Portugal beat Spain on penalties to win Nations League
It was a historic night for Portugal as they beat defending champions Spain 5-3 on penalties to win the Nations League. The match went to spot kicks after it had finished 2-2 after extra time.Portugal have now become the first country in the competition to lift the trophy for a second time.They previously won the title six years ago, in 2019.
What happened in the final?
Many people were excited for the final as two huge names in football faced each other for the first time - 40-year-old Portugal captain and legend Ronaldo and Spain's teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. And the match didn't disappoint, with goals from both sides.Spain were first to score through Martin Zubimendi after 21 minutes.However, their lead didn't last long, as Portugal's Nuno Mendes slammed a low strike into the far corner of the net five minutes later to level the match 1-1.Spain then got their second thanks to Mikel Oyarzabal, taking a 2-1 lead into half-time.
In the second half, it was Ronaldo who came to Portugal's rescue - volleying in his 138th international goal to take the score to 2-2, which is how the game ended after 90 minutes.With neither side scoring in extra time, the moment had arrived for the dreaded penalty shootout.Portugal netted all five of their spot kicks, with Spain's Álvaro Morata the only man to miss - meaning it was Ronaldo's side who lifted the trophy.
After the match, the 40-year-old legend was in tears as he explained how much the title meant to him.Ronaldo said: "Winning for Portugal is always special. "I have many titles with clubs, but nothing is better than winning for Portugal."It is the third trophy that Ronaldo has won with Portugal, after previously being crowned Euro 2016 champions and lifting the Nations League in 2019.
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