Portugal 5-2 Denmark: Seleção make Nations League final four after thriller in Lisbon | OneFootball

Portugal advanced to the Nations League semi-finals after a thrilling 5-2 victory against Denmark at Estádio José Alvalade.

Trailing 1-0 after a poor performance in the first leg in Copenhagen, Cristiano Ronaldo won and missed an early penalty before Joachim Andersen’s own goal gave the Seleção a half-time lead.

Rasmus Kristensen equalised in the 56th minute before Ronaldo pounced to tuck home a rebound 16 minutes later. The tie swung back in favour of Denmark when Christian Eriksen scored after an error from Rúben Dias.

The Danes tried to close it out in Lisbon but they failed, Francisco Trincão scoring in the 86th minute to take it to extra time.

Trincão scored less than a minute after the restart as Denmark refused to go down easily, Gonçalo Ramos eventually sealing the deal in the 115th minute.

The result sees Roberto Martínez’s side advance to the semi-finals where they will face Germany in Munich.

Early penalty

Portugal were given an early gift in Lisboa when they were awarded a penalty in the third minute. Nuno Mendes’ cross towards Cristiano Ronaldo saw the striker brought down by Patrick Dorgu, Ronaldo stepping up and seeing his weak spot kick saved by Kasper Schmeichel.

Mendes sent another cross into the box in the 16th minute, Ronaldo getting away from Jannik Vestergaard and meeting the ball at the back post where Schmeichel made a smart save.

Denmark started to apply some pressure as the contest began to resemble the first leg. Their best chance fell for Rasmus Højlund who spun and saw his shot comfortably collected by Diogo Costa.

Portugal square the tie

Vitinha fired a left-footed effort over the bar before a deflected strike from Ronaldo instigated the opening goal in the 38th minute. Bruno Fernandes delivered the corner into the danger area where Joachim Andersen rose above Jannik Vestergaard and headed the ball into his own net.

Morten Hjulmand fired a warning shot at the start of the second half before a Portugal counter attack ended with Francisco Conceição’s shot deflected over the bar. It was a sign of things to come as the game opened up earlier than most expected.

Portugal vs Denmark 2nd Leg - Player Ratings

Kristensen scores

Christian Eriksen’s shot was deflected wide with the Dane’s equalising from the resulting corner. Eriksen sent the ball to the back post where Rasmus Kristensen was unmarked, the defender heading the ball into the far corner with the goal almost an exact replica of Portugal’s opener.

The crowd were getting nervous as Roberto Martínez made his first move in the 62nd minute, Rafael Leão making way for Diogo Jota. Brian Riemer immediately replaced Jesper Lindstrøm with Andreas Skov Olsen.

Three goals in 14 minutes

Denmark were defending deep, inviting plenty of pressure onto their defence and paid the price in the 72nd minute. A long range effort from Bruno Fernandes hit the post and bounced off Schmeichel, the ball rolling to Ronaldo who followed up and squeezed it home from a tight angle.

Riemer brought on Mika Biereth for Højlund in the 75th minute and was repaid less than 60 seconds later. Rúben Dias had a horror show, his back pass intercepted by Biereth with Patrick Dorgu racing onto the ball and squaring it to Eriksen who couldn't miss.

The end to end action was relentless as Portugal had a great chance to regain the lead, Fernandes finding Ronaldo who made some space in the box before smashing a fierce shot straight at Schmeichel.

Martínez withdrew Diogo Dalot and Francisco Conceição for Nélson Semedo and Francisco Trincão, Riemer replacing the important Eriksen with 19-year-old Victor Froholdt.

Any ideas that Riemer had of closing the contest out were shattered in the 86th minute when Portugal squared the tie for a third time. Schmeichel decided to punch Fernandes’ cross away instead of catching it, Mendes teeing up Trincão who made no mistake on his home pitch.

Denmark responded with Dorgu heading Skov Olsen’s cross wide before an error from Gonçalo Inácio allowed Biereth to break into the box, the defender doing well to recover and divert Biereth’s shot wide. Morten Hjulmand’s shot was deflected narrowly wide as the contest went to extra time.

Extra time action

Less than 60 seconds after the restart Portugal took the lead in the tie for the first time. Gonçalo Ramos forced a save from Schmeichel, the ball falling perfectly for Trincão who steered the ball into the bottom corner.

Jota put the ball into the net from an offside position before being sent clear by Trincão, the forward squaring the ball to Bruno Fernandes who saw his shot tipped over the bar by Schmeichel.

The Seleção settled the tie once and for all in the 115th minute when Trincão combined with Jota once again, this time Jota’s cross picking out Ramos who converted from a yard out.

What a rush!

It was a phenomenal game of football that swung back and forth all the way to the 115th minute when Gonçalo Ramos eventually killed the contest.

Football matches often open up towards the end of the second half, but this one was blown apart minutes after half-time. Once again Portugal did it the hard way to provide their suffering supporters with every emotion imaginable.

Cristiano Ronaldo got some redemption after his early penalty was saved by Kasper Schmeichel. The 40-year-old collected another award before kick-off, a trophy for achieving 132 victories in international football, a new world record.

Nuno Mendes and Bruno Fernandes were influential and Trincão reminded many of his class, scoring two important goals before Gonçalo Ramos bagged his ninth goal in just 16 international appearances. Bernardo Silva returned to the staring side and celebrated his 100th cap in stlye.

In the end it was an incredible spectacle, a true rollercoaster with Portugal overcoming a poor performance in Denmark to go through. The defending left a lot to be desired, frequently leaving opposition players unmarked from set pieces and individual errors being punished.

Roberto Martínez will have plenty on his mind before his side travel to Munich to take on Germany in the Nations League semi-finals, the game to be played on 4 June.

Line Ups

Portugal (4-3-3): Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot (Nélson Semedo, 81’), Rúben Dias, Gonçalo Inácio, Nuno Mendes, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha (Rúben Neves, 99’), Francisco Conceição (Francisco Trincão, 81’), Cristiano Ronaldo (Gonçalo Ramos, 90+2’), Rafael Leão (Diogo Jota, 62’)

Unused subs: José Sá, Rui Silva, António Silva, João Palhinha, João Neves, Geovany Quenda, João Félix

Denmark (4-2-3-1): Kasper Schmeichel, Rasmus Kristensen, Jannik Vestergaard, Joachim Andersen, Patrick Dorgu (Conrad Harder, 97), Christian Norgaard (Victor Froholdt, 83’), Morten Hjulmand, Christian Eriksen (Morten Frendrup, 83’), Gustav Isaksen (Victor Kristiansen, 73’) Rasmus Højlund (Mika Biereth, 73’), Jesper Lindstrom (Skov Olsen, 64’)

Unused subs: Mads Hermansen, Filip Jorgensen, Lucas Hogsberg, Victor Nelsson, Jonas Wind