European champions Spain held in Nations League, Cristiano Ronaldo scores 900th goal

PARIS – Spain coach Luis de la Fuente blamed the heat and player exhaustion, but insisted there were no major concerns after being held 0-0 by Serbia in the Nations League in their first game since winning Euro 2024.

Also on Sept 5, Cristiano Ronaldo reached another impressive milestone by scoring his 900th career goal as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 at home.

Eight of Spain’s starting line-up in their Euro 2024 final victory over England almost two months ago were on the field at kick-off against the Serbs in Belgrade.

Among them was Lamine Yamal, with the Barcelona prodigy just one of the Spanish players to be denied by home goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.

De la Fuente’s team are also the reigning Nations League champions, having won the most recent edition in 2023.

They will now hope to register their first victory in League A, Group 4 when they face Switzerland in Geneva on Sept 8.

“We lacked mostly everything in the first half,” the coach said.

“In the second half we were better and much improved but lacked effectively up front. We could have done better, players were a little tired, the heat was excruciating and we ran out of gas.

“I’m not worried, it’s almost a pre-season game for us due to the circumstances, still early in the season and the calendar is busy for the players. It’s a process and we will move forward.”

In the same group, the Swiss lost 2-0 to Denmark, with Patrick Dorgu and captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scoring late goals for the hosts in Copenhagen.

In Lisbon, Ronaldo’s 900th career goal proved to be the winner as 2019 Nations League champions Portugal edged out Croatia 2-1 in Group A1.

The 39-year-old put behind him a disappointing Euro 2024 in which he failed to score as he turned in a Nuno Mendes cross in the 34th minute at the Estadio da Luz to reach the landmark.

He appeared emotional as he celebrated the goal, his 131st in a Portugal shirt. Half of his goals were for Real Madrid, with the remainder spread across his spells at Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United and current club Al-Nassr.

“It means a lot,” Ronaldo said. “It was a milestone I wanted to reach for a long time.

“I knew I would reach this number, because as I continue to play, it would happen naturally.

“It was emotional. It seems like any other milestone, but only I know, and the people around me, how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and psychologically fit, to score 900 goals. It’s a unique milestone.”

Diogo Dalot’s goal had put Portugal in front early on before Ronaldo netted, with a Dalot own goal reducing the deficit before the break.

Portugal next host Scotland, who lost 3-2 to Poland at Hampden Park, with the visitors grabbing the victory thanks to a 97th-minute Nicola Zalewski penalty.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Slovakia and Northern Ireland in League C, while Sweden – now coached by Jon Dahl Tomasson – beat Azerbaijan 3-1 away in Baku with Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak netting twice.

History was made in League D as San Marino, the world’s worst team according to the Fifa rankings, beat Liechtenstein 1-0 to claim their first-ever competitive win.

The tiny country of barely 30,000 people, surrounded by Italy, came into the match at their San Marino Stadium looking for a first win of any sort since beating Liechtenstein in a friendly in 2004.

Liechtenstein had a goal disallowed for offside in the first half, before San Marino pounced on a defensive error to grab the winner in the 53rd minute through Nicko Sensoli.

Aged 19, he had not been born when the team who sit 210th and last in the world rankings last won a game. AFP, REUTERS