France has won the second edition of the Nations League. Won in the final against Spain lesson Bleus Sunday evening with 1-2, thanks to a nice goal from Karim Benzema and a goal from Kylian Mbappé. The latter was sidelined in the eyes of many social media users, but not according to the arbitration. France dethrones Portugal as the winner of the prize and earns fourteen million euros in prize money.
Luis Enrique made just one change in his starting XI compared to the semi-final against Italy (1-2 win): Rodri was preferred over Koke in midfield. There were two new names on the field for France. Aurélien Tchouaméni still had to make do with Belgium (2-3 win) with a substitute, but this time started from the kick-off. His base place was due to a positive corona test with Adrien Rabiot. Furthermore, Presnel Kimpembe was preferred over Lucas Hernández in the three-man defence.
Just before the break, France suffered a blow: Raphaël Varane suffered an injury after trying to clear a ball and was replaced by Dayot Upamecano. The first half was not full of standout moments. It was a pretty boring final, in which Spain scored once through Pablo Sarabia; Hugo Lloris had no problem with that bet. Marcos Alonso curled a free kick wide of the goal. Spain had the lion’s share of possession, while France waited for a mistake by la Furia Roja.
??????????? ???????????????? ?? The French super striker equalizes the score in a masterly way after one and a half minutes ?? The Nations League final is completely off. Who will take the cup? ??#ZiggoSport #NationsLeague #ESPFRA pic.twitter.com/jqAWvufH3e
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) October 10, 2021
The game was only broken open after 62 minutes. Half a minute after Theo Hernández counterattacked against the bottom of the bar, Spain launched the counterattack. After a pass by Sergio Busquets from midfield, Upamecano failed to keep Mikel Oyarzabal off the ball, allowing the attacker to find the far corner. France’s answer, however, followed after 107 seconds. Karim Benzema drew in from the left flank along the box and placed the ball with great feeling in the far right corner: 1-1.
France completed the comeback not much later. Theo Hernández launched Mbappe; his pass was touched by Eric García, after which Mbappé feigned in the penalty area and passed Unai Simón. Based on the images, social media users massively concluded that there was offside, but video referee Stuart Attwell, who was assisted by Pol van Boekel, among others, was of a different opinion. Because Lloris turned a bet from Oyarzabal and also prevented Yeremi Pino from scoring in the final minute, there was no extra time in the Giuseppe Meazza in Milan.
“Maybe he wants to go home soon…” ???? France leads, but is Kylian Mbappe not offside? Or will the goal be approved because Eric García is still touching it? ??#ZiggoSport #NationsLeague #SPAFRA pic.twitter.com/BvR51d8yUd
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) October 10, 2021