Ronaldo Brace Fires Portugal Past Poland into Nations League Quarters, Spain Triumph

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal delivered a commanding second-half performance to defeat Poland 5-1 on Friday, securing their spot in the Nations League quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Spain maintained their unbeaten record by defeating Denmark.

Portugal, managed by Roberto Martínez, secured first place in Group A1 with one game to spare, guaranteeing their place in the next round in March. They join France, Germany, and Italy, who have also advanced to the last eight.

Poland started strongly in Porto but failed to capitalize on their chances, leaving them vulnerable to Portugal’s clinical finishing in the closing 20 minutes. Rafael Leão acknowledged the team’s slow start but credited Martínez’s halftime adjustments for their turnaround.

Despite missing the target in the first half, Ronaldo came close to scoring with a volley before halftime. In the second half, Poland’s Dominik Marczuk nearly opened the scoring, but Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa made a crucial fingertip save.

Portugal responded quickly, with Leão initiating a counterattack that ended with his powerful header from Nuno Mendes’ cross. Shortly after, Diogo Dalot’s shot deflected off Jakub Kiwior’s hand, earning Portugal a penalty, which Ronaldo calmly converted with a ‘Panenka’ to end Poland’s hopes of a comeback.

Bruno Fernandes added a third goal with a thunderous strike off the crossbar, and Pedro Neto followed with a near-post finish from a Ronaldo assist. Ronaldo capped the night with an acrobatic volley from Vitinha’s cross, bringing his international tally to 135 goals. Marczuk managed a late consolation goal for Poland, who are now out of contention for the knockout stages and face relegation if they lose to Scotland.

In the same group, Scotland boosted their survival chances with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Croatia. John McGinn scored the decisive goal in the 86th minute after Croatia, reduced to 10 men following Petar Sučić’s first-half red card, came close to securing the point needed to qualify alongside Portugal.

 

Spain Stays Unbeaten

In Group A4, Spain continued their strong form with a 2-1 win over Denmark in Copenhagen. Spain took an early lead after a Danish mistake, with Ayoze Pérez setting up Mikel Oyarzabal, who slotted past Kasper Schmeichel. Pérez doubled the advantage with a precise low strike after being assisted by Dani Olmo.

Denmark’s Gustav Isaksen pulled one back late in the match, capitalizing on a mix-up between Fabian Ruiz and goalkeeper David Raya. After the win, Pérez expressed his delight at his goal and assist, emphasizing the importance of topping the group.

Elsewhere in Group A4, Switzerland was relegated following Aleksa Terzić’s late equalizer in Serbia’s 1-1 draw.

 

Other Results

In Group C2, Romania’s match against Kosovo in Bucharest was abandoned after chants of “Serbia” from Romanian fans prompted the visiting players to walk off the pitch during injury time. UEFA later confirmed the suspension of the match and announced that further details would follow.

In League D, San Marino kept their promotion hopes alive as Nicola Nanni converted an injury-time penalty to secure a 1-1 draw with Gibraltar.