The women's team begins the preparation for the World Cup in the Nations Cup

MADRID, 15 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The women's soccer team will begin their participation in the Nations Cup in Australia this Thursday (6:10 a.m. Spanish peninsular time) with a duel against Jamaica where they hope not to suffer the long journey and the time change in what will be their first test for the World Cup to be held in that country in summer.

Spain faces its first international 'window' to refine its set-up for the World Cup and it does so with a tournament, perhaps of a lower level than the Algarve Cup, the She Believes Cup or the Arnold Clark Cup of other years, where, in addition to the Jamaican team, they will face off against a power such as Australia and the Czech Republic, the only team of the four that will not be at the World Cup.

The national coach Jorge Vilda does not have much time to prepare for the World Cup, since after this competition he will only have another break in April to face Norway and China in Ibiza in order to give more shape to a team under reconstruction and that still does not have none of the 15 footballers who gave up going until there was an improvement in conditions in their ranks.

The one in Jamaica will be the fifth match for a team that cannot count on players of the highest level and experience such as Aitana Bonmatí, Patri Guijarro, Mapi León, Mariona Caldentey, Claudia Pina, Sandra Paños, Ona Batlle or Laia Aleixandri, but that until moment, he has scratched at a good level and with good results.

Spain was able to draw against Sweden (1-1) and achieve a historic victory against the United States (2-0) last October, and ended the year with a smile by beating Argentina (7-0) and beating to another potential rival like Japan (1-0).

However, all these games were at home and now it remains to be seen how it unfolds abroad and with the addition of little initial preparation after a long trip to Australia and the 'jet-lag' due to the great time change, although the internationals have had at their disposal new technological means such as light therapy glasses to make the change more pleasant.

"The truth is that the team is better than expected. They have trained very well and have a very good attitude. The players were able to rest from the flight and have also been able to sleep more than expected," Vilda admitted in statements provided by the national team .

Forward Esther González also acknowledged that they looked "with a lot of rhythm" despite a long journey that began on Monday and ended on Tuesday, although she has not had "a lot of time to prepare" for this debut against a theoretically affordable rival. "We have done a bit of tactics, see how to press, how to move, get the ball out and have a bit of 'spark' that is important," she explained.

The Real Madrid player is currently one of the 'fixed players' on a list where the big news is the return of Jenni Hermoso. The Pachuca forward showed her support at '3:00 p.m.' and was not called up by Vilda for the last two concentrations, but now the coach has the Madrilenian again.

This will give more potential to an attack where, in addition to the Granada player, an Alba Redondo stands out who is signing many goals in the Finetwork Liga F with Levante. In addition, the promising Eva Navarro, after overcoming an ordeal of injuries, seems to be recovering her best sensations again and the Spanish offense is completed with overflowing footballers such as Salma Paralluelo on the rise, Marta Cardona and Athenea del Castillo.

The first test will be against Jamaica, a rival that the Spanish have never faced and current 44th in the FIFA ranking. The American team, which according to Vilda may have similarities with Zambia, with which Spain is framed in the World Cup, earned its second World Cup appearance in its history after France 2019 by finishing fourth in its continental championship and in this tournament it will seek to continue Gaining international experience. She'll have to do it without one of her best players, forward Khadija Shaw.