to hit them on the counterattack.
^{- Given that recently, there have been a lot of surprising results, I'm picking Greece double chance as the safest bet.}

[paco92x]

I swear Croatia’s coach needs to be arrested ASAP, cos WTF😂.

How do you concede 7 goals without being able to answer back with atleast 1 or 2 goals?, nah c’mon, they had a very horrible performance right from the defense to their attacking and as it is now, they’re in a very difficult position due to the two back to back losses they have faced.

Good performance from England though, they had good chemistry in that match, although i was more impressed with Jude Bellingham’s performance more.
I have said it many times that the guy is a spectacular player but most people just like to lie about him because they are too focused on aesthetics rather than results.

I dare to say that Bellingham is currently the best England player IMO. Infact he’s better than Pedri and Bruno Fernandes(argue with your keyboard).

I just have the feeling that England weren't that good; Croatia were just like amateurs. I mean, the second and third goals came from basically the same play, and one was a tap-in from 3 metres out. I don't know what Bilic was planning for the game, and I don't know how he was unable to control any part of Croatia's game from the beginning. Now Croatia face Spain at home, and I smell another disaster coming. Bilic can say goodbye to the national team.