Ronaldo left in tears as Portugal beat Spain on pens to win Nations League
PORTUGAL 2-2 ( pens.) SPAIN: Cristiano Ronaldo and Mikel Oyarzabal stole the headlines in normal time but Ruben Neves proved to be the hero as Portugal secured the Nations League title
Portugal lifted their second Nations League title as they beat Spain via a dramatic penalty shootout in Munich. Ruben Neves scored the winning penalty after a thrilling 2-2 draw went the distance.
Portugal initially looked to be in for a long night after Spain dominated the opening portion of the game before Arsenal target Martin Zubimendi gave them a deserved lead. But Ronaldo's men were not denied for long as Nuno Mendes replied with a brilliant strike to level matters five minutes later.
Mikel Oyarzabal, the match winner in the Euro 2024 final, restored Spain's lead just before the break with a lethal finish. Bruno Fernandes thought he had hauled his nation back into the game but saw his strike ruled out by an offside flag.
Where the Manchester United man had failed, Cristiano Ronaldo succeeded as he stabbed home an equaliser with half an hour to go. The game eventually headed into a penalty shootout, with Alvaro Morata seeing his spot-kick saved by Diogo Costa, handing the title to Portugal.
Take a look at what fans have been saying, particularly when it comes to Cristiano Ronaldo:
Ronaldo vs Yamal
It was initially billed as the battle of the past and the future in Munich as Ronaldo faced off with Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal. The young Spaniard looks likely to be the one to carry the baton of one of the world's best over the next years.
And to be fair, Yamal's performances have been so sensational that even Ronaldo himself has billed the youngster to be one of the contenders for the Ballon d'Or. But the Portuguese veteran proved he still had plenty left within the opening few minutes of the clash as he chased back to steal the ball away from his Yamal.
And fans were full of praise. One wrote: "Ronaldo (40) taking the ball off Yamal(17) .. this is CINEMA," with another adding: "Ronaldo dispossessing Yamal that's my goat."
A futher supporter said: "40 years old Cristiano Ronaldo just dispossessed 17 years old lamine yamal. Ronaldo is winning the battle already."
Offside debate
Typically, Ronaldo had a big role to play in Portugal's equaliser. The Al-Nassr forward sprinted beyond the Spain defence and set the ball back to Bernardo Silva.
He initially looked as though he had drifted offside but the flag stayed down long enough for Nuno Mendes to pick the ball up and lash it low into the far corner. VAR looked at the strike but saw no reason to cancel it - a decision that was debated by fans.
One said: "That was a clear offside by Ronaldo. This tournament is rigged for Portugal," while another replied: "How Ronaldo manages to beat the offside trap is serious."
Oyarzabal continues to shine
While Ronaldo was previously the man for the big occasion, it appears someone else has claimed his glittering stage - Oyarzabal. The Real Sociedad wideman has developed a very handy nack of finding the net in major finals.
England fans probably don't need reminding that he scored in their recent Euros heartbreak. And he's followed that up with another decisive goal in Germany.
That form follows goals in the 2020 Copa del Rey final, the Olympics final of 2020 and the 2021 Nations League showpiece. And fans were quick to praise the forward.
One said: "Oyarzabal has achieved what Cristiano has always dreamed of but has never been able to: score in a final with his country."
Ronaldo reacts
That fan was very quickly made to eat their words as Ronaldo levelled for Portugal with half an hour to go. Mendes raced down the left once more and lifted an excellent cross into the box.
It drifted over the head of Chelsea star Marc Cucurella, with Ronaldo sticking out a boot to divert it into the net. And fans simply could not get enough.
"Cristiano Ronaldo equalizes in the final," one wrote. "The most clutch player ever in the biggest stages!!"
Pointing out his stunning goalscoring record, another said: "Ronaldo is inevitable ain't he. 138 goals for his country. 138."
Penalties decisive as Ronaldo departs
Ronaldo's evening was to end early after seemingly picking up an injury late on in normal time. As he departed, he handed the armband to Fernandes.
Unfortunately for Portugal, they were not able to find a way through Spain with the game heading to penalties. And many will have hoped that Ronaldo would take one.
But it mattered not as Morata missed and Ruben Neves secured the trophy for Ronaldo's men in Munich.
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Reuters
32 minutes ago
- Reuters
ACL injuries continue to plague women's football
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Sophie Ingle was named to Wales' squad despite the fact she has not played since she tore hers in September. "ACL injuries have existed as long as women's football has existed," Alex Culvin, the Head of Strategy and Research for Women's Football at global players union FIFPRO, told Reuters. "It's really important that we prioritise ACL injury. It's a holistic injury and affects players' careers in a holistic way. "Not only do they miss a minimum nine months, in a career of 10 years you're twice, three times as likely to do another ACL injury. And then you've got to think about the commercial opportunities and the career opportunities that players lose through this injury. "Take Leah Williamson, she was Nike's poster person, and then next minute she's not playing. She obviously has come back and is an outstanding player, but the commercial and career opportunities that she loses in that snap second..." 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She has been vocal about her mental health struggle which is already an issue for players during ACL recovery, but was amplified with the death of her mum. "Because of the injury I couldn't play football, which was always my escape, my happy place," Mead said. "Moments when people thought I was fine because of my outgoing personality, were very dark." Culvin, who is also a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University, stressed research into ACL injuries must look at the bigger picture. "People want a quick fix, and what we're saying is ACL injury is multifactorial," she said. "We can't say it's workload, or we can't say it's the way women run or they land, or they jump, or whatever it is. We're saying that there's so many factors that go into it that it's really hard to determine one or two factors, we want to look at in a holistic sense." Culvin is part of Project ACL, a three-year study launched by FIFPRO, the Professional Footballers' Association, Nike and Leeds Beckett University that is focusing on England's Women's Super League, but plans to expand to study other leagues as well. "There's a mismatch between levels of professionalization and the expectations on players to perform in substandard environments. And the big one for us is looking at environments as modifiable risk factors," she said. "Obviously you've got non-modifiable risk factors which are predominantly physiological, but you've got modifiable risk factors which count for calendar, number of games, travel and then actual physical environments that players play in, and the working environments, and that's what our focus is for this research." A FIFA-funded study at Kingston University is investigating whether fluctuations during menstrual cycles could be contributing to the career-threatening knee injuries. While experts discount the notion of an epidemic in elite football, UEFA's chief medical officer Zoran Bahtijarevic said numbers are on the rise at the youth level as girls flock to the game. A recent study by Nielsen Sports and PepsiCo found that player growth among girls has soared, particularly in Asia, with China seeing a 300% rise, and Europe, led by France at 150%. "We can expect an epidemic of ACL injuries somewhere else, below the radar, with the explosion of participation," Bahtijarevic told Reuters. "The peak of injuries in women is between ages of 15-16 and 19. These go undetected, because these girls are not big stars."
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Wimbledon: 14 Britons in action on day one - watch, listen & follow
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You guys queue so well. Everybody's been so kind. I just fell in love with it when I came here, I was going to come by myself if nobody else could join me." Aleta was able to join Linda, with this her first trip to Wimbledon - and anywhere in Europe for that matter. "I'm loving it. I'm scared to fly. This is my first time on a long distance flight and I've always wanted to come to Europe. I like old things, and I got to see the tower of London and some history. The ticket is affordable to get in for the match too, compared to the US Open or other slams. "Everybody's just civilised and it's just nice, it's just so great. We've met a lot of nice people in the queue and yeah I would definitely come back again." Update: Date: 10:55 BST Title: Post Content: From Glastonbury to Wimbledon, it has been a good few days for anyone in the tent business. Plenty of happy campers have been patiently waiting for the first day of Wimbledon to get under way. Update: Date: 10:53 BST Title: Hotting up Content: With more than 10,000 people now in the queue, the All England Club are advising people not to travel from this point. Inside the grounds, the crowds are flooding in, with refreshments the priority for many with the temperatures already ramping up. It's rare to see Henman Hill this quiet at any point during the fortnight - but it's easy to see why spectators might be putting off reserving their spot a little while with the sun already beating down and no cover available. Update: Date: 10:50 BST Title: Live scores, results and order of play Content: The first few days of Wimbledon can be a little bit chaotic with so many matches going on. That's not made easier this year by the fact that we have 23 British players to keep tabs on. If you are keen to keep across live scores, results and order of play, then click here and you'll find our dedicated page. 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For Pauline Eyre, who called the lines at Wimbledon for 16 years, some natty blazers and the chance to buy tickets for the tournament were the main recompense for work she had to take annual leave to do. Nowadays the best officials might earn up to £200 a day plus expenses. But line judging has never been about the money for those who spend hours leaning forward, hands resting on knees, staring intently at a line of chalk to determine in a split second on which side of it the yellow ball has bounced. Being so close to Jana Novotna on Centre Court that she could see her foot shaking on the first point of a Wimbledon final or being "psyched out" by John McEnroe were priceless experiences for Eyre. "It's all the tradition of Wimbledon – the people and the funny uniforms – and that's a bit of personality that's gone," said Eyre. "I think it's all of those little things that made Wimbledon Wimbledon." Traditionalists will miss them, but technology fans will point to progress. BBC Sport has been finding out what umpires, players and line judges make of the move. Update: Date: 10:23 BST Title: Post Content: Jess AndersonBBC Sport at Wimbledon The courts are looking absolutely pristine as ever as the All England Club gets ready for two weeks of drama, action, entertainment, Pimm's and strawberries. In less than an hour's time these courts will be packed with excited punters all waiting to get a glimpse of the best players in the world. At these early stages of the tournament it doesn't matter if you haven't got a ticket for the show courts, there's just as much brilliant action to be seen on the outside more intimate settings. It's first come, first served though so no time for messing around if you want a good seat. Update: Date: 10:19 BST Title: What is the prize money this year? Content: Wimbledon will offer record £53.5m total prize money in 2025 - an increase of 7.1%. The men's and women's singles champions will each take home £3m, with the £38.8m fund available to players in those draws representing a 8.2% increase on 2024. First-round losers in the men's and women's singles are guaranteed to walk away with £66,000 - 10% more than in 2024. Winners of the wheelchair singles events - men's, women's and quad - will each take home £68,000, which is up by 4.6%. Update: Date: 10:16 BST Title: Post Content: Speaking of the queue... There are now over 10,000 people waiting to get in at Wimbledon and The All England Club are advising people not to travel here. Update: Date: 10:08 BST Title: Welcome to the queue! Content: Harry PooleBBC Sport Welcome to the Wimbledon queue, that quintessentially British phenomenon which each year signals the dawn of a new Championships at the All England Club. Crowds have been arriving since as early as Friday afternoon to secure one of the limited number of show court tickets on offer, and spirits remained high despite the long wait and toasty temperatures when I first stopped by on Sunday evening. For thousands of people, this is the doorway to the promised land, and an annual rite of passage for some of tennis' biggest fans. Nobody does queuing quite like the Brits. Update: Date: 10:06 BST Title: Alcaraz opens Centre Court Content: As Wimbledon tradition dictates, men's champion Carlos Alcaraz opens play on Centre Court. The second seed launches his campaign at 13:30 BST as he faces 38-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini. German third seed Alexander Zverev faces France's Arthur Rinderknech. On Court One, Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka gets play under way against Canadian Carson Branstine at 13:00 BST. Branstine, 24, got past French Open semi-finalist Lois Boisson and former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu in qualifying and will be making her main draw debut in a Grand Slam. Update: Date: 10:02 BST Title: British hopes Content: We're just shy of an hour away from the first ball being hit at the 138th edition of the Wimbledon Championships. There are 23 British players in the main draws across the men's and women's singles - the highest involvement since 1984 - and a healthy 14 of them are in action on the opening day. Among those featuring today are Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Cameron Norrie and qualifier Oliver Tarvet.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Kirk close to return at Linköping after sacking over relationship with player
The former Leicester and Everton manager Willie Kirk is closing in on a return to football after holding advanced talks with the Swedish top-flight women's team Linköping about becoming their head coach. Kirk, who also managed Hibernian and Bristol City before a spell as Manchester United's assistant manager, has been out of management since he was sacked by Leicester in March 2024 because he had a relationship with one of the club's players. Later last year, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Kirk said: 'I've made a mistake and I've been punished for my mistake. I take responsibility for that.' Kirk's proposed move, which could be announced this week, was first reported by Sportbladet, which said Linköping are set to sack their manager, Jonne Kunnas. The team are 13th, in the relegation zone, but have a strong history in the women's game, having won the Damallsvenskan title in 2009, 2016 and 2017. Kirk is a former Scottish Cup winner with Hibernian and led Everton to a Women's FA Cup final at Wembley in 2020, where his side lost to Manchester City after extra time. He also oversaw Bristol City's promotion to the top flight in 2016. Liverpool have confirmed that their vice-captain Taylor Hinds is leaving when her contract expires on Monday. The defender spent five years with the club and helped them win promotion to the WSL with the second-tier title in 2022. The Guardian revealed last week that Hinds is to move to Arsenal. Liverpool did offer a new deal to Hinds – who can play as a full-back or as a attacking wing-back – but the club respects and understands her decision to move to play Champions League football with the European champions. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion In a message to Liverpool fans, Hinds said: 'Dear Reds, I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to say a proper goodbye. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making me feel so welcome when I joined back in 2020. I wish nothing but continued success for this team and this club. I'm incredibly proud to have been part of this club and to have worn the shirt – it's truly been a privilege.'
