Ronaldo, Carsley and Georgia are winners in Europe's return to national team soccer
Potential coaching upheaval, players' injuries, an underdog continuing to soar — oh, and Cristiano Ronaldo stealing the spotlight once again.
International soccer returned to Europe over the past week, less than two months after the conclusion of Euro 2024, and there was plenty to take away from the first batch of games in the Nations League:
Ronaldo Shines
You just can't keep him out of the headlines.
The international break started with a certain amount of intrigue over the role Ronaldo would have with Portugal after his underwhelming displays at Euro 2024 and the fact he will be 40 years old early next year.
It ended with Ronaldo cementing his status as a continued mainstay in his national team and proof that he still has the scoring instincts to be of huge value for Portugal.
Ronaldo scored against both Croatia and Scotland to take his men's-record tally of international goals to 132. He started on the bench against the Scots in Lisbon and changed the game when coming on as a halftime substitute.
Who knows, Ronaldo might yet make the 2026 World Cup, after all
Carsley's Chance
Unassuming and unheralded, Lee Carsley was supposed to be simply filling in while the English Football Association looked for a permanent successor to Gareth Southgate as coach.
The interim might yet be the full-time solution.
Carsley certainly looked the part in leading England to smooth, routine 2-0 wins over Ireland and Finland, even if the opposition was modest at best.
He was tactically astute, made a left-field pick in young midfielder Angel Gomes that worked out, and said the right things in assured performances in the pre- and post-match news conferences.
The FA might have been looking for a more high-profile, experienced successor to Southgate but could have the best candidate on its own doorstep. After all, Southgate made the step-up from England's under-21s and was a success, and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente also was an internal appointment — and look how that has turned out.
Indeed, for some, the only gripe regarding Carsley was that he didn't sing the national anthem before the games at the Aviva Stadium and Wembley Stadium.
Georgia Rising
Georgia was fun to watch on its major tournament debut and the feel-good story gets better.
A 4-1 beating of the Czech Republic then a 1-0 win in Albania lifted coach Willy Sagnol’s team on top of its group in the Nations League second tier that also includes Ukraine. All four went to Euro 2024.
The momentum of exhilarating Georgia games at Euro 2024, even in losses to Turkey and eventual champion Spain in the round of 16, is being maintained.
Star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Napoli is leading a crop of 23-year-old talent with goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who will join Liverpool from Valencia next season, and Lyon forward Georges Mikautadze.
Maybe the goal of the week came from Giorgi Kochorashvili, the 25-year-old midfielder with Spanish club Levante, chipping a 22-meter (yard) shot to beat Albania.
Georgia is proving a poster boy for the Nations League by rising from the lowest-ranked fourth tier when it started in 2018. UEFA wanted to give teams more competitive games against opponents at a similar level and improve that way.
Georgia has done that and can target promotion to the elite level in November.
Who's in charge?
It was a tough week for coaches still in place after their teams fell short of expectations at Euro 2024.
Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco seemed to be a target in some of Kevin De Bruyne’s comments expressing anger and frustration after the 2-0 loss to France on Monday.
France coach Didier Deschamps, now in his 11th season with the 2018 World Cup winner, was a target for pre-game boos in Lyon. Reports later emerged of tension in the camp after the 3-1 loss to Italy on Friday, with Kylian Mbappé aiming criticism at coaching staff.
Scotland now has just one win in 14 matches — and that a warmup game against Gibraltar — over the past year that is increasing pressure on coach Steve Clarke, whose team was arguably the worst at Euro 2024.
Scotland gave up late winning goals against Poland and Portugal, in a top-tier Nations League group that also includes Croatia. Scotland is set to get a tough World Cup qualifying group in the December draw, likely coming out of the pot of third-seeded teams.
Key Injuries
The two-week break wasn't so kind for Arsenal and Manchester City, England's top two clubs, ahead of a congested few months in the domestic calendar.
Arsenal might have lost its captain, Martin Odegaard, to an ankle injury ahead of a huge week of fixtures — and possibly more — featuring Premier League games against fierce north London rival Tottenham and defending champion Man City, either side of a trip to Atalanta in the Champions League. Odegaard was helped off after landing awkwardly in the second half of Norway's win over Austria on Monday.
City then saw defender Nathan Ake carried off on a stretcher and in tears with what appeared a serious muscle injury sustained while playing for the Netherlands in the 2-2 draw against Germany on Tuesday. Ake has developed into a key member of City's squad in recent years, though had only made one late appearance as a substitute so far in the Premier League.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
