Tuesday, November 20, 2018

UEFA Nations League: Sweden, Scotland, Serbia, Kosovo Each Move Up A Division On Final Day Of Group-Stage Play; Cyprus Relegated

Group-stage play in the UEFA Nations League concluded on Tuesday with seven games.

LEAGUE A:

Group Three:

At Guimaraes, Portugal:

Arek Milik's successful penalty kick in the 66th minute enabled Poland to gain a 1-1 road draw with Portugal.

Andre Silva scored for the Nation League Finals-bound hosts in the 34th minute.

Final Group Three Standings:

1. Portugal (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 8)
2. Italy (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 5)
3. Poland (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 2)

Portugal advanced to next June's Nation League Finals while Poland were relegated to League B.



LEAGUE B:

Group Two:

At Solna, Sweden:

Victor Lindelof (41') and Marcus Berg (72') produced the goals that carried Sweden to a 2-0 home blanking in Russia---and promotion to League A.

Final Group Two Standings:

1. Sweden (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 7)
2. Russia (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
3. Turkey (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 3)

Sweden, by virtue of gaining a win and a draw in two contests with Russia, won promotion to League A; Turkey were relegated to League C.



LEAGUE C:

Group One:

At Glasgow, Scotland:

James Forrest produced a hat trick (34', 43', 64') as Scotland held off visiting Israel 3-2 and gained promotion to League B.

Final Group One Standings:

1. Scotland (GP: 4; GD: +6; PTS: 9)
2. Israel (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)
3. Albania (GP: 4; GD: -7; PTS: 3)

Albania were relegated to League D.

Group Four:

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Aleksandar Mitrovic scored what proved to be the game winner in the 58th minute as Serbia dominated visiting Lithuania 4-1 and won promotion to League B.

At Podgorica, Montenegro:

Marius Tucudean scored the only goal of the match in the 44th minute as Romania defeated Montenegro 1-0 on the road but saw their hopes of promotion to League B dashed by Serbia's home beatdown of Lithuania.

Final Group Four Standings:

1. Serbia (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 14)
2. Romania (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 12)
3. Montenegro (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
4. Lithuania (GP: 6; GD: -13; PTS: 0)

Serbia won promotion to League B; Lithuania were relegated to League D.

NOTE: By having the worst third-place record in their group, Cyprus were relegated to League D.



LEAGUE D:

Group Three:

At Pristina, Kosovo:

Arber Zeneli produced a hat trick (5', 50', 76') as Kosovo demolished visiting Azerbaijan 4-0 to gain promotion to League C.

At Ta' Qali, Malta:

Juan Corbalan's equalizer in the fourth minute lifted Malta to a 1-1 home draw with the Faroe Islands.

Rene Joensen scored in minute #3 for the guests.

Final Group D Standings:

1. Kosovo (GP: 6; GD: +13; PTS: 14)
2. Azerbaijan (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS; 9)
3. Faroe Islands (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 5)
4. Malta (GP: 6; GD: -9; PTS: 3)



NOTE: By finishing atop their League A groups, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal, and England advanced to the Nations League Finals, set to take place next June in Portugal.

One semifinal will take place on June 5 and the other semifinal will be contested on June 6.

The third-place match, then the Final, will be played on June 9.

Porto and Guimaraes are the venues.


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