Lost victory for Germany and Gaia goal in 6th added minute
The main event of the first game day of the League of Nations was the meeting between Germany and Spain.
The teams had not met at an official level for ten years, and the Germans had a great desire to get even for their losses in the final of Euro 2008 and the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup.
The plans of Joachim Loew's charges were almost spoiled by Emre Can's weak play in the first half.
The defender acted very unreliable, which almost led to two goals in the performance of Rodrigo.
Only because of his own inaccuracy and the confident play of Kevin Trapp, who replaced the winner of the Champions League, Manuel Neuer, the score did not open by the break.
The Germans had enough chances of their own, and with the resumption of the game, they still converted one of them.
Robin Gosens' cross allowed Timo Werner to be in someone else's penalty area and hit David de Gea on goal, which should have delighted the Chelsea fans.
The Spaniards tried to recoup, and twice Ansu Fati sent the ball behind Trapp, but one of his goals in the middle of the second half was canceled due to an offside position, and the second in stoppage time due to a foul by Sergio Ramos on Mattias Ginter.
Due to the fact that the German footballer was injured in this episode, the match was extended, and then, in the sixth minute, Jose Luis Gaia took away the victory from Germany after Rodrigo's discount.
The Germans tried to insist that the return goal was scored from offside, but this time the referee decided in favor of the Spaniards.
The meeting between the giants of world football ended in a draw.
Debutants' goal passes and Zinchenko's winning shot
Ukraine took the lead in the fourth group of Division A.
Andriy Shevchenko's wards defeated the Swiss national team with a score of 2: 1 in Lviv.
During the pause, the composition of the Ukrainian team underwent some changes, thanks to which this victory became possible.
The score was opened already in the 14th minute.
The debutant of the national team Alexander Tymchik successfully responded to the pass by Ruslan Malinovsky and tried to outplay Jan Sommer, but after the first attempt failed, the defender gave the ball to Andrey Yarmolenko, and he already opened the scoring with a heel kick.
The scored goal, however, played a cruel joke with the Ukrainians - they gave the initiative to the opponent, and Haris Seferovich managed to restore balance before the break.
In the second half, Yarmolenko directed the attacking actions of the entire team and once sent the newcomer of the national team Bogdan Mikhailichenko forward.
Anderlecht's player passed to the center, from where Oleksandr Zinchenko shot through with one touch.
The former Ufa player eventually became the author of the winning goal, to which the Swiss had no answer.
Free kick goal and warning for Russia
The national teams of Russia and Hungary in Budapest will challenge the leadership in their group of Division B. Marco Rossi's wards were able to beat the Turkish team away and win three points.
This game was not as productive as the match in Moscow, but it was even more interesting.
The Hungarians completely outplayed the Turks in the first half and were obliged to lead with at least two goals.
Philip Holender, who was born in Serbia, but decided to represent his grandfather's homeland, especially tried.
The Turkish national team, which clearly lacked its fans, was saved only by the goalkeeper Ugurcan Chakir, but he was also powerless when in the 80th minute Dominik Soboslai converted a direct free kick from 30 meters.
Even if the Hungarians did not score from the game, they deserved their victory, and now it will be impossible to consider them an outsider of the meeting with Russia.
Repetition of the German-Spanish scenario and the success of Wales
The match between Bulgaria and Ireland in Division B followed a similar scenario with the game between Germany and Spain.
The Balkans as the home team at the beginning of the second half opened the scoring thanks to the goal of Bozhidar Kraev, which passed between Shane Duffy and John Egan.
However, they could not keep the victory.
The wards of Stephen Kenny, who played the first match as a mentor for Ireland, managed to recoup. The goal was scored in stoppage time by the same Duffy who converted a corner.
For the captain of the islanders, this is not the first time that he saved the national team from defeat - last year he did the same in a meeting with Denmark.
This draw allowed Wales to rise to the top spot in the fourth group.
The Welsh defeated the Finnish national team with a minimum score.
The future rivals of the Russian national team in Euro 2020 did not strike a single shot on target, while Ryan Giggs' charges had one such attempt, and it was implemented in the 80th minute by Kieffer Moore.
Olsen win and most boring League of Nations standoff
The most productive match of the first day of the League of Nations was recorded in division D. In the island derby of Faroe and Malta, the Scandinavian team won with a score of 3: 2.
The owners of the same surname were responsible for the result.
After Clemint Olsen opened the scoring, he was replaced by his namesake Andreas, who, in turn, restored the balance after two goals from the Maltese players.
In the 90th minute, the victory for the Faroese was brought by Brandur Hendriksson, who also bears the name Olsen, but does not act under it in order to differ from his compatriots.
In the parallel match between Latvia and Andorra, not a single goal was recorded.
These two teams continued the tradition of zero draws, begun in the last UEFA Nations League.
Janis Ikanex could have stopped this dry streak of three matches, but he could not convert a penalty in the second half.