Spain's Aymeric Laporte celebrates scoring their first goal against Serbia in the Uefa Nations League match on Tuesday. — Reuters
European champions Spain secured their spot in the Uefa Nations League quarter-finals with a commanding 3-0 victory over Serbia on Tuesday, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Scotland. Spain, the reigning Nations League champions, became the second team to book a quarter-final berth, following Germany's lead by accumulating 10 points from a possible 12 in Group A4.
Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, key players in Spain's Euro 2024 triumph, were absent from the lineup against Serbia on a rainy evening in Cordoba. Despite their absence, La Roja took the lead early through Aymeric Laporte's header and overcame Alvaro Morata's missed penalty in the second half. Captain Morata sealed the win with a fine finish on the 65th minute, and Alex Baena, who starred in both the Euros and the Olympic gold-winning team, added a third from a free-kick. Serbia finished the match with 10 men after defender Strahinja Pavlovic was sent off.
"We've reached another final phase, which is crucial — it might seem straightforward, but we've consistently made it to these final stages in recent years, and that's commendable," Morata told state broadcaster TVE. Denmark is in a strong position to join Spain in the next round after drawing 2-2 away to Switzerland, who are at the bottom of the group.
The Danes rallied twice from behind, with Gustav Isaksen equalizing shortly after Remo Freuler's opener, only for Zeki Amdouni to restore Switzerland's lead with a penalty just before halftime. However, Christian Eriksen's goal on 69 minutes ensured Denmark left St Gallen with a point. Portugal, meanwhile, dropped points for the first time in Group A1 as they shared the spoils with Scotland at Hampden.
On his 216th international appearance, Ronaldo made his 200th start for Portugal, over 21 years after his debut. The 39-year-old, however, couldn't add to his 133 international goals and left the field visibly frustrated with the officials. Scotland's goalkeeper Craig Gordon made a spectacular save to deny Bruno Fernandes a late winner, securing their first point in the Nations League's top tier.
This result ended a run of four consecutive competitive defeats for Scotland but marked only their second win in 16 matches, the other being a friendly against Gibraltar. "Their goalkeeper was outstanding. We couldn't find the net, but the performance was positive," Portugal coach Roberto Martinez told Uefa.com. "Results are a reflection of performances, and tonight, we deserved to win."
Croatia is second in the group behind Portugal after a thrilling 3-3 draw with Poland in Warsaw, featuring five first-half goals. Piotr Zielinski, captaining Poland with Robert Lewandowski on the bench, opened the scoring. However, Croatia responded with goals from Borna Sosa, Petar Sucic, and Martin Baturina to lead 3-1. Nicola Zalewski and Sebastian Szymanski's strikes ensured a draw for Poland, while Croatia finished with 10 men after goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was sent off for fouling Lewandowski outside the area.
In League C, Northern Ireland topped Group 3 with a 5-0 thrashing of Bulgaria in Belfast. Isaac Price, a 21-year-old from Standard Liege, scored a hat-trick, becoming the youngest player to achieve this feat for Northern Ireland. An own goal by Bulgaria's goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov and a late goal by Josh Magennis completed the scoring, while captain Kiril Despodov missed a penalty for Bulgaria. Belarus and Luxembourg drew 1-1 in the same group, while Romania and Kosovo secured victories over Lithuania and Cyprus respectively in Group C2.
