Austria might lose incent now with Denmark being already 5 points away. Austria have the NL cushion. So it won't probably matter for them if they finish 2nd, 3th or 4th. Scotland could be the team to take advantage of that and sealing a playoff spot.
Guess Armenia gets to keep their lead atop that group. Unfortunately, for them they can't play Germany now.
I heard that Germany lost to North Macedonia today. I wanted to make a post saying that North Macedonia gets either thrashed 4:0 or they shock Germany with a draw. I went with the former in my predictions. I will have to watch the rebroadcast but Germany has been very unreliable as of late.
They lost 2-0 at home and 4-2 away to them in the Nations League. Lack of respect? It was the hardest game for Denmark on paper in this group. I didn't even say they lose so calm down. Coming here after the game and telling me things is easy. If you knew that Denmark were that better than Austria where was your prediction then?
With only 2 games lost (both to Belgium) in their last 44 games in a row, I still can hardly believe that you believed there was even the slightest chance of Denmark losing or only securing a draw away to a "B" team like Austria... of cause Austria were going to be humiliated
It was a tough game for Denmark until they scored. Especially in the 1st half there was nothing sepatating these two sides. After the 1st goal the floodgates opened. Austria is mentally still a weak side. It was their first very hard game in a long time. They played only average sides in the NL League B. They weren't ready to face a caliber like Denmark. I have to correct my opinion about the Austrians. Austria will fall, Denmark will jump up a lot in my EURO Power Rankings. At least I have the balls to show up and admit that I was wrong about both teams' level. Denmark is for real, Austria is fake so to speak.
Fully agree with the bold part. Hjulmand showed his worth yesterday. I feel like Denmark got even better under him after Hareide left. The defense has been rock-solid as ever and their game in the final third seems to have improved.
I disagree, Austria have a very good team by European standard, just not comparable to Denmark, but perhaps to the likes of Norway and Turkey. But If you want to look into the future then go watch the U-21 Euro Championship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_UEFA_European_Under-21_Championship#Quarter-finals
There is no such thing as Denmark being better coached, since all Danish NT's from the U-16 to the A-NT are now all coached and playing the exact same way as the part of a deliberate plan of making Denmark almost unbeatable.
The referee in Germany - North Macedonia was very very bad. Gifted a penalty to Germany and denied North Macedonia a penalty after a clear Emre Can handball. Thank god North Macedonia did win anyway in the end.
Austria have still a good team but if I say "I have to change my opinion about them" I mean that after such a display I can't do anything other than downgrading them from "B" to "B - ". This looks about right for them. Success in the U21 doesn't necessarily carry over to the senior's squad. There are much more things to include. However it sets the basis for building a good senior national team.
Well, in the case of Denmark, then usually the very best U-21 players are playing for the real NT and the second best for the U-21, just as it is the case with the big countries, so you are right in the sense that most of the U-21's are never going to become regular starters or even fringe players for the real NT.
Here’s hoping Wind, ASO, and Damsgaard all get to play for U21 against Germany - That would make for an intense Danish offense.
Denmark have looked very strong in recent years. They're hard to beat and can turn up the style when they have to. I fancy them to do well at the Euros. I saw Austria in a friendly with Greece. They were a physical side. It was strange to see a team play that physically in a friendly, but they put out a real fight and won the game against the run of play. I can see why someone could have thought the game with Denmark would have been closer. For a team that can play physically like that, I would think they could have put up a bigger fight against Denmark than they had. That 0-4 score is as poor a result as you can get in football. Scotland and with a bit of luck Israel could finish second in the group. North Macedonia (I'm not fond of that name choice) scored an impressive win over Germany. Elmas is a fine player and I feel Pandev has been around for what feels like forever, but he is still as good as he ever has been. Those two can upset any team and they did just that with Germany. The problem with Germany is Low and his treatment of players like Mueller and Hummels. I don't think Germany would have 6-0 to Spain if those two were in the team. Then there are players like Werner who made big moves to clubs like Chelsea, but those moves have backfired. If Werner were still at Leipzig, he would be playing with far greater confidence. Armenia are the real surprise package so far. They lost 9-1 to Italy in Euro qualifying, so to see them secure 9 points, beating Iceland and Romania in the process, is the biggest shock so far. Maybe that loss to Italy put some fire in their belly, maybe the fighting with the Azeris over Artsakh had. There's a lot of hurt pride to be played for at the moment, so good on them.
Re: Russia's situation. I've just been watching the men's world curling championships and Russia has a team - sort of. They aren't playing under the Russian flag but their players are still participating as "Russian CF". Guessing "CF" stands for Curling Federation. Wondering if this means that if Russia qualifies for the FIFA World Cup that the players can still compete in Qatar(?).
It was the same at the recent Handball World Championships where they competed as, "Russian Handball Federation". Yes, Russian players can compete in Qatar but again without presenting Russia as a country.
Or, is it just them having signed a quality coach in Joaquín Caparrós to turn things around? So then, FIFA would simply skip playing Russia's anthem?
Regarding Armenia. I think it has do with both. The coach is doing a good job. He sets up the team defensively and the focus is on hurting the opposition with quick counters. I do think that the political situation is doing bits in giving them some extra motivation. I don't have stats but it looks to me as the players are willing to "die" on the pitch. They run a lot. It's their recipe for levelling out the opposition's superior quality. Yeah, FIFA would skip playing the Russian anthem and wouldn't display the Russian flag. That's all.
Uefa: Portugal, Denmark,Italy, Croatia, France, Spain, Germany, England, Netherlands, Turkey, Sweden, Wales and Serbia Concacaf: USA, Mexico and Costarica Conmebol: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Ecuador Asia: Japan, South Korea, Australia, S. Arabia and Syria Africa: Egypt, Algeria, Dr Congo, Ivory Coast and Ghana Oceania: None