The Spanish coach, Jorge Vilda, wants to turn the page on the humiliating defeat (4-0) against Japan in order to overcome a barrier that he has never crossed before: qualify for the quarterfinals. To do this, they will have to overcome Switzerland this Saturday (7 am) and Vilda wanted to harangue the press and the fans at the press conference prior to this duel: "I notice a little bit of negativity... let's go Spain, let's go team, let's all go to win the match that I'm sure we're all happy to win the match".
Vidla said this Friday that his team is confident, motivated and ready to "make history" in the Women's World Cup, ahead of the round of 16 match. The 23 players arrive "with confidence, peace of mind, the certainty that the team is going to react. They are super motivated and excited to make history and go through in a first World Cup qualifier for the first time in history," said Vilda in a conference press conference at Eden Park in Auckland.
The coach added that in the last four days the team has made the necessary adjustments so as not to repeat the same mistakes that led to the heavy defeat against Japan (4-0). "Really the loss is not a loss that has been forgotten or that is going to be forgotten. It has caused a deep furrow, but sometimes they are also necessary for the evolution and growth of the team," he said.
In their third participation in a World Cup, Spain will face Switzerland this Saturday in the round of 16 and will seek a historic pass to the quarterfinals of the tournament. To face the organized Swiss team, Vilda stressed that the Spanish will maintain their traditional offensive game but will pay special attention to the defensive line.
"Switzerland has something very valuable, which is that in three games they haven't scored a goal. That means they have a very solid defense, they have players who make the difference," he said. "They have height, strength, verticality in their game, goalkeeper. It is a very complete team. I know that they are going to present us with a close game, we have a high-level rival in front of us," she added.
Regarding the two main Swiss players, the forward Ramona Bachmann, from Paris Saint-Germain, and especially the versatile Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic, who plays for Barcelona, Vilda said that she has analyzed their tactics in depth. "We know Ana-Maria, we've seen her all season. And we do know how to stop her, we have information," she said succinctly, without giving further details about the possible starting eleven.
After seven years in charge of the team and without ever having managed to overcome a tie -neither in Eurocups nor in World Cups-, Vilda did not want to assess whether a new elimination at the hands of Switzerland could relieve him of the bench. "I'm focused on tomorrow's game and it's not the time to think about it," he said.
In the event that they achieve a victory tomorrow, the Spanish team will face the winner of the duel between the Netherlands and South Africa in the quarterfinals, which they will meet on Sunday.
