Cristiano Ronaldo scored as Portugal secured their third consecutive Nations League victory with a 3-1 win over Poland on Saturday.
Meanwhile, European champions Spain halted Denmark’s unbeaten run in the competition.
Bernardo Silva put Portugal ahead with a volley in the 26th minute in Warsaw after Bruno Fernandes cleverly nodded Ruben Neves’ cross back to the Manchester City midfielder.
Ronaldo then capitalized on a rebound to score Portugal’s second, following Rafael Leao’s shot which hit the post after a dazzling run by AC Milan’s winger.
The 39-year-old Ronaldo has now scored in all three matches of this Nations League campaign, extending his record for men’s international goals to 133. Piotr Zielinski pulled one back for Poland, but Jan Bednarek’s own goal sealed the victory for Portugal.
Portugal remains the only team in League A with a perfect record, and they could secure a spot in the quarter-finals next week.
“We worked very hard the last few days, preparing various solutions for this game, and we were able to show it on the pitch. I am really satisfied because we controlled this game,” said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez.
“We played great as a team.”
Portugal sit atop Group A1 with a perfect nine points, holding a three-point lead over second-placed Croatia, who defeated Scotland 2-1 to hand the Scots their third consecutive loss in the group.
Ryan Christie gave Scotland a surprising lead in the first half in Zagreb, but Igor Matanovic leveled the score before halftime, and Andrej Kramaric secured Croatia’s win with a second-half strike. Scotland came close to snatching a point when Che Adams found the net in stoppage time, but his effort was ruled out by VAR for offside, extending Scotland’s winless streak to nine competitive matches — the longest in their history.
Meanwhile, Spain edged past Denmark 1-0 in Murcia thanks to a 79th-minute goal from Martin Zubimendi.
Before the match, captain Álvaro Morata paraded the European Championship trophy to fans.
Despite being without key players like Rodri, Dani Carvajal, and goalkeeper Unai Simón due to injuries, Spain managed to break the deadlock when Zubimendi’s low shot from outside the box slipped past Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who had earlier made crucial saves against Lamine Yamal and Morata.
“I’m very happy with the goal, but above all in such a close game in which we had to open the scoring,” said Real Sociedad midfielder Zubimendi.
“He doesn’t score many but he’s starting to so I hope he continues like this,” said De la Fuente. “He’s one of the best players in the world in his position.”
Spain climbed to seven points, moving one ahead of Denmark, while Serbia secured their first victory with a 2-0 win over Switzerland in Leskovac. An own goal by Nico Elvedi in first-half stoppage time gave Serbia the lead, and Aleksandar Mitrović added a second before goalkeeper Predrag Rajković saved a penalty from Swiss striker Breel Embolo.
Both matches in Group C3 ended in scoreless draws, with Bulgaria held at home by Luxembourg and Northern Ireland sharing points with Belarus in a neutral venue in Hungary.
In Group C2, Romania cruised to a 3-0 win away against Cyprus, while Kosovo edged Lithuania 2-1.
(AFP)
