As the Nations League reaches an exciting climax, who will come out on top in this battle of European giants?
The 2020-21 UEFA Nations League reaches a fascinating conclusion on Sunday night at the San Siro in Milan, as Spain and France faceoff for this continental trophy.
Luis Enrique’s Spanish outfit beat Euro 2020 winners Italy 2-1 to advance to the final, while Les Bleus produced an unbelievable second-half comeback to defeat Belgium 3-2 on Thursday night.
Spain’s semi-final hero Ferran Torres only played four minutes of the second half against Italy before coming off, but the striker said the issue was only a ‘minor annoyance’ after the game and he should be ok to lead the attack here.
Torres’s inclusion could be vital on Sunday evening with Alvaro Morata unavailable. If the Manchester City man is fit, Enrique has no reason to change a winning formula. That would mean another start for the exciting Barcelona 17-year-old Gavi.
Pablo Sarabia didn’t have the best of evenings in the semi-final, but the 29-year-old midfielder will hope to keep his place over youngsters Yeremi Pino and Bryan Gil.
Meanwhile, France did not report any new injury concerns from the semi-final. Boss Didier Deschamps will probably stick with his three-man defence in the absence of N’Golo Kante, who has tested positive for Covid.
Aurelien Tchouameni looked good during his 15-minute cameo in midfield against Belgium, whereas Adrien Rabiot did far less over the course of 75 minutes. To make the choice even easier for the France manager, Rabiot tested positive for Covid yesterday. Therefore, the Monaco starlet will most likely be selected to start in the final.
This Nations League final will be Antoine Griezmann’s 100th cap for the national team. This will see him become just the ninth player to hit that milestone for France. A goal in this game would see him become his country’s outright third-highest goalscorer ahead of Michel Platini, with both men currently sitting on 41 goals for Les Bleus.
Finals are always tough to call, but we expect the French to have a bit too much in attack for Spain. We predict 2-0 to France!
