Wednesday, October 14, 2020

UEFA Nations League: Denmark Knock Off Three Lions In London; France Top Croatia Again; Portugal Too Much For Sweden; Iceland Relegated To League B

 20 games were contested in UEFA Nations League group-stage action on Wednesday.


LEAGUE A:


Group One:


At Bergamo, Italy:


Donny van der Beek's equalizer in the 25th minute lifted the Netherlands to a 1-1 road draw with Italy.


Lorenzo Pellegrini scored for the Azzurri in the 16th minute.


At Wroclaw, Poland:


Robert Lewandowski scored twice (40', 52') as Poland dominated visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0. 


Group One Standings:


1. Poland (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 7)

2. Italy (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 6)

3. Netherlands (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 5)

4. Bosnia and Herzegovina (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 2)




Group Two:


At London:


Christian Eriksen converted a penalty kick in the 35th minute for the goal that carried Denmark to a 1-0 road victory over England


At Reykjavik, Iceland:


Romelu Lukaku scored twice (9', PK-39') as Belgium defeated Iceland 2-1 on the road to clinch the hosts' relegation to League B for the 2022-23 edition.


Group Two Standings:


1.    Belgium (GP: 4; GD: +6; PTS: 9)

2.    Denmark (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 7)

3.    England (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 7)

4. z-Iceland (GP: 4; GD: -9; PTS: 0)


NOTE:  Denmark had a win and a draw in two games against England.


z-Relegated to League B




Group Three:


At Zagreb, Croatia:


Kylain Mbappe scored the winning goal in the 79th minute as France defeated Croatia 2-1 on the road.


At Lisbon:


Diogo Jota scored twice (44', 72') as Portugal dominated visiting Sweden 3-0.


Group Three Standings:


1. Portugal (GP: 4; GD: +8; PTS: 10)

2. France (GP: 4; GD: +4; PTS: 10)

3. Croatia (GP: 4; GD: -5; PTS: 3)

4. Sweden (GP: 4; GD: -7; PTS: 0)




LEAGUE B:


Group One:


At Oslo, Norway:


Stuart Dallas' own goal in the 68th minute was decisive as Norway defeated visiting Northern Ireland 1-0.


At Ploiesti, Romania:


Alessandro Schopf provided the game's lone goal in the 76th minute as Austria defeated Romania 1-0 on the road.


Group One Standings:


1. Austria (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 9)

2. Norway (GP: 4; GD: +8; PTS: 8)

3. Romania (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 4)

4. Northern Ireland (GP: 4; GD: -6; PTS: 1)


NOTE:  Austria defeated Norway 2-1 on the road on September 4.




Group Two:


At Glasgow, Scotland:


Ryan Fraser scored the only goal of Scotland's 1-0 home victory over the Czech Republic in the sixth minute.


At Trnava, Slovakia:


Eran Zahavi produced a hat trick (68', 76', 89') as Israel came back from two goals down to end Slovakia's hopes of gaining promotion to League B (while keeping their own chances alive) 3-2 on the road.


Group Two Standings:


1. Scotland (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 10)

2. Czech Republic (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)

3. Israel (GP:4; GD: 0; PTS: 5)

4. Slovakia (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 1)




Group Three:


At Moscow:


Russia and visiting Hungary battled to a 0-0 stalemate.


At Istanbul, Turkey:


Hakan Calhanoglu (57') and Ozan Tufan (76') each scored once as Turkey came back from two goals down to gain a 2-2 home draw with Serbia.


Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (22') and Aleksandar Mitrovic (PK-49') each scored once for the visitors.


Group Three Standings:


1. Russia (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 8)

2. Hungary (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 7)

3. Turkey (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 3)

4. Serbia (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 2)




Group Four:


At Helsinki, Finland:


Hans Fredrik Jensen's goal in the 66th minute lifted Finland to a 1-0 home victory over the Republic of Ireland.


At Sofia, Bulgaria:


Jonathan Williams scored the game winner in the 85th minute as Wales defeated Bulgaria 1-0 on the road.


Group Four Standings:


1. Wales (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 10)

2. Finland (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 9)

3. Republic of Ireland (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 2)

4. Bulgaria (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 1)




LEAGUE C:


Group Two:


At Tallinn, Estonia:


Rauno Sappinen's 14th-minute equalizer lifted Estonia to a 1-1 home draw with Armenia.


Kamo Hovhannisyan scored for the guests at eight minutes.


At Skopje, North Macedonia:


Ezgjan Alioski's successful penalty kick at the death (90'+3) kept North Macedonia at the top of the Group Two standings as the Red Lynxes gained a 1-1 home draw with Georgia.


Khvicha Kvaratskelia scored for the visitors in the 74th minute.


Group Two Standings:


1. North Macedonia (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)

2. Georgia (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)

3. Armenia (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 5)

4. Estonia (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 2)


NOTE:  With North Macedonia and Georgia playing to two 1-1 draws, the Red Lynxes have scored more goals than the Crusaders in all games (7-5) thus far.




Group Three:


At Athens:


Greece and visiting Kosovo battled to a 0-0 stalemate.


At Chisinau, Moldova:


Haris Vuckic produced a hat trick (PK-37', 42', PK-55') as Slovenia demolished hosts Moldova 4-0.


Group Three Standins:


1. Slovenia (GP: 4; GD; +6; PTS: 10)

2. Greece (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 8)

3. Kosovo (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 2)

4. Moldova (GP: 4; GD: -7; PTS: 1)




Group Four:


At Vilnius, Lithuania:


Lithuania and visiting Albania battled to a 0-0 stalemate.


At Minsk, Belarus:


Yevgeniy Yablonskiy (36') and Roman Yuzepchuk (90'+3) each scored once as Belarus blanked visiting Kazakhstan 2-0.


Group Four Standings:


1. Belarus (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 7)

2. Lithuania (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 5)

3. Albania (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 5)

4. Kazakhstan (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)


NOTE: Lithuania had a win and a draw in two games with Albania.



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