Bernardo and Dias help Portugal to Nations League success
Bernardo and Dias help Portugal to Nations League success
Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva were part of the Portugal team that beat Spain on penalties in Sunday's UEFA Nations League final in Munich.
Dias played the whole match at the Allianz Arena while Bernardo was replaced after 74 minutes following yet another all-action shift.
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Spain twice took the lead in normal time, through Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Oyarzabal strikes, only to be pegged back first by Nuno Mendes and then Cristiano Ronaldo.
Having dominated early on, Spain went ahead after 20 minutes when Zubimendi followed up after Dias' last-ditch effort to deny Oyarzabal an easy tap in from Lamine Yamal's cross.
Dias put in an exemplary piece of defending a few minutes later, racing back to shut out Nico Williams as the winger looked to be closing in on goal.
That kickstarted a Portugal attack that culminated in full-back Nuno Mendes arrowing the ball across goal to level up the scores.
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However, Spain were ahead just before the break as Oyarzabal latched on to Pedri's pass and slid the ball home.
Portugal responded on the hour mark through Ronaldo's prodded volley and that's the way it would remain all the way through to the end of extra time.
Spain striker Alvaro Morata was the only man to miss his penalty, leaving Al Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves to hit the winning spot kick.
It's Portugal's second UEFA Nations League triumph, having won the trophy in its inaugural edition in 2018/19.
Congratulations to Bernardo and Ruben on this achievement!
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Meanwhile, Rodri was not part of Spain's squad for this international break.
The Ballon d'Or winner only briefly returned to the pitch in City's penultimate Premier League game of the season following a lengthy injury layoff.
Earlier in the day, France were 2-0 victors over Germany in the third place play-off with goals from Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise.
Our players will now return to the City Football Academy to prepare for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup.
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