Spain, Portugal assured of quarterfinal spots in UEFA Nations League

Madrid: Spain ensured it has the chance to defend its UEFA Nations League title after booking a place in the quarterfinals thanks to a 2-1 win away to Denmark in Group 4 on Friday. Mikel Oyarzabal put Spain ahead in the 15th minute with a simple finish following an excellent move that saw him exchange passes with Ayoze Perez, who squared the ball for Oyarzabal to score with his right foot. Perez had already hit the bar and in the 28th minute, the Villarreal striker forced a good save from Kasper Schmeichel, reports Xinhua. Spain controlled most of the game with Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino in midfield, and in the 39th minute Oyarzabal crossed for Dani Olmo to volley at Schmeichel. The Danes were almost level a minute later after Aymeric Laporte’s clearance fell to Albert Gronbaek, whose shot was deflected out for a corner. Perez got his reward for an excellent display in the 58th minute, when he connected with an excellent pass from Olmo to score with a left-footed shot across Schmeichel for his second goal in four appearances. With qualification all but assured, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente handed a debut to young Barcelona midfielder Marc Casado. After Zubimendi was forced off injured, Gustav Isaksen was unlucky to see his shot bounce off the inside of the post, but he got his side back into the game with six minutes to go after a bad mistake from Fabian Ruiz, who sent a back-pass to David Raya without looking. Isaksen closed down the goalkeeper, whose clearance bounced off the forward and into the goal, but Raya redeemed himself in the last minute of added time thanks to a full length save from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. The other game in the group saw Serbia and Switzerland draw 1-1. In Group 1, Rafael Leao and Cristiano Ronaldo set Portugal on the way to a 5-1 win at home to Poland, who was without Robert Lewandowski. Bruno Fernandes and Pedro Neto also scored for Portugal, with Ronaldo scoring his second goal of the game to assure Portugal finish top of its group, as John McGinn’s 86th-minute goal gave Scotland a 1-0 victory at home to Croatia in the other game. Also on Friday, Northern Ireland beat Belarus 2-0 with goals from Daniel Ballard and Dion Charles. Andrian Kraev scored the only goal as Bulgaria won 1-0 in Luxembourg, while San Marino and Gibraltar drew 1-1. Cyprus beat Lithuania 2-1 thanks to goals from Grigoris Kastanos and Marinos Tzionis. –IANS