The Second Edition of the Nations League is finally coming to an end as Spain and France face off in the final in Italy. Spain would be fairly confident after beating Italy at home in fine fashion. Although they have key players missing from the ranks due to injuries, Enrique’s is surely not short on young talent with whom Spain scored 2 goals against the Champions of Europe in the first half itself.
France on the other hand qualified for the final courtesy of a last-minute goal by Theo Hernandez which helped them get past Belgium. Although France made many mistakes defensively in the first half and went down 2 goals, their pacey and lethal attacking frontline lined up 3 goals booking their place in the final against Spain.
France who are currently the World Champions had an early departure from the Euros which is why it is important for them to win the Nations League and this will also help them boost their Fifa World Ranking as they stand 4th right now.
TEAM NEWS
Pedri and Marcos Llorente are out injured and won’t be starting against France. Dani Olmo’s appearance is also highly doubtful and Luis Enrique will have to resort to his younger player again. Although Ferran Torres was subbed off in their game against Italy, he is likely to start since he has nearly recovered from the knock.
Spain Potential Starting Lineup: Unai Simon; Marcos Alonso, Pau Torres, Aymeric Laporte, Cesar Azpilicueta; Sergio Busquets, Koke, Gavi; Mikel Oyarzabal, Pablo Sarabia, Ferran Torres
Lucas Digne picked up an injury against Belgium and N’golo Kante was ruled off the match. Rabiot is also unavailable due to being down with Covid 19.
France Potential Starting Lineup: Hugo Lloris; Lucas Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe, Raphael Varane; Theo Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard, Aurelien Tchouameni, Paul Pogba; Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzeman, Kylian Mbappe
GAME CHANGERS
MIKEL OYARZABAL
Oyarzabal provided 2 breathtaking assists against Italy that won them the game. The player has fit in well under Luis Enrique’s system over the summer and is one of their key playmakers. He has started this season with fireworks having scored 6 goals already in La Liga. Since France don’t have their first choice right-back, Oyarzabal might pose even a greater threat to the French side.
PAUL POGBA
Pogba has always played well for France and his performances in Euro 2020 was the reason why France got past the group stage. He has continued his form over the summer to the Premier League with Manchester United since he has 7 assists so far in this campaign. The deep-lying midfielder was good in their last game against Belgium as well and he will surely have an influence on the results of the final.
PREDICTIONS
The game is extremely important with the Qatar World Cup around the corner since a trophy at this stage would do wonders for the team’s morale. Spain is in better form than their counterpart but France is the stronger team on paper and have most of their important players available for the game. France’s pace upfront will surely make Spain susceptible to making mistakes at the back since they like to keep a high backline. FootTheBall predicts Spain 1-2 France
