After years of hegemony by the United States, Spain and England will return the Old Continent to the top and will contest the first European final in twenty years. The winner will replace Germany, who beat Sweden in the final in 2003, and add their name to the short list of world champions along with the United States (4), Germany (2), Japan and Norway. "What we want is to be the best in the world, and we will achieve that by winning the final", asserted Jorge Vilda in the preview.
The final of a World Cup is the match that every footballer wants to play, although some, the most veteran ones, could not even dream of it. "Spain has always been a country that loves football, but we girls grew up thinking that this was not our place. There were always obstacles. So it is important that all the girls know that this space is ours, that we can play in the World Cup finals, that we are benchmarks. This is also history", said Irene Paredes yesterday in an emotional message at the gates of the final. Along with Alexia Putellas and Jenni Hermoso, she is one of the only three footballers to have played in the three World Cups that Spain has played in, and she is well aware of what it took to get here. The FC Barcelona centre-back returned to the national team after the conflict with the Federation, although it cost him the captaincy. Something he assumes with elegance and always acting as a leader in the shadows: "The subject of the captaincy has been closed from the beginning. I'm not a captain. There are three captains assigned, that's it, there's no more going around," he said when asked about lifting the trophy in Sydney.
There will be more than 83,000 spectators in the stands of Stadium Australia, including Queen Letícia and Infanta Sofia, the Minister of Sports, Miquel Iceta, or the president of the Spanish Federation, Luis Rubiales, who has accompanied the team throughout the tournament. More relatives of the players have also traveled. along with some of the footballers included in the pre-list but who ended up being left out of the twenty-three summoned. "They are a very important part of this selection, of this team, they are part of it. I'm glad they were able to come. They are present and future and from September the ball continues to roll", said Vilda. They will need your support in a stadium where the majority will support them. And in fact, the British make up 33% of Australia's 26 million inhabitants.
