Football – European football’s oldest and newest stars are set to battle it out as Uefa’s secondary competition captures imagination and global interest.
Portugal, the inaugural winners in 2019, and defending champions Spain have set up one of the most highly anticipated international finals in years as the pair prepare to face off for the Uefa Nations League trophy.
The final not only pits the Iberian rivals together, but also two of football’s greatest talents – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal.
Although at opposing ends of their careers, both were vital in leading their sides to today’s showdown in Munich.
Portugal beat the host nation Germany 2-1 in the first semifinal on Wednesday with Ronaldo scoring the winner.
Liverpool target Florian Wirtz gave the Germans the lead early in the second half before Francisco Conceicao levelled just past the hour mark, with the winner coming five minutes later.
Spain and France then served up one of the all-time greats in a 5-4 thriller that saw the latter come from 4-0 and 5-1 down to push the game to the wire.
Yamal scored twice and was the star turn as he outshone the much-lauded French trio of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue – the latter two being fresh from Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League final victory.
There is little doubt that both finalists, and the defeated semifinalists, will see these final three games of the 2024-2025 edition of the competition as vital game time ahead of the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
The tournament itself, which runs qualification over a two-year period, has replaced the much-maligned and ever-more meaningless list of friendlies between nations on the continent, providing competitive games to keep club-focused players interested during the global international breaks.
The way the two semifinals have played out has built even greater anticipation for the already notable final, and added weight to the Nations League value as a warm-up competition between the more prestigious World Cups and Uefa European Champions, both of which take place every four years.
On the meeting with Ronaldo in the final, Yamal remarked after the win against France: “Playing against Cristiano? He’s a football legend. I’ll do my job, which is to win the game, and that’s it.”
Both are strong contenders to lift the Ballon d’Or trophy – the award for the global game’s best player each year. Spanish international Rodri is the current holder after helping Manchester City to their unique five-trophy winning year in 2023.
Dembele, Mbappe and his fellow Real star Vinicius Junior will also be in the running for the 2025 award but today’s final could tip the balance in favour of Yamal ahead of the award ceremony in September.
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