“Everybody wants to beat us.”
Goalkeeper Cata Coll is fully aware of the status the Spain women’s team has taken on over the past two years. They became U-20 and then U-17 world champions in Costa Rica and India respectively. Then, one year ago, La Roja held the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ trophy high in the Sydney sky.
As such, Spain are now most definitely the team to beat. And the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 is no exception to the rule: the teams coming up against La Roja appear to be even more driven by the prospect of turning over the world champions. Even if that has not troubled Montse Tome’s charges to date, they have still had to fight to clinch victory against Japan (2-1), Nigeria (1-0) and Brazil (2-0) in the group stage.
In the quarter final on Saturday 3 August, they even went 2-0 behind to a brave Colombia side that would have run away with the tie had Mayra Ramirez, who had got on the scoresheet earlier on, not missed a one-on-one against FC Barcelona goalkeeper Coll in the 77th minute to make it 3-0. Two minutes later, Jenni Hermoso reduced the deficit, then Irene Paredes equalised in 90+7, before Spain came out on top on penalties after a goalless period of extra time.
“We know very well that we don’t have to get ourselves into these kinds of situation, but when it does happen, the team knows how to react and that needs to be emphasised,” declared Tome. “We have already shown that mentality in earlier matches. Today, once again, they managed to turn the situation around, to find the energy and strength.”
In the semi-final, against a Brazilian team seeking revenge after being beaten by La Roja in the group stage, Spain know that if they have to dig deep to get a result, they are capable of doing so.
“The team has been able to stay strong in tough moments and to keep a cool head,” confirmed Aitana Bonmati. “There’s also a mental side to football. The fact of not giving up, of believing until the very end, of being able to find strength within ourselves. We believed, we trusted each other and we were able to adapt our approach. That’s one of the characteristics of our team: we excel in overcoming difficult situations.”
The midfielder, who was voted The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2023, knows what she is talking about. After all, in the World Cup 2023, Spain had not only experienced a heavy defeat in the group stage against Japan (4-0), which was ultimately of no consequence, but had notably run into difficulties in the knockout phase.
In the quarter final specifically, they were dragged into extra time by the Netherlands after Stefanie van der Gragt scored an equaliser in added time. In the semis, it was Sweden who equalised in the 88th minute before Olga Carmona scored the winning goal one minute later. In the final, they took the trophy home.
So, Spain once again appear to have a hill to climb in their first outing at an Olympic Games. Can they get the gold in the final? “We know what we are capable of; we don’t feel any pressure,” stated Spain goalkeeper Coll. “What defines us is that we are ambitious. That’s what drives us on to go as far as possible.”
“We don’t want to leave here – we want to keep our Olympic dream alive,” sums up Salma Paralluelo, the Best Young Player at World Cup 2023. “This team has no limits.”
