Aitana Bonmati crushed after Spain's shoot-out defeat by England

Straits Times

7 days ago

Spain's Aitana Bonmati looking dejected after the penalty shoot-out defeat by England in the Women's Euro 2025 final at St Jakob-Park in Basel on July 27.
BASEL – Spain playmaker Aitana Bonmati cut a disconsolate figure as she picked up her Player of the Tournament award at Euro 2025 on July 27, minutes after her side finished as runners-up after losing a penalty shoot-out 3-1 to England in the final.
Bonmati bounced back from a meningitis scare ahead of the tournament to play a crucial role in Spain's progress to the final.
La Roja got off the mark on 25 minutes when Ona Batlle's cross was headed home by Mariona Caldentey. England equalised 12 minutes after the break in similar fashion as Alessia Russo nodded Chloe Kelly's cross past Cata Coll.
However, in general Spain struggled to unlock the England defence and Bonmati missed her spot-kick in the shoot-out as she slumped to another painful defeat, following her club side Barcelona's Champions League final loss to Arsenal in May.
'It's hard to see you right now,' she told reporters. 'Two months ago I found myself in this situation with the club. You have to value more when things are going well, we have been better on the pitch, not on penalties.'
It was a sentiment shared by her coach Montse Tome.
'I think this team deserved more. We worked so hard for a long time to get here, to the final against a top-level side in England, and I thought the team deserved more, or at least to not be left with the feeling we have now,' Tome told reporters after the match at St Jakob-Park in Basel.
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The 27-year-old Bonmati apologised to the Spanish people for not being able to deliver a victory against an England side that was no match for them in terms of skill, but who refused to give up.
'I assume my part of my responsibility, I play for the team and for many more people. There is no point in playing a better game and missing penalties,' she said.
'For me, England is a team capable of not playing well and winning. There are teams that don't need much to win.'
Spain, appearing in their first ever European Championship final, enjoyed 60 per cent of the possession overall and had 24 attempts on goal to England's 10. But they paid the price for not putting the game to bed.
'I thought we were the better team but in football it is not always the best team which wins,' Tome added.
'England are a great side and have been so competitive throughout the tournament. They got the equaliser and then defended to try to get to penalties, and in the shoot-out we chose the penalty-takers who we thought would be most effective.'
England took the chance they were offered and though Spain found themselves on the losing side, Bonmati was philosophical.
'We haven't lost a game (in 90 minutes), we have received support and I feel bad about that too. We have won off the field of play and that is valuable too,' she explained, before promising to come back stronger.
'We are a trained team, we have already shown that we know how to overcome. We hope to reach (Euro) 2029 at full capacity and try again.' REUTERS, AFP