Croatia Draws with Portugal and Secures Quarter-Final Spot in UEFA Nations League
Croatia and Denmark joined the teams advancing to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League, following Croatia’s 1-1 draw with Portugal and Denmark’s 0-0 tie with Serbia in the sixth and final round.
Croatia secured second place in Group A with eight points, trailing Portugal (14 points) but ahead of Scotland (7 points), who defeated Poland (4 points) 2-1.
At home in Split, Croatia scored their qualification goal through Joško Gvardiol in the 65th minute after João Félix had opened the scoring for Portugal in the 33rd minute.
In Warsaw, Scotland snatched a 2-1 victory against hosts Poland but could not advance. However, they climbed to third place, earning a spot in the playoffs rather than being relegated directly to League B.
John McGinn opened the scoring for Scotland (3′), Kamil Piątkowski equalized (59′), and right-back Andrew Robertson secured the win in the third minute of added time.
Spain is Unstoppable
In Group D, Denmark claimed the second qualification spot with eight points, behind Spain (16 points), who defeated Switzerland 3-2. Serbia finished third with six points after a goalless draw with Denmark in Belgrade.
In a match Serbia finished with ten men following Strahinja Pavlović’s second yellow card, the hosts needed a win to advance over Denmark, who were two points ahead.
However, Serbia failed to secure their second victory in the group, leaving Denmark comfortably two points clear.
Meanwhile, Spain finished their campaign with a dramatic 3-2 win over Switzerland, marking their fifth victory in the group. Coach Luis de la Fuente’s team began their journey with a goalless draw in Serbia before winning every subsequent match.
Spain dominated from the start, creating numerous chances without converting. Their breakthrough came in the 32nd minute when Álvaro Morata won a penalty after being fouled by Ricardo Rodríguez. Although Pedri’s penalty was initially saved by Yann Sommer, capitalized on the rebound to put Spain ahead.
At the start of the second half, Luis de la Fuente gave goalkeeper Robert Sánchez the opportunity to guard “La Roja’s” net for the third, as he came on as a substitute for Álex Remiro.
However, Sánchez’s appearance did not go as hoped, as he instantly conceded a goal. Joel Monteiro, a substitute, scored against the run of play from a pass by another substitute, Vincent Sierro (63′).
The Swiss celebration was short-lived, as substitute Bryan Gil made an immediate impact. Intercepting the ball inside Switzerland’s penalty area, he restored Spain’s lead just eight minutes after replacing Nico Williams (68′).
Switzerland seemed to have salvaged a draw when substitute Andi Zeqiri converted a penalty, earned by Vincent Sierro in a challenge against Fabián Ruiz (85′). However, “La Roja” ensured victory in dramatic fashion. Substitute Bryan Zaragoza, who won a penalty after being fouled by Sierro, stepped up and calmly converted it in added time (90+3′), securing all three points.
Germany has already clinched first place in Group C, leaving the final quarter-final spot up for grabs between the Netherlands and Hungary.
The Netherlands, with eight points, visit Bosnia tonight and need just a draw to advance. Hungary, hosting Germany, must win and consider goal difference to lift their tally to eight points and snatch the qualification spot from the Dutch.
