Spain thrash Portugal in Women's Euro opener
Cristina Martin-Prieto (left) rounded out the win for Spain late in the match. Photo: Reuters
Spain showed why they are favourites to win Women's Euro 2025 by hammering Portugal 5-0 in their tournament opener, as both teams paid tribute to Portuguese men's international Diogo Jota who was killed in a car crash.
The world champions were two ahead inside seven minutes in Bern thanks to goals from Esther Gonzalez and Vicky Lopez and never looked back from there, rattling in three more thanks to Alexia Putellas, another for Gonzalez and a late header from Cristina Martin-Prieto.
La Roja lead Italy, 1-0 winners against Belgium, on goal difference in Group B after showing no mercy to Portugal who were grieving compatriot Jota after his death alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in northern Spain.
Portuguese fans marched to the ground ahead of the match with banners and chants honouring Jota and the tributes continued once supporters were in the Wankdorf Stadium.
The capacity crowd stood for a moment's silence while a group of Portugal fans held up cards which read "Rest in Peace", while a banner said "thanks for everything".
A difficult day for Portuguese football was made worse less than 90 seconds after kick-off when Gonzalez brilliantly brought down Olga Carmona's high ball before poking past goalkeeper Ines Pereira.
And 18-year-old Lopez became Spain's youngest-ever scorer at a women's Euros in the seventh minute, when the Barcelona winger slid home Mariona Caldentey's low cross. (AFP)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
13 hours ago
- RTHK
Fritz squeezes through in Toronto marathon
Fritz squeezes through in Toronto marathon Taylor Fritz lunges for a Jiri Lehecka shot in a game that came down to tiebreakers for all three sets. File photo: Reuters Taylor Fritz battled Czech Jiri Lehecka for three hours before coming through with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5) victory to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP Toronto Masters. The US second seed finished off a complete matched set of Masters 1000 quarter-finals as the last piece of the puzzle fell into place in Canada. The late-night marathon lasted 39 games without a break of serve, with 15 aggregate break points going begging. Fritz delivered two aces in the final-set tiebreaker on his way to the narrow win, moving into the last eight as Lehecka drove long. "Making all the Masters quarters is really cool," Fritz said. "It shows consistency. "Today I had to accept that parts of my game were just not there. I was bailed out by a lot of first serves, but I was making too many mistakes." Fellow American Ben Shelton earned a second chance after Flavio Cobillo failed to serve out their match, with the fourth seed finally securing a somewhat contentious 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/1) win. The winner, who now plays Alex de Minaur, earned his 100th ATP-level win after nearly two and a half hours, firing an ace on his second match point to wrap up a place in the last eight for a third straight tournament after Wimbledon and Washington. De Minaur pushed his ATP winning streak to seven matches as he fended off Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. The Australian won the Washington title on Sunday before plunging into the chaotic schedule at Toronto, where play began on the weekend and will continue through Thursday. De Minaur added his voice to the growing chorus of player complaints about the new 12-day Masters calendar, which will see play start in Cincinnati this week before Canada completes its unorthodox Thursday night final. Sixth seed Andrey Rublev, runner-up last year when the tournament was held in Montreal, reached his 14th Masters quarter-final 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/2), 3-0 when Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was forced to retire with possible cramping. Both men ended the battle with 37 unforced errors, with sixth seed Rublev to play Fritz for a semi-final spot. (AFP)
RTHK
13 hours ago
- RTHK
Fritz squeezes through in Toronto marathon
Fritz squeezes through in Toronto marathon Taylor Fritz lunges for a Jiri Lehecka shot in a game that came down to tiebreakers for all three sets. File photo: Reuters Taylor Fritz battled Czech Jiri Lehecka for three hours before coming through with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5) victory to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP Toronto Masters. The US second seed finished off a complete matched set of Masters 1000 quarter-finals as the last piece of the puzzle fell into place in Canada. The late-night marathon lasted 39 games without a break of serve, with 15 aggregate break points going begging. Fritz delivered two aces in the final-set tiebreaker on his way to the narrow win, moving into the last eight as Lehecka drove long. "Making all the Masters quarters is really cool," Fritz said. "It shows consistency. "Today I had to accept that parts of my game were just not there. I was bailed out by a lot of first serves, but I was making too many mistakes." Fellow American Ben Shelton earned a second chance after Flavio Cobillo failed to serve out their match, with the fourth seed finally securing a somewhat contentious 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/1) win. The winner, who now plays Alex de Minaur, earned his 100th ATP-level win after nearly two and a half hours, firing an ace on his second match point to wrap up a place in the last eight for a third straight tournament after Wimbledon and Washington. De Minaur pushed his ATP winning streak to seven matches as he fended off Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. The Australian won the Washington title on Sunday before plunging into the chaotic schedule at Toronto, where play began on the weekend and will continue through Thursday. De Minaur added his voice to the growing chorus of player complaints about the new 12-day Masters calendar, which will see play start in Cincinnati this week before Canada completes its unorthodox Thursday night final. Sixth seed Andrey Rublev, runner-up last year when the tournament was held in Montreal, reached his 14th Masters quarter-final 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/2), 3-0 when Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was forced to retire with possible cramping. Both men ended the battle with 37 unforced errors, with sixth seed Rublev to play Fritz for a semi-final spot. (AFP)
RTHK
16 hours ago
- RTHK
Clara Tauson stuns Swiatek in WTA Canadian Open
Clara Tauson stuns Swiatek in WTA Canadian Open World number 19 Clara Tauson was at a loss for words after her victory over Iga Swiatek. Photo: Reuters Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek became the latest seed to fall at the WTA Canadian Open, after being knocked out 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 by 19th-ranked Dane Clara Tauson in the fourth round. Swiatek, ranked third in the world and seeded second in Montreal, followed top-seeded Coco Gauff, third-seeded two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula and fourth-seeded Mirra Andreeva out the door as Tauson booked a quarter-final berth against Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Sixth-seeded Keys saved two match points on the way to a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Czech Karolina Muchova – the American's third match win of the year in which she overcame a match point. Meanwhile, it was clear sailing for former world number one Naomi Osaka, who needed just 49 minutes to blast past Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 6-0. The second-quickest win of Osaka's career put her into her first quarter-final at the 1000 or Grand Slam level since Doha in 2024. Swiatek, playing her first tournament since winning her sixth Grand Slam title at the All England Club last month, looked out of sorts from the start on a breezy centre court. She fell behind a quick break and failed to convert a pair of break chances in the eighth game as Tauson took a 5-3 lead in the first set. The Polish star appeared to be finding her rhythm as she won the next three games to get her nose in front 6-5. But Tauson, who won her first WTA title in New Zealand in January, held to force the tiebreaker and dominated, Swiatek surrendering the set with a double fault on the Dane's first set point. Swiatek had saved a pair of break points in the eighth game of the second set when another untimely double fault gave Tauson the break and a 5-3 lead. Tauson calmly served it out, claiming her first win in four career meetings with Swiatek when the Pole belted a backhand into the net. Tauson will be up against a battle-tested opponent in Keys, who saved two match points on her own serve in the 10th game of the third set, striping a forehand on the first and escaping the second as Czech Muchova misfired on a service return. "I'm really happy to get that win," Keys told the crowd. "After losing the first set and even being match point down, being able to figure it out – it's always a great day." Osaka, who has struggled for consistency since returning from maternity leave in 2024, said the coaching shakeup she instigated this week – parting with Patrick Mouratoglou after less than a year and teaming up on a trial basis with former Swiatek coach Tomasz Wiktorowski – had energised her. "I enjoy his coaching style. He's very direct and to the point. For someone like me, who my thoughts scatter around often, it's very helpful," said Osaka, who lost in the first round of the French Open and the third round at Wimbledon and arrived in Montreal ranked 49th in the world. She will face either fifth-seeded American Amanda Anisimova or Ukraine's Elina Svitlina for a semi-final berth. Anismimova is playing her first tournament since a runner-up finish to Swiatek at Wimbledon, where she admitted she was overwhelmed by nerves in a 6-0, 6-0 loss to the Polish star in the final. (AFP)
