Alvaro Morata had his kick at the scene, when Portugal beat Spain on penalties to beat the League of Nations at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
The match was between two teams that should be among next year’s World Cup favorites in the US, Canada and Mexico and gave a glimpse of some of the players who could be stars of the tournament, although it was a difficult night for 17 -year -old Spanish striker Lamine Yamal.
Martin Zubimendi put Spain ahead before Nuno Mendes, who had an excellent game, fired in a powerful attack to do the 1-1. Mikel Oyarzabal ended a quick movement to put Spain ahead again, before climbing Cristiano Ronaldo to draw after Mendes’s brighter work.
One of the battles of the match was Mendes against Yamal, who was quiet by the Portuguese Paris Saint-Germain defender while still his amazing season. In Extra Time, Milan’s Rafael Leao, a replacement for Roberto Martinez’s second half for Portugal, offered the biggest excitement from now on before the match was decided by kicks.
At the beginning of Sunday, France beat Germany 2-0 to claim third place.
Here, Stuart James, Tim Spiers and Dermot Corigan break the action of the final.
Mendes vs Yamal, there was only one winner
Is there a better left back in the world now than Mendes?
His performances in the last six months have been incomparable, both in defense and attack, and he has stood out on both facets again here, despite facing a guy named Lamine Yamal.
Its recent form, in particular, was deeply impressive to mees was not playable in the Champions League final for PSG, he brilliantly scored the Portugal winner against Germany in the middle of the week and he was here with a wonderful goal in the first half.
In his 56th game of the season (with a World Cup of Clubs to come), it seemed little when Mendes took over the reins of a static and slow attack.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a bombastic explosion went through an Oscar Mangueza and a low drive beaten in the farthest corner. How do you defend this? A goal of real brightness.
He was back to the second goal, making mingueza look like he was running in sand as he also left Yamal chasing shadows, with another rhythm return, before his cross -off Cross found Ronaldo.
Mendes created this means of Portugal and PSG. In the past, his races could be constant and aimlessly – now he judges when he goes and when he is. And when he goes, he is fearless and unstoppable.
Defensively, he also halted the shackles in Yamal, denying him space and consistently cutting his ball. He remembered how he kept Mohamed Salah Quieto in the Champions League earlier this year.
Anyway, in response to the question, there is no better left back in the world now than Nuno Mendes.
(Maja Hitij – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Tim Spiers
Ronaldo being Ronaldo
It was a strange night for Cristiano Ronaldo.
A Night When he is flicked the ear of Oyarzabal after Portugal’s First Equaliser Was Allowed to Stand Following A var check (for Potential Ronaldo Offside), Swapped Shirts with Nico Williams in The Tunnel at Half-Time, Complained To the Referee The Spanish Goals, and Generally Looked off the pace of the game to Such an extent that you wondered if Roberto Martinez Would from The Unthinkable and Substitute Hist Captain.
There was an hour on the clock and Ronaldo did not record a photo of any description. And then it happened.
Of course It happened.
Mendes, the scorer of Portugal’s opening goal and the best player in the field at a distance, left Yamal by dead, passing the wing in the left flank before delivering a cross that took a perverse deflection of Robin Le Normand. As the ball approached the farther post, where Ronaldo was against Marc Cucurella, there would only be one result.
Ronaldo returned home emphatically, registering goal number 138 for Portugal and making fools of all of us who questioned if he would make any significant contribution to this game.
(Christian Charisius/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
Stuart James
Saint Spain World cup Favorites or with a lot of leakage?
Tonight was another example of how this team in Spain is superbly fun to watch – because they are not perfect.
Sometimes their attacking game was a joy to watch. This is a more direct team from Spain than the Xavi group, Iniesta and a company that won the 2008 euro, 2010 and euro 2012 World Cup.
Another reason why Spain games tend to be fun to watch is that they also provide a lot of drama in the defense. This is not a team capable of continuing and then closing the way they showed with Helter-Skelter’s end to Thursday’s semifinal against France, being brought around 5-1 ahead of 5-4 in the last trimester of one hour.
(Maciej Rogowski/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
This has made 15 goals conceded in the last six games in Spain – not the kind of record that probably shouts winners of a knockout tournament. The return to the fitness of Rodrigues of Manchester City will be a great help. He was the most important player of the team, as he won last year’s European Championship, even though he was injured when the team sealed the victory in the final against England.
But Spain’s problems in defense are the reason – despite their attacker talent – they are not favorites for next summer’s World Cup
Dermot Corigan
How is the future for Portugal and Martinez?
With a year to go before the World Cup, this was a perfect barometer of how Portugal – which will be a favorite to lift the trophy – is shaping.
And the verdict is? They look very good. There is no doubt that Portugal has, while its strength in depth can only be rivaled by a handful of nations such as France and Spain. Rafael Leao leaving the bank on 74 minutes and taking longer with the storm, as they can be dangerous over a game.
The question was how to unite these talents in a cohesive unit – and as we saw in euros last summer, when Portugal was unable to score three consecutive matches and lost penalties to France, coach Roberto Martinez did not find that an easy -to -resolve puzzle.
(Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images)
Ronaldo’s role in his Xi’s avant -garde has never been in doubt. The predecessor Fernando Santos left Ronaldo, but Martinez doubled and was rewarded with objectives if they are not effective leader performances. After scoring at the semifinal and end of this week, the debate in Ronaldo will be parked for now.
Martinez hit the finals amid rumors about his future, and although he can still launch a Clanger with a strange selection or tactic (choosing João Neves on the right-back simply did not work), Portugal’s performances against Germany and Spain were impressive overall.
Ronaldo and Martinez (Lars Baron/Getty Images)
They were surpassed by the Spanish in the first half here, but after the break, with Martinez having climbed the middle, Portugal matured in the game and had an individual shine of Mendes and Leao to point Spain back.
They have the loody blend of youth and experience, with Leaders like Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Ruben Dias Combined with Youngsters Mendes (AGED 22), Joao Neves (20), Vitinha (25), Goncalo Inacio (23), Francisco Conceicao (22) and Leao (25).
They have an abundance of winners, can play at the counter or in possession and have very few weaknesses. In theory, the ingredients are all there so that they come to the World Cup for the first time.
Tim Spiers
In great moments, call Oyarzabal
This team from Spain has many stars, but your Oyarzabal is among the smaller squad profile players.
This has more to do with the club to which he plays (Real Sociedad) and his discreet personality (he rarely does interviews), as Basque emerged as a lar Roja figure in recent years.
Oyarzabal was strongly involved in the first goal of Spain, starting the change with a jump on his back, which sent La Zubimondi’s teammate to the defense of Portugal.
The goal of the 28 -year -old was excellent, when Oyarzabal timed his race from Portugal’s defender, Goncalo Inacio, to find Pedri’s ball and then calmly passed the ball passing through goalkeeper Diogo Silva.
(Alexandra Beier/AFP via Getty Images)
This led Oyarzabal to 16 goals in 44 Caps International Senior. These attacks include Spain’s goal when they lost 2-1 to France in the 2021 Nations League final and the winner of the last summer 2-1 2024 victory over England. He also scored for Spain in the 2021 Olympic final defeat to Brazil, when from La Fuente was also his coach (and Zubimendi and Pedri also teammates).
Oyarzabal may not have physical explosiveness, dribbling skills, or the absolute technical quality of some teammates. But his excellent intelligence in football and the ability to make his mark in the most important games saw him facilitate Alvaro Morata’s past (now in Galatasaray) to become Spain’s first -choice Clara in 9.
Dermot Corigan
(Top photo: Getty images)
