Spain Qualifies While Portugal Stumbles Against Scotland
Reigning European champions Spain secured their spot in the quarterfinals of League A in the UEFA Nations League following a 3-0 victory over Serbia in the fourth round of Group D. Meanwhile, Portugal was held to a goalless draw by Scotland in Group A.
In Spain’s match, goals were scored by Aymeric Laporte (5′), captain Álvaro Morata (65′)—who missed a penalty just 11 minutes earlier—and Álex Baena, who struck a stunning free-kick after Strahinja Pavlović was sent off for fouling Mikel Oyarzabal, who was clear on goal (77′).
Spain maintained their unbeaten record in the competition, boosting their points tally to 10 and leading the group by three points over Denmark, who drew 2-2 with Switzerland.
Serbia sits in third place with four points, just ahead of Switzerland, who have managed only one point.
Spain dominated the match, opening the scoring early with a header from Laporte, who connected with a precise cross from Pedro Porro (5′).
After missing a penalty in the 54th minute, Morata redeemed himself by converting a pass from Fabián Ruiz to make it 2-0 (66′), marking his 37th international goal.
Spain continued to press, and Oyarzabal earned a free-kick just outside the box, leading to Pavlović’s dismissal. Baena capitalized on the opportunity with a perfectly placed free-kick into the top corner (77′).
In the same group, Denmark faced their second consecutive disappointment, settling for a 2-2 draw against Switzerland. Remo Freuler (26′) and Zeki Amdouni (45+1′, penalty) found the net for Switzerland, while Gustav Isaksen (27′) and Christian Eriksen (69′) scored for Denmark.
Ronaldo’s new Milestone
Portugal stumbled to a 0-0 draw against Scotland at Hampden Park, with star player Cristiano Ronaldo unable to find the back of the net.
Despite dropping their first points of the competition—having previously won all three matches against Croatia (2-1), Scotland (2-1), and Poland (3-1)—Portugal remains atop Group A with 10 points.
Scotland, on the other hand, failed to secure their first win in the competition after three consecutive losses but managed to earn their first point, keeping their hopes of avoiding relegation to League B alive.
Portugal coach Roberto Martínez introduced midfielder Vitinha, returning from injury, along with left-back Nuno Mendes, while Ronaldo (39 years old) made his 216th international appearance.
The Al-Nassr forward celebrated his 200th start for his country, 21 years and four months after making his debut against Albania on October 11, 2003.
In the same group, Croatia let a lead slip in a disappointing 3-3 draw with Poland.
Croatia remains second in the group with 7 points, three ahead of Poland.
Poland took an early lead through captain Piotr Zieliński (5′), but Croatia responded with goals from Borna Sosa (19′), Petar Šušić (24′), and Martin Baturina (26′).
Poland narrowed the gap before halftime with a goal from Nicola Zalewski (45′) and equalized in the second half through Sebastian Szymański (68′).
Polish star Robert Lewandowski began the match on the bench but was brought on in the 62nd minute, though he was unable to influence the outcome.
