GOAL US unpacks the main storylines from the international break and World Cup qualifying in The Euro XI
International breaks are weird. There's no club football for 10 days, leaving everyone who follows this sport feeling a bit lost. National allegiances are tough to hold onto, especially in a footballing world where most tend to lean club over country, anyway. And let's be honest, it's difficult to get jazzed up about your birthplace beating an inferior opponent 2-0 on a Thursday night.
What that doesn't mean, though, is that there is a lack of good soccer or good storylines. You just have to know where to look. Cristiano Ronaldo missing penalties, for example, is intriguing. Kevin De Bruyne's Belgium are reshaped, revamped, and now might be bad. Meanwhile, England are winning games again, which means it will be funny when they get bounced from the World Cup just after the groups.
And, oh yeah, that Erling Haaland guy can still score goals for fun.
GOAL US presents The Euro XI, with 11 key observations from the weekend.
Getty Images11Erling Haaland, record breaker (for a change)
Stop us if you've heard this one before: Erling Haaland is good at scoring goals. It's funny because while his Man City numbers get picked apart, Haaland is the most successful international goalscorer in this game's history (not an overstatement).
He missed two(!!) penalties against Israel on Saturday, but still scored a hat-trick to carry Norway to a 5-0 win. He has now scored 51 goals in 46 matches for his country. For perspective, it took Messi 107 to hit that mark for Argentina. Now that's just silly.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport10Bukayo Saka does it for England
What does a Thomas Tuchel England look like? It's still a confusing thing, seeing this gangly German fella manage a country that, well, doesn't seem to like him. European rivalries aside, though, Tuchel is an immensely talented coach who has shown, in his year in charge, that he might be the key to end many, many years of hurt.
Crucially, he has gotten the best out of Bukayo Saka, who ran the show for the Three Lions in a 3-0 pounding of Wales. The only issue? Apparently, the England fans were a little quiet. Whatever.
9We're all Faroe Islands fans now
Point to the Faroe Islands on a map – we dare you. Every now and then, major tournament qualification yields a shock story – some country no one ever associates with soccer making a run. Faroe Islands might yet be this tournament's darlings.
They are ranked No. 136 in the world, and after beating Czechia, 2-1, are still in with a shout of qualification. Their only obstacle? Undefeated Croatia next month. Believe.
Getty Images8KDB and Belgium are frustrated
Belgium are in a weird spot. The supposed "golden generation" never won anything, and they're now stuck in this post-promising haze, never bad but not really contenders, either. The result, thus far, has been a bunch of confusing scorelines. And even with a fully fit and firing Kevin De Bruyne, they didn't do enough to beat a scrappy North Macedonia, who may yet qualify. Puzzling stuff.