Porto, 05 October (HS):

Defending champions Portugal, playing without Cristiano Ronaldo, secured their place in the Nations League quarter-finals in March with a 2-1 victory over Norway on Sunday night. Portugal have won all four of their matches in Group A4 and have secured a place among the top two teams.

Gonçalo Ramos scored the decisive goal 11 minutes from full time. The victory put Portugal six points clear of second-placed Denmark, who defeated Wales 1-0 in Cardiff.

Ronaldo had left the squad last week following a dispute with coach Jorge Jesus. Portugal nevertheless defeated Denmark on Thursday and continued their winning run by beating Norway at home.

Norway took the lead in the 36th minute when centre-back Kristoffer Ajer struck a superb half-volley from outside the penalty area. Portugal responded just two minutes later, with João Cancelo firing a powerful shot into the net to make it 1-1.

Ramos scored the winning goal in the 79th minute. João Félix headed the ball towards goal, and Ramos finished it with the back of his foot to give Portugal a 2-1 victory.

Portugal coach Jorge Jesus said, “It takes a lot of technical quality to beat Norway. We won without producing the same performance we had against Denmark, but the important thing was the victory and qualification. I had great faith in this team, but perhaps I did not expect us to win all four of our opening four matches.”

Portugal’s victory was somewhat overshadowed by Francisco Conceição’s red card. He was shown a second yellow card four minutes from the end after sarcastically giving the referee a thumbs-up following his booking, and was subsequently sent off.

Denmark Beat Wales

In Cardiff, Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward made several impressive saves to keep Denmark at bay, but conceded a penalty in the 75th minute after fouling Gustav Isaksen. Rasmus Højlund converted the spot-kick to give Denmark a 1-0 victory.

Netherlands Beat Serbia

In Group A2, the Netherlands defeated Serbia 2-1 in Eindhoven to move to the top of the group on goal difference. Captain Virgil van Dijk made his 100th international appearance.

The Netherlands took the lead in the 31st minute when Teun Koopmeiners’ free-kick went untouched in the penalty area and curled directly into the corner of the net. Serbia equalised four minutes later when teenage forward Mihajlo Cvetković rose above Koopmeiners to head home Aleksa Terzić’s cross and score his first international goal.

The Netherlands regained the lead in the 72nd minute. Denzel Dumfries sent a low cross into the area, Tijjani Reijnders redirected the ball towards the far post, and Joshua Zirkzee finished from close range to secure a 2-1 victory.

Germany Search for Goals

Germany dominated their home match against Greece but failed to find the net as the game ended in a goalless draw. Under their new coach, Germany have recorded just one victory in their first four matches.

In Group B3, Austria drew 1-1 with Kosovo but remain at the top of the group with a three-point advantage. The match between the Republic of Ireland and Israel, played behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, Serbia, also ended 1-1.

In Group D2, Azerbaijan moved to the top of the group after defeating previously unbeaten Lithuania 1-0, thanks to a first-half goal from Abdulla Khaybulayev.

Meanwhile, in Group D1, Malta defeated Andorra 1-0 after veteran Teddy Teuma, who came on as a second-half substitute, scored the winning goal.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar