The first matchday of the 2025 UEFA Nations League tournament saw a few regional heavy-hitters shaking off the dust on Friday, with reigning Euros champs England settling for a 1-1 draw against Portugal while perennial contenders Germany similarly split points with the Netherlands after a 2-2 result.
Snagging an early lead for the Lionesses was forward Alessia Russo, who slotted in a ball from right-back Lucy Bronze in the match's 15th minute.
Unfortunately for England, however, Portugal extended their undefeated streak to 11 games after attacking midfielder Kika Nazareth scored a top-corner equalizer at the 75th minute mark to clinch the draw.
Germany and the Netherlands, who claimed third- and fourth-place, respectively, in the tournament's inaugural 2023/24 edition, opened their 2025 campaigns with a back-and-forth battle on Friday.
After Dutch star Lineth Beerensteyn opened scoring by nutmegging German net-minder and 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Ann-Katrin Berger in the 13th minute, Germany closed out the first half with an extra-time header from Lea Schüller to level the score.
The second half saw the Germans pull ahead thanks to a 50th-minute strike from Sjoeke Nüsken, before Beerensteyn again broke through with the match's final goal in the 66th minute.
After the match, new head coach Christian Wück, who took over the German team last March, told reporters, "We need to learn to maintain our focus, especially after taking the lead. It’s frustrating to draw after putting in such strong efforts."
Reigning champion Spain rallies for late comeback victory
Draws aside, defending Nations League winners Spain earned perhaps the wildest victory of the opening matchday, surging back from a 2-0 deficit against Belgium to claim all three points in a 3-2 finish.
The 2023 World Cup champions fell behind early after striker Mariam Toloba gave Belgium the edge in the game's 18th minute. Forward Tessa Wullaert doubled that lead in the 72nd minute, seemingly putting an emphatic end to Spain's hopes of a victory.
Clàudia Pina clawed one back for La Roja just five minutes later, but it took a pair of stoppage-time goals from Lucía García and late call-up Cristina Martín-Prieto to secure the literal last-second win.
Nations League to set up UEFA's 2027 World Cup qualifying
Established in 2022, the Women’s Nations League is now the continent’s qualifying tournament for the Euros, World Cup, and Olympics.
With records wiped following last year’s rollercoaster Olympic qualifiers, early Nations League matches now serve as a key window into the fast-approaching 2025 Euros — in addition to a heated competition in their own right.
On top of that, the outcome of this second-ever edition of the contest will determine teams' positioning for the 2026 European qualifiers for World Cup. Put simply, the finishing spots teams snag after 2025 Nations League play will determine their league paths to claiming one of UEFA's 11 available spots in the 2027 World Cup.
While there's a lot on the line, there's also a significant amount of action still to come. With four teams in each League A group, squads will play three round-robin home-and-away fixtures to determine their final group-play standings — meaning each of Friday's games have a rematch on the calendar before the stage ends on June 3rd.
The winners of the four League A groups will ultimately meet in the two-leg Nations League semifinals in October, with the two-leg third-place play-off and a final set for November and December.
Spain's High Court issued a guilty verdict to Luis Rubiales early Thursday morning, finding that the former Spanish football federation president sexually assaulted Spain national team striker Jenni Hermoso.
The two-week trial centered on Rubiales forcibly kissing Hermoso during the 2023 World Cup trophy ceremony, as well as coercion attempts by both Rubiales and three other co-defendants to prod Hermoso into telling the public that the kiss was consensual after the fact.
Rubiales fined but avoids jail sentence
In the ruling, the court ordered Rubiales to pay a fine of €10,800 for the assault offense, but cleared him of coercion alongside the other trio of ex-federation officials.
Rubiales faced up to four years in prison if convicted on both charges, with prosecutors arguing for an incarceration period of two-and-a-half years. Also on the table was a maximum €50,000 in damages as well as a permanent ban on Rubiales from ever serving as a sports official again.
In addition to the fine, the judge banned Rubiales from communicating with or being within a 200-meter radius of Hermoso for one year. He must also compensate her an additional €3,000 for "moral damage."
In his delivery, Judge José Manuel Fernández-Prieto deemed the kiss "not the normal way of greeting people with whom one does not have an emotional relationship."
Despite calling it a "reprehensible act," the judge ruled against prison time on the basis that there was no intimidation or violence.
"The pecuniary penalty must be chosen, which is less serious than the custodial sentence," Fernández-Prieto explained in his ruling.
Rubiales sentencing earns praise and consternation
While many are celebrating Thursday's guilty verdict, the Rubiales's punishment sparked differing reactions — namely due to the lack of incarceration time.
Applauding the outcome was Spain’s minister of equality Ana Redondo, who tweeted, "When there is no consent, there is aggression, and that is what the judge certifies in this sentence."
On the other hand, the Federation of Progressive Women, a Spanish nonprofit that fights for gender equity, said the minimal sentencing sparked "deep disappointment."
"It has a deactivating effect on complaints from women who suffer #sexualviolence, reinforces distrust in the judicial system, and strengthens aggressors."
Ex-Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales is officially on trial for forcibly kissing striker Jenni Hermoso during the 2023 World Cup trophy ceremony, with Hermoso taking the stand on Monday.
"I felt disrespected," Hermoso told the Spanish court. "I think it was a moment that stained one of the happiest days of my life."
"My boss was kissing me, and this shouldn't happen in any social or work setting."
Hermoso describes coercion efforts by Rubiales during trial
Though he denies the charges, Rubiales is on trial for sexual assault as well as for attempting to coerce Hermoso into telling the public that the kiss was consensual.
"I didn't hear or understand anything," Hermoso said about the moment Rubiales assaulted her. "The next thing he did was to grab me by the ears and kiss me on the mouth."
Hermoso testified that Rubiales asked her to record a social media video with him on the flight home from Australia to essentially exonerate him in the public eye.
"I said no," Hermoso told the court. "I was not going to do anything, that I was not the cause of this."
Three other men, including the team's former head coach Jorge Vilda, are also on trial for their attempts to force Hermoso into publicly supporting Rubiales in the incident's aftermath.
The trial is expected to last 10 days, with other high-profile witnesses — including some of Hermoso's World Cup teammates — scheduled to take the stand.
Rubiales faces possible prison time
According to Spanish law, Rubiales faces up to four years in prison if convicted for both charges.
That said, prosecutors are pushing for a sentence of two-and-a-half years (one for the assault and one-and-a-half for coercion). They are also asking the court for €50,000 in damages and a permanent ban on Rubiales from ever serving as a sports official again.
Intense pressure forced Rubiales to resign as the federation's president three weeks after the assault, and he's currently serving a FIFA-imposed three-year ban from soccer that is set to expire in 2026.
Notably, Spanish law has an often-employed buy-out clause for convicted criminals with sentences under two years, meaning Rubiales could avoid incarceration by paying increased damages if the court hands him a sentence of less than 24 months.
As for Hermoso, she explained to the court that public attention from the incident has deeply impacted her life. While her tenure with Liga MX side Tigres allows her an escape from the Spanish media when she's in Mexico, that respite dissipates whenever she returns to Spain.
"I have not been able to really live freely," she told the court on Monday.
After completing a perfect 2023/24 season with Barcelona FC, Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí won her second-straight Ballon d’Or award on Monday.
"I always say this is not something that you can do alone," the 26-year-old said, crediting her teammates in her acceptance speech. "I'm so lucky to be surrounded by wonderful players who help me to keep growing into a better player."
Only one other women's footballer has won the award twice: Bonmatí's teammate for club and country, Alexia Putellas, who clocked in 10th in this year's final tally. The two now hold a combined four-year streak in winning soccer's top honor.
The only other recipients in the award's six-year history are USWNT star Megan Rapinoe and Norway's Ada Hegerberg.
It's Barcelona or bust at Ballon d'Or
Barcelona’s 2024 triumphs — winning a historic quadruple of Liga F, Champions League, Supercopa, and Copa de la Reina titles — earned the team Club of the Year honors last night.
That success was mirrored on the individual level, as well. Barça players owned the award's Top 3 spots, with forwards Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo just behind Bonmatí in the final vote.
Olympic gold earns USWNT stalwarts votes
Of the five USWNT players on the Ballon d'Or's 30-athlete shortlist, four landed in the Top 10, buoyed by their gold medal performance at the 2024 Paris Games. USWNT captain Lindsey Horan finished at No. 5 alongside the "Triple Espresso" strike squad of No. 4 Sophia Smith, No. 6 Mal Swanson, and No. 9 Trinity Rodman.
The lone goalkeeper on the list, USWNT star Alyssa Naeher, came in at No. 17. The Ballon d'Or does not include a separate individual award for women's football's top goalkeeper.
Meanwhile, USWNT boss Emma Hayes brought home historic hardware of her own.
After leading Chelsea FC to a fifth-straight WSL title before winning Olympic gold with the USWNT, Hayes received the first-ever Women’s Coach of the Year award last night.
"I just want to say a big thank you to all the staff and players from both teams," Hayes said after receiving the inaugural honor.
"Football is a team game and I’m very grateful to have led some amazing teams this year, so this award is for everyone who has been a part of the US team and Chelsea."
Hermoso's advocacy honored
Former Barcelona forward and Spanish national Jenni Hermoso — who now plays for Tigres in Mexico's Liga MX — became the third person and first woman to win the humanitarian Socrates Award in last night's ceremony.
The award recognizes Hermoso's efforts advocating for the advancement of the women's game, equality at all levels of soccer, and her fight against sexual harassment in sports ignited by the nonconsensual kiss from ex-Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales during the 2023 World Cup trophy ceremony.
"Women's football deserves a place for new and future generations," the 34-year-old urged in her speech before imploring further action from the global soccer community.
"I'd like to ask all of you to get together and work together in order to make a better world possible and to make football become what little girls deserve for the future."
Ballon d'Or ceremony spurs conversation about persisting inequities
While the Ballon d'Or has made strides by instituting a women's football award in 2018, the ceremony continues to be fall during a FIFA women's international window. The scheduling makes it near-impossible for many women's football nominees to attend what is arguably the sport's biggest night.
Last night, only a handful of European-based players were able to make the Paris event.
Even more, the Ballon d'Or ballot only honors one individual woman footballer, while the men's night bestows three additional trophies: the Yashin for best goalkeeper, the Gerd Müller for top goalscorer, and the Kopa for best U-21 player. Plus, while 100 journalists vote for the final men's tally, only 50 are tapped to weigh in on the women's award.
The USWNT is guaranteed a shot at an Olympic medal in Paris after defeating Japan 1-0 in extra time in Saturday's epic quarterfinal match. Trinity Rodman notched the contest's lone goal in the 107th minute, with the US ultimately holding on to avoid moving to penalty kicks.
The contest marked the second-straight matchup where the US found themselves face-to-face with a low block, as Japan packed their defense in a 5-4-1 formation.
While the US dominated possession, they didn't always appear dangerous on the attack, with Japan more than happy to let their opponent pass along the backline. But Japan couldn't manage to be clinical on the counter — and Rodman's individual strike saved the day to break the deadlock.
Extra time prevades Olympic soccer quarterfinals
The USWNT and Japan were not alone in their futile regulation-time efforts, as three of the four Saturday quarterfinals required extra time to decide.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain rallied against Colombia with a two-goal comeback to enter extra time 2-2, eventually advancing on penalty kicks.
Later that afternoon, Canada and Germany battled to a scoreless stalemate after 120 minutes, allowing German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger to play penalty kick hero. Berger saved two kicks and converted one herself to send the reigning Olympic champions packing.
With a 1-0 win over France, Brazil was the only team to register a victory inside of regulation play, albeit tacking on over 18 minutes of second-half stoppage time. Due to red card suspension, Brazilian legend Marta will miss the team's semifinal, but will likely cap her international career in the subsequent bronze or gold medal match.
Olympic semis to feature group stage rematches
The semifinals will feature two group stage rematches, as the US takes on Germany and Spain squares off against Brazil.
Elsewhere, the USWNT beat Group B foe Germany 4-1, while Spain took down Brazil 2-0 in Group C. Group A saw all three of its teams eliminated in Saturday's quarterfinal round.
How to watch the USWNT vs. Germany at the Olympics
The USWNT will kick off against Germany on Tuesday at 12 PM ET, with live coverage across NBC networks.
Spain’s Alexia Putellas won the Best FIFA Women’s Player award for the second straight year, beating out fellow finalists Beth Mead of England and Alex Morgan of the United States.
Putellas tore her ACL last summer ahead of the Euros but led FC Barcelona to their third-straight Primera División title before her injury. She becomes the first repeat winner of the award since its introduction in 2016.
The 29-year-old midfielder also won the Ballon d’Or for the second consecutive year last October, and she became the first player to win back-to-back UEFA Women’s Player of the Year awards last August.
On top of the world. 💫
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) February 27, 2023
@alexiaputellas has been crowned #TheBest FIFA Women’s Player 2022! pic.twitter.com/Wtcgg8SUmO
Morgan was the lone U.S. women’s national team player to make the 14-player shortlist for award. She was also the lone USWNT or NWSL player to make the FIFA Women’s World 11.
The 33-year-old striker won the NWSL Golden Boot in 2022, scoring 15 goals in the regular season for the San Diego Wave.
✨ The 2022 FIFA FIFPRO Women's #World11:
— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) February 27, 2023
🇨🇱 @TianeEndler
🏴 @LucyBronze
🇪🇸 @MapiLeon16
🇫🇷 @WRenard
🏴 @LeahCWilliamson
🇩🇪 Lena Oberdorf
🇪🇸 @AlexiaPutellas
🏴 @Keira_Walsh
🇦🇺 @SamKerr1
🏴 @BMeado9
🇺🇸 @AlexMorgan13
Chosen by the players, for the players.@FIFAWWC | #TheBest pic.twitter.com/hwsPtOLgG1
While Mead, like Morgan, lost out to Putellas, the Lionesses had a strong showing at the ceremony. The 27-year-old forward finished behind Putellas after she helped push England to its first Euros title. She also stars for Arsenal in the Women’s Super League.
England goalkeeper Mary Earps, who also plays for the WSL’s Manchester United, won Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper. And England manager Sarina Wiegman won Best FIFA Women’s Coach after leading the Lionesses to the Euros title
“It’s incredible to be here right now & celebrate women’s football,” Wiegman said in her acceptance speech. “The dangers, we have to take care of too. Yes, we want to develop, but we need to do the right things. We’re competing on the pitch, but off it we have to work as a team to grow it more.”
Nominees for the awards were selected by a panel of former players, including retired USWNT star Carli Lloyd. Nominees were evaluated for their play from August 2021 through July 2022.
The winners for each award were selected through a wider vote, which included four groups: national team coaches; national team captains; soccer journalists; and fans. Each group received equal weight (25%) in the process.
Spanish star Alexia Putellas continues her reign as the world’s consensus No. 1 women’s soccer player, taking home the Ballon d’Or for the second consecutive year.
While the midfielder missed out on the Euros after injuring her ACL days before the start of the July tournament, she made the most of the first half of the year with FC Barcelona. She is expected to miss the entire 2022-23 season while recovering from the injury.
“I’m very happy to be back here,” Putellas said in her native Spanish. “I’m pleased. A year ago, I was able to win, and it pushed me to want to be better. Without my teammates this wouldn’t have been possible. I want to thank the team, the staff and the coach as well, and everyone involved with the club.”
Putellas had 18 goals and a league-high 15 assists for Barcelona as she led the team to its third-straight Primera División title.
The 28-year-old helped lead Barcelona to a perfect season, winning all 30 of their games.
She has played for the club since 2012, making 271 appearances and scoring 117 goals. Putellas has appeared in the second most matches in club history, behind Melanie Serrano, and is also second on the club’s all-time scoring list, behind Jennifer Hermoso.
In August, she became the first player to win back-to-back UEFA Women’s Player of the Year awards. She also soared to No. 1 in the FIFA 23 ratings after failing to crack the top 10 in the previous two versions of the game.
The speech of Alexia Putellas, the back-to-back Women's Ballon d'Or winner 💬#ballondor pic.twitter.com/o11kze5yoZ
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
England’s Beth Mead finished second among the 20 nominees for the Ballon d’Or, followed by Australia’s Sam Kerr and Germany’s Lena Oberdorf.
As for the three American nominees, Catarina Macario placed ninth, Alex Morgan came in 13th and Trinity Rodman finished 18th.
Rodman was the youngest player on the nomination list, at 20 years old.
This is the fourth year of the award, as Norway’s Ada Hegerberg won the inaugural award in 2018, followed by Megan Rapinoe in 2019. The award was not given in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022 women’s Ballon d’Or complete ranking! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/QJLVZW6XjG
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
The winner of the 2022 Ballon d’Or will be announced Monday in Paris, capping off an incredible year of soccer filled with plenty of jaw-dropping performances.
Some of the sport’s biggest names, including Vivianne Miedema, Ada Hegerberg and Alex Morgan, are among the 20 players in the running for the prestigious award, handed out annually by France Football magazine. But who are the top contenders? Just Women’s Sports looks at three players who have stood above the rest.
Alexia Putellas
Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Putellas once again tops the list of candidates. While the Spanish star missed out on this summer’s Euros after injuring her ACL days before the tournament, she made the most of the first half of the year as a domineering force for Barcelona.
Putellas had 18 goals and a league-high 15 assists as she led her team to its third-straight Primera División title. In total, Putellas scored 34 goals en route to a domestic treble with Barcelona.
The club also advanced to the Women’s Champions League final. While Barcelona finished as the runner-up to Lyon, Putellas was named the tournament’s best player and its top scorer with 11 goals.
She also became Spain’s most-capped player this year with 100 appearances, scoring four goals through seven appearances in 2022.
Sam Kerr
Any time Kerr steps onto the field for Chelsea, it’s guaranteed to be a show. The striker earned her second consecutive Golden Boot in the Women’s Super League last season en route to Chelsea’s third straight league title and second straight FA Cup.
Her 29 goals through 31 club appearances already have won her WSL Player of the Season, FWA Footballer of the Year, PFA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA Fans’ Player of the Year.
Sam Kerr wins the FAWSL Goal of the Season with this incredible improvisation 👏
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 25, 2022
(via @BarclaysFAWSL)pic.twitter.com/6lcNpflrJI
She also dazzled for her country this year, scoring five goals in Australia’s opening match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup group stage. That number helped her surpass Tim Cahill (50 international goals) for the Australian international goal-scoring record.
She would add two more goals through the team’s remaining three games, winning the Golden Boot for the tournament with seven goals through four games.
Beth Mead
Beth Mead’s run at the Euros helped England secure its first-ever title, with the star forward scoring six goals and adding five assists to win the Golden Boot. She also was named player of the tournament.
The success represented a stark turnaround and major comeback for a player that failed to make the roster for England’s Olympic team in 2021. In total, she’s made 15 appearances for England this year, scoring 13 goals in that span.
Mead also put on for Arsenal, scoring 12 goals through 26 appearances. That total includes 11 goals in the WSL — third-most behind Miedema and Kerr. Her eight assists were tied for the most in the league alongside Ella Toone and brought her career total to a WSL all-time high of 36.
Named to the shortlist for a multitude of WSL awards, Mead was named Arsenal’s player of the season.
Coming into this European swing, the U.S. women’s national team hadn’t lost consecutive games since March 2017. This week, while handling the emotional weight of the Sally Yates report that outlined systemic abuse and sexual assault in the NWSL, the back-to-back World Cup champions watched that streak come to an end with a 2-1 loss to England on Friday and a 2-0 defeat to Spain on Tuesday.
Multiple defensive errors led to four goals conceded during the two-game trip. Even though many of the USWNT’s issues involved the midfield, head coach Vlatko Andonovski made changes only to defense in the starting lineup for the second game against Spain.
In goal, Casey Murphy came in for Alyssa Naeher. On the backline, Becky Sauerbrunn replaced Naomi Girma at center back, Hailie Mace took over at fullback for Sofia Huerta and Carson Pickett started on the left side for Emily Fox, who was ruled out of the Spain friendly after taking a knock to the head against England. Veteran defender Kelley O’Hara was absent for both games.
Girma’s absence from the starting XI against Spain was the biggest surprise coming off of her impressive performance against England. In that game, the NWSL rookie played solid defense, distributed the ball well to the attack and singlehandedly shut down a breakaway.
The back-to-back losses were a wake-up call for the USWNT, giving Andonovski some work to do in the nine months leading up to the FIFA World Cup. Here is a closer look at the defensive errors that contributed to the USWNT’s difficulties in Europe.
Defending runs down the flank and crosses in front of goal
In a recurring play that resulted in a goal for both England and Spain, the opposing player ran down the left channel and sent a cross in behind the center backs, where another opponent was waiting to score. Considering it resulted in a goal twice, this is a key weakness for the USWNT and something Andonovski needs to act on, whether it requires marking more tightly in front of goal or reading balls better from out wide.
2-0 Spain
Spain set up a give-and-go in the midfield that sent Oihane Hernández flying down the sideline past U.S. fullback Crystal Dunn. As Sauerbrunn filled the space between Dunn and the goal, Cook was left to cover Esther González, who stood at the penalty spot between the two U.S. center backs. A couple of steps too far from González, Cook couldn’t shut down González’s one-time volley past Murphy.
1-0 England
U.S. midfielder Lindsey Horan lost sight of her player and couldn’t read the pass from England’s Lucy Bronze, who started the play. Beth Mead got behind Emily Fox and took a run down the sideline before sending the ball across the box. Cook got a foot on it but not enough to slow down the play, and England’s Lauren Hemp slotted it away. Cook was positioned well on the ball side of Hemp, but due to an unlucky slip, she lost control of the interception.
Knowing roles in zonal coverage
Zonal coverage is the modern-day preference to player marking, as long as players know which zone is theirs and are constantly communicating between one another. At various times in their half of the pitch, the USWNT didn’t look confident in whose job it was to step up to challenge for the ball. That was especially true in the midfield, where they might have benefitted from shifting their 4-3-3 formation to a 4-5-1 for more support.
The lack of pressure led to multiple shots against that, fortunately for the U.S., went wide. They paid the price when they conceded their first goal against Spain.
1-0 Spain
Spain opened the scoring Tuesday off a corner kick. The USWNT had organized in a zonal marking system, with five players in a line at the top of the six-yard box, another on the side of the six, one inside in front of the goal, and two on the cluster of five Spanish players who started in the middle of the 18 and ran toward goal.
After the ball pinged off five red shirts, Laia Codina buried it from the top of the six. Carson Pickett slipped before reaching what probably would have been her zone, and there appeared to be confusion among the U.S. players over who should step up to cover that area. In the end, none of them challenged the ball.
Spain, who are missing 15 players, lead the USWNT 1-0 at the half. 😳 pic.twitter.com/7vhavFpsnN
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) October 11, 2022
Conclusion
With the World Cup looming, there’s no need to panic yet. The USWNT was missing veterans like O’Hara, Mallory Pugh and Alex Morgan, and Andonovski rotated in players who hadn’t gotten many minutes previously with this group. Chemistry takes time.
There’s another international window in November, when the U.S. will have a chance to smooth out their errors against World No. 2 Germany, the 2022 Euro Cup finalists. If the USWNT loses those games, too, we’ll likely be having a different conversation in a month.
Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.
The Spain women’s national team beat the United States for the first time ever Tuesday, but the 2-0 win came in the middle of a dispute between Spanish players, their coach and their national federation.
“All the praise goes to my players because they showed all their courage and how to do things the right way,” Spain coach Jorge Vilda said. “We were very competitive right to the end of the match.”
In praising the players on the roster for showing “how to do things the right way,” Vilda also made a point about the players whose names are conspicuously absent.
Spain played the match without 15 players who asked not to be called up to the national team if their concerns for their health and well-being were not addressed. The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) said the players refused to play under coach Jorge Vilda.
Team captains Patri Guijarro, Irene Paredes and Jenni Hermoso all were absent from the squad for the friendly. While Paredes and Hermoso were not among the 15 players to send letters, both have expressed support for their teammates who did. Spanish star and reigning Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas has done the same.
Even without those big-name players, Spain handed the USWNT its second straight loss in front of a record crowd of 11,209 at El Sadar Stadium in Pamplona.
“I think it’s a historic day for Spanish football as we beat the United States, the top team in the world, for the very first time,” Vilda said.
🙌 ¡¡𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗗𝗢!!
— Selección Española Femenina de Fútbol (@SEFutbolFem) October 11, 2022
😱 ¡HEMOS GANADO POR PRIMERA VEZ EN LA HISTORIA A ESTADOS UNIDOS!
🇪🇸¡HEMOS BATIDO UN NUEVO RÉCORD DE ASISTENCIA!
🔥 ¡¡𝗟𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗱𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗯𝗶𝗲𝗻!!#JugarLucharYGanar pic.twitter.com/Rs9dzZQDAJ
Even with the premier win, though, the rift between Vilda and the group of Spain’s best players remains a problem for the national team as it looks ahead to the 2023 World Cup.
Vilda has taken a defiant stance as the disagreement played out ahead of Tuesday’s match.
“This is a farce, on the world stage,” Vilda said on Sept. 30. “It’s hurting women’s football. I can’t see any other solution than to look at this squad and look forward. I’m with those players who want to be part of this national team.”
The 41-year-old also said he has not considered stepping down as coach.
“I wouldn’t wish what I’m going through on anyone,” Vilda said. “A lack of clarity in the message from the players has led people to believe there are non-sporting issues here… I’d ask every player I’ve coached, if anyone can say they haven’t been treated well, to come out and say it.”