Milan, Italy – Kylian Mbappe fired France to Nations League glory, netting the winner to complete a comeback from a goal down to beat Spain 2-1 in the final in Milan on Sunday.
Mbappe struck with 10 minutes remaining to secure the title for France, the reigning world champion, which was forced to come from behind after Mikel Oyarzabal put Spain ahead in the 64th minute. Karim Benzema evened the score for France before Mbappe gave the French the lead.
The win should ease some of the pain created by an early exit from Euro 2020 and highlighted just how powerful France is going forward.
"I really wanted to win a trophy with France, and now it's done," said Benzema, who returned to the fold ahead of Euro 2020.
"We showed strength of character, because this team is very strong, never gives up and we have proven it today.
"It is the sign of a great team not to panic, to be patient and to wait for the right opportunity."
Les Bleus came out on top of the match at San Siro, which came to life after Oyarzabal slid home the opener.
In addition to the goals from France's superstar attackers, the French had other opportunities to score before a frantic finish in which Spain launched an assault on the French goal.
France manager Didier Deschamps can thank Hugo Lloris for preventing the match from going into extra time after the French captain pulled off a fine stoppage time save to deny Yeremi Pino.
Italy took third place earlier in the day with a 2-1 win over Belgium in Turin through goals from Nicolo Barella and Domenico Berardi.
France got off to a strong start and should have taken the lead with five minutes on the clock when Benzema was put through perfectly by Paul Pogba.
The Real Madrid striker tried to dribble around Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon but went too far wide and ended up aimlessly hitting a low pass across the goal that was easily cut out by Cesar Azpilicueta.
Two minutes later, a lightning passing move led to Aymeric Laporte, playing against the country of his birth for the first time since obtaining Spanish nationality, cutting out a low cross.
The contest suddenly got going in the 63rd minute, when a sweeping French passing move started by Benjamin Pavard ended with Theo Hernandez smashing a first-time finish against the crossbar.
Just seconds later, Spain took the lead through Oyarzabal, who swept home a precision left-footed finish to the delight of the Spanish fans gathered behind that goal.
However, it didn't take long before Benzema evened the score by curling home an outstanding strike after being fed by Mbappe.
Mbappe then had two chances in quick succession, first chipping way over the bar with Simon off his line in the 68th minute and then hitting a tame shot at the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper after being set up by Benzema.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward got his goal with 10 minutes remaining, though, outfoxing Simon with some deft footwork before slotting home after being set free by Theo Hernandez.
Spain responded by going all out for the equalizer, but Lloris palmed away a Oyarzabal volley in the 90th minute and then got his hand to Pino's strike to ensure the trophy was headed to Paris.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.