UEFA Nations League

[3 Colours Red]

Shaun Williams is the most Welsh sounding name on the pitch.

It's nice to have a Wales-Ireland game without a thread Vietnam.

Daryl Horgan looks like Damien Duff with a goatee.

[Auntie Beryl]

It's only not a thread Vietnam because most of the Irish OTFers aren't here any more.

[Diable Rouge]

Does this tournament matter a lot/a bit/not really very much at all?

I’m presuming “a bit”.

All depends on how ye fare in your Euro 2020 group - assuming the Danes don't show by Sunday, you should reach the B semis now.

[3 Colours Red]

assuming the Danes don't show by Sunday

You assume incorrectly - the dispute's been put on hold.

[Ray de Galles]

That Smith looked good (as did all the young players, tbh) he was everywhere after when he came on.

[Patrick Thistle]

Lots of positives in that for Wales. I can hear the chanting from my house.

[Patrick Thistle]

Who does Brooks play for? He looked total class.

[Satchmo Distel]

Rogin is right.

Though there is no such thing as the "Nations Cup". The June 2019 competition is called the Nations League Finals. The March 2020 competition is being referred to as "Playoffs" or "European Championship Qualification Playoffs".

The Nations League winners should clearly be guaranteed a slot in the Euro Champs otherwise the SF and Final are just dressed up friendlies like the Confederations Cup, but the drawback is how it affects the Euro 2020 qualifying group of the winners, who no longer need to finish in a qualifying slot. The alternative would have been to put all four group winners in the Euros and reduce the slots available in the proper qualifying tournament to 17. But those four winners would have no competitive football for a year before the Euros. Bottom line: There are no ideal outcomes to having two interconnecting tournaments.

[Ray de Galles]

Who does Brooks play for? He looked total class.

Bournemouth, signed from Sheffield United in the summer.

[anton pulisov]

I've watched every competitive Ireland match in the past 25 years.

But now? Totally forgot they were playing. Didn't watch. Genuinely couldn't give a shit about MON's Ireland.

[anton pulisov]

And then there's the fact that I still don't know what the Nation's League is supposed to be and have no interest in finding out.

[ursus arctos]

Sounds like it has all gone a bit Declan Rice for you, B

[HORN]

If Giggsy was a boxing promoter looking to give his young protege his first pro bout then 2018’s Ireland was a match made in Heaven - patchy, ponderous, low-skill, seemingly apathetic. My goodness they made Wales look good, though I forget just how many times the Welsh got the rub of the green as square passes across the Welsh back four narrowly evaded an Irish boot, or a ricochet that could’ve gone anywhere nestled at the feet of an unmarked Welsh player.

Ampadu (aka “who’s that youth with the hair?” Until about 20 minutes in) looked sublime, but so many did. It’ll all go tits up eventually, I expect, but what a performance.

I loved Reginald Christ’s diatribe. Ireland carved Wales open a few times so things could’ve turned out somewhat differently...

But this was ace:

Okay, the current squad may look and play like a bunch of people who don’t really know each other but find themselves on a stag weekend that none of them really want to attend and have been told not to get too drunk as there’s mass first thing in the morning.

[Patrick Thistle]

It looked very good on the telly. They have contracted Pepitis and like a lot of teams you've got to be good on the ball if you're going to ping it around in the defensive third. Ireland eventually worked out to go in and press them. And it doesn't help when one of Wales' best players fumble-fucks the ball on the edge of the D.

Other weaknesses? Some poor decision making in front of goal meant there were players queuing up to shoot but the ball bounced off a hardy Ireland defender instead. The game tempo changed a lot when Bale went off. Any team with a Ramos instead of a Ciaran Clark will know what to do to tone down the attacking threat. There isn't much depth to the squad - obviously there's no like for like swap for Bale, but there's no one with a lot of experience who can come in and keep the attacking pressure up.

[Jah Womble]

They have contracted Pepitis...

Trust it clears up soon.

[ingoldale]

Shaun Williams is the most Welsh sounding name on the pitch.

It's nice to have a Wales-Ireland game without a thread Vietnam.

Daryl Horgan looks like Damien Duff with a goatee.

Wales were indeed excellent and the atmosphere was decent too. Walking to the ground I wondered if they would go for it and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought Brooks, as someone has already said, was class. Plenty of others played well but it should be remembered (a bloke came into our office earlier today saying Ethanu put Willian to shame...) that Ireland were terrible.

They continue to be so negative under MON. Why not be more adventurous in a game where you have nothing to lose? What about the subs sitting on the bench at 4-1 down with 25 to play? Horgan was positive when he came on - I was glad to see him in Ireland shirt having seen him shine at Richmond Park and Oriel Park when I lived in Dublin.

Wales' goals were brilliant though. The first a GK to forward move, Bale's scremer, good pressure and a super sub. Shame Ramsey took the shine off it by causing the conceding of a sloppy goal (that is very harsh though).

[ingoldale]

If Giggsy was a boxing promoter looking to give his young protege his first pro bout then 2018’s Ireland was a match made in Heaven - patchy, ponderous, low-skill, seemingly apathetic. My goodness they made Wales look good, though I forget just how many times the Welsh got the rub of the green as square passes across the Welsh back four narrowly evaded an Irish boot, or a ricochet that could’ve gone anywhere nestled at the feet of an unmarked Welsh player.

Ampadu (aka “who’s that youth with the hair?” Until about 20 minutes in) looked sublime, but so many did. It’ll all go tits up eventually, I expect, but what a performance.

I loved Reginald Christ’s diatribe. Ireland carved Wales open a few times so things could’ve turned out somewhat differently...

But this was ace:

Interesting - in the first 15 I thought Wales were playing short from goal kicks to entice the Irish midfield/defence forward and then going back to go long leaving Wales 3 v 3 on the Irish defence. It worked too. Then Ireland dropped off and Wales kept trying it but it just kept landing on an Irish head. By which time they were 2-0 down and already chasing the game.

[Hot Pepsi]

Somehow I'm just hearing about this. (http://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-nati...-the-world-cup) I knew there was something going on in Europe but didn't know it was going to happen here.

[Incandenza]

I wasn't aware of that either, HP. Considering how the USA has been recently and that it's just group of 3 teams in each tier/league, it's not impossible to think that there could be a risk of them being relegated to Group B.

[Satchmo Distel]

I'm not sure how they would sort 200-ish FIFA members into tiers that would work, or why the Asian members (for example) would support something that might put them in a perpetual lower tier, whereas the World Cup in theory gives every side a chance (as per Japan this year).

[Hot Pepsi]

I wasn't aware of that either, HP. Considering how the USA has been recently and that it's just group of 3 teams in each tier/league, it's not impossible to think that there could be a risk of them being relegated to Group B.

That’s ok.

[Gerontophile]

Mr Christ: if you are in any way a writer,* you already have a character...

*literally no idea, apologies if so.

[Satchmo Distel]

NI 1-0 down at home to Bosnia. Are both teams from the island on the slide?

[Gerontophile]

Brilliant goal by Rashford to give England the lead. Excellent team goal.

[Gerontophile]

And Spain equalise almost immediately.