Munich: 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 in Munich 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 international 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.”
Spain, still the European champions, failed to display the cohesion and fluency in attack that put five goals past France in the semifinal on Thursday.
“I have many titles with my clubs, but nothing is better than winning for Portugal,” Ronaldo said. “These are tears. It’s mission accomplished.”