The massive headline from this matchup came before the game, not after. Portugal and Juventus star, Cristiano Ronaldo, tested positive for COVID-19, ruling him out for a minimum of two weeks. While the absence of Ronaldo is a weighty one, Portugal’s depth was on display as Fernando Santos called on...
It was a disappointing night for England, who suffered their first Nations League defeat of the campaign after a 1-0 loss against Denmark. The Three Lions put themselves in pole position in their group just days before, after coming from behind to beat Belgium 2-1. But Gareth Southgate’s side shot themselves in...
Although Stephen Kenny's Ireland has now gone four games (6.5 hours) without finding the back of the net, it is a testament to his coaching that the Irish players still look an improving side in and out of possession from game to game. Perhaps a frustrating statistic, the boys in...
Germany took on Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday, with the Swiss coming to Cologne for the match. A back and forth match saw Switzerland continue to edge ahead, only to have the Germans come clawing back with some excellent attacking on display. Ultimately, the two teams settled...
Bosnia and Herzegovina failed during the week to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020, losing in their play-off shootout against Northern Ireland. Dušan Bajević's men played out a 1-1 draw on the night but were beaten 4-3 on penalties. They now need to bounce back to revive their hopes in the...
It was matchday 3 of the UEFA Nations League. All eyes were set to Wembley as England hosted Belgium, marking their first meeting since the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This match was important for both teams as they wanted to clinch the top spot before getting to the second half...
Ireland hosted Wales this past weekend in a highly anticipated UEFA Nations League Group H clash. Wales were on a good run of form in this competition, and Ireland were keen to put a bleak spell of results behind them as they welcomed Ryan Giggs' side to the Aviva Stadium....
Spain have not succeeded in recent national tournaments. The most recent failures were being eliminated in the last 16 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and not qualifying for the final four of the last UEFA Nations League. However, Spain are bringing in a new generation of young exciting players,...
Going into the UEFA Nations League Group A4 clash on Saturday night, you perhaps would have been forgiven for believing that Germany would effortlessly triumph over Ukraine at the Kiev Olympic Stadium. However, the hosts were, in fact, sat above Joachim Löw’s side in their group table having won one...
England followed up their slender win over Iceland by playing out a drab goalless draw in Denmark. It was a game of few chances, which the Danes edged, creating most of the opportunities in this Nations League contest. Kasper Dolberg saw his effort saved at the near post by Jordan Pickford...
It was a rematch of the World Cup 2018 final, as each team came into the game with the hope of improving upon their disappointing performances over the weekend. France claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory against a resolute Swedish side, but the performance was widely regarded as below expectation. Meanwhile,...
After winning the first UEFA Nations League back in the 2018/19 season, Portugal got their 2020/21 UEFA Nations League campaign off to a positive start by romping to a 4-1 win over Croatia in their opening game of this season’s competition. They subsequently managed to earn a 2-0 victory in...
The second instalment of the UEFA Nations League began this month, kickstarting international football for the first time since the outbreak of Coronavirus. In the second round of fixtures on September 6, Spain faced Ukraine in a match in group A4. Spain drew their first match of the campaign 1-1...
The Netherlands’ year-long unbeaten streak finally came to an end. It was Italy who beat them 0–1 in the UEFA Nations League last Monday. The streak — began with a convincing 4-2 win against Germany — was broken by Nicolò Barella’s sole goal just seconds before referee Dr. Felix Brych blew the half-time whistle....
Switzerland faced Germany in what was each team’s second UEFA Nations League fixture as they both looked to bounce back from disappointing results in their previous games. Vladimir Petković’s side were beaten 2-1 by Ukraine but were largely poor throughout that game. Meanwhile, die Mannschaft suffered an agonising 1-1 draw...
The Republic of Ireland hosted Finland in the UEFA Nations League in what was newly appointed Ireland manager Stephen Kenny's first home game in charge. Finland ran out 0-1 winners with a goal on 63 minutes from the FC Augsburg frontman Fredrick Jensen. The young Bundesliga star converted after 19...
After quite some time the UEFA Nations League made its return and in group 1 of League B, we have four teams on the same level, making it one of the most interesting groups of this tournament. On the first matchday, Norway hosted Austria while in the other match of...
Although it was September already, these were still the first fixtures for European national teams. At the Estádio do Dragã, Portugal welcomed Croatia, runner-up in 2018’s FIFA World Cup. Despite having a lot of familiar names on the pitch, the match was very one-sided in as Fernando Santos’ troops dominated...
Germany hosted Spain at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Stuttgart in what was the most anticipated fixture of the opening round on Thursday. For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent suspension and resumption of football, the national teams faced each other in Round 1 of the...
It was dubbed a disaster and a catastrophe. Some called it the apocalypse. After Italy missed their first World Cup in 60 years, something had to change. Out went Giampiero Ventura, and his chosen replacement is former Manchester City and Inter manager, Roberto Mancini. Mancini started work in May with...
