Spain puts its spirit and strength to the test

Spain puts its spirit and strength to the test

The women's team makes their EURO debut in search of a key victory against Finland to forget Alexia Putellas' injury

MADRID, 7 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish women's soccer team will make its debut this Friday (6:00 p.m./La1) in the European Championship in England against Finland, a debut in which it hopes to give itself a joy that will reinforce its 'touched' morale after the unexpected loss of its leader and referent, Alexia Putellas.

On Tuesday the worst of the news was confirmed and the FC Barcelona midfielder had to say goodbye not only to the tournament but also to the pitch for quite some time after tearing the cruciate ligament in her left knee. The championship lost one of its great stars and the national team lost a differential and vital player in its scheme.

The locker room has had two days to assimilate this absence as soon as possible, which joins the also relevant one of Jennifer Hermoso at the beginning of the concentration, and to concentrate definitively on a EURO that must continue to arouse hope in order to go as far as possible possible.

And this happens by not choking on the always complicated premiere in a big event, more so this Friday since Spain had many lights on their possible favoritism to win the title. In a group where Germany and Denmark will not give room for relaxation, adding the three points against Finland, theoretical 'Cinderella', seems key to not add unforeseen emergencies.

The team will be planted at the MK Stadium in the English town of Milton Keynes ready to send a clear message, the same one that has led them to be undefeated for more than two years, a total of 23 games, 19 of them ending in victory. The team has perhaps lowered its power somewhat in this 2022, where the triumphs have not been so remarkable, but since its time in the 2019 World Cup in France it has made its voracity and competitiveness clear.

Jorge Vilda should not have too many doubts to form his first eleven and his main task is to guess who occupies the gap left, on the field and in football, by being dropped from the 'Golden Ball'. It seems that the coach could choose to put Mariona Caldentey, a regular on the offensive left flank, there to accompany Patri Guijarro and Aitana Bonmatí. Irene Guerrero, who shone in the friendly against Australia, is another likely option.

In this sense, if the Madrid coach chooses to delay the Balearic to the creation zone, where his talent can also stand out, he will also have to decide how his offensive trident will form. Against Italy, in addition to Caldentey, the scorers Esther González and Lucía García played, and both start with many options to repeat, while the remaining gap could be for Marta Cardona, for a more incisive Athenea del Castillo or even for an Amaiur Sarriegi who He arrived on Wednesday to replace Alexia Putellas.

What is also clear to Spain is that they are technically superior to Finland and that their rival surely prefers to equip themselves near their goal and look for the counterattack as their best weapon. The 'Red' will have to be patient, control any type of anxiety and score as soon as possible to calm down.

"Spain has been in our qualifying group a couple of times. We don't have very good memories of them, but the situation now is different. They have a different team, with world-class players, and so do we and we believe in ourselves, which is the most important thing," warned captain and goalkeeper Tinja-Riikka Korpela.

The Spanish team has not lost in their seven clashes with the Finns, with five wins, including the last in 2018 by 5-1, but they cannot trust the team led by Anna Signeul, who qualified for this EURO undefeated, losing only a draw and with only two goals conceded, proof of their greatest strength, although in their two warm-up friendlies they have lost to the Netherlands (2-0) and Japan (5-1). The Real Sociedad striker Sanni Franssi stands out on his list.

SPAIN: Sandra Paños; Good Battle, Irene Paredes, Mapi León, Leila Ouahabi; Aitana Bonmatí, Patri Guijarro, Mariona Caldentey; Marta Cardona, Esther González and Lucía García.

FINLAND: Korpela; Hyyrynen, Westerlund, Pikkujamsa, Koivisto; Engman, Alanen, Summanen, Olling; Sallstrom and Franssi.

-- REFEREE: Kateryna Monzul (UKR).

--STADIO: Milton Keynes MK Stadium.

--TIME: 18.00/La1.