Aitana Bonmatí has helped Spain make soccer history again…
The 26-year-old Spanish professional soccer star and Ballon d’Or winner scored to help Spain beat France 2-0 in the Women’s Nations League final on Wednesday, giving the world champions the inaugural Women’s Nations League title and another trophy.
Bonmati and Mariona Caldentey scored a goal each for Spain in front of 32,657 fans at La Cartuja Stadium in southern Spain. It was a record crowd for Spain’s women’s team in the country.
Spain also holds the men’s Nations League title, having beaten Croatia in the final in June.
“Really happy to win another trophy. What more can you ask for? It’s incredible what we have achieved,” Bonmatí said. “It seems easy, that winning is an obligation for us, but it’s not easy at all.
“We have so much ambition and, despite some rough patches, here we are lifting another trophy. We deserved the win. The first half was quite good, albeit with some lapses. I think we controlled France quite well in the second half. This team has no ceiling. We keep demonstrating that. We have won the Nations League and now we want to win the Olympics.”
Spain had its breakthrough tournament at the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, winning the title in their third appearance.
“We always want more. Now is the moment for all the staff and players to savour and enjoy,” Spain coach Montse Tomé said. “You’ve seen on the pitch against a great opponent how we managed to limit them to very few chances and control the game. Our play has been evolving. We have a great group of players.”
The celebrations were marred by one of the country’s worst crises, though, as the then-president of the Spanish soccer federation, Luis Rubiales, kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony to spark an outrage in soccer and Spanish society in general. Rubiales eventually resigned, and prosecutors later accused him of sexual assault.
“Today we get to celebrate again. We deserve it,” Hermoso said. “We try to enjoy ourselves but we also have the responsibility that there are so many people behind us who want to follow in our footsteps. We are so proud that there are so many girls who want to be champions in the future.”
Tomé took over the team in September after World Cup-winning coach Jorge Vilda was fired amid the fallout from Rubiales’ behavior.
But Spain haven’t lost momentum since becoming world champions. They defeated the Netherlands 3-0 in last week’s semifinal, a result that also secured the team a place in the 2024 Paris Games.
The final was Spain’s first victory over France, who had already qualified for the Olympics as the host country.
“They’ll be the team to beat at the Olympics, it won’t be easy,” France coach Hervé Renard said. “We are going to have to keep improving, learn lessons and keep moving forward. Let’s say we have taken one step but we haven’t taken the second. There’s still a lot of work to do.”