Portugal 0-1 France: N’Golo Kante’s goal secures the final quarter and ends the champion’s defense

The winner-take-all showdown between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and world champion France on Saturday was decided by one of the less likely scorers on the quality-packed field at Lisbon’s Stadium of Light.

Midfielder N’Golo Kante, whose prowess is tackling, not scoring, scored the only goal of a 1-0 victory that ended Portugal’s bid to defend their Nations League title and sent the French to the four finalists.

Kante joined the fray in a packed area looking for a loose ball or a rebound, and was rewarded when goalkeeper Rui Patricio slammed a ball his way for it to finish off in the 53rd minute.

It was Kante’s second international goal in his 44th appearance for France. His other goal came in 2016 in a friendly against Russia.

France clinched a top spot in Group 3 with three points more than Portugal and the tiebreaker in head-to-head goals with one match to go. Portugal won the inaugural Nations League last year.

France edged out European champion Portugal and was denied the advantage at halftime thanks only to Patricio.

“Given the quality of the opposition, it is of course one of our best performances in recent times,” said France coach Didier Deschamps. “We deserved the victory and we met our goal of finishing first. I am very proud of the players. Tonight they showed that France is still a great team ”.

Starting with the injured Kylian Mbappé, French forward Anthony Martial hit the post at half an hour and had two more good chances denied by Patricio.

Patricio closed quickly to quell Martial’s attempt to make a great pass from Antoine Griezmann in the twelfth. Martial’s header from a well-executed set piece hit the crossbar at the half-hour mark, and Patricio stood his ground to block another Martial touch off a Lucas Hernandez low cross at 41.

Patricio stayed by his side in the game until shortly after the restart, when he couldn’t control a shot from Adrien Rabiot. Instead, he spilled the ball into Kante’s path to finish it off.

Forced to focus on defense, Portugal’s trio of plays made up of Bruno Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Félix struggled to get involved.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo fell seven goals behind the men’s team record held by former Iranian striker Ali Daei with 109 goals. His best chance came just before the break when he headed the ball inches from the bar.

Portugal put together their two best scoring chances once they fell behind.

Defender José Fonte nearly tied at 60 when he headed to the post. French goalkeeper Hugo Loris protected the lead by reaching out to block a stinging shot from substitute Joao Moutinho with 15 minutes remaining.

It was Portugal’s first defeat at home in a competitive match in six years. They had not lost at home to coach Fernando Santos.

‘We fought a lot. France in the first half was superior, ‘Santos said. “In the second half we improved. It was a different game and we ended up suffering a goal that was decisive ”.