The Spanish team plays today (9:00 p.m., TVE) against the hosts, England, for a place in the semifinals of the European Championship, and this exciting England-Spain has had an unexpected guest: the heat. In the land where summers are more like a rainy spring, a sweltering heat wave is sweeping the country with temperatures above 40 degrees. Although it is expected that today the thermometer will return to normal and that at game time the weather will not be a problem to play.
at the Brighton
"We have the opportunity to make history," said Jorge Vilda yesterday. To achieve this they will have to overcome, nothing more and nothing less than the host, an England that has just swept through the group stage, in which he has scored 14 goals in three games without conceding a single goal. “They are favourites, not only for the match, but also to win the tournament”, pointed out the Spanish coach, who also assured that “with motivation and desire”, they can be beaten.
Spain is playing against one of the great favorites to win the title and does so without having found the solution to its two great problems. On the one hand, Vilda hasn't quite found a replacement for Alexia that convinces her. Irene Guerrero, Patri Guijarro and Mariona Caldentey have been the three players that she has tried inside, but she has not yet repeated the formula.
The other aspect that the red must correct if you want to have a chance of qualifying for the semifinals is the lack of a goal. Spain accumulates many arrivals to the rival area, but throughout the tournament it is showing problems when it comes to finishing. “When you play against teams whose first intention is to defend, no matter how well you do, it is very difficult to score. It is a matter of time”, predicted Vilda.
But all is not lost, Sarina Wiegman, who could return to the bench tomorrow if the tests confirm that the covid has passed, warned yesterday of Spain's potential: "They miss Alexia, but they are still a great team."
For tonight's attractive duel, the stadium will be practically full, something that pleases the locker room, as Patri Guijarro pointed out: “We like that there are people and it motivates us that she is the hostess. They will have to play with this factor ”, he warned about the possible nerves they may have.
