Portugal were crowned first ever UEFA Nations League winners, narrowly edging past the Netherlands with a solitary second half goal by Gonçalo Guedes
ADVERTISEMENTPortugal were crowned the first ever UEFA Nations League winners, narrowly edging past the Netherlands with a solitary goal thanks to a classy second half finish by Gonçalo Guedes.
On a balmy night in Porto, the hosts, helped by a stadium mostly packed with red-shirted Portuguese supporters, deservedly picked up the prize for the inaugural tournament.
But they were made to wait till the second half, courtesy of a superb long range strike.
With 60 minutes on the clock, Bernardo Silva tricked his way through the Dutch defence and flicked a pass to the oncoming Guedes, who rifled a powerful shot into the bottom corner.
The Netherlands held most of the possession but lacked creativity to find their strikers, touching the ball only four times inside Portugal's penalty box in the first half.
And despite a quiet night for superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, largely man marked by Dutch defenders, Portugal recorded 15 shots to just four from the away side.
Ronaldo had the chance to grab the headlines with a late free-kick but saw his attempt go well wide.
Nerves frayed from both supporters and players as the game edged to the closing stages. Substitute Luuk de Jong headed wide in a late push by the Netherlands.
It is now two titles in three years for Portugal, adding to their 2016 European Championship win.
But the Dutch fans took the defeat in their stride, recognising Portugal's performance on the night and retaining their sense of humour.