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PORTO, Portugal (AP) – Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk will face the UEFA final again.
The first League of Nations ends Sunday in Porto with Ronaldo's Portugal against Van Dijk's Netherlands. The Portuguese superstar and the flourishing Dutch defender have not met since last year's UEFA Champions League final, when former Realo's Ronaldo club found themselves above Liverpool's Van Dijk .
Ronaldo will try to lead Portugal to his first title since the 2016 European Championship, while Van Dijk will try to help the Netherlands to win his first international trophy since the 1988 European Championship. .
The victory at Estadio do Dragao will give the Netherlands some redemption after failing to qualify for the last two major tournaments, the 2018 World Cup and the 2016 European Championship.
"It's not a battle between two players, it's a battle between Portugal and (the Netherlands)," said Dutch coach Ronald Koeman, who was a player from 1988 Euros.
"We know that it's sometimes impossible to defend yourself against Cristiano Ronaldo, the best thing to do is to keep the ball and have a good ball because when you have the ball, it can not do anything." to make an attack. "
Van Dijk, touted as one of the best central defensemen in the world, called Ronaldo a "fantastic player", but also downplayed their potential.
"We play in Portugal, we do not play Cristiano Ronaldo," he said. "They have a very good team, it will be difficult, we have to be ready."
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