Portugal defeats Sweden 3-0 in the UEFA Nations League
The absence of their captain did not prevent Portugal from achieving a victory that allowed them to remain at the top of group 3 in the Nations League, tied with France with 10 points, while Sweden, who had some chances but failed to convert, sank even further to the bottom of the table with no points.
Coach Fernando Santos chose to field Liverpool's forward in place of Cristiano Ronaldo and added him to an attacking line that already included João Félix and Bernardo Silva, a decision that turned out to be successful as Portugal displayed a scoring ability that had been absent in previous matches.
The Portuguese team had come from two consecutive goalless draws, one in a friendly against Spain and another in a Nations League match against France.
In the end, the goals came against the Scandinavians, despite their main reference, Cristiano Ronaldo, watching the match on TV from his home in Turin, where he arrived on Wednesday to complete the rest of his quarantine.
Jota, former Atlético de Madrid player - although he never played with the team -, already threatened Sweden in the second minute with a shot that narrowly missed the goal, but his effectiveness would come a little later.
In the 21st minute, he received a pass from Bruno Fernandes and, at the edge of the area, skillfully placed the ball to Bernardo Silva for the Manchester City player to score the opener.
Portugal's second goal came just before halftime.
This time it was João Cancelo who delivered a great pass from the right to Diogo Jota who, after controlling the ball inside the box, sent it into the back of the net and opened his personal goal account.
Sweden had their clearest opportunity in the 13th minute, with a corner kick that Lustig sent over the crossbar, but they could not overcome the Portuguese superiority.
The Nordic team started the second half strong, but once again it was Portugal who prevailed in the game.
The Portuguese team could have extended their lead in the 67th minute thanks to a brilliant play by Diogo Jota, who set up João Félix, but the Atlético Madrid player was left alone against the goalkeeper after surpassing the defense and, at the last moment, sent the ball over.
The Liverpool youngster saved the best for last.
Five minutes after Félix's chance, Jota finished off an individual move in which he got past two defenders, dribbled the goalkeeper, and scored the third goal with his right foot to seal the match.
The 23-year-old Liverpool player left the field in the 86th minute to the applause of the 5,000 people in the stands at Alvalade Stadium, authorized for a pilot match that will evaluate the possible return of spectators to Portuguese football.
- Match details:
3 - Portugal: Rui Patrício; João Cancelo, Pepe, Rúben Dias, Guerreiro; Danilo, William Carvalho (João Moutinho, m.80), Bruno Fernandes (Rafa Silva, m.89); Bernardo Silva (André Silva, m.76), Diogo Jota (Renato Sanches, m.88), and João Félix (Daniel Podence, m.76).
0 - Sweden: Olsen; Lustig (Johansson, m.54), Jansson, Lindelof, Bengtsson; Kulusevski (Larsson, m.91), Olsson, Ekdal, Claesson; Berg (Martin Olsson, m.89), and Quaison (Isak, m.63).
Goals: 1-0, Bernardo Silva (m.21); 2-0, Diogo Jota (m.44); 3-0, Diogo Jota (m.72).
Referee: Srdjan Jovanovic (SRB). Diogo Jota (m.52) and Bruno Fernandes (m.85) were booked for Portugal, while Ekdal (m.36), Olsson (m.57), Jansson (m.62), and Berg (m.79) were booked for Sweden.
Match facts: Match corresponding to the fourth round of the UEFA Nations League (group A3) held at Estadio José Alvalade in Lisbon, with 5,000 people in attendance.