Portugal vs Netherlands result: Goncalo Guedes goal clinches Nations League final glory for hosts
Re-live the action from the Uefa Nations League final in Porto
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Goncalo Guedes scored the only goal of the game as Portugal beat Holland to be crowned the first-ever Nations League champions.
The final in Porto was not a game for the ages as a match billed as a battle between the two captains, Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil Van Dijk, was settled by Valencia forward Guedes on the hour mark.
The 1-0 win was enough for the reigning European champions to add the inaugural Nations League crown to their honours list with victory in front of their own fans. Re-live the action below:
Please allow a moment for the blog to load.
Team changes
Two changes for Switzerland from the side that lost to Portugal on Wednesday. Nico Elvedi and Edimilson Fernandes come in for Steven Zuber and Denis Zakaria.
Team changes
England, meanwhile, make seven changes. Harry Maguire is the only player to start against the Netherlands that remains in the back line. Liverpool's Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold come in for Kyle Walker and John Stones and Danny Rose gets the nod over Ben Chilwell.
In mid-field Jesse Lingard gets a starting place replacing Jadon Sancho and Eric Dier comes in for Declan Rice.
Captain Harry Kane starts, as does his Tottenham teammate Dele Alli, Marcus Rashford and Ross Barkley the players dropped to the bench.
What a record!
England are on a great run of form against Switzerland. They've lost just three times in 25 games with the last loss coming in May 1981.
They've won 17 times and five games have finished with a draw.
It was a familiar story line for England on Thursday night. Score early, take the lead then lose the plot and the match.
They must find a way to keep the ball better with the players that they have – otherwise they’ll never break through their glass ceiling.
Read more:
The three lions aren't the only ones with in action today. England's ladies also kick start their run in the Women's World Cup.
They face Scotland at the Stade de Nice in their Group D opener, kick off at 5pm.
Swiss perfection?
He knows that history isn't on his side and Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic believes his team will have to be faultless to beat England.
"We need to be perfect against opponents like Portugal and England to win these kind of matches," he said.
"It is the players that they (England) have at their disposal. I assume they may also make some changes to their starting line-up as they have 23 players that are on an equal level.
"They are quite dangerous in the final third of the pitch, very fast, quite aggressive but they also have moments where they are in trouble and we were able to show that in the friendly match against them last year."
Gareth Southgate on the team changes:
"There are things that we obviously have to do better and in one or two cases there were some good performances but I think the fuel tank could be a bit lower so really we wanted to stimulate the opportunity to get the best possible performance today.
"[Gomez and Alexander-Arnold] are pushing. I think in all positions on the pitch we've got great competition for places, in the instance of those two boys they were obviously involved in the Champions League final so it was impossible really to involve them in the game the other night as they'd only had a days training with us. They're young defenders who have already got some good experiences, have played well with us in the past and are in really good form.
"I think there's a couple of factors in [John Stones missing out]. One is that he hasn't played a lot of football so physically I think there were mistakes made because of fatigue and I think his next game in an England shirt needs to be when he's had a few games with his club and he's feeling in a good place and more confident. I think if we put him in today every action he took would be under the spotlight so he understands where we are with it and that we're strong in supporting him.
"We've had a fascinating couple of days internally. The reaction I've like because we've reached two semi-finals but there is a recognition that none of us are happy with that and that's not enough. I've liked the fact that the players are responding to that, they've had a voice, they want to be pushed further and today we've got to get a response."
A little over five minutes to go until kick off. The players are in the tunnel and look ready to go. What will we see from England today?
Switzerland 0 - 0 England
Kick off: The Swiss start the match, they work the ball out to the left side of the pitch before sending it inside to Mbabu who hits it first time and sends it way, way over the bar.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments