To become great on the international plane goes, mainly, through the big tournaments; also for friendlies like this Friday, in which the Spanish women's team soccer team defeated (1-0) the team of Netherlands in Marbella, your starting point towards the Euro 2022.
Before the current European champions and world runners-up, the Spanish team exhibited their progress. With a bulk of Barcelona players -eight of the eleven starters chosen by Jorge Vilda were Barça fans-, La Roja showed hunger, touch and muscle. Irene Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain), Marta Cardona (Real Madrid) and Esther González (Levante) were the complement of eight players who play almost from memory. Together they compete to win.
After qualifying for Euro 2022, the Spanish team did not change its course; if anything, he tweaked his approach to the Netherlands team. With three centrals, he created superiority in the front row. In the center of the field he appropriated the ball and with an offensive vocation he deployed his football.
The 1-0 came, however, in an atypical way, although also in the strategy the Spanish team continues to improve. Alexia Putellas shot a corner kick short. Andrea Pereira centered the area and Patri Guijarro He clinched his head, on the verge of offside. In the 30th minute, the Spanish took the lead on the scoreboard, having carried the weight of the crash in the first third. The meeting was not friendly for them.
The reaction of the Dutch squad was timid. The current runners-up of the world were more defeated towards their field than determined to find Jill Roord, Vivianne Miedema or Lieke Martens. Their rivals did not grant them meters to run and, without them, they are less threatening. Only Lineth Beerensteyn tested her stride in the second half. Shanice van de Sanden lacked inches and conviction to head a free ball in the vicinity of the goal.
SpainInstead, he lives at ease with the ball. It deserved more than a 1-0 win, but Jenni Hermoso was wrong and Aitana Bonmatí ran into the crossbar.
The victory opens, in any case, the countdown to the European Championship in England. On Tuesday April 13, against the Mexican team, again at the Antonio Lorenzo Cuevas municipal stadium in Marbella and at the same time (7:00 p.m. CET), La Roja will be required again. 2022 is near. It's time to roll.
1 – Spain: Sandra Paños; Andrea Pereira, Irene Paredes, Mapi León; Marta Cardona (Leila Ouahabi, min. 84), Aitana Bonmatí, Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas, Mariona Caldentey; Jenni Hermoso and Esther González (Alba Redondo, min. 75).
Coach: Jorge Vilda.
0 – Netherlands: Sari van Veenendaal; Dominique Janssen (Kika van Es, min. 75), Stefanie van der Gragt, Aniek Nouwen, Merel van Dongen (Shanice van de Sanden, min. 84); Jackie Groenen, Danielle van de Donk, Sherida Spitse; Jill Roord (Lineth Beerensteyn, min. 65), Vivianne Miedema and Lieke Martens.
Coach: Sarina Wiegman.
Goal: 1-0, min. 30, Patri Guijarro.
Referee: Sandra Braz Bastos (Portugal). He admonished Alexia Putellas (min. 51).
Incidents: friendly match between the women's teams of Spain and the Netherlands, played at the Antonio Lorenzo Cuevas municipal stadium in Marbella, without an audience, due to sanitary restrictions.