Spain defeated Portugal 1-0 in a thrilling match at the Estadio Municipal de Braga to advance to the Nations League final four....CONTINUE READING
After suffering a shocking 2-1 loss to Switzerland at the weekend, Spain knew they needed to win in Braga to progress to the semi final, Portugal increased their lead at the summit to two points with the 4-0 thrashing of the Czech Republic on Saturday and could afford to draw.
Spain bossed the game but had little to show for it other than an effort from Pablo Sarabia that Danilo Pereira blocked, the Portugal national side also had their own goal scoring chances, with Liverpool’s Diogo Jota forcing a save off the Spain goalie Unai Simon, Bruno Fernandes hitting the side netting.
It ended in drab nil nil draw in the first half, but the start of the second half saw an early chance for the Selecao with Diogo Jota threading a pass to Ronaldo, Unai Simon was the man to thank again as he came off his line to deny the Manchester United forward.
Spain pushed hard for the victory in the dying moments with Alvaro Morata curling an effort from a distance into the bottom corner, but Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa did a good job of deflecting it around the post.
With two minutes left, it appeared as though all of the effort would be in vain, but substitute Nico Williams headed the ball across goal and found Ex-Chelsea striker, Morata, who powered his header seal Spain’s semi final spot.
