Portugal maintained their perfect record in the Nations League with a 4-2 win over hosts Denmark in Copenhagen on Thursday in the third round of Group D in League A. The victory came in the absence of captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who unexpectedly left the Portugal camp after manager Jorge Jesus confirmed he would not start the match.
Portugal lead group with perfect record
The defending champions moved on to nine points at the top of the group with a third consecutive win, while Denmark remained on three points and stayed ahead of Norway on goal difference. Norway dropped to third, ahead of Wales on goal difference, after a 2-1 away defeat, while Wales recorded their first group win.
Jesus continued his perfect start with Portugal after wins over Wales, 1-0, and Norway, 2-1, in the opening two rounds. Portugal are seeking a third title in the tournament, in which they hold the record for most wins, having lifted the trophy in 2019 and 2025.
Portugal opened the scoring against Denmark in the 13th minute when Barcelona defender João Cancelo deftly lifted the ball over goalkeeper Mads Hermansen. The hosts needed no more than 10 minutes to equalise, as Mikkel Damsgaard sent a curling shot into the Portugal net. Denmark’s equaliser did not last long, however, as Milan striker Gonçalo Ramos restored the visitors’ lead just two minutes later.
Denmark came back into the match again through Napoli striker Rasmus Højlund, who scored in a manner similar to Cancelo’s goal, lifting the ball over the goalkeeper to make it 2-2. Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha restored Portugal’s lead for a third time with a header, scoring his first international goal.
Wales come from behind to beat Norway
Three minutes before the end of normal time, Al-Nassr striker João Félix ended Denmark’s hopes by adding a fourth goal, his third in as many consecutive matches. In Cardiff, Norway took an early lead against hosts Wales through Oscar Bobb in the 11th minute.
The goal came from a shot inside the penalty area after a pass from Norway captain and Arsenal player Martin Ødegaard, making the match appear to be heading towards an away win. The team-mates of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland controlled most of the first half, but Daniel James equalised for Wales against the run of play.
Norway’s task became more difficult early in the second half when defender Torbjørn Heggem was sent off, before Nico Williams converted the resulting free-kick to put the hosts ahead and secure the win. Norway could not regain their balance after going down to 10 men and suffered a second consecutive defeat following their home loss to Portugal.
They had begun their campaign with a 3-2 win over Denmark, but entered the Wales match without a clean sheet in their previous 10 games, and their defensive problems continued in Cardiff. Wales manager and former star Craig Bellamy, meanwhile, returned his team to winning ways despite going into the match with numerous absentees through injury.
Klopp records first win with Germany
Wales ended a run of three consecutive defeats and six matches without a win to collect their first three points in the group. In Group B of League A, Jürgen Klopp recorded his first win as Germany manager as his team beat Serbia 2-0 at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
The top two teams qualify for the quarter-finals after the group stage ends in mid-November, with the quarter-finals scheduled for March. Klopp took charge of his third Germany match in front of a near-capacity crowd at Bayern Munich’s home ground and managed to correct an imperfect start and ease the pressure on him.
The former Liverpool manager had taken responsibility for the surprise 1-0 defeat by Greece in Augsburg in the second round. Florian Wirtz led Germany to victory by creating the opening goal for Bayern Munich midfielder Tom Bischof before scoring the second early in the second half.
Germany fielded a completely different line-up from the two teams that had played in the opening two matches, after Klopp selected 44 players and divided them into two groups to play the competition’s four matches. Germany had to wait until the 39th minute to open the scoring. Wirtz dribbled past defender Srdan Babić twice inside the penalty area before striking a shot that rebounded off goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović’s post, allowing Bischof to follow up with his left foot beneath the crossbar.
In the second half, Wirtz beat Babić again with his first touch and ran through on goal from near the penalty spot before shooting into the net without giving the Serbian goalkeeper a chance to save. Germany face Greece again in three days in Thessaloniki, where they will have to build on their first win under Klopp.
Netherlands snatch draw against Greece
Serbia remained without a point after three rounds, while Germany strengthened their position in the contest for one of the two quarter-final places. In the match between Greece and the Netherlands, the hosts appeared close to securing a third consecutive win after ending the first half two goals ahead.
Arsenal midfielder Christos Tzolis scored an early goal in the 13th minute, but the referee disallowed it for offside. Tzolis was injured five minutes later and was replaced by Neom striker Giorgos Masouras. Masouras made an immediate impact, heading the ball into the path of Sporting striker Fotis Ioannidis, who opened the scoring for Greece.
Ioannidis returned the favour by setting up Masouras in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, sending Greece into the interval 2-0 ahead. The Netherlands came back in the second half, with captain and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk reducing the deficit with a header from Joey Veerman’s corner.
In the final moments, Al-Qadsiah player Tijjani Reijnders scored the equaliser to save the Netherlands from defeat and deny Greece a third successive win. The result also kept Xavi Hernández unbeaten after his first three matches in charge of the Netherlands.
