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The defending champions of Spain are confronted with winners of 2019 and Iberian rivals, Portugal in the final of the League of Nations on Sunday in Munich.
Captain of Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo admitted that he was “another generation” of the Spanish Starlette Lamine Yamal but said Final of the League of Sunday Nations was more than just battle between the duo.
The Munich final was presented as a confrontation between veteran Ronaldo, 40, one of the biggest names in the game, and Yamal, 17, the youngest talent in world football.
Ronaldo scored the winner to send Portugal after Germany to the final, and Yamal was appointed man of the match after putting a splint in the victory of the semi-final Wild 5-4 of Spain on France.
Ronaldo, however, said that emphasis on the two individuals was exaggerated, calling Spain “perhaps the best national team in the world”.
“There are different generations, one arrives and another spell of the scene. If you want to see me like another generation, then it’s okay.
“When you talk about a confrontation between Cristiano and someone else, that’s not how it works. The media always try to do things, which is a normal thing, but it’s a team against another team.”
“You have talked a lot about Lamine and you are right to do it because it is very good,” Ronaldo told journalists, adding: “But I would like to talk about the team.
“They have Nico Williams, big fields like Pedri and their coach [Luis] Fuente is very good, very strong, very disciplined. »»
Portugal beat its Ibérian neighbors last time in a competitive match 21 years ago, in a match that Ronaldo started.
Like Yamal, Ronaldo broke out on the stage at a young age.
Ronaldo, 18 years old, impressed so much for Boyhood Side Sporting in a 3-1 victory against Manchester United in a friendly match in Lisbon that the English club decided to buy it, bringing it to Old Trafford less than a week later.
Like a young Ronaldo, Yamal has always impressed since his entry on the stage, winning a double of League and Cup with Barcelona this season after having lifted the Euro 2024 title in Germany last year.
The Portuguese veteran asked the media to allow the adolescent to develop and improve without pressure, reminding them that the Spanish star “with funny hair” was just “three years more than my son”.
“The child has succeeded very well, but what I ask is that you let him grow, not put him under pressure. For the good of football, we must let him grow in his own way and enjoy the talent he has. ”
The Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente said that Yamal was “only 17 years old, but very mature for his age. Well prepared, intelligent – he lives life as if everything was normal, and that’s what we want for him. ”
Of the Fuente said that the national part “was trying to walk alongside [Yamal] In his education, “but added” you would be surprised, shocked, how calm it is.
“He is special. For some people, it would be a situation of maximum stress. But for him, he is relaxed, he controls – he masters the situation.”
The coach also took the time to rent Ronaldo, calling him “a legend in football and an example of the values that I like: effort, work rate, sacrifice, improvement every day and never drop your guard.
“Portugal is led by a footballer who will descend into history with an indelible heritage.”
Spain and Portugal have already won the League of Nations. Spain is the current champions of its victory in 2023, while Portugal won the inaugural tournament in 2019.
Spain has won 16 and has pulled two of its last 18 games – and has not lost a competitive match since March 2023.
Spanish striker Mikel Oyarzabal told journalists that his team “does not think we are better than anyone”, but “we trust ourselves 100% and know that we can compete in each game.
“We have shown it over the years. Our level is very high. “
