Spain stars have decried their ‘cruel’ defeat at the hands of a ‘lucky’ England squad who successfully defended their European Championship crown after a dramatic penalty shoot-out win.
La Roja captain Irene Paredes claimed her team ‘deserved it more’, while two-time reigning Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati – who missed her effort in the shoot-out – said the world champions were ‘far superior’ to the Lionesses.
The assessment of two of Spain’s biggest stars is backed up the statistics which heavily favoured Montse Tome’s side. Spain ended the match with 22 shots to England’s eight, 65 per cent possession and almost 350 more passes.
Spain were particularly dominant in the first half and were rewarded for their endeavour when Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey completed a fine move with a header to break the deadlock after 25 minutes.
But England, who led for just one minute in the knockout stage of the tournament, regained their composure after the break and found an equaliser through Alessia Russo before winning the penalty contest 3-1.
‘I don’t really know what to say,’ Paredes told Spanish TV RTVE. ‘It’s a very hard moment.
Spain captain Irene Paredes claimed her team ‘deserved it more’ than England in the aftermath of the defeat
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The Lionesses successfully defended their Euros crown after a 3-1 penalty shoot-out win
‘We tried everything, all the different ways, and then the penalties didn’t go our way. I thought we deserved it more but in the end it is not about who deserves it.
‘It is about having that bit of luck and England had that throughout the whole tournament. We thought we could overcome that but we weren’t able to.
‘I think we had more control of the game than they did, we created more clear chances, we had more possession… But yeah, nothing else.’
Meanwhile, an emotional Bonmati said she was in ‘shock’. The Player of the Tournament, who – like Paredes – suffered defeat in the Champions League final to English opposition in May, said: ‘I think we’ve all given up; it’s been a long time here, and it’s been very cruel,’ she told Spainsh outlet El Pais. ‘In terms of play, we were far superior to our opponents, but in football, that’s not enough.’
The outlet also claim that Paredes later bemoaned England’s ‘time-wasters’ and ‘players on the ground’ in comments to reporters in the mixed zone of the St. Jakob-Park in Basel.
She added: ‘To be a winning team in a tournament like this, you have to have some luck, and they had plenty of luck. We know how to do it better when it comes to penalties.’
After Spain’s defeat, local media was similarly rattled by the Lionesses’ victory.
‘Maximum penalty’ ran the headline on the Barcelona-based publication Mundo Deportivo
Paredes hit out at England for time-wasting during the 120 minutes of nerve-shredding action
Spanish media hit out at Chloe Kelly for her ‘unnecessary’ and ‘cocky’ celebration in front of La Roja stopper Cata Coll after scoring the winning penalty for England.
It came immediately after the Arsenal winger had confidently stepped up and dispatched the decisive spot-kick.
Kelly, who scored the winner in England’s 2022 Euros final win over Germany, ‘unnecessarily’ diverted her path after smashing the ball past Coll before making a gesture in front of the keeper, according to Spanish outlet Diario AS.
In the comment that accompanied a short clip of the climatic moment, published on their website, Kelly’s decision to make a b-line for the England supporters in the corner was deemed ‘cocky’ and uncalled-for.
‘This is unnecessary, my friend: Kelly’s cocky gesture to Cata Coll after scoring the decisive penalty,’ they wrote.
‘The England specialist changed her run during her penalty celebration to get past the goalkeeper she had just beaten.’
In Diaro AS’ full match report they insisted that England, who were defeated by Spain in the final of the women’s World Cup two years ago, ‘robbed’ their Iberian opponents.
‘The dream ends in a nightmare,’ they added.
AS’ headline on Monday read: ‘Damn penalties’ alongside an image of the distraught Spanish players
Spanish media hit out at Chloe Kelly for her ‘unnecessary’ and ‘cocky’ celebration after dispatching the winning penalty
‘Spain lost the European Championship on penalties. England tied a match that Spain largely dominated.
‘History is made by victories, and also by defeats. Spain fell in the Euro Cup final but left its name sealed in gold. England robbed them of their dream; the world champions couldn’t close the circle they began to write two years ago in Sydney.
‘They couldn’t have been crueler in the penalty shootout, tossing a few dice in the air.’
