logo
Portugal Beat Spain on Penalties to Win 2025 Nations League

Portugal Beat Spain on Penalties to Win 2025 Nations League

The Sun4 days ago

MUNICH: Ruben Neves scored the decisive spot kick after Alvaro Morata missed as Portugal beat Spain 5-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw in Munich on Sunday to claim their second Nations League title.
Portugal twice went behind in regulation time but twice fought back to level the scores.
Martin Zubimendi took advantage of some sleepy Portugal defence to put Spain in front after 21 minutes.
The brilliant Nuno Mendes levelled things up five minutes later.
Mikel Oyarzabal, Spain's goalscorer in the Euro 2024 final and the 2023 Nations League final, put La Roja back in front just before the break.
Cristiano Ronaldo, quiet as he had been before scoring the winner against Germany in the semis, equalised with 61 minutes gone, adjusting quickly after a Mendes cross was deflected into the air, muscling past Marc Cucurella and volleying the dropping ball home.
Ronaldo was subbed off before full-time with cramp. Even though Portugal had the better of extra time, the match went to penalties.
Both sides converted their first three spot kicks. Mendes buried Portugal's fourth, before Morata stepped up and shot straight at Diogo Costa.
Neves nervelessly converted in front of the red and green of the Portugal fans. The victory was just Portugal's second competitive win over Iberian rival Spain in their long history.
Portugal's only other win over Spain in a competitive fixture was a 1-0 victory which booted the Spaniards out of Euro 2004, with a 19-year-old Ronaldo on the left wing.
Portugal became the first two-time winner of the Nations League, launched in 2018. It was Portugal's third major title, along with Euro 2016.
Portugal equalise twice
While Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal's fluid movement troubled the Portugese defence early in the match, La Roja's opener was scrappy.
Yamal chipped from outside the box and the Portugal defence froze, botching a clearance which fell to Zubimendi, who leathered the ball into the net.
The goal was just rewards for Spain's early dominance, but Portugal hit back almost immediately.
Mendes, put through by Pedro Neto, drilled a low shot across the goal and in.
Just before halftime, Spain picked Portugal's pocket in their own half before advancing. Pedri linked with Oyarzabal, who threaded the ball past Diogo Costa.
Oyarzabal's goal meant he has scored in three international finals -- against England at Euro 2024, which Spain won, and the 2023 and 2025 Nations Leagues, which Spain lost.
Ronaldo had done little other than encourage the heavily Portuguese crowd until that point but would pick his moment to strike.
With 61 minutes gone, Mendes shed a defender and whipped in a cross. The ball took a deflection and Ronaldo outmuscled Cucurella before lashing a volley home.
The goal was Ronaldo's fourth in 10 matches against Spain. The previous three all coming in a wild 3-3 draw at the 2018 World Cup.
Limping in the dying stages of regulation time, Ronaldo fell to the turf with three minutes left and signalled to the bench that his night was over.
Spain may have been confident when the match went to extra time, having won on penalties in 2023, but Portugal were faultless, Neves stepping up and converting to send his teammates, including a hobbled Ronaldo, streaming onto the pitch.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Wimbledon boosts prize money to £53.5m, biggest in tournament history; champions to earn £3m each
Wimbledon boosts prize money to £53.5m, biggest in tournament history; champions to earn £3m each

Malay Mail

time4 hours ago

  • Malay Mail

Wimbledon boosts prize money to £53.5m, biggest in tournament history; champions to earn £3m each

LONDON, June 12 — Wimbledon has increased its prize money for this year's championships to £53.5 million (RM306 million), a 7 per cent increase on 2024 and double what they offered a decade ago, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said today. The singles champions will receive three million pounds each, a 11.1 per cent increase on the prize money Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova took home last year. Singles players who exit the first round will receive £66,000 pounds, a 10 per cent increase on last year. — Reuters

Bellingham ‘special boy' despite ‘repulsive' behaviour
Bellingham ‘special boy' despite ‘repulsive' behaviour

The Sun

time7 hours ago

  • The Sun

Bellingham ‘special boy' despite ‘repulsive' behaviour

ENGLAND manager Thomas Tuchel said his own mother finds some of Jude Bellingham's antics 'repulsive' but he does not want to dim the Real Madrid star's fire. Tuchel suffered his first defeat in four games as England boss on Tuesday when Senegal became the first African side to ever beat the Three Lions in a 3-1 friendly win. Bellingham thought he had made it 2-2 late on at Nottingham Forest's City Ground only for the goal to be controversially disallowed before Senegal broke away for a third in stoppage time. Tuchel had to restrain Bellingham's protests at the decision at full-time and said it is a balancing act to retain the 21-year-old's fight without it bubbling over. 'Sometimes you see the rage, the hunger and the fire and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive, for example, for my mother when she sits in front of the TV,' said Tuchel in a wide-ranging interview with radio station talkSPORT on Wednesday. 'I see that but, in general, we are very happy to have him. He's a special boy.' Tuchel dismissed suggestions England could be better off without Bellingham, who starred in the Three Lions' run to the Euro 2024 final. But he called on the Bellingham to inspire rather than intimidate his team-mates. 'He has a certain something and brings an edge. It's needed if we want to achieve big things,' added Tuchel. 'It needs to be channelled towards the opponent and towards our goal, and not to intimidate team-mates or be aggressive towards team-mates or referees but always on winning. 'He has the fire -- I don't want to dim that, he should play with that as that's his strength. 'But the fire comes also with some attribute that can intimidate team-mates. Sometimes you see the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game. 'If he can channel this in the right way he has something that we need and that edge is hard to find.' Tuchel, who won the Champions League at Chelsea and league titles with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, was hired with the task of ending England's wait for a major tournament victory since 1966. Under Gareth Southgate they reached the final of each of the last two Euros, plus a quarter-final and semi-final of the past two World Cups. Tuchel has a richly-talented squad to choose from but has so far failed to find the right blend in three underwhelming World Cup qualifying wins over Albania, Latvia and Andorra before the Senegal defeat. 'I already have an idea of what to do,' he added with one year to go to the 2026 World Cup. 'We did some experiments in the second camp, not everything was bad, we did some good things but the two games were not good enough. 'It was a good learning and it brings clarity. Each game is a learning situation and helps us mould the team and find solutions.'

Bellingham ‘special boy' despite ‘repulsive' behaviour, says Tuchel
Bellingham ‘special boy' despite ‘repulsive' behaviour, says Tuchel

The Sun

time7 hours ago

  • The Sun

Bellingham ‘special boy' despite ‘repulsive' behaviour, says Tuchel

ENGLAND manager Thomas Tuchel said his own mother finds some of Jude Bellingham's antics 'repulsive' but he does not want to dim the Real Madrid star's fire. Tuchel suffered his first defeat in four games as England boss on Tuesday when Senegal became the first African side to ever beat the Three Lions in a 3-1 friendly win. Bellingham thought he had made it 2-2 late on at Nottingham Forest's City Ground only for the goal to be controversially disallowed before Senegal broke away for a third in stoppage time. Tuchel had to restrain Bellingham's protests at the decision at full-time and said it is a balancing act to retain the 21-year-old's fight without it bubbling over. 'Sometimes you see the rage, the hunger and the fire and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive, for example, for my mother when she sits in front of the TV,' said Tuchel in a wide-ranging interview with radio station talkSPORT on Wednesday. 'I see that but, in general, we are very happy to have him. He's a special boy.' Tuchel dismissed suggestions England could be better off without Bellingham, who starred in the Three Lions' run to the Euro 2024 final. But he called on the Bellingham to inspire rather than intimidate his team-mates. 'He has a certain something and brings an edge. It's needed if we want to achieve big things,' added Tuchel. 'It needs to be channelled towards the opponent and towards our goal, and not to intimidate team-mates or be aggressive towards team-mates or referees but always on winning. 'He has the fire -- I don't want to dim that, he should play with that as that's his strength. 'But the fire comes also with some attribute that can intimidate team-mates. Sometimes you see the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game. 'If he can channel this in the right way he has something that we need and that edge is hard to find.' Tuchel, who won the Champions League at Chelsea and league titles with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, was hired with the task of ending England's wait for a major tournament victory since 1966. Under Gareth Southgate they reached the final of each of the last two Euros, plus a quarter-final and semi-final of the past two World Cups. Tuchel has a richly-talented squad to choose from but has so far failed to find the right blend in three underwhelming World Cup qualifying wins over Albania, Latvia and Andorra before the Senegal defeat. 'I already have an idea of what to do,' he added with one year to go to the 2026 World Cup. 'We did some experiments in the second camp, not everything was bad, we did some good things but the two games were not good enough. 'It was a good learning and it brings clarity. Each game is a learning situation and helps us mould the team and find solutions.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store