Women's European Championship 2025: Spain in team check – Carnation and Cubism to the title?

The Spanish women's team lost their last match in February of this year. Back then, they suffered a 1-0 away defeat to the reigning European champions from England in the Nations League. Since then, however, the Spanish team has won each of their five Nations League matches and comfortably advanced to the semi-finals. On home soil, they took revenge against the English with a 2-1 win. However, the Spanish women's team was denied a major coup at the biggest women's football event since the 2023 World Cup: At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, they were eliminated in the semi-finals by the Brazilians and then lost the bronze medal match to the Germans. This summer, they must prove that the World Cup title is not a one-off success. The goal is clear: the first European Championship title.

Montserrat Tomé experienced the major upheavals within the Spanish Football Federation as Jorge Vilda's assistant, and in this role, she and Vilda won the 2023 World Cup together. After Vilda's dismissal, she was appointed his successor – as Spain's first female national coach. She demands an absolute will to win from her team, leading them to triumph in the Nations League and the semifinals at the Olympics. After reaching the quarterfinals at the previous three European Championships, the 43-year-old will be tasked with ensuring Spain competes for the title.

In a team with numerous exceptional players, Aitana Bonmatí is the superstar. She has been repeatedly crowned the best player in the world in recent years. The FC Barcelona midfielder controls the play between both penalty areas, is comfortable both in the center and on the wing, and dominates her opponents with breathtaking elegance. And as if that weren't enough, she's also incredibly dangerous in front of goal. Anyone missing Andrés Iniesta will find Bonmatí to be a perfect match.

Spanish football's greatest promise for the future is undoubtedly 18-year-old Vicky López. In the summer of 2023, the central midfielder will move from Madrid CFF to FC Barcelona, ​​where she will impress the crowd as part of a team full of superstars. Although she rarely played the full 90 minutes, she contributed nine goals and four assists in 23 league appearances in her first season with the Catalans. Last season, López even scored ten goals. If she and her Spanish teammates reach the European Championship final on July 27, she could be crowned European champion just one day after her 19th birthday.

The current home jersey of the Spanish women's team is red and yellow, the colors of the national flag—how could it be otherwise? According to Adidas, the pattern on the front is inspired by the "movement of ocean waves." However, this isn't clearly visible on the pitch. A look from behind reveals a special detail: a yellow carnation, the country's national flower in its red version, adorns the neck.

The away jersey stands out much more. The base color of white may seem unspectacular, but appearances can be deceiving. In addition to the dark blue appliqués, the design features wild patterns in pastel colors like light blue, beige, and salmon pink. The design team's source of inspiration this time: Cubism. Overall, neither jersey is a masterpiece, but it's a solid design achievement nonetheless.

As successful as Spain may be, no other football team – men's or women's – has made as many headlines in recent years. First, coach Ignacio Quereda resigned under pressure from the squad, then 15 players left the national team, and finally, the 2023 World Cup was marked by a scandal caused by the outburst by association president Luis Rubiales. In November 2024, Netflix dedicated a 94-minute documentary by director Joanna Pardos to the Rubiales case and its background. The title of the film quotes part of the famous tweet that Alexia Putellas wrote five days after the World Cup final. In it, she expressed her solidarity with her teammate Jennifer Hermoso and used the Spanish phrase "Se acabó," which translates to "Enough!"