MADRID — In an unexpected turn of events, Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score, leading to a disappointing 0-0 draw for Portugal against Scotland in the Nations League on Tuesday.
Portugal had previously enjoyed a flawless start in the competition, winning their initial three matches. However, they could not penetrate the Scottish defense at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
With 133 international goals to his name, Ronaldo had several opportunities to put his team ahead but was visibly frustrated after the match, leaving the pitch in a sarcastic manner, gesturing discontentingly towards the referee.
Despite this draw, Portugal remains at the top of Group A1 with 10 points, 3 ahead of Croatia and 6 points ahead of Poland. Scotland, on the other hand, ranked at the bottom of the group, only managed to secure one point and arrived at this match with a long winless streak, suffering four consecutive losses before this encounter.
The two top teams in each group will progress to the knockout stage.
Meanwhile, Spain celebrated its third consecutive victory in the Nations League, with Álvaro Morata scoring after previously missing a penalty.
Spain triumphed over Serbia with a decisive 3-0 score at the Nuevo Arcangel stadium in Cordoba. Just ten minutes after sending a penalty kick over the bar in the 54th minute, Morata scored Spain’s second goal in the 65th minute.
Aymeric Laporte initiated the scoring, putting Spain ahead just five minutes into the match. The defending champions began with a goalless draw against Serbia and followed with victories over Switzerland and Denmark in Group A4.
Spain currently leads its group with 10 points, three more than Denmark, who played to a 2-2 draw against Switzerland, placing them at the bottom of the group. Serbia holds third place with four points from a previous victory over Switzerland, now struggling without a win.
In this match, Serbia was forced to play with a man down from the 76th minute when Strahinja Pavlovic received a red card for a sliding tackle. Álex Baena then scored Spain’s third goal from the resulting free kick.
In another exciting matchup, Croatia engaged in a high-scoring first half against Poland.
The Croatian team netted three goals within the first 26 minutes, leading 3-2 at halftime. The thrilling game ultimately ended in a 3-3 draw in Group A1.
Poland started strong with Piotr Zielinski scoring early in the 5th minute, but Croatia quickly rallied with goals from Borna Sosa in the 19th minute, Petar Sucic in the 24th, and Martin Baturina in the 26th minute.
Poland’s Nicola Zalewski narrowed the gap just before halftime, and Szymanski equalized the match in the 68th minute. Croatia also had its goalkeeper, Dominik Livakovic, sent off in the 76th minute for a foul on Poland’s star, Robert Lewandowski.
Croatia remains in second place in the group with 7 points, just behind Portugal, while Poland sits in third with 4 points, putting them ahead of Scotland.
Other notable results included Kosovo’s 3-0 win over Cyprus in League C, Romania’s 2-1 victory against Lithuania, and a 1-1 draw between Belarus and Luxembourg.
In impressive fashion, Northern Ireland dominated Bulgaria 5-0 at home, highlighted by a hat trick from Isaac Price.