Ronaldo provided extension
© Imago
First goal scorer, then noble fan on the line: Cristiano Ronaldo won the Nations League with Portugal in a gripping final in Munich. At the age of 40, Ronaldo celebrated his third title with the national team after the European Championship Triumph 2016 and the success in the Nations League 2019.
The multiple world football player was involved in the 5: 3 in a penalty shootout (2: 2, 2: 2, 1: 2) in the final in Munich against Spain as a scorer for 2: 2 in the victory of his selection. To the celebrated final hero in the showdown from the point, where the replaced Ronaldo as at the European Championship 2016 suffered on the edge of the field and on the compartmental bench, Ruben Neves. He converted the crucial penalty after 120 minutes of football thriller after Spain had previously shot Alvaro Morata.
Eight days after his triumph in the Champions League final in the same stadium before Ronaldo (61st), PSG defender Nuno Mendes (26th) equalized against the Spaniards. The goals of Martín Zubimendi (21st minute) and Mikel Oyarzabal (45th) were not enough for the favorite Spaniards.
As with the success in the semi -finals against Germany (2-1) four days earlier, Ronaldo left the arena in Munich as a triumphant. The generation duel with the 17-year-old Lamine Yamal clearly went to the 40-year-old, who replaced Croatian Luka Modric (then 37) as the oldest player in a Nations League final. He was a leadership, goal scorer, driver – and also showed his extra class in the 221st international with his 138th goal.
In the final phase of the regular season, nothing worked at Ronaldo at some point. The superstar sat on the floor, had to be treated and replaced. He hugged the coach Roberto Martínez intently – and cheered there in the extension of the winning goal.
Lamine Yamal not like France-Gala
Barça star Lamine Yamal, on the other hand, did not shape the final of the still young UEFA competition in the gala form, which he had shown in the epic semi-finals against France (5: 4). Mendes often crucial the circles of Lamine Yamal. His wing partner Nico Williams did not crucially intervene in the game. Whether the 22-year-old will appear in the final arena more often in the future? FC Bayern’s interest in Athletic Bilbao’s professional should be great.
In the Third Nation League final in succession, the Spanish team had more trouble than expected with the cleverly disturbing Portuguese. The lead goal was not in the style of La Roja, but came from the random product category. The test attempt by PSG professional João Neves landed in the feet of Zubimendi, which effortlessly pushed in to 1-0.
Oyarzabal, Spanish winning goal scorer in the European Championship final in Berlin a year ago met again. After perfect preparatory work by Pedri, Oyarzabal closed to 2-1. But unlike a year ago, there was no title. At the age of 28, he was one of the team golds of a Spanish squad from which nine players could appear at the U21 European Championship, which started in Slovakia this week. The team still has to mature for the big World Cup destination in the USA, Canada and Mexico.