These chats have been a lot of fun. Thanks for participating; it’s been really cool to see a little community start to grow. So, let’s do another one today during the Switzerland-Portugal Nations League semifinal, which starts … in 10 minutes!
My thing with these VAR penalty calls is the refs know the rules better than we do, so if they're taking extra time to watch replays of the plays, don't we just have to give them the benefit of the doubt? Anyway, I hate talking about whether or not something is a penalty! Game on!
My issue is that we have these rules that seem to have diverged significantly from their original intention. You’d like the laws of the game to serve as a deterrent to fouling, but they don’t (tactical fouling). You’d also like the punishment to fit the crime, but there are many cases of fouls in the box where the player is going away from goal or it’s a tug off the ball or whatever where the chance if the offensive team scoring is really very minimal, but a penalty is given and then they have an excellent chance of scoring. VAR plus the new guidelines on handballs are going to put this into stark relief. There’s going to be tons of penalties, tons of VAR handballs, and it’s not going to make the game better. I predict a thorough rethink within 5 years.
Agree that I hate talking about whether something is a penalty, but not sure I'm on board with the appeal to authority--no more reason for there to be fewer refs who are legitimately bad at their jobs than any other profession!
I'd like to think it takes some refereeing ability to become a high-level ref. This isn't a high-school game! Also, the whole point is that the replay is supposed to prevent you from being terrible at your job.
Well yeah, I'd assume they're generally better than your average high school ref. But I've also so rarely heard of pro refs being demoted, fired, or otherwise being punished for not being good at their jobs, which to me suggests there may not be great quality checks in place. I find it unlikely that there are that few examples of refs declining, or just being straight up bad. Refs seem to largely be immune from criticism from the groups that actually have some amount of influence over them, imo.
In college, I had a teammate who scored a bunch of FK goals my senior year. His theory was that keepers cheat too much to the side, so you were better off just ripping it at the part of the goal the wall wasn't covering. There ya go!
People have been talking about William Carvalho for like a decade now, it seems. But on that break, I think you saw why he's never been scooped up by a big team. He had a couple not-too difficult forward passes he could've made, but he hesitated, lost the angles, cut back toward his own goal, and then tried a long ball after the D had recovered.
Do you think this is something Sanches will get rid of? In the NBA you can expect young guards to accumulate turnovers, knowing that's just a function of them having the ball in their hands with inexperience. Is there any similar assumptions to be made with young midfielders asked to facilitate the ball between the defenders and forwards?
Yea I gave you the benefit of the doubt, but appreciate the clarification. Sad state of the internet these days and all.
Sanches is still only 21, but being a USA fan I am inclined to believe his career will follow the likes of so many other hyped 17 year-olds. He at least got some games at Bayern but I did not watch nearly enough to know if he improved enough from his spell at Swansea.
OK, that's it for today. Thanks for all of the great comments and Qs. As always, feel free to keep the discussions going without me. TBD on tomorrow, but I think I'll plan on doing another one for the final on Sunday.
Biggest (and obvious) takeaway from that game: talent matters so much in knockout games. Portugal's XI had way more quality, but Switzerland were the better "team", as they controlled possession, territory, and had the balance of chances. But: goal one is a great FK, goal two is a succession of great individual moments, and goal three is Ronaldo turning a counter into a great chance. Swiss needed a PK to get the ball across the goal-line.
Not a great debut for Joao Felix -- gave the ball away a lot, didn't contribute much defensively, took one shot, create none -- but I'd say that this game should barely have any effect on how you feel about him as a player/prospect.
Gotta run out to pick my dog up from the groomer. Will be back for the second half. Impressive first half from the Swiss, imo. Bunch of shots in the box, and they're running the attack through Shaqiri, who's everywhere. He's completed 22 passes in the final third; no one on Portugal has more than 10. Lemme know what you guys thought of the first 45, and please feel free to chat among yourselves!
I read that mourinho is interested in managing an international side...so which side is he ideally suited for? Can he take Iceland to glory with a Greece 2004 style run??
Do you think Ozil could still be a starter for a big european club playing in a champions league? I feel that his talents are just not suited for the Prem anymore, yet I could see him playing a Tadic-like role somewhere in Italy, Germany or for PSG. Is this just wishful thinking on my part?
Yesterday, I told someone that I thought Ozil could potentially still contribute at a higher level in Italy. The fact of the matter is that he turns 31 in October, though. Most guys fall off a cliff at some point, and he might just be there now. But Serie A is kind to older players -- some research shows that players there decline at a slower pace than elsewhere -- and the speed of those games and the spaces on the field just feel like a much better fit for him, don't they?
Thanks. I love his skill and vision but his contributions are just so meager at this point. Had someone told me five years ago that Id rather have Ramsey than Ozil, I would have laughed. Not anymore.
Big fan of your writing. I am a relatively new soccer fan (got into it this summer and chose the Wolves as my "team") my friends are City and United fans and I wanted a scrappy underdog to root for. However it is frustrating seeing every good player in the transfer market basically linked only to the best clubs. Is there any hope for lesser teams to add superstar talent or am I just doomed to watch the best team in the world buy all the best young players on teams where guys like Leroy Sane don't even get playing time?
If there's one "smaller" team that could potentially acquire a superstar, it's Wolves. Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota, and Ruben Neves are all good enough to be on Champions League teams right now.
Where do PSG go from here? They’re likely to keep both Mbappe and Neymar this summer, but I’d say there’s a good chance of at least one of them leaving next summer. Ideally, you’d like to keep them both, but if they cashed in on Mbappe next summer for let’s say, €250mil-ish, theoretically, you could use that money to build out the rest of the squad so it’s more balanced and you don’t have as many glaring holes. Could PSG be better by selling one of Mbappe or Neymar? It sounds crazy and I don’t really believe they would be but I’m curious to hear your thoughts
They're in a weird spot because the league doesn't matter, so you build the team to maximize your chances in the Champions League, and I thiiiiiiiink Real's success in the CL vs La Liga shows that stacking superstars, rather than building out a super-deep squad (a la City), is the best way to do it. that being said, you could probably get two superstars for the price of one Mbappe.
Not counting this year, a team with Messi or Ronaldo has won the last 5 CL’s and 7 of the last 10. Couldn’t you just interpret that as your best shot to win the CL is to have one of the best players ever on your team, and, if you’re PSG, hope that Mbappe develops into that?
Don’t you just have to go at it again? They’re gonna roll their league, and then you hope for the best in the knockout rounds of the CL. I don’t think they actually have many holes: a good DM, some help in the back line, replacing Buffon eventually, and they’re set. Mbappe is gonna be the best in the world soon, and he’s 20, you’d definitely keep him. Neymar I’d sell to Madrid this summer. He’s introducing bad habits and attitudes to Mbappe, always injured when it counts, he seems to be agitating for a move again, and at 27 he’s not got that many more good years left. They won’t sell, more because of pride than anything else, but the €250m they’d get for him could buy Joao Felix and fix their other holes in one fell swoop.
I still think of switzerland as the team who lost to Ukraine on Pens at WC2006 in what was one of the dullest games I've ever seen. The players have changed but their game is the same. Are they a more attacking team now and is my judgement still clouded from 2006?
I always think of that as well! I remember spending an evening with one of my best friends from high school in a cafe, chatting, drinking and smoking for hours, intermittently looking up at the big screen the owner had set up for patrons to watch the WC games, only to see Shevchenko arguing with the ref and one of the seven Frei brothers skying the ball to the nose bleeds. Anyway, the Swiss are a much better team now but they still struggle to score against good opposition; they're definitely a top 10 team when it comes to being "solid".
I've been waiting for them to make a big impact for a decade but you're right, they stay solid without pushing through deep into a tournament. That game was brutal. I have ukrainian blood and I was relieved when it ended - not from stress but from boredom.
Hello fellow PSG fan! I think that is the smart move, as Cavani is old and only has a year left on his contract. Plus he could fetch a decent fee, and you could use that money to help fund a purchase of a younger player at a position of need like a midfielder (Ndombele please) or defender (please de Ligt)
yesterday you said southampton needed to sign a real attacker, then moussa djenepo of mali/standard liege is apparently undergoing a physical! thoughts?
Never seen him play and his scoring/assisting numbers aren't great, but he gets on the ball a lot in the box and is a dribbling machine. Standard Liege, though, were basically as good as Swansea this season. So, I'm intrigued but I also wouldn't get my hopes up.
Hi Ryan, as a fellow Frenkie Stan, does Barca's new jersey upset you as well? Like he really left the most fun team in the world, to dress up like a clown
Ryan, I know this was touched on a little bit for Ringer FC a few weeks back, but I was going to ask for a little more insight as to what you’re thinking. Did Man U get it right by going with OGS when they did? Or would they have been better off waiting it out and seeing if they could make a run at someone like Poch? Hard to believe Ole wouldn’t have taken the job after the season.
Suffering Arsenal fan back again. Just wanna know what you think of the ten thousand transfer rumors going around and what they actually need vs. what they're being linked with. Also, Emery? Thoughts? Problems? Basically just do a Tuesday mail with Arsenal and I'm happy if you don't answer this one
Anybody else here think that in 20-30 years the Nations League will be regarded as a very prestigious tournament, on the order of a Copa America? When the WC started, it was basically just a continuation of the Olympics and had less than 15 teams.
I think I agree with this, it seems like the teams are putting out close to first choice lineups and seem to care, despite the fact that it literally has no history
Given that the nations league partially functions as a prequalification for the Euros, I don't know how prestigious it can be come. I don't see it ever surpassing the Euros but it could certainly help in tweaking format. Also given it's success it's possible that they can use the nations league for World Cup qualification in the future.
This is true, I had forgotten about the qualification aspects. Euros are always going to hold more importance, but that doesn't mean it can't be well regarded
If a club wanted to pull a Wolves and essentially just buy players from one country to make up a majority of the team, would Switzerland be your best bet? Lots of talented players who could likely be purchased for a reasonable fee. Belgium might be a good shout too but obviously you're not buying Hazard unless you're Real Madrid.
Depends if you're talking about first team national team players or not. I think there are dozens of future Champions League-quality players from the Paris suburbs + Marseille alone, so I'd go for France if you're looking for a combination of low price and high potential.
I'd agree that France probably has the most young talent out of any country right now but if you were looking for a team that could challenge for a Champions League/Europa League spot in a top 5 league I think you'd have to aim for a more senior-side roster to acquire.
Shaq playing as the 10 for Country but seems to be regularly shunted out wide for Club. Do we think we could—with the possible addition of another pacy winger to take some minutes off Salah/Mané or one of those two playing up top in a 4231—see Xherdan playing more centrally next year for Liverpool?
No. 10s are going extinct -- you have to be so, so, so good to make it worth it for a top team to run their attack through you, plus it leaves the midfield light on bodies. I highly doubt we'll see this.
With the Football Leaks guy out of commission for the moment (the NYer article on him is really great by the way) will anyone pick up the torch of quasi-legal exposes? It's been both illuminating and disillusioning and...well I hope someone or someone does it because clearly there's plenty of dirt to be dug up. And if the leaker can refrain from clumsy extortion attempts they could probably keep doing it for a good long while too.
Real loading up on signings ( Jovic, Rodrygo, Eder Militão, Ferland Mendy, Hazard?), is there anyone else they should be going after? A superstar type, pogba/mbappe, or someone more low key?
Who should be shipped out with all these players coming in?
Can we talk about Eriksen's recent comments? As a Spurs fan, I don't think RM would pay the 100M+ we'd want, making the Replace-Coutinho-with-Three-Vital-Players-At-Different-Positions move a bit harder, considering the ~70M prices we're seeing for Lo Celso and Ndombele.
So assuming he doesn't move to a PL side, what team would most benefit from signing Eriksen?
I don't even know what the options other than Real or Barca are? They could both use him -- thought he was a better option for Barca than Eriksen at the time -- but PSG and Bayern don't make any sense. And I don't think Juve go for him, although he'd provide plenty of the passing they so obviously needed from deeper.
A slightly different tack--do you think we'll see players begin to decline national team appearances or sit out tournaments with an ever increasing number of club and international games? The best players get basically no consistent off-season anymore, and if I was someone like Harry Kane, I'd be at least a little inclined to rest for the team that's paying me all that money.
Arsenal fan, so wouldn't call myself "worried", but yeah, I've been wondering if we'll see guys begin to sit out some of these tournaments. They play an unreal number of games now.
Ronaldo is an awesome soccer player. Our society unfortunately has no clue how to properly talk about him!
In case anyone missed the most important news of the day ... https://www.espn.com/soccer/manchester-united/story/3868460/maradona-im-the-man-to-fix-man-united
What is the percent chance this actually happens?
My thing with these VAR penalty calls is the refs know the rules better than we do, so if they're taking extra time to watch replays of the plays, don't we just have to give them the benefit of the doubt? Anyway, I hate talking about whether or not something is a penalty! Game on!
My issue is that we have these rules that seem to have diverged significantly from their original intention. You’d like the laws of the game to serve as a deterrent to fouling, but they don’t (tactical fouling). You’d also like the punishment to fit the crime, but there are many cases of fouls in the box where the player is going away from goal or it’s a tug off the ball or whatever where the chance if the offensive team scoring is really very minimal, but a penalty is given and then they have an excellent chance of scoring. VAR plus the new guidelines on handballs are going to put this into stark relief. There’s going to be tons of penalties, tons of VAR handballs, and it’s not going to make the game better. I predict a thorough rethink within 5 years.
That was a wild series of events. I was secretly hoping for a penalty to get called in both boxes
Agree that I hate talking about whether something is a penalty, but not sure I'm on board with the appeal to authority--no more reason for there to be fewer refs who are legitimately bad at their jobs than any other profession!
I'd like to think it takes some refereeing ability to become a high-level ref. This isn't a high-school game! Also, the whole point is that the replay is supposed to prevent you from being terrible at your job.
Well yeah, I'd assume they're generally better than your average high school ref. But I've also so rarely heard of pro refs being demoted, fired, or otherwise being punished for not being good at their jobs, which to me suggests there may not be great quality checks in place. I find it unlikely that there are that few examples of refs declining, or just being straight up bad. Refs seem to largely be immune from criticism from the groups that actually have some amount of influence over them, imo.
I recommend listening to Michael Lewis's podcast! https://atrpodcast.com/
Ooooh cool--thanks!
In college, I had a teammate who scored a bunch of FK goals my senior year. His theory was that keepers cheat too much to the side, so you were better off just ripping it at the part of the goal the wall wasn't covering. There ya go!
I remember seeing that a few times at Euro 2016 but it never really caught on!
Shaqiri is ...
A) as good as Messi?
or
B) better than Messi?
C) more square-shaped than Messi
Hell of a ball from Neves, hell of a touch and pass from Bernardo, and ... welp, now it's 3-1.
How did the second one happen? Not able to watch.
People have been talking about William Carvalho for like a decade now, it seems. But on that break, I think you saw why he's never been scooped up by a big team. He had a couple not-too difficult forward passes he could've made, but he hesitated, lost the angles, cut back toward his own goal, and then tried a long ball after the D had recovered.
Renato Sanches as well
Besides, for you know being a Bayern player.
True. I more meant the failure to live up to hype/potential. Both just seem a second too slow in making decisions.
I feel you. Wasn't trying to be a jerk about it either btw (easy to forget because of his failure to live up to the hype).
I think Sanches is almost the opposite of Carvalho -- too careless with the ball vs. too careful
Do you think this is something Sanches will get rid of? In the NBA you can expect young guards to accumulate turnovers, knowing that's just a function of them having the ball in their hands with inexperience. Is there any similar assumptions to be made with young midfielders asked to facilitate the ball between the defenders and forwards?
I think Sanches is almost the opposite of Carvalho -- too careless with the ball vs. too careful
Yea I gave you the benefit of the doubt, but appreciate the clarification. Sad state of the internet these days and all.
Sanches is still only 21, but being a USA fan I am inclined to believe his career will follow the likes of so many other hyped 17 year-olds. He at least got some games at Bayern but I did not watch nearly enough to know if he improved enough from his spell at Swansea.
OK, that's it for today. Thanks for all of the great comments and Qs. As always, feel free to keep the discussions going without me. TBD on tomorrow, but I think I'll plan on doing another one for the final on Sunday.
hope the LFC players are not forced into action - let them have a rest!
Biggest (and obvious) takeaway from that game: talent matters so much in knockout games. Portugal's XI had way more quality, but Switzerland were the better "team", as they controlled possession, territory, and had the balance of chances. But: goal one is a great FK, goal two is a succession of great individual moments, and goal three is Ronaldo turning a counter into a great chance. Swiss needed a PK to get the ball across the goal-line.
You doing this again tomorrow Ryan, tomorrow's game should be great.
Still figuring that out, but will let you all know.
Not a great debut for Joao Felix -- gave the ball away a lot, didn't contribute much defensively, took one shot, create none -- but I'd say that this game should barely have any effect on how you feel about him as a player/prospect.
Portugal replace Pepe, who is 36, with Jose Fonte, and the average age of the 11 barely budges.
Gotta run out to pick my dog up from the groomer. Will be back for the second half. Impressive first half from the Swiss, imo. Bunch of shots in the box, and they're running the attack through Shaqiri, who's everywhere. He's completed 22 passes in the final third; no one on Portugal has more than 10. Lemme know what you guys thought of the first 45, and please feel free to chat among yourselves!
Switzerland are looking pretty nice right now
Xhaka used to Europa League Final to stay fit for this match
For those who haven't seen, Switzerland's CB Akanji who plays for Dortmund, has a calculator for a brain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN9GHwAAD98
Is it just me or has Patricio been in goal for Portugal since the Fillmore administration?
lmao
I read that mourinho is interested in managing an international side...so which side is he ideally suited for? Can he take Iceland to glory with a Greece 2004 style run??
I would love that! Portugal seems like the wildly obvious choice.
Do you think Ozil could still be a starter for a big european club playing in a champions league? I feel that his talents are just not suited for the Prem anymore, yet I could see him playing a Tadic-like role somewhere in Italy, Germany or for PSG. Is this just wishful thinking on my part?
Yesterday, I told someone that I thought Ozil could potentially still contribute at a higher level in Italy. The fact of the matter is that he turns 31 in October, though. Most guys fall off a cliff at some point, and he might just be there now. But Serie A is kind to older players -- some research shows that players there decline at a slower pace than elsewhere -- and the speed of those games and the spaces on the field just feel like a much better fit for him, don't they?
Thanks. I love his skill and vision but his contributions are just so meager at this point. Had someone told me five years ago that Id rather have Ramsey than Ozil, I would have laughed. Not anymore.
Hi Ryan,
Big fan of your writing. I am a relatively new soccer fan (got into it this summer and chose the Wolves as my "team") my friends are City and United fans and I wanted a scrappy underdog to root for. However it is frustrating seeing every good player in the transfer market basically linked only to the best clubs. Is there any hope for lesser teams to add superstar talent or am I just doomed to watch the best team in the world buy all the best young players on teams where guys like Leroy Sane don't even get playing time?
Ben -- are you familiar with the Wolves story? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/04/sports/soccer/wolverhampton-jorge-mendes.html
If there's one "smaller" team that could potentially acquire a superstar, it's Wolves. Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota, and Ruben Neves are all good enough to be on Champions League teams right now.
So your saying Joao Felix to Wolves!?
15 years ago -- before big clubs were snatching up teenagers -- this could've actually happened!
I'd suggest Moutinho, and maybe Doherty belong on that list too!
Where do PSG go from here? They’re likely to keep both Mbappe and Neymar this summer, but I’d say there’s a good chance of at least one of them leaving next summer. Ideally, you’d like to keep them both, but if they cashed in on Mbappe next summer for let’s say, €250mil-ish, theoretically, you could use that money to build out the rest of the squad so it’s more balanced and you don’t have as many glaring holes. Could PSG be better by selling one of Mbappe or Neymar? It sounds crazy and I don’t really believe they would be but I’m curious to hear your thoughts
They're in a weird spot because the league doesn't matter, so you build the team to maximize your chances in the Champions League, and I thiiiiiiiink Real's success in the CL vs La Liga shows that stacking superstars, rather than building out a super-deep squad (a la City), is the best way to do it. that being said, you could probably get two superstars for the price of one Mbappe.
Not counting this year, a team with Messi or Ronaldo has won the last 5 CL’s and 7 of the last 10. Couldn’t you just interpret that as your best shot to win the CL is to have one of the best players ever on your team, and, if you’re PSG, hope that Mbappe develops into that?
Don’t you just have to go at it again? They’re gonna roll their league, and then you hope for the best in the knockout rounds of the CL. I don’t think they actually have many holes: a good DM, some help in the back line, replacing Buffon eventually, and they’re set. Mbappe is gonna be the best in the world soon, and he’s 20, you’d definitely keep him. Neymar I’d sell to Madrid this summer. He’s introducing bad habits and attitudes to Mbappe, always injured when it counts, he seems to be agitating for a move again, and at 27 he’s not got that many more good years left. They won’t sell, more because of pride than anything else, but the €250m they’d get for him could buy Joao Felix and fix their other holes in one fell swoop.
Ewing theory... I'm interested
I know you’ve wrote about how PSG are built like an NBA team: multiple stars and then some role players filling out the squad
I still think of switzerland as the team who lost to Ukraine on Pens at WC2006 in what was one of the dullest games I've ever seen. The players have changed but their game is the same. Are they a more attacking team now and is my judgement still clouded from 2006?
Yes, they beat Belgium 5-2 to qualify for the semis!
But Seferovic is still their best option up top? HE'S ONLY 27?!
woah he scored every other game this year. It's been a long time coming.
He had a ridiculous season. He's better than Joao Felix. (I'm not serious.)
I always think of that as well! I remember spending an evening with one of my best friends from high school in a cafe, chatting, drinking and smoking for hours, intermittently looking up at the big screen the owner had set up for patrons to watch the WC games, only to see Shevchenko arguing with the ref and one of the seven Frei brothers skying the ball to the nose bleeds. Anyway, the Swiss are a much better team now but they still struggle to score against good opposition; they're definitely a top 10 team when it comes to being "solid".
I've been waiting for them to make a big impact for a decade but you're right, they stay solid without pushing through deep into a tournament. That game was brutal. I have ukrainian blood and I was relieved when it ended - not from stress but from boredom.
Not counting the Belgium game... lol
:checks portugal lineup again:
Pepe?!!!!!!!?!?!
What is dead may never die.
Doing this again tomorrow for England - Holland?
Fn Quintana. That creep sure can roll, Dude.
Off topic: getting rid of Cavani and having Mbappe play centrally, is this the best move for PSG?
Ryan! Haven't they tortured you enough already?!?!?!? (I think I agree, but it doesn't feel like a hugely important move, though.)
That United loss absolutely destroyed me
Did anyone think that was actually a handball?
Only the refs, unfortunately.
Hello fellow PSG fan! I think that is the smart move, as Cavani is old and only has a year left on his contract. Plus he could fetch a decent fee, and you could use that money to help fund a purchase of a younger player at a position of need like a midfielder (Ndombele please) or defender (please de Ligt)
Would love to get Pepe from Lille as well
i am in complete agreement with you
Switzerland's assistant coach is a tanning bed, right?
yesterday you said southampton needed to sign a real attacker, then moussa djenepo of mali/standard liege is apparently undergoing a physical! thoughts?
Never seen him play and his scoring/assisting numbers aren't great, but he gets on the ball a lot in the box and is a dribbling machine. Standard Liege, though, were basically as good as Swansea this season. So, I'm intrigued but I also wouldn't get my hopes up.
thank you for helping to temper my expectations
Hey Ryan,
How important would nations league be for Asian or African countries? Where so many teams get limited game time.
If Pepe isn't the guy, is there any attacking mid or forward you'd like to see Liverpool go after this summer?
Timo Werner feels like the obvious one!
Hi Ryan, as a fellow Frenkie Stan, does Barca's new jersey upset you as well? Like he really left the most fun team in the world, to dress up like a clown
Maybe they're trying to keep the Croatia fans they thought they might lose when they sell Rakitic?
LOVE ME SOME VAR!
Ryan, I know this was touched on a little bit for Ringer FC a few weeks back, but I was going to ask for a little more insight as to what you’re thinking. Did Man U get it right by going with OGS when they did? Or would they have been better off waiting it out and seeing if they could make a run at someone like Poch? Hard to believe Ole wouldn’t have taken the job after the season.
Clarification... hard to believe Ole wouldn’t have still taken the job if they would have decided to wait it out until the season was over.
They definitely should've waited ... 1) to assess his performance better, and 2) assess the market for other coaches.
Hey Ryan!
Suffering Arsenal fan back again. Just wanna know what you think of the ten thousand transfer rumors going around and what they actually need vs. what they're being linked with. Also, Emery? Thoughts? Problems? Basically just do a Tuesday mail with Arsenal and I'm happy if you don't answer this one
Anybody else here think that in 20-30 years the Nations League will be regarded as a very prestigious tournament, on the order of a Copa America? When the WC started, it was basically just a continuation of the Olympics and had less than 15 teams.
I think I agree with this, it seems like the teams are putting out close to first choice lineups and seem to care, despite the fact that it literally has no history
Given that the nations league partially functions as a prequalification for the Euros, I don't know how prestigious it can be come. I don't see it ever surpassing the Euros but it could certainly help in tweaking format. Also given it's success it's possible that they can use the nations league for World Cup qualification in the future.
This is true, I had forgotten about the qualification aspects. Euros are always going to hold more importance, but that doesn't mean it can't be well regarded
If a club wanted to pull a Wolves and essentially just buy players from one country to make up a majority of the team, would Switzerland be your best bet? Lots of talented players who could likely be purchased for a reasonable fee. Belgium might be a good shout too but obviously you're not buying Hazard unless you're Real Madrid.
Depends if you're talking about first team national team players or not. I think there are dozens of future Champions League-quality players from the Paris suburbs + Marseille alone, so I'd go for France if you're looking for a combination of low price and high potential.
I'd agree that France probably has the most young talent out of any country right now but if you were looking for a team that could challenge for a Champions League/Europa League spot in a top 5 league I think you'd have to aim for a more senior-side roster to acquire.
Thoughts on Joao Felix?
who's the young, up and coming player left in Nations League that might be an important purchase for a big PL club this Summer?
Felix, Rice, Maguire, de Ligt, van de Beek, Bergwijn
Ugh
Ronaldo gonna Ronaldo
Unless I've miscounted, on both of these teams there are just as many Wolves players (4) as players from all other Prem teams combined.
Crazy statement, but it makes sense!
Which one is the better vacation destination?
Shaq playing as the 10 for Country but seems to be regularly shunted out wide for Club. Do we think we could—with the possible addition of another pacy winger to take some minutes off Salah/Mané or one of those two playing up top in a 4231—see Xherdan playing more centrally next year for Liverpool?
No. 10s are going extinct -- you have to be so, so, so good to make it worth it for a top team to run their attack through you, plus it leaves the midfield light on bodies. I highly doubt we'll see this.
I expected shaq to be cover for mane/salah, but I seem to remember him playing as the most attacking of the midfield more often than out wide.
With the Football Leaks guy out of commission for the moment (the NYer article on him is really great by the way) will anyone pick up the torch of quasi-legal exposes? It's been both illuminating and disillusioning and...well I hope someone or someone does it because clearly there's plenty of dirt to be dug up. And if the leaker can refrain from clumsy extortion attempts they could probably keep doing it for a good long while too.
I could see Der Spiegel picking up some of the work, basically cutting out the "middle man". Here's to hoping!
Real loading up on signings ( Jovic, Rodrygo, Eder Militão, Ferland Mendy, Hazard?), is there anyone else they should be going after? A superstar type, pogba/mbappe, or someone more low key?
Who should be shipped out with all these players coming in?
Only watching this for Joao Felix
Can we talk about Eriksen's recent comments? As a Spurs fan, I don't think RM would pay the 100M+ we'd want, making the Replace-Coutinho-with-Three-Vital-Players-At-Different-Positions move a bit harder, considering the ~70M prices we're seeing for Lo Celso and Ndombele.
So assuming he doesn't move to a PL side, what team would most benefit from signing Eriksen?
I don't even know what the options other than Real or Barca are? They could both use him -- thought he was a better option for Barca than Eriksen at the time -- but PSG and Bayern don't make any sense. And I don't think Juve go for him, although he'd provide plenty of the passing they so obviously needed from deeper.
:checks Portugal lineup:
oh this might be good
A slightly different tack--do you think we'll see players begin to decline national team appearances or sit out tournaments with an ever increasing number of club and international games? The best players get basically no consistent off-season anymore, and if I was someone like Harry Kane, I'd be at least a little inclined to rest for the team that's paying me all that money.
We've been waiting for that to happen for a long time, but it just hasn't. The club game's in a weird space right now.
I think ribery tried that a while back... Made a statement retiring from Int'l football and Deschamps was like 'lol, naaah'
Anyone else worried about Kane playing. I’d rather he relax and go to the physio for the next 6 weeks.
Arsenal fan, so wouldn't call myself "worried", but yeah, I've been wondering if we'll see guys begin to sit out some of these tournaments. They play an unreal number of games now.
Yeah. I’m assuming you are indifferent. Interesting summer coming for north London. Looks like you lot are cleaning house.