How Portugal, Spain rewrote Nations League, Netherlands await a win

Tonight the Netherlands take on Germany in the Nations League, the fifth edition of the European tournament, while we look back at the countries that have claimed the trophy so far. The contrast between the current match and the historic victories of Portugal and Spain underscores how different the results can be.

Portugal: first winner and only double champion

Portugal was the very first country to win the Nations League. In the semi‑final the Portuguese beat Switzerland and faced the Netherlands in the 2019 final. A goal from Gonçalo Guedes gave Portugal a 1‑0 victory on home soil.

Portugal remains the only country that has won the Nations League twice. In the 2023 final they faced Spain at the Allianz Arena. After a goal from Nuno Mendes and an equaliser from Cristiano Ronaldo the match finished 2‑2, after which Portugal secured the trophy with a 5‑3 win in the penalty shoot‑out.

Spain: three consecutive finals, one victory

Spain lost the 2021 final, but got a second chance in 2023. After a semi‑final win over Italy and a final against Croatia, which came via extra time against the Netherlands, both teams held each other at 0‑0. Spain eventually won 5‑4 in the penalty shoot‑out.

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In the 2023 final against Portugal Spain took the lead early thanks to Martín Zubimendi, but Portugal equalised just five minutes later. Spain regained the advantage via Mikel Oyarzabal, after which Ronaldo scored the equaliser. The penalty shoot‑out ultimately decided the winner.

France and other finalists

France won the second edition in 2021. After a 0‑2 deficit against Belgium in the semi‑final the French turned the match around with goals from Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé and Theo Hernández, allowing them to progress 3‑2. In the final they beat Spain; Benzema scored the equaliser in the 66th minute and Mbappé netted the winning goal in the 80th minute.

Other finalists included England, who were beaten by the Netherlands in 2019, and Croatia, who reached the semi‑final in 2023 via extra time against the Netherlands.