Spain remains in paradise after the conquest of the UEFA Nations League, celebrated with a grand party at the WiZink Center. Thousands of fans wanted to share their joy with Luis de la Fuente's 23 internationals, and all their names were chanted. However, when Unai Simón was introduced, the decibels rose, as the goalkeeper was one of the heroes of the final against Croatia, saving two penalties in the shootout.

"When it comes down to a penalty shootout, the goalkeeper always has a responsibility and appears a little more than the rest of the teammates, but we must not forget that this match was 120 minutes of pure work, heart, and determination from the entire team," said the goalkeeper right after the match. "I said before that this team has to rely on grit and heart, and at this stage of the season, when in the 115th minute we are still making attack-to-defense transitions... both us and Croatia. It's incredibly commendable. All the teammates, those who played, those who came on, and those who couldn't come on, we've had a great tournament and I think we deserve it."

His first saved penalty was a pure reflex, crucially using his foot to divert Majer's shot. "I've studied all the penalties, and the only one I didn't have marked was his (Majer's). Based on how he placed the ball, I took a chance on that side. And it's true that I think he wants to shoot it down the middle, and I had time to stick out my foot. It's a resource that you don't even think about, it just comes to your mind in that moment, and when you're lucky enough to hit it with your foot and it goes the other way... It's a joy."

Spain took the initiative, but Laporte hit the crossbar with his shot. Simón describes how he experienced that moment: "Aymeric is going to kill me for saying this, but I was thinking, 'if he misses, what do I have to do?' It was one of the possibilities. It's true that Ayme has been practicing that penalty, we might have taken that penalty seven times in training, and he scored them all the same. And then the day of the match comes, and you lift it a bit more than necessary, hitting the crossbar. It's no problem, I told him. This is a team, when someone is not on target, there will always be teammates to support you."

And what better teammate than Unai Simón himself, once again providential in Croatia's fifth penalty. "It's about finding the moment when the shooter hits the ball and you dive. If you dive too early... they are pressure shooters, and if you dive too early, they catch you on the side. You have to find that timing, and those resources have led to that save."