Holders Spain earned their first victory in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League on Matchday 2, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s late strike helped Portugal edge past Scotland.
Other standout wins came from Croatia, who secured three points courtesy of Luka Modrić’s brilliance, and Denmark, who extended their winning streak.
Despite playing with ten men for more than half of the game, Spain cruised to a 4-1 win against Switzerland in an impressive display of resilience and precision.
Early goals from Joselu, via a looping header, and Fabián Ruiz, set the tone before a pivotal moment saw Robin Le Normand sent off for impeding Breel Embolo.
Switzerland capitalized on their numerical advantage, pulling one back through Zeki Amdouni just before halftime. Yet, they couldn’t find an equalizer as Spain defended robustly.
Spain then launched two late counterattacks, with Fabián Ruiz completing his brace from Ferran Torres’ cross, and substitute Torres adding a fourth following a Joselu assist.
Portugal 2-1 Scotland
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his knack for late-game heroics, coming off the bench to score the match-winner as Portugal fought back from a goal down to defeat Scotland.
Steve Clarke’s men, reeling from a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Poland a few days earlier, started brightly and took the lead in the first half through Scott McTominay’s header, his tenth international goal in just 17 games.
McTominay’s header came courtesy of a well-placed cross from Kenny McLean, and Scotland looked dangerous with their defensive discipline.
However, Portugal ramped up the pressure in the second half, eventually equalizing when Bruno Fernandes celebrated his 30th birthday by netting in his 600th career match. The game seemed headed for a draw until Ronaldo pounced in the dying moments, ensuring Portugal’s 100% record remained intact.
Croatia 1-0 Poland
A stunning free-kick from Luka Modrić secured Croatia’s first victory of the campaign in a closely contested match against Poland.
Modrić, who will turn 39 on Monday, delivered a masterclass of distribution throughout the game, adding to his legacy as one of football’s all-time greats. Croatia dominated possession early on, with Igor Matanović repeatedly testing the Polish defense.
Yet, it took until the 52nd minute for the deadlock to be broken, when Modrić curled a perfectly placed set piece over the wall and into the top corner of Łukasz Skorupski’s net. Despite Robert Lewandowski hitting the post in the second half, Croatia held firm for the win.
Denmark 2-0 Serbia
Denmark delivered another commanding performance in front of their home fans in Copenhagen, earning a second consecutive victory.
Albert Grønbæk, making just his second international appearance, opened the scoring in the 36th minute after a tidy exchange of passes with Yussuf Poulsen.
Denmark’s second goal came via an extraordinary piece of skill, as Poulsen finished off Victor Kristiansen’s cross with a spectacular overhead kick. Serbia’s best chance came when Saša Lukić missed from close range, leaving them with just one point from two games.
Additional Highlights
In other notable results, Viktor Gyökeres netted his first international brace to help Sweden keep pace with Slovakia at the top of Group C1. Sweden triumphed 3-0 over Estonia, who played the majority of the match with ten men.
Meanwhile, Slovakia downed Azerbaijan 2-0. Bulgaria and Belarus also recorded wins in Group C3, each sitting on four points after victories over Northern Ireland and Luxembourg, respectively.
A thrilling conclusion to the only League D fixture saw Gibraltar and Liechtenstein draw 2-2, with drama unfolding deep into stoppage time.
Gibraltar thought they had won it when James Scanlon scored in the 97th minute, only for Nicolas Hasler to equalize with a penalty in the 104th minute.
Matchday 2 Results:
A1: Croatia 1-0 Poland, Portugal 2-1 Scotland
A4: Denmark 2-0 Serbia, Switzerland 1-4 Spain
C1: Slovakia 2-0 Azerbaijan, Sweden 3-0 Estonia
C3: Luxembourg 0-1 Belarus, Bulgaria 1-0 Northern Ireland
D1: Gibraltar 2-2 Liechtenstein
Monday’s Fixtures:
A2: France vs Belgium, Israel vs Italy
B3: Norway vs Austria, Slovenia vs Kazakhstan
B4: Montenegro vs Wales, Türkiye vs Iceland
– C2: Cyprus vs Kosovo (18:00), Romania vs Lithuania
Tuesday’s Fixtures:
A3: Hungary vs Bosnia and Herzegovina, Netherlands vs Germany
B1: Albania vs Georgia, Czechia vs Ukraine
B2: England vs Finland, Republic of Ireland vs Greece
C4: Latvia vs Faroe Islands (18:00), North Macedonia vs Armenia
D2: Andorra vs Malta
All matches kick off at 20:45 CET unless stated otherwise.
