Ben Pawlowski
WITH a stunning Euros win in their pocket and a squad laden with young talent, Spain may be the joint-favourites for next year’s World Cup in North America – but the 2025 Nations League final proved a step too far as La Roja were defeated on penalties by neighbouring Portugal.
Spain won the 2023 edition of this tournament on penalties against Croatia, but on this occasion spot-kicks condemned Spain to a surprise defeat.
Alvaro Morata’s tame effort, saved by keeper Diogo Costa, proved the difference at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Sunday, the same stadium that hosted last week’s Champions League final demolition of Inter Milan by French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
This Iberian clash proved a tighter affair, with 120 minutes of football failing to separate the two sides.
Spain’s vibrant team took the lead in the 21st minute through Martin Zubimendi, the Real Sociedad midfielder heavily linked with a move to Premier League Arsenal.
However, the excellent Nuno Mendes, fresh from his Champions League triumph with PSG, levelled shortly after.
Spain retook the lead in the second half through Mikel Oyarzabal, the winning goalscorer in the Euro 2024 final against England, before 40-year-old captain Cristiano Ronaldo equalised for Portugal.
Ronaldo, forced to come off during extra-time with an injury, cried with tears of joy after Ruben Neves scored the winning penalty. The trophy is his third title on the international stage, following the 2016 Euros and 2019 Nations League.
Prior to the game, the match had been billed as a clash between old and new, between Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old Barcelona wonderkid widely tipped to win this year’s Balon D’Or.
But Yamal struggled to assert himself against Nuno Mendes, viewed by many as the best left-back in the world. Ronaldo’s interventions, meanwhile, proved pivotal.
