Portugal defeat Holland to win the UEFA Nations League final

Portugal saw off Holland 1-0 as they lifted the inaugural UEFA Nations League trophy.

Whilst the game may not have been the most entertaining, with Goncalo Guedes’ 60th minute strike being the only goal, there were plenty of individual performances that stood out in the final at Estádio do Dragão. 

Portugal found themselves in the final courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo treble against Switzerland in Porto, whilst the Netherlands went to extra time against England 50 kilometres away in Guimaraes. Both sides are currently undergoing something of a golden age with young talent, with young stars such as Bernardo Silva, Guedes, Ruben Dias, Joao Felix coming up against the new age Dutch side that featured Frenkie De Jong, Matthijs De Ligt and Steven Bergwijn.

Holland entered the contest as favourites over the home side, although, the proceedings over the course of the 90 minutes would suggest Portugal were wrongly labelled under-dogs. Controlling the majority of both halves, the Portuguese managed a total of eighteen shots, with seven of those coming on target. Meanwhile, the Dutch, who only managed a single shot on target from four attempts, looked largely starved of ideas as they generated very little threat.

Whilst Portugal boasted the ultimate danger-man in Ronaldo, the number seven was usurped on the big stage by Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva. The attacking midfielder was incredible over the course of the 90 as he controlled and created most of the danger for his side, including the vital assist for the only goal of the game. Alongside Silva, William Carvalho and Danilo Pereira ruffled feathers in midfield with five tackles between them, as well as both having over 85 per cent passing accuracy. Their solid defensive work allowed for Bruno Fernandes to trouble the Dutch backline with his passing and shots from range, the Sporting Lisbon man rattled off three shots on target as well as three key passes, second only to Bernardo Silva.

For Holland, the game didn’t quite go to plan. The strong set-up of Portugal largely disrupted the engine room of the Dutch team as Frenkie De Jong and Georgino Wijnaldum were unable to show the same levels of energy seen against England. De Jong, who completed over 100 passes against England, struggled to get his game going, the Barcelona bound midfielder failed to play a single key pass or complete a dribble against Portugal. Against England, he managed two key passes and one dribble. His passing numbers fell from 104 to just 70 passes. With the midfield largely shut down, the forward line suffered as Bergwijn, Depay and Babel were largely absent for much of the action.

The second half saw Holland start a little better, however, this soon waned and they fell to conceding not long after the second half kicked off with Valencia’s Goncalo Guedes notching in the 60th minute. From there, Portugal largely played damage limitation as they just looked to snuff out any and all Dutch momentum. Holland did little to threaten as they faltered to a defeat. The triumph in the final marks Portugal’s second trophy in three years as they will now look to make a charge at retaining their Euro crown at next years Euro 2020 tournament.

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