Prague – In the last round of the League of Nations, the Croatian footballers drew 1:1 at home with Portugal and will accompany their opponent to the quarterfinals from the second place of Group A1. There was also a certain winner in group A4 before today, the defending champions and European champions Spain finally beat relegated Switzerland 3:2. Denmark took the second promotion place thanks to a goalless draw in Serbia.
The last playing day of the group stage is scheduled for Tuesday, but after today all the participants in the quarterfinals are already certain. Teams from Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy have also won promotion before. From the elite level, the first two teams from each group have newly qualified for the playoffs, and the knockout stage will start from the quarterfinals. The draw will take place on Friday. The final Final Four will take place in June.
Even without their star captain Ronaldo, the Portuguese took the lead in the 33rd minute when Félix ended a quick action with a shot between the legs of goalkeeper Livakovič. In the 66th minute, Gvardiol equalized from the center to the back post.
The Croatians maintained their second position, one point ahead of Scotland. The islanders succeeded thanks to Robertson’s goal in the 2:1 setup in Poland and moved to at least the third place, which means a playoff to stay in the elite division.
A replay of the last final between the Croats and the Spaniards can still happen. The Swiss tied the favorites twice on the pitch, but were unable to follow up on the 2-1 triumph from last year’s Nations League, which was Spain’s last loss on home soil. Since then, the selection of “La Roja” has managed all eight competitive matches.
After half an hour, the Swiss goalkeeper Mvogo caught Pedri’s penalty, but Pino scored after the ensuing jam. In the 63rd minute, Monteiro equalized and soon the favorite struck again thanks to Gil. But the score was closed by two more penalties, this time converted. In the 85th minute, Zeqiri succeeded, and Zaragoza, the home team, also scored in the set-up.
The Danes also made it to the quarterfinals, beating Serbia in a head-to-head match. The Balkan team had more scoring opportunities in the match, but the Northerners did not score a goal even in the fifth consecutive match. The home team finished the end of the set time without Pavlovič, who was sent off.
Romania beat Cyprus 4-1 and with their fifth victory maintained a three-point lead at the top of Group C over Kosovo, which even in a long slump after the expulsion of goal scorer Jashari beat last-placed Lithuania 1-0. Spartan striker Rrahmani played the first half for Kosovo.
The Romanians have to wait for the confirmation of the progress until UEFA decides on the fate of the unfinished Friday duel between the top two teams of the table in Bucharest. At 0-0 in regulation time, the Kosovo players left the pitch in protest against alleged pro-Serbian chanting from the stands.
Northern Ireland will advance from Group C3 despite losing a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at bottom-of-the-table Luxembourg. The duel between Bulgaria and Belarus also ended in a 1:1 draw.
The turnaround after the change of sides went well for the San Marino footballers, who succeeded 3:1 in Liechtenstein and dominated the D1 group. The bottom team in the FIFA rankings recorded their second ever competitive win today, the first coming at home against the same opposition in September.
Nations League – Round 6:
Group A1:
Split: Croatia – Portugal 1:1 (0:1)
Goals: 66. Guardiol – 33. Félix.
Warsaw: Poland – Scotland 1:2 (0:1)
Goals: 59. Piatkowski – 3. McGinn, 90. +3 Robertson.
Final table:
| 1. | Portugal | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13:5 | 14 |
| 2. | Croatia | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8:8 | 8 |
| 3. | Scotland | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7:8 | 7 |
| 4. | Polish | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9:16 | 4 |
Group A4:
Leskovac: Serbia – Denmark 0:0
ČK: 90.+5 Pavlović (Serb.).
Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Spain – Switzerland 3:2 (1:0)
Branky: 32. Pino, 68. Gil, 90.+3 Zaragoza with pen. – 63. Monteiro, 85. Zeqiri z pen.
Final table:
| 1. | Spain | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 13:4 | 16 |
| 2. | Denmark | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7:5 | 8 |
| 3. | Serbia | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3:6 | 6 |
| 4. | Switzerland | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6:14 | 2 |
Group C2:
Pristina: Kosovo – Lithuania 1:0 (1:0)
Branka: 5. Jashari. ČK: 45. Jashari.
Bucharest: Romania – Cyprus 4:1 (2:0)
Branky: 42. a 83. R. Marin, 2. Birligea, 80. Hagy – 52. Pittas. ČK: 77. Laifis (Cyprus).
Table:
| 1. | Romania | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15:3 | 15 |
| 2. | Kosovo | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10:4 | 12 |
| 3. | Cyprus | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4:15 | 6 |
| 4. | Lithuania | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4:11 | 0 |
Group C3:
Plovdiv: Bulgaria – Belarus 1:1 (1:0)
Goals: 13. Panajotov – 70. Martynovič.
Luxembourg: Luxembourg – Northern Ireland 2:2 (0:1)
Goals: 72. Korac, 75. Rodrigues – 19. Price, 50. Bradley.
Final table:
| 1. | Northern Ireland | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11:3 | 11 |
| 2. | Bulgaria | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3:6 | 9 |
| 3. | Belarus | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3:4 | 7 |
| 4. | Luxembourg | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3:7 | 3 |
Group D1:
Vaduz: Liechtenstein – San Marino 1:3 (1:0)
Goals: 40. Sele – 46. Lazzari, 66. Nanni from pen., 77. Golinucci.
Final table:
| 1. | San Marino | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5:3 | 7 |
| 2. | Gibraltar | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4:3 | 6 |
| 3. | Liechtenstein | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3:6 | 2 |
Sport football League of Nations 6th round PHOTO
Source: www.ceskenoviny.cz
