The UEFA Champions League final in Lisbon between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain was an end-to-end and fast-paced contest. Kingsley Coman headed home Joshua Kimmich's crafty cross, as German champions Bayern edged PSG by one goal to nil. Six-time UCL champions Munich completed their second treble since 2013.
The UEFA Europa League final in Cologne saw Sevilla overcome Inter Milan 3-2 in a thrilling encounter. Luuk de Jong’s brace guided the Spanish club to their sixth UEL title; their fourth since 2014.
In the recent batch of UEFA Nations League matches, 2014 World Cup champions Germany and 2010 winners Spain met for the 24th time. These two nations previously contested the 2010 WC semi-final in Durban.
The Spanish trio of Sergio Ramos, Sergio Busquets and Jesus Navas – who were part of Vicente del Bosque's World Cup-winning squad – all made Luis Enrique's XI in the fixture's latest installment.
Toni Kroos was the sole German player to have been involved in both matches, ten years apart.
In their most recent encounter, Joachim Löw's forces displayed more rhythm than their opposition. Despite having less of the ball, Germany had more shots on goal than Spain. They possessed similar qualities to Hansi Flick’s Bayern with their quick movement, one-touch passing and lethal counter-attacking football. Leroy Sané was constantly causing trouble for Spain's José Gaya. Conversely, Sané's replacement at Man City, Ferran Torres showed promising signs on his Spain debut.
In the second-half, Timo Werner put Die Mannschaft a goal to the good.
Gaya scored his first national team goal deep into stoppage time – equalizing with an easy tap-in following a Spanish set-piece.
At the tender age of 17 years & 10 months, Ansu Fati became the youngest player to represent La Furia Roja since 1936.
In Spain’s following fixture vs Ukraine, Fati became their youngest ever goalscorer – opening his account on his first senior start; Ferran Torres also netted his first international goal.
Captain Ramos bagged a brace to take his international tally to 23 goals; no defender in history has scored more.
Portugal silenced Croatia with a commanding victory. Cristiano Ronaldo did not feature and so head coach Fernando Santos turned to the succeeding generational players, who did not disappoint.
João Félix, Bruno Fernandes, Diojo Jota and Bernardo Silva all registered goal contributions.
Ronaldo returned versus Sweden, scoring twice to surpass a century of goals for Portugal; CR7 now sits on 101.
Croatia then met France for the first time since Les Bleus emerged 4-2 victors in the 2018 WC final in Russia.
Their latest exchange was a sizzling affair with an identical outcome; the French are now unbeaten in seven matches vs Croatia.
17-year-old Eduardo Camavinga became the youngest player to play for France post-WWII.
Elsewhere Wales got the better of Finland and Bulgaria, winning both matches 1-0. Ryan Giggs handed Dragons debuts to Neco Williams and Dylan Levitt, both 19. Williams of Liverpool scored the winner vs Bulgaria after subbing on. Levitt, who plays for Man Utd U/23s, played the full 90 minutes vs Finland.
Selected UEFA Nations League results:
Denmark 0-2 Belgium
Germany 1-1 Spain
Iceland 0-1 England
Italy 1-1 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Netherlands 1-0 Poland
Portugal 4-1 Croatia
Sweden 0-1 France
Belgium 5-1 Iceland
Denmark 0-0 England
France 4-2 Croatia
Netherlands 0-1 Italy
Spain 4-0 Ukraine
Sweden 0-2 Portugal
Switzerland 1-1 Germany
With the Premier League commencing this weekend, most other top European leagues are to kick-off one week later.
Having put their Bayern-inflicted heartbreak behind them, PSG are away to newly-promoted Lens for their Ligue 1 opener on 10 September.
Following their short off-season, six PSG players tested postive for COVID-19 in the space of two days.
Bayern, meanwhile, will be looking to capture a ninth successive Bundesliga crown. The Bavarians get their 2020/21 season underway when they host Schalke on 18 Sept.
The following day Borussia Dortmund welcome Borussia Mönchengladbach to the Signal Iduna Park.
La Liga champions Real Madrid begin their title defence with a trip to Real Sociedad on 19 Sept.
20 Sept sees Andrea Pirlo's Juventus entertain Sampdoria; elsewhere in Serie A, Lazio take on Atalanta.
Bayern Munich and Sevilla meet in Hungary for the UEFA Super Cup on 24 Sept.
Looking ahead, the group stages of the UEFA Champions League begin 20 October. Before that, however, there is yet another feast of international football.
On 11 Oct, Belgium visit Wembley to take on Gareth Southgate's Three Lions; France and Portugal prepare to lock horns in a re-run of the Euro 2016 final.
Three days later, some eye-catching reverse fixtures see Croatia vs France; Italy go to battle with the Netherlands once more.
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