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Cristiano Ronaldo wins the Nations League with Portugal for the second time.
imago
Portugal and Spain deliver a thrilling Nations League final in Munich. It is also a generational duel between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal, which has a clear winner.
Cristiano Ronaldo cried immediately after the penalty thriller in Munich. Deeply moved, the 40-year-old superstar joined his jubilant team-mates after Portugal's Nations League title - and celebrated the final victory over European champions Spain like a Champions League triumph.
"We knew we were a great team. Every footballer dreams of these moments, of finals like this - that's what drives us," said Bruno Fernandes on RTL after the dramatic final. First goalscorer, then a fan favorite on the sidelines: figurehead Ronaldo won his third trophy after Euro 2016 and the Nations League 2019 in this memorable final.
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After the coup against Spain's perennial winners around Lamine Yamal, Ronaldo, who at times could no longer look on, has only one unfulfilled goal left: the 2026 World Cup trophy in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
The multiple World Cup winner Ronaldo played a decisive role in his side's victory in the 5:3 penalty shoot-out (2:2, 2:2, 1:2) against Spain in the final in Munich, scoring the goal to make it 2:2. Ruben Neves became the celebrated hero of the final in the showdown from the spot, in which the substituted Ronaldo suffered on the sidelines and on the bench, as he did at Euro 2016. He converted the decisive penalty kick after 120 minutes of football thriller, after Spain's Alvaro Morata had previously missed.
Eight days after his triumph in the Champions League final in the same stadium, PSG defender Nuno Mendes (26) had already equalized the first deficit against the Spaniards before Ronaldo (61). The goals from Martín Zubimendi (21st minute) and Mikel Oyarzabal (45th) were not enough for the favored Spaniards. The match was officiated by Swiss referee Sandro Schärer, who had the game under control at all times.
As in the semi-final victory over Germany (2:1) four days earlier, Ronaldo again left the arena in Munich as the triumphant scorer. The generational duel with the 17-year-old Yamal clearly went to the 40-year-old, who replaced the Croatian Luka Modrić (then 37) as the oldest player in a Nations League final. He was a leading figure, goalscorer and driving force - and once again showed off his top class in his 221st international match with his 138th goal.
Ronaldo scores his 138th international goal.
Keystone
At some point in the closing stages of normal time, Ronaldo was no longer able to do anything. The superstar sat on the floor, had to be treated and substituted. He embraced coach Roberto Martínez in front of the bench - and celebrated the winning goal in extra time.
Barça star Yamal, on the other hand, did not make his mark on the final of the still young UEFA competition in the gala form he had shown in the epic semi-final against France (5:4). Mendes was often decisive in restricting Yamal's circles. His wing partner Nico Williams also failed to make a decisive impact on the game. Will the 22-year-old make more appearances in the final arena in the future? FC Bayern are said to be very interested in the Athletic Bilbao professional.
The generational duel goes to the 40-year-old Ronaldo.
Keystone
In the third Nations League final in a row, the Spanish team had more trouble than expected with the skillfully disruptive Portuguese. The opening goal was not at all in the style of La Roja, but was a product of chance. PSG professional João Neves' attempted clearance landed in the feet of Zubimendi, who effortlessly slotted home to make it 1-0.
Oyarzabal, the Spanish scorer of the winning goal in the European Championship final in Berlin a year ago, scored again this time. After perfect preparatory work by Pedri, Oyarzabal scored to make it 2:1. But unlike a year ago, there was no title. At the age of 28, he is already one of the team oldies in a Spanish squad from which nine players could feature at the U21 European Championships starting this week in Slovakia. However, the team still needs to mature for the big World Cup goal in the USA, Canada and Mexico in a year's time.
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