Open Thread: March 28, 2021

The Open Thread/Daily Merengue is a place where you can discuss anything and everything related to football. Feel free to discuss the topics presented here, or start your very own discussions! The Open thread will be posted every day by one of the mods: Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, YoSnail, Ezek Ix or NeRObutBlanco.

Second round of International games.

Another night of international football and another night of Real Madrid fans praying for the safety of Madrid’s players who are involved during these games. Here’s how they fared.

Croatia 1-0 Cyprus: Modric played the full 90 minutes and had a good game. Mario Pašalić scoring the game’s winning goal five minutes before the half-time break. After the game, head coach Zlatko Dalić confirmed Modric would not feature on Tuesday against Malta, because he needs rest. Now wrap him in bubble wrap.

Norway 0-3 Turkey: Turkey shocked a Martin Odeegard led Norwegian side to record their second win on the trot. Erling Braut Haaland was even on the pitch for the entirety of the contest, but couldn’t get himself on the scoresheet. A brace from Ozan Tufan either side of a Çağlar Söyüncü goal sealed a fine victory.

Czech Republic 1-1 Belgium: Thibaut Courtois couldn’t keep a clean-sheet as Lukáš Provod put the hosts in front after 50 minutes, but that was cancelled out by Romelu Lukaku’s equaliser on the hour mark.

Serbia 2-2 Portugal: Luka Jovic remained an unused sub in the exciting contest that also saw Cristiano Ronaldo’s stoppage time effort roll over the line only for the officials to rule it out.

Wales 1-0 Mexico: The Welsh picked up a good victory over their South American rivals, courtesy of an 11th minute goal by Kieffer Moore. Loanee Gareth Bale came on with nine minutes to play, amid reports in Spain today which suggest Los Merengues will not be bringing Bale back into the squad next season.

Tonight, Raphael Varane will be in action for France when the World Champions face Kazakhstan, and Sergio Ramos could take to the pitch against Georgia for Spain.

Congratulations Luka Modric!

The Croatian is now that most capped player for his country. In this article Kiyan goes through the maestro’s incredible background and chats with Croatian manager Branko Ivankovic about Modric’s football longevity.

Deportivo Abanca 0 - 2 Real Madrid Femenino.

Real Madrid Femenino defeated Deportivo Abanca 2-0 in what was far from a routine exercise. Marta Cardona scored a wonder goal to jolt the team into action. The game was covered in the immediate reaction and player ratings articles.

A demanding April in store.

It is crunch time in the football season for Real Madrid, as the Whites aim to clinch the league title and the Champions League. The team will face a demanding month of April, with seven matches in both competitions, including the Clásico against Barcelona and the Champions League quarter-final tie against Liverpool over two legs.