PORTO, Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal staged a second-half supershow to crush Poland 5-1 and reach the Nations League quarter-finals on Friday.
Portugal join France, Germany, Italy and Spain in the last-eight while Poland’s hopes of going through from Group A1 were ended.
Having struggled to plant a shot on target in the first half, Portugal stepped on the accelerator after the break.
Rafael Leao broke the deadlock in Porto just before the hour mark after starting and finishing the move.
The AC Milan striker raced away and passed to Nuno Mendes whose cross from the left was headed powerfully past Marcin Bulka in the Portugal goal.
Thirteen minutes later, skipper Ronaldo got his name on the scoresheet, converting a penalty after Jakub Kiwior was penalized for a handball in the area.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes made it 3-0 in the 80th minute, scoring after a clever run by Vitinha.
Pedro Neto added the fourth three minutes later after Ronaldo’s fine pass which left the Polish defense stranded.
As Polish spirits sank, Ronaldo added his second and Portugal’s fifth in the 87th minute with a spectacular overhead kick before Dominik Marczuk tucked away a consolation goal for the visitors.
Poland had enjoyed the better chances before falling behind but their potency in front of goal was blunted by the absence of record goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski who was sidelined with a back injury.
Moments before Leao’s goal, Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa pulled off a fine save to deny Marczuk having also been alert to deny Nicola Zalewski in the first half.
Portugal’s best chance in the first 45 minutes had fallen to Ronaldo who fired a close-range effort over the bar from close range.
Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight
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Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight
Napoli cruise past Milan to book Italian Super Cup final spot in Riyadh
- Napoli make second Super Cup final in new four-team format, which was introduced in the Kingdom in 2023
- Milan rue missed chances as Rafael Leao’s absence due to knock proves costly
RIYADH: On one of the coldest evenings of the year in Riyadh, the atmosphere inside Al-Awwal Park was anything but subdued. Thousands of fans braved the conditions to witness another major chapter in Saudi Arabia’s growing international calendar, as Napoli and AC Milan went head-to-head in the first semi-final of the 2025/26 Italian Super Cup.
It wasn’t to be for I Rossoneri, as goals from David Neres and Rasmus Hojlund proved decisive for Napoli, sending them into the Super Cup final for the second time in the new four-team format after missing out on last year’s edition.
Backed by raucous Forza Milan chants, Milan nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Ruben Loftus-Cheek tested Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who reacted sharply to make a vital save.
Napoli responded with a spell of pressure of their own, but were repeatedly denied by a well-organised Milan defence.
Milan came close again in the 34th minute, as Adrien Rabiot was found inside the six-yard box from a dipping cross, only for his effort to fly over Milinkovic-Savic.
They would keep that momentum going as just a few minutes later, a swift counter-attack led by Alexis Saelemaekers found Christopher Nkunku on the edge of the box, though his strike also flew over goal.
Napoli punished Milan’s missed chances in the 39th minute. A low pass from Rasmus Hojlund across the box was parried by Mike Maignan straight into the path of David Neres, who made no mistake slotting the ball into the open net.
Napoli pushed for a second before the interval, with Hojlund testing Maignan again, who turned the striker’s effort behind for a corner. The Milan goalkeeper was called into action once again in the second half, producing a strong save to deny Amir Rrahmani.
Yet it was another powerful strike that finally broke past the Frenchman, with Rasmus Hojlund capitalising on a deep through ball from Leonardo Spinazzola to extend Napoli’s lead in the 63rd minute and tighten their grip on the game.
Milan fans briefly found a lift in the 75th minute when Luka Modric came out to a standing ovation, though it proved to be their only notable moment of the second half. Despite enjoying spells of possession, Massimiliano Allegri’s side were unable to break through and exited the tournament after just 90 minutes.
Napoli will now turn their attention to the final, where they will look to lift the Italian Super Cup for the third time in their history. For Riyadh, the semi-final marked another night of elite European football, with fans set to witness more action in tomorrow’s semi-final between Bologna and Inter Milan.
