Ronaldo scores twice as Portugal beat Poland in Nations League. The match Romania-Kosovo has been suspended

MADRID (AP) – Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty and an overhead kick as Portugal beat Poland 5-1 to book a place in the Nations League quarterfinals on Friday.

Scotland had their first win in nine matches to keep their hopes of staying in the tournament’s top flight alive.

The match between Romania and Kosovo was suspended at half-time and later abandoned with the score 0-0 in Bucharest. There were fights between players from both teams and Kosovo players walked off the field.

European soccer body UEFA did not explain why the match was abandoned, but Kosovo players were reportedly upset by hearing pro-Serbian slogans.

“The UEFA Nations League match between Romania and Kosovo has been abandoned. UEFA will communicate further information in due course,” it said on its website.

After historical tensions were exacerbated by the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s, in 2008 the majority of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo declared the independence of the former Serbian province. Serbia refuses to recognize this independence and considers Kosovo the cradle of its statehood.

Games involving Kosovo, Albania and Serbia have been a tinderbox in recent years.

Spain, who had already secured top spot in Group A4, beat Denmark 2-1 in Copenhagen and in the same group, Serbia grabbed a late equalizer in Switzerland to condemn the Swiss to relegation to the second tier.

France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal are all guaranteed one of the eight quarter-final places. The games will be held from 20.-23. March.

The eight teams are also guaranteed a place in Pot 1 for the qualification draw for the 2026 World Cup.

Ronaldo leads in Porto

Ronaldo delivered a man-of-the-match performance in a blistering second half.

Portugal took their time overcoming a hapless Poland, but three goals in the final 10 minutes clinched the game. Rafael Leão broke the deadlock with a fine header 14 minutes into the second half and then Ronaldo got his 134th international goal from the penalty spot 13 minutes later.

Ronaldo made it five – and 135 – with a deft overhead kick three minutes from time.

The result ended Poland’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

Scotland secure a rare victory

Scotland had their first win in nine games with a late John McGinn goal giving the home side the narrowest win over a 10-man Croatia in Group A1.

Petar Sucic was sent off for a second yellow card two minutes before the break, but Scotland struggled to capitalize.

It wasn’t until four minutes later that substitute McGinn broke the deadlock to the delight of the Hampden Park crowd.

The result left Scotland with two points and Poland with four. The teams meet in Warsaw on Monday, with Scotland needing a win to avoid relegation to the second tier.

Spain beat Denmark 2-1

Denmark had not beaten Spain since 1993 and got off to a poor start as Mikel Oyarzabal capitalized on poor defending to give the visitors the lead after 15 minutes.

The European champions were on top throughout, with Oyarzabal and Ayoze Pérez getting well ahead. Pérez hit the crossbar early on but later took a pass from Olmo and finished clinically with 58 minutes gone.

The Danes are in second place with seven points, two ahead of Serbia. The parties will meet in Leskovac on Monday. Switzerland in last place drops to Liga B.

Serbia equalizes late on

In Zurich, Zeki Amdouni put Switzerland ahead after 79 minutes and looked to be heading for their first win of the tournament.

But with three minutes remaining, Serbia broke up the pitch and Aleksa Terzić provided the finish to level the scores. Gregor Kobel saved a penalty from Serbia’s Aleksandar Mitrović early in the second half.

Northern Ireland close to promotion

In Group C3, Northern Ireland took a big step closer to promotion to League B with a 2-0 win at home to Belarus. Daniel Ballard’s goal five minutes into the second half put Northern Ireland ahead and Dion Charles doubled their lead 13 minutes later to take it to 10 points.

Martin O’Neil’s men need just a point in Luxembourg on Monday to guarantee promotion to League B.

Bulgaria beat Luxembourg 1-0 away and are in second place with eight points. It faces Belarus, who have six, on Monday.

Late penalty saves San Marino

San Marino scored a penalty at half-time to draw with Gibraltar 1-1.

Gibraltar went ahead when Liam Walker converted an early penalty.

Nanni’s last-gasp equalizer still leaves Gibraltar unbeaten in six matches. It sits top of Group D1 with six points, two ahead of San Marino and four ahead of Liechtenstein, although they have played one game more.

With one game to go, all three teams are still fighting for promotion to League C.

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