After a 1: 1 draw in Switzerland, the Spaniards lost the lead in the A4 Group of the League of Nations, which was taken over by the Germans thanks to a 3: 1 victory over Ukraine. He will decide on the progress between the Spaniards and the Germans in Tuesday’s duel in Seville.
In the role of captain, the Spaniards were led by Sergio Ramos, who broke the European record of the Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon with his 177th start in the national team. He loses only seven matches to the absolute record holder in the number of national matches of the Egyptian Ahmed Hassan. However, Real Madrid’s 34-year-old stopper was also the loser of the match, as he did not convert either of the two penalty kicks.
The Spanish coach Luis Enrique surprised even before the match by preferring only 23-year-old Unai Simón in the goal to experienced goalkeepers De Geou and Arrizabalaga, who caught the first national team match on Wednesday against the Netherlands (1: 1).
Simón collected already in the 26th minute, when he was overtaken by Remo Freuler. The Spaniards were able to equalize in the 58th minute, but the goalkeeper Ian Sommer neutralized Ramos with a penalty for the first time. He repeated the same thing in the 80th minute, when Ramos headed to the same place. The Spaniards, however, managed to equalize against the weakened Swiss, in the 89th minute after a kick for the defense, Gerard Moreno took the place.
Although the Czech team’s opponent from Wednesday’s preparatory match against Germany lost to Ukraine from the 12th minute after Roman Jaremčuk’s goal, Leroy Sané and Timo Werner turned the score within twenty minutes. The same player then closed the score in the 64th minute. The Ukrainians had to play without Andrei Jarmolenko, Viktor Cygankov, Viktor Kovalenko and Serhiy Sydorchuk, who had a positive coronavirus test before the match.
The French footballers won 1: 0 in Portugal and secured the victory in the A3 group before the final round. They were the first team to advance to the semifinals of the competition, which will be played next October.
The French arrived in Lisbon after Wednesday’s surprising home defeat 0: 2 with Finland, but from the opening minutes they were a better team. Patricia’s two-chance chances were eliminated in the first half by Patricio, but in the 54th minute only Rabiot shot and the smallest man on the field N’golo Kante headed the ball to the open goal. The Portuguese were unable to answer his goal and lost the chance to defend last year’s triumph from the premiere year of the competition.
In the second duel of the A3 group, the Swedes won 2: 1 over the Croats and both teams now have three points in the table and at the same time the same balance of mutual matches. Tuesday’s matches Croatia-Portugal and France-Sweden will decide who stays in the elite group A and who, on the contrary, descends into group B.
The Croats came to Solna without the injured stopper Dejan Lovren and without Domagoj Vida and Marcel Brozovič, who tested positive for coronavirus. The loss of three defensive players may have affected the collected goals of Dejan Kulusevsky and Marcus Danielson at the end of the first half. The Croats were only able to reduce in the 82nd minute after Danielson’s own goal.
Group A3
Sweden – Croatia 2: 1 (2: 0). Goals: 36. Kulusevski, 45. + 2 Danielson – 82. owns Danielson.
Portugal – France 0: 1 (0: 0). Goal: 54. Kanté.
| 1. | France | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8:3 | 13 |
| 2. | Portugal | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9:2 | 10 |
| 3. | Croatia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7:13 | 3 |
| 4. | Sweden | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3:9 | 3 |
Group A4
Germany – Ukraine 3: 1 (2: 1). Goals: 33rd and 64th Werner, 23rd Sané – 12th Yaremchuk.
Switzerland – Spain 1: 1 (1: 0). Goals: 26. Freuler – 89. Gerard. ČK: 79. Elvedi (Swiss).
| 1. | Germany | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10:7 | 9 |
| 2. | Spain | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7:3 | 8 |
| 3. | Ukraine | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5:10 | 6 |
| 4. | Switzerland | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6:8 | 3 |
Group C1
Cyprus – Luxembourg 2: 1 (1: 1). Goals: 34. with pen. and 71. Kastanos – 5th own Kusulos. ČK: 33. Selimovic (LUX).
Azerbaijan – Montenegro 0: 0. ČK: 45. + 2 Ivanovič (Č. Hora). Played in Zaprešič (Croatia).
| 1. | Montenegro | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6:2 | 10 |
| 2. | Luxembourg | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7:5 | 9 |
| 3. | Azerbaijan | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2:4 | 5 |
| 4. | Cyprus | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2:6 | 4 |
Group D1
Malta – Andorra 3: 1 (0: 1). Goals: 56. own Garcia, 59. Degabriele, 90. + 3 Dimech – 3. Rebés.
Latvia – Faroe Islands 1: 1 (0: 0). Goals: 59. Kamešs – 60. Vatnhamar.
| 1. | Faroe Islands | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8:4 | 11 |
| 2. | Malta | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7:5 | 8 |
| 3. | Latvia | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3:4 | 4 |
| 4. | Andorra | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1:6 | 2 |
Group D2
San Marino – Gibraltar 0:0. ČK: 49. Simoncini (San Marino).
| 1. | Gibraltar | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2:0 | 7 |
| 2. | Lichtenstein | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2:1 | 4 |
| 3. | San Marino | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0:3 | 2 |
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