Roberto Martinez sealed his first trophy in 12 years after Portugal beat Spain 5-3 on penalties to lift the Nations League trophy. The Portuguese duo
trailed twice but Nuno Mendes and Cristiano Ronaldo equalised before Diogo Costa saved Alvaro Morata’s shot to win on penalties. It was
Portugal’s second Nations League title and Martinez’s first since winning the FA Cup with Wigan สมัคร UFABET วันนี้ รับเครดิตฟรีสำหรับสมาชิกใหม่ Athletic in 2013. ” I am very proud.
After 30 games, we started to see the confidence, the fight and the quality,” the 51-year-old Spain coach said after the game at the Allianz Arena.
Not bad for a 40-year-old who has spent the past two and a half years in the Saudi Arabian league with Al-Nassr.
It marks the first time Spain have failed to lift a trophy since the 2022 World Cup, having won the Nations League in 2023 and Euro 2024.
At times in this tournament – beating France 5-4 in the semi-finals – they looked unstoppable. But Ronaldo and Portugal did just that.
“This team is not just 11 men, we have 16 or 17 players of the same level. Rafael Leao helped the team a lot in extra time. When it went to penalties, we believed we could win. “
As a coach, I have a lot of options and I can change my approach as I want. We are in a different place now than when I started, we have more character and more confidence,” he said.
“Spain scored twice but we have an experienced captain in Cristiano. We use his experience to show that this team is ready to win trophies.”