<p>The UEFA Nations League continued over the weekend involving some of the best European teams. On Saturday, England, Germany and The Netherlands opened their campaign with victories. Sunday saw Spain pick their first win while Cristiano helped Portugal to a comeback over Scotland.</p>



<h2>Spain saw off Swiss with quickfire goals</h2>



<p>The European champions started their defense of the Nations League title with a goalless draw at Serbia. But they quickly avoided that in a tricky trip to Switzerland with Joselu and Fabian Ruiz scoring inside the first 13 minutes.</p>



<p>For their part, the Euro 2024 quarter-finalists didn’t give up as their comeback hope was boosted when Robin Le Normand saw a straight red card in the 20th minute. At the end of a grueling game under unfavorable weather conditions, La Roja took all three points with two late goals stretching the result to a resounding 4-1.</p>



<h2>Former Irish internationals led England to victory in Dublin</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240908_WST_527655_Nations-League-2-1200x675_9840660d.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-527695" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Nations-League-2-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Nations-League-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Nations-League-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Nations-League-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Nations-League-2.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



<p>England’s game at Dublin attracted headlines from the get-go. Although it was his routine while winning the U21 Euros last year, Lee Carsley’s decision to not sing the national anthem divided opinions ahead of his <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/carsley-to-be-englands-interim-coach-through-autumn/">England debut</a>.</p>



<p>Coincidentally, it happened to be a game against Ireland, a national team he represented in his playing career. It was also a return to familiar territory for Declan Rice and Jack Grealish as they got a hostile reception from Aviva Stadium.</p>



<p>As fate would have it, they got the goals for a 2-0 win for the Three Lions. But their reactions couldn’t be any different. Rice, who returned to the stadium where he played for Ireland in a friendly win against USMNT in 2018, didn’t want to escalate the situation. That wasn’t the case with Grealish, a Birmingham native like Carsley.</p>



<p>England was relegated to League B after a winless tournament in the 2022-23 edition. The routine win was far from ending the national anthem controversy, however. The Football Association (FA) is expected to name a permanent coach before next month’s games.</p>



<h2>Five-star performances from Germany and The Netherlands</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240908_WST_527655_Nations-League-1-1200x675_297e6018.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-527694" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Nations-League-1-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Nations-League-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Nations-League-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Nations-League-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Nations-League-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



<p>The <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/top-10-most-interesting-games-to-watch-in-the-international-break/">Netherlands will host historical rivals Germany</a> at Johan Cruyff Arena on Tuesday. Before the head-to-head game, both national teams scored five goals in their respective games on Saturday.</p>



<p>Julian Naglesmann’s side recorded an emphatic 5-0 win against Hungary in Dusseldorf. Jamal Musiala responded to the Ballon d’Or snub with a trademark goal and three assists. Florian Wirtz, who is on the 30-man shortlist, also contributed with a goal and an assist.&nbsp;</p>



<p>After missing out on the Euros because of tonsillitis, Bayern’s up-and-coming midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic scored his first goal for Germany. There was also a change of guards at the goalkeeping position with Marc Andre ter Stegen replacing Manuel Neuer.</p>



<p>While Ronald Koeman’s side scored five against Bosnia and Herzegovina, there were lapses in concentration from the defense. Manchester United’s new center-back Matthijs de Ligt admitted his mistake that led to Edin Dzeko’s strike in the 5-2 victory.</p>



<p>The attacking line fired on all cylinders, however. Despite the absence of Corinthians-bound Memphis Depay and out-of-favor Steven Bergwijn, there were five names on the scoresheet including the in-form striker Joshua Zirkzee.</p>



<h2>Cristiano the hero … once again</h2>



<p>Without Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored his <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cvg5j08n694o" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">900th career goal</a> against Croatia, Portugal struggled to take advantage of its dominance over Scotland in the first half. Scott McTominay put the Scotts in front with their only attempt before the break.</p>



<p>Ronaldo was introduced in place of Pedro Neto at halftime. The 39-year-old strikes the late winner after Bruno Fernandes brought Portugal back with a goal from outside the box. In the group’s other game, Luka Modric’s winner put Croatia level on points with Poland.</p>



<p>There were also some interesting stories and emphatic strikes from the Nations League. Euro 2024’s surprise package Georgia had another reason to celebrate after a stunning 4-1 win over the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, Yussuf Poulsen scored a bicycle kick against Serbia as Denmark salvaged another home win.</p>



<p>Three days after his direct involvement in Sweden’s three goals at Azerbaijan, Viktor Gyokeres netted twice in the home win against Estonia. Liam Walker scored straight from a corner-kick for Gibraltar against Liechtenstein in the latest clash of minnows.</p>



<p><em>PHOTOS: IMAGO</em></p>

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