'Mapi' León: "You don't have to think about anything other than the group stage"

LAS ROZAS (MADRID), June 16 (EUROPA PRESS) -

The defense of the Spanish team María 'Mapi' León made it clear this Thursday that they should not "think about anything other than the group stage" of the European Championship in England next month where there will be "a high level" so the objective must be "do the best possible role" despite pressure from outside that sees something "unnecessary".

"You don't have to think about anything other than the group stage of the European Championship because you can be looking there and stumble here. We already experienced it in 2017 when Austria eliminated us, I didn't think, even though it had been a short time, that we were going to eliminate and eliminated us. That means a lot to you and I still remember it. There will be a high level and all the games will be very difficult", 'Mapi' León stressed at a press conference.

In this sense, she agrees with the coach Jorge Vilda and other teammates that there may be excess pressure on the team, although she already lives with that demand when playing for a FC Barcelona team that "seems like they always have to win".

"I think about the day to day and doing the best possible and playing the best possible role," the Aragonese clarified. "It would be good since we do a job that does not put pressure on us from the outside because it seems that if we do not win it is a disaster or a drama, and it is still unnecessary. We know that there has been an improvement with the selection and in the ranking and I understand that there has been want to be super positive, but it's not that easy," he added.

In addition, after losing the Champions League final against Lyon in May with FC Barcelona when they seemed favourites, he recalled that "you learn from everything, especially defeats". "It worked for us at Barça in Budapest (defeat against Lyon in the first Champions League final) and it will also work for us in Turin", he pointed out.

"Each game is different and even if you think you're doing super well, the rival also plays and sometimes you can have a bad day. I don't think it's so much from the fans, who have supported us a lot and haven't put any pressure on us, now it's more the same at the press level. It seems very easy to score a lot of goals or not get scored, but it's not, it's a lot of work and many hours behind. You can't always be at the top, what we do is very complicated and if one day casualties you can lose or have a result that you don't expect or want," the international stressed.

On the other hand, 'Mapi' León lamented the loss of Jennifer Hermoso. "We all know her, she's a super joker and she's the one who's always being silly, no one would say she's one of the oldest. In that sense, we miss her a lot, and on the pitch she's also important because she's a high-quality player. Now we have strikers with different profiles and we will have to adapt," he said.

She is also unable to train another striker like Esther González, although the Zaragoza woman believes that "little by little it is getting better" and that she is doing "more intense training" as the days go by. "I think she's going to be fine," she stressed.

The defense celebrated that youth is entering because "it is good for the team that there are more veteran and younger people." "They are very keen and so are we, it is that mixture of having lived experiences and the impetus of when you are young", explained the FC Barcelona player, who does not hide "the super good vibes" that there is despite the fact that of the 28 they only go to go 23. "It doesn't seem like anyone is going to be left out at all," he confessed.

'Mapi' León knows that "different conditions" will be found in England after the heat that they are experiencing these days in Las Rozas (Madrid) and that it is causing the sessions to be "harder", although the 'staff' is trying to give them support to "go with joy" because when this season has been going on for several days "there is tiredness, you accumulate loads and some cost more".

Finally, the center-back referred to the offensive improvement that the team has had since the 2019 World Cup in France. "We generate more and we have more patience, there is no anxiety of wanting to score quickly. We have our game and we know what we want to do, We have to focus on what's ours," he said.