ALL eyes will be on the Allianz Arena TONIGHT as Portugal and Spain battle it out in a thrilling Nations League final – and who wins it could be down to two brilliant individuals.
Cristiano Ronaldo continued to do what he has been doing for decades last Wednesday – scoring goals – and his 68th-minute strike fired Portugal to a 2-1 win over Germany in the semis.
However, teen sensation Lamine Yamal stole the plaudits once again a day later as his double for La Roja earned Spain a thrilling 5-4 semi-final victory against France.
Now the master Ronaldo meets the student Yamal for the first time ever, and both players will be desperate to secure a second Nations League triumph for their respective countries.
- Kick-off time: 8pm BST
- FREE live stream: ITV X
- TV channel: ITV 1
- Portugal starting team: Costa; Neves, Dias, Inacio, Mendes; Bernardo Silva, Vitinha; Neto, Fernandes, Conceicao; Ronaldo
- Spain starting team: Simon; Mingueza, Le Normand, Huijsen, Cucurella; Pedri, Zubimendi, Ruiz; Yamal, Oyarzabal, N. Williams
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Follow ALL the action from the Nations League final with our live blog below…
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Spain subs
Sa, R. Silva, Semedo, A. Silva, Dalot, Palhinha, Ramos, Felix, Veiga, Trincao, Leao, Neves, Goncalves, Jota, Mora.
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Portugal subs
Raya, Remiro, Porro, Cubarsi, Vivian, Merino, Morata, Gavi, Olmo, Pino, Baena, Grimaldo, Isco, Lopez, Samu.
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Spain starting XI
Simon, Mingueza, Le Normand, Huijsen, Cucurella, Pedri, Zubimendi, Ruiz, Yamal, Oyarzabal, N. Williams
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Portugal starting XI
Costa, Neves, Dias, Inacio, Mendes, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha, Neto, Fernandes, Conceicao, Ronaldo
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Third place play off
France and Germany faced off in what turned out to be a dominant third place play off earlier today.
Kylian Mbappe scored his 50th goal in 90 caps for Les Bleus to put them ahead.
And Michael Olise brought his incredible goal scoring form with Bayern Munich, to the international side by bagging France’s second.
Credit: Getty -
Portugal’s route to the final
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner as Portugal fought back to beat Germany 2-1 in their semi-final.
Germany dominated the first half, but it remained goalless thanks to the heroics of Portugal keeper Diogo Costa.
However, Germany took the lead in the 48th minute, as Florian Wirtz headed in unmarked in the box, following a pinpoint lobbed pass from Joshua Kimmich.
But Portugal turned the match around, first equalizing through substitute Francisco Conceição in the 63rd minute.
Then Ronaldo, 40, captained Portugal and scored his 137th international goal five minutes after substitute Conceição had made it 1-1.
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How Spain got here
Lamine won the Battle of the Ballon d’Or as Spain sneaked into the Nations League final after a nine-goal thriller against France in the semis
All eyes in Stuttgart were on the mouthwatering duel between La Roja sensation Yamal, 17, and Les Bleus star Ousmane Dembele, 28.
Both are in with a shout of winning the Ballon d’Or in three months time with 51 club goals in all competitions between them for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain this term.
Yet it was the Barca teenage superstar who grabbed the headlines with a stunning second-half double – now with 48 goal contributions in 57 games for club and country this campaign – alongside impressive strikes from Nico Williams, Mikel Merino and Pedri.
Kylian Mbappe netted a 59th-minute spot-kick and a late comeback looked on the cards thanks to debutant Rayan Cherki’s 79th-minute attempt, an 84th-minute Daniel Vivian own goal and Randal Kolo Muani‘s injury-time header.
But Spain held on, facing Portugal in Munich on Sunday – their third Nations League final on the spin – and sets up a clash between Yamal and Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time.
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Lamine the dream
However, teen sensation Lamine Yamal stole the plaudits once again a day later as his double for La Roja earned Spain a thrilling 5-4 semi-final victory against France.
Credit: Alamy
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Cris cross
Cristiano Ronaldo continued to do what he has been doing for decades last Wednesday – scoring goals – and his 68th-minute strike fired Portugal to a 2-1 win over Germany in the semis.
Credit: AP -
Welcome to SunSport’s coverage of the Nations League final!
Football lovers cannot wait to see what unfolds in the Nations League final tonight between Portugal and Spain – and we’ll be all over it!
La Roja are on a fantastic international run as they are on the hunt for a third international trophy in three years.
pain won the Nations League in 2023 against Croatia and the Euro’s last year overcoming England in the final.
They will be attempting to become back to back Nations League champions and are well on the way after overcoming France in an enthralling 9 goal encounter.
Once again it was the Barcelona star Lamine Yamal who was the talk of the game as he won player of the match by scoring two goals in his sides 5-4 win.
However, the footballing icon Cristiano Ronaldo will want to show the teenager who’s boss with a second Nations League win.
The Portuguese forward scored his 137th international goal – breaking yet another record – for his country againstGermany to win the game 2-1 and secure a final spot.
Ronaldo had never beaten Germany before in his career – he has played Germany five times, losing all five but he was the difference maker in the semi-final.
The main battle of the game will definitely be between the teenage sensation Yamal and footballing phenomenon Ronaldo.
