Offside confusion as Kylian Mbappe seals Nations League for France

French players celebrate with the trophy at the end of the Nations League final football match between Spain and France at San Siro stadium in Milan last night. Picture: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

SPAIN 1 FRANCE 2

Kylian Mbappe kept his nerve to strike the 80th-minute winner as France completed another impressive comeback to become the second country to win the Nations League.

Just as they had in the semi-final against Belgium, Didier Deschamps’s side found a way back after falling behind. An extraordinary two-minute spell in the second half saw France first trail to Mikel Oyarzabal’s 64th-minute goal before replying immediately through Karim Benzema.

And it was Mbappe who provided the decisive moment ten minutes from the end of normal time when he broke free to collect a pass beyond the Spain backline before slotting past Unai Simon.

Luis Enrique’s Spain side protested the effort should have been ruled out for offside but a marginal decision went in favour of the French after referee Anthony Taylor and VAR Stuart Attwell spotted defender Eric Garcia had touched the ball on its way to Mbappe, playing the forward onside.

It was an agonising way for Spain to lose in their first senior final since 2012 while France became the first country to win the World Cup, European Championships and Nations League.

France had knocked out holders Portugal in the group stages before staging a stunning second-half comeback to overcome Belgium in last week’s semi-final. And there was a clear sense Deschamps’s side carried over the momentum that had taken them into the final.

There was no repeat of the slow start that marked their meeting with Belgium as they immediately took the game to their opponents with Paul Pogba at the heart of France’s early attacking moves. The Manchester United midfielder was quickly involved and a superb threaded ball for Karim Benzema might have brought the opening goal had Spain keeper Unai Simon not managed to force the forward wide of the goal.

Pogba and Benzema combined again in another incisive move that led to Benjamin Pavard delivering a dangerous cross that caused more concern in the Spain defence that included Aymeric Laporte who made more than 50 appearances for France at youth level before switching his allegiance.

Spain finally demonstrated their threat when Ferran Torres, scorer of both his side’s goals in the semi-final, found Pablo Sarabia inside the France penalty area but the forward failed to make clean contact with his shot on the turn under pressure from Raphael Varane.

That was the first sign of defensive unease on the part of Deschamps’ side and too often they looked less than assured as they conceded possession in dangerous areas, allowing Spain to build a succession of attacks with Torres in particular exploiting space on the right hand flank.

The dynamism that marked the opening stages appeared to have disappeared from France’s play and when Antoine Griezmann — winning his 100th cap — led a counter-attack, Enrique’s side were able to recover quickly enough to stifle Kylian Mbappe’s attempt to deliver a cross from the right.

France’s efforts to contain Spain’s attack weren’t helped when Pogba’s club teammate Varane hobbled out of the game shortly before half-time, a sight that will have prompted concern at Old Trafford.

Overall though, neither side offered sufficient threat to take control of the game in the first half with Sarabia’s shot the only effort on target from both sides.

There was a notable increase in the intensity of the game after the restart, illustrated by Pogba’s challenge on Sergio Busquets that earned the midfielder a yellow card. And once again it was Spain who dominated possession and looked the team most likely to make the breakthrough.

Deschamps had said before the game that it was almost impossible to deny Spain possession and his team certainly struggled to disrupt their rhythm. But France showed they had enough to trouble Enrique’s team as the game exploded into life midway through the second half.

A well-worked French move ended with Theo Hernandez firing a shot against the underside of the bar, prompting an immediate response from Spain with Busquets delivering a superb ball towards Oyarzabal who held off a challenge by Dayot Upamecano before shooting across Lloris and inside the far post.

Spain’s lead, though, lasted less than a minute with Benzema conjuring the perfect reply after collecting the ball on the edge of the penalty area, moving inside Cesar Azpilicueta, and curling a shot beyond Simon and into the top corner. Mbappe then produced the quality needed to settle the game.

SPAIN (4-3-3): Simon 6; Azpilicueta 6, Garcia 6, Laporte 6, Alonso 6; Gavi 6, Busquets 6, Rodri 6; Sarabia 6, Torres 6, Oyarzabal 6.

FRANCE (3-4-1-2): Lloris 6; Kounde 6, Varane 6 (Upamecano 42, 6), Kimpembe 6; Pavard 6, Tchouameni 6, Pogba 6, T. Hernandez 6; Griezmann 6; Mbappé 6, Benzema 6.

Referee: Anthony Taylor 6