Spain won the third edition of the Nations League on Sunday evening. In the final in the Kuip in Rotterdam against Croatia it was still 0-0 after 120 minutes and a penalty shootout had to make the decision. Lovro Majer and Bruno Petkovic missed for Croatia and Aymeric Laporte for Spain before Dani Carvajal scored the winning penalty to make it 5-4. Spain had defeated Italy in the semi-finals and Croatia had beaten the Netherlands.
Croatia was a bit better in a first half with few real chances. In the second half and in extra time, the game was more even and there were some chances back and forth, but no goals were scored. At the start of the penalty shootout, Croatia had the psychological advantage, as the Croatians had won the last two World Cup games from 11 meters and Spain had been eliminated from a major tournament on penalties three times in a row. But except for a shot from Laporte on the crossbar, the Spaniards shot the penalties flawlessly, while the Croats missed twice.
Read also: Question marks around the Orange after another defeat
Reparation
After a disappointing World Cup, in which Morocco was too strong in the eighth final, Spain was looking for rehabilitation and confidence in the new course that has been started under national coach Luis de la Fuente. No more endless replaying, but faster searching for depth. Despite a spectacularly disappointing final, this new course has already paid off with this prize. The European Championship in Germany awaits in a year.
For Croatia and star player Luka Modric, the final was another chance to finally win a prize. In the past five years, Zlatko Dalić’s successful team has twice won the absolute top prize. In 2018, the Croatians lost the World Cup final to France, in Qatar they came third. But despite the support of about 25,000 fans in Rotterdam, Croatia failed again.
Now that the Nations League is over, the players finally have a (short) vacation. For many players, this marks the end of a long and grueling season. A striking example is that of the Spanish midfielder Rodri (26). With Manchester City he played no less than 56 games in the 2022-2023 season, partly because he reached the final of the Champions League. In addition, ten international matches were added, including the World Cup in Qatar. On average, he played a game about every five days this season.