Ronaldo walkout, Israel-Ireland tensions and Zidane breezes back as Nations League throws up drama

So much for international soccer taking a breather after the World Cup.

In fact, the recently completed window of Nations League games in Europe could hardly have been more action-packed.

Cristiano Ronaldo walked out of the Portugal squad.

Zinedine Zidane and Jürgen Klopp started their tenures in charge of France and Germany — to contrasting fortunes.

A doubleheader between Israel and Ireland played out to a backdrop of tensions .

And there were injuries . So many injuries.

All this, of course, while the many Manchester City players away on international duty digested their club being involved in one of the biggest scandals in English soccer history.

Here’s a look at a mad-cap last couple of weeks in a marathon window for Europe’s international soccer players:

After more than 23 years, 234 games and 146 goals, Ronaldo’s career with Portugal looks closer than ever to ending.

A very public power struggle with new coach Jorge Jesus has been a soap opera since the 41-year-old Ronaldo walked out on the team in a dispute over lack of playing time.

In the games Ronaldo was either an unused substitute or absent, Portugal won all three and his replacement Gonçalo Ramos — as at the 2022 World Cup when the iconic star first was dropped — scored three times.

Ronaldo ended the international break with a long post to his 679 million followers on Instagram. It detailed eight things scripted for Jesus to say at a news conference. Jesus did not say those things.

No. 6 on that list was, remarkably, for Jesus to acknowledge a mistake in asking “someone of the stature of Pelé or Maradona” to warm up on the sidelines and then not send them on the field against Norway.

Ronaldo wrote that he expects a suspension under federation rules but promised his fans “we will have one or more farewell matches.”

Two games in eight days between Ireland and Israel were as problematic as feared when UEFA made the draw in February.

Historic Irish sympathies for the Palestinian people had led the national soccer federation to ask last year for Israeli teams to be excluded from European competitions for alleged violations of UEFA statutes, then decline to host its home game in Dublin.

Two testy games were played in neutral Hungary and Serbia after politically charged pregame news conferences. First Ireland, then both teams, wore black armbands, handshakes were refused and Ireland players bowed their heads when the Israeli national anthem was played.

Now UEFA is investigating an allegation an Israel player spat at an Ireland coach near the sideline Monday.

Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrímsson said UEFA should keep the teams apart in draws for future competitions. In men’s soccer, qualifying groups are drawn Dec. 6 in Belfast for the 2028 European Championship that Ireland will co-host.

It's suddenly the age of the super-coach in international soccer, with Klopp and Zidane joining a party already attended by the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel.

After five years away from the dugout, Zidane — his aura still intact — returned with three wins and a draw as France's replacement for Didier Deschamps. The midfield great clearly enjoyed it, too, as he marveled at the goals of Michael Olise — running down the touchline in celebration after one of them — and casually controlled the ball on the touchline, to cheers from fans, on one occasion when the ball was cleared out of play.

While Zidane has a strong platform to work from, the same cannot quite be said of Klopp. There'll be no quick fix of this long-underperforming Germany team, which won just one of its four matches and lost at home to Greece, though conclusions shouldn't be rushed.

Klopp experimented with two different squads to allow him to see more players, and he'll need time to implement his style.

It started on the very first night of matches, when Netherlands striker Brian Brobbey and Germany forward Kai Havertz both went off injured in the first half.

Then the problems just kept on coming.

France star Kylian Mbappé limped off with a hyperextended left knee and returned to Real Madrid. Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo went back to Liverpool on the same day with injuries sustained playing for Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively. Ferran Torres left the Spain squad with ankle pain. England's new midfielder prospect, Alex Scott , was ruled out for up to two months with a thigh issue.

To top it all off, Erling Haaland hobbled out of Norway's last game, clearly fatigued. Was there an injury? Beleaguered Man City will hope not — they have enough problems.

We're about to discover how serious a lot of these injuries are.

The first extended, early-season international window worked well for stronger nations, and was appreciated by new coaches getting to know their players.

“For my timeline with the group, this first week in Spain was gold,” Scotland coach Sébastien Pocognoli said of a training camp before four games in 11 days.

England played at a consistently high level, though Tuchel preferred the old system of two-game breaks in each of September, October and November. That, Tuchel said, would “give even more players also the chance to impress in between the camps, and then come and get a nomination.”

Italy coach Roberto Mancini suggested the congested schedule was “too demanding” for players and Wales coach Craig Bellamy noted a “real stress” on his squad from a smaller nation, saying: “We know it’s a complete disadvantage for us.”

Clubs in Europe had long urged FIFA to condense national-team games into fewer blocks of games to limit disruption to their seasons and long-haul travel for players.

Coming off winning the World Cup , Spain mostly looked as good as ever by being one of two teams — Portugal was the other — to win all four matches in this window.

Nothing has really changed, with Lamine Yamal still a world-beater and Merino still a clutch super-sub. England's Barcelona-based winger Anthony Gordon said the Spanish are “built different” and their ongoing 2½-year unbeaten run reflects that.

One of Spain's historic rivals might be waking from their torpor, though. Italy, fresh off missing a third straight World Cup, won two of its four games and drew away to France as Mancini began his second spell in charge.

His first contained a European Championship title in 2021.

Could there be another Italian renaissance, so to speak? Just maybe.

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