With the Olympic Games on the horizon, the first that the Spanish national team will play, Montse Tomé made almost no concessions in the line-up she chose this afternoon against the Czech Republic. Despite the fact that qualification for Euro 2025 had already been sealed in Tenerife more than a month ago against Denmark, the coach put practically the entire arsenal on the pitch from the start: Olga Carmona and Aitana Bonmatí returned to the starting line-up after their injuries and only gave Cata Coll a rest (Misa Rodríguez defended the goal). Spain did not need to win after adding four wins in its first four games, but Tomé’s plan was to use the match to get the team up to speed and get a feel for the historic event in Paris. In the long-awaited return of Patri Guijarro, who returned to play 723 after his resignation from the national team in protest against the methodology of the then coach, Jorge Vilda, La Roja monopolized the ball, accumulated a carousel of wasted opportunities and fell due to two individual errors by Misa at the end of the first half and at the beginning of the second.
The Real Madrid goalkeeper cleared Khyrova’s shot into the centre of the area in the 44th minute after Carmona lost the ball on the way out. Svitkova pounced on the rebound and equalised after Aitana Bonmatí had put Spain ahead with a cross that Lukasova swallowed. Right after coming out of the changing rooms, Misa received the ball in the area after a recovery by Laia Aleixandri. Instead of clearing it, she stood frozen with the ball until she tried to dribble past Svitkova. The Czech forward rushed her, stole the ball from her and handed it to Cerna. The goalkeeper lunged at the forward and tackled her. Bartonova converted the penalty and completed the comeback for a team that with victory maintains a slim chance of qualifying for the tournament that will be held next summer in Switzerland.
Spain, who mixed and mixed – they had 76% of the possession – found themselves again and again in comfortable positions during the first half in front of Lukasova’s goal, who showed off her full repertoire of saves – she made nine – after her blunder on Aitana’s goal.
The team’s poor scoring performance was also helped by a lack of firepower in the final metres. Salma Paralluelo missed a clear header in the 24th minute after a good cross from Ona Batlle, another in the 28th after a pass from Eva Navarro and hit the post two minutes later after a good collective play by La Roja. Montse Tomé’s team carried the ball from one side to the other, until Olga Carmona found herself alone in a one-on-one on the left wing against Slajsova. The full-back got past her with a fantastic feint and entered the area, but the Barcelona forward missed the goal with her shot by a few centimetres.
With the score at 2-1 down, Tomé decided it was time to bring Guijarro on. The midfielder, one of the best in the world and four-time champion this season with Barça—League, Champions, Cup and Super Cup—, replaced Tere Abelleira in the 63rd minute. Almost two years after what had been her last game with the national team until today—on September 6, 2022—, she was placed as a pivot, but Spain’s siege on the Czech goal was intermittent, weighed down by the expulsion of Irene Paredes a few minutes later. The captain hit Svitkova in the face with her studs in an action in which she misjudged and was sent off. La Roja could have tied the match with one man down on the occasions that Salma and Athenea del Castillo had, but they always failed to aim in the penultimate test —the decisive one will be against Belgium next Tuesday— before the Games.
Czech Republic 2 – 1 Spain
Letni Stadium. Approximately 2,000 spectators.
Czech Republic: Lukasova; Slajsova, Bertholdova, Dedinova (Bendova, d.83), Bartonova (Huvarova, d. 68); Dubcova, Cahynova (Kotrcova, d. 77), Cerná, Krejcirikova; Svitkova (Ruzickova, m.77) and Khyrova (Vesela, m.77).
Spain: Mass; Batlle (Oihane, d. 85), Paredes, Aleixandri, Olga; Abelleira (Guijarro, d. 63), Bonmatí, Hermoso (Alexia, d. 46); L. García (Codina, d. 76), Navarro (Athenea, d. 46) and Salma.
Goals: 0-1. M. 15. Bonmatí. 1-1. M. 44. Svitkova. 2-1. M. 51. Bartonova (p.).
Referee: Riem Hussein. He admonished Bartonova, Krejcirikova and Misa. Direct red card for Irene Paredes (m. 70).
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