What country do you tip for national success over the next ten years?

TheReligion

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This kind of links in with my post about US football but it's something that is always difficult to predict outside of the big names. My question is in two parts I guess; from the top teams in the world who do we think is approaching or in their golden era? And what lesser known nation do we predict to really develop in the next few years and deliver a South Korea, Senegal, Iceland moment in the near future?
 

Rozay

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I think it will be England vs France at the very top end for the next decade.

Beneath them, I think Nigeria are building another top generation, and South Korea/Japan I think have been doing well at youth level.

Norway are potentially one or two more players away from really doing something too.
 

Rozay

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Qualifying for a tournament?
And doing well in it. They have two world class young talents coming through at the same time, one pretty good one in Berge, and Josh King still in his 20s. The good thing about this is that their best players all play in different positions too. One or two more, and they can start to look at having a really strong first XI, the rest can be fillers.

You look at Iceland who have represented themselves well in recent tournaments with mainly filler players and the stardust of Gylfi. And even he isn’t all that. If Norway can get a few hard working and disciplined players with a good coaching set up, they can provide framework for their stars to shine.

Fact is, they have a good chance of having a top 5 striker and top 5 midfielder in the world for years to come - not many nations have that.
 

Skills

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I was thinking about this but from the perspective of how Covid-19 will effect this. I can see the gap in quality between the wealthier and poorer nations decreasing.

European football has been dominant for a while now, IMO because of the youth training structure which has got kids access to quality coaching from a much younger age than poorer nations across the world. Potentially, them losing a year or two of this advantage might result in the playing ground being levelled a bit. At least for a couple of the year groups who are the stage where coaching has the most influence/effect on final outcomes.
 

SAFMUTD

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France is the obvious one, they have incredible talent and each year they are producing top talent.
 

anant

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It would be France, England, Netherlands fighting for the top honours I believe. Italy, Spain and Brazil also have great prospects, but they'd need a generational talent if they are to beat these sides
 

Pexbo

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ENGLAND WAS A GREAT COUNTRY BUT A DIFFICULT PERSONALITY
ENGLAND CLASHED WITH THE EU BECAUSE ENGLAND SHIFTED TO THE RIGHT WING EVENTHOUGH IT WAS STABLE IN THAT POSITION
TOUGH PERSONALITY ? ENGLAND STILL HAD OK ECONOMY AND NATIONSUCESS
NATION
NATION
NATION SUCCESS
NATIONAL SUCCESS
NATIONAL SUCCESS
 

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Maluco

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I think Scotland will qualify for a tournament and are developing some promising young players. They even have a lad at Bayern.

McKenna, McTominey, Robertson, Gilmour, McGinn, Fleck, Frazer already there.

What they need is a manager who is capable of making a cohesive side out of it all. Michael ONeill would have been perfect, but didn’t work out for them.

If they realize what they have and get serious about it, this could well be a promising side.
 

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England, if they get a capable manager. Southgate is okay but i think you need more than that to win an international tournament
 

Dancfc

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England, and this is coming from someone who use to always take a piss on the hype regarding the national team.

I think Chelsea alone is producing enough player's to make England competitive at International level, add Greenwood, Trent, Foden, Saka, Gomez, Sancho to a group that smashed all before them at youth level and it's a formula that should equal trophy's.
 

SilentWitness

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I think Scotland will qualify for a tournament and are developing some promising young players. They even have a lad at Bayern.

McKenna, McTominey, Robertson, Gilmour, McGinn, Fleck, Frazer already there.

What they need is a manager who is capable of making a cohesive side out of it all. Michael ONeill would have been perfect, but didn’t work out for them.

If they realize what they have and get serious about it, this could well be a promising side.
We can definitely qualify for a tournament with the talent we have. We have a lot more quality in the side than the NI squad that managed to qualify but we just can't seem to gel. Desperately need a good striker too. I feel like a large factor in a side like Iceland doing so well was that they had a player miles ahead of everyone else talent wise in Gylfi but he was in the right position to have an impact. I don't think a player like Robertson, who is world class, can have the same impact by himself in his position to a side.
 

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The answer to this has to be England. They’ve got their act together now and hopefully for them it all clicks. Scary potential in some of the players and regular exposure to what many would now regard as the most competitive league in the world.

France are always thereabouts and their amazing production line shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. I would probably still currently back them over England if there was a tournament tomorrow.

Portugal, Germany, Spain, Italy, Holland and the South American powerhouses always have potentially world class players coming through the youth levels.

Belgium have long been my tournament wildcard but they always seem to flatter to deceive while having a great team on paper. A Bit like England used to be actually...
 

Bondi77

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England,
As long as we don't crap our pants as soon as we get into the pressure games in a tournament.
 

OnlyTwoDaSilvas

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I'm sure we've been predicting England since I was a kid. After finishing bottom of the group in Euro 92, there was boundless optimism that we were spoiled for choice with quality strikers, and Gazza was finally gonna sort himself out, and then we got binned out of the qualifying round for USA94.

Euro 96 was decent, but despite always having a good squad of players, we've been a bit shite on the big stage ever since, until the most recent World Cup, and even then, we were a set-piece machine.
 

Maluco

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We can definitely qualify for a tournament with the talent we have. We have a lot more quality in the side than the NI squad that managed to qualify but we just can't seem to gel. Desperately need a good striker too. I feel like a large factor in a side like Iceland doing so well was that they had a player miles ahead of everyone else talent wise in Gylfi but he was in the right position to have an impact. I don't think a player like Robertson, who is world class, can have the same impact by himself in his position to a side.
I think the missing piece is the coach mate. I am from NI and apart from good CBs and a few others, we don’t have much else for that level. A really poor final third and no goalscorer, but McNeill is a great motivator and was able to make the team greater than the sum of its parts.

Scotland needs to stop messing around with the likes of McLeish, Strachan and now Clarke and get in a up and coming manager who has shown he can do well with less. There is enough quality there to build a system which should be hard to beat, especially at home.

They should be giving most teams a game with the players at their disposal and could jump up a level with a well coached system and someone who can motivate them.

Those senior players listed seem like good characters and hard workers too, so they should be malleable as a squad.
 

TheReligion

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England, and this is coming from someone who use to always take a piss on the hype regarding the national team.

I think Chelsea alone is producing enough player's to make England competitive at International level, add Greenwood, Trent, Foden, Saka, Gomez, Sancho to a group that smashed all before them at youth level and it's a formula that should equal trophy's.
You missed our Rashford, Wan Bissaka and Henderson. Possibly Brandon Williams too.
 

TheReligion

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I think Scotland will qualify for a tournament and are developing some promising young players. They even have a lad at Bayern.

McKenna, McTominey, Robertson, Gilmour, McGinn, Fleck, Frazer already there.

What they need is a manager who is capable of making a cohesive side out of it all. Michael ONeill would have been perfect, but didn’t work out for them.

If they realize what they have and get serious about it, this could well be a promising side.
Very good post and caught my attention. Scotland are a good shout. Do they have a CF/goalscorer though?
 

Rozay

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I think Scotland will qualify for a tournament and are developing some promising young players. They even have a lad at Bayern.

McKenna, McTominey, Robertson, Gilmour, McGinn, Fleck, Frazer already there.

What they need is a manager who is capable of making a cohesive side out of it all. Michael ONeill would have been perfect, but didn’t work out for them.

If they realize what they have and get serious about it, this could well be a promising side.
Who is going to score a goal for them?
 

Rozay

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I think Portugal are producing some great players, but after Ronaldo, they will go back to where they were pre-Ronaldo in not having a reliable striker to go with the embarrassment of riches behind him.

In the Figo, Rui Costa, Conceicao days they were all 10 yards behind Pauleta - who was not of the same class. That’s where they are heading again, and a reason the postponement of the Euros will hurt hem them if Ronaldo drops.
 

Dancfc

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You missed our Rashford, Wan Bissaka and Henderson. Possibly Brandon Williams too.
For me Rashford is part of a more established generation (with the likes of Alli) whereas the players i listed were more new on the scene and at the time of writing were more part of my thought proccess. Regarding Wan Bissaka i think his international career will be similar to Azpilicueta for Spain in that the fact he doesn't offer as much going forward compared to his competition will ultimately work against him despite his defensive strength.

Fair shout with Williams, with him, Saka and (if he sorts himself out) Sessengon the LB scene is lowkey building up some strength in depth.
 

TheReligion

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For me Rashford is part of a more established generation (with the likes of Alli) whereas the players i listed were more new on the scene and at the time of writing were more part of my thought proccess. Regarding Wan Bissaka i think his international career will be similar to Azpilicueta for Spain in that the fact he doesn't offer as much going forward compared to his competition will ultimately work against him despite his defensive strength.

Fair shout with Williams, with him, Saka and (if he sorts himself out) Sessengon the LB scene is lowkey building up some strength in depth.
You not see Henderson being the number one?

Think Wan Bissaka will be a useful player but depending on the tactical aspect of games. He's also got alot of development to do. There's been recent signs at United his forward output had improved so I'm hopeful it will continue. He's a fantastic defender and much better than Trent in that regard.
 

Rozay

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For me Rashford is part of a more established generation (with the likes of Alli) whereas the players i listed were more new on the scene and at the time of writing were more part of my thought proccess. Regarding Wan Bissaka i think his international career will be similar to Azpilicueta for Spain in that the fact he doesn't offer as much going forward compared to his competition will ultimately work against him despite his defensive strength.

Fair shout with Williams, with him, Saka and (if he sorts himself out) Sessengon the LB scene is lowkey building up some strength in depth.
Wan Bissaka will have a great international career I think, on the basis that he’s almost a cheat code. The way modern football is, and given most players are right footed - I think 7 or 8 out of 10 times, a teams biggest attacking threat is going to play directly in AWBs channel. The #10 role is becoming more obsolete, and the real individual threats like a Sterling, Hazard, Mané, Neymar will come against AWB. The temptation for Southgate will likely be to neutralise that threat by playing AWB, rather than opt for Trent I feel. And I can’t blame that view. It’s more beneficial if you are playing Brazil to shut down Neymar than it is to have crosses from your RB. Taking Neymar out of the game is 50-60% of their threat suppressed.

As it stands I don’t see Williams being an international regular. Firstly, he has a lot to do to become first choice at United, the current first choice will have plans to get that England shirt himself. Secondly, he’s not as good as Saka for me. And thirdly, Chilwell, the current first choice, is only 22 himself, and will probably move to Chelsea or City at some point and wear the England shirt for years (until Saka takes it off him). Williams also has to be extra good on the basis that he isn’t even left-footed.
 

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English players are being managed in world class setups now with world class managers and better players than ever to play and train with and compete against. You have you be pretty exceptional to get into any of the big teams now let alone the England squad with all the talent being brought into the league. Couple that with major investments in youth football and it’s a perfect storm.
 

kidbob

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Not necessarily winning things but I think Ireland could have a great next 10 years if the young lads we have coming through from the under 21s develop well. I think Kenny is the best manager for them and has coached them for a good while. I seen this group play against Italy (with Tonali and others) and they not only outplayed them but they did it playing proper football and utilising a playing out from the back style. I don't know if any of them will reach the level of a Duff or Robbie Keane but it may be the first time in a while that we have an 11 that can play good football. O'Connor who used to play United youths was a big part of that and he looks a good talent. Parrott is the stand out, however all going well I see no reason why most of them can't be playing in the PL in the next few years.
 

Maluco

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Very good post and caught my attention. Scotland are a good shout. Do they have a CF/goalscorer though?
Who is going to score a goal for them?
That is probably the big question player wise, but I think they have to get serious about coaching, as they have drifted for years now appointing men who have had their best days and their best ideas long before now.

They have a good side bar a goal scorer and you never know when one of those can come along. Just look at Norway, almost from nowhere.

You have to be ready, and in the mean time, plenty of the sides at the last Euros didn’t have goalscorers, but they had systems that worked and got the most out of what they had.

Scotland have more to play with than a lot of those sides, and they need to start making it count.
 

Ali Dia

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Not necessarily winning things but I think Ireland could have a great next 10 years if the young lads we have coming through from the under 21s develop well. I think Kenny is the best manager for them and has coached them for a good while. I seen this group play against Italy (with Tonali and others) and they not only outplayed them but they did it playing proper football and utilising a playing out from the back style. I don't know if any of them will reach the level of a Duff or Robbie Keane but it may be the first time in a while that we have an 11 that can play good football. O'Connor who used to play United youths was a big part of that and he looks a good talent. Parrott is the stand out, however all going well I see no reason why most of them can't be playing in the PL in the next few years.
I’d love it so much for an Irish player to break through with us again. Wasn’t O’Shea the last regular? That’s a good while ago now. I take it O’Connor has been doing well at Celtic? I thought he had a decent shot of making it here.
 

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I think it will be England vs France at the very top end for the next decade.

Beneath them, I think Nigeria are building another top generation, and South Korea/Japan I think have been doing well at youth level.

Norway are potentially one or two more players away from really doing something too.
Good shout! I was going to say England and Norway myself.

England is full of talented players in most positions and seems to have put those years of ridiculously high expectations behind them. I think they’ll win a Euro or WC within the time frame. Probably not a coincidence it’ll be a team with strong representation from United;)

Norway have a couple of potential superstars who could work well together, and already some different types who might complement those well. You mentioned Berge, who I think will earn a move to a top club in a few years, and also Ajer who is very talented. A few others who might be useful is Thorsby at Sampdoria, Midtsjø at AZ and Selnæs who, despite going to China, has been playing better and better for us.

I guess the coaches might make or break those teams with regards to how far they go.
 

BalanceUnAutreJoint

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France.

Unmatched at youth production and its only gonna get better from here. The amount of upcoming talents is insane both quantity and quality are there.

On paper we should be able to field the strongest XI in international football over all of the next decade
 

V.O.

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France.

Unmatched at youth production and its only gonna get better from here. The amount of upcoming talents is insane both quantity and quality are there.

On paper we should be able to field the strongest XI in international football over all of the next decade
The French production line seems so strong that I wouldn't be surprised to see something of a golden age for a few of the North and West African countries based purely off of eligible players who can't get a look in for France.
 

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England are 100% within chance from a talent perspective of creating successes. There's a good quality of selection in almost every position with the only lighter areas left hand side of the defence and maybe the no 8 role. Young talent there's Sancho, Greenwood, Rashford, Saka, CHO, Trent, AWB, Henderson etc then more more recognized seniors Kane, Sterling, Maguire etc.

Can't think of a time in recent memory there has been various options for the national team but it solely depends on the management to get the most out of the players end of the day.
 

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Call me pessimistic but I think no national team could dominant the next ten years like Spain did a decade ago, and the quality of international football would continue to drop.

France originally had a good shout with all those wonderkids but from the way most of them failed, I had lowered my expectations. People had high hopes in Martial, Coman, Dembele and Lemar but they hadn't reached the height and fulfilled their potential. The performance of their U21 in the Euros was disappointing to say the least. Their elder players seem to be declining earlier than expected as well.

England, Portugal, Germany and Spain each has some promising talents, and they may get a flukey win over one or two tournaments depending on management and form, but long term success takes much more than that. I just don't see any team capable of achieving that.
 

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France. They got far too many wonderkids, far too many.

England too, I mean, Rashford, Sancho, TAA and Henderson for the next decade, and there's also Foden, Greenwood, Bellingham etc. too

Netherland seems to have good chance n future too, De Ligt, De Jong is already among the best.