Spain stun Portugal to clinch spot in Nations League finals
Spain stun Portugal to clinch spot in Nations League finals: After striker Alvaro Morata scored an injury-time winner for Spain in their 1-0 victory over hosts Portugal on Tuesday, the visitors clinched the first position in Group B and a spot in the semifinals of the UEFA Nations League.
Despite Portugal’s dominance, Spain kept fighting until the 88th minute, when Nico Williams headed a long ball into the box from Dani Carvajal over to Morata, who slammed it into the net to the deafening applause of the sold-out crowd.
Spain won League A Group 2 with 11 points after playing six games, while Portugal came in second with 10 points and advanced to the semifinals with a tie.
Finals
The Spaniards compete in the 2018 World Cup Finals alongside Croatia, Italy, and the Netherlands.
While the game was challenging, I will not abandon the team’s positive mentality. Morata emphasized the team’s exertions to the press. If we were going to lose, it would be because we left everything out on the field.
When it comes to huge games, Spain always delivers. It was done tonight the same way we always do.
Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, took the lead and dominated for the majority of the match, therefore, their loss was especially disappointing.
In the 32nd minute, the home team nearly scored when Diogo Jota got a long pass from Bruno Fernandes and slammed a shot toward the top right corner, but Unai Simon made a fantastic one-handed stop.
Five minutes later, Fernandes nearly scored himself when he rifled a cross-shot into the side netting from so close that the home crowd thought he had scored.
After Saturday’s disappointing 2-1 loss to Switzerland in their home stadium, Spain appeared bewildered and uninspired.
Spain coach Luis Enrique threw a curveball by making seven substitutions in the starting lineup, including benching Barcelona players Sergio Busquets, Gavi, Pedri, and Jordi Alba.
Substitutes
After he made four second-half substitutes, Spain perked up and took their first shot on goal (by Morata) after 70 minutes.
In the 76th minute, the Atletico Madrid forward nearly scored when he unleashed a long-range drive toward the bottom right corner, but Diogo Costa made a spectacular one-handed save.
I think this is a fantastic sport. The coach, Luis Enrique, noted after the game that a victory is the finest medicine. The caliber of the people in Portugal is exceptional.
We had around 400 passes in the first half, but we would have liked to have had it more deep in their half.
After halftime, we made the necessary adjustments. The second half will get all the glory, but it couldn’t have happened without the first. I was hoping that we’d score in the second half.
Let’s celebrate our return to the final four; getting here is cause for great happiness.
Despite his best efforts, Ronaldo could not consistently create scoring opportunities for his team. They continued to miss easy opportunities, allowing Spain to stay in the game until Morata scored the game-winning goal late.
Remarks
When asked about his World Cup roster, Luis Enrique remarked, “It’s not about 26 players; there are 40 who might go to the World Cup.”
The upcoming tournament begins in November. Borja [Iglesias] and Nico [Williams] have joined our ranks. It’s fantastic to have so many skilled Spanish players. It’s a shame that some people won’t be included. You realize that many athletes deserve it, and that’s a shame.
The defeat did not deter Fernando Santos, Portugal’s manager, who declared his squad is “still one of the favorites” to win the World Cup despite their performance in the loss.
In Group H, they will also be competing against Ghana and Uruguay in addition to South Korea.
“In the first half, we were remarkably well-organized. They were in control but did not use that power to produce anything. “After the 60th minute, we dropped off and lost our intensity,” Santos said to reporters.
The main reason they got bigger is that we stopped being able to control the ball. In-game players were unable to activate their system.
When Spain finally got going, they went from virtually no chances to scoring a goal. One can tell that last-minute changes were made because of how the story unfolded.
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