Portugal win Nations League with penalty win against Spain

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

Talk of the first meeting between 40-year-old Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo and 17-year-old Spain winger Lamine Yamal dominated the build-up to the Allianz Arena showdown.
Ronaldo's 61st-minute equaliser forced extra time but both players had been substituted by the time an absorbing contest was decided from 12 yards.
Mikel Oyarzabal had earlier given Spain a half-time lead after the opening goal from his Real Sociedad team-mate Martin Zubimendi was cancelled out by impressive Portugal full-back Nuno Mendes.
Portugal celebrated a second Nations League triumph, having won the inaugural tournament in 2019, with Ronaldo pictured in tears following the shootout.
Goals seemed extremely likely in Bavaria, with Euro 2024 winners Spain having reached the final with a thrilling 5-4 win over France, while Portugal came from behind to beat Germany 2-1.
Pedri and Nico Williams each threatened before Luis de la Fuente's side capitalised on their early ascendancy with a scrappy 21st-minute opener.
Oyarzabal sparked the attack with a delightful flick in midfield and, after Portugal goalkeeper Costa and defenders Ruben Dias and Joao Neves made a mess of dealing with Yamal's delivery into the box, Zubimendi was on hand for a simple finish into the unguarded net.
Portugal trailed for just four minutes.
Marauding left-back Mendes – fresh from his Champions League triumph with Paris St Germain – claimed the leveller, bursting into the box beyond Oscar Mingueza to blast an angled drive into the bottom right corner for his first international goal.
Martinez's side enjoyed increased possession and were largely subduing Spain before falling behind again in the final minute of the half.
With Portuguese players appealing for a foul on Bernardo Silva by Robin Le Normand, Pedri drove forward and poked the ball through for Oyarzabal – who scored the winner in last summer's European Championship final against England – to divert an instinctive, first-time finish past Costa.
Bruno Fernandes briefly thought he had levelled four minutes into the second period but Pedro Neto was offside before providing the assist.
A second equaliser of the evening eventually arrived with 29 minutes to go.
Mendes breezed past Yamal on Portugal's left and, after his low cross looped up off Le Normand, Ronaldo held off Marc Cucurella to volley home his 138th goal for his country.
With the clock ticking towards an additional half an hour, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner limped off two minutes from time to be replaced by Goncalo Ramos.
Portugal substitute Nelson Semedo scuffed wide early in extra time, while tempers threatened to boil over during a brief flashpoint after Mendes went down in Spain's box under a challenge from Alex Baena.
Yamal was withdrawn ahead of a cagey second period of extra time before Portugal held their nerve to prevail on spot-kicks, with Spain substitute Morata the only man to miss.
Earlier, Kylian Mbappe scored his 50th goal for France to help them claim third place with a 2-0 victory over Germany in Stuttgart.
Germany spurned several chances to take the lead, most notably when Florian Wirtz saw his effort come back off the goal frame, before Mbappe struck on the stroke of half-time to put France ahead.
Mbappe is now just one goal off Thierry Henry as France's second all-time leading goalscorer, and the Real Madrid forward then teed up substitute Michael Olise late on to secure a win for the visitors.
Goalkeeper Mike Maignan was just as important for France, who lost a nine-goal semi-final thriller to Spain on Thursday, in this third-placed play-off as he made several important saves throughout.