MILAN • France have their groove back as they prepare for today's Nations League final against Spain after a thrilling comeback 3-2 win over Belgium which helped ease the pain of a poor Euro 2020.

Down by two goals at half-time on Thursday, a demoralising run of results and performances appeared set to continue in Turin.

However, driven by an exceptional display by Kylian Mbappe on his 50th France appearance, Les Bleus fought back to level and in a thrilling finale, Theo Hernandez scored the last-minute winner which set up an exciting final at the San Siro today.

The Nations League might not be as important as the World Cup or European Championship, but the wild celebrations among the players and small pockets of France fans at the Juventus Stadium showed just how good it felt to play like world champions again.

Coach Didier Deschamps, however, warned his players that the Spaniards will be another big obstacle they have to face.

"I watched the other semi-final and Spain performed very well, forcing Italy to defend," he said on uefa.com.

"They always have that ability to deprive their opponents of the ball and tire them out. Spain deserved to qualify for the final.

"We'll need to have the ball and we'll think about how to win it back.

"There's a trophy at stake, for Luis Enrique and for me. On Sunday there'll be one happy team and one unhappy team - I hope we're the happy team."

Thursday's win in former Juventus player and manager Deschamps' old stomping ground of Turin felt like catharsis, following a fraught summer marked by the Euro last-16 elimination by Switzerland.

France possess a front three who are arguably unmatched in the game - the brilliance and speed of Mbappe, the deadly finishing of Karim Benzema and the craft and guile of Antoine Griezmann.

They now head to Milan with a new spring in their step, confident that they can see off a Spain side who stopped Italy's record run of matches without defeat at 37 with a 2-1 win on Wednesday.

The manner in which a Spanish side containing the youthful likes of 17-year-old Gavi swaggered around the San Siro at times suggested that La Roja have genuine hope of success - not just for the future, but also right now.

Barcelona midfielder Gavi stunned pundits with his maturity as Spain's youngest-ever player, but Yeremi Pino was also impressive when he replaced goalscoring hero Ferran Torres in the second half.

Villarreal player Pino was making his international debut less than two weeks from his 19th birthday.

Spain have been going through a transition period under coach Enrique, not only in terms of personnel but also style, and against Italy they offered clear evidence of their direction of travel.

While the Spaniards still treasure possession, they transition through midfield much more quickly than in the past and have a refreshing directness in the wide areas where Mikel Oyarzabal and Pablo Sarabia shone against Italy.

"This is a competition that we would love to win," Enrique said on uefa.com.

"If we're able to put pressure on, as we usually put pressure on, if we are able to have the ball and find the spaces, it will be a difficult match for them.

"We're going to play against the world champions - of course, for us it would be very important to win.

"So, if we manage to win the match as we want, we will have a real chance of being world champions."

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE