Robert Martínez's Portugal clips Spain's wings

BarcelonaAfter a club season that seemed to go on forever, the Nations League final was decided in agonizing fashion: on penalties and after extra time. A titanic duel between neighbors that crowned Portugal, the first team to win this tournament twice. During the match, neither Lamine nor Pedri managed to shine, caught in Robert Martínez's tactical web. It was a beautiful and even final, in which collective play ruled over individuality. A Diogo Costa save in Morata served to give Martínez his first major international title, a football vagabond who left Balaguer years ago to seek his fortune far away. First in the United Kingdom, then in Belgium, and now in Portugal, where he managed to clip Spain's wings: Neither Nico nor Lamine made a difference.

Martínez knew that to win, he had to disconnect Barça's geniuses from their game. Balaguer's coach, one of those who studies every detail of the game to find solutions, knew that if any player can hold his own against Lamine right now, it's Nuno Mendes, one of the best full-backs on the planet. But he also knew that the best way to combat the talent of such players is to disconnect them from the game. Pedri didn't have it easy either during an interesting tactical battle in which Portugal, well positioned, didn't crack. But the Portuguese were so focused on Lamine, Nico, and Pedri that they were punished by Real Sociedad players Mikel Oyarzabal and Martin Zubimendi. Both, who have had a difficult season at club level, are transformed with the national team, where they excel. Zubimendi scored the first goal after winning the ball back and attacking the spaces, taking advantage of the work of Oyarzabal, a player who perfectly understands the false nine position. The Eibar player, in fact, would score Spain's second goal before halftime. In the middle, Nuno Mendes had managed to break the Spanish defense to equalize.

De la Fuente had left Mikel Merino on the bench to make room for Fabián. In Portugal, Vitinha entered the team after being a substitute in the semifinals. In other words, the geniuses of PSG, newly crowned European champions, faced each other in a match that could also serve to decide who could win the Ballon d'Or. However, Fabián didn't have a good day and ended up being replaced by Merino. De la Fuente had insisted on defending with Le Normand and Huijsen at center-back, leaving Pau Cubarsí on the bench. But he had made a change at full-back, bringing on Celta's Catalan forward Mingueza in place of Pedro Porro. However, Mingueza suffered greatly in a match in which Portugal took a step forward in the second half thanks to the good reading of Martínez, who made a brave double substitution and gave minutes to former Barça player Nelson Semedo.

Spain, who don't know how to stay defensive, also tried, aware that the best way to win the title was to score the third goal. Luis de la Fuente's team knew that veteran Cristiano Ronaldo was lurking inside the box, who at 40 has been re-forming as a footballer. Now he can't play outside the box, but near the opponent's goal, he can start a firestorm. And so it was. He tied the game after a deflected cross in which he knew how to put his body better than Cucurella. The game, which should have been a duel between a 40-year-old man and a 17-year-old, was then being won by Cristiano, as Lamine couldn't get into the game.

Lamine, physically out of action

De la Fuente decided to bring off an overly tired Pedri to see if Isco could do his thing. And the Malaga native almost scored a beautiful goal with a long-range shot as the final was gradually breaking up, with a scenario that favored Spain. The final was a beautiful spectacle, because two good teams faced each other with a lot of tired players. The schedule has been punishing the players, many of them protagonists of finals and epic duels until just a few days ago with their clubs. Players who couldn't escape the curse of extra time, where Milan's Rafael Leao was Nuno Mendes's best ally in breaking down the Spanish defense on the wing. Cucurella and Mingueza were suffering too much, and, in fact, Pedro Porro came on for the Celta player, which allowed Spain to even the score. And Lamine? He couldn't do it anymore. The genius from Rocafonda looked very tired, always surrounded by rock-solid Portuguese players. Aware of the importance of the match, he helped out defensively when Nuno was playing his part, but De la Fuente ended up sacrificing him and replacing him with Yeremy Pino because they needed fresh legs on the pitch.

Extra time continued in the same vein as the match, with an exchange of blows. Martínez and De la Fuente looked at each other on the benches to see how they could surprise their opponents. Portugal had managed to disconnect Lamine, Pedri, and Nico Williams from their game. But they couldn't break down the defense of a Spanish team whose players on the bench were competing at a very high level. The final, in fact, ended with Spain having more possession and looking to avoid penalties. But as happened two years ago, the final had to be decided on penalties. Two years ago, Spain won, but this time they would lose due to a single error by Morata, who had come on shortly before only to shoot the penalty. Diogo Costa would accurately aim his shot, kicking off the Portuguese celebration, with Cristiano Ronaldo in tears of emotion and Martínez satisfied. Rightly so, after winning a title that means a lot to him.