France, Germany prevail in Nations League
paris — World champions France and Germany rode on the influence of their Chelsea stars to rack up Nations League wins on Saturday while Spain’s Sergio Ramos missed two penalties on the night he celebrated a record-setting 177th international appearance.
Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante scored just his second international goal as France defeated European champions Portugal 1-0 in Lisbon to secure a place in next year’s Nations League finals.
Kante was quickest to react to a rebound as he netted the winner on 53 minutes that clinched France top spot in their group.
France lead Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal by three points ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Sweden in Paris but are guaranteed first place by virtue of their superior head-tohead record.
Kante’s teammate at the English Premier League side Timo Werner scored twice on his return to Leipzig as Germany enjoyed a 3-1 win over Ukraine.
Werner spent four years at Leipzig before moving to London in the summer and he flourished in familiar surroundings at the Red Bull Arena despite the absence of fans.
The win leaves Germany undefeated in their last 12 games and top of their group, a point ahead of second-placed Spain with the sides due to meet in Sevilla on Tuesday.
Ukraine took an early lead when Roman Yaremchuk caught the German defence napping.
The hosts roared back with three unanswered goals by Leroy Sane and Werner, who scored either side of half-time, to seal a deserved win.
In Basel, Ramos missed two penalties as Spain needed a late equaliser from Gerard Moreno to draw 1-1 with Switzerland.
Ramos was making his 177th appearance to break the international appearances record for a European player, pulling clear of Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon, who has 176.
But it was a night to forget for the defender, who saw one spot-kick saved by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer but backed himself to score a second, only to miss again with a dreadful attempted ‘Panenka’.
Ramos had previously scored 25 penalties in a row and his inaccuracy from the spot cost Spain, who will now have to beat Germany to reach the final stage. Remo Freuler gave the Swiss a 26th-minute lead but they had Nico Elvedi sent off for conceding the second penalty with 11 minutes left. —