The Nacional Sentinel
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
Alexander González scores twice — 8.19
Two goals and a mark of 8.19 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match10 Jun 2028
The wait goes on for Nacional
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Tempers go at Nacional
Sebastián Coates was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words at Nacional training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Francisco Calvo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad12 Jun 2028
No hiding place for Franco González
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Franco González, and the manager let it.
Match10 Jun 2028
Nacional hit back inside 3 minutes
River Plate held the lead for 3 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Nacional answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
Diogo Guzmán runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market12 Jun 2028
Central Espanol are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Nacional will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Match10 Jun 2028
Alexander González rescues a point for Nacional
It needed Alexander González to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against River Plate, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
In brief
- Squad Lucas Morales knocks on the manager's door
- Market No place for Agustín Vera in the plan
- Market The shop window has Daniel Graovac in it