It was an eventful night in the Nations League. Portugal won the big clash against Erling Haaland’s Norway (2-1), with Gonçalo Ramos scoring the decisive goal, while Jürgen Klopp suffered his first defeat as Germany coach against Greece (0-1). In League B, Ireland comfortably defeated Israel (3-0).
The second round of Nations League fixtures continued on Sunday evening, with Portugal travelling to Oslo for one of the night’s biggest games. The match featured a battle between Portugal’s attacking stars and Erling Haaland, while Cristiano Ronaldo remained on the bench throughout the entire game. Portugal quickly took control, with João Félix finishing a fine team move in the 17th minute to open the scoring.
Gonçalo Ramos Punishes Nyland’s Huge Mistake
Norway gradually increased the pressure and were rewarded shortly after half-time. After Diogo Costa saved Martin Ødegaard’s free-kick, Haaland equalised in the 51st minute. However, just three minutes later, Ørjan Nyland completely mishit his clearance, allowing former PSG striker Gonçalo Ramos to intercept the ball and produce a perfectly executed lob from outside the penalty area to make it 2-1. Ramos later had another goal ruled out for offside, while Rafael Leão hit the crossbar. Norway finished with 21 shots to Portugal’s 12 but could not find another equaliser. Portugal therefore made it two wins from two after previously beating Wales 1-0 and now sit alone at the top of their group.
The biggest surprise of the evening came in Augsburg, where Germany lost 1-0 at home to Greece, handing Jürgen Klopp his first defeat since taking charge of the national team. After a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, Germany again struggled despite dominating possession. Substitute Dimitris Kourbelis scored the winner in the 74th minute with a shot deflected by Joshua Kimmich beyond Alexander Nübel. It was a historic result for Greece, who had never previously beaten Germany, having recorded seven defeats and three draws in their previous ten meetings since 1960. Klopp’s Germany therefore remain without a victory after two matches.
Elsewhere in League B Group 3, the Republic of Ireland swept aside Israel 3-0, effectively settling the contest inside 25 minutes. Troy Parrott opened the scoring in the 13th minute, Adam Idah doubled the lead three minutes later and Joshua Moylan added a third in the 25th. Sunday’s other main results saw the Netherlands beat Serbia 2-1, Denmark defeat Wales 2-0 and Austria overcome Kosovo 3-1. Portugal maintain their perfect start, while Greece produced one of the standout results of the second round and Germany are still waiting for their first win under Klopp.
