It was a little insight into a team that might well end up being hailed as the greatest. After the final whistle of what might have superficially looked like a fairly routine 2-0 quarter-final win, Spain’s players celebrated as if they’d won a trophy. There was joyous camaraderie. They ran to the fans. There were group photos where they beckoned members of staff to get involved. Players were even larking about, imitating kung-fu kicks and chasing after each other.
An obvious quip here is that it was closer than any opposition player has got to them in this tournament so far, with the manner of the two goals against Switzerland particularly prominent examples. Substitute Athenea del Castillo was through unmarked for the first. Claudio Pina was then left free to hit her spectacular trademark.
Except, the Spanish players also gave Switzerland a guard of honour, and that felt about much more than just hailing excellent and proud hosts. It looked like respect, for a team that had actually made Spain work harder than anyone for quite a while.
By the hour-mark, with the score 0-0, it looked like it was going to be one of those long anxious tournament nights that their men’s team has historically endured. Mariona Caldentey’s penalty miss even seemed to be playing on their minds, as they just struggled to work their way through the durable hosts. The first 45 minutes were actually the first half of this tournament where Spain hadn’t scored.
You could say there’s another potential blueprint there, except Spain of course always have plans of their own.
On 62 minutes, Montse Tome finally made some changes, bringing on both Leila Ouahabi and Athenea. Spain had the different runs that were needed, after a period where their possession had threatened to become a touch self-parodic. They had so much of the ball in front of the Swiss goal but, faced by a mass of bodies, they could only offer laboured passes inside.
Then, after such frustration facing goal, the mercurial Aitana Bonmati figured out the solution with her back to goal. She flicked the ball delightfully, allowing Athenea to surge through and finish just four minutes after coming on. Goalkeeper Livia Peng might have done better, but then something eventually had to give. Spain had only moments before forced goalmouth chaos with a corner, hitting the frame of the goal for the second.
Switzerland were starting to tire.
And this, ultimately, is the great challenge of facing Spain. You can make them work, and really toil for that opening goal, but the very process ultimately means they make you work much harder. It’s exhausting, which is when those gaps start to appear.
Player of the match, Aitana, also displayed a mentality that elevates them: “I was always calm.” She always felt the goal was coming.
If it isn’t enough that Spain tire you out, either, they’ve also got a range of different attackers to bring on.
Athenea was that, and that was even before introducing Vicky Lopez. A mere six minutes after that opening goal, Pina had the ball in that danger area 25 yards from goal and exquisitely curved another fine effort into the top corner.
You can of course see it coming, but there’s little you can do about it. What price she does that to win the tournament?
We might be getting ahead of ourselves here, but that’s how good Spain are. Even when they’re not at their best, they still display qualities that would offer any opposition major concerns.
There was even a psychological hurdle passed here, which perhaps explains the extent of the joy afterwards. This was the first knock-out game Spain had ever won in the Euros, which feels remarkable for a team that is now so good. That speaks to the previous issues, and the speed of their evolution. It was of course at this stage three years ago that they lost to Sarina Wiegman’s England.
Germany or – especially – France will at least pose Spain’s sternest test so far in Wednesday’s semi-final in Zurich, and the world champions will have to do it without the suspended Laia Aleixandri.
That’s a problem if it is against France’s pace. There is also another potential solution for potential opposition, if you can get that far: penalties.
Spain actually missed two – taking it to an incredible 12 of 17 in these quarter-finals so far – since Alexia Putellas also missed one late on. Worse, it was a replica of the one she missed in the Olympics last year.
There is something astonishing about players as technically good as Spain’s failing to score like this. They’re the best passers in the world, and the trick to penalties is really passing it inside the post.
Maybe it’s for the best that there are some inexplicable flaws, though.
If the win was still Spain’s, part of the night was Switzerland’s. They’d done themselves proud as hosts, as was recognised by the home crowd in Bern.
They went off jumping up and down in happiness. We might well see even more of that from Spain.
