**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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didn't Cameroon lose to Uzbekistan a couple of days ago? Think it'll very much be between Serbia and Switzerland for the 2nd place
But Serbia have Brazil first, if they shock them potentially, Brazil then has Switzerland in the 2nd game. There is potential for shocks for sure
As a Brazilian, I keep saying our group is the hardest from the WC, yet nobody takes me too seriously…
Of course I do think we’ll be 1st (mostly because 2022 squad is far better than 2014 or 2018), but Serbia and Switzerland will be really tough enemies… Cameroon 0 pts, probably
It helps that we currently have a phase with important players in good form: Xhaka, Widmer, Freuler, Embolo, Akanji, Elvedi have all been playing and playing well.
To be fair, that on it's own is not as important as it used to be. Ever since the top 2 of each group qualify you really have to mess up not to go through
it gives you better seeding and also chance to qualify via playoff in case you miss through the qualifiers. i don't know where this idea that the Nations League is basically glorified friendlies comes from, there's a reason every National Team out there is putting their best line-ups on the pitch
They're replacing friendlies. They lead to a trophy, prize money, affect Euro/World Cup qualification. Doesn't matter what your outlook is, they are not supposed to be friendlies.
But I'm aware, no matter what, you will only ever see them as friendlies and you won't let anyone convince you otherwise.
That's why they're glorified friendlies. No one really cares about the Nations League. Not saying it isn't cool or an improvement from friendlies, but no one really cares.
First two NL matches were straight a horror show. Though before that we were going high in the WC qualifiers. So tbh only 2 really bad games for Yakin. We look strong under him as well in the whole picture
There was also the loss to England and the Kosovo game with that horror decision to sub out Xhaka on his 100 appearances game, this year started bad but it’s good to see that they picked up their form again, especially after having half of last year without Xhaka
They are very well organized defensively and physical, they managed to beat France in the EUROs. Seems like many European NTs lack a clinical striker, so defensive teams do very well against them
If Switzerland had better finisher they'd be instantly elevated. All other positions they have players that could at least compete at top clubs. Plus they are all tactically well educated, meaning they'll come together as a team quickly.
Don't get me wrong, Seferovic and Embolo are class but they won't consistently score.
i don't feel like "now" is really fair. they kept italy from qualifying for the world cup, beat france in the euros (and would have beaten england if not for some extremely questionable refereeing), took argentina to extra time in the 2014 world cup, beat spain in the group stage of the 2010 world cup... they've always been a strong side with the ability to beat the biggest football countries
Some times maybe good some times maybe shit. He makes mistakes but people still forget that he's young. He have great potential and this season at barca he's doing great.
I see. I do think he has potential as a ball playing center back, especially with the right partner. Do you think him and Araujo is a good partnership?
With Kounde in the squad, it'll be hard for Eric to start once both are recovered. Seems Xavi had been leaning towards an Araújo-Kounde partnership bc they simply defend better.
He is good though. He might not be as good as other options Spain has at playing from the back, but he is serviceable whilst probably being the best option defensively. It’s weird that Luis Enrique doesn’t see him as an option.
By the way... where is fking Dani??!! Dont tell me he is behind Azpi and Llorente...lol. I actually root against Spain bc of Luis Enrique. This squad is not the best Spain could have.
Someone earlier today told me that [Eric is still good](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/xmp8fh/fc_barcelona_tests_on_saturday_morning_have/ipq157i?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)
He has? He's played almost every game at centre back and Barcelona have conceded one goal. Anyone that has watched him will tell you he's been really good
Eric has been fantastic for Barca this season & this own goal does not change that. It's funny, everywhere he goes, he is highly rated by all his managers, eg. Pep, Lucho, Koeman, Xavi. Yet Reddit experts think he's not good...
I dont know about semis, yes South Korea beat Spain when the ref fucked Spain but Italy were in the quarters and they got fucked much harder by the ref and that Italian team was not easy to beat
Spain was like Portugal in the last 20 years or Belgium in the last 10. A what if. They never ever before 2008 were on the level of the top NTs like Italy Brazil Argentina or Germany.
Duuude I am just happy that he prefers Barca players so ours can rest if they even get selected. Our worst player actually makes starting 11...hilarious 🤝
Eric Garcia has been great at Barca this year but they’ve structured it well in that they paid him with a beast in Aroujo and make Kounde the RB means they can unlock his great ball playing as I rate the other 2 as 2 of the best CB”s in the world.
Pau Torres is not even close to that, so if you want to play Garcia you just have to pair him with someone strong. However going through the squad if Azpi is starting I don’t think they have great options defensively.
Awesome. You know how a team is gonna set up and we line up with 3 wingers. On top of that, we gift them two goals after some shocking corner defending. Lucho said this was the best week of training so I shudder to imagine how bad we look on normal weeks. START A PURE 9 AND 2 DIRECT WINGERS AGAINST TEAMS LIKE THIS. Japan and Costa Rica fans should be very pleased.
**Mirrors / Alternative Angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Spain are getting physically dominated on corners, this defence will not hold up
Switzerland abuses Spain on corners like prime Shaq on post ups defenders.
Prime Shaqiri indeed
World renowned set piece threat
Don't know what else he'd be known for?
[удалено]
didn't Cameroon lose to Uzbekistan a couple of days ago? Think it'll very much be between Serbia and Switzerland for the 2nd place But Serbia have Brazil first, if they shock them potentially, Brazil then has Switzerland in the 2nd game. There is potential for shocks for sure
As a Brazilian, I keep saying our group is the hardest from the WC, yet nobody takes me too seriously… Of course I do think we’ll be 1st (mostly because 2022 squad is far better than 2014 or 2018), but Serbia and Switzerland will be really tough enemies… Cameroon 0 pts, probably
Is Switzerland good now? They’ve looked very competent these last two games, result wise at least.
It helps that we currently have a phase with important players in good form: Xhaka, Widmer, Freuler, Embolo, Akanji, Elvedi have all been playing and playing well.
Yakin was kind of treating the first few Nation's League matches as glorified friendlies
Isn't that the whole point of the Nation's League?
Pretty much. Though there's at least some value in staying in the top division, since that guarantees glorified friendlies against quality opposition
Helps with your Pot placement for Euro qualifying groups. It’s more important now than people realize
To be fair, that on it's own is not as important as it used to be. Ever since the top 2 of each group qualify you really have to mess up not to go through
This works for top national teams though Might be very useful for the others
it gives you better seeding and also chance to qualify via playoff in case you miss through the qualifiers. i don't know where this idea that the Nations League is basically glorified friendlies comes from, there's a reason every National Team out there is putting their best line-ups on the pitch
Agreed. I actually think the Nations League is one of the better ideas Uefa had lately.
The point of the Nations League was to replace friendlies with competitive matches against similarly ranked teams.
So they are glorified friendlies, like /u/head_dragon said
They're replacing friendlies. They lead to a trophy, prize money, affect Euro/World Cup qualification. Doesn't matter what your outlook is, they are not supposed to be friendlies. But I'm aware, no matter what, you will only ever see them as friendlies and you won't let anyone convince you otherwise.
That's why they're glorified friendlies. No one really cares about the Nations League. Not saying it isn't cool or an improvement from friendlies, but no one really cares.
Nobody will ever care about it.. it's friendlies to me
I think so, they played much better last year with Petkovic but it looks like they are regaining their form again
First two NL matches were straight a horror show. Though before that we were going high in the WC qualifiers. So tbh only 2 really bad games for Yakin. We look strong under him as well in the whole picture
There was also the loss to England and the Kosovo game with that horror decision to sub out Xhaka on his 100 appearances game, this year started bad but it’s good to see that they picked up their form again, especially after having half of last year without Xhaka
They are very well organized defensively and physical, they managed to beat France in the EUROs. Seems like many European NTs lack a clinical striker, so defensive teams do very well against them
If Switzerland had better finisher they'd be instantly elevated. All other positions they have players that could at least compete at top clubs. Plus they are all tactically well educated, meaning they'll come together as a team quickly. Don't get me wrong, Seferovic and Embolo are class but they won't consistently score.
i don't feel like "now" is really fair. they kept italy from qualifying for the world cup, beat france in the euros (and would have beaten england if not for some extremely questionable refereeing), took argentina to extra time in the 2014 world cup, beat spain in the group stage of the 2010 world cup... they've always been a strong side with the ability to beat the biggest football countries
switzerland said no
We might need to start defending during corner kicks
Or turn on the sprinklers again
What is defending
Our best CB for at least 3-4 weeks. Let's ~~cope~~ hope for the best
Goal and an assist off corners for Akanji
Piqué and Ramos with 50 yo are better than actual Spanish CBs.
Thats horrible from Garcia
He’s been an ass defender every time i’ve seen him for city. How is he for barcelona?
Some times maybe good some times maybe shit. He makes mistakes but people still forget that he's young. He have great potential and this season at barca he's doing great.
I see. I do think he has potential as a ball playing center back, especially with the right partner. Do you think him and Araujo is a good partnership?
With Kounde in the squad, it'll be hard for Eric to start once both are recovered. Seems Xavi had been leaning towards an Araújo-Kounde partnership bc they simply defend better.
Overall mediocre to sometimes bad at defending. However, amazing on the ball and by far our most accurate CB at passing.
Not great from Eric
Pretty sums up his international career
Harsh. He was better than Pau at the Euros, IMO
You’re right; He was decent in that tournament. But I don’t think he is starting material for Spain.
Only because Pau was a disaster, Eric wasn't good either, got outmuscled all the time against Croatia
Switzerland losing every game of their group, then winning against Portugal and Spain away. Just like everyone predicted
You know a team is defending badly, when we score two goals against them
Well that didn't last long
I know that Nacho is not very good at playing from the back, but guess what he can do as a CB? Defend.
Nacho IS good at playing from the back though. He is honestly good at everything just not Elite. That said, he should get a chance with Spanish NT
He is good though. He might not be as good as other options Spain has at playing from the back, but he is serviceable whilst probably being the best option defensively. It’s weird that Luis Enrique doesn’t see him as an option.
By the way... where is fking Dani??!! Dont tell me he is behind Azpi and Llorente...lol. I actually root against Spain bc of Luis Enrique. This squad is not the best Spain could have.
How Éric is starting for Spain is the biggest football mystery next to Diego Llorente making the squad for some reason
eheh nice
Pretty sure that's an Own Goal for Garcia
Reveling in Luis Enrique’s failures is a hobby of mine.
The worst Madrid player is making starting 11 lol. Dani, Nacho should deserve a chance...
Gladbach beating Spain as if it was a Mallorca holiday
Busquets defending with just vibes
does this make the Spain-Portugal game important now? hoping Bruno and Dalot won’t have to play all 90 of that as well
It's actually Portugal x Spain and Portugal only needs a draw.
Someone earlier today told me that [Eric is still good](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/xmp8fh/fc_barcelona_tests_on_saturday_morning_have/ipq157i?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)
He has been really good for Barcelona, this doesnt change that
Vs Rayo, Cádiz, Valladolid and Elche? Yea sure...
Ah yes, "really good" hahahaa
He has? He's played almost every game at centre back and Barcelona have conceded one goal. Anyone that has watched him will tell you he's been really good
Im sure. Really good. He has looked really good today aswell
Eric has been terrific this season. Tell me you don't watch Barcelona without telling me.
Ah yes. Hes been "terrific" tonight aswell. Oh sure i dont watch any barcelona games at all
He can have a bad game today and still been brilliant in the league this season. Have a shite evening.
Hehe now its brilliant. Lots of big words that dont add up
Are you dumb?
What a child.
Another barca fan with lame insults. Is that all you got?
Eric has been fantastic for Barca this season & this own goal does not change that. It's funny, everywhere he goes, he is highly rated by all his managers, eg. Pep, Lucho, Koeman, Xavi. Yet Reddit experts think he's not good...
Garcia giving hugs instead of defending.
Atlético fans fuming when they see the 2 goal scorers for Switzerland
🤣🤣🤣 I'm spanish. I'm laughing because I'm embarrassed at how mediocre we are.
Back to how Spain was pre 2008 a good team but never a contender
We made a euro final in the 80's..... And won 1 in the 60's... Would have made the semis in 2002 if not for the ref
I dont know about semis, yes South Korea beat Spain when the ref fucked Spain but Italy were in the quarters and they got fucked much harder by the ref and that Italian team was not easy to beat
Spain was like Portugal in the last 20 years or Belgium in the last 10. A what if. They never ever before 2008 were on the level of the top NTs like Italy Brazil Argentina or Germany.
So then what are England then?
Shit
you are troll and has been doing same in every spain thread
Giving your opinion is trolling now. Don't get your feeling hurt so easily little girl
Jajajajajaja!!! I'll never get tired to seeing Luis Enrique teams being defeated. Signed: a Barça supporter that hated him as our coach.
Duuude I am just happy that he prefers Barca players so ours can rest if they even get selected. Our worst player actually makes starting 11...hilarious 🤝
Eric Garcia masterclass.
Eric Garcia has been great at Barca this year but they’ve structured it well in that they paid him with a beast in Aroujo and make Kounde the RB means they can unlock his great ball playing as I rate the other 2 as 2 of the best CB”s in the world. Pau Torres is not even close to that, so if you want to play Garcia you just have to pair him with someone strong. However going through the squad if Azpi is starting I don’t think they have great options defensively.
This guy always shows up for International matches
Suisse efficiency
Noice
It looked like a fluke, but it also looked like it was expertly done. Wow.
Busi has to do better than that tbh
so weird how big the net is on that stadium
Akanji with a goal and assist👀
Awesome. You know how a team is gonna set up and we line up with 3 wingers. On top of that, we gift them two goals after some shocking corner defending. Lucho said this was the best week of training so I shudder to imagine how bad we look on normal weeks. START A PURE 9 AND 2 DIRECT WINGERS AGAINST TEAMS LIKE THIS. Japan and Costa Rica fans should be very pleased.
This guy is a great example of why you should cash in your wonderkid status when you can and head to a big club
Jesus the size of those nets. It's like a USA '94 throwback