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• Clarke believes Scotland 'deserved something' following defeat to Portugal

  Scotland boss Steve Clarke has declared that his side "deserved something" from their Nations League clash with Portugal after losing 2-1 thanks to a late Cristiano Ronaldo goal.

  Scott McTominay gave Scotland an early lead after seven minutes, but Portugal fought back through goals from Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo to take all three points in Group A1.

  Ronaldo's goal came in the 88th minute and was his 901st career goal.

  It leaves Scotland on their longest-ever winless run as they remain without a win in their last eight competitive games in all competitions, but Clarke feels they should not have left Lisbon empty-handed.

  "I'm disappointed to lose a game where it looked, for a large period, we would get something from it," he told the BBC.

  "I'm really disappointed for my players because I think they deserved to get something from the game.

  "If you ignore the results, [there are a lot of positives], but we're professional, so it's disappointing.

  "We played well in these two games, but we don't have anything to show for it. I've told the players not to be too hard on themselves. They have to understand the work that we're doing."

  Scotland did well to prevent Portugal from getting any further sight at goal, defending a total of 26 shots during the match with seven ending up on target.

  The 16 shots the Scots had to defend in the opening 45 minutes were the most they have faced in a first-half since October 2012 when Belgium also let loose 16 efforts.

  "With the amount of balls that go into the box, you know one of them can go in the back of the net and that's what happened to us," added Clarke.

  "When you bring quality players from the bench like Roberto [Martinez] can do, you always know there's a risk, but I felt we handled it well.

  "We'll go away and analyse these games, and hopefully, we can give the lads a few pointers for the games next month, which don't get any easier."

  Gamechanger Ronaldo was brought on at half-time by Portugal manager Roberto Martinez, a move that was well thought through and had the desired effect.

  "Ronaldo did 17 sprints against Croatia. He is the player who made the most sprints. So we need to protect the players. One more game in 72 hours is impossible to have a physical performance [equal]," Martinez explained.

  "The question was whether Ronaldo played the first half and left or came in and finished the game. That was the decision.

  "He is an asset to the national team. When he comes in, if the [team] needs goals, Cris gives energy and a feeling to the fans. The stadium is different.

  "If Cris leaves, it's the opposite and facilitates what the opponent would like to do when playing away from home in Portugal."

• De la Fuente insists Spain are doing 'something important' for the country

  Luis de la Fuente believes Spain are doing "something important" for the country after they beat Switzerland 4-1 in the Nations League.

  La Roja made an underwhelming start to Group A4 in a 0-0 draw with Serbia but looked back to their best on Sunday.

  Fabian Ruiz's brace was sandwiched between goals from Joselu and Ferran Torres, with Spain able to clinch their first win of this season's tournament, despite Robin Le Normand's 20th-minute sending-off.

  De la Fuente was particularly impressed with how his players dug in after going down to 10 men, hailing them for a resilient performance.

  "I feel like we are doing something important for a country, that people identify with this group of players," De la Fuente said after the game.

  "We grow from humility and sacrifice as a team. I am proud of this group of players, which never ceases to surprise me.

  "If there's one thing I like to boast about, it's the pride I've always felt for this team. When these circumstances happen, one feels more proud, but to highlight a group of players that is a team, not a national team.

  "This team has plenty of self-esteem and humility because what they are doing is historic.

  "With 10 men, we have been able to interpret the game in a masterful way. I am very proud of this team and every day we see that we continue to grow and that we can improve."

  Spain finished the game with just 33.7% possession, understandably low after having just 10 players on the pitch for 70 minutes.

  They had nine shots overall, compared to Switzerland's 20, but got eight of theirs on target while the hosts only mustered three.

  De la Fuente was particularly impressed by Joselu's performance, with the former Real Madrid man setting the tone from the front.

  "I'm very happy for everyone, especially for Joselu because he deserves it," De la Fuente added.

  "He had the best game since he's been with us, he did everything we asked of him, both when we had 11 and when we were down to 10.

  "We were playing a very complete game. Pedri was playing a great game, but we understood that in order to have the chances we had, we had to make that change.

  "We felt very powerful. With 10 players, we played the perfect game, we defended very well, we had a great goalkeeper..."

• Portugal 2-1 Scotland: Ronaldo's late heroics seal comeback win

  Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench to score the winner as Portugal earned a 2-1 victory, condemning Scotland to another late defeat.

  The 39-year-old, who started on the bench in a competitive match for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, added to Bruno Fernandes' strike after Scott McTominay had given Scotland the lead early on.

  The home crowd were just as stunned as Portugal's defence when McTominay snuck in behind, thumping Kenny McLean's cross past a stranded Diogo Costa after just seven minutes.

  The hosts certainly had their chances to get back into the game though – Angus Gunn made a brilliant save to deny Rafael Leao, who also fired a number of efforts wide of the left post.

  Though Scotland tried to continue soaking up the pressure, their defence was eventually breached nine minutes after the break, with Fernandes marking his 30th birthday with a sweeping finish from 20 yards out. 

  Gunn smothered Joao Felix's low shot in the 78th minute before Ronaldo came within millimetres of a winner as his header hit the inside of the far post.

  But Ronaldo would have the final say as he stretched out a leg in the six-yard box to turn Nuno Mendes' cross into the back of the net.

  Data Debrief: Ronaldo the hero once again

  Steve Clarke could not have asked for more from his team in the first half, as they scored with their only effort, but also resolutely defended as Portugal racked up 16 shots (three on target), creating 1.21 expected goals (xG).

  It was a regular creator that got the Selecao back on level terms though, as Fernandes got his 21st goal involvement under Roberto Martinez in all competitions, at least five more than any other Portugal player (11 goals, 10 assists). 

  And Ronaldo is now up to 901 career goals, with only Aleksandar Mitrovic (14), Erling Haaland (12) and Romelu Lukaku (10) bettering his nine-goal tally in the Nations League.