Spain players deserve to enjoy Euro 2025 final

BBC News

4 days ago

England midfielder Keira Walsh hopes opponents Spain can "enjoy" playing in the Euro 2025 final without the "controversy" that surrounded the World Cup.Spain beat England 1-0 in the 2023 final but their victory was overshadowed by former football federation boss Luis Rubiales' sexual assault case involving striker Jenni Hermoso.As players received their medals in Sydney, Rubiales grabbed Hermoso by the head and kissed her on the lips. He was found guilty of sexual assault in February.England booked their spot in Sunday's Euro 2025 final (17:00 BST) with an extra-time victory over Italy, while Spain also needed 120 minutes to see off Germany."There's a lot of respect between both the teams and, I think the most important thing for them as a footballer, is that they can enjoy this final – that there's not the controversy surrounding it," said Walsh, who made 100 appearances for Barcelona over two-and-a-half seasons. "The girls deserve to be there to play incredible football. The way our league jumped after we won the Euros [in 2022] - if you compare it to Spain it probably wasn't the same and they won the World Cup. "After the final there was a lot of controversy and I don't think, for them, there was enough spotlight on how incredible they played. It was all about the other stuff. "As a professional, that was disappointing to see. I have a lot of friends in that team and I think they probably deserved a little bit more than what they got."In September, Arsenal forward Mariona Caldentey said more Spanish players were moving to the Women's Super League because "we won the World Cup and it changed nothing".Following the court ruling in February, Spain's Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati said the players had "battled hard" during the Rubiales case and it "had not been in vain"."I hope that this case makes changes in our country, in our football, to respect us better as footballers," she added.
'It's not luck - you create those moments'
England's route to the final has not been an easy one as they were playing catch-up from the start with defeat by France.They bounced back with victories over the Netherlands and Wales but needed to come back from 2-0 down and go through a dramatic penalty shootout against Sweden in the quarter-finals.They were trailing 1-0 to Italy on Tuesday before teenager Michelle Agyemang scored a 96th-minute equaliser and substitute Chloe Kelly netted the winner in the 119th minute of extra-time.Asked if their comeback was by design or chaos, Walsh said: "I think when you're [not] playing maybe it looks like chaos but for us it doesn't feel like that. "I've also heard that people have been saying that it was luck, but you kind of create those moments yourself, through belief, determination, confidence. "It's not by [luck] that Michelle's in the box and scoring. It is not by [luck] that people are putting crosses in the box. "It's thought out, it's purposeful and I think it's the absolute belief that no matter what minute of the game it is, we're going to win."