Unai Simon shines as Spain edge Croatia to UEFA Nations League title

Unai Simon was the star of the show as Spain defeated Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a goalless match to win the 2023 UEFA Nations League title.

After semifinal wins over Netherlands and Italy respectively, Croatia and Spain faced each other in the final of the tournament with both sides looking for a first UEFA Nations League crown.

The match was a brilliant show of defensive quality as the defenders on both sides nullified every attack thrown at them for the entirety of the match.

Spain came closest to a late winner when substitute Ansu Fati saw his effort cleared off the line with the goalkeeper beaten.

Neither side managed to score in extra time and the final went to penalties for the first time in the history of the competition.

Nikola Vlasic was the first penalty taker and he scored for Croatia before Joselu equalised for La Roja.

Marcel Brozovic scored Croatia’s second penalty and Rodri equalised for Spain again before Luka Modric scored a third for Croatia. Mikel Merino scored for Spain to make it 3-3.

Lovro Majer saw his penalty saved by Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Simon to hand Spain the advantage, which was duly utilised when Marco Asensio fired home his penalty to put them 4-3 up.

Ivan Perisic equalised for Croatia before Aymeric Laporte missed for Spain, striking the crossbar. His miss did not prove costly as Bruno Petkovic saw his effort saved by Simon once more. Real Madrid star Daniel Carvajal then stepped up and calmly dinked his effort over the goalkeeper to seal the 5-4 win.

Spain have now won their first title since 2012 and condemned Croatia to a second defeat in a final. La Roja banished the ghosts of their defeat in the 2021 UEFA Nations League final, where they lost to France.

Sevilla right-back Jesus Navas made history as he became the first player in history to win the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and UEFA Nations League titles.