Denmark beat Serbia and lead Group D ahead of Spain
Denmark beat Serbia (2-0) on Sunday to remain at the top of Group D of Division A of the UEFA Nations League, the same group that includes Spain, who are second after winning in Switzerland, while the perennial Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric gave victories to Portugal and Croatia against Scotland and Poland, respectively.
The second round of the UEFA Nations League has so far left few surprises. For football romantics, Gibraltar’s 2-2 draw at home to Liechtenstein will certainly surprise, but no ‘big team’ has missed the chance to win and continue to add points.
In Group D, where Spain failed to find the key to beating Serbia on the first matchday, Denmark did beat the Serbians with goals from Albert Gronbaek in the 36th minute and Yussuf Poulsen in the 61st minute. They only had three shots on goal but beat Predrag Rajkovic twice to secure a vital victory.
Cristian Eriksen played well in that match, joining the list of ‘old rockers’ who, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric, continue to carry the weight in their teams. The Portuguese beat the always combative Scotland 2-1 at the Estádio do Benfica, a comeback including Scott McTominay’s opening goal with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 88th minute, to bring back a ground where they were rivals in the very distant past.
Luka Modric was also key for Croatia, scoring the winning goal (1-0) in the 52nd minute against Poland, led by Barça player Robert Lewandowski, who barely got any chance. Croatia were superior at the Opus Arena in Osijek, but only Real Madrid’s Modric was able to score and give his team three very important points. Now, in Group A, Portugal is the leader with six points, with three each for Croatia and Poland and none for Scotland.
Sweden’s biggest win was 3-0 against Estonia, who lost to Kevor Palumets when Sweden were already ahead thanks to a double from Viktor Gyökeres and a goal from Alexander Isak. The Scandinavians had few problems at the Friends Arena, where they made few friends by not giving the Estonians the run of play, who are at the bottom of Group A of League C. In the other match in the group that Sweden leads, Slovakia follows the Swedish train with another victory, this time against Azerbaijan (2-0).
In League C, the third division of this Nations League, Belarus and Bulgaria beat Luxembourg (0-1) and Northern Ireland (1-0) respectively in Group C. Meanwhile, in Group A of League D, the worst division, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein drew, the latter still without a win after losing in the first round against San Marino.