Gary Lineker popularized the phrase in the 1990s that “Football is a sport invented by the English, played 11 v 11 and Germany always wins.” Aside from the exaggeration and the fact that the former English player was referring to the male player,… Patriotism dies For years he was the great European ogre with eight European Championships, two World Cups and a Games. Spain had never defeated the German national team until it ousted Germany in the European Cup semi-finals last July in Switzerland. Today, in the Metropolitano, the team led by Sonia Bermudez did it again: they defeated the Teutons for the second time to retain the League of Nations title. La Roja, who have already won their first ever Nations Championship in 2024, won second place in front of 55,843 spectators on Tuesday – a record for a group match on national soil. The tournament is, for now, exclusively owned by the group led by Irene Paredes, while Germany have not won a title since the 2016 Olympic gold medal, suggesting Lineker’s statement is becoming less true. “It’s a very nice day to enjoy. There (in the first leg in Kaiserslautern) we were not the Spain we wanted. We knew we would have the support of the people here and that was very important,” Bermudez said.
“It’s a very ambitious group, and today we had a tough opponent. It’s a day to enjoy, for them and for everyone who was there before. The goal was to win again and keep the Nations Team. It was all worth it,” added the coach, who took charge of the group in September and with only four matches – the semi-final against Sweden and the final against Germany -. The coach, who took over the leadership of the group in September, and in only four matches – the semi-final against Sweden and the final against Germany – succeeded in lifting the first title in its history, the third for the red team after the World Cup in 2023 and the first Nations League after that. year. “This is not liberation, but happiness,” he added.
“We want to continue to inspire,” summed up Alexia Putellas. He continued: “We reach the finals in every tournament, but the team does not think about whether we are legends or not. Now we will not think about that. There is another goal, which is the World Cup, and we will deal with it as if we did not win anything. This is how we understand it.” La Roja, which drew 0-0 in the first leg on Friday in a very weak match, overcame the setback that caused current Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatti to fracture her fibula on Sunday during training.
Spain’s golden generation, which changed the history of Spanish football forever by involving millions of people and getting more girls kicking a ball than ever before, has reached four finals and three titles since 2023. Claudia Pena, 24, was named man of the match for her two stunning goals. “I’m especially excited because it’s my first title with the national team. The people who came today are crazy. Without them, the victory would not have been possible,” celebrated the Montcada y Rexac player, who in 2023 resigned from the World Cup in protest against the methodology of the then coach, Jorge Villeda.
The win was also special for Jenny Hermoso. The team’s all-time top scorer was expelled from the group for a year by decision of Montse Tommy. The previous coach did not take it to the European Cup, but Bermudez got it back in October. She is not part of the Eleven, but today she had her second time back after her return and was greeted with tremendous applause from the Metropolitan. He was honest: “It cost me a lot. I spent months working and thinking about whether I would ever wear this shirt again. And as they say, sometimes everything has its reward.” “My face says it all. To come back and be able to be in my city, with my people, with my family, which we featured on this show…it’s pretty impressive.”
Another Madrid native, Vicky Lopez, made her first final start for the national team. At just 17 years old, she played minutes in the February 2024 win over France in the First Nations Invasion. Almost two years later, Vallecano started and scored a stunning goal with her left foot. “I felt crazy in the final with my people,” she said. Bermudez also praised his fearlessness and the football he played when he was 19: “He had an amazing personality for his age.”