Alvaro Morata’s late goal gave Spain a 1-0 victory over Portugal and snatched a place at the Nations League Finals from their hosts in Braga.
Spain needed to win to leapfrog Fernando Santos’ side atop Group A2 but had looked set to be frustrated, with Portugal enjoying the better of the first-half opportunities.
However, substitutions from Luis Enrique after the break changed the game, and Nico Williams’ header across goal was smashed in by Morata to steal a precious victory.
The dramatic win means Spain will join Croatia, Italy and the Netherlands at next year’s tournament, with Portugal left to rue missed chances and sloppy defending in the closing stages.
Although Spain dominated the early possession, Portugal nearly opened the scoring with a fierce Ruben Neves drive that Unai Simon punched away.
They went close again after 33 minutes when Diogo Jota exquisitely jinked onto his right foot in the box before shooting at goal, but Simon was alert again to tip wide.
While Bruno Fernandes’ long-range effort into the side-netting then had Simon scrambling before half-time, the goalkeeper made another crucial intervention early in the second half to deny Cristiano Ronaldo from a tight angle.
Spain still had not registered a shot on target an hour in, so Luis Enrique sent on Barcelona pair Pedri and Gavi in the hopes of turning the game in his side’s favour, although it was fellow substitute Williams who made the telling contribution.
Morata had already gone close on a couple of occasions as Portugal keeper Diogo Costa was finally tested, and the Atletico Madrid striker netted the winner in dramatic fashion following Williams’ header.
