It has been 18 months since Spain beat England in the 2023 World Cup final.
That historic moment quickly became overshadowed by what happened in the aftermath of Spain’s victory.
Luis Rubiales, who was president of the Spanish football federation at the time, kissed striker Jenni Hermoso on the lips without consent during the medal ceremony.
Last week, Spain’s High Court convicted Rubiales of sexual assault. He was fined 10,800 euros (£8,942), banned from going within a 200m radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year. He was acquitted of coercion for allegedly pressuring the striker into saying the kiss was consensual.
The verdict finally brought an end to the saga, though Hermoso’s lawyer said she would appeal the decision to acquit Rubiales of coercion.
Tonight, England host Spain at Wembley in what will be their first meeting since that World Cup final.
It is impossible to ignore the Rubiales trial in relation to tonight’s Nations League fixture. Sarina Wiegman, Lucy Bronze and Alessia Russo have all spoken in support of Spain’s players in the build-up to the game.
“They show resilience, they are so brave,” Wiegman said. “We have to keep talking about it and telling the world we stand in solidarity to make change.”
Spain and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati, who has won the Ballon d’Or two years running, said she was grateful to England’s players and manager for their support.
“We have battled hard and we know what we have done has not been in vain,” she said. “I heard Sarina speaking a lot of times and supporting us with our issues and I appreciate her words. We didn’t feel alone in this issue. They feel our suffering and they support us so I appreciate that a lot. All my team-mates and I are thankful for their support.”
While Bonmati, Wiegman and England’s players have spoken candidly about Spain’s fight for justice, their manager, Montse Tome, had little to say.
Tome succeeded Jorge Vilda who was sacked following the Rubiales row. Vilda was hugely unpopular with Spain’s players, with 15 of them going on strike in the build-up to the World Cup. Vilda was a close ally of Rubiales and was spotted applauding him after he had refused to resign in the aftermath of the World Cup.
Tome was part of Vilda’s coaching staff but she and 10 others published a statement, in which they offered their resignations, in August 2023, condemning the “unacceptable attitudes and actions” of Rubiales.
But since then she has stayed away from giving much opinion about the events that took place.
When asked whether it was a dereliction of her duty to not speak on the matter, Tome bluntly replied: “I’ve spoken about it many times before, I’ve spoken about it a lot in Spain and now we’re just focused on the game.”
In spite of the turmoil they have endured off the pitch, Spain have continued to show their strength and talent on it.
They won the inaugural Nations League, beating France in the final in 2024, before reaching the semi-finals of the Olympics and topping their qualifying group for Euro 2025.
The Lionesses may be the European champions but Spain are currently the best team in Europe.
England could only draw with Portugal on Friday which added to the Lionesses’ mixed set of results since the World Cup. Wiegman has put that down to the increased competition and improvement of other countries, but recent performances have given little indication they are ready to defend their European crown in Switzerland this summer.
It is easy to argue that Spain has the best squad of any country in Europe. Bonmati is the lynchpin, but they have an array of attacking talents including Mariona Caldentey, Salma Paralleulo and Claudia Pina. Former Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas will miss tonight’s game through injury.
But Spain are not without their flaws. Their biggest weakness is in defence, which was exposed by both Brazil and Germany at the Olympic Games. Belgium also caused them problems on Friday, despite having just 18 per cent possession. Spain were 2-0 down after 79 minutes before coming back to win 3-2. When Belgium broke forward for their second goal, every Spain player was in the opposition half.
England’s record compares favourably with Spain’s
When you compare Spain’s results with England’s since the World Cup final, there is an argument to say perhaps we have been too harsh on the Lionesses.
Wiegman’s team have lost three competitive games and one friendly. Spain, meanwhile, have lost four competitive games.
England have drawn three competitive games and one friendly, while Spain have drawn two non-competitive games. So the results, you could argue, are not massively different.
However, two of Spain’s defeats came at the Olympics – against Brazil in the semi-final and Germany in the bronze-medal match. England, or Team GB as they would have been called, did not qualify for the Olympics.
The Lionesses have lacked consistency, which Wiegman herself alluded to after Friday’s draw in Portugal.
“We’re not playing football to beat the critics,” Wiegman said on Tuesday when asked if England needed a big performance to silence the doubters.
Spain, meanwhile, have been fighting on two fronts since the World Cup. Now the Rubiales trial is over, with their focus now solely on football, perhaps they are even more dangerous.
“We didn’t only win on the pitch but also off the pitch,” Bonmati said. “We know we have to suffer a lot and that makes us stronger and more champions.”
