The third UEFA Nations League final kicked off with Croatia vs Spain men's football team, with more than 60,000 fans attending the Rotterdam Kopp Stadium. In the end, the two teams fought hard for 120 minutes to draw 0-0, and finally won 5-4 against Spain on penalties, crowning the UEFA Nations League champions for the first time in the team's history, and becoming the second team after France to win the treble of the European Cup, World Cup and UEFA Nations League at the same time.
In the semi-finals, Croatia eliminated the Netherlands and Spain eliminated Italy, with Croatia participating in the final for the first time in history, Spain has reached the final for the second time after the first, and neither team has ever won the UEFA Nations League.
According to statistics, this is the 10th meeting between the two teams, after Spain has slightly gained the upper hand with 5 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats in the previous 9 times, the most recent meeting was the round of 16 of Euro 2020, where Spain beat Croatia in extra time. In the latest edition of the world rankings, Spain is ranked 10th and Croatia is ranked 7th.
In the 23rd minute, Croatia suddenly crossed over the top of the long pass, Kramaric stepped forward to form a single chance, and was finally destroyed by Laporte's flying tackle, Croatia missed the opportunity.
Both teams had chances to score in the first half, but they didn't take advantage of it, with Spain having more possession and dominating the game, but Croatia did not show weakness.
In the second half, the two teams attacked and defended each other, and in the 84th minute, Fathi's close-range shot in front of goal was blocked, and Spain missed the chance to draw 0-0 and go into extra time.
In the 100th minute of extra time, Kovacic countered with the ball and sent a straight shot, Mayer cut forward to form a single goal, which was finally tackled by Nacho, and Croatia missed another one-handed chance.
In the end, the two sides were unable to score in 30 minutes of extra time, and the game entered a brutal penalty shootout, with Croatia missing two penalties and saved by goalkeeper Unai Simon to help Spain win 5-4.
According to statistics, this is the 10th time Croatia have reached extra time in their last 13 knockout matches, and now the record is ended by Spain. It is worth mentioning that Croatia's last penalty shootout loss dates back to the China Cup in January 2017, when they lost 3-4 to the Chinese men's team and finished at the bottom of the tournament.
For Croatia, with a population of only 4.29 million, missing out on the UEFA Nations League title is also the first time they have missed out on the team's history, having not won any competition for 32 consecutive years.