UEFA Nations League Matchday 3 summary: Cristiano Ronaldo scores again, Spain top after Denmark win | UEFA Nations League

Cristiano Ronaldo was again one of the goalscorers for Portugal and Spain finally found a way through a tight Danish defense on a potentially significant night in the UEFA Nations League.

UEFA.com recaps the action on matchday three.

Complete schedule

Saturday

Croatia – Scotland 2:1

Croatia came from behind to beat ScotlandGetty Images

Goals from Igor Matanović and Andrej Kramarić secured a comeback win for the 2022/23 Nations League runners-up in Zagreb. Scotland started well and were rewarded when Ryan Christie capitalized on a mistake just after the half hour mark. However, it only took the Vatreni three minutes to equalize and Matanović shot the ball ahead after an assist from Ivan Perišić.

Craig Gordon, starting for the Tartan Army for the first time since November 2022, did well to keep out goals from Matanović and Luka Modrić in the second half, but when the 41-year-old goalkeeper could only parry Borna Sosa's crisp half-volley shot , Kramarić was perfectly placed to nod in the winner from close range.

Poland 1-3 Portugal

Goals from Bernardo Silva and Ronaldo helped Portugal win three out of three in Group A1. Silva's volley broke the deadlock in the 26th minute, and Ronaldo doubled the advantage 11 minutes later, hitting the post after Rafael Leão's first attempt.

Piotr Zieliński equalized in the 78th minute, but Jan Bednarek's late own goal secured the visitors their perfect start.

Serbia – Switzerland 2-0

Serbia secured a comfortable victory over SwitzerlandAFP via Getty Images

Serbia won its first Nations League win of the season by beating Switzerland. The hosts took the lead just before half-time when the unfortunate Nico Elvedi turned Lazar Samardžić's free-kick into the net.

Just after the hour mark, Eagles captain Aleksandar Mitrović doubled the lead with an eye-catching shot after a crazy run. With time running out, Switzerland increased the pressure, but Breel Embolo was unable to beat Predrag Rajković from the penalty spot and Elvedi's header hit the crossbar in stoppage time.

Spain – Denmark 1-0

Martín Zubimendi's volley 11 minutes from time put dominant Spain one point ahead of their visitors to win the group.

After home goalkeeper David Raya parried Kasper Dolberg's early shot, Lars Knudsen's side had Kasper Schmeichel to thank for saves from Lamine Yamal and Álvaro Morata, both of whom went close on more than one occasion. Zubimendi's first attempt from distance made the breakthrough and Denmark suffered their first defeat of the season.

The best of the rest

• Romania scored three first-half goals against Cyprus to maintain their 100 percent record in Group C2 with a comfortable win.
• Kosovo won two consecutive away wins in the Nations League for the first time in its history and kept the pressure on Romania.
• After a narrow draw against Northern Ireland, Belarus remains top of Group C3.

All results from Saturday

A1 Croatia – Scotland 2:1, Poland – Portugal 1:3
A4 Serbia – Switzerland 2-0, Spain – Denmark 1-0
C2 Cyprus – Romania 0:3, Lithuania – Kosovo 1:2
C3 Belarus – Northern Ireland 0-0, Bulgaria – Luxembourg 0-0

Friday

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Germany 1:2

Undav scored twice as Germany won in Zenica, opening the scoring in the 30th minute from a fine free kick from Florian Wirtz and scoring his second six minutes later from a cross from Maximilian Mittelstädt.

In between, the guests survived a scare when Ermedin Demirović – Undav and Mittelstädt's team-mate at Stuttgart – shot a lightning-fast counterattack against the crossbar. Sergej Barbarez's spirited team gave themselves hope thanks to captain Edin Džeko's header in the 70th minute, but Germany managed to win their group by two points.

Hungary – Netherlands 1:1

The visitors needed a late goal to salvage a point against a stubborn Hungarian side in Budapest. Although the Netherlands controlled most of the possession in the first half, Hungary opened the scoring with a well-designed counterattack that ended with Roland Sallai turning in Zsolt Nagy's inviting cross at the back post.

The Netherlands' task became even more difficult in the 79th minute when captain Virgil van Dijk was sent off for a second yellow card, but with seven minutes left, Cody Gakpo curled a free kick from the right for Denzel Dumfries to head home scored the equalizer.

The best of the rest

• Brennan Johnson scored in a seventh successive game for club and country, the Tottenham winger opened the scoring for Wales, but Iceland came from 2-0 down to draw in Group B4.
• Slovakia also recovered from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Sweden in Group C1, with David Strelec scoring a brace.
• Mykhailo Mudryk was the match winner for Ukraine in a 1-0 win against Georgia in Group B1, the winger securing the decisive victory with his cool finish in the 35th minute.

All results from Friday

A3 Bosnia and Herzegovina – Germany 1:2, Hungary – Netherlands 1:1
B1 Czech Republic – Albania 2-0, Ukraine – Georgia 1-0
B4 Iceland – Wales 2-2, Türkiye – Montenegro 1-0
C1 Estonia – Azerbaijan 3:1, Slovakia – Sweden 2:2

Thursday

Italy – Belgium 2:2

Lorenzo Pellegrini's red card was a turning point as Belgium came from two goals down to draw in Rome. The hosts got off to a brilliant start, scoring after 59 seconds through Andrea Cambiaso, before adding a second when Mateo Retegui rolled in when Koen Casteels failed to hold on.

But after the Azzurri were reduced to ten players, Belgium almost immediately conceded a goal when Maxim De Cuyper came forward. Then, just after the hour mark, the visitors grabbed a point when Leandro Trossard buried a Wout Faes header with a deft volley.

Israel 1-4 France

Thanks to a stunning victory, France closed the gap on Italy in Group A2. In the absence of Kylian Mbappé, Aurélien Tchouaméni captained Les Bleus. However, it was his midfield partner Eduardo Camavinga who opened the scoring after just seven minutes as Israel goalkeeper Omri Glazer failed to keep out his shot.

Omri Gandelman equalized with a header, but the equalizer was short-lived as Christopher Nkunku quickly scored his first goal for France from close range. Later goals from Mattéo Guendouzi and Bradley Barcola added some gloss to Didier Deschamps' side's result.

England 1-2 Greece

Ivan Jovanović's side took control of the group and recorded their first win over England thanks to two second-half goals from Vangelis Pavlidis, including the injury-time winner.

Tasos Bakasetas was denied a spectacular goal-line free throw by Levi Colwill in the first half when Cole Palmer could have given England the lead. However, the visitors' breakthrough came just after half-time when Pavlidis broke through the England defense before finishing under Jordan Pickford. Jude Bellingham scored the Three Lions' late equaliser, but there was still time for Pavlidis to have the final say in the 94th minute.

The best of the rest

• Erling Haaland scored his 34th international goal in just 36 games, becoming Norway's all-time top goalscorer
• Robbie Brady's 88th-minute winner gave the Republic of Ireland their first points in Group B2, while Finland remain pointless
• Eljif Elmas sealed a comfortable win for North Macedonia in Latvia, giving them three points clear in Group C4.

All results from Thursday

A2 Italy – Belgium 2:2, Israel 1-4 France
B2 England – Greece 1:2, Finland 1-2 Republic of Ireland
B3 Austria – Kazakhstan 4:0, Norway – Slovenia 3-0
C4 Faroe Islands – Armenia 2:2, Latvia – North Macedonia 0:3
D1 Gibraltar – San Marino 1-0
D2 Moldova – Andorra 2-0