LISBON: Portugal secured a comfortable 2-0 win against the Czech Republic in their UEFA Nations League encounter with defender Joao Cancelo and winger Goncalo Guedes scoring two goals in the first half to seal the fate of the away side, here on Friday.
Portugal cemented their position on the top spot of Group A4 with seven points after the home win.
The opening goal in the 33rd minute put Portugal ahead of their opponent in the game after Benardo Silva assisted with a through ball to Cancelo who shot with the right foot to the bottom left corner of the nets.
Within the next minutes, Goncalo scored another goal from a similar spot followed by an assist again from Silva, enabling their side to dominate the game in front of the home crowd.
Portugal will now travel to Geneva for their next game against Switzerland next Sunday, whereas, the Czech Republic will face Spain in an away game.
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CARDIFF: Netherland’s forward Wout Weghorst stood up for his team as he denied the home side Wales a victory in the ongoing UEFA with a late header, boosting the Dutch to a 2-1 triumph.
Wales, fresh with the joy of the World Cup qualification following their victory over Ukraine earlier this week, left annoyed as their search for the maiden victory in the ongoing tournament prolonged with the defeat against the Netherlands.
For their all-important match against the home side Wales, Dutch manager Louis van Gaal named a much-changed Playing XI to their combination which thumped the Belgium 4-1, but Teun Koopmeiners’ strike propelled them to pull ahead earlier in the second half.
The two sides remained locked in a tense battle until two minutes into extra time when Rhys Norrington-Davies’ injury-time header cancelled out the Dutch lead.
Weghorst, on the other hand, nodded home around 100 seconds later to silence the Welsh crowd and made sure his team the victory.
Following their triumph over Wales, the Dutch side have claimed the top spot in Group A4 in the UEFA Nations League. Whereas, Wales remained at the bottom following their back to back defeats in the league.
MUNICH: England forced a dramatic draw against Germany in a thrilling clash as Harry Kane scored a late penalty to become the second English footballer to score 50 international goals after Wayne Rooney, in a Group three match of the UEFA Nations League.
Tottenham star was awarded a penalty shot after German center-back Nico Schlotterbeck brought down Kane in the penalty area. Kane netted the ball in the 88th minute to equalize 1-1, securing a point for his team.
Kane with his late equalizer relished the England team and its manager Gareth Southgate, who faced immense pressure after an upset at the hands of Hungary 1-0 in their first encounter of the Nations League campaign.
German midfielder Jonas Hofmann scored the opening goal of the match as he beat England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford with a powerful shot, clinching a lead for his team in the 50th minute.
The vital 1-1 draw helped England to take a point home in their first two games of the UEFA Nations League.
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SPLIT: Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric netted the ball in a late penalty to make the reigning World Champions France wait for their first victory of the ongoing UEFA Nations League.
The reigning world champion France are still searching for their first triumph in the tournament as the side, once again witnessed the game slipping out of their hands in the closing minutes as the home side forced a 1-1 draw.
Following the team’s 1-3 defeat against Denmark, the manager Didier Deschamps made changes to the Playing XI with Aurelien Tchouameni the only player, who managed to keep his spot. Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe, on the other hand, also remained as the substitutes.
In the first half of the match, France received a number of chances as Christopher Nkunku saw a goal called back for offside. Moussa Diaby and Tchouameni also had a chance each but the Croatian goalkeeper Ante Budimir responded for the home side and made multiple saves for his side.
Despite having enormous firepower on the bench, France finally managed to make the scoreboard move in the 52nd minute as Adrien Rabiot’s left-footed strike dodged the Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
However, just like against Denmark, France lost their way in the match as Jonathan Clauss took Kramaric down in the penalty area and a quick VAR check resulted in the favour of the home side.
Kramaric, despite having the pressure of a second consecutive defeat for Croatia, kept his nerves calm and netted the ball comfortably to give both teams their first points in the tournament.
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LISBON: Portugal secured a home win against Switzerland as Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice to thrash the away side 4-0, in Group B match of League A in UEFA Nations League.
Ronaldo put on a phenomenal show as he reached 117 international goals with the double strikes in the game. The Manchester United star remained the leading goal scorer in the international games.
Portugal scored their opening goal in the 15th minute as the mid-fielder William Carvalho tapped the ball into the nets after a freekick.
The 37-year-old Ronaldo then netted the ball twice in the 35th and 39th minute to take his team towards a comfortable lead in the game before the halftime.
After superb work from clubmate Bernardo Silva, it was the Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo who took the scoresheet to 4-0 by putting the ball past the onrushing Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobell and into the empty net.
Previously Portugal finished in a tie with Spain 1-1 in their first game of the UEFA Nations League.
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BRUSSELS: Netherlands’ Memphis Depay struck twice to earn his team a historic feat against the home side Belgium, who lost to the Dutch after 25 years, in the UEFA Nations League Group D match.
The Barcelona striker Depay looked in a fierce form as Steven Bergwijn and Denzel Dumfries also shared the team’s thumping lead of four goals. Belgium retaliated with a lone goal by Michy Batshuayi in the extra time.
Belgium started aggressively and could have taken a lead early on if Timothy Castagne hadn’t hit the crossbar, but the tide turned towards the Netherlands when Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku was taken off after an injury.
Bergwijin netted the ball for the first time in the 40th minute of the game, rendering his opponents to a deficit before the halftime.
Netherland completely dominated the opponents in the second half as Depay hit home in the 51st minute. Dumfries also got into the action and kicked the ball into the net in the 61st minute, quickly followed by Depay’s second blow in the 65th minute to thrash Belgium out of the game.
Netherlands will now be playing against Poland and Wales-the other two teams in Group D- after starting their UEFA Nations League campaign on a high note.
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PARIS: Danish striker Andreas Cornelius sealed the fate of his national team with two startling goals in a tough game against the world champions France, in UEFA Nations League Group A match, here at Stade de France Stadium on Friday.
France striker Karim Benzema, fresh out of UEFA Champions League victory for his club Real Madrid, looked in a sublime form in this match as well. He forced Denmark under enormous pressure from the start and was finally able to net the ball in the 51st minute as he dribbled past Denmark’s defense.
Cornelius who came as a substitute in the second half, however, leveled the France lead in the 68th minute.
France remained undeterred by the goal and continued with its attacks. French midfielder N’Golo Kante could have put France back in the lead, yet his fierce shot hit the right-hand post.
The 29-years old Cornelius, however, blasted the ball into the net in the 88th minute of the game to lead his team towards victory.
Denmark will now face group leaders Austria in an away game while France will take on Croatia on the latter’s home soil, who lost 3-0 to Austria on Friday.
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SEVILLE: Portugal striker Ricardo Horta stunned Spain with his late equalizer to draw 1-1 in the opening match of Group two in the UEFA Nations League, here at Estadio Benito Villamarin Stadium on Thursday.
Spain made a promising start to the game after Alvaro Morata netted the ball in the 25th minute, following a fine showcase of passing by midfielders Gavi and Pablo Sarabia.
Horta, who came as a substitute in the second half, however, nullified Spain’s lead, eight minutes before the final whistle.
Horta’s goal ensured a fourth consecutive draw between the two historic rivals. Portugal have not beaten Spain in a competitive match since 2004. Portugal have also been unable to win against Spain on the latter’s home soil.
Both the teams will play three more Nations League matches in the next 10 days. Portugal will host the Czech Republic and face Switzerland twice while Spain will travel to Switzerland between two matches against the Czechs.
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