Redemption for the Nations League
The Final Four in Europe served up a classic mini-tournament.
I wouldn’t be caught dead watching the UEFA Nations League group stage, and TFW has had some fun at the competition’s expense during various midseason international breaks. But the Final Four did not mess around this year, as a quartet of European powers met up in Munich and played out a few goal-mad classics.
Spain 5-4 France in the semifinal on Thursday was instant vintage, as Nico Williams, Pedri, and Lamine Yamal ran riot to put the Spaniards 4-0 up after 55 minutes. Then France got one back through a Kylian Mbappé penalty, Yamal got another to make it 5-1, then 21-year-old Rayan Cherki came on and produced a virtuoso performance to power the French back into the match. It was topsy-turvy, top-shelf stuff. Hosts Germany took the lead against Portugal in the other semi, but Francisco Conceiçao equalized and some guy named Cristiano Ronaldo got the winner.
And then came the final on Sunday, and a heavyweight bout that was just about worthy of sharing a date on the calendar with that French Open classic. Spain’s title as the defending European champions was not up for grabs here, and yet these players served up a relentlessly high-octane match with Portugal after a long and arduous club season.
Martín Zubimendi opened the scoring after a quick Spain attack left the Portuguese stretched out and desperate at the back. But Nuno Mendes supplied an equalizer in no time, accepting the ball near the top of the box and attacking the 18 on the dribble, driving into space and smashing one low below Unai Simón. Then Spain came back once more, as Mikel Oyarzabal scored his third goal in an international final, a record for La Roja. Then that Ronaldo guy popped up again to smack in a second equalizer when a looping ball in caused chaos in the Spanish six-yard box.
It was destined to go to extra time, then penalties, and the way Portugal celebrated their narrow victory from the spot showed this meant something. 40-year-old CR7 was weeping at full time, having admitted he missed winning trophies in the lead-up. The Spaniards buried their heads in their shirts.
This last phase of the competition has the feel of a Supercoppa for the top European national teams, and when you throw many of the world’s best players into a match, they’re going to compete at a high level to prove their place in the game. I still won’t be watching the group stage any time soon, but the Nations League Final Four has my attention.
Watching Nuno Mendes smash in that equalizer on Sunday was a timely reminder that he is the best left-back in the world. He went on a rampaging dribble to set up Portugal’s second, and he did as good a job on Lamine Yamal as he did on Mo Salah in the Champions League. He even smashed in an incredible penalty in the shootout.
Are we still doing World XIs? In the spirit of the ESPN FC 100 released this week, here’s mine:
The toughest choices here were right forward, where Mo Salah was obviously in contention, and midfield, where Fede Valverde, Nicolò Barella, and Alexis Mac Allister deserve a shout.
But despite a quiet night against Spain on Sunday, Lamine Yamal has a good case for the Ballon d’Or this year at just 17 years old. Ousmane Dembélé could also win it, which puts him in the center of attack even if Alexander Isak or Harry Kane may be better proper strikers. Raphinha is an outside bet for the golden orb with 33 goals and 18 assists this past season.
The fullbacks pick themselves — Achraf Hakimi is some way ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold for me — as does Virgil Van Dijk. Gabriel doesn’t get the press that William Saliba does, but he was the standout performer in Arsenal’s league-best defence this season. That and his major attacking threat at set pieces put him in here ahead of Alessandro Bastoni, Ibrahima Konaté and Antonio Rüdiger.
At keeper, Gianluigi Donnaruma or Thibaut Courtois are top shot-stoppers, but Alisson is the best one-on-one and with his feet.⚽︎