MX23RW : Sunday, November 17 11:04:54| >> :120:10243:10243:
[monks data]
Attendance: 43,199
Portugal national football team
- | -
Jun 9, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Netherlands national football team

1-0

Guedes (60')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Goncalo Guedes scores winner as Portugal land UEFA Nations League title

Portugal win the inaugural UEFA Nations League title courtesy of a 1-0 win over the Netherlands in Sunday night's final.

Portugal have won the inaugural UEFA Nations League title courtesy of a 1-0 win over the Netherlands in Sunday night's final at the Estadio do Dragao.

Goncalo Guedes scored the only goal of the match in the 60th minute, and it was a deserved victory for Fernando Santos's side, who offered the greater threat in Porto.

Portugal attacker Goncalo Guedes scores against the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League final on June 9, 2019© Reuters

Ronald Koeman resisted the temptation to make changes following Thursday's semi-final against England, with the same Netherlands XI being sent onto the field despite having to play extra time against the Three Lions.

There were three changes for Portugal following their semi-final win over Switzerland, though, with Jose Fonte coming in for the injured Pepe, while Danilo and Guedes were in for Joao Felix and Ruben Neves.

Portugal had a penalty shout inside the first four minutes when Bernardo Silva went down under pressure from Daley Blind, but the referee was not interested and there was no subsequent VAR check.

Bruno Fernandes - strongly linked with Manchester United - had the first shot of the match in the ninth minute, but the midfielder's effort was always moving wide of Jasper Cillessen's post. Fernandes again tried his luck a couple of minutes later although it was a comfortable save for the Dutch goalkeeper.

Portugal attacker Cristiano Ronaldo in action with Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong in the UEFA Nations League final on June 9, 2019© Reuters

Fonte was next to try his luck in the 28th minute, but the centre-back's header from a dangerous corner was always straight into the arms of Cillessen, who then had to keep out a powerful strike from Fernandes.

The 30-minute mark came and went with the game still goalless - Portugal were easily the more dangerous of the two teams, but creating clear-cut opportunities was proving to be a tough task for the Iberian nation.

It was almost a one-man show in terms of Fernandes efforts, with the Sporting Lisbon midfielder sending another strike over the crossbar in the 38th minute and the two teams headed down the tunnel at 0-0.

The Netherlands enjoyed 59% of the possession in the first period but had just one shot, while Portugal managed 12 first-half attempts without finding the back of the net.

Portugal attacker Cristiano Ronaldo in action with Netherlands defender Matthijs de Ligt in the UEFA Nations League final on June 9, 2019© Reuters

Ryan Babel was replaced by Quincy Promes at the interval, which was not a surprise as Koeman's side offered little going forward in the first 45 minutes of action.

The Dutch were much better at the start of the second period, but Portugal were still carrying a big threat down the other end with Ronaldo and Guedes both extremely dangerous.

Rui Patricio had to make a smart save to prevent a deflected cross from finding the back of the Portugal net just before the hour, and there was also plenty happening down the other end during a frantic period of the match.

Finally the breakthrough arrived on the hour when Guedes collected a clever pass from Bernardo Silva before finding the bottom corner with a powerful effort. Cillessen got his hands to Guedes's strike but could not prevent it from nestling in the back of the net.

Portugal attacker Bernardo Silva in action with Netherlands defender Daley Blind in the UEFA Nations League final on June 9, 2019© Reuters

Patricio had to make a smart save to keep out a header from Depay in the period that followed, and the Netherlands were the team on the front foot approaching the final 20 minutes of normal time.

A strike from Marten de Roon just missed the Portugal goal in the 78th minute, moments before Fernandes again stung the palms of Cillessen down the other end of the field.

Joao Moutinho had a late shout for a penalty after going down under a challenge from Blind, but the referee did not whistle and the Netherlands were still alive entering the final minutes of normal time.

The leveller never looked likely, though, with Portugal fairly comfortable in the three minutes of additional time as Santos's team landed the first ever UEFA Nations League trophy courtesy of a one-goal success.

PORTUGAL (4-3-3): Patricio; Semedo, Dias, Fonte, Guerreiro; Fernandes (Moutinho 81'), Danilo, Carvalho (Neves 93'); B Silva, Guedes (Rafa Silva 75'), Ronaldo

NETHERLANDS (4-3-3): Cillessen; Dumfries, De Ligt, Van Dijk, Blind; De Roon (L de Jong 82'), Wijnaldum, F de Jong; Babel (Promes 46'), Depay, Bergwijn (Van de Beek 60')

ID:361579: cacheID:361579:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:9449:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo during the match against Uruguay on June 30, 2018
Read Next:
How Portugal could line up against Switzerland
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Packers
@
Bears
6pm
Raiders
@
Dolphins
6pm
Colts
@
Jets
6pm
Jags
@
Lions
6pm
Rams
@
Patriots
6pm
Browns
@
Saints
6pm
Ravens
@
Steelers
6pm
Vikings
@
Titans
9.05pm
Seahawks
@
49ers
9.05pm
Falcons
@
Broncos
9.25pm
Chiefs
@
Bills
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!