Safe! France Wins UEFA Nations League

The French national team won the UEFA Nations League (Twitter @uefa)

JAKARTA - France won the 2021 UEFA Nations League after a dramatic 2-1 win over Spain in the final match at San Siro, Milan, Italy, Monday morning.

Spain took the lead thanks to a Mikel Oyarzabal goal, then France equalized through Benzema's goal. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe, became the hero of his team's victory.

RESULT Benzema & Mbappé net as France become champions Spain defeated in Milan final after taking lead🤔 Who impressed you?#NationsLeague

— UEFA Nations League (@EURO2024) October 10, 2021

Launching Antara, France almost opened the scoring when the game had only been running for five minutes. Paul Pogba provided a through ball to Karim Benzema who stabbed the penalty box.

The Real Madrid striker was then able to pass the Spanish goalkeeper, Unai Simon. However, his attempt to release the bait can still be driven by Cesar Azpilicueta.

After that, Spain slowly began to dominate possession and patiently build attacks from the back.

In the 12th minute, Spain provided a threat. Starting from Ferran Torres bait from the right side that can be reached by Pablo Sarabia.

Despite being surrounded by French players, Sarabia was able to fire a shot on target that Hugo Lloris could still secure.

Spain dominated the match until the middle of the first half. In the 32nd minute, Jules Kunde was considered for handball in the penalty box while trying to block Rodri's cross. However, the referee did not award a penalty after reviewing the VAR.

In the 36th minute, La Furia Roja had a chance to score through Marcos Alonso's free kick which was still wide of Hugo Lloris' goal.

France could reduce the dominance of Spain and the score remained 0-0 until the first half ended.

After the break, France began to put pressure on Spain. However, the back line of Luis Enrique's team appeared solid and could thwart several dangerous opportunities early in the second half.

After that, Spain began to dominate possession again.

In the 63rd minute, France almost stole a goal through a quick counter-attack. Karim Benzema released a low cross from the left which Theo Hernandez was able to strike. Unfortunately, the ball still hit the goal post.

One minute later, Spain can finally break the deadlock. Sergio Busquets' long pass from midfield was met by Mikel Oyarzabal, who won the duel with Dayot Upamecano and drove into the box.

He then unleashed a kick that Lloris couldn't stop. Spain lead 1-0.

Spain's advantage only lasted until the 66th minute after Benzema scored a beautiful goal with a curling shot from the left side of the penalty box that Simon could not reach. The position is 1-1.

Ce trophée c'est le nôtre et vôtre, merci tous pour votre soutien.. #Nueve #Alhamdulilah #EDF #Vamonos pic.twitter.com/cJbDwS6KH3

— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) October 10, 2021

The match then went fierce after the two teams exchanged attacks.

In the 71st minute, Mbappe got space in the penalty box to break into the Spanish goal. Unfortunately, the PSG player's shot was still weak so it was easy for Simon to catch it.

Mbappe finally broke into Simon's goal in the 80th minute. Theo Hernandez provided a through ball to Mbappe who was free from the offside trap.

Faced one on one with Simon, Mbappe then made a step-over before firing a shot that slid into the Spanish goal. France turned to lead 2-1.

After that goal, Spain pressured France to score an equaliser.

Oyarzabal had his chance in the 86th minute with a volley but Lloris made a brilliant save.

Lloris made another crucial save in the dying minutes. The Tottenham goalkeeper was able to stem Yeremi Pino's hard kick from the chaos caused by a corner kick.

France closed the game with a 2-1 win and were crowned champions of the 2021 UEFA Nations League.

Line-up: Spain (4-3-3): Unai Simon; Cesar Azpilicueta, Eric Garcia, Aymeric Laporte, Marcos Alonso; Pablo Gaviria (Koke 74'), Sergio Busquets, Rodrigo (Pablo Fornals 85'); Ferran Torres(Mikel Merino 85'), Pablo Sarabia (Yeremi Pino 61'), Mikel Oyarzabal.

France (3-4-1-2): Hugo Lloris; Jules Kunde, Raphael Varane (Dayot Upamecano 43'), Presnel Kimpembe; Benjamin Pavard (Leo Dubois 79'), Paul Pogba, Aurelien Tchouameni, Theo Hernandez; Antoine Griezmann (Jordan Veretout 90'); Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe.