Yamal-Ronaldo set for first faceoff in Nations League final

Al Jazeera

a day ago

Who: Portugal vs Spain
What: UEFA Nations League final
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
When: Sunday, June 8, 2025 – 3pm kickoff (13:00 GMT)
How to follow our coverage: We'll have all the build-up from 12pm (10:00 GMT) on Al Jazeera Sport.
Portugal, the inaugural winners in 2019, and defending champions Spain have set up one of the most highly anticipated international finals in years as the pair prepare to face off for the UEFA Nations League trophy.
The final not only pits the Iberian rivals together, but also two of football's greatest talents – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal.
Although at opposing ends of their careers, both were vital in leading their sides to Sunday's showdown in Munich.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the game – and the mouth-watering prospect of Ronaldo vs Yamal.
Portugal beat the host nation Germany 2-1 in the first semifinal on Wednesday with Ronaldo scoring the winner.
Liverpool target Florian Wirtz gave the Germans the lead early in the second half before Francisco Conceicao levelled just past the hour mark, with the winner coming five minutes later.
Spain and France then served up one of the all-time greats in a 5-4 thriller that saw the latter come from 4-0 and 5-1 down to push the game to the wire.
Yamal scored twice and was the star turn as he outshone the much-lauded French trio of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue – the latter two being fresh from Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League final victory.
There is little doubt that both finalists, and the defeated semifinalists, will see these final three games of the 2024-2025 edition of the competition as vital game time ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The tournament itself, which runs qualification over a two-year period, has replaced the much-maligned and ever-more meaningless list of friendlies between nations on the continent, providing competitive games to keep club-focused players interested during the global international breaks.
The way the two semifinals have played out has built even greater anticipation for the already notable final, and added weight to the Nations League value as a warm-up competition between the more prestigious World Cups and UEFA European Champions, both of which take place every four years.
On the meeting with Ronaldo in the final, Yamal remarked after the win against France: 'Playing against Cristiano? He's a football legend. I'll do my job, which is to win the game, and that's it.'
So much of the external focus in the build-up to the game will turn to the showdown between young Barcelona star Yamal and former Real Madrid and Manchester United legend Ronaldo.
Yamal will turn 18 next month and has already stirred imaginations with star turns for the Catalan club over the last two years, helping them to a domestic treble this season. The Barca-born forward also shone for Spain in last summer's Euro 2024 success, scoring in the semifinal against France – only days before his 17th birthday.
Taking to the field, and battling for the spotlight, with Ronaldo – regarded as arguably the greatest footballer of all time – offers a unique and potentially final chance for Yamal to prove himself against a player who, at 40 years of age, is winding down his career.
With Doue's rise at PSG this year, and Yamal's ever-growing stock, the question has now been posed as to whether there is a changing of the guard from Ronaldo and Argentinian legend Lionel Messi as the game's two best current players.
Both are strong contenders to lift the Ballon d'Or trophy – the award for the global game's best player each year. Spanish international Rodri is the current holder after helping Manchester City to their unique five-trophy winning year in 2023.
Dembele, Mbappe and his fellow Real star Vinicius Junior will also be in the running for the 2025 award but Sunday's final could tip the balance in favour of Yamal ahead of the award ceremony in September.
Much of the talk heading into the final three games of the UEFA Nations League has focused on Ronaldo's club future – and whether he would participate at the imminent FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
The global club competition has been rebranded and expanded to 32 teams for this edition and is headlined by Lionel Messi at the host nation's Inter Miami, who will kick off the tournament against Egyptian club Al Ahly on June 14.
Ronaldo's time at Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League appears to be over following a social media post from the forward following the final day of the competition's season.
The question remains: Where next for Ronaldo? A host of participants at the Club World Cup are being linked with a move for a player who still grabs the headlines the world over, and it would give FIFA's attempt to elevate the tournament a much-needed boost.
Spain won 1-0 in Portugal in a Nations League group stage match in 2022 in the last encounter between the sides.
Alvaro Morata netted the only goal of the game in the 88th minute of the match at Estadio Municipal de Braga.
Although this will be a first meeting for Yamal and Ronaldo, the Spain and Portugal on-field rivalry dates back to a friendly in 1921.
Spain won the fixture 2-1 in December of that year and have claimed victory in 17 of the 34 encounters overall.
Portugal have only recorded six wins against their neighbours, with the last being in a friendly in 2010.
Six of the following seven matches have ended in a draw.
Spain – who were defeated finalists in the 2021 edition of the tournament – beat Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in June 2023.
In the 2021 final, the Spaniards were beaten 2-1 by France, whom they face in Thursday's second semifinal. Their victory in 2023 ended an 11-year search for silverware.
Portugal beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the 2019 final.
The match itself was played on home soil for the Portuguese at Porto's Estadio do Dragao, where Goncalo Guedes scored the only goal of the game in the 60th minute.
Potential Portugal XI: Diogo Costa; Joao Neves, Ruben Dias, Inacio, Mendes; Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva; Trincao, Fernandes, Neto; Ronaldo
Potential Spain XI: Simon; Porro, Huijsen, Le Normand, Cucurella; Zubimendi, Merino, Pedri; Yamal, N Williams, Oyarzabal