It is far from the dream debut for the Spanish team in the European Championship. It is a bitter debut, without the leadership of Alexia Putellaswithout the goals of Beautiful Jennywithout the freshness of the young promise Salma Paralluelo. The three players have been left at the gates of the tournament due to the misfortune of injuries and make the first game against Finland this afternoon (18 hours / 1) at Stadium MK in the town of Milton Keynes, north of London, have a point of sadness.
But it’s time to raise your spirits, forget setbacks and make strength out of unity. And what better way than with a triumphant premiere. The group is a pineapple that hopes to offer its best version as a team to maintain the poster of clear contenders for the title and this means starting the group stage on the right foot against Finland, the most affordable rival in this ‘group of death’ ‘ in which Spain is framed.
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Those of Vilda are clear favorites against the Finns and everything that is not winning will be seen as a serious setback. Then will come the clashes against Germany, eight times champion of the European Championship in its twelve editions, and the Denmark of Nadia Nadim and Pernille Harder, two authentic ‘bones’.
The best player on the planet will not be there, but proper names such as Aitana Bonmatí, Patri Guijarro or Mapi León will take over, who seek to vindicate Spain with the conquest of their first international title. Ours have not yet won anything at the highest level in women’s football, but their history in lower categories and Barça’s powerful role in the Champions League as current runners-up endorse this team that goes for it all and arrives at the tournament undefeated – in fact, they have not lost since March 2020 and have already achieved the ticket to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023-.
Finland, meanwhile, is back in the final phase after being left out in 2017 and will have to work hard against a team they have yet to win in their six previous matches, as the balance between the two is a draw and five defeats, very favorable to the Spanish.
In principle, Mariona Caldentey will be in charge of taking the place of Alexia in midfield. The azulgrana can act both as a striker and as an attacking midfielder, while Athena of the Castle (Real Madrid) would become part of the starting attack.
Finland seeks to surprise by taking advantage of the emotional downturn in Spain. the selector Anna Signel will present a defensive team, trying to attack the counterattack and surprise in a Euro where it has already been seen that nothing is guaranteed. The Nordics arrive after having added 22 points out of a possible 24 in a group where they coincided with Portugal, Scotland, Albania and Cyprus. They also conceded only two goals and scored 24. Almost half of them were the work of Linda Sällström, who with ten goals was one of the top scorers of the phase. She is joined by players like Sanni Franssi (Real Sociedad), Tuija Hyyrynen (Juventus) or Eveliina Summanen and Tinja-Riikka Korpela (Tottenham), who come from very competitive teams and leagues.
Yesterday, the Spanish team completed its last training session with the incorporation of Amaur Sarriegi, the replacement for the injured Alexia. The top scorer in the Spanish League could play an important role in the tournament. Vilda wants to stay true to the playful, offensive style of play that is the hallmark of this group.
For Spain, the watchword is to turn the page as soon as possible to the setback of not being able to count on the Ballon d’Or whose serious injury, a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the left knee, has been worse than initially expected. The template hopes to overcome as soon as possible.
Spain-Finland match preview
Likely lineups:
Spain: Cloths; Batlle, Paredes, Leon, Leila; Pebble, Bonmatí, Caldentey; Lucía García, Esther and Athenea del Castillo.
Finland: Korpela; Hyyrynen, Westerlund, Pikkujämsä, Koivisto; Engman, Summanen, Alanen, Öling; Sällström and Franssi.
Referee: Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine).
Stadium: Stadium MK.
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Begona Villarrubia
