Nations League, Spain-France 1-2: goals from Oyarzabal, Benzema and Mbappé

A great left-handed diagonal by Kylian Mbappé on the edge of the offside, on the assist of the Milan player Theo Hernandez in his stadium, San Siro, decides the Nations League final. The PSG striker starts past the last defender, but Eric Garcia’s sliding intervention puts him back into play before the ball arrives. The 2-1 on the young and talented Spain writes the name of France in the golden register of the competition, two years after the success of Portugal in the first edition: it will not erase the disappointment of the European Championship but in the meantime Deschamps gets up to take home a trophy. It all happens in the last half hour: the advantage of Oyarzabal, the equal Benzema, the decisive goal from Mbappé and at least a couple of golden balls in the feet again of Oyarzabal and then of Yeremi Pino saved with two interventions by Lloris that are worth two goals.

IN FRONT OF THE GOALKEEPER

—

Very rough Spain, incisive and sparkling France, on the attack and first, with the high reconquest: the beginning betrays the expected script and already after 6 ‘produces the first transalpine opportunity, with a filter from Pogba to put Benzema in front of the goalkeeper , which however gets too big. Another six minutes and it is Ferran Torres who puts Sarabia in front of Lloris but dirties the ball Varane (which will come out before the rest due to a muscle problem). Only a matter of time that the possession of Spain, with the double playmaker Rodri-Busquets to flush out Pogba and put France in the middle, becomes what was expected, dominant, crossed from time to time by the shocks of 2004 Gavi at the center of the maneuver . But for more than an hour all this does not translate into goals, or even tangible opportunities.

FIREWORKS

—

Anticipated by a couple of flashes – a mistake by Koundé to trigger an (inaccurate) cross by Sarabia for Ferran Torres and then a save by Tchouameni in the area on Gavi avoiding the penalty – the Spanish goal in the 65th minute. Anticipated by a few seconds by a Theo Hernandez cross that could change the story of the match. Instead Busquets from the trocar with a great pass puts Oyarzabal one on one in the area with Upamecano on the center left: a splendid diagonal left-handed finds the opening and bags behind Lloris. It starts again, Benzema widens to the left and gets the ball given, puts it on the right and starts a right-footed shot from the edge of the area on which Unai Simon is not enough to put his hand on it: immediate equal. They are incredible minutes: as soon as the match is impacted, Mbappé does not give up and on the run on the edge of the offside tries to punish Unai Simon off the posts with a lob, without success.

GRAND FINALE

—

It is the dress rehearsal of what happens a quarter of an hour later: Theo Hernandez from the trocar throws Mbappé on the edge of the offside against the Spanish defensive line forty meters high, the PSG striker cuts to the left and deadly bags the 2-1 of the transalpine turnaround. The control of the Var does not make the English referee Taylor desist from canceling the goal: decisive, from the first reconstructions, the slip of Eric Garcia who touches the ball before it reaches Mbappé. Yet it is not over, in the 90 ‘Oyarzabal caught by Marcos Alonso from the left escapes in front of Upamecano and deflects the blow on the fly, but central, finding the great response of Lloris. Which also reaches the 95th minute, when it is Yeremi Pino on a corner kick who calls him to the flying intervention. On the return to Milan of a European final five years after the “Madrid” final of the Champions League, this time Spain is not celebrating. But she doesn’t even despair: halved by absences, she has enjoyed flashes of the future starting with Gavi. Collective against stars, the present rewards France.