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Just watched the England-Croatia match 16:43 - Nov 18 with 7377 viewsSuperfrans

It left me utterly disinterested.

Am I the only one who can’t get at all excited by this Nation’s League thing?
It just feels to me like a footballing equivalent of yet another World Boxing federation inventing another belt, so two (or now four) boxers can be world champions at the same time.

It’s obviously a massive money making exercise, it means we’ll have two European Champions at the same time and I just don’t buy the “excitement of the various permutations”... in 10 minutes Croatia went from being “one of the best 4 teams in Europe” (according to Sky) to being relegated. What the...?

Sky are hammering it to death of course... I look forward to them selling Ireland vs Austria now, the definition of a dead rubber.

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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 16:48 - Nov 18 with 3662 viewsWD19

It is what it is. A massive improvement on meaningless friendlies.
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 16:49 - Nov 18 with 3654 viewsSarge

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 16:48 - Nov 18 by WD19

It is what it is. A massive improvement on meaningless friendlies.


Exactly, really don’t understand the hate. The more competitive internationals we can play the better.
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 16:50 - Nov 18 with 3626 viewsGlasgowBlue

The fact that Croatia could have still won the group in injury time, yet were ultimately relegated shows that the group,s which are made of of teams of a similar level, are far more exciting then the normal seeded groups we see in qualifying and tournament group stages where 9 times out of 10 you can usually predict who will win, come second, third etc.

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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 16:52 - Nov 18 with 3636 viewsjimmyvet

Excellent tournament and really exciting football.
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Just watched the England-Croatia match’s on 16:53 - Nov 18 with 3665 viewsFtnfwest

Well clearly as we can’t slag off England for being rubbish for once we’d better slag off and devalue the tournament they’re in
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 16:57 - Nov 18 with 3615 viewstextbackup

imagine for years people moaning that friendlies are boring, then they create this competition which spices it up a bit, then still moan.
[Post edited 18 Nov 2018 17:05]

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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:02 - Nov 18 with 3580 viewsSuperfrans

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 16:49 - Nov 18 by Sarge

Exactly, really don’t understand the hate. The more competitive internationals we can play the better.


I don’t hate it. I’m ambivalent about it and wondered whether I’m on my own.

I wonder how we’d have felt if Croatia had won and England had been relegated to play competitive internationals against the likes of Ukraine, Turkey, Slovakia next time round.

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2
Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:06 - Nov 18 with 3549 viewstextbackup

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:02 - Nov 18 by Superfrans

I don’t hate it. I’m ambivalent about it and wondered whether I’m on my own.

I wonder how we’d have felt if Croatia had won and England had been relegated to play competitive internationals against the likes of Ukraine, Turkey, Slovakia next time round.


but we wont, because we won

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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:08 - Nov 18 with 3543 viewsFtnfwest

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:02 - Nov 18 by Superfrans

I don’t hate it. I’m ambivalent about it and wondered whether I’m on my own.

I wonder how we’d have felt if Croatia had won and England had been relegated to play competitive internationals against the likes of Ukraine, Turkey, Slovakia next time round.


Disappointed, but they won so we’re pleased
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:11 - Nov 18 with 3534 viewsSarge

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:02 - Nov 18 by Superfrans

I don’t hate it. I’m ambivalent about it and wondered whether I’m on my own.

I wonder how we’d have felt if Croatia had won and England had been relegated to play competitive internationals against the likes of Ukraine, Turkey, Slovakia next time round.


Well, I’d have been disappointed and I imagine the people who are currently slating this thing as meaningless would instead be slating England for being relegated in this ‘meaningless’ tournament.
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:11 - Nov 18 with 3532 viewsSuperfrans

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:06 - Nov 18 by textbackup

but we wont, because we won


Are you watching Northern Ireland-Austria at the moment? Neither team can qualify for anything. Northern Ireland are already relegated. It’s a competitive match - tell me that has more meaning than a friendly.

It’s a competition which creates just as many dull meaningless matches, but means that we’ll have two champions of Europe in 18 months time. It’s the WBO European Championships.

Utter nonsense.

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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:12 - Nov 18 with 3524 viewsSuperfrans

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 16:57 - Nov 18 by textbackup

imagine for years people moaning that friendlies are boring, then they create this competition which spices it up a bit, then still moan.
[Post edited 18 Nov 2018 17:05]


Goodness gracious.

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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:16 - Nov 18 with 3503 viewsSarge

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:11 - Nov 18 by Superfrans

Are you watching Northern Ireland-Austria at the moment? Neither team can qualify for anything. Northern Ireland are already relegated. It’s a competitive match - tell me that has more meaning than a friendly.

It’s a competition which creates just as many dull meaningless matches, but means that we’ll have two champions of Europe in 18 months time. It’s the WBO European Championships.

Utter nonsense.


This game is a dead rubber. It happens in competitions. The other games have so far not been dead rubbers therefore it has produced nowhere near as many meaningless games as a raft of friendlies would have.
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:18 - Nov 18 with 3485 viewsFtnfwest

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:11 - Nov 18 by Superfrans

Are you watching Northern Ireland-Austria at the moment? Neither team can qualify for anything. Northern Ireland are already relegated. It’s a competitive match - tell me that has more meaning than a friendly.

It’s a competition which creates just as many dull meaningless matches, but means that we’ll have two champions of Europe in 18 months time. It’s the WBO European Championships.

Utter nonsense.


I care the same as if Northern Ireland v Austria was a World Cup match, ie. not at all because I’m neither northern Irish or Austrian. The amount of genuinely competitive games there have been between the smaller countries because this competition is split into divisions based on seedings has been immense. Certainly better than Malta or Gibraltar and a number of others being stuffed 6-0 every game anyway
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:19 - Nov 18 with 3472 viewsfactual_blue

*Uninterested*

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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:21 - Nov 18 with 3467 viewspoppiesman

I quite like the format. Much better than many of the pointless friendlies England play and probably would have played this weekend anyway.
So much better than Thursday's circus of a game as well.
As for the Ireland vs Austria game being meaningless, you could say the same for many games in the football league in the last two months of the season, shall we not play those either?
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:21 - Nov 18 with 3467 viewsNthsuffolkblue

It is better than the "Champions League" contested between teams who are not necessarily Champions (and may never have been either) including group stages where the non-qualifiers go through to the other European competition and contested by teams that by-and-large complain they have too many matches (before going off to Asia to play a friendly tournament).

I have no issue with their being another tournament with a "European champion". They will not be the European Champions but rather the Nations League winners. It will rank below the Euros.

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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:26 - Nov 18 with 3449 viewsSuperfrans

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:16 - Nov 18 by Sarge

This game is a dead rubber. It happens in competitions. The other games have so far not been dead rubbers therefore it has produced nowhere near as many meaningless games as a raft of friendlies would have.


Fair enough. I was essentially responding to the point that the tournament results in fewer meaningless matches. I haven’t seen that. I’ve seen England play 4 matches, which are only not friendlies because Sky/UEFA says so. But I’ve looked around and a lot of the games seem to be meaningless.

For me, it’s no different to the FA telling us that the teams who do best in, say, the 4 games around Christmas / New Year will win “the Festive Cup”. It just seems like a made up competition, with no apparent purpose.

If it works, that’s fine. As I say, I don’t have a problem with it, but it hasn’t excited me. I just wondered whether I’m alone in that.

Certain people seem to think that anyone asking questions, which potentially challenge their world, are some kind of existential threat. Which is a bit weird. Hey ho.

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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:27 - Nov 18 with 3433 viewsSuperfrans

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:19 - Nov 18 by factual_blue

*Uninterested*


Either works fine. They are widely considered to be interchangeable.

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0
Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:29 - Nov 18 with 3427 viewsSuperfrans

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:21 - Nov 18 by poppiesman

I quite like the format. Much better than many of the pointless friendlies England play and probably would have played this weekend anyway.
So much better than Thursday's circus of a game as well.
As for the Ireland vs Austria game being meaningless, you could say the same for many games in the football league in the last two months of the season, shall we not play those either?


I’m not saying don’t play dead rubbers, friendlies or otherwise. I’m responding to the point that this competition removes them. It doesn’t.

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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:34 - Nov 18 with 3407 viewsbrogansnose

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 16:48 - Nov 18 by WD19

It is what it is. A massive improvement on meaningless friendlies.


If we are to improve as a nation at this football lark then we need to be playing and doing well in competitive matches. Its not that serious but its better than a kick about friendly. It may well just develop into more regarded.


Couldn't give a toss about media schizzle.


For the first time in ages we have a team and manager that are pretty handy.
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:35 - Nov 18 with 3406 viewsSuperfrans

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:18 - Nov 18 by Ftnfwest

I care the same as if Northern Ireland v Austria was a World Cup match, ie. not at all because I’m neither northern Irish or Austrian. The amount of genuinely competitive games there have been between the smaller countries because this competition is split into divisions based on seedings has been immense. Certainly better than Malta or Gibraltar and a number of others being stuffed 6-0 every game anyway


I wonder though whether Malta would prefer to play Gibraltar or Spain though.

Likewise, my point earlier about “what if we’d been relegated” was about this point. Everyone (on here, in any case) seems excited. But that’s because we were playing Spain and Croatia. What if we were playing Turkey and Bosnia? Would those matches be exciting to people?

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0
Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:35 - Nov 18 with 3400 viewsSarge

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:26 - Nov 18 by Superfrans

Fair enough. I was essentially responding to the point that the tournament results in fewer meaningless matches. I haven’t seen that. I’ve seen England play 4 matches, which are only not friendlies because Sky/UEFA says so. But I’ve looked around and a lot of the games seem to be meaningless.

For me, it’s no different to the FA telling us that the teams who do best in, say, the 4 games around Christmas / New Year will win “the Festive Cup”. It just seems like a made up competition, with no apparent purpose.

If it works, that’s fine. As I say, I don’t have a problem with it, but it hasn’t excited me. I just wondered whether I’m alone in that.

Certain people seem to think that anyone asking questions, which potentially challenge their world, are some kind of existential threat. Which is a bit weird. Hey ho.


I mean, essentially every football tournament is made up with no real purpose, and I wouldn’t want us to go down the Norwich route of bigging things up so we can win something but ultimately I’d prefer a match with points at stake against Spain to try and win a trophy than a 6-0 win against Moldova that nobody wants to watch or play in.

Aside from giving England a chance to test ourselves against the best, it’s given teams in League D the chance to win a competitive game and open up a chance for Euro qualification. I personally struggle to care for Euro/WC qualifiers because they’re usually a walk in the park and elongated so it’s quite nice be in a situation now where we’ve got a semi final to look forward to in June, whether or not you recognise the trophy on offer as legit.

I don’t think you’re alone though.
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:35 - Nov 18 with 3399 viewspoppiesman

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:29 - Nov 18 by Superfrans

I’m not saying don’t play dead rubbers, friendlies or otherwise. I’m responding to the point that this competition removes them. It doesn’t.


Yes it removes most but not all the dead rubbers that friendlies are. I like simply because it is a step up from friendlies, but England winning the Nations League Cup, wont rank very high on my lists of great football memories I must admit.
For me there are still only two international competitions really worth winning, well since the Home Internationals tournament were ended.
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Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:41 - Nov 18 with 3371 viewsSuperfrans

Just watched the England-Croatia match on 17:35 - Nov 18 by Sarge

I mean, essentially every football tournament is made up with no real purpose, and I wouldn’t want us to go down the Norwich route of bigging things up so we can win something but ultimately I’d prefer a match with points at stake against Spain to try and win a trophy than a 6-0 win against Moldova that nobody wants to watch or play in.

Aside from giving England a chance to test ourselves against the best, it’s given teams in League D the chance to win a competitive game and open up a chance for Euro qualification. I personally struggle to care for Euro/WC qualifiers because they’re usually a walk in the park and elongated so it’s quite nice be in a situation now where we’ve got a semi final to look forward to in June, whether or not you recognise the trophy on offer as legit.

I don’t think you’re alone though.


True, everything is made up, ultimately. Even some of the people on here, I’m sure...

What would be really bold would be a proper knockout cup. Seed the top teams, if you like, but start off in September with 32 countries and put every team at risk of knockout. But that would be too risky for UEFA and the top nations. But it would inject proper jeopardy and would be very different to anything else we have.

I also get the argument that some form of competition is better than loads of friendlies. It’s the hype that I don’t get, given that it undermines what we already have.

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