Portugal 2-2 Spain (5-3 pens): Selecao come from behind twice to pip La Roja to Nations League title | OneFootball

Diogo Costa made a crucial save from Alvaro Morata in the shootout to seal victory

Portugal left it late but were crowned Nations League champions after producing a flawless penalty shootout to confound Spain at the Allianz Arena.

After a cagey opening few minutes complemented by a testy derby atmosphere, Spain were quick to take control of the tie.

While much of the prematch focus was on Lamine Yamal and his prodigious talent, it was Nico Williams who offered the more credible threat early on, keeping the Portuguese back line on their heels and offering some teasing crosses into the area.

false dawn: Zubimendi’s opener was cancelled out in short order by nuno mendes

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But Yamal soon announced his presence, as it was his cross that prompted the opener. It dropped awkwardly in the area and Portugal could not clear it away before Martin Zubimendi pounced, firing home from close range.

But Portugal would not be behind for long - just five minutes. A Ronaldo-led counter-attack looked as though it would come to nothing before Pedro Neto picked out Mendes, who fired home with pace to equalise.

Spain striker Mikel Oyarzabal came up empty-handed as La Roja hit France for five in the semi-final, but maintained a starting role today and made good on Luis De La Fuente’s trust. His deft finish from Pedri’s through-ball reclaimed Spain’s lead with moments remaining in the first half, leaving those in red with a mountain to climb.

headache: spain could not handle nuno mendes

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They came out in the second half as though they had a point to prove. Roberto Martinez introduced Nelson Semedo and Ruben Neves in the interim, and the changes had a clear effect. Their improvements nearly came good when Bruno Fernandes had the ball in the back of the net just a few minutes into the half, but the playmaker Ronaldo was deemed to be offside in the build-up.

He would redeem himself shortly after. Semedo, inspired since his half-time introduction, blitzed down the left flank and crossed to the ever-reliable 40-year-old, who caught the deflected pass on the volley to equalise.

The remaining 30 minutes were not enough to separate the sides, though both Fernandes and Isco saw shots saved late on. Extra time would be required.

crucial: costa saves from morata

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Rafael Leao and Semedo came alive after full-time, pinning Spain back with marauding runs as they looked to avoid the dreaded shootout, but despite a penalty shout and rash of training ground set-pieces, they still could not find a winner.

Penalties would be required, and even they struggled to divide the two sides, who were flawless through the first seven shots.

Parity was eventually broken by Morata, subbed on in the 111th minute with an eye to deciding the tie. He would do exactly that, but not how De La Fuente intended.

Costa was equal to his spot-kick, which Neves followed up with a tidy effort to set the engraver to work etching Portugal’s name onto the Nations League trophy.