LISBON, Portugal -- France ended Portugal's defence of its Nations League title after winning 1-0 in Lisbon to ensure it advances to the final-of-four on Saturday.
N'Golo Kante scored in the 54th minute when the midfielder joined the attack hunting for a loose ball that fell to him when goalkeeper Rui Patricio fumbled a save.
France clinched a first-place finish in Group 3 with three more points than Portugal and the tiebreaker on head-to-head goals with one game to play. Portugal won last year's inaugural Nations League.
World champion France outplayed European champion Portugal at Benfica's stadium and was denied a lead by halftime only thanks to Patricio.
"Given the quality of the opposition, it's of course one of our best performances of recent times," France coach Didier Deschamps said. "We deserved the win and we've fulfilled our objective of finishing top. I'm very proud of the players. They proved tonight that France are still a great team."
Starting for the injured Kylian Mbappe, France striker Anthony Martial hit the post on the half-hour mark and had two more good chances denied by Patricio.
Patricio closed quickly to smother Martial's attempt to tap in a great throughball by Antoine Griezmann in the 12th. Martial's header from a well-executed set-piece hit the crossbar on the half-hour mark, and Patricio stood firm to block another tap-in by Martial of Lucas Hernandez's low cross in the 41st.
Patricio kept his side in the match until shortly after the restart when he failed to keep his grip on a shot by Adrien Rabiot. Instead, he spilled the ball into the path of Kante to finish off.
Forced to focus on defending, Portugal's playmaking trio of Bruno Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Jo?o Felix struggled to get involved.
Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo was left seven goals shy of the men's national team record held by former Iran striker Ali Daei with his 109 goals. His best chance came just before halftime when he headed the ball inches above the bar.
Portugal mustered its two best scoring chances once it fell behind.
Defender Jose Fonte almost equalized in the 60th when he headed off the post. France goalie Hugo Loris protected the lead by stretching to block a stinging shot by substitute Jo?o Moutinho with 15 minutes left.
It was Portugal's first home defeat in a competitive match in six years. It had not lost on home soil under coach Fernando Santos.
Werner scores 2, Germany beats Ukraine in Nations League
LEIPZIG, Germany -- Timo Werner scored twice to help Germany beat a coronavirus-weakened Ukraine 3-1 in the Nations League on Saturday.
Leon Goretzka set up Leroy Sane, and then Werner for Germany's second goal after Roman Yaremchuk gave the visitors a shock lead. Werner sealed the result with his second goal in the 64th minute.
There were doubts about whether the game could go ahead at all after four Ukraine players -- Andrii Yarmolenko, Serhii Sydorchuk, Viktor Kovalenko and Viktor Tsyhankov -- and staff member Vadym Komardin tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. But another round of tests for the rest of the squad on Saturday returned negative results and Leipzig health authorities said the game could proceed.
Germany coach Joachim L?w restored Bayern Munich players Goretzka, Sane, Niklas Sule, Serge Gnabry and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to his starting lineup. He also kept faith in PSV Eindhoven defender Philipp Max, who made his debut in a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic on Wednesday. The Bayern players were given the night off for the friendly.
The home side started promisingly but Yaremchuk fired inside the right post for Ukraine in the 11th minute, after Olexandr Zubkov's persistence saw him past Max and Robin Koch.
Goretzka set Sane free on the right and the winger cut inside between two defenders before unleashing his shot inside the far post in the 23rd.
Ten minutes later, Goretzka brilliantly controlled Koch's cross with his right boot before crossing for Werner to score.
Oleksandr Zinchenko had an effort deflected onto the post by Sule early in the second half, before Werner's deflected effort in capped a successful return for the former Leipzig forward. Werner joined Chelsea in the off-season after four seasons at Leipzig.
Spain was held by Switzerland to 1-1 in the other Group 4 game. Germany leads Spain by a point with one round of games remaining. The sides meet in Seville on Tuesday with top spot at stake.
Ramos misses 2 penalties, Spain draws with Switzerland
BASEL, Switzerland -- Sergio Ramos had two penalty kicks saved in his European record 177th game for Spain before a late goal by Gerard Moreno earned a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in the Nations League on Saturday.
Both Ramos spot kicks in the 57th and 80th minutes were saved by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer diving to his right. The second was a softly struck chip shot that stayed low.
Ramos earned the first penalty by heading the ball against a defender's arm, and Swiss defender Nico Elvedi was sent off for fouling Alvaro Morata to concede the second.
Switzerland was hanging on with 10 men to protect the lead earned in the 26th by Remo Freuler's smart half-volley into the top corner.
The leveller in the 89th came from substitute Moreno's shot after racing on to a cross from Sergio Reguilon.
The point dropped Spain into second place in top-tier Group 4, one point behind Germany which beat Ukraine 3-1. Spain hosts Germany on Tuesday in Seville.
Switzerland stays in last place and can avoid relegation to the Nations League second tier by beating Ukraine on Tuesday.
Ramos had an eventful 177th appearance to set a European record in men's soccer, beating Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's mark.
The Spain captain made a key goal-line clearance early in the second half, rescuing goalkeeper Unai Simon who missed the ball charging 10 metres (yards) out of his penalty box.
Two minutes later, Ramos earned the spot kick by heading the ball against the arm of Ricardo Rodriguez jumping in front of him.
Switzerland led when forward Breel Embolo burst down the right flank, collecting a pass from Edimilson Fernandes.
Embolo's pass found midfielder Freuler for a half-volley shot that rose and floated into the far top corner of the net.
Fernandes, a midfielder, was used as a right back after teammate Silvan Widmer tested positive for COVID-19. The Swiss Football Association said all of the squad had negative results in rapid tests on Saturday afternoon.
