Denmark beat sorry Portugal 1-0 in Nations League quarterfinal first-leg
The Manchester United forward provided the finishing touch Denmark previously lacking on a night when they dominated Roberto Martinez’s side in Copenhagen on Thursday. He came off the bench to split the teams.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 40, was a veteran player, but the Al Nassr striker was largely frozen out of the match.
Portugal, the first team to win the Nations League trophy a second time, is their goal, having won the inaugural competition in 2019.
They will need to get better quickly, though, because Denmark outperformed them and had more points to give up on the night.
Without injured captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, the Danes were hoping to get their first win since coach Brian Riemer’s appointment in October.
With debutant Mika Biereth sliding down Diogo Costa’s clearance, Denmark put a lot of pressure on, but the goalkeeper was only able to save a corner.
Costa was once more put on the field by Jesper Lindstrom, who fired a close-range effort, while Pedro Neto put Kasper Schmeichel to the test at the other end.
When Portugal’s Renato Veiga handled the ball, Costa saved Christian Eriksen with a superb save.
The Manchester United midfielder was thwarted by the Porto goalkeeper, who is an expert at saving spot kicks.
As Denmark turned the tables, Costa saved another stunning save from Biereth to keep his team level.
After Gustav Isaksen’s excellent work, Diogo Dalot was in the right place at the right moment to clear Eriksen’s effort off the line just before the break when the hosts finally defeated Costa.
Costa saved an Eriksen free kick in the second half, but Vitinha came close for Portugal, who occasionally showed signs of their caliber on a otherwise sluggish display.
As Denmark began to worry that their dominance would not lead, Isaksen, a constant threat to Denmark, had a shot deflected behind. Hojlund, who was acting as a substitute, did have some alternatives.
The striker broke the deadlock by scoring in Leicester City’s 3-2 win over Manchester United last weekend, breaking a long-running drought there.
In the 78th minute, Eriksen gave the ball to another substitute, Andreas Skov Olsen, who deflected Hojlund with a low ball.
After being pressured by Patrick Dorgu in the box, Portugal’s Bernardo Silva, who is making his 99th appearance for his country, waved away in the dying stages, and Schmeichel saved from Neto in the dying stages.
The winner of the semifinal match will face either Germany or Italy in Lisbon on Sunday. Portugal will face Denmark in the second leg.
In the first leg of their Nations League quarterfinal, Germany defeated Italy 2-1 at the San Siro on Thursday, with Leon Goretzka scoring the winning goal 14 minutes in.
In the final moments of their quarterfinal first leg, European champions Spain clinched a famous victory by drawing 2-2 with Netherlands.
In the third minute of added time, Mikel Merino continued his unbeaten streak, which now includes 22 competitive games.
Source: Aljazeera
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