Who: Spain vs. England
What: UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 final
Where: St Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland
When: Sunday, July 27, at 6pm (16:00 GMT)
Follow-up: From 3 p.m. (15:00 GMT) until our live text commentary stream, we’ll have all the preparation.
It hasn’t been easy for the Spanish women’s football players to go from being nobodies to being title contenders in less than ten years.
The national team has to fight for better coaching, fair travel policies, and state-of-the-art training facilities.
They won the Nations League last year, the World Cup in 2023, and they now face England in the European Championship final on Sunday.
Former Spain defender Marta Torrejon stated on Friday that it has been a constant struggle for the national team to achieve acceptable work conditions that would enable them to perform at their best.
Where did Spain’s women start to prosper?
Torrejon endured the harsh years, when playing for her country sounded like a “waste of time,” as she put it.
And she is aware of how much the situation has improved in recent conversations with Barcelona teammates who still represent their nation.
After the 2019 World Cup, Torrejon became Spain’s 90th appearances-capable player and retired from international football. Since then, the 35-year-old has assisted Barcelona to win a number of other titles as well as three Champions League titles.
She also participated in one of the revolts Spain’s women staged to demand more from the game’s owners.
Ignacio Quereda, the team’s coach, had been in charge of the team for almost 30 years, and Torrejon and other players successfully pushed for his resignation following the 2015 World Cup because of his poor preparation before its first competition appearance.
Former players later charged Quereda with verbal abuse, an allegation he refuted.
“It was a pleasure playing for the national team, but the player’s preparation and attention were minimal.” To put it simply, it sounded like a waste of time, according to Torrejon. In Barcelona, “the level of physical training and practice both fell short” [and] fell short. It was like stepping back.
I’ve been told that’s not the case right now, and I’m delighted to hear that.
Torrejon said she saw positive changes under former Spain coach Jorge Vilda when Quereda was in charge, but that after her retirement, she realized there was still untapped potential in the team.
What did Spain’s Rubiales controversy involve?
Some players announced in 2022 that they would no longer play for Vilda unless Torrejon started a more reputable operation after Torrejon left the team. The federation supported him. The team won the 2023 World Cup thanks to the return of some of his players, making history with them.
Luis Rubiales, the president of the then-federation, kissed a player on the lips during the Sydney awards ceremony without her permission, overshadowing the festivities.
Vilda initially supported Rubiales, but when the players rebelled against him, they were swept away with him. On Saturday, Vilda will lead Morocco, which will face Nigeria in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final.
Torrejon claimed to have heard from Barcelona legends Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes that things have improved since Rubiales and Vilda’s departure.
Spain may be fired by England’s cautious Rubiales situation.
Ella Toone, England’s Ella Toone, acknowledges that Spain may have extra motivation heading into the final after their World Cup triumph two years ago was overshadowed by the events that occurred at the Sydney final.
The only goal of the game came from Olga Carmona, who scored the only goal of the game in the first-ever Women’s World Cup victory over England in 2023.
However, Jenni Hermoso’s forced kissed by Rubiales made headlines later.
Rubiales was fined 10 800 euros ($11, 670) in February of this year for sexual assault.
The Spanish players had a difficult time during the World Cup, and what they did in the match should have been the main focus, Tone said to reporters in Zurich on Friday. “It was a tough period for them and for what they did in it,” Tone said.
They ought to have celebrated what they thought was a fantastic tournament.
England’s path to the Euro 2025 final: how did it go?
England has long held its position as a top player in women’s international football, but their final four match with Italy almost set off a shock.
Only Michelle Agyemang’s 96th-minute equalizer made the game playable in extra time after Barbara Bonansea gave the Italians a lead.
With penalties looming, Chloe Kelly then left it late to settle the game.
In their final eight matchup against Sweden, the English had to come from behind.
Spain’s path to the Euro 2025 final:
The training methods have been improved by Montse Tome’s replacement. Spain leads the Euros in goals scored, ball possession, passing accuracy, and clean sheets.
Aitana Bonmati relied on the team’s analysts to inform her that the opposing goalkeeper frequently left her near post unprotected in the 1-0 semifinal victory over Germany. A clever winner came out of a tight angle as a result.
That kind of tactical insight from the staff, according to Torrejon, was previously unthinkable ten years ago.
how Barcelona contributed to Spain’s development
Torrejon and Patri Guijarro of Spain both agree that the national team has grown thanks to the constant investment Barcelona has made in the women’s game over the past ten years.
At Spain’s camp in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday, Guijarro stated, “Every day, we work well in our clubs, and I think that isreflected in the successes of the clubs, but also in the national team.”
Guijarro also attributes the professionalization of the 2021 women’s soccer league to “allowing players to devote ourselves fully to football.”
One of Spain’s 23-member squad includes Guijarro, one of the 11 players from Barcelona. Bonmati and Putellas, who have won the last four Ballon d’Or prizes between them, make up the Barcelona contingent.
From 2015 to 2020, former Barcelona official Xavier Vilajoana oversaw the women’s team and the training facility. The club also established a training regimen for girls during that time, dramatically increasing its funding for women’s football.
According to Vilajoana, having the same coaches coach the boys’ and girls’ teams was a crucial decision. In this way, all children were taught the Barcelona style, and ball possession, short-passing, and pressure became fundamental components of the women’s teams as well.
Let’s face it: Women’s football was a result of our years spent in a very sexist society. Vilajoana said it is obvious that society’s mentality has improved. However, I also think that Barca’s play has influenced how we perceive women players as [as men] as being.
In the background, Spain’s vibrant feminist movement aided inflating the players’ efforts to achieve equality and success.
Many of us players gave it our all for the national team, according to Torrejon, “but we weren’t able to get this far.” We all knew we had talent, after all. Simply put, we needed more assistance.
news from the England team
After suffering a knock in the semifinal against Italy, Lauren James must work out.
In the event that James doesn’t recover, Beth Mead might replace him on the wing.
Leah Williamson and Esme Morgan, who is currently serving in defense, will now play for her in the tournament.
news from the Spain team
Laia Aleixandri is returning from a one-game suspension for accumulating yellow cards at the tournament. The defender will immediately make a return to the starting lineup.
After a goal and an assist in the dying minutes, Athenea del Castillo is pressing Claudia Pina and Mariona Caldentey for a spot on the flanks.
Starting lineups for England and Spain were anticipated.
England: Hampton, Bronze, Williamson, Morgan, Greenwood, Stanway, Walsh, Toone, Kelly, Hemp, Russo, and Moreno.
Source: Aljazeera
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