De Gea, who started the match in place of rested Iker Casillas, made a string of stunning saves to help Spain qualify for Euro 2016.
Media publications in Spain, France, Italy and England have all praised De Gea, who almost single-handedly won the match for Spain at Kiev.
Ukraine created many chances and breached Spain’s defence on several occasions, but they couldn’t penetrate the wide-stretched arms of De Gea, much to the disbelief of the opposition players.
Thiago Alcantara, the Bayern Munich midfielder and De Gea’s national teammate, said after the match: “Sensational is little for his achievement.