(Dan Tri) - In the UEFA Nations League match on the morning of November 19, Portugal drew 1-1 with Croatia on the day Ronaldo did not play, while Spain dramatically beat Switzerland 3-2.
Results of UEFA Nations League matches in the early morning of November 19 (Photo: UEFA).
Coach Roberto Martinez opted to leave out several key players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva after qualifying for the quarter-finals. However, Portugal still showed dominance when playing away against Croatia.
Right from the first minutes of the match, Portugal continuously caused trouble in front of Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic's goal, but the home team's defense still stood firm against the opponent's attacks.
Portugal had trouble against Croatia's tight defense (Photo: Reuters).
In the 33rd minute, Vitor Ferreira made a pass that tore through Croatia's defense, Joao Felix intelligently escaped and coolly defeated goalkeeper Livakovic in a one-on-one situation, opening the score of the match.
Having conceded a goal, Croatia pushed up their formation to find an equalizer, but the home team's strikers were unlucky, causing the first half to end with Portugal leading.
In the second half, Croatia's efforts to find an equalizer were rewarded in the 65th minute when Kristijan Jakic handled the ball skillfully and then made a delicate cross, allowing Gvardiol to run down and finish close to the goal to tie the score 1-1.
Portugal then almost regained the lead when Mendes had a golden chance with a close-range tap-in, but Livakovic made an excellent save.
Drawing 1-1, Portugal and Croatia officially won tickets to the Nations League quarter-finals with the first and second positions in Group 1 of League A respectively. Meanwhile, Scotland will have to play the play-off round to compete for relegation, while Poland will be relegated to League B after finishing bottom of the group.
Spain also won a ticket to the quarter-finals in the previous round, however, coach Luis de la Fuente and his team still played with determination when welcoming the team that was sure to be relegated, Switzerland, at home.
Right from the first minutes of the match, Swiss goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo had to work hard against the relentless attacks of the home team's players.
Spain had a dramatic score chase when hosting Switzerland at home (Photo: Reuters).
In the 32nd minute, Spain opened the scoring although Pedri could not beat goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo on the penalty spot, but Yeremy Pino's follow-up shot quickly put the home team ahead.
In the second half, Switzerland equalized thanks to Joel Monteiro in the 63rd minute after a skillful dribble. Just 5 minutes later, Bryan Salvatierra increased the score to 2-1 for Spain by successfully taking advantage of a rebound in the penalty area.
The match became more dramatic when Fabian Ruiz received a red card in the 84th minute after a rough tackle, the referee awarded Switzerland a penalty. Andi Zeqiri did not miss this valuable opportunity to equalize 2-2 for the away team.
In the 90+2 minute, the referee continued to blow the whistle for a penalty, but this time for the Spanish team. Bryan Zaragoza successfully executed the kick from the 11m mark, sealing a 3-2 victory for the home team.
With a 3-2 aggregate win, Spain topped Group 4 of League A with 16 points from six games. Group rivals Denmark finished second with eight points, Serbia third with six points and Switzerland bottom with two points.
Thus, the 8 teams that have won tickets to the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals have been determined to be the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, Croatia and Denmark.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bo-dao-nha-hoa-croatia-khi-vang-ronaldo-tay-ban-nha-thang-thuy-si-20241119064817994.htm
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