PSG's Portuguese contingent capture Nations League
After a thrilling two-all draw, a Portugal side featuring four Paris Saint-Germain players (including Man of the Match Nuno Mendes) edged Spain on penalties, 5-4 to capture their second UEFA Nation League title, having previously won the first edition in 2019. Catch up on yesterday's action with our match recap.
Mendes helps Portugal respond
The match started with four Paris Saint-Germain players on the pitch -- Fabián Ruiz started for Spain alongside the Portuguese trio of Mendes, Vitinha and João Neves, playing at right back. It was Ruiz's side, the reigning European champions who had looked irresistible in beating France in the semifinals, who struck first though, with Martín Zubimendi giving La Roja the lead after Portugal struggled to clear midway through the first half.
Portugal weren't long in responding though, as Mendes scored his first international goal with a scything run before arrowing a perfectly placed shot into the bottom corner to level the match on 26 minutes. With the match level, both sides pressed hard to take a lead into halftime, but it was Spain who would do so, with Mikel Oyarzabal netting just before the break to give his team a 2-1 lead.
UEFA Nations League Final MVP:
NUNO MENDES. 🇵🇹😍 pic.twitter.com/Cr0jUohSJB— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) June 8, 2025
Costa the hero
After the break, the match continued at the same frenetic pace, and just past the hour the vastly experienced Cristiano Ronaldo leveled the match, with Mendes playing provider with a brilliant run and cross. Now level, the match could have turned on 72 minutes thanks to a rasping shot from substitute Isco, but Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa made a fantastic flying save to keep the match level at two-all.
Just before extra time, Portugal's fourth Paris Saint-Germain player, Gonçalo Ramos, would also come on, playing the entirety of extra time and helping his side be decisive in the penalty shootout. After a pulsating half hour of extra time, Ramos was his country's first taker and wasted no time in beating Unai Simon to put the pressure squarely on the Spaniards. Both sides were finding the net with confidence (with Vitinha and Mendes among the takers) until Porto 'keeper Costa saved from Alvaro Morata, allowing Ruben Neves to seal the result, 5-3 and mkaing Portugal champions once again.
Speaking post-match, after having been honored as the Man of the Match by UEFA's technical committee, Mendes reflected on the win, coming as it did on the heels of last weekend's Champions League triumph in the same city, saying, “It's a lot of emotion. First the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain — the first in the club’s history. I’m very proud to be one of the players that got to experience that. Now, Today, this is my first title for Portugal. It’s very special to me, and to my teammates. It has been an incredible week, and I’m hoping for more weeks like this one this year.”
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