Spain women's national football team

The Spain women's national football team (Spanish: Selección Española de Fútbol Femenina) has represented Spain in international women's football competition since 1980, and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain.

Spain
Nickname(s)La Roja (The Red One)[1]
AssociationRoyal Spanish Football Federation
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachJorge Vilda
CaptainIrene Paredes
Most capsMarta Torrejón (90)
Top scorerVerónica Boquete (38)
FIFA codeESP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 12 1 (18 December 2020)[2]
Highest12 (March–December 2018)
Lowest21 (June–August 2004, March 2008)
First international
Unofficial
 Spain 3–3 Portugal 
(Murcia, Spain; 21 February 1971)
Official
 Spain 0–1 Portugal 
(A Guarda, Spain; 5 February 1983)
Biggest win
 Spain 17–0 Slovenia 
(Palamós, Spain; 20 March 1994)
Biggest defeat
 Spain 0–8 Sweden 
(Gandia, Spain; 2 June 1996)
World Cup
Appearances2 (first in 2015)
Best resultRound of 16 (2019)
European Championship
Appearances3 (first in 1997)
Best resultSemi-finals (1997)

Spain have qualified two times for the FIFA Women's World Cup and three times for the UEFA Women's Championship, reaching the semifinals in 1997. Contrast to its lackluster senior side, Spain's youth teams are one of the most successful and have enjoyed a great success in 2018, getting the two continental titles (U-17 and U-19), and reaching the two worldwide finals, winners in the U-17 World Cup and runners-up in the U-20 World Cup.

History

Early years

After underground women's football clubs started appearing in Spain around 1970 one of its instigators, Rafael Muga, decided to create a national team. It was an unofficial project as football was considered an unsuitable sport for women by both the Royal Spanish Football Federation and National Movement's Women's Section, which organized women's sports in Francoist Spain. When asked about the initiative in January 1971 RFEF president José Luis Pérez Payá answered I'm not against women's football, but I don't like it either. I don't think it's feminine from a esthetic point of view. Women are not favored wearing shirt and trousers. Any regional dress would fit them better.[3]

One month later, on 21 February 1971, the unofficial Spanish national team, including Conchi Sánchez, who played professionally in the Italian league, made its debut in Murcia's La Condomina against Portugal, ending in a 3–3 draw. The team wasn't allowed to wear RFEF's crest and the referee couldn't wear an official uniform either. On 15 July, with a 5-days delay for transfer issues, it played its first game abroad against Italy in Turin's Stadio Comunale, suffering an 8–1 defeat. It was then invited to the 2nd edition of unofficial women's world cup (Mundialito 1981), but RFEF forbid them to take part in the competition.[4] Despite these conditions Spain was entrusted hosting the 1972 World Cup. RFEF vetoed the project, and the competition was cancelled and disbanded. The unofficial Spanish team itself broke up shortly after.

1980s: Officiality of the team

After the transition to democracy in the second half of the decade RFEF finally accepted women's football in November 1980, creating first a national cup and next a national team, which finally made its debut under coach Teodoro Nieto on 5 February 1983 in A Guarda, Pontevedra. The opponent was again Portugal, which defeated Spain 0–1. The team subsequently played 2-leg friendlies against France and Switzerland drawing with both opponents in Aranjuez and Barcelona and losing in Perpignan before it finally clinched its first victory in Zürich (0–1).[5] On 27 April 1985 it played its first official match in the 1987 European Championship's qualification, losing 1–0 against Hungary. After losing the first four matches Spain defeated Switzerland and drew with Italy to end third. The team also ended in its group's bottom positions in the subsequent 1989 and 1991 qualifiers. After the former Nieto was replaced by Ignacio Quereda, who has coached the team since 1 September 1988. Teodoro Nieto left the most International Footballer Conchi sanchez (Amancio) out of the Spanish Team even when the player was the first Capitain during the 70s, She was playing in Italy at the time winning championships and Italian Cups, there was not substantial reasons to leave such extraordinary player out at the peak of her career, the damaged was done to such brilliant player who loved to play for her country and fully deserved more respect and recognition.

1990s and 2000s: Growing up

The 1995 Euro qualifying marked an improvement as Spain ended 2nd, one point from England, which qualified for the final tournament. In these qualifiers Spain attained its biggest victory to date, a 17–0 over Slovenia. In the 1997 Euro qualifying it made a weaker performance, including a record 0–8 loss against Sweden in Gandia, but the European Championship was expanded to eight teams and Spain still made it to the repechage, where it defeated England on a 3–2 aggregate to qualify for the competition for the first time. In the first stage the team drew 1–1 against France, lost 0–1 against host Sweden, and beat 1–0 Russia to qualify on goal average over France to the semifinals, where it was defeated 2–1 by Italy. All three goals were scored by Ángeles Parejo.

This success was followed by a long series of unsuccessful qualifiers. In the 1999 World Cup's qualifying Spain ended last for the first time, not winning a single game. In the 2001 Euro's it made it to the repechage, where it suffered a 3–10 aggregate defeat against Denmark. In the 2003 World Cup's it again ended last despite starting with a 6–1 win over Iceland. In the 2005 Euro's, where a 9–1 win over Belgium was followed by a 5-game non scoring streak, it ended 3rd behind Denmark and Norway. In the 2007 World Cup's the team again ended 3rd behind Denmark and Finland despite earning 7 more points.

In the 2009 Euro's Spain made its better performance since the 1995 qualifiers, narrowly missing qualification as England clinched the top position by overcoming a 2–0 in the final match's second half. Spain had to play the repechage, where it lost both games against the Netherlands. In the 2011 World Cup's Spain again ended 2nd, with no repechage, after England again overcame a half-time 2–0 in their second confrontation.[6]

2010s: First World Cups

Spain achieved 16 years later a place for the final stage of a European Championship. The team qualified for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013, after beating Scotland in the qualifiers playoff. In the group stage, a win over England and a draw against Russia was enough to qualify for the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated by Norway.

Two years later, Spain qualified for the first time ever to a World Cup, winning nine of its ten matches of the qualifying round. In the group stage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Their campaign, however, ended up being a disaster. Spain managed only a 1–1 draw into the weakest team in the group, Costa Rica, before losing 0–1 to Brazil. In the last match with South Korea, they still lost 1–2 after an initial lead, becoming the worst European team in the tournament. After the World Cup, the 23 players on the roster issued a collective statement for the end of Ignacio Quereda's reign as head coach.[7] Later that summer, Quereda stepped down and was replaced by Jorge Vilda, who had previously coached the U-19 team, and was on the shortlist for the 2014 FIFA World Coach of the Year.[8][9]

Spain has achieved to qualify for the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 by winning all the matches and ahead in 11 points to the second classified. In 2017 the national team participated for the first time in the Algarve Cup winning the tournament.[10] However, its performance in the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 was very disappointing: only one match won (against Portugal, the worst ranked team in Euro), two defeats against England (0–2) and Scotland (0–1) in group stage, Miraculously Spain advanted to the quarter-finals, where losing against Austria in a quarter-final finishing 0–0 after extra time, then 3–5 in penalty shoot-out. Eventually, the national football team was eliminated after more than 345 minutes without scoring a single goal.

At the 2019 Women's World Cup, Spain were in Group B with China PR, South Africa, and Germany. They finished second in the group to progress to the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time in their history.[11] However, the team was eliminated in the round of 16 by the eventual champions United States.

In October 2019, the federation announced the creation of España Promesas (essentially Spain B), a team for players too old for younger age groups but not in the latest full squad, to provide training and occasional match experience for those in consideration for the future.[12]

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1991 Did not qualify1991 UEFA Women's Championship
1995UEFA Women's Euro 1995
19996024510
20036204811
200784221914
20118611374
2015Group stage20th30122410910422
2019Round of 1612th4112448800252
2023To be determinedTo be determined
Total2/9712468452861113443

UEFA Women's Championship

UEFA Women's Championship record UEFA Euro Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1984Did not enterDeclined Participation
1987Did not qualify611479
1989822448
19916024313
1993411226
19956330290
1997Semi-finals4th4112346123815
2001Did not qualify6114617
200582151010
20098521247
2013Quarter-finals7th411257106224314
2017Quarter-finals8th4112238800402
2021To be determined6510321
Total3/1312336101482351829225102

Friendly tournaments

YearCupPosPWDLGFGA
1992 Grand Hotel Varna4th210141
1995 Grand Hotel Varna3rd421198
2017 Algarve Cup1st431061
2018 Cyprus Cup1st431060
2019 Algarve Cup7th320143
2020 SheBelieves Cup2nd320142

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the Euro 2021 qualification against Moldova an Poland on 27 November and 1 December 2020.

Caps and goals as of 28 November 2020.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
Goalkeeper
1GK Catalina Coll (2001-04-23) 23 April 2001 0 0 FC Barcelona
1GK María Dolores Gallardo (1993-06-10) 10 June 1993 33 0 Olympique Lyonnais
1GK María Isabel Rodríguez (1999-07-22) 22 July 1999 0 0 Real Madrid
Defender
2DF Laia Aleixandri (2000-08-25) 25 August 2000 2 1 Atlético Madrid
2DF Ona Batlle (1999-06-10) 10 June 1999 6 0 Manchester United
2DF María Pilar León (1995-06-13) 13 June 1995 37 0 FC Barcelona
2DF Leila Ouahabi (1993-03-22) 22 March 1993 36 1 FC Barcelona
2DF Irene Paredes (c) (1991-07-04) 4 July 1991 74 9 Paris Saint-Germain
2DF Andrea Pereira (1993-09-19) 19 September 1993 30 0 FC Barcelona
2DF Ainhoa Vicente (1995-08-20) 20 August 1995 3 0 Athletic Club
Midfielder
3MF Teresa Abelleira (2000-01-09) 9 January 2000 1 0 Real Madrid
3MF Aitana Bonmatí (1998-01-18) 18 January 1998 24 7 FC Barcelona
3MF Marta Cardona (1995-05-26) 26 May 1995 8 0 Real Madrid
3MF Marta Corredera (1991-08-08) 8 August 1991 80 5 Real Madrid
3MF Nerea Eizagirre (2000-01-04) 4 January 2000 2 0 Real Sociedad
3MF Irene Guerrero (1996-12-12) 12 December 1996 5 1 Levante UD
3MF Patricia Guijarro (1998-05-17) 17 May 1998 31 7 FC Barcelona
3MF Alexia Putellas (1994-02-04) 4 February 1994 81 17 FC Barcelona
Forward
4FW Mariona Caldentey (1996-03-19) 19 March 1996 35 7 FC Barcelona
4FW Lucía García (1998-07-14) 14 July 1998 24 5 Athletic Club
4FW Nahikari García (1997-03-10) 10 March 1997 15 1 Real Sociedad
4FW Jennifer Hermoso (1990-05-09) 9 May 1990 81 37 FC Barcelona
4FW Eva Navarro (2001-01-27) 27 January 2001 3 1 Levante UD

Recent call-ups

The following players were also named to a squad in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Sandra Paños (1992-11-04) 4 November 1992 40 0 FC Barcelona v.  Moldova; 27 November 2020 PRE
GK María Asunción Quiñones (1996-10-29) 29 October 1996 3 0 Real Sociedad v.  Czech Republic; 23 October 2020

DF Ivana Andrés (1994-07-13) 13 July 1994 23 0 Real Madrid v.  Moldova; 27 November 2020 PRE
DF Eunate Arraiza (1991-06-03) 3 June 1991 5 0 Athletic Club v.  Czech Republic; 23 October 2020

MF Maite Oroz (1998-03-25) 25 March 1998 0 0 Real Madrid v.  Moldova; 27 November 2020 PRE
MF María Alharilla Casado (1990-11-13) November 13, 1990 7 1 Levante UD v.  Czech Republic; 23 October 2020
MF Victoria Losada (1991-03-05) 5 March 1991 64 13 FC Barcelona v.  Czech Republic; 23 October 2020
MF Amanda Sampedro (1993-06-26) 26 June 1993 52 11 Atlético Madrid v.  Czech Republic; 22 October 2020 PRE
MF Ángela Sosa (1993-01-16) 16 January 1993 6 0 Real Betis v.  England; 11 March 2020
MF Virginia Torrecilla INJ (1994-09-04) 4 September 1994 65 7 Atlético Madrid v.  England; 11 March 2020

FW Athenea del Castillo (2000-10-24) 24 October 2000 1 0 Deportivo La Coruña v.  Czech Republic; 22 October 2020
FW Esther González (1992-12-08) 8 December 1992 7 1 Levante UD v.  Czech Republic; 22 October 2020
FW Bárbara Latorre (1993-03-14) 14 March 1993 19 1 Real Sociedad v.  Czech Republic; 22 October 2020
FW Ainize Barea (1992-01-25) 25 January 1992 0 0 Deportivo La Coruña v.  Moldova; 19 September 2020
FW Alba Redondo (1996-08-27) 27 August 1996 10 3 Levante UD v.  Moldova; 19 September 2020
FW Sheila García (1997-03-15) 15 March 1997 3 0 Rayo Vallecano v.  United States; 8 March 2020

Previous squads

Coaching staff

Results and fixtures

For all past match results of the national team, see single-season articles and the team's results page

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss

2020

5 March 2020 2020 SheBelieves Cup Spain  3–1  Japan Orlando, Florida
16:15 ET
Report
Stadium: Exploria Stadium
Attendance: 7,528
Referee: Katja Koroleva (United States)
8 March 2020 2020 SheBelieves Cup United States  1–0  Spain Harrison, New Jersey
17:00 ET
Report Stadium: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 26,500
Referee: Katia García (Mexico)
11 March 2020 2020 SheBelieves Cup Spain  1–0  England Frisco, Texas
14:15 CT
Report Stadium: Toyota Stadium
Attendance: 10,507
Referee: Danielle Chesky (United States)
19 September 2020 (2020-09-19) Euro 2021 qualifying Moldova  0–9  Spain Chișinău, Moldova
19:00 Report
Stadium: Zimbru Stadium
Referee: Jelena Pejković (Croatia)
23 October 2020 (2020-10-23) Euro 2021 qualifying Spain  4–0  Czech Republic Seville
21:00
Report Stadium: Estadio de La Cartuja
Referee: Sara Persson (Sweden)
27 November 2020 (2020-11-27) Euro 2021 qualifying Spain  10–0  Moldova Las Rozas de Madrid
21:00
Report Stadium: La Ciudad del Fútbol
Attendance: 0
Referee: Shona Shukrula (Netherlands)

2021

Overall official record

Honours

Titles

Champions: 2017
Champions: 2018
runners-up: 2020

Other awards

Player statistics

Most caps

  • Still active national team players in bold.
Marta Torrejón is the most capped player in the history of the Spanish national team.
# Player Career Caps Goals
1 Marta Torrejón 2007–2019 90 9
2 Jennifer Hermoso 2011–0000 81 37
Alexia Putellas 2013–0000 81 17
3 Marta Corredera 2013–0000 80 5
4 Irene Paredes 2011–0000 74 9
5 Arantza del Puerto 1990–2005 71 ??
6 Silvia Meseguer 2008–2019 67 5
7 Virginia Torrecilla 2013–0000 65 7
8 Vicky Losada 2010–0000 64 13
9 Mar Prieto 1989–2000 62 27

Most goals

  • Still active national team players in bold.
Verónica Boquete is Spain's all-time scorer with 38 goals.
# Player Career Goals Caps Average
1 Verónica Boquete 2005–2017 38 56 67.86%
2 Jennifer Hermoso 2011–0000 37 81 45.68%
3 Sonia Bermúdez 2005–2017 34 61 55.74%
4 Adriana Martín 2005–2015 33 37 89.19%
5 Mar Prieto 1989–2000 27 62 43.55%
6 Alexia Putellas 2013–0000 17 81 20.99%
7 Mari Paz Vilas 2008–2018 15 25 60%

Hat-tricks

Adriana Martín has scored 4 hat-tricks with Spain in her career
PlayerAgainstHome/AwayResultDateCompetition
Mar Prieto7 SloveniaHome17–020 March 19941995 EURO Q
Itziar Bakero
Laura del Río5 BelgiumHome7–029 February 20042005 EURO Q
Adriana Martín5 PolandHome7–030 March 20062007 WC Q
Adriana Martín4 MaltaAway0–1319 September 20092011 WC Q
Sonia Bermúdez
Ana "Willy" Romero
Adriana Martín TurkeyAway0–521 November 2009
Adriana Martín4 MaltaHome9–024 June 2010
Verónica Boquete TurkeyAway1–1017 September 20112013 EURO Q
Mari Paz Vilas7 KazakhstanHome14–05 April 2012
Natalia Pablos5 MacedoniaHome12–013 February 20142015 WC Q
Sonia Bermúdez MacedoniaAway0–1010 April 2014
Jennifer Hermoso
Sonia Bermúdez 5 MontenegroHome13–015 September 20162017 EURO Q
Verónica Boquete4
Mariona Caldentey MoldovaAway0–919 September 20202021 EURO Q
Jennifer Hermoso MoldovaHome10–027 November 2020
Ainhoa Tirapu holds the Spanish record for most international career clean sheets

4 Player scored 4 goals
5 Player scored 5 goals
7 Player scored 7 goals

Clean sheets

  • Still active national team players in bold.
# Player Career Clean Sheets Caps Average
1 Ainhoa Tirapu 2007–2015 20 46 43.48%
2 Sandra Paños 2011–0000 19 40 47.5%
3 Dolores Gallardo 2012–0000 18 33 54.55%
4 Roser Serra 1991–1998 10? 33 30.3%
5 Ana Ruiz 1984–1988 4 17 23.53%
Elixabete Capa 1997–2005 4 ?? ??

Rankings

Youth teams

Under-20

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
2002: did not qualify 2004: 1st round 2006: did not qualify
2008: did not qualify 2010: did not qualify 2012: did not qualify
2014: did not qualify 2016: 5th 2018: Runner-up

Under-19

UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
2002: Final Round 2003: Final Round 2004: Champion
2005: Second Round 2006: Second Round 2007: Final Round
2008: Final Round 2009: Second Round 2010: Final Round
2011: Final Round 2012: Runner-up 2013: did not qualify
2014: Runner-up 2015: Runner-up 2016: Runner-up
2017: Champion 2018: Champion 2019: Third Place

Under-18

UEFA Women's Under-18 Championship
1998: did not qualify 1999: did not qualify 2000: Runner-up 2001: 4th (last edition)

Under-17

FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
2008: did not qualify 2010: Third Place 2012: did not qualify
2014: Runner-up 2016: Third Place 2018: Champion
UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship
UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship
2008: did not qualify 2009: Runner-up 2010: Champion
2011: Champion 2012: did not qualify 2013: Third Place
2014: Runner-up 2015: Champion 2016: Runner-up
2017: Runner-up 2018: Champion 2019: Third Place

Under-16

There is also a women's national team that represents Spain in international football in under-16 categories and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. This team usually participates each year in UEFA Women U-16 Development Tournament (although it is not an official tournament) with remarkable success[20]

See also

References

  1. "Spain's women add to La Roja euphoria". FIFA. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  3. The underground origin of the women's national team. Marca, 23 April 2013. David Menayo
  4. Conchi Amancio's national team shook up the 1970s Spain. As Color, 17 July 2012
  5. The official baptism of the women's national team. Marca, 14 May 2013. David Menayo.
  6. "Why Spain is absent from the World Cup". Fox Soccer. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  7. Kassouf, Jeff (19 June 2015). "Spain players call firing Ignacio Quereda women's World Cup exit". Equalizer Soccer. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  8. "Quereda's reign as Spain coach ends after 27 years". Equalizer Soccer. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  9. "Vilda appointed coach of Spain's women's team". FIFA.com. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  10. Muñoz, Antonio D. (8 March 2017). "Champions of Algarve Cup". RFEF. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  11. "South Africa 0-4 Germany, China 0-0 Spain: Women's World Cup clockwatch – live!". theguardian.com. Guardian Media Group. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  12. Oficial: La RFEF crea la Selección Absoluta Promesas, una nueva selección femenina de fútbol (Official: The RFEF creates the Absolute Promises Selection, a new women's team), SEfutbol (in Spanish), 29 October 2019
  13. "La Selección española Absoluta femenina, distinguida en los Premios Nacionales del Deporte 2014" [The Spanish women's national team honored at the 2014 National Sports Awards]. RFEF (in Spanish). 10 July 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  14. UEFA Women's National Team Coefficient Overview (June 2016)
  15. UEFA Women's National Team Coefficient Overview (September 2016)
  16. UEFA Women's National Team Coefficient Overview (November 2017)
  17. UEFA Women's National Team Coefficient Overview (June 2018)
  18. UEFA Women's National Team Coefficient Overview (September 2018)
  19. Ranking women's national football teams based on a formula invented and developed by Mark Ziaian
  20. The U16s debut with a brilliant victory at the UEFA Development Tournament
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