Portugal vs Spain Prediction & Nations League Betting Tips: Champs to Retain Title - Yahoo Sports

Published 14 hours ago• 4 minute read

Holders Spain come into the final as clear favourites after their win over France (Getty)

The 2025 Nations League final takes place in Munich this weekend as two of the world’s best international sides face off at the Allianz Arena.

Roberto Martinez’s Portugal side will take on Spain after the Selecao beat host nation Germany in the semi-finals thanks to a 68th-minute winner from a 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo.

La Roja came through their own difficult semi-final tie against France to make the final, with another stellar showing from Lamine Yamal originally helping them go 4-1 up only for Les Bleus to almost force extra-time with a late 5-4 comeback.

And a long Nations League campaign all comes down to this in Munich, with each side looking to take home an international trophy before moving on to their respective World Cup qualifying campaigns.

European champions and current holders Spain are the early favourites priced at 4/9 to lift the trophy, while Portugal, who won the inaugural Nations League tournament in 2019, are offered at 13/8 with football betting sites.

Despite the obvious talent in the Portugal team, it is holders Spain who enter the match as 17/20 favourites to win in normal time, compared to the odds of 29/10 offered for the Selecao.

Spain’s tag as European champions and their recent dominant displays mean that it’s hard to bet against Luis de la Fuente’s side on current form, though the quick turnaround in the match against France shows that they can be vulnerable at times.

Spearheaded by a young core including Yamal, Pedri and players such as Dean Huijsen, Spain have not lost a single match since winning Euro 2024, and have scored 25 goals in their last 10 games.

However, matches like the ones against France and the Netherlands show that they do have defensive weaknesses at times, and they did require penalties to get past the Dutch in the quarter-finals.

Portugal will look to take advantage of the kind of lapse in concentration that allowed France to almost pull the game back, with Spain having kept just three clean sheets in their last 10 matches. In addition, Martinez’s side have only failed to score on two occasions in the last 10 games, so you’d think they’ll have a chance of finding the net in the final.

To that end, while we think La Roja are clearly favourites for a reason, we think a wager on Spain to win and both teams to score could provide value at around 5/2 with various betting sites.

Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal seems to be taking the fight for the Ballon d’Or personally at this point, attempting to answer everything that Ousmane Dembele produces with goals and assists of his own.

And while the Frenchman’s Champions League success means he’ll probably grab the prestigious individual award, Yamal will clearly have plenty of chances to win it himself in the next few years.

His performance against France produced two goals to take his tally to three in the last three matches for La Roja, and three in the knockout stages of this competition.

Overall, the 18-year-old has scored five goals in five matches in all competitions (for club and country) as the season approaches its end, and has continued to dazzle since his notable performances in the Champions League semi-finals last month.

With that in mind, we think a wager on the youngster to score in the final could present value at 2/1 on betting apps.

William Hill

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