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Spain's all-time leading goalscorer Jenni Hermoso was celebrating once again on Tuesday night after helping the national team beat Germany to win the Nations League final. The 35-year-old made an emotional return to the Spain squad in October, following a year long absence, and has crowned her comeback in style by adding more silverware to her collection.

Joy for Hermoso and Spain

Hermoso was a late substitute as Spain beat Germany 3-0 in the second leg of their final to secure victory. La Roja were without three-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati for the match, after she suffered a broken leg in the build-up, but still eased to victory thanks to a brace from Claudia Pina and a Vicky Lopez goal. The victory means Spain retain their title and add it to their 2023 World Cup final win. Hermoso featured in that game, which was overshadowed by a kiss on the lips from Luis Rubiales in the presentation ceremony that culminated in a sexual assault conviction for the former RFEF president.

The Spain star admitted victory was the result of plenty of hard work, telling reporters afterwards: “It has been many months of work, of thinking about putting [a Spain shirt] on again and, in the end, everything has its reward. We continue to show we are the best team in the world.”

AdvertisementGetty'Magical night' for Spain

Spain's victory was achieved at the Estadi Metropolitano in Madrid in front of a crowd of 55,843 fans, a record for the national team in a home game. Barcelona star Alexia Putellas, who is no stranger to the big stage and has won countless major titles for club and country, admitted it was a special night.

“It’s one of the most magical nights we’ve lived, one of the best nights of my career,” she told reporters. “Thank you very much to these people who have come to support us. At this point, some of us have been playing for the national team for 13 years and never imagined this. It says a lot about what we’ve done for women’s football in Spain. We’ll continue to inspire girls and boys to fight for their dreams, which sometimes come true.” 

First trophy for Bermúdez

Although Spain are no strangers to success, Tuesday's win is a first trophy for manager Sonia Bermúdez. She replaced Montse Tomé at the helm in August and could not hide her delight at the victory.

“I’m very happy. We knew, after the match in Germany, that we could improve on that first half, and today the team came out much more switched on, much more focused, pressing higher. That was the idea. It’s true we could’ve scored in the first half, but we controlled their transitions well. Defensively, the team was spectacular, and in attack we have players with a real eye for goal. We’re very happy," she told reporters. 

“I feel enormous joy. My whole family came, and people traveled from far away. We felt the fans so close—this stadium has something special. I played for this club, and I want to thank everyone for their affection and support. We wanted to give the fans this victory because they gave us everything.

"We’re going to enjoy today, this victory, because it takes so much to achieve. In February we’ll start thinking about World Cup qualifying.”

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Getty Images SportWorld Cup 2027 now in sight

Spain's victory, achieved comfortably without Bonmati, demonstrates once again how impressive Bermudez's team is and means they will begin World Cup 2027 qualifying as one of the favourites for the trophy. Bermudez's team kick off their qualifying campaign in March with games against Iceland and Ukraine.

The KKR match-winner did it all, hit sixes, pick up wickets, run people out and even captain his team

Matt Roller29-Apr-20251:36

Rayudu: Narine completely dismantles oppositions

Anukul Roy turned around to embrace his team-mate. Varun Chakravarthy slapped him on the back. Rahmanullah Gurbaz beamed from ear to ear, while Ajinkya Rahane and Rinku Singh both cheered in celebration. Only Sunil Narine remained unmoved as ‘OUT’ flashed up on the big screens, utterly emotionless as he pursed his lips.It is easy to get caught up in IPL 2025’s delirium: sold-out crowds, bright floodlights, cheerleaders, smoke machines, and the strains of over a deafening public-address system. But Narine has seen and heard it all before across 186 IPL appearances; he will soon overtake Kieron Pollard as the most-capped overseas player in the league’s history.Yet even Narine’s calmness could not conceal the significance of the moment. He has spent most of his career looking utterly ambivalent to the very idea of fielding, but his dead-eye pick-up-and-throw from short fine leg was perfection. It caught KL Rahul just short of his ground at the striker’s end, and put Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on track to defend 204.Related

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“I’m obviously not the greatest fielder,” Narine said with a smile at the post-match presentation. “But it’s always good to give a good run-out whenever it’s possible.” His thought process, he said, was as simple as it could be: “Just pick up and swing, and throw the ball as hard as possible.”Two nights after a stellar all-round performance from Krunal Pandya defeated Delhi Capitals (DC), Narine delivered an even better one. His run-out came after he had cracked 27 off 16 balls from the top of the order, and shortly before he was pressed into captaincy duties with Rahane (struck on the hand) and Venkatesh Iyer (subbed out) both off the field.KL Rahul was run-out by a direct hit from Sunil Narine•Associated PressBut Narine’s biggest contribution came with the ball. His first 13 balls cost 25 runs, including three towering sixes from Axar Patel; after the third, DC needed 69 off 41 and were ahead of the game. In his next seven deliveries, Narine had put KKR in control: Axar miscued to extra cover, Tristan Stubbs was done on the inside edge, and Faf du Plessis picked out deep midwicket.Narine has been opening the batting on and off in the IPL since 2017, and opposition captains know what to expect from him by now. But his potential to wreak havoc is still enough to make bowlers – and captains – second-guess themselves: after opening the bowling two games in a row, Axar did not dare bring himself on while Narine was at the crease.He hit the first ball he faced for six – a feat nobody has done more often in the IPL – by swinging Dushmantha Chameera straight back over his head, and his opening stand with Rahmanullah Gurbaz was worth 48 in just under three overs. Kevin Pietersen, DC’s mentor, said that Narine’s presence had prompted Axar to give Mitchell Starc a third over in the powerplay; he gave the strike to Rahane, who slog-swept him for six then whipped him for four.And with the ball, Narine remains a banker for any captain under pressure – including, on this occasion, himself. His lengths are typically immaculate, and while analysts now have more than 500 T20 matches worth of footage on Narine across nearly 15 years, batters still struggle to read his variations out of the hand.”He’s been a champion bowler for this franchise,” Rahane said. “It’s so good to have him and Varun in the team: I can always go back to them whenever we are in trouble… He’s been working really hard, coming early for the practice sessions, bowling for hours and hours in the nets.”Tristan Stubbs was bowled by Sunil Narine•Getty ImagesNarine has never been an expressive player: he has very rarely given interviews outside of contractual obligations, and wears his emotions lightly. But it is all too easy to make assumptions about players’ character without knowing them: Andre Russell, the man who has played more with Narine than anyone else, believes he is misunderstood.”He’s very active when he’s on the field,” Russell said. “A lot of guys maybe misjudge him. He’s a quiet individual when he is in a certain environment, where he’s not comfortable. But on the park, he’s a leader. He’s been more talkative over the last five years, and it just goes to show that when you express yourself, you enjoy the game and your performance shows as well.”Narine is largely motivated by “self-pride” at this stage in his career, aged 36. “I always want to be able to give the captain an option that any time you’re in a pressure situation, you have someone – and that comes with hard work,” he said. “If you want to be that kind of player, you have to put in hard work.”If Narine has not quite lived up to his performances of last season, that is largely because he had set himself such a high bar: 488 runs and 17 wickets in a title-winning campaign, securing an unprecedented third MVP award. Even in what has been a relatively quiet year by his standards, Narine sits sixth in ESPNcricinfo’s own MVP rankings.It is easy to take Narine’s consistency for granted, but consider this a mark of his longevity. When KKR first signed Narine at the 2012 auction, Vaibhav Suryavanshi was yet to celebrate his first birthday. Now, Suryavanshi is an IPL centurion for Rajasthan Royals – and Narine is still winning games in purple and gold almost single-handedly.

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