Portugal’s 1-0 victory in UEFA’s newest competition, the European Nations League has denied the Netherlands its first trophy since the 1988 European Championship.
The Portuguese led by Juventus’ talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo needed Goncalo Guedes’ goal early in the second half of the match played at Estadio do Dragao in Porto, the country’s capital to give them their first trophy since the 2016 European Championship.
Guedes’ 60th minute right-footed screamer from outside the area could not be stopped as it easily sailed pass the hapless Jasper Cillesen in the Dutch goal.
The revamped Dutch team, who were seeking some kind of redemption after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and the 2016 European Championship, dug deep for an equalizer but the Portuguese defence held firm to the end of the encounter.
Coming off a hat trick in the semifinals against Switzerland, Ronaldo was not much of a factor against the highly rated Liverpool defender, Virgil van Dijk in the matchup of likely contenders for the Player of the Year Award.
In the third place play offs, the English Three Lions needed a penalty shoot-out to go past a resilient Swiss side. Regulation time ended in a barren draw.
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