Football cannot be separated from politics in the modern world, no matter how many may wish otherwise; But whether the beautiful game can alleviate the crises of our time is another matter. After a week in which the issue of Irish support for the people of Gaza turned into a battle of conscience surrounding this match, the outcome of the match in the end seemed less important than everything that came before it.
In the end, the victory was indeed one-sided, but not because of the boycott; Until Saturday evening, the question was whether Heimir Hallgrimsson's team would play the match against Israel in Hungary at all, and if it did participate, would its players be able to overcome everything that happened and focus on the field? But days of discussions and division ended with a state of cohesion within the team, which entered the confrontation strongly and decided it with 3 goals in the first half.
According to the Guardian newspaper, the atmosphere at the Nagerdi Stadium in the city of Debrecen was similar to the matches that were held during the “Covid” pandemic. It was possible to hear every word said inside the stadium in the shadow of the almost empty stands. About 150 Israeli fans attended, compared to about 12 Irish fans who were able to enter the stadium despite the Irish Federation’s decision not to allocate official tickets to its fans.
The pre-match ceremonies added to the strangeness of the scene. Members of the Irish staff turned their backs to the pitch during the playing of the Israeli anthem, while the Irish players, all wearing black armbands, stood with their heads lowered. There was no exchange of commemorative flags, and the two teams did not shake hands before each team headed directly to its own gathering in preparation for the start of the match.
The match was close to being canceled on Saturday, after goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno announced his unwillingness to participate, a decision that led to emotional and lengthy discussions between the players and the technical staff, before the majority of the players voted in favor of playing the match.
The developments forced Hallgrimsson to choose a lineup in which defender Jimmy Dunne became the nominal third goalkeeper, and Finn Azaz was kept on the bench, as part of 5 changes to the team that lost to Kosovo.
Azaz's mother holds Israeli citizenship, and The Guardian reported that he made an emotional intervention during the discussions that took place within the team on Saturday. But Hallgrimsson confirmed after the match that his non-participation in the starting lineup was due to technical reasons, explaining that the technical staff saw that other players were more suitable for this confrontation.
After all the discussions and questions that preceded the match, Ireland needed only 11 minutes in the first half to resolve the confrontation.
Troy Parrott opened the scoring in the 14th minute, after taking advantage of a distinguished work by James Abankwah on the right side, to shoot a low ball that went past goalkeeper Daniel Peretz and landed in the net.
Just two minutes later, Adam Edah doubled the Irish team's lead, after moving behind the last defender and receiving a smart pass from Jack Moylan, before calmly placing the ball to the goalkeeper's left.
In the 25th minute, it was Moylan himself's turn; He advanced the ball towards the penalty area and fired a low shot into the net, scoring his fourth goal in four international matches, continuing his remarkable start with the Irish national team.
But his celebration of the third goal carried a message that goes beyond football; He ran towards the corner flag, took the black armband off his arm and kissed it, in one of the most prominent symbolic scenes of the match after a week of controversy surrounding the confrontation.
After the match, Hallgrimsson said that what he experienced was probably the most difficult day in his coaching career, but he stressed that it was not related to him, but rather to the players and what they went through during the hours before the match.
He added that their players showed how important representing Ireland was to them, and that they appeared on the field with dignity and strength, expressing his hope that they would gain the support of the Irish people.
The match, which only hours ago was a question of whether it could be held at all, ended with Ireland winning 3-0. But the result was not the only story of the night in Debrecen, after the players entered the field with black armbands, there were no handshakes and the exchange of flags, and heads bowed during the Israeli anthem, before Ireland settled the confrontation with 3 goals and closed on the field a chapter of a week whose events went beyond the limits of football.
Can the Italian national team finish its group in the European Nations League in last place? A question that is no longer ruled out after the difficult start for the “Azzurri”, which now finds itself in a direct confrontation with Turkey, this evening, Monday, September 28, 2026, in Bursa, in a match that may be more like an early playoff confrontation to avoid the bottom of the group.
According to the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, reaching last place is not a completely new scenario for Italy. In the 2010 World Cup, under the leadership of coach Marcello Lippi, the national team finished its group in fourth place behind Slovakia, Paraguay and New Zealand, without achieving any victory.
Eight years later, the national team again approached the bottom of its group during the first edition of the European Nations League, shortly after Roberto Mancini took charge. But Cristiano Biraghi's stoppage-time goal against Poland changed the group's standings and saved Italy from last place. The team was eliminated from the competition, but avoided the worst.
Today, Mancini and Italy find themselves facing a similar danger, but in different circumstances. While the Italian goal in the past was always to compete for the top spot in the group, regardless of the tournament, ambitions gradually changed during the years of crisis that the team experienced.
With successive failures, second place sometimes became a lifeline that allowed them to continue their path to qualifying through the playoffs, before Italy reached a stage where even acceptable third place became an important goal.
In the current version of the Nations League, third place could be enough to remain in the first level, provided that Italy is among the two best teams in third place. This will also give the team the opportunity to remain in the first classification when the European Cup draw is held.
But the 0-2 loss to Belgium opened the door to a more dangerous scenario, which is finishing the group in fourth place, with the sporting repercussions that this carries beyond just relegation to the Nations League.
After the first round, France and Belgium advanced in the group, while Italy and Turkey remained without points. With five matches remaining, all possibilities are still mathematically possible, but the competition for the top of the group currently appears remote, making the match against Turkey in Bursa an early playoff for third place.
An away draw may be a beneficial result for Italy at this stage, while a loss will put the team in a more complicated position, and will force the technical staff to re-evaluate its calculations and prepare to face a real danger in the group.
The situation becomes more difficult due to the next match, as Italy is waiting to face France in Paris, which is theoretically the most difficult match on its schedule. It is true that the French national team will miss Kylian Mbappe, but that does not make the task easy.
The Italian experience in Paris brings back completely different memories, when two years ago, after the disappointment of the 2024 European Cup, the team succeeded in presenting one of its best matches under the leadership of Luciano Spalletti, and beat France 3-1 despite the presence of Mbappe at the time. However, circumstances have changed a lot since then.
The Nations League system increases the importance of each position in the group. The two best third-placed teams will be guaranteed to remain directly in the first level, while the other two third-placed teams will play play-off matches against second-placed teams to avoid relegation, while maintaining their position in the first seed in the European Cup draw.
As for the fourth position, its risks are greater. The two best fourth-placed teams will also go into survival play-offs, while the two worst fourth-placed teams are relegated directly to the second tier.
It is not just a matter of playing matches at a lower level in the next edition of the Nations League, as the repercussions could be broader for the Italian national team. Relegation will remove Italy from the top level of European football, and will bring with it a loss in terms of image and economic value, in addition to its potential impact on the national team’s position during the draws for major tournaments.
The greatest danger is the possibility of Italy falling from the first seed in the European draw to the second seed, which may make its path to the European Cup and World Cup finals more complicated, due to the possibility of falling into stronger groups.
For this reason, facing Türkiye does not appear to be just the second match in a group that is still in its infancy. After losing the first round to Belgium, Bursa became an important station to know the direction Italy will take in this edition.
A win will give Mancini and his players an opportunity to restore balance and move away from last place, and a draw will keep the situation manageable, while a loss will put the “Azzurri” in a difficult position before traveling to Paris to face France.
Italy, which historically used to enter tournaments in search of leadership, now finds itself facing a completely different battle: remaining among the top European Nations League and avoiding relegation to the second level.
As the confrontation with Türkiye approaches, it most expresses the extent of the decline that the Italians fear: Can Italy really drop to the second level? Or is the harsher question now: Is the Italian national team already at the level of second-tier teams?
England coach Thomas Tuchel said that national team players and the clubs they play for should not be allowed to pick and choose which matches they participate in during the international break.
England will play four matches in the European Nations League during the extended international break. Tuchel's team lost to world champion Spain on Saturday in the first of those matches.
The team will visit the Czech Republic on Tuesday, then Croatia on Saturday, before facing the Czechs again at home on October 6. This busy schedule led to calls to rest some players who had a short summer break due to the World Cup.
In response to a question about whether any of the club coaches had contacted him, Tuchel told reporters: “I do not answer the calls of English Premier League coaches. I never contacted any national team coach (when I was working in club training).”
He added: “I cannot manage the players’ minutes. This is absolutely impossible. Why do I do that and give the players the impression that it's okay to take a step back, take one half, or rest one game? I will never do this. "It's crazy."
He continued: “We want to win the next match... The ideal scenario is for us to play with the same starting lineup repeatedly. With at least six or seven players starting the match again in order to hold them responsible and to feel confident.”
Tuchel said that his team will do its best in its match against the Czech Republic, on Tuesday, at the Fortuna Arena in Prague, adding: “We have to take the initiative.”
He continued: “There is no room for managing (the players) or following an economic approach. It's about the way the team wants to play, the way we want to play; So let's go.
