Portugal 1-1 Poland
Group A3 of the UEFA Nations League came to its natural conclusion tonight as Portugal and Poland played out a 1-1 draw—and now head off in opposite directions.
The previous UEFA Nations League 2018 results meant the Portuguese already had seven points to win the group, with Italy second on five points. Poland were here to try to arrest a worrying run of form, but they never really looked like springing a surprise at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques despite the hosts ending the game with ten men.
This clash was all about playing for pride, and the Poles had to face their task without talisman Robert Lewandowski, ruled out with a knee injury. Meanwhile, the Iberians were without Cristiano Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva, who was injured in the last game.
At least Poland didn’t lose, but they now drop to League B. And after a dismal World Cup and disappointing Nations League debut, they are heading to their natural level.
Highlights of the game
Portugal were in control of this game and started the match on the front foot until it went down to ten men with half an hour to go.
Renato Sanches had an early attempt blocked while Joao Cancelo’s shot went over the bar as the hosts began to take control. However, there was little fluency to the match as fouls flew in left, right and centre.
Piotr Zielinski showed the most composure in the Poland team. He had an effort charged down, but there was little else to see from the visitors as they seemed ready to accept another defeat at the hands of a technically superior team.
Portugal’s better play was rewarded, on 34 minutes, as Andre Silva reacted first to a Sanches corner to stab the ball home from close range. SBOBET football fans know what Silva is all about—the Sevilla star is in a rich vein of form in La Liga, and that was his 15th goal for Portugal in 31 appearances.
That goal prompted a bit of a response from Poland, and Przemyslaw Frankowski had a couple of efforts on goal (the second saved from a tight angle).
In the absence of Lewandowski, Poland were captained by Kamil Grosicki. And the winger had the first effort of the second half, shooting high and wide when Zielinski put him in.
In all honesty though, it looked pretty comfortable for the hosts. They didn’t look overly desperate to hunt a second goal, and then came the big moment of drama on 63 minutes.
Arkadiusz Milik was clean through on goal but was felled by Danilo Pereira before he could pull the trigger. The Porto midfielder received his marching orders and Milik climbed to his feet to fire the ball into the bottom right corner and beyond the reach of Beto.
The numerical advantage began to tell. Zielinski hit a shot low towards the corner before Beto got down to make a smart save. Damian Kadzior had an effort from distance which whistled narrowly wide but—despite huffing and puffing for the final ten minutes—the Poles couldn’t find a finish to end their time in League A with a win.
Key statistics
With Portugal down to ten men, the visitors had a real go at the end. They finished with 13 shots, though only three were on target. Tellingly, Poland’s passing accuracy in the attacking third was down at 50 percent.
The stalemate continued a run for each team: Poland haven’t won in their last six games while Portugal haven’t lost in six.
The spot-kick success was Poland’s first goal in three games, probably as much as they could have hoped for without Lewandowski up front.
What’s next?
There’s plenty to look forward to for Portugal fans as part of the first ever Nations League final set to do battle next year. The European Champions will be hosting the finals in June, and they can go forward with confidence after winning a group containing Italy.
The UEFA Nations League 2018 betting makes for interesting reading: Portugal are second-favourites just behind England, with the Netherlands and Switzerland outsiders. Big teams including France and Spain have been dispatched so, with Cristiano Ronaldo sure to return, Portugal have its sights on another European crown.
And then they’ll be ready to begin their European title defence as the 2020 competition qualifiers start in the spring.
The draw takes place in December and the matches begin in March, with the 2020 tournament is to be played in numerous locations across Europe.
Poland can look forward too. But life doesn’t look quite so rosy for Jerzy Brzeczek’s boys.
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