⚽ UEFA Nations League ⚽ - Discussion Thread

[Slow death]

With the Nations League matches approaching, some national teams are announcing their squads, and as always, controversial news has begun to emerge. In my opinion, the most notable case is the report that Tuchel has once again left Cole Palmer out. I’m not sure what’s gotten into Tuchel this time to exclude him; according to Fabrizio Romano, here is the list of players called up by Tuchel for the Nations League matches:

 OFFICIAL: Cole Palmer, left out of the England squad. Thomas Tuchel decision has been made.

Full squad. ⤵️

Goalkeepers: Pickford, Steele, Trafford.

Defenders: Branthwaite, Guéhi, Hall, Konsa, Quansah, Spence, Trent, White.

Midfielders: Anderson, Bellingham, Eze, Garner, Jobe, King, Lewis-Skelly, Rice.

Forwards: Calvert-Lewin, Gibbs-White, Gordon, Kane, Ngumoha, Rogers.

source: https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2118646884331868613

Honestly, I can’t understand why Tuchel called up the Liverpool player Rio Ngumoha. The guy has played 7 matches in the Premier League with 0 goals, and 4 matches in the Champions League with 0 goals. So, why was he called up to the England national team? Cole Palmer, by comparison, has played 9 matches in the Premier League with 3 goals, and 4 matches in the Champions League with 1 goal. I’d say the same thing regarding the Arsenal player, Lewis-Skelly who, by the way, is a midfielder so one could argue that Cole Palmer lost his spot to this guy, who has made 7 appearances  with 0 goals in the Premier League and 2 appearances  with 0 goals  in the Champions League. Can someone explain to me what criteria Tuchel uses to select players for the national team?

[katanic97]

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.

It was somehow inevitable after he left the camp. Everyone knows how much Ronaldo meant to Portugal and everything he achieved with the national team. Unfortunately, he never managed to win the WC. Jesus clearly didn't want him in the team anymore and had completely different plans and tactics that didn't include him. It's the end of an era for what i can say are the two best footballers in the world for me

[ASloveapg]

Indeed the French team is one of the favourites and I must accept that but there are several other great teams who are also capable of winning the Uefa nations league, Spain is also in a better position to win, they are world champions and can be decisive too, there is England and the Netherlands whom I think are also showing good signs especially since the arival of former Barcelona coach, xavi Hernandez, I think it's going to be a very tough edition but I expect the spanish side to be in the finals.

I want the final to be between France and Spain, because currently the strongest team is Spain, and France has a very high chance of winning the title. Spain also played in the final of the Nations League last season, which was against Portugal, and similarly, Spain has a very high chance of reaching the final this season, but can we exclude Portugal? Portugal has won 4 of their 4 matches, meaning they are also winning consistently, so Portugal may not easily give up. However, it remains to be seen what France can do, last season France was defeated by Spain in the semi-final, and again in this World Cup, France lost 2-0 to Spain in the semi-final and could not reach the final. In other words, Spain is a team against whom France cannot survive, and so if France faces Spain again in the Nations League, will France be able to take revenge on them? This match between them will be the most interesting.

[Tonimez]

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.

It was somehow inevitable after he left the camp. Everyone knows how much Ronaldo meant to Portugal and everything he achieved with the national team. Unfortunately, he never managed to win the WC. Jesus clearly didn't want him in the team anymore and had completely different plans and tactics that didn't include him. It's the end of an era for what i can say are the two best footballers in the world for me

I love his courage and how he managed this whole situation from after leaving the camp. Jorge Jesus didn't treat him right and he intentionally disrespected him to see his reaction. Christiano Ronaldo has achieved everything he needs to achieve in Portuguese shirts. Seeing some of his teammates claiming that nothing has changed or how they will not miss him, I think that most of his current teammates are bitter and jealous of his achievements of which I'm sure none of his present teammates will achieve half of what he has achieved for the national team. He brought the country into the light and gave them the strongest and organic fanbase they can ever have. It will take a long time to see someone with such influence as Christiano Ronaldo and it's a true end of an era.

[Mehmet69]

Indeed the French team is one of the favourites and I must accept that but there are several other great teams who are also capable of winning the Uefa nations league, Spain is also in a better position to win, they are world champions and can be decisive too, there is England and the Netherlands whom I think are also showing good signs especially since the arival of former Barcelona coach, xavi Hernandez, I think it's going to be a very tough edition but I expect the spanish side to be in the finals.

I want the final to be between France and Spain, because currently the strongest team is Spain, and France has a very high chance of winning the title. Spain also played in the final of the Nations League last season, which was against Portugal, and similarly, Spain has a very high chance of reaching the final this season, but can we exclude Portugal? Portugal has won 4 of their 4 matches, meaning they are also winning consistently, so Portugal may not easily give up. However, it remains to be seen what France can do, last season France was defeated by Spain in the semi-final, and again in this World Cup, France lost 2-0 to Spain in the semi-final and could not reach the final. In other words, Spain is a team against whom France cannot survive, and so if France faces Spain again in the Nations League, will France be able to take revenge on them? This match between them will be the most interesting.

Yes, you are right. France and Spain are the strongest rivals at the moment. Especially after the World Cup defeat, France's aggressive attitude towards Spain has become more. But will we see that aggressive attitude on the field? Because almost all of Spain's players are currently aggressive. If a team has a few Spanish players, then that team's attack seems much stronger. France has not seen much improvement. On the other hand, Portugal will no longer play CR7. The main personality of the team's attack will not be seen in this Nations League. So if Portugal's consecutive wins are followed by a loss or draw, then there is nothing surprising here. Teammates on the field will miss an experienced person when giving the final finishing touch. So it is doubtful whether Portugal's Nations League performance will be consistent.

[KTChampions]

I want the final to be between France and Spain, because currently the strongest team is Spain, and France has a very high chance of winning the title. Spain also played in the final of the Nations League last season, which was against Portugal, and similarly, Spain has a very high chance of reaching the final this season, but can we exclude Portugal? Portugal has won 4 of their 4 matches, meaning they are also winning consistently, so Portugal may not easily give up. However, it remains to be seen what France can do, last season France was defeated by Spain in the semi-final, and again in this World Cup, France lost 2-0 to Spain in the semi-final and could not reach the final. In other words, Spain is a team against whom France cannot survive, and so if France faces Spain again in the Nations League, will France be able to take revenge on them? This match between them will be the most interesting.

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter to me whether France and Spain meet in the final, the main thing is that they cross paths in the knockout stage. I’m very curious to see how Zidane handles the three-game losing streak he inherited from Deschamps. Zidane is a tactical genius, what interests me in this matchup isn't even the result, but whether he can break Spain's dominance in controlling the game.
As for nearest matchday, to my surprise, there are three interesting games in a row: Italy - France, Czech Republic - Spain, England - Croatia. In the latter, one can expect a flurry of goals 

[Curious T]

I love his courage and how he managed this whole situation from after leaving the camp. Jorge Jesus didn't treat him right and he intentionally disrespected him to see his reaction. Christiano Ronaldo has achieved everything he needs to achieve in Portuguese shirts. Seeing some of his teammates claiming that nothing has changed or how they will not miss him, I think that most of his current teammates are bitter and jealous of his achievements of which I'm sure none of his present teammates will achieve half of what he has achieved for the national team. He brought the country into the light and gave them the strongest and organic fanbase they can ever have. It will take a long time to see someone with such influence as Christiano Ronaldo and it's a true end of an era.

Ronaldo fans can never for a second consider if Ronaldo might be wrong about something. It's always his coach, teammates or rivals' fault. Why are you guys like that? So if a 41-year-old is kept on the bench in one game, then he is disrespected? Really? You expect him to keep playing every game because of what he has done for the team in the past, even though we can all clearly see his level has dropped drastically? How does this make sense to you? At 41 he should be happy to help the team whenever he can. It takes nothing away from his achievements as a player.

Anybody who doesn't agree with Ronaldo is jealous of him. What kind of narcissistic behavior is that? he is one of the gretest. Nothing is going to take that away from him, but all this insecurity is doing more harm to him. With the way Ronaldo has been playing in the team, he should have retired from the national team after the world cup, but he just wants everything to be about him that is why he still wants to play 90 minutes of football in every game at 41.

[Adbitco]

Ronaldo fans can never for a second consider if Ronaldo might be wrong about something. It's always his coach, teammates or rivals' fault. Why are you guys like that? So if a 41-year-old is kept on the bench in one game, then he is disrespected? Really? You expect him to keep playing every game because of what he has done for the team in the past, even though we can all clearly see his level has dropped drastically? How does this make sense to you? At 41 he should be happy to help the team whenever he can. It takes nothing away from his achievements as a player.

Anybody who doesn't agree with Ronaldo is jealous of him. What kind of narcissistic behavior is that? he is one of the gretest. Nothing is going to take that away from him, but all this insecurity is doing more harm to him. With the way Ronaldo has been playing in the team, he should have retired from the national team after the world cup, but he just wants everything to be about him that is why he still wants to play 90 minutes of football in every game at 41.

Did you miss the part where it's said he wanted to retire from the national immediately after the WC and the FA president and coach talked him out of it? Did you miss that? I blame him for not going according to his own plans of retiring instead he listened I'm glad right now his not listening to anyone and has made his stand to retire. Talking about keeping him on the bench, did you also miss the part where he was eating with his teammates knowing fully well the plan wasn't to play him and he didn't have it in his heart that he was to play that very day and the coach came to ask him if he was ready to come that very day in the second half, did you miss that part?
Did you also miss the part where the coach asked him to train and get ready to come on and later didn't use him? There are players and their are calibre of players, only a few individuals has attained this level called calibre of players or the games elite. Ronaldo has attained this level a long time ago and you keep him like on the stands, how dare you? I love the fact that he walked away from it especially after the coach come to the press conference to say what he said. You don't disrespect someone of that calibre and not expect a reaction from him. I have a Barcelona match where the other guy refused to come off the pitch for another player to enter in his place, then no one made a fuss about it because it's coming from someone the media tagged Humble.

[Daniel91]

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.

It was somehow inevitable after he left the camp. Everyone knows how much Ronaldo meant to Portugal and everything he achieved with the national team. Unfortunately, he never managed to win the WC. Jesus clearly didn't want him in the team anymore and had completely different plans and tactics that didn't include him. It's the end of an era for what i can say are the two best footballers in the world for me

Ronaldo is one of the best footballers in the world, but also one of the footballers with the biggest ego, unfortunately. Because of this, he did not understand the right moment when he should leave the Portuguese national team, he came into conflict with the Portuguese federation and the coach and left in disgrace.
A sad end to the representative career of the greatest Portuguese player in history.
Yes, Ronaldo failed to win the world championship with Portugal, but he was the European champion and won the UEFA Nations League, so it cannot be said that he was unsuccessful with the Portuguese national team.
Portugal has a very talented and strong national team and I am sure that even without Ronaldo they can achieve great results.
At the next world championship, they will be one of the locals and this is their opportunity.
They have already won the UEFA Nations League 2 times, the last time after the victory against Spain, and I think they are not without chances to win this competition this season as well.

[yudi09]

Leaving Palmer and Mainoo off the England squad for the UEFA Nations League—to me, that’s a decision that raises a lot of questions, especially since Jobe and Ngumoha made the squad. What’s going on with Tuchel, even though the final decision rests with him to do what’s best for English soccer fans?

Cole Palmer has long been a key player for Xabi at Chelsea, and his contributions haven’t been half bad.

[Phoenix Anka]

There are 5 days left until the start of the Nations League matches. The match between Turkey and Belgium will be played in Turkey. You may not know this, but our coach has changed. Vincenzo Montella was sacked and Sergen Yalçın took his place. We will be implementing a new squad and a new tactical setup. Hopefully, our players can show their best in the Belgium match because we don't have any points in the group yet. If we don't win against Belgium, our last match is against France in France. Therefore, it's almost certain that we will lose that match. We will try to get points against Belgium.

[Victorybit1]

Honestly, I can’t understand why Tuchel called up the Liverpool player Rio Ngumoha. The guy has played 7 matches in the Premier League with 0 goals, and 4 matches in the Champions League with 0 goals. So, why was he called up to the England national team? Cole Palmer, by comparison, has played 9 matches in the Premier League with 3 goals, and 4 matches in the Champions League with 1 goal. I’d say the same thing regarding the Arsenal player, Lewis-Skelly who, by the way, is a midfielder so one could argue that Cole Palmer lost his spot to this guy, who has made 7 appearances  with 0 goals in the Premier League and 2 appearances  with 0 goals  in the Champions League. Can someone explain to me what criteria Tuchel uses to select players for the national team?

Rio isn't that bad as a player, I feel Rio is that type of player that shakes off defence, most of his attributes rest on his play creation, you should probably check his big chance creation maybe that's the reason he was called up and am not he is better than Cole Palmer but I think there is a friction between them, I think I ventured back from the first time Palmer wasn't called up and he made a statement, I don't really know though, that would be the only logical explanation

[swogerino]

There are 5 days left until the start of the Nations League matches. The match between Turkey and Belgium will be played in Turkey. You may not know this, but our coach has changed. Vincenzo Montella was sacked and Sergen Yalçın took his place. We will be implementing a new squad and a new tactical setup. Hopefully, our players can show their best in the Belgium match because we don't have any points in the group yet. If we don't win against Belgium, our last match is against France in France. Therefore, it's almost certain that we will lose that match. We will try to get points against Belgium.

That is a terrible campaign from Turkey in Nations League yet I saw Turkey in World Cup and they did not good there too so most likely a new coach and new mentality is really needed. I think Belgium is not coming from some brilliant performances either and I agree this is the only chance to get points because France is on another level in every competition compared to Turkey. Hopefully you win against Belgium and get three points instead of only getting one point just for the prestige of it and not that it will get any real impact on the group standing. As for the new coach first time I hear his name and I hope he is good enough to bring Turkey where it belongs in performance.

[Creeper0]

That is a terrible campaign from Turkey in Nations League yet I saw Turkey in World Cup and they did not good there too so most likely a new coach and new mentality is really needed. I think Belgium is not coming from some brilliant performances either and I agree this is the only chance to get points because France is on another level in every competition compared to Turkey. Hopefully you win against Belgium and get three points instead of only getting one point just for the prestige of it and not that it will get any real impact on the group standing. As for the new coach first time I hear his name and I hope he is good enough to bring Turkey where it belongs in performance.

Turkey may lose the second match as well as the first match. I don't know if they will be able to take revenge with the home field advantage. Although this is not a revenge match for Turkey, but a fight to defend their honor in the European competition. They have not been able to earn any points in the first four matches, in the remaining two matches they have a chance to earn points against Belgium. It is almost certain that they will not get any points against France.
Even if Belgium can win this match, it will be easy for them to occupy the second place in the points table. So Belgium will try to defeat Turkey and occupy the second place in the points table at any cost.

[Alonso_]

I feel it has been a terrible international break as a whole, the only good thing about is that Yamal is performing at a high level. I have successfully lost all the bets I made this international break, I feel this UEFA Nations League qualifications was meant for people that stake just one game, for 3 to 4 games parlay players like me and few others, it has been terrible and the funny thing is I tried alot of options apart from regular team to win in regular time but still I lost

I agree with you this long international break has been awful, but I think it’s the only way for national team managers to build a squad and see how more players cope with a long run of fixtures and back 2 back matches. That way, there’s a chance to develop a style of play that’s even a bit more complex than what can be achieved in just a week and a half.
As for betting side, I don’t think we’re the only ones who’ve had a run of bad luck; there’s a lot of grumbling going round.

I think the long break was established to reduce the frequent traveling by players, which is why it was merged for that 3 weeks, it was only for the September and October International break, I don’t think we would see that in November anymore, November is just the usual Schedule international break of 2 weeks, it also did provide a leverage for International managers to also have more time with the players and trying to establish a bond together and trying to also implement their playing style. However I must say I have been grumbling for weeks, but we move and don’t give up on my gambling.

[Roseline492]

There are 5 days left until the start of the Nations League matches. The match between Turkey and Belgium will be played in Turkey. You may not know this, but our coach has changed. Vincenzo Montella was sacked and Sergen Yalçın took his place. We will be implementing a new squad and a new tactical setup. Hopefully, our players can show their best in the Belgium match because we don't have any points in the group yet.

Your country did well to have sacked there former coach because he wasn't impactful on the national league, however do you believe that Sergen Yalcın that replaced the sacked coach is the best coach for Turkey to depend on?, I'm being doubtful because with the clubs the both coach has been before shows that Sergen Yalcın experience is not better than Vincenzo Montella they sacked, so perhaps more experience coach would have been more ideal because is possible there might not be much positive change from him in the club, especially with the country Turkey is facing because already Belgium has won them before now so definitely the percentage of Turkey victory is low.

[Curious T]

Did you miss the part where it's said he wanted to retire from the national immediately after the WC and the FA president and coach talked him out of it? Did you miss that? I blame him for not going according to his own plans of retiring instead he listened

And what is this supposed to prove? That the FA told him to continue and a coach said he "counts on Ronaldo" means he must continue? What are you even trying to say here? So when the new coach came, if he had said he didn't count on Ronaldo, wouldn't you still be the one dragging the manager right now?

alking about keeping him on the bench, did you also miss the part where he was eating with his teammates knowing fully well the plan wasn't to play him and he didn't have it in his heart that he was to play that very day and the coach came to ask him if he was ready to come that very day in the second half, did you miss that part?
Did you also miss the part where the coach asked him to train and get ready to come on and later didn't use him? There are players and their are calibre of players, only a few individuals has attained this level called calibre of players or the games elite. Ronaldo has attained this level a long time ago and you keep him like on the stands, how dare you?

This is the problem with you Ronaldo fans. How do you people watch Ronaldo at 41 and still expect him to start every game? What kind of unrealistic people are you? There is nothing wrong with keeping Ronaldo on the bench or bringing him in the second half, or starting him and taking him off in the 50th minute. There is nothing absolutely wrong with that. The team is here to win a match, and if a particular player doesn't suit the way he wants to play at that time, he will be on the bench. What that player has achieved will not win the match. His balon d'ors and UCLs will not win the match. It's his performance on that day that will win the match.

Look at how you're talking about him warming up and not playing like it's the worst thing to happen. Plans change. Multiple times, players warm up and are about to go in, but something happens in the match, and plans change. But trust Ronaldo and his fans to make the most out of it because they want everything to be about them. The club and the team are not Ronaldo fans that don't care if Portugal wins but only care if Ronaldo scores. They want to win, regardless of who scores.

I love the fact that he walked away from it especially after the coach come to the press conference to say what he said. You don't disrespect someone of that calibre and not expect a reaction from him. I have a Barcelona match where the other guy refused to come off the pitch for another player to enter in his place, then no one made a fuss about it because it's coming from someone the media tagged Humble.

Well, he was forced out of the team. He didn't leave on his own, which is kind of sad for a player like him and what he has achieved.

Are you scared of calling Messi's name? You brought him into a conversation that doesn't concern him. Where do you people always miss the plot if trying to be like Messi or want to be treated like Messi? First of all, the incident you speak of is a match against Eiber and Luis Enrique asked Messi if he would like to come off and rest because they have Ajax in the UCL next, but he waved and said no. Everything was later cleared, and the full footage of their conversation was shown, but I trust people like you to run with a narrative.

One thing you people need to understand is that people respect Messi more than Ronaldo. All of Messi's teammates respect him. Even Ronaldo's teammates respect Messi more than Ronaldo. We have seen his teammates in Madrid and Manchester United talk about both of them, and it's because of how he is clearly the better and greater player and also because of how he carries himself. It doesn't have to be only about him all the time. It's about the team.

[Lucius]

Leaving Palmer and Mainoo off the England squad for the UEFA Nations League—to me, that’s a decision that raises a lot of questions, especially since Jobe and Ngumoha made the squad. What’s going on with Tuchel, even though the final decision rests with him to do what’s best for English soccer fans?

Cole Palmer has long been a key player for Xabi at Chelsea, and his contributions haven’t been half bad.

When you have so many quality players, you can afford the luxury of not inviting some of the best. However, from what I've read of his statements, it's about some other players' performances in previous games earning them the right to continue playing - if you were injured and someone else showed they could replace you, then it's fair to wait for your chance again.

England are strong in any case, they only need one more point to achieve their goal, and now the only question is how hard they will try in the match against Croatia considering that they are going to Spain after that.

[Taricoins]

There are 5 days left until the start of the Nations League matches. The match between Turkey and Belgium will be played in Turkey. You may not know this, but our coach has changed. Vincenzo Montella was sacked and Sergen Yalçın took his place. We will be implementing a new squad and a new tactical setup. Hopefully, our players can show their best in the Belgium match because we don't have any points in the group yet.

Your country did well to have sacked there former coach because he wasn't impactful on the national league, however do you believe that Sergen Yalcın that replaced the sacked coach is the best coach for Turkey to depend on?, I'm being doubtful because with the clubs the both coach has been before shows that Sergen Yalcın experience is not better than Vincenzo Montella they sacked, so perhaps more experience coach would have been more ideal because is possible there might not be much positive change from him in the club, especially with the country Turkey is facing because already Belgium has won them before now so definitely the percentage of Turkey victory is low.

It is very impertinent that they find a new coach because I too join the chorus in not trusting Sergen, but I don't think any body would he as bad Vincenzo. Turkey has a lot of talent, 3-4 tournaments ago, they where competing and I found myself watching their match but I don't really know what went wrong. Maybe we can finally put our faith in this new gaffer

[yudi09]

Leaving Palmer and Mainoo off the England squad for the UEFA Nations League—to me, that’s a decision that raises a lot of questions, especially since Jobe and Ngumoha made the squad. What’s going on with Tuchel, even though the final decision rests with him to do what’s best for English soccer fans?

Cole Palmer has long been a key player for Xabi at Chelsea, and his contributions haven’t been half bad.

When you have so many quality players, you can afford the luxury of not inviting some of the best. However, from what I've read of his statements, it's about some other players' performances in previous games earning them the right to continue playing - if you were injured and someone else showed they could replace you, then it's fair to wait for your chance again.

England are strong in any case, they only need one more point to achieve their goal, and now the only question is how hard they will try in the match against Croatia considering that they are going to Spain after that.

I can only say yes, and after that, I can only remain silent regarding England’s strength in every aspect.
One player who I think deserves Tuchel’s trust is Brown, who now plays for Fenerbahçe. I’ve been watching Archie Brown play, and to me, he’s a solid left-back who could serve as a backup for Trent or Hall.

After defeating Croatia 7-0 and hosting them again in England, England’s chances of winning this match again are a safe bet, but I have my doubts about the match against Spain following the Croatia game.
Spain is one of the most well-rounded teams and is very strong in every aspect.