Portugal picked up their third win in their third Nations League match, beating Poland 3-1. Goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo won the duel between the two highest scorers against Robert Lewandowski.
The scorers among themselves: Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Bernardo Silva.
picture alliance / NurPhoto
Both coaches naturally relied on their best stars in the important duel between two direct rivals. Robert Lewandowski led the Polish national team Michal Probierz on the field, Cristiano Ronaldo led the Portuguese national team Roberto Martinez. What both teams also had in common was that a player was allowed to start straight from the start for both the home team and the visitors.
On the Polish side it was Maxi Oyedele, on the Portuguese side it was former Augsburg player Renato Veiga.
And Veiga saw cheeky Poles coming out of the locker room wildly in the first few minutes, but quickly lose their courage. This was mainly due to the strength of the self-confident Portuguese Selecao, which was seen for the first time with Cristiano Ronaldo’s crossbar shot from close range (11th).
After that it was a one-goal game – with Polish goalkeeper Skorupski in it. He would not be able to deal with the header of Ruben Neves into the side net (14′), but a little later he showed his skills against Bruno Fernandes (15′).
Smart Bruno Fernandes – CR7 is on
Poland could barely get out of their own half so it was only a matter of time before the Selecao took the lead. After a strong chip ball from Ruben Neves, Bruno Fernandes set up an unstoppable header for Bernardo Silva, who headed in from close range (26th).
Even after that, the higher individual quality of the guests was evident. Rafael Leao showed this brilliantly when he went around the entire back line and shot at the post. CR7 converted the reversal into his third goal in the third League of Nations game (37th).
Portugal forgives the decision lightly – Zielinski creates tension
Shortly after the break, the 39-year-old was back in the news with a previously unknown trait. Ronaldo looked free in front of Skorupski, but he acted far too unselfishly, he stayed with Bruno Fernandes and then put the ball behind him, so that the 3-0 that was safe in the sky evaporated Warsaw night (55th).
There was little revenge for that, but Lewandowski’s header went over (56′). A little later, at least the duel between the two football giants was over, Cristiano Ronaldo called a day (63 ‘).
More about Lewandowski vs Cristiano Ronaldo
Lewandowski wasn’t there yet, but the 36-year-old, like Poland’s entire offensive line, was out until the final stage. Then suddenly the ball happily bounced at the feet of Zielinski, who made the connection from close range and brought the Narodowy Stadium to a boil in the final stage (80th).
The goal itself determines the decision
But the hosts weren’t really a threat after that; instead, Bednarek slipped a counter-attack past Nuno Mendes into his own goal and finally put the lid on it (88′).
This means that the Selecao’s record is still flawless; after three games, Portugal has nine points. After two wins in a row, Poland will need to shine in the second game if they are to reach the quarter finals.
The first half of the group stage is now over, and both teams will need to start the second half of the season next Tuesday. Poland will host Croatia at 8:45 pm, while Scotland host Portugal at the same time.