Felix Fires Portugal to Opening Night Win

Portugal got their Nations League title defence up and running with a well-fought 1-0 win over Wales in Lisbon.

Felix the Matchwinner

Wales were a threat early on down the right-hand side, as a Jordan James cross met Lewis Koumas in the box, but the Liverpool man fired his effort over.

Portugal responded by dominating the ball and could’ve gone ahead through Ruben Dias and Pedro Neto.

But it was former Chelsea man Joao Felix who found the breakthrough midway through the first half as he rifled home a shot from distance that was too much for visiting keeper Danny Ward.

Cristiano Ronaldo was guilty of missing a handful of chances to add to the lead and thought he had done so when he slotted past Ward on the hour mark, only to be denied by VAR for offside.

They were nearly made to pay when Brennan Johnson’s looped effort clipped the bar, leading to a goal-line scramble, but Wales were ultimately unable to find the equaliser as they began life in League A with defeat.

Elsewhere in the Nations League

In the other match in League A4, Norway came out on top in an entertaining all-Scandinavian clash with Denmark.

Oscar Bobb and Erling Haaland put the hosts 2-0 up inside 20 minutes, but the Danes had them pegged back by the hour, as Mikel Damsgaard and Rasmus Hojland found the net.

But Haaland had the final say when he lashed the ball home following a Norwegian corner kick routine to give the hosts a slender win.

And in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Germany shared the spoils as Xavi and Jurgen Klopp began their international managerial careers. 

Borussia Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha gave the Germans a first-half lead and it looked like that would be enough to give Die Mannschaft all three points.

But a brilliant Cody Gakpo finish from Ruben van Bommel’s cross gave the Dutch a deserved point in injury time.

Germany next face Greece, who top League A2 after coming from behind to beat Serbia 2-1.