UEFA Nations League: The newest addition to the European football calendar might just do wonders with international football.
England are on the verge of relegation against Croatia. The English fans seem dispirited. They’ve been through the same path – a thousand times over.
Anticipations. Expectations. Promises. Despair. Anticipations. Expectations. Promises. Despair.
Most recently, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow four months ago, against the same opponents.
But the lessons have been learned. Gareth Southgate’s men carved a new path, where there were no anticlimactic endings, but promising beginnings. England were only 12 minutes away from being relegated to Nations League’s Divison B. At the end of the game, however, the Three Lions found themselves in the semifinal of the tournament.
Football has always been the game of extremes, but it has become more so with the addition of Nations League in Europe’s international football.
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The Nations League has breathed life into international breaks. We don’t have extra football matches – but we do have football matches with consequence. The international matches mean something – and it has made the international break as an event to look forward to.
The prospect of watching two evenly-matched national sides is always mouth-watering. When one can have Germany, France and The Netherlands playing each other within a three-month timeline and Germany facing the relegation at the end of it, why would they complain? (unless they support Germany)
Four tiers. Bottom = relegation. Top = promotion. Top of the highest tier = you qualify for a knockout competition, where you play other top-tier winners to decide an overall winner. If anyone still doesn’t get the Nations League they presumably don’t get club football either
— Michael Cox (@Zonal_Marking) November 20, 2018
As heavyweight clash amongst each other, the lower-ranked national sides finally salvage some breathing space. For years, international football had been a sorry spectacle of a top-ranked side thumping the low-quality oppositions. Gibraltar, for example, hadn’t won a single professional game since their debut in professional football in 2014. They won two within 10 days when categorized in a balanced group structure in the Nations League. To put the achievement in perspective – their striker, Lee Casciaro, works as a policeman for the Ministry of Defence.
Moreover, the UEFA has linked the results of the games in the Nations League to seedings for the European Championships in 2020. And so, even the lower-ranked sides have a remarkable chance to seal a berth in the premier European international tournament.
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There has been a consistent argument about the impact of Nations League on club fooball. After the game against Manchester City, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp lashed out at the concept of the Nations League, calling it the ‘most senseless tournament’ to have ever been proposed in football.
BBC reports that Gareth Southgate had used 17 players before the game against Croatia in the Nations League, which is the least England have used in the international breaks commencing August, in a decade. But does it really impact club football?
– WC group stage exit
– UEFA #NationsLeague relegation
– Longest winless run since 1979 (5 games)
– Negative goal difference (-3) over 12 months for the first time in 62 years!🇩🇪 It’s been a terrible 2018 for Germany! pic.twitter.com/EjDkydQvzx
— Unibet (@unibet) November 20, 2018
Klopp’s complaints are understandable to a certain extent. The impact of results in the course of the tournament has increased the risks of injuries to the players in closely-fought games, which eventually hampers the club’s momentum.
On the bright side, however, here’s how Klopp’s men faired in Nations League this month – Virgil van Dyk and Giorgino Wijnaldum scored both the goals in an extraordinary fightback against Germany to lead the side to Nations League semifinals; Trent-Alexander Arnold scored his first ever goal for England three days before the Nations League game against the USA; Joe Gomez played an important role in England’s victory over Croatia; and Xherdan Shaqiri continued on his amazing form for Switzerland, as they came from 0-2 down to beat Belgium 5-2.
– WC group stage exit
– UEFA #NationsLeague relegation
– Longest winless run since 1979 (5 games)
– Negative goal difference (-3) over 12 months for the first time in 62 years!🇩🇪 It’s been a terrible 2018 for Germany! pic.twitter.com/EjDkydQvzx
— Unibet (@unibet) November 20, 2018
With the players coming back to the squad full of positive spirits, Jurgen Klopp’s side has a definitive advantage.
There has been little to no resistance towards the Nations League from European clubs, however. Most of it is due to the fact that UEFA’s attempt to make international football more exciting has certainly worked on the evidence of the three international breaks we’ve seen so far.
