⚽ UEFA Nations League ⚽ - Discussion Thread

[KTChampions]

I have nothing against Italy, but calling them a strong team right now is extremely optimistic. If we’re talking about top teams, unfortunately, Italy doesn't belong in that category at the moment. As for France, I'm most looking forward to their upcoming game against Spain. I hope they meet each other in the playoffs, which will be the semi-finals. Both of these teams will finish first in their respective groups, so they will not be able to meet earlier. I want to see if Zidane can snap the losing streak and find the key to beating Spain, something Deschamps couldn't do.

Although France has a very strong squad, Spain is displaying incredible team play. Both teams possess individually talented players. If we see a semi-final match between France and Spain, I believe it would be a more significant game than the final itself. I would feel sorry for the losing side, as both teams have played in a way that merits a spot in the final. Spain has remained unbeaten for a long time, and if France manages to defeat them, they will break that record otherwise, Spain will likely continue this unbeaten streak for quite a while longer.

As for the unbeaten streak, I’ve already written that I find it a bit funny, since I consider a loss on penalties to be a loss, therefore, the Nations League final against Portugal had already ended that streak for Spain 
I am really looking forward to the France-Spain game. It is very difficult to explain the defeat in the last three games for France, because individually France is definitely not weaker (in my opinion, they are a cut above), so it’s all about the coach. I want to see what Zidane can do. For me, he is one of the best coaches when it comes to knockout matches.

[Daniel91]

Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about.
France was led to their World Cup by star players who could have easily chosen to play for another team, but they chose France anyway.
We can wonder what would have happened to the French team (would they have won the World Cups) if Zidane had chosen to play for Algeria and Mbappe for Cameroon or Algeria, but we'll never know.
France is a big nation, with a large number of registered footballers and many professional clubs, but their main stars still came from the diaspora, thanks to their colonial history.
Yes, I forgot about Henry, thanks for the reminder, but I actually wanted to mention their best players, with the biggest contributions to the World Cups.

Am an African but I don't really like talks like French players should come back and play from there dissent because their parents was born there, it doesn't really make sense to me when this people where not given anything from there home countries, they were trained in France and opportunities where open to them just by being a France Nationale and you want them to go back to play for Africa ? Those that goes back, kudos to them but am of the opinion that they should stick to the country that raised them

I think this has different point of views from many persons but I think whichever is their choice we should respect that one. There are players that are born in a certain other country, raised there and everything yet their heart does not belong to this country and they want to play for their home country, these are the best people in my opinion. I also do not judge the players who decide to play for a country that has given them all the possibilities and chances to become the players they are today, these are also good people.

It's a thing of choice anyways, for the players playing for another nation aside theirs is not always their choice, some don't really have choice, some were not opportune to make it to their national team, so the only chance they have was to play for the one available, so I don't really blame them, for instance the like of Kylian Mbappe, the father once said he talked to their national team about his talent, but they were requesting for a tip before he could be taken as a player there, and they could not afford the payment, so one thing led to another, he got the chance to play for France, do we also suggest someone like this should go back to his national team?

Yes, of course, the situations differ for each of these footballers.
I recall the story of Rakitić, a Swiss footballer of Croatian descent.
He was born and raised in Switzerland, played for Swiss clubs there, and was destined to play for the Swiss national team.
However, his parents raised him with a "Croatian spirit," and when the moment came for him to play for the Swiss senior national team, he received offers from both the Swiss and Croatian national team managers.
Even though he would have fared better financially in Switzerland—and despite never having lived in Croatia—he accepted the call-up from the Croatian national team, which at the time was far from achieving the results and success it enjoys today.
As a result, the Swiss public turned against him; his family was ostracized in Switzerland and subjected to numerous public attacks, and so on.
I wanted to share this example to illustrate that the strength of the national team, the money involved, or the country where you were born and live do not matter; ultimately, it is the heart that decides who you play for.
All other justifications for not playing for the national team linked to one's family roots are irrelevant.

[Ale88]

France no matter how strong you think they are, have not proven themselves especially in the first two matches of the tournament. In the third place match of the World Cup, they lost to England 4-6. In the first two matches of the Nations League, they won against Turkey and Belgium, but their performance was not that impressive. In the third match, they drew against Italy, which was important for France because Italy was a strong team. The 4-1 win against Belgium in the last match indicates that the team is getting stronger. Looking at the impressive performance of the team in recent times, it can be assumed that they will be able to build a strong competition to win the trophy.

I have nothing against Italy, but calling them a strong team right now is extremely optimistic. If we’re talking about top teams, unfortunately, Italy doesn't belong in that category at the moment. As for France, I'm most looking forward to their upcoming game against Spain. I hope they meet each other in the playoffs, which will be the semi-finals. Both of these teams will finish first in their respective groups, so they will not be able to meet earlier. I want to see if Zidane can snap the losing streak and find the key to beating Spain, something Deschamps couldn't do.

I wouldn't call Italy "a strong team" either and I'm Italian, no problem to admit it. We have to regain our spot in football, that is the truth. And I think we stand in the middle: the team wasn't as bad as many people painted it (of course failing 3 WC in a row makes you see things in a very negative way) and if we look a the young players we have, we actually have very interesting players. The manager just has to have the guts to leave out the older players. For example I've been a Di Lorenzo fan, every time I see him in the starting eleven I already lose interest in the match. When we finally played with Kayode it was a different match. So the process has began. If Tresoldi would choose Italy over Germany (but I doubt) we would have a very young and interesting forward line with him, Esposito and, for the future, Samuele Inácio.

[POPOLUV]

France no matter how strong you think they are, have not proven themselves especially in the first two matches of the tournament. In the third place match of the World Cup, they lost to England 4-6. In the first two matches of the Nations League, they won against Turkey and Belgium, but their performance was not that impressive. In the third match, they drew against Italy, which was important for France because Italy was a strong team. The 4-1 win against Belgium in the last match indicates that the team is getting stronger. Looking at the impressive performance of the team in recent times, it can be assumed that they will be able to build a strong competition to win the trophy.

I have nothing against Italy, but calling them a strong team right now is extremely optimistic. If we’re talking about top teams, unfortunately, Italy doesn't belong in that category at the moment. As for France, I'm most looking forward to their upcoming game against Spain. I hope they meet each other in the playoffs, which will be the semi-finals. Both of these teams will finish first in their respective groups, so they will not be able to meet earlier. I want to see if Zidane can snap the losing streak and find the key to beating Spain, something Deschamps couldn't do.

I wouldn't call Italy "a strong team" either and I'm Italian, no problem to admit it. We have to regain our spot in football, that is the truth. And I think we stand in the middle: the team wasn't as bad as many people painted it (of course failing 3 WC in a row makes you see things in a very negative way) and if we look a the young players we have, we actually have very interesting players. The manager just has to have the guts to leave out the older players. For example I've been a Di Lorenzo fan, every time I see him in the starting eleven I already lose interest in the match. When we finally played with Kayode it was a different match. So the process has began. If Tresoldi would choose Italy over Germany (but I doubt) we would have a very young and interesting forward line with him, Esposito and, for the future, Samuele Inácio.

I'm totally support you on this because Italy team has been given me winnings in my ticket anytime i place my prediction on them, so Italy is strong team that any teams will not underestimate or underated them but will surely accept that they are quickly meeting an experience and strong team, so my believe will not separate me from saying the truth, even when Italy team is not among my favorite teams in this UEFA national league, and it is believe that so many of the fans choose to watch or fan a particular team because of players that are found in the team, so I'm really understand how you feel about it.

[pawel7777]

Apparently, the European Football Associations are not happy with the concept of 3 week international breaks and are calling for them to be scrapped:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/oct/09/european-fas-want-three-week-international-break-abandoned-injuries
Concerns include the risk of players' injury, a congested calendar for league games as well as some financial viablility (negative effect on ticket sales).
The new system requires European national teams to play 4 matches within roughly 11 days. The change was said to be implemented with players' welfare in mind, but it's not clear if it delivers the desired effect or is it the opposite.

[KTChampions]

I have nothing against Italy, but calling them a strong team right now is extremely optimistic. If we’re talking about top teams, unfortunately, Italy doesn't belong in that category at the moment. As for France, I'm most looking forward to their upcoming game against Spain. I hope they meet each other in the playoffs, which will be the semi-finals. Both of these teams will finish first in their respective groups, so they will not be able to meet earlier. I want to see if Zidane can snap the losing streak and find the key to beating Spain, something Deschamps couldn't do.

I wouldn't call Italy "a strong team" either and I'm Italian, no problem to admit it. We have to regain our spot in football, that is the truth. And I think we stand in the middle: the team wasn't as bad as many people painted it (of course failing 3 WC in a row makes you see things in a very negative way) and if we look a the young players we have, we actually have very interesting players. The manager just has to have the guts to leave out the older players. For example I've been a Di Lorenzo fan, every time I see him in the starting eleven I already lose interest in the match. When we finally played with Kayode it was a different match. So the process has began. If Tresoldi would choose Italy over Germany (but I doubt) we would have a very young and interesting forward line with him, Esposito and, for the future, Samuele Inácio.

You made me look it up on google  Kayode is 22, Tresoldi is also 22, and Esposito is 24, Inacio is the only youngster at 18, and given that he’s at Dortmund, he has excellent prospects of becoming a star - Dortmund certainly knows how to churn them out. Others also have plenty of room for improvement, but it seems they aren’t aiming for the very top tier (though I could be wrong). My point is that Italy has practically no top stars, I know Tonali, Donnarumma, Bastoni, I can probably name someone else, but who will be the backbone of the team in the coming years? However, when I look at Germany’s squad, I also can’t find anyone to "latch onto." In general, I hope Italy will return to business, of course, after all, if you look at the Portuguese national team, they are full of stars, but the Spanish national team is collecting trophies, where there are stars, but not in all positions.

[LGD2Business]

Apparently, the European Football Associations are not happy with the concept of 3 week international breaks and are calling for them to be scrapped:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/oct/09/european-fas-want-three-week-international-break-abandoned-injuries
Concerns include the risk of players' injury, a congested calendar for league games as well as some financial viablility (negative effect on ticket sales).
The new system requires European national teams to play 4 matches within roughly 11 days. The change was said to be implemented with players' welfare in mind, but it's not clear if it delivers the desired effect or is it the opposite.

Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they went back to the old system. I don't think players are happy with this either. It's tough for the national team to play 4 matches in less than 2 weeks. Add in the travel and team training, players don't have any time left to rest. There's no doubt that injuries are on the rise. UEFA might conduct these analyses and decide to go back to old system.

I think there are too many international matches. Leagues are already long and full of games, adding this many international matches on top of that isn't right. Overall it would be better for players if number and frequency of international matches were reduced.

[l99l]

Following Vincenzo Montella’s departure, the Turkish Football Federation had started looking for a new head coach, and Sergen Yalçın was reportedly among the candidates according to the latest developments.

It turns out that Sergen Yalçın is the new head coach of the Turkish national team. Arda Turan was also being mentioned as a candidate. I thought Arda had more knowledge and experience, but I still think Sergen Yalçın will be better than Montella.

[LGD2Business]

Following Vincenzo Montella’s departure, the Turkish Football Federation had started looking for a new head coach, and Sergen Yalçın was reportedly among the candidates according to the latest developments.

It turns out that Sergen Yalçın is the new head coach of the Turkish national team. Arda Turan was also being mentioned as a candidate. I thought Arda had more knowledge and experience, but I still think Sergen Yalçın will be better than Montella.

It's impossible to understand how the Federation managed to bring in someone even worse than Montella. Sergen had alienated many players with his commentary program with Candaş. How will he manage them now? Will players like Arda and Kenan listen to him? What decisions will he make, which players will he choose? I'm really curious to see how this will play out. His final stint at Beşiktaş was terrible. We were glad to see him go. So, what achievements is he being appointed to lead the national team?

If he earns points in the remaining 2 Nations League matches, that would be a success. We've been relegated to League B already, even if he wins both matches, nothing will change. We'll play more comfortable matches in League B. If Sergen stays with the team until then, he might achieve good results. League A was really tough for Türkiye.

[letteredhub]

Apparently, the European Football Associations are not happy with the concept of 3 week international breaTheks and are calling for them to be scrapped:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/oct/09/european-fas-want-three-week-international-break-abandoned-injuries
Concerns include the risk of players' injury, a congested calendar for league games as well as some financial viablility (negative effect on ticket sales).
The new system requires European national teams to play 4 matches within roughly 11 days. The change was said to be implemented with players' welfare in mind, but it's not clear if it delivers the desired effect or is it the opposite.

Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they went back to the old system. I don't think players are happy with this either. It's tough for the national team to play 4 matches in less than 2 weeks. Add in the travel and team training, players don't have any time left to rest. There's no doubt that injuries are on the rise. UEFA might conduct these analyses and decide to go back to old system.

I think there are too many international matches. Leagues are already long and full of games, adding this many international matches on top of that isn't right. Overall it would be better for players if number and frequency of international matches were reduced.

Three week on international break is quite unreasonable and shouldn't be allowed to continue, it very risky to the health of the players and FIFA has to put a stop to it.
I wonder what they were thinking when they agreed to spend three week on international duty and it turned out to be very disastrous to some players, some got injured and were ruled out of play for their various clubs due to the extensive amount of games they had to play while representing their countries on the international stage.
If such system persist then a lot of players may start boycotting interditional duties sometime in the future.

[Qhunman]

I'm totally support you on this because Italy team has been given me winnings in my ticket anytime i place my prediction on them, so Italy is strong team that any teams will not underestimate or underated them but will surely accept that they are quickly meeting an experience and strong team, so my believe will not separate me from saying the truth, even when Italy team is not among my favorite teams in this UEFA national league, and it is believe that so many of the fans choose to watch or fan a particular team because of players that are found in the team, so I'm really understand how you feel about it.

Italy is a strong team just that many people have their doubts on them. You don't expect everyone to fans Italy like you do which is why they will often have their doubt about Italy. You trust Italy that is why you're supporting them in the nation league, and they have been bringing winings to your doorstep each time you bet on them. Others may not trust them like you do which is why they hold a separate opinion about Italy performance in this competition. If you ask me, Italy is a strong team and they haven't fail me either, i think their last match was against turkey which they won. This isn't the only time they have defeated turkey, they have defeated them at home and away, so they are a strong team.

[Lucius]

There are less than 2 weeks until the new round of the competition, so let's bring up the topic.

What do you think, will the England humiliate Croatia again, considering they won the first match 0-7? It is not impossible that the England will succeed in repeating the same match, but if Croatia plays defense with all players as in the last match against Spain, it is possible that they will not concede so many goals.

[Shineup]

I'm still very much concern about the Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese National team saga despite the sanctions on him, now my stress is, since they saw Cristiano Ronaldo as a liability in that Portugal team, and decide to acknowledge Bruno Fernandes the Messiah, now that Cristiano Ronaldo is still doing what most young players can't do, how are they feeling about it, like since that issue till now, he's been soaring even more higher, he's won five out of his five matches, with goals, and Bruno Fernandes is yet to win a single match.

[Daniel91]

There are less than 2 weeks until the new round of the competition, so let's bring up the topic.

What do you think, will the England humiliate Croatia again, considering they won the first match 0-7? It is not impossible that the England will succeed in repeating the same match, but if Croatia plays defense with all players as in the last match against Spain, it is possible that they will not concede so many goals.

This is really a million dollar question lol 
Croatia has always been a very unpredictable team, I remember when a few years ago, in this very competition, they lost at home to Austria and then beat Denmark and France away so you never know with Croatia. 
After the disaster and the big defeat against England I think all the fans in Croatia were afraid of another big disaster and a big defeat against Spain. However, in fact Croatia played that match brilliantly, leading 1:0, missed 2 more big chances for 2:0 and 2:1 and in the end they lost unfortunately and undeservedly with a goal by Spain in the last minute, after they were left with a player less on the field.
So, what can we expect from Croatia against England? I believe Croatia will play a much better game than in the first match but it is difficult to predict whether that will be enough for a positive result.
Perisic not playing will be a big handicap.

[Lucius]

This is really a million dollar question lol 
Croatia has always been a very unpredictable team, I remember when a few years ago, in this very competition, they lost at home to Austria and then beat Denmark and France away so you never know with Croatia. 

Yes, but now we have continuity of very bad games that have placed us at the very bottom of the national teams - 4 games with 14 goals conceded, only San Marino is worse. Bilic is definitely worse (in every respect) than Dalic, and it's hard for him to do anything about the match against England. Allegedly, he invited three new players (two from Hajduk Split) and continues his tradition from the past - new game, new players.

After the disaster and the big defeat against England I think all the fans in Croatia were afraid of another big disaster and a big defeat against Spain. However, in fact Croatia played that match brilliantly, leading 1:0, missed 2 more big chances for 2:0 and 2:1 and in the end they lost unfortunately and undeservedly with a goal by Spain in the last minute, after they were left with a player less on the field.
So, what can we expect from Croatia against England? I believe Croatia will play a much better game than in the first match but it is difficult to predict whether that will be enough for a positive result.
Perisic not playing will be a big handicap.

It looks like we watched different games - because what's brilliant is the fact that Spain played one of its worst games in the last 1-2 years, while Croatia defended with all its players and in the end still lost? Presenting a defeat as a victory really doesn't make sense, except for those who want to save the lost coach at all costs, who doesn't have the nerve to even offer his resignation after such a debacle.

[Daniel91]

This is really a million dollar question lol 
Croatia has always been a very unpredictable team, I remember when a few years ago, in this very competition, they lost at home to Austria and then beat Denmark and France away so you never know with Croatia. 

Yes, but now we have continuity of very bad games that have placed us at the very bottom of the national teams - 4 games with 14 goals conceded, only San Marino is worse. Bilic is definitely worse (in every respect) than Dalic, and it's hard for him to do anything about the match against England. Allegedly, he invited three new players (two from Hajduk Split) and continues his tradition from the past - new game, new players.

After the disaster and the big defeat against England I think all the fans in Croatia were afraid of another big disaster and a big defeat against Spain. However, in fact Croatia played that match brilliantly, leading 1:0, missed 2 more big chances for 2:0 and 2:1 and in the end they lost unfortunately and undeservedly with a goal by Spain in the last minute, after they were left with a player less on the field.
So, what can we expect from Croatia against England? I believe Croatia will play a much better game than in the first match but it is difficult to predict whether that will be enough for a positive result.
Perisic not playing will be a big handicap.

It looks like we watched different games - because what's brilliant is the fact that Spain played one of its worst games in the last 1-2 years, while Croatia defended with all its players and in the end still lost? Presenting a defeat as a victory really doesn't make sense, except for those who want to save the lost coach at all costs, who doesn't have the nerve to even offer his resignation after such a debacle.

I think it's really too early to draw such conclusions about coach Bilic after only a month.
Croatia had the misfortune of probably being in the toughest group of the UEFA Nations League, with the currently best national team in the world, Spain, and with England, which is among the 4 best national teams in the world. On the other hand, it is obvious that Croatia is in a transition process, that older players like Modric and Kramaric are no longer at their peak and the younger players are not yet at their level.
I don't know of any coach who could do much more in such a situation.
You keep saying that Spain played a weak game but the opponent plays as much as you allow them to with their game, right? The fact is that Croatia played that game much better than against England.

[Loyang]

I'm still very much concern about the Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese National team saga despite the sanctions on him, now my stress is, since they saw Cristiano Ronaldo as a liability in that Portugal team, and decide to acknowledge Bruno Fernandes the Messiah, now that Cristiano Ronaldo is still doing what most young players can't do, how are they feeling about it, like since that issue till now, he's been soaring even more higher, he's won five out of his five matches, with goals, and Bruno Fernandes is yet to win a single match.

The coach will definitely take the decision that will be best for the team. If someone takes a decision based on who has done well in the past or what he has paid attention to, then it may never be good for the team. The player who is good for the team and is able to perform well will be given a chance in the team and this is the best qualified decision.

Ronaldo's performance is not that good yet. Yes, he is scoring a lot of goals and is moving towards his goal but he is still not able to perform well. Ronaldo is able to score goals because his teammate Ronaldo is helping him a lot.

[Lucius]

I think it's really too early to draw such conclusions about coach Bilic after only a month.
Croatia had the misfortune of probably being in the toughest group of the UEFA Nations League, with the currently best national team in the world, Spain, and with England, which is among the 4 best national teams in the world. On the other hand, it is obvious that Croatia is in a transition process, that older players like Modric and Kramaric are no longer at their peak and the younger players are not yet at their level.
I don't know of any coach who could do much more in such a situation.
You keep saying that Spain played a weak game but the opponent plays as much as you allow them to with their game, right? The fact is that Croatia played that game much better than against England.

You obviously value people without any sense of responsibility - and when you say one month you forget that he terrorized the Croatian national football team for 6 years with the help of the then senile president of the football association. You say it's a tough group? True, but the Czech Republic is in the same group, and let's look at the results of the Czech Republic and Croatia against Spain and England.

Czech Republic - Croatia 1-2
Spain - Croatia 4-1
Croatia - England 0-7
Croatia - Spain 1-2

---

Czech Republic - England 0-2
Spain - Czech Republic 3-1
England - Czech Republic 3-0

Is Yugoslaven Bilic just an incompetent coach or is the Czech Republic better than Croatia?

[Fuso.hp]

I'm still very much concern about the Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese National team saga despite the sanctions on him, now my stress is, since they saw Cristiano Ronaldo as a liability in that Portugal team, and decide to acknowledge Bruno Fernandes the Messiah, now that Cristiano Ronaldo is still doing what most young players can't do, how are they feeling about it, like since that issue till now, he's been soaring even more higher, he's won five out of his five matches, with goals, and Bruno Fernandes is yet to win a single match.

The coach will definitely take the decision that will be best for the team. If someone takes a decision based on who has done well in the past or what he has paid attention to, then it may never be good for the team. The player who is good for the team and is able to perform well will be given a chance in the team and this is the best qualified decision.

Ronaldo's performance is not that good yet. Yes, he is scoring a lot of goals and is moving towards his goal but he is still not able to perform well. Ronaldo is able to score goals because his teammate Ronaldo is helping him a lot.

You will never get the performance of a 22-year-old player from a 42-year-old player. Cristiano Ronaldo has done a lot for Portugal in his entire career and so far he is trying to play his best for the team. Maybe there are some good quality players in the Portugal team now who now consider Ronaldo a burden in the Portugal team. The current players of Portugal complain that Ronaldo cannot score goals or that he has forgotten the game but Ronaldo is scoring regularly against different strong teams in the club and a few days ago he scored a hat-trick and all the goals that Ronaldo scored in that match were great goals. Looking at the activities of the Portugal team, it is certain that the team does not feel the need for Ronaldo now. Since the team or the players do not want Ronaldo, I think Ronaldo should not go back to his previous position.

[pawel7777]

So this is it. Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cew197l8l17o
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/50387224/live-updates-cristiano-ronaldo-retires-portugal-duty

His farewell post on X:
https://x.com/Cristiano/status/2118289594441474497

I was sure he would come to some sort of agreement with Jorge Jesus to allow him for his last official game, preferably in Portugal in front of home fans.
To my understanding, Jorge Jesus said the door is open for him to return to the squad, but I guess Ronaldo was not satisfied with anything else as a first-team player and decided to do it this way.

Anyhow, it is the end of an era with him and Messi officially retired from their national teams.