Portugal wins 5-4 in the penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw in regulation time and over time
Portugal’s men’s football team won its third official title last night (June 8), beating Spain to become the first country to win two editions of the UEFA Nations League (2019 and 2025).
The final, played at the iconic Allianz Arena in Münich, Germany, saw both sides start sheepishly before Zubimendi gave the Spaniards the lead at the 21th minute. Portugal took just five minutes to answer, with PSG left-back Nuno Mendes penetrating Spain’s defence to hammer home a stunner. However, Spain took the lead again just before halftime as Oyarzabal snuck behind Portugal’s defence line to beat Diogo Costa.
It was only midway through the second half that Portugal levelled the scoreboard again, once more with Nuno Mendes leading the play. The 22-year-old lulled Spanish sensation Yamine Lamal on the left flank before accelerating and crossing the ball into the Spanish box, where 40-year-old footballing icon Cristiano Ronaldo took advantage of a loose ball to score a record-extending 138th goal for Portugal.
Despite chances for both sides until the end, regulation time ended with a 2-2 draw which remained unchanged throughout over time, meaning the final would be decided in a penalty shootout. After losing to Spain in a dramatic penalty shootout in the semi-finals of the Euro 2012, Portugal came out on top this time, with Gonçalo Ramos, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, Nuno Mendes and Rúben Neves all scoring, while Diogo Costa made the game-winning save against Spanish striker Álvaro Morata.
Ronaldo, who had subbed out just before the end of regulation time, broke into tears as his teammates ran to celebrate with the thousands of Portuguese fans in the stands.
“They were tears of joy,” Ronaldo said after the match. “There’s nothing like winning for the national team. I’ve won many things, many trophies, but winning for my country is always special.”
“At lunch, I was speaking to some of my teammates about how this generation (of players) deserved a trophy. And our coach especially,” the Portuguese captain said, insisting that Roberto Martínez – who won the trophy against his home country – was subject to a lot of unfair criticism. “He puts a lot of passion into training sessions and matches. He is the right coach for the team. Even though he is not Portuguese, he speaks Portuguese and I appreciate that even more.”
The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for its 55 member national teams. It was introduced in 2018 as an alternative to friendly matches, aiming to make international football more competitive and engaging.
Portugal is now the only country to have won two editions – 2019 and 2025 – with France (2021) and Spain (2023) the only others to have won the tournament as well.
In less than 10 years, Portugal has gone from zero to three official titles: the Euro 2016 and the two Nations League trophies.
