Spain 2 Portugal 2 (3-5 on pens): Mendes vs Yamal, Ronaldo being Ronaldo, and World Cup chances

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Alvaro Morata had his spot kick saved as Portugal beat Spain on penalties to win the Nations League at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

The match was between two teams who should be among the favourites for next year’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico and gave a glimpse of some of the players who could be stars of the tournament, though it was a rare tough night for 17-year-old Spain forward Lamine Yamal.

Martin Zubimendi put Spain ahead before Nuno Mendes, who had a superb game, fired in a powerful strike to make it 1-1. Mikel Oyarzabal then finished off a swift move to put Spain in front again, before up stepped Cristiano Ronaldo to equalise after more brilliant work from Mendes.

One of the battles of the match was Mendes up against Yamal, who was kept quiet by the Portuguese Paris Saint-Germain full-back as he continued his incredible season. In extra time, Milan’s Rafael Leao, a second-half substitute by Roberto Martinez for Portugal, offered the most excitement going forward, before the match was decided by spot kicks.

Earlier on Sunday, France beat Germany 2-0 to claim third place.

Here, Stuart James, Tim Spiers and Dermot Corrigan break down the action from the final.

Mendes vs Yamal, there was only one winner

Is there a better left-back in the world right now than Mendes?

His performances in the past six months feel unrivalled, both in defence and attack, and he excelled again here despite being up against some guy called Lamine Yamal.

His recent form in particular has been deeply impressive — Mendes was unplayable in the Champions League final for PSG, he brilliantly set up Portugal’s winner against Germany in midweek, and he was at it again here with a wonderful first-half goal.

In his 56th game of the season (with a Club World Cup to come), there looked little on when Mendes took up the reins of a static, slow attack.

Then, in the blink of an eye, a bombastic burst past Oscar Mingueza and a spanked low drive into the far corner. How do you defend that? A goal of real brilliance.

He was at it again for the second goal, making Mingueza look like he was running in sand while also leaving Yamal chasing shadows, with another blistering turn of pace, before his deflected cross found Ronaldo.

Mendes has made that half space his own for Portugal and PSG. In the past, his runs could be constant and aimless – now he judges when to go and when to stay. And when he goes, he is fearless and unstoppable.

Defensively, he also expertly took care of Yamal, denying him space and consistently nicking the ball from him. It was reminiscent of how he kept Mohamed Salah quiet in the Champions League earlier this year.

So, anyway, in answer to the question, there isn’t a better left-back in the world right now than Nuno Mendes.

(Maja Hitij – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Tim Spiers

Ronaldo being Ronaldo

It was a strange night for Cristiano Ronaldo.

He flicked the ear of Oyarzabal after Portugal’s first equaliser was allowed to stand following a VAR check (for a potential Ronaldo offside), swapped shirts with Nico Williams in the tunnel at half-time, complained to the referee after the Spanish goals, and generally looked off the pace of the game to such an extent that you wondered if Roberto Martinez would do the unthinkable and substitute his captain.

There was an hour on the clock and Ronaldo hadn’t registered a shot of any description. And then it happened.

Of course it happened.

Mendes, the scorer of Portugal’s opening goal and the best player on the pitch by a distance, left Yamal for dead, scampering past the winger on the left flank before delivering a cross that took a wicked deflection off Robin Le Normand. As the ball looped up towards the far post, where Ronaldo was up against Marc Cucurella, there was only going to be one outcome.

Ronaldo volleyed home emphatically, registering goal number 138 for Portugal and making fools out of all of us who questioned if he was going to make any sort of meaningful contribution to this game.

(Christian Charisius/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Stuart James

Are Spain World Cup favourites or too leaky?

Tonight was yet another example of how this Spain team are superbly entertaining to watch — because they are not perfect.

At times, their attacking play was a joy to watch. This is a more direct Spain team than the all-conquering bunch of Xavi, Iniesta and company that won Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012.

Another reason Spain games tend to be fun to watch is that they also provide plenty of drama in defence. This is not a team able to go ahead and then shut games down — as they showed with the helter-skelter end to Thursday’s semi-final against France, being brought back from 5-1 ahead to 5-4 in the final quarter of an hour.

(Maciej Rogowski/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

That made it 15 goals conceded in Spain’s last six games — not the kind of record that screams likely winners of a top knockout tournament. The return to fitness of Manchester City’s Rodri will be a big help. He was the team’s most important player as they won last year’s European Championship, even if he was injured by the time the team sealed victory in the final against England.

But Spain’s issues in defence are the reason that, despite their attacking flair, they are not outstanding favourites for next summer’s World Cup.

Dermot Corrigan

What does the future look like for Portugal and Martinez?

With a year to go until the World Cup, this was a perfect barometer of how Portugal, who will be one of the favourites to lift the trophy, are shaping up.

And the verdict is? They look very good. There is no doubting the quality Portugal possess, while their strength in depth can only be rivalled by a handful of nations, such as France and Spain. Rafael Leao coming off the bench at 74 minutes and taking extra time by storm shows how dangerous they can be throughout a game.

The issue has been how to join those talents together into a cohesive unit, and as we saw at the Euros last summer, when Portugal failed to score for three matches in a row and lost on penalties to France, head coach Roberto Martinez hasn’t found that an easy conundrum to solve.

(Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images)

Ronaldo’s role at the forefront of his XI has never been in doubt. Predecessor Fernando Santos dropped Ronaldo, but Martinez has doubled down and been rewarded with goals, if not effective line-leading performances. After scoring in the semi-final and final this week, the Ronaldo debate will be parked for now.

Martinez came into the finals amid rumours about his future and while he can still drop a clanger with an odd selection or tactic (picking Joao Neves at right-back just didn’t work), Portugal’s performances against Germany and Spain have been impressive overall.

Ronaldo and Martinez (Lars Baron/Getty Images)

They were outclassed by Spain in the first half here, but after the break, with Martinez having shored up his midfield, Portugal matured into the game and had individual brilliance from Mendes and Leao to peg Spain back.

They have a lovely blend of youth and experience, with leaders such as 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 match-winners, they can play on the counter or in possession, and have very few weaknesses. In theory, the ingredients are all there for them to win the World Cup for the first time.

Tim Spiers

In big moments, call for Oyarzabal

This Spain team has plenty of stars, but centre-forward Oyarzabal is among the squad’s lowest-profile players.

That is more to do with the club he plays for (Real Sociedad) and his understated personality (he rarely does interviews), as the Basque has emerged as a key figure for La Roja in recent years.

Oyarzabal was heavily involved in Spain’s first goal, starting the move with a neat backheel that sent his La Real team-mate Zubimendi striding through the Portugal defence.

The 28-year-old’s goal was excellently taken, as Oyarzabal timed his run off the shoulder of the Portugal defender Goncalo Inacio to meet Pedri’s through-ball, and then calmly slipped the ball past advancing goalkeeper Diogo Costa.

(Alexandra Beier/AFP via Getty Images)

That took Oyarzabal to 16 goals in 44 senior international caps. Those strikes include Spain’s goal when they lost 2-1 to France in the 2021 Nations League final and the late winner in last summer’s 2-1 Euro 2024 victory over England. He also scored for Spain in the 2021 Olympic final defeat to Brazil, when De La Fuente was also his coach (and Zubimendi and Pedri also team-mates).

Oyarzabal may not have the physical explosiveness, dribbling skills or absolute technical quality of some team-mates, but his superb football intelligence and ability to make his mark in the most important games have seen him ease past Alvaro Morata (now at Galatasaray) to become Spain’s clear first-choice No 9.

Dermot Corrigan

(Top photo: Getty Images)

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