Ireland drew 2–2 with Austria, missing a chance to lead Group B3. Portugal won again, Klopp earned his first Germany victory and Greece stayed top after a Dutch comeback.
The Republic of Ireland drew 2–2 with Austria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Troy Parrott put Ireland 2–0 ahead with a 12th-minute goal and a penalty on the stroke of half-time. Austria’s substitutes Alexander Prass and Michael Gregoritsch cancelled that lead: Prass scored in the 71st minute and Gregoritsch equalised six minutes later.
Ireland’s Nations League fixtures against Israel had sparked protests, including a demonstration outside the stadium before the Austria match, the Guardian reported. Play also stopped twice in the first half. Around the 20th minute, play paused to remove tennis balls thrown onto the pitch bearing stickers featuring the Palestinian flag. Around the 35th minute, a man ran onto the pitch carrying what appeared to be a Palestinian flag; security immediately tackled him and carried him off.
A victory would have put Ireland top of Group B3. Instead, they sit third behind Austria and Kosovo halfway through the group stage. Ireland’s designated home fixture against Israel is scheduled for Sunday in Backa Topola, Serbia, without spectators. Manager Heimir Hallgrímsson said on Wednesday that the team intended to play.
Portugal beat Denmark 4–2 in Copenhagen to make it three consecutive wins in Group A4 of the Nations League, the national-team football competition. According to the Guardian’s round-up, Vitinha and João Félix scored the decisive goals after Denmark twice drew level.
João Cancelo opened the scoring in the 13th minute before Mikkel Damsgaard equalised. Gonçalo Ramos put Portugal ahead again after 25 minutes, but Rasmus Højlund finished a swift counterattack early in the second half to make it 2–2.
Vitinha then headed in his first goal for Portugal, and João Félix added a late fourth to preserve the team’s perfect start.
Germany’s 2–0 victory over Serbia in Munich gave new head coach Jürgen Klopp his first win in charge. Tom Bischof opened the scoring with his first senior international goal, and Florian Wirtz added the second in the 61st minute of the Group A2 match.
Klopp treated the performance as a standard for the team to repeat. Speaking to public broadcaster ZDF, he said: “The mix of football and attitude was top level today. I told the boys that this has to be our benchmark.”
Greece remained top of Group A2 after the Netherlands recovered from a two-goal half-time deficit to draw 2–2. Fotis Ioannidis and Giorgos Masouras had given the hosts their lead before Virgil van Dijk headed in from a corner on the hour to start the Dutch comeback.
A video review ruled out a Denzel Dumfries goal for offside. Tijjani Reijnders then struck a rebound into the net in the 89th minute, securing a point for the Netherlands and denying Greece victory without displacing them as group leaders.
The 16-year-old was sent off at Fleetwood in his second start of the season, leaving Arsenal short of wing options before Sunday’s trip to Liverpool.
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Ben Duckett’s career-best 167 and Liam Dawson’s four wickets give England a consolation win in Lahore, with Sri Lanka already through to the final against Pakistan.
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