Spain played as European champions in Geneva and despite having a numerical disadvantage for 70 minutes, they swept Switzerland with a score of 4-1. Ronaldo redeemed Portugal against Scotland, while Croatia secured a three-point win with a stunning goal from Modrić.
The law of the favorites was confirmed on Sunday evening (9/8) during the second round of the Nations League, with Spain, Portugal, and Croatia achieving valuable victories. The European champions prevailed 4-1 away against Switzerland even though they had a numerical disadvantage from the 21st minute. The Iberians overcame Scotland 2-1 thanks to a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo just before the end, while the Balkans knocked down Poland with a masterpiece goal from Luka Modrić.
In the match in Lisbon for Group A of League A, Scotland froze the “Luz” in the 7th minute with McTominay’s powerful header and went into the dressing room at halftime leading. However, in the second half (which began with Cristiano Ronaldo coming on as a substitute), Portugal was relentless and completed a completely justified comeback.
Bruno Fernandes celebrates his goal with Portugal against Scotland in the Nations League | September 8, 2024
@2024 ARMANDO FRANCA/AP IMAGES
Bruno Fernandes brought the match to balance in the 54th minute with a shot from the semicircle, and the continuing play saw Roberto Martínez’s players besiege the Scottish goal, missing opportunity after opportunity. Ronaldo had two headers that hit the crossbar, and goalkeeper Gunn made crucial saves, but the Iberians finally found relief in the 88th minute.
It was then that Semedo made the cross from the left, and CR7 jumped in the small area to poke the ball into the net with a volley, signing “2 out of 2” for Portugal, with goal number 901 in his career causing delirious excitement for both himself and the crowd.
At the same time, Croatia celebrated its first three points in the group, as the 1-0 win over Poland allowed them to catch their opponents in second place. The winning goal was indeed a sight to behold, as the evergreen Luka Modrić sent the ball into the net in the 52nd minute with a spectacular direct free-kick.
- Croatia – Poland 1-0 (52′ Modrić)
- Portugal – Scotland 2-1 (54′ Fernandes, 88′ Ronaldo / 7′ McTominay)
In Group 4 of League A, Denmark leads after registering 2 wins in the first two matches. However, the result of the night belongs to Spain, with the European champions triumphing 4-1 away against Switzerland despite playing with 10 players for more than 70 minutes.
Luis de la Fuente’s team entered the match in Geneva with a knife between their teeth and had a two-goal lead within the first quarter of an hour through Joselu and Fabian Ruiz. However, in the 21st minute, they were reduced to 10 players due to a straight red card shown to Le Normand.
With the numerical balance disrupted, Switzerland gained ground on the pitch and in the 41st minute re-entered the race for a positive result with Amdouni’s goal. However, Spain showed their class in the second half.
And this was because they not only absorbed all the pressure exerted by Yakin’s team but also struck back like a cobra through counterattacks, with Ruiz putting a full stop to the match in the 77th minute and Ferran Torres adding the cherry on top in the 80th minute, finalizing it at 4-1.
- Denmark – Serbia 2-0 (36′ Grønbaek, 61′ Poulsen)
- Switzerland – Spain 1-4 (41′ Amdouni / 4′ Joselu, 13′ 77′ Fabian Ruiz, 80′ Torres)
- Slovakia – Azerbaijan 2-0 (23′ pen. Duda, 26′ Suslov)
- Sweden – Estonia 3-0 (30′ 44′ Gyökeres, 40′ Isak)
- Luxembourg – Belarus 0-1 (76′ Gromiko)
- Bulgaria – Northern Ireland 1-0 (40′ Despodov)
- Gibraltar – Liechtenstein 2-2 (8′ Walker, 90+7′ Scanlon / 53′ Saglam, 90+14′ Hasler)