Spain 5–4 France: Player Ratings As European Champions Spain Advance to Nations League Final

In an absolute goal fest, Spain defeated France 5–4 and moved on to the UEFA Nations League final, where they’ll continue their title defense against Portugal.

Two of the best national teams on the planet traded punches during the opening 20 minutes, with both sides generating chances early. Spain finally landed the first big blow when Lamine Yamal found Mikel Oyarzabal inside the box who then, after some great hold-up play, slid the ball to Nico Williams. The winger fired a shot into the roof of the net to open the scoring in the 23rd minute.

Three minutes later, Spain struck again through Mikel Merino. The Arsenal midfielder found himself in acres of space entering the penalty box and he calmly tucked in Spain’s second. France had their moments, but Unai Simón’s five saves in the first half saw Spain keep a two-goal lead going into halftime.

Although France continued pushing forward quickly out of the tunnel, it was Spain who found the back of the net. Adrien Rabiot brought down Yamal inside the box and the 17-year-old emphatically converted the ensuing penalty to make it 3–0 less than 10 minutes into the second half. One minute later, Williams set up Pedri as he crashed the box and the Barcelona midfielder chipped the ball over Mike Maignan to make it four.

France got one back when Kylian Mbappé sent Simón the wrong way from the penalty spot just before the hour-mark. However, Yamal made sure to erase any hope of a French comeback when he secured his brace in the 67th minute.

Rayan Cherki added France’s second with a brilliant volley to score his first goal for Les Bleus' senior side. Five minutes later, Dani Vivian scored an own goal with his first touch of the match, adding drama to the end of the game after it looked like Spain was in full control. Then, in stoppage time, Cherki turned supplier and found Randal Kolo Muani, who headed in France’s fourth, getting them within one goal of an incredible comeback.

However, France’s reaction was too little too late. They conceded five goals for the first time since the 1960s and it was simply too steep a mountain to overcome. Spain move on to the final where they'll be aiming to defend their crown and cement their status as arguably the best national team in the world currently.

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