- Czech Republic – Portugal 4:0
The Portuguese appeared well recovered in the Czech Republic from the defeat against Switzerland in June. Fernando Santos’ team was powerful from the start and left no doubt that they wanted to go back to the final tournament of the Nations League. In the 33rd minute, Diogo Dalot rewarded his team for the powerful performance with the 1:0, before the break Bruno Fernandes made it 2:0. Patrik Schick miserably missed the best chance of the Czechs, who had not lost in eleven home games: superstar Cristiano Ronaldo caused a penalty with a handball, but Schick shot it well over the goal.
Portugal continued to press in the second half, Dalot made it 3-0 with his second goal of the evening (52nd). Substitute Diogo Jota made it 4-0 in the 82nd minute. Because Switzerland won 2-1 against Spain at the same time, there will be two “finals” on Tuesday: Portugal (10 points) will duel with Spain (8) for the final tournament entry, Switzerland (6) will fight against the Czech Republic (4 ) against descent.
League B, Group 2
Thanks to a last-minute goal, the Israel national team managed to get promoted to League A of the Nations League. Coach Alon Hazan’s side beat Albania 2-1 in Tel Aviv on Saturday night and, with eight points from four games, are in first place. In Group 2, all teams only play four instead of six games due to the exclusion of the Russians.
League B, Group 4
- Slovenia 1-2 Norway
The Norwegians around star striker Erling Haaland lost for the first time and suffered a setback in the fight for promotion to League A. In Ljubljana, the team lost 2-1 to Slovenia. Haaland (47th) gave the Scandinavians the lead with his 21st international goal and after a amateurish effort by the Slovenian defense. But Andraz Sporar (69′) equalized for the hosts and Benjamin Sesko (81′) turned the game around with a long-range shot.
With three goals, Serbia’s Aleksandar Mitrovic almost single-handedly shot down Sweden. Switzerland’s group opponents in the World Cup won the home game 4-1 after trailing 1-0 and caught up with leaders Norway. On Tuesday the decision will be made in a direct duel.
More games of the Nations League evening