UEFA Nations League

blueser

Berserker wrote: »

Didn't hear him mentioned for large parts of the game.

How he got MOTM is a mystery to me. Much as I am obviously not a big fan of Lingard (;)), he did more in the short time he was on the pitch than Kane did all afternoon.

martingriff

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Blow the whistle ref!

and he has.

Are Spain relegated? I dunno how this infernal competition works.

edit - it's Croatia. What a fall from grace

You mean for you from the all high and mighty attitude of who has won to then having to admit not knowing a thing

Berserker

Deleted User wrote: »

This competition has actually interested me more than I thought it would. From champions to relegation in 20 minutes, and vice versa for England

Yeah, it's considerably better than friendlies. Been some excellent and fully competitive games.

Harry Palmr

Surely this madness has to end - 5 teams or four certainly not three, there really is no room for error. IS VAR used? Didn't hear it mentioned on radio (I do not have pay TV and didn't even realise this was on TV3/Virgin1)

Berserker

blueser wrote: »

How he got MOTM is a mystery to me. Much as I am obviously not a big fan of Lingard (;)), he did more in the short time he was on the pitch than Kane did all afternoon.

Didn't realise that. Kane wasn't in that game for the majority of it. Crazy call.

Collie D

5pm kickoffs

League B

Northern Ireland v Austria. Dead rubber. Only ranking positions at stake which may help gain playoff spots depending on how the teams above them fare in the actual qualifiers.

League D

Moldova v Luxembourg & San Marino v Belarus. Belarus only need a draw to earn top spot. In the unlikely event that they lose Luxembourg need a win to overtake them.

Banjaxed82

A couple of rounds of the Nations League and everyone will be onboard. Any competition that involves promotion/relegation will have a hard time not succeeding.

martingriff

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

A couple of rounds of the Nations League and everyone will be onboard. Any competition that involves promotion/relegation will have a hard time not succeeding.

Unless its US sports. I know of no promotion or relegation there. Australia I think is the same

noodler

Been a decent competition alright.

Mr.Nice Guy

Teams:

NI XI: Carson, McAuley, Evans, Saville, McGinn, Davis, Boyce, Evans, Dallas, Jones, Smith.

Austria XI: Lindner, Ulmer, Dragovic, Hinteregger, Ilsanker, Alaba, Gregoritsch, Baumgartlinger, Lainer, Lazaro, Schlager.

Pity there's nothing at stake in this one besides pride. Arnautovic is on the bench.

I reckon Lazaro will cause NI's left side a good few problems, but they looked good against us a few days ago so I wouldn't be shocked if this is a home win.

Guy:Incognito

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Blow the whistle ref!

and he has.

Are Spain relegated? I dunno how this infernal competition works.

edit - it's Croatia. What a fall from grace

Groups work the same in all competitions on fairness. Spain were 2 points clear of England and Croatia before the game. No result could relegate them,

Harry Palmr

I've not really been playing attention as it's hard to see games, being on Sky and mainly Virgin Sport

ITV really missed a trick by not looking to get the rights - I expect they thought it was a non event as I did.

citytillidie

Right after been away all weekend.

Match Day 5 Results
Belgium 2 V 0 Iceland
Croatia 3 V 2 Spain
Austria 0 V 0 Bosina and Heregovina
Greece 1 V 0 Finland
Hungary 2 V 0 Estonia
San Marino 0 V 1 Moldova
Luxembourg 0 V 2 Belarus
Netherlands 2 V 0 France
Slovakia 4 V 1 Ukraine
Wales 1 V 2 Denmark
Cyprus 1 V 1 Bulgaria
Slovenia 1 V 1 Norway
Kazakhstan 1 V 1 Latvia
Andorra 1 V 1 Georgia
Liechtenstein 0 V 2 FYR Macedonia
Gibraltar 2 V 6 Armenia
Italy 0 V 0 Portugal
Turkey 0 V 1 Sweden
Albania 0 V 4 Scotland
Serbia 2 V 1 Montenegro
Romania 3 V 0 Lithuania
Azerbaijan 2 V 0 Faroe Islands
Malta 0 V 5 Kosovo

League A
Into the Finals
Portugal
England

Relegated
Germany
Iceland
Poland
Croaita

League B
Promoted
Ukraine
Bosina and Herzegovina
Denmakr

Relegated
Turkey
Northern Ireland
Ireland

League C
Promoted

Relegated
Estonia
Lithuania

League D
Promoted
Georgia

2020 Pots
UNL Pot
England, Portugal

UNL Pot/Pot 1
Belgium, France, Netherlands, Switzerland

Pot 1
Italy, Spain

Pot 1/Pot 2
Croatia, Germany, Poland

Pot 2
Austria, Bosina, Denmark, Iceland, Russia, Sweden. Ukraine, Wales

Pot 2/Pot 3
Czech Republic, Slovika

Pot 3
Finland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Serbia, Turkey

Pot 3/Pot 4
Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Norway, Romania, Scotland

Pot 4
Albania, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Slovenia

Pot 4/Pot 5
Belarus, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia

Pot 5
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Moldova

Pot 5/Pot 6
Andorra, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta

Pot 6
San Marino

Mr.Nice Guy

Austria lead 1-0 after Schlager's low strike.

Update: 1-1 now as Evans equalises with the aid of a deflection.

Mr.Nice Guy

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I reckon Lazaro will cause NI's left side a good few problems, but they looked good against us a few days ago so I wouldn't be shocked if this is a home win.

Lazaro wins it in the dying seconds with a beautiful strike. Great talent.

Collie D

Lovely finish by Lazaro with all the time in the world to win it 1-2 for Austria.

Moldova and Luxembourg draw 1-1 and Belarus confirm promotion with a 0-2 win

blueser

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Lazaro wins it in the dying seconds with a beautiful strike. Great talent.

Smartarse!

Collie D

7.45 games

League A

Switzerland v Belgium. 1-0, 2-1 or any win by 2+ goals needed for Switzerland to take top spot from Belgium.

League C

Greece v Estonia & Hungary v Finland. Two dead rubbers. Finland already promoted and Estonia relegated.

Mr.Nice Guy

Switzerland vs Belgium coming up at 7.45. If I heard the commentators earlier correctly, the Swiss need to win 1-0 or 2-1 or by more than a single goal to advance. I guess because if it were 3-2 the Belgians would advance on having more away goals. Teams:

Switzerland XI: Sommer; Mbabu, Elvedi, Klose, Rodriguez; Fernandes, Xhaka, Freuler, Zuber; Shaqiri, Seferovic.

Belgium XI: Courtois; Alderweireld, Kompany, Boyata; Meunier, Tielemans, Witsel, Chadli; T. Hazard, Mertens, E. Hazard.

A lot of quality on show in this game. Akanji missing for the Swiss is a blow. Looking forward to seeing how Elvedi does against this quality attack. Mbabu has impressed me this season when I've seen him. Surprised Tielemans gets the nod as he's been woeful for Monaco.

Always risky to bet against the Swiss as they're usually capable of punching above their weight, but can't see them getting the win with the Hazard brothers playing so well. I'll go 2-1 Belgium.

Mr.Nice Guy

Thorgan Hazard gives Belgium the lead inside 90 seconds. Shocking moment for Elvedi.

Mr.Nice Guy

And Thorgan Hazard gets a second! Having a smashing season.

Mountain to climb for the Swiss now.

Mr.Nice Guy

Conor McNamara: "I'm not sure if there's a third Hazard brother but if there is I'm sure he's being scouted."

There is: Kylian Hazard. He's on Chelsea's books and playing on loan in Belgium.

Mr.Nice Guy

Lifeline for Switzerland as Mbabu wins a penalty. Chadli fouled him.

And Rodriguez scores. 2-1 now. Three goals after just over 25 minutes.

Mr.Nice Guy

2-2! Seferovic! Nice cushioned header by Shaqiri.

Only 30 minutes gone. What a game this is.

Collie D

And 2-2 now after barely half an hour. Swiss need to win by two.

Deeper Blue

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Conor McNamara: "I'm not sure if there's a third Hazard brother but if there is I'm sure he's being scouted."

There is: Kylian Hazard. He's on Chelsea's books and playing on loan in Belgium.

Surely a commentator should know there's a third Hazard brother. Really irks me when it's their full time job.

Loafing Oaf

NDWC wrote: »

Surely a commentator should know there's a third Hazard brother. Really irks me when it's their full time job.

Incredibly there's a teenage fourth brother Ethan who Chelsea are considering a swoop for.

Mr.Nice Guy

3-2! Seferovic again!

WHAT A GAME.

ArmaniJeanss

3-2.
Boring meaningless friendlies.

Collie D

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

3-2! Seferovic again!

WHAT A GAME.

Word for word what I was about to post.

I love this competition

Agent Coulson

Switzerland 3 - 2 up now with a cracker.

Collie D

Some comeback by the Swiss. After 15/20 minutes it looked like a case of how many for Belgium but they've completely switched off and Switzerland have been really good since the penalty.

Belgium still top as it stands but wouldn't rule anything out in the second half.

Mr.Nice Guy

Has the feel of a Champions League 2nd leg tie. Both sides going for it and beautifully in the balance.

I see a lot of comments bemoaning international breaks but I think the standard is far higher than previous years.

Loafing Oaf

Collie D wrote: »

Belgium still top as it stands but wouldn't rule anything out in the second half.

Can you or someone explain why this is? I'm guessing because of away goals in head to head matches.

Mr.Nice Guy

What a chance for Seferovic. Almost the hat-trick.

Mr.Nice Guy

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Can you or someone explain why this is? I'm guessing because of away goals in head to head matches.

You're right. Other game between the sides was 2-1 so Belgium have more away goals than the Swiss.

Mr.Nice Guy

4-2 Switzerland! Elvedi redeems himself for his mistake for Belgium's opener.

Agent Coulson

4 - 2 to the Swiss

Collie D

4-2. Lovely ball in for the header.

Advantage Switzerland now.

Loafing Oaf

Typical Martinez defending by Belgium.

SharpshooterTom

Looking more and more likely now:

England
Portugal
Switzerland
Holland

Are a lot of bigger nations having World Cup hangovers or what?

Mr.Nice Guy

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

Looking more and more likely now:

England
Portugal
Switzerland
Holland

Are a lot of bigger nations having World Cup hangovers or what?

The standard of international football in Europe is very high at the moment. Don't forget the 4 World Cup semi-finalists were European. Bodes very well for Euro 2020. It could be a classic tournament with a very open field to win it.

Mr.Nice Guy

5-2 Switzerland as Seferovic gets his hat-trick. Extraordinary.

Collie D

5-2. Seferovic gets his hat-trick. And bar two goals for Belgium with in last five minutes that's them through.

AidoEirE

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

5-2 Switzerland as Seferovic gets his hat-trick. Extraordinary.

Big upset for Belgium i would imagine. Would never of thought the Swiss to pull out a score like that.

Vincent Vega

Mr.Nice Guy

AidoEirE wrote: »

Big upset for Belgium i would imagine. Would never of thought the Swiss to pull out a score like that.

Especially since the Swiss were beaten here by Qatar 1-0 only a few days ago.

I wonder what this result means for Martinez's future? Will this put his job in danger or has he earned enough goodwill from the World Cup?

Banjaxed82

Switzerland score more goals in one game then we have in the last year. Jaysus.

Loafing Oaf

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Especially since the Swiss were beaten here by Qatar 1-0 only a few days ago.

Think that was a second string team though

ERG89

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

Looking more and more likely now:

England
Portugal
Switzerland
Holland

Are a lot of bigger nations having World Cup hangovers or what?

They just aren't that good in the majority. Spain haven't made a quarter final of a major tournament since 2012, Italy are fairly average as proven in the last 2 years & Germany are aging with not a lot of quality coming through. Between the 3 of them they haven't got 1 top striker. France have done ok bar the result last week but there is very little quality around now which makes Ireland's exploits kinda worse. It doesn't take a lot to get in any countries squad now. There just ain't the talent pool out there now.