Young superstars like Pedri promise to make more progress - Photo: Reuters
With one title each, Portugal and Spain are also the most successful teams in the tournament since it was launched by UEFA in 2018.
Forging Arena
In addition to winning in 2023, Spain even had another final in 2021, losing 1-2 to France because of a clear offside goal by Benzema. The UEFA Nations League is almost purely a friendly.
However, looking at the current dominance of Spanish football, this is a very good training ground for young stars.
Reaching the finals of three consecutive tournaments (UEFA Nations League finals are held every two years), Spain shows its dominance in European football in terms of stability.
And their stability is even more profound when coach De La Fuente now has a series of very young pillars. They are Cubarsi (18 years old), Huijsen (20 years old), Gavi (20 years old), Pedri (22 years old), Fermin Lopez (22 years old), Nico Williams (22 years old), Samu Aghehowa (21 years old).
And of course, that's the 17-year-old "kid" who is taking the world by storm, Lamine Yamal.
Stable future from young stars
The average age of the current Spanish team is only 25.7 - one of the lowest in European football at the moment. A year from now, this number will reach the ideal level of 26 - 27 at the 2026 World Cup. This promises a stable future for Spanish football for at least the next 3-4 years.
But Spain is not the only country with a promising young generation of footballers. Portugal, with an average age of 26.7, is also brimming with young stars.
They are Antonio Silva (21 years old), Nuno Mendes (22 years old), Joao Neves (20 years old), Rordrigo Mora (18 years old), Francisco Conceicao (22 years old)... Similar to his colleague De La Fuente, coach Roberto Martinez can also field a team consisting entirely of players aged 23 or younger.
The football world talked a lot about Ronaldo's goal to help Portugal defeat Germany.
But in reality, the heroes of Portugal in that match were Conceicao - who scored a beautiful goal to equalize the score, Nuno Mendes - who assisted Ronaldo, and Joao Neves - who still played very well despite being pulled down to play right-back, which is not his forte.
All are very young.
Confronting "Uncle Ronaldo"
In the final tomorrow morning, Ronaldo's main opponent will be one of the two "kids" Cubarsi or Huijsen, or both. The UEFA Nations League has little significance in terms of titles, so coach De La Fuente can completely experiment with this central defender duo.
Don't forget they are the pillars of Barca and Real Madrid next season. Except for experience, both Huijsen and Cubarsi are probably superior to the current Ronaldo in every aspect.
The young stars will face off in every position on the pitch. Yamal will face Mendes on Spain's right flank, Neves will face Gavi, Pedri will be in midfield, Samu will face Silva in the Portuguese penalty area...
Get used to these competitions. Because they could be the future of football, of the World Cup and the Euro for many years to come.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chung-ket-uefa-nations-league-so-tai-ve-tuong-lai-2025060723131986.htm
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