Has the nations league impacted European sides

Jedi boro

Well-known member
Take England as an example When was the last time we played a non European side a Brazil or a Cameroon in a friendly as all we seem to do now is play seemingly endless games v Italy Holland Germany Spain etc and it’s the same for the other European sides. Yes covid had an impact as well but it’s clear when Brazil Have only played one European side since the last would cup (Czechs) that options are a lot more limited now.

Normally in a World Cup cycle year you’d play against like minded sides that you expect to face so we’d play a Cameroon or Nigeria to prepare for poss African opposition but this year with no friendlies we have had no such prep.

But the same is true for African and other continents as well they can’t play European sides as they are all tide in with nations leagues.

Tomorrow we face a side we’ve never faced before not even in a friendly so it will be interesting what experience we draw on as our lack of African style opposition could be a factor.
 
I’ve just checked and we played Ivory Coast in march ( I admit I’d forgotten about that ) but that was the only non European side we’ve faced in the last 18 months or so.

Btw we won 3-0 so let’s hope that’s an omen.

This was the line up.

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The South Americans are joining the Nations League in coming editions.

Or at least they were planning to earlier in the year.
 
Looking at that England side that lined up v 🇨🇮 even though it was only march at how few have survived to Qatar.
 
In the last 2 world cups outside of Europe, the majority of European sides have gone out in the first round.

On this occasion 8 out of 13 have made the second round.

Maybe playing more competitive games has improved performance?
 
Difficult to say really, but we have done OK so far, if we get to the quarter finals that must have being a realistic goal anything else is a bonus
 
Well we had never played Iran before and boy did we dispatch them. I don't think it affects us to the detriment whatsoever that we mainly play European sides frankly. In Club games we pretty much have a cosmopolitan feel to world football and players know how each other play the world over. The exception is Asian teams maybe.
 
Not so much unknown or different about the non European teams and players these days though with so many of the players playing in Europe. e.g 6 of last nights Brazil team from the Prem.
 
I think that OP makes a good point. In the past we would have played friendlies against teams like Brazil, Mexico, Australia ( not Argentina, obviously) .
I suppose that it makes the World Cup that bit more special these days.
 
In fairness, we'd have played friendlies against nations from other continents in the immediate run up to the tournament in the past.

This time, there were no friendlies in the weeks immediately before.

Nations League may have had some small effect, but it's mixed in with lots of other new contexts in this world cup.
However, I don't really think European sides have underperformed.
 
surely it would work both ways though, when was the last time south american sides played top european ones?

In theory playing competitive fixtures vs simliarly matched sides should help improve european sides further
 
surely it would work both ways though, when was the last time south american sides played top european ones?

In theory playing competitive fixtures vs simliarly matched sides should help improve european sides further
Exactly that’s my point I meant it’s hampered both sides as European sides now only play each other so African, South American etc can’t get he the game experience they previously had.
 
surely it would work both ways though, when was the last time south american sides played top european ones?

In theory playing competitive fixtures vs simliarly matched sides should help improve european sides further


It's very rare now, which is why the South Americans have pushed to join the Nations League.
 
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It's very rare now, which is why he South Americans have pushed to join the Nations League.
Allowing Brazil and Argentina in could be the start of UEFA destroying FIFA
 
Allowing Brazil and Argentina in could be the start of UEFA destroying FIFA
It would certainly be a power struggle.

But FIFA’s ethics are like saints compared to corrupt vipers nest of conmebol ( the South American equivalent of uefa). Think the mafia mixed with pablo Escobar and you won’t be far off.
 
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