Cristiano Ronaldo maintained his strong play as Portugal defeated Poland 3-1 to win the match for the third time in a row in the UEFA Nations League.
Denmark’s winning streak came to an end as Spain defeated them.
Portugal won their third straight Nations League match on Saturday, defeating Poland 3-1 behind goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, while Denmark’s flawless start to the campaign was ended by European Champions Spain.
In the 26th minute in Warsaw, Bruno Fernandes deftly glanced a cross from Ruben Neves back towards the midfielder for Manchester City, setting up a goal for Bernardo Silva to volley Portugal ahead. Then, after an incredible surge by the AC Milan winger, Rafael Leao’s shot rebounded back off the post, and Ronaldo was in the right place at the right moment to turn in the rebound for Portugal’s second.
With goals in each of Portugal’s first three Nations League games, the 39-year-old Ronaldo has now scored 133 goals for his country.
Piotr Zielinski pulled one back for Poland, but Jan Bednarek’s own goal clinched the win for Portugal—the only side left in League A with a perfect record—and they will likely advance to the quarterfinals the following week.
“We prepared numerous solutions for this game over the course of the last several days, and we were able to demonstrate it on the field. Portugal’s coach Roberto Martinez stated, “We controlled this game, which makes me incredibly happy.
“We played great as a team.”
Portugal leads Group A1 with a maximum of nine points, three more than Croatia, who defeated Scotland 2-1 to send their rivals down the standings for the third time in a row.
In Zagreb, a goal from Ryan Christie in the first half gave Scotland a startling lead. However, Igor Matanovic leveled the score before halftime, and Andrej Kramaric scored the game’s winning goal in the middle of the second half.
Che Adams believed he had saved a stoppage-time equalizer, but VAR ruled that his attempt was offside. As a result, Scotland has lost nine of their past ten competitive games, which is a record.
Zubimendi Wins it for Spain
Spain defeated Denmark 1-0 in Murcia, thanks to a goal from Martin Zubimendi in the 79th minute. Prior to the game, captain Alvaro Morata proudly displayed the European Championship trophy to the supporters.
Due to long-term injuries, the hosts were missing Rodri and Dani Carvajal. Additionally, Unai Simon, the starting goalie, is currently recovering from surgery on his wrist. Additionally eliminated were Nico Williams, Dani Olmo, and Robin Le Normand.
However, Zubimendi’s low shot from just beyond the box slipped past Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who had already stopped Alvaro Morata and Lamine Yamal, to give Luis de la Fuente’s squad the lone goal.
Real Sociedad midfielder Zubimendi stated, “I’m very happy with the goal, but above all in such a close game in which we had to open the scoring.”
“He doesn’t score many but he’s starting to so I hope he continues like this,” De la Fuente added. “He’s one of the best players in the world in his position.”
Serbia secured their first victory after defeating Switzerland 2-0 in Leskovac, bringing Spain up to seven points, one more than Denmark.
Aleksandar Mitrovic extended Serbia’s lead after Nico Elvedi’s own goal in first-half stoppage time, and Predrag Rajkovic saved a penalty shot by Swiss striker Breel Embolo.
Group C3 saw both matches end goalless: Northern Ireland drew with Belarus in Hungary on neutral territory, while Bulgaria was held at home by Luxembourg.
In Group C2, Romania easily defeated Cyprus 3-0 on the road, while Kosovo triumphed 2-1 over Lithuania.