Portugal starting XI
Costa, Neves, Dias, Inacio, Mendes, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha, Neto, Fernandes, Conceicao, Ronaldo
Third place play off
France and Germany faced off in what turned out to be a dominant third place play off earlier today.
Kylian Mbappe scored his 50th goal in 90 caps for Les Bleus to put them ahead.
And Michael Olise brought his incredible goal scoring form with Bayern Munich, to the international side by bagging France’s second.
Portugal’s route to the final
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner as Portugal fought back to beat Germany 2-1 in their semi-final.
Germany dominated the first half, but it remained goalless thanks to the heroics of Portugal keeper Diogo Costa.
However, Germany took the lead in the 48th minute, as Florian Wirtz headed in unmarked in the box, following a pinpoint lobbed pass from Joshua Kimmich.
But Portugal turned the match around, first equalizing through substitute Francisco Conceição in the 63rd minute.
Then Ronaldo, 40, captained Portugal and scored his 137th international goal five minutes after substitute Conceição had made it 1-1.
How Spain got here
Lamine won the Battle of the Ballon d’Or as Spain sneaked into the Nations League final after a nine-goal thriller against France in the semis
All eyes in Stuttgart were on the mouthwatering duel between La Roja sensation Yamal, 17, and Les Bleus star Ousmane Dembele, 28.
Both are in with a shout of winning the Ballon d’Or in three months time with 51 club goals in all competitions between them for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain this term.
Yet it was the Barca teenage superstar who grabbed the headlines with a stunning second-half double – now with 48 goal contributions in 57 games for club and country this campaign – alongside impressive strikes from Nico Williams, Mikel Merino and Pedri.
Kylian Mbappe netted a 59th-minute spot-kick and a late comeback looked on the cards thanks to debutant Rayan Cherki’s 79th-minute attempt, an 84th-minute Daniel Vivian own goal and Randal Kolo Muani’s injury-time header.
But Spain held on, facing Portugal in Munich on Sunday – their third Nations League final on the spin – and sets up a clash between Yamal and Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time.
Lamine the dream
However, teen sensation Lamine Yamal stole the plaudits once again a day later as his double for La Roja earned Spain a thrilling 5-4 semi-final victory against France.
Cris cross
Cristiano Ronaldo continued to do what he has been doing for decades last Wednesday – scoring goals – and his 68th-minute strike fired Portugal to a 2-1 win over Germany in the semis.
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