Norway beat Northern Ireland 5-1 in their Nations League match on Monday with Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland leading the charge with two goals and an assist in Belfast.
Mohamed Elyounoussi gave Norway the lead in the second minute but, after Paddy McNair equalised, Haaland got the goal of the game with an emphatic half-volley from the edge of the box that had keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell rooted to the spot.
Germany were still waiting for their first-ever Nations League win after they gave a tired performance and were held to a 1-1 draw by Switzerland on Sunday.
Ilkay Gundogan gave Joachim Loew's side the perfect start with a clinical goal in the 14th minute but Silvan Widmer earned their smaller neighbors a deserved draw just before the hour. In the end, Germany may have been grateful for the result in the League A Group 4 game as the much livelier hosts, unbeaten in their last 17 competitive matches at home, created the better chances.
Last Thursday, 17-year-old Barcelona phenom Ansu Fati was handed his first Spain appearance as a second-half substitute during a 1-1 draw with Germany. On Sunday, Fati was given his second cap and first-ever start as Spain welcomed Ukraine to the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium in Madrid.
If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, here’s the La Masia graduate’s opening 45 minutes.
Zlatan Ibrahimović has criticized Sweden soccer boss Janne Andersson for starting new Juventus signing Dejan Kulusevski on the bench in Saturday's 1-0 UEFA Nations League loss to world champions France.
Kulusevksi came on for a 20-minute cameo but said in a post-match interview that he was shocked that he did not get to start, and Andersson's surprised reaction to the criticism provoked a strong response from Ibrahimovic, Sweden's record goalscorer.
STOCKHOLM — A slice of luck and a moment of individual brilliance from Kylian Mbappé gave France a gritty 1-0 win away to Sweden in their Nations League A Group 3 clash on Saturday.
Promoted to the competition's top tier following their group victory last year, the Swedes frustrated the world champions for the opening 40 minutes until Mbappé proved to be the difference.
The stage was set for Cristiano Ronaldo to become the second man to ever score 100 international goals this weekend. Instead, he watched his country take on Croatia from the stands, with a toe injury keeping him out of Portugal’s lineup.
REYKJAVIK — England's Raheem Sterling converted a 90th minute penalty to snatch a 1-0 win away to Iceland in their opening Nations League match on Saturday after the home side themselves missed a spot kick in stoppage time that would have salvaged a draw.
Sterling got the decisive goal from the spot, after a disappointingly drab game, when Sverrir Ingi Ingason was harshly ruled to have handled the England striker's shot.
The Czech Republic will go ahead with next week's UEFA Nations League match against Scotland but will field a different team than the one that beat Slovakia on Friday due to COVID-19 concerns, a team spokesman said on Saturday.
Shortly after their 3-1 victory against Slovakia, the Czech FA said in a statement that Monday's game against Scotland would not take place due to the "current situation with COVID-19."
ANNOUNCEMENT:
With a $47 million transfer to Manchester United confirmed on Wednesday, Donny van de Beek was the latest Ajax star to make a high-profile move to a European power. He follows in the footsteps of Hakim Ziyech, who made a $47 million move to Chelsea this summer, as well as Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Light, who made high-profile moves last summer.
Borussia Dortmund star signing and Belgium international Thomas Meunier gave a reporter his frank and honest opinion about what he thinks of the UEFA Nations League. Meunier said that the added strain of this new competition, which begins its second iteration this week, is too much for players.