Football / Sports

France beat Spain to win Nations League

France came from behind once again to win the European Nations League at the expense of Spain in Milan.

Mikel Oyarzabal put Spain ahead on Sunday at the San Siro before Karim Benzema struck back moments later.

Kylian Mbappe completed a second comeback at these finals for Les Blues, who secured their place in this final by coming from two down against Belgium.

After a tactical, nervy and tight contest for more than an hour, the game burst into life. A frustrated Paul Pogba, looking wound up after being booked for a stamp on Sergio Busquets, drove through midfield and eventually the ball found Theo Hernandez who cracked the ball against the bar.

Spain raced up the other end and took the lead with a fine show of strength from Oyarzabal before a brilliant low finish into the far corner past Hugo Lloris.

Benzema had barely had a sniff since the opening five minutes, when he had rounded Unai Simon in goal but saw his cut-back cleared, until he struck while Spanish fans were still celebrating the opener.

The Real Madrid striker collected the ball on the left and, cutting inside at the corner of the box, bent a wonderful strike into the far corner, with Simon getting a touch but unable to prevent it finding the back of the net.

Mbappe was also having a quiet night but was alert when he needed to be, racing onto a ball from Theo Hernandez to put him one-on-one with Simon. Mbappe showed wonderful composure to delay, throw in a step-over and finish past Simon.

VAR checked Mbappe’s goal for offside but it was allowed to stand despite the striker being in an offside position due to the slightest of touches from Spanish defender Eric Garcia.

Lloris made two fine late saves to deny Spain a leveller, stopping from Oyarzabal and Yeremi Pino.…

Football / Sports

Bonucci hails Italy heart after Azzurri ‘suffer’ through win over Spain

Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci admitted that Tuesday’s clash with Spain was the toughest game he ever played as the Azzurri booked their place in the Euro 2020 final.

Bonucci’s side outlasted Spain in a shootout, earning a place in the finale against either Denmark or England.

After a back-and-forth match that saw Spain equalize in the 80th minute on an Alvaro Morata goal, Bonucci was beaming with pride as he said his team showed exactly what they’re made of to move one step closer to a major trophy.

What was said?

“This is the toughest game I have ever played. I congratulate Spain for what they showed, but once again this Italy showed heart, determination and the ability to push through difficult moments and the lottery of penalties rewarded us,” Bonucci told RAI Sport.

“The victory you suffer for is always the most enjoyable one.”

“Now there’s one more centimeter to go. Just one more centimeter,” he added. “It’s incredible what we are doing, but we mustn’t feel satisfied. We’re in the final. It is in five days, and we need the same hunger and spirit of sacrifice to bring this trophy home after many years.”

‘We suffered to the end and we snatched it’

Gianluigi Donnarrumma also hailed the spirit in Italy’s team after the victory, saying they “snatched” the victory after a difficult game.

Donnarumma made the pivotal shootout stop on Morata, who had scored on him earlier in the game, paving the way for Jorginho to seal the win with a calmly taken penalty.

“It’s indescribable. I was relaxed because I knew I could help the team,” Donnarumma told RAI Sport.

“The team was fantastic, I thank everyone, the people in the stands, we gave our all and now we need one final step to make our dream come true.

“Spain are very strong, but this Italy has a huge heart, we never give up and we saw that because we suffered to the end and we snatched it, but Spain deserve a lot of credit for …