By Victor Kanayo
Spain on Sunday night triumphed Croatia 5-4 on penalties to win the Nations League in Rotterdam for the first in the history of their participation in over a decade.
It was veteran Dani Carvajal who scored the decisive spot kick that eventually made the difference and ended the Croatians’ trophy dream again.
As captured by Reuters, 31-year-old Carvajal chipped home Spain’s sixth kick of the shootout to hand his country their first silverware since the 2012 European Championship.
The Spaniard had won five Champions League titles with Real Madrid.
The final at the Feyenoord Stadium ended goalless after extra time, and defeat on penalties was a further heartbreak for an expectant Croatia, who were runners-up at the 2018 World Cup and third in Qatar last year, but are yet to win a title.
Spain were Nations League runners-up two years ago to France, and the success will come as a major fillip after a disappointing World Cup in Qatar, where they were upset by Morocco in the last-16.
Victory also means Spain become the second nation to win the World Cup, European Championship and Nations League following France, who beat the Spanish in the 2021 Nations League final.
