Jesús Navas became the first player ever to win the World Cup, Euros and Nations League on Sunday night. The veteran right-back has lifted the 2010 World Cup, 2012 Euros and 2023 Nations League with Spain.
One of the new additions to Luis de la Fuente’s second squad, the Sevilla player had not been called up for international duty since November 2020. Two and a half years later, Navas returned to the national team, and he has done so with the confidence of the head coach, who gave him a starting place in both matches of the Nations League final four.
“We deserve this, it’s incredible,” he told TVE.
Navas played the full match in the semi-final against Italy and, just 72 hours later, played more than 90 minutes in the final against Croatia in Rotterdam. He was replaced by Jordi Alba in the first half of extra time, a demonstration that the 37-year-old defender (he turns 38 in November) still has plenty of time left in him.
Kieran Quaile | GSFN
