Defending champions Spain face 2019 winners, and Iberian rivals, Portugal in Sunday’s Nations League final in Munich.Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo acknowledged that he was “another generation” to Spain starlet Lamine Yamal but said Sunday’s Nations League final was more than just a battle between the duo.
The final in Munich has been framed as a showdown between veteran Ronaldo, 40, one of the game’s biggest names, and 17-year-old Yamal, the most exciting young talent in world football.
Ronaldo scored the winner to send Portugal past Germany into the final, and Yamal was named man-of-the-match after bagging a brace in Spain’s wild 5-4 semifinal win over France.
Ronaldo, however, said the focus on the two individuals was overblown, calling Spain “maybe the best national team in the world”.
“There are different generations, one is coming in and another is exiting the stage. If you want to see me as another generation, then that’s OK.
“When you talk about a clash between Cristiano and someone else, that’s not how it works. The media always try to hype things up, which is a normal thing, but it’s one team versus another team.” Advertisement
“You’ve been talking about Lamine a lot and you’re right to do so because he’s very good,” Ronaldo told journalists, adding, “but I’d like to talk about the team.
“They’ve got Nico Williams, great midfielders like Pedri and their coach [Luis] de la Fuente is very good, very strong, very disciplined.”
Spain’s Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring his side’s third goal against France int the Nations League …
