{"id":9929,"date":"2025-06-09T12:04:23","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T12:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=9929"},"modified":"2025-06-09T12:04:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T12:04:23","slug":"portugal-defeat-spain-on-penalties-to-clinch-nations-league-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=9929","title":{"rendered":"Portugal defeat Spain on penalties to clinch Nations League title"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Portugal clinched their second UEFA Nations League title on Sunday night, defeating reigning champions Spain 5\u20133 on penalties after a dramatic 2\u20132 draw in extra time. Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored his 138th international goal, played a key role in the final before injury forced him off late in the match.<\/p>\n<p>The contest at the Allianz Arena was a gripping encounter between Iberian rivals. Spain struck first through Martin Zubimendi in the 21st minute, but Portugal hit back quickly via Nuno Mendes after a sharp link-up play involving Ronaldo.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>View this post on Instagram<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A post shared by PUMA Football (@pumafootball)<\/p>\n<p>Spain regained the lead before half-time thanks to a precise through-ball from Pedri to Mikel Oyarzabal, last year\u2019s European Championship final hero. Portugal responded in the second half, with Ronaldo converting from close range to level the score once again.<\/p>\n<p>Extra time could not separate the sides, sending the match to penalties. Alvaro Morata\u2019s miss proved decisive, allowing Ruben Neves to net the winning spot-kick and secure Portugal\u2019s triumph.<\/p>\n<p>Ronaldo, 40, was visibly emotional at full-time. \u201cWinning for Portugal is always special,\u201d he told Sport TV. \u201cI\u2019ve won many titles with clubs, but nothing compares to this. It\u2019s tears, it\u2019s joy \u2014 mission accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>View this post on Instagram<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A post shared by \ud835\udc0c\ud835\udc14\ud835\udc12\ud835\udc04\ud835\udc14 \ud835\udc02\ud835\udc11\ud835\udfd5 (@museucr7funchal)<\/p>\n<p>Spain, who had not lost since March 2023 and were riding high after a thrilling 5\u20134 semi-final win over France, fell short despite another promising display. Teenager Lamine Yamal, one of the breakout stars of the tournament, was largely contained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was a very balanced match,\u201d Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said post-match. \u201cDetails decided it in the end. Portugal were just slightly more clinical in the shootout.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Portugal clinched their second UEFA Nations League title on Sunday night, defeating reigning champions Spain 5\u20133 on penalties after a dramatic 2\u20132 draw in extra time. Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored his 138th international goal, played a key role in the final before injury forced him off late in the match. The contest at the Allianz [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9929\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}