Portugal 0-1 France: N’Golo Kante strike secures final-four spot and dumps Cristiano Ronaldo and Co out… ending their Nations League defence
- France took on Portugal in Lisbon on Saturday night in Nations League Group A3
- The first-half saw France on top, with Anthony Martial struggling to finish
- The visitors took the lead in the 52nd minute with N’Golo Kante tapping in
- Portugal pushed for a winner but some heroic French defending kept them out
- France have secured a final-four spot and dumped Portugal out with a game left
France ended Portugal’s defence of their Nations League title on Saturday, with N’Golo Kante bagging the winner to sink the holders 1-0 in Lisbon.
Kante scored in the 54th minute when the midfielder joined the attack hunting for a loose ball, which fell to him when goalkeeper Rui Patricio fumbled a save.
France clinched first-place in Group 3, moving three points clear of Portugal and out of reach on head-to-head goals with one game to play. Portugal won last year’s inaugural Nations League.
N’Golo Kante scored the only goal as France beat Portugal 1-0 in Lisbon on Saturday night
The Chelsea midfielder tapped-in from close-range after 53 minutes to take a deserved lead
Portugal couldn’t break down the French defence and fell out of Nations League contention
The world champions outplayed the European champions at Benfica’s stadium and were denied a lead by half-time only thanks to Patricio.
Starting for the injured Kylian Mbappe, France striker Anthony Martial hit the post on the half-hour mark and had two more good chances denied by Patricio.
Portugal mustered its two best scoring chances once it fell behind to Kante’s goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal drove forwards towards the end but ended up frustrated
Anthony Martial squandered some big chances in the first-half as Rui Patricio impressed
Paul Pogba went close to a confidence boosting goal, put off by team-mate Fernandes (right)
Defender Jose Fonte almost equalised in the 60th when he headed off the post.
France goalie Hugo Loris protected the lead by stretching to block a stinging shot by substitute Joao Moutinho with 15 minutes left.
Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo was left seven goals shy of the men’s national team record held by former Iran striker Ali Daei with his 109 goals.
France advance to the last-four having gone unbeaten so far in the 2020 Nations League
Portugal won last seasons Nations League but faced a tough task against the world champions