France showed backbone – and France had a marksman of art in their ranks: In the end, in the 2-1 Nations League final against Spain, it was two key aspects that answered the question of who won.
“Karim, Karim” chanted the fans of the French national team up in the stands of Milan’s Guiseppe Meazza stadium, while down on the pitch the players hugged each other and took photos with the trophy. This Karim that the Equipe Tricolore supporters were celebrating, this Karim had played a major part in France’s 2-1 win over Spain on Sunday night, replacing Portugal as Nations League title holders.
Who knows how the game would have gone had Benzema not responded so quickly with the 1-1 after Mikel Oyarzabal’s goal. If he hadn’t flicked the ball into the corner of the goal from the left-hand corner of the penalty area and thus, as was only known later, initiated the turnaround. It is possible that the Spaniards would have left the field as winners.
But Benzema said after the game: “We showed the strength of character of the team. France had already been behind in the semi-final against Belgium, but turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 win. Les Bleus also showed backbone on Sunday night – and they could rely on their individual class.
“If you’ve won the cup in the end, it’s all good. “
PAUL POGBA
How Benzema equalised was simply outstanding. And the way Kylian Mbappé made Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon look old with his overhead kick ten minutes before the end was also an excellent individual move.
In any case, the second half made up for a performance that took some getting used to in the first 45 minutes. Neither France nor Spain had managed to bring their offensive power to the pitch. Later, midfielder Paul Pogba underlined: “It’s the result that counts. If you win the cup at the end, it’s all good. “