Portugal beat Denmark 4-2 without Ronaldo as Klopp claims first Germany win
Portugal earned a 4-2 win in Denmark after Cristiano Ronaldo left the squad, while Jürgen Klopp recorded his first victory as Germany manager in a 2-0 defeat of Serbia in Munich.
Portugal earn third straight victory without Ronaldo
Portugal maintained their perfect start in Nations League Group A4 with a 4-2 away victory against Denmark in Copenhagen. The match followed the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, who left the national team camp on Wednesday after a dispute with head coach Jorge Jesus. Jesus had previously benched the 41-year-old Al-Nassr forward during a victory in Norway, and subsequently handed the number 7 shirt to Rafael Leão. On the pitch, João Cancelo opened the scoring for Portugal in the 13th minute before Brentford midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard equalised. Gonçalo Ramos restored Portugal's lead in the 25th minute, assisted by Bruno Fernandes. Napoli forward Rasmus Højlund levelled the match at 2-2 early in the second half on a counterattack, but Vitinha scored his first senior international goal with a header, and João Félix added a late fourth. The result places Portugal top of the group with nine points from three matches.
- Portugal
- 9 pts
- Denmark
- 3 pts
- Norway
- 3 pts
- Wales
- 3 pts
Klopp earns first victory as Germany manager
Germany recorded a 2-0 home victory against Serbia in Munich, giving Jürgen Klopp his first win as head coach following a draw with the Netherlands and a 1-0 defeat to Greece in Augsburg. Serge Gnabry captained the German side in the absence of Joshua Kimmich, while Serbia started with captain Dušan Tadić and PSV winger Filip Kostić. Germany broke through in the 39th minute when Serbian goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović parried a shot from Florian Wirtz into the path of Bayern Munich midfielder Tom Bischof, who converted his first senior international goal. Aleksandar Pavlović came close to doubling the lead before halftime with a deflected strike from the edge of the area. Liverpool attacker Wirtz then secured the win in the 61st minute, navigating through the penalty area to score Germany's second goal.
- Tom Bischof scores on a rebound after Florian Wirtz's initial effort
- Aleksandar Pavlović sends a deflected shot narrowly wide of the Serbian post
- Florian Wirtz doubles the lead with a finish inside the penalty box
Netherlands fight back for point in Thessaloniki
In Group A2, the Netherlands recovered from a two-goal halftime deficit to secure a 2-2 draw against Greece in Thessaloniki. Greece, who remain atop the group standings, established control before the break as Fotis Ioannidis and Giorgos Masouras set up each other for goals after an early strike from Christos Tzolis was disallowed for offside. Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk initiated the comeback on the hour mark, heading in from a corner. A subsequent effort from Denzel Dumfries was disallowed for offside by video assistant referee review. Tijjani Reijnders secured the draw in the 89th minute, driving a deflected rebound into the net.
Wales overcome ten-man Norway as Ireland draw in Dublin
In Cardiff, Wales secured a 2-1 win over Norway after Fulham forward Oscar Bobb gave the visitors an early lead. Daniel James equalised in the 38th minute, and Norwegian defender Torbjørn Lysaker Heggem was sent off in the 46th minute. Neco Williams converted a free-kick two minutes later to claim the points for the hosts. In Dublin, Ireland drew 2-2 with Austria after Troy Parrott scored two goals for the home side, with Alexander Prass and Michael Gregoritsch responding for Austria in the second half. The match was briefly halted due to protests, including tennis balls thrown onto the pitch and a pitch invasion, ahead of Ireland's scheduled fixture against Israel. Elsewhere, Israel and Kosovo drew 0-0 in Debrecen, Malta drew 1-1 with Gibraltar, and Azerbaijan drew 0-0 with Liechtenstein in Baku.
