Spain's Collective Domination Thwarted by Portugal's "Diesel" Surprise

MUENCHEN, SATURDAY — It is very difficult to match the dominance of Spain, the defending champion of the European Nations League, which consistently performs in such a collective and dynamic manner alongside the 17-year-old star Lamine Yamal. However, Spain has shown a slight gap that Portugal, which is always slow to warm up like a diesel engine, can exploit.

A duel between champions will take place in the final of the National League for the 2024-25 season at the Muenchen Football Arena, Germany, on Monday (9/6/2025) at 02:00 WIB. The previous edition's champion, Spain, will face Portugal, the winner of the inaugural edition. They have the opportunity to become the first team to collect two trophies in the tournament.

Spain remains very dominant. There is a reason for this, as the team coached by Luis de la Fuente has excelled in two European tournaments over the past two years, namely the Nations League and the European Championship. Major teams, such as the Netherlands and France, have already experienced the unstoppable strength of Spain when they were eliminated in the knockout stage.

This year, the "Matador" team has become stronger with Yamal maturing further. The strong candidate for the next Ballon d'Or has become the center of creativity as well as the team's goal machine. He has scored three goals in the last two matches for the national team, including being the mastermind behind many of the goals produced by Spain.

Yamal, Lionel Messi's successor at Barcelona, eagerly anticipates the final match. He will face legendary Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who is Messi's eternal rival. "Ronaldo is a legend and I respect him, but my only goal is to win and bring the trophy back to Spain," he stated.

Interestingly, Spain is not just Yamal. The collective system akin to Fuente plays a crucial role in the team's success. They can pose threats from all sides, not just from the right side occupied by Yamal. There is a threat from winger Nico Williams on the left and surprises from midfielders Mikel Merino and Pedri in the center.

That collectivity makes Spain incredibly difficult to contain during the knockout stage. They have scored ten goals in matches against France (semifinal) and the Netherlands (two quarterfinal matches). All of these goals were produced by five players: Yamal (3), Merino (2), Williams (2), Pedri (1), and forward Mikel Oyarzabal (2).

The problem is that Spain also brings unresolved issues to the final. They often lose concentration after taking the lead. When facing France, Yamal and his teammates momentarily lost control after leading 5-1 until the 79th minute. They suddenly conceded three goals and only won narrowly 5-4.

A similar situation occurred in two home and away matches against the Netherlands. Spain was always able to take the lead first, but could never maintain it until the final whistle. The peak of this was in the second match, where Spain lost its advantageous position three times and was forced to undergo a penalty shootout.

Merino stated that the problem must be addressed immediately before facing Portugal. "Conceding too many goals is not ideal. We need to correct our mistakes to prepare for the final. Portugal has an extraordinary team quality, just look at their squad. Many players possess very good individual quality," he said.

Portugal has recently become known as the "diesel engine" team. They achieved victory over Germany in the semifinals and Denmark in the quarterfinals thanks to a resurgence in the second half. Ronaldo and his teammates scored seven goals in those two matches, six of which were scored after the 60th minute.

Portugal's head coach Roberto Martinez has consistently made the right player substitutions. In the semifinal, when trailing 0-1 at halftime, Portugal brought on Francisco Conceicao and Vitinha from the bench. Ten minutes after the substitutions, they had turned the match around to lead 2-1. Conceicao scored the equalizing goal.

In the quarter-finals, Portugal's reserve squad played a crucial role once again. The last three goals that secured Portugal's victory over Denmark, at the end of regular time and extra time, were contributed by substitute players. They are Trincao (2 goals), Goncalo Ramos (1 goal), and Diogo Jota (1 assist).

Portugal's ability to change momentum after halftime is closely related to the exceptional depth of their squad. Take a look at their midfield when facing Germany. So abundant in talent, two star midfielders from Paris Saint-Germain, Joao Neves and Vitinha, were even sidelined.

Neves was featured as a wing-back, while Vitinha started the match from the bench. In fact, the duo had just orchestrated one of the most dominant performances in the history of the Champions League final. The trio of Portuguese midfielders consisted of Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, and Ruben Neves, who were equally remarkable.

"If the coach substitutes one or two players, I don't think it will make much of a difference. The players coming in from the bench can always provide significant help. The performances of Chico (Conceicao), Vitinha, and Jota can make a difference. We are pleased with the squad we have at the moment," said Silva, the creative midfielder of Manchester City.

In addition to Yamal versus Ronaldo, a fierce individual battle is also expected to occur in the midfield. Three PSG midfielders are likely to compete against each other. Neves and Vitinha will face Fabian Ruiz, who was rested in the previous round. They are the main brains behind PSG's success this season. (AP/REUTERS)