Nations League matchday 3, Thursday: Portugal win 4–2 in Copenhagen, Wales beat ten-man Norway, and Germany win at last

Thursday opened matchday 3 with eight matches and 21 goals. Portugal won 4–2 at Parken against Denmark, a day after Cristiano Ronaldo left their camp, and have nine points from nine in League A, Group 4. Wales came from behind to beat a Norway side reduced to ten men at the start of the second half, and Germany beat Serbia 2–0 in Munich for their first win of the campaign. Two sides that led 2–0 at half-time were held: Greece by the Netherlands, and the Republic of Ireland by Austria. Five of the eight matches were drawn.

The early kick-off

Azerbaijan 0–0 Liechtenstein in Baku was one-way traffic without a goal. Azerbaijan had 74 per cent of the ball and 25 shots, five of them on target; Liechtenstein had four shots and none on target. It is Liechtenstein's first point of the campaign.

The evening

Denmark 2–4 Portugal was 2–1 to Portugal after 25 minutes. João Cancelo scored on 13 from Gonçalo Ramos's pass, Mikkel Damsgaard equalised on 23 from Joakim Mæhle's, and Ramos restored the lead on 25 from Bruno Fernandes's. Rasmus Højlund made it 2–2 on 53 from Damsgaard's pass before Vitinha, again from Fernandes, scored on 67 and João Félix, a substitute, on 87 from Diogo Dalot's. Portugal put ten of nineteen shots on target; Denmark had more of the ball, 54 per cent, but three shots on target from twelve. Sky Sports reports that Ronaldo left the squad on Wednesday after Jorge Jesus's press conference, in which Jesus denied any rift; Ronaldo said he would explain his reasons "in due course", and Jesus said "I'm the one who makes the decisions".

Wales 2–1 Norway in Cardiff turned at the restart. Oscar Bobb put Norway ahead on 11 from Martin Ødegaard's pass, and Daniel James equalised on 38 from Sorba Thomas's. On 46 Torbjørn Heggem was sent off; Sky Sports says it came 15 seconds into the second half, for dragging down James as he ran through. Neco Williams scored from the free kick on 48. Wales put six of twelve shots on target to Norway's four of thirteen, and Erling Haaland, who started, did not score. Sky Sports calls it Wales' first win in League A of this competition; "We knew the first two games wasn't us," said Williams. All three of Wales, Denmark and Norway now have three points, six behind Portugal.

Germany 2–0 Serbia at the Allianz Arena was Jürgen Klopp's third match in charge, and his first win. According to DPA, a defeat or draw would have made him the first Germany men's coach without a win in his first three matches. Tom Bischof scored on 39 after Florian Wirtz's shot came off the post, and Wirtz made it 2–0 on 61 from Maximilian Mittelstädt's pass. Germany had 73 per cent of the ball and 32 shots, eight on target; Serbia had one shot all night. DPA reports that Mika Baur, who replaced Bischof on 77, became Germany's 1,000th men's international, one of five debutants. Serbia have lost all three.

Greece 2–2 Netherlands in Thessaloniki was 2–0 to Greece at half-time. Georgios Masouras, on for the injured Christos Tzolis on 18, set up Fotis Ioannidis on 23 and scored on 45+2 from Ioannidis's pass. Xavi made three changes at the interval. Virgil van Dijk headed in Joey Veerman's corner on 59, and Tijjani Reijnders, one of the half-time substitutes, equalised on 89. Denzel Dumfries had a goal ruled out by VAR on 66. The Netherlands had 71 per cent of the ball and nineteen shots, five on target; Greece had four on target from eight. NOS notes that it would have been the Netherlands' first defeat under Xavi, and Van Dijk told NOS the first half was "unacceptable". Greece stay top of League A, Group 2 and unbeaten.

Republic of Ireland 2–2 Austria at the Aviva Stadium was the night's second recovery from 2–0. Troy Parrott scored on 12 from Adam Idah's flick after a solo run past two defenders, as RTÉ describes it, and converted a penalty on 45 after Ryan Manning went down under Nicolas Seiwald's challenge. Austria scored twice in six minutes: Alexander Prass, a substitute, on 71 from Patrick Wimmer's cross, confirmed by VAR, and, after Parrott had gone off, Michael Gregoritsch, on at half-time, on 77 from a free kick. Austria had seven shots on target from sixteen to Ireland's three from nine. Ralf Rangnick said that, as long as Parrott was on the pitch, he was "probably man of the match".

Israel 0–0 Kosovo in Debrecen had three shots on target at each end; Kosovo had sixteen shots to Israel's ten. Israel's point is their first of the campaign.

Malta 1–1 Gibraltar at Ta' Qali was goalless at the break. Joseph Mbong scored on 53 from Ylyas Chouaref's pass, and James Scanlon equalised on 61. Malta had seventeen shots, five on target; Gibraltar had two on target. It is Gibraltar's first point against Malta on record, after friendly defeats by 2–0 in October 2020 and 1–0 in September 2023.

The groups after Thursday

• League A, Group 2: Greece 7 (+2); Netherlands 5 (+1); Germany 4 (+1); Serbia 0 (−4).
• League A, Group 4: Portugal 9 (+4); Denmark 3 (−1); Norway 3 (−1); Wales 3 (−2).
• League B, Group 3: Austria 7 (+4); Kosovo 4 (−1); Republic of Ireland 4 (+2); Israel 1 (−5). Kosovo are second on their 1–0 win over Ireland.
• League D, Group 1: Malta 4 (+1); Gibraltar 2 (0); Andorra 1 (−1).
• League D, Group 2: Lithuania 4 (+2); Azerbaijan 2 (0); Liechtenstein 1 (−2).

Numbers to know

• Twenty-one goals in eight matches: two home wins, one away win and five draws, two of them 0–0.
• Two sides led 2–0 at half-time and did not win: Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
• Germany had 32 shots to Serbia's one; Azerbaijan 25 to Liechtenstein's four, none of them on target.
• One red card, Heggem's on 46; Wales scored two minutes later.
• Germany's win is their first in three meetings with Serbia on record, after a 0–1 at the 2010 World Cup and a 1–1 friendly in 2019.

Next up

Matchday 3 continues on Friday 2 October with Kazakhstan v Moldova at 14:00 UTC, Cyprus v Armenia and Latvia v Montenegro at 16:00, then France v Italy, Belgium v Türkiye, Hungary v Georgia, Ukraine v Northern Ireland, Poland v Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina v Sweden and Faroe Islands v Slovakia at 18:45. The full round is on the Nations League page.

Sources for the context: DPA, Sky Sports, Sky Sports, NOS, NOS, RTÉ, RTÉ.