ANKARA – Spain won the 2023 UEFA Nations League yesterday after beating Croatia 5-4 on penalties.
Neither team could break the deadlock in regular time and extra time, which meant that penalties decided the winner in the final at Rotterdam’s Feyenoord Stadium.
Nikola Vlasic, Marcelo Brozovic, Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic scored for Croatia in the penalty shootout, Anadolu Agency reported.
Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon saved Lovro Majer and Bruno Petkovic’s penalties.
Joselu, Rodri, Mikel Merino, Marco Asensio and Dani Carvajal were the scorers for Spain.
In the shootout, Aymeric Laporte was the only Spain player that missed a penalty, sending a powerful shot that hit the crossbar.
Following Petkovic’s miss, Carvajal converted a classy penalty to seal the Spanish victory in the 2023 final, it reported.
Spain, who were the UEFA Euro 1964, 2008 and 2012 champions, added another UEFA trophy to their cabinet.
The Spanish side won the Nations League for the first time.
Croatia returned home with a silver medal.
UEFA’s biennial international football competition, the Nations League, which was launched in 2018, was previously won by Portugal in 2019 and France in 2021. – Bernama, June 19, 2023
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