OPORTO: Hosts Portugal kick off the finals of the inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League against Switzerland in Oporto on Wednesday.

The tournament offers veteran captain Cristano Ronaldo an opportunity to make some amends for Portugal’s ultimately disappointing World Cup campaign in Russia last summer.

The European champions are favourites with some bookmakers despite recent draws though the Swiss scord five goals or more in two of their group game.

In League A, with the 12 best international teams in Europe competing against each other, Switzerland finished as top scorers by some distance. Their 14 goals in four games made them just one of two teams to hit double figures, Spain’s 12 goals saw them come closest.

Leading the line during that campaign was Haris Seferovic, who scored five of those 14 goals. The Benfica man has enjoyed a very positive season for both club and country and will aim to carry that form into the finals.

A groin injury prevented him from taking part in European qualifiers in March, but prior to that he netted four goals in two competitive games for Switzerland, including a hat-trick in the win against Belgium.

England face Holland in the second semi-final on Thursday in Guimaraes.

For the first time in a UEFA national team competition, Video Assistant Referees (VAR) will be used,

VAR has been used in the Champions League knock-out stages and the Europa League final.

UEFA held a briefing for the coaches of the finalists in April, where they were given detailed instructions of how the system works by UEFA’s chief refereeing officer, Roberto Rosetti.

UEFA, in a statement, explained:

• A VAR team – a video assistant referee, an assistant video referee, and two video operators – will be located at each stadium and will support the decision-making process of the referee.

• The VAR team will constantly check for clear and obvious errors related to the following four match-changing situations:

a. Goals
b. Incidents in the penalty area
c. Red cards
d. Mistaken identity

• The VAR team will check all match-changing situations, but will only intervene for clear and obvious mistakes. The referee can hold up play while a decision is being reviewed.

• If the VAR review provides clear evidence for a serious mistake in one of the game-changing situations, the VAR can then ask the referee to conduct an on-field review (by viewing replay footage in the review area). The final decision can only be taken by the referee.

The four match-changing situations:

• The VAR is also able to take into account any infringement that could have taken place in the immediate build-up to the incident (the attacking phase of play).

• For ‘factual’ decisions (e.g. offsides, fouls in or outside the penalty area), the VAR can simply inform the referee of those facts and the on-field view screen isn’t needed, but it is always the referee who takes the final decision.

• The on-field review process will be communicated within the stadium using either the stadium screens or the public announcement system.

• Because VAR is being used, there will be no additional assistant referees.

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