Portugal vs. Spain: Who is it?
What: UEFA Nations League final
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
When: Sunday, June 8, 2025 – 3pm kickoff (13:00 GMT)
How to follow our coverage on Al Jazeera Sport starting at 12 p.m. (10:00 GMT).
As Portugal and Spain prepare to face off for the UEFA Nations League trophy, the pair have one of the most highly anticipated international finals in a long time.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal, two of football’s greatest talents, are also pitted against each other in the final.
Both had a significant role in helping their teams survive Sunday’s showdown in Munich despite their careers being at different ends.
Ronaldo vs. Yamal is a mouth-watering prospect, and Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the game.
Portugal’s route to the Nations League final: how did it do it?
Ronaldo scored the winning goal in Portugal’s first semifinal victory on Wednesday, beating the host nation Germany 2-1.
Before Francisco Conceicao equalized just past the hour mark, the Germans took the lead early in the second half thanks to Florian Wirtz, who had already given the Germans the lead. Five minutes later, the winner was scored.
How did Spain fare against France in the semifinal?
After going 4-0 and 5-0 down, Spain and France unleashed one of the greatest scorers in a 5-4 thriller.
Yamal outscored Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, and Desire Doue, who both came off the heels of Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph, scoring twice and acting the star.
The UEFA Nations League final’s significance is how?
These final three games of the competition’s final three games, which are scheduled for 2024-2025, will be crucial game time before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, without a doubt, as well as the semifinalists who were defeated.
The tournament itself, which offers competitive games to keep club-focused players interested during the world’s international breaks, has replaced the much-maligned and ever-more meaningless list of friendlies between continents with qualification over a two-year period.
The outcome of the two semifinals has heightened anticipation for the already notable final, and given the Nations League’s reputation as a warm-up competition between the more prestigious World Cups and UEFA European Champions, both of which occur every four years, a new level.
After winning against France in the final, Yamal made the comment that he was playing against Ronaldo. He is a legend in football. I’ll do what I’m supposed to do, win the game, and that’s it.
Is this Lamine Yamal’s shining moment?
The showdown between former Real Madrid and Manchester United legend Ronaldo will receive a lot of attention from the outside world in the course of the game.
Yamal will turn 18 next month, and the Catalan club’s star players have already sparked conjectures with their recent successes, helping them to a domestic treble this year, with their latest addition. The Barca-born forward also excelled for Spain in the semifinal match against France from last summer’s Euro 2024 success, just days shy of his 17th birthday.
Ronaldo, who is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, gives Yamal a unique and potentially final chance to show himself against a player who is closing down his career at 40 years old.
Is Yamal up for Ballon d’Or?
With Ronaldo and Argentinian legend Lionel Messi emerging as the game’s top current stars and Yamal’s stock steadily rising this year, it has been questioned whether there is a change of guard.
Both are strong contenders to win the Ballon d’Or trophy, which honors the best player in the world each year. After guiding Manchester City to their unique five-trophy winning year in 2023, Spanish international Rodri is the current holder.
Dembele, Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior, a member of Real, will also be competing for the 2025 award, but the final on Sunday could favor Yamal ahead of the ceremony’s oct in September.
What is the most recent development for Ronaldo’s team?
Ronaldo’s future as a player and whether he would compete in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in the United States have been the focus of much discussion heading into the UEFA Nations League’s final three games.
Lionel Messi will lead the host nation’s Inter Miami, who will face Egyptian side Al Ahly on June 14, in a new name and 32 teams for the annual international club competition.
Following a social media post from the front after the final day of the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo’s time at Al Nasr in the tournament appears to be over.
Where will Ronaldo go from here next? A number of participants in the Club World Cup are being linked to a move for a player who continues to make headlines internationally. This would give FIFA’s desperate attempt to boost the competition.
What transpired between Portugal and Spain last time?
In their final encounter of the Nations League group stage, Spain defeated Portugal 1-0 in a match in 2022 to claim a victory.
In the 88th minute of the match, Alvaro Morata scored the only goal of the game at the Estadio Municipal de Braga.
Portugal and Spain square off in a head-to-head match
Although this will be Yamal and Ronaldo’s first game together, the on-field conflict between Spain and Portugal dates back to a friendly in 1921.
In the overall series of 17 of the 34 matches, Spain won with a score of 2-1 in December of that year.
Portugal have only won six games against their neighbors, the last of which was a friendly in 2010.
Six of the seven subsequent games ended in draws.
In the 2023 Nations final, who did Spain defeat?
After drawing one goalless in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in June 2023, Spain defeated Croatia 5-4 on penalties in the 2021 edition of the tournament.
France, who they face in Thursday’s second semifinal, defeated the Spaniards 2-1 in the 2021 final. Their victory in 2023 put an 11-year search for silverware to an end.
In the inaugural final, Portugal defeated who?
In the 2019 final, Portugal defeated the Netherlands 1-0.
The Portuguese won the game on their own soil at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao, and Goncalo Guedes scored the only goal of the match in the 60th minute.
Possible lineups for Portugal and Spain:
Potential Portugal XI: Diogo Costa, Joao Neves, Ronaldo, Inacio, Mendes, Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva, Trincao, Fernandes, Neto, Ronaldo
Source: Aljazeera
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