MUNICH (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo hoisted up the Nations League trophy and “We Are The Champions” rang around the stadium after Portugal defeated Spain 5-3 in a penalty shootout on Sunday.
Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved Álvaro Morata’s fourth penalty for Spain, then Rúben Neves converted his team’s fifth to seal the win after their match finished 2-2 after extra time.
Morata was the only player to miss after seeing every player score their spot kicks before him. He was inconsolable.
Ronaldo had kept Portugal in the game when he equalized in the 61st minute of regular time with his record-extending 138th goal after Mikel Oyarzabal had given Spain a halftime lead.
Oyarzabal squeezed the ball past Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa in the 45th after Pedri played him in.
“It’s a shame and it’s tough, but with time it will be more appreciated,” Oyarzabal said. “We struggled more in the second half, we were tired. The substitutions helped them. But we are proud of our team and we will fight to be close to winning a title again.”
Martin Zubimendi broke the deadlock for Spain in the 21st with a tap in when Portugal’s defense failed to deal with Lamine Yamal’s cross.
Nuno Mendes leveled five minutes later when he drilled a low shot inside the far post. He was the player of the match — providing the cross that was deflected for Ronaldo's equalizer, keeping Yamal in check, then confidently scoring his penalty in the shootout.
Ronaldo was already off by then. He had gone off, exhausted, to standing ovations and a hug from coach Roberto Martínez in the 88th.
Mbappe's 50th
Kylian Mbappé led France to third place earlier Sunday with a 2-0 win over host nation Germany in Stuttgart.
The Real Madrid star scored his 50th goal for France before setting up the other as Les Bleus rallied after a lethargic start
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press
