Spain’s journey to a World Cup championship is one of the most mind-boggling stories out there.
After losing the 2022 European Championships to England, Spain started preparing for the World Cup. However, their preparation was cut short because of emails and injuries. Spain’s head coach Jorge Vilda has been very successful, but some of his players did not like how he prepared for matches and thought he was “unprofessional.”
Fifteen of the Spanish players were so unhappy that they sent emails to the federation asking for their demands to be met or they would not play. The federation sided with Vilda, and Spain was down 15 players.
Spain’s luck didn’t get better as their star player, two-time ballon d’or winner, and Fc Barcelona forward, Alexia Putellas tore her ACL. Fast forward to 2023 and three of the 15 players, including Aitana Bonmati, who scored three goals for Spain in the World Cup, suited up.
With all the changes and uncertainty, Spain was regarded as a great team, but they weren’t a favorite. However, Spain proved all the doubters wrong.
Spain began the 2023 World Cup with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica. They followed that up with a 5-0 destruction of Zambia before getting beaten 4-0 by Japan to end the group stage.
The Spaniards drew Switzerland in the round of 16, and all the experts expected them to lose. Spain, however, with their young and unproven team, set the record straight and dismantled Switzerland 5-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Spain’s next opponent was the 10th-ranked team in the world, the Netherlands. In extra time, they scored the game winner to move on to the semifinals against Sweden. Two late goals put Spain past Sweden and into a finals rematch against England.
Spain had their work cut out for them against third-ranked England After an exciting opening to the game, Spain grabbed the early lead.
In the 29th minute, outside back Olga Carmona took a layoff from winger Mariona Caldentey at the top of the 18-yard box. Carmona then fired a strike that beat England goalkeeper Mary Earps to put Spain in the lead.
Seventy-six minutes later, the final whistle blew. Spain fell to their knees and celebrated as their long journey was complete. They had won the World Cup for the first time, and became the first country not named the United States to win since 2011.
Vilda spoke to the media after the game, saying, “The girls are eternal now and they have a star on their chest forever.”
Game-winning goal scorer Carmona praised the team’s attitude for getting them to the championship saying, “we have suffered a lot over the past 12 months, and this has made us a stronger team.” Spain had done what no one told them they could do, but the happiest day for Carmona also became one of the worst days of her life. She found out after the game that her father had passed away, A few days later at the parade Carmona spoke to the crowd and spoke about her rollercoaster of emotions.
“This is very special moment for Spain but there’s also something that’s very difficult for me right now,” she said. “As you know, yesterday was a day full of emotions. For a moment, it was the best day of my life, and then it became the worst day of my life.”
Carmona, even through her pain, told the crowd how proud she is to have won the World Cup “I’m honestly so proud to bring such happiness to the country, and now you have a star you have longed for.”
Through controversies, injuries, tragedies and everything else Spain went through, they got the prize that every nation wants, the World Cup trophy. However, that happiness of the win did not last long for the Spain players.
After the World Cup victory, Luis Rubiales, president of Spain’s soccer federation, forcibly kissed player Jennifer Hermoso, which led to backlash and criticism of the federation.
It was reported throughout Spain that Rubiales was going to resign from his position. However, Rubiales denied that he was going to resign, which led to a petition being signed by the players saying they will not play for the country if Rubiales is not let go as president.
With the uncertainty of the Spanish team and Rubiales going forward this victory has almost been tainted, and the future of Spain’s national soccer team is full of mystery. However, Spain still won, and they can still say that they were the best team in the 2023 World Cup.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on X @JaydenBarfuss10