PORTO: Portugal sealed a Nations League quarter-final berth after a Cristiano Ronaldo double with a penalty and an overhead kick helped them hammer visiting Poland 5-1 in Group A1 on Friday.

Rafael Leao broke the deadlock just before the hour with a header before Ronaldo doubled the lead from the spot in the 72nd minute with a confident strike down the middle of the goal.

The hosts then scored three goals in eight minutes through Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto and Ronaldo’s clever strike before Dominik Marczuk got a consolation for Poland in the 88th.

Unbeaten Portugal top the group with 13 points, six ahead of Croatia, who lost 1-0 away to a Scotland side who are still bottom but now level on four points with third-placed Poland.

Spain go top

Mikel Oyarzabal and Ayoze Perez scored to give Spain a 2-1 win over hosts Denmark on Friday to secure top spot in their Nations League group and a place in next year’s quarter-finals.

Despite missing several players who had featured in the team that beat England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final in July, Spain still opened the scoring with strike from inside the box by Real Sociedad’s Oyarzabal in the 15th minute with Perez extending their lead in a counter attack in the 58th.

A bad mistake by Spain goalkeeper David Raya, who put the ball in play with his feet, gifted Denmark’s Gustav Isaksen a sitter in the 84th minute.

With one game left, Spain have an unattainable lead on top of the League A Group Four with 13 points, six ahead of Denmark and eight clear of Serbia, with Switzerland bottom on two points after a 1-1 draw with Serbia.

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