France Beat Spain to Win UEFA Nations League

*Italy win third placed match, defeat Belgium 2-1

Kylian Mbappe fired a contentious winner as France came from behind to beat Spain and become the second team to win the Nations League last night.

Mbappe was adjudged to be onside when he slid the ball under Unai Simon after Karim Benzema’s stunning equaliser at Milan’s San Siro.

Spain had taken the lead through Mikel Oyarzabal, who shrugged off defender Dayot Upamecano to beat Hugo Lloris.

Lloris produced two late saves to ensure victory for the world champions.

He first denied Oyarzabal before acrobatically keeping out Yeremi Pino’s effort in stoppage time, as France became the competition’s second winners after Portugal in 2019.

But Mbappe’s winner will prove to be a moment of debate, with the goal standing even though the Paris St-Germain striker was in an offside position when Theo Hernandez played the initial through ball.

Spain defender Eric Garcia touched the ball in his attempt to clear the danger before it came to Mbappe, and the rules state “a player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball… is not considered to have gained an advantage”.

Earlier in the day, Italy claimed third place in the Nations League after beating Belgium 2-1 to bounce back from their world record unbeaten run being brought to an end.

A superb volley from Nicolo Barella just after half-time and Domenico Berardi’s 63rd-minute penalty were enough for the Azzurri to see off a Belgium team missing the injured Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard to win the third-place playoff.

The European champions, beaten by Spain in their semi-final on Wednesday to lose after going 37 matches without a defeat, played with verve on a gorgeous sunny day at Turin’s Allianz Stadium but Belgium’s poor luck continued following their last-gasp semi-final loss to France on Thursday.