AFPStatement of the Spanish women
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 20:42
The kiss of national president Luis Rubiales, his departure, the dismissal of the national coach and a boycott of the players. These were extremely turbulent weeks for the Spanish football team. Yet there was football to be played on Friday evening in the Nations League in and against Sweden. A repeat of the World Cup semi-final ended in another victory for Spain: 3-2.
After the affair with Rubiales’ unwanted kiss, the playing group announced that they did not want to play for Spain again until Rubiales was removed from his position. That happened and the national coach, Jorge Vilda, was also fired.
The new coach Montse Tomé was then only able to train twice with the remaining players for the match against Sweden. It was therefore a matter of waiting to see how the Spanish football players were physically doing.
Joint statement
Before that became clear, Sweden and Spain took joint action against the macho culture in the (football) world. With the text ‘Se Acabó. Our fight is the global fight’, the women made it clear that changes are needed. The Spanish players also wore bracelets with the text ‘Se Acabó’, which roughly translates to: ‘It’s over’.
EPAStatement from the Spanish and Swedish women prior to their match
One change is already being implemented in Spain. The Football Association has decided to remove the word ‘women’ from the name of the Spanish team.
“More than a symbolic change, we want this to be a fundamental change,” said the association’s interim president Pedro Rocha.
Relief for the Spanish women
With the new name, the world champion played a great match in Sweden. In the first half the home team was even the better and deservedly took the lead through a header by Magdalena Eriksson. But before half time, Spain leveled, via Athenea del Castillo.
AFPSpain equalizes against Sweden
After the break it was clearly Spain that set the tone, but chances from Aitana Bonmati and Lucia Garcia were missed.
Fifteen minutes before the end, Atletico Madrid striker Eva Navarro managed to find the net. Spain could not enjoy the lead for long, Sweden equalized again within five minutes through Lina Hurtig.
Spanish national coach Tomé would probably have been satisfied with a point after all the unrest, but she got even more. In the 94th minute the Spaniards were awarded another penalty. Mariona Caldentey made sure that people could finally laugh again in Spain with a striking kick.
2023-09-22 18:42:21
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