UEFA Nations League – League C
The UEFA Nations League is a great opportunity for fans of European football to see some of the best football players don their nation on their crests and play a level of football that isn’t usually seen by fans whenever the international break comes around.
This competition shares the limelight to nations that aren’t usually given the time of day and allow them chances to shine in UEFA Nations League 2018 news pages. The first couple of games in League C, to be specific, have provided us with a good deal of drama and very interesting football results.
Whether you like how this new format is going or not, you cannot deny that this tournament brings a good deal of football-mad nations with their own brands of football to light. And that thought is nothing but delightful to the many football fans of SBOBET.
Group 1
There are only three nations in Group 1, and Scotland didn’t play in the first round. Thus, all the Scottish fans were glued to the action at the Elbasan Arena when Albania squared off against Israel. The game considerably close, and it wouldn’t have been weird for fans to brush it off as a draw, However, a brilliant goal from Taulant Xhaka changed the tune of the game.
Israel threw everything they had forward — and could have been awarded a penalty after a rather controversial save from Thomas Strakosha moments before the Xhaka goal — but Albania was able to hold on for the three points.
Highlight of the Group: Xhaka, the older brother of Switzerland star Granit who was solid against Iceland, got a nice pass from Jahmir Hyka and fired a speeding bullet to the bottom-right corner in the 55th minute.
Key statistics: It was a tale of two halves, though this could have been seen as an effect of Xhaka’s goal than the Blue and Whites mounting an aggressive attack after the break. Albania had 62% of possession during the first half, and Israel had 58% in the second.
Group 2
All of the Group 2 games were played in the last day of the first Game Day 1, but the quality of action they displayed was nothing short of admirable if I do say so myself.
Estonia hosted Greece and found themselves on the backfoot from the very start of the game. Konstantinos Fortounis quickly found a goal after Konstantinos Mitroglou headed the ball to open space for him to crack to goal. Estonia desperately tried to fight back, but Sokratis brilliantly led the defence well. The Arsenal defender, who is growing his influence among the Gunner faithful, made sure that the game ended in a 0-1 win for the Greeks.
Finland was also able to get an early goal and defend the lead. Rasmus Schuller put Teemu Pukki through with a well-placed pass. In a display of great individual talent, the Norwich forward was able to get the goal.
Highlight of the Group: Pukki’s goal was a lot more impressive than Fortounis’ strike. The 28-year-old forward had to shake loose from a defender and beat a rushing Peter Gulacsi to put the ball into the net.
Key statistics: The first two games of this group saw the first (and only) goals go in extremely early in the match. Both of these goals happened before the 15-minute mark.
Group 3
This group had interesting UEFA Nations League 2018 odds coming into the game, and those who predicted that these games would be rather high-scoring affairs are jumping up and down their seats.
Noway’s Stefan Johansen shone the brightest as he scored a brace to beat Cyprus. This is a statement game from the Fulham man, as the Premier League newcomers are too busy with other matters to give him consistent minutes on the pitch.
Meanwhile, Bulgaria overcame the odds and defeated a very competitive Slovenia team to win the game, 1-2. A costly mistake from Vid Belec allowed Bozhidar Kraev to secure a brace of his own and a fantastic winner.
Highlight of the Group: Johansen’s second goal in the 42nd minute was a thing of beauty. His free-kick from the right side of goal curled beautifully and went to the bottom-left corner. There was nothing Urko Pardo could do about that strike.
Key statistics: Both teams dominated their games in terms of possession and shot attempts. However, the Slovenian fans may feel that their team was mugged by the Bulgarians.
Group 4
Serbia exited the World Cup without much fanfare, so they made sure that the fans who travelled with them to Lithuania had something to chirp happily about. The Eagles got the only goal of the game through a penalty kick that Dusan Tadic swiftly converted. However, the Lithuanian faithful who were present at the game would question Aleksandar’s overselling of the penalty.
Meanwhile, the Romania-Montenegro match was a rather eventless draw. Napoli centre-back Vlad Chiriches had the best chance of getting a goal for the Tricolorii, but his poor handling denied the Romanians of a glorious three points.
Highlight of the Group: The foul on Mitrovic is definite point of contention between the supporters of the two groups. The replays showed that the defender who made the sliding tackle didn’t really sweep the Fulham attacker off his feet.
Key statistics: Ernestas Setkus deserves more than a pat on the back from the Lithuania squad. He had to pull off nine incredible saves in order to stop the game from blowing out of proportion.
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