Fast Starts Define Nations League Night as Ireland, Norway and Portugal Strike Early

European football’s international window delivered an evening of rapid-fire drama on Thursday, as three of the five Nations League fixtures were settled inside the opening quarter of an hour, while Germany and Serbia played out a tense stalemate at the other grounds in action.

In Cardiff, Norway continued to look like one of the form sides in the competition, taking the lead inside 11 minutes through Oscar Bobb. The Manchester City forward was picked out by a typically incisive piece of play from captain Martin Odegaard, who ghosted into a pocket of space in front of the Wales back line before threading a perfectly weighted through ball. Bobb’s give-and-go finish gave the visitors an early cushion and left Wales, who went into the match searching for their first win of the campaign, chasing the game once again.

There was similarly swift breakthrough in Denmark, where Portugal struck in the 13th minute. With Cristiano Ronaldo left out of the matchday squad — a selection call that has reignited debate about the veteran forward’s long-term international future — it was Joao Cancelo who stepped into the spotlight. The Barcelona full-back combined in a slick one-two with Goncalo Ramos to split the Danish defence, before coolly dinking the ball over goalkeeper Kasper Hermansen to put the visitors ahead. Bruno Fernandes wore the captain’s armband in Ronaldo’s absence, underlining how Roberto Martinez’s side are beginning to plan for a future without their record goalscorer, even as questions swirl over whether the 1,000-goal milestone is being prioritised ahead of the team’s wider interests.

The night’s standout individual moment, however, came in Dublin, where Troy Parrott produced a goal that will take some topping all season. Ireland broke with a long clearance from goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, flicked on into Parrott’s path some 45 yards from goal. What followed was a mesmerising solo run: the striker nutmegged one defender, shrugged off another, cut back onto his favoured angle and slotted coolly under the onrushing Austrian goalkeeper. It was the kind of goal more readily associated with street football than international management-team tactics, and it sent the home crowd into raptures inside the opening 13 minutes.

Elsewhere, Germany and Serbia could not find a way through each other in the early stages, though it was not for the want of trying. Bayern Munich’s Aleksandar Pavlovic came closest for the hosts, curling a free-kick narrowly wide of the far post as Jurgen Klopp watched on from the touchline with his trademark composure. Group A4 continues to take shape, with Wales now facing an uphill task to salvage anything from their remaining fixtures, while Norway’s attacking depth — led by the Erling Haaland generation of talent — continues to make them one of the most feared sides outside the traditional top tier.

Further afield, Greece hosted the Netherlands in a fixture still finding its rhythm as the evening’s other results flashed up around Europe. With qualification battles intensifying across every group, these October fixtures carry outsized weight: for sides like Wales and Denmark, who found themselves behind inside the first quarter-hour, there is now a familiar scramble to respond, while Ireland, Norway and Portugal will take real encouragement from starts that put the pressure squarely back on their opponents.

As the Nations League campaign builds towards its business end, nights like this one are a reminder of how quickly fortunes can turn in international football — a moment of individual brilliance, a well-worked move, or a single lapse in concentration can define 90 minutes, and with it, a team’s entire campaign trajectory.