Late penalty earns Spain win over Switzerland
A late penalty from Bryan Zaragoza secured Spain a 3-2 win over Switzerland in their final Nations League Group A4 game on Monday, with the Spaniards guaranteed top spot before kick off and the Swiss already confirmed as relegated.
Holders Spain finished with 16 points and are through to the quarter-finals while bottom side Switzerland end on two. Denmark also made the quarter-finals with a 0-0 draw in Serbia to secure second place.
In a game with little to play for, manager Luis de la Fuente fielded a completely different starting 11 to the one which beat Denmark 2-1 on Friday, and the European champions showed their strength in depth as a relatively inexperienced side got the job done.
Spain opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when Yeremy Pino fired home after Pedri had his penalty saved, before the Swiss levelled through Joel Monteiro in the 63rd, but the hosts were back in front five minutes later when Bryan Gil netted.
Switzerland thought they had snatched a draw when Andi Zeqiri netted a penalty five minutes from time but another spot kick in added time earned the Spanish side the win.
Spain's attacking play lacked its usual intensity and in the early stages, Nico Williams rounded two Swiss players to reach the edge of the area but with no movement from his teammates opted for a shot which sailed over the bar.
Alvaro Morata was taken down by Ricardo Rodriguez for the first penalty. Pedri's spot kick was parried away by Swiss keeper Yvon Mvogo and Williams rebounded effort was blocked but Pino pounced on the edge of the six-yard box to score.
The game livened up after the break and substitute Joel Monteiro charged through the home defence before slotting the ball to the net.
The Swiss joy was short-lived as Gil, only on the pitch a few minutes, battled for possession in the area before firing past Mvogo. However, when Spain conceded a late penalty, it looked like the visitors would end a disappointing campaign in style.
Instead, Zaragoza was fouled in the box in added time and he stepped up to score from the spot to score his first international goal and give Spain their fifth consecutive win to cap a hugely successful year
Spain's 2024 began with a 1-0 loss to Colombia in a friendly, but since then have gone unbeaten in 16 games, including winning Euro 2024 in Germany.
The future looks bright, as the manager handed defender Aitor Paredes his debut, with Pablo Barrios and Samu Omorodion also coming on to make their first appearances, while keeper Alex Remiro and midfielder Marc Casado started for the first time.
Croatia enter quarter-finals with Portugal draw
Josko Gvardiol scored his first international goal in two years to rescue a point for x in their 1-1 Nations League A Group 1 draw with Portugal in Split on Monday as both teams advance to March's quarter-finals.
Portugal were already assured of top spot in the pool ahead of kickoff and left Cristiano Ronaldo out of their match-day squad. Croatia finish in second place with eight points from their six games.
The visitors led thanks to a superb finish from Joao Felix, who expertly controlled Vitinha’s perfect pass into his path and lashed the ball low past Dominik Livakovic in the home goal.
Croatia came close to the equaliser when Gvardiol cushioned a header towards Andrej Kramaric and the latter’s shot crashed into the post and away to safety.
Kristijan Jakic’s cross to the back post was perfect for Gvardiol to beat Portugal goalkeeper Jose Sa from close range and level the score, his third international goal and first since the 2022 World Cup.
Livakovic produced a brilliant point-blank save to deny Nuno Mendes a winner, while at the other end Sa made a fingertip stop as Ante Budimir seemed sure to score from six yards and the latter also hit the post late on.
Denmark book last-eight spot with Serbia stalemate
Denmark secured a Nations League quarter-final spot on Monday thanks to a 0-0 draw away to Serbia, who missed out on the knockout rounds and had defender Strahinja Pavlovic sent off late in a game they dominated.
Denmark finished second in Group A4 on eight points, eight adrift of Spain and two ahead of Serbia, with Switzerland already relegated and finishing bottom on two points.
Despite a good start by Denmark, who needed at least a point to secure second spot, Serbia quickly took charge and bombarded the visiting defence in the first half but goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and his rearguard stood firm.
The home side continued to attack after the break as they fired in a succession of crosses but they tired as the game wore on, allowing the Danes to try to hit them on the counter.
Dusan Vlahovic missed a great chance to put Serbia ahead in the 80th minute, blazing his shot high when he really should have scored, much to the disappointment of the packed crowd.
As the tension reached boiling point, Pavlovic was booked in the 90th minute and sent off when he picked up a second yellow card five minutes into stoppage time as Serbia failed to get the goal they needed to go through at Denmark's expense.
