England’s World Cup final rivals Spain have been dogged by squad revolt

World Cup: Women’s football ‘no longer needs to prove itself’

England are set to take on Spain in the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday after the Lionesses saw off co-hosts Australia on Wednesday. The two finalists appear to be evenly matched on paper, with experts split on which way the showdown will go. But Spain’s run to the final has been nothing short of remarkable as the team have been dogged by issues, which included a squad revolt last year.

Last September, 15 Spain players apparently told their country’s governing body RFEF that they would no longer play for their nation until the departure of head coach Jorge Vilda. The revolt came just two months after Spain had lost to England in the quarter-finals of Euro 2022.

At the time, Sky Sports reported that the players were unhappy with the management of injuries, the atmosphere in the dressing room and the manager’s team selection and training sessions.

The incident sparked a war of words with RFEF releasing a statement that read: “The RFEF will not allow the players to question the continuity of the national coach and his coaching staff, because making those decisions does not fall within their competences.

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“The Federation will only have committed players even if they have to play with youth. This has turned from a sporting issue to a question of dignity. Selection is non-negotiable. It is an unprecedented situation in the history of football, both male and female, in the Spanish and world arena.”

The Spain players hit back in a joint statement by explaining: “We, the players, lament, in the first place, that the RFEF has made public, in a partial and interested way, a private communication, with information that affects our health – which is part of our privacy – sent in response to the request of the own Federation to know which of us wanted not to be summoned.

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“Communication to which, by the way, we have not received a formal response. We have never asked for the dismissal of the coach as has been commented. We understand that our job is not in any case to choose said position, but to express in a constructive and honest way what we believe can improve the performance of the group.”

Just three of the players who revolted – Mariona Caldentey, Ona Batlle and Aitana Bonmati – were subsequently named as part of Vilda’s World Cup squad, with a whole host of star names missing out on a place on the plane.

Spain then had problems on the pitch during the tournament as they were thrashed 4-0 by Japan in their final group game to finish second in the Group C table. But Spain illustrated their mettle by thrashing Switzerland 5-1 in the last 16 before seeing off the Netherlands in the quarters and Sweden in the last four. And the RFEF’s actions last year may well be vindicated if Spain go on to lift the trophy.

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