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France handed over to the defending Nations League champions, Portugal, a rare defeat, winning 1-0 in Lisbon with a goal from N’Golo Kanté in the second half to reach the semi-finals of the competition at the expense of the reigning champions.
Kanté scored just their second goal for France in the 54th minute to put them at the top of Group 3 of League A with 13 points from five games, three ahead of Portugal and with the best head-to-head record to give themselves an impregnable lead .
France should have been ahead at half-time, but Anthony Martial missed three chances, two saved by Rui Patricio and one hitting the crossbar. José Fonte hit a post as Portugal pushed for the equalizer in the second half.
The Nations League Finals will take place in October next year at a single venue yet to be decided. “Given the quality of the opposition, it is of course one of our best performances in recent times,” said France coach Didier Deschamps.
Chelsea striker Timo Werner scored on either side of the break to lead Germany from behind for a 3-1 win over Ukraine in their Nations League match, as they led the group with one game to play.
Werner scored twice after Leroy Sané nullified a surprise lead in the 12th minute for the visitors, who had four players, including West Ham’s Andriy Yarmolenko, ruled out after testing positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the match.
The Germans, in the midst of a review following their elimination in the first round of the 2018 World Cup, now lead Group A4 with nine points, one ahead of Spain, whom they will visit on Tuesday. The best team qualifies for the final stage of the competition.
“I think we did well,” said Sané. “They went to the front and we could have avoided it because we started well. But the way we came back was strong. “
Spain Forward Gerard Moreno came off the bench to snatch a 1-1 draw for Switzerland after Sergio Ramos missed two penalties.
Ramos, who also became the most capped European player of all time, had scored all of his 25 previous penalties, but was frustrated when Yann Sommer hit and repelled his penalty in the 58th minute to preserve his team’s advantage. .
Switzerland had taken the lead in the 23rd minute through Remo Frueler and could have doubled their lead in the second half, but Ramos came to his team’s rescue with a goalline punt.
Spain got a second penalty at 79 which caused the expulsion of Swiss defender Nico Elvedi. However, Ramos was again outwitted by Sommer, who could not be fooled by the defender’s Panenka penalty and caught the ball.
Substitute Moreno saved Ramos’ blushes in the 89th minute and finally beat Sommer with a cross from Sergio Reguilón.
“Soccer is like that, it is a wonderful sport but sometimes it is very unfair,” said Spanish coach Luis Enrique.
Goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Marcus Danielsson ended Swedenstreak of four consecutive defeats in the Nations League by winning Croatia 2-1 in Stockholm.
Needing a win to avoid relegation from Group A3, the win continues Sweden’s hopes of survival are alive as they head to their final group match against France in Paris on Wednesday, even though they are still at the bottom of the group.
Swedish coach Janne Andersson had to watch the game from home after a positive test for Covid-19 and 20-year-old forward Kulusevksi was chosen to start up front with Marcus Berg.
The decision paid off quickly, as the Juventus player gave his team the lead when he prevented Mateo Kovacic from taking home his first goal for his country in the 36th minute.
Danielsson doubled in first-half injury time and lunged for the nearest post to send Sebastian Larsson’s corner kick into the net with a direct header.
They continued to dominate in the second half, but Croatia made their way back into the game and scored a goal when a header from Ivan Perisic deflected Danielsson into the net.
The victory leaves Sweden in last place in the group with three points, with the Croats third on goal difference.
